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Hoseok wakes up with an armful of Taehyung. This is a regular occurrence. He's on his side facing the wall and Taehyung is squashed between the two of them, chest to chest, forehead to forehead. It's a little awkward but Hoseok is used to it. He stretches out and groans sleepily when his back cracks and his muscles strain weakly. The curtains are open and it's still dark; he sinks back into the mattress, relieved. Behind him, he can feel Jimin clinging to his arms with his face nuzzled between Hoseok's bony shoulder blades, digging into his spine a little. He can tell it's Jimin because Jimin snores like a bear, and he can feel his breath fanning out over his bare back. He bets he's been drooled on, too.
A little less normal is Jeongguk, curled up on top of Taehyung like he's a particularly soft mattress and not a gangly teenager. Usually Jeongguk avoids these cuddle puddles at all costs because he's the youngest and that means he has something to prove in rejecting any and all forms of gentle comfort his hyungs have to offer. Nobody really minds (with the exception of Jimin), they've all been there, done that, came out the other side more or less unaffected. Sometimes they sneak into each others beds, but it's practically habit by now. Hoseok still wonders what the occasion is, because the maknae is as far from physically affectionate as Yoongi is from verbally affectionate. And Jeongguk, while perhaps the quietest among them during sleep, is by far the clingiest. Now, he's got one arm wrapped snugly around Taehyung's thigh, while the other is snaked out across Hoseok's waist and wrapped up in Jimin's over-sized night shirt.
Even Jeongguk is less surprising than the discovery of Namjoon draped over all over their legs like a giant shirtless blanket, though. He's snoring louder than Jimin but it's muffled by the quilt dropped on his face, probably a completely intentional ploy to keep the volume down a little. That sounds like a very Seokjin thing to do because he's the one most sensitive to noise when he's trying to sleep, and he's also curled up at the foot of the bed with his head resting on Namjoon's abdomen. The blanket on Namjoon's face is probably the one he dragged over from his own bed because Seokjin can't stand the cold - but it's otherwise occupied, so he's supplemented by pulling Yoongi into the fray. Yoongi, who is squashed between Seokjin's leg with his arms wrapped around Seokjin's waist, is all but invisible from where Hoseok can just barely crane his neck enough to take in the scene. He thinks they look more like a pile of dead bodies than a pile of sleeping boys, all sprawled on top of one another with zero finesse and even less dignity in their state of undress. In fact, Hoseok is pretty sure Taehyung crawled into bed with him wearing nothing but his underwear.
Hoseok used to be weirded out when he woke up to an armful of stripped Taehyung; now he appreciates him for the free space heater that he is. It all works out because Taehyung is a cuddler and Hoseok is a cuddler, and Snuggling In Hoseok's Bed was their thing before it was the groups to share.
Then everyone else took their PDA as an open invitation all at the same time, and now they take every opportunity to crash the cuddle session. Hoseok isn't sure who started the tradition or how they all know to get up in the middle of the night and migrate to Hoseok's tiny twin bed, but once they started they never managed to stop. Hoseok kind of likes it, though. Every once and a while. Mostly when he's feeling really lonely or homesick or stressed. It feels like being loved, which he knows he is, but it doesn't hurt to confirm it. Plus if he's honest with himself he likes the feeling of having someone in his arms, and he doesn't think that one needs explaining. Especially Taehyung, because Taehyung is warm and laughs at their rank morning breath and they're just the right size for each other. They discussed as much once when they were really drunk at an after party, because as it turns out that's what Taehyung likes to talk about before he blacks out.
Namjoon snores wildly near the end of the bed; Seokjin reaches up on reflex to smack him in the chest. He quiets down a little, but is still obnoxiously loud.
When he looks down, Taehyung is just barely clinging to consciousness. He looks content though, even pressed against the wall. Hoseok stares back because Taehyung has odd episodes during the night sometimes, and it's better to just roll with whatever he says.
This time, Taehyung squirms up and pecks him on the nose, displacing Jeongguk a little who in turn kicks Namjoon in the thigh. He snorts, and then goes silent. Hoseok, meanwhile, watches Taehyung rub his forehead into Hoseok's chest and mumble something about going to sleep. He stares and then ruffles Taehyung's hair aggressively, not really sure what to do with the intense affection he keeps forgetting Taehyung is capable of making him feel. They settle back into each other and Hoseok feels overwhelmed, because this is important. This is something he's going to remember when he's fifty; he's going to look back and say, that was the happiest I've ever felt.
In the end he copes by drifting back to sleep, wrapped up in Taehyung and everyone else and feeling solid, grounded, complete.
