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‘Explain, again, except in words that make sense to my brain,’ Dabi instructs.
‘It’s not my fault you’re fucking stupid,’ Keigo snaps.
‘Just do it, red.’
Keigo sighs, and leans against the cell wall.
Dabi had been caught by Miruko’s agency two days ago. Keigo had found out via iMessage and he’d instantly tossed his packet of chips at the nearest intern, spread his newly, fully grown wings, and flown across the country to ‘interrogate’ him himself.
Miruko had said, ‘Sure, ducky, just don’t let him escape!’
He doesn’t think Dabi could escape without any outside help. Keigo could’ve, obviously, but Dabi could not. The walls are anti-quirk metal. Keigo, being a mutant, can still move his wings, but his telekineticy is out. He’s a little frustrated, and Dabi making him repeat his plan three goddamn times isn’t doing any favors for his blood pressure.
‘You,’ he points at him, (Dabi wriggles his fingers in a little wave), ‘and me,’ he gestures at his own chest, ‘are the key to ending the war.’
Dabi shakes his head. ‘Deranged,’ he says mournfully. ‘You have gone fucking mental.’
‘I am not finished. If we just team up, we can end this. You’re the second on your side, I’m second on mine, villains will listen to you and heroes will listen to me, a hero slash villain team up will make civilians take notice because it’s never been done before!’
‘Rest in peace, hot-piece-Hawks,’ Dabi says, addressing the toilet against the wall. ‘His sanity will be missed.’
‘I’m serious, Touya,’ Keigo pleads. ‘It’d be so simple. Also, fuck you, nobody’s ever called me that.’
‘What do I benefit from this insane scenario of yours,’ Dabi says, ignoring the second part of his sentence. ‘What do I gain? Why would I ever fucking help you?’
‘Well,’ Keigo starts, spreading his hands, ‘I know that you’re tired.’
‘And how would you know that?’
Keigo crouches down to go eye level with him, and lowers his voice to say, ‘Because I’m fucking exhausted.’
Dabi cracks a smile. ‘Yeah?’
‘Yeah,’ Keigo says, nodding. ‘And also, I can get you out of here.’
That gets his attention. He raises an eyebrow. ‘Is that right?’
‘Yes,’ Keigo says. ‘And it’d be ridiculously easy. They wouldn’t even know I helped you.’ Like honestly. Keigo doesn’t know why Rumi hadn’t at least made it a bit harder.
‘I would like to get out of this fucking rabbithole,’ Dabi muses. ‘But see, there’s one flaw in this master plan of yours.’
‘Hit me.’
‘We fucking hate each other,’ Dabi says plainly. ‘Like, I don’t know about you, birdie, but I cannot stand your ridiculous ideals, nor can I stand your stupid face. I know way too much about you, and I think you’re a stupid goddamn asshole.’
‘Well, firstly, same here, you suck,’ Keigo says, and Dabi, apparently already distracted, is pretending to finger-gun shoot him, muttering, ‘Pow!’ under his breath. Keigo ignores this.
‘But secondly,’ he adds. ‘I have a plan for that , too.’
‘Of course you do,’ Dabi says, dismayed, and tips his head back against the wall. ‘Why don’t exes die after you break up with them?’
‘Stop calling me your ex,’ Keigo says, uselessly, and sits down.
Dabi levels him with a look. ‘What’s your fiendishly clever plan this time.’
‘Well. There was this study on intimacy,’ he begins, and Dabi interrupts him, ‘I’m gonna call security if you don’t shut up with that gay shit.’
‘You can’t, I disabled the comms for this cell,’ Keigo says. ‘So, pre-quirk era study, like, 1990’s early, to amplify intimacy, ergo, it’ll create tolerance at the very least. It’s thirty six questions you ask each other, like in a pair. It blew up because the first two people they tried it on fell in love.. and so did, like, a bajillion other couples who tried it.’
‘You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me birdie,’ he says, and drags his hand down his face tiredly. ‘Why isn’t anyone coming to check on me, I’m an insane murderer.’
‘I took care of the guards, they’re unconscious. Don’t even worry about it,’ Keigo says, and turns on his phone to find the article.
‘You’re fucking ridiculous.’
‘Dabi, I need this to work ,’ he says frustratedly, and stares at him, pleading, ‘If we can just get on a solid level of trust, we can tackle the hero system and reactions wouldn’t be entirely negative because I am literally a top hero. I’m sick of the way the world is right now, it’s not even just Japan, villains going nuts, citizens aren’t trusting their protectors which is so correct. I’m sick of living like this. And us, you and me, we’ve seen it up close , and we can end this.’
Dabi sighs. ‘And why us?’
‘Because I won’t stand by and not act when I can do something. And because if not you, who the hell else?’ Keigo responds.
Dabi watches him from his corner of the cell. Keigo can practically see his brain whirring.
‘And why now?’ he goads. He raises his eyebrows. ‘Hm? Why’re you doing something now ?’
And Keigo explodes. ‘Because Shigaraki woke me up, alright! Is that what you wanna hear? That I couldn’t sit by and watch anymore? Because I couldn’t! Alright? And I thought maybe we could just do it now, now that everyone’s aware of it, but Midoriya is patrolling streets alone and those kids don’t know jack shit and Endeavor’s a fucking moron and destroying and leveling cities isn’t how you fix a world , Dabi! It’s not how you fix the fucking system! You can’t fix it by beating it with a stick and you can’t fix it from the inside either, and with the Commission still there I’m barely in control and you, you fucking love control and you and I both fucking know this needs to be handled by someone who has their goddamn shit together!’
Dabi stares at Keigo for a second, as if digesting his entire outburst. Then he scratches his armpit and says, ‘I’m kinda pissed you said Shigaraki instead of me. Like, way to take away all my credit.’
Wow. Wow. Really.
‘You’re so annoying I’m going to murder you,’ Keigo says. He runs a hand through his hair, and exhales, out of breath. Out of words.
‘Are you done?’ Dabi says graciously.
‘Yes,’ Keigo says to the floor.
‘Okay.’
‘Fuck off.’
A pause. ‘I get it,’ Dabi admits, finally. ‘It’s simple politics. Two guys on opposing sides, it’ll appeal to everyone, and maybe the Commission will help out to save face. I've killed enough of their big bads. We can actually fuckin’ do this.’
‘Alright,’ Keigo says. ‘So—you’re in?’
Dabi groans, and shifts. ‘Can’t ya just join us, for real this time?’
Keigo laughs, because isn’t that ironic. How the tables turn. ‘I’m not fucking insane.’
‘You sounded pretty crazy to me just now,’ he mutters, and then, ‘Well, let’s do this, I guess. Get me out of here, birdie.’
‘Questionnaire first,’ Keigo tells him. ‘Then we can jailbreak.’
‘That’s so ridiculous. You’re so annoying,’ he says. ‘It doesn’t make sense, why can’t we do this once we get out.’
Because I need the security of you trusting me.
‘Because I want to use Miruko’s wifi,’ Keigo beams.
Dabi closes his eyes briefly. ‘God,’ he says, strained, ‘just. Ask the first one, already. Let’s get this shit over with.’
‘Okay.’ Keigo sucks in a breath, and scrolls down to the question list. ‘Given the choice of anyone in the world, who’d you want as a dinner guest?’
‘Nobody,’ he says. ‘Who would I want to eat with. That’s such a stupid question.’
Keigo gives him a look.
He rolls his eyes and says, ‘I don’t know, man.’
‘Then think about it.’
Dabi’s lips jut out as he thinks, mulling it over. Keigo’s had that habit noted down for months.
‘Dead or alive?’ he asks, after a moment.
‘Doesn’t say. I think just go for anything.’
‘Daffy Duck,’ he says blandly.
‘Please take this seriously.’
‘You’re just jealous you wouldn’t be the only bird in my life.’
Keigo gives him an exasperated look. ‘Come on .’
‘Okay fine,’ he says, rolling his eyes. ‘Probably something pre-quirk era. Kurt Cobain, maybe. Or Bowie. Or just—some regular person, ask them what it was like. Before.’
Keigo ingests this. He supposes it’s not all that surprising that Dabi would look back wistfully on a world before, intangible.
‘Or maybe my father,’ he says, and grins wide and sudden. ‘Can you imagine the look on his face while I sit there and take my staples off so I can eat… oh man. Fuckin’ glorious.’
Keigo lets out a breath of a laugh, and shakes his head.
‘Oh, but you’d pick him too, isn’t that right,’ Dabi says, looking up, ‘you’d definitely pick your hero Endeavor. Isn’t that right, Keigo.’ His eyes bore into Keigo’s, voice malicious, teeth bared.
Keigo doesn’t rise to the bait. He genuinely thinks he might be too tired for that, now.
(And he would’ve been right, once. But Keigo has met Endeavor now, and is deeply aware that the admiration is, was, and always will be one sided. Never meet your heroes. )
‘Actually,’ he says instead, thoughtfully, ‘nah, I think I’d pick whoever got the first quirk ever.. hm. Or no, that might be boring. That could’ve been anyone. Oh, oh! I got it! Y’know that guy from the nature documentaries? Who always makes the documentary weird and funny?’
‘What,’ Dabi says blankly, ‘who?’
‘Well, there’s this guy, see, and he does nature documentary parodies, they’re just like the usual ones except he says absurd, funny things. Ah, man I don’t remember his name,’ Keigo frowns.
‘I think I know which one you’re talking about,’ Dabi says, and his voice is amused. ‘Do you mean—what was it. Round Planet?’
Keigo snaps his fingers. ‘That's it! Yeah, Round Planet. It’s really funny.’
Dabi grins. Keigo smiles back.
‘Alright, second question. Oh, um,’ he scratches his nape, ‘would you like to be famous, and, in what way.’
Dabi snorts, and leans back on his elbows. ‘You already have your answer, then. You’re living it, aren't you?’
It’s a rhetorical question, but something in Keigo’s chest stings.
‘No,’ he says, trying to keep his voice even. ‘I’m not. If I was famous in a way I liked, in a way I could—choose, it’d be in some meaningless, funny way. Going viral, or something.’
Dabi doesn’t say anything, but he exhales through his nose.
‘I’d like to be famous for something I created,’ he says in response. ‘I’m currently infamous , I guess, for destroying things. And I’m not saying it’s terrible, what I’ve done, because this society is an admirable thing to destroy but still, I’d—I’d rather be known for.. art, or something. I don’t know. Just, bringing something interesting and cool into the world.’
Keigo watches him. He should’ve known this would be a terrible fucking idea that would backfire on him.
‘Okay,’ he agrees. ‘The next question—before making a phone call, do you rehearse what you’re gonna say?’
Dabi scoffs. ‘I don’t make fucking phone calls. And if I do I don’t practice, I’m not a fuckin’ moron.’
Keigo’s mouth twists. ‘I would probably have to rehearse if I didn’t already know exactly what I was going to say going in, just by looking at the caller ID.’
‘Oh, I bet it’s ‘handler’ this and ‘coworker’ that, for you,’ Dabi mocks.
‘And ‘villain boss’ this and ‘possible spy’ that, for you?’ Keigo counters dryly. ‘I’m well aware that neither of us have many friends, Touya.’
Dabi sneers, but doesn’t say anything else.
‘What would constitute a perfect day for you,’ Keigo reads. ‘Uh—’
‘No villain shit, no annoying dumbasses, and sleeping in all fuckin’ day,’ Dabi says. He quirks an eyebrow. ‘Same for you, I’m assuming?’
‘Well,’ Keigo says wryly. ‘Not ‘villain shit’, but more.. ‘hero shit’. But yeah. Same day.’
Dabi clicks his tongue, as if to dismiss the difference, which is insane to Keigo. He looks down at the screen. ‘When did you last sing to yourself, and to someone else?’
‘These questions are fucking weird,’ he mumbles, and Keigo can’t help but agree, ‘Yep. How am I supposed to remember that?’
‘Uh,’ Dabi says, ‘Sang to myself last time, probably last time I got a good shower. With the PLF.’
‘I probably sang to myself.. the last time I had a boring patrol, a few years back. While flying,’ Keigo admits.
Dabi nods, and says, ‘And as for someone else, I think Toga made me. She was sick and wanted a lullaby.’
Keigo bites down on the inside of his cheek so he doesn’t have to deal with the conflicting emotions that arise with that mental image.
‘What about you?’
‘Got hit by a quirk once,’ he says. He laughs, ‘It was—pretty embarrassing, they had some kind of nursery rhyme quirk. No one at the agency let it go for weeks.’
Dabi snorts. ‘Now there’s an idea. Hawks, the singing hero.’
‘And I have a really pitchy singing voice,’ Keigo winces. ‘It was pretty terrible.’
‘Guess you’re not perfect after all. Next question.’
Keigo can’t help but let his eyes catch Dabi’s for a second there. Not perfect, indeed.
‘Right,’ Keigo says suddenly, and lets his thumb swipe down the length of his phone then. ‘Um. This one’s kind of weird. If you were able to live to the age of ninety and retain either the mind, or the body of a thirty year old for the last sixty years of your life, which would you want?’
‘What the hell kinda question,’ he complains. ‘I don’t fucking care. What the fuck.’
‘I think if I could keep my own younger body I’d do that,’ Keigo muses. ‘Not for—’
‘For your biceps,’ Dabi says helpfully.
‘No,’ Keigo says, and glares at him. ‘Because of my wings. I don’t know what my wings will look like when I’m fucking ninety.’
Dabi starts laughing, wheezy, incredulous laughter. ‘Oh my god,’ he says, grinning, ‘fuck, can you imagine yourself as a grandpa with fuckin’, grey wings—’
‘Stop.’
‘Fuckin’ pigeon—’
‘Next question,’ Keigo says loudly. ‘Do—oh. Do you have a secret hunch about how you’ll die.’
Dabi’s laughter stops, and Keigo looks up and they lock eyes.
‘Well, I think we can skip this one,’ Dabi says. His throat bobs, and Keigo tears his gaze away. ‘Seeing as we both know.’
‘Yeah,’ Keigo agrees, and hasn’t he been agreeing a lot, today. He swallows, and reads the next question. ‘Name three things you and your partner appear to have in common.’
‘We’re both sick of this,’ Dabi says.
‘We both are sitting in this room right now,’ Keigo adds.
‘We both have quirks,’ Dabi finishes, and grins.
Keigo laughs and says, ‘Is that going the easy way out?’
‘I don’t care, we deserve easy,’ Dabi replies, and his blue eyes are very dark, in this room. The things he manages to say offhandedly— we deserve easy, are slowly making Keigo lose his mind, feather by feather.
Keigo shakes his head wordlessly, and says, ‘Next question, uh. For what in your life do you feel most grateful.’
‘My massive dick,’ Dabi says, and Keigo exhales through his nose.
‘Ha ha,’ he says. ‘I’m grateful for my wings.’
‘I’m grateful for jackshit,’ Dabi says. ‘Nothing. Nada. Well, actually,’ and Keigo warns him, ‘Don’t say something like your dick again—’
‘I’m grateful for how steady my hands are,’ Dabi says, and pats his own hand, ridiculously, ‘makes doin’ my nail polish easy.’
And his staples.
‘Alright, Dabi,’ he says. He clears his throat, and looks down at the screen again. ‘If you could—oh come on.’
‘What,’ Dabi asks.
‘Childhood questions,’ Keigo mutters. ‘Can’t we skip—’
‘Well that’d be ignoring the point, wouldn’t it,’ Dabi says, reasonably. ‘Say it.’
Keigo sighs. ‘If you could change anything about the way you were raised, what would it be.’
‘Fuck outta here,’ Dabi says.
Keigo can’t help a pathetic laugh. ‘Like, who wrote these—’
‘Fuckin’ Doctor Aron, what the hell—’
‘What kind of asshole—’
‘I would change my quirk,’ Dabi says, ‘or my father, or make myself born a girl, or quirkless, or the youngest, or—or in Switzerland, or fucking—literally any goddamn tiny factor would have made it better. Would have fixed it, even.’
Keigo’s throat feels tight. ‘Yeah,’ he says. ‘I think I—’ he stops.
Dabi waits, and doesn’t push him, for once.
Keigo’s eyes feel slightly wet, and he shuts them. ‘I would,’ he starts, slowly, ‘um. Somehow save those people from the crash but also, do it in a way that. That you couldn’t tell it was me, so I wouldn’t have gotten scouted.’
‘By the Hero Commission,’ Dabi says, mocking and bitter and afraid all at once. ‘Yeah.’
They sit there quietly for a moment, stewing in it. The room feels hot and Keigo knows he can’t blame it on Dabi’s quirk, because of the quirk cancelling walls.
‘Okay,’ Keigo says abruptly, opening his eyes. ‘Next question. Take four minutes and tell your partner your life story in as much detail as possib—oh come on.’
‘We are skipping this one,’ Dabi informs him.
‘No arguments here,’ Keigo replies, ‘whatsoever. If you could wake up tomorrow having gained any one quality or ability, what would it be?’
‘What the hell,’ Dabi says. ‘Fucking—regeneration? Or—time travel, I don’t know.’
‘I think I’d—’
‘You should pick ‘sense of humor’,’ Dabi advises.
‘Go fuck yourself,’ Keigo says, rote. ‘I’d—invisibility, maybe?’
‘Perv.’
‘Shut the hell up,’ Keigo says. ‘Not for—I’d do it so I could be invisible and fly around and put handcuffs on—’
‘Perv,’ Dabi repeats, amused.
‘On all the villains I could see,’ Keigo finishes loudly, and glares at him.
Dabi shrugs. ‘Boring. And still pervy.’
‘Fucking—next question. Oh, it’s the next set. You read these,’ he says, and passes the phone to Dabi.
Dabi squints down at the screen as he takes it, and reads, ‘If a crystal ball could tall you the truth— tell you the truth about yourself, your life, the future blah blah what’d you wanna know.’
Keigo hums, and says, ‘I think you should’ve picked ‘literacy’ in the last question.’
‘I’ve never littered,’ Dabi says suavely, and Keigo laughs.
‘That’s not what that—’
‘I’d tell the crystal ball to tell me all your secrets so I could hold them over your head.’
‘Okay, sounding like an obsessed fan there, Dabi. A little pathetic.’
‘Fuck you.’
‘I’d see how this war ends,’ Keigo says, then.
Dabi’s sigh is very tired. ‘Yeah. Alright, next question. Is there something you’ve dreamed of doing for a long time? Why haven’t you done it? Oh, I think coke, I never tried coke.’
‘Really,’ Keigo says, and hums. ‘Lame.’
‘No goddamn way have you done coke and I havent,’ Dabi tells him. ‘No fuckin’ way.’
‘Yeah, I’m kidding, neither have I,’ Keigo relents. ‘I’ve dreamt of doing—ah. A road trip.’
‘Uhh, buddy, I didn’t think I’d have to be the one to tell you this, but. You have wings,’ Dabi deadpans.
‘Fuck off, I mean like. Hitchhiking, or whatever, maybe I’d fly most of the way but I want to.. see things, y’know. Soul finding journey.’
‘That is so beyond gay,’ Dabi tells him.
Keigo flips him off. ‘Read the next question, dickhead.’
‘What is the greatest accomp-lish-ment of your life,’ Dabi reads, and says, ‘Having a massive fuckin—’
‘Shut up —’
‘I hate these questions ,’ Dabi complains, ‘I hate them so goddamn much.’
‘Well, suck it up,’ Keigo says uncaringly. ‘Being the number two hero, I guess.’
‘Not sounding too enthused there.’
‘Fuck off,’ Keigo says, tired. He’s tired. ‘What’s yours.’
‘Being the best at darts in the whole League,’ Dabi says, and flexes his puny arm.
Keigo does the exhausted, helpless laugh he’s done so many times tonight. ‘Oh my god, the dartboard, I forgot about that.’
‘I never let you do the darts while you were a spy because I knew you’d beat my score,’ Dabi admits.
‘Asshole,’ Keigo says.
‘That’s me. What do you value most in a friendship? Oh, jeez.’
‘Um,’ Keigo exchanges the wryest look with Dabi, ‘based off of, like, sit-coms—’
Dabi laughs loudly.
‘I would say I value humor and just, being there when I need you.’
Dabi juts his lip, and nods. ‘Yeah, I get that.’
‘Not like, you, you,’ Keigo clarifies, ‘just the general—’
‘Yeah, yeah, I know, dickhead. I value time and being able to, uh, hate on the same shit.’
‘OK,’ Keigo nods. ‘Sounds about right.’
Dabi nods at him. They both crack smiles at the same moment, and Keigo looks away, and Dabi looks down to read the next question.
‘What is your most treasured memory,’ Dabi says, and then eyerolls. ‘Gay.’
Keigo says, ‘Jesus. Uh.’
‘My most treasured memory is the time I had a threesome.’
‘Fuck you,’ Keigo replies.
‘Okay fine, I’ve never had a threesome. It was an orgy.’
‘Go fuck yourself. My most treasured memory is.. ah,’ Keigo smiles at the floor as he remembers. ‘There was this kid, once. Like, three years old, I saved her cat, or something, very cliche tree situation maybe, I don’t remember the deets. But—’ he laughs. ‘She gave me a little daisy, she was making flower crowns. And, like, put the flower behind my ear. Then she said I looked pretty . And I just, um—started fucking bawling.’
Dabi laughs. ‘What the hell—’
‘I lost my shit, it was so—I was having, like, a day , alright. Don’t make fun of me. It was so bad,’ he shakes his head, wincing. ‘This girl and her sister staring at me all distressed-like, while I’m crying my goddamn eyes out. It was fucking. I felt like a baby. Best memory.’
He looks up, and Dabi has this inexplicable look on his face. Torn. His lips parted.
Keigo furrows his brows. Then Dabi blinks.
‘That’s,’ he starts. ‘Jesus, I’d have lost it too.’
‘Right!’ Keigo says, feeling both relieved and empty now that that look is gone. ‘I pressed the flower into one of my books, it’s still on my desk.’
‘Jesus,’ Dabi says again. He shakes his head, as if getting out of a daze. ‘Uh. Next—what is your most—terrible memory. Are you kidding me .’
‘Um,’ Keigo says, and fire and his wings and all consuming, searing pain, that wheezing laugh, turned up by insanity and Jin .
He swallows.
‘You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me,’ Dabi says again. ‘I—man.’ He shakes his head. ‘Can’t have anything, in this world.’
‘I think you. Can, um. Probably guess,’ he says, a little weakly.
‘Fucking hell. You can probably guess mine, too, then,’ Dabi says, voice a rasp.
Keigo nods, and says, ‘Next.’
‘Right. If you knew that in one year you would die suddenly, would you change anything about the way you are now living, and why.’
Keigo says, ‘Well, I already do think I might die suddenly, like, any day.’
‘Fuck if that ain’t the truth,’ Dabi agrees. ‘But I guess—if I had a certain amount of time, I’d fight less and fuck around more. ‘Cause, no point, y’know.’
‘I think I would want to do that but—would probably fight more and fuck around less, instead,’ Keigo says honestly. ‘Because I need to be as useful as I can before I’m gone.’
Dabi stares at him, and says, ‘Of course. Fucking—birdie, you should do what you want, especially if you’re already aware that you don’t want to do that.’
‘But I have to,’ Keigo says simply. ‘Like. I would need to—’
‘Go fuck yourself,’ Dabi says. ‘You need to learn how to fucking live for yourself. You fucking bitch.’
Keigo soaks in the fierceness of that statement, the certainty of him, and nods shakily. ‘Um—okay.’
‘Fuck,’ Dabi says, and looks at the screen. ‘What does friendship mean to you—didn’t they already ask this.’
‘It means being there,’ Keigo says. ‘Next.’
‘Yeah,’ Dabi agrees, and scrolls down. He scrolls with his pointer finger, while Keigo usually scrolls with his thumb. It’s a useless thing to note. ‘What roles do love and affection play in your life.’
‘Uhh. Imaginary ones,’ Keigo says, and Dabi snorts weakly. ‘Got that right,’ he agrees, and reads, ‘Alternate sharing something you consider a positive characteristic of your partner. Share a total of five items.’
‘Five good things about you ? Right, I have to go, this isn’t gonna work out,’ Keigo says, and Dabi’s head whips up to glare and then he scowls when Keigo laughs.
‘Fuck you,’ Dabi mutters.
‘You’re passionate,’ Keigo says, and watches Dabi’s eyes. ‘You’re driven, and protect those you care about. You’re, like, calculatingly smart. And you never lie, which. Yeah.’
Dabi’s eyes are dark and heavy. ‘You—you’re optimistic, annoyingly so. Like, you give people the benefit of the doubt, trust them, even. You always try to do whatever you think is best for everyone around you. You’re observant. You’re modest and down to earth, which is very fucking hard to find in heroes. And you’re strong, fucking scary level strong.’
‘Ask the next one,’ Keigo says.
Dabi looks down, breaking eye contact and Keigo exhales.
‘How close and warm is your—are you fucking kidding me right now,’ Dabi despairs, ‘come on. Your family . Do you feel your childhood was happier than most people’s. Kill yourself.’
‘No it was not,’ Keigo says, ‘I think we can move on.’
‘How do you feel about your relationship with your mother—Jesus.’ Dabi shuts his eyes, and pinches his nose. ‘Come on.’
Keigo stares at the tiny phone and wishes he could rip it apart with his talons. ‘My mother—’
He stops, throat dry.
‘My mother was weak and strong and hated me and loved me and deserved better and should’ve left him,’ Dabi says.
Keigo picks at a hole in his pants by the knee, and accidentally makes it bigger. ‘Yeah,’ he says quietly.
Dabi tosses the phone at Keigo’s lap. ‘Last set.’
Keigo catches it easily and flips it around, reads, ‘We are both in this room feeling.. and we have to name three things.’
‘We are both in this room feeling pissed at Doctor fucking bitch Aron,’ Dabi says.
‘We are both in this room feeling very sick and tired,’ Keigo adds.
‘We are both in this room, feelin’ kinda horny,’ Dabi finishes, and says, ‘Next,’ when Keigo looks up.
Keigo groans, and reads aloud, ‘Complete this sentence. “I wish I had someone with whom I could share—’
‘A foil o’ cheesy fries, I’m fucking starving,’ Dabi says.
Keigo manages a laugh. ‘I’m so fucking hungry, it’s not even funny. Um, I wish I had someone with whom I could share.. my thoughts right now.’
Dabi’s tongue is in his cheek, which is flushed. His fingers flex against the cold concrete.
‘I wish I had someone with whom I could share some satisfying orgasms.’
Keigo says, ‘Stop fucking talking. If you were gonna become a close friend to your partner, please share what would be important for them to know.’
‘I snore when I sleep,’ Dabi says.
‘I already know that,’ Keigo tells him. ‘I—am a very difficult person because of—’
‘Because of the goddamn Hero Commission,’ Dabi says.
‘I also wake up at seven A.M,’ Keigo adds.
‘I already know that too,’ Dabi tells him. ‘I’m so sexy and amazing that everybody gets jealous of me and then leaves. It’s very tragic.’
Keigo takes a moment to bury his face in his knees and laugh , and when he looks up his face is flushed and his smile is probably wide. Dabi grins, reckless and sardonic.
‘Next.’
‘Tell your partner what you like about them, be very honest this time and say things that you wouldn’t say to someone you’ve just met. But I was honest last time,’ Keigo says, groaning.
‘So was I, birdie,’ Dabi says. ‘I like that you’re funny, not in a loud or obvious way but just, in a quiet, dry way. It’s cool.’
‘I like your nose,’ Keigo says, absurdly. ‘It’s sort of pointy.’
‘You—’ Dabi stops, and sighs. His face looks flushed. ‘Yours is. Cute. Button nose.’
‘I,’ Keigo says helplessly. ‘Fuck,’ he looks down at the screen, ‘share, um, share with your partner an embarrassing moment in your life.’
‘A couple months ago we got Toga a cake for her birthday, fucking pink ass strawberry cake, I fucking love strawberry, and I inhaled mine so fast I had to go hurl,’ Dabi says miserably. ‘Waste of strawberry cake.’
Keigo snickers, while Dabi continues to look miserable.
‘I,’ he manages, ‘um, most embarrassing—oh, that fucking compilation of me flying into windows.’
Dabi laughs. ‘Oh fuck, I’ve seen that, it’s so funny.’
‘Fuck you. When did you last cry in front of another person, and by yourself.’
‘Well,’ Dabi says, and he looks rueful and wry and arch, his eyebrows high and his voice low. ‘I’m sure you can guess at my situation.’
‘Yep,’ Keigo agrees. ‘Last time I cried was. Well, you can also guess. And in front of someone, it was probably one of my handlers, as a kid. I wanted to go home.’
‘Jesus fuck,’ Dabi says roughly. ‘Next question, tweety.’
‘Tell your partner something that you like about them already,’ Keigo reads.
‘Your tits,’ Dabi says.
‘That attitude,’ Keigo admits, and reads, ‘What, if anything, is too serious to be joked about.’
‘Fucking. Kids?’
‘Shit that happens to kids? I don’t know, there’s probably a lot of things,’ Keigo hedges.
‘Let’s leave it at child abuse,’ Dabi says in that wry way of his. ‘Next.’
‘If you were to die this evening with no opportunity to communicate with anyone, what would you regret not having told someone? And why haven’t you told them?’
‘Fuck. I’d regret—not having talked to my siblings individually. Told them I—love them and apologize, I guess? But also to explain—I don’t know. I’d just regret not having talked it out with Natsuo.’
He looks exhausted. Keigo says, ‘I’d regret not having told you I’m sorry.’
Dabi’s fucking eyes are probably going to haunt him in his dreams. ‘Okay.’
Keigo nods. ‘Okay. Your house, containing everything you own, catches fire. After saving your loved ones and pets, you have time to safely save one item. What would it be and why.’
‘My weed stash,’ Dabi says. ‘The six thousand yen headphones I got with ReDestro’s cash. My Winged Hero Hawks fleshlight.’
‘Shut the fuck up,’ Keigo begs, cheeks hot, ‘I wouldn’t save jackshit. Of all the people in your family, whose death would you find most disturbing and why. Uh, my dad died in jail, I’d feel empty if my mom died. I’d feel like shit.’
‘It’d be Natsuo for me,’ Dabi says. ‘Shouto’s a hero so it’s not an impossible thing, and my mom already had scares even back then, and Fuyumi is older, and I’d be fucking psyched if Enji died. If Natsuo died I’d lose it, probably.’
The logic of it has Keigo shutting his eyes for a moment. ‘Okay,’ he says, and looks down. ‘Last—last question.’
‘Fuckin’ finally,’ Dabi exhales.
‘Share a personal problem and ask your partner's advice on how they might handle it. Also, ask them to reflect on how you seem to be feeling about the problem you’ve chosen.’
‘I’m—’
‘If you say you have a boner I’m going to kill you,’ Keigo promises.
‘Okay, fuckin’ fine,’ Jesus,’ Dabi says, and shakes his head. ‘So imagine there’s a war going on—’
‘I hate you,’ Keigo says defeatedly. ‘I hate you so fucking much. No one has ever gotten on my nerves the way you do. Literally not a single soul.’
‘There’s a war going on and we have both tried to kill each other,’ Dabi says, ‘but I also, probably—there probably isn’t a single person who understands precisely what it’s like besides you. Do you get me?’
‘Yeah,’ Keigo says. ‘Fucking asshole. We have to, um. Stare at each other’s eyes for four minutes.’ He taps on the alarm app, setting one for five minutes later. He glances at the time as it sets, and realizes it’s been an hour since this started. Holy fuck.
‘Perfect,’ Dabi says, under his breath, ‘just fucking dope.’
‘I’m gonna win this staring contest,’ Keigo says, as they shift closer than they already were.
Dabi leans in, ‘Yeah, because you have fucking bird eyes, asshole, I’m not stupid.’
Keigo laughs under his breath, and tilts his chin up. ‘I’d win even if I didn’t.’
‘No you wouldn’t,’ he disagrees. ‘I’d have that match on lockdown.’
‘I don’t think we’re allowed to talk while we do the four minutes,’ Keigo informs him.
‘You’re just saying that to shut me up,’ Dabi says, and his voice has gotten lower, and he leans in closer, terrifyingly closer. His head lilts to the side. Lank, white bangs falling into his eyes.
Keigo doesn’t respond, because suddenly he can’t bring himself to speak, afraid to ruin this connection.
Because fuck but he’s beautiful.
Dabi’s eyes are dilated, electric blue. He has very thin eyelashes, and Keigo figures it’s because they’d probably been burnt off when he was a kid. His eyebrows are dyed black, even though his hair is now white. Keigo wishes he would stop dying them too. He wants to see what he looks like, white eyebrows and white hair and pale skin, against the stark, angular lines of his face and the mottled violet skin of his grafts.
He’s always been beautiful, in this eerie, off putting way, like a demon. His eyes are so, so blown, and so, so blue.
He wets his lips and Keigo’s eyes instantly dip down at the movement.
Dabi laughs, soft and low, and says, ‘You lose.’
The alarm beeps, and Keigo drops onto his back, and stares at the ceiling.
‘What the fuck,’ he says.
Dabi crawls on top of him and straddles his waist.
‘Don’t,’ Keigo says, weakly, and doesn’t even move to stop him, hands coming up to tangle in the fabric of his shirt.
His fingers are hot and cradling Keigo’s jaw, thumbs at his cheekbones. A hand slides back, fists into his hair and hauls him upright painfully. His skin is searing, like a brand. Keigo likes it.
‘Birdie,’ he murmurs.
‘What,’ Keigo says. Just a little bit defiant.
‘This is, like, destiny,’ he tells him. ‘C’mon.’
Keigo shakes his head.
Dabi leans in and Keigo clasps his hand on his mouth right before he can close the gap. Dabi just takes this in stride. His hand finds Keigo’s wrist, and he kisses Keigo’s fingertips. Smooth and tender and without breaking eye contact.
Keigo’s heartbeat is pounding.
‘Dabi,’ he says, a warning. ‘Stop it.’
‘Keigo,’ he responds, and leans in even closer, narrow, boney hips shifting against Keigo’s thighs, his fingers long and clinging. Dabi is always clinging to things. Keigo does that too, and he thinks they’re like a piece of driftwood in the sea, torn and mangled wood, like a viking funeral, lit up, aflame and drowning.
Dabi’s eyes are serious, heavy, like he bears the weight of the world. Keigo usually bears that weight alone. Those eyes say it all. Give in.
He says it out loud, too, savoring the words, slow and slick. ‘You know you want to.’
Goosebumps shake their way up the knobs of Keigo’s spine, and his shoulders drop.
He wants to tell Dabi to get the fuck off him.
Instead, he whispers it, soft, quiet, like a fucking prayer. ‘Touya,’ and finds his mouth. Seals their fate.
It’s electric, heated, passionate, everything Keigo has ever needed . He’s missed this hot mouth so fucking much. They split apart at the sound of commotion outside, guards yelling, a strand of spit connecting their lips.
‘Last chance to join the League of Villains,’ Dabi pants, eyes bright.
Keigo tips his head back and laughs. ‘Don’t you wanna come with me? We could be heroes, like Bowie.’
He feels his grin, feels him nosing against his throat. ‘Nah, I’ll probably always be a villain.’
‘Anti-hero,’ Keigo corrects. ‘I think we’re both anti-heroes.’
Dabi rises up and kisses his cheek. ‘Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Let’s go save the world.’
(‘Keigo?’
‘What Touya.’
‘I changed the answer to one of the questions.’
‘Oh? Which one?’
‘The first one.’
‘...?’
‘If I could take anybody in the world out on a dinner date..’
‘Aw. Mhm..’
‘It’d be Gang Orca.’
‘..One day I’m going to snap and strangle you.’
‘You are nothing compared to sexy beast Gang Orca.’
‘I should've left you in the jail cell.’)