Work Text:
Keigo is just settling in his bed, finally feeling ready to get some sleep, when his phone buzzes by his pillow. His brows are pinched together as he turns and grabs it, holding it under his face as he pushes up on his elbows, wings fluttering from his movement. He shouldn’t be getting messages this late, especially when he’s not on the schedule for work or on call because he’s supposed to deal with HPSC meetings all day come sunrise.
Soulmate: We need to talk.
Keigo drops his phone, pure shock settling over his skin like a layer of sweat after a fight. Shota Aizawa just messaged him about talking.
After he figured out that Shota was his soulmate, Keigo spent more time around him, attempting to gauge his thoughts on it. It didn’t help that Tokoyami told him that the older man knew they were soulmates too. But he could never get the courage to bring it up, and the older man seemed to not want anything to do with it, which made it even easier to avoid bringing it up and eventually stop being around him unless he had to be.
A quick glance at the date tells him that it’s Hitoshi’s birthday, and he wonders if something happened with Hitoshi that got Shota thinking about him.
“No, stop that. Don’t get your hopes up. It’s probably work related or something,” mutters Keigo as he leans forward to grab his phone, finding another message waiting.
Soulmate: The door is unlocked.
Keigo: Can I know what you’re planning to talk to me about?
Keigo: I don’t want to assume, but considering you never message me, it has to be important, right?
Keigo: Is everything okay?
Soulmate: Just get your winged ass over here, Keigo. It’s nothing to stress over, I’ve been dealing with reports and grading papers all damn night. We just need to talk so the problem children and good children will leave me the hell alone.
Keigo: Okaaaaay… Be there in a bit.
Keigo takes a moment to reread the conversation, but there’s nothing there other than confirmation that there are no injuries or work-related things to panic over. He doesn’t know what to expect here, especially because Aizawa made it clear a long time ago that he doesn’t give a damn about soulmates. But he doesn’t think there’s anything he could tell the man that he wouldn’t already know, unless he’s looking for a different perspective on something.
He shakes his head and says, “I’m just going to go in there without expectations because otherwise I won’t end up going.”
But of course, as he stands, he realizes that he’s definitely not dressed to leave his apartment. With a sigh, Keigo walks over to his closet to pull on some plaid pajama pants and a simple black sweatshirt that says Hawks down the left sleeve while a deep red feather similar to his own settles down the spine of the back. It’s one of his favorite pieces of merch because the feather down the spine settles perfectly between the custom holes for his wings, and it looks awesome according to his fans.
Once he’s ready, Keigo heads for his balcony and takes off, leaving the doors unlocked behind him. He flies all the way to Shota’s apartment, mind whirling against his wishes, but when he gets there, he hovers in the air and stares harshly at the ground.
There’s Hitoshi talking to who he believes is Red Riot, and there’s also a car that he recognizes to be the Bakugou’s. He lets a feather drop, smirking when Hitoshi dips down to pick it up and instantly searches for him.
“Hawks, get your ass on solid ground before I tell dad that you’re dropping feathers again!”
Keigo chuckles to himself as he drops down behind the kid, missing what Eijirou says, but he glares anyway. Not that the kid notices because he’s too busy seeming giddy and excited, but it doesn’t mean he’s not going to play protective adult. He sees too much of Hitoshi because of his friendship with Tokoyami.
“Stop glaring, birdie, you’ll give yourself a headache. The hell are you doing here so late?” asks Hitoshi as Keigo tunes back in just in time to catch the curiosity in those narrowed eyes while he waves his red feather.
“Well, for one, I need to say Happy Birthday to my second favorite UA student. So, Happy Birthday, Hitoshi. But for two, your dad texted me and said he needed to speak to me so the problem children and good ones will leave him alone?” replies Keigo with a shrug as his feather tugs itself loose and flies back to the large red wings, settling perfectly back in place. “Lead the way?”
“Like you don’t know where we live. But it’s about damn time he talks to you, swear me and Toko have been waiting for this for ages,” grumbles Hitoshi as he steps around Keigo to lead him into the building and up the stairs. “If you run from him, I will tie you up and let Dark Shadow pelt you with the foods they don’t like while also naming you fair game for the rest of class A.”
Keigo takes a few moments to try to figure out how he got here, getting the shovel talk from a kid.
“That’s a threat I cannot afford to let happen, though I’m very confused as to why it’s a threat for me,” mutters Keigo confusedly, an awkward chuckle leaving him as Hitoshi twists the doorknob to his apartment.
“Dad, the bird is here. Play nice,” says Hitoshi as he lets Keigo into the apartment before slipping his shoes off and heading to his room.
Keigo watches the kid go with panic settling in his chest heavily before he finally lets himself look at Shota. But the moment their eyes meet, Keigo’s dropping his to his feet because he can’t read what the other man is thinking. He prides himself on being able to tell how he needs to act, but with Shota, he never knows.
It’s as scary as it is freeing because he usually can just be himself because of it.
“Keigo, I’m sorry for asking you to come over this late, but I think it’s time I take my own advice and follow my son’s lead. Which I never thought I'd ever say,” sighs Shota with an almost defeated tone that makes Keigo’s feathers ruffle.
He doesn’t like that tone, and he’s certain he’s not going to like this conversation.
“Yeah, we’re not doing this. If you’re going to sound like you’re defeated, like you don’t want to talk to me, then I’m not going to sit and listen to whatever it is that you’re planning to say. I deserve better than that, no matter the topic,” says Keigo seriously as he lifts his head to stare down the Underground hero, the UA teacher because he’s not going to let any conversation happen if he’s going to feel like shit about it.
“That’s not my intention, Keigo,” replies Shota stiffly, looking like a deer in headlights as he seems surprised by his words. “I just– Listen, things are not all good in my head, and one of the reasons that I haven’t spoken to you about it has to do with me getting in my head about this. I know that you know we’re soulmates, even though we haven’t really discussed it, you can blame Tokoyami and Hitoshi for that one. And there isn’t a problem there, with us being soulmates. But I am– I am older than you, and in my head, that’s– I don’t know why the universe stuck you with me, why they’d give you an old soulmate like me.”
“Because there’s something in our experiences, something in our lives that we can relate on, something that’s supposed to give us exactly what we need. But being soulmates doesn’t automatically mean a relationship without struggles or problems, or hell, the perfect relationship,” explains Keigo softly, already stepping further into the room to show that he’s here and listening, he wants to understand, so he’s making himself comfortable in the space without sitting down. “You know as well as I do that relationships take work. It’s not easy, and it never will be, especially with what we do for a living. But to push that aside for a moment, I don’t give a damn about how much older you are. All I care about is getting to know you and seeing whether we’re going to have a romantic soulmate relationship or a platonic one. I won’t lie to you though, I am hoping for it to be romantic between us.”
“You–” Shota gapes at him like he’s surprised by his response, but then he almost melts against his couch and looks almost relieved. “That makes me feel a lot better for you being stuck with me as a soulmate. At least I’m not the only one who wants a romantic relationship here, but if you change your mind, I will respect it, no matter what.”
“Then we’re on the same page because that last bit is meant for you too. And I’m not stuck with you, Shota,” replies Keigo softly as he moves towards the older man, fingers twitching with the need to touch, but he keeps his distance “I get to experience being with you, but I don’t see this as being stuck with you. I’m excited to see what comes with this decision, I want this more than I can really explain, and I’ve had plenty of time to think about it, even before I realized that we are soulmates.”
“You’ve– Wait a second, you’ve thought about us before you recognized me as your soulmate?” asks Shota, sounding as shocked as Keigo feels when he reaches out to lock their fingers together and tug him towards the chair sitting next to his place on the couch. “Please stop standing, you’re going to hurt your feet, and I know you dealt with that idiot who spilled lava across the ground.”
“I– Yeah, my feet are definitely still wrapped from that situation,” murmurs Keigo as he carefully relaxes into the soft chair that Shota guided him to, not dropping the fingers that are locked on his. “And yes, I did think about it before. I know I was cold before, I struggle not to be, but it’s kind of how I was raised within the HPSC. But let’s not deal with that. Back to your question, I’ve definitely thought about us before the soulmate thing. I just– I’ve had a crush on you for like– way too long, Shota.”
“So– So, if I asked if we could pursue this romantically, since we’re on the same page about it here, you wouldn’t just be doing it because we’re soulmates?” asks Shota softly, hesitant as he lets his thumb brush across the backs of Keigo’s fingers, staring at his thumb as it strokes Keigo’s skin.
“Shota, I wouldn’t be going on dates with you just because we’re soulmates. No, I’d be going on dates with you because I like you so much that it would literally make my entire day to get the chance to be with you romantically. Being soulmates is just a bonus,” replies Keigo sincerely, leaving no room for doubt as he lifts their fingers, twisting gently so that he can press a kiss to Shota’s hand. “Does that mean that we’re going to give this a try?”
Those dark eyes stare at Keigo with hope and awe, and it makes Keigo want to wrap Shota in his wings and never let him go. Makes him want to give him all the love and care that he can, protect him with everything that he has.
That’s probably why, even in Shota’s silence, Keigo moves forward enough to start wrapping his wings around his soulmate before he can think it through. He hesitates once it registers what he’s doing, but Shota just slips forward, nodding until Keigo’s wings move forward again until he’s got the older man wrapped in him. Shota’s face is buried in his neck, and one of Keigo’s arms is wrapped around his waist. But their fingers remain locked by their fingertips, thumbs brushing across their knuckles as Keigo buries his face in dark hair while his wings shield them from literally everything.
“When do you want to go on a date?” asks Shota softly, breath puffing against Keigo’s neck as his nose rubs gently against his fluttering pulse.
Keigo’s honestly surprised that the older man isn’t calling him out for his racing heart, but he still murmurs, “Whenever you have time, I can make time, Sweetheart.”
He presses his grin into Shota’s hair when he catches the sharp intake of breath at the soft name.
“How about tomorrow then, Starling?” asks Shota, lips curving into a smirk when Keigo’s breath leaves him so quickly his head spins for a moment as his heart pounds harder in his chest. “I can finally call you that out loud instead of in my head.”
“Call me that all the time, Sweetheart, and I will never be mad about it,” replies Keigo softly as Shota pulls back to look at him with a soft smile. He can’t help the way he wants to lean in, but he manages to hold back. Keigo refuses to rush Shota into a kiss. “But back to your question, I am free all evening tomorrow, so we can absolutely have our first date then. The only question left is, should we go somewhere privately public, or do you want to come to my apartment for privacy? I’m not the best cook, but I can make a mean spaghetti with homemade garlic bread.”
“Maybe nothing too public for the first date, at least, so your apartment would be wonderful, but we can talk about it after? I have a few friends in the restaurant business who are good at providing privacy for underground heroes and their attempts at dating,” offers Shota softly, and Keigo can hear the gentle hope in his voice like he’s worried he’ll be shut down for thinking about another date already.
“Our second date can definitely be helped by those possibilities,” murmurs Keigo easily as he rubs his hand up and down Shota’s spine gently. “Do you feel a bit better than you did when we started talking?”
“Yeah, I– I feel a lot better actually, thank you,” whispers Shota with embarrassment in his voice. “I’m sorry, for the late messaging and the insecurity lashing the moment you came inside. I just didn’t know how to handle it, but I knew I wanted to finally approach it.”
“Well, I’m sorry for being so quick to lash out about it too, I could’ve been a bit kinder in that approach. I’m also sorry for taking so long, you were grading papers,” says Keigo quietly as he looks at Shota and watches the reminder hit him.
“Fuck,” groans Shota as he drops his head forward against Keigo’s shoulder again. “I forgot about those damn papers. I gotta finish those, otherwise I’m going to hear about it from Nezu at the damn meeting tomorrow.”
“Ah, I should let you finish those then instead of curling up with you until you fall asleep,” says Keigo with a light teasing tone, though he would love to curl up with Shota and hold him until he falls asleep.
“As much as I would love that, and we should make one of our dates just a movie and nap date because I could do that, I am definitely going to get reamed if I don’t manage to finish these papers off,” says Shota with a deep sigh of frustration that seems to be mostly aimed towards Keigo’s plan to leave rather than the trouble that will come his way if he doesn’t finish the grading. “Should’ve just stayed working on that case that I’d been going over before Hitoshi went outside, but no, Hizashi messaged me to remind me of the stupid grading due date that Nezu implemented for summer break.”
“Damn, Mic is blocking my sleep cuddles,” huffs Keigo with a teasing pout before he shakes his head and pulls away. “Well, I should go then so you can finish grading, but I will see you tomorrow night for dinner at my place? You can let me know what time based on your day, and I can message the address as soon as you give me a time, okay?”
“I’ll be free from four on, I have to train with Toshi for a bit and drop case files off, so I’ll be a bit busy. But I will be free after four,” replies Shota quickly, like he couldn’t wait.
“So, how about you come to mine around 5:30 and we can have dinner and watch a movie? I can start cooking then, and it’ll be ready to eat at about six,” says Keigo reassuringly when Shota’s head ducks down, a peek of flush across his cheeks quickly being hidden. “Let me get that address to you now, unless you want me to wait? I’ll probably message a bit tomorrow, so maybe I should message it around four instead?”
“You can wait, I’m sure I’ll have my own messages to share, specifically about Zashi being a dick,” replies Shota with a sigh, sounding almost amused at whatever is going to come.
“Why would Mic be a dick?” asks Keigo as he narrows his eyes at the older man.
The amusement says it’ll be teasing, but the phrasing suggests otherwise.
“He’s going to tease me about finally talking to my soulmate, he didn’t know who it was, just that I knew. But he’s also going to tease me about having a date, he’ll get it out of me, and he’s going to be all over me about finding nice clothes to wear. It’s typical shit from him,” replies Shota with a snort almost like he can’t wait for it, which leaves Keigo softening because that’s a friendship thing.
“That sounds like the hell Mirko will give me when I see her for lunch tomorrow,” says Keigo thoughtfully as he tilts his head to the side. “I wonder if I can get out of that by bringing up her soulmate.”
“If she’s like Zashi, then you’ll get out of it for like maybe twenty minutes,” Shota’s chuckling, and that means there’s definitely a story there. “Any time he’s teased me about relationship things, I bring up Nem, but it only lasts as long as he can say he’s in love with her in three different variations before he shakes himself out of that lovestruck zone to scold me for trying to distract him. It’s pretty entertaining though, even more so when she’s right there and gets to hear it. That usually helps, she drags him away.”
“Sounds about right, honestly,” chuckles Keigo with a soft shake of his head. “I’ll message you my address tomorrow then, and I’ll let you know when I get home too. But I should be getting out of here, or you’re not going to get any sleep tonight after you finish grading.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right, not that I’m happy about it, cause I’m not. But logically, you are right, I won’t get anything done or any sleep if you’re here,” Shota sounds like he’s disappointed in his own logical thinking, and Keigo can’t help but smile at that because the older man is known for his strictly logical thought process.
“I know I’m right, but thanks for agreeing,” replies Keigo with a wink before he stands and helps Shota up as well. “I’ll let you know when I’m home.”
“I look forward to that message almost as much as I’m looking forward to our date,” murmurs Shota as he tucks his hands into his pockets, looking almost shy.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Shota,” whispers Keigo before he leans forward to quickly brush his lips against a soft, lightly stubbled cheek.
“Yeah, see you tomorrow, Keigo,” Shota’s voice is filled with awe as he lifts his hand, fingers brushing over the spot on his cheek that Keigo had kissed.
Keigo leaves the apartment building, but not once, after he shuts Shota’s apartment door behind him, does his feet touch the ground. His wings flutter, holding him off the ground all the way out of the apartment building before he takes off, shouting his excitement into the sky. He’s got a date with his soulmate, and he literally can’t wait.