꧁༒☬𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓽'𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓪𝓫𝓸𝓾𝓽 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝔂 𝓭𝓸𝓷'𝓽 𝓾𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓷𝓭.
𝓘𝓽 𝓼𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓮𝓼 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓲𝓷 𝓲𝓽𝓼 𝓪𝓫𝓼𝓮𝓷𝓬𝓮 𝓽𝓸𝓸.☬༒꧂
You stared at the cake flavour's ahead, trying not frown. You really wanted ice cream. "Go ahead, choosing something", you motioned towards the cake. Dabi shortly raised an eyebrow at you, before turning to scan through the options. It wasn't long before he had picked something, and the both of you stepped out of the cake shop.
The wind hit you full force, taking you by surprise, your balance swaying. You looked up at the sky. That definitely looked like stormy weather ahead. Looking to your left, you spotted what you had been sure you had seen when you had first arrived. A small ice cream trolley. The man was slowly starting to pack away, scowling most likely because of the weather and low sales.
"There!", you exclaimed, more to yourself than anyone else, "I'll be back now, I just quickly want to get some ice cream before it's too late". You were just about to walk off, when you were stopped by Dabi's voice calling your name. "Y/N", he spoke up. You turned around to inquire him about his sudden call for your name.
"Yeah- ", you were abruptly cut off as something soft and fuzzy was placed over your head – and eyes. You shoved up what you assumed to be a beanie. You peeked up at Dabi in confusion, surprised by the fact that he seemed to have gotten a beanie out of nowhere – and was giving it to you in the first place.
"Where'd you get this?", you mumbled, dumbstruck. He motioned towards a hat stand that stood at the door leading into the cake shop. You hadn't even seen the rack there before; you didn't imagine Dabi had paid for it then. "...why?", you mumbled quietly, completely stunned.
He met your gaze only for a second, before turning his face away slightly and pulling the beanie over your eyes again. "Your ears were turning red from the cold", he mumbled gruffly, "now go buy your stupid ice cream".
You lightly shoved the beanie back up over your eyes, pressing your lips tightly together to hide the smile that wanted to form on your lips. "Ok", you mumbled softly, knowing that a thank you would most likely result in Dabi having a stroke. You turned around, pulling the beanie over your ears as you felt the heat in your cheeks start to grow, the suppressed smile slowly breaking through.
"Sir", you spoke to the man, who looked up, startled, "could I still buy an ice cream?". He seemed grateful for your offer, nodding vigorously. You ordered your ice cream; as you waited, slightly peeking over at Dabi. He leaned against the bonnet of the car, focusing on something inside the cake shop.
Your attention was brought back to your ice cream as the man reached the ice cream cone towards you. "Uh, just hold onto that for a second, I quickly just gotta...", your voice trailed off as you fumbled with the cash from the small purse. You grabbed the money, handing it over to the man, yet as you did, neither of you seemed to have a good grip on one note, which was swept up into the air by a gust of wind and landed a few meters further. You laughed awkwardly. "Sorry, let me get that real quick", you quickly walked after the bill.
The moment you bent down to take it though, it seemed to be swept up by another gush of wind and landed a small distance from you again. You internally cursed at the embarrassment this was causing you. You swiftly chased after the bill.
It seemed to finally come to a rest once more at a corner that let into an alleyway. You internally frowned. Alleyways really didn't sit well with you - for obvious reasons. You thought about just leaving the cash there, after all, you still had quite a few more, but you felt guilty. It was probably just you overreacting again. That's what you had told yourself last time too, and now look where you are. Then again, maybe you were just overreacting this time; plus, you had Dabi to back you up. Sorta.
You stepped forward bending down once more to pick up the bill. The bill now firmly in your grasp, you sighed in relief as you quickly tried to stuff it into your bag.
At first you couldn't quite identify what the noise was, it sounded like a very soft yet intense slithering of the wind. Then you realized it was a whisper. You froze, automatically heightening you senses. You wanted to run, but your legs wouldn't move. Despite your senses being heightened, you still had to strain your ears to hear the words.
"Miss?", it was a high-pitched voice, a female, it sounded strained and tired, "miss, do you need that money?". Your heart was beating hard in your throat as your eyes darted around into the alleyway. There were several large dumpsters pressed against the walls; the fluorescent light created by the weather and the play of shadows made it hard to see. "Hello?", you called out, your voice sounded too loud for your own ears.
"Miss, can I have the money? Please, I need it", the voice seemed to be on the verge of tears. "U-Uhm, where are you?", you stuttered, keeping your eyes peeled for any movement. "I'm here", the voice breathed hard, seeming exhausted from talking too much. "Won't you come out? I'll give you the money then", you mumbled cautiously.
"I can't", the voice breathed, "please, my legs are paralyzed". Something wasn't right. "But if you can't walk, what's the point in me giving you any money?", you asked, the thin hairs on the back of your neck now standing on edge. There was a moment of silence before the voice answered. "At night I drag myself around to the front of the shop, and when I do have money, the next morning they give me some food in exchange", the voice was very faint now, " I can't do it during the day. The people, they kick us".
"Us?", you asked. The voice remained silent. "Hello?", you asked. It was another moment before the voice replied. "Some of us aren't protected by the rough hands that grab you to satisfy their own shallow needs", the voice whispered hoarsely. You understood now. A child. She had a child. You swallowed hard, pity and guilt overcoming you.
Despite anxiety having clasped its claws tightly around you, you couldn't fight the remorse that washed over you. "Okay", you took a deep breath, "would you tell me where you are?". "I-I'm here", the voice seemed surprised, but grateful. You saw an empty tin roll out from beside one of the dumpsters. That was rather ominous, but you decided to step into the alleyway anyways.
Your breaths became heavy as you walked deeper into the alleyway, the stench of trash settling on you like a thick blanket. As you neared the dumpster, you slowed down and cautiously peeked around it's corner; keeping alert for any other movement.
You were met with a pare of dark, frightened eyes. The woman couldn't have been older than her early 30's yet, her eyes were deeply sunken in and outlined with dark rims. Her face was pale and saggy, the bones sticking through sharply. Her skin seemed paper-thin and dry, her lips thin and cracked. Her whole body looked brittle as the term skin and bones barely even made the cut, her whole body shook, whether from cold or fear you weren't sure. She had tried to cover herself and a small bundle wrapped in a yellow – used to be white blanket, with trash bags in order to keep warm. She held the bundle fearfully hidden in the corner away from you.
Pure and utter remorse struck your heart, you had to clench your teeth in order to not fall to your knees and promise the woman that'd you'd do anything in your power to give her and her baby a better life.
"Hi", you greeted her softly. She still flinched. You sent her a soft smile going down into your hocks. She kept her eyes on you as she remained unmoving, frightened. "Uh", you started, reaching for your bag and taking out all the cash that you had stuffed into it. You still had some more at home, "here's this". You stretched out your hand, an entire wad of cash laying on it. Her mouth parted in shock as her eyes grew large as she stared at you from the cash and back to you.
"A-All of it?", she whispered. You nodded. "All of it", you whispered back, having to keep your voice level. It pained you to see someone like this. "Oh, and", you gently set down the cash on her lap, this time she didn't flinch, as you shrugged off the jacket you had put on back at Jason's place, "take this for you". Her breath hitched in her throat. "And...", you pulled down the beanie, a stinging in your chest. In the few moments that you'd had this beanie, it had gained a lot of sentimental value, but it could mean even more to some one else, "here, for the baby".
You held out the beanie towards the baby. "May I?", you asked. She nodded softly, holding the baby out towards you. The baby was cute, but obviously malnourished. It was fast asleep, dark circles beneath its eyes. You gently put the beanie on its head, pulling it over its ears. "Don't forget to put on the jacket, alright?", you mumbled her reassuringly. She pulled the baby back, cradling it tightly. Tears formed in her eyes as she looked up at you. "Thank – Thank you", she choked between tears, her breaths ragged.
You gently put your hand on her shoulder, squeezing it lightly. "I'm so sorry", you whispered, unsure of what else to say. You wanted to promise her that'd you'd help her, but you knew that would only be an empty promise - your own life was in turmoil at the moment. "Take care", you mumbled, slowly getting up. She nodded, sniffing. "Thank you so much", she whispered once more.
You bent down to pick up your small bag that you had dropped when taking off your jacket. She suddenly made a strange choking noise, it sound almost like a cry. Your head snapped up at her. You found her face frozen in horror as she stared at a space behind you.