"Star?" Zero's voice comes from the doorway.
"Go away." You sniffle, rubbing your eyes in frustration.
"Sorry, I cannot when you're upset. It'd be against Dabi's orders." He says with an apologetic smile.
"Well he isn't here, so it doesn't matter." You huff, scribbling over your drawing angrily with your pencil.
"Star!" Zero exclaims for the first time ever. "Please don't do that!"
"It's bad. Everything's bad." You sniff, flopping onto your side on your bed. "Go away."
"I told you, I can't." He replies calmly. "I bet your drawing is just as good as the others."
"Is not." You argue with your back turned to him.
"Can I come in and see?" He asks.
"It's ruined now anyway, so no." You grumble, wishing he'd just go away.
"I'm sure we could fix it. Most things can be fixed." Zero says optimistically.
"Not always." You mumble.
You couldn't fix mom, because she was gone. You couldn't fix whatever was wrong with your pa that meant he was having more surgeries. You couldn't fix Dabi's work schedule so you could see him more than you were currently, either.
"I'd like to come in and see your drawing, please." Zero requests politely.
You could honestly probably use the company, and Zero, although having creeped you out the first night he'd arrived, was a really calming presence to have around. Everyone seemed to really like him, and tried to spend time with him while he was in their presence. You suppose there was worse company to have at the moment when you were so angry all the time for no reason at all, currently.
"Fine." You huff reluctantly.
There's a moment of silence from Zero, but you soon hear him making his way into your room, and then see him from the corner of your eye crouching to pick up the drawing you'd thrown with an outstretched, stitched up arm. His hair falls from behind his shoulders, shielding his face from you so you can't see whether he thinks the drawing's good or not.
You'd already scribbled it out now, anyway. It was probably hard to tell whether it had been good or not before that.
"This is nice, Star." Zero says, turning to look at you, and tucking his long hair behind his ear and then glancing back down at the artwork. "I can see Dabi, Bubaigawara, Himiko, Spinner and Compress. It feels like..."
He pauses. "It feels comfortable. Happy?"
"It's from Christmas." You say quietly. "I was happy."
Zero nods, looking down again at the paper for a moment before standing and approaching you, crouching opposite you instead and placing the paper carefully on your bed again.
"We can fix it." He says calmly. "Do you have an eraser?"
"I tore it a bit." You reply sadly, pointing at a small hole near the edge of the page.
Zero looks at where you're pointing, still smiling softly like always, before returning his soft, mismatched eyes to yours.
"That's simply because you were frustrated because it wasn't as perfect as you wanted, right?" He asks. "I think Shigaraki will respect that. I've heard stories of when he expected perfection at all times."
You look at him curiously. "It can really be fixed?"
"Of course. With a little time and effort a lot of things can be fixed." Zero nods. "Why don't you get an eraser?"
You nod and sit back up, going through the pencil case Himiko bought back for you one day and passing him an eraser from it. He takes it, and carefully begins to rub at the dark lines you'd scribbled all over the artwork as you watch silently, nervous about whether he really could fix it or not.
"Why are you sad, Star?" Zero asks after gently erasing a decent chunk of the scribble out.
"I miss my dads." You reply honestly, finding a surprising amount of calmness in watching Zero correct the marks you'd left on the page in frustration.
He nods. "You all care a lot about each other. I'm sure they miss you too."
"If they missed me, they'd be here." You argue sadly.
Zero pauses to look up at you, that ever-present soft upward curl of his lips still there. He always seemed so calm and friendly, you wonder how he did it when everyone else in your family was so excitable and expressive.
"Sometimes as an adult, you have to do things that you don't want to do, but you have to do." Zero explains. "I'm sure Dabi would rather be here watching you draw, and that Shigaraki would like to be with you playing your games, too."
Zero looks back down at the page, continuing to work gently on rubbing out the pencil marks.
"But why do they have to?" You ask.
"Responsibility." Zero replies, keeping his eyes on the paper. "To make sure that everyone is looked after and to ensure they're providing and doing the best that they can for everyone else, even if it means they can't be selfish for a while."
"Being an adult sounds like it sucks." You reply sourly.
"It does. That's why it's important you don't grow up too quickly." Zero smiles a little more genuinely as he glances at you. "Everyone is trying to make sure you have the childhood you deserve. Enjoy it."
"Do you like being an adult, Zero?" You ask, leaning your face on your fist.
His face goes blank like it does sometimes, but the soft smile is back in a second anyway. "It's nice now I have you all."
You hum. You could understand that. Even with how mad you were at the moment, you were your happiest in your new home with the family you'd dreamed of having when you were little.
Zero erases the remainder of the hard pencil marks and smiles up at you.
"Now you can continue." He says, his odd eyes almost sparkling.
"Thank you Zero." You say, looking in amazement at the job he'd managed to do on getting rid of the evidence of your frustration.
"Please may I stay here and watch?" He asks, searching your eyes with his.
You nod, more than willing to have Zero's calming influence near you while you attempt to finish the drawing for Tomura a second time.
He grins at you, the act pulling at the stitches running down his cheek.
You return back to your drawing quietly, the only sound in your bedroom that of the scratching of your pencil against the paper as you continue where you had been with your shading as Zero watches the pencil move intently.
"Zero, how come you have all those stitches?" You ask after a while.
"My body was put back together from lots of pieces. Like a puzzle." Zero explains, touching the stitches under his eye thoughtfully. "These won't be forever. Once they're gone, I'll simply have scars instead."
You furrow your brows. Dabi had said something about his jaw not being his jaw once, but you'd assumed it was a lie because he was saying lots of weird things that day. But Zero hadn't lied before that you knew of, and he says it so calmly and genuinely you almost believe him.
"You're a liar." You huff.
"I cannot lie." He replies simply.
"Everyone can lie." You frown, stopping to glare at him.
"I can't. If I lie, it hurts." He responds.
You 'pfft' at him, rolling your eyes and returning to your drawing of everyone at Christmas.
"Liar." You mutter.
"As I said, I cannot lie." Zero replies, unbothered by your accusation.
"Can too! Why would it hurt you to lie?" You lift your eyes to scowl at him again.
"I have an implant in my head, here." He replies, moving his hair out of the way on one side of his head to reveal a small metal piercing-like disc behind his ear. "If I lie, it shocks me."
"But why?" You ask, horrified.
"To prevent me from having too much free will." He says, smiling a little sadly.
"What's that?" You ask curiously.
"The ability to make your own decisions, live your own life, say and do things you wish to, even if it upsets people."
"That's sad." You mumble. "Is that a nomu thing?"
He bows his head in response, letting go of his hair and silently motioning for you to continue drawing.
You do just that, thinking about Zero and the strange implant in his head that stopped him from being able to lie. It made you feel better about the fact he'd said your drawing was nice and that it made him feel comfortable and happy though, knowing he couldn't lie just to make you happy.
You'd never heard of a nomu before, but it made you sad knowing that Zero couldn't live his own life just because he was one, just like when Spinner had told you how badly he was treated growing up just because his quirk made him look like he wasn't human.
You wonder why the heroes weren't stopping all of that from happening, it didn't seem fair.
You keep going until you're almost done, when Zero looks at his watch and pats your hand ever so gently.
"It's your bedtime, Star. Shall I get Bubaigawara for you?" He asks, still crouching by your bed.
You think about it for a second before shaking your head. You wanted a little more time with Zero now you knew a bit more about him and had properly experienced how therapeutic he was to be around.
"Can you put me to bed?" You ask, a little shyly after you'd screamed the last time he was in your room.
He nods, his smile growing a little wider as he uses your bed for leverage to help himself stand back up.
You pack your drawing and pencils away as Zero pulls pyjamas out of the wardrobe for you, handing them to you and encouraging you to brush your teeth while he grabs you a water and your iron tablet.
You usually had cocoa to take away the nastiness of the taste of the iron, but you didn't want to be rude and correct Zero. Cocoa always tastes funny after you brush your teeth anyway.
You wince when you take the tablets with a mouthful of water, earning a sympathetic smile from Zero, and climb into your bed, getting under your covers with the warmed up ducky Zero had done for you while you were brushing your teeth.
He settles by the side of your bed again, his long hair tucked behind his ears so you can see the round softness of his face properly in the dim lighting of your lamp.
"Would you like a bedtime story, or just some company until you fall asleep?" He asks kindly.
"Only Uncle Giran reads me stories." You tell him. "Can we talk?"
Zero nods. "Just for a little while."
"Okay." You agree, going quiet for a moment. You really wanted to talk about this with Dabi, but he was really busy at the minute. "Zero, I have big feelings all the time at the moment."
He nods patiently, waiting for you to continue.
"I get really angry and I don't know why." You admit quietly, feeling a little emotional when you remember how you slammed the door in Uncle Jin's face.
He was okay, and forgave you, but you still feel bad about it.
Zero senses your upset straight away, cautiously reaching for your hand, and smiling a little more when you willingly put your hand in his own stitched hand, curiously running your thumb along the stitches along his palm.
"It could be a few things." Zero replies evenly. "You had a tough time with your mom, right? And Dabi mentioned you had a spell of homelessness. They're scary things to go through at any age, and may make you feel mad or wronged now you're safe."
You listen intently, knowing that Zero seemed knowledgeable and he couldn't lie to you about whether the bad moods made you wrong or not.
"It could also be puberty." He continues, beginning to stroke his thumb over your hand, too.
You'd heard Uncle Jin use that word the other day, but had no idea what it meant.
"What is that?" You ask quietly.
Zero's face goes blank for a split second, his thumb halting too, but the soft smile is back, and he cocks his head slightly at you, his long silver hair shifting as he does it.
"Puberty is when you begin to change into an adult." Zero explains. "It takes a little while to go through it, because your body changes, like hair growing under your arms, or growing breasts and getting periods."
"I don't have boobs!" You deny in embarrassment again, just like you had when Tomura and Himiko insisted you get your first bra.
Zero just smiles kindly at you before continuing. "It's not just that. You might get pimples, or notice that you have body odour. You might even get even taller."
You go quiet again, swallowing your embarrassment. Did he just say you might smell?
"Because that's a lot of changes to go through, sometimes it can affect your mood." He continues to explain. "A lot of people feel grouchy for no reason during puberty. It's normal."
"Were you grouchy?" You ask curiously.
His face goes blank momentarily before he shakes his head. "Sorry, I don't remember."
"But I'm not wrong?" You ask quietly. "For being grumpy?"
"You're not wrong." He reassures you. "You won't be grumpy forever."
"Okay." You breathe. "Thank you, Uncle Zero."
His face shifts momentarily into a look you'd not seen before, but it looks happy. He gives you one of his stitch stretching grins, squeezing your hand gently.
"You're welcome, Star. Is that all?"
You nod, closing your eyes, but not letting go of his hand.
"Goodnight then, Star." He whispers, allowing you to continue gripping his hand as you try to doze off.