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The League of Villains chose the absolute worst times to have their meetings. They were always last minute, always inconveniently scheduled during the few breaks he had during the day or right as he was getting into bed at night. They were rarely quick, which made it even worse. He hated the terrible timing even more than usual when he was already exhausted and out of fucks to give.
Most of Keigo’s joints were acting up more than usual today, which meant that even with all of his braces on and with his typical caution as he went about the day, his joints were popping out constantly. And of course, a group of villains decided to pick today of all days to attempt a large-scale raid of an agency on his patrol route. He hated fighting indoors on the best of days; today was an absolute nightmare.
His hands and wrists ached fiercely after wrestling a dozen or so villains into handcuffs and his legs shook with exhaustion from running around in a space too cramped to use his wings. He dislocated his right hip at some point during the fight and had to hop to a vacant room in the agency so a sidekick could help him relocate it again.
He’d only just gotten home after his twelve-hour patrol, only been laying belly-down in his bed for ten minutes, trying not to move while he psyched himself up to get changed out of his hero costume when his burner phone began to ring on his nightstand.
The winged man groaned. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
The ringing didn’t stop despite his protest, so he gingerly reached for the phone and brought it to the pillow his head was resting on. He accepted the call. “Hey, hot stuff.” He greeted in his usual chipper tone. He felt anything but chipper right now, but Dabi didn’t need to know that.
“There’s a meeting in twenty at the usual place. Be there.”
Keigo sighed silently to himself in a mix of frustration and disappointment. Of course there was a meeting. “You always pick the worst times to meet up.” He complained.
“Is that a problem?”
“Nope, no it’s not.” Hawks said, even if he didn’t agree with it. He didn’t have the energy to pick a fight with the villain. “I’ll be there.”
“Good bird.”
The second Dabi hung up, he let out another groan and pressed his face into the pillow. He laid there in bed and sulked for a few more minutes before he reluctantly started to get up to leave for the meeting. It was a ten-minute flight there and he knew he needed to be early.
Keigo beat his wings as he slid off of the bed, taking some of the weight off of his legs as he stumbled out of his bedroom and towards the front door of his home. He folded his feathers neatly against his back as he walked through the threshold to avoid closing them in the door. He ended up hip-checking the door frame instead, which he didn’t think much of- he bumped into doors a lot. That was, until his right hip (the same hip he dislocated earlier), which had apparently partially subluxed when he hit it on the frame, popped out of its socket again when he put his weight on it.
“Fuck!” He gasped in a mix of shock and pain as his leg buckled under him, barely managing to catch himself on his hands before he went down face-first into the floor. Pain shot through his fingers and wrists and he groaned loudly in annoyance.
“I don’t have the time for this.” He muttered, pushing himself to his feet again using his wings. He balanced on his left foot while he did a quick once-over of his injured hip. Now that his weight wasn’t on it, it didn’t hurt that much, all things considered. His hands hurt more at the moment than his hip did. Most of his leg was numb now too, but he could feel the top of his femur pressed up against the back of his pelvis.
That wasn’t good.
He grabbed his thigh as tightly as he could with both of his hands and pulled down in an attempt to reduce the dislocation. Usually, he could pop his dislocations back in on his own, but the combination of his fingers screaming in pain and the fact that the bone was so far out of its socket made it too difficult for him to manage.
Keigo threw his hands up in frustration. It was just his luck that this decided to happen minutes before he was supposed to be meeting with the League of Villains. He would have to go to the hospital to have it relocated, or at the very least to his agency (he picked whichever was closer, honestly), but that would mean missing the meeting and pissing off half a dozen villains that he couldn’t afford to have angry with him.
Two choices: make it to the meeting, or get his hip treated.
-----
Hawks was regretting his decision to still attend the meeting. The relatively small pain in his hip from earlier had grown into a hot, burning throb as the muscles around the injury seized. Sitting directly on his femur certainly wasn’t helping, but he couldn’t stand for the entire duration of one of these long-as-hell meetings either. So here he was, nearly an hour later, barely paying attention to what Shigaraki was saying and doing his best to pretend that he wasn’t currently experiencing mind-numbing pain.
His poker face must not have been working as well as he hoped, because he caught the others glancing over at him every so often. That didn’t bode well, but he was too distracted to focus on schooling his expression much.
“Hey, bird brain.”
The winged hero lifted his gaze from the table to Dabi, who was glaring at him heatedly. “Something on your mind?” He asked, his hardened tone making it clear that the question wasn’t one of concern.
Hawks sighed internally as he sat up a little straighter, ignoring the way his hip burned in protest. “No, it’s nothing.” He reassured, tacking on his usual facade with a flashy grin. “I’m just tired. You guys always call meetings right when I’m about to go to sleep.”
Dread slithered down his spine when Dabi stood up from his chair, and he realized that that had not been the correct response. ‘Crap.’ He thought to himself as the fire-wielder made his way around the conference table to stand beside him. He kept his gaze on him as he moved, reluctant to take his eyes off of him. The other man towered above him like this and he would be lying if he said he didn’t find it intimidating.
“Stand up.” The villain ordered.
Hawks spared a glance over to Shigaraki, who simply sat in his chair quietly, hands folded on top of the table while he watched. The man frowned, dropping his facade as quickly as he put it on as he moved to do as Dabi said. It was awkward to get to his feet without being able to put his weight on both of his legs, but he managed regardless.
Dabi didn’t waste any time. “I’m going to ask you again,” He started, speaking slowly and in a calm tone while somehow managing to sound anything but. Hawks’ gaze drifted down to his hand, which was turned with its palm towards him, ready to summon flames at a moment’s notice. The hero looked back up to the villain’s face, knowing that it was in his best interest to not look any more spaced out than he already was. “And you are going to answer me very carefully. Do I make myself clear?”
Keigo nodded. “Loud and clear.” He quipped, still trying to keep the mood as light-hearted as possible.
“Good. Now, tell me what’s actually got you so spaced out.”
Knowing better than to lie again (even if his previous statement had just been a half-truth), he answered honestly. “My hip is dislocated.”
Dabi blinked once. Twice.
He laughed in that sinister way that always made Hawks’ feathers stand on end. “Try again, birdie.” The scarred man huffed, unamused. “You think I’m an idiot?”
Hawks sputtered in disbelief. “You think I’m lying?”
“I think you’re full of shit.” The villain said. “You should be screaming in pain.”
He certainly felt like screaming, but it wasn’t worth the energy it took to be that dramatic about these kinds of injuries when they were a daily occurrence for him. “I’m not lying.” Hawks insisted, starting to get desperate. He didn’t let it show, knowing it would only make him look more suspicious.
Dabi glared at him for a long moment. He held one hand out in between them and lit a small blue flame above his palm. The fire didn’t spread, but that didn’t make it any less intimidating. “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t light your ass up right now.” He challenged, and Hawks mentally floundered for a response.
How exactly was he supposed to prove that he was telling the truth? He couldn’t show them the bone protruding awkwardly from its socket since the damn thing chose to go in the one direction that couldn’t be seen. He didn’t have the strength to relocate it himself either; that was the whole reason he was in this mess in the first place.
For a brief second, he contemplated disclosing his disability, then quickly discarded the idea. Dabi wouldn’t believe that any more than the claim of a dislocated hip. Even if he would, Hawks couldn’t reveal that kind of weakness in a room full of wanted murderers who were currently debating whether or not to make him their next victim. Not to mention that it would make his job so much more complicated than it already was, than it had any right to be.
As he stared down the flame in Dabi’s hand, though, he realized it might be the only way to get him out of being burned alive.
(He never considered his disability a weakness before, but damn if it wasn’t one at that moment.)
Hawks took in a deep breath, then sighed heavily. Here goes nothing. “I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.” He said.
The raven-haired man stared him down, unimpressed, so he continued, “It’s a genetic disorder. Makes my joints super flexible, so they dislocate if I, like, breathe the wrong way.” He knew he sounded so fake, considering he was a hero and fought villains for a living that didn’t give a damn about hurting him. This was exactly why his disability was a secret; no one would trust a hero with a body that would barely stay put together.
“My hips are really bad; they pop out all the time, and they don’t hurt all that bad unless they’re out for a while since it happens so often. I can usually put them back in by myself, but my hands hurt like hell today so I can’t grip well enough to do it.” He was rambling at this point, but he couldn’t help it. He was desperately wracking his brain for something, anything he could say that would make them believe he wasn’t trying to cover something up. And judging by the doubtful look on Dabi’s face, he wasn’t doing a very good job. “I have to wear braces all over my body just to be able to stand or lift anything heavier than my phone.”
He resisted the urge to squawk indignantly as the fire-wielder rolled his eyes. “You still don’t believe me? Come on, I just told you, like, my big anime weakness-”
“You really expect me to believe you can’t stand?” Dabi hissed, the flame starting to grow in his palm. “That’s rich coming from you, hero .”
“I-I can’t!” Hawks actually squawked that time. “Look, I’m wearing my braces right now. I’ll show you.”
He immediately started wiggling out of his aviator jacket, which was no easy feat with all of his feathers still on his wings. He usually had to detach some of them when they were all there to get it on and off, but it wouldn’t be very smart to do that now. He was sure that Dabi would roast him the second he saw a feather come loose, violent intent or not. He managed regardless, slipping his arms out of the sleeves before letting the heavy coat slide off his shoulders to the floor and revealing the dozen or so braces covering his top half alone.
The other man’s eyes widened in realization, but Hawks kept going, reaching for his belt to unbuckle it. He let his costume’s tan slacks fall off his hips, leaving him in the compression pants and hypermobility braces he wore underneath. It was a little more obvious that his hip was dislocated without the bulky fabric on- his thigh was twisted outward slightly and his right knee was higher than the left, even with the braces meant to hold his leg in place.
“See? I swear I’m telling the truth.”
The ensuing silence was unbearable. Hawks stood tensely and waited, half-bracing himself to be engulfed in flames.
Finally, Dabi laughed again, only this time it was the kind of deep belly laughter that only happened when someone found something completely and utterly hilarious. He put out the flame he’d been holding and instead held his stomach as he bent over himself, struggling to breathe.
Hawks’ face flushed hotly, but he said nothing as he watched the villain curl into himself. Now that he was confident he wasn’t seconds away from certain death, the embarrassment of practically stripping in the middle of the League of Villains' hideout was starting to catch up with him. He didn’t think he could have played that any differently, he supposed, but he was still horrified regardless.
He heard Spinner and Toga start to snicker behind him and puffed up his feathers in frustration. “Stop laughing at me!” He shouted, twisting around to glare at them incredulously. It turned out to be a bad idea when his femur shifted, making him wince in pain. He flapped his wings a few times to keep his balance as he tried to move his leg into a less painful position, only to fall flat on his face when a hand suddenly shoved him between his shoulder blades.
“What the hell was that for?” He huffed, beating his wings again to get back up. A weight settled over the small of his back before he could get far, effectively pinning him to the floor. He squawked, wings thrashing as he struggled to push it off, only to fail miserably. His hands and wrists were practically useless, not to mention that he couldn’t move his hips or right leg.
“Relax, pretty bird,” Dabi said, having calmed down and stopped laughing. “We’re helping you.”
Hawks snapped his head to the side to glare at him out of the corner of his eye. Instead of Dabi, he saw Toga smiling down at him from where she sat on his back. She grinned wider when their eyes met and giggled.
The winged hero turned to look around at the other people in the room, silently pleading for someone to help him. He wasn’t surprised to see the impartial expressions on their faces, but that didn’t make the betrayal any less hurtful.
Hands maneuvered his ankles out of his flight suit’s pants, then slid under his injured leg above the knee and around the back of his calf. His leg was lifted off the ground slightly, causing his entire pelvis to follow due to his femur being stuck up near his tailbone. As soon as he realized what was about to happen, he scrambled to pull away. “Woah- wait, hold on,” He said quickly, tensing in anticipation of the pain he knew was coming. “Can you at least count down before you do it?”
He could almost hear Dabi roll his eyes. “Sure thing, birdie,” He said as he tightened his grip on the man’s leg.
Hawks sighed shakily and nodded, then took in a deep breath and squeezed his eyes shut. As he exhaled, the scarred man started counting. “Three-”
The bastard pulled right as he finished exhaling, leaving him unable to scream as his femur popped back into its socket. He wheezed out what little air he could, then sucked in a deep breath. “You bitch ,” He gasped as the villain let go of his leg. Toga got off his back and stood, but Hawks made no attempt to get up, still recovering from the pain shooting through his previously pinched nerves.
“You’re welcome,” Dabi said.
“Fuck you.”
The fire user huffed amusedly. “Awfully feisty for someone that just stripped for me like their life depended on it.”
Hawks flushed again at the comment. He pushed himself to sit up so he could glare at the scarred man, who was now sitting in one of the chairs at the conference table. “That’s because it did.”
“Fair.” Dabi agreed.
“So why didn’t you say anything sooner?” Shigaraki interrupted.
Hawks looked over to the man and sighed. “Because I knew you wouldn’t believe me.” He replied.
“We would have believed a dislocated hip,” Compress said. “It was the rambling that made you sound suspicious.”
Spinner nodded in agreement. “Besides, it’s not exactly every day that you hear about a hero that’s still working with a disability like that.” He hummed.
“Yeah, I know,” Hawks said in agreement. “I’m pretty one-of-a-kind in that sense. I mean, there are other heroes with disabilities, but I don’t know anyone with a condition like mine.”
“Well, no offense, but I don’t think anyone else would be able to be a hero if their joints were as loose as yours,” Twice pointed out. “ You lucked out! ”
“Not really.” Sure, Hawks’ wings were a literal savior sometimes, but the raptor genes that came with them were in no way helpful. They only made the issue worse. He could agree that his quirk was the only reason he could be a hero, though; if he had ended up with anything else he wouldn’t be able to keep such a physically demanding job.
“How the hell did you hurt yourself, anyway?” Dabi asked curiously.
Hawks gave him a withering stare. “I hip-checked a door.” He said honestly.
“No way.” Dabi laughed. “Wow, that’s sad.”
The winged man sighed. “You have no idea.”
“You’re all being awfully calm about this.” He pointed out after a quiet moment.
“What do you mean?” Kurogiri asked.
“I dunno, I was kinda expecting you guys to flip out on me.” Hawks said with a shrug. “Not many people know about it, but whenever someone finds out I’m disabled they either say I’m full of shit or start treating me differently.”
His statement was met with silence for another long moment. “Hawksie,” Toga said, “you’re not the only one here with a disability. You know that, right?”
Hawks blinked in surprise. “Really? Who?” He wondered, looking around at the other members of the room. All he got was a bunch of poker faces.
“Wouldn’t you like to know, pretty bird,” Dabi snarked.
The winged hero turned on him, hardening his gaze. “Stop calling me that.”
“No, I don’t think I will.”
Shigaraki rolled his eyes at their bickering. “What they’re trying to say is that we don’t care if you’re disabled. As long as you can keep being our spy, it doesn’t matter.” He said.
“How touching.” The hero hummed, flashing one of his signature lazy grins at the league’s leader.
“Look,” Shigaraki grunted, ignoring his comment. “Next time you dislocate something, just tell us. That way we don’t have to assume you’re going to sell us out or something.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t mind setting your hip again,” Dabi said with a sadistic glint in his eyes.
Hawks’ smile fell and he glared at the scarred man. “No. You’re not doing that again.”
“You know it would have hurt more if you tensed up. I did you a favor.”
“I don’t care.”
Dabi smirked. “We’ll see about that.”