Feathers and Flame // Dabi x Reader x Hawks

50: One More Truth

You decided to leave a note.

It was hurried and inelegant, informing Hawks you would be back—and that you were sorry.

The shower was still running when you left.

Your heart hadn't ceased its thunderous beat since you read those messages. How long had it been since you saw him outside of the dreams that haunted you? The last words you uttered to Dabi were a promise of death whenever you found him again.

Now he was waiting.

And you had knives in your hands.

This was always supposed to be the ending, right?

It didn't take you long to reach the address Toga gave you. The bar was still under construction after an unfortunate accident involving arson and a few dead degenerates. The culprits were never identified—and it would remain that way.

The door was slightly ajar, so you slipped inside.

It felt a little like stepping into the past, despite that the windows were boarded up and everything was covered in sheets of plastic. The air wasn't heady with the scent of stale alcohol but smelled of freshly cut wood and sawdust. Still, it took you back—to a version of you that knew nothing of who she was and lived only for who she was told to be.

In a way, this was where it all began.

Where he'd called you—

"Princess."

You almost leaped from your skin.

His voice came from deeper inside, and you clutched your knives a little tighter as you ventured further in.

Streams of light shone through the cracks between the planks in the windows, reflecting off the dust in the air. But the further you stepped inside, the less light dared to follow.

Flick.

You stepped around a half-finished wall.

Flick.

And there he was.

Dabi sat on a pallet of wooden planks, both legs dangling off the edge as he toyed with a lighter in his hands. The flint wheel spun with a haunting flick, igniting a bright orange flame that vanished in a single second. He wore a familiar black trench coat that draped around him like a curtain with a white t-shirt beneath. The silver staples holding him together gleamed in the fading light.

The sight of him sucked the air from your lungs and sent your heart into a frenzy.

"White suits you better."

Somehow, your words remained steady.

Dabi's eyes flicked to you and you inhaled sharply at the weight of his full attention. His fingers stilled on the lighter. "It's been a while, hasn't it, princess?" His gaze moved to the knives in your hands and he smirked. "Not all lies, huh?"

You stared at him, unblinking. "What?"

His smirk grew. "The words that come out of your pretty mouth." He flicked on the lighter again. "You told me you would come to kill me."

You refused the urge to flinch. "I did."

Dabi set down the lighter and stood. "And you're here now."

Your breath caught when he took a step closer. And then another. "I am."

He was close enough now that you could see him clearly.

The deep purple of his scars was a complete contrast to the stark white of his unkempt hair. He was beautiful in a way that was warped and tainted, yet completely undeniable. His scars now covered more of his once unblemished skin, spreading beneath the staples under his eyes to connect to the vicious slash of ruin across his cheeks.