Chapter Text
The egg hawks had been nesting for the last month began to crack. Hawks and Dabi both went into panic mode, worried the egg was hatching too soon. They made sure the egg was placed on the fluffiest part of the nest Hawks diligently made prior to laying the egg.
“Shit, this is really unsanitary…” Dabi said as he looked at the nest of haphazardly laid feathers in the corner of Hawks’ apartment. Hawks preferred his home dingy, and the arrival of their baby didn’t change that.
“Quit yappin’” Hawks bent down beside the nest, “kids trying to hatch..” Faint scratching sounds came from inside the egg. The wiggled a little as the baby inside tried to claw its way out.
“You’ve got to be fucking with me..” Dabi said, bending down to get a closer look at the egg. His eyes squinted at the bizarre sight. His hand reached out to flick the egg, prompting Hawks to slap his hand.
“I’m not fucking with you! It’s a baby.” Hawks said, petting the egg softly as if to soothe it from being flicked.
“You really did shit this thing out?” Dabi recoiled, “I haven’t noticed a difference in—“
“Shut the fuck up.” Hawks eyes darkened as he looked back at Dabi. A piece of shell flaked off to reveal the tiny clawed hand that had been scratching at the inside of the egg. The baby’s hand quickly retreated back inside the egg.
“Let it come out on its own.” He scolded, worried Dabi might interrupt the process or scare the baby.
“It’s been an hour and the thing hasn’t made much progress. You sure it won’t drown in there?” Dabi furrowed, stepping back as he stared at the egg. He was growing impatient waiting for the shy baby to emerge from the egg.
“It won’t drown.” Hawks claimed, but a look of worry flashed over his calm expression, “I don’t think it will…”
Then, a bigger crack spread from the bottom of the egg to the top. Liquid began to drip out, slowly ebbing away at the loosened shell. With a few more kicks, the baby’s foot was out. The child had typical human feet with sharp talons designed to claw his way out of the egg.
“Look, look!” Hawks exclaimed, a smile spreading across his face.
“It’s got normal feet.” Dabi sighed a breath of relief. He had been imagining a baby chicken this entire time. Seeing a human baby foot made the situation less bizarre, yet more terrifying. This was a baby. A human baby.
“Of course it does! Did you think it would be a bird?” Hawks laughed at Dabi’s dumb assumption.
“Shut up, bird brain. You’re the one who laid an damn egg like a fucking chicken.” Dabi retorted, tapping his foot as he became impatient for the conversation to move back to the hatching baby.
The egg cracked more, revealing the lower half of the newborn. The child still looked normal. A gurgled cry came from inside the egg. Hawks quickly removed the egg shell and inspected the baby’s airway. He took the turkey baster and suctioned the child’s mouth.
“Shit, is he breathing? What’s wrong?” Dabi panicked, leaning forward with a grimace.
“He’s got the egg fluid in his mouth…. But I think I got it out.” Hawks sighed, looking down at the newborn that was staring back with owl-like eyes.
“He’s got a creepy stare.” Dabi pointed, “is that normal? Were you a freaky baby, too?” He stayed standing, assessing the baby from afar.
“No… well, I think he’s cute…? Maybe it’s because he just hatched…” Hawks chuckled nervously. The two stared in silence for a moment at the newborn. The child’s eyes slowly returned to a regular size as he settled into his father’s arms. He was covered in what felt like egg whites. He did have an umbilical cord, but it was attached to the outer edge of the eggshell.
“Dabi, go get scissors. You wanna cut the cord?” Hawks glanced back at Dabi to gauge his reaction. Dabi deadpanned, leaving to go get scissors. Hawks chuckled as he wiped the baby’s face.
“Where do I cut it? Just.. like near the base? What even is this…” Dabi said, clearly confused about the cord. He didn’t seem to understand that the baby got nutrients from the umbilical cord while in the egg. Hawks looked over at Dabi with a ‘seriously’ expression before Dabi flared, defensive and embarrassed. He held the cord taut before snipping it. Some liquid poured out and Dabi gagged.
“If that makes you gag I don’t think you’re prepared for what’s to come..” Hawks sighed. The scene foreshadowed Dabi’s low tolerance to baby germs.
“I didn’t agree to take care of him.” Dabi huffed.
Hawks lifted the tiny newborn into his arms. He carried the baby to the kitchen sink, then filling it with a warm water. He carefully checked the temperature then grabbed a cloth and began to wipe down the newborn. Dabi’s face remained neutral though he was frustrated Hawks was a natural at parenting. The baby had only been alive for fifteen minutes yet Hawks knew how to get him breathing, bathe him, hold him.. he knew everything and Dabi knew nothing. It made him insecure and want to withdraw, but it also made his heart burn with motivation to try harder to be a good dad and show up Hawks.
Dabi spread the tiny white wings on the baby’s back. The feathers were fluffy, and not like normal feathers at all. They were soft to the touch and none of them were formed like a proper feather.
“His flight feathers will come in when he’s around two.” Hawks said, noticing Dabi’s curious expression upon seeing the downy feathers.
“I gotta get a leash for when that time comes. No way in hell I’m chasing him down.” Dabi smiled, thinking of the hassles the child would give him.
“We should name him Hokuto.” Hawks declared.
“…With characters meaning ‘fire’ and ‘fly’?” Dabi looked pleased about the idea of his child having a name inspired by both himself and Hawks.
“Do you think he’ll have fire?” Hawks pondered, wrapping the baby in a towel before standing up.
“Yeah, he will. He’ll be more powerful…” Dabi paused as if he were stopping himself from saying something he would regret, “he’ll be a good kid..” He finished, walking out into the living room with Hawks and their newborn son.
“He isn’t crying a lot like I thought he would. Guess he’s happy already, huh?” Dabi said, poking at Hokuto’s mouth. Hokuto opened his mouth and latched onto Dabi’s finger, suckling aggressively.
“What the hell! Get off my finger. I’m not your mom!” He tugged his finger away. Hokuto looked at him with sad eyes that threatened to form tears. His lip quivered and he began to cry. Hawks laughed and Dabi looked guilty, putting his finger back with a huff. This time Hokuto wouldn’t suckle and continued to cry.
“What’s wrong now? He wanted my finger, so here it is!”
“….he’s hungry. He didn’t want your finger, he wanted milk.” Hawks laughed at Dabi’s lack of basic knowledge regarding babies. Dabi promptly took away his finger and wiped the spit on Hawks.
“Will you hold him while I make a bottle?” Hawks asked, holding the baby out for Dabi to hold. Dabi stared at the squirming newborn, unsure how to hold him. Hawks sighed and made Dabi sit down. He then positioned his arms, setting the baby in his arms carefully.
“Support his head. He doesn’t have any neck strength. His head will just drop if you don’t hold it.” He warned. Dabi nodded, staring at the fussing baby. His lips parted as if he was going to speak, but nothing came out. He merely stared into his son’s blue eyes that had golden centers Hawks noticed the precious moment between Dabi and Hokuto. He smiled, sighing and shaking his head. Though the moment was sweet, Hawks couldn’t dismiss his fears of Dabi being a father. He knew Dabi was unstable, not to mention a villain, so expecting him to be a decent father figure was a bit of a stretch. Another thing that nagged at Hawks’ was the child’s hair. It was white. Dabi had black hair and he had blonde. The color didn’t add up. Something was amiss, and Hawks knew by the way Dabi didn’t mention the baby’s white hair that something was up.
Hawks knew Dabi was hiding something from him, and he knew it would only get worse as time went on.