"She doesn't know much that'll be useful."
The President scoffed at Keigo. "She doesn't need to; she herself is useful."
"What do you mean?" He didn't like the direction this conversation was taking, talking about keeping Ayumu on a short leash for the commission. She wasn't a dog, after all.
"The children, Keigo," the woman intoned. "The twins she's carrying. If they indeed belong— even in part— to Shigaraki and Todoroki, then they are valuable in dealing with the Paranormal Liberation Front. Even were she not carrying them, it seems Touya Todoroki has an attachment to her."
Hawks snorted. "That's putting it lightly."
"So you see why it would be prudent to keep her in hand."
He ran a hand through his feathery locks. "How do you propose we do that?"
"It's simple; you keep her with you," was the reply.
"And if she decides to leave?" he countered.
The woman narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't let her. She's carrying your child, too. Or did you forget that? That those children have a tie to you?"
"I can't just lock her up!" Hawks' wings twitched in agitation. "That's exactly the situation I just rescued her from."
"Romance her, then."
She made it sound so easy.
"In case you're forgetting, I raped her," he growled. "And I was complicit in her imprisonment."
"You did not rape her, Keigo. You were doing your job as a spy. Not to mention that you're the one who rescued her."
His face fell into his palms, and he rubbed wearily at his eyes. "I'm not going to force myself on her. She deserves better than that."
"That is not what I suggested." The woman walked around the desk to lay a hand on his shoulder; gods, how he hated her. She pretended as though they had this bond, as though Keigo should trust her. " Romance her," she repeated. She's alone, pregnant, vulnerable. I know you like her, Keigo. Don't you want to be with her?"
"She doesn't want to be with me." Was that him? He sounded young, despondent.
"You can do this, Keigo." She spoke his name again, that name he so rarely heard despite owning it. "You're a young, handsome, pro-hero, the second in the rankings. Any woman would be happy to have your attention." She squeezed gently. "Do something for yourself for once."
Do something for himself? Is that what it was?
He pondered those words as he took the elevator back up toward the apartment he now shared. It was a beautiful space, and he'd been ecstatic when he'd first received it, but it was not really his. Like much in his life, it belonged to the commission.
Stepping through the door, he donned again the lighter persona of Hawks the Hero. "Hey, dove." He smiled at the pregnant woman curled up on his couch. She was looking healthier than when he'd taken her from Dabi's clutches, but she was still tired. And it seemed every day her body was changing more.
To him, she was beautiful, more beautiful than when he'd met her in the bar on a trip to meet his LOV contact. Her body was more plush, her stomach rounding with the children inside, and she was more relaxed.
She was wearing a tank top and a pair of his sweats, and she looked so cute that he wanted to drop to his knees and kiss her belly, cooing all the while. He wanted to go out and find her pretty things to swathe herself in, to feed her from his own hands, to—
What the fuck was wrong with him?
"Is everything okay?"
He'd been staring at her and snapped himself out of it with a shake. "Yeah, sorry there, dove," Hawks told her with an abashed grin. "Just had a busy day."
Ayumu nodded absently as he sat beside her, taking great care to leave space between them. "So, Eraserhead and Present Mic?"
Oh, the heroes must have dropped by today after all. "I figured they were a better choice than most. Did it— did it go okay?"
"They were a good pick. And yeah. Eraserhead offered to get me a place at UA if I wanted it."
He froze for a beat. "Yeah? That's nice of him." He didn't like that idea.
Eraserhead was close to her in age, if he remembered correctly. The older hero was mature, cool, and ruggedly good looking. And Ayumu was, well, herself. He could imagine the underground hero was more to her taste than a young showoff like himself.
Hawks eyed her closely before noting something he'd never seen before, or at least enough to clearly recognize it for what it was. He reached out before he could help himself, twirling a strand of her hair around one finger. "What's this? Is— is this your natural hair color?"
Ayumu blushed and pulled back, the silk of her hair unraveling from his grip. "Uhm, yeah. I guess my dye is getting washed out, huh? And my roots have grown out.
It was grey— not the grey of getting older, but a pure, silvery slate. "It's pretty."
"Thanks." She frowned at him. "Are you okay, Keigo?"
"Yeah, pretty girl. Why wouldn't I be okay?" He stretched his arm across the back of his couch, wings folding for comfort.
"You just—" she shrugged. "You seem less yourself right now."
He froze; she'd seen him drop the hero persona before but had never called him on it when he had it up. Hawks chuckled and shrugged. "Just one of those days, yeah?"
"You don't need to do that."
"Do what?"
"Pretend." When he didn't react, she slowly, carefully laid a hand on his still jacketed arm. "This is your home, Keigo. You shouldn't have to put up a front here. And I'm pretty sure you can trust me enough to keep your private life quiet at this point."
He laughed awkwardly, smile draining from his eyes. "Yeah, that's true." He pulled his arm back and she let him. "I don't want to pretend with you," he admitted after a brief silence. "You know things about me no one else has ever known. It's kinda scary, actually." Golden eyes flicked to hers, watching her expression carefully. "But I like it."
Ayumu chuckled bitterly. "That's a first."
"Really?" He laid a hand on her cloth covered thigh. "It's nice, someone knowing me rather than the persona for once. I can't hide from you, not completely."
The way she chewed her lip was distracting. Did she feel it, too, or was he just making her uncomfortable. He wanted to lean in and taste her mouth, to run his hands over the new curves of her body.
"I'm tired. I don't think I've been sleeping well," she admitted, leaning back against the cushion.
"Bad dreams?"
Ayumu shook her head. "Not particularly. I'm just not used to sleeping alone anymore. I forgot how long it takes to warm up under the covers by myself. Dabi might be a bastard, but he's also a living furnace."
"You could sleep with me." His cheeks flared with heat, insecurity making his voice soft.
"Oh, I don't—"
"Actually sleep. I didn't mean to— I mean, I wouldn't say no, but—" Keigo groaned and hid his face in his palms. "Ah, fuck." He scrubbed his eyes and sat up, glancing over at her to find her watching him curiously. "I'm sorry. I'm not good at this kind of thing. I really was just trying to offer sleep."
He expected her to huff in annoyance and stalk away, to sneer, to laugh. What he didn't expect was a slow nod. "Okay."
"Really?" Don't get excited, idiot. It's sleep and she's been struggling, that's it. Only his extensive spy training made it easy to keep the stupid grin off his face. He was pathetic. "Um, are you hungry? I know a great fried chicken place that will deliver to the front desk."
"Isn't that like cannibalism or something?"
Just like that the tension diffused. He grinned. "Hey, now. Hawks are predators. They eat all kinds of things."
"I'm sure there's innuendo in there somewhere," she countered.
"As you know, I'm always up for a good meal." He added a wink for good measure, then went to the kitchen for the takeout menu. "Seriously, though. This place is amazing. I like getting some American style buffalo sauce with it, but I'm not sure how you're handling spicy food right now. It's supposed to be bad for late pregnancy, but— What? Why are you staring?"
He'd stopped short of the couch at the way she was watching him, brows raised and lips parted. "Did you research pregnancy?"
"Uh, yeah." Keigo scrubbed at the back of his neck. "I'm living with a pregnant woman, so I thought that might be a good idea."
"That's very sweet, Keigo."
He blushed and proffered the menu. "Take a look and lemme know what you want."
Ayumu looked through, humming as her finger skimmed the items. "I'll trust you on the chicken. What about the mixed salad thing? That sounds good."
"It is. The okra, too, We'll get both. Does anything else look good?" She shook her head, handing the menu back.
Keigo took it back to the kitchen while ordering on his phone. On a whim, he laid across the open portion of the couch with his head spilling into her lap.
"How can you not feel smothered against my stomach?" she asked, finger combing his soft blond hair. He shivered at the gentle touch, wings folded into his back twitching slightly uncomfortably, but not enough to make him move.
He nuzzled against her belly, lips slightly curves and avian eyes heavily lidded. "I like the stomach. It's cute."
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure my huge ass is also just sooo attractive."
"It is, actually. And these soft thighs." He squeezed one where he could reach beside his head for emphasis. "I think you're beautiful."
"Yeah, right."
"I'm serious," Keigo insisted. "I didn't realize I'd find a pregnant woman so appealing until—" He cut himself off as his cheeks flared red. "It's pretty common, so don't look at me like that."
"So pro hero Hawks has a pregnancy fetish, huh?" she teased.
"I don't know. At least a pregnant you fetish."
Ayumu threw her head back and laughed at that. "Aren't I special."
They continued exchanging flirtatious repartee until the food arrived, lapsing contently into silence.
Keigo allowed her time to get ready for bed while he claimed to have a few things to take care of. Really, he was trying to keep himself from seeming overly eager to join her and wind up scaring her away instead. When he finally came in to see her curled up half-asleep, buried in his covers, he nearly melted.
"C'mere, dove." He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her to his side, brushing lips against her forehead; she cuddled against him, nuzzling into his shoulder. She was asleep in minutes, though Keigo stayed up for what felt like ages, listening to the easy cadence of her breath, luxuriating in the warm silk of her skin.
He didn't want the night to end.