Archive of Our Own

Keigo stared at the man across from him. The man that he wasn't able to escape. It was only about twenty feet that they could move away from each other without a pain in their chests pulling them back together. Blue fire cracked between them, forming a barrier of smoke. Equally irritated blue eyes met gold through it. Keigo's wings bristled in annoyance. He didn't hate the man, but he had a right to be upset. After all, being dropped into an unknown place with the man he knew he'd betray wasn't the optimal situation. Especially since the man wielded the one thing that Keigo couldn't defend against. Fire.

So dead silence it was.

Neither of them recognized anything, so there was a good chance they'd been transported out of the country. If they came across anyone, communication would be difficult. The trees were strange too, much taller than any Keigo had seen. They weren't like any trees either of them had ever seen. They also hadn't seen any fauna, so that wasn't an identifier. The climate was relatively the same, so they weren't overheating or freezing. Was probably the only positive thing about the situation. Didn't have any food either. And nothing around them looked edible. That was a problem. One they needed to solve quickly, lest they starve. At least they were able to locate a source of clean water.

Not to mention the danger from the unknown. At the most they had been dead since the sun set. But so far nothing has crawled out of the shadows to kill them. It was tense waiting. The only sound between them being their breathing and the crackling fire. They hadn't said anything since their argument hours ago. Hadn't gotten violent, because they weren't keen to find out if they would be stuck towing around a corpse if one of them died. Neither of them knew how this Quirk worked, and weren't about to test it. Neither of them slept that night, paranoid that something or someone would crawl from the shadows. It was an unspoken agreement between the two men to stay awake.

They lasted about three days before Keigo broke the silence. “We'll need to find food soon,” his stomach gurgled in agreement.

Dabi eyed him suspiciously. “I don't know if you've noticed, but there isn't exactly anything to eat,” blue met gold. “unless you're offering,”

Keigo scowled, wings flaring at the threat he wasn't even sure was a threat. “Or we could move somewhere, try to find civilization,”

Dabi shrugged. “Sure birdie, if it makes you feel better,”

So they began moving, following the creek so they wouldn't die of dehydration. Three more days passed and they found a city.

What was left of one at least. It was overgrown, trees grown through windows and cracked walls. Rusted cars covered in creeping vines and underbrush. The pavement was cracked, with more unusual things growing. It was a forest of both concrete and plants. Manmade and natural. Neither of them had any words. At least they had confirmation that they hadn't left the country. Faded signs gave that away, although neither of the men could tell where they were. The Japanese lettering was so faded Keigo barely recognized it as Japanese. Heard Dabi let out a breath behind him. Just as confused and shocked as he was.

“What the fuck,” was what he eloquently said, walking over into the city, gravel and shattered glass crunching under his boots.

Keigo followed silently, staring at the sun-washed colors and fresh, bright greens of the new life. It was odd, the city completely overtaken by the natural world. The two men wandered through the city, trying their best to recognize anything. There was rubble everywhere, flowers blooming from every surface they could. Keigo sent a few feathers out, searching for anything that could give him a sign of life.

Nothing.

Just the groaning of buildings long settled and the breeze through foliage. No heartbeats, not breathing, no shuffling of feet on the ground.

“It's dead,” he found himself saying softly. The sound seems to echo in the empty city. “not even animals,”

Dabi grunted, long strides being taken towards a building in the distance. He didn't say anything, but when Keigo felt the tug in his chest he followed, albeit reluctantly. He stayed as far behind the man as he could, the echoing of their footsteps loud in the abandoned city. Dabi was having to shove brush away, branches and leaves that had overgrown the road they walked on. Keigo, worried he was going to lose the arsonist in the greenery, rushed until he was only a few paces behind him. Branches caught his wings, pulling feathers and making him hiss in discomfort. Was so focused on getting the appendages untangled that he crashed into Dabi, who had stopped.

The other man didn't move, but his voice wavered, something undesirable in it. “We're in Musutafu,”

“How could you…”

He trailed off as he turned his gaze to where the villain was looking, into the building he'd stopped in front of. The dilapidated building didn't stand out as anything special at first, just another building with faded colors, falling apart. Broken windows and wide doors handing haphazardly on their hinges, completely broken. There was nothing on the outside that could give them a hint. It was the inside that Keigo recognized. He'd only been inside a few times, but it was recognizable because the colors weren't fully bleached from interior surfaces. The front desk still had a bell sitting on it, computer knocked onto the floor by an unknown force. It was a waiting room, linoleum floors covered in dust, grime, and shattered glass, chairs tipped over or missing entirely.

It had been bustling with a different life the last time Keigo had been inside, humans rushing to get reports to their boss and coming back from missions and patrols. It was empty now, but it was unmistakable where they were.

They were standing in front of what was left of the Endeavor Agency.

Dabi stepped into the agency, boots crunching through broken glass. He could feel Hawks follow him, slower, more concerned. Dabi paid him no mind, instead examining the remnants of his father's agency. It had been his pride and joy. And before Shoto, Touya's birthright. Now it was nothing. Reduced to a greenhouse with crumbling walls and dust. There was a wall that was completely carved away, looking like a giant had taken a swipe at it. Let out a chuckle, heading further inside, past the desk and deeper into the building. He heard the bird's protest, but ignored him, searching for either food or anything that could give him a clue what could have happened to reduce the agency to this dump.

Strode past empty vending machines, some tipped over, shattered on the ground, nothing edible inside. He heard Hawks pause to look through them, but kept going, not sparing the hero a glance.

“Dabi wait!” He cried, entirely too loud in the emptiness.

Dabi didn't. Anger was simmering under his skin. Stalked up broken stairs, hopping over the spaces where stairs used to be. He needed to see. He needed to know. He froze when he saw a calendar, turning slowly. It was shockingly bright, but that wasn't why he stopped.

Hawks caught up. “What are you–”

“Shut up,” he rasped, eyes not leaving the calendar.

Hawks was about to say something else, but Dabi turned violently, eyes flashing as he revealed the calendar, set to three years in the future.

Hawks' eyes widened, glancing between Dabi and the calendar. “How?”

Dabi resumes his climb. “You think I fucking know?” He snarls, small blue embers on his breath.

He didn't hear the hero's answer over the blood pounding in his ears. He wasn't even sure why he was so upset. Reached the office, the door charred, and kicked it open without preamble, hearing Hawks' protests. The office was a mess. It smelled like ash and smoke, blackened remains of a chair stuck in the wall. The desk was no better, but as Dabi got a closer look he saw something carved into the wood.

For Dabi.

A blade was stuck in the wood, ancient and rusted. One of Toga's. It used to have a pink handle. Hawks was silent as he stalled in the doorway, but Dabi could feel the piercing gaze on his back.

The desk drawers were locked, so Dabi melted through them, frowning, but pulling out the laptop. He set it on the desk, which he noticed was charred in places, handprints seared into wood. He opened the laptop and wasn't shocked when it didn't boot up. It was Commission produced. Hawks still hasn't said anything, just lingering in the doorway, wings shifting in the way Dabi knew meant he was uncomfortable. With being in Endeavor's office or the snooping, Dabi couldn't be sure. He didn't care either way. He opened the other drawers, papers and reports joining the laptop on the desk. It had been rifled through already and he frowned.

“We shouldn't be here,”

Huh, the hero did still have a voice.

“We can't hurt anyone,” Dabi scoffed, rummaging through files. “everyone's long gone,”

“Still, what if it's personal?” He sounded so unsure. It was laughable how hard he was trying.

“It probably won't matter,” Dabi sifted through newspaper clippings with a giddy grin. “this shit's in the future,”

He stilled, paper crumpling in his grip. His face smiled back, his old face. His undamaged face. Beside it was him, grinning maniacally. His smile fell as he read the headline. He read it again, flipping to the back to see Shoto's face, scarred and bloody, but alive.

Didn't realize he couldn't breathe until flames licked at his fingers. He failed. Dropped the newspaper, watching blankly as blue consumed him. At least he knew now, so he could change something, do something different. Get better results. The rest of the papers went up in flames as he turned away, back to the hero. Didn't say anything, just shouldered past him numbly.

“Dabi, what was that?”

After all this time, all this waiting, preparing, hiding. He had failed. Not only at killing his father, but also his brother. The only thing he accomplished was killing himself, burning to death again. Permanently this time apparently. So much so that Toga apparently had to avenge him. That was somewhat comforting, knowing that at least one person missed him when he was gone. His steps faltered and a feather wrapped around his wrist. He blinked, dazed, staring into golden eyes that swam with something akin to concern.

“What the hell did you see?” Hawks breathed, much too close to Dabi's face.

He couldn't find his voice, so he didn't try. Just shrugged. He could smell the smoke that billowed from the office upstairs. He was hungry, he realized. It was a gaping emptiness inside him. Not painful. No he hadn't gone nearly enough time without food for it to start hurting, but it was noticeable. A hollowness that his body made noticeable to draw him from whatever that was. He shook the hero off, exiting the building, knowing that the man was following him. He didn't look back.

Keigo wasn't sure what to make of Dabi's… episode. He’d been looking through papers that were most likely confidential one second, face angry. The next, the papers were aflame and Dabi's face shuttered, eyes blank as he stumbled away from the burning desk, shoving past him clumsily. The villain didn't seem to really know what he was doing, stumbling down the already treacherous stairs and nearly falling multiple times. Keigo had caught him when he tripped. Wondered what was wrong, and Dabi didn't answer, just stared for a moment before seeming to regain his senses and leaving. He followed uncertainly, wings shifting as he stared at the blue fire licking through the abandoned agency.

“We need a plan,” he called after the villain.

He didn't answer, which was frustrating. They needed to work something out. But the man's pace didn't falter, and Keigo gave a small huff, following him.

It was a few hours later, wandering the city, searching though houses and businesses before something happened. There had been nothing to eat, not even empty packages with crumbs. Hunger was gnawing though Keigo and he groaned.

“Is this it? Are we going to starve?”

A clatter of concrete drew both their attention. Something snarled loud enough that Keigo could feel it. A chill went down his spine. He shared a look with Dabi. Who'd already taken up a fighting stance, hands extended, Quirk at the ready. Keigo flexed his wings, ready for whatever came around the corner.

A snuffling sound, like a dog scenting the air, before a snout came around the corner. It was large, the nose as big as Keigo's fist. Teeth stick out from its snout at all angles, sharp and yellow. Keigo tenses as more of its body comes into view. It looked like a dog, but was the size of a small car, muscles rippling under blond fur. It snarled again, snout wrinkling and bloody teeth glinting. Its yellow eyes wide with what could only be described as delight as a meaty tail thunked against the wall so hard the concrete cracked and the ground shook. Its claws looked like miniature knives, sharp enough to cut through the metal wire that was swapped around its leg. Its ears were torn and dripped with fresh, sickly green blood, as they swiveled back against its skull.

There was a beat of silence, before it tipped its head back and howled. A shrill cry, shaking the building and both men flinched back from the sound. Its lips peeled back in an expression that most closely resembled a grin, but grotesque, with bloody saliva dripping to the ground. Then a second one appeared, and a third and fourth, until there were about a dozen of the creatures surrounding them, looking nearly identical. There were slight differences, longer tails, extra appendages, and more teeth, but they all had the same horrible grin.

Didn't hesitate when the creatures charged, just grabbed the villain and leapt into the sky, bursting through the trees and into the sunlight. Dabi let out a yelp, clinging to Keigo tightly, thankfully not igniting in flames. It was as they landed on the branch of a tree that Keigo realized just how large they were.

Dabi was shaking, but glared fiercely at Keigo. “What the hell!”

“Oh I'm sorry, did you want to fight the monsters?” Keigo snapped, wings flaring with his anger.

That made the other man pause. But he pressed his lips together and didn't say anything, just looked down, trying to glimpse the creatures through the greenery.

“What were those things?” Keigo found himself asking. He didn't get Dabi's attention, but he scowled, so he must've heard him.

It took at least two hours for the creatures to move on. And even then, they waited another to be sure they wouldn't come back. It was difficult to tell how long had even passed, but thankfully the creatures didn't return, so Keigo returned to the ground. Dabi bitched the entire way down, but again, didn't burn him. Keigo was not going to comment on the man's shakiness after his feet were on the ground again. They were extra careful after that. Doing their best to not alert whatever those monsters were.

They found what looked like a deer, missing its head, but still intact enough to be edible. Dabi lit a fire and they cooked the meat, hoping that they wouldn't attract the monsters. Every bone in his body was tense, waiting for the beasts to appear to tear him and Hawks apart. Hoped fire was effective on them.

Took turns sleeping, waking the other in intervals. Hawks' feathers were perfect to keep watch, darting around while Dabi slept. Always slept with one eye open, even after joining up with the League. Didn't trust them enough to not kill him in his sleep. Heard when Hawks spread his wings to take a lap around Dabi as far as he could go. And heard when he landed. Hated the small pinch of pain that stabbed his chest every time the hero got too far away.

When he kept watch, he didn't move. Wasn't about to bust staples, especially since there wasn't more he could get. They stuck around what was left of Musutafu. Tried to keep looking for anything that could give them any information about what had happened. How everything had fallen to shit.

They found it about two weeks into their stay.

It was a nondescript building that set off every one of Dabi's alarm bells. So he tapped the feather around his wrist once, a silent summon for the hero.

A whoosh of wind before the feather tugged itself free. “What is this?”

Just shrugged, lighting his hands and melting through the steel door. It was dark inside, which wasn't a surprise, so he kept a flame dancing in his palm. Was a hospital, it seemed. That set off Dabi's instincts and he scowled, shoving them away and marching in. Hawks followed more reluctantly.

There was something off about the whole thing, but Dabi didn't stop. Kept going, peeking through doors, trying to find anything.

“It's a safehouse,” Hawks said softly.

Dabi grunted. Knew he was right. The way the entire building was structured was strategic. Built to defend. Even with the foliage growing through the walls and floor. There were barriers and what looked like makeshift weapons. What he was the most concerned by was how there wasn't any sign of human life. No blood, or bodies, or skeletons. The only signs that humans had been around were the manmade structures, small remnants of civilization.

“Why?” Hawks wondered, again voice quiet. They weren't about to attract monsters to their location.

Dabi shrugged, glancing around again. “We're missing something,” he rapsed. Usually didn't talk unless he had to. His voice wasn't able to get quiet without strain

Hawks nodded, sending feathers out from his wings to scout for them. Dabi watched the streaks of vermillion flit around, squeezing through areas that they couldn't get to otherwise. The hero froze, wing remains completely still. Dabi glanced at him questioningly, but didn't make a sound.

“There's a generator,” he murmured, recalling the feathers, and pointing at a wall. “It's still working,”

Dabi walked towards the wall and frowned at it. It was a wall of plants and stone, clearly made to hide something. Didn't even need to light his hands up. Just grabbed a slab of concrete and tugged it down. Wasn't sure why Hawks wasn't doing it, but whatever. It clattered to the floor, making way too much noise to either of their liking.

“Quiet down,” Hawks hissed, glancing around, feathers puffed.

Dabi glared at him, flipping him off as he stepped into the well lit space. It wasn't lit by electricity like he thought it'd be. Rather by the giant gaping hole in the roof. It was covered by what looked like a bubble, the remains of someone's Quirk, most likely. There was a monitor with a cracked screen connected to a few strange technological parts that Dabi wasn't familiar with. Some of the tech had Commission branding.

It took a second for Hawks to join him. Had to fit his wings through the hole Dabi had made. Golden eyes glared for a second before his attention was drawn to the monitor. He glanced at Dabi, who just shrugged. He knew nothing about technology. Moved aside for Hawks to look at it.

It took a few minutes for the hero to actually do something. The monitor came to life, with static visuals and a burst of sound. Both men startled, Dabi reached for his Quirk, lighting his palms. They relaxed as the screen cleared and the audio adjusted.

It was a news segment.

“–I repeat, stay indoors. Let the heroes handle the situation. Do not let anyone inside that you don't trust. The villain Himiko Toga is still at large. The heroes are doing their best to find her and bring her to justice for the murder of Pro Hero Endeavor,”

“What?” Hawks says, wings twitching. “Why would she kill him?”

Dabi didn't answer, just clenched his fists as the channel appeared to change.

“The villain Dabi has been defeated by Shoto Todoroki! Endeavor is in critical condition,”

The scene changed, a reporter outside a hospital.

“Endeavor is going to make a full recovery. He states that he will be out to join the manhunt for Tomura Shigaraki alongside the remaining heroes!”

“I don't understand,” Hawks said. “Do you?”

“It's not over,” is all he said, seething and doing his best to keep a hold on his Quirk.

Low quality Toga, bloody and melting off the form of his brother.

“You heroes murdered Jin. You murdered Dabi. I'm going to destroy all of you. Just like Tomura wanted,” her eyes narrowed. “I'm coming for you Hawks. You're a dead bird,”

“What did I do?”

“Shut up!” Dabi snarled. “Stop asking questions and watch,”

Thankfully he shut his mouth, but not before shooting him a confused look.

The screen flashed bright red. Black words scrolling across it. THIS IS AN EMERGENCY BROADCAST. ALL CITIZENS OF JAPAN ARE PERMITTED TO USE THEIR QUIRKS TO DEFEND AGAINST THE VILLAIN AND NOMU THREAT. USE LETHAL FORCE IF NECESSARY.

“This is not a drill,” the Commission president, blood dripping from her missing arm. “Tomura Shigaraki and All For One are dangerous. Anyone who aligns themselves with villains must be dealt with. Heroes are doing all they can, but if needed, all citizens can use their Quirks for self defense,”

Some reporter guy. “Stay away from the Musutafu area! Do not go anywhere near the Nomu. We cannot afford–” the reporter cut off in a scream as a wave of fire scorched him.

Shoto chased a Nomu, flinging fire and ice, not stopping to see if the reporter was alright. The Nomu snarled, black goo falling off and forming into a clone of it. Which cloned again, this time, the clone being Shigaraki.

“Fuck,” Hawks muttered, and this time, Dabi agreed.

They had durability Quirks built in too, seeing as on screen Shoto impaled clone Shigaraki, and he walked it off. The explosion kid appeared, blowing the clones back to goo. He said something to Shoto, who nodded. They shot a concentrated blast of hell at the Nomu, and it exploded. Into black goo.

“Where's the damn original?” Bakugou snarled.

“I don't–”

Shoto was blasted by a wave of blue fire, cutting off his words. The Nomu was cackling and screeching from one head, and roaring from the other. The head that was clearly Dabi grinned viciously, head tilting back and screeching. White hair fell into burning eyes, and its– his? horns lit with fire. It shot at Shoto again, lunging forward, claws reaching.

Only to be stopped as its other half didn't move.

“Is that Endeavor!?”

It was.

With smooth black skin, and bright blue eyes. Red slashes scraped through the skin, bleeding sluggishly. Had his own claws and horns, but appeared to control more of the body than the other head.

The other head, that snarled and screamed, blasting fire at Endeavor from its mouth.

Dabi felt sick. He wanted to scream, or throw up, or both. Stuck to his father for eternity, unable to harm him. The Nomu clearly still had a functioning brain, especially if it went after Shoto. Thankfully the scene changed.

This time it was a snarling Nomu with leathery wings. It was drooling blood as it flew towards a second one. The second one was spider-like, a multitude of limbs and hands coming off the creature. It lunged towards the flying one, grabbing it and slamming it into a building. The building promptly disintegrated. The winged Nomu snarled and lashed out with whips of dark energy from its tail. Green electricity before the winged one appeared behind the spider.

It cut to another reporter, standing beside a shining statue of All Might. “Today marks the week anniversary of both All Might, and Deku’s deaths. Both were great heroes, who worked hard to protect Japan from the evil of Tomura Shigaraki,”

“Pro Hero Hawks killed by Himiko Toga!”

“More Nomu have appeared! One seems to possess Hawks' Quirk! How will heroes handle this?” a russet colored monster with bright red wings and sharp talons, screaming and baring bloody teeth.

“Pro Hero, Shoto killed by the Todoroki Nomu!” a monstrous hydra-like combination of the entire family, fighting and clawing at each other.

“Himiko Toga is no longer at large!” The bloody and broken body of Toga, skull smashed on the pavement.

“Deku is still on our side. Garaki couldn't kill his heroic spirit!”

“Shigaraki's Nomu seen fighting with Deku against All For One!”

“No hero can locate the Nomu made from Twice,”

“We are calling for a nationwide evacuation,” the president again, missing arm replaced by a prosthetic. “everyone who has not come in contact with Pro Hero Midnight’s modified Quirk is to meet with Gang Orca and Selkie, they are in charge of evacuations,”

The headless corpse of All For One. Beside him were the unmoving corpses of the Shigaraki and Deku Nomu. Stain, standing beside them, face grave. “The Commission is lying,” he said. “They are not telling you the truth. So I will.

“All For One has Nomu under his control, and a hidden one making clones. There is a monster out there that sprays gas. Anyone who breathes that gas can never touch anyone again. The gas makes more Nomu by fusing people and their Quirks together. It can't be reversed. It makes you into a Nomu,”

A young woman, jade hair braided tightly, shakily setting down whatever she was recording with. “I'm not sure what's true anymore. I've been told different stories from a dozen other survivors. But I'll tell you everything I know about the Beasts.

“They were called Nomu once. I'm not sure how much time has passed since the first Nomu were created. But it's been about sixty years since the Breakout – when All For One broke out of Tartarus. We've kept track of time, but there are so few of us left that we just call it the Breakout. Most of us kids don't know a time before the Breakout. Before the Beasts,”

An off screen voice called. “Suzume!”

“Shit. Coming!”

It went black for a second before Suzume reappeared, looking older.

“Sorry, our base got raided by Beasts. I completely forgot about this project. But I'm ready to continue.

“One of the Beasts, we've just called it Twice, because it's named after the villain’s Quirk. Whatever, Twice was hidden somewhere and constantly making clones of more Beasts. It's probably dead now, but there are still Clones running around. Clones are cat-like. They usually run around with Bloodhounds. Bloodhounds are made from some other villain, I'm not sure which one. They can adapt their bodies to whatever they eat. They're cruel and like to play with their food. They hunt in packs, and are deadly. If there's one, there's more.

“There were Beasts made from heroes too. Their corpses got raided from battlefields for the doctor to use. No one ever found him, but it's assumed that the Beast Crumble killed him before taking down his creator with the help of Deku. Oh, Crumble is the name of Tomura Shigaraki. Deku was one of the heroes he fought with.

“I don't know what happened to Apricity. They might have killed each other. Or they’re still out there. I'm not sure. No one has seen them in a while. Thankfully they never got cloned. The doctor was always changing them around, and so no clones were able to be made.

“They didn't breed either. Bloodhounds bred with their clones, and so did every other Beast. It was a mess. Especially after the Gassing.

“The Gassing was when they started trying to make Nomu from living people. It merged Quirks and people together forever. Many of these Chimeras ended up killing themselves. Animals were also affected by the gas. They just merged with whatever they touched. They're weird now, but livestock is still edible, so we haven't starved.

“There's a lot more Beasts, but a lot of the single ones didn't breed and died out. Clones are still around, so are Bloodhounds, and Vultures. There's also Chimeras running around. I've seen some others and heard about more. There's too many and everyone has different names for them,”

It cut again, but instead of Suzume returning, it was a young man with bright green eyes, and red hair.

“I found these old videos Mom made. I thought I'd add to them. The Breakout was about one hundred years ago now. Dad said this was Mom's project, and she would be happy for me continuing it.

“Most of the Beasts have mutated. I don't know if it's from something, or if they got gassed. Dad thinks it's a mix of both. Mom did her best to study the Beasts. She wanted to get this out there so people have a better chance of survival. I think I'm going to read her notes and add anything else.

“So, there's the Serpents. They're these snake things. They're covered in spikes and can explode. They got gassed and mixed with the Bombers, which were humanoid but also kinda looked like rocks? That's what the notes say. The Serpent Bombers didn't get the rocky aspect though, so they can't survive their own explosions.

“Serpents before that were just really big snakes that could stretch really long. I think another group calls them Elastics.

“Oh! It says that anything with red, black, yellow, or orange eyes are always hostile. Green, blue, white, and purple are friendly. Some Beasts’ eye color changes, those are usually scavengers. And they only attack the injured. Like Vultures. Everything with green eyes is edible. They were naturally occuring animals before the Gassing.

“Most Beasts are omnivores. There are a handful that are strictly carnivores, Bloodhounds and Vultures in particular,” A crash from off screen. “Oh, shit,”

The video cut off. Returned with the same man, bloody, and missing an eye.

“Apricity is still alive. They attacked and killed everyone. I might not make it. There are goats, their milk is healing. They're weird. You'll know them when you see them. They look like cats,”

The video cut off again. Static replaced both the visuals and audio again. Hawks cut the wire, cutting off the static. Dabi was silent. What could he say?

“Fuck,”

Well he could say that. But he didn't. He just turned away from the monitor. Crouching and leaving through the hole they'd made.

“Where are you going?” Hawks demanded, a feather tugging the back of his coat.

Dabi turned to him, face stony. “Away,” he deadpanned.

Hawks' face was twisted into some mixture of annoyance, anger, and fear. “That's it? You have nothing to say? You destroyed the fucking world!”

Turned back around. “No. I didn't. I died,”

It was two days before Dabi spoke again. They hadn't been able to stay in one place for long. They weren't about to be taken off guard by Beasts. Keigo had noticed that Dabi didn't seem to be all there. He was unusually silent. Even when he'd tripped. There was no mocking laughter or a rude comment. Just weird silence. He still reacted to things, he was aware, but his eyes were distant. Glazed over. He was cold to the touch. Unlike any other time he'd brushed against the hero, his skin warm to the touch. It reminded Keigo of dissociative episodes he'd seen some victims go into. They were both aware and unaware of everything happening. Dabi fit all the boxes.

He was cutting through bramble thickets when Dabi shoved past him, burning through the plants. Keigo followed him, using his wings to fan out the embers of fire. It was the most controlled he'd ever seen Dabi burn anything. They broke out of the trees and onto what looked like a highway. Dabi stopped and looked around.

“We need somewhere to stay,” his voice was raspy from disuse as he turned to Keigo.

Keigo didn't respond, just stared at him. He'd tried to say that before, when Dabi had been lost in his head. He'd tried to ask what was wrong and why he'd just gone. But he received no answer. He glared at the other man, who just blinked lazily.

“You don't say a word for days and that's what you lead with?” He demanded, wings fluffing with his anger. “We're stuck, Dabi, I'd appreciate a little cooperation from you,”

“What are you on about birdbrain? You haven't done anything either,” he snapped, eyes bright with something unreadable.

Keigo's pretty sure his eye twitched. “I've had to drag your sorry ass around for two days! What the hell was up with that huh!?”

Dabi frowned at that. “Two days…?”

Threw his hands up. “Yes, two days! The amount of times I've had to save your ass from falling is too many Dabi!”

Dabi scowled. “Well it's not like I asked you to,”

Hawks took a step closer, wings raised on threat. “No, you just didn't talk at all,”

Didn't care if he was being unreasonable. He was stuck with Dabi, and had discovered that he had failed at his infiltrating mission. Dabi knew he was a traitor, and hadn't done anything about it. It put Keigo on edge. He didn't like being on edge.

“Whatever birdie,” Dabi brushed him off with a shrug. “it's not like it matters,”

Grit his teeth painfully. “Maybe next time I'll let you die,”

That made the bastard let out a bark of laughter. His expression was cold. “Oh please, you're too much of a hero to do that,”

A feather was at his throat instantly. Dabi looked nonplussed. “Maybe I'll do it myself and be done with you,”

Dabi raised an eyebrow so casually that Keigo was this close to impaling him. He knocked the feather away. “And do what? Drag my corpse along behind you? You're not that petty Hawks,”

It was Keigo's turn to laugh. “You don't know me,”

Dabi took two steps forward, eyes dark and malicious. “And you don't know me. I know more about you, than you do about me. Don't make me use it,”

“Are you threatening me?”

A heated hand gripped the floating primary. “Are you? Because–”

The snap of branches made them both turn. A low snarl echoed through the space around them. Dabi lit his hands ablaze, turning to face the threat. Keigo however took a step back. The blond creature snarled, shoving through the bushes, with a grin.

“Bloodhound,” Dabi muttered, so quiet Keigo almost didn't catch it.

“How the fuck do you know that?”

Dabi's head snapped towards him. “Does it matter?!”

“Yes!”

The Beast snarled, lunging towards Keigo, who was airborne with a beat of his wings. Dabi, on the other hand, threw a ball of flame at the monster, catching its attention. It swiped at him, and he dodged. Barely. The pounding of paws on the ground, and Keigo sent off feathers, confirming that there were three more coming at them.

“There's more!” He called down to his comrade.

Dabi didn't respond, just got clipped by a paw that sent him rolling. Keigo didn't think, just moved, diving down. Slashed a feather blade at the Beast and grabbed Dabi, hoisting them both into the air with a few flaps of his wings. Dabi yelped and clutched tightly to him, wrapping around him like a koala. Heard the sounds of the creatures behind him, snarling and screeching.

He beat his wings harder, climbing higher into the branches. Dabi was shaking against him, but hadn't said anything. His face was pressed into Keigo's neck, which at least made it easier to carry him. He wasn't struggling anymore. Keigo was grateful for that as he flew faster.

Dabi was going to hurl. He squeezed his eyes shut tighter, clenching his jaw against the nausea. Hawks was flying fast, which was good. They were escaping the Bloodhounds, but it was too fast for Dabi’s motion sickness. He didn't make a sound though. Not about to let the traitor know his weakness. Unless he actually did, then it'd be pretty obvious.

Hawks slowed down. Dabi didn't open his eyes. He tightened his grip on the other man, accidently pressing his face further into his neck. Made him catch the stench that comes from two weeks of not showering. He gagged, turning his head away. But the churning of his stomach kicked up and he grabbed a feather.

“Stop moving,” Hawks snapped.

“Down,” Dabi croaked. “Now,”

Thankfully, Hawks listened to him and began descending. It wasn't as fast as Dabi would like. He tried to swallow down the bile rising in his throat and halfway succeeded. The second the hero set him down he kneeled and let it out.

“What…?”

Dabi didn't answer right away, just groaned, sitting and wiping his face. Turned a glare over his shoulder. “You reek,”

The hero's eyes narrowed dangerously. “It can't be that bad,”

Rose shakily to his feet, not lowering the intensity of his glare. “No, that was my fuckin' motion sickness,” Felt the pounding of the Bloodhounds before he heard them. “We gotta go,”

Hawks nodded stiffly. “We can't outrun them,”

Scowled. “Fuck,”

He ended up back in Hawks' arms, carried like a fucking princess. He wanted to complain, but the Beasts chasing them were more important than his pride. He'd never admit it aloud though. He still felt ill, his stomach revolting against him. There wasn't really anything left to lose though, so it was just a shitty feeling. He shifted, uncomfortable with how he was being held.

“Stop moving,” Hawks hissed.

He couldn't. Shifted again. Something was digging into his back. Something that he tried to shift to move. It didn't alleviate the discomfort.

The grip on him tightened. “Stop or I'm going to drop you,”

Scoffed, because he knew he wouldn't. “Sure birdie,” shifted again, though this time it was to look behind them.

The pack of Bloodhounds were still following, pausing occasionally to sniff the air. Hawks gained some ground before they howled and rushed forward again.

Dabi realized the reason they couldn't lose them. “You stink,” had to shout over the rush of wind.

Hawks scoffed, tightening his hold as retaliation. “You don't smell so great either Dabs,”

Shit.

“That's why we can't lose them,” he said. “They're called Bloodhounds for a reason,”

“Shit,” at least he shared the sentiment.

“So what are we supposed to do?” Hawks asked. “I can't fly forever,”

“We'll figure something out,”

“No,”

This was not figuring it out, Keigo decided, standing fully dressed, thigh deep in a creek. Dabi stared at him, eyes narrowed, also in the creek. At least he wasn't bothered by the cold of it. Damn fire Quirked people.

Keigo glared at him. “It's not that hard. Just turn around,”

Dabi scoffed. “So you can stab me in the back? Nice try, hero. No,”

Keigo wanted to strangle him. He really did. But he let out a measured breath. “If I wanted you dead, I would've left you for the monsters,”

Dabi didn't budge, just held his gaze, reaching up to strip his shirt off. Keigo's mouth went dry. Because apparently Dabi wasn't a stick. Not like he thought he was. He was lean, but muscular, not at all what Keigo had been expecting. The scars were worse than he expected too, extending from his neck all the way to his right wrist. There was a strip of scar tissue that cut around his torso. The staples were shiny in the afternoon light, reflected off the water too. Keigo wasn't sure how to react to the fact that his enemy was apparently hot under his loose clothes.

Dabi scowled at him, dipping the shirt into the water. “Whatever, it's the only way to lose them. I'm not about to let your stubbornness get me killed too,”

Keigo swallowed. “Fine,” he hated this so much.

He took off his own shirt, flexing his wings as he did. Stretching the muscles that were sore from the transport of two grown men. He glanced down at the water, making sure his shirt didn't slip from his grasp. When he glanced back up he saw Dabi staring at him. Eyes narrowed, he met the cobalt gaze evenly.

“What?”

Dabi scoffed, turning to the side glancing at his boots, which he'd set aside before stepping into the water. Keigo's were beside them. He retrieved his emergency soap from the pocket of his jacket, set aside next to Dabi's. A splash turned his attention back to Dabi, now holding his pants, wet hair sticking to his face, dark against his pale complexion. Keigo was struck by just how pale the arsonist was. He never looked like it under the cover of darkness in the abandoned places they'd met up in. His eyes darted away quickly as he took the soap from the feather.

Until Dabi darted forward suddenly. Keigo squawked, wings bristling as he was face to face with a very naked villain. Dabi grinned, holding his gaze as he snatched the soap and retreated, sitting on a rock just below the surface of the water. Thankfully obscuring his waist. Keigo did not want to see that thank you.

When he regained his voice he snapped angrily, “you could've just asked!”

Dabi laughed, eyes darting up briefly as he lathered the soap into his shirt. “And you woulda said no,”

He would've, but now he was in the cold water without his soap, needing to also clean his clothes. He flushed as he realized that he was about to be very naked, in a creek, with a similarly naked villain, where standing up would have his dick out of the water. He wasn't too keen on flashing his enemy. So he crouched down and did his best to remove his pants. Stripped off his belt quickly and tossed it to the bank. It hit a rock with a clang and Dabi looked back at him fully, hands submerged, working on his pants. He looked completely at ease, despite everything.

Keigo realized that he wasn't looking away again. He slowly shuffled a leg from his waterlogged pants and subsequently slipped on a loose stone. Fell into the water with a splash and resurfaced spluttering. Dabi laughed, because of course he did. Spat water from his mouth and glared at him. Knew he probably looked as threatening as a drowned rat. It only made the villain laugh harder. Keigo shook his head and wings, wrestling the thick cargo pants from his other leg before shifting to kneel on the stones. They dug in painfully, but it was better than flashing his enemy.

He continued scowling until Dabi straightened and glanced at him, holding his clothes, waiting for the soap. With a chuckle he held it out. Keigo didn't move.

“D’ya want it or not?”

His feathers were wet, so he wasn't going to send one to grab it, that would result in him losing the soap entirely. He grit his teeth and glared.

Dabi rolled his eyes. “Just get up,” proceeded to rise, and he rushed to do the same, so as not to be flashed by his enemy.

He knew his face was bright red. As he trudged over, looking past Dabi's shoulder to avoid eye contact, and grabbed the soap. Only to realize that he'd dropped his clothes and they were floating away from him.

“Shit!” With a flap of his wings, water surged around him as he flung himself forward to catch the garments. He turned around quickly again to see Dabi staring down. Almost followed his gaze until he caught the slight red tint to the man's face.

He had flashed his enemy.

His own face turned as red as his wings as Dabi refused to meet his gaze, looking past him instead. They both crouched back into the water at a crawl, resolutely avoiding eye contact. Keigo was mortified as he began scrubbing his clothes, massaging the soap into the fabric thoroughly. Their gaze met once and they both looked away quickly.

Silence stretched between them, so thick that Keigo was sure he could slice through it with a feather. He scrubbed his body quickly, watching grime wash away downstream. Handed the soap to Dabi, who took it without a word. Dabi was more meticulous than he was, probably because of the scars over most of his body. Keigo didn't dare get out of the water until Dabi did. He sent his wings over to a patch of sun after shaking as much water as he could out. They needed to be mostly dry if he wanted to fly. Sent his clothes out too after wringing them out.

Dabi looked over at him, raised an eyebrow, and went back to scrubbing his seams. He stood up, steam rising as he did, obscuring him from Keigo's view. Bastard. Heard the splashing of him leaving the water, and returning again. The steam cleared and Dabi was back on his rock, with his leather coat this time. Keigo glowered at him, because he was smirking. Well he at least had a way to not flash his enemy. Smug bastard. Not that Keigo wanted to see. But still. Bastard.

The metal cuffs were gone, he realized during his staring. Dabi caught his gaze and moved on again. The tension was thick, and Keigo wanted nothing more than to submerge himself into the creek and let it take him. Of course there was no escaping Dabi, since they were invisibly tethered together. He groaned, lightly flexing his baby wings and rinsing his hair again. He should dry off, he realized. Only to be horrified by the fact that he couldn't do that without getting out first. And he had nothing to cover up with.

Dabi was panicking. Because he knew the traitor bird was hot, but goddamn! He wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Was pretty sure his face was bright red, or at least as much as it could be. Would've given the bird a steam cover had it not been so sudden.

Thankfully quick reflexes kicked in and his head snapped downwards to avoid being flashed by his enemy. It was still horrible and mortifying, especially since he knew of his attraction to the bastard hero. He wasn't blind. He had the stereotypical hero build of toned, tanned muscle. There were a few scars here and there from various fights where he hadn't been fast enough. But they didn't stand out starkly against his skin. Those golden eyes looked like honey and the black markings separated them from the golden glow of his skin.

Although his hero smile was conventionally attractive, Dabi much preferred to see his true reactions. The furrow of his brow when he was confused, or the narrowing of golden eyes. And even the bristling of vermillion wings that the hero didn't even seem to be aware of. The minute changes to his face when Dabi pissed him off just enough were entertaining to watch. Dabi was one of the only people to see true glimpses of the hero's true feelings.

So when Hawks had been just as red as he set his clothes and feathers out to dry, looking anywhere but his eyes. Dabi had to repress a smirk. But he kept all that off his face, letting it return to its natural resting bitch look. The hero clearly thought that the redness in Dabi's face was because he'd been flashed by his enemy. Of course it wasn't from that.

It was from almost being flashed by the exact type of man he was into.

He casually dipped his coat into the water one last time before setting it beside his other clothes. Kept the hero in his peripheral, even though he was certain he wasn't going to try anything. Dabi would've felt pity had he not almost been flashed by his enemy.

He was mostly numb. The entire situation was taking a bit to settle in. He wasn't entirely sure what to do about it either.

They were trapped for one. In a future where there were most likely no humans left alive. They'd have to be careful when encountering Beasts, because if they got gassed, their survival would be a curse. There were an innumerable amount of variables that could kill them, especially since the Beasts had apparently mutated. And that was just one of the many things Dabi was fighting with. Was great at compartmentalizing, but if he had to think about his failure…

Steam started wafting and he mentally lowered his temperature. Hawks was staring at him, or at least in a way that made it look like he wasn't. That wasn't working well for him. Dabi finally stood up, letting steam billow from his body. Hawks was shivering, but glances between him and the drying clothes. Dabi wasn't worried about his own nudity, he'd been around way worse people with his dick out to be concerned with a hero. Unless it was his father. That would surely be something.

Dabi scowled, grabbing his clothes and warming his hands to dry them as he shut that thought down. Wasn't about to open that box. Not when there were more important things to worry about. Actually, while he was at it, he shoved the hero's red face into a box too. He pulled on his clean and dry clothes quickly before the steam faded and this got any more awkward. Forced a smug air around him as he turned to the hero shivering in the creek, shoulders just above the waterline.

“Ya coming?” He asked, finally breaking the silence that had permeated the air around them.

Hawks' scowl deepened. “Ha ha,” his voice laced with sarcasm that was almost thicker than the tension he gave off.

Dabi knew he would need to dry the clothes. But he knew he was petty, and he wasn't about to let the hero's actions when flying go. “I can wait,” he said, walking over to a tree and leaning against it. “whenever you're ready birdbrain,”

He kept eye contact this time, noting that Hawks was looking just beyond his body. Still embarrassed it seemed. Although him refusing to speak was kinda cute in its own weird way. Immediately shoved that into the box because he wasn't touching that anytime soon.

After about five minutes, he did move to dry the clothes sitting in the sun. Grabbed them and watched the steam pour off them from his heated hands. It was a little more difficult to make sure the thick fabric was dry without burning holes in it, but Dabi managed. He heard Hawks get out of the water and threw his pants at him.

“Where are my–”

Dabi held up his boxers, burnt through. “Not that skilled,” he muttered, not looking at the hero. Heard the birdbrain splutter, but he just threw the shirt at him, standing up. “‘M not touching those,” gestured to the feathers.

“That's fine,” his voice pitched up with his embarrassment.

Dabi shrugged, popping his shoulders and turned to face the now dressed hero. He didn't miss the way the hero's eyes darted down quickly. Met his gaze evenly, a challenge. Dabi licked his lips and rolled his eyes. “We gotta find somewhere to stay,”

It took three days to find a place to start building a cabin. Dabi argued the entire time.

“It'd be better to just hole up in the city,” he'd said.

Keigo, tired of the man already, had just snarled back, “There's nothing left of the city. We can't live there. It's better to build something in a place where the monsters can't get to us,”

Dabi took a threatening step forward. “In case you missed it dumbass, there's flying Beasts. We aren't gonna be safe anywhere,”

Dabi reluctantly agreed with him after arguing for about a day, having to escape blind mole-creatures that hunted by sound, and staying in a tree for the night.

Keigo had begun to notice the sounds of this new world around them. Especially the sounds of a threat. They'd found another of the deer creatures, that apparently had the head of a boar and were absolutely not afraid to change the humans. Keigo would've gotten impaled had Dabi not sent a wave of fire to divert the thing's attention. It was enough of a distraction for Keigo to send a feather to slit its throat. They didn't even get through half of the monster before being full. They didn't have anything to take it with them either.

They did find out that Vultures were the birdlike monsters Keigo had seen circling over them occasionally. Huge wings sprouted from their backs, a dark russet color, and usually dripping with the gore of their kill. They had snake heads and necks that could extend about six extra feet. They sported toothed beaks that could occasionally spray acidic venom. Their bodies were a disturbing mix of human and animal. Human arms sprouted from above their front legs. Paws with razor sharp claws. The hands were also clawed, sharp black talons. Their legs were that of some raptor, scaled and sharp. Their tail feathers could shift into sharpened spikes and shot at enemies.

The two humans were lucky they were scavengers and only attacked dead or dying Beasts. They were much less cruel than the Bloodhounds that they'd come across, tearing apart a still breathing mole-creature. Vultures were a lot less sadistic and evil. They screamed and screeched, but they made kills quick and painless if they could.
The Vultures had snatched up the remains of the deer-boar, and fought over it above their heads. Dabi had shot a jet of fire at them to make them leave, and thankfully they did, but not after the lead Vulture spat acid. That was how they found out the venom was explosive. Neither of them were actually hurt after that, which Keigo was grateful for, even as he yelled at the bastard for his stupidity.

They eventually agreed that the cabin should be built in one of the massive trees to protect them from anything on the ground. Keigo was glad that Dabi didn't seem to want to die just as much as he did. Was pretty sure there would be more arguments after they had settled and didn't need to get along to survive.

But for now, they worked together to begin building the house. Had to fly around (slowly) before finding a suitable place. The tree was tall enough and had a water source nearby. A lake that Keigo checked, had green eyed fish, and plenty of other creatures coming by for water. Would be perfect for bathing too… and Keigo wasn't going to go there right now.

The first thing that needed doing was wood. And Keigo wasn't keen on giving Dabi a feather to use as a knife.

Dabi rolled his eyes. “Not gonna kill you birdie, that'd be counterproductive,”

So, he gave the villain a sharpened feather and they went to find new growth. Trees that weren't huge. They found a few and Keigo was surprised with how well Dabi handled the feather. Tried not to be distracted as he sliced through his own tree. Thankfully, they cut easily and they managed to fell four before they went back. The trunks were heavy, and needed multiple primaries and secondaries to ferry back to the tree they'd picked.

Dabi grumbled as he fended off a few creatures that'd been attracted by the noise. The mole-creatures weren't very dangerous unless they had high numbers. They were just annoying. The three Dabi shooed off weren't a threat, despite their size. Kept an eye out for Bloodhounds though. It took a day to even bring the trees back and strip them of their bark and branches. They shifted watch twice during the night. Thankfully there were no nocturnal Beasts that they had seen or encountered.

Keigo used his feathers to slice the wood neatly into what they would need. Dabi kept watch for Beasts, pacing around the clearing almost in an anxious fashion. Hadn't told Keigo much, but he did say that the Beasts were obviously something they wouldn't be able to stop. Nature had taken its course and turned them into wild animals. He did mention something about possibly domesticating them though. Was an interesting thought, but he didn't really think it would be possible. Not without a lot of work at least.

It took three days before they had nearly enough wood to even begin. Dabi spent most of the time making sure they weren't snuck up on. Pacing back and forth, eyes darting around. Every muscle in his body was tense, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Something was going to go wrong. He could feel it. He wasn't about to ignore the instincts that kept him alive on the streets. Made his way over to the hero.

“What?” He demanded, stopping from where he'd been carrying more wood. Sweat dripped from his face, much like Dabi's. Or at least how Dabi's body tried to.

“Something's wrong,” he said.

Hawks did pause, even his feathers stopping. Turned his full attention to Dabi. “You saw something?”

Dabi chewed on a staple. “No,” he admitted after a pause. Glanced behind him. “Just, something's wrong,”

Golden eyes narrowed. “I don't hear anything,” he turned back to the boards drying in the heat. “you're probably just imagining it,” Dabi gripped his shoulder and immediately a feather was at his throat. Ground his teeth together, uncertain if he was angry or not. “Don't touch me,” Hawks snarled.

“Then fucking listen,” Dabi retorted, unfazed by the feather he could easily burn. “Out of the two of us, I'm the one who's been on my own. I've been in the streets long enough to know when something's wrong. And something is,”

Golden eyes flickered over him for a moment before something unreadable passed over the hero's face. The feather lowered. “Fine,” his tone was clipped. Dabi swallowed, taking a step back. Hawks seemed to also realize how close they'd gotten and turned away, face slightly red. “What do we do then?”

Dabi didn't answer at first, just took a breath and locked the box tightly. He'd deal with whatever this feeling was later. “I don't know,”

Saw vermillion wings twitch in what had to be annoyance. “Why tell me then? Just keep watch,”

Dabi grit his teeth, but didn't argue, walking back over to the tree and sitting down on a root. After about ten minutes he tilted his head and examined the boards. They didn't have nails, so they'd either have to use pegs or find glue. Dabi rose and watched Hawks' wings twitch. He heard him then.

Pressed his lips into a thin line. “I'm going to scout,” he said. A smaller feather shot towards him, latching around his wrist, just above the seam. “the fuck is this?”

The hero didn't even look at him. “For if you need help with something,”

Didn't bother with it, just walked off. He wandered for about twenty minutes before he found something. It was a tree that was different from the towering monstrosities. It was wider and colored blue of all things. It was oozing an orange sap. Dabi watched it for a moment before walking closer to examine it. There were insects the size of his fist stuck in the substance, buzzing and trying to break free. There were also a multitude of bones stuck too. He tapped his pinkie against a small portion and managed to pull away from the tree because the sap was soft. When he rubbed his thumb over it though, they got stuck and he panicked slightly.

Thankfully it softened when he warmed it again and he could scrape it off. He found a discarded sheet of metal and used it to chip off chunks of the dried sap. This would work for glue once he warmed it. Frowned, and warmed his hands enough to shape the metal into a container. He was thankful that his palms were more fireproof than anything else. He left the area, mentally marking the spot for later.

An insect broke free and buzzed around him. Dabi cursed, swatting at it and ducking under it. It had a stinger that he was not keen on getting hit by. Sent a small flame at it and it shattered into a multitude of smaller pieces. Smaller bugs that swarmed him. Dabi took a step back and examined them quickly. They were attracted to the heat he realized. Grabbed a chunk of sap and heated it quickly, throwing it at the tree before it stuck to his hand. The bugs followed, thankfully. That was close.

Followed the strange pull in his chest back to Hawks, still working on slicing boards. Dabi set the makeshift container down and glanced around with a frown.

Hawks turned to him. “What's that?”

“Sap,” he walked over to the discarded branches and tugged one towards the shade. Pulled the feather off his wrist and raised an eyebrow at the hero. “Knife,”

The feather sharpened and Dabi sat down.

It took hours, but eventually he had a handful of wooden pegs. The first few were uneven and wonky, but the recent ones were just about perfect. He felt Hawks' gaze on him as he went over to the cut boards and began burning holes into them, a little larger than the pegs.

Slowly the sun set, darkness creeping towards them. Dabi was the one sleeping first, so he leaned back and closed his eyes, keeping his grip on the feather.

It took a month before they could sleep in the house. They didn't put the roof on yet, since it hadn't rained once since they'd been there. The base of the platform extended across three branches and around the main trunk of the tree. Keigo was actually thankful that Dabi had found the sap, because it stuck everything together better than simple pegs would. They had one wall up to protect them from the wind that came through when they were this high up. The wooden floor was actually much more comfortable than the earth below, strangely soft, while still being firm.

It took another two weeks before the other walls were erected and the frame for the roof was up. Keigo was surprised with how well they were able to work together. He was still. ignoring his concern with how good Dabi was with a knife. They still had to leave remains behind when they managed to hunt something. Although Dabi had found some nuts that were edible. They weren't like anything Keigo had seen, but they were filling. Also easier to find than meat.

Keigo did bathe again when Dabi went for more sap though. He was not having a repeat of last time. He skewered a few fish from the lake too and was flaying them open when Dabi returned. There was always a weird feeling in his chest when the villain drew near, even when he couldn't hear him, he knew when he was coming.

Dabi dropped the bucket and groaned tiredly. “You gonna work on the ladder anytime soon?”

Ah, that's what he was forgetting. “We don't need it right now,” he said, shifting his shoulders. They twinged in pain and he realized just how long he'd been picking fishbones out of the meat. “I was more worried about getting dinner,”

Dabi's nose wrinkles. “Fish?”

Keigo shrugged. “It doesn't taste like fish. More like chicken,”

Dabi rolled his eyes, muttering, “birdbrain,” under his breath.

Keigo huffed almost fondly. He was not going to look into that though. “Can you start a fire?”

Dabi did, and the fish got cooked. Dabi bitched about the fish the entire time, but did acquiesce and have some. Reluctantly agreed that it was fine because it tasted like chicken. Keigo filed the man's dislike of fish away into the small box dedicated to the few things he knew about the villain. Right alongside how good he was with a knife.

Keigo flew them into the house. It was barren inside for now. He planned on adding a wall to the center to make seperate spaces. Building this house made Keigo glad that the Commission had made him take lessons on construction to help with rescues. Didn't ever think he'd need it for this, but it helped immensely.

He slept fitfully that night.

Once they settled into the house, and the ladder was made, Dabi stopped trying to play nice. He still did things if they were needed for survival. But he stopped with favors. He leered over the hero's shoulder when he was working. If he wasn't bugging him, he was out gathering more sap, whittling more pegs, or just mapping out the surrounding area. He wasn't sure if Hawks had noticed the extension to whatever the invisible tether it was that connected them, but he did and abused it. Never told the hero about his findings unless they were Beasts that could be a threat.

He didn't trust the hero at all, and ventured into the city, looking for anything that could give him any information that the video hadn't. Newspaper clippings were the most helpful. Dabi also didn't want the hero discovering his identity, so he burned anything he found about him. He sneered and kicked down an ancient Endeavor memorial, satisfied by the crumbling stone and burning offerings.

A screech made him turn to a Vulture. It was perched on a rusted stoplight, watching him with dark yellow eyes. He stared back, not breaking eye contact with the Beast. Its feathers flared and it growled. Dabi turned away from it, sending another bout of flame at the memorial. He wandered until the pinch in his chest drew him back, closer to Hawks. Found a burned out area and frowned at it. A melted pile of slag sat in the center of the clearing, a few vines creeping over it. The remaining pavement was scorched and destroyed.

He sighed heavily, pulling out a paper he'd picked up. Newspaper declaring his defeat.

Everything was futile. He didn't change anything. He didn't get his revenge, he didn't destroy heroes, he didn't win. He was a failure. Again.

Dabi wasn't needed, he realized. Dabi didn't help. Didn't solve anything. Dabi was a failure. Just like Touya. Now he just was. Wasn't a hero, wasn't a villain. He just was.

There was no point of him anymore. Emotions swirled. Emotions that he wasn't sure what to do with. Emotions that flared and swirled and felt confusing to him. Emotions that he'd always turned into anger, into fuel for his Quirk. But there was no point now. He was stuck in the future, with Hawks, and there was no hope of them returning without some other factor.

Fire flickered around him, burning the plants that had grown over civilization. What he didn't know was this was where his final encounter had been, in a future that might never happen. He let it burn. Because what else was there? What else could he do? Without his goal, his purpose, there was nothing left. Not for Dabi.

It was kind of cute if Keigo was being honest. Sure it was also really ugly, but what goat creature wasn't? Its head was on backwards, feline ears perked up behind spiraling goat horns. Most of its body was feline, hooves making no noise as it padded over the grass. Its tail moved like a dog's though, wagging back and forth. Its fur was coarse, falling out with its movement. It had goat teeth, sharp in its canine like snout.

He’d entered a staring contest with the creature some time ago. It bleated and charged towards him, which was hilarious, because it was running backwards. Wasn't very fast, because its legs weren't designed to bend to the direction it was facing. He laughed, feeling free in a way he hadn't before. In a way he couldn't with Dabi around.

He didn't want to let his guard down. He trusted that Dabi wouldn't kill him, mostly because they both weren't interested in seeing just how this line between them worked. But he didn't trust the man. He couldn't. Especially if they went back. Dabi knew about his true alliance, his true job. His mission. He'd be killed the second he could.

Keigo moved around the goat Beast, not wanting it to butt into him. It bleated again pawing at the ground, bright green eyes narrowing at him. Keigo could feel the tug in his chest. Knew that meant Dabi was near. He watched the goat thing, sending a few feathers out to see if there were more around. Green eyes meant edible.

“Shit, is that a goat?” Dabi asked as he shoved through what looked like ivy, into the grotto Keigo had found.

“I guess,” he muttered, stepping aside to let the Beast by, not breaking eye contact with the villain.

“As in the ones that have magical healing milk?”

Oh.

“Probably,” Keigo admitted, turning and grabbing the horns of the Beast. It tried to kick him. It failed.

Dabi sighed wearily, rubbing a hand down his face. “So we'll need a place for them, unless we wanna keep it here,”

“I can keep a feather on it to track it,” he said, “while we build a pen for them,”

Dabi nodded. “That'd work,”

Keigo shot him a suspicious look. He was being oddly agreeable. Dabi didn't seem to notice though, just turned around and left. Keigo wrapped a feather around the goat’s neck and released it, following the villain.

They strangely got along much better. Keigo wasn't sure what to make of it. Where Dabi would complain a day ago, he easily picked up a multitude of skills. He started carving more things, crafting wooden furniture to put in the house. He kept foraging the surrounding area and found a waxy substance that he gave to Keigo to keep water from seeping through the house. Dabi found more edible plants and food so he didn't have to go hunt all the time. He made fires without bitching all the time. He began working on a fenced off area to put the goat pen. He found another goat.

Keigo wasn't sure why the villain was being so helpful and cooperative. He rarely spoke anymore. Short clipped sentences when Keigo asked what he was doing. He was distant again, but he was being helpful, so Keigo didn't dare bring it up. He did, however, notice that the guarded expression Dabi usually wore was gone.

It made a strange feeling flutter in Keigo's chest that he didn't dare look into. He just watched the villain. He wasn't trying to instigate arguments anymore. He wasn't pestering Keigo, and usually only spoke when he was asked a question. He was strangely considerate now. Always letting Keigo sleep first or eat.

His expressions were more open too. His eyes seemed brighter, and Keigo realized that maybe, Dabi had decided to get along for both their benefit. He wasn't going to complain. Instead of demanding answers for the changed behavior, Keigo tried to interact with the man more. He started conversations, asked what Dabi was making, or just prattled on about what he'd found that day.

Eventually Dabi joined the conversation more, offering up his own findings and discoveries. It was…nice, to have someone to talk to who he didn't have to put up a front for. Someone who didn't care if he didn't act like a hero. Because that was the least interesting part of Keigo to Dabi. He had no love for Hawks, but apparently, he could get along with Keigo.

It was a conscious decision to think of himself as Touya again. Because he couldn't be Dabi anymore. There was no point of it. There were no heroes or villains. No reason to hide, they weren't going back.

So Touya made himself useful to Hawks. He dug into long buried memories and began working. He explored as far as he could with the tether and always found something useful to bring back. Hawks didn't seem to know what to make of it. He gave Touya odd looks that he pretends not to see. But he didn't stop being useful. If he wasn't useful, if he wasn't doing something, well, he didn't want to think about that.

Touya realized that there were a lot of things that Hawks took for granted. Containers being one of them. So he sent the man to find glass and plastic to bring back. He could work with those easily. While he was gone, Touya went to the lake with his pot and gathered sand. Managed to find some clay too that he made a second trip for. Remembered almost fondly how Rei had tried to find ways he could use his Quirk without pursuing hero work. He'd been angry at the time, lessons sitting in front of a computer trying out various crafts that needed heat.

Was actually grateful for it now as he slicked his hands with water and started sculpting a pot for actual cooking. Was halfway done when Hawks came back with a large collection of glass and plastic.

“Whatcha doing?” He asked, depositing the shards in a flat patch of grass.

“Making something we can actually use,” Touya grumbled as he squashed a wall back down to repair where it'd gotten too thin.

“I didn't know you could do…that,”

“S called pottery birdbrain,” he retorted. “And I can barely. Never paid attention when my mom tried to teach me,” Hawks was silent, and Touya looked up to see him frowning. Looking confused. Realized that he wouldn't have shared that before. Rolled his eyes. “Only reason I don't care is cause we aren't getting back,”

That made the hero blink, eyes refocusing on him. “What do you mean?”

Dipped a hand into the water and wet the clay again. Damn the sun was hot. “Look around. There's no people. We ain't heroes and villains out here,”

“There's still a chance we go back though,” Hawks argued, sitting down beside him.

Touya set the pot in the grass and turned his attention to him with a raised brow. “K, then what? We tell everyone how the world got fucked up? Try to change it and make something worse?”

Feathers shuffled in agitation. “Well, yeah, we tell people, the Commission, and stop this,” gestured to the world around them.

“You're naive if you think that'll change anything,” wiped his hands on the grass and stood up, shedding his coat and stretching.

Hawks followed with a scoff. “Of course it will, it's their job to protect people. They make sure Japan is safe. They're called the Hero Public Safety Commission because they protect the public,”

“Careful, you sound like you're reading out of their rulebook,”

“That's what they do, Dabi,” he stressed, looking as agitated as Touya felt. This was their first fight since he's decided to be Touya again.

Touya ground his teeth together, sparks of anger flaring at his fingertips. He sat down again and fired the pot instead of Hawks.

“The ‘solution’ they'd come up with would be to hunt the League and kill us,” he said.

A squawk. “That's not true!”

Touya let his Quirk fizzle out. “Remember the video of Toga?” Hawks frowned at the subject change, but nodded. “She said Twice was murdered,”

“Okay, there's plenty of accidents–”

“You killed him,” Touya said, cutting him off. “to keep him out of the fight, because he was too dangerous to be left alive. Because when you're called a villain, you lose everything. Respect, jobs, family, friends, all of it,” paused to test the pot. “You become less than everyone around you,” handed the bird a chunk of clay.

Hawks took it, wetting his hands and copying Touya. “What does that have to do with anything?”

Sighed. “Villains are usually outcasts. Toga, for example, was shunned for her Quirk. Called a monster for needing blood. She was starved and her first ‘victim’ was an accident. She was called a villain and couldn't go home. The League became a family to her. She'd gladly die for us,”

“Why?”

Turned to look into the honey colored eyes that were staring at him intently. “Because when you've been beaten down by the world, you're gonna do everything to protect the ones who picked you back up. We have nothing to lose but each other,”

“That's fucked up,”

Touya snorted. “Glad you agree with me,”

They were silent for the rest of the afternoon. Touya didn't have to go out for food; there were still nuts and berries in the house. Enough for the night at least. After covering the three pots with a tarp Hawks found a few days ago, they went inside, the ladder still making Touya’s seams ache.

They were silent as they ate, and darkness fell quickly. Touya lit a small fire in his palm so they could see as they readied for sleep. Being safely tucked into the tree meant they could both sleep without having to watch. It was something that worked. Touya put the fire out when they both settled and closed his eyes.

He didn't sleep easily.

A month after their serious conversation, Keigo went out while Dabi worked on a fence for the goat pen. He was flying this time, catching an updraft and heading towards the remains of civilization. It was nice to be able to fly again like this. The sun hot and heavy as it beat down on him. He was out looking for any type of fabric they could use, or soap. Knew he wasn't going to find soap. Fabric would be difficult too, but hopefully he could find something about Beasts that he could use. If they could be used to make fabrics.

He was carrying the metal pot that Dabi told him to take. Just in case he found more than his feathers could carry. Doubted he would, with how scarce resources actually were. Ones that weren't natural at least. Keigo pivoted when something caught his eye. He scanned the ground before diving towards it.

He landed on the cracked cement and scanned for danger before approaching what appeared to be a metal trapdoor. It wasn't covered in layers of rust like everything else. It looked brand new. After further examination, Keigo yanked on the handle. Stumbled back when it opened because it was lighter than he expected it to be. He set the pot down and sent a few feathers to map out just what was down there. Scouting ahead for any dangers.

When nothing pinged back he descended into the darkness. His vision adjusted as best it could, and he made a mental note to tell Dabi to work on some kind of light. He wasn't sure Dabi would be able to figure that out though. Keigo had to rely on his feathers as he walked. The space was musty and filled with dust. Clearly this bunker had been here a while. There were shelves lining the walls and Keigo paused as a feather brushed against what felt like a book. Brought it back and tried to read the cover. Obviously failed because it was so dark.

There were a few more on what felt like a desk that he grabbed too. Found a few basic weapons that weren't rusty and grabbed them. Figured that Dabi could use them if he needed to. There was a blanket or two that he folded and set outside the bunker. There were other things that he grabbed.

Something squealed and he jumped, having missed the heartbeat of a Beast. He shoved it away from his feet with a feather and flew back out of the bunker, shoving the blankets on top of the pot to keep things from flying out as he spread his wings and took to the sky once more. He caught sight of a Bloodhound perched on the edge of a roof, grinning. Flew a little higher, just in case. There was another one a few rooftops away, watching him.

It howled and leapt at him, claws extending much longer than they should. Keigo tried to roll, tucking his wings close and spinning to the side. The blow connected with his wing, slashing easily through feathers. He let out a cry as agony shot from the severed feathers that fell through the air. He was unbalanced on the air now. So he descended quickly, trying not to crash.

Heard the Bloodhound land behind him and forced himself to move the second his feet hit the ground. Raced away towards the house, where he knew Dabi was. The two Bloodhounds managed to at least keep pace, about ten feet behind him. And they were gaining. One of them had darted off to the side, and began shooting small spines at Keigo. He managed to dodge them, but he was losing speed.

Sent a feather ahead, focusing on the unnatural body heat of his comrade. He almost tripped as he did, the brambles tearing through his pants easily, nicking skin underneath. That spurred the Bloodhounds on. Wrapped the feather around Dabi's wrist and pulled. Heard the man curse and follow, towards Keigo. A dart embedded itself in his shoulder and he let out a choked sound. It was like being burned all the way to bone. He sent out a few feathers to slice at his pursuers, but they were snapped up painfully by the Beasts. Couldn't afford to lose more. He only had one wing, and it was down to half size with how many feathers he was using.

He felt Dabi approaching, running to keep up with the feather. “Birdie, what the hell?” He was muttering.

Keigo saw him and nearly collapsed when another dart hit him. This time his leg. He stumbled as Dabi raced forward, fire in hand. Keigo felt dizzy from the pain of the darts, which had to have some sort of toxin. There was no way it could be this painful otherwise. Felt the heat of Dabi fighting the Beasts. He was sweating and trembling, knowing he needed to move so his comrade could use his full power.

He couldn't.

Touya hurt as he cranked the heat higher. The Bloodhound snarled and snapped at him, trying to get close. He'd killed one, reducing it to ash in an instant. But the second one, the one shooting darts from its tail, had some sort of fire resistance. It was scorched, but no real damage had been done. So he turns the heat up, painfully aware of Hawks behind him, moving slowly away, crawling.

The Bloodhound shot more darts, turning to do so. They didn't make it anywhere close as they burned up in the inferno surrounding Touya. He shot a stream towards its face, but it fucking cackled and shook it off. Touya really didn't want to get close to the larger creature, but he was realizing he wouldn't have a choice. So when he sent another wave of fire at it, he rushed in after, prepared to get personal.

Somehow it saw that coming and swung its tail, knocking the breath from Touya's lungs and sending him into a tree. Small pinpricks of pain flared in his chest where the spines had stuck. He groaned, lighting the area on fire to get rid of them. It hurt, sure, but he'd developed a high pain tolerance over the years of stapling himself together. And lighting himself on fire, but that was a given. The Bloodhound races forward, likely intending to bite his head off. But Touya raises an arm, sending blue fire at it, scorching it and blinding it for a second.

It snarled, twisting to slam its tail into him again. But, again, Touya was ready. He ducked under it, lighting his fist up Flashfire style. His blow connected with the creature's ribs, knocking it aside and leaving an actual wound. He shot forward, fully intending to finish it off, lighting everything on fire. But it was on its feet, snapping its jaws at him. Touya didn't have time to even panic before he slammed into it and fell. A paw pinned him, resting heavily on his chest. Felt his ribs creak as his breath wheezed from his lungs.

Kicked out desperately with his leg as its face came down. Managed to clip its jaw, and it snarled. Lit his leg and did it again, grunting at the pain that came with the action. He didn't use his legs when fighting for a reason. His adrenaline made the pain lessen, but he still felt it. Which meant his wounds were worse than they felt like.

He drew back to kick again, but the Bloodhound snapped his leg up, grinding teeth into bone. Touya screamed as agony lanced up his leg. It hurt worse than burning. It was deeper. A bright feather slashed at the thing's muzzle, cutting through flesh easily. It released Touya and screeched at Hawks, now standing and sending a wave of vermillion at the monster. Touya's head spun as green blood dripped onto him from the Beast’s injuries. He groaned as the weight vanished from his chest, the Bloodhound stumbling back as the hero lunged at it, hardened primaries in hand.

It was a bit of a blur after that. Touya managed to get back up, the flames cauterizing the punctures in his leg. He joined the hero in fighting the monster. Lit the tail on fire to keep it from shooting more darts at them. Managed to melt its claws too. Hawks dug feathers into the wound Touya had managed to inflict. The Beast died screaming.

Breathing heavily, head spinning, Touya leaned on Hawks as they walked back to the house. Surprisingly, he hadn't started a forest fire. The adrenaline was wearing off and everything hurt. Hawks didn't look any better, battered and bruised, small bloody puncture wounds where he'd been hit by the spines.

“You good?” Asked Touya after they made it back.

The look Hawks shot him was confounded. “You're asking me that?”

“You called for help, so yeah,” he was tired.

“You're the one limping,”

Oh, he was. The agony in his leg was sharp as he focused on it. So he didn't. He just hummed in maybe agreement. Wasn't sure himself.

Touya blinked and Hawks was in front of him, gripping his shoulders firmly. “Dabi, are you gonna pass out?”

Touya shook his head. He broke Hawks' hold, which was gentle. He broke it too easily. Stumbled his way to the lake. Felt Hawks follow him, probably looking concerned. Walked past the lake until he reached a large boulder and turned slightly. Managed to get to the creek, which would be cleaner than the lake. Didn't even strip off his burnt clothes, just stumbled into the water. Steam rose as the cool water soothed everything. When he felt less delirious and overheated, he pulled his shirt off to examine the damage.

Heard Hawks say something about goats. Wasn't really paying attention though, more concerned with his injuries. Touya had melted a handful of staples on his wrists away. They'd have to be pulled out and replaced somehow. There were a few on his back and chest too, torn when he was thrown into the tree. Groaned and began picking them out slowly. He wasn't going to cause more damage to himself. Finally removed his pants to look at the bite.

It was bad. Deep and already swollen. There were also fresh blisters and burns from turning the heat up. The staples at the corners of his mouth were gone too. At least he wasn't bleeding, that had only seemed to encourage the Beasts. Maybe that's why they were called Bloodhounds. The water felt nice against his skin as he waited for Hawks to return.

When he finally did, with a small bucket of pale blue liquid Touya blinked tiredly at him. “Goat milk?”

“Yeah,” Set the bucket down. “We don't have anything smaller to put it in,”

Touya groaned, reaching towards it. Hawks brought it closer, into his reach. Touya stuck a hand in and let it boil quickly before sticking his hand back into the creek.

“What was that for?”

“Just pasteurized it,” he muttered, turning and cupping his hands into the liquid.

He drank it quickly, making a face as he did and a tingly feeling spread through his body. It tasted weirdly sweet and floral. It wasn't awful at least. The tingling stopped everywhere but his leg, so he looked down to see the skin smoothing out and the blisters healing. The skin knitted itself together properly, healing perfectly.

“Well?” Hawks asked. “It work?”

Touya stood up. He felt better than he had for a long time. His seams didn't ache, and they felt sealed when he ran his fingers over them. The staples didn't pull painfully anymore. Also it did heal all his fresh wounds.

“Yeah,” he said, turning around, catching Hawks glancing away quickly. “Works great,” He took a few steps before stumbling. “Shit, not on heatstroke I guess,”

“Heatstroke?” Hawks squawked. “How did that happen? You shouldn't get heatstroke,”

Huh, guess Birdie hadn't figured it out. “Happens all the time,” he said, picking up his clothes and pulling his pants back on. His shirt was damaged to hell. Not at all good to wear anymore. “Not built for my Quirk. ‘S why I burn too,”

Hawks was silent as he picked up the milk. They walked about ten feet before he spoke again. “Then why try that hard to help me?”

It was Touya's turn to be silent as he thought of an answer. “I'm not gonna just let you die, Hawks. God knows I'd go insane without someone to talk to,”

Hawks frowned. “You almost died. That thing was gonna kill you,”

Touya gave a small shrug. “I've survived worse. How'd ya think I got these in the first place,”

“Oh…”

Again silence fell. Stifling and heavy. Touya fiddled with his shirt, picking at the frayed threads just to have something to do. They reached the house and Hawks set the bucket down at the base of the tree, where Touya had painstakingly dug a hole between the roots to keep things sheltered.

“You need help getting up Dabi?” Hawks asked.

“Touya,” he blurted.

“What?”

“...my name,” he said, softer. He wasn't taking it back. “Touya,”

“Touya,” Hawks said. “Keigo,”

Touya blinked. He hadn't expected anything back. “Keigo,” he repeated, starting up the ladder. “Nice to meet you, I guess,”

They went back to their routine after that. Touya stayed behind to work or scrounge through the forest while Keigo went out for supplies. Although Keigo did leave a feather with Touya that the man strung through a cord made out of a vine.

Today, however, they were hunting for the mole creatures. Those books Keigo had found in the bunker were journals of sorts. They talked about which Beasts could be hunted easily and what they could get from them. It was useful, even if it was in English. Thankfully Touya had a better vocabulary in the language than he did. So they were both out hunting for the mole-like beasts. Their hides could be used to make leather that was tough on the outside and soft inside.

According to the journal, they were completely blind and hunted solely with sound. They lived underground, but could be drawn out by too much noise. They lived in warrens, with hundreds of them inhabiting one set of tunnels. All they had to do was find one and they would be set. Touya led the way to the place where he'd last seen the Beasts and they went from there.

It took a few hours before they found the massive hole that led underground. It was wider than Keigo's wingspan, and they could hear the sounds of the Beasts moving underneath them.

“How do we lure them out?” Keigo asked.

Touya grinned, something that would've made him uncomfortable before. “We make a shit ton of noise,”

Apparently a ‘shit ton of noise’ consisted of them sparring. They didn't actually hurt each other, but Keigo was actually surprised with how well the other man kept up with him. They ended up with their usual banter and threats.

“You're too slow, feather-head!” Touya crowed as he dodged another blow.

Keigo grinned, letting out a battle cry as he swung at him with a semi firm feather. Not sharp enough to cut, but hard enough to hold the shape he wanted. A low growl cut them off and they both turned towards the sound, watching three moles clambering from the hole.

The moles snuffled around before the humans glanced at each other and grinned.

“You're just hot-headed,” Keigo said loudly, attracting the Beasts’ attention.

They raced towards him, while Touya quietly slipped behind them, readying a handful of fire. The moles let out low snarls and growls as they ran at the bird. Keigo had two feathers at the ready and he dodged when they got close to him. He slashed at their claws, cutting their one way to attack. Touya went for the tails. The one he lit on fire squealed, rolling over to try and extinguish itself.

A feather shot forward and gutted the Beast, slicing easily through its soft underbelly. It died instantly. Touya grinned and lit another one. They killed the three of them quickly. The Beasts were about the size of sheep, but flatter as they were closer to the ground. Touya sealed the bloody gashes with a small flame, as they didn't want to lead Bloodhounds back to the house. He slung one over his back and Keigo did the same, using his feathers to carry the last one.

Touya apparently had a great sense of direction and was easily able to lead them back to the house. Over the creek, Touya had set up a contraption. It was a sturdy framework of wood that they would be able to use to hang the bodies over the creek to drain the blood.

Touya set the mole down with a groan. “Those things are fucking heavy,”

Keigo laughed lightly, dropping the other two. “A little yeah,”

“Not everyone has the strength of a hero,” Touya muttered.

“Maybe you just need to work out more,” Keigo teased, poking at his arms. “put some muscle on those stick arms of yours,”

Touya rolled his eyes, shoving Keigo, and unzipping the borrowed coat, tossing it to the ground, saved from the dirt by a feather. “I have been, have you seen the shit I've done?”

Hummed. There was more muscle on his arms from all the work he's been doing. Keigo was having a hard time not staring. “True I suppose…” Touya swatted him again. “I jest, relax,”

Touya just rolled his eyes, climbing up the small ladder to where he'd hung the hooks, kept from the weather by a layer of wax. They were attached via welding them to the wood. How that worked, Keigo wasn't sure, but he wasn't going to question it. Keigo brought the first mole over, lifting it with the help of his feathers so Touya could hook it up properly. They did the same with the other two before Keigo reopened the wounds.

“Gross,” Touya said when the green blood started flowing.

Keigo made a face, and they moved on to the rest of their day.

Touya rolled his eyes at Keigo’s antics. The birdbrain was stretching his wings, weaving between the branches above Touya’s head as he used a feather to remove the leftover bits of skin from the mole hides. Keigo's own hide had been abandoned when his wings got itchy. Touya had started working on making the hide into leather yesterday. Got the skinning and soaking done. He also managed to get the remaining flesh off one of the hides before dark. So he'd recruited Keigo to the task. They were almost done too before the bird started flying.

Sighed and continued scraping the hide, occasionally wiping the feather on the edge of a bowl he'd carved from wood. All the clay pots he'd made had shattered without glaze, and he had no idea how to make any. So he'd carved everything from wood. Keigo dropped back down with a this and a grin. He looked genuinely happy, so Touya didn't dare say anything when he returned to the task. They finished and Touya glanced at the journal again. The next step was to coat it in something acidic, which, thankfully, just meant they could use Vulture venom. (It said so in the margins)

So the next day he sent Keigo out for venom. While he was doing that, Touya decided to put the finishing touches on the goat pen and finish the dozen of other small tasks he was working on. Decided to finish with the bedframe first. He went out for more sap, and finished that up, having only needed to glue the last parts together.

Then he put on the gloves from Keigo's costume to finish digging out the space under the tree for storage. It was now large enough for both men to fit comfortably. He'd lined the walls with stones to help with structural support and keep the tree from just falling. He left the bucket of sap down there. Touya hacked vines down from the trees to use as rope, braiding them together to be sturdier. He tied them to the goat pen, stretching them across empty space, making places for the Beasts to hide. They liked to do that, he'd noticed.

Checked on the milk that was in the house too, making sure it was still good to use. It was, so he made a healing salve with it and a few other plants and berries, just like instructed in the journal. He then sat down in the grass and started weaving baskets with the grass that's been drying for three days. Remembered when Rei would show him how to do it. Made sure to weave in small sticks for extra structural support. He'd sent Keigo with a large plastic bottle he'd molded with fire, so he harvested wax with a glass one. He didn't think he'd ever been more grateful for his Quirk. The leaves that produced the wax were easily accessible, so it didn't take long for Touya to be back and rubbing the substance into the baskets to make them waterproof.

Went back to get the sap from the basement when he remembered about the stairs. He'd decided to make the house more accessible just in case one of them was injured. All he'd needed was the boards that Keigo had finished cutting yesterday. It was easy, burning a notch in the tree, spreading sap on the board and sticking it in. Once the heat source was removed, the sap hardened almost instantly. The perfect glue.

When he was finished with that, he glanced up to see if there was anything above him. A few Vultures were perched in the trees and circling. But that was normal. So Touya went to collect the eggs. They were large, and produced by a bird reptile creature that was a byproduct of the Vultures. The journal said the eggs were safe to eat. Just had to cook them first. They were toxic raw.

Also checked on the fire that he'd had making fish jerky. Put it out because it was done. Wrapped the meat in leaves tightly, putting them into a basket to preserve. Went back to trying to make a gate for the goat pen.

When the feather around his neck shot off, Touya dropped the boards he was holding and raced after it. Knew where Keigo was instinctively, always aware of his location. He used small spurts of flame to push himself faster, towards where the sounds of snarling and screeching were coming from. Bloodhounds and Vultures circled around his bird, who was a blur of movement, clawing and slashing at the Beasts. He was bloody and beaten, slowing down. Touya shot fire at the Vultures, chasing off the avain Beasts before diving into the tangle of grinning Bloodhounds. He lit a few of them on fire, slamming a fist into the jaws of one that came too close. Learned his lesson from last time.

Made his way towards Keigo slowly, fighting off the Beasts. He was overheating quickly, smoke pouring from him in thick, black plumes. The pack didn't seem to dwindle, even with the few that had run away after being lit on fire. Grunted as he was shoved to the ground by a tail, pinned by the large appendage. There were claws digging into his skin. Heard Keigo going through the same thing, slowly being torn to bits by the monsters. One of them was screaming, which only encouraged the pack as they bit and clawed at flesh, taking chunks out of Touya and Keigo both.

Desperation and agony surged. The world exploded in blue and pain. Let out a choked scream as he burned, skin sizzling in a last, desperate attempt to save him from the Bloodhounds and blood loss. He barely heard the concerned noises Keigo was letting out over the roaring of his flames. The heat was making him lightheaded. Meant that heatstroke was kicking in. Ignored it as he slammed Bloodhounds away from him.

The pack dispersed and Touya let out a breath, trying to force his Quirk back to a simmer. It didn't work. Tried again and again, but it burned. It hurt. As Touya's panic grew, so did the fire consuming his body. Didn't think burning alive would be as painful as it was the first time, but he couldn't make it stop.

The Beasts were dead. The ones thst hadn't fled incinerated by his outburst. Realized almost maniacally that he would be too. This time nothing left of him, because there wasn't anyone who could save him. Looked through the blinding blue light at Keigo. Keigo, who had passed out from the combination of his injuries and the heat Touya was giving off. He couldn't die. He couldn't leave Keigo alone. He couldn't leave the man to slowly go insane without him. The pain faded as the flames licked deeper.

There was a Vulture picking at Keigo. Another landed, and more flocked around him, ready to take him away. To make him their next meal. Touya lunges towards them, intent on tearing them apart, protecting his birdie to his last breath. He can't speak anymore, voice burned away. He didn't want to leave Keigo to die, because if Touya dies, there would be no one to bring him to the house. To tend to his wounds. To keep the Beasts away.

Wasn't sure what happened next, too delirious from the heat. The blue slowly faded and a cooling feeling spread through the parts of his body he could still feel. Stumbled painfully towards the other man, scooping him into unfeeling arms. He raced towards the house as fast as he could with his corpse-like body. It was a slow, painful lope. Touya looked down at the pale face of the one man who had stayed despite everything. He was struck then, in his dazed mind, that maybe he cared more than he wanted to. Keigo had given him chance after chance, even if there was no point of it. He'd taken his name, and given his own. A sign of trust.

That box where he'd been shoving everything cracked open slightly as he sped up. He might not make it, with his breath wheezing from damaged lungs, but fuck, he wasn't abotu to just let the bird die.

The box opened more.

Touya hadn't wanted to care. But when he renounced Dabi, told Keigo his name, he'd started to. When he understood what it was like to be a villain. When he came to his rescue, only for the bird to have to turn and save Touya. When they laughed as they sparred to lure the moles out. He was unbelievably glad he'd finished the stairs as he lugged the limp man up them. His own arms weak and straining from the damage he'd done. Hoped he hadn't burned everything away.

He laid Keigo on the bed as that box in his mind shattered open. Wasn't sure if tears could even be produced anymore. Kept mouthing, no. Keigo don't die. Please. Please.

Touya realized that he might love this man as he watched him breathe unevenly, wiping the sweat from his face with the tattered remains of his white shirt. Realized it as he rubbed the healing salve over the wounds, watching them knit together almost immediately.

Accepted it as he stared at his reflection in the glass and saw that there was no way he would ever really be complete again, even after drinking goat milk. Burns healing as much as they could, leaving scars over most of the healthy skin he had left. It wasn't rotting purple anymore. No, he apparently burned his grafts off, so was now staring at actual burn scars, healed like they might've been had Endeavor come that night. He looked both like he had been burned alive, and like he had survived.

Didn't feel the anger that he thought would simmer in his gut should he ever get healed. Instead he felt calm, the fire under his skin pulsing slowly, before being cooled by something else. A different sensation that he hadn't felt before. He didn't examine it further because Keigo groaned and he rushed to his side.

Touya still couldn't speak, not really, his throat had closed over words. Vocal cords still fixing themselves from the damage that burning had done to him. He wet the rag, wiping the sweat from Keigo’s forehead as he overheated. Guilt stayed with him throughout the two days that Birdie was feverish. Didn't wake until the third day, and even then he was delirious, mumbling and making pained noises that made the parts of Touya's heart that he had apparently regained, ache.

“‘M sorry,” he mumbled, still barely able to speak. “I'm sorry, pretty bird,”

Keigo didn't seem to hear him, which was good, because Touya wasn't sure what came over him when he pressed a kiss to the other's forehead.

Hazy golden eyes peeled open, more conscious than he had been for a while. Keigo's limbs felt heavy, and there was a complete lack of sensory information from his wings. Couldn't remember what had happened exactly, but he sat up shakily, looking around. He didn't see Touya anywhere around the house, and he winced as he stood, dizziness washing over him. He flexed the remains of his wings, relieved that they were still attached. He closed his eyes again, sinking back into the blankets that were wrapped around him.

He remembered what happened, the Vultures he'd been hunting fought back, drawing the attention of a Bloodhound pack that was nearby. The feathers that he lost trying to defend himself. Calling for Touya. The fire. Had passed out trying to get closer to his comrade, because he needed to stop his flames. He recalled the raw screams as the other man collapsed, clutching at his body as it burned. Touya must be fine though, he reasoned. He had brought Keigo back to the house and healed him.

Heard the shuffling steps of Touya as he apparently walked up the stairs. It sounded like he was limping, which wasn't good. Keigo opened his eyes, sitting up for the second time that day. Touya paused, glancing over at him with concern radiating from him.

“You're awake,” he breathed, relieved?

Keigo wasn't sure what to make of that, so he nodded slowly, examining the man’s lack of scars. The purple skin that he had known was gone, completely, replaced by healthy pinkish scars. It was a shock, and Keigo couldn't help staring at it, eyes pinning.

“You hungry?” Touya's voice was soft, but not gentle.

“Yeah,”

When Touya walked over, Keigo realized that he was holding one of the bowls he had carved, filled with eggs. He took it and started to eat, surprised they weren't too hot. A hand pressed against his forehead and he paused, raising an inquiring eyebrow at the man.

Touya huffed, amusement dancing in his eyes as he flicked Keigo's forehead, settling himself at the end of the bed. “You're fever's gone,”

“Why did I have a fever?” To Keigo's surprise Touya turned away, refusing to meet his eyes. “Touya?”

“Because instead of being smart and walking away from the fire, you walked towards it and gave yourself heatstroke,” he said, still not meeting Keigo's gaze.

He sounded…guilty. Keigo set the bowl down, scooting closer to the man. “I don't blame you for it,” he said softly, uncertain of what to do, because for all the banter and teasing, he wasn't ever sure what to do in situations like this.

“You should,” Touya murmured and Keigo wondered why he'd been so quiet. His voice barely above a whisper.

“Why?”

Touya was silent, and Keigo leaned against the wall, grabbing his bowl again and eating. He was nearly finished when Touya broke the silence.

“My father's a hero,”

Keigo froze mid chew. Hadn't been expecting that. “Okay,” was all he said before taking another bite. “mine was a villain,”

That made the tenseness in Touya's shoulders dissipate. “He wanted me to be one too…” he continued softly. “I was created to be a hero. A better one than he was,” there was another silence, that Keigo let sit, putting down the empty bowl. “but I wasn't what he wanted so he had more kids. I'm pretty sure Mom didn't even want kids, but she had to keep him happy…”

After a moment of silence Keigo decided that he should also share more. “My dad was a thief. A murderer too. My mom helped him escape the police. I was an accident,” he didn't realize he'd leaned towards his comrade until a warm arm slung around his shoulders. “She was always drunk or high and did nothing when he was mad,”

Touya stroked Keigo's shoulder thoughtfully. “My Quirk was more powerful than his was, and I was the oldest…” he trailed off, sagging against Keigo. “Then I was diagnosed with IQD, Incompatible Quirk Disorder,” he chuckled. “I burn because I got Mom's constitution. I think I was six…maybe seven, I don't know. He stopped training me, stopped being around me. It was like he couldn't stand to be around me.

“I hated it. He gave me everything until I was a failure and I was left with nothing,” Keigo's heart aches, but he stays silent. Has the feeling that Touya’s never told anyone about this. He needed the relief. “I can't think of a day where I didn't fall asleep crying. My siblings didn't understand. They never got the dad I did. He completely ignored them. Mom was useless too…” he swallowed heavily, voice breaking. “Then his masterpiece was made. I was almost ten, I think. We all knew that was the kid he wanted. I kept training. I couldn't stop. That was the thing that he used to care about. If I could prove I wasn't weak he'd look at me ya know?”

“I think I get it,” Keigo whispered, unable to make his voice louder. “But I was the opposite. I was never cared for. He just beat me and called me a mistake. Said that one day he'd just leave me outside,” he chuckled mirthlessly. “he was sure that I'd somehow lead heroes to him. He always told me that I needed to be better, never turn my back on him,”

Touya was nodding. “I was yelled at to stop training and do something else with my life,” he paused, glancing at Keigo, who was watching with rapt attention. “That was when I think it was clear something was wrong with me,” Keigo opened his mouth to refute, but Touya shook his head. “no, I mean it, I was ten and I tried to kill the baby,”

There was silence and Keigo wondered if Touya was expecting him to flinch, be afraid or disgusted. And before he got to know the man, he might have been. Might've been horrified and hated him as a villain. But instead, now, “you were a kid. You didn't know any better,”

Touya jolted, turning to stare at him, shock clear in blue depths. “I— you— …okay, whatever,” Keigo didn't like how he brushed it off. Like he still thought he wasn't worthy of care. Of love. “I kept training, sneaking out to make my fire stronger because that's all I knew how to do. Then I learned a new trick,” he chuckled dryly. “he might have recognized me if he came that night. I wanted to show him that I could turn my fire blue….I don't know how long I waited for him to come before I gave up.

“Pretty sure I started crying. Last time I ever cried was at thirteen. Shocking ain't it? I lit on fire that night and was pronounced dead the next day, all they found would've been ash,”

“How did you survive?” Keigo asked, both curious and dreading the answer. He was sure it wasn't a nice story.

Touya shifted away slightly and Keigo immediately missed the warmth. “I ran towards water and put myself out. I woke up from a coma three years later— I didn't even recognize myself,” a self deprecating laugh. “Waking up with irreparable damage on top of puberty was a shock. They told me I couldn't go home, that my body and Quirk would never be the same again,”

“Who?”

“It wasn't– wasn't a hospital, not really. It was a factory…” his voice cracked and Keigo wondered if he was crying. It felt like he was, body trembling. “I was a replacement Tomura Shigaraki. But I even failed at that. I was destined to be a Nomu,”

Keigo pulled away, turning to face him. “A Nomu?”

Touya nodded, face carefully blank. “I don't know how many other kids there were, but they were all s’pposed to be Nomu too. I…I killed them. I burned that place down and went home. No one missed me, nothing changed, so I didn't stay,”

Keigo let out a heavy breath, steadying himself. Touya had just opened himself up. Wounds that were still raw and open. He could do the same. “I don't know what happened, but a hero arrested my dad,” he began slowly. “We couldn't stay at the– it wasn't a house. It was a shack, shit everywhere, barely even standing. But we– my mother and I, wandered around a bit, stayed in a subway tunnel. She was lost without him, wanted me to steal. Told me I was useless when I didn't know how to,” his faced Touya, meeting his intense gaze. “I managed to scrape together some money begging and bought food. I saved some people from a car wreck that night. The Commission liked me and…bought me from my mom. After that I went through training to become a hero. It's the only thing I know how to do,”

A silence settled over the men, both processing the other's tale. It was Touya who moved first, scooting towards Keigo, who just wrapped an arm around him. The silence stretched.

“For what it's worth,” Touya rasped. “I'm sorry your life was shit,”

That startled a laugh from Keigo. “Thanks. I'm sorry yours was too,”

They lapsed into silence again. But it was peaceful. The low grumble of insects was melodic in the air. Keigo squeezed closer to Touya, who didn't protest, just held him tighter. Like they could escape the demons of their pasts together.

They fell asleep like that, leaned against each other, somehow at peace.

When Touya woke, he let a smile form on his lips. Slipped out of Keigo's embrace to prepare breakfast, grabbing the discarded bowl to clean. The birdbrain let out a sleepy coo, sitting up and blinking open bleary gold eyes.

“You makin’ breakfast?” He mumbled, hair sticking up in odd angles.

“Yeah,” Touya said softly, feeling lighter than he ever had. Keigo hadn't judged him for his past. Hadn't been disgusted or horrified, just a sort of morbid understanding that Touya didn't understand until Keigo finished his own story. Didn't flinch when Touya leaned against him, just wrapped around him. It was nice, comforting, and he had traced patterns on his shoulder lightly until the man fell asleep. Eventually Touya dozed off too, but not before shifting them so they were lying down properly.

“I c’n help,”

“Go back to sleep, pretty bird,” he muttered. The endearment slipping out caused a spike of panic to shoot through him. Keigo just let out a coo and snuggled back down into the blankets.

Breakfast was eggs and jerky since they hadn't been able to build an actual place to store food, so they couldn't go hunting for meat. It was difficult to crack the eggs, since they had a strange soft shell, while also apparently being harder than chicken eggshells. Started a small fire, trying his best to keep it from burning the house down as he cooked. The smell must've woken Keigo because he walked over, blanket pulled over his shoulders and shivering. Ah, he was cold then. Touya raised his temperature, becoming the heater while he cooked.

“Birdie, it's done,” dropped the egg on a wooden plate and handed it to the man, tossing a few strips of jerky at him.

By the time they were done with breakfast, the sun was peeking over the horizon. They didn't really say anything, just went about their respective tasks. Touya continued building the gate, while Keigo went to wrangle the creatures. Was easy to finish the pen, hammering the last few pegs into their slots as Keigo came back with a goat in each arm. Touya held the gate open, patting the damned creature on its backwards head. Keigo rolled his eyes and tossed the Beasts into the pen, slamming the gate quickly behind them. They both belated angrily and immediately tested Touya's handiwork.

It held up though and Touya grinned at them. “Take that ya little shits,”

One nipped at him, but he laughed and flipped it off.

“Are you done?” Keigo asked, amused despite the annoyed tone.

“Shut up, or I'll have to build a chicken coop next,” the banter was easy, practiced enough to be natural to them.

They didn't acknowledge the awkwardness that hung around them. They weren't ignoring it, they shot enough glances at each other to know that. But they weren't going to bring it up. They had developed a mutual understanding of each other overnight.

This time, they both went out for Vulture venom. Although Touya was significantly less covered than Keigo, having burned it all away. It went much smoother than last time, and they were able to collect enough venom to coat the hides thoroughly. All they needed to do now was wait a week for the hide to turn to leather.

Keigo's wings itched. It wasn't like the usual itch he got when they were regrowing. It was deeper, further down his back. Much more insistant than it usually was. Touya had clearly noticed his discomfort and was now rubbing his back firmly. It was nice, but it wasn't helping the itch. He grumbled lightly under his breath, shifting again.

“Really not helping, huh Birdie?” Touya's rumbly voice asked. Sounded far away without his feathers.

“They're not growing properly,” he sighed. Touya let him sit up and lean against him. He had small primaries growing in, but that was it. There was no new growth beyond that. “I don't know why,”

Touya hummed. “D'ya think the milk did something?”

Honestly Keigo hadn't thought about it. But the possibility of the milk healing over where his wings grew from might be the reason they weren't. A warm hand rubbed over his back again and he groaned. It was nice, but it wasn't helping his issue.

“What does it normally feel like? When they're growing, I mean,” Touya asked, easing up with the heat.

Keigo shifted one of his wing nubs, and Touya began brushing gently through the feathers. Keigo melted against him with a low coo. “It itches like hell. But it stops after my feathers come in,”

“But the feathers aren't coming in,” Touya muttered.

Hummed his agreement, melting back into his comrade’s touch.

Three days later, Keigo could barely move without pain. His feet ached, his wings were still itchy, his lower back was a beacon of agony, and his hands hurt. He had no clue why everything hurt, but it did. He kept letting out small sounds of pain when he moved. Touya hadn't done anything yesterday just to make sure Keigo could use his body heat to combat the pain.

He let out a distressed warble when Touya moved away from him. Most likely to get food, but he didn't feel like eating either. He chittered in discomfort.

“I know, pretty bird,” Touya muttered. “Lemme just get something to eat. I need energy for my Quirk,”

Keigo huffed, but he didn't actually make a move to stop the other. He was lying prone on the bed– fitted with an actual mattress now thanks to Touya's ingenuity the days he was out with a fever— blanket pulled to his neck to trap in the warmth. Because he was cold too. Didn't even think he drifted off until he woke to Touya settling back beside him, above the blanket, since he ran warm.

The only thing that ended up under the blanket was Touya's hand, to rub warmth into his back. His hand stopped moving when it got to his lower back, at the base of his spine.

Keigo blinked at him. “Why'd ya stop?”

Touya moved his hand again. “Does that feel weird?”

Keigo was more awake now. “No…? Why?” Pressure was applied and oh! Keigo could feel that now. It was an ache below his skin. He let out a small pained noise. “I feel it now. What is it?”

“I don't know,” the hand was removed. “I’d need to look,”

It was him asking permission without actually having to ask.

Keigo just nodded his consent. The blanket was pulled away, although Touya did raise his temperature to help alleviate the chill. He wasn't wearing a shirt, mostly because it had been burned away and because it put less pressure on his back, because that hurt. Touya's hands pressed against the spot and he swore, wing nubs flapping.

“It's…swollen,”

“What!” Keigo squawked.

“Quiet down. Yeah, it's– swollen is the only word I can think of,” Keigo's hand was guided by Touya's to feel.

It was swollen. But not in an infected wound way. It was a roundish lump that protruded from his lower back, unnoticeable without pressure. Keigo tensed, and the lump moved.

“The fuck!”

“What?” Keigo asked, turning to look over his shoulder, catching sight of Touya's concerned and frankly horrified look.

“It moved,”

Scoffed. “yeah, I moved,”

But he shook his head, his growing hair falling into his face. “No, like, it actually moved,”

Keigo made a face. “Do I have some parasite?”

“...”

“Touya, is it a parasite?” Now he was concerned. He's pretty sure his voice rose an octave with his panic.

“No…”

That wasn't helping. “you're sounding real sure of yourself,” he snapped. He was stressed, sue him.

“I think your Quirk might have awakened,”

Brought everything to a screeching halt. “My Quirk’s doing what?”

Blue eyes darted away from gold. “It's evolving. Getting better. Awakening. Whatever you wanna call it. It happens in high stress situations, but it's rare,”

Keigo was silent for a moment, thinking it over. “So how is that happening to me?”

A sigh. “I think this,” pressed against the lump. “might be more feathers growing,”

Frowned. “But why would my wings stop growing?”

He shrugged with a furrowed brow. Then, just went back to the massage. Keigo was a bird puddle, despite the itch under his skin.

It took another week for his wings to grow back. And Touya was right. Something had happened. His wings were bigger. Much bigger. And they weren't bright vermillion anymore. Not on the inside at least. His interior feathers were darker. Russet, and black, and gray, and dark gold. He grew a tail too, the lump in his back splitting open painfully to release feathers. The other change was talons. Wicked curved black talons instead of fingernails. His feet had also adapted, looking more raptor like, talons of their own. It was easy to perch on things, and his balance was impeccable.

Keigo would've thought that it would take forever to adjust to his body's new attributes, but surprisingly it didn't. There was a new instinctual urge to do things and it helped him immensely. He just did things now without thinking about them. Touya had been reading one of the journals again, and Keigo had just, started combing talons through his hair, picking out bits of debris from the now white locks.

Hadn't even realized he was doing it until Touya looked up. “Whatcha doin?”

Keigo's face had gone red, and he stopped immediately. “Sorry,” he'd mumbled.

“Is it a bird thing?” He was nonjudgmental, curious rather than demanding.

“Yeah,”

Touya nodded, relaxed into the touch, and never brought it up when Keigo caught himself doing it. Made Keigo wonder just how touch starved they both were.

Also apparently he could make a litany of bird sounds now. Chirps and coos. Touya had raised a quizzical eyebrow at him when he'd asked about it.

“You couldn't always do that?”

“No!” He made a clicking sound.

“You've been doing it since you woke up after…”

“Oh, I hadn't noticed,”

“Clearly,” Touya deadpanned.

Keigo huffed, letting out a low croon. “Rude,”

Touya merely smirked with a roll of his eyes. “I was a villain, rudeness is in the job description,”

“Is that how you managed to join the League?”

“Considering I called Shig gross when I saw him, yeah pretty much,”

Keigo stared at him. “Really! And he still let you join?”

Touya shrugged. “He was looking for people to join, and I wanted to join,”

“Damn, he must've been desperate,”

“Considering all of his last crew got caught, I would be too,”

Keigo laughed. “Guess so,”

Touya shifted and Keigo flicked his eyes to him. “Could you…nevermind,”

Keigo chirped. “No, what do you need,”

Touya licked his lips, and Keigo tried very hard not to follow the movement. “Could you help me with my hair? It's kinda a mess,”

It was, grown out long enough to where it fell into his face. His natural hair was white, so the longest parts were black where he'd dyed it months ago. Keigo hadn't brought it up, mostly because he didn't want to make his friend uncomfortable. Because they are friends now. They bantered, and laughed, and actually spent time together that wasn't just insults and death threats.

“Yeah, I'll help,” he said. “what do you wanna do?”

A brief look of shock passed over Touya's face before he smiled. “Well everything that's dyed is pretty much fucked,”

“Cut out the dyed bits, got it,”

Touya snorted. “Yeah, but I still want it long. And… I want the tips black,”

Okay, that wasn't the most ridiculous thing he could've said. But, “how are you gonna dye them?”

Watched his friend perk up. “Well there's these berries I found that can get the color darker, and there's a Beast in the lake that has squid ink, but it's not dark enough. I mixed them together and they stained the leather good enough,” he went red, as though he realized he'd started rambling. It was cute.

“So you have some of it?”

“Yeah,”

Touya went to grab a bucket, and Keigo followed him down the stairs, wings fluttering to keep him from simply falling.

The bucket was filled with a black liquid that smelled funky. Keigo wrinkled his nose at it. “Gross,”

“Yeah, it reeks,”

“No kidding,” Keigo sent it away with a feather to deal with after he'd chopped his friend's hair.

It took about two hours, because Keigo discovered that Touya couldn't sit still to save his life. He smacked him with a wing lightly.

“Stop moving. You were never this shifty before,”

He turned and raised an eyebrow. “You mean before when I was covered in scars and staples, where movement hurt all the time?”

“Ah,”

Thankfully he laughed it off, but he did seem to try harder to stay still.

Keigo finished, and went to retrieve the bucket.

“C'mon raptor bird,” Touya called after him, flicking white hair from his eyes. Black strands decorating the yellowing grass.

Keigo huffed, finally picking up the bucket of black liquid. Touya had moved to a log that has yet to be cut for boards, waiting as patiently as he could. The nickname was new, picked up after his talons had finished growing in. It didn't annoy Keigo as much as he thought it would. No, it did the opposite. It made his wings expand in a showy way, and always made him blush.

Touya was having that effect on him recently. Making him feel like an awkward teenager rather than the bird of prey he was. He'd caught the other man staring at him with a soft look that made him aware that something had changed. What it was, Keigo wasn't sure. But it made him even more hyper aware of Touya than before.

They'd stopped being aggressive and angry at each other. And their arguments had shifted into friendly banter. Touya was talking to him more than before, just about whatever seemed to cross his mind. Keigo found himself doing the same. They just talked more. The arguments shifted into banter like they were old friends.

“Yeah yeah, firecracker,” he grumbled, wings fluttering happily. “I'm coming,” So maybe he'd also picked up some nicknames for his friend, so what. He'd just pulled it out of his ass now, but shh.

He steadfastly ignored the blush on his face and Touya's as he started working the dye into his hair. He'd put on his hero costume’s gloves for this. They were still in nice shape, so he was going to use them, even if his talons poked through the fingers. Touya didn't need them to protect his seams anymore, so they didn't really use them for much.

It was actually really easy to just mash the liquid into the tips of Touya's hair. It wasn't even, but Touya seemed happy with it. Then he offered to cut Keigo's hair, since it was even messier than his was. Keigo didn't have a raptor preening him.

So Keigo perched on the log next and handed his friend a feather. Golden hair joined black on the ground and it didn't take long. Keigo knew how to sit still. Touya barely stepped back and Keigo turned to face him, feather whizzing back to his wing. Touya's hair was now shoulder length, and the tips were black. It framed his face nicely, and the striking blueness of his eyes was bright.

Those eyes darted across Keigo's own face, examining his own impromptu haircut. He was sure his face was flushed as Touya's eyes darted down. He leaned forward slightly, feeling his wings flutter behind him. Touya mirrored him, and Keigo snapped, surging forward to press his lips to Touya's.

The effect was instantaneous. All those thoughts and feelings Keigo had shoved away came pouring out into the heated kiss. His talons came up to rake through Touya's hair, tugging lightly. Touya groaned, breaking the kiss with a gasp. His eyes were bright, searching Keigo's. He dragged him back, chasing his lips when he pulled away.

Touya stopped him though with another groan, grabbing his wrist instead, and dragging him upstairs.

Did Touya feel bad he was still lying to Keigo? Yeah, a little. But he wasn't ready for Birdie to know exactly who he was.

He extracts himself from the warm embrace of Keigo's plumage pulls on his clothes, and slips out of the house. His bare feet are silent on the smooth wood. He's a whisper in the night as he padded through the grass, over the trodden path he'd created during these excursions. It had just stopped raining, so there was plenty of moisture in the air for him to work with. It was chilly, he noticed as early dew collected on the grass.

Touya froze it with a small flick of his wrist. That was getting easier at least, quick flash freezing. The ice spread from his feet next, freezing the ground solid. It was easy, shockingly so. Touya wondered if it was because there was just natural knowledge about how to use Quirks. Something ingrained in his very being. Rolled his eyes at the thought.

He needed different techniques for fire and ice. Fire was fluid, but would lash out at anything if he wasn't careful. Ice was solid, unmoving. He couldn't use them the same way. Touya moved into his usual stance for larger waves of fire before shifting it into a more solid one. Fire was easy to summon, he had to draw on emotions and release them into an uncontrollable blaze.

Ice however, needed moisture and a calm head. It needed a firmer stance, because it
wants to be controlled. Fire wasn't ever controlled, just directed. But when he made ice, Touya wanted it in specific shapes and forms. So when he widened his stance and drew the cold into his body, he was calm, controlled.

Spires of ice extended towards the sky when his hand rose, growing from the frozen ground. He exhaled a breath of freezing air, feeling his body temperature rise slightly against the cold. That part was natural, something he didn't have to think about at least.

He kept training, practicing the new aspects of his Quirk. Was glad that his seams were healed. It meant he could dance around with his ice, piling up snowdrifts and freezing puddles. He made designs over trees and flowers with frost, creating rather than destroying. It was a release that didn't result in injury to himself. Dawn was creeping up by the time Touya retraced his steps to the house.

He went into the basement for the bundle of fruit. It would make a good breakfast with the eggs he'd grab from the chickens. Well, the serpent chickens. He grabbed a basket, filling it with the seeds they'd been collecting and shoving the fruit bundle under his arm. Walked up the stairs to where the coop was, up in the tree below their house. The Beasts were surprisingly quiet despite their name.

One hissed as he pushed the door open. Touya just shook the basket of seeds and it silenced. Most of them were awake, which would make collecting the eggs harder. He spilled the seed on the floor with a clatter that made the Beasts slither over, pecking at the food with small clucks of approval. He emptied the basket and used it to set the eggs in. The few sleeping chickens hissed at him when he reached underneath them, but didn't attack him. They were docile for the most part.

Went back up to the house. Keigo was awake, blanket pulled over his wings as he shivered. Talons clicked over the wood as he approached Touya. Touya smiled, accepting the kiss Keigo planted on his cheek.

“Morning,” he rasped.

Keigo let out a chirp, nuzzling into his back as he lit the candles. The heat was clearly appreciated as his birdie cooed, melting into his back. Touya smiled fondly, and went about making breakfast, letting his bird hang off him. Keigo pressed kisses to the back of his neck, his adorable bird noises making Touya smile. Set the stone slab over the hole in the table and lit a fire underneath it. The fire hissed as it came in contact with the fireproof surface of the pit it sat in, angrily reaching up, and heating the stone. He cracked the eggs onto the stone. They spat as they cooked and the scent wafted through the air, waking Keigo up more. It was also probably because of the heat too.

“You finally awake dove?” Touya asked as he pulled away.

“Mhm,” Keigo yawned again, moving to curl up at Touya's side.

A feather fetched the plate when the eggs were done and Keigo reached over to begin peeling the fruit, talons easily ripping through the tough skin. They didn't speak while they ate, just drinking in each other's company. Basking in the warmth that could exist in their lives.

Keigo didn't know why Touya occasionally left during the night. But he trusted his lover, so he didn't question it. Since that first night they spent together, the floodgates had opened. It was like they'd both been waiting for permission from the other. Their casual touches because more common, often accompanied by kisses. A lot of the time they ended up back in bed when they got too handsy, but they honestly couldn't help it.

Even if Touya was hiding something from him, he trusted him. His lover would tell him if it was something important. If it was something that could affect them both. But it clearly wasn't something that he was ready to talk about. So Keigo let it be. Didn't stir when he slipped out of bed before the sun and didn't complain when he came back with food for breakfast. The only thing he would complain about was when Touya forgot to light the candles before he left. Touya may be immune to freezing, but Keigo wasn't. Even two candles lit up with blue flame were enough to chase away the cold.

“There's something I want to show you,” said Touya in a hushed tone, like he was anxious. He'd just come back from one of his nightly excursions.

Keigo set down the book he'd been reading. “Alright, what is it?”

Touya's face lit up, although there was still that shadow of nervousness. “It's outside,”

So he got up and followed his lover outside, actually taking the stairs rather than flying down. Touya was running his hands through his black-tipped hair, gently working out the knots that Keigo had yet to preen out.

They got downstairs and Keigo was led over to the lake. “I…awakened my Quirk too,” Touya said softly.

Keigo blinked. He hadn't been expecting that. “Okay, and you want to show me?”

Touya nodded. “Yeah,” he bit his lip. “if that's okay?”

Keigo smiled. “Show me what you can do, firestarter,”

He let out a breath, bringing his hands up and stepping back from Keigo. Keigo shivered and took a few steps back also. Touya shot him a tight smile before he turned. Keigo was curious, hopping from foot to foot, eyes zeroed in on his lover.

The temperature dropped suddenly, and a layer of frost exploded out from where Touya stood, crawling over the grass and climbing up trees in intricate patterns. Ice shot across the lake, covering the water and freezing it completely. Keigo's jaw dropped as a thousand thoughts raced through his head.

Because as beautiful of a display it was, it brought up so many questions. How has this happened? Why had it happened. Why had Touya kept it from him? Why was his awakening ice rather than resistance to his own Quirk? Why ice of all things? The only people with ice and fire Quirks were the Todorokis, and even then, there weren't any of them with them simultaneously–

Keigo's stomach sank.

“Touya, what's your family name,” Keigo asked as he came back over. He had to know, had to hear it. The sinking feeling in his chest was worse.

A sad look with shadowed eyes as he averted his gaze. “You wouldn't be asking that question if you didn't know,”

So it was true. Keigo frowned. He didn't really care. He was more upset that Touya hadn't told him. Although, he just did. Even if it wasn't verbal.

“Why not tell me?” He asked quietly. He was afraid of the answer. Did his lover just not trust him?

“It wasn't important,” he said, averting his eyes once more.

“That seems like a pretty important piece of information to me,”

“It's the thing that this me– future— uh, past– no,” he paused and took a deep breath. “it's the information I would've used to start this,” he flung his hands out, gesturing to everything.

“Touya…” Keigo grabbed his hands, gently tugging them away from his hair. “I don't care. I knew what you would've done. But you're not that person anymore. I just want to know why you didn't tell me,”

Touya seemed to contemplate his answer for a minute. “I’m not one of them. I renounced them as my family a long time ago… I– I know I'm not that person anymore. But, I didn't tell you because…it's not who I am anymore. I haven't been one of them in a long time,” he sighs. “but I thought you deserved to at least know,” he turned away again, pulling his hands from Keigo's grasp.

He let him.“Firecracker,” he said, cupping that soft face in his hands, making him look. “I don't care where you came from, or who. All I care about is that you're here with me,”

Touya twisted to press a kiss to Keigo's palm. “Thanks for understanding,”

Keigo cooed, gently tracing the scars with a talon. “Of course. I love you,”

Touya went still against him. Keigo abruptly realized that they'd never actually said that, despite the time that passed. Keigo might've just fucked everything up. He shouldn't have opened his big mouth.

His breath was stolen by Touya crashing his lips against his. It was messy, but Keigo melted into it with a low warble.

They broke apart. “I love you,” breathed Touya, before he locked their lips back together.

Touya slipped out of bed, pressing a kiss to Keigo's forehead. The other man made a sleepy grumble, shifting his wings around him to trap the warmth inside. Touya chuckled and left the house, swinging down to the chicken pen with a vine. The Beasts were still sleeping, since the sun had yet to rise, so it was easy to retrieve the eggs from under the slumbering creatures.

Yawned as he walked downstairs, reaching up and pulling his long hair up into a ponytail, freezing it in place. His bare feet touched the grass and he huffed a breath into the cold air. He set the basket of eggs at the entrance to the basement and walked into the goat pen. Kicked at the baby that tried to take a bite out of his leg. It bleated angrily and ran off to complain to its mother.

Touya spread a thin layer of ice on the ground to unbalance the Beasts as they came to defend their territory. All he needed was the sap bucked he'd left behind yesterday after Keigo had gotten frisky. He grabbed it and glowered at the goats’ angry faces. Melted the ice after he latched the pen shut. Laughed as the one Keigo had been affectionately calling Crash rammed into the gate, too slow to ever make it through.

Went to check on the jerky to find it still not cooked fully. Muttered a curse under his breath, not really surprised. It was the middle of winter after all, and he'd known it would take a while. The two Bloodhounds they kept for fur growled as he walked by and he turned to them. The smaller one, Fluffy as Keigo had dubbed it, pressed against the fence and whined. They were probably hungry.

So he went into the basement, and opened the freezer he'd set up. Pulled out two hunks of goat meat and some mole too. He came back up to find Keigo swooping down from the house, thankfully fully dressed. They weren't about to have a repeat of last year.

“I'm gonna go check the bunker!” His lover called. “see if there's anything new,”

“I'll be here love,” Touya said, as Keigo flew off. The feather around his neck squeezed lightly in response.

The bunker always had rats, which were what they fed the chickens when they didn't have any seed left. Touya warmed the meat so it wasn't frozen as he walked back to the Bloodhounds. They perked up as they smelled the meat, and Fuzz, the other one yipped. He sent out a small blockade of ice to keep them from jumping on him as he entered the enclosure. They both barked, a sound neither men thought they could make when they'd found the Beasts.

“Yeah, yeah,” he muttered as he dropped the meat. “Eat up ya bastards,”

Left them to their meal and went over towards the lake. Keigo wouldn't be back for a while, so Touya pulled out his project from where it was hidden behind a thicket of brambles. He took them back to the work area that they'd constructed under the house. It had an area for Touya to melt metal and glass for when they needed more bottles. There was a batch of leather waiting for him as he perched on the stone Keigo had brought over. It was rough under his feet, but he hunkered down and got to work.

Keigo got back about midday, with a basket full of dead rats and a bunch of winteroot clutched in his talons. Should've brought two baskets, it would have been easier to carry everything he'd found. He could make a second trip, but had wanted to spend time with Touya.

So the basket on his arm was filled with rats, and he clutched winteroot to his chest, and with his feet, talons wrapped tightly around the cargo. He freed a few feathers that shot down to relieve one of his feet of their burdens so he could at least land. Touya was at the workbench, leaning over a fire, working with something metal. He perched on a ledge that Touya had installed in one of the trees and carried the winteroot down via feathers.

Touya didn't look up, but Keigo could see the upturn of his lips when he spoke. “Finally back, pretty bird?”

Keigo churred when he answered. “Yep! I found some winteroot too!”

That made him look up. “Really? I didn't think it would sprout this early,”

Turned to preen his wings. “Yeah, and they're blooming. I don't know how you can never find them,”

Touya chuckled, rising to his feet and stretching. His bare arms have red spots from working so close to the fire. Keigo let out a concerned warble.

“I'll do it in a minute,” he said. “Come down here,”

Keigo glided down from his perch, fanning his wings and tail in a display of power. Touya chuckled, catching him around the waist and kissing him breathless. Keigo melted into his lover's touch with a trill that vibrates the back of his throat. He combed his talons through long white hair, tugging lightly and earning a squeeze to his hip.

Touya broke the kiss with a grin. “I made you something,”

Cocked his head to the side. “What'd you make?”

Untangled his hand from Touya's hair to let him retrieve his gift. Hopped from foot to foot as he waited impatiently. Drew his wings in close and stepped closer to the fire. Even with two layers he was still cold. The winter wind bit at his exposed skin, and he was probably very red from it.

His lover returned skating forward on a sheet of ice gracefully. Keigo was blinded by his beauty once again. Touya was stunning with his black tipped hair pulled back, exposing his soft face, pink from scar tissue. He wore much less than Keigo did, a sleeveless shirt and tight leather pants that he'd cuffed mid calf. Like Keigo, his feet were bare to make Quirk access easier. Although they weren't this time. Rather they were covered in bleached leather ice skates, complete with a shiny blade.

Keigo wasn't sure what face he was making that made his love laugh. “You said you've never been. The lake’s frozen solid,”

A warble crawled from hand throat as he saw that there was a second pair in Touya's hands, crafted perfectly to fit his talons. They were made with just as much care and attention to detail as the ones adorning Touya.

Touya let out an ‘oomph’ as he suddenly had an armful of emotional raptor. Keigo kissed him hard, not letting up until Touya physically dropped him to breathe. But he was smiling too. Helped him into the skates, tying them tightly to his feet. Keigo clung to his arm as he tried to walk.

“You've got this pretty bird,” Touya encouraged softly, helping him keep his balance.

The lake was frozen completely, and Keigo didn't bother to ask if Touya had done it or if it had naturally frozen. Touya had been natural on the ice when Keigo had first seen him on it. He was graceful and it was gorgeous to watch as he did intricate tricks, sometimes even creating his own ramps and obstacles to use. It was mesmerizing every time Keigo watched him skate.

But now he could join him on the ice. Knew he wasn't nearly as graceful, but it was easy to balance with his tail fanned out behind him. It felt almost like flying. Touya caught him when he fell. Warmed him up when he got too cold.

Eventually, they were sitting back in the house, Keigo red from the cold and Touya from the exertion. Touya had started a fire and was making tea with the winteroot Keigo had brought back. The sweet aroma wafted through the air and Keigo let out a contented chirp.

Touya smiled and pressed a kiss to the feather around his wrist. “What're ya thinking about, my pretty raptor?”

The endearment made his chest rumble with a coo. The purr in Touya's voice made him smile and his wings perk up. The rasp was always pleasant on his sensitive feathers.

“Nothing much,” he replied, taking the mug from the love of his life. “just thinking about us,”

Because sitting there, drinking his winteroot tea, Keigo was content. He was happy here with Touya. The five years they'd been together had been the most honest and wonderful experiences of his life. Not including the near death experiences, but even then. He'd found love, someone who understood him. The empty aching space he'd felt for so long was gone. Filled up in its entirety by the man who moved to sit behind him, preening his feathers in a way he would never let anyone else. An intimate act that only those he trusted the most could perform.

Here Touya was, a villain in the past, now his most prized possession. The man he could spill his guts to and would never leave. The man he loved. The man who, despite everything, was still here. He loved Keigo back. He was the one waking up early to do the chores so Keigo could stay in the house where it was warm. He spent hours toiling away to make sure Keigo was comfortable.

Keigo leaned back into Touya's touch with a trill. “Y'know, I'm glad we got stuck here,” he said softly.

“Yeah?” Touya murmured.

“Mhm. We wouldn't be this if we weren't. You know how it ends more than I do. I wouldn't be able to love you,” turned his head and accepted the kiss. “I'm glad you let me love you,”

Touya smiled, that soft, gentle smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes. That smile that made the bright blue of his eyes brighter as they lit up with joy. “Thank you for trying,”

Because that's what it was. They had both tried. They had both accepted that they were stuck and tried to get along. They found everything they needed and wanted in each other. Falling in love had been an accident. But that didn't make it matter any less. What happened in the past or the future didn't matter anymore. They had each other.

That was all they needed.