Dazy Nights - A Bartender!Hawks Series

Part 4: Snowy Drunken Nights

How does one interact with someone they almost kissed, especially when they already have a boyfriend? She wasn't too sure about the answer, but she knew the way that Dabi and her were handling it was probably better than most. They spent a lot more time at the bar. Dazy Nights was still one of her favourite places to come and hang out. As long as she didn't catch Keigo's eyes on her that is.

He hadn't said much after their last interaction. She would walk up to the bar, order her drinks and he would give them to her half off, or even free as per usual. He still let her put her things in his locker so she didn't have to worry about them being stolen. He still asked her how her day was and if she was feeling okay. Kiego acted like nothing had happened. She didn't know why it unnerved her so much. Dabi would pull her in for a kiss in the middle of the dancefloor and all she could think about was why Keigo hadn't wanted to talk to her other than casual greetings.

One day, when her class was over, she found herself texting Dabi that she was going to have to reschedule their lunch plans because she had something to take care of. Her feet took her to Dazy Nights, her hands pushing open the door, and her eyes finding Keigo setting up behind the bar for the night. There was normally no one else there just after noon, which was one of the reasons why she took her chance to see if he was working.

The look on his face went from surprise, to confusion, to just his normal resting face. He didn't even try to smile. Everything about him looked tired. The black shirt he wore didn't fit him like it normally did, and his shoulders rolled forward making him hunched. His hair was pushed back as usual, but it wasn't styled like he normally made it. His wings even looked tired, limp and hardly holding themselves up, dulled burgundy instead of the normal vibrant red. Keigo looked like he hadn't slept properly in days.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her.

She dropped her bag and her books on the bar counter loudly, a heat of anger warming her quickly at his nonchalance. "We need to talk."

"Talk about what lil' bird?"

She didn't know why she was so enraged, but the way that he said his little nickname for her completely set her off. He said it as if nothing had dared to happen between them.

Her finger pointed, "Don't you call me that after the way you've been treating me for the past few weeks!"

Keigo looked at her. "What's wrong?"

Her hands slammed on the counter as she said, "What's wrong? What's wrong is that you almost kiss me on the dancefloor during karaoke night and then never talk to me about it ever again!"

His eyes dropped to the bottles he was taking note of. "There's nothing to talk about. Nothing actually happened and besides, you have Dabi. The last thing that you should be thinking about is kissing anyone other than him."

"Well I can't!" she yelled.

The silence between them was like electricity, hot, fast, thick. His eyes locked on her, clearly not ready to accept that she admitted that he was on her mind. Her cheeks flushed with the accidental confession, but it was too late to take it back.

"Does Dabi know that you're here?"

"He's not my fucking keeper Keigo," she replied back. Her hands twitched, tapping against the counter with her nails.

"No, but he is your boyfriend. Does he know what happened that night? Did you tell him?"

She was silent. Dabi was smart. He had seen enough to know what almost happened. She didn't need to tell him any more that he had questioned her about. But Dabi had assumed that she had moved on from whatever happened that night. That she really was over it. That it was a mistake he was willing to forgive. That she had picked him instead of Keigo. And she had. But he still sat there, his pretty red wings stirring up the memory of what could have been.