Work Text:
Hoseok whistles as he decorates the table for the Valentine’s themed dinner. He is the one hosting this year and he wants it to look absolutely perfect for his partners.
His dark oak table is now donned with four plates with red placemats underneath. He lays out the silverware for each person and his fancy glassware. His partners only deserve the best in his mind.
He places a vase full of an assortment of flowers in the center along with a tall candle on each side. He is about ready to light them when he hears the front door unlock.
Hoseok and his partners have decided that it would be best if they each have keys to their apartments. The idea was originally brought up for safety reasons, just in case. However, since that day they made copies all those years ago, they each would surprise one another at random times and sometimes even more than once a day. Hoseok doesn’t mind though, as he loves his partners so much and he is always glad to see them.
He smiles when he hears a deep, gruff voice call out, “Seok-ah? Where are you?” Yoongi is the first one to arrive.
“In the dining area, hyung!” He responds, lighting the second candle.
Yoongi’s face appears around the corner. His normally long, black hair is styled so that the top layers of his hair are pulled up into a bun. He’s wearing a soft-looking beige cardigan with a white v-neck underneath and black jeans. He glances at the table with a curious gaze in his feline eyes.
“It’s beautiful, Seok-ah,” he says. His lips form into a smile that shows off the pinks of his gums. It’s one of Hoseok’s favorite smiles. “I brought the alcohol for us.” Yoongi holds up a couple of wine-shaped gift bags. Hoseok cheers as his partner places them in the middle of the table as well. “Do you need any help setting up?” He asks before placing a light kiss on Hoseok’s cheek in greeting.
“No,” Hoseok says, wrapping an arm around Yoongi’s broad shoulders. “I just finished getting everything ready. Seokjin hyung texted me a few minutes ago saying that he was on his way with the food.” Yoongi hums.
His oldest partner, Seokjin is the main chef in their relationship along with Yoongi. Hoseok can make basic meals for himself, but he much prefers Seokjin’s food. He happens to be the owner of a fine-dining restaurant in Seoul. Every once in a while, Hoseok, Yoongi, and Namjoon will visit him at work and he will pay for their meal, which is a perk.
Namjoon, on the other hand, is a disaster in the kitchen and that’s putting it lightly. Hoseok loves Namjoon to pieces, but the man can only make meals that use the microwave. He mainly survives on take-out and dinners that Seokjin prepares.
Since they all have access to their apartments, it is not uncommon for one or more of them to have dinner together almost every night. Hoseok wonders how different their relationship would be if they all moved into one place together one day. He knows that it won’t be anytime soon though, as they all have voiced that they like having their own places for now.
Yoongi goes to pour himself a glass of wine but Hoseok playfully slaps his hand away. “Save it for dinner when everyone arrives.” Yoongi pouts, but goes into the kitchen for a glass of water.
A few minutes later, Hoseok hears his door opening again followed by a loud bang. Hoseok and Yoongi look at each other for a brief second before running towards the front door. Namjoon has knocked over the coat rack placed by the front door. He gives a sheepish glance at Hoseok before standing it upright again.
“Sorry Hobi,” he says as he puts the fallen coats back on the racks.
Hoseok chuckles. “No harm done,” he tells him with a kind smile. “You do that almost every time.” They all laugh at that and Namjoon rubs the back of his neck, feeling embarrassed. Namjoon is naturally clumsy, too.
Namjoon kisses Hoseok’s forehead in greeting and then gives Yoongi a hug. “Happy Valentine’s Day, my lovely partners.”
Hoseok blushes. “Happy Valentine’s Day,” he echoes.
“I am lovely, thank you for noticing,” comes another voice as he walks through the door. Seokjin has arrived and is carrying large containers of food. His newly-dyed purple hair is styled in a perfect quiff, showing off his forehead. Namjoon greets the newcomer with a kiss on the exposed skin, making Seokjin blush and shoo him away.
“Let me take those,” Yoongi says, grabbing the containers from Seokjin’s outreached hands. “I’ll go put them on the table.”
-
Seokjin opens the wine bottles when they all sit down for dinner. Hoseok smiles as he smells the lovely aroma of the food Seokjin brought. He scoops some rice and meat and places them on his plate before serving Yoongi, who sits next to him. Namjoon and Seokjin sit across from them. Hoseok sees Namjoon share some pieces of meat with the elder, which makes him happy knowing that they are all being taken care of.
They begin to catch up on their days. Seokjin complains about a food critic that gave his restaurant a not-so-stellar review. He runs his fingers through his purple hair in frustration. Hoseok coos and gets up from his seat to wrap his arms around Seokjin’s shoulders in a back hug.
“You shouldn’t listen to him, hyung,” Yoongi points out. Hoseok makes a noise of agreement. “He writes nasty reviews for every place he visits. That’s what he’s known for. He should get a new job, in my opinion.” He takes a sip of his wine as Seokjin snorts into his hand. Hoseok can feel the man’s broad shoulders shake when he chuckles.
“I have a bunch of essays to grade this weekend,” Namjoon mutters, resting his head on his hand. He teaches a Korean literature course at a local college and he assigns essays in replacement of exams throughout the semester. Hoseok untangles himself from Seokjin to comfort Namjoon instead. He runs his hand over Namjoon’s shaved head, his short strands of hair tickling his palm.
“Don’t assign so many essays next time,” Yoongi tells him.
Namjoon takes a bite of food before he replies, “but how will I know they understand the material?”
“Just trust them,” Yoongi answers, shrugging his shoulders and leaning back in his chair in a relaxed manner. Hoseok can feel Namjoon’s shoulders tense, so he rubs them gently and they slowly relax again.
“That’s not how it works,” Namjoon responds. “You weren’t a very good student in school,” he accuses and a sheepish look appears on Yoongi’s face.
“All I wanted to do was make music,” Yoongi tells them.
“We know,” Hoseok chimes in, sitting in his seat again. He takes a bite of the pork belly, savoring the taste on his tongue. “I would find random sheet music or song lyrics around my room whenever you stayed over.” Yoongi ducks his head to hide his reddening cheeks.
“Oh yeah! I would find various song lyrics written on pieces of paper in our bathroom,” Seokjin adds with a teasing smile. “Is that where you would get all your inspiration?” Yoongi lifts his head up again to take another bite of food, but doesn’t say anything in response. However, Hoseok notices that Yoongi’s cheeks are now a bright pink color.
“Remember when we first met?” Namjoon asked Seokjin, gently slapping him on the knee. Out of the corner of his eye, Hoseok sees Yoongi give Namjoon a grateful look for changing the subject. Seokjin groans and buries his head in his hands. Hoseok laughs and claps his hands. He has heard the story countless times, but he would never get tired of it.
“Why do you keep bringing it up?” Seokjin’s voice is muffled. Namjoon laughs and moves their eldest partner’s hands away from his face. “I made a complete fool of myself.”
“That’s why it’s so memorable, hyung,” Yoongi replies with a smile on his face. “Our meeting wasn’t as exciting. We were randomly selected as roommates.”
“We got along well,” Seokjin points out. Yoongi rolls his eyes playfully before taking another sip of his wine. “We did! We respected each other’s space and hardly fought with one another. I enjoyed our nightly chats.”
“Now we just call each other,” Yoongi says, pouring himself some more wine from the bottle.
The eldest quickly glances at Namjoon before he continues the story. “I sat next to Namjoon in a class and realized half-way through that it was the completely wrong class. I was too shy to just walk out, so Namjoon had made a show of spilling his water bottle on my jeans.” Hoseok lets out a burst of laughter and accidentally kicks Namjoon in the shin. He gives Namjoon an apologetic smile when his partner’s face scrunches up in pain.
“I was trying to be helpful!” Namjoon exclaims, rubbing his sore shin.
“You made me look like I peed myself!” Seokjin replies in a high-pitched voice. Hoseok cackles with laughter and throws his head back. He almost tips his chair too far backwards, but luckily Yoongi’s reflexes saved him from crashing to the floor.
“Careful Seok-ah,” he says quietly before turning his attention back to their other partners who are still bickering. “Are we going to continue talking about this when we are old and gray?”
Hoseok feels a hopeful flutter in his chest as he sees both Namjoon and Seokjin nod their heads at the question. An image pops into his mind of the four of them sitting around a table just like this one and he smiles. Hoseok loves the idea of them still being together when they are older. He can’t picture a life without them, if he was being honest.
He takes a sip of his drink as he looks at his partners with a fond expression on his face.
“Do you think Jungkook will still be annoying when we’re older, too?” Seokjin asks with a thoughtful expression on his face. Yoongi shakes his head as Namjoon looks at him with a raised eyebrow. “You know that kid beat me in a race the other day? I was in first place and then he came up behind me with the fucking blue shell.” Hoseok laughs as a pout forms on Seokjin’s face.
Hoseok remembers the look of betrayal on his partner’s face when Jungkook won during the last lap. Seokjin’s brother is a photographer and he was in town for a few days to do a photoshoot with a major fashion magazine. Hoseok chuckles to himself as he recalls Seokjin threatening to disown Jungkook as his brother. Jungkook wasn’t bothered by it and had fallen to the floor laughing his ass off while Seokjin continued to whine and complain.
“You’re just so competitive when it comes to games,” Hoseok says fondly, looking at Seokjin. “Remember when we were at the arcade that one day after our midterms? Some random person challenged you to a round of air hockey after you beat them?” Hoseok nods towards Namjoon and Yoongi.
Seokjin scratches his chin. “Of course I remember, Hoseok-ah! You’re not some random person.”
Hoseok chuckles and Yoongi pats his knee. “I was back then! You three were just so cool and I wanted to hang out with you all, but I was too nervous to say anything until I saw my chance to talk to you that day.”
“We’re glad you did Hobi,” Namjoon tells him sincerely. Hoseok feels his face break out into a wide smile at his partner’s words. He’s glad he had that ounce of courage that day, too.
“Yeah, we’re not complete without you,” Seokjin adds. Hoseok laughs shyly and the others look at Yoongi expectantly.
Yoongi’s face grows red again under their attentive gaze. Yoongi shifts and Hoseok feels his slightly larger hand curl into his own and gently squeezes it.
“You know, Seok-ah,” Yoongi says with a fond look in his feline-like eyes.
Hoseok does.
He knows that Yoongi isn’t great at expressing how he feels with words. He is very reflective through his songs and shows his love by taking care of others. Yoongi always checks up on Hoseok and makes snacks for him when they are hanging out with each other. Yoongi doesn’t mind that Hoseok wants to watch the same films more than once. He doesn’t complain when Hoseok drags him to the mall and ends up carrying all of the bags so Hoseok doesn’t have to.
Hoseok knows that Yoongi loves him. He knows that all of his partners love him in their own ways.
He loves his partners too.
-
After dinner, they all gather in the living room. Namjoon and Seokjin claim the loveseat while Hoseok and Yoongi sit in the two chairs across from them. They all have a glass of wine in their hands, except for Yoongi, who is now holding a glass of whiskey.
“I love you all,” Namjoon says suddenly after a couple minutes of comfortable silence. His speech is a bit slurred due to the wine from dinner. Hoseok laughs and points at Yoongi, who wrinkles his nose at the confession.
“We love you too,” Seokjin replies, laying a hand on Namjoon’s knee.
They continue to talk about random things from stories from their respective jobs to reflecting on their college years.
Hoseok could feel himself become more tipsy as the night goes on. He is beginning to notice that his energy levels are slowly decreasing. Yoongi, on the other hand, is very giggly, even laughing at Seokjin’s horrible dad jokes, which he normally ignores. His pale skin is flushed, a soft shade of pink.
“I’m really glad I met you all that day at the arcade,” Hoseok repeats, his voice sounds slurred in his ears.
He is a lightweight, which the others discovered early on in their relationship. They were all invited to Jimin’s surprise birthday party by his boyfriend, Taehyung, and he had gotten carried away with the jello shots Seokjin kept giving him. Yoongi, who holds his liquor the best out of all of them, walked Hoseok back to his place, with Namjoon and Seokjin following closely behind. They all did their best to squeeze into Yoongi’s full-size bed that night and fell asleep in each other’s arms. Hoseok smiles dreamily at the memory, which Namjoon questions him about.
“I was thinking about the time you all took care of me when I got really drunk at Jimin’s birthday party,” Hoseok shares. “We cuddled together and it was nice.”
“Maybe for you,” Seokjin mutters, “you didn’t have Namjoon snoring in your ear all night.” Namjoon blushes and a sheepish expression blooms across his face.
“You elbowed me in your sleep, hyung,” Yoongi says. Seokjin’s ears turned pink and he rubbed the back of his neck, feeling flustered.
“I miss our cuddle sessions,” Hoseok sighs with a hint of sadness in his voice. He loves cuddling with his partners and enjoys being surrounded by their warmth.
“We cuddled a few days ago,” Yoongi points out.
“Yeah, but it feels like ages ,” Hoseok replies. He lets out a yawn and closes his eyes. He hears the others laughing at him.
“I think it’s time for Hoseokie’s bedtime,” Seokjin coos.
He hears rustling and feet walking across the hardwood floor and then feels a presence behind him. There is a comforting hand running their fingers through his hair. He sighs and gets more comfortable in the chair.
“Cuddles?” Hoseok asks, his voice slurred with sleep now.
“Yes Seok-ah,” Yoongi says, continuing to play with Hoseok’s hair. “We can all cuddle tonight.”
He hears more rustling and suddenly he’s lifted in someone’s arms, bridal style. He peeks one eye open and notices Namjoon’s face peering down at him, looking at him fondly. Hoseok lets out a noise of content and wraps his arms around Namjoon’s neck. He lets himself be carried to his bedroom.
Since he loves to be cuddled, he splurged and bought a king-sized mattress for his bedroom when he moved out of the dorms his senior year. His partners all came over to help him unpack and rearrange his apartment. That night, they all collapsed onto his bed, exhausted from the day. The next morning, they woke up curled around each other.
He opens his eyes again when he feels his head hit one of his pillows. The bed dips on either side of him as his partners join him in bed. He feels two pairs of arms wrap around him and he sighs happily.
“I’m so happy we met,” Namjoon says, close to Hoseok’s ear.
“We’re entering Namjoon’s sappy hour,” Yoongi teases, directly on Hoseok’s other side.
“Fuck you,” Namjoon replies with no bite to his words. Yoongi chuckles.
“No thank you,” he says politely. Hoseok’s lips twitch in a half-smile.
“Hey guys, who always has a date for Valentine’s Day?” Seokjin asks. Yoongi quietly groans.
“Us?” Namjoon’s voice is drowsy, like he is close to falling asleep. Hoseok lets out a light chuckle. He isn’t wrong, but based on the sigh of defeat from Seokjin, it wasn’t the answer he was looking for.
“A calendar!” Seokjin exclaims and starts laughing loudly. Hoseok laughs along with him and feels Yoongi bury his face in his shoulder. Hoseok wraps his arm around his partner’s frame to draw him closer. He hears a quiet rumbling sound coming from Yoongi, reminding him of a cat purring.
“Do you want to go get ice cream tomorrow?” Namjoon asks after the laughter in the room dies down.
“Sounds good to me,” Seokjin says with a yawn. Hoseok seconds that motion. He is about to ask Yoongi if he wants to go too, but then he notices that his breathing has evened out.
Yoongi is fast asleep.
“Remember there was that day when they didn’t have any chocolate ice cream?” Seokjin whispers, so he doesn’t disturb their sleeping partner.
“That was the best day,” Hoseok says with a dreamy smile on his face. “My first date with you all.” He recalls how nervous he was, but was happy too, as he got to spend some time with the people he had admired from afar. There were a lot of shy smiles and giggles as they talked to get to know each other more. They even offered to walk him to his dance club meeting because they didn’t want the date to end and wanted to spend more time with him.
Namjoon is about to say something until Seokjin quiets him. Hoseok chuckles as he knows that Namjoon will start complaining about how they had used the rest of the ice cream to make mint chocolate, which happens to be Hoseok’s favorite. Seokjin had paid for all of their sweet treats back then, even though he looked at the three scoops of Hoseok’s dish with disdain. Seokjin didn’t like mint chocolate either, but that just means more for Hoseok.
It reminds Hoseok of when he had gotten hurt during one of his dance rehearsals and Seokjin came over with Namjoon to check up on him. They even brought a carton of mint chocolate ice cream to help him feel better. He really appreciates their thoughtfulness and loves them so much.
He is brought back to reality when he hears a soft snore coming from the man next to him.
Namjoon is asleep as well.
Hoseok smiles softly. “Goodnight everyone,” he whispers into the darkness and closes his eyes once more. “Love you all.” He hears Seokjin say something in reply, but he doesn’t fully comprehend it. He smiles as he is surrounded by the love and warmth of his partners as he drifts off to sleep.
Hoseok can’t wait to spend many more holidays with his partners.