Familiarity

Chapter Twelve

warning: spoiler for the beginning half of season 5. it's not very big and it's not said super specifically, but it's mentioned.

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What happened with everything those past weeks was falling from the tip of your tongue the moment Gran asked. But you found just before you were able to say anything, Nana said that now would be a good time for Bakugou to get clean and changed.

She said it would be beneficial. After all, he wouldn't feel gross with the sweat and snow and blood. Meanwhile, you would be able to explain before taking a shower yourself. You suddenly sat up in the chair, whipping your head around to look at the two. Bakugou still had a wound on his back. Didn't he?

You were about to argue the fact when you watched Nana take the bandage off from around his back and chest, revealing nothing but a blood-stained surface. She looked back at you and gave you a smile, using the back of her hand to wipe the blood from her forehead. It was like she could read your mind. Perhaps she was used to the concern she earned as a doctor years ago.

You guessed the latter and faced Gran once more, ignoring the eyes you felt on the back of your head.

"Your mind is too jumbled," she said, looking at you from the rim of her coffee. "I was going to tell you just to think about what happened, but you have too much on your mind for me to make sense of anything."

"Sorry," you said. You hadn't ever thought of that method, but that wasn't important at that moment.

"His thoughts are loud," she told you, taking another sip of her drink. Then she placed the mug on the table beside her, glancing at you.

You felt your heart jump and the pit in your stomach expand to your chest. You didn't want to say anything, it felt too soon. Change wasn't something you enjoyed. You hated it. It was one of the few things you couldn't handle. And it seemed to be one of the few constants in your life at that moment. Which was ironic—morbidly so.

"I can't understand what he's saying, but that doesn't matter right now," she said, and then laughed a bit. "Not like I want to see in the mind of some teenager either."

You didn't respond once more and looked down at your hands. It wasn't like Gran had said he was thinking about you or said anything related to the fact. She had merely mentioned his thoughts were loud. And yet you related something as simple as his name to the subject of your own mind.

"Anyway"—she laced her fingers together on her lap and looked at you—"Tell me everything."

It took you a moment but you did. It was easier than the first time you did so. It was like the event was merely the lyrics to a song you knew well. After saying what happened in your head for hours on end, hopeful that Bakugou wasn't dead, the way in which you spoke was akin to an actor. You said everything like it was your given line.

When you were finished, she looked at you for a long moment, pity in her eyes. She looked as though she was about to say something, but Bakugou sat on the couch beside you, wearing one of your grandmother's old, oversized t-shirts. Specifically, it was one of the joke-gifts your father had gotten for them a few years before. It had a picture of reindeers and hot chocolate on them.

You pressed your lips together, trying to hold back a laugh. Your attempt was futile and you looked at Bakugou even though some sort of awkwardness laced your veins. "Nice shirt."

"Trip and die," he grumbled, crossing his arms on his chest.

You heard footsteps trail across the floor forwards the couch you sat. You turned and looked at Nana, a towel folded in the crease of her elbow and a smile on her face.