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namjoon tries to hide his discomfort as he shifts on seokjin’s lap. it’s not that he’s uncomfortable sitting there, he actually likes the weight of seokjin’s arms around his waist. what’s bothering him is the assault of scents surrounding him. they’re sitting backstage at a music show, waiting for the end so they can go home. namjoon wishes it’d finish soon, he’d much rather be cuddling his alphas and watching a movie. they already performed and changed out of their outfits into comfy clothes.
jimin, jungkook and taehyung are all crowded around jungkook’s phone, watching something and laughing. hoseok and yoongi are off on their own, both scrolling through their phones. which leaves he and seokjin, sitting near the edge of the room together. seokjin dragged him onto his lap as soon as everyone changed. he claimed he wanted to feel “his joonie” in his arms. namjoon rolled his eyes but couldn’t hide his blush.
but now he’s kind of regretting it. usually sensory overload isn’t too common, because at music shows they do their best to limit everyone’s scents. either by scent-reducing air fresheners or scent-blocking curtains, the commingle of scents is usually low. for some reason, that’s not the case today. namjoon can see groups of people milling around outside, and each time they pass the doorway their scent hits him full-force.
being an omega makes him overly sensitive to scents, which leads to over-sensitivity. when that happens, it kind of feels like he’s moving under a fog. his brain won’t think properly, and all he wants to do is lay on the ground and let whoever comes, come. maybe it’s his own fault that the scents are affecting him so much today. he did feel kind of groggy this morning, but assumed it was because he stayed up late last night.
he turns his head to the side and nuzzles underneath seokjin’s chin. seokjin chuckles and places a hand on the small of his back. namjoon subtly breathes in against his scent gland, hoping that getting a lungful of his alpha’s scent will calm him down. if seokjin notices anything he doesn’t mention it. namjoon wraps his arms around seokjin’s neck and hugs him as close as he can. he just wants to go home.
“you okay joonie?” seokjin asks, lips pressed against namjoon’s hair.
“yeah, hyung,” namjoon shrugs. he doesn’t want to tell seokjin that he’s getting overwhelmed by the scent of other alphas and betas. he’d make a big deal out of it and probably complain to the staff.
seokjin accepts his answer and doesn’t question it. they sit in silence for the next few minutes, the only noise the muffled chaos of the hallway outside and the murmurs of the other members. seokjin keeps rubbing his back and namjoon nearly falls asleep right there. of course, like always, the moment he’s feeling content is the moment his bladder lets him know he needs to use the bathroom. he groans, he doesn’t really want to move, but there’s an hour drive back to the dorm and he knows he won’t be able to hold it.
he pulls away from seokjin. “i have to use the bathroom, hyung. i’ll be back in a minute.”
“alright,” seokjin nods and lets namjoon go.
he prepares himself to walk into the chaos of a million different scents. he holds his breath and dashes down the hallway. he has to pass a few dozen people, but he tries his best not to bump into anyone. he finally makes it to the bathroom. he lets his breath go the moment he closes the door behind himself. he takes a second to lean against the door, catching his breath and shaking away the fogginess in his brain.
when he feels like he can move again, he heads into one of the cubicles. he does his business and goes to the sink to wash his hands. he’s staring at himself in the mirror, trying not to cringe at his noticeable eye bags, when he sees the reflection of someone else coming in. right away namjoon can tell he’s an alpha. his scent is like a boulder slamming into his chest. he smiles politely at namjoon before he goes into a stall.
namjoon has to steady himself against the sink to center himself before he tries to walk away. the world feels like it’s on an axis and he needs to get out. he takes one more steadying breath then pushes out of the bathroom. he tries to makes his way back to their waiting room, but when he’s halfway down the hallway a group of people come around a corner and smack right into him.
“oh sorry, man.” the alpha grasps namjoon’s shoulder to steady him.
“it’s okay,” namjoon mutters. he shakes the man’s hand off him and side-shuffles past the group. the fogginess has gotten so much worse, he thinks it’s because of how close he and the alphas came. he can barely even breathe without wanting to collapse onto the ground. but he needs to get back to the group. if he lets the scents get to him, he’ll be fucked. he doesn’t want to fuck up their image with a scent-crazed, shameless omega leader.
he has to brace his shoulder on the wall and use that as a crutch to continue walking down the hallway. he hopes no one is around to see him - he’s sure he looks like a drunk, stumbling down the hallway and missing steps. he feels like he’s drunk.
he smacks into someone. again. he looks up and nearly whines in relief. the scent of his alpha pushes past all the rest. he lunges towards taehyung and shoves his face right into the crook of his neck. he rubs his nose across his scent gland and falls lax in his hold.
“hey joon, what’s up?” taehyung asks. it’s clear from his tone that he wasn’t expecting this reaction. he wraps his arms around namjoon and has to use all his strength to keep him upright.
namjoon tries to speak but no words come out. he doesn’t even think he could explain what he’s feeling. his brain is all muddled up and it feels like he’s swaying on a boat. all he can do is shove himself impossibly closer to taehyung. the alpha rubs his back and leans his chin on the top of namjoon’s head.
“you okay, puppy?”
namjoon can only shake his head. taehyung cups the back of his head and starts massaging his nape. he leans down and presses a kiss to the top of his hair.
“let’s get back to the others, yeah?”
taehyung starts guiding namjoon back to the waiting room. namjoon stays pressed to his chest, face hidden in his neck. the steady output of taehyung’s pheromones are helping clear his head a little, but it’s nowhere near enough. he’s so deep in overload that he’ll probably need to smell his alpha’s for hours.
the second they make it back into their room he stumbles out of taehyung’s hold. he looks to where seokjin was sitting earlier and sees him still there. he stumbles over to him and falls onto his lap in a pile of limbs.
“well hello to you too,” he laughs. when namjoon doesn’t respond and only changes his position so he’s sitting facing seokjin, with his face pressed into his neck, seokjin’s joking tone fades. concern takes its place.
“baby, what’s wrong?” he starts stroking his hand through namjoon’s hair.
“too - too many scents,” he manages to say. he prods the tip of his nose against seokjin’s scent gland, hoping to make more scent come out. he knows he looks ridiculous - sitting in seokjin’s lap, smelling his neck. but he doesn’t care, he just wants to think properly again. just wants his alpha’s scents and that’s all.
seokjin coos in sympathy. “oh my poor joonie, the scents are pretty strong today, huh?”
“don’t they have protocol to avoid this from happening?” hoseok says from somewhere behind them. he sounds a little bit agitated.
“usually. maybe today they forgot, or something.”
“that’s bullshit,” yoongi says, sounding downright annoyed.
“it is, but right now let’s worry about getting joonie better,” seokjin says, always the most level-headed. that’s why he’s head alpha, after all.
“how does he get better? this has never happened before.”
“if he scents us for a few hours he should be fine. but going home would be best right now.”
namjoon shifts in seokjin’s lap. “wanna go home, hyung.” his voice is whiny but his tough-leader act has gone out the window and he could care less.
“alright, yoongi will tell the manager and we’ll go home baby.”
namjoon kisses seokjin’s neck in thanks.
when they get home namjoon goes right for the couch. he smushes his face against the cushions, smelling the lingering scents of all his alphas. they’ve had this same couch since the beginning, so it’s a little tattered, but it’s forever ingrained with their scents. their home.
he can hear the others bustling around the room. before he can whine for the much-needed attention, he feels the couch dip by his side. he turns over and looks up at yoongi. he puts his hand on namjoon’s hip, slipping underneath his shirt.
“are you feeling a little better?”
namjoon nods. the ride home helped clear his head a lot. being surrounded by his alpha’s scents, in a compact car with nowhere for the scent to go, was like a scent-bath. he still feels a little foggy, but it’s so much better than before.
“good, baby. do you want me to lay with you?”
namjoon scoots back and makes room for yoongi on the couch. the alpha lays down beside him. it takes a few seconds and restless moving, before they find a comfortable spot. namjoon’s back is to the couch, with yoongi spooning him in front. his face pressed against yoongi’s scent gland and arms around his waist.
it doesn’t take him long to fall asleep like that. (if jimin walks in and takes pictures of he and yoongi sleeping, well, no one needs to know.)
namjoon wakes up out of the fog. he blinks his eyes open and turns around on the couch - wait, he feels soft sheets underneath him that were not there before. he spots jimin laying by his side. wasn’t yoongi there before? he tries to sit up but a groan stops him. arms drop around his waist and drag him back down onto the bed. it’s their pack bed, he realizes.
“go back to sleep, joon.” jungkook doesn’t sound very awake. he forces namjoon down onto his chest (not that namjoon puts up much of a fight. he loves cuddling).
“hey, don’t hog him kookie,” jimin whines from behind him. namjoon tries to face jimin but jungkook pouts and drapes a leg over him.
“lemme get cuddle time with our omega, hyung.”
namjoon muffles his snicker in the fabric of jungkook’s shirt. he hears jimin scoff. another set of arms wrap around his chest and his back bumps against a chest. jimin kisses the back of his neck, lightly nipping at the skin underneath his jaw.
namjoon can’t help but squirm in pleasure. jimin chuckles against his neck, pulling back with a nip to his scent gland.
“hyungs will get really mad if we rile you up, baby.”
namjoon doesn’t feel up for it, either, so he doesn’t mind.
“jin hyung is making dinner, you should sleep more before it’s done.”
namjoon likes that idea. sleeping, cuddling, then eating with his alphas? that sounds like the best idea ever.