It was not uncommon for pro-heroes to team up with each other in more difficult cases. It made perfect sense for the number one hero, Endeavor, and the number two hero Hawks to be working side by side. In fact, Hawks made every effort to try to team up with Endeavor as much as he possibly could. Hawks adjusted his yellow glasses as he looked down at his phone, where Endeavor had finally replied to his team-up request with a gruff, okay text. He smiled down at the text; Endeavor would be coming to Kyushu to assist him in thwarting a drug trafficking ring.
It was honestly something that was well within the number two hero's scope, but he had asked Endeavor to join him for several reasons. The drug trafficking ring was primarily supplying the community Endeavor was based. So, if they were able to tackle the source, it would also assist Endeavor directly by reducing the villains on his patrol. It was a killing two-birds with one-stone situation. Secondly, Hawks just really wanted an excuse to see the fiery redhead again.
Endeavor had been the hero that Hawks had idolized for many years since childhood. After getting to be able to work with his favorite hero on several occasions, his affection for the hero only deepened into something that he could never voice out loud. Hawks peered out over the city from the roof of the building he was on. He knew it was an impossibility for him and the hero to be together. Endeavor was a straight male beta who was recently divorced after the Dabi publicization of the Todoroki household's familial problems.
Hawks was simply an open-minded alpha who couldn't help but fantasize about the thought that maybe Endeavor would notice him one day. Part of him wanted to impress the other hero during the joint adventure of taking down the drug ring. Endeavor was gruff, but he had always seemingly appreciated Hawks' support during their team-ups. Plus, selfishly, Hawks would cling to the beta and rub off his scent on the other without him noticing. It was a temporary measure; he needed to be first in line for the Endeavor train as much as he seemingly could be.
Besides, they didn't see each other often enough for it to truly dampen Endeavor's possibilities of finding a potential partner. The scent marking only sent a message to others in the area that Endeavor was under his protection, even if he didn't necessarily need it. It was his dirty little secret and his way of pining for the older beta. Hawks' wings spread and trembled at the thought of marking the beta again, and he allowed himself to jump off the building, clutching his phone to his chest in happiness. Hawks allowed himself to be in a freefall and feel the wind for a few brief seconds before his wings spread and propelled him forward.
His shift was over, and he was ready to go home for the day. Hawks floated over the city as he made his way to his sky-rise apartment on the top floor. The Hero Public Safety Commission (HPSC) had forced him to seek an appropriate accommodation for a number two hero, and they were paying for it, so how could he refuse? Hawks was not about to spend all his hero earnings on a fancy skyrise apartment. He could live in a shack and save more money for his retirement, for all he cared. The HPSC cared for appearances, unlike him, and had made sure that their number one agent had been well provided for.
Endeavor had given Hawks the motivation to become a hero, and the HPSC had crafted him into what he was currently, a young alpha agent who had become a top-ten hero by the time he was eighteen. Hawks landed quietly on his outdoor patio and opened the sliding glass door. He hardly ever came in through the front door like the average apartment dweller, there was no point in using an elevator when he had patio access in the first place. Hawks walked into his room from the patio and allowed himself to plop on his bed face first as he stretched his wings. If he showered, he would have to preen his wings, which would take a while.
Hawks wanted to be in tip-top shape when he met Endeavor, and his wings were his pride and joy. He had previously noticed the fiery redhead glancing at his wings and couldn't help wanting to ensnare the beta with his wings to pull him closer. Hawks grinned at the thought of pulling Endeavor closer to him and quite literally sweeping him off his feet. He was about a foot shorter than the beta, but it worked in his favor as it allowed him to be even faster with his wings. Plus, he was recently nominated as the top eligible alpha bachelor in the Fukuoka Hero magazine.
Hawks flung himself off the bed and wandered into his bathroom, which had been specially adapted for his wing quirk. He switched the shower setting to a warm steam setting for his wings and pondered whether Endeavor had seen the latest addition to the magazine he had modeled for. Hawks quickly washed his hair using the regular shower setting before switching back to the steam setting and letting his wings flicker in the air. He turned the shower off and wrapped a towel around his waist as he exited the warm room. Hawks returned to his bedroom, sat in front of the floor-length mirror, and spread his wings.
He carefully fixed his feathers to sit properly in their aligned rows, being meticulous so that they looked proud and majestic. Hawks looked back at his phone when he was done fixing his feathers and sighed. It was already past midnight, and he was supposed to meet Endeavor quite early. Well, he didn't necessarily have to meet Endeavor at the station, but it helped to debrief each other on the situation before crunch time. Plus, he purely wanted to spend as much time as possible with the beta before he returned to his agency.
Hawks set multiple alarms on his phone for six and plugged in the charger so he would start the day at a hundred percent. That always seemed to help make his day go by better, it was the little things that he tried to find solace in. He stretched out lazily, starfishing across his king-sized bed, and could barely contain his excitement for meeting the beta. Luckily, his exhaustion kicked in, which allowed him to finally close his heavy-lidded eyes and get some well-needed rest. Hawks fell asleep thinking about fighting side by side with the beta and getting praised by the older hero.
Hawks groaned as his alarm went off and blearily grabbed his phone before he jumped up and glanced at his phone. It was already fifteen minutes past seven, and the other hero would be arriving off his train any minute. Hawks ran his hand through his hair in irritation. How had he managed to sleep past multiple alarms? His phone wasn't even fully charged either, as it was only at twenty percent, which was around what it had been the previous night. It felt like an ominous premonition, but he just grabbed the charger to take with him.
Hawks had been trained to be ready in minutes as part of his agent training and quickly got into his hero gear. He ran towards his patio and jumped off as fast as he could, looking down at his phone. Endeavor had texted him, 'Be there in thirty.' It was short and simple, and if Hawks pushed himself, he could make it to the station in twenty minutes. So that was exactly what he did; he did not want Endeavor to know him as a tardy hero to a debriefing.
Hawks leaned down on his knees as he caught his breath, flying so fast for a long distance was like running for him. He had managed to make it in time with five minutes to spare and mentally made a note to work at his flight speed. Hawks had been working on his physical fitness but had been primarily focused on weightlifting. He perked up instantly at the sight of the redheaded hero, who happened to be in civilian clothes as he stepped out of the station with his luggage that contained his hero suit. Hawks smirked, liking what he saw.
It was always a pleasure seeing the fiery hero mellowed out and wearing civilian clothes. He also enjoyed being able to see Endeavor's full face without all the flames from time to time. Hawks waved at the flame hero, beckoning him, "Endeavor-san, over here!" Endeavor frowned as he heard himself being called by the younger hero but made his way over to him. Hawks continued to smile brightly up at him, "How was your trip? Are you hungry? Do you want to debrief over lunch? I know a good place close by. What kind of food do you like?"
Endeavor sighed, the number two hero was as talkative as usual, "One question at a time, Hawks." The redhead looked around, unfamiliar with his surroundings, "Let us get lunch, wherever you recommend." Hawks launched himself up with his wings to be more evenly matched with Endeavor's height and wrapped an arm around his large shoulder, "I know just the place!" Endeavor just followed the winged hero's guidance as he listened to him continue to babble. He was slowly getting used to the younger alpha's liveliness and clinginess after their more recent team-ups.
Endeavor was not the most affectionate person, but Hawks was, as he was always hugging and grabbing the Flame Hero during each team-up. Hawks was flying effortlessly, babbling about something random as he guided the flame hero to a restaurant nearby. Endeavor just grunted in response to the youthful hero, and Hawks just smiled. Hawks always smiled at him, even if most pro-heroes considered him difficult to work with. Endeavor had not brushed Hawks' arm off his shoulder, so Hawks considered that a win, even if Endeavor hadn't listened to a word he had been saying.
Hawks got behind Endeavor and put both hands on his shoulders as he guided the taller beta into a famous restaurant known to sell kuzumochi for dessert. He finally closed his wings, walked into the restaurant nonchalantly, and waved at the hostess, "Hello~ can we get a private room for two?" It would typically be a ridiculous request on such short notice for such a high-end restaurant, but Hawks knew he sealed the deal as he saw the hostess blush and look for any availability. The hostess led them to a private room and waited briefly in the doorway, ogling the alpha before she quickly closed the door. Endeavor huffed, "Does being an alpha always make you popular with the ladies?"
Hawks slyly grinned at him, he was glad he had brought Endeavor to the restaurant, "Well, being a pro-hero does have its perks~" Endeavor looked at him in disbelief as he shook his head, "I do not quite have the same experience. I tend to scare away the ladies." Hawks' smile fell briefly for only a second, only because he had to contain himself. Endeavor was pouting, and it made all sorts of wrong thoughts race through his head.
He wanted to make Endeavor pout more, but the waitress brought in green tea to serve them. Hawks smiled brightly at her, "Thank you~," and the waitress quickly retreated from the room with a pale blush also across his face. Endeavor sipped his tea, "Is this treatment because of the magazine you mentioned?" Hawks blushed as a wide smile spread across his face, so Endeavor had been listening to him after all! He put his head on his hand as he leaned forward to be closer to the redhead, "Maybe, I'm not sure, it's always been like this."
Endeavor rolled his eyes at the little braggart, the other was a young alpha in his prime. Alphas weren't exactly uncommon in the hero field, but they generally were still rare individuals, just like omegas. Alphas tended to excel in hero work due to their heightened senses and superior strength. It generally took betas a lot longer to achieve higher ranks in the hero field than alphas. Endeavor himself was one of the few high-ranked beta heroes, and there was only a handful of betas in the top one hundred.
Endeavor had sculpted himself an alpha physique after years of training and had inherited the number one hero position after All Might retired. Still, he never managed to make the people around him gravitate towards him, and even more so after his familial turmoil had been exposed publicly. Hawks was one of the few heroes, besides his sidekicks, who still wanted to team up with him. Endeavor respected that about the young alpha. Hawks could damage his reputation by teaming up with him, but he did it regardless.
Hawks cracked his knuckles and took his first sip of tea, "So, shall we talk business?" Endeavor nodded, impressed by the young alpha's sudden seriousness. Endeavor knew that Hawks was an incredibly reliable hero when needed. Hawks browsed his phone for a photo, "Our intel tells us that there is a lab off the port where they are creating black-market drugs. We believe them to be similar to quirk boosters, but we don't know for sure."
The blond turned his phone towards Endeavor, the photo of the injection gun they had acquired certainly looked familiar to a typical quirk booster device. Endeavor nodded, he had witnessed a villain use a very similar device to enhance their quirk last minute in a fight against him. Hawks pursed his lips, "We have not been able to successfully acquire any of the actual drugs at hand. It's important to proceed with the utmost caution, we're not sure what drug this is, other than that it's being sold illegally off our ports and beginning to be distributed to Tokyo." The blond did not like going into a mission blind, but the similarities to quirk boosters led the HPSC to believe that it was most likely what the drug was.
Hawks couldn't help but feel like something deeper was happening though; there was a reason why they had not been able to secure the drug themselves. He stretched his wings out in thought, "We must assume that there is a possibility that it's similar to the quirk deletion drug the Hassaikai created. There's a reason our intel has not been able to source this drug themselves." Endeavor drank his tea, not particularly affected by the debriefing, every mission came with a risk. The waitress opened the door and brought an appetizer to their table, "This is on the house, Hawks-sama."
She slid the chicken skewers into the middle and smiled coyly, and Hawks sent her another wide smile, "Thank you~." He grinned down at the chicken skewer appetizer. Someone had done their research, chicken skewers were his favorite. Endeavor scoffed, "Did you bring me here to watch you flirt with others?" Hawks took a bite of a chicken skewer, "Aw~ are you jealous, Endeavor-san?"
Endeavor's eyes narrowed, but he remained quiet as he internally examined his feelings. Was he jealous of the younger hero's popularity? No, he had never been a popular hero; he had always just been undeniably strong. Hawks glanced up at the older beta, who had not answered. Was Endeavor jealous of the ladies flirting with him? He smiled at the thought, Hawks did not need an answer; he was satisfied if Endeavor was noticing him.
The two continued their debriefing and determined a meetup location for later. The drop-off would occur around eight o'clock per their intel, so they decided to meet at six so they could make their way to the location and stake out. The waitress brought their lunch of several sushi rolls even though Hawks had practically gorged himself on the skewers. He watched Endeavor eat, who was surprisingly elegant in his table manners. Hawks ordered the kuzumochi for the dessert and grinned as he saw a small, contented smile on Endeavor's face.
Hawks was usually frugal by nature due to his upbringing, but he had no problem sparing any expense on Endeavor. It had been extremely difficult to create a more adult relationship with the older beta. Hawks did not want to be seen as just another kid to the seasoned hero. He quietly slipped out of the room using the excuse of going to the restroom. If he didn't take the chance to pay early, he knew Endeavor would just cover it with that black card of his.
Hawks did not want Endeavor to worry about such a thing when he had practically forced a lunch date on the older male in the first place. He was always used to people flocking to him, but the older beta just had such a presence that he was attracted to. Hawks did not care if the other ignored him; he was using his precious time to be with him in the first place. The older beta did not have to assist him on this joint adventure or humor him for lunch. Hawks smiled as he handed his card back, returning to the room to finish dessert before they parted ways.
The blond offered to walk Endeavor to his hotel, and the redhead simply nodded. Hawks flew to keep up with the long-legged redhead, babbling about each familiar place they passed. Endeavor simply listened as the blond talked about his favorite spots, occasionally glancing at the places Hawks pointed at. Lunch had gone well, and he wanted to walk some of the bloat from eating his fill off. Endeavor was mostly silent as the winged hero accompanied him to the hotel, the blond was guiding him again with his arm around his back, so he glanced at his clock on his phone.
They had killed some time before the mission, and he was ready for an afternoon nap. He was also ready to make some calls home to let his daughter know he had arrived safely. Endeavor came to a halt as he examined the hotel they were in front of and looked at the winged hero, who had a sullen look on his face. Endeavor put his phone back into his pocket and turned to Hawks with a soft smile, "Thanks for lunch, I will see you at the meetup spot later." Hawks blushed softly and internally cheered that lunch had been successful after all.