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Dabi taps his foot on the sidewalk as he waits. His birdy was late. He understood that it was just part of the job, that Keigo just couldn't not reply to a call for help if he heard it, but that didn't mean he liked waiting.
Finally, after waiting forever, but really only fifteen extra minutes, a red and yellow blur fell from the sky right in front of him.
"Oh, dam. I didn't realize today was 'watch out for falling birds day'. Guess I'll just have to go home because it's too dangerous to be outside." Dabi jokes.
"Even if that bird is your boyfriend?" asks Keigo cheekily.
"Hummm, well that does change things. But only if the bird boyfriend in question falls into my arms. Like the angle that he is cause he fell from the heavens." replies Dabi.
Keigo steps closer. "I think that can be arranged." and jumps into his arms. Dabi barley had any time to brace himself before he finds himself with an armful of muscles and feathers. But it's no trouble since he holds his partner up easily thanks to his own muscles, wrapping his arms under and around him to get a better grip. What a great way to hug the blond man.
Dabi smiles into the feathers. "Perfect birdy."
Keigo nuzzles into his hair.
"Long day?" asks the scarred man.
Keigo chirps.
"Alright. Stay right there and I'll take you to our destination." says Dabi as he starts walking. Who is he to deny his boyfriend the rest he deserves after a long day of saving people? The least he can do is carry him so he doesn't have to walk himself. Sure it's a bit awkward, but he's fully capable of the task.
Keigo thanks him and leans his head against his shoulder to get comfortable
As he walks, Dabi observes his surroundings. He spots Fatgum and Suneater on patrol and also lots of cameras. He wants to sigh but doesn't want to disturb his boyfriend. He knows that they are getting odd looks. They always do when they go out together. A former villain holding a top-rank hero? It always brings them attention. He knows for certain that there are already pictures of them circulating the internet by now.
And in addition to that, people just keep trying to talk to his birdy! But Dabi isn't having it. He just keeps glaring at them and they rightfully stay away. Sure, his image is probably even more ruined because of that, but he doesn't care. His birdy's rest is more important. Like, why couldn't people mind their own dam business somethings so Keigo could have some downtime to himself? Heroes are people too but the public just keeps forgetting about that all the time.
When they reach their destination, Dabi feels a bit bad that he has to wake up the winged man, temporarily having thoughts of going home, but changes his mind when he remembers how much Keigo will enjoy his date plans.
"Birdy, we are here." Dabi strokes Keigo's wings. "Time to get up."
Keigo whines into his shoulder but razes his head and yawns. "Already?"
"No, I said it just for fun." Dabi deadpans. "Yes already. If you don't get up, I'll drop you." he jokingly warns. That gets the job done as Keigo flaps his wings to be put down, which Dabi complies. "Feel better?"
Keigo nods. "More awake and refreshed! That's what a quick power nap will do for you!"
"Good." Dabi opens the door to the establishment they are standing in front of. "After you." He makes an exaggerated bow.
Keigo laughs. "Thanks!" He enters first followed by Dabi. While Keigo looks around what is now revealed to be a restaurant entryway, one that just opened up recently, Dabi speaks to a server about their reservation.
They are led to a private room on a higher floor. They are handed menus after sitting and order their drinks.
"We'll bring out the meal in a few minutes, sirs." The server says and leaves the room.
Keigo tilts his head to the side. "But we didn't order yet?"
"I already did, birdy. Don't worry, I know it's something you are going to like." reassures Dabi.
Keigo hums. "Not going to tell me what it is? So mysterious!"
"Yes, tis I, mysterious former villain Dabi." He adds a showy bow.
"You forgot gorgeous boyfriend." Keigo supplies.
"Ah, my bad. I can't forget that now can I?" Dabi leans over and pecks Keigo on the lips.
The server returns a few seconds later holding a giant covered platter. "Here you go, a number 5 special!" He places it down on the table. "Enjoy." Then, he makes a quick retreat.
Keigo leans over towards the platter. He sniffs the air. "Is that?" His wings flutter. He can't contain his excitement.
"Yep!" Dabi reaches over to lift off the cover.
"It's chicken!!!" exclaims Keigo until a trill of happiness replaces the word.
And it is. Lots and lots of fried chicken. Fingers, legs, thighs, and other cuts of meat. They range from no spice to the spiciest on the planet, which both Dabi and Keigo can handle thanks to their quirks, and are battered in all manners of crispiness. No one chicken piece is the same. And the plate was full to the brim with the delicious meat. And of just chicken, no sides. Because who needs sides when you have the best food in the world? At least in Dabi's boyfriend's opinion anyway.
Plus, along with the chicken came a slew of dips. Dabi spots at least two dozen different ones.
"Look there's even mayochup." Dabi spots. "You like that sauce."
"Hmm, that's true." said Keigo. "But everybody knows that the best mayochup is the one you mix yourself." He grabs the mayonnaise and the ketchup, squirting a bit into his plate and mixing them together with a chicken finger. Once blended, the winged man eats the sauce-covered chicken finger. "Yum! Yep, just the way I like it."
Dabi's eyes crinkle at his boyfriend's antics and he digs into the food as well. They share the platter between them and even order another. Cause when it comes to chicken, they can both pack it in. Even then, they aren't full but Dabi prevents Keigo from getting another stating they will be late for their next stop.
After paying and leaving a generous tip, Dabi grabs a hold of Keigo's hand, which slots perfectly into his, and they walk down the sidewalk.
"So, are you going to tell me where we are going?" asks Keigo.
"That would ruin the surprise. You'll just have to wait and see." Dabi smirks.
Keigo's wings drooped. "Not even a hint?"
"Nope." Dabi shakes his head. "So, tell me about how your day went."
Keigo pouted but knew Dabi wouldn't budge so he started telling his boyfriend about his day.
After a while of walking, Dabi points towards a building. "Over there. That's where we are going."
Keigo's sharp eyes spot their destination in an instant. "The arcade?" He tilted his head and chirped questioningly.
"Yeah." Dabi looked away. "I know that neither of us had the best childhoods where we could be the children we were meant to be so I thought we could make some fun memories together." Dabi looks up. "I called in advance and asked the owner if I could book the place but he said he didn't do that. Instead, he said that we could have the storage room to ourselves. All the games work in there. They are just the ones he rotates out. I didn't think you would want anyone watching you. Same as me." Dabi hopes he made the right call.
Dabi finds himself with a face full of feathers. "I love it! It's so thoughtful of you, Dabi! Just the best boyfriend."
The former villain blushes on the inside at the words since he can't on the outside due to his scars. "Thanks."
They then enter the loud arcade. While heading to the back, Dabi spots Deku and some other 1-A brats. The gravity chick, the Iida kid, the frog girl, and his youngest brother all appear to be enjoying themselves. Dabi steers Keigo in a different direction so they don't cross paths or are noticed by them.
They reach and enter the storage room without any other problems. Dabi sees the table with coins for the games and snacks that he dropped off earlier when he came to check out the room. It was all the same type of treat, chips. But not just any chips, chicken chips! Some from other countries, some with different spice levels, and some with different types of seasoning like roasted chicken or fried chicken. He sees the second Keigo notices this fact. "More chicken!!" He breaks out into coos as his feathers grab a random bag, opens it up, and stuffs a chip into his mouth. "Delicious!" He turns towards Dabi. "Would you like some?"
Dabi shakes his head. "No, I'm good." He doesn't really like chicken chips. Any of the kinds really. Each bag has a distinctive taste but they are all disgusting in Dabi's opinion. But he got them since his boyfriend thinks otherwise. Dabi already knows that Keigo will have polished off every last crumb in the bags by the end of the night.
Keigo shrugs and throws the empty chip bag into the trash. He grabs some coins from off the table. "So, got any suggestions on what to play first?"
"The pinball machines?" suggests Dabi. He's never played any of them before but from the research he did for this date, that seems like a great place to start.
Keigo nods. "Sounds good to me!"
The next few hours are spent jumping from arcade machine to arcade machine catching up on all the fun they missed during their childhoods. They played shooter games, on pinball machines, claw machines, coin slots, Dance Dance Revolution, and any other type they could find! Of course, they were dreadful at most of the games but what did that matter when they were having fun? Dabi couldn't have thought of a better person to spend his first arcade experience with.
When their time was dwindling to a close, Dabi brought Keigo to the photo booth so they could have a physical copy of their time together. They even picked the most coupley filter in the booth. It covered their faces in hearts and kisses.
Once done, they took their tickets and left the backroom towards the front to pick out their prizes. They didn't have very many tickets since it was their first time playing arcade games, so they pooled their winnings together. Dabi didn't really care what prize they took home so he sort of browsed while keeping an eye on his birdy. The winged man didn't show it, but Dabi could tell when he spotted something he wanted.
"Did you find anything you like?" asked Dabi.
"Not really." lied Keigo. Dabi knew that it wasn't all on purpose though. Keigo just wasn't used to saying what he wanted. "What about you?"
"Yep. This, that, and those." Dabi points to all the things he'd seen Keigo eyeing. A rubber chicken toy, some super spicy chips, and a giant Endeavor plushy.
Keigo wiped his head towards him. "You don't have to do that! Pick something you want!" Keigo knows that Dabi only chose things that Keigo wanted.
Dabi shook his head. "I did. Making you happy is what I want." said Dabi as the worker bagged their prizes. Dabi handed the huge plushy to Keigo. Then, he took the blond man's hand and pulled him out of the arcade and down the street.
Keigo blushed at his words and buried his face in the plushy. It was a cute sight. "Alright. But next time, we get what you want."
Dabi chucked. "Next time? You already planning on our next date when this one isn't even over yet?"
Keigo gasps. "It's not? There's still more?"
"Of course birdy. Now come on, I don't want to be late." said Dabi as he led Keigo to their last stop.
They walk together under the light of the moon until they reach an ice cream shop. Dabi once again opens the door for Keigo and the both enter the creamery.
Being close to closing, the shop is empty apart from the owner and a blue dragon surrounded by butterflies that he sees from the corner of his eye. Dabi does a double-take and looks again. However, he doesn't see the little bugs this time around. Only the dragon swiping around her face. Is she being pestered by invisible butterflies? Dabi shrugs. Whatever, not his problem. He refocuses his attention on the owner.
"Ah, welcome back sir. Would you like the ice cream you requested?" he asks.
Dabi nods. "Yes."
"Just a minute then." says the owner as they head to the back.
"You've been here before?" asks Keigo.
"Only once." replies Dabi.
"Here you go, sir." says the owner as he returns to the from the back with a tub. "A special order of ice cream flavored like-"
"Shh!" Dabi cuts off the owner. The scarred man looks a little annoyed. "It's a secret remember?"
"Ah, right. My apologies." The owner apologizes. "In my excitement, I had forgotten. It's not every day I get a request quite so unusual. It allowed me to show off my cooking skills."
Keigo looks on in confusion as the owner rings them up. Dabi pays yet again, grabs 2 spoons, and leads a still-confused Keigo to a table. Once seated, with the Endeavor plushy in it's own seat, Dabi pushes over the tub towards his boyfriend. "Here, try it."
"What is it?" asks the winged man.
"Open it and see." replies Dabi.
So he does. "A tub of ice cream? Why didn't we just get a bowl or a cone?" Keigo picks up the tub and takes a sniff. His eyes widen. "Is this what I think it is?"
Dabi smirks. "I don't know. Why don't you taste it and tell me?"
And Keigo does just that. He grabs the spoon and scoops a giant spoonful of ice cream into his mouth. His wings shake behind him as he eats his huge bite of ice cream. Once he swallows Keigo cries out, "It's chicken ice cream!" and proceeds to grab another even larger spoonful of the cold treat.
Dabi covers his mouth with his hand to prevent himself from laughing but it's no use. His boyfriend's reaction is just too adorable. But Keigo doesn't even seem to notice as he scarfs down the dessert. Until he abruptly stops and holds his head. "Ack! Brain freeze!" He lets go of the tub.
Dabi takes the opportunity of his partner being distracted by pain to take a bit for himself. Hum, it really does taste like chicken. Strange. Not really his thing but his birdy seems to love it. Though it does taste leagues better then the chicken chips.
When Keigo recovers, he takes back the tub and eats slower bites. "So, what made you think of chicken ice cream?"
"Well, I saw it online once and thought of you." Keigo blushes. "However, it seemed to be a pre-quirk food that got lost to time so I though I would bring it back from the dead. Like me!"
That causes Keigo to laugh. "Well, two things I like that came back from the dead. This seems like a trend. I wonder if it will happen again." Keigo grabs his hand. "Regardless of whether it does or doesn't, I hope you are there with me."
Dabi brings their joined hands to his face and kisses his birdy's knuckles. "That's just a given. You are stuck with me now birdy."
Keigo smiles and chirps in happiness and agreement making Dabi happy as well. His life couldn't get any better than this.