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"This is dumb, I hate this." Hawks says, a deeply unhappy aura emits from where he sits on a moth eaten couch.
Shigaraki watches as Dabi let's out a long suffering sigh, "Oh for fuck's sake-"
"I want a different Secret Santa."
"Stop being a little bitch and just eat the chicken strips!"
" Fuck your chicken strips. Everyone else got thoughtful gifts while you got me a McDonald's Happy Meal ."
Shigaraki sips from the glass of amazing German beer, Twice had insisted on sharing with everyone. Giran had really outdone himself as Twice's Santa. The two were currently sitting at a worn dining table laughing, smoking, and of course, drinking.
Magne sat in the adjacent couch, he sat in, cooing over a photo album Twice had gone to some absurd lengths getting it assembled for her. Spinner stood behind the couch looking at the album over her shoulder failing to hold back any snickers. Shigaraki hadn't yet opened what he'd gotten from him, but honestly he didn't need to check the bag to know it was extra game controllers.
Toga wasn't sitting on the couch but at the foot of it, leaning against Hawks's shoulder, inspecting every piece of makeup she got from him. Spinner was her Santee and she had gotten him a bedazzled machete and a new knife sharpener.
"N'aww babe, c'mon, I thought you loved getting food." Dabi whined, making a show of moving closer to embrace Hawks.
Shigaraki takes another sip from his beer and delights in the pained cry Dabi makes from Hawks aggressive pinching, "You bought this an hour ago, right in front of me you tasteless cunt ."
He can't help but thank whatever god took pity on Hawks, who is currently vice gripping Toga, that she is content with his presence enough that when her swatches smears on her clothes she simply giggles and sips her own beer. He doubts she's tipsy though, as she's been nursing that same glass for a good hour and a half, and the drink was barely a quarter way done.
Just a holly jolly Himiko, he thought with a smirk.
"Ah, ah, fuck , okay I'm sorry- I said I was sorry please let go -"
"Hawks I think that's enough-" Shigaraki starts.
Toga, nonplussed by the sound of Dabi's cries, unveils a knife from within her sleeve, "You wanna borrow my knife?"
" Toga please no -"
"Is it your bitch knife?" Hawks pauses and asks in earnest.
"Yeah."
"Gimme."
Shigaraki sighs, and takes another sip of his beer as Dabi cries out that he refuses to be murdered over chicken nuggets.
"Wait when was this? Who took that pic of me?" Spinner demands, pointing to the photo album Magne had open on the coffee table.
She doesn't bat an eye even with Dabi screaming bloody murder at Hawks, the pair on the ground wrestling each other while Himiko and Tomura watched in bemusement. The couple didn't seem serious in injuring the other yet, the knife Himiko gave Hawks was lying out of reach and mostly forgotten, so Magne didn't feel the need to intervene.
Magne sips her own cup of beer, savoring the warmth and the fruity aroma. All courtesy of Jin. Then waving her hand in a vague direction, "About a month after you joined, can't you read the date on the picture?"
"Okay, but who took the fuck took the pic? It looks so awful."
She shrugs at that. It was Jin who assembled the whole thing, not that she wasn't grateful to receive it. She adored everyone in the League and wished them only the best, so having this physical manifestation of their memories meant everything to her.
Turning the page revealed more awkward pictures of Spinner, who groaned at the sight of them. Magne, upon seeing them, bursts into a fit of giggles.
"It's not funny."
"No, you're right," Magne says in between giggles, "you're very handsome, these are just bad camera angles."
Spinner drags a hand down his face and sighs, "Mhm."
"I'm being serious!"
"I know. Thanks, Magne."
It was fairly loud in the living space, Atsuhiro thinks to himself as he sips his share of the German mixer. Taking a moment to savor the fruity flavor, Kurogiri had just left to go check in on all the noise, though he personally thought it wasn't necessary as Magne was there helping Shigaraki keep an eye on things. Although perhaps that's why he was checking in, since the noise had yet to truly die down. He allowed himself a little smirk at the aggressively approaching footsteps.
Takami-kun sits beside him at the bar in the kitchen, where he angrily plops his gift on the table, gently placing his pint of beer down, and continues chewing on the food. Atsuhiro can spot from the toppled kids meal box the little plastic cheapy was a doll. Maybe? He wasn't actually sure, it had been a while since he checked in to today's toy trends.
Atsuhiro took another sip and watched Takami-kun as he munched unhappily on his chicken nuggets. His eyebrows furrowed, hair and feathers ruffled from roughhousing, shoulders tense. With a practiced ease he stopped himself from chuckling at the sight.
Even still, he did allow his bemusement to seep out, and unashamedly took delight in the dirty look the hero sent his way.
"Shut up," Takami-kun tosses a half eaten chicken nugget back into its box and slamming the lid closed.
"I didn't say anything," Atsuhiro simply states.
"I can hear you think."
"Truly?"
"...Just shut up. Please."
He finally chuckles, and the deadpan expression on the other only egged him on.
The poor hero was in for a long night.
"Its not my fucking fault if I can't afford nice things."
Himiko hums, something vaguely agreeing, holding up the compact mirror and applying the eyeshadow the way Magne taught her.
"And he eats so damn much I figured he wouldn't care."
She glances down at Dabi, who's sitting on the floor with his back against the couch, picking at the gauze wrapped around his forearm, and tells him, "You're an idiot."
He glares at her, "Shut up."
"You got your boyfriend a gag gift, I'm allowed to roast you," she responds.
From across them sitting on a couch, Tomura-kun asks, "Isn't Christmas more a couple's holiday, anyway? You should have been all over this."
"If you hadn't given me all those missions I might have had more time to get a better gift," Dabi responds.
Himiko rolls her eyes, and goes back to applying eyeshadow, "You had like a whole year's notice, not to mention he was your secret santee, you had no excuse."
"I hate this secret Santa thing," Dabi says.
Magne looks up from the photo album with a concerned expression on her face, "You didn't like my gift?"
He sighs, staring at his new black boots in defeat, "No, I absolutely adore it."
She had gotten him a bundle of clothes, rather stylish pieces as well, like the boots. They were thrifted of course, no one in the league besides Giran and Hawks could actually get their hands on expensive and designer brands. Its what made Himiko very happy with her gift, Hawks had gotten her a beautiful set of makeup all in various shades of red.
"Well, birdie really pulled out all the stops for me, and he's the number two hero. I say we totally do this again next year," Himiko says with a wide smile.
Dabi glares at her. Shigaraki takes an audible sip of his beer. Magne comforts Spinner over all the bad photos of him in the album. Today is a good day, she thinks.
There was a weird silence upon entering the kitchen that had Twice pausing a moment before committing to going in.
It was just Compress and Hawks but both were quiet and sipping on their beers. Compress seemed chipper (the holiday spirit motherfucker), while Hawks seemed irritated.
"Sooo," he begins, making his way to the fridge, "what exactly happened in the living room?"
Compress snorts, and Hawks glares at the man some fierce. Sifting through a McDonald's Happy Meal and pulling out a plastic wrap toy, Hawks says, "This is my Secret Santa gift."
It gives Twice pause again, before then going over to refill his pint with some of his own, "That's rough buddy, did you get a hit on him?"
"Toga lent me one of her knife."
"Aw shit even better! Kinda. Wait, did you like actually stab him stab him or did you like, just cut him?"
Hawks takes a quiet moment, sipping his refill, "I gave him a warning cut, thanks for the beer by the way, it's absolutely amazing."
"Hey man, no problem, good drinks are meant to be shared with friends!"
"And what a wonderful drink it is," Compress raises a drink in salute, "We're all grateful for your generosity and your company!"
Twice can't stop the stupid grin that's beginning to hurt his face. These are the days he lives for.
Dabi opens his bedroom window and lights a cigarette, taking a deep drag and feeling the tension in his shoulders finally ease. He lets the smoke fill his lungs and sit there for a moment before exhaling.
It was sometime after 1 AM and the party had ended with some of the members calling it a night and heading back to their respective rooms. The rest, namely Kurogiri, Giran, Compress, Twice, and Hawks decided to keep drinking and worsen their hangovers. Even now, he could hear Giran and Twice cackling over some joke.
He couldn't hear Hawks, and he half hoped he wasn't asleep already splayed out somewhere on one of the couches. He absently smoothed out the creases in the envelope he was holding, Takami Keigo written in graceful cursive on the front. It surprised him that he remembered how to write in English and further still how write cursive English .
Dabi hoped the bird brain could read the language well enough, since even everything inside was also in the same language. It ate him a bit inside to imagine needing to translate its contents aloud. His ears were turning pink just from the thought.
All thoughts then stopped when the door behind him was quietly opened. He turned around and there stood Hawks. Cheeks flush from the alcohol but eyes sharp as always. Their eyes met and Hawks immediately frowned before turning away and making his way to the bed.
Now or never , he thought as he said, "Wait."
Hawks stalls, not facing him, but clearly waiting. A testament, honestly, no matter how badly Dabi fucks up, Hawks waits patiently for him to fix it. Too forgiving, maybe, but he's grateful all the same. He's too good for me , Dabi thinks as he slips the envelope into the hero's hands.
It's an emotional experience neither of them are really prepared for, watching Hawks expression slowly shift from furrowed brows to misty eyes is one Dabi will remember for a long time.
Hawks still doesn't look at him as he reaches out for Dabi's injured forearm, gently holding it, he sniffs and says "I'm not sorry about this."
He huffs a laugh, "S'alright, birdie," and pulls him closer with his uninjured arm, "Look at me."
When he doesn't, Dabi gently grabs hold of the hero's chin and guides him to meet his eyes. They stay there for a moment, lost in their own little world that is each other's eyes. At least, before they break it with a kiss.
It's short, almost chaste, and it ends sooner than Dabi wants it to, but he doesn't chase after more. Instead, opting to simply press their foreheads together, cherishing their closeness.
"You smell like an ashtray," Hawks grumbles.
He pulls away while lifting up the cigarette, with a smirk he offers it. Hawks shocks him by actually accepting, taking a shallow drag and then starts hacking up a lung.
"This shit is disgusting," he says, putting it out on a nearby ashtray.
Dabi presses close again and Hawks starts nuzzling him, making a soft chirping noise, and he smiles "Then why'd you smoke it?"
"Cause," he murmurs, "it smells like you."
"Did you just tell me I smell like shit?"
"Nah, I've smelled smoke my whole life, but you make it feel comforting."
"Cigarette smoke comforts you, Twice must be a security blanket for you," Dabi muses.
Hawks coos, "You all have a way of making me feel safe, of making me feel wanted. I appreciate it."
You wanted to feel comforted , he thinks, and pulls Hawks in closer into an embrace. "Merry Christmas birdie."
"Merry Christmas, you shit."
Dabi laughs and presses a sloppy kiss to Hawks cheek, and wonders what he did right to deserve this man.