"Put your seatbelt on." Dabi says simply.
You pull the seatbelt across your body, clipping it in and kicking your feet slightly while you wait for Dabi to collect himself enough to start driving.
When you'd asked him how he'd learned to drive he was a little avoidant about the issue, especially when you asked him what he was talking about wires for, but he drove slower than Spinner, so you decided it didn't matter how he learned too much.
When you see him move to connect his phone to the car you speak up again.
"Not the shouty music please."
Dabi blinks at you, rolling his eyes soon after and relenting.
"Alright, princess. Kyray Pamyu Pamyu it is." Dabi replies sarcastically.
"What's that?" You ask curiously.
Dabi stares at you dumbfounded for a minute before smirking and giving a single dry laugh.
"Can't kid a kidder, Starshine. I ain't that old." He scoffs, throwing his phone into the center console and starting the car.
"Oh. Okay." You reply, a little confused.
You look out of the window as he begins to drive, watching the giant building that you had been in earlier as you pass it.
You still felt bad for making HakuchÅ sick, even though she said it was okay.
She even said you could be strong one day. The thought's enough to make your cheeks burn from the compliment she gave of your quirk that you still weren't used to receiving praise or compliments on yet.
"So, aside from makin' her sick, did ya get on with her?" Dabi asks as if he can read your mind, glancing over at you.
"She was okay." You reply absentmindedly.
Dabi snorts. "Tha's good I guess. Wars don't break out 'cause someone's 'okay'."
There's a short silence, the radio playing just loud enough to fill it comfortably.
"She say anythin' interesting, hon?" Dabi asks, reaching to stroke your cheek softly.
"Um, not really." You frown slightly as you try to recollect anything that could be interesting. "I think she kisses boys."
"Fascinating, Star." Dabi says, the sarcasm rich in his voice.
"Oh, and Hawks like likes you." You remember.
"What- really?" Dabi chokes a little. "I just thought he was tryin' to sleaze his way in."
"Mhm, that's what HakuchÅ said. But I said 'Mura wouldn't like it."
"You told her about that huh?" Dabi muses, leaning his face on his fist while he drives.
"He wouldn't." You state factually. "Oh, HakuchÅ said you can speak sign language, like for deaf people."
Dabi's lips pull into a thin line. "Mhm."
"How come?" You ask. "Did you know someone deaf?"
Dabi takes a deep breath. "Star, y'know how I struggle to speak properly?"
"You do?" You blink.
You had noticed that he struggled to pronounce 's' words sometimes, but that was about it. You assumed that was because of his stitched tongue, too.
Sometimes his voice was super gravelly after he'd worked all night, too, but you assumed he was just tired and didn't want to talk much.
"When I had these done, couldn't talk for a long while. Hadta learn how to sign." Dabi explains, gesturing loosely at his face.
"How come you couldn't talk?" You ask curiously.
"Little ears." Dabi replies, reaching to pull on your ear playfully.
You huff, you hated when he used that as an excuse not to tell you the answers to your questions.
"When my ears are big I'm gonna ask you so many questions." You grumble.
Dabi hums, falling back into silence as he drives you both back home, to Tomura and the others.
You hum along to the song on the radio, thinking about how long it'd been since you last saw Uncle Giran or went to see the ducks with Dabi.
"She say anythin' weird?" Dabi asks after a while.
"Mhm." You nod. "She told me not to do anything weird with her wings."
"That's weird, I guess." He agrees with a small shrug, looking over his shoulder before turning. "Anythin' else?"
"Yeah." You reply, looking away again, your cheeks beginning to heat up at the mere thought of what she'd asked you about Spinner.
"Well?" Dabi asks, sounding faintly amused.
"She asked me if I touched or kissed Spinner." You reply quietly.
The silence after you say those words is intense, and you swear the temperature creeps higher in the car.
"Can I open the window please?" You ask, turning to look at Dabi, who's jaw is visibly clenched.
"Go for it, Starshine." He murmurs.
You press the button to make the window go down a little, just enough to let some cool air in.
You were glad Dabi didn't tease you about what HakuchÅ said, but you didn't like how quiet he was. It was a different quiet to the kind you two usually could share comfortably with each other.
"Maybe she doesn't know who Spinner is." He finally says. "Maybe she thinks he's a kid like you."
"No, she agrees with you and says he's too old for me." You say, correcting his line of thinking.
"That so?" Dabi replies, his voice cold.
He pauses for a moment before speaking again. "Y'know if a man touched or kissed ya in a way you didn't like or want I'd kill 'em, right Star?"
You nod. "You got mad at Hawks in front of everyone for pulling my arm."
"And I'd do it again, y'hear?" Dabi responds, glancing at you for only a moment, but long enough for you to see how sincere he's being. "Anything to keep ya happy an' safe Starshine. I mean it."
"You're a little scary when you're mad." You inform him.
"Good. Don't want anyone thinkin' they can mess with you." He sighs.
The car pulls into your new home, and Dabi pulls the handbrake, stopping the car and turning to look at you.
"Anyone ever gives you any trouble, any at all, who do you immediately come an' find?"
"You." You reply instantly, and then pause. "Or 'Mura. But only if it's really important because he's really scary when he's mad."
"Attagirl. You know we'll all look after you if you ever need it, yeah?"
"Mhm." You nod.
"I love you Star." Dabi says softly, ruffling your hair..
"Love you too, pawpaw." You reply.
"Good girl. Go on then, I know you're desperate to go an' see Tomura." He chuckles to himself.
You thank him, quickly unplugging yourself and darting off to go and find Tomura within the huge home you now occupy.
It doesn't take long to find him, as he's standing in the room he'd been sleeping in while his leg is healing with everyone surrounding him, lounging in their seats.
You rush to him, hugging his waist as soon as your body makes contact with his.
"Careful." He warns, but places his metal laden hand on top of your head. "Is everything alright?"
"I made HakuchÅ sick, and I hate this outfit." You reply, your voice muffled by his suit.
Tomura looks around as if expecting the others to give an answer about who HakuchÅ is, but gets nothing but blank stares and small shrugs back.
"And why did you make this HakuchÅ sick, Star?" Tomura asks.
"We were playing tag. I didn't know." You reply forlornly.
"Ah." Tomura replies, patting your head gently. "We should have made it clearer you aren't meant to use your quirk when playing with others."
"No harm, no foul." You hear Jin say. "Give 'em hell, kid!"
You giggle, moving your face to look at Jin, who's scratching his masked head awkwardly, Himiko giggling beside him too and nudging his thigh with her foot.
"Let go, Star." Tomura orders gently, and you obey, taking a step back. "Did you apologise?"
"Yes." You reply firmly, holding his eye contact.
"Will it happen again?" He asks.
"No." You reply with a shake of your head.
"Then don't worry about it. Mistakes happen. Consider it a lesson learned." Tomura encourages.
"EXP?" You ask, unsure of the reference he'd used before.
He grins, and Spinner chuckles too, making your face warm up again.
"Yes Starlight. Good job." He replies, tracing the back of his knuckles over your face.
"Also, I tried listening for the men that took me but I couldn't hear them." You inform him, sitting on the arm of one of the settees closest to him.
"Ah, them." Tomura's eyes slide away from yours thoughtfully. "No need to worry about them anymore. I handled that for you."
Dabi wanders in, leaning on the wall with his hand in his pocket, the other holding onto what little was left of his cigarette.
"You did? Did you tell them off?" You ask, eager to learn the details.
"Yes. I told them off. They won't be bothering you again." Tomura replies, folding himself so he can sit on the settee, too.
"Did you fire them?" You ask, turning to face him fully. "Like Imasuji?"
"Oh they got fired, alright." Tomura snickers with a smirk.
Everyone else snickers too, and you look around them in slight awe.
You want to give him another hug, but control yourself enough not to.
"Thank you 'Mura!" You exclaim, only for him to wave you off dismissively like he tended to.
"Go change and I'll decay your outfit for you."
"Okay!" You chime, immediately darting off upstairs to go and get changed with a warning from Dabi not to run on the stairs.
With Giran on your mind, you change into one of Aiko's old jumpers that he'd gifted you while you were still homeless with Dabi. It doesn't smell as strongly of cigarettes as it used to, but there's still the faint smell of comfort there.
You put your pyjama bottoms on and some fuzzy socks that Himiko had gifted you before slowly making your way down the stairs again.
Once you hit the bottom floor you run back to the recreation room with the star leotard in hand, returning back to your place on the sofa's arm and handing it to Tomura.
He seems to make sure you're comfortable before raising his arm and putting down his pinky, his quirk immediately rotting the material, the leotard becoming nothing but ash within mere seconds.
Everyone cheers playfully, and Dabi ruffles your hair playfully as you grin, Tomura allowing all the ash to fall on the floor, wiping his hand on his side carefully to rid himself of the excess.
"While you're all here, I have something to tell you all." He says, leaning back in the chair, and spreading his arms over the back of the couch.
Everyone falls silent, including you, waiting with bated breath for his next words. Dabi absentmindedly begins to play with your hair, feeling like he's braiding it while Tomura gathers his next words.
"As most of you are aware, I've been gifted a certain power from my teacher." He says coolly. "I intend on receiving said gift once my body's healed."
You're not sure what he's talking about, but continue watching as everyone else listens to him.
They all look serious, the cheerful mood that had filled the room mere moments before having turned into a more stern one.
"Kyudai is under the impression that the process could take months. And so I'm trusting you all to take care of things while I'm away."
Dabi's hands pause in your hair, and everyone else falls silent before there's a million questions being asked at once, but you're still trying to process what he just said.
Tomura holds a hand up to silence everyone.
"Re-Destro and Dabi will be leading things. If you all need anything, go to them." Tomura continues in a calm drawl. "If it's an emergency, you know where I'll be. But it's important none of you interrupt if it can be helped."
"You're going?" You ask sadly, finally realising what he means.
"Yes, Star. I'll be away for a few months." Tomura replies, but his eyes seem to be on Dabi behind you.
*â¢*
Dabi wasn't happy. Understandably.
You weren't happy either, but he had disappeared after having a private conversation with Tomura. You tried looking everywhere for him, but you couldn't find him.
Eventually, you found him in a random room within the building, sitting on the windowsill with his legs hanging out of the window.
You had tried to stay with him, but he was insistent that he wanted to be alone.
You decided to try and see if Tomura would play shrines or Mario Kart with you, but he was in a bad mood too, and requested to be left alone for a bit, too.
You just had a question for him before you gave up entirely.
"Can I ask you a question, first?" You ask, but get up from the seat so he knows you won't hang around.
"What is it?" He asks, exhaling from his nose.
"What's a special game?" You ask, thinking about the question HakuchÅ had asked you earlier on that day.
Tomura's eyebrows furrow. "In what context?"
You stare at him blankly for a moment or two before he rephrases his own question.
"Why do you ask, Star?" He asks, a little exasperated.
"HakuchÅ asked me if you had taught me any special games, but I don't know what a special game is." You explain. "I said we play shrines, 'cause I think that's special, but I don't think she knows what that means."
Tomura listens intently, his crimson eyes searching yours as you speak.
"Are there such things as special games?" You ask. "Do you have to be special to play special games?"
"Who's this HakuchÅ girl?" Tomura asks, leaning his face onto his fist, his eyes narrowing.
"Hawks' daughter." You explain.
"Hawks' daughter?" Tomura repeats. "You made Hawks' daughter sick?"
He snorts, a small smirk tugging his lips upward and for a second, you feel accomplished for making Tomura happy when he had been so sour about the argument he probably had with Dabi.
"There's special edition games." Tomura informs you. "You don't have to be special to play them. Maybe when I'm back we can get one. How does that sound?"
You bounce your head excitedly. "Can we get a special shrine game?"
"I'll see what I can do." Tomura promises, brushing his knuckles over your cheek. "If she asks you again, tell her to ask me."
"Okay!" You agree, looking at the exit before turning your attention back to your white-haired pawpaw. "Dabi's sad that you're leaving."
"I know." He replies.
"I'm sad about it too." You say quietly.
"I know, Starlight." He repeats. "Why don't you go play with Twice?"
You don't need to be told to leave twice. That was an extremely tactful way of doing it for Tomura.
You nod before leaving the room, giving Tomura the space he wanted.
Uncle Jin is in the kitchen, smoking like he's not meant to, and reaching for a bottle of whiskey.
"Uncle Jin?" You call, making him startle and almost drop the bottle.
"Star!" He gasps. "Nearly gave me a heart attack. I'm too old for this!"
"Sorry." You apologise. "...You aren't allowed to smoke in here."
"What Shigaraki don't know won't kill him." Jin shrugs, looking over you with soft black eyes. "You okay darlin'?"
"Everyone's grumpy." You explain.
He gives you a sympathetic smile, placing the bottle onto the work surface and crouching, opening his arms for a hug.
You're more than happy to oblige, stepping right into his arms, wrapping your arms around his neck as he wraps his around your torso, making you feel safer and more grounded just for being in his arms.
"How 'bout we go draw some pictures?" He asks, rubbing your back.
"Are you gonna draw people farting again?" You ask suspiciously.
Jin chuckles, kissing the side of your head before releasing you and standing.
"Let yer uncle pour himself a drink and then we can go draw some kittens or something." He says, moving to grab a glass. "Doin' farts!"
"No!" You exclaim dramatically.
"Don't listen to him, he's crazy." Jin tries to soothe. "I'm you! Crazy!"
"My head hurts." You complain.
"Try livin' in here kid, my head hurts too." Jin groans, pouring his drink out.
You wait for him to finish before leading him up to your room, grabbing your sketchbook and pencils, placing them on the floor so you can lay on your front and doodle alongside him.
Together, you sketch out a silly cartoon of bunnies getting into trouble for stealing carrots, even going as far as to create a whole story out of it, even drawing silly police bunnies, too.
It's nice not drawing something serious for once, but you do still miss Uncle Giran and his lessons, too.
"I miss Uncle Giran." You tell Jin thoughtfully as he sips his drink, watching you as you shade in one of your favourite rabbits.
"He misses you, too, love." Jin reassures. "Just ain't done blamin' himself for what happened."
"But it wasn't Uncle Giran's fault." You say, continuing to scribble on the paper.
"Was too!" Jin exclaims, and then clears his throat. "You're right, it wasn't his fault, but he's still beatin' himself up about it."
"Any of us would feel bad if we couldn't stop you from being taken. You know?" He says, trying to catch your eyes. "Good riddance!"
"Hey!" You giggle, shoving him playfully.
He shoves you right back, tickling your ribs until you're squealing for him to get off, rolling around on the floor in an attempt to get free.
And in that moment you forget about the argument between Dabi and Tomura, happy to just mess around with your Uncle Jin and have some fun until it's all better again.