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It was supposed to be just a regular meeting, in some random dark alley, at some ungodly hour of the night. Nothing special. Nothing fancy. They don't do fancy anyways.
Well, Birdie can do fancy. Dabi has seen him enough time in a high fashion suit, crinkled just the right way to be even hotter, plastered on billboards, on newspapers, in bus stops, with his stupid smile, his ridiculously tousled hair, all that for his new cologne. Ugh. Disgusting.
Dabi did not steal a bottle last week. Nope. Toga did. Yes. Her fault. Absolutely.
Anyways. He digresses. Meeting, right? Exchange some info, rile up the oversized chicken, flirt a bit because it's fun, stfu. And then back to HQ, smoke a bowl with Tomura and be traditionally annihilated at Mario Kart by the bastard.
But no. Of fucking course, something has to go south. Can someone please give a Dabi a break? At some point? Would be nice, please and thank you, cherry on top. It’s not like he’s asking for much here.
Because honestly? Having to drag an unconscious pigeon to his place? Definitely not part of his Friday night plans. No sir.
Of course he could have let the number 2 hero in this dark alley, between a dumpster and a puddle of vomit. But A. Dabi might be an asshole but not to the point of letting the person who took a hit for him rot in the street. And B. Tomura would probably decay him on the spot if one of their best informants died on his watch because he was being lazy again. Nothing to do with the fact that he might eventually, potentially, mayhaps care a tiny little bit about said hero. Not at all.
…
Again: stfu.
Hawks is surprisingly light, despite his huge wings and all. Even for someone as scrawny as Dabi, it's not really hard to hoist him on his back and walks to his small apartment. He hasn't set a foot in it since they all moved out to Deika, but he still has the keys and still pays the rent for this shithole so better use it.
He scrunches his nose at the smell of cold tobacco and mold that welcome him when he unlocks the squeaky door. His new place doesn't reek like that. Mainly because Toga and Compress insisted that Jin and Dabi keep their nasty stuff outside. And burn fucking candles in their bedrooms.
Tyrants.
But now that his nose is clogged with the smell of old cigarettes, he kinda miss the Apple and Cinnamon candles Compress left in his room.
He drops Hawks on the battered couch. The hero doesn't stir, even when his wings get squished in an awkward position against the backrest of the sofa.
Dabi scratches his head, a bit at a loss of what to do now. There's no obvious wound, no bleeding or broken limb. The Quirk that hit him didn't leave any visible mark. Except for the fact that Hawks fell unconscious immediately, there was nothing wrong. He looks like he just simply fell asleep.
Ha well.
Dabi grabs a blanket and drops it on the hero before strolling to his own bedroom, yawning widely and swearing when the gesture pulls at his staples. Stupid stuff. Ugh.
He discards his clothes save from his boxers and t-shirt. He usually goes commando but he's not really inclined for Mister-Perfect-Body over there to catch him completely naked.
Dabi wakes up at a loud crash coming from the living room. He groans at the light filtering through the curtains. At least, Hawks seems alive.
Well, he can find his way out on his own. It's too damn early to wake up anyway. Dabi smashes his pillow on his head, determined to go back to sleep.
Another crash echoes, followed by a high pitched giggle.
The fuck?
Dabi kicks back his comforter and swings the door of his bedroom open. He freezes on the doorstep and blinks owlishly. Perched at the top of his kitchen cabinet, crouched in a familiar position, a butt-naked child stares at Dabi with big golden eyes. Fluffy pink wings flutter on his back, almost bigger than his tiny frame.
"Hawks?"
The child keeps staring, unblinking, head tilted on this side. It's fucking disturbing.
The tiny thing suddenly leaps off the cabinet, without the usual grace that characterizes his older version and he glides more than he flies toward Dabi.
"Hey, hey, what are you--?" The rest of Dabi's sentence is lost as he receives catches Hawks in his arms.
"Ugly face!" The child chirps, his tiny hands grabbing Dabi's shoulders, black talons already sharp and digging into Dabi's scarred skin.
"Oi, rude. Shut your face, chickenshit. What the hell happened to you?"
The child blabbers something, climbing Dabi like a tree, grabbing at the black strands as he hoists himself on Dabi's shoulder.
"Ow ow ow, the fuck is wrong with -- Oh fuck no!"
He barely grabs Hawks by his skinny ankle as the child tries to jump again. Hawks is hanging upside down, wings and hands batting happily. He giggles, watching at Dabi with eyes crinkled with untainted joy.
If Dabi melts a little, no one needs to know.
"No more jumping," he scowls while shifting Hawks in a normal position again.
He goes to the couch where the hero's clothes are piled, trying to find something to cover the child. But everything is too big, too heavy. Hawks manages to escape his arms and lands on the couch in a flurry of pink feathers. He grabs the visor and pushes it on his face with a happy chirp, looking at Dabi with a big smile.
Dabi bites his lower lip.
Nope. Nope. It's not cute. Stfu.
Ugh.
"Stay there," he orders, pointing at the couch. "No moving. No flying."
He turns on the TV in the hope to distract the kid long enough. It seems to work. Hawks crouches on the couch, eyes glued to the screen.
Dabi sighs and goes back to his room. He rummages through his drawers. He grabs a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie for himself. He finds a crop top one of his one-night stands left behind. It's red, full of glitter and there's "I only love Daddy" written on it.
…
Ha well. It will do. He takes a pair of black boxers that were already too small for him. He should manage to make them fit.
He finds Hawks right where he left him. He plops next to him and the kid immediately climbs into his lap, shivering.
Whoops.
Dabi lands a heated hand under the fluffy wings. The brat is so small that Dabi's hand almost covered him completely. Hawks coos happily, curling into a small ball, his round cheek squished against Dabi's chest.
"Let's get you dressed."
The boxers are too big but nothing surgical staples can't fix. The wings are a bit more tricky. Dabi scrunches his nose and summons a flame at the tip of his index.
Hawks gasps. The blue flame casts an eerie light on the golden eyes. "Pretty," he breathes, a chubby finger reaching to touch.
Dabi tutts and the flame disappears. "Don't touch that, dumbass. You're gonna get burnt." Hawks pouts, his wings puffing on his back. Dabi snorts. "Dude, you're giving me so much blackmail material, it's not even funny."
Hawks scrunches his nose, watching Dabi with curiosity.
"Nevermind."
He manages to make two holes in the awful crop top and push the wings through them. Hawks looks at his new clothes and runs fingers over the glitters.
"Shiny! Pretty!"
Dabi grabs his phone and opens the camera. "Hey, smile chickenbutt!"
And he does, giving Dabi a blinding grin, far from the usual smirk or crooked smile Dabi got used to.
He snaps the picture and ruffles the blond hair. "Good nugget."
Hawks perks. "Nuggets?" He pats his stomach. "Nuggets, Keigo's tum-tum. Yummy."
"Keigo?"
Hawks nods enthusiastically. "Keigo!" He repeats, pointing at his chest. "I'm --" he frowns and looks at his fingers. He holds two in front of Dabi's face. "Two!"
The information is not really relevant, but somehow it makes Dabi kinda happy to know Hawks' name.
Hawks -- Keigo points at him with his megawatt smile. "Ugly face!"
Dabi raises an eyebrow. "Seriously? It's Dabi, dumbass. Da-bi. It's not complicated, even for a feather brain like yours."
"Ugly face!"
"Ugh."
"Nuggets?"
"I don't have nuggets."
Keigo looks at him, pouty lips starting to tremble. He sniffs once, tears welling in his eyes. Dabi feels like he just announced him the end of the world.
He rolls his eyes. "Don't cry. I got ramen."
Keigo climbs down from Dabi's lap with a betrayed look. He curls up on his jacket and sobs quietly, head hidden beneath his wing.
"Come on, dude," Dabi groans. Keigo lets out a small wail and when Dabi tries to touch him, his hand is smacked away by a pink wing.
Dabi resists the urge to facepalm. "Okay, fine. We'll get nuggets. But you’re buying. I ain't spending money on you."
The wing retracts, revealing puffy eyes and snotty nose. Keigo sniffs and rubs his face.
"Gross. Okay, let's go."
Dabi pats Hawks' hero's suit pockets until he finds the wallet. And the phone. The lock screen is a sunset or sunrise, probably taken by the hero himself from some rooftop. Dabi tries to unlock it, curious of what he could find in it. The phone asks for a fingerprint. Dabi grabs one of Keigo's tiny hand and presses a finger on the screen.
Aaaand of course it doesn't work. Oh well. He drops the phone back on the couch and hoists the kid in his arms.
"Nuggets?"
"Yeah, yeah, we're going."
Keigo giggles and hooks his scrawny arms around Dabi's neck, wings flapping with excitement.
Dabi puts a face mask on and lowers the hood of his sweater before going out.
Lucky for him, there's a McDonalds two blocks away. Keigo babbles all the way, pointing stuff at Dabi, repeating the words and chirping every time he sees a bird.
Dabi ignores the nasty looks he gets from mothers with toddlers or the outrage gasps when he catches Keigo by the leg again when he tries to take off. He swings him above his shoulder like a potato sack, smirking at the excited screeches of the chick.
"No flying, brat!"
The only answer he gets is more giggles.
McDonald's is a quick business and Dabi makes a stop at the Konbini on the way home for a pack of smokes and some cold soba for later. Keigo tugs at his hoodie as Dabi walks through the aisles.
"What?"
Keigo points at a box of bandaids with Thirteen on it.
"Why do you want bandaids?"
Keigo looks at him, eyebrows tightly knitted. His fingers touch gently Dabi's scars. "Owies."
Dabi swallows the sudden lump in his throat. Keigo keeps looking at him with all the seriousness of a 2 year-old kid.
Dabi clears his throat. "Don't worry, kiddo, it doesn't hurt anymore. I don't need bandaids."
Keigo doesn't seem convinced. "Kiss better?"
Dabi snorts as he resumes his walk. "Not sure it's how it works. Except if you're Recovery Girl."
Keigo keeps staring at Dabi and suddenly plants a wet kiss on the scared cheek. Dabi startles lightly and looks at Keigo. "Better?"
Dabi blinks and shakes his head. "Yeah. Thanks kid."
Keigo coos, satisfied.
They spent the afternoon in front of the TV, Keigo dozing off snuggled against Dabi like a kitten.
Dabi wonders how long before the hero comes back to his normal size. From what he saw on Internet, this kind of Quirk lasts between 24 and 72 hours.
He has shot messages to Toga and Tomura to warn them that he had to take care of something but he really hopes that he won't be stuck with a baby bird for more than 24 hours.
Looking after Keigo like that woke up memories he would prefer not think about.
He was nobody's big brother anymore.
Yeah, definitely not going that way.
The day ends with an epic shower that leaves Dabi even more soaked than Keigo, more cartoons and more nuggets. Dabi switches off the TV and builds some kind of bed on the couch.
"Now you sleep," he says, wrapping the small frame in the same blanket than last night. "No flying!"
Keigo chirps and Dabi takes that as a yes. He goes to the bathroom for a quick shower, wanted this time and stops when he steps in his bedroom.
Keigo is sitting in the middle of the bed, staring at Dabi.
"The fuck are you doing here? Go back to your bed."
Keigo raises his arms and makes a grabby hands gesture toward Dabi.
"What is it?"
"Scared."
"Scared? Of what?"
"Villains."
Dabi stares at Keigo and burst out laughing. He wheezes and almost hacks up a lung in the process. This is probably the most ironic, stupid, ridiculous situation he's found himself into.
Keigo looks confused.
"Ha -- oh my god -- sorry kid. There's no need to be scared. I'll burn the bad guys."
Keigo gives him a tentative smile but buries himself under Dabi's comforter.
"You want to sleep here?"
Keigo nods and Dabi relents before those pleading eyes. "Fine."
He joins the kid on the bed and Keigo scouts closer, curling against Dabi. Dabi pats him on the head and as usual, he's out like a light as soon as his head touches the pillow.
Dabi feels good. He's warm, but not too warm. It's quiet in the apartment, except for the soft breathing next to his ear.
He hums contently, allowing himself a few more minutes of peace. A leg tangles with his own and a strong arm squeezes his waist.
Nice.
Wait...
What?
His eyes shot open and he turns his head. His nose find itself assaulted by a mop of wild, soft, blond hair. Red feathers rest on top of them like an extra blanket.
Keigo -- Hawks -- whatever -- stirs in his sleep, nuzzling Dabi's chest, but no waking up.
Holy fuck.
"Oy. Oy, birdbrain." Dabi nudges the hero.
"Five more minutes," the hero mumbles.
"Hell no. Wake up!"
"Fuck you. Lemme sleep. 'm tired."
"I'm going to kick you out of the bed."
Finally, a sleepy golden eyes open. "The fuck is wrong with you?"
"The fuck is-- The fuck is wrong with you?"
Hawks yawns and stretches lazily. "You got somewhere to go, Ugly face?"
"Keigo," Dabi growls. "Get your naked butt out of my bed."
"I like it when you use my name." He presses a kiss on Dabi's cheek. "Thanks for taking care of me yesterday."
Dabi splutters. "Shut up."
"No, you shut up. I'm taking today off and I'm not going anywhere. So stop bitching and relax."
"Pain in the ass."
"Are you asking?"
"Oh my god, shut the fuck up."
Laughter is the only answer he gets.