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A burst of thunder rattled the bottles on the shelves. The rain pelted against the door, and the wind could be heard even from inside. The walls creaked, as if the building were threatening to collapse. Magne sighed, taking a long sip of her cocktail.
Nights like these made being alone in her shabby apartment lonelier than usual, so she decided to stop by the bar. She loved talking with Kurogiri, and she could get a good drink out of it, so what was the harm? A flash of lightning went off and she let out a low whistle.
“Who would guess that it wasn’t Tsuyu yet?”
“I agree, it is quite dismal outside,” Kurogiri replied, ducking behind the bar to grab something.
Magne made a noise of agreement, finishing off her drink. Kurogiri went to pour her another one, but she waved him off, standing up and stretching.
“I’m actually gonna head to bed. Do you care if I take the guest room? I don’t think any of us want to go anywhere in this weather, and you know how I feel about warping, no offense."
“None taken. I believe it’s empty,” Kurogiri nodded, taking her glass and starting to clean it.
“Sleep well, then,” Magne smiled, walking towards the stairs. Kurogiri bowed slightly, though she didn’t see it.
The storm raged on as she made her way to the room, and she idly wondered when it was going to end as lightning flashed and thunder followed not long after.
“It’s pretty close to us, huh…” She muttered to herself, going to open her door. Just as it cracked open, she heard a whimper from the room over - Shigaraki’s room.
She paused, slowly closing her door and walking over to the young man’s room. Another whimper came from inside, and Magne hurriedly knocked.
“Shigaraki? Are you okay?”
“Go ‘way…” That was certainly not the response Magne had been expecting. She was ready to be threatened, or to be ignored, but not to be pushed away like that. It made sense, considering that she barely knew her new boss, but something about the way that he said it rubbed Magne the wrong way. The small utterance was frighteningly childlike, and his voice shook as though he were crying.
For a brief moment, she considered leaving. This was probably something personal, something that she shouldn’t be involved in. An emotional Shigaraki could easily lead to a quick death. She should go back downstairs and get Kurogiri. He would know how to handle it.
She stopped that train of thought, however. Shigaraki was crying. He may be injured, and even if he wasn’t, he shouldn’t be left alone like that.
“Shigaraki, are you… Are you crying?” She tried, hoping that she was gentle enough for Shigaraki to want to talk.
“No! An’ I-” He started, before more lightning flared and he shrieked, crying becoming more apparent. Alarm bells went off in Magne’s head.
“I’m coming in.” When there was no protest, she opened the door, brushing aside the fact that she had never been in Shigaraki’s room before.
She found him after a moment of searching. He was curled into a tight, almost painful-looking ball on the corner of his bed. He was sobbing, visibly shaking even from Magne’s position at the doorway.
“Oh, hon…” She muttered, heart aching at seeing him in such a sorry state. She walked to his bed, sitting down a ways away from him in case he didn’t want her near him. He continued crying, refusing to look up at her.
Honestly, Magne had no idea what to do. Obviously, Shigaraki was upset, but she had no idea why or what to do. Could she touch him? Would he like it if she talked? Was he hurt?
As she sat there internally panicking, another flash of lightning and clap of thunder went off. Shigaraki yelped, flinching hard.
“Oh…” Magne breathed, realizing the obvious. “Are you scared of the storm?”
Shigaraki nodded, hiccuping. Magne smiled softly. He answered, that was a start.
“Do you want a hug?” He nodded again, and she moved over to his end of the bed. She opened her arms, giving him the chance to initiate the touch. He immediately latched onto the front of her shirt, sobbing harder than ever.
“It’s okay. You’re safe now, hon. Don’t worry, I’ll protect you…” She muttered, wrapping him in a hug and rubbing his back gently.
It took several minutes of her humming soothing phrases and rocking them back and forth before his crying slowed. Occasionally more thunder would go off, and he would start up again. It seemed like forever before the storm slowed down. When he was finally calm, he looked up at her through his bangs, eyes surprisingly innocent. Magne smiled at him, and he looked away shyly.
“You’re not mad?” He asked, toying with the hem of his shirt.
Magne’s heart melted. “Of course not, sweetheart! Why would you say that?”
“Um…” He started, kneading into the bed nervously. “‘Cus ‘m a baby an’ I got upset over nothing.”
“You’re not a baby. You’re scared of the storm, right?” He nodded, chewing on his lip. “That’s normal. Yeah, it’s scary, but big storms are scary. You’re actually being very brave right now. You dealt with this for so long by yourself. I’m very proud of you.”
He buried his face in her chest, though she saw a small smile before his face disappeared from view. She cuddled with him for a while before he started squirming, so she unwrapped her arms from around him and he sat back, staring at her expectantly.
“Alright, do you feel okay enough to talk about this?” Instantly he gained a look of fear, like he was expecting to be scolded, so she smiled. “You’re not in trouble, hon.”
A few seconds passed before he nodded slowly. She took a deep breath, hoping that this would go smoothly.
“First of all, how old are you?” It was obvious to her that Shigaraki was at least mentally younger than normal. It could have been a quirk, but he didn’t seem that scared, so probably not.
“Um…” He chewed on his lip again, and Magne resisted the urge to tut at him. No wonder they were so chapped. “Four.”
“Thanks for telling me that. You can explain the situation when you’re older, okay?” He blushed at the praise, nodding shyly. He started squirming again, and it looked like he wanted to say something, so she waited for him.
“You, um- You don’t think that- I mean, you- I’m-” He huffed, clamping his mouth shut and hitting his legs.
“It’s okay, take your time.”
Taking a deep breath, he tried again, though much slower than before. “You’re being so nice, an’ it feels bad ‘cus you’ve never ever seen my face before an’ I look super gross.” One hand came up to scratch at his eye as he spoke.
“Stop scratching, hon,” Magne started, gently grabbing his wrist.
“Sorry…” He looked down at his lap, pouting.
“It’s okay. I just don’t want you to get hurt.” She let go of his wrist, scooting closer to him and pulling him into a hug. He didn’t protest, so she continued. “You’re not ugly, hon, not at all. You’re actually very cute, especially like this.”
Shigaraki hid his face. “‘M not though… I look all yucky an’ I scratch a lot an’ ‘m creepy.”
“Can you look at me?” Magne asked, and he shook his head no. “Come on, I’m not going to make fun of you. I just want to see you.”
Slowly, Shigaraki looked up, looking like he was on the verge of tears. Magne brushed his bangs away from his face.
“There he is.” She smiled at him, and he looked down, giving a watery smile of his own. “You’re not yucky. You’re not gross. You’re not icky. I know you probably don’t believe me, but I think you’re adorable. You can’t help the way your face looks, right?”
“Nuh-uh. It jus’ does.”
“See! You look just fine. I think you’re beautiful, hon.”
Shigaraki sniffed, then started crying again. Magne rubbed his back, figuring that was enough questions for the day.
After he was calmed down, she shifted him onto her knee, bouncing him gently. He giggled, a large smile on his face.
“So, do you need anything? A drink, a snack, some comfy clothes?” She paused for a moment. “Gloves?”
“Um…” He paused too, seeming to take in the question. “I haves gloves in the dre- the dres- the that,” he pointed at his dresser, “an’ um can I have a snack and some sleepy clothes maybe please.”
“Of course! You’re very polite, saying please, you know that?” Magne ruffled his hair and he giggled, blushing.
“Kuro says I always gotta be nice to everyone!” His arms came up, making a big gesture. “But being nice is hard!”
Magne had overheard some of those "be nice" speeches. Mostly, they were Kurogiri half-pleading with Shigaraki to not kill the next recruit because they ticked him off. That was a very different Shigaraki, however, so Magne humored him.
“Well, you’re being very nice to me right now.” She smiled at him and he smiled back, eyes wide and bright.
“Okay, lemme get your gloves first. Which drawer are they in?”
Shigaraki thought for a moment, before holding up one finger. Magne walked over, opening his top drawer. It was mostly empty, so she found them pretty quickly. They were similar to artist’s gloves, with only the middle, ring, and pinky finger covered.
“Alright,” she said, sitting back down on his bed. “Give me one of your hands please.” Shigaraki obliged, holding his hand out. It was shaking.
“It’s okay, we just need to put it on. Can you slide your hand in? There we go! Look, you’re doing great. Now give me the other one…” She spoke to him as she helped him put them on, and his shaking slowed the slightest bit.
“Look, we’re all done! You were so good, you did amazing!” Shigaraki giggled at the praise, pumping his fists.
“Now, can you stay here for a minute while I get you your snack?”
“Mmhm!”
“Oh! What kind of snack do you want?”
“Um… chips” He scooted off of Magne’s lap, letting her get up while also giving him room to bounce.
“Alright, stay right here for me.” Shigaraki nodded feverishly and Magne chuckled. Chips weren't the worst snack to ask for, and it wasn't sugary, so she didn't see an issue.
As she walked down to the bar, she thought about what was going on. If she was honest with herself, she liked seeing him like that, despite how confusing the situation initially was. He was so open and willing to accept affection, unlike his older self. It reminded her of her time at the homeless shelter, taking care of the children there and basically being a mother to them.
She smiled to herself, finally reaching the bar. Whatever was going on, she didn’t care. She liked taking care of him, and he seemed to like it too, so whatever it was, he could explain it later. For now, they were both happy, and that was enough.