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It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. It wasn’t supposed to end. Dabi knew exactly how dangerous it would be for both him and Keigo if they chose to stand by each other and find something more in their relationship.
A hero and villain? He should have run.
Dabi hardly felt the rain hitting his body and soaking his hair, threatening to wash away the black dye clinging to his white roots. His knees pressed the cold, unforgiving ground as he held a bundle of red feathers and limbs against him. Red stained his clothes and the rainwater around them like a horrific scene.
“I-I’m go-onna die…ar-aren’t I?”
Dabi clutched his hand tighter. “No…no, don’t say that. You won’t die, you stupid bird. You can’t.”
Because if Keigo Tamaki died in his arms, he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself… knowing their stupidity killed him. And it was horrible, because just months ago, he wouldn’t have even cared.
Dabi pressed the heel of his free hand to Keigo’s chest, where the two bullet wounds had pierced his flesh clean through. The water didn’t help; it only washed the blood faster down his chest, which was heaving for breath and solace from the pain. Every wet inhale was worse than the last, rigid and painful.
“Just stay with me? Alright? Stay with me,” Dabi said, trying to keep his voice firm, but his glossy eyes gave him away. “The League is almost here.”
Keigo’s eyes found his and held them there. His gaze bore into Dabi’s, as if it were the last thing he’d see. And it possibly was.
“Dabi…”
No. His voice sounded so broken—almost a goodbye.
Their nights together flashed in his head. At first, meetings for exchanging knowledge. Dabi had known he was a spy from the beginning. How could he not? He just wanted to see how long the great and mighty Keigo would keep up the act.
But meetings turned into more. They’d walk with each other.
Feelings turned into something other than hate or forced compliance.
And the nights Dabi would break into the stupid hero’s apartment would just end with a mess of discarded clothes and heavy breathing in bed. Dabi would be gone the next morning.
Until one night, he decided to stay. And now he was fucking attached. Invested.
Dabi shook his head, pushing harder onto Keigo’s wounds. “No, no. Don’t do that. Don’t say it like that. Not now. Not ever.”
Keigo let out a small whimper of pain, barely aware of anything anymore, and it broke Dabi’s heart. His wings, usually so full of life, lay soaking in the rain without the slightest twitch. Some of his feathers were missing.
“D-Dabi,” he said more firmly. “It’s too l-late.”
Dabi turned his head away as tears stung his eyes, painfully so, before running down his cheeks. For the first time, he was glad for the rain. It hid them away from Keigo, who seemed to have tears of his own.
“Please…don’t say that…”
God, what a pathetic display. But it was all becoming too real.
Despite the situation, Keigo tried to smile. It seemed more like a grimace. “W-We had a good run…didn’t we?”
Dabi’s blue fire flickered weakly (the same ones he’d use to warm Keigo secretly in the night) and sizzled with the rain. He yelled, angry at Keigo. Angry at himself. “Shut up!”
Angry at the stupid hero society that let this happen.
The hero sucked in a painful breath; it was clear he didn’t have much time left. His chest was heaving with the effort to keep him alive. And the League still wasn’t here.
Dabi clung to his hand, putting his forehead against his and squeezing his eyes shut. Fuck being weak. He was weak. And he didn’t care. He’d be weak for Keigo.
He felt Keigo trembling against him. How much he wished to take the pain away. How much he wished to rewind time and stop what happened. How much he wished he could stop the blood that endlessly seeped around them.
“D-Dabi?” His voice was barely audible; it was almost drowned out by the rolling of thunder above them.
Dabi nodded against him. “Yes, love?” It slipped out naturally. He wished his voice would stop shaking.
“Can you sing for me?”
Dabi let out a choked laugh, trying to keep the cries that threatened to take over his chest and wrack his body with heaving breaths.
He pulled Keigo’s head into his lap carefully and ran a hand through his hair. “You impossible bird...always asking for things.”
He couldn’t break down now. He had to stay strong for Keigo, who lay dying below him.
Keigo nodded, closing his eyes and listening.
Dabi took a shaky breath. “It was just like magic…when your hips came crashing.” He wiped his nose. “There were fire’s burin’ and my hands learning to paint with passion.”
His voice wasn’t that of an angel, considering the abuse on his lungs from smoking and the smoke from his quirk. He’d sung to Keigo before, only a few times when he got drunk or was too tired to argue, but the hero liked his voice regardless of its imperfections.
Lighting flashed around them. Keigo whimpered, struggling to breathe. The sound made Dabi’s heart clench. He continued running a shaking hand through his hair as he continued to sing, his voice threatening to choke up.
“It was planets meeting. It was synced up breathing. There were Angels callin’ and more free-fallin’ than I believed in.”
Keigo seemed to be relaxing slightly.
“Memories like freight trains hit me, I replay to keep you with me, better to have had than not at all…” Dabi’s voice cracked as he wiped the tears and rain off Keigo’s cheek. Golden eyes opened to meet blue. Both were filled with so much pain.
“We were chasing stars,” Dabi sang, tears blurring Keigo’s face. “Across the county lines. Two imperfect pieces…with out fingers intertwined.”
He let out a sob when he felt Keigo squeeze his hand weakly at that. A villain crumbling for a hero.
“And…I would do it all again…knowing I’d be left behind. Oh, what a time...”
Keigo closed his eyes again, his breathing slowing. Dabi kissed him gently.
When Keigo spoke, his voice was soft. Lips trying to form that impossibly cocky grin against Dabi’s. “I love you too, Dabs…” And he stopped moving.
And the smile was gone.
Dabi squeezed his eyes shut, holding Keigo’s hand with a crushing grip that had now gone cold and limp.
How many times had he held his hand as they fell asleep? How many times had he invited him over and talked about his day so eagerly? Dabi saw his smile, his bright and wide eyes, his need to protect people. Everything that made him Keigo.
He wasn’t aware of screaming, but that’s what Toga told him they found when they finally arrived. Stocked with medical supplies, but too late. Keigo’s body was already cold. And Dabi was crushed in grief.
They never saw him like that.
Toga cried in Twice’s arms. Shigarki turned away, balled fists trembling. Compress bowed his head. Kurogiri’s gate faltered.
And Dabi was sobbing, holding Keigo’s body that used to laugh with him and kiss him. The last line of the song still on his lips:
“Back when you were mine.”