Hoseok and Taehyung had since settled down into a hesitant sort of comfort. At least, on Hoseok's part.
Hoseok observed as Taehyung bustled about the penthouse to set up belated Christmas decorations for the party and as he made several calls to various delivery services for a variety of food choices. Hoseok had offered many times to help out, but Taehyung had insisted that he wasn't about to make his honored guest work for him. Hoseok didn't know if he was startled or flattered by Taehyung's acknowledgment of his special title.
Jungkook and Jimin had a ball running around the penthouse like two hyperactive children. Hoseok was continually anxious whenever the two of them left his line of vision, opting to explore further down the hallway that Taehyung had yet to tour to Hoseok.
Hoseok was also curious about what lay behind the pristine doors that lined the hall's walls, but he happened to have much more self-control and patience than his companions, so he restrained himself into a tense sitting position along the edge of the couch's cushion until Taehyung finally announced the official start of the party.
It was when Hoseok had just begun to allow his body to relax against the back cushions of the couch that the unmistakable sound of a doorbell going off echoed across the vast space of the penthouse. Hoseok jolted out of his reclined position and jumped to attention as Taehyung all but ran from his previous task of throwing streamers across the ceiling fans and toward the door.
"Namjoon-hyung!" Taehyung exclaimed with pure glee.
Hoseok released a strangled sort of sound and involuntarily peered around the corner of the wall that blocked any direct viewing of the front door from his position. His breath hitched when Namjoon's lean figured towering over Taehyung entered his sight. A shot of panic went through his body, but then he slowly began to relax when he realized there really was no reason for him to panic in the first place.
"Come on in!" he heard Taehyung say.
"Pardon my intrusion," Namjoon mumbled in greeting.
The moment Namjoon entered the living room, his eyes immediately landed on Hoseok's still standing, stiff figure.
Hoseok watched as his eyes grew comedically broad for a moment before a dimple-inducing smile broke out across his face.
"Hoseok!" he exclaimed in greeting, approaching Hoseok with open arms.
Hoseok accepted the hug with little reluctance and even went the extra mile to pat Namjoon's bent back.
"How've you been, Joon?" Hoseok murmured into the junction between Namjoon's neck and shoulder. His coworker's natural body heat seeped into his own and instantly calmed his earlier nerves, causing him to go lax in Namjoon's strong arms. "Wow, I forgot how good your hugs felt," he ended up saying, the statement a direct projection of his immediate thoughts, only a little slurred and less intelligent sounding than he thought it would be.
Namjoon released a hearty laugh and pulled away from Hoseok to get a good look at his face. Hoseok mourned the loss of the comforting warmth as he stared back up into Namjoon's wide, searching eyes. Hoseok frowned slightly when he saw worry cloud his coworker's usual sparkle, and slowly realized the Namjoon was probably taking notice of his apparently visible exhaustion.
"No need to worry about me like that, Joon," he said, pulling himself away from Namjoon entirely and escaping from his coworker's arms, which had been wrapped around his waist.
"I've just been a little busy lately," he continued when Namjoon maintained that worried expression. "More projects to look over and stuff. Y'know, the usual."
Namjoon didn't look entirely convinced, but his worry was less visible at Hoseok's insistence. Taehyung broke their short-lived reunion up and set about to touring Namjoon around, leaving Hoseok to do whatever he pleased now that the party had officially begun.
Hoseok's alone time was also short-lived, as seemed the usual these days.
"I think Taehyung got jealous," Jungkook whispered into Hoseok's ear while the other was sampling some of the food delivered earlier.
Hoseok couldn't help but sigh in utter exasperation at Jungkook's attempt of using the Devil's whisper on him. "Kook," he said around the grape currently shoved into his mouth, "Taehyung-ah wasn't jealous. He just had to tour Namjoon, his guest, around before he got too comfortable. It's good host manners."
Jimin, prodding through a collection of dipping sauces himself, hummed in mutual agreement. "Yeah, Jungkook-ah. Stop reading into things like some high schooler trying to egg his friend on into believing that somebody has a crush on them."
Hoseok refrained himself from laughing outright, but he couldn't hold back the slight snicker that arose at the disgruntled expression Jungkook held. "I just realized, but that's totally what you've been doing, Jungkook."
"I'm not reading into things!" Jungkook denied with a violent slam of his hands onto the kitchen counter. "I'm just stating facts that you two oblivious dunderheads wouldn't be able to realize without my help!"
"'Oblivious dunderheads?'" Jimin muttered underneath his breath, a haughty tone discoloring the demon's original wording.
"Hey now," Hoseok warned, pointing a baby carrot at Jungkook in what he hoped was a threatening manner. "No need to throw a hissy fit just 'cos we hurt your pride."
"I'm not throwing a hissy fit!" Jungkook denied, yet again. He, thankfully, didn't assault the countertop for a second time.
"Hoseok-hyung was right. You are a man child," Jimin said, a satisfied grin spreading across his face.
Hoseok watched as Jungkook grew ruby red in the face, a slight snarl on his face revealing his fangs.
"Hey, hey, chill out, Kook," Hoseok said, approaching Jungkook and placing his hand on the back of the demon's neck to massage it lightly. "Take deep breaths. There's no need for you to get riled up just because of Jimin's teasing."
"Are you saying my teasing isn't good enough to get mad about?" Jimin implored with a shit-eating grin on his face, tone utterly unapologetic.
Hoseok felt Jungkook's body tense even further at Jimin's provocation. He frowned and set aside the fruit and vegetable tray he had been nibbling from.
With his other hand freed, he placed the hand he had been using to knead Jungkook's neck over onto his shoulder to give the demon a full on upper body massage. He squeezed the taut muscles with his fingers, trying to find the area with the most tension, before pressing the heel of his palms into the bridge of Jungkook's shoulder. He felt Jungkook jolt under the sudden change in pressure.
Deciding that a silent session wasn't going to work with Jungkook's awkward personality, Hoseok began to speak.
"You know, I didn't think a demon would be this tense," he said, words falling from his lips without previous filtering from his mind. "I guess I just thought that demons didn't really have much to worry about, being that you guys are, y'know, dead."
Jimin snorted at Hoseok's words as he plucked a grape free from the earlier abandoned tray. Hoseok appreciated the audience's positive response, but the angel wasn't his primary concern, so he disregarded Jimin for the time being.
"Why do you get so angry when we tease you, though?" he continued, now rolling Jungkook's shoulders with the sheer force of his massage. "Surely your demon colleagues tease you like us, right?"
Jungkook groaned at the release of tension under Hoseok's hands and struggled with himself to respond with a coherent sentence. "I--ah, no, they don't really"--he twitched, like Hoseok had hit a sensitive bundle of nerves--"they don't really te-tease me like you guys do..."
Hoseok moved his hands closer toward Jungkook's neck. "Oh? Are you guys not close or something?"
Jungkook released a sigh of relief. "I mean, we are. It's just..."
He trailed off, and Hoseok wondered if the demon had lost his thought process due to his change in position. But the worry was gone when Jungkook continued after a moment's pause.
"We have fun and joke around, but not really at the expense of my pride, y'know?" he said.
Hoseok released a quiet noise of understanding as he moved his hands to actually be around Jungkook's neck before grinning at the back of Jungkook's head. "You just don't like getting picked on, huh?" he implored, tone light and teasing.
"Does anybody?" Jungkook grunted.
"There are such things as masochists," Jimin chirped.
Hoseok laughed before he could stop himself and he immediately removed his hands from around Jungkook's neck to cover his mouth.
"Hoseokie?" Taehyung's voice called out. It entered Hoseok's hearing as a distorted echo, revealing the other to be further down the hall. "Are you watching something funny?"
"Hurry up and answer him!" Jungkook hissed at Hoseok's hesitance. "You'll blow our cover!"
"Yeah, I am!" Hoseok answered at the same time Jimin tutted.
"You make it sound like we're secret spies or something," Jimin muttered disapprovingly.
Hoseok ignored the beginnings of the angel's and demon's squabble and listened hard for Taehyung's response with batted breath.
"Okay!" was all Taehyung had to say on the matter, but it was enough to relieve Hoseok of his stress entirely.
"I think you need a massage, hyung," Jungkook said with a slight pout. "You've got too much stress in your life."
Hoseok rounded on him with an unamused stare. "Oh. Well, gee. I wonder who could possibly be the cause of that."
"Jimin-hyung?"
Hoseok refrained himself from placing his hands around Jungkook's neck to choke him.
A/N - a prime example as to why you should never allow a demon to stick around.