Chapter Text
The breeze ruffled Dabi’s hair as he walked down the cracked sidewalk, his bare feet brushing against overgrown plants. The few people he passed by were wrapped up tight, bundled in coats and scarfs. That and the falling leaves were the only sign to him that it was cold out, the ice resistance that ruined his life came in handy at times like this. He could wander and think without the worry of freezing in the night. People often looked at him like he was insane, probably because he was, he rocked his loose thin shirt and exposed shoulders like it was summertime. Garish gold staples holding his skin together on display as if proud.
Battered houses lined the block, faded and falling apart as if abandoned even though the glowing lights proved otherwise. It wasn’t a well loved area, the people here were the unfortunate ones. Hard times always fell eventually, and if you don't have money you'd find yourself falling with it.
The faintest streaks of pink were starting to paint across the sky, the sun would be setting soon. He stopped to stare, the sunset was always his favorite part of life, he didn’t have much to enjoy, his own body betrayed him every chance it got. However, no matter how many times he saw it, the vibrant colors that swirled through the sky at the end of every day never failed to captivate him.
Dabi sighed and shook his head, as if trying to shake away the thoughts and memories that flooded his brain. He turned to continue his walk, his destination a nice lookout that he loved to dwell in, when something caught his eye. It wasn’t movement, nor a flash of light or anything that particularly stood out. Instead it acted like a stain on the wall, something to look through, something you never truly noticed until you looked closely and wondered, is that supposed to be there?
There on the steps to one of the rickety old houses, was a little boy. Dabi’s turquoise eyes were damaged, but he could tell the boy was shaking, his little arms wrapped around his boney knees. He didn't notice Dabi even when he started approaching. It was like the boy was in a daze, and as Dabi got closer he could make out more details. A dirty shirt hung over a much too skinny frame, blond hair curled over the cracked lenses of the boy's glasses. He looked to be 8, maybe 9.
His eyes were closed, explaining why he hadn’t reacted to Dabi’s presence yet, and his cheeks were a blotchy red, most likely from crying. He stopped in front of the kid, staring down with his usual cold gaze. So many different ideas flitted through his head, but he brushed most of them aside.
“It’s cold out.” He stated bluntly, watching as the boy startled sharply. He was so unaware of his surroundings it was a wonder no one had snatched him up yet. The boy stared up at him, fear bright in his wide eyes.
“Why’re ya outside, kid.”
“Was bad.” The kid mumbled quietly, shame clear on his face as he refused to meet Dabi’s eyes. Dabi knew he wasn’t a pretty sight, covered in gastly scarred skin, yet he got the feeling that for once it wasn’t the reason someone was avoiding looking at him.
“M, not suppos to talk to you.” he said, his voice high pitched and quivering, “Momma says you’re a bad man.”
“She does, does she?” He was familiar with the area, it only made sense that the area was familiar with him too. He was the monster parents told their children about at night after all. The demon used to scare kids into being good, kids like the one cowering before him. He usually took pride in it, but he didn’t want to be scary at that moment.
“Yer out here cuz yer bad.” Dabi rasped, “So how are you any different than me?”
The boy finally met his eyes again, clearly thinking over what Dabi had just told him. Dabi gestured for him to scoot over and he did, allowing Dabi to sit down next to him. He could almost hear the kids' teeth chattering, clearly affected by the cold that Dabi usually welcomed.
“What’d ya do?” Dabi prompted quietly, after a moment of silence.
Another shiver wracked through the kid as Dabi observed him, waiting for his response. “I broke a plate,” he admitted. “Why are- are you over here?” The kid stumbled over his words, fear evident in his voice.
“Bad guys stick together,” Dabi chuckled at the notion that breaking a plate could ever make someone a bad guy, “And ya look like you could use some warmth.”
Dabi slowly lifted up his hand, holding it out palm up as he let blue flames start to flicker into existence. The boy gasped and reeled away in terror, probably used to seeing the destruction his fire had caused on the news, but Dabi didn’t move. Instead just sitting there, letting the handful of flames light up the surrounding area as they licked the air.
He sat patiently, heat radiating from his hand and his body, as if waiting for a scared fish to start nibbling the hook. And finally the need for warmth started to outweigh the fear of being burned and the kid moved closer to him. Dabi watched in mute interest as the fear in his eyes was slowly overcome with wonder. He even had to pull his hand away a little when the boy got too close to the fire.
“Pretty,” The boy said, shocking Dabi into stunned silence, “Like my momma's favorite flowers.”
The flames wavered a little, mirroring Dabi’s conflicted emotions. Out of all the things he had expected, pretty was not one of them. Kids were always so unpredictable, he never truly understood them, and he had no idea what he was attempting to do here. He had killed people for looking at him wrong, he was an A rank villain, and yet here he was; sitting with a scared little boy out in the cold and keeping him warm. What for?
The boy snapped him out of his thoughts once more, his eyes watering as he looked up at Dabi, “But you’re suppos to be a bad guy!” He cried out, causing panic to start swirling in Dabi’s gut, “Heroes help people, not bad guys!”
Dabi had no idea what to do with a child on the verge of tears, let alone a crying one, he tilted his head as he grasped desperately at something to help calm the child down.
“Heroes don’t help people.” He said dully, the kid just blinked at him, clearly confused at his response.
“But thats what my mamma said, she said heroes help when you’re hurt n scared.”
“Well,” Dabi began, mulling over how to respond, “Yer hurt n scared right now, right?”
The kid nodded, surprisingly invested in what Dabi was telling him, “If heroes helped ya when yer hurt n scared, why aren't any here right now?”
Dabi could see the gears turning in the kids head as he processed what Dabi was telling him. It was sad how young kids were when they got brainwashed by hero culture. Being raised to view heroes as unfailable gods. Kids like this were taught to praise and look up to the very people who left them in the terrible situations they lived in. They’ll beat a man into the ground for stealing some food but ignore when a kid is left shivering out in the cold.
“But- You're a bad guy.” The kid said again, Dabi sometimes forgot how stubborn they could be.
“Yeah, well you are too.”
The kid started to tear up again and Dabi sighed, rubbing his face with his empty hand, “Listen kid, no ones coming to save you, ya gotta do that yerself. Be yer own hero, cuz those guys you see on TV? They aint give a shit about ya.”
The boy rubbed at his eyes with small delicate hands, wiping away would-be tears, “Do you?” he asked, looking at Dabi with wide innocent eyes. Dabi squinted at him in confusion .
“Do I what?”
“Give a shit about me?”
Dabi almost laughed out loud, something about a kid saying a bad word just made it all much more amusing. He was tempted to say no, that he couldn’t care less about a weird kid he just met. But some small flame still burning in his heart kept him from doing it. Maybe he had some sympathy left in him. Yet, he didn’t know how to answer the boys question. So he didn’t.
“Wanna see somethin cool?” He asked instead, thinking of the place he had been headed to before he got distracted. The boy nodded enthusiastically, probably not thinking about how Dabi had avoided his question. He stood up abruptly, putting out the flame in his hand before gesturing for the kid to do the same.
On shaky legs the kid followed after him, often having to speed up to match Dabi’s long strides. He couldn’t help but think of the little boy's parents, here their kid was, walking off with a strange man. A highly known murderer, and they had no idea. He diverged off the path, heading through a wooded area. The kid visibly started to get nervous at that, but instead of running off like any sane person would do, he reached forward and gripped Dabi’s hand tightly. His steps faltered slightly but he tried not to let his momentary panic show.
How could kids be so.. scary. So naive and stupid, it was a surprise they didn’t all die immediately. Finally the trees cleared, they had reached the cliff that overlooked one of the nearby cities, it wasn’t the best view, but the sunset was in plain sight from where they stood. He looked down at the boy still gripping his hand, although a bit looser, eyes open in wonder as he gazed at the oranges, pinks, and purples that colored the beautiful sky. Fluffy clouds stood out brightly against the background.
The boy had probably never witnessed a sunset like this one before, you couldn’t properly see it in the neighborhood he found him in. He flopped down onto the grass, making an effort to keep enough heat radiating from his body to keep the boy warm. The kid sat down next to him, the area around them silent other than the chirping of insects and birds yet to go to sleep.
“Whats yer name, kid?” He finally asked.
“Sato, Sato Hiroshi.” He gazed at Dabi questioningly.
“Dabi” Dabi said simply, “I ain’t no hero, but I’ll keep an eye out for ya, kid.”
“Bad guys stick together,” The kid grinned up at him, and Dabi felt his heart stop for a moment. For the first time in many years he let his brotherly instincts take over and gently ruffled the kid's hair. It was quiet up there, serene, it almost made him believe that even someone as ugly and vile as him could find peace.
“Yeah kid, we do.”