Frozen Wings

Chapter 20

Hawks' POV

For the first night in a long time, I slept well. Storms had refused to leave even though I told her she didn't have to stay. She seemed anxious so I tried to send her back to her room, where I knew she would be comfortable. Unfortunately, she sensed my anxiety and stayed, ignoring her own feelings. So after she got me settled in, she sat down on the other side of my bed, taking my hand in hers when I started to panic. I fell asleep soon after, not once being interrupted by nightmares. It felt so good to be able to sleep again. It seemed like the old days, before the nightmares began to plague me. I blinked the blurriness out of my eyes, sunlight leaking in my room. I noticed that Storms was already awake, doing something on her phone.

I tried to speak but my throat hurt from crying so much last night. So instead I made a squeak. Her ears perked up and she turned to look at me.

"Well good morning! You needed that sleep, huh?" She chuckled. I nodded.

"I can understand that." Storms replied. I tried to speak again but it hurt worse than before. Tears pricked at my eyes. Normally this wouldn't have bothered me but because I wasn't in a great mental state, it did.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. What's wrong?" She set her hand under my chin, gently lifting my head so I looked at her.

"T-Th-roat." I choked out.

"Your throat hurts?" I nodded.

"Aw. Let me go get something for ya, okay? I'll be right back." She said, quickly leaving. I closed my eyes for a moment, still hazy from sleep. Within minutes Storms had returned with a cup of something.

"Sit up." I sat up. Storms set the cup on the bedside table, putting a pillow behind my back in between my wings so I could lean back without hurting myself. Once I was set, she picked up the cup, allowing me to hold it. I quickly drank what was inside of it. Storms kindly took the cup back and put it on the bedside table again.

"Thank you." I croaked. She nodded.

"Of course."

"What was it?" I asked.

"It was an herbal lemon tea that I mixed fresh honey into." She said, ear twitching. Not the usual twitching though. It was like she was happy.

"Where'd you get fresh honey from?" I frowned.

"I have a little garden on the rooftop. I keep a beehive there too. The bees are harmless though, I've spoken to them when I changed forms." She explained.

"You're crazy." I said. Storms laughed.

God I missed hearing her laugh... it's so sweet and comforting. It makes me feel safe somehow.

I smiled back at her, thinking to myself while doing so. Storms got up, getting ready to leave.

"Oh! I almost forgot! I'm about ready to try something new to fix your wing. It should also fix Todoroki's paralysis with a few minor adjustments." She grinned.

My heart skipped a beat. "Really?!"

"Yes! I'm so sorry it's taken so long." She apologized.

"Don't apologize, Storms! You've done enough, taking care of us so well." I shook my head. Storms sighed.

"I know. I just get worried when I see people I care about get hurt." She admitted.

"You? Care about people? Since when?" I teased.

"I'm not a rock! I have feelings, moron!" She rolled her eyes, going towards the door. Storms looked back at me one last time before leaving.

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Storms' POV

"You can go now, Snipe. Thank you." I walked into the room Dabi was being contained in. "Sure thing, Frostbite." He nodded, leaving. I looked at Dabi, who was refusing to look back at me.

"What're you looking at that's so intriguing?" I flatly asked.

"The wall."

"Oh yes, the wall. It's a masterpiece in the achievements of mankind. Nothing compares to its grace and beauty. A majestic thing it is." I rolled my eyes.

That got Dabi's attention. His eyes sparkled with amusement and guilt.

A strange combination.

I noted. "Is something bothering you?" I walked over. He looked away again. "Dabi, look at me." I snapped.

Dabi slowly followed my order. I glared at him for a long while. "What're you hiding?" I asked.

"N-Nothing." He stuttered. I growled.

"If you did something to the students, then by god, I swear-"

"NO NO NO! I didn't hurt anyone!" He raised his hands in defense, shaking them violently.

"Then what is it?" I said.

"I-I... look," Dabi sighed. "I got into a fight with Hawks right before you came in after breaking Bakugo's back. It was bad. He left and I expected him to rat me out to you, but he didn't. I heard he broke his hand... I think that might've been because of what I said." He admitted, obviously feeling guilty. I was quiet for a while. Dabi eyed me every now and then, waiting for me to blow up.

"What were you fighting over?" I asked. I didn't have a reason to get mad if I didn't even know what was going on.

"Uh- um- I-" He stumbled over his words.

"Spit it out!" I groaned.

"I-I can't. It's embarrassing." He muttered.

"You were arguing about something personal but dumb, weren't you?" I guessed. Dabi nodded.

"I suck at dealing with emotions so I guess I didn't go about it the right way and we ended up fighting." He said. I snorted.

"Same. I lived in a box for twenty three years of my life with no social interaction so... y'know." I shrugged.

"You lived in a box?" Dabi frowned. I nodded.

"Like a cardboard box?" He asked.

"No. Here, let me explain." I delved into my past, explaining what I had explained to Takami ages ago. Dabi watched me with intrigue as I explained, as if he could actually see what I was describing. When I finished my story, Dabi had fallen quiet. He seemed to be thinking about something.

"Frostbite, I-I'm so sorry. Really. Even though I've done some terrible things, that... that's a whole new level of terrible. No one should have to deal with that... we, meaning everyone except Shigaraki, learned the truth about Kurogiri and... I felt off about it. Something felt strange. I didn't know what it was, so I just ignored it. When Shigaraki came back and told us about Nine and how he was basically a guinea pig, that weird feeling came about again. I still couldn't put my finger on what about it was bothering me. But now... I understand. I felt strange because I knew it was wrong." Dabi admitted.

"I don't know the extent of what happened with Nine, but I heard about Kurogiri and I saw the effects it had." I glared at Dabi, who shrunk down, knowing what I meant by that.

"Frostbite, is there anything I can do? I... I feel horrible for what happened to you and Kurogiri... well, the person Kurogiri was built upon. I wish I had done something before it got that bad." Dabi seemed truly guilty.

I sighed, tail flicking irritably. "You were too young to have done anything for either of us. There is no need for you to make amends for what you had no part in. But I will ask you to attempt and make amends with UA, as a start." I decided.

"Of course. Anything." Dabi nodded. I turned to the window, looking outside, not at anything in particular.

"Oh. And call me Storms."