Sayuri was dreaming of something that happened a long time ago. A memory from when she was a kid. She had taken someone's injuries at school and it hurt a lot more than she expected. Throughout the day, she tried to put on a brave face and pretend it was no big deal.

She had even gone to the Todoroki house after school to play with Fuyumi and her brothers. It was difficult to hide her pain, but she pushed herself because she did not want to worry her friend. Sayuri managed to keep up the act for quite a while before it finally became too much.

Little kid Sayuri broke down in tears as the pain finally became too much to hide and she had sobbed until she hiccupped. When Fuyumi went to get an adult, Sayuri had begged her not to, but Fuyumi insisted. As soon as she was out of the room, her brother Touya sat down beside Sayuri.

She remembered him reaching over and grabbing her hand, asking if she was okay and asking what happened. Even in her hazy dream, there was a small frown on the boy's face as he told her not to let herself get hurt for other people. Sayuri had started crying even more at that point, hiccupping violently until she was pulled into a hug. Being held until she finally stopped crying and Fuyumi returned without an adult.

Opening her eyes now, Sayuri blinked away tears from the dream. She felt an arm wrapped around her waist, a warm body pressed against her back. Her heart skipped a beat when she felt lips brush against the back of her neck, his arm tightening around her. "Dabi?"

"Go back to sleep," he muttered, barely awake.

"I have to go to work." She struggled, trying to pull herself out of bed. Feeling a hand slip between her thighs, heat rushed to her face. "Dabi…I'm serious! I have to go to work!"

"Just say you're sick." He still sounded groggy; his voice a little rough. His other arm slid around her waist to pin her against his chest, the hand between her legs slipping higher. "You know you want more."

Gritting her teeth, Sayuri closed her eyes. As much as she would love to be able to just stay in her bed and cuddle up with him, she had to go to work. They were still missing a teacher and she knew that the temp would need help. In an act of desperation, she arched her back and reached her hands back to thread into his hair. Her bottom rubbed against his lower half and he groaned, his lips latching onto the side of her neck to try to muffle it.

"If you're good…maybe I'll give you something special tonight," Sayuri stated.

Dabi's face drew away from her neck and he grinned evilly. "What? You seriously think you can bribe me? That's…almost cute."

"Please. I promise. I'll…make it worth your while."

He frowned and loosened his hold on her. "Fine."

As Sayuri got ready for work, Dabi stayed on the bed with the quilt settled at his midsection to keep his chest uncovered. He ran a hand through his spiky black hair, watching her get dressed and smirking when she pulled her hair back. The second she spotted the mark he had left on her neck, her face turned red and she decided to leave her hair down.

"What's wrong? You think those kids haven't seen that kind of thing on their parents?" he taunted.

"It's…unprofessional," she muttered. She grabbed her jacket and her bag, ready to leave, but stopped when she heard Dabi' speak again.

"You were with your friend last night, right?"

"Yeah. I was with Fuyumi." Sayuri looked at him over her shoulder as she was about to leave the room. Does he know where I really went? How would he know, though? He would've said something, right? Unless he's really mad. And now he's going to leave me. Her heart started to sink at this thought.

His eyes narrowed a bit and the corner of his mouth lifted, the staples along his cheek catching the light in a way that made them glint. "I don't have any reason to be jealous…right? You don't swing that way."

Her face became the most vibrant shade of red it had ever turned before. "N-no! I didn't…I don't…it's not…we're just friends! We're best friends! Why would you even think-?"

"You're…pretty close with her. I don't know." He half-shrugged and ruffled his hair, still wearing that lazy, lascivious smirk. "You know, I don't like sharing."

"You…don't have anything to worry about." She left the apartment with her heart racing, trying to fight down the blush that had taken over her face. It felt like her face was burning from ear to ear. How am I going to focus today at work?!

Shift P.O.V

Dabi heard the door lock behind her when she left. Falling onto his back on the bed, he felt irritated. Having her leave every day was getting annoying. He never got a full day with her where her attention was undivided. He had actually thought that after the intense night they had together, she would want to stay home.

His smirk returned when he remembered the way she moved as she was getting dressed. It was pretty clear that her hips were sore and he was able to still see fading handprints on her hips from where he had gripped them. Maybe if we do it again tonight, that can keep her home. I don't mind putting in the work when it's for something like this.

After sleeping for a while longer, he finally pushed himself out of bed and got dressed. Before leaving the room, Dabi paused to look at the framed poster above the bed again. The hero Calorie Bomb grinned down at him. Narrowing his eyes, Dabi got closer.

This hero, always grinning. Before Dabi started living there, this hero was probably what Sayuri looked forward to seeing when she got home. She was greeted by the image when she went to bed and she was greeted by it when she got up. The idea made Dabi want to burn the poster.

"You know…it's pretty funny," he started, grinning back at the hero. "She's never even mentioned you. Do you seriously think she loves you? That's…pathetic. I bet she doesn't even think about you. No room. Not when I'm here."

Staring up at the poster, turquoise eyes meeting pale blue ones, Dabi lifted his left hand and let little blue flames start to form. It was so tempting. All it would take was for him to press his hand against the poster and destroy it. No more Calorie Bomb, hanging on the wall like the ghost of an ex; as he was sure this guy had to be Sayuri's ex-boyfriend or something.

Finally, Dabi lowered his hand and let the flames die. "You know what?" he spoke to the poster again. "I'm gonna find you. I'll find you…and I'll burn you to ashes. You should feel honored. I'm putting you above Endeavor on my list. And when you're gone, this poster will be worth a lot more, right?"

Shift P.O.V

"Oh? Who's this?" Sayuri crouched down beside one of her students, peering at the weird drawing the little girl had made. It was a black, scribble-like, vaguely humanoid figure with a dark purple outline, wearing a white shirt and a vest. It had bright yellow eyes without pupils and seemed to be staring into Sayuri's soul. Is this something she saw in a nightmare? Is this what a sleep paralysis demon looks like?!

"This is my mom's friend!" the child answered, smiling.

"Your mom's friend? He looks…interesting."

"He's cool! He's…really, really cool! Kurogi-!"

"Didn't your dad leave your mom?" a little boy interrupted.

"Hey! Guess who just earned himself ten minutes in the corner and lost crayon privileges for the rest of the day!" Sayuri gave the boy a stern look and pointed toward the corner. Turning to the girl again, she smiled. "Michiko-chan, your mom's friend sounds pretty cool. Want to tell me more about him?"

Throughout most of the day, Sayuri's thoughts kept wandering to Eri. She thought of fun activities they could do the next time she went for tutoring and she was starting to get excited, but then thought about Chisaki. The unsettling way he watched them and the way he kept trying to touch her. There was something about it that added an extra layer of creepy, but she was unable to pinpoint it.

Every so often, single dads would try to flirt with her. Somehow, the way that Chisaki acted felt different. Of course, she had no idea why. There was no way to even bring this up to any of the other teachers because there was no obvious reason for her to feel creeped out. The others would laugh and say she was overreacting to his advances.

He was attractive, polite, and he seemed to be well-off, but there was still just something about him that made her anxious. She wondered if that was why he was single. She also wondered why Eri's mother had left. He never alluded to why the woman had abandoned her own daughter.

At the end of the day, Sayuri was with the last of her students outside as he waited to be picked up by his father. Thinking about going home made her feel excited. More than anything, she wanted to go home and snuggle up against Dabi. Of course, she had promised him something for letting her get ready for work. Just thinking about that gave her a fluttery, warm feeling.

"Naosu-sensei, if I knew you liked this shirt so much then I'd wear it more often. Are you blushing?" a male voice teased her.

She shook out of her thoughts and half-smiled at the young father that was approaching. His son ran over to greet him and she expected that to be the end of it, but he continued to walk over to her. "Hello," she greeted him in a professional tone. "He made something special for you during craft time today."

The young man ruffled his kid's hair and beamed. "I can't wait to see it! Hey, Naosu-sensei, I have a question for you. Do you like yakiniku? It's his favorite and I know a good place if you want to-"

Sayuri held up a hand. "Sorry, but…I couldn't do that."

"Awww! Why not? Not in the mood for yakiniku? If you're craving something else, we could go somewhere else. I'll treat." He was still smiling warmly, a faint hint of pink to his cheeks.

She prepared to protest again, but suddenly felt an arm slip around her waist from behind. A hand lifted, fingers running through her pale hair and pulling it away from her neck to display the mark Dabi had left that morning. Her face went red at the same time as the young father's.

"You always hit on teachers…or is Sayuri special?" Dabi taunted. His arm tightened around her waist and he seemed smug. "Seems kind of creepy, doesn't it? Hitting on your kid's teacher." In a lower tone, he said something that made blood gush from the young father's nose. "You wanna fuck her, right?"

Thankfully, her student was no longer paying attention. However, the boy's father looked like the blood vessels in his face might burst from the bright blush that overtook his face. He held a hand over his bleeding nose and grabbed his son's hand to quickly usher the kid away, refusing to make eye contact with Sayuri or Dabi.

"Why did you say that?!" Sayuri covered her face with both hands, a shiver running down her spine when she felt the staples down his chin scrape over the side of her neck. She felt his fingers slip into the pocket of her jeans as his hips pressed against her bottom. "Dabi, I-I'm serious! My reputation-!"

"What? You really think he'll tell someone? What're they gonna do?" His lips met the sensitive skin of her neck and he grinded against her, drawing a quiet whimper from Sayuri before she bit her lip. "If he tells anyone…you could just tell them about how he was creeping on you."

"…I couldn't do that…" she muttered. At least no one's around to see this. This is so embarrassing! But it…still feels good. A warmth settled in her lower half and she wanted to tell him they should go home.

He was quiet for a second before holding out his left hand in front of her, keeping a good distance. A beautiful blue flame formed in the palm of his hand, mesmerizing as it danced in the winter breeze. "If you want…I could just take care of him."

Sayuri, sweet and innocent, snickered and shook her head. "Isn't that overkill?" she teased, fully believing that he had been joking.

As soon as Dabi realized that she thought it was a joke, he let the flame die and released her. Stepping back, he was about to tease her some more, but found her grabbing his hand and quickly starting off down the sidewalk in the direction of their apartment. A smirk tugged at his lips as he came up beside her. "Someone's feeling bold today. I got you that excited?"

Her face turned pink and she bit her lip. Looking down for a moment, she squeezed his hand in hers. "S-so what?"

"Heh. That's cute. But…" He brought his lips down beside her ear, his breath warm against her skin. "You really think you can top me?"

Sayuri felt like her stomach did a flip. She quickened her pace a little, trying to ignore the smug grin that was taking form on his face. When they finally got back to her apartment, she decided to try to surprise him. As soon as the door closed and locked behind them, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pushed him against the door as her lips latched onto his.