Baseball (VHope)

Ten

"Wake up, sleepyheads!" Jin yelled as he flipped on the lights of the movie room. Hoseok and I had built a pillow-fort in the middle of the movie room and binge-watched The Twilight Zone until we passed out at three in the morning. The menu screen was still being projected on the giant, empty wall we used as a screen, the creepy eye blinking at the next episode, even though it was ten in the morning. Hoseok had his head tucked under my chin and his arms extended out to fall over my shoulders, hands laying limply in my hair. My own arms were wrapped loosely around his waist to keep him on top of me.

I smiled slightly and nuzzled my face in his unruly brown hair, which caused him to slowly wake up and squeeze me the best he could. Jin was long-gone by now, but I could hear him arguing with Namjoon about what time to kick Hoseok out of the house. I felt Hoseok's hands comb through my hair and my attention turned back to him, only to find him smiling down at me; hair in every direction, eyes hooded with drowsiness, a small smile in the shape of a heart on his face. I felt my heart beat faster the longer I stared at him because damn did he look ethereal.

He let out an amused huff before he croaked, "Sleep alright, pumpkin?" That voice was a little deeper than usual and rough with sleep and my face heated up a little. My hands drifted to his sides and slowly began to run them up and down his slim form. "I should be the one asking you that. I did unintentionally cuddle you in our sleep," I replied and he let out a hum. "But am I protesting?" Both of us turned red at his words and my hands stilled on his ribcage. "Hyung will get the water gun if we don't get up. I speak from experience," I sighed out regrettably about a minute later and Hoseok slowly rolled off of me and out of the fort. I followed suit and we made our way down the stairs and into the kitchen, where we found Namjoon filling what looked like a missile-launcher with jumbo marshmallows.

He smiled at us and set the marshmallow launcher down on the counter. "Good morning. I was about to go up there and shoot you if you didn't get up in the next five minutes," he said innocently and I raised an eyebrow at him. "Since when did you buy the marshmallow-launching equivalent of a bazooka?" I asked and he poked my nose. "Amazon Prime is a thing, smartass."

"Please, Joonie. You can't shoot to save your life and all three of us know that's why you were put on recruiting duty," Jin deadpanned as he set mine and Hoseok's plates on the bar in front of us. We thanked him as he handed us our forks and let us tuck into our omelets.

During breakfast, we talked about baseball and Hoseok's family and how they were doing. "Lucy's due in three months. She's stressing out about getting the room ready and stuff, and I'm stressed because she's stressed," Hoseok explained and Jin pouted from his place at the counter, pointing his fork at me. "Have Tae paint and decorate. That's his forte," he said and I nodded with a smile. "Talk to her about it. Give me themes and color schemes and we'll go from there. No payment needed," I said as I nudged my friend with my shoulder. "Lucy would love that. Ever since Wonho walked out on her and took the money... Life's difficult and that gives her one less worry," he sighed out.

Namjoon frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. "Her man walked out on her?" he asked and Hoseok nodded. "They got married five years ago. I was already in Lucy's custody, but he didn't want any kids. He put up with me because of the circumstances, but then she got pregnant and he left her. He took everything with him. My aunt has been struggling ever since, but we're doing the best we can."

The beginnings of tears were forming in my friend's eyes and I thought of the only thing I could do to make him feel better; I wrapped him in my arms and played with the back of his hair. Jin reached out and patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, Hoseok. You have us to help you. You have Tae."

I know exactly what that last part meant. Jin wouldn't have said it if Namjoon disagreed, so the fact that he said it made me so happy and shocked. He meant that if Hoseok and I decided to date, my brothers would support us. And a huge smile washed across Hoseok's face as he looked at me. "Yeah, I do."

"Baby, relax," Jimin sighed as he pushed on Jungkook's chest. Once again, I was standing on a ladder as I kept working on the sports hall mural with my friends to entertain me. The baseball team was heading to the showers and Jungkook glared at them as he stood behind the ladder, blocking it from them as they passed. He moved when I got down, but I yelped as someone grabbed me from behind. "Hey, pumpkin," he whispered, then let me go, disappearing down the hall to the showers.

"He definitely likes you, Taehyungie," Jimin said matter-of-factly as he leaned into his boyfriend's side. I huffed and shook my head as I crouched down to start cleaning the art supplies. "Stop it. He's only a good friend," I defended, but the next statement, made by none other than Min freaking Yoongi, made my heart stop in my chest for a second. "Then why did he go on for about two hours, talking about waking up in your arms?"

Jungkook's eyebrows disappeared into his bands, Jimin's mouth hung open in shock and my face felt like it was on fire. But Yoongi was still his indifferent self. "What?" I whispered and he simply shrugged. "When he got home from your house, he called and told me literally everything. He wouldn't shut the hell up about you! He said his favorite part was laying with you in the pillow-fort, then waking up in your arms. It was kind of cute how much he rambled." My heart raced as if I had just did sprints across an open field and a warmth spread all throughout my body at this news. But my brain was telling me that it was a lie, that he was just saying what I wanted to hear.

Nothing got past Min Yoongi. Ever. Especially now. "No, Tae. Stop it. I'd never lie to you about something like this and you know it," he said sternly, placing his hands on my shoulders. I knew he was right. He only ever lied when he slipped back into his depression. I nodded and hugged him tight for a second, then allowed him to back away a little. "You might say one thing, but he really does like you a lot."

And I couldn't contain my happiness at those words.