Daniel & Addy ficlet idea

*Friends, but as far as how clueless they are, use your imagination, maybe AU, I don't know, I just have a cuddle problem*

Adrienne came from the kitchen, two wine glasses in hand, hoping the wine shop owner's recommendation hadn't been for naught when she saw him, watching a documentary on TV. It was something about Egypt, of course, but names that her entire life had been mythical characters were real villains in his, and from the files, some more horrible than she could imagine. He was trying to watch, maybe look away at the same time but she couldn't tell, but what was obvious was that he was starting to do that thing again, that self-hugging mess that she had noticed a while back and vowed needed to be taken care of.

Setting the glasses quickly on the table, Adrienne jumped right on the sofa, doing something crazy that she hoped he wouldn't freak out about.

She wrapped herself into him.

"Adrienne!" he exclaimed pulling back, "What are you doing?"

"Cuddling you," she answered honestly, her heart racing, what was wrong with her, why was she doing this, but she just leaned in, reaching around his torso a second time.

"What?"

"Studies show that cuddling can relieve depression faster and more effectively than any medication," she chirped out, noticing that this time he wasn't trying to escape.

"Which studies?"

"Remember the journals I used to read before you started keeping me up at all hours reading alien languages?"

"Yeah..." he laughed, remembering, wrapping his arms around her.

"Those journals," she declared as she pulled herself closer to him, probably too close for friends. Whatever, she thought, he's chuckling, so it's working.

"See," she had to add, "you're laughing."

"I wasn't depressed," he noted but he still wasn't letting go.

Adrienne, however, did.

"Daniel, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," he answered seriously, his hand gliding gently her back, settling at her hip. He hadn't held her like this before, was it wrong, why was he doing it, but things with Adrienne were so confusing, so comfortable yet so very strange.

"Why do you do that thing you do?"

Daniel was confused.

"What thing?"

"That hugging thing," she explained, pulling away from him to demonstrate. He watched her tuck her head and wrap her arms around her waist, puzzled.

"I do that?"

"Yeah," she said with a nod, "whenever you're uncomfortable or seem to be sad you do it."

"No one's ever said anything before..."

"Sorry," she spat quickly, beginning to stand, "I'm probably just seeing things..." but Daniel caught her hand.

"No," he said quietly, "I know you Ad, well, or I'd like to think I do. I know that look. I really do that, hug myself, look like that?"

She sat back down, nodding.

"Yeah, you do."

He paused for a moment, letting it sink in. Not only did he apparently have a tell for when he was upset, but it was a tell that no one in his life had either noticed or if they had that no one in his life had taken the time to ask why or find out what was wrong. It would have hurt were it not for this fact that this woman sitting here beside him, who had been a complete and total stranger not too long ago, that it was she that not only noticed but had taken it upon herself to do something about it.

"How long have you noticed?" he asked, curiosity burning inside of him.

"Since our little twenty questions slumber party," she replied with a soft smile. Not answering for a moment, Daniel thought back to that trip. That had been the one of the first times she hugged him, and that night she slept the opposite direction with her hand on his leg. Had he done it then? Had that been the reason that she threw her arms around him, and not like she had after he had listened to her open up about her family, but held him close to her like she had tried to do just moments earlier.

"And now..." he led, too nervous to say it for some reason.

"And now I do it for you so you don't have to do it yourself," her voice shook at the end, the cajun biting her lip slightly.

"Why?"

He asked, saying that word and that word alone because he just couldn't really ask why she had taken the time to notice and to care when so many others hadn't.

Adrienne looked down.

"Because you're a sweet man and you deserve better," she mumbled, gazing back up at him. Her eyes were so beautiful and he felt himself lost for a moment.

She cared about him, really cared about him.

Smiling, he sat back on the sofa, ignoring the wine and reaching out his arms.

"Do I need to hug myself or can I ask for you to come back?"

Adrienne didn't hesitate, cuddling back into his embrace as he looked back up at the screen, changing the channel.