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"This information is lackluster given the time you've spent with the contact." Madame President of the Hero Commission tells him in her usual indifferent tone.
Hawks keeps a smile plastered on his face, despite his desire to scream at the absurdity of his expectations.
Seriously, what bullshit.
"Oh? I think I have gained a considerable amount of viable intell with the resources and time I've been given." Hawks says coyly, watching in satisfaction as her lips press firmly together in a thin line. It took a lot to get her to break her stoic facial expression.
"I disagree," she tells him bluntly. "The stakes are too high to wait patiently for you to establish proper trust."
Hawks' stomach drops, and suddenly, the situation isn't as funny anymore. He didn't like the implications hidden in that statement.
"What are you asking me to do about it?" Hawks asks, keeping the unease out of his voice.
"Hawks."
The panic starts to close in, but he pushes his feelings of claustrophobia aside the best he can. The President knows that Hawks knows what she's asking. She knows Hawks doesn't need to be directly given the order.
But Hawks does; Hawks needs confirmation before he has to has to this again.
She sighs, disappointed. "Use seduction to compromise the villain target Dabi."
Hawks feels his wings twitch, and he internally winces at the give away of his emotional state.
"With all due respect, I don't see how this is necessary. Intimately consorting with a villain of Dabi's rank is highly unethical, even for infiltration."
"This isn't able to be negotiated."
Hawks' smile falters for a split second; he tries to put it back just as quick.
He can't refuse an order.
Hawks nods a single time, and waves casually goodbye. He knows the blatant unprofessionalism will annoy Madame President. He thinks he deserves to have that much at least.
This is all in the name of a greater good, Hawks reminds himself over and over again as he flies home.
Hawks has only been sent as a honeypot a handful of times. They weren't objectively bad experiences like you would expect them to be. The targets almost seemed like they just wanted to be loved, like they just wanted to feel cared about for a few moments.
It was painfully human, and it never failed to make Hawks feel a pang of guilt.
Hawks even thinks the targets knew, deep down, that Hawks had been a spy. But they indulged regardless; deluding themselves into believing they could have someone to spend their special moments with.
Dabi though, would no doubt be different. Where his prior targets had been gentle, Hawks knew Dabi would be rough. There was a tension; an air surrounding the two that hadn't been around for Hawks' past missions. Where past targets might have a had a hint of fondness for Hawks, Dabi didn't.
Passion replaced any softness between the two. Whether it was them arguing semantics or fits of anger, and claiming threats that were anything but empty. Nothing between them was passive. It was the one constant in their partnership, and Hawks never found himself protesting it, despite the unpredictability it caused.
A bit of danger was alluring—which Hawks recognized was probably a sign of some underlying problem stemming from his upbringing—but it aided him in this scenario nonetheless.
Though, this all comes back to the original idea: seducing the villain Dabi.
Simple enough, really.
Passion would be easy to twist. Plus, Hawks has caught Dabi staring for seconds too long many times prior. The interest was there, so Hawks only had to play into it some more, and he would be set.
And it was just sex, right? Who cares? Blowing off some steam would be good for Hawks anyways.
It's just sex. It's not a big deal.
But the suggestion makes his chest itch. Hawks has to resist the urge to claw at the invisible feeling with his talons.
Don't get Hawks wrong, he definitely found Dabi attractive. The villain's appearance wasn't the problem. Actually, Hawks found the villain's staples and piercings absolutely mesmerizing. So the inevitable kissing and heated make-out sessions wouldn't give Hawks any trouble. Hawks thinks he would even enjoy it.
He just didn't want to have sex.
Hawks huffs a quiet laugh at that particular thought.
Alert the press! Hawks, the flirty twenty-two year old attractive bachelor, didn't want to have sex? How unbelievable.
Everyone thought Hawks was an easy lay and an attention whore. Although he knows down to his core, it isn't who he really is—who Keigo is—it's true. It's true, because Hawks has to be that way. For the mission. For a trustworthy, likable reputation. For more fans. For the commission.
But if Hawks was being honest with himself, Intimacy was a frightening thing, even with no strings attached. Sex still makes people vulnerable. You can't control the chemicals your brain releases or the way your body might react. The endorphins you realese during sex can be so strong, you can be fooled into thinking you're in love. Which meant pillow talk for Hawks meant securing useful information.
(Hell, cuddling is dangerous enough in Hawks' opinion. People can feel addicted to the person they cuddle with if they release enough oxytocin.)
Sex is as physically close you could get to someone and Hawks hates that. He hates that he'll give a peice of himself to Dabi. He hates that it'll all be completely meaningless. And he hates every mission like this one. When he's selling parts of himself that were supposed to remain in his control at all times.
He has nothing for himself. His own body wasn't truly his.
Hawks sighs, and reads over the text Dabi sent him a little while ago.
A meeting at midnight. In some abandoned warehouse. Probably next to several sketchy alleyways.
How romantic.
Hawks arrives a couple minutes early, wondering if Dabi will be late or almost on-time.
Unsurprisingly, several minutes pass, and it's quite clear Dabi's decided on the former.
"You're late." Hawks states to the supposedly empty building, but Hawks' feathers picked up on Dabi's presence nearby. "I'm really starting to think you make me wait on purpose."
Dabi strolls in after Hawks' call out. Hopefully the villain is now resigned in any future plans to try to sneak up on Hawks. He really doesn't want to deal with that on top of everything else.
"Bird." Dabi addresses with a smirk, obviously pleased by Hawks' indignation.
Hawks watches as the silver on Dabi's staples glow after a fleeting light passes through the warehouse. He's immediately entranced by the shiny sight and he doesn't force himself to look away to save face. He's aware that staring at Dabi's staples actually looks like he's staring at the villains lips, which is good for where Hawks wants this meeting to end up.
Dabi tilts his head, considering. "Someone's worked up," he snorts.
Hawks hums, finally tearing his eyes away from the staples. "What's on the agenda for today's date?"
Dabi narrows his eyes. "Date, huh? Pretty hero on a date with the big bad villain?"
"You think I'm pretty?"
Hawks walks closer to Dabi, a teasing smile on his face. Dabi rolls his eyes, but doesn't back away from the close proximity.
The alleged 'big bad villain' seems a bit flustered, Hawks remarks internally. Dabi would ignite his flames if he said that observation out loud.
"You're a model. You're objectively attractive." Dabi averts his eyes away from the hero. He's shocked to see something resembling a pout form on Dabi's face.
Hawks snickers good-naturedly, causing Dabi to give him the side eye. "Please do tell me more, Hot Stuff."
"I bet enough people tell you already. Wouldn't want your ego getting any bigger."
"But it would be different coming from you."
They're practically chest-to-chest at this point, Hawks peeking up at Dabi through his eyelashes. Hawks watches as Dabi swallows, his adam's apple bobbing.
"Why is that?" Dabi asks, voice lower than before.
"Why don't you find out?"
Maybe it's Hawks' tempting expression or the way Hawks' hand started to move towards Dabi's chest, either way, Dabi's self control snaps. He pushes Hawks backwards, leading him, until he's pinned to the nearest wall.
Hawks' eyes flicker to Dabi's mouth—for real this time—and remain there. The tension surrounding the two grow heavier. Dabi sends one last smirk before his head dips to meet Hawks.
Dabi's lips move almost experimentally for a few moments, but the intensity hits, and he bites down on Hawks' bottom lip, demanding entrance. Hawks obliges.
After a while, Dabi moves away from Hawks' mouth and starts nipping at his jaw, making his way down to Hawks' neck. Dabi's hands trail over Hawks' body, pausing at his abs, which Dabi seems to want to appreciate for a few additional seconds. If Hawks didn't have to worry about selling the next series of actions, he would find that charming.
But Hawks has to start actually acting. He has to complete his quota after all.
Hawks leans his head to the side to give Dabi more space to work with, and waits in anticipation for teeth to bare into his skin. When they do, Hawks let's out a moan and assures it's a little louder than what he would do normally. He might as well put on a show since he knows it'll be appreciated. Hawks has to make sure this goes further, after all. A make-out session was great (and something Hawks would genuinely consent to on his own), but it wasn't enough for his mission. He had orders.
Hawks' hands find Dabi's belt. He puts his thumbs in the belt loops to pull Dabi's hips closer. Hawks' hand starts moving from belt loops to—
Dabi pulls away abruptly and looks Hawks in the eyes.
"You want this?" Dabi asks gruffly, sounding a little breathless.
Huh, Dabi cared about double checking boundaries. As if Hawks going for Dabi's belt buckle wouldn't be enough of an answer itself.
The answer though, if Hawks was being honest, would be no. Not as a 'stop touching me now,' but as a 'let's continue this, but not get in each other's pants' type way. Unfortunately, Hawks didn't really have the privilege of choices at the moment. He doesn't feel like lying. Hawks doesn't think he could pull off an enthusiastic 'yes!' If he tried. Not when dread begins drowning him.
"Do you even have to ask?" Hawks quips instead, sarcasm dripping into every word.
"Yes." Dabi replies unimpressed, like Hawks just asked the dumbest question he's ever heard.
(In the corner of Hawks' mind, he celebrates that Dabi's morals include always ensuring consent.)
Hawks groans, frustrated with both himself and Dabi. "That was rhetorical, you dumbass. Get on with it."
Dabi pauses and his eyes flicker across Hawks' face, searching. It throws Hawks off guard, but he keeps his face neutral and feigns impatience. Dabi's face looks pinched when he finally stops.
"What are yo—"
"You don't want this." Dabi states, taking a step away from Hawks and removing any physical contact.
Hawks blinks. What?
Hawks reaches out to tug on Dabi's sleeve. "Of course I do, Hot Stuff. C'mon."
"No. You don't." Dabi says firmly, glaring.
Hawks' anxiety is through the roof at this point. He needs Dabi to get closer again; to kiss him again. Fuck.
"Yes I do, okay? Yes, now please can we—can you—just." Hawks grabs onto Dabi's lapel to pull Dabi down for another heated kiss, but Dabi puts a hand on Hawks' chest, stopping him.
"Dammit Hawks—I don't care if we fuck or not! It's not going to help you get in with the league." Dabi runs his hand through his hair, surprisingly showing Hawks his distress freely. "This was just to blow off steam. I didn't mean to pressure you into this with some power dynamic or some shit."
Hawks' jaw almost drops from shock. He snaps himself out of it quickly, and his frustration freely returns.
"You're not pressuring me, Dabi. Why would you even think that," Hawks huffs with exasperation.
But Dabi was somewhat correct. That's where the main problem comes into play, because how, how the hell did Dabi know.
"Your wings are all..." Dabi's hand gestures dramatically to his wings. "Weird."
Hawks eyebrows furrow together in confusion. "Weird? What are you talking about?" He flexes his wings and turns his head to look at them, but they seem perfectly normal. "They look fine!" Hawks exclaims more defensive than he'll admit.
Dabi pinches the bridge of his nose. "Well yeah they're fine now, because I stepped away from you."
Hawks rolls his eyes. "Dabi, It's fine if you don't want to go farther, but you don't have to blame it on my win—"
"Just stop," Dabi snaps. Hawks opens his mouth to keep talking regardless, causing Dabi to hastily interrupt. "Your wings started curling around you, and they kept drooping to the ground!" Dabi, noticing how his outburst conflicts with his usual uncaring attitude, looks away and grumbles. "Your wings always give you away."
"What? Wait, why are you even watching my wings? I don't—you don't know what you're talking about. You don't have a bird quirk, and neither does anyone else you hang out with," Hawks sputters out ineloquently.
Dabi rolls his eyes. "I said, your wings give you away, were you not listening? They're your tells. When you're happy or excited they do this weird flap thing and exten—" Dabi stops abruptly, caught up with the fact he's narrating Hawks' mannerisms to an embarrassing degree. "It doesn't matter. I know you're lying, so I'm giving you an out. For fucks sake, stop acting desperate for something you don't even want!"
All too suddenly, Hawks feels dumb and awkward. He's standing in a rundown warehouse, back against a dingy wall, arguing with Dabi about sleeping with him. A villain.
In the past, Hawks' contacts were too blinded by lust and pleasure to notice Hawks' discomfort. Although Hawks had thought he hid it better, so Dabi must not think with his dick. Which, good for the league, but terrible for Hawks and his mission.
"Are you even interested in men?" Dabi cuts into the silence, his voice carries something in it that Hawks can't recognize. "You know what—nevermind." One of Dabi's boots scuffs the ground. "What's the point in asking when you'll just lie to me if you aren't."
Dabi's face is drawn into a strained scowl, the corners of his mouth more downturned then Hawks has seen before. As if he's struggling to hide how he really feels from Hawks.
Hawks' throat feels dry at the sight, and he swallows past an invisible lump. His fists clench tightly in a stressed fist. Dread can turn into guilt in seconds.
"Dabi—"
"Save it, Number Two. I'll contact you when something is needed."
Dabi's voice is cold, distant. He leaves the warehouse with heavy steps, pulling a pack of cigarettes from his jacket pocket.
Hawks had failed.
The League's hideout is quiet when Hawks arrives, which is definitely a first.
Weeks had passed since the warehouse incident and Hawks never got any messages from Dabi. Hawks' initial shame turned into helplessness fast. Luckily though, when time alerted him it had been a little over a month, Hawks received a message inviting him to a meeting. The relief he experienced was intoxicating.
Hawks had begun grieving the infiltration mission altogether, at a point. His hopes switched from Dabi's forgiveness, to the commission's. Thank the Gods he never told the commission about the failure with Dabi. Hawks wasn't typically a procrastinator, but the commission often tended to be an exception to rules.
"Hello? Anyone home?" Hawks drawls, hoping he wasn't being set up. Fuck. He never even considered that. Did Dabi invite him so he could ambush and murder him?
Hawks feels the movement before he sees it. "Hawks!" Toga yells, running towards him with too much energy for Hawks to keep up with—oh, and a knife.
"Woah—uh—" Hawks stutters, wondering if he should take the knife from her. He opts to catch her hand instead, holding it still so it doesn't stab him. "Careful there, Toga!" He laughs a little nervously.
Toga pouts. "I'll get you next time."
Hawks ignores that promise. "Where is everyone?" He asks. He releases her hand, but keeps an eye on the knife, just in case.
"Out doing things! I think Dabi and Shigaraki are around here somewhere though." Toga flicks her wrist and watches as the knife moves with her hand. She tucks the knife away after she's seemingly satisfied with the repetitive movement.
"What kind of things?" Hawks inquires casually, walking around to sit on the couch and appear like he didn't really care about the answer.
Toga follows him to the couch, happily bouncing as she walks. "I think Spinner is getting groceries? I don't really know exactly. Everyone does their own thing sometimes!"
That new tidbit of information lulls in Hawks' head for a moment. It makes sense to him. Villain's would still want their privacy and freedom. They actually probably want those things more than most.
Speaking of villains wanting their individual space.
Hawks wets his lips, hesitating before he speaks for once. "Has Dabi been...normal lately?"
Toga stops bouncing around like she's the most carefree person in the world at the question. She peers at him with a considering look on her face. Hawks resists the urge to fidget, so instead he puts his energy into finding a comfortable position on the couch. One that doesn't bother his wings too much.
"Now that you mention it..." She starts. "He's been a little off. Did something happen between you two?"
"No! I just hadn't heard from him in a while there! I wondered if something happened is all." Hawks dissmiss easily, chuckling as he does.
Toga squints her eyes at him. "Are you sure?"
Toga had her moments of being surprisingly attentive and insightful when it came to people's emotions. Of course she still had issues with boundaries, but she's proved herself to be empathetic in some cases.
She's still a villain. She's still a target.
Right.
Hawks nods as a reply, and focuses on keeping his wings unmoving. He internally sighs when she drops the subject and flops next to him on the couch.
Hawks listens earnestly as she rambles on about the most mediocre, yet refreshing things. She was open with him to a startling degree, and sometimes he wished he could be a little bit like that too.
No—she's a villain. He shouldn't admire qualities of villains.
Distantly, Twice flashes in his mind. How the man was so trusting; so loyal. How he wasn't the stereotypical villain. How Hawks thought he deserved a second chance. How he was only with the league because society rejected him.
Hawks sets aside those observations for a later date. He would figure something out, but not today. Not right now. He has to solidify himself as a league member before he can consider any possible future outcomes.
After she finishes a mini tanget, Toga goes starry eyed. Hawks takes note of the change in demeanor and prepares for—
"Hey, Hawksie, can I play with your wings?"
He blinks. He wasn't prepared for that, but maybe he should have expected it. Most people liked Hawks for his wings. Hell, it was the whole reason the HPSC bought him. He was also made aware of it everytime civilians indulged in their bad habit of prodding at them. Truthfully Hawks should be appreciative Toga asked at all, as most people didn't give him any warnings. But it wasn't like he could say no to her. Hawks was trying to gain her affection and trust. Therefore, he couldn't deny a request and risk a setback in relations.
Great. He has to let a murderer, villain, someone Hawks will inevitably have to betray, preen his very sensitive wings. An action that is considered rather intimate, and specially reserved for family, close friends, or a significant other.
Even though he didn't mind Toga all that much, she was still someone Hawks couldn't afford to get attached to. Which would make the preening harder to bare.
Whatever. It wasn't like he didn't allow strangers to touch him everyday. He could handle it. It was his job to handle it.
"Sure!" Hawks answers chipperly. Toga cheers dramatically then scoots closer to Hawks. He turns so his back is to her—which went against many of his training protocols—and waits.
When Toga's fingers finally brush through his feathers, Hawks is dumbfounded at the light pressure. She was being careful. The palm of her hand hardly making contact with his wings, as only her fingertips graze over one of his primary feathers. She was being quiet, solely focused on his wings.
Hawks can almost relax. Almost.
His wings jostle when a door shuts from inside the base. The sudden movement makes Toga pause, so Hawks forces his wings to behave again. Repressing the instinctual motions of his wings creates a pent up, restless feeling to spread in his core. His hand twitches, and Hawks goes ahead at curbing that instict too. No matter how much it hurts.
Footsteps make their way to the room Hawks and Toga are sitting in. Hawks watches the doorway for the intruder, and the incoming panic worsens when black boots can be seen.
Dabi halts at the sight of Hawks, but leisurely walks into the room anyways. Dabi remains standing though, ignoring the other couches or spots he could've taken up. Instead Dabi crosses his arms, glowering at the pair on the couch.
"Hi Dabi," Toga greets, quickly returning to Hawks' wings.
"Hey," Hawks chimes in after, cringing at the delivery. It's a lot more awkward than his persona should allow him to be.
Dabi watches them silently for a minute or so, not helping get rid of the new, strained air now occupying the room. Dabi sighs, annoyed and filled with exasperation. "Toga, stop."
"What? Why?" Toga questions, but does extract her hands from his wings.
"She's fine, Dabi."
"Oh is she now?"
"Yes, and I know my wings weren't moving right now, so what's your deduction this time." Hawks glares. Dabi glares back in retaliation.
"Uh guys?" Toga interrupts, but neither one of them turn. "Nevermind. Maybe you two should get a room or something. I'm not leaving."
Hawks whips his head around to face Toga. "What? No—" Wait, no, that's a good insinuation. He turns back to Dabi. "Well actually, I'm always down to—"
"No." Dabi shuts down incredulously. "What the fuck, Hawks? Have you not learned anything from what happened?" Dabi scorns.
Hawks stands from the couch, not liking the way Dabi could easily tower over him. "You're wrong though—"
"How am I wrong? I haven't even said anything yet—"
"So spit it out!" Hawks snaps.
"You don't have any boundaries!"
"Yes I do!" Then in the heat of the moment bitterly adds: "You hardly know me."
Blue flames flicker momentarily, the same way they did in the warehouse. "Because you're always lying to me!"
Hawks scoffs. "And you aren't?" The two stare off angrily as the argument comes to a standstill. Interestingly enough, Dabi holds back whatever he wants to say next.
Toga picks up on Dabi's resistance. "Okay, fine, I'll leave," she sighs. "This is getting awkward anyways. You owe me though, Dabi." She scoots far away from them before she gets up to exit the room. Dabi breaks eye contact with Hawks only to ensure Toga actually leaves.
Hawks is about to make a comment about needing Toga to leave, but Dabi cuts in before he can.
"What are you even trying to do, huh? Why did you kis—pull that shit in the warehouse?"
Ah, so he hadn't told the League about what happened between them. "Why are you making it a bigger deal than it has to be? Why can't we just leave it as an accident?"
"You tried to have sex with me for your own gain! That's fucked up! That's a big deal!" Dabi yells, and yeah, Dabi wasn't exactly wrong in his claims, Hawks could admit. "Or is that not a big deal to you, Hero? Is it okay for a hero to use someone for sex? Definitely not the other way around though, right?"
Hawks groans. Of course Dabi would take this chance to lecture about ideology. "This isn't about heroes and villains. Look, we aren't getting anywhere arguing like thi—"
"You're a fucking honeypot, aren't you," Dabi says in disbelief. "That's what that was." Dabi rubs a hand over his face, a manic grin able to be seen from underneath his fingers. A bitter laugh escapes Dabi's lips, and he removes the hand. It falls defeatedly to his side. "Tell me I'm wrong."
Hawks feels the words he'd use to protest against the accusation clogged in his throat, rendering him speechless for one of the first times. Looking at Dabi now, Hawks couldn't ignore the inherent ruins in the villain. The wicked burn scars that probably caused him chronic pain, the ones that proved he was subjected to some sort of trauma, the unhinged grin that pulled at his stables, causing a little blood to dribble down his face. Hawks thinks the blood almost resembles tears.
It was easy to disregard villains as people. Especially villains like Dabi who showed no remorse or grief. Yet a remainder of humanity still present in Dabi can be seen in this insignificant moment of time. In those turquoise eyes that always seemed rather dim and lifeless, now darkened in a way that looked disesteemed. His eyebrows scrunched, and grin slowly dissipating into a glower. Disgust, sure, but humiliation would fit just as well.
I'm not a honeypot, plays on a loop in Hawks' head. He said he would do anything for this mission, and he meant it. Why shouldn't he lie to Dabi right now? Even if Dabi stared at him broken, humiliated, and desperate for the truth. Why should Dabi's emotions be where Hawks crosses the line? Hawks' own emotions never mattered during this infiltration, so why...
"Why do you look like that?" Hawks mutters instead. "Why would that bother you?" Hawks' tone gets progressively louder as he continues. "You've killed people. You hurt people. Why is it this that makes you look like that!"
"You don't know me either, Hawks." Dabi answers cryptically, cold, uncaring. And it would have worked in proving Dabi was just as unfeeling as Hawks originally thought, but the illusion is shattered by Dabi wiping one of his bloody tears away. Accidentally smearing the blood across his cheek in the process.
Hawks huffs, overwhelmed by options. Things he could say, and the things he couldn't.
"Honeypot missions are illegal. They've been illegal for such a long time." Dabi speaks more so as if he were reminding himself of the fact. "I brushed off your advances being for an undercover honeypot mission, because they're illegal! But no, my expectations for hero society were too fucking high. Again! Who would have thought!"
Hawks closes his eyes for a split second. Hawks knew they were illegal, but he had no choice. He was already breaking many laws during the infiltration, and the commission didn't care for one more.
This wasn't your first time though, a voice reminds himself. He pretends he never thought it.
He wonders if he should leave the base before Dabi tries to kill him, or if he should attempt to arrest him first. Or if he should apologize.
"Nothing to say?" Dabi sneers.
"I don't know what you want me to say," Hawks exclaims, conflicted.
"I already told you," Dabi shouts. "I want you to be honest for once, and tell me something other than your commission approved buzz words!"
"I'm not allowed to say no! To you, the commission, or anyone else in the league!" Hawks shouts back in the heat of the moment, without thinking too much about what he actually admitted to.
"Yes you can! You act like you don't have a choice, but you do! You just don't want to make the choice, because you're a coward!"
"Fuck you! You have no idea." Hawks ends the sentence more subdued than he started.
Dabi chuckles. "Oh, you'd be surprised," he mumbles.
Hawks saves that information for later, but realizes there was no way he'd be able to give this to the commission without screwing himself over. That was probably Dabi's main intention, judging by his smirk.
"You're not me, so no, you don't know," Hawks refutes weakly. "Why do you care?"
"I don't," Dabi defends immediately. Hawks gives him a flat look that, thankfully, makes Dabi expand more on the topic. "You're a part in the corruption I want to destroy. There's not more to it than that."
Hawks nods. "I know there's faults in hero society—" Dabi snorts. "—And I hope progress is made to fix the problems within it. That's my goal too. I wasn't lying about that."
Dabi assesses him carefully for a long moment. He shakes his head and turns away, so Hawks can't see his face clearly. "Not while he's Number One," Dabi says faintly. Hawks can hardly hear him, and he wonders if he had been meant to hear it at all.
"Endeavor?" Hawks probes, wanting to know why Endeavor deserved the call-out specifically.
Dabi grunts. "Yeah, he's a fraud. Not like you can say much about that though without being a hypocrite."
Hawks' wings jerk in annoyance, but Hawks stumps the movement quickly, and ignores Dabi's smug face.
"What makes Endeavor a fraud?" Hawks asks curiously.
Dabi gives him an unimpressed expression. "You're a spy, a honeypot. I should kill you. I'm not answering anything."
"Why haven't you tried to kill me yet, actually?"
"I just said I'm not answering anything."
Despite the blood smudged over his face, Dabi didn't seem as devastated as before. Hawks wonders what changed. Still though, the timidity and doubt lingered.
Dabi absentmindedly fiddles with a staple on his wrist, a habit Hawks memorized accidentally at some point. Probably the same point where 'villain contact, Dabi' became muddled with 'villain contact, Dabi, who looks pretty under streetlights and is fond of the stars.'
"You know," Hawks swallows past an invisible lump in his throat. "I did enjoy making out with you," Hawks finishes, sounding rather dumb.
Dabi glares. "We've already established you can't be trusted."
"No I mean that, seriously," Hawks protests. "You put a lot of flare into it, I must say. It would be hard for someone not to appreciate it."
Even with Dabi's nose scrunching disapprovingly, Hawks sees a blush dust over the healthy remnants of his skin. "Who decided to make you a honeypot? You suck at flirting."
Hawks hums, and stretches his arms upwards, only to tuck them under his head in a relaxed manner. Maybe it'll make his muscles look bigger, or something.
"I think I'm doing okay. You're blushing a little."
"What the fuck—No I'm not. You're so embarrassing. I hate you."
"Whatever you say, Hot Stuff." Hawks grins at the distracted Dabi.
Dabi shakes his head. "Alright, get out. Your time is up, Bird." Dabi begins to shove Hawks to the door.
"Hey!"
"Leave, before I burn you into a crisp," Dabi says with a voice that lacks heat.
"Fine, fine, fine," Hawks laughs.
And it's way more fun teasing Dabi when it isn't forced. When it can just be Hawks flirting playfully, watching Dabi get easily flustered over everything. It feels more normal between them again. Even Hawks' laughter was genuine for once. Flirting wasn't anything new to their partnership, but Hawks' concentration during the honeypot attempt almost stained those memories. He realizes he missed when their odd dynamic wasn't a job he had to manipulate.
(Honestly, his higher ups should have simply never given Hawks the order, because he probably would have completed the task on his own volition eventually.)
"Don't come back here," Dabi tells him while looking at the closed door. Hawks stands beside him, shoulders touching, watching Dabi's expression closely. The blush from before isn't as visible anymore, and Hawks wishes he had time to change that. "Next time we'll be on opposite sides and I won't let you off easy."
Dabi's gaze breaks away from the door to stare back at Hawks. This time it's with less agitation present in his overall posture. Hawks' face softens.
"Sure."
Dabi exhales sharply out of his nose and Hawks isn't sure if it's filled with mirth or exasperation.
"I really do hate you," Dabi informs him again.
"Okay." Hawks takes one of Dabi's hands, and Dabi doesn't resist the movement. He keeps eye contact as he kisses the other's knuckles delicately. Dabi's fingers twitch and lightly knocks against Hawks' jaw instinctually, likely out of shock. Hawks huffs an airy laugh to Dabi's fingers, then pulls away.
"I don't know what you're trying to do," Dabi murmurs.
"I don't really know either. I'll tell you when I figure it out?"
Dabi closes his eyes and pushes away from Hawks, putting space between them once more. When he opens them, they're unpredictability hostile. Hawks is reminded of Dabi on the night at the warehouse, right before he had stormed out of the building.
"I already said it wasn't going to work on me, so why do you keep trying to..." Dabi groans and looks disoriented. His hand raises to brush through his dyed hair. "I don't understand you!"
Hawks, perplexed himself, tilts his head to the side to show his bewilderment. "Wait, Dabi, what—"
"You don't want me," Dabi interrupts. "So could you stop pretending to already? I know about your mission, or whatever the fuck, so you can stop now. I know I have fun pretending someone gives a fuck, but you're taking it too far."
Hawks blinks. "Wait no—just now was. I—fuck, wait. I'm sorry." Hawks' face heats up self-consciously as he struggles to articulate a proper sentence. Expressing honest emotions is fucking stressful apparently.
Hawks really shouldn't say anything else justifying himself to Dabi, because he knows he's the asshole this time around. A role he isn't used to playing, especially with a villain. But he knows he can't stand in front of Dabi and talk about how genuine it all is, when he's admitted to lying about intentions the last time they did anything.
Hawks didn't want an actual, labeled relationship with Dabi, and he's always known Dabi felt the same. Despite Dabi being an enigma, Hawks did figure that mutual detail out. They simply both knew it would be impossible to manage a real relationship. Which is why they settled for the flirting and banter instead. Which is why an enemies-with-some-benefits situation wasn't something Hawks would protest against.
He likes Dabi. He highly dislikes him too, sure, but Hawks does somehow like him. Furthermore Hawks is attracted to him. He isn't sure if he would ever want to commit all of himself, but kisses are nice. What they were doing a couple minutes ago was nice.
Perhaps Hawks likes the idea of being domestic with someone. Perhaps he likes being sickeningly domestic with Dabi. Because regardless of the fact they can't be more than enemies, Hawks can still fantasize about it. 'You always want what you can't have', or some quote like that.
Steam finally stops floating off Dabi. "You know, I would be a real fucking dumbass to trust you again after last time."
"I know."
Dabi sighs heavily. "Your wings look like shit."
Hawks ducks his head, and recognizes his wings are drooped down to the floor, curled next to his boots. "Yeah.
Hawks sees Dabi's boots come into his peripheral.
"I really should kill you."
Hawks chuckles, but it doesn't sound happy at all. "We already went over that."
"You suck, and you smell like chicken." Hawks' wings puff up a little indignantly at Dabi's unexpected insult, but he doesn't refute it. "And you make no fucking logical sense over half the time. You allow the commission to use you. You make me go through some form of crisis everytime you open your dumb mouth." Hawks raises his head, deciding to now take offense to Dabi's words.
Dabi treads on. "I thought you reciprocated whatever that was in the warehouse, but you didn't, and it was really shitty. But now, you're acting like you do reciprocate. But you also already rejected me once, and I don't want you to do it again."
Ah, so the starting insults were to allow Dabi to be vulnerable with him. Ignoring the implications that could mean for Dabi's mental state, Hawks takes a deep breath. As soon as Dabi looks satisfied with everything he's said, Hawks tackles the topic.
"I did, and I do. I just didn't want to have sex, but I was given the order, so I was going to, but then you noticed, and..." Hawks rubs the back of his neck guiltily. "I'm really sorry," Hawks blurts. "And in a weird way, thank you for noticing? I don't really know how else to put it, but I think it's good you saw whatever you did, and asked to make sure. That's more than anyone else has ever done, so I was pretty impressed," Hawks rambles. He shakes himself out of it. "I wish I was better at this, um. I like flirting with you, when it's not just an act I have to do, and I liked kissing you."
Dabi falls silent for a while. Hawks waits.
"You're thanking me for asking for consent," Dabi reiterates slowly.
"Oh, yeah, that is kinda how that sounded," Hawks nervously laughs. "No? I don't know."
Dabi face palms. "Hawks."
"Yeah, uh, I should probably get going now. I'm a busy man, after all!" Hawks attempts to channel his cheerful, laid-back persona, only for it to fall flat. Neither of them are impressed.
"No—stop. I am not supposed to be the sane one out of us two," Dabi tells him, horrified.
"You were torn between killing me or not a few minutes ago, so I wouldn't worry about it."
"True." And Dabi sounds way too pleased about that. "But I still don't think you know what consent is."
"I know what consent is in theory. It's blurry in practice," Hawks jokes. Again, it falls flat.
"Look, there's a reason honeypot missions are banned. Can't you report them for making you do illegal missions like that? You're not even an underground hero, which is the only time I think people would be hesitant about it."
"They might try to kill if I did, and I can handle myself." Hawks waves his hand nonchalantly.
"You mention murder so casually, yet you still don't want to join us," Dabi grimances, mostly to himself. "Fine, but don't come crying to me when you're in trouble again."
Hawks pouts exaggeratedly. Dabi takes a step forward just so he can flick Hawks' forhead. Hawks squawks and sends him a dirty look.
"Stop acting fake. It's annoying. You're annoying," Dabi remarks. Hawks relaxes a little in turn.
"You still need to wipe the blood off your face," Hawks reminds him. He swiftly lifts his thumb to wipe at the dried substance.
"I'll get it," Dabi mutters.
"You're pretty," Hawks mumbles back, tracing over a staple.
"I'm really not." Dabi rolls his eyes. "You're just sleep deprived."
Hawks' mouth twitches upwards. "I am really tired. I have no idea what I'm doing. We switched through emotions way too fast tonight."
"I thought you supposed to be 'too fast for your own good'."
"Yeah, with arrests and flying, not mental breakdowns."
Dabi hum in reply and reaches to grasp Hawks' wrist. He pulls Hawks' hand off his face, but doesn't drop it. "If you think I'll do the knuckles thing you did, you're greatly mistaken." Hawks blushes at the reminder of that, and resists the urge to pull away from Dabi completely. Dabi chooses to trace the lines in Hawks' hand lightly. "I still don't trust you, or your intentions," Dabi starts, casing Hawks to wince slightly. "But you're acting different from last time so..."
Dabi's grip looses around Hawks' wrist, and his head moves closer to Hawks'. Hawks' eyes widen before they close, a warmth settling in his chest at the rather forgiving act. Although the kiss Hawks expects never comes. He feels a light pressure on his nose instead, then it's gone. He opens his eyes, wanting to whine about being lead on, but gives Dabi time to explain first.
Dabi juts his chin up, with only minor shame. "You have to earn it."
Hawks snorts. "Okay."
He feels like an idiot, and by the way Dabi's nose scrunches, he thinks Dabi feels the same. It's possible they feel the same about a lot of things. Maybe they just express it differently.
"I meant what I said earlier though, you aren't allowed to come back here. You're a spy." Dabi states bluntly, forgoing his childish teasing and letting Hawks' hand go.
Internally, hearing that drains Hawks to an unbearable degree. He somehow has to smooth his failure over with the commission, or carry out the operation without access to the League's headquarters. Even though he and Dabi have their weird fling going on currently, their work came first. Their ambitions and responsibilities came before each other. A flaw in their personal entanglement, or to some, a fortunate fault that protected them from inevitable fallout.
"What about the occasional game night?" Hawks asks lightheartedly.
Dabi ponders this for a second. "We'll see."
Heaves the base hearing Dabi yell something about figuring shit out and stupid pigeon. Hawks shakes his head when he hears Toga join in on the random shouting trying to remember how he got involved in such a mess.