Archive of Our Own ^beta

Endeavor would probably kill him for just dropping by but the guy wasn’t answering any of his messages and it was, quite frankly, annoying the shit out of Hawks at this very moment.

How hard was it to just send him a text that said ‘Oh you know what? I’m just super busy right now. Can’t sign your paperwork.’? That would take Hawks all of … Maybe two seconds, so he’d give Endeavor a whole one minute to type that out. Instead, he was being progressively more and more ignored. His messages stopped being ‘Read’ hours ago and had just become ‘Delivered’. 

If that was the game that Endeavor wanted to play, then Hawks would play it.

Landing just outside of the gates to the Todoroki estate, he let out a low whistle. He knew the place was nice but seeing it up close was a whole different ballpark. Seriously, how loaded was this guy? Did he need a sugar baby? Hawks absolutely would volunteer. Maybe he should make the suggestion? Would that be too forward? Did sugar babies go out and find their sugar daddies or was it the other way around?

He’d scour the internet for an answer later.

Walking up to the front door, he knocked and waited patiently. Using his feathers, he could tell someone was home and he could only assume it was the big guy himself. Considering it was almost nine at night on a Friday, he was fairly certain that his assessment was correct. Perfect!

Except … It wasn’t perfect.

Whoever was in the house had steadfastly remained where they were. Scowling, Hawks knocked louder. The figure remained. That good looking asshole was seriously ignoring him? He had places to be too! The yakitori place downtown almost always expected him when he was in the area and he was currently missing out on delicious food. Using one of his feathers to slip inside the house and unlock the door, he stepped inside.

“Endeavor? Yo~ It’s Hawks. Your door was unlocked!” He called out, lying with a practiced ease. 

Hawks frowned slightly as he sniffed the air. It smelled like things that had recently been burnt. Sure, there was the underlying scent of Endeavor, but this was something different. A fight maybe? Whatever this was, it put him on edge.

He knew that Endeavor wouldn’t ignore him this badly on purpose. After a while, he would have given in to Hawks’ pestering … Unless something had happened to him.

“Endeavor?” He called out again. His feathers didn’t sense any impending danger but … Maybe it had already passed? Maybe the reason the person inside didn’t move was because they were already almost dead?

Well, that thought sent Hawks moving. Tossing the file folder onto the nearest flat surface, he moved quickly through the home, letting his feathers and his nose guide him. As he reached a back area, where he could sense the person, he noticed that the smell of scorched things grew stronger.

“Endeavor?!” He called out, worry dripping from his voice, before bursting into the room the person supposedly was.

The sight in front of him was not at all what Hawks had expected.

The room, indeed, had been burned in numerous places, most notably around the bed. In the bed lay one Number One Pro Hero who looked damn near delirious laying in sheets coated in burn patterns. Hawks quickly moved to his side.

“Endeavor? Hey? Buddy?” Hawks cautiously reached out to touch him before realizing just how hot everything was. It felt like the room was twenty degrees hotter than the rest of the house. “Shit … You’re gonna boil your brain at this rate.”

Shucking out of his jacket and gloves just to be able to breathe in the hot air, he tossed them to the side before finding the bathroom. Grabbing a few towels, he ran the water in the sink as cold as he could, submerging the towels in it. After he wrung one of the towels out, he quickly moved back to Endeavor’s bedside. Carefully reaching out to run the towel over Endeavor’s face, he frowned as steam literally poured off him.

“Fuck, Endeavor … This isn’t good …” He murmured, mostly to himself, trying to avoid being burnt by the steam. 

Just as quickly as he could wipe Endeavor down to try and cool him, the towels would dry out. Forming an assembly line with his feathers, he would send them to get a fresh towel as he finished with one. After a while, he finally noticed the room's temperature lowering. Reaching out once he thought it was safe, he gently placed the back of his hand against Endeavor’s forehead, frowning.

"Well … That's better than it was …" Hawks said. Wandering off through the house, it took him a few moments to find the kitchen. Giving a silent cheer as he found water bottles, he brought them back to the room. 

"Alright Endeavor … Can you hear me?" He asked, gently patting his cheek to wake him.

It took a long few moments before Enji's eyes fluttered open. Looking around the room, he soon focused on the blurry figure next to his bed. 

"Mn?" 

Enji was fairly certain it wasn't Fuyumi. The hair seemed too dark for that. There really wasn't anyone else he could think of that would have access to his house that would want to stop by for a visit … Great. If this cold wasn't going to be the death of him, some random home burglar would be. He'd always assumed he'd go down in a fight … Not tangled in his burnt sheets by a regular thug.

"Heeeeey buddy," Hawks said grinning as he saw Endeavor look at him. "It's Hawks. You look like shit, by the way. I need you to sit up enough to drink some water. I can almost guarantee you're dehydrated with your fever …"

Hawks?

Hawks?

How the hell did Hawks get there and why? "What're you doing … In my house, boy?" Enji mustered.

"Saving your life, apparently. Now stop stalling and drink some water."

Enji felt a bottle resting in his lips and he slowly began to sip at it. Shuddering slightly as the cold water hit his system, he choked and pulled away, sputtering as Hawks pat his back.

"Cough it up … Probably went down the wrong tube."

Unable to stop himself, he coughed hard until he was fairly certain that he’d recovered from the sudden waterboarding. He was vaguely aware that Hawks’ hand had switched from patting his back to gently rubbing circles in it. Maybe this was just some hallucination, that seemed far more likely than the Number Two hero breaking into his home (unless he hadn’t locked the door? He couldn’t remember) and caring for him.

“You gotta finish this bottle, big guy. We gotta get more fluids into your system.”

He was just so fucking tired. If he listened to the Hawks hallucination (furthermore, why had his mind picked Hawks of all people?? Not that he was actually complaining, per se), then maybe he’d be able to go back to sleep. Feeling the bottle at his mouth once again, he drank once again, this time having a much easier go at it.

“That’s it. Good job …”

Enji closed his eyes as he laid back down at the urging of his hallucination’s hands. A shudder ran through his body as he felt cold, knowing he was probably (literally) burning up. He was just so tired and sore. Did he fight a villain before laying down? No, this was more like the deep muscle ache of a long training session …

“Hey, Endeavor?” He heard his hallucination speak and he was fairly certain he must have given some sort of response because the voice continued, “I’m gonna stay here and keep an eye on you to make sure you don’t literally melt your brain. You just get some sleep.”

Once again pretty positive that he responded, he was out like a light. He didn’t need his hallucination to tell him to do what he already wanted to do. Especially not when his hallucination was that little shit that followed him and occasionally looked at him like he’d hung the stars for some reason. 

Enji couldn’t complain when he saw Hawks look at him like that. He rather liked it.

Hawks was worried. Like … Actually, legitimately, worried. He briefly considered trying to cart Endeavor to the hospital but: a) how the fuck was he supposed to move this guy? and b) it was probably safer for everyone (medical professionals included) if the guy who produced copious amounts of fire, especially when sick (if his burnt room was any indication), stayed in a place used to taking a beating of that caliber versus the possibility of burning down an entire hospital and/or ambulance.

Getting up, he began to rummage around the cabinets in Endeavor’s bathroom. Coming up empty, he wandered around the house, searching every cabinet he could find for any kind of medicine stock. Besides a few first aid kits, well stocked with burn ointment and other supplies for post-villain attacks (or just hardcore training sessions), Hawks could only really find pain reliever. Shit. He’d have to make a trip to the drug store. Glancing back in the direction of Endeavor’s room, he thought it over.

There was a pharmacy not too far away … He’d given Endeavor some fluids and cooled him down, so he should have time to run down there before he got overheated again. Making his way back to Endeavor’s bedroom, he carefully checked his temperature. Okay … He could do this.

Thankfully, he was well known for his speed.

Rushing out of the house, he took off towards the pharmacy he remembered passing earlier. Hawks landed with a skid just outside the door before walking inside. He picked up some things he thought Endeavor might need or want: decongestants, cough medicine, throat lozenges, and more aspirin. Additionally, he’d snagged some more bottles of water and food that he hoped would be easy on Endeavor’s stomach and some soup supplies. He wasn’t the greatest cook, but he could at least manage some soup. He’d also bought out every ice pack he could find in the small store. He had a feeling that Endeavor’s quirk would probably destroy them fairly easily.

Quickly paying for the supplies, he carried them all back with the same speed. Grabbing a few of the water bottles from the refrigerator, he placed the new ones in as well. The ice packs were thrown into the freezer in order to get them started. The rest of the supplies were carried back to Endeavor’s room where Hawks could feel heat once again radiating off of the Flame Hero.

“Shit, Endeavor …” He said quietly, mostly to himself. Once again starting his cool rag assembly line, he tried to avoid being burned by the steam that came off of him as fresh rags were used to try and cool him.

Unfortunately, now was not the time for Hawks’ stupid little crush on his idol to hit him full force, but here he was … Staring at the pained face of the guy he was, just an hour or so ago, questioning whether he would take Hawks in as a sugar baby while simultaneously cursing him for having the nerve to ignore him. 

His mind couldn’t help but supply him with the fantasy of taking care of Endea-- No … Enji. His mind couldn’t help but supply him with the fantasy of taking care of Enji every time he was sick. Did he get sick often? Hawks thought of him as more the type that didn’t get sick often, but when he did … Well, he was practically knocking on death’s door. It had to be extremely dangerous, especially for someone like Endeavor, with a fire quirk.

Not only was it dangerous for Enji, the possibility of boiling his brain repeating like a mantra in Hawks’ mind, but it must be dangerous for anyone taking care of him too. He took a moment to look around the room. Enji must have had difficulty controlling his quirk when he was delirious and sneezing or coughing. Hawks remembered when he was younger and a sneeze would send his feathers flying off before he learned to control them better. The last time that had happened, he was essentially in the same spot Enji was now, feverish and barely lucid with the flu.

He’d nearly given Miruko’s ears a new piercing with his feathers.

Even with that reminder, Hawks found himself distracted by the fact he got to see Enji’s many unconscious facial expressions up close. He hadn’t realized just how distracted he was until he was slightly too slow to move his arm after applying a fresh rag, earning him a nice scalding burn from the steam rising off Enji.

“Ah fuck,” he hissed out, yanking his hand back, dropping the rag fully on Enji, listening to it hiss as cold met hot.

Looking from Enji to his burnt arm, he bit his lip to try and distract his mind from the searing pain on his arm. He was going to have to leave him for a minute. Getting up, he went to the bathroom, letting his feathers take over trying to keep Enji cool as he carefully ran the burn under cool water. After a long while, he carefully dried the burn, wincing as he did so. Digging around to find one of the numerous first aid kits he’d found, he diligently bandaged the burn before finally returning to Endeavor.

Okay … He had to keep his head in the game and not think about his decidedly not little crush on Endeavor.

The next time Enji resurfaced to consciousness, he found himself shivering, almost violently. Why was it so fucking cold ? Had he ever been this cold in his life? Wait … Did he still have his quirk?? Almost involuntarily, a burst of fire shot out from his hand, earning a surprised squawk from his right side. 

What the fuck?

Turning his attention to where the sound came from, it took a moment before his sluggish brain could catch up. “... Hawks?” he rasped out.

Hawks clutched his chest, feeling his heart beating a mile a minute. He’d been two seconds away from becoming the next roast chicken dinner. Thankfully his feathers had warned him to the movement, but it had been way too close for comfort. He was already nursing one burn, he was really, really trying to avoid a second. Hearing Enji call his name snapped him out of it. 

“Yep! That’s me, big guy … How’re you feeling? Probably like shit, right?”

Enji frowned some. His throat felt dry and god was it such a chore to speak. Why couldn’t he have a telepathic quirk or something? “When did you … Get here?” He managed to get out.

Hawks blinked. Clearly trying to assess whether or not Enji was just fucking with him at that point or if he’d genuinely been that far gone. Considering how he was almost positive Enji had been an hour away from overheating to death when he first arrived, he figured it must have been the latter. 

“Uh … I’ve been here for … Probably about …” Hawks paused as he looked at his phone. “Six hours? You’ve been in and out of it.” 

Hawks watched as it looked like Enji struggled to swallow, eyes closing against the pain, most likely debating on what to ask Hawks first: why he was in his house or why he was taking care of the sick hero?

“Oh! Here … While you’re conscious,” he said, snagging one of the water bottles he’d brought into the room. Cautiously moving over, as if approaching a wild animal (one who could easily fricassee him), he tried to help Enji sit up. “Gotta get some more fluids in you. It’d be awesome if you could get down two bottles but … I’ll take whatever you can get.”

Numbly, Enji nodded, letting himself be maneuvered into a position that was easy to drink from. He was still just so tired and sore, he really didn’t give a shit. Even if he didn’t voice it, he was grateful for the help. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this sick. He’d vaguely remembered feeling the beginnings of whatever this was when Fuyumi had popped in to drop off a few things before she headed to her teaching conference. He was fairly certain that she’d made some sort of comment about him not looking too well and whether she should stay back to keep an eye on him.

Drinking the water greedily, he realized just how thirsty he was. Maybe it really was a good thing that Hawks was here … At this point, Enji wasn’t even going to question it. His head was throbbing in pain so much that he couldn’t even think straight. He couldn’t bring himself to be any more of a burden to his family than he already was by having Fuyumi stay behind and miss her conference, but Hawks … Well, Hawks was a little shit who, Enji was pretty sure, didn’t have anything better to do.

Plus, Hawks owed him for the headache that he put Enji through every time he visited.

Hearing the bottle crunch before being tossed to the side, he winced slightly at a particularly painful throb from his headache. Hawks seemed to notice and he heard the sound of a rattling bottle.

“We should get some aspirin in you … Think you can keep that down?”

Enji gave a small nod. Taking the pills gratefully, he threw them in his mouth before taking the second water bottle Hawks held out expectantly, taking a large swig. There was a moment of silence before Enji’s nose twitched. He weakly pushed at Hawks, strength zapped and muscles too sore to be able to actually move the bird brained hero. 

“Hawks … Move …” Enji warned.

“Uh … Okay? Why?” Hawks asked cautiously, moving slightly from the bed.

“F-Fuh … F-Further …” Enji managed to get out, barely waving in the air as a sneeze overtook him.

That was when Hawks learned just how dangerous it was to be around Enji. Sure, he suspected it earlier after noting all the burn marks about the room, but seeing it was fucking terrifying. Barely moving out of the way, he was fairly certain that some of his feathers were singed from the heat alone. Quickly flitting about the room, he tried to put out the mini-fires that had been created by Enji’s sudden burst of Hellflame. 

Looking around the room to make sure he got them all, he let out a sigh of relief. “Holy fuck, Endeavor …” Hawks said, returning to his bedside. “You are in seriously bad shape.”

Enji had already laid back down after the somewhat painful sneeze and quirk-use. “Mn …” He murmured, not really wanting to put up a fight as he closed his eyes.

Hawks shifted awkwardly, “Does this uh … Happen often?”

“No.”

“Guess my theory about you not getting sick often but just absolutely going overboard when you do get sick was correct …”

Opening one eye to give Hawks a tired glare, he broke into a coughing fit that sounded dry and just painful. Hawks grimaced before holding out the half-empty second water bottle, which Enji took gratefully. Another few moments of moving around so he wouldn’t choke on the water (again), he was soon downing what was left of it like a dying man in a desert. 

“Careful you don’t make yourself sicker,” Hawks warned.

“What’re … Why are you here?” Enji finally asked.

Hawks huffed. “Someone wasn’t answering any of my messages. I had some paperwork for you to do … Courtesy of the HPSC. Mera’s been on my ass about it … But then I came here and found you on death’s door so, y’know … I guess it was a good thing you weren’t answering my messages?”

Enji supposed that was a good enough answer for him. He didn’t think that Hawks had any reason to lie about that. He vaguely remembered Hawks texting him earlier (it was earlier, wasn’t it?) but at some point it all just blurred together. Knowing just how much Hawks hated doing paperwork and hated being ordered around by the HPSC even more, it wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities for Hawks to just break into his house to get a single sheet of paper signed. 

“Why didn’t you call anyone, Endeavor?” Hawks asked cautiously. “Like … You’re really not in good shape.”

Enji didn’t want to answer that. How was he supposed to admit that he had no one? The only child he had that might have stuck around to tend to him was off at a week-long conference she’d been so excited for that she’d been talking about for a month … There was no way he could have asked her to stay back. Everyone else … Well, they were all just work colleagues. He supposed if he had to say he had any friends, he’d have a grand total of one: Hawks. Even that might have been a stretch, depending on who you asked and what mood they were in. They were work colleagues who, very frequently, got lunch together while one of them flirted constantly and the other just tried to enjoy their food in peace.

He probably could have called Hawks.

Instead of answering, Enji settled in further to the bed, putting the empty remnants of the second water bottle on the practically destroyed nightstand and closed his eyes. He’d have to buy a whole new bedroom set. Thankfully Enji didn’t have to waste energy pretending to sleep in order to not answer Hawks. He was just so exhausted, he was out like a light almost immediately.

Hawks wanted to be upset that Endeavor clearly avoided the question by going to sleep, he really did, but he knew that the Flame Hero was probably beyond exhausted still and really, he couldn’t fault him. He knew that Endeavor’s family life was not the best currently, that he was trying to work on it, but he still could have called one of his sidekicks for help, couldn’t he?

Once he was healthy again, Hawks was going to give him so much shit for this. It was way too dangerous to just play it by ear.

With nothing else to do until the next spike in Endeavor’s fever, Hawks decided to clean up around the room as best as he could. Wandering back to the kitchen, he soon found a broom and dustpan along with a trash bag that he could start to toss things into. He decided to make a ‘keep?’ pile for things that Endeavor may find sentimental (though, considering the room was pretty bare, he didn’t think there would be much, if anything, added to that pile). 

As Hawks began to sweep ashes and debris from objects around the room that had been burnt, his mind began to wander back to his earlier thoughts. Clearly, Endeavor-- No … Enji … Needed someone to watch over him when he was sick. Just like the whole sugar baby routine, he’d absolutely volunteer. Ideally, Enji would want more than a temporary arrangement like that. 

Hawks couldn’t help but grin at the thought. Keigo Todoroki. Yeah he could get used to that. He could be more than tempted to go back to using Keigo at that prospect. He had to stop; he was putting the cart before the horse.

Enji never gave any sort of indication that he’d be interested in dating anyone again. Hawks knew he’d divorced Rei quite a while ago (one of the few times that they’d actually met at a bar instead of having lunch together), but Enji hadn’t mentioned getting back into the dating saddle. Even if he was interested in getting back in the game, would he be interested in someone younger than him? Hawks was pretty sure he’d caught Enji checking him out before … But that was probably just his horny mind playing tricks on him, if he was being perfectly honest.

Feeling the room grow hotter, he sighed as he looked over to where Enji was nearly panting to try and cool down. Poor guy … It made him insanely grateful he didn’t have a temperature quirk like Endeavor or his kids. Shit … Poor Shouto must go through hell whenever he’s sick, between extreme cold and hot. Putting the broom off to the side, Hawks once again returned to Enji’s side, using his feathers to start the assembly line once again, sending a few off to get the ice packs from the kitchen.

It was nearly afternoon the next day when Enji was aware of waking again. He felt like shit still, but he thought he might have at least gotten over the worst of it (at least he hoped). He was pretty sure he must have been conscious at some point before now, especially if the empty water bottles next to his bed gave any clues. 

What he hadn’t expected to see next to his bed, after noticing the water bottles and the fact he was surrounded by melted ice packs, was a sleeping Hawks.

Hawks was sitting on the floor, next to his bed, draped over the side, head on his mattress. He must have spent all night keeping vigil over him. Enji frowned a bit at the thought, trying to figure out why exactly he’d go through the trouble, before he became distracted. Hawks looked … So different like this. He had smudges of soot on his face, no doubt from the areas in Enji’s room that had suffered through his sneezes, but what really caught Enji’s eye was the peaceful look on his face. He was so relaxed and just … Beautiful.

The thought of Hawks looking anything other than annoying made his face heat up. Okay, if he was completely honest, there had been several times when his eyes had just been drawn to Hawks. Enji wasn’t blind; he knew that Hawks was good looking. Additionally, yes, he was an absolutely annoying little shit that got on his nerves more often than not, but he was also brilliant and strong. If he had to pick anyone to go into battle with, Hawks would be his number one choice.

Hawks’ constant flirting didn’t help at all, either.

Because his life wasn’t hell enough at that moment, Enji’s (thankfully not melted) brain decided to provide him with proof that he was definitely attracted to Hawks and would definitely take a chance with him, given the opportunity. The most vivid being two weeks ago when they’d teamed up against a villain with some sort of sludge quirk. It had been foul and overall horrendous. They’d beaten the bad guy without serious injury, but in repayment, it looked and smelled as if they’d just trudged through miles of sewage then baked in the sun for a few hours. Thanking himself for installing showers at his agency, he and Hawks had used the back entrance (created just for this purpose) to avoid contaminating the main areas, heading directly to wash up. 

While Enji was quick to scrub down everything with a quick efficiency, Hawks had decided to be more methodical and slow, purposely putting on a show. Enji had (cross his heart, pinky swear) tried not to look, but Hawks just kept talking and talking to get his attention. Finally, he’d had a rag shoved in his direction with a plea for Enji to scrub Hawks’ back to ensure there was no more of the disgusting sludge. 

How was he supposed to refuse an invitation like that?

He had decided to take the job with the utmost seriousness it deserved as a purely platonic post-villain scrub down. That didn’t stop him from taking in his share of the view (he had to make sure that he’d gotten every spot!) Enji was drawn to the way that Hawks’ back muscles moved under his hands and how they worked around his wings. If he’d taken just a bit longer than absolutely necessary, occasionally massaging the rag into Hawks’ back, earning pleased moans that had been the highlight of his jerk off sessions for the last couple weeks that followed, no one commented on it.

The memory practically set Enji’s face on fire.

“Mmn … Enji?” came the sleepy tone from Hawks as he finally stirred. “You up? ‘S hot … Lemme get th’ rags again …”

Enji’s mind was still short-circuiting thanks to the use of his name versus Endeavor. Sure, Hawks occasionally used his real name, versus his hero name, but it was a rare treat. The first time it’d happened, it caught him so off guard that he’d accidentally slammed his knee into his desk at the office and he had to try and play it off.

“I’m fine, Hawks …” He said, trying to reassure him.

This seemed to wake Hawks up more as he looked at Enji sitting up in the bed. “Huh? … You actually here with me, Number One?” Enji gave him a frown. Obviously he was there. Realizing what he said and why it’d earned him that look from Enji, Hawks waved his hand, “I just mean you’re actually coherent. You’ve been in and out of it for hours. You’d wake up and talk a bit or … Well, try to talk sometimes … Then right back asleep. How’re you feeling?”

“Better …” He said. “I need to go to the bathroom …”

Hawks got up, moving away from the bed before holding his hand out to help Enji out of the bed, “You need any help? Last time I had the flu, I know I felt like I went three rounds with a high end nomu …”

Taking the hand to help himself up (and most definitely not to have an excuse to touch Hawks), he hesitated a moment to assess how he felt. “I can go myself …”

Giving a nod, Hawks left Enji to his devices, taking the opportunity to clean up some more around the room. Walking into the bathroom, Enji took in the sight. There were damp towels everywhere (mostly concentrated on the sink) and a few bottles of medicine scattered about where Hawks must have put them before they were knocked over. Seeing a small bag of throat lozenges, he raised a brow curiously, but opened the bag to snag one, popping it in his mouth. After doing his business, he sighed as he felt just how sore his muscles were and how gross he felt. A bath was definitely in order.

Getting the bath set up, he returned to his bedroom, pausing a moment as he saw Hawks finishing up changing the sheets on his bed.

“Uh … Sorry … Figured you’d probably want fresh sheets to come back to. Probably gonna have to toss those old ones though … There really wasn’t much left of them between the stains from burst ice packs and the scorched areas,” Hawks said, looking towards a trash bag that was filled with burnt objects. Catching a sound he hadn’t heard before, Hawks tilted his head, “Are you running a bath?”

“Yes …”

“Awesome! I was going to suggest that … That was pretty much my first stop once I was mobile again last time I was sick,” he said with a grin. Watching as Enji gathered some clothes from a freshly scarred dresser, he gave a small salute. “If you need anything just let me know~”

Enji’s response was a short nod before disappearing once again into the bathroom. Hawks, objectively, knew he shouldn’t bother Enji as he stared at the bathroom door, tempted to barge in and bathe with him. He knew he should probably just go and work on making some soup for Enji instead of following his current sponge bath train of thought. Forcing himself to start on the soup as a distraction, he followed the instructions on the packet before letting it simmer. Of course, a distraction like making soup could only work so long as the person was doing the distraction, which led to Hawks returning to the bedroom as he left the soup simmering, staring at the bathroom door.

He was just checking on Enji. That’s all. Definitely not anything other than that. 

Knocking on the door, he cleared his throat, “Enji? You alright in there?”

“Mn …” Came the simple reply. At least he was alive? 

Hawks shifted, “Mind if I come in real quick?”

A lengthier pause before a simple, “Okay.”

Hawks physically restrained himself from doing a celebratory dance before opening the door. Seeing Enji in the bath, he grinned, “Feelin’ better?”

Enji nodded, eyes closed, “Still sore … But my throat and head hurt less.”

Thinking it over for a moment, Hawks shifted, “Here … Turn your back towards me …”

Opening his eyes to look at Hawks, trying to figure out exactly what his endgame was, he decided that Hawks wasn’t a threat to him currently. Turning around in the bath, resting his back against the side closest to Hawks he closed his eyes once again.

Hawks rolled a couple dry towels up to pad the ground before kneeling next to the tub. Cracking his knuckles, he carefully reached out to run his hands over Enji’s shoulders tentatively. Feeling him tense up immediately, he gave a soft laugh, “It’s alright, big guy. Just trust me.” Resting his hands in one place on Enji’s shoulders, he soon felt the tension dissipate. Once he was sure that Enji had gotten used to his hands touching bare skin, he began to carefully massage the muscles there. Methodically working over Enji’s shoulders before moving to his back, he silently delighted in every small noise that Enji uttered, subconscious or not. 

The sound of quiet, breathy moans was something that Hawks hoped he never forgot.

By the time he’d worked over Enji’s entire shoulder and back area, he could see just how much more relaxed he looked. A warm smile played over his face as he took in the view. Getting up, he dried off his hands before humming, “Don’t stay in there too long … You’ll become a prune. I’ve got some soup that should be ready for you too …”

Earning another grunt from Enji in response, Hawks finally left the bathroom, fist pumping on his way out. Spending a little longer than probably necessary getting the soup ready in order to give Enji time to dry off and get back into bed, he soon brought a bowl into the bedroom. 

“You don’t have to eat the whole thing,” he said as he sat the tray in Enji’s lap. “But try to eat as much as you can … You should also try and drink another bottle of water. We gotta keep you hydrated. Did you take any of the medicine in the bathroom?”

Enji bit back a comment about Hawks acting like a mother hen before nodding in response to the medicine question. Looking at the soup, he hesitated a moment, “... It’s not poisoned is it?”

“Poi- ... Poisoned??” Hawks asked, puffing up slightly in offense. “Why would I make sure you don’t, quite literally, become a pile of ashes or melt your brain only to just turn around and poison you?! If I wanted the Number One spot that bad, I could’a just let your brain ooze out of your ears.”

Watching him for a moment as Hawks seemed to take genuine offense to the question, Enji gave a soft laugh that caused Hawks to immediately freeze.

“Wait … Were you … Did you make a joke?!”

“Yes,” he said, picking up his spoon to finally eat. “You could have killed me at any point. You would have better chances of killing me with one of your feather blades while I’m unconscious than poison in my soup.”

Flushing slightly in embarrassment, Hawks crossed his arms over his chest, “Yeah … You’re right about that.” Finally settling at the foot of Enji’s bed while he ate, Hawks decided to question him once again. “Why didn’t you call anyone? It’s seriously dangerous for you to be this sick with no one watching you …”

The spoon hesitated halfway to Enji’s mouth before it continued as if Hawks hadn’t questioned anything. Just as he thought he wasn’t going to get an answer (again), Enji spoke. “There was no one for me to call.”

“What?” Hawks asked, looking over to him confused. “You’ve got lots of people you could call! If you don’t want to call your family, then you’ve got an entire agency filled with people you could call. By the way, I let them know you weren’t coming in for a few days ‘cause you were sick. One of your medics is supposed to swing by later, once they can, in order to finally have someone with actual medical experience check on you.”

“They’re my work colleagues. They’re not obligated to help me.”

Hawks rolled his eyes, not ready to argue that Enji quite literally paid for a medic to be on staff and yeah, if he paid, he was kind of obligated. “Okay … Why didn’t you call me? We’re friends, right?”

That … Enji had no good answer for that. He still considered them work colleagues and … Okay, yes, he counted them as friends. Genuine friends in his life had been few and far between, however. He was used to suffering through this mostly alone. Before she was unwell, Rei would take care of him, and before that, he was on his own, save for a housekeeper or two. His parents just let him figure it out by himself.

In retrospect, he upgraded his idea that he could have called Hawks to a should have. 

“We are. I didn’t think about it.”

That seemed to worry Hawks. “Were you that far gone? I mean, that you didn't think to call me?"

"Yes," Enji said, letting him think it was the sickness rather than his own thoughts.

“I’m going to get you one of those -- ah … what are they called … LIFE ALERTS!” He blurted out. “Except it’ll just be a direct line to me. A Hawks Alert. When you’ve fallen and broken your hip or y’know … Just sick with the flu, you can press a button and I’ll zip right on over!”

Enji frowned as he took all that in, “... Are-- … Did you just call me old?” 

“I mean … You’re older than me, but you’re not old,” Hawks said nonchalantly. “I was teasing.” A pause. “Actually, not really because I think you really do need a Hawks Alert button for situations like this.”

Taking in the sight of Hawks, Enji watched as several emotions passed over his face until it finally settled on one that made his heart clench ever slightly.

“I was seriously worried, Enji … You were too damn close to dying there …”

Just the look on Hawks’ face was enough for Enji to know he was telling the truth. He hadn’t realized it was that bad or that Hawks had been that concerned. Right now, he just wanted to see Hawks with his usual cocky smile and not the worried one that made Enji’s chest tight.

“The soup is good,” he commented, unsure what else to say.

The comment seemed to catch Hawks off guard and Enji wondered if it had been the wrong thing to say as Hawks just gave a simple nod and a “Thanks.” The two fell into a heavy silence after that.

“If it happens again, I’ll call you,” Enji tries again.

This must have been the right thing to say because Hawks relaxed, finally, turning a tired smile to Enji. “That’s all I can ask for, right?”

Letting Hawks start in on a rant about some television show he’d never heard of, he continued to work on his soup, giving grunts and hums in response to show he was listening. Finishing the bowl, he soon set it to the side and grabbed a water bottle, drinking that as well. Thankfully his headache had finally lessened. His muscles also felt less sore and he knew part of that was due to Hawks’ impromptu massage. Feeling his limbs and eyes grow heavy with exhaustion again, he rubbed at his eyes.

“I’m tired,” he said, cutting into Hawks’ dialogue that had shifted to a story about one of his sidekicks.

“H-Huh? Oh! Yeah, shit, sorry … You need to get some more rest.” Hawks got up from where he was sitting on the foot of the bed to give Enji more room. “Get some sleep, big guy, and I’ll be here when you need me.”

Enji laid back down on his bed, sighing gratefully at the clean sheets. He paused as he thought of something, “How much sleep have you had?”

Hawks looked confused, not really expecting the question. “I dunno? Couple hours, maybe? I had to keep cooling you down, so I’ve kinda always been on the watch …”

“You should get some sleep. There’s a spare room down the hall.”

“Nah. I’m fine … Plus, it’s easier for me to tell if I need to cool you down if I’m in the room with you.”

“Hawks. You need sleep.”

“You need sleep way more than I do right now,” Hawks countered.

Enji frowned at that. If Hawks continued on the way he was, he’d probably pass out and there would be nothing Enji could do if he was overheated … 

“Come here and lay down.”

“... I’m sorry … What?”

Giving him a flat stare, he slid over just slightly, although it was unnecessary with the size of his bed. “The bed is more than big enough for both of us. You can lay down and get sleep here. That way you can sleep and still ‘keep watch’ if you need to.”

Hawks looked at him as if he’d grown a third head. There really wasn’t really an argument he had against it. To be honest, he was struggling not to immediately jump in the bed with the guy he was crushing on. He had to at least play hard to get, right? Downplay it some?

“Fine … Let me put your bowl in the kitchen first and grab some more water, just in case.”

Enji nodded at this, closing his eyes as Hawks took the dishes to the kitchen. Once the dishes had safely made it to their destination, Hawks whipped around, dance-wiggling in celebration. He threw a few fist pumps in the air before he tried to calm himself down again. How did he get so lucky??? He was going to owe Mera an actual present for forcing him to try and get this paperwork done, leading to this series of events. 

Taking a few deep breaths to calm down, he finally felt the familiar sensation of just being exhausted right down to the bone. Quietly poking his head back into Enji’s room, he could tell that he must have gone back to sleep, no doubt right after Hawks had left the room. Searching Enji’s room as silently as he could, he found a large sweater and shucked his flight suit in favor of the sweater. Tossing his pants and boots off to the side, he crawled into the bed wearing only the sweater and boxers.

Now, this was a view he could get used to: laying on his side next to Enji in bed. He couldn’t get over just how peaceful the Flame Hero looked when he slept calmly; all the worries and stress from the day just vanishing. He preferred that to the feverish tossing and turning that had plagued him while sick. Carefully reaching out over the space he’d put between the two of them, Hawks gently brushed his hand over Enji’s scarred features, sighing quietly. Before he would allow himself to get into another spiral of self-loathing for being the cause of Enji’s scar, he let the exhaustion he’d felt earlier take him under.

Enji woke several hours later, sore, headache returning, and far too warm … Though, he was fairly certain the warmth wasn’t coming from him this time. Looking down slightly, he realized that Hawks was fast asleep and curled up against him. Hawks had laid his head on Enji’s shoulder at some point, which caused Enji to instinctively wrap that arm around him protectively. One of Hawks’ legs (was he not wearing pants??) was thrown over Enji’s and his foot had found its way under the other leg.

Enji couldn’t remember the last time he woke up like this. 

He could get used to this.

(Minus the whole being deathly ill thing.)

He really didn’t want to disturb Hawks, but he desperately needed to down some aspirin and he could feel his temperature rising once again, so it was going to be dangerous for the bird brain soon enough anyways.

Running his hand gently up and down Hawks’ side, he sighed as Hawks seemed to cuddle up more at the touch instead of being coaxed awake. Clearing his throat, he tried to quietly wake him, continuing to rub his thumb in small circles on Hawks’ side.

“Hawks …”

“Mmn?”

“Hawks …”

“Wuzzat?”

“You need to move … Before it gets too hot,” he warned.

A few moments passed where Hawks pressed more into the warmth before realizing two things. First, he was very much cuddled up against his crush. Not just cuddled up, but their limbs were definitely tangled together. Secondly, his crush was starting to go from comfortably warm to possibly dangerous. 

Play it cool, Hawks.

Pulling away from Enji as if nothing had happened, he rubbed at his eyes. “Lemme get some ice packs to help …”

Letting Hawks go, Enji wondered if he really was just that comfortable being cuddled up to him or if it just hadn’t dawned on him what had just transpired. At this point, he didn’t care. He had far bigger things to deal with; namely, using the bathroom while he could and downing more aspirin than was strictly recommended.

It took everything in Hawks not to have a full-on freak out in the kitchen. Holy shit. Holy. Shit. He’d been all over Enji. Not only that, Enji had been holding him and don’t even get him started on the caressing. Holy shit. Was Enji into him? Could they start banging? Could they start dating? Okay. Okay. He needed to calm down. Right now, Enji was still horribly sick and he needed to make sure that Enji’s brain didn’t melt.

Grabbing a few ice packs from the freezer, he carried them back into the bedroom just as Enji was crawling back into bed, face flushed and the occasional tiny flame licking up the side of his face as he breathed out steam to try and regulate. “Oh man … Yeah, let’s get you cool …”

Letting Enji get settled into the bed, he placed the ice packs carefully next to him to try and help before going to get the towel assembly line ready again. As he came back, Enji stared at him for a moment.

“... Are you … Are you wearing my sweater?”

Looking down at himself, he shrugged nonchalantly. “Yeah. I needed different clothes to sleep in.”

“Pants?”

Hawks pulled the sweater up some to show off the boxers hiding underneath, “Again … Sleeping … Plus, you’re a one-man furnace.”

Enji gave him a once-over that really should be illegal in at least twenty prefectures.  Honestly, he wasn’t even sure if Enji realized he did it. Rolling up his sleeves before carefully reaching out, he began to wipe him down carefully, avoiding the steam that was created as he went.

“Why’s your arm bandaged?” Enji asked after a while, eyes closed as if he was sleeping.

“You uh … Kinda caught me with your steam when I first got here … I wasn’t fast enough. Pretty sure there’s a comment about irony in there somewhere.”

Enji opened his eyes at that and the sad look was like a punch to the gut. “I’m sorry …”

“No worries!” Hawks chirped. “Seriously, I knew it was going to be dangerous when I saw what state you were in … But I couldn’t just leave you here to melt your brain.”

“Mn …” Enji managed. Something about that gave Hawks the distinct idea that Enji didn’t agree with his statement.

“Hopefully your fever will break soon …” Hawks grabbed his phone, looking it over after resting the cold towel on Enji’s forehead for a moment. “Ah, your agency medic texted a while back … Should be over in …” A pause to check the time. “An hour. They meant to be here earlier, but they got caught up in work.” 

Tossing his phone to the side as his feathers brought a fresh wet towel to try and cool Enji, he gave a small smile, “Try and get some sleep, yeah? I’ll keep an eye out.”

Dreaming of sweaters, crimson wings, medical murmuring, and the memory of the fiery fist of his more-than-strict father, Enji was fairly certain that the medical murmuring had been Hawks talking to one of his medics. He might have been awake for it? But to be completely honest, he wasn’t sure if that was a heat-induced delusion or not. He also thought he’d felt another warm body curl up to him again at some point but, perhaps that was once again the memory of waking up to Hawks today? Yesterday? Days ago? God, how long had he even been like this … It couldn’t have been more than three days, could it?

By the time he came to (what he was pretty positive was) the real world, his headache had thankfully subsided somewhat, though the soreness in his muscles begged for him to sleep longer. At the very least, he felt like he was regulating his temperature much better than he could before. Sweeping his eyes around the room, he noticed that it had been cleaned up quite a bit. Hawks had perched himself in his windowsill, typing frantically (granted, that was probably just Hawks’ typing speed) at his phone. After a moment, Hawks perked up, no doubt sensing the change in Enji’s condition. 

“Hey~” He said, pocketing his phone in … A pair of Enji’s sweatpants? He was fairly certain those were his … Considering how large they looked on Hawks, he was pretty sure he was right. “Finally lucid again? How’re you feeling?” Hawks asked as he reached out to gently place the back of his hand against Enji’s forehead. “I’m pretty sure your fever finally broke.”

“Thirsty …” He managed to croak out, voice rough.

“Oh! Right!” Hawks moved around the room, grabbing a water bottle. Helping Enji sit up, he handed him the water bottle and a bottle of pills. “From the doc. They said you probably had the flu. Just told me to keep the course, get you plenty of fluids, gave me those pills to help with the achiness, and to keep an eye on you. Pretty sure we’re heading into the clear now, though.”

Enji gave a nod. Okay, so the medic had been there. Not a heat-induced delusion; that was good to know. Downing the contents of the water bottle and the pills at the same time, he turned his attention back to Hawks.

“The pants?”

Looking down at them, Hawks grinned. Along with the sweater, he was practically swimming in fabric. “Well, I had to put something on for when the doc showed up. My suit is in the wash right now.”

“So you took my clothes?”

“Figured it was better than walking around nude,” Hawks said. “Unless you wanted me to? Don’t have to tell me twice …”

As Hawks started to try and shimmy out of the clothes, Enji put up a hand, “Stop … It’s fine.”

Fixing the oversized clothes, he hummed, “Want some more soup? You’re probably starving …” It took Enji a moment to decide that yes, that was a pretty accurate assessment. “Alright, awesome. I’ll go make some. There’s some more water on the nightstand and I moved the bag of throat lozenges next to it.”

Already looking over to grab one, Enji gave a gruff ‘thanks’ while Hawks disappeared out of the room. Hawks flitted about the home, moving his clothes outside to dry while following the instructions on the soup box. After what seemed like forever, Hawks finally brought the bowl into Enji’s room, raising a brow as he saw the other on his phone.

“I had sixty-three unread messages from you,” he said bluntly.

“Yeah, well … You weren’t answering me,” Hawks responded, putting the tray on Enji’s lap once he’d set the phone to the side. “I might have gotten a little carried away. But, to be fair, I did need to get those papers signed …”

Enji glanced up, “I didn’t sign them yet, did I?”

“Nah, I told Mera he could fuck off for a while.”

“You told him that?”

“Of course. Just … Professionally,” Hawks said. “I said ‘Endeavor is extremely sick right now. As soon as he’s better, I’ll have the paperwork signed and delivered’.”

Giving a thoughtful hum around a spoonful of soup, he nodded. “Bring me the paperwork so I can look it over and sign it.”

“I mean, you don’t have to do it now …”

“I’d rather do it before either of us forgets. You shouldn’t get in trouble for my negligence.”

“I hardly call being on your deathbed ‘negligence’,” Hawks responded, getting up to grab the folder nonetheless.

It took him a bit to remember just where exactly he’d dropped it a couple days prior before returning. Handing it over to Enji, who’d almost finished all of his soup, he let the Flame Hero read over the documents in silence, opting to play a game on his phone while occasionally texting Rumi the latest updates on the telenovela that was Hawks’ life. Eventually taking the bowl from Enji once he finished, he left him to continue reading the paperwork in favor of washing the dishes. When Hawks returned, the paperwork had been signed and returned to it’s folder. 

Enji held out the folder, “Here …”

“Kicking me out already?” Hawks asked, raising a brow.

Enji hesitated at this, as if the thought hadn’t crossed his mind, but now he was seriously considering. “No … But if I sneeze, I want to make sure it’s not burnt.”

“Ooooh … Yeah … That’s … Man, you seriously have some terrifying sneezes,” Hawks said, taking the paperwork to return it to the front entryway. Slipping back into the room, he plopped down on Enji’s bed, earning a small, half-hearted glare from him. “So how’re you feeling?”

“Better … I don’t feel like I’m going to overheat. My head isn’t pounding right now, but my body is still sore. Throat hurts, but the lozenges help …”

“That’s great!” Hawks said grinning happily.

There was a long silence between the two of them before Enji finally spoke.

“Thank you, Hawks …”

“Uh … For what, big guy?”

“For …” He paused, motioning around them. “For this. Helping me. You didn’t have to.”

“Well, I’m pretty fond of you staying alive, so … Yeah, I kinda did have to.”

Enji hesitated a moment, obviously in thought. Hawks tilted his head curiously before Enji finally spoke, “You’re fond of me?”

This seemed to catch Hawks off-guard, leaving him flustered, face slowly turning red, that told Enji so much without so much as a word. “I-- Well … I just-- Hey! I don’t want you dying, okay?!”

Though he’d blame it on being feverish and delirious later whenever Hawks brought it up (even if they’d already determined his fever had broken), Enji took the opportunity to lean in and kiss the corner of Hawks’ mouth.

“Thank you.”

That simple action seemed to short-circuit Hawks’ mind. The Winged Hero sat, gaping like a fish out of water as Enji watched, amused. By the time he’d finally caught up to what was going on, Hawks’ face was as red as his flames. 

“W-What the hell was that?!”

“Most people call it a kiss.”

“Oh my god. Does being sick turn you into a smart ass?” Hawks asked, still flustered. “Also that wasn’t a kiss!”

Enji raised a brow, “I’m pretty sure it was.”

Hawks crossed his arms over his chest, which just looked hilarious to Enji in the oversized sweater. “It definitely wasn’t. Whoever told you that was a kiss was lying. No wonder you’re still single.”

Enji had to fight back a laugh at that. Sure, maybe he was supposed to be offended but it had been the weakest verbal comeback that he’d probably ever heard; especially out of someone who loved to verbally torment people (namely Enji).

“Maybe I need more practice then,” he said thoughtfully, turning his attention away from Hawks, as if he wasn’t considering practicing with him.

The action earned him the exact response he thought he’d get: one flustered Hawks nearly pouncing on him, draping his arms around Enji’s shoulders. 

“Guess since you have no other friends, I’ll have to help,” Hawks said very matter of factly. 

Enji raised a brow, turning his attention back to Hawks, who had practically crawled in his lap. “And what do you know about kissing, boy?”

Puffing up some in offense, Hawks huffed. “A lot, thank you very much. How about I show you?”

Without waiting for a reply, Hawks simply leaned in, hesitantly kissing Enji properly. Hawks’ tentative approach to the kiss betrayed his nervousness that Enji hadn’t expected. It was as if Hawks had been wanting to do this for a while and he knew if Enji had reacted poorly, it might damage their friendship. 

Well, Enji would just have to reassure him that he was very much into this.

Placing his hands naturally on Hawks’ hips, he pressed into the kiss, feeling Hawks sag in relief under his movements as Enji didn’t run away from him. Letting Hawks ‘show’ him how to kiss, he had to give it up to the Winged Hero, he wasn’t bad. 

But Enji was better.

Finally returning the kiss with a level of skill obtainable from decades of practice, he felt Hawks shudder under him as he took over. Sure, he was out of practice, but it was like riding a bike; all he’d needed to do was get back on. Enji took the opportunity to deepen the kiss once he dug his fingers into Hawks’ hips slightly, earning a quiet gasp from him. Listening to Hawks moan into the kiss as their tongues met, Enji fought the urge to reach up and sink his fingers into the blond hair.

Suddenly, his breath hitched and he pulled away quickly from Hawks, leaving the hero dazed and confused. Turning his head away, burying his face in the crook of his arm, he coughed violently. This seemed to bring the two of them back to the present. Hawks climbed off Enji awkwardly, grabbing a water bottle and holding it out for him.

Allowing Enji time to drink and regain his composure, Hawks shifted, “Not too bad for a first practice.”

The word choice caught his attention and Enji raised his brow, “First practice?”

“Yeah, I mean … You can’t get better at anything unless you practice repeatedly, right?”

“Right.”

“It’s like training. Y’know … For your mouth.”

“Of course.”

Hawks looked back at him, a feigned confidence encompassing him, “So we’re in agreement … Once you get better, we’ll practice some more?”

“Hawks …” Enji started, watching the way that confidence immediately crumbled. Licking his lips, he could still faintly taste the coffee that Hawks must have had earlier. “Would you like to go on a date? Once I’m well again.”

That … Well, that was not at all what Hawks expected and it was clear on his face. Enji watched as his expression switched from disappointment to confusion, as he tried to process just what Enji asked, to sheer joy that he quickly tried to play off with his cool persona.

“A date? An honest-to-God date?”

“At a restaurant. Where you’ll have to wear a button down shirt,” Enji said before pausing. “Do you even own one?”

“Duh. Gotta have at least one for fancy banquets that are only good to go to for free booze.”

“Yes. An ‘honest-to-God date’ at a restaurant. Would you join me on one?”

Hawks seemed to think it over, as if Enji didn’t already know the answer. He’d practically jumped for joy when he realized what exactly Enji had asked him. “Hmm … Well … If you’re paying, I suppose I could … Might be nice to have some eye candy on my arm.”

Enji rolled his eyes before hesitating a moment. “Hawks … Get out …”

“Wha? After all that you’re just gonna tell me to g--”

“S-Sn …” Enji started, trying to motion towards his nose to try and silently warn Hawks.

It took a moment before Hawks’ eyes widened with clarity, diving out of the room nearly too late before a burst of flames accompanied a violent sneeze. 

At least his wings were spared once again.

It felt as if it had taken forever before Enji finally felt well enough to go out. Hawks had kept vigil next to his bed until Enji had all but ordered Hawks to go home (first, drop off the paperwork to Mera) to get his clothes and a decent night of sleep. Hawks didn’t want to argue that he’d actually slept far better cuddled up to a sick Enji than he had in weeks … Maybe even months, if he was honest. 

Okay … Maybe they were doing this out of order, putting the cuddling and kissing before the actual date, but Hawks wasn’t complaining in the slightest. He’d let Enji absolutely spoil him on their first date, wine and dining him at some restaurant that didn’t list prices next to the menu items, so he was pretty sure it was expensive as fuck. On top of that, Enji had even ordered dessert for them, promising a second dessert when they went back to his place.

Hawks was pretty sure he’d died in one of Enji’s violent sneeze-flames and went to heaven.

Fumbling their way through the door after leaving the restaurant, Hawks was doing his best to distract Enji by kissing him. God, he loved the way his idol tasted. Kicking off shoes and tossing jackets to the side, Enji picked Hawks up with ease to continue kissing him as Hawks wrapped his legs around Enji’s middle, allowing himself to be carried to the bedroom. Dropping Hawks unceremoniously to the bed, Enji crawled atop him to continue their kissing before Hawks suddenly pushed him away.

And sneezed.

Violently.

Looking around, his jaw dropped as he saw feathers as sharp as daggers stabbed into every nearby surface from where they’d shot off of Hawks. Hawks took a moment to look around before groaning in annoyance.

“Probably wasn’t the best idea to make out when you were still contagious, huh?”