Just Say No

Touchstarved

   Keigo slunk away into the bathroom. Steam filled the room as he sunk into the tub with a contented sigh and a groan of relief. Dabi rapped softly on the door before peeking in. 

  "Hey Kei, I brought you a bath bomb and those apple pomegranate candles that you like. I-if you want, I could swap them out for lavender or-" Keigo stopped him by gently grabbing his hand. 

 "It's perfect, babe... I just need some alone time for a while to clear my head. Today has been... well, it's been shit. Because of the commission's little publicity stunt, I missed lunch with Rumi; you could probably tell that I was pretty on edge even while we were with the league, and you saw how I was just a few minutes ago, so..." Keigo trailed off. Dabi gently squeezed his hand and kissed the back of it.

    "Just... promise me that you won't do anything to hurt yourself, okay?" Dabi's voice was unusually quiet for a villain. Keigo smiled up at him, tears pooling in his eyes.

  "I swear to you, Dabs. I-" The winged hero closed his eyes and took a breath for a brief moment, "Actually... maybe don't leave right now, please." Dabi obliged, sitting beside the bathtub. Keigo finally took the moment to relax, staring up at the ceiling for a few moments before closing his eyes. Absentmindedly, he ran his fingers over Dabi's knuckles, tracing the scars with a smooth familiarity and deftly connecting each pale stitch like the stars in a constellation. Dabi chuckled softly, watching him for a moment. He let his mind drift, starting to imagine what domestic bliss with Keigo would be like. 

  "He's staying right here with us, right? Forever? The commission won't take him, right?" Keigo opened his eyes just a crack, seeing Asuka sitting by the foot of the tub, cross-legged. Keigo shot the little girl a gentle and loving smile, but he said nothing. Asuka didn't seem to mind. She wandered over to stand next to Dabi. She hugged him tight even though her arms. Dabi yawned a bit, shifting to sit more comfortably. Keigo's heart skipped a beat as he watched them. Asuka was nuzzling Dabi's shoulder happily, just like Keigo had done when his mother had bought him his plushie when he was five.  

 "Have you ever thought about having kids?" Keigo asked softly. Dabi jolted up, his eyes wide. 

  "Kids? Is this really the time to think about that? Maybe we should wait till the war is over and"  

  "Not... of course not now. I don't want to bring a baby into this world right now... I don't... I don't want my kid to grow up in the same world that I did. That we did," He shifted in the tub. Dabi was about to ask, but Keigo gently pressed a finger to his lip and shushing him, "Let's talk about this later, okay? Right now, I want to relax. Could you... maybe get in with me? If any of your stitches get undone, I'll redo them. It'll be okay," Keigo's voice squeaked. Dabi raised an eyebrow, but he got up and started to get undressed. Asuka nuzzled Dabi once more and skipped out the door, turning to mist as soon as she got through the doorway. There was a soft sloshing sound as Dabi lowered himself down into the tub right behind him. 

  "Wings out, baby. Spread," The blue-eyed man gently smoothed a hand over Keigo's wings, spreading them out. He smiled softly. He ran his fingers through the ruby plumes. Keigo closed his eyes again, relaxing under his touch. He swallowed thickly.

  "You heard my interview. I was basically raised by the commission. I belong to them. Any kids that I have will belong to them," His voice was like an icicle going straight through Dabi's chest. His mouth went dry hearing the tone that Keigo used. 

  "Didn't they help you find yourself?" Dabi asked. Keigo laughed darkly, rubbing his arm as a forced smile stretched across his face. 

  "Not as much as they wanted me to make it look like," He choked, starting to tear up. Dabi listened to him, gently stroking his wings a bit more, sloshing around the glittering red water that swirled around them. "If I didn't say that, my old handler- basically my pseudo-mother- would have killed me. You always said that your dad was shit. You gotta understand where I'm coming from here, y'know. You gotta be the perfect little puppet or you don't get to eat or some shit like that." Keigo laughed dully. Dabi hummed, stroking his hair. The two of them stayed in the bath for a little while before Dabi gently scooped Keigo up and dried him before carrying him to the bedroom. Keigo smiled weakly. He curled more into Dabi's bare chest. Their bare skin pressed together, Dabi's warmth radiating into Keigo as the two of them laid together in bed. 

  "Get comfy, okay birdie? We can stay like this for a while," Dabi laid with Keigo and held him close, waiting for Keigo to finish his story. Keigo rested his head on Dabi's chest, sighing. 

  "The commission trained me to the bone half of the time. I think that the only times that I was happy with the commission is when I turned from Asuka to Keigo... and when I met... my first love," Keigo murmured, "Eito was... my world. He made me feel like I was really Keigo, y'know. Like I was special. The way that you make me feel now." His fingers stopped in their path, just lingering on a single spot on Dabi's chest, right over his heart. Dabi hummed softly, giving Keigo a warm kiss on the forehead. 

  "Well, I'll do just about anything to keep you feeling like you're wanted, honey. You need your own time to slow down sometimes, Mr. Speedy," Dabi trailed kisses across the crest of Keigo's wings. Keigo didn't smile though, just staring out. 

 "I miss him sometimes, y'know. I do love you more than anything... more than life itself... but he was my first love, y'know," Keigo mumbled, "He's gone now... He went the same way that a lot of commission kids went... but can we not talk about that for now, please? I'm... not ready for it." Dabi carefully nodded, kissing Keigo on the neck. 

  "Not right now if you want, y'know," Dabi said. 

  "It's been a decade since I lost him. Seven years since he died. I should be over it by now, you know?" Keigo chuckled awkwardly. Dabi sighed and kissed his cheek. 

 "No, there's no exact time for getting over grief. You take all the time that you need," He said sweetly. Keigo turned so that he could hold Dabi even tighter, wrapping the two of them. Dabi smiled as he kept running his fingers through his hair. Keigo smiled weakly, closing his eyes as he started to drift off. He fell asleep against Dabi's chest, still smiling. Dabi didn't let go of Keigo even as they drifted off, smiling sadly. 

  "I'm not going anywhere. I promise... please. Just don't do what I think you're doing"