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Dabi stills, blue flames dying out around him. The three feathers corded around his neck give a weak shudder and go limp, red dimming just slightly, barely enough to be noticeable. His eyes zero in on the face right in front of his - Hawk's face - as the pro-hero let a weak grunt slip loose from his parted lips.
The knife that had been meant for Dabi makes a horrible squelching noise as it's ripped out of the hero's limp body. The villain sidesteps in front of his winged companion and throws a hand out, not-so-gently nudging Hawks behind him, away from his line of attack.
Blue flames sputter to life and lash out at anything it can latch on to.
There is the awful sensation of too-hot air stinging at exposed skin, the sound of ash mutely hitting the dirty pavement and then... silence.
"Hot."
Dabi whirls around and freezes at the mere sight of the pro-hero before him. Hawks, all geared up in his hero costume with his iconic wind-swept hair; Hawks, with his brilliant bright red wings and arrogant grin to match; Hawks, with a gaping hole in his midsection, practically acting as a temporary fountain that just won't stop spewing out blood. He makes a non-committal noise - a sound halfway between a whine and a groan - and Dabi anticipates the exact moment when the hero falls onto his knees; is there to catch him and lay him against the ground gently.
The avian lets out another short grunt of pain, wings fumbling about as thick red liquid continues to seep steadily out of his wound, staining the concrete.
"You're really fucking stupid," Dabi bites out, frowning as he holds his hands against the wound against Hawks' side and presses down. Hawks' answering bitten-off scream would have been funny if he wasn't busy bleeding out in some dirty back alley in an unknown location. "Getting one-offed by some low-level villain who wasn't even good enough to get into the League."
Hawks huffed. "Thought I was faster than that... Guess I got distracted." He tries for a laugh and immediately throws that idea away, his face contorting into a grimace. The hero studies the blood pooling around him, hazy golden eyes flicking down onto the pavement. "I'm dying."
"You aren't." There's no way he can get patched up properly before he bleeds out.
The hero rolls his eyes, head still being cradled by Dabi, nestled in the villain's lap.
Dabi grits his teeth and his lips tug downwards in an ugly scowl, yanking harshly onto his staples and sending zaps of pain down his healthy skin. "The League still needs you for inside information, so you don't get to die, birdie."
"I'm..." The avian trails off, looking skyward and beyond Dabi, before snapping golden eyes back to the pyrokinetic's face, suddenly focussed once again. "I'm... I'm a double agent." Hawks stills, freezing up in Dabi's hold and expecting the hands pressing against his wound to cremate him on the spot, right there and then.
"I know."
That is... not the answer the hero anticipated. "Huh?" His breath hitched in a way that was decisively not because of his pain.
Dabi repeats himself once more, turquoise eyes finding honey-gold ones. "I know."
"But... we- you-"
"I know." The villain says once again, bringing one bloodied palm up to cup the hero's pale face, warming it up just enough. "You're not as good as you think, birdie. I saw through you the moment you requested to join the League... I just... I let personal feelings get in the way of work."
At his words, Hawks brightened up just a little, gold eyes twinkling with mischief that Dabi was used to seeing on the pro-hero. The latter grunted, pressing down harder on the wound to stem the blood flow with his one hand, the other still stroking Hawks' cheek, surprisingly tender for someone who chose villainy as a living. "Don't let it get to your head, Hawks."
"Keigo." A full-body cough jostles the hero, and his wings give a painful shudder. "Call me Keigo. Please, I don't want to leave with a name the Commission gave me."
"I told you, you're not dying."
Dabi's scowl turns into a confused frown as he spots Keigo's eyes glistening over with unshed tears, threatening to overflow. Oh Hell no. Dabi wasn't good at comforting others, much less deal with a crying and dying person he may or may not have gotten emotionally attached to. No, the villain wasn't meant to provide peace and support to others; that was... that was Touya's job.
Touya, who always gave Natsuo and Fuyumi his cookies for dessert when their sperm donor was being extra harsh on their mother. Touya, who got over his initial jealousy of Shouto and offered to help him dress his wounds whenever Endeavor took training too far. Touya, who perished in a tragic forest fire at his own hand. Touya, who still lived inside Dabi, caged away and almost forgotten in a tiny corner of the villain's heart.
"Hey," the pyrokinetic's voice takes on an unrecognisable softness. "Hey, hey, hey; don't cry." Touya hushes softly, his thumb coming up to swipe away at Keigo's tears. "Aren't you known for always smiling or something? Where's that goofy smile? Show me that award-winning smile, Keigo."
The pro-hero lips stretch into a wobbly grin, tears still trailing down his cheeks as a pathetic whimper is pried loose from his throat. Touya soothes him once again, bringing his head down to touch their foreheads together. "I know it hurts. I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
Silence lapses over them and Keigo's breathing starts to even out, and for a split second, pure panic surges through Touya, gripping him by the shoulders tightly and shaking him out. "Hey, Keigo." He calls. He hates that his voice breaks. "Remember you told me that you want to grow old and own a garden and yell at kids who steal your flowers and step all over your grass?"
The villain vividly recalls the hero telling him that - they'd been lying facing away from each other, legs still tangled with each other's underneath the sheets, too caught up in post-coital bliss to do anything about their close proximity. Keigo had blabbered it out by accident, his words still slurred together as he talked about the future. Dabi hadn't cared; Touya does.
Keigo lets out a soft snort, eyes rolling about their sockets before finally focusing on Touya's. "Yeah. It was good while it lasted, wasn't it?"
A lump forms in Touya's throat. Unable to speak, he settles for nodding, willing the urge to cry to go away - there will be another time and place for that.
"Touya," the fallen hero mumbles, as if he knows exactly what was going on in the villain's body as if he is aware that the villain was more Touya than Dabi. "Dying means getting away from the Commission. They won't be with me anymore." I won't be with you anymore, either. Keigo pushes on through the sudden flare of pain. "But... I'm scared."
Amber eyes blink rapidly to clear away tears that threatened to cloud his vision. For a moment, Touya understands how hard it must've been for Keigo to admit that; he knows how difficult it is to ask for help when you've been taught all your life to never show weakness. "Don't be scared." His voice comes out raspy and a little choked up. "I'm right here, Keigo. I'm here. You're not alone anymore."
A low trill escapes Keigo's chest.
"That's right, birdie." Touya hums, feeling his partner's pulse flit weakly against his hand. The pyrokinetic settles for stroking Keigo's face. "Just breathe and relax, Keigo. I promise you, everything's going to be okay."
"Say it again," the avian croaks out, red feathers fluttering once limply before falling onto the pavement, staining themselves a darker red. "My name. Please... say my name."
Touya hesitates, his hand still stroking his cheek, unintentionally smearing the pro-hero's blood all over his own face. "Keigo." He starts out slow, listening to the man's contented chirp before crooning softly against his ear, brushing his lips against a sweaty temple. This is a man whose name was robbed from him when he was barely old enough to tell the difference between right and wrong, between who were genuinely out to help him and who would hurt him in the long run. "Keigo, Keigo, Keigo."
A pained, almost grateful smile, split the hero's face. "Thank you."
They sit in silence for a while, Keigo's raspy pants for air slowly tapering off while Touya searches for his pulse, counting his heartbeat like some kind of glorified heart rate monitor.
"Hey, Dabi?"
Keigo's voice is quiet - too quiet - and the villain knows his time is almost up. "Yeah, pretty bird?"
"I miss Touya."
He hesitates. "He missed you too, Keigo." All those years spent in limbo between Dabi and Touya, and you were the only thing that kept me anchored, birdie.
The bird in question harrumphs almost triumphantly and Touya could picture Keigo puff out his chest and feathers exactly like how a bird would; the same way he did when they had been in the Commission together. "Good." Keigo gurgles out. "I love Touya. He's the best - he makes good pies. I like his cooking - I miss eating his soba noodles. Oh, I really crave fried chicken now."
The villain knows Keigo was only blabbering around, his brain-to-mouth filter apparently having gone to shit at the prospect of inevitable death. But his next words shake him to the very core, and he subtly stiffens his hold on the avian. "I love you, Dabi."
Keigo busts out his shit-eating grin - the one that always made Dabi threaten to slap his face just so he could wipe away that smug look - and his eyes flutter close, eyelids gatekeeping honey-amber eyes from the villain's sight. His breathing turns from shallow pants to non-existent, and Keigo stills in Dabi's hold.
Dabi doesn't get the chance to parrot Keigo's words back to him.