Don't Judge a Book

nor standeth in the way of sinners

"Something is wrong with eyelashes," Dabi observed, staring at him from across the room. Tomura glanced his way. 

"What do you mean? His eyes are just as dead as they usually are. He doesn't seem very different." 

"He keeps looking over his shoulder and jumps every time someone makes a noise. He is hiding something." Dabi leaned back, placing both of his arms on the counter of the bar. 

"Are you sure you aren't just paranoid? If anyone is changing around here, it's you," Tomura pointed. "Your eyes have gotten even more hollow since that day and we have been hanging out here for a month now. What's your plan?" 

"I don't have a plan," Dabi looked up at the ceiling. "I just really want God to suffer." 

"Boss," Kurogiri placed a drink behind Dabi. He looked over his shoulder at him. "You get on the road. We found feathers out back." 

"We are across the street from an angel hangout. Does that really mean anything?" Dabi grabbed the glass. 

"We also found blood." 

The glass broke in Dabi's hand. Tomura got some bad deja vu as he started picking out glass shards. "Do you think we might have a spy?" Dabi glanced back to Overhaul. "Someone being blackmailed, perhaps?" 

"You don't honestly think that do you?" Tomura didn't have a first aid kit on him, so he just brought Dabi's hand to his face and started licking it.

"Does my blood taste good?" Dabi raised an eyebrow. 

"Yes, obviously, because I'm a fucking vampire," Tomura rolled his eyes. 

Dabi stood up and snatched his hand away. He walked towards Overhaul. "We're hitting the road," he nodded his head towards the door. 

"Where are we going?" Overhaul asked, curiosity more than anything but then he remembered Chrono. "Actually, nevermind. I don't care that much." The less he knew the better. That way even if Chrono tortured him for information, blackmailed, or any other heinous things that he'd been doing for the past month...he could honestly say he didn't know. 

"To a motel," Dabi answered, noticing his sudden shift in mood. "It's not very far from here but it's in the direction we need to go." Overhaul stood up, following Dabi and Tomura out of the bar. The three walked side by side taking up the entirety of the sidewalk like a group of thugs. Dabi was in the center. Of course. Why wouldn't he be? 

In the corner of his eye, Overhaul saw the familiar red wings following them. But, it could've just been his mind playing tricks. It had been doing that a lot lately. "You okay?" Dabi's voice snapped him back into the moment. "You look as if you've seen a ghost." 

"Yeah, I'm fine," he lied, guilt consuming his being. Sweat built up on the back of his neck, sliding down into the purple feathers of his jacket. Chrono's words resounding in his ears. Dabi lifted his hand to grab his shoulder, but Overhaul avoided it, remembering Chrono's touch. How many wounds did he have to destroy and rebuild just to keep this a secret? He'd lost count. Chrono was destroying every last piece of his remaining sanity. He didn't have much to begin with. 

"Still think nothing is wrong?" Dabi whispered in Tomura's direction. 

"No, something is definitely wrong." 

...

The steam rose to the ceiling. Dabi's leg was outstretched, his sole resting on the side of the wall. His other leg scrunched up in the small bathtub. "Why do all motels smell like smoke?" he asked himself. The bathroom door was wide open. He could hear the muttering words of Tomura and Overhaul talking to each other. 

"You want me to what?" Tomura was obviously confused. Dabi imagined his expression perfectly. 

"Can you disintegrate the tattoo on my ass?" Overhaul muttered back.

"I heard what you said the first time." Dabi imagined Tomura running his gloved hand through his hair. "Is this because of what I said? I can't deny your tattoo makes me uncomfortable but you don't have to go this far. Dabi likes it and his opinion is the only one that matters." 

"It's not like that," Overhaul replied. "I thought about what you said and there is some truth there. I've only kept it this long because I missed my ex. I convinced myself I liked it but it feels wrong to have it when I have a new relationship..." Dabi sensed those words were a bullshit answer. It was only half true. There was something about the way Overhaul paused after certain words that made him uneasy. Was his ex the angel following them around? Was he blackmailing him into doing something? The possibility was there. Dabi just didn't have evidence to back up his suspicions outside of Overhaul's strange behavior. 

"Look, pretty boy," Tomura sighed. "Even if I wanted to cause you physical harm like that, I can't. My power isn't exactly easy to control and I could end up doing a lot more damage. It's like when you drop food dye into a glass of water. It spreads and spreads and changes the whole cup. Your entire body would be destroyed if I'm the slightest bit too slow." 

"I see." 

Tomura breathed a sigh of relief, thinking Overhaul had given it up but he just walked into the bathroom instead. "Will you burn the tattoo?" he asked Dabi. 

"Do you want to give me a reason?" Dabi didn't look at Overhaul. He could tell the guy was uneasy without having to see it. "I don't particularly want to damage your flawless skin without a reason." 

"Please," he whispered. "I gave you my soul to save your life. Can you just do this for me without asking any more questions?" Dabi didn't respond to that obvious attempt to manipulate his emotions. Nothing was going to change Overhaul's mind, it seemed. 

"Strip," Dabi ordered while pointing at him. He heard the rustle of clothing and the small plop of garments falling to the ground. Dabi gestured with his finger for Overhaul to come closer. Dabi stood up so Overhaul could sit in the tub. He sat down before him, crisscrossing his legs. Overhaul shifted over, sitting on Dabi's lap, wrapping his legs around him. He loosely hugged Dabi's neck. 

"You left your facemask on," Dabi stared at it. He moved his hands to Overhaul's lower back and noticed him flinch once he grabbed his ass. "What's the significance of me burning you?" Dabi tilted his head ever so slightly. "You could destroy your ass yourself with your own ability. Why'd you ask Tomura and me to do it for you?" Overhaul remained silent. 

"Ah, so you won't answer that either?" 

"You aren't really going to do it, are you?" Tomura leaned up against the doorway, his arms crossed. 

"He is asking me to," Dabi dug his nails into Overhaul's skin. He winced. 

"You would never hurt one of us intentionally," Tomura shook his head. "Even if we asked you to. That's why he came to me first because he knew that."

"There is a first time for everything," the water sizzled around the back of Dabi's hands. Overhaul's ass was just barely out of the water. He'd given him plenty of time to stop this but Overhaul's resolve was strong. 

"You're not going to fucking burn the ass of our boyfriend!" Tomura snapped. 

"He must have a reason," Dabi shifted his eyes to Tomura. "Stop fighting it." Tomura threw his hands up in the air and walked out of sight towards the bed. 

"You two are fucking crazy!" he shouted their way. 

"I don't know what you need this for," Dabi confessed, fire forming on his palms and spreading down the back of Overhaul's thigh to cover the tattoo entirely, "but you better have a damn good reason and one day I expect you to tell me." The water that recently was barely touching his ass evaporated making the burning of his thighs work better. 

"Thank you," Overhaul leaned forward, hugging Dabi tightly through the pain. "Really, thank you," he gritted his teeth and sobbed.