Broken (Dabi x Female!Reader x Hawks)

49 ~ The Small Black Box

"That's the point! (Y/N) this is is insane, you can't die. You can't!" I couldn't tell if he wanted to push me away or if he wanted me to be closer, it was hard to tell with his arms going limp. "We love you. I love you! What am I going to do if you actually die?"

"Keigo you've known me for two months."

"And I know that I won't be able to live without you (Y/N)."

I chuckled and let my hand fall from his face, a small smile making its way to my lips as I turned to settle in a spot pressed against his chest. My wings spread to the side and laid on either side of my body , Keigo's hands softly massaging the sharp metal. He didn't seem to care that several cuts made their way onto his hand, just needing something to take his mind off my imposing doom.

"You've lived without me for twenty-three years pretty bird, I'm sure you'll manage." His hands tightened and I flinched, my body shooting up so that I was sitting in front of him. Blood rolled along my wings where he'd dug his own hands into the sharp metal. I turned to look at him, his hands shaking as blood pooled in his palm and overflowed onto the floor of the storage closet.

"Does he know?"

"Dabi doesn't, nor does anyone else. However, Malik knew that I could die." I ripped off a piece of my dress, the soft material ripping like a piece of a paper in my firm grasp. Grabbing onto Keigo's hand I pulled it into my laps, ignoring the blood spilling onto my dress. "He warned me not to pursue Cane, but I hadn't planned on listening."

"So you had planned on this since we left the island?" All I gave was a simple nod, displaying the message I was too afraid to say myself. "If you don't come back- if you do die tonight... What do I tell everyone else?"

"That this is what I wanted." I tied the knot and secured the second bandage on his other hand. Smiling as I admired my own work. "I would have never had the opportunity to take down Phoenix without you two by my side. So if they ask you why I did this, just tell them that it was worth it."

"And Dabi?"

"I love him." It was simple and it hurt to know that there was a possibility I wouldn't be able to say it to his face. Tonight I would die, no question, but at least they would all live without my past haunting their futures. "In the short time we spent together I didn't learn much about Dabi's past, but I did take in every ounce of who he is now. Make sure he knows that I fell in love with him for who he's grown to be."

"And what should I tell myself for letting you do this?"

There was so much pain in his voice that I could practically hear the tears in his eyes. For a man I'd known for so short a time, I knew that this wasn't like him, Keigo never wanted to be seen as this vulnerable man sitting before me. "That it's going to be okay, pretty bird."

It took everything in me to keep a steady voice, to keep my tears in the cloud that was my head, and for the first time I wasn't afraid of pity. I was scared. I am scared. Death had always lurked around the corner: Watching me from a distance like an old friend too afraid to approach. That night twenty-two years ago I should have died.

"You and Dabi meant the world to me. Even if I don't get to see either of you again I'm still glad that I got to experience these last two months." Keigo's arms wrapped around my waist and I was pulled back into his chest. Warmth flooded over my body in a wave as his strong arms held me against him, not caring that my sharp feathers sliced at his suit. "I'm scared Keigo."

"I know you are baby bird." He whispered in my ear. "I am too."

The tears rolled down my cheeks before I could stop them. I thought maybe they would be my anxieties and fear dripping away but as they fell more just came to replace them. "I finally something to live for and I might die for it. What a cruel joke."

"You don't have to do this baby bird. There's still time to come up with a different plan: One where we all survive." I shook my head and placed my hands over his, tugging at the cloth bandages.

"I have to do this tonight. The final battle that'll end this war will go on at some point. In an hour, in two, in three. It doesn't matter. By the morning Phoenix will be stopped- At any cost."

A knock disrupted our moment and I quickly wiped the tears away, taking several deep breaths to stop my shaking body. Keigo stood up with my body still pressed against his chest. With a slight flutter of my wings he let me go and the door to the closet opened.

Emiko's blue hair fell from it's bun as she looked us up and down. Her eyes merely glanced to the floor where a pool of blood laid accompanied by dried tears. There weren't any questions to ask: She had felt all our emotions from outside. Though the young woman may not know of what's to happen she has a feeling.

"Uhh- We found something that I think you should take a look at (Y/N)." She said, her voice void of emotions.

We followed Emiko out of the closet and through the back halls of the building, several servers rushed around preparing food as we quietly made our way past them. Several stopped and gave us confused looks, knowing that people weren't meant to be back here, but when they saw Keigo their suspicions died down.

Eventually we pushed our way through a door and into a large meeting area. The people we'd spoken with earlier all stood around the large table, their eyes glued on something. My eyes sent a harmful glare at the two new members of the party: Hito and the commission head. I chose not to speak to them and instead cleared my throat.

"Oh hey it's the cutie from earlier." Miriko chimed in, turning away from the table to look at me. "Maybe she can tell us what that thing is."

I raised an eyebrow and pushed through the group towards the table. When I finally got past Endeavor's bulky form I felt the air leave my lungs: A small black box sat on top the table, it's metal gleaming in the light of the room. "So that was his plan."

"What is it?" Endeavor asked, his turquoise eyes still glued to the metal object.

"A bomb." I'd said it so nonchalant that everyone in the room was surprised. "I sketched the plans for that thing nearly eight years ago. Though I burned them before I left, guess I was wrong."

Hito sat on the table as if it didn't hold one of my most deadly inventions. "You're telling me that thing right there is a bomb? What's it going to blow up? A bus?"

I laughed and grabbed the box, everyone around me moving away instantly. "This right here is my greatest invention. With enough firepower to destroy half of downtown this bomb is the deadliest thing I've ever made. It's coding prevents it from being taken out of the creators desired range. If you try to it'll go boom."

"So that small little box is going to destroy half of downtown?" Eraserhead asked curiously from his spot in the corner of the room. "Anticlimactic for a doomsday weapons, don't you think?"

I chuckled. "There's no way we'll be able to get inside and disarm this thing in time. Our best bet is to find them as soon as possible and get them to disarm it for us. It requires two thumbprints to work, both of which can be used to turn it off."

"It'd be earlier to get ahold of Moria, don't you think (Y/N)." Emiko asked.

"That was the idea, you all focus on finding her while I look for him. If any of you see Cane call me, he's mine."