The second you wake up the next morning, you grab the worksheet from the night before as well as teddy, quietly padding over to Dabi's room and slowly opening his door.
He's sprawled over his bed as usual on top of the bedsheets, and it doesn't take you too long to notice that the arm flopped over his stomach is bandaged, blood seeping through the material.
You take a sharp inhale at the sight of it, climbing onto his bed carefully.
You put the worksheet on the bedside table carefully, lying down on the little area of the bed that he wasn't occupying, cuddling your teddy close.
You wouldn't wake him up if he was hurt, and you wouldn't get too close if he was hurt either. You decide to maybe sleep a little more while you wait for him to wake up...
You'd maybe been asleep for a few minutes when you hear a hissed: "oh shi-"
Your eyes open, and you're met with wide blue eyes on you.
"Star..." Dabi begins, his voice wavering between scared and warning.
"You're hurt." You comment immediately, looking pointedly at his arm. "Why?"
Dabi's lips pursed a little, his eyes sliding to the sides as though he was thinking of an excuse to give you.
"Rule three!" You remind him, your eyebrows pulling together.
He groans, moving his hands to grip his face, his fingers running through his hair in frustration.
You watch as red lines form on his face from the staples on his hands scraping against his skin, his eyes squeezed tightly closed.
Eventually, his eyes snap open, moving towards you.
"I got cut a little. But don't ya dare go fussin' over me, kid. It's too damn early." He warns. "I need a cigarette before y'start all that panderin' stuff."
"You're still bleeding." You point out, pointing your index finger at the widening red patch on the bandage.
His eyebrow raises, and that's all the warning you need to shut up, your mouth closing, even if you give a little 'hmph', burying the lower half of your face into your teddy so he can't see your lips tugging downward.
You silently watch as he carefully rubs his eyes, and slowly stretches his body out like he does every morning.
"Did ya behave last night?" He finally asks, providing an opening for you to show him your math work.
Suddenly, you perk up, nodding and scrambling to grab your worksheet, thrusting it at him with sparkling eyes.
He squints a little at you, slowly reaching out to grab the sheet, sitting up as he looks over the equations on the sheet.
It takes him a little while to figure it all out himself, apparently as he looks at you with a small, confused frown.
"I think these are all right...? Ya got the whole sheet right, Star?" He asks with uncertainty.
You nod, bouncing enthusiastically on the bed.
He looks back at the paper before looking at you and smirking, his eyes returning back to their usual half-lidded expression.
His hand reaches to ruffle your hair playfully.
"Attagirl Star!" He praises, pinching your cheek. "You're a bright spark, kid."
"Shigaraki helped a little..." You admit, not wanting to take all the credit.
"Did you say thank you?" He asks, rubbing his thumb over where he'd pinched.
"Mhm! We fist bumped!" You say excitedly, miming the action of a fist bump enthusiastically.
Dabi's eyes widen for a second, his eyebrows knitting ever so slightly before he takes a slightly deeper breath and seems to force a small smile.
"Good girl, Star."
Your heart leaps at the fact you'd made him proud, continuing to beam at him as he pets your cheek softly.
He gives the paper another once over before looking at you again.
"I think you deserve a little treat, yeah? For doin' your math even though you hate it." He asks, handing you back the paper, his fingers dipping underneath the bandage on his arm.
"A treat?" You repeat slowly, almost a little distrustful.
"Mhm. You've been bein' good, an' you did well with your math." He says with a quick nod. "I think you deserve a little summin'."
You look at him with a mixture of shock and awe.
You'd never been treated for anything, ever. You weren't sure what he meant by it, or what he was planning.
"What would ya like? The world's your oyster, kid." Dabi asks as he looks at his bloody fingers from where he'd dipped his fingers under the bandages and frowning a little.
You try not to pester, but you are worried about him, your eyes on his arm as you think over what it is you actually wanted as a treat.
You don't really know what's acceptable and what's not to ask for as a treat. You didn't want to accidentally ask for too much and upset him, so you sit in internal panic as he begins getting out of bed, stretching again.
It must become evident to him that you don't know what to do after a few more seconds of silence and he turns to look at you with a raised eyebrow as he begins putting a new shirt on.
"Well?" He asks, pulling on some sweats that were laying on the floor. "What'll it be, little Star?"
"Um... I- I don't... what..." You stutter awkwardly. "Um..."
"You want a toy? Snacks? Go an' see a gallery again?" Dabi asks, cocking his head. "Go see Giran?"
You're thankful for the examples of what you're allowed to ask for, mulling over all the options for a short amount of time before looking up at him shyly.
"Uh, could I... could I have some p-paints? And paintbrushes?" You ask, with clear uncertainty and a little discomfort.
Dabi blinks a little before smirking in amusement.
"You're a funny kid. Tha's all you want?" He chuckles, shaking his head a little. "Y'don't want a new teddy? Some clothes? Hell, a book?"
You nod. "That's all."
He continues chuckling dryly. "Alright kid. We'll get ya some paints an' brushes. You're gonna have to tell me what we're lookin' at, though."
You nod eagerly, getting out of his bed too, rushing to get ready yourself, knowing the sooner you get breakfast done with, the quicker you'd be able to go out with Dabi.
When you get downstairs, Dabi passes you with Kurogiri.
You stop, looking up at him.
"Jus' gettin' my arm looked at, doll." He says, rubbing his thumb over your cheek. "Kurogiri put your food out. Behave."
You nod, watching the two go up the stairs before continuing on into the bar. It was quiet today with only Toga and Shigaraki at the bar, Toga practically placing her chin on his shoulder to see what he was doing on the console in front of him.
"That one! That one!" Toga exclaims as you slide into the bar stool beside her, immediately picking up the chopsticks beside your food.
Shigaraki practically snarls at her enthusiasm, but doesn't shoo her away.
"No." He replies simply, causing her to pout.
"Why?" She whines. "It's so cute!"
"That's exactly why." He scoffs. "You only want me to catch that one because it's cute. Not because it adds anything to the party."
You continue eating, occasionally looking over at those two as they bicker over the game.
Eventually your wondering over Dabi gets the better of you, too many questions unanswered from him not allowing you to fuss over him being injured.
"Um..." You speak up with your mouth still a little full. "What happened to Dabi?"
Shigaraki and Toga look over at you, falling silent.
Toga's the first to speak, her eyes glittering with excitement.
"Moonfish cut him!" She says excitedly, a blush forming over her cheeks. "He was bleeding bad. I managed to get two bags full! Wanna see?"
"Toga." Shigaraki warns, and her face falls instantly.
You had no idea who Moonfish was, or why he cut Dabi, but you were even more worried now. You also didn't understand why Toga would need or want Dabi's blood, igniting new fears of her.
"Someone accidentally caught him with their quirk, and his arm got hurt." Shigaraki explains gruffly, waving dismissively at you. "We don't have a healer yet, so Kurogiri is sewing it up. He'll be fine."
"It wasn't an a-" Toga begins to say, Shigaraki shooting her a sharp look which renders her silent after a little huff.
Shigaraki's explanation soothes you a little more than Toga's does, but the unexplained reasons of Toga having bags of Dabi's blood, and the mere idea of her having that makes you feel a little sick, and puts you off finishing your breakfast.
You play with the rice that's left over with your chopsticks as you half listen to those two start fighting again, debating cuteness over strength.
Eventually, Dabi and Kurogiri return, Dabi's arm rebandaged. You look up hopefully at him and he gives you a wonky grin, as if that was going to soothe your concerns.
He flops onto the seat beside you, rasping his thanks to Kurogiri as he passes him his breakfast.
He gives you a once over, clocking the fact you hadn't eaten all your food. He ducks his head to try and make eye contact with you.
"You feelin' sick?" He asks quietly, pressing the back of his hand against your forehead.
You shake your head.clocking that you hadn't finished your food. He ducks his head a little, trying to catch your eyes, and his ever-messy hair tickles your cheek a little.
"You sick or somethin', Star?" He asks quietly, pressing the back of his hand against your forehead. "You never leave food."
You shake your head, trying to force yourself to finish the food.
He was right, you never left food, because you were always a little worried that one day you'd end up having to find scraps again. As well, you'd seen how much effort went into Kurogiri's cooking, and you didn't want him to feel disrespected or unappreciated. Shigaraki barely ate his food as it was, and Dabi always waited for it to go cold before eating.
Trying to force it down just makes you feel queasy though, so you stop.
"Wha's the matter with you?" He asks, frowning slightly.
"Toga told her about the blood." Shigaraki informs him, sounding almost smug about it.
You look up in a panic, you hadn't actually planned on telling Dabi what Toga had said, fearing that Dabi would get mad about it and Toga would get in trouble. You weren't a huge fan of conflict, even when it wasn't aimed at you.
And so when you saw Toga looking a little wider-eyed than usual at Dabi, your brain immediately went into working out a way to control the situation so there would be no yelling.
She even moves away from where she'd been leaning over Shigaraki, which was probably his goal all along.
"Nice, Toga." Dabi says with heavy sarcasm.
"What?!" She snaps defensively. "I asked if she wanted to look!"
"Of course she doesn't wanna look, nutjob!" Dabi snaps back.
You grab his shirt, not wanting him to insult her again. In fact, you just wanted this brief argument to end before it started, or escalated.
He dead-eyes her for a second longer before turning to face you again, his bored expression back.
"Don't worry about it, kid." Dabi tries to soothe, while poking at his food casually. "She needed it for her quirk."
"Her quirk?" You parrot, your interest piqued.
"I can become anyone I want! As long as I have their blood!" Toga chimes in again, craning her neck so she can look at you past Dabi.
You think about it, kind of understanding why she might want to become Dabi. It'd be nice being warm all the time, and you'd never admit it to his face, but he was pretty cool. But the scarring and the special attention he had to give to them seemed like a lot of hassle. He had a pretty good quirk, too, which would be beneficial to have. Did her quirk allow her to get the person's quirks too?
"There. I got your stupid Skitty." Shigaraki interrupts before you can ask her another question.
She immediately starts cooing, turning her back to you as she starts demanding Shigaraki allow her to rename this 'Skitty' thing.
Dabi pets your hair briefly before he allows himself to begin to eat his food, scrolling through his phone as he eats, the screen making his eyes glow even brighter, the light bouncing off his sutures. You continue poking at your food, still a little unsettled by the fact Toga was making a habit of keeping blood around somewhere.
You also were a little uncomfortable with how excited she got whenever she mentioned blood, or people being hurt. The blush that had dusted her cheeks when she'd told you about how much Dabi had been bleeding when he got cut was bothering you more than it probably should.
After all, she'd never hurt you, or tried to hurt you.
And Dabi had never lied, so it really must be a quirk thing for her.
"You're up here today." Dabi says, poking your head playfully. "If it's about me bein' hurt, you don't gotta worry. 'M fine. Promise ya."
He holds his pinky finger out, waiting for you to hook yours around it.
You do, trusting him indefinitely. He grins, revealing his pearly white teeth and giving your hand a quick shake before letting go of the promise.
"I'll eat this, smoke, an' then we'll get goin', Star."
*•*
Luckily, Dabi had managed to get in touch with Giran to figure out where was best to get art materials from for you before you left, because you would have had no real idea where to go.
You certainly hadn't expected the store to be so big, and apparently neither had Dabi, as you both paused for a second when you'd entered and saw all the aisles and displays.
"Alright kid." Dabi shrugs. "You're in charge from here."
You're suddenly a little nervous. You'd never really been in a store like this before, and although it wasn't loud or busy, it was a little too quiet, like you weren't allowed to talk. Almost like a library.
It didn't help that Dabi was covering his face again, wearing that black face mask and the sunglasses he wore to the gallery the last time you had both been out. You liked to be able to read faces and tell what people were thinking, it helped you figure out if you'd done something bad or annoying.
"Um... Dabi?" You ask, embarrassed.
"Yeah?" He asks, distracted by some origami kits.
"Can..." You pause, your eyes shifting away in your embarrassment. "Can we hold hands?"
You don't know why you'd convinced yourself that having some kind of contact with Dabi would help calm you down and affirm that you hadn't managed to do something to annoy him at any point while you couldn't see his face.
This was unchartered territory for you, and you didn't want to ask for too much and annoy him.
You knew that asking to hold his hand was probably weird, and also very immature, but you wanted your heart to slow down a little and your brain to shut up a whole lot.
He pauses for a second, and you assume his head twists slightly because he's looking down at you. For a second you worry he's going to say no and that you'll end up being even more embarrassed.
After all, you were ten, not a baby. He wasn't related to you and probably didn't want to hold hands with you anyway. Sure, he had hugged you a couple times, and you were pretty sure he'd kissed your head a couple times too, but that was usually after a nightmare, so he probably just felt like that was the right thing to do to calm you down again.
"Ya sure you're not gonna be too embarrassed of me?" He teases, and you can imagine the smirk behind the mask.
"Shut up." You mutter, reaching for his hand without looking.
He wraps his pinky finger around yours instead, giving you a little nod when you look up at him.
It was nice. It was better than holding hands.
You didn't feel like a baby this way, because it was just your pinkies touching, and it didn't look as silly. For some reason this just solidifies the fact that Dabi really did just get you. He always knew how to make you feel better, how to make you feel safe, and what was best for you.
For a split second, you feel genuinely thankful.
You thank him quietly, as he tip-toes slightly to read the signs above the shelves. He doesn't acknowledge your thanks, just juts his thumb over his shoulder.
"Paint's over there." He says, using his grip on your pinky to pull you over towards the paint aisle.
"Hey, maybe we should practice your math while we're here." He chuckles dryly to himself.
You shake your head. "Uh-uh. You said this was a treat."
He squeezes your finger slightly, laughing a little more.
"Yeah, ya got me there kid." He admits, and you can hear his smile behind the mask.
You both stop in front of the paint sets, looking over the options.
You're not entirely sure what medium you'd used at Giran's office, so you're going entirely off what the boxes looked like. Dabi's looking over them all, letting out a low whistle.
"'Course the old man would have such expensive hobbies." He simpers.
Immediately you're hit with guilt. You'd asked for something expensive, which was bad. You had both been homeless mere months ago, and now you were being accidentally selfish and asking for something you didn't need. From someone that owes you nothing, someone who had simply picked you up off the streets like some kind of good samaritan.
You curse yourself for not asking for something more practical like food or maybe even ask to go and see the ducks again. You didn't need physical items, and you would have enjoyed just spending time with him all the same.
"Um, don't worry about it, I'm happy with just the pencils." You blurt out, moving to release your hold on his pinky, except he tightens his, his head turning to look down at you.
"Y'said you wanted paints, kid. Go wild." He says blankly, as if he hadn't just made a comment about how expensive the paints were.
You simply shake your head, tugging on his hand. He remains still, because of course he does. He's taller and bigger than you by a long shot, so if he doesn't want to go anywhere, he's not going to.
Instead he crouches to your level, still holding your pinky as he raises his sunglasses and regards you with his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"What's the problem, Star?" He asks, straight and to the point.
"I don't want you to waste money. It's okay, I'm being selfish. I'm happy with just the pencils Uncle Giran gave me." You say, looking over his shoulder to someone nearby shopping. "Lets just go and feed the ducks again?"
He stares at you, his eyes unreadable for a second before he shakes his head slightly.
"Kid. I said you could have a treat. It ain't a waste, 'cause I know you'll use 'em. You're smart, and talented, an' I wanna see ya keep goin' with it." He says, lowering his sunglasses. "Pick out some paint, we'll get ya some brushes, an' then we're goin' to see the ducks."
"But-" You begin to argue as he stands.
"Selfish people don't care that they're bein' selfish Star." He sighs, patting your head. "Now, pick out some damn paints. I can feel that aneurysm formin' again."