Into the Fire - a Shigadabi Fanfic

25 - Morning

I wake up to soft kisses falling on my skin like rain.

"Morning," I mumble.

He squeezes me from behind, his solid warmth by my side as reassuring as always. "Morning."

There's something magical about that word, about falling asleep with someone and waking up with them. There's something magical about it being him that I'm waking up with.

Ugh, I'm being soppy. What the hell is happening to me? He is, a snide voice taunts in the back of my head. I tell it to shut up.

I lean back into Dabi's warmth with a sigh. For the first time in ages, I didn't have that nightmare. Now that I think of it, I haven't had that nightmare since Dabi's been sleeping with me. I haven't sleepwalked either, like even in my brain's most basic, sleepy stage it recognises that I'm safe with him.

Dabi kisses the top of my head, and I burrow my head further into the pillow. It's strange to admit it, but this is nice. Really nice.

"Aren't you going to get on with work, boss?" he asks teasingly from behind me.

"Nope. I've got priorities... and not one of them involves work."

"Good." He kisses my neck, my shoulder, my face. This is... incredible. It's hard to believe that this is happening to someone like me. I twist my neck to look over at him, and his sleepy, lidded eyes blink back at me. He's so beautiful in the morning, his black hair all mussed up, a smile just for me on his lips. I love you.

The words startle me so much that I forget to breathe for a moment. Do I... do I love Dabi?! I push it to the back of my mind and focus on the present, on right now.

"I'm going back to sleep," I yawn.

"Okay. I'll be here when you wake up."

How did he realise the uncertainty I was feeling? I yawn one more time, stretching my legs, and then I lean back against his warmth and fall asleep again. His warm arm is still around me, his body tucked against mine, and so I sleep easily. I'll be here when you wake up. I'm safe.

"Staples, where's my shirt?" I call over my shoulder. I found the rest of my clothes in a heap on the floor beside his, but I can't find my shirt; I need the bathroom and I'm certainly not going to walk out bare-chested, particularly with the hickeys on my skin.

"Oh, I turned it to ash," he replies casually, pointing to a dark scorch mark on his floor. "Now we're even."

He turns around and winks at me.

"Daabiii! What am I supposed to-"

He tosses me one of his black shirts. I swear to god this is too smooth: he must have planned this. I slip it over my head. His shirt is so big on me that it falls nearly mid-thigh and the neckline slouches over one shoulder. But it's comfy and warm and smells like him. I yawn again. When he looks over at me from the window, I can see that from the fierce glint in his eyes that he likes me wearing his clothes too.

Dabi looks at me with a little surprise when I walk up behind him and wrap my arms around his chest.

"You're a human radiator," I mutter into his back.

He grins like an idiot.

"If it stops you from wearing that awful fleece, you can hug me all day."

I blush bright red because some part of me wouldn't mind that at all. I don't really like physical contact - never have - but it's different with Dabi. Everything is different with him, and not always in a bad way.

A knock at the door. I jolt away from him on instinct.

"Dabi?" It's only Toga. I breathe out. Dabi stands next to me and slings his arm over my shoulders, his hand rubbing warm circles on my skin. I have to fight the urge to turn into a puddle.

"What is it, Himiko?"

Thankfully she stays on the other side of the door. "Can you make pancakes for breakfast again?"

I bury my head in his shoulder and breathe his familiar scent to calm myself. It's okay. She knows about your relationship... but it's okay... right?

"You should have normal breakfast too. Let's have pancakes once a week?"

She huffs out an annoyed breath.

"Okayyy." Her footsteps recede down the corridor.

I nuzzle into Dabi's neck, suddenly reluctant to leave this room and face reality. But I can't stay here in this perfect bubble all day. For one thing, I still need to use the bathroom. Adjusting Dabi's shirt so that it hides the hickey on my shoulder, I reach for the door handle-

Dabi's whisper in my ear stops me.

"Can you wear that under your jumper today?"

I blush more scarlet than a tomato, causing him to laugh, but I suppose if the shirt is underneath my jumper, nobody would ever know... I tell him that I'll think about it.

When I emerge from my shower and head into the bar to get some coffee, I find Dabi sitting in the seat next to my usual. I sit down next to him, and seeing that none of the others are looking at us, I lift the hem of my jumper up just enough for Dabi to recognise his shirt underneath. His responding grin is enough to make a shiver trace along my spine.

When I'm nearly done with my coffee, Dabi stands and goes inside his room. With nobody looking at him, he waggles a video game still wrapped in plastic outside his door - the one we bought on our date yesterday. I almost choke with a snort of laughter on the last dregs of my coffee. He pokes his head out and cocks an eyebrow suggestively at me, and I have to look away so that I don't start laughing my head off. He's an idiot, all right.

I'm going to slay him at this videogame.