Surrounded By Flames

He Came Back

I never told Dabi that I heard his confession on the couch, and I didn't plan on it. I was gonna use that confession as hope that he would stick around this time. That hope was also why I felt stupid standing in the isle of the pharmacy debating whether Dabi preferred a hard or soft toothbrush.

After the confession Dabi stayed the night again even though he mentioned a couple times he needed to leave. This morning I woke up wrapped in Dabi's arms again but sadly today when I pulled away from his grip it was to go to work. Throughout the day I caught myself wondering if the raven-haired man would be there when I returned. The thought of him not being there made me feel even more stupid for getting overnight supplies for him.

I grabbed a random toothbrush in blue with a frustrated huffed and headed to the next isle. This isle had multiple varieties of men's body wash and shampoo. Dabi did have a hint of pine to him, maybe a forest scent. The one I picked up smelled like dog piss. I couldn't return that bottle to the shelf quick enough.

"Hey Doc..." Came a raspy voice. I looked up from the nasty smelling bottle to meet crimson eyes. It was the man I helped last time with the dry skin.

"Hey, have you tried that cream I recommended?"

"Yes, I'm actually here to get some more." He stated, gently scratching his neck. That was an improvement over the abuse his neck received last time. "What are you here for?"

"Uh...my...friend is staying over, and I needed to get some things for him." I didn't know what to consider Dabi. I guess friend would work, I didn't want to unload my issues on his unsuspecting man.

"I can help you pick out some stuff if you want."

"That would be great, I have no idea what he uses." Those words sent a ping through my chest. It was true, I knew very little about Dabi. He was still a mystery to me, maybe that was why I was so adamant about hanging on to him.

"Describe him to me."

"Imagine a feral cat playing with a box of matches."

"I have a coworker like that except he curses like a sailor. Here." He grabbed a bottle off the shelf with four fingers and handed it to me followed by a bottle of shampoo. He had that same weird mannerism last time.

"Thank you for your help..."

"You can call me Shig. Anything else I can help you with?"

"This is perfect. Thanks. How has your scratching been?"

"Better."

"Can I look at your neck to see if there is any scaring?" I reached for his hood, but he ducked back.

"The lights hurt my eyes."

"I'm sorry for being pushy, it's in my nature to help people. I need to head out, thanks again for your help." I stuck out my hand with a smile. He hesitated before taking it with a newfound determination. Each finger caressing my hand sending a weird tingling through me. His hand lingered on mine.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah...I just don't get much human contact due to my quirk." His crimson eyes never left our conjoined hands.

"Must have something to do with my quirk then." I pulled my hand back and sat my basket down. I held out my arms to him, inviting him in. "Everyone needs human contact." Shig stared at me in confusion. When I saw that he wasn't going to make a move I reached forward and pulled him into me, wrapping my arms tightly around him.

He stood froze in my grasp for a moment before slowly letting his arms snake around my waist. A tingling sensation shot through my body where his hands touched me. After a moment his grip tightened, I let him enjoy the embrace of human contact till he pulled away. I bid him farewell before checking out. My eyes wondered over the array of business cards stopping on the one about self-defense. I grabbed it without thinking and stuffed it in my pocket before paying and heading home.

I stood outside my apartment door with the key tightly grasped in my hand. I wanted so bad to open the door and be greeted by Dabi lounging on the couch, but the more rational part of me knew he wouldn't be. I wanted to be happy and hope for the best but at the same time I didn't want to get my hopes up just for them to crash down around me. With a deep breath I opened the door to my apartment.

Dabi was not lounging on the couch aimlessly flipping through the channels. He also wasn't in the kitchen raiding my fridge, or the bathroom, or bedroom. I had to admit it didn't hurt so bad that he wasn't there since I never got my hopes up. I glanced down at the bag of stuff I got for him, the last little bit of hope pushing me as I laid out the items for him in the bathroom.

Back on the couch I found myself absentmindedly staring off into space as something played on the tv. Something tickled my face; I brought my hand up to brush it away. When had I started crying? Had I really had my hopes up that much? Yes, I wanted him here with me, he was the only thing that made me feel safe.

I pulled my knees up to my chest and let the tears roll down my cheeks. I silently sobbed into my legs, getting out all the emotions I needed to. He told me many times that he wasn't going to stick around. I hated myself for going out of the way to pick up overnight items for him. Just as I had decided to remove the items from the bathroom there was a knock at the door.

I rushed to the door tripping over my feet, my heart beating out of my chest. Not checking the peephole, I swung the door open to the most wonderful sight. There, stood Dabi holding a bag of take out, a concerned look on his face.

"Are you ok princess?" I hadn't noticed the tears streaming down my face, I wiped at them viciously.

"I am now." I stepped to the side to let Dabi in. He eyed me for a moment before walking in and plopping down on the couch. I joined him quickly, sitting on the cushion next to him.

"I saw you had some old take out from this place in your fridge. I threw it out cause I'm pretty sure I saw it move. When was the last time you cleaned your fridge?" He asked, digging through the bag and handing me random containers of food.

"I work a lot; I often forget about old food."

"Noticed, after you left, I stuck around and cleaned your fridge of the science experiment you called food."

"You cleaned my fridge?" I asked mid bite. I was dumbstruck by his statement.

"Yeah, and your cupboard, I found a loaf of bread that was nothing but mold."

"Did you do my laundry too?" I asked with a laugh.

"I'm not your fucking maid." Dabi stated around a mouthful of noodles. I burst out laughing, unable to control myself. "What's so funny?"

"The thought of you in a maid outfit angerly cleaning my house." I pulled my phone out and started scrolling through it, completely forgetting the food. "What would you say your bust size is?"

"Why? Do men even have a bust?"

"Just curious, what about hip size?" I asked, unable to hold back my snicker.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Dabi asked, trying to look over my shoulder at my phone. I hid it from him.

"Nothing, don't worry about it." He snatched the phone out of my grip as I fought desperately to get it back.

"No...we are not getting a maid outfit." He stated as he closed out of the web browser I had open. I pouted at him, watching as he stuffed my phone in his pocket. "Find something to watch on Netflix while I go to the bathroom."

"My phone?" I asked with an outstretched hand.

"You will get that back when you can behave." He tossed over his shoulder as he disappeared in the bathroom. I huffed and flipped through Netflix. "What is this?" My attention was brought back to Dabi as he stood in the door of the bathroom holding the toothbrush, I got him.

"I...I didn't know what color you liked..." He stared down at the brush like he had never seen one before.

"I like blue..." I smiled at his comment. That little comment opened a door for us. We spent the rest of the night talking. Dabi actually opened up to me a little bit, it made me so happy. We talked into the wee hours of the night and even though we started on opposite sides of the bed in our sleep we found each other's bodies.

Bonus Dabi

"How the fuck did she know what body wash I use?"