Chapter Text
Keigo was a full time college student in the last year of his training to become a paramedic, in particular, a pediatric paramedic. His grades were high and he passed his practical work with flying colours, at the top of his class after years of hard work, after dragging himself up from nothing.
It meant that he spent a lot of time in class, alongside plenty of hours in the library, studying in the peace and quiet rather than in his tiny apartment.
It meant that he had a lot of late nights, too.
Keigo sighed softly as he slung his bag over his shoulder, exiting the warm library and walking out into the cold night. He was relieved that he'd brought a scarf, pulling it tighter around himself to hide from the chill.
It was dark outside sans the street lights lining the library, but Keigo could see well enough with his enhanced vision, a particularly helpful aspect of his quirk - especially for helping people at night.
It also allowed him to see the shady looking guy who had been leaning against the wall opposite the library, suddenly walking towards him.
It may have worried him slightly, if not for recognisable way that he stalked over, slow with his hands in the pockets of his leather coat, or the familiar, pretty face that he hadn't even bothered to hide with a mask.
"Dabi-" Keigo hissed. "You shouldn't be here-"
It was late and dark, but it was still a popular spot for students who were cramming for their exams, showing up at all strange times of the night.
"I'm here to walk you home, birdie." The villain was definitely not just going to walk him home, he would surely hog his bed for the night, too. "It's late."
"I can take care of myself, you know." Despite huffing, Keigo walked into his arms and inhaled his smoky scent, lacking any fear for the villain holding him close.
"You didn't even bring a coat, dumb bird."
"I have a scarf." He grumbled, but Dabi was already putting his ashy coat over his shoulders, unable to properly put it on him due to his wings sticking out.
"Uh huh."
Keigo held it closer regardless, starting the journey back to his small apartment with Dabi by his side, talking away about this or that. Most people believed that the villain was quiet and cold, but Keigo had learnt that he really liked to talk.
It wasn't a complaint, Keigo enjoyed it, he enjoyed hearing about whatever was on the villain's mind.
Sometimes he told him about his villainous activities, which worried Keigo more than it should, but sometimes it was something as simple as who annoyed him that day.
(The list was always pretty long.)
Maybe he should have reported him to the heroes when they met months ago, but when had heroes ever helped him?
As soon as Dabi had came to him with an injured child in his arms - Keigo knew that he couldn't report him. He hadn't been forced to save that child, trapped in an opposing villain attack, yet he had. It told Keigo more about the villain than anything he'd ever seen on the news.
"Isn't it late for studying?"
"It's the most quiet time, easier to concentrate." With the extra courage from the dark night covering them, Keigo intertwined their hands together, Dabi's rough hand fitting perfectly against his own. "It's my final year, so I have to do well."
"You will."
"I dunno..a certain villain keeps distracting me."
It was close to impossible to study if Dabi was at his apartment, the villain making it his mission to poke and prod him until he gave up, moving his attention from his studies and onto him, instead.
He wouldn't rest until he dragged Keigo into his bed, intent on keeping his attention until he was forced back to more villain work.
Keigo struggled with the idea of doing nothing, spending hours lying in bed with Dabi. It made him feel guilty, but he was slowly allowing himself more time to rest without the shame that followed.
"Hmm, your fault for letting a villain into your home in the first place."
"You're very hard to resist." Keigo huffed softly, squeezing his hand and trying to resist staring at his lips.
"I think that you just have a thing for villains."
"Stapled, fire wielding villains in particular."
There was a glint in the villain's blue eyes as he grinned at him, making Keigo's traitorous heart flutter.
His apartment wasn't far away, and it didn't take much longer to get there, quickly shoving Dabi inside before somebody saw him. He immediately turned the heating on and rubbed his hands together with a sigh, before removing Dabi's coat and his own scarf.
He hung them up on the hooks and left his shoes by the door, right next to Dabi's thick soled boots.
"Have you eaten yet?" Keigo asked, despite already knowing the answer.
"No."
"Have you at least eaten today?"
"I ate an energy bar this morning."
With a deep sigh, Keigo checked his money for the month, pleased that he'd managed to save a bit more than usual. "I'll get us a takeaway."
Dabi probably had about one thousand yen to his name, and Keigo didn't mind paying for them both. It made him feel better, knowing that he was at least eating something.
"Do you have enough?"
"Yeah." Keigo sat down next to Dabi, who had already made himself at home on his bed. "Waddya want?"
"Anything." The villain supplied uselessly, looking over Hawks' shoulder as he scrolled through uber eats. If the villain wasn't going to be helpful, Keigo was just going to order his favourite.
Dabi didn't seem against it, resting his chin on Keigo's shoulder while he ordered enough for them to share.
"It'll be here in twenty minutes."
"'Kay."
Dabi grumbled as Keigo got up to unpack his bag, pulling out his books and papers and looking over them one more time. He had to make sure that it had all sunk in, or his detour to the library was pretty pointless.
"Kei."
"Hm?"
"Put your work down."
"One sec."
Dabi was by far the most dramatic man he knew, lying back on his bed with a deep huff.
"Keigo." He glared at him after a moment, a glare that would send most people running.
"I'm coming-" His work was left on his small desk as he walked back over to stop Dabi from whining, lying on top of him with a grunt. "Happy?"
"Yeah." Dabi's hands went to his wings, and any normal person with such flammable things on their back may be worried, but Keigo just relaxed into it, letting him do as he pleased.
"Sometimes it's hard to believe that you're a villain."
His pout only proved Keigo's words further.
"But it's cute, I know you're not like this with other people."
"Shut up.."
Keigo nuzzled into his neck with a hidden smile, happy to stay lying on top of the arsonist until their food arrived.
It came a little earlier than they expected, and Keigo rolled off of Dabi and forced himself up to answer the door, thanking the delivery driver and taking the bag of kfc inside his small apartment. It was probably going to stink the place out, but it was worth it - a reward for a week of working hard.
Looking at Dabi sitting on his bed and picking at the bucket of kfc, it was hard to relate him to the villain that he saw on the news. Realistically, he knew that Dabi was capable of plenty, his whole body could set on fire, but he wasn't the monster that the media made him out to be. He'd seen the articles and the interviews - he'd witnessed what they called him - the words they used. It wasn't a shock that Dabi believed the disgusting things that they said.
They didn't see the Dabi that brought him an injured child, or fed the stray cats near the league's base.
Keigo, by no surprise ate more than Dabi, but it was still a relief to see the arsonist getting something in his stomach. The league didn't have a lot of money - and he knew that Dabi left the food for the rest of them.
He had a weird thing with food too, something that Keigo hadn't fully started to unpack.
"I'm gonna take a shower." Keigo said a little while after finishing his food, pushing himself up from where he was lying next to Dabi.
"Funny coincidence, me too."
Keigo tried to roll his eyes at him, but the smile that crept onto his face betrayed him.
"Really now?"
"Yeah, actually."
The villain's lips were so irresistible when he grinned, pulling Keigo in until he pressed against them and snuck his arms around Dabi's slim waist. He was met with Dabi's scarred lips pushing harder against his as he leant up, his long lashes fluttering beautifully against the scars under his eyes.
"Guess we'll just have to go together then, hm?"
"To save water?" Dabi grinned.
"Yeah, course. The water bill goes up quickly."
Another thing about Dabi was that he was clingy, his hands refusing to leave Keigo's waist as he followed him to his tiny bathroom that was definitely not made for two people. His clingliness was endearing, Keigo had to admit.
The shower definitely ended up longer than it should have - due to one particular reason, but they were eventually clean and wrapped in towels, Dabi's low on his hips. Keigo just couldn't stop himself from staring at him, even if he'd seen him completely naked a couple of minutes ago. His waist and v line were downright sinful, making his throat dry.
"Something the matter, birdie?"
"Nope- not at all." His wings fluttered as he brought over a tub of burn cream, something that he'd been forcing onto Dabi whenever he came round. If he wasn't going to take care of them, Keigo would.
He found himself unable to resist, maybe it was the paramedic inside him, maybe it was how much he cared for the villain.
"That's not gonna make these scars any less ugly."
"They aren't ugly." Keigo stood infront of him with a frown, applying some gently to the scars under his eyes. "It'll help to soften them."
As well as helping Dabi, Keigo enjoyed applying the burn cream all over his scars, moving down to his neck and shoulders, then to his chest, back and thighs - one of his favourite places to rub it into. Dabi's reactions were too entertaining - the way he tried to purse his lips as Hawks grinned up at him, raising his thick eyebrows.
"Pretty." Murmured Hawks once he'd finished rubbing the cream into his legs, gently holding one and pressing a kiss to the bottom of his foot.
"..Weirdo."
For good luck, he kissed up his leg too, then sat beside the villain.
"All done."
"You're spending too much money on me - all this food and burn creams.."
"I want to, so let me take care of you."
"...Fine..you're the one that'll go bankrupt." Dabi gave a deep sigh, changing into the clothes that Keigo kept for him. He lay next to Keigo once he'd changed too, letting him rest his head on his chest.
"What's your plan for tommorow?"
"Don't know, but boss wants me back at the base."
"Early?"
"Nah, we never do anything early."
"Good."
"Just be careful, alright? I know you probably won't listen, but at least try."
"I know." He grumbled.
It wasn't time for Dabi to leave yet, no where close, so Keigo held onto his waist with a gentle sigh, insistent on keeping him close for as long as possible. He hated that he didn't know how much longer he'd have Dabi around, not with the way he spoke.
The man was driven by his rage and revenge plans - but Keigo hoped that he'd at least think before throwing his whole life away, leaving Keigo and the small thing they'd built together.
"Call me if you get hurt, too. Any of your friends for that matter too-"
"You don't need to get anymore involved than you already are, birdbrain."
"I want to help-"
"I know, but you already do enough."
Keigo disagreed, frowning against his neck with a displeased flap of his wings.
"You've already had to replace too many staples."
"Yeah, 'cuz you're too damn reckless.."
"Maybe my staples are just too flimsy."
"Bad excuse.."
Dabi's hand found its way to his back, warm and grounding.
"Don't worry about me, you've got your own shit to deal with."
Dabi had a point, with his upcoming exams, his part time job and placement with the hospital, it made him a busy man, but that didn't mean he would stop worrying about him.
"I worry because I care, so that won't stop."
"Idiot.."
He pressed a soft kiss to Dabi's scarred neck, then sighed quietly and pulled a blanket further over them. He could live in the moment for now, with Dabi safe in his arms, his body warm and solid beneath him.
In Keigo's small apartment, nobody could hurt them.
˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗