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The day had been long, patient after patient, file after file, conversation after conversation had drug on and on. All Kei wanted to do was sleep, but someone had had another plan. To follow her home. Thankfully she had noticed and stopped in a convenience store until an officer was able to escort her the rest of the way home, but it had made for an even longer night.
She knew she should just go straight to her apartment, she had to be up early, but there was a certain winged hero who wanted to see her. So, letting the door to the roof shut behind her she called “Hawks, are you here?”
Indeed, he *was* there. However the person he found himself to be with was unsuitable company for the young doctor. Giving a mock salute to Dabi, Hawks cut the interaction short, and walked away.
“Kei, how was work? You’re later than usual,” he remarked, emerging from behind the stairwell.
Taking a deep breath she met him halfway and rested her head on his chest. “You could not imagine the day I’ve had,” she said with a sigh, “it happened again.”
With a sigh of his own Hawks just ran his hands up and down her spine and Kei could feel some of her stress melt away. What she would do without him, she wasn’t sure, and to be frank, she didn’t want to find out. Losing one best friend was hard enough, to lose two in one lifetime? Kei wasn’t interested. Pulling away she asked him how his day was.
Grinning he said “Oh, you know, nothing too exciting. Just how I like it.”
“You really are the world's laziest hero, aren’t you?”
“I prefer the term laid back. And is it so bad that there wasn’t any major catastrophe that needed my attention today? That sounds more like a you problem princess.”
Kei just rolled her eyes and shoved his shoulder. “You know what I meant asshole.”
He opened his mouth to say something else, presumably just as snarky as what had just come out of it, but was cut off by the ringing of his phone. So much for a lazy day in the life of a hero, Kei thought amused. Stepping away from her friend to give him space she stifled a yawn. It was late.
A moment later he bid his farewell, letting his wings carry him off the roof into the city skyline. Duty called. Kei’s bed called to her, but oddly enough, so did the moon. Surely she could stay up and gaze at it just a little while longer.
Kei let her feet carry her around the roof, wandering around aimlessly, eyes glued to the sky. They took her towards the back of the stairwell. Stopping a few steps short she wrapped her arms around herself and sighed. Nights like this made her think of when she was younger. She was by no means old, but there was an air of nostalgia the full moon carried as its glow filled the neverending dark of the night sky. Soft feelings, tender touches, words that never made it past the trembling lips they hid behind but meanings made perfectly clear. It spoke to Kei of youth.
On the other side of that coin comes disappointment, the cold when someone leaves, and silence so loud it was deafening. Lowering her gaze Kei sighed, feelings were such complicated things. She didn’t know how long she stood there staring out at nothing and everything, but the sound of a rock clattering against the ground drew her eyes over her shoulder.
Piercing blue.
She would know those eyes anywhere. The face they were set in not so much, but she could never forget those eyes. They were the subject of too many daydreams, too many hours were spent looking into eachothers eyes laughing. Kei could try and talk herself out of what she was seeing but there was no point. There he was, after all these years, finally in front of her again. And he was bleeding.
Her fingers itched, wanting to pull the hem of his shirt away so she could see the extent of his wound, but she knew better. So she settled for a simple “You’re hurt.”
He said nothing in reply, instead came at her, blue flames dancing on his left side. Not stopping until he was standing nearly on top of her he looked down “What about it dollface?”
Kei took one shaky breath, that’s all she would let herself have before blinking at him slowly. She was unshaken by the proximity to the flames, she had faced worse. “Let me help.”
A flaming hand ghosted over her neck, not close enough to burn, but close enough that the tensing of Kei’s muscles could put her in danger if she wasn’t careful. “Now why should I do that?” He asked, eyes burning like the flames that licked at his clothes.
Kei thought for a moment. What could she do to make him trust her, since he so evidently didn’t recognize her. Then something clicked. Her hand moved before her thought finished, right pinky extending in the scant inches between their chests. “You can call me Kei.”
The gesture was a simple one. One that she had extended to him when they first met, and so many times after, a silent promise. To keep each other's secrets, to keep the other safe, to be there for each other. And Kei didn’t break promises.
Recognition flashed in those bright blue eyes and the hand near her throat faltered. But his pinky never hooked around hers like it did in the past, his hand just dropped to the side. Dabi knew that the woman in front of him had looked familiar, but never in a million years had he expected to find Kei.
She looked different, in so many ways, and he couldn’t help but wonder what happened to her after he left. But he could never ask. At least not in a way that suggests he knew who she was. He couldn’t, he wouldn’t. He wanted nothing to do with that life, he had decided that years ago and it was something he wasn’t about to go back on now. And unfortunately, that included Kei, but, he *was* bleeding a fair amount.
So he said “Alright dollface, lead the way.”
“Go down the fire escape eight floors and wait, I’ll unlock the window.” With that, Kei went inside, and to her apartment. Letting the quiet warmth of inside fill her up her mind remained blissfully blank until she unlocked the door. Stepping inside she found herself wondering just what the hell she thought she was doing. She had seen Dabi in the news, she never paid enough attention to realize that it was her childhood best friend, but she knew what he did. And she was just going to let him into her apartment. No big deal right? Not to mention she was letting him in to stop him from bleeding out. Real smart Kei.
As she walked over to the window sill time seemed to slow. Breathing felt heavy and her chest felt tight as old memories and old feelings began to push their way to the surface. Kei did her best to shove them aside. She was certain the man who was now on her fire escape as she pushed the window open was not the same as who was once her best friend. Taking several steps back she let him climb into the apartment before saying “Follow me.” Kei turned and walked the short distance to the bathroom, the thudding of heavy boots on wood told her he was close behind.
Reaching into the top cupboard Kei grabbed her first aid kit. Turning she saw that Dabi was just standing in the doorway. She waved him in. “Coat and shirt off, I need to see how bad the wound is.”
Even whilst bleeding heavily there was a devilish gleam in his eyes. “Demanding little thing aren’t you dollface?”
The look she gave him was unamused. “Just do it,” she sighed.
Still looking pleased with himself he came further into the small room and slipped his coat from his shoulders. His shirt was a more difficult task. It stuck to his side, tacky with blood. Kei’s hands instinctively reached to help the shaking villain, prying the fabric up and over his head. Only when she saw the smug grin on his face did she remember the implications of what she had done. “Don’t say anything,” she warned, “now let me look at your side.”
His wound was two short cuts rather than one long one, neither deep enough to need stitches. Which led Kei to the question of just how long had he been bleeding to look like this? A question she wouldn’t bother asking, she didn’t want to know the details of his work, and for some reason the thought of knowing how he came to be in this state made her feel unwell. Grabbing something to clean the wound she said “This may sting.” Kei was quiet as she worked, cleaning and bandaging the gashes. When she was done she stood, “Don’t bother putting that shirt back on, it’s trash. I have one that should fit you.”
Once her hands were clean she brushed past him out of the bathroom and into her own. Going straight to her closet she pulled out a box and dug around in it for a few moments, not finding what she wanted, though she was eventually victorious. Emerging with a black v-neck in hand she found Dabi in her living room inspecting her bookshelves.
Reaching him she held the top out. She guessed it would fit, though, she was not expecting him to be so well muscled. Another thought to push to the side. As if he could read her thoughts, as he took the shirt he winked and pulled it over his shoulders.
Kei shook her head. He was still in there, but she couldn’t let herself hope, she would just be disappointed. Still, she found the words “You can crash on the couch if you want. But I have to go to bed, so, good night,” spilling from her lips.
There were already pillows and blankets on the couch, since that’s where she more than often found herself crashing, much to her own doctors' displeasure, so she didn’t feel guilty not offering to go get more. Pulling the door shut behind her she heard the familiar creak of the couch. He was staying, but she doubted he would be there when she got up.
He wasn’t.
XXXX
The next time Dabi showed up was two weeks later. A solo mission gone wrong. He wasn’t sure how the bastards got the drop on him. It was only because he was in the neighborhood that he thought of her, at least that’s what he told himself, neglecting to think about all the times she had occupied his thoughts since the first night. So he found his way up the fire escape to her window.
It was the early hours of the morning and Kei couldn’t sleep. One of her favorite patients had passed away the day before and she was still crushed. Such a bright spirit, gone. She was curled up on the couch when she heard the window slide open. With a jolt she was upright, heart racing. Turning she saw it was him.
Dabi was a mess. Cuts littered his arms, chest and one leg. Kei was grateful none looked too deep from where she sat, but she needed a closer look. How long he had been like this and the amount of blood he had lost were questions that raced through her mind. Wordlessly she got up and caught him just as he tripped through the window.
Half carrying him to the bathroom she instructed him to take his shirt and pants off. Struggling with the latter until Kei steadied him, he then braced himself on the bathroom counter. The cut on the thigh would need stitches, the rest were shallow enough to heal on their own once she cleaned him up. He should be alright.
The bandaging went quickly enough, but the stitches would be a different beast to tackle. She didn’t have anything to numb him with so she grabbed a clean rag and handed it to him. “Bite. This is going to hurt.”
The fact that there was no flirtatious comment, no lewd remark, that he had not called her any sort of nickname, or said anything since arriving was an indication of how he felt. Which was like shit. And Kei knew it by the look in his eyes.
Needle pierced flesh and Dabi gripped the counter with wihte knuckles. A muffled “Fuck,” met Kei’s ears. She pursed her lips and continued. The faster she got done the sooner he could rest.
Finishing the suture she stood, placing the needle in a waste container. Dabi ripped the rag from his mouth and tried to take a deep breath, but all he could manage was to let out a rough “Fuck,” as he slid from the counter. Kei stepped up next to him to wash her hands, then dried them with a towel before reaching out to steady the swaying villain.
“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice soft. She knew how much stitches without a numbing agent felt from personal experience. “Can you sit back on the counter for a minute? Let me go grab you some clothes, I should have some sweats that will fit you.”
Once he was sitting and braced on the bathroom counter again, Kei disappeared into her room, just like she had the first time and dug in that same box. Pulling out the sweats and an old band tee she stepped back in the bathroom and helped him off the counter. Steadying him as he stood to change he staggered getting into the sweats. Pulling on the shirt was easier, but not by much.
Helping him out of the bathroom she offered “I can wash your clothes for you, if you want, and you can crash here again.” He just nodded and headed to the couch.
He was gone again in the morning.
XXXX
Kei thought the second time he came to her would be the last. But he came a third night, and a fourth. And each time she cleaned him up, and offered to let him stay. She wanted to kick herself by the fifth night. Why was she doing all of this for him? It was so easy to forget what he did for a living now and just where those injuries she treats come from. It was so easy to forget that he hurts people. But she knew the answer to her questions. She just didn’t want to say it. Didn’t want to think it.
Dabi found himself wondering the same things. He wondered why on earth Kei was doing this to herself. Why she was risking so much for him. Why she still held her pinky out for him to take, even after all these years. They weren’t even speaking when he disappeared, so why? This question kept him up at night, eating away at his thoughts as he stared at her ceiling, wrapped in blankets that smelled like her. He came to the conclusion that he was selfish, and perhaps he didn’t truly want to forget everything about who he used to be. Not when she was right there in front of him. He wasn’t going to lose her twice. But he wouldn’t say that out loud.
XXXX
This became routine. Kei kept her window unlocked and some nights Dabi would show up, some nights he wouldn’t. Some nights he was beat to hell, other nights it was a scratch here a scratch there. What never changed was that if he showed up he stayed the night. Always.
He would always be gone by the time Kei woke, but she always heard the familiar creak of the couch as he laid down. It wasn’t unlike when he would spend the night when they were kids. She began to spend time with him, sometimes not really speaking, other times they would ask questions.
“Hey doll,” he called.
Kei let her fingers slide over the spine of a book, allowing her quirk to activate, knowledge flowing through her. She hummed in response, her thoughts distracted. She wished he would call her by her name, just once. She wanted to hear him say it one more time before all of this inevitably goes away.
“How’d you meet Hawks?” He leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees. Had they not talked about the winged hero before the question would have surprised Kei, but she had let slip they were close two weeks ago.
Still, the subject of how they met was a sensitive one for Kei. It was a dark time for her. Turning to look at him, to see if there was anything in his gaze that told her that she could avoid the question, she found an unfamiliar glint in his blue eyes. He would never say that it was the beginnings of jealousy, nor did Kei realize it as such. Nonetheless something about it compelled her to start speaking.
It was too easy. As if nothing had ever changed between them. “I met a guy, a transfer student my second year of high school, who seemed really nice. We became friends and the next I knew I was in a relationship with him.” She picked up the book her hand rested on and opened to the title page, “For a while things were good. But I guess that was all just an act, because things went downhill pretty fast after that. Not that anyone but I knew that. But I couldn’t get out, so once we graduated we were living together. One night it was worse than others and one of our neighbors called the cops and gave me a way out. I met Hawks at the police station after filing my paperwork, and we just sort of hit it off from there. I literally ran into him and spilled coffee all over him. He helped me come out of a really hard place.”
Closing the book and sliding it back on the shelf Kei turned to see Dabi was now standing. Striding closer until all but a step separated them he asked “Where is he now?”
“I don’t know.” Kei hesitated but let her hand gently reach across to grab his and let them hang by their sides. She was surprised he didn’t pull away. “You have to promise me you will leave this matter be,” she held his gaze and the grip on his hand tightening, “please?”
It was the longest minute of Kei’s life, waiting for him to respond, but all he did was watch her face. Eventually he just nodded and went back to the couch, taking the warmth of his touch with him.
Another night saw them talk about how she became a doctor so young, others it was who she knew from school and her favorite school memories, though she didn’t have many. He also asked what she liked to do in her spare time, questions she never would have expected from Dabi, but from her old friend.
She asked him the obvious question, why he’s a villain. He tells her it’s to see the world become a better place, free from phony heroes. He expects a rebuttal, some fight, that if that’s what he wanted why didn’t he become a hero. But all she does is nod thoughtfully. Kei takes the time to ask him what should be the simple things, what are his favorite things, what makes him happy, how his days are. There are days the answers come easier than others, and there are days when the questions come as distractions from whatever she has to do to keep him alive and kicking.
There was laughter in what Kei was starting to realize was an apartment that was entirely too large for just one person. It felt fuller, more like a home when he was there, leaving a human sized indent in her couch. Something that terrified her to think, and that she would never say out loud. He was still crude and refused to call her by her name, but she found herself waiting up for him most nights. When he didn’t show there was an ache in her chest that often didn’t go away until morning.
It reminded her of the last year of middle school, only much worse. She found herself thinking about those times whenever she had a spare moment. At the clinic, at the store, at home. Lying beneath the covers she thought of the last time they had spoken, before all of this happened.
XXXX
He had snuck her into his room as he so often did after school, to study, obviously. Though the occasional joke would be made, and whenever the two of them were together laughter was unavoidable. She had been helping him study for exams, their last before high school, when all of a sudden a pillow smacked her in the face.
“What was that for?” she whisper yelled, not wanting to let anyone else in the house know she was there.
“Just cause I could,” he said with a wink.
Kei rolled her eyes and hoped that the blush that was creeping up her cheeks wasn’t that noticeable. “Focus. You won’t get into that hero school of yours if you fail your math exam.”
His family may have thought him weak in terms of quirk and constitution, but Kei knew better. Anything he set his mind to she knew he could do. He would prove them wrong.
But none of that stopped him from being a cocky bastard.
“You’re assuming they won’t let me in on recommendation alo-” now it was he who was smacked with a pillow across the face. Thus, a pillow fight ensued from their sitting positions on the bed. Kei couldn’t help her laughter. It mixed with his as their notebooks clattered to the floor, the notion of studying long forgotten.
Kei didn’t know how it happened. When the laughter stopped. How the pillows found their way to the floor. How he was suddenly leaning in, closer, closer, closer. Her heart was in her throat as he was scant inches away from her face. She couldn’t decide where to look, his half lidded eyes or his lips or somewhere completely different. Finally she settled on closing them just as someone downstairs slammed the front door shut.
They jumped apart as his father called out for him.
Scrambling to gather her things Kei could feel the heat radiating from her blush. Shoving all but the notes she had made for him in her bag she made her way to the open window. “Your notes are on the bed, I’ll see you after exams!” Extending her pinky out to him while she was half out the window, she hooked them together when he got close enough. “Now, go before he gets mad.”
“Kei,” he called, catching her attention before she snuck back over the fence into her own yard.
“What is it?”
“Thanks, for everything.” He winked again before disappearing into his room yelling back at his father.
And that was it. That was the last time they spoke. He didn’t disappear until months later, but as soon as exams were over he wouldn’t speak to her. It drove her mad, and she spent hours up in her room wondering if she had done something wrong. Had he not meant to almost kiss her? Weren’t they best friends anymore?
Her answer came the fourth week of high school. They came home from opposite directions now, him having gotten into the illustrious hero school, and her underwhelming quirk and all went to a normal high school. When she saw him her heart sank to her stomach. There he was, hand in hand with a girl she didn’t recognize. It made sense, in a way. They went to the same school and she no doubt had some amazing quirk. One his father would approve of, so that he could take her home openly and not have to sneak her around like contraband snacks at the movie theater.
When she thought about why it had to come at the cost of their friendship, she couldn’t fathom. There were several possibilities but none gave her any peace. Most came at the hand of his father, but she knew her friend was better than to be with someone he didn’t at least like. She missed him. Her heart was broken.
XXXX
Staring at her ceiling Kei blinked away tears that had pooled in her eyes. It had been years, she should be over it by now, but there was a part of her that still longed for the fiery best friend she once had. What they had now, it was the same in some ways, but Kei couldn’t help but feel it was different. She wondered what would have been different back then, would anything have changed had he kissed her that day? It wouldn’t have kept him there, she was sure, but would he have been happy? Had he been happy?
As the hours ticked by she found her thoughts consumed. The small red flames of her old feelings were changing, if they hadn’t completely already. Strange new blue flames danced across the walls of her heart. She wasn’t quite sure what to do. It was getting to be hard to breathe when he was around, but the ache when he was gone was something fierce. Her heart raced when he called for her, even if it was just one of his nicknames. The weight in her chest when he came to her battered and bruised was almost unbearable. The nights he came to her unscathed made her feel warm, it gave her hope she shouldn’t have. His jokes, albeit they were crude, made her laugh. She couldn’t sleep if she didn’t know that he was out in her living room, all fixed up, and asleep on her couch. The treacherous part of her mind wondered what it would be like to kiss him. It was almost too much. Almost.
XXXX
Dabi wasn’t always himself around Kei. Though, like Kei, he wouldn’t say it. He refused to admit his selfish desires out loud, to be honest about why he came to her instead of to the League. He came to her out of convenience, and convenience only. It was easier than patching himself up, and hospitals were out of the question, so having a doctor at his disposal was good. He knew that Kei wouldn’t turn him in. Not to mention that her couch was more comfortable than his shitty mattress back with the League.
He wouldn’t admit that he liked that the pillows smelled like her, that he felt his crooked heart stop every time she looked at him, be it with worry, or the occasional something else. The words “I’m not going to lose her again,” had crossed his mind, but they would never cross his lips. He would never admit he wondered what it would be like to press his lips to hers, to feel her underneath him, to be wholly and completely together. He would never say that knowing that she was just a few steps away gave him peace. Peace. A feeling he didn’t deserve, but within the walls of her apartment he was free to feel it.
She would never turn him away and Dabi knew this. It fed into the lie that he told himself. That he was just using her. The part of his mind that he now deemed traitorous asked why he went through all the trouble of getting to know her again, if all he was doing was using her. She would let him stay without a word, the first night proved that much. He told that part of his mind to fuck off, though it was a lie that he was struggling to believe.
XXXX
It was only on rare occasions that Kei decided to cook. Most of the time she either ordered in or didn’t eat at all. Tonight was one of those rare occasions. It was her day off and she had felt up to going to the market that morning and had brought back something to make.
She was chopping vegetables when the familiar grate of her window opening met her ears. Surprised, it was early for Dabi to show up, she looked over her shoulder. Kei dropped the knife. Indeed, it was not Dabi. In fact, there were several people who were not Dabi stepping through her window.
Scrambling, she turned around her hand flying toward the knife. When the sensitive palm of her hand wrapped around the handle she dropped it. Why was it hot? Her mind raced, then settled on trying to grab the kitchen towel hanging on the stove handle so she could wrap it around the knife. She had been too slow. An arm wrapped around her waist and something covered her face.
Writhing in her captors' grasp did no good. It was like being trapped between iron clamps. She couldn’t place the smell coming from the cloth, but she knew it wasn’t good as she felt her senses fade. Once Kei had collapsed the man that held her hoisted her onto his shoulder, and he and his companions filed back out the window.
XXXX
Dabi was with the League. Not on mission, God, he would be thrilled to be on mission right now. But he was just with the league. He swirled the whiskey in his glass, bored. If they were actually doing something he wouldn’t be in such a sour mood, but everyone was sitting around the bar, quietly nursing their drinks. Except for Toga, who was rattling on about something Dabi didn’t care to listen to.
When the dull buzz of a phone broke the silence Dabi was startled to find it was his own. Sliding it out from his back pocket he answered without looking at the caller ID.
“Dabi?” he heard Kei ask from the other end of the line. Her next words were rushed, “Whatever they ask you for, don’t do it. It’s not worth it-” there was a thud and he could hear the clatter of metal. It was like ice water had been poured down the back of his neck. What the hell was going on?
A new voice spoke, one that he didn’t recognize. “Hello Dabi,” the caller oozed, “I don’t believe we’ve been introduced. I work for the Hammerhead. Perhaps you remember him?”
It took a moment to recall, but nonetheless Dabi remembered. It had been months. “You mean that long-faced bastard I burnt to a crisp? The hell does that have to do with her?” Dabi’s voice was harsh as he stood at the bar. The silence from the other end of the line was infuriating as he repeated himself. “I said, the hell does it have to do with her?”
There was an amused hum before the henchman said “It has more to do with what she means to you.” Then the line disconnected.
Dabi’s glass met the counter with enough force to fracture its walls, while the fingers of his right hand gripped tighter and tighter around the cellphone trapped between them. His head whipped to Kurogiri who stood behind the bar, telling him the exact location of Kei’s apartment. “I need a portal there. Now.”
XXXX
Kei wasn’t sure where she was, but that was the point of this all, wasn’t it? Or at least part of it. All she knew is it was dark, dank and overall just unpleasant. She wasn’t supposed to enjoy this.
The metal shackles on her wrists and ankles were heavy and if the unexplained change in temperature of her kitchen knife at home was any indicator, one of her captors' quirks was to control the temperature of metal. Needless to say the palm of her hand wasn't going to be the only thing burnt for long.
After the theatrics of the phone call they left her alone for a few hours. Eventually they got bored and began to toy with the temperature of the cuffs, but it was nothing unbearable. Kei kept her eyes and mouth shut, and tried to get some rest. A difficult thing to do. Worry ate at her. What could they possibly want with Dabi? She liked none of the answers she came up with.
Before Kei knew it light was filtering in through the dingy window panes some feet above her seated position on the ground. The door between the room she was in and the one her captors were in flung open and revealed the man who had first climbed through the window. He made his way to her and took a fistful of hair, lifting her from the floor. Apparently the next step in their plan was beginning, Kei thought tiredly. The man slammed her head against the wall and held her there, letting the others take turns coming in close. She was showered in an array of punches, kicks, and elbows. She felt the familiar taste of panic rising in her throat as memories surged. Her skin crawled as her face flushed under growing bruises.
Fighting to keep her breathing steady her eyes darted around the room looking for anything to keep herself grounded with. It took time, and a considerable amount of effort, but eventually she brought herself down. They were done with her soon after.
Kei fell to the floor in a heap. She could taste the blood from a split lip and blood trickling from a split brow. The bruises would be bad, but that’s all they would be. Nothing was broken.
Pulling herself up took effort, but she managed to force her limbs into an upright position. Leaning back into the corner she let out a shaky sight. Her head ached something fierce which made it difficult to come up with an escape plan. It wasn’t that she thought that Dabi wouldn’t come for her, it was that she knew he was smart enough not to. There were too many risks. He would know better.
Forcing her eyes open she looked around trying to find anything that looked like the keys that would undo her cuffs. Old coffee cups, stacks of paper, an ungodly amount of dirt and trash was all she found. Nothing that looked like keys. Voices coming from the other room drew her attention to the door.
XXXX
Dabi stepped through the portal and into Kei’s apartment. He didn’t know what he was expecting, he had heard her on the phone. Still, a tiny piece of him hoped she would come out of her room, smile, and tell him he could crash on the couch.
A breeze drew him from his thoughts. His brows drew together, a breeze? Looking on the other side of the portal Dabi could feel his blood begin to boil. The window was open. So that’s how things played out. They came through the window and she thought it was him. She had thought it was him and they took advantage of it.
Stalking back through the portal Dabi threw his fist against the wall. He was smouldering, heat poured from his skin, a prelude to the flames that followed. In a last ditch effort he checked his phone to see where the call had come from. A restricted number. Of fucking course. Shoving the phone back into his pocket he headed for the door.
Toga was the one to get in his way. “What’s this?” Her voice grated on his ears. “Did Kei finally get a boyfriend and decide you can’t stay with her anymore?”
Oh, if looks could kill. The League knew about Kei, Dabi was good at keeping secrets, but he could only disappear every night for so long without someone finding out. Though, the thought of Kei having a boyfriend that wasn’t him made him bristle. A petty, inconsequential thought at the moment, her life was at stake. But he wanted that position for himself. A simple thought, but one that held so much weight.
It felt so fucking good to be honest about it. To finally give voice to the selfish thoughts he had been pushing down for months. But reveling in his selfish thoughts would have to come later, he didn’t even know where Kei was, not to mention how she would feel about him when this was all said and done.
All he could do was tell Toga to fuck off before heading back to his seat at the bar. Kurogiri poured him another glass that he downed in one go, refusing anymore. Eventually Twice got Dabi to share what little information he had. And then they waited. For hours.
When Dabi felt like he was going to burst into flames he couldn’t take it anymore, his phone buzzed again. But what he got was not the information he wanted. It was photographs of Kei, bloody and bruised. He wanted to throw his phone against the wall in frustration, and nearly did, but Twice stopped him. How else were they going to find anything else out?
XXXX
Once they were done photographing Kei they left her alone again. It wasn’t like she could go anywhere. Not with the cuffs around her ankles. Every now and again she could feel the cuffs change temperature, from freezing cold, to burning hot, but never for long.
In those hours alone Kei tried to figure a way out, but her mind was blank. Without being able to get out of the shackles she was stuck. She couldn’t hop her way to freedom, not to mention she couldn’t fight her way out, especially not in the state she was in. There were too many and they were too big for Kei to be able to take on her own.
Kei would have thought that given her past she would have been more inclined to have read books about how to get out of situations like this so that her quirk would actually prove useful, but she hadn’t. Never in a million years did she imagine she would find herself in a situation like this. She would have to fix that if she ever got home. A book on lockpicking and bobby pins would be the first things on her list, right after an ice pack, a heating pad and some burn cream.
Kei could feel the metal binding her wrists and ankles heating up, dragging her mind from her distracting thoughts. Taking her lower lip between her teeth she bit. She wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction of hearing her scream. As the temperature rose she dropped her head as her face scrunched up in pain.
A pair of rough fingers grabbed her chin, forcing her to lift her head. When the door opened and admitted her captors she didn’t know. The camera was in her face once again. “Come on girl, let’s hear it,” one man demanded.
She didn’t know if it was courage of sheer idiocy that drove her to spit out the words “You fucking wish.” But as the temperature spiked, Kei decided it was the latter, taking her cheek between her teeth. The Kei of eight months ago wouldn’t have dared do something so reckless. But Dabi encouraged her to speak her mind, her innermost thoughts, and she had no energy for niceties.
Eventually Kei couldn’t take it anymore, the metallic taste of blood tainting her tongue. Strangled cries made their way up from her vocal chords, fighting to be heard, but they never made it past her lips. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she leaned her head back against the wall.
The minutes felt like hours as she cried, the mocking laughter of her captors ringing in her ears. When they were finally done with her she felt no relief. She longed for home. To be safe. To hear the creak of the couch as Dabi laid down. Dabi. She wondered when, or if, she would see him again.
It went on like this for what had to be days. She tried to keep track by the light through the windows but pain made it hard to focus. And there was no pattern to when or how often they came to her, sometimes it would be a punch here, a kick there, or toying with the temperature of the cuffs. Kei stopped paying attention to when they had the camera with them, she could guess what they were doing, and she knew it wouldn’t work.
XXXX
If Twice had a dollar for every time he had to stop Dabi from breaking his phone or his hand from hitting the wall in a matter of days he would be rich. Dabi wasn’t eating, and he was barely sleeping, the anticipation of the next message was eating him alive. But when the only things he got from the restricted number were pictures of Kei’s injuries and videos of her crying and in pain the fuck else was he supposed to do? They couldn’t get a pin on where the messages were coming from and they never gave any conditions. Dabi was going out of his goddamn mind.
There was only one thing that would make him feel better and that was knowing that Kei was safe, back home. With him. He thought of her as home, and he was desperate to get her back.
When a call finally came through he answered immediately. Dabi wasted no time, “Let’s cut the shit. What are your terms?”
XXXX
It was unusual that they stayed in the room to finish their business on the phone today. When she saw the man she had dubbed “First” bring the phone to his ear she wondered if they were going to put her on the phone again. They never did, instead listing terms for her release. Her stomach dropped, there was no way he could agree. It would be a death sentence!
However, when First hung up the phone he approached her. As he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder she knew. He had agreed. He had agreed and there was nothing Kei could do to stop it.
The ride to the dropoff was long, and Kei spent it cramped in the back of a van with five very large men. None of which smelled very good, though, Kei doubted she smelled like a bed of roses either. It had been days and she was covered in a fair amount of blood. But her main concern was what on earth was she going to do when they stopped? She couldn’t let this happen, but it’s not like she could put up much of a fight. She was stumped.
As the van came to a stop behind what looked to be an old group of warehouses the two men up front and opened the back of the truck. The sinking feeling in Kei’s chest got worse as she was pulled from the trunk. She hoped, wished, prayed to whatever god there may be that he wouldn’t be there since she had no plan.
Both feet on the ground her view of the open space in front of the warehouse was blocked by the van door. But if the man kneeling before her to undo the cuffs around her ankles was any indication, Kei could assume he was there. Worry and fear clawed at her mind as the shackles on her wrists came undone. What was he thinking, coming here alone? There were seven of them and only one of him. Seven!
Someone took her by the arm and towed her around the van. The group that had taken her captive waited, surrounding her, still obscuring her vision. She couldn’t see him, but she heard him when he spoke.
“I’m here. Alone and ready to give myself over, just like you asked. Now, let her go.” Dabi said, but there was something in his tone that threw Kei for a loop. He was smug. Taunting even. Kei didn’t know if her captors picked up on it, but she certainly did. He wasn’t trying to hide it.
They must not have because the men standing in front of her stepped aside, letting her through. First grabbed her by the arm saying “You have two minutes before he’s ours.”
Kei just nodded and made her way to Dabi as fast as her shaky legs would take her. The traitorous limbs gave out on her just as she met him. He caught her, and to her surprise, wrapped his arms around her. He buried his head in the crook of her neck, breath fanning over her skin, sending shivers down her spine. All Kei could do was wrap her arms around his waist in response as tears pricked her eyes. One by one they fell, leaving tracks in the dirt that dusted her face.
“Dabi,” she whispered. “What are you doing? One of them can control the temperature of metal, your staples, they’ll hurt you. They’ll kill you. I don’t know what I can do to help,”
He pulled away from her, a mischievous glint in his bright blue eyes. “What’s this, dollface? Are you worried about me?”
The nickname got a smile out of Kei, who rolled her eyes and shoved his shoulder as tears continued to fall. “Of course I am, idiot.”
He gave her a wink and said “Don’t, I may be desperate, but I’m not stupid. I have a plan. They should be here any minute now.”
Wiping at her face Kei wondered what he meant when a hole rimmed with black and purple smoke appeared in the air behind them. She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again to make sure what she saw wasn’t a hallucination. Inside the hole was the furnishings of a bar and several people, all of whom she recognized from the news stepped out.
Looking at Dabi’s face she saw a smug grin had taken its place on his lips. He met her gaze and the grin grew. Using his hands to guide her behind him his hands ghosted over hers for a moment before they helped her take fistfuls of his coat. “Stay back here and don’t let go of me Kei, this won’t take long.”
Doing as she was told she pressed herself into his back. All the while her heart was doing somersaults. He had called her by her name. She could replay the sound over and over and never get tired of it. She loved the nicknames, but the way her name rolled off his tongue was something else.
Kei could feel the heat from Dabi’s flames as the fight carried on but he was right. It was over before she knew it. One of his hands found its way over hers as he craned his head back to say she could come out now. She still kept one hand balled up in his coat as she stepped around to his side. He didn’t seem to mind, slinging an arm over her shoulders and pulling her in closer.
“Are they…” Kei began to ask, voice uncertain.
“No doll, they aren’t but they’re close enough to it that they won’t think about coming after you again.”
Nodding Kei leaned into his side enjoying the contact and support. By now his friends had gathered around. The girl, Dabi had told her her name was Toga, squealed.
“Oooh! Dabi, she’s even cuter than I thought she would be!” The girl grabbed Kei’s unoccupied hand. “We should totally hang out!”
Dabi batted Toga’s hand away. “That’s enough. I need to take Kei home. Kurogiri?”
A hole like the one Kei saw before opened beside them, only this time it was inside her apartment. She let Dabi lead her halfway through before she turned and said an awkward “Thank you,” to the crew of villains behind her.
Portal closed, and back in her own apartment Kei heaved a sigh of relief. Letting go of Dabi’s coat she put her face in her hands and rubbed gently. It had been a long few days. She felt his hand rubbing lazily up and down her back and all she wanted to do was melt into his touch. So that’s what she did. Letting him pull her into his chest, sighing in content when he rested his head on hers.
They stayed like that for, Kei didn’t know how long, but she was the first to pull away. As good as it felt, as much as it made her heart feel at ease, she was gross. And her close proximity to him made her acutely aware of this fact. She gave him a small smile as she told him “Thank you, for everything,” she paused, “but I need to take a shower.” Another pause. “You can crash here, if you want.”
Something stopped him from saying what he wanted, which was that she was never getting rid of him. Only after she had left his grasp and locked herself in the bathroom did he realize he had missed an opportunity to flirt with her. He would never say that it was because he was too busy feeling relieved that she was safe, and in his arms, to make a pass at her. But the reasonable part of his brain that he so rarely listened to told him that maybe it was best to wait until she healed to try and start anything with her. For once, he begrudgingly decided that maybe, just maybe that voice was right.
Kei spent an ungodly amount of time in the bathroom. Showering took longer than she was expecting, she was in worse shape than she thought. Then came the troubles of drying off, cleaning and dressing her wounds, getting dressed, drying her hair and brushing her teeth. The ladies at the drugstore must think she’s crazy for buying all this gauze and medical tape, but she just goes through it so fast!
Stepping out into her living room she saw that Dabi had made his home in the corner of the couch. For a moment her eyes drifted to the kitchen where the vegetables she had been cutting days ago still sat out, rotting. They could wait until morning, she decided. Kei came and sat on the corner of the coffee table in front of Dabi.
For a while they sat, sharing a comfortable silence. The exhaustion of the last few days finally catching up with both of them. Kei leaned forward, propping her elbows on her knees, letting her eyes flutter shut. Sleep while being held hostage was not good.
Dabi let his eyes wander over the woman before him, taking in every detail, every cut, every bruise. He wished he could do for her what she did for him. He couldn’t help it, he leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees as well. The distance between them now scant inches, just so he could see her better. Kei must have heard him move because a second later her eyes opened.
He was close. So close. Her heart was racing, but she didn’t feel anxious or panicked. Having him in her space now felt natural. So natural it took her a moment to realize he was leaning in, closing the short distance between them, and then he stopped. But this time there was no slamming door, no angry father. Just hesitancy. So unlike him, but there it was. He needed to know, did she want him too?
Kei’s eyes flicked from his lips to his eyes, before bringing one hand up to tangle itself into his mess of black hair as she brought her lips to meet his. Her other hand found its way to his shoulder, fingers digging slightly as he pressed into her. The way his lips moved against hers was intoxicating. The push, the pull, the way he felt under her fingertips, his smell. The way her skin blazed wherever he touched her. Everything about him was almost too good to be true.
Dabi could get lost in Kei for hours and never get bored. The little sounds she made, how soft her lips were, the smell of her shampoo. Even the way she hummed as he ran his hands from her shoulders, down her sides and hooking behind her knees pulling her into his lap. Her startled gasp let him deepen the kiss, as one hand traced its way back up to her waist and the other found its home buried in her hair. Adjusted to the new position, Kei sank into the kiss letting the taste of him flood her senses.
Both shared the same thought: this was so much more than middle school them could have ever dreamed. So much more. The initial innocence of a first kiss long lost in the soft moans that filled Kei’s living room. Dabi’s hands roamed leaving a trail of fireworks behind them, never settling long, giving a quick squeeze then moving on. Kei kept hers anchored in his hair tugging ever so gently, so she could kiss him where she wanted to.
When the need for air made itself apparent Kei pulled away, though she would have gladly went on kissing him. She rested her forehead against his and for a moment the only sound that filled the apartment was the rapid rise and fall of their breathing. Dabi pressed a quick kiss to her lips before trailing to her jaw, then down her neck, making himself busy.
“Dabi,” Kei moaned, her voice soft.
The way his name rolled off her tongue was addictive. He wondered how he had never thought about it before. How much he loved the sound of her voice, how much he loved the way she said his name. How much he loved her. Every single thing. And he was going to show her if she let him.
She tugged lightly on his hair, pulling him away from her neck. Ducking her head she caught his lips with her own, hoping it would do something to ease the burning she felt. Untangling her hands from his hair she let them wander over his shoulders, pushing his coat over them. His hands left her waist to shake the sleeves off then went straight back to their previous home. Between kisses Kei managed to mumble “Shirt,” as her hands found their way to his hem.
Pulling away, Dabi had a mischievous look in his eyes, “What about it dollface?” What had Kei said before about him being a cocky bastard?
“You know what I mean Dabi,”
“No, I don’t think I do. I need you to spell it out for me. Tell me what you want.” One hand had come up and he was now holding her by the chin as he brushed his thumb across her lower lip. If only he could frame the look on her face, the half parted lips, the blush spreading across her cheeks and the now bashful look in her eyes. He would hide it away where no one else could find and he would look at it every day.
Kei found it hard to meet his eyes, but she knew what she wanted, and if to get it she had to play his game so be it. She leaned in close and said “I want you to take your shirt off,” her fingers curling around the fabric bunched around his hips.
His hands found hers and he helped her pull the garment up and over his head while he murmured “Now, was that so hard baby girl?”
Tossing the shirt to the side Kei said nothing and kissed him instead, letting her hands roam his chest. Fingers traced invisible shapes and danced across his scars while she pressed searing kisses to his lips and the scarred flesh of his jaw and neck. When his hands found their way under her shirt she was all too eager to help him take it off.
His hands were just as eager to explore what he had felt over her tee-shirt with the sensitive pads of his fingertips. They ran from around her hips, over her stomach, across her collarbones and shoulders, to her covered breasts. Dabi loved the way she felt under his hands, and every time his fingers ran across a bandage he held her a little tighter, kissed her a little harder, pulled her a little closer.
It was beginning to be too much for Kei. Her desire grew with every kiss, every touch, every sound. She wanted him, needed him, in a way that she thought she wouldn’t want anyone for a very long time. But there he was. An exception in every way.
Pulling away from his kiss, lips swollen and panting lightly she whispered his name.
“What dollface?” He watched as her eyes flicked from his to the side. Lifting his hands to draw circles on her hips he waited. The vulnerable look in her eyes when she finally focused on him made his chest feel tight.
This time, there were just words. “I need you.”
Three simple words. Not the three that everyone associates with budding romance, but Dabi knew the weight they held. He brought a hand up to brush the hair out of her face, letting his fingers trace her jaw, before cupping her face and kissing her.
The kiss was uncharacteristically tender as his lips brushed against hers. Hooking his hands behind her knees he stood from the couch, giving her a moment to wrap her legs around him before heading to the open door of her bedroom. Wrapping one arm under her, he used the other to shut the door behind them.
The smell of Kei washed over his senses as he kissed her before setting her on the bed. Their clothes found their way to the floor in between a flurry of kisses and he was over her in a matter of moments. Dabi was gentle with her, being mindful of her scrapes and bruises. Though, it was hard to stay in control when she said his name the way she did, or when he heard her pretty little moans, or when he felt her hips roll against his.
Kei wanted more, and the words “Dabi, you aren’t going to break me,” fell from her mouth.
He was happy to oblige. His hands roamed, his kisses were hot and Kei almost couldn’t keep up. Dabi trailed open mouthed kisses down the column of her throat, biting, licking, sucking. Her fingernails dug tracks down his back as he moaned into her, his face pressed between her neck and shoulder.
Kei never felt so alive as when she was with him. She never felt as much when he wasn’t around. And that’s what it means to be alive, to feel. With him she felt joy, pain, happiness, worry, love. Love. She loved him. Completely.
Those words were on repeat though neither said them out loud.
Dabi rested his forehead against hers as the room filled with breathy moans and soft pleading. One of Kei’s hands locked itself in his hair, the other digging between his shoulder blades. He pressed a kiss to her lips as one hand guided her hips, letting out a breathy “Fuck, Kei.”
Coming down, Kei brought a hand down to gently wrap around the wrist near her head, and she pressed a kiss to his scars. Looking back up at him she patted the mattress beside her saying “You can crash here if you want.”
With that she got a laugh and a smile. As Dabi laid down next to her he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close, only moving moments later to pull up the covers.
When Kei rolled over the next morning her heart skipped a beat. Dabi was still there. He looked so peaceful while he slept, with sunlight filtering through the blinds highlighting his face. Catching sight of several bruises on his neck, shoulders and chest Kei wondered if she truly did all that. Blinking several times and fighting a blush Kei rolled back over.
She must have woken him up, because an arm reached out and wrapped itself around her waist pulling her closer to him. He propped his head on her shoulder, greeting her with a tired kiss on the cheek. “G’morning dollface.”
Turning in his arms to face him she smiled, her previous embarrassment mostly forgotten. “Good morning,” Kei reached out a hand to run her fingers through his hair. Letting her hand slide down and rest on his cheek she leaned in and gave him a peck on the lips. Kei wasn’t sure what compelled her to say what came next, maybe it was the lazy smile that graced his features, or the peace that came from knowing she was safe in his arms. Or perhaps it was just that she really wanted to say it. “I love you.”
He blinked, wondering if his still sleep addled brain was playing tricks on him. “What did you say?
She pursed her lips as blush made its way up her cheeks. There was no way getting out of this now, so she sucked in a breath and repeated herself. “I love you.”
He felt relief, joy, peace. Any number of good feelings. “I love you too.”
The smile that he wore was the most beautiful thing Kei had ever seen. She was sure of it. Just like she was sure when he kissed her that the rotting vegetables in her kitchen could wait, just a little while longer.