Feathers and Flame // Dabi x Reader x Hawks

28: Midnight

It was an hour past midnight, and your window was wide open, a chill seeping in from the expanse of night beyond it. You were waiting, chewing on the inside of your lip as you lay across your bed, one eye kept on the endless night.

Your chest was a flutter of nervous energy, the pitter-patter of your heart a harmony to the brutal silence of darkness. And why were you so nervous? It wasn't like you hadn't done this before. Sleuthing was your bread and butter. Or were you nervous for another reason? Because of an entirely unrelated situation?

The answer was most likely yes.

You blew out a heavy sigh, tapping each of the knives strapped to your body — and even the ones hidden in your boots — making sure they were all accounted for.

The heavy beat of wings had you suddenly in a sitting position as Hawks appeared at your window. You ushered him inside, sliding the pane of glass down once his boots hit the floor.

"So, this is where they keep you." Hawks' eyes glided around your room, pausing on the slightly rumpled sheets you'd just been laying on, before returning to you. "It's pretty nice."

You quirked a brow. "Not like the luxury of your apartment, I imagine."

Of course, you knew what his apartment looked like from that one time you'd broken in, though you had no intention of sharing that information. Even then, you'd been shocked at the sheer size of his bed.

Understandable, given the wingspan.

His lips curved into a smile. "I live modestly."

You almost snorted but held yourself. Hawks had forsaken the jacket despite the chill in the air. Now, he wore only the black and yellow t-shirt he'd fought you in only a couple of days previous. At that time, you'd been far too concerned with beating him to note how perfectly it clung to him — to the thick pads of muscle on his chest or the round shoulders and biceps that strained against the fabric. He was a weapon, honed to the sharpest of edges, and he'd demonstrated just that when he pinned you to the mat.

Given the twinkle of mischief in his eyes, it seemed he was recalling the very same thing.

"I haven't seen you since..." Hawks trailed off, those sharp eyes of his searching your expression.

"Ah, yes." You chewed your lip, that familiar fluttering of nervous energy returning tenfold. "Since that."

In truth, you'd even been avoiding Dabi since that day. You weren't one for emotions, and you'd been feeling far too much recently for your liking. When it came to that insufferable villain, you'd said your piece, and you would offer no more of yourself to watch it shatter irreparably. It wasn't finished, and you knew that, but you would protect the naïve girl inside of you that only just learned what it felt like to care.

Those beautiful golden eyes cut through you. "He was... quick to drag you away."

"And you were quick to antagonise him." Your lips curved into a slight smirk. "Haven't you learned not to play with fire?"

Hawks' own smirk was sinful arrogance. "What can I say? I don't always do what I'm told."

You rolled your eyes, smiling softly. "You won, by the way, fair and square. What would you like your reward to be, number two?"

Hawks' brows shot up. "Whatever I want?"

You pouted. "Within reason."