A Lost Creation

Behave

Again, he had a point, although you didn't really want to admit it. He wasn't hard to miss. Even without the scarring that covered so much of his body, those blue eyes were hard to forget, you'd never seen anything like them before.
You continue flipping the coin in your hand. You were honestly expecting him to start losing his temper soon, like everyone always did whenever you were hesitant to follow their orders. You just needed a second to swallow down the panic that came whenever Dabi wasn't near you.

Even when you saw him pull a cigarette out of its carton, you began to panic.
He never went too far, he was always within sight when he decided to smoke, but you worried that if someone passed and blocked your view of him for even a second, he'd disappear, leaving you alone and scared again.

"Alright, I'll level with ya, Star." He says, utilizing the nickname he'd decided he was going to use on you after you denied renaming your teddy to Star. "I gotta meet someone later, ok? It's important. For me and you if you wanna keep hanging around me. And we can't rock up lookin' like shi- dirty. We can't rock up lookin' dirty, can we? It's rude. Especially if you want a job. Ya get me?"

You nod.
That one you kind of understood, sure. You've seen movies and TV shows. You knew job interviews were important, the kind of thing you needed to dress up for, and to be clean and polite to the people you were talking to.
You were a little curious as to who would hire Dabi. Even though you knew he was friendly, and that he was trustworthy, he definitely didn't look like he was.
He had several piercings, even outside of the metal hoops that seemed to keep his scars to his clear skin. His scarring drew attention from everyone, whether it be horrified looks or looks of pity. His clothes were tattered, and he didn't seem to carry a rucksack or have any other belongings besides what he wore, his phone, and his cigarettes.

"Attagirl." He says, smiling at you. "Can I pet ya?"

"I'm not a dog." You mumble, embarrassed.

"That a yes?" He asks, his smile turning into a smirk.

You pout a little, although it's only out of embarrassment from how loud he asked in front of strangers walking past. It wasn't often that you received physical affection before, so whenever Dabi asked, you always obliged, even if his staples sometimes got caught in your hair.

"Fine..." You say, trying to sound like it was a hassle to let him pet your hair.

The instant you agree, Dabi's hand is atop your head, ruffling the hair there playfully like what you imagine an older brother would do. It's short, but sweet, as he removes his hand, gently plucking a few stray strands of hair from his sutures before standing.

"C'mon then." He says, motioning towards the bathhouse with a nod of his head, beginning to walk off towards the entrance.

You jog to keep up with him at first, your heart beating quicker and quicker the closer you get to the front doors.
You swallow it though. You swallow the panic down in favor of being brave and proving you weren't some baby that he had to keep his eyes on all the time, that you could manage this just fine without him, and a little, small part of yourself, really hoped that by doing this, you'd prove to yourself that it wasn't just some ridiculously elaborate plan for him to ditch you and go wander the streets alone again like he said he'd done for so many years.

You hand the coin to the staff member, sneaking one last glimpse at Dabi before he wanders off to the other side of the building.

"That your daddy?" The lady at the reception asks.

She seems friendly compared to nearly all the other shop tellers that you'd experienced so far while being on the streets and being with Dabi. But Dabi hadn't really prepared you for this. You could pretend to be a mute, like he said before. But something told you that she'd see right through it.
You just go for a silent nod. She looks over at the back of his head for a second, regarding him even though all you can see is the back of him as he walks away.