Chapter Text
Touya had given up. At the ripe old age of 25, with no prospects and only the sharp edges of all his failures paving his way through life he had decided to stop walking. It was time to end this.
He started up the stairwell. His boots made the rusted metal stairs clank loudly, echoing off the walls of the stairwell. Up he went, dragging his damaged body up each step. He grimaced as he felt the staples holding his skin together at his thighs protest the movement.
His mind wandered to his life, and all of his various failures. He could never become the hero his father dreamed of being. He was outshined by all of his siblings, Fuck, he was dumb enough to have burned off his fucking skin in a rage and destroyed his body. He was a mistake that should have never been born. Damn, he was sounding as emo as he dressed...
It was exhausting to push open the heavy metal door. It had been sealed shut with rust and his thin body didn't budge it. After a few minutes of pushing with all his might, the damn thing screeched open and he stumbled onto the roof.
The late afternoon sun stung his eyes after the darkness of the stairwell. After catching his breath he made his way to the edge of the building. He was eight stories up an abandoned warehouse in the more industrial part of town.
He placed his hands on the old railing, careful to not touch the bird shit, and looked down at the cracked concrete sidewalk below. The whole street was empty. Good, the last thing he wanted was to make this a spectacle too, like the rest of his damn life.
It was surreal to be here. He'd found this building a month ago on a trip out wandering the city. To be up here, making the decision was strange.
He heated up the cold metal below his palms. He watched the blue fire bend and then melt the steal, leaving a space for him to move to the very edge. He held the flames until the pain of his wrists became too much and he extinguished the fire, the brilliant blue light replaced with the dimming orange sun.
With a deep sigh, he stepped forward, balancing on the edge, and then, he shifted his weight forward and felt his feet leave the ground as he tipped forward off the roof.
The moment his feet left the ledge he was filled with immediate regret. He was so stupid, what was he doing?? He'd never be able to bully his siblings now, or shit in his dad's bed or-oof, ok the whole falling thing was a bad idea with his motion sickness. Terrified he squeezed his eyes closed, bracing for his final mistake.
Suddenly he was hit on the side, throwing his orientation all off, his stomach lurched again. When he opened his eyes he was on the grown, not a pile of blood and guts, but he did puck up his minuscule lunch up, bending over and painting the sidewalk in red Gatorade.
"Oh, holy shit!" He heard a yell from beside him. The voice was muffled by his own shock.
He took deep breaths, grateful to the soothing circles on his back, and, wait who's touching him!? He tried to jump back, almost falling before being pulled upright.
Finally, He gazed at his savior, and immediately wished he'd just hit the grown. He let out a groan. Of course, the person to save him was the number 3 hero and his personal celebrity crush, Hawks.
"Fuck, not this." He grumbled, throat sore.
Hawks was even more angelic in person. He stood a half-head shorter than him. He was giving him a comforting smile as he pulled out a small water bottle from his jacket.
Touya forgot his embarrassment for a moment and took the water to clean out his mouth.
"That was quite the fall, are you ok? I'll take you to the next hospital, it's only a few blocks-"
"OH hell no, I'm not going to a hospital, are you nuts?" He handed the now empty water bottle back to hawks, who took it, looking slightly startled.
His face softened and Touya hated how pretty he looked. "I know it's not the most pleasant place but you need to be checked up on. You'll be able to get the care you need there."
Touya snorted and turned his back to Hawks, walking on slightly shaky legs toward the traffic at the far end of the block. "I'm not going and that's it, don't even try hero."
He flinched at the feeling of hawks fingers ghosting over his shoulder and spun around to see Hawks withdrawing hand, palms up.
"Sorry! But I can't just let you go like this."
Touya rolled his eyes. Of course, the hero wouldn't listen to him, he was still trying to help him or some shit. "I'm not ganna try anything, and I'm not going to a hospital or any of that shit." He said crossing his arms in defense.
"Well," Hawks rolled on his feet, looking nervous with his hands in his pockets. "Want to get something to eat then?"
Touya felt his jaw drop and just stared at the bird for a moment, letting an awkward silence hang over them. "Are," he blinked a few times and tried to shake off his shock. "Are you seriously asking me out right now?"
Now hawks looked shocked and mildly mortified. "What, no! No, of course not." He all but yelled, hands held in front of him in a gesture of innocence. His panic was mildly funny to Touya. "I just feel like if I try to take you to the hospital you'll find a way to stab me with my own feathers. And it's not like I can just leave you alone."
"So this is just a casual suicide watch? The number three, wasting his time on little old me, I'm flattered." He said flatly. With a sigh and a slump of his shoulders, he considered his options. The hospital, facing his family, the horrible treatment, or a sort of date with his longtime crush. There were worse ways to spend a night he guessed.
"Alright then birdy, lead the way."
Hawks looked mildly offended for a moment, "birdy, really?" He shook his head and started down the street, Touya falling into pace next to him. "Whatever, there's this place a few blocks away, they have the best yakitori in the city!"
Touya had gone out today with the purpose of leaving behind his life. He nodded along to the number threes chatter about the various yakitori places in the city he felt that maybe he had started to at least walk away from it.