-x- Dabi -x-

Dabi was over at dinner with his bio family, having helped cook with Fuyumi while Rei was working on work stuff. Dabi had a clone doing puzzles with Shoto. He was obsessed with them, and glued, completeD ones hung in the hallway like paintings. It made Dabi smile that at least one of them was having a good childhood. Natsuo was a teen by now.

"Dabi, what's wrong with your hands?" Fuyumi asked softly. Dabi knew it was going to come out eventually, and didn't feel like lying and spinning a web of stories, no matter if he was pretty good at lying and making shit up.

He sighed, and admitted, "I have arthritis in my fingers. Got diagnosed a couple weeks ago."

"Oh no," Fuyumi gasped. "Well, have you tried cutting off your hands?" Dabi snorted. He didn't expect her to be the one to say it. It was completely out of character. "You could make a clone and see if it works for them."

"While that's a great idea, it won't work. The clones die if taking too much pain or damage," Dabi replied. "It's a last resort, but I'm considering it, honestly. It's really painful all the time. Fucking lifelong bullshit." He turned the stove off, and stirred the soba noodles one more time before draining the noodles and mixing everything together with Fuyumi's help.

They brought the dishes to the dinner table, and Dabi's double disappeared so Shoto would come eat. Natsuo went to get Rei, and they set the table. "Dabi, how's work?" Right, they didn't know. They didn't know about why he quit either job, and he'd never tell them about the second time.

"I quit Daiburu."

"Why?" Natsuo asked.

"Both places I tried were full of backstabbing assholes. Decided to cut my losses."

"Oh. That sucks," the second youngest said bluntly. "Hey, Shoto, say what you told us."

"I wanna be a hero when I'm bigger. But a good hero, not like dad."

"Well, your quirk would be very useful. And you're nice, I think you'd make a good hero like Keigo will." Shoto looked happy at the praise.

"I'm glad you turned nice."

"To you. I'm still a little shit when I can be permitted to be," he said, but was both happy and sad with his comment.

"Where will you work, now?" Natsuo asked.

"Don't know."

"You should make hero gear. Since you can use their quirks and bodies, you could use a clone to be the model, and you'd make the gear and know how to use it well," Shoto said casually. "Maybe you'd make money."

"Holy shit, that's a good idea. But I'm not smart enough to build that kind of stuff."

"Well, you're taking a robotics class," Rei said with a smile. "Maybe you can learn from that."

"Maybe. I don't know. It's a good idea to keep in mind, Sho." Shoto looked mildly pleased with himself, though he usually looked some type of mild. Dabi put the utensil down and rubbed his knuckles a bit. It never helped but it was almost a sort of instinct.

"What's wrong with your hands?" Natsuo asked. Dabi went back to eating and waited a long moment before confessing his ailment. "What's that?" Rei looked very upset for him.

"It's a disease for your joints. It's in my fingers. It just causes swelling and a lot of pain," Dabi said.

"When is it gonna be fixed? And why haven't you healed from it?" Dabi looked annoyed.

"I don't know why it's there, but it can't be fixed. It's lifelong and there's no cure. It won't get better, but hopefully it won't get worse," Dabi explained.

"So, you'll always be sick?" Shoto asked in mild concern.

"It's not contagious. But it will always be there, yeah," Dabi said. "It makes doing things kind of hard, but I'm not gonna let it mess with my life. I just hope it will go away from my not-quirk working. It is unusual to get at my age. Usually it's in older people. Maybe it's just time I paid for my awesome power."

Frowns were on everyone's face. "Will we get it, too?" Shoto asked in fear.

"It runs in families, but I'm the first in ether side to have it. I doubt it's hereditary, I'm just goddamn unlucky," Dabi replied.

"I'm sorry, honey," Rei said, not angry he kept it from them.

"It's more annoying than painful, honestly. I've been through far, far worse pain but it usually didn't last too long."

"What did it feel like? When you were tortured?" Shoto asked. It was a taboo topic for both of Dabi's families, and they all just stared at him before Rei told him they don't talk about that. "But why?"

"It's a very sensitive topic. Do you want to bring up the pain you had from your father's beatings?"

"Oh. No… sorry, Dabi," Shoto said, picking at his noodles, looking guilty.

"Where's he anyways?"

"Institutionalized about the suicide."

Dabi barked out a mean laugh, and everyone looked at him in disapproval. "You can't say it's not brutal irony. He put you in a hospital, and now he's there himself. Ah, it's perfect, I love it," he said with a nasty grin.

"Would you have wanted him to succeed?" Fuyumi asked hotly.

"I don't really give a shit what happens to him," Dabi answered bluntly, honestly. "He's fucking weak. If it were anyone else, I'd feel at least a little bad for them. But because it's him, it's just ironic. Touting all his life for being the strongest, having the strongest children, big tough guy. Moment he loses shit for his actions - actually faces consequences - he attempted to run away from it all."

"I don't think it's funny. It makes me sad for him."

"Well, then do you want to go hang out with him? Do you really think he's changed? Do you think once he's not mental anymore he'll be some kind, doting father to you?" Dabi asked Shoto, growing bitter in tone and face. Shoto looked uncomfortable.

"Alright, let's not talk about Enji anymore," Rei stepped in. "We all have very strong feelings over him, and arguing about it won't help anybody."

Dabi finished his food. "I'm out. My hands hurt and I'm tired," he said, which was honest. It was also awkward as hell. He and Fuyumi both didn't live there, she lived in the dorms after starting college early. Shoto looked sad and guilty, but Dabi didn't do anything to make him feel better.

"Are you safe to drive? With your fingers all bitchy?" Natsuo asked, following him out.

"Oh my god, that's the best way to describe it," Dabi laughed, making Natsuo smile. "I can drive fine, it's not like I use my fingers to do anything, I use all of my hands. You're taking after me."

"My friends swear a lot, too," Natsuo replied. "I read an article that said people who swear are smarter."

"Then I'm fucking brilliant," Dabi grinned. "I'll tell Keigo you said hi." Natsuo nodded, waving goodbye as Dabi drove away.

Fucking Enji in a hospital. Dabi hoped he felt lonely, and realized how Rei felt for over two years. He hoped Enji wanted to die every day of the rest of his life, but was too cowardly to try again. He knew he was an asshole, but he never pretended that he wasn't.

-x-

"Sheri, how are you?" Dabi asked happily when she called.

"I'm good. Guess what I got today? I wanted to tell you first."

"Oh? What's so good?" Dabi asked, the phone stuck to the side of his face while he worked in the garden, picking all the winter vegetables he'd planted a few months ago. They had all developed nicely. Toga insisted they get more catnip, so they often had stray or just outdoor cats lounging around their property.

"My parents got me a glass eye. It looks exactly like mine, and I look normal. And before you get up in arms abut them changing me or something, I asked for it." Fuck, she knew him too well, that was how he was going to react.

"Send pics or it didn't happen." So she sent him a few photos of her face. He rarely ever saw what was under the eyepatch she wore, but when she did take it off, it had always been closed, covered in scar tissue. Her new eye had scar tissue around it, but it looked normal. She had false lashes on it since hers were long gone. "Wow. Your room looks nice."

"Oh, shut up." Dabi laughed.

"I'm happy for you. Now you don't need someone to go bra shopping with you."

"You're such an ass."

"I am. But I'm your brother, so you have to put up with it. What are you doing for Christmas?"

"We're going to Hokkaido to spend it with my mom's family." Dabi wished she could come spend it with them, but it was not surprising and perfectly expected that she'd spend her first Christmas with her new family. Her forever home, as Mei called it. And she was happy there, and Dabi was happy for her. Very glad they still kept in contact.

"So how are you?"

"Ehh, I've been a lot better. I got fucking osteoarthritis."

"What? But you're only 18!"

"Yeah, it sucks ass. Hurts all the fucking time. I also quit my job from harassment, so I'm looking again."

"Shit, things really are sucking."

"Keigo got revenge on the assholes at work. Well, I filmed the first guys harassing me and got them fired. Then Keigo got the second batch of assholes fired and ruined their relationships and sicced the IRS on them." Sheri laughed.

"You guys are a good team."

"Heh, yeah." He shook out his hands, clenching his stiff fingers, and then went back to picking his garden. He didn't use his quirk on any of them, wanting to succeed without any help. "Have you been keeping up with the Endeavor suicide stuff?"

"It's kind of crazy. I saw him, when he came to take you away. I can't believe that guy could try and kill himself. It's kind of sad." Dabi's eye twitched. "And now everyone wants to forgive him and feel sorry for him because of that. I don't know how to feel about it. It's not my place to feel about it, it's not my business."

"I guess. I pissed off my bio family when I was an ass about it."

"They were surprised at that?"

"Weird, right?" the older teen said. He heard someone call Sheri's name, and she said she had to go. "Bye, talk again soon."

"Yup."

Dabi unstuck his phone from his face, and smiled, finally picking the last vegetable and sticking it into the wicker basket. He could hear his friends playing video games in Tenko's room. He put the vegetables away in the fridge, and then washed his hands of the soil in the sink. Tenko and Shuichi usually stayed in Tenko's room, so there were two empty rooms upstairs with unused beds. They really should do something with them, they were useless.

He walked up stairs and knocked on the door. Shuichi opened it, crumbs around his mouth. Their bedroom was a complete mess, clothes exploded all over the room, water bottles and soda cans everywhere. It matched their college age. "Wanna play?" Tenko asked, fishing for the third controller. "Will be a good exercise for your fucked up fingers." That was why he had gone up.

"I'll probably be shit at it by now," but he walked inside, unbothered with the mess. There wasn't any food to attract bugs, and it didn't stink.

"You better be or I'm'a be pissed," Shuichi said sincerely. But he didn't need to worry, as Dabi did indeed suck ass at it. They laughed at him and he shoved their shoulders.

"Hey, be nice, I'm disabled." The two snorted at this, and Dabi continued to suck. It did make him move his fingers a lot. He hadn't played handheld console videogames in a long time, only his Switch, which was broken and he never replaced it.

After a few hours he was much better, and whooped Tenko's ass in Smash Bros. "Tsk, pathetic. Being beaten by a dude with old people hands." They both laughed.

"That's what I'm calling it, and you can't get upset because you said it first," the heteromorph said.

"I don't know when or why I stopped playing videogames. It's weird," Dabi said honestly, taking a chip from the open Doritos bag. The other two shrugged, and when Keigo came home from his last day shooting the movie, Dabi made them a meal with plenty of the vegetables he'd grown.

"How was work?" Toga asked Keigo.

"Fun! There were caterers so a lot of fancy snacks. I think we're all kind of burnt out by extending the last book into two movies. I think most of us just want to be done with it. This last one has been far more boring than the previous ones," Keigo explained. Dabi smiled.

"Enjoy it now, you'll be going to a much more stressful job soon enough," Shuichi stated.

"Well, that will be more fulfilling," Keigo countered politely. "I'm only an actor because of my hero training, you know."

"Training to be a liar. Who knew it would be useful in such a way," Tenko mused. "What are you gonna do when you inevitably fail to save someone?"

"I don't know. I'll be fine," he brushed it off, casually closing off on the question. Dabi was glad his friends backed off. "The food's really good, Dabs." Dabi smiled at the praise.

-x-

Dabi looked at the train wreck with all the other bystanders. Okay, not a train wreck, but a car pile up. He was pretty sure there were multiple dead bodies. Cars crunched. Blood splattered on the interior windows. Heroes were there, having trouble getting into the cars. Dabi left to go to an alley way, and turned invisible, a quirk he didn't often use.

He walked back out, and ripped open car doors with his super strength. He pulled out the living and dead bodies. He laid the dead ones on the ground, trying not to look too closely. He pulled apart cars with ease. People clearly knew Dabi was there, that someone was invisible. Once everyone was out and he put out the fires on the cars, he grew wings and left, still invisible.

Yeah, he wasn't hero material. He didn't really feel anything for the injured or dead people. He didn't feel extra good for helping out. He wouldn't ever be a hero, he just did something helpful. He got the blood off of his hands and then released his invisibility, and went to get a coffee before going to his next job interview.

It was Christmas break, so he had time to look. He wanted something that paid good, and was bummed he had to throw away his last "profession". He had some trouble thinking of anything high paying that would use his quirk. He really didn't know, couldn't think of it. He liked Shoto's idea about the hero gear, though. Maybe someday.

Eventually, Dabi applied for a cooking job, as he enjoyed cooking and thought it would be interesting. He could always quit on the spot. Like a proper little flake.

His friends thought it was ridiculous, and he just flipped them off. "It's not like I'm guaranteed to get hired."

"True. But you could use your quirk pretty well. Help out with table waiting."

"Bitch, you think I'd behave well if I get a Karen and her crotch goblin? I'll do what I'm paid for."

"You're still a teenager, I doubt you'll get hired over people with actual cooking experience," Tenko said as he played on his beat up DS Lite. Dabi had no idea how it was still functioning.

"We'll see. I'm pretty funny. Well, I thought my coworkers thought I was funny. Fucking lying pieces of shit."

There was an alert on the doorbell camera, and Keigo pulled out his phone to see who it was. Dabi watched his face turn white, and he sprinted upstairs. Dabi barely shared a look of confusion with his friends before he hurried up the stairs to his boyfriend. He opened the bedroom door, and saw Keigo had crawled under the blankets, and was breathing rapidly. Dabi hurried to the bed.

He took his phone away from him and looked at who set Keigo off so badly. Was it a handler? "Birdie, who is that?" he asked of the tall man that Dabi didn't recognize. Keigo shook his head, rubbing his face in his pillow. "Okay, I'll make him go away, okay?" His partner nodded, gripping the sheets tightly.

Dabi walked out to the gate, emergency number dialed on his phone. All he needed to do was press the call button. Dabi became someone much taller and more intimidating. Buff and with a dangerous face, tattoos as well, horns protruding from his temples. Just someone a sane person wouldn't want to cross. He walked to the gate, and ripped it wide open.

"The fuck you want?" Dabi asked in a booming voice that was not his own.

"Does Takami Keigo live here?" the man asked, looking sour.

"That bratty faggot from those movies? The fuck he'd be here for?!" Dabi shouted. "Don't waste my god damn time with some stupid shit like that! Fuck right off!" The man glowered, but was sweating by now, and left. Dabi slammed the gate closed, making sure the force field was still active. He changed forms again and hurried back inside.

He ran up the stairs and Dabi told him the man was gone. "Did he hurt you?" Keigo asked in frantic fear.

"No, I scared him off. Played some beefy aggressive guy and denied you being here. Kei, who is that?"

"My father," Keigo muttered, sounding ashamed of that fact.

"Man, you have shitty parents," Dabi stated. Keigo let out a feeble laugh. "You know you have hero training, martial arts training, and a way better quirk than that loser, right?" Keigo sighed and nodded. "You could totally whoop his ass. I get why you don't want to more than anybody, but finally facing him might be for the best. I'll be with you as support. If he freaks and you freeze up, I'll deal with it. Besides, he has a lame quirk and can't do shit to you anymore."

Keigo sighed again, knowing Dabi was right.

"I could do it for you. Turn into you, make him realize you're not a kid anymore, and you never have to face him yourself," Dabi offered, scratching down Keigo's scalp, which he melted from. "Think about it. I'll do anything to make you feel safe, birdie. Promise."

Even two days later, when Dabi was shopping in the body of some random he chose, he noticed someone following his car, which was technically Keigo's since Dabi's had a oil leak and was in the shop to be repaired easily. A simple fix that wasn't too expensive. Dabi had a job interview the next day, but wasn't too nervous. He was well known, easy to know his quirk, which was still a bit uncomfortable, but he hadn't been attacked recently, even though he kept his senses up quite a bit out in public. He didn't feel like being kidnapped again.

He waited strategically until he was in view of the car when he saw it was Keigo's father. Shitty, awful man. Dabi smiled, and drove to a park, getting out in the form of Keigo. He went to bring his non-refrigerated food out, leaving the ones that could melt in a box made of ice. Honestly his quirk was the most useful ever. Thank goodness for his genetic oopsie that made his life so much better.

It was all worth the torture in the end. Without this quirk, he'd have never been freed and never met everyone he loved in his life that werent biologically related to him. He sat on the grass, and started to eat his chips. Then, the sound of the car door shutting came, and Keigo's father came over. Dabi started to film with his camera quirk.

He jumped up when he pretended to only notice the former (or current, he wasn't sure) villain. He looked nervous before angry and defiant, head held high. "Heard about your hero and gay stint, you little shit." Dabi acted immediately, and sent feather blades flying at him, pressing into his neck, drawing a small bit of blood.

"I'm not that abused kid anymore, Takami. I have nearly a decade of hero training. I could off you in a second." He took a primary feather off, hardening it into a blade. "My failure of a mother already came after me, and that failed for her." He pressed the feather sword to his left eye. Takami looked actually frightened, shocked. "While you've been in prison, I grew up, and you will never scare me again." He swiped the sword down his cheek, drawing a little blood. "You will never approach me or my loved ones again, or I'll make sure you're back in jail." He made a nasty smile. "Do you understand me?"

Takami looked absolutely terrified, and Dabi couldn't wait to show Keigo this footage. He removed his feathers and had them return to his wings. "I asked you a question. Do you understand me?"

He nodded, looking furious, humiliated. "Run along, now. I'm sure you have plenty of amazing things to do in your shitty life." Takami left. He had no real quirk but for feathers on his arms. Keigo hit the jackpot with the mix of his parents' quirks. The perfect mix. Dabi happily went to the car, and returned home, grinning and drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, listening to upbeat music on the radio.

When he returned home, Keigo was there, and looked up when Dabi practically danced inside, putting things away with a grin. "What the hell happened to make you so happy?"

"Your father will never bother you again," Dabi replied. Keigo was confused, so Dabi uploaded the video to his phone, and let Keigo watch it. He started to cry after it was over in relief, and hugged Dabi tightly, a full hug with wings wrapped around him and all. "I told you I'd do anything to keep you safe, dove," Dabi said, pressing his lips to Keigo's neck. "I promised and I kept it."

He let Keigo cry for as long as he needed. They didn't see Takami again. He made no public statement, there was nothing to come of the interaction other than him never seeing Keigo again.

-x-

Dabi was shocked he got the cooking job. He would be a line cook while also play the role of some wait staff. He had to work on his attitude, and didn't feel like getting fired from this simple job. He would be making reasonable money, but not the same income he'd gotten previously. He just wanted a break from anything big. He just wanted a healthy work place, no backstabbing. Just nice coworkers. It was all he was asking for.

Christmas was a few days away, and his first shift was crazy busy, but having doubles do the work seemed to make a lot of the staff happy, as he took up a lot of the slack and the waiters and waitresses got a break for once.

Dabi did well in the kitchen, following directions easily, processing quickly. All the others were in their late 20s to early 40s, so he was by far the youngest. Music played back there, light but audible, and it was just face paced and he found he actually enjoyed it, which was surprising to be honest. Kept busy was nice, never stopping, not a moment of rest unless he had a double replace his role.

None of the cooks thought he was disgusting with his staples and burns since he outright told them it was an illusion, and he didn't actually have dry burns all over his body. They thought it strange, but didn't really pester him about anything. He was happy to have a job again, and thankful for his savings.

-x- Keigo -x-

Keigo had a lot of fun for the Christmas Eve visit of Dabi's bio family. They bought all five presents, and there was no mention of Enji or the awkward visit Dabi told him about the last time he saw his family. Keigo felt so sorry for his boyfriend with how much he was rubbing and flexing his fingers, which always hurt, but he rarely showed true pain. Whenever it got bad, he left the room, hating to look "weak" in his own words.

Dabi and Keigo made most of the food while Tenko and Shuichi did all the cleaning and Toga had fun with the decorating. It was a vibrant celebration - laughter, desserts and present opening being a joy for everyone. Keigo really loved being involved, as did the other three friends, who had never really celebrated Christmas before now. Before they had people that actually cared about them. Their families all fucked, so this was definitely a found family situation.

Rumi came over for a bit, this not being Keigo's very first Christmas, since they'd celebrated with Rumi's girlfriend before. Keigo's first Christmas was with the bunny personal trainer. It was over all a great celebration.

Shoto actually smiled a few times, which was a super win in their books, as he rarely emoted much, so this was a great time. Keigo felt so blessed, and somehow grew to love Dabi even more than before when he chased off Takami. He hadn't known it was possible to love him more, but he did. He wanted to tell him, but never found the right moment.

Maybe Dabi knew already, he was very perceptive and all.

Keigo hoped he could tell. That he could feel the extra love pouring out of Keigo's heart.