Chapter Three

                                    

                                          
"Shove over." Hawks looks up from him phone and nearly drops it on his face in surprise. There stands Dabi in a pair of baggy sweats and a tight black tank top. Water drips down from his dark hair and runs down his shoulders.
                          
"What?" Dabi pushes Hawks' wings over and falls into the bed, "Uh, what the fuck are you doing?" Dabi's back is turned to him, Hawks isn't sure if maybe it's because how closely together they're squashed in Hawks' humble double sized bed or maybe because he's never taken the time to really take a look at his fiery room mate, but for the first time Hawks notices the broad expanse of Dabi's shoulders. Or the gradual dip in his torso that tapers off to his hips, hidden from beneath blankets. Hawks certainly doesn't catch himself staring at the strip of smooth and pale skin peeking out from between Dabi's tank top and sweat pants. He averts his gaze and shifts over closer to the wall, allowing more wing room for himself.
                          
"Your sofa reeks of grease." 
                          
"Well I wonder why." Dabi flips over on his back, still not looking at Hawks and instead focuses his glare at the ceiling. Water droplets roll off of his hair and collects in the pillow Dabi stole.
                          
"Has anyone ever told you that your sarcasm sucks?" Hawks fluffs his feathers in annoyance and scowls at him.
                          
"My sarcasm is a gift." He hears a snort and a mumbled reply all too quiet for Hawks to pick up. 
                          
"What?" Dabi's answer remains silent and just to annoy the man, Hawks stretches out his wings, letting a few of his feathers whap across Dabi's scarred face. Dabi grabs a handful of his feathers and pushes them away.
                          
"Will you fucking stop?" He finally turns his head and glowers over at Hawks, his aqua eyes flash with anger. Hawks bats his own eyes and smiles.
                          
"Well, clearly this bed ain't big enough for the both of us, compadre. Maybe you should go back to the sofa, yeah?"  
                          
"No." Dabi growls out, "I don't want to wake up in the morning and have damn acne from all that shitty grease." Hawks remains quiet for a heartbeat.
                          
"I mean, maybe acne would be an improvement for your face... Wait, can you even get acne on your scars? Are they even scars?" Dabi narrows his eyes at Hawks and turns to his side again.
                          
"Shut the fuck up. Don't test my patience, chickenshit." 
                          
"Oooh, chickenshit. I never heard that one before." Hawks grumbles to himself before turning his attention back to his phone. 
                          


                          
A small tug on his pant leg draws Hawks' attention. He pulls his headphones away and looks down, a small boy with wide and innocent eyes stares back up at him with awe.
                          
"Mister, your wings are so cool!" He feels himself smile and bends down to match the young boy's height.
                          
"Thanks! They are pretty cool aren't they?" He spreads them out to their full length, both of them watch as his shadow stretches far across the sidewalk. The boy jumps up and down, nodding excitedly. A tail from behind him thrashes from side to side. When he laughs, Hawks spies a row of sharp and pointed teeth, some of them missing. Kid must be around four or five Hawks guesses.
                          
"They're so red! That's my favorite color you know?!" Hawks laughs and ruffles his hair.
                          
"Oh really? That's my favorite color too!" For Hawks, the color red symbolizes a new beginning like the sunrise on a clear morning. How can someone be down in the dumps when looking upon such a bold and strong color such as red? Red thrives off of energy, it's a radiant color that shouts from the top of buildings "This is me! I am here and I'm ready to kick ass!" The kid's mom notices her son and quickly apologizes to Hawks as she bows and flushes when she realizes who he is.