ICARUS - Hawks x Reader

SIXTY SEVEN: ...But Not Out.

"Looks like sentiment tripped you up after all, Hero!"

Despite the flaming lick to the air of the room, my blood seemed to run cold. The sight of my husband's head beneath Dabi's boot was too much, and I was frozen on the spot. There wasn't enough light to use the solar component of my quirk, and if I used the vocalisation that came with the dark, I could hurt Hawks too.

How...did he know..?

Dread filled me to the core when the villain let loose another burst of flames, directly over the incapacitated man I loved, but I knew he wouldn't be taken down by that. He was Hawks, after all. Even whilst shielding my eyes, I could see him soaring through the fire, arm outstretched with a single feather in hand. With him, he carried Twice.

"B..but how..?!" Dabi looked shocked, but only for a moment. Did he even know I was there? If he didn't, then I could end it. A sneak attack. Stabbing him in the back, either metaphorically or literally.
"Come on..." I whispered to myself, my voice shaking as I tried to force my body to move.

Hawks landed, rolling with the captive villain a few times before gaining his balance, the left side of his face badly burned.
"You almost killed your friend..." He stated, almost too calmly. His wings were barely there anymore, so I knew we had to do this quick. Flame and feathers were a poor match up in a fight.

"Nah, cuz I know that heroes must always be ready to save a life." Dabi replied with a low chuckle, slightly raising his chin to look down upon the pair. Coughing into the back of his hand, Hawks took that split second to dart his gaze to me, his eyes screaming for me to get out. Instead, I stayed put.

"Such cutting sarcasm. With the force of that attack of yours...It was almost like you knew about me the whole time, Dabi. What gave me away?" When Dabi took a step forward, I did the same, slowly reaching for the small pocket knife I kept in the hip of my costume. It was all I had to work with.

"Gave you away? Nothing, really..." The ravonet shrugged, leaning his cheek into the risen collar of his coat. "I never believed a word you said from the start." Side-stepping and holding my breath, I inched closer and closer, waiting for the perfect moment. What I was trying to do would likely fail, but I couldn't stand by. If I was a hero, I had to act like one.

"Right..." Even though Hawks wasn't looking at me directly, I could see the fear in his eyes. I knew that look. He was going to do something reckless to try and keep me safe.
"Burn 'im good!" Twice, however, had other plans, and broke away from my husband, scrambling away on all fours as a clone burst from his back to attack.

"I said don't move!" I barely heard the ending of Hawks' sentence as Dabi blanketed him with flames, the blue glow almost blinding.
"Just you alone's enough to make quick work of those heroes down there!" The ravonet said to his companion as he scrambled towards us, panic in his wide eyes. Did he see me? Was I about to get caught? "So go nuts! They're waiting for you!"

"Y..Yeah! Okay!" Flinching as they slapped their hands together as the injured blond passed, flames still bursting forth and over my husband, I braced for battle. Except, Twice didn't even give me a second glance. Did he not see me as a threat? Had he even seen me there at all?

It didn't matter. What I had to do was stop Dabi in his tracks. Knife in hand, I swung my arm back, ready to stab and attempt immobilization, when he turned around. At first I thought I had alerted him somehow, but no, that wasn't it. Hawks had used the force of the flames to his advantage, letting them push him out once side of the building so he could fly up and over to cut Twice off.

Still, it resulted in me swinging too early.

Even though I had been trained with the fastest hero in Japan, I still wasn't quick enough to best Dabi. He first seized my wrist, the tight squeeze forcing me to drop the knife as reflex, then his other hand curled around me throat, spinning me so my back was flush to his chest.