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Tomura really hated this town.
At first, he was happy when he moved here with foster father. It seemed like a fresh start… even though he couldn’t remember much of why he felt like he needed a fresh start. His life before this was fractured into tiny pieces and shoved into the deepest corners of his mind. And he didn’t really bother fixing them in their right place. He knew he was abused, he knew it because he was a skittish kid and flinched at every raised hand. He knew it because of his nervous habit, clawing at his skin when there was an ounce of unease in the atmosphere.
But… he was saved, or at least that’s what he told him.
For the first few weeks after he moved here, when he was about five, he was truly happy. His new foster father, Shigaraki, was kind. Distant, but kind. His voice was deep, melodic, and calming. His hands were big, warm, and encouraging. He never raised his voice or his hand at Tomura. He would give him everything he ever wanted or needed. A name, some toys, food.
And then, Kurogiri.
Tomura wanted to believe the worst was behind him, that this town was his salvation.
But he was wrong.
In a town where everyone knew each other, he was branded with the role of ‘outsider’. In a town where everyone was superstitious, he was ostracized. His scars and red eyes made him seem like some sort of demon child. In a town where everyone knew the infamous Shigaraki name, he was avoided like the plague.
And eventually, this boring, dull town began feeling like some sort of complex prison.
Come to think of it, Tomura never really heard of anyone leaving the town. But he swore he would be different.
As soon as he legally could, he begged his foster father for a job. He wanted to save up enough money so he could finally move out of this godforsaken town, but he was calmly denied. He was told that he didn’t need a job, he just needed to focus on his education. Tomura’s job would be to take over the Shigaraki business… whatever it was. He thought it was something to do with investments or banking, but he didn’t care enough to ask.
So, Tomura stayed.
And the hatred, the ennui of the town only grew.
There was nothing he cared about in this town, nothing would ever be worth sticking around for--
“Wooooo!” Dabi yelled loudly, his voice trailing off into the wind as they rode down the highway, no doubt going over the speed limit. Whenever Dabi drove, they’d always break the speed limit.
Well, maybe Tomura was wrong.
He wrapped his arms tighter around Dabi’s waist and leaned into the warmth. He rested his head on his back, using it to cover his face from the roaring wind around them. There was something about this moment that made his chest tighten, but also feel lighter at the same time. Maybe it was the thrill of speeding down the road in a motorcycle, or maybe it was the way Dabi hollered into the air, like they were truly free.
Tomura couldn’t help but crack a smile as he heard a soft rumble from Dabi, laughter spilling from his lips. How the hell could the guy get motion sick in a minivan but not on a motorcycle? Well, Tomura wasn’t going to complain, he actually enjoyed these rides.
Too bad they always end quicker than he’d like.
Dabi pulled into the parking lot of the diner before he slowed to a stop right in front. Tomura still held on to him. From where they were, they could see Magne, Toga, Twice, and Spinner all at the regular booth, laughing and talking animatedly with each other.
Yeah, this town was hell, but at least he’s got friends now.
“Well? You ready to let go of me or should I go around the block a couple times?” Dabi’s rough voice teased him.
“You’re not nearly as funny as you think you are.” Tomura rolled his eyes as he swung his leg off the bike. They walked beside each other, their sides brushing against each other from how close they were. Dabi’s face was painfully neutral now, his signature nonchalant vibe coming back as they approached their seated friends.
“About time!” Toga whined loudly. “We were starting to think you’d never come!”
“This is the last time we let you two ride together.” Magne crossed her arms. “You are so late!”
“It wasn’t my fault.” Tomura shrugged as he scooted into the booth, sitting next to Spinner. Dabi moved in right after him, sandwiching the three of them together.
“It was mine, I got distracted.” Dabi smirked as he loosely draped his arm around the top of the seat behind Tomura’s head.
“Well, you better hurry up and order if you want anything. We should leave before it gets too late.”
“What are we doing again?” Dabi frowned as he waved Mr. Compress over.
“Mothman!” Both Tomura and Spinner grinned at each other.
“Oh, great.” Dabi rolled his eyes. “Fucking around in the woods it is.”
“What can I get for you, Dabi?” Mr. Compress greeted.
“Two ginger ales.” Tomura hummed in approval and Toga gagged dramatically.
“Man, I hope we do get to see something.” Spinner excitedly gushed. “I heard that some people swear they’ve seen him on the outskirts of town.”
“This town is surrounded by woods, it’d take ages to find anything out there.” Toga frowned.
“Well, that’s why Mothman hides there.” Tomura explained.
“You believe in Mothman but not ghosts?” Magne’s voice titered with disbelief.
“We are finding new species every year. It’s more believable to say we found mothman than to prove ghosts exist. And don’t tell me any bullshit about EMF readers and orbs in pictures. If there is convincing and hard core evidence of ghosts, then I’d believe it.” Tomura grunted out and Dabi handed him his ginger ale.
“There are ghosts! You’re just rude and they don’t wanna talk with you.” Toga frowned as she crossed her arms. “And if you don’t change your attitude you’re gonna scare Mr. Mothman away too.”
“Mothman would not be scared of Tomura.” Spinner snorted. “He’s like 8 ft tall.”
“How did we get stuck at the weirdo table?” Dabi muttered to Magne.
“I kinda like it.” She answered. “Gives you something to do.” Well, no one can argue with that. When Toga came up with the idea of a supernatural investigation team, they didn’t think it would be something permanent. But, her little idea to kill time developed into a hobby they all somewhat enjoyed. It was nice to spend time together as a group, but did they really have to do it in dark, dank, and abandoned places?
“Well, at least we’re not going somewhere haunted.” Twice shivered out.
“Tomura!” A voice called out from in front of their table. They all turned away from each other to see a green haired boy with a pouty expression. They couldn’t help but be a little surprised that someone outside of their social circle was talking to them. Then again, it seemed like Izuku Midoriya was as stubborn as he was sociable. “If you’re going out hunting I wanna come!”
“No.” Tomura grimaced. “You’re not coming.”
“But there’s nothing else to do in this town! And we’ll be super quiet! It’ll be like we aren’t even there!”
“He said no.” Dabi gruffed out from beside Tomura. Immediately, the boy jumped at the blue eyed man’s attention. Tomura didn’t blame the kid, Dabi could be very intimidating. “We don’t want to be dealing with a bunch of kids all day.” His eyes zeroed in on the only other group at the diner, which was on the other side of the restaurant. Dabi barely gave the two-toned by an ounce of attention as he glowered at the rest of them, who all tried to act like they weren’t staring at them.
“I’m only a year younger than Toga!” He protested, somehow not bursting into flames under Dabi’s returning gaze.
“I say we let them join!” Toga cheered. “I call Izuku and Ochaco as investigation buddies!” She added with a dreamy sigh.
“No.” Tomura frowned. “You’d be breaking curfew anyway, and I don’t feel like having you beg me to call your mom to tell her you're with us and you’ll be home soon.”
“Toga breaks curfew!” He argued.
“But I can jump really high!”
“But she can jump really high.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” He asked exasperatedly.
“Look, kid, we’re the type to run away from cops, not follow their laws.” Dabi spelled it out for him. In an instant, his face was torn between surprise and disappointment. Knowing Izuku, he was debating on lecturing them on ethics or saying they didn’t need to break the law to have fun. As soon as he opened his mouth, Dabi cut him off. “Now run along, playtime is over.” He motioned him away and Tomura roughly elbowed him.
“Tomura--” Izuku tried.
“Hey, I follow what my friends want. And you should too, from the look of it, they don’t want to hang out with us.” He raised his hands. “Besides, it’s good that you found friends your age. Hurry and go hang out with them before Dabi goes over there and scares away.” The black haired man couldn’t help but chuckle. The boy sighed dramatically before he turned around and made his way back to his table.
“How do you even know the brat?” Dabi tried his best to keep his voice neutral.
“We were the only two lonely kids in the arcade.” Tomura hummed before he took a final sip of his ginger ale. “Let’s go. He won’t take no for an answer for long.” The rest of them agreed, throwing crumpled dollars on the table to cover their bill.
“Ugh… so… fucking… cold.” Tomura shivered as he tucked up his red scarf to cover his lips and nose.
“Baby.” Dabi teased but walked closer beside him.
“Fuck off. I wasn’t the one pissing and crying because they couldn’t smoke.”
“That’s fucking bullshit. I’m literally outside, I won’t be bothering anyone!”
“Sorry Dabi!” Magne called from the front of their little group. “We do many illegal things, but we will not start a forest fire! And! We are in a drought so it’ll be really bad!”
“God, why the hell are we even here?!” Dabi groaned in frustration.
“For mothman!” Both Tomura and Spinner yelled at the exact same time.
“We’ve been here for hours already.” Dabi glared. “There’s nothing out here. Except maybe that old cult from like years ago.”
“Wait was that actually confirmed?” Toga gasped as her eyes lit up with excitement. “Because if that’s true we totally gotta investigate it!”
“No. No. No. We are not doing cults. That totally crosses the line.” Magne shivered. “Cults are very real and very manipulative and are very dangerous.” Throughout her little warning, the group unconsciously moved closer together. “Even if the cult did exist, which no one knows for sure if they did, then there’s no way we’d investigate it. That’s final.”
“You know this town. They probably saw like… three people hiking or something and just assumed it was a cult.” Spinner added nervously.
“Stop talking about the cult!” Tomura hissed. “There’s no cult because if there was mothman would’ve kicked them out.”
“I got an idea. How about I start a fire to lure mothman out?” Dabi grinned.
“God you’re such an arsonist.” Toga rolled her eyes.
“I dunno I could use a cigarette too.” Twice grunted out, scratching the back of his head.
“Great! Two against four. Whaddya say, Tomura? I’d warm you up and you’d have a better chance of seeing mothman.” Much to Magne’s horror, Tomura actually seemed to be considering the idea. She could tell in the way he tilted his head and hummed out thoughtfully. Dabi seemed to be pulling all the stops as he grinned at the white haired man with those eyes.
“We are not doing that. Literally our town has been on fire three times and all of those times were guess-who’s-fault.” Magne narrowed her eyes. “The police aren’t that stupid and would defintely take you in for questioning, Dabi.”
“Well, fuck, that’d be pretty hilarious.”
“By ‘hilarious’ I hope you mean hilariously bad and an asshole move of you.” Magne pointed out. “If you get called in, you know who would show up. You can’t put us through that again.” Most of them could still remember it. The only one who wasn’t there was Toga because she was a minor and let go before going to the police station.They had just been caught trespassing and were thrown in for the night. Dabi had always been tight lipped about his family, so it was a twist of the century when Enji Todoroki (the fucking mayor!) showed up to bail Dabi out and threaten him. Saying something like ‘if you do this again, if you soil the Todoroki name, you will be sent away’ or something cryptic along those lines.
They felt doubly worse as the father and son duo then proceeded to argue in front of them and the whole entire police department. Magne was terrified that it would get physically from how loud they were yelling, but not physical between Dabi and Enji.
No, she could see Tomura standing there with white knuckles and red eyes like daggers pointed at the taller, should-be-intimidating, red haired man. It was a huge relief that Tomura didn’t lunge at Enji and claw his eyes out by the end of the night.
Of course, Dabi disappeared for a few days after. But he never went far as Tomura informed them Dabi crashed at his place the whole time.
All in all, it was an experience no one wanted to repeat.
“Aw well I’m sorry to put you through any inconvenience.” Dabi cut out. Instantly, Tomura was beside him, muttering something into his ear. Whatever it was, it seemed to satisfy Dabi for a moment, his blue eyes smoldering.
“Come on guys.” Spinner frowned.
“Looks, we’ve been walking for who knows how long--”
“About three hours.” Twice interrupted.
“--and I know we’re just getting cranky!” Toga finished as she jumped between the two. “So why don’t we--”
“Don’t say it. Don’t say it.” Spinner prayed.
“--split up!” Toga suggested. “We’d cover more ground. And it’d give us time to cool down!”
“Whatever. Let’s go, Tomura.” Dabi rolled his eyes and started strolling in the opposite direction.
“Spinner go with them.” Toga hissed out and pushed him after Tomura and Dabi.
“What? No!” Spinner pleaded. “Don’t make me a third wheel.”
“If you don’t Dabi will convince Tomu to just leave us! They drove here separately so you know he would. But with you there they have to come back with us! Besides, you and Tomura can talk about mothman or something! Now hurry before they go too far!!” Toga gave him a big shove.
“Gah! That idiot can be so… so… so self destructive at times!” Magne threw her hands in the air as she ranted. Her, Toga, and Twice had barely made it out of earshot from the other group before Magne opened her mouth. “I, ugh, I don’t get it. I honestly don’t get it.” She kicked a rock on the trail. “Here we are trying to help him and he just-- Ugh! I hope Tomura doesn’t kiss him as punishment. If we had cell service I would’ve texted him not too.” She crossed her arms.
“I know Big Sis.” Toga frowned. “But no one can help Dabi unless he wants help. You know know him, he’s just too stubborn and stupid! A typical guy! Except of course you, Jin-Jin!” Toga smiled.
“Thanks!” Twice smiled widely. “Fuck off. Don’t worry Big Sis! We know you care and how hard you try! Dabi doesn’t deserve shit. At least he has Tomura to cool him off if he gets too fiery.”
“I guess…” Magne shrugged. “God! Why are we even doing this?! Do you guys honestly believe in mothman?”
“Pfft no.” Twice’s laugh echoed around them.
“I want to. But c’mon, giant moth human hybrid?” Toga giggled. “I only suggested it ‘cause I knew Tomura and Shuuichi really wanted to do this. Besides! It doesn’t matter what we do as long as we do stuff together, right?”
“Toga! You’re the cutest little sister in the world!” Magne cried out as she brought her in for a tight hug. Without needing to be invited in, Twice quickly wrapped his arms around them and sighed into the hug. “Seriously guys. I’m glad you took me away before I really kicked his ass. I know it’s not as bad because Tomura is with him… but it’s like… he only cares about himself because he doesn’t wanna hurt Tomura instead of caring about himself because you know, you should!”
“Trust me, I get you. I’m his roommate and the guys a -- annoying mother fucker-- distant person.” Both Magne and Toga made a noise in agreement. “Can I just say that this past year has been amazing? Dabi actually cleans the apartment before Tomura comes over!”
“Year?” Magne smiled, her eyes flashing with amusement and disbelief. “They barely started talking to each other then. Do you think they started liking each other way back then? Wait! They’ve been dancing around each other for a year?”
“No.” “Yeah!” Both Twice and Toga snapped their heads to look at each other in surprise. It sounded like they were confident in their answers which made it even more confusing.
“Ummm, sorry Jin! But Tomura didn’t start having feelings for Dabi until like, right before we spent the night at the cemetery.” Toga rolled her eyes. “I would know because I nearly annoyed Tomura to death so he could tell me the truth.”
“Uhhh no way Toga! Dabi told me he liked Tomura right away.At first sight!” Twice shook his head. “And I would know because Dabi told me when he was shitfaced drunk!” Toga pouted childishly, clearly not happy from not winning the argument. The blonde opened her mouth to snap a retort but she was cut off by Magne gasping.
“Oh my god… Dabi fell first.” Magne whispered in awe.
“I mean Dabi is kinda clumsy.” Twice added.
“No. No. Like he fell in love first.” Magne furrowed her eyebrows at Twice’s comment. “All this time I thought it was Tomura but oh my god it was Dabi! Hey! Dabi did start flirting first!” It was like all the dots were connecting in her mind. “Ew… Dabi really chose the cemetery to make a move? That’s just… ew…”
“I dunno… I think it paid off. I mean, he got Tomura after all.” Toga shrugged.
“Can we stop talking about them? I feel like a bad friend.” Twice frowned.
“Well, we don’t believe in mothman. And the only other entertainment in this town is gossip. So unless you got some juicy things to say…”
“My ass is pretty juicy-- Achoo!” Twice sneezed.
“Bless you!”
“Thank you!” Suddenly, all three of them stopped midstep.
“Wait, who said that?!” Toga looked around, trying to see if anyone was around them.
“Toga, get behind me.” Magne whispered as she tugged on the blonde’s sleeve. Toga didn’t object as she moved closer to the redhead, but with the intent of protecting her. Her fingers quickly dug into her pocket, feeling the cold steel of her knife.
“Is it the cult!?” Twice shivered as he moved closer to them. “Magne can I hide behind you too? I got this ladies!”
“Wait I think we should--”
“Ahhhhh!!” The three of them screamed out.
“Woah, did you hear something?” Spinner asked as he tilted his head, trying to hear over the deafening silence. He could’ve sworn he heard a faint… yell? Could it be mothman’s distant war cry? Then, his mind began to turn into much more worried thoughts. Hopefully it wasn’t their friends, it’s been a good amount of time since they’ve seen each other.
“Mothman noises?” Tomura’s head tilted up.
“I… dunno. It stopped.” His face twisted with worry. “You guys swear you didn’t hear anything?” Spinner added again as he jogged up to match the strides of Dabi and Tomura.
“Nope.” Dabi popped the ‘p’ with a bored expression. “What is mothman even doing out here, anyway?” Dabi grunted.
“Living his life.” Spinner frowned.
“The best life. If I could fuck off into the middle of the woods I would.” Tomura sighed.
“Technically nothing is stopping you.” Dabi shrugged.
“You know that’s not true.” Tomura softly spoke with a frown, looking particularly hurt at Dabi. It was such a kicked puppy look that Spinner felt bad for even listening to the conversation. He could already feel the third wheel awkwardness settle in the air. Spinner liked to believe he wasn’t that awkward of a person, but whenever it came to whatever these two had going on, it made his skin crawl. Everything felt so intimate between the usually stoic men, from the soft voices to the heated glances. Spinner was still surprised they couldn’t communicate telepathically by now.
“He couldn’t stop us in time.” Dabi offered, his blue eyes blazing so brightly and intensely that Spinner flinched away. And also because he was terrified because he’d never seen Dabi so… sincere.
“Mothman wouldn’t let you guys live in his woods.” Spinner muttered to himself as he turned his attention back to the path. Not that he goes hiking much, let alone outside, but he knew from some people that this forest was tricky. The sudden slopes and rocky paths could easily cause a nasty fall. The added fact that the only light source they had were from their tiny flashlights was another worry.
“Yes he would. We’d be friends.” Tomura retorted, broken away from Dabi’s spell. He shoved his hands into the black coat pockets. The same coat that Dabi was wearing a few days ago. It took the promise of a slice of pie and fifteen dollars to stop Toga from teasing the two about that detail.
“Why? Because you both have fuzzy white hair and beady red eyes?” Spinner smirked.
“Th-the wind messes with my hair, okay?” Unconsciously, Tomura raised his hand to smooth his hair.
“I like it messy.” Dabi winked as he brushed against Tomura again, not unlike a cat. Now that he was thinking about it, Dabi did resemble an alley cat. Spinner wouldn’t dare say it aloud, but it was an amusing thought he’d share with Magne later. “Especially when it gets matted down with sweat too.” Spinner gaged at his playful wink.
“Shut up.” Tomura huffed but the damage was already done when Dabi saw the blush on his cheeks. And just like that, Dabi knew he had to kiss Tomura within the second.
“Mothman would never be friends with you. He’s territorial. You’d think he’d want a mortal hanging around him and his lands?” Spinner tried to bring the conversation back.
“‘Mortal’?” Tomura rolled his eyes. “Mothman’s a cryptid, not some divine deity.”
“Well we don’t know.” Spinner added.
“But we do know. Mothman hasn’t been around for forever. He clearly came into existence because of nuclear waste.”
“You sayin’ there’s nuclear waste in these woods?” Dabi perked up for some reason Spinner really didn’t know or want to know.
“Um, no. Mothman isn’t indigenous to the area. He’s a roamer. He’s been sighted all over the country.” Spinner held in his laugh because of Dabi’s now annoyed expression.
“He could be part of a community of mothman, though.” Tomura added.
“There’s only one mothman.” Spinner frowned.
“Well why don’t you ask him when we find him.” Tomura frowned right back.
“Must be boring.” Dabi wondered aloud. “It’s not nearly as fun alone as it is with someone else, huh Tomura?”
“Shut up.” Tomura hissed out through his teeth, his cheeks almost as red as his eyes. That seemed to encourage Dabi as he chuckled and moved to close the last of the space between them. Immediately, Spinner knew where this would lead too, but so did Tomura as he turned his head away just as Dabi wrapped his arm around his shoulder, pressing their sides together as they continued walking.
“Mothman wouldn’t care if he’s alone.” Tomura muttered.
“Antisocial club members unite.” Spinner added and Tomura chuckled. “Maybe that’s why there are so many sightings of him, he comes out because he wants a friend.”
“That’s stupid.” Tomura eloquently replied.
“Hey! How is that stupid? Aren’t all animals social creatures.”
“Polar bears.” The white haired man argued.
“Of course you’d bring up polar bears.”
“I was just giving you an example. But here, have another: orangutans.”
“Good I love it when you’re a smartass.” Dabi sighed lovingly and tried to kiss him but Tomura quickly turned his head away again, so Dabi had to settle for his cheek.
“Yeah but…” Spinner tried to argue but couldn’t when Dabi was glaring at Tomura’s lips. “To compare a mothman to a mammal should be against the rules. I mean… moths lay eggs and are not mammals.”
“... Are you suggesting mothman lays eggs?” Tomura made no effort to hide the disgust in his voice.
“Oh my fucking… God, can you stop talking about Mothman? I’m trying to makeout with you!” Dabi’s voice was dripping with frustration. Both Spinner and Tomura turned to stare at Dabi with wide eyes, surprised at his little outburst.
“End me. End me, now.” Spinner pleaded. He should’ve gone with Magne and Twice. He should’ve just ran past Toga to make her go with them. They would never pull this kind of thing with her.
“Not in front of Spinner…” Tomura’s voice was uncharacteristically soft.
“Fine! Spinner walk a couple steps in front of us.” Dabi turned his intense eyes to focus on him.
“What?!”
“Well… he doesn’t have to walk in front of us, we should be careful not to get separated.” Tomura tilted his head.
“Then face the tree over there.” Dabi pointed to the scariest and darkest tree Spinner had ever seen.
“Ummm… I don’t wanna hear anything.” Spinner grimaced.
“You won’t hear anything!” Tomura snapped, his face burning again. This time, his coat didn’t have a hood so he couldn’t hide his face. “Just… do it, Spinner.”
“Yeah, do it Spinner.” Dabi smirked with victory when Tomura agreed with him. Spinner sighed, not wanting to argue and walked towards the tree. At least the patterns of the bark were nice. Spinner felt his ears straining to hear their soft words from the silence surrounding them. There was no way telling what they were saying, but he could tell who was talking. Dabi’s voice was deep, rumbling like distant thunder while Tomura’s was raspy like the wind. The only thing he knew was that they were talking in quick jabs, their voices cutting but flowing into each other in harmony.
There was a rustle of movement, as Dabi moved closer to Tomura, finally getting what he was working towards the whole night. Tomura bit his lip as Dabi gently guided him backwards until his back rested on a tree a little ways away from Spinner. Tomura bit his lip as he watched Dabi with half lidded eyes, his head softly thumping back against bark.
“Tomura…” Dabi teased and his hot breath brushed against his lips.
“Dabi.” Tomura tried to answer back coolly.
“Don’t be like that, babe.” The black haired man smirked, blue eyes flashing to the scar on Tomura’s lips.
“Like what, difficult?”
“Yeah…”
“I thought you liked difficult… especially ‘cause you act difficult alot.” Tomura couldn’t help but smirk at the way Dabi’s face fell.
“Oh come on. I thought you’d let me off the hook for that.” Dabi groaned as he placed a hand on the tree truck next to Tomura, caging him in.
“You should apologize to Magne before she really gets mad.” Tomura frowned. “You know she just cares about you, right?”
“Whatever.”
“Dabi.” Tomura narrowed his eyes.
“If anything, I should be mad. You completely ignored me.”
“What do you mean?” Tomura couldn’t help but tilt his head.
“Earlier-- you know what, nevermind.” Dabi sighed as he pushed himself off the tree and shoved his hands into his pockets.
“Dabi!” Tomura called, watching him start walking in a different direction. “Dabi, wait.” Instantly, he moved to follow Dabi deeper into the woods. “Spinner, are you waiting for an invitation? Come on!” Tomura called back but still kept moving after Dabi. “Dabi, fuck. Throw a tantrum somewhere else. It’s dangerous.”
“Everyone needs a little danger in their life.” Dabi called back, his voice a little too joyful for Tomura’s liking. “That’s why you’re with me, right? Because I’m the bad boy!”
“Dabi! Knock it off!”
“Tomura, come back, we should at least stick together.” Spinner tried to keep up with their strides, but kept getting caught on branches.
“Dabi, seriously, come back.” Tomura ignored him and continued forward. “I think there’s a drop this way.” But Dabi continued forward. Tomura sighed heavily before he started jogging to catch up with Dabi. Just as he got to Dabi’s side, there was a rustle.
“Hey! Are you guys alright!” Spinner called frantically as he watched the two of them fall down into the darkness of the forest.
Tomura didn’t know what happened. As soon as he was within arms reach with Dabi, the ground beneath their feet ended. He didn’t think of anything else except to yank on Dabi’s wrist, pulling their bodies together as they tumbled down. Tomura’s other hand shot up to cover the back of Dabi’s head as they rolled down the hill. The hill wasn’t that steep, because they stopped rolling as quickly as he realized they started. At first, Tomura was a little disoriented, breathless as he laid on top of Dabi, their limbs tangled.
Dabi’s blue eyes were wide and bright beneath him. Vaguely, Tomura could feel the weight of Dabi’s head start to crush his hand into the jagged ground beneath them.
“Dabi! Tomura!”
“You…” Dabi started.
“Dabi… are you okay?” Tomura whispered, finally getting his voice to crawl out of his mouth. “You’re not hurt, right?”
“I…” Dabi opened his mouth again. “You fell with me.”
“I… I… I didn’t want to see you hurt.” Tomura replied bluntly. Suddenly, Dabi’s hand shot out to tangle itself in Tomura’s white hair as he slammed his lips against him. Tomura groaned in surprise but quickly welcomed the action.
Dabi nipped at his lips, almost pleadingly. Tomura gasped in surprise when Dabi rolled them over, so he was on top of Tomura’s smaller body. Instantly, Tomura moved against Dabi, sliding his tongue against Dabi’s. He could feel Dabi practically start grinding him into the ground, but Tomura didn’t care. The only thing he could focus on how hot Dabi’s tongue was in his mouth.
“Dabi…” He choked out a moan. That only seemed to encourage Dabi more as he softly gripped Tomura’s hair, angling his head to deepen the kiss even though it seemed impossible.
“Guys! Are you-- Oh god!” Spinner cried out as he shielded his face. “Why?!”
“Go away!” Dabi barely turned away from Tomura’s lips to hiss at him.
“I was really worried you know!” Spinner yelled back.
“H… hold on.” Tomura sighed when Dabi started mouthing against his chin. Despite his words, his fingers curled in Dabi’s hair, trying to guide his lips to the right spot.
“IswearI’mnotlookingonpurpose but Tomura it looks like your hand is bleeding!” Spinner rushed out. At his words Dabi finally unlatched himself from Tomura.
“What?” Tomura asked, not understanding what Spinner was saying because of how fast he talked, and definitely not because Dabi’s kiss left him stunned. Dabi quickly sat up and pulled Tomura’s hand in front of his face.
“Fuck, Tomura.” Dabi spoke softly.
“It’s fine. It’s probably just skinned.” He rolled his eyes and flexed his hand. He could still move it and it didn’t hurt, so it wasn’t broken or sprained. Tomura brought his face closer to his hand, which Dabi gripped firmly in his own. “Look, I just skinned my knuckles, that’s all.” He shrugged. But he could tell by the look in Dabi’s eyes that Dabi was not happy about it. Especially since it was the same hand he used to cradle the back of Dabi’s head and protect it during their tumble. “Hey. Quit it. I fell with you, okay?”
“Don’t you mean you fell for him?” The three of them jumped at the sound of Toga’s voice suddenly coming from the trees beside them.
“Fucking gremlin!” Dabi cursed as he got off of Tomura. “Give me your arm, Tomura.” Tomura rolled his eyes but held out his arm anyway. Gently, Dabi helped him up. “We gotta go, Tomura needs to go home.”
“I’m fine. It’s literally just some scraped knuckles.”
“Yeah and we are literally hours away from our car.”
“My little cabin isn’t too far from there.” A strange voice piped up. Immediately, Dabi stepped closer to Tomura, covering most of him from the stranger. Tomura leaned over Dabi’s shoulder and tried to see a better view of the stranger.
He was a tall but gangly man, practically swallowed by his winter clothing. His blond hair was long and shaggy, covering some of the more angular features of his face.
“It’s uncle Yagi!” Toga grinned, explaining when she saw Tomura’s questioning glance.
“Oh we aren’t related.” He tried to explain.
“Yes we are! You saved us!” Toga grinned.
“I really didn’t. You guys were just a couple feet from the main trail.” He sheepishly scratched the back of his head. “My name is Yagi Toshinori by the way. I live out here and heard all the noise. I promise I was just worried that you guys would get yourselves lost!”
“He’s totally a part of the cult!” Toga nodded excitedly.
“Toga shush, no he is not.” Magne hissed.
“I trust him!” Twice added. “No choice, man!”
“Look, if you guys wanna go home, just go directly straight from here and you’ll come across a trail. That trail will eventually loop back to the front of the woods where your friends said you came from. If you want, my house is down this way, and I could patch up your friend. But I completely understand how off putting that is.” He explained. “But the sooner we clean your friend’s injury the less of a chance it will get infected.”
“Let’s go Tomura! I’d love to see a creepy old man’s house!” Toga cheered.
“I don’t think I’m creepy or old.” The man muttered to himself. Without saying anything, Tomura turned his attention to Dabi, who simply shrugged in return.
“Tomura, you should get cleaned up. What if animals can smell your blood?” Spinner prodded.
“Fine.” Tomura frowned. Toga and Twice cheered as they started crowding around the older man, berating him with questions.
“Should we follow him?” Magne worried. She inconspicuously managed to fall into step with Tomura and Dabi, who were in the back of their little group like always.
“He’s an old scrawny man. Plus, it’s six verses one.” Dabi pointed out.
“I dunno. He doesn’t seem bad.” Tomura muttered. “We all know Toga is amazing at reading people, if she’s this comfortable around him then he must be good. He didn’t do anything weird or mention something that would give us a reason to distrust him?”
“No… but then again that’s how psychopaths get you. They act normal until the last second!” Magne whispered harshly.
“Six verses one.” Dabi reminded them.
The walk to the strangers house was short. The house wasn’t creepy or dangerous looking, in fact it looked painfully normal. Almost boring. It seemed like a regular house, with a tiny little garden in front. The front door was illuminated by a bright porch light. Silently, the whole group agreed it was a welcomed sight. The only weird thing was that it was in the middle of the woods, but Tomura wasn’t one to judge. He knew that sometimes you just needed to be away from everyone.
The inside of the house was also simple, just with the basic necessities.
“Alright, you guys can wait here or come with me, my first aid kit is in the bathroom.” Yagi flicked on the light and ushered them into the dinning room. They were all cramped in the small room, but it made them feel safer.
“Well? Serial killer enough for you guys?” Dabi muttered out before Magne elbowed him.
“You mean culty?” Toga grinned.
“Knock it off.” Tomura grunted out as he pushed himself forward, in front of their little group. The sooner he got this over with the sooner he could leave.
“Alright, here it is! Just need to see your hand--” The blond man looked up from the first aid kit to stare at Tomura. Suddenly, Yagi was quiet, his voice dying in his throat as his blue eyes stunned Tomura. He could see the exact moment where Yagi’s face angled downwards in shock, or… regret? “... Shimura.” His voice was raspy against Tomura’s ears, it almost felt like sand paper.
In an instant, Tomura felt a sharp pain tap against his temple, but it quickly disappeared and settled into a dull throbbing.
“Who?” Tomura’s face scrunched up, in confusion or discomfort.
“Shimura…?” The blond whispered again, this time hopefully and almost expectantly, like he was waiting for Tomura to say something. At that moment, Tomura realized that Yagi’s hand was held out, reaching for him before he stopped himself.
“Who?” Tomura added.
“I… I’m sorry.” Yagi tore his eyes away from Tomura as he put the first aid kit on the table. “We… we were in the dark earlier so…. I didn’t get a good look at your face but… are you... “ He kept stumbling over his own words, and for a moment Tomura felt sorry for the guy. He knew his face wasn’t the best thing to see, but Yagi looked like he saw a literal ghost. His face even looked pale.
“It’s… okay.” Tomura muttered as he bowed his head, trying to hide his face from the man. “I understand.”
“No! It’s…” He tried to explain. “You’re just… familiar.” Now that surprised Tomura. “Does the name Shimura mean anything to you?” Upon seeing Tomura’s confused expression, Yagi sighed deeply. “No. I didn’t know what I was…” He muttered under his breath before he shook his head. “I’m sorry. I must have you mistaken you for someone else… but I don’t think you ever told me your name.”
He didn’t. Even after Dabi and Spinner introduced themselves, Tomura held back.
“Isn’t he the old mayor? Ass Mighty or something?” Toga whispered to Twice somewhere in the room, who simply shrugged in response.
“Nah, old mayor All Might was buff.” Magne shook her head, always one to appreciate muscles.
“Tomura.” The white haired male carefully spoke. “Shigaraki.” He added after a moment’s hesitation.
“Shigaraki…?” All Might breathed.
“Before you ask, yes, that Shigaraki. AFO.” He rolled his eyes.
“Dude, you still don’t know his real name?” Spinner grimaced.
“We don’t really talk that much, or see each other frequently…” Tomura shrugged. “Is that weird?”
“Yeah. Well he adopted you when you were a kid right? All parents teach their kids their family tree and stuff.”
“Not really the lovey-dovey parental type.” Tomura frowned.
“I wish I didn’t know my father’s name.” Dabi sighed wishfully.
“Adopted? Are you not from around here?” Yagi suddenly asked, his eyes going wide. Tomura leaned back slightly when the blond stepped closer to him.
“No… I moved here because Shigaraki had his business here.”
“How did Shigaraki find you?”
“I… I-I dunno.” He answered honestly. The memories of his old family and the adoption all blurred into darkness in his mind. They were fuzzy, probably repressed. Tomura didn’t even remember when in time the memories started to fade. Sometimes he remembered his first nights under Shigaraki’s care, but they would slip through his fingers just as quickly as he could grasp them.
“Why are you so interested?” Dabi pushed himself off the wall to stand beside Tomura, clearly recognizing how uncomfortable he was. Just seeing Dabi closer to him was enough to calm Tomura down.
“Uh, just starting a conversation!” Yagi quickly took a step back and lifted his hands in the air. “It’s just strange that Shigaraki of all people would adopt. Not to mention a kid from outside of town! Sorry, I didn’t mean to start anything. Here, let’s hurry up and clean that wound.” He quickly changed the subject as he pulled out some antiseptic wipes. Cautiously, Tomura offered his bloody hand to him.
“Dabi leave the old man alone!” Toga pouted. “It’s just harmless questions!” Still, Dabi’s blue eyes were blazing and burning into the man, practically challenging him to try and do anything suspicious.
“Yeah… harmless…” Tomura frowned to himself, trying to focus on the sting instead of his racing thoughts.