DabiHawks: A Traitor's Love [Ongoing]

Chapter Eighteen

Hawks carefully placed his feet on the concrete outside of the apartment complex as if not to startle the already injured male. Although the trip to the apartment was, for the most part, smooth, there was still a flight of stairs before they would arrive at the blond's apartment. 

Dabi must have caught on to the hero's thought process as Hawks attempted to make his way over to a door with lettering saying "stairwell."

"Are you trying to kill me? Why aren't we using the elevator?" the dark-haired male complained.

"You understand how many people live in this apartment complex, right? I don't want us to be caught together... it would only spark up rumors," Hawks said with a slightly softer tone. 

The villain grunted from the pain as well as the blond hero's choice of action. "Whatever, pigeon."

Hawks carefully made his way up the metal stairs while the other male clung to him for support. Although it was difficult, they both eventually made it to Hawks's apartment door.

 "Fuck-" Dabi cursed as he was gently set down on the living room couch. "Putting a bloodied man on a light-colored couch? You sure do have some balls."

"Oh yeah, they're huge," Hawks jokingly replied as he started for the kitchen. 

"Where are you going?" the male questioned urgently.

Hawks glanced back in the dark-haired male's direction and sighed. "I'm only going a few feet away, dear." The blond turned back in the direction of the kitchen and resumed his travel.

The sound of cabinet and refrigerator doors opening and closing could be heard from across the apartment until Hawks returned to the living room. There in his hand were several bottles as well as an assortment of medical supplies.

"I'm going to properly treat you the best I can," the hero assured whilst setting a water bottle down on the end table. "This water is for your wound and this one-" Hawks said as he placed a second bottle closer to the villain, "-is for you to drink."

The blond reached for the bloody bandage covering the wound and cut it off. The surrounding blood, some dry and some fresh, was carefully cleaned with a wet cloth. Although the wound continued to ooze, Hawks persisted with caution. With clean hands, petroleum jelly was applied against the purple skin causing the injured male to hiss in emence pain. Ignoring the response, the blond cut a new piece of cloth, rubbed more ointment against it, and carefully wrapped it around the villain's torso. Stepping away, Hawks noticed the amount of blood that had managed to get on the surrounding objects; that and his hands.

"There's no definite cut so, you won't be needing stitches," Hawks said relieved. "However, you will need someone, or yourself, to attend to it regularly. My work is not professional and quite frankly, that's the type of help you need, Dabi."

The blond's words were sour but true. The villain was in an undesirable state that Hawks only temporarily solved. The smaller cuts most likely would heal in due time however, the wound on the male's upper abdomen was susceptible to infection despite the ointment he applied.

"I'll be fine-" Dabi tried to counter until the other male interrupted. "No! You won't be fine. You're seriously hurt and if you're not careful, you could end up dead!" Hawks's voice was rough and kurt. Although he was typically kind and patient in situations such as these, he was nothing of the sort now. Why? Why did he lose his control so easily without regard?

When the dark-haired male lay silently, Hawks sighed with regret and stood to his feet. "Just- I came here to help you, not argue. So, please, understand my reason for losing my cool."

The blond silently walked off, presumably to return the items he had rummaged for as well as wash the copious amount of blood off his skin and clothing. Meanwhile, the villain remained quiet awaiting the hero's return.

When Hawks finally did return, he was stiff; the mood had evidently changed into one of unease. Despite this, Hawks sat down on the other end of the couch waiting for something--anything--to happen.

With no avail, the hero took it upon himself to stir up a conversation. "Do you want to talk about what happened?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Dabi spoke emotionlessly.

"Not really. Unless there's something I'm missing," Hawks replied.

"I was trying to train my quirk like I used to. But, I was in over my head and ended up like this," the villain said as he moved his hands to reference his current state. "I guess I'm still not good enough to train like my monster of a father wanted me to."

Where did this come from?

Hawks couldn't help but feel for the dark-haired male. Did he not know how amazing he was with his quirk? Every time Hawks spotted the villain on the news, he couldn't help but watch as the male practically ran circles around his opponents. His quirk hurts him yet, he still manages to use it with precision and passion. Dabi may be a villain, but there is a reason he is put among the most dangerous.

"From what I've heard, your father isn't an examplementary person to look up to. His training was probably unsuitable and unrealistic, they probably didn't even account for your age, ability, or mental and physical health. You were the first-born, right? So, you were his first experience at training a child from birth which he failed miserably at; no offense. Regardless of how your father used to train you, you have become an amazing quirk user despite not inheriting its resistance. Most people would've stopped using their quirk a long time ago however, you didn't," Hawks blurted out without regard before catching his breath. It almost sounded like he was fanboying over the dark-haired male.

"I really do believe that you manipulate your quick amazingly; and, despite being on opposite sides of society, I must admit, you are great at what you do."

Without even realizing it, Hawks's heartfelt words turned Dabi into an overbearingly flushed mess. His expression wasn't 'cute' nor 'attractive,' it was one of the true feelings. Perhaps the villain had never been praised in the way the blond had just done however, that made it all the more meaningful.

"Why are you acting like that? Why are you acting so... nice?" the dark-haired villain questioned still in a state of shock and embarrassment.

"Because you're being too hard on yourself and if it takes a Pro Hero to tell you that you are far more than just 'good enough,' then I'd do it ten times over," Hawks spoke honestly.

It was then that something clicked between the two: a real connection. Hawks further formed the realization that Dabi was more broken than he thought and automatically dismissing him solely due to his stance in society was completely unwarranted.

As for the other male, he realized that not all heroes are the same... and not all of them are like his father. Those such as Hawks were worth a chance and could potentially signal a new beginning to the hero society without the extermination of all heroes.

"Normally I would tell you to 'fuck off' however, I'm in too much pain to do that," Dabi defended after gaining control of his own emotions. Hawks, obviously, knew his words were laced with falsities but nevertheless, he let it slide this one time.

The two ended their interaction not long after, leaving both males to rest: Dabi in the living room and Hawks in his bedroom. However, the blond made sure to supply the villain with water and pain medication in case of unforeseen events. Although the night was hectic, the two males left feeling better both physically and emotionally. Soon, the morning would arrive along with a new list of problems that needed to be dealt with but, that was okay. All that mattered was that Dabi was still alive and safe. Hawks wouldn't have preferred it any other way.