Work Text:
Here’s the thing. Hawks is very observant. He likes to pretend he isn’t because you learn a lot more that way… but also because it’s really funny. He sees the way that Dabi watches him, both out of suspicion and because Dabi is very, very gay.
Then again, it takes one to know one.
Hawks knows he’s hot. He knows how his body moves and he knows the best way to make people ignore him or pay attention to every little detail. He knows Dabi watched him for professional and personal reasons. He, of course, makes sure he’s moving so that Dabi watches more for the latter reasons than the former. He liked Dabi’s eyes on him.
It wasn’t one-sided either; He watched Dabi back.
Dabi is very pretty in a very un-mainstream way and Hawks likes it. He likes how Dabi looks a lot. He likes how the man moves and gestures and it’s all very sexy. Not always in a coordinated way. Dabi is by no way a hand-to-hand fighter. He’s not a close-range or mid-range fighter and it shows.
Does Hawks mind?
Nope. It’s hot.
Figuratively and literally.
Of all the things Hawks expected Dabi to pay attention to, he didn’t expect this to be one of those things.
When he’d cornered Toga and Spinner, well, it was less cornering and more physically grabbing both of them and going down to the PLF training rooms, he hadn’t expected Dabi to follow like a stray cat. For all Dabi stated he didn’t give a fuck about the other members, he still did shit like this.
The edge-lord doth protest too much.
Spinner wasn’t unused to fighting with blades. He had some formal education, it seemed. It was more kendo than any other style, but he was familiar enough with swords that it left Hawks less concerned about his welfare.
Toga, while a natural knife-fighter, was untrained and frankly, dangerously loose with her blade work. It made her a danger to everyone around her. Not a detriment in her mind, but it grated at Hawks. Add to it that she was sloppy and predictable, and it made every little part of his protective instincts go off. It was a good thing his parents didn’t have any more kids, because he was learning he was definitely overprotective. He would have been the best-worst big brother, judging by the irritated looks Toga was shooting him. Spinner was also annoyed, but it had a tinge of fondness to it, like he was used to this.
“Like this- that way, when someone tries to take your blade-” he slowly mimed the move again, making sure Toga saw what he was doing, “you can twist away. Now, let’s practice a few times- Spinner, you too.”
They went through the move for another half an hour, working it into muscle memory as Hawks felt Dabi watching. A few feathers were placed around the room and especially near Dabi, so he felt when the other man tensed and relaxed. Something Dabi probably didn’t even realize he was doing.
He left as soon as they started wrapping up, slipping away before either Spinner or Toga could catch sight of him. They were all bruises and he was sure the two were aching, but they were smiling and joking and he felt really, really satisfied.
Maybe this is why some heroes ended up taking part-time teaching jobs.
They were to repeat this once a week.
That’s what he told the commission, reporting on how their skills were, although it sent a strange sort of twisting apprehension through him. He didn’t want them to get hurt, but telling the commission where their skills were meant that they would be intentionally pitted against those with a higher level of skill. On one hand, it’d keep civilians safe, but on the other, it felt so patently unfair. Even more so once he saw some of the heroes they had lined up… Saw that more than a few of them were overly aggressive in their takedown methods.
It didn’t stay just once a week.
He would pull them in during downtimes when there was nothing going on except his anxiety making a racket in his brain.
Then they started seeking him out when they had a moment. Toga would whine and wheedle and jump on his back until he acquiesced. Spinner was gentler. Sidling up to him after a meeting and asking Hawks to show him some new move or to work on something he’d been studying on his own. He didn’t always disappear afterward, either. He would grin and drag Hawks to the kitchen to raid the drinks and snacks. As they refreshed themselves, he would, almost shyly, ask if Hawks wanted to join him for gaming.
Sometimes Shigaraki would join them, but more and more often it was the other way around, with Spinner taking them straight to Shigaraki’s room. It wasn’t always gaming, but it was quiet and relaxed. Even with blood-red eyes boring into the side of his head, he didn’t feel anything menacing about it. Mostly just the eyes of a young man who was more curious than hostile. The more Hawks spent around Shigaraki and Spinner, the more he thought they were just awkward young men. They weren’t evil. Dangerous, yes, but they were also shit on like a particularly aggressive crow had taken offense with them.
Dabi caught on quickly that they were meeting more than just once a week as well.
The first couple of times, it was just Hawks and the other two alone in the training rooms. Then, like that first time, Dabi was there, lurking just out of view. He wasn’t always on time, but within half an hour of Hawks retreating with Toga or Spinner or both, Dabi would brush by one of the feathers left by the perimeters, like a gentle tug that would pull Hawks’ attention in a completely different direction.
That wasn’t to say it was distracting. It wasn’t by any means. With the sensitivity of his feathers, his mind was always pulled in a thousand different directions. If anything, this was almost a respite with a mere half a dozen things to focus on, including Dabi.
In the beginning, Dabi almost stood guard, literally standing, ready to jump in, and then slowly, ever so slowly, he stopped being constantly on guard. He would lean against a wall, and then the leaning turned into resting, then sliding down it to sit on the ground. He stopped peering around corners and simply sat, eyes closed and listening to their noise. Every so often he would open them at some noise of pain or crow of excitement.
One day he actually fell asleep.
It surprised Hawks so much that Spinner actually got an elbow into his ribcage and threw Hawks to the ground, a training blade coming rapidly at his face. A few twists and a strike with his heel sent Spinner tumbling, but it was enough that Hawks sincerely congratulated him on taking advantage of Hawks’ distraction. He evaded Spinners’ question on why he was distracted, but it was still quite an improvement in his skills regardless. Hawks was the number two hero, after all.
He didn’t tell the Commission.
“Guess who I found!” Toga sang out as she strolled into the room. Behind her, Dabi trudged, looking like a particularly disgruntled cat. “He was lurking like a creeper!”
“Fuck off. I was looking for a place to nap. It’s too noisy upstairs.” Dabi growled. Spinner glanced over at Hawks, brows raising in an expression that clearly read as sarcastic. Toga bounced next to Hawks, looking between him and Dabi like she was expecting something. When Hawks did nothing, she started to pout.
“Dabi should learn to knife-fight! It’d look cute!”
“You say that about everyone.” Spinner said. She stuck her tongue out at him.
“No, I say everyone would look cute covered in blood!” She retorted, “This is different. He’s a delicate flower with his quirk-” Dabi snarled out an offended ‘hey’, “so he needs another way of fighting people! We won’t always be there to help!”
“I don’t need you to help. I’ve done fine so far.”
“Yeah, but what about when you aren’t? I don’t want you hurt!” Toga said, and Dabi’s expression flashed confusion and surprise at the sincerity of her voice and her expression. Hawks was similarly surprised- the extent he saw of Toga and Dabi interacting was limited to him being annoyed with her and her trying to goad him into things. Or trying to stab him.
Dabi didn’t quite seem to know how to respond to her statement. Luckily, Spinner did and simply handed over one of the knives he started carrying around. Something he started doing after he began joining Toga for her lessons. Hawks had to hand it to Spinner; he had a good eye for balance and weight, and had selected a well-sized blade for Dabi to borrow. Dabi held it like a cooking knife.
This was going to be a long session.
It was a long session.
One that Dabi ended up tapping out of because he had the stamina of an asthmatic tortoise. Surprisingly, Dabi didn’t leave the room. Hawks expected him to migrate back to his usual lurking position outside in one of the hallways, but instead, he simply slid down to rest against one of the inner walls and watch them.
Or rather, watch Hawks.
Intently.
Obnoxiously blatant in his watching.
Hawks would preen if he wasn’t trying to impart some valid information to his accidental students. Judging by the shit-eating grin both Spinner and Toga were wearing, they also noticed Dabi’s blatant oogling.
They were also trying their very best to ‘help’... Mostly by being a little rougher on Hawks’ clothes than they usually were.
“Toga!” Hawks hissed, propelling himself into the air and hovering out of reach of Toga’s slashing blades. She had switched from training blades to live steel and he was now nursing one long, bleeding slash mark over his torso and several smaller slices in his pants and sleeves and a multitude of other areas. The slash mark on his chest was intentional- it was the only one that actually drew blood. The others were mostly cosmetic… only done to show skin. Little brat.
“Oh man, that looks like it’s bleeding… a lot.” Spinner said, sheathing his sword. Toga bounced on the balls of her feet, grinning up at him. Hawks leveled his best 'disappointed' look at her.
“Spinner- well done today. Toga?” Hawks said, watching her smile freeze, trepidation growing. “Also well done today, but next time, can you please use the training blades? I don’t have a spare shirt with me today.”
His praise eased the gentle reprimand, it seemed, and while she didn’t seem as maniacally gleeful as she was before, she wasn’t upset.
“Alriiight.”She said, dragging her words out like the entire situation was such a bother “I’ll keep to the training blades…. Since you can’t be hassled to bring a spare shirt.”
Spinner rolled his eyes and wandered off, giving Hawks a small wave as he left. Toga remained, looking expectantly between Hawks as he hovered and Dabi.
“Toga, I don’t sleep here so I don’t need a spare set of clothes. I’ve got a perfectly good office chair I can nap in.” He teased. Her face scrunched up as she shot Dabi a look.
“Dabs, tell him that’s not healthy. He should actually sleep. Here maybe. I’m sure we could find him a bed.”
Dabi rolled his eyes, a slight flush on his face. Hawks grinned, slowly floating back to the ground as he pulled his shirt off. It was ruined, and he really was bleeding a bit. He pressed the torn shirt against his chest.
“Oh, I can totally find a bed. Just haven’t found one I want to be in yet.” Hawks said, wiggling his eyebrows and watching as Toga’s face lit up as he pointedly glanced in Dabi’s direction.
“Really? No one’s caught your eye?” Toga asked, leaning in as if they were sharing a conspiratorial conversation. Dabi had gotten to his feet and was warily watching the two of them. Hawks made a show of thinking, hand on his chin as he hummed. He opened his mouth to tease Dabi some more if his teasing wasn’t going right over his head like his flirting had been, but Dabi beat him to it.
“Hawks, you do know you’re bleeding, right?” Dabi stated, approaching the pair.
“Yeah, why? I’ve got my shirt pressed to it-” Dabi made a noise and poked his side, where pain flared up at his touch. He twisted, trying to see the injury and caught sight of bright red dripping down his back. “Oh my god- Toga, you little gremlin-”
Toga laughed and skittered towards the door, giving a cheeky wave to both of them.
“Sorry, Hawks! You’re just super cute covered in red. Can you fix him up Dabs?” She asked. She didn’t wait for an answer, disappearing down the hall and leaving the sound of her delighted, devilish laughter trailing after her.
Dabi sighed, but didn’t follow her, pacing around towards Hawks’ back to get a better look at where he was bleeding. A finger lightly traced over his back. The sensation sent shivers up his spine and wings. He could feel Dabi tilt his head, watching Hawks with those blue, blue eyes.
“Come on, I’ve got shit in my room for this.”
A few of the PLF members Hawks was familiar with waved as they made their way up to the room Dabi claimed. Several of them knew and occasionally watched the sparring sessions, and winced as they saw the marks Toga left.
A few offered their sympathies, which Hawks waved off.
A few offered assistance, as well, which he also waved off.
Unfortunately, all they did in his room was patch up his chest and back.
Even more unfortunate was that Dabi insisted on stitches, and he didn’t really have anything to numb the pain.
Afterward, he did offer Hawks some medication.
The most unfortunate thing was that was the last thing Hawks remembered.
He woke to an unfamiliar ceiling with a familiar stinging pain. He’d been cut and stabbed and burnt and a thousand other ways of being injured, so he wasn’t too alarmed about the soreness of his torso. It didn’t hurt enough for it to be an injury from a fight, so it was probably from a fuck. He had woken in other beds enough time that he was just mildly annoyed that he didn’t remember the night before. Especially since his bed partner was so sweetly cuddling him.
He smelled nice, too. Like cheap soap and smoke and a bit like cooked meat and just a smidge of something herbal. It was a scent he liked.
As he waited on the edge of sleep, content to drift back into it, he thought it kind of smelled like Dabi. He snorted and turned his head, nuzzling into the dark hair tucked against his shoulder. That would be nice. Unrealistic, but nice. There’s a sleepy grumble and the person next to him nuzzles into Hawks’ shoulder, and that’s all it takes before he’s fast asleep.
The next time he wakes it’s to the pillow being pulled out from under his head, followed swiftly by the blankets. The rush of movement and the sudden temperature change had him flailing. Pain sizzles along his back and chest as he falls out of the bed, landing in a heap on the floor.
There’s a snort of amusement from Dabi.
“About time you woke up.”
Hawks rolled over and stared up at the ceiling. All warmth and comfort was gone, fled like a flock of birds being startled by a cat. His ‘cat’ came to stand over him, looking down with an expression that was judging him. For what, Hawks had no idea.
“You’re a lightweight,” Dabi stated.
“Is this in regards to the horse tranquilizers you gave me yesterday?” Hawks groused, heaving himself into a seated position. He lifted his borrowed shirt to poke at the bandages on his chest. His chest felt alright, despite his sudden exit from a rather comfortable bed.
“I gave you one.” Dabi retorted back, crossing his arms. Hawks looked up at him instead of getting up from his seat on the floor.
“What was the dosage on it?”
Dabi told him.
“Hate to tell you, firesnap, that’s prescription-strength. A strong prescription, too. I would have been fine with like, paracetamol.”
“Lightweight.”
Hawks rolled his eyes, slowly getting to his feet and gingerly stretching to see where his range of motion was.
Almost normal, so he wouldn’t need to worry too much.
He was more concerned by the fact that Dabi’s first inclination was to go for the strong medication. He looked Dabi over, who was still standing and staring at him, expression caught between hungry and exasperated. He flexed his wings, watching as Dabi’s eyes followed them.
He wasn’t terribly surprised that Dabi would have and use such doses of medication. He was actually surprised he one, shared, and two, that he didn’t see any more medical stuff in the room. Hell, Dabi shouldn’t be able to walk or bend. Those scars were a lot more flexible than they should have been.
On a dirtier note, he wondered how flexible Dabi was in general.
“So, what’s the game plan?” Hawks said, deciding now would be a good time to move his thoughts away from Dabi’s long limbs that were devoid of his coat for once, and away from the way Dabi’s sleep shirt hung even lower over his chest than his usual one did, teasing Hawks with glimpses of metal.
What sort of metal, he wasn’t sure.
Could be staples. Could be piercings.
“You get out of my room so I can sleep in my fucking bed?”
“Wait,” Hawks’ head whipped around to the bed. Yep, that was the bed Dabi patched him upon. “Did you seriously let me sleep on your bed? Then that would mean-” he looked back at Dabi, feeling incredibly pleased and a little put out he didn’t sleepily put it together earlier. His bedpartner smelled like Dabi because it was Dabi.
Dabi’s expression turned flat.
“Don’t read too much into it. You’re too heavy to move.”
“Could’ve rolled me onto the floor.”
“I could roast you right here and now.” Dabi threatened, lighting his hand on fire. Hawks grinned and turned on his heel.
“Thanks for the wonderful night!” He shouted as he left, cackling as he heard Dabi slam the door behind him.
In front of him, there was a pair of PLF members in the hallway. One, a gryphon morph, looked amused at the display. The other was Geten, who looked less than amused and maybe borderline horrified at Hawks’ implied choices.
Dabi didn’t stop showing up to his little training sessions with Toga and Spinner, even with Toga needling him for confirmation that her little matchmaking worked.
She looked so disappointed when Dabi stated what happened. Or didn't happen. She shot Hawks a betrayed look, as if he had intentionally fucked with her little scheme. He shrugged his shoulders.
“Learn from my mistakes. Don’t take drugs from weird-looking people.”
Spinner tried to stifle his snort of amusement.
“They’re doing better.”
Hawks was leaning against the wall, sipping at his water and watching Spinner and Toga spar against each other. He glanced at Dabi, who was also watching them, although, under the weight of Hawks’ stare, blue eyes slide over to him.
“Toga and Spinner.” He clarified, as if Hawks couldn’t tell who Dabi was talking about. Hawks raised a brow.
“Because I’m teaching two other knife-nerds?” Hawks said. Dabi kicked at his ankles, missing as Hawks pulled his leg out of the way, but the point is made. “Fine, fine. Yes, they are doing better. They’ve improved a lot. Toga’s a natural and Spinner is dedicated. They should have had real teachers when they were younger.”
“You’re a real teacher.”
“You know what I mean.” Hawks deflected. He narrowed his eyes and brought a hand to his mouth, letting out a sharp whistle. “Spinner, watch her footwork. Toga, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but fight dirtier.”
“I’m serious. You’re a good teacher. I don’t think they would have had as good of teachers otherwise.”
“Uh-huh.” Hawks crossed his arms and leveled an unimpressed look at Dabi. “There’s plenty-”
“I had ‘real’ teachers when I was younger. They’re not kind and they aren’t as understanding or patient. You give a shit about them. You’re…” Dabi’s nose wrinkled. “You’re not a horrible person.”
“I would hope not. My day job is being a hero.”
“You know that doesn’t mean anything. Horrible people can be heroes, too.”
“I.. suppose. Where is this coming from? Don’t tell me, is this your version of flirting? Saying nice things?” Hawks said, trying to lighten the mood.
Dabi huffed and tried to kick Hawks’ ankle again. This time, instead of dodging, Hawks stepped into Dabi’s space, an arm coming around to cage Dabi in as the man took a step back. Were they in a ballroom, it would look suspiciously like dancing. Right now, he knew it looked like his usual flirtation, but ramped up a few levels. Dabi momentarily flustered, eyes widening before he schooled his expression into one of annoyance.
“If I was flirting, you’d not be on fire.”
Hawks blinked. He wasn’t on fire... so did that mean…?
He yelped, flapping one wing as he realized Dabi had reached around and set one of his primaries on fire. As soon as it was put out, he whirled on Dabi, who was striding toward the hallway.
Hell no.
The next moment was filled with Hawks tackling Dabi.
He wasn’t sure what he was going to do once he had the man. Maybe put him in a hold and sit on him. Or something equally juvenile. Instead, he was pleasantly pleased to see that Dabi had been paying attention to their little lessons, even if he tapped out halfway through.
Hawks was flipped and Dabi used the momentum to get away. It sent him back towards where they were standing and put some distance between Hawks and Dabi. Hawks twisted, using the throw the slide into a crouch. He paused there, one hand on the ground as he watched the way Dabi moved, the muscles on one side tensing. He leaped towards the man, Dabi dodging him but not anticipating the roundhouse kick that Hawks sent his way.
What Hawks didn’t anticipate was Toga and Spinner tackling him to the ground and the three of them landing in a pile.
He was too busy swearing and trying to wiggle out of Spinner’s hold when he heard it. Just the barest hint of a chuckle. He looked up and managed to catch the tail end of Dabi’s laugh, just as Toga pulled his jacket over his head.
He spent the next few minutes being sat on until he apologized to Dabi.
The sparring between Dabi and Hawks got a lot more physical after that.
He wasn’t sure if Dabi felt more comfortable now or if this was another step in their not-quite dance. Either way, Dabi certainly threw him around more often, taking advantage of Hawks’ light weight.
He didn’t weigh a lot - He did have to fly, after all - but Toga wasn’t strong enough yet to toss him and Spinner wasn’t comfortable enough to try. Then again, they also had good reason not to try. If they were close enough to grab him, it usually meant they were also close enough for him to use a knife on them.
If this was a real fight, Hawks would have used Dabi’s close proximity to his advantage, as he did with Spinner and Toga… But this wasn’t a real fight, so he simply enjoyed the sensation of someone picking him up and throwing him around.
Especially since Dabi was still learning where and how to grab. Often he ended up missing, and missing badly.
He would grab air, which annoyed him. Sometimes he would get a hand on Hawks, but it wouldn’t be a good enough grip to throw him or put him in a hold. Usually, it led to Dabi accidentally copping a feel of Hawks’ ass or pecs or grabbing a handful of shirt that ended with it riding up and Dabi getting a face full of well-muscled winged-hero chest. It always left Dabi flustered. Not very flustered, but enough that the barest hint of a flush decorated his face and the bit of skin he could see on Dabi’s chest.
Dabi also noticed Hawks noticing him, and well. That was usually about the time Dabi pulled out his quirk and Hawks fled to a safe distance until he could work his way back into Dabi’s space.
Then the cycle would repeat.
This didn’t mean Hawks neglected his other students.
If anything, he doubled his focus on them, as they were improving in leaps and bounds. He was so incredibly, terribly proud of them. He no longer worried about Toga accidentally cutting one of her teammates.
Now if she cut them, it was entirely intentional and everyone knew that.