"Okay so it all started when—"

     "Are you purposefully trying to make it longer so that by the time you get to the important parts, the fire will be here and I'll be forced to shut up and let you save me?"

     "Well, I mean, is it working?"

     "Dabi!" He sighs as you two slowly make your way down the stairs. He manages to convince you to keep walking, but you refused to do it in a speed faster than that of a damn snail apparently.

     "Okay, fine. I'll talk." He clears his throat, earning another glare from you, "I work in an organization that gets paid to do various shit. I kill, I save, I kidnap but most importantly, once again, I get paid." He jumps the last few steps, landing confidently as he waits for you to reach the bottom of the steps, praying that you didn't plan on taking your sweet goddamn time all the way down. "And it just so happens that one of our jobs was here. That enough?"

     "Hmm," You hummed as you leaned against the railing, face as though in thought, "Understandable, somewhat. Is anyone paying you to save me?" You raise a brow in genuine confusion, "Because I don't see how someone with a background like yours would willingly save someone like me for free." He chuckles as he lightly tugs on your wrist, trying to quicken your pace, "You'd be surprised, babe."

     "No," You snort in disbelief, "Seriously? Wow, I'm honored."

     "I'm gonna pretend that wasn't sarcasm." The two of you soon reach the next floor, Dabi looking back up the stairs repeatedly as if to wordlessly remind you that you weren't exactly in a safe spot. "Can I save you now? I've told you everything." 

     "I'll let you save me, just wait," You chuckle, once again going into thought. "Earlier you said 'one of our jobs'. You got other people here in the building?" He nods, to which you once again raise a brow. "Aren't they looking for you?"

     "They probably are, but they're used to me disappearing all the time so it's no big deal, really." You nod at that, "Okay. Answer this last one and you can save me." He looks at you in amusement, waiting for this golden question that he himself had a small thought of lingering in the back of his head at what that might be. It was obvious! All you had to do was say it. 

     "Are you. . ." You bite your lip, contemplating whether or not it was too personal, "Are you. . . one of the, creatu—" 

     "Yes." In a split second you were off the ground and in his arms, the black haired male quickly making his way down the stairs as you had no time to register what had just happened. "Wait oh my God let me finish the question first!" He was practically sprinting down the flight of stairs, jumping, skipping through steps and occasionally sliding down the railings as he hummed. "Not trying to stop you, dollface."

     "Which one are you. . ?!" You manage to get out, arms gripping tighter around his neck to avoid flying off each time he jumped or got too comfortable with the laws of physics. "Phoenix."

     "Phoenix?!"

     "Why, almost as if I just said it," He chuckles as you hit him lightly, before slowly nodding. "Right. That's the fire bird right? No wonder those assholes kept screaming bloody murder and smelled like a rotten barbecue afterwards." He raises a brow, eyes darting back and forth to see if anyone was around before continuing down the building. "When we first met?"

     You nod, "Yeah, them. And! When we had noodles. No way it'd stay that hot after leaving it out in the type of weather there was that day, dude." He chuckles after a moment of silence, slowing as he sees a face pressed against the opaque window the emergency exit doors had. "Awe, and here I thought I was being slick."

     "Well you weren't," You snorted as he manages to slip past the moment the face looked away for a split second, making his way down to the. . . third floor now. "Anyway, I got some news involving the attempted kidnapping on you earlier."

     Your ears perked up at that, looking up to him as he hums. "I managed to find one of the goons earlier and convinced him to talk." 

     "And by convinced you mean?"

     "I'm not an evil man, princess." He chuckles as he continues, finding the somewhat comfort to slow down a bit. "But yeah whatever. They didn't have a motive other than wanting to kidnap a celebrity." You snicker, "Celebrity's a big word."

     "Eh, that's what he said." He laughs quietly, reaching the stairs that lead to the ground floor as he slowly let you down. "But yeah, I won't tell you to be more careful because this type of shit can't really be avoided if the kidnappers still exist. But I am saying that saving you is a lot more fun than I thought." You sarcastically chuckle along, crossing your arms with a raised brow. "You're one to talk." He grins, before leading the way down as you followed closely behind. "I should probably look for Momo and Kyoka now. They must be worried like shit," He nods in understanding, watching as you walk in front of him and reach the ground floor first.

     He was about to follow, but stop with a raised brow of his own as you hold out an arm. "Yaoyorozu?" You called out with a hint of confusion laced in your voice, pausing as he lets you move forward and talk to. . . whoever you were talking to. 

     "Uh, what are you doing here?" You look to see the retreating figure of Momo's older brother, who's name you couldn't care to remember as he looks at you. You could've sworn his face flashed to that of annoyance for a split second, but changed upon landing his eyes on you. "Oh! L/N-san! Hi, I was just gonna get something."

     "From the cellar?" He raises a brow in confusion, before realizing as he follows your gaze to the door he stood in front in. "Hm? Oh yes! Yes, I just uhm, left something there. You should get out of here! Momo is looking for you outside." You slowly nod, not exactly trusting his words but deciding that speculations can be dealt with later. "Sure," You drawled, "Alright. You too." 

     He sends another one of his award winning smiles before disappearing behind the door, staring at it for a few seconds, mind wandering the infinite possibilities there was about that behavior. There was a part of you that thought he was being genuine, but another part believed that he had more going on than he let on. After all, what could he possibly need from the basement? And why was he attempting to get it now? The building was on fire!

     . . . 

     I mean, to be fair, you weren't exactly in a rush either.

     "Uhh, babe," You raise a brow, turning to Dabi who was looking off to. . . somewhere. You look past him with a small tilt to your head, before your eyes widened as a number of firemen burst into the building with shouts, barking out orders as you winced upon seeing the slightly concerned look on the burnt man's face. "We should go."

     "Way ahead of 'ya, bud." You two run off to the opposite direction, scanning for any signs and/or exits that wouldn't lead to Dabi being seen by the public. "The backdoor? Maybe??" You panted as he shakes his head, "I'm sure there are people there." He pauses, still running a little ahead of you before he looks up in realization. "The kitchen. There should be a service door there for deliveries." 

     You nod, following his lead as you ran through countless corridors that started to blend into one another. You could've sworn you were running through the same one, but the assured look on Dabi's face was enough for you to just say 'fuck it' and follow his lead. Was it dangerous and stupid? Pfft yeah, but there wasn't exactly a choice you made in your life that didn't fall into that category. 

     You arrive in the kitchen a few moments later, glad to see a—somewhat—different scenery. You say somewhat because the only difference it had from the dead corridors were the sinks and various other appliances that could only really work in a kitchen setting. Those, and a body apparently. "Jesus!" You cry as you see a hand poking out of an open storage room, looking at Dabi for some sort of confirmation as he only sighs. "Sorry, a colleague did that. Come on," He gestures to the exit out of here with his head, watching as you follow along with no questions.

     In all honesty, you didn't really know why the auction happened in a building as shitty as this. This was an event set up for rich people, by rich people, of rich people, so you found it quite impossible that the best bet they got for a chosen avenue is an average, shitty looking building painted from top to bottom in a morgue-type of gray. Hell, the only thing that wasn't breaking were the air conditioners. Which, by the way, decided to assault you the moment you remembered they exist. 

     "Okay I swear it wasn't this cold earlier," You growl, glaring at the appliance as though it would stop letting out the air if you looked at it long and hard with enough disapproval present on your face. 

     But alas, it wasn't at all threatened.

     Dabi chuckles as you reach the outside and, get this, into another alleyway! Time to cross that off the bingo card. You sigh as the man beside you lead you farther away from the building, eyes looking up and into the stars, completely ignoring the rising flames and black smoke. "This part of town has a pretty good view." 

     "We're next to a burning building, Dabi." 

     "I know." You snort at that sarcastically, also looking up with a small sigh, "Yeah. Also, you didn't like. . . start that fire, right?" He almost trips at that question, composing himself with an awkward chuckle as you scoff. "Dude!"

     "What??" You both burst out laughing like a bunch of maniacs as you both quietly walk through the shaded parts of the street, looking past a lamp post as, in the distance, you see the worried looks of your friends trying to find a way inside or just looking for you. "Funny how in the span of a few days, you've had to save me in all of our encounters."

     "Right," He chuckles, turning to look at you properly. You were still glancing off to your friends, biting his lip in thought before noticing the way you shivered almost every five seconds. He blows out a puff of air, seeing the white smoke that exited his mouth as he grimaces. It was this cold and here you were in a short dress that covered everything but your arms, legs and bare back. 

     You sniff quietly as you turn around, seeing that Dabi had formed a small blue flame on the palm of his hand. It danced and flickered with the evening breeze, the light that broke the darkness around your forms fluctuating with each breath that you took. "Thanks," You mumble, earning a small chuckle in return. "No problem. But you know, since I did save you and stuff a bunch of times. . ." You laugh a little too loudly at where this was going, the man's grin growing wider. "What? I haven't even said anything!" 

     "Oh please, you're too obvious!" You chortle as you look at him, raising an amused brow. "But come on, seriously? I'd expect you to be getting all the ladies and all the kisses in the world, Mr. Hotshot." He snorts at that accidental—though you knew in your heart that it was on purpose—pun, growing the fire the more he felt the cold nipping at his face. "You'd be surprised, dollface."

     "You surprise me all the time, Dabi." You snicker at the thought once again, before looking up at the small mischievous smile that graced his features, lit up only by the soft blue light of his flame. "But since you asked so nicely," You dared to make eye contact, watching through your peripheral as his grin only got wider, "Plus, who am I to say no to someone who's saved my ass a bunch of times?" 

     It didn't take more than that for him to put out the fire and smoothly pull you towards him, face inches apart yet still not quite touching. There was little to no light, so it was hard to really see what was happening. "You know. . . your perfume kinda suits me," He whispers, eyes trailing over your features as you quietly laugh, "Too bad you spilled all of it on yourself, huh?" 

     "Maybe there's a different way to let your scent rub off on me. . ?" He trails off as he slowly closes the gap, kicking yourself on the inside for going back to kissing random people whenever you felt like it. I mean, no, he wasn't really a stranger, but he also. . . technically still is? Your mind raced as his mouth touched yours, deciding that you might as well enjoy this small moment of clarity and peace as you slowly push your body towards his. His hand held onto your cheek, thumb slowly rubbing the side of your face with a small smirk. His other hand roamed your bare back, inhaling deeply each time you felt the warmth of his palm getting a little too comfortable in being there.

     Dabi's lips were an interesting experience to say the least. You've kissed a handful of people before, but never with anyone who had the same. . . condition, as your friend here. The way he moved his mouth against yours was soft, gentle— afraid of breaking you with the simplest touch. The hand that held your face pulled you in even more, groaning into the kiss quietly as heat flared up in your cheeks. Were you actually kissing this man right now? What a life you lead.

     You felt him slowly chuckle as he breaks away, eyes lingering for a second too long before clearing his throat and letting go of your face. His hand fell to his side, and although you were slightly glad to have back your personal space, a part of you wanted to stay in that position a little while longer. "Has my uh," You cleared your throat, face still red, "debt been paid yet, good sir?" 

     "Yes, ma'am." He chuckled, before looking past you and towards your friends that were looking to your general direction discussing and contemplating something. "Anyway, you should go. Your friends are looking for you." He whispers as you turned around, finding them slowly making their way over as if to try and see if they recognized your figure. "R, right." You cleared your throat once again, that whole situation leaving a ghostly feeling on your lips as the man responsible dared snicker. 

     "I know that look a little too well," You raise a brow at that statement, feeling his hand reach over for your chin and planting another kiss for the sake of it. You gasped but ultimately kissed back, fighting back the urge to wrap your arms around his neck as he once again grins into it. "A little too well," He echoes, before he lets go of your chin and steps back. You frown slightly as he broke contact, wanting to keep your eyes closed but knowing you couldn't stay that way forever.

     You open your eyes, but furrow in both confusion and disappointment at his figure that was no longer there. You sigh, but almost fall off as you feel two pairs of arms grabbing you into a tight hug from behind. "Y/N-san stop worrying us like that!" Momo cries into your hair as you pause for a moment, before laughing and trying your best to hug back. "Don't ever let go of my hand like that ever again. . !" Jirou lightly scolds, before going right back into her very tight embrace. 

     "Love you too, moms, but I'd like to breathe please?"

     "For disappearing like that I say no." Raven jokes as she only tightens her grip, sighing with a small smile on your face and just glad that they managed to get out safely.

• • •

   "Situations arise in downtown New York as a fire starts right in the middle of an auction that was held in the famed Featherwick Hotel, directed and hosted by—"

     "Christ almighty, where the hell even is downtown?! Everywhere in New York is downtown!" Jirou exclaims as she raises her glass like a drunkard, almost spilling the contents as the four of you continue to watch the TV in your favorite place to enjoy your lunch. "Hey, some of us actually have a sense of direction, Kyoka-san."

     "Shut it, Mona Lisa."

     "The building could have survived, had it not been for the explosion that devastated the surrounding areas, injuring thirty four people and killing one." The restaurant remains quiet as you watched intently, not exactly remembering an explosion happening in the building you and your friends were just in the night before. Maybe the fire hit something and caused it? Maybe there was a bomb that got implanted? The possibilities were practically endless!

     "The fire couldn't have caused it." You all turn with brows raised at the model, urging her to continue as she does so with a shrug. "The explosion managed to topple over the entire hotel. The only way to get that sort of chain of reaction would be to have the force starting from under the building. And, as we can see," She gestures to the before and after photos of the building that displayed on TV. One was of the building completely untouched, the second on fire that reached only about halfway before being put out by the firemen, and the rubble that was left of it just this morning.

     "The fire hadn't even reached the first floor, much less the cellar where, it could, theoretically start something strong enough to even affect the areas outside it. So, as common sense goes, there could only have been a bomb."

     . . .

     . . .

     . . .

     Slowly you and your three friemds start clapping, some others nearby following suit as she only smiles humbly. "You should go work for them." Uraraka giggled through Jirou's phone, the tall female only laughing softly. "Nonsense!"

     All the while your mind could only drift off to the events that took place the night before, that scene replaying in your head like a broken CD stuck on repeat.

     That, and when you saw Momo's brother making his way to the cellar.

note ; hello sIMPS— anyways yeah here's the chapter!!!1! Appreciate that kiss scene cause it took a lot outta me lmfao. Love you guys, see you next update!