TW: Mentions of depression.
The apartment was dark as you stepped inside. Something soft brushed past your legs, and you could hear purring. Ismene, your cat, was dancing around your legs, awaiting her head scratches. Ignoring her for now, you moved towards the kitchen where you intended to grab some ice for your hand. The apartment wasn't glamourous. It was a studio, with a tiny kitchenette, and an even smaller bathroom. Your living room consisted of a full sized bed, and two chairs on either side. A box tv and a game console rested on a small entertainment center. There was two sliding glass doors that lead to a rickety, creaky balcony that could collapse at any second. The only time you ever stepped foot on it was to smoke a quick cigarette.
"Home sweet home, Izzy." You finally reached down and pet the white fur of the small cat. She let out a long purr, then happily pranced away to rest on the foot of your bed. The ice on your knuckles helped soothe the pain.
The dark, quiet home was depressing. You stared at the room and let out a low sigh. "What to do now..." You muttered, moving across the room to turn on the television. No cable, so you settled from some random local program. You didn't bother turning the light on, knowing you were just going to go to bed without showering again.
A familiar heavy feeling was threatening to make itself known, but you suppressed it the best you could. No use in crying over things that couldn't be changed. You set down the makeshift pack of ice, and pulled your pants off. Keeping the t-shirt on you manage to crawl at least under the covers. Ismene followed suit, and curled up next to your legs. The sounds of the reckless city could be heard over the low volume of your tv. Flashes of light broke through your tattered blinds. It was a wonder how you fell asleep every night.
Either from pure exhaustion, or the creeping depression; you couldn't be sure.
You spent your entire day off laying in bed and watching tv. Only when you absolutely had to eat did you manage to tie your hair up and put on some pants. A green and grey hoodie hung over one of the chairs, and you picked it up. The first thing you did was sniff it. Not too bad of a smell, so you pulled it over your head. Making an attempt at not appearing to be a complete wreck, you sprayed some floral perfume over your clothes. You gave a shrug to yourself before picking up your bag and heading towards the door where some old sneakers sat. You tugged them on, too lazy to unlace them.
"Hey, neighbor!"
You bit back a groan, and turned to face your cheery neighbor. He had a grin plastered across his tan face, his cheeks growing in size as the two of you made eye contact.
"Hello." You didn't show the same enthusiasm he did to be awake. His name left your mind then, but he happily remembered yours.
"Y/n, are you busy today? We could grab lunch!" Everything he said was loud, and it immediately gave you a headache. "I know this awesome place down town, where they serve..." You tuned him out, proceeding down the hall towards the stairs. He followed in step beside you definitely not respecting your personal space. The entire time, you kept a neutral expression. You didn't care, and couldn't find the will to pretend to care about what he was saying.
"I'm busy today." It wasn't necessarily a lie. You did have plans to sit in bed and watch old DVD's all day. That wasn't the most productive thing you could do, but you also didn't want to hang out with some guy who's name you couldn't even remember.
"Okay, well maybe some other time!" He gave you a smile. "Want a ride somewhere? I'm heading into town."
"Nah, I'm good."
He gave an awkward laugh, finally picking up on your dismissive attitude. "Alright, well bye..." He got into his shitty, old car, and drove off. You noticed him watching you in his rearview mirror as you walked in the opposite direction.
There was a small, isolated ramen shop you liked to go to. People would avoid it due to its location, but their food was amazing. You felt yourself get a little giddy as you thought about treating yourself to your favorite ramen. You pulled out your phone, and turned on some music for your walk. The shop was only a few blocks away, but you didn't want to hear the outside world. You stuck the earbuds in, and bobbed your head
People passed by you, not giving a second glance to your presence. That was typical. You didn't draw much attention these days. When you were still living with your mother, you put in an effort. She wanted you to be the perfect child, and live out the dreams she never could. She got pregnant very young with you, and had to drop out of the hero course she was in. When you admitted to her that you weren't interested in being a hero, her world came crumbling down. She felt like she had waisted her time on you. Living away from her was the most relief you'd ever felt, but it was lonely. You didn't make friends easily, and didn't want people judging your current lifestyle.
"If it isn't my favorite little bean!" Mr. Emon, the small shop owner threw his arms up as he saw you enter. There was a huge grin on his face as you took the seat at the bar in front of him. There were only three others in the shop, two men in the back corner, and his daughter sitting at the end of the bar closest to the kitchen door.
It was a fairly small place. There was just a bar, and three round tables. Many people got things to-go, but you always liked eating there. Mr. Emon was a sweet man, and his little girl always wanted to show you her new drawings. They were a bit disturbing sometimes, but you tried not to mention that to her. She probably didn't understand what was bad and what wasn't.
"So, what can I get for you today?" He already had some fresh noodles boiling, and poured you a hot cup of tea.
"Thank you," Your voice was quiet as usual, but this place brought a smile to your face. If you considered anyone a friend, it would be Mr. Emon and his family. They accepted anyone, and never seemed to discriminate. "I think I just want something spicy. Maybe pork belly with it?" You shrugged. He could never disappoint you with his food, so you usually gave him free range when it came to your meals.
Peni, his daughter was already skipping over to you so she could sit next to you at the bar. The two men in the corner were quieter now, their conversation having been subsided when you walked in. You tried not to notice, but as you glanced at the little girl, you caught the one with dark hair staring at you. His features caught you off guard. His jaw was a darker, fleshy burnt color, contrasting with the top half of his pale skin. He had black strands falling into his eyes, so you couldn't get a good look at him, but something about him seemed familiar. There was a blonde head of hair in front of him. You couldn't see his expression, but the bright red wings were a dead giveaway. It was Hero Hawks, the man who had come to your rescue last night.
"Look, Miss!" Peni was beside you, pushing her black curls out of her face with one hand, and handing you her newest drawing. "It's my friend! She likes blood!" It was a poorly done drawing of a stick figure girl, with two blonde buns. There was a grey, pointy thing in her hand, with a line going around so it looked like it was attached to her.
"Oh, very nice." Your voice was the same for every situation. Peni had become accustom to it. She couldn't tell if you truly liked it or not, but she assumed you did because you never told her to go away like the kids at school. "What's her name?"
"To-"
"Here you go, bean!" Mr. Emon cut his daughter off, setting the bowl in front of you. "Eat up before it gets cold. Peni, would you like some dessert now?" The little girl was now successfully distracted from talking about her drawings, and too focused on getting some ice cream.
You slurped your noodles, leaving one earbud in as you scrolled through your phone watching pointless videos. Mr. Emon tended to his other customers, but you didn't listen too closely to their conversations. You were focused on the spicy noodles and meat in front of you to care. Peni eventually came back to sit beside you, but didn't say anything as she ate her ice cream. She was just interested in silently watching the videos she couldn't hear on your phone.
"So she's just a normal civilian?" For some reason this one sentence caught your attention. Mr. Emon had been at the table in the back for a few minutes longer than he usually would. The two men seemed interested in something. You casually glanced over at Peni beside you, and caught them staring at you in your peripheral.
Mr. Emon nodded. "She's a customer who lives near by. Don't give her trouble, please." Were those two hassling him? Something in your chest was building, whether it be annoyance or anger, you didn't want someone hurting the people who had been so kind to you. You didn't care if one of them was a pro hero or not. If you came back the next day, and something had happened, you'd know exactly who to look for.
They began to speak more quietly. Peni started asking you some more questions about the show you were watching and you couldn't focus on what they were saying anymore.
It had been almost an hour before you paid and left. Peni gave you a tight hug, promising to tell you more stories about her interesting friends next time you came. The two men had left before you, both casting glances as they passed you. You didn't bother to return them.
"See you later!" Mr. Emon waved as you left the shop, and began your quick walk back towards your apartment. He had a worried look as the door closed behind you.
The fall night was cool, and felt nice against your face. The sun was setting faster, and even though it was only five, it was almost completely hidden by the horizon. You had both earbuds in, eyes glancing a the sky for any sign of the moon. It wasn't quite dark enough yet, but you knew tonight would be a waning gibbous. The moon phase before a full moon. You hated full moons. There had always been something about them that kept you awake. Maybe it was your quirk in full effect, but you didn't appreciate the sleepless nights. Especially when they landed on a school night. Even if you hated them, the sight still always took your breath away. Something about the moon drew you towards it in an admiring way.
Your eyes were busy scanning the sky that you didn't notice the person emerge from the street beside you. They grabbed your arm, and you felt your back connect with the wall of a concrete building. The windows were boarded up, and it seemed abandoned. Your eyes were pinched close for a second, registering the pain, before you opened them and glanced up.
The dark haired man from the ramen shop was holding you in place, his body looming over yours. His eyes were an icy blue, and you finally realized why he seemed so familiar.
"You're the guy from my work."
He made a scoffing noise, and rolled his eyes. "That's what you're concerned about right now?" He asked sarcastically, his grip tightening on both your wrist. "Tell me what you know about Mr. Emon's Place."
"Uhm..." Your expression finally changed from its normal, neutral standpoint, to a completely confused one. "He is really nice and sells ramen....." You muttered the last part, wondering why this random guy decided to pull you aside. Was he trying to gatekeep a fucking ramen shop? "He sometimes gives me a discount because I'm almost always there." You were starting to believe this guy was some loan shark Mr. Emon might be dealing with.
The man's eyes narrowed. The skin around your wrist felt warm, and you glanced over to your right hand. Tiny blue flames were licking at your skin.
"Hey, what the fuck!" You snapped, attempting to kick your legs a bit more. "I didn't do anything why are you trying to hurt me!" He kept his hands tight on your wrist, but let the flames die down after your outburst. For a second you thought you felt him almost pull away as a reflex, as if he didn't really mean to hurt you.
"I don't think she knows anything, Dabi." That familiar, cocky voice approached from above. You felt some excess wind hit you face as he used his wings to descend down. "I think the old man was right."
"Hey, show some respect." Your voice was getting lower by each notch of annoyance that built in your chest. Mr. Emon was a respectable man, and you could only suspect that these two were abusing him in some way.
Hawks glanced over at you with that same smirk on his face, but his tone didn't match the facade. He sounded frustrated and sad. "Just let her go. She's useless to us." Dabi released you, and you rubbed at your wrist. Their were faint marks on each of them. Hawks was still looking at you but this time you couldn't read his expression. It had lost all emotion in the same, disinterested way you always did.
Stupid Heroes.
~~~
This one has less edits because I actually liked it. The only thing I really did was add some more descriptors to the guys and that jazz.