"The fuck are you still here?" Shigaraki was surprised to see him.

Hawks sat by the lamp, huddled. It had been at least two days since anyone even came down here. He stared at the pale blue hair and hand covering his face with golden eyes.

He didn't have an answer.

"The door has literally been unlocked this whole time. Why haven't you scurried away?" The villain wiggled his fingers to convey his point, motioning towards the door.

It's true, Hawks had realized he never heard it lock.

"...I was told to get captured by the hero commission. So I'm here. I'm waiting for orders." Hawks rasped, he hadn't spoke though the dehydration and starvation. He just stared at Shigaraki. He wasn't sure why he openly admitted this fact.

"That's pretty pathetic. They probably think you're dead."

"Why would they?"

"You're no longer the number two hero." Shigaraki said this in a matter of fact tone, casually. Hawks felt a train hit him.

He didn't move.

"You're lying."

"Want to check the news on my phone?"

...

Gold eyes stared into red ones for a solid minute before he weakly reached out. The device was placed in his hand after Shigaraki fumbled with it and opened up the news app.

"Best Jeanist, the number 2 hero! Over taking Hawks while the winged hero is in America!"

Hawks regarded it dryly, scrolling through different headlines. They all shared similar themes.  He was being replaced.

Hawks drooped and just handed the phone back.

"...want to get out of this place and get a drink?" Shigaraki stared down at him. Hawks' shoulders tensed slightly and he glanced up with a puzzled look.

"You're offering for me to... leave?"

"Yes, that is what I'm offering. Do I need to get Dabi to explain it to you??" He started scratching his neck. "Or Compress?"

"No." Hawks said a little too fast, standing unsteadily with a wobble in his knees. "...where's Dabi, anyway? He hasn't come to see me since he gave me this lamp."

Shigaraki stared at Hawks. Hawks stared back.

Slowly the winged hero realized why he was getting such a strange look. He was concerned for Dabi, or he missed him, or something like that. It was a weird feeling.

"...he's up at the bar. Come on."

Hawks followed behind closely, especially when they left the holding cell and the darkness of the walls closed in around Hawk's throat. He just closed his eyes and paid attention to Shigaraki's movements through the senses of his feathers.

Soon he felt light hit his eyelids, he blinked a couple times to adjust. Luckily it was kind of dim, not fully sun-bright. It made it easier for the strain to die down.

"Kurogiri." The hand villain called as the entered. Hawks was very suddenly aware of a lot of different eyes on him. "Get him food and water."

Shigaraki kind of just pushed the pro hero over to the bar. He stumbled slightly, flattening his wings to his back and turned towards the bar.

A nervous knot relaxed in his throat as he made eye contact with blue eyes. After a moment he waddled over and sat next to him.

"Welcome out of th' cage, hawksie. Surprised ya didn' jus' dip sooner." He hummed.

Hawks didn't say anything and just eyes the whiskey glass in Dabi's hands. After a moment the villain slid it over to him and patted his head.

"Ya need it more than I do, anyway."

Hawks regarded the drink with an air of caution before just downing it. He coughed at the burn as it washed down his throat, making the patting switch to his back. Dabi hit his spine and he felt the tension loosen, just inhaling now.

"Don' fuckin choke on my good deeds. Damn."

He chuckled, Hawks didn't laugh back. He just stared into the empty glass now.

"..don' look so sad. Yer dog hasn't died or whatever." Dabi grumbled at his expression, grabbing a bottle and refilled the glass for Hawks.

Like clockwork, he brought it to his lips and took a sip. The alcohol burned down his throat and festered in his very empty stomach.

After he finished the second glass, food and water was slid over to him. He gulped down the fresh water eagerly and tore into the microwave meal. He didn't even care. It was probably the best fucking thing he's ever tasted just from how hungry he had been.

"Yer starting to freak me out. Why ya so quiet." Dabi prodded. Hawks had finished his food, slumped forward over whiskey. It was damn near his fifth glass in thirty minutes.

"...they replaced me." The hero mumbled dejectedly. Dabi just eyed him. He looked like a sick puppy.

"Sounds like tha' makes ya quite th' outcast." The villain hummed. This gained the attention of Hawk's golden eyes finally, they flickered over to look at him in offense. Dabi watched his mouth open to speak but he cut him off before he could even start. "Good thing yer surrounded by a whole lot of outcasts."

His eyes softened. Dabi internally grinned but kept his face simple, stoic. This was going better than he expected. The birdie was practically imprinted on him at this point.

"Outcasts have outcasts' backs. Think about it." Dabi stood finally to put away the bottle. He felt little hands grip onto his shirt and follow. He didn't even look down at Hawks, just treating it as normal.

Of course he noticed that Compress had entered the room, that's why he stood to leave Hawks in the first place. This small little test proved the little hero fully considered him safe.

Big mistake, frankly, but of course Dabi wasn't going to say anything.

He was surprised, Dabi was well aware how well Shigaraki performed on a computer, but it was bold to hack in UA just to feign a article. Of course the news spread like wildfire. The hero title displacement was happenstance, but it really helped the LOV with getting to the winged hero at this point. Now he was just soft and timid.

The compression villain really broke him down where it mattered most at the start.

Dabi just walked up the stairs with Hawks in tow, no one stopped him. He knew Shigaraki saw.

The villain brought the winged hero up to the top of the building. It might have seemed that they were underground but it was quite the opposite. He opened the roof fire escape to a brilliant view of the nighttime city of Japan.

He heard Hawks sharply inhale behind him. He gripped onto Dabi harder.

The flame villain lit a blue flame into his palm and walked over to the edge. He was surprised to feel Hawks tremble against his back.

"Wha's wrong, baby birdie?" Dabi paused, expecting an outcry from the nickname. He didn't get one so he continued. "Ya scared of heights or somethin?"

The villain wrapped a arm around his waist, tugging him close by the hip. He just looked at Hawks as his eyes opened wider, meeting his gaze.

The two stared at each other for a few minutes. Dabi burned the image in his mind, his face. The golden eyes. Swooping hair. Slight beard. Big doe eyes lines by black markings.

"..cute." He hummed out loud, seeing Hawks quickly look away with a flustered frown. It just made Dabi chuckle.

He never knew emotionally brainwashing someone could be so damn entertaining. When Shigaraki told him the plan, he thought it'd be a shitty chore. Now it was just funny.

Dabi felt Hawks' hands tighten on his shirt as he leaned forward slightly to look down into the open air.

Good thing Dabi's "theory on crippling claustrophobia" was right, it made things pretty easy. Who knew his "theory" was so effective though.

It was like Hawks grew so used to the panic, now that he was in front of freedom, he didn't know what to do with himself.

Just like before.

"Come on Birdie." He mused, smiling. "Ya got wings right?"

"...y-yeah." The hero looked genuinely terrified. His red wings fluttered behind them in the wind, he kept on glancing to the longer feathers by the elbow of the wing.

Dabi remembered what happened, but he pretended he didn't. Clipped wings couldn't be a topic of discussion here. In fact, Dabi would never acknowledge those memories to be his own.

"Then come on, fly away, go back to yer hero buddies." He stepped forward towards the edge so Hawks would follow, clinging to him tighter and tighter.

"...I..." the hero tried to puff up his chest.

"Cmon birdie. Ya ain't in a cage right now. Yer not in th' spotlight. Ya don't gotta act, but at least stretch those wings. Shake off tha' cell."

Hawks looked at Dabi and just slumped again. "...I don't know."

He huddled closer to the flame in Dabi's palm.

The villain grinned and pulled Hawks up on the ledge of the roof, making him yelp. He didn't have time to complain as Dabi jumped off with the hero in his arms.