POV DABI

"Why don't you just kill me already?" I choke out. I was going for a sarcastic laugh, but there's so much blood in the back of my throat, it's more of a suffocated struggle to breathe. Ito, my lovely prison guard, swings his wooden bat forward and rests it on one of his broad shoulders.

"What? Tired of me already?" Ito taunts. "I'm having quite a lot of fun bashing your rib cage in. Don't leave before the party's over, Touya."

"You're sick," I say, letting out a laugh. "God, you're one sick fuck! What're you waiting for, Ito? Let it all out! Hit me in the fucking head! Break my skull! You scared or something? KILL ME, YOU BASTARD!"

Ito grinds his jaw, swinging his bat full force. The blow cracks my ribs even more, and I can feel the blood shooting up my throat. I spit out chunks of it, with a little bit of acidic vomit, too. Ito's not gonna kill me. That's why he stopped using that goddamn stinger. He's having too much fun using me as a punching bag. But that's fine. It's not anything I'm not used to. I'm just glad nobody else has to see it. "You deserve this," Ito growls. "Slow and painful. You're a little bitch, Dabi. A little bitch who runs away from his problems."

"Heh, I think y-you're projecting, Ito," I say between fits of coughing. "Is your wife... being a l-little mean, buddy? Kids acting up?"

Another swing of the bat. The cracking of my ribs is so loud, it almost overpowers the violent pumping of my blood. I belt out a scream, cursing as loud as my broken body allows me to. "You better keep your fucking mouth shut," Ito hisses. "Know your place."

I shake my head, making a sound that's somewhere between a laugh and a gasp for breath. I'm quiet afterwards, though, and I don't speak again. It's long enough for Ito to set his bat down and leave the room, allowing me to exhale and spit out the rest of the blood and vomit in my mouth. As much as I love to push this stupid motherfucker to his emotional limits, it's at the expense of my own physical health. I need to be conscious enough to find a way out of here, so I make the mental note to stop instigating.

Okay, brainstorming time. First, I need the cancellation cuffs off... how in the fuckity-fuck am I going to manage that?

I sigh, relaxing my tense muscles. I'm going to be executed tomorrow. Should I even put up a fight? I don't know. I'm worried about Keigo. I wonder if his wings have grown back yet, if he's flying and laughing and running his fingers through the clouds. Maybe he left the country entirely, flying over the sea and chasing the sunset, proud of himself for finally making his own choice. I'm proud of him, too.

Unless he's dead. Unless Enji's hunters got a hold of him. Unless his feathers were burned to ashes again, and his body was thrown around and starved and re-used like a fucking cum-sock.

The thought makes me sick. After vomiting again and coughing up what feels like gallons of blood, my body slumps into unconsciousness. I just need to rest. I need to give up.

POV KEIGO

Mic explained the entire plan to me as he parked, and I listened with every fiber in my being. He handles the security, and thank god for that considering what happened the last time I was told to disarm something. My job is to find Touya and get him out of here, and unfortunately (but realistically) it's a race against the clock. With most of my feathers back, I can fly again, but the recovering burns still hurt quite a bit. I can only be in the air for a little bit before I need a break to catch my breath. As I slide out of the car, I give my feathers a little pep-talk. "You got this, guys," I say, flapping my wings a bit. "We waited for this, didn't we? It's time to save our hubby."

"You're the weirdest bird," Mic chuckles. "Alright, remember the plan. Wait for the lights to go out. That means all the power is out, and you're good to go. Avoid combat, rely on your stealth and speed. You have three minutes before the power is back on."

"Got it," I reply, putting on my yellow glasses and headphones. I pull Aizawa's black hoodie to cover my blonde hair, ripping holes in the back for my wings. Mic gives me a look, raising an eyebrow, and I mouth an apology. We exchange nods and then head to our separate areas. If this fails, I'll be a villain, and Touya will be executed. I take a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves. I've done plenty of stealth missions before! This should be a piece of cake.

When the lights go out, I waste no time. I break through the window, shattering glass everywhere. I hear the sound of bullets firing, but my feathers tell me it's too far away to harm me. For now, at least. I submerge myself deeper into the darkness, sending feathers forward to feel my way out. Listening for Touya's voice, his scent, anything.

A few guards run at me, screaming orders, but like I was told, I just doge them. I use my wings to propel me over them, pushing off the wall with my foot and then dropping down. I break out into a sprint, turning a sharp corner. Two minutes on the clock.

The smell of blood makes my feathers puff up. I follow the smell, trying my best not to vomit. Part of me hopes it isn't Touya because I know I won't be able to see him hurt, but the other part of me hopes it is so I can get out of here quickly. My feather finds the door where the scent of blood is coming from, and I'm only a few meters back. I send it under the door, searching around the room for any sign of life. When my feather pokes some gooey mixture on the floor, I nearly throw up from the feeling. There's chains on the ground... blood, vomit... and then I feel a body. Scarred and bloody. When I reach the door, I basically kick it off the hinges.

The lights are still out, but I can see his silhouette. Touya, chained up to the wall, head hung low. I grind my teeth, remembering I'm short on time. I kick at the chains, but it doesn't do anything. "Fuck," I groan. I look around for something to help, and it must be my lucky day because there in the corner is a baseball bat. I grab it firmly, swinging as hard as I can at the chain connecting his wrist wrist to the wall. It snaps, and I go for the other. When Touya is free, he slumps down, and I catch him with my feathers. Because my feathers are still pretty weak, I decide to carry his limp body on my back. It'll make me slower, but it's more effective this way.

I have forty two seconds to leave. I go the way I came, thanking god for my path being empty. I make it outside, getting a little cut on the window's glass. I'm sliding Touya's body into the backseat of Mic's car as the lights flicker back on. Mic's already in the front seat, slamming the gas down as we make our exit. "Jesus fucking christ!" Mic screams as we speed down the highway. "You good? Everything good? Are you hurt?"

"Just a scratch," I say, pulling Touya's head into my lap. "B-but he's not. We need a doctor, Mic, I think he's... I think..."

"It's alright," Mic says, tightening his grip on the wheel so much that his knuckles turn white. "Shouta is meeting us in Z-town with recovery girl. He'll have to for just twenty more minutes."

"Recovery girl is in on this?" I say, a little shocked. "Does she know it's Dabi from the league of villains that she needs to heal?"

"...No, but I'm sure it's a minor detail," Mic chirps. "God, I can't believe I'm doing this! I could lose my job! I feel so heroic and so bad at the same time. The last time I broke the law was in my third year in highschool. Me and Oboro got wasted on Shouta's birthday and we spent the night in the mall, eating candy and putting on fashion shows with the manikin clothes. Ah, the good old days."

I just nod. It was a story I heard many times before, and I always find it funny, but right now... I can't stop looking at Touya. His shirt is torn and absolutely soaked in blood; beneath it are disgusting bruises, and his staples are falling off, and it's just a mess. He's a mess. This whole thing is a just a big fucking mess.

"Am I making the right choice?" I squeak out as my tears drop onto Touya's bloodied face. I didn't want to cry again, but I just can't stop myself. How pathetic.

"You want my honest opinion?" Mic asks, looking at me through the mirror. I nod, biting the inside of my cheek. "Absolutely. Dabi might be a villain, but look at him. He needs your help. He needs someone to love him. And you do, right?"

I choke back a sob, tears flooding my face. "With all my fucking heart," I cry. I bury my head in his shoulder, holding Touya's unconscious body as if it's my last tether to the planet. It might just be. And so I stay that way until we arrive at our destination, only parting ways to help him out of the car and into the rundown garage.

"Look at that," Aizawa says as Mic kisses him on the cheek. "You guys really pulled it off. I'm proud. Let's get lover boy onto the stretcher."

"Pulled what off?" Recovery girl yips. "What's going on, Eraserhead? Present Mic? Someone speak up!"

"We need you to heal a friend," Mic says, nodding to Touya. "And this friend happens to be wanted for murder, among other things." Aizawa helps me get Touya onto the stretcher, and I can't stop myself from running my fingers though his black hair. His white roots are growing in, and the sight makes me cry all over again.

"C'mere," Aizawa says, holding his arms out. I collapse onto him, sobbing until I'm weak once again. "I know it hurts," Aizawa whispers, petting my hair gently. "I know."

"It's my fault!" I'm choking and hiccuping and I sound like a child who just broke a bone. "I could've- If I didn't leave- He's gonna die, Eraser! It's my fu-fucking fault!"

"He's not going to die," Aizawa tells me. "You need to breathe. Recovery girl is here. She's going to heal him, and then you two are going to be free. You just have to get through the hard parts, alright? I'm right here. Hizashi and I are right here."

"We've been there," Mic says, adding himself to the embrace. "We've loved, we've lost, and we've been in pain. But it gets better, it always does, I promise."

The sound of sloppy smooches breaks me out of my mental breakdown. Confused, I turn to the sound, seeing Recovery girl is already healing Dabi. When she's finished kissing his bloodied body, she wipes her lips and brushes the drips of blood off her sleeves. "Thank god I brought my medical supplies. I'm going to need to reapply his staples manually since my quirk can't do anything to fix that. It would've been a lot more helpful if you would've told me this was the patient, Eraser." Recovery girl shoots him a tough glare, making Eraser shrug and avert his eyes awkwardly.

"In my defense," Aizawa says, "I didn't know if you were willing to treat a villain."

"This man is not a villain," Recovery girl scoffs. "He's just a little lost. Those who need the most love ask for it in the most unloving ways."

Touya stirs, his hand immediately going to cup his ribs. He groans a few curses, then attempts to sit up. He proceeds to scream some more curses and drop back down to his lying position. "It fucking hurts," he hisses. "If I'm dead, why am I still in pain? Shit, is this hell? God damn it..."

"Touya," I breathe out, hurrying to his side. "You're awake! Oh my god! You were just dying like two seconds ago!" I spin around to recovery girl, pulling her stubby body into a hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! You're the best!"

"Oh, get off me, you dirty bird," Recovery girl says. "You better stay outta trouble, Mr. Hawks, because I'm tired of dealing with your shenanigans. I'm a school nurse, not a pro-hero doctor."

"I know," I say, chuckling softly. "I got it. I owe you."

"Hmph," Recovery girl says. "Well, invite me to your wedding, and all debts are paid."

"Wed- wait, wha–"

"Hush up and let me fix your husband. If he doesn't marry you after this, romance is dead and I'm killing him." Recovery girl gets to work, and I stand and watch. Her hands move quickly, and every now and then, she gives another kiss to Touya's fractured ribs. "Poor boy," Recovery girl says. "I'm sure you were quite a looker before all these scars, huh?"

"Nah," Touya says, a playful grin on his face. "I just looked like my dad. I'm much hotter now."

"Heh," I blurt, my shoulders bouncing. "Get it? Hotter? Be-because the burns?"

"Shut up, you fucking moron," Touya laughs. "Anyway, what even happened? Did you really break me out of prison or am I hallucinating again?"

"Don't worry, you crispy zombie boy," I tease, kissing him gently on the forehead. "I'm taking you far away from here, and we're gonna sort this shit out."