Chapter Text
The scent of burnt wood and paint permeates the room, wafts past Enji’s nose with every tremulous twitch of Hawks’ wings, displaced air swirling the smell around and around. He leans against the crib, feels the wooden bars digging into his back, an unnecessary reminder of Hotaru’s absence.
Silence where there should be laughter, cooing, a chirp.
Enji can only hold Hawks. He can’t muster up the strength to get them off of the cold floor. He can barely keep his arms wrapped around the blond as he shakes, quiet and despondent. Hawks’ words drained every drop of adrenaline and energy from Enji instantly.
There is no possible way that someone or something came into their home and took Hotaru without their knowing. His security is too strong, too tight for that to ever be a concern.
Even if they had broken in somehow, even if they were fast, Hawks’ feathers are faster. He recalls the League member Kurogiri, a Nomu of All For One’s making, currently sitting in Tartarus. Could there be more like him?
Or is this something else entirely? His heart tells him it’s something else, his brain recognizes the signs. He’s seen this before, stared at it from the outskirts of a forest, pinned behind a mob of onlookers.
The pile of ash. The feathers. The charred wall and crib. They all resemble the ash and charred wood of a destroyed forest.
Did Enji’s flames take another child from him? Did Hotaru overheat in the middle of the night? She may have been too tired from her pain medication to realize.
It’s Touya all over again and Enji didn’t stop it from happening. He was so wrapped up in his own needs, his own desires -- he should never have left her alone tonight.
And now…
Hawks clings tightly to him, nails digging into Enji’s back, shredding his skin. Enji feels none of the pain. He feels nothing, hollow, empty, lost.
Yuv you, Papa. Yuv you, Daddy.
Hotaru’s words echo between his thoughts, a bleak reminder of what they’ve lost.
“We need to make a phone call. Doctor...Takoishi or K-Kenko...maybe they can...she might still be…,” Hawks mutters, eyes squeezed tightly shut as if he can’t bear to look at the room around him.
Enji can’t tear his eyes away from the crib he’s leaning against.
The tears haven’t come yet. Enji isn’t sure they will at this point. He doesn’t know if he has anything left in him, feels as if everything that made him him has been torn out of his chest and demolished. He hoped to never feel this pain again. Is this his punishment for everything he’s done? Is this what he gets for finding his happiness?
“I’ll call Takoishi. He has a sample of her cells, right...maybe…”
“Hawks,” Enji says tightly, knowing where he is going with this line of thought.
“She isn’t gone. There’s...the quirk entanglement can be fixed,” Hawks goes on, not hearing or not listening to Enji.
The quirk entanglement. Hawks thinks it came undone.
Yuv you, Papa. Yuv you, Daddy.
Enji sighs, weary, keeps his arms wrapped around Hawks while the blond mutters to himself, shakes apart at the seams. Enji has never been good at mending things, or people. He’s only ever been good at breaking them.
That was before Hotaru, before Hawks, before, before, before.
Hotaru would help Hawks. Would hold him together.
Yuv you, Papa. Yuv you, Daddy.
Enji leans away from the blond, just enough to hold Hawks’ cheeks. He presses his palms gently against them, forcing the man to look at him. “Hawks,” he starts, then has to pause to swallow against the sudden lump in his throat.
Hawks’ golden eyes are wide, terrified. Enji hates the way he is looking at him. There is nothing he can do right now to console the man he loves. There’s nothing he can do at all...what is the point of being a hero if he can’t even help the people most important to him?
Yuv you, Papa. Yuv you, Daddy.
Hawks doesn’t deserve any of this pain.
“Please, Enji…,” Hawks pleads, begging softly for Enji to cling with him to the little hope he’s managed to come up with.
Enji cradles his face, rubs his thumbs just under Hawks’ eyes and wipes away his tears. “We’ll make some calls, okay?”
Hawks leans against his hand, let’s out a shaky breath and nods slowly. “Yeah...okay. Okay.”
They stand on weak legs, bracing themselves against the side of the crib. Hawks sees the pile of ashes and feathers before Enji can turn him away. He chokes on a sob and Enji pulls him into his chest tightly, covering his eyes so he can no longer see the damage to her room.
Yuv you, Papa. Yuv you, Daddy.
“We need to make those calls, Hawks,” Enji tries. He tries so hard to keep it together, to be strong for Hawks, to keep him from falling apart. He feels Hawks jerk against his chest, a muffled noise that sounds something like an affirmation escapes the man in between heaving breaths.
They slowly make their way to the bedroom door where Hawks flung it open in his haste to get into her room moments earlier.
Hawks stumbles in the shag rug on the floor. Enji catches him, helps him regain his balance and sees the spot where Hotaru spent time twisting the long strands of carpet into little knots along one edge a few weeks ago.
Yuv you, Papa. Yuv you, Daddy.
His vision gets blurry. Tears pool until they overflow and he swallows the sob that threatens to spill from him in the same moment.
Yuv you, Papa. Yuv you, Daddy.
A rug. A rug is what sets him off.
Yuv you, Papa. Yuv you, Daddy.
“Enji…” Hawks whispers to him, clutches his hand before wrapping him into his tight embrace. “Oh, Enji…”
Enji is trying to be strong for Hawks, but he’s failed at that tonight, too. Couldn’t help his daughter. Can’t even keep it together for Hawks.
“I’m sorry…” he bites out, bitter at his weakness.
“Never have to apologize, Enji,” Hawks shudders against him, still managing his own pain, but a constant support for Enji. “We’re in this togeth--”
A brilliant light erupts behind them, interrupting Hawks. Enji already has his Hellflame in his hands, Hawks has leapt to the side, feathers at the ready.
Hotaru’s bed is on fire, engulfed in bright orange and yellow flames.
They curl and twist in intricate arcs, crackle in the silence between Hawks and Enji. Heat engulfs the space, yet the bed doesn’t crumble under it.
Something moves within the flames. It’s too bright to see what it is. Enji’s heart slams against his chest. Is this what killed his daughter?
Yuv you, Papa. Yuv you, Daddy.
Yuv you, Papa. Yuv you, Daddy.
A tiny, pudgy hand pokes free from the flames and waves at them. “Hi, Pa! Hi, Da!”
The flames die just as quickly as they exploded and in the middle of the soot-covered bedding sits Hotaru, naked as the day she first arrived, but utterly and completely whole.
Enji doesn’t even see Hawks move. The winged hero is suddenly there, in front of the crib, scooping Hotaru into his arms and the next second he is standing with her in front of Enji. Hawks is hugging her tightly, cooing at her and whispering over and over: I love you, I love you, I love you.
“Yuv you, Papa,” she says back each time.
In stunned awe, Enji reaches a tentative hand down and caresses the back of Hotaru’s head, fingers running through her soft, golden curls. He doesn’t even register pulling them both into his chest, wrapping them tightly into his embrace.
“Hotaru,” he chokes out, tears flowing freely down his cheeks. He can’t tell what Hawks is saying to her, not over the rush of relief flooding every fibre of his being. Her tiny hand rests on his cheek and she coos at him, pats it gently and rubs back and forth across his stubble.
“Yuv you, Daddy,” she says with a tiny smile, turquoise eyes shining brightly.
“I love you, too,” Enji replies, voice gruff from his earlier anguish.
Hawks cracks, a broken laugh falling from his lips as he gazes in awe at their daughter. There are tear stains running down his ruddy, splotched cheeks, smudged under his bloodshot eyes.
Enji pulls him close, Hotaru cradled between them, and kisses him, fighting back the sorrow and replacing it with love.
“Pa! See! Look me!” Hotaru says cheerily when they slowly break apart, waving her right arm. Hawks stares at her, wide eyed and slack jawed, completely speechless, clearly uncertain as to what he is looking at.
Enji is just as confused.
Hotaru doesn’t appreciate Hawks’ lack of enthusiasm.. She turns her gaze to Enji next. “Da! Look! No ow!~” she attempts again and Enji nods numbly, taking her arm gently into his hand.
There’s no swelling, no bruising, no redness. She’s moving it around freely, without any pain.
“What is happening?” Hawks says finally, staring at her arm in shock.
Enji shakes his head. “I...don’t know.”
“We need to make --”
“-- phone calls, right,” Enji finishes his sentence, but he can’t quite move away from them both. He places a hand on Hawks’ lower back, under his wings, and guides them out of Hotaru’s room toward his bedroom.
Hawks crawls into the bed, keeping a tight hold on Hotaru. She wriggles a few times, but Enji’s pretty certain she can sense their turmoil, so she doesn’t put up a fuss.
By the time Enji finishes calling both Takoishi and Kenko, she is perched on Hawks’ chest, both hands against his cheeks, smooshing them and cooing in concern while Hawks lays there with a brilliant, watery smile, the occasional tear pooling on the pillow below him.
Enji stands in his doorway and takes a fortifying breath, pushes the pain down as far as he can. It won’t do him any good to dwell on what happened earlier when he has this in front of him.
Hotaru twists around on Hawks’ chest and waves at him. She’s safe. She’s here with them right now.
“Come, Da, come!” she beckons to him and Enji automatically responds, taking the last few steps to climb into the bed beside them. Hawks slides closer, presses against his side and rests his head on Enji’s shoulder.
“Did you get hold of them?”
“It’s early for both of them, but they answered. They’ll be here in an hour,” Enji answers. He can’t stop looking at Hotaru, can’t take his eyes from her.
She giggles when Hawks tickles her side. “We should get you dressed then, huh?” Hawks says lightly, a sigh slipping free from him in a stuttered breath.
Enji curls onto his side, drops an arm over Hawks’ waist, keeping him pinned to the bed. “We should stay here for a few minutes...”
Hotaru pats his cheek, runs her little fingers over his nose and then snuggles down in between Hawks and Enji, pressing herself into Enji’s chest. She’s here. This is real. She isn’t gone.
Hawks hums in agreement and rolls onto his side, tangling their legs together and nudging Enji’s forehead with his own. “Daddy’s right as usual,” he whispers, eyes soft in the dawning light sneaking through the curtains above them.
They need time to breathe, to hold Hotaru, to make sure their family is safe and whole.
It doesn’t get rid of the fear and pain from earlier, but they’re quieter, less of a scream and more a constant whisper. Hopefully Kenko and Takoishi can provide answers when they arrive.
Enji will do whatever it takes to keep her safe, for Hawks to never go through this again, for his family to be okay.
------
Hawks can’t bring himself to go into Hotaru’s room at the moment, so he sends in a few feathers to bring back what he needs to get her dressed before their visitors arrive.
His hands are still shaking as he gets her into her shirt and leggings. He isn’t sure how long the tremors will continue, guesses probably until they at least have some answers from the doctors, but hopes they’ll stop after that.
The image of her crib, the silence from her room.
Hawks has never, in his entire life, felt that level of panic and terror and despair. He didn’t even come close during the Hood fight, when Enji first fell; he knew in his heart his Number One would never fall to a Nomu. But this...what happened tonight...he shudders, feathers puffing up and rippling along his wings.
Hotaru chirps at him, drawing his focus away from the scene trying to replay itself on the back of his eyelids. He leans down and blows a raspberry on her belly and she squeals with laughter.
Enji comes out of the bathroom, looking slightly better than earlier. There are dark circles under his eyes, his expression is still too tight around the edges, but he’s got color to his skin again.
Hawks is certain he must look like the walking dead. He feels like it.
“I’ll get her breakfast started, if you want to get dressed?” Enji offers, scooping Hotaru up from the bed and cradling her in the crook of his arm.
Hawks hesitates and Enji’s expression softens. His hand is a comfortable, warm weight against the side of Hawks’ cheek and neck.
“She won’t leave my sight, Hawks. Get dressed, we’ll be in the kitchen,” Enji says softly, leaning down and placing a kiss to Hawks’ temple.
Nodding, Hawks heads over to his own bedroom and forces himself to go through the motions of becoming somewhat human this early in the morning. Staring at himself in the bathroom mirror he lets out a deep, breathy sigh. His earlier assumption was right: he looks terrible.
Last night feels like a dream that turned into a waking nightmare. He supposes half of that is right at least.
He and Enji finally stopped dancing around each other. Enji loves him; they love each other. The happiness and euphoria he felt then wasn’t just because they finally kissed and did more than just sleep in Enji’s giant bed.
When they were laying entwined in Enji’s sheets, sweat cooling on their skin, fingers brushing against bare flesh so soft goosebumps formed in their wake -- Hawks was the absolute happiest he has ever been. Hotaru. Enji. His family, his precious loved ones.
He didn’t realize how much he craved having a family, having these connections, until the moment everything finally clicked into place between him and Enji. Their relationship hitting this point was the missing piece to the puzzle.
Falling asleep in Enji’s arms, he knew then and there that this was his forever. He found his home.
And then…
Hotaru.
His mind shies away from the horrific images of her crib, from the near insanity that gripped him instantly when his feathers failed to find her. If Enji hadn’t been there, Hawks is certain he would have lost himself completely. All of his training, everything he’s seen as a hero, could never prepare him to deal with the loss of his child.
Enji’s strength, his support in the face of that, even when his pain was just as great as Hawks’ -- Hawks isn’t quite certain how he lucked out so much in the family department, but he is eternally grateful to whatever forces brought him and Enji together, gave them Hotaru.
Hotaru -- who is alive and well -- even better than she was when she fell asleep last night.
Hawks doesn’t know what happened, but he knows that he will do everything in his power to fight for this, for his family. Gripping the sink, he inhales deeply, fortifies himself for the rest of the day and finishes getting ready.
By the time he gets out to the kitchen, Hotaru is wrapped around Enji’s shin, giggling while he wanders back and forth in the space, preparing a quick breakfast of eggs and toast.
“What’re you doing down there?” he asks, propping a hip against the counter out of Enji’s way.
“Nuffin, Pa,” Hotaru chirps, hands buried into Enji’s pant leg.
Enji snorts, “She’s helping, obviously.”
“Oh, obviously. Here, I’ll take those out. Hotaru can you direct Daddy to the dining room?” Hawks steals the plates from Enji, balancing them on his arm with ease and dragging their drinks out with a few feathers.
Hotaru tweets in acknowledgement and Hawks laughs when he turns to see her tugging on Enji’s leg towards the kitchen. “Da. Nng, come, Daddy!” she whines at him, huffing when he barely moves. He gives in easily and lets her pull him into the dining room.
She pulls out his chair (Hawks adds a few feathers to it to help) and walks behind Enji’s legs, pushing on him till he goes towards his seat. “Sit, Da! Time eat, pyease,” Hotaru chirrups and Enji smiles helplessly down at her, before sitting in the chair she ‘pulled’ out for him.
Hawks’ heart swells in his chest. He cannot lose this.
Once she deems Enji settled into his spot, she turns to Hawks and goes towards his chair. He watches as she does the same thing, pulls it out from under the table (Enji’s foot is on the bottom rung helping move it this time), and then she takes Hawks’ hand and walks him over to it.
“Papa, time eat, pyease,” she says, pointing at his chair. He plops into it lightly, then bites his lips to keep from laughing when she ducks under the table and comes out by her own chair. She looks at both of her fathers and then flaps her little wings twice to hop into her seat.
Hawks and Enji let the flight slide. She could fly around the entire house and they wouldn’t say anything.
They make it through breakfast, though Enji and Hawks barely eat anything. Hawks’ nerves are still frayed from earlier. He’s confident Enji is feeling the same.
Hotaru devours everything, cleaning her plate and eating a slice of Enji’s toast.
As they’re clearing everything from the dining room, a knock from the front door draws Enji down the hallway. Hawks whisks the last few dishes into the sink with his feathers and takes Hotaru’s hand to walk her into the living room.
Dr. Kenko and Dr. Takoishi are right on time.
Hotaru trills in greeting and bounces up to shake their hands. Dr. Kenko’s eyes widen when she sees the lack of a brace on Hotaru’s wrist and the very obvious fact that she is moving it around without issue.
“I...see what you meant,” she whispers to Enji as she enters the living room.
Dr. Takoishi follows behind, his large black eyes shift on the side of his face, but Hawks still can’t figure out what he’s looking at.
Enji gestures for them both to take a seat on the sofa and Hawks joins him and Hotaru on the couch.
“So, your Daddy tells me you had an adventure last night,” Dr. Kenko starts.
Hotaru chirps, nodding in agreement.
“Can you tell me what happened?”
Hotaru’s head tilts to the side, her bird-like gesture indicating confusion. She puffs her cheeks and babbles, a wisp of fire flicks up from her mouth and she lets off a little steam afterwards. “No ow,” she says finally, clapping her hands together.
Dr. Kenko smiles widely and nods, but clearly doesn’t understand what Hotaru is trying to convey. “Thank you, Hotaru. Would you like to come over here so we can see your arm?”
Hotaru looks up at Enji and Hawks. “Go ahead, Little Bit. They’re here to help, that’s all,” Hawks coaxes. She slides off of the couch and walks over to the sofa where Dr. Kenko picks her up and places her between herself and Dr. Takoishi.
While she distracts Hotaru with silly stories and listening to her heart, Takoishi gently takes a couple of samples and gives Kenko the okay.
Hawks swallows thickly, nerves absolutely wracked and firing off. His foot taps restlessly against the floor. He’s practically shredding his jeans with his nails, they’re dug into the fabric so deeply.
Until they’re not.
Enji takes his hand, wraps it in his own larger, warmer palm and squeezes it once in reassurance, a silent support. Hawks wasn’t sure the man would want to display any signs of physical affection this early on. He doesn’t really have the bandwidth to feel too badly about his misconception right now and instead squeezes Enji’s hand back, hoping to convey his own support and gratitude with the brief pressure.
“You’re a very bright girl, Hotaru. Thank you very much. You can sit with your fathers again,” Kenko says, shaking Hotaru’s hand and helping her down from the sofa.
Takoishi enters something into his tablet then passes it over to her. She reviews whatever is on the screen and they both look at each other for a silent moment.
Hawks is ready to vibrate off the couch and swipe the tablet from them both. The only things keeping him from doing it are Hotaru sitting in his lap now and Enji’s hand gripping his own.
Clearing his throat, Takoishi finally speaks up. “This is, well, it’s certainly a development, Endeavor, Hawks. I’ve run an analysis on her cellular makeup and compared the results to those I took when she first arrived. First, your daughter is completely healthy, incredibly so, given she injured her arm yesterday.”
“Her vitals as of right now are strong. Now, what I am about to suggest is merely that: a suggestion. It will require far more testing and possibly a reanalysis of her quirk to determine with more confidence, but I believe what you witnessed early this morning was the unknown anomaly her previous results indicated might manifest,” he states, tapping away at his tablet again.
Hawks frowns. “You think she did...that...to herself?”
Dr. Kenko and Takoishi both nod. Kenko speaks up, her voice calm, “Fire quirks are quite powerful and most are used in an offensive capacity; however, there are other uses for fire. Those with weaker fire quirks build things, warp metals, etc. It is rare, but there is also a regenerative attribute to some fire quirks. I’ve seen a few cases, though most seem to crop up in China. And we know that quirks evolve when different combinations interact. This quirk entanglement has already produced quite a few wonders -- Hotaru being the most obvious.”
“Yes, I believe your Hellflame, well, her version of your Hellflame has evolved into a regenerative quirk. My working theory is that when she is injured her body stores energy until a point where it can rebuild from the cellular level. You said there was a pile of ash in her crib?” Dr. Takoishi asks.
Enji nods, remaining silent. Hawks glances at him and sees the stiffness in his shoulders. A fire that can heal instead of hurt. He knows how worried Enji gets whenever Hotaru uses her flames, how he worries anytime Shouto uses it as well. And he knows the despair Enji felt watching his child die to his own fire.
This has to be a lot for him right now.
He squeezes Enji’s hand again, rubs his thumb across his knuckles in comfort.
“Mm, I believe that might not quite be ash. I’d need a sample to test it further. I suppose the best comparison I can make to describe your daughter’s ability is a phoenix rising from its ashes. She was injured and her body regenerated itself to heal the injury,” Takoishi gestures to Hotaru.
“It isn’t the first time she’s done it either,” he goes on.
Hawks stares at him. “What?”
Takoishi swipes something on his tablet and hands it over to them both. Hawks and Enji look at the diagrams on the screen, but they don’t make any sense.
“If you’ll notice on the far left, that sample was from the first time she appeared. You’ll see the various markers, but there is one that denotes the age of her cells. Next to that diagram is a model of what her cellular age should look like today. The two diagrams to the right of the model are the ages of two different cellular samples I just took today,” Takoishi pauses. He waves a hand at the tablet, “As you can see, one sample is brand new as of this morning. The other sample appears to be a couple of months old -- which is still two months shy of the model. My guess is that the ‘ash’ she uses to regenerate retains most of her DNA and cellular structure. Her quirk refreshes a majority of her cells, but keeps a few of the older cells as a roadmap.”
Dr. Kenko clasps her hands in her lap and motions to Hotaru. “Was there a time in the last few weeks where she hurt herself? Did you find anything out of the ordinary in her crib the next morning?”
Hawks doesn’t remember Hotaru falling or hurting herself. She hasn’t scratched or cut herself, scraped her knee. What did he miss? How did he miss -- oh.
“She got sick one night, had a high fever and started overheating,” Enji answers, already figuring it out.
Hugging Hotaru to his chest, Hawks nods, “There was soot and a few feathers in her crib that morning. We just assumed she got too hot in the middle of the night and burned her pajamas off to cool down.”
This happened before and they didn’t even realize it.
“Her crib was fine, not even singed. Why was it so intense this time?” he asks.
Kenko shrugs, “Unfortunately, we can’t be certain, but my guess would be that she was already healing thanks to the medication you provided when she had a fever. Her body didn’t need to expel as much energy to regenerate at the time. This is just a guess, though. It will be incredibly difficult to determine the extent of this particular quirk attribute without essentially encouraging another regeneration.”
Enji’s hand gripping his tightly lets Hawks know exactly what the man thinks of that idea. Hawks agrees. There is no chance in Hell he is allowing anyone to experiment with his daughter’s quirk.
“No thanks, Doc. So...as far as you both can tell, she’s perfectly healthy and this is just part of who she is?” Hawks says, handing the tablet back to Takoishi.
Takoishi nods, large black eyes blinking rapidly a couple of times. “Yes, she is completely fine. It’s quite a unique combination of quirks she has, I do recommend keeping the extent of her abilities within the family -- at least until she is older. The market for unique quirks such as hers is...well…”
Hawks doesn’t need him to go on. He raises a hand, cutting the man off.
“We appreciate your discretion and advice,” Enji states. “Is there anything else we should be aware of?”
“I don’t think so. I’m sure this was a traumatic experience for you both, if you need anything, please don’t hesitate to call,” Kenko says, standing from the sofa. Hawks really likes her, she’s good at keeping everyone calm and understanding their concerns when it comes to Hotaru.
Takoishi stands as well, waves a goodbye to Hotaru and Hawks and follows Kenko and Enji silently down the hall.
Hawks leans down and drops a kiss into Hotaru’s curls, she coos up at him. “You’re amazing, Little Bit,” he whispers, hugging her again.
Enji rejoins them and Hawks can see relief on his face, but also…
“Are you okay, Enji?”
Pausing, Enji frowns, then nods, “Yes…”
“But?”
Enji sighs, scrubbing a hand down his face, “There are so many unknowns still. I...worry about her fire, but knowing it’s healing and not just destructive is…”
Hawks waits patiently, rubs Hotaru’s back while she babble-sings a song in his lap and plays with a thread on his hoodie.
“It’s terrifying but I’m relieved at the same time,” Enji says. His face is scrunched up as if he dislikes voicing the paradox as much as the paradox itself.
Nodding, Hawks scoots over and leans against him, delights in the feeling of Enji’s arm wrapping around his shoulder and holding him close. “It is, but we’ll tackle it like we tackle everything else,” he says softly.
“Mm, together,” Enji says, relaxing under Hawks’ weight.
“Togedder~,” Hotaru chirps from his lap, clapping her hands merrily.
------
A week later and things are finally returning to normal for the three of them. Hawks is eternally grateful for the reprieve. They might be the top two heroes in Japan, but even they have their breaking points. The lapse in crises is just what they needed to regain their footing.
After Hotaru’s regeneration, Enji and Hawks spent the following week working from home exclusively, neither one of them able to leave her alone for too long.
They can’t keep it up forever though, so when Shouto offered to take Hotaru out with Bakugou and Midoriya to play in the snow before it disappeared, they agreed.
Hawks is fighting down the panic in his chest constantly, but it’s steadily dwindling in strength with each passing minute. Hotaru is fine, she’ll be okay. Besides, the kids won’t let anything happen to her.
A deep sigh jerks him from his thoughts and he glances over at Enji on the other end of the couch. He’s pinching the bridge of his nose, head tilted back into the cushion.
“Reports that bad, hm?” Hawks asks, setting his own paperwork aside happily enough and crawling up onto his knees to kneel beside Enji. He rests his right arm along the backside of the couch, fingers playing with Enji’s hair while he gazes down at him.
Enji cracks an eye open, brilliant blue staring up at Hawks. “They’re not bad, just useless.”
Hawks curls around the man, resting part of his weight on Enji’s chest, sliding down to drop his head on his shoulder. “No new information on the League then?”
“No. They’re being cautious since the last brazen attack. All of our leads have dried up,” Enji rumbles, sounding tired, weary.
“We’ll find him, Enji. The League can’t hide forever,” Hawks says. He drags his left hand over Enji’s chest, smooths the wrinkles out of his button down, repeats the motion until Enji’s hand comes down on it, holds it in place against his heart.
“Thank you.”
Scrunching his nose in confusion, Hawks shifts his cheek where it’s pressed against Enji’s chest and looks up, “For what?”
“For being you,” Enji answers. Hawks doesn’t understand what that means exactly, but it’s got a blush rising on his cheeks simply from the praise alone.
He moves around a bit to get more comfortable, pushing himself up so he can reach Enji’s lips with his own. They part easily and he closes his eyes, savors the feeling of Enji opening under him, the lingering taste of the bitter coffee he drinks in the morning.
Their phones chime at the same time, drawing Hawks short when he’d much rather drag Enji back into their room. They chime again and Enji huffs out a frustrated sigh.
By the third chime, they are both scrambling apart and diving for them in irritation.
It’s Hawks’ PR manager forwarding tweets and articles to him at a rapid fire pace, interspersed with the occasional ‘???!!!!’ texts. He glances over at Enji and sees the man frowning at his own phone.
Clicking the first article link, Hawks’ eyes widen at the headline:
Number One and Number Two: Baby Makes Three?
He scrolls through and sees photos of himself, Enji and Hotaru in various locations: leaving the Endeavor Agency, at their neighborhood park; a photo of just him and Hotaru that night they went to KFC, she’s blowing fire wisps in the air in front of her.
The rest of the links in the messages share similar headlines: Pro Hero 2.5? Endeavor and Hawks’ Secret Love Child; Burning Love or Flighty Affair?; Genetic Cloning -- Quirk Edition.
“Shit…”
“It was inevitable,” Enji supplies, tossing his phone a little harder than necessary onto the coffee table.
Hawks knows this, they’ve talked about it enough times right here on this very couch. He just wishes it didn’t have to happen now of all times.
“I’ve already got my PR team working to remove the images of Hotaru. She’s a minor, they shouldn’t have been shared in the first place. We’ll need to meet with both our teams next week, get something together for a press release…” he trails off when he catches Hawks openly staring at him. “What?”
“I love you,” Hawks answers, shrugging and smiling at his Number One, not even caring how dopey he knows his grin is right now.
The tips of Enji’s ears go pink, he huffs, “Hawks…”
Utterly helpless in the face of Enji’s response, Hawks laughs. The PR mess can wait. There’s always going to be something given their titles. He’s not going to let moments like this pass him by. He stands up, pushes his way in between Enji’s legs and leans down to pull the man into another kiss.
“I love you and this,” he gestures to the coffee table behind him, “can wait.”
“Can it?” Enji says, eyebrows raised with a knowing smirk.
“...I’ll just be in our bedroom, while you figure out your priorities,” Hawks teases. He doesn’t even get the chance to move away before Enji is standing, lifting him up easily. Hawks wraps his legs around Enji’s waist, grins at the man holding him.
“Insolent bird,” Enji murmurs, devoid of any sting and encased in fond adoration. “I love you, too,” he adds.
Hawks’ heart does a little flip flop every time Enji says those three words to him and he feels like he could take on the world. He hopes it’s a permanent condition; it’s certainly one he is happy to keep.
Villains, strange quirk entanglements, PR disasters, and an energetic toddler with amazing abilities? Bring them on.
They’ll tackle everything like they always do: together.