The days are getting shorter again my friends! Prepare for fall!

Hawks likes a lot of things

Bruises are to be celebrated

Aizawa observant

Hawks wants an interview for once

Even villains watch TV

-00-

Of Names and Bruises

-00-

Hawks knew that if anyone were to observe his sleeping habits they would assume he hated to sleep. He never slept for more than six hours, most of the time aiming for less due to a carefully calculated mental schedule of how much rest he needed to reach optimal brainpower. He could, and would, go several days without sleep so that he could optimize his time and get as much done as possible. Rumi had even told him once that she thought if he didn't need to sleep to survive he would never bother.

That couldn't be further from the truth.

Hawks loved to sleep. So much so that it was a huge struggle to leave the bed once he got in. He knew himself, so he knew that if he wasn't careful the sweet siren song of a nest of pillows and blankets would outweigh any other responsibility in his head. When it came to sleeping he was as lazy as could be.

It was why he made sure he always woke up cold.

Hawks hated the cold. More than almost anything else, maybe even more than the dark. He at least hated it more than he loved sleep. So when Hawks went to bed he would use a light blanket only, the shades of his windows closed to keep the sun out. His air conditioner was set to kick in at five in the morning, low enough that it would take about an hour to settle a firm chill over his skin. It motivated Hawks to get up and go to the promising warmth of a shower. By that point, his brain would start waking up and he would be ready to face the day. So long as he woke up cold he knew he would be up in time to get things done.

"Hey man," a soft voice whispered, shaking his shoulder. "You can sleep longer, if you want, but I wanted to know if you could eat eggs? Nemuri said you might feel, uh, uncomfortable with that."

Hawks scowled, burying his face in his pillow. He stuck his hand out of the blanket fast enough to give a lazy thumbs up before yanking it back in. He pulled the blanket up and over his head, sinking into the heavy warmth surrounding his body and radiating through his wings.

He wasn't sure why his wings were so warm when they were sticking out of the blankets but he didn't particularly care. It was so rare for his wings to be warm, who cared why it was happening?

"I've never seen him sleep this long before," a soft, feminine voice said fondly.

"Maybe it's the feathers. Those things are crazy soft near his back, I didn't think feathers could be that fluffy."

"He does sleep better with the cats, they're fur is pretty soft. You might be on to something."

"Good thing it's break. I'd feel like a villain if we had to wake them up."

"Mh."

"-ut up," Hawks mumbled, flapping a wing in the direction of the voices. He didn't hit anything but he was happy when they tapered off into silence.

The heat under his wings shifted, what felt like a hand grabbing his raised wing gently and pulling it back with a grumpy huff.

"Oh my god," the female voice giggled. "Did you-?"

"Got it," the deeper voice laughed. "I'll send it to you. That was adorable."

"We should invite him over more often if this is the result. My god, we could get him on a regular schedule."

"I don't know if that's even possible, but we can try. Hawks looked like he needed the rest too. Could be good for both of them."

"Oops, I think we're making him grumpy again. Come on, lets go finish breakfast."

Hawks let out a long, sleepy breath when the voices got further away. Curling into an even tighter ball, wings stretching fully behind him, he happily let himself be dragged back into comfy bliss.

-00-

His feet were cold. His wings were room temperature at best, nowhere near the same level of warmth as they had been before.

Hawks frowned, wiggling his toes. Something poked them.

"Wake up kid, you need to eat something."

Hawks forced his eyes open, bleary dots lining his vision. Keeping the blankets wrapped around him tightly he sat up, hair falling into his face.

Mic saluted him with a pair of chopsticks, mouth full. It took Hawks a second to recognize him with his hair down around him instead of styled up. Next to him Midnight smiled, empty plate resting in front of her crossed legs and a steaming cup of something that smelled heavenly in her hands.

Hawks blinked at them slowly. He was pretty sure his mouth was open a bit, his jaw far too relaxed to bother keeping any kind of tension.

"...huh?"

"Here," a large plate was held out in front of him.

Hawks stared at it, following the hands to Eraserhead sitting next to him. The man's hair was even more tangled than usual, little droplets soaking into the shoulder of his dark grey t-shirt. His eyes, always tinged at least a little red looked… normal. A little sunken in, with bags that seemed a tad smaller, but the whites of his eyes were clear.

Hawks poked a finger out of the blanket, pointing at his own eyes. "Normal."

Eraserhead frowned. "What?"

"Looks normal," Hawks yawned. "S'that good?"

"It's great!" Mic cheered, swallowing his food quickly so he could speak before Eraser could. "It means he slept a lot."

Hawks hummed. He breathed in deeply through his nose. Mic (he was assuming it was Mic) had made rice, eggs, and what looked like two whole packs of bacon. Everything looked like it was big enough to count as three servings instead of one. The plate was a serving plate even.

He would need to let go of the blanket to eat.

Hawks pouted at the food.

"Hurry up," Eraserhead shook the plate a bit. "My arms are getting tired."

Hawks snorted. Even if it was hard to tell with all the baggy clothes he knew that Eraser had to have literal steel beams for arms to use his capture weapon the way he did. Still, Hawks pulled the edges of the blanket under his chin, tying them together in a little knot before poking his hands out just enough to grab the plate. He nodded at Midnight in thanks when she held out a pair of chopsticks and stuffed three pieces of bacon into his mouth at once.

Midnight and Mic chatted about their lesson plans while he ate, brain working on half a cylinder. Eraserhead was back on his laptop, the edge of an empty plate sticking out from the other side of his crossed legs.

Halfway through his plate Hawks slowed. His back was to the window and even through the blanket he could feel the heat of the sun. "...What time is it?"

"Almost eleven," Mic stretched.

Hawks was on his feet in half a second, eyes wide. The cold of the floor made him look down, for the first time realizing his boots were off and his taloned toes were there for all to see.

"Uh," he blinked, brain whirring. "We're late."

Eraserhead looked up at him, one eyebrow raised. "So?"

Midnight laughed. "Don't worry about it, hon. As long as there are no kids and all of our work gets done in time Nezu doesn't care what time we come in on breaks."

Hawks frowned, shifting on his feet. His talons clacked against the floor. He tried not to sit down too quickly, stuffing them under his knees. "But we should still go in, shouldn't we?"

"If you want to sure!" Mic shrugged, way too loud even in the afternoon. "You can do some work from home too, it's just whenever you need to get stuff done."

"I brought my laptop with me," Midnight nodded towards the kitchen. "I'm gonna work here today, make sure Shouta actually eats lunch. You can stay too if you want! We could help you figure out more about your project!"

Hawks looked at Eraserhead to see how the man felt about that. He was ignoring them, typing away with blurred fingers. He looked energized, for once, even though his expression didn't change.

"I left all my notes at the school though," he hesitated before picking up his chopsticks again.

"You have them memorized," Eraserhead said like a fact.

Which was true, Hawks didn't actually need the papers to know what they said, but he like writing his thoughts out to at least try to keep them structured.

"C'mon Hawks, I'll make you lunch too!" Mic enticed him. "I picked up a lot of beef at the store last night. What do you say to round two of that pasta?"

The pasta. Ohhh, that sounded divine.

"I don't know," he thought about it. "I feel like I'll get more done at the school-"

"If he's not staying then forget it Mic," Eraser grunted. "I don't need lunch, I'll eat dinner later."

"Whoa, hey!" Hawks protested, twisting to face him. "You got mad at me yesterday for skipping lunch, you can't just turn around and do the same thing!"

Eraserhead sent him a blank look. "Do as I say, not as I do."

Hawks gapped at him. "What- no! Aren't you supposed to be a role model?"

"He's right Shouta!" Mic stood up to gather the plates, resting his elbow on his friend's head. "I'm making the pasta! Hawks, man, you gotta stay now. I need you to guilt him into eating by being better at self-care than he is."

Hawks snorted. "That's not hard to do."

"You're one to talk," Eraserhead grumbled, reaching up to bat Mic's arm away. "You're not staying, so no pasta."

"I am staying!" Hawks decided. "Yes pasta!"

"Yeaaaahh!" Mic cheered, dancing into the kitchen. "Take that Shouta!"

"Yeah, take that Eraser," Hawks mimicked.

Midnight looked between them all, tapping her nails along her arm. She narrowed in on the self-satisfied, victorious little smirk on her scraggly friend's face.

"Ohhh~" she sang, smirking. Shouta glared at her. "Thank you Hawks, we really appreciate you staying. Shouta simply refuses to take care of himself. Since he's been so bossy about your health habits maybe you can be our bargaining chip to make him eat normally for once."

Hawks looked Eraserhead straight in the eye. "You are such a hypocrite."

"Isn't he?" Midnight looked like the cat that caught the canary. "How about this then? Mic and I will make sure you two always have something to eat around lunchtime and if Hawks eats it then you have to too Shouta."

Hawks took one look at the sour face Eraserhead was making and jumped on the opportunity. "I'm in!"

"Really?" Eraser deadpanned. "That's what makes you eat?"

"Hey, I never said I wouldn't eat food put in front of me," Hawks raised his hands, the empty plate shown off as a prime example. "There's no downside here for me."

"Exactly," Midnight nodded. "So it's a deal then!"

"I didn't agree to anything."

Hawks gasped, holding a hand to his chest. "Does that mean you want me to starve? Eraserhead, you're giving me some mixed signals here. Midnight, I don't know if I can keep up my half of the deal now. Not if he wants me to just up and die like that-"

Eraserhead used Hawks' face as leverage to stand up. "Fine. Jesus, you're like kids. I'll eat the pasta."

"Yay!" three cheers rung out through the apartment.

Hawks settled back into his pillows, happy to let the others do the cleanup. He hated doing dishes, the soap always made his talons feel weird.

"You know hon," Midnight pulled her hair up into a ponytail, settling back into her spot with her purple laptop, "you can go ahead and call me Nemuri if you want."

Hawks blinked at her from his blanket burrito. "Not Kayama?"

"Sweetie, you slept with my feet in your face. Nemuri is fine," she laughed.

In his face? Last he checked they had been on his stomach but okay.

"If you say so Nemuri," Hawks smiled at her.

"What's that now?" Mic stuck his head out of the kitchen. "We doing names? You can call me Hizashi man, you're crazy cool!"

Hawks' wings fluffed up happily behind him. "You're pretty cool yourself Hizashi!"

Mic finger gunned at him, ducking back in to get them all drinks. Eraserhead joined them as soon as the dishes were clean, plopping back down next to Hawks with his laptop at the ready.

"Does that mean I can call you Shouta?"

"No," he said shortly.

"Sho-chan then?"

Hawks' wings drooped, weighted and heavy. He laughed at the piercing red gaze being leveled at him.

"Okay, okay, not that," he snickered. "Aizawa then?"

Aizawa shrugged, going back to work.

"Is this like a step-by-step thing? Like, I break into your apartment all the time, start getting free meals, work my way up to being your favorite person ever, and then I can call you Shouta?"

"Problem there buddy," Hizashi cut in before Aizawa could even open his mouth. "I'm his favorite person ever."

"Oh, sweetheart," Nemuri looked pitying. "As if you could beat me."

"None of you are my favorite people," Aizawa glared.

They stared at him.

"Sooo," Hawks said, mouth ticking up, "what you're saying is that you don't have a favorite… because we're all your favorites!"

"Awwww!" Hizashi and Midnight cooed.

Aizawa grabbed his laptop and escaped to his room, slamming the door shut.

Hawks shared a high five with his friends.

Rumi would be delighted. He was making friends.

It took Hawks the rest of the afternoon to realize they really weren't planning on asking him what his name was. Aizawa had rejoined them after a while, settling into his recliner after kicking Hawks out of it. None of them said anything about it, they just kept calling him Hawks.

Huh. Even Rumi had asked, once he started calling her by name. What made this time different?

Hawks thought about it for a long moment before he got distracted by a ball of fluff darting from Aizawa's room to the bathroom.

"You have a cat?!" Hawks trilled in delight.

-00-

Fighting without feathers and only his wings was not something he usually did. He could, he was trained in hand-to-hand and had a good handle on knives thanks to his feathers, but he didn't do it often. It was especially different fighting with actual people trying to kill him instead of trainers and dummies so Hawks had been expecting some close calls.

Yet somehow, in the entire month that he had been going out at night, Hawks hadn't gotten so much as a scratch. A good thing, technically, because he wasn't aiming to be hurt but some of his plans kind of revolved around hidden injuries and it was a little ridiculous that not a single criminal had been able to get a hit on him until tonight.

Hawks grunted when a fist collided with the side of his face. He let his body bend back with the hit, grabbing the offender's arm and twisting on his feet so he could sling them over his shoulder onto the floor.

He let some of his smile show, teeth glinting in the dingy street light.

The man's face went pale as he stared up at him.

Hawks almost thanked him. He had been getting impatient. If it wasn't for his own paranoia he would have 'let his guard slip' just to get a scratch. Now he was going to have a huge, visible bruise. Even better, it was on his face.

Hawks punched the guy swiftly, knocking him out. He turned to the last two, a warm trickle of blood gliding down from his nose to his chin.

Hawks grinned.

The woman made to charge at him again but the final guy grabbed her around the waist and took off in the other direction. Hawks let them go, thumbing at his nose. It wasn't broken but a vein must have burst. The bruise would be a nasty one. Even if he covered it in massive amounts of concealer the swelling would be visible for those that looked for it.

He called in a tip about the man left in the alley but only gave a vague description of the other two. He honestly wasn't sure why they attacked him. He'd been taking threatening a woman he'd found abusing her four-year-old while her husband was away at work and the three strangers, clearly drunk, had tried to jump him. Maybe they were the lady's friends, maybe they weren't. The woman had been hidden from their line of sight when they first showed up, the attack had been unprovoked as far as Hawks could tell. Either way he called in an anonymous tip on the woman slumped over on the wall, leaving the other three out of it. If they guy woke up in time he got away. If not, well, maybe he would learn not to attack people when he was drunk next time.

If Hawks was really lucky the two that ran off would blab about what happened to everyone they knew. For now, though, he had a kid to get drop off in front of the hospital and another hour flying around to do.

Hawks bounced on his feet before taking off into the air.

Finally.

-00-

If there was one thing Hawks was learning not to underestimate it was the scathing, observational eye of his co-worker.

"What's wrong with your face?" Aizawa demanded, glaring at him from his own desk across from him.

"Wow," Hawks held a hand to his heart. "Ouch. I like to think I'm rather handsome, thank you."

"You are love," Nemuri assured him. She looked up. Then squinted. "Hawks, are you okay? Your face is swollen."

The others looked up now, all concerned and good-intentioned.

"I'm fine," he hastened to assure them. "Got hit on patrol yesterday but it's nothing serious. Just some bruising."

"Why are you covering it up?" Thirteen fretted. "Doesn't it hurt to do that?"

"Not really," Hawks shrugged. He always covered up his scrapes and bruises with concealer. He was far too used to the feeling of it to be anything other than numb. "It's on my face, I don't want to freak anyone out when I patrol later. It's hard to smile at people when you know they're looking at you like a bruised banana."

"I have some ointment for bruises that works wonderfully," Yagi looked like he was the one that had been punched. "It's in my bag, if you'd like some."

Hawks laughed, genuinely touched. "That's nice of you, but really it's okay. I barely even feel it, it'll heal within a day."

"Go see Recovery Girl," Aizawa said.

"Nah," Hawks shot back quickly. "She's not back until next week, right? I can't call her in for something little like this."

That was clearly not the answer Aizawa wanted but it was the only one Hawks was willing to give. He had plans for his bruises, he couldn't just get rid of them.

"Hawks," Nezu called, like the harbinger of doom that he was. "I'm sure everyone here would feel a lot better if you at least put some ice on it. The swelling looks horribly painful."

Hawks refrained from clicking his tongue. "If it really makes you feel better. You guys really do make great teachers, you mother hens."

"That's big, coming from you," Snipe threw in.

Hawks got up to go get some ice, ignoring Yagi's ever-present concern and Aizawa's ever-present glare.

Note to self, avoid facial injuries in the future.

-00-

"Hawks! Hey Hawks!" A man waved at him, a kid of about five on his shoulders looking up with wide, dazzled eyes.

Hawks swooped down to land in front of them, immediately drawing the attention of everyone around them. "What's up man?"

"Hey," the Dad grinned, the mirror image of what had to be his son. "Sorry to bother you, I know you must be busy, but could my kid get a picture with you? It's his birthday today."

"Yeah? Happy birthday little guy," Hawks held his hand out for a fist bump. The kid nearly fell of this father's shoulders in his rush to tap Hawks' fist with his own. "Anyone willing to grab a pic of us?"

Immediately they were swarmed. Hawks laughed and smiled, making small talk as he worked his way through the crowd. He made sure to always 'try' to have his face tilted so his bruised side was kept mostly out of any shots. A dozen autographs later and he was waving goodbye, carefully lifting into the sky so he didn't knock anyone over.

He checked his watch. It was a quarter till four. Pulling out his phone Hawks hit the number for his Handler. She must be out her meetings by now.

"Hawks."

"Hey!" he said happily. "You wouldn't happen to know anyone wanting to do an interview either later tonight or sometime tomorrow, would you?"

There were swift clicking sounds in the background. "Edgeshot had to cancel an appearance on the public outreach program due to an earthquake near his Agency. The program is on drug rehabilitation centers and their need for increased funding."

"Hm," Hawks frowned. "That sounds great, but it's not quite what I'm looking for. Anything else?"

"No," she said. "Not for a few days on such short notice."

"Alright, check with Edgeshot's Agency first, to see if they're cool with me taking it. And try to make it seem like I'm cool with doing it but it wasn't my idea to take it. Play a little mean, you're good at that."

She gave an unamused huff of air. "I assume this has something to do with your 'night time' activities?"

"Pretty much," Hawks circled around the traffic jam on one of the highways, keeping an eye on the more aggressive drivers. He dove down closer, waving through the windows to make sure they all knew a hero was nearby and watching. Accidents in such a congested area could get bad fast. "Let me know how it goes."

"Very well. I will call you with the details later."

"Thanks Yuki-chan!"

Well, that was disappointing. The program would be great, he loved the idea, but no villain was going to be watching a public outreach program. So much for his good luck.

Hawks hung up, dropping down to perch on the guard railing of the highway. He waved at a family car filled to the brim with children. While he waited for traffic to calm down or for the police scanner to go off he opened the link to the forum he'd made the day before.

There were several answers to his question about how to get groups of kids that seemed to dislike each other because of the different opportunities presented to them to get along. All of them were pretty common sense answers like giving them a common goal to work towards or finding a similarity in their lives for them to talk about.

Yumi-chan27's post was the most detailed.

Dealing with this in young children is different than teenagers, like you are doing RedChicken-san, but the base concept is still the same I believe. When I have two students that do not get along because of how different they are I try to pair them up in ways that show off each of their strengths and weaknesses. It can help bolster their confidence in their own abilities while still showing them that the other person has their own merit as well. Often times the greatest factor in children disliking someone without actually knowing them is envy and jealousy. They hold a bitterness towards others because they can not see how their own traits and abilities are just as important as others. If you are wanting to get rid of this bitterness then you will need to showcase the talents each individual has in a setting that allows them to see why their talents and hard work are important. With teenagers I can imagine that this will be more intensive than with the children I teach but I have faith that you will come up with a fun, efficient way to help bridge the gap between your groups. I would love to hear how everything goes. Good luck!

Hawks cupped his chin with his hand, nodding to himself. According to Mi- no, Hizashi, that was exactly why the Gen-Ed kids hated the Hero Course students so much. Because they wanted to be in the Hero Course but they didn't make the cut. The disdain was pretty much one-sided too. He hadn't heard any of the first years so much as mention another Gen-Ed student. They were too focused on furthering themselves to think about anyone outside of class.

If Gen-Ed had the same kind of drive, or were working towards a strong goal like the Hero Course, then would that take care of the negativity? Hawks didn't know what, exactly, their classes were like in comparison. He would need to look into that.

Hawks' phone rang, Yukinawa's name popping up on the screen.

"Yuki-chan~!" Hawks sang. "You got back to me faster than I thought you would."

"The studio was going to reschedule the program, it is apparently something Edgeshot has been planning with them for quite some time. If you go aid in the evacuation and relief efforts of the earthquake to help resolve the situation faster then Edgeshot himself said he would be happy to have you join him tonight."

Hawks shot off the guardrail. It was an hour-long flight to his fellow pro's Agency. He'd need to move fast. He scrubbed at his bruised face a bit, wiping off some of the concealer. If he worked hard enough the sweat would wash away even more, letting just enough of his bruise peek through.

"Gotcha, I'm heading that way now."

He sent a quick voice memo to Toki, letting her know he was going to be further out of his usual patrol range than he usually was.

Hopefully this plan would actually amount to something. The Commission wouldn't wait for results much longer before taking things into their own hands. Hawks had free reign to choose how he got into the League, for now, but if he didn't start showing results that could change.

The chances of this one moment panning out soon were pretty slim, he doubted anyone in the League watched Public Service programs, but it was a good start. It would be something the League could track back later, once he started showing more connections between him and his night time 'persona'. It would work out in his favor.

Eventually.

-00-

Dabi rolled his eyes when he was handed the huge bag of take-out. Had they ordered half the fucking restaurant? If they were going to get so much shit the least they could do was have someone come with him to carry it all.

"Tip?" the woman behind the counter asked.

"Pretty sure you got pre-paid," Dabi bounced the bag a bit so it settled better in his arms.

"Yeah, but not the tip," she clarified, looking expectant.

Dabi gave her a deadpan stare. "Do I look like I have money on me?"

"Leave him alone Mako," the manager came out from the back. "Sorry about her. She's not usually so forward with the regulars but we're trying to scrape some cash together."

Dabi didn't really care. It was raining though, and he refused to walk out in that with his staples so freshly replaced. He needed to wait a bit before it died down. "Booming business like this can't get you some extra cash?"

"Wes got arrested last night," he sighed, scrubbing at his face. "Cops picked him up after a fight with that Raven fucker. We need bail to get him back on shift, I can't afford to lose a pair of hands right now."

Dabi dropped the food carelessly on the open table next to the register. "Been hearing a lot about that guy lately. About the people he targets too. What'd Wes do to get that kind of attention?"

Dabi hoped it wasn't anything he'd have to burn them for. This was one of the few decent places that would serve them no questions asked. It'd be hard to find Soba as good as theirs.

"Wes isn't like that!" Mako spat, glaring at him fiercely. "We weren't even doing anything, we just found him in an alley and Wes thought it'd be smart to try to take him down with the three of us."

Dabi snorted. "If I've heard the rumors right, he took out a group of five before they could even see him. You expect me to believe you two just 'got away'?"

"Can you keep it down?" the manager scowled. "Wes was drunk. We all were. We got away cause Wes got a good hit in on the guy and we got out of there before he could get his bearings back."

"He 'got a hit in'?" Dabi laughed. Wes was big but he was as dumb as they came.

"It was thanks to me," Mako said haughtily, standing tall at only 5'2". "I used my quirk to keep Wes up when Raven tried to kick him down. Wes got him right in the face, full force. Fucker was bleeding when we ran."

"Yeah?" Now Dabi was kind of interested.

'Raven', so dubbed because of his pitch-black wings, had popped up a few weeks ago. Dabi didn't know a lot about the guy but the things he heard he could appreciate. Worked alone, kicked assholes where it hurt, and apparently had some serious vendetta against anyone that so much as looked at a kid wrong.

"Yeah!" Mako jeered. "Bet his nose broke, it sounded nasty."

"Not nasty enough to keep him down if he still hit back," Dabi smirked. He glanced out the window. The pouring rain had downgraded to a drizzle. He grabbed the food. "Not that I care, but good luck with the money I guess. It'd be a shame if you had to close, even if your customer service is shit."

The manager flipped him off as he left.

Dabi yawned, staples pulling at his jaw. He'd honestly thought Raven was some myth someone had cooked up. A winged vigilante saving people in their own homes? Please, if he believed in shit like that his life would have taken a very different turn. The only thing anyone ever saw of him was his wings and he'd never been hit in a fight. Sounded like a fairytale if ever he heard one.

Mako was crazy but she wasn't on drugs. The Manager saw it too and Wes was arrested after the fact so something definitely happened. If Raven bled it meant he was real.

Dabi could use someone like that. He'd have to start looking into it.

"Here," Dabi threw the food at Toga the second he was through the door.

She squealed, falling off the stool when it hit her. "Dabs! Not cool! I was taking a picture!"

Dabi ignored her, ambling over to the couch and throwing himself down across from Spinner. "Twice, pass out the food."

"Yes sir! Fuck you, do it yourself!" Twice saluted, rushing to help Toga set all to food out.

There was a strong draft from a hole somewhere upstairs. Shigaraki wasn't anywhere around, he was probably in the back where the only bit of warmth could be found.

"Weren't you supposed to fix the heating in this place?" Dabi scowled over at Kurogiri. "I'd prefer to not live in an icebox."

"We ran out of materials," Kurogiri responded to his antagonizing with the same neutral tone he always did. "It will be taken care of tomorrow."

As far as hideouts went it wasn't the worst, but it was a far cry from the bar. Dabi had his own place, a run-down little one-bedroom with rent cheap enough to make the shitty plumbing worth it but it was in the next city over. If he was going to be spending time here he at least wanted the bare necessities.

At least they had a TV. A tiny cube decades old, but it worked well enough. Only had about four channels though.

"Oh," Spinner said next to him, wrapped up in the biggest blanket they had. Dabi kicked his feet under it, heating them up. Stupid lizard could apparently die of the cold, they didn't have the resources to waste finding a replacement for him so soon after Kamino.

Spinner didn't even look up at him, eyes riveted to the screen. He looked upset.

Dabi stretched his arms behind his head, looking at the TV. It was one of those stupid Public Service Programs where they tried and failed to raise awareness about problems the world didn't care about. The hero from Kamino, Edgeshot, was there. He was giving a very passionate speech about how drug rehabilitation centers had the potential to save lives and reduce crime. He said something about his brother being a victim of drugs or something, Dabi wasn't really paying attention. No, his attention was focused on the winged hero sitting next to the man.

Hawks was watching his co-worker solemnly, nodding at all the right moments and adding his own agreement that the rehabilitation centers should be better funded.

The last time Dabi had seen the number three hero had been at his last apartment with the deadbeat he ashed and the two kids. The last he'd heard of him was after their attack in the forest where, apparently, Hawks had been flying around getting his wings chopped off.

Small world. Dabi kind of wished he'd known Hawks would be there, he owed the guy a free pass or two for cleaning up his messes.

"Donations aren't just a way to get these places running to their full potential," Hawks was saying, grinning into the camera. "It's a way to save lives. Kinda like a hero, yeah? A few dollars here and there and you've made a difference in people's lives. I'm donating myself cause I want to see people like Edgeshot's brother get the help they deserve. I hope you all watching feel the same."

Dabi nearly rolled his eyes when Spinner started pressing his fingers together. He didn't doubt that if the lizard quirked idiot had any money on him at all he'd be throwing it at the TV. Spinner had a hero worship for Hawks that Dabi didn't really get, considering Hawks was the one who got Stain locked up.

Hawks handed over a check for what was sure to be an absurd amount of money. There was the sound of ringing phones in the background, people calling in to donate now that both the Number Three and Number Five (for now, after the fall of All Might the rankings were gonna change soon) were both showing their support. The camera zoomed in on Edgeshot and Hawks chatting while the calls were taken. Hawks turned to the camera, giving a little wave.

Dabi sat up so quickly he kicked Spinner.

"Ow, what the hell Dabi?!"

He ignored him, dropping in front of the TV and squinting. Fuck, why didn't they have one that could pause or something?

Dabi waited for the camera to pass over the two heroes again. He got lucky when Hawks and Edgeshot got up to shake hands with the host. There was a close up of both wich gave Dabi a clear view of the right side of Hawks' face.

Both heroes had come in looking dirty and rumpled. They must have come from some kind of incident, it didn't matter. What mattered was that all the sweat and dirt had created clear streaks along the side of Hawks' face that showed that the man was wearing a heavy amount of concealer.

Dabi had enough experience hiding wounds to recognize the swell in his cheek and along the side of his eye. The darkness of his skin could have been dirt, but it was a little too dark, a little too purple. Looked like Hawks had taken a heavy hit to the face and was trying to hide it.

Dabi licked his lips, mind whirring.

That didn't mean anything. The dumbass could have gotten in any number of fights as a pro, it wasn't abnormal to come out of a fight with scrapes.

Except Hawks, the fastest hero, didn't get 'scrapes' very often. Rarely, in fact. He would go into fifty fights and get hurt in only two. It was rare for a villain to get a hit on him. Its what made Dabi pay attention to him before he'd seen Hawks at the docks that first time. He was dangerous. Someone that could seriously get in the way of his plans.

A winged fighter that was too fast for their opponent to see? Sounded like a fairytale.

"Huh," Dabi grinned, his staples pulling painfully at his face.

"What's with you?" Spinner groused, kicking at him to get him out of the was of the TV.

"I think I might have found something interesting," Dabi stood up, lounging back onto the couch once more. "Gotta look into it more though."

"Intersting~?" Toga sang, running over to lean over his shoulder. "Like what? Is it pretty? Can I stab it?"

Dabi smirked. "What do you guys know about some vigilante named Raven?

-00-

If a smart cookie meets a smart cookie, which cookie wins?

Also, uh, the 'Next Time' from the last chapter... was supposed to be the 'next time' for this chapter. So... my bad! I got my end tag lines mixed up!

ChaosHearth: ...DANG IT! You've duped me! XD I'm jazzed that this story can give you a shot of energy! That's some high praise right there!

Blackdrake: Then you must be happy a lot cause I'm always appreciating you! :D Honestly I still get huge doubts about my writing, it's such a tough skill to measure accurately. It's one of the reasons why I'm so grateful, all this support makes me more confident in my writing. I'm sure you'll reach that point to my dear! If you love it then it will grow with you! This chapter was packed full of bonding, I hope you liked it!

Rosto'sGirl: D'aww, thank you! College days are hard, right? *sweatdrop* So much ramen made in coffeepots. Too much. I feel you, my friend. I feel you. Hawks is making that nice, slow progress! Here, take some more heart happiness! *throws it at you*

McGwee: Your username is a delight to say out loud XD Dadzawa, percentage increasing. XD

hinatayvonne: It's raining me~ XD I have SO MUCH planned for the Endeavour stuff. So much. If you love the Dadzawa content then boy, do I have good news for you XD

StandUpKeepMovingForward: Thank you! I wanted some fluff, so I made some fluff. Glad it made you happy too!

micieloestrellado: XD Lunch Rush: *insulted, flappy handed gestures* Hawks: *running away* I'm sorry! XD

PasiveNox: YOU'RE nice! :D

Moonstone2003: This isn't even his final FINAL form! XD XD Thank you dear!