CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT - A PERSONAL PROJECT

Dabi threaded his arms around Shigaraki's narrow waist, hugging him tightly from behind and holding on for dear life. He knew he had to let go eventually but wasn't ready to part ways with his boyfriend for the rest of the day. He nuzzled his face against the back of his Shigaraki's neck, the soft hair ticking his nose as he breathed him in, luxuriating in the scent.

"Dabi, I have to change." Shigaraki said, trying to dislodge his boyfriend's strong arms from his body. When that didn't work, he turned around within the span of Dabi's arms, so he could convey his seriousness with a single look.

"Skip work."

"You know I can't." Shigaraki scowled slightly, then lowered his lashes so he wouldn't get lost in Dabi's vibrant blue gaze.

"You've been working every night."

"I need the money." Shigaraki breathed, leaning forward. His nose bumped Dabi's shoulder as he settled against his exceptionally warm chest and he buried his face into the crook of Dabi's neck.

Dabi sighed softly and rubbed Shigaraki's lower back in small, soothing circles. He knew trying to convince Shigaraki to take a night off was a battle he would not win but it was always worth a shot. He would never stop trying. And it was only partly due to selfish reasons - like wanting to keep Shigaraki all to himself. His boyfriend just worked too hard and he deserved a night off.

Evidently, tonight would not be that night. Shigaraki was set on fulfilling his responsibilities. Dabi almost wished he had that kind of integrity.

He stepped back, giving Shigaraki some space and allowing his boyfriend to fully withdraw if he wanted to. And he did, but not before thanking Dabi with a generous, languorous kiss.

"Will you come see me when you're done?" Dabi asked, crossing the room to the patio. He flicked the lock and slid open the door a crack.

"I'll be late."

Dabi tapped out a cigarette from it's carton packaging and quickly lit it up as he watched his boyfriend efficiently swap out his school uniform for a more casual outfit. Black as usual; a long-sleeve tee and jeans with his signature red hi-top chucks on his feet.

"I'll wait up for you." Dabi said while little puffs of white smoke wisped from his lips, "You can sleep in my room, to save some time."

Shigaraki shot him a discerning glare in return. Dabi frowned and then took another long-drag on his smoke in an attempt to keep his mouth shut.

Since they had been reunited a week earlier Shigaraki still refused to share a bed with Dabi, he wouldn't sleep with him, no matter how logically or reasonably Dabi had framed it. The chances of Shigaraki hurting him while they were sleeping were extremely low yet Shigaraki couldn't see past his fears - the incident while they were on vacation had left lasting trauma. Dabi sympathized, of course - it couldn't be easy, but he thought the only way to get past the fear was to face it. Shigaraki disagreed with that line of psychology and continued to shut the idea down.

But Dabi had been thinking about it more and more recently. Especially since Shigaraki looked like he hadn't been sleeping properly. Even alone. And he never slept more than a few hours a night to begin with, so the situation was only getting worse. Dabi had been working on a solution though - something that could help his boyfriend with his anxiety and possibly sanction a sleepover.

Actually, while he had the evening free, it was a good opportunity for Dabi to check in on his pet project. It had been sitting with a student from the support class for a few days now and he was supposed to review the final draft before the item in question was created.

After staring at his boyfriend in thoughtful silence for a solid minute, he finally acknowledged Shigaraki's incensement.

"I know, I know." He waved off his own proposal to spend the night together and returned to his cigarette, pushing the patio door open a little more to ensure his cigarette smoke left the room.

Shigaraki chewed on his lower lip and then jerked his chin away before roughly tightening and tying his shoelaces.

"I really have to go." He said quietly then picked up his cellphone and stuffed it into the back pocket of his jeans, his keys followed.

"Okay." Dabi took one last drag of his smoke and then butted out the cigarette. He closed and locked the patio door, checking twice that it was secure before moving back over to Shigaraki. "I'll walk you out."

"You don't have too..."

"I want to." Dabi interjected.

"Sure." Shigaraki smiled a bit awkwardly.

He still wasn't completely sold on the idea of Dabi escorting him everywhere he went - just because they were dating. It was almost like Dabi was his official chaperon, safeguarding him from everything and anything that could possibly get in their way. Shigaraki didn't exactly hate it but because he was naturally a very independent person it was a lot to get used to.

Dabi reached out to take his hand when he suddenly moved towards the door, stopping him. He lifted Shigaraki's arm and pressed a quick kiss against his palm before linking their fingers together.

The hand holding lasted all through the elevator ride down to the ground floor, through the main floor and into the common room - until they came across some other students that was, and Shigaraki self-consciously took his hand back. Dabi was reluctant to let go but knew Shigaraki was still uncomfortable with unnecessarily and publicly putting their relationship on display so he complied and stayed a safe friendly distance away from his boyfriend as they headed outside together.

"I'll see you later."

"Text me, 'kay?" Dabi requested, tucking some of the unrulier loose strands of hair behind Shigaraki's ear. The simple gesture earned him a faint blush in response. Beautiful.

"I will."

Dabi wanted to kiss him, so badly, and it took all his willpower to restrain himself, but he did, allowing Shigaraki to turn and walk away.

As soon as his boyfriend had disappeared from his line of sight, Dabi sighed and began walking in the opposite direction, towards the main school building. He fished out his phone from his pocket and shot a quick text over to his creator in the development studio, hoping he could catch him before everything shut down for the day.

A second later, the loud ping of a message being returned made Dabi grin.

I'm here.

It was a short walk across campus, and thankfully, the development studio was on the first floor so he could get in and out quickly, without the possibility of running into any faculty and having to explain what he was doing in the school after hours.

He knocked on the door and waited.

Inside, the sounds of various materials being sawed and shaped and hammered could be heard. Someone was there and working hard.

When there was no answer, he tried again, knocking louder this time. The noise finally died down and then heavy footfalls could be heard coming towards the door.

When it swung open, a boy wearing a welding mask greeted him. Dabi couldn't tell who it was until he lifted the visor upwards, revealing his face. It was a third-year student, in the support class.

"I'm here to see Saito."

The boy crossed his arms over his chest and sniffled. His face was sweaty and covered in streaks of grease.

"In the back." He eyed Dabi curiously then stepped aside, gesturing for him to enter with a flick of his head."

"Thanks."

It smelled like a garage inside and looked just as grimey as one - cluttered with projects and miscellaneous parts and materials. Dabi didn't want to sit or touch anything, so he quickly moved past the working stations to the office area in the back where it was a lot quieter and cleaner.

"Yo, Saito."

The boy in question lifted his head from a draft he was working on. It looked like body armour, a full suit that was drawn in extreme detail.

"Dabi."

"You have my draft ready?"

"I do. Ah-" He pushed around some paper on his desk, through what appeared to be an organized mess, until he found what he was searching for. "-Here." He then slid it over the table towards Dabi.

Dabi picked up the diagram and scanned over it, not sure what he was looking at. Well, he knew what he was looking at, it was simple - a two-fingered glove - but there were a lot of words and numbers and side remarks scribbled all over it.

"The gloves as you requested. Lightweight, flexible, weather and damage proof." He grinned rather proudly, "He won't even notice he is wearing them."

Dabi shifted his gaze from the drawing up to Saito. "What will they be made of?"

"A carbon fibre blend. Probably. That's what I am planning to use. Though I'll have to test the material. Shigaraki's quirk is unique."

Dabi nodded.

"Question." Saito started, blowing a large pink bubble with the gum he was chewing on. "You are trying to prevent him from using his quirk. Which I am assuming he is not interested in doing so as he has not come to us to request something like this himself. So, why?"

"It's none of your business. I just need you to make it happen."

Saito arched a brow and then leaned back in his chair, linking his hands at the back of his head.

"You two are dating, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"Then I think I understand." He said, winking at Dabi.

Dabi scoffed and rolled his eyes. "You know shit."

Saito laughed. "You ready to talk money?"

"How much?"

"Hm. This is a personal project, so it is going to cost you."

"I can pay."

Saito rubbed his chin in thought, like he was doing some calculations in his head. "I'll do it for 2K flat."

Dabi whistled low. "Pretty steep for gloves, Saito."

"You're not asking for just regular gloves, Dabi." He replied, grinning. "Did I mention that these babies will have an instant retract feature using specialized finger plates?"

"No."

"Well, they will. You see, the difference between you and I, Dabi, is that I actually took his quirk into consideration with this design. He's going to need to utilize his Decay at some point and I am not going to create something that limits his abilities."

"I'm not…" Dabi paused, trying to find the right words. He wasn't sure why he felt the need to explain, but he did. "I don't want to stop him from using his quirk. It's just… a bit more complicated than that."

"Well, whatever. That's why I am sitting here, in the driver's seat." Saito said, tapping his temple with his index finger.

"Congratulations. You're really smart."

"Heh." He grinned, "So, are we moving ahead on this project? I'll drop the price five-hundred."

"That's generous."

"The generosity is entirely for Shigaraki, not you." Saito blew another gum bubble, "I'm sure these gloves in some part could be considered a valuable addition to his already minimal Hero Costume. But i'm gonna work on these during my own free time so..."

"Fifteen-Hundred." Dabi interjected, before the boy could go on another tangent. "Can I wire you the money?"

"Cash. I'll need fifty-precent down. The other fifty on delivery."

"Fine. How long on that delivery?"

"Pending my payment, of course, i'll start working on them tomorrow."

"I'm good for it."

"So, give me a month. Could be less, could be more." Saito held out his hand to seal the transaction. "We have a deal?"

Dabi shook his hand. "You'll have your money tomorrow morning."