Chapter Text
Dabi hums to himself as he prepares dinner, ignoring the eyes peering at him from behind the breakfast bar. He’s used to the inquisitive stares that watch his every move–he has his own little shadow. He can’t help the smile that comes to his face as he hears the scraping of a bar stool across the wooden floor of the apartment. A couple of weeks ago, one of the pads on the bottom had come off one of the legs. So, instead of spending the unnecessary money to buy a new one he just took the pads off the other legs to keep it balanced.
“Daddy,” He turns as she starts to talk, though he can already guess the next thing she is going to say, “What's for dinner?”
“Well Haru, what would you like for dinner?”
She peers up at him with big blue eyes, eyes that remind him of looking in a mirror. She fiddles with her hands shyly, almost like she’s nervous that it won't be the same. “Mac and cheese?”
He chuckles. He knows his daughter like the back of his hand. “Well, you're in luck. That is what we’re having”
“YAY!” She hops off her chair, almost taking it down with her. She runs through the kitchen, dirty blond hair flying as she runs.
Dabi scoops her up before she gets very fair, “What have I told you about the kitchen?”
“... Don’t run in the kitchen” She looks down shamefully.
He nods and boops her nose, “That's right.” Just because he has a fire quirk doesn’t mean he’s not a stickler about fire safety.
She squirms and scrunches up her nose, “Daddyyyyyyyy. I'm not a baby anymore.”
He chuckles and lets her back down. “You’ll always be my baby. Now run along and wash up, dinner will be ready soon.”
“Okay, Daddy!” She chirps and runs off to the bathroom.
A happy sigh escapes his lips as he watches her go. She’s inherited some of her father's bird-like characteristics. She chirps when she’s happy, has an affinity for shiny things, and her tiny little wings always show off her emotions. He’s glad she hasn’t inherited his hawk-like markings. While her other traits are shared by other bird mutation users, were as the eye marks– those would instantly pin her as Hawks’s daughter. He sighs at the thought, looking around the small apartment. Life would be so different if he had Keigo here next to him. They wouldn’t be living in a one-bedroom apartment, with barely enough space for his daughter's stuff, even with him sleeping in the living room. Of course, the apartment was safe, but worn down. He knew it wasn't fully up to code, but he had put every possible precaution in place to keep the two of them safe.
He shakes his head. Now is not the time to think about what could have been, now is the time to get dinner on the table. He pulls out a pair of plastic bowls and some utensils. He never really saw any point in buying “adult” kitchenware when he could do perfectly well with the same things Haru did. When there’s a sudden knocking at the door, he raises his head but thinks nothing of it. No one really knows where they live, only his work for legal purposes. But they would never come by the house, especially not this late in the evening. So, he goes back to putting mac and cheese into the bowls. After another minute there’s another round of knocks. Someone clearly has the wrong address,
“I think you're at the wrong place!” It seems to work as the knocking stops. But then there’s a crash against the door, the hinges creaking and groaning under the strain. He barely has time to grab a kitchen knife before there's another slam against the door, the hardware caving and putting him face to face with someone he hoped to never see again.
Endeavor.
“There you are. Been looking for you for a long, long time.”
“How? How did you find me?” He has a fake identity for work and Haru…legally Haru doesn’t exist.
“Your scars are very recognizable. You just need to know who to ask…and what their price is. And now I know everything, Touya.”
He freezes. He used to have a plan for revealing his identity to his father, seeing the surprise and shock on his face as he realized his firstborn was still alive, and now a villain. But that wasn't what happened. Endeavor wears a smirk, knowing he has the power in this situation– it doesn’t matter that Dabi is no longer a villain.
“I’ve turned over a new leaf. I don’t commit acts of villainy anymore.” His grip on the knife doesn't loosen.
“It doesn’t matter. You have committed a horrendous number of crimes, and brought shame to the Todoroki name.” There’s a blast of red fire, a reminder of everything that has happened, comes shooting at his face. Being so out of practice he barely has time to dodge, feeling the ends of his snow-white hair getting singed.
He knows this place is rickety. If he fights fire with fire, he risks bringing the building down with them. He instead reaches for one of the bowls he was preparing and throws it at his father. It doesn’t reach him but it throws his next shot off, lighting the living room wall ablaze. There were no sprinklers in the apartment, and when dodging his next blast, Dabi ends up vaulting across the bar, far from the fire extinguisher hanging next to the oven.
Seeing the fire spreading quickly, Dabi watches as Endeavor flees the scene, ever the coward. The fire has spread too much, and even using the fire extinguisher will only buy them a little time– their home is going to be destroyed. He runs as fast as he can, making a mad dash for the bathroom. Curled up in the corner of the tub, tears falling down her face, is his daughter. She was doing exactly want he had taught her to do in emergencies, and if she heard shouting or things breaking. Just because he was no longer a villain didn’t mean his past couldn’t come back to haunt them.
“Daddy?” her voice shakes, terrified of what’s happening. “What…what was that?”
How is he supposed to explain that her grandfather came by and tried to kill them both? He scoops her into his arms. “The house is on fire. We need to get out now”
“What about Bun-Bun?” Shit, Bun-Bun. Bun-Bun is Haru’s only stuffed animal. It’s been with them since she was born. He’d lost all of his childhood stuffed animals, but he wouldn't let the same happen to his only child.
“We’ll get Bun-Bun,” He pulls her face close her his chest. He can’t let her get burned, he knows the pain, and she shouldn't have to endure that. He runs out of the bathroom, hearing the crashing of wood. Looking back towards the kitchen, he sees the doorframe is broken, blocking the front entrance. They are now limited to the fire escape in the bedroom. Thankfully fire is only licking at the walls in there. He grabs the stuffed bunny off the middle of the bed, “I got her.” Haru looks up from where her face has been buried in her dad's chest and grabs the rabbit, pulling it against her own chest.
He lifts the window with one hand, lifting it as high as possible to fit through the glass. He looks down at the fire escape, but the fire has spread quickly, too quickly. The ground below is already ablaze. There had been a shed back there which clearly sparked up and turned into a burning blaze. Stepping down would mean certain death, so the only way out was up. From the second floor, he climbed to the roof. Thankfully the building was only 4 stories high. The fire has not yet reached up here but as he steps from the escape to the roof, he can hear it creak.
Sirens suddenly fill his ears, and Haru finches at the loud sound. The firemen know how to get people down from burning buildings, but…it risks being arrested and Haru being taken from him. But the alternative…he can’t get her down safely by himself. Going to jail…well, it will be worth it as long as Haru is alive and safe.
It takes him several minutes to get across the building. Haru is silent the whole time, frozen in fear. By the time he gets to the end the firefighters are already here…but so are the cracks in the roof. He looks over the edge and sees them scrambling to put the fire out. However, he wasn't expecting to see a hero with them. Was that standard procedure… or was it due to his presence? If there was a fire, could it have been caused by the missing villain Dabi? It was one of the newer heroes, but he still recognized him. He was one of the kids at the USJ and training camp that they had gone after, a hero named Deku.
He can hear more splintering, there wasn’t much longer till the building will fall. “DEKU!”
His head spins like a top, any faster and Dabi was sure that it would have would have twisted off. Alarm bells were likely going off in the young hero's head. “DABI!”
“Yes, glad we got reintroduced, now how much longer does the building have?” He didn't even need to be closer to see the look on the hero's face– not long. “You any good at catch, kid?!”
“WHAT?!”
“CATCH! CAN YOU CATCH?!”
“...YES!”
Dabi relaxes. Haru will be fine. He lifts his daughter away from his chest and kisses her head. “I love you so much.”
“Daddy, daddy what's happening?” She looks up at him, a fresh set of tears streaming down her face, holding Bun-Bun as tightly as she can.
“A hero is going to take you somewhere safe okay? He’s gonna make sure that you get taken care of.”
“But what about you, Daddy?”
He can’t find a way to answer. He doesn’t know what to say, he really doesn't know what will happen to him. “Deku!” The hero’s head turns back to him. “Take her to Hawks!” Before anyone else can respond, he tosses his daughter to the young pro.
He can’t stand to hear the sound of his daughter screaming as she falls. He can see her trying to flap her wings and stop herself from falling, but they are too small to support her weight. He breathes a sigh of relief as he watches Deku jump between buildings and catch Haru. He can hear the building heave, caving beneath his feet. As he falls, he finds he doesn’t mind. He doesn’t want to leave his daughter an orphan, but at least if he dies, she will live.