A Lost Creation

Behave

You'd probably gotten too attached to Dabi far too quickly.
You'd been following him around for a few days now. He had kept true to his word, not losing his temper again in front of you, and not touching you without permission, even if it was just to ruffle your hair like he did every so often.
So you trusted him.
What other choice did you have? You were alone, with only your stuffed toy and one change of clothes in your rucksack.
Now that you were no longer alone, forced into a position where you had to be brave, you found yourself mindlessly getting closer and closer to Dabi whenever you did anything. Your arms brushed against his when you walked, as if you needed that subtle reminder that someone was there to protect you, to help you if you needed it. When you sat next to him, you made sure something was pressed up against his leg, whether it was a foot, a knee, your own leg. You just needed that reminder that he was real, that he was there, and that he wasn't going to up and leave you to fend for yourself again.

So when he handed you a five hundred yen coin and pointed towards a public bathhouse, you immediately panicked, shaking your head violently and trying to push the coin straight back into his hand.

"Less'a that." He sighs, crouching so he's eye to eye with you, just like he always did whenever he needed to talk to you about something serious. "You haven't washed for what, over a week?"

You flush immediately, feeling your cheeks heat up.
He had a point, though.
You hadn't.
In fact, it could have easily been longer, as mom only allowed you to have one shower a week to keep the bills down. You would wash the ash, dirt and general ick from your face when you managed to get to a public bathroom, using your hands and water from the sink, but that didn't really allow for the rest of your body. You weren't about to strip off in a public bathroom, the locks were too unreliable.

His usually cold stare takes on a slightly more sympathetic appearance before you look down at the floor, just wanting to avoid his piercing gaze. Sometimes even when he was being friendly and trying to look out for you, it felt as though he could see straight through your eyes into the core of who you were as a person.
It could be intimidating, even if he didn't seem to mean it to be.

"I'll be in the mens half, alright? You won't be alone. And no-ones gonna be creeping on you or makin' your life hard. You know how bathhouses work?"

You shake your head, still looking down at the floor.
There's a moment of silence before Dabi sighs a little, and you see his arm move to brush his hair back with one hand, almost as though he was exasperated.

"Alright, you go in there, hand this over to the lady in the reception, 'n then you'll be given shampoo, soap and a towel, 'kay? You just put your stuff in the locker and then you can go bath. It'll be nice and warm and you can get rid of all that dirt. Sounds good, huh?"

You falter a little. It does sound nice, but it also means you'd be separated from Dabi until either one of you were done.
You'd never had a bath before, only ever seeing them on TV, and they always looked so peaceful. Mom refused to allow you to have a bath unless you were really really sick, because it cost too much to fill.
You flip the five hundred yen coin over in your palm. You hadn't realized he had money. Sure, five hundred yen wasn't much, but it was something.

"Listen, kid."  Dabi says, taking a brief moment of silence to think about what he's about to say next. "I can't go in the women's side, so you jus' gotta be brave, 'kay? It's important to be clean, 'specially at your age."

When you glance up at him, it looks like a brief cringe passes over his face.

"Look, if you really need me, I'm not exactly gonna be hard to find, am I?" Dabi jokes weakly, gesturing vaguely to his face. "Jus' gotta ask a staff member to come find me. But I bet, when you get in that bath you're not gonna wanna come out."