The Tinker

Chapter 89 - Suburban Morning

Y/N stared at her reflection in the mirror with a grimace.

It wasn't as bad as it had been a few weeks ago, sure– but the mark she was left with now was gnarly, to say the least. It started above her brow and streaked down nearly to her chin; a thick, grotesque reminder of what had happened to her.

She still couldn't quite remember which traumatic event it had come from. Was it the initial kidnapping in the skyscraper? When Clara slammed her in the wall? It could've been one of the three or so times she was slammed into the asphalt at the Rhode Island airport– oh, or the plane explosion.

Fuck.

Whatever it was from, this was here to stay. Recovery girl herself had even said there was nothing she could do. "Some wounds are as healed as they can be, but still leave marks," she had said.

No kidding.

There was a small knock on the bathroom door, even though it was slightly ajar already. "Hey." Bakugou didn't step inside, but he guided the door all the way open. When he saw Y/N perched over the counter staring at her reflection, he crossed his arms over his chest. "This again, huh?"

Y/N was learning that Katsuki was a light sleeper. If she was up, so was he.

"Yeah," Y/N sighed. "I'm still not... used to it." She turned her head left and right to look at it from different angles. "You think it'll always look this... jagged?"

"Probably." His arms were still crossed as he observed her, leaning his weight against the doorframe.

Y/N and Katsuki had spent the previous night moving his things into the new apartment– much to Y/N's surprise, it was nice. Way too nice, actually. She'd asked what her share of the rent was and the answer he provided was definitely not half– a quarter maybe at most, but no matter how much she pressed he wouldn't admit it.

It had taken an hour tops to move all of Bakugou's things in. He almost had less stuff than Y/N, and she barely had any of her things in the country... she should definitely bring that up later.

"What's the plan for today?" Y/N asked, finally pulling her eyes away from the mirror and turning to Katsuki– shirtless Katsuki, wearing just his grey sweatpants as bottoms and leaning beautifully against the doorway. Sometimes she forgot how chiseled he was. Good Lord.

"Breakfast. Sex. More grocery shopping. Lunch. More sex."

Y/N laughed. "You sound pretty confident in your itinerary. Were you gonna run it by me first?"

He smirked a bit. "I figured you wouldn't mind being surprised as we go."

"I have other shit I gotta do today, too," Y/N protested. A hint of a smile danced across her lips as she turned around and hoisted herself up onto the bathroom counter. "When should I do that?"

"We can fit that in after dinner." He paused for a moment. "Actually, scratch that. Sex after dinner too. Your plans gotta wait for tomorrow I guess, Tinkerbell."

Y/N snorted at how bold he was being. "Oh yeah? Says who?"

"Says you when you moved in with me. You knew the price," He shrugged, turning around and making his way to the kitchen. Y/N watched his back shamelessly as he left. Surely it wasn't legal to look that good first thing in the morning. "Whaddya want? Eggs?" He called out.

"Mhm. And coffee." Y/N followed him out.

The morning light filtered in from outside and birdsong echoed softly through the flat. Walking over to the giant glass window, Y/N looked out at the morning streets.

Bakugou's apartment was in an offensively beautiful part of town. The surrounding area had a river, lush gardens and dog parks, and a community of schools and shops. That alone had to make the rent double what was standard for an apartment in Japan. They weren't even sharing a building with anybody; it was a real house, complete with a patio and a backyard. What the hell kind of rental was this?

"How in the hell can you afford this place? You're like a fucking suburban dad," Y/N scoffed, clearly dumbfounded. When they'd arrived the day before it was late into the evening, shrouding the neighborhood in darkness. Y/N hadn't gotten a proper look at it until now. "This place has gotta be at least 400,000 yen a month."

Bakugou didn't acknowledge the price she'd mentioned. "I saved my money. Been working full time for a year or two now, getting paid a pretty good salary... wanted to make sure I could get somewhere away from the city. It's quieter here."

"Why not just buy the place then? Isn't renting pricier in the long run?"

When it took Katsuki a while to respond, Y/N turned to look at him, but he was turned towards the other counter pouring her coffee into a large green mug. Damn, that gorgeous back. "I don't wanna stay somewhere with one bedroom forever. No room for uh... future plans."

Y/N wasn't quite sure what that meant, but knew he was being vague intentionally. He did that sometimes when he didn't want to explain something; since he was making her breakfast, she didn't press him for elaboration.

Katsuki placed their food and Y/N's mug on the tiny dining table next to the window and sat down. "You joinin' me or not?"

She sat gratefully. A sip of coffee made her eyes widen in surprise. "How did you know how much cream to put in? You nailed it."

"'M not stupid, I've tasted your coffee before. Too dark. You never put enough cream," He grumbled.

Y/N smiled a bit as she took another sip. Before, he had ordered her black coffees, but it seemed he'd noticed her putting cream packets in– and remembered.

"What plans did you have for today anyway?" He questioned.

"I gotta pack my plane stuff."

Bakugou groaned. "God dammit. I forgot that's tomorrow. Do you really have to go?"

"How else am I supposed to get my shit here? Someone's gotta pack it."

"Can't your parents send it over or something?"

Y/N laughed. "They're busy. Plus, I wanna see them. I haven't seen them since..." A lump formed in her throat and she pushed it down. "It's been a while. They'll go psycho if I wait much longer."

As grumpy as Katsuki was about it, it was understandable. He would go psycho if he couldn't see her, too.

"Still don't think you should be gone for so long," He grumbled, moving his eggs back and forth on his plate with his chopsticks. "The hell am I supposed to do here? I don't start work again for a whole week."

"Oh, poor Kat," Y/N teased. "What ever will he do in this beautiful apartment, in this gorgeous neighborhood? Surely he'll die of boredom."

"Fuck off."

"Should I leave a cardboard cutout of me behind? Better yet, should I sneak you in my carryon bag? That way you can come to my family dinners, I'm sure you'd love that," She said sarcastically. She inhaled the rest of her eggs in the silence that followed. When he didn't respond, she froze. "Don't tell me you actually want the cutout."

"Not that, dumbass," He snapped.

"What, you wanna come with me?"

Bakugou leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms with a defensive scowl. Yeah, he definitely wanted to come, but was that being too... clingy?

It was too late to back out now. "What if I do?"

"You... actually wanna meet my parents?"

He shrugged. "Yeah. So what?"

"You're such a liar," Y/N laughed. "You hate meeting new people."

"Only fucking stupid people."

Y/N rested against her armrest and sipped her coffee again. "And if you end up thinking they're stupid?"

"They won't be," He said adamantly.

"Yeah? How are you so sure?"

Katsuki stood up and collected their dishes. "They raised the best person I know. They're not fucking stupid."