Chapter Text
Hawks couldn't believe how shitty his luck was. It was corrections day with the Commission and he’d been sloppy on his patrol last night, gaining him additional corrections today. On top of that, today of all days, Dabi had finally texted him with the meeting spot for the league. He was supposed to meet up with them at 10, it was already 9:45 by the time he left the Commission after coming off an 8 hour patrol. He was tired and he felt like shit. Still. He knew this was his only chance. If he wanted a shot at the boss, a shot at completing his mission, he had to go to the meeting tonight.
His phone buzzed, pulling him from his thoughts.
Dabi: I need your help.
Half an hour later, Hawks landed in front of the address that Dabi had sent him to. It only occurred to him after he had already rung the doorbell, that this may be a prank and that he was showing up to some random person's house with a bag of villain groceries and barely concealed wings dripping with blood.
Luckily (what a weird time to think that) the person that opened the door was not some poor civilian but was instead ,surprisingly maskless, Twice.
“Hey man, glad you could make it. Wish you were dead.” Twice shook his head, as if to clear his thoughts and stepped aside to allow Hawks into the building. After the relief passed that he had in fact not bothered a random person but was indeed in the lair of the League of Villains. He was honestly expecting more. The wooden bar looked old and slightly rotted. The only furniture in the room was an old couch, two very sketchy looking armchairs and a set of old folding beach chairs positioned around a 4k flatscreen, that could not have looked more out of place. There was a staircase against the back wall, yet Hawks wasn’t sure what kind of sane person would even think about climbing it. Then again, he thought about where he was. No one here is sane.
His thoughts began to unravel as he looked around, his exhaustion combining with his confusion as he looked around. Zoned out, he was completely unaware that Toga was approaching until she was staring up at him, so close their noses almost touched.
“Lit, you grabbed the stuff we asked for!” Her voice managed to shock him out of his stupor and he felt his feathers ruffle under his coat. He smiled, sharper than usual, in an effort to mask the wince from his previous wounds being aggravated.
“Yup! Not quite sure why you needed this stuff, but I’m just hoping it wasn't for anything too villainous.” He topped it off with a wink, clinging to his usual persona as he felt his fatigue seeping in. Toga grabbed for the bag, causing Hawks to release the bag and pull away from her in a blind reaction. He didn’t like people in his space. Lucky for him, no one seemed to notice, too fixated on what was in the bag in Toga’s hands.
Toga was the first to reach into the bag, pulling out the requested bags of Gushers gummies that she’d asked for. The way her face lit up from just the sight of the candy reminded Hawks that she was just a child. Only 16 if he remembered correctly. He felt a pang of sympathy for the small child, adding to the growing discomfort of what he knew was to come. The ultimate betrayal. He couldn’t bear to think about the face on the young one’s face when she learned of what he was. He could almost feel the heartbreak already.
A loud creak drew attention as he cursed himself for getting caught up in his thoughts again, taking his attention from the room full of lethal enemies in front of him. Heroes don’t get distracted Hawks. Always be focused on the task at hand. His handler was the last thing he wanted on his mind as the leader of the League of Villains descended the decrypted staircase, looking less like a maniacal mastermind and more like a homeless man badly in need of some moisturizer.
Ironically, that’s exactly what Dabi pulled out of the bag in Toga’s lap and threw at the leader. It was quickly followed with a toss from Spinner of a small capsule, chapstick, Hawks realized. The leader caught both items, careful to keep a finger off, looking down in confusion before scowling and sealing his grasp, quickly disintegrating both objects. The room erupted in laughter as the fearsome leader of the League of Villains shook the remains of a bottle of moisturizer and a tube of chapstick from his hands.
The bag was subsequently passed around the room, each member pulling out the random items they had asked Hawks to pick up on his way over. After everyone had their stuff, the meeting officially began. The villains talked for a while about when the best time for an attack would be. The logistics seemed to be something this group was lacking in.
Suddenly eyes shifted to him, apparently waiting for an answer to a question he didn't hear. He let out a small laugh, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Ah, could you repeat that please?” Dabi sighed, shaking his head at the embarrassed man.
“We were wondering if there was anything you could tell us about the patrol schedules of heroes in the area.” Hawks paused at the question. Technically he knew the patrol schedule of every hero in the city, but he should be more selective with his reveal. They really only needed enough information to not get caught outright, not necessarily not be stopped. They were good at escapes, he reasoned.
“Well, I know at least three heroes that patrol the areas, I can get their schedules of patrol for you.” This was a compromise. He didn’t outright betray anyone. His mind felt at conflict with itself. He found himself wanting to help the villains in front of him, this first thought not of what a hero would do, but what he should do. A good hero thinks only of the greater good, never of himself. More useless words from his Handler echoing around his head.
Shigaraki nodded, a rare display of enthusiasm from the usually scowling man. The planning resumed, the League content to mostly ignore Hawks’ presence all together. Dabi’s eyes would occasionally shift to glance over Hawks face, but other than that, he felt like a fly on the wall of a meeting he had no business being at in the first place.
Eventually the meeting ended, the members slowly drifting back to what they had been doing before, Toga and Twice moving back to the living room (if you could even call it that) as Toga bit into a Gusher, causing the red juices on the inside to spill down her chin in a chilling mimicry of what the girl did for fun. Shigaraki, Spinner, and Compress all moved back upstairs to where Hawks supposed their rooms probably were. Kurogiri moved behind the bar and resumed a seemingly never-ending regime of cleaning. Dabi however, just stood there, right across from Hawks, glaring him down. Hawks began to shift, uncomfortable with the energy in the room, as his wings ruffled, trying to come together to protect him. He winced a bit as his wounds got aggravated, again, causing Dabi’s glare to deepen, and he looked about to say something when Hawks piped up.
“Well, its, uh, getting late, I should really get going.” It was after these words that Hawks made the mistake of turning his back on the arsonist.
“Hawks, what the fuck is on your back?” Hawks turned back around, facing the scowling man, his feathers shifting a bit as his panic set in. He calmed his wings with a breath. As he prepared to create an excuse for what he was sure was copious amounts of blood on his jacket, Toga popped up from the back of the couch to Hawks’ left.
“What’s wrong with Hawks?” Her innocent confusion froze him before any flimsy excuse could fall past his lips. He began to back away from the villain's curiosity, not looking where he was going, and tripping on a broken floorboard behind him. He hit the floor, the impact causing his wounds to rip open, blood gushing down his back, soaking through the already ruined jacket and onto the floor underneath him. He let out a shriek, unintentionally drawing the attention of the other villains in the house.
His mind was hazy as he took in the semi-circle of villains above him. He felt like he did when he was young, back at the Commission. Constantly under the judgement of all of his handlers. The memories flooded to the forefront of his mind, adding to his headache. The last thing he remembered before he blacked out was Dabi’s face, hovering inches above his own, and for the first time he realized how beautiful the mans’ eyes really were.