"Lil' love, c'mon, you've been in here for ages. You gotta have some soup or a shake, love." Giran tries coaxing, stroking your cheek softly.
"Don't wanna." You reply petulantly.
"Darlin' girl..." Giran sighs, settling on his knees beside the bed. "Ya can't sit up here forever. Come an' sit wi' your old grandpaw, he misses ya when you're not around."
"I don't want to talk right now." You reply, burying your face into the lavender scented pillow.
"You don't hafta talk, honey." Giran reassures. "But yer gonna make yerself feel worse if ya just sit sulkin' in here."
"I'm not sulking, I'm sad." You correct sourly.
"M' sorry hon. You'll make yourself sadder if you keep sittin' alone and dwellin' on it." He corrects softly. "Come sit in the quiet with me, love. You can do some sketchin', or play yer game, we can watch a movie together..."
You don't really want to, but you have a feeling that Uncle Giran won't stop bugging you about it until you do it, and Dabi had made it clear that you needed to behave, which meant being polite even though you wanted to be alone and sad that Dabi had left you alone again.
"Okay." You reply quietly, peeling your face away from the pillow slowly.
Giran's face lights up, revealing his gap-toothed smile as he looks at you. "Good girl, c'mon let's get you somethin' to eat an' put some cream on that rash, yeah?"
You try not to grimace at the promise of something to eat. Your stomach was already unsettled from the unknown of whatever was going on with Dabi and why he was wearing weird new clothes that matched his hair, and you were a little scared that food wouldn't stay down.
You let him encourage you out of your new temporary bed and follow him obediently to the cramped little bathroom so he can put some cooling ointment on your face.
He doesn't force you to talk, just hums to himself while applying the medication with his cold prosthetic fingers and then strokes your hair back with his hand affectionately once he's done, rubbing your cheeks with his thumbs like the rash isn't icky.
He doesn't stay like that for long though, standing back up and patiently walking beside you down the stairs.
"So, what wouldya like to eat? Yer paw told me ya like your blueberries, an' can eat a lil' noodle soup... What else, love?" Giran asks, looking down at you.
"I like Spinners protein bars. And fruit shakes." You reply quietly. "I like the fruit shakes better when they're cold. It tastes sweeter."
"How about I getcha a bowl of blueberries out an' give you a shake?" Giran asks, as though it was a good thing to offer.
"I'm okay with just a shake." You reply calmly, not wanting to be rude.
He just hums and pats your head, gesturing for you to go into the living room.
"Go on, lil' love. Watch some cartoons while I get ya dinner ready." He encourages, scratching your scalp gently with his fingertips before leaving you to your own devices.
You watch him walk off to the kitchen, whistling to himself, and reluctantly go into his living area where he had the fire on and blankets thrown over all his fancy furniture.
You sit on the armchair Uncle Giran usually sits on, wrapping one of the heavy blankets around yourself as best you can, and nestling down until you feel comfortable.
With the fire going and the weighted blanket on you, you find yourself getting sleepy, apparently dozing off without realising as Uncle Giran gently shakes you awake.
You gasp, forgetting where you were and what was happening for a second, and the weight of the blanket doesn't help with your panic, your brain not registering that it wasn't someone pinning you down for a second.
That same useless green aura glows from your body as Uncle Giran's face softens and he crouches beside you with a soft: 'aw, love'.
"I forgot where I was." You explain a little breathlessly.
"That's alright darlin', we all do it." Uncle Giran soothes. "I gotcha your shake here. Have it when yer ready."
He pulls out a small table and places the glass full of a pink shake, and a bowl of blueberries and sugar on it. He doesn't try to move you out of his seat or force you to eat or drink straight away, he just sits on the couch instead, crossing his legs and picking up the remote for the TV.
"What're kids your age watchin' these days then, lil' Star?" Giran asks.
"I like Adventure Time..." You murmur, slowly picking up the glass.
"Wha's that about?" Giran asks, but appears to look for it on the channel list.
"Jake the dog and Finn the human. They go on adventures." You explain blandly, sipping the shake.
It's thick and tastes overwhelmingly like the taste of artificial strawberry flavour, and although it tastes nicer than some of the protein shakes you'd been having, you can't help but panic that you might throw up from the sudden weight in your belly or the strong smell.
You immediately set it down and opt to eat the blueberries instead while Giran struggles to figure out how to use his TV to put Adventure Time on for you.
"Goddamnit." He mutters after the controller doesn't type the right word in. "Aiko usually does this for me. Maybe I really am gettin' a lil' too old for all this tech stuff."
"You're not too old." You tell him quietly.
"An' that's why you're my favourite, darlin' girl." Giran chuckles, smiling fondly as he continues to try to get it set up for you.
When he finally manages to get the show up, you're halfway through the bowl, and by the end of the first episode, you've finished all of the blueberries that were in the bowl.
"Uncle Giran?" You ask, peering at the man who's smoking and leaning across the couch, apparently enjoying the show as much as you.
"Yeah, hon?" He asks, tapping his cigarette into an ashtray.
"Can I have some more blueberries?" You ask. "Please?"
"'Course, hon." Giran says, sitting up without arguing it, until he sees that the shake-filled glass is still full. "Wha's wrong with the shake, Star?"
"It's thick and smells." You murmur. "I tried it, though."
He looks at you for a moment longer, looks at the glass and then looks at you again.
"It's a strawberry shake, darlin'." He tells you, as though you didn't know. "It should smell nice. Betcha it tastes nicer than the stuff Spinner's been givin ya."
"It does, but I don't wanna be rude and throw up." You reply sheepishly.
Giran's expression softens into a more pitiful look, and he reaches to ruffle your hair gently like Dabi does.
"Hon, if ya throw up, that's okay. You don't needta worry about all'a that. But I do want ya to try and drink half'a it, okay? If you get to here..." He puts his finger on the glass to indicate how much needed to go. "I'll get ya some more blueberries. Does that sound fair?"
Your face falls. "But what if I'm sick?"
"Then your grandpaw will take care of ya. But you can't keep puttin' it off forever hon. Everyone's worried about ya." He says with a gentle and sympathetic smile.
You can't wiggle your way out of this one unless you decide to not eat at all, but you were admittedly feeling a little hungry.
"Okay." You relent, your voice barely above a whisper.
Giran looks a little relieved, stroking your cheek and saying nothing before sitting back down again and finishing his cigarette while watching Adventure Time with you.
He doesn't look at you once while you struggle down the shake, not even when you preemptively gag on the first sip. It's almost like he knew you didn't like to eat when people were watching anymore.
"Done." You say, putting the glass down the second you reach halfway.
Giran glances over at you, scratching at his stubble and grinning. "Well done darlin' Star. How're you feelin'?"
"I'm okay." You say, wrapping the blanket over your shoulders again.
"Good girl, sweetheart." He praises.
He pats your head before picking up the half-empty glass and the empty bowl, going off into the kitchen to get more blueberries for you.
While you're alone though, you begin getting nervous and your mind starts to wander. You wonder about where Dabi was that meant he had to dress up so much, and Zero as well, because he was wearing a bodysuit, cargos and some kind of tactical vest that you'd only ever seen policemen wear on TV. You'd never seen Uncle Zero dress like that before, usually he dressed pretty plainly, always covering the scars on his arms and legs.
When Giran returns, placing the filled bowl back on the table again, you immediately speak up.
"Can we call Dabi?" You ask.
"No hon, yer paw's busy." He explains, ruffling your hair again.
"Busy busy, or hugging Tomura busy?" You ask.
"Eh? Busy, hon. Tomura ain't got nothin' to do with it." Giran responds in a mixture of confusion and amusement. "It's only been a few hours, darlin'."
You grumble a little, sinking into the chair and letting the heavy blanket swallow you up. You continue to watch the TV over the blanket, occasionally reaching out to eat some fruit.
With a full stomach, and the fire so close and a comforting weight atop of you, you begin to doze off again.
You don't feel Giran moving the weighted blanket off of you, or really register him picking you up and carrying you up to Aiko's old room, placing another weighted blanket on you and tucking your teddy close to you, too.
He even kisses your forehead before leaving you in the room with the door ajar.
*•*
The next day, in the afternoon, you hear the front door slam open while Giran helps you with your math workbook.
You hadn't really considered that maybe Uncle Giran would be good at math, especially seeing as he owned his own business, and he was patient with you while you learned just like Zero was.
You'd always just thought he was good at art and hadn't put much thought into anything else.
"Dad! Dad!" You hear Aiko yell as her footsteps rush through the house. "Dad! Dabi's-"
She bursts into the kitchen where you're both sitting at the table, both of your heads shooting up to look at her. You're wide-eyed and curious and Giran, not that you can see, is giving her a sharp look.
She pauses for a moment before putting on a strangely sheepish smile.
"-kid is here." She notes. "Of course."
"Tha's right, Starshine here is keepin' me company." Giran tells her, wrapping an arm around your shoulder to squeeze you gently. "Seein' as my darlin' daughter left me on my lonesome."
Aiko rolls her eyes at him. "I bring you free clothes and cook and clean for you when I visit. Don't act a victim."
"Hello Aunty Aiko." You greet politely.
"Hey Star. You okay?" She asks. "You look... better."
"I have a stress rash." You point out.
"Yeah." Aiko agrees, coming further into the kitchen and closer to you. "Doubt Dabi's been treating it properly. Look at his-"
"Tomura gave me magic cream, so it should get better if I don't scratch." You interrupt, not liking it when she's mean about Dabi.
"Put some on her earlier, love." Giran chimes in, smirking when she passes you to kiss him on the cheek.
"What were you going to say about Dabi?" You ask her curiously as she takes Uncle Giran's cup to refill it with coffee.
"Ugh, don't even worry about it." She groans, her back turned to you.
Giran calls your attention back to the book in front of you, patiently leading you to the right answers while Aiko makes herself and her dad a drink each.
When Aiko's finished, she places the mug in front of him again and sits next to him, looking at you intently, even as you avoid her gaze.
She wasn't as mean as she used to be anymore, but she still was a little scary to you.
"Don't you have any new clothes?" She asks you when you accidentally meet her gaze.
"Himiko got me a special yukata, and Tomura gave her money to get me some bras and a few clothes..." You mumble nervously.
"So you've been wearing my hand-me-downs this whole time?" She asks, raising an eyebrow.
You shift uncomfortably in your seat, worried that she might be upset with you for wearing her old clothes, even though she was a grown up now and definitely wouldn't be able to fit in them anymore.
"Sorry..." You murmur.
She looks even more offended at your apology, looking in exasperation at her dad who seems perfectly content sitting there between you both as he sips his coffee and reads over the quiz answers at the end of the section in your workbook.
"Dad, why didn't you tell me?" She asks irritably.
"Hm? Wha's that?" He asks, looking over his glasses at her.
"Her clothes. Why didn't you tell me they needed clothes for her?" She asks, gesturing at you.
"It's okay, I like these clothes." You reassure, not wanting Giran to get into a fight with Aiko over you.
Aiko captures your sleeve, which is admittedly high up your arm. "They're too small for you. You need new ones."
"Assumed Dabi had it." Giran shrugs. "All of 'em are right, Star! Attagirl!"
He ruffles your hair and stands up to get some candy from a cupboard for you to try to eat as a reward.
"Clearly Dabi does not 'have it', dad." Aiko says dryly, watching him. "She's wearing things several sizes too small."
She turns her attention back to you, sighing in frustration. "Don't worry Star, I'll get you something that actually fits you properly."
"Um..." You look over at Giran, who was wearing a black and white tiger-striped shirt and purple leather pants. "I don't like bright colours or patterns."
Giran snorts as he puts a packet of gummy candies in front of you. "That's Star's way of sayin' she hates my clothes."
Aiko raises an eyebrow but smirks when Giran sits back down and wraps an arm around her, rubbing her arm with his hand and grinning proudly.
"My darlin' Aiko's a fashion designer, lil' love. She can getcha some clothes that're fancy without bein' as fancy as mine." He says with a wink.
"Oh." You squeak.
Aiko leans closer to Giran as you open the candy wrapper and mutters something in a hushed voice to him while you're distracted. When you pop the first little gummy in your mouth you look up in time to see a look of shock on Giran's face, but he manages to collect himself in time to smile kindly at you.
"Yeah, we'll sort ya out nice an' good." He says, stroking from the top of your head to the back of it with the flat of his palm affectionately.