TWENTY-TWO - SWEET AND SOUR

With a start, Shigaraki bolted upright in bed - panting heavily, a cold-sweat beaded his skin. Instinctively, he lifted his hands to scrutinize them and immediately exhaled a gasp of terror at the dusty mess of crumbling ash falling from his trembling palms.

"No." He croaked hoarsely, "No, no. no." Frantically, he scurried backwards, drawing his knees up towards his chest as he repelled from the debris, wanting to be as far away from the pile of remains as he could get.

His back hit the headboard and he went suddenly very still, staring at the destruction he had caused. A large section of the king-size comforter had disappeared and on the mattress below a charred crater of foam had been exposed right down to the pocketed coils - cascading down the side of the bed.

"Shit." Shigaraki whispered before taking a deep breath, "Fuck." He wiped the sticky sweat from his forehead and then pushed his fingers into his sleep mussed hair to sweep it back out of his overheated face.

Panic instantly began to settle in, riding his emotions. He jerked his chin to the side and his terrified crimson eyes fell onto the latent form beside him, fixating on the natural rise-and-fall of a body that was in a purely blissful, content, and uninterrupted deep sleep. He exhaled a hard, relieving breath. Dabi was fine, thankfully - untouched and unhurt by his cursed hands. Though, that relief was fleeting as soon as Shigaraki realized just how close he had been to hurting his boyfriend. Dabi's thigh was just inches away from being the victim of his decay - his worst nightmare had almost come true.

"Oh God." Shigaraki whimpered and dropped his face down against his knees, his arms shrouding his head to complete his physical refuge.

Why now? Why did his quirk choose to rear its ugly head when things had been going so well? He felt calm and collected. Happy, genuinely happy, for the first time in a long time. Like someone should feel when they were on vacation with their boyfriend. He had even been sleeping better, without any bad dreams to haunt the few hours he was able to get.

What a mess.

Shigaraki lifted his head and laid his hot cheek on his knees, watching Dabi in his sleep.

In retrospect, Shigaraki's level of comfort was presumptively the cause of his unconscious chaos, and exactly why he avoided becoming so comfortable in the first place. He wasn't allowed to be complacent, to feel free from the burden of his quirk. And if he did slip, like he had last night, it wasn't afraid to remind him that ignorance would only lead him on a path to pain and regret - and likely, loneliness.

He cringed, his eyes clenching shut as he tore his gaze away from his boyfriend. He felt like he couldn't breathe, like there was a weight on his chest that he couldn't lift - heavy and oppressive. But he couldn't run away either. Not from this.

"So stupid." He chided himself.

A warm hand against Shigaraki's bare thigh startled him. He flinched, and his shoulders caved inwards, tucking himself further into a tight ball. The sound of Dabi's velvety sleep infused voice followed with a whisper of concern, "Hey. Baby, are you okay?"

"No." Shigaraki mumbled, shaking his head.

There was some shuffling and rustling of sheets. Dabi sat upright, sliding his arm over Shigaraki's curved shoulders, fingers stroking his overheated skin. "Tomura, You're really hot. And you're… sweating. Do you feel sick?"

"I'm not sick." Shigaraki snapped. He didn't mean it to come off angry, and especially not towards Dabi, but he was so frustrated with himself. And angry. He scratched wildly at his neck.

Dabi didn't say anything in return, there was a moment of complete quiet and stillness before Shigaraki heard the click of a lamp being turned on. He peeked up from his knees, waiting and watching for Dabi to react to the disaster he had created.

… … ...

Dabi only spared a short glance at the source of Shigaraki's distress, his brows drawing tightly together. Ash and dust littered the comforter, the edge of the blanket visible and flaking where a sizable chunk was missing and revealing the damaged mattress below. He couldn't see the extent of the deterioration from where he was sitting but it seemed to dip over the edge of the bed.

His heart dropped down into his stomach as he turned his attention back to his obviously distraught boyfriend.

This was the first time he had witnessed the inert destructive power of Shigaraki's quirk. He knew what Shigaraki was capable of while he was conscious and awake, but he didn't think about what would happen when he was sleeping.

Oh, but Shigaraki had warned him about it, and had cautioned him about getting so close time and time again. Dabi had selfishly ignored the forewarning, which was the only reason they were in a hotel room, sleeping together now.

This was his fault, for pushing Shigaraki into this situation.

"It's okay." He nuzzled his face into Shigaraki's neck, leaving light kisses against the skin and whispering between each press of his lips, trying to coerce his boyfriend out of his shell. "It's okay."

Dabi had no doubts that Shigaraki was dwelling on just how close he had come to hurting him, but Dabi wasn't thinking about that. The threat of a physical injury didn't frighten him because God knew he had, and would continue to have, his fair share of them - brought entirely on by his own quirk. He knew what it was like to be a prisoner to it.

"Everything's going to be okay." His words of comfort may have sounded confident, but in reality, Dabi was terrified. For Shigaraki. Of how this was affecting him and ultimately, his relationship with Dabi. Dabi had fallen too hard for Shigaraki, and they had come so far together, he couldn't lose Shigaraki now. He didn't want this… this little incident to cause him to pull away.

"It was just an accident."

Shigaraki shook his head, "That could have been you."

"But it wasn't. You didn't hurt me. I'm fine."

"What about next time?"

"I'm not worried about that."

"You should be." Shigaraki mumbled, sniffling.

"No." Dabi lifted his hand to frame the side of Shigaraki's face, thumb stroking Shigaraki's warm cheek and guiding his boyfriends face towards him - into what he hoped was a reassuring, alleviative kiss. He tilted his head, his lips pursing and sliding smoothly and serenely over Shigaraki's mouth, but regrettably, his boyfriend didn't respond.

"You really are an idiot." Shigaraki muttered, his words muffled by Dabi's mouth.

Dabi groaned and continued his persuasion, he wasn't going to give up on Shigaraki so easily. His tongue slowly swept Shigaraki's lower lip before dipping into his mouth, determined to bring him back around. And hallelujah, Shigaraki's willpower was gradually wavering. He parted his lips to allow Dabi deeper inside and a soft moan puffed against Dabi's mouth. Soon, their lips were moving in perfect sync.

Not a moment later, Shigaraki broke away - his hands balling into fists against his drawn-up legs.

"We'll work this out." Dabi said, trying to draw Shigaraki into another kiss but he wasn't having any of it and turned his cheek to Dabi. "The mattress can be replaced. It's okay. I'll take care of it."

"I don't care about the fucking mattress," Shigaraki sobbed, "I can't replace you. I don't want to hurt you."

"I know." Dabi echoed, kissing Shigaraki's turned cheek.

"We can't sleep together. Not anymore, okay?" Shigaraki said, his face warming further, clearly agitated, and dismal, "Not after…" He waved his hand absently over at the damage he had done while he was asleep, not being able to look at his shame, and then continued to scratch roughly at his neck.

Again, Dabi said nothing. Instead, he slipped his arms around Shigaraki's narrow waist and before Shigaraki had time to protest, Dabi dragged him into his lap in one swift movement. Shigaraki didn't fight it but he sure didn't make it easy. He tensed up, keeping his chin down and away, eyes averted even as Dabi moved one of his hands slowly up the length of his back and then back down again.

"I'm not okay with that." He explained, arm moving around Shigaraki's waist. His hand came to rest against his boyfriend's flat stomach.

"Tough shit." Shigaraki decided, sighing, he nestled into the crook of Dabi's neck and shoulder, hiding his face. "I'm not going through this again."

"I want another day with you here." Dabi breathed, "And one more night. I'm not ready for our vacation to end."

"What part of I might kill you don't you understand?" Shigaraki queried, frowning.

"It's worth the risk."

"No. It's not."

Dabi nuzzled into his boyfriend's hair and swept his hand cautiously over Shigaraki's arm, and then down towards his hand.

"Stop." Shigaraki protested, whimpering, and trying to draw his arms away, "Don't touch them."

"Shh." Dabi endured Shigaraki's firm disapproval of him being anywhere near his cursed hands, kissing his boyfriend's temple and whispering words of support until his palm easily slipped over Shigaraki. He carefully linked their fingers together. "It's okay."

"Please." Shigaraki croaked, "I don't want to hurt you."

"You're not going to hurt me." Dabi sympathized, "Your hands do not scare me. There is nothing about you that is too much for me to handle." Dabi lifted their combined hands and kissed affectionately over Shigaraki's knuckles. "I've got you."

Shigaraki finally turned his eyes up to Dabi, looking directly at him for the first time since his boyfriend had woken, and his face flooded with warmth. The back of his neck, his arms, and his chest also simmered with a new heat - admiration and attraction replacing the fear and shame he had been feeling. Mostly...

He drew closer to Dabi with an astounding amount of force and determination, his arm lifting and hooking around the back of his boyfriend's neck. He knew if he didn't act on impulse now then all the negative emotions he had been feeling would get in the way. And there was too much of those feelings trying to overtake him now - telling him to back away.

He needed to do this.

He was sure his mouth burned against Dabi's, that the energy sizzled between them as they kissed. Dabi allowed Shigaraki to take the lead, sighing softly as their lips embraced in a slow dance. Unhurried, but attentive. The kind of kiss that made them melt against each other. Dabi leaned back and Shigaraki shuffled and shifted to straddle his boyfriend's lap as they embraced each other.

Shigaraki was only acutely aware that they were both very naked. The thin sheets separating them really didn't leave much to the imagination but Dabi didn't seem to pay it any mind, He didn't entice anything further out of Shigaraki, satisfied with their warm, relaxed kisses.

Eventually, the moment had to end. They had to breathe. Dabi withdrew first, exhaling sweetly against Shigaraki's face before lifting his head. Shigaraki opened his eyes, and stared down at Dabi with reverence, his fingers threading into Dabi's soft hair and stroking the back of his head. He waited for Dabi to say something, something that was probably going to be amusing, and inappropriate - Dabi always had something facetious to say when a moment was supposed to be serious.

"Feel better?" He simply asked, to Shigaraki's amazement.

"A bit." Shigaraki nodded, face flushing. It was a half-truth.

Dabi grinned fondly up at him before tucking his head beneath Shigaraki's chin. He exhaled a long breath and tightened his arms around Shigaraki's waist. "It's going to be okay."

Shigaraki dropped his cheek to the top of Dabi's head, brow furrowing. "I'm sorry." He whispered, unsure if Dabi had heard his apology.

Things were not going to be okay, they were never going to be the same as they were last night. This incident had offered Shigaraki a whole lot of clarity, something that should never have been an afterthought in the first place.

He couldn't just turn a blind eye to what had happened and disregard the severity of the accident. His hands were dangerous - there were no two ways about it. Controlling his quirk was not possible while he was unconscious. He fucking knew that! Yet, he still climbed into bed with Dabi. But no more. He couldn't do it anymore. Regardless of how Dabi felt otherwise. Shigaraki just wasn't prepared to face the consequences of ignoring that danger. He couldn't. How could he live with himself if anything happened to Dabi? The price was too high to pay. This was his quirk. This was his burden. He had to do whatever he could to manage it and if that included ending their vacation a day early and not sleeping in the same bed with Dabi then he would do it.

"Tomura?"

"Mm?"

"You're shaking."

"Cold." He lied, trying to hide and calm the turmoil that was stirring inside him - an equal mixture of anger and anguish was the cause of his body's unrest.

Dabi looked up, skeptical, and then Shigaraki felt the heat of Dabi's palm's playing over his back - gentle, pleasing flames tickling his skin.

With a palliative sigh, Shigaraki closed his eyes and Dabi swept his jawline with gentle, slow kisses.

"How about a hot shower?" Dabi asked, continuing to act as Shigaraki's own personal heater - covering his boyfriend's skin with his flaming palms.

"Yes."

"Together?" Dabi asked, hopeful and not wanting to leave Shigaraki alone.

"Okay."

Dabi was thrilled. Shigaraki thought it was a small gesture, especially if their vacation was about to end prematurely because of him.