~Hawks pov~

Hawks winced. He could feel them, those flowers. Everyday, they grew and grew, until he couldn't breath. What was going on with him? Hawks reached down to search it up on his phone, then he remembered where he was. Right. Trapped with a psychopath. Better start patching himself up. 

Bending down, he opened the cabinet and found a medical kit. Hawks secured the bandage around his wrists, where the chains had rubbed the skin raw. He then proceeded to take off his jacket, but stopped when he remembered all of the cuts on his arm. Letting out a loud sigh, Hawks peered out the window. If he just opened it, he's pretty sure the drop wasn't that high. He looked again, and decided to make a run for it. Carefully unlatching the window, Hawks looked down and was about to jump, but was stopped by a cold blade pressed against his throat.

Great. Making decisions in the heat of the moment was definitely not something Hawks was good at. He put his hands up calmly and carefully turned around.

"Quite bold, aren't ya, pretty bird." Dabi smirked.

Heart pounding, Hawks turned his head ever so slowly until he could see Dabi in the corner of his eyes. Think Hawks, think, he though furiously. This was his last chance. It was now or never. He took a deep breath. Closed his eyes. Now.

Hawks spun around, grabbing Dabi's wrist, twisting it, forcing him to drop the blade. He then forced Dabi back against the wall, and looked him in the eye.

 "Let me go, or I won't hesitate to kill you."

Dabi's eyes widened for a moment before he replied, "You didn't hesitate when you killed Twice. Why hesitate now?"

Narrowing his eyes, Hawks took a step back. "Don't."

Crap. Why did he do that? Hawks mentally facepalmed himself before getting grabbed by Dabi, their roles now reversed. Dabi's eyes stared intensely, making Hawks somehow frozen. He tried to wriggle free, earning another hand around his throat. This guy really needs to chill, he thought. 

"My patience is running thin. If you want to see daylight again, you better come with me quietly."

Ignoring this, Hawks kneed him in the groin. He pushed Dabi away from himself and sprinted towards the door. The wooden frame shook at how much force Hawks used. He skittered onto the floor before regaining balance, powering towards the apartment entrance. The level they were at was quite high, but trying to jump out a window without wings were asking for a death wish. 

Hearing Dabi curse behind him only made his legs work faster. Hawks nearly flew down the stairs at this point. But the lack of nourishment from the last few days made him dizzy. Hawks shook his head. He needed to keep going. Sprinting around the last corner, he saw light on the other side of the fire exit in front of him. There. Hawks reached towards the handle, and......

*Yank*

He felt the fire user grasp onto his jacket collar. Hawks tumbled onto the ground. Before he could regain his balance, a knee came out of nowhere and collided with his face. Hawks curled up into a ball, trying to protect himself. Without his quirk, he was a nobody. Dabi's fist connected with Hawks's face with a sickening crunch. Please, he begged silently. Just end me now. Stop giving me hope then crushing them. His head throbbed, blood pouring down his forehead. 

"Stop." Hawks mumbled. "Please." The world dimmed, and everything blurred. "Touya, help...."

~Dabi's pov~

"Touya, help...."

What?

Touya?

Dabi paused, looking at the bloodied Hawks on the ground. If he had just heard correctly, if he had really said Touya, then how did he know that name? No. He must of been hallucinating. Just thinking about the name Touya made Dabi shiver.

He would beg. He would scream. But dad wouldn't stop. The fire around him kept burning. They clung onto him, burning his flesh, killing him. And yet, the man Dabi called "dad" just stood there and watched. Watched him burn. Watch him suffer.

Dabi gave Hawks one last kick, sending the hero crashing into a pile of empty crates at the bottom of the building. He shivered. Why now? All these years, he had lived, clueless about his childhood. Why did he remember everything now? Dabi felt a bloodied tear slide down his face. Fuck life and his stupid expectations.

. 

.

.

.

.

Carrying the hero to his room, Dabi thought about what he had just experienced. Perhaps he should just leave the past as it is. But one word was still engraved in his mind. Keigo. Who was Keigo.

And....done. Dabi secured the last bandage around Hawks' battered body. He watched the shivering hero awkwardly sit up. Did he hurt him too much? Dabi didn't care at this point. Killing him would probably be the best option. Hawks just knew too much.

"So, what do you know about Touya?"

The winged hero gave him a fearful glance. "Why didn't you kill me?"

Dabi sighed. "Let's just say.....you're still useful to me."

Hawks laughed bitterly. "So I'm just an object to you."

"Just tell me what you know about Touya."

Dabi could feel Hawks watch his every move. He moved closer to him and saw Hawks shrink. So heroes can be scared too. If Hawks wasn't gonna talk, he was gonna make him.

"Talk. You can either tell me what you know about Touya or I can slash you to ribbons. I'll make you suffer."

He could see Hawks stiffen at his words, and cautiously glance at him. 

"No. I'm not saying anything."

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It's been a few days now. Every day, Dabi would go down to his basement, cut Hawks and torment him for a bit, then leave. Today, he felt like something was off. Not making a sound, Dabi quickly made his way to the basement door. 

"Ready for your daily dose of torture?" Dabi laughed.

Hawks gave him a single glare. "I won't tell you anythi-" 

Dabi leaned against the doorway. "You won't what?"

He could see Hawks trying to answer, but no words were coming out of the hero. Hawks doubled over, coughing furiously. Rolling his eyes, Dabi glared at Hawks. "Are you sick or something?" He then looked down. There it was. A single gardenia flower. That's when it clicked. Hawks has hanahaki.

~Hawks pov~

He couldn't take it anymore. The flowers were driving him insane. At first, he coughed up petals, but as the days flew by, the petals became flowers. Not just any flowers. They were gardenias, Touya's favourite. Hawks squeezed his eyes shut. Don't cry. Don't cry. Tears threatened to spill, making him cough even harder. He could feel Dabi coming closer. 

"Hanahaki."he heard Dabi mutter.

He's heard of this word before. Its simple. Hanahaki was a disease you got from one sided love. The victim of hanahaki would cough up their lover's favourite flowers. But who did he like? Touya was dead, wasn't he?