"You've been gone forever! I don't even miss you! Come back!"

Cuddling a pillow to my chest, I smiled whilst holding the phone to my ear, watching Dabi stoke the fire I had insisted we light without the use of his quirk.
"Jin, it's only been a few days. We'll be back before you know it. How's everything going back there?" I asked, hoping that things were the same as usual.

"Absolute shit, if I'm honest. It's great! Hawks took me for a fly around the grounds before we did some more study on the history of Destro! It was terrifying!" He sounded so excited about his new friend, but the thought of the number two hero made me feel kind of sick. He hadn't exactly shown he was against us, but the feeling just wouldn't go away.

"Give me the damn phone, you sock head!" Another familiar voice on the other end was followed by crackles and scuffling sounds, and I waited patiently for it to end. "(Y/N)! Spinner threw my helmet off the balcony and it got a dent! I'm being bullied and it isn't fair!"

Even over the phone, I could tell Mustard was growing up, despite his childish topic. His voice had gotten deeper, and it made me feel happy. We were all growing, in our own ways.
"I'm sure he didn't mean it, Hisoka. But...you didnt hear it from me...I heard his weakness is his limited edition Z-box controller skin..."

Dabi moved to plop down next to me on the couch, dragging me into his lap and nodding towards the phone in a silent way of telling me to wrap it up.
"So...Dabi hasn't been all over you, has he..? I'll kick his ass if he has been. You deserve to be treated proper, and he just looks like a big, patchy pervert..."

Snickering, I glanced to the man in question, who had heard exactly what had been said. In response, he slipped his hand up beneath my shirt, grazing his fingers against the skin of my stomach.
"I promise, he's been treating me like a queen. So, any news on Tomura yet? Do we know when he's set to come back?"

Shigaraki had been dwelling in the back of my mind lately. I worried about whatever he was doing, and whether he would return the same. It was strange. I felt like I had to be by his side to protect him, but at the same time there was a voice that was telling me to keep my distance. Everything I felt about that man was a mess.

"No idea, but hopefully soon. I'm sick of just sitting around waiting for something to happen." Mustard replied, popping his lips against the receiver, which caused a little feedback. "So, are you sure Dabi isn't being too full on? You can come back any time you want, y'know..."

Before I could respond, Dabi plucked the phone out of my hand and pulled it to his own ear, maintaining eye contact with me the entire time.
"You might wanna look into getting a wheelchair ready. She might not be able to walk so well once I'm done with her."

My cheeks burned hot as he hung up and squeezed me tighter, dropping it beside us on the couch cushions.
"T..Touya! He's a baby! You can't say that stuff to him!" I tried to scold him, but it came out as more of a nervous laugh, wondering if he had really meant it or not.

"Once Kurogiri gets broken out, we'll get him to give the brat the talk. Well overdue. Ain't letting you do it, cuz the little shit's already crushing hard." Sighing, he flopped us over so we were spooning, nuzzling into the back of my neck.
"You're just jealous of anyone else who gives me any kind of attention." I chuckled, tangling my legs with his.

"And? You saying you don't like me being protective?" He questioned, though I knew he already knew the answer.
"Of course I do." I murmured, smiling as I relaxed in his arms. "Speaking of Kurogiri...I miss him. Did we know when we're gonna try and break him out? It's gotta be soon, right?"

There was a bit of a silence after my question, and I felt Dabi's heart accelerate against my back.
"Don't go thinking you're getting involved with that shit..." He spoke up eventually, though it was something I didn't exactly want to hear. "When the time comes, I want you as far away from danger as possible. You've done more than enough."

I tried to roll around to face him, but he wasn't having it. He had me caged with his arms, legs locking mine in place.
"We've been through this. I'm a part of this, whether you approve or not. I'm not delicate, Touya. I can handle a fight. Besides, I've worked with a lot of the heroes, and studied them at school. I know what to expect."

Mumbling something under his breath, Dabi finally spun me around, rolling to be on top of me, pinning me against the couch.
"That's the problem. You know them." He explained, deadly seriousness all over his face. "What will you do when you come face to face with that bloated ex boss of yours, and the only way to escape is killing him?"

I..I don't...

"Then...I'll have to do it. It's my job..." I replied in a murmur, my voice failing me by filtering out all of my faux bravado. The staples holding the skin of his face together buckled a little as his jaw clenched, ocean eyes trained on mine.

"I don't want you to have to do it." His voice was just barely above a whisper, and his body deflated slightly. "Once you kill someone, that's it. There's no going back from that. No matter how much you think you can handle it, you won't be able to."

Touya...I know that...but...

Reaching up, I caressed his cheek, slowly moving my hand up so it would brush through his raven hair.
"I know I won't...but I'm prepared to try if it calls for it..." Truthfully, I wasn't sure that I could ever kill anybody. I may be able to injure another person, if I really had to, but taking their life? It would break me.

Heaving another sigh, Dabi melted down over the top of me, curling his arms beneath my back and burying his face in my chest, which seemed to be his new favourite place.
"Why are you so damn stubborn, Tenderfoot..?"

Smiling, I continued brushing through his hair, my other hand playing with the bunched fabric of his freshly washed shirt.
"Why are you so cute?" My retort made him snort, the warmth of his air tickling my skin.
"You can't go saying that crap when we get back. At least not in public. I have a reputation to uphold."

Everyone already knows you're soft at heart...

Rolling my (E/C) eyes, I stared up at the high ceiling, the dull crackling of the fireplace doing a grand job at helping me relax.
"You know, people would like you more if you were nicer to them." I mused, giggling as he lifted his face from my breasts, eyes narrowed.

"I don't want any of those fuckers to like me. You're the only person who has permission to like me." He really was a whole different person behind closed doors, and I couldn't get enough of it. Forgetting all of the violence and hatred that filled our lives, I had made the right choice by sticking by him.

"Hey, do you think Tomura is gonna be stronger when he comes back? Like, do you think he could beat the heroes?" I pondered out loud, feeling Dabi shift against me.
"He better be able to. That's the whole reason I'm part of this damn thing. If he can't make Stain's goal a reality, I'm skipping out and taking you with me."

That...wouldn't be the worst thing.

"Then we could move to the country, buy a farm, live off the land..." I released a dreamy sigh, mostly just playing around with my open thoughts. Dabi crawled up a little, lifting his head so our noses touched.
"If we brought your little pet fart along that's free labor." He added with a snicker.

Grinning, I decided to continue with our little fantasy, searching his eyes to try to see if there was any truth behind them. If it was what he really wanted. They were absolutely glowing.
"Actually tie the knot...maybe...start a family..?" We had loosely spoken about those kinds of things before, but I just loved talking about it. It made it seem like a real possibility.

Humming, he edged his face a little closer, shifting so our lower bodies were pressed up against each other.
"Maybe we should practice that last one, hmm? Makes perfect..." He trailed off as he met me for a kiss, no longer tense or bothered by our previous conversation.

Reaching up under his shirt, I giggled softly, welcoming his oral affections as they traveled down the side of my face and neck.
"It's always perfect with you..." I whispered, eager to feel his hand as it began to creep up towards my breast.

That was, until my phone began to ring again.

Groaning in agitation, Dabi slumped down over me, giving up and muttering continual curses under his breath. Moment broken, I had to dig beneath myself for the phone, quickly ripping it out and swiping to connect the call.
"H..hello?"

"(Y/N), you need to get back here. We've got news."

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***Blasted this bullshit out in an hour because I felt bad for making y'all wait so long.

Health? Who's that? Don't know her.

Next Time: Tangled Knots***