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In the kitchen, Taehyung was chanting “Beach, beach, beach,” like he expected it to summon the beach right to them. Seokjin was complaining about it, Jungkook was giggling. Hoseok was in the living room slathering himself in sunscreen and Yoongi was in the hallway of the rental cottage, checking that they had everything they’d need for a day on the beach.
For his part, Jimin was loitering outside the bathroom with a mission.
He was going to ask Namjoon to spend the day with him.
He knew they were on pack vacation, all of them having managed to coordinate an entire week together, Hoseok having found the perfect little cottage, Jungkook and Taehyung having planned lots of fun activities, Yoongi and Seokjin having brought food and planned a menu for them all. It was lovely. And he loved his pack, he genuinely did. But the thing was, he was tired. He’d had a hard week after a hard week after a hard week and, at the end of the day, he was just an omega after all. And wasn’t it normal for an omega to sometimes need some special one-on-one attention from his alpha?
He still felt like he was doing something wrong. Like it should be enough to be here with them all. He’d tried to make it enough, he really had.
He just really needed some alpha time.
The bathroom door swung open and Jimin sprang into action. He’d been trying all morning to grab a minute to Hyung time but there’d been so much going on. Now everyone else was busy and sure, Namjoon-hyung jumped a little when he came out of the bathroom to Jimin grabbing his arm but he didn’t push Jimin away.
“Jimin!” he said instead, then squeezed Jimin’s arm. “What’s going on?”
“Can we talk, Hyung? Just you and me.”
“Sure,” Namjoon said, smiling. “Bedroom?”
Jimin nodded, nobody was in there at the moment. Namjoon led him down the hallway, keeping him close.
The bedroom was probable the nicest part of the holiday home. It was one big room, like the pack room they had at home, with one custom made big bed. Finding a bed big enough to comfortably hold seven was no small thing. Most packs, people would sleep in groups of three or four and finding beds to accommodate that was fine but they always slept seven to a bed and, as Jungkook said, what was the point of going on holiday together if they were going to have to sleep apart? Normally they made do by shoving beds together but this place was prefect, the prefect bed.
Namjoon led him over to the bed, sidestepping the clothes left rumpled on the floor. He turned them around when he reached it and pushed Jimin down to sit on the edge of the bed, then stepped between his knees and leant down for a quick kiss.
Jimin sighed into it, feeling something in himself unwind already. Hyung. Alpha.
Namjoon pulled back eventually. He looked at Jimin for a moment, cupping Jimin’s face in his hands, then leant down and pressed a kiss to Jimin’s forehead. “Okay, love. What do you need to talk to me about?”
Jimin swallowed. Honestly, he still felt a little silly for needing it. But he did.
“Hyung, I… you know things have been a little stressful lately?”
“I know,” Namjoon said, his thumb stroking reassuringly over Jimin’s neck. “And you’ve been so good, working so hard. We’re all proud of you.”
“Thank you, Hyung,” Jimin said, because that was always good to hear. “I just, I’m feeling a little worn down, you know. And, well, I was just wondering if I could get some alpha time today. I know it’s a pack holiday so it’s not the prefect time but I’m really struggling to settle.”
“I’d noticed that,” Namjoon said, frowning down at Jimin. “I was trying not to worry. I’m glad you’ve come to me, though. Or course you can have some alpha time. All the alpha time you want, okay?”
“Okay,” Jimin said, relaxing. He should have known it’d be that simple. Should have known Hyung would look after him.
Somewhere towards the front of the house, Taehyung screamed. Namjoon’s head snapped up, then he sighed. “I’d better to make sure nobody’s dead.”
“The work of a pack alpha never ends,” Jimin agreed, doing his best to sound sympathetic. “I’ll come with you, Hyung. I can help out!” After all, the sooner they resolved whatever drama was happening, the sooner Jimin could have Namjoon to himself for the rest of the day
“Sure,” Namjoon said, smiling. “Come on, love. Let’s go finish getting ready for the beach.”
*
The sea was absolutely beautiful. Wide and blue with gentle rolling waves. Something about the vastness of it, the smell of the salt in the air, the warmth of the sun on his skin, appealed directly to the primitive part of Jimin’s brain and made him relax. He felt more grounded with his toes in the sand and the sounds of sea birds circling overhead than he had for weeks in an office in downtown Seoul.
“Jimin, don’t fall behind,” Seokjin called.
“I won’t, Hyung,” Jimin yelled back. He tore himself away from staring at the sea, grabbed his assigned cooler again and hurried to catch up to them as they trooped down the beach. Hoseok, always organised, had headed down while the others were still unpacking the car and picked out a spot. Namjoon and Jungkook were already with him, carrying the bulk of their things. Namjoon putting all that alpha muscle to good use, Jungkook eager to show that his hours in the gym had been worth it and that just because he was an omega didn’t mean he couldn’t be just as strong as Hyung.
Nobody was arguing with him about that, incidentally. They were all very aware of how strong their bunny was. But they were also all profiting from his gym fixation and nobody wanted to disturb the balance.
Taehyung was next with Yoongi, the two of them carrying the box full of beach toys between them, balls and spades and floating things and that kind of stuff.
And then there was Seokjin, holding the other cooler, waiting for Jimin. Oldest Beta-Hyung, rounding up all his ducklings and making sure they didn’t get lost. Jimin hurried over to him, hampered a little by the cooler, and turned his face up for a kiss which Seokjin was clearly very happy to give, taking off his stupid “alphas want me, fish fear me” hat so he could get close enough to Jimin to kiss him properly.
“You okay, baby?” he asked, when he pulled back.
“Yes, Hyung. Promise,” he said, smiling. He could even say it genuinely as if he wasn’t entirely 100% as okay as he’d have liked, he had the reassurance that today was going to be a Hyung day and that meant Namjoon alpha-hyung all to himself and then he’d definitely be okay.
“Good,” Seokjin said, “Let’s catch up with the others.”
They carried on down the beach. They watched as Namjoon and Jungkook followed Hoseok’s instruction to use the heavy drinks coolers they’d carried to pin down the corners of the blankets, then as Taehyung and Yoongi arrived and set the box down, Taehyung immediately diving in for a beach ball and then chasing after Jungkook who was already up to his knees in the surf.
By the time they got there, Yoongi had firmly planted himself in a corner of the blanket, sun hat on, suncream thick on his skin. Jimin followed Seokjin to deposit his cooler and was then immediately accosted by Hoseok who came in as though he wanted a hug then smeared sunscreen on Jimin’s cheek instead.
“Hyung,” Jimin protested. “We already put some on at the cottage.”
“You can never have enough,” Hoseok said, sagely. “Can’t have my babies burning. Turn so I can get behind your ears.”
Jimin did, letting Hoseok make sure he was covered and the cream was rubbed in, turning politely when asked so Hoseok could get his various parts. He held out his arms as requested so Hoseok could cover them, then stood still while Hoseok knelt to get his legs and feet. Taehyung and Jungkook had both already stripped down to swimming trunks but Jimin felt safer in his t-shirt and shorts, for now at least.
“There,” Hoseok said, standing up, apparently satisfied that his work here was done. “Come back if you need more, okay?”
“I will,” Jimin promised. He leant in for a kiss and Hoseok gave him one, a quick brush of lips. Then Hoseok wrinkled his nose.
“You taste of sunscreen.”
“Well, you just covered me in it,” Jimin protested.
Hoseok nodded. “That doesn’t mean I want to eat it.” He reached up and ruffled his hair instead. “Now, go play.”
“Sure,” Jimin agreed, then turned to look for Namjoon.
And found him.
Stood next to Jungkook, pulling on wetsuits.
“Hey,” he said, jogging over.
“Jimin,” Jungkook shouted, running a few steps himself to pull Jimin into his arms and kiss him. He pulled back quickly, pulling a face.
“Yeah, Hoseok just got me,” Jimin said, smiling fondly. “I taste like Sunscreen.”
“You do,” Jungkook said, wrinkling his nose cutely. Then he ducked in and bumped their noses together instead. It was impossibly cute and Jimin grinned.
Then he stepped back, saw Namjoon trying to get the zip on the back of his wet suit, and remembered why he’d come over here.
“Here, Hyung, let me do it,” he said, stepping over. Namjoon sighed and stopped groping for the zip. He stood still and waited for Jimin to zip him in, then turned around and pulled Jimin into a quick hug.
“Thanks, baby. I won’t kiss you, if that’s okay, if you’re made of sunscreen.”
“Probably for the best,” Jimin agreed. Then, as casually as he could. “What are you two doing?”
“Surfing!” Jungkook replied quickly. “We booked lessons, omega-Hyung, remember.”
And yes, it’s possible that maybe Jimin remembered something about that. Jungkook’s enthusiasm, the general lack of enthusiasm in the group, Namjoon agreeing to go surfing with their baby, if that was what Jungkook really wanted to do.
And well, he supposed if it was a pre-booked thing he could hardly complain that Namjoon was going off with Jungkook and not giving him attention like he’d asked for.
“Okay,” Jimin said, squeezing Namjoon tightly. “Have fun.”
“We will,” Namjoon said, squeezing him back. “Are you going to be okay with the others?”
“Sure,” Jimin said. And it wasn’t a lie, he would be. Namjoon patted his head and Jimin stood and watched as he and Jungkook headed over to what appeared to be a gathering crowd of wannabe surfers.
*
“Hyung’s coming back,” Taehyung yelled. Jimin looked up from artfully arranging seashells to see that, yes, Namjoon and Jungkook were coming back. Both very wet, Jungkook practically bouncing, Namjoon looking pleased. “Namjoonie-alpha-hyung, come judge our sandcastles.”
“It’s not a contest,” Jimin complained, though they all knew it kind of was. He, Taehyung and Hoseok had started building one big sandcastle together, then there had been creative differences and instead now they had a sprawlling sand-palace complex. Hoseok’s towers were basic but he’d compensated with an exciting moat and various other sand sculptures, Taehyung had been perfecting the art of making a sand castle on top of another slightly larger sandcastle and Jimin’s sandcastle was smaller but he’d spent a lot of time shell hunting and it looked, in his humble opinion, by far the most majestic.
“Wow, you’ve been busy,” Namjoon said. He looked good, grinning, already stripped half way out of his wet suit so it hung around his hips. “Taehyung that’s impressively tall.”
“Yes, but mine’s the prettiest,” Jimin protested, standing up and walking over to take Namjoon’s hand.
“Of course, Jimin’s always the prettiest,” Namjoon agreed, then leant down to give Jimin a kiss which tasted mostly of salt water. Jimin didn’t mind it, reaching up to wrap his arms around Namjoon’s neck and pulling him in close, kissing him properly. Because now the surfing lesson was over and Namjoonie was all his.
“Okay,” Yoongi shouted. Jimin broke away from Namjoon to look over to him. So far, he’d mostly been hiding in any shade he could find. “We’re all back, time for beach volleyball!”
“Yes,” Jungkook shouted, bouncing in place. “I’m on Namjoon-alpha-hyung’s team.”
There was a chorus of shouts of not fair and spirited arguing broke out about team composition. Jimin stood there, clinging to Namjoon’s arm, blinking. Volleyball. He did love volleyball. He loved playing it with his pack, loved how silly and how competitive they all got, how they were all about the same level of incompetent so it balanced out.
But he’d wanted Namjoonie time.
“Okay, we’re drawing lots,” Seokjin yelled, using his no-nonsense voice. “Give me a minute.”
He ran over to the box, where there’d inevitably be something he could use to draw lots. They’d had this conversation far too often and they were always prepared these days.
“Hyung,” Jimin said, tugging at Namjoon’s arm. “Do you want to play?”
“Sure,” Namjoon said, easily. “Volleyball’s fun, right, Jiminie? Or do you not want to play?”
It wasn’t that Jimin didn’t want to play. He just… alpha time. “I hope I’m on your team,” he said, leaning his cheek on Namjoon’s shoulders. Namjoon hummed in what might have been agreement and kissed Jimin’s head. Then Seokjin came running back with a bag. He had them all draw balls, three red and three yellow. Jimin was on team yellow, he winced when Namjoon drew red.
“Ah, maknae line!” Taehyung crowed, holding up his own yellow ball. Jungkook held his up too, grinning. And Jimin smiled back at them, because it wasn’t like he didn’t enjoy spending time with them. Just…
Well, it was only one game. And Hyung had promised him, so after this they could definitely spend a little time with just the two of them. Namjoon was reliable like that, he didn’t say things he didn’t mean and if he really didn’t want to spend time one-on-one with Jimin, he’d have made that clear.
“Maknae line,” he agreed, letting go of Namjoon and running over to Taehyung and Jungkook, letting the two of them sweep him up into a warm hug. “We’re going to kick hyung ass!”
*
“And that’s it,” Seokjin, acting as umpire, yelled, his voice nearly drowned out by overly dramatic cheering. “After a hard fought battle, team maknae wins!”
Jungkook screamed in delight and threw himself into Jimin, pushing him back into Taehyung. In the spirit of community, Jimin joined him in yelling, wrestling the three of them into a circle and jumping around until they jumped with him, cheering and bumping against each other.
“Glad to see you’re gracious winners,” Yoongi shouted, obviously teasing. It was enough to break their moment, though, and send Jungkook barreling over to hug him instead. Jimin wasn’t entire sure where that boy got his energy, especially given how long they’d just been playing for, but he couldn’t help feeling fond of him anyway. His sweet, determined Jungkook.
“Okay, food,” Seokjin shouted. And yes, food sounded good.
“Oh,” Taehyung said, surprised, like he was just realising something. “Yes, food. I’m starving. Hyung, food!”
“Come on,” Seokjin said, walking over and taking Taehyung’s wrist. “Let’s get you fed, okay. Keep hold of Jimin, he needs to come too.”
“I’ve got him,” Taehyung confirmed, clinging to Jimin’s wrist, and Jimin let himself be towed along. He looked away from Tae, scanning the area of beach he’d just left until he found Namjoon. Namjoon standing with Hoseok, holding each other, not kissing, not yet, but with their hands on each other’s hips and their foreheads pressed together like they were sharing a secret.
Something twisted nastily in his stomach. Which, fuck, that wasn’t a thing he should be feeling. He loved Namjoon and he loved Hobi and he loved their pack and the fact that they loved each other and both loved him too. But watching them, standing there, Hoseok exactly where Jimin most wanted to be in the world right now while he was being pulled away up the beach, he wanted to pull his wrist out of Taehyung’s, run over there and throw himself between them, made a scene, demand that Namjoon look at him instead.
He wouldn’t, he was a good omega, but he wanted to.
Instead he let himself be arranged on the picnic blanket, let Yoongi cover him in sunscreen again. Hoseok and Namjoon weren’t away for long but when they caught up with the rest of them Taehyung caught Namjoon first and pulled him to sit beside him while Jimin was still holding still for Yoongi to get his back.
And look, he loved Yoongi. Yoongi was an amazing beta, so good at taking care of them in little, understated ways that made Jimin feel seen and adored right down to his smallest part, but right now he didn’t want beta, he wanted alpha.
Which was unfair and petty of him, but Namjoon had promised!
Seokjin had packed gimbap and fruit for everyone, which was delicious in the midday heat. He set everything out and Jimin let himself be cuddled into Yoongi’s side and fed mouthfuls, Yoongi carefully selecting the best pieces of gimbap and the ripest pieces of fruit for him. And it was sweet, it really was. He felt safe and loved and it really was nice.
But his eyes kept moving back to Namjoon, who was laughing between Taehyung and Hoseok, not feeding them, not paying attention to them like Yoongi was paying attention to him, but with his hand on Hoseok’s thigh, giving Taehyung little kisses when he said or did something particularly Taehyung.
And Jimin wanted that. He wanted that.
Namjoon had said he could have that.
As the meal was winding down, the others started to chat excitedly about what they were going to do with their afternoon. Jungkook had seen something about jet ski rental and Jimin’s heart was in his throat for a second as Jungkook looked meaningfully at Namjoon, but Seokjin jumped in and volunteered to go, Yoongi grumpily agreeing to follow and keep an eye on them both.
“Well, I’m just going to sunbathe,” Hoseok said, kicking his legs out in front of himself. “I deserve to just lie here in the sun.”
“Oh, me too!” Taehyung said. Jimin watched as the other turned to him, smiling indulgently. They all knew Taehyung would never last long lying there next to Hoseok, not moving. But he was pretty sure that Hoseok would find some way to keep him entertained.
And then Jimin looked over at Namjoon and fuck, hope started to beat in his chest. He’d promised, after all. Namjoon had promised. Maybe this would be the moment, when he’d look over and tell the others he was spending the rest of the day with Jimin. Take him by the hand and holding him and give him some of that good alpha attention.
“Well,” Namjoon said, stretching. “I think I’m going to do some reading. Just relax for a while, you know.”
“Ah, Namjoon,” Seokjin protested. “You can’t come to the beach and just read! You could go that at home.”
“Sure,” Namjoon agreed. “But I wouldn’t have the nice sea air to keep my company while I read at home.”
And oh, oh. Jimin’s heart just broke. Just a little.
Because Namjoon had said he’d pay him attention. Namjoon had said they could have the day together. And Jimin had wanted it so much, he’d had to work himself up so much to ask for it and then, well, maybe Namjoon hadn’t wanted it himself at all. Maybe it had always been a little bit of an imposition, he’d just said yes to get Jimin to go away. Maybe he didn’t even like spending time with Jimin, not really. Only tolerated him in the pack because Taehyung liked him.
“Namjoon,” Yoongi said, voice sharp. Jimin jerked a little at the tone, then raised his hand to his eyes and realised he’d been crying. Just a few tears, just quietly. “I think your omega needs you.”
“Oh no,” Taehyung said, and the others were talking too but Jimin couldn’t quite focus on them and then Namjoon was there, crowding into his space, cupping Jimin’s face between his hands and gently brushing his thumb along Jimin’s cheekbones.
“Oh no, Jimin. Baby. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I’m fine,” Jimin lied, wiping at his eyes. Fuck.
“No, you’re not,” Namjoon said, simply. He let go of Jimin’s face but only so he could pull Jimin closer, tucking him right into his side. Yoongi was still stroking his back and Taehyung had appeared, clinging to his hands. The others were watching them with varying levels of distress. And fuck, Jimin had done that to them, had made them all upset. “Tell alpha-Hyung what’s wrong.”
“I’m just being silly,” Jimin protested. He was, he knew he was. It was just that he’d had this idea of how the day was going to go and now it wasn’t going that way and he just wanted…
Namjoon kissed him softly on the cheek. “Do you need me? I was going to take you out to dinner, just you and me like I promised, but if you need me now we can be just you and me now. I can take you back to the cottage if you like and we can snuggle or there’s a little way down the coast where there are rock pools, we can go look for crabs?”
Jimin swallowed. “You were going to take me out later?”
“Yes,” Namjoon said, easily. “Didn’t I promise? I know you said you needed me but I didn’t want to make you miss everyone else through the day. I thought a little meal just for us this evening would be nice.”
And shit, now Jimin really was crying, giving up on any attempt to keep it in, just burying his face in Namjoon’s neck and sobbing.
“Jimin?”
“I didn’t… I thought you’d forgot. I wanted you all day, Hyung, just for me, but then I thought you’d forgot.”
“Oh,” Namjoon said, understanding on his tone. “Oh baby, no. I didn’t forget. Who could forget you? I just didn’t understand. I’m sorry, love. I didn’t know you wanted the entire day. Of course you can have the entire day. Hyung’s sorry for not realising before that you needed it. This is okay with everyone, right? If just me and Jimin spend the rest of the day.”
“Of course,” Seokjin said, and the others joined him. Jimin didn’t dare to look up and meet their eyes, not when he was still crying and being so selfish, but none of them sounded angry. “Jimin’s been working so hard, of course he deserves alpha time. Don’t worry, Joon, we can all look after ourselves for the afternoon. You take care of our Jimin, okay?”
“Okay,” Namjoon said, then kissed Jimin’s cheek. His lips were soft and loving and Jimin wanted to start crying all over again. “I’ll take really good care of him. All yours now, Jimin. I’m sorry I didn’t give you all my attention sooner. Want to go back to the house and cuddle?”
Jimin shook his head. He did want to do that, to do a lot more than cuddle even, but he wanted something else more. “Beach walk, please.”
“Of course,” Namjoon agreed, easily. “Let’s cuddle here for a while first, though, until you calm down. Then we can have a beach walk.”
Jimin nodded, which seemed to settle the pack around him. He lay there, eyes closed in Namjoon’s lap as Seokjin started getting Yoongi and Jungkook ready to go look at jet skis, and Taehyung and Hoseok pretty quickly changed their plans to playing in the sea. Jimin felt a little bad, he was sure they were just doing it to give him space, but he kind of needed the space, needed to be here wrapped around his Hyung.
They filtered off, all of them stopping by to give him little kisses as they did, and Jimin found himself alone with Namjoon, curled up in his hyung’s arms. In his alpha’s arms, nose pressed right next to his scent gland, hands holding him close and safe.
And the tension that had been building up in him for weeks started to run out of him, slowly bleeding away with every brush of Namjoon’s hands along his spine. Fuck, he’d needed this. He’d waited too long to ask, he could feel that now, but when he was busy and his system was flooded with adrenaline it was hard to step back and see what he needed.
He needed this, to be held. To be loved.
“Feeling better?” Namjoon asked eventually, when it had been quiet for while and Jimin’s tears were officially dry.
“Yes, alpha-hyung. Much better,” Jimin said. “I’m sorry my emotions got so big, that I started crying like that.”
“Don’t apologise, that was your body letting me know what you needed when your words couldn’t. I’m never going to be upset about you letting me know what you need, whatever way you do it.”
“Thank you, hyung,” Jimin said, softly. “Thank you for looking after me. I’m sorry I thought you forgot.”
“I can see how you came to the conclusion,” Namjoon said, a little ruefully. “I promise I didn’t thought, Jimin. I just misunderstood. And now we understand each other, I’d love to take you on a walk. Are you feeling up to it now?”
“Yeah,” Jimin said, siting up a little. “I’m sure I’m all blotchy, though. Are you sure you want to be seen with me?”
“You’re beautiful,” Namjoon said, tone totally sincere. He ducked in and kissed Jimin softly on the lips, making Jimin blush. “So very beautiful. Come on, let’s find some tissues and get you cleaned up then take a walk. You must really want to, I thought for sure you’d want to go back to the house.”
“I don’t want to go back,” Jimin grumbled. “I want to go crab hunting. You love it so much, Hyung, and you get so cute.”
“I do really love crabs,” Namjoon agreed, grinning. “Okay, Jimin. Let’s go crab hunting.”
“Sure, Hyung. I’d really love that.”
*
“Hyung, ice cream.”
“One second,” Namjoon yelled. They’d walked down to the far end of the beach where there were rock pools, Namjoon’s arm wrapped around him the entire time, himself tucked into Namjoon’s side, small and safe. When they’d reached the rock pools they’d searched for crabs, Namjoon’s face alight in pure joy every time he found one and pointed it out to Jimin. They’d clambered over the rocks, Namjoon’s hands always there to steady him.
It had been nice. Soft. Exactly what he’d needed from his alpha after the horrible time he’d been having.
And now there was ice cream.
“It’s going to melt,” Jimin warmed, holding out the cone he’d bought for Namjoon. We can look at more crabs when we’ve eaten.”
“Yeah,” Namjoon agreed with a sigh. Then, softly, to the crab he was watching, “Bye, little friend. If I don’t see you later, have a good life.”
Jimin grinned. Fuck, that was cute. His alpha was the best alpha. Before Namjoon, he’d always gone for big, hyper-masculine alphas because he thought that was what he was meant to want. Then he’d met Namjoon and learned that an alpha could melt your heart, not just your pants, and he’d never looked back.
Namjoon scrambled over the last rock and finally claimed his ice cream, quickly licking up the drop that was about to escape. He sighed in contentment when he did, then darted in and quickly kissed Jimin on the lips.
“Thank you, baby. Want to go sit in the sand and eat them?”
“That sounds nice,” Jimin agreed. Namjoon took the hand that wasn’t holding the ice cream and lead Jimin up the beach, away from the damp sand around the rock pools. There wasn’t actually much sand to sit on in this part of the beach, but they eventually found a promising rock instead and sat there hand in hand, eating their ice creams, watching the waved gently roll in.
Eventually, Jimin finished his ice cream and let his head drop onto Namjoon’s shoulder. Namjoon let go of his hand and switched to hugging him instead.
“Feeling any better yet, love?”
“Yeah,” Jimin said, softly. “I’m sorry I let things get out of hand again.”
Namjoon shook his head. “Never apologise for needing me. I’m just sorry I didn’t understand what you needed better or I’d have done it. Next time you ask for me, I’ll remember to be clearer about what, exactly, you’re asking for.”
“Didn’t want to be selfish,” Jimin said, feeling silly even as he did. Namjoon didn’t laugh though, he just kissed his hair softly.
“You’re one of the most selfless people I know, I don’t think we need to worry about that. And I love you, I want to be here for you. We all do. All of us have needs, we know that. Sometimes what we need it all of us together, sometimes what we need is quiet time just to ourselves. Nobody’s going to be mad at you for needed some quiet time, for being human.
“Thank you,” Jimin said, softly. “I love you, Hyung.”
“Love you too,” Namjoon said, easily. “Love spending time with you. We’re going to have such a lovely day, I’m still taking you out for dinner tonight, yeah. And then we can sleep in one of the smaller bedrooms, just you and me. I’ll take care of you, okay.”
“Okay,” Jimin said, letting his eyes drift shut. “Okay, alpha. Take care of me.”
*
When they finally made it back to the cottage that evening it was late. Namjoon had been as good as his word, paying special attention to Jimin all day. They’d briefly stopped back before to change for dinner and let the others see that he was alright then they’d headed out again to a beautiful place Namjoon had picked with seafront views. After they’d taken another walk along the beach and kissed under the stars.
And now they were home, walking up to the door, Namjoon’s hand possessive on his hip, Jimin half ready to drift away just at this simply touch.
“Hey, you’re back.”
Jimin jumped a little. The lights were on so it wasn’t like he hadn’t expected to see the others but they weren’t even in the house yet and it was dark.
“Taehyung,” Namjoon said. “Why are you out here alone?”
“I just wanted to check in.” He stood up, Jimin realised he’d been sat on the bench under the window. He moved forward in the light of the windows and Jimin could see him better and he looked unusually serious. “Are you doing better, Jimin?”
“I am,” Jimin said. He stepped forward without thinking and opened his arms. Taehyung stepped into them happily, resting his head on Jimin’s shoulder. “I’m feeling a lot better. Sorry to worry you, I just needed a little alpha time.”
“No need to worry,” Taehyung said, softly. “We all need that sometimes. But I… it’s okay if you don’t, if you still need more time with just Hyung, but do you think tomorrow you’ll be ready to play with everyone again? It’s okay if you need more time but, you know, I was hoping to get a little soulmate time on this vacation.”
Jimin smiled at that. He glanced back at Namjoon, watching them in the faint light, smiling softly. His Hyung. His love, who was going to take him to bed, now, and take care of him. Who’d been taking care of him all day. Taehyung, his love, who had been missing him and wanted to spent time with him. All his other loves, waiting inside, who would no doubt be delighted to see him.
He was so incredibly lucky.
“I think I’ll be good tomorrow,” he said, stroking Taehyung’s back. “We’ll see in the morning, but I’m feeling a lot better. I want to spent time with you too, my TaeTae.”
“I’m glad you’re feeling better,” Taehyung said. “Take all the time you need. Just know that we’re here for you too, okay. We all are and we all love you.”
“I love you all too,” Jimin said, hugging him back tightly. “I really do.”
*
Jimin hated to be stereotypical in anything, even this, but a good knot really had calmed him right down.
They were still locked together, on their sides, Namjoon behind him, an arm under Jimin, hand tangled with his, the other hand lying in his stomach, keeping them pressed close. The window was open, letting in a cool sea breeze, and Jimin could hear the others moved around the house, chatting to each other, slowly settling in for the night.
And he was good again. Back firmly in his own skin. Home and safe and happy.
“I love you, Hyung,” he said, softly. Namjoon kissed the back of his neck.
“Love you too, Jimin. My wonderful Jimin.”
Jimin smiled at that. He lifted their joint hands and kissed the back of Namjoon’s.
He loved this man. He loved them all, each in a slightly different way, but he loved this man so much. He’d been so lucky to find him.
“I feel like you’ve pulled me back into myself,” he said, softly. “Like I was sliding away but you’ve grabbed me and pulled me back down.”
“I’m glad,” Namjoon said, softly. “You do that for me too, you know. I didn’t realise I needed this but today has been really nice, just you and me. Like, I wouldn’t give up a single one of the others for anything, but I do like when it’s just us two. I think it’s harder now we all live together to just get that one on one time. Remember how we used to go out cycling, or to museums, just the two of us when we were still courting you. Maybe we need to start doing that again. Just some us time.”
“I’d love that, Hyung,” Jimin said, sincerely.
“Then let’s make it happen. More us time.”
“Yeah,” Jimin said, softly. “I love you, Hyung.”
“I love you, too,” Namjoon said, pulling him close. “My sweet Jimin. I adore you.”
Jimin melted at that, clinging tight to his Hyung. He felt it, adored right down to his smallest part, the parts about himself that he liked the least.
He could already feel that tomorrow he’d get up and be ready for pack again. To play with Taehyung and do anything for Jungkook’s big eyes. To let Hoseok fuss over him, to spend quiet time with Yoongi, to let Seokjin know how much he appreciated them. And through all of it he’d carry this soft contentment in himself, this adoration.
Because Kim Namjoon loved him.
“Sleep now, love,” Namjoon said, the hand on his stomach starting to move, to reassuringly stroke his side. “I’ve got you.”
“You’ve got me,” Jimin agreed, and closed his eyes for his alpha, easily drifting into sleep.”