Ducky

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You weren't really too sure how long was the polite amount of time to hang around with all of the others after you were gifted the giant duck.
You were holding it by the neck, your little arms wrapped around it, making the body and head hang loosely.
You really wanted to scurry back to your shared room and cuddle with it, but you were unsure of when you could do that.

You were surrounded by Magne, Jin, Toga and Atsuhiro, all of them smiling proudly at you, Jin occassionally reaching out to pretend to play with the ducky.
Dabi seemed to be pretty sucked into a conversation with Spinner, leaning his scarred cheek on his knuckles and nodding as Spinner talks a lot more enthusiastically than usual, gesturing a little with his clawed hands.
Shigaraki is back to scowling at his phone, seeming to be endlessly scrolling.

Eventually Dabi glances over at you, his hand reaching out to ruffle your hair.

"Why don'tcha go play wi' your new toy, Star?" He suggests.

"You don't play with soft toys! You cuddle them!" You inform him, squeezing the ducks neck for emphasis.

Dabi rolls his eyes at you, smirking a little. "Sure you can. I used to play wi' soft toys all the time."

You shake your head, your hair flying around your face. "Uh-uh. The kids on TV never play with soft toys! They cuddle them! You play with proper toys."

There's a short silence in the room that has you pausing in uncertainty, your lips pressing together tightly.
Even Spinner looks a little sad as he looks over at you, cupping his scaly cheek in his hand thoughtfully.
Dabi seems to be mulling over what to say next, his smirk having pulled downwards into a thoughtful frown.

"You've never played before, Star?" Toga asks, her voice as cheerful as always. "I can teach you!"

You feel your cheeks burn up a little. You're unsure what's embarrassing about not knowing how to play, but it definitely is embarrassing.

"You never had toys?" Magne asks, pity clear as day in her voice.

"Mommy said we couldn't afford it." You mumble self conciously.

You notice Dabi's jaw clench underneath his marred skin, his icy eyes hardening. He mumbles something to himself low enough that you can't hear it, but Spinners eyes widening tells you that it's something you probably didn't want to hear anyway.
The feeling of self conciousness and embarrassment worsens.

"Why don't we all play together?" Magne soothes, rubbing your back gently. "Toga can bring some extra friends down."

Your face heats up even more at the concept of playing in front of other people, grown ups no less, when you didn't know how.
Toga, however, is more than keen, bouncing off to go and get more 'friends', while Jin lifts you from your stool, carrying you over to a quiet area of the bar with Magne.
He places you on the floor gently with your ducky still gripped between your arms, crossing his legs and sitting beside you. Magne joins you both on the floor too.

"So, what's the big guys name?" Jin asks, squishing the end of ducky's beak.

"Ducky." You mumble with no hesitation.

"Isn't that a little too easy?" Magne asks, with a soft smile. "What about something with a little more character, like you Star?"

"Quackers!" Jin exclaims. "Jus' like the rest of us!"

Magne laughs a little, her eyes shining as she looks at Jin.
You shake your head at his suggestion, although you did really like it.

"Ducky like Ducky from Land Before Time!" You explain, lifting it up by its body, leaving its head to hang loosely. "And because its a duck."

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