"So you mind telling me how you got into my house without me for the third time now?" He still hadn't spoken since he had wrapped his arms around you earlier, face still buried on the crook of your neck in silence. Dabi grumbled, pulling you closer with a small shift. "Now I'm not an expert, but I'm pretty sure it's been more than five minutes." 

     More silence. 

     . . .

     "If you fell asleep you better not be drooling," You were once again met with nothing, groaning quietly as you tilt your head back. "Dude, wake up." Nothing once more. You looked off slightly annoyed, but you couldn't deny the touch-deprived side of you enjoying the company. You perked up when you felt him moving, about to say some wise comment about how heavy he was before stopping as his grip loosened. "Dabi," You drawled, trying to lean back and see if he really was asleep. He was probably just messing with you, wanting to be stubborn and—

     Oh wow he was actually passed out.

     "Awe come on," You mumble, softly hitting your forehead on his shoulder. Each time you inhaled you could smell his cigarettes and the vaguest hint of a fire. Charming, he was rubbing off his scent of bad decisions on your favorite hoodie that-totally-isn't-yet-totally-is. "You cheat. . ." You whisper, letting out a small chuckle as you hug back and allowed yourself to relax on him, "I'll let this slide this time." 

     The rest of the night was spent in each other's arms, much to your obvious dismay. It was oddly comforting, sat up with your body at an awkward angle trying to embrace him without sitting on his lap. "Just twist my organs around sure, no probbles, totally," Your beautiful sarcasm falls on deaf ears, still trying to find a way to make it more comfortable. You sigh once again, trying to lean back and forth to strike some sort of balance. But instead, the exact opposite happened and you felt yourself falling backwards. "Wait shit no. . !" You tried to keep quiet, seeing as Jirou was still awake in all her stressed glory, but the way he just so naturally helped with your literal downfall wasn't helping.

     "Eugh," You groan, letting your arms flop to the side as he now rests on top of you. The quietest sounds of his snores filled the room, his cheek on your collarbone as he manages to remove his arms right before you could fall on them. 

     . . .

     "Okay this is going nowhere." You try and push the man off, but every time he shifted even the slightest bit made you bite your lip and hold your breath, not wanting to wake him but also wanting to lay a little more comfortably. Your legs were still on the floor, only half of your body on the comforts of your bed as your intruder seems to be enjoying his snug, human pillow. The pillows in question being your ti—

     He shifted once again, lifting himself higher up the width of the bed. Your head instinctively moved upward as the top of his made contact with your jaw, his black hair tickling and itching on your skin like an overgrown beard. He was laying sideways now, one arm over your stomach as he grumbles in his sleep. "Oh sweet baby Y/N send help," You whisper to no one, the arm underneath Dabi slowly losing feeling as his weight cut off basically all blood circulation there was. You let out what was a mix between a yawn and a groan, succumbing to your defeat as you decide that fuck it, you might as well sleep. This was your house, your room, your bed—No amount of people invading it will ever stop you from getting the sweet release of temporary death.

     Mentally preparing yourself for the inevitably long night ahead, you adjust your position as best as you could before finally closing your eyes.

● ● ●

     Goddammit, why were his plans always getting foiled?!

     Taro paced the perimeter from between his desk and large bookshelf behind it, head in his hands as silence fills his office. First the explosion completely missing her, and now paid self-proclaimed professionals only grazing her fucking arm? He even had to look like a fool requesting the boat to drive near the shore for the assassin to have a better shot, but even then his efforts didn't pay off. God, was it so much to just ask for the death of literally one person?!

     He huffed as he runs a shaking hand through his dark, sleeked back hair, glancing at the nearest mirror. He could see the early signs of bags under his eyes, finding the small gray discoloration enough of a nuisance to get mad at. "Fuck!" He sneers to no one, landing his ass on his office chair as it spun the slightest bit. What was he gonna do now? Blow up another building? Stick a knife on her generous chest himself? Shoot her in her sleep? Well would you look at that, even then he wouldn't be able to. She was in a hospital and not in a box like he had paid for, still very much alive and hardly in danger. And even if he did take the risks of grabbing his gun and walking to her room to land a bullet to finish the job, getting caught would completely ruin the original goal of this whole ordeal.

     He leans back, eyes glazed over and out of focus as he picks on the fabric of his pants. He still hadn't changed from his original attire to the party, but did the liberty of leaving his tie somewhere on the floor and coat lazily thrown onto a rack. If anyone were to introduce you to him as a prince of business and successful entrepreneur, you'd call bullshit. His hair had broke when he separated his hand from it, his outfit unkept and full of wrinkles as the vaguest smell of alcohol radiated off of him. He wasn't a lost cause, but he definitely didn't play the part of the titles he was known for.

     "Dammit, dammit," He continues on his string of curses, even switching back and forth the two languages he spoke the best as his hands clench around the edge of his table. Fucking hell, that was another night of sleep lost overthinking this entire attempted murder on his little sister. God, if he didn't genuinely have a reason as to why he was risking everything for this, he probably already would've given up and move on. But no, oho no, he just had to be set on this particular reason that he still refuses to name. 

     Glaring at the innocent display of time on his phone, he once again mutters at least another dictionary-full of Japanese and English curses. "Think, Taro, think, why didn't any of these plans work. . ?!" He huffed, his hands going back to gripping on his slowly aching head. Was it because they were shitty? Unplanned? Risky, reckless? Hell, was it an incompetent murderer? A trap? Or even—

     He stops, hand slowly separating from his forehead and eyes widening in realization. Oh my God, it was so obvious—why hadn't he noticed sooner? It was right there, the answer was right there. It had arrows and lights pointing to it, it had a flashing red sign on top of it that read 'IT WAS ME' and a carpet leading up to it bedazzled to the brink with shiny jewels. Yet, yet with all of that, he still managed to miss it. But now he wasn't. He finally noticed. He finally followed those stupid signs, walked on the equally stupid carpet. There was only one foil to his plan, and it had your face all over it.

● ● ●

     You yawned as you felt the cold air of nine am entering the—previously—warm confines of your room. It was the glorious work-free day of the Sun, stretching over your bed with a quiet cheer. Man, how long has it been since you last woke up without feeling like shit? It must've been at least a year now, right?

     For some reason the sight of the empty bedroom made you feel odd, like a blatantly obvious piece of it was taken out. Were you missing a piece of furniture? Was there a piece of clothing on the floor that wasn't yours? Or maybe it was the missing human out of your bed and your head actually waking up on a pillow—GASP.

     You snap upwards as you looked around, finding your fluffy blanket colored the best color there is and will be sliding down your body as you did so. Dabi! Where was he? Was he hiding under your bed—was it a dream?? Did you hit your head on the way back home?!

     You quickly look down your bed not a moment later, almost slipping and flinging yourself off it as you were met with nothing but some smooth plain boxes and a pair of emergency shoes. Why did you have emergency shoes under your bed? Who knows, you tell me. You sigh as you found the coast clear, reassured at the fact that he wasn't at least secretly still inside your room and you having to sneak him out from Jirou. You sit back up in your bed, giving the blood that had rushed to your head a moment to settle before patting around your bedside table for your phone.

     You found it, but underneath was a piece of paper clumsily ripped from whatever unfortunate notebook there was lying around. You grab it, already having an idea on who it might be from but reading it anyways.

     'sorry for falling asleep on you haha. i promise i'll explain everything. text me when you read this cuz it means you're awake lol. — you know who'

     Beside it was a scribbled smiley face, sighing as you couldn't help a small smile resting on your face. You once again stretch, leaving the piece of paper in the drawer of your small cabinet before turning on your phone to do your usual morning check. Checking your socials, your messages—anything that can postpone having to go downstairs and make breakfast-brunch-lunch for you and your roommate.

     There were quite a bit on the group chat between the four of you friends. You open it, scrolling it up to the least recent on the current text chain. In it's place was a picture of Momo, in the hospital looking as happy as ever. It looked dark—noticing it was sent at like two am—inside the room, one artifical light right above the injured model. The arm with bandages wrapped around neatly held a thumbs up, to assure you that she was okay.

URABITI OWO ; AhH! Momo, are you okay?! 

✨ Literal Queen✨ ; Don't worry about me, I'm fine! A little accident happened earlier, but I'm okay I promise! 💖

URABITI OWO ; Oh my gosh I'm so sorry, get well soon, Raven!! 💕

✨ Literal Queen✨ ; Awe thank you, I will!

Guitarhead 💫 ; Momo, I'm so glad you're okay!!! What did the doctors say, did they get the bullet out??

URABITI OWO ; did they get the what out

   The rest of the chat were the three girls going back and forth with the brunette doing most of the panicking, chuckling at their interaction before putting out your own response at her wellbeing. Stretching one final time, you jump out of bed and make your way downstairs for breakfast. You knew that Jirou would be pestering you to visit Momo by the time she wakes up, deciding that you might as well get ready to go out as soon as you finish cooking.

     You? Cooking breakfast successfully? In this economy??

     Needless to say you almost set off the fire alarms, for some reason forgetting how to cook an egg as you enter the bathroom after you finished your plate. The events of the morning were pretty much the same as usual, surprised to see Jirou exiting her room an hour earlier. She was thankfully acting like her old self again, cracking jokes and singing random lyrics in an overall good mood as you two tidied up and got ready for the hospital visit.

     A few more hours pass and you were in her room, talking and watching whatever cartoon showed up on the TV hung on the wall facing the bed your friend lied on. You were currently sitting on one of the cushioned seats for guests, eating chips you found in the mini fridge as your roommate lowered the volume after Spongebob screamed something. "So how long will you be in here for?"

     Raven sighs as she works on her tea, the rolling table over her stomach as she shrugs with as much elegance as she always did. "There haven't been much talk about it, seeing as I've only arrived last night. But!" She sets down her cup, a warm smile on her face, "I can assure you, I won't be here for long. The doctor say it's been quite a quick recovery!"

     You cheered as Kyoka smiles, muttering a 'thank God' before continuing on with whatever topic you three can talk about. You weren't sure what most of them were, far too focused on your nostalgia to really pay attention to your friends. That, and because your phone started ringing with a call from the apparent man of your dreams.

     "Ah fuck, excuse me," You laugh as they nodded in understanding, letting you answer it and go out into the hall. You closed the door behind you softly, putting your phone to your ear. "Yellow?"

     "Hey babe, I got news." You raise a brow with a chuckle, leaning on your hip and gazing at the ceiling. "You sure? Because the last time you did," You made a noise that vaguely sounded like the words 'I don't know', earning a laugh from the other line. "That didn't go so well."

     "Ouch, I'm offended," He wasn't. "But no, I promise that. . ." He pauses, the image of him biting his lip in thought making you sound out a suspecting hum, "Okay so the funny thing is—"

     "Dabi," You laugh, shaking your head as he continues. "No I swear! You know that girl, who you said mentioned something about kidnapping you in the bathroom?" You nod, before saying a 'yeah' upon realizing he couldn't see you, "Well I have a vague idea on who they might be, but we're gonna need that blue brat's help to confirm or deny." Your eyebrows raise in amusement as you shifted leg to leg, "Freddie?"

     "Faz-bear, sure, whatever yeah her. You know how to get to her place, oh-rrr do you want me to fetch you?" You rolled your eyes playfully, chuckling as you lean back on the wall. "I think I know a thing or two about New York travel. See you there." He chuckles as well, before saying his usual flirtatious goodbye and hanging up. You huffed, suddenly feeling the cold assault of the end-of-November air and entering back into the hospital room's warmth.

     "Who was that?" Yaoyorozu hummed, now eating a sandwich as an advertisement for another beloved cartoon plays on the TV. You smile, "Just someone I know."

     Jirou raises her brows suggestively, her unnatural way of sitting on the chair emphasizing her aesthetic of 'not knowing how to sit properly' as you stare. "Dabi?"

     You narrow your eyes, earning a snorting laugh in return as you groan. "Kyoka it's nothing like that!" Meanwhile Raven remains oblivious, staring back and forth at the two of you with eyes wide like an owl. "Who's Dabi?"

     "I'm not sure yet, but definitely her friend with benefits."
     "No one."

     You glare at her as she bursts out laughing once more, wheezing as the model giggles. "Awe, no need to be shy, Y/N-san. So? What'd he say?"

     You sigh, making your back to your previous seat. "Not much, just asked to meet up to check on something." You regret your choice of words as you snapped your head towards Jirou, who was trying her hardest not to keep laughing at your obvious misery. "So exactly like a dat—"

     "No."

     "Stop teasing her, Jirou!" She playfully scolds with a lighthearted laugh, before turning to you and nodding. "Well you best get going, we wouldn't want to keep this Dabi person waiting." You grinned as you go give her a hug, blowing a raspberry at the musician before happily skipping off to the doors. "Bye, don't miss me too much, don't do anything stupid!" You winked at the two girls before quickly slamming the door shut and taking off, supressing your highschool girl-esque giggles at Jirou's cries of embarrassed disagreements.

     Man, acting like an asshole sure is fun.

• • •

     "Sorry for just leaving out of the blue, dollface." You raise a brow at him, waiting a moment as he sighs, "And not explaining anything."

     You keep staring. He chuckles awkwardly, trying to look away as if to recall anything else. "Sorry for. . . the notebook?? I don't know what else to say, babe."

     "I was thinking more along the lines of 'sorry for crushing your ribs' but yeah that works too." Dabi laughs as you two cross the street, finding the familiar shitty building your young friend currently resided in. "Touché." You two made small talk as you reached the back of the building after a quick scope of your surroundings, slipping past prying eyes and going up the ladder that was more tetanus than metal.

     It smelled and looked exactly like the last time you visited—shit.

     You hold in a gag as you enter through the same window, once again clutching onto Dabi to regain balance. Damn, why'd she have to live here? You knew that most New York city apartments weren't the best in low prices but really? Come on! This entire building looked on the verge of collapsing each time a strong wind came to say hello.

     "Freddie, you in here, bud?" You called out quietly, knocking on the termite infested door but getting no answer in response. "It's Y/N, mind letting me in?"

     . . .

     "Weird." The black haired man sighs before forcefully opening the door, letting yourselves in the mostly empty room. Save for the electric bill nightmare that was her various devices constantly running and crap foam you could hardly call a bed, along with the piles and piles of empty canned coffee. "Freddie??" Your companion decides to stay by the door, and you go off to examine the door you never noticed the last time you came here.

     You open it, expecting to see a shit show of a bathroom. But, surprisingly enough, Freddie knew her bathroom hygiene. It wasn't squeaky clean, but it wasn't infested by rats and didn't smell like the rest of the building, so credit where credit is due. You nod, staring at the mirror as you adjust your scarf. "Good, good."

     Before you could retouch on your powder and light makeup, the aggresive sound of an audible 'thwack' followed by a cry of pain, a crack, and a thud made you run out of the bathroom in a panic, eyes wide and darting. "Dabi?! Dabi what—OH MY GOD,"

     There, on the floor was Dabi twitching in pain, with the young girl standing over him in bewilderment as she held what looked to be the remaining half of a wooden baseball bat.