Rough Hands - A T.ShigarakixReader Story

Educated.

"Oi." A voice says, waking you up.
You frown before even opening your eyes, grumbling when a warm hand lands itself on your arm and shakes you gently.
Well, it definitely wasn't Tomura.
"What? What?" You ask a little grouchily, leaning up onto your elbow groggily and squinting through blurry eyes at Dabi, who was crouched down by you.
"Here." He says, thrusting three hardback books at you.
"What...?" You ask, confused.
"Take 'em." He urges, nudging then towards you.
You look down at the books, sleepily taking them from his hands. You struggle to read the characters on the books at first through your sleep-blurred vision, but when you do you actually feel a little touched.
"Pregnancy books?" You ask quietly, placing two of the books on the pew next to you and turning the other over in your hands.
"You like books don't you?" He asks, sounding slightly uncertain before adding: "Nerd."
You roll your eyes, opening the book and flicking through the pages quickly. There was no mistaking the smell of a new book, you knew that smell all too well, having clung onto it since you were a child and viewing actual new store-bought books as a precious treat.

"How did you get these?" You ask, looking up at him.
He shrugs. "I know someone that works in a bookstore."
You raise an eyebrow, a silent show of your disbelief. Dabi certainly didn't seem the type that would have friends that worked normal jobs and lived normal lives.
You look back down at the book in your hands though, rubbing the cover thoughtfully with your thumb.
"Thank you." You say quietly.
"I don't think he's coming back anytime soon, so you don't have to worry about finding a hiding place for 'em." Dabi shrugs. "Unless you don't want the others knowing yet, either."
Your lips fall a little, your thumb pausing where it had been tracing on the book. You couldn't trust the others not to tell Tomura, and you just weren't ready yet.
"I- I need some time." You say, your voice weak.
"They're all blabbermouths anyway. I get it." Dabi says, waving his hand dismissively. "These things open, so..."
One of his hands moves to lift a pew seat up, revealing a hollow base you could hide things in.
You watch, taking note of the information. You thank him quietly again, picking up one of the other books.

Your fingers trace over the cover before you open it, sitting up properly so you could sit more comfortably while reading.
You're a little surprised when Dabi flops next to you, looking at it over your shoulder. You couldn't imagine it was a topic he was particularly interested in.
It isn't until you're a few pages in and are met with the naked image of a woman that you realise, and you shoot him a look, only to be met with the sight of him grinning like the cat that got the cream.
"You're disgusting." You sigh. "A pervert."
He taps his foot a couple times on the wooden floor as he laughs, leaning back properly against the back of the pew, resting his arms over the back of it.
"Have to have a little silver lining for babysitting you." He teases, running his tongue along his teeth.
"The silver lining is getting to spend time with me." You tease back, digging your elbow as carefully as you can into his ribs. "There's seriously something wrong with you to find that attractive."
He shrugs, still smirking as you read the text on the page. "A body's a body."

You grimace. "Don't be gross, Dabi."
He snickers beside you, but falls silent as you continue to read, your finger occasionally running over the characters on the page when something in particular catches your attention, as though touching the words would help you soak in the information.
"That say the kids like, the size of a seed?" Dabi asks, pointing at a sentence on the other page.
Your heart falters for a second as you read where he's pointing.
"Y-yeah." You murmur.
You gulp. You'd been so focused on the information you'd been soaking in that you'd completely forgot there was a reason that he'd gotten you these books.
He hums, leaning back again.
You carry on reading, one of your hands absentmindedly laying on your stomach as you do so. You're surprised that despite his jokes, Dabi remains sat next to you, reading over your shoulder. He seems strangely interested in the subject. Eventually, further into the book he whistles lowly.
"This stuffs mad." He comments quietly.
You gulp a little. It definitely sounded a lot scarier the further you got into the book and the more you learned.
"Yeah." You agree, equally as quiet.