Touya?

Why aren't you answering?

You can't tomorrow?

If you can't on that day, when can we see each other?

Is your battery down?

Or do you want to do something else?

…

Touya?

Brother?

Dabi?

Why do you not answer?

Are you okay?

Do you need help?

Are you hurt?

There's no news about the League so I guess you're fine.

Am I the problem?

Did I do something wrong?

It's been four days, please answer me.

I don't want to lose you again.

Touya…

What did I do wrong?

After a tiresome day, Midoriya and Shouto were doing their homework in Izuku's room. Shouto has spent all this time staring at his phone for what felt like hours, when in fact only fifteen minutes had passed. Midoriya was starting to get really worried for his friend. He had really behaved strangely (even for him) for the past days. Actually, it had begun Friday, during class. He was always checking his phone and even tried to do it in class only to be reprimanded by Aizawa. He was distracted in the worst moments, like when he had been so deep in his thoughts that he hadn't seen Bakugou's attack at the last training. On top of that, he was tired all the time. Something wasn't right and he wasn't the only one who had seen it. Their classmates were not blind. Even if Shouto didn't often show his emotions, they knew him enough to notice when he was so upset. Midoriya was pretty sure that Aizawa would ask his friend to talk to him after class soon if he kept behaving like that. He had seen their teacher sending concerned glances at him during their lessons. Taking a deep breath, Izuku put his pen down and turned toward his friend.

"Todoroki, is there something wrong?"

His friend's head shot up, startled as if he had completely forgotten his presence.

"No, no. I'm fine."

Midoriya frowned.

"Are you sure? You've been staring at your phone for a long time."

Todoroki hesitated before answering.

"My pen-pal doesn't respond to my messages. I texted him Friday and since then… he hasn't answered. It's been six days."

"What did you tell him?"

Shouto didn't answer. Instead, he bowed down his head and began to chew on his lips. It seemed worse than what Izuku had thought. After the way Shouto had behaved the past week, he was pretty sure that he had lied to him. His friend needed help and he couldn't help him if he didn't know what was happening. Nonetheless, he had a theory that he wanted to check…

"I don't want to intrude but… I'm worried for you. We all are. Everyone has noticed you're anxious and upset since last week. Even Bakugou said you're not yourself," Izuku stammered. "I just have a feeling… He's not really a pen-pal, is he?"

Shouto froze, then sighed.

"No, you're right, "Shouto admitted." The one I texted to is my brother. I just wanted to get closer to him. I thought we were doing better lately, but apparently I was wrong. The thing is… I don't understand what I did wrong…"

Oh.

"Maybe I can help! Show me the texts you sent and we'll see!" Izuku exclaimed.

Shouto came closer to him and went onto the conversation he had with the person he had named Zombie Bro. Peculiar, but not unlikely coming from his friend. It was just a little odd. If Izuku hadn't known Natsuo's name, he wouldn't have known he was his brother. Reading the last messages his friend showed him, Izuku figured what he thought was the problem. It was obvious, right?

"What about that?"

"Tetsutetsu said it was a great activity to bond with your brother."

"Arm-wrestling works for Tetsutetsu and his brother, some other things will work for other siblings. Everyone is different. You have to find what you all like doing together as Todorokis," Midoriya advised.

Shouto's eyes widened. That was kind of… logical. It made sense. Something they liked to do together as siblings… He had thought about it but until now, only one thing was standing out. That was not really a thing normal siblings did, but they weren't normal, were they? He would need the help of his siblings though. He'll try this once Natsuo and Fuyumi know about his whole plan.

"Thank you, Midoriya."

"It's nothing, I'm just happy to help you!"

However, Shouto was sure it wasn't the only thing that was holding Dabi back about this whole meeting thing. Shouto must have messed up. It had to be that. He just didn't know why he would stop answering after so much time spent talking together otherwise. There has to be something he did… How could he fix this if he didn't know what he did wrong? Wouldn't Touya let him another chance before cutting all ties between them? Had he fucked everything up by asking to meet him? How could he look in his mother's eyes again if he was the reason why she couldn't see her son again? How could he stay in family meals knowing Touya would be here if it wasn't for him and his mistakes? He would never forgive himself if he had screwed the only chance he had to reunite his family again.

Dabi felt like shit. Literally.

Not that it's a new thing for him, but still.

Shouto has sent him at least a message a day for the past eight days. Sometimes asking him to respond or to tell him what was wrong, some other times to say something that was on his mind or to send him a pic of his meal. It has been two weeks since he had decided to ignore him and guilt was beginning to suffocate him, little by little. Seeing his little brother trying his best to get him back when it wasn't his fault that his older brother didn't want to see him and ignored him made him feel a pang of remorse he tried his best to stifle each time he read his texts. Yeah, because as if it wasn't bad enough, he was reading and re-reading the messages Shouto sent him. Was he masochistic? Maybe, but at least it was reminding him why he was doing all that and why keeping his family at bay was important. He was doing all that to save them. Mom, Fuyumi, Natsuo and Shouto. It was too late for him, but not for them.

To try to forget or at least smother that feeling, Dabi had thrown himself headlong into the organization of their vanguard. Geten was surprised by his involvement as Dabi didn't want to work closely with him before, but by momentarily putting aside their differences, they soon became highly efficient. Indeed, after having taken a census of their vanguard, they were now making groups based on the quirks of each member. It was a real headache to assign a group to thousands of people. Yet, they thought it was better to have an organised vanguard who knew its strengths and weaknesses rather than a disorganised army fighting haphazardly. They were the Guerilla Warfare Regiment. The Paranormal Liberation Front needed them to protect them and they will do their job.

Each commanding officer was taking control of their vanguard with more or less efficiency. Spinner and Mr Compress attended meetings with their advisers, Toga and Skeptic were looking for information regarding Tartarus. As for Twice, well… He was doing as well as he could. That's the best Dabi could say about it. Twice even went as far as to ask Hawks for help when he didn't know what to say to his advisers, when Dabi had expressly requested to not have him so involved. Dabi sighed and put down his pen onto the desk. Geten looked at him weirdly before getting back to his own work. Dabi laid back on his chair and stretched himself, trying to relax his muscles. They have spent their afternoon working together. He wasn't used to working at a desk. He needed a break or he'll go crazy.

"Okay, that's all for today. I'm heading out."

Geten nodded. Getting more time away from his co-commander was always good. He wasn't used to spending as much time with someone. Usually, the white-haired man spent his days training all day and he was alone most of the time so socializing could be overwhelming sometimes. Now that they had merged, he had improved a lot, but he still liked having time alone.

Once Dabi was out of the office, he looked for Hawks. Normally, he'd be at the manor at this time. No sight of him with Skeptic and the Intelligence Regiment so logically… He speeded up, catching the curious looks of those he passed by. Yup, that's where he was. Dabi sighed at the sight of Twice sitting on a cushion on the floor and Hawks teaching him the liberation army's philosophy and organisation with the help of a whiteboard. Dabi leant against the doorframe with his arms crossed, watching them for some time before clearing his throat, surprising the teacher-student duo.

"Dabs! Come here! Hawks is explaining everything to me, isn't that nice?"

"I already told you to not call me that." Dabi rolled his eyes. "Didn't you already learn all that?"

"Yup, but I forgot," Twice said while rubbing the back of his neck. "WHY DOES IT MATTER?"

"Yeah, Dabs, what does it matter?" Hawks joked.

"Don't start calling me that, chicken wings."

"What, you'd rather be called hot stuff?" Hawks winked at him with a smirk on his lips. "Twice? He's too hot?"

"HOT DAMN!"

They high-fived. Dabi facepalmed.

He needed a nap. Seriously.

That night, Hawks took Dabi back to his apartment after eating dinner with the others.

His boyfriend had acted strangely for a couple of weeks now. First, he worked. Like, really hard. Not that Dabi couldn't be serious about it, it was just… surprising. He was throwing himself into work like he didn't want to think about anything else. Then, there was the conflicted look on his face when he stared at his phone, which he was doing a lot recently. Something was on his mind and it was high time that Keigo had a talk with him.

After a moment of well-deserved fun, the two of them were laying on his bed. Keigo thought it was the best time to ask him what was going on. Maybe the after-sex bliss will loosen his tongue. He turned over to him, his elbow on the mattress and his hand cupping his chin. His wings were carefully folded on his back. Dabi was laying on his back, staring at the ceiling. His arms were crossed behind his head.

"Eh."

"What."

"What's on your mind?"

"Nothing."

"No, really I want to know," Keigo insisted. "You haven't been yourself lately. I worry about you, you know."

Dabi stayed silent for a long time. Growing tired of his position, Keigo fully laid himself on the mattress.

"If there was a possibility for you to meet with someone from your past, someone you miss, someone you love but someone you can't be with, would you take that chance, no matter what the risks are?"

Well, he certainly didn't expect that.

"I don't know," Keigo admitted. "I don't have a family anymore. The Commission was all I knew for years. Then I met you and the others, but before that I was always alone. I left my family to become a hero when I was little and what I remember of them doesn't make me want to get back to them. The Commission all but bought me from my family after they saw my abilities, so it's safe to say that I didn't have any real attachment until recently. So maybe no."

Dabi closed his eyes. He wordlessly reached out to take Keigo's hand in his own, linked their fingers and slowly rubbed the back of his hand with his thumb.

"I see."

"Is there a connection between your question… and that Hand Crusher?"

Dabi suddenly opened his eyes, startled by Hawks' theory. Shit. He gritted his teeth. No, stop doing that idiot. Damaging your teeth won't help you to get out of that mess.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Keigo frowned and abruptly sat up.

"I'm not stupid you know. You started to behave differently after you met him that day."

Dabi had the decency to not deny that. He'd spend his days with his phone glued to his hand, waiting impatiently for each of Shouto's message, whether it was a photo of his meal, a fun fact about an animal or a thought about a stupid commercial. It was obvious to anyone near him that the texts he received were the cause of his good mood at the beginning.

"You care about him, right? Why do you act that way then? You were anxious for the last two weeks, everyone saw it."

"He wants to see me again… and I think it's a very bad idea."

Keigo frowned, suddenly worried.

"Why? Is there some bad blood between you?" He asked, before a dreaded thought appeared on his mind. "Did he hurt you?"

"Wha-no!" Dabi sat up and put his arms around his knees. "It's just complicated. I've known him for six years and... time has passed, we're not the same persons anymore."

Keigo took the time to think about his question once more. He couldn't put himself in Dabi's shoes. He has always been alone. People thought they loved him, when in reality they loved Hawks, but didn't know Keigo at all. The Commission used Hawks and wanted to erase Keigo. His side-kicks admired Hawks, but weren't Keigo's friends. His mother sold Keigo to the Commission to make him Hawks. His father beat up Keigo and was the opposite of Hawks. No one never really knew him. He had no friends. Or maybe he had some now, but he was doomed to betray them sooner or later. Just his luck, really. But… in another world, if there was a chance to be with Dabi without dreading the future, if there was a chance to keep his friendship with Twice, Toga, Shigaraki, Mr Compress and Spinner without leading them to their death, Keigo liked to think he would take it.

"You know, I think that if I lost someone that mattered that much to me, I'd do anything to be close to them again. Life is short. Don't dwell on things that might not happen."

"Even if it might be a bad decision?"

"Especially if it's a bad decision. It's better to be mad at yourself for something you did than something you didn't. That way, you'll have a good reason to be upset," Keigo joked. "Like that one time you stayed awake two nights in a row to watch all the Lord of the Ring and Hobbit movies in one go with Spinner and Shigaraki. Your face the day after that was hilarious. You looked like a panda. Well, more than you already do."

Dabi smacked him with his pillow while Keigo was trying to hold back his laugh, in vain.

" I-I mean that it's better to regret to have done something than regretting to not have done it, that's all! Come on stop, Pandaman!"

Hearing that all but fuelled Dabi in his desire to shut his boyfriend up.

"Stop, stop! I surrender!" Keigo said while putting his hand in the air.

Dabi stopped his arms mid-air, the pillow still in his hands. He finally tossed it aside on the bed.

"Mmh, you know what? Your arguments do hold certain truths," Dabi said while holding his chin.

In the scuffle, he had come on top of Keigo. He leant towards Keigo until their breath was one and bit his lower lip, making Keigo moan. Letting go, he kissed him lightly, then put small kisses along Keigo's jaw, slowly making his way to his ear. Keigo's hands were on his shoulders, holding him tightly. He would probably have marks later, but who cares? Keigo leant in his hold, wanting to be touched, more and more until...

"Maybe I'll think about it some more then," Dabi whispered to his ear before swiftly pulling away from him.

Keigo blinked.

"Wha-wait, that's all? Come back here!"

"Hmm… No. Have you seen the ungodly hour it is? Time to sleep birdie!"

And just like that, he wrapped himself in the blanket from head to toe and went to sleep, leaving Keigo gaping and alone to deal with his frustration. He snickered when he heard the water run from the shower a moment later.

The morning after that, Dabi was in a better mood than he had been in the last two weeks. The sun was high in the sky, no cloud in the horizon and in his mind. Yup, things were better. He rolled over on the empty bed, stretching all his limbs. Hawks had left a couple of hours ago. Apparently, there was a robbery going on at a local store. Hawks, being the fastest hero, had flown there, taken care of the situation and had been on patrol ever since. Not being an early bird (pun intended), Dabi had chosen to stay in bed. He had actually thought about the whole situation after his discussion with Keigo and had reached a conclusion. Dabi leant over the nightstand, grabbed his phone and laid back on the bed. Mulling over what he wanted to say, he wrote and rewrote several times the message before he sent the text to Shouto with a date, the time and address indicated on it. Only one sentence came with it.

Don't be late.

If they were to meet, it'd be on his terms.