….
"PAPA IS HOME! PAPA IS HOME!"
Dabi chuckled softly, resting his hand against the doorframe as he waited for the door to burst open.
The heavy wooden door flew open with an enthusiastic thwack, bouncing off the rubber stopper on the wall.
Standing in the entryway were two pint-sized chaos gremlins, bouncing on the balls of their feet like tiny popcorn kernels.
Eri and Himiko were adorable as always, but what stole the show was the sheer amount of chocolate spread adorning them.
Eri had a dark brown mustache drawn crookedly across her upper lip and chocolate fingertips, while Himiko looked like she had tried to wash her entire face in a jar of fudge.
"PAPA!"
Before Dabi could even draw breath to greet them, two tiny, warm torpedoes launched themselves directly at his knees.
Oof!
Dabi instinctively dropped low, catching both little girls in one sweeping motion.
Eri threw her arms around his neck, burying her face into the crook of his shoulder, while Himiko climbed up his chest like a baby koala, planting both sticky hands squarely against his cheeks.
"Papa! You're back! You're back!" Eri cheered into his ear, her voice trembling with bubbly joy as she squeezed him as hard as her little arms could manage. "We saw you on the big TV! You were flying like a super duper rocket and beat all the mean monsters!"
"Yeah, Papa!" Himiko squeaked, planting a sticky, chocolate-scented kiss. "You went WHOOSH in the sky and made big blue boom-booms! And Mama is home too, but her legs are sleepy, so we are the boss of the house today!"
Dabi let out a laugh that rumbled all the way from his chest.
The lingering aches from the battle, the crushing fatigue in his muscles instantly vanished into thin air.
"Is that so?" Dabi murmured, his voice thick with fond warmth as he carried them both into the house. "You two are the bosses now? And what kind of top secret mission were my little bosses running while I was gone, huh?"
He kicked the front door shut with his heel, stepped into the hallway, and looked down at them with a teasing brow.
"Did you two rob a candy store, or did a chocolate monster attack my hallway?"
"Noooo!" Eri giggled, squirming in his left arm as she proudly pointed toward the living room coffee table. "We made you a surprise! A five-star super lunch because you missed a sleepy breakfast!"
"I helped lots!" Himiko announced proudly, holding up her sticky hands to show off her chocolate 'gloves.' "I tasted Eri-chan's cheek to make sure it was extra sweet for you!"
"You tasted your sister's cheek?" Dabi chuckled, wandering into the living room. "You're lucky she's sweet, you little goblin."
On the living room sofa, nestled under a mountain of plush blankets with her long rabbit ears drooping lazily against the cushions, Rumi propped her chin on her hand, a soft smirk curling on her lips.
Her crimson eyes, though tired and rimmed with faint exhaustion from Recovery Girl's work, softened into absolute liquid gold the moment they locked onto him.
"Well, well, look what the cat dragged in." Rumi drawled, her voice a little raspy, but brimming with relief. "You're late, Patchwork. By about four hours."
"Ran into some traffic." Dabi replied smoothly, carrying the giggling girls right over to the couch.
He didn't mention the thirty five kilometer sprint, the Commission coup, or the quiet tears in Room 307.
He just walked up, bent down with both girls still cradled in his arms, and leaned in close.
Rumi didn't hesitate, as she reached up with a bandaged hand, hooked her fingers around the nape of his neck, and pulled him down into a soft kiss.
"Ewwwww!" Himiko squealed immediately, covering her eyes with chocolate covered fingers.
Only to peek right through the gaps with a massive, toothy grin. "Mama and Papa are doing kissing stuff again!"
"It's romantic, Himi-chan!" Eri corrected in a very serious, whispery tone, nodding wisely. "Mina-neechan said when people love each other lots and lots, they kiss like the princesses in the storybooks!"
Rumi broke the kiss with a quiet, breathy laugh, her cheeks dusting a soft, adorable pink as her rabbit ears twitched.
She tapped Eri's chocolate covered nose with a gentle finger. "Don't you go listening to pink-alien nonsense, little bean. Your dad just needed to be reminded who owns him."
"Pretty sure the little monsters with sticky paws own me." Dabi muttered, though the fond, crooked smile on his face never faded.
He carefully set the two girls down on the fluffy living room rug by the coffee table.
The sight on the low table was an absolute, glorious disaster:
The Crime Scene: A plastic jar of chocolate peanut butter sat overturned, with a dull blue baby spoon sticking straight up out of the brown abyss.
The Masterpiece: Two slices of soft white bread, completely torn and squished, smothered in a mountain of chocolate spread so thick it looked like an architectural spackle.
The Collateral Damage: Stray bread crusts and brown fingerprints scattered across the wood, along with a neat little stack of wet napkins Eri had tried to use to clean up before giving up completely.
"Look, Papa!" Eri beamed, carefully picking up the squished sandwich with both hands and lifting it up like a sacred offering. "We made it just for you! It has lots and lots of chocolate so you get super duper strong!"
"And I put love in it!" Himiko added, jumping up on her knees. "And yummy peanut butter! Take a big bite, Papa!"
Dabi looked at the squashed, chocolate dripping monstrosity, then at the two pairs of big, sparkling eyes looking up at him with devotion.
Without a single second of hesitation, Dabi leaned down and took a bite right out of the corner.
The overwhelming explosion of pure sugar, thick chocolate, and sticky peanut butter immediately glued the roof of his mouth together.
It was messy, absurdly sweet, and completely unhinged, and it was the best thing he had ever tasted in his entire life.
"Mmm..." Dabi chewed, his turquoise eyes widening in dramatic, theatrical wonder. He swallowed with a loud gulp and let out a satisfied sigh. "Holy hell. That is officially the greatest sandwich in the history of Japan."
"YAAAAAY!" both girls erupted in synchronized squeals of triumph, throwing their hands into the air and tumbling into a heap of giggles on the carpet.
"Told you!" Himiko cheered, rolling onto Eri's lap. "Papa loves our magic cooking!"
Rumi laughed, leaning her head back against the sofa cushions with a fond, contented sigh. "You're spoiling them, you know. Now they're gonna want to cater every meal."
"Hey, if the food is this good, I am firing the U.A. cafeteria staff." Dabi joked, finally sitting down right on the carpet with his back leaning comfortably against the edge of the couch, right beside Rumi's legs.
Almost immediately, the natural order of the household asserted itself.
Eri scrambled over, dragging her soft pastel blanket with her, and wedged herself tightly under Dabi's left arm, resting her head against his ribs with a happy little hum.
Himiko clambered directly onto his lap, curling into a tiny, warm ball against his chest and resting her sticky chin on his collarbone, her little fangs peeking out as her golden eyes grew heavy with sleep.
Rumi's hand drifted down from the couch, her fingers weaving gently through Dabi's dark, spiky hair, softly scratching his scalp in the exact way that made his entire body melt into relaxation.
The warm afternoon sun poured through the living room windows, painting the floor in soft, golden light.
The TV was murmuring quietly in the background on mute, showing the country beginning to heal, but inside the four walls of their home, the entire universe was quiet.
"Hey, Patchwork." Rumi murmured softly, her thumb brushing over the faded scar beneath his ear.
"Yeah, Bunny?" Dabi whispered back, his arms tightening gently around their two sleeping daughters.
"You're not going anywhere for a while, right?"
Dabi closed his eyes, letting his head tilt back against her knee, feeling the steady, warm rhythm of her heartbeat, the soft snores of Eri beside him, and the gentle puffs of Himiko's breath against his chest.
"Nowhere in the world." Dabi murmured, a soft, peaceful smile resting on his face–
"I am right where I belong."
.
….
[To be continued…]
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