Chapter Text
It starts innocently enough. Shouto's passing by, Hawks can't pass up a chance to dig at Endeavor enough to get his attention, Endeavor hates anyone being around his kids, and the Commission is on his ass about using social media more in his free time. It's a no brainer when he sees Shouto in the street to detour down and land next to him, cajole him for a picture and ruffle his hair before moving on.
HAWKS ☑️ @wingedhero
just posing with my biggest fan! 😜 @endeavorofficial
[A picture of Hawks and Shouto, Hawks' arm slung up around Shouto's shoulders and Shouto staring blankly at the camera with a peace sign.]
Hawks posts it, likes a few comments, retweets a couple of things, then puts Twitter out of his mind again. He's got more important things to focus on, truthfully, and he doesn't get why the Commission doesn't just hire someone for his accounts--it's not like he has people to talk to, anyway, and Twitter fans are rabid.
So Hawks forgets, knowing Endeavor won't reply anyway, right up until three days later when he wakes up to a text from Rumi that just says "check twt lol". So he does, and at first he's not sure what he's supposed to be looking for; he just clicks the most recent mention and it brings him to the post of Combustion-- Todoroki Touya. Shouto's older brother, Endeavor's eldest son, and someone Hawks has never shared two words with.
TOUYA ☑️ @combustion
Looks like a lot of you liked that picture. I would be jealous too! If anyone has your back in the skies, it's Tsukuyomi.
[A picture of Touya and Tokoyami, Tokoyami with his usual dark severity despite Dark Shadow’s excitement over his shoulder, Touya smiling with his arm around them.]
Combustion is posing with Hawks' intern/soon-to-be sidekick, sure, but Hawks doesn't take it any particular way at first, until he scrolls the comments a little and finds his fans defending him (over what? He couldn’t say) and something snarky from Todoroki in response, and, well. That just won't do.
HAWKS ☑️ @wingedhero quoted a post.
@tsukuyomi wtf? 😢
Jealous? Hawks isn't jealous. He's not a jealous person. He's not. And if he were, it wouldn't be over his sweet darling angel intern of the night who calls Hawks his mentor and appreciates when Hawks does something particularly birdy. So-- the obvious course of action is to text Shouto and Tokoyami and ask if they want to do a training exercise together on Saturday after his patrol. For no reason other than for his public image. Not because Combustion is under his skin. Not at all.
By Saturday, he's got an arsenal of pictures of the three of them together and Tokoyami's clued him in on just how old the picture of he and Combustion is, from a surprise field training exercise a few months prior-- he also feels like he's winning. Not that there's anything to lose, he reminds himself.
HAWKS ☑️ @wingedhero
had to get some fresh pics of my little chicks! wouldn't want to use just any old event from my camera roll 😌
[Hawks, Shouto and Tokoyami sit at a table on the balcony of Hawks' office at his agency, all wearing sunglasses and sipping boba with straight faces.]
He sends Shouto back to his own agency and Tokoyami back to his intern duties, and within literal seconds of posting people are tagging Combustion and Hawks lets a self satisfied smirk fall onto his lips.
MIRU 🐦 HAWKS TWT TAKEOVER @mrshawks: 👀 😂
akari 🔥 flametwt awards !! @combustionswife: @combustion @combustion @combustion @combustion
niko @ read pinned 📌 @catboytouya: is this a vague? cos this feels like a vague 😭 hawks shady
machi 🦷 @touyasteeth: @hawksteeth did you see this 😳
He likes a few comments here and there and then sets his phone down to, begrudgingly, dig into some paperwork.
The next installment in he and Combustion’s apparent Twitter rivalry is one that, at first, Hawks doesn’t even think has anything to do with him or it at all.
TOUYA ☑️ @combustion
Popped in to see @endeavor today.
[It's a selfie of a blank faced Touya with Enji's stern expression peering over his shoulder. They are both, miraculously, holding up peace signs.]
It’s not until he reads the comments that he realizes, oh, this is supposed to get to him. It does, after the realization; he’d forgotten that being an Endeavor fanboy was a common knowledge trait of his. So like, he's not jealous because Combustion spent time with his dad. He's not stupid. But maybe he is a little jealous of the concept of having a dad who isn't a piece of shit? He can admit that much. He huffs at the comments, though the absurdity of them makes him laugh.
ume @ touyatwt supremacy @touyaswings: we all know why @combustion was visiting endeavor @wingedhero @wingedhero @wingedhero 👀❤️
Kiyo 🌸 @gaylilhawks: IN-LAW TEAS I'M CALLING IT NOW
Youta @blueflame01: you all realize Combustion is out for blood right?
He likes a few tweets, and ends up quote retweeting “ gaylilhawks ” with:
HAWKS ☑️ @wingedhero quoted a post.
don't you think if it were inlaws, i'd be the one visiting? 😅🤣
Which, to be fair, is totally safe to point out because it's not like Endeavor will deign any time soon to see Hawks outside of a random teamup. That's not how he operates.
He's debating how else to reply (other than liking and retweeting Combustion's tweet, just to ruffle his feathers) when he gets a text notification-- great, another group chat. He's gearing up to tell his interns that he's not getting involved in another squabble about birdseed when he realizes it's Shouto and two unknowns.
Hawks: yo?
Shouto: Hawks. This is a group chat with my brother Natsuo and my sister Fuyumi. I'd like to have lunch with the three of you soon.
Unknown: yumi's a pre-k teacher so she can give you tips on how to deal w touya lol
Shouto: Exactly my thoughts.
Unknown: He is still our older brother, you know? (´∀｀；)
It's not three days later that Hawks is sitting with the three of them around the table at Fuyumi's apartment, takeout spread on it, and Natsuo is holding Hawks' phone up to take a picture of them all.
HAWKS ☑️ @wingedhero.
so good to see the little duckling again-- and he brought some friends! @shouto @fuyumitdrk @natsu3000
[The four sit around the table, Fuyumi with a little smile and double peace signs held in front of her, Natsuo with a rocker symbol, Hawks with his trademark grin and a chicken wing in one hand, and Shouto already slurping down noodles.]
Hawks Supremacy @fiercewingzzzz: Oh. My. God. MDJDHDHDF
MIRU 🐦 HAWKS TWT TAKEOVER @mrshawks: UMMMM EXCUSE ME SIR WHAT WAS THAT BEFORE ABOUT VISITING INLAWS???? HELLO
🧊 icyhot fanclub 🔥 @shoutosno1fan: 😭 shouto is so cute eating his noodles
HOTWINGS??? 👀 @hawksleftwing: @combustion don't tell me you're taking this laying down?! why aren't u in the pic 😭😭
Hawks preens for a few days while his assistant rolls their eyes at him periodically. He'd shut Combustion down no sweat, and if he's anticipating something even bigger and more amusing for a retaliation-- well, he's okay with admitting that, because the Commission is pleased with Hawks anyway and Combustion's bids at riling him are funny.
By the fourth day, he's picking up his phone nearly every ten minutes, just in case he missed something.
By the fifth, he's begrudgingly turning on post notifications, his preening turning to brooding and pensive looks.
Days six and seven see a further decline in mood, Hawks huffing where people will hear him just to let them know he's displeased (and his interns, the little shits, just giggle at him as they always do) and he finds himself absently plucking his own feathers in boredom before snatching his hand away. He has things to do that would keep him from boredom, he reminds himself; nonetheless, when his phone buzzes he snatches it up.
It's just Combustion retweeting an article about himself, a recent tourist save, which puts him in even more of a sour mood.
A few hours later, Rumi arrives ("your interns are sick of you moping everywhere, come meet my girlfriend tonight, I think you'll get along") and whisks him from work after his shift's over. Not long after that (after a good shower and Rumi giving his wings a quick groom) he's sitting in her passenger seat while she chatters away about how cute and wonderful her girlfriend is, and for the sake of being a good best friend he tries to take it all in.
HAWKS ☑️ @wingedhero
when the best friend drags you to meet her new gf? 🤧 lol (love our lesbians)
Hawks may not be allowed to be out, but Rumi is out and at the very least he's allowed to pose as an ally. There is some weird modicum of tension the closer they get to the bar, one that Hawks chalks up to Rumi’s excitement to introduce him to her girlfriend. They haven’t been together long at all, having met only a month prior and began their relationship in half that time; Rumi is always prone to being convinced her most recent fling is “the one” and Hawks never doubts her, just makes sure he keeps snacks stocked for her inevitable bemoaning after she chases someone away with her intensity.
The bar is nice and if nothing else, quiet-- for a bar, anyway. There’s a bouncer, who he nods to because he’s been here plenty of times for Rumi-related relations and otherwise. He does a cursory sweep of the room, looking for anyone they might know, eyes sharp despite the dim lighting. Quickly, almost too quickly, his gaze falls on two shocks of white hair sitting in a booth; if Hawks fumbles a step as Rumi leads him into the bar, he's well practiced enough to hide it. The raptor grip he suddenly has on her arm will be a little harder to deal with but as soon as she realizes what's happened, she shoots an apologetic look and rubs his hand with her other one.
"Rumi," he says, voice low. "What the fuck."
"It may have slipped my mind?" She offers with a grin that's not at all apologetic, and Hawks gives her one borderline furious look before his face shutters up and he's bringing up his easygoing smile, as if he's just seen the pair of siblings at the table. His hand is still tight around Rumi’s wrist, unable to let go, but her soothing hand over his is slowly getting rid of the worst of the shock.
"Yumi-chan!" He says cheerfully, because he talks with the three youngest Todorokis damn near daily and they're there at this point, for Hawks to be calling her a nickname. "Well, geez, you should have told me at our lunch that Rumi was your girlfriend! I didn't realize our Fuyumis were the same." Too late, he realizes Combustion may take it as an insult, and Hawks has no clue how he reacts to things like that. This has turned from a fun dinner to a battleground, and with a slight tense of his shoulders he tells himself to lock his shit down.
The emotion shutoff is convenient, because he suddenly drops Rumi’s wrist and she hops right in to gather Fuyumi in her arms and kiss all over her face and hairline, as if Hawks hadn't been limiting circulation to her hand. He'd be cooing teasingly over them if he weren't turning to Combustion and his blank, impassive face and flashing a smile, sliding his gloved hands into his pockets and making sure his wings stay tucked neat against his back. "Don't think we've had the pleasure to meet face to face. I'm Hawks." He offers a nod and slides into the booth, one of those circular numbers that would have Hawks right next to Combustion if he slid over enough. He doesn't.
Combustion’s eyes rake over him in a way that makes him itch, unsure of exactly what emotion is being conveyed (because there isn’t one). Hawks tells himself to get laid, because getting appraised so closely by some guy he's been beefing with on Twitter shouldn't make him feel like preening. No matter how hot he is or isn't, physically or otherwise.
“Please,” Combustion says, his voice smoother than Hawks had expected, “I’m with family right now. You can call me Touya. It’s nice to finally meet you.” No it isn’t , Hawks thinks distantly, but he is practiced enough at lies for social niceties that he doesn’t call the man on it.
"Touya-san," he replies, the honorific automatic as he rolls the name around his mouth. He doesn't mind it, he supposes. He flags down a waitress as he speaks, an easy, practiced smile on his lips. "You can call me Hawks," he says, with a glint of amusement to his eyes. "It's the only name I've got, after all."
One mojito ordered later, he's realized belatedly that his whole night is shaken, because his plan was to be a third wheel and take someone home and have them sign about 20 NDAs that the Commission requires any time he wants to hook up with someone. Now, though, he'll be expected to entertain Combustion-- Todoroki, Touya, whoever-- when Rumi and Fuyumi eventually abandon him for the dance floor.
"So," Hawks says, and picks up two pretzels, rubbing them together to get the salt off. He pops one in his mouth, makes a face but eats it anyway. And then he doesn't say anything else, because he can't think of a topic of conversation that doesn't involve Twitter griefing, and he turns abruptly to Rumi and Yumi. "Rumi never told me how you met," he offers, a quietly desperate bid for someone to fill in his awkward silence, and Rumi seems happy to launch into the tale of fixing a bus' tire while Fuyumi's class were on a field trip. That segues into a cute story about Rumi cutting rabbit apples for Fuyumi’s class, and altogether they seem to have far too many cute stories for a pair of people who have known each other for a mere month. It’s a little sickening, in a sweet way.
It's not that Hawks forgets Touya's there so much as he purposefully tries to block the knowledge out, because then maybe his slightly puffed feathers will fucking chill. Yumi and Rumi are disgustingly perfect and he gets lost in their stories right up until he gets a Twitter notification; nearly forgetting himself, he turns to look at it and narrows his eyes briefly, opening it up and clicking his tongue once.
TOUYA ☑️ @combustion
Ran into @wingedhero on accident! The world is so small, but hey, we're enjoying drinks together 🍻😉
He doesn't give Touya the courtesy of a warning, sliding around the booth until they're nearly touching and snapping a picture of them.
HAWKS ☑️ @wingedhero quoted a post.
wasn't expecting to see touya-san here, but i guess #OldMenNeedFriendsToo 😢 @combustion @fuyumitdrk @rabbithero
[Hawks sits, looking well at ease, just in front of Touya with a grin and a peace sign, Touya is blank faced with a peace sign, and Yumi and Rumi are talking in the background.]
Rumi'd assured him she and Fuyumi didn't care too much about people knowing about them, so he decides the picture is adequate enough and plops his phone back down, leaning on the table and setting his chin in his hand. Touya… Well. He’s not actually that much older than Hawks, just two or three years, the same as Rumi. But it’s still funny. Gold eyes slide to Touya's face, and he shakes his head nearly imperceptibly.
"Ballsy," he says breezily, grinning and stretching his legs out under the table. "But if anyone asks, I'm drinking fancy seltzer water." The Commission has always been strict about his public appearance, and he's surprised Touya isn't worried about the same. He has noticed that he thinks he might take his rules a bit more seriously than other pros, but he doesn't think it's a problem.
"Boring," Touya comments back, "but I guess it's anything for the fans." He huffs out a laugh as he, assumedly, checks the quoted tweet, and the notifications Hawks gets are surely his like and retweet. A few more notifications imply that he’s retweeted a few more things before his phone goes back down, and Hawks resists the urge to check his own Twitter again. Instead, he just laughs and shrugs to Touya’s comment and as soon as his mojito arrives he downs it like it's water. It's not very strong, anyway. He doesn't feel any particularly strong aversion to Touya's (warm, very warm) knee bumping against his own (chilled) one as Touya speaks again.
"Why don't we let the girls dance and enjoy a round of club soda?" Touya gestures toward the bar with a shoulder; Hawks’ eyes flick to Yumi And Rumi briefly before he nods. He slides out of the booth and stands, poking one of Rumi's rabbit ears; it twitches and she glances toward him.
"We're gonna leave you lovebirds to it," he drawls out, easy and warm, hand affectionately laid on the back of her head. "Don't let us men ruin your date." Rumi just glances between he and Touya and gives a grin, bumping his hip with her shoulder.
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do, little bird," she says, eyes alight with mirth, and it's not saying a lot because Rumi knows no limits. He just rolls his eyes, absently holding out a hand to steady Touya as he stands. If he wants it. It was a thoughtless gesture, but once Hawks is aware of it he's hyperfocused on how fucking awkward he probably looks, so he just keeps staring at Rumi's face as her grin grows wider and eyebrow arches higher. Hawks is-- he's charismatic, he knows that. He's great at working crowds and interviewers. One on one has always been hard for him if it's unrelated to work though, and he doesn't even want to think about how many shots he'll have to have before he can stop overthinking everything he says and does.
"Again, it's nice meeting you outside of work, Miruko. Have fun Yumi." These are Touya’s words that Hawks almost misses because he is instead focused on a hand wrapping around his wrist, the other man pulling himself to stand. Hawks resents the mere centimeters Touya has on him, but he doesn’t let it show, just cranes his neck up slightly to see the other man’s face as Hawks' wrist is dropped as if he's the one capable of burning. All at once it slots into place that Touya is probably just as uncomfortable as he is, but they're united in their love of their respective lesbians, and hey. He can respect that. Touya fiddles with one of his earrings, gaze averted as he speaks again. "I... know you have the wallet of a hotshot, but our next round is on me. This old man will cover whatever you want to get."
Hawks shrugs and gives a little laugh, feathers ruffling as he makes his way toward the bar. "Say it like that and people will think you're some kind of pervert," he says, but there's no bite even as Touya merely raises a brow. Hawks wonders if the comment was too much. He's a lightweight (or maybe less “lightweight” and more “refuses to drink anything but liquor”) and being safely in the zone of non-intrusive conversation is where he can excel. He settles at a corner of the bar, a little out of the way and mostly blocked by cheesy decor so he can drink in peace.
"I'm a lightweight," he warns, because the last thing he needs is to get drunk off his ass and make a fool of himself for the Commission to clean up. "But I guess that's good for a pervy old man who wants to buy me a drink." His grin eats shit, the joke being repeated if only because Touya’s reaction hadn’t been enough , and he flags down the bartender to order.
It's not that Hawks doesn't have friends: he has Rumi, of course. It's that Hawks didn't have friends until he was seventeen , and he was a weird kid and he's... Well. Not good at social cues. The Todorokis are easy; they already have a dynamic that Hawks can slot himself into, mimic behaviors around him. With Touya-- well. There's no one to observe his behavior around, to see what Hawks should do to respond. Antagonism just makes him straight up grumpy, but that's what Hawks has been working on for the last couple weeks and now he's out of ideas.
"That's fine. I don't drink very often." Touya puts both hands on the counter. "My father looks down on excessive vice. You can imagine how a man like that--” Hawks’ interest peaks a little at the mention of Endeavor, but Touya shuts it down fast-- and Hawks doesn't blame him, really. He's sure being compared to someone so successful is exhausting. Hawks makes a mental note to bring up his idol as little as possible around Touya; beefing is fun, digging where it hurts isn't. "I mean to say that we can keep each other in check. You don't mind, do you?" The bartender slides them both their drinks, and Hawks is careful not to get any on his gloves. No need to reek of alcohol.
"It's not like it'll be hard," Hawks points out, eyeing Touya's drink as he sips his own mai tai. "You're drinking beer." It's not a challenge, but Hawks wonders if he could say anything at all without Touya reacting in some way. It's a little funny. Touya's eyes narrow at the beer comment, then glance at the drink Hawks ordered.
"I guess that means I'll be taking care of you..." He mumbles, but Hawks doesn’t detect any bite in the words themselves.
"I'll be fine," Hawks insists. "This is nothing, even for me. It takes like three drinks for me to get drunk, I'll stop here." Had he remembered to eat before he came? Maybe he should stop now. He spots Yumi and Rumi on the dancefloor together and smiles at the sight, and he's not quite jealous of Rumi's freedom-- but maybe it makes him a little self pitying.
"More importantly…” Hawks glances back to his companion as Touya speaks again. “The new ranking comes out soon. My office got a formal invitation in the mail and everything." Touya flexes his hand and gestures in a vague direction. "I had expected us to meet for the first time on stage." Hawks gives a genuine laugh at that, giving a nod.
"Yeah, me too. Though I'd prefer to stick somewhere around the 20s or 30s-- more wiggle room, you know? I hate having everyone's eyes on me."
Ah.
He wasn't supposed to say that.
Oh, well. He offers a secret little grin and puts his finger to his lips. "But yeah, I'd thought we'd meet each other on stage. I have no doubts you'll end up in the top ten-- maybe even five. You've got great crime stats."
"What happens when you and I make it to the top five? You're better at crowd control. Evacuations. Anything my firepower can't manage and let's not forget; your dedicated fanbase. Does that bother you?" Touya’s response is quick and sharp, and Hawks find he has to give him more credit than he’d thought: Todoroki Touya is observant .
"Why would that bother me?" He laughs it off, taking a sip of his drink to let himself think, preening a bit under the praise. "I love my fans. Likeability is important, you know." Shrugs a little, breezy, like the thought of being in the top ten doesn't make his throat close, having even more restrictions on his already carefully controlled life. It's normal, he knows-- but he hates it. "I've stuck in the teens for this long, I think I'll probably stay around there." Ignoring how many extra patrols and missions the HPSC has been pushing, how much further in the public eye they've forced him to be. "Maybe bump up to 12, at the most? But you're probably guaranteed one of those top five spots." He grins. "Your fans are pretty loyal, too."
Which is true, from his objective perspective, and he doesn't think it's a result of nepotism. Endeavor's fans tend to be older men, old housewives and edgy teenagers, and Touya's range across all ages and genders. So what if Hawks had done his research? That's his business.
"The Commission will be happy if I rank higher," he finally concedes, with a determined nod, a thoughtful expression on his face. Maybe he only got himself to stop speaking because Touya’s brows pinched closer together on his face the longer Hawks spoke, or maybe because Touya's pouting, and Hawks may not know the reason but he thinks it's a little too cute for his own good. After a few moments of awkward silence it's as if a switch has flipped, though, then Touya's grinning and leaning into Hawks' space. Somehow, that's even worse.
"We'll just have to see. Don't worry too much about the attention. In the end,” Touya says, that grin heart melting for anyone, “all of it will be directed at me." Hawks finds himself drawn in unconsciously, grin on his own features, and gives a bob of his head-- not quite a nod, but if anyone asked if it was a bird thing he'd deny it.
"Then I guess now I know where to put my attention, too." After a couple of seconds his brain catches up with his words, and he sits up rather abruptly, takes a long sip of his drink. He's not flirting with Touya; he's not going to flirt with Touya. Regardless of NDAs and the like, Hawks had been told that other heroes were off limits. Even if they weren't, he has a feeling that even a one night stand with Touya would end up with the rest of the Todorokis knowing about it, and those aren't waters he wants to tread.
Not to mention that every man he meets is straight and transphobic until proven otherwise. It's just the safest route for him, and being a hero doesn't exempt Touya from passing those tests-- not that Hawks is planning on testing him! He bites the inside of his cheek to reset that circular thought process.
"Good luck, not that you'll need it." He slides comfortably back into Hawks: For The People and offers a smile. "But don't tell anyone I said that. Not good for the Twitter rivalry." He taps his phone in his pocket, as if proving a point. Touya won’t meet his eyes anymore, head inclined, and Hawks is convinced he’s made the other man uncomfortable.
"I'm keeping a lot of secrets for you, Hawks. Anything else you want to get off of your chest before we have to pack it all up?" It strikes a chord in him he doesn’t quite like; what exactly is that meant to mean? Is the publicly adored Combustion about to rave on about gay people ruining the societal norms around marriage? Never mind that Combustion is here with Fuyumi; he’d wanted to get away from them, hadn’t he? Maybe he was a homophobe. Maybe Hawks had been too brazen, too comfortable in the warmth of the aura that surrounds them.
But. Right now he is Hawks: For The People, and Hawks: For The People is great at deflection. "Hmmmm..." He pretends to think, tapping his finger on his chin before grinning. He thinks about saying something outlandish that Touya will definitely know is fake, but it's almost funnier to say something that he won't know the truth of. "I mean, if you're offering to be my secret keeper, Touya-san. I can return the favor, too." A grin.
He lets his eyes wander over to Fuyumi and Rumi again as Touya’s silence stretches into a non-answer; if he sees Fuyumi "accidentally" icing some guy's hand for reaching toward Rumi's ass, no he didn't. He tells himself to chill, and chill he does. "I'm really happy for Rumi," he says finally, bringing his eyes back to his company and placing the back of his hand up to his own cheek as he takes the last sip of his drink. If it’s a probe, that’s his business. He feels pleasantly warm, leaning against the counter now. "Yumi-chan is really sweet. You're lucky to have such a kind little sister."
As a child, he'd daydreamed a lot about having siblings, what it would feel like to grow up in a normal home where he wasn't enlisted to help with robberies and... Darker deeds. He has no illusions as to what kind of man his father is. He turns his gaze thoughtfully to the ice in his cup, stirring it with his straw. Todoroki Touya had been a lot different than this in his head, but he can't deny that he feels equalized again now that they've spoken. He just missed the entertainment of it all, he's sure.
"She's the sweetest person that I will ever know. I really... am lucky to have my family." Touya’s voice is uncharacteristically soft and something about it spreads a warm feeling in Hawks’ gut. He nods at the acknowledgment, satisfied with the answer. If Touya can appreciate Fuyumi, maybe he's not, you know. The total prick Hawks was convinced he must have been. Touya turns back toward him, but Hawks’ gaze has already been brought back to stare with soft, wistful eyes at his best friend and her girlfriend on the dancefloor. That same thought from earlier returns: Hawks can’t be out, but he can at least pose as an ally. He envies Rumi her freedom, her adamance that she won’t work or do anything for anyone but herself. His eyes are drawn briefly to Touya again as the man seemingly tries to stab his phone screen to death with his thumbs before letting out a yawn and glancing toward the exit.
"Hawks," he says, pulling out his card and sliding it to the bartender as he tucks his phone away, "I'm getting tired. Why don't we call it a night?"
"Already?" Touya really must be even more of a lightweight than him. "You can go ahead, Rumi drove me. I'll wait for her or take a cab a bit later. I don't want to interrupt." And if he's going to be here alone, he should go to the bathroom before getting another drink. "Let me take a piss and I'll see you out, at least." He slides off his stool and one knee buckles underneath him; a hand flies out in front of him automatically to catch himself, and he finds himself with a fistful of Touya's shirt and an inability to let go. "Ah." When he gets home, he's going to die. He's going to fling himself off his balcony.
He opens his mouth to explain himself, that he just needs a couple of minutes to center himself and he'll let go-- but his brain short circuits at strong arms around his middle and fingers thrust in his feathers, and a chirp that he wasn't planning on vibrates its way out of his throat as he all but goes boneless in Touya's hold. Touya’s stupid, hero-instinct hold, because Hawks looks embarrassingly like some damsel in distress because he can’t hold his alcohol.
He's not flinging himself off his balcony, he's flinging himself off his roof.
"Hey, I got it, I got you--” Touya is cut off by Hawks’ fucking chirp , and they stand there in silence for a moment. “Yeah. You're coming with me. I'm getting us a taxi." Touya’s voice leaves no room for argument despite Hawks’ desire to, but Touya standing flexes his fingers in Hawks’ wings and he only melts further, his traitorous body letting Touya take his weight.
"I have to let Rumi know," he protests, but there's not a lot of fight there and the back of his head where he stuffs his bird brain is perking up in interest, urging him to invite someone else to preen his feathers for once since there's a hand already there anyway, and he locks it back down. He doesn't need the Commission back up his ass about that. Touya is steadily taking them toward the exit.
"I just need a few minutes," he insists, but the bombardment of his usually all so carefully repressed... bird things has him disoriented, and he sounds unconvincing to his own ears. Touya's warming up, and Hawks figures it must be irritation; he ducks his head, trying to flex his fingers to no avail. The very least he can do is not fight Touya trying to get them out of the public eye, so he falls quiet and tries to become as compliant as possible, tries to be Hawks: For The Commission who puts his head down and lets himself be led wherever he needs to go.
He doesn’t lift his eyes once until he’s being carefully maneuvered into the back of a taxi, Touya managing to get them both in without falling despite Hawks’ immovable grip on his shirt. “Sorry,” he mutters, eyes closed in shame, and he feels Touya shrug next to him. It’s not for a few moments the other man has an answer, a simple and awkward,
“Like I said, I’m taking care of you tonight.”
Hawks doesn’t read into it as he shares his address, and the taxi falls into an uncomfortable silence for the entire drive home. Touya, 1. Hawks, 1. Tonight’s blundering has evened the score and the fistful of shirt that forces Hawks to stay slightly turned toward Touya for the majority of the ride proves it.