Dabi walks around for an hour. He must have made a trek around the whole town before his legs started to get tired; the last two hours is spent drinking coffee at a diner until midnight. The waitress serving him only asks him twice whether he wants something to eat and then she just keeps pouring and supplying more cream and sugar packets. Dabi sits at the sticky table, watching the grainy TV screen bolted to the ceiling; it's playing some infomercials about people who apparently are incapable of using an average mop and can't get warm just wearing a regular old blanket.

Miu loves watching them and laughing at how stupid they make people out to be; she's basically a homemaker herself and she can hardly believe there are actual people who need so much help doing basic chores. Dabi can't recall how many times Miu has got exasperated at him for leaving out dishes when he's done eating.

"Would it kill you to put away your shit?"

"Maybe."

Then Miu would roll her eyes and shake her head like she was dealing with a stubborn child. But then she would pick up the plate anyway and ask if Dabi wants her to grab him something while she's in the kitchen.

"Guess I don't have to worry about someone nagging me anymore."

Dabi can leave dirty, crusty dishes on every surface of his apartment without anyone giving him crap. Miu won't be hovering, fixing up this and that, wiping the counter of even the smallest bit of crumbs, adjusting, neatening, putting her hands on everything. Dabi never asked her to clean up around his place, but Miu says it's habitual. She's spent most of her life cleaning up after other people's messes. And besides, she likes doing things for him.

Dabi steps out for a moment to smoke; he's taken at least ten breaks but the waitress doesn't bother to keep an eye on him to see if he's going to skip the bill. Now that Dabi thinks of it, coffee is supposed to be free, but then, it's all he's had the whole night. He doesn't want to blow money on a dinner he could easily make at home. Or more accurately, a meal Miu could easily make.

Dabi looks up at the sky; the stars are bright and the moon is a sliver against a backdrop of black. It's so vast and wide and Dabi can hardly wrap his mind around how small he feels thinking about how big the world actually is. Miu told him once that if someone from earth wanted to get to a star, it would take them about 70,000 years on even the fastest ship. She told him it was something she learned from her dad on a rare, sober occasion. She told him she didn't know much about science or history or anything useful. Dabi told her to shut up and that she was being stupid.

When he goes back to his table, Dabi finds a new cup of coffee in front of him. He sits back and continues to tap his foot on the dusty floor, taking sip after sip before realizing he forgot to add sugar and cream. The TV is showing an ad some sort of exercise thing; the woman on the screen wear bright, skin tight work out clothes. It looks like she's jerking off the tool and before Dabi can stop himself, he thinks how hilarious Miu would find the whole thing; she'd probably laugh hard enough to snort.

"I don't have to hear her snorting anymore. I can't believe she said that. I'm 'mean'? What is she, five? Who even says mean?"

Dabi swallows down the rest of his coffee in one go and ignores the way it lightly scalds his tongue. The diner doesn't serve alcohol.

"We were having a nice night and she just had to fuck it up. Maybe I don't feel like being buddy-buddy with her friends, but so what? I treat her good."

"Hey, just a head's up we close in an hour."

Her name tag says Aya and her messy ponytail hangs over one shoulder when she leans forward to pour Dabi another cup. She has a nice figure, a nice smile, but her eyes look tired; in a few hours the sun will be up and she'll likely be headed home. Dabi doesn't want to go home, but it seems like in a hour he won't have much of a choice.

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

Dabi almost has the cup to his lips when Aya speaks up; her tone is hardly hesitant, but it's not bold. She speaks very matter of factly, but even so, her manners show through. Dabi figures she would have to learn how to speak civilly but clearly for confirming orders.

"Sure, knock yourself out."

"Not until I clock out." Aya smiles wryly; there's no one else in the diner. It's a week day, dead and slow, and he's probably the only customer she'll have for the rest of the night. The only other person there is probably the cook.

"Are you okay? I mean, no offense, but you look pretty shitty. And I don't get many people here this late on a week day."

Dabi looks up at her dully. "Can't a guy drink coffee without being interrogated? I'm just bored. Couldn't sleep."

"Okay, if you say so."

Aya begins to turn around but then stops on her heel. She regards him with slightly narrowed eyes and Dabi stares right back, as if daring her to ask more. He is not in the mood to talk and the only reason he hasn't told her to shut up and mind her own business is because she isn't being mean and her bangs are the same as Miu's, except they're cut a few inches farther above her eyebrows.

"Do you have anywhere to go tonight?"

Dabi nods. "Yeah, don't worry, I'm not some bum whose going to leave you without a tip or anything."

Aya laughs loud and freely. Dabi continues to tap his foot and wonders if it'd be rude to leave for another smoke.

"No, I meant...well, I was thinking if you didn't want to go home tonight, you could come back to my place instead." Aya shrugs and gives him another wry smile. "Unless you have somewhere else to be at one in the morning."

Dabi's skin itches; he matches her gaze and shrugs his shoulders. She smells faintly like roses.

"Nope."

Dabi tries to leave when Aya is in the bathroom, but she catches him just as he's lacing his boots. She laughs and tells him he looks like he's leaving the scene of a crime. Dabi doesn't laugh; he mutters an apology, but Aya dismisses it. She tells him it's no big deal, that she wasn't expecting more; she was tense from a long night and figured they could both use a little stress reliever.

Dabi waves off her offer for him to stay for morning sex. Aya says he was good and she liked how he held her close, that it was cute.

Dabi doesn't say the only reason he did that was so he wouldn't be able to see her face. Normally he does rush to leave after sex, but this time it's not because he wants to go home or doesn't want to give the impression he wants more than a hookup.

Aya is getting comfy in her bed and ready for some well deserved rest as Dabi slinks out the bedroom and locks her apartment door behind him as requested. He has already decided he will never go back to that diner, even in daylight hours.

It takes him half an hour to get to his apartment and by that time it's past two in the morning.

Dabi wasn't lying when he told Aya he didn't want to go home. In truth, he didn't want to go to her place either, but Dabi figures, why not? He's not wanted anywhere else and coming back to his empty apartment isn't something he was up to.

So, imagine Dabi's surprise when there's a light coming from under the crack of his bedroom door.

"Dabi? What time is it?"

Miu is under the covers and wearing the pajama shirt she had left at his place for the nights she stayed over. Her hair is tangled on one side and there's a little crust in the corner of her right eye; as Miu rubs her eyes clear, Dabi stand there and tries to find words to say.

"Oh god, it's three?" Miu takes her phone from the pillow on the other side of the bed. "I fell asleep...I…" she quickly plugs in the cell phone to the charger, seemingly oblivious to Dabi's shock.

"What are you doing here?"

"I know you told me to leave, but I couldn't just go leaving things like that. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I got mad at you, but you have to understand Dabi, the last thing I want to do is break up."

"Why did you call or text?"

Miu gives him a strange look. "I did. I even left you a voice message. I thought you were still angry and was ignoring me."

Dabi pulls out his own cell; it's dead. He doesn't know how long it's been out of battery, but apparently it was long enough to miss Miu's attempts at contact. Without another word, Dabi walks forward, not even bothering to take off his dusty shoes as he pulls Miu in for a tight embrace.

"I wasn't. Miu...Miu, I-"

"Dabi, it's okay. We lose our tempers, it happens. I know this was...sudden." Miu holds him back and all the anxiety and tension that's been building up inside Dabi just seems to melt away. "I shouldn't have dumped all my concerns on you out of the blue like that. I never wanted you to feel like I didn't want to be with you Dabi, I just don't want things to fall apart because we can't talk to each other about what's bugging us."

"I do want that. I want you to talk to me, I shouldn't have walked out." Dabi buries his nose in Miu's hair; it smells like peaches. Miu pulls back a bit so she can look him in the face and smiles kindly.

"I'm glad you're okay. I was worried and it's so late...you are okay, right? Where were you all this time?"

"I went for a walk and then I went to get coffee at this diner."

"Really? Wow, I'm surprised they're open so late on weekdays." Miu suddenly beams and brings Dabi back into a tight hug. "I'm happy you're here. I'm sorry."

"No, don't be." Dabi tells her softly; his fingers curl into the fabric of her shirt tight. He feels so much relief, he thinks he'll just burst right there in her arms. All the bitterness fades away, all the anger he was feeling toward Miu for earlier leaves him the second he saw her face. He can't believe she was waiting up for him after he stormed out.

"She never meant to break up. Of course she didn't, she just said she wanted a little space. Why did I-shit. Fucking shit, I didn't know, I-"
"You smell like roses."

Dabi forces himself to not tense up. "Yeah, I-"

"Dabi? What's that?"

Miu's smile is gone; she's separated herself from him and is looking at his shoulder. There's thin red lines there, similar to the one Miu leaves from her nails.

"Dabi...where did those come from?"

Miu isn't frowning anymore. She doesn't look mad or upset or suspicious. She just looks lost.

"Dabi? Dabi, where did those come from?"

"I'm sorry."

"What?" Miu's arms drop to her sides. "Are you serious? Who-?"

"No one. They're no one. I thought you wanted to break up."

"I said I wanted some space. I never said I wanted you to run off, tell me to get lost, and then go sleep with a stranger! Is it that easy for you? Is that what you would do if we did break up, just run off to the next available person? Is that all I am to you, someone convenient to fuck?!"

"No! Miu, please, just listen-"

"What else is there to say? You cheated on me, you left me here alone and crying and then you-"

"I didn't know you were crying."

Miu just looks at him like he's a stranger. Dabi still has his arms around her but Miu slowly pries herself away. She picks up her discarded pants and work shirt from the floor, but she only bothers to put on the pants.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going home. I have work in the morning. You should get some sleep too."

"Miu, don't do that."

"Do what?"
"Shut down on me. Don't just give me the cold shoulder." Dabi slides out of bed and tries to take her hand, but Miu yanks it away before he can make contact.

"You thought we were broken up, right? So instead of trying to work things out with me, you run away and find someone else? Dabi, that makes me feel like shit, like this whole time I didn't mean anything to you-"

"That's not true."

"Then I must have not meant that much."

Miu looks around the room briefly, remembers she left her sandals by the front door. She wonders if she should take anything else of hers away; in the bathroom there's her extra toothbrush and some shampoo and conditioner, but it's nothing she needs.

"Miu, don't do this. You want to talk right? Let's talk this out. Just sit down, we can talk and…"

Dabi's whole body is shaking; Miu isn't listening to him. She's just staring at her feet, looking like she wants to be anywhere else but there. He can't believe this. They were just patching up their rough patch.

"I was stupid. I was so fucking stupid Miu, it didn't mean anything, it wasn't even that good-"

"I don't want to hear about the random girl you fucked, thanks."

"Will you stop saying that? It's not like I even wanted to, I just didn't want to come home."

"I love how you've been giving me all this shit about other guys and you're the one who's ready to cheat after one fight."

"It was a misunderstanding."

Miu shakes her head at him. "So what, it doesn't count? Well guess what Dabi, it still hurts and it hurts that you haven't even said 'sorry' once. And to think, I was apologizing to you!"

"Calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down. I have every right to be pissed and you don't have any right to tell me how to feel. You're not my boyfriend."

"What?"

Miu flinches; Dabi is glaring at her in disbelief and his voice his hard. Miu edges closer to the door. The temperature in the room feels like it's gone to zero degrees.

"Look, I can't take this anymore. This is crazy. I can't see how we can work."

"We can. We can't let a little bump like this get between us. It was a mistake and I'm sorry. I'm sorry I messed up, alright?"

"Dabi."

"I shouldn't have left, I shouldn't have lost my temper, but we can't just give up now. I need you and you need me. We can fix this."

"Dabi, please-"

"Miu, don't do this to us."

"I DON'T DESERVE THIS!"

Dabi almost staggers backward. Miu herself looks utterly shocked at her outburst.

"I...I'm sorry for yelling. But I don't...I don't deserve this. I-I'm a good person. I've worked really hard to make you feel okay in this relationship and I listen to you and I've bent over backwards to make sure you know that. I almost lost a friend because you were worried about us spending too much time together. And that's not fair. I shouldn't have to feel bad for wanting to spend time with Tenko or being happy when other people give me compliments or feel like I'm being silly for getting upset when you're a jerk to me. It doesn't matter if you don't mean to be or if this whole thing was an accident. I don't deserve this. I deserve someone who won't walk out on me. I don't. I...I deserve better."

Miu blinks and feels her whole body sag despite feeling like a weight is off her shoulders.

"I should go. This won't work for me. I really hope things work out for you, but I can't just wait around hoping you'll just suddenly be the person I should be with."

"So you'll go and find someone else, is that it?"

Dabi walks toward her; he towers over Miu and she has to look up to meet his eye.

"Dabi, stop. Don't-"

"What?" Dabi spits. "I'm not doing anything. Why are you looking at me like that?"

Miu tries to keep her voice strong. "I said, I want to go."

"We aren't done talking. You can't just walk out on me."

"Dabi, I don't want to be here. I want to go home."

"I told my therapist I worshipped you."

Miu's back hits the door but Dabi doesn't stop. His hands come to cup her face in his palms. His eyes are swimming with emotion. He's smiling faintly.

"I do you know. I'd do anything for you. I'd kill for you if you asked. So it makes me feel pretty shitty knowing you're so ready to walk away from this after one screw up. It hurts me a lot Miu."

"Please let me go."

Dabi's smile turns to a scowl. "Why?"

"I want to go."

"I just told you I worshipped you and you can't even say one nice goddamn thing to me? Now who doesn't give a shit? How can you do this? I was wrong, okay? At least let me make it up to you."

"You're scaring me."

Dabi's face falls. Miu takes this chance to open the door behind her and make a beeline for the front door. He wants nothing more than to run after her and drag her back to their bed. Just when everything seemed okay, it all went down hill. Dabi wants to forget this whole day. He wants them to just get under the covers and sleep and figure things out in the morning.

"Miu, don't go."

"Dabi, just stop."

"No. Look, I," Dabi takes a deep breath and straightens up; Miu's hand is on the door but she's not turning the knob. "I'm sorry. I'll do better. I'll do whatever it takes. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"I can't do this again. Those are just words."

"All I could think about was you all night. I thought of you when I was with her. I can't even remember her name. You're the only one who matters. You're all I have."

In contrast to how Dabi hoped Miu would look the first time he told her this, Miu's shoulders fell and her expression was pained.

"I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

Miu's hand slips from the door knob. Dabi smiles and approaches closer. Miu feels arms slide around her waist like they were meant to be there. Dabi's chin rests on her shoulder; he nuzzles his nose into the side of her neck and presses a feather light kiss to the tender skin. He can practically feel Miu's knee buckle.

"You can see your friends and I won't complain and-and we don't have to see each other every day. We can dial things back, just don't go, not yet. Let's go to sleep. Maybe...maybe we can take the day off and just talk? I'll treat for donuts and coffee. Remember our first time? I got you your favorite by accident."

"Yeah."

"Chocolate glaze with sprinkles." Dabi chuckles and nuzzles her hair, loving how it tickles his nose. "I was so happy. Weren't you happy? Miu, you still care about me, don't you?"

"Of course I do. I...I just don't want to go through this again." Miu's hand gently comes to hold his. She lets out a long, shaky breath. "Dabi, you can't do this again. You have to make a real change."

"I won't let you down. If I do, you can leave and never come back. But it won't happen. I can't afford to screw up again. I need you...I need my baby doll…"

"Dabi, don't." Miu moves away from the kisses being pressed on her cheek. "I'm not in the mood."

"That's okay. I just want to be together. Let's take a shower and cuddle and talk in the morning. Okay?"

Miu's so tired.

"...okay."