Top pic credit: kimidilois

My eyes continued to droop and my head continued to lull downwards, as I felt my body desperately trying to succumb to sleep.

Being the stubborn ass that I am, I forced my eyes open and snapped my head back up to ensure I stay awake.

I don't know how long it's been.

But judging by the fact that Toga and Twice had gone to bed about three times, I'm guessing it's been about three days since I've been kidnapped.

I had no idea if anyone was even looking for me.

Either way, I was silently thanking the fact that this Dr. Ujiko guy still didn't have enough room for me in his vicinity. Sure, it was only prolonging my horrible, painful death...but I'll take it if it means I get extra time to figure out an escape plan.

The only down side is that I haven't slept in days, and I'm so tired, it's getting hard to concentrate on anything.

But, I can't go to sleep. Not with Dabi breathing down my neck. Who knows what he'll do-

"You're looking a little tired, Ari. Why don't you take a nap? Not like you can escape, anyways. No point in torturing yourself even more." Dabi stated mockingly, glaring at me through his own bloodshot eyes.

"You first." I croaked out, throwing my head back to look at the blinding ceiling lights. I needed to wake myself up.

Did I mention that Dabi and Keigo haven't left my side? I'm not the only one who's suffering here.

For some reason, even though he's a traitorous bastard, Keigo has refused to let me out of his sight...and Dabi refuses to leave me alone with Keigo. So the three of us are tired, cranky, and going a little stir crazy from being in this dark, cramped room.

Three stubborn, tired dipshits basically on lockdown together. Doesn't make for a very pleasant time.

I sighed irritatedly, trying to stop myself from shivering. This room was freezing, and I was still in the same measly little tank top from a few days ago.

"Cold?" Keigo asked me, his chirpy voice irritating me further when I realized he must have been watching me. How else would he know I'm shivering?

"Fuck off and don't talk to me ever again, shit for brains." I retorted tiredly, not even looking over at him.

"Oof, ouch. Still mad at me, huh. Is this about the traitor thing, or the punching you in the face thing? Cause either way, I'm sensing some tension." He teased. I could see him still looking at me in my peripheral vision.

I simply rolled my eyes, not wanting to grace him with any other type of reaction from me.

Keigo chuckled softly at my obviously intentional lack of response, before hopping off the desk he was sitting on.

Letting out an exhausted sigh, he began walking around the room, starting to open random drawers, and shuffle inside of them.

"What are you doing, idiot?" Dabi asked, annoyed by the mere fact that Keigo was making noise. He was so tired, and it was showing.

"Trying to find a blanket." He called back, continuing to look around the room.

I grit my teeth together, irritated that he was trying to help me.

"Well, you can stop trying to find a blanket. I don't fucking need anything from you, Hawks. Just leave me alone." I spat out, as I watched Keigo continue to mess around the room.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get it, ya hate me. Cry me a river, chicky-ah-hah!" He chirped, completely ignoring my toxic tone as he walked back over to me. He had a ratty, old blanket in his hands.

He shook the blanket out, patting away every speck of dust, before attempting to drape it over my shoulders.

"I said stop. I don't want it." I hissed at him, feeling the warm blanket drape around my shivering body.

Oh my god. That feels so warm.

Even so...

"G-Get the blanket off me. Now." I snapped again, feeling Keigo adjust the blanket on my figure so it covered every part of my trembling torso.

"I agree. Get the blanket off her." Dabi chimed in, scoffing in annoyance at Keigo's actions.

Keigo's carefree hum cut through the tension in the room, as he made it a point to continue messing with the blanket...even though it's already practically swaddling me.

He lightly touched my sides, smoothing out the blanket in an unnecessarily, thorough way.

His golden eyes tried to meet with my own eyes, but I kept my gaze at the ceiling. I didn't want to look at him.

Keigo groaned very quietly at my actions, letting out a small sigh.

"Aw c'mon, Dabi. She's more likely to sleep if she's warm. If she sleeps, that means we can sleep. You know that just as much as I do." Keigo stated casually, continuing to rub his hands up and down my covered sides to create extra warmth.

Curse you Keigo for making me warm.

Curse myself for enjoying his touches.

"Fine. Whatever." Dabi muttered, resting his head against the wall and closing his eyes. He must be really tired if he's agreeing with Keigo. After watching their banter for the last few days, it's clear to see they don't actually get along very well. They seem to butt heads on almost everything.

I felt my eyes drooping again as Keigo's touches began pulling me into much needed sleep.

"Yeah there you go, chicky. Just go to sleep. You won't miss anything. I promise." Keigo whispered, forcing his own sleepy eyes to stay open and awake.

"S-Shut...shut up." I slurred out as my muscles relaxed against my will.

Keigo's touches became slower as he sensed I was falling asleep.

I watched him subtly look over at Dabi, seeing he had his eyes closed, before he quickly looked back over at me.

My eyes snapped all the way open, as he abruptly shook my shoulders to wake me up.

I was about to hurl another countless insult at him, before he immediately slapped a gloved hand over my mouth to keep me quiet.

I looked at him through my exhaustion, seeing his own bloodshot eyes looking at me in pure desperation. Much different from the bored, sinister autopilot expression he's been wearing for the past three days.

Furrowing my brows in confusion, I watched as Keigo's finger came to his lips, making a "shushing" motion at me-

In the next instant, the door swung open to reveal Toga and Twice.

Dabi's eyes flew open. Keigo quickly removed his hands from me in an instant, shooting up to standing.

"Heyo! Good morning, everyone!" Twice exclaimed happily, waltzing into the room without a care in the world.

Dick. He looks well rested.

"Oi, Dabi. Here's your phone!" Toga chimed out, pulling Dabi's phone from her pocket and tossing it to him.

He glared at her in annoyance, quickly catching it.

"When the fuck did you take my phone, you crazy bitch." He mumbled, starting to look through his missed calls and messages-

He suddenly gasped when something caught his eye.

"Shit-Ujiko called." He muttered, quickly walking out of the room to call him back.

Oh boy. Dr. Ujiko called. That didn't sound good for me.

As soon as Dabi left the room, Keigo immediately spoke up, turning his attention to Toga and Twice.

"Hiya, guys! Nice prank, taking Dabi's phone like that. Ya know, I heard he's got a diary? Yeah. I saw it in his room once. Pretty dark. You should go check it out, before he comes back." Keigo smirked, gesturing for Toga and Twice to leave the room.

Twice walked over to Keigo slinging a friendly arm around his shoulder.

Keigo chuckled softly at the action, and to me...it sounded like a nervous laugh.

"Aw, maybe another time, Hawks! Right now, we've been given strict orders by Dabi to make sure Ari here isn't left alone." Twice said, shooting me a finger gun.

Keigo's stiff smile remained on his face at Twice's words, as he dared to try again.

"R-Right. But she won't be alone, ya see. Because I'm here with her!" He said happily, still trying to persuade Toga and Twice to leave.

"But that's the thing! We're not supposed to leave her alone with you." Twice blurted out, before the door quickly opened again.

"Damn it." Keigo muttered frustratedly under his breath, when he saw Dabi walk back into the room.

Dabi looked completely rejuvenated from his phone call, as his bloodshot eyes were now wide awake.

I scoffed at his happiness, already having an idea on what this was about.

I'm doomed.

"Oh, seems your panties are no longer in a twist. Wonder why." I retorted, raising my brows at Dabi challengingly.

He shot me a small smirk, slowly walking over to me.

I narrowed my eyes at him as he pulled out a cigarette, kneeling right in front of my face.

Keeping his turquoise orbs glued to me, he casually lit his cigarette...doing his fun trick of blowing the smoke into my face again.

"Heh, go ahead. Keep spitting those insults, Ari Parker. Not even your sour, little attitude could upset me right now. Know why?" He inquired, clearly wanting me to ask why.

"I don't care." I grumbled, trying to cloud the fear that subtly began taking over my body.

"Because you're going to your new home tomorrow." Dabi stated maliciously, causing Keigo to shuffle in the corner.

Fuck. I'm dead. It was nice knowing ya.

"Hah. Fine with me. Any place is better than being stuck here with you and that stupid, overgrown chicken." I retorted, watching Keigo run a gloved hand through his hair.

"Won't be saying that when your entire soul is leaving your body." Dabi countered crankily, clearly not enjoying my reaction.

"Not like I had much of a soul to begin with, so...try again." I shrugged, watching him chuckle dryly.

He was mad that I wasn't freaking out.

And believe me, I am freaking out. I'm just freaking out internally.

Realizing I was upsetting him, I decided to keep running my mouth. Doesn't really matter anymore. I'm dying tomorrow, and Dabi's anger is literally the only thing I have control over right now.

"What? No comeback, Crusty? C'mon, I know you can do better than that." I stated condescendingly, watching smoke starting to come from Dabi's hand.

If I'm going out anyways, I at least wanna get a couple more insults first...

"That's enough outta you, chicky." Keigo stated firmly, studying Dabi's reactions closely.

"Why don't you fuck off too, Big Bird. In fact, why don't you all fuck off." I spat out, wishing everyone would just leave me alone.

Dabi gripped my wrist tightly, heat starting to radiate from his palm.

"Wow, you really get on my nerves. Three days with you has managed to make me go crazy. I don't know how much more I can take. Maybe, I should just take you to Ujiko tonight." He threatened, burning his gaze into my head.

"So, what's stopping you?" I growled out, leaning forward to challenge him as best I could.

"Hey-Ari, shut.up." Keigo reiterated more firm than before, clearly starting to get irritated with me, too."

"You really want to test me?" Dabi said lowly, not daring to break my gaze.

"You don't scare me." I spat out, feeling my own anger and exhaustion levels starting to boil.

While I should probably be thinking about how I can calm myself down, instead I found myself thinking back to my conversations with Dabi these past few days.

....thinking back to something I can say that would really trigger him.

God damn, I'm too cranky. I need to chill. I need a nap.

Then it clicked.

"Besides, I'm sure my buddy, Endeavor, is on his way right now to beat your ass." I stated, watching Dabi's arm suddenly glow with a swirl of blue flames.

His turquoise orbs darkened more than I've ever seen before.

He actually looked like he was going to kill me this time.

Not desirable. But death by fire seems better than being turned into a Nomu, I guess.

Sayonara, right?

However, before Dabi could do anything, I suddenly felt something incredibly sharp being pressed against my neck.

Dabi and I broke our intense stare down, both directing our attention to Keigo, who had one of his strong feathers pressed against my throat.

I looked at Keigo, watching his eyes burn into my own. He was giving me the same look he gave a few days ago, right before he punched me in the face. He was serious. Intense.

"Careful there, little dove. Or you might get yourself burned." He uttered out darkly, the low tone of his voice actually sending a shiver down my spine.

Even so...

"Heh, and what are you gonna do? Tickle me to death?" I laughed, gesturing to his feather. Admittedly, my attitude came off slightly insane from lack of sleep.

Keigo's jaw tensed, Dabi continued muttering profanities at me.

Everyone was clearly having a hard time holding it together right now. The dark circles under Keigo's eyes were practically indented into his face. Dabi was a ghostly white mess of exhaustion and angst. And I was practically going nuts from being in a straight jacket of restraints for three days.

"You're only talking like that because you've never had your face burnt to a crisp." Dabi spat at me, clearly still riled up.

"Yeah, you're right, bitch. So, tell me...how does it feel?" I retorted condescendingly, gesturing my head towards his scars

Keigo's weary eyes closed in annoyance for a moment, clearly so done with Dabi and I. It was obvious he was trying to keep his cool for both of us. For all of us.

"You really want to kill your next High End Nomu when you're this close to getting her there?" Keigo demanded at Dabi, pressing his feather harder against my throat, in a seeming attempt to keep me quiet.

"What's it matter to you, bird? Either way, she's dead. Dead is dead." Dabi hissed at Keigo, suddenly activating blue flames on his other hand now.

Keigo's knuckles turned white from gripping his feather so hard, his eyes only darkening more at the sound of Dabi activating more flames. Flames that were clearly meant for him now, too.

I was slightly taken aback. I've never seen Keigo this angry before. I've never seen him this dark. As much as I didn't want to admit it, he looked pretty evil right now.

Twice quickly chimed in, seeing this situation was starting to escalate to a dangerous level.

"H-Hey! Let's just all calm down, yeah!? Come tomorrow, Ari will be turned into a Nomu and everyone will be happy again-" He said, gently dragging Dabi away from Keigo and I.

Everyone will be happy again?! Fuck you, Twice!!

Me being the dumb bitch that I am, I just had to open my mouth again.

"When I turn into a Nomu, the first thing I'm gonna do is tear all of you apart!!" I screamed out, causing Dabi to start walking over to me.

"That's it. I've had enough-" He started saying, his words causing Keigo to abruptly lunge for me.

Dabi quickly stopped in his tracks, surprised by Keigo's actions.

I was taken aback as Keigo harshly gripped my jaw between his gloved hand, pressing his feather hard enough against my throat to draw blood now.

His face came inches from mine, the uneven, shaky puffs of his breath hitting my face.

He was stressed.

His golden orbs looked at me in desperation, and...panic?

My heart jumped out of my chest when I saw his lips barely moving, realizing he was subtly trying to tell me something.

"You're not making this easy on me, Ari. Now, Stop. Fucking. Talking. And let me handle this." Keigo whispered to me under his breath, before clearing his throat to stall time.

Everyone was silent as Keigo stood there, with a steady trail of blood running down my neck from his feather.

Keeping his eyes on me, as if that's the only thing that would keep me quiet, Keigo spoke up.

"Want my opinion? Here's my opinion. We stick with the original plan. Ari goes to Ujiko tomorrow. She becomes a Nomu. Then, we forget about her. If pointlessly burning her to a crisp is really what everyone wants to do, then so be it." Keigo said roughly, keeping his feather on my throat.

Keigo, you dick-

Wait...

Hold on a minute...

The movement of Keigo's wings caught my attention as I saw all of his feathers starting to sharpen.

It's not something one would notice easily, but because he was so close to me...I was able to see.

His wings only sharpen when he's getting ready for a battle.

He basically just said he doesn't give a shit if I die. So, why the hell would he be getting ready for a fight.

His eyes were more intense than I've ever seen, his face was sweaty, his muscles were strained. But, more than that...

He was focused. I could tell his feathers and his mind were focusing on every vibration of movement from Dabi, Toga, and Twice. He was prepared.

He was amped up and ready to fight.

I don't know what's going on. This man is a walking contradiction.

It seemed like eternity, before Dabi finally answered...breaking the room out of this intense anticipation.

"Tomorrow, she goes to Ujiko. Get her out of my sight. Put her in the cell room for tonight. Twice and Toga, you'll switch off on cell watch duties. No one is to engage with her, until tomorrow. Understand, bird? No one. That door better stay locked." Dabi stated lowly, snapping his fingers at Twice and Toga to take me back.

I watched as Keigo's wings quickly powered down, reverting back to their natural softness. His tired eyes closed in, what seemed to be, relief, as he allowed Toga and Twice to unchain me from the chair.

.....however, as he turned his body away from me, his wings gave me a very subtle, yet very deliberate, tap on the side of my shirt.

"Understood. Don't worry, I ain't going anywhere near her." Keigo muttered darkly, not even looking back at me as Toga and Twice took me away.

********

A/N: I am planning to take this story through the current war arc in the manga. I will probably end it during/shortly after that. I'm only including the parts of Hawks' manga storyline that will be relevant to this story line, so I won't include every single thing from the manga. That would be too long. But, this story will still be a long one (hope you guys don't mind).

What this does mean is that, as time goes on, updates will be a little bit slower, since the war arc is still going on (probably still a couple times a week, cause I've got my own plot to include :} )

But, I have full intention of finishing this story to the very end, because I love everyone's fictional chicken husband too much to stop <3 (plus, I don't like NOT finishing stories)

One more thing: depending on what actually happens to Hawks in the manga, I might change it in this story, because I don't wanna keep writing anymore sad shit let the bird be happy for once god damn fukkk ajdjidkdwk