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namjoon finds it stuffed under a pair of dirty underwear. he almost misses it, that’s how unprepared he was to find something like that. he was about to toss it away when he got a whiff of the contents. and because he was a teenager once, there’s no doubt in his mind what it is.
he shoves the rest of the laundry into the machine and shoves the baggie into his pocket. he turns the washer on and leans against the wall. as the thump of the washing drones on, he wonders what he’s supposed to do.
jungkook is 16. he’s been a parent for 16 long years, yet he has no idea what to do. jungkook rarely gets into trouble, and when he does it’s something mild. that, or seokjin handles it. he can’t ask yoongi for help, cause he knows his brother and he knows that yoongi would laugh his ass off without really helping.
he could go online, but he’s not sure what will pop up. googling “what do i do when i find pot in my kids laundry,” probably isn’t the best parenting tool.
he hears footsteps from upstairs. he forgot seokjin had the day off, so he’s probably watching tv in the bedroom or reading. sooner or later namjoon will have to tell him.
he decides to bite the bullet, and with a sigh heads off upstairs. he unconsciously fiddles with the bag inside his pocket, gnawing on his bottom lip. what should he say to seokjin? hey, guess what i found in kookie’s clothes? weed? or honey, our son is a pothead?
he takes a deep breath when he stops at the door to their bedroom. it’s open a little, and through the crack namjoon can barely make out seokjin sitting up in bed. it looks like he’s reading something on his ipad. he lingers there for a moment, still unsure what to say.
he isn’t sure how seokjin will react. he’s usually calm and level-headed, but with jungkook he can get irrational. when it comes to jungkook, seokjin’s calm demeanor can change in an instant.
“joon, what are you doing there? come in.” namjoon snaps his head up when seokjin speaks. the older is smiling at him, gesturing with a hand to step inside.
namjoon does, fingers tightening on the bag in his pocket. he gets halfway inside and stops. he fidgets and looks everywhere except seokjin.
“baby, what’s wrong?” namjoon can hear the worry in his tone.
“i need to tell you something, but don’t - don’t freak out.”
seokjin’s eyebrows furrow and he drops the ipad onto the bed. “what is it?”
rather than saying anything, namjoon reaches into his pocket and pulls out the baggie. he holds it out in front of him. it takes a few seconds, but seokjin’s face flushes in recognition. his eyebrows twitch in anger.
“i found it stuffed in jungkook’s laundry. i don’t know if it’s his or - “
“it has to be his. and he was hiding it from us.” seokjin stands from the bed. he grabs the bag from namjoon’s hand and stares into it. after contemplating it for a second he shoves it into his pocket and lets out a sigh.
“we'll have to talk to him about this.”
of course they have to, but that doesn’t mean he wants to. he’s not sure what he’d even say to jungkook, and god, it’s going to be so awkward.
“how?” he ends up asking.
seokjin shrugs. “sit him down after dinner, ask him when he started and how often he does it. honestly i’m more upset that he hid it from us.”
seokjin’s number one “you-will-be-grounded-if-you-break-it” rule has always been lying. he hates his kid hiding things from them; especially hates not being able to help. they’ve had an open-ear policy for years. namjoon and seokjin promise not to get angry if jungkook comes to them with something troubling.
“okay.”
“after dinner” comes sooner than namjoon would have liked. before he knows it the dishes are in the washer, and jungkook’s sitting in front of them with a scowl on his face. his arms are crossed and he’s pouting. if namjoon wasn’t so nervous, he’d almost coo at how cute his kookie looks.
he likes to act all teenage angst, but deep down he’s a little bunny. their bunny.
“jungkook, dad found something of yours today.”
jungkook barely reacts. he shifts on his seat, obviously tense, but other than that his expression remains neutral.
seokjin sighs at his obvious front. he pulls the bag from his pocket and sets it down in the middle of the table. jungkook’s mouth twitches, and he averts his eyes.
“is this yours, jungkook? and you better not lie,” seokjin cuts in when jungkook opens his mouth.
namjoon watches from the side. he feels like an audience member watching from the sidelines, but seokjin’s always been better at disciplining. he’s fully capable of it, and can be strict when needed, but seokjin is scary. there’s something in his aura so dominating that makes him seem like an immovable object when he’s upset.
“....maybe,” jungkook bites out.
“ jungkook, ” seokjin scolds.
“fine!” jungkook yells, throwing his hands up in the air. “it’s mine!” then he turns his anger towards namjoon. “why were you snooping through my room anyway?”
“i was doing your laundry.” and find a better hiding spot , namjoon doesn’t say.
“whatever,” jungkook rolls his eyes, “stop going into my room when i’m not home.”
“jungkook, don’t yell at your father.”
“i’m not yelling!”
which is true, jungkook isn’t yelling. yet. jungkook rarely yells, instead he speaks loud, angry. his voice sounds ten times too big for his body when he gets angry. sometimes namjoon wishes he would yell, instead. he wishes jungkook’s voice would crack, or falter, or sound like a 16 year old.
“well don’t turn the conversation around, this is about you. so, how long have you been smoking for?”
“it’s just weed, dad!” jungkook glares at seokjin. his bunny-like front teeth poke out from his mouth.
“and just weed can turn into a lot of other things, jungkook,” namjoon finally says. he’s pretty sure jungkook wouldn’t do any hard drugs, but it still scares him to death. he’d do anything to keep jungkook safe.
jungkook’s laugh is condescending.
“we’re angry that you hid this from us, jungkook.” seokjin’s voice is tight, like he’s holding himself back from yelling. one more push from jungkook and he’ll explode.
“i knew you’d be pissed if i told you.”
“kookie, you know we don’t get angry when you come to us with stuff like this.” namjoon reaches across the table to grab jungkook’s hand. the younger pulls back, shooting a glare towards namjoon. namjoon pulls back as if he’s been shocked.
“ stop upsetting your father!” now seokjin’s yelling, mouth set in a straight line. he doesn’t put up with jungkook being rude, especially when it comes to namjoon.
“it’s not my fault he’s mushy! it was just weed, tell him to stop acting like i’m a meth addict!”
namjoon stands up. he needs to leave before he starts crying. he can’t let his son see him like that, even if he’s the one who caused it. he can’t prove jungkook right.
“i left something in the bedroom, i’m going to get it.” he knows it’s a shitty lie, knows that seokjin sees right through it. he doesn’t give them a chance to respond before he’s bolting up the stairs, sniffling back tears.
he’s not sure how long he stays up there. he’s cried himself dry, the pillow he used to cover his eyes has a wet patch right in the middle, and his eyes are itchy. the arguing he heard downstairs died out a few minutes ago, and it’s been silent ever since.
he’s about to doze off when someone opens the bedroom door. he expects it to be seokjin, to check up on his cry baby, over-sensitive husband. he almost starts crying again, until he hears the soft voice of his son.
“dad, are you awake?”
namjoon wipes his eyes frantically and sits up. he musters up a smile and pats the bed beside him.
“hi, kookie.”
guilt. that’s all jungkook feels. he made his father cry, said awful things, yet he’s still calling him “kookie”.
he runs into the bed like he did when he was a child. it takes namjoon off guard, almost knocking him off the bed. he rights himself with a laugh, arm around jungkook’s chest.
jungkook settles themselves so he’s hugging namjoon around the waist, speaking into his stomach.
“i’m sorry for what i said. it’s okay that you’re sensitive.”
namjoon laughs. it’s a little watery and shaky, but it’s still a laugh. he hugs jungkook closer, kisses the top of his hair.
he wishes he could keep jungkook like this forever. wrapped up in his arms, holding him close.
he jumps at the unexpected arms that wrap around his middle. “it’s just me.”
namjoon relaxes into seokjin’s hold. he listens to jungkook’s breath even out until it eventually falls into a lull. he keeps his mouth open when he sleeps, which namjoon finds adorable.
“are you okay?” seokjin rubs his hip, mouth pressed against his earlobe.
“i’m fine.”
“alright, well you know he didn’t mean it.”
“i know, he’s a teenager after all.” namjoon smiles down at jungkook and runs a hand through his hair.
“yeah,” seokjin kisses his neck, “i told him that we can’t really stop him from smoking, but we wish he wouldn’t, and if he does to at least be careful about it.”
namjoon’s happy with that. he knows jungkook is a teenager - god, where did the years go? - and he knows they can’t shelter him forever. he has to grow and make his own mistakes.
“i wish he would stay a little kid forever,” namjoon murmurs.
he can feel seokjin’s chuckle through his back.
“me too.”