Work Text:
A scream can be heard from the leaders room, a loud noise, the sound like a call for help.
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Shigaraki awoke with a loud scream, letting out a choked cry as he hastily sat up. His trembling body laying against the headboard of the bed. He claws at his chest, unable to breathe. He gasped for air but each breathe felt shallower than the last. It hurt. He could hear the pounding of his heart in his ears, beating like a panicked drum to the rhythm of his fear. He felt like he was standing on the edge of a building, like he was on a boat out to sea, the room swaying and adding to the nausea that was washing over him. Letting out another sob he felt the panic begin to wrap its arms around him like a shadow, unable to absorb the light. He couldn’t breathe- couldn’t think- help. He needed help.
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Dabi burst into the room, having heard Tomuras scream from across the LOV's base to where he was in his room. "Hey, Shigaraki," he says, trying to get the panicked boys attention. Shigaraki didn’t even look up, not noticing he was there in the doorway to his room. "Shiggy," he says again, walking over to the side of his bed and reaching a hand out towards him, resting it on his knee. "D-don’t- Fuck- Don’t touch me!" Tomura yells, pulling away from Dabi and folding his hands over his head, shielding himself. His hands felt numb and he was light-headed, his body weak and tense. "Hey, its okay.. You're safe." Dabi whispers, crawling onto the bed and sitting in front of him. Shigarakis mind was running a million miles a second but he couldn’t pinpoint a single thought. "My chest- hurts. It hurts." He mumbles, looking up at Dabi with tears rolling down his face. He couldn’t move. It was like someone was holding down his limbs, the panic rendering him utterly frozen. "I know- can I hold your hand?" Dabi asks, a simple way of trying to calm Shigaraki down. Tomura nods, the only movement he could muster up the courage to make. Dabi understood and gently grabbed his gloved hands, moving closer towards Shigaraki and holding his hands in his own, rubbing his thumb softly on the back of his hands. He knew what panic attacks felt like, Tomuras may not be the same as his but he knew what he needed to be calmed down, to be brought back into reality. "Can you breathe with me?" He asks, taking both of Shigarakis hands into one of his, the other moving to cup his face, wiping away the stray tears with his thumb. Tomura nods, trying to take a deep breathe along with Dabi, "I- I can't- It.. h-hurts." He mumbled, his body still trembling as he pulls one of his hands away from Dabi, clutching at his neck. "Hey, that’s okay. I know. Here, can you sit cross-legged?" Dabi says, trying to make it easier for Shigaraki to breath. Tomura nods, threading his shaking hands into his hair and unfolding his legs from his chest, crossing them instead. "There you go, you're okay. Just breathe with me." He says, taking a deep breath, holding it, then slowly exhaling. Shigaraki follows along with him, breathing in, holding it, and slowly exhaling.
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A few minutes later and Tomura had calmed down from the panic-attack. His breathing now steady. He was still a bit shaken up, especially from being awoken so abruptly from his sleep with something so intense. Shigaraki let out a loud sigh, wiping stray tears from his face with his hands and looking at Dabi. "Th-thank you.." He said, embarrassed anyone had to see this when he was the leader, the one who was supposed to lead them through everything, someone they could all rely on. And now he was crying in his bed after a little nightmare? What kind of leader was he? Dabi moved to sit next to him, their legs touching as he rests one of his hands on top of Shigarakis knee. "Its nothing," he says, turning his head to face him, "I saw you needed.. Comforted... So that’s what I did. Its really nothing, I get it." He says, looking closely at Tomura. Shigaraki looked at him, confused, "What do you mean, 'You get it'?" He asks, not understanding. Dabi looks at him like the answer was obvious, "Have you seen me? Of course I have panic attacks every now and then. Especially in the rain.." He says, looking down, even the thought of what happened in the fire when he was younger made his body tingle and mind run. Tomura frowns, "Do you have.. Nightmares as well?.." He asks, looking down. "Yeah, almost every night. I just.. I'm not a vocal person.. So I don’t really yell..." He says, his gaze soft as he looks at Shigaraki. He didn’t think anyone else in the league had nightmares like him, so when he found out their leader did? In a way it reassured him, knowing he wasn’t alone. But he also felt bad, someone like Tomura shouldn’t have to deal with that, the person he loved. Ever since Dabi joined the LOV, he felt like he had a certain connection with their leader. He wanted to help him, but he didn’t know how.
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"Can you.. Tell me what the nightmare was about?" Dabi asks, turning to look at Shigaraki. "I-I.. It was of.. You know.. My past- when I got my quirk.." He stuttered, pulling his hood over his head and looking away. "You wanna talk about it?" He asks, tapping on Tomuras knee, trying to pull his attention back to him. Shigaraki looked at him, tears in his eyes, "To put it short.. W-when I got my quirk.. I kind of- I killed my whole family.. Even my mother who tried to h-help.. No one even looked at me when walking the streets- I was too ugly because of my skin- I don’t know- It j-just.." He says, mumbling the last part. He hated thinking of his past, especially when he has nightmares about it, reliving the entire ordeal, it sucked and he couldn’t do anything about it. He looked at Dabi who stared at him, wide-eyed. "Im sorry.. I didn’t think it was that bad-" he responded, looking at him softly. Dabi cups his face with his hands, wiping the tears from his eyes he didn’t realize had fallen, "You went through.. A lot as a child.. That must have been tough." He continues, holding his face in his hands. Tomura nods, his cheeks a light red as the person he loved most held his face, "Y-yeah.." He mumbles, avoiding eye contact.
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"You okay? Your face is heating up.. Pretty sure that’s my thing." He laughs, trying to lighten the mood. Shigarakis face were now a dark shade of red. Dabi didn’t even realize what he was doing was the cause of this, even as he tilted his head in his hands gently. "I-im fine.." He says, grabbing Dabis wrists with his hand and pulling them away from his face, that’s when he realized what was happening. "Oh~ You're flustered, hmm?" He says, a smug grin now planted on his face. Tomura turned away from him, "Sh-shut up.. This is your fault." He mumbles, crossing his arms. Dabi let out a small laugh before grabbing Shigarakis hips and pulling him into his lap, making him let out a small yelp in the process. He then wraps his arms around his waist, "There ya go," He says, looking up at him. "W-what are you- Why-" Tomura stutters, immediately covering his flustered face with his hands and looking away. "Awh come on.. Let me have some fun," Dabi whispers, resting his chin on Shigarakis collarbone and kissing his neck, "Please~" he says teasingly. Tomura quickly wraps his arms around Dabis neck and buries his face into his hair so he couldn’t see his face, "L-leave me be, a-asshole.."