Chapter 20

Hello, hello! Mimmy here! It's been two months, I know- and I've had this written for over a month, but... well I didn't feel like turning on my desktop, so you get this now.

This chapter contains a mention of 7 minutes of Heaven, I'm not sure if that's okay, so let me know if it isn't!

#WritingMatters

Word count

1267

-

Dabi could hear the laughter and almost cheer-like sounds that seeped through the door in from outside his room. He refused to come out, he had for days; he didn’t want to face… life. He was sick of it all. He was sick of the looks he got from the League, the stupid look of pity Hawks gave him when he thought he wasn’t looking. He hated them all.

He didn’t want to deal with any of them, especially after that lack of judgment with Hawks. He had no clue what had crossed his mind, what the hell he’d been thinking to just kiss the hero like he mattered to him.

Hawks didn’t matter.

“Dabi!” The excited knocking on the door-or pounding- nearly startled Dabi as Toga’s voice cut through his thoughts. He stayed quiet, hoping she’d just walk away and they’d all leave him alone. “Come us!”

There were hushed giggles on the other side and Dabi frowned, a mix of concern and anger washing over him. Something wasn’t right. He approached the door and opened it without a warning, making Toga and Twice stumble inside, Hawks stood a few feet back, leaning against the wall.

Dabi caught Hawks shifting slightly and tried to focus on what was wrong. He looked him over and then turned to Toga and Twice. Something about the way they stood and Toga’s grin gave it away.

“Are you drunk?” he asked, a flicker of protectiveness clear in his voice, though none of them was sure if it was over Toga or – “I leave Matt in your care and you guys get drunk?!”

Hawks flinched. Dabi was pissed- no, worse than that, he was protective. And he wasn’t supposed to it he liked it but… shit…

Dabi didn’t wait for an answer; he pushed past Toga and stormed out of the room.

Before he could make it far, someone grabbed his arm. Someone he knew better than he wished right now. He didn’t turn, but he could hear the faint rustle of feathers. He closed his eyes and slowly turned to him, meeting his eyes.

“He’s asleep, I just checked on him,” Hawks said, sounding more sober than Toga and Twice seemed. It almost eased Dabi. “Calm down, firefly.”

Something about those words, about the way he’d said them… the way he looked at him, shot a flare of panic in Dabi’s eyes. Even in their drunken state, the three noticed how Dabi flinched and instinctively tried to pull away from Hawks’ grip.

Toga reached out, grabbing Hawks and yanking him back, away from Dabi, without a word.

But Hawks didn’t flinch, he just paused, glancing at Toga for her to let him go, and slowly approached Dabi, who was visibly trying to hide the panic in his eyes.

It had been nearly a month since Siren had disappeared, but no one could blame Dabi for struggling to adjust. Hawks met his eyes and reached out, though he didn’t touch him, he knew better than to push him.

“Hey, look at me,” Hawks whispered, his hands hovering over Dabi’s cheeks, unsure. “I told you… I’m not her. You think we’d ever let her get anywhere near you?” he asked, noticing the panic in Dabi’s eyes slowly recede. “I don’t know about the rest, but us three? We won’t hesitate to kill her if she ever tries something again.”

He noticed how Dabi’s gaze immediately avoided him, focusing on the floor.

Dabi took a step back, clearing his throat before talking. “I know,” he said matter-of-factly. “I know that,” he said, looking at him before turning to Toga and Twice. “If you two leave Matt alone and get drunk again, I will kill you, understood?”

They nodded quickly, wordlessly as their bodies stiffened.

“And you, birdbrain-” He turned to Hawks with a biteless glare. “Keep a better eye on them, will you?”

Hawks rolled his eyes and nudged Dabi lightly. “Yeah, yeah,” he said tucking his wings further and leaning against the wall again. “Are you gonna us or what?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “We’re playing truth or dare… though it stopped being real truth or dare a while ago…” He frowned a bit, a flicker of confusion taking over his face as he turned to Toga and Twice. “What the hell are we playing?”

Dabi scoffed. “With these two? Nothing good, I can promise that much. You’ll get used to it someday.” His gaze lingered on Hawks for a moment too long before he looked away. “Why not? Maybe a bit of chaos will help,” he said, though it sounded more like he was muttering to himself.

Dabi wasn’t sure when he’d finished the first bottle… he just knew he was far too drunk to care at all about what came out of that stupid game night. At least, he wasn’t the only one who was drunk out of his mind.

Toga leaned forward, her grin wide as she tapped her bottle on the edge of the table. “Dabi, truth or dare?”

Dabi didn’t even bother looking at her, his eyes fixed on the bottle in his hand. “Dare.”

“I dare you to answer a question from each of us,” she said, her tone sing-song but dripping with mischief.

Dabi scoffed, finally glancing at her with an unimpressed look. “That’s the lamest dare I’ve ever heard.”

“Lame? Or genius?” Toga countered, turning to the others. “Hawks, you go first.”

Hawks straightened a bit, a smirk forming on his lips as he swirled the remaining liquid in his bottle. “Alright... kiss, marry, kill—out of us three.”

Dabi’s face twitched. “Wow, birdbrain, such a mature question.”

“Actually,” Twice piped up, swaying slightly in his chair, “considering how drunk you both are, it could get interesting.”

“You’re one to talk about being drunk,” Dabi muttered, shaking his head.

“You didn’t answer Hawks’ question!” Toga exclaimed, practically bouncing in her seat.

Dabi sighed, tipping his head back against the wall. “Fine. kiss Hawks, marry no one, kill all of you.”

“Ouch,” Twice said, clutching his chest dramatically. “Why would you kill all of us?”

“Because you’re all annoying.”

Toga gasped, squinting at Dabi like he’d just confessed a dark secret. “Wait… let’s rewind for a second.”

“What?” Dabi asked, exasperated.

“You’d kiss Hawks?” she asked, her eyes wide with mock innocence.

Dabi gave her a long, deadpan stare. “Well… yeah. Just look at him with his pretty face, stupid eyes, and annoying wings.”

“Wow,” Twice said, blinking at Hawks.

Hawks choked on his drink, trying to recover with an awkward laugh. “Uh… thanks, I think?”

“Okay, my turn!” Toga chimed in, clearly enjoying herself. “Dabi… do you love Hawks?”

“What kind of—why are you asking that as if I’d answer?” Dabi growled, his eyes narrowing.

“Well, do you?” Twice added, leaning forward eagerly.

“No.” The answer was immediate and sharp.

“Ouch?” Hawks said, tilting his head with a smirk that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Alright, my turn!” Twice interrupted, his grin wide. “Dabi, truth or dare?”

Dabi let out a long-suffering sigh. “Dare.”

“I dare you to do seven minutes in Heaven with Hawks.”

The room fell silent for a beat before erupting into chaos.

“What?!” Dabi barked, glaring at Twice.

“Good one, Jin!” Toga cheered, clapping her hands together.

Dabi’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “Don’t expect no consequences.”

Hawks raised his hand, looking mildly alarmed. “Wha—do I get a say in this?”

“No,” Dabi said flatly, already moving toward the nearest door. “Let’s go.”

Hawks blinked, then hesitated before following, his expression a mix of confusion and curiosity. “Well, alright then…”