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“Not interested.”
The two words that Tomura muttered while playing the newest quest uploaded just that morning on the server could do nothing against his father’s will. Tomura was sure of that even before speaking, but he was going to try anyway.
See, Kurogiri was a good man. A good father. At the end of the day Tomura loved him for providing him with everything a 20 year old boy could possibly need – and more. His extensive videogame collection was a testimony to his father’s never ending generosity. But Kurogiri, bless his heart, was also extremely concerned by his son’s social life, or lack of thereof.
“It could be fun,” he said, speaking in his usual soft tone. “We’ve never been to the beach before. It could be a lovely family experience. Swimming and sunbathing could do us good, don’t you think?”
Tomura bit his tongue, keeping his doubts to himself and focusing on his game instead. He knew Kurogiri was trying to make this trip sound appealing, but swimming and sunbathing didn’t feel like activities the two could easily enjoy: Tomura, with his pale body, would with no dubt get burned in a matter of seconds, and Kurogiri was made of mist. Tomura was no expert, being the not-so-proud owner of a solid body himself, but he suspected getting a nice tan was going to be a bit of an issue for his dad. Also, Tomura couldn’t swim. So.
“Nah, I don’t think so,” Tomura said, feeling just a bit guilty when catching the way his father’s shoulders slumped. “I’ve always loved spending the summer here in the city with you,” he quickly added. Nice save, Tomura, nice save.
Kurogiri seemed very determined, though, because he quickly recovered from the blow. “I think that a change of scenery would be good for us, you know? We could get some fresh hair, relax a bit…”
He sounded so hopeful Tomura could feel guilt gnawing at his heart with icy teeth every passing second of his father looking at him expectantly. Fuck. Kurogiri must have sensed this somehow, because he took a step forward and his following words were the decisive blow at Tomura’s trembling will.
“We could even make it so you have wifi connection there, wouldn’t you like that? You could still have some space while also experincing something new.”
Tomura’s computer screen lit up with a sign that read “FATALITY”.
**
He ended up saying yes. How could he not? Kurogiri showed him pictures of the house he intended to rent for two weeks at the seaside, and Tomura had to admit that it really wasn’t bad at all. A house on the beach that was nicely decorated and had a wifi connection didn’t seem like the worst place to spend his summer, after all. Of course nothing could beat his room, fully equiped with everything he could possibly need to spend day after day playing his favorite videogames, but compromises had to be made.
He even convinced himself he would make the conscious effort to enjoy a couple hours a day at the beach, hoping his lanky pale body wouldn’t reflect the sunlight and blind someone. Maybe he could even get a nice tan. There’s always a first time for everything in life.
Tomura left their apartment with only the best intentions, willing to enjoy the following two weeks just for Kurogiri’s sake – the mist man had allowed Tomura to bring his Playstation to the beach house and Tomura had decided that yes, he was going to try this whole having fun at the beach thing, he was going to swim and sunbathe and play fucking beach volley if that was what it was going to take to make his father happy.
It seemed pretty easy in Tomura’s mind, and really, that should have been the first red flag. Tomura should have known better.
**
“What the ever loving fuck!”
Tomura shrieked when a volleyball crashed at his feet, raising sand alla round him and almost making him throw his PSP in the air. He looked at the offending object with horror as he shielded his console against his chest, hoping that the sand couldn’t get into the case and fuck up the gaming system – Kurogiri had tried and failed to convince him to leave the console at home, imagining something like this could have happened. But Tomura’s slight gaming addiction had been stronger than his common sense.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!”
Tomura slowly raised his eyes to look at the boy who was running to him with a contrite expression on his face full of freckles. His curly green hair bounced on his head as he came to a stop and crouched to retrieve what Tomura realized was his ball. “Sorry, my friends and I were playing and we lost control of the ball. Did it hit you?”
“’S fine.”
Tomura would have cursed at the guy had it not been for the fact that Kurogiri was watching him from his spot in the sunlight – seriously? What was he trying to accomplish? He was made of mist!
The freckly boy smiled at him them, shifting on his feet. “Do you, uh, do you want to come play with us?”
What.
The fuck.
Tomura stared at him, a confused expression on his face. Was this guy trying to be nice or did he actually think Tomura would be interested?
Tomura felt Kurogiri’s gaze on him, and he could almost hear his father pushing him to say yes, to maybe make some friends. The first week had already almost gone by and Tomura had done nothing but stay on his own, avoiding interactions with other people. He only ever talked to the dude selling icecream, out of necessity.
The green haired boy was still waiting for his answer. Behind him someone yelled “Yo, Deku, what’s taking so fucking long?! Grab that ball and come here, I’mma crush you!”
Tomura looked at the boy. The boy looked back at him, suddently looking like he was regretting ever asking him to play with them.
“I’d rather not,” Tomura answered, and as the boy mumbled some shit like “Oh, well, uh, see you around then!” he felt Kurogiri exhale.
**
“Please don’t die on me. Please. You crappy piece of shit please don’t—fuck!”
Tomura stared at the single light coming from his router, the only one who was still on. The wifi connection had been shit all week long, and Tomura had known since the beginning that it would have been only a matter of days before its very end. Still. That didn’t stop him from throwing a hissy fit.
**
Day Three without a stable internet connection.
Day Ten of this stupid trip.
My father is having the time of his life. Last night he came home with a fucking flower garland around his neck. He was kinda tipsy and he kept checking his phone and sending texts to someone. I’m inclined to believe he definitely got some on his crazy night out, which, good for him, but gross.
I can’t wait to go home.
**
“I’m so bored.”
It was 9 pm on a Friday night and Tomura was already contemplating going to sleep. He had long since finished playing the final chapters of the games he had brought with him on this trip and the wifi connection was still completely dead.
Kurogiri glanced at him while he was finishing getting ready for his night out. “You could always come with me, you know.”
Tomura snorted. He knew his dad had the best intentions and would never consider him as a third wheel, but still…
“It would be awkward. I really don’t want to crash your date.”
Somehow the mist around his dad’s face area turned a lovely shade of pink. That… shouldn’t have been possible, scientifically, but Tomura had long since stopped questioning the logics behing this weird world he lived in. His dad was made of mist. Tomura himself could decay stuff with a single touch. That was life.
“I wouldn’t call it a date, Tomura. Sako and I barely even know each other.”
“That’s what dates are for, dad. Getting to know one another.” Tomura shook his head, then sighed. “Maybe I’ll go out on my own. For a walk or something.”
“The seaside has a nice atmosphere at night, I believe you would like it. Maybe we could meet later for an icecream, all three of us.”
Tomura resisted the urge to snort. Barely know each other my ass, Kurogiri was already planning to introduce his beau to his son. “Maybe we could,” he said instead.
**
To be honest, it’s not like the beach had a lot to offer.
The house Kurogiri had rented was in a part of the town that was mostly meant for tourists and families, and that meant lots of icecream shops, restaurants, and even a small but well equiped waterpark. Everything was packed – it was the weekend after all – but nothing caught Tomura’s attention for more than a few seconds.
Despite the fact that it was August it was a chilly night, so Tomura was glad to have brought his black hoodie with him. He kept walking on the beach, avoiding the sidewalk full of families with screaming children high on sugars. He liked the sound of the waves better.
He even met the green haired boy who had tried to kill his PSP a few days before. He was hanging out on the beach with a group of other kids. Two guys were trying to light a fire with their Quirks. Tomura kept his head down as he walked past them.
It’s not that he felt lonely, really. Just pathetic. It was Friday night and his dad was probably having more fun than he was.
That realization made Tomura come to a halt.
He was 20, he was supposed to be having the time of his fucking life! This whole trip had been Kurogiri’s way of forcing Tomura to come out of his shell, and until then it had been a huge fiasco. Tomura felt stupid, but more than that he started feeling angry at himself for not having even tried. And when Tomura got angry, he also got weirdly determined and intrepid.
He had stopped in front of the entrance of what looked like a club. Tomura could feel his own heartbeat start to get faster and faster as he started walking in that direction – his anxiety always had to make a comeback as soon as the prospect of a social occasion presented itself. But this was going to be alright. Tomura clenched his fists. He could almost hear Kurogiri’s voice in his head telling him what Tomura already knew: he didn’t have to worry about his Quirk anymore. It was going to be fine. He was safe.
**
Tomura was filled with regret the second he stepped into the club. The place was crowded and it was definitely hotter inside than it was outside on the beach, and Tomura started sweating inside his hoodie. He had a simple tshirt under it, and for a second he contemplated the idea of taking off the hoodie, but he quickly dismessed it.
He wasn’t planning to stay inside for too long. He only wanted to check out that place, maybe grab a soda if he truly felt like it.
The club itself wasn’t that bad, Tomura realized as he made his way to the bar. With its soft lighting and weird retro decorations it looked like the sort of place where people came to hang out and chill with friends. Tomura liked it. He could work with that.
It also looked like it was a place where people held concerts, judging from the corner of the room where he could see instruments and mic stands. No one was playing right now, though.
“What can I get you, sweetie?”
Tomura was startled by the barista, a muscular lady who for some reasons was wearing sunglasses. “Uh, a soda,” Tomura answered, and the barista grinned at him. “Coming!”
The cool fizzy drink felt wonderful as Tomura sipped it slowly, enjoying the fact that no one seemed to pay any attention to him except for the barista who kept refilling the tiny bowl in front of him with chips – they came free with the drink, she had told him – and asking him if he needed anything else. He liked her, Tomura decided. She made him feel like he was having a conversation without actually forcing him into one.
That distracted him, so Tomura didn’t notice when the mood in the club shifted.
The lights went down even more and suddently the room was filled with guitar sounds and excited whispering. Tomura had finished his drink and was taking out his wallet to pay for it, but the barista smirked at him and said: “Don’t you want to stay for the show? I promise it’s going to be nice. Dabi is a regular here and people love him.”
Tomura glanced at the time on his phone screen. It was still quite early to text his dad, so it’s not like he had something better to do.
“Maybe I’ll stay,” Tomura said. “Can I get another soda?”
He was probably going to be hyper all night for the amount of sugar and caffeine he was ingesting, but oh well. Tomura paid for both his drinks and with the new one in his hand he decided to get closer to the area where a weird looking guy was now getting ready for the show.
He was probably taller than Tomura, and Tomura wasn’t a short guy. He also had dark hair and a really fucked up skin, and then again, if Tomura was saying that – with his crusty ass skin that not even the most powerful moisturizer could save at this point – it meant something. The guys was wearing a wide tank top that showed basically all of his upper body, and a good part of it was covered in dark purple-ish burns that were held together with the rest of his body by what looked like staples.
Even his face was a patchwork of burns and healthy skin, but that didn’t make the guy look less handsome.
…well.
Tomura took a sip of his drink. The guy was handsome, there was no point denying it.
“Woah, we have quite the crowd here tonight,” the guy said into the microphone, and a couple of people started cheering. “I think most of you guys already know me, but for those who don’t: good evening, I’m Dabi and I’ll be your soundtrack for tonight.”
Dabi smirked as he started playing and the crowd erupted into an applause. The song was a cover of a popular song Tomura had heard countless times on the radio and he didn’t care too much about, but the moment Dabi started singing Tomura felt a shiver run down his spine.
This was… different.
The original song had a quirky vibe to it, was catchy in a way that made people sing along and then forget about the tune the second the song ended. But what Dabi was singing felt like a whole different song. His voice was warm, low and raspy, and he had slowed down the beat of the music so that he could turn into a weird ballad. It worked. It really worked.
Tomura found himself walking through the crowd to get closer and closer to the stage, and he was so absorbed into the music that he didn’t even flinch when he found himself surrounded by a sea of people.
Watching Dabi sing felt like falling under his spell.
You could tell that he wasn’t a newbie from the way he held himself on the stage, his whole body fluid and relaxed but his gaze focused. From up close Tomura could almost count the piercings on his face.
The song ended and another one started, this time an upbeat song that had Dabi walk on the stage and play with the space like he owned the place.
Tomura started feeling uneasy. He was captivated by Dabi, and at the same time the more he looked at him the more he felt a new wave of anger wash over him. I hate him, he tought, surprised by the strenght of his own sudden feelings, and then: This is what I want to be like.
Dabi felt confident and happy as he sang, as people cheered for him and looked at him in awe. That only reminded Tomura of what he didn’t have. Of what he wasn’t.
Somehow, as if feeling the power of the gaze Tomura was directing at him, Dabi turned in his direction and made eye contact. Tomura’s breath got caught in his throath as Dabi’s scarred lips turned up into a smirk and he winked at him.
What. The fuck.
Tomura, who was taking a sip of his soda, choked on his drink and he decided to retreat in a dark corner of the room, far away from the stage. A blonde girl with messy buns noticed him and came to see if he was alright, patting him on his back as he coughed.
“It’s okay, that’s the effect Dabi has on people, don’t be ashamed!” the girl told him with a smile and with a sincerity in her voice that only made Tomura feel even more angry.
Fucking Dabi.
Owning the fucking stage.
Fucking winking at him like Tomura was some schoolboy who was going to lose his marbles from a hot guy aknowledging his existence.
**
The night went on and more songs were played. Dabi made eye contact with Tomura twice again after the first time, and Tomura got mad at himself for not looking away.
He hated Dabi, he decided after he broke eye contact for the last time, feeling his own heartbeat louder than the beat of the music. He hated that guy.
**
It was past midnight when Dabi’s show ended. He thanked the crowd and told everyone that he had brought copies of his own mixtape that they could buy if they wanted.
Tomura left the club before Dabi left the stage.
**
It was absolutely freezing outside.
It must have been the contrast between how suffocating it was inside the club and how chilly the night was, because while Tomura was trying his best not to hug himself to hold the hoodie closer to his body there were people walking in front of the club who wore shirts and shorts and seemed to be absolutely okay with the weather.
Tomura grabbed his phone and wrote a quick text to Kurogiri, telling him that he was thinking of going back home and asking him if him and his date were still up for icecream. He wanted to be alone, but he also felt like emotionally eating his favorite flavor of icecream would help cheer him up. So.
After a quick exchange of texts they decided that they would meet in half an hour at an icecream place not far from the club, which was nice because it meant that Tomura didn’t have to walk and freeze his ass. He didn’t feel like going back into the club to wait, though, and he felt like waiting at the icecream place would feel awkward, so he did what he tought was the best option and he sat on the curb, looking like some dejected emo teenage boy, which was exactly how he felt, thank you very much. He even put his hood on his head for added effect.
He was contemplating whether he had enough battery on his phone to play a round of his favorite rpg while he waited when the doors of the club opened behind his back and he felt someone approaching.
“Aw, yes! Magne told me you’d left and I thought you were gone.”
Tomura turned his head so quickly it almost gave him whiplash.
“What the fuck?”
Dabi was standing right in front of him with a smirk on his face. He looked a bit disheveled, which was understandable given that he had just finished a two hours show, but he was panting as if he had been running.
“Care if I keep you company?” he asked. Tomura just gaped at him, and Dabi probably took it as a sign to sit next to him.
He took a packet of cigarettes from the pocket of his pants and offered one to Tomura – who refused – before taking one and putting it between his lips. He didn’t have a lighter, but he used his hands to create a blue flame that lit the tip of the cigarette.
What a show off.
Dabi caught Tomura staring – why the hell was he staring? – and smirked again. “’S my Quirk. It’s pretty useful since I don’t have to buy lighters and then lose them after a week.”
Tomura nodded silently but said nothing. Dabi took a long drag on his cigarette and then asked: “What about yours?”
Tomura held his gloved hands high in front of his face and flexed his fingers: on each hand three were covered by the gloves, while the other two were free. “I destroy the things I touch.”
Dabi whistled. “That’s cool.”
Tomura barked out a laugh, too dumbfounded at first to say anything. People usually saw his Quirk as a curse, not as something cool. “Well, that’s a first,” he said.
They fell quiet for a while. Dabi smoked his cigarette, then crushed the butt on the ground and lit another one. So he was a chainsmoker. That explained the raspy quality of his voice.
“I saw you while I was singing, you know,” Dabi said after a while. “Why did you run away?”
Tomura shrugged and felt the urge to start scratching his neck, but resisted. His dad would see the marks and then he would worry about him. Tomura had left that habit behind a long time ago.
“I didn’t feel like staying.”
“Did you at least enjoy the show?”
Tomura glanced at Dabi, who was looking at him with curiosity and something like amusement in his blue eyes. Tomura had never seen eyes that shade of blue.
“Yeah, you were good,” he said with honesty, because Dabi wasn’t being an asshole and so Tomura felt like he didn’t have the right to be one. “Really good.”
At that Dabi smiled. It was different from the smirk he had been wearing all night long. There was a softness in this new smile that made Tomura turn his eyes away. “Hey, thanks,” Dabi said. When Tomura risked looking at him again the smile was gone, replaced by a serene expression. “I’ve never seen you at the club.”
“That’s cause I’m not from here. I live in the city,” Tomura explained. “Here on holiday.”
Dabi nodded. “So how long are you staying?”
Tomura looked at him, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Why do you want to know?”
That made Dabi snort, and Tomura felt his cheeks redden out of shame for maybe having said something wrong. And that was even before Dabi said: “Cause I’m trying to hit on you, duh. You’re cute but a bit dense, aren’t ya.”
…this was going to be by far one of the weirdest nights of Tomura’s life.
“What the fuck,” he whispered.
Dabi looked at him with a bit of uncertainty. “You’re… not into guys, I guess?”
“No! I mean, no, I am. It’s just – fuck, this is weird.” Tomura was glad he had the hood up to hide part of his face, because he definitely felt like he had a whole palette of different shades of red going on up there.
Dabi laughed. “Cute,” he said, and then he decided to idly smoke his cigarette in silence while Tomura was having and existential crisis.
Hot guys didn’t hit on him. Guys didn’t hit on him. People in general didn’t hit on him.
Dabi kept quiet, looking absolutely relaxed, the face of confidence. Tomura kept glancing at him, not knowing what to say, wondering if he had blown his chances with him by being a dumbass, asking himself why was he even worrying about having any chances with Dabi when suddently his phone screen lit up with a text from his dad. They were five minutes away from the icecream place.
“I, uh, I have to go,” Tomura said, getting up from the sidewalk. “I have somewhere to be.”
Dabi nodded, making no movement to stand up. Tomura was starting to feel incredibly awkward when Dabi suddently said: “Hey, can I give you a copy of my mixtape to bring with you? Since you said you liked the show.”
Tomura nodded, relieved at having the conversation take a turn for the normal. “Sure, how much is it?” he asked, watching as Dabi fumbled with the backpack he was wearing. Was he writing something?
Dabi stood up, way too close for Tomura for it to be just casual. “Just your name,” he said, handing Tomura a CD in a cheap plastic case. Tomura could smell the smoke in his breath and it shouldn’t have turned him on, but it did. Oh, it did.
“Tomura,” he said, taking the CD from Dabi.
Dabi smirked. “Tomura,” he repeated. His fingers brushed against Tomura’s and he felt his knees go weak. “Well, I’ll see you around I guess.”
Dabi started walking back to the entrance of the club before Tomura could snap out of the weird shoujo bullshit he had fallen into, but before he disappeared behind the doors of the club he said: “Maybe give me a call before you leave, or a text if you prefer. I could show you around. See ya!”
“Uh, I don’t have your number?”
Dabi turned around and smirked at him one last time. “See, you’re cute but you’re way too dense,” he said, and then he closed the doors behind him.
Tomura stood still for a moment, holding the CD Dabi gave him in his hands. Then he looked at it, and he noticed that the white label had actually some writing on.
It read: Sorry for making you choke on that soda. Let me buy you another one sometimes ;) 05xx-xxxxxxx – Dabi