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Dabi has been terrible at events since, well, for a really long, long time.
When he was a year and three months old, he almost bit off a too touchy woman's hand out of annoyance of having so many people around him. He had grown a tantrum when he was seven and forcefully dragged to a cousin's wedding, almost made people fondly say that he was his father's son and that kinda mellowed his reactions but it didn't deter him from making an antagonistic history with events. He avoids them like the plague.
Ironically, it was at a biannual fair at the central comic market that he met Hawks.
His youngest sibling somehow had grown a habit for anime and while Dabi is a lot of things relevant to the sole proprietorship of being the general family disappointment, a bad brother is something that he's not. Besides, it's been a while since he could see Shouto smile like that with some real friends instead of people who wished to be close to him for his grades and whatnot.
Hawks, on the other hand, had cosplayed as a side character from a fantasy crime anime, got his red wings and all. He looks kinda cute though, Dabi had begrudgingly admitted to himself and had tried to walk seven times past the man to catch his attention but in vain, for all his fierce bad boy candour, Dabi lacked social skills. It was either a punch to the jaw or hovering around the object of his attention like a hawk.
Yeah, he had issues but he didn't let them distract him too long because Hawks ended up being the one approaching him so it wasn't like his terrible social skills reduced his chances. Though really, if Dabi knew how much like a bird the guy really was, he might have just taken a U-turn out of the convention.
Every time he mentions it, the little shit merely shrugs and says that he's the blind one to have not seen it coming.
Anyhow, the point he would like to make clear is that events aren't his best friend, his mind turns into jelly at social interactions and the only other time it happens is when he has Hawks under him.
So when his dear bird of a boyfriend is in his arms, soaking in the afterglow of morning sex because Hawks is a resident doctor, his timings are ridiculous and it's rare that Dabi gets to hold him without the shorter blond screeching about the time, Dabi takes a glance at Hawks curled up against his chest. He thinks he's kinda fucked and that he might end up marrying this weirdo with the feather obsession.
Well, that's a new low, a new low that makes him smile too comfortably to be annoyed with it. Damn it, he should've listened to his father when he said love is a dog from Hell.
He sighs into the blond locks, and he almost falls asleep before he hears a conscious mumble from Hawks.
"...what?"
No reply.
"Hawks, where do we have to go?"
He mumbles one more time.
This little shit, Dabi growls in his head. Leave it to Hawks to forget informing him about the marriage they had to attend a few hours later. Apparently, he's required as a plus one because of course, that's an ideal way to spend a free Saturday that his boyfriend ever rarely gets, and Dabi mutters a lot under his breath but agrees to go anyway if it can put a smile on those lips. He's rewarded with a kiss on the cheek and grumbles 'as if that's enough,' that earns a cheeky grin from Hawks.
They are dressed in formal suits, it takes a little while longer because Dabi remembers how Hawks looks without them and it gives the thrill of unwrapping his New Year gifts.
"Touya— the taxi is here goddamnit," Hawks ducks out of his grasp and takes him out of their apartment before locking it. His collar isn't long enough to hide the little teeth mark and Dabi loves watching Hawks fuss over it like he could do something about it.
"I don't even know these people—"
"They are a lovely folk, it's a small wedding and they insist on bringing a plus one."
"Well, you always look like you're up for grabs or something," Dabi reasons with a smile as he moves in, "maybe that's why I should mark you up better—"
"Todoroki," Hawks warns, and maybe it's dark but he can, for sure, see a blush creep up his neck.
"You sound hot when you call me like that."
"I could be calling your siblings or your parents too, ya know." Hawks states.
"Thanks, that puts a damper on the collective mood." Dabi groans with a pout, he's never childish but Hawks brings out sides of him and before his boyfriend can reply the driver tells them they had reached the destination.
They get out of the car after paying and the venue is a little bit into a forest, there's a dancefloor for later. Pastel wisteria hangs down from the tree branches surrounding the wedding in a soft noon glow, carnations and white satin tied to the wooden chairs, it's a quaint, simple wedding for only the people near and dear and Dabi isn't sure how he feels about that. Small social gatherings call for conversations, in a big one, he could hide away until Hawks wants him or when they have to leave.
But Hawks had mentioned his youngest brother is here as well so Dabi thinks maybe passing time with annoying Shouto on how his list of disappointments barely compares to Dabi's own. Fuyumi keeps telling him that's not a thing to be proud of but nothing will ever stop him from thinking it's an achievement.
He realises something and tugs slightly on Hawks' sleeve.
"Yeah?"
"Whose getting married again?"
After giving him an unimpressed look, which is pretty rrich coming from a person who forgot they were invited to a wedding until the day of the ceremony, Hawks replies, "Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugou. Come on, we need to go find Midoriya-kun and meet him then meet Bakugou and then witness the wedding. That okay?"
Dabi almost smiles but stuffs it and nods, no need to act like a whump over this blond bird thing. He lets Hawks drag him to a small house nearby, and Dabi tries not to meet the eyes of other people, it isn't as tough of a task because Hawks navigates them swiftly through the crowd to a door.
"Hawks! I thought you were not showing up." The green-haired groom exclaimed, he's dressed in a silver suit and radiant, an odd choice of word but it's the best that describes the man. He has a slightly nervous and clumsy disposition but he supposes it's the wedding jitters. Though something tells him that Izuku is as energetic as a hopping bunny, taking a step back, he watches Hawks and Izuku interact and wonders if he's somehow stepped into a zoo.
"Oh, and this is Shouto's brother, isn't it?" He asks, finally looking over Hawks' shoulder. Izuku is, even though this is the first time meeting him, not taken aback by Dabi's burn scars; a touchy subject even with himself but Izuku manages to be perfectly respectful.
"Hello," Dabi says, and if anyone expects him to say anything more, he's showing them the finger. Suddenly, Hawks is being dragged by some old lady, and little warning bells go off in Dabi's head when left with a stranger but Izuku, turns out, is a much better conversationalist.
"Shouto-kun talks about you often, I've been wondering if I'd ever get to meet you in person," Izuku tells him and that catches him completely by surprise.
"He does?"
"Yes! He loves your art and shows them to all of us in the group chat. I adored the Vintage&Vines collection and I tried booking tickets for the gallery exhibition but they get filled so quick," the green-haired smiles at him softly and Dabit think he's so so going to talk about this to Shouto. "He looks up to you."
Terrible decision really, Dabi says in the vicinity of his mind, his brother of all people should have known better but the fuzzy feeling bubbling in his chest doesn't go away so he nods awkwardly to it. "Well, that's a surprise," he admits, and Izuku looks to the door once more.
"I presume you will be meeting Kacchan after this?"
"Who?" Dabi says, squinting his eyes.
"Um, Katsuki," Izuku says and after a second of recollection, Dabi nods.
"Can you please do me a favour if you don't mind?"
If you're cancelling the wedding, don't make me the messenger, Dabi is about to say because he's had an experience with that, how he got baited to give Toga that gift will always remain a testament to his stupidity. He still has this graze mark over his abdomen when Toga almost stabbed him with a paper cutting scissor. But before he can voice his intentions out, the groom rushes to the drawer and fishing out a single toffee.
"Can you please give this to him?" Izuku asks with a nervous smile and Dabi nods again, taking the toffee. "Before Hawks comes."
"Why?"
"I cannot trust your boyfriend with anything edible."
Dabi opens his mouth to argue but realises it's a fair point. Hawks does have a tendency to steal people's food at work because of the entire 'it's free real estate if you don't put a label on it,' mentality, he's got a notorious reputation for it at work though Dabi has never been at the receiving end. He takes it before Hawks' return and is dragged to another room on the opposite side of the house, this room is a lot bigger and the blond is still getting ready, fixing the cufflinks of his pastel gold suit as he spots Hawks from the mirror.
"Sharpie." He acknowledges and Hawks beside Dabi bristles.
"For the last time, it's called eyeliner, boy," Hawks replies before Katsuki turns around to take a look at Dabi, his eyes narrow as if Dabi is an intruder and since Dabi is a child and knows no better, he narrows them back in challenge. He's been told he's petty but if they thought he was going to let a blond pomeranian beat him at a staring game, they've got another thing coming.
Hawks, remaining oblivious, introduces his boyfriend and when recognition floods Katsuki's gaze, they lighten in weight only slightly. He's got pretty eyes, Dabi thinks appreciatively, it's another thing they look like murder personified in colour but that's just the artist in him talking. He steps forward before offering the chocolate, "the groom asked me to give you this."
When Katsuki takes it, Dabi is a little unprepared for how fast his eyes go soft.
It's kinda absurd, the twenty-something years old man looks at the chocolate like it's an untouched piece of the galaxy and Dabi is pretty sure that's the case only because of the green-haired man. He makes it a point to give Natsuo a free leeway to punch him if he ever looks like that but then the shitty brother that Natsuo undeniably is might just take that as a ticket to sock him whenever possible. Besides, now with Hawks, he's not sure he wants to take that risk.
In a second, the blond is back to his stone sober, cold murder look which is exactly when Shouto and another red-haired man walk in, they are dressed nicely enough. The red-head clasp a hand on Katsuki's shoulder and Shouto takes a few seconds to realise why or how Dabi is here. He's a little dumb that way, Dabi thinks, must have got it from his father.
"Half n half, is it time yet?" Katsuki asks and his brother shakes his head.
And then, something really weird happens, even by Dabi's standard and mind it, he had been Toga and Twice's roommate for a solid two terms. The room goes eerily silent as if they're trying to fill in with words and it's not really that which grabs his attention, it's the way his brother and boyfriend stare at Katsuki and the red-haired male like they expect something to happen. Dabi may be called a number of things but he perceives well enough and the tension building up is a bit uncalled for.
Then again, he doesn't have the background history so maybe there might be a reason. Whatever hope he has of silently evaluating this goes down the drain the moment Hawks smiles, it's fake, Dabi can tell.
"We'll be waiting outside, then."
Shouto takes some invisible cue, and nods, "I had to talk to you about the wines."
For a fact, everyone in the room knows it's a bullshit reason but the way they scurry out of there makes him think otherwise. Hawks doesn't breathe until he's outside and Shouto looks away, watching the venue from a window nearby.
"Is something wrong?" Dabi asks because it doesn't concern him, he's just curious. Hawks gives a glimpse of that look when something is awkwardly painful to talk about, he's seen it in him when he had lost a patient's life, it kept him down for weeks and is something Dabi would never bring up.
"Kirishima," his brother says, "is the best man of Katsuki's side." Dabi blinks, and decides it's the redhead man inside, and well what about it?
"He is in love with Bakugou." Shouto says with a wince, "they were in a relationship in high school and halfway through university. Well, then they broke up due to differences, and final year of University is when Izuku joined, uh, that was a dealbreaker, Katsuki couldn't see anything beyond him and now, we're here. Everyone knows about it."
"The groom?"
"Izuku too."
Dabi blinks again, and muses, ouch.
It's been a while since he's seen the bare face of unrequited love and Dabi recalls the taste just as bitter. Shigaraki had been a wonderful muse but terrible for his mental health, some of his best pieces were made from the chapped lip bastard but his finest ones were a red feather drowning in a stormy ocean and a desolate shrine of a Godless entity. The old biddy from earlier who had taken Hawks away, comes again and before Dabi can prevent it, she takes the blond on the pretext of some cake and wine, and gifts to give away.
Dabi grins at his brother, "So," he says as Shouto warily eyes him.
"You brag about me to your friends?"
"......."
Shouto looks away, saying aloud that Iida had been calling out for him and slips away but Dabi lets him. They meet regularly on the weekends in their family home and he's definitely bringing this up again.
It takes Dabi a sizeable amount of time to realise that he's been left alone and he grows conscious at the unfamiliar part of the house. Had he climbed here? What? He had just left control of his brain for two minutes, how did his body manage to get him here?
Berating himself on how he had coped to get lost in the tiniest house he's ever seen, Dabi tries jamming in and out of corridors, he's thrown in for a loop when all of them look the same. Working up a temper to have a word with the person who built this house, he stops by a familiar room that has a door left ajar.
He hears voices and guesses he can ask someone to show the way out instead of texting Hawks.
"—Izuku."
"Oh, Ei, I didn't see you there." Izuku smiles, it seems like he considers him a friend. Dabi can't imagine being in that situation, being friends with someone who is in love with the person you're going to marry, it's unnecessary pain and makes him feel guilty which is shitty because the feelings and thoughts of other people are not his responsibility.
"Yeah," smiles the red-head, it has little pain, "I was hoping you'd accept this."
With warranted confusion, Izuku takes the long white box and untangles the red ribbon and mid-way Izuku realises it's a gift. "Ei, you didn't have to—"
"Come on, it's your wedding and you're marrying my best friend, which probes me to ask," Kirishima grins in a teasing manner, "you sure you don't need a doctor visit?"
Izuku arched a brow, "Don't let Kacchan hear you say that, Ei."
"Go on." He prods, "open it."
Resigned, Izuku shakes his head, opening the box. It has a matinee silver chain, exquisite and sleek in Izuku's hands and green eyes spiral into viridian waters, there's a softer warmth from gratitude and Dabi suspects, some level of culpability but it's gone the moment it comes. Dabi might be wrong but he feels Izuku seems determined to not let it affect the worth of their friendship, which is an honourable thing to do, Dabi would just drop the person like a sack of hot potatoes but he chalks that up to his territorial mind.
Also, it occurs to him that he's eavesdropping and this would look terrible to anyone who happened to be walking by.
"It was supposed to come in a pair but Katsuki doesn't look like the kind who'd wear it so I took only one."
"He's not the couple's chain kind," Izuku chuckles in agreement though he wouldn't be too surprised if Katsuki would as long as the other half belonged to Izuku. "Thank you, Eijiro," he says, taking the chain and wounding it around his neck, he is rendered helpless with trying to clasp two ends of it and is surprised when Eijiro is behind him instead.
"Let me?"
"Ah, yes," Izuku says, and Dabi is about to knock on the wood to make his presence known before he catches the look on Kirishima's face. At first glance, he thinks he's misread the situation so he pauses to take a deeper look, it's too soft, like a rose petal falling. Kirishima lets his hand linger on Izuku's nape for far longer after he's finished tucking the silver chain past the collar and before Dabi knows it, he's knocking on the door.
Their gazes snap to him and Dabi pretends to have not been standing there for quite some time.
"Uh, I am slightly lost." He confesses, and Izuku grins before he looks back, "you done, Ei? If so, can you take Todoroki-san to the venue?"
"Yes, I am. Good luck," Kirishima waves and leads Dabi away, closing the door.
Dabi doesn't try making a conversation, Kirishima seems like a loud man but somehow keeps quiet. He takes this time to convince himself that it is a hoax, that it's definitely his imagination and maybe, he needs to take up that therapy that his boyfriend keeps yapping about. It's only then that something slips out of Kirishima's pocket, and Dabi because he's raging in his mind and has left the control of his mind bends down to pick it up only to see a very similar chain.
For a very tiny moment, Dabi panics.
Don't react, don't react, don't react, he keeps telling himself and offers it back to Kirishima, the red-head thanks him profusely. Right when they pass Katsuki's room, the blond opens the door, almost pushing it at Dabi's face at an unholy pace before he stops reflexively.
"There you are, Shitty hair." He growls and Kirishima turns to Dabi, pointing him in the direction of the stairs down. "The way out should be to your left."
Nonchalantly, or with at least a darn good impression of it, Dabi thanks him and walks past in the knowledge that drenches him now. Stupid, all of them are stupid, he reflects, he doesn't need to turn to know that Kirishima won't give that chain to Katsuki, that he'll pretend he had bought only one for the rest of his life because it isn't Katsuki he's in love with.
It never fucking was.
"You look like you've sucked on a lemon," Hawks says to him and stiffens when Dabi pulls him into a quick hug. The blond squirms looking around but Dabi doesn't let go and he eventually slackens in his grip before a quiet voice breaks through.
"Love, is everything okay? Do you wanna go home? Is it a bit too much?"
He only squeezes tighter until Hawks is all he can smell, he hopes he drowns in it and when he surfaces, he sees gold, blinding and bright, and of course, sharp with worry.
"Keigo Takami, I am going to marry you," he says seriously before continuing, "at some point."
A nerve pops in the side of his temple and Dabi wraps an arm around him but it doesn't stop the shorter male from swatting him across his arm, they settle down on the chairs near the aisle on the second row. Soon enough, the piano music begins when both Izuku and Katsuki start walking from opposite sides, they are being led by their parents and on the sides of the little altar is Kirishima and a brown-haired muffin girl that Dabi doesn't know.
They reach it together, Izuku takes Katsuki's hand before turning to the minister. The ceremony begins and Izuku seems to be shivering but Katsuki grounds him, somehow by only making him look at him with a squeeze, those two seem utterly besotted with each other as if that is all there is to the world.
Dabi wishes he could keep a secret and he certainly could, but one look at Kirishima and his stomach is in knots. Maybe it's that thing those teenagers keep harping about, some fancy word for it, compassion? Empathy? Empathy.
They finish exchanging their vows, leaving Izuku breathless and Katsuki is so much softer to look at when it is Izuku he's looking at then, they are pronounced as husbands until death do them apart. For what it's worth, they seem the kind to fight even that if it to comes to belonging to one another and Dabi finally can't take it.
He squeezes Hawks hand as Katsuki pulls Izuku into a searing kiss, their first as husbands.
"Hmm," his boyfriend smiles, leaning closer to Dabi and so does he, "Kirishima isn't in love with Katsuki," he whispers without a pause, "it's the other groom."
Dabi has to give credit for how his boyfriend managed to keep his calm and smile perfectly untouched but he opens his mouth about to blatantly refute the claim before shutting it just as quick and his eyes widen. Something must have made sense or maybe everything might have made sense, a misplaced glance, a long lingering touch, Dabi doesn't have a knack of a clue but Kirishima must have done something because Hawks falls eerily silent.
Eventually, they look up to Katsuki and Izuku parting, their foreheads still touching. "Damn you, Kacchan," Izuku grins, moving first as he touches the blond's cheek, his thumb brushing his skin before declaring quietly.
"I love you, Katsuki Bakugou."
"As you damn right should, Deku," Katsuki says, it sounds entitled and Dabi kind of wants to punch his face but he knows the same face shows adoration as he tenderly plays with a curl.
"You're mine now, Izuku Midoriya."
Izuku chuckles to something along the lines of 'so you do know my name,' before entwining their ring-adorned hands, and Katsuki rolls his eyes, "don't go gettin' used to it, husband."
Fuck it, he can't even feel bad for them, Dabi resigns himself to just repressing everything he feels and chucks it all out in the favour of looking at Hawks who seems tense but is still quite the picture to the eye, an antidote for all the blurs he feels. They are seated for food and it's when Dabi is halfway swallowing his wine that Hawks sits next to him and the first thing he says is, "How did you know?"
Dabi explains and they make sure to keep it quiet which though makes them look entirely suspicious but he supposes the discussion warrants it.
"Oh my God," he hisses, "I thought the entire thing of Valentine's day was a joke. Fuck, that's what everyone thought and that time and that road trip—" Hawks stops, trying to shake himself from the obvious pain that comes when one has been far too much of an idiot.
"Do you think Bakugou knows?"
Dabi looks at Katsuki who has a brow raised at whatever it is Izuku is explaining to him, some factual theory in rocket science.
"I don't know, are you going to tell him or something?"
"I don't think Eijiro-kun would want that and we're kinda intruding on his business."
"It's a toss up," Dabi shrugs, and before he can ask what the Valentine or the road trip thing meant, they are joined by Kirishima and Shouto because the seats on their table are free. Dabi smiles at his brother who still pointedly avoids him, and Hawks clears his throat.
"So, Kiri, how's the job at the shelter?"
"I'm taking a few months off," the redhead says. "take a vacation or something."
"You're into adventure sports, right?" Hawks recalls and engages him in a rather enriching conversation. Shouto nods before adding, "You should go down to Okinawa for surfing."
Dabi audibly groans, "don't push him into something like that without even warning the guy first." Hawks and Kirishima stare at them with question and Dabi shrugs, looking at Shouto, "you're sending him to that unicorn girl aren't you?"
"Who?" Shouto asks, slightly confused, "oh, Ashido-san?"
"Yeah, her, fucking crazy witch."
"Just because you can't have fun, doesn't mean to pull others back from it, Aniki," Shouto replies drily. "Besides, parachute gliding was fun."
"She dropped me into the ocean."
"It was a mistake. And honestly, I'd drop you into the ocean too," the youngest of the Todoroki's avers, earning a death glare from Dabi before turning to Kirishima, "you should meet Ashido-san if you're going to Okinawa, she's a surfer and a pretty fun person."
Kirishima hums, the suggestion probably slips some random part of his head. Dabi tunes himself out and the wedding mellows down to a sweeter, richer taste, in an alcove of green and white petals as the first dance is led. Katsuki takes Izuku who warns that he may step on his feet but Katsuki doesn't listen, and Izuku doesn't step on his feet.
"Care for a dance?"
Hawks tilts his head with a light, mischievous grin, "I thought you'd never ask." Dabi takes him gently, he's only a little thankful for the western and eastern etiquette classes his parents made him take, he hated the dancing, but at least he isn't a stranger enough to make a fool out of himself. He twirls Hawks in his arms, grinning at the edge it served when he dips him and how the blond trusted him completely.
It turns to a slower pattern, weaves a quieter moment and a promised intimacy. He hears Keigo breathe into his cologne and curl his head against his chest, it sends a wave of butterflies down his spine and he tried his damndest to not grin like an idiot. His gaze travels over the few couples dancing, Katsuki and Izuku in a similar spot, the latter has his eyes closed and snuggled against Katsuki's neck.
For a moment, Katsuki's eyes waver in concern and it strays to Kirishima's direction, persists, clutches and lets go all the same. He probably does have an inkling, Dabi feels, and he also thinks it might be a weathering storm in their lives but perhaps, not to that extreme, Katsuki and Izuku seem like fierce people with everything they touch. While that includes each other, he thinks they might also be protective of their friendships so perhaps the damage wouldn't outlast.
He notices a change in Katsuki, his eyes go dark, he holds his husband closer and firmer with his hand turning into something awfully similar to a claw. Dabi chuckles at the territorial display and Hawks glances up with squinted, dazed eyes.
"Go back, little bird."
Hawks does, plopping his head back and Dabi sighs as they close over to the end of the day. He couldn't wait to get out of here and their suits and back in their bed, maybe they'll order pizza and that red velvet mochi brownie that his boyfriend adores.
The wedding was quite the event and a constant reminder of why Dabi lived inside his house like Count Dracula as his boyfriend lovingly puts it, though that's a statement he's willing to debate; Dabi's sure Count Dracula was more social.
As for the people he met, Dabi isn't still quite sure how he feels or if he even has a right to feel it. But that's the thing about feelings, whether or not you have a right to it doesn't quite matter in the eye of your heart.
After all, between greed and grapes, would one blame the fox for wanting what it could never have?
Dabi smiles, well, that might just be a new idea for his next piece of art.