Chapter Text
"You're hiding."
His tone is too sharp he thinks and Aaron regrets it, curls his fingers into a fist and waits for Gran to scoff. The door closes and no other sound is made and Aaron wonders if he's wrong, if Gran made a hiding spot where he can hide from Aaron too. That'd be alright, Aaron tries to convince himself, and moves through the storage to the deepest corner. Gran isn't required to share everything with him, no matter how badly Aaron wants him too.
Maybe he shouldn't be this relieved when Gran sits between the wall and the line of boxes, knees pressed against his chest and arms tucked around them.
"Gran..."
He doesn't look at him still, eyes focused on a spot on the wodden floor in front of his shoes despite of how Aaron is hunching down to be closer to his eye level.
"What happened out there? Io said she couldn't find you ever since you got back, and Lyria told me it was better I heard it from you, so she wouldn't tell anyone until I left the room", Aaron keeps speaking even when Gran makes an uncomfortable shift of his body, making himself smaller and avoiding looking at Aaron at all. It takes a minute, and a few more moments after that, until Aaron's patience pays off and Gran starts to explain.
"I messed up."
There's something akin to a choke when the words slip out and it takes all of Aaron to not curse Gran's line of work right there and then.
"It's an easy mission, right? Collect a few herbs and then make it back. It was for an old lady and she reminded me of Zinkenstill so I wanted to do it. But I let my guard down when we were done. I didn't see it coming and it must have gotten lost from its pack 'cause of the storms lately and it jumped and I..."
By now Aaron was reaching forward, hands on Gran's shoulders and then circling behind them in the same effort it took to use Gran's surprise to embrace him properly. It was a bit clumsy like this, but Gran's complaint soon faded to let Aaron come closer more easily.
"But you're fine. Lyria is fine and Vyrn is fine and you are fine. You won, Gran, even when taken off-guard."
"You don't get it, I shouldn't be off-guard."
Aaron hugs him harder when Gran says it, fingers digging into his hoodie and chin pressing against his shoulder.
"Stop being an idiot", he doesn't mean to have the words so laced with anger, but he knows Gran understands. Because Gran makes a small 'oh' before hugging Aaron back.
"You know I can't."
The soft chuckles is a welcomed change from the near-despair tone Gran had carried.