The Poisonous Feather // MHA x DSMP

Hospitalization

"Have you even wonder how cool it would be to have a pair of wings above your fireplace? Man, it would look cool" Dream said, his head brought back as he enjoyed the warm evening.

Besides him, Tommy swallowed hard and looked at his £r!eN¢.

"Y-yeah, whatever you say Big Man"

Dream suddenly looked at Tommy, his hand reaching out to pet his left wing softly. Tommy tensed at that, but did not move. He had known better.

"I would do anything to have wings like you.."

Tommy started sweating, his heart bitting faster than it was normal.
Dream's hand curled around one single feather, harshly pulling it out of Tommy's wing. The pain made him almost cry out, but he hit his tongue in a warning. Dreams send him a warning look, before playing withe the blue feathers in his fingers.

"I could always go and take what's Phil's, if it wasn't that demanding. But hey, I've got you! You wouldn't misbehave, would you?"

Tommy shook his head, feeling how the hair at the back of his neck stood up.

"No.."

"That's great!"

The second time Tommy woke up, he still couldn't see anything except white. This time however there was a soft sound of machines next to him, all being accompanied by a beeping sound that filled the empty room.
He recognized it, the familiar scent of chemical stuff and the staff. He was there before, the first time when he woke up in this world. The room was almost identical except for the white curtains that seems to block him from the other part of the world. Without looking down, he could feel a small needle in his arm, that was hooked up to another machine.
Maybe he would be scared before, but it didn't now. He overcame his childhood fears a long time ago, now replacing it with several trauma. A part of him wanted to rip that needle out and hopefully feel some pain. The other part already knew his body was at it's limit and at some point, it wouldn't be able to take it anymore.
The funny thing was that he actually wanted to reach it's limit. To torture himself. Because he was too weak and as Dream taught him, being weak needed to be punished.

Instead, he chose to try and sit up. And after a little bit of struggle, he succeed and could fully sit. Of course, still being in pain. He was pretty sure he had broken his ribs at some point.
And only then did he notice the sleeping figure on the chair that was placed next to his bed. Blond hair, red wings. All too familiar to not known who it was.
Suddenly, Tommy left relieved. Probably Because he wasn't alone and someone was there for him. Or perhaps because he was still afraid they would leave him once they realized how pathetic he was. And against his own will, his hand reached out to shake the man awake. Or, at least tried to. Because when his hand was inches from touching the young hero's hair, he opened his eyes.
Almost imidiatelly, their eyes locked together. And for a long time, they did not speak. They simply looked at each other in silence, as if trying to confirm that the one another was in fact real and alive.

"..hello?" Tommy was the first one to break the silence.

And it didn't take long for Hawks to wrap his strong arms arpund Tommy's fragile snd broken body, squeezing but not too hard. All Tommy did was wince in pain and pat Hawks shoulder in comforting manner.

"God, O was so worried you wouldn't make it. You looked so broken and fragile and and-" Hawks took a deep breath in, before letting the words spill. "I thought they killed you right there and then. I wanted to hurt them as much a s they hurt you, but they managed to escape. I'm sorry"

Tommy only stared, before a soft smile took it's place on his face. There was something in those blue eyes that made Hawks calm down, his hand reaching over to grab Tommy's bandaged one.

"I'm fine, see? I'm not dead, a little bruised but healthy" Tommy answered.

And maybe it did soothe Hawks down, yet he still made sure to call the doctor to make sure Tommy was alright.
When the said doctor cane inside the room, he greeted Tommy and introduced himself. He was shooting a small note, which seemed to be filled with opinions and health problems. And apparently, it was all Tommy's. Multiple bruises that they managed to heal up, nasty scratches all over his body, broken arm and few ribs. And the worst of all of them, the punctured lung. Maybe that was the biggest problem and the reason behind why Tommy couldn't sit fully straight or breath the way he used to earlier.
The doctor explained that it would heal with time, that e needed to rest and not tire his body out too much. The bandages that covered almost half of his body would keep reminding him of that.

And of course, there yad to be something more. He realized it when Hawks kept glancing at his back where his wings ere supposed to be. Right.
At first, he thought he lost them. But with little struggle, he was able to move them, as much as the bandage allowed him to do so. But at what cost? The second he moved his wing even an inch, the unbearable pain came along. It made him groan in pain, his back turning stiff from the unpleasant feeling.

"Right, as for your wings. You shouldn't use them for a week or so. The feathers were badly injured and the you fractured one of your bones in them. It will heal and you will be able to move them, but you should give them at least two weeks to heal completely and then you will be able to fly"

That was something he wished he never heard again. It brought back ugly memories, the one that he wished would disappear just like that. And it was terrifying. A bird unable to fly, was a dead bird. With nothing to protect itself from predators and no other way to escape.
Tommy was a dead man now.

The two young boys watched the hopping bird, it's wing bend in the wrong direction. It's feathers were loose, some even already fallen out. It was a pitiful thing to see, but there was nothing they could do. As much as the younger wanted to.

"Why can't we help him? He's in pain" Tommy asked, his voice upset as his eyes watered.

"That's the way life is. We can't do anything to help him, it's almost impossible. We would hurt the bird further and besides, it's what the nature wanted." Wilbur explained. "A bird unable to fly, is a dead bird."

"What if I break my wing? What till happen to me?" Tommy asked.

Wilbur looked at him with a twisted smile, before leaning down to his lever and speaking lowly.

"You will be dead. So if you want to survive, you better watch where you're flying. Remember Tommy, if you're unable to fly, you die. And even if I wish, I wouldn't be able to help you. Because you are on your own, my Fledgling"

And Tommy found the small bird dead the next day, ripped to shreds with the wing still broken.

Tommy did not like that memory, it was sickening. Because he did in fact felt hopeless now. Scratch that he had a second quirk, he had his wings for him whole life.
And the fact that Hawks stood next to him with his wings out, he felt even worse.

"When can I leave?" He asked suddenly, catching the attention of the doctor who offered him a small smile.

"Soon, maybe two days. We still need to check up on your health befor letting you leave. Till then, enjoy your stay here" with that he left.

And with that doctor, a part of Tommy also eft. The confident one, the one always ready for a fight. Because when he was unable to fly, his avian part almost didn't exist. Sure, the instincts screamed at him for the whole time. He just could stab to listen to them. Not then. Not when he wasn't a part of an avian. And maybe he didn't lose them for enernity, but he still felt wrong. Like a part of him was missing.

And that for sure didn't help him sleep during the night time.