It had been a long day for all of Bangtan, and the van ride to the hotel after their performance had turned into more than an hour long nap for most of the group. Yoongi and Namjoon were slumped into Hoseok in the back seat, one head on either shoulder and Hoseok's long neck stretched back against the headrest in a way that would probably leave him aching all the next day. Seokjin was in the middle seat with Jeongguk and Taehyung cuddled up in his lap, a hand on each boy's head and his own resting on the pillow hanging around his neck.

Jimin… he was all alone in the front seat, scrolling through fan pictures on his phone and wishing for the first time ever that he had lost the rock paper scissors battle to ride shotgun. He wanted to be curled up in Seokjin's lap. He wanted to be sandwiched between two thirds of the rap line. He didn't want to be alone.

“Aren't you tired?” Seokjin asked when Jimin turned in his seat to check on everyone. Seokjin's voice was soft, careful not to wake the sleeping beauties in his lap. “We're still about half an hour away from the hotel. Why don't you close your eyes for a bit?” Always agreeable, Jimin just nodded and leaned his head against the cool glass of the window to watch the flicker of the lights they passed.

Once they were checked in at the hotel, each member was handed a room key, the rooming assignments a random luck of the draw; whoever happened to have matching keys were stuck together for the night. Jimin thought he must have had the best luck ever when his key matched Seokjin's, thankful that for at least one night he wouldn't have to suffer through Namjoon's snoring or Taehyung's sleep talking or Hoseok's hour long skin care routine. He wouldn't have to wake a grumpy Yoongi or an impossible maknae. He could just take a quick shower and crawl into bed and enjoy a peaceful night's rest.

“You can shower first, Jiminie,” Seokjin offered as he unlocked their door. “I'm gonna give my parents a quick call before bed. I haven't checked in with them in awhile.”

“Sure, hyung,” Jimin whispered. He unpacked his pajamas and grabbed his shower bag and shut the door behind him while Seokjin dialed his phone. He tried to give Seokjin a little privacy, knowing how emotional some of them could get when they called home.

Seokjin was waiting on one of the beds when Jimin emerged from the bathroom. “Nice call?” he asked.

“Yeah. They told me some new jokes they heard. I'll have to share them with the kids tomorrow. They're really funny.”

Jimin smiled. He still hadn't decided if Seokjin seriously thought the jokes were funny or if he just enjoyed the reactions he got from the other members when he told them, so Jimin tried to humor his hyung, just in case.

Seokjin ruffled Jimin’s wet hair on the way to the bathroom, and after the door shut behind him, Jimin flopped on his bed. He was tired but still feeling a little lonely, not wanting to fall asleep in the empty room. He started a movie on his iPad while he waited for Seokjin to return.

It didn’t take Seokjin long to shower, but by the time he was finished, Jimin was fighting a bit to keep his eyes open. “Still up? I thought you’d be out cold by now.”

“I just wanted to watch this first,” Jimin lied. “It’s over now, though.” He locked the iPad and set it aside, settling into the comfy hotel bed. Hotel beds never quite felt like sleeping at home, but at least this one had plenty of fluffy pillows and nice, soft sheets. Seokjin leaned down to kiss Jimin’s cheek before turning off the lights.

“Night, Jiminie,” Seokjin whispered, like he wasn’t sure if Jimin had fallen asleep in the last 45 seconds.

“Night, hyung,” Jimin answered. He closed his eyes and waited for sleep to take him. He listened to Seokjin breathing across the room, and he waited. He relaxed every muscle from his toes to his fingertips to his head one by one, and he waited. He counted backwards from a hundred, and he waited. He checked the clock on the table, again and again, and eventually he gave up waiting.

“Hyung?” Jimin tried to be quiet. It was entirely possible Seokjin had passed out the moment his head hit the pillow, and if he was asleep, Jimin didn’t want to disturb him.

“Yeah?”

“Can… can I…” Jimin, despite what fans might sometimes believe, was not needy. He was not a child anymore. He didn’t require constant attention to survive, but he was a ing human being, prone to crave the contact of other human beings from time to time. Tonight, Jimin just wanted a little snuggle time with his hyung, that was all, and thankfully Seokjin understood without Jimin having to finish his sentence.

“Get over here, kid.” Seokjin lifted the blanket so Jimin could slide between the sheets with him, and Jimin didn’t hesitate another second. He wiggled until his back met Seokjin’s chest, and when Seokjin threw an arm around him, Jimin melted into his embrace. “Better?”

“Mhmm,” Jimin hummed, feeling ridiculously comfortable. He closed his eyes, and again, he waited for sleep to come. He listened to Seokjin’s breathing behind him, feeling Soekjin’s chest expand against his back with every inhale, and he waited. He let their body heat warm him and relax his muscles, and he waited. He counted each twitch of Seokjin’s fingers as he fell deeper into slumber until they faded into complete stillness, and he waited.

Jimin didn’t bother to check the clock again. Even if sleep never came tonight, he was so comfortable, so relaxed, so happy that it didn’t matter. He could lie there awake all night, surrounded by Seokjin, and by morning, he was sure, he would feel rested.

He didn’t remember falling asleep, only realising it had happened when he woke up to soft, early morning sunshine peeking through the window, giving the room a warm glow. The sheets were cool when he rolled over, and he could hear water running throught the open door of the bathroom, Seokjin brushing his teeth or washing his face to get his day started. Jimin whined, mourning the loss of his personal heater/blanket/pillow.

“Go back to sleep,” Seokjin said through a mouthful of toothpaste. “I’ll wake you up in time for our schedule.” He turned back to the bathroom to spit out the toothpaste and rinse his mouth.

“No, you’re already up,” Jimin groaned. “I should get up too.” He stood and made his way to the bathroom, and he squeaked when his bare feet hit the cold tile floor. Seokjin waited in the doorway while Jimin brushed his teeth, and before Jimin could start the rest of his morning routine, a pair of arms slipped around his waist.

“Come on, kiddo. Back to bed.” Jimin struggled feebly as Seokjin dragged him over to the bed. He pushed Jimin down and wrapped around him like an octopus until Jimin gave in and relaxed.

“Hyung,” he whined, “you hate laying around in bed once you’re awake. Go find Hoseok and get some coffee. I’ll be fine here.”

Seokjin huffed. His minty breath blew Jimin’s fringe off of his forehead, and it tickled. Jimin’s instinct was to giggle and pull away, trying to roll to the other side of the bed. “Don’t wanna. Wanna snuggle, now stop squirming and let me hold you, brat.” Jimin did stop, but he was still tense.

Then Seokjin’s fingers were brushing his hair back away from his face again, fingernails gently scraping his skin as they grazed his scalp, a palm resting against his cheek before sweeping across his ear and down his neck. Jimin shuddered, melted.

“That’s better,” Seokjin murmured. “Just relax. Hyung’s got you.”

Jimin didn’t fall asleep again. He was surprisingly well-rested after so little sleep, but this was nice. He felt cared for in a way he rarely experienced lately. He was not a child anymore. Spending so much of his life away from his family, with six other boys who were also away from their families, he realised, had created another sort of family. Jimin had six brothers who he could rely on, brothers who would play with him and goof off when they had time, brothers who made sure he ate enough and slept enough and didn’t overwork himself. The other thing he realised in that moment, that peaceful moment when he was safe and protected and cared for, was that he loved them, all of them, but especially Seokjin who had sacrificed his opportunity to be childish and playful in favor of becoming Bangtan’s pseudo-parent.

Seokjin was the one who cooked for them, who encouraged them to go to bed at a decent hour when they could and woke them up in time for everyone to shower and have breakfast before they had to leave the dorm. He was the one who checked to make sure Taehyung’s socks matched and Jeongguk was wearing both shoes. He was the one who went searching for Namjoon’s phone multiple times a day and who dragged Yoongi away from the studio when he told everyone else to off. He was the one who brought Hoseok and Jimin water when they refused to leave the practice room even after hours of extra rehearsal, and Jimin thought that even though he thought of all of them as family, he maybe loved Seokjin the most.

So he told him. He buried his face in Seokjin’s neck and pressed his lips against the soft, warm skin, and he whispered, “Thank you, hyung. I love you.”

Seokjin didn’t respond, and when Jimin pulled back to look at him, Seokjin’s eyes were closed. Jimin sighed and smiled and snuggled back into Seokjin, letting him get a tiny bit more rest. For just a little while, Jimin would take care of his hyung.