Work Text:
Keigo was fucking pissed .
It was uncommon for a person that radiated confidence and lack of taking pretty much anything seriously to be furious, but the chances are never zero.
And when Keigo was pissed, many made sure to stir clear away from his path. His furrowing eyebrows and glaring golden irises could slaughter a family of serial murderers, had the phrase “if looks could kill” been true.
Unfortunately, there was no way of feeling that deep-rooted satisfaction of knowing he was intimidating, because he was stuck scrubbing the stinking scent of blood with mismatched gloves, a bottle of Windex, and a colorful Doraemon apron that did not match the expression on Keigo’s face.
“Babe, I said I’m sorry－”
“Sorry?” Keigo scoffed, resisting the urge to spray Windex on his Dabi’s face. “ Five people, killed in cold blood. Really? That stock in the fridge wasn’t enough? Did you know how difficult it was to hide every single fucking body in a place where security is higher than my own agency? How I had to apologize to five different families and recite bullshit when you know I hate lying?”
“You weren’t home, you promised to be at home by ten!”
“And you promised to stop drinking other people’s blood if I was willing to give up mine, but your act of desperation and whatever fuckery ,” he gestured widely to his boyfriend’s clothes, tainted with his victims’ blood, “this is is not something I wanted to be welcomed to after working my ass off.”
“Okay, my actions aren’t that excusable－”
“What the fuck, is that all you’ve got to say－ ?”
“But maybe reconsider yours before you regret them?”
That’s rich coming from some vampire absolutely devouring five humans in blind rage, Keigo thought, but Dabi was right to some extent. He flicked his pearl white teeth (though nowhere near as white as Dabi’s. Maybe it was a vampire thing). “Silver isn’t exactly your forte, is it?” he said instead, curling his lips into a bitter smile. “Which is why I’m getting it.”
Dabi was lucky he was standing five feet away, because Keigo would’ve punched him afterwards－ then again it was Keigo himself who scouted out silver accessories from his modeling studio and watched in smug satisfaction as he was the one that put Dabi speechless for once.
“Yeah, but you won’t be angry forever.” Dabi protested, sliding awkwardly from their table, his elegance wiped away with his pride.
Keigo let out a hum. “Maybe not. It’s my decision based on my emotions alone, so obviously it isn’t a hundred percent flawless.”
Dabi let out a groan. “Babe. C’mon. I’d obviously dig the tongue stud, but it’ll hurt like a bitch.”
“Why, that’s exactly why I’m doing it.” Keigo let his smile strain. He knew punching Dabi in the guts would hurt less for him than to have to resist kissing Keigo until he removed the stud.
Dabi grumbled. “No, I meant you. The healing will be insanely painful.”
Keigo paused in his tracks, but chose to ignore that sentence as he wiped the remains of crimson sprayed on their window. It was true; it was impossible to stay mad with such a handsome man forever, but Dabi’s seductiveness has gotten away with Keigo’s attempts to stand his ground far too many times. Keigo truly loved Dabi, but there were some rules that he should always respect in their household.
Perhaps that is why, to prove a point in a way that Dabi’s goldfish brain would forever remember, (“Is it true that Shakespeare hated Anne Hathaway?” “That was like, four centuries ago, we don’t have superhuman memory. Google that shit.”) He immediately booked a piercing appointment and requested especially for the stud to be silver.
But was he actually going to go through with it, just in spite? Kissing Dabi would be a pain in the ass.
“Just think about it. Please?” The desperation in Dabi’s tone was… unsettling. Keigo didn’t know if he was pushing a little too far.
But－ the anger didn’t die down just yet. It was simmering below Keigo’s skin, and he made sure to force it that way. Throwing a hissy fit would be the tame version of a bloodbath Dabi had caused. He let his fingers run through his credit card.
“I will.” Keigo murmured, throwing the cloth into the dishwasher. “You clean that.”
Dabi hummed in acknowledgement. “…What’s for dinner?” he tried.
Keigo turned his back to retreat to his bedroom, but really to hide his malicious smirk. “Italian.”
He could practically feel Dabi’s bulging eyes burn his back. “Babe, talk to me please －”
“New phone, who dis?” was all Keigo said back before slamming the bedroom door in his face.
Okay, maybe he really did go a little overboard.
During a tortuously slow dinner, Dabi threw his takeout in the trash and shifted nervously in his seat, and Keigo stared back down with curiosity while munching on garlic-topped pizza.
Despite the anger and spite that was still stirring beneath him, Dabi’s guilty and hopeless expression felt like a slap to his face. So maybe that was why he let Dabi escort him to a fun fair that hung every year without hesitation. Dabi never went to these carnivals, the complete opposite of Keigo, who treasured every memory of being able to enjoy these events. The sweaty skin that gleamed under the colorful neon lights on game booths while being crushed against thousands of people was worth the nostalgia.
“Dabiiii, look!” Keigo gestured for his boyfriend to come over, the silver accessories still glistening under the dim moonlight (he had taken some off, to Dabi’s mercy). “This plushie looks so cute!”
Dabi blinked behind his sunglasses, and Keigo restrained himself to plant a kiss on those lips.
“What, want me to get it for you?” Dabi asked, the unsettling look melting away to something amused.
“No, asshole, I’m getting it myself.”
Ignoring the protests that were directed behind him and a very colorful choice of words, Keigo slipped between waves of crowds to get a closer look of the said plushie. Honestly, it wasn’t as pretty up close. But the doll had beautifully bright flames decorated on its blouse, and Keigo would rather die than admit the flames reminded him of Dabi’s eyes, hence the reason why he was attempting to get it in the first place.
“Oi you little shit, what are you looking at?”
Keigo landed his eyes on a spiky blond－ what the fuck, the kid has red eyes, who has them?－ with his spine straightened. To look intimidating, he supposed. As if those red eyes weren’t scary enough.
But he was already in a sour mood, so instead of brushing it off, he stood taller instead of hunching his back. He was at least a few centimetres taller, thank you very much. “At a bitch, apparently.”
The blond looked taken aback, but grit his teeth. “You－”
“Kacchan!”
“Bakugo, please.”
Two boys came rushing to the seething blond－ one of them with unnaturally bright green hair and another whose hair was split neatly with red and white. Keigo felt a smile creep towards his lips.
“Shoto! Long time no see. W- o -w, you’ve grown a lot, how dare you be as tall as me?” Keigo pouted, staring back into the seemingly emotionless face, if it weren’t for the tiny smile. “How’s life?”
Shoto pondered for a moment. “Hectic ever since I started attending UA. I knew the school consisted of one of the most intelligent students in Japan, but I didn’t know they also allowed reckless and explosive students to attend. There’s always something going on. Plus, Class B－ well, one person at least－ seems to hate us for the reputation we gained.”
“Oh, you mean the USJ attack and some student’s kidnap?”
Shoto nodded. “There were press conferences, and it’s honestly a miracle that UA is still up and running. I’d exchange any reputation as well as the trauma I’ve gained in a heartbeat.”
Keigo let his frown show. “Just know that I’m only a call away, okay?”
Shoto nodded solemnly before turning to another approaching customer. The other two boys had fallen into awkward silence, and Keigo cleared his throat. “So, um, ball please?”
The green haired boy was startled and he nodded vigorously before throwing Keigo a plastic basketball. “Just aim it into one of these hoops! If you get three you get to pick whatever prize you like.”
Before Keigo began to aim at the hoops, though, he felt ridiculously long hands slide around his waist, and a breathy chuckle against his neck that sent shivers down his spine.
“Good luck, Hawks. ”
God, fuck this dangerously beautiful man. He made sure to go in a hall of mirrors after this.
When they arrived home, hand in hand, Keigo placed the doll on his shelf. It shone dimly in the night. He should probably switch on the lights now. Maybe take off the silver too. Dabi probably learnt his lesson, and Keigo knew that too much neglect can drive him into paranoia.
“Dabi, turn the lights on for me.”
When there was no response, Keigo unconsciously flailed both hands around to get a grasp of one of his furniture. His hands touched the light switch, and he flipped it on. He let out a small hiss at the sudden defeating light that blinded his eyes.
“Dabi, I－”
What Keigo expected was a pouting vampire leaning on the door, his tongue flicking between his teeth while he bared his fangs. However, he saw a bashful face with a hint of sadness. He saw ocean blue eyes blinking rapidly in response to the sudden light that filled the room.
When they were simply acquaintances (would roommates be a better description?) The emotion he showed other than raw anger for his unnamed father was cold emptiness. Now, though, to display such a vulnerability, with Keigo no less…
Only a monster would ignore such a sight.
Keigo removed his earrings, bracelets, and every last bit of object coated with silver. He placed them gently on the kitchen table and managed to cup two hands on Dabi’s pale cheeks. Dabi’s eyes went wide, and Keigo knew he would have felt his pulse racing when he pressed his chest against his boyfriend’s.
He smiled and placed a gentle kiss on both cheeks. Then another on the forehead. And finally connected their lips. Dabi’s kisses were addictive. Some were slow, tired and sloppy, some were heated, clashing teeth and possessive, some were with tears of sorrow and whispers of comfort. Keigo loved every single one of them.
“I take it,” Dabi nipped Keigo’s lips, “that you’ve forgiven me?”
“Only if you know how to properly drink blood with manners.” Keigo replied, grinning as his hands found their way to Dabi’s surprisingly soft hair. If he happened to find white strands hidden deep within waves of black, he didn’t comment on it.
“That also means no silver piercing… right?”
Keigo sensed the fear in his tone, and quickly replied with a shake of his head. Dabi visibly relaxed.
Dabi hummed. “But it’s honestly an instinct for creatures like us. Or maybe it’s just me, dunno. Not saying that we go all batshit crazy, but if someone just irritates me enough, I might kill.”
“Eh? What do you mean by ‘you dunno’? Didn’t you live with a whole family of vampires?” Keigo asked.
Dabi let out a bitter laugh. “Nah. Humans aren’t the only ones with politics. We vampires have laws to keep coexisting and blend in. But some more powerful clans get away with bigger mistakes, since they could just send some vampire hunters to,” he snapped his fingers, “seal their lips, if anyone tries to tattle. Not that it’s necessary, even the government fears them. Sometimes they buy their silence too. In exchange for protection and all that bullshit.”
Keigo brought them to the couch, and settled nicely in Dabi’s lap. Judging by how the mention of bribery made Dabi’s fists clench, Keigo thought of how much higher authorities could affect one’s life with one simple action out of desperation. He circled random patterns on Dabi’s palms with his thumbs, hand in hand, urging him to continue.
“My dad.” Dabi said, his eyes seething with hatred, “He－ that son of a bitch knew a vampire-human marriage was against the law, but of course he got away with it, he was a fucking powerful man after all.” The man withdrew a shaky breath. “He forced my mother into a marriage, and she was forced to become a vital part of his experiments. To be able to possess vampire-like abilities but have less of a drawback with human qualities. It－ it’s sick, who thinks of that?”
Who indeed, Keigo pondered.
“He got me. I was a vampire, but I had my mother’s fragile-ass body. Too fragile that I couldn’t withstand my vampire traits. But he didn’t even notice until I was diagnosed. He then decided to just－ ignore me, and tell me to play with my siblings, who were just plain humans by the time he realized, thinking he could just let me give up on his dreams. It－ it was his dream, but it was also mine. It was ours, but with different goals.
“That was when this stupid brat got born. Perfect combination, half human, half vampire. He labeled me and everyone else a failure and treated S－ the brat like royalty. And I just－ snapped.”
Dabi closed his eyes and heaved. Keigo let him bask in the silence and continue. “So yeah. I was the only vampire child in four. The one that was only fucking half was the most perfect. The only vampire connections I have right now are just ones that were already insane when I met them.”
Keigo let his head rest on Dabi’s chest. “I see,” he murmured.
The silence that followed was deeply unsettling, but Keigo didn’t know what to say. So of course he babbled, like an idiot.
“How about we watch a crappy movie? Or a musical movie. I know this one that’s only on HBO Max, I hope they didn’t change too much of the lyrics, I heard the piragua guy’s the musical writer and the main character in the off-Broadway producti－”
Dabi shut him up with a fierce kiss. When he draws back, he laughs at Keigo’s slightly flushed face.
“Anything’s fine, babe. Just don’t put on italian food documentaries.”
And as Keigo slips in a CD titled ‘Authentic Tastes of Sardinia & Sicily’, he thinks, Yeah, I could live with this.