Melina rechecked her makeup on the street corner across from the UA campus. A lavenderish coloration could be seen around her eye and across her cheekbone under the multiple layers of concealer, foundation, and powder she had carefully applied in an effort to camouflage the bruise. That was the best she could do to disguise the horrible purplish-black blotch. Snapping her compact shut, she slid it back into her purse.
"Don't worry! You're beautiful!" Shoto shouted from across the street.
"Jesus," she muttered, her head snapping up to see him at the gate. Of course, he's waiting for me.
For the first time since she met Shoto, she was not happy to see him. Shoring up her courage, gathering up her scattered nerves, and hoping for the best, she trotted across the street to meet him at the gate. She doubted Mr. Perceptive would miss the bruise, but she prayed he would at least refrain from questioning her about it.
"Walking me to the Principal's office, Mr. Todoroki?" she asked, giving him her best, most genuine fake smile.
"It's your first day of school so I thought you could use a hand to hold," he said, extending his hand toward her.
"Ah, you're sweet," she murmured, taking his hand.
"Oooooh," came a chorus of male voices from somewhere above them.
They both looked up to see several boys scatter away from the second floor window of a classroom overlooking the courtyard and gate area.
"Damn those guys," he muttered. "They're not even supposed to be in there."
Melina giggled. Shoto turned as red as the red half of his hair. She punched him playfully in the arm like a best buddy would.
"You're too cute when you get embarrassed like that," she said.
"Ugh," he groaned.
She laughed again, louder and longer.
"What happened to your face?" he questioned her.
GODDAMMIT! Melina tripped over the thin air, and he caught her with an outstretched arm to set her firmly on her feet. She hadn't expected him to go straight in for the truth so soon. Her heart raced as her brain spun out of control searching for an excuse.
"Oh, well...I, uh..." She scratched her head as if it might help her think. "It's embarrassing...really embarrassing...I-I was going to get a glass of water last night when I tripped. I fell and hit the corner of my coffee table."
"You are a little clumsy," he remarked, looking behind them as if searching for what she had tripped over.
Good thing she had stumbled a little bit in shock from his question as if to prove her tendency to be ungainly. Nausea swam around in her belly, propelled by guilt. She didn't like lying to him. He had been too open, too honest with her for her to be deceptive in return. But she couldn't tell him the truth. What would he think of her?
His hand tightening around hers drew her out of her head and back to him as he walked her up the stairs to the faculty building. Pulling her to stand in front of him, she could feel his breath on her cheek when he leaned forward to open the door for her.
"Good luck on your first day of school," he told her, holding the door.
"Sure thing," she returned with a smile, pivoting on her heel to go inside.
"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked before she could step away from him.
"I'm fine," she assured him without looking back.
Melina could hear it in his voice that he doubted her story about the purple mark. She didn't have time to worry about convincing him of her lie right now. Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, she took careful measured steps toward the office. Raising her chin, plastering on a smile, she opened the door and walked inside.
Upon nearing Principal Nezu's private office, Melina could see three occupants in total in the room through the clear glass walls, one being Mr. Principal of course. On one of the couches sat All Might and an unkempt man dressed in black with an extremely long white scarf wrapped around his neck. The man looked like he would prefer to be anywhere but here and taking a nap.
Melina knocked on the door of Principal Nezu's office. All of the men looked toward the door, abandoning their conversation. She was waved in with a paw.
"Good morning, Melina. I'm happy to see you," Mr. Principal said, meeting her at the door. "Please sit."
She took a seat on the other couch, positioning herself across from All Might who began introductions to the sleepy and disgruntled looking man.
"Melina, this is Shota Aizawa. He's the homeroom teacher for class 1-A and their dorm monitor," he explained. "Aizawa, this is Melina Zusa. She's going to be the new science teacher. She might also be moving into the dorms to assist with the girls."
"I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr. Aizawa," Melina said, leaning forward and extending her hand.
"Hmmm," he grunted, glancing at her hand without attempting to shake it. His dark, affectless eyes moved back up to her face. "Do you have skills other than your charm and your pretty face?"
"I do have quite the pitching arm. I'd be happy to demonstrate that skill," she offered, her hand moving toward the baseball sitting in the middle of the coffee table.
"NO!" Principal Nezu and All Might exclaimed at once, both lunging forward to retrieve the object before she could.
Principal Nezu cleared his throat and straightened his tie as All Might placed the ball on the shelves behind the couch and far out of Melina's reach.
"That won't be necessary, Miss Zusa," the principal said, coming to sit down beside her.
"Oh, so you must be the one I keep hearing about from the incident in the cafeteria," Aizawa mumbled sounding as if he were holding back a yawn. "At least you've got balls. Or you could just be stupid."
Melina pressed her lips together so tightly they began to go numb. Every ounce of restraint within her body was required to keep her from saying something nasty involving several four letter words.
"Would you care to play a game?" he asked.
"A game?" she scoffed. What the hell is this? Who does this guy think he is?
"Just a little getting to know you exercise for you and the kids," he shrugged. "And me."
Melina really didn't feel like playing games of any kind especially after her ordeal last night. Her unexpected trip through time and space itself left her feeling as if she had been put through a blender. For hours she lay in bed where Kurogiri dropped her, fighting off the urge to vomit while unable to move a muscle. The room had spun around her as if she were on some carnival ride. Sleep had not come easily but thankfully it finally did come to her.
"Aizawa, your test will have to wait. Besides, I believe she is more than capable of proving herself in the classroom. I'm sure she will at least be able to stay awake for classes," Principal Nezu said, his tone neutral yet somehow still snarky. "Come, Miss Zusa, we will show you to your classroom."
Since classes were in session, the halls were devoid of students. They led her to the classroom she could claim as hers while chattering about upcoming school events. Special training exercises, disaster drills, picnics, class trips...all sounded like great fun.
Melina pondered the possibility of finding a new home here. As much as she looked forward to being a part of something again, she doubted it would work out for her. The last time she tried to belong to something, it became a fabulous catastrophe that hasn't quit yet.
"And this is your classroom," Principal Nezu announced, opening the door he had just unlocked.
The classroom was on the third floor, conveniently located next to the stairwell leading to the roof. It looked like any other science classroom. Black topped square lab stations equipped with a sink, a microscope, and a Bunsen burner on each. Two stools sat at each station. The top half of the walls were lined with cabinets full of equipment from chemicals to specimen slides. The bottom half of three walls were lined with bookcases full of reference books and many miniature three dimensional plastic models.
The obligatory human skeleton hung from a rolling rack in the corner. Melina walked over, running her fingers over the collarbone. Plastic - just as it should be.
"My high school science teacher had one made of real human bones. Everyone, even the other teachers, used to joke around saying that it was the bones of his ex-wife who disappeared." She chuckled mirthlessly. "My senior year, they found it actually was his ex-wife."
"That's scary as hell," Aizawa remarked with zero change in his tone or facial expression.
God, what a buzzkill. He didn't even have the decency to at least look appalled like Principal Nezu and All Might did. The most disturbing element about her statement was that it was true; and that damn man couldn't be bothered to lift an eyebrow.
"Life must absolutely bore you out of your skull, Mr. Aizawa," she retorted, rapping on the skull of the skeleton with her knuckles.
"Most days," he rejoined flatly.
Did anything ever elicit an emotional reaction from this man? Probably not. He appeared to be done with life and people's shit in a myriad of ways. Actually, on a certain level, she could understand his sentiment of just not giving a damn.
"So what do you think?" All Might inquired.
"It's definitely a science classroom, but I like it. Thank you all for this opportunity," Melina said. She bowed to show her gratitude and respect to them - to Principal Nezu and All Might. Aizawa just happened to be there. "When can my beehives and flowers be moved?"
"I think tomorrow will be a good day," Aizawa responded, shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his loose black jumpsuit. "I'll speak to the other teachers about it since we will be taking students out of class. All of the 1-A students can help so we can get it done quickly. Koda will have to be kept away from the bees. Entomophobia."
"Fear of insects. That's a shame," she sighed sadly. "Are you planning for me to move into the dorm already as well?"
"Sure. Why wait? ," he responded with a shrug. "The girls need someone to be there for them. I can only go so far in instructing and helping them in personal areas."
"I understand. Well then, I suppose I'll be moving in." She desperately wanted to find the brakes on her life before things completely went sideways. She could feel it coming.
"Miss Zusa, if you would like, you can familiarize yourself with your classroom for as long as you would like. You're officially a teacher after all," Principal Nezu proclaimed, handing her the key. "We'll be going now."
Melina watched the three gentlemen as they left the room. She giggled when All Might poked his head back inside, giving her a thumbs up and a wink. How could she ever hate such a lovable dork?
She went to the station located at the front of the room. Built like all of the rest it faced the others and was positioned equidistant between the two rows: it had to be the teacher's desk. Sitting down on the round bottomed backless stool, her eyes studied the classroom from the perspective of a teacher. She chuckled to herself in excitement.
"I'm a high school teacher," she proclaimed aloud to herself. "Unbelievable. I never thought I'd go back to high school for any reason."
Her first kill took place in high school. Ironically enough, the unlucky person was her science teacher. But he deserved it.
They say you never forget your first. Until she saw that anatomical skeleton, she had forgotten that man ever existed. That's the way it should have stayed.
Her senior year science teacher was a revolting man. Handsome, mesmerizing, polite, manipulative, predatory were all words she would use to describe him and did when questioned by the police. His pleasing to the eyes exterior and carefully crafted nice guy persona hid the monster inside from the world. The ones who saw it never survived to tell the tale of the beast they encountered - except for her.
When he set his sights on her, he triggered a fear response inside of her, and she recognized the monster within. She abhorred the way he looked at her. His long, leering stares. The way he licked his lips and smiled at her when he caught her staring at him, trying to figure him out, made her sick. He gave her too many compliments on her clothing, her hair, and her lipstick for them to be sincere.
He seemed to sense that she would be an easy target. She was a poor little orphan, on her own for three years and in desperate need of attention. Her eighteenth birthday near and about to transition from high school into 'real' life, she required kind words and a guiding hand. He thought she would fall for anything in this confusing, overwhelming time in her life.
Although they were gone, the influence of her loving family remained. Her granny and mama raised her better than to fall for a pretty face and prettier words that tickled the ego. Her father was a good man. She knew what to look for, what really made a good man. Mr. John Smith (even his name sounded too mundane and too benign to be real) was definitely NOT a good man.
In retaliation for his prolific unwanted attention, Melina purposely misused chemicals creating explosions and fires. Due to her father's teaching, she knew how far she could go without hurting herself or others.
She also rigged Mr. Smith's desk with booby traps, always leaving some type of clue that pointed him in her direction as the culprit. She wanted him to know she had done it so he would get the hint to back the fuck off. He never did. However, getting detention got her out of his class so she was happy to take the punishment. Who the hell was the genius who decided taking delinquents out of their classes to serve detention was a the best course of action?
The malicious pranks ranged from the old standby of tacks on the seat to smoke bombs that would go off when he opened his drawers. One time she even managed to construct a small device that would shoot out push pins when he hit a certain pressure point under his desk. She almost got expelled and barely escaped another overnight stay in jail for that one. However, Mr. Smith refused to press charges - how nice of him.
Two girls in her class disappeared: one just after Christmas and the other during Spring Break. As the end of the school year and graduation approached, he became desperate. He had to have her. His desperation would be his undoing.
One day while the class was busy performing a lab which involved preparing slides and studying them under the microscope, Mr. Smith drugged her by giving her an injection in the middle of the class. She thought a bug had bitten her until the dizziness and nausea began. No one saw him slip the needle into her arm either because they were too busy staring into their microscopes or smearing slides. When she became too weak to stand and violently ill, he took her to the nurse's office.
"I'll be back for you later," he promised her right in front of the nurse. No one suspected a thing.
Under the premise of being a good Samaritan, taking care of the poor sickly orphan who had no one else to rely on, Mr. Smith volunteered to take her home at the end of the day.
"Oh, you are an absolute angel," the nurse declared.
Yes, an angel of death, Melina had thought to herself not yet knowing what he had planned for her but she knew it would not be good.
As soon as he sat her down in the passenger's seat of his sports car, he gave her another injection. It came as no surprise to her that she never made it to her house. He took her to his instead. Mr. Smith carried her upstairs to his bed. There was no need to restrain her because she the second injection had fully kicked in leaving her paralyzed but conscious.
Ever the perfectionist, not one given to the disgusting and profane, Mr. Smith gave her a lengthy sponge bath and even brushed her teeth to clean her to his standards before molesting her. He touched her in ways that made her want to start puking all over again. She wanted to scream, to hit him, kick him, bite him. But she could do none of those things to fend him off.
Her body refused to respond since the drug had frozen every muscle. However, she was painfully aware of every unwanted stroke of his fingers and heard each word coming out of his dirty mouth. Her body and brain were paralyzed but not numb. He wanted her wide awake for every bit of this living nightmare.
"Kiss me," he whispered to her before placing his mouth over hers.
Melina gagged when he forced his tongue into her mouth. So this was her first kiss. A strange honey tasting substance filled her mouth as if she were drooling uncontrollably. Before she could begin choking on the thick liquid, his invading tongue licked the viscous fluid from her tongue and insides of her cheeks. All her body could do in return was tremble.
"Is there anything you would like to say to me, my dear?" he taunted her while he undressed.
Her tongue was thick, clumsy, difficult to move, but it did move. Her cheeks and lips felt swollen like after being deadened at the dentist's office. Finally a pitiful moan escaped her throat followed by a mewling whimper of frustration. As she watched him take off his clothes, her horror and repulsion mounting by the second, at last her mouth cooperated.
"K-kill y-yourself, y-you b-b-bastard," she stuttered, panting for air from the grueling effort of forming those few words.
Then something strange happened. Mr. Smith stood up straight, his eyes dull and lifeless. The expression in his eyes was the epitome of the phrase 'the lights are on but nobody is home.' He left her on the bed and walked to the bathroom.
Grunts and groans from him doing God only knew what reached her ears as she struggled to make her body move. A final scream, a bone chilling shriek of pure terror and unrivaled pain, frightened her, causing her to jump which was like releasing her from an evil enchantment.
Momentarily too scared to move, Melina lay still, listening to the sinister sound of deafening silence. The only breathing she could hear was her own. Pushing herself up to a sitting position, she waited a few seconds before tentatively standing only to fall to her knees. She crawled toward the open bathroom door. Half way across the room, she could see the edge of a dark maroon blood puddle on the floor oozing toward the light tan bedroom carpet.
The blood appeared too dark to be real, and her mind tried to convince her it was fake. Although still several feet from the door, she could see half of his body, an arm and a leg. There was movement. His usually sun bronzed skin had turned an ash white in death. Blood, so much blood. She didn't want to see anymore so she closed her eyes and turned away.
Crawling back to the table beside the bed, Melina grabbed his cell phone and called 911. Despite the impairment of her thick tongue and muddled mind, she somehow managed to tell the dispatcher she had been kidnapped and gave them the general vicinity of her dead teacher's house since she did know the address.
Melina was taken to the hospital. She was never accused of a crime but had to describe her entire ordeal in great detail several times which was a crime in itself being forced to relieve the incident over and over.
Later, she found out the bodies of the two missing girls were discovered inside old-fashioned steamer trunks in the attic of Mr. Smith's house. There was a third empty trunk undoubtedly meant for her. Upon further investigation, the classroom skeleton Mr. Smith had affectionately called Maggie was examined, tested, and proved to be the actual bones of his ex-wife Margaret.
"Hello? Hello!" a voice called, pulling her back to the present.
Melina blinked, focusing on the face of the person standing in front of her desk. A girl about her size, maybe a little shorter, with pink hair and massive breasts stood across the station from her. Wearing an orange jumpsuit tied at the waist and a black tank top, the student sported a huge pair of goggles on top of her head as if they were a hair accessory.
"You must be the new science teacher. I'm Mei Hatsume," she said, her voice loud and overly cheerful. She stuck out her hand covered in a heavy leather glove.
"I'm Melina Zusa," she returned, shaking the girl's hand.
"Nice to meet you, Miss Zusa. I hear you're bringing in bees and an entire garden. I would like to see them."
"Sure thing. That would be great."
Melina felt exhausted, drained. Her insides shook like gelatin during an earthquake from the impromptu trip down bad memory lane. She just wanted to be alone, but she forced herself to be kind to the girl who had no idea what had been going through her head previously.
"I invent things. I work in hero support. I make all sorts of inventions to help heroes. Would you like to come see my lab?" Mei inquired exuberantly. Her greenish gold eyes appeared to have cross-hairs across the irises and sparkled when mentioning her lab.
"Maybe another day. I'm afraid I need to go to prepare things for the move," she said giving the most valid excuse she could for leaving quickly. "It was so nice meeting you, Mei. I look forward to exploring your lab. I might need your help with repairing something."
Melina believed the girl would be the perfect person to fix her broken mask with the bullet still lodged in it.
"Really?!" the girl brightened as if her personality wasn't already blinding enough.
"Really," she reiterated giving her the first genuine smile she could muster today.
"It was nice meeting you too, Miss Zusa," the girl called over her shoulder as she headed for the door. "I have things to do. Always new things to discover! Come by the lab anytime!"
"I will definitely come by as soon as possible." She realized that was a vague promise but it was the best she could do at the moment.
She liked the girl's energy. Mei possessed a unique enthusiasm, a zest for life and zeal for her mechanical talents.
The visit from Mei made her feel reinvigorated after her emotionally exhausting recollection of an event she never wanted to remember. The past never left her no matter how much she thought she had forgotten or how far she ran to separate herself from it. No matter how deeply she buried the memories, the ghosts emerged to haunt her.
"Dammit," she grumbled, sliding from the stool.
"Are you okay?" Shoto asked her, startling her.
Melina jumped like a nervous cat. She swayed unsteadily on her feet, overwhelmed by a wave of dizziness. Strong arms, one around her waist and the other around her shoulders, held her upright a few seconds before pulling her close to his warm body.
"You're not okay so don't tell me you are," he said, his mouth close to her ear.
"No, I'm not okay," she admitted, clutching the lapels of his uniform jacket in her hands. "I didn't sleep well last night."
"You might have hit your head harder than you thought. I can take you to see the school nurse, Recovery Girl." His arms reluctantly unwound from around her when she stood up straight and tall.
"No, I just want to go home. I have a lot to do. It looks like I'm moving in...to the classroom and the dorm."
"Oh, really?" His voice rose a whole octave.
"Yeah, it caught me by surprise too. I didn't expect it to happen so soon."
"Do you want me to walk you home?"
"No. I'm good. I think I might take a cab though."
"I'll walk you to the gate at least."
Shoto did not attempt to hold her hand or arm to escort her like he usually did. Her already gloomy mood darkened further when profound disappointment was added to the list of emotions tearing at her psyche. Neither one of them said a word as they walked. Melina could almost see the barrier going up between them. Reaching out, she took hold of his sleeve and pulled him to a stop.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"What are you not telling me, Melina?" he murmured without turning to look at her. "A lie of omission is still a lie."
"I don't want to lie to you," she said choosing her words carefully so they would still be truthful. She did not want to lie to him, but she could not say she had never lied to him.
"Are you sure about that?" he questioned her, keeping his eyes straight ahead. "I know you're not telling me the truth about what happened to your face."
Melina watched the muscles in his jaw working under his skin, writhing as he clenched and unclenched his teeth - most likely in an effort to restrain himself from saying hateful things they would both regret.
"Would you believe me if I told you I can't tell you what happened because if you knew it might change your opinion of me?" she inquired, enclosing his wrist with her fingers.
"That I can believe."
"I can't handle losing you. I need you in my life."
She couldn't bear to lose him and Dabi both simultaneously. Even she had a breaking point which seemed to be coming closer every damn day.
"What are you involved in? Are you in some kind of trouble?" At last he turned his head to look at her. His eyes roved over her entire face as if he could find the answer, the truth, there somewhere.
"Yeah. I'm in some major kind of serious trouble," she answered honestly but ambiguously.
She recoiled from him when his other hand moved swiftly toward her face. Had she really expected him to hit her? Her automatic reaction stunned her as much as it did him. His fingers curled away from her, his hand dropping back down to hang limply at his side.
"I would never hurt you," he mumbled, his eyes lowering from hers.
"I know that. I'm sorry," she apologized for her overreaction.
"So...who did that to you?"
Melina shook her head. She couldn't tell him. Averting her eyes, she stared at her toenails painted bright magenta and visible in her peep toe heels of the same color.
Her eyes followed his hand that cautiously and slowly rose from his side toward her face again in the way one would approach a skittish, injured animal. Her teeth caught her lower lip to hold back a yelp when his fingers gently brushed across the incredibly tender deep tissue bruise that throbbed with each beat of her runaway heart.
"Does it hurt?" he questioned her.
"Yes."
"Will you at least tell me what happened?"
"I was shot in the face," she admitted. "But I was wearing a mask. Otherwise, I'd probably be dead."
A lie of omission is still a lie. So she lied. She purposely withheld the information regarding her attack on the League of Villains and Dabi's presence which ultimately saved her.
"You should move into the dorms as soon as possible," Shoto suggested. "We can all protect you there."
"But none of you owe me anything. I'll put you all in danger," Melina said, raising her head to look at him.
"We're already in danger by virtue of who we are as heroes. We've already been attacked here once by the League of Villains," he told her.
Melina flinched as the last three words grated harshly across her raw emotions. Dammit! She betrayed herself with a small, involuntary reaction. She hated what a high strung coward she had become.
"Hmmm, wow...so the League of Villians, huh?" he said. "I won't ask why or how or who or any of the hundreds of questions flooding my mind. It doesn't matter. When you make enemies, you do it big, my friend."
His face remained passive, giving her no indication of what he was thinking. She wished he would glare at her, yell at her, push her out of the gate and tell her not to come back...do something or say anything that would give her a hint as to what he was thinking.
"I'll be going then," she announced.
Rotating on her stacked heel, her flowery skirt swirling around her legs, Melina prepared to leave and never return to the school. She couldn't and wouldn't drag them into the mess she created. As he had said, they had enough crap of their own to deal with simply by aspiring to become professional heroes.
Her hand shook as she reached for the latch on the gate, flipping it open. The gate swung open, and she stepped through. As she turned back to close it, a strong hand covered hers gripping the bar.
"Don't go," Shoto pleaded with her.
"I have to," she argued, trying to extract her hand from under his. "Do you want me to come back?"
"You better come back," he said, giving her a smile that relayed his worry as well as his warm sentiment for her.
"I'll come back." Her eyes met his questioningly since he would not release her hand resting on the gate. "I promise."
Only after she promised did Shoto lift his hand, allowing her to escape. He closed the gate behind her.
Melina nodded at him, bowing in a gesture both begging his forgiveness and showing gratitude for his understanding. Turning her back to him, she sucked in a deep breath to fill her starving lungs. She must have forgotten to breath for the duration of that encounter.
"By the way," he called after her as she began to walk away.
She looked back over her shoulder at him.
"I'm glad you're still alive," Shoto told her, his smile widening then fading away slightly as he grew serious. "I want to keep you that way."
~\..'../~
Melina stood in her kitchen, staring blankly at the contents of the open cabinet. She was supposed to be wrapping and packing everything for the move, yet she had no idea where to begin. Instead her mind kept drifting away to places she didn't want it to go. A respite from the past and a refuge from her present could not be found. Would she ever find peace by any means other than death?
Suicide wasn't a thought in her head. However, letting go of her last shred of sanity was becoming more and more tempting. Just one little step off that precariously small edge of sanity she walked, and she would fall into the chasm of insanity.
If she lost it, she wanted to be the special, certifiable kind of crazy. She wanted to be completely unaware of who she is and where she is at all times. She wanted to spend her days walking around in a pink fuzzy bathrobe, wearing a plastic crown on her head and bunny slippers on her feet, shouting "I'm the queen of England." Yeah. That kind of crazy.
Melina had dressed in a pair of pajama shorts covered in pastel rainbows and unicorns and a pastel rainbow tie dyed tank top. She had never at any point in her life been a rainbows and unicorns kind of girl but life had been weird lately so she continued the weirdness in her choice of clothing. Crazy was so close she could feel it.
Giving up on packing for the night, she instead took down two wine glasses and poured herself a glass of wine. Maybe for tonight, peace could be found at the bottom of a bottle. While taking a sip, out of the corner of her eye she saw something move at her bedroom door.
A Dabi shaped shadow emerged from her bedroom into the living room. For once she was not scared out of her gourd by him because she had been anticipating his visit. The white moonlight entering the room from the windows without curtains and shades behind him outlined his long and lanky silhouette in silver.
"Expecting company?" he asked, walking toward her.
"I was looking forward to the love of my life coming to visit," she said, filling the second glass.
"Special occasion?" He picked up the glass she had poured for him.
"No special occasion," she sighed, taking a sip from her glass. "Sometimes life just calls for a bottle of wine."
"Bad day?" He placed his hands on her cheek gently turning her head so he could examine the bruise in the dim light coming from the fixture over the sink.
"I've been having a lot of those lately." She closed her eyes in anticipation of his tender kiss on her lips. Her lips tingled from the mixture of the wine and the brief contact of his mouth to hers.
"How's your face?"
"Sore. Achy. All things considered, not too bad." She placed her glass on the counter-top and put her arms around his narrow waist to hug him tightly. "I'm so glad you're here. I need you."
"I had to make sure you were all right," he murmured, forfeiting his glass in order to embrace her with both arms. He kissed the top of her head. "I was worried about you. I had to come see you. I never when I'll be able to see you again. Especially now."
A twinge of guilt tickled the inside of her nervous belly. She had really screwed things up this time with her quick temper and ridiculous sense of personal justice which amounted to asinine revenge.
"There's something I need to tell you...Dabi, I took a job at the school Shoto attends," she blurted, rushing head on in a jumble of words. If she had paused for him to say something between, she might not have been able to say the words.
Melina pressed her forehead against his sternum so she would not have to see the disappointment on his face. All of her recent actions seemed to be pushing them further and further apart.
"Well, isn't that an interesting new develop in our little drama," he sighed, his arms tightening around her and pulling her more securely against him.
"They offered me a job as a science teacher. I'm really excited that I'll be teaching. I didn't expect something like this. It's nothing I sought after. I - "
"I'm happy for you," he interrupted her, embracing her so tightly she could barely breathe.
He didn't sound happy at all. She began to wonder if he was going to kill her by hugging her to death. Might as well continue full speed ahead with the other big revelation.
"I'll be moving onto campus soon to live in the dorms with the kids."
She felt his entire body wince as if she had struck him physically with an object.
"Okay then that little tidbit of information is a little more difficult to process." He sighed, continuing to hold her in his arms.
Melina would prefer to stay like this forever; close to him and secure in his arms. But soon he would have to let her go. Hopefully only physically. Yet...
"It won't be long before the organization is up and running full speed again. Since you're the one who blew it all to hell for a second time, Shigaraki won't waste any time in coming after you," he warned her, loosening his grip on her a little so she could breathe. "Honestly, I think for your own safety, the best place you can be right now in the middle of all of those heroes. Those idiots will protect you until they take their dying breath."
Dabi kissed the top of her head then her lips after she looked up at him.
"I love you," he said. "If things were different, right about now I'd pledge my undying love to you. I'd swear like some lovesick dumbass to take care of you and protect you, to always be there for you. Then..." He kissed her forehead. "I'd ask you to marry me."
"Hmmm," she hummed, placing her ear against his chest to hear his heart beating.
The rhythm was fast. He was nervous making such an admission. His sweet confession made her die on the inside just a little. His intention was not to hurt her with his heart rending love confession, but her heart ached as if he had stabbed her with a knife. The damn stubborn thing had the nerve to keep on beating inside of her chest anyway.
"If things were different...I'd say yes and tell you how much I loved you while I cry and cry and..." Her words were drowned in the tears she was holding back.
"Come with me," Dabi said, taking her by the hand to lead her into the bedroom.
Melina watched as he pulled back the covers and motioned for her to get into the bed. After scooting under the sheet and blanket, her eyes followed his movements as he shrugged off his jacket and kicked off his shoes before climbing into the bed with her. She turned onto her side away from him, fitting her body to his which he folded around her. His chin rested on the top of her head and the soles of her feet pressed against his cloth covered shins to keep as much of her body in contact with his as possible.
"Dabi, there's something I need to tell you," she said.
"Oh, god, what now?" he moaned, his chin lightly bumping the top of her head as he spoke.
"You're going to like this. I promise." After a deep breath, she declared, "I love you, Dabi."
"Do you?" he asked like a true cynic.
"I do," she replied confidently.
"Say it again," he requested.
"I love you, Dabi," she repeated.
"Swear to me, you'll survive this."
"Seriously?"
"You have to swear it, Melina." His entire body coiled more securely around hers.
"I swear I'll survive this."
"You better. I'll be so mad at you if you die. You have to do whatever it takes to live. Even if it means hiding among the heroes," he said, his arm hooking around her waist. "I don't care if it means losing to the good guys."
Melina could not help but contemplate if he meant one specific good guy.
"Dabi, you're not losing me to anyone," she responded, the words tumbling from her lips rapidly. "And you're the best guy I know. I love you."
She placed her hand over his that was pressed flat against her belly. Her fingers weaved themselves between his to clutch his hand.
"There might come a time where I have to give you up completely. To never see you again," he murmured.
"Dabi, please - "
"We have to face facts at some point, Melina. I can't stand the thought of never seeing you again, but...If giving you up keeps you safe and alive, I'll do it."
"Don't talk like that. Stop. Just stop it," she begged, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.
"I don't like it either. I don't want to think about it anymore so let's don't. I just want to be with you right now."
"Will you stay with me? All night?" she asked in a breathy voice.
"For tonight, I'm yours," he returned. "I can't promise you anything beyond tonight."
"I'll take tonight."