In the living room of the Todoroki household papers are spread across the coffee table, covering the entirety of the surface. A dozen pens lay scattered on top of them, ink trails etched onto a select few of the papers, highlighting and underlining certain points.
Izuku sits on the couch, elbows resting on his knees as he leans over the table, gesturing to the papers. His eyes skim over each document, sorting the pieces of evidence. Next to him, Dabi glares at the ground, still complaining about being squished between the teen and Hawks. Hawks quips back that at least he doesn't have wings that could are being condensed by the couches back cushions. They've been bickering for the past ten minutes while the Todoroki family littered across the two adjacent pieces of furniture watch.
Six really is a crowd, especially for this task.
Izuku has been trying to explain and show the Todoroki's what evidence they have against their father so far. Dabi and Hawks are no help. As the first dozen minutes tick by, he feels his patience ebb away slowly. He's clearly not the only one getting tired. Every time he glances at Fuyumi he can make out a half grimace dawning her features. Natsuo seems relatively unbothered, arms crossed as he maintains his laser focus on what Izuku is telling them. And Shouto -- Shouto looks half asleep from where he's sprawled lazily across the arm chair.
"And finally," Izuku says, looking up from the papers, "we have the evidence from the Stain fight. We don't really need to exploit that. The video proof released is already making people angry about his lack of help in taking down Stain. It should be enough."
Natsuo blinked at him, brows pinching together. "So let me get this straight. You put audio recorders in our house, stalked us at our jobs, and have been specifically targeting Endeavor this whole time?"
Izuku winced, rubbing at the back of his neck. "Well when you put it like that. . . "
Dabi scoffed and jabbed Izuku's side with his elbow. "Told ya you were a stalker."
"Shush," he said, batting away Dabi's arm. He faced the Todoroki's again. "Look, all this evidence is almost enough enough to destroy his image of a hero. Because he's a number two hero, it might not be enough to take away his license though."
"So you need more information?" Fuyumi inquired.
"I've got that handled. I have an inside source who's willing to give me support," he answer, waving aside Fuyumi's comment. He thinks about how he needs to call said source tonight. He thinks he should bring them to meet the Todoroki's with him soon. "What I need from you is proof for his personal life. I don't just want to have his license taken away or send him away for a few years. I want to make sure it all works out for you three too which is more likely if we can prove he's not a proper parent and get you out of his custody."
"Natsuo and I are already out of his custody," Fuyumi notes aloud.
"But I'm not," Shouto interjects. Izuku's surprised he's not asleep with how his head is rolled back on the head rest of his chair, legs crossed limply.
"Exactly." Izuku pulls a brown file out from his bag, tossing it's contents across the table. He points to one set of stapled papers titled: Child Custody for Heroes. "There's a section in there that states a hero whose license is revoked will not be forced to give up custody. It also goes over how heroes who have sole custody over their children will be permitted a shortened prison time or none at all if a sentence of so would otherwise be handed out. Because your mothers custody over you all was withdrawn when she was moved to her mental institute, this applies to Endeavor."
He lets that sink in for a moment, observing how both Natsuo and Fuyumi's faces morph into ones of understanding. Shouto's remains blank, unwavered by the new information. The boy instead opens his his eyes, staring at the stack of paper on the table. He squints and says, "That's a waste of paper."
While Izuku flushes, guilt nibbling at the corner of his mind, Dabi barrels ahead, stating, "Endeavor may not get any prison time, or just very little. He'll be out before Shouto can turn eighteen and guess who your dear old dad will take his anger out on then?"
Natsuo frowned. "We need to get rid of that possibility."
"Duh," Dabi mocked. One of Hawks' feathers darted out from under his wings, poking Dabi in the cheek. He hissed and swatted it away before snapping his teeth in Hawks direction. The ex-hero responded with the kind of glare a mother gives their child when trying to get them to behave.
Izuku turned away from them, regretting his choice of company. He sent a remorseful look Fuyumi's way, ignoring the way Shouto looked almost amused. He asked, "That's where your help is needed. I think the best course of action is to charge Endeavor with abuse. Together we can create a fully fleshed out case against him."
"And you're certain an abuse case is the best?"
"I'm certain."
There was a moments hesitance where all Fuyumi did was hold his stare. She visibly bit the inside of her cheeks, hands twisting each other in her lap. contemplative. Wary.
At last, she sighs. "Okay. Let's do it."
He smiles softly. Izuku knows this isn't his place to barge in and act like some savior. He can't make all the decisions, nor can he force them into anything. This is their path to choose what to do. He's here to help, not direct. Still, he's glad they're going along with what he says.
"Is there anything your willing to tell me?" he asks.
Natsuo chews his lips before answering, "You mentioned our mother and her mental institute. Our father put her there."
"Because of how she burned Shouto?"
The three Todoroki's stiffen. Fuyumi narrows her eyes. "How do you know about that?"
"Besides the massive scar on his face?" Dabi spits, sarcasm dripping from his every word. Hawks jabs at him again, saying, "Dabi and I investigated a little before. There's a lot of information floating around the darker sides of town."
Shouto raised an eyebrow, but Izuku moved past it. He gestured to Natsuo. "Go on, please."
Natsuo cleared his throat. "Right. Our mother, she was forced into a marriage with Enji, which I'm now wondering if you already knew?" The three of them-- Dabi, Hawks and Izuku-- all nod in sync. "Well then. Uh, she was driven insane by Dad. Not enough to need a home in a mental hospital but still enough to cause her to snap sometimes. She used to try and protect us as kids, but Dad wouldn't listen."
"Hold on a second," Izuku interrupts. He reaches into his pocket, pulling out his main notebook where he tracks information. Uncapping a pen, he scribbles on the first blank page he could find Take Down Enji Todoroki. He draws a bubble around it, adding a line to that that leads to the name Rei Todoroki. Under that he writes arranged marriage - mental institute - witness.
Fuyumi peeks over the page to see what he wrote before nodding with approval. They continue like that: sharing bits of information then writing them down. There's not much they can use as solid proof. It's a struggle to get the three Todoroki's to open up about everything. It's clearly taxing for Fuyumi to talk about that harsh training schedule Endeavor made for Shouto, even harder for Natsuo to get through a retelling of dinner table events without starting to yell in frustration. Shouto is the most calm as he goes over the details of his training and isolation he faced.
There's a list of names in the corner of the page, all belonging to possible witnesses. The nanny from when they were young, various staff members, tutors, a few other heroes, family friends, doctors. So many people who could maybe provide some insight in a court. So many people who might be too afraid to. They agreed to work on that last part another time.
It's not until Touya's mentioned that things truly get tense. The moment the eldest Todoroki's name falls from Fuyumi's lips, Dabi tenses. Izuku tries to be subtle as he presses he knee into Dabi's, an attempt at comfort. It helps for a little while, he thinks.
Shouto says something about his older brother having lived a similar life to the one he does now and Dabi's fists curl at his sides. Izuku shoots a look at Hawks, hoping to convey a cry for help, but the man already seems on it. No later is his hand wrapping around Dabi's wrist, pulling him up from his seat. He faces their hosts and excuses them for some 'fresh air'.
Natsuo watches them go, mumbling, "What's up with him?"
"Some of his staples probably fell out like usual," Izuku lied, feigning carelessness as he shrugged.
"How'd he get them?" Fuyumi leans forward in her chair, tilting her head. "The scars, I mean."
Thinking on it, it had taken so long for Dabi to tell him about his quirk and the damage it does to him. Dabi had to trust him first and if there's anyone Dabi doesn't seem to trust, it's the Todoroki's. Izuku doesn't know exactly why, but he can at least respect Dabi wouldn't want them to know. Besides, the moment he knew about his quirk, he pieced together his identity and he didn't even know Touya like the people before him do.
"It's not my story to tell," he says simply. There's a general understanding that passes over the room. They can all relate to keeping secrets. He claps his hands together. "Right, let's get back to it. You were saying how there's proof Endeavor abused Touya too?"
They continued on with their discussion. Izuku glanced back at the door Hawks and Dabi left through. He hopes Dabi feels better soon.
-:-
Of all things he expected to be in the Todoroki household, a shrine was not one of them. Dabi stared up at the picture of himself with wonderment, a frown pulling at his lips. Next to him, Hawks stood in silence, surprise painted across his features.
In the other room, Dabi could hear the muffled voices of Izuku and the Todoroki's discussing a plan of action. Their undistinguished words flew through one ear and out the other-- irrelevant to his focus on the little candles and flowers littered across the cabinet shelf. The deep purples of the flower popped out where they were placed next to a dull photo of a boy.
The boy did not smile. If anything, his lips twisted down towards the floor. It looked so incredibly bleak with all the whites and blacks of his hair and clothes. The only ounce of colour lay in his crystal blue eyes; which portrayed no emotion other than blank boredom.
Touya looked anything but a boy in that photo.
Dabi really hadn't been looking for a walk down memory lane when he and Hawks left the others alone in the room. He simply hadn't wanted to be there. There was too much tension and secrets floating around for him to handle. His eyes couldn't meet Fuyumi's and Shouto was getting on his nerves. Hawks had noticed-- to which he's not sure whether to be happy or mad about-- and dragged him off to a random room. Neither of them had expected to find the shrine.
"The flowers are pretty," Hawks regarded, tilting his head.
Dabi shot him a questioning look. "You see a dead guys tribute and the first thing you say is how nice the flowers look?"
Nonchalantly, Hawks shrugs.
Most of the room is empty. An eerie presence overcomes it-- crawling up walls and seeping into the carpet, seeming to stretch out from cabinet. The sun from the window leaves shadow trails that almost reach Dabi. He stares at the photo of the young boy, wondering when he stopped being able to recognize him.
Touya does not look like he remembers. There are no bandages on his cheek to cover up self inflicted burns. His brows are not drawn together in a angry scowl like he always thought they were. Not even his hair, formerly vibrantly red, is the same as he can recall. Did it really get that white? Has he changed so much since then?
When he thinks back all he can envision is pain and anger. So much rage it thrust him out of the miserable life he was living in and onto the streets. However, the boy in the photo doesn't look angry in the slightest, only bored.
Forcing himself to look away, Dabi sits himself down on the carpet, crossing his legs and resting his chin in his hands. Touya is in the past. Right now, he needs to focus on what's in front of him.
"Back there you mentioned the commission taking away your license," he said, glancing at Hawks out of the corner of his eye. His expression twisted from calm to sharp and defensive in seconds.
"I did." Hawks' words were clipped, the hurt of a fresh wound apparent in them.
"Sit down," Dabi ordered, yanking on his jacket to pull him to the ground. Hawks mirrored his position, rolling his eyes. "Now, you're going to tell me what exactly happened yesterday and why it's got your panties in a twist."
Hawks huffed at this, shaking his head.
"The commission raised me to be a hero," he explained, biting the inside of his cheek, "but they didn't tell me to be one. I wanted that myself. My father wasn't a good person. He was a murder on the run and always took that out on me and my mom. He wanted me to be like him, I think, but he also worried a lot that I wouldn't. He thought if I left the house I'd rat him out to the police or something so I just didn't ever leave."
Dabi tracks the way Hawks stares at the wooden cabinet, how his voice doesn't wobble or stray from anything other than monotonous like he's discussing the weather or the colour of his shoes. There's no guard to it, just plain emotionless talk like he truly didn't care about what he was saying. That, perhaps, was what unsettled Dabi.
"I thought heroes were fictional because I never saw anybody but my parents and lord knows they never told me otherwise. I was so surprised when Endeavor arrested my father." He frowns only then, lips upturning slightly. "I decided that day that I wanted to be just like Endeavor. What an idol he turned out to be."
His expression then doesn't look all too different from the night they investigated Conium, Dabi realizes. He thinks how it was only after they proved Endeavor was doing wrong that Hawks came forth and switched sides.
How long did you cling to him? Dabi asks in his head. How much did you look up to him?
"Of course," Hawks continues, oblivious to Dabi's internal questions, "none of that mattered because my mother and I were on our own then with no way for me to become a hero. She cursed my existence everyday. I thought I was useless. I didn't want to be."
He shrugs again but the action looks less like nonchalance this time and more like he was shaking away a crack in his armor. Dabi saw that crack, how it gaped and revealed his vulnerability. He listened closer for Hawk's next words.
"I saved a bunch of people using my feathers one day. I didn't think much of it, I just didn't want to be useless. Apparently an eight year old saving people earned some notice from the commission." He paused, then continued with, "That's how they got me. All it took was a couple bucks traded with my mother and I was in their hands.
"Point is, the commission didn't make me want to be a hero. I always wanted to be one, someone who helped others. Yesterday when they threatened to take away my license, they threatened to take it all away." He sighed in defeat and shook his head. "It felt like they were ripping away everything I'd worked so hard for and I had no control. I was useless again, back in that home with people who hated me. I couldn't do what they asked so I sacrificed my dream as a price."
The black eye blooming on his face serves as a reminder of his decision. Recognizing now the sacrifice he had to make, Dabi feels guilt swim inside him. Hawks gave up his dreams, his idols, his whole worldview for them and what have they given him in return? A cold wake up call to the truth? A hundred wanted posters with his face on them?
Nothing was the grand toll Dabi had to pay to side with Revite. In fact, he gained more than he lost. Izuku showed him a new way and granted him his friendship along with his sight. Pulled from streets and twisted hate, Dabi gained so much. Hawks, on the other hand, was dragged from blue skies and squashed in the mud for all that he's done for them.
The fall of Icarus, as the media calls it. For once, he believes the reporters aren't wrong.
Dabi allows his knee to rest against Hawks. The other man looks down at the contact, mask up and face blank. Dabi places a hand on Hawks' shoulder too, squeezing it like how he's seen Izuku do in an attempt to comfort. His chest clenches in a way he's never experienced before, reaching out to Hawks and offering his thanks.
"For what it's worth," he says quietly, "you're still saving people working with Revite."
The sun from the window outlines Hawks as his eyes linger on Dabi's hand. He worries briefly if he crossed the line and made a mistake. The worry is quickly dismissed as the corner of Hawks' lip pulls upward ever so slightly.
"Thanks," he mumbles. "I just-- Sometimes I think I'm following a little too closely to my father's footsteps dabbling in all this secrecy. I don't want to be another Takami who ventured down the wrong path."
Takami.
He'd heard that name before.
"That's what you told me to call you. . . " Dabi trails off.
"At the tavern, yeah." Hawks looks up from his hand to his eyes. He holds it for a second before he turns back to the cabinet. "I couldn't think of any other cover up name in the moment. I don't know why. I guess running around with villains reminded me a little too much of home."
Dabi has to stop himself from mumbling the name to test it out. He can't imagine the man before him going by it. The image of him shaking hands in a fancy suit greeting people as that name falls from his lips finds its way to the front of Dabi's mind. He curls his lip back at the mere thought. No, Takami doesn't fit him at all.
Instead, he asks, "And your first name?"
Hawks barked a short laugh, almost like he was surprised. "Ha, no. I thought we agreed on this when looking for Stain? You give me your name and then you'll get mine."
It feels almost ironic as they sit there on the carpet in front of a shrine to a boy Dabi used to be, talking about names and pasts and bastard fathers like Dabi's own. He nearly laughs at it.
You give me your name and then you'll get mine.
Trust is the first thing that comes to Dabi's mind when he hears that. An exchange of names, an exchange of trust. The second thing that comes to mind is: Can I? Can I trust him? Can he trust me? The third, and possibly most startling thought, was the answer. Yes.
Dabi's not an idiot, he knows he has issues, specifically involving trust. However, he also knows by now that for every issue he has, Hawks has one to pair with it. Still, he finds himself trusting Hawks and believing it's returned. It's ridiculous and naive and all Izuku's fault but it's still a fact that he can't bring himself to change-- just as he can't change the way his stomach flips and his chest tightens around the same man, no matter the fight he puts up.
It's why he doesn't tense up or hesitate as he gestures to the picture of Touya and asks, "Do you know who he is?"
Hawks frowns and shakes his head.
"Touya Todoroki, eldest son of Endeavor," Dabi said. "He was the first of Endeavor's experiments when it came to creating his perfect successor. . . but Touya didn't know that. He thought his father was the greatest man alive. To Touya, Endeavor was the stars and the moon, the be all and end all. He wanted to be just like him when he grew up."
Dabi didn't see Hawks' reaction, eyes trained on the shrine instead, watching the candles flicker. Though, he did hear the sharp intake of breath from the former hero and new he saw the similarities to his own past. Dabi went on.
"He trained with his father everyday. Endeavor assigned him tutors and diets-- everything. Touya was eager to please, even when his siblings were born and it took away from his time with them. He needed desperately to earn his fathers approval and not once did the man give it."
Staring at the photo before him, there is a dozen too many things he could point out wrong. There's make up on his neck hiding scars. He remembers his mother applying it. Under his shirt is a map of patchwork scabs and burns. The picture lies, but he will not.
"The thing is, Touya's quirk hurt him. That didn't stop him from trying to be the best hero. He pushed his limits farther each day. Especially after Shouto came along."
Dabi remembers the day Shouto got his quirk better than when his own came in. His dreams still brush against memories of his father laughing with joy as both ice and fire sprouted from Shouto's little hands. His mothers face, identical to Fuyumi's, had fallen and Natsuo had cooed in awe of the two elements. Dabi recalls his father turning his back to him in favour of Shouto.
"Shouto was the perfect child. His quirk didn't hurt him. He became Endeavor's new obsession and Touya was forgotten. Shouto took everything from him and Touya needed to take it back. He pushed himself harder and harder until he couldn't go on. Still, Endeavor didn't spare him a second glance.
"He realized his father wasn't the hero he thought he was. Now that he was out of the limelight, he saw what he did to his siblings, to him, to his mother. He resented all of the Todoroki's for everything they did to him." He paused, staring into the eyes of his former self. No matter how much he changed, his eyes would always be a crystal blue that twins those of the people he hates. "One day, he had enough. He burned himself alive just so Enji would look at him one last time."
Maybe it was the way his voice trailed off at the end. Or perhaps it was how he didn't shift his gaze from the picture of his former self. Whatever it was, it brought on Hawks' next word-- hushes and phrased as a question Dabi thinks Hawks knew the answer to already.
"Why are you telling me this?" Hawks asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Dabi rolled his head to the side so he could take in Hawks fully. Their eyes met, gold on blue, as he answered, "You and I know why you're helping Revite. We both know Revite's doing this because he's a reckless child who wants to save the world. But, have you ever thought to ask why I'm doing it?"
Eyebrows pinched together, Hawks seemed to think over what he said. He opened his mouth, almost as if to ask another question, but no words came out as he suddenly stilled. His eyes widened while his wings unfolded every so slightly, only noticeable if you were paying attention.
"You're. . . " he said breathlessly. "Oh my god."
Dabi scoffed at the reaction. "Yeah well you asked for my name and I gave it. Happy?"
"Shocked," he corrected. He ran a hand through his hair. "I wasn't expecting-- I mean, yeah it makes sense now that I think about it. Sort of. Not really, actually. What the fuck?"
He huffed, amused. "How else did you think I got these scars?"
"I don't know! I just assumed they were like tattoos or piercings and you were a psychopath who thought skin grafts were cool!"
"Holy fuck, you're hopeless."
He cackled at the ridiculous idea. Tattoos? Really? Give him some credit, he's not that much of an idiot. He can't believe he likes this buffoon. Who thinks of that stuff?
"Does Midoriya know?" Hawks asked. He shot him a What do you think? look. "Right, forgot. This is Midoriya we're talking about."
Silence hangs over them as Hawks continues to process. Dabi sits and waits, tracing over the ex-heroes features. Things could be going worse as far as identity reveals go. It's not at all like when he told Izuku but in a way, he's thankful for it. Things with Izuku never felt resolved. Some days it feels like he never told him. Maybe. . . Maybe it will be good to talk about.
"Wow. We really are opposites, huh?" Hawks says after a while.
Dabi raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean?"
"Y'know," he says like he's explaining something to a child, "I was raised to be a hero hating villain but ended up idolizing Endeavor and sitting in the top ten. You were raised to love Endeavor and reach the top ten but ended up as a hero hating vigilante."
Oddly enough, Dabi understands what he's getting at for once. He tries to imagine them if they went down the paths they were meant to. Would that make them enemies? Would they meet in some twisted mid-robbery cliche or would their lives never touch at all? How different would they be?
Dabi brings his knees up to his chest, resting his chin on them, still holding Hawks' eyes. "And yet here we both are."
A lopsided smile worked it's way across Hawks' face. "Yet here we are."
For a moment-- a small fragment of time-- he lets his guard drop. His walls crumble, his gates open, and he lets himself think only for that moment that thank all the gods this is where they are. That he met him this way and will carry on in life with him this way. A vigilante and an ex-hero.
For a moment, he lets his heart remember what it's like to care for someone this way.
With the sun highlighting the angles of Hawks' face and the lazy smile stretched across his lips, Dabi feels himself relax, even press towards the warmth of the sun, of this man. He thinks one day, then his walls build themselves back up. His gates close, his battalion of defense men stand at guard again and he closes his eyes.
Hawks is still there, he can feel his presence even with his eyes closed and ears focused on the voices floating through the walls from the room over. His brothers and his sister, and next to him his friend.
They sit there for several minutes before Izuku comes to collect them, claiming they need to go. They leave the house and as they walk back to their flat, his hand brushes against Hawks'.
Dabi holds his head high, a string of one days echoing in his head. Today, though, Touya is left behind for good as Dabi glances back at the house knowing all the past yesterdays will soon be gone.
Today, soon, Endeavor will fall and he will be free.
[A/N: It's been a year of writing this! I'd like to say my writing style has improved from the beginning but I am my biggest critic so I'm not the best judge. Hope everyone has enjoyed so far and thank you to all those who have been here since the beginning!! I appreciate you so much!]