A/N: Good news! The muses are being good to me. Please enjoy the new installment. Thank you for the encouraging reviews,bbymojo and natsu-no-himitsu. Thanks for the favorites and follows too.
When Melina arrived at the bar for work, her eyes immediately went to the back booth. No Dabi. He had not come to the bar for several days; not since the apartment incident. The blonde school girl with the messy buns on the sides of her head was there. Seeing the girl gave her a sense of relief, allowing her to convince herself that he would be there later to meet his companion.
"Good evening, my Queen," Kurogiri said using his unnecessarily flattering greeting.
"I have a present for you," she announced, pulling the jar of purified honey out of purse.
"A gift?" He picked up the small jar studying the clear amber liquid inside.
"I thought you might want to use this in some of your cocktails instead of plain old sugar in simple syrup. The honey will give them a new dimension in taste."
The portal user chuckled. Her choice of words amused him greatly. She knew all of their powers and their names. She had decided to do a little research of her own. Breaking into the computer records of documented villains on file at the local hero agencies and police entities wasn't that difficult. The self-professed good guys were far too trusting in their security systems. Or perhaps they allowed themselves to be rendered willfully ignorant by their own sense of self-importance, believing themselves to be above reproach and untouchable.
"Thank you," he told her politely.
"You're very welcome," she rejoined, stowing her purse under the bar. "Time to get to work."
"Yes, your highness."
For the first time since coming in, she noticed the stool at the end of the bar was empty. She tried not to be too paranoid that Shigaraki was not there.
The bar was busy as usual, catering to stressed or just plain bored villains who needed to relax and blow off steam. For the most part, everyone stayed calm, choosing to imbibe their drinks in peace. Some sat by themselves lost in their own thoughts. Others chatted and laughed with comrades.
Magne and Twice arrived, sitting in booth three like they had every night so far. Melina ordered a beer, a shot of tequila, and a martini for them. They appeared to be creatures of habit. She would find out soon if they always preferred the same drinks.
"Hey there, Big Sis," she greeted Magne sitting the martini down in front of her.
"Hey, Bee, what's up?"
Melina liked the friendly familiarity that had developed after their rough start. All of them had taken to calling her Queen Bee or just Bee.
"Same old stuff, different night. Speaking of that, you didn't want anything different did you? I know this is what you two always order," she said, placing the beer and shot glass down for Twice.
"Nope. I'm good," Magne replied, sipping her drink. "Just keep them coming, busy Bee."
"It's great. Thanks," Twice returned without looking at her. The bruises had finally healed, and he did not want more.
Jin Bubaigawara, also known as Twice. She was grateful as hell she didn't have to call him by his real name. Their preferred villain moniker seemed to be the accepted way of addressing each other here.
Swiveling on the ball of her foot to return to the bar for the next order, Melina pulled up short when she came nose to hand. Holding the tray in front of her chest like a shield, she backed up a step from Shigaraki, bumping into the table.
"Good evening, sir," she greeted him with a forced but insincerely genuine smile. Her official 'fuck you, but I have to be nice to you' smile.
Dabi walked past behind Shigaraki. He did not give her a glance much less a hello.
Well, fuck you too, pal. You broke into my apartment and assaulted me. Why the hell are you ignoring me?, she thought to herself indignantly.
Melina realized Shigaraki was still standing a few inches in front of her. He was not moving but continued staring at her with his hate filled red eyes.
"Is there something you need, sir?" she questioned Shigaraki.
"Why don't we give everyone a little demonstration of your skills?" he suggested.
"Here? Now?" She began to shake. She didn't want to do it.
"Well, these are your comrades. They should know what you can do, what you have to offer." He placed his hand on the tray, his thumb sweeping across the back of her hand. "I know you're accustomed to being the one giving the orders, but you must fulfill the request you have been given. Your compliance is required for you to stay here."
She gulped, relinquishing the tray to him. "What do you want me to do?"
"Use your friend Twice here."
"Huh?" said a very alarmed Twice from behind her.
"Make him your dog," he ordered her.
"Okay," she nervously conceded.
Twice stared at her, his eyes wide with panic. She felt sorry for this docile, almost kind side of him. Their first interaction had been intense to say the least. He had avoided touching her and barely talked to her since then. She couldn't blame him. Most of them knew she could hold her own in a physical altercation, but it was time to show her quirk.
Placing one hand on the table to balance herself, Melina leaned across to him. She cupped his jaw with her other hand. The stubble on his face felt like sandpaper against her palm. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed spasmodically.
"I won't hurt you," she promised him, leaning closer.
"I don't believe you," he murmured.
"I'm sorry," she apologized, pressing her lips to his.
Melina's belly tightened with apprehension. She loathed having to do this, especially with Dabi watching. A hot, sick sensation enveloped her as the pheromone laced saliva filled her mouth. Finding Twice's lips slightly parted, she pushed her tongue through to deposit the fluid into his mouth. When he groaned, the nausea inside of her expanded, and she feared the might vomit into the unsuspecting man's mouth. Pulling away quickly, she grabbed the shot of tequila and tossed it back. Throwing a fierce glance behind her at Shigaraki, she straightened up, backing away carefully.
"Now what?" Twice asked, obviously not feeling anything.
"Wow, that's some impressive quirk," Toga sneered, peering at her from her booth with Dabi.
Melina refused to look at Dabi. Although she did not owe him any explanations because he was of no relationship consequence to her at the moment, she couldn't help feeling like she had done something wrong in his eyes. What did it matter? This was how her quirk worked, and there was not a damn thing she could do about it.
"Stand up," she said to Twice.
His eyes glazed over, his pupils dilating until the black blocked out the gray of his irises. He pushed himself to the end of the seat, and stood up in front of her as ordered. An unnerving silence filled the bar. Not even a cube of ice clinked in a glass.
"Get down on your knees."
Without hesitation, he dropped to his knees.
"Bark like a dog." When he fulfilled this command, laughter broke out across the bar. "Beg."
Twice cupped his hands to resemble paws, stuck out his tongue, and panted. Then he closed his mouth and whimpered, his eyes widening into puppy dog eyes. A gale of uproarious laughter filled the place.
Poor guy. He was going to be humiliated when they teased him about this later. The worst part was he wouldn't remember anything he had done.
"Crawl around on all fours and wag your tail."
The blond man dropped to his hands, shuffling around on his hands and knees to mimic a dog walking. He stopped in front of her, swinging his butt from side to side to emulate wagging an invisible tail. His obedience elicited more raucous laughter, louder and longer this time.
"That's enough," she said, turning to Shigaraki. "They get the idea."
"It's enough when I say it's enough," he growled at her.
Melina glowered at him with rage. She bent down, telling the man on all fours to get up. Putting her arm around his waist, she ushered him back to the booth and assisted him with sitting down. Twice slumped against the wall, sound asleep.
"He will wake up in about thirty minutes," she told Magne whose sunglasses shielded her eyes and prevented Melina from being able to see if she was furious. "He might be a little disoriented, but he will be fine."
"You weren't done," Shigaraki said, blocking her path of retreat with his body.
Melina glared at the man who was actually a few inches shorter than her since she was wearing her four inch heels. She dared to touch him, pressing her hands against his chest to push him back in order to put some distance between herself and him. His chest had felt bony and delicate under her hands like she could easily break his sternum and ribs by exerting a little more force. The urge to crush him like a bug was so tempting. She dropped her hands away from him lest she forget he could grab her by the arm and disintegrate it.
"Yes, I am," she snarled at him.
Stomping to the bar, she snatched her purse from underneath.
"Where are you going?" Kurogiri asked her.
"Home," she snapped irritably.
"But - "
"I can't!" she exclaimed. Then she repeated more softly, "I'm done for tonight. With everything."
Kurogiri did not argue with her. Not that his protests would have done any good. Melina could feel all eyes on her as she headed for the door. For the first time, she abhorred being the center of attention.
Bursting through the door as if rising above the water where she was drowning, she breathed in a huge gulp of the city air. The smells of street food and car exhaust mingled with the stench of desperation and disillusionment. Ah, the fantastic aroma of the city. She missed her country home. Wide open fields full of trees and flowers. White boxes full of bees, the man made beehives stretching like small condominiums for the honey makers, as far at the eye could see.
"God, I hate this fucking place," she muttered, setting off down the street toward the subway station.
At two in the morning, not many people were in the subway station. She and four other people stood on the platform waiting for the train. The scrape of footsteps behind her warned her that a fifth person had showed up and stood far too close to her on the almost empty platform. The energy - warm, serene, somewhat comforting - felt familiar.
"That wasn't very smart," Dabi chastised her. "To defy Shigaraki then publicly embarrass him by walking away. He was having an absolute meltdown after you left."
"Throwing a hissy fit like a two year old who didn't get his toy, I'm sure," Melina muttered crossly. She couldn't care less how humiliated that man felt after he had ordered the degradation of another.
"You shouldn't be here alone," he said.
"Why do you care?" Melina groused, keeping her eyes straight ahead.
"What makes you think that I do?" he questioned her coldly.
"Yeah, silly me," she grumbled, rolling her eyes. "What the hell was I thinking?"
"I'll see you home," he announced.
"You really don't have to - "
"I want to," he interjected, cutting off her words.
"Fine. Whatever."
What the hell was wrong with him? She could take care of herself. He of all people should know that after their little tussle in her apartment. Or was that what he was after? Another wrestling session with possibly a bit more intimacy this time? She wasn't in the mood to play love games.
Melina had hoped he would lose interest and go back to the bar - or any where away from her. Instead, he boarded the train with her, even going as far as to take her by the elbow to escort her into the car. She took a seat in the corner to distance herself from him but found herself trapped when he sat down beside her. Hip to hip, they rode in silence.
At her stop, she virtually ran off the train. Her high heels clicked rapidly on the concrete as she sprinted for the stairs to get to the street level. Using the handrail, she took the stairs two at a time like a champion hurdler rather than a pissed off woman in high heels. She emerged on the sidewalk and dashed for her apartment.
Then she wondered why she was running. He had already broken into her apartment once, what was to stop him from doing it again? She halted in the middle of the sidewalk, huffing loudly in aggravation
"Fuck me," she cursed under her breath, the weight of crushing defeat making her shoulders sag.
"Is that a request?" Dabi asked, coming to stand beside her.
"Damn you, Dabi," she panted.
Of course he could easily catch up with her because of his much longer legs. In movies, stalkers and serial killers could always catch up with their victims by idly walking behind them no matter how fast they ran away. She had needlessly expended energy. Plus she was all sweaty. Gross!
"Ugh," she grunted.
Dabi strolled beside her casually as they walked to the front door of her apartment building. Melina punched in her pass code on the metallic box attached to the glass door. Glass didn't seem so secure but maybe it was bulletproof or something. The security measures of this place seemed pointless as a whole anyway.
Melina did not speak to him as she took the stairs instead of the elevator. Perhaps he would get tired out or at least winded. By the time they reached her apartment, it appeared the only person winded by the athletic jaunt up the stairs was her. If only she hadn't participated in the impromptu marathon of senseless desperation, she would be okay. After typing in another code into the box on her door, she went inside with him still following.
"Make yourself at home," she told him. "You seem damned determine to do so no matter how unwelcome you are."
"Where are you going?" he questioned her.
"To take a shower," she replied, opening her bedroom door.
"Can I join you?"
"No, you can't join me!"
Melina slammed and locked her bedroom door. She undressed on her way to the bathroom then locked the door behind her. The locks might not stop him, but they would at least slow him down. Turning on the faucet, she activated all three shower heads switching the water stream to intense pulses that were like a percussion massage. After boiling and scrubbing what she deemed a sufficient amount of time to slough off the bullshit of the day, she shut off the water.
Shockingly, she found herself alone in the bathroom. She had fully expected him to pick the locks and intrude upon her. Wrapping one buttery yellow towel around her body, she twisted her hair up into a second one. Relaxed, her guard down, she stepped into her bedroom. She gasped and jumped back from the shock of seeing the man in her room.
"Goddamit, Dabi!" she shrieked, pressing her hand over her heart to keep it from beating through her chest.
Dabi sat on the foot of her bed with his shirt off. Flawless, lightly tanned skinned covered most of his torso and his upper arms. His bare feet were still flat on the floor, but he leaned back on his elbows as if giving her permission to look at him as long as she wanted. She noted that the toes on his feet were not burned like the fingers of his hands remained undamaged.
Her eyes moved back to his chest where the staples held the perfect and imperfect skin together. Her line of view, glided down his body, taking in the expanse of unblemished skin covering his thin but delicately muscled torso. She assumed the smooth, barely sun kissed skin continued much further down because his pants hung so low on his hips she could see a few curls of pubic hair above the waistband. The hair appeared to have a reddish tint to it which was odd considering his hair was the deepest, darkest black like hers.
"I'm tired, Dabi," she proclaimed truthfully, weariness making her voice weak and breathy.
"Come here." He issued the words like a gentle command.
Melina boldly stepped toward him, standing between his widely spread legs. She took the towel off her head, allowing her wet, unbound hair fall where it wanted to on her body. It hung like damp tendrils of seaweed, plastering itself to her neck and bare shoulders. The towel around her body soaked up the dripping water and kept the strands from sticking to her. The longest parts of her hair hung almost to her waist, straightened by the weight of the water.
Dabi sat up, taking a sopping lock between his fingers and gliding them downward the way he had during their encounter in the kitchen during his breaking and entering episode.
"It's so long," he said, touching the hair laying over her arm that held her towel to her body. His hand pressed to her arm. "Take off the towel. Let me see you."
"No," she replied flatly showing no anger or offense.
"Take it off," he repeated, standing up in front of her. The fingers of both of his hands folded over the top of the towel on either side of her hand clutching it together above her breasts.
"Don't you dare," she warned him. His fingers laying against her skin flexed, sending a shiver of anticipation throughout her entire body. At the same time, her belly tightened with dread.
Dabi pulled, jerking the towel free, and flinging it behind him with a flourish like a bull fighter.
"Asshole," she growled, not bothering to try to hide her body.
Melina stood in front of him naked as the day she was born with all of her scars on display for him to see. She had not shown him how the scars extended over her breasts, spoiling the delicate ivory skin, streaking across the brownish pink areolas where the tissue had folded into permanently rumpled flesh. There were purple lines across her belly and her thighs. He had yet to see the slashes across her behind that resembled permanent marks from an S&M spanking game gone horribly wrong.
She watched his impassive face as his curious eyes wandered over her body from her neck down to her thighs and back again many times. Suddenly he did not seem to want to touch her. Maybe he had no desire for her anymore. She snatched the towel out of his hand that hung limply at his side.
"Happy?" she demanded curtly.
"No, don't cover them up," he requested, pushing her hand down to prevent her from holding the towel in front of her body. His hand cupped her jaw, his thumb stroking her cheek, as his eyes met hers. "You're right. Scars can be beautiful."
"What are - " She began speaking only to be cut off when his mouth covered hers.
His lips were soft, his kiss tender. Oh, it was nice to kiss someone and actually want it. But she couldn't. She shouldn't. Whimpering, pushing her hands against his chest, she tried to shove him away which only prompted him to press his lips to hers with a more insistent, almost bruising, force. Pushing against him with all of her might, extending her arms, she was able to finally break the kiss. His lips still hovered dangerously close to hers.
"No, don't. You can't. You've seen what I can do."
"I did," he responded, his lips brushing across hers when he spoke. "But you're not a cruel mistress."
"I've ordered people to commit murder."
"Don't fool yourself. I already am one."
"Dabi," she breathed, yearning to move those few millimeters forward to kiss him.
"You're right about something else too," he said, kissing the tip of her nose.
"What's that?" The muscles in her arms were starting to burn and give way due to the constant pressure of his body pushing against him. She trembled with the effort of holding him at bay and the frigid chill that had taken hold of her.
"Bad guys aren't always bad straight down to the core. Sometimes even a villain likes to be shown a little kindness in this fucked up world. A warm embrace," he murmured, drawing her into him with one arm around her waist and the other around her shoulders. His lips ghosted across her cheek with the promise of a kiss but withholding it. His fingers massaged her back. "A gentle touch."
"Dabi, stop," she begged, dropping her arms to allow her chest to press against his.
He was warm, so warm. She lowered her chin to keep him from kissing her. However, he hooked his finger under her chin, forcing her to look up at him. His heavy lidded eyes appeared sleepier than normal as his brilliant turquoise irises captivated hers. She no longer tried to resist him. Why would she when she wanted his kiss?
"A sweet kiss," he whispered, fitting his mouth to hers.
No, no, no, she chanted inwardly as the pheromone automatically flooded her mouth. His tongue breached her lips, tasting her tongue and the honey flavor of her mouth.
"Oh, god," he moaned between laps of his tongue between her honeyed lips. "You taste amazing."
If she didn't say anything, maybe the pheromone would wear off without her uttering a single command. Whatever he did to her, she wanted him to do it of his own volition. She wanted him to remember.
"Are you okay?" Dabi asked after lifting his mouth from hers.
Melina nodded. Don't talk to him. Do not speak a word. Not a single word.
"Talk to me. Say my name," he requested.
She shook her head so vigorously it made her dizzy. When his arms enclosed her body, picking her up to swing her around, she cried out in surprise. She had expected another flight before a harsh landing on the bed. Her eyes held his as he carefully lay her down, held secure in his arms. When her back contacted the mattress, his arms unwound from around her but he stayed close, keeping his body suspended above hers as he slowly went down with her. Being put on the bed like this was definitely preferred to being carelessly tossed onto the mattress like a discarded stuffed animal.
"Do you want me?" he questioned her, pushing the damp hair away from her face. He pressed himself between her legs, and it was not difficult to feel his stiff, engorged member through the thick cotton fabric of his pants. "Do you want this?"
Melina nodded enthusiastically. She did indeed. But another time. Not tonight. Not like this. Something didn't feel quite right. Needless to say, she knew a lot about control. Dabi was making a power play. It became clear to her he was manipulating her, testing to see how far he could go, how much dominance he could gain over her. If she gave him too much too soon, she had no doubt it would come back to haunt her further down the road of life.
"Stop," she whispered.
He completely froze into position as if she had hit a button.
"Roll over, Dabi," she commanded him.
Dabi rolled off of her onto his back. She giggled. She couldn't help it.
Melina got off the bed, going to her closet. She pulled a short black silk chemise from its hanger and tugged the gown over her head. Standing at the end of the bed, she considered the man lying there, his eyes open and staring blankly at the ceiling.
What now? She had an idea that might be pleasing to the both of them though not quite as satisfying as sex she had to admit.
"Here's what's going to happen," she began, walking around to the side of the bed to pull down the covers. "You're going to get into this bed beside me. You'll spoon me all night, holding me in your arms. We will both wake up refreshed from a good night's sleep. Got it, Dabi?"
"Got it," he parroted back to her, wedging his body under the snow white sheets to lay beside her. Dutifully, he fitted his body to hers, his chest to her back, draping his arm across her waist.
Melina struggled to free herself from his powerful embrace. When he would not loosen his grip, she gave him the order to let go so she could switch off the lamp on the bedside table. When she returned to her previous position, he quickly pulled her back into his ardent backwards hug, although she had not said another word to him.
For several minutes, she lay in the darkness concentrating on the sensation of his heart thumping against her shoulder blade. Unconsciously she matched her breathing pattern to his. She allowed each rise and fall of his chest, his skin grazing across hers, to soothe her and relax her. His every respiration mesmerized her, pulling her down into unconsciousness until she fell asleep in his arms.