Work Text:
By the time Hawks comes through the balcony door into his apartment the sun has long gone down. He drops papers from work unceremoniously on the table, slipping off his shoes in the same motion. The jacket gets tossed in the cost rack miraculously while his visor and headphones along with the rest of his sweaty work clothes get scattered in a trail on the floor leading to the bedroom.
He needed a shower, but as bone tired as he felt his immediate plan involved his bed first and foremost. He stepped in the dark room silently. Even so, the lump in bed shifted until Hawks could see the vague outline of someone rubbing their eyes with a yawn.
"Long day?" Dabi's voice was quite but still gravely from sleep.
"It's tomorrow at this point, hot stuff. You should go back to sleep," Hawks replied gently. He climbed into bed as he did and leaned over to meet Dabi's lips in a soft hello kiss.
Dabi smiled into his mouth before mumbling something grouchy under his breath.
Hawks hummed in quiet question.
"Lemme grab the lotion and I'll do your shoulders before sleep. You know how they get after days like this." He didn't wait to finish before crawling to the edge of the bed to get the lotion from the night stand.
Hawks did in fact know how they got. It wasn't but halfway through the day before it felt like the muscles along his shoulders were on fire. And with the long shift there weren't many points where it got much better.
The doctors said the chronic pain couldn't be cured with how often he used his wings for work, so the best he could do was daily treatment, stretches, and massage. Whenever he could fit it in his schedule of course.
Hawks rolled each shoulder as Dabi got ready, hearing and feeling a couple pops from both. He felt a gentle kiss against his shoulder before strong hands began to knead muscle.
Hawks moaned at the relief of taut, knotted muscles being massaged. Dabi had gotten better and better after countless nights of helping Hawks' aching muscles and at this point knew all the ways to undo all the worst knots.
Once he was done with the first pass, Hawks was already putty in the other man's hands. A gentle pat told Hawks to lie in his stomach. He did with a soft happy sigh, letting his full wingspan flop form with him.
He felt Dabi move so that he was straddling him. Soft circular motions asking his back rubbed in oil that smelled like mint and cleared his sinuses. Dabi strategically placed his weight in different places along his back to pop things until he was satisfied enough with his work to go back to making the muscles.
Hawks moaned the whole way through. Towards the end, Dabi massaged the excess oil on his hands into the muscles in Hawk's neck and behind his ears. He did a cursory pass of rubbing his thighs and ran both hands through each wing before kissing his shoulder again and rolling off.
Hawks mumbled something into the pillow that may have resembled a "thank you baby". His whole body was relaxed in total bliss.
Dabi crawled back into bed under one of Hawks' wings.
Hawks barely shifted his head, still with his eyes closed but he furrowed his brow. "Have you done your scar care tonight yet? I can get the stuff for it."
Dabi chuckled. "No, but we'll both be here in the morning. It can wait until then. You get some sleep, birdbrain."
Hawks mumbled a mhm and returned his face to it's previously buried position. It wasn't even a minute before Dabi heard soft snores. Not long after Dabi fell asleep as well, curled up under soft, warm wings.
The next morning was Saturday. Hawks still had work, but it wasn't until late afternoon so they both took the morning slow. Lazy kisses and warm cuddles led to both of them falling back asleep multiple times.
Dabi was still kissing a slow trail along Hawks neck as the hero stretched in bed. Hawks sat up before twisting around to cup Dabi's face in his hand and share a morning breath kiss. He smiled.
"You need to brush your teeth," Hawks said with a shit eating grin.
Dabi kicked him almost of the bed. "You say that like you weren't the one initiating, shit-breath."
"Every day your pet names get sweeter," Hawks said, standing up and properly stretching. He didn't have to look to know that Dabi was flipping him off. "Hey, after we brush teeth, how bout I put on some coffee and then I'll grab the stuff for Scare Care?"
He heard Dabi grumble something vaguely affirmative and the heavy thunk of him getting out of bed, which was good enough for Hawks. Scare Care was the affectionately named daily routine of caring for Dabi's scars. It involved three different kinds of salves, a moisturizer, and a medical grade pain killer cream.
Ever since Dabi had first trusted Hawks by showing him, he had been applying it for him. On days they both could take time together Hawks should do all of it, but some days where their schedules didn't work out he would just go over the harder to reach places. Either way, they tried their best to have the time together to do Scare Care and sometimes a massage.
Dabi had only just finished brushing his teeth when Hawks got back from starting the coffee.
Hawks grabbed at the top of Dabi's pajama pants, pulling him closer. He held his face not an inch away from Dabi's, but the other man didn't look impressed, going so far as to keep his arm crossed against his bare chest.
Hawks playfully pouted. "Is somebody mad I said they had the stinkiest morning breath of all time?"
"Hey!" Dabi grabbed Hawks up by the torso, lifting him off the ground to playfully rough house him. He slung the hero over his shoulder, ignoring laugh screaming, before walking out and dumping his partner unceremoniously on the couch.
Dabi didn't give him time to get up before he straddled him and bent down to bite at his neck. "You're making me regret getting minty fresh breath for you. I might just find some garlic to down."
Hawks squeeled and wriggled under him in protest, laughing. "Nooo - I'll take it back!"
Dabi sat up, still pinning the other man down. "If you don't say 'Dabi, I'm so sorry for my error I clearly know my breath is the grossest known to man and not yours' I'm going to tickle you."
"Dabi, I'm so sorry..." Hawks grinned. "That your very attractive and always good smelling boyfriend has to kiss your morning brea-"
True to his word, Dabi tickled his sides, impressively avoiding two erratic red wings flailing around him. Eventually Hawks wriggles out of his grip and flips them over so he's the one straddling Dabi. For a moment he leans in as if about to forgive the ruthless tickles and opt to kiss him instead. And then pins him down to tickle him right back.
It's several minutes of laughter and a few mostly empty threats of burnt feathers later that they both agree on a truce.
It's quite a few more minutes before they disentangle themselves from each other and steal just a couple more kisses as their heads move apart. Hawks climbs off the couch before giving Dabi a hand and they both walk back to the bathroom together.
Dabi sits down on the closed toilet and only realizes that Hawks must have turned on the radio when he's hiking along to it as he pulls out the things for Scare Care. He doesn't recognize it on the radio but the tune sounds familiar when Hawks hums it, so it must be one he sings around the house when he's doing menial tasks.
Dabi noticed it a long time ago and still finds it just as endearing as the first time. Whenever Hawks has to do a chore or a small task that doesn't take up a lot of mental energy, he mindlessly hums it sings or even sometimes chirps. Hawks' chirps are so rare because the hero commission tried to destroy any bird-like traits of his.
It breaks Dabi's heart, but he would never tell him. He just silently smiles to himself whenever a chirp scored through the apartment.
Hawks lifted Dabi's chin gently and placed a gentle kiss under each eye before getting started. He used a gentle and steady hand to apply the moisturizing lotion.
When Dabi was doing it alone it was a time consuming and by the end largely painful process. He would have to repeatedly stretch out the very damaged skin he was treating just to reach everywhere, and even then he often missed spots or even have up part way through the process some days.
With Hawks, it was still time consuming. But his skin didn't hurt unless it was a particularly bad day already, and every inch of it was always meticulously tended to.
Dabi could tell the difference, too. He was able to use less pain killers and kept his range of motion throughout most days. His skin didn't feel as tight and painful all the time anymore.
Hawks had finished his face and started on his arm when Dabi pulled him close and pressed a lovebite into the other man's neck.
"Isn't someone affectionate today?" Hawks laughed before going back to his arm.
"I haven't seen you much at all these past couple of weeks," Dabi said with a light sneer.
It's true. Hawks had been swamped with Commission work and Dabi hadn't exactly been free himself from work with the League. Most of their time together had been late at night, early morning, or odd stolen moments where they could run back to the apartment between meetings and patrols and training and fights.
Hawks smiled. "I've missed you too."
"Sap," Dabi said, lightly kicking Hawks in the shin.
Hawks returned the kick before smiling and resuming his humming.
By the time Hawks finished the coffee had gone cold, but neither minded reheated microwave coffee. So they sat down on the couch, feet touching as they drank their respective coffees.
"Do you ever worry about us? Like us in the future?" Hawks asked, crunching his toes in sight anxiety as he did.
"No," Dabi replied.
It was a lie, and they both knew it. They both had nightmares where they woke up in a cold sweat and immediately clung to the other. Neither one spoke about it, but they both knew that they were nightmares about the future. Their inevitable fears of losing search other realized in the quietest hours of sleep.
At some point they would go to war. The city as they knew it would crumble and along with it their little haven of an apartment. A hero and a villian could never last.
But neither wanted to talk about that right now. No need to ruin a good thing thinking about a bad one.
So Dabi leaned forward and shared a coffee flavored kiss with Hawks, and they both smiled against the others lips.