"She's not the same. I'm tellin' ya." Giran tucked his phone under his ear as he lit up a cigarette. He pressed his back against the side of the building.

"What does that even mean?" He heard Tomura grumble from the other end of the line. "I've got work to do, and I need y/n back."

"You're more than welcome to come by and take her from me. I'm just letting you know that she picked up a few odd habits. Whatever happened in Ogura, she's clearly been stressed out by it." He paused and took a drag of his cigarette. Giran debated if it was his place to talk about Tomoru. "Also, I think it'll be best if you pick her up alone. There's something the two of you will need to sort out, other people will just be a distraction."

Tomura went silent on his half of the line. Giran wondered if he was taking his advice seriously or coming up with another reason to be upset.

Giran decided to negotiate with him. "Hey, listen, it's going to take ya a few days to come and get her anyway. I'll use that time to see if I can knock one 'r two of those habits outta her."

Giran specifically meant getting to the bottom of y/n's breakdowns last night. Something told him that she's been suffering from those, much longer than he initially thought. It wasn't good for neither her nor Tomoru's health.

It appeared that Tomura was silently agreeing to his terms. Giran was going to keep her around for a few more days. Then, he'd hand her off to Tomura, problems and all. The older villain just hoped that whatever Tomura needed y/n for wouldn't be too stressful on her. Though, if it was too much, Giran already decided his door would be open for both y/n and Tomoru.

His thumb hovered over the little red icon. He noticed Tomura was still on the other end of the line, and a thought crossed his mind. "Oh, Shigaraki, before I go." He paused and tried to think of the best way to word this. "Y/n misses you a lot." He tapped on the icon and watched the call length flash on his screen.

Giran rubbed the lit cigarette against the brick building behind him, and returned inside. He wasn't gone for very long, just enough time to quickly get a hold of Tomura. Both y/n and Tomoru were fast asleep when he stepped out, he partially expected them to still be asleep. However, with y/n's night terrors, he wasn't so sure.

He stood in the center of his office. Tomoru was sound asleep by his desk. He listened for y/n. Nothing. It seemed like she hadn't woken up after all. Giran sighed, partially relieved and partially exhausted.

Giran was concerned at first when he offered to watch Tomoru, he was the easy part. He didn't fuss much throughout the night. Whenever he cried, Giran learned that food was the answer most of the time.

Much to his dismay, y/n was more of a handful than the baby. When it came to using his quirk to calm y/n down, he quickly realized that it was only a temporary solution to a much bigger problem.

Once her five minutes of peace that Muddiness granted her wore off, she'd go back to sleep. Giran found himself back by her side within an hour to ease another breakdown.

He sat down in his chair, and tried to think back to her breakdowns. Each time, she had been apologizing to someone. He wondered if she had killed someone in Ogura and felt guilty about it. That sounded like a great starting point. He leaned forward and pulled his laptop close to him as he looked at the reported deaths around Ogura circling around the black market.

His keyboard clacking as he typed filled the room. His eyes narrowed as he skimmed through message boards surrounding Ogura. The reported deaths were unfortunately few and far between. People just didn't seem to care when it came to that particular city, it was about as lawless as Japan could allow.

He gently slid the laptop away and closed it, realizing that his search wasn't going so well. Giran heard soft whimpers. He leaned over and saw Tomoru sleeping peacefully. The older villain realized the sounds had to be coming from the room. He pushed himself off his chair. "Here we go," he muttered.

Giran sat down on the edge of the bed as y/n quietly sobbed. This time around, he didn't bother waking her up or consoling her, instead, he placed his fingers on her head right away. Once his quirk took effect, and she was out of it, he pulled her close to him. His hand lightly rubbed her arm, and he rested his head on top of hers.

"Oh, kiddo," he sighed; "I don't know how to help ya if you don't talk about it." Giran knew he was speaking to the wind at this point. Y/n was still under Mudiness's affect for another few minutes at the least. After that, she was bound to forget that she had been upset.

Giran had a plan. He was going to stay by y/n's side and confront her about it once his quirk wore off. Maybe butter her up with some good news first, will do the trick? At this point, Giran was willing to try anything.

He sat with y/n as he waited, Giran gently rubbed her back as he rested his head on hers, his other hand curled around her in a tight hug. As he did so, he kept an ear out for Tomoru. Fortunately for him, the baby seemed to really enjoy sleeping.

He felt y/n move under his fingertips. She looked up at him with tired and confused eyes. "G'morning sleepy head."

Giran realized was still holding onto her in a tight hug. "Oh, sorry!" He recoiled a bit, and kept his hands to his sides while y/n fully woke up.

Y/n rubbed her eyes, and yawned as she forced herself to talk. "How was Tomoru?"

"Fine. You're right, he's not very fussy at all." Y/n smiled, he could tell she was pleased with what he had to say. "How did you sleep?"

Y/n's smile wavered. "I'm still tired." Giran offered to let her sleep a bit more, but she shook it off. "No, I'm sure you're busy. I can't have you watch Tomo all day."

"Ah, well…" his voice faded a bit. He did have quite a few appointments today, and they would probably be weirded out seeing him with a random baby. "Ya got a point."

"So, I got a hold of Shigaraki." Giran saw y/n perk up. "He's grabbing you up in a few days." The excitement in her eyes wavered a bit.

"Why?" Her brows were furrowed. "Can't Kurogiri pick me up today?"

His chest deflated. He didn't plan to tell her about that until he got to the bottom of her night terrors. "Kurogiri didn't make it out of Tartarus."

The color drained from her face. Her mouth was agape. "From the stories I've heard, he was trying to evacuate The League. Obviously, that meant he was the last one to leave, and he didn't make it."

Y/n wrapped her arms around him, Giran felt y/n bury her face into his chest. His palm hovered over her head. His fingers twitched the closer he got to y/n. Giran sighed and placed his hand on her back. 

She trembled as he held her in his arms. He hugged her tightly before pulling her away from him. Giran placed his hands on her shoulders. "Hey, ya gotta be strong. There's a baby boy sleeping out there that's gonna be looking to ya for guidance."

Giran wiped away some stray tears. "Getting caught is a risk all villains face, an' we know it's a possibility. Don't let attachments get to ya."

He felt a bit conflicted about saying such things to y/n. Giran had customers he valued more than others, but if any of them got arrested, he wouldn't bat an eye. There was one exception though— the beautiful young lady in his arms. He invested too much into y/n, Giran knew he'd be devastated if she was ever arrested.

He hugged y/n. Now was a bad time to ask about her night terrors, he decided. Giran waited for y/n to calm herself down, and he reached into his pocket.

"My first client is coming in a bit." Giran held up a money clip. "Why don't you go buy Tomoru some new toys an' such. I don't know if going back to Ogura is a good idea."

Y/n hesitated as she normally did whenever he tried buying her anything. Giran smirked a little. Some things never change. He pushed the clip closer to her. "Don't worry about it. This'll be a late baby shower gift."

He watched y/n wipe the last of her tears away, and get up. Giran sat at the edge of the bed. He heard the pipes rattle, the bathroom sink must be running. Another sound caught his attention. Tomoru crying.

Giran got up from the bed to take care of Tomoru for y/n, wanting to give her a few extra minutes before going back to mommy mode.

He sat down at his desk with Tomoru in his arms. The baby rejected a bottle, and it didn't seem like he needed to have a diaper change. He rocked the chair slowly while Tomoru fumbled with one of his plastic toys.

"Are you sure you've never had kids?" y/n asked. He looked up and spotted her sitting down on his desk.

"Nope. Never considered it." Giran smirked at y/n.

Y/n frowned a bit before her smile returned. "Would you be interested in maybe having one in the future?"

"I think I'm a little past due when it comes to lookin' for a wife." Giran pulled out a cigarette, and held it between his teeth. Y/n crossed her arms and shot him a look.

"I'm not lightin' it." Y/n's demeanor relaxed. He leaned back a bit and chewed on the filter lightly. His eyes drifted to y/n. "So, why are you asking all these questions?"

"I was wondering, if anything happens to both Tomura and I, if you would take Tomoru." Giran looked down at the baby in his arms.

"It's a good thing nothing's gonna happen to ya," he replied. Y/n crossed her arms, and asked him to give her a serious answer. "Of course, I will. Just don't go acting reckless because ya have a backup plan for Tomoru." Y/n smiled and promised that wasn't her intention.

Giran looked at the time. He handed y/n her baby back. "Go on an' spoil yourselves. I'll be here all day." Y/n hesitated yet again before taking Tomoru outside with her.

Once y/n was gone, he pushed Tomoru's things under his desk. He flipped open his laptop, and waited for his first client to arrive.

Between appointments, y/n would sometimes come back. On one visit, she dropped off a bag full of new toys she purchased for Tomoru. Giran insisted she put them in his room. Another visit, y/n came back with lunch for him. He and y/n ate in the office while Tomoru had his afternoon nap.

Other than one last visit to bring him dinner, Giran found himself taking naps sporadically throughout the day. Y/n kept him up, and he didn't realize he was tired until he had quiet moments between clients. While he thought it was nice to push everything off to the side, the growing stack of unfinished paperwork stressed him out.

While he had clients, y/n and Tomoru stayed in his room. He could tell y/n was trying to be as quiet as possible. However, she couldn't fully keep the baby quiet. Every so often, Tomoru would cry, and a client would ask. Giran waved it off, apologized, and informed them that his daughter and grandson were visiting.

Giran sighed as soon as his last client of the day left. His gaze drifted to the new stack of paperwork to sort through. He took the first order form on the stack, and looked through it.

"Hey, y/n," he called out. The bedroom door swung open. Y/n stood at the door frame. "Are any of your support items broken?"

"I haven't used any of it since… well, you know," she replied.

He tapped his pen against his desk. "I know your locket is broken. I can replace it."

Y/n's eyes widened, and she looked mortified. "No!" she shrieked. Y/n clasped her hands over her mouth and quietly apologized.

That was not the reaction he expected y/n to have. He wondered if she realized it doubled as a tracking device to keep her in line. He shook the thought out of his head. With how enamored she was over Tomura, something told him that there's no way that would bother her.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Giran got up from his desk, and stood in front of y/n. He placed his hands firmly on her shoulders.

Y/n kept her hands over her mouth and shook her head frantically. Her eyes were still wide, and the energy she gave off was anxiety-filled.

Giran knew his girl well enough. If he pushed her any more, she'll feel like she's trapped in a corner. Y/n will end up lying. He removed his hands from her shoulders, and stepped away. "Okay, well if you need to talk about it, I'll be at my desk."

Y/n nodded. She backed into the room, maintaining her eye contact with him until the door closed.

Giran sat down at his desk and lit up a cigarette. Y/n was acting odd. He decided to investigate. That locket was going to be his clue.

He kept his head down, and focused on his work. Y/n eventually came out of hiding to properly apologize for snapping at him earlier. Giran promised her that she didn't need to worry about it.

Not long later, y/n told Giran she was going to bed, and he offered to watch Tomoru again. Giran spent a few more hours typing on his computer with one hand, and holding the baby in his other.

Just like the night before, Giran heard y/n sobbing from the other side of his bedroom door. He placed the sleeping Tomoru down into the carrier he kept beside his desk, and made his way towards y/n.

Y/n was huddled into a ball, hugging onto her pillow. He could hear her mumbling something, but her words were too muffled.

As he had been doing, Giran sat down beside y/n. He placed his hand on the top of her head, and hushed her. He ran his fingers through her hair as his quirk offered her relief from her nightmare.

Normally, Giran would give y/n all of his attention. However, a silver glint caught his eye. Giran turned towards the end table, he reached out for the locket neatly placed on top.

It has been years since he last handled this particular locket. Though, he noticed it felt different. The weight was slightly off.

He placed the locket in the palm of his hand and delicately pulled the little door open. Giran stared at the little bag tucked inside for a moment before pulling it out. Ash? From Shigaraki's quirk, maybe?

Giran didn't know what to make of the small teaspoon of ash hidden away in the locket. Knowing Tomura's Decay, it could be literally anything. Even though he knew staring at it wasn't going to help him, Giran continued observing the bag of ash and the locket.

"Whu–" Giran's head snapped up from his hand as soon as he heard y/n's voice. "What are you doing?" The older villain froze in his place, his five minutes were up. He didn't realize he had been looking at the locket for so long.

The room was deathly silent. He didn't dare move and it seemed y/n was doing the same. Giran knew he had to bluff, it was now or never. "I've been here for an hour."

His client database was detailed. He listed everything from personality ticks to exactly how their quirks worked. Giran knew Liar, just like his own quirk, had memory altering properties. The way he saw it, the two abilities came from the same vein.

On top of what he knew about Liar, he also knew y/n very well. She trusted those close to her, and saw being dishonest with them as a form of betrayal. Ironically, she was awful at telling when people were lying to her.

Y/n didn't speak. He glanced over his shoulder and saw utter defeat on her face. He turned to face her and held out his hand, offering y/n the locket and bag of ash.

She quickly took the bag and tucked it back into the little locket. She cradled the pendent in her palm. Her hands were shaking, Giran reached out and wrapped his hands around hers. He felt the trembling ease to a stop.

Y/n wasn't looking at him, she kept her gaze low. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Tell me about that bag."

Y/n hesitated. She was looking everywhere, but at Giran. A fresh set of tears rolled down her cheek. "Tomoko."

Giran cocked his head to the side. Whatever y/n was trying to say was stressing her out. He made an attempt to pull everything together on his own, fearing he'd push y/n too far if she had to explain any more. He held his breath, and his eyes widened as soon as he realized. "I see."

Y/n began to sob. Giran held her in close, he felt her tears wet the side of his neck. He rubbed her back. "Talk to me about it when you're ready."

Y/n sobbed into Giran's neck until she couldn't cry anymore. Her free hand gripped tightly onto his suit while the other held the locket. She stayed cuddled into the older villain. Eventually, she felt ready to talk about it.

Y/n explained in detail. The twins. Trying to look for him. Coming across the slums. Getting injected with Onyx. Everything came out at once. The weight she had been bearing felt lighter. It was still there, but it was manageable.

Giran was quiet for everything. Still, she could tell he was listening, even without looking at him.

"Onyx?" Giran paused; "that's a new one. I don't think I've heard about it. I'll poke around and see if I can find details."

Giran didn't seem to blame her for anything. Y/n felt comforted about that. As silly as it sounded, she was worried that Giran would see her in a different light if he knew what happened. After everything, here she was, still in his arms as he consoled her.

Y/n saw a set of pink eyes looking down at her. She looked up at Giran. "Why don't you rest," he said; "you still look exhausted. Ya want to be well rested when Shigaraki shows up, right?"

The corners of y/n's lips curled into a small smile. She nodded and pulled the covers over her. Y/n watched Giran step out of the room, and close the door behind him.

The sun was up when y/n woke up. She sat up and stretched.

Giran was curled over his desk, sleeping. Tomoru was right by his side. The baby was awake, making all sorts of soft sounds. Y/n smiled at Tomoru, he wasn't crying nor upset.

She stepped back into the room, and grabbed a lightweight blanket. Y/n pulled it over Giran before picking up Tomoru. "How about we let him sleep?" y/n asked. Tomoru cooed, almost as if he was answering her.

She locked the office door. His first client of the day will have to knock. Y/n took a peek at his laptop. She anxiously chewed on her lip. He was trying to research Onyx.

Y/n's attention returned to the baby in her arms. She gave him a weak smile. "Let's go play," she whispered.

Days passed and y/n found herself with much more energy. She wasn't sure why specifically. Maybe it was because she was sharing the responsibility of taking care of Tomoru with someone else, rather than carrying on all by herself.

She was waking up rested and getting out of bed slowly began to feel less and less like a chore. She even managed to beat Giran to Tomoru as soon as she heard him cry.

For the first time in a year, things felt okay. Things weren't perfect. She still often found moments where she had to pretend to be happy. But things were much better now than what they used to be, and for that, y/n was thankful.

Y/n lounged on the couch with Tomoru laying down on her chest. Giran's phone rang. She looked over and watched him answer.

She couldn't tell what the conversation was about by listening in on Giran's half. He placed the phone down. "Shigaraki is almost here."

Y/n's eyes widened, and her heart jumped to her chest. She didn't believe him. It wasn't true until she saw him with her own eyes, and felt him in her arms.

Y/n gave Tomoru to Giran, and stepped outside of the office. She paced around anxiously as she waited for Tomura. It felt like an eternity, time was moving painfully slow.

Y/n heard the door behind her open. She spun around and saw a thin figure pass through the door frame. She stopped. Y/n felt both sick and excited at the same time.

The figure lowered his hood, revealing that light blue hair she loved so much. Y/n hurried to Tomura and wrapped her arms around his torso. She rubbed her cheek against his collarbone.

Y/n looked up and saw his ruby eyes looking down at her. She beamed at him. "Tomura." It felt like forever since the last time she has said his name. Her voice shook as she spoke.

She pressed her lips against his. Tears welled up as she felt his arms curl around her waist, pulling her closer to him. Her whole body quivered, and her fingertips trembled excitedly as she lightly caressed his cheek.

Reluctantly, y/n stepped away from her blue-haired companion. Her hand slipped to his wrist, and she gave him a gentle tug. "I have someone for you to meet."

"Someone?" he repeated. He had a quizzical look on his face. Hearing his voice again made her skin crawl, and her heart flutter.

Y/n smiled. "You're gonna love him." The confused look on Tomura's face remained.