Mikrokosmos (BTS Reverse Harem x OC Romance)

Panicking Soulmates and Restaurant Discussions (With a Dash of Sleepy Cuddles)

Jungkook blinks blearily at them, the confusion evident in his eyes. He suddenly yawns, rubbing his eyes with his hands. Everyone exchanges amused glances at the sight of him.

"What are—"

Before he can finish his question, another yawn interrupts him. No one is able to hold in their laughter at their cute and ruffled maknae.

Ignoring their laughter, Jungkook soldiers on with his question. "What are we talking about?" He takes a look around, clearly reorienting himself, and has to choke back his own laugh at Taehyung.

With the absence of Jungkook's head as a resting place, Taehyung had turned to his side, resting the left side of his head on the cushion of the booth they're all sitting in.

His hair, pushed up, was ruffled and in disarray. The cheek resting against the cushion was now displaying indentations from lying against the cushion.

Biting his lip to contain his laughter, Jungkook gently shakes Taehyung awake. He had a feeling he would want to be conscious for this conversation.

Taehyung slowly comes around, the last vestiges of sleep slipping away from him due to Jungkook's persistence in waking him. Batting his hands away, Taehyung rouses, looking adorably mussed.

"What do you need, Jungkookie?" Taehyung mumbles, curling into the booth's cushion even more now that the irritating hands that were shaking him had stopped. "I was sleeping," he adds pointedly, a slight whine clear in his voice.

Jungkook takes a second to simply smile at him. Growing up, he had always preferred solitude when given the choice, too scared of making the wrong move if he had to interact with other people. Though he eventually found his way past this hurdle, he never had an easy time speaking to people.

It was a challenge to socialize with others, something that required hard work and effort. Now, older and wiser, Jungkook could navigate the murky waters of social interactions with relative ease, but the drain of talking to others remained a silent constant.

But...

With the other members of BTS, it was different. He often said they were his family, but what they had transcended that. Even with his family, there were times he had to get away, get away from them all.

And his family?

Sometimes, they just didn't understand. It was harder when he was younger, unable to put into words the emotions he was feeling. It got better as he grew older, his family showering him with love and compassion.

The other members of BTS had never needed him to explain. Even at the very beginning, they had seen him. They didn't look through him, like so many others did. No, they stood there and peeled back his many layers, constantly reassuring him and soothing his hidden pains.

They knew him, better than he knew himself. They understood him, and maybe there were rough patches every now and then, when they looked instead of seeing, but they always got through them.

The other members of BTS were more than a family to him. In fact, they felt like a part of himself, essential to his very existence.

And he loved them for it.

"I know you were sleeping, but we have to talk about something. Together," Jungkook responds, sweeping his arm in the direction of everyone else sitting at the table. Taehyung follows his arm with his eyes, eyebrows furrowed in bemusement.