The pounding of Dabi's heart against his ribs was almost deafening in the silence sitting between them.
He stared at Rei.
She stared back.
And neither of them knew what to say.
What should he say? Should he say anything?
He'd done a lot of things he'd never expected to do these past few weeks. But this? He couldn't tell if he was glad he'd come or if he regretted it terribly.
Dabi jolted when something soft brushed against his arm. He shot his gaze to the side, visibly relaxing when he saw it was just Hawks's wing.
His friend gave him an encouraging look. Dabi felt a little bolstered by that.
"Touya—how is this possible?" came Rei's quiet voice.
Dabi turned back to her, his previously nervous expression twisting into a scowl as she reached a hand out towards his face.
He shoved her hand away and took a half step back, dangerous anger stirring in his gut.
And he tried to push the anger down, to focus on the reason he came in the first place. But despite how much he hated his father, one of the things he'd inherited was the man's temper.
"Don't fucking touch me," he snapped, causing his mother to widen her eyes as she cradled her now clasped hands against her chest.
"Dabs," Hawks warned.
Dabi ignored him.
"How...how are you here?" Rei asked. This time, she didn't make any move to touch him.
Dabi shifted uncomfortably, watching her closely as his lip curled. The whiplash of his emotions was as confusing to him as it was irritating. He wanted to be happy she was here but he also wanted to hit her where it hurt. He could feel the anger and fondness of seeing his mother fighting in his chest.
The anger won out.
"Surprise," he said in a dead voice. "I didn't die on Sekoto."
At the word 'Sekoto,' his mother looked like she'd been slapped.
He forced a smirk onto his face. "What?" he ribbed. "Sad to hear the forest burned but I didn't?"
Rei's surprise turned almost desperate. She moved to reach out to him again but caught herself. She pulled her hands back in and wrung them together.
Just like Fuyumi does, Dabi couldn't help but notice.
"A part of me died that day, Touya," Rei said earnestly, eyes shining with tears. "When I heard what happened, I–"
"You what?" Dabi snapped. "A part of you died? Are you fucking kidding me?"
She winced at his harsh reply.
"Did your skin melt off your body?" he dug in. "Did you wait for mommy or daddy to come save you?"
Dabi let out a bark of a laugh that bordered on a sob.
"You forgot me," he ground out, the hurt he'd been bottling up inside stinging his throat as the words escaped. "I don't know what I had expected, really. Dad thought I wasn't worth his time, and you thought I would never amount to anything."
Rei shook her head almost violently at that.
"No!" she rushed out, a tear finally breaking loose and trailing down her face. "No, I've never forgotten you. I've never thought you were nothing!"
YOU ARE READING
Maybe We'll fix Each Other
General Fiction"So," he said. "Do you want me to get you out of here?" She hesitated. "But...Overhaul..." "Is a bitch," Dabi finished. "I'll make sure he never lays a hand on you again." And that admission is what surprised Dabi the most. That he wasn't lying. Tha...
