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The Umbrella Academy formed when seven children with special abilities took their very first breaths in this world.
On December fourth, 1992, Kim Seokjin was the first to be born. Three months later on March ninth, 1993, Min Yoongi was born. Almost a year later on February eighteenth, 1994, Jung Hoseok was born and seven months later in that same year on September sixteenth, Kim Namjoon was born. On October thirteenth, 1995, Park Jimin was born with Kim Taehyung following two months later on December thirty-first. Two years after that on September first, Jeon Jeongguk, the last of Kim Namjoon’s brothers was born.
None of them are biologically related, yet that has never made much of a difference anyhow. What they do all have in common though is the fact that at the beginning of the days on which they were born, none of their mothers were pregnant.
None of their parents wanted to keep them either. Dad bought them all one by one, covering up everything about their adoptions and births by throwing his money at the problem. But Namjoon realized at a very young age that their father throws money at anything that inconveniences him even slightly, so the fact that Dad bought them isn’t especially surprising to him.
Now though, Hoseok is lying in the infirmary with Mom and Pogo hovering over him as they check all the different machines hooked up to him. Namjoon stands in the doorway as his brothers sit in a line of chairs not far from Hoseok’s bed.
Dad was in the foyer to welcome them back from their latest mission, but then Namjoon carried a still bleeding Hoseok in and he ordered them to the infirmary. He left as soon as Mom and Pogo had descended upon Hoseok and has not come back.
Namjoon feels sick thinking of the fact that there was no concern to be found on his father’s face when they came home with Hoseok heavily injured. Dad was surprised, of course, but he wasn’t worried. The only things to be found in his expression were his usual cold, calculating gaze and the slanted twist of his mouth Namjoon has always associated with disappointment.
Namjoon and his brothers came home covered in Hoseok’s blood and their Father was disappointed.
He remembers how Their limbs fought with Hoseok as he tried to call Them back. In hindsight, it was obvious that Hoseok was struggling, but Namjoon thought he had everything in control. He thought that Hoseok was more than capable of corralling Them back into submission while their brothers cleared the area.
He was already in the process of turning his back on his brother when Hoseok screamed. Namjoon spun on the spot at the sound, just in time for the first spray of blood from Hoseok’s chest to splatter on Namjoon’s neck and chin.
His brother’s blood was hot as it landed on his throat, but Namjoon was more interested in the coiling limbs spiraling around Hoseok’s small form. They created a buffer between his brother and the rest of the world, not allowing anyone to close in.
Namjoon was frozen in place, not understanding what was happening. Then he caught sight of the tears on Hoseok’s face and found himself moving, cutting down anything that got in the way of him reaching his brother.
The rest is a blur, but later Jeongguk will tell him that they all went on a rampage in a desperate attempt to get to their brother. Jeongguk will tell him all about the men they killed as he tugs on his shorts and fights to stay in place, aching to jump away from this conversation entirely. Namjoon will reach out and squeeze Jeongguk’s hand, tethering him to the here and now as Jeongguk fulfills his role as the intelligent Number Five by giving Namjoon the information he needs to submit his report to Dad.
What Namjoon does remember is sidestepping the remaining limbs refusing to tuck Themselves back into Hoseok’s chest, remembers gripping his brother’s shoulders, and he remembers refusing to let go as Hoseok pleaded with him to get back. They were still intent on destroying everything, Hoseok included, and Namjoon thought that if today was the day They finally killed his brother, then he would at least make sure that he would be the last thing Hoseok saw as he died in Namjoon’s arms.
Yoongi had cut off Their remaining limbs and Namjoon found himself crying as Hoseok’s screams grew louder before his eyes rolled back and he went limp in Namjoon’s embrace, passing out from the pain. Jimin had kneeled by his side and shakily pressed his fingers to Hoseok’s neck, exhaling in relief when he found his pulse. Taehyung had dropped to his knees on Namjoon’s other side and found Hoseok’s pulse as well, confirming for himself that he was still alive even if his ability to converse with the dead would have confirmed that enough for him. Jeongguk had been the one to coax them back outside and jumped them all home, stumbling in the foyer as they landed. Seokjin had rushed from Dad’s side to catch a swooning Jeongguk before he could crack his head open on the floor, following after them to the infirmary.
Now they sit in a line by Hoseok’s bed, watching as his chest is stitched closed. Mom had been thorough in her examination, her usual easy-going smile gone as she worked. Pogo helped administer the medicine, rolling in tray after tray of supplies that Mom required, and handing them to her when she would silently hold out one of her hands. Now Pogo is wiping Hoseok clean, getting rid of the blood that Namjoon himself is still drenched with.
The others have already trudged off to wash up and change their clothes, the only evidence of Hoseok’s critical condition being a blood-soaked Namjoon and Hoseok himself. Namjoon hasn’t been able to tear his eyes off Hoseok, much less leave the room. Mom had tried to usher him out when his other brothers left to clean themselves, but Namjoon planted himself in the doorway and set his chin in that way Mom loves to tease him about his stubbornness with. She had only patted his head and returned to Hoseok’s side when it became clear that Namjoon was not going to leave.
The smell of blood and antiseptic is not pleasant and neither is the dried sweat or flakes of blood Namjoon can feel rubbing off his skin each time he shifts his feet. He should go and clean up as well but Hoseok is lying on that table, still unconscious. His chest rises and falls with each of his breaths, the heat monitor hooked up to him relaying his weak heartbeat for everyone in the infirmary to hear.
It takes Namjoon a moment to realize that Seokjin is tugging on his sleeve, but once he does he turns to face his oldest brother and instantly crumbles on the spot.
He does his best to choke back his sobs but that only succeeds in making the noise worse. Tears blur his vision as Seokjin leads him slowly away from the eyes of the others. He stumbles when they reach the stairs and grips onto his brother’s arm, leaning the majority of his weight into Seokjin’s side as they start climbing the steps.
Seokjin takes him to the closest bathroom and tugs his blood-drenched shirt off, waiting for Namjoon to get the memo. Namjoon wipes his face in vain, gives up on looking presentable, and unbuttons his pants. He can hear the showerhead turn on soon after, but continues to undress as he cries.
Soft hands lead him towards the bathtub and help him step in, patting his head once before the shower curtain swings closed. Namjoon looks down at the blood on his hands and blindly reaches out for a luffa, scrubbing madly at his body anywhere he can reach.
The water goes from dark red to bright pink before it is clear again and Namjoon still finds himself scrubbing. He thinks of thoroughly washing his hair, but merely steps under the showerhead and watches the water pour down until it is clear once more. His knuckles are a light pink from irritation, the crease between his palm and inner wrist stained red.
Namjoon drops the luffa as he stares at his hands, stares at the blood he can still feel gushing from Hoseok’s chest as he held him.
His brother will pull through. Namjoon knows that Mom and Pogo would not be working so dedicatedly if he wasn’t going to make it. Hoseok will live to see another day but Dad will only care about how long it will be until Hoseok can join them on missions again.
They came home with one of their brothers bleeding out and Dad didn’t even care.
Namjoon is Number One. The leader of the Umbrella Academy. Oh, Captain, my Captain, when Taehyung and Yoongi want to fondly tease him. He is the one who the others look to when forming plans. He is the one who his brothers come to when they are having difficulties they can’t talk to Mom or Dad about. Namjoon is not the oldest out of all of them, but that hasn’t stopped him from taking care of his brothers as an older sibling would.
Having inhuman strength means he struggled a lot to handle whatever was given to him with gentle care. He did not wish to accidentally break more objects than he needed to whilst learning how to control his power. He put in a lot of effort to curb his strength, to know without a doubt that he could reach over to pat one of his brothers on the back and not crush their spine. Dad praised him for his control as well as he praised any of them - which Namjoon is now realizing wasn’t well at all. Despite that, Namjoon didn’t learn control for his dad. He instilled control over his strength so that he knew without a doubt that he would never harm any of his brothers. No matter how angry he might be with one of them, he never allows his hold on control to falter.
Sometimes Namjoon will step down too hard and crack the floor beneath his foot if he isn’t paying enough attention though. Just last week, he had broken one of Hoseok’s action figures when he went to pick it up and worked himself into a fit trying to apologize. For his part, Hoseok had only smiled and patted his head, telling him it wasn’t his fault and that it was just a toy, so there was no need for tears. Namjoon still disagrees about there not being a need for tears but he holds onto the memory of his brother’s kind smile and shuts off the water.
The shower curtain is opened by Seokjin shortly afterward, a large fluffy towel held open in his arms. Namjoon barely pays attention as his brother drapes the towel over his shoulders and helps him clamber out of the bathtub. Seokjin dries him off methodically, quiet as he pats Namjoon down and wraps the towel around him once he’s done.
Seokjin keeps him steady as they walk to Namjoon’s room, the house unnaturally silent. Usually, the buzz of the television Mom has in the kitchen or Jimin’s record player would be filling the hallways up with noise, but everyone is downstairs in the infirmary right now. Almost everyone anyway.
Namjoon sits on his bed once they have reached his room and stares at his bare feet as his older brother goes through his drawers and wardrobe. Seokjin leaves the clean clothes he picked out on the bed beside Namjoon and tilts his head to the side in silent question. After Namjoon shakes his head, Seokjin steps out and closes the door to give him privacy as he changes.
As the oldest, Seokjin has seen all of their brothers naked more than once. Nudity isn’t something they shy away from, not when they are all brothers who would rather tease each other for a weird birthmark on their leg than to actually look at one another when clothes are not a part of the equation. But they value each other’s privacy regardless.
The clothes Seokjin picked out are Namjoon’s favorites: a long-sleeved shirt that drapes over his knuckles and his comfiest pair of pajama bottoms. Namjoon knocks on his door when he’s done changing and steps back as it swings open to reveal his oldest brother with a worried look on his face.
Namjoon crumbles again, falling forward until his forehead is pressed into Seokjin’s sternum. Seokjin gasps when they make contact, Namjoon’s strength probably too much at the moment, but his brother’s hand is on the back of his head before Namjoon can convince himself to pull away. He buries his sobs there, grabbing at the ends of Seokjin’s shirt as he moves in closer. His brother runs a hand through his hair and wraps his arm around him, keeping him tucked into his chest as he cries.
Neither of them says a word.
When Namjoon has no more tears to shed, Seokjin grabs the towel from earlier and wipes his face clean. Namjoon sniffles and stays standing in the doorway until his brother grabs his wrist and leads him back down the hallway, back down the stairs, and back to the infirmary where their brothers are.
Hoseok still has not regained consciousness when they return, but Mom and Pogo have finished patching him up. They clean up and throw away what cannot be reused, a white bedsheet pulled over Hoseok’s shoulders as he sleeps. Mom bends down to kiss Hoseok’s forehead before she leaves the infirmary to start on dinner, Pogo on her heels.
Seokjin leads him past their brothers until Hoseok is within touching distance and Namjoon has somehow taken hold of Hoseok’s limp hand in his. Soon enough, his other brothers join him by his side and they all look down to watch their brother breathe.
Namjoon should say something, should offer comfort to the others but all he can do is hold Hoseok’s hand tight.
The only one who speaks is Jimin, his voice low and careful. Namjoon cannot help but begin crying along with the others when his younger brother says, “I heard a rumor that you’re going to be fine.”
Tomorrow, Dad will expect a detailed report on what happened today on their mission. Tomorrow, Dad will run them all into the ground until they are left exhausted from training. Tomorrow, Dad will make Seokjin stay by Hoseok’s bedside to tend to his every whim and need. Tomorrow, Namjoon will look at their adopted father, hating every breath their father breathes as he thinks of a pale Hoseok lying in this bed while looking smaller than he ever has before.
Today, Namjoon looks at his siblings beside him then at their brother lying in this hospital bed before them and thinks, I won’t let this happen again.