Fly High, Burn Bright

Chapter 67

Before I could leave the note on the kitchen table and get out of the apartment, Dabi grabbed the sheet from my hand, eyes skimming over the brief letter. An ever-widening smile tugged at his lips until he was grinning from ear to ear, reading the note over and over until it seemed to be engraved permanently into his mind. He finally looked up, eyes twinkling with mischief as they met mine, and he held the rushed letter in his hand over my head, just out of my reach. I could always just punch him in the gut to make him double over, but frankly, I couldn't be bothered enough to try and get it back.

"Really, princess?" He asked, a smirk that hovered somewhere between disbelief and amusement gracing over his face. "Tankei? You sure are creative, aren't you? First you name yourself after vision, and now after a dagger?"

"Hey, you're one to talk," I protested. "Isn't one of your aliases literally Blue Flame? Not exactly the most creative name, you know? Besides, it's not just dagger, I added a twist to it!"

Dabi gave me a serious nod, as if this wasn't a laughing matter. "Right. Because there's such a big difference between tanken and Tankei."

"Kira literally means killer, and yet you choose to make fun of Tankei instead?" 

"Huh. I didn't even notice. Anyway, it's not like you chose to be named Kira," Dabi replied with a shrug, "so I can't exactly tease you for that, but I can definitely tease you for choosing Tankei of all names to be your villain name."

"Yeah, well, if you have any better ideas, I'm always ready to hear them out," I shot back, a little more sharply than I intended to. 

Dabi stayed silent for a few moments before nodding. "Fair enough. So, Kira or Vizion or Tankei or whatever you want me to call you, you sure this letter is a good idea? You're pretty much telling Hawks that you're with the League now."

"That's the whole point," I shrugged, finally pulling the note out of Dabi's hands as I sauntered over to the kitchen. The piece of paper was pinned to the table by a stray cup that Hawks must've forgotten to put away, and I rummaged through the surprisingly full pantry to grab myself a snack. I was here anyway, might as well make use of whatever I could get my hands on. Two bags of chips left the pantry, one of which I tossed to Dabi before tearing the other open. It felt a little strange to be back in the apartment, lounging around as if I was still a hero and my hands were still clean, but I didn't want the trip to be completely pointless, even if all we got from it was a small notebook and fingers covered in chip powder. "I wonder what his reaction will be," I said after a minute of half-silent crunching on the snacks.

Beside me, Dabi leaned on the kitchen counter, his trail of thought seemingly wandering somewhere far off. "You know, we could always install cameras in here," he suggested, to which I laughed and shook my head.

"That's a little too far. Sorry, but I don't really feel like spying on Hawks."

"Just an idea," he responded before tossing the now-empty bag into the trash and grabbing himself another one. I raised an eyebrow at him, to which he only grinned. "What? I'm hungry."

"Dabi, that's stealing," I managed through a snort of laughter.

"So? Princess, we just committed arson and burned down an agency. I'm sure stealing a few bags of chips is nothing." He was already shoving a handful of chips into his mouth, and I rolled my eyes at him in fake annoyance.

"I mean, I see your point but sti-" I froze in my tracks as I heard distant footsteps over the crunch of chips that echoed throughout the otherwise-empty apartment. "We're leaving. Now."

Luckily, Dabi knew better than to question it, and he followed my lead as I sprinted out of the kitchen, notebook clutched to my chest, through the hall, and to the window that led to a tiny balcony. I pushed open the sliding door just as I heard the rattle of keys scraping at the lock from behind us, followed by two voices, the same two that I'd heard arguing before. I shoved Dabi onto the balcony before following right after him, not bothering to close the balcony door properly as my hands already started scaling the wall to climb onto the roof, which was surprisingly challenging to do, considering one of my hands was busy. Dabi did the same, and below us, the voices got louder and louder. 

I vaguely made out Hawks asking the girl with him whether or not she'd left the balcony open, and a familiar flutter of wings signified that he was coming to check. At the last possible moment, I vaulted over the railing and hurriedly pulled Dabi up beside me just as Hawks came onto the balcony to look around. I peered down to see familiar blond hair turning left and right, not even bothering to look up, and I felt myself grow tense with rage. How could he just abandon me like that? How could he not even try to look for me when I disappeared even though we'd been each other's closest confidant since we were children? He didn't deserve to be happy, not after all that he's done to me. He deserved to suffer for it, so that he'd never even think about hurting me again. He deserved to feel the same pain that I felt when I realized he didn't care.

A firm hand on my shoulder was the only thing that kept me from jumping down onto Hawks in a murderous rage. That's right. I have Dabi. Dabi's here with me, and I don't need Hawks. I didn't need him, and yet, I wanted more than anything to hurt Hawks. Only when the blond hair disappeared inside again did the redness of my vision start to disappear. Had I really been that mad at him that I started seeing red? Never before had I been that furious with Hawks. Then again, I'd never thought he'd abandon me like I was a piece of trash on the side of the road, so I guess things change with time. 

I managed to take a deep breath without shaking too much. "Sorry. I shouldn't have taken us here. It was a bad idea," I scratched my neck in apology, not wanting to look Dabi in the eye. It'd been a pointless trip - except for the notebook and a few chip bags, we'd gained absolutely nothing from it, and it felt like the biggest waste of time known to mankind. I should've just returned back to the base with the others. Maybe then, I would've been blessed with a few more days of ignorance where I didn't have to suffer with the knowledge of how little I meant to Hawks. 

"You don't need to apologize. But, uh, I thought we came so you could grab your stuff? You're kind of... not carrying anything except for that notebook. Mind if I ask why?"

"Oh. Well, you see, I think Hawks may have potentially gotten rid of everything? I... I couldn't find anything that was mine," I explained meekly, turning away from Dabi so I could lean on the railing instead, watching as the usually-bustling streets stood almost completely silent. Maybe word of the attack on the agency already got around and everyone was staying home. In the distance, the sun just barely touched the horizon, and I curled into myself a little - it wouldn't be long until the sky got completely dark, and with the absence of light, the cool air would only get colder. 

"I'm glad I burned the couch," Dabi mumbled, almost quiet enough for me to not hear him. Almost. 

"You what?" My voice escalated into a shout, but I immediately lowered it down to a whisper - we didn't need Hawks coming up to see what the ruckus was about right now. "Are you crazy? We were inside there! You could've burned the whole place down!"

"Have a little faith in me, princess," Dabi replied in mock offense. "I know how to control my quirk well enough to not commit accidental arson. I assure you, the only arson I commit is on purpose."

"When did you even have the time to do that?" I hissed, trying to fight back a laugh as I heard the commotion from beneath us begin. Damn, the apartment wasn't sound proof at all. Although the words weren't quite clear, I got the gist of it well enough. Hawks was angry as hell, his usually calm voice getting louder and louder, and I instinctively tugged on Dabi's sleeve, nodding towards the setting sun. "Never mind, let's get out of here. I don't wanna be around if he decides to check the roof out."

Instead of following me, Dabi placed his hand on top of mine and pulled me into his chest, the warmth welcoming in the cool night air. "How about we stay up here for a bit?" He offered, and I already knew I wouldn't be able to resist. "You know, for old time's sake?"