Things were not okay between Dabi and Tomura like he'd promised.
Dabi was in your room every night again, even insisting on it when you had told him that you didn't mind it just being you and Zero.
Sometimes Zero stayed with both you and Dabi, and sometimes he stayed with Tomura.
Dabi insisted that they were fine, but if they weren't sleeping together that definitely wasn't a good sign, because you remembered when mom and her boyfriends had big fights, one of them always slept on the couch.
And Tomura had been disappearing for days, too. So when he came back you tried to let them be alone together to try to make up or just be without you in case it was you making the problems between them.
You tried being subtle about it by throwing yourself a little more enthusiastically into your lessons with Zero, even if it was math and hard.
Jin coming home again made for a good distraction, too. He always wanted to play, or talk to you or give you hugs. That was if Himiko didn't steal him for herself, of course. You didn't mind too much though, because you knew Himiko really missed Uncle Jin while he was hurt.
You still had to be careful with Uncle Jin, because the big cut on his back was still tender and healing, and if you knocked it too hard you could accidentally make him sick again and you didn't want that.
Spinner had disappeared too, because Tomura's teacher had given him a new quirk too, and he needed to get used to it.
You were kind of glad about it, because you'd started twitching when you were particularly stressed or nervous. Usually when anyone tried getting you to eat, or when Tomura was home and he and Dabi were very obviously ignoring each other, or whenever your brain got a bit overactive and you began worrying about how you were bad and messed everything up again.
Your quirk was starting to reappear again, at least. It was nothing but a faint glow of green, but it was better than nothing when you'd tried using it at Dabi and Zero's encouragement before.
It was probably a good thing it couldn't fully manifest though, because you were currently bundled up in Dabi's arms in a clinic that Tomura had found that would take Zero's stitches out and your feeding tube out.
Your quirk had activated automatically in your fear, but it wasn't doing anything useful beyond making a green aura form around you.
You'd been here for about half an hour and you still weren't getting any closer to having the thing taken out, because you couldn't be torn away from Dabi.
"Hon, it's fine." Dabi tries to soothe after another failed attempt to peel you away from his chest. "Look, Zero's havin' his stitches out fine."
"He's big and brave." You argue weakly, your voice muffled against his chest.
"An' you're little and brave." Dabi retorts. "Remember when you grabbed at Tomura?"
"Yeah, but you said it was stupid." You reply quietly.
"It was. But it was brave, too." He replies calmly. "An' you bit my old man."
You peer at Zero, who's laying still on the table as rai nurses work at snipping and pulling away his stitches, leaving behind nothing but red, raised scars.
One of the nurses catches your eyes and you immediately press your face into Dabi's chest again, trying to hide.
"Star..." He sighs.
"I want Nurse Wani." You insist.
"I've explained to you why you can't see her." He says firmly.
"But I'm scared." You continue to argue.
"But I'm here, an' so is Zero. No-one's gonna try and take ya or make ya sleep for bein' scared." Dabi responds, shifting you a little in his arms.
You trusted him with everything you had, but it just didn't feel comfortable here. One of the nurses kept glaring at you whenever you caught her eyes, even though the other one was nice.
A younger nurse approaches slowly, even though Dabi glares at her for doing so, his arms getting tighter around you.
"Hey, Star?" A young feminine voice asks. "Can I have a go?"
"Nuh-uh." You reply, gripping onto Dabi even tighter.
"It'll be really quick, I promise. Woosh, and it's done!" The voice continues to encourage, the younger girl continuing to ignore Dabi's warning look. "And then you can go back to cuddling your dad. How's that sound?"
"Ai." The older nurse warns.
Your face begins to twitch against Dabi's chest, apparently badly enough for him to feel it as he holds your head to his chest.
"Piss off, doll." He growls at the young nurse.
"That's rude." You whisper to him, only for him to roll his eyes out of sight.
"You can hold her while I do it if you like. It's not that hard to do, just gotta do it quickly!" She continues to encourage.
"Dabi can hold onto me?" You ask quietly, moving your face away to peer at the young nurse.
She looks maybe a little older than Himiko, with brown hair in buns and kind, dark eyes with a pretty blush on her face.
She nods enthusiastically.
"Yup! I just need to untape the tube from your face, and then we can get it out really quick!" She encourages happily.
You touch the Hello Kitty bandaid holding the tube to your cheek subconsciously.
"It's a cute bandaid." She agrees without you even saying anything. "We can put it over your nose if you like so you don't lose it!"
"It's okay... Himiko has lots." You murmur, turning a little more to face her.
"Do you wanna get that tube outta your nose?" She asks again. "Your daddy can hold you while I do it, and I'll ask before I do anything."
"You promise?" You ask quietly.
She holds her pinky out to you with a wide grin. She really reminded you of Himiko, except her teeth were less sharp and she didn't have light hair and eyes.
You curl yours around hers shyly and she grins even wider.
"Great! Get comfortable, but facing me, m'kay?" She asks excitedly.
You slowly turn in Dabi's arms so that your legs are dangling over his lap, his arms around your waist and his chin on your head, watching the nurse carefully as she puts on gloves.
When they're on, she spins around to smile at you.
"Ready?" She asks.
"Okay. Don't put me to sleep though."
"She won't." Dabi says coldly.
"It won't be necessary!" She reassures as she leans forward to gently peel the bandaid from your face. "You sure you don't want to keep this?"
"Mhm. Himiko will give me another one." You reply, moving your hand down to Dabi's to squeeze it nervously.
"Himiko must be nice, then." Ai says cheerily as the band-aid is pulled completely off.
"Mhm, she's like my big sister." You say matter-of-factly, feeling calmer now that you're being distracted.
"Wow!" She grins even bigger as she puts the plaster in the bin, returning her attention to you. "Okay, I'll do this quick so you don't feel sick, but it might feel a little weird, okay?"
"Okay..." You agree nervously as her slender fingers wrap around the outside of the tube.
And then in a blink, half of the tube is out, and you make a startled sound as your aura grows in size around you, Dabi reacts by squeezing you a little and praising you for being brave lowly.
The tube is fully out in no time at all though, Ai holding it with a small smile.
"Great job, Star!" She praises, rolling it up and throwing it in the bin. "You were so brave!"
"Well done Star." Zero says calmly from his table. They'd only just gotten to his torso, and still had to do his legs yet.
You pat your face to make sure it's actually gone before looking up at Dabi who's smirking at you.
"Good job, kiddo." He praises. "Toldya you were brave."
You smile uncertainly at him, still touching your face. It felt strange not having the tube taped there anymore.
"Say thank you to the nurse, hon." He leads gently.
"Thank you miss." You say shyly.
"Mhm!" Ai says, holding her hand over her nose suddenly. "It was nice meeting you! See you later, Star!"
And then she just runs off, even with one of the elder nurses calling her back because she hadn't told Dabi what to feed you now the tube was out.
Tiredly, they explain it to Dabi as he pets your hair mindlessly. You watch as they begin snipping down the stitches close to Zero's pants line, your head completely empty for once since getting here.
Soon Dabi's encouraging you off his lap, grabbing your hand and pulling you out of the room.
"Wait, Uncle Zero isn't finished!" You exclaim.
"And you haven't paid yet." The angry nurse says pointedly.
"We got the money." Dabi sneers back. "He's got it."
Dabi then looks down at you with a soft expression.
"Zero's gotta get undressed and he needs his privacy, okay?" He says more evenly. "We'll wait outside. You got your game, remember?"
You nod, perfectly happy being taken to the waiting area if it means getting to play your game for a little while with Dabi instead of Tomura or Spinner.
You sit on the seat, perfectly calm and slowly coming out of your shell more and more with the Switch in your hands, talking to him animatedly about the stage of the game you were in, and showing him pretty areas you had found.
He listens dutifully and asks questions, pointing at the screen here and there while you both wait for Zero to be done with the nurses.
After a little while of silence you feel Dabi's hand cup the back of your head and he bows his own head to press his lips against the top of your skull.
"I'm so proud of you, princess." He tells you again quietly.
"Stop..." You whine, a little embarrassed because the other nurses and doctors kept staring at you both.
Dabi mimics your whine and pokes your side playfully as Zero walks back out with no more stitches on his body, just raised scars criss-crossing all over the visible areas of his skin.
Dabi greets him, throwing a look over your shoulder to your screen, gauging a good way to get you back off of the game.
"Alright kiddo, once we're back home your game has to go back off, 'kay? Then I want'cha to do some reading." He says firmly, but warmly.
"Okay..." You reply, getting up but distracted by the console in your hands. "Can we do the reading together?"
"Of course darlin'. Eyes off the screen when you walk." He says, scruffing your hair. "C'mon. Hometime."
*•*
You wake up suddenly with heaving breaths, trembling in your arms, your face twitching and your body soaked with sweat. Zero shoots upwards too, the moonlight shining off his silver hair as he pulls himself upward, passing you Star Jr, who had fallen on the floor and likely hit him while you were asleep.
He looks less scary in the night now with his stitches gone and his hair tied back into braids, and you reach for him instead of your teddy.
He pauses in the darkness, but eventually leans forward to embrace you carefully, one of his hands rubbing your back patiently as you try to catch your breath.
"Bad dream?" He asks, his voice a whisper.
You nod.
But that's all it was, just a horrible dream. Zero was here, so that meant everyone else would be okay, too.
"I had a dream that the heroes took me again when I was having my tube taken out, and that they killed Dabi dead." You explain, your worry evident in your voice.
"That must have scared you." He sympathises, slowly letting go of you. "It was just a dream."
"But Dabi isn't here..." You say worriedly.
You were pretty sure that he had been on the bed with you, helping you read a proper book for the first time instead of Uncle Jin or Zero. Your eyes had gotten heavy two chapters in and you must have fallen asleep.
"Everything is fine, Star." Zero replies in his usual calm way. "Would some cocoa help you sleep?"
"I like chamomile tea... Atsuhiro made it for me sometimes." You murmur. "I'm gonna go and see Dabi."
"No, you'll stay here." Zero says in the most firm way you'd ever heard him speak to you, it actually manages to catch you off guard.
"But... I'm scared. I want to see pawpaw." You reply, beginning to twitch again in the worry of the dream being real and Zero hiding it from you.
"He's busy. Wait here and drink your tea when I bring it up, okay?" Zero says, his tone final.
You nod your head, watching as his constant smile turns upwards even more and he pats your head affectionately before standing fully and leaving the room to go and make you some tea.
You wait until you can't hear his feet anymore to get out of bed yourself, padding quickly to Dabi's room and opening the door to see your pawpaw and make sure he was okay, and that Zero wasn't lying.
The room is dark but you can just about make out the big fluff of Tomuras hair, and Dabi's darkly scarred arms wrapped around his back.
When you rush towards the bed, not only is Tomura's head snapping towards you, but so is Dabi's.
"Star, what are you doing?" Dabi asks a little panickedly, his arms uncurling around Tomura.
"I had a bad dream. I wanna cuddle too." You explain.
You automatically put your knee on the bed to climb on and join them, but Tomura holds one of his muscular arms out, the limb acting like a barrier and blocking you from getting on properly.
"No." He says simply.
Your heart sinks immediately, your mind returning back to memories of when you weren't wanted with your mom and her boyfriends.
You look at Dabi, who shakes his head at you in the dark, too.
"Go back to your room. I'll be with ya in five, 'kay?" He says, and his voice is more gentle than Tomuras.
"But-" You begin to say, but a hand wrapping around your wrist and pulling you out of the room quickly takes you by surprise and you interrupt yourself with a yelp.
"I told you to stay in your room." Zero tells you as you try squirming out of his grip.
"Ow! You're hurting me!" You whine as he pulls you back into your room.
"I'm sorry, Star." He says, immediately loosening his hand. "I didn't mean to hurt you."
And the fact he was able to say that tells you that he really didn't mean to hurt you, so you forgive him easily as you rub your now-thin wrist with a pout.
He closes the door behind you both and crouches in front of you, gently moving your hair from your face and tucking it behind your ears, an apologetic look behind his eyes.
"Please don't grab me like that." You order shyly.
"I won't." He agrees easily, the constant smile he always wears completely gone. "I told you they were busy and to stay in here."
"I was scared, and also they aren't busy, they're just hugging." You reply, a little unnerved by the lack of a smile on his usually serene and happy face.
Zero stares at you for a moment, searching your face in the dim lighting with his mismatched eyes. When you don't move or say anything, he nods a little.
"When I tell you to do something like stay in your room, it's in your best interest for you to listen to me, okay?" Zero says, a faint smile beginning to reappear again. "I would never make you do something that won't be good for you."
"Okay..." You agree reluctantly.
"Make up?" He asks, tilting his head.
You nod and close the distance between you both, wrapping your arms around his neck, and getting a quick squeeze back from him, too.
"Love you Uncle Zero." You tell him as he pulls away from you, gently reaching for your wrist to check it.
"Thank you, Star." He replies, distracted by trying to spot any bruising on your wrist.
"You won't grab me again?" You ask as he stands up again, following his journey upwards with your eyes.
"No, I won't grab you again. Unless I think you're in immediate danger." He says calmly, smiling softly again. "Why don't you get back into bed? I brought you up your tea."
"Okay." You agree, wandering over to your bed and getting into it.
You take the cup from Zero, sipping it slowly while he tucks the blanket around you tightly again. He always managed to make hot drinks so that they didn't burn you straight away, so you're almost halfway done with the tea by the time Dabi comes in sheepishly, looking at you and then at Zero who had been sat on the floor, watching you with sagging eyes, his chin resting on the edge of your mattress.
"Pawpaw." You call quietly.
"Hey, darlin'." He greets, patting Zeros shoulder as he passes. "Bad dream, huh?"
"Mhm." You reply, letting him take the cup from you and place it on your bedside table.
He clicks your lamp off, and begins getting onto the bed beside you, wrapping an arm around you as you shuffle into his side.
"Wanna tell me about it?" He asks softly.
"I dreamt about when Hakuchō and Hawks took me away." You explain in a whisper when you pick up on Zero's faint snores. "And that instead of hurting Uncle Jin, Hawks killed you, it was really really scary."
"I can see that, little Starshine." He says, referring to the faint green coming off your body and kissing your head. "But you don't gotta be scared. M' here."
You nod, soaking up the warmth he always gives off that told you he was definitely okay, that it was just a dream and that Zero wasn't hiding anything from you.
He holds you in silence for a little while, petting your hair softly.
"Hon, you gotta knock before you come stormin' in." He tells you carefully. "Even if you're scared."
"I'm sorry..." You murmur sleepily. "Is Tomura mad at me?"
"No-one's mad at ya." Dabi reassures.
"Can we have a Star and paw day tomorrow?" You ask.
"Sure doll, but Tomura's goin' away for a little while after tomorrow so you can spend the mornin' with him, 'kay?"
"Where's he goin'?" You ask in a sleepy slur, his warmth working miracles to get you to doze off.
"Work stuff, honey." Dabi replies, almost sadly, and then kisses your head. "We'll have a super fun day tomorrow, though, okay?"