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Hawks is spending a lot of time at UA, and coincidentally with one of Aizawa's problem children, Todoroki Shouto.
And this is fine—except it’s not. He’s probably not getting enough sleep, and that’s why his two worlds are mixing. He infiltrates a Villain organization by night and afternoon and occasional early morning, and he patrols and teaches at—or, maybe it’s better to say he visits UA during the day, so, naturally, he’s tired.
That's the only explanation he has for seeing Dabi in the mulish set to little Todoroki’s mouth, the flatness in his eyes when inconvenienced or people around him can’t follow his train of thought. The competitiveness when Hawks outpaces him. For seeing the teen in Dabi when he lets his disdainful mask slip and he looks at something in curious wonder, in his lack of social awareness and experience in normal people things—and that’s coming from the Hero formerly known as Takami Keigo of all people.
Then there’s their eating habits and favorite foods. Their voices, too, sometimes seem similar, even with Dabi’s burnt vocal cords and especially when they’re giving Hawks shit. Which, to be fair, Todoroki-kun doesn’t do all that often, and only sometimes seems purposeful about it rather than just having missed a social cue.
Apropos nothing, Hawks asks, “Did you know that when you’re not acting clinically insane—“
“Fuckin’ rude. I might be clinically insane, you don’t know.”
Dabi isn't. He's clinically traumatized and probably bipolar, but Hawks doubts he’s actually psychotic, so he continues, “You actually remind me a concerning amount of some of the Hero students I know now.”
It’s not some, it’s one, but given his parentage and the Villain’s animosity, being vague is the best course of action.
Dabi laughs like Hawks is joking, and the Hero wishes he was. “Maybe you’re the one that’s clinically insane.”
“Fucking rude,” he echoes. Hawks can’t leave it alone though, and conflating a Villain and a Hero has him thinking about a role reversal. It can’t go over well in any way to teasingly ask little Todoroki if he plans to become a Villain, but Dabi already thinks he’s full of shit anyways. Their dynamic can handle him asking, “Do I have you thinking about a career switch?”
“And leave you to the fucking wolves on the dark side? Nice try, pretty bird, but I'm not as wicked as the Commission. I’m not Hero material and you’re hardly a Villain.”
Hawks slips one time and admits it’s a student in the singular that keeps reminding him of Dabi. But that’s not really a problem until he slips again and names Todoroki as the student singular.
No wonder Dabi doesn’t buy his cover. He's an awful spy and he is seemingly unable to lie to the Villain. Hawks is lucky the man enjoys something about their dynamic enough to let him live.
In his defense, though, he’s confused! Frustrated! Seriously wondering if the two are the same person living alternate realities! These are trying times in the age of Quirks, after all.
The way they react to flying is the exact same. Dabi says he gets motion sickness, but aside from flying, Hawks has only seen him get sick after being in the car with Spinner. He's fine as long as Spinner isn’t driving—but, like, isn’t everyone? Even Hawks get sick when the other heteromorph is behind the wheel—so does that mean his flying is as bad as Spinner’s driving?
Normally he wouldn’t put that much thought into it, but Todoroki is the same way! The kid makes ice ramps off of skyscrapers and skates down them with ease, no problem. He’s learning how to fly with his fire and he’s fine, but one three minute flight with Hawks has him turning colors? Seriously? They even make the same exact face of queasy distrust when Hawks even jokes about flying now.
Honestly, between Dabi and Todoroki, Hawks is starting to get a complex. Either there is some weird Quirk bullshittery going on here, or Hawks is just straight up awful at flying people and no one else has ever been malicious or brave enough to tell him so.
On the (miniscule) plus side, the consequences of his slip up are not as disastrous as expected. Dabi seems... fond? Pleased? There's definitely some air of satisfaction to him with the news. He’s happy that Hawks can see him in the son of his greatest enemy.
Maybe he sees it as a way to terrorize the No. 1 Hero. But that doesn’t make sense; none of his villainy is echoed in Todoroki—unless pettiness can be counted. It's their mannerisms that are similar, some of the things they say and the way they reason and conceptualize things.
It’s nonsensical as always but Dabi doesn’t seem to want to do anything violently villainous with the information, so Hawks leaves well enough alone for now. The only real change is now Dabi asks after the kid all the time. It’s never useful information, or Hawks would lie or deny the requests. It’s not fetishizing or weirdly intense fan worship either, or Hawks would really arrest him and check himself into a hospital to get counseling for being attracted to a pedophile.
It’s kinda like office gossip, like he wants to know the drama. But he asks things a parent would ask, maybe. Or like, things a nosey but benign coworker would ask their cubicle neighbor about their home life. Except there’s an edge of teasing? Yet Hawks can’t tell who he’s making fun of. Dabi is mining for information, definitely, but like, at the same time, he’s not. Hawks can’t explain it. It's weird but not dangerous.
Probably at least. He does talk Hawks into offering Todoroki an internship, which may end up backfiring on (and spit roasting) the Bird Quirked Hero eventually.
“Endeavor will burn me alive for trying to poach his son. And why would Todoroki-kun even want to come to me?”
Dabi’s lip twitches in disgust like it always does when Endeavor is brought up, but ultimately he does not address Hawks’ question. “Just do it, Birdie.”
No. No, Hawks has limits. The Commission doesn’t, though, so he sighs, “Is this a League request?”
“No. Don’t get him caught up with us.” And there’s a threat in there, sincere and immediate, which makes Hawks pause. Then Dabi avoids eye contact and adds, “Enji is a shit Hero, and even if you’re playing Villain Vigilante or whatever, you can teach the kid a lot about what it means to be a good one. I'll deny I said any of this and roast you alive if you repeat it, though.”
That’s fine. Hawks will remember this forever.
So he agrees, and to his utter shock, it actually works? Now he has two interns at once, which is maybe against the (unspoken?) rules about novice mentors, but he flexed his status or maybe Todoroki Shouto flexed his own status or maybe the HPSC decided this was fine and it all worked out. Hawks is trying not to look too deep into it.
That slice of peace he carved out for himself is, naturally, immediately demolished when Eraserhead explicitly informs him that the school and the Hero Commission had no choice but to allow this because they’re all scared of Nedzu and he himself, Nedzu's undisputed favorite, already gave his okay. Apparently, Eraserhead thinks Hawks can teach Tokoyami a lot, which was super encouraging actually.
As for the second intern, that was allowed only because Todoroki told his teacher, “I said I wanted to work with the No. 2 Hero and simply forgot that wasn’t my father anymore. Sad, but Hawks is a better choice anyways.”
Eraserhead found that hilarious, as did Dabi when Hawks informed him. Todoroki and his teacher then bonded over their joy in irritating the current No. 1, and Aizawa approved both internships. Dabi, predictably, also found that hilarious, informing Hawks that Eraserhead is one of the few Heroes actually worth a damn. He was unmoved by Hawks’ pout, which was fine, he guesses, because he is truly getting kinda worried.
Would Eraserhead get along with Dabi too? Why are Dabi and Todoroki so similar? Is Endeavor going to show up on his doorstep and actually roast him alive? The amusement in the Underground Hero’s eyes as he relayed his story kept Hawks from voicing his concerns then, and Hawks was too afraid of the response the Villain could come up with during his own retelling of the events to bring it up with Dabi.
The lighthearted start to the conversation is not to say Eraserhead doesn’t threaten the Winged Hero; he warns that nothing should happen to either of the teens and leaves the threat hanging, but Hawks knows his place. Dabi also threatened him over the kids’ safety, but at this point Hawks is just rolling with the punches. Nothing makes sense anymore, but he cannot afford to have two Heroes and one Villain gunning for his neck; those kids will not see so much as a paper cut while interning with him.
Hawks shows up to his midnight rendezvous with Dabi a little worse for wear as a result. There were a handful of Villains today and Hawks may have gotten slightly over protective of his charges, but the three of them handled it without anyone but Hawks even breaking a sweat, and even then, he was sweating from anxiety rather than exertion. Hawks’ fully licensed Sidekicks, however, are a different story. They have all done more work with his agency over the past week than they have since they joined.
“So. What’s new with your intern?” Dabi uses the singular instead of the more accurate plural interns; Hawks knows he means Todoroki, as usual, and he’s too exasperated from the latest interaction with the kid to pretend otherwise. Dabi flicks his eyes over Hawks’ messy wings without judgment. “He's settling in, I'm sure.”
There's another threat in there, aimed at Hawks, but he’s used to it by now. Still confused, but used to it. The arsonist has gotten so liberal with his threats that they don’t carry shock value anymore, even if Hawks isn’t foolish enough to think they’re truly empty.
“I don't think I can call it a tantrum because it wasn’t, but he guilted me into getting him boba. Three of them, actually. And like, I'm glad he’s comfortable with me now, but I didn't know he was such a brat.”
Dabi, clearly proud, grins, “Isn’t he?”
Hawks stares. Is it the implication that he’s driving Hawks crazy, or that he’s potentially just as difficult with his father, Dabi’s arch nemesis, that’s making him happy? Does Dabi just enjoy anything that makes other people’s lives more difficult? There’s a word for that, he remembers. Scandal Freud, he thinks—wait, no, that’s the psychologist who invented daddy issues or something.
Oh, whatever; it will come to him eventually.
Dabi is explaining, “He’s the youngest of fo—three. He’s the baby, so it’s normal for him to be a brat. Not that you would know,” he snorts, “only child.”
Hawks doesn’t understand why that’s said like a slur, but more importantly, Dabi’s a hypocrite. “Stones in a glass house, Dabs. All of a sudden you have siblings?”
Hawks also does not understand why saying this makes Dabi’s expression shutter. It’s not even close to the meanest thing he’s said to him, and he was hardly paying attention when he did it, but apparently it crossed a line. Hawks makes a mental note as the Villain storms off to brood.
Oh, schadenfreude! That’s it; deriving pleasure from others’ suffering. Probably would’ve been a nice vocab word to drop before the literature snob, but it’s not like it matters now, Hawks realizes, staring up into the night sky. He’s pissed Dabi off enough to get more than three hours of sleep tonight, so he’ll have to count his blessings.
Desperate, Hawks pleads, “If you let it go, I'll tell you my name.”
By all accounts, that should work. They’re insatiably curious, the both of them. Todoroki and Dabi are curious enough to manipulate, and Hawks knows this because he has already tested this theory.
Hawks watched Todoroki refuse to skip a three minute ad for one of those corny mystery type phone games, promptly download said game, then devote the next two afternoons to finishing it. The whole thing gave him flashbacks to the first time Dabi broke into his apartment. In addition to whatever he got into before Hawks returned home, the Villain spent almost two hours going through his stuff, his cabinets and drawers—and not even to snoop for files or other official Hero things, no. Dabi brushed that objective off with a furious, Fuck your caseload, you don't have any salt in your entire apartment. It’s a disgrace and I think less of you for living like this.
It was an entirely uncalled for critique, but time made it relevant. Looking at Todoroki and his video game, the sky opened up for the Hero; that nosey impulse, the need to know—it is something he can attempt to exploit.
And attempt he did—successfully, too. The very next day, he brought a closed bag into the office, treated it with care, and didn’t reference it at all. Todoroki couldn’t take his eyes off it. He probably heard a third of what Hawks said. Not that that was a problem; he got the gist of it, since Hawks talks too much and adds a thousand unnecessary details—and if that’s just because he wants people to have a taste of what it’s like sorting hundreds of inputs at once all the goddamn time, well they should be grateful he supplies this information with such a pretty smile and they only have to listen to it through one set of ears.
Todoroki waited until he finished speaking to ask what was in the bag; when Hawks tried the same trick on Dabi, he interrupted immediately, but the basics still applied. Sort of. At least, they apply well enough when he’s this desperate. A few odd threats of bodily harm are the norm anyways.
Knowing he can use the need to know against them, Hawks has been relatively successful getting Todoroki to stop tricking him into getting boba by first subliminally getting him curious about something that only Hawks has the answer to, then only telling him the answer at the end of patrol. (So what if he’s using Commission tactics to protect his wallet from a fifteen year old? The damn institution has to be good for something.)
So, it stands to reason, at least to some extent, that Dabi can be similarly dissuaded from badgering Hawks and destroying the already incredibly tiny personal peace he wants to protect. Hawks does not want to talk about how often his tactic against Todoroki has failed. He agrees there’s no such thing as being too curious so long as a fascist state can’t natural causes or otherwise disappear you over it, and it is not like he's conditioning this kid, thank you very much—quite frankly, he’s hurt Dabi would ever accuse him of doing so in the first place.
Dabi looks at him like he’s an idiot, unconvinced by Hawks’ case and unimpressed with his attempt at distraction. “I already know your name.”
Thank god, Hawks thinks. I got him. “Not my Hero n—“
“Takami Keigo,” Dabi interrupts, boredom obvious. “You have nothing to barter. Now answer me.”
Hawks gapes and feels mildly, maybe even severely, threatened. “How the fuck do you know that.”
“I hacked the Commission months ago, turtledove. Gotta say, I read your file and fuck, man. You have real reasons to want to burn them down, even if you’re playing spy. Still kinda hoping you’ll wise up eventually.”
Dabi says this so casually that Hawks is half really into this display of competence and half concerned no longer for his own safety, but for Dabi’s role in the League. The arsonist has too much power in leadership to be this reckless. “Why am I not dead? I should be dead.”
Dabi waves him off. “On to more interesting things. You were telling me how many times Shouto’s gotten you to buy him boba since you began your psychological warfare against him.”
“Four,” Hawks eventually answers, once gaping in silence does not prompt any elaboration from the Villain. “He's moved on to asking for cold soba now.” And at Dabi’s amused look, he sighs. “Seven times.”
“That's more than one a day since you started your experiment. Kinda seems like it’s gotten worse,” Dabi notes. Hawks retains the right to refuse to incriminate himself. “You could try telling him no.”
Glaring at the stupid smirk on Dabi’s face, Hawks returns, “You know I can’t.”
And Dabi just laughs.
The next time Hawks messes up it is not, shockingly, in front of Dabi, but it is—and given his luck, he should have expected as much—so much worse.
He’s a little frazzled. His Sidekicks have all but euthanized him as they reprimanded him for falling behind on his paperwork—no, the internship excuse is invalid; apparently, being stressed out of his mind taking care of two kids does not count as actual work since he pushed all the Villain fighting off onto them. The whole experience makes him think a couple things: one, he needs to hire more parents into his agency, and two, his Sidekicks have gotten way too complacent with his overworking tendencies. Which, yes, makes it mostly his fault, and yes, Dabi, Hawks understands that means he has to change things himself.
That’s why, when his phone rings too late in the evening for polite company, after his Sidekicks have gone home, when Dabi has only called to bother him twice instead of the usual two point five times, he answers the way he does.
“Dabi, I swear to fuck, I’m gonna be the one to set you on fire if you’re just calling to be an ass again,” he snaps as soon as he answers. “I’m not coming to the nasty ass base tonight, and no, you cannot have my card again because last time you charged it enough to buy a luxury apartment and still sent me coordinates to your pigsty base for our next meeting.”
“Hawks-san. Dabi is a walking infection risk,” Todoroki says in his solemn and emotionless voice after a small pause. “Such unhealthy conditions in his base seems like a very bad idea.”
“That’s what I tell him,” Hawks responds weakly, more out of reflex than anything else. “Listen, don’t—”
Todoroki interrupts immediately. “Either you’re a traitor or a spy. My old man isn’t a traitor and you’re better than him, so I’m leaning towards espionage.”
“I—ah, what?”
A terrible spy. Hawks is a god awful spy, and he cannot lie, not to Dabi or to Todoroki, which is great, another god awful similarity. He’s just lucky Todoroki chose the better, and correct, option.
“I won’t say anything. Come pick me up from the manor. With dessert.”
And then he hangs up. Like a dictator or tyrant or teenager or Dabi.
Hawks puts his face into his office couch and screams, then texts three middle finger emojis to Dabi. When he arrives at the Todoroki Manor a half hour later, boba and mochi in hand, Todoroki Natsuo is sitting outside the gates with his younger brother.
He hands cash to the teen. “I’m more upset that I bet against you knowing you interned with him.”
“I was socialized quickly in the dorms,” he shrugs, counting his money. “We’ll be back later.”
If Hawks had gone to school himself, he probably would’ve known to be more wary of the repressed, socially awkward types. Maybe even built up some immunity to their schemes. As it stands, he walks with Todoroki to a nearby park, deserted in the late hour. The teen slurps his drink obnoxiously in the silence.
Hawks’ training goes out the window and his mouth takes over a direct line from his brain.
“So, yes, I’m a spy on a HPSC mission to infiltrate the League of Villains since they attacked the training grounds. My contact is Dabi and I’ve been recently let into the League—even though he told me he knows I’m a spy because he hacked the Commission database and saw my files before he let me meet important people. Actually, I think it’s because he doesn’t actually care about the League and is using them for his own interests. That’s misleading—he cares about some people there, even if he won’t admit it, and their initial interests as an organization at least are close enough to his real motives. But on that, there’s a handful of other people there I think I can flip and redirect outside of Villainy—”
“I care about this conversation in terms of my classmates’ safety,” Todoroki interrupts, his boba gone. “And in terms of the rehabilitation of former Villains into proper citizens with their grievances addressed. But I want to talk about Dabi. You seemed very familiar with him on the phone with me.”
Dabi helped kidnap Todoroki’s classmate and has terrorized his class on multiple occasions, Hawks knows. The teen is probably livid about the familiarity he has with the Villain while also working alongside said terrorized teens.
“You're close,” Todoroki asks, “the two of you?”
Mentally swearing, Hawks hedges, “I mean, I guess I’m closer to him than others in the League.”
“Is he your partner?”
There is no change in the kid's tone or face when he asks, so the Pro Hero frowns in confusion. “Like… in crime? I’m not actually a criminal, Todoroki-kun.”
His eyes go flat like he’s disappointed in Hawks for not keeping up, but this is the worst time to be thinking about his similarities to Dabi, so he tries to let it go. “No, Fumikage and I assumed you have a romantic partner because—”
No. Nope, Hawks does not want to know, so he jumps onto the most concerning part of the statement: “And you think it’s Dabi?”
“You’re a full time Hero and a spy. You don't have time for anyone else.”
Which, fair. Hawks can admit to that. It isn't like he’s dating Dabi, of course, but it is certainly true that the arsonist takes up all of his miniscule free time.
Abruptly, Todoroki levels a shrewd glare at him. “I don’t approve,” he declares. “I think he could do better.”
The Pro Hero is not ashamed to say he squawks at that. Anyone else in his position would as well. “I’m a catch!” Sure, Dabi is actually insanely attractive and really knows how to work that bad boy persona, but, “Dabi is an A-ranked Villain wanted for several crimes, including, on multiple occasions, attacking your class.”
“Yes,” Todorki agrees, unflappable. “But I think he’s my brother. The eldest, the one who died when I was a kid. Touya.”
Hawks blue screens.
Todoroki continues, “I don't want my brother to be romantically involved with a spy. I don't know if he is emotionally secure enough to handle that.”
Valid, Hawks thinks, distantly. Being entangled with a professional liar requires an absurd amount of trust and assurance in oneself and one’s partner, and he does not really associate that with Dabi. None of that comes out of his mouth, however, because he is still stuck on the first part.
“Why,” is all he can say. “Why do you think Dabi is your brother?”
Todoroki is a conspiracy theorist, Hawks learns. The gleam in his eyes now is mockingly similar to a manic Dabi, and the Pro Hero wants to be bludgeoned violently in the head to either wake up from this nightmare or no longer be living in it.
“There’s the eyes, and his bone structure is similar to Mother’s like mine, and then the fire, obviously,” he says, as if fire Quirks are not a dime a dozen. “Aniki has burned blue for as long as I can remember, and it’s too hot for his body to safely handle because he’s actually ice resistant. Plus, he wants to kill the old man, so that confirms everything.”
Oh god, it does. It really does. Everything falls into place—no Quirk bullshittery, but brothers. They’re brothers. Hawks quietly continues to implode, and Todoroki monologues.
“I guess Dabi has more right than I do to kill the old man, but Enji is trying to change,” he allows with an unimpressed curl to his lip. “Oneesan put a lot of work into him, and Natsuo and I think it might be entertaining to see him grovel for the rest of his life. Dabi’s methods are too violent; he wants to burn the city down around Endeavor because he’s dramatic and has had no treatment for his trauma.” He huffs, then frowns, voice getting a little tighter. “I don't think he’s afraid to die with him, either. I think he wants to.”
Todoroki makes determined eye contact with Hawks. “Dabi is a jerk, but I don't want my brother to die.”
There’s an appropriate response to that, Hawks is sure, that, as the No. 2 Pro Hero, he should certainly deliver right now. That is not what he does. Hawks holds up a hand in the universal pause motion. He pulls out his phone, dialing a familiar number. “I am going to drop you," he swears calmly into the receiver, "from an incredible height.”
“Yeah, well, I’m gonna burn you,” Dabi threatens without missing a beat. “Birdie, what the hell? Why aren't you in your apartment? I'm gonna have to break the window to get in.”
“You are not.”
Glass shatters. “I did. But I also brought dinner, so hurry up.”
“For the last time, if you use my money to get food, you can't say—”
“Hawks-san. I’m sure there was a point to calling him right now,” Todoroki intones, entirely unsubtle about listening in on the call.
“Hm?” Dabi is curious now; the ruffling sounds from before are gone. Which is just as well because Hawks abruptly remembers that he is incandescent with rage. “Who’s there with you?”
He’s barely finished his question before Hawks is spitting out his own. “Are you his fucking brother?! You were such a dick when I accidentally told you he reminds me of you and you—you’re such an asshole, man. I hate you. I bet you think you’re so funny.”
“Birdie.” Dabi hums, not nearly as thrown as Hawks had been. “Did you fuck up?”
“That is completely irrelevant!” Hawks declares at the same time Todoroki responds, “Yes, he did.”
“Well, in that case,” Dabi says, conversational as anything, “bring the brat to dinner.”
And then the asshole hangs up.
“This is a lot of chicken,” Todoroki observes. He looks curiously at Hawks, focused on his wings with concern. “Is that really okay?”
Dabi bursts into snickers when Hawks levels a glare at the both of them. “Hilarious.”
It isn’t awkward, somehow. Todoroki predictably wouldn’t fly, so they paid an obscene amount of money for a taxi to break every speed limit (and Quirk law—but what’s a little short range teleportation between friends?) to take the duo to the Hero’s apartment. The infamous Villain waiting for them has laid out a KFC feast on dishes he won’t wash; Dabi likes to leave his messes for Hawks to deal with.
“Told ya it makes you seem like a cannibal.” Dabi turns to look at Todoroki, pointing at the fridge. “So, little brother. Ask away.”
He doesn’t hesitate, not to speak or to raid the refrigerator… for something. “You prefer your alias, right?” At his brother’s nod, he continues, “So, Dabi. The training ground incident?” He passes a bag of shredded cheese Hawks didn't even know he had to Dabi. Because this is normal dinner conversation, clearly.
“I had to prove myself to the League to join leadership. Boss wanted the top three from the festival,” he answers simply. Hawks was forced to deduce that information by himself, and here Dabi is just giving it away for free, no hesitation. Siblings might be a cheat code, he notes.
Dabi lights up a finger to burn the cheese he just liberally topped the mac with, and every cell Hawks has is on high alert, waiting for Dabi to so much as twitch in Todoroki’s direction. The smirk on his face tells him that Dabi knows that as well, and he’s taking considerable pleasure from the stress he’s causing. At least he’s not offended, Hawks reasons miserably, trying to relax.
Dabi rotates the pan, the Quirk-broiled side of it pointing toward Todoroki, and the kid doesn’t wait before he starts to scoop out portions.
Todoroki and Dabi eat easily despite the situation, and Hawks is so jealous. His stomach is in knots, and not even finger-lickin’ good fried chicken sounds appetizing right now. He can’t tell if there’s tension between them or if it’s all coming from himself, but either way, this is not a situation for one to be casually eating in! And these long pauses they take—for what? The near silence they apparently use to think is oppressive, but given how repeatedly Hawks sticks his foot in his mouth dealing with these brothers, he can’t fill it either.
“You kidnapped my classmates,” Todoroki eventually acknowledges, first serving gone. But not me is heavily implied.
“As a wise person once said,” he pauses for dramatic effect, “fuck them kids.” Hawks drops his face to his chest as Dabi laughs at his own joke. “I don't like children, but I didn't want you to end up stuck with those psychos. You’re welcome,” he does a mock bow.
Immediately, Todoroki corrects, “You knew Father would come to collect his masterpiece and you weren’t ready to fight him.”
“Well,” Dabi grins, “that, too.”
“Hawks-san, relax. We all know he isn’t going to hurt me.” Todoroki uses his fire hand to melt butter and honey into their biscuits, adding those to the chicken already split between his and Dabi’s plates while the elder serves seconds of the mac and cheese. “Your food is likely cold by now.”
“I am relaxed!” He hasn’t been able to actually eat anything, but he clutches his (room temperature) bucket of chicken closer to his chest regardless. Hawks is fully aware that he isn’t fooling anyone but he hopes, because he’s a naive fool, that they’ll be polite enough to not mention it, given the circumstances.
Dabi wags his blue finger condescendingly. “Your feathers are telling a very different story, tweety bird.”
Hawks pouts at him. He’s had a day today, and he would appreciate a little kindness for once. Dabi can tell, because he rolls his eyes and mutters something about big babies who can’t take jokes under his breath. His warmed hands massage his stress grip until Hawks can put down his chicken.
Which is all well and good. Very nice. Except they’re sitting in silence again, and Hawks is flying through his chicken while he can but if they don’t start talking soon he really might lose it. All that Hero training and nothing to teach him patience or ice breakers for estranged siblings. Figures.
“You know,” Todoroki hums, washing his dishes, “if you come home to Yumi and Natsu and Mother, I won't be the most problematic and hated sibling anymore.”
“Fuck you,” Dabi laughs. He walks to the couch to leave his dishes on the coffee table. The little bitch winks at Hawks, then lounges into the cushions. “I’m still Natsu’s favorite. And I have always been the most problematic sibling.”
Hawks winces. Right. That’s the part he’s been ignoring about this whole infamous Villain with even more famous daddy issues being the elder brother to the famous son of even more famous No. 1 Hero Endeavor. He’s done enough processing for one night though, so Hawks saves it for later.
“You’re only the most problematic if you don’t count Fuyumi and her forgiveness agenda.”
Dabi’s eyes narrow, likely picking up on that same disgruntled undercurrent that was in Todoroki’s voice at the park. “Of course I don't. She’s just a fuckin’ saint.”
“That’s not supposed to be an insult,” Hawks intones.
“It’s a nicer way to say she’s an abuser’s apologist.” Matched blue eyes flick across the space easily, calm and even. Fuyumi is probably his favorite sibling, which makes sense when Hawks does the math; she would’ve been the only one old enough to have known and been known by him.
Todoroki reads the look on his face well enough, because the teen rolls his eyes. “I know that’s not fair, but you don’t have to listen to her every day.”
“I’m the last one of us who can gatekeep a familial grudge, brat,” Dabi smiles. “She wants a fairytale big, happy family. No one’s told her to wake up yet, but if anyone deserves it, she does. He owes everything to her.”
“She does keep us together. Who knows why she tries, but I can’t imagine her stopping. It might be nice to have some of her optimism.” Dabi snorts and Todoroki frowns. “But I don't think I'd handle it well.”
“One’s probably enough,” he agrees. “So, same time next week?”
Hawks blinks. He’s been paying way too much attention to have missed something. “What?”
“Yeah,” Todoroki agrees, stretching his arms over his head. He leans against the kitchen tabletop and looks around. “Here?”
“Wait—wait, no, what?”
“Obviously. Where the hell else could we go?”
“Uh, hello?” Hawks waves detached feathers in front of their faces insistently. Dabi flicks his aside, singeing it in warning while Todoroki just side eyes his own, unimpressed. “Isn’t there someone you forgot to ask? This is an easy question, and I’ll even tell you the answer is yes.”
“Fair,” Todoroki shrugs. Hawks knew at least one of them would—“I’ll bring Natsuo next time, Dabi. I’ll need some time to work with Oneesan before she sees you, so try not to attack my class in the meantime.”
Okay, great. Well, one thing they did teach Hawks as he trained to be a Hero was the importance of adaptability. He guesses that’s what he’s doing now. Which is fine. Great, even. It’s good to brush up on the skill.
Dabi laughs at the lazy snark in Todoroki’s concluding remark. Though he makes no promises, the younger Hero seems unfazed. “Hawks will take you home. Or do you wanna stay the night?”
“No,” he shakes his head after a second. “Natsuo is expecting me back, so I can’t.”
“What—did you just volunteer me? My apartment?” Hawks doesn’t know how he can still summon the shock to fill his voice after the conversation they just had around him, but Dabi does have a way of surprising him with just how far he can take things.
Dabi narrows his eyes dangerously. “I know you didn't think you were going to send him, alone, in a taxi all the way back to the manor by himself. At this hour?”
“Ah, I see,” Todoroki tilts his head. “You're the reason why Hawks-san didn't let us do anything during our internship.” He ducks his head down, but Hawks can tell he’s smiling.
Dabi doesn’t see because he is resolutely looking in a different direction, more easily embarrassed than Hawks would have guessed. “Yes, I am the one teaching this bird his fuckin’ manners, thanks for noticing. And if you let Natsu know, he’ll be fine with you staying.”
The fact that he repeats the offer tells Hawks that he wants his brother to stay the night, which additionally tells him that Dabi will also stay the night, either to bond with his brother or pout about him leaving. Accordingly, Hawks makes a split second decision. Not because he feels any particular way about the man, mind you, but only to save himself the headache.
“Dabi is an asshole, and he’s taught me exactly zero manners. He’s erased some of my manners, more like. But this one time, he is right.” Finally, he has their attention. “You’re welcome to stay in the guest room, if you’d like. There’s a whole bunch of movies on the TV I haven't seen yet, so you’ll have plenty of entertainment.”
“And no morning training,” the teen mutters. “Okay, I’ll stay. Natsuo is gonna be so jealous, you’ll have to fly him here tomorrow, Hawks-san.”
Figures the kid thinks he can order him around now. He’s right, of course, because Dabi goes a little green around the gills just like his baby brother at the f-word, then he smiles. It’s small, but he’s clearly excited about what tomorrow will bring, and so Hawks doesn't have much of a choice. Dabi already knows how easy he can get Hawks to bend to his will with the odd threat; he won’t survive the Villain knowing how much easier he’ll cave to a genuine smile like that.
And that, over the course of several months, is exactly how Hawks facilitates the rehabilitation of the entire (main cast) League of Villains, and helps reunite the Todoroki siblings.
“Simp,” Shouto and Touya say at the exact same time.
“You’re welcome,” Keigo snaps, placated mildly by the temple kiss Touya gives him even if the insincere man smirks the whole time, “damn ingrates.”