The Tinker

Chapter 66 - Family Dinner Part III

"I still can't believe I have the famous Whirlwind in my home," Masaru chuckled.

Him and Y/N were doing dishes together in the kitchen while Mitsuki and Katsuki went to the corner store to buy mochi for dessert. Y/N had never tried it and Mitsuki was having none of it. "You can't have gone your time in Japan without trying mochi," She had said. Katsuki had rolled his eyes.

"I'm not so famous anymore," Y/N said. "Not in Japan, at least. It's a bit of a relief." She used the dish towel to dry the plate that Masaru handed her. 

"American media can be... difficult. Especially for young female heroes," Masaru sighed. "Hell, it's hard for female heroes in Japan. It's hard everywhere."

Y/N shrugged. "You're not wrong. The other day a different pro hero announced that we're dating. It was news to me."

Masaru laughed. "That's pretty brutal. A bit like what Kat went through a while back."

Y/N frowned and turned to him, confused. "What happened to him?"

"Oh." Masaru set the plate he was washing down and bit his lip. "I guess it makes sense that he hasn't told you. He doesn't really like to talk much, does he?" He went back to scrubbing at the dish and sighed. "There was this... girl. Not a good person. Mitsuki and I don't really know the full story, but Kat's friend-- Kirishima, I think it was?-- filled us in a bit."

Y/N's heart was starting to pound in anticipation.

"There was a party, alcohol got involved, then the media got involved. For a while there he... well, the media tore him up so bad we weren't sure his reputation would recover."

Y/N was starting to feel nauseous. She wasn't drying dishes anymore; they were piling up on the counter as she listened.

"I don't want to say any more than he's comfortable with. You should ask him about it if you'd like to know more."

She snapped back to her chore and tried to speed up her dish-drying process to catch up. What the hell had happened to Kat? Y/N admired that Masaru was respectful of his son's privacy, but a smaller part of her was disappointed she didn't get more information.

~~~

"Alright, I get it. Mochi is pretty good," Y/N admitted. "Tastes like ice cream."

"That is ice cream, dumbass," Katsuki grumbled. "The outside is mochi."

Mitsuki smacked the back of her son's head. "Be nice to your girlfriend or she'll leave you!"

Y/N held back a laugh. "Yeah, Kat. Be nice or I'll leave you." 

He responded by sticking his tongue out at her once his mother wasn't looking and she snickered.

"Do you want more food for the road? We can give you the rest of the mochi if you--" Masaru started, but Katsuki interrupted.

"You guys gave us enough shit to feed an army," He grumbled, holding up the heavy paper bags as proof. "Trust me, we're fine."

"Slow your roll. Kiri would lose his mind if we brought him mochi," Y/N corrected. Mitsuki beamed at her and handed her the box of remaining treats before patting her on the head.

"Be safe! Text us when you're back at the dorms. Love you!" Mitsuki cried as they walked out the front door. 

"Love you too, ma," Katsuki said. "Love you, dad."

His parents waved and blew kisses at the door before closing it and the two of them trudged out into the snowfall outside. The eerie quiet of winter settled around them as they made their way to the nearest bus stop.

Y/N tried to take one of the bags from Bakugou to help with the weight but he yanked it away and glared at her. "I got it, Tinkerbell."

"I like your parents. They're cool."

"I know that," He huffed. "Did you... What did you and my mom talk about?"

Y/N laughed and nudged his arm with hers. "You nervous about our gossip, Kat?"

"Fuck off!" He snapped. "I'm not nervous!"

"Well, you should be."

He gave her a quick look of panic before she burst into giggles.

"I'm messing with you, it was all good things," She said with a smile. "I'm a bit sad I didn't get some embarrassing shit on you, but what can ya do?"

He rolled his eyes at her.

"I uh... I talked with your dad a bit too while you were gone," Y/N admitted. The two of them reached the bus stop and took a seat on the bench underneath the small platform. Bakugou set down the bags of food and stretched his arms-- it was a good 50 pounds of food that he'd been carrying.

"Oh yeah? 'Bout what?"

Y/N was nervous about bringing up the next subject. What if it upset him? She took a deep breath and forced herself into it. "Your dad mentioned something about the media talking shit about you a while back."

Bakugou said nothing; he stared straight ahead, emotionless. Unresponsive. It was unnerving.

"He said something about a girl."

That seemed to get more of a reaction out of him. His eyes narrowed and lowered to the ground as his hands clenched into fists. Y/N could read loud and clear that he was uncomfortable.

"Will you tell me about it?"

"No."

"Okay," She said softly. "You don't have to."

Bakugou looked at her, finally, squinting in confusion. "You're... not upset?"

It was Y/N's turn to be confused. "What? Upset? Why the hell would I be upset?"

"It's just..." He fidgeted with his fingers. "I dunno. People usually get mad when I don't wanna talk about shit."

Y/N shrugged. "It's your shit, Kat. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." There was a pause before she added, "Don't get me wrong, I'd love to hear it when you're ready-- if you're ready-- but that's your deal. I'm not gonna make you tell me anything."

Bakugou would be lying if he said he wasn't in shock. Y/N bent down and grabbed another ball of mochi from the box and tore it in half. He leaned forward and she popped one half into his mouth and flicked his forehead. He snorted at her and she giggled.

He really didn't have to talk about it if he didn't want to?

His heart fluttered in his chest a bit as he watched Y/N chew happily on her bit of mochi. Her legs swung back and forth on the bench as the snow fell around them-- how the hell was she so beautiful?

He tried to smother the smile that was creeping onto his lips but couldn't help it. The corners of his mouth turned up as he finished biting down on the sweet treat. He felt relieved. The fear that had began creeping up his throat seemed to be drowned out by the ice cream-- and by her.

"You've got a cute smile," She teased. "You should let it out more."

"Fuck off," He said, but his words had no malice behind them and a laugh seemed to be fighting its way out as he spoke.

She leaned her back against his shoulder and pulled her feet up on the bench as she finished her dessert. She was warm as always, but it was more than that-- she brought a kind of comfort and safety that he'd never experienced around another person. 

She broke the silence of the snowy night air. "Kat, I don't wanna go back to America."