Smile For The Camera ~ Dabi x Hawks💙🧡

His Title

POV HAWKS

"Isn't it pretty out here, birdie?" says the white-haired boy. His smile is soft, and his blue eyes are deep. He's angelic, standing under the sun like that. I wonder if he knows it. I stroll over to his side, sitting beside him in the grass. We're on a tall, green hill that overlooks the city– the city, the courty, the whole world. We can see the magic and the monsters, the virtue and the violence, the life and the death in and of everything there is to see.

"It is," I tell him. "I like it here."

"Me too." We sit in silence for a little while longer, looking over our world. But there's something wrong. In the pit of my stomach, I feel it. I tug on my friend's sleeve, unable to speak. "What is it, Keigo? Are you alright?"

I shake my head, feeling the sickness spread. The feeling can only be described as an unstoppable mountain of dread. Daggers and swords and bullets crafted from dread, a dread so deep and piercing that even evils cower at its presence. And all of this lives inside me, thrives inside me. I'm drowning in it. I feel my white-haired friend shake my shoulders, but I can't see him. I can just hear his voice, calling my name. It gets more and more echoey, like I'm sinking to the bottom of a lake. Maybe I'll die here.

"Wake up, damn it!" Endeavor booms. I jolt upwards, but I'm stopped by a burning feeling at my wrists. My hands are tied behind my back by some scratchy rope, and that rope is connected to a steel pole in the middle of what I assume is Endeavor's basement. He pulls up a metal folding chair and sits down across from me. "I don't mean to treat you like an animal," Endeavor says, "but you've broken my trust, Hawks."

"I haven't done anything wrong," I whisper. "Just let me go, please..."

"You brought a villain into my house!" Endeavor booms. "This is my home, and you invaded as if you were a villain yourself! Don't you understand, Hawks? I'm the number one hero, and if I wanted to, I could eradicate you!"

"You're not a hero," I snap at him. "Look at yourself! You fucking kindapped me! You're crazy!"

Endeavor bolts forward, wrapping his dry hand around my throat. "Shut your goddamn mouth! I sacrificed everything to be the number one hero! My wife, my children, my sanity! I don't have anything left besides this title, and I won't let you take it from me. I'll hurt you again and again until it gets through your thick skull. You're weak. You're below me. Touya is not going to save you, Hawks. He's a villain, and he can't be trusted. You're safer living in my shadow."

"YOU'RE LYING!" I scream, heat building in my face. Endeavor looks astonished, stepping back, like he didn't expect this rage to come out of me. Honestly, I'm surprised, too. I don't hold back. "You're an abusive, psychotic piece of shit, and there is nothing you can do as a 'hero' to justify your past! Go to hell, Endeavor! GO TO FUCKING HELL!" Endeavor marches up to me with fire covering his right fist. I shake my head, dropping my tone. "N-no, no, Endeavor, stop it! Stop it! Don't touch me!" He's smiling so wide, like he's got the best idea. I thrash around, trying desperately to get away, but it's no use. He sets my wings ablaze, and I let out a horrid scream.

I can feel each and every one of my feathers crumbling into ash. It's a prickly, stabbing feeling, like a million different safety pins jabbing into me to the rhythm of death's call. I'm screaming and crying, begging for Endeavor to spare me, but he just keeps smiling. He calls me pretty, and from there it only gets worse.

#

Days have passed when the door opens again. The lights in the basement are out– have been ever since Endeavor left me down here– so I can't see anything, making my heart beat rapidly. The footsteps are lighter than Endeavor's, so I'm able to focus my thoughts a bit. My mind immediately wants to imagine Touya coming to save me, but I don't want to get my hopes up, so I sit back silently. When the light flickers on, the youngest of the Todoroki siblings stands at the bottom of the stairs. He doesn't say anything at first, just tilts his head the same way a confused baby animal would. "Hawks?" he says quizzically. "What are you doing tied up in my father's basement?"

I can't answer. My back aches, and I'm yet to have any of my feathers regenerate. It'll take some time since my entire back is burned up as well. Shoto hurries over to me, bending down to burn away the ropes. I flinch at the fire's heat, feeling tears fill my eyes again. "It's alright," Shoto says softly. "It's just me, Shoto. Deep breaths, Hawks. It'll only take a second." When my wrists are free, I immediately cover my face with my hands. I don't have my wings to protect me. Shoto says he's going to call Fuyumi and Natsuo to help me, but I don't answer. Everything hurts.

"I'm here," Fuyumi says, bolting down the stairs. "What is it, Sho? Is everything okay?" She gets one glimpse at me and practically stops breathing. Natsuo is right behind her, but instead of getting green in the face, he's consumed by rage.

"It was Enji, wasn't it?" Natsuo booms.

Fuyumi snacks the white haired boy over the head, making him buckle over whining. "We can point fingers and deal justice after we get Hawks to a hospital. Shoto, can you ice his back for us?"

Shoto nods, kneeling down beside me. "I'm going to put my right hand on your back, okay, Hawks?" I don't answer, just bury my face in my hands. It hurts so fucking much. I can feel the ice spreading slowly over the burns on my back, and I choke back a sob. I'm so fucking pathetic. After a few moments, the pain dulls out. Shoto and Fuyumi help me up the stairs and into Fuyumi's car, but Natsuo says he's going to stay back and wait for Endeavor to get home so he can figure out what happened.

We're at the hospital in less than fifteen minutes, and as soon as I hit the bed, I'm drowsy. The doctor says he needs to check my wounds and such, but I don't have the energy. "Want something to eat before you rest, Hawks?"

I shake my head, sinking into the hospital mattress. My eyes flutter closed, and I pray for a dreamless sleep. But of course, I'm not that lucky