Dabi entered the back of the abandoned hotel the League of Villains currently called their headquarters. Exuding a small flame into his palm, he navigated the dark pre-dawn halls stepping over debris and garbage left by previous homeless tenants.
Leaving her had been difficult. Each time it became harder. This morning, in her sleep, she had grabbed his hand, begging him not to go. He kissed her, apologized, feeling sorrier than she could imagine. After getting dressed, he kissed her once more, receiving the cutest sleepy declaration of love in return. Taking those steps toward the window had been painful for both his body and his heart.
A shimmering golden glow eminated from the room down the hall. Dabi gravitated to the light like a moth to a flame, entering the wrecked room full of overturned chairs and dusty tables. Broken glassware and discarded silverware littered the floor. The flickering flames of dozens of candles lit the room.
Passing through the dining area to the bar of the restaurant, he saw Kurogiri behind the bar polishing a perfectly clean glass tumbler. Did that man ever sleep?
"Want a drink?" Kurogiri inquired, unfazed by Dabi's sudden appearance.
"Yeah, I could use one," he answered, taking a seat at the bar.
"How about a bloody Mary?" Kurogiri suggested. "It is breakfast time after all."
"Yeah," Dabi scoffed. "I suppose so."
"You should stay away from her," the portal user warned him, pouring tomato juice into the metal tumbler. "For her sake as well as yours."
"Yeah, I know," he agreed begrudingly. At the moment, he had no intention of staying away from her.
Shigaraki entered the room, pausing in surprise at Dabi's unexpected presence. He shook his head as he took a seat at the bar beside the other man.
"Well, well, well," Shigaraki muttered, clicking his tongue in disapproval. "The prodigal son returns."
"I told you I was out scouting for a better place. It's easier to do it at night because I would definitely draw unwanted attention during the day," Dabi reminded him in a bored monotone.
He studied the drink Kurogiri put in front of him. An entire strip of cooked bacon, pearl onions, and green olives had been threaded onto a long metal skewer like some kind of appetizer rather than a garnish to go with his drink. He really did get breakfast.
"You were with her." Shigaraki was not asking a question. He was stating a fact, and he knew it.
Dabi slid the skewer from the drink. He pressed the tip of his finger to the semi-sharp end. The metal object would make a passable weapon. He could jam it into Shigaraki's carotid artery in his neck then pull it out. Watching the man bleed to death would give him some degree of satisfaction.
He glimpsed at the observant bartender who shook his head slowly as if he knew what was going through Dabi's head. He put the skewer down on the napkin beside the tall glass. Better not act on that impulse because that would set into motion a whole new array of problems.
The biggest of those being he would no longer be in the inner circle of the League of Villains. Staying close to Shigaraki afforded him coveted knowledge of all of their plans. Knowing the next move was the best way he could protect Melina.
"What can I say? She's a fantastic fuck," Dabi said tonelessly, picking up the glass. "If you could touch a woman, you'd know the joy of a good piece of ass."
Shigaraki growled like a rabid dog.
"There's nothing more to it?" Shigaraki snarled, taking an interest in his own drink that Kurogiri set in front of him.
Dabi noted the bubbles coming from the tiny white pill dissolving in the bottom of the glass before it disappeared completely. His eyes slid to Kurogiri giving him a knowing glance. So that's how the crafty bartender kept their boss's out of control emotions at bay, by drugging him.
"Like what?" he rejoined knowing damn good and well what the man was hinting at.
"Hmmm...is it really like that? No feelings at all?" Shigaraki paused dramatically as he was often inclined to do.
"Tch," he hissed. "Hell, no."
Tomura Shigaraki could be such a damn Drama Queen. Dabi rolled his eyes and took another gulp of the salty, spicy alcoholic tomato drink. Kurogiri doubled as quite an impressive bartender.
"In that case, you would be willing to abduct and confine her until we're ready to move forward?" Shigaraki asked him. "It will be your job to bring her under submission."
Dabi hurriedly swallowed the mouthful of drink to avoid choking on it. He couldn't help but notice the unusual choice of words in the last statement.
His heart dropped to his toes, but he remained impassive and emotionless. Any kind of adverse reaction would tip Shigaraki off to his true emotions which was of course was what the man was fishing for with his prying questions and strategic word choice. Before he could ask the inevitable and obvious question of 'why me,' Shigaraki conveniently continued talking to explain why.
"You're the obvious choice because it would be so easy for you. You have access to her. You can get close to her without a fight. Most of all, she trusts you and will allow to take her anywhere or do anything to her. It has to be you."
Dabi picked up the skewer. He could feel Kurogiri's luminous golden eyes on him as he raised the metal stick. However, rather than stabbing Shigaraki, he pushed off the unnecessary food onto the napkin. Using the skewer as a stir stick, he noisily agitated the red, bloody looking liquid inside his glass.
"Tell me your plan, Shigaraki."
~\..'../~
Melina stood at the front of the classroom beside the first lab station on the left. Lab coats were stacked in neat piles by size and goggles lined the table in straight rows.
"Good morning, class," she greeted them happily as they entered the classroom in a single file line but as a group.
She received random responses in return from chirpy salutations to mumbled greetings and even a few grunts. It was easy to distinguish the morning people from the ones who were definitely not.
Her students stood against the wall in a line rather taking a seat because they were waiting to be assigned lab partners and specific stations. Also she had items spread across the top of several stations.
"First, you should choose lab partners," she announced, pointing to the station to her right and the two clipboards on it.
No one moved. Bakugo yawned to show his boredom with the whole thing already. Melina rolled her eyes. How rude.
"I suggest you find a way to come to an agreement among yourselves and pick your own partners because you do not want me to pick for you," she warned them.
Suddenly there was a rush on the sign up lists. Scuffling feet along with lots of shoving and laughter ensued. Kids will definitely be kids.
Melina covered her mouth with her hand to hide her smile of amusement. It was a bit refreshing to see they didn't always function like robotic, programmed machines and were still just teenagers after all.
"Next, I would like everyone to grab a coat and goggles. These are two of the most important pieces of your lab equipment. They are your personal protective equipment," she proclaimed, moving out of the way before the herd trampled her.
Melina gathered the students around the next station once all of the coats and goggles had been claimed. Two petri dishes, a flask of water, a scalpel, a small pair of surgical tongs, and what looked like a silver rock in a square glass container were the items on the station. After putting on her thick, yellow gloves, she picked up the scalpel and sliced a small corner off of the rock.
"Put on your goggles," she ordered her students. "Safety first, my heroes."
"What is that?" Izuku asked.
"This is sodium. It is, in fact, a metal," she explained. Using the tongs, she held up the chunk that appeared to be plain silver instead of sodium. "This is half of the chemical compound that makes up table salt which we put on our food everyday. Sodium and chlorine by themselves are caustic and poisonous. But together they make something delicious."
"Caustic and poisonous but delicious," Kyoka Jiro mused, fiddling with her elongated earlobe. "Sounds like Bakugo. He's definitely salty."
Melina snorted like a pig in her unsuccessful attempt to hide her laughter. All of the girls giggled uncontrollably. The boys chuckled nervously not wanting to face Bakugo's wrath later.
"Hey!" Bakugo barked in offense. "Shut the hell up!"
"Bakugo, there was a compliment mixed up in there," Momo Yaoyorozu brought to his attention.
"Wow, really?" Kaminari murmured. "I missed that."
"Shut up, Pikachu," Bakugo snapped at him.
"All right, everyone, please pay attention. You might want to back up a little," she warned all of them, pushing back Shoto who stood to her right. "Sodium in this form, when mixed with water..."
She poured a tiny bit of water from the flask onto the sodium metal. The liquid set off the chemical reaction instantly. The piece of metal fizzed and released white smoke as it skated around on the surface of the water. The kids' reactions ranged from gasps to exclamations of 'whoa!'
"...is quite volatile," she finished her sentence.
"Like Bakugo," Tsyua, the one called Sue, added.
Melina didn't expect her to be so sassy. She loved these girls. They were having none of the boys' crap, especially Bakugo's. She almost felt sorry for him at the moment. These young ladies were beautiful, strong, and smart mouthed; all attributes she exhibited herself.
"Back up a little more," she told her students, cutting off a bigger piece of the metal.
Tossing it into the petri dish, she dropped the tongs on the table top and stepped back quickly. The chunk hissed and sputtered, emitting a spark then a small flame in addition to the smoke as it almost exploded out of the dish. The piece of metal raced around and around the edges of the dish, sparking, flaming, and smoking as it went. This had been one of her favorite flammable experiments in school.
"Due to the chemical reaction with the water, the sodium metal is releasing hydrogen gas which is extremely flammable...and explosive as you can see."
As if on cue, the piece of metal shot out of the dish, propelled by an explosive reaction like fuel pushing a rocket. The chunk hit the wall, burying itself slightly into the thin wood. A flame shot out so Shoto hit it with a blast of ice before the wall could catch fire.
"Nice save. Thanks," she breathed in relief.
"That's what heroes do," he said, giving her only the suggestion of a smile. When in direct proximity to others, he kept his reactions around her stifled and low key.
"That was so cool!" exclaimed Toru Hagakure.
Melina smiled in the direction of the floating goggles. Thank God the girl wore a school uniform to make her presence known. She would feel like a horrible teacher ignoring a student simply because she had the quirk of invisibility.
"Now, on to a delicious but only slightly less dangerous experiment," Melina announced, waving them to the next station.
On this station she had set up a large ice filled bowl to keep the ingredients for the next experiment cool. Cartons of cream and milk, cans of whipped cream, and various types of fruit sat in smaller bowls on the ice. There was also sugar and honey to be used as sweeteners, vanilla extract for flavoring, and bottles of chocolate, caramel, and strawberry syrups for toppings. There were jars and bowls of sprinkles, nuts, cherries, and pretty much anything a person might want on an ice cream sundae. A large metal canister that looked like an old-fashioned milk can sat in the middle of the table.
"Ice cream!" Rikido Sato, the aficionado of sweets, exclaimed.
"Everyone grab a bowl," she told them. "Choose your ingredients. Here are the measurements to get you started."
Melina pointed to the whiteboard where she had written the measurements for the ice cream base before their arrival. While the students were busy measuring and mixing, she took a bowl of her own, tossing in a few strawberries and blueberries.
"I'm going to show you something, but I don't want any of you doing this. You could burn yourself or, worse yet, your tongue. I don't think anyone wants to make a visit to recovery girl and explain a severe burn on their tongue," Melina said, ladling liquid nitrogen from the tank.
White smoke billowed out of the bowl like a cloud as the liquid evaporated. She blew away the remaining smoke to reveal the completely frozen berries. Popping one of the strawberries in her mouth, she blew out white smoke through her nose.
"You look like a dragon," laughed Hanta Sero.
The blond boy with a tail, Mashirao Ojiro, appeared to be embarrassed for Hanta as his face turned pink. Melina realized she hadn't heard him speak yet except for his quiet reply of good morning first thing.
"Is everybody ready?" she asked, chewing on the still half frozen strawberry.
She handed the bowl to Ojiro for him to take one of the berries if he wished. When everyone answered affirmatively, she started ladling the liquid nitrogen into their bowls as they held them out to her.
"You know, Icy-Hot over there could freeze these for us," Bakugo said brusquely as she poured the super cooled fluid into his bowl.
"I know, but where's the fun in that? Also, you can't learn science by using a quirk, you know," she retorted. "Stir quickly so you don't have crunchy ice cream. Although back in the U.S., they made quite a big business of freezing ice cream into teeny tiny little balls."
Several of the boys giggled at her saying teeny tiny little balls.
"But nobody really wants those, do they?" she asked, looking directly at Mineta. She actually made the little pervert blush which had to be quite an epic accomplishment.
Once the freezing process was done, everyone gathered around the table to add toppings to their ice cream. They laughed and talked, offering flavoring suggestions to each other as they passed around the toppings.
Melina stood back, munching her frozen berries as she observed the students. She liked the way they operated as a team, a family really, cooperating, helping each other, and having fun while doing it.
"Hey," a voice heralded her from the door.
She turned around to see Aizawa standing there. Waving her hand, she beckoned him to come in. They stood toward the back of the classroom, observing the students.
"How are things going?" he asked her, his voice low to keep the conversation between them.
"Really good. Frozen berry?" she inquired, extending the bowl to him.
"No, I'm good," he politely declined.
"Would you like some ice cream?"
"Ice cream?" He appeared disgusted.
"Mr. Aizawa!" Mina exclaimed, coming over with a bowl. "I made this for you."
Melina glimpsed at him, her eyebrow raising up toward her hairline.
"Now you can't say no," she said.
He wasn't that heartless. Melina could tell he genuinely cares for these kids. His sincere concern for them had become obvious yesterday during the move. He hovered over them, making sure they were completing their tasks correctly and safely.
Also, the protective, fatherly way he threatened her when he wrongly assumed there might be some nefarious acts going on between her and Shoto evidenced his love for the children. She understood his parental protectiveness. The same feelings were beginning to grow in her.
"I'm not really fond of sweets," he told Mina whose smile drooped in disappointment.
"Oh, I used honey to sweeten it. It's not terribly sweet," Mina informed him.
Kinda like Aizawa, Melina wanted to quip but kept her smart alack words to herself.
"The honey is from my bees," she proclaimed proudly. "It's naturally sweetened. Come on, just take a taste. One of your students cared enough to make it for you."
Aizawa glared at her. She shrugged with a lopsided grin on her face. She knew it wasn't fair, but he would be all right. It was only ice cream for goodness sake.
"Uh, okay," he muttered, giving in to the pressure to taste the ice cream. He grudgingly shoved a spoonful of the sweet treat into his mouth. His eyes widened, and he went back for another spoonful. "Mmmm, that is good. Thank you, Mina."
"You're not quite the kill joy I thought you were," Melina said after Mina returned to the others.
"I'll do anything to protect these kids."
"I know. You made that quite clear yesterday."
"I'm sorry about that," he apologized. Apparently he assumed she was referring to the threat in reference to Shoto - which she was. "I've seen the way he looks at you. I don't think he's aware how obvious he makes his feelings for you. I was afraid if those feelings were returned - "
"Mr. Aizawa," she interrupted, discomfort and a hint of embarrassment heating her cheeks. "I'm a grown woman. He's still a child. He's also my student." In addition to all of those wonderful reasons, he's my lover's brother - but you don't need to know that. "Those factors make him highly off limits. I understand boundaries. He does too for that matter. You have nothing to worry about. If I had to describe our relationship in simple terms I'd say he's a friend. Nothing more."
"That's good," he mumbled around the spoon in his mouth. After finishing off ice cream, he sat the empty dish inside of hers. "Keep up the good work, Miss Zusa. I think you're going to be a fine science teacher. Welcome aboard."
She felt positively giddy as if she had won an award by garnering his approval.
"Thanks," she murmured. When he was gone, she announced with exaggerated cheerfulness, "Okay, kids. When you're done eating, our new experiment is going to be discovering the chemical make up of dish washing liquid and how it works!"
"Awwww," came the collective groan of misery in return at the prospect of having to wash dishes.
"Come on, guys, we've had fun. Now there's a price to pay."
Her mind strayed to Dabi. Yeah. Sometimes there was a huge price to pay for fun. She never meant to fall in love, but she did. The time was coming for her to pay up.
"Hey, are you okay?" Shoto asked her, taking the bowls from her hands.
"Yeah, why?" she inquired, blinking rapidly to push back rising tears.
"You looked like you were going to faint...or throw up," he said, touching her arm.
Melina started as if she had been shot when his hand contacted her bare arm. Suddenly, she did feel faint. As if sensing her distress, Shoto pulled one of the stools over to her, offering her his arm to hold on to as she sat down.
"You sit down and we'll take care of the clean up," he assured her.
"Thanks."
What the hell was that all about?, she asked herself as she sat on the backless stool fighting the urge to throw up. Something was wrong. She just had no idea how wrong yet.
~\..'../~
Melina stopped off at the cafe for dinner before going home. Sitting on the outdoor patio, she watched couples stroll past, walking hand in hand, as she sipped her coffee. She envied them. They had no idea how good they had it being able to display their love openly and honestly.
They most likely take their relationship, and each other, for granted, she thought bitterly.
Her food arrived, but she wasn't hungry. It wasn't that she minded eating alone, and she could have had company anyway. Shoto would have happily joined her. His company would have been nice; a welcome distraction that would prevent jealousy from saturating her. She always enjoyed his companionship. However, she did not want to give his fellow students or her fellow teachers any more wrong impressions.
Another reason she needed to separate herself from him was because she could love him romantically so easily. But she shouldn't love him like that. The reasons she had listed to Aizawa were good and valid points, all extremely important reasons why she should not love Shoto. He was also Dabi's little brother. Going from one brother to the other would just be...wrong.
Melina ate her dinner and left to go to her empty apartment. However, upon her arrival, she sensed her apartment was definitely not empty.
When she flipped on the overhead kitchen fixture, the bright fluorescent light illuminated Dabi's figure sitting on the couch. She wasn't sure if it was due to exhaustion or if she had finally become accustomed to appearing acts, but his unexpected presence did not frighten her.
For a long moment, they stared at each other, neither one offering a hello. In his brilliant ocean colored eyes she could find no comfort, no love. She could not identify the emotion she saw there. Fear and uncertainty tightened her throat, her heart beating unsteadily. At last she moved, setting her purse down on the counter.
"Why do I have the feeling neither one of us are happy you're here?" she questioned him, staying in her current place standing at the counter.
"Melina, you have to get out of here. You need to leave tonight," he told her, standing up from the couch to cross the room.
"Why? What's going on?" she asked, every nerve in her body standing on edge at once.
"Pack a bag and leave. Don't stay here a minute longer than you have to," he said, taking her by the arm to lead her to her bedroom.
"Dabi, what the hell is happening?" she demanded, shaking herself free of his grip.
"There's no time to explain. Pack a bag and get the hell out of here, Melina!" he exclaimed, snatching her around by the arm to face him.
The ice melted away from his frozen expression allowing the warmer, softer emotion of love mixed with worry to trickle in. His fingers drifted across her cheek before he bent down to kiss her lips.
"Please, pack a bag and go. Go to that damn dorm. At least you'll be safe there. Will you just please do this?" he begged, holding her face between his hands.
"Tell me what's going, then I'll pack and leave," she promised him.
Dabi bit his lower lip, his eyes shifting away from hers. Seeing him like this terrified her. She had never seen him nervous before.
"Can't you just go...please?" he implored her.
"Tell me," she insisted. Her eyes searched his when he remained reticent. "Dabi, what the hell is going on?"
Dabi breathed out noisily through his nose with exasperation, dropping his hands from her face.
"It's over between us, Melina," he announced with a finality that made her shake on the outside because her insides were quaking.
"Well, for now, but one of these days - " She attempted to embrace him, but he pushed her back with his hands on his shoulders.
"I was sent here to kidnap you. This is my final act of kindness toward you to show how much I love you," he said. "Leave. Go anywhere but here. I can't do this anymore. We're over."
"No," she whispered. Tears burned the backs of her eyeballs like fire. "We can find a way. We can get through this. We can -"
"Dammit, Melina, it's over!" he shouted so loudly the volume of his voice startled her.
She stepped back from him, her hand covering her mouth. A pitiful sob escaped her lips despite her trying to hold it back. Tears overflowed her lower eyelid, sliding down her cheeks in rivulets to drip from her chin and jaw. She held her palm tightly over her mouth to prevent anymore sounds of fear or mourning to pass her lips.
"Pack a bag and get the fuck out of here. If you don't, I'll have to do something we'll both regret," he threatened her, his voice taking on a sinister tone.
"Indulge me...please tell me, Dabi...just what will you have to do? You can at least tell me that," she said, raising her chin in the air despite the quiver in her voice that betrayed her emotions.
"I'll do what I've been ordered to do and abduct you. I'll take you to Shigaraki who in turn will deliver you to the hands of All for One. You most likely won't survive that, Melina. I'm giving you a chance to leave and live...or stay and die. The choice is yours."
"Wow...okay," she exhaled. "I'll leave. Give me a minute."
She felt like she was trying to breath underwater or was too stupid to remember she had lungs. A ringing filled her ears and black spots swam in and out of her vision. Her fingers tingled. They were cold and tremulous as they wiped away her tears.
"I guess I really don't have a choice...do I?" she inquired aloud not expecting an answer. Her question had been purely rhetorical.
Melina forced her body to move. The room spun, but she kept moving toward the closet. There was no time to faint. She had to pack. Taking down her suitcases, she haphazardly pulled clothes off their hangers and tossed them inside.
"I wish there was another way," Dabi said, standing at the open door of the closet. "But there's not."
Melina did not say anything. Instead she filled her second suitcase with more clothes and shoes.
"You should go since this is farewell, Dabi," she said, her voice shaking as a steady stream of tears flowed from her eyes.
When his hand touched her shoulder, she inhaled sharply, pulling away from him.
"Just go," she ordered him. "Don't say good-bye because you won't be back. Don't give me false hope."
There was no response. Melina turned around. He was gone. She never thought there would come a day where NOT being told good-bye was more frightening and heart breaking than hearing it. So the end had come.
She wanted to scream and punch something, break things and have a good old-fashioned hissy fit. However, throwing a tantrum like a two year old would not make the pain stop. She needed to think.
While closing her suitcases, Melina decided she would call a moving company tomorrow to finish packing up her life and clearing out her apartment. Surely Shigaraki would not send minions to attack innocent strangers as they loaded up her possessions and hauled them away. She assumed he wanted to keep a low profile, move covertly. He would be cautious to the point of paranoia taking extra precautions to keep his actions and his whereabouts a secret. If he was smart, he could follow the movers to her new location to find her again. She didn't even care what he did or didn't do at this point. All she knew was that she needed to be ready.
Tears continued steadily falling, sliding down her chin and soaking the neckline of her t-shirt. What's the big deal? You were already going to move, she reminded herself silently. Your plans just got put on fast forwarded. That's all. And you already knew things were going to end with Dabi. That relationship was never going to last. But...but...
"I loved him," she whispered aloud, giving into the wail that was choking her. "Gotta go. Gotta keep moving. He risked his life to save you. The least you can do is get the hell out of here since he warned you."
"Miss Zusa? Is everything okay?" Yamada asked her when she appeared in the lobby.
"There's been an emergency. I have to leave, Yamada," she informed him, not exactly lying.
"When will you be back?" he inquired, his eyebrows drawing together in concern.
"Uhm...I won't be," she sniffed, wiping at her cheeks with the back of her hand.
Yamada took a clean white handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to her. How positively old-fashioned and very Southern. Gentlemen occasionally still did that where she came from. She found the small, familiar gesture comforting. Taking the piece of cloth, she dabbed at her still leaking eyes.
"I'll miss you," she said.
"Yeah, I'll miss you too," he returned, lowering his eyes to the floor. "You are a demanding pain in the ass, but I like you."
Melina giggled again. At least laughing helped the pain in her heart a little no matter how out of place it might be in this moment.
"I-I'll b-be c-calling m-movers t-tomorrow," she stuttered.
"I'm so sorry you're this hurt and scared, Miss Zusa. If there's anything I can do - "
"H-how did you know?"
"Well, because when something is really wrong and you're upset, you stutter."
"Oh, I see." She didn't know what else to say. "I'll call you to let you know when the movers will be coming."
"I'll call you a cab," he offered.
"Thank you. I think I'll wait outside. I need some fresh air."
Melina inhaled deeply as she stepped out of the door, wheeling her two suitcases behind her. Displaced again. On the run. Fighting for her life.
"Why did I come here?" she asked herself aloud.
"I don't know, but I'm glad you did," a male voice answered behind her.
NO! NOT NOW! NOT HIM!, she screamed internally, closing her eyes and raising her face to the heavens. She silently prayed she was hearing things; that Shoto Todoroki was not actually standing behind her.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, keeping her voice carefully controlled and her eyes straight ahead. "You shouldn't be here."
"I had the feeling something was wrong. Apparently my gut feeling was not misguided," he added, moving to stand beside her. "Where are you going? Are you leaving?"
"I'm going to a hotel. There's a gas leak in my apartment," she lied fabulously. She was not happy about her new found talent for deception. "Isn't there a curfew or something in the dorms? Shouldn't be in your room studying or sleeping?"
"I have Mr. Aizawa's permission to be here."
Melina cast a doubtful glance at him before immediately looking away again.
"Aizawa allowed you to come out after hours? And to check on me? Somehow I don't think so."
"He's not beyond bending or breaking the rules when necessary."
"What's necessary about this situation? Hmmm?" she pressed, genuinely wanting to get an answer from him.
"Are you running away? Are you ducking out on us?" he demanded, taking her by the arm as if to hold her there.
Melina tugged her arm out of his grip. Being touched by him only made the knife in her heart sink deeper.
"I already told you. I'm going to stay at a hotel because of a gas leak."
Shoto seized her arm. This time he turned her, forcing her to face him.
Didn't this just happen with his brother? History never repeated itself so quickly.
His hand cupped and pushed up her chin to make her look at him.
"I'm telling you I don't believe you," he growled through his clenched teeth. His eyes widened as he examined her face closely in the jaundiced light from the streetlamp. "Oh, my god...that's so much worse than I thought."
Shit! The excessive tears and wiping them away had rubbed away her make up. Her fingers trembled as they raised to touch her face. Her fingertips were ice cold.
"It's fine," she muttered, her eyes reluctantly meeting his. "It looks worse than it actually is."
"What the hell have you done that someone is trying to kill you?" he demanded to know.
She looked away and tried to extricate herself from him but his fingers tightened around her upper arms with bruising force to hold her captive.
"Why is the League of Villains after you?" He waited for her answer but when none came he jostled her as if to get her attention. "Tell me!"
"Come with me to the hotel, and I'll tell you," she responded.
Melina's head snapped up when his hands dropped from her arms, and Shoto stumbled backwards a few steps.
"Do you want to know everything or not?" she challenged him as he stood gaping at her. "Are you really sure you want to know everything?"
"Y-yeah...I-I think I am," he stammered as the yellow cab pulled up to the curb.
Melina pushed past him, opening the door for herself. Before getting into the car, she fixed her eyes on him.
"Decide on the ride over if you really want to hear all of my truth. It's a horrible, ugly truth. If you change your mind, I'll pay for your ride back to the school."
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked her. His apprehension showed in the way he chewed on his lower lip.
To have pretty much never known his older brother, he was an awful lot like him. Apparently he was having second thoughts about learning the whole truth and nothing but the truth despite insisting many times over that he wanted her to be honest with him.
"I think it's a fucking terrible idea," she admitted. "But I suppose it's only fair you know. Then you can make an informed decision on whether you want to waste your time caring about me. If you decide to hate me, well..." Her voice trailed off, and she had to take a few breaths because it felt like she was drowning again. She was in too deep to stop now. "I'll just have to learn to live with that."
"I could never hate you," he argued.
"Oh?" she scoffed. "You might be surprised. I'm about to tell you some things that will make it way too easy."
~\..'../~
Melina came to the conclusion that Shoto Todoroki was the biggest, most stubborn asshole she had met since Dabi. One more thing the estranged brothers had in common.
She closed her eyes, leaning against the mirrored wall of the elevator. If the damn bell boy didn't stop taking sly glimpses at her and Shoto she was going to slap the lecherous smirk right off his face. The front desk clerk had looked at them the same way as she was checking them in. Admittedly, it did look bad. A handsome young man and a pretty older woman checking into a hotel late at night didn't appear exactly innocent and devoid of lascivious motives.
Melina half way expected the glorified luggage carrier in his early twenties to high five Todoroki as he opened the door to the room and dropped off her suitcases. The room the clerk had given her was the same exact one she had stayed in before. The inundation of the memories she had made in here with Dabi made her shiver.
She yelped when she Shoto's arms enclosed her body. Quickly she realized he was only placing a blanket around her shoulders which stilled her rapidly beating heart.
"Hey you!" she called to the hotel porter. "Have room service send up a bottle of wine and several sodas. Do you want anything to eat?" she asked Shoto.
"No," he answered tersely, sitting down on the couch.
"That's all," she told the bell boy who nodded and took his cue to leave. When he was gone, Melina announced, "I'm going to take a shower."
"You're what?!" Shoto exclaimed, his voice rising two octaves.
"Don't get so excited. I didn't ask you to join me," she muttered irritably, opening one of her suitcases to grab her clothes to take in with her.
Melina planned on coming out fully dressed. The thought of parading around in front of him clad in nothing but a towel made her blush. She wasn't here to seduce him. She wasn't sure why the hell she had allowed him to come with her. Perhaps she was just too afraid to be alone.
What had she been thinking by promising to tell him the truth? She could lose him forever. Damn. Nothing like losing both men who meant something to her in one night. That had to be some kind of record for the truly special idiots.
She showered fast, rinsing away the tears and the remnants of her make up to reveal the bruise in all of its ugliness. It was starting to heal, transforming into an even more disgusting bruise with brown and green spots amid the purple and black. The headache beginning in her temples and the tightness in her shoulders prompted her to take two pain pills. She felt like she had been in another fight.
Dressed in her frumpy gray sweatpants and over-sized t-shirt (complete with bra) in an effort to make herself as undesirable as possible to avoid any unintentional misconceptions of seduction, she left the relative safety of the steamy bathroom.
The drinks had arrived during her absence. Shoto was sitting on the couch sipping a soda out of the bottle. He had taken off his jacket and shoes, revealing that he was dressed in jeans and a red t-shirt. Red was a great color for him.
After pouring herself a glass of wine, Melina sat down on the opposite end of the couch from him. They sat in silence without looking at each other while each concentrated on their drink. Once she finished the first glass of wine and poured another, the pain medication was also working which allowed her to relax a little.
"I'm going to ask you one more time," she said, pausing to take a sip of her wine. "Do you want to hear the truth?"
"Yes," he answered confidently and without hesitation.
Melina began her story with receiving the invitation from Kurogiri. Purposely skipping small details like the dog incident with Twice and leaving out bigger points of interest such as her involvement with Dabi, she told him how Shigaraki decided he wanted to take her quirk for himself so she attacked them in retaliation.
"The second time I attacked them - "
"The second time?!" Shoto exclaimed, interrupting her. "Are you crazy?"
"I've been accused of that a time or two. Mustard shot me in the face. I was actually saved by - " She stopped immediately before she said his name. "One of the villains pulled me out of the way. I don't know why," she added quickly before he asked.
"So...were you involved, romantically, with this villain who saved you? Was he the boyfriend who broke your heart?" he inquired, scooting across the couch toward her.
GODDAMMIT, SHOTO!, she wanted to scream but kept it inside instead.
"Yeah," she confessed without offering him a name. Since Shoto was this fucking smart, he could figure out who her boyfriend was simply by the process of elimination. "Tell me, Sherlock, how do you feel about me now?"
Shoto shrugged, easing closer to her. She detested it when he approached her as if she were a wounded wild animal. However, she did have a tendency to act like one sometimes, lashing out and hurting people who only wanted to help her.
He turned toward her, bending his leg which created a small obstacle between them. When his fingertips contacted her cheek, she winced - not from pain but from his gentle touch which felt really nice.
"I don't hate you. I don't think I could. I know there are still things you're not telling me. I don't care about those things at the moment."
"God," she moaned, tipping up her glass to her lips to empty it. "You shouldn't be so close to me right now. It's dangerous."
"Yeah, I know," he returned, his fingers moving across the bruise. "Does it hurt?"
"Not anymore," she replied, staring ahead of her at the blank screen of the television.
She inhaled sharply when his hand pressed to her chest over her heart. Thankfully he had placed his hand with his fingers pointed up toward her chin otherwise they would have extended over her breast.
"Shoto, please," she begged. She wanted to run away but there was nowhere she could go. He had her trapped in the corner of the couch, one hand on her face and the other on her heart. "I don't think - "
"Then don't," he abruptly cut her off, moving even closer. His knee pushed into her hip, his shin pressing along the length of her thigh. "You think too much."
"I do," Melina agreed.
She could no longer breathe when his silky lips brushed across her cheek with a pressure so light it was like a downy feather gliding over her skin. A shiver of excitement rushed through her entire body. Every nerve ending stood up and took notice, reacting to his second kiss on her temple by setting her body ablaze as if she had been licked by a flame.
"I just wish you could love me," he whispered in her ear, his lips grazing the outer part of her ear.
"Shoto, you just don't get it do you?" she asked, turning her head so she could see his face.
His eyes were half-closed but clearly focused on her. God, that look reminded her of Dabi. But he wasn't Dabi. He was Shoto Todoroki - a completely different individual, and she needed to see him as such.
Kind, gentle Shoto with the soft voice that coated her rattled nerves like a soothing balm. Presently, his tender touch sparked a lot of feelings she did not want to be feeling. He was too young. She was too heart broken. This couldn't happen now. Some day, if he still wanted her, they could pursue a more intimate relationship - but not this day.
"Don't worry. I won't let anything happen," he assured her, his dual colored irises latching onto hers. "I won't be the rebound. I can't be that guy. As much as the idea of having sex with you excites me, we can't do this."
Perceptive as usual, exhibiting a maturity beyond his years. He continued to impress her. She definitely wanted to know him in the future.
"I don't want to give you a reason to hate me," he said, holding her face between his hands. "I also don't want to give you a reason to hate yourself."
Melina held her breath when he leaned forward. She closed her eyes, her lips prickling with anticipation. Instead of kissing her lips, he tipped her head down to kiss her forehead. A sigh of relief, like air escaping a punctured tire, pushed past her lips.
"I think I should leave," he announced, slowly pulling himself away from her to stand up from the couch. "You're right. It's not a good idea for me to be here."
"Thank you," she said, taking his hand in hers and squeezing it.
"Are you going to be all right by yourself?" He stepped into his shoes as he picked up his jacket.
"Of course I will."
"You should get some sleep if you can," he suggested, going to the door. "I'll see you in class tomorrow, Miss Zusa."
"Yeah. Definitely." Calling her by her official teacher name was like dumping cold water on her.
"Will you answer one question for me before I go?" Shoto inquired without turning around to look at her.
"Sure," she replied gamely.
"Do you think you could ever love me? I mean as a man, a boyfriend...a lover?"
Her mouth and throat went so dry she was sure she could cough up dust. He liked asking the difficult questions. She stood up from the couch, foregoing the glass to pick up the bottle to drink the remainder of the wine. Clearing her throat, she did her best to choose her next words carefully to express her sincerest opinion on the matter.
"Shoto Todoroki, I've already gotten several glimpses into the kind of man you're going to be. You just gave me more incredible insight into the future you tonight. The reason I'm keeping you at arm's length now is because I have no doubt I could love that man. However, I refuse to do anything to hinder the process of you becoming the person you need to be."
Shoto pivoted on his heel to face her. His eyes were shiny with unshed tears giving his irises a jewel like appearance.
"One day you'll forget about me. This is just a school boy crush after all," she said, dismissing his feelings with a wave of her hand.
Watching his warm expression transform into a frigid anger, she realized she had made a critical error in judgment by being so flippant.
"Please don't demean what I feel by calling it a school boy crush," he stated, his tone hard as flint.
A determination to make her understand hardened the softness of the emotion in his eyes. He stomped back across the room toward her, taking hold of her like he did in front of the apartment building, grasping her upper arms.
"I have decided you're the one I want. If I may be so bold, I think you already have feelings for me too but you're denying them, running away from them. You're confused and upset because you were involved with someone else but he's gone. I'm here. Why can't you - " His words abruptly halted. "Never mind. I'll give you the time you need to get over him. You're right. I'm too young. I'm still young enough and stupid enough to think life is a fairy tale and all you need is love. But it's a silly, childish fantasy that I want to hang on to a little longer."
"It's not stupid. It's just that life is more complicated than that," she said, reaching up to stroke his cheek after he let go of her arms. "Unfortunately, no matter how much we want it to be, love alone isn't enough sometimes."
"I wish it could be," he whispered, sadness pushing the anger out of his eyes.
"Me too," she answered, cupping his face in both of her hands.
The tear that leaked from her eye and streaked down her cheek took her by surprise. Shoto stunned her further by leaning forward to kiss her cheek. His lips pressed another spectacularly tender kiss a little lower than that one, and then another, following the damp trail down her face to her chin. The kiss he placed near her mouth, the corner of his lips lingering on her skin, caressing the edge of her mouth, took her breath away.
"Shoto, you should go," she whispered. "Please, go. I want you to leave before something happens."
"What would happen if I stayed?" he asked, combing his fingers through her wet hair to push it back from her face.
"You'd take me to that bed, and I wouldn't tell you no. You would make love to me, and it would be the end of us both. If you really want a possible future with me, you should leave," she warned him, lifting her hands from his face and backing away to put an arm's length of distance between them.
"Good night, Melina." He bowed and rotated on his heel. This time he left quickly without looking back or saying another word.
Melina dropped to her knees when the door closed behind him. Leaning forward onto her hands, her head swirling with so many thoughts and feelings it made her dizzy, she panted for air. Before tonight, she had been able to project all of her misplaced emotions for him onto Dabi, denying them, ignoring them. She had tried to starve and kill those feelings by forcing them in another direction. But Dabi was gone.
There was no doubt in her mind she loved Dabi because if she didn't her heart would not be hurting so desperately. However, love is a nebulous and multi-faceted concept. One loves their parents, their spouse, their children, their friends - but can also love chocolate and dogs and sunsets and myriad of other inanimate things. All of these kinds of love are different and unique; each one completely separate from the others, yet none diminishing another.
Melina would admit her feelings were not on the same level as Shoto's, mostly because time and circumstances would not allow them to be equal. She had been completely transparent with him about her thoughts earlier. She knew she cared about him as a friend, maybe even a sibling, but anything else would be wrong at this time due to her recently broken ties with Dabi.
No. They both needed time to grow and to change and to heal. It would be emotionally unethical to engage him in a more intimate relationship, a physical one in particular, at this time. Doing so would be like coercing him to sign a contract, binding him to fulfill demands he didn't fully understand or would be capable of satisfying.
Besides, the whole thing with Dabi needed to come to a definite conclusion. He could still come back. He could change his mind and make amends like he did before.
"Yeah, and they lived happily ever after," she snickered darkly. She too preferred to cling to storybook ideals, and still idiotically clutched the ridiculous hope of a fairy tale ending for herself. "Get over it. He's not coming back. He might even kill you."
Dabi had sworn her wouldn't kill her at the same time he confessed his love for her. From the way he spoke to her in her apartment, if Shigaraki ordered him to kill her, he would do so without prejudice.
He had sworn to love her. Apparently promises were meant to be broken. The shards that remained of that shattered promise, tore at her heart and soul, scraping it raw. Melina cried in earnest, bawling her eyes out while sprawled on the carpeted floor of the hotel room. Pouring out her heart or rather what was left of it, she emptied everything leaving nothing behind so she could begin anew in the morning.
"Enough of that," she told herself, getting up from the floor. "Take your stand and fight."
Melina started the process of consciously deadening her emotions, one by one. Compartmentalizing her emotions away from facts allowed her to bring rational thinking to the forefront. The sobering thought of Dabi coming after her, his loyalty to the villains being greater than his love for her, chilled her to the bone and made it easy to begin decimating her romantic feelings for him.
There would be time for love later and not with him. But for now, she had to think to stay alive.