The Quaintest of All (Dabi x Reader)

[8] Who I was is not who I'll become

When Dabi woke up, he was greeted with an intense smell of flowers that lay in the air. Maybe it was just his imagination from having been in Ranunculus too often, but as soon as his eyes got used to the sun's light that shone into the room, he saw that the entrance door of (Name)'s home was wide open. The soft fragrance of nature allowed itself to take in the room and once again the male thought to himself how lucky he'd been his sense of smell didn't burn away as well.

The male groaned slightly as he sat up - sleeping on a couch mustn't have been as comfortable as he expected it to be - and swung his legs on the floor. On this wooden floor, a small note could be seen as well, with words written on it's green coloured paper.

'There's some breakfast left in the fridge. I'm downstairs if you need help with anything!' and the small smiley after these words almost wanted to make Dabi rip his hair out. Were all people as naive as her? Or was he so used to the scum of earth that he wasn't even able to identify kindness anymore?

With a new goal in his head, the male groggily shuffled towards the aforesaid fridge and opened it, only to reveal a few leftovers of waffles. He surpressed a tired yawn while taking the plate and sat down at the table he and (Name) had dined yesterday. It was a strange situation. Dabi could question all of this as much as he wanted - he would come to no conclusion.

Maybe she was using him as a person in her life she could care for, to make herself feel better.

The male slowly shook his head at this thought and proceeded with eating the waffles. The soft cream that was spread on the sweet dish made it even more pleasant to devour and Dabi felt a strange sensation of contentment inside of him. A feeling he hadn't experienced for a long time.

𝒞𝒽𝒾𝓂𝑒, 𝒸𝒽𝒾𝓂𝑒.

Even from up here, the young man was able to hear the ringing of the bells when someone had entered the shop. Dabi lifted one eyebrow as he put the finished plate away, only some crumbs left to leave a trace of food having been there.

These waffles were indeed much better than the pizza from yesterday.

The ravenette decided he should soon go downstairs to Ranunculus and maybe talk a bit with (Name). In the moment her current customer would leave the shop, that is.

After putting on his dark indigo coat, Dabi walked through the already open door and silently went down on the wooden stairs. He stopped in the middle of them when he heard a familiar voice talking with somebody.

"I really hope nothing too bad happened?" (Name)'s voice was full of concern and afterwards, the sound of flowers being wrapped could be heard. "Let's just wish she'll be alright soon."

"I hope these flowers can bring her some joy at least," a male voice answered and in an instant, Dabi's eyes shot wide open.

What. is. he. doing. here?!

The young male tried hard to surpress any kind of emotion. Wanting to get a better look of the situation, he skipped a few stair treads and gazed through the curtain that seperated the florist's home and working place. The villain almost gasped out loudly as he saw a certain hero stand in the middle of this shop he had seen as a secure place.

"Are Gentianas her favourite flowers?" the florist spoke up again as she was in the finishing process of securing the bouquet. With his turquoise eyes, Dabi got a good look of the flowers that a certain someone was going to buy.

"She likes simple things and mentioned them at some point," Endeavor answered in a guilty way and somehow, this made a long forgotten person clench it's fists.

So she's in hospital now. I can't believe how much of a caring husband you are, Enji.

"Thank you very much, Miss (Last Name)," the Flame Hero bent down before leaving the shop. And so, silence fell into the room again after the last chime had vanished into the thickness of the air.

As if she could sense his presence, the young woman turned around and wanted to shove away the curtain, only for Dabi to be caught in the act. Before the female could say anything within the realms of 'Did you sleep well?' or 'Since when have you been up?', the male quickly walked past her, his long coat flowing with the wind.

"... Dabi?" (Name) sensed something was wrong, simply because the man wasn't as laid-back as he usually was. She stared at his back with confused eyes as he glared out of the window, twitching almost nervously as he tried to get a better look of the outside.

"Was that Endeavor just now in your shop? Like, the real Endeavor?" Of course, the forgotten child knew exactly who came in just now, but he wouldn't tell her. Nobody knows. And he'll keep that secret to himself as long as he needs to.

"Erm, yes! It's kind of seldom for popular people to come in here, yet alone heroes...," (Name) responded nigh on bashfully as if she wanted her shop to be more well-known. "I could use that encounter for some kind of marketing strategy, but that's not my style." The female walked over to a pot of flowers which she inspected. "Especially if someone dear to him isn't in good shape." She clipped a withered petal away and threw it in the bin.

Dabi turned away from the window and walked into the middle of the room, but not too close to the florist. With his hands in his pockets and a serious look on his face, the woman almost didn't dare to talk with him. But - since he stayed in her own home for a night- they had to have some kind of bonding at least.

"You should never use a person like him for some kind of strategy," the male reacted with his raspy voice.

"What do you mean?" (Name) walked over to her favourite (favourite colour) watering can. Much to her satisfaction, there was still water inside. All her working made it quite difficult for Dabi to concentrate, so he almost shouted at her as he got sick of all the movements.

"Just listen to me!" he exclaimed, the piercings in his face straining the skin in the process. The florist slowly put down her watering pot and stared at him with an expectant look. His turquoise eyes held a fiery blaze to them as he stared into her (eye colour) ones.

"Many heroes just aren't the kind of people you think them to be," Dabi began, his voice more quiet now. "You shouldn't," he sighed in a strained way, "trust them just because of their title. (Name)," he snickered sadly as he shrugged his shoulders, "you even said yourself you have some concerns regarding our society. So don't blindly follow people just because they are so-called heroes."

The way he spat out the last word gave her long made guess of something truly dark having happened to him a whole new meaning.

"Do you speak from experience, Dabi?"

Aforesaid Dabi felt like the skin attached to him was going to crack any minute. He wasn't used to his body being this tense - hell, he had even killed a lot of people! There's simply no time for feelings in a life like his.

After opening his mouth and then closing it again, he turned his face away to look out of the window.

(Name)'s suspicions were confirmed as she watched him avoid her question. The Dabi she got to know was a villain, but with a reason so sad she couldn't even imagine.

"There's no reason I should answer that question."

✧ Song: God Body Disconnect - Who I was, is not who I'll Become

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