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“Well, well, well! If it isn’t Fat Gum, Suneater and Red Riot! Fancy seein’ you ‘round here.” There’s a cheerful chirp from above. Tamaki glances up and spies the winged hero, Hawks gliding down with Tokoyami in his arms. Tamaki looks back down to his feet as he nervously wrings his hands together.
There’s a soft breeze that ruffles his hair as Hawks lands in front of them. Next to him, he hears Kirishima happily greet Tokoyami and starts to chat to the ever brooding teenager. He accidentally makes eye contact with Tokoyami and the boy nods his head in a greeting.
“Hello, Suneater.” Tamaki immediately looks back down, unable to stand being at the center of attention of even one person.
“Hi Tsukuyomi.” Tamaki manages to mumble, still refusing to make eye contact with the group of people that he suddenly finds too overwhelming. Even doing the patrols with Fat Gum and Kirishima at times can be too daunting for Tamaki and the two newcomers is making him too nervous.
“So what brings you three over here?” Hawks questions, one hand waving lazily around as the other is tucked casually in his jacket pocket. Tamaki studies the winged hero through his bangs, he’s really only seen the hero a handful of times and that was only in passing. Even now, with all of them chatting amongst themselves, Tamaki doesn’t miss how Hawks never seems to be able to stand still. Whether it’s the fluttering of his magnificent wings or the tapping of a foot or even how he’s always drumming his fingers. Just watching Hawks fidget is making Tamaki anxious.
“We got sidetracked with an arrest and then decided that it was time for some lunch. Gotta keep the youngsters well fed, they’re still growing. Isn’t that right, Suneater?” Fat Gum asks, patting a large hand against his back. Tamaki immediately tenses and wishes that he had Mirio’s quirk so he could disappear into the ground and run away. To suddenly have both Fat Gum’s and Hawks’ eyes on him makes his hands tremble.
“Uh… I, um.. Yeah.” He manages to splutter out, feeling his face explode into a burning hot blush as he shrinks under the unblinking gaze of Hawks. There’s only a second of silence but to Tamaki, that single second lasts far too long. He feels as if eons have passed and time had slowed to a frustrating crawl.
“Oh!” Hawks warbles as he tucks his wings against his back and smiles at them. “What a coincidence! We were about to head off to lunch too. Hey, if you don’t have a place in mind- I got the perfect place to recommend. Nabu! They have the best yakitori!” He exclaims with a large smile that hardly comforts Tamaki’s internal panic. He feels the familiar tendrils of numbness spread across his body, already dreading the thought of having to eat with even more people; Tamaki silently prays that Fat Gum will decline the offer.
“That sounds like a great idea!” Tamaki just about deflates into himself and accepts his fate.
-
“Hey, Amajiki… is it okay if I call you Amajiki since we’re not technically on the clock?” Hawks suddenly speaks up and Tamaki thickly swallows before looking up to the pro hero. He wonders why he’s being addressed so directly by the number two hero of all people. Tamaki manages a small nod which Hawks mirrors with his own vigorous nodding. His hands drop from the plate and he idly picks at the seam of his uniform.
“Cool, so I was wondering.” He leans forward with curiosity burning in his eyes and Tamaki automatically leans away, his back hitting the back of the seat. “Can you fly?”
“Pardon?”
“Fly. Y’know, what I do.”
“I.. uh. I don’t have wings.” Tamaki states the obvious with a completely serious face. He has a feeling where this is going and he doesn’t like it one bit. Hawks chuckles and rolls his eyes, leaning back into his own seat and takes a bite out of his lunch.
“I know that, but your quirk lets you grow ‘em. Right?” Tamaki slowly nods, really not liking the idea that seems to be hatching within Hawks’ brain. “That’s what I thought. So, back to my original question, can you fly?” Tamaki looks over to Fat Gum in blind hope of being saved from what feels like an interrogation but to his lament, Fat Gum only smiles down at him. Of course, Fat Gum would be in on this. It’s probably a ply to humiliate him in not only the front of Hawks but also to the eyes of the public- Tamaki thinks to himself.
“... No.” He finally answers, unable to look at Hawks anymore and keeps his eyes downcast. Suddenly, the realization why Hawks had recommended the yakitori dawns on him.
"Then I suppose my next question is… would you like to learn how to fly?" Hawks asks, his question is dripping with the sly knowledge of that Fat Gum will never let Tamaki decline this once in a lifetime offer.
"I-I wouldn't want to be any trouble." Tamaki weakly protests, glancing back up at the number two hero through his dark bangs. Nearly instantly, he knows that what he had said was the wrong answer if Hawks’ grin is anything to go by.
“Really, Amajiki, it wouldn’t be any trouble at all. Tokoyami was just going to go over some flying exercises today so actually… today would be a perfect time for you to join us. So, what do you say?” Tamaki glances back to Fat Gum in a desperate hope that he will say no.
“Uh, I’m sorry but… I think we might be bu-”
“That is a wonderful idea!” Fat Gum exclaims, clapping Tamaki on the back and beams down at him. Tamaki inwardly curses and not for the first time that day- accepts his fate.
-
“So, I’ve seen you on the news and I know that you’ve got good control over your quirk.” Hawks nods his head, rubbing his chin as he stares at Tamaki. There’s a pause and the number two hero clicks his tongue and shakes his head. “Though I have to admit, kid, you’re really selling yourself short by remaining landbound. D’you got a fear of heights or somethin’?” Tamaki weakly shakes his head and Hawks huffs, looking up to the grey sky.
“Right. Well, if you’re not scared of heights, why haven’t you used your quirk to fly around? It’s great for mobility and gives you a better tactical advantage. ‘Sides, flying is the best way of transportation!” Hawks puffs his chest out in pride. Next to him, Tokoyami shifts between feet and shakes his head.
“I believe you’re just being biased.” Hawks glances back to his intern with a knowing smile.
“And? Tell me, do you not like the feeling of freedom when you fly- Tsukuyomi?” Tokoyami pauses and looks down. From under the darkness of his cloak, Tamaki spies the glow of yellow from dark shadow. He can hear its low voice grumble something. Tokoyami sighs, the teen seems to have lost the will to debate further more with Hawks.
Hawks saunters in front of both Tamaki and Tokoyami with his ever permanent grin. Tamaki nervously eyes the man before he looks back down to his feet. At his side, his hands curl lightly into fists and he tells himself to calm down. Taking in several deep breaths, Tamaki begins to feel better.
“Tsukuyomi!” Hawks suddenly barks and all the courage that Tamaki might’ve worked up instantly flies out the window. At his left, Tokoyami straightens with all of the seriousness in the world in his eyes.
“Get up there and start your warm ups, I’m going to walk Suneater through the steps.” Tamaki watches as Tokoyami takes off his cloak and dark shadow emerges. Tamaki blinks once at the shadow before glancing away. In the corner of his peripheral, Tokoyami places the cloak over dark shadow. There’s a beat of silence before the teen launches up into the sky.
“He’s a fast learner, makes me wonder how fast you’ll be able to keep up.” Hawks states, looking at Tamaki. He clears his throat and rubs the back of his neck in discomfort.
“He’ll do better than me.” Tamaki trails off. There’s a flash of beige and carmine with Hawks suddenly standing in front of him with a stern expression. Being the sole focus of the golden gaze, Tamaki has to look away again.
“Listen to me, Suneater. There’s no reason for you to continue to sell yourself short like this. If you can keep a secret, I’ll tell you one.” Hawks doesn’t allow Tamaki any sort of time to answer and he’s already going on. “You’re the top three in Yuuei for a reason. You, Suneater, are incredibly strong and I believe that you can accomplish anything that you put your mind to. Fat Gum thought the same thing and that’s the exact reason why he took you on as his intern to begin with. All of us can see all of the potential that you have, all you have to do is break free of the thoughts that anchor you and allow yourself to fly.” Tamaki can only nod.
“So! Let me see those wings!” Tamaki glances back at Hawks before to the ground. It only takes a second for Tamaki to call forth his wings. Having done it multiple times when needing something else from a bird’s characteristics. While he has seafood down, separating other food characteristics are slightly more tricky for Tamaki and this time isn’t any different. Glancing down, he swallows at the chicken feet.
“Oh.” Tamaki mumbles, the talons of his toes sinking slightly into the soil. There’s a hearty laugh from Hawks in front of him and Tamaki wants to disappear again from sheer embarrassment.
“Look at that! Now we really can be matching!” Hawks crows out. “Now, those wings of yours ain’t that bad.” Tamaki looks behind him and studies the mousy brown wings that are tucked tightly against his back. Already, he can tell that they’re nowhere as massive as Hawks’ but enough to get him from point A to point B.
Hawks walks him through the motion of taking off and Tamaki follows, albeit hesitantly. There’s a brief moment where he’s left hanging in the air before he pushes down on his new wings and shoots up into the sky. Letting out a small noise, he dares to look down to the ground that’s growing smaller and smaller from underneath his taloned feet.
“Thought you weren’t afraid of heights?” Hawks questions, floating around easily in the sky. Tamaki is in awe to see how easily the hero can move gracefully around as if the entire sky is nothing more than a stage for Hawks as he continues to dance around with all of the liquid ease of a ballerina.
“I-I’m not!” Tamaki looks at Hawks with wide eyes. “I… I just never thought…”
“Never thought how freeing it feels?” Tamaki nods. He feels the cool wind that whips through his hair and between his feathers. Far above, Tokoyami is soaring with all of the awkwardness of a teenager. Below him, he can see the swaying of emerald green leaves on branches and even further below are the dots of people moving about. In the space around him, Tamaki feels as if time has stilled. There’s no rushing thoughts for him to worry about. Wobbly flying up to catch up with Tokoyami- all Tamaki can feel is free.
“See? Flying ain’t that bad, got nothin’ to be afraid of.” Hawks cheers on, flying in loose circles around Tamaki with an easy grin. “You got this. You’re doing a helluva lot better than I did when I tried to leave the nest for the first time.” If Tamaki wasn’t so focused on the task of flying, he might’ve even worked up the courage to ask Hawks for the backstory.
Tamaki decides to label it as a miracle when he does manage to catch up to Tokoyami. Hawks, of course, had stayed next to Tamaki the whole flight up and cheering him on- much to his embarrassment. Tamaki chooses to ignore Hawks’ cooing about how fast Tokoyami and Takami have grown. He looks away from the hero that’s now pretending to cry.
“He’s a weird guy.” Tokoyami speaks up. From around him, his cloak billows out in the wind which allows Tamaki to get an occasional peek of dark shadow hiding within the darkness. “But he means well.” Tamaki nods, feeling the small hint of a smile creeping up at the corners of his lips.
Together, they arrange into a small arrow formation and fly across the sky with the setting sun to their backs. Halfway through, Tamaki’s small smile breaks out into a full on grin.
-
“Amajiki.” Tamaki stops and turns to see Hawks smiling up at him. He doesn’t say anything, waiting for what Hawks might have to say. After their practice flight, Tamaki feels as if Hawks could really say anything. He tenses slightly when the number two hero puts a hand out for a high five that he returns out of obligation.
“You really did great out there, Amajiki.” Hawks tilts his head, his grin turning into something more wistful. “Y’know, you really remind me of someone I know. You get stuck in your head a lot and can’t allow yourself to focus on the good things in life. If there’s any sort of advice that I want to give to you is that the sky is literally the limit.” Tamaki’s mouth falls open slightly but Hawks continues.
“Nah, that ain’t right. Amajiki, even the sky can’t be your limit. You’re the sun eater, remember that. Nothing can stand in your way, not even the sun. Go out there, be your best self. Live your best life and show all of ‘em how great you are.” Tamaki nods and watches Hawks yell out to Tokoyami to wait up.
Turning around, he looks up to the setting sun and reflects about what Hawks had just told him with a small smile.