**This one shot is based off the above fanart 💜 I don't own the art, I found it online 😅**

TW's!!:
Death Penalty

Also this will spoil the Manga, like majorly.

~

It was strange, to say the absolute least. Dabi rarely thought about that little kid he met as a kid, back when he was Touya Todoroki. Not because he didn't like the kid or miss him, but more because... it was hard to think about. It was hard to realize that Dabi had broken out of his cage, but Keigo never did. Unfortunately the bars were too thick or the chains too heavy, whichever the case was, Keigo was still just as trapped as he had been all those years ago.

~

Touya was running, running away. He just needed a moment to himself... maybe he didn't even need his dad to train him, maybe he could do it himself!

As soon as that thought crossed Touya's mind he knew he had to find a place to do just that.

It wasn't that Touya particularly want to be a hero- he didn't not want to be one, but he didn't want to be one either- he just... wanted to be wanted. And if being a hero was the only way to get that Touya supposed he'd have to do that.

It took a while, but Touya finally found a place suitable for his needs. A hill, surrounded by trees to hide what he was doing. The trees could end up a problem, but the young Todoroki was young and he wasn't going to worry about it until he had to.

Touya began training, carefully allowing his fire to grow on his arms until it grew too hot and he had to stop. Best start with baby steps then to move too quickly and end up ash or horribly scarred.

It had been about two hours of nonstop training when Touya felt the strange prick at the back of his neck he got when someone was watching him. The young Todoroki hesitated before continuing his training, deciding that so long as his stalker didn't get in his way it wouldn't be a problem.

"You're doing it wrong," a quiet voice came from behind Touya.

The young Todoroki froze.

"Sorry, it's just... you're doing it wrong."

Touya turned around, watching as a young blonde boy with bright red wings climbed down from a tree with ease.

"What do you know about it?" Touya demanded, unsure why his stalker- he supposed this was the person who was watching him- decided he needed to voice his opinion on the matter.

The winged boy shrugged. "Not much. But you're doing it wrong."

"If you don't know much about it, then how do you know I'm doing anything wrong?" Touya asked, anger slipping into his voice a little.

The boy shrugged again. "It's hurting you. Quirks aren't supposed to do that. So you have to be doing it wrong."

A cold anger brewed inside Touya. He glanced down at his arms, sure enough, bright burns were beginning to color them.

What did this kid even know about it? It wasn't Touya's fault that his quirk hurt him! What was he supposed to do about it?

"My quirk burns me. That's just the way it is. Mind your own business kid." Touya said angrily, turning away.

"Everyone's quirk hurts them if they use it wrong." The winged kid said, ignoring what Touya said. The Todoroki said nothing. "I can tell your body us better made for an ice quirk, or I'm guessing that's what's happening. That's easy to solve. You just have to use it as if it's an ice quirk."

Touya turned back to the kid, glaring at him. "I don't have an ice quirk though, so mind your business and leave me alone."

The kid hesitated then nodded. "Okay. I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to get all up in your face or anything, I just... I'm not super good with people."

Touya didn't answer.

"I'll just go," the kid moved to leave but just as he did so, Touya was hit with a burst of curiosity as young children often are.

"Wait! Are you from around here? I've never seen you before..." Touya said quickly.

The kid turned back, seemingly unsure how to answer.

"I... live near here. But no, you probably haven't seen me. I'm not supposed to leave the building."

"What building?"

The kid didn't answer, so Touya brushed it off.

"Okay... What's your name then?"

The kid looked into Touya's eyes then, and it was strange, the strangest thing Touya had ever experienced. It wasn't that the kid didn't know the answer, it was that whatever the answer was scared him. Somehow... his name terrified him.

"It's..." the kid trailed off.

"I won't tell anyone. If you tell me, I won't tell anyone." Touya said. "But you don't... You don't have to tell me I guess."

"I'll tell you... but what's your name first?"

"Touya," Touya answered, holding out a recently burned hand.

The kid hesitated a moment before carefully taking Touya's hand and shaking it. "...Keigo."

~

Dabi hadn't thought about that first meeting in ages. He thought about other times they'd talked- they hardly called each other by their names anyways, it was more of a thing consistently there, like a shadow. They knew each other's names, but they didn't ever use them.

Touya had usually called Keigo 'birdie' or 'feathers'. Keigo had in turn, usually called Touya 'Ash' or 'Red-head', as if that was clever. He stopped after Touya's hair turned white though, and used Ash instead.

Dabi shook the thoughts away, wondering absent mindedly what could have brought them to the front of his mind anyways.

Hawks, the hero who locked him in this cell, came to the front of his mind. He did look a lot like Keigo... but Keigo wouldn't have done that, Keigo wouldn't have done what Hawks did. Right?

Dabi shook the thought aside and fell asleep on the uncomfortable prison cot.

~

"What did you mean?" Touya asked.

"Hm?"

"When you said I was doing it wrong," Touya clarified. "What did you mean?"

Keigo thought a second before shrugging. "You were using your quirk the same way Endeavor does."

"Does Endeavor do it wrong?"  Touya asked, confused.

Keigo laughed before shaking his head. "You don't have Endeavor's quirk. It's similar, sure, but your body is different. The way you use your quirk wrecks your body. So it's wrong. A quirk isn't a limitation, it's a strength."

"What does that mean? My body isn't made for my quirk, that's just the way it-"

"That's the way everyone's body is though, Touya! Quirks are mutations! They're not natural. Your body just doesn't have the mutation that makes your body immune to fire, so it's like setting a quirkless person on fire. You're burning yourself. You can't use it the same way as Endeavor because he doesn't have that limitation. The way you have to use it is to make it touch as little of your body as possible." Keigo explained.

~

And so Keigo had undone one of Touya's many chains. But Touya, somehow, hadn't even realized at that point just how many chains were slithering their way over Keigo's wrists and ankles, twisting around his waist, strapping over his shoulders and tangling themselves in his beautiful bright red feathers. Keigo had no control over anything anymore. He was the Commission's loyal lap dog, the one who had been broken so thoroughly that he would add chains himself if he was told to.

Hawks was his name now, and that in itself was a chain, warping its way around his throat. Hawks was a hero, Hawks was perfect, Hawks was strong, confident, attractive... Keigo hardly existed anymore beneath the weight of his chains. It was like Hawks was standing in for him.

Keigo wouldn't have done it. Keigo wouldn't have lied his way into the League and Keigo certainly wouldn't have used whatever old feelings Dabi had for him to his advantage.

Hawks didn't think twice about it.

~

Dabi caressed Hawks' cheek softly, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. Hawks giggled, smiling and reaching up to trace Dabi's scars with a gentle touch.

"I love you," Dabi whispered, blue eyes staring into Hawks' golden ones.

Hawks smiled softly and answered easily, "I love you too," the lie slipping off his tongue as though it weren't the worst type of lie- the one that could break and shatter someone's heart, chain them down with pain.

Keigo would've meant it- Keigo did mean it. Perhaps that was why it was so easy to say, because it was true- at least, deep down anyways. But Hawks was lying, and Hawks couldn't care less.

~

"Dabi," Hawks said, jarring the villain mercilessly from his dreams. "Time to go."

"Ah, so I actually get a trial, hm birdie?" Dabi asked, allowing a smirk to grow on his face, the anger at Hawks' betrayal flaring beneath his eyelashes.

Hawks didn't answer, just unlocked the door to Dabi's cell.

"Not gonna say anything? Just gonna walk me to the judge who'll give the order to strap me to a chair and connect the circuits?" Dabi asked dryly, seemingly unworried about his fate.

And in that moment, it was like Keigo's chains snapped, crumbled to ash more efficiently than Shigaraki could've done it. Tears welled up in his eyes and he turned to Dabi, pressing a loving kiss to his lips, one Dabi was too surprised to return or push away.

Keigo pulled back. "Don't talk like that. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry- I..." he trailed off before finishing. "You don't deserve this..."

Dabi didn't know what to say.

"I'll... try to make sure you get off? Maybe if I say something or-"

"Keigo?" Dabi asked softly, interrupting the winged boy.

Keigo stared at him, nodded.

Dabi didn't know what to do or say. It made sense... but Keigo wouldn't...

"I don't know what I was thinking, really I don't! Why can't I stand up to them... Touya, I'm so so sorry, Ill fix this I-"

Dabi kissed him then, silencing him. Tongue's danced in their mouths, the sweet taste of honey and bitter taste of ash mingling in their senses. Salty tears slipped from Keigo's eyes.

Maybe Keigo could stop the judge.

~

Guilty.

And Touya was chained down too, for the final time. As the electricity coursed through his body, Dabi saw those golden eyes rimmed with tears and remembered, years of friendship and the fleeting love they shared.

~

Man that was so bad lmao 😂😂 anyways- hope you liked it yada yada yada see you if I ever get more inspiration.

(1788 words)

Requests are open~