Work Text:
~Hawk's POV~
You've been trying to keep me in your bed
I can tell from all the marks that you've been leaving on my neck
Dabi turned around to face Keigo, silent as the song began to play through the kitchen. Something was happening, something different, something special. Keigo’s feathers detected a slight uptick in Dabi’s heartbeat.
It was never anything you said
It was all premeditated from the moment that we met
Dabi let this look come over his face, both playful and raw and terrified and hopeful. It was like nothing Keigo had ever seen before, and he couldn’t stop himself from taking a few steps forward. And Dabi tensed, so Keigo stopped. They stood still in the kitchen, and Keigo let the words of the song connect to memories and images in his brain.
Don't start fallin', I'm sorry
If I'm not here in the morning
Every time Keigo had woken up alone, the sheets on the other side of the bed cold. The disappointment that had hung heavy around him at not sensing anyone else in his apartment. Knowing it was going to hurt but willing to take any part of Dabi he could get. Letting it happen again, and again, and again.
Give me all of you just for a piece of me
How many times had Keigo offered up small pieces of information as they got closer? Let little things escape, things that no one else knew about him. Dabi was the one he let preen his feathers after a rough battle, Dabi was the one who knew how his talons sounded as they clicked across the hardwood floor of his apartment. Dabi saw him have a panic attack about the Commission, Dabi knew at least the bare bones of his pain and where it came from.
And what did Keigo know about him? Only information he had let slip, information he always looked like he regretted telling Keigo. And… it hurt. Dabi never failed to run the second any detail about his past came loose, any time things between them got too personal, too emotional.
So what was he doing now?
So darling, don't get too close
There's nothing here to see
If we end up going down this road
You'll end up underneath my feet eventually
Dabi’s grim smile drew Keigo’s attention again, and something painful was curling in the air in front of them, tangible. He stepped up close to Keigo, till they were less than an arm’s length apart. Keigo wanted to grab him and whisk him away, where no one could ever hurt him again.
Tell him he didn’t know himself like Keigo knew him, that no one knew him like Keigo knew him.
No, you don't wanna love me right now
'Cause baby, I don't even like me so how
Am I supposed to let myself be everything you need
So sweet, then leave?
I don't wanna put you through me
Keigo stood completely still, every feather quivering as Dabi cupped a hand around his face in a gesture that could only be described as gentle. It was telling, and Keigo felt a thousand things, things that could never be conveyed through words alone. A mutual understanding between the two of them, wishing and wanting and dreaming of a world where they were alone.
Everybody thinks my heart's gone black
But honestly I'm just afraid that I can't love somebody back
Dabi brushed his hand up through Keigo’s hair, and Keigo couldn’t help the relaxed shiver that came over him. His wings relaxed, and his eyes fluttered closed briefly, the slightest chirp escaping his mouth. Had he been watching, he would have seen the adoring look that came over Dabi’s face, undeniably fond.
'Cause the devil's in the details
Telling us how we feel
But what if I just wanna give it up
Dabi started to mouth the words, perfectly in sync with the lyrics as he began to spin Keigo around his kitchen, never once looking away from his eyes. A warm hand gently wrapped around his waist, and his other hand held up Keigo’s right, as he led them around in a dance only he seemed to know.
I'm kind of unpredictable
Swear to god I'll only make you miserable
And I could never be enough
His eyes had lost the manic energy and rage that he kept alive in them, and Keigo was left to drown in a vibrant blue that sunk in upon itself. He wondered what Dabi was thinking. He wondered if this meant what he thought it did.
So darling, don't get too close
There's nothing here to see
If we end up going down this road
You'll end up underneath my feet eventually
Dabi’s face smoothed out some, though his eyes remained full of a fear that would never fade. And Keigo knew it only fair, knew there were some things you just couldn’t erase. But goddamn if he wasn’t willing to risk everything just to try.
No, you don't wanna love me right now
'Cause baby, I don't even like me so how
Am I supposed to let myself be everything you need
So sweet, then leave?
Keigo was glad he couldn’t cry, because if not he was certain that by now he’d be bawling. As it was, his eyes were shiny, and he stared unblinkingly at Dabi, open longing written across his face, which was so used to only wearing fake emotions. Keigo needed Dabi to know, to understand, that Keigo had already made his decision, and wasn’t planning on changing it.
I don't wanna put you through me
So darling, don't get too close
There's nothing here to see
If we end up going down this road
You'll end up underneath my feet eventually
Two men, dancing around a pristine kitchen in a pristine apartment, the two of them the only bright spots within it. Anyone watching the scene wouldn’t have been able to look away from the looks on their faces. It was clear they were on trains bound to crash, but it was also clear that for them, for this moment, the two of them transcended the rules of society. Both of them willing to risk their entire world for the man in front of them.
No, you don't wanna love me right now
'Cause baby, I don't even like me so how
Am I supposed to let myself be everything you need
So sweet, then leave?
Dabi looked more at ease than Keigo had ever seen him, dancing smoothly across his kitchen, the slightest smile on his face. The ends of Keigo’s mouth curled, and he did nothing to stop them, letting his feelings filter through his eyes as well. Keigo wanted to make sure he radiated love, because he was pretty sure that was what he could feel coursing through him so strongly.
I don't wanna put you through me
I don't wanna put you through me
I don't wanna put you through me
The notes faded away, and their dancing slowed. Keigo, heart open and wanting, couldn’t help himself, and immediately leaned up to press the softest kiss against Dabi’s lips the two had ever shared. Dabi tensed for a moment, then relaxed into it, heating his hands so he could card them through Keigo’s wings.
~ Dabi’s POV~
You've been trying to keep me in your bed
I can tell from all the marks that you've been leaving on my neck
Dabi knew how easy it’d be. Knew how much power he held in his hands. Knew it wouldn’t take much to manipulate the strings controlling the Number Two Hero.
And he knew he could never do it. Knew it from the first time he slipped out of the hero’s bed, unable to look at the peaceful look on
Keigo’s
Hawk’s face. Every time it came to Hawks, he made the wrong decision.
He could never bring himself to regret a single one.
It was never anything you said
It was all premeditated from the moment that we met
That was what had been tearing Dabi apart, so deep inside even he hardly acknowledged it. But of course it would be Hawks. And a bitter part of Dabi resented that. Resented the fact that he could never have the things he wanted, that no matter where he turned, his path ended with heroes. Like his world had been destined from the beginning to make him hurt, to make him pick between the lines.
Dabi’s world had never been grey.
Don't start fallin', I'm sorry
If I'm not here in the morning
Watching Hawks fall into a world of grey was painful, though. Watching dust cover the Hero’s eyes in real time was just as mesmerizing as it was terrifying. And Dabi had to watch with horror as his own loyalty shifted, slowly but surely.
Not to the villains, or the league, or even himself, like it always had been. But to
his
the bird, who he was becoming intimately familiar with.
Give me all of you just for a piece of me
Dabi knew how hard it was for Hawks to give him the things he had, even if he refused to show it. But to do the same? It was one step too close to the edge. And Dabi was so afraid of falling. Because if he jumped, and Hawks didn’t catch him- then no one would. And this wouldn’t be something he could save himself from, not this time.
So darling, don't get too close
There's nothing here to see
A shell of who he used to be
of who he could be
was all that Dabi was. And he couldn’t understand what Keigo saw in the staples that held together the bitterness and rage that made him who he was.
But wasn’t that a testament to the thing between them? The part of Dabi that only wanted to be loved whispered that Keigo would never let him fall. All Dabi had to do was trust that he would catch him.
If we end up going down this road
You'll end up underneath my feet eventually
Dabi stepped up close to Keigo, unable to help himself. His hero’s eyes were so wide, so open, so vulnerable. They looked nothing like they did with everyone else.
And Dabi couldn’t understand why. Not when Keigo’s feathers were flammable, and Dabi’s fire was made to burn until there was nothing left.
It’d be so easy.
No, you don't wanna love me right now
'Cause baby, I don't even like me so how
Am I supposed to let myself be everything you need
So sweet, then leave?
I don't wanna put you through me
Dabi trailed his hand up Keigo’s face, touch as soft as he’d ever let it be. The tiny, almost imperceptible scars along Keigo’s hairline stoked not only the eternal rage burning in his chest, but the voice playing devil’s advocate. Look, it told him , look at what they do to him. How could you let them continue to lay hands on what’s yours? You can be the hero and the villain this time. Save him, and make them pay.
Everybody thinks my heart's gone black
But honestly I'm just afraid that I can't love somebody back
Goddamn if it wasn’t true, and part of Dabi raged at the thought of admitting it out loud. As Dabi’s hand continued up, running through Keigo’s hair, his bird chirped, body shuddering, and Dabi couldn’t stop the smile that slipped across his face for a moment. It faltered seconds later, the words of the song echoing in his head.
'Cause the devil's in the details
Telling us how we feel
But what if I just wanna give it up
Wasn’t that a thought? Forgetting about who they were, the lines that divided them, the missions they’d undertaken.
Nothing’s impossible.
Dabi let himself start to mouth the words to the song, his head and heart racing, thoughts moving at the speed of light, feet starting to pick up the beat without his permission. Because through it all, Keigo didn’t stop staring at him, this look on his face like he just knew .
I'm kind of unpredictable
Swear to god I'll only make you miserable
And I could never be enough
And it started to hit Dabi, that special euphoria that came from being with Hawks
from letting himself love him
making him unable to think coherent thoughts, only fantasies, wishes, dreams. They began to move faster around the kitchen, Dabi following a dance that a different him had once learned, soaking in Keigo’s smile like it was the only time he’d get to see it.
So darling, don't get too close
There's nothing here to see
If we end up going down this road
You'll end up underneath my feet eventually
No, you don't wanna love me right now
Red wings that shined dully in the lamplight, staples that reflected softly. Both of their eyes were focused on different things entirely. But they eventually met each other’s eyes, bright blue melting at the sight of gold.
'Cause baby, I don't even like me so how
Am I supposed to let myself be everything you need
So sweet, then leave?
I don't wanna put you through me
So darling, don't get too close
There's nothing here to see
If we end up going down this road
You'll end up underneath my feet eventually
Two men, chained down in their own beliefs, their own goals, waltzing around a shiny apartment kitchen like it was a ballroom. Both coming to terms with the only liberating thing they’d allowed themselves to have that didn’t hurt.
If you were watching, it would have almost made you believe they could make it. You would have smiled.
No, you don't wanna love me right now
'Cause baby, I don't even like me so how
Am I supposed to let myself be everything you need
So sweet, then leave?
I don't wanna put you through me
Dabi knew the two of them together was asking for hell from both sides.
I don't wanna put you through me
Goddammit, Dabi wanted to believe they could do it anyway.
I don't wanna put you through me
Dabi leaned into the kiss Keigo pressed into his lips, letting his hands run across the feathers that carded down his back.
Maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe.