I love fics and fan comics of Dabi and Hawks having a kid because I think they’d really try. Are they perfect? Absolutely not, but they'd want to be the best they could be and give their child what they didn't get.
So they would both want to ensure that the kid knows that they love them and that they are not a burden or a mistake and Hawks would spoil the hell out of the kid and make sure they never wonder if they're going to eat that day.
Like do they have issues that would arise? Definitely. There is for sure a lot of learning that needs to happen, and they don't have the best reference on what to do, but they have an extensive list of "What not to do to your child" that they could write a 10 book series.
There is ample space for fluff and angst alike, also I love the fankids that people make for them, they are always so fucking cute!
Life isn't fair to those who don't take what they want
The sooner you take what is yours the happier you'll be
Now that Hawks finally has a family to call his own he won't ever let them go...
If there was one thing Takami Keigo knew for a fact, it was that his life did not matter in the grand scheme of things. His wants and needs would never matter to anyone.
Before he was sold to the commission, his mother neglected him, leaving him to starve and struggle to survive by himself, while turning a blind eye to his father abusing him. They never cared about him living or dying; they didn't even bother to ask the commission what they wanted him for when they sold him.
The commission trained him to be the perfect heroic puppet during the day and a trained assassin by night. They beat him and tortured him to prepare him for the harsh battles he would fight when he was older. None of them cared that a six-year-old couldn’t consent, only increasing his punishments when he would resist the training.
They tried to train all his bird characteristics out of him, calling them unsightly and abnormal. They shaved his talons and fangs down into bleeding little nubs, plucked his tail feathers, and punished him whenever he would release any bird-like sounds. For years, he was convinced everyone would hate him if he let any of these traits show.
He was just a cog in the machine; he would live his life running for other people until he finally broke and was replaced. It was a simple fact that he knew would always be true. That was until he was given the order to infiltrate the League of Villains. Then he met Dabi, and he taught him how to be loved and appreciated in a way he had never known before. He taught him what had happened to him was wrong and that he didn’t have to take the abuse any longer, now that he was here for him. The League treats him like family; they are the only people in his life who have ever truly cared about him. It hurt that a government-sanctioned commission could mistreat him, that villains were what he looked forward to seeing every day.
He was conflicted about whether staying a hero was worth it for a long time. Until he met his baby bird, Tokoyami Fumikage, the then intern was just supposed to be a routine apprentice he took on for three weeks and would never have to see again. But unlike with his previous interns, Hawks found himself absolutely infatuated with Tokoyami and his quirk, Dark Shadow.
He’s not sure if it's because of the avian nature of their quirks or how well they got along, but at the end of the three weeks, Hawks did not want to let Tokoyami go. The kid reminded him of a cuter version of Dabi. He had a sarcastic and serious personality, but would often laugh and indulge Keigo in his games. The boy's little shadow was quite happy and funny to be around too, often blurting out things the other was thinking, but it was fiercely protective of its user and once even snapped at Hawks for simply trying to hug Fumikage when saying goodbye.
For weeks after the internship, Keigo’s mind could not stop drifting away to think about Tokoyami.
Would Tokoyami like this drink? That looks like a sweater Tokoyami would like. Does Tokoyami have a nest? Would he like this blanket for it?
So much that it was distracting him on his patrols, he got a particularly harsh punishment for it from his handlers. But he couldn't help it, his bird brain had latched on to Tokoyami as his chick, and it was not letting him forget. Every time he had to do something, his mind would always lead back to his chick.
Is he eating enough? Has he been preening his feathers correctly? Is there anyone there to keep him warm? Does he have anyone to play with? Is he happy?
Since Hawks couldn't stay focused, he decided it would be okay to visit Tokoyami every once in a while… without telling him. It started off small, just him following the chick to school in the morning, and then watching him walk back to his house. He had to watch out for his little chick since clearly no one was there to protect him! Then it transitioned to looking through his windows, planting feathers in his room to listen in, sneaking into his attic, coming through his window at night, and watching him sleep.
What he realized while watching his chick was that his parents did not love him as much as he could. It's probably because he is so different from them. Neither parent had any avian quirks in their family histories when he researched their genealogy. Tokoyami was a completely random mutation they were not expecting.
They take care of him, give him basic necessities, and don't abuse him, but they don’t love him. They weren't even feeding him the correct diet for a hatchling, for Christ's sake. There were no hugs, no kisses, no affection whatsoever, which isn't a crime, but Keigo could do so much better than that.
There was no way for him to get Tokoyami out of there legally because there was technically no abuse being committed. If anything, he was technically committing a crime by watching a minor. He’s not stalking, okay! He's just protecting his fledgling, rightfully so. But if word ever got out about this, his career would be destroyed.
He was comfortable with the routine, just silently watching over his chick from the shadows. Until the commission informed him that they were looking into Tokoyami for the Paragon program, he had been raised in. They wanted to make him into a full-time assassin. They thought his quirk would be great for taking out large numbers of people quickly. But unlike him, Tokoyami would not be doing any daytime hero work since he has more physical mutations. The commission could never want someone like him in the limelight representing them.
It took everything in Hawks that day not to murder the commission president for daring to even consider using his Tokoyami as an assassin. He knew his chick’s parents wouldn’t fight for him if the commission came knocking. He had to find a way to take his chick for himself once and for all.
So he confessed his sins to the League. He told them everything from how he grew up to how he was bought and raised by the commission. He told them about the infiltration mission and how he had come to love the little family they had despite the spying. And lastly, he told them about his chick and the commission wanting to steal him and put him in the same program he was raised in. They were understandably angry at first, except Dabi, who knew the whole time, but they understood his situation, and they promised they would help him take down the commission and get his chick back.
He fought alongside the League to bring down Hero Society and won. Together, they tore down the commission. He helped his mate kill Endeavor and give his family peace. It was finally over, but… the little bird he was fighting for flew away. During the chaos of the battle, his chick had fled to god knows where with the rest of his class, leaving him behind.
His chick left him… Keigo did everything for him, and he just left to hide away in some desolate hideout with some pest who could never treat him as well as he does. When he finds him, he is going to smother him and love him so much he won't remember the life he had before Keigo.
Tokoyami will be begging for him to never leave again once he is through with him…
---
Dark Shadow knew that while he was his beloved Fumi’s quirk, he was also an entirely separate entity from his brother. He could feel what was going through Fumi’s head, but Fumi could not do the same for him. He is his brother's built-in protector; he’s been caring for Fumi since he emerged as his quirk when no one else would. He could detect the danger that Fumi couldn't feel and respond before he got hurt.
So that is why he is so uneasy around Hawks. Their mentor always acted outwardly kind and warm to them, but Dark Shadow could sense danger radiating off the man. This man could not be trusted around his Fumi. There was something very off about Hawks that Fumi couldn't sense like he could.
The entire internship, he could not rest easily, and he refused to retreat into his brother when Hawks was around. It didn't feel safe to leave Fumi alone with that man.
It all came to a head on the final day of their internship, when Hawks tried to hug Fumi, Dark Shadow lashed out, beak piercing through the skin of the man's hand. Fumi had gotten angry with him for that, but he couldn't help it. That day, the aura surrounding Hawks was suffocating, like a predator stalking their prey, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce.
From then on, Fumi would not believe him when he said he felt Hawk’s presence. Fumi would argue that Hawks was so busy in Fukuoka that he would never have the time to come visit them. He would tell him to stop acting crazy, but Dark Shadow knew that something was very, very wrong, but Fumi just wouldn’t listen.
Darks Shadow’s concerns had come to fruition when they turned on the television one day and saw a video released by Dabi detailing the life of abuse he endured as the son of Endeavour. The video ends only for a news broadcast to begin showing Hawks fighting alongside Dabi of the League of Villains, the duo successfully killing the number two pro hero.
Shortly after Hawks released his video detailing the abuse he went through during his time in the Paragon program. He talked about how he was bought by the commission and was forced to sign a contract at six that meant he would work for them for the rest of his life. He announced that he was done being a hero and he was going to bring down all of those who had wronged him.
Dark Shadow had been correct, but now it's too late for them…
---
As Tokoyami awoke, his eyes wandered groggily, taking in the room he was in. The space was huge with enormous windows and tall ceilings. There were large perches made to look like branches high on the wall for birds to rest on, and large divots in the wall near the ceiling for hiding. The ceiling looked tall enough for someone to fly in there.
He was at the bottom of a large nest with tall, sturdy but soft walls surrounding him. The nest was decorated with many soft pillows and fluffy blankets, which made his avian instincts very happy. He was distracted, cooing in the nest happily; it wasn't until he tried to call out to Dark Shadow that the happy haze taking over his mind shattered. He couldn’t feel Dark Shadow anymore. Why couldn’t he feel him? Then it all came rushing back to him. Hawks had kidnapped him. The mentor he trusted and cared for had betrayed him and taken away his brother.
Tokoyami was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice the distress chirping he was releasing. The boy doesn’t know it, but the distress chirp he was releasing is one used by fledglings to call for their parents.
He was startled out of his cries when something large swooped down from one of the upper levels of the room. The boy hadn’t realized there had been someone else in the room the entire time.
Tokoyami’s feathers ruffled, and his wing flared in response when he realized it was Hawks.
Hawk's eyes widened at the blatant disrespect Fumikage was showing the older avian. Flaring one's wings is an act of dominance in avians, and his chick is clearly not the one in charge here. He knows it's not the chick's fault he doesn’t know much about his avian instincts, but Hawks will not tolerate the fledgling's insolent behavior. He is going to make Tokoyami understand that he is the flock leader and that he must obey him as his fledgling.
Hawks opened his much larger wings, flaring them wide, and began to stalk towards the boy while releasing ear-piercing screeches and warning growls.
“W-wait wait Hawks please stop!” Tokoyami whimpered, the little wings on his back quivering. He didn’t know what he did to get the other man so angry, but this is terrifying. He had never seen the other man act even remotely close to this; he was truly acting like an animal.
Hawks did not respond to the boy, advancing further into the nest. The boy was too small to escape the large nest; he could only try to crawl backward away from the angry avian.
The boy released a terrified chirp when the man pounced on him, screeching close to his face. The boy followed his base instincts, folding back his wings, bowing, and exposing his neck in submission, releasing more terrified chirps. The man loomed over the boy before sinking his fangs into the soft skin of the chick's neck.
Hawks was asserting his dominance over Tokoyami and claiming the orphaned fledgling as his own.
Tokoyami cooed softly as a foreign feeling overtook his mind and body. Suddenly, it was like his mind couldn't register why he had been so afraid of Hawks anymore. His body wouldn't listen to him to get away from the man; his body and mind now think that Hawks is his father.
“Aw, baby bird, look at you.” Hawks cooed, looking down at the boy in his lap, his claim had worked. Fumi was docile and cooing back contently in his arms. Tokoyami was now imprinted onto him; the boy won’t be able to fight back even if he wanted to.
“Fumikage, look at me, please,” Hawks asked gently, cupping the distracted little chick’s cheek and guiding his eyes toward him.
“I'm going to be your new papa. Things are going to be different now that I'm taking care of you. Your old parents, if you can even call them that, didn't love you the way I do. They didn’t treat you like the precious little boy you are, so I'm taking over now. You know that this is for your own good, right, baby? Say yes, Papa, if you understand.” Hawks asked, coaxing the boy out of his hatchling daze.
“Yes, Papa,” Tokoyami warbled out, his mind still hazy. He was sure whatever his papa was saying was true. Fathers always know what is best for their hatchlings.
“Can you turn around and lie on my lap, baby? Papa wants to explain your new rules while preening those cute little wings of yours.” Hawks asked, chirping happily. His chick finally recognized him as his true father!
“Okay, Papa,” Tokoyami chirps, flipping onto his back obediently.
“Good boy,” The man trilled. He had been waiting far too long to preen his fledgling’s wings. He gently smoothed out the downy feathers, coating them evenly with oil and picking out old, broken feathers from past molts. The chick was reduced to a purring puddle on his lap; the poor boy never had anyone to help him with his wings.
“Now that I am taking care of you, you are going to have to listen to everything I say. Some things won’t make sense to you at first because you were never raised with other avians, but you have to trust your papa, okay. I know what's best for you, and I would never hurt you; you just have to listen.” Keigo cooed, fingers coaxing more oil out of the little gland at the base of Fumi’s wings, rubbing it through the soft downy feathers, receiving more content purring from the boy in his lap.
“Okay, Papa… but what about Dark Shadow?” The boy asked through happy purrs. While his mind was easily replacing his distant parents, his heart would not forget his brother, who cared for him more than anyone else had in his entire life. Dark Shadow may just be a quirk, but to Tokoyami, he was his only real family for a long time. Which is pretty sad if you think about it.
“Dark Shadow will have to go away for a little bit because he is a danger to Papa right now. In a couple of months, once you get used to life with me, then we can try to let him roam free, but that won’t be for a long time.” Keigo tried to explain gently, not trying to upset the chick, but that didn't work, judging by the heartbreaking cries he was making.
“Shh, shh, you don’t have to cry, baby, I promise you won’t be alone. You'll have your papa here with you at all times, and then later, once you've proven yourself trustworthy, you’ll meet my mate and your new brother and be able to play all around the manor and attend school with your friends. Things will get better, it will just take some time to get used to, okay?” Keigo cooed, he was so excited to meet Shouto and have him and Fumi stay in his nest, but that won’t be until later. He and his mates' nestlings both need a bit more training before that can happen. The boy just chirped in agreement, getting sleepy from the treatment his wings were receiving.
“Come on, baby, let's take a nap.” The man whispered, lying back and curling around the boy, enjoying the skin-to-skin contact and chirping contentedly.
He finally has his chick safe and happy in his arms.
---
The next couple of months were bliss for Keigo; he had gotten what he had always wanted. His fledgling was finally under his control. At first, it was hard for the boy to get adjusted to his mind running on instincts he’d never used before, but he quickly got used to it with Keigo there to guide him.
The boy was hesitant when it came to his new diet; eating raw meat was not something he had ever done before. He had refused to at first, but after a stern nip from Keigo, the chick accepted the raw food. Now the baby bird will even hunt down little birds in the garden for fun before eating them.
The fledgling acted like they were attached by the hip wherever Keigo goes, Tokoyami must follow, releasing quivering, sullen chirps when he couldn’t. Keigo always had such a smug expression when he would watch the fledgling cry out for him. Just a couple of months ago, his boy wanted absolutely nothing to do with him. Now here he was, absolutely crushed when Keigo had to leave, as all nestlings should be.
---
Tokoyami was ready; his chick had not tried to escape even once in the time he had been here. Keigo wants him to meet the rest of his family, but first, he needs to have a serious conversation with his chosen mate. His hands trembled as his thumb hovered over the call button before finally pressing down. The phone rang a few times before his mate picked up.
“Hey, pretty bird, what's up?” Dabi’s soothing voice rang out through the phone.
“Can you come up here for a bit? I need to talk to you alone.” Hawks uttered nervously.
“Yeah, I’ll be there soon. Is everything alright?” Dabi asked, concerned with the other man's behavior.
“I’m fine, we just need to talk,” Hawks answered, ending the call abruptly. He knows Dabi loves him the way he is, but still asking him to indulge in his more avian habits always makes him so nervous. The League has always been kind and never shown any disgust towards his more bird-like traits, but he has never asked them to take part in any of them, so he’s anxious about how Dabi will react.
The few minutes it took Dabi to come up to their floor felt like hours to Keigo. He wasn’t sure how his mate was going to react to what he wanted to do. The elevator ding rang out into the apartment as the door opened, revealing his concerned-looking mate.
“What's wrong, Kei? You sounded upset over the phone.” Dabi asked, hoping the other man wasn’t trying to break up with him. Keigo belongs to him, they are soulmates, and there is no leaving their relationship. They were made for each other. Dabi could never let his angel go.
“It’s just that Tokoyami has been doing well, and I want you and Shouto to meet him today, but…” Keigo's voice tapered off as he moved his eyes to look anywhere but Dabi.
“But what?” Dabi asked, tipping Kiego’s jaw upward and guiding his eyes toward him.
“You promise you won't get mad?” Keigo asked, golden eyes looking up at him through thick blond lashes.
“I could never be angry at my pretty bird,” Dabi said, soothing Keigo’s frazzled nerves.
“It's just that I don’t know how to have a normal relationship. Red-tailed hawks only have one mate for their entire lives, and you are my chosen mate. And as my mate, your kin become my kin as well. So I was wondering if, when you guys come over to meet the fledgling, can I put my claim on Shouto, and can you put your claim on Fumikage? I want them to be mine just as much as they are yours, but I don't know if you're okay with that.” He already thought of Shouto as his own, but he wants to make it official.
“What kind of claim? How do I do it?” Dabi asked, relieved his little bird didn't want to leave him. He was quite pleased to know that his feelings were reciprocated just as strongly.
“Oh, it's just some bird stuff. If I claim Shouto as my son in front of Fumikage, then the chick will instantly understand that they are now brothers and nestmates, but for Shouto, it will just be a quick little bite. Then you just need to bite Fumi’s neck, and the chick will imprint on you as a parent as well. I understand if you don't want to deal with all this bird stuff. It's okay, really a lot of people don't like this kind of thing- ” Keigo’s frantic ranting was cut off by Dabi cupping his jaw and kissing him, effectively shutting him up.
“Keigo, I would never dismiss any of this kind of stuff. I know how important it is to you. You said you're in it for life, well, so am I. I want all of you. You don’t ever have to be afraid of telling me something like this. I am never leaving you, I will always accept you.” Dabi crooned, looking deeply into the teary golden eyes of his mate. He wishes he could burn down the commission all over again for making Kiego think his avian instincts were disgusting; his angel still can't shake their harsh words to this day, despite Dabi telling him the HPSC was wrong and how much he loves him the way he is.
“You really don’t mind?” Keigo asked, sniffling and wiping his teary eyes.
“I promise, I don't mind at all. I can get Shouto right now if you want. Shouto is so sweet, he won't mind any of this at all once I explain it to him, plus it would be good for him to have another father figure in his life.” Dabi explained, his little brother clearly wants a father in his life, and Dabi wished he could be that for Shouto, but currently, the boy only thinks of him as his big brother. Maybe once he and Keigo move in together and he sees how they interact, both boys will come to see them as their fathers.
“You’re such a good mate.” Keigo swooned, looking at Dabi through half-lidded eyes. Keigo was irrevocably in love with this man who changed his entire world as soon as he entered it. He wishes he could find a way to repay Dabi in some way for all he has done for him. Well… he has some ideas, but that will have to be saved until after the kids are asleep.
“Glad you think so.” Dabi winked with a smirk, walking towards the elevator to retrieve his younger brother. As he rode the elevator down to his floor, he thought about Shouto. He hopes he’ll be happy with this new arrangement; his brother has been missing the rest of their family, so the addition of a new brother will be good for him.
When the doors opened, he strode towards Shou’s room, opening the door to find him napping contentedly while cartoons played quietly on the TV. The floor was scattered with toys, clearly he had been playing for a while before he fell asleep.
Dabi didn't want to wake the sleeping cherub, but he promised Kei he would be up there soon. Well, maybe he can nap with the fledgling in their nest if he’s still tired. He’s sure Keigo would be happy to have both their chicks in the nest. He quietly approached the sleeping boy, gently shaking him, receiving muffled whines and grumbles in response.
“Firefly, it's time to wake up.” Dabi cooed down at his sleeping brother, shaking him a little harder when the boy would not respond.
“Nooo, you said today was a lazy day. Leave me alone.” Shouto whined, lifting his blanket to cover his head. There was no school today, and he wasn't planning on going anywhere; he just wanted to play in his room.
“Well, plans change, come on, firefly. I have someone very special to me that I want you to meet.” The man spoke quietly, trying to rouse the grumpy child from his blanket den.
“But I already met everyone. Don't wanna go.” Shouto pouted from underneath his blankets.
“But Keigo will be sooo sad that you're not with me.” Touya cooed in a teasing tone.
“We're going to see Kei?” Shouto perked up, rising out of his blanket den to meet his brother's eyes. It's not a secret that Keigo is one of Shouto’s favorite people in the manor.
“Yes, but I haven’t been completely honest with you. Do you remember how I described the relationship between everyone in the League?” Dabi asked most of what he had told Shouto had been true; he just left out the fact that he and Keigo were together…in a very un-platonic way…
“You said that you were all family. That Giri-san and Sako-san were the papas, and everyone else was like siblings.” Shouto said in a very matter-of-fact tone. He didn’t know what his brother was talking about. Shouto didn't think Touya treated someone more special than anyone else in the League.
“Well, that's mostly true except that Keigo and I aren't like siblings were a couple,” Dabi said, hoping that's enough for his brother to understand. He really does not want to have the talk with Shouto today.
“A couple of what?” Shouto asked, confused.
“Okay, you're a little confused, and that's okay, it's not your fault. What I meant was that when two people love each other very much, they get into a relationship and love each other even more.” Dabi said, That's a pretty straightforward explanation even Shouto can understand, right?
“So are we a couple?” Never mind, Dabi groaned internally.
“NO! Ahem… Sorry, I didn't mean to yell. What I meant to say is no, we are not. Couples are people who are not related to each other who get married, kiss, and have kids together. Like in that show you like so much, the mommy dog and the daddy dog were strangers at first, then they fell in love, got married, and had babies. Do you get what I'm saying?” Dabi asked. He can’t get any more blunt than that. Shouto is still too innocent for that. God, how do you even begin to explain love to an emotionally stunted kid who has never even seen a healthy relationship in his entire life?
“Oh,” Is all Shouto said, a shocked expression on his face suddenly over taken by a jealous one.
“Does this mean you're going to have a baby?” He doesn’t want a new baby to take his brother's attention away from him.
“Firefly, you are the baby,” Dabi said, amused by his little brother's jealous pout.
“Anyways, I’m bringing this up because since we're together and you're my baby, that makes you Keigo’s baby too. Keigo was wondering if you would like him to be your papa. He already sees you as his kid since you're mine, and you'd have a new brother to play with.” Dabi explained. It's not like Shou has a choice; it's going to happen either way, but he would like his little brother to think his opinion matters.
“A new papa?” Shouto whispered, looking at his big brother with stars in his eyes. He has never had a papa before, only a cold and cruel father who did nothing but hurt him. And a new brother! Not that he doesn’t love the siblings he already has, but they're all so much older than him, having a brother his own age sounds like so much fun! Who did Hawks take again?
“Okay, let's go!” Shouto said excitedly, wiggling impatiently as his brother got him ready for the day. Dabi dressed Shouto in a cute soft set of pajamas with kittens on them, not bothering to dress him in real clothes because he's most likely just going to fall asleep as soon as Hawks is finished with him. He finished brushing the boy's hair and placed him on his hip, heading towards the elevator.
The farther up the elevator went, the more subdued Shouto seemed to get. When the doors opened, he hid his face in Dabi’s neck, not looking towards the avian approaching them.
“Hi Shouto! Did Touya explain what's happening today?” Keigo cooed, trying not to scare the new fledgling.
“Mm hmm,” Shouto mumbled into Touya’s neck.
“And you're okay with it?” Keigo asked, watching with adoring eyes as the boy peeked out of Dabi’s neck to slyly nod in confirmation before hiding once again.
“Yeah,” Shouto answered shyly, still hiding.
“Wow, such a good boy. Dabi, follow me.” Hawks exclaimed in an exaggerated tone similar to one used when trying to soothe a young child.
He led them toward Tokoyami’s bedroom, opening the door and motioning for Touya to place the boy in the nest with his other chick.
“Tokoyami?” Shouto asked, perplexed, as he had forgotten Tokoyami had been one of those who had been picked to be part of the family. He wouldn't call him a close friend or anything, but they got along well enough during the period when they were in hiding.
“Todoroki? What are you doing here?” Fumikage asked, bewildered. This is the first time he's seen anyone outside of Hawks in months.
“Well, remember when I mentioned you meeting my mate once you were a bit more settled into life? Well, this is him and his kid, your new brother,” Hawks explained gently, wanting the transition to go as smoothly as possible.
“Dabi, come here.” Keigo motioned for Touya to enter the large nest. He picked up Tokoyami and placed him in the other's lap. The boy shifted uncomfortably, sitting in the other villain's lap, sending distressed chirps towards Keigo.
“Fumikage, behave yourself.” Hawks said sternly, giving him a warning nip as the chick began to struggle in his mate's arms. The chick settled down and allowed Dabi to tip his head to the side, exposing his neck.
“You're going to need to bite pretty hard for him to get it since you don't have fangs.” Hawks said as he watched his lover sink his teeth into Fumi’s neck, watching the chick's eyes glaze over.
“Look at him, Kei,” Dabi whispered, looking down at the boy chirping and nuzzling into his shirt, big, hazy, red eyes staring at him adoringly. Huh, he could get used to having two adorable little birds in his life.
“Yeah, he’s imprinted pretty hard, now it's Shouto's turn,” Keigo said, watching his mate and his fledgling fondly. Turning to advance towards the frightened-looking boy. Tokoyami’s hazy eyes widened as he watched Hawks pounce onto Shouto, pinning him down. The boy screamed towards his brother for help.
“W-wait, what's happening?! Nii-chan, help!” Shouto yelped, whimpering when Keigo opened his mouth, revealing a set of sharp fangs.
“Calm down, firefly, it's okay, this is just a ritual avians do when welcoming new members into their family. You’re going to be okay, I promise.” Dabi cooed from the other side of the nest, watching his lover slowly sink his teeth into the soft flesh of his brother's neck.
Shouto whimpered as he felt sharp fangs painfully sink into his flesh, squeezing his eyes shut as tightly as possible, feeling tears escape them. Then, as suddenly as they were there, the fangs were gone, and there was something soft and wet lapping at the wound. The sensation made him giggle; it tickled.
He opened his eyes when he felt himself being pulled off the floor of the nest and being nuzzled by two birds. As scary as that was, he was glad he had a new papa and brother, even though his papa is kind of scary... but it's okay, he's used to that.
Tokoyami felt that fuzzy feeling taking over his mind as he was claimed by Dabi and watched Keigo claim Todoroki as his fledgling and his mate as their father. Suddenly, he could no longer see just a distant classmate; this boy was his nestmate, and the other villain their parent. And his brother is in distress!
Fumi quickly crawled out of Dabi’s lap and to the other boy's side, nuzzling him and releasing soothing coos, trying to make his little brother feel better. He calmed down a little once his brother started giggling from their father tending to his wound. He screeched as he pushed their papa out of the way and curled his body around his brother. Papa was the reason his brother had been in so much distress; he watched him with narrowed eyes, releasing warning growls when he would get too close to his brother. While snuggling this close, Fumikage could hear his brother's tummy rumbling, he released demanding hungry cheeps toward their papas to get him food for his little brother.
“Alright, alright, I'm sorry. If I go get you the food, will you forgive your mean ol' papa?” Keigo asked, raising his arms in the air with an amused smile on his face. Well, Fumikage definitely sees Shouto as his little brother now.
“What’s he saying?” Dabi asked, not fluent in bird talk.
“He's angry I made Shouto upset and wants me to go get them a snack. Come on, let's go fix them up something for lunch.” Hawks explained, laughing when he heard Dabi snort as he followed him to the kitchen. Fumikage is attached to Shouto now; it's fine if they leave them alone to bond. He doubts Fumi is going to want to leave the nest with Shouto in there acting like a nestbound hatchling.
As they made lunch, Dabi made Shouto a quick grilled cheese with tomato soup, while Keigo made Fumikage an assortment of raw meats, fruits, and nuts, they talked of their plans for moving in together.
They originally had thought they would have to wait a little longer to officially move in together, but seeing that the boys get along so well, they could do it a lot sooner. When they were done preparing their food, they walked to the chick’s room with the food in hand, only to find the boys sleeping curled around each other like a pair of kittens. Hawks trilled excitedly, seeing both his babies resting in the nest while Dabi shook his head fondly. Oh, well, they can nap for now, they'll put their food away for later.
They tiptoed out of the room, not wanting to wake the nestlings, and settled down on the couch. Keigo resting in Touya’s lap, the pair couldn't help but think life couldn't get better than this. Heroes are over, their chicks are home safely in their nest, and they can finally have the peaceful family life they've always wanted.
A couple of months later
Life has been bliss for the little family. Dabi and Shouto have moved into Keigo’s floor, leaving their old floor vacant for when the rest of their family is found. The chicks have since gotten closer to each other, practically attached by the hip. They go to school together, eat together, play together, and sometimes they even find them sleeping together in each other's rooms. Though that is mostly because none of the other kids are ready to play yet. After the Izuku incident, the others have really cracked down on their kids, not allowing them out unless they are 100% sure they are ready.
The pair is quite the handful, always getting into some sort of trouble together more often than not, resulting in time-outs and sore bottoms. There was the time they wanted to test if Fumikage could actually use his wings to fly or if they were just superficial, so they decided to try to jump off an eight-story balcony. Turns out they do work; he just didn't know how to use them. Thank god Keigo was there in time to catch him.
Or the time they were playing hide and seek with Twice and Toga, and decided to hide in a trash can and were loaded into the back of a garbage truck. They only got to them in time because they got an alert from their collars that they had left the manor. Kiego had flown out just in time to see them screaming as they were dropped into the truck; he then had to chase down the moving vehicle to retrieve his brats.
Hawks never knew having children was going to be this exhausting. Dabi, being the more experienced of the two when it comes to children, just said the boys were testing them and that all kids did it, and they would calm down soon. While it was exhausting, they were happy that the boys felt comfortable enough to act out with them. They know that neither boy ever had the opportunity to do so safely in the environments that they were raised in, and they were glad the chicks felt safe enough to do it with them.
The only problem now was Dark Shadow. Recently, Dabi decided that he would be taking off Shouto’s quirk canceller. The boy had been getting sick often with no explanation. When they took him to the doctor, the man explained it might have to do with his body temperature and what he had grown up accustomed to.
Before Shouto had to wear the collar he rarely got sick because of the temperature his quirk made his body naturally, so with it gone his body isn’t used to not having the extreme temperatures of his quirk to kill of all the bad germs, without it his immune system was going into overdrive trying to make up for the lack of quirk. So they took off the collar. They trusted the boy fully and wanted the best for his health. Though they did replace it with a tracking bracelet for safety.
The issue is that Fumikage saw Shouto with his collar off and questioned why he couldn't have his off, too. It broke their hearts when they saw one of their chicks crying because they didn’t trust him. They tried to explain that it was a different situation since his quirk is sentient. It's not that they trust his brother more; it's just that they don’t trust Dark Shadow. This just led to more tantrums, Shouto joining in because he thinks it's unfair that they weren’t being treated the same.
After a week full of tantrums, crying, and several punishments, they eventually agreed that they would try to release Dark Shadow to try to talk to him, but neither boy could be present. They sedated Fumikage while Shouto was sent off to be watched by Magne. They unlocked the collar, and out came the huge roaring shadow. Dabi unleashed a burst of bright blue flames to keep Dark Shadow at bay. The shadow decreased in size but stayed just as loud.
“What did you do to Fumi?!?!” Dark Shadow screamed, still trying to lash out despite his small form.
“We didn’t do anything to him; he’s happier now than he’s ever been,” Keigo spoke truthfully.
“DON'T LIE TO ME! Just because you take away my ability to come out doesn't mean I'm not there. I can see and feel everything happening to Fumi. So I’ll repeat what I said before. What did you do to him?” The shadow growled, raging against the light, keeping his form small.
“We didn’t do anything to him, honestly,” Hawks said, raising both hands in the air in a placating manner.
“You're still lying! I can feel that you have done something to Fumi’s mind; he's running solely on some sort of chain of command he can’t fight against.” Dark Shadow growled, There is something very wrong with Fumi’s head. He hasn’t acted like this since he was very small.
“Oh, that, that's just our avian instincts, you know, bird to bird,” Keigo replied, since he is the eldest avian, that makes him top of the chain.
“NO I DON'T KNOW YOU FUC-” Dark Shadow screamed, cut off by another burst of flames. Contrary to popular belief, he is a quirk that has nothing to do with birds at all. His user is shaped like a bird, so he is shaped like a bird. He knows nothing about avian instincts; he isn’t even a bird himself. He is just a shadow with consciousness and the ability to fight.
“Okay, simmer down, little shadow. We didn't let you out to have a screaming match. We came to negotiate. The fledgling has been wanting to see you for months, and we are willing to allow you to have contact with him if you follow our rules.” Dabi said sternly.
“As if I would bow to the likes of you scum. I'd rather kill you all and take Fumi with me.” Dark Shadow spat venomously.
“You seem to forget who's in charge here, Dark Shadow. All it takes is one quirk-erasing bullet and you're gone forever. We already have Fumi, we don’t need you, all this is for his sake. So you can either cooperate with us and help protect Fumikage, or you can be erased. Though I suppose you can also remain dormant if you'd like, but I’m sure Fumi will be devastated when we tell him you purposely chose not to see him. The choice is yours.” Hawks purred a teasing smirk on his face. He was bluffing, obviously, he loves the little shadow and doesn't ever want to get rid of him. He's a part of Fumikage, and Kei loves all parts of Fumi, though this particular part is going to be incredibly difficult to manage given the massive amount of power it holds. He needs Dark Shadow to think he is disposable to them, that with the flick of a wrist, they would erase him. He needs him to think that if he ever steps a toe out of line, he will be killed, so he never dares to use that immense power against them.
“I want to see Fumikage. I don’t care what rules I have to follow to see him.” The shadow grumbled angrily, looking to the side. He’s doing this to save Fumi; he would do anything for the boy, even if it means he gets erased.
“Good boy, Dark Shadow, we knew you would make the right choice.” Keigo smiled.
As much as he would like to rip these villains to shreds and steal Fumi away, he has to stay calm. He’ll gain their trust and take Fumi away from here when they least expect it. For now, he'll just have to lay low and behave until the opportunity arises.
Don't worry, Fumikage, I'll fix whatever they did to your mind and get you out of here, I promise.
Extra Time
Dark Shadow’s Danger Sense
Kiego: I just want a hug :(
Dark Shadow: I don’t trust this bird bitch, not one bit
Tokoyami: Why?
Dark Shadow: Idk the vibes are just off
Big brothers are liars
The Heirs of Yesterday Dabi: “The League won't bite, they’re really excited to meet you.”
Birds of a Feather Shouto: This lying ass bitch…
LiTtLe BrOtHeR
Shouto: Hey! Why am I the little brother we’re the same age?
Tokoyami: I was claimed first therefore I am the big brother
Shouto: *pout*
Dark Shadow: Clearly I am the big brother here, both of you are little brothers.
@delphi-thefairy here’s a lil something of Kei being the best uncle
Rody knew it was time to leave when dad came home without mom, something shining in the older man’s eyes, a light that didn’t mean anything good, a light that was dangerous, like a match before it lit an explosion. He knew it was time to go when that match was lit and dad started talking about some man named Flect Turn.
In the dark of night, hidden by the shadows, he packed their backpacks full of essentials. Roro sat awake in bed for him, he’d told them the plan some time ago, but Lala had fallen asleep, which put a hindrance on their plans. Still though, he carried through, he pushed through, lifting his baby sister into his arms to carry her as he and his baby brother snuck out of the house. They had no other family in the area to turn to, all of them would return them to dad, and he didn’t want to know what would happen if they were returned to him after trying to run away.
There was mom’s family, but they lived on the other side of the world, Japan was at least a few hours by plane. And that was where their nearest relative was that wouldn’t turn them back over to their dad, Uncle Kei was not a fan of dad, he’d heard him talk to mom about leaving him many many times.
Mom always laughed and brushed him off and see where that got her now.
With his secret savings stash in his pocket, he makes his way down the street towards the bus station, they had just enough for a bus ticket for all three of them, they’d have to be sneaky getting onto the plane.
Lala sleeps the entire way to the airport before she wakes up, yawns widely, and turns to look out the window. She knows of course that they’re running away to Uncle Kei in Japan.
Rody manages to get them through the security fence, spying around carefully for anyone who could stop them, and they slowly make their way through the airfield searching through the planes for the one heading to Jap–”Rody?” Jumping at the sound of his name, he turns, slowly, meeting the confused eyes of his Uncle Kei. “What’re you doing here at this time of night?”
The oldest Soul shuffles his feet and looks down at his brother and sister. “I know this looks bad but it isn’t what it looks like.”
“No, really now.” Keigo crosses his arm. “So you’re not sneaking around an airfield trying to sneak into a pla–”
“I could ask you the same thing.”
“Oh,” his uncle purrs, smiling when his younger siblings giggle as the man turns to face them completely, away from the green haired boy, a growling blonde, and an even faced dual haired boy. “But I’m not the one sneaking onto the airfield, I’m allowed to be here.”
Lala skips forward, despite Rody’s best attempts at stopping her, and hugs the hero’s leg. “We’re gonna come live with you Uncle Kei! Are you excited!”
Keigo blinks for a moment, in the shere surprise at that statement, scooping the girl up as he glances over at his oldest nephew. “Is that so?” She nods happily and he nuzzles the five year old affectionately as he turns his attention away from his oldest nephew for a moment to coo at the cutie bird in his arms. “Of course I’m excited.” Then his attention returns to his oldest nephew. “Just a huge surprise is all, Cutie Bird, Uncle Kei didn’t know this.”
Roro hops forward before Rody can stop him and latches onto their Uncle’s leg, fingers curling in the fabric of the pant leg of the hero’s costume. “Rody said you did!”
“He did, did he?” The blonde man stares his oldest Nephew down. “He should have told Uncle Kei so he could’ve gotten you three tickets to Tokyo and from there to Fukuoka. Not to mention a larger hotel room for our stay in Tokyo.”
Lala pouts and leans into his shoulder. “Does that mean we can’t come Uncle Kei?”
“Now, did Uncle Kei say that?” He nuzzles the little Cutie Bird affectionately. “No ma’am, that means Uncle Kei has to rebook a hotel with a pool in it so his Cutie Bird can play and have fun and get three extra plane tickets.”
“Sooo….” The older boy rubs the back of his head. “Does that mean I’m not in trouble?”
“Oh no sir.” Rody grimaces at the look he receives. “Not at all. You good sir are in deep trouble.”
He can’t help himself. “Damn.”
…..
Keigo is quickly reminded of his Niece's fear of heights when the plane disembarks the airport and she starts screaming, wincing at the shriek in his ear, he trades places with his oldest Nephew to sit between him and their younger brother. He distracts Lala with his phone, the five year old takes to it like a tadpole takes to water, she ends up hugging his one hand as he holds his phone up for her to watch Spongebob with his other hand. Roro falls asleep against his bicep and Rody curls up in his seat with Pino sleeping on his head.
He stays awake for as long as he can, standing vigil over them, protecting them as they sleep as any good Uncle would, but he succumbs to the inevitable after such a battle they fought and falls asleep surrounded by his cousins sleeping children. He stays awake until the inevitable exhaustion from what had just transpired in the span of several days overcomes him and he falls asleep surrounded by his soon to be adopted (he’s sure) kids.
…..
“Uncle Kei! Uncle Kei!” He looks over from watching Lala play in the shallow end of the pool at the other youngsters call, Roro latches onto his arm and tugs excitedly. “Throw me again! Please!”
“Of course my little rascal.” He hooks his fingers under his arms and tosses him down further into the deep end of the pool. “I’d be happy to.” He turns back to check on Lala for a moment before turning to check on Rody in the hot tub, the teen was fine on his own, but he entered the pool to keep an eye on the five year old and nine year old in the pool.
They hang out in the pool for a few hours, after the pool had technically closed, the pros of being Hawks in Tokyo before he pulls the adult card and says its time for them to go back to their room.
He and Rody take care of their business while the little ones are in the bathtub getting all cleaned up, and the teen’s puffy eyed when they return in new clean pajamas and the teen trades places with them in the bathroom to clean up. Keigo is the last one to get cleaned up, after making sure Roro and Lala are tucked into their bed all nice and snug.
Him and his oldest Nephew are sharing a bed.
Keigo knows his niece and nephews like he knows the back of his hand, so when Rody hesitantly reaches out for his hand, he snatches that small one and tugs him in closer, into his chest, and curls his arm and wing around him. “Get in here, Robin.”
….
“Get his tummy, Uncle Kei!” Roro yells mid laughter as he watches his older brother suffer so horribly under their Uncle’s hands. “Get his tummy!”
“Get his tummy?” Keigo turns his attention from his squealing nephew to his giggling nephew. “Trade me a kiss for the tummy?” The younger boy giggles wildly and smacks a kiss to his lips, so, as a man of their word would, he turns back and claws his fingers into his oldest nephew’s belly which makes him squeal with laughter and arch his back into his fingers. “The tummy, as requested from my favorite little Rosefinch.” Lala rests her head against his as she giggles at their older brother's, completely losing himself like a child (that he still was). “Any requests from the adorable little Lovebird?”
“My turn Uncle Kei!”
Chuckling softly, the man nods, sweeping her up with his right arm, dropping her down onto her giggling older brother, and he claws his fingers into her belly. “Your wish is my command, Cutie Bird.”
Carrying a seven and three year old while half asleep from jetlag yourself is no easy task, but Rody manages, lugging his brother and sister forward in his arms with their shared backpack over his shoulders, stepping out of the busy Fukuoka International Airport and into the deep night time city. He doesn’t read Japanese very well, he can speak it just fine, thanks to mom, Roro and Lala are still learning, so finding his way around a city he’s never been to and trying to find his Uncle’s apartment that he’s never personally seen is going to be an experience.
Finding that no one knows anyone by the name Takami Keigo, he switches tactics, and finds that no one knows where Hawks apartment is. Which, now that he thinks about it, is a good choice, it wouldn’t do for the general populous to know where their number two hero lives.
So he switches to asking for directions to Hawks agency, surely the people there would know who Takami Keigo is, how to get to his apartment, or at the very least how to contact him to let him know that his niece and nephews are here and need him to bring them back to his place. Preferably before the oldest falls asleep and drops all three of them onto the cement.
Stumbling down the street, after asking for directions, he pushes the door to the bright hero agency open with his back, Lala stirs and Pino tweets softly to put her back to sleep.
Rody means to make it to the receptionist desk.
But he passes out from exhaustion first.
…
Rody wakes up alone, in a large plush bed, under warm plush blankets. Yawning widely, he stretches for a moment, Pino chitters next to him on a pillow, and slowly he pushes himself into the sitting position. Looking around, he finds himself in a sparsely furnished bedroom, containing a bed and a desk, really just those two things—no there’s a dresser and flatscreen across from him across from the foot of the bed.
Hearing voices outside the door of the bedroom he resides in, he carefully shoves his blankets away, Pino flies up onto his shoulder, and he pads across the room slowly, cautiously, prey waiting for the predator to snatch it up, or vise versa.
Roro and Lala, he hears his baby siblings on the other side of the door, and another voice, deep but not too much so, his mind whirls and churns for a face and a name to place to that voice—Oh!
Yanking the bedroom door open, he steps out. “Uncle Kei!”
In all his glory, Japan’s Number Two Hero stands there, at the other end of a round table in a pair of basketball shorts, a shirt with a turkey on it, and feathery hair pulled back in a messy bun. Familiar markings and bright gold eyes meet his hazel ones, and a grin flits over both their features, for similar but starkly different reasons.
“Hey kiddo, perfect timing.” He serves his brother and sister a bowl of eggs and a plate of toast. “Breakfast is ready.” Rody makes a face and opens his mouth. “We’ll talk about it later.” Ah, yes, the reason his Uncle undoubtedly got a call at the ass crack of dawn that a teenager bearing an uncanny resemblance to him carrying two young children passed out in the lobby of his Agency, of course they’d come back to talk about that. “In the meantime, come get something to eat, we’ll talk after breakfast.”
Rody nods faintly. “Without—”
Keigo nods firmly. “You and me. I know. I can find something for the rug rats to do while we talk. There’s food. You’re as thin as a stick. Come get food.”
…
Following breakfast, and the excited chatter of the youngest two Souls being reunited with their favorite (only) Uncle, Keigo sets them up in the living room with a movie, just released, hasn’t even hit theatres yet (Oh the perks of being in the top three) and guides his older nephew into his bedroom for the talk they needed to very much have.
“Okay kid, spill.” The blonde man gestures for the teen to follow him forward and flops down onto his bed, patting the spot next to him, Rody climbs up after a moment’s hesitation, and ducks into the man’s side when he lifts his arm for him to do just that. It’s been years since he last got to….cuddle with someone….he’s not turning down this opportunity. So he lays on is Uncle’s left wing, curled under his left arm, his head resting against his chest. “What made you think coming all the way from Otheon to Japan on your own with a nine year old and five year old was a good idea?”
“I think dad killed mom.” Rody decides there’s no use for preamble and gets directly to the point. “He was working for Flect Turn, Smurf Thanos was what I called him behind dad’s back, anyway, yea, mom’s dead, pretty sure, and dad had something to do with it.”
Keigo makes a face, scratching at his Nephew’s shoulder, frowning lightly. “That’s a hefty accusation to hold over someone, Rody, do you have any solid evidence to point to the truth in your accusation?”
He falls silent for a moment, his throat closing, chest tightening, as his mind rewinds back to the—“Yes. I have pictures.”
“Right.” The Japanese hero nods. “Why didn’t you take this to the authorities in Otheon?”
“Because they wouldn’t care.” Rody turns his head slightly, feeling his Uncles stubble brush over the top of his ear. “They wouldn’t do anything. Not like you would.”
Solidly, that’s true, Keigo knows the kind of city his Cousin and her children (and her shitty husband) lived in. To think, coming all the way to Japan to get justice for your own mother’s murder in a whole other country, it was a sad thought.
“We had no one else to go to, Uncle Kei, and if the authorities heard….” The brunette inhales a moment to steady himself. “They would have separated us and I couldn’t let that happen.”
“Right, they would have, because of course they’d treat it as a missing persons case and not a homicide even if you had photographic evidence of the latter.” The hero moves his hand up to wined his fingers through his nephew’s hair so he can scratch at his scalp. “If they treated it as a homicide case, she’d be assumed dead until actually confirmed and your photographic evidence proven to be unaltered, her Will explicitly states that the custody of any children she has is to be transferred over to one Takami Keigo, otherwise known as Hawks, meaning me.” He hums and rests his chin on his Nephew’s soft hair. “But they wouldn’t do that, it wouldn’t get that far, they wouldn’t even look at it as a missing person’s case, they’d look at it as a sixteen year old taking care of a seven year old and a three year old with no parents in sight and split you three up in the foster system.” Keigo heaves a sigh. “There’s not much I can do, Rodes. I have no ties to Otheon.”
Rody lifts his head at that, meeting his Uncle’s sad gold eyes, his own blown wide in horror. “Uncle Kei—”
“About your mom.” The hero smiles in a soothing manner. “I can open an investigation but I can’t promise results, even with the photographic evidence you have, Otheon isn’t Fukuoka when it comes to it’s Justice System.” He pokes the teen on the nose. “But, I can secure custody of you three so you won’t be separated. You’re father legally abandoned you, thus he has hardly any claim to you in regards to any parental rights, I can scoop those up with no problem, it’ll just take a week or so.”
The brunette nods faintly, turning his head slightly as he continues to nod to himself, before settling back down against his Uncle’s side. “What if he does come back?”
“And think he can stand a chance against me?” Keigo snorts. “It’ll snow in hell before he can beat me in a custody battle for you guys. You’re safe here. You’re not going anywhere.”
…
One week later, Lala and Roro are enrolled into Fukuoka Public Schools, Rody is enrolled into online schooling because he opted out of in person high school experience, and all three Souls are comfortably and legally under the permanent care of Japan’s Number Two hero.
“Let me see these two toes.” The teen shrieks with laughter, laying belly down on what his Uncle aptly called his nest, a conversation pit filled to the brim with blankets and pillows, cackling brightly as an electric toothbrush is stuck between his toes slowly, one by one. “These last two were always the worst ones.”
Rody’s online classes were in the morning, when his Uncle’s work shift started, his classes ended two hours before his brother and sister were supposed to get home from school, and his Uncle’s hero work ended just ten minutes after his school did, and after a fifteen minute flight home, that left them with at least a little over an hour and a half of time together with just the two of them—the teen squeals loudly, toes clenching tightly as the toothbrush is stuck between his fourth and fifth toe, toes clenching for a moment before wiggling wildly and fanning out, before the cycle repeats itself.
“Oh, these ones are nice.”
Keigo smiles when his nephew squeals loudly into the pillow he’s pressing his face into, his left leg secure under his right leg, laying belly down between his legs, his right foot jerking as much as it can in his hold, utilizing the toothbrush like the pro he is to wreck as much destruction as he possibly can on his poor tickle monster deprived Nephew.
No more.
He has a tickle monster to torment him now.
The man’s been taking the task up daily since the beginning of the week.
He hums when the teen pounds his fists into the pillows around his head, trying to yank his foot free, which only makes him tighten his grip, curl a feather around his ankle so he can curl a finger around the big toe to keep him from clenching them up and running his toothbrush over the backs of all five toes as punishment for trying to yank his foot free.
The boy screams and squeals, fingers curling tightly in the pillows his fists had been pounding against only moments prior, as he lifts his head to plead for the mercy they both knew he was not going to get from one of the Great Takami Tickle Monsters.
One of them.
No one could out Tickle Monster Great Uncle Kettie.
No one.
Rody has been on the receiving end of Great Uncle Kettie’s torturous side before, he’d take Uncle Kei over Great Uncle Ket any day, even if Uncle Kei was a close second.
Keigo looks up when fingers curl around his feet and laughs when his Nephew tries to push himself forward with them, and drops his toothbrush, spidering his fingers up the back of leg, his calf, spends a moment under his knee, before meeting his thigh and kneading in deeply. The teen’s laughter raises in octave and he kicks now that he’s not holding onto his ankle.
That’s fine, he just moves over to his left thigh, the left leg still trapped under his right leg. “That’s right my little Robin, let me hear it, let me hear that adorable laugh. Coochie coochie coo, Baby Robin.”
“Uhuhuhuhuhuncle Keheheheheei! Uhuhuhuuncle Keheheheheheei pleheheheheheheease! Ihihihihihiit’d sohohohohoo bahhahahahhhahahahahaad!” (Uncle Kei! Uncle Kei please! It’s so bad!) Rody pounds his fists against the pillows once more, Pino, the traitor, chittering happily above his head. “Nohohohohot thehehehehheheere!!! Nohohohohot thehehehehehere! Plehehehehehheheease!” (Not there! Not there! Please!)
The hero lifts his leg and the boy is real quick in yanking his leg free, finally able to pull himself away, rolling over into his side as he giggles deliriously. Pino, the constant companion traitor, tweets wildly, and Rody glares at her as he get’s his giggling under control.
“C’mere.” Fingers curl around his ankles and tug him down, back between his Uncle’s legs, fingers massage his hips gently. “That’s better. So serious all the time. I’m not gonna let it continue to slide mister. I’ll tickle torture you how ever many times I need to in order to fix that.” Keigo grins at his smiling Nephew. “And you like it.”
Rody gasps indignantly. “Do not!”
“Mhmm.” The man looks up to his quirk companion. “Pino?” The little bird tweets and hops, flapping her little wings excitedly, and the avian man nods as he turns his attention back to his Nephew. “Wanna try again?”
“I hate you Pino.” The brunette glares at his companion. “I hate you.” The little bird chirps sadly and folds in on herself. “Okay, okay, I don’t hate you, stop being so pitiful.” He turns his attention to his amused Uncle and makes a face up at him. “I do hate you though.”
“Is that someone—” The hero forgoes the gentle massage on his Nephew’s hips in favor of poking around his belly lightly. “Asking me to continue torturing him by telling lies?” Keigo shakes his head down at his giggling nephew. “Say you love me.” Rody shakes his head and bats at his Uncle’s fingers poking playfully around his belly, at least they were—okay there they go sneaking up under his shirt! “Tell me you love me.” The teen squeals and arches his back when ten fingers claw into his belly viciously. “Say you love me, Robin.” To his credit, he does try and get the words out, he really does, but he’s laughing much too hard to say much of anything in all actuality. “You can’t can you? Your tummy is just too ticklish, isn’t it? It sure is, yes sir, it sure is.” Fingers knead into his lower belly and he cackles brightly. “Unfortunately for you, I’m not stopping until you say you love me and I can hear and understand it.” It takes him a whooping ten minutes to get the words out in a way that appeases his torturous Uncle and the tickle claws finally pull away, leaving him a panting mess, something Rody doesn’t mind being, he liked these moments he got to have with his Uncle. “I knew you loved me the entire time.”
Throwing his hands up, the brunette teenager groans as he covers his face with his hands but smiles into his palms. “I do love you Uncle Kei.”
“I know you do.” The winged man chirps. “I’m a man that’s hard not to love.”
“Uncle Kei you just ruined it!”
…
“Rody!” Those witnessing Hawks landing roughly just beyond the Medics and Police line in the aftermath of the USF are immensely confused, especially when he starts calling out a name, and heads turn one way and the other in an attempt to spot whoever was special enough to garner the Number Two Hero’s attention. “Rody where are you!”
Officers and medics move out of the winged man’s way as he comes running through, just barely remembering to tuck his wings into his back to avoid smacking people, looking between faces for someone, the one he’s calling for. “Uncle Kei!” Heads turn at the responding call, watching the noodle haired boy who’d joined their class as a guest run forward, his bird companion tweeting and chirping, slamming into the winged man as he curls around him tightly. “Uncle Kei it was so scary!”
“It’s okay, little Robin, everything’s okay.” Hawks curls around the boy in turn, an arm around his back, a hand around the back of his head. “You’re safe now. Uncle Kei’s here. I got you.” They hold onto each other for a long moment before the man pushes him back slightly. “Are you okay? Do you have any injuries? Did you get hurt?”
“I’m okay, Uncle Kei.” Rody steps back into the man’s arms, curling around him again, just wanting to feel safe for the time being. While they were still here. Until they get home. “I promise I’m okay.”
Kudos goes to @korathefairy for this piece as all the kudos go to them for every Uncle Keigo piece!
Hawks.
Deku had said he was meeting his friends, Endeavor, and Hawks at the airport. Hawks. The winged man was going to be there. Hawks.
Rody can’t remember having moved that fast in a long time, stuffing random objects in a bag, dragging his baby brother and sister out of their trailer, rushing to get to the airport before the plane took off.
Which brings them to where they are now, running from airport security after having jumped and dashed through the check point. There was no telling if dad was coming back, mom definitely wasn’t, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to be there if the old man did turn up. And if he didn’t want to be there then he sure as hell didn’t want Roro and Lala to be there.
The brunette teen yelps when his legs just suddenly give out under him, a paralysis quirk, handy, Roro and Lala yelp with him as they’re tugged back at his sudden fall. “Go!” He pushes them forward as the footsteps of the approaching security officers get louder and louder. “Go! Uncle Kei! Remember! Big red wings! Roro you’re in charge! Find Uncle Kei!”
His baby brother looks hesitant but nods, tugging their sister up with him, disappearing into the crowd of persons.
…
Hawks was minding his own, surfing through his twitter feed, half listening to the gaggle of teenagers around him and Endeavor attempt to draw his unwilling son into a pitiful conversation. He was in the process of commenting on a post when a body slams into his legs from behind, little fingers curl tightly in his feathers, and he nearly drops his phone.
“Uncle Kei!”
Uncle Kei? He wasn’t an Uncle—Wait—No—“Roro?” Turning quickly, hissing at the feathers that are torn from his wing as he spins around, staring down into young hazel eyes, a little girl and a little boy holding onto his legs for dear life. “Roro? Lala?”
“Uncle Kei!” Lala tugs on his jacket. “They took Rody! You have to save him!”
“On it chickling!” Uncle Kei was in charge now, not Takami Keigo, not Hawks, Uncle Kei was at the wheel. He’d explain later, to the inquisitive eyes and deep voice verbalizing all of their confusion. “Uncle Kei’s got it!” Sweeping the five and nine year old up into his arms, he strides forward, meeting the security officers midway at the entrance to the gate. Ten little fingers curl in the shoulders of his jacket, and he flares his wings slightly unconsciously when the two men reach out to take his precious little niece and nephew from him. The two fledglings whimper fearfully and heated little faces press into the sides of his neck. “There’s a third one. Looks like them. But older. Where is he?”
“Sir they entered illegally—”
“They’re my family.” Now it’s Hawks at the wheel. “It wouldn’t look good for the ones in charge to be known as the ones who kept Japan’s Number Two Hero away from his family, you don’t want that image over you, do you?” He takes pleasure in the way their faces pale and his little bundles of joy giggle at his threat. “That’s what I thought.”
And Uncle Kei takes back command when the two men promise to return with the oldest boy as they turn and disappear, as he turns his attention to the two nestlings on his arms. “You’re both so light, do you eat? Are you eating enough? Imma have to fatten you up a bit. Chicks shouldn’t be this light.” He turns back to the others as he stealthily manages to get a few of his feathers up the kiddies shirts and they shriek with giggles as they flutter over their bellies for a few moments. “So that way I can play with chubby chick tummies like Uncle Kei used to do before your mommy went away.”
“Missed you Uncle Kei!” Lala throws her arms around his neck as Roro curls his fingers in the feathers of his right wing, he nuzzles the little girl lightly, and pulls his right wing in closer for the little boy. “Missed you a lot!”
Uncle Kei keeps command of the mothership as the third Soul appears, the oldest of the brunettes, familiar little chick on his shoulder. Rody Soul doesn’t utter a word as he steps away from the two security guards who came to get him from that room, his eyes look between Lala and Roro as he steps into the hero, pressing his face into his chest. Keigo would curl his arms around him if he hadn’t had them full already with two other baby birds, so he settles on curling his wings around them and brushing his lips over his oldest nephew’s forehead. “Hey Chickadee.”
“Uncle Kei…..” Rody finally finds the strength to lift his arms, curling them around his Uncle’s neck with Lala’s, and just holds on, fingers curling around the collar of the man’s jacket. “Can we come back home with you?” Tired hazel eyes finally meet concerned gold when the teen pulls back slightly. “Please Uncle Kei?”
Keigo eyes him with concern, the bags under his eyes, the way he’s seemingly asleep dead on his feet but managing to continue standing, and nods as he nuzzles the teen hanging onto him. “Of course you can, chickadee, all three of my fledglings can come back home with me.”
“Rody?” Red wings uncurl from around them, and the four turn at the other teen’s call, concerned curious emerald eyes meet theirs. “You’re okay?”
“Yea Deku.” Rody smiles lazily as he leans into his Uncle’s chest. “I’m just fine.”
“You’re okay?” Keigo interjects himself immediately. “What’s he mean? Why wouldn’t you be okay? Did something happen?”
Rody makes a hand gesture when his Uncle’s eyes leave him and return to the hero student, Deku does not read the room, and spills. “He got stabbed.”
“You got what!” Lala and Roro yelp and shriek with giggles when they’re snatched up out of their Uncle’s arms by a dozen feathers or so as the man himself reaches out for the boy in front of him. “Where? How bad is it? Was it treated?” Rody fights his mother hen Uncle off as best as he can, batting at his hands, twisting and turning as he tries to dance out of his reach, until he inadvertently gives his injury away when fingers ghost over his side and he flinches. “Ha! Found it!” The teenager decides his struggle isn’t worth it as the man lifts the side of his shirt to examine the bandaged wound, humming and tsking under his breath as he pokes and prods at it gently. “It doesn’t seem so bad, more so that it’s been tended to appropriately but we’ll take a better look at it when we get home.”
“Uncle Kei…..” Rody just can’t handle having an adult fretting over him at the moment and flops forward, his Uncle is a true G, and is ready to catch him in his arms when he flops forward against him. “Stop being such a worrywart.”
The man chuckles, pressing a kiss to the top of his nephew’s head. “I can’t help it, Robin, you of all people need someone to mother hen over you, just let it happen, because I’m going mother hen all three of you so hard, I know who’s been taking care of things in your mom’s disappearance and your dad’s extra curriculars.” He scratches at the back of the boy’s head. “Which also means you’re gonna catch some Z’s on the plane back.”
Keigo turns, resting his chin on his oldest Nephew’s head to watch his youngest Nephew and little Neice giggle as they hover beside them thanks to his feathers. “Isn’t that right, baby birds?”
Lala giggles and reaches out to catch one of his feathers. “Yep!”
“Hawks is your Uncle!” Rody hums into his Uncle’s chest at Deku’s exclamation, he’s at peace, he’s in a good place, fingers massaging the back of his neck gently are just the right thing he needs to start relieving the tension and pressure he’s been carrying since he was ten and dad took mom out for a day trip and she didn’t come back and dad started leaving for days on end. “That’s so cool! Why didn’t you say so!”
Keigo holds a finger up to his lips when his two baby chicks giggle at their older brother’s lack of response as he’s dozing off against their Uncle’s chest. “Sshhh he’s falling asleep.”
“Hawks.” The winged hero ignores the older man behind him as he carefully scoops his teenage Nephew up into his arms, humming under his breath to keep him dozing against his shoulder. Little Robin, still just as adorable now as he was when he was a baby Robin and Keigo turns to face the older hero. “Who are these children?” Bless his heart. Endeavor was trying. “Do you know them?”
Dumb question, let it go Kei, you’ve got a baby bird dozing off against your shoulder. “For sure, these are my Nephews, Roro and Rody, and my adorable little Neice Lala. My cousin’s kids.” He sends them all a stern glare. “Now sshhh, my little Robin’s falling asleep, he needs it, don’t wake him up.” That reminds him as he turns to the woman at the desk. “I need three extra tickets for Tokyo to Fukuoka.” The woman at the desk nods and starts typing on her computer, not asking any questions, and he turns to his baby birds, completely ignoring the other hero and herolings around him, his nephew sleeping (Rody will later deny this fact but Roro and Lala will disagree) in his arms and grins up at the little ones hovering in the air. “Remember our famous hide and seek games?” Lala and Roro giggle wildly and he smiles. “Oh yea, you remember.”
…
Keigo easily carries his sleeping nephew onto the plane and his feathers carry his youngest niece and nephew with him, heading for their seats, up front, their seating arrangements changed at the last minute to accommodate the extra persons coming with him (and the fact that Hawks refused to let them sit next to anyone else and especially complete strangers—especially Roro and Lala considering the obvious) and sends most of his feathers into the backpack hanging off his shoulder so he can sit, and rests his sleeping nephew across his lap.
Rody stirs, Pino cheeps softly in an attempt to get him back to sleep, Keigo coos at the little bird and hums, brushing his fingers through his Nephew’s long hair that was let down when he was undoubtedly manhandled into a room out of the public’s view. The teen settles back down after a few moments, his quirk companion quietens down.
…
“Okay you have thirty seconds to find a hiding spot, and if you get found,” all three Souls smile, the youngest two giggle, they were working on the oldest ones giggles, when he wiggles his fingers at them. “You face the tickle monster.”
Keigo turns, covering his eyes with his hands, and starts counting out loud. Listening to the youngest two giggle as they dart off, he knows the boy tries to hold them back, but he picks up on his oldest nephews muffled giggles as he darts away for his own hiding spot.
Thirty seconds later he’s off on the hunt.
He comes across Roro first, the nine year old hiding under the bed, his bed, and he makes a show of walking around the room before pausing at the foot of the bed just to let the anxiety build. The giggles grow as the anticipation builds, and just when they reach their peak, he snags him out from under his bed with his feathers.
“Found you Ro!” The nine year old squeals with laughter when he claws his fingers into his chubby tummy, little hands batting at his, which inadvertently lets his little top fall down and expose his chubby tummy. “That means I get a minute with this tummy!”
One minute later he’s letting the giggling boy down onto his feet, watching him giggle as he darts off to find another hiding spot, and shakes his head fondly as he turns to exit the nine year old’s room in search of his other two targets.
Keigo finds his adorable little Neice next, hiding in the closet with the linens, they make eye contact and she giggles adorably as he leans forward against the shelf she’s huddled up on. “Hey little cutie bird.”
Lala giggles into her little hand. “Hi Tickle Monster.”
Stealthily, he reaches out for one of those itty bitty bare feet, and scratches the sole with his talon, which makes her giggle harder. “You know what happens now?”
“Uh….” The five year old tilts her head cutely. “I get cuddles?”
Oh, and if this little cutie bird doesn’t have him wrapped around her adorable little finger, there goes the Tickle Monster right out the door and in his place arrives the just as infamous Cuddle Monster. “This little cutie bird gets cuddles?” He smiles softly when she nods. “Well get down here so the Cuddle Monster can deliver.” Lala giggles and uncurls, crawling across the shelf to drop down into his arms, and he coos at her, cradling her close. “The Cuddle Monster missed his little Cutie Bird.”
The little brunette five year old coos softly and kisses his cheek. “I missed you too Uncle Kei.”
“Aww La, don’t you know how to melt this old man’s heart.” Keigo nuzzles her affectionately. “You got me wrapped around that adorable little finger, you know that?”
She giggles adorably. “I know Uncle Kei.”
“Well good.” He peppers her face with kisses until she’d nice and giggly before setting her down on her feet. “You go on and find another hiding spot while I search for your big brother. He’s got a meeting with the Tickle Monster coming his way.”
Watching her go in search of another hiding spot, he finds himself with the task of finding his oldest nephew, no easy feat mind you, Rody’s good at not being found when he doesn’t want to be found.
He finds him though, he’s a predator, a hunter, and this hunter always finds his prey.
Curling his arms back behind him, Keigo watches his feathers drag his oldest Nephew out of the vent above his head, shrieking and cackling as he’s playfully assaulted by a number of feathers. Over his neck, under his shirt over his belly, flicking over his soles, between his toes.
If anyone needs a good laugh it’s his little Robin.
…
Keigo’s joined first by his youngest nephew and niece, Roro and Lala creeping into his bedroom late into the night of a crisp Autumn Thursday, the two children sniffling about something he has no knowledge of, which only serves to make his mama hen senses tingle because he needs to know what has his beloved fledglings so distraught so he can make it better.
“U—Uncle K—Kei?” A little finger pokes his cheek. “Are—Are you s—sleeping?” Little Roro’s voice is so small and it breaks his heart. “U—Uncle Kei?”
“Yea?” Sitting up, he scoops the nestlings up onto his bed with his feathers, and they crawl up into his lap. Lala doesn’t speak, sniffling into her stuffed bunny, a gift he’d given her when he realized they left her real bunny back at their home in Otheon, she took to it like a fish takes to water. “What’s the matter fledglings, what can Uncle Kei do to make it better?”
Roro sniffles and leans into his shoulder. “We had a dream about mommy.”
That’s not a good introduction to the root cause of the problem. “What about mommy?”
“Daddy was so mad, Uncle Kei, he was mad at mommy because we had quirks and we weren’t right, and mommy was crying and—”
“He’s talking about the day mom left and didn’t come back.” He lifts his gaze from his little Neice and Nephew and meets the oldests stony eyes. “Dad said she left on her own. But we all know that’s not true. Dad did something, we’re sure of it, but we were too poor to do an investigation, and couldn’t prove anything. We weren’t even allowed to talk about her after that day.” Rody looks over to Pino on his shoulder, silent at the moment, no need to express an emotion he was portraying willingly. “She’s either dead and buried in a shallow grave or worse…”
Keigo stares at his oldest Nephew for a long moment before looking back to the two youngest in his lap. “Well, we’re gonna find out what happened to mommy, first thing in the morning, I’ll start us an investigation, we’ll find her.” Dead or alive.
Deep down, in his gut, his soul, he already knew what happened to her. It wasn’t because of any confirmation or knowledge with proven fact, but intuition. She was gone. Miko was gone and she wasn’t coming back. She loved her three kids, she loved them more then life itself, for her to leave them supposedly willingly with their so called father was a bunch of horse shit. She sent him enough photos of them that he’d been able to make himself four photo albums.
He knew her fate already but wouldn’t say anything to the younglings until it was confirmed.
So he nods to himself, and to the kids, lifting his eyes back to meet his Nephew Rody’s. “Come on squirt, we’ll all sleep here tonight, family cuddle pile.”
Keigo lies awake for a long time after that, Lala draped over his chest sleeping contentedly and peacefully, Roro sleeping curled around his left arm, holding on tight, Rody sleeping under his right arm, over his right wing. His mind drifting to his surely deceased Cousin and their near daily phone calls, trying to remember if there was any possible hidden warning to possible foul play in her near future in their conversations.
He finds out what happened to his Cousin Miko two weeks later, sees the photographic evidence, and decides then and there, staring down at the photos in horror at what his cousin had been reduced to, that he’s not going to show them to his adopted kids, Neice and Nephews. They’re too gruesome, and he doesn’t mean to be as harsh as he was when Rody argues with him about his right to see what they’d found, he doesn’t mean to snap and threaten him with a trip over his lap right then and there if he didn’t cool it, but there was no way in high heaven he was letting them see their mom in the way she was found.
Instead they make a shrine, which they know they only do in the event of a loved one’s passing and pay their respects. Roro and Lala don’t quite understand, well, Lala doesn’t, but she knows as they make the shrine that mommy’s not coming back ever. Rody falls silent and the arguing stops as he helps them build their memorial shrine for their mom who was confirmed to never be coming back for them and it wasn’t a decision made by her hand.
Keigo later holds his oldest Nephew as he breaks down with the knowledge that the last thing he said to his mom was ‘see you later mom’ and if he had known he wouldn’t, he would have said so much more. Pino cheeping and crying and tweeting on his shoulder in her own distress, he coos and chirps at the little birdie as he curls around his oldest nephew, hiding him from the world in his moment of…..not weakness, no…..in his moment of expressed grief.
…
“Hey Uncle Kei?” With Lala and Roro off at school and the teenager opting into online schooling because he was a homebody and didn’t want to change out of his pajama pants for him to go to class (and if Keigo, a great A+ Uncle, didn’t feel that in his soul), Rody lays himself down over his Uncle’s lap despite the fact he was clearly doing something on his phone, and lays there for a long moment. “Uncle Keeiiiii?”
Keigo chuckles softly. “Yes Rodes?”
“I’m bored.”
“Well.” The hero pokes at his nephew’s belly. “This tummy is in prime position for me to provide some entertainment.”
Rody realizes the conundrum he’s wormed his way into. “Wait wait wait!”
“No no, I’ll provide some entertainment for my dearest beloved Nephew.” Keigo pulls the boy’s hands away. “If you don’t move while I’m playing with this tummy all ready for me to play with I’ll let you go on a training mission with Deku and his friends.”
The brunette entertains the offer. “And if I don’t?”
The winged man hums. “I adjust our position and blow raspberries into this tummy for two minutes consecutively.”
Rody contemplates this and nods, forcing his arms to rest at his sides firmly, and nods with an expression of grim concentration. “Deal.”
“Great!” Keigo tugs his nephews shirt up in preparation. “You’re not gonna last a second.”
“I got this.”
He cracks his fingers teasingly. “You think so?”
His teenage nephew nods firmly. “Positive.”
“You’re forgetting something little Robin.” Keigo flexes his fingers. “I’ve known you all your life.” And positions his fingers above the spot he knows will break the boy. “I know exactly where to go to win.”
“I’m gonna win.”
“Really?” The hero claws his fingers over the center of his nephew’s belly, Rody admittedly, yes, he will admit to it (his Uncle wiggles his fingers at him threateningly when he says he won’t—he’s not ashamed to say he’s incredibly ticklish and his Uncle is an incredible tickle monster—all is well), squeals brightly as he arches his back into the fingers clawing in just right, wiggling just the right speed, clawing in just the right depth, vibrating in just the right location. His hands come flying up, fingers curling around his Uncle’s wrists, cackling brightly as he tries to turn up onto his side in an attempt to get away from those fingers (or at least get them away from that spot). “I thought you said you were going to win, Rodes.”
“Uhuhuhuhuuncle Kehehehehehheei! Nohohohoho! Nohohohot thehehehehehehehere!” (Uncle Kei! No! Not there!)
“Not the tummy?” Keigo tugs the boy back into his lap, the teen’s back pressing against his stomach, still clawing in over the center of his Nephew’s tummy. “Not right here? Is this a bad spot? You lost by the way so this tummy’s in for two minutes of raspberries at some point.” He keeps one hand there and lifts the other to wiggle his index finger in the dip of his oldest Nephew’s side. “How about here instead, is this better?”
Pino tweets and hops as her companion squeals again and squirms, kicking his legs wildly, regretting accepting his Uncle’s challenge, because the man is right, he has known him all his life, he does know just the right buttons to push. “Nohhohohohoho! Nohohohot theheheheheheheere eieieiehehehehehehether!! Uhuhuhuhuuhuhuncle Kehehehehehehehei pleehehehhehehehease!”
“But I thought you were bored? As the best Uncle, I can’t let me beloved little Rody be bored, that wouldn’t be something a good Uncle would do.” He curls his arm around the boy’s waist to keep him in place and spiders his fingers up and down the remainder of his exposed side. “And I’m nothing if not a great Uncle. Ask Roro, he got me a mug that says ‘Worlds Best Uncle’ and I cherish it.” He walks his fingers up his wiggling and kicking Nephew’s side and under his shirt, for that middle rib, that one in particular, that one is the best, and makes the teen squeal again. “Did you think I forgot about this rib, this one right here, I have a great memory Rodes, I know about this rib, remember when you were just a little baby bird and Uncle Kei would hold you up and nibble on this little rib right here.”
“Ihihihihi’m nohohohohot ahahahahahahananymohohohore! Ihihihihihi’m nohohohohot!” (I’m not anymore! I’m not!) Rody bats at his Uncle’s hands, torn between trying to tug the hand out from under the side of his shirt or trying to pry the arm from around his waist, but eventually gives in to his fate. “Nohohhoho mohohohore! Nohohohohohore mohohohohohore! Uhuhuhuuncle Kehehehehheeiii!” (No more! No more! Uncle Kei!”
Chuckling, the hero pinches his Nephew’s rib once, and lets him go. Rody flops over onto his belly, face pressed into the pillow on his Uncle’s other side, panting lightly as he giggles softly at the residual tingles from such a brutal tickle attack. A large warm hand rubs his back. “You can still go with Deku.”
“Thahanks Uncle Kei.”
…
Lala and Roro dart off for their room when the four of them enter the apartment, their Uncle’s ire was enough to send them to safety, even if his ire was directed at their older brother and not them, they wanted to make themselves scarce.
Rody shoves his hands in his pockets and slouches, meeting his Uncle’s harsh glare with a gaze of indifference, Pino was a traitor though, portraying his nervousness for the adult in his life to see in her own way. “So, I guess I’ll just go—”
“Be quiet, Rody.” He blinks in surprise at the man’s snap, his harsh snap, and straightens out of his position of nonchalance as the man steps forward. Keigo stands directly in front of his oldest nephew, anger palpable, rolling off his shoulders, each individual feather, in waves. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t get my belt and wallop you good.”
That threat, the teen perceives it as a threat, makes him blink and rear back in shock. He’s never seen his Uncle Kei this angry in all that he’s known him, granted when he’s see the man he was only visiting, he’d never actually lived with him before now, but still. His shock quickly morphs into submission, perhaps a bit of fear, if his Uncle’s rapidly changing expression is to go by, as he curls into himself and Pino falls silent on his shoulder.
It’s the quirk manifestation of his Nephew’s emotions falling completely still and silent that startles him the most. “Rody?” Keigo reaches out in concern and immediately pulls back when the boy, rather noticeably, flinches back from him. “Robin?” Hopefully the nickname, the one given out of love, will bring the boy back to him and they can muster through this new apparent grim discovery, Keigo is ashamed of himself that he knows so little about the life his nephews and niece lived after contact with his Cousin stopped and he received a Restraining Order from his…Cousin in-law….And its something he intends to rectify immediately. “Robin talk to me. Was it something I said? It had to be, that’s a stupid question, of course it was something I said. Robin talk to me. Let me help.” When he reaches out this time, the boy doesn’t flinch away, Pino, bless her, tweets at him encouragingly, at him, not Rody, at him. “Robin?”
Rody rubs at the back of his head slightly, curling in on himself. “Well, dad would—” That’s it, that’s all he needs to hear in order to know where this is going, that’s all he needs. “He would—”
“Shh, I understand.” Carefully, his hand travels up around the back of his nephew’s neck, and pulls him forward, into his arms, his chest, and he holds him close. “I will never do that to you, Rody. To you or the baby birds. Never. I won’t even say it, never again, I’m so sorry little one, I didn’t know.”
“It’s okay, Uncle Kei.” It wasn’t okay but they both mutually agreed to pretend it was for their own sakes. “It’s in the past. I know….I know you would never….” Rody turns his head to press his ear against his Uncle’s chest, listening to his heart beat, a comforting thumping rhythm. “I don’t know why—”
“Because you’re conditioned to, that’s why.” Keigo whispers gently. “I’ll never say it, never again, I swear on my honor, on my name, never again.” He scratches soothingly at the back of his oldest nephew’s head. “You’re grounded. Two weeks. Only one hour of Electronic time and an early bed time. Two weeks.”
The brunette smiles into his Uncle’s chest, as he turns back to press his face into it, and nods. “Got it Uncle Kei.”
“Good.” Keigo smiles above his nephew’s head, bowing his head slightly, leaning in towards the side of the youth’s neck. “Just think of it as more quality time with your dear old Uncle, aye, you and me.” The teen shakes from repressed giggles as his breath blows against the skin of the side of his neck, trying to scrunch up for protection, only to find the man is too close for it to do much of anything in regards for protection. “More quality time with the big bad tickle monster.” Rody shrieks, a new sound, not new to the man’s ears, but to anyone and everyone else including his younger brother and sister, shrieks with laughter when his Uncle buries his face in the side of his neck and starts off with pressing in rapid fire kisses before turning to nibbling and small raspberries. He shoves at the mans chest, tries to lean away, but the arms curled around him tighten around him, the hand curled around the back of his head keeps him from getting all that far away. At least two minutes passes and he feels himself growing weak at the knees at the relentless tickle torture to the side of his neck, when his Uncle chuckles against his neck, which makes him squeal (oh god! He squealed with Roro and Lala home!) and the hero scoops him up off his feet. “A round with the evil tickle monster is gonna start off this two week grounding.”
