Yoongi managed to hurt himself again fixing something on the kitchen stove. He still had faint scars from his last injury, though I mostly blamed the scarring on his impatience, considering he ripped his stitches out far too early. More pressing, however, was that I found myself alone for the first time in recent memory since Yoongi reluctantly made his way to the MedLab for treatment. I had decided to go out for a little walk on my own, despite the cold. Superficially, I was just having a calming stroll, but part of me was on the hunt for the big black dog I had considered to be a permanent fixture in our lives. I still hadn't caught even a glimpse of it since that day. I walked all the way to the edge of the government village, right where the dirt path gave way to paved cobblestone, where the canine would usually sit, staring out at the modern buildings. I had so many questions, and realized that even if I found the creature, it wouldn't be able to answer them anyway. That was the price to pay for boredom, I suppose. Refusing to take one step closer to the headquarters, I spun around on my heels and started the walk home, occasionally glancing through the dense tree trunks just in case.

It hadn't snowed in a few days, so what remained of the stuff was rather dirty and grey, piled in hard icy packs along the relatively narrow pathway. The sky was overcast as it always seemed to be, and I wondered if we would get fresh snow anytime soon. I had decided that I wasn't really a fan of snow. The fresh, powdery snow was fun and fantastic, but it didn't last long, and quickly became a nuisance more than anything. It was easy to forget that it was just frozen water until suddenly I felt very cold and very wet once I stepped back inside and all the little cute flecks stuck to my hair and snow became uncomfortably cold and wet. This train of thought continued until I suddenly found myself at the compound gate, somewhat disoriented. I had zoned out so much, I didn't even remember making the appropriate turns to make it home. Then again, I had made that walk so many times, I supposed it was just muscle memory. With a little shrug, I punched in the pin to the gate, and pushed it open.

Almost immediately I spotted Hobie and Taehyung together behind the concrete building. At first I decided to sneak around to the front door to leave them be, but I saw that they were dancing together. It was nothing like Hobie's skillful, controlled displays of grace I had seen before, but a silly and erratic exercise of fun. I could hear Taehyung singing something I didn't recognize through his slightly labored breathing, and they were both giggling like little girls. Curiosity got the better of me, so I took a few steps closer, leaning around the corner of the building to get a better look. My discretion was in vain, however, as TaeTae spotted me in an instant. "Zoey! Come join our dance party!" his deep voice exclaimed happily as he bounded towards me, taking my hands in his to drag me with him. Hobie welcomed me with open arms, and I couldn't help but be infected with their spontaneous joy. We danced like drunken kids, moving in no particular pattern to no particular beat. I had to admit, though, it was pretty fun getting passed between Taehyung and Hobie for a dance partner, but mostly we just all danced together. Eventually, though, even Hobie started to feel just a little bit weary. Collapsing onto the little concrete bench on the back wall, we all took a quiet moment to catch our breath.

"So you finally escaped Yoongi, huh?" Taehyung finally asked, his low voice still breathy from the exertion. I rolled my head to the side to catch a glimpse of his face, his rusty brown hair plastered to his forehead. That wide, rectangular smile was out in full force, his eyes barely visible from the creases.

I gave one hollow laugh at his question. "It wasn't an escape, TaeTae," I couldn't really hide my smile, though. It was true that basically every waking moment I had was spent by Yoongi's side whenever I could manage it. Thus was the nature of a new relationship, though. Not to mention the stability helped with my physical and emotional recovery. It was just nice to have something so reliable.

Hobie sat to the other side of me, and I felt him snake an arm around my shoulders to give me a little squeeze, causing me to turn and look up at him. "Well I think it's sweet," he countered calmly, his long face pulled into a little smile. "I'm glad you guys can be happy." When I leaned into his side, I could feel his steady, even breathing. Taehyung scooted a bit closer, sandwiching me tighter between the two. "How are you doing, Zoey?" Hobie's voice had dropped to a quiet near-whisper as he spoke again. The question was simple, but heavy. It had been a while since I had been able to really talk to Hobie, and he had been nothing but welcoming. I felt just a twinge of guilt for monopolizing my time with Yoongi, but at least things had been calm enough for all of us to go out together on a few occasions. Even so, Hobie had always been understanding and kind, and I felt compelled to speak. Usually I unloaded my problems on Yoongi, but in this case, Yoongi was the problem. Well, more accurately I was the problem, and Yoongi was the victim. I had opened up to Yoongi about how the assault had affected me, but it was hard to talk to him about how it affected my feelings towards him.

With a quiet little sigh, I let my head fall heavily against Hobie's shoulder. "It's better," I admitted hesitantly, which was the truth. I really was doing much better after a few weeks of rest. "I don't have nightmares anymore."

"But?" Taehyung prodded. It was true that just from my tone of voice, I had made it painfully obvious that while things were better, I wasn't exactly in perfect shape.

I took a long, deep breath, releasing it slowly as I gathered my thoughts. “It’s definitely not helping the whole relationship thing,” I mumbled as I glanced over to Taehyung, whose elastic face had pulled down into a displeased exaggerated frown.

Hobie laughed, much to my surprise. I snapped my head to look at him in disbelief. He was probably one of those sensitive people I had ever met, and yet he was laughing? “Sorry, Zoey,” he raised his free hand to shake it apologetically. “It’s just,” he trailed off for a moment, “Do you remember a while back you made fun of me for obsessing about your love life?”

It took me a moment to remember, but when I did, it managed to make me smile. “And yet here we are,” I finished for him.

“Okay, okay,” Hobie spoke quickly as he re-gathered his composure, putting his serious face back on. “So, tell me what’s wrong,” he prompted.

I felt awkward just thinking about what I wanted to say, but Hobie was right that it was certainly in my best interest to just go ahead and talk about it. It was Taehyung who spoke first. “It’s only weird if you make it weird,” he worked one of his arms around my waist, “Just pretend we’re just your normal gal-pals and spill.”

His phrasing made me chuckle, and I rolled my eyes, but I felt my reservations weakening. “Alright, fine,” I finally relented, shifting my weight some in order to get more comfortable between my two taller friends. “It’s just that,” I paused, strengthening my resolve, speaking slowly and carefully, “whenever Yoongi and I try and get, well, a little more intimate-“

“Gross”

“Taehyung!”

I ignored the temporary outburst and pressed on, “I’m just saying, I get these horrible flashbacks.” I groaned in frustration, “And it’s not like I don’t want to, because believe me, I do!”

“Ew”

“Tae!”

“What?”

I shook my head, giving Taehyung a swift jab to the ribs with my elbows, only sending him into a fit of muffled giggles. “Anyway,” I turned my face away from him to look at Hobie with pleading eyes, “it’s just not fair for me to do that to him, you know?”

Hobie returned my gaze with a slightly troubled look, “He didn’t get mad at your or anything, did you?” he asked seriously, as if he were ready to go murder Yoongi on the spot.

“No! No,” I was quick to placate the idea, “He was wonderful and patient, but I just don’t know how long it’s going to take me to get over it.” I sighed a little, glancing between the grinning Taehyung and Hobie with his concerned, but satisfied face.

It was Taehyung who gave me a playful little shake, “It’s okay Zoey. Just tell him what you told us.” His voice was confident and casual, though a hint of the giggles still lingered. “Even if it is gross.”

“TaeTae,” Hobie groaned, though when I glanced up at him, he was smiling again. “He’s got a point,” he added when our eyes met. As much as their advice was obvious and not at all useful, it was mostly just nice to get it off of my chest. I opted just to sit there in silence, comforted by the proximity and comfort of my two friends.

Before I could say thank you, however, the gate swung open suddenly and violently, shaking slightly as it bounced off of the inner wall. The three of us jumped to our feet just as we spotted Namjoon shuffling laboriously through the open gap. Supported on his shoulder was Yoongi, his feet dragging along the pack