The problems we sometimes don't see.

1 Evenings when he just sat with the League, watching films or listening to their stories, playing games. in general, his contact with League members not on business was rare. Well, except for Twise, with whom he chatted and played cards quite often.  Twise dragged him to some. common room? There was Toga Himiko, Mr Compress, Spinner. Cards and personnel files immediately started popping up in his head, with all the information the commission had on them.  He had to take this seriously. Try to get as much information as he could. On the third night he watched a comedy with them. "Anger Management? Okay.  The commission wouldn't have given him a hard time for that.  But you've got to admit, the way the main character was mocked, well, it was fun.  At one point, he didn't realise he was distracted. He was laughing with Toga at the witty remarks of Dabi, who had quietly joined him, and at Compress's comments.  He heard a chirp.  Hawks couldn't believe his ears. Toga looked at him in surprise and joy, Dabi smirked and a frowning Spinner lifted the tips of his lips. No, no, no...  He'd been weaned, hadn't he?  Little Hawks got a slap on the wrist every time he chirped, or made any other inappropriate noises. And then came this scary man with a terrible quirk. With a single glance, he could inflict terrible anxiety and pain on his victim. His quirk was always used on the Hawks.  - Hawks! I didn't know you could do that! - Toga jumped up to him, awfully happy and giggling. - Why didn't I hear that before? - The girl pouts her lips and whines, leaning on his shoulder. - Indeed, we haven't heard that from you before. - You can't see Compress's face, but you can tell from his cheerful tone that he's smiling. He shouldn't.  He could be punished. He needs to calm down. Like the board taught him, inhale, exhale.  - Oh, sorry, guys, I shouldn't have. I know that's not very nice to hear. - I can't hold my gaze on their grim faces for long. He coughs, trying somehow to defuse the heated atmosphere.  - Keep going. - You can see that Toga wants to say something to Dabi in opposition, that Spinner is ready to help her with great persistence, and to defend his right to speak. Dabi shakes her head, and Compress takes the remote.  They don't say anything. 2 That day was just awful. He was ready to hit the wall.  The committee report. A lecture for being too unproductive and bringing little information about the League. For being too free lately. All in all, a day without rest. And now the League is having a meeting where he, and I quote: "must attend, dead or alive." Yeah, thanks to Dabi. Well, while he was waiting for that very meeting to start, he could sit in the League common room. As he lay dying on the couch, Spinner and Toga entered the room. The girl's hands were bloody and she was carrying a small bloody piece of meat. He swallowed hard, looking at the meat in her hands. He was hungry as hell.  - Toga? - The girl turned to him, smiling and waving her hand.  - We've run out of all the donated blood! - The girl raised her head and groaned. - Now I have to make do with this meat. It's awful.  - If you don't like it so much, don't eat it. - Spinner sits down on Dabi's favourite chair, taking something from the package. They were. - And you eat your dried bugs! - The girl snorts resentfully and sits down next to him.  He can't contain his hunger for the meat in her hands. He really is hungry. When was the last time he ate raw meat?  - And this.  - An animal. - The girl finishes for him, sinking her teeth into it and already pulling away after a couple of seconds. - It's really gross. Blood for sure. - She stands up with a scowl, and Hawks grabs her wrist. What the hell is he doing? - Can I? - He shifts his gaze from Toga to the lump in her hands, and the girl holds it out to him. His stomach is twisting and aching terribly. need to fill it up. Hawks takes the meat from her hands and sinks his teeth into it, biting off a decent chunk. He chews it with the happiest of looks. Spinner at his side whistles as Toga watches him with quiet squeals. He gets an electric shock. He swallows the piece in his mouth, trying to ignore the pleasure he got, and gives it to Toga. - I'm sorry guys, I'm not, I.., I'm…, I've behaved horribly, just like an animal - He laughs fake laughs. - Is that what hunger does to people?  He's leaving as fast as he can. 3 Probably one of the hardest things for him to do was smile. If he smiled the wrong way, too wide, or raised his lips too much, his small fangs would be visible. It was a flaw. The only thing the commission could do in such a case was to teach him to smile like aristocrats in the Middle Ages, when you didn't want to be shown toothless gums, and not to open his mouth too wide.  It's as simple as that.  He had just walked into the League's living room, talking to Twise, when he was abruptly pinned to the floor by something. - Toga! Get off Hawks! Strangle him! - Twise was waving his arms around, trying to somehow get a laughing Toga off Hawks. - She's like that on everyone today. - Shigaraki walks by them, wearing sweatpants and a worn t-shirt with some game logo on it. He's holding a mug with something steaming. - Dabi almost fries it.  The aforementioned pyromaniac peeks out from around the corner. - And set it on fire now!  Hawks giggles, and a cutting Toga twirls on him, abruptly starting to tickle him. The hero laughs, tries to push the girl away, and beats his wings on the floor.  - Whoa!!! You have little fangs just like mine! Why haven't I seen them before? - Toga stops, freezes, and stares at him intently and intently.  He immediately pushes the girl away from him. Abruptly sits down and presses his lips together tightly. - I realise it's not very pretty and you might not be receptive. - Hawks is brazenly interrupted by a jumping and squealing Toga. - Are you kidding me?! That's so cool! I have little fangs too! - The girl wrinkles her nose a little and shows her teeth. White teeth with a pair of sharp fangs greet him. - Now we're like brother and sister! By the time he stands up the girl jumps up to him, grabs his arms and starts twirling around. With his side vision he sees Shigaraki scowling, and somehow brushing his neck. His dry lips open a little, but he purses them into a thin line, and looks straight into Hawks' eyes.  But he says nothing.  And a small drop of blood drips from his neck and soaks into his T-shirt, to the happy squeals of Toga. 4 He pulls another candy bar in a brightly coloured wrapper out of his hero trousers pocket. I want to tear my eye out.  In the last twenty minutes, this is the... fifth one? I think.  With his metabolism, it's awfully hard to get him to eat enough. Right now he eats like normal people, three meals a day, though given his job, he skips lunch a lot. The only difference is a bunch of candy bars in his pocket.  High calorie, at least temporarily, they can satisfy his terrible hunger, though they taste frankly crap. He's just not allowed to eat much, especially in front of someone. That's why he doesn't eat lunch with Miruko very often, and sometimes breaks his and Endeavor-san's tradition of having lunch together on Wednesdays. He can't wait, his stomach cramps up, and the bars make him want to throw up in the nearest rubbish bin. He rushes to his house, where he has already prepared food. He eats a couple of days' worth of food and then clenches his fists to white knuckles because he can't. It's wrong. That's not how he was taught.  Right now, his stomach is churning with hunger, and he's shoving those damn bars into his stomach, holding back the gagging, swallowing a piece from a new one.  He's in yet another warehouse with Dabi, and the smell of burning leather and waste is clearly not something that would help him hold back the gagging.  And the pyromaniac frowns, squints his eyes, and stares at the candy bar in his hands in disgust. - How do you eat that? It's disgusting. - He forcefully shoves it in and swallows it. Just like they taught you.  To be an obedient bird. - Mh, I'm just really hungry, I can't breathe on the wings today, for God's sake. - He's trying to make a lame joke, cover his tracks. He has to be patient before he gets home, get all the information from Dabi and fly at full speed to the office, give the reports and go home, not get distracted by conversations.  - Er, so eat, what's the problem? - Dabi says it like it's obvious, like "the earth is round and you and I both know how to breathe". Like it's so easy. Like he's allowed to.  Hawks nods, removes the candy bar wrapper, and looks at Dabi. The villain stares back at him for about a minute, and then continues talking. And of course. - Are you eating that shit again? - Hawks looks shamefacedly at Dabi, puts away the new candy bar and squirms in pain. - You should have just had lunch, you stupid bird.  - I've actually had lunch. - Hawks pouts his lips like an offended child, and his wings flutter finely. He's not even lying, he had lunch. Only he had lunch with his trainee Tokoyami, so he didn't get to eat enough. - What's the problem? - There's a thin trickle of steam coming from Dabi, seeping through the junction of his burns and healthy skin. Hawks stomach rumbles treacherously loud, and the hero is willing to swear that Dabi is studying arson with his eyes on him.  - Well, I'm just not full? There was a student there so I'm not a mo. - Apparently Hawks' brains have gone completely out the window, no other way. Cos Dabi's looking at him incomprehensibly. He wasn't supposed to know that, Hawks said too much. - It's all right, it's all sorted. So, what's next?  The feeling that Dabi has more to say, and he's about to, but closes his mouth, and reaches into his pocket for something.  Hawks gets a small chocolate bar in his hand.  - Here, Toga gave it to me. It's obviously tastier.  Only the rustle of the wrapper is heard, and nothing else. (Dabi doesn't bring it up again, but always brings him different chocolates and biscuits supposedly from Toga.)    5 Hawks walks into the League common room in his usual homemade clothes, and nearly falls over laughing.  Shigaraki and Dabi are sitting on the couch, both with pink makeup patches and masks on their faces. There is a bit of steam coming from Dabi, and Shigaraki clenches his jaws angrily. Next to them on the floor is an extremely cheerful Toga, with a couple of bottles of nail polish, and only now does he notice Shigaraki's red nails and Dabi's black ones. - Hmm, looks good on you guys. - Hawks chuckles at the angry expressions on the two's faces as he sits down in his chair and raises his legs.  - Say, aren't they pretty? Because these two are grouchy. - The girl looks away with a show of resentment. - Oh, Hawks, let me paint your nails too! - The girl immediately jumps up to him, with her little kit. - How about yellow? Or red? - As she goes through the polishes she has, he sees Dabi chuckling evilly on the sidelines.  - Toga, I'm sorry, can you paint another time? - He yanks away the hand that has been grabbed by the girl's nimble fingers. +1 Hawks yawns and enters the room, emptying a bottle of water. - God, I hate this life.  He drops onto the couch, nodding gratefully to Toga, who has vacated the spot. The girl smiles, showing her white fangs, and folds her legs over the armrest, leaning against him. - I agree, this life is shit. - Dabi nods next to him on the armchair. You can see that Toga has done a good job on him, putting a pink bunny ears bandage and patches on him.  Hawks mumbles unintelligibly and rests his head on the back of the couch. - The Commission is truly evil, I had to work overtime today to hand in my report to her instead of flying to you guys. - The hero quietly groans tiredly and closes his eyes. He hears a whooping from Dabi's side, and feels Toga sit up normally, stopping leaning on him. - Dude, we wanted to talk to you about this. - He recognises Spinner's voice. Hawks sits up straight, wrinkling his nose and slouching.  - About what? - He barely has time to speak before Dabi interrupts him. Shigaraki pauses the film playing in the background. - About how the commission is suffocating you. You should eat properly, not be afraid to make those stupid bird noises and shit. - Spinner shoots his eyes angrily at Dabi, and the latter raises his hands conciliatorily, turning to Hawks with his whole body and climbing up on the chair with his feet. - Like, do they even know what personal space is?  He looks at the different Dabi socks. They're both black, but one has a purple print with writing on it, and the other has what looks like blood stains in bright red. Not on him. And there's a lump in my throat, and tears coming to my eyes.  - I-I don't know. I've always lived like this, and this was my norm? - He suppresses a sob, lifts his head and blinks. He'd never, ever been able to talk to anyone about it. And now he was being taken care of by bloody villains.  Where is this world going?  - But you mustn't suppress your natural urges. It's like sleeping for normal people. - Compress approaches him from behind, puts one hand on his shoulder, and even through the mask he feels a supportive smile.  - And there's no need to hide your animal features, it's part of you too. - Spinner leans forward a little, speaking grimly serious, and Toga's soft hands pull off one glove, exposing black, sharp claws.  Shigaraki squirms, turns half-turned towards him, and takes a deep breath before quietly filtering out. - You can act normal with us.  Nearby, Toga nods approvingly, taking off his simple glove.  - Guys. thank you. - Everyone in the room freezes, looking at him. Toga throws herself at him with a hug, joined by Twise. Compress pats his shoulder encouragingly, Dabi rubs his head and smiles, and even Shigaraki squeezes out a meagre semblance of a smile.  Spinner walks up after them, hugging him tightly.  Tears are streaming down his cheeks.  He doesn't have to be afraid anymore.  He's glad.