The Rose and The Flame : A Dabi x Reader Fanfiction

[Chapter 18]

"Why are we here?" You were once again led to your old house, which was confusing to you. It was as you'd left it, cold and empty—save for a few boxes scattered here and there.

"Showing you the truth"

"You along with everyone else? Lucius breathes lies, you think I trust his judgement?" The flame user only shook his head in response; as a show of disappointment. You weren't sure what message he was trying to relay but you'd soon find out. In silence, he walked over to one particular box amongst many and kicked it over. A couple of contents spilled out; magazines, newspapers... and some folders you hadn't seen before.

"Although Lucius has lied in the past, he's spoken some truth...at least when he sees fit" he picked up the tan folder; waving it just out of your reach. "I think now is as good a time as any to know some very valuable information on Enchantress" you snatched the folder from his grasp but you weren't ready for what was inside. Enclosed were contracts with your mother's signature on them. Military files were amongst them, and Raleigh's name was ever present in the array of papers. "I'd tell you to ask dear old mom but..."

"So Raleigh had custody of me. You're telling me what I already know. I still don't see what her signature and paperwork has to do with what's happened thus far" By now, you were kneeling over the toppled box; reluctantly rummaging through its contents.

"Budapest..." you wanted to ignore the capital he'd just spoken but it held too much significance for your parents; whether or not it was painful. "You remember, don't you?"

"How do you know about that?" His sly look and silence said enough.

"Doesn't matter...you've blocked off your memory of that day for years, haven't you?"

"I haven't—"

"Just like your mom taught you to shut out emotion" it was as if you couldn't speak; a lump caught in your throat. You knew how right he was.

"It was an accident! I was a kid, Dabi"

"You also killed people...so it seems you aren't all that innocent. Your entire family is nothing but a band of criminals; each having their own dark secrets. But what did you expect? You're only following in their footsteps" you were pissed now. Your eyes radiating red as you invaded his space.

"My mother was a hero!"

"Your mother sold you off to Raleigh. The incident in the Basilica at St. Stephens...was Ali's fault. The nuclear power plant explosion—Ali did that. And Lucius hid it for her"

"You're lying!"

"All the tasks we gave her, she carried out"

"You threatened her, you had to. Why would she work with a group of villains like you?"

"Because she had you. She knew you'd grow up to be stronger than her...possibly even her colleagues. Her way of protection from the world was to hand you over to Raleigh. Why would she want you to view her for what she really is? That contract," you were bold enough to stand up to him but that was backfiring; the closer he got—the more you backed up. He knew he had the upper hand and was using it to his advantage. "Those were your release papers. Least you could do was be appreciative that your custody wasn't worse"

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because, you can't trust anyone. Especially not the heroes of today. You kids wanna be like them so bad...that you're blinded to the things they do behind the scenes. When a villain makes a spectacle, who makes the mess? Countless destruction and debris—and for what? The perfect news article or camera angle?"

"Not everyone is a monster..."

"They're all self-serving. This is a dangerous game and if you don't play your hand right...let's just say things won't be peaceful for you. I'll personally see to it, Princess. You know what All for One expects out of you and if you want your brother in one piece, you'll get to it"

"What did I ever do to you? Thought we were friends"

"It's nothing personal. I'm just keeping the peace. Your parents let me down, and now you get to experience that" a throbbing pain became relevant in your temple suddenly; the dizziness was overbearing. "Looks like your quirk is starting to wear off. Better get back to school, huh?" Dabi had already started on his way but you weren't done; you had so many questions that he intended to leave unanswered.

[Next Morning]

The rays of sunshine seeping through your window made your eyes burn; evidence that you didn't get the chance to rest. In fact, you'd been up all night. Dabi did bring the many secrets your mother had hidden to light, however, you were curious as to what other important information may have been inside that box. You took a few extra minutes to rummage through the content and stumbled across a flash drive. It seemed like you were going through a scrapbook of your childhood... your memories of your mother, and the times you and Lucius actually got along. You couldn't get over the possibility that your mom had hidden anything from you; she seemed open with everything she did. Though these were the times you wished she was still alive. Upon your search, you came across a video and wasted no time in opening it up. It was the video your mom recorded of your 6th birthday surprise party. As happy of a memory it was, it reminded you of how broken and lonely you had become. You had to get to the bottom of whatever mess your family had made but something told you this was going to get difficult.

~~~

Hey guys! Been a minute, but I've been trying to come up with some inspiration for the remainder of this book. I'm nearly there, and things have been real crazy with this whole Coronavirus thing going around. I've been forced to online classes, graduation is cancelled and my job got shut down. So yeah...maybe I'll be able to update frequently since we're on lockdown.

Anyway, enjoy this short chapter and I'll see you all in the next one!

Bye guys! ❤️✍🏾