Chapter 42

The Annual Japanese Hero's Gala – 2 Years Ago

Asami clutches onto her champagne flute with so much force that she questions if the crystal will shatter in her grip. An awkward smile is placed lopsidedly on her ruby stained lips as she navigates the ballroom of heroes. Her hands are shaking and she's surrounded by so many high-ranking heroes.

Asami has never really been one to be starstruck by heroes like some people are; she grew up knowing Endeavor and worked with Hawks straight out of high school. So she learned early on in her career to keep a calm and leveled head around those who might fluster her with their presence, but something about this outing has her nerves skyrocketing at an all time high.

She figures it's her inappropriate relationship with Hawks being discovered by the Public Hero Safety Commission President only a few months ago, and her abrupt transfer to the Endeavor hero agency. On the outside it looks to most people that she decided to pursue a more lucrative role under the tumultuous Number Two Hero, but to her and to Hawks the truth is far more embarrassing.

Asami doesn't know if Endeavor was made aware of the situation before he agreed to take her on as his PR representative since he never—nor would he—mentioned the situation. Instead, he threw her in the trenches of his outdated system and allowed her to fend for himself. Since her arrival, he has climbed the popularity polls by over a dozen spots, and has finally landed in the top ten of the public's popularity polls. Though Endeavor has never outright said anything to her, she is proud of her hard work for him in the short amount of time she's been at his firm.

Because of her high esteem at the agency, she was invited to the Annual Japanese Hero's Gala where the elite of Japan's heroes and the guests come together to dine on the finest food and comingle with one another. Endeavor invited Asami to come, and she has not seen the man since her arrival.

She makes herself comfortable by grabbing a glass of champagne—or two—and stalking the ballroom for somewhere she can hide from the crowds of well-known heroes. She isn't sure why she came here, feeling like a fish out of water, but she is here now and it would be rude to leave.

Asami's long purple hair is pulled back into a curly and sophisticated updo with stray curly strands of hair framing her face and ears and long golden earrings dangle from her lobes past her chin. She wears a gorgeous floor length mermaid cut long sleeve beaded dress. The yellow bodice hugs her breasts up her collarbone and down her shoulders as the color slowly transitions to a light blue, hints of pink, and finally a darker purple at the ends of her sleeves and down to the bottom of her floor length dress. The dress reminded her of the sky at sunset and gave her a sense of safety and belonging when she purchased it; all things that she's lacking right now.

She feels as though she is on display, and though this is a black-tie event, the other woman around her and not nearly wearing as extravagant of gowns as the one she's in. She wants to crawl into a hole and die.

After her second glass of champagne, Asami realizes that she can't do this without a steady buzz, so she leaves her confined corner to locate the person passing out the drinks. She tries to avoid eye contact with anyone and keeps her head down.

Just as she feels as though she's in the clear in the line of sight with the waiter, a voice calls out her name. "Ah, Miss Hatsuse," the voice is pleasant and she recognizes it instantly.

She turns around with a forced smile on her face as she puts on her pleasantry mask. "Best Jeanist," she smiles at the Number Three Hero. "Good to see you!" She looks onto the fabric hero to see him dawning an all-denim suit accompanied with a brown tie. He characteristically looks stylish as ever and pushes the boundaries of men's fashion and juxtaposes the safe black tuxes the majority of others are wearing.

"Wow, you are a vision to behold my dear," he swoons at her as he takes in her dress. "Like a cashmere sweater on a winter's day, you are the whole look!"

"Uh, thank you, Sir," she bows respectfully at him as a heat captures her cheeks.

"I must say, you've caught my attention with your new work under Endeavor," he begins. "Had I known you were in the business of moving from under the Hawks Hero Agency, I would've swiped you up like a silk scarf at a flea market before you reached the Number Two."

"I appreciate your kind words, Sir," she smiles at him. "But a man of your esteem and grace is in no need of a public image overhaul," she giggles playfully.

He summons a waiter doing their rounds to come over and grabs two drinks from the tray. He hands on to Asami and she does everything in her power to not down the drink in one go to calm her nerves and sip it professionally.

"How are you liking your work with Endeavor? Has he been treating you well?"

"Yes, of course!" she smiles genuinely at him. He is understandably a busy man with his work, so I don't see him often, but when I do, it is pleasant."

"So, what had you leaving the Hawks Hero Agency? The boy was a rising star under your assistance, and though I'm not one to argue that Endeavor didn't need your help more than he did, I am curious to say the least."

Asami consciously keeps her face neutral from reacting to his question. She can still see the look of disgust painting the President of the Hero Commission's face as she walked in on Hawks and Asami on his desk. She can still hear his words telling her that she cannot stay working for him for the sake of the company and that she would have to move. She can still remember the smile on his face when he told her he transferred her to Endeavor's Agency with high praise as if he was doing her a favor. But the truth was that she never wanted to work for Endeavor. As much respect as she had for the hero, he was her best friend's father; she didn't want a hand out. She wanted to earn the jobs the she received through her hard work, not get them solely based on who she knew because of her father.

"Well as you previously stated, Endeavor needed an overhaul of his image, and I was eager to assist," she responds professionally.

The blonde gives her an unconvinced nod, and she wonders if he's aware of the scandal in anyway. Endeavor is unaware of the nature in which she left Hawks' company, so she imagines Jeanist is also in the dark to the true causes behind her transfer.

"Well, if you ever feel you need to switch up the trend, my doors are always opened to talented folks such as yourself."

"Scalping the talent are we, Jeanist?" the cool voice coming from behind her sends chills down her spine and she shivers slightly at the sound of his voice. Asami turns around to see the winged hero approaching the two of them with his signature lopsided smile. Asami's eyes drop down his form to see Hawks wearing a fitted black suit that compliments his blonde hair and red wings. He looks absolutely stunning with his wings taking up the large space around them as he confidently approaches them.

"Ah, Hawks you know I'm not one to sleep on a deal," the hero returns to him.

Hawks lifts his hands up in surrender, "Hey I'm not one to stop ya," he chuckles at him. "Hatsuse was one of my best. Had to give her up to help out Number Two over there," he coolly adds as he lazily points over his shoulder towards the red-haired hero who's outwardly brooding as he watches the press fan over the arrival of All Might.

"Yes indeed, the magic she's managed to create while under him is unprecedented," he agrees.

"Mind if I snag her from you for a bit?" he smiles wildly at the hero. "Just wanna catch up and see how Number Two's been treating her."

"By all means," she smiles at him with another knowing smile, while hiding his eyes behind the swipe of his golden hair.

Hawks turns from Best Jeanist, hovering his hand over Asami's waist, but respectfully not making contact with her as eyes are on them. Once they are out of ear shot from others, he dips his head down to meet his lips to her ear and whispers, "You looks absolutely radiant tonight."

She finds herself blushing uncontrollably at his hoarse tone as he compliments her quietly. "You don't think it's too much?" she questions as she looks up at him with glistening lilac eyes.

"Never," his voice fans.

The rest of the night Asami spends with Hawks laughing, dancing, drinking, and all around enjoying each other's company. She occasionally catches the hard-pressed stares from Endeavor, and she wonders if he questions why she left Hawks' hero agency when she has a healthy relationship with the hero.

They are both careful to keep their interactions professional and classy, being mindful to hide any hint of flirtatious exchanges between one another, but they still cannot deny the spark between them and their lingering stares and burning electricity to touch one another is more obvious to the flaming hero than either of them may think.

After a few hours of mingling and dance, Asami and Hawks eventually slip out of the gala unnoticed by anyone and make their way back to his apartment. Once Hawks unlocks the door to his apartment, he wastes no time to get his hands on her. He possessively grabs her hips, squeezing them tightly as he releases a growl from his lips.

"Ugh this dress, your hair, everything," his eyes hungrily search her whole frame. "You're so perfect," he admits without thinking.

They have been intimate with one another for a year now and since being caught by the President, Hawks has not been sexually active with her, being mindful to keep their relationship quiet, remembering what he promised the President and what the Commission would do to Asami's career if they found out about them, but now, he's unable to stay away from her any longer.

He entangles his lips to hers and presses his body flush against his. She moans approvingly to his advancement and rakes her fingers through his blonde hair as their lips tie into one another. Asami's hands move down to work on removing his bowtie while his crawl up and down the curves of her spine.

Hawks abruptly pulls away from their kiss and Asami looks up at him with furrowing brows for an explanation at his sudden movement. A light sweat touches his upper lip and forehead and he looks pale and sickly.

"What's wrong?" she questions him with risen brows fully of worry.

"I don't…" he chokes on his words as his eyes drop to the floor. "I don't…" he attempts again, but before any further words can come out, he swiftly turns from her and throws up all over his apartment floor.

Asami shrikes from the shock as Hawks doubles over and retches all over his entryway. She backs away from him, hands on her lips while he hunches over and pukes his guts out.

Hawks lays on the floor of his bathroom hugging the toilet with his blazer discarded in the tub, the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to his elbows and his collar unbuttoned down to his sternum. He's released the feathers of his wings so he can fit more comfortably in the bathroom, so the marble floor is littered with stray red feathers and all that's left on him are baby feathers.

Asami comes in a few moments later with a soft smile on her face and a tray of ginger tea. Her hair is messier as she enters the bathroom and sets the tray down. She cleaned up the puke and made him tea while he continued to upchuck his food from the night. She still wears her dress and how she has a smile on her face after cleaning puke on a night like tonight is incredible to him.

"I'm so sorry," he apologizes for the hundredth time.

Asami giggles at the pathetic sight of him resting his cheek on the seat of his toilet as he looks up at her with widened pleading eyes. "I told you to stop eating that chicken," she scolds him as she kneels down next to him.

"But it was so good," he counters with a wince.

"But you didn't have to eat like five buckets of it," she teases him and he groans as his stomach twists and leaps with remembrance.

"I fucked up," he admits and she nods. "No not, with the chicken…well yes with the chicken but…" he winces again as his eyes drop from hers and onto the teapot. "Tonight was supposed to be special," he sadly divulges. His golden eyes reach her lilac ones as he continues, "I just wanted a nice romantic night with you after the gala. You look so stunning in that dress and deserved the perfect end to your night and I fucked it up by eating too much chicken and puking all over the floors," he groans with embarrassment instead of pain. "You should've spent your night enjoying yourself with me, and not cleaning up after me."

He looks at her, seeing the softness in her features as she takes in his words and smiles down at him with a loving grin. "Keigo," her voice coos and his heart races at the sound of her saying his name. He's still not used to hearing his real name spilling from her lips, but he loves it nonetheless. "It's alright, these things happen," she tells him, shifting herself into a seated position next to him.

"Asami," he begins, "You're in a beautiful fucking gown sitting on the floor of my bathroom while I'm hugging the toilet for dear life."

"Yeah, I guess I do have to admit, I'm a bit jealous with how you're embracing that toilet," she jests and he gives her an oh-come-on look. She giggles at his response, lifting her hand and brushing his cheek. "It's okay," she reassures him honestly. "There isn't anyone else I'd rather be sitting on the bathroom floor with than with you," she tells him with a genuine smile that takes him aback and he just blinks at her. "Now," she says, pulling from his cheek and grabbing the cup of tea. "Drink some tea, it'll settle your stomach."

Hawks swallows hard as she hands him the cup and he cannot help but stare at her with lost eyes. She's so affectionate and caring in this moment. She selflessly allowed her night to be ruined by him and instead of just leaving him here to clean his own mess. This is his house, she could've easily turned around and left him to handle the mess he made, but she didn't. She jumped into action and escorted him to the bathroom where she gave him water. Then she went to his foyer and cleaned up the puke and bile he left behind, all in her beautiful dress without a compliant or worry.

She's sacrificing her entire night to take care of him. He thinks about her loving actions of taking care of him and he's reminded of his mother, and what he lacked from her. She never took care of him in this way when he was under the weather, and he never had that maternal figure care for him and caress him when he needed it the most. Yet here she was, caring for him, giving him nourishment and praise when he least deserves it. The look in her eyes shows that she's far from burdened by it, and doesn't mind caring for him at his most vulnerable.

His eyes study her as she hugs her legs to her chest, resting her chin on her knee as her head tilts and she watches him take careful sips of his tea. A soft smile paints her lips to display that she is truly unbothered with how the night's unraveled for the two of them. It's clear to him in this moment that she's not upset the night didn't end with them being intimate together, and really all she'd like is to spend her free time with him.

It's in this moment that he watches her, seeing the soft admiration in her lilac pools staring back at him that Hawks begins to realize that he's absolutely in love with this woman.

Present Day – Day 44

The look of utter dismay and panic wash over her features as she looks onto him. He's the last person she expected to see, and the last person she wanted to see. He's never seen that look on her face directed at him and it absolutely takes him aback and breaks his heart to see it now. He's here to save her. They should be embracing each other as lost lovers reunited. But instead, she's mortified.

"You…" her brows furrow with confusion and panic, the line at the base of her forehead growing prominent with worry as her eyes refuse to meet his. Her head drops in shame as she stares at the ground between the two of them. "You can't be here," her voice weakly protests.

Hawks shakes his head, his mind muddled with how she could say something like that to him. Does she really not want him here? Can she really say the life the League has given her is worth staying for? She must be scared… worried that if she leaves Dabi will retaliate somehow.

Hawks grabs her biceps in his grip and he winces at the tightening of her shoulders when he does so. He hates that this is her reaction to him touching her and he wonders how much abuse she's endured to react so negatively to touch.

Dabi's manipulated her into believing that she needs to stay here. He's probably threatened the life of her friends and family, making her believe that she needs to grant him sexual favors of their safety. She doesn't want to leave because she's worried he will kill if she does. She's selfless in that sense; she'd allow her body to become his playground if it meant protecting those she loves the most.

"Asami," he begins with a comforting tone as brushes her arms protectively. "I know you're in shock right now, and this must be fucking hard, but I'm here now and things are going to be okay."

She shakes her head in response, her eyes beginning to dampen with tears. "No, Hawks you can't… I…" her words are lost on her and she can't speak. She has been waiting for this day to come since her capture, but things changed when Dabi became Touya. She began to accept her time here, and as the days went on, she began to believe that Hawks would never come for her. But now… this ruins everything.

"You can't be here," she affirms with more harshness in her tone. "If they find out—"

"I'm not leaving you here!" Hawks presses her with darkening eyes. "I've finally found you, I am not about to leave you alone with that fucking maniac!" Asami winces at his words, hating the sound of such a terrible accusation spilling from his lips. She tries to speak but her cuts her off. "He kidnapped you and he's marked you—fucking look at your neck!" he shakes his head with disgust as her eyes try to convey an excuse for his actions.

"It's not like—"

"The fuck it's not!" he speaks over her. "It's possessive, that's what it is. He's branding you as his property like a fucking animal!"

She shuts her eyes, clenching them with wet lashes at his harsh tone. "You don't under—"

"There's nothing to understand, he's a villain," he tells her simply and finite. "He's killed dozens of people and he won't stop," he emphasizes. "He's using you as collateral to rile me up and keep me from doing my job."

She shakes her head, knowing that though it was initially his intension with her, everything changed when they learned of their past together. "No, it's more than—"

"No it's not, Asami! He's told me himself!" Asami's blood begins boiling and her hands fist at her sides as she feels her body growing hot.

Hawks continues to snarl at her with accusations of how terrible Dabi is but her ears block out his words. The walls around her begin caving in and the small closet begins to transform into a prison cell around her. She feels her temperature heating as her hands begin to shake and a deafening white noise irritatingly screeches in her ear. She can't stand it anymore and she snaps.

"Would you just stop and try to listen!" she yells at him with a booming voice that's undoubtedly heard beyond the small walls of the closet he forced her into. "Fuck!" she snaps with shaking limbs as Keigo's features drop and he lets go of her. He swallows hard, seeing how aggravated his presence is making her feel. He swallows down the lump in his throat at her hostile stance and nods once to her with apologetic understanding.

Her hand shakes as she wipes her palm against her lips in an attempt to formulate what the hell she's thinking. Her mind is so jumbled with this mess that she doesn't know what to think or say or do. "Why are you here?" she finally decides on.

Hawks tightens his jaw, "I told you, to save—"

"No," she shakes her head, now being the one to cut him off. "If anyone from the League saw you walking around here, they'd retaliate. So why are you really here?"

Hawks closes his eyes, exhaling the building tension in his shoulders. His wings fall behind him to make him look less grand. "The Commission has me on an assignment to infiltrate the League under the guise of a Stain sympathizer," he divulges to her. "Dabi didn't buy it so he kidnapped you as a means of hurting me if I played hero and betrayed him."

"What information is the Commission seeking?" she asks him stiffly and coldly.

"Anything that can help them neutralize the League."

"Are they planning an attack?"

Hawks looks at her now, seeing the stiffness in her shoulders, the tightness of her body, and the harshness in her eyes. She's pulling information out of him. He shakes his head, unwilling to give her any further information without knowing, "Are you really working with them?" he asks her. She tightens her jaw at his accusation and he continues. "Skeptic introduced you as the Quirkless Ambassador; the same person that negotiated—"

"Answer the question—"

"Answer mine!" he speaks over her. "Asami, what the fuck has happened to you?" he shakes his head incredulously.

He thinks about his interaction with the double and how angry she was with him because of the stunt that he pulled at the Billboard Charts. She was mad at him—rightfully so—but she was able to forgive him. Dabi knew what he was doing when he chose the timing of her kidnapping. With Asami angry at him, his ability to reconcile with her was more difficult. Though he was able to reconcile with the double. With his admission of love for her, she forgave him and he worked on their relationship, wishing it was with the real Asami.

But things are different with the real Asami, he can see it in her eyes. The double didn't have whatever interactions she has with Dabi and the rest of the League. He was able to sway her back into his arms because of this. But it's clear now that this won't be the case, and he keeps those words hidden from her.

Asami thinks about All For One's threats and the life that she will lose if she doesn't comply with him. She can't allow Dabi or Jin or Himiko to lose their lives in a war against the heroes. They are just lost, and they don't deserve the unhappiness they've been forced into because the heroes failed them.

"The heroes can't start a war," she tells him sternly. "If they comply to what Shigaraki has planned—" Hawks shakes his head wildly at her treacherous words and she stops speaking. She sighs heavily closing her eyes and thinking for a moment. "I was there in Deika City, Hawks," she tells him. "I saw what they were capable of."

"The Commission is not going to allow the villains to take over Japan without a fight," he snaps at her.

"Well maybe with your sway, you can inform them—"

"Asami, they're going to send in children to fight!" he speaks over her and she widens her eyes at this. "The hero courses," he begins. "They've enrolled the kids in a second round of internships. The kids don't know, but they're prepping them for this inevitable war."

Asami's lips part involuntarily as her eyes convey the pure horror of the information that he's divulging to her. She shakes her head, unwilling to believe what he is telling her. "What about all the heroes?" she questions him. "There's an oversaturation of heroes coming into the scene…" Hawks shakes his head and her voice drops off.

"Not since Dieka," he begins to explain. "After the reports came in that civilians defended themselves with their Quirks against villains without the help of heroes, people have been shifting their trust away from the heroes. There has been a public outcry that civilians have the free use of their Quirks." Asami shakes her head disbelievingly as he continues. "More and more MLA sympathizers are sprouting out, and the regulations on public Quirk use and heroes is crumbling. People are rioting in the streets and the numbers of active heroes has greatly depleted. Because of that narrative, there's no one to fight this war against them; they need those kids. Tokoyami… Shouto… the rest of those first years at UA; they are all being trained to fight against the MLA and the League."

Asami's mouth dries at the information and she feels her body teetering on her knees. "No," she shakes her head unwilling to believe him. Unwilling to believe that her words were the catalyst.

"I'm sorry, Asami," he tells her with genuine sorrow in his voice that makes her denying his words more difficult. "They are going to oppose the villains regardless of their depleted numbers. The Commission will not allow the villains to gain control of the country." Hawks winces as he says, "And they're willing to let kids die for it."

Asami covers her lips as she thinks of All For One's words promising her that the heroes will back down in a fight before the villains. "No," she refuses to believe. "They would concede if casualties were expected…" her voice tappers off, knowing just as well as he does that they won't.

Her eyes meet his and there is a cracking electricity between them as her heart races at the sight of him. There is heartbreak in his eyes as much as there is hers. They are in a stalemate, and there is no option that doesn't hurt either side.

"They won't concede either," she informs him. "They will fight just as hard."

"But if we are better prepared, we can beat them."

"To what end?" she asks him.

He scoffs at her question, "What does it matter? They're villains," he responds harshly.

"They're human," she refutes. "Are they not allowed happiness like you or I? Because no one was there to save them?"

"Asami, they've killed people," he tells her sternly.

"And they've saved each other. Including me," she adds sadly and helplessly.

Hawks is taken aback by this and he looks down at her. Understanding finally strikes his face, realizing that she's not a captive of their any longer.

This isn't Stockholm Syndrome or survival.

She's one of them.

Hawks exhales, shuffling back to her and placing his hands back on her biceps, only carefully this time so he doesn't have to see her flinch away from him. "Do you… do you think you can convince them to stand down?" he asks her, hating that she has this connection with villains as he's unwilling to admit that it makes her a villain as well.

The threatening words of All For One reel back at the back of her head with a painful itch. "I don't know," she admits to him with a helpless whine in her tone. "They see each other as a family. They will do anything to protect one another."

Hawks hangs on his next question for the longest time. He thinks about the Commission's request of her and he contemplates every outcome of her reaction if he asks this. He even questions if he wants to know the answer to the question. He knows he doesn't, but he has no other choice; the lives of so many depend on it.

"How much information can you get out of him to help prepare the heroes if the worst comes to it?" he says, unwilling to even say his name.

Her lashes flutter in shock as she refuses to blink and lose the sight of him if only for a second. Her lilac orbs scan every inch of his face for a tell of jest or misunderstanding, but there is none. He means exactly what he said.

"Wha… what are you asking me?" she questions him, knowing exactly what he is asking of her, but not letting him dance around the request.

He shakes his head, his golden eyes shamefully leaving her intense gaze. "Don't make me say it," his voice tears at his throat.

"No Keigo, say it," she demands of him, using his real name to drive the knife deeper in his heart at the betrayal of his request. "I need to make sure I'm understanding you correctly."

"I think you understand perfectly," he snidely responds as his eyes glance at her through the edges of his lashes.

"Say what you want me to do," she commands him sternly.

He turns to her fully, his eyes bloodshot and she's taken aback by the look of him. She's never seen him on the verge of tears in the entirety of their relationship, and the image makes her want to retract her words and tell him he doesn't need to say a word. She doesn't want to hurt him, and she's shattering him with her request.

"Are you able to use your… influence over him to get information about the League that the Commission can use?" Hawks finally lets out.

Her heart breaks and the look on her face tears him down more than he already is. "Is this your request or the Commission's?" she asks him sternly.

"I'd never want this," he tells her.

Asami nods once, "So the Commission knows. They know I've been kidnapped because their spy cannot get information out of the League and their response is to whore me out to the villains instead?" She feels like she wants to retch and punch a wall all at the same time. The Commission's job is to protect the civilians of Japan, and here they are compromising them.

"They don't know what else to do," he begins. "Dabi doesn't trust—"

"I'm not a hero like you, Hawks!" she snaps at him, feeling her blood boiling all over again. "They have no jurisdiction over me! They can't tell me to do their little dance like they do with you!" she snaps viciously at him as she lifts herself to her feet with wild anger flowing through her veins. "I'm not their fucking dog! I am not going to heel and sit like their obedient bitch!"

"Asami," Hawks begins carefully as he lifts himself to his feet as well. "I've tried to get the information from Dabi and Twice and it's not working. We need to know what they're planning and your connection with them—"

"I AM NOT A WHORE!" she screams at him, her voice shaking in her throat.

"What does it fucking matter? You've already clearly enjoyed fucking him!" he snaps back without thinking, extending his wings to make himself tower over her.

Asami doesn't think and her hand lifts to his face, smacking him with the most deafening sound. His head shoots to the side as his cheek instantly grows red from her contact.

"You want to eat the shit they shovel into your mouth, go ahead," she seethes. "But don't go and tell me it's appetizing!" She shakes her head at him with disgust lacing her eyes. "You want the answers so badly? Go fuck him yourself!" she spits as she pushes past him towards the door.

"I'm a terrible hero," his voice cracks through the silence. "I can't protect them. Tokoyami, my disciple is going to die and I can't even save him," his voice breaks with uselessness. "They're all going to die," he says closing his eyes in shame. She halts her departure to turn to him, but his back remains turned towards her. "Shouto, Tokoyami, Endeavor, everyone in those hero schools… they are all going to die if we don't know what they're planning. Twice's Quirk alone will be the downfall of Japan as we know it. Ever since he somehow managed to overcome his trauma and use his Quirk to its full potential, he's shown he's the most dangerous of the League members. He will trample the heroes under an army of his doubles. And we will be defenseless to stop it."

Asami's heart races in her chest from the adrenaline of slapping Hawks and the words coming from his lips. She thinks about Shouto and Endeavor. "Little Shouto will die by my flames, and dear ol' dad will get to watch as his failure of a son destroys his legacy. All before he joins that pile of ash," the words reverberate in her skull with a painful pounding.

She thinks about the young boy that she saw when she returned to the Todoroki home. She remembers the soft smile on his lips when she told him that he would be a great hero. She remembers the passion and determination in his two friend's eyes as they spoke of their hero courses. It was the same desire in their eyes that Touya once held before it was all stripped away from him. Before he was burned and his life fell to the villainous wishes of All For One.

She can't watch another Todoroki lose their spark and their dream to that of a villain. She exhales shakily as she thinks of every outcome possible. If she helps the villains, Dabi will win and they will have the life they deserved, but at the cost of so many innocent lives… including young Shouto. If she sides with the heroes, All For One will ensure that Dabi dies and her future with him.

Hawks finally turns to her, downturned golden eyes conveying the heavy guilt weighing him down for asking something of this of her. He doesn't want her to do this anymore than she does. It's obviously killing him to think of her with someone else.

"I'm sorry for what I said back there. That was out of line and I didn't mean it," he says remorsefully. "I know I fucked things up with us, and I can't even begin to apologize for what I did to us." he begins with a voice meek and softer than when he yelled at her. He steps towards her, placing his hand on her cheek, brushing his thumb against her soft skin as he gathers her tears and she realizes in that moment that she's been crying. "It's fucking destroying me to think that he…" he stops, not wanting to focus on Dabi or bring the attention back to his own jealousy.

"I can't take it back," he continues, "And I can see that it's too late to fix…" he sadly admits as her lilac eyes glance up at him. "I've lost you," he admits and his voice cracks at the realization that their relationship is dead and gone. He took so much from her; and a small bit of her dissolved every night that he left her alone at home with the false promise of being there for her until she dissipated into nothing. She's regaining bits and piece of herself one section at a time, and it's with the help of him.

Hawks releases an uneven breath as the thought hits his skull, and the words choke in his throat, unwilling to be voiced because he knows there's no turning back when he does, but he has no other choice.

"If you're able to get the information out of him… I can talk to the Commission… and I can help…" the words are choking him, and he feels like he's going to suffocate. "I can help facilitate his pardon," he finally croaks out, knowing that it's clearly what she wants.

Her lips part with shock and her eyes search his for a hint or trace of deceit, but there is none.

There is only regret.

A/N: For all my Hawks stans, don't worry! This does not mean the end of their relationship!

For all my anti Hawks stans; be worried! This is not the end of their relationship xD

What do you all think?! Do you think Hawks is telling the truth about getting a pardon for Dabi? If she helps the heroes how will AFO react? Let me know what you think is in store for the next chapters and how you liked this one! Love you all and take care!