This Thing A Quiet Madness Made

Chapter 42

For a moment, her eyes paused on one of them in particular: a round, white ceramic tupperware container with a plastic top. It was simple and plain, something you could surely find anywhere, nothing too remarkable about it save for the faint, barely noticeable scratch near the edge of the lid: the same scratch she had made when she accidentally dropped it all those months ago.

...

Naoko hummed quietly as she shuffled into the kitchen one evening, a bit tired after having finished her latest essay. She yawned drowsily, deciding she would have to go to sleep early that night, but first, she wanted something to eat. Mitsuki and Masaru were out at the moment, so she made no effort to hide her rather poor eating habits; skipping dinner hadn't made it easier to focus on schoolwork, but when would she ever learn?

Naoko shuffled through the cabinets in search of a snack, browsing carefully through the pantry as well, but even after searching high and low all throughout the kitchen, she still struggled to find anything that caught her eye. She hummed in discontent as she tilted her head. With a sigh, she turned and shuffled towards her last hope: the refrigerator.

'What's this?' she mused silently, as immediately upon opening the door, she spotted a white ceramic container in the center of the shelf at eye-level. She hadn't noticed it there when she checked earlier that day, though she did recognize it as Bakugo's favorite storage bowl, something she learned after he yelled at her when she placed it back in the wrong cabinet one time. Having such a thing as a favorite bowl didn't quite make sense to her, but to each their own, she supposed. Curiously, she pulled it out and lifted the lid, an excited smile spreading quickly on her face as her eyes met the stir-fried noodles inside. She celebrated internally at having found something that drew her appetite. Amidst her newfound glee, however, her hold on the lid loosened for just a moment, and she realized it a second too late. She could only watch, caught off-guard, as slipped from her hand, bouncing off the corner of the counter and clanking to the ground. She held back a quiet gasp, hurriedly setting the bowl down and reaching to pick up the fallen lid. Much to her dismay, a new scratch displayed itself atop the semi-clear plastic near the edge. It was faint and hard to notice, but that didn't help the sinking feeling in her chest.

"The hell are you doing crouched down like that?" a brash voice called out from behind her, prompting the startled girl to instantly stiffen, her gaze flying up the familiar blonde standing in the doorway. "You look like a goblin."

Paying no mind to his insult, Naoko hesitated. Slowly, she glanced down at the lid, then back up at him.

"What're you staring at?" he peered suspiciously down at her as he strode over to where she was hunched.

Carefully, Naoko rose to her feet and slowly turned to face him, a guilty expression overtaking her features as she nervously held the lid out in front of her. "Katsuki... so I sort of... dropped this..." she admitted quietly, concerned gaze focused on the clear piece of plastic.

"Ok? And?"

"Well, it's... it got scratched."

Bakugo raised a questioning eyebrow, scanning her over for a moment before taking the lid, holding it up to get a closer look. "The fuck are you talking about? Where?"

"It's... there, that one. I'm sorry, please don't be mad..."

"What, this?" his face scrunched as he peered down at her, confusion evident in his ruby gaze, "The hell are you so nervous for?"

"I mean... I scratched it. I-I didn't mean to! It was an accident! It just fell and-"

"So you're gonna cry over a tiny ass scratch?"