The air was nearly knocked out of Keigo's lungs as a wall of ice surged up under him and a pair of arms wrapped around him.
Shoto groaned, holding onto the older man as tightly as he could. He pulled with all of his strength in order to keep him from slipping down. "What the fuck, Hawks! What in the world do you think you're doing?!"
Hawks's eyes were practically empty as he opened them and looked back at the teen. The gaze alone screamed out the sheer amount of pain that he was going through. It was the gaze of a man who craved death more than anything else in his life.
"What's the point of calling? I would have just ended up doing it some other way in the end anyway. No one needs me at this point, it doesn't change anything if I'm dead or alive. Just... It's better than taking up space somewhere that I don't belong. I'm sorry, okay? I know what your class was trying to do. At this point, It's not really worth it," He said. Slowly, he started to make his way towards the edge again. Shoto tightened his grip.
" I'm calling my dad. This- You can't just do this! It isn't right!"
"I'm pretty sure you would have done it one point too," Keigo replied, "Judging by those nasty burns that you got on your arm there, I can only think that you've tried." He wasn't even looking at Shoto anymore, just... stairing off into the sky. "It's really quiet today. Shouldn't you be in school or something like that?"
Shoto crossed his arms, letting out a huff, "You're trying to change the subject. It's not going to fucking work," He took Keigo's arm and brought him over to the center of the roof, sitting down with him.
"Look at you, kid. You're really turning into a real hero, aren't you? Going around and saving people like this... Your pops must be real proud of you," Keigo chuckled a bit. He turned to the young hero with a sad and weak smile, "The commission sink their claws into you yet? Won't be long now,"
The bi-colored boy stared at Keigo with honest fear in his eyes. He had never seen the older man in such a broken state like that. He didn't speak another word to Keigo, instead getting out his phone and calling his father.
Keigo didn't hear a single word of the conversation. He could hear Enji's voice, but it was all extremely fuzzy. His ears were ringing. He strained, trying his hardest to hear any voice at all. Even if it had been the voice of the now twisted Asuka or the shadow, it would have been worth it for him. The quietness was almost deafening.
"Hey kid, mind asking him if I can just go to a mental clinic or something? No need to bring him more trouble than I already have. It wouldn't be very plus ultra of me, y'know. I think that's what your school says or something like that?"
"Hawks, I can hear you, y'know. I already offered for you to stay at my house if you need anything. I'm not about to send you away to an asylum for something like this. I know that isn't exactly something that you need right now. I'm going to get you professional help, but not like that," Enji said.
Keigo didn't respond. Still feeling... empty. He had gotten up again. Instead of heading towards the edge again, he just went back inside and headed over to his bed. Shoto followed him as quickly as he could. He watched Keigo crawl under the covers and wrap himself up. The room was barely even cold and yet, Keigo was shivering like he'd been left outside in the middle of the winter.
"I'm not gonna leave until my dad gets here, y'know. Not after something like this," Shoto sat down beside Keigo on the bed. He thought for a little bit before getting under and cuddling close. "Do you maybe wanna just talk for a bit I mean, I know it isn't really my place, but I wanna help as much as possible. If not me, I can always call Rumi or someone like that."
Keigo just shook his head a little bit. His eyes went wide, almost bulging out of his skull as soon as he heard Shoto mention Rumi. He dug his nails into his arm for a moment, hard enough for his talons to break skin. Shoto grabbed his hand to stop him.
"Okay, okay. I got it! No Rumi. I won't call. We can just keep on waiting for my dad. It's okay. Do you maybe wanna talk about something else?"
"How about... um... do you want me to tell you about Touya maybe?... I um... I have a lot of really fun stories. I'm sure you'd like to... to hear about what your oldest brother was really like, right?" Keigo asked. He didn't miss the little way that Shoto's eyes lit up at the mention of actually getting to know about his brother.
"Are um... Are you feeling up about talking about him? That um... that doesn't seem like something that someone would necessarily be so open with talking about," Shoto snapped out of the excitement, shaking his head a little bit. Keigo gave a little smile, sighing.
"I think it would actually do me some good to talk about my relationship. Happy memories, y'know," Keigo slowly lowered the blanket from over his head before sitting up with a sigh.
"Um... okay then, wanna maybe tell me the happiest memory that you two had together?" Shoto asked. Keigo furrowed his brows as he sunk into thought. His tounge stuck out a bit before the lightbulb went off in his head. He began to tell the story, letting himself sink into the memory.
~
"Hey, Kei, you ready to head out? Any latter and we'll miss that reservation that you made," Dabi called out. He was looking at himself in the mirror as he adjusted the surgical mask that he had on to hide his scars.
Keigo let out a little chuckle as he slowly came out of the room. "You mind helping me with my tie than? I can't quite get it on straight," Dabi looked up at him, letting out a soft sigh as his eyes went wide. Slowly, he approached his boyfriend, undoing the crooked tie and starting to redo it. He let out a soft growl as he finished the tie and gently smoothed down the silky red fabric of his shirt.
"Mmm, damn, baby. You look absolutely amazing. At this rate, I don't think I'll be able to keep my hands off of you," He chuckled. Keigo rolled his eyes and gently kissed his cheek.
"You'd better keep your hands to yourself till we get home, hmm? You know how many eyes will be on us as soon as we head on out there. We can't have people questioning about who you are, y'know," He laughed, wrapping his wings around the both of them.
"I don't think that I would mind people knowing about us," Dabi replied.
"You just wait, if that happens you, my sweet little song bird, will be swamped by a whole bunch of angry as fuck fangirls."
"And that's something that I'm willing to deal with. Now than, you ready to head out?" He asked. Keigo nodded excitedly. The two of them headed out hand-in-hand towards the car. The two of them drove towards the restaurant. Keigo was happily singing along to whatever pop song was blaring on the radio as he drove. Dabi glanced over at him, smiling gently as he reached for his hand.
By the time the two of them were sitting in a private room and happily eating, it was lightly drizzling outside. Dabi glanced over at the window.
"You think that it would be a nice night for a fly, hmm? Once we're done eating, there's somewhere that I'd like to take you to," Hummed the older man as he leaned back in the chair, "There's something that I got for you. It was a pain in the ass to get my hands on, but I know that you'll love it,"
"Awww, can't we just take the car to this mystery place? You know how long it takes me to dry my wings after flying through the rain, babe." Keigo said with a pout. Dabi rolled his eyes and playfully poked his cheek.
"Oh c'mon. I'll help you dry them wen we get home. You don't gotta worry at all. It'll be the more scenic route anyway," Dabi replied. The younger man seemed to perk up a little bit, getting even more exciting.
"Ooh, so there'll be a whole lot more fun tonight! I like the sound of that!" He cheered. He got up quickly and paid the bill and grabbed Dabi's hands. "Let's go! Let's goooo!"
"So eager! You're even skipping dessert for it?" Laughed the older man. Keigo just took his hand and rushed up to the roof, still holding onto him. He didn't say any more as he used a few of his feathers to help lift Dabi up into the air with him. The two of them soared happily through the sky. The light rain kept the two of them cool as them landed in the middle of a beautiful garden.
Keigo smiled softly, looking around with starry eyes. The cool wind rustled his hair and blew through his feathers. Slowly, he walked over to a Sakura tree that was in full bloom. Carefully, he reached up, brushing the flowers with his fingertips.
"This place is gorgeous! How did you know that I wanted to go to a place like this? I told my ideal date to Jin in confidence!" He said, crossing his arms across his chest. Dabi raised an eyebrow as he looked over at him, "Oh c'mon! I couldn't just tell you something like that! Where's the fun in that? I like to be surprised!"
"Well, baby bird, did I manage to surprise you enough?" Dabi asked as he hugged Keigo from behind. He plucked one of the cherry blossoms and put it in his boyfriend's hair with a loving smile. The blonde leaned back into his touch with a sigh.
"You said that there was a gift that you wanted to give me?"
"Oh! That's right! Hold on, there's spot here that I really wanna do it in. It's gotta be absolutely perfect for you, Mr. number two hero," Dabi laughed a bit as he grabbed Keigo's hand and dragged him over to an area with a bridge that stretched over the koi pound.
"Is this a proposal, Dabi?" Keigo asked, scooting closer to his boyfriend with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows. Dabi went bright red.
"Oh! No no- Not that! Not yet at least! I did get you a really nice piece of jewelry though," He chuckled, taking Keigo's hand and pressing a gentle kiss on his knuckles. He moved back a few inches before pulling a beautiful ring out of his pocket. It was a simple sterling silver band with red flame designs embedded into it with red glass beads. Keigo gasped, his eyes lighting up. He found himself unable to speak. "It's a promise ring, hon."
Tears started to slowly build in his golden eyes. He stared down down at his hands. He suddenly pulled Dabi into a tight hug, crying softly.
"Oh Dabs, it's so pretty... So pretty..."He sobbed, clinging to him. Dabi chuckled, smiling. He'd never seen this side of Keigo, and honestly he thought that it was absolutely adorable. He held Keigo tightly and rocked him. He pulled away only to kiss away his beloved's tears.
"I'm glad that you like it, honestly. I was worried that you would think that I stole it or something," Dabi chuckled. Keigo stopped for a brief moment, looking up at him skeptically.
"So wait, did you?" He asked, sniffling. Dabi laughed before shaking his head a bit.
"I wanted this to be special. I wouldn't do that to you. You trust me, don't you, honey bun?"
"Yeah, suuuure, I do," Keigo teased back. He couldn't help but laugh at the concern on Dabi's face. "I'm kidding, love. Of course I trust you. I trust you so much,"
Dabi tried to slip the ring onto Keigo's finger, cringing a bit as he noticed that it couldn't fit. He swore softly. Keigo flinched. The swelling from the commission's latest surgery was only just starting to go down after several months.
"I knew I should've gotten the bigger one. Fuuuck," Dabi sighed. Keigo just chuckled softly, kissing his cheek.
"It's okay, I usually can't wear many rings anyway. My hands are always way too sensitive anyway. How about I do this? I got a chain at home from a necklace that Rumi gave me a while back. You won't have to get it resized and I can still wear it around, hmm?" Keigo asked, his arms snaking their way around his boyfriend's neck.
Their lips were just inches apart, barely brushing. Dabi smiled softly, nuxxling him.
"I think I'd like that quite a lot actually."
"Mmm, It's perfect then, I think."
~
Keigo was knocked out of the memory by a yawn. He looked next to him and noticed Shoto looking tired. The older man gave a soft smile and gently ruffled his hair.
"Get some rest, kiddo. You deserve it," He kept his voice quiet, not wanting to disturb him. Keigo decided to rest as well, wanting nothing more than to be sucked back into the memory. He laid down beside Shoto and closed his eyes, letting himself drift off.
As soon as Keigo was asleep, Shoto opened one eye... Just to check. He waited a few minuets before sneaking his phone out of his pocket. Much to Shoto's surprise, Keigo still had Dabi's number on there. He took a moment to copy the number onto his own phone before sneaking out to the balcony.
He took one breath.
Then another.
Then he called.
"What the fuck do you want? I'm busy," Dabi mumbled. His voice was rough like he had just woken up from being asleep himself. "Hello? Hello, you gonna answer me?"
"T-Touya-Nii?..." Shoto asked softly.
"Wait- wait- I... Sho?"