Breakdown Buddies

Chapter 14 - Not Again

Recap -

"Well, after he packed the suitcase, I followed him to the door and right before he left, he turned to me. I remember, he said, 'I'm so sorry for leaving you now, out of the blue. I wish I could bring you and our little miracle with me, but it's too dangerous. If they find out I have a wife and a son, they'll use you to get to me and I don't want to put you guys through that.' I asked him what he meant and all he said was, 'I never told you the whole truth about myself. I wish I could now, but I have to go before the heroes find me.' He then kissed me and left."

"Wait, 'before the heroes find me'............. why does that seem like something a villain would say?"

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"I just can't get what mom said yesterday out of my head," I tell Dabi as he walks with me to school.

"What, the part where it sounded like he was a villain who was leaving his family behind to protect them from himself?"

"Exactly! You get it right? Like, I'm definitely not the only one who's brain made that connection, right?"

"Nope, I figured it out too. I still say that your dad's better than my dad."

"Hehe, give me good reason why my dad being a villain and abandoning his wife and kid constitutes as good parenting?"

"Well, for starters he did that to protect you guys. Then, he loved you both unlike my dad. He didn't put you through hell and back which resulted in scars all over your body. Didn't make your mom go insane and throw boiling water on your sibling. Oh, and let's not forget that he didn't do all that while being a pro-hero!" he replies, counting the things on his fingers and seeming to get angrier for each item.

"W-wait... your mom did what?! And your dad's a hero and still did all that?!" I ask, freaking out.

He gives me a shocked face before realizing his stupid mistake. He looks down as we pause on the sidewalk, a block or so from the school.

"*sigh*, yeah. My dad's a hero. He... I... Uh..." he mumbles, seeming like he doesn't know what to say.

I put my hand on his shoulder and lift him head to look at me as I say, "Hey, don't worry. I can keep a secret. Besides, you don't have to tell me anything if you're not comfortable with it. I'm just glad you're doing okay now and are away from that abusive son-of-a-bitch." I finish my statement with a small smile on my face, leaning forward to wrap him in a tight hug.

He wraps his arms around me, burying his face in the crook of my neck. I feel the collar of my shirt start to moisten and realize that he's started crying. I hate it when Dabi is sad. I wish there was something I could do to help him, but since I don't know what it is that gets him to this point in the first place... there's not much I can do.

"I... I promise, I'll tell you everything one day... I just, I can't right now..." I hear him say, feeling his breath on my neck.

"That's okay. Take your time. I'll always be here to help you."

"Thank you, angel."

"No problem, demon."

We stand there for a little longer, him crying in my shoulder and me rubbing his back. After a bit, he pulls away, wiping his face. We start walking again. As we walk, I feel his hand brush against mine several times. He ends up catching ahold of one of my fingers and shifts his hand in mine until he has my hand in his grasp.

I look down at our intertwined hands, then up at him. He glances at me for a second before continuing to look forward, but I can swear he's blushing slightly.