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The villain infiltration mission was going well, as far as Hawks was concerned.
He was in their base, lounging on their couch as Toga and Spinner screeched at each other as one beat the other in whatever video game they were playing. Dabi was out. Hawks was in the League of Villans base without Dabi. He felt that he had successfully gained their trust.
The Commision didn’t see things the same way though. Hawks was still moving too slowly for their tastes. He hadn’t gained their trust fast enough. He hadn’t procured any useful information. He hadn’t done enough . As punishment, they sent him out on extra patrols. After all, if he was slacking on this mission, he best make it up with his other work.
As a result, he had even less time to spend with the Villain League ( and Dabi - his traitorous mind piped up). The only solution was to work past his normal work hours, from 14 to 18 now. If he did his math right.
That’s why he was here now at the Villains Base. He had missed the meeting the Villains had early that day because of the Commision insisting he do morning and afternoon patrol. When he had finally arrived at the HQ- expecting to see Dabi there and be told to leave- he was instead met with Toga.
“Oh! Number Two hero! I thought you ditched us?” a familiar yet unexpected voice answered the door.
Hawks floundered for a moment, expecting to see a mister tall, dark, and handsome , only to be met with the short vampire at the door. He offered a sheepish smile (which he was disappointed to admit was genuine) “Sorry, Commission put me on patrol all day… is Dabi here?”
He found it concerning when the girl gave him a coy grin and leaned against the doorframe. She crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a smug look, not responding for a few seconds. “You just missed him”
Hawks nodded, accepting the punishment the Commission would no doubt dole out now that he hadn’t been able to even see his contact in over a week. “Ah, I’ll… I’ll be on my way then”. He stepped back, intent on flying home and informing his handler of his failure. God that lady would be furious.
But, he was stopped by a hand grabbing his forearm. He suppressed a flinch and looked up at the girl. She was smirking.
“Nah, just come inside! You can chill with us ‘till your firecracker gets back.”
And, just like that, he’d been let inside.
While it wasn’t the first time he’d been in the League of Villains HQ, but it was the first time he’d been without Dabi. Since he was a new recruit and suspicious as a “former” hero, it made sense that he was only allowed in with his contact. It was to be expected. So Hawks preened at the acceptance of him without the tall shadow.
Though, a part of him was disappointed that he didn’t get to see Dabi.
He glanced at the clock on the wall. It was nearing two AM. He really should get going home, he had to be at the HPSC by 7 o’clock that morning, if he went home now he should be able to squeeze in three or four hours of sleep…
But, he still had more paperwork to do when he got home. So maybe two? A power nap even?
His train of thought was interrupted when the sound of the front door swinging open and banging off the wall sounded throughout the house. Dabi and Spinner didn’t even look up from their video game as familiar footsteps trudged over to the living room.
Hawks perked up as Dabi appeared in the doorway to the common space. He wasn’t looking any worse for wear- which Hawks found surprising. Given how long Dabi seemed to be gone he was expecting something to have gone awry with wherever he had been sent to.
Dabi caught his eye and stilled. A bewildered expression on his face for just a moment before he masked it again. Chest heaving with a visible sigh as the raven-haired man stalked over to the couch Hawks was sitting on and collapsed on it- nearly on top of Hawks.
Hawks held back an indignant squawk at the action, but didn’t move. Be it out of stubborn pettiness that the other man had decided to try to muscle him out of his spot, or to subtly leach off the heat that Dabi leaked like a space heater. Either way, the pair ended up with Dabi’s arm thrown over the back of the couch (and carefully over Hawks’ wing) right behind Hawks’ head. Hawks tried not to let the heat rising to his cheeks show.
Dabi stared at him, not saying a word. Seemingly scrutinizing him.
“What took you so long?” Toga piped up, Hawks glanced over to see that she was winning. Spinner wasn’t happy.
Dabi groaned, “Some dipshit new recruits tried to get all fancy. They had the dumbest quirks I’ve ever seen and kept-”
Hawks tuned him out. Not on purpose. Dabi’s voice was just so… relaxing. Gentle, deep, raspiness that flowed over his ears like honey. He was so warm too, Hawks felt his hollow bones soaking up all the heat they could from Dabi’s proximity. And the man wasn’t even all that close. Maybe about a foot away (not counting the arm behind his head). Hawks’ eyes drooped before he even realized what was happening. Feeling so safe and warm and content.
“...-wks? Hawks?” that same voice stirred him out of his doze. He blinked back into full consciousness to find that Toga and Spinner were gone. Just him and Dabi had been left on the couch. Hawks' cheeks pinkened and he made a move to stand up, only to be stopped by Dabi tugging him back onto the couch.
Had Hawks been firing on all cylinders, he would’ve noticed how gently Dabi tugged him back down.
“What’s wrong with you pigeon? You fell asleep on me.”
Hawks gave Dabi a tired smile, “Ah, just missing out on some sleep hours. I’ll be fine, just gotta get home and take a nap.” Hawks said, standing up again. This time Dabi stood up with him. But before Hawks could make a move to the door, Dabi stopped him once again.
“You’re not going anywhere , birdie.” there was a pause, as if Dabi was expecting a comeback. Instead, Hawks blinked dumbly at him. The taller man sighed before continuing, “You look like you’re on death's door. If I let you go fly off you’ll probably pass out in the sky and what good to me is a dead informant?”
“I could… walk? Or catch a bus?”
Dabi stared at him blankly. Somehow, Hawks thought he said the wrong thing.
After a few more seconds of silent staring. Dabi groaned. “Is your skull hollower than the rest of your bones? You’re sleeping here.”
“... where?”
Dabi didn’t respond, simply grabbing his forearm and dragging him wherever he was going. Hawks- feeling strangely pliant- let it happen. Following after the villain in a confused daze as he bumbled about paperwork and waking up early.
Dabi opened a door and Hawks was greeted with the sight of a bedroom.
It was a fairly small room. With a king sized bed smushed into a corner, nightstand next to it. A dresser near the door and a desk opposite the bed. The bed didn’t have many blankets, but it did have a fair amount of pillows. Everything in the room was black or gray, some pops of white (like the bedsheets that were visible from beneath black blankets on the bed) or dark navy blue (one of the pillows and a crumpled blanket at the foot of the bed).
Hawks stood in the doorway, trying to process what exactly he was looking at as Dabi walked into the room like he owned the place, opening the drawer and taking some pants and shirts out. And that’s when it hit Hawks.
This was Dabi’s room.
Dabi had brought Hawks to his room.
…
Why?
“So uh… why are we in… your… room?”
Dabi looked at him like he was the one not making any sense.
“Because you’re sleeping here.”
Hawks blinked. Once. Twice. Three times. Before Dabi’s words sunk in and Hawks’ face flushed red. “Uh- Dabi– I-I think you're the tired one! Me, here?? Isn’t there… there like a guest room or something?”
Dabi sighed, “Technically yes, but it doesn’t have a bed, just a couch-”
“I can sleep on the couch-”
“Like hell you are, you can barely stand up. You need sleep. Good sleep at that-”
“But-But I can’t make you sleep on the couch-”
“Who said I was sleeping on the couch? It’s my bed, I’m sleeping in it. So are you.”
Hawks continued to flounder and protest as Dabi continued to ignore him. He only stopped when a shirt and sweatpants were thrown at his face. He pulled them off him and blinked at Dabi, cheeks heating up even more at the implication.
“Change and get in bed, I’ll be right back.” and with that, Dabi left the room, his own shirt and pants in his grip.
Hawks felt the flush creeping down his neck and shoulders as the door shut. Not wanting to test the man's patience, he complied and changed into the sweats Dabi had given him. The shirt posed more of a problem as there were no slits for his wings. While Hawks had already dropped a majority of his feathers near the door, he still had smaller wings on his back that would be uncomfortable to stuff under a shirt.
Deciding to forego the shirt, Hawks accepted that he would sleep in the flight shirt he had underneath his jacket. He folded his hero costume up neatly and put it on top of the dresser. He would prefer to sleep shirtless, but he didn’t know if he was comfortable with Dabi enough to do that. Especially since the pyromaniac seemed to expect him to wear a shirt.
Hawks sat down on the bed and the scent of Dabi hit him like a train. All the pillows and blankets smelled like the man.
Hawks turned and picked up the navy blue blanket he had noticed earlier. It was very soft. Much softer than anything he’d expected Dabi to own. Without realizing what he was doing, he started arranging the blanket as a barrier at the edge of the bed. He took some pillows and also marked the edges of the bed with them.
Something inside him deflated a bit when he had to stop quicker than expected because he ran out of materials.
Just as he realized that he’d made a nest in Dabi’s bed with Dabi’s things, the door swung open. The man in question standing in the doorway, changed into the shirt and pants he’s taken with him and gaping at the state of his bed.
Hawk’s paled, breath hitching, as he froze in place on the bed. Fuck fuck fuck fuck- Dabi was going to be so mad- He was going the be disgusted and throw Hawks out and make him fly home now- He was going to tell the Commision and they would scream at him and punish him even more and-
The door swung shut again. Dabi had left.
Hawks felt his eyes water as he couldn't exhale- yet couldn’t stop inhaling. Thoughts raced through his mind. Ranging from panicked jarble to screaming at Hawks to fix the bed and leave now before Dabi came back.
But Hawks was frozen. Unable to move stared down in horror at the nest he’d created.
The door opened again, and this time when Hawks whipped his head up, his heart shuddered in confusion at the sight before him.
Dabi was standing in the doorway, with a mountain of blankets and a few more pillows in his arms. He crossed the room over to the bed- to Hawks’ confusion- and deposited the nest materi- items onto the mattress.
Hawks stared up at Dabi, still hyperventilating, still with tears in his eyes, in confusion.
Dabi stared back at him.
“I-I’m sorry I’ll leave-” Hawks’ senses came back to him and he scrambled out of bed, Dabi’s warm hand caught his bicep and forced him to stop.
Hawks refused to meet Dabi’s gaze, “Leave? Why’re you leaving? What’s going on with you?”
Hawks tried not to shrink back at Dabi’s tone, “I know I’m not supposed to- to- to make nests. I promise I won’t do it again-”
“Why would you not be allowed to make nests?” Dabi’s voice was incredulous. Hawks bit his lip and stared at the floor. Dabi sighed, an exasperated thing, and tugged Hawks back into the nest bed. “I don’t care if you make a nest. In fact, go ahead. I just figured that’s how you usually sleep.”
“...why would I usually sleep in a nest..?”
“Cause you’re a bird ??”
Silence.
Hawks finally got the courage to look up at Dabi. Dabi didn’t look angry. He just looked confused. He was holding a red blanket in his hands, almost like he was offering it to Hawks. Something inside Hawks preened at the idea; Dabi offering him materials for the nest.
Hesitantly, he took the blanket from Dabi, not looking the taller man in the eye as he shuffled about the bed. Arranging the new blankets and pillows until the thing inside him was sated. He replaced the navy blanket at the edge of the bed with this new red one. The navy one was one of the few that smelled like Dabi, he had to keep it closer.
Dabi sat against the wall, watching Hawks hem and haw over the… the nest. Had Hawks been paying attention (and not been too embarrassed to look at the man), he would’ve seen a ghost of a smile on his face.
Hawks started to slow, his body screaming at him to just lay down and sleep. He finally looked over at Dabi, who quickly hid his smile and gave him a blank nod instead, gesturing to the empty space left on the bed.
Hawks obeyed the silent command- he was a soldier, that’s what he did- and laid down. Dabi settled down next to him.
Neither of them moved, Hawks staring at Dabi as Dabi stared at the ceiling.
Even though the two weren’t touching, Hawks could feel the heat radiating off of Dabi. His eyes shut off their own accord and he let out a breathy trill. He felt the mattress dip as the warmth was suddenly closer. He nuzzled into the warmth, forgetting momentarily that it was Dabi. It was Dabi that he was cuddling up to. It was Dabi that had just heard him trill.
There was a warm puff of air on his face that felt exasperated, a warm and heavy weight on his waist, and gentle fingers running circles on his back- the area right between his wings. Hawks felt himself melt, and the tendrils of sleep finally catch up to him.
He allowed himself a pleased smile as he drifted off.
For the first time in what felt like forever, Hawks woke up in waves.
First, his hearing came back to him. Faintly, he heard breathing, the rustling of blankets and bedsheets, and distantly, he could hear the clattering of people in a kitchen.
Next, he felt warm. Pleasantly warm. And heavy. The warmth surrounded him and he didn’t want to leave whatever bliss this was.
He unknowingly let out a little chirp and pressed deeper into the warmth.
A little chuckle met his ears, and Hawks woke up fully, startling himself into sitting and looking down at the other man in the bed.
He stared down at Dabi, who was laying contently and didn’t at all seem phased at the fact that Hawks had his hands on either side of the pyromaniac's head. He looked quite smug, actually.
Hawks’ face flushed as the events of the night… morning… previous came back. Gods he was never going to live down the amount of bird-related teasing and bullying Dabi would subject him to now.
“Damn birdie, you slept like the dead.”
The voice broke through his minor melt down. Hawks just groaned, rolling away from Dabi (still on the bed) and face planted into the pillows. He could feel the tips of his ears burning.
There was that chuckle again, this time joined with a hand on his back, preening through his feathers. Despite himself, Hawks felt his body relax at Dabi’s ministrations.
“You slept for ten hours and refused to let me get out of bed. You really needed a rest huh?”
Hawks’ ears burned brighter and he groaned in embarrassment. Suddenly, he jolted up in a panic, clambering out of the bed.
“FUCK! I had a meeting with the Commision this morning- what time– Fuck they’re going to be so mad-”
Dabi watched Hawks’ panic from the nest bed. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. “Just say you needed the day off. You got sick or something.”
“They’ll get mad if I say I need the day off and if I tell them I’m sick they’ll get mad at me for not taking care of myself” Hawks groaned.
Dabi scoffed, but stayed quiet for a bit. As if he was thinking of a response. Hawks had already gotten a hold of his hero costume, and was making his way to the door. Despite the little bird inside him screaming not to abandon Dabi in the nest.
“Just tell them to fuck off. They obviously don’t care about you. Just ghost them, say some villains got to you with a weirdass quirk or something.”
Hawks opened his mouth to retort- that they’d be infuriated if he let himself be kidnapped like that. But, while Dabi’s idea wouldn’t end in anything good, Hawks could say that he was finally getting somewhere with the infiltration mission and needed to stop his hero duties for just a bit.
“Yea… that could work”
Dabi let out a sigh, Hawks tried not to let himself think it was one of relief. And got up and out of bed too.
“Great, you’re staying here for the time being then. Now come on.” the man grabbed Hawks again, dragging him to the bed. Hawks made a questioning noise and Dabi rolled his eyes. “I’m still tired and if you go down there now they’re all gonna freak and start screaming. So you’re staying here”
Hawks felt that was a lie. Sure, Toga would tease him about it, the rest of them might too, but he doubted they would come up and start pestering Dabi about it. Not immediately, anyway. But Hawks accepted the flimsy excuse and crawled back into his nest.
It felt right, to be laying there. Safe and shielded from the world. With Dabi. he could let thoughts of the Commission and public fall to the wayside and instead focus on Dabi’s heat next to him. This time, Hawks was the one to make the first move. Smiling and pulling Dabi until the mans head was resting on his chest. Scratching gently at the mans scalp.
Dabi bristled, the temperature in the room spiked. But, he settled, muttering out some vague insult about “touch-starved heroes” and whatnot. But Hawks didn’t mind, not when he saw the healthy skin on Dabi’s face flush.
And so, Hawks enjoyed this. Running his hands through Dabi’s hair and up his sides, content with being surrounded by the scent and warmth of his…
Hmm…
Was Dabi his crush? A friend?
Hawks felt like he was. Though, he’d probably need to talk to Dabi about it. Where to go from here. He guessed though, with a smile, that Dabi probably wouldn’t mind wherever he took it.
He let himself relax, knowing that he probably had some explaining to do for his freakout yesterday. But also knowing that Dabi, despite all his prickliness and sharp edges, would understand. If his behavior both yesterday and today were anything to go by, there was a sweetness underneath.