Dabi has been avoiding the little girl Toga picked up.
He knows he shouldn't but he is.
He didn't even need to be told about her past, he can see it. She's quiet, too quiet. She surprises Shigaraki half the time she walks up to him which is as entertaining as it is upsetting. She figured out where all the creaks in the floor were in under a week and she never steps on them. She hops lightly over the third stair from the bottom that always groans under any kind of weight.
He knows why because he does too. Not always, and he doesn't hop, but somewhere inside the instinct to keep quiet still screams at him on his worst days.
He shouldn't be avoiding her, he can see how she looks at him. She knows he's avoiding her and doesn't know why. He doesn't want her to think that he doesn't want her around or worse, that he's angry with her.
He can't stop doing it though. She's so small and she just... she reminds him of Shouto.
Touya was angry to cover up his fear, he yelled and cursed and fought to hide the fact he wanted to flinch every time he saw his father coming towards him.
Fuyumi buried her feelings deep inside and tried to mediate and placate, clinging to the false hope that things might get better if only she were better.
Natsuo was angry too, but it was not rooted in fear so much as frustration. Frustration at being left behind as a failed son not even worthy of a glance.
Shouto cried at first, he was scared and he didn't understand. But that soon gave way to blank expressions and careful silence. Touya can't remember if Shouto ever smiled in the months before he left covered in burns and hatred.
Maybe it's the hair, maybe it's how small she is, maybe it's the way she looks at him with curiosity but not fear. Dabi just can't stop thinking of the little boy who thought the best of him, even though he never deserved it.
He shouldn't have left.
He keeps reminding himself there was no choice, it's not like he wanted to burn that badly and spend months recovering. He couldn't stand another second in that house. The thought of going back sent him spiraling every time he thought of it, it still does. Touya was a coward and so is Dabi, leaving his little siblings alone and afraid to face a monster. Leaving Shouto the sole recipient of their father's attention.
So he's been avoiding her and the rest of the league. He's bullied his latest recruit into hanging out and letting him stay over in his fancy apartment.
Weird development but they actually get along really well?
It's actually been getting kinda strangely domestic? Dabi really doesn't know how that happened but one minute he's announcing his new residency to a protesting top hero and the next minute he's doing most of their meals and shopping because Hawks clearly doesn't know what a balanced diet is and they're arguing about what temperature to keep the apartment.
An unfortunate side effect of living together is that his roommate now knows him well enough to know he's avoiding something and starts harassing him until he talks... and then laughs at him when he finally cracks because Dabi avoiding a small child is apparently the funniest thing the idiot could conceive of. He's not scared, it just bothers him.
So then they have to have a conversation about her being abused and how it brings up some unfortunate memories. It's the most emotionally vulnerable Dabi's been in years even though his explanation basically amounts to an incredibly stilted "my dad was an asshole, her dad was an asshole, I don't know what to do about that."
Apparently Hawks also had an asshole dad? Who knew? So many terrible parents these days! Hawks doesn't take him up on his offer to kill his dad for him which sucks, his dad's probably easier to get to than Dabi's, it could be a fun warm up. They could bond.
Unfortunately, he can't kill someone when he doesn't have a name or description for his target other than "asshole" so he lets it be. The offer also tragically fails to distract Hawks from the larger issue of avoiding the little kid.
So, here he stands awkwardly shuffling into the hideout mid-morning and hoping everyone's sleep schedule is as fucked as usual.
Eri, he's pretty sure that's her name, is sitting at the bar and munching on cereal. She's alone, which is ideal, but also means he has no excuse to put off the conversation any longer. He sits next to her and tries not to cringe at how surprised she looks by that.
"Hey..." Fuck he did not think this through at all.
"Hello, would you like cereal?"
"Ah, no thanks..." You know what, this is humiliating. Dabi should just fake his own death again.
They sit there in awkward silence, or maybe not, is Dabi the only one feeling awkward? He can't tell.
"I... wanted to... talk..." Nice, that was great. "I've been avoiding you, and that's not fair because it's not your fault." Do not set the child on fire Dabi. "You remind me a lot of someone I knew once... and I... don't like to remember them... but I don't want you to think I hate you or something." He glances down at her and she looks back up at him with serious, contemplating eyes.
"ok, do you want me to leave so you aren't sad anymore?"
"What? No! I'm not, I'm not sad." This is awful.
"Oh, I thought you were."
"I know you noticed me avoiding everyone and I didn't want you to think it was your fault."
She nods decisively.
"That's very nice of you."
He splutters. Dabi is not nice but he doesn't feel like listing his numerous crimes would be a good choice here.
"It's just- Chisaki was kinda your dad right?"
She shrugs, much more tense than before.
"I'm not gonna ask but my sperm donor was mean, like, really awful and I had a little sibling once and you remind me of him and... I don't know... I just left them."
It feels like she's staring into his soul. He has to look away.
She turns back to her cereal, completely soggy by this time. It doesn't look like she minds.
"I forgive you." She says decisively, "Himiko keeps telling me it's not my fault Chisaki hurt me and I'm not cursed so it's not your fault either." As an afterthought she adds. "You're also not cursed."
She pats his hand comfortingly, careful to avoid the staples.
"Can we be friends now?"
"Sure kid."
"Cool," he watches as she finishes her cereal and stands on her tiptoes to try to set it in the sink. He intercepts before she can break anything, they really need to get her a stool or something.
"Can you braid my hair?"
It's soothing to sit on the couch and braid her hair. He's good at it, Fuyumi had much shorter hair but she liked it up sometimes and for some reason liked to bug him to do it. He was bad at first but she never seemed to mind. He lets his mind wander, not wanting to think about her for long. They need more eggs and soy sauce later and the detergent is getting low. He's been meaning to get more blankets to help alleviate the ongoing thermostat debate too. He should probably introduce Eri to the winged menace, eh, he'll get to it.