ᴀʟʟ ɪᴛ ᴛᴀᴋᴇs ɪs ғɪᴠᴇ.

3: Kill me softly

Dabi stirred. He opened his bright eyes and scanned around the room, remembering he was no longer in his own but Shigaraki's bed.
His face lit up with joy and then turned to be met with a gaze, and red, bloodshot eyes.

"Were you crying?" He asked nervously and in return, he heard a soft whimper coming from the shorter boy's mouth. His lip quivered and he buried his tear-stained face in Dabi's chest.

"Hey, what's the matter?"
Another identical whimper escaped his mouth.
"Do you want some coffee?"
Again, no reply.
He soon gave up on asking him questions and got out of bed. As soon as Tomura thought he was about to leave he started sobbing; more vocal than Dabi had ever heard before.
"Hey, hey shhh"
He quickly put Tomura on the blanket and rolled him into a cosy, sad burrito, then held him close to his bare chest and walked to their kitchen. He turned on the kettle and rocked Shigaraki in his arms.

"I'll make you coffee, and breakfast, and then you can tell me what's wrong"
He sighed as more tears ran down his cheeks.
"My little crybaby"

The sobbing stopped, and Dabi realised what he just said, but chose to dismiss it quickly before things got out of hand.

"D-d-abi.." He stares at the staples on his face for a while.

"What?"

"I-" he looked at the kettle and went silent. Dabi doubted that he would finish his sentence, and he started to make them both omelettes.

It took them both a moment to muster up the courage to speak, but soon the younger spoke up.
"Why do you care about me so much, Dabi..?"

He took a deep breath and flipped the omelette perfectly.
"I dunno, Shig, I dunno."
They both stared at each other for a while, with random sniffles coming from the sad burrito. Dabi wanted to see him smile again like he did that morning. All they could do for now is hope that there would be some sort of explanation once he calms down.

Some moments passed and Shigaraki was still refusing to eat. Dabi was trying to keep his cool but every minute was getting more and more frustrating for him. Why couldn't he see Dabi was only trying to help?

He knelt before him and moved the fork to his mouth, which, to his surprise, he complied with. He stared at Dabi and ate half of what was fed to him. He seemed a lot calmer now and his whimpers died down.

"Will you tell me why you weren't eating?"

...

"My arms are trapped."
Dabi looked down at Tom and noticed that they were also wrapped in the blanket.
"Ah- I'm sorry"
The blue-haired boy's lips twitched into a gentle smile, which Dabi mirrored, only wider. He sat up next to Tomura and unwrapped his arms from the tight cocoon.

"How are you feeling?"
He shook his head in reply, he didn't need words to show he wasn't feeling too good.
"Okay, can you tell me what happened"

A long pause between the question, but Shigaraki finally answered.
"I had a nightmare..."

Dabi tilted his head in confusion. "But I thought you said you dont when you're with m-"

"I had a nightmare about you."
He stated, coldly.
The mixed emotions were clearly present on Dabi's stapled features. His eyes were the most expressive of them all. They seemed to grow dull and upset, frustrated and worried.
"Tom. I'm so sor-"
He was interrupted again with a trembling finger.
"It hurts, Dabi. It's so hard to process! I hurt you, Dabi! Do you know how painful that is to witness??"

The older boy pulled him onto his lap, stroking his blue, tangled hair and letting him cry into his shoulder.
"It was just a nightmare, you're safe here, I'm safe here. You're in my arms and we're both safe with each other"

His soft words didn't seem to relieve any stress, so Dabi did the only thing he knew that does. His hand snaked over to Shigaraki's neck, and he gently started scratching it. He let out a soft moan and started to relax with Dabi's touch, tilting head to allow access to more of his neck.

"Do..you..like that?"

"Mm~" he replied, closing his eyes and loosening up. "Dabi, do you have a crush on me?"
He suddenly opened his eyes and stared intensely at the flaming blue orbs.

~°•Shigi's PoV•°~
"Dabi, do you have a crush on me?" I felt my heart skip a beat.
"No, I don't"

His expression dropped and he went quiet as those exact words escaped his mouth.
I felt something in me break.
'It can be the worst pain in the world when it's not returned'

That's how it felt. I saw the world go dark around me, the only thing I could see were his glistening orbs.
I wish he had lied to me.
I wish he just said he loves me too. And suddenly, I couldn't breathe.

My vision came back as Dabi had both hands around my throat. He pushed me back and growled in my ear.
"I don't love you, do you understand?"

He's only making this worse.
I burst into tears and he jerked back.
"Shit... Tom- I-"

"Leave me alone! Leave!"
I backed into the corner of the couch but he crawled closer to me.
"Listen-"
He grabbed my wrist and stroked it, I tried to pull away but all that did was bring him forward. Tears once again rolled down my cheeks, I couldn't stand any of this.

He stared at me, paralyzed in his position.
"Shigaraki..."

"Not now, please, leave... Please"

He stared at me and got up, glancing at me every now and then as he walked to his room in defeat.

As soon as the door shut I scratched my neck, harshly. Gasping for air and ripping dead skin off would be my entertainment for the next few minutes.