Chapter Text
“This has to stop, boy! You’re ruining your career by being a dumbass!” Todoroki Enji growled at Keigo as the older man stood in front of him in Keigo’s office. The younger man rolled his eyes and fell back against the comfortable sofa he had been forced to sit on by the hulking man. He felt the hair on his nape rise when he saw the disapproving stare in Enji’s blue eyes, his heart constricted a bit and he looked away. He hated to disappoint Enji. The man was his idol and both had gone through so much together that disappointing him hurt, however, this was his fucking life. Keigo should do whatever the fuck he wanted.
“He’s right, Keigo-kun. You need to stop being volatile and take reign of your image, that’s one of the pillars of being a hero. How the public sees you determines if you’re trustworthy and reliable, or just a hot mess.” Hakamada Tsunagu added, his blue eyes sharp and focused on the task at hand. He meant to save Hawk’s career from becoming a mess. Keigo sighed as he ignored the older blond, he also hated to see the disappointment in Tsunagu’s green eyes.
“Everything’s fine, I don’t see what the big deal is,” the young blond said carelessly and took a sip of his soda. He ignored the incredulous looks the people in his office gave him as the young hero nonchalantly dismissed the insanity trending in every major social media platform and even in the news about him. His PR representative, Ikoma Komari, sobbed as she turned on the TV and tuned in to a news channel. The screen read in bold letters ‘Hawks, Real Hero or Villain Lover?’ as an old picture of him with Dabi appeared next to the caption.
“Can y-you explain that, Takami-kun?” She asked as her slender finger pointed to the muted TV. Enji blanched at the pictures as he saw his oldest son on the screen embracing Keigo.
“That’s old news, and you guys know I was working as a double agent!” Keigo slammed his fist on the coffee table. That night had been necessary and Keigo still felt disgusted by it. Dabi had been a great lover, but knowing now who he was– that he was Todoroki Touya, Endeavour's presumed dead son and the one that almost made him retire from hero work, Keigo felt nauseated every time he felt the ghost of those warm, rough fingers on his skin. The mark that the blue flame had left on him ran deeper than any burnt scars on his back.
He came out of his reverie when a heavy hand came to rest on his shoulder and he looked up at Enji as the older man had gotten his color back, his eyes on the young woman.
“Y-yes, but since you’re acting lik-like a hooligan, the media and most of the public are saying that you might go back to-to do this.” The young woman sniffed and wiped her eyes with the handkerchief that Tokoyami Fumikage, Keigo’s sidekick, gave her. The young man turned toward the TV and changed the feed to a blue popular social media platform.
“We know about it, but the public doesn’t. They might think that the rumors are true, especially with how you have been acting,” The young man concluded. His somber presence made Keigo realize that Fumikage was watching his every move as his sidekick. He didn’t care how the fucking public sees him, but he did care what his protegé saw in him, along with how his idol and the number three hero saw him.
“I still do my hero work! Tokoyami-kun, you know this! You’ve been my main sidekick since you graduated UA, you better than anyone here know my work ethic.” Keigo huffed as he defended his actions to the younger man and glared at the group.
Fumikage cleared his throat, he had expected that outburst of the hero, but this was ridiculous. He crossed his arms and Dark Shadow made itself small as it could feel Tokoyami losing his patience with his mentor, “You’re being stupid, reckless, infuriating, and stubborn as hell.” The older heroes in the room were taken aback at the sudden wave of insults from the cool-headed and aloof young man. Ikoma gasped, and Keigo looked as if Tokoyami had back-handed him. The young hero continued ignoring the hurt look on his mentor’s face.
“You’ve been getting drunk in public, and sleeping around. Do you have any idea about the amount of hush money and NDAs Ikoma-san and I had to deal with?! Because you want to party and cannot keep it in your pants?!” Tokoyami finished yelling, he was breathing hard and only calmed down when Hakamada put a calming hand on his shoulder. Fumikage huffed, looked away from Keigo, and leaned against Hakamada. Keigo noticed how tired the young man looked and guilt pooled in his stomach.
“The kid’s right, Hawks. Bad publicity can and will ruin your career. Even if your work as a hero is impeccable, it leaves the public with a bad taste in their mouths.” Enji grumbled, his deep voice resonating in the quiet room.
Keigo looked up at the number one hero and sighed. The fire hero was right, Keigo had been in a self-destructive era that was going to make him lose everything he had worked hard to build. He sat back and groaned at the situation, this was a whole mess and he didn’t have the energy to deal with this. After the war… things had been difficult for everyone, but the mental toll it took on Keigo was a bit too much. The decisions he had to make as a double agent had been difficult and brought nightmares with them. His dreams were plagued with the death of so many heroes and villains, some that truly didn’t fit the title of villains.
Twice...
That guilt came back to full force. Keigo shook his head, sat forward, put his head on his hands, and groaned. What the hell was he doing?!
“I’m sorry, this is a mess. Hell, I’m a freaking mess.” It had to be his young ward to be the one beating sense into him. Ikoma sat beside him and gave him a few pats on his head. Keigo felt his cheeks grow warm as the woman treated him like a child.
That’s what you are! Heh, crybaby! A voice that sounded like Twice echoed in his head and Keigo groaned. Now his conscience sounded like a damn villain, he was going insane.
“We forgive you, Takami-kun. But you need to let us help you, okay?” The young woman smiled at him and he nodded. He melted on the sofa and huffed. Keigo locked eyes with Tokoyami who was perched on the coffee table next to Hakamada and Enji stood behind them.
“Soooo, what now? You gonna make me date some cute idol or something to clean up my act?” He laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation. However, the eerie silence that followed was nerve-wracking, especially when the others gave him evil smiles.
“Oh, we already have someone in mind, Takami-kun,” Ikoma said with a smile that made Keigo shiver.
“Um, why am I even more scared than before?”
—------
Taishiro knew that as soon as he took that call from his PR team, his day was going to go downhill. He had a feeling he couldn’t shake when he woke up that the gods were going to try his patience. Taishiro was sitting at his favorite bar nursing the same beer bottle since he'd arrived a few hours ago. He was in his skinny form and grateful for it as he blended with the regulars more. Of course, the bartender knew it was him, but respected his privacy enough not to disturb him. Taishiro was a regular at this bar, as it was one of the few civilian establishments that he and his friends would frequent when they didn’t want to be surrounded by other heroes and end up talking shop.
Taishiro loved being a hero, but sometimes he needed to take a break from it all. He sighed and pulled at the sleeves of his hoodie; he was in a Red Riot hoodie with a pair of soft Real Steel joggers and sneakers since Taishiro loved wearing his kids’ merch. Those two heroes had come a long way and he was grateful to have them by his side. Being dressed in their hero merch comforted him as he decided what to do about the call he got a few hours ago.
“Taishiro, sorry for being late.” Aizawa Shouta’s voice drifted toward him as the underground hero and Tamaki walked toward him, both dressed as civilians. He waved at them with a soft smile on his face and yet Tamaki frowned. Taishiro cursed inwardly as he realized that his ex-protege knew something was up.
“Tai, what’s wrong? What’s going on?” Tamaki asked as he sat on one side of him and Aizawa sat on the other one. The teacher looked startled but gazed intently at Taishiro and sighed.
“Well, good evenin’ to you too, Tama,” Taishiro said and chuckled when the younger hero flushed bright red and covered his face with his hands.
“Tell us, Taishiro. Don’t give him a hard time,” Aizawa chided, but he was chuckling at the cute display. Tamaki was a great hero, but he was still bashful.
“Well, I got a call from my PR team, they, um, they,” He began to stammer, a light shade of pink covered his pale cheeks, “They want me to ‘date’ Hawks. They think that by dating me they can save his reputation.” He finished, better to be a straight-shooter than to beat around the bush.
“Huh, that makes sense,” Aizawa thought aloud as he signaled the bartender. Tamaki frowned and crossed his arms.
“Why’s that? Why you?” Tamaki said, his tone worried as he bit his lower lip. Aizawa thanked the bartender when the man returned with his beer.
“Think about it, Hawks’ reputation is in the toilet. The man has a penchant for slutting around, starting fights, and a lot of other speculations. Dating a wholesome hero such as Fat Gum will boost his image with the public greatly.”
“That’s the idea. I don’t know if I should do that, though.” Taishiro shook his head and drank from his beer. They fell into a contemplating silence as they studied the situation. Tamaki then turned fully to gaze at them and gave Taishiro a shy smile.
“But, why not do it? It's just for a time, right? He’s the number two hero, and that can skyrocket your popularity, Taishiro.” The younger hero added and shrugged. Shouta nodded and took a swig from his drink.
“Exactly, you got nothing to lose, and everything to gain.” Shouta shrugged and signaled the bartender for another. Taishiro shook his head and swallowed, he felt jittery all of a sudden.
“Huh? You want me to use him ?” Taishiro asked as he fidgeted with his now empty bottle, Aizawa gripped his shoulder and gave him a slight smile.
“It’s not a bad idea, Tai. It can help your charities too, like your food program for the homeless. Besides, they are doing the same thing with you.” Shouta commented, his voice deep and smooth and so fucking convincing. Tamaki nodded and fidgeted with his half-empty bottle, a determined look graced his handsome face as he locked eyes with Taishiro.
“Yeah, just…don’t get too attached to him, okay? We don’t want you to fall for him.” Tamaki said and Taishiro nodded. They had made excellent points, this could totally boost his career and his charity work. He nodded as resolution filled his heart, took out his phone, and began to text his PR team.
“Yeah, I bet it will be for a few months. Let’s get something out of it at the same time, yeah?” He smiled, however, warning bells were ringing in his head as he typed.
The next day arrived too soon for Taishiro as he walked into Hawks’ massive agency. The activity was a whirlwind around him as sidekicks and heroes rushed to service the public. Assistants were on their phones and moving around erratically on the open-space floor. It looks like his own agency but on a much bigger scale.
“Toyomitsu-san?” A soft, feminine voice called him and he turned around, he smiled and waved at the pretty black-haired woman.
“Yes, that’s me! Please, Taishiro is more than fine.” He gave her a brighter smile and chuckled when the woman flushed. She returned a smile and bow as a greeting.
“Ah! Of course, Taishiro-san! I didn’t recognize you! My name is Ikoma Komari, I’m from Hawks-san’s PR team.” He bowed back and took the offered card when she presented it to him.
“Ah, yeah! Sorry, Ikoma-san. I used all my fat against a villain yesterday, so I’m in my skinny form for the time being.”
“That’s more than fine! Please, follow me to the conference room,” He did just that, waving as he saw familiar faces. Ikoma opened a set of doors at the end of a long corridor and entered. The room was simple, with a comfortable sectional and chairs. In the room, Endeavour and Best Jeanist were sitting at the sectional while Hawks was sprawled on one of the chairs. An aloof, petulant attitude radiated from him and Endeavour looked as if he wanted to incinerate the boy.
“Listen here, and listen well, boy! This fucking bratty attitude of yours is going to kill your image as a hero! Why the fuck don’t you understand that?!” Todoroki bellowed as he jumped to his feet, the fire around his face flared as he was agitated. Hawks gave him a bored look as he glanced at the older hero before he realized that there were more people in the room as his eyes landed on Taishiro. He almost fell to the floor in his haste to righten himself, Todoroki and Hakamada turned and a wave of relief was reflected on their faces.
“Thank fucking hell, you’re here, Toyomitsu. We need you.” Todoroki rumbled and stretched his hand to him. Taishiro shook it and nodded at Hakamada.
“Sure, I came as soon as I could.” He then studied Hawks, the younger man was staring up and down at Taishiro. There was an unreadable look on his handsome face. Hawks made his way toward Taishiro and looked up at him, a sensual smirk gracing his face.
“Hey, how’s it going? Name’s Takami Keigo, at your service, gorgeous.” Hawks introduced himself, “So, this is your ability? I’ve always seen you in your big form.” He said while stepping around to look at Taishiro’s back. He moved with Hawks and frowned at the heat he saw in his eyes.
“Like I said, I used my quirk to the fullest yesterday. I’ll be back to my regular self in no time, Takami-san.” Hawks halted at those words and nodded, an arrogant smirk on his kissable lips.
“Don’t call me ‘Takami-san’, hot stuff. We’re gonna be boyfriends, Taishiro-kun. We should act like it,” The man said and sat down on the loveseat that faced the sectional, patting the spot next to him. Taishiro sighed and sat beside the number two hero, Ikoma cleared her throat and sat between Todoroki and Hakamada.
“Well! Taishiro-san, we thank you for listening to our problem. We are trying to clear Hawks’ image in front of the public and I thought you would be the perfect candidate for that!” She grabbed the tablet that was on the coffee table and after playing with it a bit, the TV on the left side of the room turned on and his profile from the Hero Commission appeared on the screen with his rank and a graphic with information showing his popularity and engagement with the public, “You’re popular with kids, teens, and families! The elderly also enjoy seeing you in the streets and your philanthropy work is known across the country. People appreciate how down-to-earth and wholesome your brand is. It helps that you have a ‘dad-vibe’ that the young population likes. Also, minority groups such as the LGBTQA+ have you as a Gay Icon since you came out as pansexual.” She looked at Taishiro and gave him a big smile.
“You’re a favorite to the public and since the war, your rank has increased!” Hearing his work being recited back to him with such admiration, made Taishiro’s cheeks warm up and a shy smile curved his lips.
“I’m just doing what a hero is supposed to.” He said in a low voice and Todoroki nodded.
“And you accept helping this stupid boy’s reputation? We can pay you,” The older man started, but Taishiro shook his head to stop his train of thought.
“Nope! If there’s gonna be any payment, donate it to my charities. I run three charities, Runaways, an organization that helps runaway teens and abused men and women, Rainbow-is-us, an organization that helps LGBTQA+ individuals with basic necessities such as housing, work, and anything they might need, and HungryHero, an organization that feeds the homeless.” He then looked at Hawks, and reached his hand toward the shorter man. Hawks smirked and laced their fingers together.
“Being with you will boost my ranking and I’ll be able to reach more people.” Hawks laughed and licked his lips.
“Then it will be a pleasure to do business, with you, Tai-kun,” Hawks purred and Taishiro smiled at him, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to Hawks’ stubbly cheek. Enjoying the warmth that his red cheeks emanated.
“The pleasure’s all mine, sweetheart,” Taishiro whispered and chuckled at the startled look the younger man had on his face. Taishiro knew that he couldn’t fall for Keigo, the number #2 hero was a party boy, younger than him, and didn’t take things seriously. However, Keigo's sweet, shy smile on his pretty face would be tough to overcome as he felt his stomach somersault at the sight of it.
I’m so fucked.