Archive of Our Own ^beta

Takami Keigo prided himself on officially being the fastest man in the country. After all, he didn't climb his way up to the Number Two spot just by sitting still, looking pretty, and batting his eyelashes. He'd like to think of himself as an effective hero, efficient in his work and crime-solving duties; others, like his friends, preferred to think of him as addicted to hero work, too transfixed on one thing, unable to stop once he got the ball rolling. 

Which was what brought him all the way down to Musutafu the moment he received intel that a criminal he'd been tracking for the better part of the year had been spotted in the area. 

He scrunched his nose as he stepped into the large building, wings held tightly to his back to prevent them from getting in anyone's way. It was a busy agency, after all. 

"Good afternoon! Hawks here, to ask Endeavor for a team up." 

"We don't do walk-ins."

Keigo looked up from his watch, finding himself face-to-face with the infamous receptionist of the Endeavor agency, notorious among some of the pros as a guy no one wanted to cross paths with. "Pardon?"

"You've got to make an appointment, Hawks." Unimpressed blue eyes stared the pro-hero down before flicking back down to the computer screen before his person. The receptionist - now dubbed Blue Eyes by Keigo - began typing away. "Endeavor's out most of the time, anyway - he won't usually be in this building unless there's a meeting requiring his physical presence." 

Hawks tried really hard not to bristle under the white-haired man's nonchalant behaviour. "Could you try contacting him for me, please? I've been chasing a criminal that's recently been spotted in the area. Please, it's urgent." 

A scoff, an eyeroll and a phone call later, Keigo was told to wait in meeting room five. 

"Thank you." 

Blue Eyes scoffed again, ever the moody no-nonsense man he was fabled to be. "Make an appointment next time, hero." 

Keigo grinned and gave the other man an affirmative thumbs-up, following one of Endeavor's sidekick down a corridor. For all the complaints the receptionist received for being "too aloof" and "unwelcoming", he was someone who got the job done fast and the hero respected that. 

It didn't hurt that Keigo found him absurdly attractive, either. 

~

Hawks was a fucking uncooperative piece of shit, that was one thing Touya had never been surer of in his entire life. Out of all the heroes he could've supervised, of course - of fucking course - it would end up being the oversized pigeon. 

He gritted his teeth, grinding them so hard that for a minute he'd feared that the enamel would break. From what little he could see from the bodycams attached to Hawks, Touya knew the mission was a bust. 

Touya clicked his tongue in annoyance, pressing on the device in his ear. "Hawks, you need to get out of there." 

Hawks' response came in almost immediately, his voice distorted by static. "God no, I've been chasing this son of a bitch for months, I'm not letting him escape one more time."

The man scowled, glaring into the computer screen as if Hawks could actually see him. He could simply pull out and forcibly make Hawks give up the high-speed chase throughout one of the few red light districts in Musutafu. Oh, how easy it would be for Touya to just call the mission off and have all other sidekicks return back to the agency for a regroup and mission debrief. Without the help of the sidekicks, Hawks' chances of successfully apprehending the villain would drop down to nearly impossible. 

But... It wasn't a common sight for Touya to see a hero so invested in their job, innocent in a sense that they weren't corrupted by fame or money. 

Hawks' voice came through his headset once again, clearly exhausted, and out of breath. "Please. I know you're considering calling it off but please. Just trust me on this, I know we can catch him." 

Touya's heart squeezed painfully. Fine. Fine, fine, fine. "Fucking piece of sh- fine. Take a left here to catch your breath, you sound like you're dying. I have eyes on target."

The man had no clue of the smitten smile Hawks had on his face at his words.

~

"Dumb bird."

Keigo squinted an eye open, head still groggy and throbbing. "Hello to you too." 

For a moment, the paired stared at each other, Keigo from his bed and his visitor by the doorway, not quite entering the hospital room. The rhythmic beeping of hospital machines almost lulled Keigo back to sleep and his eyes threatened to close. "You can come in, y'know? I don't bite." He raised a hand, the one that wasn't connected to the IV drip, and waved the man over lazily. 

There was the sound of shuffling and boots hitting the vinyl flooring. 

A shadow loomed over his bed and Keigo narrowed his eyes at his visitor's face, squinting through the haze of painkillers surging in his veins. "I know you didn't come to visit me, Blue Eyes. What brought you here?"

If the newcomer was surprised by Keigo's nickname for him, he hid it well. Instead, he merely lifted his hands in mock surrender, clutching a stack of papers in one of them. "Paperwork. He's your catch, therefore our agency has no need to fill in the paperwork for his arrest - however, seeing as you flew headfirst into a building during the arrest, I've helped you fill in most of the information, behind-the-scenes-wise; the rest is up to you."

Keigo could swoon there and then. Someone who actually did his paperwork for him. He might just cry. 

Before he could say anything, though, Blue Eyes cut him off once again. "And, uh, I wanted to thank you in person. Thanks for trusting me to be your wingman - I know a lot of pro-heroes would typically ask for someone else since I'm not... really... known for carrying conversations or working well with others. We just had a change of staff and we're all hands on deck right now, so it wasn't that I wanted to be your mission control guy... just... just to be clear." 

Was it just him or did the man's face seem to be a bit red? 

Keigo raised his eyebrows, though the action didn't go as subtly as planned, judging by the way Blue Eyes started waving his hands around. He began rubbing the back of his neck with one hand, stack of papers still clutched tightly. "Shit, I'm messing this up. Sorry, I'm not good at communicating with people. Uh, yeah, thank you for trusting me to give you suggestions and stuff. And... uh, thank you for believing that we could arrest him and for stopping me from making the call to end the mission."

"Oh. Don't worry about it, I wanted the catch as much as anyone els-"

"And! And... you're wrong." 

The pro-hero cocked his head at his visitor's words, mouth still hanging agape from trying to finish his sentence. "Sorry?"

Aquamarine eyes flitted around the room, looking anywhere but at Keigo. "You're wrong to say that I didn't come to visit you." He mumbled out, pink dusting his cheeks. "I wanted to pop by and give you the paperwork, sure, but I also wanted to see you. You hit your head pretty hard, and I just wanted to check in with you."

Oh. "Oh." 

"You seemed, uh, very dedicated to hero work. I respect that." 

Keigo felt a smug smile crawl up his face, despite his best efforts to keep it down. His right wing twitched involuntarily, feathers almost buzzing with a feeling akin to joy. "What's this? The aloof, scary receptionist complimenting me?"

"I'm taking back my words." Blue Eye's face burned red as he folded his arms across his chest. 

"Ah, ah! You can't!" Keigo was grinning now, so unbelievably happy from one goddamn compliment that his cheeks hurt from his smile and his lungs were burning for air from how hard he'd giggled. Giggled - exactly like one of those fangirls of his. "But," he paused, running his hand through his already-messy hair. "For all it's worth, I respect you too. A lot, actually. And I suppose I owe you my thanks too, for helping to set up the meeting in the first place."

The man scuffed his shoes and worried his bottom lip with his teeth, seemingly contemplating on something, before he extended his hand out. "It's been a pleasure working with you, Hawks." 

"You too...?" He trailed off, waiting for the receptionist-slash-mission-control to fill in his name. 

Warm hands enveloped even warmer hands in a firm handshake. 

"Todoroki. Todoroki Touya." 

Touya. Keigo would commit that name to memory. "Nice to meet you, Todoroki-san."

Several hours later, long after his visitor had left and long after Keigo was done filling in what little paperwork he had to do, the pro-hero lay awake in his bed, wings tucked uncomfortably to accommodate for his sleeping position. The blonde stared at the ceiling, pointer finger aimlessly tracing a non-existent constellation in the air before his eyes as he belatedly realised that he never gave Todoroki his civilian name - the one that the HSPC had indirectly stolen from him since childhood. 

He sighed a heavy breath. He'd tell him the next time they met.

~

Touya was tired. 

He sighed for the nth time against the rim of his wineglass, blinking away sleepy tears. Socialising was tiring, talking to people was tiring, smiling was exhausting. The night air billowing against his face did little to chase away his tiredness, humidity making sweat roll down his back, trapped between his skin and the tuxedo he'd been forced to adorn. 

His free hand sneakily snaked up towards his tie, aiming to loosen it. And just as he was about to, loud footsteps froze Touya in motion. 

"Todoroki-san!"

Oh. Him. He hasn't seen him in months. 

Touya spun around, leaning delicately against the railing of the balcony to maintain his balance, booze pumping in his system and creating a delightful buzz in his head at the motion. He tipped his head politely. "Hawks."

The avian shot him a devastatingly bright grin, confidently sliding up to the pyrokinetic and giving the latter's alcohol-addled brain barely enough time to appreciate how the hero looked like in a dapper blazer, ascot tied snugly around his neck. "I didn't think you were much of a gala person... standing in for Endeavor?" 

He hummed his confirmation, half-lidded eyes sneakily stealing glances of Hawks' side profile. Touya had been keeping track of Hawks' work ever since their mission together; the hero was... impressive, to say the least. His popularity had shot up and his arrest numbers were steadily climbing to figures more than worthy of the Number Two hero. 

Words vaguely reached his ears but made no sense to him in the midst of his recollections of Hawks' work life, and he paid them no mind, continuing to blink numbly at the hero. 

A hand found his shoulder and Touya visibly flinched, the wine in his glass sloshing around precariously. Hawks was staring up at him, concern making his eyebrows crease. 

Oh, he must've missed what Hawks had said.

"Are you okay?" The hero asked, his hand never leaving Touya's shoulder. "You look awfully tired." 

Something nice and warm bubbled in Touya's stomach, the feeling fizzing up to his chest. He hummed once more, subconsciously leaning into the touch. "Mm... tired." Touya's eyes shot down to meet Hawks', his stomach practically jolting when he realised his sudden stare had caused the hero to look away quickly. 

Touya's voice was unbelievably soft for someone as intoxicated as him. "You have really pretty eyes."

Hawks' face burned red, the tip of his ears turning a beautiful shade of pink. He croaked out, "I think you're drunk." 

"I'm honest when I'm drunk." He paused, then answered again. "But no, I'm not drunk. The wine just gave me a boost of confidence." 

The hero sipped lightly at his drink - what, orange soda? - in lieu of responding, and Touya found himself drawn to the action, his eyes tracking the movement of Hawks' lips. Soft. 

In a spur of confidence regular-Touya would never have possessed, the pyrokinetic turned around in one swift motion, unintentionally caging Hawks against the balcony railing, his wineglass left unattended on the tiny table by his side. Wide, amber eyes shot up to meet his as red wings flared out in shock, soft feathers tickling Touya's arms. "You're so pretty." His voice hinged on a barely-there whine. "It's unfair." 

Touya had thought it would be impossible for Hawks' face to turn even redder. 

His fingers played with the few feathers within his reach as his right hand reached up to stroke Hawks' cheek, aquamarine eyes cataloguing the way Hawks momentarily froze and relaxed at his touch, full-body shudders running through him. "I... you... uh..." The pro-hero stuttered out, words stuck in his throat as Touya cupped his face gently. 

He smiled, not unkindly. There was something thrilling about the fact that his administrations had reduced suave, confident, flirtatious Number Two Wing Hero Hawks to the flushing, short-circuiting mess before him. Touya's heartbeat kicked up a notch or two. 

"Can I kiss you?"

Hawks' response tumbled out along with his exhale. "Please." 

Touya tilted his head down and touched his lips to Hawks', slowly, hesitantly at first, before Hawks was surging up on his tiptoes and pushing back just as hard into Touya. The pyrokinetic felt his lips tilting up into the beginnings of a smile as Hawks' free hand snaked around his waist, pulling Touya flush against his own body. 

I could die right here and be happy. 

They parted, though both men remained close enough to be sharing the same air, mouths partially open as they breathed. Touya's tongue flicked up to lick his upper lip, watching as Hawks followed the movement with his eyes and grinning internally at the fact that yes, he was drinking orange soda. 

"Hawks-"

"Keigo." The hand around Touya's waist tightened. "My name, I mean." The hero stumbled over his words, cheeks flushing as amber eyes hesitantly glanced up. "Takami Keigo. But I'm not fond of my last name, so Keigo is fine. But really, if you want to call me Hawks, that's fine too. I won't be mad or anything, I just thought letting you know my civilian name would be nice since I know yours and stuff. Just... just go with whatever suits you, honestly I won't mind..." 

Gosh, he's a rambler when he's nervous. Touya's lips quirked up and he held a finger up to the avian's lips, promptly silencing him. It's cute. 

"I, uh..." Great, and now it was Touya's turn to crumble into a blushing, gay mess. "I wanted to tell you that I like you. A lot, actually. I swear I'm not drunk right now - all this is a hundred percent genuine. I like you, Keigo."  

The avian bit back a shy smile, though it failed quite spectacularly, prompting another wave of warmth and endearment to rush through Touya. "I like you too, Touya." He paused, eyes flicking uncertainly across Touya's face. "Can I call you that?"

Touya bent down to give Keigo another tiny peck on his lips, nodding in lieu of verbally replying, his throat closing up on their own accord. He hummed, kissing the corner of Keigo's mouth, and pressing impossibly closer to him until his cheek brushed against the avian's. "Just so you know," Touya whispered, his breath mildly tickling Keigo's ear and causing the hero to flinch away with a surprised squeak. "We just confessed to each other and had our first kiss at the balcony of a hero gala event." 

He pulled back to watch realisation sink into Keigo, tittering at the way his partner's mouth fell into an 'o' shape. Touya moved to pick up his wineglass, stealing a sip from it as the hand around his waist flexed and relaxed, keeping him anchored to its owner himself. 

Touya hummed non-committedly, sinking back into Keigo's embrace. "We could always meet up again at the end of the e-"

Keigo cut him off. "Wanna' go back to my place?"

At Touya's confused blinks, the hero continued, shrugging as his wings lightly brushed at his partner's lithe frame. "There's no privacy here and I'm tired," he pouted exaggeratedly, dragging out the last word so that it came out as more of a whine. "The HSPC will understand." 

The pyrokinetic snorted, dipping his head to bury his face into the crook of Keigo's neck. 

"So, since we're both oh-so-dreadfully tired, wanna' head home with me?" 

Touya smiled into Keigo's skin in response and felt rather than heard the avian's laughter, which only prompted him to grin wider, the action suddenly not as exhausting as it had been earlier. 

Being at the gala was tiring but smiling with Keigo was liberating. 

~

"Orange soda, again? I swear you have an addiction, and it is not healthy."

Touya flicked his eyes up to face Keigo's unamused look head-on, grinning around his straw. He shrugged, "Reminds me of our first kiss."

Keigo spluttered incoherently, cheeks turning a light pink as his wings fluttered. 

Cute. 

Aquamarine eyes darted to the figure beside his boyfriend, softening at the sight of half-red half-white hair. "'ello, Shou." 

Shouto quirked his lips up in response, sliding into the seat opposite Touya as the latter scooted further into the booth to make way for Keigo. "I ordered your usual orders, by the way." He continued speaking to avoid the lull of silence. Touya fiddled with his straw, musing to himself, "We come here so often, it'll be a miracle if they haven't memorised our order yet." 

Keigo huffed out a laugh, his right wing whacking Touya over the head as he wiggled around the seat to get comfortable. The trio sat in silence for a while, the Todoroki brothers whipping their phones out while Keigo surveyed the shop and streets, ever the hero on duty despite it being his break time. And as usual, the brothers simultaneously tucked their devices away when their food came, too engrossed with the sight and smell of promised deliciousness. 

They ate in silence, save for the slurping of soba noodles, and Keigo was too used to it to be unnerved by the hushed atmosphere. Forced conversation was no good, anyway. Occasionally, Touya or Keigo would try to make small talk and share about their respective days, but they were mainly always waiting for the youngest Todoroki to open up. As far as Keigo was concerned, Shouto's socially awkward nature had been brought up several times by the older Todoroki siblings and Touya had taken it upon himself to help the boy open up, one week at a time, starting with dinners together every Friday. 

Eventually, Keigo had slowly started to become a part of their little dinner tradition, after much convincing from Touya to reassure the former that no, you're not intruding and Shouto's albeit shy but insisting I like dinners with you. It made Keigo's heart beat unnaturally fast to be welcomed and included in family activities like these. 

"Touya-nii," Shouto piped up, fingers playing with his chopsticks as he fixed his gaze on his older brother. "How did you find out that you liked Hawks-san?" 

"He was drunk." Keigo butted into the conversation, cackling madly even as Touya shoved him away and swatted playfully at the wing closest to him. 

"I was not drunk, and you know it," the man hissed out, frowning over his orange soda. Touya turned back to Shouto, who had the world's most confused expression on his face (bless this boy's heart) and smiled reassuringly. "I didn't like him immediately, Shou, he was really annoying when we first met." 

Touya pressed on, ignoring Keigo's indignant squawk at his words. "He barged into the agency and demanded-" 

"I didn't demand-"

"- to meet Endeavor for a team up but we had a busy schedule and didn't accept walk-ins. But I helped him get an appointment with a sidekick and they talked some things through and ended up getting a successful team up anyway. Then, by some dumb luck, I happened to stand in for the guy who had called in sick and ended up as mission control for Keigo."

Touya paused, letting Shouto absorb the information before carrying on, wholly aware of a set of amber eyes burning holes into the side of his face. "Let this be known that Keigo is infuriatingly stubborn, like how you get sometimes, Shou. He wanted to carry on with the mission, but I didn't want to authorise it because it looked like a recipe for disaster, yet somehow he'd convinced me to carry on with it anyway and we ended up catching the villain."

"And then I flew headfirst into a building and suffered a concussion and Touya visited me at the hospital. Oh! And he complimented me." Keigo chirped, grinning. 

Shouto blinked once. "So... Touya-nii likes you because you crashed into a building?"

"No! No, no, no." Touya spluttered, waving his hands about as if to physically dispel those words. "The main takeaway from that is the fact that Keigo and I got paired for a mission together and we were forced to basically work together. That was how I began to know him better." 

Shouto tilted his head to the side, dual-coloured eyes still pinned on his brother. "But... that's just the story of how the both of you met, right? You didn't like him then?"

"Yeah," Touya replied airily, draining the last remnants of his orange soda. "But it was through that mission that I started to really respect Keigo. And somewhere along the line, respect turned into admiration, which turned into endearment and then wham! I realised I like him." 

As the younger Todoroki sibling digested that information, Keigo slid up to Touya, batting his eyelashes at him playfully. "Aw, Touya, you sap," he made a kissy face at the pyrokinetic, wings fluttering unabashedly even as his boyfriend mock-glared at him. The avian pressed a quick kiss to the tip of Touya's nose before turning his attention back to Shouto, eyebrows climbing higher. "Found someone, Shouto?"

The tiniest hint of pink spread across Shouto's cheek as he looked down at the table and avoided eye contact. "No," he mumbled out, despite the fact that he, himself, didn't quite seem to believe his response. 

Keigo allowed a kind smile to grace his lips as he slowly slid out of the booth to allow Touya to exit to pay for their meal. (Keigo and Touya normally took turns and it happened to be the latter's turn.) "Don't worry, I'm sure everything'll work out just fine. I mean look at me, I flew into a building during the end of a mission and drank orange soda at a banquet, and your brother still willingly dates me." 

Shouto grinned, and Keigo mentally clapped himself on the back for getting that response out of the normally aloof teenager. 

"You're way too amused by the fact that you flew into a building, Kei." was Touya's response as he made their way back to the duo, pocketing his wallet and nodding towards the door of the restaurant. Keigo only stuck his tongue out in lieu of response - real mature Keigo - as the three of them exited the establishment, walking down the familiar path back to the Todoroki estate.

As usual, the couple bid Shouto farewell and goodnight before stepping into Touya's bedroom. Too lazy to turn the lights on, Keigo groped around for the pyrokinetic's wardrobe, cussing when he accidentally stubbed his toe against an unknown object, earning him a snort from Touya and a shirt to the face. 

"Here you go, dumbass." 

Through the faint lighting coming from the moon through Touya's window, Keigo could make out the faded letters of a foreign boyband on the graphic tee and a set of slits on the back of the shirt. One of his own shirts, then. The hero's wings twitched minutely, his heart suddenly squeezing painfully from the sudden reminder that Touya left a section of his wardrobe empty for Keigo's clothes. 

He stripped out of his stifling hero costume quickly, pulling the shirt over his head and inhaling the smell of the Todoroki's detergent lingering on it. 

Keigo wandered across the expanse of Touya's room, naturally seeking out the body heat of his boyfriend, only to find the latter already fully dressed for sleep, laying out his and Keigo's futon. He gestured to a pair of sweatpants, watching as Keigo put it on. "Yours haven't been washed yet, so just wear mine for tonight." 

The avian hummed lightly, smacking a kiss on Touya's cheek with an obscenely wet noise as thanks, before tucking himself in and pulling the pyrokinetic snug to his chest. Warm. He felt Touya's breathing reverberate through him as if they were his own and relaxed his wings, pressing a kiss to fluffy white hair as Touya scooted closer to him.  

Touya sighed out a breath, his face tucked into Keigo's chest. "When we're engaged, I should move to Fukuoka, so we don't have to keep going back and forth between cities just to see each other. I can quit my job at Endeavor's and find work there - it's not like I enjoy seeing my old man on a daily basis anyway. We should get a house near your agency or something."

Keigo's heart jumped, too enamoured by his boyfriend to do anything else but speed up. He was a hundred percent sure Touya could physically feel and hear his heart hammering away in his chest, but Keigo - like the little shit he is - could never pass up the opportunity to tease the pyrokinetic.  

"When we're engaged," he parroted back, squeezing Touya impossibly closer to his body and loosening his hold to let the latter squirm around to get comfortable. "Someone's eager to settle down." Keigo's own laughter sounded too endearing to be anything hostile, and he only guffawed louder when Touya pinched his sides threateningly.

"Fuck off." 

There wasn't any heat behind those words.

Keigo could feel Touya's smile pressed into the skin at the base of his neck, right at his collarbone; could feel Touya's hand clutch at his shirt, right over his heart.

"We'll do anything you want, hot stuff." He breathed out against a mess of white hair, his hands lazily moving up and down Touya's spine. "I can't say no to you."

Touya nipped at tanned skin in warning and Keigo gave a surprised chirp. He felt the flutter of Touya's eyelashes against his neck and a rush of hot air as the pyrokinetic yawned, beginning to get dragged down by the pull of sleep. Touya's words slurred together, "We'll have our wedding in fall, then." 

Keigo's favourite season. 

Touya's breathing evened out into deep breaths as he fully relaxed into his boyfriend's hold, the grip he had on Keigo's shirt loosening.  

"Anything you want." He whispered, pressing another delicate kiss to the crown of Touya's head. 

Good Lord, he was head over heels in love with his boy. 

~

Keigo coming home to an empty apartment shouldn't be anything new to him. Touya's new job as an editor at one of the biggest publishing firms in Fukuoka meant he spent long hours at the office and Keigo's own hectic schedule didn't often guarantee time for him to meet up with Touya. 

Still, the pro-hero felt his heart ache when he'd swung the door open and declared "Honey, I'm home!" to an empty apartment. 

Dang. He'd been so sure Touya would've been home by the time he'd managed to wriggle out of paperwork. 

The paper bag in his hand crinkled, making its presence known. He'd even brought dinner... 

Keigo's bottom lip jutted out in the beginnings of a pout as he set the still-warm takeout on the kitchen table and shrugged his flight suit off, carelessly tossing away his visor and protective headphones. In what felt like a lifetime later, the hero found himself lounging on their couch, dressed in a casual outfit, his hair and feathers wet from his recent shower. 

His stomach growled loudly and Keigo warbled back at it, as if it'd been another entity that needed a response. Not now. Wait until Touya gets back. Dinner together. 

The offending organ let out another low rumble. 

"Needy body." Keigo huffed out, fishing for his phone and shooting a quick text to Touya, politely telling him to get your ass home, there's a surprise waiting ;) before chucking his phone to one side. 

He then, very promptly, fell asleep. 

...

Keigo jolted awake to a series of chimes, sending what little couch cushions they owned flying as he sprawled out in a futile attempt to catch himself. 

His face met the floor in a series of pained grunts and startled yells, and his wings flared out instinctively, followed by the sound of something in the background slamming into the ground and breaking on impact. 

Face aching, Keigo reached for his phone, answering the call before it could get to voicemail and pressing it against his ear without checking the contact. Only one person would call his personal number at God knows what time it was, on a working night. 

Keigo massaged his cheek gingerly, wincing through the flash of pain that seared across his features. "Babe, I just fell off the couch." 

The voice on the other end, Keigo decided, did not belong to Todoroki Touya. 

"Hello? Am I speaking to Takami Keigo?"

He winced. Hearing anyone else that wasn't Touya say his given name was something Keigo hadn't gotten used to yet. "Yes, Keigo speaking."

"Great! May I confirm that you are the emergency contact for Todoroki Touya?"

Keigo felt his stomach swoop and lurch in a way he'd never felt before. "Yes, I am. May... May I know what this is concerning? Is Touya okay?"

"Todoroki-san has been admitted to the hospital due to a quirk related accident that occurred at his workplace. He's been attended to and is currently resting, but we need his family members to come down to the hospital for the doctor's debrief of the situation."

Keigo was up on his feet and slipping into the first pair of shoes he could find. "I'll be there right away. But, Touya's family members are in Musutafu."

The voice was back in his ear again, still as preppy as ever as Keigo promptly closed the balcony doors behind him and practically vaulted off the railing, spreading his wings and catching the wind, Fuyumi's number already making its way to the forefront of his brain. 

~

A rare illness, they'd said. 

Incurable, they'd said. 

Terminal, they'd said. 

But as Keigo stared at Touya, he couldn't wrap his head around why he'd been taken to the hospital in the first place. The latter looked alright, breathed alright, even scowled the same way he always did when someone annoyed him to his limits. 

Touya couldn't be... not okay. 

"There's got to be some mistake here." 

Natsuo's voice rang out, defensive and bitter and hurt. 

Touya's doctor frowned in sympathy. "I'm sorry, but there's nothing more we can do. Todoroki-san has been diagnosed with a rare illness brought about by his body's incompatibility with his quirk. His body isn't made to wield fire and his quirk is attacking him actively from the inside out." 

"I'm not asking you to repeat his diagnosis, damnnit! What cures are there? There's got to be a cure!"

"I understand your frustration, but as I've said before, there isn't-"

"I don't care! Find a way to save my brother!" 

Fuyumi slid up to Natsuo's side with a quiet hiss of his name, her voice still shaky and her tears still wet with tears. She turned her attention to the man in his pristine white coat. "Sorry about Natsuo's shouting. Thank you for your help." 

He returned her bow and walked out of the door, murmuring a quiet apology once again for something out of his control. The door clicked shut. Natsuo rounded on Endeavor, pointing an accusing finger at him, eyebrows pulled together in an ugly frown and coming off as intimidating even with the tears rolling down his cheeks. "You! This is your fault! Your fault because you were obsessed with surpassing All Might and decided to play with fucking genetics! You! It's all your fault my brother's going to die! It's all your fault!" 

A sob broke free of Natsuo's mouth. 

Keigo watched mutely as Endeavor rose out of his seat, meeting Natsuo's gaze head on as his jaw clenched and unclenched before he saw himself out, his flames dying on the way out. He watched, unseeing, as Fuyumi guided Natsuo out the door after throwing a sad look back at the oldest Todoroki sibling. I'll calm him down, she'd mouthed. 

"I'm going to..." Shouto trailed off, his hands flailing for a while before falling back to his side as he scurried off and out the room, the door swinging close in his wake. Keigo let out a noncommittal grunt of assent that sounded more like a choked off noise, shock still dancing all over his features and turning his entire spine numb and tingly, his hand still in Touya's. 

The cold bite of Touya's ring pressed deeper into Keigo's hand, and Keigo looked over at him once more, the flimsy chair he'd been sitting on squeaking as he scooted impossibly closer to the bed. 

"You look like I'm already dead, Kei." 

"I-"

"I'm not dead. Not yet," Touya amended, staring down at their intertwined hands. He took a shaky breath and looked up at the hero's face, his eyes catching on the glint of metal corded around the latter's neck. "We'll be okay." 

Keigo blinked. 

Something wet fell onto his cheek. 

His voice was shaky as he croaked out, "I'm supposed to be the one saying that and comforting you, dummy."  

Touya smiled tiredly, squeezing Keigo's hand once. "You can't be strong all the time." 

The avian choked out a sob, doubling over as he leaned over the railing and buried his face into the crook of his partner's neck, his chest aching with a feeling he'd never want to feel again. Touya couldn't be dying. It made no sense that he was dying now. His life had barely started. He had so much before him; such a bright future waited for him. 

 A hand came up to thread through blonde locks in a gesture that was all too familiar. 

"My doctor asked me to consider permanent hospitalisation."

Keigo peeked out from his impromptu hiding spot, fixating one gold eye on the side of Touya's face. 

"I want to go home." Touya's voice dipped and broke, words struggling to get through the lump in his throat. 

Home. Keigo distantly wondered what home would be once Touya was gone. 

"Keigo, can we go home, please?"

The hero nodded, shakily pulling away and rubbing his eyes as he brushed his free hand through Touya's messy fringe. "'Course, hot stuff. I'll go talk to the doctor, 'kay?" He took a step towards the door just as it inched open to reveal the rest of the Todoroki siblings, complete with matching, red-rimmed eyes, and tear tracks. "Your siblings are back." 

Aquamarine eyes lit up with childlike excitement and Keigo bit back another warble at the sight as he fully stepped out into the hallway. 

Two and a half hours later, the pair were making their way home, fingers intertwined and walking impossibly close to each other, a bag of medication dangling from Keigo's spare hand and the Todoroki entourage swarming Touya's side.  

~

"FUCK!" 

Keigo came scampering out of the shower, hair and feathers still dripping wet as a towel hung limply around his waist. His eyes widened at the sight before him as he made his way to Touya's side despite the latter's complaints about him getting too close, smothering any residue flames with one of their old kitchen rags. 

His voice came out surprisingly devoid of annoyance and anger for someone who had to run out of the shower halfway, shampoo still clinging onto whichever strands of hair they could reach. "Are you okay?"

"Set myself on fire again," the pyrokinetic mumbled, lower lip jutting out in the beginnings of a pout. 

"Let me see." 

Unwillingly, the man stretched out his hand for Keigo, eyes flicking over the hero's face in trained nonchalance as the latter clicked his tongue at the redness invading normally-pale skin. Touya grumbled unintelligibly, glaring over at the bowl of now-burnt popcorn as he followed his partner to the toilet and peeled his gaze away just in time to watch Keigo swipe a bottle of medication with him. "I was trying to make popcorn for the movie tonight." 

Keigo suppressed a sigh, sitting Touya down on the lid of their toilet bowl as he started work on his arm. "You know you don't have to explain yourself to me," he reminded, handing over the medication for Touya to swallow. 

The pyrokinetic shrugged but remained silent otherwise, watching mindlessly as Keigo went through the motions of applying burn ointment on his irritated skin and bandaging his arm. He'd been accidentally burning himself more and more recently, his fire coming out in random, large bursts and shocking Keigo so much that Touya considered it a miracle he hadn't gone into cardiac arrest yet. 

"There, all bandaged up. Want me to give it a kiss?"

Touya scowled, flicking Keigo's forehead even as the corner of his crinkled in endearment. "Go finish your shower, bird brain. I'll wait for you on the bed." 

Keigo hummed delightfully, smacking his partner's ass playfully as Touya got up, earning him a startled yelp and half-hearted glare. "When you word it like that, babe, it sounds like you're gonna' cancel movie night and-" 

"Shower. Now. Movie. Later." 

Keigo stuck his tongue out at Touya but entered the shower dutifully anyway. 

Minutes later, he found himself smothered by one-hundred and seventy-six centimetres of lanky body and flailing limbs, hair still hopelessly wet and wings hanging off the side of the bed to dry. "What're we watching?" Keigo asked, mouth moving against the skin of Touya's bare shoulder. 

"The Lion King." 

"Again?"

"It's a good movie, Keigo. And it's from the pre-quirk era. Very vintage." 

Keigo made a noncommittal noise, shuffling closer to the human furnace beside him as he clicked the remote and their television flared to life, the brightness momentarily blinding the hero and his more-sensitive-than-average eyes. 

He yawned as discreetly as possible as the first song started to play, his head resting precariously on Touya's shoulder despite the aching in his neck. Sleep dragged Keigo's eyelids close, and he struggled to re-open them, instead opting to listen as Touya sang along with the songs he'd dedicated his heart to, the corners of his lips upturning as the pyrokinetic belted the lyrics to one of the upbeat songs, completely out of tune yet so, so happy. 

The hero pressed a kiss into bare skin, grinning wider when Touya's singing seemingly lagged for a minute. 

...

Keigo must've fallen asleep at some point. 

When he'd snapped his eyes open, it was to the ending credits flashing across the television screen. The hero stretched, his heart pinching guiltily at dozing off during movie night, as he looked up to spy Touya's eyes still glued to the screen, his eyes suspiciously wet. 

That was strange. 

It was normal for Touya to cry during the movie (read: during Mufasa's death scene) but he'd often be fine by the end of the film. For him to be crying by the time the credits rolled about was unheard of.

"Touya?" Keigo's voice was scratchy with sleep. He cleared his throat and swallowed. "Touya, are you okay? Does your arm hurt? Did you burn yourself again? Is the pain getting worse? Do you want your meds?"

It was as if Touya didn't hear him at all. 

Touya's lips were pursed grimly. "I'm gonna' die, Keigo." 

A part of Keigo wanted to playfully retort that everyone would die one day, that no one was immortal, but he knew damn well what Touya was talking about. 

Everyone would die someday, but not everybody's lives were cut short prematurely.

"Will I become a star when I die?"

Huh? 

Touya kept his eyes focussed on the screen, undisturbed by Keigo, who had pulled away from him to take a better look at the man. His joints protested against his movements loudly, muscles sore from the day of hero work and limbs sluggish after having fallen asleep. 

"In the movie, Mufasa told Simba that the great kings of the past look down on them from the stars. He said that the stars would always guide Simba, and one day he would join them and guide Simba too."

If this were under any other circumstance, Keigo would definitely be half amused, and half exasperated at the fact that Touya just quoted a line from The Lion King. 

"I wonder if I'll be a star when I die. Maybe you'll look up at the sky and see me guiding you, Keigo." Touya turned his head and smiled wobbly at his partner. From the dim light cast by the television, Keigo could see tears tracking down Touya's cheeks as he came to terms with his own mortality. 

Outwardly, Keigo merely pressed himself closer to Touya in lieu of responding, cradling his head, and peppering fluffy white hair with butterfly kisses as he let the latter bury his face into his chest, heaving out unrestrained sobs. Inwardly, Keigo's heart was crumbling, collapsing in on himself as he tried to stay strong for the man who needed it most. 

Keigo pulled away to cup Touya's face, his thumb swiping away at tears. He pecked the pyrokinetic's forehead, once, twice, before repositioning their bodies so that they laid flat on their bed, so entangled with each other that they practically melted into one human altogether. 

"You'll be the brightest star in the sky."  

~

Three months passed and Touya got progressively worse with each week that flew by with it. Accidental fires became more frequent and so did raging fevers, endless shivers and hours spent huddled over the toilet bowl, constantly hurling into it. On the fifth night since Touya first started his on-and-off fevers, he'd woken up to unbearable pain that licked his insides, sending him practically flying to look for pain medication, his hand shaking so bad that Keigo had to help him take the medication by dropping the pills into his mouth and feeding him water. 

When the medication had gone into effect, it left Touya sitting too-still on the edge of their shared bed, Keigo kneeling across from him, one hand hovering over his shoulder and the other grasping the half empty glass of water. 

Amber eyes sought out dazed aquamarine ones. "Touya," Keigo sighed out, placing the glass on their bedside table, and wrangling his hands together to avoid accidentally reaching out to touch Touya's. "Maybe... maybe we should consider what the doctor said. About... permanent hospitalisation." 

Touya's hands trembled. Still, he blinked back into consciousness, staring right back at Keigo. The pyrokinetic broke eye contact to glance at the clock hanging on the wall opposite him. 4:02A.M. Slowly, he nodded, dropping his gaze to his lap. 

Keigo chewed on his bottom lip, watching as Touya continued to glare holes into his crossed legs, his heart cracking apart with every second that ticked by. It hurt, so bad, to see his partner like that. 

The shirt that used to fit Touya so well now hung limply around his smaller frame, several sizes too big for the man. Keigo eyed the piece of clothing as if it had personally offended him. It looked wrong on Touya. 

"Your next doctor's appointment is in two days. We could ask him about it then?"

Touya's response tumbled out alongside his exhale, breathy and tired. "Okay." 

"Okay," Keigo echoed back, sending a few feathers to carry the glass back out to the kitchen as he slowly helped Touya lie back down before crawling over to his side of the bed. He was mindful not to accidentally bump into his bed mate. Physical contact wasn't something they could indulge in anymore, at least until after the pain medication fully kicked in or in the off-chance Touya didn't feel any pain. 

His heart clenched painfully at the way Touya squirmed around to find a comfortable spot, where he had as little contact with anything as possible. 

Just as Touya was about to shift once again, he slowly glanced down at the arm pressed against the mattress and hesitantly sank into the bed, a relieved sigh worming its way out of his lips and losing itself in the night air. 

"Pain meds are working?"

It was a mindless question - one that didn't need an answer and one that required no response. Despite that, Touya graced Keigo with a sleepy mhm as he wriggled into Keigo's personal space. 

The avian hummed softly, opening his arms and letting the pyrokinetic get comfortable before encasing him in, one wing draped over him like an additional security blanket. He pecked Touya's forehead, watching with a smile as the latter scrunched his nose up at the movement. "Goodnight, hot stuff." 

Touya's grin softened. "'night, pretty bird." He yawned, one arm coming up to lazily encircle around Keigo's waist. "I love you." 

"I love you, too." 

Keigo pressed his face into Touya's hair, blinking back tears as the smell of burn ointment and sweat assaulted his nose. 

He tried not to think about how many more chances he'd get to say those words to him. 

~

Touya's permanent move to the hospital was an executive decision made by both Keigo and Touya. And, of course, supported by their doctor. 

On the third of September, Touya bid goodbye to his and Keigo's apartment for the last time. From the doorway, Keigo watched, his partner's duffel bag in his hand, as Touya ambled around the small-but-not-squeezy flat. 

His hand touched almost every surface of the apartment, from tracing the random painting he'd won at a charity auction to gliding over the kitchen counter. Aquamarine eyes opened wide as his head turned this way and that, taking in everything he could and searing it into his brain. Touya inhaled deeply as he pattered around the space for the third time, committing the smell of home - an interesting blend of air freshener, leftover takeout, cologne, and lemon scented dish soap - to memory. 

The pyrokinetic eyed a stain on one of the kitchen walls, from when Keigo had accidentally slipped and spilled his black coffee everywhere. "Feels like we just moved in yesterday," Touya mused, eyebrows lifting just slightly. He swiped at his eyes, throwing one last, long, look at their shared bedroom before pivoting back to face Keigo. "Well, I'm ready to go!" 

Keigo tried to crack a smile but was a hundred percent sure he fell short. 

Touya didn't seem to mind. 

Their walk to the rental car was quiet but not awkward, the silence sitting nicely between them and their intertwined hands. 

It was only when they'd reached Touya's hospital room and began unpacking his belongings that Keigo realised that their apartment wasn't exactly home, per se. Without Touya, at least, it wouldn't feel like home to Keigo. The hero grunted at the revelation as he set aside his partner's toothbrush and toothpaste in the private bathroom, staring at his reflection in the mirror. 

If Touya was staying at the hospital, then the hospital would start to feel like home to Keigo (as morbid as it sounds to call a hospital "home").  

At the end of the day, home wasn't a place. 

Home wasn't fixed. 

Home was wherever Touya was, and Keigo was more than alright with it. 

~

When December rolled about, it brought with it cold winds, an abundance of heaters, and - of course - holiday cheer. 

"Merry Christmas!" 

Keigo marched into the room first, red wings flaring out dramatically as he leaned over the bed to peck the patient's cheek, mindful of the cannula (yet another medical instalment to aid Touya's ever-weakening body). Natsuo, Fuyumi and Shouto followed soon after, fully decked out in the ugliest sweaters Touya had ever seen and presenting a matching one to their big brother. 

The door swung shut just as Touya's ventilator let out a particularly loud hiss. 

"Merry Christmas," Touya responded, his voice hoarse and raspy despite his efforts to inject as much holiday cheer as he could into those two simple words. 

The younger Todoroki siblings hustled about, setting aside their personal belongings, and practically squeezing themselves so that all three of them would be as close to Touya as possible. Keigo lounged on the chair closest to Touya's head, watching with half-amused eyes as Natsuo and Fuyumi started recounting their journey to Fukuoka with overly-exaggerated movements. 

And in direct contrast to his older siblings, Shouto opted to quietly sit in the empty chair across Keigo, reaching his hand out to hold Touya's in his own silent form of support. A simple little, I'm here. 

Touya squeezed Shouto's hand in response. Thank you for being here. 

Between the five of them, the atmosphere was relatively light and airy, with sarcastic quips and gentle barbs being thrown around occasionally, most of which were aimed at Natsuo's poor taste in Christmas sweaters. Despite the fact that they video called Touya almost every day, the Todoroki siblings hardly ever ran out of things to fill their older brother in on, and they kept a steady conversation flowing with bits and pieces of their daily lives back home - Fuyumi had a new kid in her class who was a troublemaker and she currently spent more time lecturing them instead of teaching, Natsuo's friends were all finding significant others and all joked that Natsuo was too "married to his textbooks" to find someone to date, Shouto was beginning to enjoy living in the U.A. dorms and started opening up to his classmates.

Conversation revolved around mundane, everyday things but it didn't feel forced. 

Yet, Keigo could tell that the siblings were doing everything they could to make sure there weren't any awkward silences or lulls in their chats. As if they were trying to avoid acknowledging the elephant in the room. 

As if they were trying to ignore the fact that this might very well be Touya's last Christmas. 

"Alright, I think it's time for me to give you Todoroki's some private sibling time. Touya can dish out the latest gossip about me," Keigo announced, winking conspiratorially as he stood up, loudly popping his bones as he stretched. His hand found its way into Touya's hair, and he carded fingers through delicate white strands. "I'll see you tonight, hot stuff." 

Touya shot him a look that clearly meant he was not happy with the public use of his nickname and Keigo flashed him his award winning grin as he turned to acknowledge the other Todoroki siblings. "It's been a pleasure to see you all again," the avian grinned, making his way across the room and taking his leave after spotting three hands wave back at him and hearing a very quiet take care of yourself, bird brain. 

Keigo checked his watch as he exited the hospital. Just under twenty minutes late for his patrol shift. Oh well. Fukuoka wouldn't go up in flames just because he was slightly late.  

...

Fukuoka very nearly went up in flames because he was slightly late. Or at least a part of Fukuoka nearly went up in flames, but the bottom line was that Keigo managed to swoop in in time to completely derail arson from happening. 

All in a day's work. Good job, Keigo, you amazing son of a bitch. 

Suffice to say, Keigo was relatively pleased with his crime prevention. But...

"You were late to your shift because of the Christmas gathering, weren't you?"

The room door swung shut, creaking on its hinges as Keigo huffed indignantly and crossed his arms, very much resembling a petulant toddler throwing a tantrum. 

There was no one else but Keigo and Touya, the Todoroki siblings having left to catch the last flight back home. 

"Keigo, we talked about this. No sacrificing work to spend more time with me." 

"That's stupid." 

His arms were still crossed across his chest. 

Touya frowned - the serious kind, not the ones he pulled off whenever Natsuo was playing too rough with Shouto, or whenever their local grocery store ran out of orange soda - and narrowed his eyes. "Keigo, you love hero work. I don't want to be someone who takes you away from something you love."  

"But I love you! I don't get how hero work will ever be more important than spending time with my fiancé!" Keigo threw his arms up in the air, his visor slipping from their resting spot in his hair from the violent movement.

"You used to work more. Before all this happened. Before I was sick. I was still your fiancé then." 

Oh. Keigo had a feeling he knew where this particular conversation was going. "Touya-"

"I hate this. I hate being sick. I hate that I'm causing everyone around me so much fucking pain." Something wet slipped out of Touya's right eye, landing solidly on the hospital bed. "Fuyumi's barely getting any sleep and I can tell because her eye bags keep getting bigger; Natsuo looks like he's barely holding himself together; Shouto's becoming more reserved again; and even my damn sperm donor's distancing himself - I see him on the news all the time, flying from place to place, prefecture to prefecture, city to city; places all across Japan but always miles away from Fukuoka.

“And you, Keigo, I see you sacrificing hero work - your job, your livelihood, something you actually like - so you can spend whatever time I have left with me."

Keigo remained silent, watching carefully as big, fat tears rolled down Touya's cheeks. He didn't mention the crying, more for Touya's sake than anything - it took a lot for his fiancé to openly break down like this; and even then, it was rare for Touya to release the vice-like grip on his emotions long enough to let go of more than a few tears at a time.   

"I hate that I'm causing you pain." 

Ugly sobs ripped free from Touya's chest, and he inhaled painfully, still refusing to look away from Keigo, even as the latter shrugged off his flight jacket and moved to envelope Touya in a tight embrace. 

"I don't want to hurt you." 

Keigo hummed in response, letting out small chirps and coos as he let Touya hook his chin on his shoulder, carding one hand through fluffy white hair while the other wrapped around his waist. "I know," he whispered, pressing a kiss to Touya's temple. "I know. You could never hurt me, I promise." 

"But I'm hurting you now. I'm dying, Keigo. If you continue to stay with me, it's just going to hurt mor-" 

"Don't. I know where you're going with this." Keigo let out a heavy sigh, confessing quietly, "Leaving you now would just hurt me even more." 

Touya gave no indication of having heard Keigo, merely chewing on his bottom lip as he contemplated on what to say next, sifting through the heaps of stuff he had wanted to scream out. 

"I've been really selfish." He sniffled, his chin digging into Keigo's shoulder. "I refused to let you go and I've only been hurting you ever since we got the diagnosis."

Keigo scoffed, blinking away tears. "Oh please, as if you could keep me away from you."

"This isn't fair to you, Keigo." 

"Life isn't fair," the avian shrugged, his skin tingling as Touya turned his head to the side ever so slightly, pressing his face into Keigo's neck. "But I don't care, Touya. I love you and I'm going to stay by your side every single day that I can. Okay?"

"Okay." Then quieter, "Thank you." 

Keigo trilled, shaking his head as his right wing came up to smack the side Touya's head, probably giving him an earful of feathers. "You don't have to thank me, hot stuff. We are engaged, after all. I'm stuck with your dumb ass by moral law."

Touya snorted in lieu of response, pinching Keigo's side in retaliation. It was nice to be able to slowly let the heavy atmosphere dissipate.

"Alright, no crying on Christmas on my watch." Keigo huffed, eyeing the computer bag in the corner of the room. "I just charged the laptop and I have enough spare change for a trip to the vending machine. How 'bout we watch The Lion King and drink some orange soda?"

Touya's smile pressed into his skin was all the response Keigo needed. 

~

Keigo was fully aware of how little time Touya had left. 

Maybe it was because of how frail Touya looked with each passing day; how the light in his eyes seemed to have fizzled out and disappeared. 

Or maybe it was because Keigo's bird-like quirk had cursed him with the ability to sniff out imminent death coming from more than a mile away. On the first day Keigo's instincts screamed at him that Touya was dying dying, the avian had panicked so much and pestered the doctors and nurses into doing hours-long check-ups on his partner. He'd nearly sagged with relief when the doctors confirmed that yes, his condition is worsening but no, he'll be staying with us for a little longer. 

Keigo had taken to curling up on the same hospital bed as Touya since that day, too scared to leave his side. Both of them had the best sleep in months. 

With every rotation of the Earth about its axis, Keigo's paranoia grew, his bird instincts practically set on a twenty-four hour-long alarm clock of dying, dying, dying, dying. Tiny feathers set on Touya's heart monitor to track his steady heartbeat eventually became feathers tucked away in almost every corner of the room - Keigo's own way of looking after Touya whenever he was on his hero work (though he'd put in a note that he'd be going on leave soon and had trusted his sidekicks to keep the agency up and running). 

On the eighteenth of January, after an afternoon-long event of the usual Todoroki sibling banter and exchange of birthday gifts, Keigo and Touya laid side by side, squeezed rather uncomfortably into the hospital bed that was clearly not meant for two. Keigo propped himself up on his arm, mindful of the ever-increasing tubes sticking out of Touya's body. 

"You still haven't told me your birthday wish yet, hot stuff." 

Touya opened his mouth to respond and Keigo cut him off with, "Saying you want my company doesn't count - I'm here every day. It has to be something special." 

The patient frowned, eyeing the ceiling, and looking as if he was contemplating really hard before his eyes practically glowed. And just as fast, the light in his eyes seemed to have been crushed by the reality of his situation. Touya's frown deepened. 

Keigo hummed curiously, his face automatically moving to mimic Touya. "That's your I'm being stupid frown. Come on, hot stuff, just spit it out - what do you want for your birthday? Your wish is my command." 

Touya's mouth moved as he murmured something Keigo couldn't quite catch, his eyes downcast as if he'd already been rejected. 

"Say it again, please?"

"Stargazing." The pyrokinetic whispered, aquamarine eyes coming up to glance shyly at amber ones. "I want to go stargazing." 

Keigo blinked, two parts in surprise and one part in endearment. His first thought was that's disgustingly cute; I love it and his second thought was no way in Hell are his doctors ever going to allow him to get out of the hospital in this weather. His third thought, however, sent Keigo reeling as he tripped over himself trying to roll out of the hospital bed, calling out a quick, "Give me ten minutes" as he disappeared out the door. 

Exactly ten minutes later saw Keigo trudging back into the hospital room, cheeks flushed with cold and red from exertion. His wings shuddered at the blast of hot air from the room's heater as he easily slipped back into bed, mindful not to touch Touya lest his body acts up from the drastic temperature change. 

"Snow." 

Keigo hummed an absent-minded question as he focussed on wriggling his fingers to get rid of the numbness. 

"Snow." Touya repeated more insistently, reaching out to dust lightly at Keigo's windswept hair and pulling his hand away to reveal tiny flecks of precipitate. His eyes practically glimmered as he stared intently at his hand, smiling at the cold, and watching as the snowflakes started to melt under his unnaturally hot body heat. "The fevers made me delirious, so I wasn't sure if there was actually snow outside whenever I looked out the window. But... snow!" 

God, he sounds so excited. 

"It's snowing on my birthday?"

Keigo was pretty sure no twenty-six year-old man should ever sound this adorable. 

"Yeah," he confirmed, his fingers moving to grab his phone from his pocket. "It's snowing on your birthday, Touya." 

The pyrokinetic grinned, full of childhood innocence, still holding his hand out before him as he scooted closer to Keigo, sharing his body heat with the shivering man. "Where'd you go?" 

Ah, yes. 

"Hm? I went to fulfil your birthday wish." 

The confused look Touya shot him was nothing short of adorable. "But my wish was to go stargaz- oh..."

 Keigo beamed, opening his phone gallery, and watching with bated breath as images of the night sky, speckled with stars, started to load. 

"Keigo..." 

"You wanted to go stargazing, but there's no way your doctors would allow it. So, I flew up real high and braved the cold, night air and," he paused for dramatic effect-

"I brought the stars to you." 

"You brought the stars to me," Touya echoed, still in disbelief. He looked close to tears as he reached out with a shaky hand to zoom in and tap at the pictures, swiping left and right. 

Keigo hummed in confirmation, sending one feather to flip the light switch off so that they would be buried in darkness, with their only light source coming from the Keigo's phone screen - the "stars". Touya's eyes remained fixated on the device, his lips seemingly fixed in the happiest grin that could rival the one Touya wore when they shared their first kiss, or the one Touya wore when both of them ended up proposing to each other at the same time by accident. 

With his head tucked underneath Touya's chin, his arms encircled around the latter's waist and a few feathers steadily holding his phone up, Keigo could easily fall asleep right then and there, listening to the steady thrum of Touya's heart and his little, awed coos as he admired the constellations. Just as his eyes began to slip close, Touya shifted ever so slightly, his chest rumbling against Keigo's frame in the beginnings of a horrible impression of a certain cartoon lion. 

Keigo popped one eye open and pretended to scowl through the jolt of endearment and amusement that surged through his entire being. 

"Simba," Touya began, his voice unnaturally gruff and deep and nothing like how Mufasa sounded. 

The hero groaned in mock-annoyance, though he dutifully peeked up at Touya through his lashes to find the man already staring at him. 

"Let me tell you something my father told me. Look at the stars. The great kings of the past look down on us from those stars." 

Keigo bit back a fond smile at the look of absolute delight on Touya's face, rolling his eyes as he gently headbutted the latter's chin. Touya's resounding laughter echoed around the room, bouncing across four walls to assault Keigo's ears and worm its way into his brain, warming his heart. 

Just for today, he'd allow Touya to openly quote The Lion King without verbally giving him shit for it. Just for today. 

"Happy birthday, Touya." He knew Touya would be able to hear his unspoken, I love you.  

~

Keigo had a lot of questions for the universe. How did quirks even originate in the first place? Why does it get so unbearably cold during winter? Why doesn't he feel the need to migrate like most birds do? And why does chicken taste so damn good? 

But perhaps his biggest question for the universe was: How was he supposed to react when the person he loved more than anything was dying right before his eyes? 

Keigo stared at the figure lying on the hospital bed, so skinny and so pale that he had a hard time believing that this was Todoroki Touya; a man who was once so full of life not even a whole year ago. Nowadays, Touya spent most of his time sleeping away, his body too exhausted from fighting its own self - from fighting his quirk - that he'd had to make up for it by resting as much as he could. 

Touya barely ever opened his eyes anymore, lying so still that Keigo would’ve been terrified that he'd already passed on if it weren't for the fact that his heart monitor was still beeping; was still serving as evidence that Touya was still there, clinging on for dear life. 

A can of orange soda sat primly on the tabletop beside Touya's bed, condensation dripping steadily down its side and pooling at its base. The pyrokinetic had requested it a little over four hours ago, suddenly so full of energy that he'd practically begged and whined for Keigo to get him an orange soda from their loyal hospital vending machine. 

It was the first time in weeks that Touya had woken up and uttered more than three words at a time. Of course Keigo had indulged him. 

And as per their Takami-Todoroki tradition, they drank their orange sodas while watching the one and only cartoon that Touya couldn't seem to grow out of. They'd made it halfway through the movie - up till the part where Timon said stars were "burning balls of gas" and Touya had scoffed so hard he'd choked on his orange soda - before Touya's energy started to reside and Keigo made the executive decision to pause their screening so he could rest. 

Tired but still indignant about Timon's take on the stars, Touya had begun to launch into a mini rant and Keigo had been stuck listening to him, nodding and commenting at appropriate points until the pyrokinetic had worn himself out and had succumbed to the pulls of sleep. 

A little under one hour ago, Touya had suddenly woken up and stared unseeingly at the ceiling while Keigo stared at him in return. None of them have said anything yet. 

Something in Keigo's heart screamed at him, his own instincts going off-kilter and rampaging about like an itch under the surface of his skin that just wouldn't go away. The avian bit down hard on the inside of his cheek, suppressing any noises that threatened the peace and quiet of Touya's room. No screaming, no squawking, no shrieking, no alarming nois-

Instinct won out.

Keigo's eyes zeroed in on Touya's face and he very nearly let out a screech when Touya's eyelashes fluttered. Something, just something, in his system told him that something wasn't right, more so than ever, and Keigo was more than uneasy. His brain seemed to be running overtime as he made his way to the bedside, wings rustling noisily as if attempting to snap Touya's attention to him with all the commotion. 

Of course Keigo knew what was happening. 

They were his instincts after all. But... just maybe... his instincts were wrong, this time. Just this one time. They had to be wrong. Touya had literally just whined at him like some overgrown toddler for soda and had so much life in him not even five hours ago.

Keigo's instincts had to be wrong. 

"Kei, you're thinking too loud." Touya grumbled, his words slurring together as he inched his head to the side to regard Keigo with half-lidded eyes. "'m trying to sleep." 

Please don't fall asleep. Please keep your eyes open. Those words failed him, and instead, Keigo found himself latching onto Touya's left hand, engagement ring digging painfully into his own finger. And almost in response to Touya's engagement ring, the metal ring looped around Keigo's neck burned painfully into his skin, right over his sternum. They'd made a necklace for Keigo's engagement ring to keep it safe from harm when Keigo was out doing hero work, but apparently its absence from Keigo's finger didn't stop it from making its presence known.  

"Please don't leave me." 

His voice was shaky and weak, nothing like what one would expect from the Number Two hero. Distantly, Keigo mused that the HSPC would've been pissed if they'd ever heard him sound like that. 

Touya grunted once, adjusting his left hand so that he could fit his fingers nicely between the gaps in Keigo's. "I could never leave you, Keigo." He rasped out, eyeballs rolling about in their sockets before finally focussing on a brilliant sight of honey-gold. "It's just a nap." 

Keigo was pretty sure he was only blinking away tears so that he could sear the image of Touya, undisturbed by teardrops and undistorted by water, into his mind. 

"Please, don't close your eyes. Stay awake, please, please, please. Please don't close your eyes." Keigo wasn't sure if he'd ever begged this hard in his life before. 

"'m tired..." His words slurred together. "It hurts, Kei..." 

It felt like someone was trying to rip Keigo's heart out. 

"This can't be the end, please. Please, I can't let you go. Please, please, please..." He wasn't sure who he was begging at this point. Touya? God? Any being up above with the power to help him? 

Keigo wondered if it was cruel, selfish, of him to want Touya to continue to stay by his side. If surviving hurt Touya this badly, wouldn’t it be better to let him go?   

The room went silent, and Keigo had to rely on the beeping of the machines and the steady hold Touya had on his hand to keep himself grounded. He couldn't see anymore - his tears obstructed almost everything in sight. 

"I'll only take a short nap, Kei. I promise." 

"A short nap, huh?" His voice was too wet, too downcast, to be passed off as an attempt to joke. 

He understood what was happening. He knew, he knew, he knew. In that moment, Keigo believed he’d known for a long while, now. He distantly wondered if they should've planned their wedding to take place earlier, rather than wait till Keigo's favourite season, when Touya first recieved the diagnosis. It was clear he wouldn't be able to make it till then, but Keigo suspected they'd all been too blindsided by hope and grief. 

"Mhm, the quickest nap ever." Aquamarine eyes still remained fixated on amber ones. "I'll find you when I wake up. You'll just have to wait for me."

Keigo ignored the wetness in his eyes and cupped Touya's cheek gently, the same way Touya did to him when they’d shared their first kiss, all those years ago. 

This time, Touya was the one who tasted like orange soda. 

"I'll wait for you." He promised.

Then, almost as if Touya was looking for permission, Keigo tacked on a quiet, “Close your eyes, Touya. It’s okay; go to bed.”

Touya smiled, his eyes lighting up for the shortest of seconds before they slipped shut. 

Keigo's heart leaped into his throat. "I love you." 

A confession. One Keigo made every day. But this time felt different. 

The heart monitor's insistent beeping slowed. 

"Such a sap," Touya croaked out a breathy huff of laughter. "I love you too, Keigo." 

There came the heart-wrenching moment where all was quiet, when no more words needed to be exchanged, as Keigo watched Touya's peaceful face, his hand still clutched tightly in his. There came the moment where Keigo's feathers felt every small vibration of the monitor, up till the point where the avian had almost yelled out in helplessness at the ever-slowing sounds. 

There came the moment when the beeping stopped and Keigo could do nothing but stare at Touya’s peaceful, open face.

A guttural sob forced its way out of Keigo's chest cavity, leaving him hollow and raw. 

And for the first time since they met, Touya didn’t react to the sound of Keigo in pain. 

~

Touya's funeral was a quiet affair, attended by relatives and close friends. 

Keigo stood by the coffin, accepting words of condolences and stiff hugs, and returning them as he deemed appropriate. His chest ached, out of anger more than anything else - less than half of these people had actually visited Touya in the hospital, one of them being his own biological father. But could he really fault them for trying to protect themselves by keeping a distance away from Touya? Keigo, himself, knew the pain that came with watching a loved one wither and die. Hadn't Touya told him to keep his distance too? Hadn’t Touya tried to isolate himself during his last few months to protect his loved ones the only way he could?

Would Touya have been more at peace if Keigo had actually listened to him and fulfilled one of his last wishes?

The revelation made Keigo want to throw up and set himself on fire. 

He'd opted to go on autopilot since then. No more thinking. 

Sometime after the guests had left, Keigo found Shouto sitting off into a corner, staring up into the rapidly darkening sky. He decisively plopped down beside him. 

"You look tired, Hawks-san."

The corner of Keigo's lips quirked up in a half-hearted smile. "You look you don't want to be here." 

"I don't." 

Keigo appreciated Shouto's simplicity and bluntness – it was heaps better than the crocodile tears and false cries he'd had to endure all day. 

"You doing alright?"

In response to Keigo's question, Shouto shrugged, dual-coloured eyes still fixated on something in the distance, something Keigo couldn't quite make out. Without Touya there to act as a safety net, maintaining a conversation with Shouto wasn't easy. After all, Touya had been the one who'd drawn his little brother out of his shell in the first place. 

"You should get some rest." Shouto deadpanned, playing with his fingers. "I'm sure the rest of us can help pack up."

Keigo's wings twitched painfully at the mention of taking a break. He was exhausted, but sleep didn't seem to come as easily to him anymore. Still, he didn’t feel like turning down the youngest Todoroki. "I think I will. Thank you."

Shouto shrugged again. 

Just before he took his leave, Keigo turned back to face the youngest Todoroki. "Hey, Shouto." 

Turquoise and brown eyes stared back at him. 

"We're still meeting for dinner on Fridays, right?"

Keigo played with his fingers, twiddling his thumbs as he rocked on his heels. Perhaps, maybe, a small part of him had always been worried that without Touya, his own relationships with the other Todoroki siblings would collapse. He and Touya were never officially married, but along the way, the Todoroki siblings had become Keigo's siblings, too. He didn't think he could go back to a life like the one before he'd met Touya; a life just filled with work; a life without any warmth from his family. (Yes, Keigo did just refer to the Todoroki family as his family.)

If Shouto sensed the slight insecurity in Keigo's tone, he didn't say anything. Instead, he merely nodded, resuming his staring contest with something in the distance, eyes going hazy and distant. "It's our tradition," was his only reply before he tacked on, "Continue coming for our monthly sibling meals, too. You're still our brother."

Keigo smiled tiredly and nodded in unnecessary affirmation before he spread his wings and took off, breezing steadily through the air and hovering just outside his apartment complex. He slipped in easily through the balcony, kicking his shoes off haphazardly before falling face-first into a pile of cushions and blankets positioned messily on the couch. 

He avoided looking at the bedroom. The bed was too big, too cold. 

The house smelled sort of stale, too, but it was nothing a little bit of air freshener and cologne couldn't fix. It would smell like home again, but Keigo doubted it would feel like it anytime soon. 

That night, Keigo dreamt of clear night skies and constellations. He dreamt of the cold wind nipping at his cheeks and catching underneath his feathers as his muscles worked hard to propel him higher and higher, until he broke through the clouds and found himself in a sky full of stars. 

Keigo dreamt of fluffy white hair and aquamarine eyes and blue flames, prettier than anything he'd ever seen before. 

Touya smiled at him, his eyes shining with life and his cheeks round and rosy. Barely-there muscles lined Touya's physique as he made his way over to Keigo, still grinning that sickeningly cute lovesick grin. 

He looked better than ever. Healthier. Happier. 

"Keigo!”  

Keigo couldn't hold back the sound of absolute delight that broke out of him when the figure before him practically tackled his body. Stray strands of white hair found its way up Keigo's nose, drawing a sneeze out of him, and a set of elbows pressed hard into his side as the man worked to wrap his taller frame around Keigo like some kind of human blanket. Keigo stumbled around for a bit before stabilising - it’d been a long time since Touya had jumped him like this, after all; he’s not ashamed in the least to admit that he'd missed it a lot.

Touya let out a tiny, amused laugh, swiping his thumbs under Keigo’s eyes and alerting the latter to the fact that he’d somehow shed tears without realising it. He sounded way too smug as he teased his partner, but the winged man couldn’t find it in him to fault Touya for it.  

“See? I told you I’d find you.”

“You did.”

Then, more confidently, Keigo coughed out a laugh, hugging Touya back equally tight, almost as if he couldn’t quite believe his own eyes. “You found me. You found me, you found me, you found me!”

It didn’t matter that this would all be over once Keigo opened his eyes and re-entered reality. What was important was that both of them had somehow stumbled their way back to each other and were here, in a sky full of stars, happy and loved and together.

Keigo had years of memories to look back on whenever he'd feel Touya's absence stinging sharply. For now, Touya was right there, right next to him, in his arms and so painfully real that it would be a sin if Keigo didn't shower him with attention and simply exist in the presence.

Their short-lived reunion in the stars? It was more than what either of them could’ve asked for.