It's been six months since the normal way of living ended. It's been six months since the fucking snow started falling and it just won't fucking stop. There's no way to tell who's still alive or not anymore. Everyone from Before must be dead, right? Yoongi has lost contact with everyone he knew from back then. His parents died from illness about a month after the snow started falling. He had to bury them by himself. God, he remembers the way his tears froze against his cheeks as he piled the last bit of snow onto his parents' bodies. He wouldn't wish that on his worst enemy. No way.
Damn. Just thinking about them makes his chest ache.

"Yoongi? Is that you?" At the sound of the small, faraway voice, Yoongi's head snaps up. He'd know that voice anywhere. He's been stuck listening to it every day for nearly a whole month. He was traveling through a small town a few weeks ago and he happened upon you. He was looting through a sizable building when you hurried down the stairs to meet him. He would've killed you, but when he caught sight of how small you were, how frail you looked, he felt an innate urge to protect you. He ended up bringing you along with him, even though he knew the added strain could be detrimental. But, although he hates to admit it, he enjoys having you around. You're clumsy and air-headed, and you do so many dumb things! He's always having to fix your mistakes. Yes, it's annoying, but Yoongi would do anything to keep you safe. If he were to lose you...

Yoongi shakes his head, raising his voice to be sure he can be heard. "Yeah! Don't come out, it's too cold! Just stay in the house!" He hefts his bag of spoils higher up onto his shoulder and trudges inside.

"Hey, Yoongi!" You beam when you see his face, getting up from your spot on the ratty couch and running over to him. You throw your arms around him, pulling him into a warm hug. "Did you find anything good?" you ask as he sets his bag down.

"I found some pineapple for you," Yoongi says as he rummages around in his backpack for a moment before producing a few cans of chopped pineapple.

"Aww! Yoongi!" You throw your arms around him once more. "Thank you!" Yoongi doesn't move to hug you back, but this is how it's been since the day you met. Yoongi hates having his personal space invaded, so being stuck in such close-quarters with someone that likes to hug and be near him is something he's having to forcefully adapt to.

"Yeah, yeah," he mutters, slipping out of your grasp and going to sit at the table in the dining room. "Do me a favor and put the rest away, okay?" He takes off his shoes and runs a hand down his face. Truthfully, Yoongi hasn't been feeling well lately. It was all he could do to make himself go out to scavenge today. The food supply was running a little low, and the last thing he wants is for you to go without some sort of sustenance. You're already so small and weak-looking. It's a wonder you've survived the cold for so long. "I'm going to sleep. Wake me up if you need anything."

As Yoongi settles onto the couch, he hears you start to dutifully put things away. He listens for a few moments, but then he hears you whine a little. He waits while you seem to pace for a bit. Then you grunt, and a can clatters to the floor. "Shh—" you hiss. Yoongi has to bite back a laugh. He silently gets up and goes to stand behind you. He watches you lean up on your tippy toes in an attempt to put a can up on a high shelf. You stretch and try with all your might to put the can where it belongs, but you can't reach at all.

"Here." Yoongi plucks the can from your grasp, making you jump and whirl around in surprise. He smirks down at you as he puts the can up. "Jeez," he sighs, shaking his head. "You're so short. What would you do if I wasn't around to help you?"

You laugh when he says this, playfully swatting at his arm. "You jerk!"

You move to hit him again, and in one fluid motion, Yoongi has grabbed both your wrists in his hand, pinning you back against the counter. Your breath catches as you look up at him. "See?" he murmurs. "You're completely powerless. Try to get out."

You huff, trying to slip out of his grasp. He's holding you so tightly, it hurts when you move your wrists. With a grunt of frustration, you do the only thing you can think of that may make Yoongi let you go: you slam your heel down on his foot.

Your foot meets the floor with such a force that you cry out in pain. Yoongi snickers. "Stupid. You definitely need me to look out for you." He smiles down at you, and you stop and stare at his face. Min Yoongi's smiles are a rare sight. You can count on one hand the number of times you've seen one of them. He shakes his head, finally letting go of your wrists. You rub at the skin, frowning as he goes to lay back down. "Don't drop any more cans, shorty."

When Yoongi opens his eyes again, it's completely dark. He sits up, rubbing his eyes. "Y/N?" When you don't answer, he quickly gets to his feet, groaning when the sudden movement makes his head spin. "Where are you, dummy?" As he heads for the back of the house, he listens for you, but he doesn't hear anything. "Y/N?" His voice echoes in the sparsely furnished house. "Shit..." He hurries down the hall, throwing open doors and peering inside rooms. His heart starts to race as he continues to search for you. He flings open the back door and his heart flip-flops in his chest.

You're standing in the backyard with an axe in your hands, trying to chop some wood. Yoongi watches you stumble under the weight of the axe as you raise it up over your head. "Hey." He keeps his voice low so as not to startle you, and walks over to your side. "What're you doing, you dumb shorty? You're going to hurt yourself." When he reaches you, he takes the axe from your hands.

"We need more wood. I noticed that we need more wood so I wanted to..." you trail off.

"We do?" Yoongi frowns. "Look; I appreciate the fact that you want to help out, but don't ever do this on your own again. I can tell the axe is too heavy for you. If you got hurt, then I'd have to baby you even more. Come back inside. It's too cold for you."

Your shoulders slump as you allow Yoongi to lead you back inside. "I just wanted to help. I feel useless, letting you do all the important things."

"Well, you are useless," Yoongi says. "But that's what you're good at." These words hurt you. Doesn't Yoongi realize it at all? Why would he say something like this? You shrug him off, trudging into the house on your own.

"Hey, what was that about?" Yoongi asks as he walks in behind you. "Did you get your feelings hurt?" His voice has a teasing lilt that would usually bring a smile to your face, but right now all it does is make you more upset.

That night, you go to bed without telling Yoongi goodnight. That night, Yoongi can't seem to get to sleep; no matter how hard he tries. He tosses and turns in his bed, finally sighing in frustration and sitting up. He goes to the back of the house and peeks into the room that you have made your own. He can't see anything in the dark, but he knows you're there. He creeps into the room as quietly as he can, feeling for the mattress on the floor with his feet. When his toes make contact with the mattress, he squats down, following the edge as he uses his fingers to feel for you. His fingers lightly brush against your forehead, and he draws back. "I didn't mean to upset you today. I'm only kidding when I say you're useless. You're not useless at all, you dummy. If it wasn't for you, I..." If it wasn't for you, Yoongi wouldn't be fighting nearly as hard as he is. He'd be sleeping in some shitty spot that's not nearly as convenient as this place is.

Yoongi stays by your side, listening to the sound of your easy breathing. He leans back against the wall, sighing. "I'm sorry I say stupid things. I just like to pick on you." He chuckles. "It's funny seeing you get all pissed at me. I like seeing your face get red. I wonder how many people have seen that red face." The smile that's on Yoongi's lips quickly fades. How many people have seen it...? The idea that anyone besides him has seen your flushed face makes Yoongi feel strange. His chest feels funny. Why?

Yoongi shakes the feeling away and gets up to head back to his own bed. If he stays by your side like this, he'd just get more mad. "You're mine, you dumb, useless shorty. Your flustered face is mine. It's something only I can see. You hear me?"

Yoongi doesn't sleep at all that night. He can't get over the feeling that made his chest so tight that it hurt. He stays awake all night thinking about it. When the first light of day peeks through the windows, he decides to get up and shovel the sidewalk. Even though the snow won't stop piling up, he still makes the effort to keep the outside area as neat as possible so you won't have any issues if you have to go outside for some reason. He's drenched in sweat after only a few minutes. "Shit." He leans on his shovel, wiping his forehead. He feels worse than he did yesterday. This isn't good... If he gets sick then you'd be on your own. No. He can't get sick! He won't allow it. He has to keep going.

Later that day, Yoongi is chopping fire wood. Each breath he takes hurts like hell. His hands are so slick with sweat that the axe nearly slips out of his grip. He tightens his hands around the wooden handle of the axe and grunts as he brings it down once more. He gathers the chopped wood into a wheelbarrow and stows it safely in the garage.

As soon as Yoongi enters the house, he catches sight of you. His heart skips a beat and he hastily averts his gaze from you. He turns away from you, moving so quickly that he's left dizzy. He groans and shakes his head. "Yoongi?" You hurry to his side, putting an arm around his waist. "You okay?"

"Get off!" Yoongi pushes you away, nearly falling over himself. "Just...get off me." He shakes his head.

"What's wrong?" you ask, following him. Yoongi's never complained about your clinginess before. He's always just let you do what you wanted. "Yoongi?"

"Do you think being clingy with me is going to make up for the fact that you're useless? God, you're annoying." Yoongi's voice is cold. Being this way with you makes Yoongi's chest ache. Shit... Will anything make this stupid pain go away?!

You let out a tiny gasp, your heart seeming to fall into the pit of your stomach. Yes, Yoongi's been quite surly since the day you met him, but his tone has never held so much venom. It hurts. Why does it hurt so much? "You're so mean! I...I hate you!" You run to your room, slamming the door behind you. You flop down on your mattress, glaring up at the ceiling as angry tears slip down your cheeks.

Yoongi winces when he hears the door slam. He pushes a hand through his hair, cursing himself. "I shouldn't have done that... Fuck... I'm an idiot." He knows he has to fix this. With a sigh, he gets to his feet and knocks on your door. "Y/N, I... Just... Quit being such a crybaby." Something hits the door with such a force that Yoongi jumps back. Oh, shit. He really set you off, didn't he? He has to make this right. So he does the only thing he can think of that may make you happy: he goes off in search of something special. You're always going on and on about someone called "Red Riot". Yoongi has no idea what that means, but he has to do something special for you. There's one place that always had everything he needed back before the world turned into a hellish, icy wasteland. Yeah, he'll head there and he'll make you happy again.

Before he leaves, he writes you a note explaining that he'll be gone for a while and to please stay indoors. For some reason, he has the urge to see your face. He goes so far as to knock on your door once more.

"Go away!" Your voice is filled with pain.

Yoongi hangs his head. "Guess I deserve that..." He leaves then, muttering a quiet farewell that no one hears.

The road to get where Yoongi's going is long. It never seemed to take so long to get here back when everything was normal. But that was back when cars were able to be used. Now all Yoongi can rely on is his own strength. Thankfully, the walk to the next town isn't far. However, with the way the wind is howling against him and flinging bits of ice and snow into his face, it takes him a bit longer than he would've liked. He hunches himself against the elements. Keep going forward, Min Yoongi!!

Night has fallen by the time Yoongi reaches his destination. As he tears down the boarded up entrance, he takes out his flashlight. "Here we go." He heads into the mall's first level, keeping his eyes peeled for anything related to this Red Riot thing. He wanders through the mall for hours, carefully inspecting every store. It's eerie, seeing a place that was once always so lively become so empty and desolate. There's trash and miscellaneous items strewn all about the floor from looters that have previously passed through. Yoongi hopes he's able to find what he's looking for.

After what feels like an eternity, he finally finds a store that could be promising. He shines his flashlight throughout the store, catching sight of obscure little toys, trinkets, and t-shirts. He stops at a display of action figures, cocking his head. "People actually buy things like this?" He shakes his head, dropping the beam of his flashlight to the floor to avoid tripping over anything. He sees a box near the display and picks it up. He grins. "So, this is the famous Red Riot, huh?" He stows the box in his bag, and ventures further into the store. He finds a small array of t-shirts and quickly glances through them. The majority are depicting various band names. A few have anime characters printed across the front. "I had no idea she was into things like this," Yoongi says, chuckling. "Wow." As he sifts through the shirts, he finds what he's looking for right at the bottom. The Universe is on his side today, isn't it? The shirt is long-sleeved and way too big for you, but if it'll make you happy, Yoongi will get it. He'd do anything to make you happy.

As he heads out into the raging blizzard once more, thoughts of how happy you'll be with his gifts make Yoongi smile. "You'd better be happy, shorty. Making me go out into this fucking snow. ...I won't ever make you cry again, I promise."

Yoongi's body feels like it's frozen solid. It's taking all of his energy just to keep going. He has to get home. And by pure force of will—and maybe a miracle, he makes it. "Y/N! I'm home!" he calls as he opens the front door. When you're not there to greet him, his heart sinks slightly. He shakes his head, willing the feeling away. "Y/N! I got you something!" He heads to your room, knocking on the door. "I know you're mad at me, but put that tiny fury aside for a second. You can go back to hating me after you see what I have for you, okay?" He knocks on the door again. He could just bust in, but he'd never invade your privacy like that. "Please let me in... Stop being mad at me, damn it..."

The door before him slowly opens, and he takes a step back. Yoongi starts when he sees you. Your face is puffy and flushed, your eyes are incredibly swollen. Have you been crying on your own all this time? "Hey, I—" Yoongi automatically starts to reach for you, but he stops himself when he realizes what he's doing. "I brought you a surprise."

"Me?" you ask, your voice thick.

"Who else is here, dummy?" Yoongi's voice carries that teasing lilt again, but it doesn't make you smile. "Here, just... Here." He hastily takes off his pack, reaching inside for his loot. "You always talk about that Red Riot, so I..." he trails off, biting his lip as he hands you what he ventured out into the snow for.

"Yoongi...!" The smile that you give him seems to light up the whole room. Yoongi feels himself start to warm up just from witnessing it. You throw your arms around him, pulling him into an embrace that is so full of love that Yoongi can't help but pull you closer. He'd do anything to feel this again.

It's funny, every time Yoongi sees you in the shirt he got you, he feels his chest flutter. It's so big on you! But you're happy, and that's all that matters to him. As night falls, Yoongi tosses you a can of pineapple. "Eat."

"Do you want to split it with me?" you ask.

"Nah," Yoongi replies. "I'm tired. I'm going to bed."

Yoongi wakes up from a dead sleep with a start, sweat making his shirt stick to his body. He gasps for breath as he clutches his chest. It's tight with anxiety. Something is wrong. "Shit." The light from the full moon outside illuminates the room, drawing Yoongi's eye straight to the open front door. "Fuck!" Yoongi hisses as he leaps up from the couch. He doesn't bother searching the rest of the house; he knows you're not there.

"Y/N!!" He heads outside, shielding his eyes from the onslaught of snow and ice. "Where are you?!" Yoongi whips his head in all directions, hoping to see some sign of you. He takes off in one direction, cursing the snow that has buried all traces of you beneath a thick white blanket. "Y/N!! I— Agh!" For a second, Yoongi feels his knees buckle before he falls face-first into the snow. "Shit...!" Making that trip for you must've taken more out of him than he thought. "No...! I have to...have to find her!" He tries to will himself up, but the pain that lances through his body keeps him down. His fists pound against the snow as he continues to force himself to standing. "Y/N!!" The wind carries his voice, but he has no way of knowing if you're around to hear it. A wave of despair threatens to overtake him. His chest is so tight it's a wonder he can even still breathe. For a moment, he lays there, perfectly still. His eyes slip closed. It's so cold... It hurts so much... Would it be so bad if he just faded away? He'd be able to see his parents again. He'd finally escape this fucking cold. He sees your face and his eyes snap open immediately. No. He can't leave you. Who knows what would happen to you if Yoongi stayed here?

With a scream of pure agony, Yoongi manages to get to his feet. His body threatens to give out again, but he refuses to stop moving forward. He has to see you! He has to find you!

Wait... What is that? There's something red in the snow. Yoongi hurries towards it, before it gets covered with fresh powder. He leans down to touch it, bringing his fingers up to his nose. When the sharp, metallic smell of blood hits his nostrils, his eyes widen. "Fuck..." His hands start to tremble and it has nothing to do with the cold. He follows the quickly-disappearing trail of blood as best he can, his breath coming out in quick pants. "Y/N!! Can you hear me?!"

"Yoongi!!" At the sound of your voice, Yoongi's heart leaps in his chest. "Yoongi, help!"

"I–I'm coming! Just keep talking, okay?!" Yoongi takes off in the direction of your voice. His lungs hurt, but he can't stop now. Not when you're so close.

"Yoongi..." As Yoongi peers around a set of dumpsters nearby, he catches sight of a small bundle in the snow. When it moves, Yoongi feels a wave of relief crash through his veins, leaving him lightheaded. "Yoongi?" Oh, your voice sounds so broken.

"I'm here, I'm here... I'm right here." Yoongi drops down to his knees, brushing snow off you as his eyes quickly scan your body. You're laying on your side. Your foot is caught in a bear trap, its metal teeth biting into your calf. As Yoongi's gaze travels up your body, his eyes zero-in on a small wound in your shoulder.