Chapter Text
Izuku breathed in deeply, letting the cold air invade his lungs before he exhaled and hung his head, continuing the long trudge to The Fortress. While he was not one to typically enjoy the cold, he did enjoy the way the air felt in his chest as he walked through the woods. He used to prefer winter as a kid - according to memories that hurt too much to look at - but as of recent, the cold had become too much for him.
Before he could ponder more on that thought, something hit him in the neck. A scream was ripped from him before being quickly knocked away as a weight covered his back, making him fall face first into the snow. It felt like someone was covering him with their entire body and using their weight to pin him to the cold ground.
Fuck, was I followed? Did some of Bakugou’s friends follow me? I thought they had stopped tracking me after Tsubasa disappeared.
His eyes were closed, which took him a bit too long to realize. He kept them closed, though, as it was a good instinct that helped him prepare for the next blow being dealt to him. Despite his fear of the pain, a deep rage filled him with the thought that someone had gone out of their way to follow him. Meaning, his one safe place was about to be discovered and more than likely destroyed.
Strangely, though, his attacker was taking too long to continue, for lack of a better word, attacking him. It could have been a ruse to make him relax, and he knew falling for it would mean more pain, but he was too confused and cold to keep his curiosity at bay. Hesitantly, he opened his eyes and saw red.
Literally, he saw red, which gave him pause. He was well aware that no one he knew at school had red, feathery wings. Sure, Tsubasa's had been red, but they had been leathery. Not feathered.
Izuku could only come up with one logical explanation:
One of Japan's newest and youngest Limelight Pro Heroes - Hawks - had fallen on him. Even worse, it sounded insane to think that as the hero had yet to get off of him.
The idea of meeting the Pro sparked excitement in Izuku, as he had a ton of questions he wanted to ask the man-bird. However, said emotion was quickly drowned out by worry.
Why had the Pro not gotten off of him yet? Furthermore, was it even the Pro Hero?
He did his best to turn his head, and was luckily able to find the man's face. His blonde hair and goggles confirmed Izuku's self-proclaimed insane theory, and the noise the Pro let loose answered the question of the hour.
Why was Hawks still on top of Izuku? Well, the man was asleep, which was even more insane than the idea that the hero had been the one to land on him.
Laughing at the impossibility and failing to believe that he was doing anything but dreaming, Izuku made a plan of action. He had to get out from under the Pro, but how was he supposed to do that? His entire body was covered and the boy had never exactly been made of muscle.
Digging his hands into the snow, he started trying to pull himself from underneath the hero. He wiggled bit by bit until he was red in the face and had to stop from exhaustion. Pathetically, he laid his head on the ground and considered giving up, as he had barely managed to free half of his torso.
The snow made the choice for him, though, as it seeped into his thin summer uniform and froze him to the core. He was helpless to stop the murderous thoughts of his school as the cold continued to invade his senses. It was because of their cruel decision that the one uniform was good enough for him to wear year round that he was suffering. They refused to give him the winter uniform, which led to him constantly getting scolded for shivering and "making a distraction for other students".
Without going home, his best protection against the cold was at The Fortress he had been trying to walk to. To get to either, he had to continue freeing himself from the dead weight of the Pro.
Before he could make another attempt, however, he was distracted by the quiet chirps of content Hawks was making in his sleep.
He had had a theory about the man potentially having more bird tendencies than what he let show, and this was proof for Izuku as the man never seemed to let himself during battles or interviews. The chirps combined with the snoring were more than adorable. He considered the cuteness might be part of the reason the Pro never let himself reveal those bird tendencies, as being cute and adorable made being a Pro Hero demeaning. Very few managed to use that image to their advantage.
Izuku also considered quite certainly that it may not be Hawks' choice as to whether or not he showed those bird tendencies. Reporters already had a field day with his fried chicken obsession, let alone if he let himself chirp or grew talons.
The cold finally became too much, so the boy began once again pulling himself out from under the hero. He successfully pulled himself out all the way to his hips, and took a significantly shorter break as he knew getting his thighs even slightly free would make the rest of his escape much easier. He was correct in his theorizing, and soon slowly stood to brush the dirt off of himself and check to see if he had any injuries. Once he found that he was sore, but luckily not injured, he turned to the direction of The Fortress. He needed to warm up desperately, and the building was in sight.
However, his feet refused to move. His moral compass forced him to look back at the Pro. Hawks was in a big coat, but was starting to shiver despite the protection. Izuku could see the way the Pro was attempting to curl his wings around himself despite lying on his front.
Izuku rubbed a hand down his face, groaning to himself and hating the fact that he knew he would be unable to just leave the Pro. On top of it, he knew that if Hawks had managed to keep from waking up after falling out of fucking nowhere - hopefully a tree - and then landing on top of Izuku - who screamed at the top of his fucking lungs - then there was no way in hell Hawks was going to wake up from some scrawny kid trying to shake him awake.
He walked closer before squatting, luckily finding that the hero's arms were not far underneath him. He pulled his arms up, before turning and yanking them over his shoulders. He grunted at the added weight as he attempted to stand, being knocked back down into a squat. The Pro was unluckily too heavy to be able to pull while standing up, which meant Izuku was just barely not duck walking the rest of his original trek to The Fortress.
Said safe haven was an old, brick building that was somehow mostly intact. It actually had fairly good insulation despite its multiple openings, and no one else really knew about The Fortress. Bakugou and their old friends never even went to the place anymore, so he had nothing to worry about when it came to leaving blankets and a battery powered space heater in the building. He left his coded notebooks there as well. If someone really wanted to read them, they deserved to with the effort it would take to translate the code his father helped him create.
He lugged the Pro on top of his pile of blankets, happy he had washed them just a few days prior. Sometimes foxes, wolves or even coyotes would hang out in The Fortress to hide from the elements, which would leave a fair amount of mud on some of the blankets. Not that Izuku cared, but he was happy for the sake of the man's comfort.
He ignored the sadistic thought that questioned whether or not the Pro deserved it, especially considering he fell on Izuku. He fought the thought with the consideration of how Hawks had to be going through some shit if he fell out of a fucking tree and failed to wake up.
So, he simply turned on the space heater and leaned back against the wall of The Fortress, settling a blanket over his lap. He had things to add to his notebook. Seven months prior, back in March specifically, he had begun one for Hawks back when he had debuted. The chance to have a better look at the hero's wings to sketch in his journal was not one he would pass up on.
Two hours went by, finding Izuku finishing up a drawing of the Pro's face and hair when he noticed the man moving.
He heard the hero groan in tired discomfort, and stifled a giggle at how normal the Pro sounded. It was somewhat of a wake up call, making the boy realize Hawks was still human, after all. Being a Pro Hero failed to change that fact.
The man froze, a subtle reaction. Izuku noticed immediately, watching as the feathers on his wings shifted defensively. Hawks had definitely heard the giggle despite his best efforts, and was definitely thinking the boy was a threat. If he wanted to avoid becoming an Izu-kabob, he would have to find a way to assure the Pro that such an action was unnecessary.
"You fell out of whatever tree you were in and landed on me," he began, holding completely still as he near robotically explained where the man was, "I brought you to my safe place as you finished up your nap. We are still in the same forest you fell asleep in, just about three-hundred feet east. My name is Midoriya Izuku. I'm aware that you are the Pro Hero 'Hawks'."
He saw his wings uncleanch just slightly, which in turn helped the boy relax, certain he had said the right things. Adding the awareness he had found to his analysis, he allowed the Pro to fully wake up. He figured the man was processing the entirety of what Izuku had said as well, so he was patient with him.
Hawks eventually sat up, stretching once he had. He yawned, a small, adorable chirp slipping out as he did. The boy smiled at the sound, but said nothing, as he could tell the man beside him was feeling mortified by the fact he had made such a sound in front of a literal child.
"So, you dragged me here?" Hawks clarified, starting to wipe at the dirt off of his coat and shirt.
"Yep. It's cold out there and you were shivering," Izuku answered, not really putting much emotion into his voice. Unable to help himself, he asked, "Did you actually fall asleep in a tree?" then winced slightly at the accusational tone that he had failed to avoid.
Sue him for having had a bad day, thus being unable to use his people pleasing empathy to console the Pro.
"Yeah. I don't know why, but it's hard to ignore the idea that taking a quick nap in a tree on patrol sounds nice," the man chuckled, not in the slightest sounding offended at Izuku's tone. After a few moments, he clarified, "And you just let me sleep? Didn't call anyone?" while tilting his head to the side.
While the action was a common one most humans did to express curiosity, something about it felt particularly bird-like to Izuku.
"Probably the bird tendencies. Birds take rests and breaks in trees often. Probably have the instinct to because of that," the boy mumbled, not noticing the hero's surprise as he added, "Anyways, I always leave my phone at home when I come out here. I don't want this place discovered and ruined."
"But you still brought me here?" the Pro asked, balking in response to Izuku's words.
With a shrug, he explained, "You're a Pro. What urge do you have to ruin my happiness? You're also outside of the common age range, so you're vaguely safe."
Hawks stared at him incredulously, struggling to process the boy's statement. After a moment, he questioned, "Age range? Safe? Kid, I don't understand."
"I don't know much about having acquaintances," Izuku chuckled, "let alone friends, but I imagine you have to be at least a Level Three friend to unlock a tragic backstory."
With a smirk, Hawks leaned back against the wall, making the boy realize they were side by side once the hero had shuffled for a few moments, before conceding, "That's fair."
"You're not gonna go back to your patrol?" Izuku questioned, having glanced at the man in confusion before looking back down at his drawing.
With a light-hearted huff, Hawks explained, "There are plenty of Daylight Heroes that patrol around here. If they need me, they'll call me. Otherwise, I've literally never felt this calm, so I hope you don't mind me sticking around."
"Valid."
They proceeded to sit in silence, enjoying each other's vaguely traumatized presence for a few minutes. They had, until the hero had cursed and pulled out his vibrating phone.
"Hello?…Yes, I am fine," the Pro stated, rolling his eyes. He was good at masking his annoyance with a joking tone. "I was just caught up in some fan service!…Has it really been that long?…Sorry for getting distracted. I won't let it happen again."
Letting out an annoyed huff once he had hung up, he let his head fall back and hit the wall, groaning, "Next time, I'm definitely sending out this fucking thing with a feather. That way they won't figure out I was grounded."
"Next time?" the boy questioned, before pointing out, "And, do you really believe they wouldn't know? I'm guessing that was the commission, so I wouldn't be surprised if they put a tracking chip in you. Hell, my dad is a fucking villain who supported my dream of being a hero, and he still put one in me."
Pausing, the hero considered in horrified wonder, "There's a new thing for me to become paranoid over - don't you dare apologize," sitting up straighter, he looked directly over at a sheepish looking Izuku. "I need to be thinking these things because you're right. They would not be above that. And, a villain?"
With a teasing smile despite the guilt still pooling in his chest, the boy elected to not respond. The Pro gave an exasperated sigh that was overruled by the grin he let loose.
"Level Three?"
"Level Three."
Hawks snorted, conceding once again, "Fair. I should probably go before they call me to yell at me again. See you later, Little Birdie," he stood, ruffling Izuku's curls as he did.
The boy was unable to stop the wave of sadness in response to the Pro's departure, but he did his best to not let it show as he bid the hero farewell, "Bye, Hawks."
With a small finger salute from his brow, Hawks walked out the arch where a door used to be. Through it, he watched as the hero took off, flying away from the boy.
Izuku sighed once the Pro was officially gone, resting a hand softly on his head exactly where his had been. The spot Hawks touched was still warm, and Izuku felt a strange craving he struggled to understand. What he did know, though?
He wanted more of that warmth.
The boy sighed, scolding himself for the pit in his stomache. He missed Hawks, a ridiculous feeling to have as he walked to The Fortress a few days after he had been fallen on.
He only spent maybe ten minutes even speaking to the hero, the driving fact of why he felt so pathetic for missing someone he barely knew.
Stepping into his safe haven, he was startled by a wave of warmth that hit him. He wondered if he had left the space heater on, but that was unlikely. The little thing could barely last six hours before the batteries died.
Finally, he noticed the reason for the warmth. Hawks was sitting up, leaned against the wall of The Fortress with closed eyes, peacefully dozing. The space heater was on, but not because of the boy.
He smiled, walking further into the building as he greeted the hero, "Hey, Hawks."
Not opening his eyes, the Pro drowsily muttered, "Hey, Birdie."
Settling in the spot he had the last time the man had been there, he let out a silent, happy sigh through his nose. His shoulder relaxed, a calm settling over him before he reached out to grab hold of one of his notebooks. He paused, though, as a whiff of something hit his nose, a fresh food smell that made his empty stomach ache.
After a moment of attempting to figure out what the smell was, he asked, "…Did you bring fried chicken?"
With a hum, Hawks revealed a bag that had been hidden by his wings, stating, "I got extra in case you were hungry."
Izuku failed to fight a small smile at the gesture, the expression blatant and wide as he carefully took the bag carefully from the Pro. Gingerly picking up a drumstick and starting to take bites, he was silently thankful his stomache had yet to start growling. He wold never be able to bear it if Hawks started to question him about why he was so hungry.
"So, what are those notebooks about?" the man asked, tilting his head to look at the boy with a sleepy gaze. "I tried to break whatever code you got going on, but I could not for the life of me even use the title of mine to break it."
For a moment, he pondered the idea that he should be offended the hero snooped through his things, but the pride of his code doing what it was meant to do was stronger.
"They're my analysis journals," he explained with another smile, settling the one he had been aiming for in his lap. "And, for that exact reason, I don't list Pros under their Hero Names. I list their names as a random word that makes me think of them."
"Smart. What's mine?" Hawks questioned, doing another bird-like head tilt.
Hesitating, Izuku's smile wavered as he averted his eyes down, focusing on his fidgeting hands. He made himself answer, "'Fake'…"
When the hero failed to respond, he knew he had messed up. The way he was staring wide eyed at the wall in front of him told the boy that the man would never come back. His heart clenched, the realization that he had become attached to the hero hitting him as a hole of despair opened in his chest.
A touch landed softly on his knee, and he just barely kept himself from flinching. He tried to make himself look up at the hero, but he failed to go any higher than Hawks' hand.
"I want to give you the benefit of the doubt," he just as softly told Izuku, his tone managing to get the boy to look up at his curious expression. "Is that a negative connotation?"
Holding his hand up and wobbling it side to side, he shrugged, anxiety still running too high despite the hero's assurance. Mumbling, he rushed to answer, "I just could tell that your hero persona was more of an act. That it was less your hero persona and more someone else's decision."
Hawks hummed, nodding as he stared just to the side of the boy. A chuckle suddenly rumbled out of his chest, and he met Izuku's eyes, questioning, "Man, do you have an analysis quirk or something, Birdie? No one else has picked up on that. Not even the few underground Pros I've run into."
"No," defeated, he looked back down at his lap, shaking his head as he hinted at what most certainly would lead to the hero leaving, "No analysis quirk. Just a hobby."
The Pro was practically radiating unease, the boy able to feel it as he tried his best to give him a reassuring, yet awkward, smile.
"You can ask," he lied. "I'm used to the bad reaction by now."
Not at all soothed by his words, he softly asked, "What's your quirk, Birdie?,
Izuku pulled his knees to his chest, dislodging Hawks' hand with the action. He missed the warmth of the touch immediately, but the need to curl himself into a small ball by hugging his legs was stronger.
"Don't got one," he basically whispered, wishing the hood of his sweater was up to further hide him.
Again, the Pro failed to respond, and again, the pain of rejection coated his chest. He had been telling the truth when he had stated he was used to negative responses, but kami had he failed to smother the hope.
The hope that had developed due to the Pro just having been the bare bones of nice.
"That's why you said 'out of common age range'," Hawks suddenly growled out. "Fucking- No wonder you try to hide this place!"
He failed to hold in his flinch that time, the hero's aggression startling him. Mostly, though, it confused him, as he struggled to understand why the anger had not been aimed at him.
Jumping as a hand gently landed on his shoulder, he slowly lifted his gaze to look at the hero, whose expression was too much of a jumbled mess of emotions for Izuku to properly comprehend.
"If I ever meet the people that hurt you," the hero began, voice the most serious the boy had ever heard from him, "I may just have my villain debut."
He felt a smile spreading across his cheeks, small as his shoulders relaxed from the conviction in the promise. He tilted his head a little as he quipped, "I'd hate for you to go villain, 'cause you're a really cool hero. I wouldn't blame you, though. Hero society in general is messed up."
With his own smile, the Pro encouraged with sparkling eyes, "Now that's something I'd love to hear your take on."
"Well," Izuku began, the floodgates slowly drawing back, "my first point starts with the rankings. They base the heroes' entire worth off of strength and how many cases they solve, but neglect to take into account -" the rush of water slammed the gates the rest of the way open, "- for example - that seventy-five percent of the cases Endeavor solves ends in some form of property damage? That over half end in the suspect of the crime fucking dying? Or even that thirty percent of bystanders fucking die from hits that were completely because of Endeavor miscalculating and being too focused on the fight to realize that said bystander was too close! And! Ninety percent of those bystanders that die are too close because of outside force! It's not even because they were more interested in watching the fight than to care about their own safety! It's because they were trapped under some rubble, or even being pushed closer to the fight because of chaos! It's complete bullshit! And don't even get me started on All Might! Hell, he may be my favorite limelight hero, but his whole 'Symbol of Peace' act is going to bite society in the fucking ass once he eventually fucking dies or retires. There already was a spike two years ago when he disappeared for six months. How does he ever expect someone to even fucking fill his shoes?!"
Lungs aching, he paused, taking a second to regain his bearings. He could have gone on for longer had he not so viciously run out of air, though, he was truly kept from continuing by the sight of the hero's wide eyed look.
"I'm sorry!" he felt horror and guilt filling his chest as he took in the man's expression. "That was kind of really shitty of me! I—"
"No!" Hawks exclaimed, leaning forwards and shaking his hands to add to his protest. "All is completely chill, Little Birdie! I was more surprised at how put together your argument was for your age—well for how old I assume you are. Plus, I genuinely could not find a single objection to any of your points! You're completely correct!"
It was then that Izuku realized that the Pro's expression had not been what he had assumed. He had not been wide eyed in offense, but in awe.
His brain crashed into a wall, struggling to comprehend - let alone accept - the idea that someone could agree with one of his ramblings. He continued to stare at the hero blankly until Hawks ruffled his curls, the action making him let go of his knees as he was finally brought back to the present moment.
"You're…not mad?" he hesitantly questioned, glancing up at the hero before staring back down at the notebook in his lap.
"Not in the slightest," the hero shook his head, leaning back against the wall of The Fortress. "Sure, Endeavor is the hero I looked up to as a kid, but I was serious when I said that I thought you were right. There are many things that hero society could change. And the biggest prob—"
Concerned, Izuku looked up to try to understand why Hawks had cut himself off. He found his eyes screwed tightly shut, a grimacing frown paired with him hunching in on himself. As well, the man had never been a particularly quiet breather in the accumulative three or so hours the boy had known him, he remembered as he failed to hear any air entering the hero's lungs.
He took a deep breath, trying to encourage the man to mimic it. Also, hoping one or the other might help, he began tapping a pattern onto his notebook with his pencil.
Luckily, one must have done as he had hoped, the Pro shakily taking a breath as Izuku continued to breathe calmly. Eventually, his chest rose and fell at a rate the boy approved of, and must have felt good, as Hawks finally relaxed back into the wall.
His breaths were a bit shuddery, but that was to be expected post panic attack.
"Conditioning?"
With a humorless chuckle paired with a strained smile, he drew out a, "Yup."
"Mood."
A questioning eyebrow furrow filled the hero's expression, but he ignored his own curiosity to instead reach over and pluck a chicken breast out of the bag, not hesitating to bite right into it. Letting out a calming, sigh-like breath, Izuku grabbed another leg, biting into it with equally as little fanfare.
Being friends with the Pro was somehow not biting him in the ass, and he had no idea what to do with that revelation. The only thing he could do was hope the hero kept from breaking his trust at some point in the future.