Work Text:
Namjoon’s not the physically demonstrative type.
'Actions speak louder than words' is a phrase he’s always had a problem with. He understands its meaning -even agrees with it to a certain extent-, but often contemplates all the reasons why the logic behind it is flawed.
As someone who likes being alone with his thoughts and rarely says anything he hasn’t mulled deeply over and doesn’t actually mean, he believes that diminishing the impact words can have on a person is, frankly speaking, a very stupid thing to do. Yes, sometimes words can come off as empty promises if they’re not being followed up by a consistent behavior, but Namjoon is a firsthand witness to the fact that words remain in someone’s conscience far longer than actions ever could.
In Namjoon’s case, loving and supportive words are his favorite way of showing and receiving affection. But he understands that what works for him may not necessarily work for the people he cares about.
So he decides to explore some other ways of loving.
i.
To be fair, Namjoon’s never made a blanket fort in his life. Maybe this is the reason why it falls down as soon as he turns around to see it.
He still doesn’t understand, though. He’s got the chairs, the blankets, the pillows. He’s looked at dozens of pictures on pinterest and they don’t seem to be as hard to make as what he’s currently going through.
He stands in front of the mess of fabric and crosses his arms over his chest, analyzing the scene and trying to locate the cause of the fall. It cannot be the pillows, seeing as they are inside the fort and not part of its structure; the chairs are just there, unmoving, it’s impossible they are at fault; so there’s only one right answer: the blankets.
Namjoon steps closer and inspects the blankets laying on the floor. All had been well with them until he sat under the fort, the fabric not only touched his head and made it impossible for him to watch the TV but it fell over himself when he kneeled down to escape it too, also prohibiting him from watching the TV.
And quite honestly, if they couldn’t watch the TV, there was no point in building a fort in the first place. Jimin’s drunk request was to watch a romantic comedy under the security of a handmade fortress; it was pointless to go through all this trouble if he wouldn’t be able to meet one half of his expectations.
With a disappointed huff, he finally decides to put his pride aside and search on the internet how to make a blanket fort and follow whatever thing wikihow has to say. They always help him when he needs it most.
Twenty minutes later, Namjoon has proudly rearranged the entire layout of the place. He pushed back the couch to make enough room for a couple of more chairs, over which he once again put the blankets, this time placing books over the seats to prevent the fabric from falling all over his face.
Once satisfied with his job -and after checking with his watch that the fort lasted at least sixty seconds without falling apart-, Namjoon goes to the kitchen to bring all the snacks he bought earlier back to the living room.
He made sure to get every sweet he could think of that Jimin liked. He’s got cherry lollipops, strawberry flavored gummies, dark chocolate bars, tons of candies, he even got a box of Froot Loops.
He is ready for tonight.
Except Jimin is nowhere to be seen.
Namjoon had told the younger a few days ago that he had a surprise prepared for him today. He also made sure to tell the other members to stay off the living room because it was Jimin and Namjoon time and they didn’t want to be disturbed.
(He didn’t use those same exact words but that’s what everyone else understood, anyways.)
He doesn’t pay it any mind at first; Jimin is not known to be always on time so he has no reason to worry. It’s after he finishes an entire episode of the drama he’s currently watching that he starts thinking something bad must’ve happened.
He checks their chat to see if he missed any text but it only shows the conversation they had this morning. After sending him a few messages and not getting any response, he tries calling his phone but gives up after the ninth beep. It’s obvious he isn’t going to answer.
He crawls away from the fort, careful not to step on any of the food, and walks towards the hallway to get out and go looking for him. The younger was supposed to come home from the studio at around 8 PM, but probably lost track of time.
He’s about to open the door when he gets a text from their groupchat, a picture of Hoseok and Jimin at a restaurant with their mouths full of food and the caption ‘had to talk this one out of overworking himself with the promise of food, can you believe it?’. Namjoon’s eyes widen and he walks back to his room with a bitter shadow of rejection in his stomach, head down and the threat of tears in his eyes.
So when a few hours later he hears the front door open followed by a gasp, a little bit of satisfaction crawls up in his chest. He feels shitty about it, but a small part of himself wants the younger to feel just as bad.
It soon dies down, however, when a sobbing Jimin bursts up into his room and drapes himself all over Namjoon’s back with a string of ‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.’.
Namjoon could never really stay mad at Jimin for too long.
“It’s okay, don’t worry about it.”
“It’s not, though. I promised I’d be here and I wasn’t.” the younger sniffles.
Namjoon sits up and ruffles Jimin’s hair, shrugging his shoulders. “It’s not too late. We can still watch a movie if you want?”
“Please.” He looks at the older, tear stained face scrunched up in an apologetic pout.
Namjoon goes through the rest of the evening reassuring Jimin in between movie scenes and sweet treats, telling him he’s fine and to not berate himself over this.
It’s not how he planned on spending the night, but he’s with Jimin so he doesn’t mind that much.
ii.
Namjoon got the idea a week ago, when he was going through his phone gallery and found a picture of Jungkook holding up one of his paintings with a big proud smile adorning his face, hints of stars in his eyes that only something he adores with all his heart is able to bring to life.
He then suggested painting together to the younger and, after receiving a more than enthusiastic ‘yes!’, he called BigHit’s staff and reserved an entire room for themselves. He consecutively went up to the closest art store and bought the biggest canvas he could find along with acrylic paints of ten different colors and brushes of the most various sizes.
He sent Jungkook a picture of his purchases after and told him he was looking forward to painting together with him. Jungkook replied with an excited ‘me too, hyung!’ and at least fifteen heart emojis, making Namjoon smile sillily at his phone and shake his head in endearment.
The day arrives sooner than expected and Namjoon finds himself preparing the space for the mess of paint that’s surely going to happen in the next few hours. He’s already cleared up the room of furniture and is now laying old newspapers and magazines on the floor. Once he’s done, he rids the big canvas of the plastic it’s wrapped in and positions it over his chosen wall.
He finally receives a text from Jungkook saying he’s already in the building, so he decides to leave the room to fill up a few pots with water. He doesn’t take too long, the bathroom being no more than a dozen steps away, and returns two minutes later with a smug smirk on his face at being able to balance the three jars without spilling any liquid. He kicks the door open and gets excited to show the younger this great feat after he sees Jungkook’s familiar black backpack laying on the wooden floor, but then he meets his figure.
And when he does, his shoulders slump in a sad manner. “Oh.”
Jungkook’s currently moving the canvas Namjoon bought for the both of them to use aside, and is placing his own -significantly smaller- one in front of it.
Namjoon puts the cups down on the floor and closes the door, Jungkook turning around at the sound and smiling happily at him.
“You’re here!” Jungkook claps.
“Hi.” Namjoon says, much less enthusiastic than his best friend, and moves to sit down next to where the younger’s standing, filled jars of water in hand.
Jungkook walks towards his backpack and takes out a white plastic bag with what seems to be acrylic paints inside it and his speaker. He brings them towards his canvas and lays them down gently. “I didn’t think I needed to bring any paint because you bought so much, but your canvas is much bigger so I wasn’t sure.” Jungkook mentions, sitting down.
Namjoon is glad their backs are facing each other’s because Jungkook doesn’t see the flinch his face does at his words. “Yeah, I think I went a little bit overboard.” Namjoon feigns a chuckle and Jungkook giggles.
“Maybe, but I’m sure you’ll do great, hyungie.” Jungkook connects his phone to the bluetooth speaker and starts playing his chill playlist that Namjoon is so used to hearing at home.
They work in silence for a few hours, the tranquil songs a nice background for the relaxing atmosphere they’ve created. They sometimes turn around to see the other’s progress and ohh and ahh at their works, but no further conversation really takes place. Neither of them mind it, both content to share a quiet moment with one of their closest friends.
It’s when Jungkook’s almost done and Namjoon is barely halfway through that they exchange more than a few words.
“Oh hyung.” Jungkook laments, looking at the house Namjoon is currently working on. “Why did you buy one so big? It’s gonna take you so long to finish it.”
The hairs on Namjoon’s neck spike up and he stops painting, looking down in embarrassment. “I thought we would work on it together.” The older mutters and he feels Jungkook freeze next to him.
“What?”
Namjoon shrugs and repeats himself, now more timid than before. “I bought it thinking we could paint something together, like both of us work in the same canvas.” It sounds worse when he says it out loud. “But it’s ok! I like it like this too!” He rushes to state; he doesn’t want Jungkook to feel bad for a misunderstanding that was mostly his fault.
“Hyungie.” Jungkook sits down with his chest facing Namjoon’s back and envelops his torso in a hug, face hidden away inside the crook of his neck. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
The older shrugs again. “You had already bought your canvas, it was pointless.”
“You know I wouldn’t have minded if I hadn’t used it.” Jungkook reassures but Namjoon doesn’t have anything to add so he just stays silent. The younger speaks after some moments. “Do you want me to help you finish it?”
And it’s not the same but Namjoon feels proud when he looks at the final result, even if you can clearly see the differences in styles between them and are able to tell exactly when Jungkook stepped in.
iii.
He’s gonna preface this by saying, he doesn’t know the first thing about football.
Despite this, Namjoon took mental note of the date of the match Yoongi mentioned to him he was excited about in passing, and has just ordered pizza to surprise the older with and watch the game together.
He figured it would be a nice idea to lend Yoongi an ear willing to listen to him rant about one of his favorite sports. He knows the older like the palm of his hand and is aware of his tendency to think he’s bothering people by talking about his interests. Namjoon wants him to stop silencing himself and thinks it a good idea to start over a football match.
Yoongi’s not yet home but he will be any minute now, so he’s in luck when the food arrives ten minutes before the start of the game and five minutes before Yoongi bursts through the door and runs towards the couch, flinging his shoes and jacket carelessly on the way in his haste to get to the TV as fast as possible.
When he arrives, he’s surprised to find not only the TV on but the correct channel tuned in. He stops in his tracks and, after sighing in relief at knowing that he didn’t miss the beginning of the match, he looks down at Namjoon with a frown.
“What are you doing?” He sits next to his best friend.
“Eating.” He says, after taking a bite of the pizza.
Yoongi rolls his eyes. “I can see that. I meant, what are you doing watching a football match? You don’t like football.” Yoongi reaches for a slice and Namjoon hands him a beer can. The older redirects his hands and takes the beer, opening it and taking a sip.
“I heard you say you wanted to watch today’s game and figured I could watch it with you.” Yoongi nods with his mouth full and takes his phone out of his hoodie. A few moments later, two pairs of steps are heard sprinting toward the living room.
Jungkook and Jimin come into view and throw themselves over the empty seats, looking frantically between their friends and the TV.
“Has it started?” Jungkook asks nervously, chewing on his lip.
Yoongi swallows loudly. “Nope. But it should any minute now.”
Namjoon shuts up after that; he feels like an outsider. It’s silly, considering he’s surrounded by his best friends and he’s never felt uncomfortable around them. And he’s not; but he is frustrated. Today was supposed to be about spending quality time with his best friend and now not only is that ruined but it’s like everyone knows what’s going on in the screen but him, and he doesn’t want to bother them with too many questions.
So he just listens. He hears them complain about unjust referees and unfair free kicks, about how a certain play should’ve been awarded with a penalty, and about how bad the goalkeeper is for letting such a stupid ball get through the net. And Namjoon just doesn’t see that; he tries putting himself in the shoes of the goalie and he’s pretty sure he would’ve made the same mistake.
But his friends are convinced the guy’s an idiot who should’ve been replaced right away and hears himself letting out quiet words of agreement.
When the first half of the match is over and done with, Jungkook stands up and stretches his arms. He only then notices Yoongi’s empty beer can on the coffee table and whines.
“Hyung, where did you get that?”
“Get what?” Jimin looks up from his phone and stares at Jungkook, who just points at the beverage like it personally wronged him. Jimin frowns and looks at Yoongi, offended. “You were drinking and didn’t think to tell me?”
Yoongi shrugs smugly, bringing the can that was hidden away between his curled up legs and his chest and takes a sip. Jimin and Jungkook grunt. “Joon-ah got them, blame him.”
Namjoon widens his eyes at the unexpected accusation. “I thought it was just gonna be hyung and me! How was I supposed to know you two would wanna watch the match too?” Namjoon huffs, looking down and crossing his arms over his chest.
Jimin and Jungkook gape at him and exchange a look, a whole conversation going on with just their eyes. They seem to have reached a consensus because they apologize profusely and quickly leave the room after it.
“Wait, what’s happening? Why are you apologizing? Where are you going? Come back!” Yoongi asks his friends but neither of them dignify him with a response, both rushing towards their rooms as soon as they step foot on the floor. He looks at Namjoon for answers. “Was it something I said? I would’ve shared my beer if they’d really wanted it!”
Namjoon hugs his knees and presses his head over them, looking sideways at the older. “No, it was me. I wanted to spend some time with you. It’s been a while since we did anything together that didn’t involve work, thought it would be nice.” He stares at the boxes of pizza that were eaten mostly by their younger friends and shrugs. “Pretty sure they just caught up on that.” Namjoon laughs lightly.
It’s Yoongi’s turn to look taken aback, but he swiftly composes himself and crawls until he’s kneeling next to his best friend on the couch. “Joonie, I didn’t know.”
“And you didn’t have to, it’s not like I invited you or anything. I just bought pizza and beers and turned the TV on.” Namjoon comments. “And the guys coming wasn’t even your fault, you didn’t know they were going to.”
Yoongi winces. “Actually…” He bites his lip and tries to make himself smaller. “I texted them telling them we were watching the match. I knew they also wanted to see it so I just figured.” He guiltily avoids eye contact, but Namjoon reaches towards his hand and holds it firmly.
“Don’t worry about it. Like I said, you didn’t know.” The older looks up. “It’s not the end of the world, let’s just watch the second half together.” Yoongi nods and makes himself comfortable, leaning his body over the younger’s. “I’m kinda glad they’re gone now, I had so many questions but I didn’t wanna look uncool in front of them.”
Yoongi laughs and squeezes his hand. “As if you could ever look uncool.”
And well, he still doesn’t understand shit about football but luckily Yoongi doesn’t have any issue answering dumb questions.
iv.
Seokjin’s been very stressed lately.
He makes an effort not to show it, always trying to be a pillar for his younger friends to lean on, but as their leader, Namjoon’s learned to be completely attuned with his members’ moods and can easily tell when there’s a shift almost as soon as it happens.
Seokjin may be good at putting up a strong front, but Namjoon’s even better at picking it apart.
He also knows that words don’t usually work with the older. He’s one to analyze things by himself and reach his own solutions, so there’s little to do and say when it comes to cheering him up.
Regardless, Namjoon thinks it would be nice to offer his friend a distraction from his worries and finds the perfect one scrolling through Twitter.
He clicks on the link and is met with the following statement: “Say ‘Sexy’ Or ‘Nah’ To These Soups And We’ll Guess Your Love Language.”
Namjoon is instantly hooked and finishes the quiz in less than a minute. He doesn’t agree with the result and is slightly disturbed at having to rate soups in scales of sexiness, but he had fun and that’s what matters.
So he believes it’s a wonderful idea to take it over to the older the next day when he’s cooking lunch for them.
“Hey hyung, do you wanna know if you’re average?” Namjoon sits down on a stool in front of Seokjin, counter in between.
“What?” The older asks over the sound of the meat grilling on the frypan. He turns around and gives the younger a confused look.
“You can do this quiz and find out if you prefer the same Disney villains as everyone else.”
“Sure.” He says absentmindedly, grabbing a wooden platter to begin cutting some onions.
“Ok, first one. Jafaar or Facilier?”
“Who?” He frowns at Namjoon.
“Jafaar is from Aladdin and Facilier is from The Princess and the Frog.”
“Oh, Facilier then.” He says quickly, going back to the task at hand.
“Great choice! Jafaar doesn’t have anything going for himself, honestly. And I’m happy to tell you most people chose Jafaar so you’re not average. Admittedly, ‘most people’ is just 56% so there’s not much difference but I’ll count it.” Seokjin hmms. “Next one. Mother Gothel or Lady Tremaine?”
Seokjin stops cutting and sighs. “Who?”
“Mother Gothel is the witch from Tangled and Lady Tremaine is Cinderella’s evil godmother.” Namjoon explains.
“The Tangled one.” Seokjin goes over to the pan to check the meat and lowers the heat of the hob before cutting what’s left of the onion.
“Damn, hyung. 74% people chose Mother Gothel too, guess you’re not better than the rest.” Namjoon laughs and Seokjin mimics him shortly. It sounds kinda fake but Namjoon doesn’t dwell on it too much. “Oh! This one is easy!”
“Yeah?” Seokjin wonders.
“The Evil Queen or Maleficient?” Namjoon asks excitedly.
“I have no idea who the Evil Queen is but I’ve seen Maleficient and I liked it so her.” Seokjin takes the platter over to the stove and drops the onions on the frypan. He then grabs the handle and stirs its contents.
“The Evil Queen is the one from Snowhite.” Namjoon offers and Seokjin nods. “Also pretty basic, 89% people said Malefici- Hyung, another onion?”
Seokjin gives him a look. “The other one was too small. I need more.”
“But it’s gonna make me cry.” He whines.
“I didn’t ask you to be here, you know.” Seokjin shrugs and Namjoon flinches.
He didn’t mean to bother the older. Comeback is near and Namjoon knows Seokjin can get too self-critical if he’s left alone for too long; he just wanted to be there for his best friend and be a good outlet for his worries.
But he also understands that sometimes it’s better to leave people by themselves so he turns off his phone and quietly stands up.
“I’m sorry, hyung. I’ll leave you to it.” Namjoon says, quietly. “Call me if you need help.” He turns around to leave the kitchen but is stopped by a strong grip on his forearm.
“No, Joon. It’s me who’s sorry. That was rude, you didn’t deserve that.” Seokjin looks down, ears turning a deep shade of red.
“It’s ok, hyung. You wanted some alone time and I should’ve respected that. I know you’re having a hard time right now, and I should’ve known better than to pressure you into talking.” Namjoon places his hand on top of the older’s and removes it from his arm, squeezing it before letting it go. “I’ll get going now. But I’m here if you ever want to talk, you know that, right?”
Seokjin nods and looks up. “Thank you, Joonah. And I promise to talk to you when I feel a bit better, but please don’t go. I wanna know if I have to improve my taste in Disney villains.” He smiles sadly at his friend and Namjoon grins back.
“You sure?” Seokjin nods again and goes back to the kitchen, the younger resuming his previous position. Namjoon is surprised to see the older discard the onion and just focus on the rice and meat, a warm happy feeling blooming inside his chest at the action.
He continues the quiz where he left off and receives much more enthusiastic responses, no matter how average the answers turn out to be.
v.
Namjoon finds the store completely by accident.
He’s walking home from the studio one day, and chooses to take a different path than the one he usually does. It’s late in the evening, the streetlights illuminating the way rather than the sun in the sky.
He has his earphones on, and is listening to the calming background music that the low songs and the subtle sounds of traffic make together, when he spots it.
A puzzle store.
He’s never seen one before, didn’t know they were a thing until two seconds ago; but there the shop is.
Namjoon walks closer and is pleasantly surprised by the variety of jigsaws on display. He swiftly enters the place and is even more astonished at all the different topics and age ranges that the games ecompass. There are a few cartoon ones, some with famous works of art imprinted on them, and a lot with photos of pretty landscapes and cities.
But Namjoon is focused on the familiar sight of The Starry Night staring right back at him. One thousand pieces of Taehyung’s most favorite work of art by his most favorite painter.
He doesn’t waste a second before grabbing it and heading towards the register, not even caring to listen to the price before offering the shop owner his debit card.
He’s so excited to show it to his best friend that he runs the rest of the way back home and has to take a few minutes to calm himself down when he closes the front door behind his back.
He’s sitting on the floor trying to catch his breath when he shouts Taehyung’s name. The younger comes worried a few moments later, followed by an equally concerned Seokjin.
“Is everything ok?” Taehyung frowns as soon as he finds him panting on the floor. He sprints forward and helps him out of his coat and shoes.
“Was anyone following you? Is that why you ran?” Seokjin asks after going to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. He approaches the younger -who is now up thanks to Taehyung’s help- and gives it to him.
Namjoon shakes his head. “No! I was just excited!” He smiles at them, walking towards the big table in the living room. Once he’s comfortably seated and has swallowed even the last drop of the drink, he places the present on the table and stares at Taehyung. “Open it!”
The younger widens his eyes. “For me?” At Namjoon’s nod, Taehyung steps forward and destroys the wrapping paper, quickly making the picture of the beautiful painting visible.
Taehyung gapes at the box on the table and looks at Namjoon incredulously. “Hyung! Where did you get this?” He rushes to sit in front of him and is grateful when Seokjin gives him the kitchen scissors to get rid of the tight transparent plastic that covers the entirety of the puzzle box.
“Well boys, have fun with that.” Seokjin pats Taehyung’s back on his way out of the room and the younger barely seems to react, mostly focused on taking out the annoying plastic.
“In a small shop a few blocks away from BigHit. You should’ve seen all the different jigsaws it had, literally anything you could think of.” Namjoon responds to a starry eyed Taehyung.
“Yes!” The younger screams when he’s done and uncovers the box, but his happiness is short-lived. There’s yet another plastic bag inside it, this one making sure no piece of the jigsaw gets lost in the way.
Namjoon groans. “Does global warming mean nothing to these people?”
“Right?” Taehyung agrees while cutting off the last bag and moving the cardboard box aside to spread the puzzle pieces on the table. “Finally!”
And they get on with it.
The first forty five minutes are fine. They’ve already managed to make up the whole edge of the jigsaw and have only begun working on the hardest part, a pleasant conversation about post-impressionist art and its less recognized contributors flowing between them. They are having fun.
After an hour and a half, however, things start going south.
In the midst of his excitement, Namjoon failed to realize how late it truly was when he got home. He also forgot that they have to get up early tomorrow, and it’s after Taehyung’s tenth yawn that Namjoon bothers to check the time.
9:21 PM.
He’s taken off guard by the time and gives the younger an apologetic look. “Taehyungie! I didn’t mean to keep you up so late! We should both go to bed.” Namjoon moves to put the pieces away but can barely take one before Taehyung screams at him.
“No! We worked so hard, we should finish it! I promise I’m not tired” Taehyung then yawns for the eleventh time and Namjoon gives him a fond look, shaking his head.
“Sorry Tae, but we need the rest.” He says, firmly.
“But we can’t just leave it here, we need to have breakfast on this table tomorrow. We’ll have to take it apart.” Taehyung looks down sadly and Namjoon stares at him for a few moments, contemplative, before standing up.
“I have an idea.” He disappears off to his room and comes back with a really big book. Taehyung understands right away and gets up.
“Oh! Where do we put it?” He asks, excitedly, and Namjoon giggles.
They end up moving the half-made jigsaw over to the coffee table to complete it tomorrow. Only when tomorrow arrives, Taehyung is too tired to finish it, so he just makes Namjoon company by drifting off to sleep on the couch as the older continues it.
Once it’s done -and once the younger wakes up-, they take a picture together with the puzzle and Taehyung sets it as his lockscreen.
Namjoon doesn’t really feel like he did most of the work alone.
vi.
It could be said that Hoseok is an outdoors person. He gets energized by the changes in ambience, by the sounds of people interacting with one another, by the way hundreds of things happen around him, and by him being not only able to see them but to be them.
Namjoon is also an outdoors person; except that what he enjoys about going out is the calming atmosphere of the environment, it allows himself to reflect on whatever is going on in his life and clear his mind. He craves the solitude that comes with being surrounded by plenty of other beings.
But despite the different reasons behind their shared love for being outside, Namjoon and Hoseok both agree that spending time together somewhere that’s not the familiar walls of their home and workplace is a refreshing experience.
And they’re both in need of some of that.
So when a gap in their schedule conveniently occurs, Namjoon decides to make the most of it.
He prepares a straw basket with all the essentials: a blanket, cans of Coke and Sprite, tons of food varying from sandwiches to salads to chocolate cake and to grapes, a deck of cards, a bluetooth speaker, and even a frisbee because you never know.
He has it ready before they leave for work early in the morning, so when they come back a few hours after noon, the only thing they need to do is pick it up along with their bikes and be on their merry way.
They ride through their district for a few minutes -to let the calmness of the wind wash over them and give them time to adjust to the feeling of controlling the bike-, and then start heading towards the park.
They can’t talk much during the journey due to the noises of the street, but once they make it into the green grass they start chatting animatedly about cute puppies they see and what would make the perfect place for their picnic.
They settle for a clear spot right underneath a big oak tree, the closest people being some long thirty meters away.
Namjoon gently puts his bike down on the grass and places the basket next to it, opening it up to grab the red blanket and lay out for them to sit on. Once they’re satisfied with its smoothness, they sit down facing each other and Namjoon begins removing the rest of the contents from the basket.
“A frisbee?” Hoseok laughs, taking it off his best friend’s hands.
“Why not?” Namjoon shrugs and Hoseok stands up to throw it away. It lands near a far tree and while he sprints over to pick it back up, Namjoon busies himself with connecting the speaker to his phone.
When Hoseok returns, a nice hip-hop playlist is playing and he starts freestyling to the songs. It thankfully doesn’t draw a crowd, but Namjoon ushers him to sit back down just in case.
Hoseok obeys mid laugh and takes the deck of cards from Namjoon’s lap when he finally finds a comfortable position on the grass. To his surprise, they are Uno cards; Hoseok removes them from the box and starts mixing them up.
“Wanna play?” He grins and Namjoon, who’s placing the food back into the basket to consume later, looks at him concerned.
“Should I be scared?”
“Only if you don’t like losing.” Hoseok giggles.
“This is gonna go so horribly wrong.” Namjoon shakes his head and defeatedly motions for his best friend to let him cut the cards.
It turns out to be not that bad; of a total of fifteen games played Hoseok only won nine. And while it’s not an ideal situation for him, Namjoon knows it could’ve gone way worse. So all in all, he’s satisfied with the results.
They stop playing a little before dark, Namjoon mentioning he wants to get a few frisbee shots in before the lights go out and he’s not able to see where the toy lands. Hoseok immediately agrees and they spend some time throwing the object back and forth.
Namjoon is about to suggest having dinner when he hears the first scream. He sees Hoseok run away from his previous spot towards their things and Namjoon grabs the frisbee before rushing towards his best friend.
“Are you hurt?” He places a comforting hand over Hoseok’s shoulder and kneels next to him.
He shakes his head. “There was a bug.” He says biting his lip, looking positively horrified. Namjoon throws his head back and lets out a loud laugh. “Hey! It’s not funny!” Hoseok pouts and Namjoon finds it even more hilarious.
When he manages to calm down, he moves to sit in front of his friend. “Sorry, sorry. It’s just, your face.” He giggles again at the memory, taking the food out of the basket and replacing it with the toy. “Are you hungry? We can st-“ Another scream cuts him off. Hoseok stands up rapidly and does a 360° around their blanket before kneeling in front of Namjoon.
“Do you have any bugs repellent in that basket?” He asks, sounding almost like a plea, and Namjoon widens his eyes.
“Uhh… No?”
“Fuck.” He sits down slowly but is quick to move away again when he feels a flying thing pass next to his ear. “I fucking hate bugs.” He cries to himself.
Namjoon swallows, and after a moment of consideration, he asks. “Do you want to go?”
Hoseok gapes at him, surprised. “Would you mind? We can eat everything back at home!” He reassures, moving his hands exaggeratedly.
Namjoon puts the food in its original place and stands up to fold the blanket.
Hoseok approaches him and hugs him from the back. “Oh, Joonie. I’m so sorry.”
Namjoon pats his arm. “It’s ok, I know how much you hate bugs. And we can eat the food at home, like you said. It’s really not a problem.” Hoseok’s hold tightens and Namjoon sighs.
At least he got to play with the frisbee.
vii.
BTS rely on communication to properly work.
They all love what they do and absolutely adore each other, but that’s not enough to keep up the balance they have if it’s not met with clear communication.
They need to constantly talk about their goals, stuff they want to try out and things they don’t like doing; it can be exhausting to always have to voice their feelings but they understand that it is the only way they’ll continue to grow as both a group and individuals.
As their leader, Namjoon is usually the one to bring up an issue that demands a discussion.
It’s not that the rest of them don’t care about what goes on and choose to leave it all in the hands of their leader, but Namjoon is almost always the first one to notice when something is wrong, and there’s a certain reassurance in the act that they unknowingly take it for granted sometimes.
Right now is one of those times.
Namjoon is sad.
They don’t know what’s the cause of it. They’ve just left behind their comeback and are now slowly easing back into their less busy lives. It all went great, the fans loved their album and the general public’s opinion on them is getting better and stronger by the day.
And of course Namjoon’s worries don’t always have to be work related, but they just don’t know what to think.
So they call for a secret meeting.
“Has anyone talked to him?” Hoseok whispers, leaning his back on their couch.
“I tried bringing it up yesterday in the car but he said he was fine and told me not to worry about it.” Yoongi hugs his knees.
“Why would you worry if he’s fine? Like, what would there be to worry about if there isn’t a problem?” Jimin makes himself smaller on Jungkook’s lap.
“Exactly.” Yoongi tsks.
They stay silent for a while and then Taehyung speaks. “Did any of you do something to upset him? That you know of?”
Everyone freezes.
“Well… I did.” Jimin timidly raises his hands.
Jungkook startles underneath him. “Wait, no. I did.”
“What? It was clearly me.” Seokjin straightens up, removing his head from Taehyung’s shoulder.
Hoseok shakes his head. “Guys, you have it all wrong. We were having a picnic date a few days ago and you should’ve seen him! He was so excited, he prepared a picnic basket and everything!” He smiles sadly. “But then I asked him to come back home because of the bugs.”
“He bought pizza and beer for us to watch a football game together, and you know how much he hates football. But I invited Jimin and Jungkook to hang with us and he got all sad.” Yoongi chuckles bitterly. “I didn’t even notice.”
“Hyungs.” Jungkook whines. “He got a big ass canvas for us to paint together and I bought another one just for myself. Even mocked him for buying one so big.” He hides his face on Jimin’s shoulder.
“I literally told him to go away.” Seokjin bites his lip. “I was stressed out about our comeback and Joonie wanted to distract me but I basically told him I didn’t want his presence near me.”
“At least you didn’t stand him up.” Jimin wipes away a tear from his cheek. “He spent like an hour building a blanket fort for us to watch a movie because I mentioned the idea to him once when I was drunk and I couldn’t even bother to remember his invitation.”
“I may have done something too? But I’m not sure.” Taehyung rests his head back on Seokjin’s shoulders. “He found this Starry Night puzzle at a store and instantly bought it because it reminded him of me, came running home super happy but I was too tired and he finished it on his own.”
They let the silence envelope them for a bit.
And then.
“We are the fucking worst.” Everyone nods along to Yoongi’s words, Jimin hiding his face on the crook of Jungkook’s neck and wetting his shirt with his tears. “But what can we do to make it better?”
So they come up with a plan.
Namjoon wakes up on Saturday morning to the smell of freshly made pancakes. He sleepily walks into the kitchen and finds all of his friends having breakfast on the counter, talking animatedly through bites of food.
“... role of the peacekeeper and have an aptitude for writing, acting and the arts. You ar- Oh! Hi Joonie!” Seokjin greets, before looking back down to his phone and pushing it towards Jungkook so he can also see the screen.
“Good morning.” Namjoon takes a seat next to Jimin and pats his shoulder. Hoseok offers him a plate of pancakes from his place opposite him and he accepts. “What are you reading?” He asks, as he grabs the bottle of chocolate syrup.
“We’re seeing what our aura looks like.” Taehyung answers.
“Mine is blue!” Jungkook gives Seokjin his phone and takes a sip of his coffee. He then stands up and begins making Namjoon a cup.
“Mine’s green.” Yoongi gives him a pointed look. “I’m creative and value strong relationships, apparently.” He shrugs.
Namjoon chuckles. “Well, you are.” He takes the mug that Jungkook brings him and gives him a grateful nod. “And you do.” Namjoon sips from his drink. “How do you know that, anyways?” He asks.
Seokjin’s face lights up. “Oh! You remember that day you made me take that quiz about Disney villains? I showed it to the guys and they liked it so we’ve been quizzing each other.” Namjoon widens his eyes.
“You really liked it?”
Seokjin looks at him fondly. “Yes!” He giggles and continues scrolling down his phone. “Do you want to take one yourself? We can figure out what kind of dog breed you are!”
Namjoon stares at the older for a little longer, still processing. He’s been blaming himself for a while about that day; he should’ve known that his friend wasn’t in the mood for something silly like a quiz so he tried to get it over with as soon as possible. But now Seokjin is the one offering to quiz him and his chest warms up at the gesture.
He clears his throat. “Um, yeah, sure.”
So he takes the quiz.
It doesn’t take very long, the questions being short and to the point. But turns out, he’s a French Poodle.
Jimin laughs, his body falling over Namjoon’s lap due to the uncontrollable giggles busting from his body. “That is so adorable.” He says after he’s seated back up, covering his smile with his hands and throwing his head back as more laughter comes out.
Namjoon rubs his shoulder gently until the younger manages to calm down. “Why?” He’s facing Seokjin.
“You're a highly intelligent person who can solve problems on your own very quickly. Also, you're very loyal so anyone who has you in their lives is extremely lucky.” He reads aloud and Namjoon opens his mouth wide in shock.
“How did they get that from ‘my favorite season is spring’?” Yoongi groans and Jimin starts laughing again, Hoseok following suit.
“Buzzfeed is scary.” Jungkook shivers and they all agree.
They enjoy the rest of their breakfast in between more quizzes, bellyaches from laughing so hard, and a seemingly endless pile of delicious pancakes.
Namjoon feels better than he’s felt in a while; having the reassurance that he didn’t inconvenience his friend that one time is doing wonders for his peace of mind, his heart overwhelmed with the affection he feels for his friends.
It does nothing but escalate when he heads to the living room after they’re done cleaning up the kitchen and finds a big blanket fort occupying almost half of the place.
Namjoon stops in his tracks and turns around, looking at Jimin suspiciously. “What’s this?”
Jimin walks past him and rounds up the couch until he’s standing in front of the fort’s entrance. “A blanket fort, obviously.” He disappears from view as he sits down underneath the fabric. “Don’t just stand there! Come in!” He shouts from inside and Namjoon shakes his head, moving until he’s kneeling in front of Jimin.
However, it’s not only Jimin that’s inside. Taehyung is currently finding the edge pieces of a jigsaw, Jungkook and Hoseok sitting in a ring around the game and helping him out.
This cannot just be a coincidence.
As Seokjin and Yoongi get under the fort to join the circle and start doing the puzzle, Namjoon demands an explanation. “Ok, there is clearly something going on here. Like, I’m not just reading too much into it, right?”
Everyone stops moving. They raise their heads and look at their leader with guilty expressions on their faces.
It’s Jungkook who breaks the awkward silence. “We are sorry, hyung. We noticed you’ve been feeling down these past few days and realized it was our fault. You don’t deserve the way we treated you.” He laments.
Namjoon is taken aback. He’s about to say something and deny Jungkook’s words, telling them that he’s alright and they did nothing wrong, but Yoongi cuts him out before he can even start. “Oh, don’t even try. We know what we did was shitty and we owe you an apology. Please take it.” Namjoon closes his mouth.
“Hyung, I’m sorry I stood you up that day. Work is never more important than you, I’m sorry if I made you feel like it is. I promise to do better, I hope you can forgive me.” Jimin looks down and Namjoon reaches for his hand, holding it tight in a silent affirmation that he’s more than forgiven.
“Me too, Joonie. It was wrong of me to try to push you away, especially like that. I regret my words and hope you can forgive me as well.” Seokjin says and Namjoon reaches for him, squeezing his knee.
Jungkook seems like he wants to speak but Namjoon beats him to it. “I forgive you. All of you.” He takes a moment to look at each of his best friends in the eye, making sure that everyone understands how serious he is. “I won’t lie and say I wasn’t hurt by it, but it really wasn’t your fault.” Jimin looses his grip on his hand and Namjoon looks at him. “Well… maybe for some of you, it was.” Jimin avoids his eyes and Namjoon intertwines their fingers. “But this apology is enough, I don’t want you to beat yourself up over this. I’m glad you’re acknowledging my efforts, that was all I wanted.” He looks at everyone again and then, after a moment, he giggles. “I can’t believe you went through all this trouble just to apologize to me.”
“You deserve it, Joon.” Hoseok mentions. “This and more. We really are so, so sorry. We want to spend today making it up to you.”
“There is no need but I’m happy we get to spend the day together. I love hanging out with you guys.” They all cheer and nod in agreement.
“And now that the corny shit is out of the way…” Jimin slaps Taehyung on the back of the head and he flinches. “Ow! Rude!” He frowns at Jimin who sticks his tongue out at him. Namjoon giggles. “Love you, hyung.” He blows Namjoon a kiss and he takes it with his hands dramatically, saving it in the pocket of his hoodie. Taehyung smiles. “Anyways, we can do the puzzle now.”
“What’s it of?” Namjoon questions as he takes the box, his jaw dropping when he sees the photo stamped on the cardboard. He turns the object around to show it to his members in shock, and then flips it so it’s facing him again. Everyone laughs at his reaction. “Where did you find this?” Namjoon widens his eyes at Taehyung.
It’s a picture of the seven of them during the recording of the music video for Boy With Luv. They are all standing in a line behind Jimin, who has his arms stretched open while looking at the sky. It’s all pink hues and happy smiles, and Namjoon’s heart does that fluttery thing he always feels when he’s immensely happy.
“I went looking for the shop you told me about, it had a whole section full of K-Pop themed puzzles. I’m surprised you didn’t see it the first time.” He jokes and Namjoon blushes.
“I was excited about having found The Starry Night. I didn’t spend much time browsing the store.” He shrugs, placing the box aside. “Thank you, Tae-ah.”
Taehyung gives him his boxy smile and speaks. “Don’t mention it, hyung.” Namjoon grins back and starts helping out.
They finish the puzzle an hour and a half later. It doesn’t take them as long as the first time because of how many hands helping out they have.
(It also helped that it was a five hundred pieces puzzle instead of a thousand one, but he’s willing to ignore that fact.)
They carefully move it onto a table, Jimin suggesting framing it and hanging it on their living room’s wall.
“Cool. I’ll order a frame later and we can do it over the weekend.” Yoongi offers once the picture is lying safely on the table and everyone nods.
Hoseok, who had disappeared into the kitchen when the puzzle was almost finished, walks into the living room holding two big straw baskets only to put them down on the floor and walk towards them.
“Aww, it looks so cute.” He coos. “I’m glad we did that, it was fun!” He claps. “But now, go get ready! We leave in twenty!” Namjoon just now notices that Hoseok’s changed out of his pajamas and is wearing street clothes.
“Go where?” He wonders.
“We’re having a picnic! So go get dressed!” He returns to the kitchen and everyone starts shuffling into their rooms.
Namjoon emerges from his bedroom fifteen minutes later, wearing some comfy black pants and a loose blue t-shirt. He has his sunglasses on and a black satchel bag hanging from his shoulder. He heads back to the living room and finds most of his best friends already there, Jimin and Seokjin being the only ones missing.
“Guys! Hurry up!” Taehyung shouts and he can hear a distant voice saying he’s almost ready!
He takes out his phone to check his message but hears Jungkook clear his throat to his left. He looks up and finds the younger biting his lip nervously.
“Hyung, will you come with me a minute?” Namjoon frowns slightly at his sudden shyness, but pockets his cell and follows him to the hallway.
There, he finds the big painting that Jungkook and Namjoon did together a few weeks ago. It’s occupying almost the entire length of the wall, hanging from a few centimeters below the ceiling all the way down to the floor.
Jungkook’s voice shakes a little as he speaks, Namjoon still admiring quietly the piece or art before him. “I’m sorry both of us didn’t work on it from start to finish, but we did spend time together making it and I hope that’s what you remember when you look at it from now on.”
The older turns to look at Jungkook and gives him a fond smile, dimples popping into view. Jungkook’s teary eyes finally fall on him and Namjoon watches as his best friend’s face crumbles into a sob.
“Oh, Jungkookie.” Namjoon rushes towards the younger and embraces him in a tight hug. Jungkook’s mouth lets out a whimpering sound. “Thank you so much for this. Please don’t cry. Hyung loves it.”
“‘m sorry.” Jungkook pushes his face deeper into the crook of Namjoon’s neck.
“Don’t be.” He rubs the younger’s back for a few moments, Jungkook managing to calm down. They break apart when their friends’ voices begin sounding louder and closer.
Jungkook rubs his eyes and gives Namjoon a timid smile. “I’m glad you like it, hyung.”
“Love it.” The older corrects, startling a giggle out of the younger.
“Did you make Jungkookie cry? Joonah!” Yoongi tells him off and Namjoon’s eyes widen.
“What?” He turns to look at Yoongi, alarmed, and Jungkook starts laughing loudly, doubling over from the pain.
Yoongi rolls his eyes jokingly and walks past them until he gets to the door, struggling to put in the passcode with the straw basket in one hand and his phone in the other.
They all follow him out the door and down the elevator into their garage, splitting up into two cars. Namjoon carpools with Hoseok and Yoongi, and they spend the ride talking animatedly about a dream Hoseok had and what his subconscious could be trying to tell him.
They pull up near the park a little over noon, and walk around the open space for a short while until they come across a good spot, far away from nosy people that could bother them on their day off.
They lay out four blankets on the ground, making up a huge square of fabric for them to eat on comfortably. After placing down the various baskets that they’ve brought with them, Hoseok takes something from his bag and kneels in front of Namjoon, a cheeky smile illuminating his face. He shakes a can of something, spraying it on his skin after and oh.
Bug spray.
“I promise you this time we will only leave when you want to, no annoying mosquitos will get in the way of our fun.” Hoseok says solemnly, passing the can over to him.
Namjoon grabs it amusedly and hides it behind his back. “Close your eyes.” Hoseok frowns for a second but soon complies. Namjoon giggles silently to himself as he pinches his friend’s nose and sprays it shortly over his face. “Done.”
Hoseok’s mouth opens and he gawks at Namjoon for a moment, before standing up and sprinting towards him. Namjoon, who saw it coming as soon as he let go of his nose, starts running around the place screaming for mercy.
Hoseok rushes after him for a few seconds before Jimin takes in the situation and starts chasing them as well. It soonly turns into a game of tag; random squeals of fear and lots of laughter resounding in the otherwise tranquil place.
Namjoon’s not sure how, but during a short dull in the game -when everyone’s collectively decided to spare a moment to catch their breaths-, a football materializes in front of Yoongi and Jimin squeaks excitedly.
“Pass it over, hyung!” Yoongi kicks it over to the younger and Jimin starts juggling the ball with his feet, making everyone else stare at him in awe.
When the ball inevitably falls down to the ground, after some impressive twenty-two juggles, Jimin passes it to Jungkook, who tries to mimic him unsuccessfully.
In the meantime, Seokjin brings four orange cones from one of the baskets and places them opposite each other, making up the goal areas of a football field.
“Ok, who’s gonna be the referee?” Jimin asks.
They all look at each other and Yoongi shrugs, turning to Namjoon. “Give me your whistle.”
Seokjin muffles a laugh and Namjoon frowns, hugging his whistle to his chest. “It’s a fashion accessory.”
“It’s also a fullly functional whistle. Give me.” Yoongi makes grabby hands and Namjoon gives in. “Now for the tea-” He can’t even finish his sentence because he’s interrupted by Jimin’s shout.
“Done!” He’s holding Taehyung and Jungkook against his body, both looking a little perplexed but not complaining about the one-sided decision.
Yoongi rolls his eyes. “Ok! Get in place!”
Namjoon looks at his teammates in question and Seokjin points him towards the goalie. Namjoon shrugs and jogs to his place.
The whistle sounds and it’s game on.
But not even five minutes pass and he can already tell they’re terrible. Jimin is the only decent player, and Taehyung and Jungkook surely look smug about it.
After not being able to save an easy shot and hearing his younger friends celebrating on the other side of the imaginary field, Yoongi quietly appears next to him.
“Came to make fun of me?” Namjoon jokes.
“I would, but not really. You know you can use your feet, right?” He asks and Namjoon rolls his eyes. Yoongi opens his arms in a signal of peace. “No, seriously. You are only using your hands and Jimin is aiming at your feet, you’ll never catch a ball in time if you keep that up.” And, ok. He’s not far off.
Constructive criticism, Namjoon can take that.
The next time Jimin comes running his way, he kicks the ball away closely before it passes the line of the cones and saves them from losing another point.
Namjoon jumps in ecstasy and throws himself over Yoongi happily. “Did you see that?! I caught the ball!” He hits the older’s back repeatedly in his excitement and Yoongi tries to get away, bubbly giggles coming out of his mouth.
“I know! I told you! Now stop hitting me!” Namjoon laughs but does as he’s told, sprinting backwards towards the goalie, still facing the older. “And next time you want to spend time together with me, just tell me, dumbass!”
Namjoon almost falls down from the unexpected guffaw that takes over his body and screams at the older. “Sorry, hyung! Next time I will!”
Yoongi shakes his head fondly and blows the whistle.
His team loses, but it’s ok.
Nothing is too terrible if he’s spending time with his best friends.