Me: Get ready for the FLUFF

Also me: How much subtle angst can I fit in one chapter?

Dabi makes a connection

Hawks gets a day off

Painting is fun in numbers

Aizawa is a stressed, sleepy bean

Hawks isn't moving in. He's not. He's NOT

(He is)

-00-

I Won't Stay Long (I Promise)

-00-

No one was around when Dabi lit the clearing on fire. It was small, mostly dried out land, but close enough to the town that it would alarm some people. He'd debated on hunting down some lowlife to toss into the flames as kindling but he wanted this particular fire to give off a new message. So, like the saint he was, he abstained.

"You ready?" Dabi double-checked.

Kurogiri sighed, hands behind his back like a priss. "Yes. I would still like more information on what exactly your plan is."

Dabi smirked, hands deep in his pockets. "If this goes like how I think it will then we just might be getting a very strong new recruit in the future."

"Oh?" Kurogiri sounded interested now. "How does that tie in with your little show?"

Dabi shrugged off the question. He'd talk when he knew for sure what was going on. No need to jump the gun. "Just keep your eyes peeled. We're warping as soon as he shows up."

It took two hours this time. Dabi wasn't worried, it was a small ass town and it was late. It would have taken a while for the sleepy residents of nowhere to notice the fire.

Dabi had his eyes closed. Kurogiri was like a statue next to him but the man rarely made any movement that wasn't necessary so it wasn't anything new. He just focused on the crackle of fire, familiar like his own heartbeat.

Three minutes after the two-hour mark there was a sound that didn't match. A sound like a large flag getting snapped open in a burst of wind.

Dabi opened his eyes, standing straight from his slouch and looking up expectantly. Kurogiri looked up as well, curious about what had caught his attention.

It was hard to tell, even with the sound of beating wings, where he was. Then a pitch-black figure darted across the half-filled moon. It was hard to make them out but one feature was crystal clear.

Huge, black wings stretched in the light, bending sharply down to carry the figure in a tight circle around the clearing.

Dabi had to bite his knuckle to keep from laughing. He waved his free hand at Kurogiri, signaling him to get them out of there.

Kurogiri squinted up at the person flying above them, opening a portal back to their base. Dabi ran through it before his composure broke.

"Whoa," Toga giggled when he hunched over two feet from the couch and started cackling. "It's a fake Dabi!"

"Aw, he's so happy," Twice whirled around on the swivel chair he'd scrounged from the dump the day before. "Gross, kill him before it infects us."

"Well, I can't say I don't appreciate your usual solemn attitude but this is a nice change of pace," Magne finished bunching up Toga's hair into a bun, deftly twisting the band around her wrist into place to hold it all together.

"Hero society is fucked," Dabi laughed, straightening up and ambling towards the little room in the back he'd claimed as his. It was probably a broom closet once, he didn't care. It was the only door that had a lock (Shigaraki had been pissed about that but he got the room with an actual bed so he could shut the fuck up) so of course he was going to take it.

"Care to share now?" Kurogiri called after him.

"Not yet," he waved backward. "I need more info."

His ten percent conspiracy theory of hero society's dearly beloved number three had just jumped to eighty percent. That still left twenty percent uncertainty but Dabi knew that would be an easy bridge to make if he was right. The amount of chaos this kind of information would bring, it was wonderful. Hawks was right next to Endeavour in rankings, but Dabi would place bets that he was above him in technique. Sure the little bird lacked firepower, but Dabi didn't need more fire.

With all the shit the world had thrown at him all his life, perhaps this was his reward for fighting through all of it. Hawks, the poster boy of the Hero Commission and all that it stood for, was prancing around at night as a little vigilante dealing out justice his higher-ups could care less about. Looked like someone was having some doubts. A golden chess piece, just waiting to join the right side.

All Dabi had to do was make sure Hawks knew his side was the right one.

-00-

Hawks woke up to a call from the main office of the Public Safety Commission. That was never good because the only one that called from there that didn't automatically show up on his caller ID was the President.

"Hello?" Hawks sat up, wide awake.

"Good morning Hawks," the President greeted. "I'm calling to remind you that today is your mandatory day off."

Hawks opened his mouth to protest.

"I understand you are working very hard to build your undercover profile," she said before he could speak, "however these rules are in place for your health and are to be maintained as much as possible. Barring any large events or breakthroughs you are to take today off of patrols both on the clock and off."

"I did have a breakthrough," he argued. "Last night, the fire I reported about. There were no bodies, it was started with a different purpose in mind. I'm pretty sure it was to get my attention."

"All the more reason to take your day off now, before you get in any deeper."

Hawks sighed, flopping back down on his bed. He had a full day off every three months and while he normally looked forward to it, planning it around Rumi's schedule so they could hang out for an entire day, this time he felt like it would be too much of a waste. Rumi wasn't even off until the end of the week.

"I'd like to have it next week instead," Hawks requested.

"No," she refuted easily. "As soon as you infiltrate the League you will no longer be able to have any guaranteed off time, it is best to take the day now while you are still laying your groundwork."

She was right, of course, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

"This is because we care about you, Hawks," she reminded him.

"I know," he scrubbed a hand over his face, sitting up so he could swing his feet around to the floor. He was wide awake now, it would be pointless to go back to sleep. "I appreciate it, really. There's just a lot to do."

"There always will be. You have done well to find your balance, be sure to keep it that way."

"I will," Hawks raked a hand through his hair, absentmindedly working out the tangles. Of course it was the President that called to tell him this. She was the only one he would listen to. The only one he couldn't talk circles around to get what he wanted. "Have a good day, ma'am."

"You as well Hawks."

After she hung up Hawks tossed his phone on his bedside table and sighed.

Well. He had a whole day off now. Damn. He'd been so excited when he realized what the flames from last night had meant. He'd been prepared to spend the day flying around Dabi's past haunts so that if people caught pictures of him in the areas the guy would know he was looking into him.

Now what was he supposed to do? There were some case files he hadn't read through yet waiting on his table. Some teaching books too. He'd keep an ear out for blue flames, but other than that he wasn't supposed to be patrolling the streets.

Ugh. He kind of wished he'd put off researching the League a few nights ago. He'd been too thorough, there wasn't any new information to go over.

Just as Hawks was formulating a mental plan to waste his day away his phone buzzed.

Nemuri: Sorry if I'm waking you Hawks, but I was wondering if you were dropping by the dorm today.

Hawks blinked. It was the weekend, he hadn't really been planning on it.

Hawks: I'm an early riser, don't worry about it. You guys doing something fun?

Nemuri: We're painting our rooms today! We just need to go buy the paint as soon as we're done unpacking everything.

Hawks: If you want I can grab the paint for you. My feathers will make it easy to carry everything.

When no immediate reply came Hawks stretched his arms above his head and got ready for a shower.

Nemuri: Hold on hon, I'm going to add you to the staff chat

Hawks tilted his head as the water warmed up. He accepted the invite when it popped up, opening the new conversation.

MidnightSnack added Hawks to Staff and Mic

Hawks: Hizashi, what did you do to get singled out like that?

OpenMic: It's not my fault! There was a spider in my room and Shouta refused to help me!

Space: Hello Hawks! This is Thirteen. Mic screamed when the spider jumped at him and he broke the windows in his room. Cementoss was very upset.

RoundatHeart: I can not make glass. We had to order more and the building is brand new.

Hawks: Are we supposed to be doing nicknames? Do we pick our own? How do we change our name?

Space: You can pick whatever name you want! Just tap and hold your name and it will give you the option to edit it.

Hawks has changed Hawks to BestBirb

OpenMic: You can edit other people's names too.

Aizawa: Don't tell him that.

BestBirb has changed Aizawa to TeamMom

TeamMom has left the chat

MidnightSnack: Don't worry, I'll add him again later after I steal his phone. Everyone! Hawks said he'll grab paint for us before he comes by today.

Snipe: That's generous. Will you need help carrying all that?

Hawks changed Snipe to HeadShot

Headshot: ...

BestBirb: Nah, I'll use my feathers. What kind of paint do you need?

Vlad: Let me go take a picture of the color I need.

BestBirb changed Vlad's name to Dracula

Dracula: Very funny. I haven't heard that one before.

Hawks laughed.

Nemuri sent three different pictures of color swatches. As Hawks showered and got dressed the others sent theirs too. He didn't know why they all had paint swatches just lying around but at least it made his job easier. He looked over the tiny names printed on the bottom of each swatch and slipped on the casual jacket he only ever had the chance to wear around his apartment. It was big and puffy, easy for his wings to fit through the slits in the back, or hide beneath the cloth. It had been a gift from Rumi for the holidays so of course it was white with big floppy bunny ears sewed into the hood.

Hawks loved it.

God, when was the last time he'd worn jeans?

Hawks cracked his neck, working out the last few kinks sleep had gifted him. He knew the importance of days off. His handlers had told him it was like when a computer needed an update. The harder he worked the more taxed his systems were so every once in a while he needed to power down and let everything build back up so it was stronger. He didn't want to overheat, it'd be more difficult to recover from a breakdown than a restart.

It was boring as hell though. At least he had people other than Rumi to hang out with now. The years before he'd met his best friend had been agonizing.

Hawks shoved his wallet into his pocket, texting Nemuri that he was heading out.

MidnightSnack: Fly safe hon. Grab yourself some paint too! Whatever you think will look pretty!

Hawks didn't mind the bland color of his room at UA. It wasn't like he was going to be spending a lot of time there. Still, it would give him something to do if he finished helping everyone else early.

What color would he even get?

-00-

He ended up getting two different shades of blue, some white, and a frankly ridiculous amount of glow in the dark star stickers because while he had been waiting for the paints to be mixed he'd made the mistake of looking up cool sky themed rooms and his mind had taken off. If he used his best puppy dog eyes he bet Nemuri would help him blend everything nicely, so long as her room was done.

"Hawks?" a familiar, croaky voice said.

Hawks looked up from his phone, smile already in place. It grew more genuine when he recognized the old man calling to him.

"Nakahara-san, what are you doing all the way here in Musutafu?"

Nakahara, longtime resident of Hawks' own Fukuako, hobbled forwards now that he was sure Hawks was, in fact, someone he knew. The man had always been sharp for his age, even with his huge bottle lens glasses. No one else had recognized Hawks with his wings tucked away and the bunny hood pulled low over his head.

"I'm visiting my grandkids," he beamed. "Thought I wouldn't have to see your ugly mug for a good week at least!"

Hawks laughed. "Come on, is that any way to treat your best delivery boy?"

"Best?" Nakahara scoffed. "You've been slacking lately. That pink one you've got running around for you, with the pretty voice, she's been helping me with my groceries while you've been running around doing who knows what!"

Hawks just shrugged because he wasn't wrong. "Siren's going to be stealing all my jobs if she keeps that up. I can't help it though, I'm a teacher now!"

"You?" the old man laughed, but his eyes were warm. "Well, I guess if anyone was gonna try to teach those new heroes a thing or two I'd rather it be you than anyone else."

"Aw, I knew you loved me," Hawks smirked. He looked at the basket held in shaking hands. There wasn't much in it, just some milk and a little toy action figure but… "My stuff is going to take a while. Mind if I shop with you?"

Nakahara was not easily fooled, judging by his deadpan expression, but he handed Hawks his basket anyway. "If no one else is going to give you something to do I might as well take up the torch."

"You're a true hero," Hawks told him seriously before breaking out into a teasing grin. "So, how're your grandkids?"

Hawks followed him around the store, adding a new scarf (pink with skulls on it, his granddaughter sounded like a delight), some batteries, and a keychain with Hawks' wings on it (that Hawks himself had picked out and refused to put back).

Nakahara didn't realize until it was too late that Hawks had switched the man's debit card with his own.

"You can't keep paying for my groceries," he lectured as Hawks placed the bags in his little beat up car. "You need to save up your money for more important things!"

"You're an important thing," Hawks half-teased. "I still owe you after all."

"I gave you half a sandwich," Nakahara rolled his eyes but he was smiling. "Once."

"Hey, you saved me that day," Hawks held his elbow and helped him into the driver's seat. "I won't forget that."

Nakahara sighed. "Well, it's not like there's much I can do to stop you is there?"

"Nope," Hawks made a popping sound on the 'p'. "Have a great day Nakahara-san. Say hi to your family for me."

"I will," he lifted his hand in a wave before he closed the door and rolled down the window. "Make sure to tape the edges of whatever room you're painting! And put down a tarp, nothing ruins the floors as bad as paint!"

Hawks waved at him as he pulled out. "You got it!"

He grabbed some tape and a few tarps on the way back.

The paint counter looked like it was having a display sale from how many buckets were piled on it. Hawks whistled, pulling out his wallet. The kid working the counter went bug-eyed when feathers pooled out of Hawks' coat and started lifting the paint cans.

"Thanks, kid," Hawks looked up, giving a clear view of the markings around his eyes. He set down a hefty tip, saluting him as he walked to the front. He drew attention immediately but he was in the air before anyone could stop him.

The flight from the department store to UA was short. Nemuri and Snipe were waiting for him out front, sitting on the steps. They were both wearing sweats and t-shirts, was there a dress code for painting? At least he got the t-shirt part right under his jacket.

"Hawks!" Nemuri clapped, jumping up and rushing to grab some of the airborne cans. Hawks had them lift over her head, going towards the door. "You are such a sweetheart, how much do we owe you?"

"Order me some food and I'll consider us even," he landed lightly, pulling off his gloves and stuffing them in his pockets. The feeling of fresh air between his fingers was becoming addictive.

"Deal," Nemuri shook his hand to form the pact with a laugh. "But I'll get you lunch and dinner for a week. At least."

Hawks shrugged. "No complaints with that."

Snipe yawned deeply from the stairs. He hadn't moved. "Kayama woke us all up at the crack of dawn to get all this done," he sighed. "Apparently it's something that's supposed to take the whole day. Just pick one color and it's a few hours, tops."

Nemuri rolled her eyes. "This is exactly why I picked out some extra colors for you. You don't just paint your room, you create your room! You make it a symbolic representation of who you are!"

"I'm a boring, one-color guy."

Nemuri gave him the stink eye before turning to Hawks with a smile again. "Did you pick out some colors for yourself sweetie?"

"Yeah," he nodded towards the last three cans floating through the doors. "I was actually going to ask you to help with my room when we're done with yours."

Nemuri lit up, clasping her hands together. "Of course I'll help! At least someone appreciates my artistic talents. Come on, let's go make sure everyone has what they need. Good call on the tarps, hon, but that tape isn't quite gonna cut it."

Hawks frowned at the case of packing tape he'd bought. It had been the first large casing of tape he'd seen, he didn't realize they would need a specific type.

"Should I go back to the store?"

"No, no," Nemuri assured him, walking behind him so she could push him towards the door. "Ectoplasm has a hoard of masking tape. He'll have plenty."

Hawks very much wanted to know why Ectoplasm had a hoard of masking tape. He was distracted, however, by the absolute chaos waiting for them passed the doors.

There were boxes everywhere, tossed on the furniture, on the floor, along the walls. Some of them were empty but most of them still had various decorations, books, or kitchen utensils in them. Thirteen and Cementoss were arguing about which of their plants deserved the last open spot of the windowsill, which was already packed with tiny pots. Hizashi was putting numerous books on the bookshelves now spanning the entire far wall. Hawks could hear Yagi and Ectoplasm in the kitchen trying to organize all the plates and silverware everyone had brought with them. It took a second for him to notice but he was pretty sure Aizawa was underneath a pile of boxes in his sleeping bag. Vlad was hammering nails into the walls for picture frames, which Hawks couldn't see very well because they were all stacked together in a corner. Somewhere upstairs Hound Dog was yelling about something.

"Check the one by the bathroom!" Vlad yelled back, positioning the next nail.

"Wow," Hawks sent his feathers down the hall to set the paint by everyone's rooms. "This is a lot of stuff."

Nemuri sighed. "Well, the majority of us did have pretty full homes. Our dorm is a little bigger than the students' to account for that but it's more about everyone having duplicate things. Too many chairs, too many dishes, that sort of thing. You might want to wait to see what all is missing before bringing the rest of your things."

"Good idea," Hawks said with absolutely no plan to bring anything more than he already had. "So, we help here first then move to the rooms?"

"Oh, no," Nemuri laughed. "These idiots just left everything here last night saying they'd deal with it today so now everyone is trying to unpack at the same time. You can just go straight to painting your room dear."

"You sure?" Hawks bent his back a bit to get a better look at the pile of boxes in the middle of the main area. "I'm pretty sure Aizawa is dead under there."

"Shouta," Nemuri sighed, walking over and flinging the boxes away. "Honey, come sleep in Hawks' room while we paint it. It'll be quieter there."

Were they doing Hawks room first? He'd been prepared to do that as the very last.

Aizawa opened his eyes blearily.

"Come on," Nemuri urged, carefully pulling him to his feet.

He was still in his sleeping bag. He looked like a giant caterpillar.

Nemuri sighed when he felt right back asleep standing up. "He's hardly slept. Moving into a new place is stressful for him, it'll take a while before he's comfortable enough to relax here."

Hawks looked around the chaotic, loud room. Aizawa seemed just fine sleeping here. Was it the comfort of familiar voices? Or just knowing they were all there? Still, it had to be killing his back.

"I've got him," he stepped forwards, folding his wings in close to avoid hitting anything. Bending his knees he put his shoulder into Aizawa's stomach and lifted him up. "Huh. Not as heavy as I thought he'd be."

"Damn dude, you're stronger than you look!" Hizashi whistled from the bookshelves. "I'm almost done with all my stuff, which room are you doing first? I'll come join you!"

"Hawks room," Nemuri answered, picking her way back across the floor. "He bought everything after all. Then we can do Shouta's. Hopefully he'll be awake enough by then to join in. Bring some snacks with you!"

Hizashi gave them a thumbs up.

"Are we helping paint everyone's room?" Hawks wondered as they walked towards the elevator at the end of the hall.

"Well, there's the four of us," Nemuri gestured between them, flicking her fingers back to where Hizashi was. "And if you want you can help me with Snipe's room, but the others should have their own rooms covered."

"I can help," Hawks grinned, careful to avoid hitting Aizawa's head as they got in the elevator. "It's my day off, I have plenty of time."

"Oh, I'm sorry Hawks," Nemuri said, looking concerned. "If I had known it was your day off I would have let you rest."

Hawks tilted his head. He almost asked her what she meant but he had a feeling that question would seem odd. He knew other heroes had different ideas of what 'day off' meant. Rumi had at least one day off a week which she spent the majority of either lazing around after a workout or going out to party. He knew Tsunagu preferred to read for leisure and clean his apartment. He'd seen other heroes in their street clothes just… walking around or hanging out with their friends.

Hawks did some of that too, when Rumi was free, but he found it hard to turn his brain off. There was always something to do, always something to think about, something to piece together. If Rumi wasn't free he would write reports, research new criminals, or take the time to visit other cities further away just to gather information on whatever sounded interesting at the time. The only big 'relaxing' thing he did was turn off his AC and pull out his biggest, fluffiest blanket so he could sleep in but that had gotten thrown out the window already.

Painting a bunch of rooms was borderline lazy, comparatively.

"You saved me from being bored out of my mind," he said instead. "I've never painted anything before, this should be fun!"

Aizawa shifted a bit on his shoulder. Hawks raised the wing closest to him, readjusting his hold.

...Maybe he'd bring the blanket over, at least. He vaguely recalled the conversation Hizashi and Nemuri had when he'd slept over about how Aizawa slept better with something soft and warm like a cat or his wings. It wasn't like Hawks used it all the time, he didn't mind lending it out.

"You can always just hang around if you want to relax," Nemuri said. "But if you're sure about doing your room, at least, what did you have in mind for the paint?"

Hawks sent a feather to fetch his phone from his pocket. He had it hover in front of his fingers so he could type in the code and pull up all the pictures he'd saved.

"Something like this, I guess," he passed it over. The elevator slowed to a stop, the doors sliding open. "It looked cool."

"These are lovely! I've tried something like this before and it came out pretty well."

"Lead the way Sensei," Hawks grinned.

They dropped Aizawa off on the bed (every room already had one unless requested otherwise). At Nemuri's suggestion Hawks let the majority of his feathers fall off around the exhausted man like an odd, misshapen blanket so that they wouldn't get any paint on them and so that Aizawa would hopefully stay asleep. Hawks didn't really see how they would work since Aizawa was still in his sleeping bag.

"You're sure my feathers will help with that?" Hawks tilted his head, shucking off his coat so he was just in a plain blue t-shirt.

"Trust me," Nemuri assured him, running tape along the edges of the door and floor. "Let's put the tarps down and we can get started."

She turned on some music on her phone that Hawks thought belonged in a jazz cafe. They worked together to prep the room. Hawks didn't have any furniture to move away from the walls, the bed was nice and centered beneath the skylight, so it was a quick process.

"Sooo," Hawks placed his hands on his hips. "How do we do this?"

"Let's start with the white," Nemuri pulled her hair up into a ponytail. "We need a base coat over everything before we can start blending the other two."

'Base coat'. So there needed to be more than one layer? Sounded easy enough.

Hawks watched avidly as Nemuri poured some of the paint into a rolling pan. He copied her movements exactly, taking the wall next to hers. Nemuri rolled her brush into it, pulling it out in a way so that not a drop of paint was spilled.

Hawks did the same, pulling back as several tiny drops fell off the roll. He frowned at it. He'd done the exact same thing, why was his messier looking?

"Don't worry about any mess," Nemuri said, smiling at him fondly. "It's painting! You're supposed to get a little messy otherwise it's no fun."

"Okay," Hawks said, even though it still bothered him. He'd get it right the next time.

He did not, in fact, get it right the next time but the straight-lined strokes showing up on his wall were a lot cleaner than the swift, wobbly lines of Nemuri's. Nemuri was moving a lot faster though. She was using less paint too.

Hawks huffed, glaring at his wall.

"You're doing fine, hon," Nemuri laughed. "I didn't realize you were such a perfectionist. You don't need to line everything up perfectly, although you can if you want to. You just need to make sure everything gets covered."

"Aye, aye captain," Hawks saluted, smearing a bit of paint from the dripping roller on his forehead. He scowled.

Nemuri laughed. She grabbed the roller with the pads of her fingers, stepping over to dot a line across the bridge of his nose. "See? The mess is half the fun!"

"I don't usually like paint," Hawks admitted, hovering his talons over his face at the odd feeling. "I hate the feeling of it on my feathers."

"It's not on your feathers."

"You got me there," Hawks beamed, running his entire roller up Nemuri's arm.

She squawked, hopping away. "Hawks!"

He held his roller out like a sword. "You hit first!"

Nemuri matched him, looking delighted. Good, this had been the right choice. "I tapped you, that's hardly a declaration of war."

"I," Hawks said dramatically, freehand placed over his chest, "am a perfectionist. One tiny act against me is treated the same as any other."

"That doesn't sound like perfectionism," Hizashi kicked the door open, hands laden with snacks. "More like a dictatorship man."

"Is it really a dictatorship if I'm the only one on my side?" Hawks called a few feathers over from the bed to help Hizashi set the snacks down, walking in a slow circle with Nemuri, his weapon of choice raised.

Nemuri's eyes darted to HIzashi.

Hawks nodded.

"I guess that's fair- agh! Traitors! I brought you food!"

Nemuri got him in the shoulder while Hawks managed to paint a long strip up his left hip to his neck.

"I'd be mad if I hadn't worn my gross painter clothes today," Hizashi glared at them. At a loss for a paintbrush, he dipped his entire hand into Nemuri's rolling bin and held it out threateningly.

"Stop wasting the paint, you'll never finish," Aizawa grunted from the bed.

They all froze.

"Shouta! You're awake!" Hizashi cheered.

"No, I'm not."

Nemuri sat at the head of the bed, using her clean hand to reach past the hood of the sleeping bag to brush Aizawa's hair out of his face. "You need to eat something Sho. Drink too."

The rumbling sound that came from the lump on the mattress sounded exactly like the time Hawks had tried to wake Rumi up after a long night of drinking because she'd been sleeping on top of his dryer and she'd nearly taken his eye out.

"Shouta," Hizashi leaned over to give him puppy eyes.

Aizawa sighed. Hawks had a water bottle waiting for him when he sat up.

"Hey Aizawa, you look like shit man."

Huh. Bloodshot eyes looked really demonic sometimes.

"I'm gonna finish my wall," Hawks announced.

Nemuri snorted. She rubbed Aizawa's back for a moment before returning to her own spot.

Hawks was used to a bit of chaos following these three around. It was fun and lighthearted, a great distraction from everything else. He didn't realize their quiet moments could be just as nice.

Aizawa stayed on the bed, munching on some grapes while he messed with his phone. Hizashi picked his own wall, creating an absolute disaster of paint splatters that still somehow managed to get the job done. Even when they started on the blues, Nemuri directing them for where to brush lightly or blend, there was only soft chatter here an there to fill up the space. With the music playing and his feathers moving every time Aizawa did it was just enough for Hawks' mind to latch onto, letting him relax.

"Alright," Nemuri clapped her hands once they were done blending. "Another coat of the dark blue would be best but we need to let all of this dry first. Shouta, how about we start on your room while you're awake?"

Aizawa shrugged.

"Great! Hawks, could you-?"

"On it," he saluted her, gathering everything up with his feathers. He let them leave first, recollecting his wings and letting them stretch until they were just an inch from touching the walls. He stood next to the bed, under the skylight, with his face upturned.

The warmth of the sun seeped into his skin.

This really was a nice room. As soon as the stars were up it would look amazing. If he brought some of his books over it would be a great place to focus with the open area and well-lit space. He'd need to bring some pillows over too, the bed only had one.

"Hawks? You coming man?"

Hawks blinked his eyes open, squinting at the skylight. The little roost he'd left unpainted. They'd nearly run out of paint at the end, so they'd left it as it was. He'd need to grab some more at some point, finish what he started.

Hawks yawned and walked out the door. He'd probably stay the night, if all the rooms took this long. At lunch he would fly back to his apartment and grab some clothes and shower stuff. Maybe he should start keeping spares here? It'd be a smart idea. With how much time he spent at the school anyway it wouldn't hurt to have a few more things on hand if he needed them.

He'd need to thank Cementoss and Nezu again later. His room really was nice.

-00-

Watching paint dry can be fun if you're with the right people.

Next Time: Even more fluff. Like... a lot of fluff. No plot. Just fluff.

StandUpKeepMovingForward: Did someone say- *opens door to show several trucks full of fluff*- FLUFF?!

ChaosHearth: *evil snicker* You have trapped your self dear. BRO! The things I have planned for instincts. It's gonna be grand, let me tell ya. You can't have Hawks without angst *shrugs* XD

Rosto'sGirl: If you want the fluff brought, consider it brung! XD Thank you for the supportive thoughts, I really appreciate it. Hawks was nervous around them because of instinct! He's got a pretty good hold on his own, like an iron grip, but with villains he's run into a lot of people that definitely do not and as a bird he is a prime target sometimes. He's a little cautious until he knows how well someone handles sudden surprises.

micieloestrellado: The soft hearted little gasp I gave when you said it meant 'my starry sky'. My friend, that is absolutely precious, I love it. You're very good at writing English! I would have never guessed it wasn't your first language! Well done dear! Some characters are easier to write than others, I try to hedge around the ones I'm still struggling with until I get a better feel of them (like Snipe, good lord, I know nothing about that man but he's one of the teachers so he needs to show up at least). Dadzawa eyes are all seeing, it's like when a mom looks at you when you're lying and your brain is screaming "SHE KNOWS!" even though there is no possible way for her to actually know. You are a delightful starry sky my dear!

Althea Sirius: Can you imagine the rants those two could get going? Good lord, the length and depth of those conversations. I could write a twenty thousand word chapter on a debate about quirk usage between those two, no lie.

Blackdrake: Always good to hear from you darling dear! If Hawks was the judge he would play it up. Microphone, announcer voice, side commentary, the works. Hell, he'd probably drag Mic into it too. XD At the end just "Tokoyami wins cause Birb" and the uproar that would cause XD