Into the Fire - a Shigadabi Fanfic

14 - I'll Teach You

It's evening when we finally return to the complex, and my fingers ache a little from using my Quirk so much, while Dabi's body temperature has risen enough that I can't touch him anymore for the likelihood of being burned.

"That was actually a pretty good meal," I admit, and Dabi's mouth quirks into a cocky grin.

"Of course it was. I picked the place, remember?"

"Arrogant bastard."

"Chapstick."

I glare at him and he laughs, his blue eyes shining in the dim starlight. A strange feeling of lightness rises up again, like a bubble in my chest. A chill breeze wraps around us, and I inch a little closer to Dabi's heat, feeling my body's responsive tingle of warmth. Some part of me regrets that the day is over already. I push down the door handle and enter the bar area with Dabi following close behind, ignoring the curious eyes of Compress, the Mist Man, Magne and Toga. I keep going, heading for Dabi's room, and he follows me, closing the door behind us with a click. He's been in my room, after all, so it's only fair. Dabi kicks off his shoes and collapses onto his bed with a sigh of contentment, flicking a button on the remote on his bedside table to turn his TV on. I take my shoes off too and wander around his room to look at all of the things I was too drunk or hungover to notice earlier.

"Oh, you have video games!" I remark with some surprise, dropping into a squat to examine his stack.

"Yeah," he agrees, coming to crouch behind me. He slides an arm over my shoulder and points out his favourite - some popular fighting one I've heard of but never played. With Dabi's casual touch, his warmth seeping into me, my heart stops beating for a suffocating hiatus, and I have to remind myself to keep breathing. Just for the sake of something to do, somewhere to put my hands that I might not regret later, I pull out his video game from the stack and stand up. Dabi puts his arms around me, sending jolts of electricity through my blood, and puts the game into the TV so that the starting screen appears. He grabs two consoles from next to the bed and flops back onto the springy mattress.

"Ever played before?"

"I've had better things to do with my life," I retort.

"You got better things to do right now?"

My only answer is to sit on the bed in front of him, pick up the controller, and lean my head back against his shoulder, feeling his warmth explode through my body with my back pressed against his chest. His voice is softer than usual, and a little hoarse, when he speaks.

"Here. I'll teach you."

His scarred arms slide over my chest as he points out what the different buttons do and he puts the game settings onto local so that it's just us playing while I adjust to the controls.

"Hold up a sec," I mumble, and carefully detach Father's hand from my face; I need a full range of vision for the game. I twist around to place it gently on the table, but when I turn back I see Dabi's eyes on me, watching me with a warmth in his bright sapphire eyes I haven't seen before. I quickly clear my throat and turn back to the TV, resting my back against his firm chest.

"So, are you prepared to lose to someone who's never played this before?"

Better than to talk than to do something else with my mouth. His warm hands slide over me, eliciting a strange feeling in my gut that makes me press my lips together to stop myself making a sound. Why... why does it feel so good when he touches me?

"Oh, I don't plan on losing, Chapstick."

"Just start the damned game."

He huffs a laugh, warm breath caressing my face. "You got it, boss."

That word again. Boss. Something in my gut twists - not unpleasantly. I pick up my controller, adjusting it in my grip with my pinkie fingers lifted so that it won't crumble into dust. I expect it cost Dabi quite a lot of money. He clicks start, and for a while we're both engrossed in the game. As is to be expected, I lose the first few games, but when we get to the fourth I finally eke out a victory - though I suspect that the lethal Dabi let me win.

"You're definitely getting better," he concedes after our seventh match.

"Haha! I told you I'd beat you again, didn't I?" I laugh, punching the air in triumph. I beat him again! Dabi grins at me, his face open and honest and his smile so genuine it makes my stomach flutter.

 "A few more?"' he asks, his turquoise eyes shining with enjoyment.

I agree, and we lose ourselves in the game once more.

After I win our twelfth game - give or take - which was suspiciously easy near the end when his character barely moved, I turn around with a rare grin to see how Dabi is doing.

His head is resting on the pillow he propped up between himself and the wall, his mouth slightly open and eyes closed. He's sound asleep, and his skin is limned with the silvery moonlight shining from the dark sky outside, lending him an almost ethereal glow. I smile quietly to myself, turning the TV off and gently taking the controller from his limp hands. The room plunges into dark shadow without the light from his screen, but Dabi doesn't stir. I put the controllers on the table next to his bed, and stifling a yawn, I decide that I'm too tired to go back to my own room and my cold bed. I sigh, pulling up Dabi's quilt and throwing it over us, burrowing to a slightly more comfortable position with my head on his chest and his arms still loosely wrapped around me. With a yawn, I close my eyes and fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.