*CW: Mention of blood test/needles*
He never did come back from the roof.
It took a couple hours of everyone looking before Shigaraki gave up, and went off to make a few phone calls.
By this point, you were worried he had left you alone for good, and so you used your tiny size to your advantage, sneaking off after him to listen in on whoever he was calling.
You made out that you were going back upstairs while he sat in the hallway on the phone, but really you were sitting with your ear pressed up against the door.
It was hard to hear what he was saying. Shigaraki was a lot more softly spoken than the others, but thanks to your practice with mom and her boyfriends, you had managed to strain your hearing enough to pick up on dribs and drabs.
"You have him?"
"Right."
"This has happened before?"
A grunt of acknowledgement.
"Embarrassed?"
Followed by a dry laugh.
"He is aware he left his child here?"
"...She misses him."
"Alright. I'll send you the finders fee."
"... Thanks."
You didn't really understand much more than you did before listening to the phone call, so you went back upstairs and cuddled amongst your plushies, taking another nap.
You woke up a little while later to a warm hand pressed against your head.
"Should she be sleepin' this much?" Dabi asked, sounding concerned.
As hurt as you had been about him disappearing without saying goodbye, you were relieved to hear he was back and feel his warm presence around you again.
You kept your eyes closed though, not wanting to disturb whatever conversation he was having. Especially seeing as it was about you.
"Could be anemia." A raspy voice replied. Shigaraki. "Would have to take blood to find out."
The mere mention of taking blood had distressed you enough to whimper, reaching out with your eyes closed for Dabi.
You weren't going to give up your sleeping act too easily, not now there was mention of taking your blood. Would they call Toga back to do it?
Dabi had picked you up, cradling you to his body and shushed you, one arm holding you in place, his hand cradling the back of your head.
You could half-see the light from his phone with your eyes closed, your head pressed against the staples lining his chest.
"Yeah. You might be onta somethin' there, boss." Dabi sighed. "Says about stunted growth an' the headaches too."
"The growth could be multiple things." Shigaraki replied dryly, before adding. "I'll try to get a hold of more iron tablets."
"...Thanks."
The room had gone quiet after that, bar Shigaraki telling Dabi they could 'discuss everything else another time'.
Dabi had hummed an agreement as he began shifting with you in his arms, laying you back down on a pillow.
You had waited a little while after hearing the click of the door, as well as Dabi pacing around the room getting ready for bed, waiting until he was on top of the covers with you before 'waking up'.
"Dabi?" You had asked, trying to sound sleepy.
"Hey, Starshine." You heard him greet in the dark.
"You left." You said quietly, allowing the hurt you had been feeling to come out.
He didn't reply, but he did pull you to his side, something you welcomed with the pains that were beginning to make themselves known once more through your stomach.
"I'm sorry." He had muttered into the dark as you began to fight off sleep again. "I'm a let down."
You squeezed him sleepily, nuzzling your face into his side, feeding off the constant warmth he gave off shamelessly.
"You came back for me. You remembered the promise and the rules." You yawned. "I don't have to sleep alone."
"Ya don't hate me?" He asked, his voice the quietest it could physically go. "Don't think I'm a shi- shoddy paw?"
"You're the best pawpaw." You had replied with another squeeze.
You were finding it hard to keep yourself awake, your eyes dropping closed and pretty much refusing to reopen, even when you had heard Dabi sniffle a couple times.
"Don't leave again please." You had mumbled. "Even if you do something bad I wanna see you."
He didn't reply, just squeezed you ever so slightly just like you had him.
You felt warm, safe, comfortable.
Until the next morning.
*•*
"Toga, put the damn needle down." Dabi hisses, holding you protectively to his chest as you sob.
"You said to take a sample! I'm trying to help!" Himiko replies defensively.
"You're freakin' her out wi' it!" Dabi snaps, his hand holding your head tight to him.
The needle in Himiko's hand was huge and she'd practically lunged at you with it with a wicked grin on her face.
There wasn't anything in the needle that you could see, but you were still terrified of it coming anywhere near you. Especially if it was Himiko injecting you.
"You do it then!" She huffs.
"Can't." He shrugs.
"Why?" Himiko and Shigaraki ask at the same time.
"Can't do it to her. I'll puke."
You grip onto Dabi's clothing, refusing to let go of him, terrified of what you'll see if you turn around.
Dabi leans his stapled cheek against your head as they all continue to squabble over the needle and Himiko's method.
"Star." You hear Shigaraki address, and you turn your head ever so slightly to peek at him.
You're met with crimson eyes a lot closer than you thought. He was crouching so he could be eye to eye with you. Usually he towered over you without much care for you having to crane your neck to speak to him.
"Will you let me do it?" He asks as Dabi rubs your back.
Well you couldn't say no.
It was Dabi's boss, and he was still a little scary sometimes, even though he was being kinder to you lately.
Your fingers tighten on Dabi's clothes as you nod your head in uncertainty. Shigaraki nods, raising to his full height again.
"Get my gloves."
Whoever he was talking to seems to do a quick job of it as you feel gloved hands gently pry your fingers away from Dabis clothing soon after.
You let out a nervous whimper when you feel Shigaraki's hands gently outstretch your arm, and then jolt in panic when you feel something tight being tied against your upper arm.
"Calm down, little Star." Dabi tries to soothe, petting your hair while you begin to sob against him again.
"It's just so I can make this easier for you." Shigaraki explains calmly.
"It hurts!" You complain as it gets tighter.
"It's not forever." Dabi tries to calm you down again. "Just relax, nothin's happenin' yet."
You bury your face impossibly closer to him, your tears wetting his clothes. He doesn't seem to mind, one arm still slung across your waist lazily, the arm holding your head to his shoulder doing most of the firm holding.
Your sobs become louder again when Shigaraki begins to rub circles on the arm he's holding with his calloused thumb, but they soon quieten again when you realise he isn't doing anything with the needle.
"What's Compress doing?" You hear Shigaraki ask, judgment thick in his tone.
You peek over Dabi's shoulder with teary eyes to see Atsuhiro juggling your teddies and a marble with finesse.
He gives you a little wink, and soon Shigaraki stops rubbing circles on your arm, gripping your arm tightly for a second before there's a sharp sting.
"Ow!" You cry out, flinching.
"Stay still." Shigaraki warns.
"What's this, little Miss Star?" Atsuhiro asks, drawing your wandering eyes back to him.
You look back over at him with your lip wobbling, Dabi's fingers running through your hair.
He catches all three of your teddies, the marble bursting in a puff of blue, Spinner landing on his feet with a confused look on his face.
Spinner looks around in utter confusion, swinging around to confront Atsuhiro about 'quirking' him, and you can feel the needle begin to be drawn out of your arm.
"All done." Shigaraki announces evenly, applying pressure to the center of your inner elbow.
"Attagirl." Dabi says, pride clear in his tone as he kisses the side of your head quickly.
You peer over at Shigaraki, who passes a little vial of your blood to Kurogiri.
To your dismay, Himiko's still hanging around, her eyes sparkling as she watches the little vial get passed to Kurogiri, her light pink tongue running over her sharp canines.
"Send it to Giran." He orders, returning his attention back to the small wad of cotton he's pressing against your arm.
"I wanna see Uncle Giran." You sniffle, eyes wistfully trained on Kurogiri as he forms a warp gate and walks right on through.
Shigaraki glances up right in time to see Dabi press another kiss to your head.
"How about we go and see the ducks instead, Starshine?" Dabi suggests, his voice a low rasp.
"Really?" You ask, perking up straight away, peeling yourself away from his torso to look him in the face.
His lips tug upward. "Sure. You were brave, lil' dollface."
He pinches your cheek playfully, shaking your head a little as he does so.
You whine, trying to wiggle away, making Shigaraki grip your arm a little tighter so he can keep pressure on the puncture.
You look down at him as he checks below the cotton pad, catching your eyes when he decides that he doesn't need to apply pressure anymore, Himiko handing him a band-aid.
He presses it against your arm, his thumbs gliding over it gently to make sure it's down properly.
Once he's done he nods up at you.
"You were... good." He says, raising his fist towards yours slowly. "Good job, little Star."
You bump his fist gently with your own, feeling proud of yourself for being good enough for Shigaraki to comment on it too.
And when Dabi reassured you that you could go to see the ducks again with him, you were ecstatic.
You happily agreed to wear a small face mask that people usually wore when they were sick, and let Himiko cut your hair a bit shorter and when you queried why that had to happen before you could leave, Dabi said it was getting too long and needed to be more manageable.
You even let him put one of Spinner's hats on you after the haircut, even though it made you look like a boy.
All because you wanted to go and see the ducks with him.
And it was so so worth it.
He seemed happy for the first time since yesterday, no random staring into the distance or picking at his brand new staples while you were out and about.
Well, from what you could tell anyway what with him wearing a mask and sunglasses too.
You were cheerily trying to encourage the ducks to come over for a pet while he smoked on the bench, chuckling at you whenever you moved too quickly and they ran away.
Eventually you huff, throwing a handful of seed so it scatters and plopping yourself down on the bench beside him.
"Told ya, you gotta be slow an' patient." He ruffles your hair, putting out his cigarette. "You pet 'em before. You can do it."
"I don't feel like it." You pout, leaning against his side.
"Aw, princess." He croons, hand resting on the back of your head. "Still feelin' sour, huh?"
You nod. Your tummy still hurt and it was making you a little more irritable than usual.
He pets your hair, leaning over to pick out a handful of seed and pouring it by his feet.
"Don't go bein' all grumpy now." He advises. "We're outta that hotel, feedin' your beloved duckies."
"An' I even treated you to a ice cream, so I wanna see ya smilin' under there." He teases, poking your nose from over your mask.
You nod, offering a smile, not that he can see it.
"Good girl." He praises, amusement laced in his voice. "Look, try pettin' one now. Slow an' gentle."
You reach out slowly to pet one of the ducks that had gathered by Dabi's feet, your hand hovering over its back for a second and then gently petting over the wings softly.
Dabi joins you, softly petting another one of the ducks that had gathered by his feet.
"So, uh..." Dabi begins, and then swallows loud enough for you to hear. "Got a question for ya, Starshine."
You pause, looking over at him and slowly retracting your hand away from the duck. The sentence makes you feel nervous, a heavy feeling in your stomach from anxiety, and you can't quite pinpoint why.
He avoids your gaze for one reason or another, beginning to shake his leg and scare the ducks away again.
"Well, obviously, y'know, me and Shigaraki..."
You clap your hands over your ears, not wanting to hear about them kissing again.
Dabi pauses, before audibly laughing, his warm hands prying yours away from your ears.
"Listen, please." He chuckles. "No kissin' involved, I promise."
"Better not be." You huff.
He laughs a little more, before looking around at the quiet park around you both, and then sighing.
"Look, I kinda..." He trails off again. "I wanna be his boyfriend. But I don't wanna do that if you're unhappy wi' it."
"But you argued yesterday." You point out, scrunching your face up in confusion. "You called him crust-"
"You heard that?" Dabi asks quietly.
Oops.
You forgot you had been pretending to be asleep during that whole ordeal. Your eyes widen as you look at him and you reel back a little bit.
He doesn't seem mad, his shoulders slumping and his hand moving to run through his hair under his hood.
"Sorry, kid. That musta been scary for you." He shakes his head slightly.
He falls silent for a minute, reaching to stroke his thumb over your jawline thoughtfully.
"To be honest with ya, Star, that wasn't much of an argument." He sighs. "That was me bein' a di- idiot."
"Shigaraki said you did something bad for yourself." You reply, leaning into his touch. "And that you were mad at him for it."
Dabi falls silent again, his temperature creeping up ever so slightly from what you could feel from resting your cheek in his palm.
He takes a deep breath though, and his hand cools down a little more again.
"Yeah, well." He breathes again. "He ain't wrong, I guess. That why you were talkin' about me doin' bad things last night?"
You nod shyly. "What did you do, Dabi?"
"Ain't gettin' into that with you." He says firmly. "Too little."
He flicks one of your ears playfully, leaning in a little closer.
"Ain't nothin' you gotta worry about, 'kay? Won't be happenin' again." He bumps his forehead against yours gently. "I'm sorry ya heard me gettin' mad at Shigaraki, that won't happen again either."
"Okay." You agree quietly. "You want to be Shigaraki's boyfriend?"
Dabi groans and rolls his head back.
"When ya say it like that, it sounds lame." He gripes, but you can hear the smile in his voice.
"It is lame." You argue, but you don't mean it harshly. "And gross."
"Can't believe you're hatin' on me like this." He says, placing his hand on his heart dramatically.
You grin underneath your mask, but it slowly fades as you realise what Dabi being Shigaraki's boyfriend will mean.
It means he'll get mad at you more often, like mom did.
It means he'll start arguing with Shigaraki all the time, like mom and her boyfriends did.
It means he won't want you anymore like mom didn't whenever she had a boyfriend.
Maybe Shigaraki would give Dabi the sick medicine that mom started taking, too. The one that made her die.
Maybe Shigaraki would sneak in when you were sleeping like that one scary-
"You feelin' good? You've gone all pale." Dabi frets, pressing his hand to your forehead.
"You'll still love me?" You ask, ignoring his question.
"Well duh. You're my little Starshine." He says as though it's the most obvious thing in the world.
"You won't make me leave?"
"What?! No! Of course not. M' not a fuckin' animal!" He exclaims, before catching himself. "Don't repeat that word. That was bad of me."
"I won't have to sleep alone?" You continue.
He pauses, which isn't something you want to happen, because every answer before now has been instant with not even a single moment of hesitation.
Which means you weren't going to get an answer you wanted.
"I mean, someday ya will, kid." He sighs. "We can't keep sharin' a bed forever. You're gettin' all grown up, you'll want your privacy eventually."
"Someday, but not now?" You repeat.
"Yup. Someday. But not now." Dabi nods.
"Okay..." You murmur, looking away, focusing your attention down towards your hands. "You won't argue all the time?"
"We don't tend ta argue." He shrugs. "If we do it's usually..."
He pauses for a second before adding: "Doesn't matter, ain't gonna happen."
"...You won't take any bad medicine?" You ask quietly.
He hesitates again, and you wish you could see the look on his face so you could understand what kind of emotion he was hiding behind the sunglasses and mask.
"I mean..." He pauses for a second. "Sometimes I gotta take medicine for the pain, princess. That's jus' how it is. But I promise it's not the same stuff tha' your mom was takin', okay? I ain't goin' anywhere."
It's not the perfect answer, but it's a promise, and Dabi didn't break promises.
"Will being Shigaraki's boyfriend make you happy?" You ask, leaning on his arm.
"I think so." He replies, wrapping his arm around your shoulder and squeezing you to him slightly.
"...Okay." You agree, wrapping your arms around his torso and squeezing him tight. "But you can't stop loving me. That's the rule."
"Rule four's an easy one for me then." He teases, ruffling your hair more playfully than usual.
You squeal, trying to get away, only for Dabi to keep you held close to his side.
He continues for a second or two longer, but does eventually let go, rubbing his thumb over your cheek again.
"If you change your mind you gotta let me know, okay?" He says. "Your happiness matters too."
You nod, feeling a little reassured about the fact he was giving you a say in this. Mom never did that.
"Okay... Love you."
"Love you too lil' princess Starshine." He replies, dropping a kiss to the top of your head. "Now, finish feeding the ducks, look, they're all waitin' for ya."