hotel_omelas | (no subject)

He's pretty sure everyone is busy tonight. Namjoon has another one of his long shifts; Hoseok and Jimin have practice. Yoongi may not be doing anything but he comes and goes as he wants and who even knows what Tae and Jungkook are up to. Sometimes he'd say it's better not to know except that that is part of his lot in life, isn't it? But he doesn't have that soul-deep sense of dread that he's gotten used to over the past couple of years, so it can't really be all that bad.

It also means he has no business cooking as much as he does. Making dinner for one is hard when you're used to making dinner for a family and by the time he's done chopping, he's got mountains of ingredients in each bowl, ready to go into the stew.

Ah well.

He supposes he could freeze it all but that seems like more trouble than cooking it, so he goes through with the whole thing after all. When he's finished, he tweets a picture of it and pretends like he's not dearly hoping at least one of them will be free to help him eat it.

[[Gathering style works best I think?]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It's nice to be with family. Inside, away from the cold, away from the rest of the world that didn't matter half as much as the world that waited for him here - or anywhere any of them were, really. Jungkook is the first person Taehyung sees when he bursts into the apartment with Seokjin and Namjoon, and his attention is easily diverted.

"Jungkookie!" He didn't even try to hide his excitement, bursting out in a smile and running across the apartment to attack the younger from the side, arms wrapping around him in something between a tackle and a hug. It's a disproportionately excited reaction - it's not as though they don't see each other practically every day - but it's not exactly unexpected from Taehyung, sometimes. "Ah, why are you setting so many places? I'm going to eat most of it, and you can have the rest."

Most people might flinch at a blur suddenly appearing at one's side, but Jungkook readies himself instinctively, eyes wide and laughing as he let himself be bowled over. His hands find Taehyung's sleeves and clutch tightly — if he's going down, he's not going down alone. Soon enough, the both of them are splayed over the dining chairs, Jungkook dissolving in a fit of giggles.

"Taehyungie hyung!" he roars, thrashing a little as he tries to find a way to sit up without breaking the embrace. "Took you long enough. Next time, I really won't wait so long for you. Jin hyung's cooking is too good; it's a shame for it to go cold."

Jungkook reaches for one of the empty bowls, ladling extra tofu and any remaining meat he can find. There are times when he forgets to do his duty as the youngest, but nights like this make it easy, excitement brimming with every arrival.

"Ah, Kookie." The face that he makes is one of distaste, though it's not nearly as serious as he pretends. "Hyung needs to eat too, you know. How else will I keep up with you?"

He sits back to give Jungkook enough room to breathe (but just barely), arm still draped over his shoulders as he watches his food get served. He never expects Jungkook to serve him, but he watches quietly as he does, licking his lips and bouncing his knee in excitement as he brightens, hands going out quickly to slide the bowl in front of him. With just the two of them at the table, everyone else dispersed, it's easy to ignore other conversations and parts of the rooms he'd like to bounce to.

And besides - he likes checking in on Kook, and sometimes, he likes to talk to him without their hyungs. It gives them space to breathe, to think, to be. It's not as though they have to pretend with the others, but sometimes, he thought, Jungkook put on a brave face.

But didn't they all?

The soup is still hot, and he relishes the warmth, so much more comforting than outside. After sitting and enjoying the food for a moment, he takes a breath, relaxing back and resting a hand on his belly. "'s so good. Jin hyung did good."

There are very few people in the world whose excitement Jungkook finds as infectious as Taehyung's, who currently looks fit to shake right out of his skin. It's a quality that Jungkook admires — how Taehyung isn't afraid to lay all of his emotions out on the table without affect. For all the times that Jungkook tries to temper his own enthusiasm, worried about irritated teachers and scolding family members, he never bothers to put on airs around Taehyung.

"Did you even chew?" Jungkook asks, laughing as he reaches over and gives Taehyung's stomach a sharp pat. "Ah, if only eating more could help us grow taller. We'd easily dwarf Namjoon hyung."

With his hyung now finished, Jungkook turns on his seat, pushes it out with a screech of chair legs against the floor until there's enough space for him to lay back, resting his head on Taehyung's lap. It probably doesn't look all too comfortable, a mess of tangled limbs and little support under his back, but Jungkook can't help but angle for the attention. Sometimes, if he's lucky, his hyungs might pet his hair.

"It's really good though, right? Almost as good as my mom's food. Almost."