Bury Me in a Field of Flowers (and Don't Tell Them That I Love You)

Chapter Three

The night sky is cold against Dabi's flushed skin. He leans his head back and lets the oncoming rain fall gently on his upturned face. His eyes are closed and he takes in a deep breath- a sharp pain in his ribs makes him wince slightly and he opens his eyes again. Taking a hand, he feels around his torso and finds the open wound. Dabi hisses and presses his hand firmly against the gaping gash in his side to slow down the bleeding.

He doesn't spare a glance down at the charred corpses of the unfortunate victims of his fury and presses forward. He has no real destination in mind and allows his feet to take steps of their own volition. The rain seems endless, it trickles down from his hair and onto his face. Dabi doesn't wipe the rain away, it's masking his own steady dripping of tears- the salty taste is bitter in his mouth.

Dabi stumbles over a stray rock and he kicks it aside, it clatters down the empty street before it suddenly comes to a stop underneath a boot.

"Dabi?" He jerks his head up at the sound of his name, through his blurred vision stands a man dressed in soft beige and wreathed in brilliant crimson as his wings tuck themselves closer against his body. Between the painful maim and the itch that makes itself home in the base of his lungs- Dabi can find no words.

"Dabi." Hawks repeats, taking a step closer towards him. His footsteps are drowned out by the rain, Dabi finds himself transfixed by the way the droplets make Hawks' uniform cling to his body.

"I thought you died on me, honestly," Hawks laughs, rubbing the back of his neck with an easy smile, "I haven't heard from you in a week." Dabi still can't speak, worried that if he tries- it will only make the cursed flowers that had taken root from between his ribs bloom. Hawks' laughter dies off as his eyes trail down to Dabi's hand against his side. His gaze is unreadable and he only sighs tiredly before daring to get closer to Dabi.

"I should've known that the call earlier was about you." Dabi can only manage a vague gesture with his free hand before exhaling sharply from his nose.

"Well, you know me. Always up to no good." He finishes with a small chuckle, wincing from the smarting in his side.

"So uh, you gonna get that checked out?"

"I'll be fine." He doesn't want Hawks to get any closer, it's getting harder for Dabi to keep down the gradual climbing irritation in his throat. Hawks merely raises an eyebrow and clicks his tongue.

"Yeah," Hawks drawls out, gaze not leaving Dabi's hand, "I'm gonna call that bullshit." Dabi grits his teeth and swallows down a sneaking petal.

"Really. I'm fine." He manages to shoulder past Hawks before the shorter man can make another peep. A withering glare is sent Hawks' way when Dabi realizes that he's being followed. Hawks bristles at the glare and abruptly halts. Dabi continues down the street littered with stray bottles and the dripping of his blood that mixes in with the cold rain.

A flutter of wings tells Dabi that Hawks took flight and he slouches into himself, ignoring the sharp pain.

He can't stop the next series of coughs and covers his mouth. His gaping wound only sharpens and rips open more with each heave of his coughing. From between his thin fingers, soft petals burst forth. He doesn't notice as one slips away from his grasp, too distracted by the subtle flowery aroma mixing in with the earthy undertones of the rain. He shoves the handful of petals into his jacket and continues down the street.

He never noticed the figure of a winged man that's perched from a building above, who's watching curiously as a single white petal falls gently down to the street before being drifted off into a storm drain. Because the next thing Dabi knows, he's plummeting towards the cold pavement.