Don't Judge a Book

but the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew

"This can't be healthy," Kai looked at Dabi lying on the bed they all shared. His wounds still sizzling. His eyes still closed. 

"Of course it's not healthy," Tomura scratched his neck. "What am I supposed to do with this asshole? I can't heal him. I'm not an angel. I can't even manage his wounds. They don't heal on their own so..."

"So he might never wake up?" Kai uttered the words Tomura refused to. Kai shook his head. "He is going to wake up. God's plan was for him to suffer watching others suffer. Isn't that what the one guy told you? He can't watch them suffer if he is sleeping. He might be like this because of that very loophole, thinking they won't suffer if he is asleep." 

"I'm not letting him sleep for the rest of eternity," Tomura scratched his neck more furiously, causing it to bleed. "I've spent enough years waiting for this asshole to notice me." 

"Stop that," Kai grabbed his wrist, forcing his hand away. He sat down next to Tomura on the ground beside the bed. "We'll figure something out." 

"Do you have a secret demon cure lying around?" he scoffed. 

"Hm, well, what about my soul?" Kai intended it to be a joke, not really sure how demons worked yet, but Tomura thought about it too long, making him slightly uneasy. 

"It might work," he finally said. 

"I knew you wanted to get rid of me to have him all to yourself but I thought we'd gotten to like each other," Kai sighed. Tomura laughed, actually laughed. Kai hadn't heard anything close to a laugh out of him before. Just glares and grumbles. 

"Taking the soul out of your body doesn't kill you. In most cases, you'll transform into a demon and lose the ability to ever access Heaven. Unless, of course, you do what this idiot did and force you're way in," Tomura pointed behind him. "Are you sure you want to spend your eternity down in the dirt with us? You still have the chance to repent." 

"Heaven doesn't seem like all it's made out to be. Besides, I think I'd rather spend my days grumbling with my boyfriends." 

"Are you including me in this? I'm a pain in the ass, you know? You should really think this over first," Tomura's eyebrows furrowed. He was concerned for Kai's sanity. Spending all of his days fighting with Tomura over Dabi? What kind of guy wants that?

"You sure are," Kai agreed, taking off his face mask. "But I agreed to share and you're part of what I'm sharing, aren't you?" he smiled. 

"You...don't hate me?" 

"Why would I hate you? I just said I thought we were getting along..." 

"And you're sure you want to do this?" Kai nodded. Tomura let out a long sigh. "Then, you're going to have to choose a spot where you want the mark to be. It doesn't matter where I'll show you how to change your appearance once you've demonized." 

Kai took off his tie and unbuttoned his shirt. "Just put it over my heart," he pointed, unable to think of a more fitting location. 

"This is going to hurt quite a bit. Think or do something to distract you," Tomura took off his glove and placed his hand on Kai's chest. His hand glowed with the color of Kai's soul, a soft shade of purple.

Kai winced. His face scrunched up from the pain of having his life's essence literally drained out of him. "Sorry," Tomura mumbled. "Can't say I didn't warn you."

"Kiss me." 

"Did you finally lose your marbles?!" 

"You said to do something to distract me. Kissing me will definitely distract me," he shrugged. 

"My lips are crusty as fuck, pretty boy," Tomura snapped. "The only thing they'll do to distract you is make you cringe!" 

Kai leaned his head up against the side of the bed. He'd broken out into a cold sweat from the pain. He couldn't muster up the strength to talk anymore so he simply nodded, closing his eyes. Tomura, feeling guilty as fuck now, ended up complying. He leaned forward and smashed their lips together. His tongue wasn't forked like Dabi's and he didn't have nearly the same expertise when it came to kissing. His lips were indeed coarse against Kai's perfectly smooth ones. But, he did his job properly of distracting Kai. 

"Sorry," he apologized again, removing his hand from Kai's chest. 

"You're rather self-conscious for a demon." 

"I wasn't much better as an angel either," Tomura bit his lip and looked at a nice spot on the carpet to stare at. "I'm not very attractive or good at anything. Dabi somehow manages to look like a fine specimen even with all of his scars but I'm just..." Tomura scratched his neck (with the hand not holding a soul). "I'm not good," he repeated, "at literally anything," he turned his eyes back to Kai. His face broken, his voice cracking, and the impure tears falling down his cheeks. He shook his head and wiped away the tears, smudging his face, before standing up and pressing the palm of his hand to Dabi's mouth. 

Kai struggled to stand but his strength was coming back more powerful than it had been before. His teeth grew sharper, giving him fangs. The entirety of his eyes turned black and horns grew from his forehead. He still managed to look beautiful, even as a disgusting creature of Hell. Kai hugged Tomura from behind, resting his chin on his shoulder. "You managed all of Hell without help from Dabi and spent years searching for him after he didn't say a word. Don't say you aren't good at anything. In the very least, you're good at being a ruler and at being loyal." 

"Demons shouldn't have honor," Tomura scoffed. "I think it's working..." the burning wounds Dabi acquired from his escapade seemed to dwindle. His eyes opened when the last of Kai's soul was gone. Only his eyes had changed. Instead of the soft blue of his father's cold rage, they were now a shade of purple. 

"What the hell happened to you?" Dabi raised an eyebrow at Kai's appearance. "And why are you crying?" he pointed to Tomura. "What exactly happened between you two? You're awfully close now..." he said, noticing their hug. 

Tomura scrambled onto the bed and hugged Dabi tightly, refusing to let go for even a moment as he sobbed into his chest. Kai moved to hug Dabi as well, but he was greeted with a hand to his face. "Don't get near me with that deathtrap on your forehead. You've gotta make them disappear." 

"How?" 

Dabi couldn't think of a good way to explain it but he tried his best. "Think of what you look like without them? And your appearance should alter with the image." Kai nodded, getting the gist, and his appearance (not only the horns) went back to what it normally was. He climbed onto the bed and hugged the other side of Dabi. 

"We're glad you're okay now," Kai nuzzled his face into Dabi's neck. 

"You shouldn't have turned into a demon just to fix me," Dabi frowned. "I would've gotten better eventually." 

"You don't know that," Tomura sobbed. 

"Alright, alright, calm down you two," Dabi took each of his hands and patted their heads. "It's okay now."