He calms my chaos
and I fuel his fire.
We are a match made
between heaven and hell. -Nicole Lyons
I gasped for air, jolting upright. Cold shocks vibrated down my spine, and I shivered despite being wrapped in Tenko's hoodie, my eyes darting around my room to make sure it wasn't real, and that I was safe. The shorts I wore to bed were all twisted around on my hips and my legs were tangled in the sheets. My sweat stuck my hair to my skin and my chest was heaving... I looked like a trainwreck.
I untangled myself from the bed and adjusted my clothes, hands shaking, and sat up, hugging my knees to my chest and closed my eyes, trying to regulate my breathing. I wasn't crying again, thank god, I was just shaken up, and my eyes were puffy and red from my previous breakdown. My fingers repeatedly touched one another, and my breathing was beginning to slow to normal, but apparently my door was slightly ajar, leaving a clear gap that gave anyone walking by a clear view into my room, and to my current state. Of course, instead of being kind, the universe decided to send Tenko walking down the hall and obviously he saw me. I tried to act like I was fine, but he rolled his eyes, walking in. It was dark in my room, and I could barely see him until he came close enough to touch. Scoffing, he looked at me, exasperated.
"Are you crying again?"
"No." I chuckled. "I just had a nightmare. I'm fine."
He sat beside me on the bed, hands brushing my knees as he adjusted himself to look at me. He kept pushing his hair out of his face so I gently combed it back with my fingers and tugged a hair tie from my wrist, pulling it back into a little ponytail. A few pieces that were too short framed his face, which had reddened. I pulled my hands away, smiling sheepishly.
"Sorry." I whispered, voice shaky. "It seemed to be bothering you. You... look good with your hair back. And down. You... look good." I blushed at my half-asleep rambling. "That was awkward, my bad."
"You had a nightmare?"
"Yeah."
He clenched his teeth, avoiding my eyes. I knew he was thinking about it, and that broke my heart.
"Not like that, don't worry."
"Anything important?"
"Not really." I balled my trembling hands into fists. I was lying, it was a graphic nightmare that consisted of watching Chisaki die, Tenko himself being murdered with the rest of the League immediately being killed afterwards by these shadowy figures. It was nonsense, but it was scary nonsense, since in the dreams I couldn't move or talk, only watch. I was in my head again when Tenko pulled me closer by the sleeves of the hoodie, the back of my head resting on his chest, and he slumped back in my bed, wrapping an arm loosely around my waist as he laid behind me, my back curved comfortably against his chest, like spoons.
"Go to bed." He said quietly, and I nodded, falling silent, and squeezed my eyes shut, focusing on nothing but the warmth of his body through our clothes against mine, and soon fell asleep again.
.
.
.
When I woke up, Tenko was beginning to stir, and I froze, not wanting to wake him. His hand gently ran up and down my side, over the curve of my hip and back up to my ribs, and butterflies rose in my stomach.
"Y/N?" He whispered, breath hot against my neck, and I released a shaky exhale I didn't realize I was holding in. If anyone walked in on this, it would look like we slept together, but not in the way we actually did.
"Tenko." I replied, and he rested his head on my shoulder. I looked up over my shoulder and he nuzzled into my head a little, making me crack a smile. I felt vulnerable with him, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but I definitely need to get used to it. He kissed my temple and crawled over me, climbing out of bed and heading to his room. Once I was sure he was gone, I squished my face into my pillow, absolutely bright red. I felt like a blushing schoolgirl swooning over a classroom crush, and I hated that I didn't dislike the feeling. I was falling, and nobody except Tenko was gonna catch me.
I sat up, searching for his thoughts down the hall, and caught onto some of them and smiled.
She's so fucking cute, Jesus Christ......I really just waltzed in there and slept in her bed.....Was that weird? Why do I care if it was weird?!
The thoughts kept spinning in his head, all along the lines of those three, and I bit my lip, cutting off the connection and got changed and washed up, having to kick Dabi out of the bathroom to get in.
"Why're you so smiley?" He groaned. "It's way too fucking early for you to be this happy." I rolled my eyes, pushing him away from the bathroom door and shutting the door behind me. He knocked, a teasing tone to his voice. "Ooooh, I see....is someone in love..?"
"You sound like you're ten, jerkface." I kicked the door lightly. "Go away." He laughed, but did leave, and I took my sweet time cooling down and getting cleaned up before heading downstairs where I could hear Twice yelling about something, god only knows what.
"Y/N, Dabi says you're in love! You told him?! Is it true?!" Toga cried, basically tackling me. I felt Tenko's eyes on me from across the room from where he sat on a ratty old couch, and I laughed, shaking my head.
"Dabi didn't hear me say that, he kinda ran with me actually being in a good mood."
"He probably just made it up because he's jealous that you like someone else." Twice said simply, and my E/C eyes, Dabi's turquoise ones, and Tenko's ruby stare shot over to him in surprise.
"Shut the hell up, discount Deadpool, unless you wanna get burnt to a crisp." The scarred man replied, keeping his voice even, and Twice shrugged.
"It's true, man."
My eyebrows flicked up at Dabi's lack of an argument, my face flushing in embarrassment.
"Uh...okay...Shigaraki, what're we doing today?" Compress asked, breaking the silence. Tenko wasn't wearing his gloves, and his finger lowered and he disintegrated a pen he was gripping tightly, the dust falling from his hands. I looked away, unsure how to feel about the uncomfortable situation the League was now in, but Toga distracted me by playing with my hair, making me laugh.
"Your hair is very pretty, Y/N! If you were my age and didn't like someone, I'd definitely have a crush on you!" Himiko swooned.
"That is easily the best compliment I've received." I grinned. "Tomura, you didn't answer Compress' question. What're we up to?" Tenko perked up a little at the sound of my voice but locked eyes with Dabi again and his expression twisted.
"Laying low. Don't do anything stupid." He replied, and I plopped in front of the TV with Toga and Twice, and Spinner turned on cartoons. Toga basically sat on my lap and I hugged her, and Spinner raised his eyebrows.
"That's a little sus, you two."
"Just gals being pals, Spin, don't make it weird." I replied, and Toga giggled. Over my shoulder, I saw Tenko and Dabi arguing in hushed tones. I rolled my eyes. I needed to chat with Dabi about something personal and both whole exchanges were just making things weird. I was about to intervene until Dabi stepped forward, whispering something harshly in his face and storming off. The room fell silent as the door slammed shut, and Tenko kicked the bar counter leg, muttering to himself before stomping upstairs.
"Shouldn't you follow him?" Himiko asked. I shook my head.
"He needs some time. If he isn't okay by tonight I'll check on him." I turned up the volume on the TV, and we watched a few episodes. After that, I wrote in my journal, which was almost full, played hide and go seek with Twice and Toga (yes, we are basically children), and caught up on missed sleep.
For the rest of the day, Dabi was gone, probably off brooding and most likely burning shit. So I waited. And waited. The sun had faded and darkness was setting in, and I gave up, heading back up to my room. I needed him specifically because he'd understand, as he has daddy issues too and would probably be the only person who'd spring for my plan. Tenko would probably tell me not to go, but even if he did agree, it needed to be someone else for some reason, that someone else being Dabi. My fingers closed around my doorknob as I twisted it open, but panicked as I saw the figure waiting in there for me, drawing my pistol and aiming it at its head.
The figure raised its hands and I exhaled, lowering the gun.
"Dabi, what the hell are you doing in my room, in the dark?" I flicked on the lights and he waved my journal at me, eyebrows raised.
"You're thorough, hm?"
I sat beside him, reading over his shoulder and fell silent. In that journal, I have a page dedicated to each member of the League, with any information I know about them as well as a sketch of them. The only member that has more than one page is Tenko, since things have changed since we were little. Dabi was flipped to his own page, staring down at it.
"You know." He said quietly, teeth clenched.
"Yeah."
In a flash, he grabbed my neck and slammed me against the wall, fire in his eyes.
"How did you find out?" Dabi hissed, his hand hot where it met my skin. I reached for my karambit, tucked in my waistcoat, but stopped, surrendering. I'd react the exact same way if he found out about All Might before I told anyone.
"I figured it out and did a little research." I choked out, keeping our eye contact, voice wavering. I knew he wouldn't actually injure me or kill me. He was just pissed. "Touya Todoroki is gone, nothing telling of what happened to him, and I dug a little deeper and found out that his quirk was a fire quirk stronger than Endeavor's, and your Cremation has blue flames...which are hotter than normal fire. And Touya couldn't handle the power and was injured... and that would explain your scars." His hand tightened around my neck and I gasped. "I'm serious. I needed information on all the members to protect not only myself but Tomura too. I really just wanted to see any past crimes you were caught up in and maybe your real name. I'm s-sorry, Dabi. I would never tell anyone."
He released my neck and I coughed, holding it and catching my breath. His vibrant eyes softened, and he actually looked a little guilty.
"Y/N. I..."
"Don't, it's fine. I'd react the same way." I exhaled shakily. "I was gonna ask you for your help regarding my own daddy issues. I kinda deserved that." I opened my mouth to speak again when his head fell against the wall, squeezing his eyes shut, and I fell quiet for a moment. "Are you okay?"
He didn't respond, just shook his head.
"Are you someone that enjoys hugs..?" I awkwardly asked. Once again, he shook his head. "Will you kill me if I hug you anyways? I'm not a touchy person but sometimes it helps." Dabi didn't shake his head, he just kind of looked at me, and I tugged him away from the wall, opening my arms. His head dropped against my shoulder, as he was kind of slouched, and he hugged me tightly. My chest hurt at the urgency of how he held me close, like he hadn't been hugged since he was with the Todorokis. "I'm sorry, Dabi. I really am."
He pulled away, wiping at his eyes, and it was blood, not tears, so I handed him a napkin, which he snatched away and pressed to his eyes. When he lifted his head back up, he looked completely normal again.
"You said you needed help?"
I nodded.
"Yeah. I want to go somewhere. And I need a partner in crime, you know?"
"Don't you have Shigaraki for that?" His tone suddenly became biting and cold, and I was slightly taken aback, but shrugged anyway.
"He wouldn't spring for it. It's a little reckless. Plus, maybe you'd understand, since it has to do with my dad."
"If it's a hit list, I'm out, Y/N." Dabi sat back down on my bed, rubbing his temples. I shook my head, laughing.
"Nothing like that, I promise, nobody will get hurt. I mean... I kinda wanna burn his house down but that's just a contingency plan." I cracked my knuckles absentmindedly while I spoke. "I have unfinished business, and I feel like you of all people would get that." He didn't respond for a moment, until he smirked, thumb pressing at a fixture by his mouth.
"Sounds good, L/N. Let's go. I could use some air anyway."