Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

you met hawks through a mutual friend. mutual kohai? anyway, you met him through tokoyami.

tokoyami was your neighbor for a few years, and being the only other person close to your age in an area full of older couples, you got pretty close. after you moved away he started frequenting the store you worked at (which was pretty much hot topic but with less tumblr fandom stuff and more emo punk stuff). eventually he got a part time job there, sharing your weekend shift.

as you two restocked belt chains and band merch, tokoyami talked often about his life, keeping you updated.

he told you when he got accepted to UA, he gave you a rundown of the sports festivals from his perspective, he talked about his (often troublesome) classmates, and today tokoyami told you about his new boss-slash-mentor - the number two pro hero, hawks.

“holy shit, really?” you turned your head towards tokoyami, raising an eyebrow. he nodded, focusing on the display of chokers he had to set up. your shared shifts had only started about ten minutes ago, so you were lounging behind the register and watching for customers. “hawks as a mentor. huh. what’s that like? he’s on tv so much, but nobody knows anything about his personal life - i’ve always wondered if he’s super chill or if he’s, like, a huge jerk.”

“hawks is… a unique character, for certain.”

“unique.” you repeated, “is that good or bad? actually, actually, answer this: has he ever catcalled a female employee?” you held your chin on your palm, eyes darting between tokoyami’s thoughtful expression and the open entrance.

“well, no. he apparently treats all employees at his agency very well. however, that may not be a good judge of character, as i do not know if he’s… attracted to women.” the teen stepped back, looking over the chokers he had on the table.

“huh. hey, you should separate those by style - put all the elaborate ones together and all the simple ones together. what makes you think he might be gay?”

“thank you for the idea. i suppose it is just… his manner. hawks does not hold himself in an overly masculine or dominant way. and he never responds to flirtations from female fans. should i put the tattoo chokers with these?”

“well, he might just be like that. hawks seems like he enjoys just moving through life, not getting too caught up on other people.” you sat up and rolled your shoulders, before relaxing back and kicking a foot onto the counter. “was he pinging your gaydar?”

tokoyami let out an amused huff, pausing in his work to side-eye you.

“i don’t know if i truly have ‘gaydar’. what do i do with the tattoo chokers?”

“if they have charms, put them with those. if they’re the plain ones just leave them be, i’ll put them up here. you might have gaydar. bidar? shit, maybe you can only detect other bi people.”

“maybe. that would be slightly inconvenient. either way, the main reason i wonder about hawk’s sexuality is his musical taste.” he shrugged the slightest bit, and finally finished with the top row of the display.

“his musical taste?” you let amusement seep into your voice. sometimes, you thought, tokoyami spoke like he was a medieval wizard.

“hawks is rather fond of the song ‘washing machine heart’.”

you blinked, and immediately started laughing. your foot slipped off the counter as you hunched over, giggling uncontrollably.

“wait, wait. does he drink iced coffee? hey, does he like the song ‘sweater weather’ or ‘it’s raining men’?” you managed between cackles, hitting your fist on the countertop.

tokoyami did not seem amused when you finally composed yourself.

“whew. mitski. okay.” you grinned at the thought of the secretive pro hero singing along to ‘nobody’. “uh, hey, hurry up, toko. making the display shouldn’t take this long.”

“you were the one distracting me in the first place.” tokoyami glared.

“and you were the one responding. c’mon, before customers show up.”

“you can be insufferable.”

“shush. i’m the manager. it’s my job.”

--

unlike tokoyami, you worked full time at the store. it was located in a very popular mall, and made good business. sometimes people would come in to gawk at the weirder stuff (old italian horror movie posters, shirts that were more metal than cloth, your coworker nozomi’s shaved head), but then they would end up buying a pair of skeleton-patterned socks or something.

you had worked there long enough to become a manager, meaning you got paid a little more. which meant you had a little more to spend.

this led to you buying tokoyami a surplus of pomegranate smoothies from the smoothie place in the mall your store was at. the kid hardly ate on his lunch break, otherwise.

it also led to you decorating your apartment with the weirdest, most wacked out shit you could find. one time you found a deviant art account full of (barely safe for work) pro-hero fan art, and decided it would be an amazing fucking idea to get the weirdest, most sweaty drawings printed onto 15 x 20 gloss posters. and then hang those up in your various rooms.

you had edgeshot hung up in your living room, present mic in your kitchen inside the fridge, best jeanist in your bathroom inside the mirror cabinet, and hawks in your bedroom closet. the goal was to put them in places any future guests wouldn’t expect, so they would get really freaked out.

there were also obnoxiously neon beanbag chairs instead of dining room chairs, a large inflatable penguin beside your bathroom door, white rabbit-shaped felt cutouts you had stapled to your torn up couch last summer, a chain all around the living room made of plastic babies, and a plethora of movie posters around your walls, but they weren’t real movie posters, just sheets of printer paper with shitty clip art movie poster remakes you created when bored and unable to sleep.

you admired your amazing decorating talent as you walked in, tired, meeting eyes with the edgeshot poster and briefly smirking at the over-exaggerated sweat droplets the artist had included. edgeshot wasn't really your favorite hero - in fact, you were only invested in heros because of tokoyami. he would probably be upset to hear the vague interest you had in hero society resulted in you collecting gross fanart. when you were neighbors with tokoyami, you had been a teenager living with your dad, and so your bedroom was kind of boring. all black walls and a poster for a wes anderson film served as your creative expression back then. tokoyami had never been to your new apartment, so he had never been subjected to the rug with a deep-fried laughing crying emoji you had to custom order, or the shelf of Sans Undertale figurines.

walking further inside to drop your backpack next to the couch, you wondered if tokoyami would want to visit. his parents wouldn’t think it was weird, since you’d known him since he was ten, and you were fifteen. back when you would ‘babysit’ him on his parent’s date nights. usually he would just sit around and read some dark, gothic novel that was way too serious for a kid, while you took advantage of his family’s many streaming service subscriptions.

one night you remembered particularly well. tokoyami was eleven (and a half, he would remind you), and had spent the first part if the evening reading frankenstein. you got bored of rewatching stranger things and making fun of mike wheeler, so you turned to him and asked if he liked the book so far.

“well, yes, i think it’s very intriguing.” even then, with his squeaky, pre-pubescent voice, tokoyami was speaking like an old-timey professor. when you asked what part he was on, his face twisted up a little. after telling you what chapter he was reading, he carefully asked, “have you... read it?”

“yeah, man, of course.” you smiled at him, confused as to why he had such a surprised look on his face. “is that shocking news?”

“i suppose. you don’t seem the type to read such stories.” his wide eyes blinked at you in a way that conveyed he wasn’t making a dig at you - the kid was seriously confused that you had read frankenstein. or maybe he was surprised to learn you could read? “i would think you’d prefer magazines, or buzzfeed quizzes.”

you had laughed at that. when you were a teenager, school was something you dragged through. you got straight c’s and d’s, and hardly turned in homework. tokoyami, who had seen you half-ass essays as you babysat him, was well aware of this, which explained his shock.

“buzzfeed is just a way to pass the time in math. i read frankenstein, like, two years ago.” you paused the episode of stranger things that was playing in the background, and turned a little more towards the little raven. “i guess that might be kind of weird to hear. i don’t give off the academic vibe, huh?” tokoyami’s feathers fluffed out, but you just laughed and waved off his embarrassment. “it’s all cool, little bird. i’m not insulted. it just means i have depth to me, right? something artsy like that. anyway, do you know who prometheus is?”

“prometheus?” he had questioned, voice curious.

“the title.” you nodded at the book, now held limply in his little hands. “frankenstein, or, the modern prometheus. it’s a really cool title. prometheus was this dude in greek mythology.”

“he was? can you tell me about him?” and he had questioned, voice curious, and that was when tokoyami had, for the first time, actually sounded like a kid - like he was eleven (and a half), eager to learn about new things. he’d had starry eyes as you turned to face him, fully, starting with the ancient greek creation myth, and then telling him about prometheus and his punishment, until you were exaggeratedly explaining the story of theseus and the minotaur (as well as ariadne and dionysus) as tokoyami’s mother and father waited outside the door, waiting until you finished the dramatic tale.

that night had marked the start of your real friendship with tokoyami. before you asked about the book, he was simply an interesting kid you got paid to watch. but the enchanted expression he’d worn as he asked about icarus and daedalus, the enthused ‘goodnight’ he had given you - those spurred you on, leading to you seeing tokoyami as the little brother you never had.

coming back from your trip down memory lane, you decided you would invite tokoyami to have dinner at your place soon, which would basically just be you both eating cheap ramen and watching brain david gilbert videos for two hours as you tried to break the marbles out of the fourteen empty ramune bottles stockpiled beside your bookshelf. as you made your way to the fridge, you decided you would check a few websites to see if there were any twilight posters available for purchase. the shrine on your bedroom wall was still too small. tokoyami, you suddenly realized with a grin, was going to hate your apartment.

heart warm with the remembrance of younger tokoyami, and the prospect of 14 new marbles to add to your marble urn, you fell asleep after a dinner of leftover pizza and sprite, cozy and warm under your bald komaeda comforter.

Chapter Text

“you’re here earlier than me? what, are you trying to steal my job?” you unlocked the shop doors, an eyebrow raised. tokoyami was standing beside the entrance when you arrived a moment earlier, boredly reading an edgar allen poe collection (a well-worn hardcover you had gotten him for his birthday three years ago). “i gotta warn you, being the manager isn’t that great.”

“i was simply awake earlier than expected this morning.” you could hear him rolling his eyes as you let him walk in first. you flicked the lights on as you walked to the back room, ready to hang your backpack on the coat hook you claimed with a piece of tiger-striped duct tape.

“did dark shadow get extra restless last night?”

“no. he’s been very calm lately.” tokoyami was out in the store section, turning on the piercing jewelry display cabinet lights. “i think he likes the fact that hawks has spoken to him so much.”

“hawks talks to dark shadow?” you walked back out, adjusted the lanyard you wore, full of pins and a name tag, as you unlocked the cash register.

“yes, when he’s out. hawks is a friendly person. sometimes too friendly, i think.”

“you just hate talking to strangers, toko.” you reminded him. tokoyami rolled his eyes, and adjusted the spiked bracelet he wore.

“thank goodness you don’t. hawks is coming by later.”

you paused at that.

“what?”

“hawks is coming by later. he’s my mentor, remember?”

“of course i remember, dumbass, but why is he coming by later? what, like by the store? how late? shit, toko, are you gonna leave early or something? i do not want to handle things by myself, man, that’s just so boring-”

“relax. he’s picking me up once my shift ends. don’t embarrass me.” tokoyami rolled his eyes, and you let out a relieved chuckle. he turned to look you in the eyes, very seriously. “promise you won’t say anything weird.”

“weird? like what?” you raised an eyebrow, playing dumb.

“you know.” tokoyami sighed. “don’t ask him if he’s ever seen ‘cannibal holocaust’, or if he knows any single villains, or if his home is a nest, and especially do not ask about his potentially being gay.”

these were all reasonable topics to ban. you had the habit of bringing up strange and gory movies, just to explain the plot and make people uncomfortable. tokoyami had heard you thirst over criminals on the news before. there were a plethora of bird jokes tokoyami had been subjected to, that you were fully prepared to unleash on hawks.

and you did really want to know if he was gay. just out of casual curiosity.

“fine. okay. i won’t ask about any creepy things. just because he’s, like, your teacher of sorts.” you huffed out, and waved tokoyami to begin rearranging shirts so he would look busy for future customers. there were a few moments of silence, before you stopped pretending to pout.

“can i ask him to take his jacket off?”

“no!”

--

hours passed uneventfully. you unpacked a new box of cat ear headbands, sold countless shirts and bags and pins and necklaces and bottles of black nail polish. tokoyami didn’t eat anything on his lunch break, again, so you left him in charge as you ran out to grab a soda for him. cherry coke.

five minutes before closing time, you made the final transaction of the day. as soon as the customer stepped out, you closed the register with a relieved sigh.

“hey, ‘yami, will you sweep the entrance? and fix anything out of place?”

“of course.” tokoyami nodded solemnly, taking the simple task too seriously. you snorted as you headed to the backroom to take stock of plastic bags.

after sorting through a few more tasks, you grabbed your backpack and headed back to the main area of the store. tokoyami had clearly completed what he needed to, as he wasn’t in sight immediately. you wondered if he had left without telling you (which he wasn’t supposed to do), when you heard his voice by the door.

“i just need to inform my manager, as well as collect my belongings, and we can leave.”

oh, shit. you totally fucking forgot.

hawks was standing right there. in person. quietly you made your way to the register counter, watching them talk.

“yeah, go ahead. can’t risk you getting fired.” the hero had a very smooth voice on tv, but it was even nicer in person. the amused lilt to it was also nice. “hey, you hungry? we can grab food. i’m thinking chicken? teriyaki?”

“i don’t want to trouble you, hawks-sensei.” tokoyami responded, and you shook your head in annoyance - that kid ate enough at home, for sure, but why pass on a free meal?

“it’s no trouble, kid. i’m in charge of you, and i gotta feed ya.” hawks sounded even more amused.

“plus, toko,” you finally chimed in, and the way tokoyami’s head snapped to you brought a grin to your face, “you didn’t eat lunch. hell, you didn’t even take a lunch break.”

“yes, i did.” his voice was controlled, but you could easily detect the hint of whiny teenager. he clearly counted this as embarrassing, what with your smug smile and parental tone.

“you did?” you let your tone morph into innocent confusion, face falsely surprised. “i don’t recall that - i remember you drinking a few sips of cherry coke, as you worked.”

“i wasn’t hungry.” tokoyami’s eyes were narrowed, and you dropped the condescending look to roll your eyes.

“well, you gotta be hungry now, kid. heroes need to be in top shape, and that includes eating lunch. go tell your manager we’re leaving, change into your hero suit, and grab your stuff.” hawks cut in, a lax smile on his face as he looked between you and tokoyami.

“of course.” tokoyami nodded at hawks, before turning back to you. “i am leaving now.”

you couldn’t help it. then suddenness, the serious expression, and his solemn tone made you laugh, leaning back on the counter as you scrunched up your eyes. giggles bubbled up from your chest, even as tokoyami sighed and walked to the back room. you quickly caught your breath, and grinned wildly at him as he passed. he rolled his eyes.

once tokoyami disappeared from sight, you let out one more chuckle as you looked at hawks. he had his hands in his pockets, a thoughtful but friendly look on his face.

“so you’re the manager?”

“yep.” you smiled again, calmer. “(l/n) (y/n). so you’re hawks?”

he blinked, and then laughed, head leaning back slightly. it was a very pretty sight.

“yep. you don’t seem very… starstruck.” hawks raised an eyebrow, still smiling good-naturedly as he walked closer to you.

“wait, do you want me to be? because i can totally pull a fanboy moment.” not waiting for an answer, you quickly moved away from the counter and onto your feet, jumping a little as an excited smile broke out and a flush grew on your cheeks. “oh my god! you’re hawks! can you- oh, please, can you sign my backpack? and my forehead? can you sign my chest, too?” his eyes widened, and he leaned back a bit, though smiling wider. you just fanned your face and perked your voice up more.

“woah, your wings are so cool! they look so bright in person, wow-” you cut yourself off with a flustered giggle, before leaning in even closer to his face. hawks raised his eyesbrows. “hey, what body wash do you use?”

he broke out laughing again, and you relaxed.

“okay, yeah, no more of that. i definitely prefer meeting people who don’t freak out.” hawks paused, a thoughtful expression on his face. “you do a pretty good impression, though.”

you shrugged at that, smiling again.

“tokoyami told me about all the rabid fangirls you face.”

“oh, did he?” hawks raised his bushy eyebrows.

“yeah, man. he’s annoyed by them, i’m guessing - he sounded very bitter while telling me a girl tried to steal one of your feathers once. said it was a distraction from hero work.” you didn’t say anything for a second, before you quickly spoke again. “hey, what kind of music do you like?”

hawks tilted his head (in what struck you as a VERY bird-like movement) and darted his gaze between your eyes.

“are you close with tokoyami?” he asked, instead of answering your question.

“um, yes. he’s one of my closest friends. why? and what music do you like?”

“how old are you?” his voice was less amused and more curious, and you let out a short chuckle.

“dude, is this an investigation?” you asked, but he just raised at eyebrow expectantly. “i’m turning twenty two in a month.”

“ah.” was all he said, before smiling again - a more relaxed smile. “i like a lot of music types.”

“aw, what? that’s a cop out answer. c’mon. i’m not gonna tell anyone. gimme one musician you like.” you moved closer to the hero, peering up at him. you batted your eyelashes and clasped your hands in front of your chest. “please?” you dropped your voice a little quieter, a little sweeter.

hawks broke.

“i like mitski. and the smiths.” he sighed out, a petulant look on his face, but his eyes still looked intrigued and you knew he was just pretending to be upset. “how about you?”

“i like-” you started, but were cut off by the door from the backroom opening. turning to look at tokoyami, you took note of his narrowed eyes.

“what did he ask you?” tokoyami moved his suspicious gaze from you to hawks, who you realized was only a small distance away from you. oops. forgot about personal space.

hawks smiled, and shrugged. he was only an inch taller than you, but his hair made seem taller than that, you realized.

“he just asked for my autograph.” but that didn’t satisfy tokoyami, who glared at you a little. “and my music taste.”

“he didn’t bring up any horror movies? or ask any invasive questions?”

“well,” the pro hero drawled, as he slid his eyes down to you - holy fuck you might have to start being a hawks simp on twitter, because you knew he was attractive but having those raptor eyes on you like that was really a different level - and grinned a little bit. you almost grinned back. “he did ask what body wash i use.”

“i knew it.” tokoyami made his way over, betrayal seeping out of his words. “i cannot trust you to hold a normal conversation. i leave for fifteen minutes and- did you do anything else?”

you decided to play along for a moment.

“yeah, actually. i sort of stole a strand or two of hair - i’m sorry, hawks, you can have them back if you’d like - and asked for his phone number.” you pouted a little, before quickly sobering up at tokoyami’s expression. “woah, i’m kidding. i’m joking, dude. i didn’t creep on hawks, jesus, i have more tact than that.”

tokoyami glowered at you.

“really, kid, it’s all cool. he was just asking about music. though, if he wanted my hair or my number, i wouldn’t be creeped out.”

both you and tokoyami gave him surprised glances at that.

“really?” tokoyami was very disbelieving.

“really?” you were slightly overjoyed.

“yeah. you’re interesting. and you still need to tell me what music you like.” hawks smiled at you, before turning to tokoyami. “ready?”

“yes, i am. goodbye, (y/n). i’ll see you tomorrow.” tokoyami’s voice was calm again, and he nodded at you as he walked to the door in a way that said you were forgiven for your joke.

“seeya, toko. i’ll text you the details for dinner later.” you waved at him as he stepped out, and looked back at hawks, who had stayed where he was. “bye, mr. hawks sir. it was cool meeting you.”

“yeah. you too. i might stop by here more often.”

“oh, really?” you held onto the straps of your backpack, and smiled a little. “what for? are you secretly a goth king?”

“i’d definitely be more on the punk scene.” hawks laughed lightly. “but there’s a different reason for me to come back.”

“yeah? mind sharing with the class, birdie?”

and hawks, his messy golden hair and bright crimson feathers glinting in the fluorescents, simply dragged his half-lidded eyes down your body and slowly moved them back up to your face. another grin appeared, but this one was different. very, very different.

you resisted the heat threatening your cheeks.

“i think you can figure it out.” hawks’ voice was a little lower than a moment ago, and as he spoke his grin stayed. you didn’t get a chance to respond before he was out the door.

you spent three minutes staring at the floor with an excited smile before you realized you still had to close up. fuck.

Chapter Text

the second after you set down two bowls full of ramen, there was a knock on the door. you speed-stepped over to it, smiling at tokoyami.

“hey, little bird! ready for an exquisite meal?”

“did you make beef ramen or pork?” he answered, walking into your apartment. there were five seconds of silence before he spoke again.

“what the fuck?”

“hmm? what? are you alright? is it the decor?” you stood behind him, smugness seeping into your voice. “do you like it?”

“why do you have… is that edgeshot?” he sounded horrified. you clapped a hand onto his shoulder. “(y/n), what is wrong with you? where did you find that?”

“deviant art, buddy. go grab a drink from the fridge.”

you relished in the screech he let out after opening the fridge door, where present mic’s poster was taped to the shelves inside.

--

“so how was last night? did hawks buy you teriyaki?” you pushed a black bowl embellished with skulls towards the teen. he set down the can of grape fanta he had taken and muttered out a thanks for the meal before answering.

“yes, he did. and he bought himself enough to feed a small family.” tokoyami rolled his eyes, and took a bite of his ramen. “other than that we simply patrolled and he had me train with his sidekicks.”

“anything happen during patrol?” your voice was muffled by the large amount of noodles you’d taken. “y’see any bad dudes? did you see that one villain- what was his name? he has a flame quirk.”

“no, nothing like that. just helping out a few civilians. as usual.” there were a few minutes of silent eating, until tokoyami spoke up again. “well, actually, something unusual did happen. hawks asked about you.” his maroon eyes flicked up to stare at you.

you choked a little on your ramen.

“he did?” you swallowed, and reached for your sprite. “what did he ask?”

“how long i’ve known you. how we met. what i think of you. things like that.”

“oh. did you tell him about prometheus?” you leaned back in your beanbag.

“what?” tokoyami blinked at you.

“prometheus. remember? i was babysitting you, and you were reading frankenstein, then i asked about it, and you were surprised, and you asked about prometheus. and i told you some greek myths.” a smile grew as you spoke.

“oh.” the raven nodded, and his voice was fond. “no, i didn’t tell him. you remember that?”

“of course. that was, like, a defining moment in our friendship. you were just so curious. you didn’t want to go to bed that night-”

“-because i wanted to hear more myths. yes, i recall.” he smiled, and picked up his soda can. “after that, i begged my parents to go out so you could watch over me again.”

“wait, really?” you sat up straighter, and he nodded. “dude- aw, oh my god. can i adopt you as my brother?”

“well, no, i don’t think so legally. but…” tokoyami’s feathers fluffed out. “i think of you as a brother figure, as well.”

you couldn’t help it. you jumped around the table to hug the kid.

--

“do you wanna watch ‘pepcorn’ or ‘ranking all 200 mega man robots’ next?” you hovered the cursor between both videos, waiting for tokoyami’s response. he rolled the empty ramune bottle on the floor around, and looked at the video thumbnails.

“pepcorn. i haven’t seen much of his personal channel.”

you nodded, and clicked said video. after a second of watching, tokoyami paused it.

“um. (y/n). i have three topics i want to address.”

“uh, okay?” you side-eyed him, feeling a little nervous.

“first. you can call me ‘fumikage’. i don’t think i ever gave you permission. second, i have hawk’s phone number, because he asked me to give it to you. third, i think hawks is going to spam you with texts as soon as you text him, so be warned.”

he said all of this in a very serious tone, and you wanted to laugh from how dramatic he made it sound. god. give a guy a heart attack.

“okay, fumikage. thanks.” you pulled out your phone, and looked expectantly at him. “what’s his number?”

--

you:
https://www.youtube.com/randomlink69420

XXX-XXX-XXXX
gucci gang wii plaza remix, huh?
thats the music you like?

you:
totally man
ever heard redbone sung by kermit the frog
thats ART

hawks lol:
i prefer the ‘we are number one’ mashup

you:
woah we got an expert here
anyway i also like mitski
when im feeling especially like a pining queer in love with his childhood friend

hawks lol:
so youre saying you like ‘old friend’ then

you:
AHAHA YEAH
jesus hawks you know mitski songs by name? smthn to tell me?

hawks lol:
nothing at all
im just interested in music
:)

you:
yeah okay birdie
:P

Chapter Text

fumikage wasn’t working that day, so you spammed him with sad face emojis and shitty old person facebook quotes about missing friends in between customers. he didn’t appreciate it. 

half an hour before your shift ended, you saw a tall blond man decked in leather walk in, holding the hand of an equally tall man who looked like a disgruntled cat.

your first thought was ‘holy shit, power couple’. your second thought was, ‘that dude with the black hair looks a little familiar’.

seeing as you were the only employee, you had to look ready to help in case they asked something. you hid your phone and the soda can you had under the counter.

“hi! just so you know, accessories are buy one get one free today. is there anything you’re looking for in particular?” you sat up and smiled at the two men, who gave you very different reactions.

the darker haired guy just looked neutrally annoyed, which you honestly found relatable, and the blond grinned widely at you.
“nah, we’re all good! thank you though!” his voice sounded familiar. was he a newscaster or something?

“of course! let me know if you need anything!”

and eventually they did. the blond came up with several shirts, pairs of socks, a studded belt, and many spiked accessories.

“oh, man, going all out, huh?” you chuckled good naturedly, and started scanning. “hope no one else needs help.”

“are you the only one working right now?” the blond tilted his head, his long glossy hair following the action.

“yeah. my coworker was supposed to be on shift with me but he had something else to do. ‘hero internship’ or whatever.” you scoffed, and smiled at them as you scanned another shirt. “i love the kid though. can’t stay mad at him for doing his schoolwork.”

“hero internship?” the scruffy guy spoke, in a low monotone. you glanced up at him, raising an eyebrow as you nodded. “does he go to a hero school?”

“ah, yeah, some super underground one. nobody’s heard of it. UA, i think?” you couldn’t help but make a shitty ironic joke.

“really? UA? what’s his name?” the blond spoke up again, a smile on his face.

you lost your own smile, and took on a bored expression.

“wait, are you guys, like, gonna murder him for being ‘hero scum’ or something? god, i get it, some heroes suck. like that flame dude. endeavor. he triple parks, did you know that? his car is so obnoxiously large he can triple park. but some heroes are cool. like that dude who has, uh, that grey scarf thing. also my coworker is only, like, sixteen, so killing him would be a jerk move.” you didn’t look at them as you spoke, instead focusing on scanning the items.

you heard laughter, and looked up to see the blond’s shoulder shaking as he laughed.

“n-no!” he managed, blinking at you from behind his glasses. “no, we work at UA. we aren’t murderers.”

you sighed.

“oh, good. jesus. if i got him killed i would feel really bad. he’s like a brother to me, or something. you work at UA?” you looked between the two, as you moved to scan the belt. as you looked over the dark-haired dude, it clicked. “oh! oh, hey, you’re his teacher! fumikage mentioned you to me. dang, you’re way less scary than he said.”

“tokoyami fumikage?” the blond asked, and you grinned and nodded. 

“he said i’m scary?” eraserhead asked right after, voice tinged with amusement.

“yeah. he was all, like, intimidated or something, telling me about the time you glared at a kid so hard he almost cried.” you leaned in a bit, pausing your scanning of the second to last necklace. you squinted at his eyebags. “i don’t think you’re scary though. you just look tired.”

the blond laughed again. you suddenly recognized him, too.

“wait, if he’s the homeroom teacher… are you present mic?” as soon as he nodded, you smiled again. “holy fuck! sorry, sorry, i mean holy cow. dude. your hero costume is, like, my fashion inspiration.”

“thank you so much! someone,” and he shot a look at eraserhead, “told me it looked gaudy. good to know other people agree it’s fashionable.”

“god, it’s such a serve. i like your radio show, too. especially when you play american music from the 80’s, and stuff. like the pixies? or duran duran? i was born in america, so i love hearing that stuff.” you finished scanning, and glanced at the register screen. “cash or credit?”

“debit. you’re from america? do you still speak english?” present mic handed his card over, ignoring the way eraserhead grumbled about the total cost.

“of course!” you responded in english, enjoying his lit-up face. “i moved here when i was twelve. i’m bilingual, i guess? sign, please. you teach english, right?”

“yeah! i started learning when i was little, because i had an american cousin. you can put the receipt in the bag.” he responded, in perfect (but accented) english.

“sure. thanks for coming in. sorry i assumed you were gonna murder fumikage. he’s pretty much my only friend, aside from the birdbrain he follows around for his internship.” you shrugged sheepishly at them, and eraserhead waved his hand at you.

“it’s fine. perfectly logical to be suspicious. by birdbrain, do you mean hawks?” he lifted his face from his scarf a little, and you noticed present mic take his hand again. you smiled a little. 

“yeah. i mean, maybe he’s not really my friend. we’ve just spoken a few times, and he has my number so i can check on fumikage.”

“still, that’s kind of cool that you can say you know hawks. it was nice meeting you!” present mic grinned, and you nodded at him. the two walked out the door, and you were pleased to realize you were off duty now.

after clocking out and waving at your coworker nozomi, who arrived for her shift, you were about to leave. as you quickly chugged your soda, a voice rang out from the entrance just beside you.

“you know, i’d say we’re friends.” hawks said, smiling lazily at you.

crushing the can a bit, you turned to him and returned the smile. 

“yeah? that’s good to know, birdie boy.” you stepped over towards him. “thanks for eavesdropping, too.”

“no problem. wanna grab some food?” he scratched at his jaw, and his golden eyes shined down at you. a smile rose on your face as you nodded.

“sure.” you stepped around him to the door, winking as you moved. “but you’re paying, my friend.”

--

you: 
fumikage
hey
fumi!!

bird brother:
Yes?

you:
hi
dude has hawks brought me up again

bird brother:
Just so you know, I am not going to be the messenger between you and Hawks.
But yes, he has.

you:
FUCK yes. okay what has he said. tell me

bird brother:
Well, he mentioned you went out to eat with him.

you:
eh it was more like he asked me to get food
and he meant, like, grab some McBonalds or whatever and then fly me home
but im not cheap or easy like that so i charmed him into taking me out to an actual restaurant
aka Burger Jester

bird brother:
A real class act, huh.
How did you ‘charm him’?

you:
thats nsfw

bird brother:
WHAT??

you:
JUST KIDDING IM JOKING
DONT WORRY
i just, like, told him i didnt get the chance to hang out with handsome pro heroes and that i wanted to savor it
so we got Burger Jester :)

bird brother:
You SCARED me.
Anyway, from the way he spoke about it, he seemed to enjoy your company.

you:
awww
i know he did
im gonna ask him out

bird brother:
Wait what

you:
yeah
like no joke im gonna ask him on a date

bird brother:
That sounds like a bad idea for many reasons.

you:
such as ?? >:\

bird brother:
1. Hawks is my mentor, and you are my friend and coworker, and if this date goes badly it will be very awkward for me.
2. You haven’t been on a date in a while, as far as I know, and I don’t know if either of us know what normal date activities are.
3. Hawks may not even be attracted to guys, and if he is,
4. He may not be out of the closet or comfortable going on a date with a guy.
And what if he’s not into you?

you:
jeez way to be a party pooper
one, this date is gonna go awesome. plus, from my side, if it goes bad, i wont make it weird.
two, i’m just gonna ask him to hang out at my place and get dinner or whatever.
three, hawks is def into dudes. i texted him and asked if he had ever painted his nails and he was like ‘yeah theyre painted rn actually’ and sent me a pic of his hand (hawks has super nice hands btw) and he had bright red nail polish on.

bird brother:
Okay, well, you’re right. Hawks is definitely attracted to men. I only added that as a minute possibility.

you:
yeah! see??
anyway. if he seems like he doesnt want it to be a date i’ll just act like its a casual bro hangout. as men do.

bird brother:
Dear god.

you:
ALSO. ALSO.
hawks HAS to like me a little bit
he hit on me the first time we met
and he told me i looked really good in the shirt i was wearing when we got Burger Jester
like he emphasized the 'really'

bird brother:
Wait, he did?

you:
yea dude

bird brother:
Oh.
Well, then, I have no more arguments. I hope this works out.
You’re both sort of obvious.

you:
:P
im not gonna hide that hes a hot bitch

bird brother:
Alright bye.

you:
AHAHAHAHA

Chapter Text

—
you:
heyyy, birdie boy

hawks lol:
that has the same energy as
‘heyyy big head’

you:
sorry let me try again
heyyy big bird

hawks lol:
yeah im a big yellow puppet bird on a kids show

you:
thats what your charm is
actually
no big bird is hotter
bc big bird is like 7 feet tall and that is sexy

hawks lol:
:(

you:
:)
sorry
but youre my favorite manlet

hawks lol:
fuck that tokoyami is a manlet too

you:
hes?? a kid???

hawks lol:
whatever still short

you:
hawks honey this is not the conversation i wanted to have

hawks lol:
what you dont want to discuss tokoyami’s manlet status

you:
not rn
we can do that over dinner

hawks lol:
what

you:
we can talk abt fumi being short when we get dinner
together
if you want

hawks lol:
is
is this your way of asking me out

you:
hm?

hawks lol:
if youre trying to ask me on a date i should tell you im a busy man and i get dinner offers from my many adoring fangirls

you:
so youre going to turn me down for your fangirls :(

hawks lol:
fuck no
ask me again

you:
lmao
fine
hawks do you want to go get dinner with me
or like order dinner and eat it at my apartment

hawks lol:
is this a date

you:
no ig not

hawks lol:
then no
if its a date i’ll say yes

you:
oh my god
youre such a headass
yes its a date
lets go on a date where we eat takeout at my place

hawks lol:
yes of course id love to

you:
im gonna nerf myself if you do that shit next time i ask you out

hawks lol:
already planning on a second date??

you:
ofc birdie boy
we’re gonna marathon dreamworks movies

hawks lol:
fuck might as well grab the diamond ring then

you:
thats the third date ;)

—

you:
FUMIKAGE
F
FUMI
FUMFFI

bird brother:
Hello?

you:
tokoyami fumikage
i asked hawks out

bird brother:
Already? You brought it up yesterday.

you:
YEA AN??D???
anyway he said yes so get ready to be hawks brother in law

bird brother:
ASDJK HE SAID YES???

you:
toko i love it when you get hype and drop the stupid old man text style
and YES HE DID
HE ONLY SAID YES WHEN I SAID IT WOULD BE A DATE

bird brother:
Fuck you.
OH MY GOD HES WHIPPED

you:
YEAH YEAH YEAH HE IS OMG
dude wait i think hawks is a bottom lol

bird brother:
We are not discussing that.

you:
AHAHA
yeah yeah i get it youre a kid and im like your older brother and hes like your boss or mentor or smith
either way ill know for sure soon

bird brother:
Silence.
Horny people have no rights.

—

the excitement showed on your face throughout the day. even your coworker nozomi, who barely showed emotion, smiled as you grinned every moment of the day.

she asked what had you so happy, and you just tapped the air in front of her nose and giggled.

“i am a very lucky man, nozomi.” is all you told her, before you ran off to print coupons for 15% off t-shirts.

eventually your shift ended, and you waved at nozomi and ibuki (another coworker who constantly recommended music to you) as you zoomed out the door. hawks usually didn’t respond to messages before 4 pm, you had learned, and you still needed to ask when he wanted the date to happen. deciding you could use this time to shop for more home decorations, you walked towards the giant tarmart down the street.

the party decor aisle was your first stop, as per usual, and you found a few things you wanted - a bright pink banner that said ‘happy first birthday baby girl!’, a balloon made to look like a rainbow, and a pack of minecraft creeper plates.

carrying these items, you stepped over to the next aisle, dedicated to hero-themed party stuff. you fake-gagged at the endeavor napkins, but came to a stop in front of the next batch of decorations.

decorations, as chance would have it, that were focused on hawks.

he was notorious for not letting companies use his face on ads or items. hawks often lended his voice for ads, and had allowed a coffee company to use the red feathers in a limited run of cold brew, but other than that it was hard to find items actually featuring hawks’ face (the exception being posters and hero merchandise his own pr team produced).

so you weren’t surprised that there was no hint of his windblown hair, or the smug smile he had, or his golden eyes. however, there was a piñata shaped like red wings, and you definitely had to have that. before you could reach to grab it, though, your phone dinged in your leather jacket pocket.

—

hawks lol:
you didnt text me good morning :(

you:
sorry birdie boy :( i was busy and forgot

hawks lol:
uhhh what could be more important than telling me to have a good morning

you:
well nothing actually i was just distracted

hawks lol:
oh by what
ur other hero friends ;(

you:
yea lol
youre just one of many hoes i have

hawks lol:
i know youre kidding but lets be real here im the one who has hoes
or i could
if i wanted
bc im very hot and famous and rich

you:
yeah and look where that got you
on a date with me, who is none of those things

hawks lol:
i mean youre hot

you:
im swooning
you flatter me
anyway i was DISTACTED bc i was thinking about *~our date~*

hawks lol:
wait thats cute now i feel bad for giving you shit :(

you:
its okay birdie i forgive you
i mean ill just never talk to you again

hawks lol:
bullie..
anyway whatre you up too

you:
um

—

you glanced up at the items covered in red feathers and gold.

—

you:
looking at. house decoration stuff

hawks lol:
oh like what??
paintings or smthn??

—

you looked up again. even though nobody was gonna see it, you looked at the security camera nearby as if you were on the office and mouthed ‘yo this dude is wack’.

—

you:
yes

hawks lol:
you know i wouldn’t have pegged you for a paintings guy
you seem more like you’d have, like movie posters

you:
already thinking abt pegging?? dirty bird

hawks lol:
aakshdaskhd
no horny people have no rights

you:
fumi said the same thing earlier lol
anyway im actually looking at like. random decorations
we never set like a day for when you wanna hang out but

hawks lol:
wait is this a hang out or a date bc you know my conditions

you:yeayeayea its a date sorry
;p
anyway idk when you wanna have the ~date~ but like im warning you know my apartment is kind of fucking bonkers

hawks lol:
how so

you:
uhh
here lemme send a pic
*attach.picture-01*
thats my living room

hawks lol:
is that
um
okay is that like porn of edgeshot

you:
hahahahah
yes but no
like yeah its pretty much porn i got from deviant art
but i just printed it out bc its funny and freaks ppl out
i dont rlly like edgeshot? it just makes me laugh

hawks lol:
ahh
do you have other posters like that?

you:
yeah of course
dunkass
i have one of present mic in my fridge (which is kind awk bc he came into the store the other day with like his husband or smthn)
best jeanist is in my bathroom,, like inside the cabinet i have

—

you remembered who the last poster was, and spent a moment deciding what the fuck was wrong with you to tell him you had those when one of the posters was literally him with a fucking aheago face.

—

you:
the last poster in is my bedroom
and im not telling you that one

hawks lol:
is it me

you:
the only way to know whos on it is to get in my bedroom and find it
and youre not getting in my bedroom

hawks lol:
……
;)

you:
fuck you anyway my apartment is heinous thats all

hawks lol:
i like it tbh
very you

you:
wh
s-senpai! you cant just say things like that! i’ll b-blush…

hawks lol:
cherry blossom petals intensify

you:
okay anyway
ive been standing in this fucking store aisle texting you for like 7 minutes i gotta buy this thing before i look sus

hawks lol:
waiiiiiiit i wanna talk more :(

you:
sorry birdie boy i got shit to buy
anyway dont get all clingy on me we havent even had our date yet
afterwards ill let you be a clingy chick

hawks lol:
haha bird jokes

Chapter Text

you grabbed the piñata, and walked to the register. on the way you snagged a bottle of rosé (in case you wanted to class up the date).
the piñata wasn’t too big, so you managed to fit everything into two bags. outside, it was a little chilly, so you speed-walked to the train station. luckily it wasn’t crowded as hell, as most people were still at work or home, and you busied yourself with scrolling through tooktoks you had saved to your phone.

the train stopped, and while it wasn’t your stop yet, you still looked up and rearranged your bags in your lap. the feeling that someone was watching you settled over your skin, pricking up goosebumps, and as discreetly as you could you turned on your camera app and looked at the screen, moving your phone to see who was staring at you.

you felt a fresh wave of chills as you noticed a man wearing sunglasses, lower face covered by his collar, with his head turned right towards you. he was definitely looking at you - even with the sunglasses, you could feel it.

the train car was, you suddenly realized, almost empty - just you, sunglasses dude, and an old man asleep on the opposite end of the car.

before you could think anything else, the sunglasses guy stood and walked towards you, dropping into a seat next to you right as you closed your camera app.

there was a tense second of silence, before he spoke.

“is that a hawks piñata?”

you darted your eyes to his, and he pulled his sunglasses off - bright, bright blue eyes, heavy-lidded with mottled purple skin underneath.

“uh.” you choked out, wondering if he’s just a fucking creep or something. maybe you misread the serial-killer vibe and he just wanted a conversation. “yeah. or, well, it’s a piñata of his wings.”

the dude nodded, and burrowed his face a little lower into his jacket collar.

“y’like hawks?” his voice, deep and husky, gave away zero hint of what he wanted.

“i mean, most people do. he’s pretty chill, as far as heroes go.” you shrugged, and tried to relax a little.

“i guess. is he your favorite hero?” his tone was flat, curious.

“yeah. i don’t actually like most heroes that much - like, thanks for going around and decking murderers, y’know, but i don’t tune into hero news that much. only heroes i really have an opinion on are hawks, present mic, and endeavor.” crossing your arms around the bags, you shifted your gaze between his eyes. you felt like looking away might be a bad idea.

“endeavor?” his words, previously neutral, suddenly dripped with contempt. “you like him?”

“uh, did i say that?” you raised an eyebrow, deciding you didn’t need to be on edge, because being worried about getting killed was tiring and you were getting off the train in a few stops anyway. “endeavor sucks ass, man. that dude triple parks. his car is so obnoxiously big, he can triple park. not to mention he just kind of pulls a molotov cocktail in every fight and burns whatever he feels like. endeavor has exactly zero tact when dealing with civilians. plus he just seems like a prick. he has this kid that goes to ua, and apparently the kid is the definition of emotionless.” you sort of info-dumped on him, but he wasn’t interrupting, so you kept going. “i mean, i haven’t met him. but i know someone in his class. i guess his son - todoroki something - is super open about his dad’s shitty parenting. like, dude, if your kid is just going around saying you suck, maybe you suck. and don’t get me wrong - i like hawks a lot. he’s super awesome. but he likes endeavor and it’s, just, like, dude. how bad can your taste be?”

the guy stared at you, before a low sound rang out - he was laughing, you realized.

“damn.” he said, raising a pierced eyebrow. “i agree, actually - endeavor is a shitty excuse for a hero.” he leaned back, relaxed, and you did the same. “do you know hawks, or something?”

“i dunno if i should answer that, because you might be trying to kill hawks, and i don’t want that blood on my hands.”

“don’t worry, i’m not.”

“okay, well, than yeah. i do. know him.”

he nodded, and you figured the conversation was done. you took in a deep breath, and noticed a distinct scent.

“wait, dude.” you turned to him, voice dropping lower. “were you, like… smoking pot?”

his eyebrows raised, but he didn’t seem shocked by the question. he nodded.

“okay, this is a weird question. who’s your dealer? because mine moved to england, like, nine months ago.”

the guy looked at you a moment longer, before he lifted his face up a little. you caught the edges of a grin, surgical staples, purple patches you realized looked a lot like burn-victim skin grafts.

“i’m my dealer, kid.”

you looked over his face, and nodded solemnly.

“can i buy from you?”

he laughed again. you grinned in response.

—

you:
yooo

plug emoji:
that was fast

you:
bro you only sold me like. a mf gram i had barely enough

plug emoji:
you were the one who wanted to ‘test the product’

you:
uhhh whatever anyway when are you free

plug emoji:
got shit to do today. tomorrow i should be free for around 30 minutes at 4

you:
am or pm

plug emoji:
i mean shit if youre gonna be up at 4 am sure thats fine

you:
well
/shrug
sure dude

plug emoji:
alright then
you know the bendy’s next to the tarmart

you:
sure do

plug emoji:
wait for me there
bring pepper spray or something that area is a little shady at night

you:
ofc ofc
thx dude

—

“who are you texting?” fumikage twisted the straw in his cup, resting his head in his palm.

“ah, nobody.”

“okay, odysseus.” he snorted, and you set your phone aside and grinned at him. “how are you? you seem a little spacey.”

“i kinda am. a lot on my mind lately, you know? life picked up suddenly.”

“what do you mean?” the teenager tilted his head a little.

“well,” you held the word, turning to the window of the restaurant. “i dunno. like, two months ago, my whole life was just working at the store, talking to you, and looking at demonia boots online even though i can’t afford them. but then you started working with hawks, and suddenly i have all this other stuff happening to me. like, i became hawks’ friend, and now we have a date in two days, and i’ve been talking to nozomi - our coworker - a little, and she’s pretty cool. plus i met someone cool on a train. it just seems like,” you sighed, looking back to tokoyami, “i was just hanging around before, right, and life was cool and all. but now i’m talking to people and going to new stores in person, and i’m just more excited to be alive and shit. you get it?”

fumikage nodded, and sipped from his cup.

“i get it.” he said, eyes soft. “i feel the same way, sort of. i suppose going to ua, and working under someone as outgoing as hawks, has given me the chance to be sociable and not be judged for my weirder habits. not to say your company isn’t nice - you are still my best friend, after all. but… before, in my spare time, i would read books on the occult. but yesterday i had no plans after class, and a few of my classmates asked me to study with them. it was rather fun, actually. we all went to bakugou’s home, because he has high marks in class, and nobody made fun of me for wearing jewelry or strange clothes. in fact, bakugou’s neighbor was there, and they complimented me on my outfit. it was nice. being around my peers.”

you smiled at him, feeling pure joy rise in your chest. fumikage didn’t often feel social enough for big groups, and half the time he barely felt social enough to hang around you. maybe someone else would have felt a little jealous - and sure, he was your closest friend, but he was still in high school. it was important that he made friends his own age, too. something you hadn’t had during high school, and something you were glad fumikage had now.

“fumi, you rock. for real. it’s super dope you’re getting out more, dude. you’re a really cool kid and i’m glad your classmates know that, too.” your voice was coated in sibling-like affection, enough to make fumikage avert his eyes and shrug sheepishly. you didn’t get sentimental often. “plus your clothes are super sick. hell, some of them are my old clothes, so they’re definitely stylish.”

fumikage rolled his eyes at you, but he still let you slide into his side of the booth and hug him. he hugged back, tightly.

“thank you.” he mumbled, and you didn’t fully know what he was thanking you for.

“of course, kid.” you mumbled back, nonetheless.

—

“dude, you look shady as hell.” you snickered, hand wrapped loosely around the pepper spray in your pocket.

“i am shady as hell. i’m literally here to sell you drugs.” the train dude grinned, and you reached for the cash you’d brought.

“yeah, that is shady. how much do i owe you?”

the exchange took moments, and just after he handed you the baggie, he spoke again.

“so you’re friends with a hero, but smoke weed?”

“aw, dude, hawks isn’t a hardass about this shit. besides, i’m old enough to buy cigarettes, so weed isn’t a big deal. hey, what can i call you? i’ve been mentally referring to you as train dude, but that seems dumb.” you pocketed the baggie and pursed your lips at him.

“i go by dabi, right now. don’t go spreading that name around though - might get us both in some hot water.”

“ah. you doing shadier stuff than dealing, then?”

“that’s rhetorical. see ya.”

“later, dabo.”

he sighed as you walked away, grinning.

—

“fumi. kage. dude. little brother.” you leaned over the counter, hissing at the raven hanging up beetlejuice t-shirts.

“i’m going to remind you i am not your brother. but what is it?” he turned to you, sighing.

“oh, whatever. you’re basically my brother. or something. do you not want me to call you that? i can stop.”

“well, you don’t have to-“

“cool. does hawks like KFC?”

he let out a heavy sigh, shoulders sagging.

“yes. hawks likes KFC.”

“thanks, little bird. appreciate it. hey, how was school yesterday?”

“it was alright. we have a test in english, soon. i need to study.” fumikage began restocking the shirts again, and you fiddled with the bowl of pins by the register.

“i can help you. i speak english, you know.”

“that’s right, you do.” he hummed, and turned to nod at you. “if you’re willing to help, i’d be grateful.”

“‘course, fumi.” you smiled, even if his back was turned, and messed with the pins on your lanyard. today you were buzzing with energy - fresh baggie of weed stashed in your apartment, dinner tomorrow with hawks, fumikage back at work after missing a few shifts for his internship. you traced your thumb over a pin of the groke from moominvalley, not even trying to keep the happy expression away.

—

you:
hawks
hawkie

hawks lol:
heyy

you:
hi! :0
what are you wearing

hawks lol:
AHIHDAHDKS
thats pretty forward of you

you:
lmao ik
i belong to the streets
anyway when are you coming over tmrw

hawks lol:
does 8 pm sound okay

you:
yeah! btw im ordering kfc

hawks lol:
can i marry you

you:
maybe ;) if this date goes well then yes

hawks lol:
;) im sure it will
hey just curious. dont read into this but do you follow the ‘kiss on the third date’ rule

you:
depends

hawks lol:
on?

you:
if my date is hot and has blonde hair and red wings

hawks lol:
i see
you might be in luck

you:
i think YOU would be the lucky one, birdie boy

Chapter Text

normally, people freak out over cleaning their apartment enough for a first date to not see them as a slob. however, hawks had been your friend for a little over two months, so there was familiarity, and also you had so much random junk around your apartment it made zero sense to try to clean more than the empty soda cans on the coffee table.

fun fact, when you moved into this apartment, it was plain grey walls and white linoleum. then you decked it out in wall coverings and rugs.

the order of KFC, accompanied by biscuits, had arrived around ten minutes before hawks did. you’d also ordered milkshakes from this ice cream place (thanks, UberConsume) and stuck them in your fridge for later. as a surprise.

you had sent hawks your address, and told him the window in the kitchen would be open, in case he wanted to be dramatic and make an entrance or something. of course, he totally did and you laughed really hard when he realized how small the window was.

“i don’t know if you know this, but this window is barely big enough to fit me. what with the giant wings, and all.” hawks’ voice, muffled through the glass, sounded flatly unimpressed. “open it for me.”

“you could just come in the door, like a not-flying person. there’s a window at the end of the outside hallway big enough to fit you - my apartment number is 666.” you taunted from behind the window, his exaggerated eye-roll only spurring you on.

a moment later, you heard a knock on the door.

“hi, birdie boy! i did not expect you here - i’ve barely prepared dinner.” you didn’t unlock the three latch chains on your door for a moment, blinking innocently at the hero. “regardless.” you quickly shut the door and opened it fully, waving him in. “i’d love the company.”

“you’re very funny. why aren’t you on SNL?” hawks walked past you, eyes darting around the room.

“uhhh, because SNL is just shitty political skits? and bill hader left? hey, do you want to eat right away, because i don’t want the food to get cold. you can sit down, by the by, we can eat here or in the dining room.” the door was closed again, ten locks firmly locked, five of them left unlocked. you turned to hawks, smiling excitedly at him.

“you only locked ten of those.”

“if someone wants to pick my locks, first of all, they’ll get frustrated after the first four. and they might unlock those ten, while also locking the unlocked ones. or something? i’m tired, i’m not locking all 15.”

hawks moved his gaze from the locks, to you, to behind him where the edgeshot poster showcased the ninja hero’s (probably) ripped bod.

“wanna eat?” he said, and you chuckled.

“sure, birdie,” you responded, grabbing his gloved hand to lead him to the dining room. you let go of him in front of the beanbag surrounded table, partly because you were going to sit, and also because he had a strange look on his face. maybe he’s just hungry?

—

hawks could pack away food like nobody’s business. he ate like a starving man, leaving no room for conversation, and you had to puppy-dog-gaze him into letting you have the final drumsticks. a satisfied sigh left him as you half heartedly brushed the paper plates and napkins into the empty bucket, colonel sanders watching your movements. you shot a death glare at his portrait and leaned back into your beanbag chair.

“sated?”

“i love chicken. did you know that?”

“i had some idea.” you hummed, heart thrumming at his relaxed smile.

“what’s next on the agenda?”

“oh, uh,” his gold eyes blinked slowly at you, and you tapped your fingers on your thigh. “i dunno? i just figured we could, like, chill out. do you want to do something?”

hawks hummed, before shaking his beautiful head.

“nah. this is just fine.”

“whew. okay, then. wanna… watch a pirated movie? or some game theory videos? watching matpat become unraveled over the five nights at freddy’s games is pretty fun.” you stood as you spoke, picking up the trash from dinner and nodding your head towards the living room. hawks followed you out, wings fluttering as you tossed out the garbágé and reached into the fridge for the milkshakes.

“oh, shit, you got dessert? this is the best date i’ve been on, i just decided. is that vanilla?” his eyes lit up, and you held out the vanilla shake for him to grab. “thank you. i’m in debt. i love milkshakes.”

“really? i had no idea.” you led him back to your couch, settling into a comfortable position. “i just like the place they’re from. what’s the verdict on entertainment, birdie boy? matpat or an actual movie?”

“either. i’m not picky. i’d rather just talk, to be honest, but it could be background noise.” he shrugged, and sipped from the shake straw.

you put on a compilation of the shrek soundtrack movies one and two. hawks laughed, slightly choking on his shake, but quickly recovered.

“setting the mood, huh?”

“oh, you know it, birdie boy. gotta get you in the right headspace for a romantic night.”

he pursed his lips, amusement in his eyes, and watched you for a moment as you set your shake on the floor.

“why do you call me that?”

“hm?”

“birdie boy. it’s cute, don’t get me wrong, but it’s one i haven’t heard too much.”

“ohh.” you nodded. “what would you rather i call you?” you leaned in, suddenly, eyes lidded and voice whispery. “want me to call you baby boy?”

hawks’ pupils dilated a bit. you chuckled.

“how about we stick to birdie for the first date?” he asked, voice a little quieter. you nodded, cataloging his reaction for later, and leaned back again.

“so, hawks. y’like jazz?”

—

the conversation drifted from topic to topic, until you hit a subject that had run across your mind a few times: his name.

“i can’t tell you.”
“what? is that some, like, hero rule?” you raised an eyebrow.

“eh. more like a rule my superiors enforce. just for me.” he shrugged.

“okay, then. can’t risk you getting in trouble. i just wanted to be able to call you something other than hawks, i guess.” you told him, toes tapping against each other on the couch cushions. you weren’t trying to guilt him into telling you - it was just something on your mind.

“why? is ‘hawks’ a mouthful, or something?” he sounded surface-level amused.

“nah. it just doesn’t sound like you. or whatever. hawks is that untouchable dude on tv who has a billion fanblogs. you’re not that. do i make sense? you’re a real person, who has a personality outside of the hero persona. and you aren’t actually untouchable.” you glanced up, taking note of how close you’d both moved in through the evening. his arm was around the back of the couch, wings folded in, and you were sitting close enough that your thighs touched and your elbow hit his chest. “in fact, if i wanted,” your gaze dropped from his eyes to his lips, perfectly pursed, “i could just lean up. and kiss you. right now. “

as you finished the thought, you moved the smallest bit, pushing up and letting your lips get closer to his. his breath came out quick, and your eyes began to close, and for a moment you thought ‘oh my god i’m gonna kiss him.’

then he jerked back, almost violently, and your eyes opened wide again amid the sudden flutter of red feathers. hawks had another weird expression, his pupils slightened. confusion and slight embarassment washed over you, before you noticed his shaking hands.

“uh, birdie?” you tried, voice quiet and soft.

his eyes darted from your eyes to your lips to his hands, nervous and sharp movements, and you had the resist the urge to move forward.

“did- did i cross a line?” you asked, keeping all negative intonations out of your tone. all comfort.

“um.”

“you can tell me, if i did.”

“um.” he repeated, before he gulped quietly. his breathing came out harsh as he spoke. “not- really? not on purpose. it’s okay. it’s just me, um, being a dumbass, i’m sorry, you didn’t do anything.”

his words shook. you felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over you.

“no, no, if you’re uncomfortable, you’re not being a dumbass. was i moving too fast?”

“n-no? yes. no. um.” hawks moved his eyes to his hands, which were grabbing into his hero costume pants. “sorry. i’m sorry. i got nervous.”

“you don’t need to apologize, hawks, it’s alright. what made you nervous? if you want to tell me.” as you spoke, tone still soothing, you shifted back to give him a foot or so of space. before you could move more than an inch away, he looked up again.

“wait! wait. you can, um, stay there. you don't need to move a- um, away. sorry. i’ve just never- um- never kissed a, uh, a guy. before. or anything. i’ve actually never done anything with a guy.” hawks was quiet, almost ashamed, and he didn’t look you in the eyes. “big shocker here, but i’m not allowed to be open about being. um.” he paused. “i can’t talk about it. because of the hero job.”

“being… gay?” you kept your voice quiet. he winced, a little.

“yeah. yeah, that. i can’t even, like, smile at a dude half the time without the commission breathing down my neck about being careful and watching what i do. i have a pretty big female fanbase, and i guess if i came out it would be really bad for my ratings. not that i care - i don’t give a fuck about that. but my bosses do. they care a lot.”

you didn’t know what to say. you just let him close his eyes, obviously trying to calm himself down, but also obviously failing.

“hey, uh, can i move closer? is it cool if i touch you?” you whispered, and he nodded. “can you say it out loud?”

“yeah. you’re okay, you can move closer. you can touch me.”

“alright. okay.” you slowly shifted forward again, reaching to take his hands. the death grip he had on his pants relaxed a little, as you pried his hands away and held them gently in your own. his breathing steadied, and you repositioned yourself and very, very slowly, began leaning back, half-laying on the couch, moving hawks with you. “is this okay? can i hug you? i’ll avoid your wings, if you want.”

“no, it’s okay. this is okay.” his voice broke on the last word, and his eyes shut tighter. “please.” he managed, sounding pained. a tear ran down his cheekbone. “please hug me.”

“okay. okay, birdie, i got you. it’s okay.” you lay back all the way, and hawks half-collapsed on you, his hands holding the sides of your t-shirt as you wrapped your fingers in his hair.

hawks shook, two or ten times, and you felt tears warming your shirt but it wasn’t a bother because hawks was obviously touch starved, based on the way he began to hold you closer, and once he finished sobbing, let out small coo’s in between quiet hiccups.

you kept threading your fingers in his golden hair, one hand moving down to slowly circle between his shoulderblades, breathing steadily. it was quiet, you realized, except for you and him - the shrek soundtrack must have ended.

hawks mumbled something, then, quiet and crackly.

“what’s that?” you whispered back.

“keigo. that’s my name. my given name.” he sounded tired, worn-out.

“keigo, huh? that’s a really nice name. it fits you. you seem like a keigo.” you murmured, and he let out another coo - they seemed to come from the bottom of his throat.

more silence passed, hawks - no, you thought to yourself, he’s keigo, since hawks is on tv and keigo is here in my arms - letting his breath steady, his heart slow.

eventually, he moved himself up onto his elbows, looking at you with flushed cheeks and wet eyelashes.

“thank you. sorry i had, y’know, basically a breakdown. normally i can nip that shit in the bud.”

“what? you’re welcome, of course, but it’s okay. i’m not freaked out, or anything. it’s fine.” you lifted your hands to rest loosely on his jawline, smoothing your thumbs in a circular movement on his skin. “you deserve to let your emotions out like that. it’s not healthy to bottle shit up, and i know that, because i do it all the time.” he leaned down into your hands, eyes glazed and relaxed. “i don’t mind, you know. forgive me if this sounds sappy or overdramatic, but i wouldn’t mind taking care of you sometimes, keigo.”

he relaxed further, smiling in a soft way when you traced your thumb over his stubble. you returned the smile, half-enchanted by his gaze.

“would you be okay with waiting on all the, um, affection stuff? this is fine, actually, i really like being this close to you,” keigo looked over your face as he talked, clearly looking for a sign of resistance, “but i don’t think i can do the hand-holding thing or the, um, y'know, the, um, the kissing thing. not yet.”

“of course, pretty bird.” you murmured, letting your heart fumble again at his smile. “i’ll only do what you want. if there’s any nicknames you want me to hold off on, i can do that, too.”

“no, no, i like your nicknames. i like ‘pretty bird’.” keigo gently swiped over your sleeve hem with his thumb, looking a little nervous still. “i’ll tell you when. um, when i can handle more affection. because i actually like you a lot and hopefully this didn’t ruin any chances for that second date.”

“are you kidding? of course not. of course not.” you watched him break into a small smile again, warmth spilling into your chest. “hey, pretty bird. not that i don’t adore having you here, but do you need to head home soon?”

“hm.” keigo lifted his head a bit and looked across the part of the room he could see, fondness in his gaze. “i could stay longer. if you want. i could sleep on the couch, or something, because i’m way too tired to fly home and you are really warm. i have spare suits at my office.”

“that sounds good to me. you can take the bed, if you want, the couch has staples in it. might jab ya.”

“could we just share the bed? in a totally innocent way, can i just sleep with you?”

you chuckled.

“yes, please. i have some pajamas i can lend you, if you just wanna sleep now.” at his agreement, you slowly sat up. “move off me, birdie. i gotta toss out the cups and turn the tv off.”

“alright.” he pouted, dragging the word out. clearly he was feeling a little better, his voice no longer shaking - it sounded closer to his usual drawl. you shook your head at him, still smiling, and moved him to your bedroom door, flicking off the living room lights as you did so.

you quickly opened your phone and turned the LED strip lights on, to a low green, motioning keigo to the bed as you pulled out two loose pairs of pajama pants, a worn t-shirt, and a loose muscle tank.

“here, this should accommodate your wings.” you said, tossing keigo one pair of pants and the tank top. “i’ll change in the bathroom, okay? brb.” you left, quickly, saying the letters out loud in lieu of the words.

three minutes later you stepped back in, after keigo let you know it was okay, and smiled at him - already looking half asleep.

“heya. you can get under the covers, just so you know.” you crawled into your bed, plugging your phone to charge as you dimmed the lights to blue, painting the room in faint light. as soon as you were laying under your (all black) covers, keigo was wrapping his arms around you and laying on your chest again. you let a content sound, between a laugh and a sigh, move from your chest, as you reached up to tangle your fingers around keigo’s messy hair.

“g’night, kid.” he mumbled, two thirds of the way to sleepy town. “thank you so, so much.”

“night, pretty bird. you’re very, very welcome.”

you slept peacefully, content to sleep with him in your arms.

Chapter Text

the opening notes of megalovania awoke you from your restful slumber. you lifted one hand and slapped around until you found your phone, glancing at the caller ID before answering.

“hey, fumdog. whats up?” you greeted him, voice crackly from sleep.

“i am calling to see how your date with hawks went.” he responded, quickly adding, “and please don’t call me fumdog. it sounds moronic.”

“yeah, yeah. i gotcha, fumi. went great.” as you spoke, you gently traced your free hand over the sleeping blond’s shoulders. “hes asleep right now.”

“that’s good to hear.” fumikage replied, and you could hear the smile in his tone. “wait, he’s asleep? how do you know that?”

“um. wait, what’s the time, kiddo?”

“about 5 am.”

“why are you calling me at 5 am?” you closed your eyes, focused on the conversation and keigo’s warm body.

“i was awake and curious. how do you know hawks is asleep?”

“oh. he’s right here, is why. he spent the night.”

“WHAT?”

you nearly dropped the fucking phone, jerking at the sudden noise.

“god, fumi, keep it down. he’s gonna wake up. we didn’t do anything, he just stayed super late and was too tired to fly home. it’s all cool. all safe for work.”

“oh, thank god.” you could hear the relief flooding his voice, making you a little irked.

“i wasn’t planning on screwing him the first date, dude. i’m not that much of a thot. anyway, i’m still tired, so i’m gonna hang up. see you. love you. bye.”

you hung up, hearing him splutter out an ‘i love you too?’ as you did. silently setting your phone back on the nightstand, you returned your fingers to settle in keigo’s hair.

“s’that toko?” you heard him suddenly mumble, quietly. his jaw moved against your chest.

“yea. just checkin’ on me. go back to sleep, birdie.”

“whats the time?”

“five… something… am.”

“i needta get to my job soon.” keigo sighed after he spoke, slowly lifting himself up to hover over you.

you smiled up at him, taking in his messier-than-usual hair and tired eyes.

“good morning, pretty bird.”

“mornin’, babe.” his voice was low, rough from sleep, and he didn’t seem to notice the word ‘babe’ he had aimed at you. “your bed… ’s comfy.”

“i should hope so. you want breakfast or something? i have, um, bread. maybe.”

he chuckled, and the raspy noise made your cheeks warm up.

“nah. that’s okay. don’t wanna take too much from you.” keigo was smiling, relaxed and comfortable. you felt yourself smile in return, glad he was feeling comfortable enough to joke with you again.

“hey, birdie. i’ve got a question, but you don’t need to answer.”

“what is it?”

“um,” you ran the pads of your fingers over his scalp, enjoying the blissful smile he gave you. “before our date… you texted me, right? and the text made it sound like you wanted to kiss me. last night. were you, like… um, actually, let me rephrase that. don’t feel like you need to force yourself to do stuff just because i’d like it. if there’s something you can’t handle you can just tell me. i’m fine waiting until you’re ready for things.”

his expression didn’t change, but you caught his eyes focusing on your own - clearly more awake, now.

“i guess i thought i would be able to kiss you. i didn’t really plan on panicking the second you tried.” keigo moved one hand to the side of your face, twisting one lock of hair around his finger. “i mean, i’ve kissed women before. not a lot, but sometimes i’ll take dates to hero events and - the commission basically makes me kiss them, in front of cameras and stuff. apperances. kissing a girl is pretty bland, for me, it’s not like i feel anything from it. i figured i could kiss you just as easily, but. heh. obviously, i could not.”

you felt a small tug on your bones, wishing you could just kick the commission’s ass, for making him do that shit.

“hey, you look pissed. relax. it’s not like i hate kissing my dates. it’s just, like, a part of my job, i guess.”

“that’s fucked, though. you should be able to kiss who you want. like, why the hell do they care so much? i bet you have a huge fanbase of queer dudes, too. god. i’m sorry, birdie, i’m super sorry you’ve had such shitty experiences, because kissing is actually really fun if you like the person. you should be able to have that.” you furrowed your brows as you spoke, gaze focusing less on him and more on the picture-covered wall behind his head.

“i said it’s fine. i don’t mind that much. and, anyway,” keigo lifted up, wings stretching out wide, sitting himself right next to your hips. “i don’t count any of those as my first kiss. that’s a big deal, right? i don’t count those. so that means my first kiss might be with you, which sounds just fine to me.”

at that, he moved out of the bed. you didn’t say anything, the words echoing like you were an anime protag remembering words of wisdom during a huge battle. plus, you were distracted by keigo stretching at the foot of your bed - godDAMN. that man was hotter than adonis. he looked really good in your clothes.

you turned to bury your face in the pillow for a second.

—

it was a saturday, meaning you had work, meaning you had an opportunity to tell fumikage about your date. He probably didn’t want to hear an entire detailed account on hawks eating KFC - he had no preference towards the piece of chicken, but he was very picky over eating two pieces of chicken per biscuit, and not drinking too much soda to avoid washing out the taste - but that is exactly what he got.

“what else happened?” fumikage cut you off in the middle of explaining how big of a bite he took from his biscuit. “aside from dinner.”
“oh. um, he really likes milkshakes apparently! it was cute. he got really excited.” you smiled as you talked, letting a dreamy tone seep into your words. fumikage looked a little disgusted.

“hm. well, that’s very interesting. i’m glad it was fun, for both of you.”

“me too, to be real with you. i really like him.” you paused, thinking about how nice keigo’s laugh was. “hey, if he brings me up, tell me?”

“… i’ll think about it.”

“please?”

he stayed silent.

“pleeeaaaseee, fumi? i’ll give you a raise.”

“that’s just a bribe, and i will not accept it.”

“why not?”

he sighed.

—

plug emoji:
yo hmu if you need anything
im telling you this because i got smthn new

you:
eyes emoji

plug emoji:
why didnt you just send the actual emoji

you:
comedic effect
;P

—

you:
heyy polly

hawks lol:
wrong person??

you:
no <3

hawks lol:
??
oh
WAIT
like polly want a cracker
i get it
that ones pretty creative actually

you:
ik my mind is very powerful
its one of my sexier aspects

hawks lol:
who lied to you <3

you:
WHAT FUCK YOU
i am nothing but handsome and funny and you attack me

hawks lol:
fun fact your contact name used to be ‘emo boy clown’

you:
:(
wait what is it now

hawks lol:
emo boy clown
but with the black heart emoji
because you are emo

you:
when did you change it??

hawks lol:like 3 hours ago

you:
ahaha hawks :flushed:
dont simp for me or itll get 2 my head

hawks lol:
im gonna ASSUME you havent even changed my contact name since you got my number

you:
lol

hawks lol:
thats just an agreement huh
and ive gone thru the trouble of changing your contact name FOUR TIMES

you:
>simping
?? gimme the past contact names i had

hawks lol:
say please

you:
no

hawks lol:
you want them, you’re gonna need to say please

you:
tell me now

hawks lol:
say PLEASE you need 2 ask nicely

you:
i’m not asking.

hawks lol:
,,,
okay starting from the first name

you:
HAHAHA

hawks lol:
shut up
1. tokoyami’s hot friend
2. (y/n) and then a clown emoji
3. emo boy clown

you:
aha yours is just. hawks lol

hawks lol:
really?? just my hero name?? lazy

you:
and a ‘lol’

hawks lol:
oh okay whatever at least u put a little spice in

you:
i can change it

hawks lol:
to what

you:
hoe number 5

hawks lol:
:(

you:
i’m changing it to ‘birdie’ but also i will add in a heart. for flavor

birdie <3:
:O
;>

you:
wait that was rlly cute
hey do you wanna hang out tonight
like as homies

birdie <3:
i would but i gotta patrol tonight

you:
are u taking fumi :\

birdie <3:
yeah :(
im sorry bb

you:
its fineee we can be homies another time
ttyl babie

birdie <3:
:) ttyl

—

you:
heyyyy

plug emoji:
?

you:
so you SAID to text if i need anything
,, so would you maybe wanna hang out
with me

plug emoji:
thats not what i meant
but sure
we are gonna get high though

you:
ofc king now please dont kill me im giving you my address
fr i dont want to get murdered

plug emoji:
dont worry you arent on my hit list

you:
thank god
-

Chapter Text

“so how did you meet hawks?” dabi’s voice is grated and casual, his gaze pointed up at your ceiling. you sighed and released a wave of cloudy white.

“he knows someone i know. why?”“dunno. hawks is a total mystery sometimes.” dabi lifted his hand, and you passed him the blunt.

“do you know him?” you closed your eyes as you asked.

“yeah.” he mumbled, and then you heard him exhale hard.

“huh. i get it. yeah. he can be a mystery.” you giggled. “a very hot mystery.”

“oh, jesus, don’t tell me you’re fucking him.” the annoyance sounded almost fond, considering you’d only talked to this dude like ten times. “i will never contact you again if you are.”

“shuuuut up. i’m not fucking hawks. he doesn’t wanna- wanna fuck. i respect it.”

“whatever. did he tell you that?”

“uhhh, sort of. it’s all cool. we’re cool. hey, dabi, y’ever kiss your friends?” you opened your eyes and sat up a little, pulling the blunt from between his fingers.

“i don’t have a lot of friends. and the scars drive some people away. but yeah, once in a while. i don’t really put boundaries between friends and more than friends. whatever happens, happens. y’know.”

“yeah.” you pursed your lips as you blew out, almost comically stretching your expression. “okay. cool. hey, are you thirsty? i have water bottles on my counter, in a mini cooler thing.”

“shit, thanks.” dabi stood, making his way towards the waters.

you watched him for a second, before you reached for your phone. it was sort of late you noted, and your phone opened to the previous conversation you’d had with keigo.

—

you:hey um hawkie

birdie <3:heyy what is it
im on break for like 40 minutes btw before i go on the mf patrol

you:oh okay :)
can i ask you something serious

birdie <3:
???
yeah sure
you:i wanna have a longer discussion with you in person about this
lmao i sound so mature
but what would you categorize us as

birdie <3:
hm
idk actually
until we have an in-person discussion, id just say like more-than-friends i suppose
why?
you:just wondering, i guess?? been on my mind a lil
when are you free next??

birdie <3:
i can take you to lunch or something tomorrow

you:
sounds gr8
:0
i’m working before lunch anyway so thats good timing

birdie <3:
cool, ill pick you up then
:)

—

butterflies formed in your stomach for a brief moment, but you turned your phone off and tossed it aside. no need to be all cutesy and lovesick.

“hey, dabi. get me one too.”

“will do.” he came back a moment later, dropping the cold water bottle onto your lap.

“ow. thanks.” you chuckled as you opened it, taking a large sip.

“why’d you ask about kissing friends?” dabi asked, as he draped himself onto the couch again, and you shrugged.

“dunno. just been thinking about, like, affection lately. how people see it. deep shit like that.”

“ah.” he answered, taking a sip of his own water. “what, are you a journalist?”

“i work at a store. i’m the manager.” you remembered the lit blunt in your hand, and took another hit off it.

“what store?”

you gave him the name, and he nodded.

“it’s like hot topic but we don’t sell, like, barry potter stuff. or rick and shorty stuff. or any stupid tumblr fandom crap. we sell, like, alt shit.” you took another hit. “it’s cool.”

“sounds cool. it is interesting, actually. now that i think on it.” dabi told you, gaze perpetually half-lidded.

“what’s interesting?”

“how people view kissing and shit. some people won’t kiss anyone, not even their husbands or something. but some people go around kissing whoever asks.” he took the blunt back from you as he spoke. it was almost gone, you realized.

“yeah. and some people can only do it with, like, a partner.” you watched him blow out thick smoke, and wondered how often he did this. “what about you?”

“mm,” he hummed as he exhaled a cloud of white. “i don’t want to be tied down. usually i don’t just kiss my friends, though, and if someone wants to it leads to more than that.”

“haha, thot.” you said, chuckling, and he rolled his eyes.

“what about you?” dabi looked at you from the corner of his eye.

“eh. i don’t- it depends. if i’m dating someone, i’m still attracted to other people. most of my past relationships have been open. but i’m fine either way, i guess, i just prefer being able to kiss who i’m dating as well as anyone else i like.”

“yeah.” dabi nodded, as he leaned his head on the back of your couch. “i get that. does hawks know?”

“hawks isn’t my boyfriend, so no.” you chuckled. “but i’ll tell him eventually, even just as pals.”

after a moment of silence, dabi spoke again.

“what’s your type? do you usually go for short blondes?”

you let out a loud laugh at that, and reached to grab the blunt. he let you, mumbling out ‘kill it’.

“i don’t think i have a type. if he was tall and had brown hair, but had the same personality - i bet i’d still like him.”

“so it’s the personality?”

“yeah. yeah, it is. i like it when someone is funny. dry humor is the best.”

“hm.” he shut his eyes, and you closed yours a second later. you dropped the roach into the ceramic bowl on the ground and let your body slump over, leaning your head on dabi’s shoulder. you could feel the ridgy skin grafts underneath his thin t-shirt.

“hey, turn off the lights.”

“why?” dabi grunted, but he reached over to do it anyway. a moment later, you heard a click, and the lights strung around your living room were dimming.

“i wanna sleep.” you whispered, wiggling a little to get comfortable against him and the couch. you grabbed for the blanket draped over the arm, unfolding it and covering yourself and dabi.

“did i agree to spend the night?” he sassed you, but his voice was just as quiet.

“shh.” you patted his arm, and tried to fall asleep. a few minutes later, dabi turned until he was more comfortably laying against the arm of the couch, with you on his chest. you smiled as you got comfortable again, and your breathing softened out. the last thing you were aware of was dabi’s hot hand resting on your back.

—

“hey, birdie!” you grinned as you walked over to hawks, sticking your hands in your pockets.

“hey. where do you wanna go?” he grinned back, puffing up his feathers.

“uh, there’s this really good american place. it’s got burgers and all that stuff.” you said, nodding vaguely down the street. “have you ever been to america?”

“nope. is it walking distance?” hawks looked around where you indicated, his eyes squinted slightly.

“america? not really.”

“haha. i mean the restaurant.” he stuck his tongue out at you.

“it’s about thirty minutes away.”

“hm. i can make it five.” he looked down at you, grinning again.

“how? oh, fuck, are you gonna fly?” you widened your eyes, blinking at him. “i don’t have a jacket, dude. it’s gotta be cold up there.”
“it is. you can just wear mine.” hawks shrugged, and stepped into a slightly hidden area as he started shrugging off his jacket.“wait.” you reached a hand out, not touching him, but making him pause. “you’re gonna get cold.”

“it’s fine. i won’t fly too high. i’ll just be a little chilly.” he smiled at you. “is anyone coming?”
“um.” you looked around, and shook your head. “no?”

“good.” hawks said, and then all of his feathers were floating in the air as he took his jacket off. as soon as it was in his hand, the feathers reattached.

“what the fuck?” you furrowed your brows as you took the jacket he pushed into your arms.

“it’s how i get my shirts off. c’mon, put that on. i’m starving.”

“whatever.” you rolled your eyes, shrugging the jacket on. it fit you the same way it fit hawks, maybe a little bigger, and it was warm. not to mention the fact that it smelled just like him - when he slept at your place, you’d taken note of the mix of shampoo, deodorant and detergent. it smelled really, really nice, and you buried your face in the collar and breathed in.

you heard hawks chuckle.

“are we gonna get lunch or are you gonna smell my jacket all day?” he flexed out his wings, and you narrowed your eyes.

“fine. let’s go.”

“great. don’t fall.” he said, and then the ground was thirty feet away and your back was being held to his chest.

there wasn’t any time to shout out ‘what the fuck’ because he was leaning to talk into your ear.

“i was joking, by the way. i’m not dropping you.” hawks murmured, and you wiggled a little in his hold. “relax.”
“you better not drop me. i’ll block you.”

“where’s this restaurant, babe?” was his response.

you spent a second flushing at the nickname again, before you looked down at the city.

“that’s it. the red building.” you pointed down at the restaurant, and hawks changed directions.

flying with hawks was weird. you could feel the beat of his wings, and the wind, and his heart. everyone below looked really small, and you weren’t even that high up.

he didn’t announce when you were going to land, instead slowly descending as he reached the restaurant. when your feet hit the ground again, landing in an alley, you stumbled a little. hawks tightened his arms around you.

“i’m okay. they, um, do takeout. so we can go to my apartment if you want.” you patted his forearm.

“alright.” hawks let you go, and waited until you were steady to head towards the door, opening it for you.

it only took about fifteen minutes to get your order. hawks had asked for his jacket back when you were around other people, apologetic as you handed it over. you didn’t blame him, though. once you were back in the alley, holding two plastic bags of food, he let you wear it again.

“we can also go to my apartment. less hassle.” he said, waiting for you to get a grip on the food bags before he wrapped his arms around you again.

“sure.” you replied, leaning back into him, and then you were up in the air again.

—

hawks’ apartment was fucking huge. and it felt very empty. everything looked pristine and unused, like a showroom instead of a home.

“here, you can set those down. i’m gonna grab plates. do you want a drink?” hawks glanced at you as he strode to the kitchen, giving you an amused smile as you flung yourself onto his couch.

“if you’ve got sprite i’d love some. and grab some salt for me, sweetheart.” you waved your hand at him, pretending not to notice his smile widen at the nickname.

a few minutes later, you were situated at hawks’ coffee table. he shrugged off his jacket again, dropping his headphones and visor on top. then he sat across from you, grinned, and he was keigo again.

“hi.” you waved at him, prompting laughter.

“hi.” keigo replied, picking up his chicken sandwich. “you haven’t made a cannibalism joke the whole time we’ve known each other.”

“oh, no, i guess not. do people usually do that around you?” you raised an eyebrow, starting to eat from your pile of french fries.

“yep. because of the whole ‘chicken is my favorite food and also i have a bird theme’ thing.” he shrugged.

“what? that’s dumb. your hero name is hawks, right? hawks eat chickens anyway. do people realize that? hawks are birds of prey.”

keigo shrugged again, swallowing. he was halfway through his sandwich already. you both spent a moment eating.

“i guess it’s just not convenient to remember when you’re trying to make a joke.”

“yeah.” you nodded. “are you my boyfriend?”

he choked.

“woah- fuck, wait, kei, you alright?” you moved around to his side of the table, hovering your hands above his back in case you needed to use the heimlich. “shit, i should have worked up to that. are you okay?”

“mh- yeah.” he croaked, reaching to take a sip of his water. you waited until he wasn’t breathing harshly to move back towards your own plate. “i’m good. do- do you, um, want me to be your boyfriend?”

“well, yes, that’s why i asked. i would like that.” you ate a few more fries, chewing quickly. “um, you don’t have to answer right away. you can think about it.”
“i already did. i’d like to be your boyfriend.” keigo told you, the tips of his ears turning red.

“oh- fuck yeah!” you grinned, and he returned the look. “um, wait, wait. i have another question.”

“shoot.” he reached to sip his water again.

“are you- like, totally monogamous?”

keigo blinked at you as he drank his water, and hummed.

“i don’t know, actually. hm. why?”

you shrugged, tapping at your thigh.

“i’m not, is why. i can be! if you want to be my only partner, that’s totally fine, and i’d be okay with it. whatever you’re okay with.”

“well…” keigo tilted his head, before he smiled in a relaxed way. “i dunno. i’m okay if you wanna date someone else, too. just- just, um.” he paused.

“no, tell me. i don’t care if you think it’s weird, tell me what you wanna say.” you leaned forward a little, trying to reassure him.

“could you… like, one night stands and stuff, i’m not okay with that. but if you wanted another serious partner, that’s fine. just tell me, if you start seeing someone else.”

“sure! sure. of course. communication, baby. it’s what’s up.” you joked, and keigo grinned. “and, hey, um. just letting you know. i’m not trying to get another boyfriend because of the affection thing. i just wanted to say that.”

“oh. thanks. for being understanding about it.” he tapped at his empty plate, smiling gently.

“of course, birdie. hey, how long is your lunch break?” you moved the dishes into one pile on the coffee table.

“i have another hour or so.”

“do you wanna take a nap? i’m really tired. and you’re really nice to hold.”

he flushed crimson, but nodded nonetheless.

“hold on, i’ll set a timer. so you don’t end up late back to work.” you told him, crawling backwards onto the (very wide) couch.

“set it for forty minutes. do you want a blanket?” keigo walked over to press a button, closing the blinds of each giant window simultaneously. you nodded, and he grabbed a large grey blanket as he walked back to you.

he kicked off his boots, pulling the blanket over both of you as he laid himself on your chest. you wrapped your arms around him again, tugging the blanket up a little more.

“have i told you that you smell nice, kei?” you whispered out loud.

“i figured from the way you inhaled my jacket. now shh, babe.” keigo moved one hand up to grab your own, holding your hand and resting it by your head. you smiled to yourself as you slowly fell asleep to keigo’s steady breaths.

—

you woke up to an alarm ringing, and keigo’s weight moving off your chest. you turned onto your side, opening one eye and frowning at him.

“am i gonna have to wander back to my apartment alone?”

“i can take you. or you can just stay here for a while. i’m off the clock at eight.” he had his back to you, pulling his hero gear back on.

“eh. i guess i’ll just go back to my own place. that’s like, five hours alone here. i’d get bored.”

“then get up so i can take you.” he turned back around, smiling at you and waving you up. you groaned and sat up, sluggishly making your way from the couch and towards where your boots rested.

“come on, kid.” keigo called, standing by the balcony doors. “don’t have all day.”“shut up. i’m not that much younger than you. actually, as of tomorrow, we are the same age.” you walked towards him, holding your arms above his shoulders. “can i hug you? can we fly like that?”

“wait, your birthday is tomorrow?” he asked, sounding confused, and you rolled your eyes and repeated your own question. “yeah, yeah, go ahead.” he hugged you back, craning his neck to look at you. “your birthday is tomorrow?”

“yes, birdie, that’s what i said.” you nuzzled your face into his neck, stepping forward and forcing him back towards the open balcony. “don’t worry about celebrating or getting anything. i don’t like making a big deal about it. now come on, baby, we don’t have all day.”

—

bird brother:
Hawks just asked me if I got you anything for your birthday.

you:
oh?

bird brother:
I didn’t realize he knew your birthday. Usually you don’t tell anyone when it is.

you:
you know when my bday is!!

bird brother:
Yes, because I’ve been your friend for many years. And I only found out when your father asked me to come over to eat cake with you.
Because you didn’t have anyone else to celebrate with.

you:
okay yeah i get it im a loner
hawks knows my birthday for two reasons

bird brother:
And those are?

you:
one, he called me kid and i was like ‘yo by tomorrow we’ll be the same age, cuck’

bird brother:
Classy.

you:
TWO hes my boyfriend now so ig he should know

bird brother:
Excuse me, Hawks is your boyfriend?

you:
yeah are you with him rn

bird brother:Yes.

you:
omg facetime me!!!

bird brother:
What??

—

“hiiiii, fumi!” you grinned at the screen, waving a hand at fumikage. he was holding the phone at an unflattering angle, clearly unprepared for your call.
“hello, (y/n), i’m on duty right now.” he said, lifting the phone more to his face.

“yeah? cool. why are you in an office then?”

“i’m filling out paperwork.” fumikage told you, propping the phone up against something and holding up a pen. “hero work isn’t always patrolling.”

“god, ew. you should stage a coup. make someone else do the paperwork. holy shit! fumi! you should get an intern. it would lessen the workload.”

“that’s why i got an intern.” hawks leaned into view, grinning at you. “hi.”

“hi.” you couldn’t help the excited smile on your face. “see, fumdog-“

“do not call me that.”

“it’s a great idea. go rope some young hopeful kid into doing the boring work.” you stuck your tongue out. fumikage sighed.

“did you call me just to bother me?”

“um, yes? i’m bored. oh, hey, hawks.”

“yeah?” he answered from off-screen. fumikage turned the phone to include hawks in-frame. he had one hand in his hair, writing something with a focused expression on his face.

“can i tell fumikage that you’re my boyfriend?”
“if you want.” he kept his eyes on the paper he was filling out, but smiled as he spoke.

“so you really are dating?” fumikage narrowed his eyes, but you could tell he was happy for you.

“yes.” you said, and smiled at him.

“well, um, good job.”

“aw, you should say that to hawks. i’m the catch here.”

“are you just fishing for compliments?” hawks chimed in again. before you could answer, he spoke more. “you’re right. i’m definitely the lucky one.” he looked at you and winked as he said that, and you chuckled.

“okay, i’m hanging up. i would rather not hear you act couple-y. goodbye, (y/n).” fumikage raised his hand towards the phone.

“bye! bye fumi. bye, birdie.” you managed to wave before fumikage hung up.

—

you:
hey um fun fact youre hot when youre working

birdie <3:
im just doing paperwork, tho? im not even doing the REAL sexy shit
aka hitting people with feathers

you:
idk something abt your focused expression was rlly attractive ;0

birdie <3:
well if you ever feel like sitting around and watching me work tell me and ill bring you into the office ;)

you:
i am going to take you up on that offer bb just tell me when

birdie <3:
lmao simp…..

you:
stfu its not simping now that youre my ~boyfriend~
im gonna take advantage of that now 2

birdie <3:
how?? please dont use my name to get free food i do that enough for both of us

you:
NO dummy
i mean im going to say that as much as i can

birdie <3:
owo

you:
nvm breaking up

birdie <3:
NO
*falls to my knees and cries*
*ive lost all hold on my sanity. its broken. my eyes are blank as i sob*
y-you’ve hurt me… desu…

you:
smh my head
get outta here weeb

birdie <3:
okie! nya~! *cutely hands you a cookie and naruto runs away with my long pink hair bouncing behind me*

you:
pain.

Chapter Text

—

bird brother:
Happy birthday.
:)

—

birdie <3:
GMHAPPY BIRTHDYA BABY
:D :D
im coming over btw ill be there in a few minutes ;)

—

“hi, what- keigo, is that a cake?”

“yes.” he told you matter-of-factly, and pushed the small box into your hands. “i know you said not to get you anything, but i wanted cake and figured this was a win-win.” keigo shoved past you into your apartment, quickly dropping himself onto one of the new plastic inflatable chairs you’d gotten.

“thank you.” you went to the kitchen to grab two forks, and sat in the chair next to his. “seriously. this is the only gift i will accept, because it is a cake and i’m hungry.”

“of course. of course. open it.” he leaned over and tapped rapidly at the box, grinning at you. “open it!”

“god, babe, i think you’re more excited for the cake than i am. stop tapping at it!” you swatted his hand away, and opened the box. inside was a small cake, enough for two people, decorated with red frosting roses. “woah, kei, this cake looks fucking choice. dude.”

“come on come on come on eat the first bite!” he wiggled a little in his seat, clearly excited. you rolled your eyes and dug your fork in, chewing slowly. it was incredible. a perfect texture and taste. you reached for a second, bigger bite, quickly finishing that one. “you like it?”

“yeah, i do. oh my god.”

“let me have some! i love this bakery. let me have some.” keigo took the offered fork and reached to grab a piece of cake. “happy birthday, by the way. good job being the same age as me.”

“thanks.” you responded in a flat tone.

“no, but really, happy birthday.” keigo told you through a mouthful of cake, and you laughed at him.

you kept eating at the cake, but eventually keigo had to leave and get back to hero work. you tucked the cake into your fridge, winking at the debauched present mic poster, and went to the door where keigo stood.

“thank you. this was really nice of you.” you mumbled, and pulled him into a hug. keigo hugged back immediately, his warm cheek against yours. you held onto him as long as you could before he whispered he had to get going. just before he left, you felt him press a kiss to your cheek. then he was down the hallway and out the door, leaving you with a warm face and a stupid grin.

—

bird brother:
Would you like to join my family for dinner?

you:
ummmmm
hm
are you guys gonna make a big deal abt my ejection date or smthn

bird brother:
Does that mean your birthday?

you:
yuh
like is ur mom making my favorite meal
or are you guys gonna force gifts onto me

bird brother:
The first thing, yes. But we didn’t get you any presents.

you:
okaokayayyyyy ill come over
when??

bird brother:
Six?

you:
yes sure ill be there :)

—

“hello, (y/n)! nice to see you again. come in, honey.” fumikage’s mom opened the door and waved you inside. you smiled at her and joined fumikage and his dad at their table, waving at them.

“you look happy, (y/n). good to see. how have you been?” fumikage’s dad asked, and you shrugged.

“i’ve been good. been great, actually. how about you?”

“i’ve been just fine. we’re thinking about going down to the beach next weekend. hear the weather will be nice.” he grinned, and you nodded.

“oh, yeah. i’d be going down there if i wasn’t so busy these days. i hope you enjoy yourselves, if you do go.”

“what are you busy with?” fumikage asked, even though he knew full fucking well what you were busy with.

“you know, work, redecorating. i might have a date.”

“a date? with who?” fumikage’s mom came in, carrying dishes, and you stood to help her set the table. “thank you, dear. is this someone serious?”
“yeah, my boyfriend.” you told her, smiling.

“a boyfriend! who is it? do we know him?” she asked, an excited chirp in her tone. fumikage got his bird features from his mom, so you couldn’t see her smile, but the upturn of her eyes made it clear she was happy.

“oh, fumikage’s met him.” you sat back down, and she stepped back into the kitchen to grab a bowl of apples. once everything was on the table and you all said thanks for the meal, dark shadow popped out and snatched up an apple. “hey, dark shadow. long time no see.”

“yeah, fumi keeps telling me not to show up at work or whatever.” the shadow responded, crunching through his apple.

“who is your boyfriend?” fumikage’s dad leaned forward a bit, and you laughed a little sheepishly.

“um, do you know how fumi is working with hawks?”

“of course. we’re very proud of him for it. does your boyfriend work at his agency?” fumikage’s mom asked, before sipping at her wine.

“he does work there. thank you for making my favorite dinner, by the way. it’s really good.”

“of course, dear! twenty second birthday. you know, i remember when you were a nervous fifteen year old. now look at you!”

you laughed again, reaching for your glass of wine. a warm feeling settled in your chest.

—

“hi, dad!”

“hey, buddy. how was your day?”

“good. fumikage invited me over for dinner. how was yours? how’s the weather?”

“weather’s just fine! a little humid. happy birthday, (y/n). i love you.”

“i love you too, dad. thank you. i’m planning on taking some time off soon, so i might come down and see you.”

“that would be great, buddy. tell me when and i’ll get the guest room ready!”

“sure! in the next few weeks, most likely. i love you, pops. i’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“i love you too. bye.”

the phone clicked as you hung up, and you smiled at the small picture of you and your dad on your nightstand. today had been one of your favorite birthdays, you decided.

Chapter Text

—

you:
ahaha

plug emoji:
what

you:
wanna hang out again

plug emoji:
???
fucking
why?

you:
because i want to
pls
pls
pls
pls
ill buy off you
ill get you food or smthn

plug emoji:
fine
get me some fries
ill be over in like 20 minutes

you:
yayyy

—

you handed dabi a cup as soon as he walked in.

“why do you want to hang out if we just hung out two days ago?”

“i don’t have a lot of friends. that’s sprite. from McBonalds.” you locked the door behind him.

“hm.” he sipped from his drink, and walked towards your closed bedroom door. “is this your room?”

“yeah. why?” you grabbed the bag of food and stood right behind him, looking up at his hair. dabi was like 6’1.

instead of answering you, he opened the door.

“yo, wait, dude-“

“we’re chilling in here.” dabi said, and laid himself over your bed. you sighed and closed your bedroom door, handing him the bag. “thanks. nice room, by the way. like the twilight posters.”

“yeah, thanks. i have a new one coming in the mail.”

it was quiet as dabi ate, just the sounds of a bag rustling, his chewing, and you scratching at your black comforter.

after a few minutes, he crumpled his trash into the paper bag and sat up to take a very long pull off his sprite. when he set it down the cup sounded empty.

“alright, what now?” dabi turned his head to you, his bright blue eyes almost glowing in the darkness of your room. you realized you hadn’t turned the lights up, and the room was stuck on the low purple setting from last night.

“uh. i dunno. i don’t have a lot of friends, remember?” you shrugged, and patted an idle rhythm on your bed. “we could watch a movie, or play truth or dare, or do some at-home karaoke…”

“truth or dare?” dabi raised an eyebrow.

“i mean, yeah. or twenty questions. or something.”

“… sure. why not. let’s play ten questions.”

“it’s twenty, dumbass.” you told him with a small laugh.

“this version is ten. you first.” he waved a hand around as if to dismiss the extra ten questions.

“um… okay. you said you’re doing more illegal shit than dealing to me. what kind of stuff are you doing?”

“jumping right in, huh?” dabi chuckled, that low grated noise, and threw an arm over his eyes. “the thing i do most often is steal. guy’s gotta eat. one could also argue i’m a murderer.”

“one could argue?” you leaned forward, but he chuckled again.

“nope, my turn. are you banging hawks?” the smug tone told you he knew the question was a little embarrassing.

“i’m not banging him. but we are dating now. please don’t kill me as leverage.” you threw in the last sentence to be sure, and dabi laughed a little louder than he had before. “have you killed people before?”

“yeah.” he answered, simply, and you were more taken aback by how casually he answered than the fact that he’d killed people. “some of them fuckin’ deserved it. creeps in alleyways stalking girls. shitty parents. people like that.”

“like a weird way to administer justice.” you kept any question out of your voice.

“sort of. i also just burn people in my way. you got any piercings?”

“yeah. nine on my right ear, ten on my left, and i have a septum piercing. but i usually keep that flipped up.”

“really? show me.” dabi moved his arm and moved up on his elbows, looking at you intensely. it made you flush a little.

“that counts as your next question.” you reminded him, but you were moving your hair back to show your ears anyway.

“i don’t care. show me.” he smirked and tilted his head a little. you leaned forward and let him look at both your ears, decked out in simple silver hoops and studs. after he nodded, you flipped your septum piercing down. “woah. i like that one.” dabi leaned in to look closer, and grinned up at you. “looks hot.”

“shut up,” you groaned, shifting away a bit. “i get two in a row now.”

“alright. shoot.” dabi leaned back down, still on his elbows.

“do you have any piercings?”

“three on my nose, but you can see those. i have four on each ear. and i’ve got a few in another place.”

“another- holy shit, dabi, do you have piercings on your dick?”

“is that your second question?” he chuckled.

“no, because if you do my second question is can you show me?”

“was this all a ploy to get me to show you my dick?”

your next words died on your tongue. you swallowed thickly and shook your head. then you looked away from him.

“um, fine, i’ll just ask if you have them. on your dick.”

“yeah, i do.”

“cool. cool. your turn.”

dabi stayed quiet, and you glanced at him from the corner of your eye.

“you said you prefer open relationships - and you’re dating birdbrain now. what’s the deal there?”

“he said it’s cool if i have another serious partner. like, one night stands are a no-go. but having a committed friend with benefits or another boyfriend is fine.” you looked at dabi’s eyes as you spoke, noting how fucking pretty they were. “what kind of music do you like?”

he didn’t answer. you reached down and tapped his cheek, starting to ask if he was tired, but his hand wrapped around your wrist and tugged until your face was over his.

“uh, dabi?” you whispered, and he trailed his eyes down from yours to your lips. as he did so, you could almost feel a burning trail from his eyes. your face flushed over, and semi-consciously you licked your lips. dabi flicked his gaze back up, one eyebrow raising in question.

you leaned in a millimeter more. that was all the answer he needed. dabi let go of your wrist and set his hand on the back of your neck, pushing you down as your lips met his.

the contrast between sensations - chapped upper lip, and rough bottom lip - was odd, but you liked it. once you were used to the fact that dabi was kissing you, you moved your hands on both sides of his body and pressed back. he reacted, tilting his head a bit and letting you open your mouth a little.

clearly dabi wasn’t the type of person who liked chaste, short kisses. he was already working his tongue into your mouth, grinning into the kiss as you shifted to sit on his lap. you bit gently down on his bottom lip, and opened your mouth to let his tongue slide against yours. you noticed a certain sensation, and pulled back just a bit.

“you didn’t mention a tongue piercing.” you whispered, and he chuckled low in his throat.

“figured i’d let you find out on your own.” he murmured, pulling you back into the kiss. you wrapped both arms around his neck, pressing your chest to his and licking into his mouth. dabi was, you realized as he tangled his fingers in your hair, an excellent kisser.

—

birdie <3:
gm bb

you:
gmmmm babe
im lowkey tired and i might fall back asleep

birdie <3:
must be nice
i have to wake up at like five in the fuckin morning

you:
:(
well
thank god i dont! :D

birdie <3:
>:\

you:
ttyl sweetheart im gonna sleep for another hour

birdie <3:
yeah yeah no need to brag

—

“that hawks?” dabi’s voice was even rougher in the morning, and you chuckled as you tossed your phone back on the bedside table. turning on your side, you were met with dabi’s scarred neck.

“yeah. i’m gonna sleep more. you don’t have to stick around if you don’t want.”

“i think you’re just kicking me out.” he mumbled, but sounded amused.

“nah. i’d actually prefer you stay, because you’re warm. but i know you’re a lone wolf, or something. the type to leave once he gets what all men are after, deep down.” you retorted. “i’m joking, by the way.”

“i know. besides, we didn’t even get that far, so i couldn’t leave for that reason. c’mere.” dabi wrapped his arm around you, tugging you into his chest. you wrapped an arm around his bare torso and fell back asleep.

—

plug emoji:
you better tell birdboy, btw

you:
um obvs i will
i am a good boyfriend
we’re getting dinner so i’ll tell him then

plug emoji:
yeah? and what are you gonna say?

you:
‘hey hawkie um first of all you look very handsome and second do you know that one emo guy who burns ppl and maybe chills with the league of villains a little well guess what i made out with him and now i guess we’re friends with benefits but the benefit isnt just sexual encounters its also weed so dont worry im getting the most out of this deal’

plug emoji:
please god dont say that
cut out the weed part and the villain part

you:
:\
bro why

plug emoji:
i dont want his stupid blond ass to bring this up next time he catches me criming

you:
lmao criming
fineeeeeee
what if he asks who you are tho
what do i say then wise one

plug emoji:
just say im working on it

you:
LMAOO
wait have you spoken to hawks before

plug emoji:
yes
many times
he patrols my area sometimes

you:
oh
whatever ill handle it
all will turn out well :)

plug emoji:
change my contact name too idiot

you:
ugh FINE
god youre so needy
suck on a dude’s tongue once and suddenly hes bossing you around

sparkle ted (unicorn horn maker from BronyCon):
whatever you liked it

—

“you look… happy.” your coworker, nozomi, told you as she adjusted her spiked collar.

“i am. i’m the luckiest man in the world, nozomi. do you want to know why? because i’m apparently hot enough to warrant attention from two baddies. two separate dudes.” you replied, pushing your hands in the bin full of stickers and moving them around, staring at the stickers with a stupid smile.

“huh. are you dating them?” she asked, and you shrugged.

“umm, one of them! the other is just someone i hang out with. and kissed. last night.” abruptly turning to stare at her, you blinked. “how are you, nozomi? what’s up with you?”

“uh,” nozomi paused, obviously not expecting you to ask her about herself. “i’m good. i met this really cool girl at a show and she’s been texting me the past two days. i’m gonna dye my hair pink.”

“pink would look good on you. are you growing your hair out more?”

“no, i think i’ll just keep it like this. enough hair to dye, but no real hassle.”

“yeah. yeah. cool. you’re cool, nozomi.”

“thanks.” she mumbled, looking down, but smiling nonetheless.

—

birdie <3:
be there in a few minutes

you:
:0
i cannot wait!!!!!

birdie <3:
;P

—

“hi!” you shouted, yanking the door open and pulling hawks down into a hug. he chuckled and wrapped his arms around you, gloved hands resting on the small of your back. “hello. how was your day?” you asked, stepping back and kicking the door closed while still hugging him.

“it was good. how was yours?” he spoke into your shoulder, and you could feel him smile.

“amazing. immaculate. god, can we hug forever?”

“maybe. my legs might get tired standing here, though.”

“okay. fine. come here, then.” you pulled away and walked backwards towards your room, waving your hand at him.

“what about dinner?” hawks asked, but he followed you as he pulled off his gloves.

“um, it can wait. we can order something, maybe. c’mere.” you fell back onto your bed, moving backwards to lay your head on a pillow. hawks kicked off his boots and dropped his jacket, visor, and headphones on the floor, before joining you. as soon as he was laying down you moved around and wrapped one leg around his, placing your head on his chest. “hi.”

“hi.” keigo laughed, the sound echoing below your head. “c’mere.” he pulled you up, letting you nuzzle your face into his neck as he rested one hand on your leg.

you spent around half an hour like that, drifting in and out of sleep, keigo’s arms warm around you. his breathing was deep and steady, lulling you into a relaxed state. eventually he shifted a bit, clearly more awake, and you moved your hand up to trace your thumb over his jaw.

“babe i have something to tell you.” you sat up, looking down at him. “what is it?”

“i have another partner. i mean, i do now. like as of last night. he’s not my boyfriend but, like, it is a relationship.”

“oh, really?” he asked, but there was no malice. he just sounded curious. "did you go out with him last night or something?"

“no, he came over here. we sorta kissed a ton. he knows about you, too. like that i have a boyfriend. who is you. you’re my boyfriend.”

keigo just chuckled.

“i wanted to tell you right away. so you knew. if you’re not okay with it tell me.”

“thank you. i’m okay with it. now come back, you’re warm.” keigo tugged at your arm, but you stayed sitting, even if you were dead tired.

“do you just want to sleep over? we should change if you do.”

“yeah. sounds good.”

Chapter Text

bird brother:
Good morning.

you:
uhhh gm king

bird brother:
What are your plans today?

you:
get fucked up

bird brother:
No, honestly.

you:
that is honestly what im doing
im gonna hang out with my side bitch and get zoinked

bird brother:
Is that… all day?

you:
yea lol we might try to hotbox my room
why do you wanna hang out? i can pause that until tomorrow

bird brother:
No, I don’t want to be a bother.

you:
UM youre not a bother youre a bRother
:)
he can wait lol what do you wanna do?

bird brother:
Well, a few of my classmates and I have formed a band, I suppose.
We’re going to be performing at a show later. I was wondering if you would come.
I figured we could meet for lunch before?

you:
WHAT FUMI
YOURE IN ABADN?????
A BAND??????
YOOOOO
omg omg of COURSE i will go
i gotta support my favorite dude
(thats you)
where do you want me to meet you??

bird brother:
Kyoto Ka.
We’re meeting at noon.

you:
i will be there
very cool
very very cool
im proud of you fumi i know you’ll ROCK that gui-tar
:) <3

bird brother:
…Thank you.
<3

—

you:
AHHHH

birdie <3:
???????
are you okay???

you:
YEAH
OMG
BBY
BAY BEE

birdie <3:
yes?????

you:
K
our sweet beloved fumikage is in a BAND and he INVITED me to their SHOW
im so proud i love my bro

birdie <3:
WHAT AH
oh my god :0
pls tell him im proud of him

you:
ofc ofc
ofc
omg im so EXCITED AHAHAHA
okay ill stop bothering u i know you have hero work 2 do
have a good day at work babe pls stay safe <3

birdie <3:
of course i will i am always safe
safe is my middle name

you:
somehow……. i doubt that…………………….

birdie <3:
HWATVER ill be safe okay have fun at tokos show
<3 :)

you:
:D!! <3

—

you:
heyyy big head

sparkle ted (unicorn horn maker from BronyCon):
whats up

you:
PSH LMAOO
hahaha
hi

sparkle ted (unicorn horn maker from BronyCon):
what
wait did you change my contact name to something stupid
ill kick your ass

you:
>:\ im changing it hold on
i would never be able to have an actual convo with that in my notifs
okay anyway we gotta postpone our plans

dab pen:
wtf why
are you going out with your hero boyfriend

you:
awww is someone jealous :(

dab pen:
why would i be jealous
you were obviously inviting me over to hook up again

you:
stfu hoe
im not going out with him today anyway
my brother from another mother invited me to something
so you gotta wait until tomorrow to get another go at my amazing kissing skills

dab pen:
‘brother from another mother’?

you:
yeah hes like a teenager and we’ve been friends for years and hes like my little brother
but not really
bc we arent related

dab pen:
ah
okay fine ill just come over tomorrow

you:
okayayaayyy
;)

—

one of your favorite things about going places aside from work was getting dressed. at work, your boss had made it clear wild accessories were okay, in moderation, but that you had to wear plain sneakers and black jeans (along with one of the shirts sold there) aside from that.

you didn’t do much other than work, and most of your shopping trips were made before or after shifts. getting dressed in your own clothes didn’t happen a ton.

and you knew you were sort of fumikage’s fashion inspiration. he never told you, but you knew. so you had to go all out.

there were several pairs of boots in your closet, but your favorites were the demonias with the huge ass buckles. they didn’t have the platforms - just hard rubber bootsoles - but they were super awesome and heavy and punk. after setting the boots by your bed, you tugged on some black socks and baggy ripped jeans. the jeans had been bought with one or two holes, but you slashed them up and ripped them until they looked adequately beat up.

you pulled on a tighter black t-shirt, tucking it into your jeans and adding a grommeted belt. there were several chains clipped onto the belt and your jeans, and you expertly adjusted your jeans under a second pair of socks, to keep them tucked into your boots.

once you were dressed, thudding around the apartment with each step, you added a little eyeliner under your eyes and smudged it until you looked like you hadn’t slept in days. then you flipped your septum piercing down, and you were totally fucking set. and totally fucking sexy.

you snapped a few pics in the mirror, some with the LEDs set on bright red and some with them on bright teal. they turned out really good. you admired the pictures of yourself, including the selfie you took with the shitty bathroom lights. you quickly sent hawks a few pictures, and sent dabi the teal lighting ones.

glancing at the time, you decided it would be best to leave. you snagged a worn leather jacket, stomping confidently out the door.

—

you:
heyyyyyyyyyyyyy fumiiiiii idk if youre there yet but ill be at the restaurant in like. a minute or 2

bird brother:
We’re here. We’ve been seated, as well.

you:
‘we’ ??

bird brother:
My bandmates.

you:
OH
oh ur bandmates are getting lunch w us
okayyyy i hope youre ready for me to impress them with my VERY cool fit

bird brother:
Dear god please don’t tell me you’re wearing that heinous Pennywise bodysuit thing.

you:
NO dont worry
damn i should have
paired that with some thigh high boots
a dog collar
dude………….. ur mind…….

bird brother:
I am not giving you ideas, and that sounds horrible.

you:
lmao anyway im walking in RN so i will be at ur table…… aha ha……..

—

fumikage looked up with what seemed to be mild panic when you loudly stomped into the restaurant. the hostess mirrored his expression, but her cheeks were a little pink as she looked over you. you smiled at the teenager, winking at the hostess as you made your way towards their table.

“hey, fumi. is that my seat?” you walked around to his side, pointing at an empty seat next to him.

“yes, it is.” he said, having composed himself. you shrugged your jacket off and draped it around the back of the chair, dropping into the seat and grinning at him. “hello.”

“hey.” you grabbed your water glass, taking a sip. as you did so you swept your eyes around the table. “wanna introduce me to your fellow ankle biters?”

“ankle biters? who the fuck even are you, old man?” a kid with platinum blond hair growled out, and you grinned at him.

“that is bakugou. he’s our drummer. that’s jirou, that’s kaminari, and that is yaoyorozu.” tokoyami nodded at each person. jirou gave you a shy smile, kaminari matched your grin, and yaoyorozu waved. “everyone, this is (l/n).”

“(y/n) is fine. nice to meet you guys.” you waved your hand in one sweep at the table.

“it’s nice to meet you too. tokoyami’s told us about you before.” jirou said, fiddling with what looked like headphone jacks on her ears.

“he never told us you were so cool, either! holy shit.” kaminari burst out. you laughed.

“aw, what? i’m the coolest person he knows.”

fumikage’s feathers puffed out a little.

“i know several cool people.” he mumbled, shooting you a glare.

“oh, yeah. yeah. you do. i’m one of them. so you all go to UA?”

after a few minutes of conversation, the waiter came and took your orders. when you asked for beer he shot you a scrutinizing glance. you whipped out your id and smiled smugly when he brought you the beer.

“how old are you?” yaoyorozu asked as everyone began to start eating. she had given you the impression she was a polite girl, asking about the mundane aspects of your life and taking genuine interest in what you said.

“twenty two as of four days ago.” you told her, chewing carefully.

“oh, happy late birthday!” she smiled at you, and you shook your head with a grin.

“thank you, but no need for that. i wouldn’t have even celebrated my birthday if not for fumikage and my boyfriend forcing me to.”

“boyfriend?” jirou looked at you, her eyes lit up the smallest bit. you wondered if she was a fucking fujoshi or something for a second, which would suck, because she seemed really chill. then you glanced up at her beanie, and at the small rainbow flag she had pinned on, and you recognized the adolescent excitement to meet another queer person.

“yep. he was super sweet and bought me a cake. he later told me he just wanted an excuse to go to his favorite bakery, but it was still nice.”

“that sounds like him.” fumikage said, and you chuckled as you nodded.

“hey, didn’t tokoyami say you guys work together? where do you work?” kaminari asked you. he seemed like a pretty cool kid, having asked you a lot about your clothes and what stuff you liked.

“it’s like hot topic but we don’t sell all that shitty fandom stuff. we sell a lot of band merch, though.”

“oh, i know that place. i’ve always wanted to check it out.” jirou said, at the same time kaminari said ’that is so cool holy fuck.’

“you should! dude, i’m a manager there. i’ll give you a discount or something.” you grinned at her. “you too, kaminari. i think you’d like the stuff we have.”

“are you just advertising your shitty store?” bakugou grumbled. he hadn’t spoken aside from when you sat down, and you shrugged at him.

“maybe. who knows? we live in a deeply capitalistic society. the only way to get real power is to strike it rich. maybe i just want my pockets full of cash so i can buy my way into a position of political importance.”

the table was quiet at that.

“you’re my idol,” kaminari murmured. you laughed and winked at him, and the table moved on. as you were finishing your plate, you picked up your phone to check your notifications. you had a few texts from hawks and dabi.

—

birdie <3:
HOLY FUCK
HOLY FUCK
HOLY FUCK
HOLY FUCK
HOLY FUCK
HOLY FUCK
HOLY FUCK
WH??AT
youre so hot
youre SO hot
jesus
literally HOW did i get you as my boyfriend im simping
you are so sexy ahaha *bites lip and raises eyebrow*
*frat boy poses* ha ha fuckkkkk
but fr holy FUCK you look so good

—

dab pen:
goddamn
do me a favor and send me pics anytime you look like that from now on

—

you snorted. fumikage turned towards you a little, and you tapped back to hawks’ messages and showed him.

“does that man have any sense of decorum?” he muttered, and the exasperation was almost tangible.

“who?” yaoyorozu asked, leaning to look at you.

“my stupid simp boyfriend. he’s stupid. and a simp.” you said, smiling as you responded.

—

you:
thank you babe
im glad you think im lip bite worthy :0

birdie <3:
UM OBV
wait
yo
babe………..
is that a nose piercing……..

you:
yeah
usually i keep it flipped up at work tho so you havent seen me w it

birdie <3:
please kick me

you:
AHAHAHAHA
HO Ly FUKC
kei
bby :0
venmo me five bucks and i will ;)

birdie <3:
HOLD ON ILL DO IT
WHATS YOUR VENMO

—

you:
will do boss
id ask you to return to favor but you just wear the same two outfits

dab pen:
ha ha
its more interesting whats under the clothes anyway

—

“ready to go?” jirou says, aiming her question at the whole table. everyone nods, and as you place some cash on the table yaoyorozu turns to you and assures you she had paid in advance.

“just so you won’t worry we’re dining and dashing.” she says, a small smile on her face.

“don’t worry. you all seem like good kids. not the kind of hard criminals who won’t pay at restaurants. you gotta be real messed up not to do that.” you reply. “still gotta tip in cash though. here, guys, stack your plates up. makes it easier to take them.”

you wave your hands at the empty dishes. everyone except fumikage (who’s already stacked his plates on yours) quickly moves and the plates clatter into neat piles. bakugou does so reluctantly.

then the group crowds out the door. you stuff your hands in your jacket pockets and listen to the teenager’s chatter, until kaminari speaks from beside you.

“um. that was cool of you.”

“you seem to think everything i do is cool, kid.” you cocked an eyebrow at him, and he flushed a little in embarrassment. “i’m fucking with you. the plate thing?”

“yeah. i worked at a restaurant for a while and it was always nice when people did that.”

“i get it.” you smiled at him. your phone dinged, and you pulled it out to turn the ringer off. “there. hopefully i don’t get any important calls while you guys are performing. don’t wanna get distracted.”

kaminari grinned and nodded.

—

birdie <3:
make sure to inform tokoyami how proud i am
also im gonna ask for pics of him when they go on
and also pics of you

you:
simp

birdie <3:
no im just a very good mentor and also boyfriend who likes having pics of his student and boyfriend

you:
aww birdie boyyyy
ofc dont worry
now get back to work!!! i will beat ur ass if you complain about being behind on paperwork again

birdie <3:
>:(

—

“fumi!” you strode up to him, clapping a hand on his shoulder for the sole purpose of scaring him. the kids were all getting ready, last-minute tuning instruments and drinking water. “i have a message for you.”

“oh?” he said, looking up at you.

“yes. from the esteemed number two pro hero.”

“oh.” fumikage said again, tone flatter.

“don’t be like that. anyway, hawks says he’s proud of you and that it’s super cool you’re in a band and doing music and shit.”

“he said all that?”

“maybe.” you shrugged, removing your hand from his shoulder.

“you talked to hawks?” jirou looked over at you.

“i sure did. we are besties. pals for life. one could even say we are bros.”

“you’re bros with hawks?” kaminari grinned again. “that’s awesome. what’s he like?”

“fumi’s probably told you before, right?”

“birdbrain doesn’t tell us anything about his internship.” bakugou said from his seat on the couch.

“it’s not very interesting, is why.” fumikage defends himself. you snort.

“well then, kids, i’ll tell ya.” you move back to sit down, idly running your finger over a seam in the couch cushion. “hawks is actually a total douche.”

“dear god.” fumikage mumbles, shaking his head. yaoyorozu blinked in a mildly alarmed way at you.

“i’m kidding. he’s super chill. very funny. perfect bro material.”

“stop saying ‘bro’. i feel like i’m hanging around kirishima.” bakugou grumbled. you hummed idly, because you didn’t know who that even was, and fiddled with the chains you had on.

—

the show was actually really fun. fumikage fucking killed it on the guitar, and you took a ton of pictures of him and sent them to hawks. you also snapped a few selfies in the dim stage lighting and sent him those, too. dabi got a picture of you sticking your tongue out as far as you could and winking at the camera.

he seemed to like the picture.

you took fumikage to dinner afterwards, just the two of you, and he talked about his bandmates and what was going on in school and this new book he’d picked up. you hardly talked about yourself, instead just listening to him. after you’d paid and walked fumikage back towards his home, you hugged him tightly.

“hey, fumi. i love you dude. like a brother, i mean, but i do.”

“i love you too. as a brother. thank you for- well, for coming to the show. and taking me to dinner.”

you grinned and hugged him again, briefly, before he went back into his apartment. then you made your way back to your own place, quickly changing into pajamas and passing out.

Chapter Text

—

dab pen:
hey

dab pen:
mf are you asleep
HEY
wake up

—

you were, in fact, asleep. you were awoken by your phone ringing, but right as you picked up dabi hung up on you.

—

you:
hey wtf
whats up

dab pen:
i was just trying to wake you up
anyway im coming over in like ten minutes

you:
oh
OH FUCK ITS LIKE NOON
okay cool sounds great
maybe like. pick up some snacks or smthn on your way over
hehe

dab pen:
fine

—

“dabi. baby. come in, you look chilled to the bone!” you say in a horridly condescending tone, smirking at dabi as he stomped through your door. you quickly shut it and lock all fifteen locks, before turning and matching dabi’s scowl. “what’s got you pissed off?”

“it’s hot as hell outside.”

“aren’t you used to heat? c’mon.” you wave your fingers toward you in a come hither way, walking towards your bedroom.

“my body isn’t totally suited to hundred degree weather alongside a fire quirk.” he complains, kicking your bedroom door shut behind him with his hard-soled boots before he reaches out and grabs your jaw.

you barely have a moment to make fun of him for his eagerness before he’s dragging you in and kissing you, a harsh and needy movement. dabi’s lips work on yours, before he bites down hard on your bottom lip, making you let out an indignant whine at the spike of pain. he chuckles as he pulls back to look down at you.

“here.” he passes a baggie into your hand, sneaking another kiss before he turns away to take his boots off.

“thanks. i’m only letting you kiss me for free weed, by the way.”

“yeah? that amount is worth just a kiss, i guess.” he stands up, dropping his jacket over his boots and kicking all three items away with his black sock-clad feet. then dabi faces you again and walks you back towards the mattress, grinning down at you when you drop to sit on the bed. “if you wanted more, though, i can think of a way for you to get it.”

“i bet you can.” you wink at him, and then move backwards to lay down. “if you wanna change into, like, sweatpants, i have some in that top drawer. but hurry up.”

he rolls his eyes, still smiling, but he still goes to grab a pair of dark grey sweatpants. you almost choke when he just drops trou right there, kicking his jeans off and tugging the sweats up.

“gonna catch flies that way.” dabi crawls over the bed and pushes your slightly agape jaw shut. then he keeps moving until he’s sitting between your legs, running his hands over your knees and down your thighs. “what’s got you all quiet?”

“you- um. didn’t expect you to just take your pants off?”

“i’m wearin’ boxers.” he chuckles.

“but they were sorta tight. and it was a shocker, i guess. goddamn.” you shake your head a little, clearing your mind. “okay. anyway. wanna gimme a light?”

dabi just leans down and kisses you again, grinning into the kiss when you snake your arms around his neck. he drags his right hand down your hip and pushes it up your shirt, splaying his hand on your torso and tapping each finger on your rib. he works his tongue into your mouth, swiping over your lip to twist around your own tongue. you tilt your head, deepening the kiss even further, and feel his left hand still on your thigh tighten it’s grip.

“mm-” you let out a muffled gasp when dabi rocks his hips forward once, slowly, and you feel his dick through the layers with the movement. “fuck.” you mumble, and he chuckles into your mouth.

then he pulls away with a slow slide of his tongue and a small ‘pop’. reaching somewhere beside you, dabi pulls his hand out of your shirt to light up a blunt with a small blue flame before he takes a hit of it. after he sucks in deeply, he moves back down and kisses you while breathing smoke into your mouth.

“y’know that doesn’t get me very high, right?” you gasp when he finally moves away, every single motion of his languid and relaxed today. dabi chuckles.

“yeah. i know.” then he offers you the blunt, running his tongue over his sharp canines as you take it and he moves to lay beside you.

—

you make a high, desperate keen when dabi bites down on a sensitive spot of your throat. he’s got one hand on your hip and the other up your shirt again, rocking his hips into yours. you feel his thumb tap your chest and go to take a deep drag of the blunt in your hand, breathing the smoke out into the already cloudy room. dabi unlatches his mouth from your neck right when you take a second pull, pushing up and letting you sigh the smoke into the kiss.

you’ve been shifting between shotgunning and just smoking, trying to hotbox the room, and at first you just talked about your days before suddenly dabi was leaving hickeys on you and you were moving your legs to keep him between them.

he hasn’t pushed you beyond anything but dry-humping and kissing, but you can feel his hard dick on your thigh through both pairs of your sweats and it’s more than a little tempting.

before you can say anything about it, dabi sucks a harsh bruise into the other side of your neck, his hand on your hip pushing down your waistband. he taps his thumb on your chest and you take another hit off the blunt. you moan into the hazy kiss and he jerks his hips a little harsher than the previous pace.

“how far do you wanna go, babe?” he asks, his voice impossibly low and sensual. you bring the joint to your lips, a movement that wraps your arm around his neck. dabi nips at your neck and goes back to rolling his hips in a slow way.

“dunno. how far do you want me to go?” you reply, eyes focused on his lips. the hand previously resting by your head moves down to rest on his hip, and you rest the lit blunt on your ashtray beside the bed.

dabi lifts his hand off your thigh and moves to hold your own on his hip, helping you tug down his waistband a little. in a quick movement, he rolls the both of you over so you’re hovering over him, and you grin lazily. dropping a kiss between his pecs, you kiss down past another patch of purple scars and down to where you’re pulling his sweats past his hips.

—

birdie <3:
yoo

birdie <3:
babe

birdie <3:
,,babeeee

birdie <3:
?? are you okay

birdie <3:
(y/n) are you alright
im gonna text tokoyami if you dont reply

birdie <3:
okay toko says you made a date with your other partner
so im not worried for your life anymore lol
but i miss youuu and please text back when you get the chance i am BORED and wanna talk 2 you
:)

—

dabi’s kisses are slow and heady, the air hazy. you groan when he pulls away from you.

“i know, i’m addicting. you got a text.”

“oh. must be hawks. i didn’t tell him i was hanging out with you today.” you mumble, and read over the texts.

“yeah? is he worried?”

“nope. mmh. i’m tired as fuck.” you roll off of him and onto your back, blinking slowly as you respond to hawks. dabi busies himself with finishing off the blunt he’s holding.

—

you:
hiiiiiiiiiii
hi babyyyy
hellooo im here

birdie <3:
heyy :D
are you still out with ur other dude??

you:
nono we arent out anywhere were hanging at my place
we have been for like. all day…
lol

birdie <3:
ohhh makes sense okay
what are you doing that takes like six hours

you:
wellllll for one we are getting zooted
just a lil
eatign snacks 2
and also maybe doing some…….. dot dot dot…. not sfw stuf

birdie <3:
wait wtf
have you been smoking the devils lettuce and doing the devils tango for six hours

you:
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
no we are. getting high but also just a lot of making OUT
and i may have ;;;;;;) done smthn else for him

birdie <3:
damn yall wild huh
okay well i gtg back to work

you:
wait did i make u upset
nooo baby i PROMISEEEE ill ;;;;;;)) fo ryou 2
i swear. when you’re ready i will make out w you too
drop of a mf hat
no pressure though ong

birdie <3:
no im not upset i actually do have to get back to work lmao my sidekicks are bothering me
but thank you for the offer and as soon as i can ill take you up on it
;)

you:
;D!!!
okay byye get back to work byebye i care you

birdie <3:
lol i care you too <3

—

“c’mere.” dabi dropped whatever was left of the joint in your ashtray and grabbed your jaw again. you pliantly set your phone aside and kissed him, feeling his tongue roll over yours before he moved to kiss around your collarbone.

“i’m super tired. i dunno when you gotta leave but i’m gonna take a nap.” you gently moved your hand through his hair, trailing down to his neck. then you tugged him away, blinking sleepily down at him.

“i don’t have any plans for a while.” dabi pecks your jaw and moves off of you, resting his head on a pillow. “we can take a nap.”

“yayyy.” you smile at him and plug your phone to charge, snatching up your LED remote and turning the lights down to a very dim purple. “okay. g’night.” you settle next to him, wiggling around when he puts his arm around you. then you close your eyes and focus on the warm room and the warm body and his slow, deep breaths.

—

Chapter Text

birdie <3:
so here is an idea i had
what if we go out on a date

you:
GROUNDBREAKING
how did you ever come up with it

birdie <3:
idk my mind is just that amazing
like i was just staring at a cloud and went ‘im gonna watch a movie with (y/n) at my apartment tonight around 9 pm’

you:
nine pm is so far away :((

birdie <3:
luckily i looked at another cloud and went ‘also i will invite him to come and hang out at my office while i do paperwork until i’m done with work’

you:
omw ah ha ha

birdie <3:
yessssssss
toko isnt here today btw
ill tell the secretary to expect you!!

you:
awesome ;) be there soon bb!

—

“hi, i’m here to see hawks.” you stood in front of the secretary’s desk, smiling down at the brunette.

“oh, he said he was expecting someone. what’s your name?” he smiled back, pausing in his typing.

“(y/n).”

“(y/n)… yep, there you are. you can head right up, his office is the top floor.”

“thanks!” you smiled one more time before walking towards the elevator. it was a pretty big elevator, all sleek grey metal. once the doors closed you kind of couldn’t tell the difference between the each wall, but you had to push the mild creepiness of that away to hit the button for the highest floor.

the ride up was pretty quick. you idly tugged at the hairband around your wrist, a stretched out pale pink one you’d gotten years ago. the elevator finally came to a stop and the doors slid open to reveal a short, wide room, with large glass doors opposite you. looking through them, you could see huge windows and two large couches. there was a desk, on the furthest wall of the room, and there were large red wings behind it.

quietly, you opened a door and entered the office as silently as you could. hawks was looking out the window, facing away from the doors, and you quickly walked closer, careful not to make any noise. when you were a few steps away from hawks’ desk, however, the door you’d left open closed with a loud click.

snapping your head back to look at the door, you could see a red feather hovering in front of it.

“damn.” you mumbled.

a laugh resonated from hawks, one you recognized as his sleepy laugh. his chair spun around and hawks smiled tiredly at you, the feather he’d sent out zipping back onto his wings.

“hey.”

“hi. did you hear me the whole time?” you walked up to the desk, leaning slightly over it.

“sort of. my feathers pick up pretty much every movement or sound around me. i was kind of asleep, though.” hawks kicked his feet up onto his desk, stretching out his arms and wincing a bit at the ‘crack’ that came from the movement. “how’s your day been, sweetheart?”

“it’s-“ you stopped, face quickly getting warm from the nickname. a loving grin came onto your face as you leaned further over his desk. “sweetheart?”

“what, you don’t like that one?” he raised an eyebrow, still smiling in that sleepy way.

“no! no, i- um,” you laughed a bit, “i like it. it’s cute. my day’s been good. any reason you’ve been so tired, babe?”

“yeah. just extra patrols and stuff. same reason i’m never available to see you. it sucks.”

“i bet. how long until you’re done today?”

“mm.” he hummed, closing his eyes. “dunno. as soon as my paperwork is done, i guess.”

“anything i can help you with?”

“unfortunately not. you can help keep me awake, though.”

“totally. i can do that. i’m a master at staying awake.”

“perfect.” he smiled, eyes still shut.

“first thing - open your eyes, dunkass.”

—

you’d tried talking to keep hawks awake as he filled out reports and stuff, but after the fifth time of him dozing off, you realized your quiet chattering was too relaxing. so you started playing music, turning on your ‘electrofuck’ playlist (it was just a ton of edm and songs you could headbang to) and dancing in your chair. that seemed to work well enough, prompting him to laugh at your movements and sit up a little straighter.

after he whined about you playing ‘BXMBTHREXT’ for the fifth time in a row, you finally changed to playing chase atlantic. the stack of papers was significantly smaller now, and hawks had taken several hand-stretch breaks.

“this song reminds me of you.” you suddenly said, turning to look at hawks. he met your gaze, raising an eyebrow.

“this song does?”

“yeah.”

“what about it?”

“it just sounds like you. kinda chill.” you shrugged. “not really the lyrics, as much as the sound.”

“i sound like this song?”

“this shit is reliable, people they just come and go. then she told me i’m deeper than anybody that she knows. and damn that feels good, babe. life in the fast lane.” you sang along, swaying in your chair and smiling. “yeah, if you were a song, you’d sound kinda like this.”

“hm.” he watched you with a grin, chin in his hand. “it’s a good song.”

“i love this song. hold on, i have another one that reminds me of you. hold on.”

you quickly opened your phone and tapped away from your playlist to play ‘pink in the night’. mitski’s gentle voice started playing.

“this part. this part makes me think of you.” you looked up at hawks as the second verse started. he was looking at you with wide, soft eyes, and you repressed a giggle as you started singing. it wasn’t perfect, your voice was a little less polished, but he didn’t seem to care.

“i could stare at your back, all day. i could stare at your back all day.” you leaned forward towards him, tentatively reaching for his free hand. he let you intertwine your fingers, still looking at you with an awestruck expression. it made you smile a bit, your eyes caught in his own.

“and i know i’ve kissed you before, but, i didn’t do it right. can i try again, try again, try again.” slowly, you lifted your other hand to rest on his cheek. “try again, and again, and again, and again and again and again?”

just as the words faded out, keigo leaned forward and kissed you.

your eyes closed as soon as you realized what he was doing, and you smiled uncontrollably as you kissed back. you stayed like that for a few moments, enjoying the feeling of his proximity and his lips and his hand now holding your cheek, and as soon as he pulled away you wanted to kiss him forever. your whole body was thrumming with electric excitement, and your heart was about to burst.

you opened your eyes, the heat on your cheeks increasing when you saw how keigo was looking at you. his widened eyes were shining, a heavy blush on his face, and his mouth was slightly open. you knew keigo was pretty, but he had to be the most beautiful thing you’d ever seen like this.

after a moment of silence, you took in a slow breath.

“are you alright, keigo?”

instead of responding, he kissed you again. and again. and again.

—

he insisted he could finish the few remaining papers later, and when you tried to reason with him about ‘just flying out the window, babe, really?’ he kissed you and his smile against your lips was enough to convince you.

as soon as you landed on keigo’s balcony, wearing his jacket, you were clamoring to get inside.

“it’s cold!” you exclaimed, tugging uselessly at his locked balcony door.

“you’re wearing my jacket!” he replied, reaching into said jacket’s pocket for the key. “and it’s not even that cold, babe.”

“shut up. shh. lemme in!” you ragdolled onto his arm, making him stumble the slightest bit and let out a laugh that surely have warranted complaints if he had neighbors.

“alright! stop doing that, first-“

“i thought you liked being near me!”

“i do, sweetheart, but you’re leaning all of your body weight onto my arm-“

“you’re a strong hero, though-“

“-and hindering my movements.” keigo finally managed to unlock the door, pushing it open and letting you stumble into his apartment.

“jackass.” you grumbled, but he was already sending feathers to shut the door and reaching for your hand. you matched his tight grip, letting him tug you towards a hallway. “weren’t we gonna watch a movie?”

“do you still want to? we can just watch it in my bed.”

“oh.” you perked up, excited at the prospect of seeing his bedroom. “totally.”

most of keigo’s apartment was uncomfortably clean - like a display at ikea, instead of a home. compared to the pristine apartment, his bedroom was a total mess.

or that’s what your initial reaction was. keigo was already walking in towards an open closet with clothes spilling out, but you were looking around the room and figuring out the method to his madness.

first thing you noticed was how huge his bed was. wide enough for five people, and several gauzy white curtains hung around the ceiling on three sides of it. you didn’t see any blankets on his bed, but there were sheets, and a ton of pillows. like, a TON of pillows. it was sort of ridiculous, and you loved it, because a man can never have too many pillows.

there were clothes carelessly spread around the floor, most dense near the closet and an overflowing hamper. there were a few soda cans near a full trashcan, along with several red feathers scattered around the room.

your room was honestly messier. it was just a huge juxtaposition between the bedroom, full of trash and clothes and colors, and the too-clean almost all white and grey living room.

“are you gonna come in?” keigo turned to look at you, a teasing tone evident. “i’m gonna change. don’t look, please.”

“of course, birdie.” you said, before diving onto his bed and immediately marveling at how comfy it was. the mattress was perfect, not too hard and not too soft, and the pillows you set about squishing ranged from what felt like firm memory foam to old down pillows missing half their feathers. some pillows had on red silk pillowcases, and some had thin white cotton ones. there were two pillows as long as your body, but most of them were just normal sized. you started arranging the pillows into a sort of nest, because there were so many pillows you could fill two twin sized beds with them. you pulled the two thin sheets from where they were on the foot of the bed, laying one over the layer of pillows you’d put down. the second sheet, you decided, was to sleep under once you’d built up the nest walls.

you were stacking up the walls when you remembered keigo, and paused in your actions.

“can i look up now, kei?”

it was silent for a moment. you briefly worried he had disappeared.

“yeah.” his voice was very soft, and you looked at him curiously.

he was wearing a plain white t-shirt and loose red shorts, staring at you with pure adoration. you made a curious hum, and he shook his head with a laugh, coming towards you.

“did you just start making a nest for fun?” keigo asked, gently crawling onto the bed to sit beside you.

“um. yes.”

“that’s- oh my god, you’re so cute, baby bird.” he mumbled, a soft smile breaking onto his face. “really. i’m so lucky.”

“shut up, dummy, i’m the lucky one. do you ever make nests? is that what all the pillows are for?”

“yeah. kind of.” keigo nodded. you nodded back.

“okay. well, this one is done.” you stood on the bed and stepped into your nest, settling into it and grabbing at the spare sheet. “you can come in. i made it for us.”

he kept giving you that doe-eyed look, carefully joining you in the pillow nest and sitting down in the center of it.

“do you like it?”

“i love it. c’mere.” he held out his arms, and you wasted no time moving into his lap and relaxing your head onto his shoulder. it was silent for a moment, you focusing on his breathing, when he spoke up again in a gentle voice. “i don’t think you get what this means to me.”

“what, baby, the nest?” you mumbled against his skin.

“yeah.”

“is it a bird thing? like, i made us a nest, so i’m your mate or something?”

he chuckled, low in his chest. you nuzzled your face further into his shirt.

“maybe you do understand. it’s sort of like that. there’s a little more to it.”

you leaned your head back, smiling as he pressed a soft kiss to your lips. you didn’t want to pull away, but exhaustion flooded your body.

“keigo, i’m tired.” you mumbled into the kiss.

“mm. we can go to sleep.” he mumbled back.
you pulled away from him, flopping onto your back. you let him get comfortable on top of you, one feather going to flick off the lights and another tugging the sheet over your intertwined legs.

“is it uncomfortable to sleep on your back?” you whispered.

“nah. it just cramps my wings a little the next day.”

“okay. goodnight, keigo.”
“goodnight, baby bird.”

the moonlight doused his cheekbones in silver as you fell asleep, your hands resting on his slowly rising-and-falling back.

Chapter Text

“mm- fuck, dabi, stop trying to leave a fucking hickey. i have-” your annoyed rumbling was broken by a loud giggle, the feeling of dabi’s lips on your neck making you squirm. “i have work tomorrow! jackass!”

“whatever.” he mumbled against your skin, finally ceasing his sucking. “just quit your fuckin’ job and start dealing for me. i’m sick of having to meet up with losers when i could be doing more important things.”

“dude, i can’t do that. i would make less money that way, probably. and i get to hang out with fumi.”

“you would make a ton. what’s that shit jobs always advertise? flexible hours, good pay.” he started pressing short, fluttering pecks onto the nape of your neck between sentences. “get to travel around town. meet new people.”

“are you trying to make me a criminal?” you asked, focusing down at your phone. you were spamming hawks with weird stickers and emojis, because he said he was busy all day. “i need the steady income.”

“your rich boyfriend can just pay your rent. and your bills. and you could let me give you a mark that way.” he spoke into your ear, before you felt him bite at your shoulder.

“when you say it like that, you make it sound like i’m cheating on him.” he hummed at that, removing his teeth before biting another spot, making you shiver and jostle your phone. “fuck. like he’s my rich but boring boyfriend who i’m only with for his money, and i’m having a crazy affair with you because you’re passionate and wild and everything i never had in life. while he’s away at work and schmoozing the upper class you warm my bed and beg me to just run away with you.” you felt him lave his tongue over the bite, making you shudder again. “hey, you better keep those teeth away from my neck.”

dabi chuckled, and rested his head on your shoulder. then he moved his chin down, presumably looking at your phone, and you felt him stiffen.

“uh. hey. did you mean to do that?”

“do what?” you asked, looking at your phone with him. it took a minute, before nervousness flooded you. “oh, fuck.”

—

you:
<3 <3 like he’s my rich but boring boyfriend who i’m only with for his money and i’m having a crazy affair with you because you’re passionate and wild and everything i never had in life. while he’s away at work and schmoozing the upper class you warm my bed and beg me to just run away with you

—

between dabi making you shiver and your thumb at the keyboard, you had apparently turned on the ‘voice to text’ function, capturing your ‘rich boyfriend versus affair’, and in an act of stupidity so dumb it could only happen in fanfiction, you had also pressed send.

to make matters worse you had typed out two of the black heart emojis at the start of it.

“shit.” you and dabi said, in unison.

—

you had, in a panic, shut your phone off and shoved it under your pillows. dabi laughed at you, but upon noticing how honestly upset you were over this, he offered you a joint, but when you declined he just sat down with you and awkwardly hugged you.

“he’s gonna dump me. for sure. he’s totally gonna fucking leave me. shit, dabi, he’s going to break up with me, how the fuck could i mess up like that?” you were on the verge of tears for a second time, face pressed onto his torso.

“hey, hey. calm down. you can just explain it to him.” he said, voice rumbling in his chest.

“explain it how? ‘oh, sorry babe, i was just talking to that other guy i’m fucking and accidentally voice to texted you the stupid fake scenario i was making up. ignore that.’”

“it sounds like something you’d do.” he mused, but that made you actually cry, and he pulled your face up to look at you. “hey. i’m not good with this shit, but i don’t want you to be upset. you should just explain it. hawks can tell when people are lying, and i know that for a fact because i lie about what i’m doing every time he catches me breaking the law. you’ll be fine. shit, i can back you up.”

“you?” your voice was shaky, and you scrunched up your face at it.

“yeah. he had to find out who you’re fucking eventually. it’ll be okay.”

you just sniffled. he let you lay down on his chest again until you fell asleep.

—

“hey, i gotta go.” dabi shook you awake, and as soon as you made a noise of acknowledgment he pressed a kiss to your jaw and was walking out of your apartment. you blurred in and out of sleep for a while, before you remembered what you’d done.

it struck you with a fresh wave of fear, and you tried to ignore it. eventually you got up and rolled a blunt, and once it was just ash on your bathroom counter you drank a few cups of water before forcing yourself to sleep again.

—

the next day you took an ibuprofen to battle off your headache and rushed to work. you had brushed your hair out and hastily brushed your teeth, but you felt unprepared for the public eye and grabbed an old black hoodie you’d bought years ago - it was totally huge, and you felt a bit more safe in it.

at work you sorted change and tried to occupy yourself by putting up pins on the display board, but upon fumikage’s arrival the nervousness washed over you again and he had to convince you to sit in the backroom for a while because of how bad your hands were shaking.

you managed to calm down the smallest bit by folding up shirts, but you still felt on the verge of a panic attack.

“(y/n)? are you feeling any better?” fumikage’s voice came into the room, and you shrugged. he was silent for a moment. “hawks is coming by after my shift to take me to his agency. maybe he could help you out?”

“oh, no.” you forced a smile, looking over at him. “that’s okay. i’ll be fine.”

“he wouldn’t be burdened by it. you are his boyfriend, after all.”

“it’s all cool fumi. don’t even mention me to him. i’ll deal.”

he watched you with worried eyes before going back to the register.

you started looking over the box of lanyards you never opened, but soon enough you heard footsteps that definitely did not belong to fumikage and considered crawling into the corner of the room and hoping he wouldn’t see you.

hawk’s shadow fell over the room. it made you feel cold and you didn’t look up.

“tokoyami said you’ve been shifty all day.” he said, voice flat.

luckily, you’d dealt with people’s anger towards you a lot, and had honed your ability to not make a single sound and keep your head down.

“and he said you asked him not to tell me.” he continued, no emotion baring through his words.

it was silent for several minutes, and the whole time your heart was fucking racing and you felt the repeated litany of ’you mess everything up, you fucking idiot’ run over and over your brain.

you knew it was dumb, but it just reminded you of really bad times. hawks wouldn’t hurt you in a physical way, but he knew how to speak in barbed wire sentences.

“i have to work for a while. but i think you and i should talk.” he finally said, and you would have curled up if you weren’t so focused on staying still and not reacting. “i’ll be at my apartment in an hour. it’s unlocked.”

with that he turned around and left and you wanted to cry.

—

bird brother:
Hawks has seemed rather off today, so I’m wondering if you two had a disagreement or a fight?
Either way if you need to talk I’m here for you.

—

his apartment felt big and empty and you didn’t want to take up any space by even sitting on his couch. so you sat down on the rug and curled into yourself and played with your hoodie zipper.

after a while you heard the balcony slide open and as he walked over towards you, you focused on the carpet and refused to look up.

“do you want to explain for me?” hawks started, and you could tell he was sitting down but you stayed still and silent. “because i want to know what the fuck that text was and who it was for.”

you didn’t respond.

“i’m assuming it wasn’t to your other boyfriend.”

you didn’t respond.

“(y/n). can you say something to me?” his voice was the same monotone has before, but with this last sentence he sounded angry. you gripped onto your zipper and ignored the burn of tears.

the quiet reverberated around the whole floor. hawks let you stay quiet for a few more minutes before he tried again.

“just explain what the text was about.” he said, but when you didn’t respond, he sighed and before you knew it he was standing over you and the sudden feel of his hand by your shoulder made you jolt back in a sharp movement.

the silence rushed around you again.

“i’m not going to hurt you, (y/n).” hawks said, his voice quiet and much softer. he sounded upset that he had made you react that way, and you swallowed around the lump in your throat.

“i know.” you mumbled.

“who did you mean to text?” he asked, voice still quiet.

“nobody. it was an accident.”“what do you mean?”

“i- i was making a joke, out loud, and i had been sending you random emojis and my phone did the voice to text on accident.”

“then why did you send it?”

“i didn’t mean to. i swear i didn’t. i moved and i guess i pressed the send on accident.”

he didn’t reply at first.

“i feel like you’re leaving something out.”

you sniffed. “okay, so, i was with my other boyfriend, but he’s not my official boyfriend we just hang out and have sex sometimes i guess, and he was trying to leave hickeys on me, but i said ‘i have work tomorrow’ and he was joking around and told me to quit my job and run drugs but i was like ‘no i have rent and all that i need a steady income’ so he said ‘just get your rich hero boyfriend to pay your bills so you get more free time and you let me leave a hickey on your neck’ and then he started like kissing my shoulders and i was moving around and then i said ‘you make it sound like i’m cheating on him’ because obviously you know about him already. then i did the stupid rant about ‘he’s my rich boring boyfriend and you’re a wild passionate secret lover i have’ but it was a fucking joke,” you spoke in a quick way, trying to explain, but your voice broke on the last word. “keigo, it was a joke, please don’t break up with me, please.”

you were still facing away from him.

“can you look at me?” keigo asked, his voice gentle. you sniffed and slowly moved, finally meeting his eyes and you started crying at his expression. “sweetheart, babe, you don’t need to cry. it’s okay. c’mere.” he said, and you let him wrap you into a hug. as soon as you felt him brush his hand over your hair you leaned into him, sobbing into his neck.

he let you cry for a bit, and when you stopped, he nuzzled his cheek against your hair. “it’s okay, babe. i’m not gonna leave you. i really wish you had explained this to me yesterday, though. every time i called you it went right to voicemail. i was worried you blocked me.”

“no, no no no. i, um, turned my phone off. right after i sent it.” you whispered. keigo chuckled a little.

“ah.” he simply replied, and he pulled back to look at you. “it’s okay. i understand the situation now, okay? it’s alright. i’m not leaving you.”

you nodded, sniffing and hearing all your gross snot (that thankfully had not come out of your nose). keigo leaned forward and pressed soft kisses on your cheeks, over your tear tracks. he held your face in his hands and you grabbed his fingers with your own, feeling his warmth and closeness.

—

“you don’t have to answer this, babe, but why did you- why did you react that way?” keigo asked, voice quiet as he joined you in his bed.

“what do you mean?” you mumbled out, looking up at him from under the pillow on your face.

“you just shut down.” he clarified.

“oh. um.” you reached out and tugged gently at the hem of his shorts. “dunno. past experiences.”

“with an ex?”

“no. family.”

at that keigo just hummed, and you moved the pillow away.

“we can talk about it later. maybe i should explain my triggers, or whatever. and i should tell you who my other boyfriend is. but for right now i wanna kiss you and fall asleep.”

he laughed. keigo gently set one leg between yours, leaning down to kiss you. his lips were soft and he let you lead him, your hands loosely resting in his hair.

—

dab pen:
howd things go

you:
good
i explained it and he forgave me
hey um
actually
do you wanna meet us for dinner at my apartment tmrw?

—

Chapter Text

oh god oh god oh god this was a very bad idea and you were a total fool for even THINKING they would want to have dinner with you because obviously hawks is going to freak out about dabi being your other boyfriend you were a FOOL. you were a total idiot fool and you were getting a headache from your constant loop of doubts and fears.

“um… you look stressed.” your coworker, nozomi, said from behind the backpack display.

“i do?” you asked, smiling over at her.

“yeah. do you… uh… need a minute?”

“what?” you blinked at her, before shaking your head. “no, it’s fine. don’t worry about it! stupid boyfriend issues. it’s all okay.”

she hummed.

“okay.” nozomi looked at you for another second, but went back to arranging the bags.

you resumed your panicked glaring at the counter.

—

you:
fumi
dude
this is nerve wracking

bird brother:
You’ll be fine, (Y/n).

you:
yeah but what if they HATE each other

bird brother:
Well, it’s not like you’re going to force them to interact again. They’re both different aspects of your life, and they don’t need to intersect past this point.

you:
idk man what if its awkward tho

bird brother:
Do you want me to join you? Is that why you’re texting?

you:
NO im just talking
duh
give me a pep talk maybe

bird brother:
The dinner with Hawks and your friend will go just fine. You’re charming enough to get through it. Don’t worry.

you:
thanks fumikage :)
FUCK HES HERE
okay bye if anything goes horribly wrong ill text you abt it

bird brother:
I’ll await your message with bated breath.

—

“heyyy.” you peered out at dabi, trying to play off how nervous you were. the door was mostly closed, and you were sort of hanging off it as dabi waited in the hallway.

“hey.” he replied flatly.

“it is cold outside?”

“i’m not a great judge of that.”

“well… if you had to guess?”

“it’s a fuckin’ tundra out there. lemme in.” he furrowed his brows.

“yeah, sorry.” you slowly pulled the door open, keeping your gaze on his heavy boots as he walked past you inside. “you can take your boots off in my room if you want.”

“it’s kinda weird you don’t wear house slippers. you’re in japan.” dabi said, watching you close your door.

“leave me alone, dude, i grew up in america. the only people who come over are you, hawks, and the friend i’ve known since i was, like, fifteen. nobody’s complained about my western ways yet.”

“whatever. i’m keeping these on.”

“don’t put your feet on my inflatable chairs then.” you shrugged, and heard him flop onto the couch. recently you’d gotten a few really plush rugs and they were thrown around the room, so you sat down on the one in front of the tv.

it was quiet for a minute, dabi fidgeting with one of his cheap burner phones, and you rubbed your hands over the rug. it was a random blend of psychedelic colors, and there was a weird red brown stain on the underside that got you a huge discount.

“he comin’ soon?”

“yeah. he said he’d bring dinner.”

“aw, and i thought you were giving me a home cooked meal.” dabi leered at you, chuckling at your subsequent disbelieving expression.

“i can’t really cook. unless you want, like warmed up tortillas or some plain rice.”

“mm.” he tossed his phone to his side, resting his chin on his palm as you spoke.

“i can kinda bake though. if you have a boxed cake mix or something made i’d be happy to hop in the kitchen.”

“mm.”

“like, when i was younger i had a huge sweet tooth or whatever so i wanted cake a ton. so i learned to make it myself. grew out of that, but i still like baking. used to wear an apron like i was a real chef and everything.”

“did you.” dabi mumbled, pushing himself down to crouch in front of you.

“yep. it was too big for me, because this was an apron made for a large adult and i was a kid. shit, i should buy an apron. you think i should buy an apron? maybe i’ll get a black one. with spiderwebs embroidered on it, or something. i bet if i had an apron i’d start cooking more.”

“yeah, bet you would.” he replied, continuing to move forward. you let him, even when he was hovering over you with one hand on your leg.

“maybe we could have, like, actual dinner dates then. you could come over and we could learn a recipe together or something. you barely eat enough, babe, and it might be fun to just make like crazy shit. this is sounding really domestic, i’m realizing.”

“it is.” he raised an eyebrow in an amused grin, ducking his face down to yours. “kind of a nice image, though. you in a cute little apron makin’ me something.”

you barely got out a giggle before he was kissing you, both of you smiling as your lips pressed together. it occurred to you that this kiss was surprisingly chaste compared to how dabi usually kissed you - all tongue and teeth and hips.

his hand rested just above your knee, and you tugged a little on his jacket collar as he kissed you. he pressed you a little further into the rug, and you felt the plush material against your arms. it made you wiggle your elbows a little to feel the rug.

“what are you doing?” dabi mumbled as he kissed you, amusement clear.

“what?” you whispered back.

“wiggling around like that.”

you just chuckled. he said something like ‘dumb little caterpillar’ against your lips, which made you chuckle more. even so, the kiss slowly heated up, getting closer to the kind of affection you were used to dabi giving. his hand on your knee moved down towards your thigh, and he grew more liberal with his teeth.

dabi was just sneaking his hand up your t-shirt when the door opened.

neither of you noticed at first. when you realized, dabi stayed where he was, kissing you into the floor. the hands you’d had on his back moved to tug on his shirt, trying to communicate hawks was right there. he laughed, a rumbling noise that clearly told you he knew.

“you want me to come back in an hour?” hawks’ voice rang out from the doorway. he didn’t sound angry, and it confused you a little. dabi pulled away from you to respond.

“i’d need more than an hour.” he called over his shoulder, before pecking your nose and winking at you.

“my bad. i forgot who i was talking to.”

“must’ve.” dabi said, and finally sat back on his heels. you elected to stay laying down a few minutes longer, not wanting to show your flustered expression.

the sound of plastic bags hitting your dining table and footsteps into the room made your stomach twist a little, but hawks leaned over the couch with what was a decidedly smug face.

“hey, hero.” dabi said, his hand (now on your calf) squeezing.

“hey, villain.” he returned, before his eyes met yours. “hey, sweetheart.”

“hi.” you said, waving before you started moving your palms on the carpet again. dabi snickered at the action, mumbling out ‘caterpillar’ again, making you glare. “fuck you. i like this carpet.”

“yeah, i can tell. he kept wiggling around on it.” dabi turned towards hawks, who snorted and smiled at you. “what’d you get, wings?”

“nothing you would like. you can have the spare soy sauce.”

“ha ha.” dabi rolled his eyes.

“that wasn’t a joke, leatherface.” hawks raised an eyebrow at him.

“yeah, dude, i thought i said only hawks and i were getting dinner? i figured you’d bring your own food.”

“weren’t you just ragging on me for not eating enough?” dabi lightly kicked at your shin.

“i was, but i never said i planned on feeding you myself.” you raised yourself up, your nose almost hitting his knee. “what did you get for us, birdie?”

“i am so glad you asked, babe. i got us take out ramen.”

“oh, for real?” you flopped back down on the carpet and rolled over to the end of the couch, half-crawling to the table. “that smells BOMB. oh, dabi, looks like he ordered a little too much. guess you can eat with us, after all.” you smiled at him, ignoring his eye roll again.

“wow, you’re real generous.”

“i am. you’re very welcome. your thanks can be given in the form of money.”

hawks barked out a laugh, grinning at dabi with raised brows as he shrugged his jacket off.

“i dunno,” dabi rose from the couch and stalked over to you, “i’m a little low on cash right now. maybe i can repay you another way.” he dropped down into the beanbag chair next to you, spreading his legs.

you gave him a short smirk before you leaned up, digging your elbows into his thighs.

“with drugs or your dick?” hawks dropped into the beanbag across the table, his gloves and visor gone.

“i don’t pay for either anyway.” you moved into the seat at the head of the table, rustling in the bag for your ramen.

“how’d you manage that?” he handed dabi the container with the word ‘spicy’ on top.

“everyone knows if you fuck the dealer they’ll give you shit for free.”

hawks hummed.

“i’m not extending that offer to you, bird.” dabi snarked. “you’re a top paid hero, you can afford to pay me.”

“whatever.” the blond rolled his eyes, starting to eat.

—

dinner went way better than you’d expected. hawks was unfairly smug after learning he indirectly caused you and dabi to meet, and you hoped he wouldn’t use that as a bargaining chip of some kind. eventually, though, the blond had to leave to do some kind of office work.

“government lackey.” dabi said as hawks walked to grab his jacket.

“hey, man, we all gotta make money somehow. his job just happens to suck.” you replied, getting up to unlock the door.

“you’re in no place to judge, you work at a knock off hot topic.” hawks shook his head, then looked over at dabi. “and you’re a literal criminal.”

“pays the bills.”

“sure.” you and hawks replied in unison. dabi scowled at that and went back to stealing your food.

“be safe babe. see ya.” you smiled softly at your boyfriend as you set your hand on the doorknob. you weren’t sure if he was comfortable kissing you in front of other people, and you weren’t gonna force him to.

hawks’ eyes darted to dabi, who was distracted, and then he gave you a very brief peck before he swung out the door with a shouted ‘bye’.

you rush back to your table to steal your rice back from dabi. he lets out a grating laugh as you do so, before he goes back to eating his food. the two of you finish eating quickly, and you stack up the containers before going and dumping them in the sink.

“is he still holding back on kissing you?” dabi asked suddenly, finishing off his fanta.

“why are you asking?” you raised an eyebrow before you chugged the rest of your sprite.

“didn’t see him kiss you, ’s all.”

“he doesn’t dry hump me against the door as a goodbye kiss. like a certain someone.”

“whatever.” he rolled his eyes, before he stood up and stomped over to your couch once more. you dropped your empty bottle on the table and joined him, taking out your phone. you checked for any notifications before you turned it off and moved yourself onto dabi’s lap.

he dropped the burner phone he’d been holding to grab your jaw in one hand and drag you down to kiss him. you thought it was pretty hot when he did that, and sighed appreciatively. dabi’s fingers pressed hotly into your skin, a contrast to the coldness of the rest of his body.

it was only a few minutes before dabi was moving you off him, kissing you as he kneeled on the ground before you. his warm hands moved to your knees, one of them sliding up to your waistband as the other pushed your legs apart, his lips trailing kisses down your neck all the while.

—

the entire reason you and dabi started your relationship was because of lust. you enjoyed his company, but every time he came over you were bound to end up sleeping together. it wasn’t a problem, and it wasn’t complicated. he kissed you fast and hard, he moved quickly, you knew what to expect.

but lately things have been changing between you.

things grew softer. neither of you were rushing anymore, focusing on the sex aspect of it - both of you started making jokes and lighthearted comments throughout, compliments tumbling out. afterward you would keep talking, and if he could afford to he’d stay the night. sometimes you didn’t even sleep together, and dabi just turned on some stupid reality tv and you made fun of it.

things were different, and you liked it.

“go to sleep.” dabi mumbled into your neck, and you brushed one hand over his hair as you typed onto your phone.

“just saying goodnight to my other boyfriend.” the light from your phone made you squint in your dark room.

“since when am i your boyfriend?”

“shut up, emo.” you whispered, kissing the top of his head. you felt him smile as his arm tightened around your waist. “goodnight, babe.”

he didn’t reply, but he pressed a soft kiss to your jaw.

—

you:
hey the dinner went great btw
my relationships r saved

bird brother:
That’s excellent. I’m happy for you.

you:
EGGcellent……

bird brother:
You are a blight upon humanity.

you:
yea i am!!! :D
okay goodnight fumi

bird brother:
I will see you at work tomorrow.

you:
yeah!! not next weekend tho im going to visit dad

bird brother:
Ah. Well, goodnight, (y/n).

you:
night fum, love u gn

bird brother:
I love you too.
Dark Shadow says he loves you as well.

you:
:D!!! I LOVE YOU BOTH !!!

—

birdie <3:
good night bb sleep well :)

you:
goodnight birdie!!!!! :D ily

birdie <3:!!!!!!!
ilyt!!!!!!

you:
<3 sweet dreams lovebird

birdie <3:
<333

—

Chapter Text

here:

- the reader def meets mirko! and yes she is hawks’ friend in this universe

- the reader also meets the league of villains. YES he made fun of dabi with them and YES they all love reader and YES reader does indeed hit on shigaraki (up to you if he ends up one of ur bfs)

- fumikage gets a boyfriend ;) not starting a ship war in the comments but it was a background character in class 1-a

- keigo and the reader publicly come out abt their relationship and even tho the commission forbids him from actually coming out as GAY it makes them both happy. plus all his fans r very supporting and actually love the reader whenever he appears in news. (tho eventually a tabloid photographs dabi and reader on a date and it makes a whole sitcom level confusion bc mirko/fumikage think reader is cheating and hawks is unphased af)

- yes i wrote a chapter for that whole tabloid thing btw. i will be posting it eventually

- reader goes to a hero thing and meets endeavor and fucking hates him lmfaoooo he ‘accidentally’ spills wine on his suit

- nozomi (your coworker) ends up marrying that girl she met at a show and invites the reader to her wedding :)

- at one point the reader goes to UA with hawks bc he’s doing a guest teaching thing and reader wants to see fumikage. so then reader is chillin at UA and he hangs out in the teacher’s lounge with aizawa and present mic and he’s talking to present mic about american bands, and then denki comes in like *thinly veiled excuse to talk to (y/n)* so now reader’s talking to present mic AND denki. and then hawks comes in and joins the convo and aizawa and midnight are like……. holy shit he’s a magnet for gay blondes…..

- then all might is like ‘are we talking about american music?? i LOVE america’ so now (y/n) is holding a conversation with four excitable blonde guys abt kesha, literally charming the hell out of denki/mic/all might, and aizawa and midnight are like ‘is all might fucking GAY????’ bc inductive reasoning

- while that whole thing happens aoyama kinda slides in and is like ‘i heard we were talking about gold trans am.’ and so now aizawa’s like ‘is this is his quirk??? he attracts gay blonde dudes into conversations???’ and like seven minutes later reader is talking to bakugou, aoyama, all might, monoma, denki, mirio, present mic, and hawks, and everyone else is like ‘does this guy just have the power to command the plucky blonde character type?????’

- ^ reader is sitting on a desk this whole time and he starts holding hawks’ hand after he shows up and it’s super cute

- after this whole discussion finally ends reader and hawks are like ‘okay we better go!! (y/n)’s other bf is meeting us for dinner’ and midnight goes ‘is your other boyfriend a cheery blonde as well’ and reader just laughs and is like ‘dude what??? no hes got black hair and is a total emo.’ and then he dips to go pee rq and midnight is like ‘whats his fucking quirk’ and hawks goes ‘ik what youre thinking and no. his quirk is not being magnetic to queer blondes. i have no idea where that comes from i think its just him.’

- the saga continues when reader goes to another hero/hero students meeting and suddenly he’s leading a conversation abt like tv shows with hawks/aoyama/present mic/mt lady/denki/mirio/all might/fatgum/monoma/best jeanist/pony (the girl from 1b). everyone else is like ‘every blonde in this room is over there. what the fuck. the only exception is the emo bird kid next to hawks’

- side note toga and jin are included in the blonde list. but they arent at a hero thing lol

- its literally fucking crazy it becomes a well known joke in the hero and villain networks that if you go to any kind of gathering where hawks or dabi will be, theres a good chance you’ll find all the blondes in the room crowded around (y/n)

- at one point theres this huge crazy fight between a dangerous villain group and the heroes, and they’re like ‘what do we do its been five days of this nonstop fighting’ and then dabi fucking materializes out of the shadows and is like ‘you’ll need something better than your quirks’ and the heroes are like ‘what do you mean VILLAIN’ and dabi goes ‘havent you noticed? the leader of that villain group is blonde.’ and everyone is like ‘lightbulb moment’ so hawks flies the reader in and all the heroes are like ‘be safe’ and reader just kinda walks out and stands in front of the villain’s hideout and within MINUTES the leader comes out and is like ‘hey whats up??’ and they stand there talking for hours and the leader is like ‘yeah yeah i’ll call them off no worries’ and while he’s being arrested he and reader are talking about some sci fi movie they saw.

- so now if theres a blonde villain they cant defeat they just call in (y/n) and he solves the issue in like ten minutes

- reader’s quirk was never specified but i figured it was some mild combative quirk, like reader can give people headaches or smthn. this shocks everyone when he uses it because his quirk was NOT ‘irresistible to (probably gay) blondes’

- dabi, hawks and reader all establish a monthly movie night where they watch movies on keigo's giant ass flat screen. its rlly fun because they take turns picking the movies so dabi always chooses these AWFUL cheesy gory horror movies, keigo picks those feelgood eighties/nineties movies, and reader chooses those weird ass artsy movies that nobody understands

- examples: dabi picks a hammer horror film, hawks picks 'you've got mail', and you pick 'mulholland drive'

- and they load up on snacks and stuff so its like a whole night of marathoning movies and eating popcorn and a ton of candy (dabi ONLY eats sour candy and then he kisses you on purpose to make u go all 'ew sour') and a bunch of soda n stuff

- yes u all smoke weed at these movie nights

- YES hawks smokes weed it shocked the fuck out of you when you found out

- you and dabi are shotgunning again and keigo comes in like 'hey ik we didnt plan a date- oh hey dabis here' and you go 'hey babe!! we r just.. um......' and hes like 'smoking weed? i can smell it' and dabis like 'how do you know what weed smells like......'

- and then hawks just goes over and takes the blunt from dabi and takes a fat rip and blows it into his face

- a real mindfuck for yall

- dabi thought it was super sexy tho lol. now he BEGS hawks to smoke with yall

- when dabi and hawks get high they both get super touchy and horny so you gotta deal w them

- also this is an au where the whole ‘hawks kills twice/dabi goes full joker mode’ doesnt happen??? idk yall its a feel good fic