Word for Love

Chapter 16 - Froathy Waters

{School is starting up, so updates will be pretty slow!}

Hawks scrambled forward after a brief pause, chasing after Dabi. The man was already in the kitchenette, digging around in the pantry for some dry rice noodles and a can of shredded chicken before getting a pot out.  His food inventory wasn't big.

"W-wait! What? You're leaving?"

The scarred man casted a glanced over to the hero, if anything, amused.

"Yes, tha's what I said. Ya need a hearing test, birdie~?"

For a moment his eyes softened as Dabi took in the winged man's expression, lost and twisted with a very obvious look of not wanting him to leave. Blue eyes settled into golden hue, seeing a longing in that expression.

Dabi very quickly looked away. He couldn't get any ideas.

"But where will I stay?" Hawks started, anxious hands pulling at his feathers. "A-and, who will I talk to? What happens if something happens to you? What if the commission finds me again? What if—"

"Wait, wait, wait." The scarred man sighed pointedly, trying to come up with a proper response to his short lived rambling. There's was something—'what if the commission finds me again?'—that made Dabi feel like he misheard. "Do ya not want to go back to th H.C.?"

The pro hero stared at him, opening his mouth to answer, then closed it again and tried again. He didn't seem to know how to respond to that, only making a soft, "Umh.."

"Hawks."

The person in question looked down at the ground and ran his hand through his own feathers a little faster. "...is that bad?"

"Yer kidnapped by villains right now."

"I just woke up, being cuddled by you after I passed out, and now you're cooking us food." The blonde grumbled, trying to prove his point even as blush crept into his face. "Sorry to say this is better treatment than I've ever had before... including the torture part. That part I'm used to."

Dabi sighed deeply before turning to fill the pot up with water, putting it on the stove so it could boil while they spoke.

"Ya been behaving, I'll give ya that."

Hawks was just quiet.

A part of Dabi was cursing, this wasn't supposed to be apart of the plan. Handjob was going to bitch about this factor that didn't even bother to consider before. Hawks wanted to stay.

Sure, Dabi was to earn his trust and make Hawks rely on him, but they never would have predicted that Hawks wanted to stay.

The most alarming thing to the scarred man was a soft warmth that sparked in his chest, a long snuffed out flame that was reawakened by Hawks' pout and obvious attachment. He pursed his lips, knowing what was going to happen next in their plan with Hawks.

"Ya realize that I'm 'bout the only nice person you got here? Birdie, yer not meant to want to stay here." Judging by the way the hero looked away, this wasn't what he wanted to hear. "And I'm sayin that because I—..." The villain paused mid sentence.

"...because you what?"

Fuck. Dabi watched the innocent hope in Hawks' eyes.

"...because I think yer a good fuckin hero, phoenix. Out of the lot here? Y'got the spark of an actual human in you, not just a shit poster face of some fame-whore."