Chapter Text
DABI STANDS DEFIANTLY in between the Nomu and Tomura. While he's not bleeding tonight, he most certainly does look like a wreck with black, choppy, hand-cut hair plastered to his forehead with sweat. His eyes are blown wide. The man's chest rises and falls in an unsteady rhythm as he tries to catch his breath.
"... You're back early," Tomura murmurs, withdrawing his hand and rising to his feet. His knees crack as he stands, and he uses Dabi as a crutch to pull himself up.
"Yeah, well business got done earlier than usual," he says in a hushed tone, glancing over at both Jin and Hitoshi.
Tomura waves a hand. "They know. No need to beat around the bush."
Dabi exhales through his nostrils in a way that could almost be described as anger, but it's more of a tired action - a relief that he won't have to hide it anymore. Still, he eyes the newcomers warily. He knows both of them, but they aren't in his inner circle. Practically anyone who isn't Tomura doesn't belong in his inner circle.
"Whatever." Dabi casts his gaze back down at the small Nomu behind him. The creature makes a chittering sound, and Dabi sighs before crouching down to pick the thing up. He's surprisingly gentle with it, handling it with care as one would with a newborn puppy or kitten. The thing squawks in protest at his actions but quiets down as Dabi runs a finger down the base of its spine.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Tomura says, eyeing Dabi carefully. "Put that thing back down and let me send it straight to hell." His fingers twitch threateningly at his sides, a power surging through them that needs to be coaxed back down.
Jin stares at Dabi, eye twitching. "That thing is gonna give you rabies. Let it bite you, I wanna watch! For the love of-" He cuts himself off, hand coming to grasp his forehead.
"It's not coming in the apartment," Tomura says. "So help me, I will slaughter that thing on the spot. I've had enough Nomus for one night."
"It's my building, idiot," Dabi shoots back, eyes narrowing. "... And what do you mean 'enough Nomus'?... For fuck's sake, did you go after one?!"
"Of course I did!" Tomura snaps. "I wasn't just gonna let that thing run around, killing who knows what!... It was going to get into your apartment, may I add, so obviously I had to stop it. You're acting like I did a sin by killing that thing!"
Dabi goes still, staring at him in shock. He grits his teeth together before spitting out a, "You what?... Tomura, they're alive !"
The group falls into an unnatural silence, unnerved at what Dabi had just revealed. Tomura stares blankly at Dabi while the man protectively hugs the small Nomu to his chest. Tomura looks down at the Nomu - the scarred, ugly, brain-exposed thing - and swallows.
"O-Of course they're alive," Tomura stutters out, desperately grasping for a logical explanation while the unwanted truth begins to form in his head. "You can't kill something that's dead-"
Dabi's face falls. "You mean you really don't know?" He looks around at the rest of the group who appear to be confused as well. "All of you?" He swallows nervously, stroking a bony finger against the spine of the Nomu. It makes a content chittering noise, shifting in his arms. "Nomu aren't just monsters… they were human once."
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THEY SETTLE THEMSELVES in Tomura and Dabi's shared apartment. The building itself seems relieved that Dabi's home, although it's a bit on edge with the addition of the Nomu. Dabi doesn't seem bothered in the slightest, letting it roam around like one would with a dog. However, the rest watch the thing awkwardly stumble about, wide-eyed.
Dabi's lighting a cigarette between his teeth, leaning against the wall. The window next to him is propped open so the smoke can escape. His hands tremble as his finger ignites with blue flame in order to light his cigarette. He takes a long drag of the cancerous stick before looking apprehensively at the group.
The Nomu waddles over to Dabi, settling between his legs. It seems to have taken a liking to him. Dabi's lips twitch upwards at the action. Tomura watches the exchange, thoughts moving through his head a mile a minute.
"So, that thing-" the white-haired male pauses to gesture to the creature, "-was human once?"
"Essentially, yes," Dabi murmurs, leg bouncing up and down anxiously. "I mean, they all were at one point.. "
"That's fucked up," Jin whispers, threading a hand through his sweat-caked hair. "How does that even happen?"
Dabi gives a long exhale, keeping his eyes trained on the Nomu. "In simple terms? They're corrupted souls. They probably weren't going to make it to the afterlife, anyways - might've had a chance at limbo, but I doubt it… I-I don't know exactly what makes 'em this way, but it's not normal. Some of the bigger one are more than one person. It's like… a Frankenstein's monster of tortured spirits."
"Wouldn't death be a mercy, then?" Hitoshi asks, picking his head up. "If they're living in agony, why not end their suffering?"
The black-haired male's voice is barely above a whisper. "They're still people, aren't they?... And what if their minds are still stuck in there, and they're still lucid?... I don't want to play God. We've had enough self-proclaimed gods, haven't we?"
"You can't just keep them alive, Dabi." Tomura shakes his head. "They're terrorizing a whole town - they'll end up hurting someone-"
"But what if there's a way to fix it? What if there's a way to reverse what's been done?... I don't want to take that right away from them. They deserve that chance to choose, Tomura."
"They can't make a decision, Dabi. They're not human anymore."
Dabi's nostrils flare. He extinguishes his cigarette, violently smothering in an ash tray. He throws his hands up in the air, stalking to the bedroom. "... I'm not dealing with this tonight, alright? I've done enough work - I don't need to deal with this shit right now."
He doesn't even bother to wish Tomura goodnight. The bedroom door slams, and moments later, the light clicks off. Tomura sighs, looking over at Hitoshi and Jin.
"I think it's about time you leave."
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THE BEDROOM DOOR stays closed for a long time. It's not locked - which is a good sign. If it was, Tomura would be worrying more. Still, it just appears that Dabi needs his privacy at the moment, and Tomura will let him.
It's late when Dabi first barricades himself in the room, and it's even later when Tomura decides to enter. An hour passes. Then two. It's nearly three in the morning when Tomura decides enough is enough. As much as he loves Dabi and wouldn't mind sleeping on the couch for the night, he hasn't heard a peep from him, and it'd do good to check on him.
He heads to the bedroom door, knuckles rapping quietly on the wood. "... Dabi?" There's some shuffling around inside the room before it goes silent once again. Tomura sighs, resting his head against the door.
"I didn't mean to piss you off," he begins, but this isn't exactly a conversation they can have in two separate rooms. He gives a heavy exhale before grabbing the doorknob. "I'm coming in, alright?... Speak now if you don't want me to."
Yet again, there's no answer. Tomura gently turns the doorknob before entering the bedroom. The lights are off, sending everything in darkness. However, the window allows for the moonlight to illuminate the bed. There, Tomura sees Dabi's figure curled up on the mattress, blankets over his head. There's only the small rise and fall of the covers to indicate his breathing.
Tomura's lips twitch in annoyance as he notices the Nomu curled up near Dabi's feet like some mutt. If they were in speaking terms, he would've chewed Dabi out. But now, he stays silent, warily watching the thing as he gets changed into sleep clothes.
The black-haired male doesn't make a noise as Tomura sits on his side of the bed. The Nomu stirs, giving a small chittering noise before laying its head back down. Tomura faces Dabi before rubbing his face tiredly with his fist.
"I'm sorry," Tomura whispers into the nighttime air, watching as Dabi shifts underneath the layers of blankets. "... I-I didn't mean to make you mad."
He sets a hand on top of the pile of blankets that is his partner and rubs what he assumes is his back. When the other doesn't protest, he continues. "... I'm sorry if I offended you. You don't have to accept my apology, and we don't even have to talk about it tonight. But when - if you're ready to - we can… Okay?"
Tomura places a kiss on the area he assumes Dabi's head is located. "... Get some sleep, alright? I love you."
Dabi still doesn't move, and a frown crosses Tomura's lips. That's fine. He overstepped his boundaries. Still, Dabi's not alight with blue flame and kicking him out of bed, so he supposes that's a good sign. He crawls under the blankets, situating himself on his side of the mattress.
The white-haired male is almost asleep when Dabi begins to shift, pulling the blankets his way. Tomura opens his red eyes only to find Dabi turning around in bed to face him, striking blue eyes cast downwards in sadness. Tomura says nothing, only opening his arms as an invitation. Dabi's face falls, and it takes mere seconds for him to crawl over to Tomura's side of the bed and throw himself into the witch's arms.
For a few minutes, the couple just sits there in silence. There's no sound filling the room except for the cacophony of bugs outside and the sound of their breathing. Dabi's hot breath hits Tomura's arm as he exhales in an unsteady rhythm, trying to regulate his breathing.
When the patchwork male finally finds his voice, he presses his lips into the crook of Tomura's neck so the words are for him and him only. "... I'm sorry I walked out like that."
"You had every right to," Tomura responds, rubbing a hand up and down the scarred man's back. "I was being stubborn… We don't have to talk about this tonight-"
"I want to." His voice is quiet, lacking the usual bravado and confidence. He shifts, pressing himselr closer to Tomura's body before continuing. "You just… reminded me of my dad for a moment, that's all…"
They fall silent at that. They don't tend to talk about their families nor their last much. Dabi's father is especially a sore topic that will leave him in episodes. They've both had some pretty shitty dads.
Tomura exhales into Dabi's hair, the smell of ash and faint shampoo filling his nostrils. "I didn't mean to do that, sweetheart. I don't want to ever do that again."
"I know. It was an accident." Dabi squirms around awkwardly like he's trying to avoid having this conversation. "But then you started talking about how they weren't human, a-and that they don't get a choice-... I still get a choice, right Tomura?"
His heart falls, the answer quickly pouring out of his lips like water from a faucet. "Of course, Dabi. Of course. You always have a choice. No one can take that from you. Okay?"
Dabi exhales unsteadily, nodding furiously against Tomura's shoulder. "Okay… Can we… Can we go to bed now?"
"Yeah… yeah, we can do that."
"A-And will you leave a light on?"
"Of course."