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Toga wanted, no, needed, to talk about her crush.
Unfortunately for her, no one at the base cared.
Spinner pretended to suddenly have "very important things to do". Mr. Compress had politely excused himself the moment she said the word love. And Shigaraki had just stared at her with dry, red eyes before turning back to his gaming set and fully ignoring her.
But none of that meant she was going to stop trying.
And oh, poor Dabi.
Dabi, who had made the grave mistake of sitting alone at the table.
He was leaning back in his chair, one boot hooked over the other, lazily sipping from a chipped mug that said Coffee Keeps the Mind Sane in bold print. Which was funny considering it was definitely filled with vodka.
No one knew whose mug it actually was. It had just... appeared one day in the cupboard and slowly became communal property.
Toga slid into the chair across from him.
He raised an eyebrow.
Then took a long sip. Practically gulping it down.
Rude.
"I have a crush," Toga announced brightly.
Dabi didn't even look at her."Bother somebody else."
Toga tilted her head, tapping a finger against the table. "You don't even want to know who it is?"
Dabi slowly set the mug down then he stood up. "No," he said flatly, "I really don't."
He took exactly one step away from the table.
Toga pulled a knife from her skirt and threw it.
The blade buried itself in the wall an inch in front of his face.
"FUCK-" Dabi jerked back, stumbling into his chair again. "You could've killed me!" Blue flames flickered to life along his hand in reflex.
Toga twirled a loose strand of hair around her finger.
"But I didn't."
She smiled sweetly.
"Now shush. We have super important things to talk about."
Dabi glared at her like he was calculating whether burning her alive would be worth the lecture from Shigaraki.
He also looked like he might try to escape again.
But then he glanced at the knife.
And the flames died down.
"...Fine," he muttered, dragging the mug back toward him.
Toga clapped her hands once in delight. "Okay! So there's this girl."
"Poor girl," Dabi said immediately.
Toga kicked him under the table.
"And she's the most perfect thing ever," she continued dreamily. "She's kind and strong and brave and is one of the few actual standup heros."
Dabi narrowed his eyes slightly at the hero part but otherwise just hummed in vague disinterest, staring into his mug.
Toga leaned forward across the table.
"Can we recruit her?"
That made him look up.
Dabi stared at her.
Then he slowly rubbed a hand down his face. "...Are you an idiot?"
Toga flipped him off and grumbled a very not nice thing under her breath.
"Of course not," he continued flatly. "We're not recruiting your random crush."
Toga leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. "Well if you can bring in your little "boy toy"-" She made exaggerated air quotes. "-then why can't I do the same?"
Dabi tilted his head.
"Boy toy?"
He repeated it slowly under his breath.
Then it hit him.
He pointed at her.
Then slashed his hand through the air.
"Hawks is a valuable member who I thoroughly investigated," he snapped. "And he's still being kept at arm's length."
His voice got sharper the more he spoke.
"And it's not like that."
He finished the sentence a little too fast. And a barely there pink flushed his face.
Toga raised one eyebrow.
"My room is right next to yours."
"So fucking what."
"The walls are thin."
There was a beat of silence.
Toga watched with immense satisfaction as Dabi's entire face fell.
"...You little-"
"Oh don't worry," she said cheerfully. "I'm very supportive."
Dabi looked like he wanted to die.
Or commit murder.
Possibly both.
"Anyyywaysss," Toga sang, dragging the conversation back. "If recruiting her is really out of the question... maybe a date?"
Dabi groaned and leaned his head back.
"I hate this conversation."
"But listen!"
She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "If I tied her up but kept her at a picnic... would that still count as a date? Or is that technically kidnapping?"
Dabi lifted his head slowly. "Depends," he said.
Toga leaned forward eagerly."Yeah?"
"Are there flowers?"
She looked offended.
"Of course there will be!"
"Well in that case it's pure romance." Dabi said calmly.
Toga's eyes sparkled.
"Really?"
"No."
Her smile collapsed instantly. "You're the worst."
"Correct."
She slumped dramatically against her chair. "What do I do then?" she groaned. "How do I make this work?"
Her voice had lost some of its manic energy now. Because the truth was she wanted this so badly it almost hurt, a tight ache sitting somewhere under her ribs that even joking couldn't quite hide.
Dabi noticed the shift. His usual smug, detached expression slowly faded.
He stared into his drink for a moment, fingers tapping the mug in a slow rhythm.
Then he sighed.
"Look," he said.
Toga's fingers squeezed onto her skirt, bunching the fabric up in her fists.
"The chances of anything happening between you two..." he paused. "...is like one in a hundred."
She sucked in a harsh breath. Really not what she wanted to hear.
"No, actually," he corrected. "More like one in a thousand."
"Wow," Toga muttered flatly. "Thank you for the encouragement."
He gave her a silencing look, eyes narrowing before softening again. "But."
His fingers tapped once more.
"If you really want this to work-"
"I do!" she interrupted immediately, almost jumping out of her seat. "More than anything."
He looked at her for a long moment, before finally speaking. "Then I know you'll figure something out."
Toga's fingers slowly unclenched, the tight grip she had on her skirt loosening as the tension drained from her hands. That wasn't the answer she expected.
She slowly leaned back in her chair.
Breathing out.
Then a small smile spread across her face.
She nodded once.
"Yeah," she said softly.
"I will."