Dabi || Still here, princess?
SUMMARY: After moving from the dungeons to Dabi’s chambers, life is definitely easier not having to attempt escape every second day. But your situation is temporary at best and when missions get longer and farther away, Dabi has no choice but to leave you behind and, more importantly, alone in the castle full of demons. (sequel to Dabi || Lost, princess?)
GENRE: fantasy au (demon!dabi), she/her pronouns
WORDS: approx. 5500
--
Dabi knows that he can't keep you in his chambers forever.
Well, he could, but he also knows just how insufferably annoying you’ll become if you stay cooped up any longer, and he knows what that kind of suffocation does to a person--oh, does he know.
But at the end of the day, what other choice does he have? He can't let you out if he's not with you, and even being with you poses a certain kind of danger. It shows that he's growing an attachment to you, something that demons aren't supposed to have. It reminds the other members of your existence, which they have, hopefully, forgotten about at this point.
With the exception of Toga.
Who is, really, the only thorn in his plans.
He's not stupid. He notices her glances at him, and wouldn't for the life of him ever have believed the flimsy excuse that she'd just been "exploring" when he'd found her in front of his doors. Dabi is not stupid.
But that also means that he knows not to refuse a mission from the boss himself, even if it means being placed farther and farther from you, and for longer and longer periods of time. Their plans are coming together, in the months since their once scraggly rag-tag group of demons had formed, and with that means bigger scale missions.
Missions that leave you alone in his chambers for far too long.
He does have options, of course he does. But they are not ideal in least bit. Take you with him and put you in perhaps more danger than staying at the castle? Increase the power of the protection spells around his chambers and risk not having enough to face whatever Knights were waiting to get their stupidly heroic hands on him?
No, and there was no way Dabi was going to try your idea.
"It was just a suggestion, you know!"
"The worst one in the world, princess."
With a throw of your hands, you turn away from the amused demon, groaning. "Gee, I'm so sorry that I tried to help."
"You should be, darling, after all I thought your chats with Toga taught you everything you needed to know about us demons."
"It did, but then my chats with you taught me that maybe what I needed to know was wrong." Dabi's mouth twitches downwards, briefly. What does that mean? He was, and still is, dangerous, despite his attitude towards you, and you still know that, right? "I mean, aren't you guys all allies or something? Why can't one of them, you know, protect me whilst you're gone? You can phrase it as saying they're helping you, an ally, a fellow member of this oh-so-great League. A comrade--"
"That's enough. Your spewing Knight propaganda. It’s embarrassing. Come now, I thought we knew better."
You roll your eyes. "Having friends is not Knight propaganda, is a basic human need." You stop, realising what you had just said and open your mouth to backtrack but Dabi, unfortunately, beats you to it.
"But I'm not human, am I, princess?"
You groan once more, louder this time, and more exasperated, and Dabi does not know why it makes his world a little brighter, why the way you smile and groan and laugh makes his heart beat the way it does. "You know what I mean."
"I don't think I do."
Before you can swear at him, a bell rings. The bell rings--the one to alert the League members that a meeting was to commence. Dabi found the idea hilarious; it was so very human, and on top of that, so very aristocratic, like something royalty would do. Like something royalty did do, because he knew they did.
You sit up on the bed, waiting patiently for Dabi to 'poof' away, as you'd once called his teleporting in a slip-of-the-tongue, but he only gives an amused smirk back at you, fueling your irritation enough that you respond to him with a vulgar gesture and fall back onto the bed. Only after a moment does Dabi 'poof' out and into the meeting room, where most of the others are already inside.
Barely a second passes and he can already gauge the atmosphere; tense, like something, or someone, is ready to burst.
That someone being Shigaraki.
But it is Kurogiri who speaks first. "The Knights of the Society are on the move. It appears that they are confident they can catch us, and if the intel we have gathered is correct, they've gained more help from other regions. Specifically speaking, All Might himself."
Compress gives a wave of his hand. "It couldn't be anything we can't handle, now, can it?"
"We don't know that. We can never truly know that, I must remind you. It is best to overestimate them." Compress sighs but nods. "Because of that, we must get a move on as well. Dabi, you are to play a vital role in this."
He lets no flicker of surprise show, besides the fact that he leans forward, off of the wall he was leaning on.
"You are to gain the trust and alliance of a Knight for some files that we need."
There is surprise in the room now, but no one makes a move to protest immediately. Spinner is the one who speaks first. "A Knight? Isn't that--well, huge? Which Knight are we aiming for?"
"Any of them," Shigaraki interrupts. He turns away from the desk he'd been standing at and walks towards the long table in the middle, dropping a piece of paper onto it. "This is a list of names--Giran says these are the most likely Knights to turn traitor." He looks up and meets Dabi's eyes, a slow, small smile growing on his face. "Your pick. But do whatever it takes to make sure you succeed."
"Hang on, how do we know it's not a trap?" Magne asks.
"We don't," Shigaraki says simply and if it weren't for the fact that he was his boss, Dabi would have liked to melt Shigaraki's face for the sheer casualness of the way he was clearly endangering his life. "But Dabi's strong enough to fend for himself, right?" And for being a pain in the ass in general.
But Dabi is forced to smirk, forced to open his mouth and say, "Of course," and forced to accept the mission.
Even though he does not know just what the hell he will do with you.
The meeting ends soon after, Shigaraki declaring that Dabi has a day to get out onto the field, Toga all but ecstatic about the whole situation as Twice has to bear the brunt of her excited chattering, and Dabi berating himself for not noticing something was up earlier when he leaves, followed by Compress and Magne. He should have realised something was wrong when they did not warp out.
"Is there something on your mind, Dabi?" Compress asks, a bit too pointedly for his liking.
He grunts, halfheartedly shrugging. "No. The mission should go smoothly. I already know who to go for."
Compress nods, but continues. "I didn't mean anything about the mission, though."
"I think you know what we're referring to," Magne interrupts. "Or who, I should say."
Dabi doesn't let anything show, but he just barely manages to stop his jaw from clenching. So they do know. Because of Toga? Or had they realised where the princess-where you had disappeared off to?
The masked demon sighs, his gloved hand touching his forehead. "We'll just get to the point then. A little birdie told us about a certain human in your chambers, Dabi. A certain princess."
"You say you'll get to the point, Compress, but you don’t." Magne scoffs, even more exasperatedly than him. "Dabi, if you need us to help her while you're gone, just say the word. We are allies."
He doesn't stop walking, but he does slow, giving Magne a glance. They are allies, that much is true, but not without a cost. That much is more true.
"But let's be honest, you don't much have much of a choice. How else will you provide for her when you're gone? Shigaraki said it himself--you'll be gone for a while, Dabi."
"Just let us help," Magne repeats. "We swear we won't hurt her."
That gets him thinking. If they swear...
Demons are all about oaths and deals, contracts and agreements. The wording though... the wording must be precise, exact, otherwise loopholes happen and deals go the way it can, but not the way you expected.
"You won't hurt her. Physically, mentally, or emotionally." They start nodding already. "You'll provide her with food that she wants to eat, and fresh water that is safe to drink." He stops, remembering a final detail. "And you will not let Toga near her."
Compress and Magne repeat what he'd said, adding an "I swear" at the end, the latter smiling, the former--well, wearing the mask as usual.
Dabi swears internally.
This was the only way.
But it was not one he liked.
-
"Okayyy..." You drag out the word. "So you'll be gone for a while--"
"A long while, princess, a long while."
"And in the meantime Compress and Magne will... 'help' me. Or, give me food and water and that's it?"
"Yes."
You nod slowly, letting it sink in. It was rather short notice; your demon friend, companion--something--leaving for a mission that would take months, leaving you to the mercy and help of other demons.
Damn, you shouldn't have suggested asking them for help. Because now look where it led you. At the time, you hadn't realised just how afraid you'd be. You knew nothing about them. Your time with Dabi meant you only trusted him, and even that to an extent for it had only been a month and a half and though a lot had happened in that time, you couldn't possibly know someone well and truly in just that short span of time. Sure, you were comfortable enough to express exasperation, and frustration at him--though, it is impossible not too--, but you had never seen him truly angry (save for that encounter in your dungeon weeks and weeks ago, an encounter you still hadn’t deciphered, no... still hadn’t accepted the meaning of) or sad or even happy, now that you thought about it. Though you weren't quite sure if Dabi was capable of smiling like the average person. His variety of expressions seemed to constitute of smirks and more smirks.
"Y/N?"
You jolt out of your thoughts, eyes wide and incredulous as you stare up at Dabi.
"You'll be fed, and kept hydrated, so the only real issue is--"
"You called me by my name."
"Gonna be boredo--what?"
You grin, ignoring the nausea settling in your stomach. "You called me by my name, Dabi! Are you feeling alright? Is this mission giving you nerves or something?"
The unimpressed gaze you are met with is something you are all too familiar with, but to be fair, this was going to be how you coped with the fact that Dabi would be gone for months.
And you'd be virtually alone for months.
Months.
He sighs softly, before smirking. "Yes, you caught me," He begins in a monotone voice. "I'm so nervous I think I will die." You laugh, rolling your eyes.
"The great demon Dabi? Nervous? Now what a revelation!" You say dramatically. He barely laughs, but the sound that escapes him is clearly amused. "But I know you shall return, for you are my tormentor, and I can never escape this suffering!"
"Suffering? I’m hurt. I thought you were enjoying our time together, dear Y/N."
You barely manage to conceal the way your heart stutters at the way he says your name, and instead infuse more flair to counteract that damn fluttering. "Ah, but a demon can never know my delicate human heart, can the--"
The bell rings. But this time, the both of you know it is not for a mission. The comical atmosphere dissipates, and in it's place is something of the tension of heading into the unknown.
You feel Dabi's power spurring to life, breathing throughout the room, one last layer of protective spells, making you shudder. He smirks, noticing. "I guess it's time."
"I guess so," You say. You bite your lip, wondering if you should say it. To hell with it, you finally decide. "Be safe, Dabi."
Amusement sparkles in his eyes--when would you next see that beautiful turquoise hue? "I should be saying that to you, princess."
You only roll your eyes back at him and then, with a quick flare of heat, flames engulf his body before he poofs away, leaving you in his chambers, where it is suddenly dark and quiet and...
Lonely.
-
The first few days, even weeks, are fine. Magne and Compress never actually show up, but jugs of water and plates of food are on the table when you wake, and it's enough to last the whole day. You had given up being cautious, knowing that it wouldn’t matter if it was actually poisoned because without it, you’d die of starvation.
The boredom is the most dangerous part of it all, once you get past the paranoia, and when you get comfortable enough that you're not being watched, you start doing things you wouldn't normally do with Dabi around--for you've never trusted him after an embarrassing encounter of terrible vocals--, like dancing and singing and rolling around on the floor and tearing down the bed's canopy to create a smaller canopy, more closed in to make the chambers feel less empty and anything and everything to fight off the boredom, the nothingness.
But even all those miscellaneous activities grow tiresome after a while. There are books in Dabi's room--attained after you had expressed a desire to him about reading--but though you are not the fastest reader, having nothing else to do meant that you spent most of your time reading and soon, all the books were read, and reread. And reread. And though you would have killed for more, you sure weren’t going to ask Magne or Compress for some, nor did you know how to anyway.
You keep track of the days, but when you see that only a month has gone by, you deflate in frustration, kicking the air and screaming into your pillow--something you were prone to doing lately.
"You are so slow, hurry up and come back," You mumble, rubbing your eyes as sleep once again evades you.
But then your mind wanders to dangerous territory; scenarios and thoughts of your wishes being fulfilled but in the worst ways possible--he comes back dead, he comes back in pieces, he comes back changed--
You bolt upright in the bed, eyes shut as you shake your head vigorously enough that it aches.
No. No.
He was going to come back. Alive. Unhurt. The same Dabi as before. You two would return to playful banter, he would tell you what he had gotten up to outside, and you would tell him what you had done (admittedly, nothing much, but with enough thought you’re sure you can exaggerate enough), and then all would be fine because he’s back and he’s Dabi--frustratingly cocky Dabi.
You sigh, hand on your chest as the beating slows down.
But when you open your eyes to the dark chambers--chambers that suddenly don’t feel as comfortable and homely as before--you’re only reminded of your solitude.
He’s not here.
No one is.
No one but you and the creeping shadows slithering up the bed.
Only you don’t know that, and as you lie back down in the bed, resigned to another painful night, they make their way towards you. Slowly, lazily, stealthily.
You are already sleeping when they converge.
-
Demons don’t need to sleep, but to pass the time it’s sure as hell useful.
The mission itself is not so tiresome as when he is not doing anything. And now, with all the pieces into place, he just had to wait a few more days until that pathetic Knight came back with what he needed.
Dabi could maintain an illusion a fair while, but nothing to the extent of keeping it up all night as well as protection charms for whichever inn he’d choose to stay in and that’s not to mention keeping up the charms on his chambers back at the castle. To put simply, he’d rather go a few nights deep in the cave he’d found than risk it.
It’s too bad; the forest it’s in is unnervingly quiet. Not for the fact that it scares him--he’s a demon, what could possibly scare him--but for the thoughts that invade his mind like parasites.
Thoughts of you.
He clenches his jaw as whispers flash through his head.
But Dabi can’t delude himself. Not with that stupid hope or fairy tale morals he’d been raised to believe. He can’t repeat “you are safe” over and over because he knows that to do that would only lead to disappointment in the event that… you are not.
That something had happened to you.
That you were gone.
That he had left you to suffer.
That--
Flames ignite in the cave he’s in, licking at his body enough to sting--it always stings, a price he’d had to pay among others--but he ignores it, getting up and walking out.
The forest is quiet.
His mind is loud.
To shut one up, he’d have to make the other speak.
No, roar.
Well, it isn’t too bad.
This kingdom hit too close to home anyway, and if Dabi wasn’t so good at keeping his past a secret he’d think Shigaraki put him here on purpose. If the flames make it to the pearly white castle with the red rooftops, it wasn’t any sort of loss.
(Not the princess or the princes inside, not the queen lost in her own head, and most of all, not the red haired fire king himself.)
The flames aren’t just stinging anymore. They hurt. His skin prickles, more than prickles, the staples straining to keep him, literally, together.
But Dabi pushes on, blocking it out, all of it.
Even the voice that sounds too much like you screaming in his head.
-
There is so much fire.
It is everywhere.
Blue blue blue in your vision, blinding you, taking you under, forcing you to feel a heat that does not touch you.
There is no escape. You can’t breathe. Your throat is dry but your skin is wet with sweat. Oh if only it is water instead. Water to cool, to soothe, to heal.
Not you, but Dabi.
You had tried. You had tried so desperately to stop him as the flames kept moving, kept hurting him. Him, and not you.
At first, you had thought this was a dream. Strangely vivid, the surroundings unrecognizable yet the breath of the cool night sky in the quiet forest familiar.
But then you had seen Dabi as he emerged from the cave, standing in such surprise that you had tripped, face burning because you had been so, so sure you would hear a laugh, followed by a taunt or a tease. You had been just waiting to retort one back, something along the lines of “downgrade much?” because your mind was whirring.
You were there. Wherever there was, but most importantly, you were with Dabi. And after weeks and weeks of loneliness, solitude, isolation, nothing made you happier.
But instead you were met with silence and suddenly--
Fire.
Everywhere.
Only it did not hurt you. And not in the way you were familiar with, not in the way you hadn’t been hurt those weeks and weeks ago in that damp, cold dungeon, not in the way you knew.
It wasn’t there.
You weren’t there.
It was only a dream.
Or so you thought.
But now you don’t think that. This is not so much a dream, but the work of something and now you understand just what those cold tendrils had been that had gripped your body, jolting you awake not into your bed but here. Not cold at all, but something else.
It is not a dream, but you are not with Dabi, either. Instead, you watch as the flames devour all in his path. Your heart races, unsure of what is happening.
Demon. Dabi is a demon.
You knew that. You know that.
Only now it is so much more closer, the true implications of it dawning on you as the flames drew ever nearer to the distant castle you see past the trees. Red and blue flags fluttering manically, the eternal glow of the powerful king’s fire alight.
It is nothing compared to Dabi’s blue.
And though you know you cannot be hurt now, your body instinctively seeks escape--shelter from this inferno.
But there is blue everywhere--
Everywhere except for Dabi himself. The only relief in the blue hell. Your only relief from the flames, and from the solitude that had hurt you for so long.
So you walk towards him, pushing past the way the flames feel as though they beat you back, the human instinct to run and scream and curl up, the terror of his flames that fights with something else inside, something that pulls you to Dabi in ways you can’t admit, won’t admit. At least, not yet.
He doesn’t move, merely lets his power do all the work for him, but when you approach, you see he is moving. He is shaking. With something, you do not know what. Rage, most likely (But the shaking is not that of uncontrollable rage, and you know that because you know that shaking yourself--felt it, experienced it as you had once stood helpless and alone in a faraway throne room as a voice that did not belong to you determined your fate).
You reach out to him, whispering his name before remembering that you aren’t really there, only his eyes crack open and in them--in them you see it.
Pain.
Desperate, hidden behind the thick veil of pure rage as he glares at the castle, but it is a veil nonetheless and when you know how to slide it aside, you can see through.
And you start to wonder just what it is, or was, that makes him look at those symbols with those emotions. And you realise…
You barely know him at all. Nothing of his past, nothing besides the nonchalantly arrogant demon Dabi you knew. Nothing. And it suddenly hurts, because you had told him so much of your life, but you had never noticed just how much he had not. So caught up in your own situation that you remember--
Dabi had been human once, too.
Demons were not born of nothing. Demons were the creations of humanity, after all. When one was hungry enough to seek forbidden sources… or when one was desperate enough to seek an escape.
He stumbles and you reach to catch only to flow right through up; your arms separating as though water, through his steaming body, the staples breaking and cracking, the skin red hot.
He’s folding under his own power and you freeze. Realisation falling upon you.
He’s going to die. It’s too much for him--even a demon like him. These sort of flames are not made of this world, are not meant to exist in this plane of existence.
“Stop,” You whisper. “Stop. Dabi. Stop. Stop it.” Every word increases in panic, in worry and volume but nothing you say or cry or scream gets to him. You are powerless in this realm of--of whatever or wherever this is.
“Powerless for you are human.”
The voice startles you but though you twist and turn, wondering where it comes from, you already know.
“Pathetic. Fragile. Useless.”
It comes from yourself. A voice, a tendril of something deeper and darker, speaking.
“You believe you can do anything, but you cannot. A human can do nothing for one like that.”
Frustration builds up, those feelings of helplessness you had felt all these past weeks--all your life--, building up up up--
You snap at the voice. “Then help him yourself.” Against all better, rational judgement, for this is the voice of a force you both know of and do not. The voice of that darkness that belonged to the ones who sought it.
It laughs, lowly, menacingly. “Why should I? That is a creation of something else. I shall not touch it, least of all help it.”
You speak before you understand the words coming out. “Then how can I?”
“You can’t.” The answer you knew before you heard it. But it is not the answer you want. “Not as you are now.”
You aren’t sure if that is the answer you want, either.
(But deep inside, you know what it means, you know you know you know how this will end, if it will at all.)
“What is your answer?”
Your stomach twists. You tremble at the thoughts flying past--thoughts that are so forbidden, so unforgivable and yet they are there and that counts for something.
You know the answer. You know your answer. To save him, and yourself.
But if there is one thing Dabi taught you, it is that the words of demons could be disasters hidden behind paradise, half-lies behind half-truths, a facade to show you what you expected when what you really received was harsh realities. Oaths. They are all about oaths.
Demons couldn’t lie, but they could manipulate.
But, away from your home kingdom like you are now, you are still a princess. An heir, as abandoned as you are; raised to see past the deceptively sweet flattery of courtiers, the tricks behind contracts, the lies of anyone and everyone around you.
Raised to rule with steel determination and your own fire.
“What is the question?”
And you stop shaking.
-
The mission is over. Finally.
Dabi resists the relief that threatens to rise through his mask of boredom. For two reasons; one, his face still hurts where the staples had torn through, and two, he can’t be too excited to come back.
Especially when Spinner and Twice wait outside, something in their eyes that makes him slow, looking down at them. “What’s this? A welcoming party?”
Twice chops a hand down. “Sure is! No, it’s a warning party!” The bells had already been ringing in his mind, but this time they blast out. Something is wrong.
Spinner sighs, giving him a scathing look, the lizard always seeming to think he was better, more focused or moral or whatever, than all of them when he was still, in the end, a demon too. “You’re supposed to give us the info.” They wait as Dabi examines them. After checking it is truly Twice and Spinner, he shrugs. He couldn't care less however the files get to Shigaraki. The boss will know who it came from, after putting him through that pain of a hell mission.
What he really cares about is you. He’s not stupid. He knows something has happened, for them to be this tense, for the others to be waiting at all.
He teleports away--poofing, as you’d call it, he recalls with a tight smile--but he is yanked backwards in the journey to his chambers, something pulling him away from it and leaving him outside, a few feet away from the doors.
His eyes harden.
He can’t go in.
Why.
The thought is more statement than question.
He feels their presence once everything quietens down--the panic, the helplessness of not knowing and not doing.
Compress and Magne stop by his side, but he knows their shields are up and knows they know he knows. They expected him, but the look in their eyes…
“What did you do?”
And Dabi isn’t sure what is louder. The static in his mind or the hiss of his ignited flames.
"What the hell did you do to her?"
(That line, said by a boy much younger than he is now, a boy who belonged to another life... who had failed to protect ones he loved most, just like how he was failing once more.)
Compress raises his arms in mock-surrender, as if that gesture would cause Dabi to direct his anger somewhere else. "We kept our side of the deal. We did nothing."
"She was a human living in the dens of demons." A voice speaks up from behind. Shigaraki. Dabi whirls around, blue flames rising but he knows better than to attack outright. "It was only natural that she would either die in the darkness..."
Flames roar and Dabi does not want to acknowledge the depth of how his heart leaps into his throat at the thought.
But the grin on Shigaraki's face gives Dabi pause. There's something else. A calculating look in the boss' eyes. He did something else.
And it must have furthered their plans in some way. He spins back around, expectant--of what, he does not know.
He hears the grin widen. "Or joined."
The shadows leaping around his chambers die out, just as quickly as it emerged, and there is an eerie silence as the four of them watch, waiting with bated breath (though Shigaraki looks almost bored and for that alone, for the way he cares nothing for your life, Dabi would have burnt him alive).
The doors do not open, but water leaks out from underneath. Magne mutters "interesting," underneath her breath as the water continues to pour out, and then gush out as the doors open but as soon as it does, it evaporates--though not by the work of Dabi's flames.
Shigaraki seems positively joyful, as joyful as he could be considering himself, as a figure emerges from inside.
Dripping wet.
No, not wet, for it is not the clothes or even the body itself that is drenched in water.
No, the body itself is water.
You are water.
Your body glitters, just like the sea, and with your every step waves crash into each other in the joints, calming where you still, but there is an ever-constant movement. Just like the sea.
And then you collapse. Collapse like a wave and your body is no longer a body and Dabi's heart stops because what does that mean--what does it mean? Only the water piles up together, slowly solidifying back into a body of flesh and blood, the translucency transforming into the colour of your skin, your features slowly coming back. Magne is the first to move, for she steps forward to drop her orange tunic over you, giving Dabi a disapproving look.
"Lend her your coat, why don't you?" She huffs, gesturing impatiently for him to come closer.
He moves but Shigaraki says something that causes him to stop. "Aren't you glad?" He glances at him. "Now your human princess can truly join you." And then the slow, malicious grin is back. "Well, not human princess anymore. You'll have to explain, first. Her transformation was a culmination of a... variety of stressful factors."
Dabi is not so sure what that means, but the words do not go unregistered. He'll get to 'explaining' later; right now, you're clearly in need of help.
He wraps his coat around you, buttoning it without pushing your arms through before picking you up and glancing into his chambers to make sure that it isn't trashed--he does not know whether he would have been surprised if it was, because he was still surprised that it wasn't, besides the carpets being wet and squelching with every step.
He doesn't respond to the other two's words, not outwardly, as he places you down on the bed.
"For what it's worth, we did this to help you, and if you need it, we are sorry, Dabi," Magne says solemnly.
"But," Compress adds, reluctant and yet not, "You must admit that everything is now, much, much more easier. For the both of you. Even if it will take time to accept."
Dabi still doesn't respond, and the other two leave the room, Shigaraki giving them a satisfied nod before all three warp away, to other parts of the castle.
With a wave of his hand, he shuts the doors and reactivates the protective spells before truly taking a look at you.
You do not look changed. But, you are still sleeping, and perhaps the telltale sign of the demon mark is somewhere in your eyes, or maybe somewhere hidden behind his coat. Wherever it is, he cannot see it yet.
Dabi is not sure he wants to.
Because deep inside, he knows this is perhaps the most favourable outcome there was. Amidst you dying, or having to return to the humans--which was, admittedly, impossible for Shigaraki would have never let you leave--, this was probably the only outcome where you would have lived a satisfying life, after everything that had happened. A life you could spend with him, able to protect yourself.
(And after all, how could a demon fall in love with a human? It was much more plausible for demons to fall in love with each other.)
He sighs, suddenly feeling almost exasperated, looking up to stretch his neck and shut his eyes briefly. He opens them, and when he looks back down at you, he speaks. "Honestly, princess, I leave for a few months and you go and do this." He chuckles. "Guess you really didn't need my protection after all."
You stir, slightly, and Dabi catches a glimpse of your skin swirling like waves again, almost unnerving for it still has the colour of your skin and for all intents and purposes, the look and texture of a human body.
He smirks as your eyes open, blinking sleepily before settling on him (inside, hoping, hoping, that maybe you hadn't changed too much from his fierce princess to something else entirely).
"Care to explain just what the hell happened while I was gone?"
You stare at him, shocked, opening your mouth to whisper croakily, “You’re alright.”
It’s not a question, but the look in your eyes makes him realise that whatever you had thought of him going out there hadn’t just been irrational panic, but something… something that you had feared.
That voice. The night he’d burned in that forest. That voice...
It had been you.
But he doesn’t let the shock show, doesn’t do anything but raise an eyebrow. “You know, Y/N, it’s rude to spy, even for a demon.”
And Dabi understands just why your answering groan and roll of your eyes clears all of his doubts and makes the world a little brighter.
You are still here.
And he hopes you always will be.
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A/N: this is really late for anon - thank u!! you inspired me with the reader turning into a demon idea so hopefully you enjoyed!! i did write the first part last year tho, so um idk if i managed to keep the voice of the first part ahaha but still, thanks for reading
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