Highschool AU where Dabi is so jealous of Hawks that he just hyperfocuses on the only thing he has on him- money. It's become no secret that Hawks' family is in poverty and the school helps him out with a lot of things regarding lunches and uniforms. Yeah Hawks is the top of their class with the perfect quirk and perfect looks and perfect personality and perfect grades- but at least Dabi doesn't have an old phone covered in cracks or some cheap off-brand backpack with fraying straps.
So when they get paired to work together on a long term project, Dabi is actually ecstatic. They go to Dabi's house first. And then a few times after that too. That was all intentional, so he could make Hawks feel safe and then spring it on him last second. It's not fair to only use Dabi's house and important pro-hero stuff is going on there, they have to go to Hawks'. There's no choice. No they can't meet at a coffee shop, there'd be zero room to actually do their project in public. He finds the despaired look on Hawks' face pretty funny if he's being honest. For once he gets to see this perfect know-it-all knocked down a peg.
It all becomes pretty unfunny, though, when he gets to Hawks' "house". Dabi doesn't believe it deserves that title, and that's not even him being mean, it's just truthful. Because that's a shack. With several boarded up windows and no insulation and a roof that looks like it'll shake right off if the wind gets too much. The inside is worse. There's a woman sitting in front a shitty television that doesn't twitch as Hawks pulls Dabi right past her without a word. His room is the only clean part of the house, but it seems like a hopeless effort regardless. He can sweep all he wants, but the floor is stained and there's no storage for his belongings. For once, Dabi says nothing. He just sets up the project and does his best to ignore the tension in Hawks as they work in total silence.
It's odd, because he was so proud of himself a couple hours ago. He'd been planning this for weeks and it went so well. But when Hawks visibly flinches when a distant door slams open accompanied by a male voice- it doesn't feel like a victory at all. And when Dabi gets home that night and looks around himself, it's hard not to feel like the shittiest person on the planet.
