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It was the first day of the second semester and Keigo yawned as he walked into class. Why did he have to choose a class that starts so early in the day? He found a seat near the back a good distance away from the rest of the students that had already showed up but the seats were filling in quickly.
Keigo set his head on the desk, wishing he hadn’t gone to sleep at 1 am the previous day. He started to doze off when he heard someone tap the space next to his head on the desk. Glancing up, he saw a guy that looked about his age, maybe a little older, with jet black hair, pale skin and piercing blue eyes. The guy had a few tattoos visible on his neck, some piercings, and he was even wearing eyeliner. But most importantly, this guy was hot. Straight out of a magazine kind of hot. Sure, he looked a little emo and definitely a bad boy, but damn if that wasn’t Keigo’s type.
“You mind?” The guy gestured to the seat next to Keigo’s. It was, apparently, one of the only seats available. The room had filled up fast.
“No, go ahead.” Keigo sat up. “I’m Keigo Takami, by the way.”
“Dabi.” The guy sat and Keigo couldn’t help but to chuckle a little.
“Cremation, huh? That’s edgy.” Keigo said with an eyebrow raised, which earned him an eyeroll.
The class started and went by slowly. Dabi and Keigo actually talked quite a bit during class, making fun of the professor, some dad-type who told them to call him Professor Kurogiri, and other students, laughing quietly to themselves. At the end of class, Dabi stood up to go before thinking better of it. “Hey, can I have your number?”
Keigo laughed. “Why would you need it when you’ll see me in two days?” He smirked, standing up as well. “Twice a week not good enough for you?” He winked.
Dabi chuckled. “Damn, alright then, if you wanna play it that way.”
“You can always earn it from me, if you want.” Keigo’s smirk only grew.
Dabi regarded him with a smirk of his own, “Alright, deal.”
“Deal. See you on Wednesday.” Keigo walked away with a small wave.
When he showed up to class on Wednesday, Dabi was already there, sitting in the same spot as Monday. Keigo sat in the chair next to him and glanced over. Dabi was on his phone, sipping some coffee. “Aw, dude. You got coffee and didn’t get me any? Rude. ” He said with a teasing look.
“I met you a few days ago, you really expect me to know how you take your coffee?” Dabi looked up from his phone with an eyebrow raised.
“Well, for next time, vanilla latte with caramel and 2 shots of espresso. Thanks.” Keigo grinned.
Dabi chuckled. “Bold of you to assume that I’ll get you coffee just because.” He set his phone down, the screen asleep.
“And here I was, thinking you wanted my phone number.” Keigo shrugged, suddenly looking bored, save the playfulness lighting up his eyes. “Maybe I was wrong.”
Dabi scoffed. “Low blow. And if that’s how you want to play it-” He was cut off by the professor calling for everyone’s attention to start class. The class went by just as slow as it had two days earlier, this time there were fewer jokes and talking between Keigo and Dabi, both somewhat focused, Dabi less so.
Midway through class, something hit Keigo’s neck. Glancing up, he saw Dabi looking very interested in what Professor Kurogiri was talking about. Looking for what hit him, he saw a small red rubber band sitting on the ground below his chair. He leaned down to grab it and sat back in his chair, pretending to be interested in the lesson. A few minutes later, when Dabi started jotting down some notes, Keigo flicked the rubber band at Dabi, hitting his cheek. Keigo quickly hunched over his notes and started scribbling, trying not to laugh.
He felt Dabi shift towards him and pretended not to notice. A few minutes later, the rubber band hit him again, in the shoulder this time.
They flicked the rubber band between them for the rest of class, it was Keigo’s turn when class ended, he pulled it around his wrist.
“Can I actually have that back? I need it.” Dabi said when they packed up.
“I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Keigo said with feigned innocence.
“So we’re going to play it that way? Alright, see ya around, birdie.” Dabi said, standing up.
Keigo stood up and raised an eyebrow. “Birdie?”
“Yeah, your tattoo. Saw it on Monday when you took off your hoodie. I only saw a little, enough to tell what it is though. Some pretty wings you got there.” Dabi said. Ah, his hoodie must have pulled up his shirt enough to reveal the tattoo on his back, a pair of bright, red wings.
Keigo smirked. “You liked what you saw?”
“You’re insufferable. See ya Monday.” Dabi walked away.
Weeks went by like this— they sat next to each other when they had class together and talked and joked with each other, keeping up the rubber band flinging through every class. Dabi even brought Keigo coffee sometimes, which earned him Keigo’s number, leading them to text for hours on end, well into the night.
It was a Saturday afternoon in early March and Keigo was with his best friend, Rumi, at a small, local cafe.
“How’s it going with fire boy?” Rumi asked, taking a sip of her iced latte.
“Fire boy? Dabi?” Keigo said, fiddling with his coffee.
“Yeah, him. Cremation dude.” Rumi said, making Keigo chuckle.
“It’s fine, We stayed up way too late talking last night. You’d probably like him.” Keigo said.
“OH! Speaking of meeting people, I’ve got this friend, she’s awesome, really cute too. You’d probably like her. But that’s not the point; Her twin brother and some of his friends are throwing a party and one of his friends’ place this weekend. My friend invited me to come with her since she doesn’t really know any of her brother’s friends. You should totally swing by and meet this girl.” Rumi said, sitting up straight with an excited expression. “I’ll text you the details later.”
“Alright. So, this cute girl? You gonna ask her out?” He took a sip of his coffee.
“Duh! She’s really pretty and really sweet. I haven’t met this brother but she talks about him sometimes, he seems like your type. Anyway, her name’s Fuyumi.” Rumi calmed down again. “Maybe you’ll meet this brother at the party and y’know.” She winked.
He groaned. “Please stop. This girl sounds nice though.”
Rumi smiled. “Oh, yeah.” They changed subjects and talked for a few more hours.
-
The party was loud and obnoxious. The exact place Keigo would not expect to find a shy girl like Fuyumi. As soon as Keigo had gotten there, Rumi dragged him inside to meet Fuyumi, who was hiding in a quieter room with some people talking amongst themselves. The girl was sweet and shy, and definitely out of place.
The sound of a glass cup breaking in a nearby room made them all flinch. A few minutes later, Dabi walked into the room, heading straight for them. “‘Yumi, Natsu broke-” He stopped when he locked eyes with Keigo. “Keigo, what’re you doing here? Not that I’m complaining.”
Rumi blinked. “Wait, you know each other?”
“Yeah, this is Dabi.” Keigo said, glancing back at the two girls. Fuyumi looked like she was on the verge of a breakdown.
“Fire guy?” Rumi asked at the same time Fuyumi said, ”What did Natsuo do this time?” to Dabi.
Keigo nodded to Rumi as Dabi said,”He broke a cup, He’s a little drunk, I told him that you’d be pissed, but Tomura convinced him somehow. Follow me.” He grabbed Fuyumi’s wrist.”I’ll be right back.” He added, looking directly at Keigo.
“So Dabi is Fuyumi’s twin? Huh.” Rumi said, taking a sip of whatever was in her cup.
“They don’t look that much alike.” Keigo commented, staring after Dabi.
“Damn, Dabi and I will have to give each other the shovel talk, I guess.” Rumi scrunched her nose and looked comically like a rabbit in doing so.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Keigo turned back towards her.
“Well, as your honorary big sister, I will have to be the one to tell Dabi that if he hurts you, I'll kick him into the sun. And since he’s ‘Yumi’s brother, and I plan on getting with her soon, he might tell me that I’ll be kicked into the sun.” Rumi shrugged, as if it was clear.
“Honorary big sister? I’m older than you. And taller. Sister? Sure. Big sister? No.” Keigo said, teasing, earning him a light punch to the shoulder.
“Fuck off. You’re only a few months older than me.” She sulked. Dabi and Fuyumi walked back into the room at that point. Dabi held two drinks, one of which he handed to Keigo.
“What is this?” He asked, taking the drink.
“Just trust me, birdie.” Dabi smirked.
“Trying to get me drunk?” Keigo sniffed the drink. Rumi glanced at Keigo and pulled Fuyumi away, probably to find somewhere quieter.
Dabi gasped, faking offence. “Of course not. How could you even say something like that!” Dabi said, despite a teasing light in his eyes.
Keigo chuckled. The rest of the night passed in a blur of loud music and too many people, Dabi never leaving his side. Keigo met the rest of Dabi’s friends— Toga was an overly excited girl with blonde buns, holding what Keigo hoped was a fake knife and not a real one. Shigaraki was the same height as Dabi with pale blue hair reaching his shoulders and hanging in his face, hiding his red eyes that glared at practically everyone. Natsuo, the one who broke the glass earlier, was actually Dabi’s little brother, though they looked nothing alike, with Natsuo having a tall, strong build with white hair and grey eyes, as opposed to Dabi’s black hair, blue eyes and lanky build. Shuichi was a guy who told Keigo to call him ‘Spinner’, he had pink hair tied up in a bandana of sorts and he looked almost lizard-like, in the same way Rumi looked a little like a rabbit and Keigo like a bird. Jin Bubaigawara, called Twice, had blonde hair with a scar down the middle of his forehead and didn’t seem to ever not have a cigarette.
He didn’t see Rumi again for the rest of the night; she probably snuck off with Fuyumi. But it was nice hanging out with Dabi outside of class and meeting his friends. After a few hours of being at the party, Keigo leaned over to Dabi and said, “Hey, I’m probably going to go home soon. It’s late.” They’d both had a few drinks and the smell of alcohol lingered on their breath.
“That’s probably a good idea. Do you have a way to get home?” They sat together on a couch in the corner of a crowded room, their shoulders pressed together.
“Rumi and I were going to get a ride with your sister, but it seems they’ve both disappeared.” Keigo sighed.
“Ah, well, hey, I live pretty close. Ten minute walk. You can crash at my place tonight if you need.” Dabi suggested, taking another sip of his drink.
“You sure? Wouldn’t want to intrude.” Keigo tried his best to block out the sounds of the party, but he’d been doing so all night and it was grating on his nerves.
“Nah, it’s okay. We’re friends, you can hang out. Besides, wouldn’t want you taking the train and end up waking up in a ditch or something because you got lost.” Dabi joked.
“Hey!” Keigo smacked his arm lightly. ”I’m not that drunk.”
“Sure, sure.” Dabi said, earning a huff from Keigo.
“You are so mean.” Keigo said, shifting on the couch so that he was leaning on Dabi.
“I’m the one that just offered my place for you to stay tonight.” Dabi smirked and pushed Keigo off the couch, making Keigo do the closest someone can get to a squawk. Dabi laughed and Keigo glared.
“Like I said, mean.” He stood up and brushed himself off.
“Do you want to stay at my place tonight or not?” He raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah, yeah. Thanks.” Keigo held out his hand for Dabi, who took it and stood up.
“Let’s go then.” Dabi led Keigo out of the house, after saying bye to Natsuo and Shigaraki. They would have said bye to the rest of Dabi’s friends, but none of them could be found.
Once they were outside, Keigo took a deep breath of the cool night air, the noise in the house diminishing as they walked.
They walked in silence, enjoying the cold, quiet night and full moon.
Keigo eventually broke the silence, “Hey, thanks for letting me stay at your place. As much as I don’t think it would happen, because I’m not that drunk, I wouldn’t want to end up in a ditch after getting lost on the train.”
Dabi chuckled. “Sure. What’re friends good for if not letting you crash on my couch?”
“Fair point.” They continued talking as they went, from topics like “Are you sure you and Natsuo are actually related? You don’t look anything like him. Like, him and Fuyumi I could see, same eyes and white hair, but you?” to talking about that one annoying girl that sits in front of them in class,”The one with the obnoxious yellow hair and loud clicky nails.” To which Dabi squinted,”The one that always has gum and draws pasta porn in the corners of her notes?”.
A few minutes later, they found themselves climbing the stairs in an old apartment building. “The place is shitty and the neighbors are shittier but the rent is cheap and I plan on moving out after college.” Dabi shrugged, unlocking and opening a door on the 3rd floor. “Here it is.”
They stepped in, Keigo closing the door behind him. The apartment was small and a little cramped, but it was clean for the most part. “Damn, didn’t take you for the kind of guy that actually kept his apartment clean.” Keigo teased.
Dabi shrugged and took off his jacket. “I can’t sleep sometimes, cleaning keeps me busy. That and I can’t stand the mess whenever I go to Spinner’s apartment.”
Keigo laughed. “Hey, you got snacks? I’m starving.”
“They had snacks at the party, why didn’t you eat there?” Dabi flopped onto his couch, it was old and worn and squeaked when he sat.
“I did, but I’m hungry again. You got any chicken nuggets?” Keigo sat next to Dabi.
“Chicken nuggets? What are you? Five?” Dabi teased.
“They’re good! Do you have them or not?” Keigo pouted.
“Yeah, yeah. I think I have some in the freezer from when Natsuo crashed at my place to get away from our dad.” He groaned as he stood up. He walked to the kitchen, separated from the main room by a counter island.
“How long ago was that?” Keigo asked as Dabi opened the freezer, digging through it.
“Uhh- A year ago I think? He just started college this semester. ‘Yumi and I are twins, 4th years. He was escaping from our dad since he couldn’t get his own place yet. Sho hangs out here too sometimes, but he prefers Natsuo’s.” Dabi’s voice was muffled by the freezer.
“Sho?” Keigo asked, sprawling out on the couch.
“Shouto. Our baby brother. He’s 15 and in highschool. Poor kid still lives with the old man. He wants Sho to inherit the company when he gets out of college. Our father is CEO of The Endeavor Company.” Dabi finally pulled out a half empty white bag of frozen nuggets and tossed them onto the counter.
“No way, The Endeavor Company? Damn, that’s pretty cool. They’re hella successful.” Keigo said. He never paid much attention to the business world, but The Endeavor Company was a business that monopolized. They bought other, smaller companies for profit.
“It’s alright. The company itself is successful and a decent company, but the old man is a piece of shit.” Dabi had the nuggets out on a plate. He leaned on the counter when the nuggets were in the microwave.
“Aren’t most CEO’s pieces of shit as people?” Keigo raised an eyebrow.
Dabi chuckled. “A fair point. And probably.” Keigo yawned and stretched, taking up the whole couch.
“Your couch is small. I don’t think I fit.” He did not fit. His feet were dangling off the edge and his head sat uncomfortably on the armrest. “This isn’t going to be a comfy sleep.”
“It’s better than sleeping in a ditch. Besides, you can always share a bed with me.” He winked and then laughed at Keigo’s pout.
“You probably hog the bed. That would be worse than the couch.”
Dabi chuckled. “Yeah, well you probably hog the blankets and that wouldn’t be great for me either.” The loud beeping of the microwave interrupted them. Dabi stood to get the nuggets.
Keigo sat up with wide, excited eyes. “Dude, oh my gosh, it’s been like three days since I last had nuggets.”
Dabi raised an eyebrow. “You act like it’s been three years.”
“It might as well have been! Three days is way too long to go without chicken nuggets.” Keigo crossed his arms with a childish look on his face.
“You’re so weird. I feel like I shouldn’t be condoning this. It seems like cannibalism. You’ve got wings after all.” Dabi said, bringing the nuggets over.
“Those are different! I'm not actually a bird, my wings aren’t real. You should know this, Mr. has a ton of tattoos.” Keigo scowled, reaching for the plate.
“Oh, you want some? I had no idea.” Dabi teased, pulling the plate just out of Keigo’s reach.
Keigo pouted. “You’re so mean.”
Dabi laughed and sat next to Keigo on the couch, still keeping the chicken nuggets out of Keigo’s reach. “I am being so nice to you today. I offered my apartment and my couch to you and then you made me make chicken nuggets for you. That is anything but mean.” Dabi smirked, making Keigo huff. “If you really want these, I guess you’ll have to come get ‘em. Otherwise, I’ll eat them. I haven’t had nuggets in-” He was cut off by Keigo lunging at him, going after the nuggets.
Dabi pulled them farther away, outstretching his arm above his head so Keigo couldn’t reach. Keigo still tried reaching for them anyway and froze when he realized that he had climbed into Dabi’s lap, one hand on the headrest by Dabi’s head and the other reaching from the plate, each of his legs on either side of Dabi’s hips. Gold eyes locked with blue and they stared at each other for a minute. “Sorry.” Keigo whispered. He watched Dabi swallow and he felt the atmosphere shift, the nuggets forgotten.
Dabi chuckled, “Didn’t know you had it in you, birdie.” Any words that Keigo would have said got stuck in his throat. He was caught up in how Dabi’s eyes seemed to almost glow in the dim lighting and how the angle made his jaw look so soft and so, so kissable . Maybe it was just the alcohol talking but Dabi looked almost ethereal despite the quiet light of the apartment, the moonlight filtering in through the window and the flickering yellow light from the kitchen.
“There’s a lot about me that you probably don’t know.” Keigo managed to say and surprised himself at the evenness in his voice.
“Oh? Care to share?” Dabi smirked, a glint in his eyes that made Keigo desperately want to see more. It was a kind of fire that lit up his features and made his eyes glow, made Keigo’s stomach do flips and made him hungry for more. Made him hungry for Dabi.
Keigo leaned in slowly and put his other hand down against the headrest, his hands now on either side of Dabi’s head. Their faces were mere inches apart, Dabi’s warm breath on his face. Keigo’s heart was racing and his breathing short, but he didn’t care to notice. He leaned in a little closer and whispered, “Stop me.”
Dabi’s smirk was back but it was smaller, quieter, more of a genuine smile. In the same hushed tone, he said, “Now why would I do that?” Instead of doing as Keigo said, he closed the gap between them, meeting Keigo’s lips in the middle.
The feeling of Dabi’s lips against his own was enough to make Keigo’s mind go blank, only a vague sense of want, want, want . He pushed Dabi farther into the couch with a hand on his chest.
Keigo felt Dabi’s hands find their way towards his hips, the plate of chicken nuggets set down long ago and now growing cold, forgotten.
Keigo pulled away to take a breath, though he didn’t go far. “I’ve been waiting to do that since I met you.” Keigo said quietly, his eyes half lidded and heavy, which earned him a low chuckle from Dabi. Keigo quickly dove in again for another kiss, hungry for more.
Want, want, want. Keigo wanted more . He tugged lightly at Dabi’s jacket, wanting the piece of clothing, along with others, gone. Keigo wanted to kiss Dabi deeper, to hold him closer, to explore him further, to taste him, to feel him. Dabi had reduced Keigo to a puddle of want like putty in his hands.
He was so caught up in his wanting that he didn’t notice Dabi starting to pull away until his lips were alone again, a sensation Keigo was quickly coming to dislike. Keigo sat up, blinking at Dabi in confusion.
“You’re drunk, I’m drunk, we can’t do this now.” Dabi said, all of the teasing that had been there earlier suddenly gone.
Keigo gave him a look, part confusion, part pleading. “But-”
“No. I don’t want to take advantage of you, or have you do something you’ll regret tomorrow.” Dabi said, looking Keigo in the eyes, the glint now gone, despite Keigo’s want to see it again.
Keigo pulled his hands back towards himself. “I wouldn’t regret it and you’re not taking advantage of me, I want this. Please.” The pleading had taken over Keigo’s expression.
“No. If you really want me that bad, you can have me any other night, okay? I’m yours if you want me. Just not tonight. I don’t want you doing something you’ll regret.” Dabi said, his features serious, all of the softness from before, gone.
Keigo nodded. “Okay.” He started to climb off Dabi when he was stopped.
“That doesn’t mean you have to sleep on this shitty couch if you don’t want to. My bed has room for two— just nothing but sleeping, okay?” Dabi let him go, Keigo moving so that he was sitting next to Dabi now, plate of nuggets on his lap.
He nodded, “Okay. Thank you.”
Dabi stood up, stealing a nugget as he went, “I’m going to go get ready for bed, put the plate in the sink when you’re done with those.” He ate the nugget and he was gone from the room, leaving Keigo alone.
The room was silent, save the quiet background noise of Dabi moving throughout his room. The silence was nice, especially in comparison to the loud party, filled with people he didn’t know or care to know.
The chicken nuggets were cold by now but that didn’t stop him from eating all of them, putting the plate in the sink when he was done, like Dabi asked.
It was then that Dabi decided to come back, dressed in a dark t-shirt and grey sweatpants. It was obvious he had taken a shower, his hair damp and not as fluffy as it usually was. Keigo smiled at the image, it was different from the Dabi he saw bi-weekly and he definitely preferred this Dabi. He looked less guarded, more domestic.
Dabi raised an eyebrow and tossed a pair of black sweats at Keigo’s head, who barely caught them. “Jeans aren’t exactly comfortable to sleep in.”
“Thanks.” Keigo paused and thought about it for a second. “For letting me stay here and stuff.” he said, cringing at how awkward he sounded.
Dabi chuckled, a sound Keigo was quickly becoming familiar with and found that he loved. “Sure. Wouldn’t want you ending up in a gutter somewhere.” He said, making Keigo grin.
“Aww, you care about my safety.” Keigo left the kitchen, flicking the lights off as he went, and followed Dabi into his room.
A few minutes later, the room was dark, both of them under a blanket, their backs facing each other, sleep quickly stealing over them.
The room was dark and the bed was warm when Keigo woke up, his thoughts still drowsy and his head pounding. He groaned and cuddled farther into the pillow he was tangled with and only realized it wasn’t a pillow when it moved.
Keigo stiffened and then remembered the events of the previous night and allowed himself to relax again, knowing he was safe and with someone he knew.
Dabi woke up a few seconds later, moving to sit up and then finding he couldn’t because Keigo was clinging to his waist. “Keigo? Oh.” Keigo cracked an eye open to look at Dabi. His hair was splayed out on his pillow perfectly, creating the illusion of a dark halo, his eyes were glassy with sleep but just as electric blue as they always are. It was the domesticity that made Keigo’s heart squeeze and realize that he didn’t mind waking up like this, with Dabi’s arms around him.
“Hey.” Keigo’s voice was hoarse with sleep and his headache spiked, making him groan again. “Do you have painkillers?”
Dabi chuckled and untangled them enough to reach for the Ibuprofen and water bottle on the nightstand. “I left these here last night. Knew you’d be regretting life in the morning.” He said as he handed the bottle and pill to Keigo, returning to how they were before.
He took them. “Thank you. I didn’t even drink that much, I dunno why my head is trying to kill me.” Keigo sat up to take the pill and emptied the water bottle. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.
Dabi watched him quietly, looking as if he was contemplating something. The look turned into a small smile when Keigo glanced over. “You smudged your eyeliner.”
Keigo sighed. “You let me sleep in my eyeliner?” He flopped back down onto the bed, making Dabi laugh.
“I’ve got some makeup wipes somewhere. You can steal one.” Dabi said, flipping the blanket away so that he could stand up and go to the bathroom. He came back with the makeup wipe and handed it to Keigo.
“Thanks. You’re being really nice lately. What’s up with that? Not that I’m complaining.” Keigo took the wipe.
Dabi chuckled and shrugged. “Dunno. Do you want me to stop being nice?”
“Oh no, definitely not. I like it when you’re nice.” Keigo moved to stand up but the blanket wrapped around his ankle and made him fall into a heap on the floor with the closest a human can get to a squawk, making Dabi laugh.
“Dude, you okay?” Laughter still in his eyes as he offered a hand to help Keigo up.
Keigo huffed and sat up. “Yeah.” He took Dabi’s hand and pulled himself up. “I should uhm, I should go home. And call Rumi. Shit, Rumi’s is going to kill me for not texting her last night.” Keigo glanced around, trying to find his phone, which was on the nightstand. He grabbed it and unlocked it, opening the messages app and was shocked to find that Rumi hadn’t texted him at all since before the party. “Scratch that, I’m going to kill Rumi. Have you heard from your sister? I think they left together.”
Dabi grabbed his own phone. “Uhh, yeah. She texted me last night. She stayed the night at your friend- Rumi?-’s place.”
Keigo huffed. “Alright, well, I’ll- I’ll see you later?”
Dabi nodded. “Yeah. Oh, actually, are you doing anything for spring break?” The question threw Keigo off, he hadn’t really thought about spring break. Most students went home to hang out with family, Keigo never did though. Keigo usually ended up staying, enjoying the quiet.
“No. I don’t think so. Unless Rumi is going to drag me somewhere.” Keigo said, grabbing his jeans and pocketing his phone.
“Oh. Well, my friends, the ones at the party last night, we’re going on a little road trip type thing. I didn’t have a say in this, if you were wondering, it was mostly Twice, Spinner and Toga. You can come too, if you want. We have room and I’m sure they wouldn’t mind you tagging along.” Dabi said in a tone that almost seemed nervous, something Keigo wasn’t used to seeing Dabi be, it made him smile.
“Yeah, that’d be nice. Beats staying here, alone.” Keigo said, turning back to Dabi, smile still present.
“Don’t you go home to family for breaks?” Dabi asked, watching Keigo carefully, as if he’d disappear if Dabi looked away, like Dabi wanted him to stay, but if he looked too hard, he’d disappear anyway.
“No, I never really had a family.” He shrugged. “My mother left after I was born and my father wasn’t the greatest parent. I mostly had to raise myself. I haven’t spoken to my father in years.”
Dabi’s only response was an, ”Oh. Sorry.”
Keigo smiled. “Hey, don’t worry about it.” He stepped closer. “It’s okay, really. Found family is more important anyway, right?” His smile was reassuring.
“Right. Have you found it yet though?” Dabi asked, also stepping closer until their chests were almost pressed together and Keigo had to look up slightly.
“I don’t know, I think I’m still looking.” His voice was hardly above a whisper now.
Dabi smiled, a small, genuine thing, “You’ll find them.” They were inches apart now, their chests now pressed together.
“I think, maybe I’ve found one. If he’ll have me.” Keigo said thoughtfully.
“I think he’s yours if you want him.” This moment was warm, it was comfortable and Keigo didn’t want it to go. He wanted to stay here, close to Dabi forever.
“Guess I’ll have to ask him. I’ll go do that.” He smirked and started to step away but Dabi caught him, his arms around Keigo’s waist and pulled him back, closer than before. Keigo met him halfway, wrapping his arms around Dabi's neck, wanting to be even closer.
The kiss was softer than the night before. It felt truer, more genuine. It didn’t have any of the heat, but that’s not to say it wasn’t warm. Keigo’s fingers slowly curled into Dabi’s hair, savouring the closeness.
This, this is what Keigo had been searching for.
They finally pulled away to breathe. “I’ll take that as a yes.” Keigo smiled, still enjoying the warmth of being held close.
Dabi chuckled. “Birdbrain.”
Keigo scoffed but smiled, regardless. “Rude. I probably should be going though. I’ll take the train back.”
Dabi nodded. “Okay. Stay safe.” He started to let go but Keigo pulled him in again for another short kiss.
“For the road.” Keigo pulled away and winked, a smirk lighting up his eyes. “See ya later, hot stuff.” And with that, he left.
The next day was Monday, meaning they had class together. Dabi brought him a coffee, like he usually did, and sat in the same place they always sat. “Hey.” He said as he set his bag down.
Keigo smiled at him. “Hey.” He took the coffee. “Thanks.” Dabi nodded and class started.
The week flew by quickly, packed with homework and exams before the break. Dabi and Keigo texted a little but they were both busy. By the time Friday came, he had been added to a group chat of Dabi’s friends to plan for the road trip. They all met up at Dabi’s apartment and they planned on taking the car Natsuo, Dabi’s brother who was also coming, was bringing.
They all sat in Dabi’s living room for a bit, only waiting on Natsuo, who promised he would be there soon. While they waited, they talked and Keigo got to know everyone better. Combining this with the stuff from the group chat, Keigo was actually starting to really like these guys.
Toga had a weird obsession with birds so when his tattoo was somehow brought up in conversation, she asked to see but Dabi quickly changed the subject. Spinner liked video games and promised to drag Keigo to his place for game night with the League. That’s what they called themselves, the League of Villains, despite none of them having any criminal record. Keigo just guessed it was because all of them were somewhat edgy social rejects. Shigaraki didn’t do much, he mostly just curled up in the corner of the couch, texting someone and occasionally playing video games on his phone.
When Natsuo finally showed up, they left the apartment and walked down to the car, Toga in the lead and Natsuo chatting everyone up, even getting Shigaraki to join the conversation. When they reached the car, Keigo had to laugh.
Dabi sighed. “Yeah, it’s a minivan.” Which just made Keigo laugh more.
“Hey, man. It fits us all. What’s wrong with the minivan?” Natsuo asked, seemingly genuinely endeared to the van.
“It’s both hideous and stupid.” Dabi said, looking utterly done.
“Yeah, no, I agree with Dabi.” Shigaraki commented, barely looking up from his phone.
Natsuo gasped in obviously fake, and overdramatic, offense. “That’s so mean! Himiko likes the van, right, Himiko?” To which Toga nodded aggressively.
“Don’t call her that.” Dabi said.
“Why not?” Natsuo asked and Toga pouted at Dabi.
“It encourages her. Don’t encourage her. And I’m your older brother, so you have to listen to me.” Dabi said, glancing at Toga.
Spinner pointed to Dabi. “No, he’s right. Older sibling rights.”
“Wah! That’s no fair! Screw you guys, I don’t care .” Twice commented from where he was standing behind Toga. Keigo found the man interesting and fun to be around. He often said things contradictory to each other, and it didn’t faze the rest of the group but it had taken Keigo some time to get used to.
Natsuo looked desperately at Keigo. “Help me, bro!”
Keigo chuckled and shrugged. ‘Can’t, sorry.”
“Just get in the van, let’s go. I’m sick of you guys already.” Shigaraki said, putting his phone away to look pointedly between Dabi and Natsuo.
Natsuo laughed. “Yeah, yeah, we love you too, Tomura. I call not it for driving first.”
They piled into the van, Toga, Twice and Spinner in the back, with Dabi driving and Keigo in the passenger's seat.
Dabi tried turning on music that Keigo was sure was MCR or some equally edgy band, but Keigo quickly changed it, for the sake of everyone’s sanity. They ended up listening to shitty pop songs relevant 20 years ago, Toga and Natsuo happily singing along and Shigaraki humming unconsciously ever once in a while, making Natsuo smile at him.
One thing that Keigo had come to notice was how close the two were. They didn’t openly share anything about their relationship, besides being friends, but Keigo had picked up on a few small things, how Natsuo seemed almost protective over Shigaraki, and how Shigaraki opened up more when Natsuo was around. Natsuo could get the quiet man to talk faster than anyone else in the group, despite Natsuo only starting to hang out with the group 5 or 6 months ago, according to Dabi.
Keigo wondered briefly if they were more than just friends. Somehow, his thoughts drifted back to Dabi. Were they more than just friends? He could hope so, seeing as they had each other's tongues down the other’s throat only a week ago. He should probably ask Dabi about that, were they boyfriends? Friends with benefits? Fuck buddies? Keigo glanced over and studied Dabi for a second.
Dabi seemingly noticed. “Take a picture, birdie, it’ll last longer.” He smirked.
“Maybe I will, I wouldn’t mind you filling up my camera.” Keigo winked at him with a smirk of his own.
“You are insufferable.” Dabi said, despite the smile still tugging at his lips.
“You know you love me.” Keigo said in the most cocky tone he could muster.
Natsuo fake gagged behind them. “Togaaaaaaaaaa, they’re flirting again.” He scrunched his nose. Dabi laughed.
“Deal with it, baby face. It’s not going to stop.” Dabi said, making Natsuo gasp.
“My face is not that of a baby! Just because you look old doesn’t mean I am a baby.” Natsuo shot back. Keigo almost couldn’t tell if this was an actual fight or if it was just friendly banter between brothers. He’d never had siblings so it was hard for him to tell.
Keigo overheard Shigaraki mumble something along the lines of,”It’s okay, I like your baby face.” to Natsuo, the words clearly meant for no one but Natsuo’s ears.
“Oh, now who’s being gross?” Dabi said, clearly having overheard Shigaraki as well.
“I will kill you, you edgy bitch.” Shigaraki threatened, his tone seeming to have some truth.
“That was not gross! Your shameless flirting with Keigo is what’s gross.” Natsuo said. Toga and Twice were having a quiet conversation in the back, seemingly unaware of what was going on in the rest of the car. Spinner had fallen asleep already.
“I don’t think it’s gross.” Keigo commented.
“Well, of course you don’t, you’re probably getting dick from him. Of course you don’t mind flirting.” Natsuo said, effectively turning Keigo red from embarrassment.
“For your information, he hasn’t gotten anything, yet.” Dabi said, his eyes still on the road.
Natsuo snorted. “Yet.”
Keigo choked and Shigaraki chuckled quietly. “Even if we had fucked, as my baby brother, that is none of your business.” Dabi said.
“I am not your baby brother, Sho’s the baby of the family! I’m the middle kid that does questionable things and gets away with it, like talking to you about fucking the cute bird boy in your class.” Natsuo said, staring at Dabi’s headrest.
“Awww, you think I’m cute?” Keigo gasped. “You talk about me to your family ?” Keigo’s tone was mostly teasing.
“You only just now realized he thinks you’re cute?” Natsuo raised an eyebrow and smirked. “And he doesn’t just talk about you, he goes on and on about you. He won’t shut up about how pretty you look when you take notes or that stupid rubber band thing you guys do.” Keigo glanced at Dabi, whose cheeks were slightly pink despite the murderous look on his face.
“Natsu, I love you, but I swear to god, if you don’t shut up, I’m going to drive us off a cliff.” Dabi’s voice had bite, despite there being no truth in it. “And I do plenty of questionable things, despite being the oldest.”
“Sure, but I get away with it. You don’t. Mom almost killed you when you got your first piercing. Stealing dad’s card to get it though, that was genius. He was pissed for weeks.” As Natsuo chuckled, Keigo found himself wanting to know more about their family. Dabi didn’t talk about them much, he only knew of his siblings and that his father wasn’t a good parent. Keigo knew nothing about his childhood.
Dabi smiled at the memory. “Sure, but you’d never do anything that questionable.”
“Alright, alright. Fair. Though, I did get drunk at the party.” Natsuo pointed out.
“And I blame Tomura for that. He’s the one that convinced you to get drunk.” Dabi said, shifting in his seat.
“Sure, but it’s not like you stopped me. You don’t care.” Natsuo pointed out, which Keigo guessed was true. Dabi didn’t really seem like the type of guy to care if his brother drank underage.
“Sure, but mom would be pissed and Fuyumi definitely was. It's a good thing Kei’s friend was there or else Fuyumi would have flipped a table.” Dabi chuckled.
Natsuo sighed. “Yeah, you’re probably right. Your friend was cool though, Keigo— what was her name?” He said, leaning forward in his seat.
“Rumi. We met in highschool, and we were on the track team together. She actually was the one to invite me to that party.” Keigo said, turning in his seat to look at Natsuo.
“Oh, really? I thought Dabi had invited you, since you were friends and he clung to you the whole time.’ Natsuo said.
“Yeah, Fuyumi invited Rumi and Rumi wanted me to meet Fuyumi and her brother, according to her, Fuyumi’s twin sounded like my type.” He grinned.
Natsuo laughed. “You got a thing for sassy emo assholes?”
“Fuck off.” Dabi said.
“Oh yeah, the first time I saw him, I think my heart skipped a beat.” Keigo said overdramatically, glancing at Dabi only to see slightly pink cheeks once again.
Natsuo was laughing again. “That’s funny because Touya always went after the pretty boys at school. When he talked to us about you that night, he was being totally embarrassing, going on about how you were, and I quote,’The prettiest guy he’s ever seen’.”
Keigo raised an eyebrow. “Touya?”
Natsuo’s eyes widened a fraction. “Dabi, shit, sorry bro.”
Dabi shrugged it’s fine. “I’m not as pissy about the name as I used to be.”
Keigo turned to Dabi with a slight smile. “Your name is Touya?”
“Yeah, he started going by Dabi in highschool as a way to piss off our father, guess it kinda stuck.” Natsuo chuckled. “I remember him telling everyone at school that he went by Dabi now and everyone laughed and called him edgy.”
“Why ‘Dabi’?” Keigo asked, his head tilted and his tone genuine interest.
Dabi shrugged. “I was edgy. I think I had a whole meaning behind it, something about ‘cremating my past failure of a self’ or some stupid shit. It just kinda stuck after that. I don’t love my birth name because it ties me to my father and I don’t want to be tied to him anymore, wanna be my own person, all that shit.”
Keigo nodded. “That makes sense. I went by ‘Hawks’ for a bit in highschool because of the tattoo.”
“You had your tattoo in highschool?” Natsuo asked.
“Yeah, I got it junior year. My dad didn’t give a shit, I actually stole his credit card to cover half of it.” He laughed. “I had to save up for months at my shitty minimum wage job.”
“We’re all in the shitty family boat?” Natsuo said, raising his eyebrows.
“Most of us are.” Shigaraki said. He was curled up in his seat, phone still out. “Toga’s parents kicked her out because she wasn’t ‘normal’. Natsu and Dabi had a shitty home life overall, my father was a piece of shit too. Twice didn’t really have a whole lot of family, Spinner never fit in and spent all of his time alone, despite coming from a big family. Welcome to the shitty family club, Keigo.”
Keigo blinked. He’d never heard Shigaraki talk so much, he seemed calm, but there was a hint of anger, towards the families of these people, not towards his friends. Keigo smiled. “Thanks, happy to be here.” To which Shigaraki rolled his eyes and Natsuo smiled at him.
“What about your mom?” The white haired boy asked.
Keigo shrugged. “Not much to tell. She left right after I was born, leaving me with my shitty father. So I pretty much raised myself.”
Natsuo gave him a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry man. That must suck, being alone like that.”
Keigo just smiled. “Nah, it’s okay. I’ll find my own family.”
Toga chose that moment to pipe up, Twice having fallen asleep too. “We can be your family, Keigo!” She grinned, her sharp canines poking out.
Keigo smiled at the girl, endeared by her enthusiasm. The topic moved to other things and Keigo didn’t join this time, thinking back on what Toga said. He liked these guys. They seemed like a family, a little dysfunctional, but a family nonetheless - teasing each other about partners, singing goofy songs and taking road trips during spring break. Keigo smiled to himself, Maybe he had found a family, if they’d have him. He didn’t want to intrude, and of course, he could always find others that would want him.
He glanced over at Dabi, watching him as he calmly tapped his fingers on the steering wheel along to the music, his features calm and soft. Dabi caught his eye for a split second and the world seemed to slow. The rest of the world melted away for a second, an overwhelming feeling of belonging filling his chest. It was a warm feeling and his chest was so full that tears threatened to spill. Dabi looked back to the road, and in a quiet voice, said, ”You know, we don’t mind. We’ve been a little lacking of new life, like something was missing. Maybe that’s you.”
Keigo looked down and smiled to himself. “You read my mind. I’ve never really belonged anywhere, I’ve always hoped I’d find somewhere I do.”
“Stick around, you might find that this is where you need to be.” Dabi said, his features lacking expression but looking strangely at peace.
“I was planning on it.” Keigo said.
“You two better not be flirting again.” Natsuo called, having noticed their quiet conversation.
Keigo chuckled. “And what if we were?”
“You two are disgusting.” Natsuo scrunched his nose and went back to his conversation with Shigaraki.
“You can’t say that waffles are better. That’s illegal.” Shigaraki said with a scowl.
“It is not! Besides, you drink your coffee like 90% sugar, who does that?” Natsuo said, seemingly more disgusted with Shigaraki’s taste in coffee than whatever flirting his brother may or may not have been participating in.
“Keigo does. Fucking caramel latte.” Dabi scrunched his nose.
Natsuo laughed. “How am I not surprised?”
“But I agree with Natsuo on the waffle thing. Waffles are better.” Keigo said, causing Dabi to look betrayed.
“How dare you, pancakes are clearly superior. Waffles are all hole-y and hard to eat.” Dabi said.
“No! At least they don’t soak up all the syrup and get all soggy.” The argument continued for a few minutes before Keigo watched a dark blue car pass with a sticker that said “Crepes are better than both, you idiots” which Keigo found mildly concerning because it fit with the conversation so well. Their license plate said ‘wt spgti’, what Keigo assumed to be ‘wet spaghetti’ with a few letters missing to have space on the plate.
Keigo pointed out the car and the van fell into silence before Shigaraki broke it. “No, they’re right. Crepes are better than both.” Which caused Natsuo to screech.
“What do you mean ??? ‘Crepes are better than both’??? WHAT?” Natsuo seemed shocked and outraged at the thought.
“Natsu! No screaming in the van, this has been a rule since Toga saw that bird.” Dabi said, as if he was scolding a child.
“I’m sorry, what?” Keigo asked, the confusion clear in his voice and on his face.
“Dabi, you know we don’t talk about the Bird Incident.” Shigaraki said. “That Bird™ got hardcore vibe checked. I was there. It was brutal. That incident will go down in history.”
Natsuo laughed. “I’m- I’m sorry?? A bird got Vibe Checked??”
“Not just a bird . No. The Bird™. Trademark symbol and all.” Shigaraki said, completely seriously.
Dabi groaned. “Believe me, you don’t want to know.” Which only succeeded in making both Keigo and Natsuo laugh. At this point it was more wheezing than actual laughter.
“Excuse you, but I think I do want to know.” Keigo said in between wheezes.
“No. You don’t. The events are too horrible to recall. I’ve blocked it out from memory.” Dabi said with a straight face. To Keigo it seemed less actually traumatizing and more like an inside joke made on a chaotic discord full of delusional insomniacs and crazy fanfic writers ( ;) ).
“You guys are so mean! They were a pretty bird. It’s not my fault they got vibe checked.” Toga pouted, having been quiet and pouting for the rest of the conversation.
“They deserved it.” Shigaraki said, looking back to his phone, clearly uninterested in the conversation now.
The conversation moved on and everyone started getting hungry for lunch. They stopped at some fast food joint and got food, Keigo ranting for five minutes straight about how good the chicken nuggets were.
When they were done with lunch, they all climbed back in the van, with Spinner driving, Twice in the passenger's seat, Keigo, Dabi and Shigraki in the back.
The moment Spinner started driving, Keigo was sure he was the worst driver he had ever seen. He didn’t get car sick, or even motion sick often, but Spinner’s driving was bad enough to make him a little nauseous. Keigo didn’t blame Dabi when he told Spinner to pull over and threw up as soon as he got out of the van.
Keigo stepped out behind Dabi. “You okay, hot stuff?”
Dabi let out a breath and stood up shakily. “I’m going to kill him.” The threat in Dabi’s voice was enough that even Shigaraki, peeking out of the van and looking a little sick himself, looked a little spooked.
Keigo glanced at Spinner, who had stepped out of the van as well, leaning against the van right next to the driver door. Spinner’s eyes were wide and he had a terrified smile. “I’m dead.”
“You sure as fuck are.” Dabi growled.
Spinner ran around to the other side of the van by Toga, shouting,” Save me, Toga, please save me.” over and over.
Toga laughed and pushed him back towards Dabi. “Good luck, I’m not saving you this time. You still owe me for last time.”
“Please, Toga, no! I’ll do anything! I’ll let you paint my nails!” Spinner pleaded, Dabi glaring at the man and walking towards him now that he’d recovered.
Keigo stood awkwardly to the side, not sure as to what was happening. Natsuo stepped out next to him. “This is going to be fun. I haven’t been hanging out with them for long, but whenever my brother gets that look, it's always a show. Unless you’re on the other end of the look. Poor Spinner.”
“What’s about to happen?” Keigo asked as he watched Dabi bolt towards Spinner, surprisingly fast for such a lanky guy.
“Just watch. I call ‘not it’ for taming Dabi!” Natsuo called to the rest of the group. “I vote Keigo goes, as he’s the noob here and Dabi is partial to him.”
“I second that.” Shigaraki mumbled.
Toga giggled. “Good luck, Kei!” Keigo glanced at Natsuo, worried and confused about what was happening.
“What did you just sign me up for?” Keigo asked the white haired boy who was grinning mischievously.
In the background, Spinner screeched as he tripped on a curb, quickly scrambling back up and running faster now that Dabi was gaining on him with a borderline maniacal grin.
“Just wait.” Natsuo said, watching the two with amusement.
They all watched as Dabi tackled Spinner to the ground, pinning him, Dabi cackling with laughter and Spinner screeching for someone to help.
Natsuo nudged Keigo. “You’re up.”
Keigo glanced at Natsuo, worried but started jogging towards Dabi and Spinner. By the time he got over there, Dabi had mostly backed off, still kneeling on the ground by Spinner. Keigo offered Spinner a hand, which he took to pull himself up.
When Spinner was up and sprinting back to the van, Keigo offered the same hand to Dabi to help him up. Dabi took it but didn’t pull himself up, instead pulling Keigo down so he landed in the grass on his back with a yelp, some parts surprise and some pain. Dabi laughed and leaned over him, breathless from chasing Spinner.
“What was that for??” Keigo asked, pouted slightly.
Dabi smirked. “Because I felt like it.” He said, playfulness lighting up his eyes.
Keigo huffed. “You’re mean.” Which made Dabi laugh again.
“You already knew this though. And you know you love it.” Dabi said, the cockiness seeping into his voice and expression.
Keigo chuckled. “I’m not so sure about that.” To which Dabi gasped, faking offense. Keigo smirked as Dabi leaned in a little more.
Keigo scrunched his nose and pushed Dabi away. “No, you just threw up. You need to eat a mint before you come anywhere near me.”
Dabi scoffed and stood up, offering a hand to Keigo, who took it and stood up, bringing them close enough for their chests to touch. Keigo tiptoed to kiss Dabi’s nose, who looked mildly startled. “What happened to not coming close to me?”
“That was an exception.” Keigo smirked and started back towards the van, Dabi following behind.
Shigaraki made a new rule for the trip: Spinner doesn’t drive. Which everyone was happy about, including Spinner.
They all got back in the van, Twice driving this time. When the conversation started up again, it was everyone but Shigaraki and Toga making fun of Keigo for his love of chicken, Toga defending him and Shigaraki just staying out of the conversation, having returned his attention back to his phone. While Twice was driving, he kept changing the air conditioning, claiming every five minutes that it was “Too hot.” Or “Too cold” and seemingly fighting with himself. It went on for at least 30 minutes before Toga took control of the air conditioning.
When the conversation fell silent, Toga blasted cheesy, stupid love songs popular in America and made them all sing, pouting when they didn’t.
Something Keigo had come to realize is that, in terms of family, Toga was like everyone’s little sister. She got away with pretty much everything and everyone seemed fine with letting her do whatever she felt like. They were like a bunch of weird siblings, constantly laughing and talking or bickering. Keigo decided that he liked it here, in this loud, chaotic van on a roadtrip with no purpose or specific destination.
When Dabi had first added Keigo to the group chat, he had asked why they did this, where they were going. The responses were all mostly the same, no one had anything better to do during break and there was no destination. As Natsuo had said,”It’s not about where , it’s about who, and what.” and then immediately being teased because it was so stupid and cliche, but he was right. Everyone agreed, they told Keigo that they never actually went anywhere, they just drove aimlessly for a day, doing stupid stuff and stopping at random places, turning around and making their way back to the school the next day, sometimes they drove for longer though, their trips having stretched for nearly a week, according to Toga.
It was something new, something that Keigo had never really heard of before. But he found that he enjoyed himself, laughing along with the rest of the group at stupid jokes, singing horrible American pop songs and flirting with Dabi, causing Natsuo to fake gag.
They stopped at a store for a little while to grab snacks and things, each of them breaking off and saying to meet back at the van, and not to take too long.
Keigo, Dabi, Natsuo and Shigaraki split off from the others, talking.
Natsuo pulled Keigo back a little, “Hey, you two go ahead, I want to talk to Keigo for a second.”
Dabi rolled his eyes and kept walking, Shigaraki following after a second of hesitation. When they were no longer in ear’s reach, Natsuo glanced at Keigo. “I wanted to thank you.”
“Thank me? For what?” Keigo furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.
“For hanging out with us and dating- are you guys technically dating?- my brother. You’re pretty cool.” Natsuo said, sticking his hands in his pockets.
“Oh. Well, sure. You guys are pretty cool too. And I don’t know if we’re technically dating, we haven’t talked about it. Why would you be thanking me for that anyway? I thought you hated our flirting.” Keigo said, still confused, just not as much.
“He’s never been great with making friends, we were all surprised when he made friends with Tomura in High School, especially since Tomura is my age, 3 years younger than my brother. He’s even worse at actual relationships. I’m proud of him for going for it— I’m not lying when he started talking about you after meeting you. That first weekend, we got him drunk and he wouldn’t shut up.” Natsuo chuckled. “He’s sweeter than he seems and you seem good for him. And yeah, I pretend to hate your flirting but I appreciate it. You guys met, what? Three months ago? And already, you make him pretty happy, that’s something he isn’t very often, especially not coming from our household. I like seeing him happy.”
Keigo nodded.”I like seeing him happy too.” They walked in silence for a second. “Why did you join his friend group?”
Natsuo chuckled. “I actually had a class with Tomura back in highschool when Touya made friends with him. I hadn’t noticed him before I saw them hanging out together. After that, Tomura and I talked a little but I didn’t officially start hanging out with everyone until recently, I wanted to see my brother more and he suggested I come hang out with all of them. It was kind of nice rekindling with Tomura, and seeing Dabi more often.” His thoughts seemed far away, like he was remembering something.
“So when did you and Shigaraki start dating?” Keigo asked casually.
“Huh? What? How did you-?” Natsuo stuttered, his cheeks pink.
“You guys aren’t exactly subtle. I’ve picked up on some things since hanging out with you guys. Call it killer instincts.” Keigo smiled.
“Oh.” He cleared his throat. “A few weeks ago. We’re trying to keep it quiet for now though, Tomura doesn’t like the attention it would bring.” Keigo nodded. “Anyway, I’m also here to tell you that if you break Touya’s heart, Tomura and I will personally hunt you down.” He said with a cheery smile, as if what he just said wasn’t a threat.
“Ah, this is a shovel talk. Would have been expecting that more from Fuyumi.” Keigo chuckled.
“Nah, Despite them being closer in age, Dabi and I are the closest of our siblings. Fuyumi is closer with mom than any of us and Shoto doesn’t really talk to us. He’s trying though.” Natsuo said. “Anyway, see you in a bit, I’m going to go catch up with Tomura.”
Keigo nodded and Natsuo jogged off. Keigo went and found Dabi.
“So what was that about?” Dabi asked, not looking up when Keigo approached.
“Your brother gave me the shovel talk.” Keigo sighed dramatically and leaned on Dabi, who was looking at drinks.
Dabi chuckled. “He’s been looking forward to that since I told him about you.”
Keigo smirked. “You've been planning on getting with me since we met? Wow, if I’d have known that, I would have gotten drunk with you sooner.”
“Shut up, dumbass.” Came the reply.
“Your dumbass.” Keigo said, and Dabi hesitated.
“Mine, huh?” He said, smiling a little to himself.
“Nah, wrong ‘your’, I meant ‘you are dumbass’.” Keigo said, clearly messing with him. “That’s okay, I can be your dumbass too.”
Dabi chuckled. “Deal. We can be dumbasses together.”
Keigo hummed. “Sounds romantic. I’m going to write that on your valentine’s day card.”
Dabi raised an eyebrow. “Valentine’s day isn't for another 11 months.”
“What? You planning on breaking up with me before then?” Keigo looked offended.
“Oh, I’d never dream of it. Just making sure you aren’t planning on leaving me before then.” Dabi said, finally choosing a drink and pulling it out off the shelf.
“Oh, definitely not. I like your friends too much to break up with you, I wouldn’t get to hang out with them anymore.” Keigo grinned.
“Ah, so you’re staying for the friends. Doesn’t make sense, but sure.” Dabi said, glancing at Keigo before starting down the aisle, making Keigo follow him.
“Hey, it’s better than staying just because of money, though I wouldn’t mind being a sugar baby.” Keigo looked thoughtful as he wrapped an arm around Dabi’s shoulders.
“Too bad, I don’t have any money. Father’s the one with the cash, remember?” Dabi said.
“Riiiiight. Maybe I’ll have to look into that.” Keigo said, pretending to consider it. Dabi’s face scrunched up in disgust.
“Please don’t. For all of our sanity.” Dabi said, making Keigo laugh.
“Okay, okay, I won’t fuck your dad for money.” Keigo said, snatching a package of chips as they passed.
“Good, that’d be disgusting.” Dabi said, his face still scrunched.
“You’re probably better at it anyway.” Keigo said, eyeing Dabi to see his reaction, which was just a tiny blush. “Hey, speaking of which, you wanna go makeout in the van before everyone else finishes getting snacks?” Keigo smirked as he watched Dabi gulp and his blush grow.
“I’d like that.” Dabi said, his voice surprisingly smooth despite looking slightly flustered.
Keigo’s smirk grew. They paid for their snacks and headed back to the van, fully intending to makeout for a bit.
Dabi opened the door to the van and tossed the bags on the floor before glancing into the backseat and immediately regretting it. “Oh, gross. Seriously? With my brother?”
Keigo glanced to the backseat to see Tomura sitting on Natsuo, having clearly been kissing before Dabi interrupted. Natsuo’s face was bright red and Tomura just looked grumpy to have been interrupted.
“Oh, like you weren’t about to do the same thing with Keigo had we not been here.” Tomura said, climbing off Natsuo.
“Sure, but dude, that’s my brother .” Dabi scowled.
Keigo laughed. “Oh, calm down.” and then, in a quieter voice that Natsuo and Shigaraki still overheard, “We can make out later, hot stuff.”
Natsuo frowned. “I take back what I said earlier, I do hate your flirting.” Keigo chuckled and climbed in, shutting the van door. They listened to music and talked for a bit before the rest of the group got back, each with snacks.
Once they were back on the road, Shigaraki driving now, the stereo blaring stupid pop songs via Toga’s request.
They had been driving for some time when Twice woke up from his nap suddenly, and pulled out a monopoly board without saying anything.
Everyone looked at him strangely and Toga said, ”Oh, Jin, not this again.”
“Again?” Keigo asked, he was learning a lot about these people.
Dabi sighed. “He brings board games most times, it usually doesn’t end well.” Shigaraki stopped at another fast food restaurant for dinner, Keigo getting more nuggets, and the rest of them making fun of him for it, yet again.
They set up the game in the grass by the parking lot and played for a while, Shigaraki taking an immediate lead.
Toga kept trying to steal pieces of the board, Dabi ended up in jail for half the game, Spinner didn’t seem to understand the game, and Twice kept arguing with himself. Shigaraki was winning so far and Keigo kept landing on Dabi’s spaces.
“No! I’m not going to pay money to a criminal. He’s been in jail for half the game! He probably set someone on fire or something, you arsonist. I’m not going to just give my hard-earned money to an arsonist!” Keigo said after landing on Dabi’s space for at least the twelfth time.
“I’m not actually a criminal! This is a game birdbrain. Besides, how do you know I wasn’t wrongly convicted?” Dabi gasped.”IT WAS YOU. You were the one setting people on fire! And then you blamed me so you could make this argument and get free parking on my land.” Dabi pointed at Keigo, glaring.
Shigaraki looked amused at their argument and Natsuo looked like he had a headache.”Guys, no one set anyone on fire, Dabi’s not a criminal, just pay him his damn money. It’s the rules, Keigo.” Natsu said, sighing and putting his head in his hands.
“He’s a criminal! I’m not going to pay him while he’s in jail !” Keigo said, looking like a distressed bird.
Dabi groaned.”Why did I invite you?”
“Because…” Keigo hesitated. ”Why did you invite me? I’ve only hung out with these guys once before this. Not that I’m complaining, you guys are great.”
Toga squealed,”Awwww, you’re pretty great too, Keigo!!”
“We appreciate ya! I couldn’t care less. ” Twice said.
Eventually the conversation wandered and they abandoned the game, everyone a little mad that Shigaraki was winning and Keigo still refusing to pay Dabi. They all climbed back into the van, planning on finding a hotel to stay at in the area.
After driving around for a bit, and some horrible navigation on Natsuo’s part, they found a small Hotel and got a room for the night, even with their money pooled, they were still just broke college kids that could only get a single room with two beds.
Dabi immediately called one of the beds, Shigaraki calling the other directly after. Toga called the couch, leaving Twice, Natsuo, Keigo and Spinner to figure themselves out on the floor.
The rest of the group walked ahead, chatting about something or another, leaving Keigo and Dabi trailing them, a few feet back, having their own quiet conversation.
“You don’t have to sleep on the floor if you don’t want to.” Dabi said, sounding almost nervous .
Keigo smirked. “You want me in bed that bad?” He said with a cocky glint in his eye.
Dabi scowled at him.”That's not what I meant and you know it. I try to be a nice person to you and shitty flirting is what I get.” Dabi rolled his eyes, though Keigo knew he was joking from his grin and the laughter lighting up his face.
“Aw, man, and here I was, actually hoping you did want me in bed. Guess I was wrong.” Keigo said, his smirk only growing.
“Maybe you’re not wrong.” Dabi glances at him, locking eyes for a second.
“Quit your terrible flirting!” Natsuo called from ahead. “You two aren’t fucking in the same room as the rest of us.”
“Oh sure, but the same goes for you and crusty over there.” Dabi shot back.
Toga’s eyes widened almost comically and she squealed. “I knew it!!! Jin, what’d I tell you about smelling love in the air?” She looked absolutely delighted and the turn in conversation.
“Can it, crazy.” Shigaraki growled at her, no threat in his words. It only made her smile grow more, showing off her sharp canines.
“Awwwww, Shiggy’s in looooove.” She sang and giggled.
“I will kill you in your sleep.” The words still held no threat; it seemed even Shigaraki thought of Toga as a younger sister.
Keigo found the exchange funny, Toga giggling and squealing something about “new love”, Shigaraki looking grumpier than ever, Natsuo looking a little concerned and Dabi looking very pleased with himself
They made their way to the room. It was small and looked like every other hotel Keigo had ever been to; shitty lighting, uncomfortable looking beds, and boring landscape paintings hung on tan colored walls.
Keigo immediately flopped onto the nearest bed. “Screw you guys, I’m going to sleep now.”
Dabi chuckled. “At least take your shoes off, birdbrain.” He laid down on his back next to Keigo.
They took turns getting ready for bed in the small bathroom connected to the room. Toga pulled out a small bunny plush and set up with a blanket on the couch, Twice laying down near the couch on the ground. Spinner curled up in the corner with the lightest blanket he could find and Natsuo all but collapsed in the space between the beds. Once the lights were out, Keigo could hear the others fall asleep rather quickly.
After a few minutes, Keigo heard Natsuo stand up and crawl into the bed Shigaraki had claimed. He felt as though he was intruding when he heard the quiet exchange between the two.
“Goodnight, Tomura.” Natsuo whispered when he had finally stopped moving, presumably having wrapped Shigaraki in his arms.
“Goodnight, Natsu. Love you.” Shigaraki said in a tone so quiet it was hard for Keigo to hear, and it was clearly meant for no one’s ears but Natsuo’s. Natsuo murmured something in reply but Keigo didn’t hear it. Keigo would let them have this moment to themselves.
Once the room had mostly fallen silent, Keigo shifted so his back was to Dabi and he was facing the other bed. A few more minutes later and Keigo felt the mattress dip. Dabi moving, scooting closer to Keigo. Keigo felt his breath stutter when he felt warm fingers find their way to his back, tracing his tattooed feathers.
Despite the dim lighting, Dabi could make out the dark ink of Keigo's wings, the bright reds muted by the darkness, but still stunning, just in a different way than when the sunlight hit his back.
In the daylight, the inked shimmered with hues of red and detailed feathers, seemingly bringing the wings to life. Now, in the quiet darkness of a hotel room in the middle of a city Dabi couldn’t name, the tattoo didn’t seem as alive, but it was still beautiful, shining in shades of red so dark they seemed almost purple and blue in the moonlit room.
Keigo shivered as the fingers traced down his lower back. The warm, trailing fingers started to lull Keigo into sleep, and with a small kiss on the back of his neck, he let the comfort of sleep pull him in. The last thought before he let sleep steal over him was:
Yes. This, this was where he was meant to be. This was his family, not by blood but realer than any family he’s had before. His found family.