The Contract

Hugs

Yoongi's POV

Y/N went out on the balcony, the hot air sticking to her skin. She felt like she was slowly rebuilding herself but being afraid made it hard for someone to feel confident or assured in themselves. She traced her skin absent-mindedly, remembering the hug from earlier that day. Y/N had a hugging scale and the best ones were when someone was strong and firmly wrapped themselves around you. She hadn't realized but one of the things she missed the most about where she'd come from was the hugs, just being touched. It had just been a hug but now her whole body ached. Yearned. Not even romantic, Y/N told herself, just to feel all the things people communicated through heat and skin.

She couldn't get that here. She hugged herself. She needed to be enough for herself. Because heaven knew who else would be.

-

In the bathroom, Yoongi ran water over his face and stared into the mirror. Why had that happened? He was still a little peeved at what she'd put him through but he understood feeling overwhelmed, he was just relieved she was okay. He looked down at his hands. He could still feel her body pressed against his and the smell of her conditioner. It was coconut. Y/N had felt strong but small, especially compared to him. He...

He had liked it...he shook himself. No, he wasn't going to think about it.

When he walked out to the living room, he saw her out on the balcony, deep in thought. He took a deep breath and let it out. Something Jimin had said came to mind. She was indeed beautiful. And...

He couldn't think like that.

That night she laid in bed hugging herself, fighting herself. Be enough, be enough...she felt weak and frail. She needed to get over this. This was reality. She should be strong for herself. She cried silently, not wanting him to hear her.

He had drifted off at first but woke up feeling something was wrong. He laid still, listening to see if maybe someone had come into their apartment. Was that what felt off? No...it took him a minute to realize he was hearing an occasional sniffle. He shifted to hear better.

"Y/N?" She didn't reply at first and then it was a mumbled,

"Mmmm?"

"Are you okay?"

"Mmmm." Yoongi wasn't convinced. He sat up and turned on his bed-side lamp to see her better.

"Are you okay?" He asked again, leaning over to try and see her face better. She shifted away from him and he stopped, unsure of what to do. "Can I see your face?" He asked hesitantly. "Please?"

She just lay there for a moment; then slowly turned over, covering her eyes with her hand. Even with that he could tell she was crying.

"What's wrong?" Was she hurt by how he'd behaved earlier....? No, she'd have told him.

"Nothing. You have practice tomorrow. Sleep." She rolled back over. He wanted to find out what was wrong and even reached out to touch her shoulder but stopped himself. Instead he turned out the light.