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For Hawks, the dark had never been the best of his available companies. Darkness brought to the surface a certain gloom; obscure thoughts and memories that Hawks would rather keep a distance from. Furthermore, in the absence of light, the bird's keen senses were lost amid uncertainties and unsuccessful communications. His rationality suffered astonishing decreases, followed by the loss of control of his so benevolent and outrageous reddish feathers.
In the dark, Hawks became a mere mortal without his insightful quirks and astute deductions. A miserable human exposed to his rawest and most naked weaknesses.
Since a boy, Hawks gathered an eternal distaste for darkness. It was night when, at the door of an orphanage - where the light was scarce and little could be seen, his parents abandoned him without further saying. The little boy had been left at the mercy of other’s strange hands, lacking the typical affection with which his parents once bathed him. The conditions were not favorable - they never were, however, measures were unfortunately in need to be taken, even if painful for both sides.
The dark, however, did not reign during that cold and malicious night. Wrapped in the arms of a young Hawks was his faithful and most beloved companion, a delicate action figure of none other than Endeavor. He, the Number Two hero, the source of all Hawks' inspiration, radiating light from his figurative and flashy flames, as warm as supposed to be the real ones.
Common taste had never been the first of the bird’s choices. While all the children cheered for the heroic figure of All Might, Hawks' eyes for once were not afraid of following the figure always in the shadow, as he was constantly shining with all of his enormous flames; the renegade Todoroki Enji. The spotlight, always focused solely on All Might and his great deeds and miraculous appearances, forgot on several occasions of the one who struggled to meet his goals and support his place among those classified as the best heroes. Charisma didn’t stand between the list of his competences and most of his interviews were almost never aired, but whenever the imposing figure of Endeavor appeared in the middle of his own fiery flames, Hawks' eyes shone with a completely different type of glow; one of admiration and pride that only a true fan would be able to genuinely express with so little effort.
Incomprehensible to other children, Hawks had been labeled as a being who caused immediate repulse and strangeness, being purposely excluded from recreational activities and lively conversations that commonly took place during periods of restlessness. The fact did not prevent the boy from being the center of attention from time to time, lavishing his extraversion naturally and attracting those most compatible with his ideals. However, at nightfall, Endeavor was the only one to save him from the darkness that lurked through the corners of the small room where Hawks slept with the other children.
“Can't you turn that stupid doll off? I'm trying to sleep,” complained the girl closest to Hawks, trying to extinguish the light by covering herself from head to toe with a thin sheet.
"No way! He's the great Endeavor and his flames will never go out,” replied Hawks, bringing the toy even closer to his chest.
"We just have to throw him in a bucket full of water then!"
A chorus of high-pitched laughter reverberated through the airs and walls of the room and a tumult of comments and insults started to grow in intensity. All of them precisely aimed not only at Hawks, but also at Endeavor.
“He's so weird. Who in his right mind would actually prefer that stone-faced, hate-filled guy over the big All Might?”
“The strength of Endeavor doesn't even compare to the other heroes’, let alone his personality. Did you know that they say he mistreats his own family?”
"That kid is crazy, he'll end up just being another boring hero, just like Endeavor."
Hawks closed his wings upon himself for that night and many others, shielding himself from the acidic words that spattered against his protective reddish shell.
“One day they’ll see you. I know that you’ll shine more than anyone else, Endeavor-san. I trust you."
That fateful afternoon, when Endeavor was officially named the Number One hero, Hawks watched closely all the light from his intense orange flames. Flames that did not refer only to hatred and resentment, but to the hope of being blessed again with a new symbol of peace. Endeavor would never be like All Might, no. He lacked a certain charisma that simply did not match his typically harsh and obsolete figure. However, Endeavor would try, with all its deepest strength, to close the gap that separated him from the retired hero considered by many as one of the strongest of all time. Even if it cost him his appearance or even his own life.
And since then, just like his old toy, the orange of his flames has never been extinguished.
"Endeavor-san, a little light around here would be great, don’t you think?" Hawks pointed out, leaning over one of the leather sofas inside the office of Endeavor’s agency.
“Is your sight getting impaired or something, boy? There is enough light in here,” said Enji without turning his eyes away from his reports for even a second.
"My eyesight is in perfect condition, but thanks for your concern, my dear Enji," Hawks dragged his name across his lips like a hummed tune that kept teasing his mind. "It’s getting dark outside and I noticed that the light is a little dim here."
Endeavor snorted, but slowly Hawks could see the tiniest sparks falling from his mustache and staining the papers with something other than the black ink filling them. "Are you afraid of the dark, boy?"
"This is ridiculous! Of course I'm not afraid of the dark. How childish would a twenty-two-year-old be afraid of the dark,” he babbled more desperately than usual, a fact that did not go unnoticed by Endeavor's ears. "But I certainly wouldn't be against seeing your flames light up, if you know what I mean," he teased, dodging the main subject.
Not planning on extending himself in the face of such an irrelevant discussion, Enji deliberately lit his red hair and the corners of his face with distinct and warm flames.
On the sofa, Hawks sighed and allowed his body to relax against the comfort provided by the sight and burning sensation of the orange background gathering curiously around Endeavor.
"Thank you, Endeavor-san."
The situation repeated itself on several other occasions, many of which they were both put at risk by Hawks' useless requests.
"Endeavor-san, how do you expect me to see them while it’s so terribly dark around here? I can’t even see across the street." Hawks murmured, feeling Enji's warm breath against his cheek as he answered it through his teeth.
"You don't expect me, in the middle of a mission, to bring out a minimum of flame because of your stupid fear and get the attention of those we should be watching, do you?"
Crouching behind a pile of wooden boxes in order to keep themselves hidden, the space was little. Hawks felt Enji's chest raise more quickly and a peculiar heat dissipated through his body in the form of a simple shiver.
“Come on, Enji. Just a small spark! We can pretend we're a pair of drug dealers lighting a joint, how about that?” Hawks laughed, but fell silent when a pair of lips touched his earlobe.
"You are ridiculous," commented Endeavor, but he placed a hand in front of Hawks and there shone a timid blaze from the tip of his index finger. "At least cover the light with your wings, Hawks."
"I owe you one, Endeavor-san."
In fact, the suspects fled the scene and left both Hawks and Endeavor’s hands tied for the rest of the night, assured only by the comfort from the orange fire and its scorching heat.
With his arms crammed with small bags from which a heavenly aroma filled the air, Hawks entered Enji's vast and luxurious residence.
“Endeavor-san? Are you around? Why is it so dark in here? Are you playing hide and seek with the kids?” Hawks got rid of his boots and entered the room cautiously. Despite not having visited his house so many times, he had a fair notion of the room’s layout and furniture disposal, which allowed him to walk with more certainty.
However, the darkness blocked each of his intended actions.
"Enji, I'm not kidding," Hawks fumbled for a switch to bring light to the room without any success. “I can't believe you made me fly here with our dinner and you're not even home. What kind of host are you?” He lost himself in his speech in order not to be succumbed by the insanity that crept through his collapsing mind.
Hawks' breathing, already heavy, and the cold sweat gathered on his hands reminded him of his childhood’s distant memories. More than just remembering, it made him wish for that battered and infantile toy to be in his possession once again to heal him from his deepest fears. A cold breeze blew through the cracks on the window and brought a chill to travel through Hawks' body, which shuddered involuntarily.
“Endeavor, a little light, please. It's all I ask of you.”
At the top of an extensive staircase, Hawks spotted him. The flames seemed to consume Endeavor’s body and soul as a whole, radiating its heat and luminosity through every corner previously taken by darkness and offering them clarity and sharpness with an exorbitant intensity. The scene left Hawks dumbfounded, it was like staring at a watercolor painting, in which the colors themselves had never seemed so alive. Each piece of Endeavor exhibited a different shade of the same single flame, shifting between a bright yellow, orange and a deep red.
"Enji," Hawks mumbled, resting a hand on his chest in an attempt to calm his pounding heart. "I thought you weren't at home."
Enji approached slowly, blinding Hawk’s sight with such bright fire.
Hawks felt the weight of a hand crash against his shoulder in a careful gesture. Suddenly, his body heated up completely. The fire did not burn him, his figure was otherwise framed as if the flames were desperately trying to protect him from evil. A fire that burned passionately without hurting.
“My apologies, Hawks. The lights went out and I was trying to find the power panel,” his turquoise eyes twitched in an unreadable expression. "I didn't realize you were already here,"
The exhale that left Hawks' lungs took the weight of his anxiety with him before it blossomed through every tiny pore of his white skin. His eyes, however, focused only on the beautiful light from the blaze that he would easily burn himself with, out of his own free will.
“You almost got me, Enji! I thought I was going to share your dinner with the ghosts living in your house,” possibly unaware of his actions, Hawks wrapped his arm around Endeavor's muscles and spread his hand on his enticing bicep. “Come on, guide me to the kitchen and let's eat. I brought your favorite!”
Enji stared at the red-winged figure beside him for brief seconds more before dragging him into the right direction. "Do you think you can handle a candlelight dinner?"
Again, Hawks let himself laugh, but in mild nervousness this time. "We don't really need candles when you're here, do we?"
Those kinds of events became part of the so established routine shared by both heroes who now, thanks to a prophetic destiny, decided to work together. Whenever the sun hid in the west, either between clouds or mountains, and the sky was painted with the most opaque dark blue tones, Enji appeared as his personal source of light to illuminate his paths and clarify his decisions. That same warm light faced Hawks' most intimate fears and forced them to leave in the blink of an eye.
For him, being with Enji was always like that. It meant feeling overwhelmed by an inexplicable affection and security, which could only be provided by Endeavor and no one else.
A light that was different from all others and that only he was humanly capable of emitting.