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A dim light was the onlu thing illuminating the bar at this time. It was late, and most everyone had left, everyone except Dabi and Toga.
It was common for him to stay late, something about going to bed early just never sat well with him, especially because he’d just lie there restless for hours anyways. Memories, nightmares, anxiety—things that constantly chewed him up inside would come alive like a flame doused in gasoline in the deadly hours of the night. It wasn’t just he had a normally sluggish personality, it was that Dabi never got enough sleep to move with urgency or a sense of purpose.
Lately, he was being accompanied by the crazy school girl in his inconvenient insomnia.
It had been quiet for quite a while now, which was abnormal for the girl who could never withstand more than five minutes without dropping her two cents. He glanced over to the girl who’d been sitting to the right of him. She rested her head in her arms, her eyes closed but she was far from asleep. Her hair was down for once, and he couldn’t help but find it to be a charming look. Dabi watched her eyes move rapidly under her eyelids for a while, and as if on cue they fluttered open and they were in a deadlock. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t a bit startled.
“Take a picture Dabi~” He didn’t miss the way her words came out slow and slurred, she was probably tired.
“What?” He let out.
“What d’ya mean what? You’re the one starin’.”
Dabi didn’t respond, he only huffed lightly, turning away from her. He focused on the wall for a moment before not being able to resist the urge to talk to her again, but he’d never admit that he liked talking to her when she was tired and her personality retreated to that of a normal girl. To be fair, he liked her in her entirety, but this was when she was the most personable.
“You know, if you’re that tired, you should go to bed.”
She hummed a bit. “Don’ wanna. And I’m not tired.”
“Could’ve fooled me, crazy.” He chuckled when he was on the receiving end of a genuine glare. “So,” Dabi rested his cheek on his palm, propped up on the elbow of his left arm, “you ever telling me why you started staying late?”
Toga blinked slowly, and then shifted her head so that her gaze was fixated on the bar in front of her, rather than the man beside her.
“Is that a no?”
“It’s no reason.”
Dabi quirked a brow. “So you just decided you wanted to sleep less?”
“No, but you did.” Toga muttered, but in the silent room, Dabi heard it loud and clear. She was quick to bury her face in her arms now, maybe out of embarrassment or exhaustion, Dabi wasn’t sure. He wasn’t even sure what she meant when she said that, and he was still sitting with a dumbfounded look on his face. Neither of them spoke for a minute or two.
“—What do you mean?”
Toga looked up at him once more, golden hues shining brightly despite the dim lighting. “‘M stayin’ here for you.” That wasn’t what he expected.
“Huh?”
“Oh my God, Dabi.” Toga huffed and sat straight, exposing the light pink dusting her cheeks. She almost looked like a real schoolgirl, and Dabi was more than perplexed. “You stay up late every day. I—“ She averted her gaze, it was almost like there was concern on her face, maybe? “I want to make sure you actually get some sleep.” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
It was in this moment that Dabi was reminded that Toga was human. That he was human. That humans feel and care and worry. And even if they were villains, they had formed strong bonds with each other. Over the last week, Dabi and Toga’s bond has gotten a little stronger than the others’.
Dabi’s eyes softened, a small lopsided smirk on his lips, almost mocking the shy version of Toga he’s had the pleasure of meeting. He reached a hand out ruffling the top of her head; she didn’t mind the sudden affection. “You don’t need to worry about me, little psycho, you should get some sleep too.”
“I can’t.” She paused. “I don’t sleep well by myself. I feel better—“ A break. “When I’m with you.” Toga admitted.
“I feel like I’m learning a lot about you right now.”
She rolled her eyes and punched his arm lightly, earning a laugh from him, a genuine one that made her freeze, if only for a second; it was a wonderful sound. Toga’s heart fluttered the same way when she saw people covered in blood and cuts, and it baffled her because Dabi was healthy, even with the scars. She’s been spending way too much time with him lately.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Hmm.” Toga closed her eyes and leaned on his shoulder, he didn’t flinch. “No.”
He smiled, turning to face forward. They sat in silence, just enjoying the atmosphere and surprisingly—each others’ company. After some time he looked down again, and observed the slow rise and fall of her chest. Her lips were parted slightly as she drooled—but only a bit. She was finally asleep. Without shifting too much, so as not to wake her, he reached with his free arm and wiped the drool off of her lips, pausing at the corner of her mouth. It was tempting, but eventually he retracted his hand and once again turned away. A sigh escaped him and he ran his fingers through his hair.
“What am I doing?” He mutters to himself.
Eventually he’d have to take her back to her room so that she wouldn’t wake up sore but he elected to sit there comfortably with her a little longer. He wasn’t sure why, but when he went to bed that night, he fell asleep almost immediately, feeling warm and fuzzy inside.