Top pic credit: _Nikhio_

Violet POV:

"Alright! Let's talk quirks!" I started off vibrantly, quickly writing the big whiteboard with the word.

Dabi let out a tired sigh of boredom as he sat on the floor, already seeming pretty done with this day as he lazily leaned back on his hands.

That's alright. He can be bored all he wants. The point is, he's here.

Wanting a change of scenery, I decided to get Dabi out of that "crummy hotel room," as he always calls it, and take him to the gym that Akio and I train at. It's pretty quirk proof for the most part, being a hero training facility, and all.

Hopefully, it will be able to hold Dabi's hot flames. Hopefully I'll be able to as well...

"What is there to talk about? You and your phone have seen how my quirk works before, sunshine. Or, would you like another demonstration?" He snickered, gesturing to my new phone laying on top of my training bag in the corner.

"Hooo, another arson joke? Funny, funny." I sneered at him slightly, watching his brows raise with subtle amusement for my sass.

He brings it out of me, I guess. Cause he's annoying.

"Yeah, well, if you're forcing me to sit here and do this shit, don't expect me to not make fun of you for something. It's too easy for a walking clown, like yourself." He pointed out, tilting his head at me tauntingly.

"Well, joke's on you. You've made fun of me so much already, that I've become immune to your insults. So, ha!" I said snarkily, causing the corners of Dabi's mouth to barely turn up.

"What an achievement to be proud of, little sapphire." He mumbled just a tad more cooperative, no longer holding such a defensive, rebellious tone as he seemed ready to move on.

His piercing blue eyes remained steadily locked on my standing figure, seeming surprisingly interested in paying attention to me even though he obviously didn't wanna be here.

I took his eye contact as encouragement to continue, smiling at him happily as I tapped the big whiteboard behind me.

"Anways. Let's start with the notes I've written on the board. As you can see, I've composed a flow chart of the pros and cons of our quirks. Of course, I don't know all of your pros and cons, because I've only seen you fight once. But, here are some of mine-oh! And see, there's a blank space down here. It's possible ways our quirks can work together. Isn't that great?" I chirped out excitedly, dotting a few of my words a little better with the marker to make the board more pretty.

Dabi looked very unimpressed by my work-probably because he's been watching me make it in silence for the last ten minutes-forced to listen to my incoherent self rambles of thought.

"Are we in school now, or something? If so, I'd like a hotter teacher." He smirked, purposely veering us off track as he knew I'd follow with a line like that.

"Yeah, well I'd like a more obedient student. But, we can't have everything we want, can we?" I pointed out with sass, causing Dabi to lazily throw his head towards the ceiling with content.

"Oh, sweetheart. You'll learn quick that I'm about as disobedient as they come." He countered smugly.

"So I've noticed. But, I'm getting tired of standing for your lack of discipline." I grumbled out honestly, causing Dabi to veer his attention back to me in question.

"Yeah? What are you gonna do about it? Send me to the principal's office?" He teased defiantly, leaving the extra diabolical tones out of his voice this time as it was clear he was truly messing around.

"I would if I could."

Why waste time engaging in this nonsense with him when we've got work to do?-

"Doubt it. You don't seem like the discipline type. You don't have it in you to give....punishments." Dabi challenged a bit lower in tone, practically setting me on fire with the intensity of his gaze.

The unspoken double meaning of his words was seen by the subtle look in his eyes.

My next words came before I could stop them-let alone, think about the different connotations they could possess.

"Don't be so sure I won't punish you."

I felt my head filling up with slight embarrassment after my comment, about to turn my attention back to the board before Dabi spoke.

"Really? Well, aren't you a bag of surprises." He drawled out, accidentally trailing his eyes down my body a bit before they quickly snapped back up to my face.

I don't want him to get the wrong idea.

"That's not for you to find out, so....don't worry about it." I uttered a bit more bland, quickly averting my eyes from his own.

I'd been holding his gaze for much too long.

And unlike the last few comments, Dabi's response wasn't immediate this time. The awkward silence consumed our space, suddenly making the giant training room feel about as big as a tiny cubicle.

Feeling myself starting to sweat it a bit at his silence, I rubbed the back of my neck anxiously, about to change the subject before he spoke.

"Wasn't worrying about it. As if I'd have any interest in someone as ordinary as you." He uttered emotionlessly, quickly averting his gaze to the whiteboard with a silent ask to move on.

But, something I'm starting to learn about Dabi. Him acting 'emotionless' is really just a whole other emotion in itself.

All of his behaviors have a purpose. An internal purpose that only he knows-

"So, you gonna explain this shit, or what? I'd like to get back and take a nap soon, so hurry it up." Dabi quickly cut in again, strategically trying to change the subject when he saw me lost in my thoughts.

Realizing the moment was starting to become too weird for both of us, I quickly shook the thoughts free from my own head, turning my attention on him with a distracted smile as I gladly obliged with his request.

"First, why don't you take a read over the pros and cons list that I've made, and see if there's anything you'd like to add." I suggested a bit quietly, gesturing to the whiteboard.

Dabi and his poor eye sight squinted like an idiot as he tried to read the words from far away, starting at my end of the board.

"Okay. So, you think your pros are the brightness of your crystals.....the healing factors....and the....what does that say-oh, the molding your crystals into different shapes thing." He narrated out loud, raising his brows in boring thought as he took in the notes.

"Mhm! So, what do you think?" I encouraged, more just trying to nudge him to read a little faster through the rest of the-

"I think I'm surprised you were able to come up with so many pros about yourself." He cackled slightly, causing me to roll my eyes.

"Don't forget that you wouldn't even be alive right now if it weren't for my pros, you musty jerk." I countered lightly, crossing my arms stubbornly as I tried to stay on track this time.

Dabi simply shrugged without saying thank you, wandering his eyes over to my 'cons' side of the board now.

He read through them rather quickly, not seeming surprised by them in the slightest as the words rolled off his tongue.

"Cons. Fatigue. Headaches. Organ failure at worst. Yeah, alright." He shrugged in confirmation, apparently not having any questions on my quirk.

I know he's bored by this and that's why he's not bothering to ask any questions. But, I will elaborate anyways, in hopes that maybe something will sink into his thick head.

"Yeah. All of them are pretty straight forward. Eh, except the fatigue one. If I use too many crystals my fatigue increases, because-"

"Your crystals are in your bloodstream, or some shit like that right?" Dabi finished without even thinking, giving his arms a lazy stretch over his head.

My words trailed off in surprise for his point, causing me to look at him in curiosity.

"Oh.....uh, yeah, actually. Kind of. How in the world did you know that?" I asked, causing Dabi to clear his throat slightly.

"It's not a secret that most quirks come from the bloodstream and DNA makeup, sunshine. I already told you how predictable you are. That means in everything. Even how your quirk works." He explained without missing a beat, adding more to the quiet in the room as he sensed his words sounded too serious and defensive for his persona.

"Or, maybe it's cause I'm stalking you. Guess you'll never know. That would sure be a sad existence though, wouldn't it."

I ignored his additional insult, deciding to stick with his first point instead.

"Well, you're correct in saying that my crystals are produced from the components of my bloodstream. I found out from the doctor that the crystal flecks are laced throughout my blood and that's one of the reasons I'm able to shoot them. Once I shoot crystals, my body just keeps making more. If I make too many though, my vitals go off and that's when it becomes dangerous. Too many crystals in the blood and I'll end up crystallizing myself." I chuckled slightly, admittedly finding the sight of a crystallized me a bit funny.

"We can only hope." Dabi smirked, causing an involuntary grin of challenge to appear on my face.

"Oh yeah? Why don't you tell me about your quirk then. Come on, as you can see, my list of pros and cons for you aren't that complete." I pointed out, gesturing to his side of the whiteboard.

Dabi took my cue and read the words underneath his pros list.

"Pros. Fire is hot and bright. That's it?" He snickered a bit, causing me to laugh.

"I'm not a stalker like you, so I don't know anything about your quirk! Although, I will say....I think I got the cons pretty right." I smirked smugly, tapping the bottom of the whiteboard with the marker.

"Cons. Uses fire for arson and felonies. Overcompensates with it to make himself look tough?-oh, you're getting rather bold, aren't you?" He commented, causing me to giggle a bit at his harmless annoyance.

"Well, that's what happens when you spend every minute being so villainous and annoying. You start to make assumptions about people." I pointed out with a shrug.

"Coming from the one who always says 'you shouldn't make assumptions about people.'" He mocked slightly.

"So then tell me something about you. It doesn't have to be personal. Just something. Anything that you think might be useful for me to know."

Dabi went silent at my ask, unsurprisingly so. Of course, I knew there was a ninety-nine percent chance of that. He's a villain who's probably had more dark moments in his life, than light ones. I didn't expect him to start comfortably saying things about himself right then and there. It was just an idea.

The silence in the room continued as I looked at Dabi in question. Only, the quiet wasn't as awkward and tense as it's been in the near past.

And as I've already said, silence from Dabi is an answer in itself.

"Alright, alright. I understand you don't trust me, yet, right? I don't trust you either, so don't think I'm letting my guard down with my next words. But, I don't mind telling you one thing about myself to break the ice a bit. So, ask me a question if you'd like. If it's too personal, I won't answer it. But, try me." I encouraged warmly, deciding to set the dry erase marker back in its place on the whiteboard before plopping down to sitting a few feet away from Dabi.

He was quiet again as he watched me sit, continuing to lean back on his hands as he boredly trailed his gaze to the ceiling once more.

When he dials down the rebellious, diabolical attitude, he actually seems to be naturally more quiet.

"There's nothing about you that catches my eye, sunshine. In my book, you're just like every other bootlicker out there. That's all I need to know." He replied honestly.

And while his words were mean-as expected...his voice didn't match the cutthroat of what he said. He sounded calmer. Not so interested in adding that 'Dabi' drawl to his voice.

It was a sign to me that we still might be getting somewhere with this, so I decided to keep the patience and try again.

"You say that. But, you don't even know why I became a hero in the first place. I already told you it's not for the fame. So, with that pre-meditated thought extinguished, I'd like to know what assumptions you have left to make about me." I stated calmly, keeping my voice firm and knowing since I know he'd have nothing to say to that.

It seems I was right as Dabi simply chuckled a bit at my words, hiding his obvious inaccuracies behind a fake, smug half smile.

"If you wanna tell me so bad, knock yourself out. I won't stop you. Doesn't mean you'll change my mind though." He replied distantly.

Yet, he said nothing more, barely turning his eyes on me for a moment before finding the walls and the premise of the training gym more interesting.

"That's fine. I'm not trying to change your mind..." I started off, thinking about how I wanted to explain my reasonings.

I smiled a bit as the image of my mom popped into my head, admittedly finding an excuse to bring her up for myself, rather than Dabi.

I miss her.

"Well. I don't know when you became....you. But, um....you ever heard of the pro hero, Iridescence?" I asked, not really expecting him to know.

My mom died when I was fourteen. I dunno how old Dabi is, but he doesn't seem much older than me, or the type who gives a crap about the people in the hero world-

"Maybe it rings a bell." He uttered casually, slowly returning his eyes to mine as he decided to pay more attention now.

My brows raised a bit in surprise before I pressed on.

"Well....she was.....she was my mom. She was the number three hero back then....and she was my best friend." I said honestly, already preparing to filter out the ruthless insults that Dabi would come up with about my comment.

I'm sure he'll say something about how I'm a 'loser' because my mom was my best friend, or how she's 'probably just another bootlickin' hero.'

But, I waited.

And he said nothing.

Once again, his silence is the answer in itself. The answer to continue.

"Well, basically....she....died. Villains killed her. Don't know which villains exactly, but they did. I'll save you all the sob story stuff and just say that her death is what drove me to become a hero. She helped people. She helped everyone. It didn't matter who they were. I always admired that. I always wanted to follow in those footsteps and save anyone who needed it. I got the chance to, when my-guardian agreed to take care of me, so long as I followed in my mom's footsteps to honor her memory. So, here I am." I said a bit quieter, feeling my mood turn a bit melancholy as I desperately tried not to re-live that day I found out she died.

I can't get ever go back to that day mentally. The day my mom and Touya died. I can't breathe when I do. I lose my mind. I've only really gone back to that day in my mind one time a few years ago. It was not a pretty sight to see, even just looking at my crazed, anguished face through a broken mirror.

But, I'm just remembering. I'm not truly reflecting. There's a difference.

"Your guardian, huh? And who would that be?" Dabi questioned a bit more serious, asking his very first question about something that actually pertains to me.

I was surprised that's what he took away from this conversation. But, then again, the last thing I'd want is his sympathy-I'm not even sure he possesses that, so this is a totally fine subject change.

And while his attempt at a subject change for the first time was appreciated, the question was already too personal.

It's as Dabi's already reiterated to me a million times. We are not friends.

"It's....well, it's a long story. Not to mention, it's not too relevant anymore. I'm twenty-two years old now, I don't have much need for a guardian. Him and his family were just kind enough to take care of me after my mom passed." I explained vaguely, trailing my gaze away from him and down to the floor now.

The silence lingered in the air once more, although it had changed again. It was no longer so comfortable. It suddenly felt a bit colder. A bit more unspoken.

I was surprised when Dabi engaged in the conversation again with something unexpected. Something almost cryptic.

His voice had come out different, lacking his usual taunts as it held a more serious tone.

"Is that so? Sounds nice of this guy to just....take you into his picture perfect family with no strings attached like that, huh? Ah, but even bad ol' villains like me know how shitty it would be to....create those strings, in the first place." He uttered somewhat audible.

I kept my gaze to the floor as he spoke, feeling his eyes consuming my face with their intensity. I didn't feel obligated to look at him as I felt myself becoming lost inside my own head again.

As I felt myself seeing Touya's smile flash across my mind.

Don't go there, Violet. Don't go there inside your mind. You can't handle it.

No, I really can't.

Swallowing thickly, I blinked away the memories of Touya as quickly as they had come, already forcing away a heavy lump from my throat as I looked up at Dabi.

"Yes, well. Last time I checked, I said I would only answer one question about myself for you, and I've definitely already answered more than one." I stated quietly, cursing the raspy sound that had coated my voice.

Dabi's cerulean eyes looked into mine with silence as he listened to my weak change of voice. He took in the sight of my altered mood as I purposely avoided going into my past. The past that haunts me. The past that I never speak about with anyone.

His face was no longer masked by boredom and selfish villainy. Instead, it had gone unreadably blank as he said nothing, seeming to be lost in thoughts of his own.

Finally, those blue eyes broke my gaze when they'd looked my way for too long, trailing their sights away from me as he willingly dropped the subject.

"So be it, sunshine. We've already moved on from the topic. No skin off my nose."

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A/N: thank you so much for your comments and votes! See you soon <3

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