Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

You weren’t expecting any more clients that night so it was a bit of a surprise to see one of your regulars waiting for you when you returned home from some last minute grocery shopping. Dabi sat on your couch, slightly hunched over with a hand pressed against his side, in the darkness of your small apartment. His face was barely illuminated by the dull moonlight that shone through your window, his breathing was heavy enough that you could hear it from where you stood at the front door.

“Did you make an appointment?” You teased humourlessly as you dropped your bag of miscellaneous groceries on the floor, making a mental note to ask Dabi to help you put them away later. The young man huffed and his stunning blue eyes glanced your way. They almost seemed to glow.

“C’mon,” he murmured breathlessly, “do your favourite patient a favour and help me out here.”

“Yeah, yeah,” you replied dismissively before disappearing into your bedroom only to reappear with a bag that Dabi had grown familiar with over time. You opened it and began pulling out various medical supplies, placing them neatly on the coffee table in front of him. “You know the drill, pretty boy,” you said whilst putting on a surgical mask, “lay down.”

He complied and inhaled sharply when his movements proved too much for his wound to handle. Forehead slick with a thin layer of sweat, Dabi turned his head so that he could watch you at work— something he never got tired of doing. Your pupils began to constrict and your eyes widened as you scanned his body before reaching out to gently peel his torn, blood-soaked shirt off his torso. In the midst of wondering what you could see, Dabi hissed, caught off guard by the sudden contact you made with his wound.

“Sorry,” you whispered, a phrase that he knew held no value or sincerity every time you worked. It was simply something you said out of instinct.

Then, your palm began to glow a dull red before you laid it directly over his bleeding wound. Dabi felt the familiar sensation of a strange coolness wash over him as the sharp pain drained away in an instant; he also noticed how your own face began to contort in discomfort as the sounds of his heavy breathing were replaced with your own shaky breaths.

He’d known you for years now but still didn’t understand how your healing Quirk worked. You never told him and after a while, he stopped trying to find out. All he knew was that every time you did use it, you would come out of it looking like you were in varying degrees of pain or discomfort, depending on the severity of the injury.

This time, when you were done, you were sweaty and your eyelids drooped as if you were on the verge of passing out. Your body swayed back and forth slightly and Dabi’s arm reached out before he could think, his hand grabbing the back of your head. He winced at the sudden movement, anticipating a sharp pain to shoot through his abdomen but it didn’t. He glanced down at where he had been stabbed almost an hour ago only to find a patch of fresh, intact skin in its place.

“Thanks,” Dabi said, still supporting your exhausted form. “Had a lot of clients today?” He guessed, knowing that a simple stab wound wasn’t capable of draining that much energy out of you.

“Yeah,” you mumbled, ripping the surgical mask off your face and tossing it in the general direction of your bin. It missed, having bounced out of the pile of other bloodied bandages and broken surgical tools that had formed within. “I think I had… twelve?”

He whistled in response, surprised you didn’t kick him out of your home the moment you saw him. Dabi had seen you reject patients before, why had this time been different?

“Carry me to bed, will you?” You asked, holding your arms out in front of you, already prepared for him to abide by your request. He did but not without a quick roll of his eyes and a snarky comment you failed to catch since you were too busy trying not to fall asleep— especially when you were in his arms; his warm embrace a wonderful shield from the cold night air.

Dabi carried you to your room effortlessly especially since he was now injury-free. He felt your fingers grip weakly at his jacket as you leaned into him, almost nuzzling your face into his chest.

After he laid you gently on your bed, he made his way to your bathroom and brought back a moist towel. He had been at your place so many times, he found himself moving without even thinking, already comfortably familiar with the small apartment’s layout.

“Here,” Dabi mumbled before tossing the cloth on your face. You groaned in annoyance but used it to clean your sweat-covered skin anyway, releasing a sigh of relief at the comfort such a simple action brought you. As you continued rubbing the towel up and down your face, you felt the bed sink as Dabi crawled beside you. There wasn’t much space but neither of your minded, you’d been friends for too long to mind such petty things.

“Just because I gave you a spare key,” you peeled the cloth off your face and tossed it onto your bedside table, “doesn’t mean you’re welcome to stay, y’know?”

Dabi snorted, turning his head so that his eyes met yours. You felt a familiar pang in your chest, wondering— yet again— how it was humanly possible for his eyes to be of such a magnificent shade. For some reason you could not fathom, his eyes entranced you deeply from the second you met him; it was strange… looking at them always provided you with a weird sense of… familiarity, somehow.

“Do you want me to leave?”

Your silence was a good enough answer as any.

The next minute passed in silence as both of you maintained eye contact. Your own eyelids threatened to flutter closed several times but a part of you wanted to stay awake longer for reasons you were too tired to think of. You lifted your arm and reached over, fingers idly brushing at the surgical staples embedded in his skin.

“Need me to change any of them?” You asked, voice coming out softer than you’d have liked.

“No, they’re fine for now,” Dabi replied, feeling goosebumps form on his skin as you continued admiring your handiwork. You were the only person he allowed to touch him that way, it was only fair after all.

“How was your day?” You asked out of the blue, cringing internally at how weirdly domestic it sounded. “Other than… y’know.” You pulled your hand away, arm already tired, unaware of the way he furrowed his eyebrows when you did.

“It’s been… eventful,” he answered, shifting his body and folding his arms behind his head so that he rested his head on them. You wondered— since his eyes were now staring up at the ceiling— if he could see you admiring his side profile. “Giran got back to me and brought to me to meet a man-child called Shigaraki Tomura or somethin’ like that.”

“The name rings a bell,” you interjected.

“Yeah, he has this group called ‘The League of Villains’,” Dabi continued, “Stain was with them before he got arrested… They don’t seem serious, though, so—“

You hummed in response, unintentionally tuning out his words. You’d wanted to ask why he had this sudden interest in joining a group but the moment he mentioned Stain, you’d gotten your answer. You couldn’t pinpoint when but he’d been following the actions of the Hero Killer closely for a long time now; whenever he visited— randomly let himself in, rather— without any injuries, you knew he was here just to share with you whatever new crime Stain committed. Sometimes you listened, sometimes you simply hummed whenever he paused.

This time was the latter. Your head was too fuzzy from your excessive Quirk use today so all the words that escaped his lips seemed to mix together into a strange conglomeration of nothing. You always liked to watch him when he talked about Stain’s ideology, though. Whenever he did, his face would light up with some form of passion and then he would finally look like the young man he was— and not the tired, stoic Villain he, and many others, had to be to survive.

“Hey, wait,” you suddenly interrupted Dabi’s speech, patting his arm, “could you get me my phone?”

“Why?”

“I just need it.” You clicked your tongue.

“Where is it?”

“Living room,” you replied, slinging an arm over your eyes, signalling the end of the exchange in which Dabi had to comply with your simple request. He normally wasn’t one to do things for people but with you, he never minded since it was the least he could do.

He rolled off the rather cramped mattress and shuffled out of the room, his eyes scanning the vicinity for your smartphone. Dabi spotted the medical supplies you had used earlier and made a mental note to clean them up after you’d fallen asleep; he glanced over at the groceries and decided he would make an effort to put those away, too.

After a few minutes of searching, Dabi decided to give up but before he could return to your room, the sound of something vibrating caught his attention. He followed the noise and eventually located your phone underneath your couch. He fished it out and glanced at the caller ID on the screen.

Giran?

“Hey, (Y/N)!” Dabi called out as he waltzed back into your bedroom, “what’s the old guy wanna do with y—“ He shut his mouth instantly when he realised you’d fallen asleep with your arm still half-covering your face.

Dabi scratched the back of his neck before hitting the decline button, deciding that he could just tell you about the call tomorrow morning but alas, before he could even turn the device off, Giran called once again.

What the fuck’s so important? He wondered, glancing between your sleeping form and the phone vibrating in his hand.

We’re close enough, right?

After another moment of consideration, Dabi pressed the answer button.

“Hey, (L/N)-san!” Giran exclaimed from the other end with the faint chattering of people in the background. “I’ve got an offer for you—“

“Leave a text or somethin’, man,” Dabi scoffed, “who even calls these days?”

“… Dabi? Why the fuck are you picking up (L/N)-san’s phone? Did you steal—“

“Of course not, dumbass.” Dabi clicked his tongue. “I needed (Y/N)’s he—“

“Ooh, on a first-name basis are we? Never thought you were her type—“

Rolling his eyes, Dabi deadpanned, “I’m hanging up.”

“Wait! This is important! Remember Shigaraki Tomura from earlier? He said the League’ll accept your application, by the way—“

“What the fuck does this have to do with (Y/N)?”

“Calm down, I’m getting there!” Giran barked. “He said he wants a healer on the team and (L/N)’s the best in the underworld, as I’m sure you already know… Where is she anyway?”

Dabi took a glimpse at your comatose-like state and decided against waking you up. Giran and Shigaraki Tomura could wait.

“Asleep,” he answered, already preparing to end the call, “I’ll relay your message.”

“Thank—“

Dabi hung up. He quickly turned off your phone before anyone else could call before placing it on your bedside table.

You stirred ever so slightly when one side of the bed dipped but you returned to your peaceful slumber after Dabi made himself comfortable beside you. He’d positioned himself so that he was laying on his side with his face looking in your direction. He tucked some loose locks of hair behind your ear and felt himself stiffen when the simple gesture hit him with a strong sense of déjà vu.

Chapter Text

“(Y/N), come out come out wherever you are.”

 “Now’s not the time to hide, (Y/N)! We need your help.”

“Papa’s right. We need your help to be the best Heroes in Japan.”

 “Don’t you want to help us, hmm?”

“Be a good girl and stop hiding. Papa and Mama are getting impatient.”

 “There she is—”

“Oi.”

You were jolted awake by the feeling of something soft hitting your face. You blinked your tired eyes rapidly as you adjusted to the brightness of your bedroom. You spotted a blurry figure standing by your door.

“It’s getting late,” Dabi said simply before walking away. You groaned and stretched, feeling your stiff joints pop satisfyingly as you took in a deep breath and smelled… bacon?

Rolling out of bed, you shuffled out of your bedroom and felt your exhaustion drain away upon seeing Dabi stationed in front of your stove; there was a general disinterested look on his face as he lazily poked at the food cooking in your non-stick pan. You treaded over and attempted to peek over his shoulder before realising he was way too tall for you to see anything but before you could look elsewhere, he turned around.

“Did you have a good sleep?” Dabi asked, heavy-lidded eyes peering down at you. You shrugged. “Well… go do whatever while I try not to burn your apartment down.”

Despite how pessimistic his words had seemed, you discovered, to your delight, that he was a pretty good cook. You didn’t have time to tell him that, however, since you were too busy scarfing down the food on your plate while Dabi simply watched from across your dining table, hunched over with his chin resting on his arms that were crossed in front of him. Whilst you ate, you scribbled in a worn-out notebook that he’d seen many times but never bothered to ask what it was for.  

“Y’know,” you said, words muffled from the fact that you were still chewing on bacon, “you never told me your real name.” You glanced up for the first time since you began eating and Dabi felt his heart jolt.

“Well, you never really asked.”

“I did, remember? When we first met?” 

He felt his heart jump again and a shiver run down his spine.

Did you rem—

“I asked while I was punching in the first of your staples,” you continued with an almost wistful look in your eyes. “I think you were too drugged out to remember, though.”

A strange sensation of disappointment mingled with relief washed over Dabi’s heart as he felt his tensed shoulders relax tremendously. You failed to notice it since your eyes had returned their attention to your notebook. If he strained his eyes, he could make out what seemed to look like some names and a log.

“If it makes you feel any better, no one else knows my real name either.” 

“Well,” you closed the book and pushed it aside, “I’m gonna be the first to find out.”

Dabi smirked at your determined expression.

“Good luck with that.”

You opened your mouth, ready to shoot back with an equally sarcastic remark but before you could even speak, there was a knock on your door. Years of paranoia developed from sleeping on the streets and running from anyone and everyone caused a knee-jerk reaction in Dabi as he felt himself stand up from his seat abruptly, hardened eyes pinned to the front door. He felt a warm hand touch his forearm and he relaxed ever so slightly.

“It’s fine,” you assured him, the touch of your skin still lingering on his. “It’s probably just my first patient. 

You were right but that didn’t soothe Dabi’s nerves much at all; and neither did the next patient or the subsequent one. Despite his seemingly constant calm and relaxed demeanour, watching strangers come and go, seeing them lean in a little too close for comfort— everything made his heart feel more and more uneasy.

Dabi could’ve left whenever he wanted— in fact, you reminded him many times that he was free to go, and that he shouldn’t feel obligated to stay but he did. He never told you why and he didn’t really understand it himself either. He thought about it for hours as he followed your instructions, sanitised equipment, tidied up your apartment and did other miscellaneous chores. Dabi even added ice cubes to a glass of water without you asking because he could see the thin sheen of sweat forming on your forehead as you worked.

As he handed the glass to you, the sound of the ice cubes clinking softly, his wandering mind and disorganised thoughts were interrupted by your current and supposedly last patient of the day. She was an old lady— a regular, he assumed from how casually you spoke to one another— who complained about her sore back and knees. The entire time she was present, she had spared only a single glance accompanied by a polite smile at Dabi before focusing all her attention on you until he turned his back to throw away from used bandages and happened to hear her whisper. 

“Is the young man—”

“—your boyfriend?”

“Who?”  

“Ryouta-kun.”

“Hmm… No, he’s not. Mama says I’m too young to date.”

“Oh. Um… I— I don’t have a girlfriend, either.”

“That’s weird.”

“Huh. Why?”

“Because you’re such a—”

“—pretty boy,” you repeated, waving your hand in front of Dabi’s face. “Are you okay? You’ve been quiet for a while now.”

He blinked and looked around. Your apartment was darker now, only illuminated in certain corners by the random assortment of small lights you owned— once, when he’d asked why, you simply said you preferred your home to be dimmer and didn’t elaborate further. Dabi also realised that you two were alone now, the last patient had gone.

“I’m fine,” he replied, scratching the back of his neck. “Can I take a shower?”

“Of course, do whatever you want,” you responded casually although the way your eyes lingered on him, tinged with worry, suggested you were not relaxed as you wanted to be. However, neither of you pressed further.

While Dabi used your one and only shower, you decided to update your clientele book and scribbled in it almost mindlessly, already used to the routine. You were flipping through the pages when you came across the one that was most worn out: Dabi’s. Eyes scanning through the table you drew yourself, you noticed it had been several weeks since you last changed his staples. You made a mental note to ask him about it later.

Before you could carry on with your logging, your phone rang. You picked it up without checking the caller ID and winced at Giran’s loud voice coming from the other end.

“Good evening, (L/N)-san! So, what’cha think about my offer?”

You squinted at no one in particular.

“What offer?”

There was a pause in which all you could hear was the hubbub of what sounded like a club in the background. Giran sighed.

 “Didn’t Dabi tell you?”

“Tell me…?”  

“The League of Villains made an offer for you to join as their healer. Shigaraki Tomura heard about your skills and demanded that you join their ranks. I called last night but, to my surprise, Dabi picked up,” Giran’s voice transitioned from serious to playful in a split second, “my dear (L/N)-san, I never knew you had it in you—” 

“Tch. Shut up, old man.” 

He chuckled on the other end and resumed using his “business voice”.

“I just got a call from Kurogiri— another guy in the League— and he says that Shigaraki wants to meet you later tonight so I need an answer, even if this was on short notice.”

You thought about it for a second— actually, you thought about too many things for a second. The League of Villains? You were never one to meddle in other peoples’ businesses and especially not that of gangs or organisations so what did they want from you, exactly? And why didn’t Dabi tell you anything? He’d been with you the entire day and never thought to bring it up once?

You sighed deeply and rubbed your sore eyes, already feeling them water from the overuse of your Quirk.

“Yeah, sure,” you answered almost dejectedly, “I’ll meet him.”

“Great! Just be sure to get there by 10PM.”

“Get where?” 

“Oh, lover-boy can tell you that.” Giran chortled before hanging up unceremoniously. You clicked your tongue in annoyance. As much as you regarded Giran as a close friend, he could sure be a pain in the ass sometimes.

You heard the sound of your bathroom door open and whipped your head to the side, ready to give Dabi the interrogation of a lifetime when you felt your stomach twist harshly.

“I, uh,” he said, one hand holding up the towel wrapped around his waist while the other was pressed against the side of his face. There was blood seeping through his slender fingers. “I need some help.”

Within a minute’s time, you found yourself sitting on your couch with his head resting on your lap. There was a small metal tray sitting precariously on his chest that contained bloodied staples. You could feel Dabi’s fingernails pressing into the skin of your forearm as you carefully stitched his skin back together; you knew it was still painful for him even with your other hand, that was glowing red, resting atop his forehead.

“I’m sorry,” you hushed, “just a few more, hmm?”

He couldn’t speak, not wanting to risk messing up your precious work, so Dabi simply squeezed your arm in response. As he stared up at your face, scrunched in concentration and fatigue, he felt a pang of guilt in his chest and he cursed at himself internally for being so careless.

With every staple that you meticulously embedded into his skin; with every individual phantom sensation of metal forcing itself into your own face, the frustration mixed with slight betrayal you previously felt towards the boy resting on your legs began to fade away into nothingness.

Chapter Text

You trailed after Dabi, dragging your feet along the concrete pavement as he led you to meet the League of Villains. Your hands were clenched as you kept them buried in the pockets of your thin jacket, you felt a strange numbing sensation in your nose and wondered out loud how much further you had to walk.

“We’re almost there,” your companion replied, his posture relaxed— the complete opposite of yours. For a moment, you found yourself envying his Quirk but as your eyes gazed over the exposed gnarled patches of skin of his arms, you backtracked with a tinge of guilt.

As though sensing you were looking at him, Dabi turned his head around ever so slightly and his eyes met yours. They flickered down to your hidden hands before he stopped walking altogether, earning himself a raised eyebrow from yourself.

“You should get a thicker jacket,” he said as he shrugged off his own, tattered one. Before you could even ask what he was doing, you felt yourself suddenly engulfed in warmth as the dark blue outer garment landed over your shoulders. You looked up at him, unable to resist the smile stretching across your face.

“Thanks—”

“Yeah.” Dabi turned back around and continued walking, his pace now quicker than before, to the point where you had to make a conscious effort to keep up. You didn’t mind one bit, though, since you were now protected from the harsh midnight air. You removed your hands from your pockets and pulled them through the long jacket sleeves, you noted with a strangely childish delight that they were too long for your arms.

After several more minutes of silent walking, you stopped in front of a dingy door that held no signage on it. Dabi turned around, looking at you for the first time since he’d given you his jacket; the way his eyes widened ever so slightly didn’t go unnoticed by you but suddenly nervous over meeting the infamous Shigaraki Tomura, you decided to let this chance to tease him slip by.

“Any advice?” you asked, unsure if you really wanted advice or if you were simply delaying the inevitable.

Dabi simply shrugged and scratched the back of his neck, his head tilted towards the ground. You stared at him for a few seconds more in case he suddenly had some words of wisdom to impart upon you but alas, he barely moved and did not speak.

Tearing your eyes away from him, you looked at the door and grabbed the handle, twisting it tentatively. Before you could push it open further, however, it swung inwards almost violently, causing you to stumble forwards.

“Hey!—” you heard Dabi yell. You felt his fingers brush against your elbow as they failed to grab onto your arm properly.

For a split second, you saw the interior of the shabby building but then your vision went dark as a warm hand pressed itself against your face.

“Just be good, alright?” The voice of your mother whispered as you felt her grip on your forearm tighten painfully, her nails digging into your skin. “Don’t you wanna help Mama and Papa be the best Heroes in Tokyo?”

Behind her stood your father whose pale face was scrunched in pain. There was blood gushing out from between the fingers of the hand he held pressed against his abdomen. His Hero costume was tattered and stained with dirt and blood— they had just returned from work and, like always, needed your help so that they could “work overtime”.

“Don’t you?” your mother snapped. You couldn’t see them since she wore a mask but you were certain her eyes were glaring back at you, tired and furious. You didn’t want Mama to be angry so you nodded.

Almost instantly, her iron grip on your small arm relaxed as she ushered her husband over. He knelt down in front of you, frowning when you instinctively leaned backwards, only to further push yourself into the corner of your bedroom.

“It’s okay, baby,” he cooed, the unsoiled hand reaching up to tuck some loose strands of hair behind your ear. You felt your racing heart relax slightly from gentle gesture; it had been a long time since you felt the touch of another human. “This will only hurt for a while, remember?”

You nodded, teary orbs staring into the merciless eyes of your father as he grabbed your arm. As soon as his own body relaxed, you felt a searing pain in your stomach. You thrashed about, struggling to break the grip on your forearm but the man held onto you as if his life depended on it.

“It hurts. It hurts! Stop, it hurts!” you sobbed, feeling a warm patch of wetness grow on your shirt. Your eyes shot downwards in terror as you saw the redness spread and you knew there was nothing you could do but wait, much like all the other times.

“Almost done, (Y/N),” your mother hushed, nearly sounding like an actual mother.

“It hurts! It hurts, Mama, help me! It hurts! It—”

hurt but you felt the crumbling skin of your face recover as quickly as it shattered.

Once you came to your senses— as much as you could in the current situation anyways— you clawed at the hand that gripped your face but before you could push whoever it was away, you felt his palm abruptly pull away. He stumbled backwards but swiftly lunged at the man who’d just shoved him.

You felt an intense heat as blue flames burned in the palm of Dabi’s hand. He held the fire in front of him, a silent warning to not come any closer. His face was contorted with rage— an expression you rarely saw him make.

“Shigaraki Tomura!” an unfamiliar voice boomed from behind you. You spun around and nearly gasped upon seeing who had spoken. “Stop attacking potential new members.”

“I have my reasons.” Shigaraki clicked his tongue loudly but stepped away anyways. You saw— or, rather, felt— him stare at you from behind his mask that sickeningly resembled a human hand. You felt your stomach lurch as you wondered if it was real… It couldn’t be, right?

After a few more seconds of silent scrutiny from the pale-haired man whom you were quite sure was trying to kill you just a short while ago, he plopped down on a chair by the bar. Behind it was the person who had spoken earlier, he wore formal attire but it seemed as though his entire body was made of smoke.

“Sit,” Shigaraki Tomura demanded out of the blue, gesturing at the stool beside him. You shuffled over carefully but before you reached the seat, Dabi stopped you, holding out his arm in front of your body. You glanced up at him but he was glaring at the leader of the League.

“Don’t speak to her like that.”

“Motherfu—” he slammed a fist on the bar, his other hand reaching up to scratch his neck. He inhaled deeply and spoke in a calmer tone. “Fine. Take a seat.”

Seemingly satisfied with the correction, Dabi’s arm fell back to his side and you proceeded to sit down. You turned your body so that you faced Shigaraki and the man behind the bar although your eyes looked at anywhere but them.

“I’m sure you’ve heard from Giran that we would like you to join us, (L/N) (Y/N),” said the mist man. He then introduced himself as Kurogiri and explained briefly why they had contacted you specifically. While you listened to him speak, you felt yourself growing increasingly uncomfortable from the gaze that you were one hundred percent sure Shigaraki Tomura was directing towards you from behind his mask.

“So, you just want me to… be your resident healer?” you confirmed warily, squinting your eyes at Kurogiri.

“Correct. We would appreciate if you could make your decision soon since we have plans to carry out in a few days.”

“I…” you glanced over at Dabi as if seeking some form of reassurance but it seemed as though he was purposely avoiding your gaze. “I’m not sure if I can—”

“Then why’re you here wasting my goddamn time?!” Shigaraki growled, clenched fists pressed firmly against the surface of the bar, his shoulders tensed.

“Calm down,” Kurogiri said calmly. “What concerns do you have, (L/N) (Y/N)?”

“I have regular clients who need me,” you responded, resisting the urge to glance over at Dabi again. “I don’t want to suddenly abandon them out of nowhere.”

Kurogiri nodded.

“How about a compromise?” he began once more and proceeded to explain how, technically, they would only greatly require your presence during and after missions. “If you could kindly share your address, I can create warp gates to bring you over in cases where you’re needed.” You nodded, prompting him to carry on. “Whatever you do in your free time will be none of our business.” Shigaraki shifted in his seat oddly but remained silent.

“So, do we have a deal?”

“I…” you exhaled deeply, still unsure if this was a good idea. Part of you felt like you didn’t really have a choice in the matter though since you had no combat skills, even if you refused, any member of the LOV could easily kill you off to keep you quiet if they wanted to. This was perhaps your best case scenario but yet… “Is Dabi joining the League as well?” you asked before you could properly think it through. You felt your face warm up from how childish the question sounded.

“Yes,” answered Kurogiri.

—

“I don’t get why you did it,” Dabi murmured as you walked side-by-side along the empty road. You were still wearing his jacket, although the initial extra warmth that emitted from it had worn off it still protected you well enough from the cold. Your eyes, however, kept fluttering closed and you were unsure if it was from the chilling wind or from the familiar wave of exhaustion that washed over you every time you overused your Quirk— perhaps it was both.

“I think it’ll be fun,” you replied with feigned innocence, earning yourself a glare from the tall man beside you.

“If I hadn’t joined, would you have accepted their offer?”

You pretended to ponder over it for a minute or two.

“No.”

Dabi sighed deeply but said nothing.

As you continued walking home, you felt yourself beginning to struggle in keeping up with his pace. Was he walking faster or were you simply getting slower? It didn’t matter what the answer was since Dabi noticed it either way.

“Tired?” he asked, slowing down for you.

“Yeah, that Shigaraki guy’s Quirk really was something,” you replied, “my own Quirk was barely keeping up, I think.”

“He’s fucking crazy.”

You hummed in agreement, finding yourself too exhausted to even really speak. 

You continued to walk silently, the only sounds you could make out where the distant noise of traffic and the dragging of your own feet against the concrete pavement. You felt your heart jump when you suddenly bumped into something below your line of sight and that was when you realised Dabi was gone. You began to panic, wondering where the hell he could be when the ‘thing’ you ran into spoke.

“What’re you lookin’ around for?” Dabi asked. He was squatting in front of you with his arms held out behind him awkwardly. “Just get on already, slow-ass.”

After taking a moment to process what was happening, you carefully positioned yourself on top of him. You wrapped your arms around his neck as his hands grabbed the bottom of your thighs before he stood up and continued to walk as though everything was perfectly normal.

You rested your chin on his shoulder and relished in the warmth he emitted, gently nuzzling your face into the crook of his neck.

“Don’t cry,” you said, struggling to carry him on your back as carefully as possible, afraid that any sudden movement would hurt him further. The boy nodded, his face buried in your shoulder. “My Quirk can heal you so you’ll feel better soon, okay?” He nodded once more.

Although he was taller than you, you carried him with not much difficulty in terms of weight. He was a little too scrawny, in your opinion. You wondered if his parents treated him badly as well (the bandages and plasters littered over his skin didn’t help assuage your fears). You wanted to ask but decided now wasn’t the time, you had to heal his burns first.

As you continued walking, looking for a hidden spot to sit him down, the boy mumbled incoherently into your shirt.

“Hmm?” you asked, feeling him tighten his arms around your neck slightly, as if hugging you closer.

“Thank you…”

“My name’s (L/N) (Y/N) but you can just call me (Y/N).”

“A-are you sure?”

“Yep!” you chirped. “We’re friends, aren’t we?”

“Yeah… thank you, (Y/N)-chan.”

“You’re welcome… what’s your name?”

“My name is—”

Chapter Text

“Where’s your boyfriend?” the elderly lady asked in a teasing manner. You let out an exaggerated sigh as you rested the glowing palm of your hand on her knee, biting your tongue as her pain became yours.

“Amari obaachan, I’ve already told you so many times,” you smiled, “he’s just a friend.”

“No friends look at each other the way you two do!” she exclaimed, patting your hand with her frailer one the way grandparents did.

“You’ve only met him once, though!”

“One time was enough, my dear (Y/N)-chan.”

You shook your head, unable to speak any further as you felt your Quirk work hard at healing your patient’s— or rather, your— osteoarthritis-ridden knees. At the same time, the old lady sighed in relief, a solid sign that your work was nearly done.

“This session’s a little bit longer than last time,” she observed, eyeing you curiously although her face held a hint of worry. After all, she was the only one (still in your life) who really understood how your Quirk worked.

“I’ll be out of town for the next day or two so I thought I’d help you out a bit more just in case.”

“Ah, how considerate.” she flashed you a toothless smile. “Your boyfriend sure is one lucky man.”

“Amari-san!” you clicked your tongue in annoyance that was only partially sincere. It was hard to deny the way you felt your heart jump every time she referred to Dabi as your boyfriend— and you weren’t denying it. You just knew that being the way you both were, dating wasn’t exactly high on the priority list.

Besides, he didn’t like you that way… did he?

It was a question you continued to ponder even long after your regular patient had left, leaving you alone in your apartment. As you cleaned up while the moon slowly rose, you couldn’t help but to just think about him.

You had first met him only a few years back when Giran still held you under his wing. The man was somewhat of a father figure to you after you had… He’d introduced you to a Dabi who was covered in bandages all over. You learnt about his Quirk and— despite his tendency to sass you left and right— was determined to help him as a doctor would with her patient. Even to this day you were not exactly sure why you felt such a need but his face was just so… familiar in a way you weren’t ever able to explain even to yourself.

“You need to stop using your Quirk so recklessly!” you chided, grabbing onto his arm that would be considered singed beyond repair if you weren’t you. The glow that emitted from beneath your palm was the most intense you’d ever seen it and you had to bite back tears as you felt your own skin burn like hell.

Dabi mumbled something incoherently, too drunk out of his mind to even process what was happening. For once, you were grateful for the alcohol running through his system as it spared him the knowledge of what he was inadvertently doing to you.

Recently he had developed strangely protective tendencies towards you and you knew how potentially devastating it would be if he discovered how your Quirk worked now.

“I swear to god,” you muttered, glaring down at his half-comatose state, “you’re gonna be the death of me someday.”

You let out a thoughtful sigh at the memory. That had been, what, five years ago? And you still avoided sharing with him the true nature of your Quirk despite how close you’d gotten. He’d asked about it numerous times but stopped eventually when he realised you were determined to never let him know. You chuckled to yourself when you recalled the time Dabi was actually mad about it.

“Do you not trust me, is that it?” he yelled, the corners of his mouth splitting dangerously due to the staples embedded in his skin. He wasn’t quite used to them being there yet despite the physical relief they brought his scarred skin.

“No! I just… don’t wanna talk about it.” you replied as calmly as you could, cursing internally at how your voice trembled ever so slightly. You didn’t want to be but it was hard not to be scared of Dabi in that moment. He could easily end your life and no one would bat an eye.

“Why not?” he spat, clenching his fists at his sides, eyes burning frighteningly.

“I just don’t want to, okay? I’m not comfortable with it! Besides, why’d you wanna know about it so bad?” you unknowingly raised your voice with every word and was nearly shouting at the end of your sentence.

Dabi said nothing.

You weren’t sure if he didn’t know how to say what he wanted to say or if he simply had nothing to say at all. He stormed out of your home after that and you didn’t see him for nearly two weeks. He’d returned with fresh burns and an apology scrawled on a piece of paper that you later framed up just for the fun of it.

You glanced at the picture frame that never moved from its spot on the wall and felt the corners of your lips tug into a smile. Your eyes then trailed downward to a chair that sat underneath it with a jacket draped over the backrest. You subconsciously bit your tongue lightly as you walked over and picked up the outer garment before glancing around— despite being home alone— and holding it up to your nose.

Even though it had been nearly a week ago since Dabi lent it to you (and never asked for it back, mind you) it still smelled like him— a fact that made you feel weirdly excited but also want to curl up in shame. As you slowly pulled it over your body, you realised, with slight disgruntlement, that perhaps Amari obaachan wasn’t totally wrong.

—

“Need me to carry you again?” Dabi teased, stopping to let you catch up. His eyes flickered between your displeased face and the way you swung your arms so that the sleeves of his jacket flopped all over the place.

“Oh, please,” you lightly smacked his chest as you brushed past him, “you wish you could carry me again.”

“Not wrong,” he mumbled under his breath.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.” he quickened his pace so that he was in the lead once again. “Hurry up, short-ass, or we’re gonna be late.”

You clicked your tongue as loudly as you could.

“We’re just looking at your Noumu or whatever,” you replied but walked faster anyway, “what’s there to be late to?”

“Just— the quicker we get this over with, the faster we can go to bed.”

Well, you couldn’t argue with that logic, could you?

The rest of the journey to the warehouse was mostly silent. Occasionally, either one of you would say something in an attempt to start a conversation but it was clear that both of you were too tired to really talk. Your exhaustion was from your day of tending to patients, you two knew that well enough; but you weren’t sure what Dabi was doing that had drained him of so much energy. He was pretty… fit, after all (not that you would ever say it to his face unless you one day decided his already seemingly massive ego needed a boost).

Eventually, you two arrived at the location Dabi was provided. It was an abandoned building situated on the other end of Kamino, a good distance away from both your home and the League’s hideout.

You watched as he used a key to unlock the entrance before both of you swiftly slinked in. You shut the heavy door behind you and felt a chill run down your spine when you noticed what was within the warehouse itself.

Huge metal tanks with glass panels that stood at least three metres tall lined the walls with numerous tubes attached to each and every one of them. The monstrosities contained within each tank were submerged in a clear liquid and all their eyes, which jutted out of exposed brains, were open although you could tell that they weren’t quite alive.

You didn’t realise you were frozen where you stood until Dabi grabbed your hand. You jumped in surprise and instinctively tightened your fingers that were now intertwined with his. Instantly, your fear was replaced by an overwhelming sense of embarrassment. Dabi, however, seemed as stoic as ever and simply pulled you behind him.

“Don’t worry about them,” he said. “They won’t hurt you and even if they try, I… won’t let them.”

Rendered completely speechless from the boldness of his words, you simply nodded in response even though he couldn’t see it. You continued holding his hand even when it meant going closer to one of the tanks that held the Noumu which was apparently manufactured for Dabi himself.

“It’s kinda disgusting, isn’t it?” he asked, tapping the glass as if hoping for some kind of response.

“No shit.” you eyed the creature warily… and all this time, you thought Dabi was tall.

“This fella’s gonna be the final member of our Vanguard Action Squad apparently,” he said while he continued to stare at the Noumu as if it were a piece of fine art.

“Yep, he’s somethin’ alright,” you chuckled humourlessly. “Why are we even here? Can we go now?”

Dabi tore his eyes away from the tank and instead averted his gaze to meet yours. You wondered if he could tell your face was basically on fire as he rubbed the pad of his thumb over the back of the hand he was holding. If he could, he was sure good at hiding it.

“Not yet. Giran left me some stuff here apparently. Help me find it, will you?”

You hesitated in responding, not because you didn’t want to help but because you knew it would mean letting go of his hand. No matter how childish you knew it was, you just couldn’t help it. However, your head nodded on its own and Dabi broke off the link between your hands for you.

Searching one end of the warehouse while Dabi looked through the other, you spent almost half an hour looking for the crate that supposedly held some gear made for Dabi. You vaguely remembered something about a mission with the League coming up soon but you couldn’t recall the finer details. Too engrossed in both your search and in trying to figure out what the hell the mission was for, you failed to notice a pair of turquoise eyes glance your way every minute or so.

“Fucking finally.” Dabi’s voice echoed throughout the large room. You immediately stopped whatever you were doing and hurried his way, excited to finally get closer to getting out of there.

You watched as he pried open the box and pulled out what seemed mostly like clothes from the crate. The largest item was a jacket with silver cuffs around elbow level.

“A jacket?” you said in a bored tone of voice.

“Yeah, well, my old one got stolen so…” Dabi flashed you a sly smirk. You clicked your tongue and began pulling your arms out of the sleeves of the jacket you stole, apparently.

“Well, you can have it back then—”

His hand reached out and grabbed your forearm before you could completely slip it out of the outer garment.

“I’m kidding. You can keep it.”

“… Really?” you asked with perhaps a little too much enthusiasm in your voice. You hoped Dabi didn’t pick it up but he definitely did.

“Yeah.” he shrugged nonchalantly before turning back to the box. You adjusted the jacket back over your body as he pulled out more miscellaneous items, feeling your heart swell as you hugged the tattered piece of clothing tighter around yourself.

“This is for you, apparently,” Dabi said out of the blue, holding a full-body suit that was clearly not made for someone of his height. You took it and held it in front of your own body, eyes widening when you realised it was almost perfect for you. “There was a note on top of it from Giran,” he continued, reading the aforementioned note in his hand. “He says it’s made from some kind of high-end protective material and…” he squinted, holding the piece of paper closer to his face, “that it’s on the house. That’s lame. I had to pay for mine.”

“Don’t be jealous,” you responded with a mocking pout that only ended up making Dabi’s heart skip a beat and not make him feel agitated like you had intended— not that he would ever tell anyone.

“I’m not,” he replied half-truthfully. “I’m actually kinda glad you have some armour now,” he continued truthfully as he grabbed your arm and pulled you closer to him, his heavily-lidded eyes staring down at you. “So you’ll be safe during missions even when I’m not around… That’s good.”

You swallowed thickly as you felt your heart begin to pound almost wildly within the confines of your chest. Your fingers dug into the thin material of the full-body suit that you were now clutching with sweaty hands. You didn’t dare to even exhale the slightest breath in case he…

Fuck.

Chapter Text

You stood close to Dabi with one arm wrapped around one of his. Your excuse was that the air was cold since you were so high up and he was warm— it wasn’t a complete lie; you shivered a little even with your new “Villain costume” and Dabi’s jacket. He didn’t seem to mind, though; in fact, he was worried that if you stood a little closer, you’d be able to hear his racing heart.

It was mostly quiet up on the cliff that overlooked the campsite, there was only the occasional sneeze or cough as the newly-recruited Vanguard Action Squad members didn’t seem to be the socialising type… except for one of the youngest on the team: a teenaged girl named Toga Himiko. You smiled faintly as you listened to her chatter away to someone else behind you. She had been talking to you the same way a few minutes ago.

“Hi! I’m Toga Himiko, what’s your name?” the girl with the large jaw-like mask asked as she grabbed your hands.

“Oh! I’m (L/N) (Y/N). It’s nice to meet you,” you replied with a quick smile, feeling just a tad bit awkward. You hadn’t expected someone so young and excitable like her to be here but yet you weren’t entirely surprised. You were way younger than Toga was when you ran away, after all.

“(Y/N)-chan! We’re gonna be best friends, I can already tell!” she announced, pulling you into a hug. She nuzzled her face into the crook of your neck and hummed when you hugged her back. It was so strange but… you liked it.

Feeling a strange tingle run down your spine, you glanced to the side and your eyes met Dabi’s. He raised an eyebrow and you simply smiled in response.

“What’re you thinking about?” he asked, tearing his attention away from the faraway campsite for the first time in several minutes to look over at you.

“Nothing much,” you tilted your head upwards so that your eyes met his. As usual, a stoic, uncaring expression donned Dabi’s face but the fact that he didn’t pull his arm away from you told you otherwise. “I was just thinking about Toga.”

“Huh? That lil psycho?”

“Don’t call her that,” you clicked your tongue, gently tugging at his arm. “She’s a little bit weird but she’s kinda sweet, don’t you think?”

“Eh. Not my type.” He shrugged.

That piqued your interest.

“Ooh, you have a type? Do tell.” you hugged his arm tighter, oblivious to the way he nearly chokes a little. Saying nothing, his turquoise eyes seemed to scan over your face as you continued to stare up at him expectedly. Your neck was beginning to feel uncomfortable since he was so much taller than you but alas, Dabi remained silent as he simply kept his eyes on you.

“I’m not gonna tell you,” he finally spoke. You frowned.

“Why not?”

“I just don’t feel like it,” he replied with a cocky smirk. “I might tell you if you explain how your Quirk works.”

Almost immediately you looked away and all semblance of playfulness left your demeanour as you directed your gaze towards the campsite.

“In that case,” you said almost too softly for him to hear, “I can live without knowing.”

He held back a scoff, feeling the familiar sense of indignance that always left a bitter taste in the back of his throat every time you refused— without reason— to tell him about your Quirk. At the same time, however, Dabi felt a slight bitterness at himself for even bringing it up since he knew how much you didn’t like talking about it. He felt your grip on his arm loosen and the guilty bitterness intensified.

But before he could mutter a curt apology, he felt his arm get ripped out of yours as a small body split you apart. Dabi cursed under his breath and raised his arm instinctively before realising it was just Toga.

She clutched your arm similarly to how you held onto his and smiled widely up at you.

“(Y/N)-chan!” she chirped before holding up a hand at her mouth, as if ready to tell you a secret. “Is Dabi your boyfriend?” she asked at full volume. “I wanted to ask when I first met you because you two seem so close! But I was nervous because you’re so pretty. Now I can though because we’re friends—”

The girl continued to chatter on as you stared on, a dumbfounded look on your face that felt like it was on fire.

“So, are you?” Toga asked again. You slowly looked over at Dabi, unsure yourself if it was a cry for help or an apology— for what? You weren’t exactly sure either. The man simply watched the scene before him, his eyes not meeting yours even though you knew he was aware of your staring.

“I—” you looked back down at your new teammate and flashed her a smile that wasn’t quite genuine. “No, we’re just friends.”

You heard footsteps shuffling away and your head shot up as you felt a strange pang in your chest. His back was turned towards you as he walked away, his hands shoved into the pockets of his new jacket.

Silent tears rolled down your face as you watched from within the bushes. It was nighttime now and the playground was dimly illuminated only by the two lamps placed on either side and yet, you could see his terrified face as clear as day because of the light that his father’s Quirk emitted. His brilliant turquoise eyes screamed for help as the large man dragged him away by the arm, unaware— or uncaring— of the way his grip bruised the tender flesh. You wanted to help him, to save your new friend from the monster that was his father but you couldn’t move. The number 2 Hero was a fearsome man, after all, and you were merely a child.

You never got to say sorry.

“It’s time to move,” Dabi announced before he deployed the members of the VAS to different locations, leaving Twice and you with him. You trailed behind the two men as Dabi led you further into the woods and closer to the campsite. The path was too dark for your liking and you normally would’ve sought out Dabi for comfort in times like these but something told you perhaps he didn’t want to see your face for a little while.

Eventually, the three of you stopped at a clearing. You could already hear some cries of panic from a distance as goosebumps formed all over your skin. Sure, the budding Heroes were potential threats but they were still children, weren’t they?

A sudden warmth pulled you out of your thoughts. The trees surrounding the clearing had begun to burn as blue flames engulfed them swiftly. You turned to watch Dabi as he kept one of his hands pressed against the trunk of a tree, still unsatisfied with the size of the fire. You counted in your head, getting ready to stop him before he entered what you dubbed the “danger zone” but before he reached the limit, you felt two arms wrap around your waist as a warm body pressed against your back.

You yelped and that caught Dabi’s attention. He spun around, tearing his hand off the charred bark of the tree and his eyes widened. Before you could see who had so brazenly embraced you from behind, the unknown person’s head rested on your shoulder, his hair brushing against your cheek.

“Hey, (Y/N),” the voice of… Dabi cooed, you could feel his warm breath brush against your ear as the arms pulled you closer.

“What the—”

“Did I say you could make the clone already?” the real Dabi spat at Twice who simply shrugged.

“Sorry, Dabi! Shut the fuck up! I do what I want!”

It was then the realisation hit you like a train.

Ah, you thought, he’s the guy whose Quirk is called “Double”. This makes sense… I guess.

You squeaked and felt a shiver run down your spine as your heart jumped when clone-Dabi began nudging his nose against the base of your jaw. You could feel the coldness of his staples, the roughness of his scars and… you stopped breathing when his lips brushed against your neck.

All of it was almost too much for your poor heart to handle. You came here with the intention of kidnapping a child, not to have the clone of the man who made you feel things nearly kiss you in front of the aforementioned man himself. You wanted to push him away because it wasn’t him but… it felt nice in spite of your heart that was racing so quickly it nearly hurt.

“Motherfucker,” real-Dabi cursed, his eyes widened fiercely as he stormed towards you with gritted teeth. You heard Twice let out a “wooooo” in the background.

“Oh no,” clone-Dabi sighed, “looks like it’s almost time for me to go, huh, my dear (Y/N)?” he pressed a kiss to your warm cheek. “It was worth it, though. He’ll never admit it but we lo—”

A fist flew past your face as it smashed into the clone’s head. The sheer force of it caused a breeze to brush past your face as you heard the sickening crunch of bones breaking. The clone’s arms went limp around before they turned into mud and splashed onto the dirt ground. You glanced at your feet. He had been reduced to a murky puddle.

“Why’d you do that?” you huffed, your racing heart starting to slow back down from all the excitement. Dabi glared at you, teeth still gritted, fists clenched at his sides.

“What does it matter to you?” he spat.

“He was gonna tell me a secret of yours! Now you’ve ruined it.” you clicked your tongue, crossing your arms. You tried to make your tone more playful than actually upset but from the way he stared at you incredulously, you knew it came off the wrong way anyways.

“Now’s not the fucking time for this,” he scoffed, turning away. “Twice, make another clone to deal with Eraserhead. We’ve got work to do.”

“On it! Don’t tell me what to do!”

You watched in fascination as your eccentric teammate activated his Quirk, creating another Dabi lookalike in mere seconds. This one only got to look at you before real-Dabi stepped in between the both of you and told the clone what to do, only relaxing his shoulders when his doppelgänger was out of sight.

Dabi slowly turned around but seemed to purposely avoid looking at you. As if sensing the tense atmosphere, Twice muttered something about being a look-out before walking away, leaving you behind with the man whose thoughts you could never seem to read despite knowing him for so long.

You knew you hadn’t done anything wrong to deserve this petty “shunning” of his but yet you still felt some tinge of guilt present in your chest. You toyed with the frayed ends of his jacket, wondering what could’ve made him so upset. Surely, it wasn’t the clone’s behaviour, was it? As much as you didn’t want to admit it, it had to be what his clone did with you. Did that mean he…no. It wasn’t possible, was it? 

“I… I’m sorry,” you eventually muttered although you still were convinced you technically didn’t do anything wrong. You simply didn’t like being on bad terms with Dabi, it always left a bitter taste in your mouth.

His eyes widened as they finally looked at you.

“No, it’s not you.” he scratched the back of his neck with one hand while the other slowly reached out to grab yours. He was saying sorry, too.

Chapter Text

You left while they were asleep, glad that they’d returned home earlier with virtually no injuries. In their exhaustion, your parents ignored your presence and headed straight for their bedroom. With nothing, you ran from home.

You remembered running for quite a while—having witnessed the sun set and the moon rise—when you came across a playground that was empty except for a boy curled up at the bottom of a slide. You recognised him almost immediately, you’d seen him many times at school but had never spoken to him before. You knew you should’ve continued running but…

“Are you okay?” your voice made his trembling body jerk in surprise before he looked over at you. His skin was littered in bruises and burns covered by useless bandages and plasters that looked like they were about to fall off, his large turquoise eyes were teary. The boy stared at you silently with an expression that seemed to be a mixture of fear and agony. He tucked his legs in closer but winced.

“Can you walk?” you asked and he slowly shook his head. You felt a pang in your chest as your eyes scanned the area but even you weren’t quite sure what you were looking for. The boy let out another sob and you clenched your fists, frustrated at yourself and everything around you but then—

“P-please, don’t!” he choked, his brilliant eyes widened in pure fear as they stared at your fists. You immediately relaxed your fingers and felt a stinging sensation in your eyes. You blinked away your unshed tears before turning around and squatting down in front of him.

“I’ll carry you to somewhere safe,” you said, controlling your breathing so that you wouldn’t give away how absolutely exhausted your legs were from all your running. The boy didn’t speak and only let out a faint sniffle. You turned your head around and smiled at him, “Don't be afraid. You can trust me.”

“Watch out!” Dabi exclaimed, one hand reaching out in front of you while the other shot a blast of flames at one of the U.A. students whose six arms had reached out to grab you. Even after the boy had retreated, the arm before you stayed in place as Dabi pushed you behind him. “Stay behind me.”

You nodded even though he hadn’t turned around to look at you but you couldn’t help it. Everything happened to suddenly and you were severely underprepared for such powerful attacks by some teenagers. The plan was going so well up until this very moment and you weren’t sure which would kill you first: one of the U.A. students or your heart that was racing so fast it felt like it was going to explode.

You continued to watch the situation from behind Dabi, your hands unknowingly clutching onto the back of his fireproof jacket. You didn’t want to be completely useless though so anytime you predicted his skin was overheating, you pressed a palm to the side of his neck and activated your Quirk, wincing when you felt your own skin burn intensely.

Eventually, much to your relief, Kurogiri’s warp tunnels appeared but before you could even blink, you felt a rough shove as you fell through the one nearest to you. You landed on the wooden floor of the LOV’s bar with a thud. You heard a scoff from above you and you glared at the masked man.

“Frankly, I’m impressed you’re still alive,” he said bluntly as he sat down on a barstool. “After all, healers usually don’t have good defence or offence power.”

Pushing yourself to your feet, you raised at eyebrow at Shigaraki Tomura and his strange way of speaking. You parted your lips with a retort planned but quickly decided against it, you’d had a long night and arguing with the childish leader of the League was definitely not worth it. You instead turned away and missed the way his jaw clenched as he glared at you from between the fingers of his mask.

Soon enough, more warp tunnels materialised as the rest of the surviving members walked through them. Most proceeded to collapse onto chairs or just the floor itself but the one you were most familiar with made his way to you.

“Sorry I pushed you,” he said, reaching out to brush his fingers against the back of your hand. “I was—”

“Hey, ashtray, did you put Bakugou in—“ Shigarki interrupted in an impatient tone.

Dabi shot a glare at him and clicked his tongue, the suddenness of it all rendered the leader momentarily speechless. He returned his attention back to you, his frustrated expression melting into one that was kinder and almost soft.

“Are you okay?” he asked. You nodded and a faint smile graced his lips— a sight that made your heart jump just a tiny bit. “Good,” Dabi muttered as he scratched the back of his neck before he looked away. “I think some of the others need your help. I’ll go talk to handsy or something. See you later.” He began to brush past you but stopped when you grabbed his arm.

“Are you okay?” you glanced up at him, fingers still wrapped around his bicep, only letting Dabi go when he nodded in response. Before he continued walking away, though, you asked, “Let's walk home together later?”

You cursed at yourself internally when you realised how strange it sounded. Walk home together? It sounded as if you lived in the same home like some kind of married couple or something. You wanted to slap your own face but resisted the temptation to do so since the man in question was still staring at you with a blank expression on his face.

“Yeah, of course,” Dabi replied coolly before walking off. You felt your face heat up as goosebumps appeared all over your skin. You wished you were as calm as he was and for the next hour or so, you were definitely able to pretend that you were while you tended to the other members of the League.

As you slowly healed each of them one by one, you felt your body begin to tire but it wasn’t anything you hadn’t dealt with before. Nearly all of them complimented the nature of your Quirk in one way or another but you merely smiled in response to all of them as you mind was focused on something else.

Eavesdropping.

They were too far away for you to really hear everything they were talking about but you’d managed to pick up some stuff. Dabi mentioned someone else that they’d taken from the campsite, a Hero, even, you believed you heard. Cat? It had something to do with cats. Shigaraki then replied with something incoherent since his goddamn mask was in the way but apparently Dabi heard it loud and clear since he replied with a harsh, “no fucking way!” before he told him to shove something up his something. You were glad you didn’t catch that last part. They then proceeded to bicker for a short while before—

“Hey, (L/N). I need you for something. Follow me,” Shigaraki said across the hideout. He turned and entered a room, not waiting to see if you’d heard him. You finished up healing Toga, receiving a tight hug from the girl before you trailed after the blue-haired man. As you walked past Dabi, you tried to shoot him a smile but promptly dropped the idea when you noticed how tensed his body seemed. Making a mental note to ask him about it later, you entered the room after Shigaraki and nearly choked when you saw what—or who— was inside.

It was the unconscious body of a Hero from a semi-famous Hero group you didn’t quite remember the name of. Her clothes were torn and she looked as if many of her bones had been fractured to different degrees. Blood from her wounds seeped into the thin mattress she was laid upon and you nearly felt yourself gag. You weren’t a stranger to gory scenes but this was not what you had been expecting.

“Heal her. We need her for something.” Shigaraki pointed at the woman as if it wasn’t obvious who he could possibly be referring to. You were hesitant but knew you were obligated to follow his instructions since you did join his team after all. You knelt down beside the body and activated your Quirk before pressing both hands onto her bare skin. Too focused, you failed to notice Shigaraki sit down cross-legged beside you, his eyes staring intently your way.

You inhaled a sharp breath as you felt your own bones scream in agony as various wounds started to appear on your skin. The healing was slower, you realised, but continued on anyway.

“Dabi was adamant about not letting you use your Quirk anymore tonight,” Shigaraki said calmly, leaning closer towards your face that had begun to scrunch up in pain. “I didn’t understand why but I get it now.”

You looked at him without moving your head, knowing that it would take too much energy to even move at this point. Your eyes widened when they met his red ones that peered from between the digits of his mask.

“You don’t just heal people, do you? No, that’s too convenient,” he continued, voice dripping with what seemed like excitement. “You steal the injuries from them and then heal yourself.”

You clenched your teeth and tried to say something to him but all that came out was a groan. Even though his face was covered, you could tell he smiled in response.

“I’m right, aren’t I?”

“Fuck,” you exhaled, deactivating your Quirk the moment the Hero’s injuries were all gone. You slowly turned to face Shigaraki and frowned. “Yeah. You’re right but you can’t—”

“Tell Dabi?” he finished your sentence for you, clapping his hands together when he noticed the shock on your face. “I figured he didn’t know, that’s why he lost the argument. Ashtray was so unsure of himself when he talked about your Quirk, it was almost sad seeing how desperate he was to win. Too bad he doesn’t understand his player two as much as I do.”

You remained silent, feeling a flurry of emotions that was almost too much to comprehend. There was indignance, worry, frustration, guilt and something else that you couldn’t quite name; it made your chest feel as if a hand was gripping your heart with the intention of turning crushing it into nothing.

“Just…” you stood up, lightly nudging his leg with your foot, “don’t tell him or you lose your team’s healer.”

“Whatever, I never planned on saying anything anyway. This is your problem, not mine.”

That last sentence lingered in the back of your mind even an hour later when you were walking home with Dabi by your side. He had been mostly silent since you left the hideout; he was upset and you hated that you knew why.

“I’m sorry,” you murmured, grabbing his hand. “Please don’t be angry at me.” You felt him wriggle his hand our of your grasp and felt a sting in your chest but as quickly as he had let go, he held your hand again and intertwined his fingers with yours. “Did you do that because I wasn’t holding properly?”

“Maybe,” Dabi replied nonchalantly. “Look,” he sighed, “I’m not— I just…” he tilted his head downward, his eyes burning into yours. “You’re never gonna tell me how it works, huh?”

You stared back but didn’t reply straight away. It was a topic neither of you liked to bring up but always surfaced more often than either of you preferred anyway. You knew you could easily solve everything by just letting Dabi know what he wanted to but… for selfish reasons even you didn’t want to admit to yourself, you withheld the truth.

“Maybe I’ll tell you if…” you began, receiving a deep, exaggerated sigh from his end. “You tell me what your clone wanted to say before you killed him in cold blood.”

“Hey, it’s technically not murder if he wasn’t even really alive—”

“Don’t change the subject,” you chided, pulling his hand closer so that you could rest your temple against his arm. He was just so warm you simply couldn’t resist. “He was in the middle of telling me something that sounded important. Tell me what it was.”

Dabi said nothing.

“It started with ‘I’ and then he said a word that began with ‘L’ and ‘O’, I think,” you hinted rather boldly—something you never would have done if you weren’t drowsy from overusing your Quirk. You pulled your head off his arm and looked back up at him with half-lidded eyes and a sleepy smile on your face that made the inside of his chest feel strange.

“Yeah, I think he wanted to say,” he replied in a serious tone before a shit-eating grin stretched across his face. “I loathe you, dumbass.”

“Tch.” you released his hand with an unnecessarily loud huff as you moved to the other extreme end of the pavement.

“As if I know what he was gonna say,” Dabi teased, “don’t be weird— (Y/N)? Hey, wait up. Stop walking so fast. Shit. I was kidding. I’m sorry!”

Chapter Text

You laid sprawled out on your couch, phone held precariously above your face as the TV blared on in your peripheral vision. You’d turned it on specially to watch U.A.’s press conference but lost interest after a short while, it seemed more like a public shaming session by news reporters than a press conference anyway.

It had been a day since the League attacked the Hero Course students and kidnapped one of the kids. You’d only met Bakugou Katsuki once since then but he was definitely not someone you wanted to mess with despite being several years younger than you. Deemed unnecessary for the rest of the League’s plans on convincing the boy to join your side, Shigaraki had told you to stay away for the following day or so. Despite being curious about how things would end up, you complied, knowing there was no point in arguing with him.

You let out a sigh which turned into a yawn as you looked through your messages once again— as though doing so would magically get you a response.

TO: DABI

8:47PM

i’m so bored dude, tell me what’s happening on your end

TO: DABI

9:00PM

please? :D

TO: DABI

9:23PM

hey what’s the deal >:( you never ignore my messages like this

TO: DABI

9:43PM

would you reply if i told you that i kinda think that Eraser dude from UA is actually pretty hot?

You clicked your tongue, silently cursing at how he didn’t fall for that last message. Dabi always seemed to get uptight whenever you talked about other men. Perhaps he really was busy and not just being annoying…

Locking your phone and haphazardly tossing it onto your cluttered coffee table, you turned your attention back to the television screen. You attempted to focus on what they were saying but, god, it was boring. Your interest in the entire conference in general was only slightly piqued whenever that Eraser Hero showed up but soon enough, it wasn’t enough.

Your eyes glanced around the familiar living room before they landed on the jacket you’d grown so attached to that was draped over the backrest of a chair. Deciding that perhaps you should go to bed, you switched off the TV and walked over to the article of clothing—at some point you’d begun wearing it to sleep since it was so warm and you blanket was so thin. Before you could even reach the chair, however, you felt your entire body go numb.

You stood frozen in place, unable to move or even feel anything. It was as though you were floating in zero gravity except your eyes were wide open and you could see you were still at home. You tried to open your mouth and speak but your lips didn’t even quiver no matter how hard you tried to move. Your heart began to race wildly in your chest as the panic started to settle in.

Hello, (L/N) (Y/N), an unknown voice spoke in your head. You felt a shiver run down your spine. We have never met but Tomura and Kurogiri spoke about you a few times, they’ve deemed you trustworthy and for now, that’s enough.

Your eyes darted around the dimly lit living room, desperately trying to link the voice to a body but there was no one there. Either you were going insane, or this was the work of a Telepathy Quirk. Still, it made absolutely no sense to you since it felt like the work of multiple Quirks at once. There was no way someone could possess more than one Quirk… right?

Tomura told me himself you’re an important player in the game because of your Quirk. I trust his judgement but if you dare betray him, I will not hesitate to make your Quirk mine. I understand it’s precious to you not only because it is yours but there’s someone you would like to save, isn’t there? I understand the feeling.

What the fuck was he talking about?

Expect a delivery in a short while. The real game is just beginning. Let’s cooperate, shall we?

You fell to your hands and knees abruptly as you felt your entire body tremble violently. You suddenly felt so cold it was almost painful but at the same time, you had begun to sweat profusely as if your apartment was in flames. Feeling an acidic burn rising up your throat, you forcefully pushed the vomit down. When the urge to puke was gone, you opened your mouth and panted heavily, suddenly feeling as though you’d ran twenty kilometres without stopping.

Staying in the same position for what felt like years, you eventually got back on your feet and shuffled over to Dabi’s jacket, knees buckling as you moved. You quickly slipped it on, hoping it would provide you with some protection against the biting cold but alas everything felt the same.

It isn’t the room, you realised, it’s me.

Still trembling, you flopped back down onto your couch. Little by little you were starting to feel better but as your symptoms faded, your mind cleared which lead to the question: what the fuck just happened? Who was the man who’d spoken to you? What delivery were you to expect? Why were you feeling so shitty?

Feeling the sting of tears, you quickly rubbed your eyes, drying them before they could escape. You weren’t sure if it was an aftereffect of the surreal experience or if you were just being overly emotional but you reached for your phone, nearly dropping it from how sweaty your palms were.

TO: DABI

10:30PM

hey sorry if i’m being a bother but something horrible just happened, if you’re free, could you call me? thanks

You hit send without a second thought and clutched the device to your chest that was still rising up and down steadily from your heavy breaths. Laying motionless in place, you felt your heart begin to slow down to a much more healthy pace. Now that you were almost completely okay, you felt the exhaustion settle in. You let your heavy eyelids close on their own as you allowed yourself to sleep.

But then, there was the sound of heavy thumping in your living room and your eyes shot open. Before you could investigate what the actual hell was happening, a face peered over the backrest of your couch. In your peripheral vision, you noticed someone rushing into your bedroom before the door slammed shut.

“(Y/N)!” Toga Himiko squealed, her golden eyes staring down at you. “I think we nearly died!”

“… huh?” you responded lamely, your own eyes squinting in confusion. You sat up and looked behind the couch, feeling your heart nearly give out at the sight.

If they weren’t unconscious, you would have fought them all one by one until they wished they were dead.

You cursed under your breath bitterly as you dragged Magne’s comatose body beside Mr Compress’s. You took a step back and looked at your handiwork: five unconscious bodies lying side-by-side on your already cramped living room floor. You’d healed them of whatever injuries they had and simply needed to wait for them to wake up.

The sixth body was still in his original position. You glanced over at Dabi, who now had his old jacket draped over him, and wondered if you had the strength to carry him on your own. You could ask Toga for help but she’d fallen asleep on your couch while you were healing Kurogiri half an hour ago and you didn’t have the heart to wake her up.

It was then you realised there was something amiss. You pointed at each member and counted silently.

Twice. Mr Compress. Kurogiri. Spinner. Magne. Toga. Dabi… where was Shigaraki Tomura?

You spun around, looking at every corner of the living room but he was nowhere to be found unless… he wasn’t in the living room. Your eyes widened when you realised where he was hiding and released a frustrated sigh.

Why did he have to go in there of all places?

You knocked on the door despite it being your bedroom before entering. You pushed it open slowly, head peering in cautiously before you made your next move. He was sitting in the only corner of the small room that was empty, his fingers scratching the scarred skin of his neck furiously, the sound of which was almost nauseating to you.

You approached him carefully and sat down cross-legged in front of him when he failed to even acknowledge your presence. You reached forward and grabbed one of his arms, pulling it away from his neck.

“Don’t do that,” you said as softly as you could. You didn’t exactly like him but it was painfully obvious how much distress he was in.

“Don’t tell me what to do!” he growled, yanking his wrist out of your grasp before his other hand shot towards you. He grabbed your exposed knee and your skin began to crumble. You hissed in pain, feeling everything— the skin decaying and then regenerating before crumbling into dust again.

For a second you saw nothing but a flash of red. You reached out and grabbed the wrist of the hand that was trying to kill you and activated your Quirk. Shigaraki shoved you backwards roughly when he felt his own skin decaying under your touch. His red eyes glared at you as he held his injured hand carefully with the other.

You observed as his piercing stare turned from one of anger to one of fascination while maintaining the same level of intensity. The corners of his chapped lips turned upward and you realised, as he smiled, that this was the first time you’d seen his actual face.

“Perhaps my team’s healer is more capable than meets the eye.”

“What do you me—”

“Get out,” a third voice spat from behind you. You spun around, pivoting on your butt and looked up at the man whom, if you were being honest with yourself, you sorely missed. You smiled up at Dabi but his eyes seemed to be focused on the man behind you. “Go sleep in the living room or something,” he said bluntly, “I’m sleeping here tonight.”

You heard Shigaraki stand up and listened as his footsteps sounded closer and closer. He stopped when he was standing beside you, facing Dabi. The two men merely stared at one another silently for a few seconds before Shigaraki let out an amused huff and walked out of your room, slamming the door behind you. You winced at the sudden loud noise.

Dabi held a hand out for you. You noticed he had his old jacket slung over his shoulder.

“I’m sorry I didn’t reply your messages,” he muttered as he pulled you onto your feet. “When I finally had the time to, some old dude knocked me out.” Dabi pulled the jacket off his shoulder before draping it over yours. He had to lean in to do so and in the process, you could feel the warmth radiating off him and it took every ounce of self-control you had not to just hug him there and then.

“It’s okay,” you replied, still beaming up at him. Dabi smiled faintly before he brushed soon loose strands of hair out of your face. Every time his fingertips brushed your skin, you felt your heart jump. “Well, I think I’m gonna head back out—”

“For what?”

“So that you can sleep.”

Dabi rolled his eyes before he wrapped both of his arms around you. You yelped as he fell backwards onto your small bed with you on top of him as he held you locked in place. Your head rested on his chest and your soul nearly ascended to heaven right there and then.

“We’re sleeping together, aren’t we?” he asked teasingly, his chest rumbling gently with every word.

“I guess,” you replied as nonchalantly as you could but the slight trembling in your voice definitely gave you away. “It’s pretty uncomfortable like this though.”

“Yeah.”

Minutes later, you were laying down beside Dabi, your respective faces turned towards one another. You could feel his breath brush faintly against your face from how close you were.

“Are you cold?” he asked suddenly and you nodded. It was actually pretty cold despite the fact that you were wearing his jacket and had your blanket covering most of your body. Dabi shuffled closer towards you, his hands grabbing your shoulders before he pulled you flushed against his chest. You felt your soul ascend once more.

“You’re so touchy-feely today,” you commented softly but returned the gesture anyway, wrapping your own arms around his waist.

“Yeah,” he mumbled, tucking your head under his chin. “Just missed you.”

You felt your throat go dry as your heart started to go on a rampage.

“Are you one of Twice’s clones?” you quickly asked, tilting your head up to look at him only to slam the crown of your head into the base of his jaw. “Oh, shit! Sorry.”

“Firstly, ouch. Secondly, no,” Dabi replied, looking down at your sheepish face. His eyes softened. “What makes you think that?”

“The real Dabi isn’t this sweet.”

“Oh, really?” he raised an eyebrow as he smirked.

“Yeah, real Dabi would’ve said something mean by now.”

“Well,” Dabi sighed, fingers idly playing with your hair behind your head. “Maybe real Dabi realised he literally could have died tonight without seeing you again.”

“Wh—”

“And then real Dabi actually got scared because who’s gonna keep your dumbass alive if I’m gone?”

“There he is,” you chirped, the grin slowly fading off your face when you realised he was being serious. “Really?”

“Yeah,” he mumbled before gently guiding your head back under his chin. “I’m tired. Let’s sleep.”

You closed your eyes, wondering if he could feel how fast your heart was racing. You wondered if he knew how you could feel his own equally-fast heartbeat from being pressed so firmly against his chest.

“Okay. Goodnight.”

“‘night.”

Chapter Text

“I think we should get curry rice for dinner.”

“What’s with you and curry?”

“It’s just really good, okay?” you smirked, gently running your fingers up and down the back of the hand that Dabi rested on your knee. Although you had been speaking endlessly since you’d arrived here, his eyes were consistently focused on the League just a short distance away. You felt his fingers grip your leg gently when the door of the warehouse opened, revealing Twice and a man wearing a large beak-shaped mask. “Who’s that?” you wondered.

“Apparently he’s some Yazuka hotshot,” Dabi replied, “he wants our help with something.”

“Did he say what it is?”

Dabi shook his head before turning to finally look at you. You smiled when his eyes met yours and a smile of his own flickered on his face before it was replaced with his usual expression of nonchalance. When you tore your gaze away from him and back to the negotiation occurring just within earshot, the ends of his lips curled upward as he watched your eyes squint in concentration.

You let out a huff when your attempts at eavesdropping failed before you returned your full attention back to the man beside you.

“Oh! By the way,” you said with a gasp as if remembering something important. For a moment, Dabi felt mild panic but calmed down immediately when you continued speaking. “Amari-san will be coming in today so we can’t get dinner too early.”

He hummed in reply before the both of you spent the next few minutes talking about minor things, no longer interested in the meeting between your leader and the man from the Yakuza. At least not until you heard the sound of something popping and then a chorus of gasps and screams.

Immediately, you and Dabi glanced over at the scuffle. The man with the mask was now covered in specks of blood and beside his feet laid Magne’s weapon… but where was Magne?

You inhaled sharply as a shiver shot down your spine upon realising what had happened. Dabi seemed to have the same revelation as his arm shot out protectively in front of you, his other hand held out in front of him, ready to summon his blue flames at any moment. He leaned forward, ready to jump off the crate you both were sitting on and join the fight but he felt your hands grab his arm and he froze. Dabi shot you a glance over his shoulder.

“He hasn’t noticed us yet,” you whispered, “and they don’t seem to be fighting. Don’t be rash.”

You watched his jaw tense as he gritted his teeth but he nodded and stayed behind, one hand still held up, ready to attack. The both of you watched intently as Mr Compress attempted to use his Quirk on the man but then before he could even touch him, you noticed something glinting in the air before it embedded itself into his skin. Then there was an explosion of blood and Mr Compress fell to the ground, missing an arm. You didn’t realise you were holding your breath until you’d body forced you to inhale.

What the fuck is happening?

You shuffled closer behind Dabi despite ending up obscuring your clear view of the commotion. You faint heard people speak before there was a loud crashing noise and the dim warehouse was now perfectly lit up due to the gaping hole in one of the walls. You peeked over Dabi’s shoulder and your eyes widened when they immediately met those of the Yakuza Boss. You felt a chill and nearly shivered, his eyes didn’t look quite right—they lacked what you believed to be humanity.

Dabi seemed to have noticed what happened as he curled his arm backwards and around you, pulling you flush against his back. He glared at the masked man and his team who’d conveniently made their appearance just a moment ago. The man stared back but he made no more effort to look for you and soon after, he left, leaving behind the League with one dead member and a severely wounded one.

You rushed over as fast as you could, dropping to your knees beside Twice who was cradling a bleeding Mr Compress. Your first instinct was to activate your Quirk but you’d never used it on such a major injury before— especially not one that included a missing limb.

“Help him, (Y/N)! What’re you waiting for, you bitch?” Twice pleaded. You placed your hands on Mr Compress’s skin but then you hesitated. Every cell in your body was screaming at you not to do it, that you would die the moment you tried but this… this was your job, wasn’t it? What kind of healer would you be if you couldn’t save your own teammate? You sucked in a sharp breath and—

“Stop,” Shigaraki hissed and instantly all eyes turned to him, wide and confused. “(Y/N) can’t use it on that,” he pointed at Mr Compress’s missing arm. “Her Quirk will kill her if she does.”

Twice looked at you and you nodded shamefully before pulling your hands away. Your chest ached with guilt but was also flooded with relief.

“I can still try to save him,” you said, “but all my medical supplies are at home.”

“I’ll call Kurogiri to bring us there. Why didn’t you say so earlier, woman?!”

You rose to your feet and spun around, gasping in shock when your body nearly collided with Dabi’s. You glanced up at him and felt your heart sink. His jaw was clenched and his eyebrows were furrowed as he glared down at you. For some reason, he seemed to look more sad than angry.

“Dabi, what’s wr—” you reached out to grab his hand, worried. The moment your fingers brushed against his skin, he snatched his hand away like you’d stung him. You felt your throat go dry instantly as your heart stopped.

“So that’s how it is, huh?”

“What’re you talking about?”

“You trust Shigaraki more than me?” he spat.

“Huh? Oh.” you never wanted to slap yourself more in your entire life than at that moment. “I didn’t tell him. He figured it out on his own! Dabi, trust me—”

“What if I don’t want to?”

You felt as if a part of you died. You could taste something bitter in the back of your throat that only grew stronger as you watched him turn around and leave, not even sparing you a second to reply.

That was the end of the conversation and you weren’t entirely clear on what happened next. You vaguely recalled Kurogiri appearing and sending the team to your apartment. You knew you’d managed to stop Mr Compress’s bleeding but you knew your hands moved on their own since you couldn’t remember anything during the entire process. You knew Spinner and Twice helped lay your comatose teammate on your couch to recuperate. Toga wanted to tell you something but you couldn’t hear her. Shigaraki told her to mind her own business. Twice wanted to apologise or something but Spinner pulled him away. Magne… where was she? Oh… right.

You stood in the corner of the living room, forehead resting against one of the walls as you held your phone against your ear. It was the eighth time you tried but it seemed like Dabi was adamant on staying away from you.

You were upset, confused and angry all at the same time. This was so… so childish! He knew you trusted him more than anyone but this was enough to prove him wrong? Yet, you knew your reasons for not telling him were stupid and selfish as well. Above all, however, the one thing you could not really understand was why you felt like your heart was breaking. You two had fought many times in the past and this one, in comparison, was rather mild.

“Dabi, trust me—”

“What if I don’t want to?”

You inhaled deeply and bumped your forehead against the wall, a painful twisting sensation in your chest. You pulled your phone away from your ear and hovered your finger over the “call” button once again.

Ninth time’s the charm, right?

Before you could hit it, something tapped on your shoulder. You spun around, glassy-eyed, as you realised it was Shigaraki. He stood awkwardly behind you with a bullet-shaped object held in between his fingers.

“Mr Compress was hit with this and it stopped his Quirk,” he said simply as if you weren’t on the verge of tears right in front of him, “can you analyse it or something?”

“I’m a doctor, not a fucking chemist,” you spat, words coming our harsher than you had intended.

“Hey, don’t gimme that fucking attitude just because your stupid boyfriend’s giving you the silent treatment, alright?” he retorted, jabbing your shoulder with a finger. You gritted your teeth and clenched your fists with so much force you were sure your phone was on the verge of shattering right there and then. You were fully ready to lunge towards the incessant man-child and give him a piece of your mind when—

“(Y/N)-chan!” a familiar voice called out from the other side of your front door. All of your teammates froze in place as their eyes stared in the direction of the noise. “Are you home?”

“I’m coming, Amari obaasan!” you called out in your default doctor voice. You quickly gestured for the League to get to their feet before you ushered them towards your bedroom. “Take Mr Compress!” you whispered hurriedly at Twice before he swiftly complied. “Don’t make any noise and don’t come out until I say you can, got it?” you said, only shutting the door behind you when they all responded with nods.

You quickly brushed off your clothes and dried your eyes as you made your way to the front door.

—

She spoke in her usual comforting way as you did your work.

“My godson came to visit today! Luckily he arrived a little bit before our appointment so we could have a little chat before he drove me here,” she recounted fondly. “He looked rather upset, though.” Amari-san sighed. “My poor Kai used to be so much happier when he was a child. He’s only your age and has so many responsibilities already. Poor thing.”

You hummed in response as you shot her a sympathetic smile while you tried your best not to look over at the crack in your bedroom door that you were sure you had closed just minutes before. You didn’t know much about her despite how much she shared about her life but you were always willing to listen anyway. She was perhaps the closest person you had to a parental figure your entire life so it wasn’t surprising on your end when she could tell how off you were that evening.

“What’s wrong, my dear?” Amari-san asked gently, a wrinkled hand touching the back of yours with kind tenderness. You simply stared at her, wondering if it was worth bringing it up.

“I… had a falling out with…” you bit your bottom lip, cursing internally when you felt your eyes begin to water. You wanted to quickly wipe your eyes but couldn’t since they were both preoccupied.

“Your boyfriend?”

You let out a humourless chuckle as you stared down at your glowing palms that were pressed against her knees. Even the feeling of your bones deteriorating felt like nothing compared to the ache in your chest.

“He’s not my boyfriend but, yes, he’s the person I’m talking about,” you looked sheepishly back up at Amari-san who simply smiled consolingly.

“It’s okay to cry, my dear (Y/N)-chan,” she cooed, patting your hand. You parted your lips but no words came as you started to sob, feeling hot tears rush down your face before they dripped onto your thighs. You felt so ashamed of crying like some kind of child over something so stupid but at the same time, you felt yourself relax little by little with every tear.

“There, there,” Amari-san rubbed your shoulders comfortingly. “Everything’s gonna be just fine.”

You choked out a garbled mess of words, shoulders trembling as you cried even harder.

“I-I’m sc-ared, obaasan,” you hiccuped.

“Of what, my dear?”

“Of-of—”

Your watery eyes shot open when you heard the front door slam shut. Your head whipped to the side and you swallowed thickly.

“I’m home— what happened?” Dabi let go of the bags that were in his hands to the floor, letting the various food items spill out onto the ground. He dropped to his knees in front of you and held your tear-stained face in between his hands. “Why… why’re you crying?”

Without realising you had deactivated your Quirk long ago, you held your hands over his warm ones and kept them in place, tears still flowing down your cheeks. His fear-ridden eyes stared back at you intensely as Dabi ran his thumbs over your cheeks in an attempt to dry your tears.

“Ah yes, I think I shall leave for today,” Amari-san chuckled as she stood up carefully. She grabbed her walking cane and turned towards your bedroom. “You few can come out now, you’re terrible at hiding.”

Dabi furrowed his eyebrows and looked in the direction the old lady was facing. He squinted as he watched the various League members pour out awkwardly. They followed behind your regular patient who waved goodbye to both you and Dabi; and soon, you were all alone with him.

The living room suddenly felt so small—smaller than it already was—and his hands felt so kind. Even though you’d stopped crying, Dabi still continued to brush the pads of this thumbs under your eyes, determined to dry all of them.

“Hey, don’t cry!” you clumsily wiped at his face with your hand. “Don’t you feel better already, Touya?”

He nodded with a faint sniffle.

Your Quirk was wonderful, it was so kind and gentle—unlike his that could do nothing but destroy and yet you looked at him like he was something beautiful and deserving of love. Your smile was so bright—brighter than any flame he could produce—and yet he noticed how you winced when you moved your arms behind your back. It was similar to how he winced when his own Quirk hurt him.

“Are you hurt?” he asked meekly.

“Nope!” you chirped, “I’m fine, don’t worry about me.”

“Why were you crying?” he whispered. “What happened?”

You shook your head, stopping only when his hands, which were still touching your face, held your head in place, forcing you to stop.

“Was it because of me?” Dabi asked although it sounded less like a question and more like a statement. “I’m sorry.” he leaned his forehead against yours. “I’m sorry, (Y/N).”

“No, it’s okay,” you sniffled, moving your hands away from his before you reached out to cup his hand in between your palms. “I’m sorry I made you think that I don’t trust you,” your voice broke as you spoke.

You heard Dabi inhale sharply before he pulled you into a rough embrace. He ran his fingers through your hair soothingly. You nuzzled your face into the crook of his neck as your arms wrapped themselves firmly around him.

“I-I know you trust me, I swear,” he said hurriedly, “I was just being stupid and—and jealous.” He pulled you closer when he felt you nod slowly. “You don’t have to tell me your Quirk if you don’t want to, I just—”

“No, no,” you shook your head, “I will tell you but… not now, not yet. Just trust me.” You curled further into him.

You felt Dabi’s body tense up ever so slightly but he relaxed just as quickly. You could feel his heart racing in his chest much like yours did.

“Okay,” he pressed his lips against your temple, “okay, I trust you. I love you.”

“What?”

Chapter Text

“What?”

“Nothing.” Dabi swallowed thickly, his arms loosening around you. You stared at him incredulously. His turquoise eyes looked away and although there was a hint of a scowl on his face, you could tell it wasn’t directed at you.

Within the passing of a mere second, you felt your body tense up as you experienced a wild flurry of emotions that was almost too much for your heart to handle.

Surprise. Confusion. Sadness. Indignance. Frustration. Anger.

Without thinking, you grabbed his shoulders, causing his widened eyes to dart over to your face in shock. You felt your hands tremble as you dug your fingers into his arms but yet you still made a conscious effort not to squeeze too hard; you could feel the staples underneath his thin shirt.

“If you don’t say it now,” you said with deeply furrowed eyebrows and a voice that was trembling if you listened closely enough. “I’ll never let you say it again.”

It felt like a punch to the chest. Your words were so vague but somehow Dabi understood exactly what you meant. For a short while that felt like an eternity, he simply stared back at you, unblinking and frozen in place. You stared back, also not saying a word, but then he felt your hands begin to release his shoulders ever so slowly and that was enough.

“I love you,” Dabi repeated under his breath as he brought his hand up towards your face and held his palm against your cheek. He could feel his entire body relax when you leaned into his touch, your facial expression melting into one that was much happier.

“Really?” you asked, a grin breaking out on your face— the kind that Dabi would’ve said was stupid if it wasn’t yours specifically. “Can you say it again?”

Scoffing, he rolled his eyes in an exaggerated manner. Before you could prompt him once more, Dabi pulled you back into his arms before he rolled onto his back with you laying on top of him. While you wriggled in surprise, he kissed the crown of your head.

“I love you,” he said again, wheezing at the end of his sentence after you accidentally elbowed his torso in an attempt to roll over. After a bit more struggling, you got what you wanted and was laying down on your stomach, your chest pressed against his. Your legs ended up tangled with his longer ones with your arms resting on the floor on either side of his body. It was the weirdest and most mildly uncomfortable position Dabi had ever been in but he didn’t mind anything with you.

You rested the side of your head in the crook of his neck and closed your eyes, relishing in the faint heartbeat that was a tiny bit too quick.

“Hey, guess what?” you whispered. You felt his hand run up and down your back gently as he hummed. “I love you, too.” The hand on your back stopped moving but stayed in place which happened to be the lower dip of your spine, just above your tailbone.

“Oh, really?” he asked, his chest rumbling from how he drew out his words. The sensation was much akin to that of a cat’s purr, you realised as you slowly opened your eyes, worried that you might fall asleep any second. “What does this mean, then?”

You hummed thoughtfully as if contemplating some great existential question but then you realised what was in the bags Dabi had brought home and promptly forgot what you were about to say.

Instead, you blurted, “why did you buy potatoes?”

“Huh?” Dabi’s head turned over and he snorted when he saw what you were looking at. “Well, you said you wanted curry for dinner or something, right?”

You gasped, swiftly planting the palms of your hands on the floor before you pushed yourself up. The ends of your hair ended up tickling his face as he stared at you in bewilderment.

“What’re we waiting for then? Let’s cook dinner!”

Let’s cook dinner ended up being Dabi cooking while you watched from a distance that was not advised for your safety. Neither of you spoke much during the process but you often caught one another’s gazes. You would grin every time you noticed he was looking over while Dabi would simply smirk when it was the other way around.

After forty minutes, you found yourself sitting opposite him on your small dining table as you basically scarfed down everything on your plate. You didn’t realise how hungry you were until you’d seen the dish with your own eyes. While you ate, you noticed how Dabi would push the chunks of potato off his plate and onto yours.

“If you don’t like potatoes,” you said, trying not to let the food in your mouth fall out as you spoke, “why’d you buy them?”

“You like potatoes, right?” he raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah.”

“That’s why I got them,” Dabi stated matter-of-factly. You felt your face warm up and he seemed to have noticed it as well. “I know, I’m just the best, aren’t I? I bought you potatoes, we’re basically married.”

“Shut up,” you snorted in an amused manner.

You ate a lot of potatoes that night.

After eating, you offered to clean up since he’d done all the cooking but Dabi simply scoffed and washed the dishes with you despite your protests. When that was done, you headed into the bathroom together to brush your teeth. The entire time, you felt as if your heart was especially light and you couldn’t really understand why. You’d done all this with him before: cook, eat, clean up and brush your teeth and all that boring day-to-day stuff but today it felt so incredibly different. As you climbed into your side of your bed, you wondered if Dabi felt the difference as well.

You crawled under the covers and waited for him to do the same. You watched, your face half-concealed, as Dabi pulled off his shirt and tossed it onto the floor somewhere. You felt your heart do a tiny jump. This was different, he always kept his shirt on whenever he slept over.

“Are you a pervert or something?” he asked cockily as he slipped into bed beside you. He plopped his head down on the very edge of his pillow so that his face ended up being mere centimetres away from yours. You could feel his warm breath brush against your skin and you wondered if your goosebumps appeared because of the heat or because it was him.

“Hey, you were the one who randomly took your shirt off, okay?” you responded with slight indignance although your lips formed a smile that was concealed under your blanket.

“Well, let me know if you prefer it to be on,” Dabi yawned before he pulled you towards him and pressed your body flushed against his bare skin. You tucked your head under his chin and nuzzled into his collarbone, catching the way he shivered when your lips accidentally brushed against his skin. You wrapped your arms around him loosely before you let out a yawn of your own.

You soon fell asleep before you could even say goodnight.

You woke up the next morning in a much messier position. Your arms were still around Dabi’s middle but your legs were now tangled with his, with your blanket now hanging off his side of the small bed. He had one arm underneath your head so that your cheek rested on his forearm but his other arm was resting on your hip.

Too sleepy to think, you simply nuzzled closer towards him and closed your eyes, falling back into your peaceful slumber.

When you woke up again, unsure of how many more hours had passed, you found yourself much more awake but not because of your extra rest. Dabi was gone and you could hear him speaking to someone in the living room. The other voice sounded familiar…

Gasping, you leapt out of bed and ran out of your room, nearly slamming your body into Dabi’s when you reached the front door. You nearly lost your footing but he grabbed your arms just in time. You felt your body freeze when you realised who was at your front door.

“Good morning, (Y/N)-chan!” Amari-san chirped before she walked past you and into your living room. Your eyes followed her figure as she let herself in, seemingly not bothered in the slightest that, for the first time ever since you met Amari-san, a shirtless young man had opened the door for her.

“Amari obaasan,” you stammered, shoving your hands into your tangled hair in a desperate attempt to make yourself look presentable, “I thought you were coming in at 11AM today?”

“Uh, (Y/N)—”

“My dear,” she glanced over at you from where she had situated herself on your couch with an amused smile, “it’s nearly 12PM.”

“Huh?” your head shot up and you stared, wide-eyed, at Dabi. He simply shrugged. “I’m so sorry, Amari obaachan! I’ll get to you right in a second— Dabi go wear a shirt!”

“Ah, so your boyfriend’s name is Dabi?” Amari said, clearly entertained by your minor mental breakdown. “Or is he still not your boyfriend?”

“He—”

“I’m (Y/N)’s boyfriend,” Dabi interjected before looking at you. To others, his gaze must’ve seemed stoic as ever but you could tell there was a tinge of… uncertainty?

You smiled widely at him and you could pinpoint the exact moment that hint of doubt faded away.

“Yeah, pretty boy over here is my boyfriend.”

Dabi felt his heart skip a million beats hearing his nickname and the word “boyfriend” in the same sentence like that. It was something he never really expected he would ever get to experience.

Excusing himself to get his shirt, he quickly returned to your room before a wide smile stretched across his face. He felt the staples tug at his skin from the movement but no matter how hard he tried, Dabi’s mouth just wouldn’t go back to normal.

He only returned a solid twenty minutes later. You seemed to be in the middle of lively conversation and Dabi didn’t want to intrude so he sat down silently on the floor beside you. For some reason, you were sat on your coffee table while your hands used your Quirk on Amari-san who was on the couch directly opposite you.

“I’m so glad you finally found a nice young man,” the elderly lady said, patting your hand tenderly. “To be honest, I was ready to introduce you to my godson soon if you still insisted on staying single.”

From your peripheral vision, you noticed Dabi shift uncomfortably. However, he remained quiet.

“I don’t think that would’ve been such a great idea, obaasan,” you replied, trying to keep your voice light.

“I know, I know,” she waved her hand, “that’s why I’m glad I didn’t do it sooner. I might still want to introduce my dear Kai to you, though. I think you two could work together in the future.”

“What does he do?” Dabi piped up suddenly.

“He runs a family business,” she replied simply. “I would tell you more but I think he’d do a better job at it than me,” she chuckled. You smiled in response but didn’t say anything further.

Soon after, her appointment was over and Amari-san bade both Dabi and you farewell but before she walked out your door fully, she turned around.

“Would you mind if I gave your number to Kai?” she asked.

“Oh, not at all, Amari obaasan,” you answered smoothly although your tone was clearly one of surprise. You exchanged goodbyes once more before closing and locking your front door. Once you were sure everything was secure, you spun around on your heel and gasped in surprise when you realised Dabi was standing right in front of you. He grabbed your waist quickly before you could stumble backwards.

“Oh, great,” he sighed, “now there’s another guy I have to fight off.”

“Don’t say it like that,” you laughed, rubbing his upper arms soothingly. “I won’t let him try anything funny.”

“I know you won’t,” Dabi smirked, leaning forward to press his forehead against yours. His hands trailed upward from your waist and made their way to your forearms before he pulled you close. “I’m just not sure if Kai will listen.”

“I’m pretty sure he will,” you replied softly, “but if he does, I’ll let you know, hmm?”

“You better,” Dabi purred before he closed the gap between your lips. You wrapped your arms around his neck to deepen the kiss and you could feel him smile against you. Sometimes his staples brushed against your skin but you didn’t mind—in fact, you were enjoying yourself so much that you failed to notice your phone had begun to ring.

Chapter Text

Dabi’s chest rumbled as he let out a deep chuckle, his body pressed against yours as you rested on your couch beneath him. His arms were bent, his elbows resting beside either side of your head as he propped himself up effortlessly above you. Without realising, one of your hands was cupping the side of his face while the other trailed down to his chest, your fingers gently brushing against his skin through the thin material of his plain shirt.

His kisses were gentle and patient despite how hard he had started to pant and how warm his body felt. At one point, you felt his teeth nip on your bottom lip and you squeaked in surprise before you felt his tongue run over the spot that stung like a silent apology.

Soon, Dabi pulled away for air and he smirked at your flushed and breathless state. He leaned his head back down once more and you tilted your chin slightly so that you could meet his lips again, both your hands now gripping at his loose shirt firmly.

“So eager,” he purred as he ended up merely resting his forehead against yours much to your disappointment. “I’m sorry,” Dabi brushed his lips against the tip of your nose, “we should stop for a moment, I’m getting too… excited.” He chuckled, feeling his own face heat up even more than it already was from your make-out.

“Why shouldn’t we continue?” you murmured before your eyes widened in surprise as if you hadn’t meant to say anything out loud. Dabi swallowed thickly as he stared at you in mild bewilderment. You simply gazed back with your hopeful eyes and swollen lips and he—fuck.

Dabi carefully shifted his position above you, hissing and freezing in place when he felt his groin brush against your thigh causing a shiver to run up his spine. His throat was dry and he realised he had nothing to say, his head too clouded with—

“We can do it,” you whispered, hands pulling on his shirt, pulling him down closer to you. Dabi moved with no resistance, following your every little movement and allowing you to do as you pleased. Your hands let go of his clothes as both of them moved to hold his face in between your palms, you pulled his head towards you. “We can do it if you want to… because I want to… with you,” you said, words muffled since your lips had already collided with his.

“Hey, what’s the deal, healer? I called you three times—” there was a sharp inhale and within a split second, you felt Dabi hug you against his chest with one arm as he sat up. He raised the other hand—already glowing with blue flames—towards the intruder.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” he barked, deactivating his Quirk when he realised it was just Shigaraki Tomura. He stood frozen in his place in front of a familiar-looking warp gate, with his hands in a lazy “I surrender” position. You hid your face in Dabi’s chest as you lamented how quickly and lamely your wonderful time with him was ruined.

“We’re having a meeting with I need (Y/N) but since you’re here, I guess you can come, too.” Shigaraki shrugged nonchalantly before stepping back into the warp gate behind him. It remained open, waiting for you.

“Motherfucker,” Dabi threw his head back and sighed. You pulled your face off his chest and smiled at him sympathetically. “Of all times, huh?” he tucked some loose strands of hair behind your ear, his hand lingered behind your head.

“It’s okay,” you replied, freeing yourself from his grasp before you stepped off your couch which now had a notable indent in its surface. “We can do it next time, hmm?” you offered your hand to him and he accepted it silently.

When you stepped through the warp gate, you found yourself entering a dilapidated room. It had random pieces of worn-out furniture sitting around and the floor was covered in a thick layer of dust. The windows were boarded up albeit poorly—almost all of the wooden planks were missing chunks of themselves here and there.

Dabi pulled you along behind him to a metal bed frame that had no mattress. He plopped down on it before pulling you swiftly into his lap with his arms locked around your middle and his chin resting on your shoulder. You swore you saw Shigaraki roll his eyes behind his mask as he began to speak.

He announced something about the Yakuza and blah blah but you’d lost interest early on, your eyes instead focused on Mr Compress who was sat in a chair with Giran standing by his side. In his arms held a prosthetic and you wondered if they required your assistance but before you could offer any, Dabi spoke.

“No. No way,” he said with a deep scowl on his face directed at Shigaraki who—to your knowledge—was maskless in front of the entire League for the first time.

“I don’t like it either but Overhaul insisted.”

“He already wants crazy and crazier,” his grip on your tightened ever so slightly, “why’d he ask for (Y/N), too?” You heard Twice curse as Toga let out an indignant, “hey!”

Your eyes shot over to Shigaraki who could immediately tell you hadn’t listened whatsoever.

“The Yakuza boss wants to meet you,” he explained simply.

“And I’m not gonna let him!” Dabi scoffed from behind you. “You saw that that fucker did to Magne and Mr Compress. Like hell I’ll let him come near—”

“Listen, loverboy,” Shigaraki clenched his fists by his sides, “right now, I don’t make the rules. If we want Birdface to work with us, we’re gonna have to work with him.” He sighed and his shoulders noticeably relaxed. “Just trust me. We’re gonna come out on top.”

—

When you arrived at Shie Hassaikai’s headquarters, you were initially led by a masked man through a series of corridors with Toga and Twice by your side. Halfway through, however, a separate similarly-masked individual appeared and split you up.

“Just go home, (Y/N).” Dabi clicked his tongue, his hands grasping your shoulders as he gritted his teeth. “Fuck what Shigaraki said. Just come home with me.”

As you followed the silent figure down more endless hallways, you wished you’d listened to Dabi. The entire place was cold and, for some reason, reminded you of a hospital except there were no glass panels to look into rooms, just doors along corridors that felt like one big maze.

“I’m scared of losing you, okay?” he said softly, “is that what you wanna hear? Stop being so stubborn!”

Your guide stopped in front of a door and unlocked it with a key before opening it and stepping aside.

“Overhaul will see you in a minute,” they said. You took a single step in and felt the door close behind you. You heard the sound of keys jangling and then you were locked in.

“Fine. Do what you want. Just… make sure you come back alive or I’ll kill you myself.”

Taking in a deep breath, you scanned the room and was glad to realise that it looked more like a lobby than a prison cell. There were two couches positioned in an L shape and a painting was hung on one of the walls. You took a seat on the couch facing the door before you took out your phone, surprised to notice there was a signal. It was weak but it existed nonetheless.

You noticed there was an unread message from Dabi.

FROM: PRETTY BOY

3:46PM

hey. sorry if i was kinda harsh back there. ik you don’t really have a say in whatever’s going on. just let me know when you’re out of there. i’ll just be waiting at home. i love you.

You felt your lips curl into a wide smile as you reread the message over and over again. No matter how many times you read the last three words, you felt your heart leap the same way every time.

TO: PRETTY BOY

3:48PM

it’s okay, i would be the same if our positions were swapped :) i love you, too. see you soon, pretty boy

The moment you hit “send”, you heard the door unlock. You shoved your phone into your pocket as your head shot up, your eyes meeting those of Shie Hassaikai’s Overhaul. He wore the same mask he did when you first saw him in the warehouse but you never got the chance to see the face of Magne’s killer until now.

Regretfully, you had to admit, he was not unattractive.

Regardless, you kept your guard up as he walked over before sitting down gracefully on the empty couch. He stared at you for a moment before he held out something in his hand. You glanced down at the object and furrowed your eyebrows. It was a mask in a shape similar to his except this one was smaller and smooth with a plain blackish colour.

“I believe my godmother has spoken of me.”

You felt your entire body freeze as goosebumps formed all over your skin. Your eyes widened as you subconsciously gritted your teeth. No way. There was no way he was—

“Kai?” you said softer than you’d intended. He flinched but remained composed.

“Normally I won’t let people call me that but since Godmother thinks so highly of you, I’ll let it slide this time. Please refer to me as Overhaul.”

“Why am I here, Overhaul? I can’t fight like Toga and Twice can.”

“If Shigaraki Tomura knew how to fully utilise his team then you should be, but that’s for another day.” He placed the mask on the couch beside him. “I need you to take care of a little girl for me.”

“Why does the Yakuza have a little girl?” you squinted, tasting a bitterness form in the back of your throat.

“I won’t share with you any more than you need to know,” Overhaul replied, “I asked for you because my godmother says you’re trustworthy and can be more motherly than any of my underlings are capable of being.”

“I’m guessing they don’t know how to treat children well?” you said, unable to fully hide the growing hostility in your voice. You were still downright terrified of being alone in a room with the boss of Shie Hassaikai but… how bad must they have been treating a child for them to resort to finding outsiders to care for her?

“They,” he sighed, “try but their attempts at connecting with her are often futile.”

“Let me see her.”

—

Dabi laid in your bed as he waited. His phone held dangerously close to his face as he read the message over and over again.

i love you, too. i love you, too. i love you, too.

He smiled as wide as his fucked-up stapled skin would let him as he tossed the device aside and slung an arm over his eyes. In the silence of the empty home, he could hear his own heartbeat. It was fast even when you weren’t around—just the sheer thought of seeing you soon was enough to make him feel lightheaded.

i love you, too. i love you, too. i love you, too…

“Are you okay?” a voice asked. Touya felt his trembling body jerk in surprise before he head shot up and his teary eyes met yours. He recognised you. He’d seen you in school before but you’d never spoken to each other… until now.

You stared at him for a moment, your eyes conspicuously looking at his bandaged arms and legs in a way that made him want to curl up even more. He tried to pull his legs closer to himself but winced when he felt the familiar sting from the burns that never went away.

“Can you walk?” you asked and he slowly shook his head. He’d tried earlier but gave up after his skin hurt too much.

A look of frustration appeared on your face and he felt a coldness grasp at his heart that felt like a hand threatening to squeeze the life out of it. You clenched your fists and for a split second, they weren’t yours, and he wanted to cry.

“P-please, don’t!” he choked as his eyes widened. Touya watched silently as you immediately relaxed your hands before you slowly turned around. He thought you were going to leave but instead you squatted down in front of him.

“I’ll carry you to somewhere safe,” you said, your voice clearly trembling from exhaustion. When he didn’t say a word, you turned your head around and smiled at him, “Don’t be afraid. You can trust me.”

Touya almost didn’t but the mere idea of being touched by someone in a way that didn’t hurt was too tempting to reject. So, he slowly climbed onto your back and held on tight as you struggled to stand up, your knees buckling.

When you were ready, you began walking. The movement was uncomfortable at first due to all his burns and bruises but it soon felt unbearable over time. He sniffled. He felt you tense up.

“Don’t cry,” you said. He nodded before burying his face in your shoulder. “My Quirk can heal you so you’ll feel better soon, okay?”

Touya nodded again and closed his eyes. Your hands that held him were gentle and he could tell you moved in a way that was difficult for you—especially since his legs were longer than yours—but felt better for him.

For the first time in weeks, Touya smiled.

“Thank you…” he whispered.

“Hmm?” you asked and he felt his face heat up. He tightened his arms around your neck slightly, hugging you closer.

“Thank you,” he repeated.

You became his first real friend that night as you sat by his side, your palms glowing red as you pressed them against his skin. His old bandages laid by his feet on the ground.

Touya discovered that your name was (L/N) (Y/N) and that you were, in fact, to his relief, not dating the boy he always saw you hanging out with in school. He also learned that you were kind and gentle—much like your Quirk was. Your hands felt so nice as they touched him, making his burns and bruises fade away. He was especially glad the latter disappeared, he never minded the pain very much anymore but he despised seeing the shape of his father’s hands on him.

Touya looked at you and felt his heart flutter despite how messy your hair was and how weirdly scrunched up your face had become from concentrating so hard. He looked at you and his heart began to ache as his eyes teared up once again.

“Hey, don’t cry!” you clumsily wiped away his tears. He badly wanted your hands to linger on his face longer. “Don’t you feel better already, Touya?”

He nodded with a faint sniffle, unable to tell you that he wasn’t crying because of the pain. Any discomfort he felt was long gone thanks to you but still, he couldn’t say the truth.

You smiled brightly at him as you quickly hid your arms behind your back after deactivating your Quirk. You kept them there and even winced when you moved no matter how minute the movement.

“Are you hurt?” he asked meekly.

“Nope!” you chirped, “I’m fine, don’t worry about me.”

Touya knew you were lying but yet he accepted it anyway. He didn’t want to force you to tell him anything; he didn’t want to do anything that could possibly make you dislike him in the slightest. He’d decided there and then that you were his favourite person.

You remained his favourite person even as he watched you staring at him in horror from within a bush while his father dragged him away. A part of him wished you’d come out and defend him but, at the same time, he was glad you stayed hidden because at least you were safe.

You remained his favourite person even when his father called him useless and weak because all he had to do was think of you and he felt better.

You remained his favourite person even when he ran from home and he didn’t see you at the playground you first met in despite waiting for hours.

He was sure he would never see you again and he wasn’t wrong because, one day, he did see you again; except that time he was no longer Todoroki Touya but rather—

“Dabi!” your voice rang throughout the apartment as he heard the front door slam shut. “I’m home!”

Yeah, he thought as he sat up and waited for you to find him, I am, too.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

It felt like his entire body had been violently dumped into a body of freezing water. Despite the adrenaline pumping through his veins from having just caught up with the truck transporting Overhaul; despite the way his palms were still sizzling from killing a Pro Hero; despite the hot sun blazing down on him as he stood in the middle of the highway, in the midst of the remnants of their short battle.

Everything felt cold.

Dabi whipped around, stomping his foot into Overhaul’s chest as he laid helplessly on the ground, armless and restrained. Dabi gritted his teeth so hard he could hear the sound of them grating against each other. Dabi raised an arm and ignited it in blue flames before he held it down, near Overhaul’s face.

The fallen Yakuza leader winced but remained silent in spite of the intense heat and the unbearable pain in his wounded arms.

“What did you say?” Dabi growled, eyes widened almost manically.

“She was taken away,” Overhaul spat, gritting his own teeth as his eyes bore into Dabi’s—challenging him to just end it all already. “She was too weak and couldn’t—”

“Shut the fuck up!” he dug the heel of his shoe harder into the man’s chest. He lowered his hand and increased the firepower of his Quirk but before he could kill Overhaul once and for all, a bullet whizzed past his face.

“Stop.” Amari-san stood a distance away, a pistol in her hands. Her knees were trembling but her arms and hands were immeasurably steady. Dabi furrowed his eyebrows, now enraged and confused, but he deactivated his Quirk anyway.

“He let (Y/N) get—”

“I know,” the old lady said, lowering her weapon. He realised then that there were tears rolling down her wrinkled cheeks. “I’m upset over it, as well. However, I can’t let you kill him.”

“Why not?”

“He’s my godson.”

Dabi removed his foot from Overhaul’s chest without even meaning to, as if it had moved on its own accord. He stumbled a few steps back as he felt the cogs turning in his head. Things that he didn’t understand suddenly began making sense: why Overhaul wanted you in particular; why you were so sure the members of Shie Hassaikai wouldn’t even try to hurt you; why you’d accepted his offer in the first place.

There were questions Dabi wanted to ask Amari-san but before he could even open his mouth again, he felt someone tugging at his arm. Muffled voices said they needed to go and so he followed after the blurred figures before him.

Dabi lifted his hand up and brushed his fingers against the scarred skin under his eye.

It was wet with tears.

—

“Was Eri saved?” was the first thing you asked when Aizawa Shouta sat himself across you, on the other side of the metal table that held nothing on its surface except for a file he placed upon it after coming in. His eyes widened slightly, taken aback by your question, but he nodded anyway.

“She’s under my custody for now,” he responded curtly, fingers curling underneath the cover of the yellow file before he flipped it open.

“That’s good, I had a feeling Overhaul wasn’t treating her right,” you said in a tone that was so calm it unnerved Aizawa a little but he maintained his composure nonetheless.

“You’re part of Shie Hassaikai but you had no idea what they were doing?” he furrowed his eyebrows.

“I’m not part of them,” you replied, shaking your head. “Overhaul approached me very recently and asked me to take care of Eri. I know nothing about their operations of goals.”

The Pro Hero hummed thoughtfully before he cleared his throat, his tired eyes glancing down at the numerous reports in the file in front of him. You gazed over them, as well, but gave up on trying to read anything since you couldn’t make out any of the words.

You didn’t need to, though, it was obvious enough what the file was on.

“Tensou Chiryou,” he began, reading off the first document. Already you could taste a bitterness form in the back of your throat. “Ran away from home at the age of 13,” Aizawa looked back up at you, “and you’ve been missing ever since.”

“That’s not my name anymore,” you spat, feeling your handcuffed fists clench tightly as your fingernails dug into the skin of your palms.

“Your parents are—”

“Were,” you cut him off, receiving a sharp glare in return. You shut your mouth and bit your tongue.

“They’re Tensou Hiroki and Tensou Ryouka, both Pro Heroes with their own agency,” he continued in a deadpanned tone. “Your family was relatively wealthy due to their success as Heroes and your parents were even in the process of getting you on UA’s Recommended Students list when you disappeared.”

You felt your breathing grow more erratic as your heart twisted painfully within the confines of your chest. You wanted badly to claw at it through your shirt but your handcuffs were attached to the table, restricting your movement. You bit down harder on your tongue, ignoring the metallic taste that resulted from it and the sting of broken tissue. You blinked rapidly when you felt tears beginning to form.

“You must’ve had a reason for running,” Aizawa added, his gruff voice less harsh than it had been before. He leaned forward, elbows resting on the table. “What did they do to you?”

You’d be lying if you said you weren’t taken aback.

“You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you everything,” you replied, voice sounding strained due to the tightness of your throat.

“Try me.” He sighed. “I’ve seen my fair share of corrupt Heroes, it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that they did something that forced you to escape an abusive situation.”

You felt your nose begin to burn as hot tears began running down your face. You pressed your lips into a thin line before exhaling shakily.

“Are they still looking for me?” you asked softly. Your heart felt so heavy, you just wanted to lie down.

“No,” Aizawa responded bluntly. “They stopped after a few months. If I’m not mistaken, they actually have another child now.”

You felt your breath get caught in your throat as your eyes widened. The tears were falling faster now.

“They’re preparing to enrol her into U.A.’s Hero Course next year. I saw her name on the list,” the man continued, no longer trying to hide the sympathy in his voice. He had no idea who you were and what you’d been doing all this time but as you cried in front of him, you looked so much like a lost child, it was hard not to feel bad.

“Can I ask one more thing?” you sniffled after you’d taken a minute to calm down.

Aizawa raised an eyebrow.

“I’ll tell you what they did if you let me ask this.”

“Fine,” he sighed as he shrugged his shoulders.

“What do you know about this boy named Todoroki Touya?”

—

The sound of wings flapping caught Dabi’s attention.

“What’s the deal? Didn’t we just meet yesterday?” Hawks asked, voice tinged with annoyance and a hint of curiosity.

“Remember the girl I brought with me last night?” Dabi stormed towards the Pro Hero who, instinctively, took a few steps back with his hands held up in front of him. Hawks had only met Dabi in person so many times but it was clear his present behaviour—frenzied and menacing—was unusual, a stark contrast to his usual cool and collected demeanour.

“What about her?” Hawks responded calmly.

“Her name is (L/N) (Y/N) and I need you to get her out of police custody.”

“Why—”

Dabi grabbed the shorter man’s shoulders, his intense gaze burning into Hawk’s eyes.

“Just fucking do it, will you?” he spat. “Don’t you wanna get on our good side? I’ll vouch for your trustworthiness myself to our leader if you manage to bring her back to me safely.”

The Hero’s confused expression melted into one that was borderline cocky.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

—

You laid on the bed in your cell as you stared mindlessly at the plain white ceiling above you. Although the entire floor of temporary prisoners was silent, your mind was the complete opposite.

“No body was ever found,” you recalled Aizawa telling you hours before. “So it’s not certain that he died. Interestingly enough, there used to be reports of people catching glimpses of him on the streets but as the years went by, the reports have decreased drastically. Most of the investigators on the case speculated he’s no longer in Tokyo but some came up with weird theories.”

“Like what?”

“The most popular one is that he became a Villain.”

Your fingers idly played with the hem of the jacket Eraserhead was kind enough to return you after your interrogation ended. He’d given you a weird look when he handed it over but said nothing. You hummed to yourself, replaying the information aforementioned Pro Hero shared with you over and over in your head.

There was no way that the sweet boy you met so long ago was now a Villain… right? He was so kind and gentle, there was no way he could survive in a society of Villains and yet… you’d managed to do it, hadn’t you?

“… it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that they did something that forced you to escape an abusive situation.”

You groaned loudly, rolling over to your side as your body curled inward. You closed your eyes, nuzzling your face into the collar of your jacket and imagined you were home again, in your small bed. You could almost feel the mattress dip beside you.

“I’ll only let you sleep here once,” you said the first time he stayed over. “Just because we’re friends doesn’t mean you can just use my bed whenever you want.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he mumbled, lightly smacking your shoulder, “as if you aren’t enjoying this as much as I am.”

You smiled weakly at the memory. You could tell it was from a long time ago since his scars weren’t too terrible yet—

What did his un-scarred face look like again?

You’d told him off that night, saying that you’d never like sleeping beside him and that actually you hated it since his stupidly long legs took up so much space. Dabi smirked the entire time you rambled because he knew he was right—and he knew that you knew it, too.

Biting your lip, you cursed inwardly when you felt your heart sink. Your hand that had been resting palm-down beside you clenched the stiff bedsheet tightly as your eyes slowly fluttered open. A part of you prayed that when your vision was clear, you’d see his stupidly handsome face just an inch away from yours and that you’d feel his stupid hand holding yours.

Somehow, despite knowing exactly where you were, you felt an inkling of disappointment when your wishes did not come true.

—

Dabi couldn’t remember coming home but he did remember grabbing one of your shirts on the way to your bedroom. He’d slumped onto your bed and held the clothing against his chest and smiled when he imagined you calling him weird for liking how it smelled.

“You smell my jacket, too, you pervert,” was what he would’ve said in a disgusted tone despite how his heart would flutter weirdly whenever he imagined you doing it.

Dabi closed his eyes and sighed, feeling the exhaustion from today finally settle in. Despite his sore muscles and swollen eyes, sleep felt unreachable because he knew you weren’t beside him, safe and sound. He reached a hand over to your side of the bed and slowly clenched his fist, grabbing and holding onto a portion of the bedsheet in the process.

Dabi waited for you to pull his hand away before you crawled underneath his arm and snuggled against his chest. He told himself he wouldn’t sleep until you did so.

He fell asleep alone anyway.

Chapter Text

“Oneesan! I made more friends today and there’s one girl who is sooo pretty like oneesan!” Eri chirped, her hands touching your face aimlessly. Her beautiful red eyes were no longer the same dulled ones you saw when you first met her and her arms were free of bandages, instead now covered by the long sleeves of a cute little dress.

“Oh, really?” you replied, feeling your heart swell and your lips tug into a smile as you watched her nod excitedly. “Eri-chan has so many friends now,” you continued, tucking loose strands of her hair behind her ear, “oneesan is jealous.”

A quick, faint exhale caught your attention, your eyes darting briefly over to Aizawa Shouta who sat in the corner of the room, watching over the both of you. He sat with his arms crossed but his lips held the shadow of what looked like a fond smile. You promptly returned your attention to the little girl on your lap and resisted the urge to close your heavy, burning eyelids.

“Oneesan can come to U.A. tomorrow and see my friends!” Eri gasped, turning around to face Aizawa. “Right? Oneesan can come with us, right?”

You swallowed thickly, feeling your already heavy heart grow heavier with every beat. You placed a hand on each of Eri’s shoulders and she turned back around in response, her wide eyes gazing straight into yours with a childlike innocence you never really had the pleasure of experiencing.

“I don’t know Eri, I might be busy tomorrow,” you released an exaggerated sigh. She frowned and furrowed her eyebrows before she reached forward and rested her hands on your shoulders. She slowly leaned towards you before pressing her forehead gently against yours.

“But you’re my favourite oneesan! Can you come to U.A. with met next time, then? I want everyone to be together.” Eri stared at you with great anticipation. You smiled and pulled her into a hug, feeling your heart grow lighter as you felt her nuzzle into the crook of your neck.

“I will, Eri-chan,” you replied softly, rubbing your hand up and down her back. “I’ll go with you soon.”

“Really?”

“The offer still stands, y’know?” Aizawa said as he sat on the other end of the metal table. This time, he didn’t bring in any files. “You don’t have a criminal record and your Quirk can be useful for the students and teachers.”

He stared at you with a deadpanned look that you weren’t sure was a result of his apathy or exhaustion. You returned the gaze, not having broken eye-contact even once since he came in.

The last time you saw him was four days ago.

“An added bonus is you’ll get to be with Eri,” Aizawa continued, his eyes visibly softening at the mention of the girl’s name. “I’m not sure exactly what relationship you two have but it’s clear she’s fond of you. Personally, I’d prefer if her heart wasn’t broken.”

You clicked your tongue, the last sentence striking a nerve.

“I’ve already told you, I won’t.”

“Why’s that?”

“You’ll roll your eyes if I tell you the reason,” you said, unable to help the smirk that appeared on your face.

The Pro Hero rolled his eyes anyway.

“It’s a man, isn’t it?”

You snorted, looking down at your lap. You nodded slowly before your eyes met his once again.

“As stupid as it sounds, you’re correct,” you sighed heavily, feeling some tension leave your stiff shoulders. “What we’re doing might be deemed immoral or evil, even, but…” you unknowingly began playing with the chains of your handcuffs as you bit your lower lip, “he makes me feel safe and brings me happiness that I know I won’t be able to find elsewhere.”

The man across you let out a sigh of his own that sounded more defeated than condescending—if sighs could even convey such feelings.

“Whatever the case is, I’ll just let you know, as long as you don’t commit any crimes, the offer—

—still stands.”

“Huh?” your head shot up, tired, bloodshot eyes meeting those of Aizawa’s. He was standing by the door of your cell. You looked around, confused, before remembering you’d said your goodbyes to Eri just a moment ago.

“I said, the offer still stands,” he repeated, scratching the back of his neck. “You can be with Eri if you just take up the offer. It’s a rare opportunity to turn over a new leaf.”

“I…” you sighed, leaning your head back as you closed your eyes, wishing you could finally sleep after all your wakeful nights. “I’ll think about it,” you lied, flashing the Hero a curt smile.

Aizawa turns to leave but before he could close the door behind him completely, a man in a guard’s uniform rushed over and whispered something to him. You laid down on your bed and closed your eyes once again, silently hoping it was nothing so you could at least try to sleep after nearly six nights of endless tossing and turning.

Unfortunately, you heard footsteps approach you before you forced your eyelids open once again.

“Are you sure about this, Hawks? What you’re asking for is not a small matter.”

“Hey, I didn’t know your real name was Tensou Chiryou,” the winged-man said when you entered the unfamiliar room. It didn’t look like a cell, it was far too cozy and spacious.

“It’s not anymore,” you replied warily as you rubbed your freed wrists.

“I understand but this is a huge step in gaining Dabi’s trust. I’ve only seen them together once but it’s clear as day how important she is to him.”

“Well,” Hawks stood up, “let’s get going.”

“What?”

“That is… interesting, I’ll admit, but still, I need more than that.”

“I’ve been assigned to personally escort you out of prison,” he replied with a smug look on his face as he waltzed out of the room. There were no guards present.

You followed after him.

“I also believe I can convince her to be a spy for us, too. I don’t think she knows exactly what goes on with the League. Dabi’s let slip once or twice that she’s mostly uninvolved with their operations.”

“I don’t understand,” you said as the first guard you encountered since seeing Hawks handed you back your personal belongings—a phone and your keys.

The Pro Hero leaned in beside you, his hot breath brushing against your cheek. You could feel his messy hair tickle the side of your face as your skin suddenly felt warm.

“I’m using my influence over the Commission to do your heartbroken boyfriend a huge favour,” he whispered. “Would you prefer if I didn’t?”

“Really?”

“Hell no.”

“Good. Let’s go, shall we?”

“Definitely. I’m sure I can get her to switch sides if I reveal what he’s done in the name of the League. If not, at least I can gain her trust and gain more information.”

Hawks drove and you sat in the passenger’s seat. Neither of you spoke and you found yourself watching the building you were held prisoner in disappear in the rearview mirror of his expensive-looking car.

“In that case, I will consider your request… but if she learns where your true loyalties lie—”

Hawks glanced over at you occasionally but your eyes stayed glued on the window on your end. He noticed how your fingers played with the tattered hems of the worn-out jacket on your shoulders. It looked vaguely familiar to him.

“Never sat in a car like this before?” he asked casually.

“No,” you replied without tearing your eyes away from the blurred view. “I don’t think I’ve ever even rode in a car before.”

He hummed thoughtfully

“I know. I’ll take care of her.”

“Make yourself at home,” the Pro Hero said as the elevator door opened smoothly in front of you. “I’ll bring you home shortly but I just thought you might wanna freshen up before you two have your heartwarming reunion,” he said, walking backwards into his penthouse as he released an exaggerated sigh, his hands clutched in front of his chest.

“Shut up,” you clicked your tongue but smiled anyway, stepping out of the elevator.

“I have clean clothes in the guest bedroom and you can use the shower there if you want,” Hawks said, pointing towards a corridor. “You’re my present to Dabi so make sure you look pretty.” He winked.

You took up his offer but not before exploring the luxurious guest bedroom first. It was huge, nearly the size of your entire apartment, and it had a large window overlooking the bustling city far below. There was the occasional modern artwork hung on the walls but not so many that it was pretentious. On the bed sat an array of different types of clothing—it seemed as if he wasn’t sure of what to get so he just got a little bit of everything.

Being rich sure seemed fun.

It took you an hour in total to shower and get dressed. Normally you would’ve been in and out of the bathroom within fifteen minutes but, fuck, was it the prettiest washroom you’d ever stepped foot in. And the shampoo smelled so nice you couldn’t help but wash your hair twice just to relish in its sweet scent.

Afterward, you spent an embarrassing amount of time choosing your outfit. If your conscience allowed it, you would’ve just taken everything with you but, alas, that wasn’t the case. Thus, for the first time in your life, you took time to actually pick out the nicer pieces without having to worry about the price.

A thought that frequently entered your mind whenever you laid your eyes on a certain piece of clothing, strangely enough, was, I wonder if he’ll think it looks nice on me.

When the answer was finally a resounding “yes”, you left the room and promptly discovered Hawks sprawled out on his couch, not even watching TV. He looked up when you approached him and his eyes widened slightly. Hawks coughed.

“I had a couple of nice jackets in there, why didn’t you take any of those?” he asked, standing up and stretching.

You pulled the jacket closer and shrugged.

“I just like this one too much.”

“Different strokes for different folks, I guess,” he replied nonchalantly with a wink. You nearly wondered out loud if he had a medical condition or something but stopped yourself before it was too late.

He had done you a huge favour, anyway.

—

“You know you don’t have to walk me to my own home right?” you said as you stood beside the Pro Hero in the elevator you were so familiar with.

“I know,” he replied coolly, “I just need to prove to Dabi that I got him his girl back.”

“You seem awfully motivated in getting on his good side,” you raised an eyebrow as you glanced up at him.

“Well, he’s not the easiest to befriend,” Hawks responded, adding a wink when he noticed you were staring.

“Do that again and you’ll be on his bad side.”

“Got it.”

The elevator jolted to a halt before the doors opened noisily. You listened to your own rapid heartbeat as you walked out and into the hallway. Hawks followed closely behind you.

“He hasn’t slept, y’know?” the man said out of the blue right before you reached your apartment door. “I think he keeps picking at one of his staples, too, because it looks like it might fall out.”

You felt your heart wrench as you bit your tongue harshly.

You then dipped your hand into the pocket of Dabi’s jacket, feeling your fingertips brush against your cold metal keys. Before you could pull them out, however, the front door swung open.

Dabi cursed under his breath as he pulled you into a bone-crushing hug as he pressed his nose into your hair, inhaling deeply while his heavy eyelids fluttered closed. You wrapped your arms around him and felt your heart sink when you realised he was a tiny bit skinnier. He lifted you off the ground before he took a few steps back into your home, his lips now pressed against the crown of your head.

“Well, looks like my work here is done,” Hawks declared from behind you. “Use protection, kids.”

There was the sound of your door slamming shut.

Dabi pulled away, his hands running down your arms before he held yours in his. He looked down at you, frazzled and wide-eyed, as if he couldn’t believe you were actually there in front of him. You felt him rub his thumbs over the back of your hands and you smiled up at him, feeling your eyes burn as tears started to form.

“Hi,” you whispered, “I’m home.”

“Finally,” Dabi pulled you towards him and captured your mouth with his. He nipped and licked at your lips hungrily as he let go of your hands so that he could cup your face tenderly. He ran his thumbs under your eyes, wiping away the tears that had begun to fall.

“Missed me?” you panted lightly when he finally pulled away to breathe. He brushed the tip of his nose against yours as he leaned forward, forehead resting against your own.

“So much.” He smiled. “I’m literally never letting you out of my sight ever again.”

BONUS: 

You were resting on top of him, your temple against his chest, when Dabi pushed you up into a sitting position so that you ended up straddling him instead. His eyes scanned over you from head to toe before he furrowed his eyebrows.

“They give you such nice clothes in prison?” he asked, one hand idly playing with the hem of your new shirt.

“Hawks gave them to me after I showered at his place.”

Dabi frowned and clicked hid tongue loudly, his hands travelling to your thighs. He grabbed them firmly before sitting up. You instinctively reached out to hold onto his shoulders so that you wouldn’t fall backwards.

“You showered at his house?” he huffed and rolled his eyes when you nodded meekly in response. Dabi then leaned in closer, his lips brushing against your cheek as he said in a low voice, “I hate seeing you in these clothes.”

You felt your heart start to pound in your chest as you felt his hands inching further up your thighs. He tugged at your waistband with his index fingers.

“Then take them off, pretty boy,” you whispered into his ear.

He shuddered.

Chapter Text

Your heavy eyelids fluttered half-open, still sensitive to the bright sunlight that poured in from the gaps in your dusty curtains. You were laying face-down as you lifted your hand and patted the space beside you until you made contact with warm skin. Curling your arm around his middle, you pulled yourself towards Dabi. Nuzzling into the crook of his neck, you basked in the heat he gave off.

“Morning,” he groaned, rubbing his eyes. His chest rumbled as he spoke and you smiled, finding the sensation to be more satisfying than you anticipated. Dabi gently scooped you onto his arms, pulling you on top of him, and hugged you closely, the side of your face now resting on his chest as you intertwined your legs with his.

“Good morning,” you replied sleepily as you stretched your stiff limbs. You felt your leg brush against his groin in the process and your eyes shot open when a choked moan slipped past his lips.

He’s still naked, you finally realised.

“Shit, sorry,” you spluttered, propping yourself up above him with your arms resting on either side of his body. Dabi’s eyes were widened slightly as they trailed down from your face to your chest which was poorly covered due to the fact that you were wearing his thin, v-cut shirt. “Hey!” you attempted to sound peeved but failed when an amused smile stretched across your face.

“Sorry, kitten,” he purred, pulling you back down onto his body, his lips brushing against your earlobe. You felt his finger tug at the waistband of your—his—boxers and a shiver rushed down your body. “You like that, huh, kitten?” Dabi chuckled, his chest rumbling against yours.

“At least I last long enough to enjoy it,” you shot back smugly in spite of the redness growing on your face and the heat pooling in between your legs. “I’m surprised though,” you continued, pressing a kiss onto his bare chest all whilst maintaining eye contact with him, “I thought you’d have better stamina than that.” The man beneath you squinted indignantly.

“Hey, it’s not my fault that was my first time,” he admitted almost shamefully and you felt a tinge of guilt in your chest. Sure, you wanted to be annoying but you didn’t intend to embarrass him in such a way.

“It was my first time, too,” you shared without skipping a beat, inching forward so that your lips almost touched his as you rested your head near his collarbone. You felt one of his hands idly rub your back while the other trailed upwards. He brushed aside stray strands of hair that had fallen over your face and smiled tenderly.

“I wasn’t expecting to hear that,” Dabi replied, unable to fully hide the delight in his voice no matter how hard he tried.

“Me neither,” you responded, running your hands up and down his arms, slowing down whenever your fingertips brushed against a staple. “I thought you would’ve had loads of experience by now.”

“Well,” he sighed, chest rising and falling sharply, “not a lot of people are willing to have sex with the most hideous man alive.”

“But we’re not talking about him,” you replied, “we’re talking about you, the prettiest boy I’ve ever laid my eyes on.” You pressed a quick kiss against his lips, your smile only faltering ever so slightly when you felt something twitch near your leg.

You couldn’t resist squealing when Dabi proceeded to flip you over, pinning you beneath him with his hands holding onto each of your wrists firmly but carefully. He gazed down at you, eyes clouded with lust as he slowly ground the naked lower half of his body against yours. You felt your breath hitched as you watched him slowly lean down towards you.

“Fuck, kitten, that went straight to my dick,” he whispered heavily into your ear. “Now that I’ve gotten some practice, wanna test out my stamina again?”

To your utter pleasure and surprise, it did get a lot better.

Three hours later you found yourself walking down the shadier streets of Kamino, your arms wrapped around one of Dabi’s. You’d told him it was because you simply liked touching him—which was true—but mostly it was due to the fact that your knees weren’t too steady after all of your… activities.

You leaned your temple against his arm as you strolled beside him. You never felt safe doing any kind of shopping in this district since it was run mostly by criminals and Villains but now that Dabi was here, for the first time, you felt at ease.

“What’d you say you wanted to get again?” he asked, voice slightly muffled by the mask he wore to cover the lower half of his face while his eyes were concealed by a pair of sunglasses. Dabi glanced down at you briefly and you couldn’t help but flash him a smile.

“I want some new clothes,” you replied, pulling his arm closer to your chest, “my old shirts and jeans are getting too worn-out.”

“Why don’t you just wear whatever Hawks got you?” he asked with the slightest hint of bitterness in his voice.

“I only took one set of clothing,” you rolled your eyes, “I can’t wear the same thing every single day.”

Dabi hummed in response.

After a little more walking, you both entered a rather large clothing shop. The moment the front door closed behind you, Dabi took off his sunglasses while you removed the mask from your face. It was the one that Overhaul had given you a while back although you never bothered to put it on until now. You needed to cover your face a little and, to be fair, it looked pretty cool.

Your boyfriend trailed after you as you looked through the various assortment of clothes while he held your mask for you. He was mostly uninterested the entire time, simply giving his opinions only when you asked for them—though you stopped at some point since Dabi seemed to always give the same answer: “you look good in anything, kitten.”

You offered to buy him some clothes, as well, since he often burned them beyond repair.

“It’s fine, I don’t need anything new,” he said, giving you a reassuring smile.

“Are you sure? I have enough money, I can get you—”

“(Y/N),” he warned teasingly, poking your forehead with his index finger. “I said I’m good.”

A short while later, you were in the midst of deciding between two similar-looking dresses when you felt a hand tap your shoulder excitedly. Turning around, you felt your face warm up when you saw Dabi standing proudly in front of you with the skimpiest dress you’d ever seen in your entire life. It didn’t even look like it was meant to be worn in public.

“I’m not getting that!” you spluttered, averting your gaze away from the overly-sexy article of clothing.

“Why not?” he shoved it closer to you as you took a step back, embarrassed.

“I’m never gonna wear that in public, Dabi!”

“Who said you were gonna wear this in public?” he raised an eyebrow, feigning an innocuous look, betrayed only by the way his eyes had clouded over again like it had in the morning in bed.

You furrowed your eyebrows and exhaled deeply, unable to reject his offer because, frankly, you quite liked the idea he was proposing. You snatched it out of his hands and dumped it into your basket before anyone else could catch a glimpse of it.

“Thank you, kitten—” Dabi leaned forward to give you a kiss but you raised a hand to stop him. His lips collided with your palm before he quickly pulled away with a slight scowl on his face.

“I’ll only get it if you let me buy you some clothes,” you said firmly, smiling when he silently grabbed your hand and led you in the direction of the men’s section.

The next place you went to was a relatively large supermarket. It was the kind that pretty much sold a little bit of everything for some reason. You’d visited it often enough that when you entered, the boss of the family-owned establishment gave you a polite smile which you returned. As you walked past him, you felt Dabi slide his hand into your back pocket as he pulled you closer while you continued walking.

“You don’t have to do that all the time, y’know?” you glanced up at him. “It feels really nice but you don’t have to worry so much about other people when we’re together.”

“I’m still gonna do it.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because it makes you feel nice, right?” he responded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. You wanted to retaliate and tell him that wasn’t the point but… it really did feel nice. Instead, you smiled to yourself and slid a hand into his back pocket as well.

You spent lesser time in the supermarket than you did in the clothing store since you almost always bought the same few things anyway. While you were waiting for the cashier to scan all your items, though, you noticed some items that you weren’t quite as familiar with as your other products. Your eyes widened as your head whipped around and you glared at Dabi. While you couldn’t see his face, you could tell he had the biggest shit-eating grin of all time.

“Why did you take so many?” you whisper-shouted at him, referring, of course, to the five boxes of condoms in your basket.

“I got lube, too,” he snickered, obviously very pleased with himself.

You inhaled sharply.

“And also this vibrating ring thing for my di—” smack. “ouch.”

You refused to speak to him for the rest of your day out since the only thing on your mind was how there were condoms and sex toys sitting alongside your groceries and other essential household items in the bags he held for you. The look the cashier gave you was burned into your memory, as well, and you wanted nothing more than to just curl into a ball and die.

The longer you ignored him, however, the harder it got. Dabi would tug at your shirt, hook a finger to your waistband, play with your hair and other mildly annoying things like that in an attempt to get your attention. Unfortunately for him, your resolve was firmer than he had anticipated.

“(Y/N),” he whined, “stop being mad. Just imagine how much fun we’re gonna have.” Dabi grabbed your hand and held it near his lips before he pressed a tender kiss to the back of it. “Kitten, c’mon, you’re breaking my poor little heart here. Do you wanna see me cry? I can cry right now, watch—”

You stopped dead in your tracks, looking in the direction of an old, run-down bookstore just across the street. The way the orange light from the setting sun hit your face made Dabi’s heart skip a few beats. Even when you were upset at him, you looked like the most beautiful thing in the world.

“Wait here for a minute,” you said curtly, tearing your hand out of his grasp abruptly; out of habit, his hand briefly reached out for yours before dropping back to his side. He simply watched as you jogged across the road and disappeared into the bookstore, his lips parted slightly. He wanted to follow after you but found that he valued your instructions over his own instinct, after all, he was still trying to get back on your good side—and that seemed to be the case when you returned to his side.

You left the store after a few minutes, beaming as you held a book in your hand. When your eyes met his, Dabi knew he’d been forgiven—your excitement in sharing your new purchase outweighing the petty feud you’d had with him just moments ago. You held the book up and showed him the cover with a proud look on your face.

THE FORGOTTEN CHILDREN

The stories behind Tokyo’s most infamous child disappearances.

Dabi raised an eyebrow quizzically before he slowly held out his free hand. You took it almost instantly and the both of you continued your journey home.

“I found out about this book when I was in prison,” you said, eyes scanning the back of it, “I think—” you stopped abruptly, tearing your eyes away from the synopsis as your grip on his hand tightened almost frighteningly.

“What’s wrong?” Dabi asked, his own eyes instinctively glancing over to the words that had caused you so much distress. You quickly pulled it against your chest and looked at him, your mortified expression melting away.

“It’s nothing,” you lied through your teeth. “I just got scared for a moment that I’d gotten the wrong book but it’s fine! This is the correct one.”

Dabi didn’t believe you for a second but you looked at him with such sheer desperation for him to believe your explanation that he couldn’t bear to push any further. If you didn’t want to tell him, it must’ve been for a good reason. He nodded and you visibly relaxed although you kept the book close to your chest for the rest of the way home.

Half an hour later, you exited the elevator in your apartment building, swinging your linked hands idly as you walked. Neither of you had spoken since the book incident but you looked at him with a smile every time he glanced at you and you blushed whenever he smiled back—you had begun to return to your usual self so Dabi couldn’t complain.

What he could and would complain about, though, was the box sitting in front of your door with a note sitting on top of it. You brought it in with you before setting it down on your coffee table so that you could put away your groceries first. While you were gone, Dabi removed his glasses and mask before he picked up the note. Almost immediately, he felt a wave of annoyance and bitterness wash over him.

Hey ;)

i saw your phone was pretty old and crappy so i decided to give you this one! it’s the newest model around and i already added my number inside so call me if you wanna : >

Hawks

“Who’s it from?” you asked, wiping your hands on the front of your shirt as you exited the kitchen and made your way towards Dabi. The edges of the note had begun to turn brown before you quickly snatched it out of his smoking fingertips. “What’re you doing?” you clicked your tongue.

“I just—” he rubbed his face roughly in frustration. “I feel like he’s trying to rub it in.”

Your eyebrows knitted in worry as you reached out to touch his arm, guiding his hand away from his face.

“Don’t do that, you might pull a staple out by accident,” you said softly. “What’s Hawks’ trying to rub in?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Dabi sighed, his hardened gaze softening when he realised you really didn’t know what he was talking about. There was a dull, aching sensation in his chest. “He can give you so much more than I can. He’s filthy rich, good-looking, famous—”

You reached up and cupped his face, your thumbs running gently over his lips. He simply watched as you touched him with such careful, loving hands. Your palms were so soft, as was the way you looked at him. When his eyes met yours, you smiled.

“My pretty boy,” you cooed, rubbing the pads of your thumbs over the staples that lined his face, “you’re forgetting the most important thing.” You stood on your tippy-toes and pulled him in for a kiss. You copied the way he’d done it before; you nipped and licked at his lips, feeling his body relax slump forward, his forehead resting against yours. “I love you and not him,” you said breathlessly after pulling away for air, “if I wanted to be with him, I wouldn’t even be here.”

“Promise?” he whispered, his tone so unlike the laid-back and collected one he usually had. He sounded scared, almost; and it made your heart ache. You’ve done nothing but love him and yet, in that moment, it was clear how you needed to put in more effort to convince him that your love was true.

It was effort you were wholeheartedly willing to give.

“I promise,” you replied before capturing his lips with yours once again. Dabi returned it fervently, pressing his mouth firmer against yours as he struggled to establish some kind of dominance. Your gentle kiss turned into a heated one as he nibbled and pulled at your lips, licking at the spots he bit too hard after you whimpered in discomfort. His hands ran down your back and past your butt before he proceeded to grab the back of your thighs.

“Jump,” Dabi murmured as he pulled away for a split second, only to dive back into it straight away. You did as you were told before he secured your legs around his waist while he held you up. You wrapped your arms around his neck and deepened the kiss even further, drawing a deep moan out of him that made your heart feel like flying.

The both of you began to pant, becoming breathless from the passionate make-out session. One of your hands pulled his shirt up so that you could run your fingers over his firm chest. You traced the line of staples you had so carefully attached to his body so long ago, smirking against his lips when you felt him shiver from your touch.

“Can we—?” he gasped, “I wanna make love to you… please—”

“Yes,” you nodded impatiently, already feeling the immense heat pooling in between your thighs. You held onto Dabi’s shoulders tighter when he started to walk towards your bedroom but then there was a knock on your door.

Chapter Text

“I didn’t want to implicate you any further than I already have,” Amari-san said with a heavy sigh, the tea you had offered her sitting untouched in the coffee table. Beside her was someone you never expected to see again. He was wearing a normal black face mask this time with plain clothes, his face was pale and there was a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead. “But when his wounds got infected, I was desperate,” the old woman continued, sparing a glance at Chisaki who hadn’t spoken since you invited them both in.

You were seated in your worn-out armchair that sat opposite your couch. It was often covered with half-worn clothes and discarded magazines so it felt a bit strange to be sitting in it again; especially since Dabi was resting on the armrest with his arms crossed, glaring straight ahead at the leader of the Shie Hassaikai.

“How long do you need him to stay here?” you asked, eyes flickering over to the suitcase that sat by Amari-san’s feet. She claimed it contained Chisaki’s prosthetics that he never got to try due to the condition of his arms.

“A few days at most,” she replied confidently, “I just need a little bit more time to find a permanent place for him to stay.”

You glanced up at Dabi and nudged his thigh, prompting him to focus his attention on you. You raised an eyebrow and he shrugged. This decision was yours to make in its entirety.

You looked at Chisaki, he was breathing heavily and his eyelids were half-lidded. He stared back at you and you wished you never spared him a glance because of pitiful the man looked. It was hard to believe this was the same person whom you had no qualms with regarding as one of the most dangerous men in Japan when you first met. Now, he was basically Quirkless.

Biting your lip, you sighed deeply and made your decision.

—

Your hands trembled as you placed the moist towel carefully on his forehead. He watched you silently with tired eyes, his lips parted slightly as he breathed through his mouth. You offered him a small smile but his only response was to avert his gaze.

“Sleep,” you said, draping a spare blanket you had taken out over him. “Thanks to my Quirk, your wound should be clear from any infection but you still need to rest before we can let you try on your prosthetics.”

Chisaki nodded silently before his eyes fluttered shut.

Taking a seat in your armchair, you looked across the living room and glanced briefly at your bedroom door. Dabi went in shortly after Amari-san left and that had been roughly an hour ago so you assumed he was already asleep. Deciding that it wouldn’t hurt to stay outside with Chisaki for a while longer, you picked up the book you purchased and flipped it open.

Part I: Kuuhaku Ryouta

… Interestingly enough, the case of Kuuhaku Ryouta’s disappearance is the only one featured in this book that has evidence which highly suggests a kidnapping rather than a runaway.

“Ryou-kun! Are you sure I can come over to your house after school? Won’t your parents get mad?”

“Of course they won’t! They love having you around.”

… Kuuhaku Ryouta was 14 years old when he disappeared. The only son of the Pro Heroes, Kuuhaku Hisao and Kuuhaku Akane—or better known by their Hero names Spear and Shield respectively—they spared no expense in funding the search for him…

“Kuuhaku-san… why hasn’t Ryouta come to school?”

“He… he’s not feeling well, Chiryou-chan. I promise when he’s better, you’re the first person that can see him.”

… Several eye-witnesses have claimed to see him get “engulfed in a blackish substance” that came out from his mouth. However, when questioned again about what they had seen, most of the witnesses denied ever seeing such a thing. The others who were able to provide more information died from mysterious circumstances over the course of the week following his disappearance…

“Ryou-kun!”

clink!

“Ryou-kun!”

clink!

“Wake up!”

“Chiryou-chan! What are you doing?!”

“Kuuhaku-san, I just wanted to see him—”

“By throwing rocks at his window? When did you become so rude?! We already said he can’t see you! What don’t you understand?!”

“I-I’m sorry, Kuuhaku-san—”

“Just… just go home Chiryou and don’t come back here ever again.”

“But—”

“Ryouta doesn’t want to see you.”

The first part of the book ended with a collection of photographs his parents provided. You traced over each of them with your finger, unable to tear your eyes away from the face of the boy you hadn’t thought of for so long.

A feeling of guilt welled up inside of you when you realised how quickly you’d forgotten about him after you heeded the words of his parents. He was your dearest friend and he was so gentle and kind—being in his presence at school was what you found solace in after your parents had begun taking advantage of your Quirk—and yet…

You dug your nails into the book as you clenched it tightly while you gritted your teeth. Your eyes began to water as the inside of your nose started to sting.

I’m sorry, Ryou… I’m sorry…

You took a deep breath and blinked away your tears. Although the ache in your heart remained, you reminded yourself why you were so ready to put yourself through this torture in the first place. You’d seen the three names at the back of the book when it was still wrapped in plastic. You could’ve chosen not to read it but yet…

How strange, you thought to yourself. You’d picked up this book after learning from Aizawa that it could help you find Touya but now that you’d finished one-third of it, you found yourself dealing with more questions than answers; especially when you flipped to the next page.

Part II: Tensou Chiryou

You chuckled to yourself humourlessly, wondering if it would be narcissistic of you to read about your own story. Before you could come to any conclusion, however, you were jolted out of your thoughts by the sound of your current patient groaning uncomfortably. You peeked over your book and saw Chisaki writhing underneath his blanket, his face contorted in agony as he gritted his teeth.

You rushed over to his side and quickly checked his wounds only to realise they were perfectly fine—they were almost completely healed, in fact.

“P-please…” Chisaki choked, “don’t…”

The realisation of what was actually happening hit you like a truck.

“Hey, it’s okay,” you said, gently grabbing his shoulders to shake him awake. “It’s just a nightmare, Chisaki.”

His eyes shot open as they darted around the room frantically before settling on your face. He sat up and heaved erratically, body trembling as his chest rose and fell rapidly.

“Don’t touch me!” Chisaki suddenly snapped, waving one of his arms in the way that suggested he wanted to either push you away or overhaul you but he cursed when he remembered his predicament. You let go of him anyway. “Don’t ever touch me with your filthy hands ever again! All of those in the League are scum—”

“Watch your mouth, hotshot,” a familiar voice warned from across the room. Both of your heads snapped to the side to see Dabi standing underneath your bedroom doorway. “(Y/N)’s basically a saint for letting you stay so you better keep your mouth shut or else.”

Rendered speechless, Chisaki laid back down but kept his eyes open and glued to the ceiling. He was either deep in thought or trying to ignore your existence, you weren’t quite sure which one it was but you silently laid the blanket over him again before standing up.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” Dabi sighed as he nodded his head towards your bedroom behind him. “C’mon,” he continued before a shit-eating grin spread across his face, “kitten.”

You clicked your tongue, feeling your face warm up before you quickly grabbed your book and made your way into the room, shutting the door behind you.

“Don’t call me that around other people!” you chided, slapping his chest as he chuckled.

“Yeah, well,” Dabi pulled you into his arms, “I gotta establish some form of dominance now that Mister Yakuza Boss is here.”

“By calling me a kinky pet name?” you said incredulously. He nodded. “Unbelievable!” You gently pushed him away before plopping into bed, book still in hand. Dabi crawled in after you—or over you, rather— and started kissing your collarbone as he trapped you underneath him.

“Let’s continue what we started, kitten,” he purred, lowering himself so that he could grind his hips into yours while his lips made their way up the side of your neck. He whined softly when you grabbed his face and detached him from yourself.

“I’m sorry you’re horny but,” you pecked his pouting lips, “I really wanna read my book.”

“Oh, kitten, you’re breaking my heart,” Dabi sighed dramatically before he rolled off of you before scooting closer. “If you’re gonna choose a book over me, at least lemme know what it’s about.” He rested on his side and pulled you closer to him so that his cheek pressed against yours.

“It’s about these three real missing children cases,” you responded, flipping to the page you last stopped at. “They all happened within a few years of one another and I originally got this because I met one of them when I was younger.”

Dabi felt his heart stop as a chill ran down his spine. If you noticed his body tense up, you didn’t mention it since you simply continued speaking.

“But it turns out, I basically know all three of them. How wild is that?” you turned to look at him. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” he coughed before nuzzling his face into the crook of your neck in a subconscious effort to seek some comfort as his heart raced almost painfully in his chest. “How… how do you know all of them?”

“Well,” you turned to the last few pages of Ryouta’s section of the book. You scanned through each picture before selecting the one which showed his face the clearest. “We were classmates when we were kids.”

Dabi hummed as nonchalantly as he could but his eyes widened.

That was… was he—

“—your boyfriend?”

“Who?”  

“Ryouta-kun.”

His breath hitched in his throat and his grip around your body tightened without him realising.

“The next one,” you flipped to the middle of the book and sighed. You pointed at a picture of a girl who was awfully familiar to Dabi. “Is me.”

“What?” he swallowed thickly, eyes frantically scanning over the two pages that were full of photos of a young girl, the cogs whirling in his head as he tried to figure out if you were joking or not. The ones in which the girl looked the oldest bore a striking resemblance to his first memory of you.

“Yeah, my real name is—” you traced your index finger under one of the captions. “Tensou Chiryou.”

Dabi wasn’t quite sure why but his heart twisted when he listened to you say your old name. Your tone didn’t change and neither did your voice tremble and yet he could tell just how unhappy you were starting to feel. He pulled you closer, tucking your head under his chin before he kissed your hair.

“That was your name,” he said softly, rubbing his hands over your arm, “your real name is now (L/N) (Y/N).”

You sighed and leaned into him silently for a moment. You didn’t realise how bitter you’d begun to feel until Dabi took it all away with just one simple sentence.

“The third one,” you continued, going all the way to the end of the book, “is him.”

You pointed at a picture of himself as a child and for a split second, Dabi was mortified. He bit his tongue so harshly he nearly drew blood as he readied himself for your realisation to sink in.

A minute passed and then two.

“… Dabi?”

Chapter Text

“… Dabi?” you dropped the book and a faint thud followed as it hit the ground. You got up into a kneeling position, eyes glued onto the terrified man beside you, before you tenderly held his face in between your hands. For the first time, he felt his entire body tense up and freeze under your touch.

You stared at him for what felt like hours, your fingertips sometimes tracing underneath his eye or over the bridge of his nose. You said nothing but sometimes your breath trembled—Dabi could feel it, he felt every single one. You seemed to have spent the most time looking at his eyes, every glance made a shiver run down his spine but he couldn’t tell if it was the good or bad kind. He was terrified of this moment in which you realised the truth he’d been hiding for so long but at the same time, he felt the immense love for you he always did especially whenever you were touching him.

“It’s you,” you whispered as a smile formed on your expressionless face and it felt as if the weight of the world disappeared from Dabi’s shoulders. “You look just as scared as the first time we met,” you continued, the pads of your thumbs trailing down to the corner of his lips before you gently tugged them upward. “You’re suddenly scared of me now, pretty boy?”

“You’re not angry?” he asked breathlessly, widened eyes still peering intensely into yours. Dabi slowly reached up to place his hands on top of yours, holding them in place. You lightly shook your head.

“No, why would I be mad?” you chuckled, “I’m so happy you’re okay, Touya.” Dabi felt his breathing hitch and his heart drop when a tear proceeded to roll down your face. He furrowed his eyebrows as he scrambled to his knees so that he could pull you into his chest.

“Why- why’re you—?”

“I’m so sorry,” you choked, smiling sadly at how pathetic you must have seemed, breaking into tears for seemingly no reason. “I watched him pull you away but I couldn’t do anything to save you… I was too scared.”

The cogs whirled in Dabi’s head. What were you talking about? Who were you talking—

Oh.

Despite the bitterness that he tasted in the back of his throat and the way his heart twisted upon remembering the time he spent with his old man, Dabi made a conscious effort not to translate any of it physically. He knew you would notice and misinterpret it as anger directed towards you and not towards his wretched father.

Instead, Dabi ran his fingers through your hair and gave you a smile. He wiped away your tears and pressed his lips to your forehead.

“But you have saved me,” he said, grabbing one of your hands before he held it against his chest. “I think we both know that if it weren’t for your Quirk, my Quirk would’ve killed me a long time ago.”

You didn’t respond; neither did you look up to meet his eyes despite how long you knew Dabi had been gazing down at you. You felt his grip on your hand tighten as his heart beat sped up. He was getting anxious and you knew you couldn’t keep this silence up for much longer.

This heart, you thought as you slowly splayed out your fingers and kept your open palm pressed against his warm body. If it’s mine to keep, what do I have to be afraid of?

“(Y/N)?” Dabi said, his voice sounding like that of a lost child’s. He hadn’t heard himself speak like that in a long time. He could feel the panic start to build up inside of him as you continued to remain silent. Had he done something wrong? Were you upset with him? What had he done—

“Will you stay with me forever?” you suddenly asked, eyes now peering up into his—his beautiful turquoise eyes that seemed to glow in the dark.

“Yes,” Dabi replied without missing a beat and sheer relief washed over him when a smile appeared on your face.

“Then I won’t hide anything any longer,” you released a heavy sigh as the tension in your shoulders faded away. “I should tell you how my Quirk works.”

For the next hour, you shared with him everything. From how your Quirk could help heal people (by transferring their injuries or illnesses to you before your own body’s quick regeneration got rid of it yourself) to how you believed you could potentially use it offensively since you discovered—with the help of being shot in the abdomen by Amari-san— that you could give people your own wounds, too.

Dabi listened intently despite getting lost several times in between. This was what he’d been wanting to learn about, right? So why did it feel so… unsatisfying to finally get the truth?

“Why did you want to hide this from me for so long?” he asked what had been lingering in the back of his mind since you began talking. “Did you just not trust me or—” Dabi stopped himself when he realised how aggressive he unintentionally sounded. “I didn’t mean for it to—”

“No, I understand,” you grabbed his hand and pulled it into your lap. You both had opted to sit across each other on your bed while cross-legged instead of kneeling since your legs were beginning to feel tingly. “It wasn’t that I didn’t trust you,” you bit down on your bottom lip, “I was just scared that you would leave because even before we… y’know… I knew you didn’t like it when I got hurt so I was terrified of what you’d do if you realised how my Quirk worked.

“Also, I wanted you to depend on me and look for me whenever you were hurt. I didn’t want you to get any second thoughts for my sake,” you poured out everything that had been weighing down your heart for so long in one single breath. You stared at Dabi with a hopeful look, still holding onto his hand that had gone limp on your thigh. “I know it’s gonna sound weird but,” you swallowed thickly, feeling your face heat up as you thought about how to phrase what you were about to tell him properly, “every time I take away your burns and injuries, I… quite like the feeling, even if it hurts.”

“That,” Dabi muttered, leaning forward and brushing the tip of his nose against yours, “is kinda kinky, not gonna lie.”

Releasing a loud gasp of indignance, you pulled away immediately before slapping your hand against his chest while he laughed.

“I” slap “poured” slap “my” slap “heart” slap “out” slap“to” slap “you!”

“I know, kitten,” Dabi cooed, tugging you into a tight hug that you would’ve rejected if only he didn’t feel so nice to touch. “I love you, too. Thank you for telling me… also there’s nothing wrong with being kinky.”

“I’m so close to taking it all back.”

“Please don’t. I love you.”

—

“Tell me if it hurts,” you said slowly as you attached the first prosthetic arm, “I’ve never really done this before.”

“Let him suffer,” Dabi hissed from beside you. The high-tech arm was a little bit too heavy for you to hold and figure out at the same time so, a few minutes ago, you spared Dabi a brief glance and almost immediately you had an assistant to help you hold it up.

“That’s unprofessional,” Chisaki commented nonchalantly.

“You know what else is unprofessional?” Dabi snarled, nearly dropping the prosthetic in his fit of anger, “letting someone on your team get arrested—”

“(L/N) made it abundantly clear that she had no interest in joining us,” Chisaki shot back, leaning forward and causing your hard-earned progress in getting his arm attached to disappear in the blink of an eye.

“I’m gonna kill both of you,” you deadpanned. You breathed slowly and deeply, trying your best not to let your frustration get the better of you. The two men stopped bickering instantly.

“I apologise.”

“Sorry, kitten—I mean, (Y/N).”

You exhaled shakily. It was too early to be this annoyed.

While you continued with your work, Dabi and Chisaki began making conversation. It was much more civil than before and thus was of no hindrance to your job—much to your utter relief. You swore you never wanted to handle prosthetics ever again.

“Your offer must’ve been pretty shit.”

“It was the opposite, actually,” Chisaki responded in his usual stoic tone—not giving away any hint of offence, if he even took any. “We offered money, shelter, basic necessities and protection—under the instruction of my godmother, of course.”

“Why didn’t you take it?” Dabi asked, nudging you gently with his free arm.

Pretending that you weren’t eavesdropping the entire time, you responded with a confused hum. You even raised an eyebrow, though you were pretty sure he couldn’t see it since you kept your eyes focused on the task at hand.

“Don’t play dumb.”

You smiled, finishing up the final adjustments to the first prosthetic.

“It’ll be too embarrassing to tell you now,” you replied, picking up the second arm, “besides, you should know the reason already.”

If he indeed knew the reason, Dabi did not say—perhaps agreeing that it was actually too embarrassing to say in the presence of a man who honestly had no business even knowing about your relationship.

The rest of the “appointment” (as you called it for fun) went by silently and without a problem. Unfortunately, you couldn’t exactly teach Chisaki how to use his new arms since Amari-san didn’t leave you any instruction manual so you simply told him to take his time figuring it out on his own.

“Shit,” Dabi cursed under his breath as he looked at his phone, “the League needs me, I gotta go now or I’ll be late.” He pecked your forehead before he headed towards the front door.

“Late?” you asked before he could unlock it. “Can’t you just get Kurogiri to warp you there?” You felt your heart stop when Dabi froze in place. “Dabi…?”

“Kurogiri was arrested,” he replied.

“Oh, fuck. So what’re Shigaraki and the others doing now?”

“They’re looking for this ‘power’ or whatever that Kurogiri had been looking for when he got caught.”

“That means they need all the help they can get, right?” you stepped forward. “Bring me with you.”

Dabi glanced over at Chisaki who was still sitting on your couch, his eyes glued onto his artificial hand that was moving ever so slowly. He didn’t seem to be paying any attention to your conversation until—

“It’ll literally not benefit me in any way to leave or expose your address,” he deadpanned, not taking his eyes off his hand. “Go do whatever you like, I’ll be here when you return.”

Twenty minutes later, both Dabi and you were disguised and out in broad daylight, walking along the less populated streets of Kamino. Since the location Shigaraki had provided was a distance away, you brought your new phone with you to set it up while you travelled.

“Do you need my number?” Dabi asked. He’d been observing you the entire time—not that you minded at all.

“No,” you replied, “I can key it in myself. I have it memorised.”

Dabi swore if he had the money, he would’ve bought you a ring right there and then.

FROM: HOTWINGS

12:40PM

yo (Y/N)/Chiryou :> i think you should know who i am ;) ik you and Dabi are basically married but we should hang out some time! hmu

“What the fuck?” both you and Dabi muttered at the same time. You both were in the train when you received the text message and Dabi couldn’t help but read it, too, since he was standing in such a way that his head basically sat on top of yours. He had his chest pressed against your back with one of his arms resting against the side the train, right above your head; meanwhile, you stood between him and the door while you messed around on your brand new phone with the screen bright enough for Dabi to see. Normally you wouldn’t stand so close on public transport but since it was pretty cramped, he just wanted to shield you from the crowd.

He clicked his tongue loudly before he grabbed your phone with his free hand. You let out a weak “hey!” but didn’t bother to try to take it back. To your surprise, Dabi didn’t start texting back immediately but instead opened up your contacts app first.

TO: SHITTY CHICKEN

12:43PM

hey! i’d love to :D also would you like me to suck your dick?? back off and leave my girlfriend alone or our entire deal’s off, hawks.

He sent it before you could stop him. In hindsight, you really should’ve stopped him the moment he typed the word “dick”.

“Here,” he handed the device back to you before wrapping his arm across your chest, pulling you closer to him. You hugged it and idly ran your hands along the sleeves of the jacket he wore to hide his skin.

“That was pretty rude, y’know?” you chuckled, tilting your head up and smiling widely when he leaned down to kiss your forehead.

“It’s his fault for being so goddamn horny for you.”

“I don’t think it’s like that,” you pursed your lips thoughtfully, “I think he’s just being overly-friendly.”

“You’re pretty naive,” he leaned closer towards your ear, “for someone who’s apparently kinky as fuck, kitten.”

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Gigantomachia snored in his sleep, the deep noise reverberating throughout the entire forest, the ground shook with every breath. Doctor Ujiko teleported you over right before the monstrous being fell asleep. That was an hour ago.

You bit your tongue, eyes glued to the gaping wound on Shigaraki’s side that was slowly beginning to close up. Cold sweat beaded on your forehead as your palms glowed a bright red, you sucked in a sharp breath through your teeth.

Dabi watched from a distance away as he sat with his back resting against one of the cave’s walls. The rocky refuge was meant to be temporary—just a place for the team to rest—but it was a lot better than the previous ones. He idly wondered if the cave would become the League’s permanent hideout during this whole debacle with the monstrous being.

“Thanks,” Shigaraki mumbled, accepting the packet of juice you offered after his wounds were completely healed. Even though he was exhausted beyond compare, his eyes were quick enough to notice the band around your finger. “So ashtray finally grew a pair, huh?”

“I can hear you, dumbass!” Dabi barked, tossing a pebble towards the back of Shigaraki’s head. Without looking, your leader snatched the rock out of the air and dusted it.

“I know, asshole,” he replied lazily, not bothering to turn around to look at your disgruntled lover. “Have you gotten any new recruits yet, by the way? Or are you just slacking off while we risk our lives fighting that stupid thing?”

“One,” Dabi answered simply, “but I don’t trust him completely yet.”

“So basically you’re saying you’ve made zero progress?”

“Hey, fuckface, it’s not my fault everyone sucks.” Dabi crossed his arms over his chest, a scowl of indignance on his face. Shigaraki muttered incoherently before collapsing onto his side, falling asleep within a matter of seconds. Dabi clicked his tongue.

You walked over to him before plopping down by his side, now having a clear view of the League. They were all out cold, they’d passed out right after you healed their wounds, succumbing to the sheer exhaustion of fighting Gigantomachia for two days straight with only three hours intervals of rest for what has been nearly a month. Some of them ate the food you brought before going to sleep but most of the things were left untouched, saved for later.

You sat with your knees folded against your chest as you rested your temple against Dabi’s shoulder. You could feel the tension in his arms melting away ever so slowly.

“Hey,” he greeted softly, turning to place a chaste kiss on the crown of your head. “How’re you feeling?”

“I’m alright,” you replied, slowly wrapping your arms around one of his, “their wounds weren’t too bad this time. The only one that really hurt was Shigaraki’s.”

“I wanted to stop you so many times, y’know that?”

“I’m glad you didn’t.”

“Me, too.” He closed his eyes for a brief moment, relishing in the feeling of you holding on to his arm, your delicate fingers running over the staples near his wrist so tenderly. You’d helped him change them just a few days ago, during which he insisted you refrain from using your Quirk on him. You complied but he nearly passed out from the pain so you were quick to take over. Even when dealing with his agony, your hands were steady as you inserted each staple one by one.

Dabi wondered where he would be without you.

Movement from your end made him open his eyes before he turned to look at what you were doing. You’d taken your phone out of your pocket. He read the opened text message too quickly, unable to help himself.

FROM: SHITTY CHICKEN

9:13PM

yo! there’s this after-party thing for tomorrow’s Hero Billboard Charts. wanna be my PURELY PLATONIC date? :> there’re gonna be a lot of pros there ;)

“No,” Dabi clicked his tongue loudly, trying and failing to snatch your phone away as you held it out of his reach. “No way. Tell him to eat shit.”

“Calm down, pretty boy,” you said, grabbing the back of his neck and pulling him towards you. Your lips collided with his and he returned the kiss fervently, leaning in closer and closer to you, his hand snaking around your waist. “Don’t be so rash,” you whispered after pulling away, feeling your heart pound wildly within the confines of your chest. Dabi kept his forehead pressed against yours.

“You’re mine.” His hand reached for yours, his fingertips brushing against the ring—your ring. “I don’t…” Dabi inhaled sharply, there were so many words on the tip of his tongue but yet his throat wouldn’t let him speak.

“I know,” you cooed, kissing his forehead, the hand behind his neck travelling towards his cheek. You cupped his face tenderly, rubbing the scarred skin underneath his eye with the pad of your thumb. “I know how you feel but trust me when I say,” his shoulders tensed up, “this is a good opportunity.”

Dabi believed you—agreed with you, even—but he didn’t want to and you could tell from the way he refused to look your way even when you returned home. You knew he wasn’t angry at you because he still held your hand; walked on the outermost side of the pavement; stood behind you in the elevator; but there was still that faint bitter taste in the back of your mouth. It was a taste you associated with Dabi being upset—especially when you were the cause.

Of course, it would be so much easier to just tell Hawks you didn’t want to go but it was a chance for you to see some Heroes up-close, to learn more about them and, possibly, the people in their lives. You were pretty much the most useless member in the League, you knew that well enough, so this could help lighten the weight on the shoulders of your teammates… right?

“Don’t be angry with me,” you whined, tired eyes half-open as you peered at him from your side of the bed. You’d gotten a new bed frame and mattress (and barely made a dent in Amari-san’s “gift”, mind you) so now sleeping was a thousand times more comfortable but it also made it easier for you two to ignore one another whenever the opportunity arose.

Dabi was awake, you could tell from the way he breathed, but he was relentless and kept his back facing your direction as he slept on the extreme edge of his side of the bed. You reached over and poked his shoulder but, to no one’s surprise, you received no response. You nudged him a few more times, whispering his name over and over, hoping you could at least annoy a reaction out of him.

You did not.

“Fine,” you huffed, loudly flipping over so that your back faced his way as well, more sleepy than anything. If he wanted to be all sulky and childish, you had the right to be that way, too.

An hour passed but you were still awake. Your body was tired but your mind just wouldn’t let you rest as you endlessly wondered about what to do. Sure, you wouldn’t miss much by not going and you’d be on Dabi’s good side again but then… what if you could learn a thing or two about your enemies? What was there to lose?

You sighed and shut your eyes again, trying, now, to force yourself to sleep, despite knowing it would never work. Perhaps you were just trying to find ways to justify your selfishness. It was such a cool event, who wouldn’t want to check it out, right? The whole idea about “gathering intel” was just a stupid excuse to make you feel better about wanting to go, right?

You cursed internally, not even sure what you wanted anymore.

You felt your tightly-shut eyes sting with tears as your heart twisted in a weird, unfamiliar way. This was so stupid, why were you getting upset over such a small matter? Maybe you just needed to rest… maybe—

You hissed, eyes shooting open. The phantom pain in your spine was back and you could feel your entire body stiffen as the agonising sensation refused to go away—its mere presence a terrifying reminder of how easy it was to die. You clutched at your blanket, hands shaking as you tried to breathe slowly, your jaw clenching so hard you could hear your teeth dragging against one another.

Suddenly, an arm snaked itself underneath your body before it curled, pulling you snug against a broad chest. Dabi kissed the nape of your neck, his other hand reaching over to gently pry your hands off the comforter. He intertwined his fingers with yours.

“Hey, kitten,” he cooed, warm breath brushing against your ear. The pounding of your heart in your chest did not subside but instead, the aching, twisting sensation transformed into a more pleasant feeling. “You okay?”

You hummed in response, the phantom pain slowly fading away. You both called it that after it became a regular phenomenon. You were aware it wasn’t the correct term to use for such a sensation but you felt it was easier to say than “the pain in my spine that reminds me of the time it snapped in half” so Dabi and you simply opted to call it the “phantom pain” instead.

“If you wanna go, don’t let me stop you,” he murmured, words slightly muffled from pressing his lips against your neck. “I was just being a jealous brat.”

“But if it makes you upset then I’d rather not,” you replied, turning your head around to look at him. He nudged the tip of your nose with his, a faint smile on his face.

“I’d be upset if I was the only thing stopping you from going.” Dabi flipped your over before tucking your head underneath his chin, his arms locked around you. “I trust you.” You smiled, nuzzling into his chest. “And besides, it wouldn’t hurt to have some eyes on those self-congratulatory assholes for a little while. Maybe one of them will get so shitfaced, they let something slip.”

—

Dabi’s prediction wasn’t entirely wrong but he wasn’t totally right, either.

The Heroes were friendlier and much chattier than you expected from such professionals. The moment they saw your arm linked with Hawks’, they zoomed right over, introducing themselves and asking the same question:

“Are you his girlfriend?”

To your surprise, your “date” for the night would answer for you and clear up any misunderstandings before rumours could spread. Neither of you wanted tabloids hunting down his “mystery girl” and bluntly telling the Pro Heroes the truth would help prevent that.

There were drinks being served—most of them alcoholic to some degree—but a lot of the guests didn’t take more than a few sips. You were mildly disappointed but also admittedly impressed, even in such a safe environment in which they were surrounded by their fellow man, the Heroes were still cautious about little details such as this one.

Hawks, on the other hand, drank quite a bit but still managed to maintain an impressive level of sobriety. This was something he’s used to, you realised at some point.

“I’m surprised you invited your girlfriend,” a deep voice said, prompting Hawks to turn around and, as a result, you turned as well. You felt goosebumps form all over your skin as your heart dropped all the way to your feet. It was him.

It was nighttime now and the playground was  dimly illuminated — you could see his  terrified face  as clear as day because of the light that  his father ’s Quirk emitted— brilliant turquoise eyes  screamed   for   help — his grip  bruised the tender flesh — wanted to  help him , to  save  your new friend from the  monster  that was  his father —

“I’m not his girlfriend,” you snapped, eyes glowering into those of the man who did not deserve his title as the Number One Hero. They resembled Dabi’s but yet, at the same time, looked nothing like his.

Endeavour scowled lightly, raising an eyebrow as he stared back down at you, clearly not used to being spoken to in such a crude manner.

“Sorry,” Hawks pulled you closer to him, smiling apologetically at the older Hero, “she gets super pissy when she’s drunk.”

“I’m not fucking drunk,” you snapped, slurring your words. Hawks spared you a quick glance, an amused glint in his eyes as he realised you were playing along. You noticed the Endeavour’s shoulders relax ever so slightly. “I wanna go get some fresh air, chicken boy,” you glared at the man in front of you again, “this place reeks of bullshit.”

“Whatever you say,” he tutted, rolling his eyes. “I’ll see you later, Endeavour.”

Hawks led you to an empty balcony hurriedly, slowing down and relaxing once you were out of sight. You leaned against a railing and watched as some guests started to leave, getting into expensive cars after some fancy-looking dude opens the car door for them as if they couldn’t do it themselves. Hawks stood beside you, stretching his arms and wings as he inhaled and exhaled deeply.

“You got some kinda personal vendetta against Endeavour or something?” he asked, propping his elbow on top of the railing before resting his chin in the palm of his hand.

“You could say that.”

Hawks chuckled.

“He’s not the nicest guy—“ you rolled your eyes “—but he does a lot as a Hero.” he turned to look at you, his gaze felt sharper and more unsettling than usual. “Especially recently since your boyfriend’s been… y’know?”

“Killing people?” you replied without missing a beat, noticing the way his expression changed. He almost seemed disappointed by your response. Why was that?

“Oh, he tells you about what he does?”

“Not really,” you shrugged, “but it’s pretty obvious.”

“You’re a doctor but you don’t care that he’s burning people to death?”

What’s his deal? you wondered. Perhaps it was just the alcohol in his system.

“I’d be lying if I said I’m not bothered by it,” you admitted, “but I trust what he does. After all, we’re the ‘Villains’, aren’t we? Our hands aren’t gonna stay clean forever.”

“Yeah,” Hawks hummed thoughtfully, “you’re right… but…”

“What?” you furrowed your eyebrows. Was he getting second thoughts about joining the League? After all the effort Dabi had been putting in to recruit him? The ‘Hero’ averted his gaze for a second, a grim expression on his face, before his eyes met yours once again. You weren’t sure why but a shiver ran down your spine.

“Do you know Dabi killed your parents?”

Chapter Text

The kindergarten wasn’t hard to find. After a bit of walking, you could see the inconspicuous building appearing in the distance. He didn’t want you to come, saying it could be dangerous, but after some insistence, Dabi let you know where he was. Part of you wondered if this was a good idea or if it would’ve been easier to have just waited at home for him to return instead.

“Do you know Dabi killed your parents?” Hawks said. You could feel his gaze burning into the side of your face, and hear the rustling of his feathers behind you as your body stiffened.

“What reaction do you expect from me?” you asked without meeting his eyes, opting instead to stare straight ahead. People were leaving the venue—the party was supposed to end in the afternoon, after all. The Heroes had work to do.

“Huh?”

“When you told me these things, you’ve been paying attention to how I react. Why’s that?” You finally turn your head and looked at Hawks. He looked as calm and collected as always but you could sense something was off. “You have some kind of hidden agenda, don’t you?”

“What?” He furrowed his eyebrows, shooting you an indignant look. “No, of course not. I just thought you should know, y’know?” Hawks scratched the back of his neck. “I heard about it from the other Heroes recently and thought it was pretty strange that he’d hurt your parents.”

You couldn’t help but let out a laugh that was cold and humourless. It clearly caught the man off-guard as his eyes widened in surprise. You could feel your eyes burning with tears but you blinked them away and sighed, your breath trembling.

“Well, then you don’t know my parents like I do.”

Were you supposed to be sad? Happy? Relieved? Apathetic?

You weren’t entirely sure how to feel and yet you felt all of it at once, like a whirlpool of every emotion known to mankind had formed in your stomach, mixing together until it all became too overwhelming to handle. Above all, though, one feeling, in particular, stood out:

Confusion.

Had he done it on purpose? Did he hunt them down after learning about your real name on that same fateful night you discovered his? Did he speak to them before he committed the deed? Did he remind them of their missing daughter before they died?

Or was it merely a coincidence? Perhaps they were trying to apprehend him and he’d merely killed them in self-defence.

Did he even know what he’d done?

You entered the building just as a large dark figure flew out of one of the open windows. Your eyes followed its movements briefly but lost it as soon as you turned around. Undoubtedly it was High-End, it was too fast to be anything else.

“Hey, kitten,” Dabi greeted, walking over to engulf you in a firm hug. He buried his nose in your hair and sighed. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve only been gone for half a day,” you replied, unable to help the smile that stretched across your face as you returned his embrace. Just for a short moment, you felt nothing but warmth and security. However, the feelings disappeared as soon as they came when you remembered by you wanted to speak to him so desperately.

“I know,” he purred, pressing his lips to the crown of your head. Dabi locked his arms in place, refusing to let go even though it was just a simple hug—a gesture you knew both of you loved beyond what mere words could express. It almost made you not want to bring it up…

Almost.

“Dabi?” you murmured, unable to help clutching onto his jacket tighter, creasing the fabric in your fists. He hummed in response, seemingly ignorant to your change in demeanour. You took a deep breath. “A little birdie told me my parents were killed.”

He stiffened and, for a moment, you couldn’t hear him breathing. You gently pulled away slightly from the hug, just enough to look up at him. His eyes refused to meet yours as his hands had begun to let you go.

So he does know.

“Are you upset about it?” Dabi asked, arms dropping back to his sides. His fingers slowly began to curl into his palms.

“I don’t know how to feel,” you replied truthfully, still peering up at him, silently wishing he would just look at you. Soon enough, your wish came true but not in the way you wanted it to.

His bright turquoise eyes had suddenly snapped downwards, now staring intensely into yours. An almost suffocating sensation began to claw at your chest as goosebumps appeared all over your body. Why was he looking at you like that? Like he was angry.

“Aren’t you happy?” he snapped, shoulders tensing as he continued to stare straight into your soul. “They were disgusting people. They treated you like shit!” his voice increased in volume with every syllable.

You gritted your teeth and glared back at him, an indignant frustration welling up inside of you. He didn’t deserve to speak to you like this. Not when you clearly weren’t at fault. You hadn’t even accused him of anything yet. Why was he so defensive?

“I know,” you said through clenched teeth, trying not to raise your voice in retaliation. “A part of me is relieved they’re gone but—”

“But what?” Dabi scoffed, taking a step back, roughly rubbing his hands over his face. It was getting harder to breathe. He looked at you with a gaze that almost seemed… disgusted. You furrowed your eyebrows at him, unable to comprehend how things turned out this way. “Did you wanna forgive them? Run back to them? What? Did you fucking miss them or something?!”

“No!” you shouted, feeling hot tears—where did those come from?—run down your face. “What the fuck are you saying? Why are you reacting this way?!”

“Why did you bring it up?!” he yelled.

“I… I don’t fucking know!” you cried, abruptly wiping the wetness off your face with the back of your hand. Your vision obscured, you failed to notice Dabi’s eyes soften as he cursed under his breath. “I just don’t know how to feel…” you fumbled over your words, forcing them out in spite of your ragged breath. “Why’d you do it?”

“Because I love you!” Dabi spat, feeling pure guilt pierce his heart when you winced at his loud words. He didn’t mean to raise his voice again.

“I know you love me,” you choked out, a sad smile on your face as your teary eyes relentlessly stared into his own, “but why didn’t you tell me? Were you planning on hiding it forever?”

Dabi merely stood frozen in place, unable to say a word. He wasn’t sure either and he didn’t want to lie. He watched as you wiped your face dry with the sleeve of your shirt, soft sobs still slipping past your lips in jagged breaths.

Now that things were calmer, he realised how ridiculous this entire fight was. He chuckled to himself humourlessly.

What the fuck was wrong with him?

He wondered that for the rest of the day; even when he was standing in the face of the man he hated the most; even when Hawks held a razor-sharp feather near his throat; he wondered what the fuck was wrong with him.

You’d gone home after the argument, not wanting to stay despite having travelled all the way to Fukuoka for him. You said you just wanted to sleep and would wait for him at home. He didn’t say anything and simply let you leave.

After everything, Dabi realised he had some time to kill. He thought about the failure that was the High-End Noumu, seeing his bastard father’s face again and a little bit about the spat he had with Hawks. The motherfucker had the balls to accuse Dabi of not cooperating when the Pro Hero had essentially ruined the only relationship he treasured in the whole world.

A little birdie told me…

Dabi scoffed. Whatever there was between you and him wasn’t any of Hawks’ business and yet it so easily crumbled under the weight of a simple misunderstanding. He hated everything; he hated how hard it was to breathe, how heavy his entire body felt, how his eyes burned but yet no tears would come out. He hated how he blamed Hawks when in reality it was his own goddamn fault.

All the bastard did was blab too much, meanwhile, Dabi made you cry.

Dabi sighed deeply, wondering if it was too soon to go home. Would you want to see him? What would he say? Just a simple “sorry” wouldn’t suffice, not when he didn’t even try to stop you from leaving, your eyes still red and tear-filled. Why did he even let you go? Sure, it was in broad daylight but he knew well enough how dangerous the world was becoming. Why had he even reacted the way he did? All you said was a mere sentence and he reacted as if you were trying to hurt him.

“Fuck,” he mumbled under his breath, finally opting to merely stay put. You both needed time away from one another, and he needed to think about how to make it up to you.

In less than an hour later, though, Dabi would’ve wished he just went home to see you, to make sure you were okay, to say that he was sorry. He would be cursing at himself for being so stupid and petty because he would’ve received a message from the League.

You’d been taken by a group called the Meta Liberation Army.

Chapter Text

It was hard to breathe, hard to move and you couldn’t see anything. The enclosed space you were trapped within wouldn’t budge to matter how hard you pushed or kicked. All you could hear was your own heavy breathing and your rapid heartbeat.

You knew it wasn’t the best idea to walk around town aimlessly when the sun was beginning to set but you didn’t really want to return home, not yet at least. Your small, run-down apartment held too many bits and pieces of him. You knew that if you went back now, your swollen eyes would start tearing up again.

So, you walked with no end in sight.

You cried out in pain, cradling your shattered fist after punching at the wall in front of you a little too hard. If it weren’t for your Quirk, you probably would’ve passed out right there and then.

You wondered if he was home already. Was he waiting for you? Or did he think that going back would remind him too much of you, too, so he was saying away, as well?

You sighed deeply, breath still shaky from the aftermath of your heavy sobbing from earlier on. Some people gave you concerned looks as they rushed by, urgent to return home to their loved ones after a hard day’s work.

Suddenly, you heard a loud noise coming from above you. It was muffled but not so much that indicated you were deep underground; it was the first sound you heard from the outside in several hours. Many more sounds followed, your eerily quiet state of existence now noisier than ever. You could hear people shouting, heavy footsteps, buildings collapse.

You contemplated sending Dabi a text message or even giving him a call but no matter how long you hovered your finger above the screen of your phone, you couldn’t do either. You felt your lips tremble as you swallowed thickly, shoving the device back into your pocket. You felt pathetic, rendered so emotionally distraught after a mere fight but… you simply couldn’t forget the way he glowered at you.

It was the worst feeling in the world.

“Hey,” you shouted, “Hey! Help! I’m trapped!” you rammed your fists against the walls of your cramped prison. You didn’t care who heard you, all you needed to do now was escape.

You weren’t sure why but you turned around and began walking home. Even if Dabi wasn’t there, even if he was still angry at you, you just needed to be around him and things that reminded you of him. You wanted to lay down on his side of the bed and fall asleep while hugging his pillow. You wanted to ransack his side of the closet and bury yourself underneath a pile of his clothes.

Your heart hurt when you fought but it was hurting even more now that you were away from him, the idea that your relationship was on the brink of breaking weighing heavily on your mind.

You cursed under your breath when there was no sign of anyone coming to your aid after several straight minutes of shouting. Your throat was beginning to turn sore so you stopped, you needed to preserve some energy at least; you’d already used up too much from healing yourself over and over again.

Your pace quickened as your surroundings increasingly became more familiar and you nearly began sprinting once you saw your apartment building. Why were you so excited? Why was the reason you two fought starting to fade from your memory?

Your heart was still aching like crazy but not because of your parents or how they died. Everything hurt because you didn’t want to lose what you had with Dabi. You didn’t care about what he did because you knew why he did it.

You gasped sharply, the back of your head slamming against one of the walls when something rammed itself against your prison. There were people here.

You swung open your apartment door and felt a wave of disappointment wash over you when you realised no one was home. It was already so late, was Dabi really avoiding you?

You pulled out your phone, ready to call him with no hesitation when a familiar voice called out from within your dark living room. Your hand immediately shot up towards the light switch and you felt your knees buckle when you saw him standing by the coffee table, just a metre or so in front of you.

Without thinking, you ran towards him before tackling Dabi into a hug, burying your face into the crook of his neck.

You didn’t notice anything was amiss despite the way he hesitated when hugging you back; or when his hug felt different; or when he didn’t smell quite right. Your mind was too tired, too hazy to pick up on all the elephants in the room.

“Hey, Chiryou.”

Something jammed itself into the back of your neck.

What sounded like a violent scuffle continued on just outside the container in which you were held captive and suddenly it felt like a bad idea to try to call for help. But then again, what if this was your only chance at being saved? When else would you have people so nearby after hours of being in complete solitude? Even if they wanted to kill you after you’ve gotten out, you could just run, right? You were weak at fighting but you were tough to kill. You could just keep running until you were safe. It would hurt like hell but your ligaments and muscles could simple keep repairing themselves until you passed out but with how tired you already were, how long could you hold out? The noise from outside was getting softer. Should you shout? Should you cry for help now? What if they killed you? What if they snapped your spine—

“(Y/N)!” a familiar voice called out from outside as a ray of light shone into your eyes. You shut them immediately, hiding your face behind your hands as the walls around you were torn apart. Before you could allow yourself to adjust to your newfound freedom, you were scooped into a pair of arms. “Fuck, I thought we were never gonna find you!”

Twice?

“What’s happening? Why’re you here?” you asked, feeling your tensed and exhausted body relax against your teammate’s. You could hear the sound of countless footsteps surrounding you.

“Uhhh, long story short,” he began, tightening his grip on you, “this cult? Or whatever. They call themselves— the Meta Liberation Army.”

“Yeah, they basically declared war on us—”

“And they nearly killed Toga!”

“I need you to help save her!”

Twice was the one speaking but it sounded like his voice was coming from all different directions. You forced open your eyes, blinking rapidly when the sunlight felt too harsh and eventually your vision cleared. You were in Twice’s arms but also surrounded by… an entire army of Twices.

“What the fuck?” you gasped, darting your head around to look at the wave of clones all running in the same direction. “Twice—what? How? Why—?”

Then it dawned on you: he wasn’t speaking like how he usually did anymore. Twice wasn’t interrupting himself at all. Something must’ve happened, something terrible but you knew it made him impossibly stronger.

“Dabi!” the Twice carrying you suddenly yelled and you winced, “I found (Y/N)!”

Carefully, you were placed on your feet and from just a single glance, you finally realised what was happening. Buildings were destroyed and bodies littered the streets of what looked like Deika City—your parents had brought you here once when you were younger. You were surprised you even recognised the place at this point.

Hearing a sharp noise coming from behind you, you spun around, eyes widening in awe at the wave of ice shooting your way. The tips were razor-sharp and your body prepared to dodge but before you could even take a single step, a wall of blue flames appeared in front of you, immediately evaporating every bit of the frozen liquid.

Your head whipped towards the direction of where the flames came from and you felt yourself stop breathing completely for a split second.

Dabi stood in place, panting, dark smoke wafting from the staples in his skin. His brilliant blue eyes stared back into yours, his lips trembled into a brief smile that you didn’t have time to appreciate as another wave of ice made its way towards you. This time, he was too slow to stop it.

You felt your body get flung backwards as you shielded your face with your forearms, one of the sharp icicles cutting a deep gash into your skin. You fell flat on your back, the wind getting knocked out of your lungs when you slammed into the ground. You felt your skull crack but thankfully, your Quirk was quick to fix all your injuries but you could sense you were healing slower—you were about to reach your limit.

“So, Re-Destro was right about kidnapping you,” an unknown voice said as a hooded figure slowly walked towards you, their hands emitting white clouds of condensation. “Your Quirk is interesting, healer, but you’re weak. You’ll never survive once the Liberation Army takes over!”

They swung their arm and surge of ice shot your way only to be melted once again by Dabi’s fire. He closed the distance between you and knelt down by your side, his hand immediately reaching out to cup your face so tenderly it felt odd considering the circumstances.

“And you, wielder of flames, you won’t even live to see us win this battle,” the hooded figure declared, “your body is too weak, your skin is already burning away.”

They were right. The evidence was right in front of you. The smoke emitting from his body was thicker, darker and more pungent. You could already see bits of skin beginning to scar beyond the confines of his staples. From the corner of your eye, you noticed the enemy approaching, unfazed by Twice and Mr Compress’s attempts to stop them. The only person who had a sliver of a chance of winning against this absolute monster was…

You grabbed Dabi’s wrist as tightly as you could and activated your Quirk, your palm glowing the brightest red you have ever seen. In spite of the sheer mental and physical exhaustion on your part, it felt almost easy to heal Dabi.

Widened eyes stared down at you, at first he looked confused but then he felt the pain in his skin disappear without a trace. Dabi grabbed your hand and attempted to pry your fingers away.

“No, don’t do that!” he said, nearly raising his voice but he stopped himself when your crying face flashed before his eyes. “(Y/N), let go! Stop!” But his efforts were futile, your grip was solid despite the clear pain you were beginning to feel. Dabi could only observe helplessly as part of your skin began to burn, only to slowly regenerate before being burned again.

“What a tragic love story,” the enemy commented snarkily. They were coming closer with their arm raised and ready to kill.

You gritted your teeth, enduring the sensation of your body destroying and putting itself back together while the love of your life tried his best to twist his wrist out of your grasp. You smiled at him, beads of sweat rolling down your face, and let go once you’d done as much as you could. You could tell you would pass out if you tried to use your Quirk any more.

“I’ll see you later, pretty boy,” you panted. “Don’t die.”

Dabi couldn’t respond in time. The last thing he saw before returning to the battle was one of Twice’s clones scooping you into his arms and carrying you away. Never before had he been so glad to see another man sweep you off your feet.

Dodging one of the ice manipulator’s attacks, Dabi clenched and unclenched his fist, revelling in the lack of pain he now felt. He knew he’d have to scold you for being so stupid later but for now, he had a bitch to burn.

Chapter Text

You hummed a nameless tune as your fingers gently ran through his damp hair. The shampoo had long been rinsed away but you continued anyway, relishing in the feeling of his naked back pressed against your chest. Your own back leaned against the end of the tub, your legs rested on either side of his body while his calloused hands ran themselves up and down your thighs and knees.

You didn’t have that much experience with such things but part of you wondered if this kind of scenario should feel more erotic than it does. After all, you’re both naked in a huge bathtub located in the most luxurious bathroom you’d ever laid your eyes on. You’re surprised neither of you made a move yet.

Unbeknownst to you, Dabi wondered the same thing as goosebumps formed and disappeared from his skin, only to reappear again with every slightest bit of your touch. He could feel your chest planted against his body as he lolled his head back, resting it in the crook of your neck.

Your humming faltered for a second as you readjusted yourself, now wrapping your arms around his neck, and Dabi smiled. He could feel so much of you but everything was pure intimacy. He could touch you in other ways next time, right now this was more than enough.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly, a hand reaching up to hold one of yours. You clicked your tongue and pulled him closer, accidentally causing some water to splash out of the tub.

“How many times do I have to tell you to stop?” you chided lightly, resting you chin on his shoulder, your cheek brushing against his. “There’s nothing you need to apologise for, okay? All has already been forgiven.”

Dabi hummed in response, not pushing any further in spite of how unconvinced he was of your words. You insisted he was forgiven but he hadn’t forgiven himself… not that it would matter anyway, no amount of forgiveness could erase your crying face from his mind.

You sighed, feeling the tension growing in the air with every passing second of silence. You were convinced you could hear Dabi’s thoughts from how hard he seemed to be thinking. Slowly, you ran your hand down his chest, fingers brushing over his torso. You could feel a bit of his ribs poking through.

“You’re getting skinny,” you commented, finally resting your hand on his thigh. “You should eat more,” you tilted your head to the side, bumping your temple against his lightly, “after all, the Meta Liberation Army has so much money, we can eat all the food we want now.”

“Everything sucks, though,” Dabi replied nonchalantly. You gasped.

“Are you crazy?” you chuckled. “We’ve literally eaten nothing but expensive, high-quality shit for, like, two days straight now. Exactly how high can your standards get?” you teased.

He turned his head and glanced sideways so that his eyes met yours, a shadow of a smile on his face. You pecked his lips and his smile grew clearer.

“I miss your cooking.”

“Ah, so your standards are just impossibly low, then.”

Dabi clicked his tongue loudly as you snickered before proceeding to nuzzle your face into his neck.

For a while more, neither of you spoke, simply enjoying the peace and quiet together. The battle with the Meta Liberation Army was two days ago and its events were still clearly engraved into both your minds. You understood this serenity granted to the two of you was merely temporary. Sure, it would last a few more days—maybe even a week or two—but eventually, things would have to move forward. The League had gained more power than any of you expected but nothing was set in stone—yet. Soon enough, Shigaraki would hold a press conference in front of everyone and then, you worried that peace would no longer exist in your dictionary.

“Was it wrecked?” your lover asked, the sudden appearance of his voice forcing your current thoughts into the very back of your mind.

“What was?”

“Our home.” Dabi stirred uncomfortably before settling back into the same position as before. “I heard a clone of me broke in to kidnap you. Did he break anything?”

Our.

“No,” you responded, lightly shaking your head despite him not being able to see it. “I think everything’s still intact.”

“That’s good. We should go back soon.”

“Yeah,” you whispered, idly leaning forward to press a kiss to his shoulder blade, listening as he inhaled a particularly sharp breath. “It’s pretty good here, too, though. Everything’s so spacious and clean.”

“I know,” Dabi sighed, “but kinda miss how it smells.”

“Smells?”

“Yeah, home smells like you.”

“It’s so cramped in here,” he whined, tossing his jacket haphazardly onto your couch with one hand, keeping the other close to his chest. He was already bleeding all over your floor.

“Shut up and sit down.”

“Feisty, aren’t ya?”

You shot him a glare. First, he arrived at your doorstep at such an ungodly hour, then he insults your home and sasses you for being snappy? Unbelievable.

“Do you want me to help you or not? If its the latter, feel free to get out—”

“Yeah, yeah.” Dabi frowned at you, plopping down onto the couch with a roll of his eyes. “Not like I wanna spend another minute in this shitty apartment anyway.”

You exited the bathroom together, fully clothed with your respective towels draped around your necks. It was directly connected to the huge bedroom that was dubbed as yours and Dabi’s so, needless to say, it was quite a shock when—

“Surprise!” a familiar high-pitched voice cheered as a bag of food was waved side-to-side in front of you. Toga smiled widely, the expression on her face was so joyful that it looked as though all the bandages wrapped around her limbs were just for show. “We brought you dinner!”

We?

Surely enough, the rest of the League were in your room, too. Twice was laying down on your bed, wearing his pyjamas and mask. Mr Compress sat in the armchair situated in the corner, head hung backwards as if he were passed out. Spinner was sitting cross-legged on the floor as he combed his hair. Shigaraki sat in one of the empty corners, engrossed in the 3DS he’d bought earlier today with Re-Destro’s money.

“You needed five people to deliver two servings of food?” Dabi groaned, snatching the bag out of her hands anyway.

“Toga just wanted us to spend time together,” Spinner commented. The man beside you inhaled deeply and you could already tell he was going to say something mean to the poor girl in front of him. You glanced at Toga’s beaming, hopeful face once more before grabbing his hand. He relaxed.

“Look,” Dabi sighed, “we can hang out tomorrow, alright, you lil psycho?” Toga pouted and he rolled his eyes before reaching out to roughly ruffle her hair. “It’s late, everyone should be resting now. Just come look for us tomorrow, okay? We can… I don’t know…” he briefly glanced down at you for help and you shrugged. “…bird-watch?…”

Toga’s eyes flitted between you and Dabi, an unreadable expression on her face that, quite honestly, made you feel a tiny bit nervous.

“Okay! Goodnight!” the girl chirped, quickly standing on the tip of her toes to lightly peck your cheek before dashing out your bedroom door, her giggles gradually fading away.

Dabi clicked his tongue, now openly showing his disdain on his face. You squeezed his hand and he turned over to look at you. You offered him a wide smile that slowly ebbed away at his sour attitude.

Slowly, the rest of the League members poured out of the room, each one bidding you and Dabi goodnight as they shuffled away to their own respective sleeping quarters. Shigaraki was the last to leave, obviously staying behind a little to be the last one out the door. Before he was actually fully out of the door, though, he stopped and turned to you. He looked exhausted but, to your relief, better than yesterday.

“You can still change your mind, y’know?” he said, half-lidded and tired eyes staring straight into yours.

“Should I kill him?” Shigaraki asked, still panting slightly from the battle that had just been won. The man he defeated sat on the ground in front of him, legless and eyes widened as he peered up at your leader.

“You’re asking me?” you responded incredulously. You came over merely to see if he was okay, not to have the fate of a man placed in your hands.

“Duh.” he glanced back down at Re-Destro. “If you and Giran didn’t make it out alive of this whole ordeal, he’d already be dead. I guess you’re lucky (Y/N)’s alive, huh, Mr Bigshot? This’ll teach you to touch any of my members.”

“Thank you, Shigaraki Tomura, but…”

You didn’t regret your choice.

Sure, being kidnapped wasn’t the best experience but if you’d allowed him to kill Re-Destro, you probably wouldn’t have the access to all the luxuries you did now. Re-Destro said he would make it up to the League and, boy, he sure did.

You hummed in satisfaction as you took another bite out of your sandwich. Could this even be called a sandwich? It felt more like just a beautiful mishmash of premium ingredients served between two slices of the best goddamn bread you’d ever tasted. You felt yourself nearly tear up at how good it was.

“I don’t want this either.” Dabi pulled out a slice of tomato from his own sandwich before tossing it into your takeaway box. He squinted, bringing the food closer to his face for further inspection. You were pretty sure he’d already removed half of the ingredients. The only reason why you didn’t complain was that he gave them all to you.

“You’re gonna be left with just the bread at this point,” you finally commented, shoving the last bit of sandwich into your mouth.

“Bold of you to assume I’d even eat the bread.”

“Ugh, you’re such a baby.”

“…shut up.”

“If you don’t start eating your dinner now, I’ll never cook for you again.”

Dabi released an obnoxious groan but started taking bites out of his food anyway. You shot him a victorious grin before picking up the remaining half of your sandwich. As both of you ate, you continued talking about things that just happened to pop up in either of your minds. He mentioned getting new clothes while you wondered if you should go shopping for books.

“I’ll go with you,” he said, clapping his hands together to clear them of crumbs.

“You don’t have to,” you replied with a shrug in spite of the way your heart had begun to speed up a little from an almost kiddish sort of excitement. “You’re just gonna be bored while I’m there. I’d prefer if you just do what you wanna do.”

It was a half-lie. You would be happy either way, really.

“Well,” he pushed aside the bag that now held all the remnants of your meal before crawling towards you, “I want to go with you.”

Dabi stopped when the tip of his nose brushed against yours. You leaned forward and bumped your forehead against his, unable to help the wide smile that stretched across your face just from the feeling of him being near you. Dabi smirked, eyes now clouded with something rather familiar, as he parted his lips, ready to say something to make you blush—

There was a knock on the door.

“Fuck!” he cursed a tad too loudly, dropping his head into your lap as his arms gave out underneath him. He groaned in frustration while you simply laughed, patting his head in a comforting manner.

“I’ll just tell them to go away—”

“No.” His face shot up, wide eyes meeting yours. “I’ll do it. You stay here.” He rolled off the bed without waiting for your reply and headed towards the door. You quickly followed behind him, grabbing one of his hands to let him know you were there.

“Who’d you think it is?” you asked. Dabi merely shrugged in response, his hand clutching the doorknob before slowly turning it. He pulled the door open.

“Hey, Chiryou,” said Kuuhaku Ryouta.

Chapter Text

It felt strange to Dabi, not having to wear a disguise when out in public like this. Throughout the entire journey from the building in which the LOV now resided in to the bookstore Kuuhaku Ryouta had led the both of you to, Dabi received as many stares from passersby as he normally anticipated but this time it was different. The people of Deika never looked at him with disgust and when they whispered, it was in slight awe.

Most of them recognised him, after all. He was the man who fought Geten and not only survived but put up an admirable fight. He was, also, the person Re-Destro had mentioned would soon be seen up on stage in a few days or so. For what reasons, they did not know, Re-Destro hadn’t told them why and this merely fuelled their curiosity.

Sure, it was a nice change to him. He was freer now and obviously respected on some level despite not having done much but Dabi couldn’t find it in himself to really care. His mind was too clouded by a feeling he knew all too well—envy.

For the first time, in your presence, he truly felt—to some extent—like an outsider. He didn’t fault you, of course, you were merely engaged in conversation with a friend who, to Dabi, seemed to be getting too close for comfort.

Kuuhaku Ryouta was strangely popular, too, and your group was often interrupted by “fans” while on the way to the bookstore. A lot of them were teenagers or young adults who approached him for autographs and pictures. You’d asked him what he was so famous for in Deika and Ryouta merely responded, “ah, it’s a book-related thing.” before changing the subject.

The topic wasn’t brought up again in the seemingly endless conversation you were holding with the man. Especially not when you finally reached your destination where all both of you could chatter on and on about was books.

Once upon a time, he loved to read. The few fond memories Dabi had of his childhood were mostly of him reading alone in his room or playing outside with his siblings. Although, he couldn’t quite remember what he’d read in the past or what even was the last thing he’d read.

Dabi did, however, have some hazy memories of seeing you in school with your face buried in a book. Now that he thought about it, Ryouta was the same, too. Despite reading your own separate materials, Dabi recalled always seeing you two read in the presence of the other. If you’d been alone maybe he would’ve approached you but Todoroki Touya was never brave enough to face two people. Dabi idly wondered what would’ve happened if he did talk to you all those years ago. How different would your futures have become?

“Ooooh, I remember seeing this in your parents’ room!” you chirped, too excited to realise how loud you were being. No one around you seemed to mind, though. You grabbed a thin novel from one of the many shelves in the massive store. “No Longer Human,” you said to yourself, flipping through the pages briefly before glancing back up at Ryouta. “Did you ever read this?”

The man shook his head, the fond smile that had been plastered on his face ever since the three of you met up this morning never wavering. It seemed the only times Dabi noticed his smile losing its sincerity was whenever Ryouta looked at him.

“Well,” you hummed to yourself, reading the back of the book before gently placing it in your basket, “I’ll get it, then!”

Right when you looked back up at the shelf, your eyes widened once more and you gasped, quickly grabbing hold of another book. When he saw the front cover, Ryouta let out a soft gasp, as well. Dabi glanced over your shoulder with an unamused expression on his face.

Rashoumon and Seventeen Other Stories by Akutagawa Ryuunosuke

He wasn’t a classic literature person but even he recognised the famous name and title. That was all he knew, though.

“Oh, I remember this!” you said excitedly, turning to the contents page. You ran a finger down the numerous titles, stopping at one of them. “My favourite was always ‘In a Bamboo Grove’,” you turned to Ryouta, “you?”

Dabi felt a bitterness sting his heart when your friend responded without missing a beat.

“‘Green Onions’ is probably mine.”

“Really?” your face scrunched up in confusion. “I thought that was the most boring out of all of them.”

Ryouta’s face fell slightly but you didn’t notice, too busy placing the copy in your basket. You didn’t wait for a response from him, either, simply wrapping your arm around Dabi’s before leading him elsewhere. Shooting a victorious glance over his shoulder at the miffed Ryouta, Dabi, smirking, leaned down and pressed a kiss to your head, never breaking eye contact.

He noticed you were playing with your ring whilst the both of you walked with your friend trailing behind. You looked up at Dabi, having felt his eyes on you, and smiled almost apologetically.

“Is it too boring here?” you asked, mildly flustered, “we’ll go back soon, I prom—”

“No,” he interjected, linking his hand with yours before bringing it up to his lips. He pecked the back of your hand gently. “I don’t mind. We can stay here as long as you want.”

Dabi honestly meant it but, god, what he’d do to remove Ryouta from the situation. The moment you expressed interest in a particular section, the man swooped in once more, removing you from Dabi’s arm as he pulled you over to a specific title.

“Have you read this one?” he asked, holding the book up so that you could read the title. Ryouta glanced at your partner briefly, with a smirk on his face, as you read it out loud to yourself. Dabi glared back, genuinely wondering if he was pulling some sick joke.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

“No—”

“Oh my god, you have to,” he cut you off and Dabi nearly slapped him right then and there. “This is a literary masterpiece, Chiryou.”

“It’s (Y/N),” Dabi said from behind you, pretending to skim his eyes over the various titles lining the shelf. He couldn’t see his face but he could tell Ryouta was probably staring a dagger or two his way. You looked up at Dabi with an amused smile on your face.

“Right, sorry, force of habit.”

“It’s okay,” you replied coolly. Without another word, you grabbed the novel out of his hand and slipping it back onto the shelf. “Not my kind of genre,” you said with a shrug, once again walking away before you could notice his shoulders droop in disappointment.

“Chiryou-chan, look at this!” the young boy said excitedly, dropping into a kneeling position as his bedroom door swung closed behind him. You craned your neck to catch a peek of what he’d brought in and when you failed to see it, you rolled off his bed and crawled over beside him.

It was a fancy-looking book.

“What does the title say?” you asked, peering at him with wide eyes. You didn’t quite see what was so interesting with the book but it seemed as though Ryouta’s excitement seeped into you as you felt your heart speed up.

“I think it’s ‘The Remains of the Day’,” he replied, squinting at the words on the cover. “I swiped it from my parents’ collection,” he snickered, flipping over to the first page.

How scandalous!

You giggled, scooting closer beside him. Ryouta traced his finger under the lines as he started to read.

“It seems in-increasingly like that— likely that I really will… under… undertake the ex-pe-di-tion that has been pr…pre-occ-u-pying my ima-imagination now for some days…”

You didn’t really understand what he was saying, some of the words too long for your mind to even comprehend, but you remained entranced regardless. Your eyes seemed to linger on his face and the way his lips moved more than the book itself and it remained that way until you were caught by his amused parents.

You stared at the spine of the familiar book, surprised that this specific edition was still even in production. Even though his parents let Ryouta have it, you two never really did got to finishing the story. You sighed deeply and began to turn away when the aforementioned man entered your peripheral vision.

“We should read it again,” he proposed, “and actually finish it this time.”

“I like that idea,” you replied, smiling to yourself. You fidgeted oddly when you felt his eyes never leave your face, not even to look at the book you both were referring to. You grabbed two copies and handed on to him, raising an eyebrow when Ryouta merely looked at you in confusion. “What?”

“I meant that we should read it together,” he replied, scratching the back of his neck, “for old times’ sake.”

At that, Dabi’s head popped out from the side of a shelf nearby, squinting at you. You merely responded with a look that expressed as much confusion as his own did.

Ryouta wanted the two of you to read it  together,  together? Did he want you to sit there beside him in silence, too? And just listen to him read it out loud?

“Ahhh,” you drew out, looking back up at Ryouta’s hopeful face. “Nah, I think I’d rather read this on my own.” You glanced back over at Dabi who was still observing the awkward interaction from afar.

Read it with me? your eyes seemed to ask and he smirked: both a positive response to your question and also a silent show of victory over Ryouta who tried desperately to recover, spluttering on about how he was just pulling your leg. Abruptly excusing himself to the bathroom, you took the chance to slide up beside Dabi who seemed entranced by a line of manga by an author whose name you’ve heard of before.

He reached out and grabbed one of the larger works. On the cover was a simple illustration of a girl whose beauty seemed to transcend the artistic medium on which she was portrayed.

Tomie by Itou Junji

“Do you wanna read this one?” you asked, feeling a small wave of relief wash over you. This was a confirmation, of sorts, to you that Dabi wasn’t lying when he said he didn’t mind being here with you.

For a moment, he didn’t respond, flipping through the pages. He glanced down at you and the ‘no’ lingering in the back of his throat disappeared. You were smiling so enthusiastically at him that he would say ‘yes’ even if the book in his hand was in a foreign language. Dabi nodded and you pulled his arm into a hug, leaning your temple against his shoulder.

“We can read this one together, too!” you said, placing the manga into your basket half-filled with books.

He looked forward to that.

There was a cafe in the bookstore that the three of you went to after having bought your books. Ryouta mentioned the food there being amazing and it was enough for you to convince Dabi to eat there in spite of his insistence on returning to your room.

“We’ll go back right after we eat,” you suggested and, minutes later, he found himself sitting beside you in a booth, waiting for your food to arrive. Ryouta sat on the opposite seat, directly in front of you.

The cafe was situated on one of the upper levels of the building so the window beside your table offered a decent view of Deika City. Despite the battle between the League and the Army having had occurred just a few days ago, the damage had already been almost completely fixed. People walked along the streets peacefully as if they hadn’t attempted to murder your team members in a cultish rage less than a week ago.

Ryouta was rambling on about something that you weren’t quite listening to. You merely nodded and smiled whenever it seemed appropriate and it worked pretty well. Dabi, on the other hand, was completely silent beside you but held all of your attention. His hand rested lazily on your thigh, running his warm palm up and down your skin slowly, gradually inching closer and closer to—

“Oh my god!” a high-pitched voice squealed from the outer end of the booth and all three of your heads spun over in that direction. There were two teenaged girls standing there with excited looks on their faces, both had identical books in their hands—books that seemed oddly familiar to you and Dabi. “Are you Kuuhaku Ryouta-san?”

“Why, yes, I am,” he replied with a smirk, abandoning the one-sided conversation he was trying to have with you. “Would you girls like an autograph?”

“And some photos, too, please!” they chirped, nearly trembling from excitement as your friend slid out of his seat before being led away by his fans. You and Dabi remained silent until they were out of earshot.

“What the fuck?” he whispered, “is that the book about…?”

“Yeah!” you whispered back, unconsciously mimicking him despite the fact that there was really no need to speak so softly. “That’s the book about our disappearances! They had the exact same edition as mine.”

“Is he famous for being a missing child?” Dabi asked incredulously, snorting loudly at the end of his sentence, unable to hold back his laughter properly. You couldn’t help but choke out a laugh, as well.

“Do you think we can become famous, too?” you snickered and he let out another obnoxious snort in response. The both of you continued laughing amongst yourselves for a short while, feeling a tear or two slide down your cheek by the time you’d calmed down.

Tired, you sighed and hugged his arm to your chest before slumping against him, resting your head on his shoulder. Dabi kissed the crown of your head, still letting out occasional huffs of amusement.

“It’s weird, right? That we’re all here now,” you muttered, nuzzling into the crook of his neck. “All three missing kids in the same place.”

“Yeah.”

“It’s funny… I don’t know if I would’ve preferred it to not be this way.”

“What’d you mean?” he cocked an eyebrow instinctively despite knowing you couldn’t see his face.

“Like, imagine if all three of us never went missing, we would still be together, y’know? Just under completely different circumstances.” you tightened your grip on his arm, pulling him closer to you. Dabi could feel your chest rising and falling. He thought about what you said for a moment and you waited for his response silently.

“…I think I like it this way.”

“Why?”

“I don’t think we would be together otherwise,” he replied with a shrug, causing your head to nearly slip off his shoulder. You playfully click your tongue, returning to your original position.

“What makes you say that?” you asked.

“You’d be with him,” Dabi cocked his head over towards Ryouta who was still taking photos with his fans, “and I’d be in some fucked up Quirk Marriage.” His words were bitter but none of it was directed towards you.

Now it was your turn to go quiet as you pondered over his words. He wasn’t exactly wrong, in your opinion, since you indeed had feelings for Ryouta in the past but…

“Nah, I think I’d fallen in love with you either way,” you finally said matter-of-factly, not missing the way your lover’s shoulder relaxed ever so slightly.

“Really?”

“Why? You don’t like the sound of that?” you responded with faux displeasure, pulling away from him with a hand over your chest and an overdramatic gasp of shock for added effect. Before Dabi could clarify, however, the celebrity returned and continued speaking as if he didn’t abruptly leave for twenty minutes. You directed your attention back to Ryouta for—what Dabi now knew was—mere politeness sake.

Not caring about being polite to the man opposite him, Dabi instead looked over at you, your words echoing loudly in his head.

“Nah, I think I’d fallen in love with you either way…”

No, he didn’t like the sound of that… he loved it.

Chapter Text

The commotion gradually died down the further the two of you walked. Hand-in-hand, you allowed Dabi to lead since he was the one who pulled you out of the party in the first place. It wasn’t much of a party anyway and more of just a large group of people being excited together in the same room.

“Where’re we going?” you asked, quickening your pace to match that of your partner’s. He was walking faster than usual—and he was already a relatively fast walker, despite how lazy he was, because of his long legs.

“It’s a surprise,” he said, finally slowing down to a halt once you reached a car that had been parked by the side of the empty street. “Get in.” Dabi glanced down at you, receiving a look of confusion in response.

“Huh?” your eyes flickered between him and the vehicle. “Is this your car? Can you even drive?”

Smirking, your lover shrugged and opened the door to the passenger’s seat.

“I took some lessons,” he replied simply. You opened your mouth, ready to barrage him with never-ending questions, when Dabi clicked his tongue and opened the door a little more. “Just get in.”

Sliding into your seat, he closed the door for you before walking over to the other side. You buckled your seatbelt and, in the process, spotted a bag of groceries in the backseat. You couldn’t quite make out all the contents of the bag but you did see some potatoes.

“What?” Dabi asked, turning on the ignition, when you stifled a laugh. You shook your head. He squinted his eyes at you for a moment before turning his attention to the wheel and driving off.

You still weren’t used to it, the feeling of being in a car. Sure, you’d experienced it a few times now but there was still something strange about the overall sensation. The drive was quiet but not awkward, in fact, the atmosphere was rather relaxed. Dabi didn’t turn on the radio so all you could hear was the sound of the car and your own breathing, alongside the occasional clinking noises your nails would make as you toyed with your ring. You’d gotten into the habit of wearing it on a chain around your neck rather than your finger since it felt safer that way.

Distracted by the setting sun, you failed to notice how often Dabi glanced over at you. He had one hand on the steering wheel and another in his jacket pocket. Although he couldn’t see your face since you were peering out of the passenger side’s window, he could imagine how tranquil you must’ve looked. He couldn’t deny there was a certain calmness to driving but, on the inside, there was a nervousness he just couldn’t push away.

Soon, the streets grew more familiar as you began to recognise more and more buildings. Before you could say anything, though, the car stopped and Dabi turned off the engine.

It looked exactly how you last remembered it, just a little bit dustier than usual. You contemplated cleaning up a little but decided against it when you noticed Dabi making his way straight to the kitchen, plastic bag of groceries in his hand. You made sure the front door was locked before you joined him.

“Is this the surprise?” you asked as you washed your hands. He hummed thoughtfully.

“I’m not saying anything,” he replied with a shit-eating grin, “you have to figure it out yourself.”

You merely pouted in response, hands already getting to work like his were, too. It’d been a while since you’d cooked together but falling back into the groove of things was surprisingly easy.

You would peel the vegetables and he would cook them. You would wash the rice while he would prepare the curry. You would wash the used pans as he watched over the cooking food.

Now that you think about it, Dabi always took over the hot stuff.

“Do you wanna take off your jacket?” you asked as you stood beside him, no longer having any tasks left except to watch him work. You’d taken off your jacket at the front door but for some reason, he kept his on.

“No, it’s fine,” he replied, shooting you a small smile before diverting his attention back to the boiling curry. You decided to not press further and simply leaned against his arm, smiling when he pressed his lips on the crown of your head in response.

Dabi kept the jacket on even while you were washing the dishes. Like always, you’d insisted on washing them yourself since he did so much of the work pre-meal but, like always (again), he insisted on helping you.

“Well, at least—” you grabbed his hands before he could turn on the tap. You rolled up his sleeves one after the other, making sure they were at least at his elbows before getting to work. He watched you silently the entire time, his eyes focusing on your hands as you carefully folded the fabric. You wanted it to look nice even though there was no one else around to see. “There. Now they won’t get wet!” you said, beaming up at him.

“Thank you,” Dabi chuckled, leaning down to peck your lips.

One kiss became two. And two became three. Several minutes later, you were hit in the face by bullets of water with your boyfriend laughing on the other end. You tried to plead for mercy but only ended up with water in your mouth as he relentlessly turned the tap on and off as he pointed it in your direction. You flailed your arms around, trying to at least block your face somehow but, in your overzealous attempt at saving yourself from your evil lover, your hand ended up making contact with his face.

“Are you okay?” you gasped sharply, a wave of guilt washing over you as you examined his face. A staple had come loose and there was a thin stream of blood running down his cheek to his chin. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. Quick, lay down and I’ll go get—”

“(Y/N)—”

You ran off to your bedroom before Dabi could stop you. He could hear your rummaging through your things as you most likely looked for the box of medical supplies reserved specially for him. The pain suddenly setting in, he heeded your words and sat down on the couch as he had done many times in the past and waited.

In less than a minute, you rushed back out and settled yourself underneath him, his head resting on your thighs, the box in hand. You began quickly pulling things out but felt yourself stop when your eyes met his.

Dabi stared at you from where he laid, an oddly serene look on his face in spite of the blood running down his skin. You reached down and cupped his cheek, your palm slowly beginning to glow a faint red but his hand grasped yours and pulled it away before he could begin healing.

“I can take it,” he said simply, his soft gaze had hardened, “don’t use it on me. Not for something like this.”

You furrowed your eyebrows, pulling your hand out of his before returning it to its original position. You’d be lying if you said his words didn’t make your heart flutter but…

“I can take the pain, too,” you responded firmly, activating your Quirk before he could stop you again. Using your other hand, you carefully attached a fresh staple, barely feeling the pinch on your own face as it embedded itself into his skin. “You’re being weird today,” you murmured, concentrating on your craft, and you felt the man below you stiffen. “It’s not in a bad way, though,” you continued, gently tugging on the staple to ensure it was placed correctly, “I just sense something’s off. Are you okay? Do you need to tell me something?”

You leaned back, bringing your face away from his after a few straight minutes of bending forward. Remaining in place, Dabi stayed silent although his eyes peered straight into yours as one of his hands rested itself on top of his jacket pocket.

Smiling, you slowly brushed some stray strands of hair out of his face, running your fingertips over his skin. “You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to.”

Both his hands reached out to hold yours, cupping it in between his palms. His hold was firm but gentle. Despite it being a familiar feeling by now, it still made your face burn up.

“No, I want to but…” Dabi inhaled deeply. “We need to go somewhere first.”

His hands trembled slightly as he drove, his eyes staring straight ahead as if deep in thought. Slowly, so as to not startle him, you placed a palm over one of his hands on the wheel. In comparison to his, your hand was small but just the slightest touch from it sent goosebumps forming over his entire body every time.

Sparing you a glance, Dabi felt his heart skip a beat when you realised you were smiling at him. Without a second thought, he smiled back.

You kept your hand on his for the rest of the drive although your eyes strayed over to the window by your side. The sun had set and it was dark out but, strangely enough, you felt as if the streets were getting more and more familiar once again. This time, though, it was different.

The car stopped just when you thought it would and, for a moment, you stopped breathing.

It looked exactly as it did all those years ago, except it was older, a little more worn-out by the rain and at the hands of the countless children who played here. The slide was still present, as well. You walked towards it and felt your eyes water more and more with every step you took in its direction.

He was so small then.

“What’d you think would’ve happened if you never stopped running?” Dabi asked as he entered your peripheral vision. He, too, stared at the slide, specifically at the end of it where he sat such a long while back, on a night similar to this one.

“I don’t know,” you replied, much to your surprise. Your throat felt so tight it was weird how easily your words came out. “I don’t think I would ever have not stopped… How could I? You looked so sad.”

“What if I was happy? Would you have stopped then?”

You snorted, wiping away a stray tear as you looked up at him with a smile. “If you were happy I don’t think you would ever have been here that night… Speaking of here, why’re we here?”

Taking a deep breath, Dabi slid a hand into his pocket before he leaned forward to rest his forehead against yours. You reached up and cupped his face in between your hands. Beneath your faces, he held out his clenched fist and slowly opened it, revealing two rings.

“I don’t know how these things work,” he chuckled almost nervously, “I’m guessing we both say something and then kiss?”

You felt your teeth chatter slightly as you inhaled a shaky breath, your heart aching in the most pleasant way possible. You slowly reached out and took the ring that was slightly larger than the other. Your name had been engraved on the inner side of it.

“Yeah, I think that’s pretty much how it goes,” you replied, not even knowing if you were right but it didn’t matter one bit.

“I…” he said softly, “will do anything and everything it takes to make sure you’re safe and happy for the rest of our lives.”

You shut your eyes, feeling hot tears stream endlessly down your cheeks as Dabi slowly slipped the ring onto your finger.

“I will make sure you eat enough food every day and I’ll make sure to always take your pain away.” You held his hand and slid the metallic band onto his finger.

For a moment, you both remained in place, simply relishing the presence of the other. When you pulled away and looked at one another’s faces, the two of you laughed, even nearly choking when the realisation dawned upon you and Dabi that you’d both been crying this whole time.

Slowly, your husband leaned in and captured your lips with his.

In the same playground, on a similar night many years ago, two children sat on the swings together. The boy was free of bandages, his skin no longer covered in dark bruises and burns. The girl looked tired, her eyelids nearly drooping closed many times, but she was smiling nonetheless.

They both looked up at the sky and it was surprisingly full of stars. They were holding hands.

A shooting star appears and the boy let go so that he could clench his fingers together as he shut his eyes and made a wish. The girl merely watched, still smiling, and waited for him to finish. When he was done, he reached out to hold her hand again.

“What did you wish for, Touya?”

He blushed.

“I can’t tell you or else it won’t work,” he said, not even sure if it was true. It was simply too embarrassing to share.

“I really wanna know, though,” she replied, squeezing his hand gently.

“I’ll tell you… but only when it comes true.”

The girl’s smile widened and the boy’s blush deepened.

“Okay!”

Dabi pulled away, tears still running down his face as he carefully cupped your face in his hands. You could feel the coldness of his wedding ring against your skin. He gazed down at you tenderly in silence for a moment before he spoke once more:

“Hey, there’s something else I need to tell you.”