Little, red iPod


Hawks led a blindfolded Dabi down the hallway into the apartment they shared. Today was Dabi's birthday and, as much as he'd protested, Hawks had thrown him a birthday party. Dabi crossed his arms and sighed as he was pushed down the hall, his coat gently brushing against Hawks' chest. They stopped in front of apartment 27B. Hawks fished for the keys in his pocket while Dabi impatiently tapped his foot. Though he couldn't see through the thick blindfold, he could hear the lock click and the door open. As they walked in, he could smell cake and candles. Then, Hawks finally pulled the blindfold off.

"Happy 24th birthday!" Their small group of friends sat around a small table with a cake on it, and presents piled under the table.

"For me? I'm so surprised," Dabi said sarcastically, forcing a smile.

"Aw, can it and blow out your candles!" Toga said with a bubbly smile. Dabi walked over and blew out the candles on the cake. Spinner walked in from the kitchen with a stack of plates and a cake knife.

After the cake had been eaten, they all gathered in the living room. Toga sat on the floor holding a soda can and a small box she had wrapped like a drunk 5-year-old. Spinner held a professionally wrapped box with a white bow on top. Twice, Magne, and Mustard sat on the couch with the gift they had jointly bought. Hawks surrendered his La-Z-Boy to Dabi and sat on the floor next to Toga, holding an unwrapped white box.

"Open mine first!" Toga squealed as she threw her box at Dabi. He caught it, but whatever was inside rattled loudly. He opened it, treating it like it was a live bomb.

"Spoons? Toga...why?"

She smiled. "Hawks said you needed silverware."

Hawks blushed and let out a shy laugh as he took the box into the kitchen. When he rejoined the group, Spinner handed Dabi his gift. Dabi carefully unwrapped the paper and opened the box. He pulled out a blue hoodie with the phrase "Like A Boss" in white on the front. Before Dabi could speak, there was a knock at the door. Hawks opened it and Shigaraki walked in.

"Sorry I'm late. My car is in the shop so I had to call a cab. Then he was late, and then we hit traffic, but I'm here," He flung a small green envelop at Dabi before taking off his trench coat and trademark face hand. He hung the coat on the coat rack and joined the group, standing next to Spinner in the doorway.

"An iTunes card. I'll put it with the others." Dabi already had a desk drawer full of unused cards.

"Our turn!" Magne, Twice, and Mustard sang in unison and handed Dabi their present: a blue gift bag overflowing with paw-print tissue paper. All the paper fell on the floor as he pulled out whatever was inside. He pulled out a pair of sleek, white Beats headphones.

"My favorite color." Dabi said semi-sincerely with another forced smile.

"And I saved the best for last!" Hawks chimed in as he handed Dabi his gift. Everyone leaned in as Dabi popped the box open to reveal a red iPod touch.

"Now I know why you've been working so much overtime at the office. And here I thought you were hitting it off with the secretary in the broom closet." Everyone laughed. Hawks turned pomegranate red, but still laughed along.

Dabi turned the iPod on to see that it already had two songs on it: "Fly" and "Spittin' Fire", both by Flame Hero (one of Hawks' favorite artists). After continuous begging from the group, Dabi opened iTunes and entered on the gift cards, all 17 of them. After about five or so minutes, Dabi's new iTunes account had over $150 in it. It was around 6:30 P.M. when everybody left. Dabi was sitting on the couch watching a documentary on Ancient Rome, reaching over to take a drink from his tea every so often. After he was done in the kitchen, Hawks sat down next to Dabi and wrapped his arms around his lover's waist.

"You could have been a little happier." Hawks said gently as he lovingly kissed Dabi's right cheek. He could smell Dabi's orange-peach shampoo, a slightly fragrant sweetness with a little zing.

"You, of all people, know I hate birthday parties."

Hawks sighed before tugging Dabi off the couch and clicking the TV off.

"Well, on another note...we have a dinner reservation for 7:30 at Yumi's, your favorite." Hawks smiled contently as he grabbed his light brown, military-style jacket and pulled Dabi towards the door. He threw Dabi's black, leather bomber jacket at him.

They locked the door and walked to the parking lot, agreeing to take Hawks' car simply because he had all but begged Dabi to let him handle everything. It was a dusty, old Volkswagen Bug from 1992 his uncle got him for his first car. Dabi detested both the muddy bronze paint and the dated white interior, but what he did enjoy about it was its cleanliness. Dabi's own car was a 2021 BMW 330i. The grey interior matched the jet-black exterior, and it always stayed shiny and spotless.

The car ride was bumpy and there was a knocking under Dabi's seat every few seconds, but it was peaceful enough. The drive was only a half hour, even though they had to take Giran overpass into the main part of the city. Hawks switched the radio on and let Dabi pick the station. It was no surprise when he selected the classical station. They sat there, listening to the soothing music until, in the distance, Hawks saw a pair of white headlights swerving through the lanes. Soon, he could see it was a pickup truck in their lane...and it was speeding up. The distance was rapidly shrinking and Dabi noticed, quickly grabbing the 'Oh Jesus' handle.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Hawks slammed down on the brake and wrenched the steering wheel to the left, putting himself in the path of the truck.

As the car jolted to a stop, the truck rammed into Hawks' door and caused the small Bug to roll over onto the other lane. Airbags popped open as they rolled across the road, Dabi could hear multiple brakes screeching and a guard rail break. The driver-side door flew off, Dabi heard a seat belt snap, and saw Hawks tumble out. He wanted to follow him, but the force of the rolling car held him back.

The car slammed against the opposite rail and, thankfully for Dabi, landed on its wheels. It had rolled across all four lanes...and Hawks was laying in the middle of two of them. Dabi's door was facing the now stopped traffic; he was relieved to see that it was the pick-up that had flown off the over pass and not them. People were running out onto the road and looking down at Hawks. Soon, a young woman was on the phone with 911.

'I have to get to Hawks,' Dabi thought.

He gathered all the strength in him, and kicked his door open. The small crowd stared at Dabi as he fell out of the car and crawled over to Hawks. A large gash decorated the back of Dabi's right calf. He didn't care that he kept cutting his hands on glass as he crawled. He didn't care that a few ribs were broken. All Dabi cared about was getting to Hawks. He reached the other and rolled him onto his back. A large cut stretched across his forehead, his arm was bent at an odd angle. One of his wings was snapped from what Dabi could see, the feathers scattering the ground around them. Eventually, ambulances came and loaded Dabi and Hawks into separate trucks before driving off. Hawks was semi-conscious but would periodically mumble Dabi's real name. One of the medics got onto the radio and called the other ambulance.

"Hey 332...is the guy you got named Touya?"

A moment of static while the other driver asked.

"That's a yes. Is yours Keigo?"

Hawks overheard and nodded weakly.

"Yeah...that's his name."

The two stretchers parted the doors as they sped into the ER. Dabi went one way and Hawks another. Dabi's eyes followed Hawks for as long as they could before everything faded out. He could hear faint yelling before completely losing consciousness.

It was muffled and sounded blurry. It got clearer though. A young woman, a nurse most likely, was calling his name. He didn't want to wake up but he did anyway. A white-haired nurse was standing over him holding a binder. Her name tag said Rumi.

"Touya. Touya. Mr. Todoroki, can you hear me?"

Dabi's eyes opened slowly.

"Good, you're awake. You've been out for nearly a day. Now we brought you in with..." Dabi tuned her out. He looked down at his bandaged leg that was resting on a small pillow. He could see through the collar of the hospital gown and saw a large bruise on his left side from his broken ribs.

"Touya?" Her question snapped him back to reality.

"What? And stop calling me that." He whispered hoarsely.

"The other man we brought you in with... We couldn't find any identification on him. Do you know his name?"

"Keigo...Takami. Where is he?"

Rumi wrote that down in her binder. She walked over to the divider curtain to show Hawks in the second bed.

Wires were outstretched from his body. A sling held his arm out to the side. A strap of gauze crossed his forehead. An oxygen mask covered his mouth and nose with its machine hissing quietly. Dabi wanted to jump out of bed and run over to him but his body wouldn't listen. He felt a dry tear run down his cheek and saw the nurse look at him with sadness.

"He...he was...protecting me." The words choked Dabi.

"I'm so very sorry."

As soon as Rumi finished her sentence, one of Hawks' monitors beeped alarmingly. Rumi got on a phone and called for the CPR team. Moments later, two men ran in. One with a defibrillator and another with some supplies Dabi didn't recognize. Dabi watched in horror as the cut the gown open and began their routine. As they began to manually pump the oxygen, Rumi closed the curtain. Dabi felt himself bawl and repeatedly call for Hawks as if he could just walk in and comfort Dabi. He was helpless to do anything. Dabi's love—all of it—was dying just a few feet away from him. The doctors' efforts went on for another ten minutes. Then Dabi heard all the commotion stop. The room fell pin-drop silent.

"Call it. 3:58 P.M. January 18, 2021. Cover him up."

Rumi walked through the curtain, a grim expression on her face. She didn't have to say anything for Dabi to know. She bowed her head and Dabi nodded. When she left, he continued sobbing for Hawks. Dabi felt his heart legitimately break into a million pieces.

"Why did he have to protect me? He's such an idiot!" Dabi's breaths were short and ragged. His eyes were puffy and red. Dabi hated crying; he couldn't remember the last time he ever cried. He didn't even think he could cry anymore since his tear ducts were damaged.

Dabi allowed himself to calm down, "Why did he have to leave me?" He whispered to himself.

Dabi paid the cab driver and walked into his apartment. The apartment felt empty and lonely. He set his keys in the blue bowl by the door. He walked over to Hawks' red La-Z-Boy recliner and fell into it. The soft fabric smelled like Hawks' cologne and Dabi let his feelings drown him, then he remembered the iPod. Pulling himself out of the chair, he walked into the bedroom and almost laughed when he saw the bed. His side was neatly made while Hawks' side was completely disheveled with a pillow on the floor. Dabi found the iPod and headphones in the nightstand drawer. He put the headphones on and played "Fly". Even listening to Hawks' favorite music made the lump in his throat return. Dabi bought every Flame Hero song he possibly could and, before long, he was asleep.

A giggle woke Dabi up. He snapped his eyes open with a start, then he noticed he was lying in Toga's lap. She was looking down at him with her hand over her mouth, failing miserably at suppressing a laugh. Dabi sat up and rubbed his eyes. Toga was still smiling.

"What are you laughing at?" Dabi asked as he got up and set a small teapot to a boil.

"You just look so...cute when you sleep."

Dabi rolled his eyes and got some mugs and teabags out of the cabinet. The teapot whistled shortly after; Dabi poured two mugs.

He sat down on the couch next to Toga and handed her a mug. She wrapped her arms around him in a comforting bear hug. A loud knock broke the silence. Dabi opened the door and was immediately sucked into one of Twice's hugs. He dropped his mug and it spilled onto the white carpet.

"Everything will be alright Dabi! The sun will continue to shine! The birds will continue to sing! Life WILL go on!"

"Really Twice?! I get that you're concerned, but was that really necessary?" Dabi snapped as he broke free from one of Twice's famous 'black hole' hugs. He picked up the mug off the floor and put it in the sink, then laid some paper towels over the stain.

"Jeez...what died in your tea tonight? You're a real pain!" Twice said as he flopped down into the recliner. Dabi lowered himself onto the couch next to Toga.

"Wouldn't you be a little on edge if you had to plan your lover's funeral?" Dabi asked rhetorically as he lowered his head into his hands.

Toga's phone broke the awkward silence. After answering, she said that she had to return to the coffee shop she, Spinner, and Magne owned. Something about lunch rush and drowning in customers. Twice and Dabi sat alone in the apartment, neither knowing what to say.

Hawks' funeral nearly killed Dabi. What made it worse was delivering the eulogy. Hawks' parents sat in the front row. Tomie blotted her eyes with a handkerchief while her husband stared blankly at Hawks' casket. Both had flown over from Japan. Dabi had met them before on holidays and it broke him to see them so sad.

The iPod was in Dabi's coat pocket. When he sat back in his chair, he turned it over in his pocket. Looking at the picture of Hawks made him want to gouge his eyes out, but looking at the casket made him want to leave and lock himself in his room. When they lowered Hawks down into the 6-foot abyss, Dabi wanted to jump in and pull him out. The only thing that stopped him was the fact that Hawks' parents probably wanted to do that more.

Dabi kept fumbling with the iPod. It wasn't enough to make him accept the recent events, but it wasn't too much to be overwhelming. It was only a little reminder, among many, yet it was enough to keep Dabi sane. That little, red iPod in Dabi's pocket.

Fin.