Fly High, Burn Bright

Chapter 70

"Are you sure you want to know?" Dabi leaned in, as if to tell me some massive secret, and I found myself doing the same as I nodded my head in anticipation. His tone was welcoming enough - I guess his scars weren't as much of a sore spot as I thought they would be. I'd theorized that maybe he'd gotten in a fight with Endeavor before, which would explain why the scars looked like severe burns that never got to heal and his hatred for the pro hero, but now I'd actually get to find out why. Dabi didn't stop getting closer until we were centimeters apart, and his eyes bore into mine with so much intensity that I instinctively averted my gaze. In the brief moment that I turned away, Dabi brought his lips to my ear in a staged whisper. "I was too hot to handle."

The laugh that left me was carefree and genuine, and Dabi pulled away to meet me with a grin that stretched his scars out. It'd been a while since I laughed like that, and it took me a few seconds to regain my composure from the sudden break of tension. "I thought we wouldn't be telling lies," I teased him with a crooked smile of my own, to which he responded with an overdramatic hand over his heart.

"I assure you, princess, that is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. I'd never lie about something as serious as my hotness," he exclaimed with fake offense. 

"Sorry to break it to you, genius, but people don't exactly turn into burnt chicken nuggets because they're too hot," I mocked, the smile never leaving my face.

"Ah, but you see," he paused, raising up a finger as if to underline his point, "I'm not like most people. I was literally too hot. My body isn't accustomed properly to my quirk."

Any shred of laughter that still lingered in me immediately disappeared, replaced by sheer horror and pity as I finally understood what he meant. "You mean- you mean you got those from using your quirk? Not from fighting Endeavor?"

Dabi's brows furrowed in confusion. "You thought I got them because I fought Endeavor? Why would you eve-" He paused mid sentence, tilting his head to one side as if he was deep in thought. "Actually, I can see that. But no, it's not because of Endeavor. I overused my quirk a few times when I was a kid, and the burns never healed. I guess that's what I get for not being careful," he shrugged, as if the fact that his body was scarred forever wasn't that big of a deal.

"Does it still hurt you? Your quirk, I mean," I asked, scooting closer to him to gently put one hand over the burned flesh of his arm. He didn't pull away, so I gently traced my thumb over it. 

"Not really. It's not a problem when I fight from afar, so as long as I don't get in close combat, I should be fine." For someone who just admitted to the fact that his quirk was slowly trying to kill him, Dabi was awfully calm. Very much unlike me.

"So you're saying that your quirk is literally fighting against you?" At this point, my voice was taking on that high panicked edge that I hated - it showed just how vulnerable I was, and putting my weaknesses on display wasn't exactly something I liked doing.

Dabi gave me a shit eating grin that I was definitely not in the mood for. "I'm saying that I'm just too hot for anyone to handle properly."

It took all of my self control not to sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose in disappointment. "Just... try to be careful, alright? I have no interest in being with a piece of walking burnt toast."

"Being with?" Dabi chose to ignore the insult in favor of paying attention to the more positive part of what I said, and although I was happy he didn't get offended, his selective hearing left me with a crimson blush that for some reason didn't seem to want to leave any time soon. 

"Shut up," I grumbled, turning away and pointedly ignoring the way my stomach seemed to flip as he reached to gently hold my chin in his hands.

"No can do," he beamed, and I groaned in response. "It's my turn to ask, isn't it? So, princess, what do you mean by being with?"

"Didn't we just have this conversation?" My protests fell on deaf ears, and yet, I somehow managed to avoid answering him directly. With each question, I managed to counter well enough to satisfy Dabi's hunger, and we somehow managed to settle into the same cat and mouse game that we'd started months ago. I decided to stay away from stupid questions now and focused on the easier ones instead. Slowly, one answer after the other, one question and then the next, I learned the things that normal people would ask on a first date - my entire body seemed to shiver as I thought about it. It was a date, a messed up crazy date that originated from us committing crimes together and breaking and entering, and led to us being in the very same position that we'd started in - sitting on a rooftop at ungodly hours and asking each other questions that the other tried to weave around.

I learned he had three younger siblings, two brothers and a sister, but he hadn't seen them in ages. When I asked why, all I got was an answer that 'they'd drifted apart'. Not once did he mention his parents, though, and in turn, I told him how my own parents had raised me well enough, taking Hawks in at one point, too, until I turned eleven. His eyes went wide with an emotion I couldn't quite read when he heard about how they'd started to put distance between me and them as soon as I'd started training not only my quirk but my hand at knives, too, but I waved it off. At least that was another thing we had in common - parents that wouldn't give a flying fuck if we dropped dead right now. 

Apparently, his hair wasn't naturally black - it was originally bright red before turning as white as pure, untainted snow, but he decided to dye it when he joined the League so that he'd be able to more efficiently hide his identity. Smart guy. Maybe I should dye my hair, too. I later found out that his father had abused him when he was a child, which was what led Dabi to eventually turning from the opportunity of becoming a hero and choosing the life of a villain instead. That's two guys with severe daddy issues that I'd fallen in lo- that I'd grown to be infatuated with. Perhaps that was just the kind of crowd that I attracted. Guys who were abused and neglected by their parents. Then again, so was I. I guess that saying was right - what was it? Oh, right. 'Birds of a feather stick together'. Well, if that's what brought me first to Hawks and then to Dabi, then I was more than fine with it. 

I was painfully aware of just how fast the time seemed to fly as we asked one silly question after another, finally learning the basic things about one another that technically we should've asked earlier, but had somehow skipped over. Then again, we'd been able to make a pretty good coupl- pair before I learned that Dabi's favorite activity to pass the time other than committing crimes that would land him a lifetime of prison was destroying Shigaraki at Dark Souls, and before he found out and teased me absurd amounts over the fact that the first time I'd tried to throw a dagger, I'd ended up somehow almost chopping off my hand. Still, I couldn't deny how good it felt to open up to him likes this instead of stealing the usual selfish touches that only left us both starving for more. At least now I felt like I actually knew Dabi, instead of feeling like it was only Dabi that knew me.

When the clock struck three in the morning, I was reluctant to leave, but he and I both knew that we needed to return to the base - just because the others had let us off to wander didn't mean that we could stay out for as long as we wanted. Even though the thought of leaving the upper world for God knew how long made me a little sad, Dabi reaching out to pick me up again definitely made me feel better, and I was blushing like a school girl as I clutched the notebook close to my chest and wrapped one arm around his neck. The jump down to the ground would've been terrifying if it wasn't for the fact that Dabi's hold on me served as a constant reminder that he was right here, choosing to be with me. 

Even if I tried to recall the way back to the headquarters, I wouldn't have been able to do it. The entire way had been a blur of fluttering butterflies in my stomach and a racing heart that pounded too loud to be normal. It felt so natural yet so abnormal at the same time to be this happy as Dabi and I raced down the dark streets, and yet, the whole time, I smiled brighter than I had in months.