"What're you doing here?" Toga pokes Dabi's side, stirring him from his nap. He throws her a glare and bats her hand away before turning away.
"Go away." He hears a giggle and she moves his legs so she can sit next to him on the sofa.
"Why would I wanna go away when I can sit here and bug you?" Well, at least she knows she's the next Dennis the Menace, Dabi thinks before glaring at her from over his shoulder again.
"Give me a good reason why I shouldn't incinerate you."
"Because this is a friendly fire free zone, idiot. If it wasn't, I would've killed you all earlier." A bored voice rings from behind the back of the sofa and Dabi presses his face further into the pillow, wishing everyone would just vanish.
"But Shiggy, you did try to kill us!"
"That's one of my biggest regrets in life."
"That you tried to kill us?" Toga's questions and Dabi cracks open an eye to see Shigaraki leaning against the back of the sofa, studying him and Toga.
"No. That I didn't kill you." Dabi gives Shigaraki the bird and sits up.
"Shut up, Shigaraki." His red eyes narrow before leaning in closer.
"Don't tell me what to do. Why are you even here?" Dabi crosses his arms and doesn't balk away from Shigaraki.
"I'm an adult. I can do what I want."
"Then fuck off. I give you a mission because you always bitch about being stuck here but instead of actually doing your damn job, here you are. In my bar. Breathing my air. Wasting my time!"
"Oh, look how high and mighty you are! What do you even do besides playing video games all day? Get a life, creep."
"Dabi, I swear-"
"Please! Stop fighting! Can't you see you're tearing this family apart?!" Twice bursts in, his arms waving as he makes his way to a very entertained Toga.
"Shut up, Twice." Both Dabi and Shigaraki shout back before they return to glowering at each other.
"Shigaraki. Dabi." Kurogiri appears a moment after Twice and his misty yellow eyes are trained on the two, arms crossed and Dabi can feel his disappointment rolling off in waves. He sighs and picks himself up from the sofa and slinks off towards the front door.
"Whatever. I needed a smoke anyway."
"Dabi." He groans and turns back towards the voice, snuffing the cigarette against the brick wall and letting it fall from his fingers. Toga is bundled up in a warm jacket and the worried look she's wearing seems nearly foreign on her. She shuffles closer to him, waiting to see if he'll start arguing with her too. Instead he just leans against the wall and watches her with a raised eyebrow.
"What do you want?" He asks, Dabi leaves out the venom in his question. His beef isn't with Toga, he supposes it isn't with Shigaraki either but he can't help that his boss is always itching for an argument.
"You've been acting really weird these past few days!" He snorts and rolls his eyes.
"Thanks captain obvious." Toga puffs out her cheeks in annoyance.
"What's wrong Dabs?" Dabi appreciates her jumping straight to the point, he's never been the type to beat around the bush. His motto in life is: Why bother beating around the bush, when you can burn it down?
"Why would I wanna tell you what's wrong?" She pokes him in the side again and sighs dramatically while rolling her eyes.
"Because I'm your designated little sister! You have to tell me!" Can't argue with that logic, Dabi thinks wryly. He doesn't say anything for a moment and just studies Toga before running a hand over his face.
"Fuck. Shit. You're right. I've been a pretty shitty brother, huh?" He's not quite sure if he meant it towards Toga or for his blood siblings. He supposes it doesn't matter in the end because either way, he's been shitty to all of them.
"It's okay!" Her look of concern melts off and in its place is the usual beaming Toga, "That's what I'm here for! Someone has to keep you in line!" Dabi can't help but to chuckle and nods.
"Guess you were the one that drew the short straw then," Toga rolls her eyes, "C'mon, kid. Let's get you inside. You look like you're a minute away from turning into a human popsicle."
"I'm not a kid!"
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say kid." He waves her annoyed huffs off and holds open the front door for her, "Get in before you freeze."
Dabi finds himself back in Toga's room, she leads him to a velvet looking bean bag chair and he sinks in. Dabi doubts he's going to be able to get back out of the chair and he asks himself if he's ready to just die and become part of her room décor. He decides that he's ready. At least he won't have to deal with his problems anymore.
"Here." Toga hands him a fuzzy lavender pillow and Dabi hugs it to himself, studying the white swirl pattern on the pillow. She allows him some time to gather his thoughts, Toga is perched on the chair in front of her vanity and she takes out her buns, attempting to braid her hair instead.
"It all started," Dabi pauses and Toga glances at him through the mirror, "When I was born." Dabi ducks in time to avoid being hit in the forehead with a hairbrush.
"Dabi!" He tosses the hairbrush back with a chuckle.
"Okay, okay. Damn." He falls silent again and asks himself when on earth had he allowed him to get so soft? Last year, he would've laughed in Toga's face and told her to fuck off if she offered to lend her shoulder for him. Last year, he probably wouldn't even have this problem to begin with.
In that heartbeat of silence, the levee finally breaks and he finds himself telling Toga everything. From how lame he initially thought Hawks was and then to how he can't even go a day without thinking about the hero now. He tells her about his insecurities and jealousies and how he can't stand to see Hawks around Miruko. Halfway through telling Toga everything, he just starts to laugh. Dabi realizes how pathetic he must sound, talking to Toga of all people about his problems and fears. Through all of this though, she doesn't laugh or roll her eyes. Instead, she nods attentively to his rant.
"Just, why?" He finishes, glaring a hole into the pillow on his lap. A shuffle of fabric catches his attention and he looks up to see Toga now sitting opposite of him on her bed, her braid is sloppy but he can't help but to feel a swell of pride for her. He nearly wants to laugh at the sight of her though, she just looks so tiny compared to the behemoth of the Hello Kitty plushie she's sitting next to.
"What do you mean why?"
"Why him?" Dabi gestures vaguely with a disgruntled noise. Toga tucks her legs underneath her and cocks her head to the side, tapping her chin with a finger.
"Love works in mysterious ways."
"Fuck love." Is all that he can offer and she narrows her eyes at him for a second before shaking her head.
"Dabi. Shut up. Honestly, you have to be blind to not notice that he likes you back."
"Bullshit. He's with that Miruko bitch." Her eyebrows shoot up and disappear into her bangs and she giggles.
"Jealous much?" Dabi can feel his face start to heat up and debates if it would be better if he would just set himself on fire to avoid having this conversation with this self proclaimed sister of his, "Besides, you're a pretty shit villain."
"Excuse me?"
"Dabi, part of being a villain is to know about heroes. If you knew anything about Miruko, you'd know that she isn't interested in guys." She replies easily, Dabi studies her smiling face- searching for any sort of hint that she might be lying but ultimately finds nothing. Before he has a chance to reply, Toga starts to giggle again- hiding her smile behind a hand.
"What are you laughing at now?"
"It's just funny that," Toga smiles and Dabi waits with narrowed eyes, "You're like the Grinch! First you had an old gross and shriveled heart. Now it's like it grew three times its size since you moved in with Hawks!" Her giggles turn into a full on laughter and Dabi feels an oncoming migraine.
"Toga, I'm giving you exactly five seconds for you to shut the fuck up."
Dabi paces in front of the apartment complex, occasionally sending a glare up to the windows of Hawks' apartment. It's still early enough in the morning where he can feel secure enough to stroll around outside without disguising his disfigurement too much. He hasn't seen a soul since the random villain and homeless man sharing a conversation around a flaming garbage can when he left The League's headquarters.
He thinks back to what Toga told him about that Hawks likes him back. Dabi ducks his face into the collar of his shirt and sighs, his own breath hot against his winter chilled skin.
"Fuck it." He mutters and takes a step towards the giant glass doors of the building.
The apartment is dark but he can't miss the crimson wings peeking out from under the mess of blankets on Hawks' bed. A blanket falls away and Hawks sits up, his hair catching the dim light of the apartment and reminds Dabi of a rising sun with its golden glow.
Neither man says anything and Dabi opts to sit down on the sofa, spying some remnants of grease splatter.
Their silence is soon broken and they start to bicker back and forth. Hawks is confused about where Dabi went and Dabi finds his jealousy flaring up again when he brings up Miruko. Before he knows it, Hawks is standing over him and looks like he wants to fly himself off into the sun. Dabi can't blame him, their spat is making him want to crawl back to the headquarters and get drunk off of Kurogiri's best booze and forget this whole thing. Instead, they scowl at each other. Hawks' magnificent wings flutter every once in a while and Dabi's hand itches to an empty and crumpled up cigarette pack.
"You're acting all weird!" Dabi can feel his headache coming back and he rubs his temples tiredly.
"I should've stayed outside. Jesus, this is so stupid." If this was just one of their normal little arguments, Dabi would be proud to see that Hawks looks like he just about wants to throw down. Instead, he just feels worse.
"Why would you even stay outside?" At this point, Dabi just wants to start screaming out of frustration. Their whole argument is nothing but them running around in circles and he's starting to get dizzy.
"You must really have a bird brain huh? You had her over here! In case you forgot because apparently your brain is the size of a damn pea, she's a hero. I'm a ivillain/i it would either end with her trying to arrest me, or me trying to kill her. Most likely both. Besides," His eyes dart up to Hawks' golden eyes for a second before looking back down to his hands in his lap, "Besides, I... didn't want to see you with her."
"What do you mean see her with m-" Confusion clouds over Hawks' face for a moment before it goes slack. Dabi's heart sinks as he nearly sees the gears working overtime in Hawks' head. He has to leave the apartment now before he says anything else. He abruptly stands up, Hawks takes a surprised step back, coming back from whatever thoughts he was lost in.
"I gotta go. I have a lot of work that Shigaraki wants me to do." Dabi tries to make his way back to the front door but a soft tug at his arm brings him to a halt. Dabi's heart is thundering in his ears and he glares over his shoulder at Hawks.
"Hawks-" Time seems to slow as he watches Hawks reach out his other hand and takes Dabi's. He nearly forgets to breathe as he looks down and sees his scarred hand automatically interlocking with Hawks' own smooth hand. Dabi's eyes follow up Hawks' arm and they say nothing as their gaze meets.
"Oh my god, we're such idiots." Hawks nervously chuckles and Dabi feels a million emotions running through his mind as he watches Hawks slowly lean forward. He's drowning in Hawks' liquid gold eyes and for a second, Dabi thinks that he wouldn't mind staying in this moment forever. That he would be perfectly fine to be lost this man's lopsided smile, witty quips and his gorgeous carmine wings.
His thoughts come to a screeching halt when Hawks closes the short distance between them and places a ghost of a kiss on his own lips. Dabi loses all control of his arms as they snake around Hawks' hips and he deepens the kiss.
Both men get lost in the moment as they allow each other's hands to roam. Dabi can no longer take it, his heart feels like it's about to explode.
"God, I need you." He murmurs into the crook of Hawks' soft neck and begins to back Hawks up towards the bed. Dabi can't hide his smile anymore as he gently pushes Hawks down into the mattress but he spies Hawks wearing a smile of his own before Hawks encases the both of them in his wings as clothes are discarded and quickly forgotten about on the floor.
Dabi studies the sleeping figure of Hawks as he runs his hands through his downy soft feathers. Hawks makes a soft noise and snuggles closer to Dabi, nuzzling into Dabi's neck. After Hawks stops shifting around, Dabi smiles down at him.
All his life, he's known the harsh bite of fire and the agonizing burns that follow. He's grown used to its devastating heat.
However.
The warmth he feels now for Hawks is entirely foreign to him. It's soft and instead of the cold blue that he's grown accustomed to, this new warmth comes in a striking shade of vibrant red that refuses to extinguish.
He supposes that this is what love really feels like and Dabi tells himself that he's never going to let go of it.