You had been slipping in and out of consciousness during the whole car ride. You could hear the soft murmur of the boys, but you weren't coherent enough to understand what they were saying. All you could really focus on was the steady heartbeat of the man that you were curled up against. The ruthless gang leader who held you so tenderly in his arms as he gently stroked your hair and caressed your arm. It was hard to imagine how you had ever gotten to this point. It was hard to think about any time before this, before you could surrender yourself completely and not be afraid of the consequences.

When the car finally slowed to a stop, you tried to wake yourself up. It felt like you were drunk as you pushed the door open and scooted to the edge of the seat. Your limbs were as heavy as lead and your brain felt like someone had swished it around with a stick. Another moment passed where to slipped into unconsciousness and when you came to, you realized that someone was carrying you, bridal style.

You tilted you head up to see Suga's stony face hovering above you. You opened your mouth to say something to him, but you found you didn't really know what to say, nor were you really in the right mindset to say anything without sounding like a total idiot. You really needed a good night sleep and a hot shower before you could really converse with anyone at this point.

Your eyelids drooped again as you felt Suga carrying you up a flight of stairs. It wasn't until you felt him lower you to a bed did you realize that you were inside. You felt your body sink into the mattress as your feet were finally placed firmly on the ground. You looked around the unfamiliar room and tried to piece together the events that had happened after you had been rescued from the police station.

Suddenly, Suga's face swam in front of you and you focused your gaze on his concerned eyes. He was kneeling in front of you so that his face was level with yours and one of his hands reached out to touch your face while the other ran along your side. His eyes scanned your body and you realized that he was looking for injuries. He was checking to make sure that you weren't hurt. That feeling alone made warmth spread in your belly and up to your chest.

"Are you sure you're okay, Y/N? They didn't hurt you at all, did they?" He asked, gripping both your wrists. You winced slightly as his hands grazed over the red sores from the handcuffs. Suga's grip softened as he looked down at your damaged wrists. You watched as his jaw tightened.

"I'm so sorry this happened. I'm sorry we didn't get to you sooner." Suga whispered through gritted teeth. You realized that he blamed himself for you injuries. He wasn't mad at anyone but himself for this. Without really thinking about it, you reached out to touch his face. Suga looked up at you in surprise as your palm cupped his cheek.

"I'm fine, Suga. I'm okay, you don't need to worry about me." You said, trying to reassure him. Suga took a deep breath and you saw a battle in his eyes. He was arguing with himself over something.

Before you could ask him what was wrong, he surprised you by leaning forward and pulling you close to him to wrap his arms around you in a warm, relieved embrace. Your eyes widened as you felt him bury his mouth in your hair.

Before you knew it, you were returning the hug, curling your fists into his shirt. You closed your eyes and breathed him in. You were so relieved to be back with them, and you felt so safe. Something you never thought you could ever feel with them, and yet it was the most overwhelming emotion at this moment.

"I didn't know what to do with myself when you were gone, little firecracker." You heard Suga mumble in your ear. You felt amusement bubble up in your chest at the ridiculousness of all of this. Before you could stop yourself, you started giggling uncontrollably. Suga released you and leaned back on his knees, looking up at you curiously.

"You think this is funny?" He asked, feigning a stern look. You could see a ghost of a smile on his face and that alone made your laughter grow.

"How could you ever be worried about me?" You asked through a fit of giggles. Suga smiled at you and shook his head in disbelief.

"You really don't know what you do to me, do you?"

"Who would have thought? The Bulletproof Gang Leader himself was ever worried about anyone, let alone someone you've threatened the life of on more than a few occasions." You giggled and shook your head in bewilderment.

"Who would have thought indeed...?" Suga trailed off and your laughter slowly faded at the look in his eyes. They were full of so much emotion and as his gaze moved down your face and landed on your lips, you felt yourself leaning in.

Suga hesitated as he looked up in your eyes and then back down to your lips.

Please kiss me, you begged quietly.

Suga suddenly broke the tension and stood up, causing you almost to fall forward.

"I'll let you get comfortable." He said, back to business. "There's a bathroom just over there and you should find a towel in the cabinet. I'll get you a change of clothes." And then he was gone and you almost cried out at the disappointment in your chest.

To be honest, you had forgotten when it felt like to be in his presence. All the tension that had been between you two since the very beginning, you could finally identify. You never had much time to think about what had happened between the two of you before the police had found the gang, but you knew now that it was sexual tension. Pure, unadulterated lust. After that kiss, you had never gotten the chance to process it and even now, you weren't in your right mind. But you knew that that lust was still there. You still craved his lips on yours and on other parts of your bare skin. Just imagining it made shivers run down your spine.

Finally, you forced yourself to stand. You were sore all over your body and as you limped to the bathroom, you felt like your entire body was made of lead, it was so hard to move. You reached the bathroom and leaned over the bathtub, turning it on. As it started to fill with water, you grabbed a towel from the cabinet and started to unzip your jumpsuit. You kicked off the state-issued shoes and pulled your arms out of the jumpsuit.

As it fell to the ground, you heard a sharp intake of breath coming front behind you. You turned around to see Suga standing at the door, looking down at your naked body. Well, not completely naked, you still had your underwear on, but your face flamed nevertheless. Instinctively, you wrapped your arms over your chest and shrank away from his gaze. He learned his throat and turned away, holding out a pile of clothes.

"Um... here." He said awkwardly, still turned away. You cautiously stepped forward and took the clothes from him, placing them on top of the toilet.

"Thanks..." You backed away as Suga turned to leave.

You looked at the bath and suddenly, you felt exhausted. Just the idea of bathing was enough to make you want to curl up on the bathroom floor and sleep right here. You weren't sure if you had enough energy to get you through the bath. Without really thinking about it, your turned back to the door and called out.

"Suga? Can you come back here for a second?" No sooner as you called, did he appear in the doorway. "I... I know this might sound strange but... can you help me?"

Suga blinked and looked from you to the tub. When he finally understood what you were asking, his jaw tightened and his eyes darkened. You saw his fist clench and you wondered if he was angry with you for asking.

"Of course, I'm sorry I should have thought you were too tired." He said instead, which surprised you greatly. You swallowed and nodded.

"Thank you..." With that, you slowly turned to the tub and stepped inside, the warmth from the water immediately sending relief through your entire body. You sat down in the tub and leaned your head back, sighing. When you opened your eyes and turned, you almost jumped at Suga's face so close to yours. You realized that he was just kneeling at the side of the tub and was rolling his sleeves up.

And then he started to wash you. He rubbed his hands covered with soap over your shoulder and back and along your legs in soft, gentle strokes. Your heartbeat sped up at his deft hands traveling over your skin. Your clothes your eyes and sighed when he started to massage out the kinks in your shoulders and neck. And then when he started to wash your hair, the feeling as almost orgasmic. His fingers gently rubbed over your scalp and as he sprayed the warm water over your head, you almost fell asleep right there.

There was something extremely intimate about the way he cared for you. When he turned the water off and lifted you out of the tub, not caring that all his clothes were getting wet, you felt like crying. No one had ever cared for you as much as he was right now. He placed you on the bathroom floor and wrapped your towel around you, his fingers lingering on your skin a few seconds too long.

You lifted your eyes to meet his and tried to decipher the expression in his gaze.

"Thank you, Yoongi..." You whispered. Suga immediately tensed at your voice and you saw his eyes harden for a split-second, before relaxing and he smiled.

"Are you okay from here? You can let me know if you need any more blankets or pillows or whatever." He said softly, reaching out to brush a strand of hair away from your face. You blushed at the gesture and nodded. When he retreated from the bathroom, you felt a giddy, lovesick smile fit over your face. You felt the butterflies in your stomach that you hadn't felt in a very long time.

You pulled on the clothes that Suga had left for you, a plain white t-shirt and black basketball shorts and left the bathroom. You made your way over to the bed and slipped under the covers. As you snuggled in the warm blankets, you turned over and saw a figure at the door. But before you could make out who it was, exhaustion overcame, and you fell into blissful sleep.

Suga's POV:

Suga watched as the girl sank into the covers and fell into deep sleep. He leaned against the doorway and sighed, watching her peaceful, innocent appearance as she slept. His clothes were soaked, but he didn't care. As he watched her, his head so full of thoughts that he could barely find any room left to care about something so trivial.

When he finally had her back in his arms, he had wanted to kiss her and hit her all at the same time. He wanted to slap her for being so stupid and reckless, but he was so relieved that she was alive that he wanted to wrap her up and never let her out of his sight again. As he watched her even breaths move the covers up and down, he felt so much relief it was almost overwhelming.

He uncrossed his arms and looked down at his large, pale hands. These hands had been touching her body only moments earlier. They had been stroking her legs and caressing her shoulders and neck. They had done things that he never imagined he would do to anyone ever in his life. He had been cherishing her, nourishing her, treasuring her like she was a precious gemstone that had to be treated delicately.

He had imagined doing so much more and he had to force himself not to cross the line. But he had been oh-so-tempted to not be so gentle when handling her. And he might have just gone against his better instincts if the circumstances had been different. But his hands had done more than their fair share of bad things, and he knew that doing anything like that again would destroy what he had with her.

As he started to think about all the times that he had hit her, all the time he had beaten her, guilt washed over him and twisted in a knot in his stomach. He wanted to take it all back, go back in time because now he knew... now he knew how much her body had endured and how much her mind had been toyed with. He wanted to go back, because now he knew that she was almost... sacred. He never wanted anyone or anything touching her again. He was almost afraid to touch her himself.

And then, she had called him by his name, his real name. That name hadn't been uttered aloud in decades. Suga had abandoned that name when he took over the gang from his father. When that name had left her mouth, Suga felt the walls shoot up around his heart and he almost immediately went back to the place of anger and mistrust.

How did she know his name? How could she possibly know anything about him before he started the gang? There was no one in this house that called him by that name and as far as he knew, it was never in the papers.

Then he had reminded himself that she had already proven herself to him. She had already fought for him and she even nearly died for him. Even if she knew his real name, even if there were still things she was hiding from him, he knew he could let those things go because she was here. She was with him now and she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. Because of that, he had decided to lay off the questioning until after she had recovered.

Suga finally pushed himself away from the doorway and shut the door to her room quietly. He turned around and made his way down the stairs of the new housing that RM and Jin had procured in the outskirts of the big city. He made his way to the dining room where the other members were sitting around in anticipation. All eyes turned to him when he entered the room.

RM was the first to speak.

"Why is your shirt wet?" He asked bluntly, causing Suga to look down at his shirt as if noticing how soaked his was for the first time.

"Doesn't matter." Suga said, brushing away the question.

"How is Y/N?" Jimin asked. Suga turned to him and felt something twist in his gut at Jimin concerned expression.

"She's fine. Exhausted and drained, but she'll survive. She's sleeping right now." Suga replied. Relief passed over Jimin's face and he nodded, sinking back into the chair. He started to rub his temples as the others began to talk quietly amongst each other. Suga felt his jaw tighten and his fists clench.

"We should all follow her example, though. It's been a long day, we should all get some rest." Suga announced. His members nodded and started to trickle out of the dining room. Jimin was the last one to stand and make his way out of the room. As he passed, Suga reached out and grabbed his forearm, keeping him from leaving as the others made their way out of earshot.

When Suga was sure they were alone, he released Jimin's arm and turned to face him.

"Suga, are you okay?" Jimin asked, peering into Suga's bloodshot eyes. Suga turned away and rubbed at his eyes for a few seconds before turning back to Jimin.

"I'm fine, I just need to talk to you." Suga said, crossing his arms.

"Can it wait until tomorrow? I'm super beat and I would really like to just—"

"It's about Y/N."

Jimin shut his mouth and straightened at the mention of her name. Suga's gut twisted and he had to force himself to remain calm.

"I need to know about your relationship with Y/N." Suga said, not bothering to beat around the bush. Jimin tilted his head.

"Like... how well do I know her?" Jimin asked in confusion. It wasn't exactly what Suga was looking for, but it was a start. He nodded. Jimin sighed and looked up, thinking about his answer to the question.

"Well... I know that she's incredibly observant and insanely intelligent even if she doesn't look it." Suga nodded, these were things he already knew about her. "I guess I also know that she doesn't like to be used or manipulated in any way. And she has morals that she tries to stick to even if not always convenient."

"What about her past? What do you know there?" Suga wasn't sure why he was asking. He knew about as much as Jimin did, but he was still curious to know if she had confided more in Jimin than she had himself.

"I know she was abused for years by her boyfriend and that now she works at a newspaper and lives at her father's house. Or... lived I should say..." Jimin trailed off and Suga could see a swift wave of guilt in his eyes.

"Do you believe she really works for a newspaper?" He asked. Jimin looked up and shrugged.

"I think she does, but I don't think she's a proofreader."

"You still think she has some secrets?" Suga concluded. Jimin nodded and stuffed his hands in his pockets, leaning back on his heels.

"Yes, I do. But I don't think her secrets can hurt us. I just think she might be embarrassed or shy to tell us. She doesn't trust very easily, as we've seen, thanks to her ex-boyfriend and daddy issues." Suga raised an eyebrow and Jimin pursed his lips.

"You're very close to her." It wasn't a question, but Jimin answered anyway.

"Yeah, I suppose so. I think we have a lot in common and I kind of understand her position, even if she's a little unpredictable at times." Jimin cracked a smile and Suga was suddenly able to identify the ugly twist in his stomach.

"Do you like her?" Suga almost barked the question out. It was something he wasn't even sure he wanted to know himself.

"Of course I like her, I mean who wouldn't? She might be a little rough around the edges, but she actually a great person if you get to know her."

"I know that, you don't have to tell me that." Suga snapped. Jimin furrowed his brow in surprise at Suga's tone.

"Suga, I don't understand. What's this interrogation about?"

"Look, Jimin. I need to know if you have feelings for Y/N. Having feelings for her would make things very complicated and I don't think we can have any kind of complication since we're vulnerable to attack now. We don't need any weaknesses here..." Suga trailed off as Jimin started to chuckle.

"What are you laughing at?" He asked indignantly. Jimin stopped laughing, but his amused smile remained on his face.

"I don't have feelings for her, Suga. She's my friend. And you know, you don't have to make excuses for why you're asking the question. Anyone with half a brain can see how you feel about her." Jimin winked.

Suga's eyes flash and his fists clenched. He was about two seconds away from punching Jimin right in the face.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he growled, clenching his fists. Jimin put his hands up in surrender.

"Calm down, man, I didn't mean it in a bad way. I just meant that it's okay to admit that you have feelings for her. It's pretty obvious that she feels the same way about you, so just relax." He said slowly. Suga felt anger boil up in his stomach and he bared his teeth.

"Don't patronize me, Jimin. We may be friends but I won't hesitate to cut you down." He snarled.

"I know that, Suga. I'm just saying that if you want her, then freaking take her. She'll be yours before you can even get the words out." Jimin smirked and winked suggestively, before turning and leaving Suga standing in shock behind him.

Was it true? Was Suga really in deep enough that even his own members could see it when he couldn't? And was Jimin right? Could it really be that easy?

Y/N had once said something similar to him that had still stuck with him now.

You could have just asked me. I would have said yes.

At the time, she had been talking about baiting. But could the same thing hold true now? If Suga wanted her, maybe all he had to do was ask.

Suga wasn't sure what he felt for the little firecracker. He knew that it was more than a platonic or protective relationship. Sure, he wanted to protect her from anyone that would harm her but it was more than that. It wasn't just that he wasn't to protect her. He also wanted to be the one to hurt her. The idea of anyone else laying a hand on her made him want to punch a wall, but the image of his hands making marks on her skin, of her face twisted in pain from his own doing was enough to make him hard.

Suga was a sadist, he learned that early on in life. But he knew he could find pleasure in more than just inflicting pain, and he wanted to explore all of that with her. The only problem was, he wasn't sure if she would be on board after everything else she had endured in her own life.