You're the Only Exception

Chapter One

Dabi was used to many things in his life; the Pyro was used to being called a villain because of his scars. Dabi was also used to the pain they caused. Of course, the fire starter would bite back his tongue and hide the pain from everyone until he was safe in his apartment, where he had his stash. He was used to people telling him that his quirk was too volatile and that he should give up on his dream of being a hero. He was used to being the least favorite out of his siblings; he was used to being the shield for his siblings whenever their parents started fighting. He was also used to never being chosen first; the fire user was never anyone's first choice; it was either he was their sloppy seconds or dead last. The thing that the Pyro was used to was his 'friends' whispering behind his back. Dabi had so many phrases stored in his head that it started eating at him inside. On a good day, he'd ignore the small voice in the back of his head, but there were days he was curled in the corner of his shitty apartment, thin fingers tangled in his white hair as tears spilled down his cheeks. On those days, the fire user never truly remembered because it led to him doing whatever drug numbed the pain. He was always told secondhand what he did those days and most of the time it made the voices worse.

Dabi still remembers when his siblings found out about his addiction; they tried to understand, but in the end, they all held disappointed looks on their faces. That was another thing the Pyro was used to, being a disappointment. His siblings didn't understand that the drugs helped; they helped to numb the pain as well as quiet the voices in his head. The male's phone buzzed next to him, rolling onto his side. Dabi scooped the device up, groaning as the screen blinded him. He stared at the screen for a long moment, his hazy brain trying to comprehend the text. Out of everything that Dabi was used to, the one thing that threw his life out of the loop was Kai Chisaki, the famous artist, choosing him. They met when Dabi was on a bender; he was craving coffee that day and bumped into the male; the fire starter remembered everyone's faces. Their eyes were wide as a small group of bodyguards surrounded him, but the artist waved a hand, and the men stepped aside quickly.

Dabi was sure he was sweating and shaking, but it wasn't from the nerves. No, those died a long time ago for him. He stared as Chisaki drew closer, his yellow eyes bore into Dabi's blue ones. They didn't speak; the artists simply held out a sleek black card to him and told the fire starter to call him if he needed somewhere to crash during a bender. That's all their relationship was for six months; Kai would give him a place to stay when everyone else turned him away, and sometimes the artist would talk to him as he curled up in bed, whimpering from the pain. Sometimes the male would touch him, and that would always cause the fire starter to yell and flinch away; nobody ever wanted to touch him. Between the scars and the addiction, people thought he was too dirty and too diseased, but Kai always was soft. It was during their eight-month routine that one of the artist's bodyguards cornered him while the boss was away at a meeting, telling Dabi he was special because Kai Chisaki never touched people. He was too scared of germs, too scared to get sick.

Dabi returned home that night whirling, too many questions in his hazy mind to keep track of. What made him so special? He was a junkie, or, as his father liked to put it, too defective to be wanted. The fire starter read the text three more times before his brain was able to understand it. I want to take you to a party tonight. I'll have one of my men pick you up with a suit. Please be decent, - Kai. That was one thing Dabi loved about his boyfriend; no matter what, he never asked the fire starter to change unless it was at a social gathering. Then Dabi would wear his mask for the other male and pretend to play house with him. As soon as Dabi pushed himself off the bed, the sharp stabbing pain radiated from his lower back, coursing through his shoulders. The male cried out in pain, his legs buckling as he slammed into the carpeted ground. The pyro blinked the black dots that danced across his vision as his body shook violently. The world spun around him, and Dabi's stomach rolled as nausea swelled in his belly. The male tried to push it down, but the heat in his stomach grew.