Smile For The Camera ~ Dabi x Hawks💙🧡

Heart To Heart

POV HAWKS

"Your wings should grow back like usual," the nurse says, "but it's going to take much longer. Maybe a few months before they even start sprouting. The burns on your back are just too intense. We put in a request for Recovery Girl to make a visit later tonight, but we'll have to see how it plays out."

I don't respond. I just stare at the white wall, tasting vomit in the back of my throat. There's a small whisper in the back of my head telling me to fall asleep and never wake back up. It's tempting, but there's still so much of me that wants to see Touya at least one more time. I want to be held in his arms; I want it to be his voice that tells me everything will be alright.

"I'll be back with your dinner in about half an hour, Hawks," the nurse says. "Shoto will keep you company for now."

The peppermint haired boy sits in the chair beside my bed, his eyes dull. "My dad is a prick," he says monotonously. "I'm sorry that he hurt you. I didn't think he had the balls to attack anyone outside of our family."

"I should've been able to defend myself," I say weakly. "It's my fault it got this bad."

"He shouldn't have attacked you to begin with," Shoto replies. "It's not your fault at all. In fact, you contributed to the positives of this situation. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't know that my oldest brother is still alive. I've missed him tremendously."

"Yeah," I whisper. "Me too."

When the door opens again, I think it's the nurse back with my food, but it isn't. It's Touya. I jerk forward, but the burns on my back ache too much, so I stay where I am, laying on my side. Shoto stares at Touya, too, a small smile on his face. "Hello, Touya."

"Hey, Sho," Touya says, his voice cracking a bit. "How're you holding up, dipshit?"

"I'm alright," Shoto says. "How're you, Nugget?"

"I'm okay." Touya looks at me, and I can feel the tears working their way to my eyes already. "Mind giving us a moment?"

"Got it." Shoto stands up, giving me a small wave before leaving the room.

Touya crouches down beside my bed, looking straight into my eyes. He kisses me gently, placing his hands on each side of my face. He presses our foreheads together, and I can feel my breath hitch in my throat. "You came back," I choke out. "I thought you were going to leave me all over again. Thank you for coming back. I'm sorry, I couldn't be strong like you said–"

"No, pretty bird," Touya says, wiping my tears with his thumbs. "It's not your fault. I'm so, so sorry. I should've stayed with you, but I'm a fucking airhead and I believed Enji's lies. I'm so proud of you for staying strong. You hear me? You did an amazing job." He kisses my forehead, and I let out a soft chuckle.

A smile grows wide on my face. I kiss Touya's lips again, feeling butterflies erupt in my stomach. "So you'll marry me?"

"If it shuts you up," Touya teases. "I will. But first we have to sort this mess out. Are you able to tell me what happened?"

My entire body, besides my back, is consumed by a prickly coldness. I squeeze my eyes shut, taking deep, slow breaths. They're shakier than I want them to be, but Touya is proud of me, and that's all that matters. "After I shut off the security system, he locked me in the closet in his room," I whisper. Touya grabs my hands, rubbing circles on my palm. It keeps me in the moment. "I think I passed out there. Wh-when I woke up, I was tied up in the basement. He... he yelled at me about... h-how I'm weak and easy to... easy to hurt... He said that you weren't going to come and save me.... A-and you didn't. He burned my wings off, and he... he ra..." I can't get the sentence out. I'm sobbing, uncontrollably so, and every fiber in my body is screaming in agony. "I needed you!" I cry into Touya's shoulder. "I n-needed you and you weren't there for me! You told me he wouldn't do it again, but he did!"