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“She’s going to kill you like this,” that fierce, fiery voice snarled, furious as it usually was these days whenever its owner came across him at work in the fields. Keigo ignored it, concentrating his energy on the soil renewing itself at his command. He had other tasks to complete before he would be permitted to rest.
Not that that mattered to the deity stalking over to him.
Keigo sighed, pushing himself upright so he could sit back on his heels, hands shaking free the dirt from where they’d been buried in enriching soil. He let part of his attention maintain his power, encouraging the wheat to grow and pop up through the rich soil, and allowed himself an unimpressed look over to the approaching god.
Dabi knew better. He knew what kind of situation Keigo was in. Yet every time they met… the elder deity could never quite contain his own fury.
Keigo was a deity of life - one of many, to be true, and with a chaotic nature that he rarely allowed others to see for his own safety if nothing else - and a particularly powerful one at that. He flitted across the world, bringing health and food and a gentle happiness to the people he tended to. He wandered as he would, when he was young, towed along underwing with his father, the deity of those without Borders. The ones who would wander, but were not lost. And Keigo helped who he would, whoever he could, because he could.
That changed when the Madam found out about him.
Because Keigo was a deity of life, a powerful one, and the Madam who held tremendous power over their parthenon sought to use that power towards her own ends. And neither he nor his father had the power to stop her when she took him away.
So now Keigo could not wander as he wished, could not help those he desperately desired to. He brought joy and life and prosperity to those who the Madam favored and was forced to forsake the others. He gave and gave and gave until exhaustion swept him away, and once he awoke, he had to give once more. Forever trapped in this miserable cage of existence until the stranglehold the Madam had on him killed him. As all caged birds eventually died.
But for now, this was his duty. And Keigo knew duty.
For so long, all he’d known was duty.
“If only,” he retorted dryly, sighing as Dabi let out a strangled noise, “at least we’d get some more time together that way.”
The barely hidden flinch that preceded the angry noise told Keigo that he’d maybe gone a little too far with that one. He softened his stance a bit, throwing a pointed look at the other deity.
“Of course, it’s highly doubtful,” he continued, eyeing the budding wheat to judge if it was growing too slowly, “us deities are hard to kill, at least. And knowing the Madam, she’d just find something to nag me about down there - like sorting souls by size - as a punishment for dying. Not worth it.”
The snort of amusement, rapidly swallowed down, stirred some warmth into the bland apathy Keigo had resigned himself to on this particular subject. Rewarding, at least.
“Do you really feel that way, birdie?”
His wings, shrunk as they were for convenience when he was working in the fields, twitched briefly, startled. He’d expected Dabi to be angry, not tired. Not frustrated. And certainly, not hurt.
Startled enough that he turned to face the deity, standing just within range, off to the side, staring at him with burning blue embers set in a furious face.
Angry. Yes, Dabi was that, indeed. But there was something else - something almost vulnerable that he’d almost never seen in the other deity - and Keigo couldn’t help but soften.
“That’s just how it is, Dabs,” he admitted, voice soft and quiet, earning him the fixed and focused attention of the other, “Every day, I work until I drop. Every time I wake, I have to start all over again. I can’t help everyone I want to, and I can’t not do the work without consequences - there’s nothing for it, hotshot.” Keigo shrugged, and tried not to let the utter apathy bleed through his tone. He’d long since resigned himself to whatever fate this led him to - likely an exhausted death in the middle of his wheat fields when the day came that not even rest could replenish him. He didn’t want to put that on Dabi, though. Especially not now, with that vulnerability cresting behind blue eyes. “Maybe it’ll get better one day - just, not today. So I just deal with it, as is.”
It was the only way to live, sometimes, when things became too much. Sometimes, he still wondered if it was worth it.
Not as much these last decades, though. Not with Dabi around, snarking at him, sneaking up on him, taking care of him - even though he knew what kind of situation he was getting into with Keigo. With the Madam’s favorite little tool.
Sometimes, with Dabi around, Keigo dared to wonder if there was something better out there for him. A better time, better day, that waited in his future.
Maybe if - if it had Dabi in it… it would be worth waiting for that day.
But until then, he supposed, he would do what he had to do. His duty waited for no one.
Deep in thought as he was, though, he didn’t realize how Dabi had reacted to the bleak outlook he’d spoken about, regardless of how he’d tried to keep the apathy from bleeding into his tone.
When Dabi moved, Keigo wasn’t ready.
That alone should’ve told him how exhausted he was.
A hand seized his wrist, jolting him with the shock of it before it reeled him in, holding him close against the other deity, while another hand - far more gentle - reached up to cradle his face, tilting his chin up so their eyes could meet.
Dabi’s blue eyes burned.
“You,” he snarled, “chain yourself to duty even though your heart longs for the freedom you’ve been taught to deny yourself.” The grip tightening on his wrist and the other curled tight around his chin stopped Keigo from protesting. Dabi certainly didn’t seem to be in the mood for useless placations. “And I love you too much to watch you destroy yourself.”
Keigo froze.
Did he - did he say - ?
Yes, they’d been sleeping together for - skies, it had to be nearly half a century, now. Yes, there were feelings there that neither of them had ever brought up or named. Dabi’s upset with how Keigo handled his own health was proof of that.
But love - and to come out and say it when Dabi was one of the most emotionally constipated people he’d ever met (and okay, Keigo himself wasn’t much better, but at least he recognized what it was that he was feeling)... he didn’t know what to say. Or do.
I love you too, but I can’t.
“I - ,” his voice trailed off and he tried to pull away. Create space.
Only - his body swayed.
What - ?!
Dabi’s grip on his wrist tightened before letting go, sliding down to wrap around his waist - keeping him steady and close, just as Keigo felt a powerful wave of dizziness overcome him.
What’s happening to me?!
In his exhaustion, Keigo hadn’t realized how his body had been reacting. Hadn’t recognized the creep of darkness on the edges of his vision intensifying, or the way he was stubbornly standing straight against the way his body wanted to sway. Hadn’t noticed how he was blinking more, or how his words had started to soften at the edges.
Keigo was too used to working through his own exhaustion, pushing away the needs of his body, to do anything but shove the reactions away. And it was only now, that Dabi had him held tight against him, unable to fight the siren song of sleep, that he realized -
The air - it smelled like…like -
Dabi’s hand brushed a stray bang away from his face as his eyes fluttered shut, the scent growing stronger, and recognition dawned on him.
“For the record,” the other deity said softly, “I’m not sorry about this.”
Lavender. Lavender and a hint of magic.
A sleeping potion, he thought, as the world blurred around him. And then he thought no more.
He would really have to thank Toga for that potion.
Keigo slept soundly, nestled comfortably amongst the soft blankets and silk sheets on Dabi’s bed, his wings curled around him like a safety blanket that twitched and fluffed in tune with Keigo’s gentle breathing and occasional sleepy cheep.
Dabi sat perched beside him, fingers - cleaned of the potion he’d used earlier - combing gently through Keigo’s hair, relishing in the soft, contented chirps that occasionally slipped from the sleeping deity. Enjoying it while he could, at least - until Keigo woke, angry and hurt, because of the way Dabi had interfered.
There was time still, he knew. Toga’s potions were always potent and powerful, and Dabi had used more than he should have just to ensure Keigo actually slept through the boundary crossing. Slept and didn’t fight - because any struggle would’ve caught the attention of the above ground deities, and then his plan would’ve failed twice over. Keigo would never again trust him enough for him to get a second chance.
Dabi was almost sure that Keigo would forgive him this trespass on his agency - what little the other had, at least - in time. Time being the key word. He didn’t anticipate being able to be this close for a while, so he would enjoy it while he could.
He just - hadn’t been able to stand it any longer. Hadn’t been able to watch Keigo kill himself. All in the name of duty - duty and the tyrannical monster of a deity that forced him into it.
But she has no power here, he thought, darkly satisfied. The Madam had forced away all the deities she’d disdained, all the powers she’d thought useless, and condemned them to their home in the Underworld. But in doing so, she’d removed all avenues to acquire any power in their domain. No one here would dare give loyalty to the slave driver who thought of the deities under her power as tools and nothing more, especially not before one of their own.
Dabi was a god of death - of vengeance and justice and punishment. He was order and karma coming to those who’d passed - and even those who summoned him alive still. If there was anyone less beholden to the Madam, he didn’t know them.
So that meant that when he asked Toga for a particularly powerful contact-induced sleeping potion, she gave him one without question. That meant that when he created space in his own domain for a sprawling garden, built new rooms for hobbies no one had known him to enjoy - everyone looked the other way. And when Dabi had slipped into the Underworld, Keigo unconscious in his arms, tucked into his embrace with a care Dabi rarely showed anyone… well.
No one was going to say a thing.
Oh, they’d all infer it. They’d badger him with questions and sly innuendo and when do we get to meet him? But to outsiders? They’d deny it all.
Here, Keigo would be safe.
Furious with him, and understandably so. But safe.
For that, Dabi would endure anything.
When Keigo woke, he did so silently, keeping his breathing and pulse even with the years of training he’d had to fool others - even so-called observant deities. It wouldn’t fool Dabi for long - he could hear the other deity’s breathing, feel the fingers carding through his hair, so he knew the other man was there - and he knew it was only a matter of time before he’d be discovered. So he took stock of the situation.
He’d been cleaned up and changed - which wasn’t unexpected. Maybe a decade into their relationship, Dabi had found him passed out in the wheat fields and taken him back to Keigo’s home in the mortal realm. It had been the first time he’d exercised that privilege to take care of Keigo, but certainly not the last - even if the current situation made Keigo want to reconsider. The bed he was on had soft, silky sheets and there were blankets tucked about him - warm and cozy but unfamiliar. And when he breathed -
He was in a divine realm. The air itself was different, yet - unfamiliar as well. Wherever he was, he’d never been here before. And if he was in a divine realm, somewhere Dabi had taken him, where Keigo had never been, then…
His breath hitched and he jolted upright, startling Dabi. He whirled around and pinned the other deity with an incredulous glare.
“You took me to the Underworld?!” he demanded.
Never once in their relationship had Dabi ever sought to bring Keigo down here - and for good reason. The Madam had forbidden it. Oh skies, the punishment he was going to get when she found out - forget that he’d had no say in Dabi literally kidnapping him and dragging him… across the - across the boundary…
His mind stalled.
“Did you bride-nap me?!!”
Dabi’s panicked sweat-drop almost convinced him he was imagining things. Or, it would have, if it weren’t for the way the other’s mouth tightened, and his eyes took on that determined cast that would have the world burn with the force of his conviction.
Fuck, he did.
Because Keigo hadn’t willingly stepped into the Underworld - hadn’t just popped by for a visit, as deities could do if they were invited. Keigo had been taken to the Underworld, had physically crossed the boundary of the River while unconscious. Which meant that to leave he would need to have permission. Someone would have to take him over the boundary again.
And if Dabi wouldn’t, then -
“Are you saying you wouldn’t want to marry me, birdie?” the other deity teased him, only to wince when Keigo leveled him with a lethal glare.
“That,” he all but spat, “is now irrelevant. Given that’s essentially what you did.”
Dabi sobered up real fast at that particular accusation.
Good, he thought, angry, a knot tightening in his chest, weaving tighter with hurt and betrayal, at least he realizes what it looks like.
Because even if Dabi didn’t intend for it to be that way, if anyone had seen it happen - that’s what everyone would expect. Deities didn’t usually kidnap other uninjured, unconscious deities and drag them home without some expectation. And by the time Keigo even thought to be able to correct them…it would be likely the whole realm would know.
Fuck, he realized, the thought chilling him to the bone even wrapped warmly in an endless nest of blankets, when she finds out….
“Keigo,” Dabi said, quietly, almost solemnly, and that caught his attention. The god took his hands and pressed them between his own warm palms before Keigo could react to the movement, squeezing them tight, “I wanted to give you your freedom. I can’t do that by putting new shackles on you.”
The knot in his chest eased.
“If you truly want to leave, you can,” Dabi continued, “I won’t hold you here against your will. But - ,” here, his voice faltered, “Birdie, you’re killing yourself. And you’re too resigned to what that damned bitch has done to do anything about it. So I will, if I can. If you’ll let me.”
Keigo swallowed, pushing the hurt down for a moment, “Dabi - ,” he started, voice faltering. How could he possibly explain the helplessness - the knowing that there was no way out of a situation you could foresee but couldn’t stop? Even with the myriad of feelings plaguing him because of the situation, he didn’t like to think about inflicting his feelings on someone else. Much less Dabi, who’d suffered enough through his life at the hands and machinations of elder deities to be forever wary and disdainful of them.
“I can help,” Dabi countered, voice fierce and pleading in equal measure, and it stole words from Keigo’s mouth, “She has no power here, birdie. None. No one here will cleave to her, no one here owes her loyalty. Stay, Keigo - and I can protect you from her.”
The declaration hung in the heavy silence, and Dabi’s eyes burned.
“Stay,” he pleaded, “just for a while. And then, in a year’s time, if you still wish to return, I’ll take you to the boundary and have Shouto take you across.”
Keigo stared at him for a long moment, locking searching gold with burning, pleading blue. He’d never seen Dabi like this before - never seen him almost desperate, just…
“I’m still mad at you,” he blurted, the words slipping from him before he realized what he was saying. Implying.
But then Dabi just slumped, relief hitting the older deity like a tidal wave, his grip tightening around Keigo’s hands clasped within his own. And Keigo couldn’t regret the impulsive decision he’d made.
The one he’d wanted to make.
“Be mad,” Dabi said, straightening, regaining himself with determination brightening fire-bright eyes, “I’m not sorry that I brought you here.” He paused, swallowed, but stood firm, grip tight, “I am sorry that I broke your trust to bring you here, but I don’t regret it. I just - want you to be safe. To be happy.”
Dabi let go of his hands, then, and Keigo bit his lip, glancing down at the mess of soft sheets and blankets that had been dragged around him to keep him warm.
Despite how upset he was feeling about the scheme - and he was upset; upset and hurt and aching in the very heart of him - about being kidnapped by his lover… this was the first time that Keigo had ever even considered his happiness as an option. As something attainable.
And maybe that…maybe that would make this worth it. Whether it worked out or not - and there was a high chance that this would crash and burn once the Madam got involved - for that chance to be happy, maybe it was worth it. For that chance.
That chance Dabi was so determined to give him.
He inhaled, long and deep, “Okay,” he said, and Dabi jolted. He turned to look back at his partner, gold-eyed gaze piercing, “Okay, I’ll stay.”
Even if this did crash and burn…just having had this would be worth it. As long as he had this - had Dabi, had the love they shared and their life together - maybe he didn’t have to wait until that better day.
If he stayed. So he would.
“Really?” Dabi’s voice was hoarse, breaking him out of his thoughts, and Keigo looked up at him, softening at the hope and joy in his voice, “You’ll stay?”
Keigo nodded, and Dabi almost beamed at him - no matter how uncharacteristic the emotion, that was the only word that felt right - his eyes gentling to an encompassing warmth instead of a determined blaze. Keigo could feel it through the blankets.
Dabi reached for him again, then, hand coming up to curl gently around his chin after a brief hesitation, and he said, “Can I?”
Keigo hesitated, before shaking his head, “No - not now, I think - ,” his lips thinned as he pressed them together, “I think I need time.”
Dabi nodded seriously, “Of course,” he said, the hand leaving his chin to pluck up one of his hands - slow enough to watch Keigo for any objections, before he pressed a soft kiss across the bridge of his knuckles. The old fashioned gesture made his stomach flutter, warmth curling in his chest. “If you’re up for it, birdie, I can show you around a bit. You’ll love the gardens, I promise.”
Keigo’s eyes widened. Gardens? In the Underworld?
“Yeah?” he said, tightening the loose grip he had on his lover’s hand, and offered Dabi a smile, “Show me.”
end.