"I'm surprised there's no arranged marriage type of shit going on. I always thought rich people did that all the time," You laugh as you all manage to move on from what the news announced a few minutes ago, watching as Jirou happily slurps on her noodles with a nod. "Oh no," Giggled Momo as she fixes her hair, using her front camera as a mirror, "I dont know what you heard, or didn't hear, but there will be a wedding."

     This made the purple haired girl choke, a coughing fit ensuing as it made you and Uraraka burst out laughing, once again ignoring whoever decided to stare at your rowdy group of four. The brunette was in a phone but she made noise too so there were technically four of you.

     "Who?" The musician manages to compose herself, wiping away the corners of her mouth with a towel as an all-too obvious disheartened look settled on her face. "My brother is to be engaged with their Fuyumi Todoroki, with the talk of a wedding happening some time next year."

     "Wait so it isn't you?" Momo laughs, a fake offended look on her face. "Dear God no, I'm nowhere near ready! Besides, although a charming group, none of the other brothers have really caught my eye." Jirou let out a sigh of relief, earning a raised brow from Raven as she immediately shakes her head.

     "No! Cause like, you said that, uhm. . . I mean like, no marriage for you, yay! You don't want it so like, it's a. . . relief, that you're not getting married. Not that I don't want you to! But you don't want to, so, I thought that. . .uhm? Uhm?" She looks at you and Uraraka for help, her face covered in red and embarrasment as you sat there snickering, pinching yourself as to not laugh too loudly at your friend's misery.

     Eventually the model laughs, shaking her head as she pats Jirou's arm with a small smile. "It's okay, thank you for your concern. But unless someone catches my eye, I won't be walking anywhere near the altar anytime soon." 

     You finally decide to join in on the conversation as you force yourself to sigh, holding back a shit eating grin as you softly elbowed Earphone Jack's side, "Thank God, you still have a chance."

     "Y/N!—"

     "Anyways!" Momo butts in before the musician could do any more collateral damage to you, laughing as she holds up her phone with the picture of a fancy-looking invitation. "There have been a few minor changes to the party, if you can still recall. There's the new venue," You and Jirou raise a brow respectively, reading the gold text written on black.

     "Brooklyn. . ." Your eyes squint at the address, finding it a bit hard to read. "Brooklyn Bridg— okay how are we gonna have a party on a fucking bridge??"

     "We're not gonna be on the bridge, silly," Momo giggles, "It's a yacht party!"

     The moment she uttered those words you could've sworn you saw Uraraka's soul leave her body, Jirou not even surprised at this point as you choke on spit and clear your throat. "Yacht?!"

     "Yes," The model grins innocently, "It'll be lovely!"

     "Why are you reacting? You live in a penthouse with a literal park as a balcony," The purple haired raises a brow at you, you glaring in return, "Why are you singling me out? You live in it too, ding dong!"

     "Rich people talk," Uraraka dramatically sighs, Raven only laughing softly as the two continue on with their conversation with you and Jirou still bickering like siblings trying to figure out who stole who's sock.

• • •

     "You still watching the news, babe?"

     "Yup," You respond as you stare at the TV in your office later that day, still reporting on the accident that had happened. At least, people assumed it was an accident. You had a feeling that that wasn't exactly the case, but you paid it no mind as you continued with your conversation. "See that guy there? Next to the reporter?"

     You hear a snort on the other line as you watch the man give a statement, a beautifully heartfelt speech giving his condolence and thanks for the support at the loss of a 'Mr. Centabridge' as it says on the screen. "Yeah?"

     "He's the one that paid us to kill him." Both your brows raise in amusement, hearing a fleeting whistle from Dabi as he clicks his tongue. "Christ, that escalated quickly." You laugh softly, "Wow, what an asshole. The amount of audacity for someone to do this," The man laughs alongside, you checking the time as it reads four in the evening.

     "Exactly. Though, I'm quite sure we just scammed him," He keeps his eyes on the cracked screen of their TV as he leans back, holding onto his phone with a hand as the other drapes over the back of his seat. "Hm? How so?"

     "The explosion killed him." His gaze lingers to the face of one Kurogiri, glaring at him from behind the counter to stop giving out more information than necessary. "And we didn't cause it, surprisingly enough." He couldn't see you, but a million thoughts were running through your head as of the moment, the mental image of Momo's brother entering the cellar being the most prominent.

     You remain silent on the other end as Dabi raises a brow, pouting slightly at how quieter you were than usual. "You still there, dollface?"

     "Hm? Wha— oh! Hey, yes, sorry, I'm sorry. I just. . . got a lot on my head right now." He hears you sigh quietly, frowning as he adjusts in his seat. "Want me to do something?"

     "Oh— Oh no no no it's okay, don't worry about me," You chuckle awkwardly, hearing shuffling from wherever you were at the moment. "I'm fine. Plus, you must be busy. And it's still working hours, so there's not much we can do." He sighs inwardly as he hears your usual soft laughter, before once again looking at Kurogiri who held a look that disproved of whatever thought Dabi had as of the moment. "I can pick you up. I got something to tell you anyway, so it's no problem."

     He only earns a quiet sigh of disappointment from the bartender as he looks back to the TV, now showing forecasts of the weather. "Are you sure? I wouldn't want to be a distraction from your uhm. . . very interesting job, if anything," He laughs loudly, shaking his head as though you'd be able to see him.

     "It's fine, really. I'll be there by nine." You raise a brow, "What if people see you? I thought you wouldn't want that."

     "You know I have my ways, sweet cheeks. Plus it'd be too dark!" You only shake your head with a smile at that, mumbling a small 'yeah' as Dabi clears his throat. "Anyway, I'll see you then, princess. Get some rest, you sound tired." You try—and fail—to stifle a yawn, earning the sounds of him clicking his tongue as you chuckle softly. "Alright, alright," You smile slightly, "I promise. See you then."

     "Aw, don't I get an I love you?"

     "Too soon, dude, too soon," He laughs at your joke as well before eventually ending the call, sighing as you put down your phone and stare at your mess of a desk. You didn't know why you were in a not-so-bright mood, considering as this was a somewhat daily occurrence.

     Perhaps it was fatigue? Maybe you were getting less sleep than you thought, or maybe you were just straight up in a passing bad mood. But either way, it drained you dry, hardly being able to work on two pages that sat on your desk where, on a normal day, you could easily skim through two piles without so much as blinking.

     You groan loudly, collapsing on your couch with a soft thud as you pushed whatever thoughts you had aside, and succumbed to slumber with a small, barely noticeable frown on your face. Just a few. . . minutes. . . maybe. . . Just. . .  Just a quick nap. Just a small, quick, miniscule power nap that'll get you nice, and refreshed, and ready, and—

     You almost fall off the couch as you hear the almost hesitant sounds of knocking at your door, your voice cracking with a "Come in!" as you sit up in a rush. "Sorry to uhm, d, disturb, miss, but uhm," Millie shows up looking like a mess, her blonde hair everywhere on her face with her glasses halfway down the bridge of her nose. "I was just. . . w-wondering if you had any uhm, maybe uhm, requests? Or anything t-to do? Before we c-closed for the, the, night? Maybe? I'm sorry if I'm disturbing. . ." Her voice dropped the longer her sentences went on, having to physically stop yourself from falling over trying to hear her say the last of her statement. 

     "Night?" You ask with a raised brow, holding a look as though she just told an elaborate joke, "No way it's already ni—" You cut yourself off with a deep inhale as the digital clock on your desk read nine fifty-three, the concept of time really fucking with you as of the moment as you slowly nod with noticeable hesitation and skepticism. "Right. Of course. Of course it is. Uhm," You shake your head as to try and gather your thoughts, feeling a lot better after an apparent five hours of hibernation. "I uh, nothing much? Really? I just— Oh! Uh, maybe just help me clear my schedule tomorrow, so I can work on these papers properly."

     You see the girl nod vigorously, taking out a note pad and furiously scribbling down your words as she relays it to herself under her breath, "Y-Yes ma'am! Anything, anything else??"

     "That's all, really. Thanks again, Millie. I'll handle it from here." She only nods as she leaves with a squeak of a goodbye, softly closing the door behind her as you continue to stare at the wall. Goodness gracious, you really were sleep deprived. 

     Sitting still for a few more minutes and stretching your neck to try and wake yourself up, you eventually get up and head for the door with bag lazily in-hand, groaning to yourself with an uninterested and exaggerated 'Mondays' as you open the door and stomp out. You turn off the lights behind you and overlook the foyer just as you passed, finding Millie had just exited the building with her figure walking off into the night, while about two other of your employees stayed behind for some last-minute work. In all honesty, you didn't remember who these are.

     It's not that you didn't care, you just had a really shitty memory for name-keeping. 

     "You two okay here?" You ask as you reach the floor, the two nodding just as they slowly finish. "Yup! You looked peaceful earlier, so we didn't really wanna disturb you." The light browned skin girl you now recalled the nickname of Sims for whatever reason relayed, flashing an awkward smile as she shows you a thumbs up, "But nothing much happened, so you can rest easy!" 

     "If she needs any more," The other one, who honestly looks like either a Kevin or a Samuel jokes, playfully rolling your eyes but nonetheless laughing. "Har har, very funny. Anyway, since I actually do need more rest, you two okay with locking up for the night?" They look at each other for a moment before nodding, assuring you that it'd really be no problem. You flash a lopsided smile, tossing Sims the keys before heading off towards the door. "Don't lose it."

     "No promises."

     "Whatever, thanks guys, I owe you one. Goodnight! Don't do what I did and almost get killed like last week."

     They share a heartfelt laugh at your cynical and crude humor before eventually bidding you goodbye, closing the store doors behind you and walking off to await a taxi. You honestly felt like you were missing something, rummaging through your bag as to try and recall what it was. But it eventually reminded you in one familiar voice from behind. 

     "Forgetting something, sweetheart?" You look at Dabi with a look that wasn't at all surprised anymore, putting on a small, weird boxy smile. "Hey. Sorry, I guess the weekend just took a lot out of me." He only chuckles, standing, looming over you with a raised brow, "It's fine, I guessed as much, so I only really just arrived like ten minutes ago." Okay now you didn't feel as bad as you thought for the fear of keeping him waiting that lingered in the back of your head, looking at him with a frown. "Can I take back that kiss?"

     "Too late, babe. Now come on, I'll walk you home." 

     You sigh, fake exasperated before eventually just keeping up pace as you mostly just followed his lead. "So what'd you wanna tell me?" He hums as he shrugs his shoulder, adjusting his face mask that he still wore to at least hide himself from the lamp posts and lights of the surrounding buildings. "It's. . . not exactly good news."

     This made you raise a brow, looking at him as he only looks on. "It's just. . ." He sighs, returning the attempted eye contact, "Okay, so, remember how we get paid to do uhm, certain things, to certain people?" 

     "Dabi if someone asked you to murder someone, as a person I should be concerned and probably call the cops, but as someone you've saved a bunch of times and owing you a debt. . ." You kind of move your head and shoulders, as if weighing the options with your hands as scales, "I should probably still call the cops but what the hell." He laughs quietly as you two turn a corner, shaking his head with his hand going through his hair, "Look, I'll give it to you straight."

     "Are you though?"

     He only ignores you, clicking his tongue as he finally spits it out. "I'm supposed to kill Yaoyorozu."

     . . .

     . . .

     . . .

     "What?" You ask in disbelief, all humor leaving your face as he groans, "Look, I don't care if you don't believe me but I really don't want to, I swear! Tried asking why and who asked for a job like this to someone who's, for the most part, pretty much unproblematic, but they said it's confidential. And the fact of the matter is, I don't really have a say in it, and they're asking me to get it done in the party, fiesta, thing, and I just— I'm just, trying to get paid, okay, but I also don't really wanna—" You shush him repeatedly as you raise both hands to his face, that somehow managing to work as he stares at you in hesitation. 

     "If you really mean it, then you won't do it." He keeps eye contact, biting the insides of his cheek as you stand firm, slowly lowering your hands, "I'll believe you if and when you don't do it. I appreciate this friendship, thing, whatever of ours but. . . if it means harming a person who I love dearly I just," You shake your head, "I'm not gonna let that happen, dude. No matter how many times you flirt with me or make out with me or call me beautiful and flatter me, I am not letting you kill Momo." 

     "And I won't," He finally admits, "I promise, I won't. But. . . let's just say that, some people are expecting me to do it." 

     You eventually advert your gaze, continuing on to walk home as he slowly follows from behind. It wasn't a good enough reassurance, but at least enough for you to keep walking and make your way home to figure things out. "What if we try and like, figure out who's paying you guys to kill her," You suggested with not much thought, looking up at him as he slowly nods. "I guess, but how do we even start? There's not much clues to work with, I mean come on." 

     You sigh at that, "Such enthusiasm, thanks for the support. But. . ." You bite your lip, desperately looking around at the billboards and signs and faces of people as though that would somehow help you think. "Okay, how do your transactions usually go?" You start, trying to really feel out the question and trying to decide how you should word it to get your point across, "How do people ask you for this business of yours? Do they call, contact through some sort of secretive phone line, make face-to-face appointments or just have shady meetings in the streets?" 

     He looks up in thought for a moment, narrowly avoiding the gaze of a random civilian and diverting the attention away from the patches underneath his eyes, "Usually it's our uh, bartender doing the face-to-face for us. He usually goes on call with our boss to make the decisions and shit. Of course, he never tells us where these meetings are happening or even when, but is that something at least?" You nod vigorously, absorbing that info dump with a determined look on your features. "More than enough! Okay let's see. . ." 

     Come on Y/N, you can figure out the killer in a horror movie you can figure one out in real life. You bite your tongue, at this point bruising the entirety of your mouth as an idea bubbled and formed in your mind, but not enough for it to be coherent. "Oh my God, I'm fucking. . . blanking out." You sigh, rubbing your temples as Dabi sighs in sympathy. "Hey, come on, it's late. Let me just escort you home and we can think about this some more tomorrow, alright?" 

     "I just slept for five hours straight for the first time in four years and it's my friend's life that's on the line here. We're heading to my place and thinking this through," He sighs as he sees the absolute unwavering look on your face, nodding eventually, "Alright, you're the boss I guess."

     "I quite literally am." The rest of the way home was filled with just you spitting out random ideas, with Dabi acting as some sort of walking guidebook for the ins and outs of this shady, definitely illegal group of theirs. "What's next, we install a tracker on him?" He sighs and deadpans once again as finally, your building comes into view. You only gasped as his sarcastic take however, nodding, "Right thought, wrong idea, Dabi, but we're getting there!" His face crinkles in confusion, mumbling, "Don't those words mean the same thing?" Before you drag him towards your apartment complex in pride. 

     "Wait! You said that he goes on call with your boss, right?" He once again sighs, nodding as you do so as well, "That means that it is possible to track him. It sounds far fetched, but maybe there's a way to like. . ." You exaggerate your struggle in finding words, flailing your hands around as though that would help articulate them. "I don't know, look through the camera of his phone or something and see who he was with in the time he made the deal of this kill-Momo job thing!" 

     He was about to retort another response in an attempt to be a voice of reason, but as you two approached your building and he catches sight of a vending machine with canned coffee so prominently displayed up-front, his brows lift up at that sudden spark of possibility. "Actually, that might work."

     "Wait really?" You ask with a look that was a somewhat mix between amusement and disbelief, "How? No seriously how?" You gasp, "Are you a hacker?" He laughs, shaking his head and keeping it low as you both enter the heavily air-conditioned building, "No, but I know someone who can."

     You sigh as you two head for the elevator. "Of course you do."