Familiarity

Chapter Eighteen

Katsuki stood at the doorway in silence, an unspoken question written on his face when you turned to look at him.

For a second, you were sure you had translated the twist in his eyebrows correctly. The longer you looked, however, the more unsure you became, and the more you began to question if that expression on his face had existed at all. You looked back at the toilet bowl you sat in front of, glancing at your rippling reflection.

You stood, walking to the sink where you washed your hands with eyes that stayed low. You leaned over, still wordless and unable to look up as you grabbed tissues to get rid of the tears and snot on your face, and washed your hands once more. As you turned the sink off and let water drip from your hands, you stared at the drain.

"I'm sorry for waking you up," you said, glancing at him through the mirror in front of you.

"Whatever," he said with a shrug. "Doesn't bother me."

You stared at your hands once more, feeling impossibly small and pathetic. "I didn't run away because of you. You know that right?" Your words came quietly.

Katsuki said nothing, and after those lingering passed as slow as molasses fell, you left the bathroom and walked down the stairs.

Mitsuki glanced up at the creaking sound of your steps, giving you a small smile. She sat a glass of water at the table. Then she pushed a bowl full of crackers in the place you began to kneel before. She sat across from you, looking at the magazine on the table dryly. The room was quiet besides the continuous sound of the Tv droning in the living room and the sound of paper moving.

You ate the entire bowl of crackers hoping that lingering feeling in your stomach would fade with the taste of salt on your tongue. You had another sip of water and brought both of the dishes to the sink.

"Thank you," you said, directing a small bow in Mitsuki's direction as you attempted to walk away.

"Hold on," she said a bit suddenly. Words were forming on her lips as you paused, looking at her. However, her expression changed and the words dissipated. "Never mind," she waved away at the air, looking down at the magazine once more. "Go on."

Though there was a buffer, a hesitation to your movement, you began to walk up the stairs and into the bedroom. Your brother was missing from the cot, and you only guessed it was him and Masaru who was the cause of the droning Tv.

Your chest tightened. There, Katsuki laid on his back above his sheets, looking back at you.

You nearly took a step back. "Sorry."

"Stop saying that," he grunted. "It's annoying. And I wasn't trying to sleep anyway."

You stared at him. He stared at the ceiling. "Can I join you, then?"

"Go ahead," he said, sitting up enough to move himself to the side of the bed he had slept on not long ago. There was yet another constriction in your chest as you closed the door with a simple click and laid beside him.

Your hands rest at your sides, your eyes staring towards the ceiling as you attempted to banish the memories from your dream. You no longer suffered from the images of pain and death. Instead, you were bought with reminders of the kisses. You could almost feel the ghost of each press radiate on your lips. And, strangely, that almost scared you.

You sat up and moved until you rested against the wall behind you, your legs folded. Katsuki joined you after a short glance and a moment of thought, and you found this only made the phantom feelings of kisses worsen. You swallowed.

"Hey," you said, staring forward.

"Hm?" Katsuki hummed.

Your heart hammered in your chest. "You like me."