Don't Judge a Book

but his delight is in the law of the lord

"You're crying."

Overhaul jumped at the words. He hadn't heard the door open nor had he sensed Dabi behind him. "You're lucky it was me and not chapstick who found you like this. He is sound asleep. I won't tell him a thing, although I do wish you'd start talking," Dabi confessed. He sat down next to Overhaul but didn't make any moves to comfort him via touch. He didn't want to be pushed away. 

"Maybe it's better that you see me like this," Overhaul wiped his eye. "So that you'll know how terrible of an individual I am." 

"You're dating two literal demons..." Dabi sighed. "But that's not what you're talking about, is it?" 

"I've done a lot of fucked up shit," Overhaul folded his hands. He looked at the ground, refusing to confess his crimes. Or, rather, refusing to remember his crimes in order to confess them. He'd prefer to continue living in a constant state of denial, absent from punishment, ignoring past mistakes. 

"We've all done a lot of fucked up shit." 

"This time, though, I'm not sure if I'll forgive myself."

"What are you talkin-" Dabi turned his head sharply to see the angel there. Chrono laughed at Overhaul's current state. Really loves being an asshole, doesn't he?

"Why are you here?" Overhaul's voice was barely audible. The whole point of the arrangement was that Chrono would leave Dabi alone. If that didn't happen...then why did he do what he did? Why did he allow himself to be used? He shook his head. No, somewhere within himself he knew it was impossible to trust mere words. Never trust the villain's promises. Overhaul was the very person to teach him that trick. 

"God is a much bigger threat to me than the likes of you. It's only natural that I wouldn't hold up my side of the bargain," Chrono chuckled softly. 

"Hm," Dabi stared, an eerily calm aura surrounding him, as if he'd explode at any minute. The truth was bound to come out now. What was the point in trying to hide anything to begin with? Overhaul was losing a lot of points tonight. He held his head in his hands, internally screaming for all of his mistakes. Past and present. He was making the same damn mistakes he always did. He should've trusted Dabi and Tomura. He shouldn't have tried to handle everything on his own. It didn't fix anything. He was only making it worse. Actually, scratch all of that. He should've just run away when he had the chance instead of watching his past catch up to his present. Fuck all of this. 

"Ah, so that's it," Overhaul's hands dropped to his side. His eyes hollow now. "I'm just trash, the scum of the earth," he told himself. Overhaul stood up. His gloves were in his pockets, already off of his hands. He walked, slowly, towards Chrono without meaning to. He wanted to run, but running wasn't an option now, so his subconscious took over the conscious. The internal despair overwriting the tactical retreat. 

"What are you doing?" the fallen angel took a step back, feeling slightly intimidated for reasons unknown. "Do you not fear for your life at all? Do you dare to fight the Will of God?" 

"Tell me something, Chrono," Overhaul made a single motion and appeared behind the fallen angel. He kicked his knee, forcing him to the ground, and grabbed his wings with his hands. "The more I think about it, the more I realize how stupid I was to believe you. God? Giving someone like you the ability close to one of her sons? I know I haven't been a demon very long but it's infuriating to think I fell for something so stupid. God would never so much as look at you. In the very least, she would send someone else to order you around. You haven't seen the face of God." The wings started crumbling in Overhaul's grip, Chrono screamed. The more time that passed with Overhaul damaging them incredibly slowly, the more they faded from red to black.

"God will punish you for this," Chrono muttered out between wretched screams. 

"Punish me? But why?" Chrono was hunched over from the pain of his back, so Overhaul placed his foot on his head, forcing his face into the dirt. "We're just two demons here, sorting out some internal affairs. God doesn't care at all about the likes of us. Isn't that right, fallen angel? Oh? But you aren't an angel anymore, are you? You don't even have wings," he sneered. He moved his foot from Chrono's face and stepped on the stub of where his wing used to be. Chrono cried out. 

"How was it? Hm? Your taste of power? Did you enjoy playing with my emotions and scrambling my brain? You didn't think about what would happen once I snapped and figured it all out, did you?" Overhaul twisted his foot against the wound. 

"As the King of Hell," Dabi finally stood up and walked over to Chrono. He crouched down beside him, lifting his face up by grabbing his hair. "I don't see the need to add you to our forces. Shall I kill you now? Or later?" he gave him a choice but the flames already appeared on his arm. "Have any last words?" 

Chrono opened his mouth to speak but Dabi's flames engulfed him. "How unfortunate," Dabi said. "Guess he didn't have anything meaningful to say." 

Overhaul watched the flames slowly crawl up his leg. He was mesmerized by them and unable to move from the small bundle of soon-to-be-dead-body. Half of him wanted to be burned right then and there. But the flames didn't harm him. They didn't even feel hot. Did Dabi get a new skill again? "Ah," Overhaul replayed the scene in his mind. He took a step back, finally able to break free from his trance, and looked down at Dabi, "Are you going to break up with me?" 

"Why would I do that?" Dabi stood up. His flames dwindled as the ashes of Chrono were carried in the wind. Far, far away, never to bother either of them again. Unless God decided to be a bitch and bring him back. Hopefully she was just as tired of him as they were. 

"Because I-" Overhaul's voice cracked. More impure tears threatened to fall. "I was stupid enough to fall for his blackmail and he-" Overhaul covered his face with his hand, trying to hide his tears. "I would break up with me for that. I mean he-" 

Dabi raised his arm to cut Overhaul off. He didn't have to say it. "I'm not going to break up with you and I don't expect Tomura to either," Dabi scratched the nape of his neck and sighed. 

"Bu-"

"Did you enjoy it?"  

"Of course not!" 

"Then it wasn't really cheating, considering the circumstances..." 

"You're not mad?" Overhaul lowered his hand from his face, staring at Dabi with disbelief. 

"I'm fucking livid," small flames appeared in Dabi's eyes. Overhaul took a step back. "But not at you. I'm mad at myself. I'm mad at him," he gestured to the ground where Chrono once was. "Are we not trustworthy, eyelashes? Did you really feel you couldn't talk to us? We would've known right away if he was telling the truth or not. We've been around a lot longer than you," Dabi gritted his teeth. 

"I...well, he said you would end up like you were. I was scared. I don't have another soul to heal you with..." Overhaul sobbed. Dabi pulled him into a hug. "Even if there was a slight chance he was wrong, I couldn't see it, because I didn't want to risk you dying again..." he held onto Dabi's shirt, gripping it tightly in his hands.

"I understand, I do, but I'm still frustrated," Dabi replied. 

"I'm sorry," Overhaul rubbed his face further into Dabi's shirt. "I'm sorry..."