Chapter Text
Well, Shit.
Wasn’t this just fine and dandy? Dabi ran a hand through his damp hair trying to get it from sticking to his forehead. He tugged his hood up along with the tall collar that covered most of his lower face before shuffling out of his old, yet surprisingly super clean apartment. He needed to buy some morphine from Giran and maybe stop at a chemist to buy some cough syrup. He had been caught out in the rain after meeting up with Chicken Leg Supreme, most called him Hawks, but Dabi wasn’t just anyone. He took it as a personal challenge to come up with obscure nicknames. He got caught in the rain on his way home from the meeting, and with an immune system like his own, he woke up sick the next day.
Dabi quietly coughed, barely containing a wince as the coughing tugged on the staples around his chest. He already dealt with the constant ache from the staples keeping his body together, adding the constant risk of infection and his shitty immune system. Dabi knew he was a walking health hazard. It was just pure luck and most of his money being spent on disinfectant that he has survived on the streets for so long.
He stopped near an old unsuspecting cafe, tucked back in an alley. Most wouldn’t even know it was there unless you were told, but Giran appeared around here frequently either grabbing coffee or making deals. Luckily he was there today, Dabi didn’t feel like searching for the other man.
“Giran…” Dabi spoke up as he stepped close to him, using his foot to pull out a chair and sitting down in it roughly.
“Dabi,” Giran smirked, pulling the cigarette out from between his teeth, leaning back in his chair. “This is a surprise, It’s usually me calling you down to meet me. Not the other way around.”
Dabi just stared at him tiredly between his hood and collar, his usually bright turquoise dull with fever. “..Yeah, yeah. I’ll get straight to the point, I need my usual Morphine dose... I’m nearly out.” He ignored how raspy his voice had gotten, resisting the urge to rub his sore throat.
Giran rolled his cigarette between his fingers thoughtfully, tilting his head before he slowly took a drag. “Sure, I’ll drop it off later. Payment is usual. Favour for a favour.”
“Yeah, yeah… I pay up, don’t I?” Dabi grumbled, already getting up. Fuck, he really felt like shit. When did it get so cold? Giran just laughed a bit, “If you didn’t Dabi, I wouldn’t even bother with ya.”
“Don’t be like that old man, you like me~” He teased, already moving before he could get hit with the paper cup Giran was using for his coffee.
“You fuckin’ wish, ya lil shit!”
Dabi just left the cafe and alley, cackling quietly until he was forced to stop as a harsh set of coughs wracked his body. He stumbled a little, using a wall to stabilize himself. He eventually stopped coughing enough to catch his breath, his face flushed. Fuck, chemist and then he could not move from his bed until he was better. Dabi shuffled forward, pushing back the waves of dizziness. He wasn’t weak. He could...he could do this.
An hour later, and finally, he got back to his apartment, locking the door behind him before pulling off his long jacket and kicking his boots off. Barely dodging the bubble-wrapped package on the floor. Ah, Giran worked fast. He picked it up, holding the package and the bag of medicine in his hands. Dabi was too hot, yet his body continued to shiver like he was freezing. He wheezed up another cough, as he stumbled to his bedroom and flopped onto the bed. He barely had the energy to take the cough syrup before he started to drift off to sleep. He fuckin’ hoped he felt better when he woke up, he had another meeting with the Big Bird wannabe later. Well, it was less of a meeting and more of a dinner date but he would never admit that. Fuck, no.
Dabi didn’t realise he had fallen asleep until he was being woken up by someone shaking him awake. He sluggishly opened his eyes, before shivering violently. Fuck, he was so cold, yet he felt sweat rolling down his forehead. He could just see a blurry figure in front of him, and then red. Brilliant red that reminded him of Keigo, not the burning red that filled his nightmares.
“...-bi...Dabi!” Oh, that was him. He tilted his head to find a pair of golden eyes looking down at him with worry and concern.
“...Kei..” he rasped, not noticing Hawk’s look of absolute shock and horror as he started to cough violently. He didn’t know how long the fit lasted but he came back to awareness with Keigo’s arm wrapped around his shoulders holding him up off the bed. The bird-like hero looked even more worried.
“Fuck, Dabi… This sound’s bad.” He commented. Hawks gently pushed stray hairs from Dabi’s face. The other man barely seemed to register he was even there, his eyes glazed over fluttering in and out of it. Keigo bit his lip anxiously as he thought over his options. He couldn’t take the villain to a hospital but he also couldn’t leave him here. He knew Dabi cleaned his apartment almost religiously, but he was extremely sick. Keigo didn’t feel comfortable leaving him here, so he made up his mind. He would take him to his own apartment, he could keep a better watch over him from there.
“..Kei…’m tired..” Dabi, no...Touya wheezed, closing his eyes. Keigo pulled him close, trying his best to push the wave of emotions down. He would deal with that all later, this asshole made him believe he was dead and now here he was, his boyfriend and a villain to boot. ‘Stop, Keigo, focus. Help him now, and kick his ass later.’
“..I know, sleep Dabi...I’ll be here.” He whispered soothingly, feeling the other man relax in his arms until he was out cold. Once he was asleep, Hawks got to work, carefully setting Dabi down on his bed before he got up. Some of his feathers rushed out to grab some of Dabi’s stuff and shoved it into a bag. While Hawks carefully wrapped up his pyromaniac in a blanket like a burrito. He reached his hand out and his feathers deposited the bag in his hands, he had gathered some clothes, Dabi’s morphine, his favourite tea, phone and the medicine he bought.
Hawks then quickly locked up the apartment, before going back to the bedroom and gently lifting Dabi off the bed. The villain though a bit lanky barely weighed a thing and Keigo has carried far heavier things. He looked down at the unconscious Villain, his face seemingly stuck with a concerned frown, and gently pulled the blanket up more Dabi’s head. Partly to shield him from the cold and because Hawks wanted him to keep warm.
Not a minute later, Hawks was in flight, his wings spread out catching the wind as he took off towards his apartment. Going so fast he looked more like a red blur.
He barely landed on his balcony, before he was moving forward using his feathers to open the glass door. Hawks was relieved that Dabi had slept the whole way, even if his wheezing picked up. He knew the villain got severe motion sickness. He made it to his bedroom within seconds, the bedding already pulled back for him as he set Dabi down carefully on the bed. His feathers were a flurry of motion as they brought him the stuff he needed. First ice packs were placed on Dabi’s forehead and one behind his neck. Hawks needed to keep Dabi’s fever down, the other couldn’t handle his own heat most of the time.
Hawks then gently tucked him in, running his taloned hands through Dabi’s inky hair, it was damp. He sighed heavily to himself, when Dabi didn’t turn up for their meeting and didn’t respond to his calls, he grew worried. It was clear that his worrying was valid, Dabi was sick. Incredibly sick.
Hawks got up from the ground, he got out of his hero costume slowly, going as far as to take his feathers off and left them in a pile on the floor of his bedroom. He did leave one against Dabi’s chest, so he could hear his partner's heartbeat. It was faster than normal, and his chest sounded heavy. Keigo ran a hand through his hair, tugging it back into a small bun so it didn’t fall into his face. He ordered some soups to be delivered, as he set about making Touya some tea.
Keigo felt the tears starting to form in his eyes, fuck...Dabi was Touya. He is Touya. His first friend. His only friend in the commission’s training program. His first love before he died. Well, it was clear he didn’t die, he was here and back in his life as another. Keigo didn’t need to think about what might have happened to him, he could guess and he felt sick. He swore softly as he accidentally crushed the cup in his hands, shit, that was Touya’s favourite cup. Keigo reached into his cupboard and pulled out another cup, going about the motions of making the tea again. He was steeping the teabag when his feather picked up Touya coughing harshly, his chest rattling.
Keigo rushed back to his bedroom, helping the other man to sit up carefully. Touya gasped for air after his coughing fit ended, he slumped in Keigo’s arms exhausted, letting out a soft whimper.
“..I know Touya...I know..” Keigo whispered softly to him, rubbing his back carefully avoiding the staples he knew were there.
Touya sluggishly opened his eyes, his usually bright turquoise’s eyes dull and hazy. “..Kei?” he rasped.
“I’m...I’m here, Touya…”
“..’m Sorry…didn't wanna go..” He mumbled, his eyes slowly drooping as he tried to stay awake. Keigo carefully shook him, which helped and his eyes widened.
“Oh...Touya... We...We will talk when you're better, ok?” Keigo pressed a kiss to his forehead causing Touya to let out a soft content hum. The blonde-haired man shuffled behind Touya, letting the other man lean back against him. Then he pressed the teacup into Touya’s hands, his cold hands warming up slowly.
Touya felt terrible, his whole body was agony, and he just wanted to sleep. Yet Keigo was keeping him awake, getting him to take medication and drink his tea. The winged-man even helped him take a shot of his morphine. Almost instantly, his body relaxed in bliss as the constant pain ebbed away. Finally, Keigo laid him back down and he slowly drifted off, the covers pulling up to his neck and he felt a hand gently run through his hair. Talons massaging any tension away.
Keigo watched as Touya drifted off into a deep sleep, the healthy parts of his cheeks flushed red with fever. He placed the ice pack back on his forehead, holding it there under his hand. He needed to call the league and let them know Dabi was out of commission for a while… Then he needed to message Eraserhead. The older man seemed to have an interest in Dabi.
Apparently, Eraserhead had come across Dabi during one of his bad pain days at some point, instead of arresting him then and there, the underground hero took him home. Ever since then Eraser has been...around.
Keigo let out a tired sigh grabbing out Touya’s burner from the bag he packed, then called up Shigaraki.
“.. The fuck you want, Ashtray?! ”
“Not Dabi, it’s Hawks,” Keigo replied, rolling his eyes slightly.
“ ...... ” Keigo blinked when the other end went silent.
“ What’s happened? ” Shigaraki finally demanded.
“Dabi isn’t well, he is actually really fucking sick.” Keigo decided to be honest with the younger villain. The league also knew about Dabi’s shit immune system. He couldn’t really hide it, no matter how much he tried.
“. ..Shit. Fuck...alright, the fuck are you? ”
“At my place, I’ve got him but I’ll make sure to keep you guys updated…” Keigo looked down at Touya who was still sleeping, his face was relaxed this time. He looked younger, no longer frowning. He ran his knuckles gently over the man’s scarred skin, a smile forming on his face while Touya subconsciously nuzzled against it.
“ You better! ” Shigaraki then hung up the phone on him. Ah, typical. Keigo set that phone aside before grabbing his own phone to call Eraserhead. He was probably on patrol right now, but it was better to call than wait, the older hero got grumpy otherwise.
“... Eraserhead ,” A gruff voice spoke through the phone.
“Eraser, It’s hawks.”
“... What do you want? ” He didn’t sound pleased to be called out of the blue by Mr Number 2, regardless of his link to the pyromaniac.
“Dabi is sick.” Best to get straight to the point with the erasure hero.
“ How bad? ”
“Pretty bad, I’ve got him at my apartment.” Before Aizawa could ask another question, Dabi started to cough once again. “..Shit, one minute.” Keigo set his phone aside, helping Touya sit up. This fit lasted longer than before, and Touya was desperate for air by the end of it. Keigo checked his temperature only to hiss as his hand stung from how hot the scarred man had become. Keigo started to swear, rushing to set up his bathroom, he needed to get Touya cool before he overheated and roasted himself from the inside out.
Once the bath was set up, he went back to his bedroom and easily lifted Touya up, carrying him and gently placing him in the lukewarm water. He would add more cold water later but just shoving the fevered man into freezing cold water wasn’t going to help with his already fragile state. Touya began thrashing in the water and in his fevered delirium he started to beg, “..Please...stop...it...hurts..” Keigo ended up sitting in the water with him, not caring that his sweatpants were now soaked as he held Touya in his arms. He held the man's face against his neck, cradling the back of his head gently. Yet it got Touya to calm down. Keigo wrapped a cold washcloth around the back of Touya’s neck, using another to wipe away the sweat build up.
Shit...Dabi has had some bad episodes but this one is taking the whole cake and chicken bucket. If it got any worse, he wouldn’t have a choice but to take him somewhere.
There was a sudden knock on his apartment door. Fuck, who was that?! He sent a feather to investigate and another to grab his phone, he had just left Eraser on the phone without much information.
“Let me in, Hawks.” Ah, it was Eraser. He must have decided to come over when Keigo didn’t come back for his phone immediately. The feather unlocked the door and opened it, directing the other hero towards the bathroom. Question one though, how did he get here so fast? And Two, how the fuck did he get here so fast?!
Keigo lifted his head when the bathroom door opened, dark eyes landing on the pair in the bathtub. Aizawa’s gaze softened slightly, worry showing in his eyes.
“Symptoms?” He asked, making his way over.
“Fever, coughing... Delirious. That’s all I know, he hasn’t stayed awake long enough to tell me,” Keigo answered while checking Touya’s temperature again with the back of his hand. It was lower than before yet he was still burning hot.
“hmmm...How is his chest? We need to know if it’s bacterial or a virus, if he needs antibiotics the sooner we get them the better.” Aizawa was kneeling next to the bath, reaching over and gently handling Touya’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.
“It’s raspy, no rattling yet but with how quick this had hit him, I wouldn’t be surprised that’ll get worse by tomorrow.”
Aizawa grunted in acknowledgement, slowly standing back up, “I’ll get you both some dry clothes. We will talk about what we are going to do after we get Dabi into bed.”
Keigo let out a soft hum, looking down at Touya, who was fast asleep again. His whole body relaxed, his mouth slightly open as he breathed slowly. The winged man was happy that he was resting peacefully. He checked his temperature again, a sigh of relief followed, Touya was finally cool enough to get out of the bath. Aizawa came back to the bathroom with a bundle of clothes in his arms, he set them on the lid of the toilet along with some towels.
“Do you need help with him?” The scruffy-haired man asked, his eyes still full of concern. Keigo has only seen the man look so soft when he was with his students. Not that the underground hero would ever admit that fact.
“No, I got him,” Keigo replied, easily lifting Touya and himself out of the water. Aizawa nodded his head, leaving the two alone in the bathroom. Keigo quickly removes their soaked clothes, drying them off before dressing in another pair of sweatpants and shirt for himself. While he pulled Touya one of his PJ sets, some shorts and a loose tank top. He usually got warm, so he liked to sleep in cooler clothes. Keigo carried him out of the bathroom, finding the bedsheets freshly changed along with the strong smell of eucalyptus filling the room. Damn, Eraser was busy.
Aizawa appeared in the bedroom door holding another cold pack, while Keigo gently tucked Touya into bed pulling covers up and tucked it under his chin. He was elevated enough that he was putting too much pressure on his chest. Aizawa set the cold pack on his forehead, careful not to wake him up, before shifting his gaze to the younger hero.
“...I can get Recovery Girl to check on him, she won’t tell anyone he is here since I would call her here. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve asked her help with something like this,” Aizawa spoke quietly yet he still held his firm tone. Keigo felt like one of his students when he did that, damn...he was so cool.
“...’zawa..?” A raspy voice called out to the underground hero. Both heroes almost snapped their necks as they turned to look at Touya. He was awake, mostly, his blue eyes looking up into Aizawa’s dark ones. He was flushed still with fever, sweat forming on the healthy part of his skin.
“Hey Problem brat, I can’t leave you for a minute can I?” Aizawa raised an eyebrow, a small smile forming on his face.
Touya managed to reply with an exhausted smirk, “...can’t help being special..”
That got a small snort from Keigo, “You sure being a troublemaker isn’t a part of your quirk?”
“..Nah, that’s all me..” Touya chuckled a little but that ended up just inducing a coughing fit. The playful atmosphere was replaced with concern. Aizawa held him up, a hand resting behind his neck, his thumb rubbing his head calmingly.
“...relax kid, don’t try to fight it.” Aizawa seemed to be in his element as he calmly talked Touya through his fit, barely grimacing as the scarred man wheezed for air.
“..it..hurts..” Touya wheezed, tilting his head towards the older man.
“I know it hurts, but better to keep coughing, it gets all the gunk up..”
Keigo watched the pair from beside the bed, his golden eyes softening, it was nice to watch. He knew Touya didn’t get care nor attention from his own father. He swallowed down his anger, the hero that saved him when he was a child was hurting his own children. What a joke of a hero. Yet here was Eraserhead, Dabi had attacked his students and here he was months later caring for the said villain. Aizawa held Touya gently while getting him to take more medicine and even going as far as to get him to eat some miso soup. If anyone was the definition of a true hero, it was Eraserhead, right here, right now.
Keigo didn’t know how long he stood there in thought until Aizawa gently shook his shoulder, he blinked rapidly and looked up at him. “Sorry, did you say something?”
“Dabi is asleep again, and I was just letting you know that I’m going to call Recovery Girl. Are you alright, though?” Aizawa was giving him a concerned look, fuck, Keigo flushed. Other than Touya and Miruko, not many asked him if he was ok.
“...ah, Oh! Yes, I’m fine,” Keigo stammered, nervously rubbing the back of his neck as he flashed Aizawa a big smile. “I was just lost in thought. You’re...You’re good with him... Tou-Dabi, I mean..”
Oh bollocks. No way he missed that fuck up.
“Tou?” He was right. Aizawa didn’t miss it.
“...It’s not my story to tell, but Dabi’s real name is Touya…”
Aizawa seemed to freeze, his eyes briefly flashing red before he took a deep breath. Maybe he understood the implications of that name. “Ok, I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.” He then walked out of the bedroom, leaving the younger men alone. Keigo sat down next to Touya, looking at his lover with a soft gaze. His talons running carefully through his hair again, a soft coo forming in his chest.