𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 (𝐃𝐚𝐛𝐢 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫)

9

The rest of the workday passed by in a blur of meaningless paperwork, boring conversations, and daydreams consisting of different ways to sneak a laxative into the president's coffee without getting caught.

Hawks had stopped by your desk on his way out that morning, but his visit had been brief. Likely because he could sense the mood you were in. A smart decision on his part.

Hours dragged by and you eventually managed to finish your work for the day. Staying late wasn't anything new to you, but you hadn't been in your usual headspace today. When you were finally able to gather your things, there were only two other people still present on your floor.

After gathering your things, you made your way out of the building and paused for a moment. The soft tones of evening light paired with the bite of winter wind calmed you a bit after being stuck underneath the fluorescent lights in the artificial smelling office for so long.

The sidewalk wasn't too crowded, but you decided to wait for them to clear just a bit more before starting your walk home. Dabi was sure to be there, and after pushing through such a mentally-tolling day, you wanted a small break before being faced with another source of stress. If you went now, there was a good chance he'd say something that would cause your pent-up frustration to come out all at once.

For the time being, you decided to sit on one of the nearby benches and return your mother's call. Your phone had been buzzing from her texts all day, and you'd eventually been forced to respond after she'd threatened to buy a plane ticket to your city if you continued to ignore her.

You dialed her number and only had to wait a few seconds before her voice was on the other end. "Oh, look who finally decided to call. Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

With a small smile, you leaned back onto the bench, the chilled metal seeping through the layers of your clothing. "Well, you didn't call all week. So, I assumed that you knew I was ok."

"The phone goes both ways," she pointed out. "But never mind, I'm just relieved to hear your voice. After what happened to Ami and all the news reports about the villain attacks I've been worried sick. I promise that I wanted to call sooner, but this hero work has been running me ragged."

"It's fine," you pulled your legs in close to allow a group of people to walk past. "I was kidding. I've been busy too. So, I haven't had a chance to call either."

"I know, but with everything that's happened..."

"I'm ok, seriously. There's no need to worry. Can't have you worrying and getting distracted on the job."

"My daughter is much more important than my job. I know I say it all the time, but I'm trying to work on being more present. I really am. So, no more talking about me. How have you been this last week?"

You thought of everything that had happened since you'd last spoken with her, and decided to give her a less-illegal story. "I mean, it's been hard, but I'm actually doing ok." Your eyes wandered through the streets. "I think I'm still trying to process, but there's so much going on that I haven't really had time."

"Ah, are those commissioners still running you ragged?"

"Always. You'd think that a near-death experience would get them to cut me at least a little slack."

You could tell by the tone of her voice that she was shaking her head behind the screen. "That's what it means to be successful. No matter what life throws at you, you've gotta keep going forward. No excuses. You're gonna make it to the top, remember?"

"Yeah, that's still the plan."

"Good, and don't let anything get in the way of that. Remember when you tried to get out of your gymnastics class because you said you were sick?"