Guys! GUYS! Someone drew art for this fic! It's a pic of Kamakiri's dad from the last chapter and it's wonderfully lovely! Check it out on thetaxidermycactus over on Tumblr. It's so nice!

Hawks sets his traps

Eraserhead sets some of his own too

Summer break is long, over in Japan

Fried chicken is delicious

-00-

Plans

-00-

Hawks perched on the top of the tallest building at the edge of the Esuha City. The nightlife was in full swing below him, even at one in the morning. He was on the shadier side of town, where police patrols were scarce and nighttime heroes walked in pairs or groups. Fatgum's Agency was a short flight away for him, but by walking it was well out of the other pro's usual patrol zone. Most heroes didn't even go near this area, they were likely to be jumped simply for showing their faces. It was one of the few places that being a recognizable hero actually increased the crime rate.

It was a rough place.

It was perfect.

Hawks lifted his wings, letting a few pitch-black feathers fall off. He sent them to the lower alleys surrounding the building he was on to keep an 'eye' on things. He hated the feeling of the specialized dye the Commission made for him for covert ops. It was hard to wash off without the chemical cleaner he kept stashed away at his apartment but paired with his stealth suit it made it nearly impossible for anyone to see him in the air at night. The suit was always cold though, designed for speed more than prolonged exposure to chilly winds, so he usually paired it with an overlarge black hoodie. It helped hide his hair when he went without a beanie.

Tonight he left the beanie at home, but took his black visor and headphones. If his hood was knocked back in a fight then his face would be mostly covered but his hair would be clearly visible. Even without its signature style, pressed down so it hung around his face more, someone smart would be able to figure out who he was even if he didn't use his feathers as weapons. Of course, someone would have to actually manage to knock it off.

Hawks took a deep breath.

This was it. He'd taken four entire days to simply pour over whatever information he could find about the League of Villains (the fucking magician too, really?) then took to the streets to ask questions and eavesdrop. Combining all of that with the things he'd gathered from his accidental run-ins, Hawks had come up with a plan.

He couldn't just approach the League. Not now that they knew him, not when he'd helped them. Going completely rouge, after he'd been hospitalized by one of their attacks, would give away his mission before he could so much as speak. No, he had to be more subtle.

He had to make them approach him.

The chance to have not only a hero, but one in the top 3, as a member would be to advantageous to give up but they needed to think he was someone that would actually go along with their plans. With Hawks' current record, as squeaky clean as it was, that would be a tough pitch to sell. Unless his record wasn't quite as 'squeaky clean' as everyone thought.

Hawks had never technically broken any laws. Any 'covert ops' he'd done up to this point had been simple info retrieval tasks or sneaking into potential villains bases to track them down for the police to raid. All technically legal and by the book, but there were a few… key moments in Hawks career that the Commission either didn't quite approve of, had explicitly told him to do despite the questionable legality of it, or didn't know the whole story behind. The majority of Hawks' workforce at his Agency being the biggest (but not the strongest) example. All of those moments had been carefully concealed (by the Commission and Hawks himself) but if someone dug deep enough it would be easy to see Hawks didn't mind some grey in the heroes' world of black and white. It was simply that, as hero society's veritable poster boy, no one ever really had a reason to dig.

Hawks needed to give the League a reason.

The League of Villains was founded on the ideals of Stain. Whether its leader, Shigaraki, actually believed in those (Hawks doubted it) or not a good amount of its top members were clear followers. Himiko Toga and Iguchi Shuichi (aka. Spinner) had both vocalized their strong feelings towards Stain during the attack in the forest and based on Dabi's, one of their strongest hitters, actions leading up to it Hawks was willing to make a bet he followed Stain's footsteps as well. It helped that, once Hawks thought to put two-and-two together, he noticed that all the incidents of blue flames in the past few months were in the same chronological order of cities that Stain's attacks had been in. Whether the attacks were intentionally planned beforehand was still up in the air but Hawks doubted the locations Dabi moved to were a coincidence.

Which meant Dabi was most likely somewhere in Esuha right now. Until another fire popped up Hawks wouldn't be able to pinpoint much more than that, but he didn't need to know where Dabi was to get his attention.

There was a muffled scream in the alley below.

Hawks pulled his hood low and jumped.

'Three men against one woman? These guys are pathetic,' Hawks thought, landing softly behind the first man. It was eerily reminiscent of the time when he had been mugged as a teenager, but he knew the poor woman they had dragged into the alley would get off far worse than he had if left alone.

With their backs turned, forced to stand almost in a row from the cramped space, they wouldn't last a full minute.

Hawks fanned out his wings to block the lights of the street. When the man turned to see why it had gotten darker Hawks punched him in the face hard enough to crack his nose.

Following the momentum he turned, letting his wing swing out to slam the second man into the back of the first. Hawks jumped on their backs, bringing his elbow across the back of the one on top's head.

"What the fu-?!"

Hawks stepped on the last man's head once, harshly, to stun him then twice with less force to simply knock him out.

'See?' Hawks said to the mental image of his fifteen-year-old self. 'Just think it through.'

The woman was slumped on the ground, shaking. Hawks knelt in front of her, offering his hand. She stared at him in fear for a moment, looking between the fallen men and him. Slowly she reached out, accepting the offer of help.

Hawks pulled her up gently, using his wing to help keep her balanced. He led her to the exit of the alleyway, letting the light filter back in so he could check her for injuries. She was still shaken but besides some dirt on her dress and a scrape on her knee she looked okay.

Hawks pulled at her hand so she was in front of him when she stepped out of the alley. He let go and turned sideways so he could flap his wings in the confined space and get back in the air.

"Ah, wait-!" she cried.

Hawks ignored her. He let a feather float down, slipping it into her small purse so he could make sure she made it home okay.

He perched back on the roof, settling in to wait once more.

This was how his last few nights had gone. He'd gone to Mustafu first, then Jaku, and Hosu the night before. All different cities, laying groundwork elsewhere before focusing on his true target. Every time he would find the seediest parts of town and wait for anyone that needed help. He didn't use his feathers, didn't even sharpen them, but he made sure his wings were a clearly visible feature. For most cases he would leave as soon as he was done, calling in an anonymous tip about criminals knocked out in alleyways or side streets. Those were ones he didn't really need to bolster the reputation he was aiming for but he couldn't really let them go. The ones he needed were the ones behind closed doors. The ones he had to handle more… personally.

It was just after three, long after the third fight of the night (he'd almost gotten a knife to the side from the panicked teen boy he'd pulled out of the way of a gang fight, Hawks gave the kid kudos for coming prepared but he wasn't about to let some teen stab him again) when he found what he was looking for.

The apartment building was surrounded by streetlights that had long since stopped working. The pavement on the sidewalks and street looked like swiss cheese, trash lining every corner. The feather Hawks had slipped into the woman's bag hours before slipped out, drifting up to where Hawks landed on one of the broken street lights as she locked her door firmly behind her. She'd taken a long way home, avoiding any street that wasn't well lit. Hawks hoped her feet were okay.

There was music blaring in one of the rooms. Several people were shouting at whoever it was to shut up before they were made to. The group of teens were shouting back, laughing mockingly. At the top of the apartment, barely audible over the sound of everything else, was a child crying. His mother was begging for her husband to calm down, to let everyone sleep.

She cried out in pain.

Hawks kicked through the nearest window, climbing through it with his wings tucked close to his back to avoid the glass. The man was so drunk he hadn't even heard him.

The kid had.

Hawks kicked the man's knees in, chopping the back of his neck. He folded like paper.

Tossing the man into a heap by the window Hawks held his hands up as he walked to the table. The boy scrambled out from under it, running into his mother's waiting arms. They both stared at him, horrified. The mother's face was a furious mixture of black and purple. The kid had a bruise on his cheek, at least a day old, but he seemed relatively unharmed. Their apartment was trashed, reeking of booze and sweat.

This was definitely going to be a target tonight.

"Here," Hawks reached into his hoodie, pulling out a wad of bills. He kept his voice low, on TV he always spoke brightly so a deeper tone wouldn't give him away. He set the money on the table, hands still raised as he backed up to the window. "He won't be back for three days. He won't look for you. Start somewhere new."

Hawks sent a feather around the edge of the room, letting it settle into the hood of a kid-sized jacket laying on the floor near the door. He'd given them enough for three months, plenty of time to find a job. Once he was sure of where they would be staying he'd keep an eye on them until they were stable. If they still struggled after that he'd find a different way to help.

Hawks lifted the hefty man up, hooking his arms under his shoulders before climbing backwards out the window. He didn't let the glass dig into the man too deeply but he didn't stop the few scratches that appeared along his lower back and legs.

"Are you…" the woman choked, cradling her son in her arms. "Are you going to kill him?"

She looked torn.

Hawks grimaced.

"No."

He unfurled his wings and fell, turning so he could fly properly with the man still held in his arms. Once he knew they wouldn't see he used a few feathers to help support the weight. He hadn't hit him very hard, he'd be waking up soon.

Hawks flew towards Mustafu. Without any money or his phone it would take the guy days to make it back.

With most of his feathers doing the heavy lifting now his hands were free to pull out his phone and log into the Commission database. He typed in the address.

The last police report had been over a year ago. A well-meaning neighbor, new to the neighborhood on the brink of collapse, had called in with reports of screaming and shattering sounds. There had been a patrol sent.

It had been deemed a false alarm.

Hawks memorized the officer's names.

"Ugh."

Hawks put his phone away, reaching out to carry the man fully and returning all of his feathers. There was a startled gasp.

Hawks dropped him.

It was for five, maybe six seconds. Hawks knew that it must have felt like minutes.

Almost lazily Hawks caught the screaming, wailing man and flew a few more blocks away before dropping to the streets of Mustafu.

Hawks should feel bad about all of this, really. This isn't what heroes did. Even if this was to set up an undercover operation he shouldn't enjoy it. And he didn't, not in the sense of feeling elated when a stranger screamed and begged for his life. That part he felt bad about, even if the adrenaline rush and immediate fear of death would ensure the next steps in Hawks plans for him. He didn't like hurting or scaring people. It went against everything he was. But when the man looked up at him with the same fear in his eyes that his wife and son's had held (that Hawks had held, once) Hawks couldn't quite help the curl of satisfaction build in his chest.

"They'll be gone, when you get back," Hawks told him simply. "You won't ask. You won't look."

The man was still gasping for breath, looking at him like Hawks was a demon that had appeared from thin air. Hawks let his wings raise, bracketed against the light of the moon in a way he knew would leave an impression. This wasn't what he'd thought he would use his media awareness training for but it was useful all the same.

"If you try," Hawks stepped forward, letting the lighting keep his body as a pure black outline with his face shadowed deeply, "I won't catch you next time."

Hawks beat his wings, three times without any intention of flying just to let the wind build up around him for show. Then he twisted his shoulders so they faced the ground properly.

Hawks had learned of Dabi because of his actions against abusers.

Dabi would learn about Hawks the same way.

-00-

"Why do we even have to come in?" Hawks wondered three weeks into break. "I thought teachers got these breaks too."

"We do," Mic sighed, twirling his pencil like a drumstick. "But if you leave everything until the last day you're gonna regret it. The kids get a month and a half, we usually just get the half."

Hawks spun around in his chair, legs pulled up so he could whirl around at a good speed. "That kind of sucks."

"It doesn't if your name is Cementoss or Ectoplasm," Midnight whined, standing up from her desk. "Those two somehow always manage to complete everything they need in the first week so they get practically the whole break to just relax and have fun!"

Hawks looked at their empty desks. "...Yeah, I can see that. They seem really on top of things."

"It's about experience," Eraserhead grunted. "The longer you've been at the job the easier it is."

"Cementoss is younger than you," Hawks pointed out.

"Cementoss has a time management system no other human being on this planet can even hope to achieve," Eraserhead glared at him. "He's a unique case."

Well, Hawks couldn't argue with that. "Why is the first break so long? All the others are less than two weeks, why a whole month and a half?"

"Weather," he grunted.

Hawks looked at the others. They all shrugged.

"That's it?"

Eraserhead set his pen down, staring straight into Hawks soul. "Are you planning on getting any actual work done?"

"I have!" Hawks dropped his feet, fluttering his wings. "I've started up my proposal for my big project thing, I'm just thinking about all the details I need to iron out."

"You are truly planning on trying one then?" Snipe wondered. "Most would be jealous of your opportunity to avoid it."

"I know I am," Mic laughed.

"Here, here," Midnight opened up one of the far filing cabinets that she hid all of her snacks in.

Yagi pressed his thumbs together. "...It is rather time-consuming."

Thirteen laughed. "No need to feel bad about wanting to skip it Yagi-san, I love my project and even I would rather we skip it sometimes."

Eraserhead ignored them. He reached over his desk and held his hand out.

Hawks blinked at it. He shuffled together the papers he'd been writing on, setting them carefully in the other man's grasp.

Having his work scrutinized was something Hawks was used to. Every part of his life was under a microscope, really, so it wasn't like it was anything new. But for some reason, as Eraserhead scanned over his proposal with narrowed eyes, Hawks felt a nervous sweat start to build on the back of his neck.

Hawks tapped his talons along the edge of his desk, his gloves discarded on the corner so he could show off Midnight's latest work (he always picked gold, he loved the way it shined). He watched Eraserhead, unblinking.

Oh god, he'd pulled out the red pen. Hawks licked the back of his teeth, leaning forward to see what he was writing.

Eraserhead curled his free arm on the desk, conveniently blocking Hawks' view.

Hawks' wings stretched a bit, fluttering.

The clock seemed unnecessarily loud all of the sudden.

Eraserhead clicked his pen, reading over what he had written.

Then he passed the papers to Vlad.

Hawks mouth dropped open.

Vlad, with his little reading glasses on that Hawks thought made him look like the most stereotypical TV Dad, didn't even look surprised. No, he pulled out his own pen and just… started reading.

Hawks whipped his eyes back to Eraserhead but the scraggly looking man just went back to his own work like nothing was wrong.

Vlad passed the papers to Midnight.

"Oh my god," Hawks groaned, burying his head in his arms.

Midnight was a lot more vocal as she read. Little 'oohs' and thoughtful 'hmms'. None of them sounded bad but Hawks was pretty sure they were teasing him right now so it was hard to tell.

"Dude," was all Mic said.

What did that mean?!

Thirteen and Snipe were quick, both nodding and adding a comment or two. Yagi got so focused he hunched his back over in a way that would definitely be painful in a few minutes. Hawks scrubbed a hand over his face when Yagi pulled out a blank piece of paper to write on instead.

He had to be related to Midoriya somehow. He had to be.

The only silver lining was that Nezu wasn't there. He had a meeting with someone, Hawks had bit his tongue to stop himself from asking more, so he was going to be gone the majority of the afternoon.

"Here you go," Yagi smiled brightly, offering the papers back to him. "I'm not sure how much help my input will be but I must say this level of thought is impressive Young Hawks. This all sounds like an amazing way to introduce students to the inner workings of hero agencies."

"Thanks, Yagi-san," Hawks said, because Yagi would compliment a garbage can and mean it. "I know there are a lot of holes, but I'm glad you liked it."

The question was, did the others like it?

Hawks curled his wings around his desk so he could read in peace.

His proposal, on paper, didn't sound overly complicated. At least three times a week, leading all the way up to the third term, Hawks would introduce and build on the various things a pro needed to know in order to build an agency. The kids would keep a binder for all their plans and then, at the end of the year, Hawks would take them to Training Ground Beta and give them an 'Agency' to run. He had a lot of ideas for that part, but it required way more planning than he'd put in so far and some outside help. He wasn't sure if he wanted to call in other pros to help each student out or somehow get more students involved because it was impossible to run an Agency with just one hero but he wanted all of them to experience what it was like to run their own Agency. He had tiny trial runs lined up where they would support each other but the final day should be an independent kind of thing.

So his plan was full of holes.

"You guys are mean to me," Hawks gave them his best sad face, flicking through the papers to take in all the red marks.

"Actually read what we wrote, dumbass," Eraserhead rolled his eyes.

"You're extra grumpy today," Hawks squinted at him. "Did you sleep okay? Get enough to eat?"

He was rewarded with a slow, judgemental blink. "Out of everyone in this room, you are not allowed to question my sleeping or eating habits."

Fair.

Hawks started on the third page, because that was the one he was most proud of.

Oh. Huh.

Hawks flipped open the notebook Mic had gotten him with a little chick giving a thumbs up on the cover. He kept his eyes riveted on the proposal, hastily scribbling out some new ideas as he went.

He had been curious, and a little concerned, about the animosity between the hero course and the Gen-Ed courses. If he was able to get them involved it would get them all working together and it would show both sides the importance of what each job did. Could he really take two whole days? He'd originally planned to have both 1-A and 1-B put their plans into action at the same time but he guessed it would be a little hard to keep track of them all if other students started getting involved.

Types of Agencies was important too of course. He would need to match up the hero student with the appropriate Gen-Ed kids to give them all experience that would actually benefit all of them.

Hawks flipped to the first page.

A research study on agencies that matched the student's interest? That was smart. It would give the students perspective on their own work and it would open up a quick and easy way for Hawks to see how Agencies were run differently from his own. A few speakers coming in to talk to them was good too. Maybe not pros at first, maybe sidekicks? Or the medical and media staff.

Oh, he could get his sidekicks to come in! On different days, so the city wasn't left alone, but they would love it. He could get Rumi in too, she had been asking about some of the kids since the Kamino Ward incident. Hawks didn't know how his chicklets had caught Rumi's interest so strongly but he would absolutely encourage it.

Hawks scanned over the last page.

Ohhh! Having whatever class wasn't running an Agency that day acting as small-time villains to create events the Agencies would have to react to?! That was brilliant! Not only did increase the experience overall but it finally, finally gave Hawks the excuse he needed to let the kids destroy some things in Training Ground Beta.

Hawks felt his wings puff up in happiness. He hummed happily to himself as he wrote everything down.

There were a few snickers.

Hawks ignored them. This was going to be great! He finally had a goal to focus on when teaching his classes. He would still keep up with the conditioning and meditations but now he had something to point them towards that would actually make a big difference in their futures. A good difference!

The clockwork bell rang, signaling the end of the day.

Hawks groaned. He hadn't realized time was passing by so quickly.

"You good over there?" Mic laughed.

Midnight smiled warmly at him. "You looked a bit possessed there, hon."

Hawks grinned back. His eyes kind of ached from the mixture of tiredness and focusing on tiny words for too long but he was feeling great. "This is all really helpful! Thanks guys, Nezu might actually accept this!"

"I'm sure he will!" Thirteen cheered. "It is a wonderful plan, Hawks. I was very impressed."

"I'm only using what you guys have taught me," Hawks casually deflected. "I have to get going for patrol but can I ask you guys later for more advice?"

"Of course!"

Hawks gathered all his notes and stuffed them in his desk. He wanted to take them home but he knew he wouldn't have the time to go over them. Once everything was in its place Hawks waved goodbye and headed out the door.

"Hey."

Hawks turned.

Eraserhead shuffled out behind him, hands in his pockets. There was an odd look in his eye again but Hawks didn't know the man well enough to place it accurately. He didn't emote like most people, it was hard to get a read on him sometimes.

"What's up?"

"Hizashi's been complaining that you haven't come by lately."

Hawks frowned. "Mic? Dropped by where? Your apartment?"

Eraser nodded. "He bought board games or something. He keeps making me play since you're not there."

Hawks tilted his head. "Are you… inviting me over? To play board games with you and Mic?"

"We ordered chicken and everything!" Midnight shouted from the staff room.

Hawks stomach growled. "From the place down the street?"

Eraserhead sighed, scratching the back of his head. "If you don't show up they'll never leave me alone."

Food, games, and friends (were they friends?). That sounded like a good time.

"I don't think I can today, man," Hawks smiled apologetically, rubbing the side of his neck. "Monday's are always pretty long for patrols. I'll get off way too late."

Distractions, distractions. Even if he could technically make it could he really afford to? There were so many other things he could be doing.

Eraserhead's eyes glinted. "Your patrol always ends at six. There are times you have to go a little longer, but if you don't stick to your specific times you are going to run yourself into the ground."

Hawks had to focus to keep his smile from dropping. Eraserhead wasn't usually so blatant in his concern. The guy looked stressed.

"Don't plan to go longer than you should. If it happens, it happens, but you should at least try to get off on time. You barely ate lunch today either, are you planning to go the whole day without a full meal? When is your lunch break? How much do you eat?"

"Uh," Hawks dropped his hand to his side. "I usually patrol for at least two hours before I stop somewhere for lunch. I snack when I can too. Are you okay? You don't usually-"

"People with mutation-based quirks often have dietary needs that match their enhancements," Eraserhead continued, looking angry now for some reason. "Birds have an extremely high metabolism rate. You need to be eating full meals as well as snacks throughout the day, not just once or twice when you can manage it."

"I-I have big dinners," Hawks defended himself. "And breakfast too! I don't always have time to eat lunch."

"You do now. We all have the same lunch break but you never bring your own food."

"I can't cook!"

Eraserhead took a slow, deep breath. "Do you eat takeout… for every meal."

Hawks felt like he shouldn't answer that. He felt the bubbling of rambling words build in his throat, but no words would convince the pro-hero staring him down that he was doing anything other than avoiding the question.

Hawks pushed the collar of his jacket over his face, covering his mouth.

"You are coming over," Eraserhead decided, sounding like that was the only possible option in the world. "Tonight. I don't care if its at six or midnight. You can stay over if you absolutely have to. Hizashi is making food, for you, you owe him the basic courtesy of showing up."

Hawks slowly pulled his collar away. "But, Midnight just said you were ordering-"

"He's cooking. You're going to eat it."

"Who's cooking?" Mic poked his head out of the door.

"You are," Eraserhead didn't look away from Hawks.

"I am?" Mic looked between them. "Sure! Hawks, my man, I looked up this new fried chicken recipe that looks amazing. You're like, a chicken connoisseur. I need you to tell me how it ranks."

Hawks felt wrong-footed. What was happening here? Why was Eraserhead suddenly so worried about his eating habits? Sure, he didn't bring lunch all the time but was that really such a big deal? He ate huge amounts of food in the morning and at night, he didn't need mid-day meals too. He'd long since trained his body to get used to working on an empty stomach, needing to eat all the time was a hindrance. A weakness.

...But it was free food, at a time Hawks didn't have to be working.

"I mean," Hawks folded his arms, wingtips brushing the floor, "you never turn down free food."

Mic made finger guns.

"But I can't stay for long," Hawks added quickly. "Probably an hour, at most. I have reports to catch up on."

"No worries man," Mic came all the way into the hallway, throwing an arm over Eraser's shoulders. "That's plenty of time for a quick meal. Nights like these are a 'no pressure' kind of deal! Just show up, do what you want, and you're all good! I've got some games, if you want, but if you don't then just chill! Shouta's place is a safe zone."

Hawks had never heard anyone call someone else's living space a 'safe zone'. What did that even entail? Weren't all homes a type of 'safe zone'?

Hawks internal clock ticked away. He really needed to leave now if he was going to start his patrol on time.

"I'll see you guys later then, I guess," Hawks said, a bit slowly.

"See you later man!" Mic waved wildly.

Eraserhead grunted, jostled by the movement. "Later," he said, stern like a promise.

Hawks walked away. He didn't run, he was better than that.

It was only an hour. He could spare an hour. The food would help energize him for the late-night fly arounds he was doing. It would hopefully help Eraserhead chillout too.

Hawks paused.

Was Eraser… was he so worked up because of the training camp? He loved these kids so deeply, way deeper than Hawks, so he must have been shaken up about it. And Hawks had been pretty badly injured too. Ah shit, had he been worrying about everything this whole time and Hawks hadn't caught on?

Well, now he had to go. If only to give Eraser some peace of mind. The guy hardly got any rest as it was, regardless of his daily naps, if Hawks could provide any help then he'd gladly give it.

Hawks nodded to himself.

Later that night, as he swooped down onto the balcony, he didn't even question it when Eraserhead handed him a plate absolutely loaded with fried chicken. He ate all of it without complaint, crying about the heavenly taste and begging for seconds.

Midnight counted how much he ate, cheering with each new bone tossed into an ever-growing pile. Hawks laughed because they had no idea that when it came to chicken he could eat for days.

Mic offered to set up one of the board games he'd gotten. Some weird word-building game. Hawks still had some time and he could multitask. He said sure.

Eraserhead gave him a thermos filled with tea that had definitely come from Yagi. Hawks had squinted at him but he drank it all.

He'd missed it. It was as delicious as always, warming him to his bones.

He woke up at two in the morning with Mic drowning in feathers behind him and Midnight propping her feet up on his stomach. They were all on the floor but they were surrounded in blankets and pillows.

Eraserhead was at his computer on the recliner, hair pulled into a messy bun as he worked.

"Go to sleep kid," he whispered, barely glancing up.

Hawks frowned. He should leave. His limbs were heavy and his brain a bit foggy form the post-sleep haze but flying always got rid of that pretty fast.

It was two in the morning and Eraserhead was working.

"Only if you do," Hawks said. He'd already laid a lot of groundwork. He'd barely slept more than a handful of hours over the last week, he'd need a full night at some point.

Eraserhead looked up, face illuminated by the screen in front of him. He seemed to think about it for a long moment.

With a sigh, he closed his laptop.

Hawks pulled his wings up. There was a sizeable space between Mic and his back. If Eraserhead laid there then not only would he have full support across the entirety of his wings while he slept but he would also feel if the man tried to get up again later.

Eraserhead huffed but settled in.

"You've got some strong mothering instincts there," he said blankly.

"Go to sleep son," Hawks shot back, smirking.

There was a scoff. Hawks laid his wings across Mic and Eraserhead carefully, making sure not to cover their faces. They were both warm, it felt nice. So close to his wings he could feel their pulse vibrating through his feathers and the air filling their lungs.

It was weirdly comforting.

Midnight shifted, mumbling to herself. Hawks retucked the blanket around her toes before curling back into his pillow.

Hawks yawned, forcing his eyes to stay open. He waited, dozing in and out of consciousness in the dark, quiet room. Mic threw an arm over Eraserhead in his sleep. Hawks reshuffled his wings.

Eraserhead's breathing evened out.

Hawks closed his eyes to sleep.

-00-

Sleep is nice.

Next Time: Laying more groundwork, seeing some kids, and roasting some marshmallows.

Rosto'sGirl: Hawks is an adorable birb, yes XD Those adoption forms are just floating around in the background, waiting for a chance to strike at this point. I'm glad you liked those Mom's! Thanks for being the sweetheart you always are my dear!

Blackdrake: Hawks finds it hard to be 'logically mean'. I'm glad you liked it! Eiko and Rui are sweet baby beans, I had to bring them back. XD Hawks is taking some steps! Good steps, with some baby steps back here and there. Have I told you yet how much I appreciate you? Cause I do. A lot. You always seem so thoughtful about what you've read, it really makes me feel like I'm writing something worth reading. Thank you!

hinatayvonne: XD Hawks has some strong blinders on, that's for sure. I'm glad you liked their reappearance!

ChaosHearth: Pft. You are always such a bundle of energy my dear. XD Aizawa is not a happy camper, that's for sure. You win in all other things as far as I'm concerned dearie!

StandUpKeepMovingForward: There were so. Many. Families. XD I'm happy that you liked them all!

Zebralord23: Awww, that would be adorable! You know those little duckling towels kids can wear like a poncho? just... AWWWW!

Jp721: For sure! I'm juggling with where, exactly, he's gonna show up at and help but he's definitely going to be there.

MissNoir11: *Phew* Thank goodness, I'm glad you got some of that good, good serotonin! Hope it stays level!