Deer 2 // IC Contact

[comecatchthesehands]

[Pretty stuff goes here]

((I love inboxes a l o t. Don't even ask me, just message. Misfires, saw your user name over your shoulder, curious heroes, angry heroes, or anyone else are welcome at all times.))

Comments

[comecatchthesehands]

What am I to him?

[There's a scoff, an amused sound.]

Ask him.

If you want to ask me, then ask me. If you want to ask shit about his feelings, ask him. He'll tell you the same things about me.

[In other words, Dabi is one of his only true friends.]

What is it that you're worried about? That I'm going to hurt your poor li'l nii-san? Is that how weak and senseless you think he is? That he would let himself be mistreated yet again by anyone?

[Shigaraki, frankly, is insulted by the idea of that being a possibility.]

[swellter]

[ Let him rephrase that: ]

What is he to you?

[ He'll be asking Touya the same question of Shigaraki real soon. ]

[comecatchthesehands]

[Now Shoto is understanding how to ask a question to him and Shigaraki 'hmm's softly.]

He is my comrade and a pain in my ass.

[However.]

Someone I trust won't DC just because the DPS check is hard and our healers are down. Which is good enough for me.

[Trust isn't an easy word, either.]

Then again, who knows. He's his own man. Were you looking to hope that we were best friends, holding hands and skipping? Hm?

[swellter]

[ A comrade.. Someone I trust.

The rest means little to him, so he ignores it. ]

I wanted to know if you were using him.

I have my answer.

[ Now it was time to check with Touya to get the full picture. ]

[comecatchthesehands]

You should've just asked that. I could've summarized all that shit into 'yes'. Just like he's using us. Now are we good or do you want to know about anything else? Hm? Done practicing your third degree?

[There'll never not be teasing when Shigaraki is involved.]

[swellter]

How is he using you?

[comecatchthesehands]

[Shigaraki chuckles a soft laugh, the smile left on his face heard through his voice.]

How do you think your brother and I met? Villain convention? Convenience, Thermostat. Convenience.

[swellter]

[ He zeroes in on that first line and ignores the rest. ]

How did you meet?

[comecatchthesehands]

Someone brought him to my home. The place your kind of people destroyed. My turn.

What's any of this your business?

[swellter]

I want to get to know him.

me dying inside saying these things to our son

[comecatchthesehands]

[Yeah there's another chuckle, this is funny.]

Does he want to get to know you? That's the question isn't it?

how could you be so mean to him ;_; he just wants to get to know his brother ;_;

[swellter]

[ He hesitates. ]

I don't know.

[comecatchthesehands]

Exactly.

[Shigaraki has no clue if this is true, their talks about Shoto are pretty tame, actually. Mostly figuring out if he's the weakest link of them all.]

What have you done for him except for remind him of all the things he hates the most? Since you and I are bonding tell me what you regret the most out of anything you've ever done.

[swellter]

That's not how family works.

[comecatchthesehands]

Oh? How does family work? Your father tortures you and your mother looks the other way until she can't anymore and can't do a thing about it when she doesn't?

[Is he talking about Shoto's family, or his? Who knows.]

Enlighten me on how "family" works that would drive the eldest son to do what he does.

[swellter]

[ Ice crackles inside him and Kizu looks up at him while he stares at the message in silence. ]

We were broken.

[ The little snow leopard presses her nose against his leg in silent comfort; still for once. ]

That's not how family is supposed to be.

[comecatchthesehands]

Were? Does he look fixed by the power of love?

[swellter]

Touya isn't my only family.

[ For modern standards, the Todoroki's are a large family. ]

[comecatchthesehands]

I don't know them, or care about them.

[Which may belie that he does in fact care about Dabi.]

I'm asking you about Dabi.

[swellter]

[ The cold dismissal of those entrenched so deeply in his heart brings his thoughts back to the present, and he's reminded of who exactly he's speaking to and grows cold in turn. ]

I don't want to fix him. I want to get to know him.

[comecatchthesehands]

For what? Why?

[Just as much as it is Shoto's want, it is Shigaraki's to not see this dumb little bastard just piss off someone without a need to do it.]

[swellter]

Because he's my brother.

[ What other reason does he need? ]

[comecatchthesehands]

You already know about him. You just don't want to admit you've been given the NCP Info "because he's your brother".

[swellter]

Knowing about him isn't the same as knowing him.

[ As for the rest, it makes no sense to him, so he ignores it entirely. He's not a video game person. ]

What if Shigaraki was a nice guy for once? No? okay.

[comecatchthesehands]

[That he shares with his brother.]

You know. You're just looking for things you know aren't going to be there, that's what you're doing. That's what this conversation is about, that's what any conversation is about. Isn't it? Looking for that hint?