A/N: Just a few things before we get started. There are several switches in this chapter between scenes and points of view. Some events even occur simultaneously. I did my best to try to separate the excerpts for easier reading. I do hope the timeline is easy to figure out. These events do take place over the span of a day. What a day!

I have to express my thanks to my reviewers. The positive response has been so helpful in motivating me. I am listing your names to give you a more personal thank you. You are by no means listed in any particular order, all being important, only by order of review for last chapter: bbymojo, Terrance Johnny Stanford, Ichigo0-0Rose, maxridelover, OddlyParanoid, and dizzydaz97. Those few extra minutes you take to leave your thoughts is appreciated.

I am also grateful to those who favorite and follow. I appreciate you as well. I feel a flutter with every new favorite and/or follow. I will do my best to not disappoint.

So on with the reading. Please enjoy. It's quite a ride so buckle up, buttercups, and I'll meet you on the other side.

~\..'../~

WHAT. THE. FUCK. The words were stuck inside his head. Unable to speak, Dabi managed a pitiful groan to express his misery. His eyelids refused to part, weighed down by the death like slumber that did not want to let him go. A buzz like a thousand bees inside his skull pulsated through his brain. A humming vibrated his eardrums. What the hell did she do to him?

Gossamer fibers like the threads of spider web tickled his nose and forehead. Somehow he moved his hand, reaching up to grab a handful of the minuscule strings laying across his cheek. He pulled, hearing a small whimper. The body beside his moved. The contact of skin against skin, felt both comforting and disconcerting all at once. His fingers tightened around the spider's web, pulling harder.

"Dabi, stop."

Melina's voice. The shock of recognition separated his heavy eyelids with ease. Instantly he remembered: he was in her room, in her bed. Positioned on his side, she lay in front of him on her side, her back pressed to his chest. They must have slept that way all night.

Coming further into consciousness, he realized he wasn't trapped in a spider's web. Her silky hair covered his face, wrapping around his entire head. He recalled seeing she had long hair, black waves almost down to her waist. He combed his fingers through her lengthy mane, carefully dragging it away from his face without pulling it again.

Dabi had seen her naked. Her scars served only to heighten her beauty in his eyes, intriguing him and drawing him to her like the metaphorical moth to the flame. He had found her exquisite doll perfect beauty off putting. The horrendous scars caused by pain, and possibly brutality, made her human, accessible - fallible. Her damage going beyond her skin made him believe she could understand him. She might even accept him completely.

His eyes followed the sloping angle of her neck. His hand cupped her shoulder. She did not move. Gliding his hand down her back, his fingers hooked under the tiny strap of her nightgown, pulling it over her shoulder. His head inclined forward a few inches so he could kiss the diagonal purple mark across her shoulder blade.

His hand continued sliding down her arm as he covered the scars across her back with little kisses. Pressing his palm to her thigh, he focused on the softness of her skin, the compact firmness of her muscles underneath. His fingers skimmed up her thigh, edging under the hem of her gown and gathering the material to allow him access to more of her silky smooth, and oh so wonderful to touch, skin.

Dabi scooted his entire body downward, placing individual kisses along her spine until the nightgown halted his progress. Pushing his hand upward, he lifted the black silk to reveal her lily white ass marked with the purple stripes. Such a wonderful contrast of beauty and ugliness. It was almost unfair that he took pleasure in the permanent evidence of the pain she had suffered.

"Mmmm, yes. How lovely," he murmured to himself, a pulsing discomfort forming below his waist.

Tentatively, he placed a tender kiss on one of the scars. The muscles in her behind flexed under his lips. He kissed another one of the numerous marks after she stirred and moaned lightly. The variance in texture of her satiny skin and the hard muscle elicited an urge he could not resist. His teeth gently tested the softness of her skin, nibbling lightly when encountering the sinewy resistance of the underlying muscle. Clenching his jaws, he bit down harder, being careful to not break the skin. He felt her jerk away from him wrenching her flesh out of his mouth.

"OOOOOWWWWWWWW!" Melina howled like a banshee.

She jumped up from the bed as if she had been launched out of it by a cannon. Her bleary eyes blindly scanned the room. Hopelessly confused and in agony, she rubbed her injured behind while tears leaked from the corners of her eyes.

"OH MY GOD! YOU BIT ME!" she screeched in bewildered disbelief.

Dabi experienced a strange fluttering sensation in his chest. The muscles in his face contracted and pulled his lips into a wide grin. For a split second it felt like the staples were going to tear through the skin of his cheeks. A tickle raced up his throat and ejected out of his mouth as laughter. She had a strange effect on him. It was like witchcraft.

"DABI!" she shrieked, positively furious.

Her eyes cleared and zeroed in on him with piercing accuracy. Grabbing a pillow, she walloped him as hard as she could right across the face with her fluffy weapon.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Your ass just looked so tasty I couldn't help myself," he laughed, although she was beating the crap out of him with the pillow. She had compacted the feathers into one end making them dense and quite hard, almost like a brick.

"What. The. Hell..." She continued repeating her earlier question, soundly smacking him between each word. It was really beginning to hurt.

"Okay! Stop!" he shouted above the loud thwomps when the ache in his head grew worse from his skull being battered. "Okay! That's enough! STOP!"

He grabbed the pillow, snatching it out of her hands. When she fell forward from the momentum of him taking the pillow away from her, he caught her in his arms. His eyes held hers as she settled herself into his lap facing him, wrapping her legs around his waist. His arms acted automatically, enclosing her body, drawing her securely into his embrace.

"This is nice," he said, luxuriating in her softness and warmth.

"That hurt, you asshole," Melina whined, poking out her lower lip in a pout.

"Want me to kiss it and make it better?" He smoothed her hair back from her face, kissing her cheek.

"Kiss my ass? I'd rather you didn't. In the future, I'll be sure to never tell you to bite my ass either."

"I'd do so with great pleasure." He kissed her chin.

"Mmmm, I have no doubt. DABI!" she yelled when he plastered his hands to her butt cheeks and squeezed.

"Oh, god, I love to hear you scream my name," he growled playfully.

Constricting his arms around her, he rolled up onto his knees and dumped her onto her back on the bed. His face tightened, his lips stretching into a smile when she squealed like a woman on a thrill ride in an amusement park. Lying down on top of her, he placed his belly against hers, fitting his hips between her thighs so that his aching erection pressed against the most intimate, and hottest temperature wise, part of her.

"What did you do to me last night?" he questioned her.

"Absolutely nothing," she answered succinctly.

Melina issued a low grunt when he rocked his hips slightly. The little bit of friction inflicted by the coarse cotton of his pants eased the ache a little before it came back stronger, evolving into an uncomfortable throbbing.

"Nothing at all?"

"Nothing at all. It's your fault, you know. You kissed me despite seeing what I did to Twice. Stupid," she grumbled.

Whether it was intentional or a subconscious sign, Melina lay her arms back on the bed in the official surrender position like when a police officer corners a criminal and orders them to put their hands up.

Dabi fitted his palm to hers, noting the size difference in their hands. The tips of her fingers barely reached the second joint of his fingers. Her palm disappeared completely under his. So small, so delicate. Easily broken. He slipped his fingers between hers, grasping her hand.

"Did I miss anything fun?"

"No. I wouldn't let you do anything you wouldn't remember," she said, giving him a sheepish smile. "When you fuck me, I want you to remember everything."

"Fuck you?" One corner of his mouth lifted into rakish grin. "Should I punish you for that filthy mouth?"

He lowered his mouth to her neck, giving her a peck. His tongue darted out to taste her flesh again before he nipped her gently. She yelped and jumped under him, bumping his erection with her pubic bone to send a delightful shiver through his entire body. Although unintentional, she was teasing him in the best of ways, but inadvertently causing him pain.

"It feels like you're punishing yourself too," she said.

"Maybe so." He lowered his head to kiss her, but she turned her head so he kissed her cheek instead.

"You can't."

Dabi sighed in frustration, removing his body from hers. Since she did not have a headboard, he sat with his back against the wall, placing the pillow she had used as a weapon in his lap to hide his hard on.

"Why are you here?" Melina asked him, standing up from the bed.

"What do you mean?"

"This," she began, waving her hand around the room, "is not furthering your investigation. You're wasting your time. There's nothing to find out. I'm not a spy for the heroes or anything. I have no desire to bring the villains to some supposed justice. I have no personal vendettas here. So why are you here, in my bedroom, trying to seduce me?"

"Because I want to be here. I didn't have to walk you home last night either, you know."

"I know."

"I like you, Melina."

"Would you be offended if I said I can't believe you?" she inquired bluntly, placing her hands on her hips.

"No. I'd call you call you smart for not believing me." He tossed the pillow aside, scuttling to the foot of the bed. He had overstayed his welcome. Time to go.

"Are you all right?"

Dabi plucked his t-shirt from the floor to pull it over his head.

"Except for a headache, I'm fine," he responded flatly, standing up. "I have to go. There's something important I need to do."

He walked into the living room, retrieving his jacket from the back of the white chair on his way to the door.

Melina said nothing nor did she try to stop him. She couldn't even be bothered to walk out of the bedroom behind him to bid him farewell or fuck you.

Well, damn. Couldn't she have at least asked him to stay? Maybe even begged a little.

Angrily thrusting his feet into his shoes at the door, he opened it to leave. Without saying good-bye, he slammed the door behind him.

~\..'../~

Melina literally shrugged off the cold dismissal. She had things to do as well. The first was to take a shower. The water stung the bite on her behind like fire.

"God, he's insane," she griped out loud, rubbing her behind. "But he's my kind of crazy."

Melina dressed in a yellow cotton t-shirt and a black cotton overall dress to diverge from her typical outdated fashion choices. She wanted to revisit her rural roots, remind herself where she came from. She wasn't some deranged diva pining for a bygone era of Hollywood. Poor Granny. She was a farm girl from North Carolina. Styling her hair in two braids furthered her country girl style. Foregoing make up, choosing instead to wear only lip gloss that she made herself.

Taking her basket used for gathering flowers, she filled it with jars of skin cream as well as pots and tubes of lip care products. After carefully wrapping jars of honey in pieces of tissue paper, she placed them in the basket. There were also plastic bags of dried rose petals and lavender that needed to be packed for delivery. She couldn't wait to get the florist shop to drop these off and check out any new flower arrivals.

Going to her room to retrieve her black tennis shoes, Melina went to her bedside table, picking up the poetry book her grandmother had given her. She flipped open the plain sky blue front cover. On the first page, under the title Love and other Important Things, her grandmother had written her a note.

To my darling granddaughter...I love you dearly. Never forget to smell the roses. Never leave the house without your favorite lipstick. Walk and talk like a lady - always. Fall in love every chance you get. Don't be afraid to love hard and love deeply. Love the bees, my darling, because they have always loved you.

In just a few handwritten lines, the wisdom and weirdness of her beloved grandmother would forever be preserved in the book. It was the last present she had received from her. It was the one item that survived the fire.

Melina smiled despite the sorrow swelling in her chest. Putting the book down, she went to the kitchen to retrieve her basket and leave.

Her grandmother had recognized early on that she had a special way with the bees. She was Granny's favorite beekeeping assistant. That woman taught her everything she knows from harvesting honey to concocting her cosmetic mixtures.

When she would go to the hives, neither she nor her grandmother wore a stitch of beekeeper's clothing. No jumpsuit, no gloves, no netting - most often, not even shoes. While her grandmother worked, she would calmly stand with her arms out, allowing the bees to land on her. She liked the way it felt when their tiny little furry feet tickled her skin and their buzzing created an electric hum that vibrated her body from the inside out.

Her grandmother had taught her to be still, tranquil, quiet, and she would be safe from getting stung. As long as she didn't fear the bees or try to hurt them, they would not hurt her. And they never did until that one day. But on that day, the bees saved her life and gave her an incredible gift - and a curse.

Melina shuddered violently cutting off the memory before it could progress. She needed to stop by the library to pick up a book. Today would be a good day to sit and read in the park. She should also begin considering what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. Tomorrow would be a good day for that.

~\..'../~

"I'm done," Dabi announced once inside Shigaraki's office.

"What did you find out?"

"Nothing," he replied curtly, shrugging his shoulders noncommittally. "Like I told you before, there's nothing to find out. This woman gives no fucks whatsoever about the heroes or us. She does not care what happens to any of us. She's just an ordinary woman with a quirk...an extraordinary quirk...trying to live her life. That's all."

"How can you be so sure?" Shigaraki asked.

"I haven't found anything to prove otherwise. I've watched her and followed her everywhere for a few weeks. I've been into everything. Her apartment. Her mail. " Almost her. That would be no one's fault but his own sex didn't happen.

"There's nothing of interest at all?"

"No. She's boring as hell. I'm dying here," Dabi complained, pacing the small area in front of the desk. "I don't see the point of spying on her any longer. There's nothing to learn by seducing her."

He hated the way the man sat silently, his fingers steepled under his chin as he watched him walk back and forth like a caged animal. He needed to get out of this place. What was Melina doing at this moment?

"Do you have feelings for her?" Shigaraki questioned him, catching him off guard.

Dabi glared at him, covering his surprise with angry indignation.

"What?" he sneered derisively.

"I specifically picked you for this job because you have no feelings."

"Yeah, well, you picked the right guy. She is not conspiring against you. There's nothing special about her. There's nothing about her you would be interested in."

"Except that quirk."

"She doesn't want to use it. She can't help it. It's just there...a part of her. Whatever you're looking for is not there!" Dabi exclaimed, his voice rising before he could control it.

Dabi could tell the man was smiling by the way the corners of his barely visible eyes crinkled. He was positive it was from a psychotic but self-assured smirk. Shigaraki was probably convinced he had discovered something important. Crazy fuck.

"I don't have feelings for anyone. Especially not her," Dabi assured him. "I need something else to do. Want me to go after another one of those UA kids? What about the one with the green hair? The one they're calling All Might's predecessor?"

"Oh, my god," the man gasped dramatically, his eyes widening. Even the hand covering his face could not hide the expression of astonishment. "You do have feelings for this woman."

"Now how in the hell did you draw that conclusion?" Dabi scoffed, rolling his eyes. "You're hallucinating. You're seeing something that doesn't exist."

"Fine. Since you can't do the job, I'll send someone who can," Shigaraki announced. The statement sounded distinctly like a threat.

"Who?" he demanded, a chill racing up his spine and slamming into the back of his head. His headache grew exponentially worse.

"There's no need for you to worry about that. You can go," the other man ordered rather than suggested.

"But - " he tried to protest.

"Get out of my sight!" Shigaraki yelled at him.

Shit!, Dabi cursed silently, having no choice but to walk away. What is that bastard up to?

~\..'../~

Melina conversed with the owner of the floral shop setting the new stock of products on the counter. She had developed a business relationship with the woman due to her frequent visits to buy flowers for her rooftop garden. The proprietor grew curious one day as to why she needed so many flowers, and when she explained, the rest, as they say, is history.

When another customer required the owner's attention, she took the opportunity to examine the nearby flowering plants. Not too far away stood a young man gazing into the cooler of cut flowers where one could pick out individual flowers themselves for a do-it-yourself bouquet.

To say his appearance was unique would be a gross understatement. His short hair parted down the middle in color but not in style; a beautiful deep auburn red on one side and a gorgeous snow white on the other. She seemed to remember having seen that shade of red somewhere recently but could not recall exactly where, or rather who, she had seen that hair color on.

The boy of about fifteen or sixteen glanced at her. She smiled at him, but he did not smile back. Although the eye contact was brief and his bangs nearly hid his eyes, she had been able to see that he was a rare recipient of heterochromia. A dark gray eye had peeked between the strands of white, and a luminescent blue-green eye peered through the red locks of hair. The reddish discoloration around his turquoise eye indicated a hot water burn.

Melina knew all too well what a burn scar from fire looked like. Dabi's scars were also from fire; not water or oil or anything else, but pure, unadulterated fire. She sighed despondently at the thought of him. She had no idea what to expect next from the man. She probably shouldn't expect anything at all. He most likely would not come around again.

After all, he had been ordered to keep her under surveillance for information gathering purposes. Although she did not always see him, she could sometimes feel him lurking in corners and behind trees, buildings, and other people, watching. He only kept coming around because it was his job. Since he needed information on her, she assumed that meant he would do anything to get it, up to and including, having sex with her. Surely he had to be bored with her mundane life. The most excitement she had experienced since coming to Japan was on the job at the bar.

The young man in front of her appeared confused, unable to decide between the many choices in front of him. Glimpsing around the store, she saw the owner was still busy with the other customer. She knew a thing or two about flowers so she might as well assist him.

"Need help?" she asked jovially, sounding a hell of a lot more chipper than she felt.

"Uh...yeah," he answered, appearing to be slightly offended by her intrusion upon his thought process.

"Who are you buying a gift for?"

"My mom."

"Do you know her favorite flower?" she inquired.

"Do you..." His words trailed as he critically eyed her from head to toe. "Do you work here?"

"No. But I'm friends with the owner. I don't mind helping out from time to time," she explained. "So is it a special occasion? A birthday perhaps?"

"No. Just because I want to bring her something nice," he clarified. "I don't know her favorite flower."

"How often do you go visit her?"

"You're being incredibly nosy lady," he muttered, his eyes narrowing to mere slits of suspicion as he studied her.

"There's a method to my madness, I swear. Answer the question, please," she prodded him good naturedly.

"Once a week. Sometimes once every two weeks, depending on how busy I am. Why?"

"Well," she began, opening the door to the cooler. "I was thinking if visited her on a less regular basis like monthly, a plant would be good. Something that would last longer. But since you go often." She pulled out several crimson red camellias. "You can replace the bouquet when it dies. That way she always has something to remind her of you."

Melina chose several pure white daisies and a few pieces of dark green fern to add to the little bouquet. Taking his serious, straightforward manner into account, she designed something simple but pretty, nothing fussy or elaborate. She went to the small table in the corner stocked with floral design necessities such as tissue paper, boxes, vases, cards, ribbons in a rainbow of colors, etc. Picking a clear glass vase with a tall neck and small round bottom, she arranged the flowers. Wrapping lengths of red and white ribbon around her hand, she tied and cut and pulled to make a round fluffy bow somewhat like a chrysanthemum to attach to the vase.

"Voila! Here ya go!" she proclaimed triumphantly, handing him the finished product.

"It's pretty," he said, taking it from her. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome. Well, I better be going," she announced.

Melina waved to the owner who thanked her for helping the young man. She grabbed her basket off the counter that contained the library book she gotten before coming here. She had a date with herself at the park for reading and relaxation. Her idea of fun. How fucking dull can a person be?

~\..'../~

Himiko Toga stepped through the black mist of the portal Kurogiri had formed to transport her into that woman's apartment. Scanning the happy, sunshiney kitchen around her, she grunted in disapproval. She couldn't wait to fuck this place up.

Seeing the vase of flowers on the counter, she reached out to swipe it off onto the floor like a misbehaving cat. The glass container shattered, spilling water and flowers all over the floor.

"Oopsie!" she squeaked, placing the tips of her fingers against her bottom lip. "Sorry, not sorry!"

Grabbing the bowl of fruit, she slammed it down onto the tile sending shards of white pottery through the air. Humming an upbeat little tune, elated by the destruction, Himiko opened a cabinet door. She took out a plate, dropping it onto the floor. It broke into eight asymmetrical pieces like a badly cut pie. She continued going through the cabinets until they were cleaned out and every breakable item lay heaped up on the floor in bits.

"Oooh!" Himiko squealed with glee, opening the refrigerator.

She drank chilled water from the tall, clear glass pitcher before unceremoniously dropping it. Cold water splashed her legs.

"Brrr!" she cried out, over-exaggerating a shiver.

Himiko took out the carton of eggs, flipping open the top. Eight. Enough to make a big mess. She giggled, throwing the first one at the yellow and white tiled back-splash behind the stove. Every wall of the kitchen received a painting of egg. The orange-yellow yolk was much darker than the light pastel yellow walls adding an unwanted dash of color.

She plucked a strawberry from the bowl, popping it in her mouth, spitting the leaves out onto the floor. The bowl and the rest of the berries were flung into the kitchen sink where the glass shattered against the porcelain glazed metal. After the refrigerator and freezer were successfully emptied, creating a new and disgusting layer of debris, she moved on to the living room.

Sliding the butterfly knife from the waistband of her pleated skirt, Himiko opened it with a few flicks of her wrist. Stabbing the back of the unremarkable, exceptionally plain but functional chair, she slit it open right down the middle of the back all the way through the cushioned seat. She continued slashing at it until pieces of fluffy white stuffing poked out as if the chair had vomited a cloud. The couch and the other chair suffered the same fate as their companion.

"Ooooh, pretty," Himiko cooed when she walked into the woman's bedroom.

The bedroom would have to wait. She went into the bathroom instead, entering the closet located in the far corner. Tucking the knife back into its holder attached at her waist, she casually thumbed through the clothing as if shopping in a store. So many beautiful clothes. She picked a gorgeous black nightie with a see through lace top and short black silk skirt. Holding it against her body, she looked at herself in the full length mirror.

I'm pretty. Prettier and younger, she thought as she studied her reflection. Dabi would like her in this. Had he seen that woman in this?

The smile faded from her face. Opening the drawers in the sink vanity, she found a pair of scissors. Seeing all of the glass jars of varying sizes, she snatched the drawer right out of the wooden structure, dumping them onto the grey tile floor. Some of them shattered, and the ones that didn't she broke them by stomping them. Tons of goo in shades of white and pink and flesh tone splattered all over the floor.

Going back to the closet, Himiko grabbed the clothes by armfuls, throwing them into a pile on the floor. When the racks were empty, she sat down and started cutting each item to pieces with the scissors. She took great pleasure in hacking up every single item of clothing, even the underwear, that the woman owned. The havoc in the closet was not complete until she had snipped off the straps to each pair of the dozen or so high heeled shoes.

Her search of the closet returned nothing. No safe containing valuables, no lockbox securing important papers. There was not even a shoe box full of sentimental items such as birthday cards and silly middle school love letters.

Disappointed and a little tired, Himiko walked back into the bedroom. Her golden eyes riveted themselves to the bed. Had Dabi fucked that insect there?

Jealousy, hot and sick like a disease, oozed through her insides. A scream of rage ejected from her throat as she jumped on the bed. Using her knife, she mercilessly stabbed the pillow, sending up puffs of feathers every time she drew the knife back. She slashed and tore at the covers until they were in tatters on top of the eviscerated foam mattress missing huge hunks of its flesh.

Himiko sat in the middle of the decimated bed, panting for air. She was exhausted. Glancing around, she noticed the dressing table with the triple folding mirror.

Low on energy, she settled for tipping the whole thing over. Orgasmic satisfaction unfurled throughout her entire body when she heard the unmistakable shatter of the mirrors. That's twenty one years bad luck for that bitch.

"Am I missing anything?" she asked herself out loud, taking another look around.

The book on the bedside table caught her eye. How had she missed that? It looked important. Picking it up, she flipped through the pages. Another let down. It was just a stupid book. She read the inscription in the front in case it was a coded message.

"Ugh," she groaned, slamming the cover shut. "Disgusting, sentimental bullshit."

Another dead end. She closed the book and read the cover.

"Love and other important things. What the fuck ever."

Then a thought occurred to her when she reread the words written inside. Well, the book may not have yielded anything useful, however, it was obviously important to the woman. Grasping the first page, she tore it free from the spine. The ripping sound evoked an exhilarating thrill that ran down her spine making her shiver with pleasure. She tore out the signed page, taking the time to shred it into confetti.

Oh, yeah. Destroying everything the bitch owned, everything she held near and dear, was incredibly fun.

~\..'../~

Dabi sat in the back booth sipping straight whiskey. He was worried. Every time there was movement at the door he nearly jumped out of his skin. Melina was not here. It was almost midnight. She was late. VERY late. She was never late. Kurogiri had not heard from her. That was two hours ago.

Himiko walked in and headed straight for her usual seat. She appeared awfully happy with herself which made his stomach ache. Plopping down in the seat across from him, she gazed at him with a goofy grin and a blush on her cheeks. She acted as if she had gotten fucked good and hard and was still riding the high of a reality altering orgasm.

"Where have you been?" he asked her despite not really caring.

"Oh, I had the time of my life this afternoon!" she exclaimed. "It was better than sex!"

"What could be better than sex?" he muttered irritably.

As if he would know considering he kept avoiding screwing Melina no matter how badly he wanted her. But there was a reason he didn't want to have sex with her yet. Then he noticed the feather in Himiko's hair. His stomach lurched and plummeted to his toes. Plucking it out, he studied it carefully.

"A feather? What - "

"From a pillow. From your girlfriend's bed," she said, her lips curling at the corners with dark glee.

"You bitch! What did you do?!" he bellowed at her.

"It was so much fun. I destroyed it all," she replied in a sing-song voice, her eyes dancing happily. "I had myself a little party in your girlfriend's apartment. I'm sure it's one she won't forget any time soon."

Dabi stood up, resisting the urge to grab her and throttle her as she stared him with a smile and genuine but sinister happiness in her eyes. Although their eyes were almost the same color, Melina's looked completely different. They didn't possess that hint of hateful malice and brutal cruelty he saw Himiko's eyes. It made the blonde so very hideous to him at the moment.

"I broke everything. It's sure to break her heart. Possibly her spirit," she added, verbally expressing her penchant for malevolence.

"Shit." He all but ran to the exit.

"Dabi? Dabi!" she shrieked. "Where are you going? You're supposed to stay with me!"

He didn't have time for any more of her petty jealousy or her bullshit. He hurried out to the street to hail a cab because there was no time to wait for a train.

~\..'../~

Melina sat in the middle of the catastrophe that used to be her nice, organized home. She liked the home she had made for herself. Once again, something beyond her control came along and ruined everything, taking it all away from her.

She sat on the floor beside her bed, transfixed, clutching the pages of the book she had found there among feathers and bits of foam. Her fingers had lost all feeling she had been grasping the pieces of paper so tightly for so long. Numbness had taken over her body and her mind hours ago rendering her mute, unable to move or cry anymore. She could not muster the strength to shed another tear.

A hammering on the door reached her through the protective fog encompassing her brain. Who the hell could that be? Were they back to finish the job with her? She hoped so. Unhinging her dead fingers from the pages, she dropped the crumpled paper onto the floor.

Melina opened the door to see Dabi standing there, his shoulders heaving as he sucked in wheezing breaths of air. Why the hell was he knocking on the front door? Why didn't he just break in like usual? Or had he already broken in once today and didn't feel like doing it again?

"What are you doing here?" she asked, then somehow she had the presence of mind to ask another question. "How did you even get in here? The front door - "

"Someone was coming in so I walked in behind them," he explained quickly, taking her face between his hands.

"God, this place sucks. I need a new apartment anyway, so..." Her words died away, and her eyes dropped to the floor.

"Are you okay?" he gushed, taking her face between his hands.

"I'm alive. I think," she added, backing away from him until his hands fell away from her face.

Although she did not invite him in, he pushed her back a little with a hand on her shoulder to make room for himself. He stepped inside and closed the door.

"Oh, my god," he gasped seeing the frightful disarray that was once her nice, neat apartment. "Go pack some things. I'm taking you with me."

Melina did not move. When he grabbed her hand, she jerked it away from him.

"Why are you just standing there? Go get your clothes and - "

"There's nothing to get!" she yelled, her dead eyes suddenly blazing with fury. "They're all destroyed. Cut to pieces. I have nothing."

"You can buy new clothes. Let's go," he said, reaching for her hand.

"NO!" she screamed, pulling her hand away before he could take hold of it.

"You can't stay here."

"Don't worry about me. I've been through worse. Leave," she ordered him, her voice almost a growl.

"Just come with me. Everything will be okay," he assured her, extending his hand to her.

"Nothing is going to be okay!" she cried out. Her voice shook and her chin quivered, but her eyes remained dry. "It's never going to be okay again!"

Anger, powerful and invasive, seized her. Her hand shot out, slapping him across the cheek. Strengthened by her anger, she struck him hard enough that one of the staples ripped through his skin. A thin red line oozed down the normal colored skin of his cheek.

"Leave me alone," she snarled through her clenched teeth. "You caused this. This is your fault. Get out, and stay away from me."

"Good bye, Melina," he said, reaching behind him to open the door. He backed out, shutting the door.

Melina closed her eyes. The tears she had held back tumbled down her cheeks. She waited a few minutes to break, giving him enough time to be gone not only from her floor but the apartment building entirely.

Her knees wobbled, and she leaned forward, pressing her feverish forehead against the cool door. Flattening her hand against the smooth surface, she carefully guided herself down to one of the few clean spots on the entire apartment floor. Once there, she allowed the new wave of fresh anguish to overtake her. Wailing like the wounded woman she was, her sorrow spewed out in great gulping sobs. She felt as if she were grieving for her family, especially her Granny, all over again.

It hurt. Oh, god did it hurt.

Cry for a night. It's okay to be sad, to be hurt. But in the morning, wash your face, put on your lipstick and high heels, and go live your life. Never, never, let anyone kill your spirit. One of the many little tidbits of inspiration shared by her grandmother as she lay on her death bed.

Okay, Granny, I'll cry it out tonight, but tomorrow I'll get back to life, Melina promised.

A shopping trip would be in order first. She needed new shoes. She had a container of lip gloss in her pocket. It would have to do.

~\..'../~

Dabi stood on the other side of the door, listening to her vehement sobbing. There was a twinge in his chest like a needle pricking his heart. With each grief-stricken howl that reached him through the metal door, the stabbing pain grew a little stronger like a knife twisting in a wound. What the hell was happening to him? He might need a doctor or meds.

He had not bothered to defend himself when she accused him of being a party in annihilating her apartment despite him not being there or even knowing what happened. His argument would have fallen on deaf ears anyway. Besides, her accusation was not entirely misplaced: in a way, he did bear responsibility for what happened.

He pressed his palm to the door. His fingers itched he wanted to touch her so badly. His hand formed a fist against the door, but he resisted the urge to punch it because he did not want to alert her to his presence.

For tonight, he would go as she had requested, leaving her to grieve alone. However, he wouldn't stop watching over her quite yet.

He would bet money and not lose that Shigaraki had given Himiko permission to do anything she wanted to Melina. Like a spoiled child, Shigaraki had found a toy he wanted, Melina's mind control quirk, and he wouldn't stop until he got it.

Melina did not have friends to protect her like those hero academy kids. Dabi swore to himself he would protect her even if she never wanted to see him again. She needed him even though she didn't know it yet.

A/N: I hope that last bit didn't sound stalkerish. That was not the intention at all. Poor guy. He's grown feelings and doesn't know what in the hell is happening to him.

All right, that's all for now folks. Let me know what you think.