Too much sugar for your system in one sitting.

The walk to the apartment where Jin and Namjoon lived was pretty uneventful and bearable once the two stopped fussing over each other. As Jin had told them, the large number of bags were the gifts he had prepared for everyone when Christmas came, besides those he had bought for Jimin. After making sure that he would attend the birthday party and that he would not make any excuses, Jin let Yoongi go home. Of course, with an extra bag of food.

The way back home passed much faster than Yoongi expected, maybe because Yoongi was wearing headphones, listening to music, or because the temperature was perfect. The fact is that at one point he was already in front of the apartment block in which he lived. It was not something elegant, but it was not on the verge of collapse either. The front door squeaked every time you opened it. The walls had peeling paint and there were small cracks in the floor, nothing that could not be fixed with a couple of plants placed strategically to hide the damage. At least the elevator was working properly, which was a relief to him since going up all those stairs to the third floor was an ordeal.

After opening the door and walking in, he put the food Jin had given him, plus the leftovers from lunch, in the fridge. Then he went to the living room to water the plant that was in the window. 

When Taehyung had arrived with the plant in his hands and a smile on his face, telling him it was a gift for having returned to being himself, he could only look at him suspiciously. He could barely take care of himself, much less of another living being. But Taehyung turned a deaf ear to his argument and explained the basics of caring for the plant.

"It's really therapeutic, Hyung. The plant has perfect conditions, so it only needs your care. I think of it this way: if the plant gets sick, it means that you are not paying enough attention to its care or yourself. So the state of the plant will tell you if you are getting out of the pot."  Taehyung had said with conviction.

Yoongi was still not very convinced of what the other was saying, but as the days passed he had to agree with him, even if it was only in his mind and not in person.

It didn't require as much care as a pet, but he had cast a few glances out the window more than once. He told himself it was to see how the weather was outside, but it was actually to make sure the plant was still alive.

After an entire day away from home, he needed to relax, and the best way to do that was with a bubble bath. Just thinking about it already felt his body relax. His friends were great, and while he always complained about being dragged against his will when they went out, he enjoyed their company. But Yoongi was one of those people who needed their own space from time to time, if only to do nothing.

While he waited for the tub to fill, he calmly began undressing, then prepared whatever he would need to relax without having to get out of the tub because he had forgotten something. It had happened to him twice already, and he didn't want a repeat.

After getting everything ready, Yoongi dove into the bathtub, making a satisfying sound when he finished getting settled. The apartment was completely silent, save for the sound of Yoongi's breathing. The playlist he had put on his mobile, plus the bubble bath and the afternoon light that came in through the living room window, bathing the entire room in orange colour, left him in a state of absolute relaxation. He was already beginning to fall asleep, so it was a good idea to go outside if you didn't want to fall asleep.

It was just when he turned to pick up his cell phone, which was on a plastic stool, and stop the song that he saw the shadow. Because of how small the apartment was, it was possible to see almost everything from every room. And the first thing you can see from the bathroom is the front door. Through the crack, he could see the shadow of someone standing in front of his door, but seconds passed, and no one was knocking on his door, not even the bell.

This had happened before. When his relationship with Jun ended, and Yoongi closed in on himself, he saw shadows and have nightmares. Sometimes the shadows he saw made sense, it was just a matter of a play of light and shadow that made him see a hand trying to catch him when, in reality, it was the leaf of a tree. But other times made little sense, no matter how hard he tried.

At that time he attributed it to the fact that he missed Jun, and he thought his mind was playing tricks on him by making him see shadows, but he was kind enough not to put his ex's face on him. He wasn't afraid, but he found it strange.

Now he still found it strange, but he also felt a chill that ran down his spine; He was afraid, but it wasn't because of the shadow itself, which was disconcerting enough, but because of what it represented, the inability to take care of himself, to slip back into depression.

With great care, and without taking his eyes off the door, he got out of the bathtub and wrapped himself in a towel close at hand. Slowly, and almost without making a sound, he approached the door, through whose crack I continued to see the shadow. After taking a deep breath, he swiftly opened the door to face ...

Nothing.

There was no one behind the door, nor was there an object that could cast that shadow. At this time of the afternoon, the evening light completely illuminated the third-floor hallway, so it was logical to think that there was something behind the door that could cast that shadow. He didn't know if he had imagined it, but once he closed the door and saw that there was no shadow through the crack, he was not at all relieved.

With a couple of deep breaths, he walked away from the hallway and into the bathroom to finish dressing and pack everything up. Then he sat at the foot of the living room window, his hands on the edge and his head resting on them. He tried to relax as he looked at the plant Taehyung had given him. He was still alive, so he didn't have to worry about anything, but there was another part of him that kept insisting that everything was starting over. Before, he could say that it was all related to his breakup and subsequent depression, but now he was fine. There were nights when it was hard for him to sleep, but that happened to everyone. It was nothing out of the ordinary.

After reassuring himself, again, that it was all a figment of his imagination and that the lack of work was probably taking its toll, he went to sleep. At least to try.

Fortunately, that night he could sleep and when he woke up the next day, he was in a good mood. He hadn't dreamed, and if he had, he couldn't remember. But that did not matter, because he had rested, he did not have any nightmares and he was not seeing shadows, neither at home nor at work. Nowhere. That only confirmed that what he had seen the previous afternoon was an isolated event that had nothing to do with his mood and mental state.

Yoongi was in a state of euphoria, so to speak, and not even a shadow here or there frightened him.

He should have realized that the good things that happened to him were usually short-lived.

This story belongs to @nometoloko on AO3. I'm just her translator. 

Dun-dun-dun, I love cliffhangers. Hope you liked the chap, but I'm pretty sure Y'all are more eager for the next one.