You'd gotten up in the night to pee, Cloud following you as obediently as always, his head and neck rubbing against your ankles as you take sleepy, heavy steps down the hallway, pausing when you see the light on in the bathroom and the door a little ajar.
You look at Tomura and Dabi's room, the door definitely shut.
Cautiously you approach the bathroom, pushing the door open with the tips of your fingers, Cloud darting in immediately and meowing.
Tomura's sat on the floor, his legs outstretched and his head lolled slightly towards the toilet, his long white hair covering his face.
Cloud hops onto his lap and meows loudly, batting his nose.
Tomura twitches a little, and you kneel down in front of him to move his hair so you can see his face.
When your fingers brush against his hair softly his hand catches your wrist quickly, his head snapping up and a angry look in his red eyes until he realises who he's holding onto.
He lets go immediately, his expression turning more apologetic.
"Starlight." He says, his voice more croaky than usual.
"Pa... are you okay?" You ask worriedly, ignoring Cloud's waning growls.
"Fine." He says dismissively, beginning to sit up properly. "Just felt a little off earlier."
You don't really believe him, watching him with a concerned frown as he gets up, weakly shooing Cloud off his lap.
You want to grab him and help him up, but he seems a little sharper than he had been for months, so you just watch worriedly, ready to at least try to catch him if he's as weak as he looks.
He brushes his knuckles over your cheek as he passes, not saying another word, and Cloud traipses off after him.
You watch anxiously, seeing Tomura go to shut the door, but Cloud yowls to grab his attention and stop him, and then slinks into the room with him.
Cloud rarely ever stayed the night in their room, and although you don't like the idea of being without your cat for the night, you guess that Tomura must need him more, and you're willing to part with him if it meant Tomura felt a bit better.
*•*
"Dad?" You ask from behind Dabi.
"Mm? Yeah, hon?" He replies distractedly as he reads a recipe on his phone.
"Did Tomura feel better this morning?" You ask, plopping Cloud onto the floor, and letting him go to his food bowl.
"Huh? Whaddaya mean?" He asks, his hand going to your head the second you're close enough.
"He was sick last night." You explain, leaning into the touch, kind of needing reassurance after being worried all evening.
"He was?" Dabi says, sounding surprised. "M' sure he's fine, doll, went to work this morning."
You don't feel too convinced or reassured so you stay quiet and lean against your dad, silently asking for a proper hug. Dabi glances at you, and wraps his prosthetic arm around your shoulders, pulling you close and abandoning his attempt at breakfast.
"Don't worry, darlin' girl, he's tough, you know that." He says, rubbing your arm. "I honestly coulda poisoned him last night by accident. Maybe we should start gettin' Zero to cook again."
"Maybe..." You murmur. But surely if he'd been sick from Dabi's cooking, you both would have been too.
"C'mon, help me figure out this recipe." He says, kissing your head. "We might be a bit luckier with you helping, princess."
*•*
It's another day or two until you find Tomura being sick in the night again, thanks to Cloud's yowling outside of your room and you're worried all over again.
You tie his hair back for him and refuse to leave, even when he gets a little snappy at you. You sit by his side and pat his back, and press your head to his arm when he stops for a little while.
You only leave when he raises his voice at you to leave him alone and tell you that he's fine.
Tomura had never raised his voice at you before, but it didn't stop you from getting him a glass of water and bringing it to him before scuttering off again for good, leaving Cloud with him for company again.
*•*
Cloud wouldn't leave Tomura alone anyway after that. He was forever purring on his lap, or being held or following behind him, mewling by his ankles.
Even Dabi was getting freaked out by it.
"You didn't even want the damn cat." You'd heard him scoff once.
Tomura seemed to enjoy the attention, though. You seemed to find the two content in each other's company, sometimes finding Tomura murmuring to him like they were having a conversation together.
And then when you'd come back from the art class with Uncle Giran, you'd found Dabi staring off into the distance on the sofa with a cigarette hanging between his fingers.
"'Mura won't like that." You comment, startling Dabi.
"Jesus, kid! Don't sneak up on me like that." He groans, putting his cigarette out on an ashtray.
"You were staring right at me..." You point out slowly, but he doesn't really seem to be listening, his scarred and metal hand running through his messy white hair.
"'Giri's makin' dinner, me and Tomura ain't in the mood." He says, apparently ignoring your comment.
"Okay..." You reply, looking around at the seemingly empty apartment. "Is something wrong?"
"Huh? Naw, hon. S'all fine. Jus' tired." He says, smiling unconvincingly at you. "Think he's stolen your cat again."
You shrug a little. Cloud had been spending most of his time with Tomura anyway.
"How'd the class go, do anythin' fun?" He asks.
"It was okay." You reply absentmindedly, worried about the atmosphere in the apartment. "We drew a lady."
"Show me?" He asks with a small, hopeful smile.
Something tells you he needs this so you nod, going back out into the hallway and retrieving your sketchbook, flopping down onto the couch beside him and passing him the hardback book wordlessly.
He always handled anything you made with so much care, flipping the pages like they might just fall apart in his hands. His eyes glitter as he looks over all the pages, his fingers tracing over the scratchy marks on the page.
"So talented." He praises, kissing your temple.
"Thanks, dad." You mumble, embarrassed by the compliment.
"Love ya, princess." He sighs, leaning his head against yours for a moment. "Wish you were all small and cuddly again."
"Are you sure everything's okay?" You ask, worried, and leaning against him so he can have a cuddle.
"Mm, yeah. Just all nostalgic." He says, kissing your head and wrapping his arms around you.
*•*
"Hon!"
You get up from your desk, abandoning your school work and going to the door and opening it, peering at your dads as Tomura pulls his red sneakers on while Cloud rubs against him at the door with Dabi leaning against the front door as he waits.
"We're heading out for a bit, shouldn't be too long though. F' ya need anything or there's an emergency, grab Zero from downstairs, or call us, 'kay?"
"Okay. When will you be back?" You ask curiously.
"'Boutta hour, tops." Dabi promises. "No parties."
You roll your eyes, and Tomura snorts a little, standing up beside Dabi.
"In a bit, Starshine." Dabi says, gently leading Tomura out.
Tomura doesn't say goodbye, or much really. He's been quieter than usual since he'd been getting sick. You wonder if he's okay for a quiet moment as Cloud meows after them, but soon pick the fluffy traitor up, carrying him into your room and putting him down on your lap.
You don't get much work done for that hour, with Cloud climbing onto your desk and laptop the second you stop petting him, but it's just nice to have him back for a little while.
When Dabi and Tomura come back, there's no sound of talking between them, just the sound of shoes being removed, and Cloud paws at your door until he manages to open it for himself and slinks out to join them in the hallway.
You peek out, only for Dabi to pass with Cloud in his arms, going into their bedroom and closing the door, and Tomura goes off into the living area.
It's the first time Tomura's been without Cloud and outside of the bedroom for a little while, so your curiosity gets the better of you, and you follow him.
"Hi pa." You say in English, making him huff his usual sound of amusement.
He looks over at you, laughing at you with his eyes. "Hello, Star."
"Are you okay?" You ask, continuing to speak English, and sitting by his kicked up feet. "I'm worried."
"I'm fine, Starlight." He replies calmly, reaching for the TV remote.
"Are you and dad fighting?" You ask worriedly.
He pauses but does shake his head after a moment. "No. Not really."
Which isn't a complete no. Which doesn't soothe you.
You chew your lip nervously, looking at him while he flicks mindlessly through the channels.
"Not really?" You repeat, asking for clarification, and Tomura gives you a look that usually means 'stop pushing', but he humors you anyway.
"We've had a disagreement about something, but we're not fighting." He says slowly, knowing the longer the sentence in English, the longer it takes you to put the words together in your head. "Ultimately it was something I got to decide, and he's sulking about it."
You don't know what 'ultimately' or 'sulking' means, but you get the rest of the sentence.
"You'll be okay?" You ask.
"We always are, Starfire." Tomura replies, and then switches to Japanese again. "Do you want to play a game with me?"
"Okay." You agree easily, your mood lifting at the fact Tomura was finally behaving normally.
*•*
You wake up to your mattress dipping, albeit slowly, and sit bolt upright, gasping.
"Just me, hon." Dabi whispers.
"What're you doin'?" You ask groggily, barely able to make out the shape of him in the dark.
"Miss my lil girl. Want a hug."
"Creepy." You mutter, flopping back down onto the bed.
Dabi lays next to you, pulling you against him, and you're too tired to fight him away, instead, choosing to use the tiredness as an excuse to cuddle into his warmth.
"Did you and 'Mura fight?" You ask with a yawn.
"Told ya, cuddle bug. Wanted a hug from you."
"You're the cuddle bug." You murmur sourly.
He kisses your head, but doesn't respond, just lays there with you quickly dropping off to sleep again.
It's a comfortable silence, it's warm, and you do miss having something alive and warm keeping you company at night with Cloud choosing to stay with Tomura most of the time now.
You're right on the cusp of sleep when Dabi speaks up again.
"Hey, Star." He whispers.
"What?" You ask, a little grumpy from being woken back up.
"You think you'd want a lil sister or brother someday?" He asks.
You scrunch your face up without opening your eyes. "No. I don't wanna share you and 'Mura."
The answer's a lot more brutal and to the point than it would have been had you not been half asleep, and with your eyes closed, you miss the expression on Dabi's face at your response.
*•*
The next day, Dabi leaves alone, which he doesn't relly tend to do anymore. He worked from home, unless Tomura needed him to stand in for him at work. You catch him trying to sneak out of the house, and watch him try to slide some shoes on without making a noise, not knowing you're watching him from the living room doorway.
"Where are you going?" You ask him as he stands.
He spins around, frowning. "You need to stop that, you little twerp."
You giggle, but it's not completely genuine.
"Gotta run to grab something for 'Mura." He replies, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Don't pester him while I'm gone, alright?"
"Uh, okay?" You agree, a little confused because you never 'pestered' Tomura.
"Attagirl, back in a sec." He says, opening the door and leaving.
Almost the second he's gone, you turn around to go to their room.
"Pa?" You ask through the door.
"Not now, Star." Is the reply through gritted teeth.
"Are you okay...?" You carry on anyway.
He doesn't reply, so you gulp and slowly push the door open, revealing him lying curled up on their bed, his hair tied up but damp on the back of his neck.
"Pa?" You repeat.
"Get out, Star." He replies, strained.
"Does your stomach hurt?" You ask. "I can get you a hot water bottle."
He doesn't reply, so you take it upon yourself to do that anyway, leaving him with Cloud purring as he sits loafed up beside Tomura.
You hurry to the kitchen, to make him a hot water bottle as soon as you can to try and help, and bring it back to him, taking careful steps towards him in case he's in a really bad mood, slowly dropping it between his stomach and Cloud's side.
Cloud flops onto his side the second he feels warmth against him, which ends up keeping the water bottle pressed against your dad.
"...Thanks." He mutters, but doesn't lift his head from the pillow.
"It's okay, pa. I love you."
"Mhm." He grunts. "Out now."
"Okay." You agree, scurrying out of the room and closing the door quietly, turning to have Dabi towering over you, looking incredibly unimpressed.
"What'd I tell you?" He asks flatly.
"I was worried." You breathe out nervously.
"Leave him alone, 'kay, doll?" Dabi sighs, ruffling your hair. "Maybe you should stay with Zero or Giran tonight..."
The second part is obviously him thinking aloud, because he gently moves you out of the way and disappears into his room, leaving you outside.
You stand there, trying to listen to whatever was being said, but their voices are too muffled for you to pick up on.
Giving up, you resign yourself to staying in your room for the rest of the night, preferring that to the idea of being taken out of the apartment when you were worried about Tomura.
After all, he never got hurt or sick.