SWEET DREAMS

- in which you and namjoon are forced to share a bed with each other while on a trip with a group of friends, knowing very well that sleep will be the last thing on your minds.

Sun filters in through the tinted windows of Jin's van, your eyes widening in awe as you childishly press your hands against the glass and watch as the city landscape you all drove from beautifully transforms into the warmth of the beach, the bright blues, green and whites of the world outside bringing an indescribable feeling of joy to you.

As you lean back in your seat, smile soft and content, you realise that the overwhelming sense of joy coursing through you is not only for the week long holiday ahead of you, but for the people you'll be spending it with.

It was around high school when you first met the seven boys you consider your family. Funnily enough, it was also around this time—perhaps a few years down the track—when the eight of you found yourselves moping about in an empty art room, all struggling to figure out who you were and what you wanted to be.

And then Jin spoke up.

"I know we all feel like shit right now," he started, chuckling when murmurs of agreement echoed around the room, "but there's something that I think we're all overlooking here."

"What is it, hyung?" Taehyung asked, running his fingers through his disheveled hair the colour of orange dust, eyes that usually danced with amusement now darkened to a dull state of despair.

"We don't know what the future holds," he sighed, the corners of his lips quirking up fondly at the group before him. "Who knows? We may lead successful lives or we may be as hopeless and lost as we are now. However, we know that no matter what happens, we all have each other."

"Hyung," Jungkook whined in annoyance despite the soft look in his eyes that reflected the gratitude he had for his older brother's words. Jin's words had even managed to bring a gentle smile to your own face, the tense atmosphere of the room slowly slipping away.

"How about this? When we all graduate from this shithole, I'll take us out on a holiday," Jin beamed, relishing in the way everyone immediately straightened at his promise, their lips stretching out into hopeful grins while their eyes began to glisten with a youth innocence that the older hadn't seen in a long time.

"Where to?" Yoongi asked quietly, his head lowered to hide the expectant look on his face. Noticing this, Jin hummed thoughtfully, finding that his heart swelled each time he met the eye of one of his friends.

"Naksan Beach," he finally concluded, pleased with the soft gasps that filled the room in response to his answer. "My parents own a beach house down there so we can rent it out for a week to celebrate."

"That sounds great, hyung," Namjoon beamed, the room slowly filling itself with excited chatter for the trip that would take place years later, the depressive mood between the eight of you disappearing as if it were never there in the first place.

Sure enough, after a lot of hard work and effort, the eight of you—now closer than ever—have graduated successfully with bright futures ahead of you; this trip now meaning a lot more than just a holiday.

Feeling a warm sense of pride bloom in your chest, you sit yourself up on your knees and turn so that you overlook the rest of the van, smile widening at the sight of them looking at peace.

And as you're admiring your friends, your fond gaze meets the curious one of Jimin, his head tilted in confusion of your actions. Shaking your head to dismiss his questions, you return comfortably to your seat and wonder if getting some sleep in the last hour or so of travel time will be beneficial to you.

As if on cue, a yawn tumbles from your mouth, eyelids beginning to feel heavy as the need for sleep weighs them down.

"Y/N," you hear, Jimin's unmistakable but soft whisper aiding in lulling you to sleep. You hum in acknowledgement of your name being called and soon hear shuffling from beside you. "Can I sit with you? Being back there makes me feel like I'm going to throw up."

You hum once more, blindly grabbing onto Jimin's forearm and resting your head onto his shoulder. He chuckles at the childishness of your behaviour and then allows himself to slip into a state of silence, smile fond as he wishes you a good sleep.

Eventually, you're woken up by the van lurching forward, your eyes springing open to brace yourself against something, lips parted in a gasp.

"Calm down," Jimin mutters, "I got you."

Looking down, you sigh in relief when you spot Jimin's arm resting snugly across your middle, thus preventing you from sliding off your seat during the ride. Dropping your head back onto his shoulder, you squeeze your eyes shut to stop them from burning.

"What happened?" You ask, voice thick and heavy with a weariness that makes Jimin's eyes furrow in concern. He brushes some of the hair away from your eyes and gingerly presses the back of his hand to your forehead before answering your question.

"We're here," he beams, watching in an infectious amusement as you immediately sit yourself up with a gasp, eyes twinkling with an excitement that allows little drops of the sun to blend in with the heavenly colour your eyes possess.

"Go on," he chuckles, motioning to the little pathway beside him that leads to the door of the van. Nodding, you squish past him with a breathless giggle and rush your way to the door, swinging it open with a grin.

The rays of sun that warmed the van up now direct their attention on you, each ray of pleasant light greeting your skin with gentle kisses of heat. A cool breeze softly floats in your direction, your eyes closing as the feel of the breeze running down your exposed skin makes you sigh in contentment. The salty tinge in the air that smells faintly of the ocean ahead of you burns deliciously through your lungs, igniting a new type of excitement within you.

It makes you feel alive.

"You gonna move?" Namjoon grumbles from behind you, interrupting the moment of peace you were enjoying with his impatient tone. You roll your eyes with a pout, jumping onto the pavement angrily and turning to face him with your arms folded across your chest. Stepping out behind you, Namjoon stretches his arms above his head with a dimpled smile, his shirt riding up ever slightly to reveal a slither of sun kissed skin, pausing when he meets your irritated gaze.

"What?" He gulps, dropping his ams to his sides with a pout of his own, your gaze softening ever so slightly at the sight of it. He raises his eyebrows at the sudden change in your expression and parts his thin lips to comment on it but you beat him to it with a dismissive wave of your hand, cheeks flushed a soft pink.

"Never mind," you huff, walking yourself to the side of the van so that you can nonchalantly lean against it. "Just don't be so rude next time."

"Got it, boss," he chuckles, sending you a two fingered salute that's paired with a cheeky wink before returning inside to help everyone else with their luggage, your heart skipping a few beats in response to his teasing behaviour.

Immediately, you press your hands to your cheeks, scowling at the place where he stood as your fingertips tingle from the feel of the heat radiating off your skin.

In less than a few minutes, everyone is gathered in front of a rather lavish looking beach house, mouths dropped open to rest beside the luggage that sits by their feet.

And you can't blame them for their reaction to the place because even you stand with your eyes wide open and lips parted in shock.

The exterior of the house is painted a pearl white, the delicate shade of white looking splendid against the bright pop of colour behind it. There are wooden steps placed directly in front of your small huddle that lead up to the porch, each step covered in a light dusting of sand. The porch itself is decorated with small plants and a swinging chair that connects to the ceiling above.

You swallow down your admiration and make the first move to join Jin up on the porch, his head lowered as he fiddles around with the keys. The boys watch as you bend down to collect your luggage and happily make your way up the steps to rest your head against Jin's shoulder as he inserts the key into the lock.

Your eagerness to join Jin astounds the group still waiting at the bottom of the steps, all of them unbeknownst to the fact that your so called eagerness is directed towards finding out if the inside is as fancy as the outside suggests.

After all, it's no secret that Jin's parents have money.

With a successful grunt, Jin twists the knob and swings the door open, flashing you a charming grin as you breeze past him with a fond chuckle, dropping your bags by the front door.

And, just as you expected, the interior to the beach house is so breathtaking that you're left speechless as you look around with eyes that glisten with a look of awe that can only be described as naive.

However, as you slowly begin to slip into yet another state of peaceful admiration, a chorus of appreciative yells echoes throughout the doorway, startling you out of your own world as a string of curses fall from your lips.

"This place is great, hyung," Yoongi comments quietly as he stops to affectionately nudge your shoulder, the corners of his lips lifting ever so slightly when you return his gesture by resting your head on his forearm. "Thanks for letting us stay over."

"Of course," Jin sighs, slamming the door shut before joining the two of you to watch the younger guys run around the place with their lips stretched out into smiles of glee. "I did promise."

"Idiots," Yoongi yells, chuckling when five wide pairs of eyes turn to look at him, the fear in their gazes amusing to the three of you. "Stop being fucking children and get over here."

Glumly dropping their heads in shame, the boys huddle together in front of the three of you, looking towards Jin expectantly as both you and Yoongi join the crowd.

"Thanks, Yoongi," Jin grins, shaking his head when said boy winks. "Anyway, there is a few things we need to organise before getting settled in. For starters, rules."

Despite there being a few soft groans at the mentions of there being restrictions on behaviour, everyone nods to signal Jin to continue.

"This place belongs to my parents so I will kill you all if anything breaks," he explains, clasping his hands together in front of him. "And don't eat all the food. The nearest supermarket is an hour away so rationalise everything we have here and the stuff we brought with us."

"Is that it?" Jungkook asks hopefully, his chestnut brown eyes gleaming with mischief as Jin's widen in alarm.

"No, there's one more. Don't be fucking stupid," Jin sternly announces, dragging his gaze to meet the eye of every single person before returning it to the middle of the group. You scoff under your breath at the stunned silence that settles itself over the group and raise your hand, smiling when Jin acknowledges you with a nod.

"What about sleeping arrangements?"

Your question brings a look of worry to Jin's face, your eyebrows knitting themselves together as you realise that perhaps your desire of getting a comfortable sleep tonight is a little far fetched.

As Jin nervously laughs while trying to come up with an answer to your question, you pout and lower your head to hide your face. Namjoon notices your behaviour and chuckles, quietly moving himself so that he stands behind you before draping his arms over your shoulders and pressing his chin on top of your head, ultimately hugging you to his chest.

And you can tell it's Namjoon before he even starts whispering to you about why Jin is taking so long by the scent of honey that clings to his skin and now, clings to yours.

"This house has four bedrooms," Jin starts calmly, hiding his worry with a soft smile. "Three of them have two beds, the other only has one. Since there are eight of us, we're all sleeping in pairs. It just means that one pair shares the bed."

"How will we decide who shares?" Jimin questions, watching carefully as Jin snatches the hat off Taehyung's head with a triumphant laugh.

"We draw names," he announces, grabbing the pen and paper off the hallway table with a sly smirk. Normally, you'd be ready to participate in childish things like this but when it comes to deciding how you'll be sleeping, you're practically livid.

"Shouldn't I be excluded from this? I am a girl after all," you explain, flashing the boys a toothy grin when they turn to stare at you, Namjoon's hold on you tightening ever so slightly.

"Nope," Jin states, dropping what you presume to be the sheet of paper with your name written on it into the hat, ignoring the way your cheeks flush an angry shade of red and your hands ball into tight fists. "Just pray that your name doesn't get picked."

If it weren't for Namjoon's grip on you, you probably would've slapped him.

"Hoseok, pick a name," Jin beams, thrusting the hat into the baffled boy's arms with a wink. You roll your eyes and fold your arms across your chest, the sudden change in your position meaning that your arms now press Namjoon's ones into your chest, the man sighing as he resorts to just holding onto your arms.

Funnily enough, it isn't until Namjoon's thumbs begin to rub slow circles on your wrists that you realise the lack of space in between the two of you. You're about to slide out of his warm and comforting embrace with cheeks practically on fire but Hoseok's squeak as he pulls a name out of the hat catches your attention, your body leaning forward in anticipation.

"Y/N," he whispers, looking up at you with eyes that beg for forgiveness. "The first name is Y/N."

"You've got to be kidding me," you mutter under your breath, throwing your head back in exasperation, choosing to ignore the way the boys softly chuckle at your misfortune.

"Jungkook, pick the next one," Namjoon laughs out, doubling over when you shrug yourself out of his hold and stand behind Jimin, thankfully accepting the look of pity the young boy sends you.

"Oh, crap," Jungkook utters as he reads the name on the paper, doe eyes enlarging each time they skim over the sloppy handwriting on the sheet. "Hyung, it's you."

"Who?" Jimin asks, eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he glances over at each boy in worry. Jungkook gulps and raises his hand, finger pointed towards the only boy still laughing over your poor luck.

"It's Namjoon hyung."

At the mention of his name, Namjoon sobers up, his back straightening as he reaches over to snatch the paper out of Jungkook's hand, his own hands beginning to tremble as he reads his own name on the sheet.

Slowly, he drags his nervous gaze up to meet yours, offering you a sheepish smile as he waves the paper around in the air, hoping that it's enough to ease the tension.

"Looks like we're roomies?"

*

After several hours of roaming on the beach and listening to Jin ramble on about all the wonderful things he has planned for the week, it's finally time for the eight of you to drag your sluggish selves to bed.

"Goodnight, everyone," Jin yells from the entrance of his room, the sound of seven more yells similar to his following shortly after.

You finish up in the bathroom and furrow your eyebrows at the sight of your hands shaking, meeting the gaze of your reflection in the fogged up mirror. Although sleeping beside Namjoon is a new thing, it shouldn't be making you this nervous. After all, he's nothing more to you than a friend.

The way your heartbeat quickens, however, begins to convince you otherwise.

Scratching the back of your head, you exit the bathroom with your cheeks flushed a flustered shade of red and your bottom lip in between your teeth. Carefully, you lift your head up and scan the living room, not surprised to see Namjoon propped up on the couch, mindlessly scrolling through his phone.

"Are you finished?" He questions when he catches a glimpse of you walking past him from the corner of his eye. You nod, offering him a gentle smile as he stands and leads you to the room you'll be sharing.

"You could've gone in," you chuckle, thanking him quietly as he holds the door open for you and gently shuts it behind him, smile one of embarrassment.

"Yeah, but I wanted to wait for you. Just in case," he explains, placing both his hands on his hips as he stares at the bed. Using this opportunity to stare at him for a little longer, you admire his structured features and the way he looks as if he's built to perfection, your fingers twitching as you shamelessly run your gaze down the see-through shirt that sticks to his chest.

And then, with your cheeks warming up in response to your thoughts, you quickly shake your attention onto the bed, lips jutting themselves out into a pout of disapproval.

The bed itself is small and you wonder how close you and Namjoon have to be to each other to fit.

"Which side do you want?" He mumbles, looking over at you hesitantly. You shrug and motion for him to pick a side with a tilt of your head. He sighs and points to the side closest to him, looking to you for confirmation. You nod with an unconvincing smile plastered to your face and make your way to your side of the bed, pulling the covers over your legs as the bed dips on Namjoon's side.

In a matter of seconds, the both of you are laying on your backs and staring at the ceiling, arms just brushing up against one another with cheeks painted the colour of blooming cherry blossoms.

Namjoon clears his throat, mumbling under his breath as you feel him shuffle beside you. Your eyebrows furrow together when something soft presses against your side, lips parted in confusion until Namjoon sighs in satisfaction.

"I put a pillow barrier up," he explains, there being a prideful lilt in his voice. "Hopefully this makes it less awkward."

Finding the consideration behind his action endearing, you allow your lips to stretch out into a soft smile, hands balling the soft sheets beneath you into tight fists.

"Thanks, Joon," you quietly scoff, heart skipping a few beats at the sound of him laughing to your response. Surely enough, the awkwardness that slotted itself in between the two of you begins to take its leave, your smile effortless as the desire to talk more with Namjoon overpowers your need to sleep.

"Can you believe we all graduated?" He sighs, rolling onto his side so that he faces the pillow, his eyes closed despite not wanting to fall asleep yet. You find yourself shyly copying his actions, facing the pillow with your bottom lip in between your teeth as you hum in response to his question.

"And to think that in a few months, we'll all be studying in university, working our asses off to achieve our goals," he continues on, each word he mumbles practically drowning in humorous disbelief that has you nodding along with a fond smile. "It's insane."

"I'm proud of us," you whisper, fiddling with the ends of your hair as Namjoon smiles softly to himself. "And I'm glad that none of us gave up that day in the art room. Things would be so different if we did."

He agrees with a soft hum, his eyes flicking open to stare at the pillow as if you're staring back at him with those eyes that swim in a million emotions at once, pulling him into an abyss that he hasn't quite figured out how to get out of.

However, being enraptured by your being isn't necessarily a bad thing for Namjoon, especially when the only thing separating the two of you now is a pillow that will most likely end up on the floor in the night.

"Y/N," he calls, continuing on when you whisper out a soft response, "what does life look like after this trip for you?"

"Simple," you reply immediately, running your fingers through your hair before explaining what you wish your future will look like. "I will spend a few months packing and spending time with family before heading off to university. From there, I'll study, graduate, get a job, buy a house, marry and live a good life with my family. And, of course, I'll have you seven by my side the entire way."

He chuckles at your last comment, mentally noting that you're right in saying that since all eight of you managed to make it into the same university. Other than that, his mind seems to linger on the idea of you getting married and starting a family.

He has no doubt in his mind that that will be a possibility for you but, for some reason unknown to him, when picturing you cuddling up with your children before leaving for work, it's his cheek you press a kiss to after leaving your kids to finish getting ready for school.

It's him that you say I love you to.

"How about you, Joonie?" You sigh, propping yourself up onto your arm so you can just see the start of Namjoon's arm as he hums in thought. You're tempted to just crawl into his embrace and have him hold you like he did several hours ago, your mind realising that you crave the attention he gives you.

And you find it natural for your heart to start hammering against your chest at the thought of him cuddling you to his chest and your stomach to fill with butterflies at the mere idea of his hands gently wrapped around your waist.

You snap yourself back to reality before you go further and get stuck with the thoughts of Namjoon loving you like you want him to.

"Well, I see myself doing the same things you'd be doing," he chuckles tiredly. "I'm not just going to let all my hard work go to waste so I'm going to study hard and enjoy the rest of my life with the people I love."

Your heart flips at his words, stomach clenching in an uncomfortable yet familiar way. He stays silent for a few moments, your breathing slowly beginning to even itself out as pleasant and warm thoughts of being a part of Namjoon's future begins to lull you to sleep.

"Y/N?" He calls suddenly, interrupting the silence with his gently whisper. You don't reply, your chest rising and falling at an even pace with a content smile plastered onto your face.

Worried by your lack of response, Namjoon props himself up and peeks over the pillow, features softening at the sight of you curled into yourself as you sleep carelessly. Hesitantly, he reaches over the pillow and allows himself to gently tuck a strand of your hair behind your ear, fingers just ghosting over your cheek in the process.

"Sweet dreams," he mutters, giving you one last lingering look before rolling onto his side and forcing himself to sleep, the blush inducing thoughts of you that calmly cloud his mind making it ridiculously hard to do so.

You awake the next morning to the feel of soft sunlight kissing your skin and an unknown source of warmth caging you in its beyond comfortable embrace. Blinking away the sleep from your eyes, you try to stretch your arms as a tired smile graces your features, it faltering at the sudden realisation of your arms being stuck.

Furrowing your brows together, you look down to see a tanned arm thrown across your waist and a sweat pant clad leg entangled in between yours. Eyes widening in surprise, you angle your head a little to come face to face with what appears to be Namjoon's chest.

Oh god, is he spooning me? Why doesn't it feel wrong?

Gulping, you carefully lift your head up off his other arm and spot the pillow that was in between the two of you resting on the floor. Sighing, you drop your head back down onto his arm, holding your breath when Namjoon suddenly starts moving.

He pulls you further into his embrace, your back digging into his chest as he tightens his hold around your waist and rests his head on top of yours.

"Stay a little longer," he mumbles before allowing himself to drift back off to sleep, completely unaware of the affect his words have on you. Shyly reaching up to press your hands against your cheeks, you tell yourself to stay for only five minutes and close your eyes, breathing automatically matching itself to the peaceful one of Namjoon as he cuddles against you.

Maybe this sleeping arrangement wasn't such a bad thing after all.