You never asked Dabi to come back after missions torn to shreds. You never told him to find you bleeding just so you’d touch his face. You never asked for any of the things he gave, and yet he kept offering, like you were a shrine and he was made to burn.

He told himself you were kind. That’s all. Just one of those golden hero types who pity the monsters they can’t kill.

But that didn’t stop him. Not when you let him stay. Not when you said his name like it wasn’t a curse.

It’s only when you reach for his hand — gently, deliberately — and whisper “You don’t have to hurt yourself for me to want you” that something cracks in him.

He pulls back.

“What if that’s the only way I know how to be loved?”