A Lost Creation

Grumpy

You wake up, like usual, in the middle of the night.
Although this time, you hadn't had a dream about your mom, which was nice. Something else had made you stir awake instead. You blink a couple of times, yawning, and turn around with the full intention to drop back off because you were definitely sleepy enough to do that.
But as you turn over, you catch sight of a dark human-shaped shadow in the room, and pause, slowly turning your head to look at it properly.
When you blink a couple of times and the shadow doesn't disappear you scream, loudly.

It takes next to no time at all for Dabi to come rushing into the room, blue flames licking at his skin all the way up one of his gnarled arms, highlighting Zero's features in the dark.

"What the fuck man?" Dabi asks angrily. "What're you doing in here?"

Uncle Jin and Himiko come stumbling in as well, Himiko holding a knife and her teeth bared while Uncle Jin seems to be weaponless, and instead of standing with Dabi and Himiko, he looks over at you, trembling and clutching the sheets up to your neck and comes over to comfort you, picking you up so he can get onto your bed with you, holding you close and shushing you.

"You told me to keep an eye on her." Zero replies calmly. "Did I misunderstand?"

"Uh, yeah?" Dabi snaps. "During the day, idiot! You can't jus' hang around in the dark while she's sleepin'. She's got issues with men bein' in her space as it is."

"I apologise." Zero says, still completely calm even though Dabi's really angry.

Dabi's flames are gone, though, and Toga's put her knife on your bedside table in favour of climbing onto your bed with Jin, too. It's a little cramped, but you feel better the more people that join. You hadn't been scared of Zero before now, he seemed really nice, just like Kurogiri, which was what Dabi had said. But Kurogiri had never come into your room at night and made you remember waking up to a big man touching you in your sleep.

"Jus' go to your room and stay there 'til morning." Dabi snaps again.

"Of course, Dabi." Zero says, still calm with no sign of getting any angrier even though Dabi's telling him off. "I apologise for distressing you, Star. I misunderstood the order given to me."

"Go." Dabi growls.

You see Zero's shadow moving in the darkness, opening the door and revealing that he's still in the clothes he was in when you met him. You cuddle a little closer to Jin, looking over at Dabi, who's wiping a hand over his face in exasperation, his touch seeming to get a little softer when his hand gets closer to his scars.
His expression softens when he looks over at you and sees how frightened you are, curled up in between Himiko and Jin.

"You guys can go." He says with a sigh. "Wanna have a sleepover, little Star?"

You nod eagerly, reaching for him like a toddler reaches for its parent for comfort. And even though you were getting too big and too heavy to be carried by him, he still picks you up from your bed with a little grunt, leaning his cheek on your head as he carries you to his room.
Uncle Jin and Himiko call a soft goodnight to you before returning back to their own rooms, Spinner and Atsuhiro watching from outside their doors.
You cling to Dabi wordlessly until he gently drops you onto his bed, tucking you under the sheets and then grabbing a shirt and pulling it on before laying atop the sheets next to you, immediately petting your hair when you roll over to press your face into his side.

"He wasn't gonna hurt you, hon." He reassures you quietly. "He's here to look after you an' everyone else, but he's still got a little to learn, so he's gonna make mistakes for a lil' while."

"He was in my room..."

"I know, hon." Dabi sighs, kissing your head. "Wasn't gonna do anything though. I promise. You think I'd lie to you?"