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Izuku was eating his breakfast when Shouto put his plate down next to his and sat down, looking downright bemused. It seemed that he hadn't slept all night. Dark circles had appeared under his eyes which were struggling to stay open. He was fidgeting on his chair. Maybe it had something to do with what happened the day before, when he'd supposedly rushed to the wrong conclusion and ran after the wrong suspect. His friend wouldn't have made this mistake normally and he had acted rather oddly after that. While he wasn't exactly a talkative person, he usually was livelier than he was at yesterday's dinner. He had also left early which their friends had thought was because he was tired but Izuku knew better. Something was up.

"Is there something wrong Todoroki?"

Shouto flinched at the question. He turned to him, clearly conflicted at whether he should tell him or not. At last, he took a breath and started to answer him.

"I have… uh… a pen-pal. And I don't really know how to get to know him better. I thought you would know, you're pretty good at that. Being friendly I mean. Talking with people. Whereas I… uh… I don't know what to say to him?"

Well, that explained a lot. Shouto wasn't really the most sociable of their classmates, so this was kind of challenging for him and it could explain his carelessness. Before getting in UA, he didn't have any friends and his friendship with all of them was relatively new for him. He should encourage him; this could be really beneficial for his friend after all.

"Maybe you should speak about things you like or think interesting. You should also ask things about him, about what they like or what they are doing," Izuku advised. "I'm sure the words will come easily after that!"

"I see," Shouto nodded, relieved by the flow of useful information.

He could work with that.

"Thank you Midoriya."

Izuku smiled brightly, happy to have helped his friend. Shouto started to eat while Uraraka, Asui and Iida joined them. He had the feeling today was going to be a good day.

What's your favourite colour Touya?

None.

And stop talking to me.

I'm not your brother.

I only gave you my number to protect our cover.

According to People Magazine, everyone has a favourite colour. So?

Why did you protect me if you're not my brother?

Because despite what you might think I'm not one for killing innocent teenagers.

Kidnap them, why not, but not killing them.

Even if they're annoying.

I have standards.

…

You read that stuff?

One of my classmates recommended them to me.

So?

You're not going to leave me alone until I answer, right?

Yup.

White.

Is it because of mom's hair?

Yes, it's because of their mom's hair of course. Not that he'll admit that. It's just… her hair was the first thing he would see when waking up after some rough training. After she stayed all night, looking after him, she'd fall asleep on the side of his bed. Not only her. Fuyumi and Natsuo as well. They were the source of his (rare) happiness in the middle of all this mess called their family. Dabi looked up from his phone and let his gaze fall upon Hawks, flying happily over his head after being cooped up in the manor for two whole hours. He has already typed his next message and sent it before he realised it.

Or golden.

Why?

They remind me of things I like.

If Hawks and the League ever read that, he'd never hear the end of it. Good thing they'd never find his phone's code.

Now that I answered your question, forget this number.

No.

That's only the first question of the test.

…

What are you talking about?

There is a test in the magazine called "what kind of feline are you?"

I figured it'd help me to know you better.

I thought you'd be a panther, but you didn't choose black. It'll certainly influence the result.

…

This is stupid.

I'm not answering any of it.

Ok.

So, there is a question I wanted to ask you.

How exactly did you get all those scars?

… I'm pretty sure I'd be a lynx.

Good choice.

I'm rather a fan of the Black-footed cat myself.

Small but deadly.

Sounds cool.

Hawks had flown back to his flat late in the evening that day. Too tired to cook, he called one of his favourite take-out places. A chicken burger with fries was what usually comforted him and tonight he needed it. Ten minutes later, his order was arrived and he'd eaten half of it in no time. He barely had time to eat today and had dreamt about that burger all day long. As he was eating, he was sprawled on his couch, set on relaxing himself. The feathers of his wings were detached, floating in the air, so as to not have them in the way.

With him being the number two hero, his undercover job as a spy in the League of Villains (well, more the Paranormal Liberation Front now, but really, it's the same thing) and being the perfect puppet for the Commission, Keigo hasn't had much time left for him these past few months. Things had become… complicated. He was personally (emotionally) involved while it's the last thing to do when you plan to betray the person you've just fallen in love with.

Dabi and him were complicated, but they loved each other. That much he was sure, which was why it'll hurt so much when he will inevitably betray them. Keigo was starting to dread that day. The day he'll look into Dabi's eyes drowned in rage and pain, knowing he's the one that hurt him. If he was honest to himself, he'll admit that he feared the day he'll have to betray the other members of the League as well. Without meaning to, Keigo had gradually become close to all of them. This treason thing was going to be ugly.

Until then, he'll eat chicken food to his heart's content and hopefully die from it. Kidding, the Commission wouldn't probably let him do that anyway. He was too important for them to let him do so. Too much of an investment to end like that. A waste, his handlers would say.

Speaking about them, he had never heard about a villain called the Hand Crusher before. Maybe he needed to tell them? How was it possible that they had never heard about him? It was the same with Dabi and Shigaraki, they didn't have any information on them but somehow, something didn't add up there. Dabi had seemed upset yesterday when talking about him. He hadn't even answered the League's questions about his friend-colleague-guy, so Hawks had chosen to wait before trying himself. Dabi's reaction was unusual. They were all villains, outlaws, so why make all that effort about hiding him? Did that man know something about him that he would rather not have them know? Maybe that Hand Crusher was a key leading to Dabi's past? In any case, Hawks needed to find him.

Dabi wasn't a fool despite what Hawks might think.

He knew from the beginning that he was a spy.

At first it was funny to watch him tiptoe around everybody here. He hadn't meant to get close to him, just to keep Hawks close enough to get valuable information from him, but far enough that he'll never know enough about them. He was taunting him, trying to get a reaction out of him. The winged hero always remained in control of himself. Never reacting too much from his provocations, just what was expected of him. Just enough to not be suspicious. Dabi knew better.

However, he had started to look at him differently after Hawks, exhausted after a tough day of work, came back to their hideout and fell asleep on the couch. He was dead to the world for hours, even though he was surrounded by enemies, somehow trusting them to not hurt him while he was so harmless. He awakened to the League quietly having breakfast in the kitchen so as to not wake him up.

And suddenly things had become less funny.

He had started feeling… things. Like when Hawks had flown him all across the city with the dark sky above them illuminated by millions of stars and the moon. (And no, he had not yelled at the beginning, Keigo lies.) Like when they'd shared dinner on top of a building, chatting easily, comfortable in the company of the other. Like when Dabi's looking at him in awe when he laughed at one of Jin's jokes, his smile brightening the room. Being friendly around each other when gathered with all the members of the League, like when they had teamed up against Shigaraki and Spinner in a battle of Super Smash Bros Brawl. Needless to say, they had lost. The console was almost an extension of Shigaraki and Spinner at that point and he doubted that Hawks had already played at such games. As for him, well… the Todorokis didn't have that sort of game as kids and he certainly didn't have the chance to play with one after his death. It escalated quickly to their first kiss. Too quickly perhaps. The rest had followed naturally. Well, what was considered natural for them.

Not forgetting who his boyfriend was, he always made sure not to give any real sensitive information about the missions and such to Hawks and had told the League to do the same. Even though they were puzzled by his request, they had done as asked. They knew more than everyone else how fast everything could fall apart if the tiniest bit of the wrong information were to fall into the hands of the Hero Public Safety Commission. They weren't about to make that mistake.

For now, the remaining members of the League were in their part of the manor and more precisely, the kitchen. They had decided to make pancakes. Well, more like Toga and Twice had bothered them all day asking for them and they had finally given in. Dabi, the only competent cook of the group, was doing the cooking while Mr. Compress, in the absence of Kurogiri, was keeping a close eye on the others who were hovering over Dabi. Dressed in his "Roasting chicken is my hobby" apron (generous present from Shigaraki who found the look of fear on Keigo's face at the sight of it hilarious), Dabi was moving around the kitchen carefully following the recipe. Then, he was masterfully turning the pancakes over in a swift movement, each successful launch earning an applause from Toga. He tried to hide his proud smile at first, but there was no point around them.

"Spinner, Twice, did you put everything we need on the table?"

"Yaaas, we did chef! WE DIDN'T! DO IT YOURSELF!" Twice yelled.

"Everything's set," Spinner replied, calmly.

"Alright, I'm gonna bring the plate but don't jump on it, you gremlins!"

Dabi was about to bring the plate when a thought stopped him. On a whim, Dabi got his phone out of his pocket, took a photo of the pancakes and sent it to Shouto. Maybe, he'll regret it later, but for now he was in a good enough mood to not care about it. He shrugged and followed the others to the dining room with the plate full of pancakes on his hands. Tonight was going to be a good night if he had any say in it.

They were all together sitting around the table, having a good time and putting all kinds of flavours on their pancakes. Having money like they did since they merged with the Liberation Front felt incredible after months of barely making ends meet. Before joining the League, Dabi had lived on the street for years and had got used to not always being able to eat his fill. But it was harder when a teenager like Toga was in the group. It made him think about his own siblings and how he wouldn't want them in this situation. Speaking of which, he felt his phone buzzing a few minutes after putting it in his pocket. He'll check it later. Now, he had to protect his last pancake from Toga.

"He has one more than us!" Toga shouted, trying to steal it.

"Back off! I cooked them; I deserve it! There's an odd number of pancakes, so of course there's one more, duh."

He barely had the time to swallow it in one go that she tried to stab him. Luckily for him, he had guessed she would try and avoided her easily.

"Pff! This knife isn't even sharp, you could have let me stab you," she pouted.

"Kurogiri said not to stab us when we eat," Shigaraki reminded her. "It's not proper."

"Yeah, well Momgiri isn't here so-"Toga started before realising her mistake.

Silence fell on the group. Kurogiri had been captured about two months and a half ago now. His absence had taken a toll on all of them. Kurogiri and Mr Compress were the rational members of the group, but he was the one reining them all in. Without him, they were a group of impulsive young "adults". Besides, he acted as Tomura's mentor who was clearly missing him. Tomura sat up straight and clenched his fists, shaking.

"We're going to take him back. I swear," Shigaraki declared, his voice unwavering.

"How? He's in Tartarus, it's nearly impossible to escape from there," Spinner stated. "Stain is there as well and he's yet to get away. They must be under the utmost surveillance like All For One."

"I have a plan. Thanks to our new allies, I've been gathering information. We'll start to move soon. I'm just waiting for the right moment," he concluded.

After clearing the table and doing the dishes, they tried to break the tense atmosphere by watching a movie on the TV. Mr Compress chose a movie about four magicians robbing banks and such during their performances and giving the money to their audiences. He was absolutely aghast to find out none of them had seen it and had made it his duty to show it to them.

At the end of the couch, Dabi took his phone and checked his messages. Shouto had answered him with a photo of his own. It looked like a curry, with rice on one side and the pork meat, the vegetables and the sauce on the other side. It really looked delicious. Was Shouto that talented?

Pancakes are good. Did you make them?

We're eating curry tonight.

Yes.

You cooked it? I'm impressed.

No, Bakugou did.

The one time I tried, the kitchen was damaged for a week. So now I'm banned from kitchen duty.

I'd have paid a lot to see that.

Fuyumi usually cooks for us at home. At U.A., it's Bakugou.

When Dabi was still Touya, he was the one helping the most at home. He was the oldest, it was his duty to make sure his siblings didn't lack of anything. He cooked for them as no one else did it, his father being who he was and their mother being sick. People would expect that someone as rich and powerful as Endeavor would have at least a personal cook. That was not the case. How would he have been able to do what he wanted with his children's education if there was someone nearby, watching his every move? So no, they were on their own. Now that he had been gone (dead) for years, Fuyumi seemed to be the one who'd taken over the role. He wasn't surprised, really. She always loved to take care of people.

The explosive kid knows how to cook?

Surprisingly, yes.

You should ask him to teach you.

Your sister or your friend won't always be there to feed you.

You're right.

He said yes.

I think.

There was a lot of cursing involved, but according to Kirishima, it still means yes apparently.

Good.

Dabi stared at his phone, smiling softly. He turned his gaze to his friends, totally captivated by the movie. He changed his position on the couch for a more comfortable one and tried to enjoy the moment.

Maybe it wasn't so bad.