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Hawks was waiting outside of the Paranormal Liberation Front building. His bright yellow eyes scanned the sky; the bright blue was fading into orange and yellow. Dabi should be out any minute now.
As if on cue, Dabi exited the building. He frowned at the sight of Hawks. “Don’t tell me you’re waiting for me.”
Hawks perked up and grinned, taking in the sight of Dabi. His navy blue coat rode low on his arms, exposing his toned biceps. “‘Course I am. Wanna go somewhere?”
“Hell no,” Dabi said as he proceeded to walk past Hawks.
Hawks followed him anyway. “Come on, Dabi. I just wanna go to the beach.”
“Why?” Dabi raised an eyebrow. “And can’t you go with… Anyone else?”
“It’s a surprise,” Hawks said. “I just felt like you’d like it.”
Dabi sighed and crossed his arms, looking over the other man. Hawks had something planned, but Dabi couldn’t sense any ill intent from him. It takes a lot for him to respond with, “Fine. But only for an hour. Spending a Friday night with you is the last thing I had on my mind.”
Hawks only laughed. “Great. Wanna fly there?”
“Now you’re pushing your luck.”
Dabi ended up driving both of them, considering that Hawks doesn’t have a driver’s license. Neither does Dabi, but he has more experience.
Hawks leaned his head out of the window, enjoying the feeling of the wind blowing through his hair. They took the back roads to their destination, so Dabi felt free to speed through the empty roads.
“Are we going to the beach?” Dabi sighed as he realized they were getting closer to the coast.
“Yeah,” Hawks grinned, sitting up. “Don’t tell me you hate the beach.”
“Not exactly,” Dabi said. “Won’t there be a lot of people?”
“It’s a pretty small beach. Don’t worry.” Hawks slid his visor up his forehead, his front hair tufts being pushed out of his face. “Did you bring a swimsuit?”
Dabi snorts. “No. How could I if I didn’t know you were dragging me along to this?”
“Aw. Looks like my attempts at sending telepathic messages about our beach date to you didn’t work,” Hawks said, laughing at Dabi’s sneer at the word “date.” “It’s fine. You don’t have to swim.”
Dabi huffed and focused back on the road. They’re almost there; the sea salt practically assaulted his eyes. He doesn’t know how Hawks can stand sticking his head out of the window with his visor pushed up like that. Maybe he’s just used to the wind hitting his eyes from flying. He allowed his eyes to wander back to Hawks and took careful note of his expression. The man is as calm as ever. He wondered if he could ever make waves in that smooth sea of an exterior.
The sand crunched under their boots as they walked towards the beach. Hawks was right, there was no one there.
“Are you gonna swim?” Dabi asked, looking over at Hawks.
“Yeah,” Hawks replied, slipping off his jacket. Dabi observed as his wings slipped through the slits of the jacket tenderly. When the jacket is fully off, his wings rose to their full height and towered over the both of them, piercing the skyline. Dabi sucked in a sharp breath and quickly looked away, focusing on getting himself undressed. He doesn’t know why his hands are trembling as he unbuttoned his pants.
Dabi doesn’t know why he follows Hawks into the water either. He never particularly liked the beach, or any large bodies of water, for that matter. It seemed like they would swallow him up whole. But Dabi followed Hawks deeper into the water anyway, feeling as his feet brushed over the rocky sea floor. He can’t feel the shells poking into the bottoms of his feet, but the salt water makes his wounds sting. He gritted his teeth and continued.
Hawks looked behind him. “Shit. I didn’t even realize-” He reached toward Dabi, but Dabi immediately flinched back.
“It’s fine,” Dabi said. “I don’t mind it too much. The pain reminds me that I’m still alive.”
“What a positive outlook you have,” Hawks said, beginning to walk backward. The water is almost up to their chests now.
The sun has set almost completely now. Hawks’ back and wings block most of its rays from hitting Dabi’s eyes. To say the backlighting looks ethereal is an understatement.
“I think I’m failing to understand you, hero,” Dabi said, not breaking eye contact with Hawks. “I just can’t see why you’re doing this. Any of this, including the Paranormal Liberation Front.”
“Do we have to talk business right now?” Hawks ran a hand through his hair. “I could use a small vacation before the big day. I figured you could, too.”
They walk further, the water about to reach their necks. Their pace has almost come to a stop, but their bodies move rhythmically through the current. The flowing water is starting to feel good on Dabi’s body, like a force pushing around him.
“You don’t know anything about me, Hawks,” Dabi whispered. He felt a little breathless at the situation. He feels vulnerable here, only in his underwear and almost fully submerged in the water. “So, again, I ask you: why me?”
A light smile plays on Hawks’s lips. Being shorter than Dabi, the water has already reached his chin. “I guess I’d like to know more about you. Or pretend I know you more than I do. I think we find each other fascinating.”
Dabi can’t argue with that. If only he could open up Hawks’s skull and poke around, trying to figure out what was going on in there. Who is he? He feels like he could only find the answer to his questions by being inside his flesh.
So Dabi closes the distance between them and kisses Hawks on the lips. He’s surprised he did it, but even more so when Hawks leaned into it. Dabi quickly pulled away, not sure if he should have done that. He had never even kissed anyone besides his mother, he doesn’t know why he thought his first real kiss should be with Hawks of all people. It didn’t feel bad, but it wasn’t exactly amazing either. It didn’t make him feel closer to Hawks. He doesn’t know what he was expecting.
“I could tell that was your first kiss,” Hawks said, breaking the awkward silence. “It was awful.”
“Shut up.” Dabi splashed Hawks with water, making the other laugh. “I didn’t realize I was with the kissing master.”
“I’m not that experienced,” Hawks admitted. He leans back and floats on his back. “I had one girlfriend, but we broke up after about a week.”
“Poor girl,” Dabi said, getting on his back as well. His hearing decreases as the water fills his ears. “I didn’t mean to kiss you.”
“It’s fine, really,” Hawks said. “You sound disappointed. Like you were expecting something more. Sorry, I didn’t bring fireworks and champagne.”
“I don’t know what I was expecting,” Dabi said. “I thought you were supposed to feel something when you kissed someone. It was just weird.”
“Maybe we’re the same. I never felt any spark with that girl, or right now,” Hawks said.
Their arms brushed against each other in the water. Hawks’s arm feels so smooth against Dabi’s burnt skin. Are they the same? Maybe not quite in the way Dabi expected. Even more so, it’s a relief that the kiss between them didn’t mean anything. Or maybe it had a different meaning, one Dabi wasn’t quite aware of.
“Don’t tell anyone I did this,” Dabi sighed.
“There goes my gossiping session with Endeavor.”
When the sun fully sets, the two walk back to the car. It’s a quiet ride back, but it’s not awkward. More akin to being drained after an exciting day. In truth, Dabi didn’t hate this time between them. Hawks wasn’t so annoying when he tried to be genuine.
Hawks looked over at Dabi. “You’re stopping by my house place first, right? Wanna stay so you can shower?” Seeing the dubious look on Dabi’s face, he quickly added, “I’m not telling you to stay the night. Just clean yourself up.”
Dabi sighed as he considered it. He did want to get all of the saltwater residue off of him before it seeped even more into his skin. “Fine.”
The pair reached a high-rise apartment complex soon after. Hawks was used to flying straight up to the window of his apartment, but he climbed the stairs for Dabi’s sake. Their boots methodically stomped up the metal stairs. Hawks pulled out his keyring and unlocked the door, allowing the both of them in.
Dabi was astonished at how utterly bare the apartment was. The white walls were bare, save for a flatscreen TV in the living. It looked like Hawks had only purchased the most basic furniture, such as a couch and coffee table, stools for the kitchen island, and a singular end table by the door to hold his keys. “Are you sure we didn’t just break into an empty apartment? What the hell is this?”
Hawks laughed and scratched the back of his head. “I like it like this. Less to clean, you know?” He placed his keys on the end table and took off his boots.
“Sure,” Dabi replied, taking off his boots as well.
“You can use the shower in my room,” Hawks said, walking to his room. He opened up his clothes drawer. ‘I’ve got some clothes that should fit you.”
It was a bit embarrassing to have to wear Hawks’ clothes, but Dabi accepted the clothes anyway. “... Thanks.” He walked into the bathroom attached to the room, closing the door behind him.
The bathroom was just as bare as the rest of the apartment. Not even a decorative shower curtain? Dabi slipped off his clothes and turned on the water to its highest setting.
Hawks took off his hero costume as Dabi showered. He pulled on a crewneck and sweatpants and tossed his clothes into a hamper. He sat back on his bed just as the water in the shower turned off.
Dabi opened the door, his old clothes in hand. “Thanks, again. For letting me shower in your soulless apartment.”
Hawks grinned. “You’re welcome.”
Dabi let out a small laugh and walked towards the door. Just as he turned the knob, Hawks quickly stood up.
“Wait,” Hawks started, and Dabi looked back. “When am I gonna get those clothes back?”
“They are pretty ugly… I don’t want to keep them for too long. Does next Friday work for you?”
“It’s a date.”
“Oh, shut up,” Dabi snapped, but not in a malicious way. If anything, Hawks can hear a slip of affection in his voice.
Dabi turned the knob again, opening the door and leaving the apartment. As soon as he was out of sight, he cursed himself for falling for the hero’s charms. He already missed him.