𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 | 𝘵. 𝘬𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘰 [𝘩𝘢𝘸𝘬𝘴]

𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳 : an unexpected replacement

"And he suggested it?" Dabi hesitantly asked in his classic monotonous tone.

"Yes!" I cheerily confirmed, pacing back and forth in the employee restroom. "He asked for my number, and he set the time and place, and—"

"Geez, [Y/N]," Dabi interrupted. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were some boy-crazy middle schooler."

"Oh, haha, sorry, I just—"

"You need to keep your guard up," he continued. "And remember the deal." His words were frostbitten and harsh.

Brushing off his cold statement, I scoffed. "Yeah, no, of course. He doesn't hold a candle to you."

A sigh emitted from the phone's speaker. "You're such a peach, you know. This is all good news. We should go out to celebrate," he offered. "Sushi sounds good, right? After work, come by the place on 9th street, and I'll meet you there."

A new wave of excitement washed over me. We rarely ate out, so this was definitely something to celebrate. "I'd love that! I'll see you then," I replied. "I gotta get back to work. Bye, love you."

No response. The call ended, and I was left feeling slightly forlorn yet again as I stared at my phone screen. Before I could think another thought, a bang on the door startled me.

"[Y/N]! Did ya fall in or somethin'?" One of the older waitresses was shouting at me from the other side of the door.

"Ah—Sorry, I'll be right out!"

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I hugged my arms as I walked, my coat shielding my skin from the chilly wind. Winter was sneaking up, and my tolerance for the cold was low enough. I locked my car and made a beeline for the entrance of the sushi restaurant. Smelling food all day at work does tortuous things to your appetite; I was ready to eat a whole 50-pound tuna fish.

I pulled the door open to be greeted by a hostess. "How many are with you?" she politely asked.

"Actually, um, I'm waiting for my boyfriend," I explained. I knew that with his reputation, he had to go out undercover, so I assumed what his appearance would've been. "Tall, dark hair, probably wearing a mask?"

The hostess blankly stared back at me. "I can't say anyone like that has come in yet.. Would you still like a table to wait for him?"

Huh, must be running late. "Yeah, sure, thank you." I was led to a small table for two towards the back of the restaurant, and as soon as I was seated, I checked my phone for any messages from Dabi. Nothing.

I huffed a quick sigh. He was probably on his way and didn't have time to send anything.

Twenty minutes passed with no interaction other than the waiter bringing me a water. While I was scrolling through my phone as I waited, I noticed a new message from an unknown sender.

______________________________
< (XXX) XXX-XXXX i
______________________________

19:36

How's your hand?

_______________________________

I cocked an eyebrow at my phone screen. It was from about an hour ago. I knew who it was, but I wondered why he had reached out so soon. With nothing better to do, I replied.

______________________________
< (XXX) XXX-XXXX i
______________________________

20:29

it's been better, lol,
but honestly, not
too bad

______________________________

Before I could even set my phone down, a notification pinged and caught my attention.

______________________________
< (XXX) XXX-XXXX i
______________________________
20:29

That's good to hear!

What are you up to?
Off work yet?

______________________________

Oh, I'm actually waiting at a sushi place for my boyfriend who is trying to steal information about you through me so we can celebrate the fact that I interacted with you. Yeah, no.

______________________________
< (XXX) XXX-XXXX i
______________________________
20:30

i'm waiting for a few
friends at a restaurant
right now. we had
dinner plans, but
i've been waiting for
a while now :/

How long's a while?

about twenty-five
minutes

What?! Sheesh, some
friends you've got. Which
restaurant are you at?

it's this little sushi
chain on 9th

Oooh, sushi sounds
killer! I'm starving!!

______________________________

I stared at the message, confused. Maybe he was just trying to sympathize?

I ignored his message and continued browsing social media and played games on my phone.

Another ten or so minutes dragged by, and I was getting more and more frustrated and upset. I was looking forward to actually feeling like a normal couple, a normal girlfriend, but, of course, Dabi had to throw me for a loop and keep me on my toes. My eyes welled up, and my elbows rested on the table to hold my head.

As I wallowed in my self pity, I heard two sets of footsteps approaching me. Finally!

"Thank you again for the autograph!" The hostess from before breathlessly exclaimed. Wait... Autograph?

"Of course, it's not a problem!" A chesty voice happily brushed off in response. Hold on a second.

I finally whipped my head towards the commotion, and a pair of familiar golden eyes lit up in front of me.

"[Y/N]! Sorry I took so long."

Oh dear.

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