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The lights are all off when Namjoon gets home, the dorm still and silent in the early hours of the morning. He’s half asleep as he takes his shoes off, one hand resting on the wall in front of him to help with his balance, the other feeling for an empty space in the shoe rack in-between switching feet.
By the time he’s locked the front door and is wearing his slippers, he’s dangerously close to falling asleep standing up, shuffling slowly through the living room with a one-track mind focused solely on his bed. This explains why he goes head over heels when something grabs onto his leg, a loud shriek falling from his lips as he manages to catch himself on his hands, whirling back to look behind him in shock.
On the sofa is a huddle of blankets curled up in the darkness, with just one hand and a tuft of messy hair visible. Namjoon squints his eyes to see more, exhaustion fogging his mind but then the lump shape wobbles and a pair of wide blinking eyes peek out to look at him. Namjoon rests one hand on his chest as he crouches down beside the huddle, pushing the top layer down to see more of the blanket creature’s face.
“Tae, you scared the life out of me”
Taehyung pouts, his hand reaching out again, this time taking hold of Namjoons arm, who in turn moves to tangle their fingers together instead.
“What are you doing lying here, hm? It’s the middle of the night”
Taehyung shrugs and Namjoon leans forwards to try and get a better gauge of his scent just as the hallway light switches on, the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs breaking up the silence before Jin pops his head around the door a few seconds later, his hair fluffy and eyes half closed.
“Joon it’s three in the morning, what are you doing? Why are you screaming? Are you okay?”
Namjoon cringes at the questions as Jin steps further into view, hoping he hasn’t woken anyone else up. His hyungs shoulders are shaking slightly from the cold air of the stairway, and Namjoon feels terrible. His hands yearn to reach for him, his instincts suddenly awake but Jin is still too far away and Taehyung’s scent is far too off for Namjoon to think about moving away from him. He settles on gesturing Jin towards them, leaning even closer to Taehyung at the same time.
“Sorry hyung, Taehyung scared the living daylights out of me, I didn’t know he was there until he touched my leg, I was half asleep”
Jin frowns, finally reaching the sofa and crouching down beside Namjoon, reaching forwards to push Taehyungs hair off of his forehead, leaving the back of his hand there for a second. His frown thickens.
“What are you doing sleeping out here silly? You’re really warm, do you not feel very well?”
Taehyung sniffles, pressing further into Jin’s hand while also pushing his face further into the blankets, ruffling them and letting out more of his soured scent. Namjoon tries to take him in, his eyes lingering on the slight flush he can see against Taehyung’s cheeks illuminated by the soft light coming in from the open door of the hallway. His hair is a little damp on the ends, and his lips are chapped where he’s pressing them firmly together, the corners downturned.
Jin moves to run his fingers through Taehyung’s hair as they wait for him to tell them what’s bothering him, fluffing it up and smoothing it back down in a repetitive motion that seems to calm Taehyung down enough that his tight grip on Namjoons hand slackens a little. He turns over with a little huff to look at the duo sitting in front of him rather than at the worn fabric of his favourite pillow under his head.
“Feel gross”
It’s whispered and Namjoon barely catches it. He can feel Jin letting out soothing beta pheromones beside him and realises that he’s been doing the same without thinking, their blend of beta somehow turning the cold room warmer, more inviting, safer. Taehyung opens his mouth to speak again but his bottom lip trembles, his eyes slamming closed as he curls further in on himself, a whimper pushing past the grimace on his face.
Namjoon feels his heart constrict a little, and he’s ready to get to the bottom of this but Jin beats him to it, his fingers curling up and over Taehyungs ears, fingertips stroking their way down Taehyungs rosy cheek.
“Are you in pre-heat honey?”
Namjoon's eyebrows shoot up as he puts the situation together; Taehyung awake in the middle of the night with a fever, wrapped in blankets even though he has sweat gathering at his hairline. The soured scent with a lingering spike of sweetness behind it. Taehyung nods sadly, his eye contact fleeting quickly between Jin and Namjoon before he curls up again, his voice hardly audible as he whispers;
“I feel really poorly hyungs”
Jin makes a wounded noise, pulling Taehyung closer to his chest to snuggle him, tucking the youngers face into his neck as he helps him sit up slightly, budging him over so he can sit on the sofa beside him. Namjoons hand gets pulled into the cuddle so he moves with them, settling closer, letting his thumb run over the backs of Taehyung’s knuckles as Jin rubs a hand up and down his side.
“What’s hurting baby? What can we do to help?”
Namjoon is suddenly so grateful for his hyung, and knows Taehyung is in good hands.
“My tummy and my back.”
Taehyungs voice cracks and Namjoon cringes at how dry his throat must be, Taehyung might have been out here for hours, suffering from his fever alone.
Jin adjusts his hold on Taehyung as he asks him to show them where he's hurting, while Namjoon gently tries to pull his hand back. Taehyungs eyes shoot to him, an affronted look crossing his face as his grip gets tighter. It makes Namjoon laugh softly, but it also makes his heart hurt a little.
“I’m just going to get you some water Tae, I’ll be right back, hm?”
Taehyung frowns but doesn’t fight it further, letting go of Namjoon's fingers slowly as he sways back into Jin’s hold.
Namjoon makes his way into the kitchen, grabbing a glass from the cupboard before thinking better of it and grabbing two, one for Jin as well, before filling them with cold water from the fridges water filter.
He sets one down on the coffee table when he gets back and places the other into Jin’s waiting hand, watching as his hyung gently helps Taehyung, who’s been moved to sit sideways against Jin’s chest, take careful small sips. The blankets have been pushed to their feet and the two look cosy, Jin humming under his breath as he makes sure Taehyung re-hydrates.
Taehyung attempts a small smile up at Namjoon in between sips, and he's relieved to see Jin has calmed him down enough that the sour tinge is nearly completely gone from his scent. When Taehyung has drained the glass Namjoon reaches out for it, putting it back onto the table before looking at Jin.
“Anything else I can get?”
His hyung smiles up at him, resettling Taehyung back under his chin.
“I think he could do with some painkillers? They’ll help with his fever, and maybe a heat pack for his tummy?”
He says the last part while looking down at Taehyung, who nods, attempting to push even closer to the older. Jin wraps his arms around him and squeezes tight, murmuring a small “my poor taetae” before reaching back with one hand to feel for the tv remote he knows the others tend to leave on the back of the sofa, flicking it on and turning the volume down to quiet.
When Namjoon gets back to the living room after gathering the supplies, they’ve settled on watching finding nemo. Namjoon has no idea how Jin has managed to find the movie so quickly at this late hour, but it’s a blessing he has. Taehyung has his head laying against Jin’s chest with his mouth partly open, already absorbed in the cartoon. It’s one of his favourites and Namjoon has to pause in the doorway just to watch the way the colours wash over his happy little face, a drastic change on how he had found him not even an hour before.
Jin looks up after a moment, his hand pausing for a fraction of a second before resuming the slow circles he’s rubbing into the bare skin of Taehyungs stomach, his t-shirt pushed up out of the way. They share a fond look before Namjoon steps forwards, breaking the trance, pushing two paracetamols out of the packet he’s holding as he bends down to help Taehyung take them one by one, using Jin’s water from the table, silently applauding his earlier forward thinking.
Once Taehyung is medicated and the heat packs are tucked securely onto his back and tummy Namjoon settles down beside them, pulling Jin’s outstretched legs onto his lap and reaching over to wrap his hand lightly around Taehyungs ankle, which is curled into Jin. He’s a little uncomfortable in his jeans, but changing would mean leaving and he’s not quite ready to be separated from the members of his pack just yet.
Taehyung shuffles a bit as the movie plays, his lip sucked into his mouth as his stomach cramps but Jin’s there, pushing the heat pack a little further into the right position and rubbing a calming hand over his side and around the packs. The pain seems to flare as it reaches his spine, making Taehyungs eyes water as he fights down the sob that’s suddenly desperate to come out.
Jin’s hand presses down a little harder onto the bottom of his back, knowing from experience that it usually helps the ache there as Namjoon squeezes his ankle in sympathy, his hand dancing up to knead at Taehyung's calf muscle.
Jin and Namjoon are working magic, but his tears still manage to overflow, falling in lines down his cheeks which his hyung is quick to dab away using the sleeve of his own pajama top.
“Oh baby I know, I’m sorry you feel so poorly. The pain killers will kick in soon, okay? Try and close your eyes”
Taehyung sniffles as he does what his hyung says, opening them briefly as Jin gently rouses him to ask
“wait, you have a pad on, right Tae?”
Taehyung blushes, nodding a yes even as he whines.
“What? It’s just us, there’s no reason to be embarrassed, if you fall asleep I just didn’t want you to have to wake up uncomfortable”
Taehyung nods again, curling up further, his little “thanks hyung” getting lost into Jin’s sleep shirt as he closes his eyes and focuses on breathing in Jin and Namjoons calming scent, the safe bubble that’s seemed to wrap around the sofa, letting it lull him into a peaceful drowsiness.
Jin keeps his fingers rubbing calming circles until he’s sure Taehyung is asleep, glancing over at Namjoon to see him fast asleep too, snoring lightly with his head leaned back against the seat, mouth open, still in the clothes he was wearing to the studio earlier. He snuffs a fond smile, pushing his feet further into Namjoons lap as a substitute cuddle. His big beta baby.
Sleepiness starts to seep into Jin's bones again, the earlier adrenaline wearing off now that he knows Taehyung is safe with him and Namjoon, the soft sounds of the tv allowing his consciousness to drift off, and he too falls back to sleep, some of his favourite people tucked up and snug around him, just as the sun begins to rise outside.