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The first time Hawks snuck Dabi in to try on suits it was for his court hearing. And technically “snuck” was a bit misleading. He signed him out of his detention center with a full guard in tow and several legal (and therefore, liability-inducing) promises to keep the fire user in check. Dabi had raised an eyebrow at the whole process and declared, in his most desert dry tone, that it was “a dumbass idea”.
Hawks had disagreed. Having grown up with it drilled into his head that appearances mattered, and that pictures could tell a thousand lies, he could safely bet on two things:
- Dabi’s villain look would frighten the jury who heard his story in court, making them less likely to lean toward a lighter sentence, and
- Dressing Dabi up nice would lend more credence to his background as a Todoroki and his earnest desire to correct his wicked ways.
A hundred lies, right there. But Hawks planned to work with Dabi on making it at least something of a truth.
So. The suits. And Hawks sneaking Dabi in to try them on.
Ostensibly Hawks was with a civilian and had rented out the entire shop in order to make this happen. He just hadn’t mentioned that the civilian was… well. Dabi.
“He’s not technically a villain anymore,” he said lightly to the shopkeeper - a cousin of Best Jeanist’s, who said he owed Hawks a favor for not actually offing the only other “fashion forward” member of his family. Hawks had brought him pictures of Jeanist’s vacation witness protection stay in the Bahamas, and the man had promised him anything.
Which Hawks planned to exploit. Ruthlessly.
“And you did say ‘anything’, ya know,” he reminded the satin-clad fashionista with a broad grin. The man’s blondish hair quivered, and his eyes narrowed over his bougie scarf, but he didn’t say anything more on the matter. Simply looked Dabi up and down in his ugly grey prison uniform and clucked his tongue.
“Well, at least he’s got length to work with,” he said primly, before turning toward the suit racks. Hawks started to grin, but Dabi stomped his foot none-too-gently.
“Shut up,” he growled, scowling everywhere but at Hawks. The hero pouted.
“I didn’t say anything!!”
“You were thinking it.”
“Thinking what, you tall drink of -”
They were interrupted by the satin man - and crud, Hawks really couldn’t remember his name, so he was just gonna go with Best Satin for now - rolling out a rack of suits for them to look at.
Dabi took one look and made a noise in the back of his throat that one might associate with a seasick person hanging over the railing of a rocking ship. Hawks, on the other hand...
“Oh man, please -”
“No.”
“But that purple one -”
“Hell no.”
Hawks sighed out his crushed dreams into the over-perfumed air, and turned to Best Satin.
“He’s going to be appearing in court… maybe something a little more... somber?”
Dabi huffed next to him, which Hawks interpreted to mean ‘and more goth.’
“And more goth, please.”
A contented hum. Hawks’ feathers ruffled in a sort of pleased way. Dabi hadn’t been quite content with him since he’d thrown Endeavor under the media bus a month ago and busted open the celebrity case of the century. One could even say the League’s resident firecracker had been mildly peeved at him for taking away his revenge against his arch nemesis.
Hawks had pled a very good case for himself and his actions, and it was as shown below:
- Endeavor and Dabi had already been fighting when Hawks had arrived to yell at Endeavor about murdering his son (which he’d only just found out while having a delightful tea with the even more delightful Fuyumi)
- Yelling at Endeavor had led to Hawks and Dabi both yelling at Endeavor. With vigor
- It was not his fault that Dabi had slipped up and said, “YEAH, EAT SHIT DAD!”
- Really, Hawks had kind of saved the situation, all told. Especially when Endeavor collapsed in a dead faint and the media had surged forward like a hoard of rabid dingos
- The fact that Hawks’d had to arrest Dabi to prevent him from making dingo burgers was really just a small detail in the grand scheme of things
So. Dabi hadn’t been all sunshine and roses to Hawks recently. But that was about to change. Hawks was gonna win him back! By helping him win his court case, and then by courting the shit out of him, even if he had to do it through a bullet proof glass window while talking on a tapped prison phone. Hawks was willing to wait.
But that didn’t mean he was a patient man! He was ready to see his erstwhile murder beau in a suit, dammit!
Speaking of which:
“Ohhhh, now we’re talking!”
A new line of suits was being strutted out, and boy did they hit the gothic notes better than a Gregorian Choir. One of them even had a cape.
Hawks turned to Dabi at the same time his murder beau turned to him, both eyebrows up but eyes definitely intrigued. Hawks’ own eyes were sparkling, he was sure.
“The cape,” he started, only for Dabi to brush by him toward the rack.
Now it should be noted that Hawks assumed all villains had crappy taste in clothing, considering Dabi’s outfit was basically a lazy grandma’s quilt that could never be washed or dried and therefore stank. He was a tragedy, basically. And Shigaraki wore hands for an accessory. Enough said, really.
So it was with some surprise that he watched Dabi make for one of the sleek, sexy black numbers that would not have looked out of place on John Wick. Wow, that was… not expected, but Hawks was very much here for it.
“What kind of fabric is this?” Dabi asked, fingering the material. Hawks glanced at him with a narrow gaze, scratching the scruff on his chin and weighing the odds that Dabi was asking because he actually knew fabrics or because he was trying to be a cactus in human form.
AKA: A prick.
Best Satin said something incomprehensible in Italian, but Dabi actually nodded and asked something else with a word that sounded French to Hawks and they went back and forth in a flurry of sexy sounding words, comparing two jackets to each other while commenting on waistcoats and the number of buttons and...
Wow, that should not be so hot.
Dabi, who had changed clothes approximately once since Hawks had known him… knew his fancy shit.
Hawks might have drooled a bit. Only the security detail could tell.
Then Dabi was shrugging on one of the jackets and stretching around to test the fit and wow.
“Hnrgh,” Hawks said emphatically, watching the fabric pull across the villain’s broad shoulders. It earned him a look from both Satin and Dabi.
“Problem?” Satin asked, now eyeing Hawks as if he were the ragamuffin in prison duds. Damn, just because he didn’t speak cursive.
Dabi, on the other hand, was laughing at him. Not with his voice, but with his pretty blue eyes. Double whammy of unfairness. Hawks rallied.
“No, no. No problem. Just -” he fluttered a hand, trying to make it look elegant “- carry on.”
They did carry on. With gusto. And Hawks could not complain at all.
Couldn’t really get words out in general when Dabi first walked out in a black-on-black suit with sapphire cufflinks and his hair slicked back.
“Hnnngggg,” he wheeze-groaned from the low-backed couch he was perching on. Satin and Dabi exchanged a conspiratorial glance that Hawks completely missed because Dabi chose that moment to turn around and show off just how well the pants fit.
Hawks had flown face-first into buildings and felt less dazed, confused, and mildly in need of a medic.
Weakly, wings fluttering with the intense urge for both fight and flight, Hawks said, “We’re, uhhh -” Dabi rolled his shoulders, making fabric pull across them and Hawks short-circuited for another 3.5 seconds, “- not trying to seduce the jury. Ya know?”
But if you’re trying to seduce me, holy shit it’s working.
Dabi glanced at him in the mirror, looking bored and austere in a way that did funny things to Hawks’ insides - like send all his blood to have a rave in the apples of his cheeks.
This cannot be good for my health.
Then the villain smirked at him in his reflection and said to Satin, “Pay up.”
Hawks had no idea what the villain was talking about, but Satin shook his head ruefully and slapped two thousand yen into Dabi’s hand without comment. Somehow, Hawks got the feeling that a bet had been made on his reaction and Dabi had clocked him and his weakness for men in nice clothing.
So the whole field trip to make Dabi look nice had ulterior motives. That basically summed up their relationship anyway.
When Dabi passed by his couch to return to the dressing room, Hawks caught his wrist to stop him and noted for the first time that Dabi had also slipped on a sapphire ring to complete the look. A sapphire ring on his left hand. On his ring finger.
Hawks’ brain promptly shut down again and Dabi pulled his wrist free.
But not before sliding his fingertips across Hawks’ palm, leaving trails of tingling skin in his wake.
----
The second time Hawks snuck Dabi in to try on suits was actually for three occasions.
- Rei’s release from the hospital
- Endeavor’s court hearing, this time
- And the ceremony inducting Hawks in as the new number one hero in Japan
Only one of those was Dabi “technically” allowed to attend, since he was a witness in Endeavor’s case, but Hawks had wrangled a few extra hours out of jail for him to celebrate his mother’s release with his family. And while Dabi had expressed less than a smidgen of interest in Hawks’ new ascent on the hero charts, Hawks had a feeling the villain might just appreciate the acceptance speech he’d prepared.
So, once again with the suits.
Dabi had made a splash last time in the dove grey number they’d eventually settled on. It was somber enough to reflect the seriousness of the court case, but with a lighter color to offset his evil aura. The only nod to his goth aesthetics had been the pitch black button down Dabi had insisted upon.
Hawks hadn’t complained. And if he’d gotten ahold of all the pictures he could of Dabi’s time on the stand?
Well. He was, understandably, following the case quite closely.
Not as closely as his eyes were following Satin and Dabi around the store though. The two of them were up to something. He could tell by the intermittent chuckling from the ex-villain.
I say ‘ex-villain’, Hawks thought to himself, watching the two warily. And it has been a year. But…
Dabi shot him a wide, terrifying smirk over a rack of clothing, and Hawks felt more attacked than he ever had during a fight.
Ohhhh, crap.
When Dabi disappeared into the back, Hawks waited on the low couch once again, wings twitchy with unease, wondering why Dabi had to turn everything between them into freaking psychological warfare. Satin laughing at something Dabi said from the dressing room area did not settle his nerves. Hell, he should have never let those two conspire against him after the last Incident.
Versace villains, Hawks thought to himself. Coco criminals. Gucci goons. Uhhh, what’s another brand name. Air Jordan assholes.
Wait, one of these is not like the rest.
Hawks mulled over his dastardly designer puns in an effort to distract himself, but nothing could have prepared him for Dabi stepping out of the fitting room in a white, off-the-shoulder dress with an amazingly short skirt and a gorgeously long train. Hawks tried to take it all in - the white gloves, the golden necklaces, the gauzy burgundy trim along the a-line hem. But then Dabi stepped forward and Hawks realized he was wearing five inch stilettos and all other thought processes promptly flew the coop.
“Oh, shit,” he wheezed, heart throbbing so hard he thought he might be going into cardiac arrest. He actually clutched his chest a bit in alarm when Dabi did a slow turn and the train followed him like a peacock tail. The ex-villain - no, definitely still full villain, holy fuck - glanced at Hawks over his bared shoulder, eyes dancing.
“Maybe a bit too flashy for a court case,” he said, obviously directing the comment to Satin. “But you were right that it doesn’t chafe the scars. Could get used to that, I think.”
Hawks’ brain went pleasantly blank at that statement. No thoughts, no concerns. Only pretty.
And this time, when Dabi smirked at him, he thought the villain looked rather flushed himself.
----
They settled on a soft, flowy black number with a somewhat decent hemline. And there were several bonuses to it, aside from the comfortability.
- It irritated Endeavor, because he sucked and was not a man of taste
- It showcased the damage Dabi had received at Endeavor’s hands and allowed Dabi to just sorta… gesture at himself, when the judge asked for a description of his injuries
- It twirled prettily around Dabi’s legs. Really, enough said
- It twirled extra prettily when Hawks announced the abolition of the hero ranking system later that day and found himself with an armful of ex-villain to spin around like some kind of romance movie scene
- But really, Dabi muttering, “you insane bird, what are you doing to me?” made every hour in legal battle with the Nation of Japan 100% worth it
----
The final time Hawks snuck Dabi in to try on clothes was the most nerve wracking of them all. They walked hand-in-hand into the store where Satin was waiting for them, and Hawks rubbed a nervous finger over Dabi’s knuckles.
“You sure I don’t get to see what you pick?” He asked. Partially as a tease, and partially as a precaution. He did not want to run the risk of a heart attack on the happiest day of his life, and given their track record of Dabi nearly murdering Hawks via sexy clothing…
Well. He just thought he ought to be prepared. Preventative measures and whatnot.
“Nah, that’s what Yumi’s for,” Dabi said, hooking his free hand over his shoulder to point at his siblings approaching from their parked car. When Hawks’ fingers tightened slightly around Dabi’s, the ex-villain relented. “She’ll make sure it’s mostly decent, don’t you worry, birdbrain.”
Hawks huffed, and glanced at Dabi’s expression. To anyone else, the cooly-arched eyebrow and aggravating smirk would have been a turn off. But damn, if Hawks’ insides didn’t melt just a bit at the happiness he saw in Dabi’s eyes.
Which was, of course, when Natsuo would snag him around the throat and drag him to the other side of the store for his own fitting, Shouto trailing behind with a look of bemusement on his face.
But half an hour and one gorgeous suit later, and Hawks’ fingers still tingled with the memory of Dabi’s touch.
----
It was a gorgeous sunny day in May out in the little Fukuoka park shrine that they’d picked out. Birds sang, guests chatted, and there were no reporters in sight. Really, it couldn’t be more blissful.
Play it cool Hawks. As long as there are no thigh-highs involved, you should be okay.
Hawks’ wings ruffled gently in the breeze from the open panels, but under his burgundy jacket he was sweating like crazy. Any minute now, and Dabi would appear through the set of double doors at the far end of the makeshift aisle. Would be wearing whatever insane outfit Best Satin - name never actually determined - had been smirking about for months. And Hawks would have to process it while also remembering his vows and trying not to swoon over the thought of having Dabi in his life for the rest of his life, holy shit.
So yeah, Hawks was nervous. So nervous he’d insisted on being the one to stand at the end of the flower-strewn aisle, because he was pretty sure if he’d had to walk, he’d have ended up eating hardwood on first glimpse of his erstwhile murder beau.
And when the doors finally swung open to reveal Dabi standing there, Hawks thought he might eat hardwood anyway.
Oh my god, he thought, knees weak.
Dabi was wearing heels again, though not as dangerously high as the last ones. Three inch golden sandals curved up around his ankles and ended where wide-legged, white pants began. They swished like a skirt while Dabi walked and they even had pockets for the ex-villain to stick his hands in, which was a habit Dabi would probably never change.
Right along with the habit of showing cleavage, which Dabi was doing in spades with the almost Greecian draped top that hung far too low for Hawks’ sanity. But hell, that wasn’t even the most stunning part.
The crimson drape in the back that fell like a shimmery waterfall from Dabi’s shoulders in a clear homage to Hawks’ wings was certainly a showstopper, and Hawks felt an ache in his throat at the unspoken declaration. But even more than that.
Dabi’s soft white hair whipped slightly in the breeze, finally restored to its original color. Somehow, beyond Hawks’ comprehension, the color made Dabi’s turquoise eyes even more striking - made his smile seem all the brighter.
Or maybe that was because he had his eyes fixed on Hawks in an unwavering gaze, taking in his red-on-black suit with obvious appreciation. It occurred to Hawks then that he was actually the more goth of the two of them now, and he couldn’t help but grin at snatching Dabi’s title.
Not that he wasn’t grinning from ear to ear like an absolute sop already. But hey, he was about to marry the love of his life.
So, if his sight was a little blurry when Dabi finally reached his side, or his hands were a little shaky when they took Dabi’s own - if he later looked back on the pictures of them standing there in front of the ordainer, dressed to the nines and grinning at each other like idiots?
Well. What could he say?
He was in love.