I love you.

I thought the words to him, but couldn't force my mouth to open.

Not because I was afraid Eijirou would reject me or anything like that. Just because I lost consciousness, before I could.

But, man. I wish I could have said it—

"Margo." Someone whispered to me, the voice coming out too fuzzy in my head to recognize.

I tried opening my eyes, not being able to.

"Hmm." I hummed out dazedly, not remembering where I was.

"Open your eyes." The person said, pushing the hair away from my face. I felt them start caressing my cheek softly.

It must be Eijirou. He's the only one who does stuff like that.

I smiled softly, forcing myself to speak.

"That feels nice." I uttered out, leaning my face into his hand.

"Really?" The person said again, their voice still not quite recognizable to my foggy brain.

It had to be Eijirou.

"I missed you so much." I whispered out, feeling him trail his fingers softly along my jaw.

"You did?" He breathed out, grabbing my hand in his now.

"Of course. I couldn't stop thinking about you." I mumbled, feeling him trace his fingers along my lips now.

"I've never been able to stop thinking about you." He stated softly.

"Margo..." I heard, faintly crackling in my earpiece now.

"Margo." I heard the voice say in front of me.

"Margo, wake up." The voice said in my ear, starting to become more clear.

I furrowed my brows in confusion, as I felt myself start gaining more consciousness.

"Do you finally realize how much I care about you? Do you finally understand you should be with me?" The voice in front of me said, their voice sounding slightly more familiar now.

What?

"Margo, you're not thinking straight. You need to wake up." I heard someone say in my earpiece. That voice was also becoming much more recognizable now.

The person speaking to me in my earpiece was Eijirou.

So who in the hell am I talking to right now, letting them touch my face?

I gasped in panic now, as I felt myself fully awake, snapping my eyes open to see...

"D-Dabi!?" I called out, slapping his hand away from me involuntarily.

I quickly scrambled away from him, sitting up straight on the couch.

I looked around quickly, surveying my surroundings. My shoulders slumped slightly when I realized I was still at the league of villains.

That's right, it all came back to me now. Overhaul fucked me up, and I ended up unconscious.

I heard Dabi scoff now, taking a seat next to me.

"Who the fuck else would it be?" He retorted, his rude, bored tone coming back to him.

I cringed slightly, remembering I'm not supposed to blow my cover. Obviously, I couldn't tell him I mistook him for Eijirou.

"Uh—no one. I was just....really disoriented." I simply uttered, averting my gaze to the floor.

There was tense, uncomfortable silence between us for a moment, before Dabi abruptly stood up from the couch.

"Whatever." He mumbled, clearly hurt by my actions.

I groaned in annoyance, not in the mood for a fight right now.

"Dabi. I'm sorry—" I started saying, before he cut me off.

"Just forget about it." He quickly said dismissively.

I was about to respond again, before Shigaraki walked in—or rather stormed in through the room.

"Good. You're awake. Do you feel any different?" He quickly asked, getting straight to the point.

He wasn't the usual carefree Shigaraki that I was used to. He was angry....stressed.

And he actually sounded a little menacing.

"No. I feel fine." I sighed, leaning back into the couch now.

Shigaraki nodded, before slamming four hands into the wall in front of him.

Everyone was quiet, waiting in anticipation for him to speak.

I became a little uneasy when I heard him chuckle slightly, removing the hand from his face now.

"That man....owes me an arm, a life, and for one of his own men to be knocked unconscious for 24 hours." Shigaraki spat, gritting his teeth in fury.

My eyes widened at his words.

24 hours!? I've been asleep for 24 hours!?

"I want revenge." Toga simply mumbled out, cleaning one of her knives.

"Me, too." Twice whispered, looking over to the dried blood on the wall. Magne's blood.

Shigaraki began pacing the room slowly now, his eyes glaring at the ground as he thought of a plan.

"And we'll get it. We'll hit him where it hurts. That should be easy too, since I know exactly what he wants." He said, shooting his gaze to me.

I immediately stiffened upon hearing his words, not liking where this was going.

"And what are you planning to do?" I choked out, not being able to hide the anxiety in my voice.

He simply shrugged, giving out an exasperated sigh.

"I'll let you know, when I come up with it....for now, return to UA for a bit. They'll be missing you soon, if you don't show up. I'll be in touch." Shigaraki simply mumbled, before walking out of the room.

I swallowed thickly, feeling Shigaraki brush past me on his way out.

I didn't like this new attitude of his. I didn't like this new side of him.

I had a feeling I was caught in the crossfire right now, between Overhaul and Shigaraki....and there was no way for me to get out alive.

Only time will tell, I guess.

.......

I made my way back to the UA dorms, not giving two fucks about how I looked.

My hair was a mess, I was covered in Magne's blood, and a little bit of my own as well. My eyes were sunken in, and my face was pale. I was still in my villain suit, but I threw on my signature black hoodie to hide it....barely.

I probably should be more careful, walking back by myself. But, I didn't care.

The more I thought about my conversation with Overhaul, the more blank I felt.

It was 2 in the morning, and I was supposed to report straight to Sir Nighteye when I got back.

But, for some reason....I felt myself automatically making my way to, none other than...

Eijirou's room.

I felt my throat tightening up, I felt myself breaking as I opened his door....knowing it wouldn't be locked.

I closed my eyes, upon feeling his familiar, wonderful scent hit my nostrils...immediately feeling comforted and safe.

I blankly looked over at him in the dark, seeing his sleeping figure—

"Who's there?!" Eijirou quickly called out, sitting up in his bed now.

He wasn't asleep.

I was about to respond, when Eijirou quickly switched on his lamp, meeting my gaze.

His eyes widened, as he was about to jump out of the bed.

"Margo!!? Oh my god!!!" He exclaimed, taking in my gnarly, messed up appearance.

I didn't say anything, simply walking over to him.

"I've been worried sick about you!" He said, not being able to take his eyes off me.

I reached his bed first, plopping down on it before he could move.

I quickly switched his lamp off, not wanting him to see me clearly in this state.

As soon as I sat on his bed, Eijirou pulled me into his arms, holding me tightly against his chest.

I reveled in this feeling. This feeling of safeness....warmth....pure good.

I closed my eyes, resting my head against him as I limply wrapped my arms around his waist.

I felt my lip start quivering now, thinking back to my conversation with Overhaul.

Nyūshin labs.

He was going to buy me.

He was going to use me.

He was the one.

Monster. He said I was a monster.

And he's not the only one who's said that.

Everything. It's all coming back to me now. Everything I've been trying to forget. Everything I've been trying to get past, and accept.

It's all coming back.

"E-Eijirou." I choked out, pulling him closer to my body.

Eijirou heard my tone, realizing I was at my breaking point, as he held me tighter in his arms.

"Shh. It's okay. I'm here. You're safe." He said gently, trying to reassure me as best he could.

I felt soft, warm tears lightly escape my eyes, as I shook my head.

"You were right. I-I never should have done this. W-Why did I think I could change, huh?! Why did I think I could be a hero?" I choked out, burying my face into his bare shoulder now.

"You can be a hero." He replied without hesitation.

I grit my teeth in frustration with myself, as I started full on crying.

"N-No, I can't. I'm a monster. My quirk is a villain's quirk. That's why my parents abandoned me. That's why I was locked in a lab for ten years. That's why the league of villains accepted me, and that's why Overhaul wants me!" I exclaimed, feeling my body slumping in his hold.

Eijirou placed a hand on my head, softly caressing my hair.

"I'm weak! I'm so fucking weak! Overhaul saw me for no more than ten minutes, and the man broke me. He broke me, Eijirou. He reminded me of who I was—no, who I am. I-I'm terrified of him! I'm terrified of what he'll do to me. And the worst part is, I don't care about saving people anymore. I don't care about what Sir Nighteye saw in my future. I don't care about any of it. All I care about is saving myself! How pathetic is that!?!" I cried out, starting to sob now.

He was quiet, not daring to speak a word as he let me get all of my emotions out.

Because right now...I was raw. I was completely vulnerable. I was finally opening myself up to him, unleashing my emotions in full. Maybe it's not the way I wanted it to happen, but regardless...it was happening at this moment.

He simply continued holding me in his arms, lightly rubbing my hair.

I was thankful to him for that.

"My dream....the thing I wanted most in this world...was to be a hero. To save people when they needed my help. To be the first one on the scene. To never hesitate. But, how could I have ever imagined I had a chance at doing that? Even after everything I've done?" I breathed out softly, forcing myself to remember that day.

"It doesn't matter what you did, Margo. It's who you are now that's important—"

"—what if I told you I've killed people? What if I told you I'm a murderer? Would you still say the same thing? Because I wouldn't." I admitted, cringing in emotional pain as soon as I spoke the words.

Didn't know about that, did you?

I half expected Eijirou to look at me like I was a psychopath. I just admitted I murdered someone, after all.

But instead, he simply continued holding me, placing a chaste kiss on my temple.

"Margo. While I don't know what happened in your past, I do know that whatever you did....I'm sure you had your reasons. I mean, look at you." He breathed out, pulling away from our hug slightly to look at my face.

I kept my eyes closed, not being able to bring myself to face him.

I felt his warm hands gently caress my pale, cold face....wiping the tears away from my eyes.

Kirishima's hands felt so familiar, so comforting. They were so different from Dabi's.

"You see....these tears. These are tears of mourning. Tears of sadness. These are tears of someone who was backed into a wall, with nowhere to go." He whispered softly, before placing soft kisses on both sides of my cheeks.

Eijirou ran his hands up my sides comfortingly, before he pointed to my heart.

"And this heart.....this is not the heart of a killer."

I felt more tears flowing from my eyes, as I forced them open now.

I came face to face with Kirishima, seeing his soft, warm eyes gazing into mine.

I felt the flashbacks of my past coming back now, allowing them to consume me, rather than continue running from them.

It was time.

It was time for him to know.

Eijirou needed to know my story.

"I need to tell you. I need to tell you everything." I said blankly.

He nodded softly, giving my cheek one more kiss, as he held my hand.

"I'm listening."

"I'm afraid." I breathed out, not being able to break his gaze.

I am very afraid. At least, I can finally say that out loud.

Eijirou let out a small sigh, pressing his forehead to mine now.

"You don't need to be." He whispered back.

Of course, there was a lot scaring me right now. But the thing I was most afraid of, at this moment...was that once Eijirou heard my story....

He would hate me.

I hesitated for a moment longer, before taking a deep breath.

"You see...it all started when I was five years old."