Chapter Text
Dabi kicks the door open, nearly stumbling as he hauls Twice inside. He had been carrying the dead weight of Twice for blocks now, his legs and back screaming at him to drop him every agonizing step along the way. Twice kept slipping, his body limp. Dabi’s fingers throbbed from gripping his knees too tight, keeping him steady, keeping him conscious. He can feel the blood soaking through his coat, warm and sticky. It’s a bad wound, worse than he wants to admit.
The mission had gone to hell. One second, they had the upper hand, the next, gunfire.
Twice had been caught in the crossfire before anyone could react.
A single shot. Right to the gut.
All Dabi remembers after that is a flash of blue fire and everything turning to ash a few seconds later.
With the bang of the door opening, all eyes turn to him. He saw Toga's eyes widen dramatically, almost in slow motion before she jumped up from her spot on the couch and ran over.
“Oh no, oh no—Jin—” Toga was already kneeling beside him, hands hovering, unsure what to do.
Dabi slowly slides Twice of his back to the floor, letting him lie down. He drowns out the grueling noises and groans that leave his mouth.
“Shit,” Spinner curses, running a hand over his face. "We need—something. Towels, bandages—fuck, he’s bleeding too much."
He hears hurried footsteps approaching from behind. Compress drops to a crouch beside him, a towel clutched tightly in one hand. His gaze never strays from Twice, but his voice when he speaks is an unsettling mix of too-calm and barely-contained panic. "What happened?"
Dabi leans back against the couch, still catching his breath. His muscles ache from carrying Twice, but he barely notices. His eyes stay fixed on the pool of blood spreading beneath his collegue.
Twice stares at the ceiling, his expression eerily still, too calm, too detached.
Dabi swallows hard.
Toga is practically screaming. “Jin! Jin! Please! You’re gonna be okay….” Her voice breaks between gasping breaths, shaking so hard she can barely hold onto him. “I promise! I swear!”
Twice doesn’t respond. His breathing is shallow and uneven. His eyelids flicker.
“Damn it, Jin!”
The door slams open.
Spinner bursts back in, stumbling, panting, the med pack clutched in both hands. Dabi hadn’t even realized he left. He drops to his knees, fumbling with the zipper. His hands are trembling, struggling to get the damn thing open.
“Come on, come on, come on—”
Blood keeps pooling. It’s too much.
“Get out of the way.”
The voice is calm. Sharp. Unshaken.
Dabi turns to see Shigaraki stepping forward. He isn’t panicking, isn’t barking orders, just moving with absolute certainty.
Spinner blinks. “What—”
"Move," Shigaraki repeats. "Or he’s dead in five minutes."
There’s something in his voice that shuts them all up.
It’s almost mechanical how they all stand up and take a step back from where Twice, is sprawled out on the floor. Shigaraki crosses the room in just a few steps, dropping to his knees beside him.
Dabi watches as Shigaraki immediately assesses the wound, pressing two fingers against Twice’s neck to check his pulse before his hands move down, peeling back the torn fabric of his shirt.
He hears a shocked sob from someone at the sight. It looked bad.
“We shouldn't do this... We should take him to a hospital-”
“Yes, let's just barge in there. Great idea.” Shigaraki speaks up, voice dripping with sarcasm. His eyes dart across Twice. “Through and through?” he asks.
The question startles Dabi, he stands up straighter against the couch and clears his throat. He shakes his head. “Didn’t exit.”
Shigaraki curses under his breath. "Then it’s lodged inside. Lower left quadrant... could’ve hit the iliac artery."
Spinner blinks. “The—the what?”
“If it did, he’s dead regardless.” Shigaraki's hands are already moving, pressing down at a specific point just below the wound. Twice groans, his body twitching, but the bleeding seems to slow.
Dabi’s seen a lot of shit in his life. But he’s never seen someone do this. Shigaraki isn’t just guessing. He knows exactly where to put pressure. Exactly what to check for.
Dabi watches, unsettled. “Since when do you play doctor?”
Shigaraki ignores him. "We need to stop the bleeding without worsening internal damage. We can’t cauterize, too close to vital organs. Toga, clean your hands. You’re helping."
Toga startles, eyes wide. “Me?”
Shigaraki doesn’t even look up. “You wanna let him die, or do you wanna shut up and help?”
Toga darts out of the room as Shigaraki turns toward the med pack. Dabi watches him as he pulls on a pair of gloves and cuts off the pinky finger part of the gloves with a quick snip from the scissors. He starts gathering equipment in his left hand, gauze, forceps, clamps, while his right hand continues to search through the pack for anything else they might need.
“Spinner, elevate his legs,” Shigaraki orders without breaking his concentration, his voice still as cold and commanding as ever. “Dabi—” He finally glances up, eyes sharp and focused. “Sterilize a knife.”
Dabi frowns. "The hell for?"
Shigaraki finally meets his eyes, gaze sharp. “Because if the bullet’s deep, I’m cutting it out.”
Silence.
Dabi stares at him.
Shigaraki stares back.
And Dabi,for once, doesn’t argue.
He just does what he’s told.
—
The top of the bin closes shut with a clang as Shigaraki discards the bloodied gloves with a flick of his wrist. He looks back at the scene on the ground. The amount of tissues, towels, and gauze littered with blood. Toga sits beside Twice quietly finishing the last of his stitches. There is no one else in the room.
Dabi watches, leaning casually against the wall, arms crossed, the tension in the air finally starting to dissipate now that the immediate crisis is over.
Dabi can't help but smirk. "Well, that was pretty heroic," he teases, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards.
Shigaraki doesn't spare him a glance as he walks through the archway leading to the hallway. He hears a door shut and a few seconds later, he hears the water running.
He turns his attention back to Toga, who’s sitting cross-legged beside Twice, tying off the final sutures.
For a moment, there’s only the sound of Toga’s steady breathing and the soft, calm movements of her hands as she works. But Dabi can feel the energy shift, a low hum of disbelief hanging between them. Dabi clicks his tongue, pushing off the wall and stepping over some of the discarded gauze. “That was fucking weird,” he mutters.
Toga sits there, wiping her hands on an already bloody towel, and just watches Twice breathe. “Huh?”
Dabi jerks his chin toward the hallway. “Shigaraki. That whole thing.” His voice stays casual, but there’s an edge of something unreadable in it. “He didn’t even blink. Like he does field surgery every damn day.”
Toga hums, stretching her arms above her head. “It was kinda cool,” she admits, then grins. “Twice would’ve bled out if he hadn’t.”
Dabi scoffs. “Yeah, no shit. Still…” He gestures vaguely at the mess left behind: bloodied gauze, stained towels, the lingering scent of iron thick in the air. “That wasn’t normal.”
Toga hums, standing on her two feet now, walking slowly to the sink behind the bar. “Shigaraki’s smart. Maybe he just picked it up somewhere.”
Dabi frowns. “That’s not the kinda thing you just pick up.” His fingers twitch against his arms where they’re crossed. “He knew exactly where to press, what to check for. Knew what not to do, too.”
Toga blinks, then turns on the water grinning. “So? Impressed?”
Dabi snorts, rolling his eyes. “Tch. Just didn’t expect it.” He steps over a discarded bandage on the floor, flopping himself down on the couch.
Toga giggles as she comes down to sit beside Dabi. Her hands are still wet, probably because all the towels are painted red. “Ooo, maybe he was a secret doctor before all this!” she says in a voice all too cheery.
Dabi gives her a flat look. “Yeah, sure. That’s real believable.” His gaze flickers toward the hallway again, the faint sound of running water still coming from behind the closed door. He exhales sharply. “Whatever.”
He’s done thinking about it.