#I do hope that Spinner would be at least alive because leaving Mr. Compress alone with no sushi too is just too cruel

[buttercupshands]

MHA didn't create some miracle way of helping others. It was never promised to be this way. And when it came to villains...

Spoilers for manga all the way to chapter 423.

The only way to get anything in life in MHA was to be born "normal" like everyone else and that way of thinking never left Izuku with Toga getting the same treatment she did before from everyone from her family to her "normal" classmates. It was Ochako who helped Toga even if just a little by lifting the weight of all the feelings that Toga had.

She couldn't save Toga the way one could save a civilian by saving them from harm. If it worked that way Dabi would've saved Toga even before Ochako could apologize for failing to notice Toga. She was so lazer focused on saving everyone else, that she was just another villain to stop, not a human.

Even if by the end of it Ochako helped Toga to deal with her grief, acceptance as it was wasn't something possible when a quirk makes you want to drink someone's blood from jealousy.

We got a bittersweet ending with Toga, in which she probably died from blood loss just like her double did in MVA. If it wasn't for Twice she would've died back then.

Giving away her blood for Ochako wasn't a redemption or a way to save Toga in the end, more as it was her being true to herself until the very end.

Just like Twice chose to stay with the League even if Hawks offered him a way to survive that battle. He refused and died protecting his friends who accepted him instead of choosing to betray them and accept Hawks' offer.

After Twice's death... It was a matter of time that more 'active' LoV members would join him as well. As sad as it is, we now can return to Izuku.

Who, after his time OFA-AFO quirk space, now wanted to help a "crying boy" he saw in Tenko just as before with Katsuki in chapter 1. He didn't forgive Tomura and didn't excuse the way he chose to solve his problems.

It didn't mean that Tomura would survive in their battle, even if Izuku didn't see killing others as a way to solve problems. He didn't understand Tomura, but he still wanted to try, and try he did.

The rest of this post was nothing more than a contextual prologue to understand that it's not the first time a hero failed to save a villain and in Twice's case we know that he died and his death was the reason Toga started thinking about her own possible death and Dabi finally revealed himself as Toya.

The goal of saving a "crying boy" never was an end-goal for Izuku in the Final arc, since helping Tomura deal with his feelings just left him hollow with a goal that clashed with Izuku's. As being a hero for villains meant destroying the world for them to help them live freely.

But that was before AFO resurfaced.

Sadly after that Tomura who was talking about making his own choices for a while now stopped doing that. Even if he still had a goal of helping villains and only villains, Tomura was almost gone. And his goals were now unreachable.

Izuku helped Nana who in turn kept Tomura from fading away entirely. In MHA there were countless situations where Izuku's help affected people by helping a different person to keep hope, All-Might being the first one and Nana being the last one at the moment.

Hollow after Izuku helped him to get rid of his hatred Tomura could do the only thing he did - accept the situation as it was.

Accepting AFO as his Sensei, accepting Stain's ideals and Overhaul's deal was the way he solved his problems. Just like Izuku had a problem of understanding something outside of his norm, Tomura was accepting too many things, which lead to his downfall after accepting AFO's quirk.

Just like Twice could've given up everything that he had for his friends so did Tomura.

With Izuku helping as much as he could let Tomura to finally rest as he wasn't really living ever since waking up in the hospital. With his body now affected by AFO's wishes instead of his own until the end.

In a way Izuku didn't succeed in his wish for Tomura to stop ever since PLF war arc. As he "kept fighting to destroy" no matter how hard Izuku tried to stop him.

The only thing he succeeded in was changing Tomura's mind about himself, instead of viewing himself as a monster he accepted that he was a human just like Izuku said. A "crying boy" who couldn't really destroy Izuku's hands in the end.

For a group of Villains who weren't supposed to get profiles of their own at the start of the series, League is slowly fading as the most memorable group that there was in MHA, getting backstories, their own Villain themed arc all the while being as human as anyone else.

As sad as their story is they were not "unlucky", they didn't need a happy false ending where they would need to change to be normal - they chose to live this way and they lived it to it's fullest.

[michiieewrites]

Dabi - So big, so small, so tearfuly

A/N: This fic is inspired by an ask that @league-of-villians-headcanons received a week or so ago. THIS IS THE ASK I REFER TO. Anyways, after looking up that song, I cried like a little baby and thus, this story was born. But holy damn! I did NOT expect for this fic to reach over 3.1k+ words. Enjoy, my loves!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, it happened. Waiting in the waiting room with his quirk-cancelling handcuffs. Sitting on Dabi’s left side is Mr. Compress, also with those special ‘bracelets’ made for villains. Even here at the police station the tall showman is still wearing his mask and top hat. They’re both a little torn up, though. Just like all of them, to be honest.

Who knows how that crusty trash rat they call a leader is looking now. Maybe he’s just as banged up as Spinner. The scaly man was currently in the interrogation room with two officers. Most of their members were dragged away by different officers. Toga is still waiting with them. For multiple safety precautions they had restrained her like Hannibal Lector, including the muzzle. Still, that didn’t stop the girl from trying to break free from them.

Didn’t matter, though. Dabi knows that the gig is up. The heroes had all whooped their asses in this last fight. Showing the world that the ‘good guys’ would always win in the end. ‘Cause that’s what always happens, right? The bad guys lose and the good guys win. Because they’re the good guys. And Dabi was one of the bad guys.

He had to lose. That’s what bad guys do, they lose the fight. Good guys like his dad, they win. Good guys like his dad give people hope. Good guys like his dad were there to help control the chaos. Good guys like his dad are praised by the public for protecting them from bad guys like himself. Good guys like his dad always strife for perfection. Good guys like his dad would destroy their own families to save the public people. Good guys like his dad would do anything to keep the public people safe. Good guys, just like his dad.

So that’s what Dabi’s dad did. He protected the public from harm. He strived for protection, he destroyed his own family. Even if it meant nearly killing his eldest son for a second time. All because his dad is a good guy, right?

‘Should’ve burned that shitbag alive when I had the chance,’ Dabi thought to himself. ‘Instead of burning my own damn self. Just burn that fucker to a crisp.’

But no amount of ‘should have’s’ were gonna change the current situation.

Dabi tried to go up against his old man, the great flame hero Endeavor and got burned. Not that it would matter anyway. He himself did a pretty good job of that in the past. By letting his emotions get the better of him. Trying to impress Enji so he would leave his youngest brother alone. So his little brother would have a chance of a somewhat normal childhood. So that maybe, his father would be proud of him for once.

But Dabi couldn’t have been more wrong. Because of his mother’s genes his body wasn’t able to keep up his flames for a long period of time. Not long enough for Enji to matter, anyway.

The moment he pushed young Touya aside, right into the wall was the moment Touya died. His anger and hurt no longer kept under a lid.

Dabi doesn’t remember much from that moment of his past life. He knows the sky of their garden became engulfed by his blue flames. The heat unbearable and scorching away his skin, inch by inch. He looked as his father tried to reach him, only to be pushed back by the sea of blue. There are nights where Dabi can still hear his mother scream for him to stop before he could hurt himself. Echoes of her pleading for her child’s safety.

And yet here he sits, incarcerated and forgotten by his family. Well, not entirely. He had waited for the perfect moment to reveal himself to his past family again, this time as Dabi. He had to wait for years before the timing was right. But the pure look of terror on his old man’s face was worth every single day he had waited.

‘And by then you already had my chest beneath your boot, just like poor little Shouto once was,’ he snickered to himself.

Luckily for him, Shouto was only a couple of feet away from them. For it was to save Shouto that Enji had attacked Dabi. Fighting together, the two Todoroki heroes went up against the flame quirked villain. With his years of experience it was Endeavor who overpowered Dabi. And as he contained him, Dabi had looked up at him and said:

“What a way to welcome back your dead son, father.”

He had seen the way everything clicked in Endeavor’s head. Every little piece of the puzzle fell into it’s place. The weight of his sins intensifying by the second. He knew Shouto was putting the pieces together for himself too. The boy may look dense, but he certainly isn’t stupid.

But before either of them could come to their senses and ask any questions, the fight was over and Dabi was taken away. Only to be kept waiting here in this shithole of a waiting room, guarded by others, heroes and-

“Ma’am, I have to ask you to-“

“No, get out of my way, now!”

Muffled voices sounded from the other side of the door to Dabi’s right. He turned his head, interested in hearing more of the commotion. Multiple hurried footsteps are coming closer.

“Todoroki-san, you are not allowed-“ the officer outside says.

“I don’t care, I need to see him.”

Todoroki-san? He clearly hears, what he assumes is an officer refer to a female voice. But what business would a female Todoroki have at the station?

The door bursts open and a group of five people come flooding in the waiting room. The guards standing around the remaining League of Villains-members put their attention on the newly entered people. All the heads turn in their direction. His fellow villains are also startled by the commotion. Dabi’s world freezes.

He knows these people. Well, four of them, at least. Or used to know, to be precise. They were the ghosts of his past. The people he tried to desperately to forget. The people who once loved him. But why the fuck are they here? Why the fuck would they be here to look at his sorry ass?

A woman, the oldest of the two females, pushes the officer that tries to stop her out of her way. Her pewter grey eyes are overflowing with tears as she rushes over to Dabi’s recoiling form. She throws her arms around him and pulls him tightly against herself. She sinks to her knees and pulls him along down with her. Her chin rests on his shoulder as her cries grow louder by the second.

“It’s you! It’s really you, Touya. Oh my boy, it’s really you!”

Touya. She called him ‘Touya’. His old name rings in his ears. Too shocked to look at the other worried faces of his siblings, his cerulean blue eyes slowly glance over the woman holding him. The woman who has held him so many times before in his past. The woman who carried him for nine whole months with her every second of the day. The woman who blew all his scary nightmares away with a kiss on his head at night when he was a child.. The woman who had mourned for years after her husband told her their first born son had passed away.

His mother Rei is finally holding her son after all these years.

“Wh-what are you do-doing here?” he manages to get out. His breathing becoming rapid and shallow. Hyperventilation setting in as Rei refuses to let go of him.

“Shouto told me, he told me how you fought with him,” she cries, “He told me how you-… how your… he told me you were alive!”

Her tears are slowly wetting his entire shoulder. Her hands tremble as they desperately hold onto his soot covered coat. Her entire body shocking with her sobbing.

Then he finally looks back at the others. The guards are trying to hold back a tall, young man with the same show white hair and pewter grey eyes as their mother. The young man doesn’t budge a single step, a furious look on his face. Behind him a young woman, no younger than a year or two than Dabi himself. Her hair white like melting icebergs with some lava colored tips and her charcoal grey eyes. Scared, but determined she tells the officers that they all have the right to see their brother. He knows they are Fuyumi and Natsuo, the younger sister and brother Enji never bothered to care for.

A familiar mop of half white-half read hair is a little farther behind them. Shouto looks down at the floor and Dabi can’t tell if it’s because he’s angry, or hurt, or ashamed. Hell, it could be all three.

But none of the other people in the room mattered. He tunes out the questions of his comrades, the arguing of his family and the guards, the fast and heavy beating of his own heart. All he can hear now are the strangled cries of his mother.

Softly, so softly only Rei can hear, he asks: “How did he figure it out?”

Sniffing through her words, Rei says: “After they took you away, Shouto confronted your father. He demanded to tell him the truth. Eventually he told him everything; how the fire department didn’t find your body in the ashes of the fire. How he lied to all of us, saying you were too badly burned to see. How he always wondered if your ashes were among those of the garden or if you got away.”

Her grip loosened slightly. She leaned back and took a good look at him. His terrified eyes looking back into her own. He’s terrified that this is all just another nightmare. That the warmth of his mother’s embrace will be ripped away again any second.

Her hand comes up to his face. Gently wiping away one his falling tears. Tears? He doesn’t even realize they are rolling down his cheeks. Despite both their quirks, the feeling of her fingers tracing over his scarred skin are hotter than any of his flames ever felt. He can almost feel the love and sorrow in her touch. A love only a mother can give to her son.

Never in all these years he spent apart from his family would he ever dare dream of seeing her again. Because he knew what happened after his supposed ‘death’. He knew that Rei finally broke over all the neglect and abuse their family had to endure at Enji’s hands. Their family was ripped apart, torn to shreds. Even if they did stitch all those pieces back together, he had accepted the fact that he would never be a part of the Todoroki-family again.

But here they were; the members of his past family he used to love so much. They were standing here in front of him. Demanding they get to see him, Dabi or Touya, that didn’t matter. They were standing up against all these guards and officers just to see him.

His hands try to reach out and hold his mother the way she is holding him. To feel her presence in his hands again. But he’s reminded of the cuffs around his wrists. He tugs at them, trying to break out of them. But these wretched things are keeping his hands locked together. His struggles become more desperate. He just wants to hold Rei.

He whips his head to one of the guards and yells at them. “Get these fucking cuffs off of me!”

“No way, villain,” the guard curtly replies.

“JUST LET ME HOLD MY MOTHER, DAMMNIT!”

Hands cover his own and he looks back at Rei. “Ssh, ssh… It’s okay, I’m not going anywhere,” she gently coos at him.

Slowly, she lifts his hands over her head, so that he can hold her now. His body stiffens once again. This really had to be a dream, right? There was no way in Hell he’s able to hold his mother again. It couldn’t be. As far they all knew, he was dead. Todoroki Touya was dead. Dabi was just another villain. And no one would ever know the secrets he keeps locked in his heart. He knows that giving in now would mean that dream would come to an abrupt end. He didn’t want it to end.

But the look in Rei’s eyes is real and so is the rest of her. Realizing this, he immediately clings onto her. A little clumsy, but he’ll take it for now. Even if it’s just for this moment, all he wants to do is to close his eyes and his mother embracing him back. And so she does.

The air is getting hotter. Heavy footsteps are coming closer. Natsuo’s voice calling out: “What do you think you’re doing here?!”

Both Rei and Dabi are looking to see who Natsuo was talking to. The feeling of a sweet reunion quickly slips away and is replaced by a building rage. But before Dabi can make a move towards Endeavor, who’s stepping into the room, he’s held back. Back by the arms of his mother.

The tension is cold. Rei’s staring daggers at the father of her children. Natsuo moves in front of his younger siblings, also held back by Fuyumi. Shouto stands in front of Enji to block his path. Endeavor, with all his power, dares to give Rei a sympathetic look. He tries to speak before one of the guards cut him off.

“All right, that’s enough! All of you people! Out!” They move closer to the stand off between Enji and Shouto.

“Rei, listen to the guards,” Enji calmly says, “this is out of our hands. They need to handle this from now on. There is nothing we can do-“

“HOW DARE YOU! HE’S OUR SON!” Rei yells back.

Her words hit a nerve. Enji extends his hand towards his wife.

SMACK!

She smacks his hand away. A sharp intake of breath from Fuyumi follows. The scene before her eyes; her mother holding their older brother, shielding him from their father. The fury rising in Rei’s eyes hold a force so strong it scares her. Not even Enji made her feel this scared before.

“Don’t you dare touch our children again!” Rei screams out. “Keep your hands off of Touya! Haven’t you hurt us enough?! Our family is torn to shreds by your hands, Enji! MY CHILDREN TAKEN FROM ME BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU DID TO ME!”

Shouto carefully tries to calm his mother down. “Mom, please. Try to calm down.”

“No! For too long I’ve let him destroy our family, let him hurt you! He-…. Because of him…. HE MADE US BELIEVE TOUYA WAS DEAD! DEAD! HE TOLD ME WE HAD LOST OUR CHILD!”

She can’t stop. Not anymore. After all these years Rei couldn’t hold back all the pain Enji had caused her. The pain he inflicted on their children. The way his behavior broke her. It had made her hurt her youngest son too. The neglect by his hands had made it impossible for her to see her children properly grow up.

Calmer now, she continues: “Of all the things you have done to us, I don’t know which one is the worst. But I do know one thing. And that’s that you can’t keep me from my children any longer. You will no longer stand in the way of my children’s future.”

The hate she directs to Enji… It was clear to him that she didn’t want him around any of them. Maybe just for now. Maybe forever. In trying to face his past, he accepts this outcome.

His shoulders sag and he turns around to walk out of the door.

“Everyone, you need to get out-“

“I will not leave my son,” Rei interrupts the guard.

They look at her and the young man she’s holding close. They sigh and tell her that only she is allowed to stay here. All the others still need to leave the waiting room. Toga and Mr. Compress will be taken to their interrogation rooms. One guard will stand outside of the door. For now, they respect her wish to be alone with Dabi.

When the door is shut close, they both look at each other. Unsure of what to say next. The loving look Rei gives Dabi makes him feel all different kinds of emotions.

Ashamed, for becoming a villain. Vulnerable, ‘cause he feels like she can see right into his soul. Angry at himself, for not coming to visit her in the mental hospital sooner. Relieved, for only a mother can see past all the shit he’s done in his life and still love him.

“I’m sorry, I guess… For not showing up these past years,” he says as he looks down to the ground.

“Don’t be. I understand,” she says.

Her hands cup his face and pull him up to look at her face. A sad smile decorates her lips. Fresh tears forming in her eyes.

“All that matters right now is that you’re back. I missed you so much, my sweet boy. So much, you can’t even imagine.”

But he could. In his dreams he would see her, with all his siblings. Even Enji would be there, only in Dabi’s dreams he was the loving and kind father every child wants and needs. In his dreams they were a happy family. He has longed for that family for as long as he can remember. He still does. Somewhere deep inside of him there’s a part that wants nothing more than to erase all that has happened and just start all over.

He missed Rei just as much as she missed him.

Throwing his face in the crook of her neck, he lets out a forceful and loud cry. “I-I missed you t-too, mom! I missed all of you! I’m so sorry for everything, mom! Please, believe me!”

Her hands comes up to softly pet his hair. Making reassuring sounds to calm down her crying child. His body now completely on the floor with hers. Gently rocking him back and forth.

“I believe you, I do.”

“Please don’t hate me! Please, I’m so sorry! Mom… please don’t leave…”

“I’m not going anywhere. You may be all grown up now, a handsome and strong man. But you’ll always be my sweet little boy, Touya. I’ll never leave you again.”

Her words are a binding promise. A vow to Dabi, a vow for him to regain the name Todoroki Touya. Filled with love and protection. Never would she hurt her children again, any of them. Rei will fight for her family. Starting with the crying man in her arms.

They stay right there. In this world that felt too big for them, they felt so small. A small space for a mother and son to hold each other close.

She’ll always be there for her family.

Tagged: @reinawritesbnha / @mrsreina @thots4daze / @kzombi3 @aizawascumslut @hipster-merchant-of-death @strawbirb @ravenfeet222

[morgana-ren]

Yoooo! If you’re still taking requests, can I get a Short where maybe a “mom friend” member of the league takes care of them, and it’s super fluffy and cute? Shiggy or Dabi would be great!

Oh man, while I’m super happy to get a request for some fluff, I’m SUPER bad at it, so I apologize in advance for that. Also, the timeline here is SUPER fucked up. I’m not caught up on the manga, but for my idea to work, Kurogiri is gone and they’re living in an abandoned building together. Magne is there, because I love her. I don’t know if all 3 of those go together, but they do here. I tried my best! I hope it’s okay! I went with the shigman cause I’m still learning Dabi.

“Oh, I’m so hungry! How much longeruntil it’s done?” Magne whined, clutching her stomach. A deep frownsettled on her face, eyebrows hiked up high on her face as she eyeddown the stew pot that was currently settled over a large fire. “Iswear I could eat a horse!”

“It smells so good too!” Togamused, twirling a small blade between her deft fingers. She satcasually on a dusty sofa with a pleasant expression, but it wasevident with the way she kept running her tongue over her fangs andstaring longingly at the pot just how starved she really was.

You gave them both a small smile,lightly tapping a small vial of spice into the mixture as you stirredit. “It’s almost done. The meat is nearly cooked, and I promiseit’ll be worth the wait when you taste the vegetables. They were alittle stale, so it’s better to let them absorb all the flavor.” 

“You two should be more gracious. Their cooking is farbetter than anything we’ve scavenged or stolen in weeks.” Mr.Compress chided them, gesturing at the pile of discarded wrappers inthe garbage can. “There is nothing quite like a home cooked meal,and I, for one, am eternally thankful.” He bowed deeply at you,ever theatrical. A small flush washed over your cheeks, andyou raised a hand and scratched the back of your head in slightembarrassment. “It’s nothing really. I wish I could make somethingbetter for everyone, but I was only able to acquire a few packs ofmeat, and I had to throw out a lot of the vegetables we stole. A lotof them had already gone bad, but I was able to salvage enough thatthis should feed everyone, at least for today. I’ll figure somethingout for the rest of the week, though. Don’t worry.”

“I miss Kurogiri.” Spinner sighed,head cradled in his hands as he sat in the corner. “There wasalways food at the bar.”

Your spirit fell a little at hiscomment. You’d tried to take up the role of caretaker to the Leaguein Kurogiri’s absence. You knew you weren’t him, and you didn’t havethe connections or the experience he had, but you were trying. Thingshad been a nightmare for them lately, and it was taking a toll.They’d been reduced to raiding garbage cans or stealing to feedthemselves, and the makeshift hideout definitely didn’t have the samecomfort level that the bar had.

You had done your best to make itsomewhat homey, putting together a team effort to scavenge for bedsand basic comfort items. With a little help, you had even managed torig up some plumbing and electricity so that everyone could stayclean and have light. It wasn’t great, but it was the best you coulddo under the circumstances.

“You all sure complain a lot forvillains.” Dabi had stretched out on a ratty sofa with multicoloredcushions, arms crossed behind his head. “You act like you’ve neverbeen homeless before.”

He seemed the most indifferent to thesituation. Going with the flow, sleeping on beds, sofas, or mustyfloors with little to no complaint. He ate when there was food, andslept when there wasn’t. You assumed that living like this wasnothing new to him. Sometimes he disappeared for hours on end,returning at absurd hours of the night with his clothing singed andashy and smelling of death. You never asked what he did.

“It’s pathetic.” He continued. “Ifyou fall apart every time things get a little rough, you’ll nevermake it, and you might as well leave.”

The room fell quiet, contemplating hiswords. Was the pain of hunger, discomfort, and dirt enough to breakthe spirit of the League?

“Dabi is right!” Toga broke thesilence. “Things aren’t so bad! Let’s quit being such downers!”She jumped up from her spot, smiling as she began spinning excitedlyaround the room. Twice winced, pushing himself further into the wallto avoid her blade which was slicing the air as she made her wayaround the immediate area. After a few seconds, she slowed to a stop,staring at you with a loving yet deranged expression as she tappedthe hilt of her weapon with her finger. “I still wish you wouldhave let me cut up the meat though!”

“Himiko, that blade killed a manyesterday, and I’m fairly certain you haven’t cleaned it.” Youshook your head, stirring the pot some more, prodding at the meat.

Pouting, her shoulders shrugged downand her arms dropped to her sides. “It would have given it moreflavor.” A few people around the room gave a disgusted sound, andshe scowled at them in turn.

You chuckled, tapping the spoon on therim a final time. “It’s ready, grab a bowl and come and get some!”

The League lined up excitedly,snatching whatever dishware they could find and hungrily grabbing atthe pot. Everyone with the exception of Dabi, who sauntered overslowly, maintaining his facade of nonchalance. He slowly grabbed thelast bowl and lazily filled it with the stew, taking a few moments tolet it simmer before dipping his fork in.

For a few moments, the room was filledwith the sound of people eating, devouring the meat and vegetablesand slurping down the juices left over. It brought a smile to yourface to see your companions so content, and the atmosphere wasnoticeably lighter as they ate. The cacophony of growling stomachsslowly died down, and everyone settled into a temporary state ofcontentment.

“Oh! It’s so good!” Toga yelled,gulping down the remainder of her bowl. “I’’m so happy you’re mybest friend!” She chucked her bowl into the sink and skipped overto you, giving you an overwhelming bear hug. You hugged her backtentatively, careful to avoid the extremely sharp blades that adornedher outfit. “You’re so cute!” Her face started to turn red,grinning wildly as she clung to you. “We could be as close assisters!”

“Careful Toga, you’re getting workedup. Why don’t you come relax?” Twice noted. “Yeah, relax,girl! Calm down or you might explode!”

Reluctantly, Himiko let you go, huffingwhile she returned to her spot on the sofa and began to sharpen oneof her various knives while everyone else finished up the remainderof their meal. Magne was humming happily as she chewed a bit of meat,toying with a vegetable on her fork. Mr. Compress dabbed politely athis mouth with a napkin. Everyone seemed relaxed, even happy, and itfilled you with a sense of warmth.

Spinner his bowl down beside him,swallowing the last bits. “It was really good, thank you. I feel alot better with a full stomach.”

Everyone nodded in agreement withSpinner, giving small words of praise about your cooking. Dabi saidnothing, but turned his head in your direction and nodded, which inDabi language was as good as a hug. An involuntary smile lifted yourlips and you nodded back.

Some time passed, and everyone settledinto their nightly shenanigans. Toga practiced with her knives,yelling incoherently about her various obsessions every now andagain. Mr. Compress performed various magic tricks for Spinner andTwice, who occasionally tried to guess how he did it, to no avail.Dabi slept on the sofa, snoring quietly with his head buried in hisarms. It was like almost every night they had free when they weren’ttraining or plotting, but something felt wrong.

Your head turned upward, toward thestaircase and the room at the top. It was an average door, but thesense of foreboding was palpable. Everyone knew to keep away. Herarely ever left his room, and it was even rarer that you actuallysaw him these days. He had taken the recent events rather hard, andit made him even more volatile and reclusive than ever. He onlyinteracted when absolutely necessary, and it was almost alwayscombative.

“Hey, has anyone seen Shigarakilately?” You asked apprehensively. It took a few seconds for anyoneto answer, no one wanting to voluntarily participate.

“Hasn’t left his room in days. He’sstill sulking.” Dabi muttered, his words muffled slightly by hissleeve.

“Do you know if he’s eaten orshowered or is even alive?” Chewing your lip, you glanced at thedoor again, and then down at the stew pot. There was still food left,and it technically belonged to him.

“There hasn’t been any dishes in thesink, or any new food in our storage, so I would have to assume not.”Mr. Compress crossed his arms, leaning against the wall. A hush hadfallen over the room at the mention of their temperamental leader.Things had always been tense between the League and Shigarki, withhis fits and horrible temper, but he had gathered their respectenough that they followed him. Things had been getting better, andeveryone had almost been getting along, at least until Kurogiri wastaken. Then his mood had plummeted.

You sighed, pressing your fingersacross your nose. You weighed your options, pretending you didn’talready know what you were going to do. Anxiety welled in your gut,and you took a deep breath. There was a million ways this could go,and frankly, none of them looked particularly positive for you.Still, the League was your family, and if you had to take care of itsdysfunctional leader every now and again, so be it.

You quietly picked up a bowl, fillingit with the stew, grabbing some silverware and a napkin while youwere at it. Slowly, you walked towards the stairs, taking a deepbreath before ascending. A few of the League members looked at eachother with worried expressions, questioning your sanity.

“I don’t know if I would do that,dear.” Magne reached out slightly towards you, lip twisted in ananxious grimace “It’s probably best we leave him alone and let himdeal with this on his own time.”

“He needs to eat.” You persisted.“If he won’t take care of himself on his own, then I’ll make him.”It had been meant to come out much more confidently than you had saidit.

Magne exhaled, looking up at younervously, but retracted her hand. You heard Dabi scoff from hisplace on the sofa, no doubt thinking it would be the last time heever saw you due to your own foolishness. Everyone else just glancedaround uneasily. They didn’t think this was a good idea, not at all,but they knew better than to try and stop you.

You crept up the stairs, carefullybalancing the bowl and dishware in your hands. Trying to make aslittle noise as possible, you gently padded toward the door,gathering all your courage to prepare yourself to knock. If youlistened carefully, you could hear him typing away furiously on acomputer and clicking a little harder than you thought was necessary.There was also the muffled sound of a television, but you doubted hewas paying attention to it. Whatever he was doing, he was incrediblyfocused.

You sucked in a breath, swallowing yourfear and bringing your hand down on his door several times. You heardthe knock echo though his room, but his typing never faltered. Afterseveral moments, you tried again, rapping gently on his door. Still,he ignored you, typing manically. You groaned under your breath,re-situating the bowl in your arms. You understood he was technicallyyour boss, but you didn’t appreciate being ignored.

You knocked again, louder and longerthis time. Panic wormed its way down your limbs, taking a hold ofyour gut as you heard the typing stop. You heard an exasperated sighas he angrily pushed away from his makeshift computer station,footsteps approaching. Each one was loud and deliberate, aforewarning that you had irritated him.

His door opened, only just enough thatyou could see a beady crimson eye zero in on you, narrowed inannoyance. He looked even more tired than usual, deep purple bagslining underneath his eyes with a droopy expression and cheekssunken. He made it clear he wasn’t open to conversation, lip curleddownward in a deep scowl, placing his full body in front of the doorso you couldn’t even see inside.

“What?” His tone was agitated anddrawn out, purposely said in such a way that you felt small andinsignificant. You gulped, despite the fact that you were just tryingto help. You were in uncharted waters here, and it was a very realpossibility that this encounter could end with your death.

“I made food.” You managed to say,although it came out meeker than you would have liked. You lifted upthe bowl to show him, and hopefully tempt him into calming. “Ithought you might like some,”

He eyed it suspiciously for a fewmoments before bringing his eye back up to yours. “Did I say I washungry?”

A feral strike of anger burned throughyou. You knew that Shigaraki could be a spiteful little man-child,but you were just trying to help.

“You haven’t eaten in days, boss.”Keeping your tone even was a bit of a chore. “You need to keep yourstrength up.”

He glowered down at you, chapped lipspursing. “Are you implying I’m weak?”

His three fingered grip on his door waswavering, pinky trembling slightly. Whether it was in anger or lowblood sugar, you weren’t entirely sure. “No. That wasn’t what I wassaying at all. I just think you need to eat is all. I promise it’snot horrible.” You held the dish up for him to grab again, hopinghe’d settle down and just take it.

Staring at it for a moment, you noticedhe was swallowing hard. You were hopeful, until in an instant, hiseyes were burning into yours, face sneering. “Leave. You’re pissingme off.”

He slammed the door in your face,almost causing you to fall backward and spill the contents of thebowl. White hot anger simmered in your stomach, crawling up in yourthroat, and your free hand clenched. He might be the leader of theLeague of Villains, but that gave him no right to treat people likethis. For a moment, your common sense was replaced entirely by yourstubbornness.

You could hear him typing again, andthat only made you more angry. Raising your fist to the door, youknocked even harder, practically pounding on the already decrepitwood. He had obviously resounded to ignore you again, because heshowed no signs of answering. After a few more tries, you decided totry a new approach.

“I’ll sit outside this goddamn doorall night if I have to!” You yelled through the cheap wood, knowingfully that if you could hear him, he could likely hear you. “AndI’ll let you know now that I’m a loud sleeper!”

The typing stopped again, and yourbravado fell with it. You heard him push away from his desk, quietlythis time, and approach the door. He opened it more fully this time,leaning on the frame as he stared at you with a look you couldn’tquite place. He was wearing his typical black on black jeans and top,but his shoes were missing. His hair was messy and tousled, as wellas slightly greasy, like he hadn’t brushed it in several days.

“Why do you insist on annoying me?”Surprisingly, there was no trace of anger in his voice, only seemingcuriosity.

“Because…” You tripped on yourown words. Why were you soset on doing this? “You need to take care of yourself. We all do.And if I can make that a little easier, than I will. Even if it meansannoying you.” A blush blossomed on your face. “I’d rather seeyou healthy and annoyed than unhealthy. And if that means you hateme, then fine.”

For amoment so brief that you could hardly justify believing it at all,you swore you saw his face soften. He eyed you, and then the soup inyour hands, letting his gaze fall on it for too long to not betempted. “If I take the damn food, will you leave?”

You nodded, holding it toward him withthe dishware carefully balanced between you pinky and index finger.You kept your vision on your hands as he took it from you gingerly,four fingers wrapped around the rim with his pinky hoveringcautiously. When you brought your face up, you realized he wasstaring at you, red eyes studying you with a practiced detachment.Your cheeks flushed so hard it was almost painful, and you quicklylooked down at your feet, praying he hadn’t seen. What was thatabout?

“I’llbe back in about an hour for the bowl.” You stammered, trying tocompose yourself. “I hope it’s empty.”

Hedidn’t acknowledge you, just shut the door as you turned and walkedback downstairs. Your comrades were surprised to see you unharmed,let alone alive after impeding on Shigaraki’s private time. Dabi hadlaughed, ruffling his hair with his hand as he said “I guess helikes you better than the rest of us.” You weren’t sure if he wasright, but a small part of you had beamed when he said it.

Youbusied yourself the rest of the night taking care of the dishes,making sure everyone had clean towels and leftover clothing that theycould wear if they chose to shower, and cleaning up the debris anddust that littered the hideout. Little by little, it was coming tolook more like an actual homeand less like an abandoned building. Slowly, the group in the frontroom began to dwindle as they went off to bed, the hour growing laterand later. By the time you realized just how sleepy you were, themoon was high in the sky, darkness encompassing the entire horizon.

Youlooked up toward Shigaraki’s room. He had taken the food, there’s noreason he wouldn’t have eaten it. But still, he still had the dish inhis room, and Shigaraki could be very unpredictable. He’d beexpecting you, right? You told him you’d be back. Might as well gograb the dish so that you could wash it and retire for the night.

Youtiptoed up the stairs, trying to move as quietly as you could, butyou weren’t entirely sure why. Stopping in front of his door, youpaused for a moment. Did you just ask for the bowl and leave? Did youtry and make passing conversation? Apologize for trying to strong armhim? How exactly did you handle this? A part of you hoped he wouldjust do what he did earlier and would ignore you knocking.

Younoticed the typing had stopped, so may be he was asleep? Would it berude to knock? It was quite a bit later than you told him you wouldbe by. The sound of the TV was still going, but it was quiet as ithad been earlier. Somehow, absurdly, you felt a lot more anxious thanyou had the first time you knocked.

Youresolved to knock lightly, and if he didn’t answer on the firstround, you’d leave. You could ask him for the dish another time. Yousucked in a breath, and tenderly tapped your fingers on the door. Itwas so soft that even you barely heard it. Chewing on your nail, youwaited for a few seconds before you “decided” that he had likelyfinally settled in and was sleeping. Either that, or he was ignoringyou. You just had hoped that he had eaten first. Either way, youshould probably leave.

As youturned to do just that, you heard a raspy voice from the other sideof the door.

“Comein.”

Okay,now this was unprecedented. What did you do? What was acceptable? Didyou poke your head in? Did you just talk from the doorway? What wasthe appropriate etiquette here?

Clutchingthe knob, you turned it sluggishly, pushing open the weak door andcreeping inside the room as silently as you could. You stoodawkwardly for a few moments, unable to see with only the light fromhis computer shining dimly from the monitor.

“Isaid come in.” Hesounded agitated now. You could hear his voice from a corner of theroom, but you couldn’t see him quite yet. You stumbled over your feetwalking further into his domain, standing with one hand on thealternate elbow, doing your best not to look nervous.

“Shutmy door. I don’t need the idiots looking in.”

Hisrequest took you by surprise, but your body wasted no time complying,pushing it shut with your palm. You stood in the dark, looking aroundrestlessly. Your eyes slowly adjusted to the dreary nature of hisroom, but it wasn’t much help. You could see his room was messy,smelling of must and dusty construction. The windows had been tapedover, and there were piles of black clothes and garbage sitting inpiles across the floor.

“Shigaraki?I came for the bowl, so I can finish the dishes.” You hated lookingso clueless in front of your boss, but a part of you knew he did iton purpose. There was no winning with someone like that. It wasbetter to just play his stupid game. “Could you turn a light on, soI can see?”

He sighed, muttering something underhis breath. He let you stumble around in the darkness for a few moreminutes before you heard a heavy click, and a small light clicked onfrom the corner of the room.

His room was a disaster. Discardedwrappers and energy drink cans were all over his small desk and nightstand, with debris and small pieces of plaster littered across thefloor. Piles of ash were everywhere, things he had disintegrated infits of anger and rage while everyone else had pretended not to hear.He had a large cot he had pushed into the corner that had a smallbundle of dark blankets he was sitting on, head down with his handsin his lap. If he hadn’t been the leader of a villain organization,he would look exceptionally like a young man in the middle of a deepdepression or perhaps a grieving session.

You surveyed the room and tried todecide the best course of action. You couldn’t let him continueliving like this. He was going to get sick. There were entire piecesof wood with rusted nails sticking out just hanging around, and itwas apparent he was living on granola bars and energy drinks.

“The bowl is on the table.” Athin, spindly finger pointed at his desk, just beside his computer.You glanced at him, wanting an official okay before venturing furtherinto his room. He only looked up at you through his thick hair,vermilion eyes emotionless. You nodded at him, making your way towardhis desk and brushing aside the empty wrappers to find the bowl.

When you found it, you picked it up,tipping it from side to side curiously. The contents of the bowl wereentirely gone. Peering around as inconspicuously as you could, youmonitored your surroundings. No wet spots on the floor, no garbagebag he could hide it in. His window was taped shut, so he couldn’tdump it out. You supposed he could have ashed the vegetables and meatbut you weren’t entirely sure how his quirk worked on waterysubstances. From the looks of it, he had actually eaten it. It wasthe only real meal of yours that you had seen Shigaraki eaten sinceyou’d known him.  

It surprised you that he hadactually eaten it, though you weren’t sure what you had expected,honestly. Maybe for him to leave it full out of pure spite or to justdump it on the floor. He didn’t seem to have a problem with a mess.You peered back at him, curiosity overwhelming your better senses.You found that his gaze was focused on you still, eyes droopingsleepily, but still alert somehow. He kept his vision steady as youturned to face him. His attention felt so invasive somehow.

“You actually ate it.” Younoted, holding the bowl in your hands and lightly gesturing to it.

Scowling, he huffed a harsh breathof air and crossed his hands over his chest. “You thought I’d wastemy time making some scheme to rid of soup?”

“I just wasn’t sure you wouldactually eat it. I know it’s not Kurogiri’s, but-” You cut yourselfwhen you noticed his eyes yank from yours, flashing dangerously atthe mention of Kurogiri. “I hope it was at least wasn’t awful.”

He stared down the wall, arms pulledtightly to across his midsection as if he was chilly. You knew hewanted you to leave, to be left alone, but something in youpersisted.

“Hey, I just got a fresh load oflaundry back from the laundromat and everyone is asleep.” Yousqueaked out, unsure how he would react. You saw him cock an eyebrowunderneath his bangs. He probably wondered what the fuck you werebabbling about. You knew you should leave, it was safer that way, butyou kept going. “If you wanted to, you could shower in peace. Iknow you probably don’t want to be bothered.”

Every self preservation instinct inyour body was screaming at you to go.You were really digging now, inviting yourself into a territory whereyou had no business. Still, your feet stayed planted to their spot,facing him, unable to leave until you knew you had done everythingyou could.

He moved his head back to face you,bringing his palm to his eye and rubbing harshly as the other honedin on you. He seemed like he had no idea what the hell you weretrying to do, and truth be told, you didn’t either. He seemeddistrustful, like he thought you had an ulterior motive or maybe youwere trying to trick him somehow. The skin around his eyes tightened,the small cracks of flesh doubling over themselves as he glared youdown.

“It’s just an offer, I thought-”You paused, trying to compose your words in your head. Nothing wasforming in your head, not as his bloodshot eyes bore into you and youfelt a deep swell in your stomach, the feeling of which you couldn’tquite name. Something in your chest ached as you looked despondentlyback at him. “I thought you might want to bathe in privacy. If youwant, you could-” You stammered again. “I know you’re busy andit’s hard and-”

You took a deep breath. You weren’tsure how you wanted this to go, but you knew this wasn’t it.Embarrassment made your cheeks tingle, and you wanted to run. He wasstill staring at you passively, equally as confused as you. You hadto say something.

“If you wanted to shower orsomething, you could. When you’re gone, I could pick up some of thestuff in here. I know you probably don’t have time, being the leaderand all. Anything I can do to help. I just want to make things easieron you. If you’d let me do that for you, I’d feel a lot better.”

You gulped down, preparing for whatwas about to come. He was going to start yelling, asking you if youthought he was incompetent or unable to take care of it himself.Stomp towards you and demand why you thought you knew better than hedid at how he should live. Maybe even kick you out of the League, andat worst, turn you to ash. You closed your eyes, preparing.

It never came.

You felt his shoulder brush past youas he left the room, stalking down the hall. He had left you alone inhere. Was he that angry? Did you drive him out of his own sanctum?Had he gone for a walk and when he got back he would turn you to dustand keep you in a plastic bag to warn everyone else of the dangers oftrying to boss him around?

Your thoughts halted when you heardthe pipes creak and the shower turn on from the other room. Had heactually taken your offer? You two were the only ones awake at themoment, so it must have been him. Panic struck you, and you realizedyou were alone and completely unsupervised in Shigaraki’s room. Hisroom. His room that you’dpromised you’d clean.

You quickly put down the bowl andwent and snatched a garbage bag from downstairs, picking up all thewrappers and cans placed around the room. Breaking down the decrepitplanks and placing them in as well, alongside the random debris andplaster that littered the floor. You didn’t feel comfortable enoughtouching his computer, but you lightly organized all of the randomknickknacks around it that he’d taken from various places, as well asthe piles of video games and movies he’d stolen that were tossed onthe floor. All of his laundry was scooped up in your arms and placedinto bags which you would take to the laundromat tomorrow, and youmade a mental note to steal some hangers for all the sweatshirts andlong sleeved shirts he had. You opted to not touch Father or any ofhis ‘family’. That was too daring, even for you.

You weren’t entirely sure when itcame to his bed. It was such an intimate place, somewhere you knew hefound sacred. Even standing close to it, you could smell his naturalscent, and that unsure feeling came back again. You resolved to makeit as best as you could without disrupting his nest, just in casethat’s how he slept. However, the season was turning cold, and thethin, ratty blankets he had probably wouldn’t be enough to keep himwarm.

You’d managed to keep a stash ofblankets you’d 'acquired’ for the League for colder days hidden away,and you grabbed a small, dark, fuzzy one for Shigaraki. He wasprobably cold but too damn proud to ask for a something. Bringing itinto the room, you placed it among his heap, in hopes he wouldn’tnotice. You ruffled it in an attempt to make it look natural. Withany luck, by the time he noticed it, he wouldn’t care to mention it.

You were just placing the finishingtouches on his room when you heard the pipes silence and the watershut off. He’d be back soon. You scurried around, picking up anyspare garbage and organizing in a flurry, looking for anything youforgot. Your heart was racing, pumping blood into your ears andspiking your adrenaline, but you weren’t sure why. Were you really soafraid of him? Or was it something else? You tried to shake thethought.

You heard his door squeak, and youturned to greet him. However, the wind was knocked from your lungsand almost dropped you clean to the floor. Shigaraki was standing inthe doorway in nothing but a towel, held up by four of his fingersaround his bony hips. His shaggy periwinkle hair fell down around hisface, small droplets of water falling off onto his chest. His palebody was covered in scattered scars, ranging from long and jagged tosmall and round, placed variously around his lean torso and arms. Youimmediately turned from him, feeling as if you violated himsomehow.“Sir-Boss-I-” You stammered, unable to get asentence out. “I-just-finished-I’m-sorry-I-didn’t-mean-to-” wasall you could really manage.

“I didn’t have any clean clothes.”He whispered, almost sheepishly. He pulled the towel up a littlefurther along his torso, likely feeling exposed.

“Oh!” You slapped your handagainst your forehead, feeling foolish. “I think I have some fromthe last load. Let me check really fast!”

You scurried past him and down thestairs, quickly tearing through the laundry and searching foranything he could wear. You pulled aside a shirt and pair ofsweatpants of his, carefully gathering the rest of his clothing inyour alternating arm and sweeping it together as you tried to stand.You maneuvered it up the stairs, thankful you hadn’t dropped anythingbut unsure exactly what to do when you reached his door. It was stillpartially open, but just barging in felt wrong.

“Um. Boss? I have-”

“Get in here.” His annoyed voicewas back. He didn’t sound happy. You braced yourself.

You entered, kicking the door shutbehind you without prompting. You noticed he was sitting on the bedand the light had been turned off. Unsure of exactly what to do, youheld out the arm with his pants and shirt to him, turning your headaway out of respect. “Here, boss.” Without thinking, you startedwaving the clothing around like a toy for a pet. “I hope thesework. I have all your other clothes here too. I promise I’ll get therest done tomorrow.”

He yanked them from your grip, andshortly after, you heard his towel drop. Another involuntary blushbloomed on your cheeks. The sound of the fabric rustling as hedressed himself filled the room, but all you could hear was theheartbeat in your ears. It seemed like an eternity until he wasdressed.

After enough time had passed, youfinally brought yourself to speak. “Where would you like the restof your clothes?”

“Just throw them in the corner.”

You slowly turned around, notingthat he was fully dressed now and sitting on his bed, controller inhis hand and booting up a game. You shuffled over to a corner of theroom, dropping his clothes unceremoniously on the floor. He saidnothing as you did so, ignoring you in favor of his game. You smiledsoftly, watching his still wet hair cling to his face. He stillneeded to sleep, but you felt much better about his state now.

Before you turned to leave, youtried to memorize the scene. He was clean, well fed, and at least alittle more content, you hoped. His room wasn’t awful, and maybe he’dsleep a little better if it felt a little more like home. Yeah, youweren’t Kurogiri, but you could look after them as best you coulduntil he returned. You opened your mouth to say goodnight.

“Stay.”

Your brows furrowed. Were youhearing things?

“What?”

“Can’t you hear? I said stay.”He wasn’t looking at you, but you were absolutely sure you’d heardthat. You stayed, feeling petrified and looking at him as if he hadgone crazy. His eyes met yours again, then turned down briefly to thespot beside his on the bed before returning his attentions toward theTV.

You were frozen. Had he really askedyou to stay? Did you imagine that? You stayed in your position infront of the door. You didn’t dare move.

“Boss, did you want meto-”

“Don’t make me ask again.” His gaze didn’t turnfrom the TV this time. He was asking you to stay. You hadn’t imaginedthat.

You slowly walked toward his bed,pausing for a moment. Did he want you to sit next to him? Did he wantyou to sit on the floor? What was he asking? Why were youoverthinking this?

He turned and gave you an irateglare, large hand removing itself from the controller to point to thespot next to him. You immediately sat beside him this time, adjustingyourself accordingly as the bed groaned and creased your weight andbrought the two of you closer than you originally intended. Your skinfelt hot as it rubbed against him. You’d never been this close to himbefore. The wetness from his hair dripped onto your shoulder, and youcould smell him now, his natural scent mixed with the soaps from theshower.

His eyes were on you again, sendinga shiver down your spine as his cold hand passed you the controller,fingertips purposely brushing against yours.

“Do you play any video games?”