The night sky is cold against Dabi's flushed skin. He leans his head back and lets the oncoming rain fall gently on his upturned face. His eyes are closed and he takes in a deep breath- a sharp pain in his ribs makes him wince slightly and he opens his eyes again. Taking a hand, he feels around his torso and finds the open wound. Dabi hisses and presses his hand firmly against the gaping gash in his side to slow down the bleeding.

He doesn't spare a glance down at the charred corpses of the unfortunate victims of his fury and presses forward. He has no real destination in mind and allows his feet to take steps of their own volition. The rain seems endless, it trickles down from his hair and onto his face. Dabi doesn't wipe the rain away, it's masking his own steady dripping of tears- the salty taste is bitter in his mouth.

Dabi stumbles over a stray rock and he kicks it aside, it clatters down the empty street before it suddenly comes to a stop underneath a boot.

"Dabi?" He jerks his head up at the sound of his name, through his blurred vision stands a man dressed in soft beige and wreathed in brilliant crimson as his wings tuck themselves closer against his body. Between the painful maim and the itch that makes itself home in the base of his lungs- Dabi can find no words.

"Dabi." Hawks repeats, taking a step closer towards him. His footsteps are drowned out by the rain, Dabi finds himself transfixed by the way the droplets make Hawks' uniform cling to his body.

"I thought you died on me, honestly," Hawks laughs, rubbing the back of his neck with an easy smile, "I haven't heard from you in a week." Dabi still can't speak, worried that if he tries- it will only make the cursed flowers that had taken root from between his ribs bloom. Hawks' laughter dies off as his eyes trail down to Dabi's hand against his side. His gaze is unreadable and he only sighs tiredly before daring to get closer to Dabi.

"I should've known that the call earlier was about you." Dabi can only manage a vague gesture with his free hand before exhaling sharply from his nose.

"Well, you know me. Always up to no good." He finishes with a small chuckle, wincing from the smarting in his side.

"So uh, you gonna get that checked out?"

"I'll be fine." He doesn't want Hawks to get any closer, it's getting harder for Dabi to keep down the gradual climbing irritation in his throat. Hawks merely raises an eyebrow and clicks his tongue.

"Yeah," Hawks drawls out, gaze not leaving Dabi's hand, "I'm gonna call that bullshit." Dabi grits his teeth and swallows down a sneaking petal.

"Really. I'm fine." He manages to shoulder past Hawks before the shorter man can make another peep. A withering glare is sent Hawks' way when Dabi realizes that he's being followed. Hawks bristles at the glare and abruptly halts. Dabi continues down the street littered with stray bottles and the dripping of his blood that mixes in with the cold rain.

A flutter of wings tells Dabi that Hawks took flight and he slouches into himself, ignoring the sharp pain.

He can't stop the next series of coughs and covers his mouth. His gaping wound only sharpens and rips open more with each heave of his coughing. From between his thin fingers, soft petals burst forth. He doesn't notice as one slips away from his grasp, too distracted by the subtle flowery aroma mixing in with the earthy undertones of the rain. He shoves the handful of petals into his jacket and continues down the street.

He never noticed the figure of a winged man that's perched from a building above, who's watching curiously as a single white petal falls gently down to the street before being drifted off into a storm drain. Because the next thing Dabi knows, he's plummeting towards the cold pavement.

He feels as if he's in a dream, a terrifying nightmare of flying over the sleepy city of Musutafu. Clenching his eyes shut doesn't stop the painful lurch in his stomach, he's always been prone to getting motion sickness in vehicles but this feeling is worse than when Spinner took them on a high speed getaway.

A long forgotten memory of Dabi as a child spending nearly his whole time in the lavatory while on his father's private jet resurfaces. No amount of back rubbing while he's crying into the toilet helped and after they landed, he swore that he would never fly again. Yet, here he is. careening through the cold spring air, being pelted by rain drops.

Dabi can't help the dry heaving that's beginning to boil in his stomach.

"Whoa, hey. If you're gonna throw up, you're gonna pay for my dry cleaning bill." Spoken words fall on deaf ears as Dabi loses his dinner, watching it hurtle down towards the ground below only makes the pit in his stomach churn more.

"Jesus, you're a mess." Dabi can barely hear the words over the whistling wind. Thankfully, he finally loses consciousness again.

Dabi is brought back to the land of the living when a warm hand slaps against his face. He jolts back and activates his quirk out of old habit. There's a startled yelp and a thud as someone falls backwards. His eyes snap open and finds himself in an unfamiliar room, making his fire only burn hotter. A fire alarm starts its shrill cry, there's a panicked shout from the tenant below Hawks' apartment.

"Hey! Stop. Don't burn down my apartment!" His eyes flit towards the voice and sees a frazzled Hawks a couple of feet away from him, on his ass. Carmine feathers whiz around them, one turns off the alarm while others are taking objects away from his brightly burning azure fire that's steadily licking around his body.

Dabi sees the alarm in Hawks' eyes and there's a small nagging feeling of guilt in the back of his mind. His fire begins to sputter out and as its crackle dies down Dabi takes the time to survey Hawks' apartment.

It's not exactly what he was expecting from the number two hero. It's a cozy one bedroom apartment with lofty ceilings and large windows with twinkling stars peering back through the inky night sky. He's on an overstuffed sofa, in front of him is a cluttered coffee table with fan mail and other unopened official looking letters strewn over it. There's a small flat screen television set on mute, a news anchor is plastered on it with a grim frown- most likely covering Dabi's recent string of murders. He doesn't bother with reading the subtitles that zoom across the bottom of the screen.

Behind the sofa is a small table with two chairs pushed in. Separated by a half wall is Hawks' kitchen which is spotted with take out boxes and unwashed dishes in the sink, children's drawings of him are tacked to the fridge- to Dabi's amusement. To his right is a halfway opened door which serves as the bathroom, if the tiled flooring has anything to go by. Shoved into the corner of the apartment is a large bed with a massive amount of fluffy pillows and twisted blankets, vaguely reminding Dabi of a half assed attempt of a nest. While his apartment is cluttered, it's not necessarily dirty per se. It certainly feels like it fits Hawks. Hawks' faint cologne hangs around the sofa, it's a warm and comforting smell. Well, it would be comforting if Dabi isn't currently swallowing down a new wave of blossoms.

While he may of had dreams of being in Hawks' apartment, this certainly wasn't how he imagined this is how it would happen. A thought forms, telling him that it's only fitting for him to destroy it- as he can never do anything right.

"Thought I told you to leave me alone." Dabi finally manages to speak, his voice feels thick and foreign to him. Hawks scoffs and stands up, the last flicker of his fire is gone and instead of being thrown into a bright blue light, Hawks is bathed in the soft light of the lamp near the sofa. He nearly looks heavenly, in this light- his wings are cast in subtle shadows and his amber eyes look almost golden. Dabi has to look away, his glare settles on the cluttered coffee table in front of him.

Dabi is brought back to earlier that day where Hawks had found him in the alley. How the hero had stood before him, haloed in the flickering light of a nearby neon sign- throwing him in a beautiful kaleidoscope of blues and reds. He can easily recall the dancing reflections on Hawks' visor and when he had smiled at Dabi, his whole world had come to a standstill. The world around him had come to a violent halt because at that moment, all that mattered to Dabi was the person before him that shone with such brightness that even the sun paled in comparison- that even the moon and stars could never hold a match against his sheer beauty.

To Dabi's absolute panic, there's the feeling of twining roots and ever climbing leaves and soft petals blossoming from within his body. Nestling stubbornly in his lungs, Dabi suddenly finds it harder to breathe.

"First," Hawks raises a hand, his index finger pointed up "You technically didn't tell me to leave you alone." Hawks lifts his middle finger, "Secondly, what kind of hero would I be if I left you to die back there?"

"A typical one." His response only earns a huff and Hawks bustles into his bathroom. He's only gone for a moment before coming back with a medical kit.

"Take your shirt off." Dabi knows it to check out his wound, that still doesn't stop his heart from skipping a beat.

"You take me to your apartment and now you're trying to get me outta my clothes? You didn't even take me to dinner first." He settles on what he hopes is a wry smirk, Hawks merely rolls his eyes and motions with his hand to hurry up.

"Do you always have to be an insufferable prick?"

"It's my specialty." Dabi mutters to himself before gingerly lifting his shirt up and over his head. Even being careful, the gash on his side protests and he lets out a low hiss.

"Jesus, you look like you got mauled by a bear." With a glance down, he sees the entire left side of his torso is covered in blood and a large and angry wound gapes back at him. It runs from his hip and expands to just slightly above his belly button. Dabi also notices a few of his sutures are missing and he can only hope that they didn't end up lodged somewhere inside of him. Movement in the corner of his eye makes him look back up and sees Hawks much closer than he had been a moment ago.

Being this close to the hero, Dabi can see a slight wrinkle between Hawks' knotted brows. Traveling down, he's lost the second his gaze reaches Hawks' eyes. His eyes are like spun liquid gold with light brown flecks dance around in his iris. Quickly, he looks away from his eyes. Only to land on the faint sun kissed freckles splayed over his nose. At a distance, Dabi never even knew that Hawks had freckles; he doesn't know what to do with this new tidbit of information. Moving down from his nose, his eyes finally land on Hawks' lips. Dabi can only watch as Hawks purses them and sticks his tongue out slightly as if he's in deep thought. Not for the first time, he can feel his heart lurch and the hidden flower bed in his lungs grow.

"Just a fyi, this is going to hurt." Dabi doesn't pay attention to whatever Hawks is trying to warn him, he's too busy suppressing a cough.

A cold rag is pressed gently around the cut to soak up the blood before Hawks beings to dab an alcohol pad over the cut. Pain explodes and he sees dark spots in the edges of his vision before passing out for the third time.

When he comes to, all the lights in the apartment are turned off; the only light is from the faint sunrise peeking out from the cityscape. Pastel pinks and purples filter in through the open windows. On the bed, Dabi can only see Hawks' blond hair peeking out from the mass of blankets. His soft snores are the only thing that cuts through the stillness of the apartment.

Looking down, he sees his torso expertly bandaged and he slowly gets up. It takes a moment for him to struggle with getting his torn shirt on but when he does, he moves towards the door.

Dabi takes a second glance over his shoulder at Hawks' bed and he feels a soft smile flicker over his lips before he has to rush out of the apartment, with white blossoms filling his mouth.

He makes a vow that if he survives this, he's going to set fire to every flower that he sees.

When Dabi enters the hideout, it's quiet to his relief. He tries to sneak back to his room when Twice pops out from the kitchen.

"There you are! I was looking for you, not really. I was worried though! Maybe."

"I was busy with a job." Twice only narrows his gaze at Dabi and rests a hand on his jutted hip, the other hand pointed accusingly towards Dabi.

"You seem awfully busy with jobs when we haven't had any missions for awhile." When Twice's eyes land on Dabi's torn shirt and the tightly wound bandages that peek through his shirt, they widen nearly comically.

"News update, I work separately from you. I got secret missions."

"They're not really secret if they end up on the news, idiot." Dabi only shrugs noncommittally.

"What can I say, I'm in it for the dramatics."

"That why you've been so weird? I mean, I'm weird but you're like, a different kind of weird. A suspicious weird."

"Hmm." Dabi hums, not wanting to contribute anymore to this conversation. He tries to move past Twice but is stopped when his arm shoots out and gently pushes him back. Twice and Dabi say nothing, both men studying each other. Dabi feels like he's in a Mexican standoff, dancing around an issue that Twice clearly wants to talk about but Dabi has no desire to.

"Dabi," There's determination in both Twice's voice and his gaze, "Toga is worried too."

"If she's so worried, she can talk to me herself and I'd tell her the exact same thing I'm telling you. I'm fine." He doesn't shrink against Twice's scrutiny, instead, he straightens out his posture to stand over the man. Dabi forces himself past Twice and from behind, Twice has to have the last word.

"You can't hide everything forever."

Yes, Dabi thinks, yes he can hide forever.

His day is spent in bed, still weak from his fight from last night. He flits in and out of consciousness. Dreams of swirling reds and whites before eventually taking forms of feathers and dancing flowers against a spring breeze with warm hands that seem to fit perfectly against his own. He swears he can hear a soft voice, telling him something that he so desperately wants to hear.

I love you.'
When he wakes up, there are petals on his pillow. His clock blinking back at him, telling him it's midnight.

Dabi excuses himself from the bar, leaving a chatty Toga and bored Shigaraki behind as he opens a side door to step outside. He leaves it cracked slightly, not wanting to be alone with his thoughts. He fiddles with an unlit cigarette for a second before lighting it; even then, he can only bring himself to watch it as it slowly burns- leaving ash in its wake.

He told himself that he would never fall in love. Yet, here he is. Standing outside in the now clear night, watching the full moon in the night sky with a hand outreached towards it. It's as pale as the white petals that are forgotten in the pockets of his jacket in his room. In the stillness of the night, he can't help but to wonder if Hawks is staring up at the moon as well.

Through the open door, a song plays softly. It echoes all around him and resonates from within. He takes in a deep breath and closes his eyes, enjoying the song. For the first time in his life, he truly understands it.

Endless rain, fall on my heart, on my scars of my heart.

Let me forget all of the hate, all of the sadness.

Days of joy, days of sadness slowly pass me by,

As I try to hold you, you are vanishing before me.

You're just an illusion

When I'm awaken, my tears have dried,/i

iin the sand of sleep.

I'm a rose blooming in the desert

It's a dream, I'm in love with you.

Author's Note

Newly revised chapter! I'm much happier how this turned out than the one from yesterday. Hope you like this redone chapter!
Lyrics are from X Japan's Endless Rain.

I really wanted to write Hawks cleaning up Dabi because, I mean, he's a hero. He wouldn't leave Dabi alone.
I know that Twice's scene gets cut in this chapter and that made me sad but I kind of realized that he was pretty OOC before and I wanted to fix that too, I suppose he's still OOC but hopefully better? I really like him but I'm always nervous to write him because I don't want to ruin his character. I guess the only way to fix that is to write him more to get the practice. The League will definitely hold an intervention for their resident edge lord. I'm going to say that there's only one or two chapters left in this fic, so things will start wrapping up.
I also wanted to kind of take a break away from some angst, me? Not wanting to write angst? I must be getting sick.
Anyway, that's it for now.
Reviews are always welcome!