Feathers and Flame // Dabi x Reader x Hawks

16: Games

This was what you'd wanted for so very long. To stand before another — a hero — and for them to know that you were on the same side. That you weren't just a monster with a blade who was invisible to all others but the marks she slew.

Hawks regarded you with those sharp eyes of his that gave nothing away, and your chest filled with a strange kind of nervous energy. His silence told a story — of cogs turning and realisation dawning — but he was better than you at shrouding everything he felt.

But even so, there was something you loved about the way he studied you now. How his gaze seemed to travel beneath your skin, laying you bare for who you were inside. Only he could know, because he was one and the same. His magnificent wings were tucked in by his side, and you watched them furrow along with his exploration of you.

"Nyx, what do you have to report?"

The voice broke both you and Hawks from your contest, and you began speaking with the lead up to Deika city, the presence of Gigantomachia and how Shigaraki had won an entire army from Re-Destro.

"And your position in the League?"

For a fraction of a second, you faltered. It was easy talking about the events you survived through, but being so clinical and devoid of all feeling when it came to the League... that cracked something in you. How could you pretend that Toga's laughter didn't bring you joy? Or that Twice's pancakes weren't the best you'd ever tasted? And Dabi...

Focus.

No. This is who you are. A liar. A betrayer. A soulless being with nothing but blackness in her soul and stone for a heart. You blinked, allowing every lesson the Commission beat into you to take hold, and you hardened every bit of yourself that had thawed out since you began.

You were stronger than frivolous, fleeting emotion, and you had never failed before.

"I am a trusted member of the League," you spoke, and the voice didn't even sound like yours.  "I am also second to a lieutenant of the Paranormal Liberation Front — to Dabi."

"Are you sure that Dabi trusts you?"

You felt like you were carving open your own chest, every word another slice. "Yes, I am sure."

Hawks' eyes were back on you now, and you fought so desperately to keep all of your traitorous feelings inside a little box. He couldn't understand how you felt. He wouldn't accept it. Not when he was everything that you once aspired to be. The perfect hero.

"Good work, Nyx. You may return now."

Being commended for being a good liar felt like a slap in the face, but you merely bowed your head and strode straight past Hawks and out of the room before your mask slipped any further. You could have used the window again, and you weren't sure why you didn't. Maybe there was a reason for it. Maybe you h—

"Wait."

And there it was.

Hawks' voice halted you in your tracks, and you turned back around to meet his golden eyes. "We should talk some more," he said, running a hand through his waves.

"About?"

The smile on his lips was so easy. Playful, even. It was the kind of smile he wore every day. The kind that his fangirls appreciated the most. You had to admit, he was beautiful. But Hawks had even more masks than you, and you wanted to see something real.

"It was you who warned me about the Nomu, right?"

Now his eyes had gained that sharp edge you knew belonged to the Commission's Hawks. It intrigued you to know which version of him was real. The adored hero? Or the cold, calculated operative? Or was there someone else beneath that fur-lined jacket?