𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 (𝐃𝐚𝐛𝐢 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫)

23

Y/N's POV:

You didn't know how long it had been, nor did you know if the things you'd felt had been real, or nightmares brought on by the haze that shrouded your mind.

It must have taken hours to claw your way back to consciousness. When feeling returned to your body, the first thing you noticed wasn't the sharpness of each piercing breath or the burn that hid behind the fading numbness of your arm. It was the warmth coming from beside you, the featherlight touch of a hand resting over your hip.

You didn't give yourself time to think about the situation. Your brain only registered that you'd been drugged and had woken up in an unfamiliar bed with another person lying beside you. Dread coursed through your veins, turning your stomach over. It was on instinct that you pushed yourself to your feet and grabbed the nearest object that could be used defensively. In this case, it was a small, bedside lamp.

Your grip was weak, and your vision momentarily darkened from the sudden movement, but you didn't let yourself waver. You'd been in a situation like this before. Granted, it had been a training exercise. You'd been given a drink laced with a drug that predators often used on unknowing girls at parties, and then had been told to fight off your attacker while attempting to resist the effects of the drug. It had taken four tries, but you'd been successful. Whatever substance Zankoku used in his quirk was much stronger, though. And you were in much worse condition than you'd been at the time of that specific training.

"Do you think we could try and talk before you start throwing things at me, Princess?"

The voice wasn't the one you'd been expecting, which eased some of the fear. You blinked a few times, willing the spots to dissipate. When your sight became clear, and you saw who had been beside you in the bed, you released the breath you'd been holding. Dabi stood, taking the lamp from your hand and placing it back on the chipped paint of the bedside table.

"Where are we?" You asked, your voice sounding hoarse. Looking around, you quickly realized that the room would not have been used by a higher-up. The wooden floor was stained, and the small bed had bedding that didn't match the color of the pillowcases.

"An acquaintance of mine lives here," Dabi answered. "He helped heal some of your injuries."

Your thoughts traveled back to the near-blinding pain that you'd awoken to. Dabi had been there, and a strange old man too. You didn't remember what they'd said, only the hellish feeling of poison-dipped thorns being pulled from beneath your skin. You'd believed it to be a nightmare.

Dabi studied you, and if you didn't know better, you would've said there was genuine concern in his look. "We didn't think you'd be awake for another few hours. Lay back down and I'll go and get Doctor Reiki."

Twice, now, that you remembered, Dabi had seen you in a state of complete vulnerability. It was shameful. You'd spent the first part of your time with him working tirelessly to convince him that you weren't some helpless girl that needed to be watched constantly. When you'd grown comfortable, you'd let him see a few of your more jagged edges, but that trust had been misplaced. It had been a game to him. And you wouldn't make the mistake of letting him play you like that again. However, him finding you in the situations that he did made your efforts feel pretty counterproductive. "I'm fine. Where's the bathroom?"

"I don't think you should be moving around right now." He reached out as if to guide you back, but you stepped away.

"I have to pee, dude. I'm pretty sure that the guy would rather have that happen in the bathroom than on the bed."

He studied you for a moment, looking unsure, but eventually spoke. "Fine." Dabi sighed and pointed to the doorway. "It's the first door to the left."

Without saying anything else, you shakily made your way out of the room. You followed the directions, finding yourself in a small bathroom with beige-colored walls. The shower had no curtain, likely because, from the look of it, it hadn't been used in years. The toilet worked fine, fortunately, along with the sink.