Collision

Chapter 12

Yoongi didn't emerge that day.

Not for lunch.

Not for dinner.

Yoongi would be the first to admit that he was being childish, even a little petty, but Jeongguk had hit the one exposed nerve that sent him spiraling back into the hole that he never truly left.

A spot that may have been bandaged and let scab over, but Jeongguk had picked it, and now it was festering again.

He laid amongst his blankets; eyes shut because he wanted to feel normal about it. To accept the darkness because it didn't matter if he saw blurry or not, it was just dark like anyone else who closed their eyes.

Yoongi heard every time Jeongguk, a wolf again, would move from the door. The sounds of claws against hard wood, and then return only a few minutes later with the same whine that sounded eerily similar to I'm sorry.

He never opened the door, never went near it. He remained in his bed, fighting the urge to cry, and to just exist.

When the sun long faded and night darkened the light that ignited his room in a golden glow to pale moonlight, Yoongi could no longer the cramping of his stomach. The roaring that was beginning to drive him mad.

Sighing to himself, irritated at his own childishness, he pushed himself out of bed and clambered to the door. He yanked it open, startling the wolf that leapt to his four paws with a yelp of surprise, tail tucked between his legs and ears pressed to his head.

Jeongguk, realizing it was just Yoongi, softened instantly. His tail gave a solitary wag, ears alert and high on his head.

"I want japchae," Yoongi stated simply, stepping around the mass of black fur to stride towards the kitchen as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Yoongi heard the sound of claws against the hardwood, knowing that Jeongguk was following him, and said nothing against it as he began to gather the pre-prepared ingredients that Seokjin had left him.

He set them on the counter.

"I'm sorry, Yoongi."

Yoongi startled at the sudden sound of Jeongguk's voice, thicker and slurred from his misuse of speech. Pivoting on the spot, he blinked as he saw Jeongguk splayed across the floor, naked again, and seeming to stare beseechingly in his direction.

When Yoongi made no answer, Jeongguk's black hair shielded the tan od Jeongguk's face.

"I'm sorry. For what I said," he pressed. "Wolves tend to be very straight-forward, and regard little for feelings. Instinct to survive. So I just-"

"The apology was enough," Yoongi interjected, sighing heavily as he turned his head away. "Reasons be damned. My feelings be damned. It was my pride you hit, nothing more." He put a pan on the stove, turning up the heat. "Did you want food or not?"

Silence trickled in the kitchen. Yoongi resisted the urge to look over his shoulder, knowing that it won't make a difference, and tried to wait as patiently as possible. He tossed in vegetables.

"Yeah. Yeah, I would like some," Jeongguk finally murmured, voice soft and apologetic. Yoongi nodded once, deciding to add a bit more meat to the dish than he generally would.

Soft on the brat already, his mind helpfully supplied.

"Okay," he grunted.