Dabi was getting cranky.
The first day after his interview, he was fine.
You had both spent the day in the hotel. You hadn't really done much, but that was just fine by you, you were happy enough catching up on all the TV shows you missed while you were away from home, and unable to watch TV.
You only really left the room to get food, and for Dabi's cigarette breaks.

The second day, he was a little more quiet than usual, jumping to attention whenever his phone vibrated, only to huff when he checked the screen.
You wondered if it's because he'd been insisting you slept in the bed while he slept on the little couch in the room. You didn't know why he was so adamant on you having the bed when you fit better on the couch than he did, but he wouldn't allow you to argue back, and you were smart enough to not push the subject too much.

He wasn't really moving much, he didn't even get up to smoke, only having a cigarette when he managed to peel himself off the couch to take you to a Family Mart to get food and drinks for the rest of the day because he didn't want to have to get up again.
He wouldn't tell you what was wrong, but his movements were a lot slower and more sluggish than usual, lacking the usual grace he tended to walk with. You were getting the feeling he was in pain, especially when he had to reach for things in the shop and you'd see him wince.

You then got worried that it was some kind of aftereffect of your quirk, although you were a little concerned that if it was, that it was a bit delayed.
So you started to fawn, worried that you had annoyed him, that he was beginning to realize that you were too much of a commitment for him and he didn't want to keep you around anymore.
You kept his glass of water full again, tidied everything up in the hotel, despite it already being nearly as tidy as possible anyway, it wasn't like either of you had many belongings.
Even that seemed to irk him though, him telling you to stop 'bein' such a busybody, an' relax.'

So you had done what he asked, sitting on the floor by the couch where he'd been laying and resting your head back, against his torso.
He had flinched so hard that it even got you to jolt, too. You'd thrown him an apologetic look, and he'd sighed, requesting for you to not touch him today in a calm but strained voice.

So after that, you'd been keeping out of his way as much as the hotel room would allow. A dark atmosphere was coming off of him, and you didn't want to do or say anything that would tick him off and make him leave you behind.

At one stage he had picked up the phone, clearly waiting for someone to pick up as he turned the volume up on the TV without even asking you and disappearing into the bathroom for a little while.
You take the hint, smart enough to know he'd done that to stop you from being able to hear whatever was being said.
That didn't stop you from trying to overhear bits and pieces of the conversation whenever there was a second of silence.

You don't hear anything too useful, just what sounded like:
"He said two days..."
"Can't jus' leave her here..."
"...Just for an hour or two."
And at one point he yelled: "I'll just have to pay you back!"

When he'd left the bathroom his face was even more sour than before, his phone gripped tightly in his hand.
He flops back onto the bed, threatening to send you flying with the bounce, except this time you don't laugh like you had when it happened before.

"Kid." He says eventually,  breaking the hour-long silence you two had shared.

"Mm?" You reply, pretending that you hadn't even noticed his bad mood because you were so wrapped up in the show playing on the flatscreen.

When you look over at him there's a slight frown pulling his eyebrows together, and his eyes are cold, empty.

"What do you think of Giran?" He asks.

"G-Giran?" You repeat, already disliking where this was going.

Was he going to ditch you off with old man Giran? He was tired of you already? You'd been trying really hard to be good, to behave, to follow the rules that he set. So why?

"Yeah. Do ya trust him?" Dabi asks, his face not really softening. He'd been clenching his jaw all day. "I know you're a bit funny 'bout men, but I gotta go to a meetin', and I can't leave you here alone. Sure as hell ain't gonna take you with me, either."

An instant wave of relief washes over your body, your limbs physically loosening and your shoulders dropping into a more relaxed position. You genuinely had managed to convince yourself that Dabi was going to leave you again.
You really hoped that someday you might actually be able to relax completely around him, and trust that he wouldn't do that to you.
But the logical part of your brain knew that he was just some stranger, that he had no real dedication or loyalty to you. He could always change his mind about everything he said.
He could always lie.

You try to ignore how quickly your brain spirals again, instead thinking over Dabi's question.
Did you trust 'old man Giran'?
The answer was yes. He was older, and hadn't tried touching you, not even once. He wasn't tall and built with solid muscle, and he was calm, patient... He reminded you of Gramps when Gramps was still alive. What you remembered of him, anyway.

"Yeah. I like him." You say simply.

The answer was true, you did like him. He didn't bother you. He just let you crack on doing your own thing in silence, not forcing conversation, and he clearly had some kind of knowledge about art, and how to draw properly, and that made your curious little mind want to pick at his brain some more.

"So if I drop you off at his, you're not gonna be scared?" Dabi asks, his eyebrows knitting together a little as he looks at you intensely. "You gotta be honest with me, Star. I'm gonna be gone a little while, and I don' want you unhappy. Ya hear me?"

"How long...?" You ask quietly.

"Coupla hours at most." He replies.

You think about it properly for a while.
Dabi, as far as you were aware, hadn't lied to you yet. Whenever he told you something, he meant it, and he did seem to have your best interests in mind so far. The fact he'd even bothered to ask you if you trusted Giran enough to be left with him for a couple hours told you that much.
Even mom had left you for days on end with random people in the apartment at times.
Giran seemed more interested in his work than in you, which was precisely what you wanted. You didn't want to be coo-ed over, or fussed like you were some kind of baby.
He offered you drinks and little candies he kept in one of his desk drawers, kept a half eye on you while he worked, and that was it.

Dabi probably wouldn't be too happy to learn that Giran had chainsmoked the entire time, but that was something that hadn't bothered you, especially after growing up with mom smoking around you all the time. It was only Dabi that seemed to have unspoken rules about that kind of thing.

"I'll be okay." You say, bobbing your head a little.

"You're sure?" He asks, leaning his face even closer to yours as if he was trying to read whether you were lying or not through your eyes.

You nod your head up and down again, more convincingly this time.
You were going to make his life easier.
Even if a little part of you was worried that he was going to drop you off there and never come back still, you owed it to him to be brave.

He stares at you for a second before sighing, and reaching to ruffle your hair, the motion a little more half-hearted than usual.

"Attagirl." He says, slowly getting up from the bed. He winces as he does so, and you can't help but watch over him anxiously. Something really wasn't right with him and you didn't want to pry and annoy him, but you also really wanted to know.

After all, what if you woke up one morning and he was gone, just like mom?

"It's gettin' late, kiddo, so you gotta brush your teeth. An' pack up anything you wanna take. Wanna take Star Jr?"

You scowl at him.

"It's just teddy." You correct him.

Dabi cracks a grin for the first time today, his white teeth exposed against his contrasting lips.
The sight makes your heart lift a little. Maybe today was just a bad day after all, and it didn't have any deeper meaning than that.
Sometimes mom would have days like this too, where she'd cry all day, or not move from bed, or be angry about everything and anything. But she'd always be better a day or two after, even if it meant she was sleeping all day.

He ushers you into the bathroom to brush your teeth, calling Giran while you're in there to confirm he was coming over with you.

*•*

The walk to Giran's office is long, what with Dabi's slow walking today.
He made you wait a little further away than usual as he smoked before setting off. He was looking around a little anxiously, too, which had made you nervous by extension.
He seemed a little calmer after he was done smoking, but it wasn't enough for you, so you walked as close as you could to him without touching him by accident and upsetting him like you had earlier.
He smelt a little funny, too, but you ignored that in favor of feeling safe beside him.

He drops you off at Girans door, crouching so he's eye level with you, his hand reaching to cup your cheek for the first time since he'd questioned you about your mom.

"Behave." He says simply, his calloused thumb running over your cheek softly. "Yeah?"

You hum an agreement, surprising yourself by leaning into his touch. You'd missed the ruffling of your hair and small elbow bumps he sometimes gave you as you did things together a lot more than you realized, apparently.

"Attagirl. Giran's gettin' old, y'know? Can't keep up with us young'uns anymore." He says teasingly, offering you one of his lopsided grins as his hand moves to pet your hair. "Don't wanna hear you've been givin' him a hard time."

"I won't." You promise, treasuring the second time that he'd given you a smile today.

You had no intention of breaking Dabi's rules, or letting him down. Not after how much he had done for you, and seemed to be promising to do for you in the future.
Not now, not ever.

"Good girl. I'll see ya in a coupla hours, okay?" He says, removing his hand from your hair and standing slowly, wincing a little as he does so. "I gotta go."

He pulls another cigarette out of the carton he always seemed to carry in his back pocket, although it looks a little different to what he usually smoked. Maybe he had brought new ones from Family Mart without you noticing.
You give him a little wave before reaching for the door handle and letting yourself in, a little surprised that Dabi seemed to have no intention of joining you for at least a minute to make sure you were safe with Giran, but the walk had taken a while and he was probably running late to his meeting.

You walk up the narrow staircase, your footsteps echoing in the claustrophobic space, still audible even over Giran's voice booming as he's clearly on the phone again.

"That you, Star?" You hear Giran call.

"Mhm!" You reply, just naturally responding to the nickname now as your feet pick up pace, unexpectedly excited to see Giran again, hoping you could do a little more drawing.

He sits at his desk, in a ugly leopard print suit this time, wearing a purple scarf despite his office being warm anyway.
The second he sees you, he gives you a lazy smile, a cigarette hanging from one side of his mouth. His feet are on his desk, and the place seems a little tidier than it had been before.

"There's my favorite kiddo." He says cheerily, in complete contrast to how Dabi had been holding himself today. "How ya been gettin' on?"

You take your rucksack off, leaving it beside the chair opposite his desk and sitting on the chair. You decide not to question him on the fact you were supposedly his favorite kid, considering he'd only met you once, and barely spoken to you during that time. That might upset him, and then you'd be breaking Dabi's fourth rule.

"Okay, thank you." You reply politely. "What about you?"

"Good, good." Giran replies, leaning back slightly and picking up a big bag, placing it on the desk. "For you."

"Me?" You ask, frowning a little as you regard the bag.

"Mm, have a look through an' see if there's anything that takes your fancy." He replies, taking a breath of his cigarette as he looks over you.

You warily scoot the bag towards you, before putting it on your lap and looking into it.
It was clothes.
You look back up at him, but he's already back on the phone, seeming to be waiting for someone to pick up on the other end. He just gives you a simple nod of encouragement.

Tentatively, you work your fingers through the clothes. There were t-shirts, a couple of jackets, a whole bunch of pants, and one pair of trainers.
You give him a wary look, but he's too distracted with his phone call for now, sitting with his back to you as he talks enthusiastically to the person on the phone.
Taking it as a sign that he was allowing you pretty much free reign again, you settled down onto the floor with the bag of clothes, carefully taking each item out and looking at them all. It was nearly all stuff that you wouldn't really wear before being stuck with just two outfits, which made you feel like you shouldn't be too picky about what it looked like, and just be thankful that Giran had brought you clothes. Maybe this is what Dabi was yelling about owing him for later. And then you'd feel really bad if Dabi had to pay for the ones you didn't take.

You're in a crisis about the whole situation, barely even registering the fact that Giran had ended his phone call at some point.

"Any good, Star?" He asks, bringing you back to planet Earth.

"Um..." You reply, looking down at each item of clothing you'd laid carefully on the office floor to inspect. "Did you buy me all of these, sir?"

Giran chuckles, leaning forward.

"Naw, kid. I'm jus' too sentimental for my own good. They're my daughter's old clothes. Ain't no good to her now. Far too big an' grown." He sighs a little, his pink eyes thoughtful. "You can pick what you want outta 'em. You can't be wearin' the same clothes over an' over like that."

You let out a relieved breath.
They were just hand-me-downs. That was better than being bought all those things, and feeling even more indebted.
You begin picking out the items of clothing you didn't completely hate under Giran's watchful eyes.
Even though you were fully conscious that he was watching you, it didn't really bother you. It wasn't an intense stare like Dabi's, or a scary one like all the of boyfriends mom had, but more of a curious one, like he was figuring you out simply from watching what clothes you chose.

When you pile up the clothes you want, including one of the jackets, despite still not really wanting it, but more so needing it, Giran chuckles a little, lighting up another cigarette.

"Yeah, she always was a stickler for fashion. Wonder where she got that from."

When you look up at him, he's smirking with an eyebrow raised, and you realise that he meant it as a joke towards himself. That was pretty funny.
You smile, and his grin widens, revealing some of his missing teeth. His eyes seem a little more lively too as he reaches for the rejected clothes you'd put back in the bag, tucking it back behind the desk and bringing back an empty bag for you to put your new clothing in.

"Thank you!" You say, bowing politely.

He waves at you a little dismissively. "No need, kid. Happy ta help."

You neatly fold the garments before putting them in the bag he'd handed to you, excited to wear some clean clothes.
When you sit back at the desk, he had placed a pen and some paper on your side, giving you a knowing wink when you catch his eye. He's back on the phone again, talking a lot about numbers. You're thankful for the thoughtfulness, really amazed by the fact he'd remembered your name, what you had been wearing the last time you'd seen him, and the fact you liked to draw.
Not even mom seemed to notice the fact you enjoyed creating things.

You doodle mindlessly for quite some time, Giran occasionally pitching in to compliment your work, and to offer little pointers between phone calls.
When your eyes start to burn, beginning to get tired and strained, you put the pen down, leaving the drawing unfinished. You yawn, curling up on the comfy chair opposite Girans desk.
His eyes flicker to you briefly, but he doesn't interrupt the conversation he's having on the phone to say anything to you.

You begin fighting off sleep, not wanting to sleep just yet, but your eyes are winning.
Your eyes finally manage to shut completely when there's a sudden gust of air in the room. You don't open them, figuring Giran had just turned on a fan. It was pretty warm in his office, anyway, what with it being on the upper floor.

"Dabi." Giran greets. "Jus' dropped off to sleep now."

Well now you had to pretend to be asleep.
You feel a hand on your face briefly, moving your hair gently out of your face from what you can tell.

"Thanks, old man." Dabi replies, his voice quiet, making it raspier than usual.

"Ain't nothin'. She's a dream. Real good kid." Giran praises, making your heart leap even in your tiredness.

Dabi doesn't respond, and you can't really make out any clear movements being made with your eyes closed.

"She..." He breathes out.

"Cute, ain't it?" Giran chuckles. "Said it might make you smile."

Embarrassing. You feel your face burn up even though you can't see Dabi's reaction to the drawing you'd been working on.
It was him, with teddy. Him smiling his wonky smile, and teddy correctly labeled 'Star Jr'.
It wasn't good, but you had wanted to show him, really hoping it'd make today a little better for him.

There's a long silence, and your heart begins to pound with anxiety, worried that he hated it. It was hard to tell with your eyes closed and only being reliant on your hearing to know what was going on.
Before long, you hear what sounds like paper being folded up. You fight back a smile. He did like it.

"Those clothes are for her." Giran says softly, and Dabi grunts.

"You do too much."

"I do enough." Giran corrects. "Y'need to take her shoppin' if you're not gonna be washin' those clothes. Girls are prone to-"

"Shut up."

If your eyes had been open, they'd have been widened at the way Dabi had hissed at Giran, who seemed to genuinely only be looking out for you and him.

"If ya don't wanna hear about that stuff, ya sure you're mature enough to be takin' care of a kid?" Giran snorts. "Y'wait till she hits pub-"

There's a sudden rise in heat, which seems to promptly shut Giran up. Maybe something in his office had caught alight. It wouldn't really be a surprise with how messy it was.

"Alright, alright. Point made." You hear Giran whisper.

The heat dies down again, and you stir a little, getting more comfortable, hoping that it'd seem natural.
They both fall silent for a minute or so before Dabi speaks again.

"Thank you." He says, although it sounds a little reluctant. "S' been a hard day. That meetin' was bullshit. He wants to meet her before agreein' to anything."

A hand makes its way through your hair again, although it's gentle. It's soothing, even with your slight revulsion to touch. Dabi had ruffled your hair enough at this point that you knew this touch was good, it was safe. It was your new home.

"Makes sense. Havin' a kid around isn't exactly what he had planned." Giran agrees. "Sounds like he struggled enough wi' Toga."

"Toga's different." Dabi sighs. "Fuck. I really don't know if I got it in me to carry her."

There's a short silence, Dabi's fingers gently running through the strands of your hair.

"Could ya make it to the car?" Giran asks.

"Barely." Dabi mutters.

"I'll give ya a lift back. Jus' carry her to the car. I'll get the bags." Giran says, his voice firm and final.

Apparently, the slight sternness is all Dabi needs, warm hands pulling you out of your curled up position in the armchair.

"Hm?" You ask, your genuine sleepiness working wonders to make it sound convincingly like he'd disturbed your sleep.

"Gettin' ya home, Star. Go back to sleep." Dabi whispers, clearly struggling to position you comfortably before giving up and just carrying you with your body across his arms, cradled against him.

So you do something you hadn't done since you were a baby.
You pretend to fall back to sleep so that you have to be carried to the car instead of having to walk yourself.