Work Text:
Dabi had just finished a job from Shigaraki where he had to investigate someone to see if they were going to be a problem for the League and after a long day of sneaking around and observing from afar, Dabi determined that this was a waste of his time.
All that ended up happening is that his phone died while he was looking at news updates because he forgot to charge his phone last night. This was a problem because he was several miles away from the League’s base and he now had no way of calling Kurogiri to tell him to warp him back.
He began walking back, taking alleyways and backstreets to avoid being seen by the general public. This was until he came across a rough part of town where many low level villains resided. Due to this, Dabi started walking through the streets that were lined with a wide range of shops such as clothes shops and bakeries as no one would care if a villain came into their shop as long as he bought something.
He looked through the windows to see what stuff they had on sale, he knew that Toga had been looking for some more clothes and he'd pickpocketed someone on his way here because he was bored, giving him a bit of money to spend while he's here.
After buying a new jumper for Toga and a video game for Spinner and Shigaraki that they have been looking for, he popped into a bakery to buy some pastries for when he comes back, don't let the League say he never did anything for them. Surprisingly, the cashier was a huge fan of his work and asked him for an autograph which he almost refused until he was promised a couple extra croissants for free, he would never turn down such a wonderful gift and so signed the autograph and promptly left.
He had nearly passed by all of the shops before he saw a small cafe sat between two rundown buildings meaning the soft glow from the windows made it stand out, it looked way too nice to be in this part of town.
He walked inside, a bell ringing as he opened the glass door. There were a few people queued up already and a lot of the seats were full as well, this must be a popular spot. The smell of coffee and cakes was welcomed greatly by a tired Dabi who needed some sustenance to keep him going on his walk back.
He impatiently waited in line for a while as he waited for his turn to order. God! He didn't realise how much he depended on his phone until it died. He taps his foot on the ground and looks around at the walls to keep his mind occupied. He was next in line so all he had to do was wait a minute or two more and then he could focus on his coffee.
His thoughts were interrupted by the server's smooth voice, “Next please.”
Dabi's brain halted for a second or two when his eyes fell upon the handsome face of the man who stood in front of him. “Hello Sir, what can I get for you today?” Dabi looked at the man's name tag– ‘Keigo’. Keigo was the most beautiful person he'd ever seen in his entire life.
“A black coffee,” He barely managed to get the words out, his words nearly stuck in his throat, “Please,” What the hell? Why'd he say please, he's never once put effort into using his manners. He tried to compose his face into something calmer so he didn't embarrass himself in front of the server.
“Right away Sir,” Keigo quickly began manoeuvring himself around his workspace.
While Keigo was focused on making his coffee, Dabi began admiring the features of him. He had black marks around his eyes that looked like eyeliner but it seems like it was natural, it must be part of his quirk, and it made his golden eyes stand out and looked even more mesmerising (if that was possible.) Keigo also had wild blond hair that made him look surprisingly cute. What captured Dabi's attention the most however, was the pair of bright red wings that were folded behind Keigo's back, they were shiny and looked like they were cared for extensively, he briefly wondered what they would look like if he spread them out wide so Dabi would admire their full beauty.
Before Dabi could analyse any more of his gorgeous features, Keigo coughed lightly to get his attention. When Dabi snapped out of his daze he saw Keigo had tilted his head slightly to the side with curiosity, making him look simultaneously like an owl and adorable and Dabi was having a hard time controlling his heart rate.
Dabi's original plan was to get his coffee and drink it on his walk back home but now his mind has changed. He reached for the coffee, his hand grazing Keigo's slightly, “Thank you,” Dabi said.
“Your welcome,” Keigo beamed at him.
Dabi sat down in one of the booths near the counter, giving him a perfect view of Keigo as he worked. He was also within hearing range so he could listen to the server's voice.
He doesn't know how long he was there for but every second was like a dream he didn't want to wake up from. He watched and listened as Keigo greeted customers and gleefully made their orders, he must really like his job. Dabi also enjoyed how sassy he became whenever a customer was rude to him. Keigo was an artwork to be admired and Dabi focused on every detail of him.
Eventually, Dabi decided he should go back to the League who were probably planning his funeral with how long he's been gone. He walked up to the counter and pulled all the cash out of his wallet (well technically it belongs to the guy he stole it from but finders keepers looser weepers) and placed it in the tip jar next to Keigo.
“Woah! Are you sure you meant to put all of that in?” Keigo looked shocked at how much money Dabi put in.
He made direct eye contact with the server, their blue and gold eyes meeting with a spark of electricity flashing between them. “Yes,” Dabi answered simply, not trusting himself to say anything else to the beautiful man.
As he walked out he could hear Keigo shouting thank you over the hum of the other customers.
As Dabi walked home he tried to think about other things such as what Kurogiri was going to make them for dinner tonight or what board game he was going to have to play with Toga and Twice later, however every single time his mind wandered back to Keigo and his attractive looks and perfect voice. This is just a temporary thing, maybe I was hit by a quirk or I'm really tired, he thinks. There's no way he would be this hung up over a random guy.
Eventually, he began to recognise the alleyways around him and navigated them with ease to make his way back to the hide out. He looked around him to make sure no one was watching or following before he opened the door and entered their base, Dabi was quickly bombarded by Toga running at him and jumping up to give him a hug that was so tight it squeezed the life out of him.
“Dabi!!! Where have you been?” Toga asked when she finally let go of him, allowing Dabi to breathe once again. She had a slight pout on her face signalling that she had been worried about him due to how long he'd been gone for.
Before he answered, he looked up to see the other members of the League looking at him expectingly, all of them were also curious as to what had stolen Dabi's entire day. “Well I looked into that guy Shigaraki told me to and found that he's less of a threat then a two legged baby chihuahua. Sadly my phone ended up dying so I couldn't ask Kurogiri to warp me back–” Dabi was interrupted by Shigaraki.
“I told you to memorise his number,” he rasped.
Dabi ignored his remark entirely and continued on with his story, “So then I had to walk back here without getting caught by any heroes on patrol.”
Compress tilted his head in slight confusion, “That shouldn't have taken you hours to walk back, did something happen?”
Dabi really didn't want to say that he'd been sitting in a cafe staring at a random guy for who knows how long so he thought of excuses to explain why he was gone for so long. That was until he remembered all the things he'd bought from that area. He held up the bags in his hands to show them off to the League, “I went shopping.” He said simply.
Toga squealed in excitement as she opened the bag that Dabi had handed her, she pulled out the necklace and the new jumper he had bought her and she held it up against her so she could see how it would look on her, “Oh my god!! I love it so much, I wonder if Ochako and Izuku will love it too!” She ran off to her room to try on the jumper.
He then presented the video game he'd bought and Spinner immediately grabbed it, “Epic, I've been looking for this one everywhere,” Dabi knew that no one would see Spinner or Shigaraki for the next few days as they would be entirely focused on playing this new game.
Kurogiri took the pastries from the bag and put them in a safe place so Twice wont eat them until after dinner.
Dabi couldn't see Compress' face behind the mask but it seems like the man is still suspicious of him. Dabi shook off the feeling of being watched and tried to go along with his usual activities.
Toga came out of her room with her new jumper on, she was jumping around with happiness.
“Wow Toga you look wonderful,” came the cheery voice of Compress, he treated her like his daughter and a princess and Dabi will admit, it's nice to see Toga so happy after how awfully she was treated as a child by people who didn't understand her quirk and became afraid of her.
Toga's smile grew wider (if that was even possible) “Thank you,” She twirled around to show off her new item of clothing.
As the evening arrived, it seemed everyone had forgotten about Dabi mysteriously disappearing for a few hours, Kurogiri and Compress began cooking, the scent floating through the rooms and making everyone's stomach growl. Spinner and Shigaraki were entirely focused on the new video game Dabi bought for them, you could hear the celebrations of whoever won that round through the walls.
This left Dabi with Twice and Toga who wanted to play Uno like they do every single night. “Uno,” Toga shouted when she placed down a plus four card and gave an evil glare and a sly grin to Dabi who returned the stare with equal intensity. “Blue,” She declared what colour would be placed next without breaking eye contact with Dabi who was trying to not set her on fire. He could see Twice shivering with fear as he watched the pair stare each other down.
Dabi sighed heavily as he picked up his fourth yellow card in a row, he thought back to the intense gold eyes belonging to Keigo, shit, he needs to stop thinking about him and his eyes and his hair and his wings. Oh god he's doing it again.
By the time he'd managed to snap himself out of his daydreams, Toga rapidly stood up and began jumping around in celebration.
“Wow you're so good, I'm the worst,” Twice celebrated with Toga happily.
Dabi stayed seated, “Well done,” he said half committedly–his mind somewhere else.
Toga looked down at him with concern, “What's up with you Dabi? You've been acting strangely ever since you came back home,” She crouched so that she was eye level with Dabi. Twice sat down next to him to show his support.
“Nothing's up with me, I'm just a little distracted that's all,” He didn't want to say what he was distracted about for obvious reasons, Dabi just hoped they would leave it alone.
Of course he was wrong.
Toga pried further almost immediately, “Oooh, what's on your mind? Wait! Let me guess! Has Dabi got a little crush!!!”
“What! No,” Dabi protested, an offended look on his face. He has no idea why Toga would come to that conclusion, he's not got a crush he just has a problem where he met a handsome guy that he can't get out of his head and can't spend ten minutes without his face popping into mind. That's not a crush…right?
Either way, even if it was a crush, there was no way it could go any further. There was no way that Keigo would like his attitude or burnt skin. Plus, Dabi's a villain that's wanted by the government meaning that it would be dangerous for him to date anyone as it would put them in danger.
In order to get Keigo out of his mind, he needs to stay away from that cafe and eventually he will forget about the man.
A few days later Dabi finds himself hungry and in the same part of town as that god damn cafe. It'll do no harm if he just pops in for a few minutes right? All he wanted was something to eat and drink and he'd head on his way again. Anyway, what are the chances that Keigo was even working today?
“Well hello again,” came the familiar charming sound of Keigo's voice, it seemed he remembered Dabi. Maybe if he didn't want to be recognised he shouldn't have left such a large impression when he filled the tip jar completely.
“Hi,” Dabi replied, already regretting coming here. His mind turned blank for a few seconds while silence hung between them. Thick with some sort of tension.
Keigo interrupted the silence, causing Dabi to realise that it's not a normal thing to walk into a cafe and then stare at the server. “What can I get for you today sir?” Keigo remained his composure despite how weird he must think Dabi is.
“Just a black coffee and a croissant please,” There he goes again with the manners, he must have a concussion or something if his whole personality is changing.
“Coming right up.”
Dabi was jealous of Keigo's seemingly endless energy. Dabi often felt a deep ache inside of him whenever he had nothing to do, it was like he felt useless if he didn't have a purpose. For years of his teenage years and early adulthood he felt like a failure because Endeavour deemed him one, he was never good enough for his father and that left detrimental consequences to his self esteem and motivation. However, he doesn't feel that now where he's looking at Keigo and the man isn't returning his look with disgust or fear but with something warm and welcoming.
He watched as Keigo reached past the croissants closest to himself and picked one of the larger and fresher ones further away causing a surge of warmth through Dabi's chest. He'd never been given anything less than scraps before in his life and he eventually grew to expect it. He wasn't used to someone giving him anything past the bare minimum. He felt like his heart was beating harder against his chest for some reason.
When Keigo passed his coffee over to Dabi, their fingers brushed briefly causing all of Dabi's focus to lock onto the feel of Keigo's fingers against his.
“Here you go.”
While Dabi fumbled through another stolen wallet to find the cash inside, Keigo stretched his arms. He was probably tired after serving customers like him for hours on end. What caught Dabi's attention was that Keigo's wings also spread wide as if he was stretching them too. He watched as the wings grew taller and wider as they expanded across the space.
He was transfixed, the deep red shade of his wings was brilliant and the sheer size of them caused him to imagine how magnificent they would look if they were spread fully. He wonders how they would look when Keigo is flying through the air with an unmatched agility. He also thinks about whether it would ache to have his wings folded behind his back for hours at a time. He couldn't look away from his amazing wings even if someone tried to turn his head away.
When Keigo was done stretching he quickly noticed Dabi's intense stare focused on his wings, he immediately folded them back behind him and looked down in an expression that resembled embarrassment. Dabi has no idea why he would be embarrassed of his gorgeous wings.
Dabi eventually found the cash and placed it on the counter hard to grab Keigo's attention. “I think your wings are absolutely beautiful,” He blurted out without properly thinking twice about it. Shit, he internally cursed himself. Keigo's probably going to think he's a creep along with being a weirdo.
Keigo's eyes widened slightly and Dabi could see a faint blush appear across his face and down his neck. “Thank you,” He said while scratching the back of his neck with his hand.
Dabi, who had no idea of what to do next due to his limited social skills, grabbed his coffee and croissant and left to go sit down in the same spot as yesterday.
Today at least his phone wasn't dead so he could half read the League group chat and half watch Keigo work with a small smile on his face after Dabi's compliment.
However, the next time Dabi looked up from the stupid meme twice had sent to him, he saw Keigo's smile had gone and had been replaced by a colder expression.
Two unfamiliar guys had approached the counter, based on their clothes and confidence, Dabi would say that their low level criminals that had gotten away with robbing a small family owned store and now think that they're the smartest and greatest villains in the world. If that sounded specific, just know that Dabi comes across dickheads like this on a regular basis.
He couldn't hear what the two men were saying but he could hear their obnoxiously loud laughter. By the looks of things the two criminals were making Keigo's job unnecessarily harder than it needs to be. He could see the anger in Keigo's eyes grow sharper the longer he felt with the bastards.
Dabi was about to get up and ask if they had a problem until Keigo passed their drinks to them and they walked away with cruel laughter, leaving Keigo staring at them with a hatred he's seen in his own eyes.
He remained in his seat and finished his croissant whilst silently observing whether Keigo was okay or not. One thing he noticed is that when he was talking to the two men, his feathers sharpened making him look threatening.
He walked up to the counter and leaned close to Keigo, “Hey, are you okay? Were those guys bothering you earlier?” He spoke in a low voice to make sure he didn't startle or set off Keigo. If Shigaraki found out how soft he'd become over the past few days he'd probably revoke his villain status. His reputation as scary would probably take a big hit if people found out that he was being polite and watching out for people. For some reason though, he isn't too worried about all of that when his main focus is on whether Keigo is alright or not.
Keigo's hands were scrunched up in frustration and he wouldn't look up at Dabi. “Yeah I'm fine, just some bastards who have nothing better to do.” Dabi can tell that it isn't the full truth but based on how affected Keigo seems to be by the two men, he doesn't want to push him too far by pressing further.
Dabi once again stuffed the tip jar with the remainder of the stolen money. Keigo once again looked surprised, “Thanks again,” A genuine smile appeared across Keigo's face once again, a warmth blossomed inside of Dabi at the fact that he was able to make him feel better in any way.
He left the shop with a small grin, replaying his memories of that smile of Keigo's.
When he arrived back at the hideout, he wasn't bombarded with questions like last time. Instead it was just Shigaraki who was sitting watching TV with Spinner and Twice.
“Where have you been Dabi, you've been slacking more on work,” he rasped. Shigaraki didn't even look away from the TV to speak to him.
Dabi walked off to his room, “I'm the only one who gets any work done around here anyway,” His point was proven by the fact that half the League were watching some sitcom that Dabi knows they've watched at least three times already.
That night he slept peacefully, dreaming of blond hair and red wings.
Despite how determined he was to not go to that cafe again in order to stop thinking about the winged man, he did end up going to the cafe like once or twice (almost every day) over the next two weeks. He only went whenever he was in the local area (of like ten miles away.)
Over this time, Keigo learned what Dabi's order was and Dabi learned more about Keigo's passion for flying and helping people. They only talked to each other through brief conversations so they never really got to know each other on a personal level. Keigo didn't even know his name yet and surprisingly it seemed that he didn't know he was a villain. Dabi was extremely hesitant to tell him about his villainous activities in fear that he'd no longer want to associate himself with him. He knows that it's selfish to keep this from him with how often he's visited him but he wants to be selfish and hold onto the kind look in Keigo's eyes when they talk.
Dabi walked into the cafe for the third time this week in order to have his five minute conversation with Keigo for the day. He has a freshly pickpocketed wallet in his pocket and a rare smile on his face. These cafe trips became dear to him.
The smile on his face slowly faded into his usual expression when he saw the two bastards from his second day here in the queue in front of him. He could see Keigo preparing a coffee for a different customer and hadn't yet noticed the two men or Dabi.
“Next please–oh,” Keigo's tone changed from cheery to disappointed the second he saw who he was serving. Based on how little he tried to hide his dislike, Dabi guesses that dealing with those two has become a daily occurrence for him. A rage fuels inside of Dabi's at the thought of Keigo's day constantly being ruined for no reason.
“Just the usual Birdbrain, if you can remember something like that,” One of the men said, the other laughed exaggeratedly to drive the insult further. Dabi's jaw tightened at the cruel nickname, he had heard from Spinner that workplaces more often than not don't have protection for workers that deal with heteromorphic discrimination. Another reason for how messed up this hero society is if people's worth depends on how useful their quirks are and if it's desirable.
Keigo quietly made their orders, usually he likes to create small talk to get to know the customer better but for obvious reasons he probably wants to engage with these pricks the least amount possible.
After he made their drinks he waited for them to pay. They placed a bit of cash on the counter and laughed amongst themselves while Keigo counted.
“Hey, this isn't enough money,” Keigo looked at them expectingly and Dabi noticed that he hadn't blinked throughout their entire interaction.
The men laughed, “I didn't know birds could count! Why don't you stick to flying, work is no place for people like you,” He spat out the end of his sentence, his hatred for heteromorphs bleeding through his words. Keigo looked taken back by his words, Dabi guessed that they'd never gone that far before. The anger inside him built up quickly and spilt over the edge.
He grabbed the two laughing men by their necks and turned their heads towards him with a lot of force. He couldn't stop his hands from heating up due to his uncontrollable fury.
Both of the men's eyes widened significantly in shock. “D‐dabi?” One of them managed to stumble out, good, they know who he is, and what he can do.
“If you want to stay alive then never come back here again,” He drove home his message by squeezing their necks tightly and raising the temperature of his hands, certainly burning their skin and making sure that they won't forget about his threat for a long time.
He let go of their necks and watched with a smirk of satisfaction when they ran away in fear, nearly stumbling over their feet in an effort to not get incinerated by Dabi.
He felt a childlike happiness run through his veins. He loves when maggots like those two recognise that they aren't the big shots they think they are and he also loves putting assholes in their place.
Eventually a chill hit him as he realised that Keigo was standing behind him, probably fearing for his life as Dabi just nearly killed two of his customers in front of him. Shit.
He slowly turned around, expecting the worst. He expected rejection, that Keigo would never want him to step foot near him again. It's better to expect the worst because it helps to soften the blow.
Keigo's eyes were wide open, but not with fear, with surprise. “Thank you,” he said breathlessly. Almost as if he couldn't believe what was going on.
“How much did they owe you,” Dabi asks.
“Not much, don't worry about it.” Keigo shakes his head to tell Dabi that it doesn't matter much in the grand scheme of things, it's only two drinks after all.
Dabi ignores him and pulls out the two dickheads wallets that he took while they were distracted with insulting Keigo. He only wishes he could see their faces when they realise all their money is gone.
He pulled out all their cash and placed it on the counter, “Don't worry, it's on them,” Dabi smiled and he threw the remainder of their wallets in the trash.
Keigo still looked confused and shocked, “Why would you do that? Why would you help me?”
“Beacuse I wanted to, and they pissed me off. Those idiots had it coming for them eventually,” Dabi said. He didn't want to admit that he'd been borderline obsessed with him for weeks now and the thought of anyone not appreciating him or his wings drove Dabi, so crazy he wanted to kill anyone who'd ever even thought of talking to Keigo with anything other than pure intent. No he didn't want to say that because Keigo will think he's insane.
Keigo's feathers puffed out a little and based on the small amount (extensive) research Dabi had done on bird behaviour, it means Keigo's is feeling relaxed and calmer which is a good sign.
“Do you still want a coffee?” Keigo asked to change the topic of conversation. He's probably never had someone stand up for him against dickheads like that. Dabi has heard countless stories from Spinner about all the hate he's gotten just for his quirk. All the names he's been called and all the hatred. Dabi also knows about all the groups who want to specifically get rid of heteromorphic quirks by not letting them have children so their quirks won't pass on to future generations. Many people who have these types of quirks don't fit the societal beauty standards leading to even more hardship for them. Dabi knows first hand how differently people treat him because of his scars and patchwork look.
He probably should ask Kurogiri to warp him back home just in case the guys from earlier come back with backup. He's confident that he could kill whoever they bring, he just doesn't want Keigo's cafe to get damaged. On the other hand, maybe he should stay for an hour or several to make sure Keigo's alright.
“Yes please,” He ended up deciding, he did come here for a coffee in the first place. Something about Keigo pulls Dabi toward him like a moth to a flame, or in this case, a flame to a bird.
While Keigo manoeuvres himself around his workspace station to make his coffee, he looks at Dabi with an almost smug look, “So what made the world famous villain Dabi come visit my cafe everyday and become my knight in shining armour,” Keigo teased with a sly grin on his face.
Dabi nearly choked on his next breath. He knew. He knew and he didn't do anything about it. Dabi thought that he'd be able to tell if Keigo was aware of how dangerous he was because his behaviour would've changed, but over the entirety of his visits, Keigo had never treated him with anything other than politeness and occasional teases.
“How long have you known?” Maybe he only recognised him after one of the assholes said his name. There's no way he's known all along.
“I've known all along.”
Well damn. Maybe he did then.
Keigo continued, “You have a very unique look, the second you walked in I knew who you were,” Keigo was referring to his scars that covered his entire body, and Dabi doesn't blame him. It's not like they're not noticeable. For most of his life, people point out his looks, use it as an insult to put him down and make them feel better about themselves. His skin has grown thicker over the years and the looks and comments affect him less now.
Dabi looked a little sheepish after forgetting that he was quite well known so it was kinda ridiculous to expect no one to recognise him, “Yeah I've been told that I stick out like an eyesore with these fuck ugly scars.”
“They're not ugly,” Keigo blurted out before quickly pretending he didn't say anything out of embarrassment. However the blush spread all over his neck gave away how he truly felt.
A smirk fell over Dabi's face, a newfound confidence emerging with Keigo's comment, “What was that?” He pushed, feigning innocence. He leaned forward over the counter, getting into Keigo's space. He enjoyed seeing Keigo avoid eye contact and pretend he didn't say anything.
Keigo focused really hard on a particular spot on the counter and tried to not look at the hot guy so close to him. “I just meant that they're a part of you, just like my wings are a part of me, there's no need to be ashamed of something like that. Your scars show how far you've come and how much you've survived.”
Dabi leaned back. He'd never really thought about it like that. He'd also never had someone think about his scars in a positive way before.
Before Dabi could respond, a coffee was shoved at him. “Here, it's on the house. You took enough money from those guys’ wallets to pay for it anyway,” Keigo was still flushed and embarrassed after their conversation. He hadn't meant to go as deep as he did. He had a big problem with overstepping.
Before Dabi left, Keigo stopped him.
“Is there anything else I can do to repay you,” Keigo asked.
Dabi turned around, “What? Is the free coffee not enough?”
“Not nearly enough, those guys have been bothering and harassing me and some of my customers for months now. What you did back there was amazing and I owe you a massive debt.”
Dabi thought about it for a while, he knew what he wanted deep down but he didn't want to ruin things by pushing things too far. If he loses Keigo because he's an idiot then he wouldn't know what to do with himself. Despite all the logical reasons he should say nothing and leave. The small impulsive part of his brain takes over.
“Is there any chance you'd be willing to go on a date with me?” He asked curiously. He prepared himself for the inevitable rejection.
Keigo smiled wide, “Hell yeah! I'd love to.”
Dabi's heart stopped temporarily. What! He didn't actually think he'd say yes. Toga's gonna make so much fun out of him when she finds out about how awkward he's being.
“Great,” Dabi responded, still processing whatever was going on. He thought about how to proceed in this unfamiliar situation. “When are you free?” He asks. This means he should have plenty of time to sort everything out and get advice from the League on what to do as he doesn't want to mess anything up. Actually now that he thinks about it, Dabi doesn't think anyone in the League has ever dated anyone so maybe they won't be the best people to go for dating advice (or any life advice if he's being honest.)
“I'm free tonight if you are,” Keigo responded, much more confident than Dabi was. “I know a place we can go. There's a restaurant near here that's owned by my best friend, she won't tell the police and also I can ask her for a booth in the back so no one else can see you,” Keigo sounded like he'd planned this for a while, Dabi was shocked by how much he’d thought about issues that may occur such as Dabi being spotted very civilians that may recognise him.
“Sounds like a great idea. When does your day end? I'll come back here and pick you up.”
“I finish usually at five but I have some things to prepare for work tomorrow so I'll be done around half six.”
“Perfect, I'll pick you up then, see you later Birdie,” Dabi paused after the nickname. He didn't mean to say it, it just came out. Shit. What if Keigo hates him for calling him that.
Keigo smiled wider, a healthy flush across his face, “See you then Hotstuff,” He retorted back, giving Dabi his first nickname ever. Maybe Keigo didn't mind then, he'll keep that in mind.
He left the cafe with a small smile on his face that he'd deny if anyone noticed.
When he got back to the League’s hideout, the first thing he did was let them know that he was going out and to not expect him back until late. He disguised it as work.
Originally he was going to tell them that it was a date but he thought that if he did then he would get asked so many questions that he wouldn't be able to leave. Also he didn't want to risk any of them following him to spy on him and Keigo. So he decided to tell them in the morning if everything went well.
At first Toga was sad because he'd miss watching their show that released a new episode weekly but he just told her that he'd watch it again with her and Twice in the morning.
When it came time for him to leave, he said his goodbyes to everyone before asking Kurogiri to warp him to an alleyway near the cafe.
When he arrived outside the cafe he looked up at the moon and the stars, admiring how bright they were in a sea of darkness.
He looked down and saw Keigo standing inside the cafe, the warm ceiling lights making his hair a lovely golden colour. Keigo hadn't noticed him yet, he was still busy finishing up with organising.
Dabi opened the door, the bell that he had become accustomed to over the past few weeks alerted Keigo of his position.
“Dabi!” He exclaimed, happy to see his date. He immediately stopped what he was doing and made his way over to the villain. They were both in their usual clothes as the place they were going wasn't that fancy. Either way Dabi was going to pay for both their meals like a gentleman (he stole another wallet.)
Hawks locked the doors of the cafe before wrapping an arm around one of Dabi's own. They walked slowly down streets, basking in each other's company and talking as if they'd known each other for years. Dabi doesn't know the last time he's felt this happy, he doesn't know if he ever did. There was something about Keigo that made him forget about all of his troubles.
Keigo pointed out constellations in the sky, telling Dabi what each one meant and that he liked to look at them at night while he flew freely through the air. He promised Dabi that one day he'd carry him through the air to let him get the same view. Dabi didn't reveal that he had a fear of heights but he accepted the promise knowing that he could trust Keigo to not let him fall.
They arrived at the restaurant hand in hand and waited for Keigo's friends to guide them to their table.
Eventually a woman with rabbit ears and long white hair arrived. “So Keigo, is this the guy you've been talking about for weeks?” She asked.
“Rumi!” Keigo half whispered as if to tell her to stop. Dabi couldn't help but smile at Keigo's embarrassment and blush.
Even if this is the first date Dabi had ever been on, he knew that it would be better than any other date he could ever go on. He got to know all about Keigo's interesting life and saw how intently Keigo looked at him whenever he revealed anything about himself. He wished this day would never end.
When Dabi returned home that night he felt different, he felt like a fire had been lit in his heart that had been cold and deserted for years.