The more she learns about him, the more worried she becomes.

A/N: mmmmnnnn

touch starved giyuu

-linebreak-

The more Shinobu learns about her boyfriend, the more he starts to worry her. Slowly but surely, as time after time, she learns something new about him just as he does the same with her. Whether it be quirks, hidden talents, or knacks they had it was becoming uncovered. For example, Giyuu could cook with only a few ingredients and somehow make it work, she could not.

They ended up cuddling one night which is where the worry for him truly does set in. 

When she entered in a relationship with him she didn't know what to expect, she had ideas, standoffish with affection, distant, shying away from physical touch, and very quiet with what he wanted. She was only right about one of those things and it was the last one. Although he didn't like to partake in affection in public, at least not big displays at least which were how she typically liked to show it, he was never once revolted at the idea of it, he welcomed it.

He was hesitant to initiate anything which led her to initiate most things but she had been slowly coaxing him out of that. His hand would brush hers and she'd take it in hers, their shoulders would brush which would lead them to lean against each other. She'd refer to him with pet names and his face would light up like a stop sign, like a school girl receiving flowers from her crush, and she'd gush about how cute he looked for the next hour. And that's not even mentioning how flustered she got when it was returned.

It was perfect. At least until she realized how potentially deep his past did reach.

She knew few things about his past, it was similar to hers, two siblings an older and younger and except this time they were against the world around them and weren't given the shelter, they desperately needed. Friends were few and far between in their travels, low class making those of higher ones not wanting to associate while she never had to worry about it.

He had lost a lot of people he cared about, had become distant and she had hoped to at least try and bring him out of his shell once more. It would be a long tedious process, possibly years to take but she had the time, she assumed she had the time. 

She wasn't sure what to expect from him when she opened up her arms one night, maybe rejection, slighted compliance, or nothing at all. You can imagine her surprise when it's none of the above and instead gleeful compliance with an arm around her waist and a head buried in her shoulder. It was almost like he was afraid to let her go, clinging to her like a lifeline.

Jokingly, she shoots him a playful smile, nudging him. "God Giyuu-san! Were you not hugged enough as a child?" She follows it with a light laugh, knowing he got the joke- hoping he had learned by now- but to her surprise, her boyfriend stayed silent, soon enough laying his head on her shoulder, his grip growing a bit tighter. The silence stretched on far more than she was comfortable. 

"Giyuu..." She cautiously says, "How long has it been since someone hugged you?" he stays silent, and after a few beats and tightening his grip around her, he speaks.

"Promise not to yell at me?"

"I-" She's taken aback by his response but slowly nodding, she abides. What can be so bad that it'll make her yell? "Sure," She thickly gulps, softly patting his back. "A couple of years," He calmly says, as if it's no big deal. "Almost a decade, probably,"

"D-don't people who you save hug you?" She shakily says, her hand freezing up. "Blood, and no one really wanted to hug someone who's lower class when I was young... Or not me at least..." Is the only answer he gives her, not needing much of an explanation at all. He pulls away, resting his hands on her shoulders. "Don't tell anyone though, okay?" Tentatively she nods and moves closer to him, slowly wrapping her arms around him, he sighed, melting into her grip. Slowly but surely her grip on him slowly tightens, drawing invisible circles into his back. They stayed like that for a while until she felt her boyfriend struggling and she tightened her grip even more not moving. 

"S-Shinobu... You're- you're smothering me,"

"Good," She silently answers, her eyes wide with concern. "Be smothered, this is what you're getting from now on," Silently she tacts on: "and I'm not hearing any complains, even if I do it in public,"

"Shinobu-"

"you concern me, did you know that? How can anyone go almost a decade without getting hugged?"

"Shinobu, please-"

"Seriously, is there anything else you want to tell me that I don't know? Because-"

"Shinobu!"

"What?"

"You are cutting off the circulation to my arms," She loosens her grip slightly, trying to figure out a better way to hug him without exactly smothering him at the same time but it's hard not to know with what she knows.

"Oh... Sorry,"

"But still, why didn't you tell me that sooner?" If he expects her not to notice the long pause, she does, along with the hesitancy before he thickly swallows and utters out the words:

"I thought you'd make fun of me for being needy." And almost immediately she's crushed by both guilt and sadness by the words.

She's breathless, not sure what to say yet she knows what she wants to at the same time, eventually though she comes to a conclusion. 

"I'm sorry for making you feel like I would do that," Her voice is weak and wavering close to breaking. He shakes his head, burying his face in the crook of her neck, breath ghosting against the pale skin making her shiver. "'S not your fault, I don't blame you," Yet despite that, she couldn't help but feel guilty.

Holding him a little tighter than before, planting a kiss on the side of his head she silently promised to never make him feel like that again.