Chapter Text
“Are you almost ready?” You call out from the other room. Dabi emerges slowly, wearing black jeans and a dark button-down shirt. He starts to put on his shoes, looking flustered. You notice the emotion in his face and ask what’s wrong.
“I just...I look like a fucking monster,” he says softly. “They’re gonna think I’m a monster.” His head hangs slightly, hair falling in his face. You walk over to him and take his face in your hands, tilting his head so his eyes meet yours.
“Hey. Don’t say that,” you say softly, pulling him into you. “They want me to be happy, and guess what? You make me fucking happy. That’s what they’ll notice.” Dabi sighs and hugs you tight, his head on your shoulder.
“I hope you’re right,” he mumbles into your neck, “but I know if I was them, I’d think I was a monster.”
“Well, good thing I know well enough for the both of us that you’re not a monster,” you say cheerily. “Now, let’s get going! We don’t want to be late.” Dabi stands tall, kissing your forehead and taking your hand as you head out the door.
Dabi is quiet on the drive to your family’s house, but he still smiles listening to you sing along with the music playing. His hand rests on your leg, and you can feel him shaking slightly. When you arrive, you park and Dabi gets out quickly to open your door for you. You smile and take his hand while you walk up the driveway. He’s still shaking a little, so you squeeze his hand.
“Hey,” you say softly, “this is gonna be fine!” He lets out a nervous laugh, but you can see the anxiety in his eyes. You lift your hands and give his a kiss. Dabi’s face flushes a little and he looks down at you, smiling. He squeezes your hand and then you walk into your family’s home. You can feel him tense up slightly when your family sees him for the first time, so you try to break the ice.
“Everyone, this is Dabi!” You say excitedly. He lets out a small nervous laugh before speaking.
“I know, I look like a zombie,” he says softly, “and I know I probably look like I don’t deserve Y/N. Hell, I’m sure that I don’t. But Y/N has been the best thing that has ever happened to me, by far. They make me happier than I ever thought I was allowed to be. So...I hope that makes up for all of the skin grafts and staples.” When he finishes, the tension in the air clears. Your sister is the first person to come up to him.
“I can tell that you’re genuine,” she says, “and you obviously make Y/N happier than I’ve ever seen them, so you’re okay in my book, Dabi!” She stretches her arms out for a hug. Dabi lets go of your hand to shyly hug her back. She hugs him gently and says “I don’t want to hurt you, you know, because of the skin grafts...but I’m happy you’re here!”
He laughs. “Most people don’t realize that they hurt - not that many people hug me...but either way, I’m glad to be here too.” Your mom approaches him next, nervously hugging him.
“If you don’t mind me asking,” she says softly, “what caused all of these?”
“Mom!” You say, frustrated, “Don’t ask about that!”
Dabi laughs. “It’s fine, Y/N. I don’t mind talking about it.” He turns to your mom. “My quirk, Cremation, produces blue flames. Growing up and trying to teach myself how to control it was...quite a challenge, to say the least. It didn’t help that my dad was pushing me to my limit and then some, even as a kid. It takes a pretty big toll on me physically, even now.” Your mom’s eyes widen a little and she hugs him again.
“I can’t imagine,” she says, “I’m so sorry you had to endure that.” Dabi looks the same way he looked when you showed him sympathy for the first time: slightly uncomfortable, but grateful. He hugs your mom back and quietly says, “It’s okay. If my life hadn’t gone exactly as it did, I might not be here right now with you all.”
All of a sudden, your kid brother speaks up from the couch. “Blue flames?! Can you show me?!” You are mortified, but Dabi laughs.
“Sure thing,” he says, “just don’t come too close. I don’t want anyone to get burned.” He does a little spin and then two small flames emerge from his palms. “Ta-da!” He laughs. Your family is in awe. You are laughing at Dabi’s sudden burst of dramatics, and he turns to you with a smile.
“What’s so funny, Y/N? Never seen a performance like mine before?” He winks. “I understand, it’s a very once-in-a-lifetime experience.” You are practically doubled over in laughter, and your heart feels full. Seeing Dabi happily interacting with your family, and seeing them accept him with open arms, is everything you could have hoped for. Your brother is mesmerized by the flames, and Dabi continues to indulge him with more tricks. Your mom and sister both look at you and give approving smiles. Your dad is quiet, but that’s not unusual for him. He’s simply watching Dabi interacting with his family.
You notice that Dabi is starting to look tired, like his quirk is being used too much. You walk over to him and put a hand on his back, saying “Why don’t we take a little break from this excellent performance? I think it’s almost time to eat!”
“Oh, you’re right! The food is almost ready. Y/N, will you come help me with it?” Your mom says. You nod and follow her into the kitchen. Your dad invites Dabi to sit on the couch.
“You know, Y/N is my oldest,” he says softly. “They’ve been through a lot in their life - a lot of pain that wasn’t their fault.”
“I know,” Dabi says, “they’ve been very open and honest with me from day one. It breaks my heart knowing that people have been so unkind to Y/N.”
“You know I have to make sure Y/N is in good hands,” your dad says. “I don’t want them to be hurt again.” Dabi’s eyes grow dark and serious. He turns to face your dad.
“I know you do. But I need you to know that from the second I met Y/N, I was very serious about them. And I fall more in love with them every moment I get to spend with them. I would never even think of hurting them. I couldn’t live with myself if I knew that anything I’d ever done had hurt them in any way.”
Your dad smiles. “That’s all I needed to hear.” Dabi lets out a small sigh of relief.
“Thank god,” he says softly. “I was...really nervous. I didn’t grow up with a close and supportive family, so I have no idea how this shit works.” Your dad puts a hand on Dabi’s shoulder.
“You’re clearly trying your best, and that’s what is most important to us. Plus, Y/N lights up when they talk about you. I’ve never seen anyone affect them like that.” Dabi smiles.
“Well, they affect me just as much. I’ve never really had anyone love me...in general, let alone the way that Y/N does.”
Your dad smiles. “Well, I’m glad that you two found each other. You seem like a damn near perfect match.” Dabi’s cheeks flush red as he softly says, “thanks.” They sit in silence for a minute or two before your dad says, “Hey, you want a beer?”
Dabi laughs. “Sure,” he says. “I’ll go grab ‘em.” He finds his way into the kitchen, where you and your mom are waiting on the food to finish. He comes over to you, cheeks pink and a wide smile. He wraps his arms around your shoulders and pulls you into him, kissing the top of your head.
“Having a good time in here?” He asks. You smile and nod.
“What about you? Talk about anything interesting in there?” He smiles and ruffles your hair.
“Just talking about how much I love you,” he says softly, “Nothing too crazy.” Your cheeks flush red and your mom turns to face your both.
“Well, that is the sweetest thing I’ve heard all day,” she smiles. “I’m really happy that you two found each other!” Dabi kisses the top of your head again while giving you a squeeze. “Food’s ready!” Your mom calls to your dad and siblings.
Everyone sits at the table and fills their plates. Dabi and your dad drink their beers and make small talk about the local sports teams and how they need to improve if they want to make the playoffs. Dabi keeps his hand on your knee under the table and gently rubs it. Your brother keeps asking Dabi to do tricks with his quirk, and you have to keep explaining to him that his quirk has limits and he can’t do any more for awhile. Your mom just keeps looking over at you two and smiling. Your sister blurts out from across the table that you and Dabi are absolutely precious, which makes him blush. Dinner goes smoothly and by the end of it, your family loves Dabi just as much as you do.