Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Dabi was at the counter working when the bell on the door to his tattoo shop, Cremation, rang. He looked up and saw a girl who might have been lost entering his shop. She was wearing a thigh-length fitted pink silk dress, an off-the-shoulder cropped white cardigan, and white heels. She also had a large pink designer purse, and her hair was in a ponytail. She stuck out to everyone who saw her. She walked up to him with the sweetest smile. “Hello, is Dabi here?”

This girl was way too upbeat for him. “That's me. Did you want a feather tattooed on your wrist or something?”

“Oh no, I'm Momo. We had an interview today.”

Dabi was taken aback. He remembered the interview, but he didn't expect her to look like this. “You want to work here,” he reiterated for her.

“Yes!”

He looked around his shop for a moment, then turned back to her. Her being here was such a big difference to the dark, grungy, gothic vibe of his tattoo shop. Where everything was moody, edgy, and a little rough around the edges, she brought a burst of brightness and a totally threw off the vibe. She didn’t even realize just how different she looked in this gritty, gothic space compared to her usual style. “Okay. Follow me to the back.” He stood up and started walking, with Momo happily following him. She walked past all of the other tattoo artists and customers and received looks that ranged from confused to judgmental.

In the back was a private setup. He bought a chair for her and sat across from her. Between them sat his tattoo chair. “So, how did you hear about us?”

“I follow one of the artists here online, Red Riot, and stumbled upon your shop. So I took it as a sign to call.”

Not a very impressive answer. “Okay. How long have you been tattooing?”

“Two months.”

Goodness, why was this girl wasting his time? “Are you tatted?”

“I don't have any tattoos.”

“Alright then. It was nice meeting you. I will give you a call back when I'm done interviewing everyone.”

This wasn't the first time Momo had heard that after an interview, so she knew she was never getting a call. “Wait! You didn't even look at my work,” she panicked. She went into her bag.

“You’ve been tattooing for two months, I'm sure your work—”

“Hold on.”

“Momo, you're not experienced enough.”

Momo pulled out her portfolio and tried to hand him her work. Dabi rolled his eyes and took the portfolio to humor her. There were pictures of many impressive stencils and tattoos on fake skin. However, he had a feeling she wasn't the one who created these. “I know I haven't been at this for very long, but this is something I'm really good at. If you just give me a chance, I can prove that—” she went silent after Dabi rudely interrupted her.

“Stop talking.”

He handed her the portfolio back and stood up. He went into a drawer and pulled out a large piece of silicone skin and handed it to Momo. “Follow me.” He went to the door, and Momo clumsily stood up and followed him. She followed him out to the main floor, and he pointed to the station in the corner. “Everything you need is over there. Make something that'll impress me.”

“O-okay.”

“And that's my station, so don't fuck anything up.”

“I won't.” She walked over to Dabi’s station, looked at everyone else in the shop, and turned her chair away from them, putting her AirPods in to ignore the stares.

Touya looked at the artists staring at her. “It's not a fucking museum, get back to work.”

“You really plan on hiring her?” his artist Hitoshi asked.

“Depending on what she shows me.”

“She’s probably drawing a star,” his artist Kyoka teased.

“I bet it's a flower,” his modification expert Izuku teased.

“Whatever she makes, it better not be a waste of silicon.”

“Barbie isn't even tatted,” a regular at the shop commented.

“Bakugo, you don't even work here. Shut up,” Dabi responded.

“I come here to decompress, and Barbie is gonna ruin that. You're lucky I let Deku work here.”

“How gracious of you,” Deku said sarcastically.

“Kirishima, how much longer on his tattoo?”

Kirishima looked at the whole piece on Bakugou's back. “Uhm, probably 40 minutes.”

“Make it 20 and get him out of here.”

Momo put the final details on her piece and stared at it with pride. She wasn't sure how long she had been at it, but that didn't matter because she was finally done.

She took out her AirPods and picked up the silicone. When she turned around, she noticed that the other artists had already gone home and the sun was down. She took out her phone and was surprised to see that five hours had already gone by. Hopefully, Dabi wouldn't be mad at her.

She looked to the front and saw him in the same spot at the front desk. She walked over to him and tapped his shoulder.

Dabi turned back to her, and from the smile on her face, he assumed she thought whatever she did was a masterpiece. “Finally finished?”

“Yup,” she chirped.

“Let's take a look.” She handed him the fake skin and waited anxiously for his opinions.

The tattoo was amazing for someone who had only been at this for two months. However, it still wasn't at the standard for his shop. “I'll let you know right now that this is good.” Momo squealed and began bouncing with joy. “Let me finish,” he quickly told her. “Your line work is okay, if I'm being honest. I could tell the shading is shitty, no matter how much you try to hide it with all the extra designs. I also think that this wouldn't look so good on an actual person. It would wear out after a year and wouldn’t look good when stretched out either. Tattooing people is a lot different than silicone, so I don't think you're ready to do this professionally—”

“I have tattooed someone before,” she interrupted. Momo pulled out her phone and showed Dabi her lock screen.

He took her phone and looked closely at the picture. She assumed he was amazed by the tattoo, but then he started laughing.

Dabi was impressed by the picture, but not because of the tattoo—because of the person the tattoo was on. In the background of the picture was a mirror where one could see the guy had red and white hair. He began laughing at the thought of his dad's golden child having a watercolor-styled dragon tattoo on the side of his rib. “This is fucking gold.”

“So, does that mean I'm hired?”

He looked up at Momo and remembered he was interviewing her. He handed her her phone back. “Look, you have a lot of potential, and that picture really touched me sentimentally. So, how about I take you on as an apprentice?”

“How would that work, pay-wise?”

He didn't expect that question. He assumed, based on the way she dressed, her designer purse, and shoes, that she was doing this for the love of tattooing. “I got a better question. Why are you trying to be a tattoo artist?”

Momo felt uncomfortable but figured he was asking so he could figure out her pay rate. So, she decided to be honest. “Well, I dropped out of college two months ago, and the semester is about to end. It's not going to be too long before my parents find out and cut me off.”

“Why did you drop out?”

“I just wasn't happy. My boyfriend kept trying to convince me not to, but I just couldn't take it anymore. I love creating, and the idea of someone loving my art so much that they want it on their body for the rest of their life is all an artist can ask for.”

“I see.” That was a pretty good answer, and she seemed passionate. “I’ll give you a call tomorrow and let you know about your pay. Since you aren't going to have your own customer, I gotta think about it.”

“Okay. I can also come in if you want.”

“It's fine.” He really didn't want to hear the other artists talking about her. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Thanks for coming in, and welcome to the team, Momo.” He stood up and shook her hand. She happily shook his, then left.

Now that all that was done, he could finally pay a visit to his favorite golden child and invite him to his new hire’s after party.

Chapter Text

When Dabi walked into his shop, he was genuinely surprised to see his entire staff there, just as he had asked them to be. Usually, he had to wait an hour for one of them to walk in with a lame excuse. “Are pigs flying, or am I imagining you all here on time?”

“Why did you call us here?” Hitoshi sighed.

“I’ll let you know in a second. Izuku, do me a favor and get Bakugou.”

Izuku got up from his seat and begrudgingly walked to the door. “Why do I always have to get him?”

“You're the only one who doesn't get distracted by the display case,” Dabi told him as he walked out.

“Are you gonna set new rules none of us are gonna follow again?” Kyoka asked.

“No, something better,” he teased as he sat at the reception desk.

Midoriya and Bakugou walked into the tattoo shop, and Dabi greeted Bakugou. “I'm working on fillings, so this better be quick.”

“Now that everyone is here, I just wanted you all to know I’ve hired Momo, and she's my new apprentice.”

They all stayed silent and indifferent. “Whose Momo?” Kirishima asked.

“Barbie.”

“The girl in the pink from the other day?” Midoriya asked.

“Yup.”

“That was dumb,” Hitoshi told him.

“Why’d you do that?” Kyoka asked.

“Nepotism,” he answered.

Kirishima nudged Bakugou. “She fucks babies?”

“Holy fuck, you're dumb,” Katsuki sighed.

“It means he knows her outside of the shop and that's why she got the job,” Midoriya whispered to him.

“Oh,” he responded. “Is she your cousin or something?”

“I found out that she's Shouto’s little girlfriend. So, of course, I had to hire her. I even invited Shouto over to celebrate with us.”

Kyoka laughed. “Your stuck-up, preppy baby brother is dating a tattoo artist?”

Dabi snickered with her. “He’s going to freak out.”

The bell to the door rang, and everyone turned to see Momo walking in. Dabi sighed when he saw what she was wearing. She had on a white collared button-up shirt with a gold pendant pin on her chest, a pleated black skirt with a gold chain belt around her waist, white lace socks, and black high heels. “Momo, remember on the phone what I said about the dress code?”

“Dress the part,” she reiterated happily, not realizing she doesn’t look the part.

He looked at Kyoka. “I’ll give you $200 if you find some time to take her shopping by the end of the week.”

“Deal,” Kyoka responded.

He turned back to Momo. “Momo, I invited everyone here to introduce you to them. Usually, when we get a new hire, we have a little after-hours celebration. We invite all our regulars and have a few drinks so you get to know everyone.”

“Sounds fun!”

Touya smirked. “Trust me, it will be.” He turned to the staff, and he and Momo walked to the center of the shop. “This is the team. Each artist has their own chair. Because you're my apprentice, you don't get one. You're mainly going to be helping me with my clients. As for the artists,” he pointed to everyone as he began listing them, “we have Kirishima, Shinso, Jirou, and myself.”

“Hello,” she beamed, but received no response.

Dabi pointed to Midoriya. “That’s our body modification expert, Midoriya.”

“He's a fucking piercer,” Bakugou corrected him.

“Whatever, cupcake boy,” Midoriya retorted.

“What the fuck did you just call me, Deku?” Bakugou argued.

“Shut up,” Dabi demanded. They both went quiet. “We are pretty much the only shop legally allowed to do body modifications, so he works in the back a lot.” Dabi pointed at Bakugou. “He owns the bakery next door, but he's always here and brings desserts, so I figured I'd invite him over to meet you.”

“That's why he's the cupcake boy,” Midoriya added.

“Do you want to take this outside, Deku?”

“What part of, 'Shut. Up.' did both of you not understand?”

“Do they do that often?” Momo asked.

“Pretty much. Do you have any other questions?”

“I'm not totally sure what a body modification expert is.”

“He pierces nipples, too. Probably the only time he ever gets to see a rack,” Bakugou mocked.

“Bakugou, get out,” Dabi demanded.

Bakugou scoffed and got up to leave. “Fine by me. I didn't want Barbie working here in the first place. My fucking filling is probably cold now.”

“A tattooed baker,” Momo stated. “Never thought I’d see that.”

“Okay, you all have clients today, so start setting up,” he announced. Everyone began moving around and setting up their stations. Dabi told Momo to follow him and began training her on how to set up his tattoo station. She put her Prada purse down and took out a pink notebook and matching pen to take notes. Dabi just rolled his eyes and continued explaining what to do.

She followed Dabi to the reception desk, where there were four binders. Dabi passed her the binders. “When it comes to working here, I think it’s important for you to know that everyone here has their own style of tattooing.” Momo opened the first binder titled “Jirou” and began looking through it. “Kyoka specializes in realism, hyperrealism, and surrealism. So all her tattoos pretty much look like a picture printed on someone’s skin. The only downside is SHE TAKES FOREVER.”

“Fuck you,” Kyoka commented from her booth.

Momo moved to the next book titled “Kirishima.” “Ei does blackwork-styled tattoos. It’s really just tattoos where the style relies heavily on shading and contrast to build depth and texture. It gives you a high-impact look that can be minimalist or really detailed. Clearly, like the name implies, he only uses black ink. So part if your job is going to make sure he's always stocked up with black ink.”

She opened the binder that read “Shinsou” and began looking at his work as Dabi explained. “I would say your style is somewhat similar to Shinsou’s. His specialty is trash polka. His designs are more statement pieces, so he doesn't have regulars, technically. Usually, when a new face comes in, they ask for him. As for his tattoo style, they are graphic and bold, and you could learn a lot from him when it comes to shading. He works with black and red a lot, and it's a good combination of realism and abstract.”

He waited for her to finish and handed her the binder labeled “Midoriya.” “I know he isn't a tattoo artist, but I think it’s important for you to see what he does.”

Momo opened the binder and yelped at the first picture before immediately closing it. Dabi laughed at her reaction and reopened it for her. She looked at the pictures again in shock. “What is that?”

“It’s a subdermal horn implant. Don’t ask me how it works or how he does it because I don't know.”

Momo flipped through the pages and pointed out another picture. “What’s that?”

“Tongue splitting.”

Momo glanced behind herself and saw Midoriya peacefully sanitizing his station. She looked at Dabi. “Where did you find him?”

“Online. I just DM’ed him until he agreed.”

As Momo continued to go through the binder, the front door opened. Momo and Dabi looked up and saw a client walk in. “Listen up, Momo, because you're gonna be in charge of the front desk.” Momo opened her pink notebook and grabbed her matching pen to take notes.

Dabi rolled his eyes and spoke with the client as she approached the desk. “Hello, do you do walk-ins?”

“We are usually able to squeeze someone in depending on what you want,” he replied. He watched the girl pull out her phone, showing him a picture of the Gemini sign. “Okay. How big do you want it, and where do you want it?”

“I’d like it to cover the back of my neck.”

“You want this exactly?”

“I’m open to the artist adding their own style.”

“Alright.” Dabi pulled out a tablet and checked the calendar. “My artist Kirishima would be able to take you right now. He's the one with the red hair.” The girl thanked him and headed to Kirishima’s station. Dabi looked at Momo, who was finishing up her notes. “Is that necessary?”

“Well, I want to make sure I’m doing everything right.”

“Fine,” he sighed. When she finally finished, he sent her over to Kirishima so she could watch him and learn more about packing colors when it comes to tattooing. Once she was off, Dabi started his workday.

As the day ended, Momo packed her things after helping everyone straighten up. She was going to walk to the door until Dabi stopped her. “Where are you going?” he asked.

“Oh, I thought the shop closed at 7. Was I wrong?”

“I told you we always have a get-together when there’s a new employee.” He turned to Hitoshi. “Go get the drinks from the back.”

The door to the shop opened again, and Bakugou walked in with a box. “Fuck yeah,” Kirishima said as he went over to him and grabbed the box. He brought the box over to Momo and opened it to reveal beautifully designed cupcakes with black frosting, silver dust, and pearls. The four cupcakes in the middle spelled out her name. “Dabi usually orders them when we have a new hire.”

“They’re also good as fuck,” Hitoshi said as he reached in front of her and grabbed one.

“Taste it,” Kirishima encouraged her. She picked up a cupcake and took a bite. Her eyes widened. “I know,” Kirishima responded before she said anything.

“It’s so moist!”

“I know!” She turned to Bakugou to thank him, but Kirishima stopped her. “He only takes gratitude in the form of money.”

“Oh. Okay then.”

She and Kirishima joined the group, and he passed her a beer. She wasn't a big beer drinker but wanted to be liked by the others. “Is this your first tattoo shop?” Izuku asked.

“It is.”

“How long have you been a tattoo artist?” Kyoka asked.

“Two months.” She noticed everyone turned their heads from her to Dabi, who continued to drink his beer. She mentally cursed herself for making things awkward again. Thankfully, someone else entered the shop. She turned her head to see who it was. She assumed they were regulars because they greeted everyone as they walked in.

“GET OUT!” Momo jumped at the sound of Dabi’s voice.

“I WAS INVITED,” the last guy who came in shouted back at him. She watched the blond with golden eyes walk in defiantly.

After he entered, Momo saw another blond with golden eyes and a black lightning bolt design in his hair peek his head in with a sheepish smile. “Sorry,” he said to Dabi as he approached his fiancée. “Kyoka was on speaker when she invited me, and he said if she didn't invite him too, he'd fire me.”

Dabi turned to look at Jiro as Denki sat comfortably beside her. “What? I have a wedding to pay for.”

Dabi ignored them and turned his attention back to the situation in his shop. He saw the blond leaning over Momo with his hand out. “Hello, I’m Hawks. I’m the owner of Fierce Wings.”

Momo shook his hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Momo.”

“Now, what’s a nice girl like you doing in a dangerous place like this with all these hoodlums?”

“Get bent,” Dabi told him as he took his seat.

“Get stuffed,” Hawks responded quickly as he sat next to Izuku. “Still not looking for a new job?” Hawks asked Izuku.

“STOP IT!” Dabi yelled.

Momo turned to Kirishima. “Whats their history?”

“Hawks was co-owner of the shop. They had different visions of what the shop should look like so Hawks stole Denki and opened his own shop.”

“Oh.” 

Momo continued drinking her beer as more people entered the shop. Dabi told her that they were regular customers, so she had to learn their names. As the night continued, their beers turned into shots of tequila. Momo surprisingly found herself having fun with these intimidating-looking people. By her eighth shot, she was beside a non-tattooed girl who stuck out just as much as she did.

She had brown hair and eyes. “You don't look like a regular here,” she slurred, turning to face her.

The girl smiled and grabbed the hem of her shirt, lifting it to reveal a variety of tattoos and piercings connected by chains. “Oh my!” Momo looked around and saw no one paying attention to them. The girl just laughed and put her clothes back on. “I work at a daycare so I can't have tattoos all over my body.”

Momo was going to respond but her attention was stolen again by a commotion on the other side of the room. “I’M SICK OF YOUR SHIT!” she heard Midoriya yell as he stood on one of the tattoo chairs.

“Not again!” the girl beside her ran off to calm him down.

“DEKU,” Bakugou slurred. “SHUT UP OR GET BEAT UP.”

Momo looked around as the scene unfolded. “Is anyone going to stop them?” she asked no one in particular.

“This happens all the time during after-hours parties. After 10 minutes, they’ll go out back and fight in the alley till they get tired,” Hitoshi told her.

“What if they hurt each other?”

“That’s kind of the point of a fight, sweetie.”

“That’s so scary!”

“There was this one time when they were fighting, and then their girlfriends started fighting. I think that was the only time we broke up the fight.”

“Who are their girlfriends?”

“That girl who just flashed you was Ochako. That’s Midoriya’s girlfriend. And the…” he scanned the crowd and pointed out the girl smoking behind Bakugou, “...strawberry blonde smoking the bong is Camie, Bakugou’s girlfriend.”

Suddenly, the music turned off, and the lights came on. “Are you serious?” The voice caught Momo by surprise. She turned to the entrance of the shop and saw her boyfriend.

“Sh-Shouto? What are you doing here?”

“This is my brother’s shop! What the hell are you doing here?”

Momo turned to Dabi for an answer, and he just smirked at her. She looked back at Shouto and tried to explain herself. “Remember when I told you I was thinking about getting a job because I wasn’t sure if university was right for me?”

“School’s not right for you? You’re on the dean’s list every semester, and you only get A’s. You read encyclopedias for fun!”

Hitoshi snorted. “Nerd,” he teased.

Momo ignored him and continued to explain herself. “I get it. I’m smart, but there’s so much more to me than being smart. Don’t you want me to be happy?”

“Of course I want you to be happy, but you’d rather spend your time here than doing something important.”

“This is important to me.”

“This is stupid,” he shouted. “I can’t watch you stay here and waste your potential with these fucking losers.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Dabi stood up and stepped between the couple. “Shouto, I get you're mad, but don’t insult my employees—and that includes your little girlfriend.”

“Stay out of this, Touya. I should’ve known you were up to something when you invited me here.”

“I just wanted to laugh at your face when you saw your girlfriend working here, but had I known you’d come here and insult my shop and employees, I wouldn’t have said anything.”

“Well, I’m glad you did, so I can stop her from ruining her life.” Shouto looked at Momo. “Come on, we’re leaving.”

Momo nodded and gathered her things.

“You’re not going anywhere, Momo. It’s your welcome party, so sit down and enjoy your night.” Momo shamefully put her head down and walked past Touya to leave with Shouto. “If you walk out that door, then you’re fired,” he challenged.

“Leave,” Bakugou shouted quickly. Kirishima elbowed him in the arm.

She stopped walking and turned to Dabi. “Dabi, thank you for the party, but I need to go talk to him.”

“I’ve known your boyfriend for his whole life. He’s just throwing a tantrum because he isn’t getting his way. Give him a blowjob, and he’ll be fine.”

“Fuck you, Touya.” He grabbed Momo’s wrist and pulled her toward the door. He felt her resist, and he turned to her. “Let’s go.”

“Shouto, I would like to stay here and talk about this at home,” she said firmly but hesitantly.

“What? Why?”

“Because—I don't plan on quitting. I’m having a good time right now and would like to continue my night here.”

He looked at her with a mixture of disgust and confusion. “You’re choosing this shithole over me.”

She backed up a bit. “I’m choosing myself at the moment. I’d like to discuss this later at home.”

He scoffed and turned his back to her. “Don’t bother coming home.” With that, Shouto walked out, leaving Momo questioning the status of their relationship.

When the door closed, she felt Dabi put his arm around her to comfort her. “Don’t worry, Momo. You’re doing the right thing.”