Of Wings and Flames - Dabi x OC x Hawks

Last Resorts [32]

By the time I had arrived back at the apartment, Dabi was long gone. Keigo's feathers were disheveled as he frantically paced the floor. His head whipped upwards as I came through, his amber eyes latching on to my frame. I sighed and pressed myself against the door, to which he came over to check up on me.

He brushed a strand of hair that loosened itself from my braided crown. "Are you okay Josie? You're looking a little pale." I huffed a laugh and gently swatted his hand, standing up straight and walking past him.

"I'm alright, just sick to my stomach," I admitted a little sarcastically. My feet had found their way into the kitchen and I placed myself on autopilot as I proceeded to grab myself a cup of water. "It's hard to believe that, after such a short amount of time, I've gotten so close to you both," I sighed, twirling a lock of auburn hair. "It worries me that Dabi has to go in there by himself. I don't know what she's capable of, what if she changes her mind and turns around and-"

"Hey hey firebird, cool your jets," Keigo soothed, placing a hand on my shoulder. I placed the cup on the counter and sighed. My breathing was slightly unstable, my heartbeat pulsing heavily in my chest. However, instead of flames, anxious ice slipped through my veins. He twisted me around and pulled me into a hug, pressing his lips to my head. "It's Dabi. That patchwork prick has literally set himself on fire," he chuckled a little at that. "It'll take more than a Noumu to fuck him up." I nodded and placed my hands on his arms, looking up.

"Thanks Keigo," I exhaled, pressing my head against his chest. "I've just bad feeling about all of this, you know?" I purse my lips and scrunch my eyebrows in thought. "Like, there is something about this whole thing that's not sitting right with me. I feel like there's just something I'm missing, a key piece to this puzzle that I haven't found yet." I clutched my chest and stepped away.

He wrapped his arm around my shoulder, his vermillion wings curling around me. "Wanna go for a quick flight?" He asked, and I shook my head, biting my nails. Keigo frowned. "Want a... hug? Cup of hot chocolate? Stick of yakitori, maybe-" I huffed a laugh and pressed my finger against his lip, smiling. He blinked once in warning before taking my finger in his mouth. I cried out and tried to pull my hand free, but he bit down hard enough to keep it in there.

"K-Keigo!" I shrieked, and he chuckled lowly, snapping up another finger. His tongue flipped the tips and my body shivered with the feeling before I erupted in crimson. "S-Stop eating my hand- NO NOT ANOTHER FINGER!" Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes as munched on my fingers. Eventually, he let me free, and I shook my hand aggressively, wiping my hand along my outfit. I quickly smacked him, and he took a step back, wincing slightly. "You're such a fucking pigeon, eating everything in sight." He quirked an eyebrow at that, and came closer.

"If I ate everything I saw," he spoke lowly, sending sparks flying across my body.

I meant literal sparks.

"Then I would have devoured you long ago," he purred and I sucked in a breath, opening and closing my mouth like a fish as I took a step back. I raised up my hand in defense, but it did little to stop his advances. I bit my lip as he placed his hand around my back, itching me closer towards him. He dipped his head down, lips parted-

A strike of pain streaked down my back and I gasped, my knees buckling. I collapsed to the floor and clutched my chest, my heart throbbing with a vicious intensity. My lungs were blocked and I choked, my hands scraping at my neck. Keigo cursed and bent down on the floor, flipping me on to my back. His jaw was clenched as he searched for the problem. I arched my back as another flare of pain shot down my body, and I convulsed on the floor.

"What the fuck," he hissed, lifting my head. "What's going on?" I blindly gripped on to his shirt and pulled myself up, hanging my head over his shoulder as I leaned heavily into him. My head was filled with a chorus of shrill screams and cries. I heaved and held my head as though I could keep all the pain at bay, but it did nothing. "Josie talk to me," he nearly begged, his hands pressed tightly on me back.

A name came to mind and I spat it out. "M-Maven," I wheezed, leaning backward. "She's free, I can feel her," I coughed hoarsely, pressing my head against his shoulder as I shuddered in pain. "G-God, it's like she's in my head," I whimpered. Keigo went completely still as he listened to me sob. An infectious madness was creeping around the edges of my mind, poking and prodding my defenses. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that it was Maven herself. It was crystal clear that she was also at the other end of this bond, feeling these pains as well. "She's in my head Keigo," I whispered, nuzzling into his neck.

"Then block her out," he said simply. I sniffled and leaned backward, and he eyed me carefully. "Imagine a large wall slamming down on her-"

"Get back, Keigo," I whispered softly, and his eyes widened. Not needing to be told twice, he stood up and backed away, his eyes never leaving my frame on the floor. I sucked in a breath, holding my hand over my heart. "I will purge the corruption from my mind, but I must burn myself too." My heart began to beat and I tilted my head back as the flames flushed through my body, lighting up every limb. I closed my eyes and hissed as the heat rose to an excruciating temperature. My lips cracked and bled as they dried, my skin feeling as though it were boiling.

I gritted my teeth and closed my aching eyes, and imagined these same flames inside my mind. I found that path, that singular tether of shadows that bound me to the entity at the other end.

My opposite.

My old friend.

My adversary.

I set fire to the bridge, tears streaming down my face as I burned away her presence from my mind. I opened my eyes and pressed my head against the floor, focussing on sucking in deep and desperate breaths. I slowly extinguished the flames in my body until I was left empty, not a flame to be seen. After what felt like millennia I picked myself up off the floor, standing on shaky legs. "I'm actually surprised that worked," I admitted.

"Yeah so- Josephine what the fuck?" He exclaimed, raising his eyebrows. I rasped a weak chuckle, pressing my hand to my head.

"If I could tell you, I would Cluckers." He sighed and I smiled, wrapping my hand around his wrist. I tugged him along and he followed silently. Without even bothering to change my clothes, I pulled Keigo down on to the bed and fell on top of him, sighing. "I'm so fucking done with this," I groaned, and within seconds I was out like a light. My body was a complete dead weight, and he just looked down at me and laughed, smacking his head against the bed again.

"Me too, firebird, me too."