Phoenix

by Evil Irish Pixie

I own nothing about this fic, inspiration came from fics with the main pairing on AO3 with a reborn Harry thrown into the mix.

Phoenix

Hecate would look down on her favored amongst the many she blessed with magic and knew that enough was enough when one Harry James Potter walked to his death willingly for a group of people that deep down didn't have his best interests at heart. Had taken away everything and all chances her favored had at finding someone to love him for him and knew she couldn't let this stand anymore.

That she needed to make up for Fates screw ups and give her favored child another chance at life, love and especially family. So, with that thought in mind when he was hit with the death curse and his body hit the ground she set it ablaze using his Animagus form and would whisk him away from the magical world and into the much bigger world of heroes, villains and Quirks. Using what she knew of quirks she made her favored into someone new with no memories of before as a small toddler with snow white hair and brown eyes, transforming magic into a strong fire quirk that could burn and heal and leaving behind a pair of small black wings that would grow with him in place of his Animagus form.

Once the transformation and tweaking was done Hecate would leave her favored sleeping in a place where he would be found by those who would love and teach him what he needed to know to thrive in this new world she'd found for him.

Hecate just hadn't counted on 19 year old Dabi formerly Toya Todoroki finding her favored where she'd left him.

Dabi on his part would look down on the toddler and wonder if someone had gotten a hold of his mother's DNA and the new hero Hawks' DNA to produce the result in front of him as he picked up the too small and light body of the toddler. He would note the similar body temps and knew someone had done something and that the brat couldn't be left in the open like this and that he himself couldn't go back to the League with the brat since Shigaraki would only hurt the brat or present him to his Sensei as a new specimen to be examined or experiment on. He would eventually settle on taking the toddler with him to his new hidey hole for when he wasn't with the League and see how things would go from there since he definitely wasn't letting the brat be taken to be a hero. Not when he seemingly had two quirks.

The brat would wake up a day into settling down in villain's hidey hole, hungry and confused but very much not afraid of Dabi's scars to the dyed raven's amusement. Amusement that died very quickly when the brat used his fire to HEAL his scarred skin, effectively melting the staples in his face off.

"I bad?" the little boy asks in the face of Dabi's disbelief, shaking the man out of his shock and shakes his head no. He could figure out another way to hide his face, but the brat needed to be reassured he wasn't bad for easing his pain and suffering by getting rid of all his scar tissue. Even if it seemed to be accidental.

"Not bad brat. Just surprised" Dabi corrects as the boy slowly nods, as if waiting to be hit and likely had been hit before if the reaction was anything to go by (Hecate had to leave a few things otherwise her favored would be too much of a clean slate and suspicious to whoever would find him so left behind the vague memories and impressions of his early abuse with the Dursleys). "You need a name huh" the ravenette muses to himself as he let the brat fiddle with some of his piercings, having lifted the brat into his lap in a semblance of comfort since it had been four years since he'd had to comfort anyone.

"Name?" the brat asks as Dabi nods, eyes distant as he thought about it.

"My name is Dabi and I found you without anything on you that gives you a name and I can't call you brat forever" Dabi explains as he gently runs his fingers through the toddler's feathers, getting a pleased hum for his efforts. He would keep up the motion till the brat fell back asleep much to Dabi's amusement as he thought over what to name the brat.

Eventually Dabi would settle on Makoto or Mako for short as the brats name and generally bounce back and forth between the hidey hole he'd stash Mako and the latest hideout for the League to keep the later off his ass over what he was doing. Going the extra mile to hide what Mako had done in erasing the scars and burns from over using his quirk and the training sessions, just glad he'd kept pictures of what had happened as a reminder as to why he was with the League.

Mako on his part wouldn't question where his guardian and protector went, just glad he did come back for him and cared for him unlike the vague impressions of his life before Dabi had found him. He would behave and did as he was told and would make sure to amuse himself in wherever Dabi had them living while the man was gone. He would hide when the locals or the authorities got to close, using his wings to blend in with the shadows and hide himself when there weren't many places to hide.

A year would pass like this before Mako eventually would ask what Dabi was doing and if he could call the man dad since he didn't remember having any other family besides Dabi and the vague impressions of his hateful relatives.

Dabi on his part would sit Mako down and explain in simpler terms what he did for a living and his reasons since he owed the brat that much when he had the brat wanting to call him dad. Explain why he wanted to tear down the Hero rankings so much and why they hide their faces and presence when they went out.

"He hurt you and no one did anything? Like the people did nothing when I was hurt?" Mako whispers as Dabi nods slowly as the white haired boy hugged him, beginning to bawl into the ravenette's shirt at the unfairness of the situation and what it meant that Dabi had to go this far to get justice for himself and his siblings. Had to leave behind his family to continue to suffer as he did what he had to for the League to help him in his quest for vengeance.

"Am I in the way?" Mako sniffles out as Dabi makes a negative noise and runs a hand through the brat's wings till the crying finally stopped, the sun having long since gone down as he had explained their current living arrangements better.

"No brat, you're not in the way. Far from it" Dabi reassures firmly as red rimmed brown eyes looked up into his blue and saw the truth. "And if it makes you feel better brat I don't care what you call me since your my brat and nothing you do will change that" he continues as Mako giggles wetly, rubbing his face into Dabi's shirt like a cat.

"Okay Tou-chan" Mako whispers as he lets himself be lulled back into sleep by having his feathers straightened out, unaware of the small smile he had put on Dabi's face and the fact the man had noted his wings were big enough to carry him if he wanted to fly short distances.

So, when Mako was 8, five years since finding his brat and doing all the normal milestones like his first flight, training with his fire and registering him for school things finally picked up with the League as they went on the offensive with their lower ranked members and Nomu.

Active enough that the Commission would have a hero try and infiltrate the League's ranks, trying to find weaknesses and intel that could be used against the League.

"Tou-chan I don't like this" Mako grumbles as he and Dabi watched the poor sod the Commission had chosen flounder and try to get the League's attention for a meeting.

"We don't have to like it brat, Shigaraki put me in charge of him so we're stuck with him till he slips up" Dabi deadpans even though quietly he was in agreement with his brat about the idiot in front of him.

Hawks would be making slow progress with his mission as a double agent when opportunity presented itself with his growing relationship with his contact in the League, Dabi, when the fire quirk user had to bring him to his latest hidey hole to treat the injuries they'd received after the latest mission Shigaraki had given them.

"Don't and I mean DON'T breathe a word of what you see in here to anyone or you'll be ash on the cement birdbrain" Dabi hissed as he leads the way through the dark of an abandoned apartment building to the only light source in it on the top floor.

"Sure, hot stuff not a word" Hawks promises easily only to nearly choke on his spit as he laid eyes on Mako for the first time, nowhere in any of the reports about the cremation villain said a thing about a kid with wings like his own in black with white hair and brown eyes.

"Brat we have company" Dabi grunts out as Mako threw himself at the injured man, leaning back in worry when he smelled blood, burnt skin and ash.

"Are we going to have to move again?" Mako asks eyeing Hawks curiously as Dabi shook his head no.

"We're fine for now brat. What were you doing?" Dabi asks as Mako makes a noise of annoyance at the obvious avoidance of his question, but lets it go in favor of talking about his homework and flying practice.

"Math homework...sensei gave us more because Hana chan complained about his teaching methods again" Mako grumbles as Dabi snorts and lets the brat heal what he can reach before motioning Hawks to do the same. Watching the pro hero with narrowed blue eyes at the awe on Hawks face at his brat's Quirk. They'd dubbed it Phoenix when they had registered Mako for school since the brat was a lot like a phoenix with his wings and ability to either burn or heal with his flames.

"Well stash it for now since its late" Dabi says as Mako grumbles and does as he's told, leaving the adults to talk while he got himself ready for bed. Fuyumi sensei would be upset if he fell asleep in class again.

"Not a word to anyone about the brat" Dabi says to Hawks seriously as the blonde asks why he had kept the boy hidden this long before remembering his own induction into hero society and wilting. The boy would have been snatched up and never see Dabi again if the Commission had their way like they'd had with himself. "The brat deserves to choose what he wants to do birdbrain regardless of my life choices and I won't let ANYONE take that away from him. Not the heroes, the League or you will change that" he continues in a hard voice as Mako came back in a pair of shorts and one of Dabi's too big t-shirts.

"Tou-chan?" Mako asks curiously as Dabi relaxes slightly to let his brat close to hug before he got into the nest he'd made out of his current bed.

"Get some sleep brat otherwise your sensei is really going to chew us both out if you fall asleep in class again" Dabi says firmly as Mako makes a face at the reminder, hugging himself to Dabi's waist before jogging out of the room. The sound of wing flaps the only indication the white haired boy had done as he was told as he flew up into his nest.

"No one will hear about him from me, I promise" Hawks says seriously as Dabi nods as he pulls off the stables and burnt skin attachments off his face, arms and ankles to stash for the night since neither of them were leaving for the night with the heat still on from the police and pro heroes out en mass after their last assignment. He would ignore the blonde's noise of surprise at the action, inwardly amused that he could still surprise the birdbrain after working together for six months as closely as they did.

"I can teach him if you want" the blonde offers quietly a month later and a couple more visits to the various hidey holes that Dabi and Mako call home and watched how unsteady the youngest of their trio was when it came to flying longer than the brief time it usually took him to get into his nest or up a tree at school.

"And what do you want if I even accept the offer?" Dabi asks in annoyance as Hawks waves him off with an easy smile. One the blonde knows Dabi has a hard time saying no to much to Mako's vocal amusement when it's just him and Dabi.

"He needs to learn regardless of how well he's doing with his fire. It could mean life or death in the long run" Hawks points out as Dabi hisses at the idea of Mako being in that much danger, smoke coming from his clenched fists at the very idea. He knew no one else in Mako's school had wings or the ability to fly so that part of his Quirk practice had gone stagnant. Fuyumi had tried to help, but she was generally stone walled by the school, stating it was usually up to the parent's to find their own teachers for Quirk training at home.

"I supervise and you have to ask Mako yourself if he wants to learn from you" Dabi hissed out as Hawks nods smiling a little wider at the win as Mako came running into the room in his school uniform, wings puffed up in whatever had him excited.

"Hey squirt how was your day?" Hawks asks as Mako comes back out of the space he'd claimed as his room in an oversized black t shirt and red sweatpants, having changed out of his school uniform to work on his homework.

"Good. Fuyumi sensei's nii san came by to say hi to her today. He has an ice quirk like Fuyumi sensei, and he put out a small fire Hana's acid quirk caused in science class" Mako chatters on excitedly as Dabi nods, silently glad Mako seemed to be getting along with his younger siblings. Even if they didn't know Mako was his son.

"Sounds like fun, birdbrain here has an offer for you brat" Dabi says as Mako looks to the blonde curiously, his wings fluttering in anticipation since there were only a couple things Hawks could offer and one of them was flying lessons.

"Do you want to learn to fly properly?" Hawks asks cheerfully and gets tackled to the floor by a bundle of happy fledgling as Dabi snorts in amusement that the pro had been taken down by an 8 year old.

"Yes, please Hawks" Mako squeals in delight as he hugs the blonde, brown eyes bright at the idea of learning to fly and not realizing how much like Hawks he looked in that moment with his big smile and brown eyes. Truly the blonde was turning out to be another influence on his brat's life like his sister is the only thought in the ravenette's mind.

Mako would enjoy the lessons and the lessons themselves would bring Hawks fully into Dabi's trust and life as the raven slowly opened up to the blonde during those lessons. Opened up enough to let slip things Mako only knew and changed their relationship into something neither knew how to define. They weren't enemies any more and more than friends, but with the trust issues both had due to their positions Hawks and Dabi knew they couldn't define their relationship as a serious one till either side relented to the other about what to do about Endeavor and the abuse he'd covered up for years.

It would all come to ahead when Endeavor caught Mako walking back to the current hidey hole alone, his white hair and black wings standing out amongst the crowd, the smaller boy lashing out with his flames to get away from the #1 hero since he knew from Tou-chan that the hero would only hurt him in the long run and that the Commission would allow it from listening to Hawks talk about his experiences.

The lashing out would draw the attention of the media as Endeavor nearly crippled Mako by grabbing onto a wing with an ignited hand. Only to yell out when Mako's flames grew only hotter and turned blue to force the man to let go and scrambled into the darkness crying quietly from the pain his burnt wing was giving him. He had tried to follow the boy, but his clothes and wings hid him in the darkness he'd scrambled into and fled the scene, damage done and people questioning why the #1 hero would go so far to stop and question a child.

Dabi would force himself not to go on a rampage when his brat came back, wing burnt and crying over what Endeavor had done to him in an attempt to question him about the ravenette. He would get the brat to calm and focus his flames to heal instead of burn so he could heal the burns once he'd taken pictures to add to the file.

Hawks would join them that night once things had quieted slightly that no one would notice his absence at his Agency, the Avery. He would find Dabi seething in his anger with Mako sleeping fitfully, burnt wing wrapped up carefully where Endeavor had grabbed them in the white haired boy's bid for freedom.

"Is he okay Toya?" Hawks asks, snapping Dabi out of his internal rage.

"He'll be able to fly again though it will be awhile before he can without any kind of pain" Dabi growls out at the questioning look. "We weren't sure if he could heal himself since he's never hurt himself enough to find out" the ravenette continues as Hawks nods settling down next to Dabi, wings wrapping around them both. Mako would relax slightly and continue to sleep a little more peacefully as both adults hash out what they're going to do now.

Especially when Endeavor had admitted on live television to trying to stop the boy with how similar he looked to Dabi and see if the connection was a valid one. Mako's running away had made the heroes more suspicious and side with the man to dig deeper. Dig deep enough they'd asked Hawks to do the digging since he was close enough with Dabi to find out, having confessed a little while back what the mission had started out as and how things had changed as the two adults had settled into this routine and gotten to know each other.

Hawks would never admit it, but he's sure as fuck lost sleep over learning what he had about Dabi. After all, finding out what his number one hero—the man he'd looked up to, since he was just a little kid—had been like behind closed doors, away from prying eyes and the media… What he'd done to his wife and his children, some of them so young… It had been world shattering, to say the least. It had made Hawks rethink a lot of things, and not all of them had been good.

The last several months have more than acquainted him with Dabi's caustic nature. Not simply in working together, a pair of double-edged swords, but in… whatever it is they've become in the process. Something that evolved from yet another explosive argument to a flurry of feathers, hands and mouths. This dangerous, inexplicable trust fall they've found themselves in, entirely on accident. Or not so accidental now that he's truly thinking about it as both look down to the boy that had become both their kid. Mako's quirk defining him as Dabi and Hawk's kid if either one had been born a woman.

They've also taught him one crucial thing in dealing with solely Dabi: if the situation grows uncomfortable or awkward, he clams right up. He steps into the shoes of the cold murderer Hawks met all those months ago, the one that had wanted to burn him to ash rather than give him a chance to plead his case—to beg a villain to let a hero join their little club.

Dabi's known it was a lie right from the start. He's told Hawks this a hundred times. But somehow, they've made it this far all the same. He doesn't often stop to think about what might've changed his mind that night, and convinced him not to roast Hawks alive, convinced him to let their game of cat and mouse play its course.

So, not for the first time, Hawks sits there, arms loose at his sides, and looks at him. Dabi looks back, stubborn and defiant. The silence stretches out.

Then his gaze drops.

"What if it doesn't work?" His voice is low, so low that Hawks isn't sure he hears him at first. He doesn't exactly manage to keep the shock from his face. He's normally the one nervous about plans, and outcomes, and missions—his brain a rapid-fire, constantly racing thing who doesn't think about things before he does them, operating on instinct—not Dabi.

Dabi, who is ruthless and precise, like a surgical knife. Dabi, who is always in control of a situation, who knows every exit and has three backup strategies before he enters any building. Dabi, who never has any issues getting his hands dirty as long as it brings him closer to the outcome he wants, even if he boils himself raw in the process if it means he goes home to Mako at the end of the day.

Hawks likes to think he knows him pretty well by now, inside and out, but sometimes he still catches him off-guard. And vulnerability isn't something he's trained himself to handle, coming from a live grenade.

But this plan they've talked about, well—there's a lot of variables. And a lot of them outside of either of their control. After all, publicly tearing down a monster's career is a little bit more difficult than simply burning him to ash with years of slowly simmered rage, isn't it?

Dabi is a pressure-cooker, rattling at all the edges, being asked to wait. To simmer down just a little.

"If it doesn't, we'll try something else." It's all Hawks can offer, but it's the truth.

Dabi flinches. It's small, more a quick spasm of his spine, but Hawks still sees it. He always notices the little things, now. He has for months, ever since this thing between them changed and shifted and became something a hell of a lot complicated than he ever intended.

"It'll work," Hawks assures him. "Dabi, look at me."

He doesn't, and so Hawks takes a careful scooch into his space. His wings flaring out a little, a soft whoosh of air, tips touching the ceiling before he brings them back down, encircling both of them gently. Blocking out everything else.

"Toya." Like before, the name does the trick. It takes a few seconds, but the other man finally lifts his gaze. And it's not confusion that Hawks sees there, but fear, burning so brightly in his turquoise eyes. Stars in a sea of dark waves that threaten to swallow him whole. "Toya—" he says again only to be cut off

"What if it doesn't?" Dabi repeats, voice low and harsh. "What if he—" He stops, fists clenching and unclenching. Brow furrowed and lips curled in a snarl. Trying to keep himself calm as Mako makes a slight noise of distress at the negative feelings the ravenette is radiating.

He's supposed to draw Endeavor out into the field, the same way he did months before to face the Nomu. But this time, he'll just be facing Dabi. Alone, once he stages a blow with enough force to "knock" Hawks out. Then he'll have to keep the old man distracted, long enough to attract media attention, and press buzz, so that everyone's watching.

And then, his contact in covert ops, Keystroke, will flood the airwaves and upload the package Hawks slips away to deliver to him. A media file full of Toya's medical records, Mako's recent attack and those of his siblings and mother—all of Endeavor's home exploits will be leaked to the public over the footage of their fight, exposing him raw. All Dabi has to do is keep him busy.

Last time, it had been fairly easy, considering the man had been whittled down to nothing by the Nomu. This time, he'll be at full strength, and Dabi won't have the element of surprise.

The plan is a dangerous one, but that's always been how Dabi likes to play things. High stakes and close to the chest for the best results—otherwise, what's the point?

There'd been a time Dabi had been willing to die for his plan. He'd been ready to tear himself apart, burn the skin from his bones and go out in a blaze of glory if it meant taking the monster of his childhood down with him. If it meant showing the world that not all heroes deserved their titles and their pedestals. But now, well…

"I don't want to die," Dabi shudders, and his shoulders sag. "Not before…"

Before he sees Endeavor's public fall. Before he can enjoy the victory he's been waiting years for, hungry and quiet and burning, a submerged volcano looking to erupt. Before he sees his family again, one last time, and tell them it was all for their sake. Before he got to see Mako, their kid truly shine instead of living life in the shadows like he had since coming into Dabi's care.

"You won't" Hawks reaches out, hand catching his, holding fast when he tries to pull back. His thumb rubs a small, soothing circle over the other man's knuckles. The staples that pull his scars sleeve into place on the back of his hand are cool to the touch. Then again, his whole hand feels like ice, so cold it often burns. He's only ever warm on purpose, both literally and emotionally if you were anyone but Mako.

Hawks would like to think he had a hand in changing his mind, honestly. After all, he's spent the weeks since Dabi told him the truth checking up on his family and feeding it to the other man when he least expects it, when his defenses are low and easy to slip past. It's a selfish thought that fills the yawning cavity in his chest with more twisting snakes than he'd like to admit, but he still thinks it's the truth.

Especially when it's so easy to step back and tug Dabi up with him, not stopping until he's seated on the edge of their bed. Neither of them speak as Hawks pulls him down beside him. Instead, he falls back against his pillow, wings stretching out to cover the expanse of the mattress like a safety net. His arms lift, open and inviting.

Dabi hesitates for only a moment before he stretches out beside Hawks with Mako, body stiff as the hero wraps his arms around his shoulders. His right wing curves up, coming to rest gently against Dabi's form like a blanket. The man reaches out, stroking at the feathers nearest him with one scarred sleeve hand. It always helps him relax, and soon enough, he's scooting closer, cuddling into Hawks' embrace as the other man rests his cheek on the top of Dabi's head.

It's not the usual kind of comfort Hawks offers—very rarely do they tread into this territory, given just how dangerous it is—but from the way Dabi's breathing evens out, his hand dropping gently from Hawks' feathers to his chest, well, he figures it might just be what he needs.

"Hawks?" Mako asks sleepily later in the night, startling awake from a nightmare to find himself being rocked gently by the blonde while his Tou-chan slept on in the bed he shared with the pro hero.

"It's okay firebird, we're here and we won't let anything happen" Hawks promises quietly as Mako sniffs and buries his face into the blonde's shoulder as Hawks straightened out what feathers weren't wrapped up with the bandages around his nearly healed burns.

"I was late leaving school; Fuyumi sensei's brothers had come to pick her up to go visit their okaasan and Koji wanted to hang out before his obaasan came to get him. I didn't see him till his hand was on my shoulder" Mako explains as Hawks nods, Fuyumi having admitted that much when asked to give her statement. He wondered how long she had suspected Dabi was her brother Toya and how long she had kept it quiet for Mako's benefit if Shoto looked so surprised when in private admitting to suspecting the boy was her nephew.

"You did nothing wrong firebird" Hawks reassures as Mako clings tighter, the flash of pain when Endeavor had grabbed his wing still clear in his mind. He would relax though when he felt Hawks' wings come around them both and let himself be pulled back to bed between his Tou-chan and Hawks. He didn't go back to sleep though much to the quiet worry of Hawks and Dabi who knew that Mako was the heaviest sleeper of them all and not a morning person if he didn't have to get up for school as the case was till things settled down.

"C'mon brat nothing will happen with us here" Dabi croaks out as Mako nods into his shoulder, Hawks wrapped up around them both. He would finally fall back asleep a little while later, Dabi running his hand free hand through the free feathers like his Tou-chan usually did after a nightmare unaware things were going to drastically change in the days after being attacked by Endeavor.

The plan works, but it sort of blows the whole world of heroics wide open, turning it into a raw, gaping wound that can't easily be closed. The public absolutely loses its mind, vultures picking at the metaphorical carcass of Endeavor. His children and wife are protected as best they can be by the hero commission, and their friends, but the man himself is ostracized. His public image ripped apart, his legacy splattered with the stain of his toxicity and burning truth.

Hawks doesn't know where he goes, exactly, but he knows it's not home. He hopes it's in a room backed by iron bars and no light.

The rankings fall to absolute shambles for the second time in a year, and every hero's motives are the talk of the town. There's whispers about transparency, and accountability, and a part of Hawks feels bad. After all, some of them are his friends. Some of them don't deserve the intense, microscopic scrutiny they're now faced with.

But the other part of him, the one that's always hated being so high on the rankings, that's always thought the whole system was stupid and flawed—the part that's known heroics should never have been about appearances and sponsorships and TV commercials, but really, truthfully, just about helping people. That part is relieved. Happy, even.

And thankfully, Hawks knows the right kind of people to weather the oncoming storm with. He has connections. It's one of the few good things about being raised by the government, so he might as well use it to his advantage.

So, the moment Endeavor's exposé goes live, he turns in his second thumb drive.

The one with in-depth profiles on every member of the League of Villains, including histories, quirk breakdowns, and usual haunts. Home bases and hideouts. Complex schedules, even. A who's who list that spells out exactly where they'll be in the next few weeks, and how to round them up.

A literal goldmine for his boss, hand-delivered on a silver platter.

He asks for only one thing in return. Mako and Dabi.

Hawks strolls through the covert ops facility, Mako sound asleep in his arms after a long day at school. For someone who's spent the last six days getting grilled in a small, airtight room by higher-ups and who's status as the number one hero is entirely up in the air, he's in a suspiciously good mood. His nerves are shot to hell, and his wings are twitchier than normal, practically vibrating at his back—but his mood is high. Loftier than he expected, all things considered.

The place is mostly silent at this time of night. There's a muted thump, thump, thump as he passes the gymnasium, and spots two people playing basketball. "Dad?" Mako asks sleepily, wings twitching with how anxious he's been lately at the noise of the gym, Hawks tuning them out with little effort, whistling under his breath as he makes his way further in, turning down the long, narrow hallway that leads to the barracks. They're usually empty—no one really likes staying here unless they're working late on a case or recovering from one, preferring the comforts of home—but the last bunk has recently been reopened. Not before the best Support staff the hero commission had to offer had retrofitted and insulated it specifically to house it's new… occupant? Prisoner? Operative, pending a psych eval and some field tests, maybe?

"Almost there firebird" Hawks promises quietly as Mako hums and goes back to sleep. He'd been questioned and prodded for hours for his relation to the League and Dabi the day before and had slept horribly for not saying a word. His fear obvious to the adults and just wanting his parent and to be left alone when he'd done nothing wrong. It had been Eraserhead who had put his foot down in the end and had Makoto let go into the care of Hawks a bawling mess from the stress.

Keystroke would wave him through at the sight of the tired out kid without a word, signaling that Dabi was up and alert, asking for them both. Colorful language included that Mako likely knew all by heart at this point.

Hawks snorts, laying a hand flat against the palm scanner. It whirs and beeps as it flashes across his skin. Then the door clicks loudly, and the hacker lets out a small snort. "Have fun" Keystroke says in a deadpan.

Hawks does a fairly good job of keeping the grin from his lips as he steps through the door—And finds a blue fireball rocketing towards him and Mako.

"Holy shit!" He squawks, ducking out of the way just in time, waking Mako up in the process. There's a flash of heat along his face, and then he hears the sizzle and pop as it collides with the fireproof padding on the back of the door, hissing out of existence harmlessly.

His heart jackhammering in his chest, Hawks looks across the room at Dabi and scowls. "What was that for, asshole?"

All he receives in answer is a glare, absolutely molten in the other man's eyes.

So, Hawks huffs, unimpressed, and crosses the room to stand at the foot of the bed Dabi's lying on. It's a step up from a hospital cot, and utilitarian. Simple, and barely comfortable, but at least it's better than a slab of metal in a cold, dark room. He would place Mako on the bed for him to crawl into Dabi's lap.

There's a white sheet covering half of him, but it's askew, like he tried to rip it off. He probably did, and he managed just enough with his lower limbs and torso strapped to the bed frame that his right hand hung loose enough for that fireball.

Hawks had requested, specifically, that no restraints be tied around his wrists or arms because of his scars. Hindsight, it appears, is 20/20.

"What if it hadn't been me or Mako?" Hawks huffs, wings fluttering, and cheeks puffed. Dabi raises a brow, as though that's supposed to matter to him. "Have you attacked everyone that's come into this room?" he asks as Mako cackles, burrowing into his Tou-chan's chest happily ignoring the restraints.

"No," Dabi says, but it's quiet, forced out between gritted teeth. Which is Dabi speak for maybe but shut up about it. "It's not like there's been much in the way of visitors. Just a doc, once or twice. Which combined with the fancy window and you casually strolling in here—" Hawks glances up, just now noticing the giant skylight in the middle of the room. Huh. "—tells me I'm not where I should be."

That draws his attention back down to Dabi, and he sees a myriad of emotions dance in the burning candle of his eyes. Confusion. Fear. Anger, mostly. Cold and brittle and raw. The fact that he's leaving it all there instead of stuffing it behind a wall of indifference tells Hawks he's still not feeling 100%.

"And where do you think you should be?" Hawks asks carefully.

"Dead" Dabi snorts, and it's a small, dark little thing as he ignores the small wounded noise Mako makes at the idea. The brat had known it was a strong possibility with the life they'd been living.

It's like a knife to Hawks' beating heart. He swallows thickly. "You don't mean that."

"Don't I?" Dabi raises a brow. He lifts his arms, motioning to the patchwork of bandages that cover him. "Old man did a number on me. It's not like that's anything new, but still—pretty sure I should be lying in a pool of my own boiling blood, or rotting in a cell" he points out, bringing one arm down to comfort Mako as he makes noises of pain at his words.

He levels Hawks with a calculating gaze, and his voice drops an octave. The hair on the back of Hawks' neck rises in answer to it. "Where am I?"

The blondes' eyes scan the room. It's a decent size, but bare of much in the way of furnishings. Spartan in design and concept, with slate grey walls covered in subtle fireproof padding. There's a TV on the far wall that looks a little melted in one corner, and a bathroom to the left that Hawks knows contains a sizeable shower and tub.

"Hero commission's covert ops base?" He shrugs, like it's no big deal. He rubs at the back of his neck, chuckling nervously. Maybe he shouldn't have said that. "Err, one of them."

"Okay." Dabi's face doesn't change, but the light in his eyes flickers dangerously. His tone is low and flat, and his words are careful, precise, which Hawks knows can only spell trouble. "And why am I not in jail?"

"Well, because I vouched for you." This, too, is said with nonchalance—but the statement hangs heavily in the air between them.

"Hawks."

Oops, he sounds pissed.

"And uh," Hawks averts his gaze, focusing instead on the tip of his right wing, skimming his fingers over it as he hums thoughtfully. "They could use someone with your talents?"

"Hawks." The word sends a chill down his spine, and not in the fun way he typically associated with Dabi's voice. Correction, now he sounds pissed.

Carefully, Hawks lets his gaze drift back to meet Dabi's, and he offers him his most supportive grin. A winning one, really. The kind he's been told sparkles in his eyes with all the distracting charm of a man who knows he's in deep shit. "Yes?"

"You really think that's a good idea with my background?" And he says it so calmly, so nonchalantly, that it strikes the cold, uncomfortable stone in Hawks' chest like a match, setting him ablaze.

He steps forward, voice raised a little more than he means to. "I know you've done shitty things to survive, but—"

"Not all of it was to survive, and you know it, so don't fucking do that," Dabi's anger is quiet, but trembling in his voice loud and clear. There's a healthy dose of loathing in his tone, too, and Hawks isn't sure which one of them it's directed at as Mako clings to Dabi. Flames radiating from his hands as he heals what's within reach as he usually did.

It leaves him stumbling over his words, his mouth moving of its own free will at this point. A train barreling off the tracks that he simply can't stop. "Sure, right, but—"

"There's no fucking buts, Hawks!" Dabi's brows furrow, his lips twisting into a snarl. The air smells thick with smoke. He thinks idly that the bed sheet might be burning but doesn't dare tear his eyes away to look. "I'm not a fucking hero."

"You don't have to be" the words tumble easily, effortlessly from his mouth—because they're true. But the weight of Dabi's turquoise eyes presses on his lungs like he's said something far, far more damning than that.

"What?" the other man scoffs, gaze flicking back and forth between Hawks' eyes, searching. For what, the hero doesn't know. A lie? A false promise? He wants to assure him he'll find none, but he doesn't know how to put it into words. How to make him understand.

Thankfully, whether he means to or not, Dabi presents him with the perfect opportunity. "I sure as fuck don't deserve a free pass… so what the hell are you talking about?" he asks as he pets Mako's hair, noting it needed a cut with how shaggy and like Hawks it looked currently.

He's always been good at doing that. At giving Hawks the opening, he needs to shift the conversation somewhere he needs it to go, to give him breathing room and keep this dance of theirs flowing naturally, even when Hawks stumbles. Which is fairly often when your mouth works faster than your brain does.

"You're not exactly getting one," the hero explains, slowly. As he does, his fingers trail up Dabi's leg, and he watches the other man physically suppress a shudder at the contact. Hawks fights the smirk begging for a place on his lips, and instead busies his hands with undoing the restraint that rests just above Dabi's bandaged shins. "But this isn't sponsorships and spotlights and empty titles, Dabi. This is underground—the kind of places heroes don't and can't go" he explains.

"This is doing the government's dirty work, behind the scenes," Dabi scoffs in disgust at the idea.

"No," Hawks insists, his wings flaring along with his tone. "They still help people. They still save people who can't save themselves. And the kind of people they face—the monsters they bury without a trace—it's people who don't deserve to rot in a jail cell. People too dangerous for that sort thing" he continues as Mako makes a noise of curiosity at the idea. He knows this catches Dabi's interest from the way his face goes just a little bit slack. His contempt doesn't waver, but the crease lines in his forehead do and that's enough for Hawks to keep going.

"And this team… I mean—" He cuts himself off with a chuckle that's warm, and almost fond. He doesn't get to work with them often, rarely ever, but he knows they're a good team. He knows they'll be good for Dabi. "Roulette's a reformed assassin, and Miasma used to be a drug kingpin."

Dabi raises a brow. "So, it's, what—a team of bad guys?" Mako asks, brown eyes looking up from under his bangs.

Hawks hums. "Not exactly. Some of them were in hero programs, or in general ed even—until they realized their quirks were far better suited for this kind of work." He steps closer, hands reaching for the buckle of the restraint drawn across the other man's chest, Mako having moved sit cuddled under Dabi's right arm. It had been just tight enough to keep him down, while avoiding the scars up his sides and the fresh blistering on parts of his torso. A bandaged hand settles over his before he can undo the clasp, and Hawks looks up, frowning.

"What did you give up for this?" There's something smoldering in his gaze, something uncertain and almost fearful, like he's worried that Hawks has somehow tarnished himself just to save Dabi from damnation. To save him from himself. Hawks doesn't have the heart to tell him they crossed that bridge a long time ago.

Still, he's careful when he spells it out. "The League files. I gave them to my boss in exchange for—" His gaze slides to their hands, to the contrast of Dabi's scarred skin and pale fingers draped over his sun-tanned skin. "You and Mako."

Hawks doesn't miss the twitch of Dabi's hand against his own. The way his shoulders tense, discomfort coiling his muscles like a loaded spring.

"You shouldn't have done that" Dabi says as Mako hums quietly, soothing all of them into relaxing slightly.

"It's my choice, isn't it?" Hawks throws him a lopsided grin, shrugging. "Besides, until you decide whether or not you're sticking around—you're in limbo, hot stuff."

"Limbo?" Mako asks not sure what the word means.

"Yep!" He pops the end of the word against his lips a little too cheerfully. "On paper, Todoroki Toya is still missing, presumed dead. Some people have started connecting the dots in the week since we leaked your family's medical files to the media, but since you disappeared after the fight with Endeavor—"

Dabi sits up abruptly, there's a light crackle and pop as blue flames ignite along his arms, snaking their way up to his shoulders. He leans forward, into Hawks' space, a dangerous smile twisting his lips. "Are you implying you could have me killed and no one would ever know, pretty bird?" he asks in amusement.

Hawks lets out a puff of air that's supposed to be a laugh, surely, but it comes out a little more breathless than that. The heat rolling off the other man seeps into his skin, settling somewhere low in his gut. "Ah, hah." He shivers, wings rustling behind him. Dabi's eyes are bright, wicked delight shining in their turquoise depths, his face barely inches from the hero's.

He swallows thickly, eyes flickering between his crooked mouth and vibrant eyes. "I'm saying that temporarily deceased men don't get to vote on what happens to their shit."

"Hm," Dabi hums, lifting his face ever so slightly. His breath is hot against Hawks' mouth for one long, drawn out moment, and the hero finds himself leaning in, lips parting—

And then the other man is dropping back against the pillow, lifting his arms up and crossing them behind his head. "Clever bird."

Hawks' face heats, cheeks and neck scorching like he's been left out in the sun too long—or maybe burned by the most frustrating man he's ever had the misfortune of dealing with. The smirk woven across Dabi's lips tells Hawks he knows exactly what he just did, the little fucker. Mako looks between them with a look that's a mix between delighted, amused and slightly grossed out at the idea of what Hawks had wanted from Dabi. They were a really bad influence on the firebird if he even understood a little of what was going on between them.

He does his best to shake it, rolling his shoulders and fluttering his wings. He huffs out an annoyed breath, mouth clamped tightly shut as he finally unbuckles the restraint still keeping Dabi tied down. "Sorry about these, by the way—they just wanted to be careful" he apologizes.

"I thought that was the point of the fireproof room?" Dabi points out.

Hawks glances sidelong at him. "Is that why the TV looks like it narrowly avoided getting melted into a puddle?"

"Not my fault they were stupid enough to think I'd want to see the fucking news" Dabi hissed out. Hawks winces because yeah, he can understand that. Which also explains why he hasn't asked about the outcome of the fight, or what happened with Endeavor after the files leaked. He's probably already seen. "Besides, you really think I didn't try to blast my way out of here first chance I got. I had no fucking clue where I was, I was covered in bandages and fucking bleeding everywhere, and you—"

Hawks can practically see the smoke seeping out of Dabi's ears and nose. "Well, you took your fucking time showing up, didn't you?"

He quirks his lips in a small smile, wings fluttering happily behind him. "Aw, could it be that you missed me, Dabi?" he asks as Mako looks between the two, like he's watching a tennis match.

"Shut up." The look Dabi's giving him is positively murderous.

"Because it kind of sounds like you missed me" Hawks continues to tease.

"Shut up, I said" Dabi rolls his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest, huffing. "Stop that annoying squawking, will you?" he huffs as Mako laughs, relaxing back into the usual routine now that it had presented itself.

Bird jokes. That's easy, familiar territory for them. Hawks practically preens, bouncing back on the balls of his feet. "I guess you're feeling better, huh?" he asks as Dabi grumbles out a noise that might be an agreement and shrugs.

"I don't feel like I'm going to throw up my fucking toenails anymore, so that's something" Dabi relents as Mako makes a noise at how gross that sounds. Dabi avoids his gaze, staring at the blank wall to his left. It gives Hawks a chance to take a good look at him.

He's lost weight in the week since he's seen him. Not that he had that much to begin with, but it shows in the sharp angles of his face and the deep hollows of his eyes, accentuated by his faded scars. And he's unsteady, body betraying him as the hand clenched in the sheets at his side shakes slightly. His skin looks far paler than usual; his whole torso a patchwork of taped-down gauze pads covering fresh burns and blisters.

It pains Hawks just to look at him, like a raw wound. He's definitely seen better days. But he's alive. He survived, and that's what matters.

Hawks keeps the words behind his teeth as he glides up to him. He hovers at the edge of the bed, looking down at him. Waiting. It's a few moments before Dabi squares his shoulders and looks back, his gaze wary. Sharp. It's clear that he's uncomfortable, rough edges unwilling to bend and fit together with Hawks right now.

So, Hawks tries for what he does best—he talks, and he distracts, he smooths out feathers. "You know," he says, lips tilting into a lopsided grin. "Barfing up your toenails might be good" he continues as Mako makes a gagging noise at the idea.

"Shut up." Dabi's words lack their usual bite, and it's far from his best comeback. "Clearly you've never thrown up your toenails" he continues as Mako speaks up.

"Please stop Tou-chan, I'd like to be able to eat later and sleep" Mako whines loudly to Dabi's amusement.

"Still, I bet there are worse things you could barf up," Hawks says good-naturedly.

"You're disgusting," Dabi groans after a long moment, head leaning back, and eyes trained on the ceiling. He lets loose a particularly large sigh, and with it, Hawks can practically see the tension in his body leave as though exorcised. His feathers rustle as his wings tremble, excited. Dabi shoots him an unimpressed look, but he still shuffles aside slightly, leaving enough space for the hero to climb onto the mattress with them both.

"You oversized chicken—this bed isn't fucking big enough for us both," he grunts, leaning forward just enough for Hawks to slide his left wing in behind him, propping him up on something a little softer than his pillows while Mako burrowed gently into Dabi and took a nap.

"We'll put in an upgrade request once it's officially your room," Hawks winks, and two feathers he'd sent to hunt down the TV remote return triumphant. As one settles back into place on the tip of the wing he has curled around Dabi, he watches the other man gently brush his fingers over it. The touch is familiar, and sparks a pleasant warmth pooling in his chest, the kindling embers of a brighter flame.

Dabi doesn't look at him when he speaks. "You really think I'm cut out for this shit?"

'Yes', Hawks thinks. Because maybe he's not the same little boy who wanted to be a hero before he learned how cruel some could be, but he's not the same cold, vicious thing that wanted to raze the whole thing to the ground just to burn the monster of his childhood out of the tapestry. He's something else, now, and just thinking about how Dabi has let Hawks be part of the change Mako had started sends a shiver down his spine.

"Better than rotting in jail, isn't it?" He says instead.

Dabi's fingers still, ever so slightly. Then he huffs out a laugh, dry and low. It rumbles through him, and Hawks feels it reverberate across the bed.

He tugs on a handful of feathers, wrapping Hawks' wing around him like a blanket. His back remains facing Hawks, but he presses his bare skin against the man's shoulder, a sign of comfortable, familiar trust. Hard-fucking-earned, in the hero's opinion.

Silence settles over them like a warm net, and though he's got the remote in his hand, Hawks can't bear to break it by turning on the television. So, he sits there, listening to Dabi's breathing even out; a quiet, peaceful siren song.

He's convinced the other man's fallen asleep, until he hears a quiet murmur of, "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Hawks whispers, smile tugging at his lips.

Mako would wake them both up hours later looking for food and reminding both adults that regardless of how well things had gone and were changing somethings would remain the same as Hawks took Mako out to get a change of clothes and some food into him. Leaving behind his school bag as a reminder to Dabi that Mako was coming back and wasn't being kept away from him.

"Is your Otosan doing better Mako?" Koji asks a couple weeks after the airing of all of Endeavor's secrets, Mako's school attendance having been spotty since Dabi had been taken into covert ops custody.

"Mhm, Tou-chan is okay. I think he likes it better when I'm there to kill the silence since he doesn't like watching the news" Mako hums out around a mouthful of rice, Hawks having helped him make his bento box for the day. Well Hawks had supervised since the Makoto remembered the last time Hawks had cooked and his Tou-chan had cussed Hawks out worse than he had Toga the one time she had come by the hidey hole of the time looking for help with her hair. He would look up from his lunch to note his friend still looked slightly worried about him, grey eyes bright with his concern. That he hadn't caused a storm yet spoke of how well his friend had come along with his Quirk control, having a mixed air and water quirk from his parents.

"I'm sorry for not being around so much" Mako says as Koji tugs gently on some of his white hair in retaliation for the apology.

"Don't be sorry. Your Otosan is going through a hard time and Endeavor hurt you before that so he needs you around more than I do. Hawks too since he helped out" Koji says firmly as Makoto slowly nods, face flushed slightly with how close his friend was. "So is Fuyumi sensei too so take all the time you need. We'll help you stay ahead of classes" the blue haired boy promises as he leans across and hugs the teary eyed Mako.

"My wing is all better now though so Tou-chan is in a slightly better mood and lets Hawks take me out for flying lessons now" Mako says changing the subject as his wings flutter to prove the words true and keeping quiet about the fact his Tou-chan and his dad are going after the League when they think he's sound asleep in the bed all three share when Hawks stays the night at the covert ops building.

"That's good, do they still let you heal and do target practice?" Koji asks as both relax and continue to eat lunch and focus on the mundane little things of their lives than the stress that was Dabi's and Hawks' jobs in helping take down the League of Villains and the trial of Endeavor for his crimes against his family.

So it didn't surprise Megumi Mahou aka Hexe in the least to find the brat Dabi and Hawks had both agreed got a choice on whether or not he wanted to go pro or not and if he did whether he wanted to work with them should Dabi finally relent and sign on with covert ops waiting for them after the latest raid of many on the League. Still awake doing homework in his pajamas of an oversized shirt of Dabi's and red sweatpants as she entered the room to let him know Hawks had been hospitalized and that to remain at his side Dabi had finally relented on his terms of only sticking around for the League to be caught and locked up while the trial for Endeavor was still in progress.

"C'mon brat your Otosan is with Hawks and likely isn't going to leave till he wakes up so you can keep both company till Hawks does" Hexe encourages as the boy nods, pulling on one of his Otosan's sweaters and let himself be carried to the car and hospital where Hawks was still sleeping. Where Dabi was still sat and would accept the company.

When Hawks wakes, it takes a few seconds for his surroundings to register. He's in a hospital bed, and his head's fucking killing him. The only light is a single lamp on his bedside table, but it's dim, muted. Probably because it's nighttime, he realizes, when he spots darkness through the crack in his curtains.

He can hear the soft beeping of a heart monitor, and his head throbs with every ping from the machine. No surprise, really, given the way his vision doubles when he turns his head. Definitely a concussion. And he can feel the gauze of a bandage stretching above his left eye.

When he lifts his hand to his head, he sees the plaster covering his arm from his elbow to the base of his fingers. Just like that, it all comes flooding back to him.

The battle had been short, bloody, but the new guy Shigaraki's dwindling crew had picked up had refused to go down easy. He'd been massive, easily twice Hawks' size if not bigger, and he'd been able to toss Miruko aside like she'd weighed nothing at all.

After weeks of hounding him, he'd finally let her tag along on a covert op and she'd gotten her ass kicked immediately. He was going to owe her some serious TLC after this. Probably in the form of a night out, very many drinks, and putting his charm to good use as her wingman. Literally.

His head swims just thinking about it, but he's not entirely sure it's just from overthinking. He's pretty sure he's paying the price for being incapable of backing down from a fight with the tank of a villain, who'd come straight for Hawks after he'd knocked Miruko out.

A quiet sound, different from the beeping, draws his attention as someone sits up in the chair to Hawks' right. His gaze snaps up, and his eyes widen when he comes face to face with Dabi, lifting a hand to rub at one shoulder. Like he's been sitting there long enough to be uncomfortable with Mako sleeping in his lap, clinging like a winged koala and his eyes red rimmed from crying.

Which is strange, considering he's not supposed to be out of the compound unless on mission. And Hawks is sure no one would've assigned a wanted man as his personal bodyguard in a public hero hospital. Absolutely sure.

"You know, if you're trying for Sleeping Beauty, you have a few more decades to sleep," Dabi drawls lazily, but his eyes give him away. They're haunted, red-rimmed, and Hawks remembers hearing him scream as pain had exploded through his skull. There'd been a fierce heat, a flash of bright, brilliant blue, and the smell of burning flesh before he'd blacked out.

"Yeah?' Hawks winks, and then winces as it pulls at the injury above his brow. "And who'd look after you, then?" he points out as Mako makes a quiet noise of protest as Dabi woke him up with lifting him onto Hawks' bed to see the blonde awake.

Dabi stares at him for a long moment before his lips twitch in the semblance of a smile. "There are easier ways to ask for a vacation."

"Too much paperwork" Hawks snickers, and then tilts his head, assessing the other man. The hollows around his eyes look more pronounced than usual; he looks ruffled around the edges, and not in the fun way. He's still in his edge lord coat—the one he'd refused to give up, despite how much the support tech at base had bitched and moaned about it—which means Hawks can't have been out that long. Or maybe Dabi's just been sitting here, for hours, in his work clothes. Mako likely having been brought to him to keep him steady and the little boy quiet when they didn't come back to base.

The thought tightens in his chest, twists in a way that leaves him short of breath. More than his aching ribcage does, anyway.

"What are you doing here?" His eyes scan the room, which looks devoid of any other signs of life. It's not like he has anyone who'd visit him, other than Miruko, and if she hasn't come by to draw something obscene on the whiteboard beside his bed, well he really hasn't been here that long, or she's in another room of this hospital. He clears his throat, manages to ask quietly; "Did everyone else—"

"They're fine," Dabi nods. "Cottontail's down the hall, sleeping it off. Boss has the witch watching ove—"

"Boss?" Hawks' brows rise into his hairline, and he stumbles over his next few words, almost choking on them. "Since when do you—when did—"

Dabi had sworn he was only joining the team until the League was dealt with. Had refused to sign any sort of contract or fancy membership agreement until Endeavor's trial was over and he was rotting in prison. Those had been his requirements, and Mahou had agreed. Given him a sort of trial run, to see if Dabi was even worth the headaches he caused. Not once had he referred to the woman with any sort of title or respect, telling Hawks in the dark of his room, in the quiet of night, that he wasn't officially her lackey and she hadn't earned it.

Since Shigaraki and a small handful of others are still at large, and Endeavor's trial isn't for another few weeks, Hawks finds it hard to believe anything's changed.

Dabi shrugs as though it's no big deal, but Hawks can see the stiff line of his shoulders as he scoots the chair closer. "A wanted criminal isn't exactly allowed to walk the halls of a hero hospital, even one with such tight security—but a covert ops agent?"

Hawks mouth drops open in awe. He did it for him? No fucking way…

"Dabi…" he says in shocked awe.

"I thought you—" Dabi's voice is rough, and he stops to take a deep breath. Rubbing a hand over his face, through his hair, he looks away. "You're going to be okay."

"I know" Hawks agrees, letting Mako climb up and cuddle into his chest.

He nods again and looks over his shoulder, towards the closed hospital door. Hawks would think he were keeping a watchful eye, or maybe that he'd heard someone coming, if not for the way his hands tighten on the arms of the chair.

"Toya," Hawks says, and every muscle in the other man's body stiffens, his spine curving forward, his knuckles white. "I'm fine."

And Dabi's eyes don't meet his, not yet, but some of the tension leaves his body. "I know," he says, so quietly that the words are barely audible. "Too much of an idiot to—well."

Hawks laughs and smiles when Dabi finally meets his gaze. When Dabi curls towards him, head coming to rest on the edge of the mattress, Hawks doesn't say a word. Especially when he feels Mako go back to sleep, wings twitching only slightly to show he was slowly calming from the stress the last months had put on their little family.

And when his hand slips beneath the sheets to curl around his knee, Dabi's grip just short of too tight, Hawks simply reaches out to comb his fingers through his black hair until his body relaxes. Tension uncoils from his shoulders, and he callused pad of his thumb scrapes softly along the inside of Hawks' leg.

It's a grounding, anchoring touch for them both. It means that they're here, they're alive, they've survived. Together.

The day of Endeavor's trial found the family of three in Hawks' apartment, all three dressed for court in suits that were designed with each in mind.

"Tou-chan?" Mako asks quietly as Dabi straightened out his tie, brown eyes filled with concern as the ravenette tried to give him a reassuring smile. He knows he didn't do a very good job when Mako reaches out and gives him a hug. He's been around Dabi long enough to know that it isn't the public he's afraid of, but the idea of facing the rest of his family after 10 years apart, after running away and burning to ashes who he used to be and becoming this cold being in his place. A cold being that had warmed and become someone different for Mako and then Hawks.

"It'll be okay...obaasan probably missed you like you miss me when I stay over at Koji's obaasan's place. She'll still love you like you love me even when I gang up on you with dad" Mako reassures and gets a wet snort of a laugh for his efforts. His blunt words easing the tension slightly in his Tou-chan's shoulders.

Hawks would watch leaning against the door as their firebird eased Dabi's fears only a little but enough to calm and focus on the now. Even though Hawks and Mako both know Dabi spent years looking out for his family, taking hits meant for them and drawing their father's ire his way to protect them. Years screaming himself hoarse in an enclosed room as flames licked at his body, scalding and blistering his sensitive, cool-to-the-touch skin. Years thinking that nothing he did would ever be good enough for his father—or his mother. That no matter how many times he mouthed off to Endeavor when he made Shoto cry, until heavy hands swung his way, or how many times he braided Fuyumi's hair and walked Natsuo to and from practice or picked up all their toys before their father got home—it was never enough for Rei.

Rei, who looked at him and saw Endeavor's red hair and turquoise eyes. Rei, who flinched when he spoke too loudly or argued too fiercely with his siblings. Rei, who recoiled when anger sent smoke leaking from his nostrils and curling from his fingertips. Dabi's not scared to face his father in court. He's not even afraid of his siblings, or how differently they might think of him after all these years. It's the thought of his mother, and her fear of him, that has left raw scars still etched into his psyche in ways Endeavor never could.

"Take those off Tou-chan" Mako scolds as he gently takes off the scar sleeves and face bits and puts them away with the edge lord jacket and the rest of his hero costume, wings fluttering out behind him through his dark grey suit to show he was just as fearful and agitated as Dabi was about facing the rest of the Todoroki's. He'd only ever met and faced them in a classroom as another of Fuyumi's students, never as another family member as he knew himself to be.

"You know," Hawks starts, but a low sound from Dabi stops his words.

"Don't." His voice is little more than a growl in the dim light. "Don't. I'm going, I just—I need a minute."

Hawks smoothed a hand over his hair, down the back of his skull, and lets his hand rest on the nape of Dabi's neck. The grip doesn't confine him, too gentle to set off his fight-or-flight instinct, and the faint tremors in his muscle vanish.

He doesn't mention how every member of the Todoroki family has asked about him and about Mako since the trial date got set. How they've reached out through various channels like the kid's U.A. teacher (the one with too much static electricity in his hair) or the official hero commission medic who'd been sent to assess Rei's condition at her hospital, or fucking Miruko, who's somehow struck up an unlikely friendship (and crush, Hawks reminds himself with genuine glee) with the sister, because her niece is in Fuyumi's class. Even Natsuo, who'd just straight up called the hero commission and demanded to know if they were releasing his brother to them for the trial.

He doesn't mention it, because it's the last thing Dabi needs to hear. He'll see for himself soon enough.

Instead, Hawks leans up until his forehead rests against Dabi's. And he offers him what he can, even if it's just words.

"It's gonna be fine," Hawks says as Dabi's eyes open by a slit, offering the hero a scathing look. "It is! And I'll have your back the whole time" he promises as Mako comes back and wiggles his way in between them to cuddle.

"Shut up," he mutters, shoving his hand into Hawks' face. His palm is cold as it pushes them further apart. "Let's just fucking go already" he relents as he picks Mako up to wait in the other room for Hawks.

Slowly, they disentangle from one another as Hawks dresses quickly while Dabi hovers in the window, looking down below at the street of bustling people with Mako. He's already in his suit—now a little ruffled from him having crawled under the covers—a sleek, all-black thing that frames his shoulders and ass in a way Hawks can appreciate. (He certainly plans to, later, when they have time to be alone.)

It feels a little weird to see him in one, to be honest, given how much of him is covered up. It hugs his body nicely, but it also makes Hawks realize just how goddamn gangly he is—like a giraffe, he's really all fucking limbs. Dabi's always hidden himself beneath loose-fitting clothes that offer little friction against his scars; made himself look smaller and less threatening by dressing in thrift-store threads and looking like he'd walked in off the street.

Hawks isn't really one to judge, considering the look worked on him, but whatever.

Still, it's almost unsettling to see the other man in formal wear. His unblemished skin looks even paler than usual, while his scars are stand out when complimented by so much black. There's no open white shirt to offset them this time.

Hawks slides into his suit jacket, tucking his wings in tight to fit them through the slits at the back, and then pads over to stand beside Dabi. The man's eyes are glassy, unfocused, and he's tugging at his collar in a way that's shifted his tie slightly, making it hang loose and crooked around his neck. Mako dozing off back to sleep on his right shoulder. His sleep still fitful at best with the near scar of the latest raid and being kept from Dabi and Hawks both in the early days after the reveal. He'd been cooperative and going along with all that was asked of him, but at the end of the day he still couldn't sleep without either of them nearby to soothe the agitation of possible abandonment.

Hawks sucks at his teeth disapprovingly, then steps between him and the window, fingers reaching for it. Dabi makes no move to stop him, looking down his nose as the hero tightens his tie and fixes his collar. There's a curve to his lips that looks remarkably like a softer version of his usual annoying smirk.

"Thanks, pretty bird" he says softly as Mako burrows further into his shoulder, slightly awake from being jostled a little for Hawks to fix his tie.

"You clean up nice, hot stuff," Hawks grins up at him. "Who knew, huh?" he continues to flirt.

"Don't act like you didn't give Honda pointers for my suit." Dabi raises a brow, challenging Hawks to prove him wrong. He absolutely had given the team's support tech suggestions on what to make him, had even helped with the measurements and fit, but there's no way in hell he's giving Dabi the satisfaction of that one.

"Well, I would have offered you one of mine, but they're a little drafty without these," Hawks snickers. He flares out his wings, feeling them brush against the glass at his back.

"Right. And child-sized" Dabi snorts.

"Fuck off" Hawks scowls at him.

"Ooh, did I hit a nerve, half-pint?" There's delight dancing in his eyes as he steps forward, crowding Hawks against the window. He brings a wave of heat that's almost suffocating now that he's stuffed himself into a restrictive suit, and he almost wishes he could wear his hero costume instead. But today's not about him, and Hawks figures a more reserved appearance suits him better.

At least, that's what Miruko had told him. Specifically, don't show up in all your fancy tail feathers, bird boy, but whatever. As if his hero suit was somehow flashier than hers. Which literally did not have pants.

"I'm of perfectly average height, thanks," Hawks huffs, blowing a stray lock of hair from his face. "You're just a fucking giraffe" he points out. Both ignoring the sleeping child between them.

"You don't normally seem to mind," Dabi leans in, whispering the words against his cheek, ghosting over the shell of his ear. Between the sensation and implication, Hawks barely suppresses a shiver. It's not like he's wrong—Dabi's height does have its advantages considering all the places he can reach.

Like the top shelf in the kitchen, Hawks forces himself to think, because now really isn't the time.

"What can I say?" He laughs, loose and just a little bit breathy. "Climbable tree was in the fine print of my Tinder match requirements. Right next to boyfriend material" he continues.

"Kinda missed the mark on that one, birdbrain" Dabi's shoulders shake with a chuckle that's low, deep in his chest. His fingers brush through Hawks' feathers before lifting to tug on his earring.

"Eh, makes life more interesting" Hawks shrugs, nonchalant. He's made peace with the mess his life has become since falling into bed with a villain—since meeting the fucker, really—and everything that came after.

Dabi searches his face, one brow raised. His lazy drawl is fairly amused. "You think dating a murderer makes life interesting, huh? Tell me, which one of us is more fucked up again? Especially since we're raising a kid that seems to be the perfect mix of us both" he asks as Mako makes a noise of disgust at all the back and forth flirting.

But Hawks can only grin in response, because the other man's walked right into his trap without even noticing. And he realizes it somewhere between Hawks' lips curving up so high his cheeks dimple, and the words that tumble from his mouth. "Is that what we're doing—dating?"

Dabi freezes, fingers stilling around the black stud in Hawks' left ear as his eyes widen. It's the smallest, barest flicker of panic he lets slip, before the turquoise disappears in a thin glare. He runs his tongue over his bottom lip before pressing his mouth into a fine, tight line, and Hawks can practically see him mull over response options and how to play his next hand.

There's the faintest hint of a flush on his cheekbones, beneath his scars, when he tilts his head down towards Hawks. Dabi's breath whispers against his lips, barely a suggestion of something, and his eyes begin to flutter close in response.

And then Dabi says: "Well, I am taking you to meet my family today—I guess," before slinking away, satisfied smirk on his face as he leaves Hawks hanging.

What a fucking asshole.

He briefly debates kicking the window open and throwing him down to the ground level as punishment but thinks he probably shouldn't. It'll just attract more attention than they need today and Mako wasn't quite ready for that level of last minute flying. So, Hawks follows him out of the apartment, quick and quiet on his feet.

The car ride is quiet, Mako's soft snores the only thing breaking the silence as he sleeps in the seat between Dabi and Hawks. Nothing said between Mahou and Keystroke after getting into the SUV.

The courthouse is just a few blocks from his apartment, so it doesn't take them long to get there. Keystroke pulls them around back to avoid the horde of reporters swarming the front steps and when he gets out of the SUV, Hawks flares his wings high and wide to cover them as he carries a now wide awake Makoto. Dabi seems unbothered, his face a neutral slate, but there's a tight coil to his shoulders that suggests otherwise. His lips remain pressed into a thin line, and that's the only outwards sign of his unease; the only thing that betrays his nervousness.

At least until they step through the doors and into the back lobby—and Dabi pulls to an abrupt halt, so quickly that Hawks slams into his back, Mako walking and holding his hand thank god.

"Fuck," the shorter man hisses, rubbing at his nose. It connected squarely with Dabi's shoulder blade, and considering he was so goddamn bony… "Sorry, I—"

The hero looks up, and the words dry out in his mouth. Standing just down the hall, in front of a set of large oak doors, is a cluster of people. Most of them have white hair, except for the youngest, who's got half a head of fiery red strands. The other members of the Todoroki family.

Hawks is close enough that he can feel Dabi's hands start to shake, just a little. It's the slightest tremor that echoes up his arms and across his shoulders, but standing against his back, it's painfully clear to Hawks.

So, the hero leans closer, pressing his palm against the small of Dabi's back, and waving a wing forward. It brushes against his shaking hand, and Hawks watches the tremor die in his shoulders. They go rigid, and he huffs out a little breath through his nostrils. He can see the tightness of Dabi's jaw, clenched so hard the vein on his neck is visible through his scars.

The youngest is the first to move. It's a small shift, nearly imperceptible, but as he turns to face them, he shuffles half a foot to his left. When he straightens his shoulders and offers his eldest brother a calculating look, he does so standing between him and their mother. Hawks holds his breath, sure that Dabi will notice, and hoping he won't take it the wrong way—but the man's eyes are stuck to the person approaching him.

Her steps are strong, full of purpose, and her chin is held high as Fuyumi stalks towards him. There's something bright glittering in the grey of her eyes, almost defiant and daring. A cold fire, simmering beneath a watery layer of stubborn tears. She stops just short of him, and Hawks tenses as her left hand flies out. He thinks , for the briefest of seconds, that maybe she's going to slap him.

But then her thumb presses gently against his chin, two curving beneath his jaw, and the hero realizes that she's keeping Dabi in place. Preventing him from averting his gaze as hers skitters over his face, his scars, his hesitant expression, searching. The longer she looks, the more she softens, until finally, her lower lip trembles, and the fight all but leaves her.

"Toya?" Her voice is a quiet, hushed sob.

Dabi's eyes slide shut, and he releases a shuddering breath. Tension bleeds from his shoulders, and somehow, he looks smaller. Younger, for only a moment. When turquoise meets grey once more, eyelids fluttering open, there's a wet gleam to them both. His lips curve into a shaky, uncertain smile. Hawks knows he's trying for unaffected, that he's holding onto his calm facade with every shred of pride he has left—but the hero doesn't have the heart to tell him it's not working.

"Hey, Yumi" Dabi says as the elastic tension snaps, pretenses shattering like glass, and then Fuyumi throws her arms around her brother, crushing him in a hug. It takes him a second, shock clear on his face, but then his arms lift, settling gently around her shoulders.

There's a hoarse, gasping sob ripped from the young woman's throat, and that's what moves the rest of them into action. Like water spilling from a broken dam, Dabi's other family members approach.

Natsuo is first, tears already streaming down his cheeks as he wraps thick arms around both his older siblings. His one hand ruffles Dabi's hair, and affectionately, he manages to choke; "Finally hit that growth spurt, huh?" he asks as Hawks feels Mako cling to his leg unsure what to do and accepts the gentle hand in his messy white hair (think Gray from Fairy Tail post Tartarus arc).

"Shut up," Dabi snaps, but there's no bite to it.

"And look at your hair! Take it easy, edge lord," Natsuo laughs, wet and in his throat.

"Fuck off" Dabi shouts as Shoto hovers an arm's length away, face pulled into a loose frown, hesitation clear in the line of his shoulders and the way he's chewing on his bottom lip. His gaze flickers past his siblings, scanning over Hawks and Mako, and when he looks back, his eyes meet Dabi's and widen.

"Hey, kid," Dabi says, his voice low and gravelly. It wavers with emotion. "I'm sorry" he apologizes.

There's an almost imperceptible shake of the young hero-in-training's head. "Don't" He steps closer, near enough now to join the embrace or be pulled into it, if they so wanted to. "You'll have time to explain and apologize, after we put him away for what he's done to us" he points out bluntly. And then he melts into the group hug, easily slipping in between Fuyumi and Natsuo.

Hawks watches them for several long moments as they hold on to one another, lifelines in a tumultuous sea. He doesn't realize he's started crying until he feels a light touch on his shoulder, and glances right to see a handkerchief held out for him. In Rei's hands.

Hawks inhales sharply, taking in the woman before him. Hair like freshly fallen snow and smile a little sad around the edges—it's her eyes that catch him, draw him in and make him follow their dip down, towards her nose. They have the same one, he realizes. Her and Dabi. That Mako has it too now that he's really paying attention and the same hair color.

"Yes, well, he is my son," she says, and her voice is soft, peaceful like an early winter morning. "One that I have you two to thank for bringing back to us, I believe" she continues as Hawks gapes at her like an idiot. His mouth opens and closes for words that die in his throat. He thinks he might say something truly stupid in a moment, but thankfully Dabi saves him.

"Mom?" The word is a dying ember, crackling at the end of a campfire and struggling to survive. It sounds heavy and choked, like it weighs nothing at all once spoken, but spent long moments trapped in Dabi's mouth, begging for release behind his teeth.

Rei's gaze drifts to him, and the moment it connects, the handkerchief falls from her fingers.

Hawks catches it easily, far too distracted to register just how cold her hand is when it brushes against his. Cold enough that it burns, just like with Dabi. Like—

"Toya," she breathes, and the weight of his name on his mother's lips is an instant blow. She takes a half step towards him, and he staggers to meet her on unsteady legs that give out the second Rei reaches for him. "My son" she sobs.

His knees hit the tiled courthouse floor, but he'll never notice, the way he's shaking. The tears stream freely down his cheeks, rolling across his scars as his mother's hands curl into his hair. Gentle, soothing, and he leans into it, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I'm sorry—I'm so sorry, mom" he apologizes as Mako makes a slight noise of distress, wanting to soothe his Tou-chan, but obviously holding back unsure of how welcome he would be. Remaining clinging to Hawks' leg till he's given a verbal sign he can join in.

Hawks knows he's intruding, that he's long past overstepped his boundaries watching this intimate reunion, but as he rubs at his eyes with the soft, baby blue handkerchief, he can't help but feel he's exactly where he needs to be.

He's heard Dabi's apologies, whispered in his sleep, on fitful nights where he wakes with tears in his eyes and a scream ripped from his throat. He knows what he thinks of himself, what he's always wanted to say to the woman before him.

Sorry for not being strong enough to protect her and the others. Strong enough to stop the monster in their home. Sorry for not being kinder, or gentler. Sorry for becoming a monster, just like the man who made him.

But Dabi's apologies are sand in the wind, whispered into the soft sweater she's wearing and broken only by a loud, gasping sob when Rei leans down and kisses the top of his head.

"You did everything you could, Toya," Rei tells him, holding onto him tightly. Like he might disappear on her if she lets go of him again. The rest of her kids approach, clinging to each other, forming a little circle around their older brother. "I'm only sorry that I did not" she continues to say.

Hawks watches them, the careful way they dance around each other like the floor between them is a chasm, a crash scene filled with glass, and he wishes they didn't have to go through this. He wishes Endeavor had been better, had been more deserving of the titles he'd worn. Father. Hero. Idol. If he'd just been fucking human, maybe.

He wishes Rei had been a little stronger, and he knows Dabi does too, sometimes. It's not exactly fair, and he loves his mother with all his heart, no matter how bitter and blackened it became, but if she'd just been there—if she'd stuck around a little longer—maybe things would have been different.

Mostly, Hawks wishes someone had noticed. He almost wishes he'd known them, back then.

But wishes got you nowhere, they slipped through your fingers like moonlight, like time, and they didn't change a damn thing.

Which left the people that hurt the most—the ones with the most wishes tucked away in their fragile little hearts—to pick up the pieces and change things themselves. To rise from the ashes and rebuild their lives around their tragedies.

Hawks is probably more familiar than most, considering he'd been doing it his whole life.

"Hey, birdbrain" A raspy voice snaps him from his thoughts, and he looks up to see Dabi's on his feet now. He's standing in the middle of his siblings, half-smirk tilting his lips. His youngest brother wears a similar look, while Natsuo's full on grinning. Fuyumi and their mother wear quieter expressions, but there's a warmth in Rei's eyes that's almost beckoning to him.

Hawks realizes Dabi gets that from his mother, too. Dabi's raises one brow slowly, and that's when he hero notices the hand outstretched to him. "I'm not fucking going in there without you, so hurry it up. You too brat" he encourages as Mako hurries over without hesitation and lets himself be scooped up with a small hiccup of a sob that shows that he's been bottling up all his feelings and fears for weeks much like Dabi tended to do and would accept the comfort of the family around him. Hawks rubs at his eyes with the back of his fist, then smiles so brightly it dimples his cheeks before his fingers tangle with Dabi's, and Hawks lets himself be pulled onwards. Both comforting and keeping Mako steady in the days to come as they learned to be part of a bigger family.

Doped on painkillers and antibiotics, Toya sprawls on his bed, eyes half-closed. His breath comes easier knowing that Shigaraki is finally dead in their final raid, a weight off his shoulders. And even if he's not the one who'd delivered the final blow—his teammate Roulette had been the one with that honor—it's still a sweet, sweet victory.

He can't shake the look on Shigaraki's face when he'd seen Toya's mask come down, revealing his face for the briefest of moments before he'd set the place ablaze, giving Roulette and Circe a nice, wide ring in which to take him on. It's a look he'll carry to his grave with a smile. Fucking prick.

Most of the League had been idiots, cattle easily herded to slaughter, but harmless if left to graze in an open field. Twice, Ujiko, even Toga—who'd been just a kid, a victim of circumstance like him. Who'd been crazier than a bag of cats, but who'd been the only person he'd let his guard down around, those times where a mannerism of hers, or the way she'd said something would throw him into the past, and for a moment, Fuyumi had been standing in her place. He'd even caught himself helping her with her hair on more than one occasion.

But some, like Shigaraki and that fucking freak with the bondage fetish, had been monsters with human faces, real psychos that he'd hated sharing breathing room with for all those months, for the sake of his plan. He's relieved that it's done and over with, now.

Even if, for a couple of minutes during the fight, Toya thought he might done and over with, too. The heaving sigh he lets loose at the memory aches and burns in his chest, beneath the thick bandage he wears. He can feel the weight of Mako curled up as close as he can managed without hurting him and knows the brat had likely been worried to the point of not eating again and been left to worry in his company when none of the Todoroki's were available to care for him.

Kurogiri had caught him off guard. Because of course the bastard had not only escaped captivity, but lived until the very end, too. A loyal and dependable lapdog, as per fucking usual. He'd been the only one who'd managed to slip past Toya's wall of fire and get up close.

He'd tried to counter, tried to fling shorter bursts and walls into place, but that didn't exactly stop a man who could just warp around it—and directly into your fucking chest, darkness curling around your heart.

A shiver runs down Toya's spine, and he screws his eyes shut as he remembers how for the first time in… well, since his childhood, that he'd felt so fucking cold.

His door creaks, the sound just enough to make his eyes flutter open completely.

Hawks stands there in a loose t-shirt and shorts, one arm in a sling. There's a patch of gauze applied to his cheek, and his wings look a little droopy at his back, a third of their usual size.

As he watches, Hawks steps into the room, not bothering to close the door. After all, there's nobody else in the compound at this time of night. Everyone else was cleared to go home after they'd been checked over, and they'd done just that.

Hawks, if Toya remembers right, had also been given a green light. And a firm slap on his wrist, considering he wasn't supposed to be on this mission in the first place.

"Hawks?" he croaks, his throat still sore. He moves to sit up, but the other man shakes his head, ruffling his hair loosely around his face. There's a soft padding of feet as he crosses the room, shuffling towards the bed. His eyes stay locked on Toya's, amber burning like liquid gold in the moonlight from the window above. As he crosses into the pallid ray, though, Toya spots the wet streaks on the other man's cheeks.

Toya's mouth goes dry. Then Hawks turns his head, looking away from him. And that won't do.

"Hawks," he tries again, this time softer. He shifts over and pats the mattress beside his hip. "C'mere, pretty bird" he says quietly, mindful of moving Mako over enough so they all fit.

The other man's body is relaxed, but his fingers tremble as he tugs back the sheets and climbs onto the bed. His hand is light when he rests it over the bandage on Toya's chest. The one that hides a very nasty wound that's sure to leave an indent in his chest once it's all healed.

He'd made jokes, both at the warehouse and during the emergency airlift back to base, that his time was up. To cover the very real, very visceral fear he'd felt as the cold had crept through him like the silent touch of death. That no matter how fast Hawks had swooped in, knocking Kurogiri out before he could crush Toya's heart between his fingers, it hadn't been fast enough. That no matter how hard Hawks had begged, jacket stained with blood that matched his wings but wasn't his, Toya's wound had been fatal.

From the look in Hawks' eyes, he believed the same. When he starts to pull back, Toya reaches out to grasp his hand. Hawks doesn't speak, gold eyes searching, but neither does he—and that's okay. They don't need words. They haven't in almost a year.

Whatever Hawks needs, he'll take, and Toya will give. Because he needs it, too, the reassurance that they're both still alive, that they're both still here and fighting. He'd give Hawks the moon, if he wanted it. He can't deny the birdbrained idiot anything. Just like they both can't deny their firebird anything in the face of all the changes their lives had gone through since Hawks had steamrolled his way into their lives.

And he asks for so little, preferring to work hard and do everything himself so that others don't have to. He's strong enough not to need Toya, really. But, even the strongest people need someone from time to time. Toya's glad to be that someone for Hawks. He gives willingly. Because Hawks will never ask him for more than he can give. Sometimes, he thinks Hawks knows him better than Toya knows himself. It's what makes them fit together so well.

There's a rustling of feathers, and a soft brushing of hair against skin as Hawks lays his head on Toya's shoulder. His hand still covering the bandage, Toya's placed gently over top. It takes time, but eventually their breathing evens out to match one another.

Hawks wraps his wings lazily around all three of them and he can feel the warmth radiating off him, the little space heater that could. Toya can feel the pull of sleep, thick and heavy in the back of his mind, with Hawks' body softly curled against him.

So, Toya presses a messy kiss to his forehead, wraps an arm around his shoulders, and pulls the sheet over them both, Mako smiling slightly in his sleep as all three slept with the knowledge that the path forward would be bright as long as they were together.

That Mako would grow up in a world where he had a choice and that the pro heroes couldn't get away with anything as long as they had the quirk and power to back up their talent. That they would be punished for their crimes against the people should they abuse their power.