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Alex was cooking dinner, watching their partner with their kid, play-wrestle on the ground like Hawk wasn’t a literal killing machine. Hawk would never purposefully hurt Morgan, but it always chirped happily when Morgan ‘let’ it win as if it wasn’t going easy on the D Tier Villain.
“Dinner.” The two looked up from their spot that had previously been the coffee table’s spot, and Hawk scrambled towards the dinner table and Morgan called out ‘hands’, to which Hawk sulked into the bathroom. “It seems silly to tell it to wash its hands when it walks on them. You going to wash yours?”
Morgan rolled their eyes but went over to the kitchen seat and washed their hands. “What’s for dinner, then?”
“If I knew all it would take for you to take care of yourself was to have a kid I’d have made one ages ago.” Alex gestured towards the salad on the counter. “Grab that, I’ve got my hands full with the lasagna.”
“Just don’t have a second, because then I’m not going to have any time for heists.”
“Morgan, yesterday you broke into a credit union wearing Hawk. Sorry, but I don’t think it is preventing you from committing as much crime as you’d like.” Alex put the lasagna on the table and appeared a bowl of raw meat on Hawk’s high chair table. “I’m not making another kid. One is more than enough. Although it is spectacularly vicious.”
Hawk chirped at the praise, hopping into their chair and shoving its face into the bowl of food.
“Hawk had a great time with the heist, didn’t you?” Morgan smiled when it chirped, then looked at their husband. “Plus, it doesn’t need a sibling. It has Ducky.”
“Ah yes, the little bear cub. You two caused quite the stir on the playground I heard.” Alex was smiling. “They were playing hero when some older kids were bullying someone and you took a chunk out of that bully, didn’t you?” Alex froze, then stared at Morgan horrified. “You don’t think it’ll want to be a hero after that, do you?”
“It is a literal murderous hivemind, Alex, I don’t think hero is in it’s career plan. But if it is, we support Hawk. Or I will become a murderous hivemind and destroy you.”
Alex almost pointed out the fact that they, the S Tier, would never get killed by a D Tier. But they didn’t, because in that moment Morgan was just giving their kid the opportunity to be supported no matter what and that meant that they were conveniently comfortable with threatening a powerful mass murderer to protect a vicious hivemind. “If it wants to be a hero, Hawk can be a hero. But it would do spectacular things as a villain.”
Morgan smiled, ruffling Hawk’s spikes. “Yes you would, Hawk, you’ve already got one of your parents beat when it comes to kill counts, and pretty soon you’ll have the other beat when it comes to successful heists.”
“Hurtful!” Alex responded, grabbing their chest. “I’d better not get replaced on heists just so you can make sure Hawk beats me. I’ve finally started to get good at them!”
“It’s a natural, what can I say? It’s almost like they have the best in the business teaching them murder and mayhem.”
Hawk tittered at the idea of murder and mayhem and Alex sighed, giving in. “You’re right, now eat your dinner. Tomorrow’s a school day so that means early morning.”
Morgan groaned and Hawk bounced in its chair, almost breaking the plastic.
Later that evening, when Alex and Morgan were curled up on the couch together, Morgan poked their friend to get their attention. “What’s it going to take to get you to take Hawk to school and let me sleep in?”
Alex rolled their eyes and got more comfortable, skipping through a part of their latest fight that they thought was too boring to go through again, the superhero’s speech. They don’t know why they let him ramble for so long. “I’ll have a think about it,” they finally answered, as if they weren’t already going to do it.