Life was getting boring, to say the very least.

The new heroes haven't really been all that special and the new villains were merely a bunch of incompetent fools with clearly too much time on their hands. In short, there hadn't been very much for him to do. There wasn't even much for him to do with the League of Villains at the moment with those so-called "villains" being completely and utterly useless. That night was beginning to appear just as boring as all the ones previous.

This time, though, Shigaraki was lucky enough to stumble across you; a girl who accidentally wandered into a back alley during your search for a place to stay. Young girls like you weren't a common sight around there and it didn't take long for a couple of amateur villains to find you.

Their stupid cat calls towards you was one thing, but harassment was a completely different situation. The moment one of them dared lay just a single finger on you, Shigaraki was there in a heartbeat. He was all in favor of killing anyone who considered themselves a hero, but he couldn't allow those useless villains to torment someone as helpless as you.

It was all over before they even knew what happened. Without a sound, his hands made contact with the two men standing before him. They only managed to let out a single shriek of horror before they crumpled into nothing more than a pile of dust.

Without a word, he began to walk away. He accomplished what he wanted; there was no reason to stay.

"Where are you going?" you called out to him, freezing him in place. "Please don't ignore me, I know you're still there."

Turning around ever so slowly, Shigaraki was shocked to see that your eyes were staring blankly right at him. He was unnerved, to say the least.

"What do you want?"

"To thank you."

"T-thank me?"

He was genuinely surprised by that statement. He couldn't recall the last time someone actually thanked him for something.

"Well, you are the one who chased off those guys for me, right? Of course I need to thank you for doing something as kind as that."

And just like that, his shock slowly dissipated away. How could you possibly know what truly happened to them? Your opinion of him would surely change if he were to tell you the truth about what he did to them, yet... he didn't want to. At least, not yet.

"Don't worry about it," he muttered. He tried to walk away once more, but you weren't quite just ready to leave him be yet.

"Wait! Before you go, I have something to ask."

"What now?"

"Well, uh, I know it's late and I've obviously lost my way quite a bit and you're the nicest person I've stumbled across so far so I was wondering... do you mind if I stay the night with you? I promise I'll leave first thing in the morning!"

Shigaraki sighed. If this is what it meant to be good, he was already regretting the small act of kindness he committed. Either way, he knew it wasn't going to be easy to lose you now. 

"Just don't slow me down."

* * *

Shigaraki let out an exasperated sigh the moment he exited the bar. The new villains really knew how to get on his nerves, but he couldn't afford to lose his composure with them. After all, he was already lucky enough to find a group that was as skillful as this bunch.

Despite originally planning to be home early, it was already nearly midnight. The meeting with the others went on far longer than expected, but there was nothing he could do about it. All he could do was hope he could make it up.

The walk back to the apartment only took a few minutes. By the time he opened the door, he was ready to sneak inside as quietly as possible before realizing it wasn't necessary. There you were sitting on the couch, clearly wide awake and staring directly at Shigaraki. He couldn't help but smile at the way you looked at him, despite never even seeing his face, though he would never dare admit that.

"What are you doing up, [name]?" he asked, giving up with his plan to sneak in. He calmly made his way over to where you were and sat beside you.

"I had a feeling you would be back late," you clarified before slowly leaning your body into his. He sat there frozen as you did so, yet never once moved away. Even after all the years he knew you, he still wasn't quite accustomed to the close contact you seemed to love. It wasn't something he was used to, yet... it wasn't something he particularly minded either.

"So you decided to stay up and wait for me?"

"Yes. Is that a bad thing?"

He couldn't help but chuckle softly at your honesty. It wasn't a common trait among people, especially not with his usual company, but then again, you were always special from the start.

"No, not at all."

With both hands behind his back, he slowly leaned in and kissed you gently. It was a short, but extremely sweet kiss; one you cherished deeply. It was rare for him to show much affection to you - even holding hands wasn't something he was willing to do. Yet on the rare occasions where he kissed you, your love for him always doubled in size.

"I love you, Tomura," you said with your hands cupped around his face.

"Yeah, I love you too, [name]."

Even to that day, you knew nothing of who Shigaraki truly was or how deadly his quirk is; knew nothing about how one wrong move on his end could kill you within seconds. He was well aware that he would have to tell you one day or that you could potentially find out all on your own. He knew it, yet he didn't care. For now, he wanted to maintain whatever relationship he had with you.

For without you, he knew no meaning of home.