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When hawks landed on his apartment balcony after patrol, the first thing he noticed was the way the glass from the shattered sliding door that led into his apartment crunched under his boots, and the rock sitting just inside the doorway.
The second thing he noticed was the blood. He smelled it before he saw it, although his eyes quickly locked on to the small drips of crimson soaked into the creme colored carpet inside. Someone was inside his apartment, and that someone was hurt.
He stepped over the threshold, careful to not let any of the jagged glass sticking out of the frame catch on the baggy fabric of his hero pants. He pulled out one of his primaries, sharpened to a knives edge. As much as he wanted to find and help whoever it was, the logical side of him reasoned that someone had still broken into his house and this could all be a trap.
Hawks paused when he heard a rustling noise coming from down the hallway and in the bathroom. He stood still for a moment listening as he detached a few of his smaller feathers and sent them down the hall and under the bathroom door to investigate.
As soon as his feathers slipped under the door he felt it. A familiar warmth. He breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing out of his fighting stance and allowing the feather in his hand to soften before letting it go and reattaching it to his wings. It was just Dabi. Actually, the fact that it was an A-rank villain definitely shouldn't be a relief. He shook his head at himself.
He was quickly reminded of the other factor of the situation at hand though when he hears a pained groan from the bathroom and he remembers the blood he spotted on the carpet. Shit. He walks to the door quickly, knocking sharply.
“Hey, Dabi? You in there?” He asks.
He hears grumbling and shifting before a strained, “Yeah.”
“What happened to picking my locks? Now I'm going to have to replace the whole glass pane.” He jokes half-heartedly.
“Couldn't…pick it.” Dabi wheezed from the other side of the door. Okay, now Hawks knows something is definitely wrong.
“That's okay, don't worry about it. Can I come in?” He's going to go in anyways, but he'd like to give him the illusion of it being his choice.
Dabi doesn't say anything, just grunts, which Hawks decides is confirmation enough. He twists the doorknob and pushes open the door, only to be met with what looks like a murder scene. There's blood pooling on the floor and bloodied handprints smeared on the sink ledge. Dabi is slumped down against the edge of the tub on the other side of the room, his trademark coat nowhere to be seen and the lower half of his white tank top stained a dark red.
“Oh shit, Dabs, what happened?” Hawks exclaims worriedly, shooting across the small bathroom and kneeling at the other man's side.
“Got…stabbed…didn't think it was that bad.” He hisses out through clenched teeth, shifting slightly.
“Didn't think it was that bad!? Dabi, you're bleeding out!” Hawks stands quickly, careful not to slip on the blood slicked tile. He rips off his gloves, grabbing a towel off the rack and the first aid kit in the over the sink cabinet before crouching back down.
“I'm gonna use this towel to try and slow the bleeding, it's gonna hurt a bit.” he carefully lifts his shirt to see the wound. It's deep but doesn't seem to have hit any vital organs. He presses the towel against the wound, and Dabi hisses.
“Hold this here while I get stuff ready. I'm gonna have to give you stitches, and it's going to hurt like a bitch. I'm really sorry I don't have anything I can give you for the pain.” He says apologetically.
“Don't worry about it, birdie.” Dabi wheezes, taking over holding the towel in place while Hawks opens up the first aid kit. “A little pain is better than being dead, right?”
“I guess.” He pulls out the needle and thread, plus bandages and tape. “Why didn't you just cauterize the wound? I've seen you do it before.”
“The one guy hit me with his quirk. I can't get my fire to light.” He hisses again as Hawks peels away the now blood-soaked towel.
Oh shit. Hawks thinks. A stab wound is bad, but a stab wound and an unidentified quirk in effect? That just sounds like a recipe for worse trouble than Hawks has the training to handle.
He dampens a cloth in the sink before wiping away as much of the blood as he can and cleaning the wound to the best of his abilities. Hawks opens the packaging containing the sterile needle, carefully threading it. He quickly undoes his belt, pulling it off.
“Heh, kinda…not in the mood, birdie.” Dabi jokes.
“Obviously, dumbass. I'm gonna need you to put this between your teeth, because the stitching is gonna hurt, and I don't need you shattering any of those pearly whites.” He mutters, handing the leather strap over to the raven haired man.
He grabs it and shoves it between his teeth, saying something that, although garbled by the belt, sounds like, “are you happy now?”
Hawks then brings the needle to the bottom edge of the wound. It honestly looks more like a deep slash than a stab. He carefully pushes the needle through his skin. Dabi doesn't even flinch, and that worries him.
He continues stitching up the wound. He hadn't realized how quiet it had gotten until he had finished the task, so focused on getting it right he'd stopped listening to his surroundings. The wheezy panting from dabi is gone. He's laying against the tub still, his eyes closed.
“Dabi?” He says frantically. He gently shakes the other man's arm.
“Hmmmph.” Dabi groans, lifting his hand to swat at hawks, but wincing and quickly lowering his arm as the movement pulled painfully at the wound and his fresh stitches.
“Jesus, man. Thought you died on me for a second there.” Hawks breathes a sigh of relief and exasperation.
Dabi cracks one eye to look at hawks as the winged man puts clean gauze over his injury to keep it mostly sterile.
“Sorry.”
“It's okay, just…try not to fall asleep on me again, alright?” Hawks says nervously. He really had thought Dabi died just then.
“Okay.” Dabi huffs.
Hawks works quickly, disposing of any garbage and putting away the first aid kit. Dabi seems content to just sit on the tile focusing on staying awake and upright for the most part. Once he finishes cleaning he turns to Dabi.
“Okay, I'm going to need you to take off your clothes, Dabs.” He picks up the bloodied towels as well.
“Whoa, I thought I just said I wasn't in the mood.” Dabi mutters.
“I know, but you're covered in blood right now, and that's going to do both your scars and your stab wound wonders.” Hawks answers sarcastically.
“Beside, I'm pretty sure your shirt isn't going to be salvageable.” He gestures vaguely at the blood soaked shirt with a large gash in it that Dabi is wearing.
“Fine, whatever.” The scarred man moves to remove his shirt, hissing a little when the stitches pull.
Hawks leaves the bathroom while Dabi strips, opening his closet and pulling out soft clothes that should fit Dabi. He makes his way back to the bathroom and knocks on the door.
“Come in, I have underwear on.” Dabi shouts through the door.
Hawks pushes open the door, stepping inside. Dabi is standing in the middle of the bathroom in nothing but his boxers, his clothes, or what was left of them thrown in the corner near the door with the towels. He hands the clean clothes to dabi before picking up the dirty ones and leaving the room.
♡♡♡♡♡♡
Dabi pulled on the clothes Hawks had leant him hesitantly. He was surprised Hawks had helped him. He'd actually been worried he would die on the hero's bathroom floor without ever getting his revenge. But of course, Hawks had surprised him. He was still waiting for the other shoe to drop, for Hawks to have just made sure he would survive before the other heros busted in and arrested him, dragging him away in quirk canceling cuffs. But the longer that he was here and that didn't happen, the more he started to wonder if Hawks actually wanted to help him.
Which was a stupid idea. Yeah, sure, he was Hawks’ contact in the league, but he'd already met the others. He didn't have to help him. But he had. He decided not to think too deeply about it.
Hawks had given him a plain white t-shirt and plaid pajama pants to wear. Honestly, it could've been worse. If he didn't have fresh gauze on his stomach he would've been tempted to take a shower. But since he couldn't, he just found a cloth and dampened it in the sink, giving himself a quick wipe down before changing.
Just after he finished changing, Hawks popped his head back into the bathroom.
“you done in there?” the bird asked. “if you are I can get you set up in bed. You must be exhausted.”
Dabi raises an eyebrow, but he doesn't comment. He just follows Hawks out of the bathroom and down the short hall. Hawks opens one of the other doors and goes into the room. Inside it's a bedroom, one that looks far more lived in than the rest of the apartment. It's clear that it isn't a guest bedroom.
“here you go! I'm sorry the bed isn't made, I was in a rush this morning and didn't have time to make it.” He mutters the last part Rather sheepishly. Stupid workaholic bird.
“it's fine.” Dabi reassures him. “but where are you going to sleep tonight?”
“Oh, I'll sleep on the couch, don't worry about it.” Hawks tells him. The thing is though, Dabi spent years sleeping on couches, and even if the couch is high end, that doesn't make it comfortable. Especially not with wings. That's when Dabi decided to do the dumbest thing he's done yet tonight.
“we can share the bed if you want, Hawks. I promise I don't bite.” He teased. Hawks flushed a little.
“I just don't want to bother you with my wings.” He laughs. It sounds fake, and he watches as Hawks nervously rubs the back of his neck.
“Don't worry about it, I've slept on a wire bed frame with no mattress before. It can't be worse.”
If Dabi is honest with himself, he doesn't know why he wants Hawks to stay. He also doesn't know why he's being so nice to the stupid chicken. Maybe the painkillers Hawks gave him were stronger than he thought. He is a pro hero after all, probably has access to the good shit after missions go wrong.
Hawks leaves the room to change and comes back in a t-shirt and sweat pants. Dabi climbs into the bed, sliding under the covers. It was so soft and warm, he hadn't slept in a bed this nice in so long. He feels the mattress dip behind him under Hawks's weight. He thinks Hawks said something, but he was asleep before he could hear what it was.
♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡
Dabi awoke to warm sunlight on his face and a slight pain in his side. He remembers the fight from yesterday, the potential recruits he'd been talking to when one of them took a swipe at him with their blade.
The place he's laying now is really comfortable, and he wishes he never had to leave here again. He keeps his eyes closed, just savoring the moment when he notices the weight of something resting over his side.
He cracks open one eye to look around, seeing the room he's in. He makes eye contact with an endeavor plush sitting on the dresser across from his side of the bed. He hates those things, and the only thing saving this one is that its been so well loved that it's barely recognizable as Endeavor anymore.
He looks downwards at the thing flung over his waist, and he sees that it's actually Hawks’ arm.
Wait. Why is Hawks spooning him?
As he lays there the night before is slowly coming back to him. Hawks coming home and finding him bleeding all over his bathroom, stitching him up, and getting him to sleep. The thing about this whole situation that's confusing him most, is why hawks helped him. Why didn't he just arrest him and call the other heroes?
Yes, Dabi has broken into his apartment before. Mostly to rob him of his junk food and use his Netflix. But he always made it very clear to hawks that if he tried calling the other heroes, Dabi would be gone by the time they got here. And if he ever tried to ambush him, there would be nothing left here but ashes and the traces of one of Kurogiri's portals. He was vulnerable last night. Weak.
He wouldn't have even come to the hero's place If he wasn't desperate. He had lost his phone earlier that day and was literally bleeding out and dying. Risking an arrest was the last thing he'd been thinking about.
But now he was laying in the hero's bed, his arm slung over him, pulling him close in his sleep.
Dabi carefully tries to slip out of the bed. Maybe it'd be better if he just left before hawks woke up. He shifts towards the edge of the bed, trying to shuffle out from underneath Hawks's arm. He hears Hawks grumble and feels him shift. he freezes.
“Dabi?” Hawks says, bleary with sleep.
Shit. Dabi thinks. He turns to face hawks, who is propped up on his elbow.
“Where were you going?” Hawks asks him.
“What, can't a guy get up and take a piss without your super bird senses going off? Not doing anything bad, birdie.” Dabi snarks at him.
“Oh no, sorry, I should've figured that's what you were doing.” Hawks apologizes, chuckling awkwardly. Dabi feels something heavy sink in his stomach. Guilt. He feels bad about lying to hawks. Which is weird, considering he lies to him a lot and has never felt guilty about it before.
Must be because of him helping me last night. Or maybe those strong ass painkillers he gave me are still in my system. Dabi thinks. But he ultimately has no excuse for what possessed him and made him say,
“I was going to try and leave before you woke up.”
Hawks's face falls a little. “Oh,” He says softly, before his voice gets all fake cheery. “Damn, I was kinda hoping you'd stay for breakfast at least. Are my hosting skills really that bad?” He jokes.
“No! I just…” He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I don't understand it. Why are you helping me?”
“Because I wasn't about to lose my favorite arsonist!” Hawks teases. Dabi glares at him. Hawks sighs, the fake smile dropping from his face.
“You want honesty?” Hawks says, and Dabi nods. “I was a little terrified that you'd died on my bathroom floor last night. I hate seeing people hurting, especially if there's something I can do to help. So I helped you. Easy as that.” He shrugs. “Besides, you're my friend, Dabi. At least, I think you are. Friends help each other out.”
Dabi tried to figure Hawks out. He'd tried so hard. But the bird kept surprising him with things like this. He stares him down, trying to see through the mask of deception, trying to find Hawks's ulterior motive, but he can't find any trace of deceptiveness in his face, just open concern. He hates it. Hates how soft and vulnerable it makes him feel.
Hawks rolls out of his bed, standing, “I'd really appreciate it if you stayed and let me make you breakfast. I have the day off anyway, and I'd like to make sure your wound is still okay, that the stitches didn't pull in your sleep.”
Dabi knows there'd be more blood if the stitches had pulled, but he nods anyways. “I'll stick around I guess. But I'm leaving as soon as we're done breakfast.”
Hawks nods, turning to head out of the room, “that's fine. Wouldn't expect anything else.”
Dabi watches Hawks leave. He was much more complex than people gave him credit for. Behind his dumb, flirty facade, he was intelligent and serious when he needed to be. As much as he wanted to stay suspicious of the blonde, his guard seemed to be dropping more and more against his will every time they met up.
Hawks returns a moment later with Dabi’s stapled leather pants and an unfamiliar black t-shirt. He places them at the foot of the bed before straightening back up.
“Your shirt from yesterday really wasn't salvageable. This was the only other shirt I have that might fit you in length that I haven't altered for my wings yet.” Hawks explains.
Dabi just grunts in response, grabbing the pants before giving Hawks a pointed look.
“Oh! Uh, yeah, I'll go make breakfast and give you your privacy then.” Hawks says nervously before shooting out the bedroom door to go cook. Dabi pulls on his pants first, then puts on his shirt. He feels the wound on his side shoot pain up his nerves that aren't fried as he put his arms over his head, but it doesn't hurt any worse than his staples so he ignores it. He waits a moment, debating on texting shigaraki to have him warped out before the smell of food ultimately makes the decision for him.
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See, contrary to popular belief, Hawks actually can cook. Not extremely well, but he can. He can't just live off of takeout all the time, especially not with the way the HPSC is always on him about his diet. So he pulls a carton of eggs out of the refrigerator and a bag of rice out from under the counter. He rinses the rice off before putting it in the rice cooker. Then he makes the eggs. Normally he would add chicken or some other kind of extra protein to his breakfast, but today he just doesn't feel like it.
Just as he starts dishing up the food and finishes making coffee, Dabi appears from the hallway. He looks much more put together than he did fifteen minutes ago, he'll give him that. He looked cute when he was all sleepy. Hawks thinks, before shaking his head to dismiss the thought. He can't do that, not now.
He turns to the arsonist. “Breakfast is served.” He says with a flourish as he sets the plates down on the island along with both mugs of coffee, perching on one of the stools.
They eat in silence. Hawks almost tries to start a conversation a few times, but ultimately decides against it. Dabi looked like he was a million miles away, completely lost in his own thoughts, and Hawks realized it might be best to just let him think.
After they're done, Dabi rinses his plate and puts his dishes in the sink. He watches as he goes back over to the still broken sliding door and pulls on his boots. Hawks feels something flare in his chest as Dabi turns those bright blue eyes on him as he pauses in the threshold.
It's so quiet he almost missed him saying it, but he hears when Dabi says, “thanks, Hawks.”
And that does something to his heart. Makes it flutter as he watches him go. And that's when Hawks knows he's in much deeper trouble than he thought.