False Reality

One Comfort

You were kind of in a peaceful situation with Star for once, both of you petting the fluffy little cat that you yourself were getting far too attached to despite trying desperately not to.
She wasn't saying too much, hopefully finally realising that you didn't want to be here and play happy families with her and the others when you were here against your will in the first place.

Not that you really had anywhere now.
Keigo had betrayed you completely by keeping the brutality of the Commission under wraps. And sure, Aoi can apologise all she wants, and say that she told him to tell you, but he didn't, and she still kept it quiet for his sake anyway until it benefitted her to spill the beans.

The feelings you had about the whole situation were so conflicted. Technically you were his now. Y/N Takami and Keigo Takami. Not Hakuchō and Hawks like the Commission had attempted to force. He'd done that off his own back for you, to make it real, even though he'd outright told you he'd never wanted a kid. He was an idiot, sure, and didn't really handle things well, but he did try in his own way.
He was patient, generous, supportive and craved the family dynamic, you could tell, but your walls had been up because it hadn't been the best start between you both.

And your parents had died for him to have you. It felt disrespectful to not want anything to do with him ever again, to be angry that merely because he existed, because he happened to have wings just like you, and happened to be high enough in the hero ratings that they would do something so deranged for the sake of looking good in the papers, and to keep his quirk going if their original plan worked.
He didn't ask for this either.

You're spiralling and you know it, but running your fingers through Cloud's soft fur helps keep the ugly feelings bubbling up inside of you at bay for the most part.
Until Dabi rocks up, calling for Star to join him, as if to rub salt in the wounds that were rapidly opening up inside your chest and mind.
You ignore him, because he ignores you, but you pick up Star glancing at you briefly in your peripheral vision.

"C'mon." He encourages.

"Me and Hakuchō are playing with Cloud." She states cautiously, and you can't tell if it's because she's not used to saying no to him, or because she's trying not to test her luck with you.

"You can play with the bird and the cat in a second. This is important, 'kay?"

You scrunch your face up a little at the comparison to the bird. You didn't care for it when people did it with Keigo, and you especially didn't like it when it was aimed towards you.
Star seems to listen though, giving Cloud another scratch on his head before getting up.
Zero thankfully waits for them to be outside of the room before addressing you.

"Your mood's dropping. Would you like to go for a walk?" He asks, as peacefully as ever.

"No." You reply bluntly. "I wanna stay here with the cat."

Because if you called him Cloud, that'd give it away.

"Okay." Zero agrees easily. "He's a therapy cat, so that works too."

You shoot him a sharp look. He didn't need to share that with you, and it almost feels a little patronising.

"You don't need to be embarrassed." He reassures you even though you didn't ask. "That's why he was bought for Star. It's helping."

"Shut up."

Zero hums, leaning back in his seat again.
He doesn't speak again though, just watches like he always watches as you pet Cloud quietly, running your fingers through his masses of fluff and trying to use the sensations to ground yourself once more.