I Wouldn't Mind - My Hero Academia

Chapter Five: Disarmed

   Silently, with every fiber of my being, I willed my heart to relax back into a calmer, more mild mannered rhythm. However, this task had been deemed close to impossible, due to the fact that Dabi had managed to pull me into his lap. His strong, gnarled arms had fixed themselves around my thin frame. And while the embrace was firm, it was not smothering. More protective then damaging.

My arms wished to remain fixed around his neck, and in a rather courageous move, my hands wandered their way to tangle themselves within his jet black locks. It was as if the body parts belonging to the upper half of my being retained minds of their own. With how his half scarred face began to absentmindedly borrow itself into the crook of my neck, it seemed as though he did not mind in the slightest.

For those several moments of strong silence that had been birthed by my pitiful thanks and sudden physical advances, I began to take in the many features I'd seem to miss before. He wore several cartilage piercings in both of his ears, which also seemed to lack earlobes. Those piercings were also accompanied by a triple nostril piercing that resided in the right side of his slim nose. Moments before his face became buried in my neck, I attempted taking note of just how many hoops and staples held his perfect face together. Whether it was the fact I'd lost count or if I was just too enthralled by his appearance, I'd no idea. But never in my wildest dreams had I ever thought that my savior would be someone like Dabi. Not someone this attractive, this mysterious or intriguing. This entire night only caused my urge to learn more about him to grow.

After what felt like eons of wonderful silence, Dabi managed to tear his face from its home in the crook of my neck. Unexpectedly, however not unwanted, his forehead united with my own. This caused whatever free space between our noses to disappear as our eyes met and danced together for what felt like the millionth time that night. The gentle, crimson dusting resurfaced across my cheeks once more. Thankfully, this time, my anxieties seemed to have left town; my eyes remained comfortably transfixed with his.

"How did you-" Before I could even continue uttering my question, the same small smirk made an appearance from his lips. But another emotion seemed to join it. Possibly relief?

"Hawks," Dabi gently answered, one of his hands reaching upwards to brush aside a stray tress of my brunette locks. "His connection through your friend was pretty useful." He explained, returning his hand to reunite with his other along my back. Searching his eyes for the sincerity, a small smile greeted his own from my lips.

"Seriously, though. Thank you," I repeated my earlier words, this time removing the pathetic, half sobs from the undertones. His already heavily lidded turquoise eyes squinted slightly at my words as his head tilted slightly in questioning. "I like to think I did what anyone else would've done, considering I was one of the ones that noticed." Dabi's response caused a mildly confused expression to grace my facial features. Keeping his strong hands level along my back to maintain my balance, Dabi's eyes briefly shifted downwards before reuniting with my own. "Several others passed that alley... Saw what was happening." Dabi broke the news after shifting somewhat underneath my thin figure. At the sound of his words, a sizeable lump formed down the middle of my airway, threatening to obstruct my breathing at any given moment. Oddly enough, however, that realization meant very little to me after several seconds. And upon that thought, the lump began to slowly disintegrate back into nothingness. 

Despite having been so bold only moments earlier, my hands seemed to have been rendered nervous. Was that the correct word that could be used to describe this feeling? No, actually. With the sudden urge that now drove them, 'eager' was the more fitting adjective. My left hand found just a bit more balance for my upper body, pressing gently into his lower abdomen. Said tender touched was born from the fact that I was not aware of the full extent of his scarring. I did not wish, whatsoever to harm the man that now sat so comfortably underneath me.