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“I don’t get it.” Hawks dug his toe into the dirt, kicking a chunk of gravel loose. “What’s the point of having the kid around?”“Why does it matter?” Spinner hissed. The villain perched on a pile of boxes, watching the warehouse’s every move. Hawks wasn’t surprised the league commandeered an abandoned warehouse, but he was surprised to find a child -- two years at the oldest -- crawling on the floor. Hawks ran his tongue over his teeth before responding. One wrong word could blow his cover. One wrong word would send everything the heroes worked to attain into dust. “Because,” he said, “kids are a hassle. Someone has to watch the brat every waking hour. And if he cries, someone is bound to hear him.”“It won’t cry,” Shigaraki pushed himself off the ground, staring at the child through his dismembered fingers. In Hawks' opinion, Shigaraki wasn’t the most dangerous member of the league, but he was the creepiest. Each move he made sent chills down Hawks' spine. He had never been religious, but Shigaraki made him want to fling holy water.“You ever been around a kid, Handsy?” Dabi watched them with a flair of disinterest, leaning against a half-rusted pole. “Crying is the only thing they do.” “Have you ever been around a kid?” Hawks snapped. Dabi didn’t respond, glancing at the floor as he took a drag from his cigarette. Hawks didn’t understand; when your quirk sent entire cities up in smoke, why did you need a cigarette? Dabi didn’t even carry a lighter. He was the lighter. Toga kicked a stray piece of metal across the floor. Dabi stopped it with his foot before it could strike the waddling baby. “We need the kid,” he said around a puff of smoke, “because it’s a bargaining chip. Babies are every hero’s weakness.” His face tightened, the staples on his cheeks tugging the corners of his mouth. “Well, most heroes,” he amended. In an instant, the tightness dissolved back into aloofness. Hawks was sure he wasn’t supposed to see the first expression. “What are we bargaining him for?” Hawks tried to slow the thudding of his heart. Kidnapping a child? Holding it captive? He knew he’d signed up for dark shit, but this was a new level. “Whatever we want,” Dabi said. The air dropped ten degrees.The league fell silent. Shigaraki may be the leader, Kurogiri may be the brains, but it was Dabi who could control the league with a single glance. “Whose kid is it?” Hawks fought to get the words out around the dryness in his mouth. “Don’t know, don’t care,” Dabi said. Hawks had the sneaking suspicion Dabi was putting on an act again. He didn’t know why. When Hawks first joined the league -- when it had been just him and Dabi -- he saw the act falter a time or two. He couldn’t place why. He wasn’t even sure which part was the act, and which was real. But he wanted to find out. Dabi finished the cigarette and stamped out the embers on his palm. Hawks cringed. If Dabi felt any pain, he didn’t show it. “I’m going to check the perimeter.” He announced, kicking off from the pole and shoving his hands into his pockets. It was hard to tell, since he was always hunched over, but Hawks realized how tall Dabi really was. Tall, but slightly scrawny. The type of person to get sick a lot as a kid. Minutes passed in silence. Dabi wasn’t exactly the talkative type, but he was the only league member who spoke to Hawks as an equal. The others were all suspicious glances and hushed whispers. Toga continued to kick debris as far as she could. “Hey, Shigaraki. What if we took the baby’s blood --”“No.”“And gave it to me --”“No.”“And I could pretend to be the baby when it came time to do the trade--”“No.”“It would be perfect!”“No,” Shigaraki mumbled again. “We can’t risk losing you, Toga,” Kurogiri explained. “You’re the cornerstone of...our plan.”Bingo. Hawks internalized the statement to report later. Frustrated, Toga hurled a chunk of metal at the wall. It hit a pole. The clatter of metal on metal made everyone jump. The baby curled into a ball in shock. For a second, everyone held their breath.When the baby opened his mouth, a sound that could only be described as abhorrent erupted from his lungs. It was crying, screaming, sobbing, and everything in between. Shit. Even if the warehouse was abandoned, a crying baby would garner attention. “What do we do?” Twice shouted. “Do nothing!” He added after a second. Everyone looked at Hawks. Babies are heroes' weaknesses, Dabi had said. But just because Hawks saved them didn’t mean he knew how to deal with them. Spinner shoved the kid into Hawks’ arms. He squirmed, and Hawks barely managed to grab him before he fell. The crying rang in his ears, so loud it made his eyes water. Did the baby have a sound quirk? It could have passed for Present Mic’s secret love child. “Jesus, that isn’t how you hold a kid.” Dabi appeared over Hawks’ shoulder, unbothered by the commotion.“I’m doing the best I can!” “Give him to me,” Dabi held out his hands.“What? No! You’re probably going to burn him to ashes!” Hawks held the baby farther away. It was hard to protect a kid who kept trying to kamikaze himself out of Hawks' arms, though. Dabi raised an eyebrow, arms still extended. Sighing, Hawks handed the baby over. Dabi adjusted his grip, holding the baby to his chest. In seconds, he went silent, eyes fluttering closed. “Oh my god, you really did kill him,” Toga whispered, more in admiration than fear. “He isn’t dead. He’s sleeping.” Dabi rolled his eyes. “How’d you do that?” Spinner demanded. Dabi shushed him. “Quiet! Don’t wake him up, you idiot.”“How’d you do it?” Spinner repeated, quieter this time. “My body temperature runs high because of my quirk. Heat makes babies tired. Puts them to sleep as fast as Midnight’s quirk.”Hawks knew he was missing a piece to the puzzle. “Where’d you learn you could do that?” He asked. No one just woke up one day realizing they could quiet screaming children. Dabi cut him off with a dagger glare. Hawk’s stomach crawled into his throat. “If you stick your nose where it doesn’t belong, Icarus, you’ll get burned.” Hawks swallowed the lump in his throat. “Noted.” He choked out.He was definitely missing a piece of the puzzle.