Atrocious

- Chapter 32 -

Hawk's room was sparsely but luxuriously furnished and brightly lit.
The dilapidated wall and stained floor were the only indications of an abandoned building.
He closed the door.
The bed on the left and the couch on the right side of the room were new, and Hawks made up the bed for her.
She was still shaking incessantly and her fingertips were taking on a bluish tint.
"Keigo..."
His gaze lingered on her, worried and frightened, and he hurried towards her.
Carefully, he slipped his hands under his jacket and hugged her. He felt the cold, wet skin and winced.
He took her hands and led her to the bed.
He quickly took off her jacket, then his T-shirt and threw it over her.
He smelled of oranges and basil and it clung intensely to his T-shirt.
Anna closed her eyes and welcomed the warmth of his shirt with approval.
"My pyjamas are in bed. Put them on," he whispered and she did as instructed. Her limbs grew heavy and she felt the tiredness setting in.
She had slept, and now she knew how long, for six weeks irregularly and far too briefly on a broken, cut-up old sofa and now Hawks was offering her his bed.
His big, soft bed.
As she slipped her pants over her cold skin, she looked down at the floor for a moment. She felt homesick and tears welled up in her eyes.
Her heart ached and she wiped the tears rolling down her cheek.
Hawks understood only too well.
He took off his shoes and pants, tossed them beside the bed and lay down in them, clad only in his underpants. Then he tapped his hand on the mattress to indicate her place next to him.
Anna stared at the empty space in the bed for a moment. And then looked at him.
Hawks was smiling, albeit weakly and worriedly. But he was smiling.
That was what counted.
And she smiled back.
She climbed in a little awkwardly and lay down.
He skillfully threw the thick, soft blanket over them both.
"Keigo...", Anna whispered and closed her eyes. All tension fell away from her as Hawks wrapped his arms and wings around her. He held her tightly and firmly and Anna felt safe for the first time in a long time. His body was warm and the twitching of his wings as pleasant as a warm jacket.
"You'll get out of here, my darling. Until then, you have to play the game... Do it for me.
Play this game with me, all right?" he asked, stroking her cheek.
'My darling,' she thought and kissed his upper arm, against which she snuggled. She hummed softly in agreement and fell asleep, warm and safe, in his arms.
Hawks didn't know how long they stayed like that.
Looking across the bed, he kissed the back of her head, fanned his wings into a small gap and began watching the front door of the room.

It was already dark outside when someone banged on the door.
Anna startled and looked around in panic. Hawks was no longer lying next to her, but was sitting almost naked on the couch. He had just been leafing through a pile of papers when he looked wordlessly at her and then at the door.
He stood up and, to her surprise, threw an apple into the bed and gestured with a finger on his lips to keep quiet.
With a tired and bored expression, he opened the door.
Anna couldn't see who was standing at the door, but she mentally prepared herself for anything.
"What can I do for you?" Hawks asked, as if he knew what was coming.
"Make sure she did everything you wanted?"
A shiver went through Anna. She didn't need to know who was at the door. She could hear it.

Scarface.

Hawks stood up now and stretched his arms.
'She's not bad but I'm not done with her yet,' he laughed and Anna could tell that wasn't his actual laugh.
'Stay in the game Anna. Don't betray him as a friend of the government'
She took the apple in her hand and hastily bit into it several times to distract herself.
"Then pick it up later," he snorted, "I'd be most interested in seeing for myself."
Hawks slid to the side and she knew the scarred face was taking the space he needed.
"Dabi-I wasn't finished," he now spoke in a louder tone, closing the door and looking at Anna with a worried expression.
Dabi hadn't noticed this look, as he had already turned his back on him and was standing by Anna's bed faster than she could look.
He was tall, a little lanky and yet she couldn't help but notice his broad back and muscles.
He bent down and Anna could smell a tangy scent but couldn't place it.
His face was only a few centimeters away from hers and she looked down at the bed linen.
This man seemed dangerous and Anna feared again the physical pain she had endured over the last few weeks.

'Head under water'

'Head under water'

'Head under water'

She swallowed hard and felt a slight heartburn in her chest.
"We could pick up where we left off," he laughed spitefully and grabbed his hand in her mop of hair. With a tug, he pulled her hair and her head jerked upwards.
She screamed in pain and tried with all her might to remove his hand from her mop of hair.
It was like back then.
On her first day in captivity.
She took a deep breath when Dabi's face was so close to hers that she could feel his breath on her lips.
"Not as rebellious as she was then..." he noted, turning to Hawks, "What did you do to her to make her so weak? How hard did you push her?"
Anna spat on his cheek and glared at him.
"Fuck you, Dibdab."
There was silence for a moment.
He turned back to her and eyed her suspiciously. His eyes traveled up and down her body. To her surprise, he began to grin, wiped off his spit and pulled her mop of hair further back so that she inevitably had to tilt her head back.
Her scalp flashed with pain and she couldn't bear to look into that grinning face full of scars and skin tags.
"You're exactly what I'm looking for," he breathed, leaning down again, taking his free hand to cup her cheek and pressing his lips to hers.
His tongue made its own entrance and Anna tried to resist, but he was stronger.
'Where is Hawks? Why isn't he intervening?'
She knew it would be noticeable if he intervened and she continued to resist.
His tongue circled her mouth unerringly and he squeezed her cheeks more or less.
It was an unbearable eternity for Anna when Dabi let go of her and pushed her into bed.
She let herself fall limply and tried to come to terms with this humiliation.
From the corner of her eye, she could see Keigo wandering aimlessly around the room, his hands over his head.
It didn't leave him cold and he had to suppress his anger. The red of his wings took on an even darker tone in her eyes and they twitched incessantly.
"Don't you like it when I use your room?" Dabi asked, licking her lips.
He turned his back to her and Anna took this unguarded moment to do some soul-searching.

'Play the game'

Two hands jerked her off the bed and Dabi threw her to the floor.
With all her strength she punched and kicked in the air to escape his grasp, but he was quicker, taking first one hand and then the other and dragging her out on the floor.
Hawks tried to remain calm, but his gaze was as readable as an open book.
Anna looked at him and nodded.
She gave him the sign that the way things were couldn't be helped.

The sign that there was nothing he could do and that she was on her own.

The sign that he had to let her go.

Dabi threw her out into the hallway and she rolled against the parapet. The metal pressed into her back and she cried out.
He slammed the door shut with a flourish, leaving Hawks behind.

"We'll have our fun until then..." he muttered and heaved her upwards.
"Until when...?" she asked, trying to free herself from his grasp.
He took a deep breath and whispered:
"...They're coming."

'They're coming'

"What?!?"