Stay with me at dawn, hide me away at dusk

1. Hawks

Dabi stood at his grave in silence. It was ironic, really, when his death contained so many screams. He stood and stared and contemplated his life in a way that might've depressed him if he hadn't already come to terms with his past.

He did not hear the flap of wings behind him, only his thoughts as he drowned in the silence and the noise of his grave.

He did not see the red of the feathers that landed beside him, already seeing red in the memories of that day.

He did not feel the touch on his arm that was supposed to alert him of the other's presence, because it landed on scar tissue and burned nerves.

But when the blue roses were placed on a marble tombstone with gloved hands, did he see the broken hero that kneeled by his side.

"Whatcha doing here, birdie?" He asked, pushing down the rising voice that threatened to overwhelm his senses with images of another time.

"Just visiting an old friend 'o mine," Hawks replied. The barely contained warble doubled with the slum accent he turned back on, and Dabi was reminded of a little bird who he had loved. To bad Touya was dead and Keigo ceased to exist. "Why're you here?"

"Same reasons," he said. It was less than valid but a half-truth of sorts. He wondered if Hawks could see through it.

"He was a great friend ya know?" Hawks mused. "Kind, caring, wouldn't even hurt a fly. He said they deserved to live too. Though I guess more than a few flies died when he burned."

The hero laughed humourlessly, and Dabi tried not to wince at the insensitivity of the comment. "Well, the flies were probably in his way. It's hard to get to the underworld with a bunch of small insects buzzing around your head. Hades sure as hell don't want those."

"Yeah. I wouldn't either," Hawks sat down on the overgrown grass that threatened to submerge the grave.  He patted the spot next to him, but Dabi was just fine with this angle. Made him feel powerful in the presence of his dead self. "Who was Touya to you?"

The villain frowned. Who was Touya to him? He'd never really thought about it, but he supposed... "Touya and I were polar opposites. He was weak where I was strong, he was kind where I was cruel. Something like that. Now that he's dead though, I guess it's just me trying not to tip those scales."

"You were close then?" Hawks looked up at him in curiosity.

"Yeah, but I kind of wished we weren't," Dabi sighed. "We didn't really have a choice, did we?"

"Nah, none of us did when it came to Touya," he sounded almost amused, a stark contrast to the small boy who would scream and shout and cry and preach at the God and the Demon that controlled his world. Different again to the ghost of the boy in the grave, the one who would stay silent and take their hits because no matter what he tried no one would take his voice and use it to help them. "He was just so bright, ya know?"

"Mm."

And they stood there in silence, watching the grass sway and the frozen roses flutter their azure petals in a dance of ironic silence. Much like the night started, it ended again.

In the deathly silence of a ghost boy's grave.

...

These are all going to be short, unedited and painful to read. Sorry in advance.