Chapter Text
Now:
Namjoon quickly scans over himself in the full-length mirror to make sure everything is in place before heading to the hall where all the press are waiting. He would usually do these quick post-battle check ups and conferences with at least one of the Bangtan members present to help answer questions, but this latest villain had been particularly destructive -- if not very bright -- and so the hero pack had been sent to medical as soon as the fighting was over.
The entire conference lasts less than ten minutes, the usual questions of known number of casualties, areas of destruction, and plans for cleanup and rescue answered quickly and efficiently. When it’s over Namjoon changes out of his suit into labor wear suitable for the biting cold of early winter and is driven to the most pressing site of cleanup where the most damage has been reported. After he finds the woman in charge and gets instruction on where his help is most needed, he gets to work with all the other construction workers and volunteers.
It’s grueling work, and only a few hours in he’s already exhausted and wishing for a break. He also wants to call one of the pack members to ask how they’re doing, but Dr. Zhang has already reported to tell him that all the Bangtan Heroes are in good shape, if a little drained, so he has no reason to stop, especially as every pair of hands is critical during the cleanup and rescue process.
He’s just resolved himself to doing his task for the rest of the day and probably well into the night when the shrill tone of his phone startles him out of his work haze.
“Hello, Kim Namjoon speaking,” he answers without checking the ID. One of the volunteers is passing out water bottles and he gestures for one to be passed to him so he doesn’t have to pick his way down the pile of rubble he’s perched on. “If this is in regards to the funding for cleanup of our latest attack, please contact your personal insurance agency for further information or review--”
“Hyung.”
Namjoon pauses, stupefied, and pulls his phone back to blink at the name on the screen, then puts it back to his ear. “ Jimin ? Why are you calling my work phone?”
Jimin huffs. “We’ve all tried calling your personal cell but you never answered. Yoongi hyung was this close to going into a Rage and searching for you in the nearest collapsed building even though we all clearly saw you on live TV after the battle.” Namjoon guiltily remembers that he left his personal phone in his work bag with the company driver that brought him here. He hadn’t thought anyone would call. In the background he hears some indignant grumbling from who he is pretty sure is Yoongi and realizes he must be on speaker. Jimin shushes the other hero then asks, “Where are you? We didn’t hear anything from you after the press conference.”
Namjoon takes a quick sip from his water bottle to soothe his dry throat. “At one of the cleanup sites,” he answers. “There’s a lot to do so I probably won’t be able to check in for a while unless it’s for another emergency.” He pauses as he registers what Jimin had said. All of them had tried to call him?
“Wait,” he says, suddenly frantic. "Is there an emergency? Is everyone ok? Yixing said that you all were fine but if something’s happened since then--”
“Hey, hyung. Hyung," Jimin cuts in before Namjoon can truly work himself into a state. “We’re fine. We were worried about you." Namjoon feels himself flush at the admission and is grateful they can’t see him.
“Oh.”
“Yeah,” and that’s Yoongi, his voice gruff. Namjoon remembers he took the worst of this battle's injuries. “We’re all fine, Namjoon-ah. What site are you at? We’ll send Jeongguk and Taehyung to come get you.”
“What?” Namjoon quickly shakes off the warmth that hearing Yoongi address him familiarly always makes him feel. “No! There’s still so much to do. Cleanup is going to take days and I still have to review the damage costs that these businesses’ insurances won’t cover, not to mention meeting with Mayor Yun to do another press conference with more solid numbers and plans and--” he takes off his hard hat to run a hand tiredly through his hair. “Sorry. I won’t go into all of that. I just can’t leave any time soon.”
There’s a pause, in which he knows Yoongi and Jimin are trading a look, before Jimin says, “That’s fine, hyung. We won’t push you. When was the last time you ate?”
Namjoon blinks, thrown by the random question. “Uh, probably last night? I can’t remember eating anything today. Why?”
Yoongi hmms. “You need to eat more Joon-ah. Even at times like this, at least have a snack.”
Namjoon lets that warmth from before wash over him at the two heroes' concern as he settles his hard hat back over his head, carefully securing it in place as best he can with only one available hand. “I’ll find a snack as soon as I can, hyung. Don’t worry.”
“We always worry about you,” Jimin says fondly. “Alright then. Be careful, ok hyungie? Wear all your protective gear and don’t forget to drink water and take breaks regularly.”
Namjoon smiles, unbearably warm and soft. “I will. Get some rest.”
After bidding each other goodbye, Namjoon throws himself back into work with renewed energy. He sinks into the familiar haze of cleanup, marking with specially colored flags the areas that are potential fire hazards and hazardous wastes. It’s a large area to cover and there’s a lot to do, so when there’s a call for the crews to take a break over an hour later he continues on so as not to lose the work flow he’s developed.
They’re only a few minutes into the break when he hears a commotion from the designated safe break area, and then his name called in rising degrees of awe from multiple crew members.
“Mm?” He stands up straight from where he’s squatting over a flagged area and squints in the direction of the commotion, his eyes widening when he sees two familiar heroes heading towards him. “Tae? Gukkie?”
“Hyung!” Taehyung is the first to reach him, a grin lighting his face as he quickly takes off one of his gloves and reaches forward to hold Namjoon’s wrist, right over where his scent would be strong if he was a different designation. “Have you been here long?”
Jeongguk, only a step behind Taehyung, slips one of his own gloves off before taking Namjoon’s other wrist in hand, gently stroking the soft skin there. Namjoon welcomes the contact, by now well-aware that the entire pack relies on physical touch to help them stay grounded, especially immediately after a battle. “I came here a little after the conference,” he answers. “Are either of you hurt?” They both shake their heads, but when he raises a disbelieving eyebrow they shift sheepishly.
“Just some bruises, hyung,” Jeongguk promises. “There were more, but they’ve already healed.” He stops thumbing Namjoon’s wrist and slides his hand down to lace their fingers together. “You weren’t hurt, were you?”
Namjoon squeezes his hand. “No, I was nowhere near the battle.”
"Good," Taehyung says, leaning forward to gently bump his nose against Namjoon's jaw. When he welcomes the gesture by tilting his head the slightest bit, Taehyung hmms happily and presses just a little bit harder before pulling back. "We got food delivered for everyone here. Come eat, then we'll help with cleanup. Why don't you have a scarf?"
Touched by the pack's concern for him, Namjoon nods. "I had one, but after moving around so much I was getting hot."
"You should wear it anyway, hyung," Jeongguk insists. "It's too cold not to."
"Of course, Jeongguk-ah," he agrees easily. "I'll put it back on after we eat." He hesitates, considering his actions carefully, before slipping his hand out of the maknae hero's grip to instead lightly brush his knuckles against the skin just under his jaw. When Jeongguk makes a pleased noise and presses closer, Namjoon carefully turns his hand to rub his wrist against the soft skin there. As a beta his scent is weak, almost non-existent, but he's noticed that everyone in the pack reacts well to scenting him and being scented in return.
"Alright," he says after taking a moment to lightly scent Taehyung, too. He stuffs his cold hands in his pockets and leads the way back to the designated break area where all the food is being distributed among the workers. "Thank you for the food. You didn't have to."
"Everyone here is working so hard, of course we want to take care of all of you," Taehyung says, brushing against his shoulder and grinning at the workers who are still staring at him and Jeongguk in awe. Namjoon shies away from the starstruck looks that fall on him walking between them. "Besides, Jiminie called and said you didn't eat today."
Namjoon huffs, burrowing his chin in the collar of his coat to attempt escape both from the cold air and awed gazes. "He shouldn't have done that. You two should be at the tower resting."
"Aw don't be upset, hyung," Jeongguk pouts, resting his chin on Namjoon's shoulder even as they move through the line to pick up carefully packaged individual plates of food. "Tae and I would've come to find you either way. Yoongi hyung wanted to come too but Jinnie hyung wouldn't let him since he took the brunt of the injuries."
"He's ok though?"
"Yeah, of course! You know how hyung is. He'll never rest if we don't make him."
Namjoon hums an agreement and sits on a wide concrete block to eat, the two heroes sitting on either side of him. He's just barely popped the lid of his plate open when Jeongguk presses meat and rice to his mouth.
"Aish," he scolds lightly, accepting the food before feeding some of his own to the maknae alpha. "Stop feeding me and eat. You're the ones who have worked hard today."
"Hyung needs to eat, too," Taehyung declares, holding up a spoonful of pickled vegetables, stubbornly pressing it against Namjoon's lips until he obligingly opens his mouth to accept. "Thank you for working so hard."
Namjoon huffs and turns away, hoping they'll blame his burning red ears on the weather. They pass the rest of the short break like this, feeding each other off their own plates and exchanging bright smiles with the workers and volunteers around them.
---
Then:
When Namjoon was first assigned to Bangtan, they hadn't gotten along at all.
It was understandable, he had reasoned to himself. Their previous handlers had been greedy and abusive, their jealousy of the famous heroes making them cruel and uncaring of the pack's personal lives and health. Some had even tried to use their own powers against the pack, which prompted their hero agency BigHit to make the decision to only bring in betas as handlers from then on since they were born without powers. It was a big factor on why Namjoon had been hired.
It did nothing to make the Bangtan pack any warmer towards him, though.
"If you even use the wrong tone with any of us," Seokjin had threatened the first time they met, "I will personally hang you from the roof of the tower."
Now, two years later, Namjoon recognizes that the hero would never actually do it, but back then it was a threat he took seriously.
"Of course, Seokjin-ssi," he'd responded, keeping his shoulders straight even under the weight of an alpha's gaze on the edge of Rage. "Though if you ever feel I put you or anyone in your pack in needless danger I hope you will bring your concerns to me first before pursuing bodily harm."
He had spent over three years heading his own team of rescue and recovery agents, even though most of them had had terrible complexes that lead them to throw their weight around when it came to taking orders from him. He needed the Bangtan pack to understand that he would do what he could to show them proper respect and make both their professional and personal lives easier, but he would not be cowed or made to feel lesser than he was.
"I'm here to help you," he'd reassured, looking away from the head alpha to take in the rest of the Bangtan pack. "Please let me do so. We are not enemies, Seokjin-ssi." He met his eyes once again and held eye contact for an uncomfortable amount of time. Seokjin huffed and turned back to Namjoon's employment contract, provided by CEO Bang.
"We'll see, Namjoon-ssi."
---
Now:
Namjoon's already running late so he takes a quick trip from the tower for dessert and wine before heading up to the Bangtan living quarters nearly two hours after the time he said he'd be there. He's barely stepped in the door before being nearly bowled over by Jimin.
"Hyung! Did your meeting with CEO Bang run late? If you're tired you could've just called to tell us then gone home. Is everything alright? Oh, what's that?"
Namjoon laughs as Jimin zeroes in on the bags in his hands, passing them to him before stooping to take off his shoes. "Yeah, sorry I'm late. The board and I had a lot to go over for the Festival of Heroes coming up. I figured I was just in time for dinner so I got us some dessert."
"And wine!" Jimin gasps delightedly, holding up the bottle like a trophy to be admired in the light. "Dinner's almost ready. Do you want to get changed? I'm sure Jeonggukie and Jinnie hyung have clothes that could fit you." He glances meaningfully at the stiff suit Namjoon's been wearing all day.
"That sounds great," Namjoon says, already loosening his tie. "Is Seokjin hyung in the kitchen?"
"Of course."
He takes the bags and wine back from Jimin before making his way to the kitchen, smiling at the greeting calls he gets from Hoseok and Yoongi laying on the floor in the wide open space of their living room.
"Is that you, Namjoon-ah?" Seokjin calls before he even gets to the kitchen area.
"It's me, hyung. Sorry I'm late."
Seokjin waves off his apology from where he's stirring a stew. "No need. Is everything ok?"
Namjoon places the wine and bags of dessert on the counter, unpacking everything and refrigerating what he has to. "Everything's fine. CEO Bang just wanted to go over our plans for the Festival of Heroes and tighten up some details." He discards of what he needs to and leans against the counter, enjoying the peace of just being here after a long day. "Jiminie said I could change into your or Jeonggukie's clothes. Is that alright with you?"
"Yeah of course that’s– ah."
Namjoon blinks in confusion as Seokjin turns to look at him then promptly stutters to a stop mid sentence, eyes on his collar. He glances down at flushes when he realizes how unkempt he looks with his loose tie and nearly halfway unbuttoned shirt. "Ah sorry, hyung. I'm a bit of a mess right now." He rubs his jawline self-consciously.
"Oh no, it's–" Seokjin visibly pulls himself together, eyes snapping to Namjoon's and holding so steady Namjoon feels his ears heat up to match his cheeks. "It's fine, Joon-ah. Nothing wrong with having a long day. And yes, please go get changed and wear whatever you want from my closet." He spins back to his stew, stirring even though Namjoon is sure the stove's off.
"Thanks, hyung."
Less than half an hour later they're all sitting around the table, Namjoon finally comfortable in Seokjin's loose sweats and an oversize shirt. Sitting next to him with their shoulders pressed tightly together, Jeongguk firmly rubs his wrist against Namjoon's.
"How come you didn't want to wear my clothes?" he pouts playfully. "We're similar sizes, too."
"Seokjin hyung was the first person of the two of you I saw so he's the one I asked." Namjoon says, pulling from the maknae's grip to lightly thumb at his jaw. Jeongguk instantly relaxes into the scenting, his content grin making Namjoon coo and the rest of the pack laugh.
"Namjoon hyung never has to ask to use my clothes," he insists when Namjoon drops his hand to eat. "Wear whatever you want whenever." Across from them, Hoseok balls up a napkin to throw at him.
"Leave him alone and eat, you menace!"
"You're just upset none of your clothes fit Joonie hyung!"
"You want me to come over there and break your legs?"
"Yah! I worked hard on this food so you better at least eat it first!"
Namjoon laughs, loud and so happy.
"Thank you for always inviting me to eat with you," he says, changing the subject before food fight breaks out. He's not quite able to chase his smile away. "Being here with you always makes me happy."
"Ahhhh our Namjoonie!" Hoseok reaches across to hold his cheeks, ignoring Seokjin's protests to at least go around the table. "Our sweet Namjoonie, you make us happy, too. Please join us everyday." His smile is wide and contagious. Namjoon laughs again and fights against his hold to nod.
Yoongi nudges Hoseok hard enough to break his grip and force him to sit again. "Yah, don't crowd him," he scolds. When he looks at back at Namjoon though, his eyes are warm. "But really, Namjoon-ah. Come over everyday. No matter the time, we want you here."
Namjoon feels something in him settle, comfort and warmth developing and spreading throughout his whole body.
"I'd love to."
---
Then:
Namjoon really needed the finance department to step up its game.
"What do you mean they wouldn't provide any resources for your den upgrade?"
Hoseok shrugged, carefully looking over the spread of opened den decor catalogs on the table in front of him. "They said it wasn't an obligation and that since it's our own personal matter we need to take care of it ourselves."
Namjoon took a deep breath, silently reminding himself that the only pack members who actually read the fine print in contracts were Yoongi and Seokjin and even then it's only because he made them. He shouldn't take his anger at BigHit out on Hoseok.
"Hoseok-ssi, den and nest resources are meant to be provided by the company. It's in your employment contract. Have you been taking care of this all by yourselves this whole time?" Hoseok blinked up at him, thinking before nodding slowly. Namjoon pinched the bridge of his nose. Heroes didn't get paid nearly as much as the public thought, especially since most agencies deemed living arrangements and personalized gear to be enough of a compensation to lower their yearly salary.
"Alright," he said after a few more deep breaths, standing from the table and pulling out his phone. "I'm calling a meeting with the rest of the pack. Don't go anywhere."
Hoseok hummed, already dismissing him to go through the catalogs some more. It had been like this in the months since Namjoon's first meeting with the rest of the pack. When it had been established that open hostility would not be tolerated from either side they had taken to ignoring him unless absolutely necessary.
Unfortunately for everyone, speaking to him was necessary more often than not.
"Hello, Yoongi-ssi?"
"What is it? We're in the middle of something."
"When is the earliest you and the rest of the pack can be home? There's something I need to speak to everyone about."
"Is it urgent?"
Namjoon glanced back to where Hoseok was sitting. "Urgent enough I'd like to get it done today."
"Mm. Give us a couple hours."
Namjoon knew for a fact that everyone had been grocery shopping for hours already and would only take that much longer simply to make him wait. However, he could be patient. His entire schedule today was to go over their contracts, which is what had lead him to this dilemma in the first place.
"I will be waiting for you then," he said. Yoongi hung up without a greeting.
He sighed, pocketing his phone and turning back to the table. "I'm going to make lunch. Are you ok with the leftovers Seokjin-ssi left from last night?"
Hoseok grunted, not looking up from what he was reading. Namjoon walked around the dividing counter to the kitchen area and slowly transferred the food to microwavable dishes and heated everything, pouring a glass of water while he waited. "Hoseok-ssi," he called, "please clear the table in front of you for the food." There was no reply, but when carried the dishes over Hoseok had stacked all the magazines to the side. After placing everything within easy reaching distance he carefully unwrapped the ice pack that was taped to the hero's knee and switched it out with a fresh one.
"Don't forget to do your stretches," he reminded. "You'll be out in the field again in no time."
When he was satisfied with the wrappings he checked his phone for the time. If he got started right now he should be able to have everything read through before the pack came home. He might even have time to take notes on the parts that needed to be changed. He gathered up all the files and moved to the couch so as not to disturb Hoseok's meal.
"Are you not eating?"
Namjoon twisted back to see him. "What was that?"
"Are you not hungry?" Hoseok sat in front of his food, all still untouched. He was leaning back against his chair, arms crossed and one eyebrow raised.
"Ah. No, I'm alright."
"You haven't eaten all day."
Namjoon blinked, glancing at a wall clock and realizing that he indeed hadn't eaten since before he showed up early that morning before even the pack had had their breakfast together. He looked back to Hoseok. Was he expecting them to eat together?
"It's alright, Hoseok-ssi. Just let me know when you're done so I can clean up."
Hoseok frowned at him. "This is a lot of food. Come eat, Namjoon-ssi." He smiled, not exactly friendly, but still more than Namjoon usually saw from him. "Despite what you might have heard, I don't bite."
Namjoon hesitated, glancing back at the contracts and records that he had just finished spreading in front of him. "I should really get as far into these as I can," he said, trying to let Hoseok take an out.
The hero rolled his eyes. "I'm sure it's something we're all supposed to be looking over together anyways. I heard your stomach growling earlier, Namjoon-ssi. Come eat."
Not really seeing a way out, and indeed hungry, Namjoon lifted himself from the couch and slowly sat at the table, watching Hoseok for any sign he should leave. He took a discreet sniff but even the alpha's scent was calm and just on the more welcoming side of neutral. He accepted the plate handed to him and kept his gaze low.
"Thank you for the meal."
Hoseok served him meat before he could reach for the dish himself. "Eat well."
---