Your eyes widened. His ill look made sense now but the entire situation was still beyond you. Had Dabi really broken into Endeavor's household thinking that just by asking you to treat him, you'd do it, no questions asked?
Whatever poison he seemed to be dealing with wasn't enough to prevent him from eyeing you with an arrogant smile,"You're usually bad-mouthin' me worse by now. What's the matter? You're not upset with me, are you-?"
One step your direction was all he managed before a pillar of ice shot to Dabi's stomach and launched him to the wall. He hit it with full force, his cocky facade breaking as he slid down while choking on his own air from the gasp he'd taken in.
You'd seen him grabbing onto his abdominal area before. Clearly, it was a sensitive spot.
Todoroki pinned his elbow to Dabi's throat before he slid all the way down. The hero had a vile look in his eye; it laid somewhere between tactical and livid.
"Give me one reason I shouldn't let my ice go straight through your chest."
Dabi's eyes were scrunched in irritation. You got the feeling it was directed both at Todoroki and the pain he felt that prevented him from fighting back,"Because you heroes preach the 'equal value of lives'. You're already a fraud, but killing me would make it even more obvious, don't you think?"
Todoroki's breath came out frozen,"I value the mud on your shoes more than your life."
Dabi grinned sneeringly,"Ouch. I'd cry, but my tear ducts are burnt."
You shuffled off the bed as fast as you could and grabbed onto Todoorki's arm,"Wait, Shoto, don't!!This might be what we've been waiting for!!"
Two sets of eyes landed on you. You adressed Todoroki in the most soothing manner you could,"Dabi 100% deserves death-"
"Easy, sweetheart. I'm right here."
Todoroki snapped his head back to Dabi and forced more pressure on his throat. The villain's attitude faltered again and you went for Todoroki's attention before he could take it too far,"but we can't kill him!!As scummy as he is, he's right--we don't kill. This is also a one in a lifetime opportunity. The villain I've been after for so long is right in front of me, weaker than ever. He still wouldn't be strong enough to run away by himself even if I do treat him. I think...I think I should treat him...and you should call Endeavor so he can be here soon after I'm done. Endeavor can definitely deal with him."
Nothing could've prepared you to have both men voice dismayed complaints at once.
"(Name), you can't expect me to agree. This bastard's been the biggest threat to your life as of late!"
"Fuckin' awesome. I'd have laid down and died in some random alley if I knew you'd call that shithead."
"He won't be a threat anymore if we do this, Shoto", you pleaded,"I really think this is the right thing to do. It'll stop him from taking any more lives and we're still fulfilling our duty in a moral way."
Todoroki's eyes went to Dabi's in disagreement. For once, they were quiet. Neither of them backed down from the forming stare off as Todoroki responded,"Some dogs don't deserve the moral way. Not in the bigger picture."
You gasped. Never had you heard him say something like that. The man didn't often voice his opinons and in the few times you heard them, they were never something so extreme. His belief disturbed you but you understood more than anyone how upset he must be. Todoroki had grown incredibly attached to you so when facing the villain after you, it made sense he'd be so on edge.
You shook off all unease before turning to Dabi,"Also, why'd you come to me with the assumption I can do anything about poison?"
Dabi shot you an irritated look,"Save the act, doll. The nutjob kept an eye on you before we invaded your little camp, all wooed and noisy about your looks. She saw you treat some brat that was poisoned too."
"Her name's Momo, not 'some brat'. And it only works with poison inflicted from flowers", you flinched slightly as Todoroki finally let go of Dabi and let him hit the floor,"so you better hope that's the case for you too, otherwise I can't save you."
You kneeled next to Dabi. He sat on the floor while catching his breath. It looked like he was having more trouble breathing after being hurt. He faced the ceiling while trying to breathe properly, turquoise eyes observing you from the side. His stare wasn't hostile, nor calm; it was just there.
"Take your shirt off."
It was definitely hostile after that. You once again received complaints from the two men, both of them uttering the same question in distaste.
"What?"
If you didn't know any better, you'd say they were related, except you did know better and they were related. You rolled your eyes,"Oh, don't get shy on me now. How many of your shirts actually cover your chest?All you cover is your ribs."
Dabi clicked his tongue, his irritation growing visibly but he adjusted himself to do as you said. Todoroki hoisted you up softly without warning. Dabi's rustling was heard in the background as you stared at Todoroki curiously.
His bi-colored eyes held pure disdain as he stared at Dabi on the ground. He turned at you, his stare much less aggressive but unhappy nonetheless,"You're trusting him too much. The second he feels better, he won't hesitate to do anything to escape."
A weak chuckle came from the villain as he finally got through the pain of sliding his shirt off his head,"You're misunderstanding me. I'm nothin' but a harmless victim right now."
"Dabi, shut up. No one's talking to you", you shook your head,"and it's okay. It wouldn't be smart of him to use his quirk in such a small space. He'd get cooked along with us-"
"Shit. There goes my plan."
"Dabi, shut the hell up", you were well aware he was only trying to get a rise out of you,"Again...He'd get cooked along with us. I know you don't agree with this but please, can you call your dad?I won't ever ask you to go along with something like this again."
Todoroki's gaze on you was conflicted but you knew he wouldn't go against your wishes when they were so strong. You'd take advantage of that if you could. He finally sighed in bitter defeat and reluctantly nodded as he pulled his phone out.
A grin almost overtook you at the progress you were making in this situation before he paused, bringing his unique eyes to yours again and your sense of accomplishment wavered.
You yelped at the feeling of being pulled forward and caught within seconds. The arms you were in were familiar but you were stunned to suddenly feel yourself in them, or to be pressed against Todoroki's chest so tightly out of nowhere. You were about to politely question him but couldn't find the brainpower as soon as you felt the rougher skin of his hand on your cheek. Your thoughts were pretty much unintelligable by then.
"U-Uhm...Shoto?"
The hold he had on your waist and cheek was bringing all your blood to your face. He was holding you so gingerly and looking at you so softly in the most unpredictable setting; you were frozen from the overwhelming emotions flooding into you despite not being aware at all of what was happening. Your legs almost gave out from the nervousness when he leaned down. When he went past your face, near your ear, and spoke, you were so ashamed to have gotten carried away.
"Don't let your guard down. His weak spot's out in the open. If he tries anything, go for his stomach."
You let out a stupified mumble of affirmation as he pulled away and redirected his attention to his phone again, stepping a distance away to presumably keep Dabi from hearing the conversation. Todoroki hadn't even noticed how differently his actions could've been interpreted. And he talked about your awareness?
You pushed what just happened from your mind as you kneeled next to Dabi again. Unlike last time you were this close, you weren't scared, so your nose picked up on his scent a lot easier. It was similar to Todoroki's, except the hero's smell was gentle and calming, while the smoky smell Dabi carried served as a warning.
His eyes were narrowed as he tch'd,"Forget it. Like I'd go after a hero in any other way than to kill."
You furrowed your brows,"Excuse me?"
"Wasn't talking to you, doll", he sent you an annoyed look as he repeated your earlier words,"But if you want me to, here's somethin': you can tell your boyfriend he doesn't need to send messages like that. I don't chase after heroes. They chase me."
"Yeah, that poison has you babbling nonsense. Let's get on with it already."
You sighed in displeasure at the thought of nursing a villain back to health but tried not to let it bother you as you put a hand to his stomach. Knowing it was his most sensitive spot, you expected to sense something there. You were surprised to find absolutely nothing.
"By the way...", he started while you cradled and felt around his forehead next,"You given any thought to what I told you?"
You paused in surprise. There was no snarkiness or arrogance coating his words. It was a very strange abscense for his voice and you thought about his question until it clicked. You shifted in your spot uneasily, continuing your movements,"What would I need to think about?"
In truth, there was a lot for you to think about. There was no doubt Endeavor would question why Dabi looked to you for help. It may or may not be a chance to come clean about what you knew.
"Nothing at all. Just curious about you calling my brother by his first name. I call you nice things, do I not get to be called by my first name too?", he grinned with a derogatory tone.
Ah. The arrogance was never actually gone. You rolled your eyes but didn't get to make a smartass remark back before finally sensing something when your hands went to his chest. You could've screamed.
"You- holy shit. Dabi, you...holy shit, this is a plant, but how did you even get poisoned like this?!?"
Dabi's eyebrows rose in interest,"Finally found something?Can I expect your hands off me now?"
You couldn't even find it in yourself to joke,"No, Dabi, seriously. I know I gave you shit for coming here but if you hadn't I don't think you could've survived any other way. In short, you saved yourself a very painful death by looking for me."
His eyes shot wide open, eyebrows furrowing as he took your statement in. He opened his mouth to retort, likely a habit with how chatty he was, but it didn't seem like his brain was processing your words so easily. You took it as a chance to elaborate.
"You're poisoned by an oleander. It looks harmless but it's toxic root to petals. My question is, how the hell did it get in your lungs?I doubt you've been sniffing flowers. Or--dear god, of course. It's smoke. Let me guess, you decided to burn some flowers for fun today?"
You looked at Dabi in exasperation as you waited for him to explain himself. He kept his stare at the ground and you realized--the fucker hadn't even been listening to you. You waved your hand in front of his line of sight in slight offense and it seemed to be enough to break whatever train of thoughts he was having.
You repeated your question,"Did you decide to spend your free time today by burning flowers?"
Dabi shot you an unamused look,"Sweetheart, I don't give a damn about flowers. No, I didn't spend my free time burning them."
"Good."
"I was burning corpses. The flowers were nearby."
You grimaced in absolute disgust, shooting Dabi the most repulsed look you had and he had the nerve to be offended at your accusing stare,"I didn't say I killed them. They were dead when I found them."
"Right. Nice try."
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Wack ass ending but the chapter ended up being way too long to publish at once, so I had to split it :/
Published 1/21/2023