The Last Breath I Take │Hawks x Dabi

Killing me slowly (edited)

~Hawks pov~

His mind was overflowing with unanswered questions. How? Why? Who? When?

Hawks stumbled back a few steps. Putting his hands in front of him, he meekly said, "Just leave me alone. Please."

He could feel Dabi grinning. "Was this what you wanted to see? For me to suffer?" Hawks didn't wait for a reply. "You're sick."

Dabi cocked his head to one side. "So what. The hero society is just as twisted as the League of Villains. What makes you think that you can just swoop in and play the good guy?"

Hawks just coughed. The flowers kept coming and coming, covering the ground with blood and petals. He tried to push them down, back into his lungs, but it just made him gag more. Suddenly, Hawks felt someone reach behind him, putting a comforting hand on his back. The coughing eventually ceased, leaving Hawks heaving for air. He turned around and glanced at Dabi.

"Feeling better?"

Hawks narrowed his eyes. "Didn't I tell you to leave me alone?"

Dabi snickered. "I don't think you're in the position to tell me what to do, hero~" Dabi teased.

Hawks shot him another glare.

"So, you have hanahaki?" Dabi asked, changing the topic.

Turning away from Dabi, Hawks hissed, "It's none of your business."

Dabi just sighed and rubbed his eyes. "We can either do this the hard way or the easy way. Your choice."

"Don't you think you've done enough?" Hawks felt his voice crack, just a little.

"Oh, really?" Dabi strolled over to him. Hawks could feel the anger radiating off him in waves. Even though he hated to admit it, Hawks was scared.

"You take everything away from me, and now you complain." Dabi yanked his hair harshly. It felt like the whole world had stopped moving. Hawks grimaced in pain and tried to break the iron grip on his hair. He could tell that Dabi was about to do something incredible dangerous. The murderous gleam in his eyes made Hawks shudder. But he knew what he had to do. He started this mess. He was the only one who could fix it.

Heart pounding, Hawks let Dabi drag him, smashing his face into a wall. There was really nothing else he could do. With the hanahaki disease and burn scars, Hawks doubted that his body could tolerate any more beatings. His wings were still messed up, after Dabi had kicked him into a pile of storage containers. Now, whenever he applied even the tiniest bit of pressure on his back, it felt like someone was using a knife, slowly removing his wings all over again. So he let Dabi hit him. Over, and over.

Dabi suddenly stopped hitting him, making Hawks warily observe him behind his bloodied and probably broken arm. He watched as Dabi clutch his head, mouth gaping, as if someone was choking him. Without warning, Dabi fell to the ground with a thud, leaving the bewildered Hawks, clueless of what to do next.

.

.

.

.

.

A few hours passed, and Hawks, who had cleaned himself up, was now taking care of Dabi, still unconscious. He knew he could escape, capture Dabi or even kill him. But Hawks did none of these things. There was something about him. Dabi was different. Even so, Hawks just hoped that he didn't venture too close to that flickering blue flame.

~Dabi's pov~

Fire. 

Everywhere.

Where was Hawks?

No.

He needed to snap out of this.

Dabi didn't want to see this anymore.

Just how hard did he hit his head? Not only did Dabi wake up with splitting migraines, he also saw Hawks sitting next to him, staring blankly at the wall next to him.

"So why didn't you escape?" Dabi asked, getting straight to the point.

"I don't know what you mean." was all Hawks said.

Dabi narrowed his eyes. "I don't know what you're playing at, but just so you know, I won't hesitate to kill you."

Hawks laughed bitterly. "I know saying sorry won't help the situation. Do what you want." he shrugged. 

Dabi looked at the worn out hero. His heart wrenched a bit when he saw the state of the Hawks. It wasn't like him to act like this. Dabi turned his head. It doesn't matter. He was just about to tell Hawks to go die, when the hero started coughing again. But this time, he knew something was wrong. By looking at the way the hero was acting, it seems like the hanahaki was nearly getting to the last stage.

Dabi leapt out of bed, catching Hawks just as he was about to fall. He stared into those glowing golden eyes. 

"I don't understand you, number 2."

"Why would you waste your life on some stupid feelings?"

Hawks looked at him as if he turned into an alien.

"You don't understand. I can't do this to the person I love."

Dabi ignored the pitiful expression Hawks was giving him. Even though he hated him, there was something off. He couldn't bring himself to kill the hero. God, he just might be the death of him. Just this once, he'd help him. Dabi grabbed Hawks's collar and pulled him closer until they were just a few centimeters apart.

"I'm not trying to pry into your life, I don't care. But if you die I won't be able to get any information from a corpse."

Hawks tried to shrink away, but Dabi just tightened his grip.

"Talk. It's your life that's on the line." he commanded.

"Fine."

Dabi waited impatiently. 

"So? Who is it?"

He could see the hesitation and distrust in Hawks' eyes.

"I loved him so much. It was me that couldn't save him in the end."

"Touya. It's someone named Touya."

Dabi felt the world fall apart right in front of his eyes.