| B̷U̷R̸N̶ | Dabi x reader

B̷U̷R̸N̶

The firelight reflected in your unblinking eyes, turning them into emotionless pools of flickering light. Your hands were the only things that moved, tearing paper- his letters- into pieces before casting them into the flames and reaching for another. You thought all of your tears would've been spent by now, but they continued to trail silently down your cheeks.

Outside, a storm raged, preventing any possible visitors from getting to you in your broken state, and for that you were grateful. You knew all of your friends would be worried, but you wanted to be alone right now, alone to think of...his betrayal in the quiet of your home.

Taking another letter from the box at your side, you took a deep breath before unfolding it and reading the treacherous words written on the page.

You'd saved every letter he- Dabi- had written you. There'd been so much keeping you apart, but from the moment you'd read his letters, you knew he was yours.

"Thought he was yours..." you corrected. His actions with Himiko Toga proved otherwise.

You should've known it wouldn't have worked, you and Dabi, a hero and a villain. When you'd met him, that's what you'd told yourself, that it would never work between the two of you, that it would only end in pain. With that in mind, you rejected his advances for months, determined not to give in, but, despite your best efforts, your resolve was chipped away with every love letter and secret gift. Before you knew it, Dabi had gone from being your enemy, to your lover.

When did you stop telling yourself that it wouldn't work?

"So foolish," you scolded your past self. You should've known better, should've known he would do what it took to survive...even if you were the cost.

Re-reading Dabi's letters now, you remembered how his words had flooded your senses, your heart, breaking down your defenses. His letters had coaxed you into accepting him, building palaces where the two of you could live happily, safe from the hero-villain turmoil of the rest of the world. He had loved you and you had loved him.

But that was a naive dream.

Reading his letters now, you searched for some sort of answer to his betrayal, to why he had slept in the arms of another woman. Your eyes settled on one line in particular, your breath catching.

"(y/n), always remember, I'm yours." Seeing them written on the page in your hands, you remembered how he'd spoken them against your skin in the deep darkness of the night when it had just been (y/n) and Dabi, the rest of the world in stasis. At the time, those words had made your heart swell. Now, all they did was burn.

The letter joined its predecessors in the flames.

You didn't know what part of his betrayal hurt the most. Was it the fact that he hadn't even told you about his affair before exposing his actions with Toga to the world? The fact that he had yet to face you? Or that you had believed him when he said he loved you and that he was yours? So stupidly believed him and loved him in return?

"What did I think would happen?" you berated yourself. "That he would stop being a villain? That he would change for me?"

No, there was no way Dabi would ever stop being a villain. You knew that now. Villains broke hearts, spread grief and misery, and, in the end, Dabi had done what he apparently did best: be the villain he was.

Another letter succumbed to the fire, your eyes watching as its edges blackened and curled. Only one letter was left: the most recent. It lay unopened next to you, having shown up on your window sill only the night before. You scoffed.

"Too much of a coward to explain to my face? Don't I at least deserve that?" A wave of anger pulsed through you, your hand snatching up the letter and opening it with a little more force than necessary.

For a moment, all you could do was stare at the words, trying to make sense of them. The handwriting was messy, obviously hastily written, and could barely understand what Dabi was trying to say. A few words stood out at you.

"Revenge..."

"Suspicious..."

"Legacy as a villain..."

And the reason behind his actions became clear.

Dabi had told you that he had become a villain because of the abuse he'd suffered under his father, the number two hero Endeavor. Making trouble as a villain was his way of getting revenge and the League of Villains had been an oh so convenient way of doing that. The letter explained how the League was starting to get suspicious of him, how they were starting to question the times he disappeared to meet up with you. If he wanted to accomplish his goal as a villain, to build his legacy as one, he needed to dispel their suspicions, and responding to Himiko Toga's advances was a perfect way of doing that.

Your eyes reached the last line and your fingers dug into the paper, tearing holes.

"(y/n), I'm so sorry. I love you, I always will. Please remember, I'm yours."

Without another thought, you threw the letter into the fire, anger and disgust making the fire mirrored in your eyes appear all the more ferocious. Tears of sadness had long since been replaced by tears of anger.

"You cheated on me, Dabi. You sacrificed me for your goal, sacrificed me to survive, and there's no excuse for that. You're no more mine than I'm yours." Standing, you pulled your shoulders back and wiped the remaining tears from your face, watching as the last letter turned to ash. "I'm erasing myself from your life. You've broken my heart, torn everything we had apart, so I'm going to watch it all burn. You no longer have any right to me, you don't get to know how you've hurt me. Have fun with the memories I'm leaving behind."

The storm outside was dying down, but the fire continued to burn, this time reflecting off the new resolve in your eyes instead of the hurt that had been there only moments ago. Turning away, you left the fire behind, beginning on the path you had decided on. The path that made Dabi your enemy once more.

"You want to be the villain, Dabi? Then I'll be the hero."