Archive of Our Own

Keigo was flying another lap around the city limits as part of his patrol when an alert came through on his phone. He flicked open the notification for more details: flight enabled hero requested as support for de-escalation with co-ordinates following. He was less than a mile away and accepted the job, twisting to bank in the direction given.

A group of uniformed officers had cordoned off a block surrounding an unremarkable-looking building. Hawks alighted next to a small gathering inside the barricade, scanning for someone who could give him a briefing. An officer waved him over to where three or so of her colleagues were taking direction from a…beautiful man. He was a little taller than Keigo, but not by much, with paper-white hair and intricate mauve linework tattoos that wound around him like lace, stretching from halfway up his jaw and down his chest to disappear into his shirt. They also dipped down from underneath his eyes like dark circles which only emphasised the brilliant blue of his irises. He had facial piercings as well, done in silver that winked in the light whenever he moved; two cheek piercings, a labret, nose studs in each nostril and a whole host in his ears. He was breathtaking. Keigo jogged over, keeping his expression professional as the officer quickly introduced him.

“Hawks, this is Himura Touya,” she said, motioning to the beautiful man, “he’s our de-escalator for this situation.”

Himura bowed to him, and Hawks returned the gesture, trying to not let his wings flare with the action.

“Have you been briefed?” Himura asked. He had a wonderfully deep, sonorous voice. It made Keigo feel like curling up like a cat in a sunbeam. He could see how he would make an excellent de-escalator.

“I have not,” Keigo replied, “I only know that it’s a de-escalation job and you required a flight-enabled hero.”

Himura nodded, his piercings catching the light, “a child with an instinct-enhancing quirk accidentally hit a civilian; Minakami Momo who’s an eagle heteromorph. We’ve got quirk specialists working with the parents to try and either undo the quirk or work out a timeline, but until then our goal is to get Minakami-san somewhere safe.” He explained, “You’re here as backup in case something goes wrong – your main goal is to make sure Minakami-san doesn’t hurt herself or others,” Himura explained, “but I’d also rather not stress her out more than necessary. If she tries to fly away, don’t engage her, just follow and keep us updated.”

“Got it,” Hawks said, the briefing helping him move back into his work persona despite Himura’s shiny piercings and wonderful voice.

They set off in the direction of the building, which appeared to be a fancy-looking coffee shop. The kind with tall ceilings and exposed beams.

“I have a fire quirk, if I need to protect myself with it I will, so if you see that assume I need backup,” Himura continued, “Minakami-san is a sea-eagle heteromorph specifically, so she’s quite big: about 6’5 apparently, and she has a beak and talons so be aware of those.” He warned.

Jesus, that’s even taller than Rumi, Keigo couldn’t help but think.

“But she is still a civilian,” Himura pointed out, “under duress. We want to do as little harm as possible.” He stopped at the door and turned back to Hawks, “I’m going to go in, you should stay out here unless needed,” he said, Hawks felt his feathers fluff at that.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea, Himura-san?” he asked.

He nodded, “I don’t need her getting territorial,” he explained. “Besides,” he continued, “hefting his bag up onto his shoulder, “you’re 'the man too fast for his own good’, right?” He asked, dryly, “I’m sure you’ll be able to get to me in time from out here.”

Oh no, the beautiful man was teasing and complimenting Keigo at the same time. He quickly pinned his wings to his side before he could start flapping and chittering like an idiot. Himura seemed either uncaring or unaware of Keigo’s plight as he turned to enter the building with a polite knock.

“Minakami-san?” He called out as he went in, the door swinging shut behind him but not before some of Hawks’ feathers could follow him in. Easiest way to monitor the situation, Keigo reassured himself as he slipped a feather inside Touya’s jacket, resting against his lovely warm chest.

“My name is Himura Touya, I was hoping we could talk?” He asked.

Keigo’s feather picked up a shifting movement in the rafters above – it felt large. A nervous clucking followed.

Keigo felt Himura place his bag down on one of the empty tables, “have you eaten?” He asked.

The clucking got curious, and the air moved as something large swept down from the rafter to a table across from Himura. Keigo tensed.

“Okay, I’ve got spicy tuna karaage, fried mackerel, some sushi and a fresh salmon fillet straight from the fishmonger,” Touya offered.

Minakami let out a delighted chitter and hopped forward. Kiego’s feathers couldn’t tell much beyond the movement and noises happening, but the waves of displaced air from her wings made his own want to flare out territorially. And it wasn’t because he was pretty sure her wingspan was bigger than his. Wingspan wasn’t everything! His feathers were a deep scarlet and very glossy thanks to his regular preening. Hers were probably just brown if she was a sea eagle. He had no way of knowing if they were as glossy as his, but he was choosing to believe they weren’t.

He turned and started preening as he thought, drawing a wing across to start systematically brushing through the vanes and making sure all his feathers were soft and well-placed. There were one or two that were a little too dull for his liking and he banished those to do more reconnaissance in the building.

“That good, huh?” Himura asked, “You can have the rest, you know,” he offered.

Minakami reached across and plucked more food from the box on the table. There was a questioning chirp and then the box was being pushed back towards Himura.

“No thank you, Minakami-san,” he said politely, “I don’t like fish – this is all for you.”

Keigo could feel the air move as Minakami wagged her tail feathers. Oh, absolutely not, he thought, moving to go into the café, but the police started forward with him, and he remembered why he was there. She hadn’t been aggressive or violent. There was no reason for him to go in. He settled back, leaning against the wall in a show of calm he wasn’t feeling. The police moved back too.

“I like your talons, by the way,” Himura said.

Keigo scowled down at his own hands, turning them back and forth as he checked his own claws. Sharp and well-kept.

“Do you do them yourself, or?” Himura asked.

Minakami, chirped and shook her head.

“You have a very good nail tech, then,” Himura said, “I like the gems and the little flowers, they’re very cute.”

Minakami chittered happily, her tail wagging again.

Fuck, Hawks had never considered getting his talons painted. Why had this never occurred to him?

“Oh?” Himura responded, “You like my piercings? You can touch them if you like, just be careful.”

Keigo wanted to scream into a pillow. He started pacing back and forth in front of the door.

Minakami reached forward to press a talon against Himura’s face, pushing to make him tilt his head towards the warmth of a nearby sunbeam. His silverwork was going to catch the light so prettily and Keigo wasn’t there to see it.

Minakami let out a low coo and Keigo had to repress a hiss in response, ruffling his feathers which kept puffing up in a warning she couldn’t even see.

The air in the café was stirred up in great gusts as she took off, flying up to land in the rafters again before turning around to wiggle her tailfeathers and give Himura an entreating coo.

“Oh, sorry Minakami-san but I can’t fly, I’ll be staying down here,” Himura said.

Keigo felt his wings settle at the gentle rejection, but then his reconnaissance feathers were sent scattering as she dove down to grasp Himura in her talons and carried him back up with her. Keigo hissed, moving to the door in preparation. He’d give Himura another chance to get it under control but then he was going in. The feather he still had in the man’s jacket could feel the way his heart ears thundering in his chest, even as he kept his voice level.

“Minakami!” Himura yelled, “I don’t like that! Please put me down!” He entreated.

Minakami just let out a screech and started flying higher, heading for a skylight which she burst through in a flurry of glass shards. Hawks sent his feathers after her to dart in and out of her vision and hopefully keep her occupied as he took off, speeding up the side of the building to join them as the police behind him burst into movement.

Minakami, with her considerable size, flew through his feathers like a shark through pilot fish and quickly gained great height with her massive wings, Himura clasped to her chest. She didn’t look dangerous – dressed in jeans and a floral shirt with a matching cardigan, she even had little bows clipped into the feathers on her head. She was mostly humanoid but with an eagle’s face and wings and her hands and feet turning to bird-like talons. Her feathers were brown, but they were also very glossy. But most importantly, she wasn’t quick enough to evade Hawks.

“Himura-san!” He yelled, shooting after them, feathers sharpening.

“Give her space!” He yelled back.

With a frustrated growl, Keigo peeled off, circling back around to follow them from afar his sharp trained on Himura who was still trying to talk Minakami down even though his face had gone white as a sheet and Hawks could still feel his heart beating at a mile a minute.

With only one feather left on Himura, he could only pick up the low rumble of his chest as he spoke, the wind tearing away any words before Keigo could hear them, but whatever he was saying didn’t seem to be having the intended effect: Minakami just shook her tailfeathers again and with a happy caw dropped Himura to grasp his feet with hers and started to spin them around, tipping herself so that they started to freefall groundward.

She only made it two rotations before an arc of brilliant blue fire spat out from Himura in a warning, causing her to let go with a screech and leave him plummeting. Keigo didn’t waste any more time, diving after Himura and catching him with a barrel roll.

When he righted himself, Himura was clinging to him like a limpet, his face hidden in the crook of Keigo’s neck.

“Himura-san are you hurt?” He asked, having to shout to be heard over the wind.

Himura shook his head, his hair tickling Keigo’s jaw.

“Scared of heights?” He asked, the corner of his mouth ticking up.

He shook his head again, tilting his face to murmur into Keigo’s ear, “Motion sick.”

Keigo banked as smoothly as he could to the nearest rooftop trying to jostle Himura as little as possible as they landed. He lowered Himura’s legs slowly, keeping holding of his waist with one hand and his head cradled in Keigo’s neck with the other. To help him keep his balance, of course. Himura stumbled slightly, and Keigo let out a concerned coo which was cut off with a choked noise as Himura gripped his hips to keep himself steady. It took all of Keigo’s control to keep his tail feathers still.

There was an angry screech from above them, and Keigo looked up to see Minakami diving towards them. He shoved Himura behind him and drew a feather blade to point at Minakami’s rapidly approaching form. When she got close, she pulled up, settling for just cawing indignantly and stirring up great gusts of wind with her wings to emphasise her bluff charge. Hawks hissed back at her, mantling his wings to block her view of a still-stumbling Himura gripping his jacket behind him.

Hawks sent more feathers to start circling her, asking Himura over his shoulder, “Should I detain her?”

“Not yet,” Himura replied. There was the sound of shuffling, but Keigo refused to look away from Minakami who seemed to have settled for a stare-off.

There was a brief dial tone from behind him and then Himura’s voice, “Atsuhiro, you’re up.”

Before he could spend any considerable amount of time trying to puzzle that out, there was a chipper voice appearing from the side of the rooftop.

“Minakami-san!” A dapper-looking man greeted, appearing next to the fire escape despite none of Hawks’ feathers picking up his approach. For a moment he thought he caught a glimpse of a dark fog behind him, but it was gone before he could be sure.

“My name is Atsuhiro Sako, I hear you’ve had quite a stressful day!” A set of three marbles appeared in his hand, running back and forth over his fingers in a mesmerising display of dexterity.

Keigo could see Minakami’s eyes pin looking at the marbles, her head tilting to look at them from various angles as they moved across the man’s hand like water droplets.

“Hawks-san,” Atsuhiro addressed him, “would you take Touya to the ground? I’m sure he’d be more comfortable there and I have this under control.”

Hawks turned to look at Himura, who had leant forward to rest his forehead against his back.

“Can you walk?” He asked.

Himura nodded.

Hawks turned to nod at Atsuhiro before herding Himura towards the fire escape, still keeping himself between him and Minakami in case her interest renewed. She seemed thoroughly distracted, however – Atsuhiro had pulled another three marbles out of thin air.

Himura turned to make his way down the fire escape, leaning heavily on the railing Keigo noticed and seemed happy to leave Atsuhiro in charge. Hawks hopped forward with a flap of his wings to land a few steps lower than Himura, turning to give him a reassuring smile as he started walking down the fire escape. This way if Himura did fall, he would fall into Keigo instead of the metal steps below.

“How are you feeling?” He asked.

Himura waved him off, “I’ll be fine once I spend some time on the ground.”

“Would you like to hold my arm on the way down?” Keigo offered, attempting to not seem too hopeful.

Himura waved him off again. Keigo tried not to let his wings droop.

Another two steps though and Himura stumbled, Hawks quickly grabbing him around the middle to keep him upright, wings flaring in worry.

“Himura-san, I think you should let me carry you,” he implored.

“I can walk,” he insisted.

“Are you in pain?” Hawks asked.

Himura was silent, working his jaw as he narrowed his eyes at him.

“Until you’ve been seen by a medic, I think we should err on the side of caution,” Hawks said, moving closer, “I’m going to pick you up, but I’ll try and keep your head as still as possible for the nausea.”

He shifted his hands from Himura’s waist to pull his head down to rest against his neck, before placing one hand at his back and the other behind his knees and lifting him as slowly and gently as possible into a princess carry. A fireman's carry was out of the question if he was feeling nauseous. Better to keep his head upright. Himura wrapped his arms around Hawks’ neck and pressed his face further into the crook of his neck with a quiet groan.

“You okay?” Hawks asked, hoping Himura didn’t notice how out of breath he sounded.

Himura nodded, his soft pale hair tickling against Hawks’ jawline in a way that made his feathers ruffle pleasantly.

Hawks looked out from the fire escape and over the cordoned-off street.

“There’s no paramedics down there, do you want me to call them, or do you want me to take you to the hospital?”

“You don’t need to do that,” Himura said.

“Let me rephrase that,” Hawks said, “I’m either phoning the paramedics or taking you to hospital, which is it?”

There was silence, and just when Hawks thought he was going to have to start bullying Himura  into accepting medical assistance, he spoke up, “Would I have to get in a taxi?”

Hawks blinked, “if you have a car, I’m sure someone could drive you,” he said. Not him – being able to fly made driving redundant. Also, he hated small, enclosed spaces. Driving a car sounded like a bespoke hell for Keigo.

Himura shook his head, tickling Hawks’ jaw again before burying his head further into his neck, “motorbike,” he said.

“If you get a taxi, I can come with you if you just don’t want a stranger helping you in and out of the car,” he offered. As if Keigo himself wasn’t a stranger. Maybe he was assuming…then again it was hard to think of Himura as a complete stranger when he was currently tucked into Keigo’s chest.

Himura shook his head again, “it’s the car.”

“Oh, the motion sickness,” Keigo realised. If he was already nauseous and in pain, of course he wouldn’t want to be thrown around in the back of a car.

“Well,” Keigo said, “the only other option is if I fly you,” he said, “which is smoother except for take-off and landings.”

There was a pause before Himura asked in a quiet voice, “You would do that?”

“Of course,” Keigo said, trying to sound as reassuring as possible, “you wanna do that?”

Himura nodded.

“Okay, in that case, do you want to call anyone to let them know where you’re going? Like a supervisor or anyone that should know?”

“I’ll text Kurogiri when we get there,” he murmured into the side of Keigo’s neck, his mouth brushing against the soft skin there, his labret piercing a cold, smooth contrast to the warmth of his lips.

It didn’t send a shiver up Keigo’s spine. There just happened to be a chilly gust of wind at that exact moment.

“Okay, in that case, prepare for take-off!” Hawks said, flapping his wings. Himura tried to tuck his head further into Keigo’s neck, a pointless effort since he was already as close as could be.

Keigo did try to keep the take-off as smooth as possible, but even the smoothest take-off still involved a lot of up-and-down movement. Himura grumbled into his neck.

“Once I’m above the buildings I can even out and keep steady all the way to the hospital,” he assured Himura over the buffeting wind.

Himura grumbled something back that he couldn’t hear over the wind, but he could still feel the drag of his labret over his neck.

Soon they reached an altitude where there weren’t any buildings in the way of his flight path and he evened out gently, locking his wings out into a glide. It was peaceful up here and Keigo found himself releasing tension he hadn’t even realised he had been carrying. A few quiet moments later he felt a shift at his neck as Himura emerged from his hiding place, peering down at the city far below in curiosity.

“You’re not scared of heights?” Keigo asked.

Himura shook his head, before leaning back against Keigo’s shoulder.

It was a pretty spectacular view up here: the sun was bright above them, lighting up all the glass and water below like mirrors so that the city glittered beneath them. The parks stood out like green patches in a silver and grey quilt, the verdant spring growth a wonderful contrast to the concrete around it. The sky was a bright blue with some clouds but not enough to worry about rain and there was a fresh but gentle breeze. It was a perfect day for flying.

They had gained just enough altitude that the lowest of the clouds were threatening to wet Keigo’s hair. It didn’t bother him, but he didn’t want Himura getting cold and damp. Before he could dip lower, however, Himura removed an arm from around Keigo’s neck and reached up.

“You okay?” he asked.

Himura’s arm flinched down like he’d been caught doing something wrong, “sorry,” he murmured next to Keigo’s ear, “I just…wanted to touch one,” he said, sounding embarrassed.

Keigo smiled, “you want to touch a cloud?” He asked.

Himura shrugged, like a moody teenager who didn’t want to admit to an interest.

Keigo’s smile widened, and he beat his wings harder to gain more height, bringing them up to the underside of the cloud so close that he could feel his hair getting damp.

Himura’s hand left his neck again to trace patterns through the vapour.

“They’re kinda just cold and damp,” Keigo admitted.

“My quirk means I run hot,” Himura said, “this feels lovely,” he said leaning his head back to rest in the crook of Keigo’s neck.

He had to remind himself that Himura was talking about the clouds, not the semi-cuddling required to fly a passenger. Unfortunately.

“I’m glad I could make your second experience flying nicer than the first,” he said.

Himura chuckled, “I don’t know that an impromptu cartwheel display lasting less than a minute counts as flying,” he said, “I was kinda just being flung around.”

“In that case, I hope you’re enjoying your first flight,” Keigo said.

“I am,” Himura assured him.

Keigo cooed happily, thankful that the wind would steal the sound away before Himura had a chance to notice, “I just wish it could have been under nicer circumstances,” he said.

He felt Himura shrug, “it’s part of the job. I know what the risks are.”

“It’s still not fun when the risks become reality though,” Keigo said, “in my experience,” he added on, worried he was coming across as condescending.

“Yeah,” Himura agreed, “that was the first time it got that out of hand,” he admitted.

“I’m glad I was there then,” Keigo said.

“Me too,” Himura replied.

He cooed happily again. The bird part of his brain was very fixated on the fact that Himura had stopped the cartwheel display and was now flying with him instead, and he had to keep reminding himself that Himura hadn’t chosen Keigo over Minakami, but was injured and being flown to the hospital. Him being held princess-style and resting his head against Keigo’s neck was just business. Unfortunately.

Keigo cleared his throat, grateful that Himura wouldn’t be able to see the pink in his cheeks, “we’re going to be coming up to the hospital in a few minutes,” he said, “I was going to take you through the hero entrance since otherwise my presence can hinder rather than help,” he admitted.

“Damn, your fans won’t even leave you alone in the hospital?” Himura asked.

“Most people are quite good, actually,” Hawks said, “but pictures get taken and I didn’t think you’d want me carrying you princess-style all over tomorrow’s tabloids.”

There was a pause, “that…wouldn’t be good for me, no,” Himura admitted.

“Okay, I’m going to call ahead so the hospital can prepare,” Keigo said, “which means I need to touch my headset. I promise I’ve got you, but you might want to hold on tight – I know being jostled about in the sky isn’t fun,” he said.

Himura nodded and adjusted his grip around Keigo’s neck. When he had settled again, Keigo took the hand that had been supporting Himura’s back and moved it to hook around his shoulders and up so he could reach his headset. Which also had the side-effect of cradling Himura’s head closer to his neck.

The call didn’t take long – the switchboard operator was efficient, and they quickly got to work preparing the hero entrance. The ‘hero entrance’ wasn’t actually a specific entrance, per se (sometimes it was), but a protocol to help keep injured heroes or heroes carrying injured civilians away from the more populated parts of the building for both safety and privacy. They’d be arriving on the rooftop helipad; the hospital staff would just then bring them down into the hospital through a quieter route. Hawks would probably leave the same way as well. Not that he was planning to leave until he was certain that Himura was taken care of.

He settled his hand on Himura’s back again and felt the other man loosen his hold on Keigo’s shoulders. He also untucked his head from under Keigo’s chin and hooked it over his shoulder to look behind them instead. At first, Keigo just wrote it off as him watching the landscape stretching out behind them – there was a river in that direction and he knew the sun would be lighting it up like a golden string with this weather, but when he asked if Himura was enjoying the view, the other man started spluttering out an apology.

“What? No! No, well, not no, but-” There was no other hiding place available, so he ducked his face into the crook of Keigo’s neck again, and Keigo realised with a grin that it felt warmer than before.

“It’s not like that,” Himura explained, “I just…I’ve never been able to see flight from this angle before,” he said quietly, “and never in person.”

Oh, so he hadn’t been checking Keigo out. Rats.

“I just,” Himura started again, “I can see your secondaries tilt and I can feel the breeze that they’re doing it for,” he said, “or I’ll see your tail shift to accommodate a wind that I can feel too – I know I can’t feel them as precisely as you can but normally I can’t feel them at all because I’m not there.” He sounded…enraptured, “It’s different being able to experience it first-hand.”

Himura was in great danger of being offered flights whenever he wanted. Maybe a kiss to go with one.

“A glide probably isn’t the most exciting thing to watch,” Keigo said, trying to stop himself from offering more.

He felt Himura shake his head, “it’s the best,” he said simply, “anything else would be too complicated and fast for me to follow.”

“Not to mention the motion sickness,” Keigo said with a teasing lilt.

Himura groaned, “not to mention the motion sickness,” he echoed.

Keigo chuckled, before a giant yellow ‘H’ drew his attention. The helipad.

“I’m going to go in for the landing in a moment,” he said, “I’ll try and keep it smooth, but it’ll still be a bit bumpy, okay?” he said.

Himura nodded again, tightening his grip around Keigo’s shoulders.

He flew down in the widest spiral he could so it would be felt by Himura’s stomach dropping their altitude steadily as the yellow ‘H’ became bigger and bigger. He could see a nurse waiting for them.

He could make their landing as smooth as he could, but they would still be losing momentum quickly, and when Hawks’ feet hit the ground they’d still feel the impact. The best he could do was reduce his speed to as close to a running speed as possible, that way he could run the rest of the landing so their stop wouldn’t be as sudden. His forward momentum still meant that he hit the ground at a run and he had to focus on not bouncing Himura too much as he slowed from a sprint to a jog to a walk.

He gave the nurse a quick smile as he approached before turning his attention back to Himura to ask, “How was that?”

“Better than I expected,” Himura said, face still hidden in Keigo’s neck.

Keigo didn’t mind. He quite liked it, he was finding.

“Hawks-sama,” the nurse greeted, bowing before turning her attention to Himura as well, “this must be the patient?”

Himura untucked his head, “Himura Touya,” he said, before rattling off his birthday and insurance number. The nurse nodded, typing the information into a tablet before tucking it under her arm and walking towards the roof exit.

“Our emergency room isn’t far,” she said, “I brought a wheelchair up since Hawks mentioned you had trouble walking.”

“I’m happy to carry him,” Keigo said without thinking.

The nurse blinked up at him in confusion, “Oh, okay.”

Himura also stared at him. Keigo pretended not to see and walked on confidently as if he were being perfectly normal.

The exit door opened onto a gently sloping walkway leading deeper into the hospital, the bright golden sunlight disappearing behind the door to be replaced with the kind of artificial lights that meant you never knew what time of day it was.

“What are your pain levels like?” the nurse asked.

“They aren’t too bad now that I’m off my feet,” Himura said, “sort of a throbbing ache in my feet and ankles.”

The nurse nodded, “The next open slot in our x-ray theatres is in an hour,” she said, “or someone else has just finished early if we can get you to the room in the next ten minutes."

“Fastest Hero in Japan!” Keigo said, flaring his wings for emphasis, “Which room?”

“205,” the nurse said, as Keigo broke into a jog (a very smooth jog, he hoped Himura noticed), “it’s on the fourth floor in the west wing.”

“Gotcha!” He said, his eyes easily finding the clear signage on the walls and taking them quickly around a few corners until they found themselves in front of the elevator. Hawks slammed the button with one of his feathers.

“I’m not jostling you too much, am I?” He asked.

“No, birdie,” Himura said, the pet name making Keigo’s feathers fluff in delight, “I don’t think this could be any smoother if they put me on a gurney.”

Hawks didn’t like the idea of Himura on a gurney. He didn’t feel like figuring out why. The elevator still hadn’t arrived.

“You know, I could open the doors and get us down the empty shaft with no prob-”

“Absolutely not,” Himura cut him off, “you can do that when I’m dying and under no other circumstances.”

Keigo laughed sheepishly, “Guess I’m overthinking, huh?”

“We’ve got ten minutes,” Himura said, turning to look him in the eye, “and even if we don’t make it, there’s another slot in an hour.”

“I want you to have this slot, though,” Keigo insisted.

Himura blinked up at him, apparently taken aback by his conviction. Keigo stared down at him, trying to read his expression. His eyes were so blue. His lashes were long, getting lost in the intricate pattern of his under-eye tattoos when he blinked. Keigo thought he could see small flowers in the design – something small with five petals, shaped almost like a star. A bellflower of somekind? It was only when he felt a soft breath shudder over his cheek that Keigo realised he had leaned in closer, so close they were almost nose-to-nose. The gentle rustling noise of his tailfeathers wiggling filled the quiet of the corridor.

The ding of the elevator saved him from trying to figure out how to explain away the situation, instead giving him an excellent opportunity to pretend it had never happened. He stepped into the elevator, feather pressing the button for the fourth floor.

The elevator was mirrored, so he caught a full view of what everyone else must have been seeing – Pro Hero Hawks carrying a civilian princess-style. It wasn’t an unusual sight. Except it was Himura, who was insanely handsome. Hawks had only been seeing him from the slightly awkward angle that came from having him resting against his shoulder, sort of floating on his periphery unless he craned his neck. Now he had a full view of Himura in his arms, looking up at him as the bright hospital lights highlighted the contrast between his pale skin and the dark mauve of his tattoos, his piercings winking in the light as Hawks stepped into the elevator with him.

“Could you push my visor up?” He asked. He wanted to see the image more clearly, without the sunny tint it always provided.

Himura obliged, releasing his grip from around Keigo’s neck to push the visor up and into his hair gently, his hand lingering for a moment before returning to rest on Keigo’s shoulder.

“Thanks,” he said, his voice coming out low and thick.

“No problem,” Himura said, looking away to glance around the elevator.

If the walls hadn’t been mirrored then Hawks would never have caught the blush painting his cheeks. However, with a mirror on every wall he got to appreciate it from three different angles, no matter which way Himura looked. An excited chitter built in his throat and he had to squash it down quickly – now really wasn’t the best time to flirt. Himura couldn’t walk right now and Hawks was carrying him to an x-ray appointment, he’d much rather flirt with Himura when he wasn’t in pain and wasn’t dependent on Keigo to ferry him to the medical care he needed. Still…

Keigo cleared his throat, “so,” he said, “how long have you been working as a de-escalator?”

There was no reason they couldn’t get to know each other a little.

“Oh, about three years,” Himura answered, turning back to face Keigo.

The movement was echoed by three other Himuras being held by three other Keigos. Each one offered a different view of his white hair, his tattooed skin, and his glinting piercings, Keigo had to stop another tail wiggle before that was reflected at Himura who would know what it meant.

“You’re good at it,” Keigo said.

Himura scoffed, “you’ve just carried me to a hospital from a job my coworker had to take over,” he pointed out.

Keigo shrugged, “So?” He asked. “If anything, you were too good at de-escalating,” he said, “eagles don’t try a cartwheel display with someone they aren’t comfortable with,” he replied.

Himura groaned, throwing his head back slightly and scrubbing a hand down his face, “That’s not really de-escalation though, is it?” He said, “It’s just escalating in a different way.”

Keigo tried to pay attention to what he was saying he really did, but Himura’s three reflections had thrown their heads back too giving Keigo, for a brief moment, three different views of the exposed column of his throat, the pale skin peeking out from between the dark linework of his tattoo as if he were wearing fine lace. It was only for a moment. It was also a very kissable neck, in Keigo’s opinion. Which was making having thoughts that weren’t about kissing Himura very difficult. And he shouldn’t be having thoughts about kissing Himura because he was at work and Himura was injured. Keigo was biting the inside of his cheek so hard he was in danger of drawing blood. He hoped Himura hadn’t noticed his tightening grip. Or the fact that his pupils were so dilated – his own reflection staring back at him with incriminatingly dark eyes and flushed cheeks.

The elevator ding saved him once again. Outside of this cursed mirror box, he’d only have to deal with Himura’s handsome face and kissable neck from one angle. His eyes found the hospital signs quickly, reading them despite the distance down the hallway and setting off for room 205.

“You did everything you could,” he assured Himura, still not looking him in the eye, “a rejection might have caused her to escalate differently. You can never tell.”

“I guess not,” Himura admitted.

“She might have tried hunting you something to prove herself,” he pointed out, “or gotten extra territorial and attacked any perceived rivals.”

Himura hummed thoughtfully, “you’d probably have been at the top of that list,” he said.

Keigo stumbled, righting himself quickly as he felt his face burn.

“Since you’re an avian heteromorph as well,” Himura clarified, “and pretty formidable,” he added in a softer voice.

Formidable. The handsome man thought he was formidable and the biggest rival to the bird-girl that had tried a cartwheel display with him! Himura hadn’t meant it like that, he reminded himself. He could still feel himself preening at his words though. The fact that Himura probably hadn’t meant to imply anything romantic between them almost made it worse – Keigo was a threat to other suitors whether he was pursuing Himura or not. Because he was formidable.

Keigo laughed a little breathlessly, hoping the sound of him rustling his tailfeathers could be passed off as just a side-effect of his quick strides down the hospital corridors, “I mean, I kinda belong at the top of that list,” he said, “since I’m the one you flew away with and all,” he couldn’t help pointing out.

He felt Himura lean back against his shoulder as he hummed thoughtfully, “you’re right,” he said.

Where was room 205? Keigo needed to get Himura to room 205 for his x-ray before he did something stupid like flare his wings in display and knock a gurney over. They turned a corner and there it was, in neat letters; Room 205, x-Ray

“Here we go!” Hawks said, trying to sound chipper.

A feather flew forward to knock on the door. After a moment, it opened, a severe-looking woman with glasses looking them both up and down.

“Himura Touya?” She asked.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said.

She opened the door wider, motioning them in.

“We do have wheelchairs,” she said, looking confused.

“I’m faster,” Keigo said, giving her a winning smile. She didn’t seem won.

“Well, if you could place Himura-san on the table over here,” she said, leading them further into the room, “you’re then welcome to go.”

Keigo followed her to the X-ray table lowering Himura down gently and taking extra care to mind his feet. Himura removed his arms from around Keigo’s neck and hoisted himself further up the table. Keigo tried not to think about how cold the room felt without him pressed into his chest. The doctor then ushered him out of the room and into the hallway.

Keigo wasn’t an idiot; he knew he wasn’t going to be allowed to stay. Doctor-patient confidentiality and all that. But now he didn’t know what to do with himself. He couldn’t continue his patrol because Tsukuyomi had already taken over what was left when he’d called in for the de-escalation job. He could write up his report of the de-escalation job, (something that would probably be very useful since Himura had gotten injured, so a lot of people were going to want a detailed description of how that happened to prevent it from happening again) but he didn’t have his laptop. Maybe he could borrow some paper and a pen and write it up by hand. That way he also didn’t have to leave the hospital (his true goal).

He found his way to a desk manned by a small team of efficient nurses, who became a little less efficient when they realised who was waiting to talk to them. He talked his way into some spare paper and pen with no bother when a thought struck him.

“Oh,” I’m also waiting for a…friend to come out of an x-ray,” he said, hoping they didn’t catch his fumble, “can I pay for a private room for him to stay in?”

They assured him that it was no problem and soon Himura had a room in his name ready, paid for on Hawks’ card.

“If he’s given the all-clear to go home, just give the room to someone else who needs it, no need for a refund,” he assured them.

They cooed over his generosity, but it wasn’t too much. What was the point of his kind of paycheck if you couldn’t use it to make someone else day a little better? It also meant he knew the exact room number to give when he called a florist to request a ‘get well soon’ bouquet. They could deliver within the hour so long as he bought one of their pre-arranged designs, they assured him.

He was writing up his report on one of the chairs outside Himura’s room (he thought about waiting inside but it felt presumptuous) when his feathers picked up on two people approaching, or more specifically, what they were saying:

“Himura-san is still in the x-ray, but this is his room so when they’re done the doctors will be bringing him here if you’re happy to wait.”

Keigo looked up immediately, his eyes catching on a hulking form next to the nurse. An absolute behemoth of a man dressed in a beanie, some kind of sports shirt and a coat that only emphasised the broadness of his shoulders. Himura’s emergency contact? He clearly wasn’t a parent – he looked to be around Himura’s age.

Keigo’s eyes narrowed, feather shifting on his back. A little voice reminded him that he was at the top of the list for Most Formidable Romantic Rivals which he squashed down – he really shouldn’t jump to conclusions.

“Hawks-sama!” The nurse greeted in surprise.

He gave her an easy smile and stood to bow.

“You must be the hero that brought Touya in!” The man beside her exclaimed.

Hawks nodded, trying to stop his feathers from ruffling. Of course he called him ‘Touya’, he was his emergency contact – they must be close. It would be weird if he didn’t, he reminded himself.

The man immediately dropped into a deep bow, “Thank you so much for keeping him safe!”

“I’m just glad I was there to help,” Hawks replied.

The man rose from his bow giving Hawks a smile that made his grey eyes twinkle, “I know he’s doing his job, but it’s still worrying to get a call from the hospital,” he said.

Oh no, this guy seemed nice, not to mention invested in Himura’s well-being. Just the sort of person he deserved. Hawks was finding it difficult to dislike him, even if his instincts were telling him to frighten the other guy off.

“Would you like me to leave you to it, Todoroki-san?” the nurse asked.

The other man – Todoroki, nodded, “Yes, thank you for all your help.”

“Todoroki?” Keigo asked.

“Yeah, I’m Todoroki Natsuo,” he introduced himself with a bow, “I believe you know my old man,” he said, dryly turning back to face Hawks.

This guy was the son of Endeavour?! Looking him up and down it made sense – he had his father’s build, just not colouring. Or personality, it seemed. Fuck, what if Keigo wasn’t the most formidable person on Himura’s list?!

“I wish we could have met under pleasanter circumstances,” Keigo said.

Circumstances that didn’t involve him fighting the urge to start hissing.

Todoroki waved off Keigo’s comment, “The nurses said his injuries are most likely minor, the circumstances could have been much more unpleasant,” he said, moving towards the door. “Would you like to wait inside with me?” He offered.

“I…wouldn’t want to intrude,” Keigo said. He also didn’t want to spend more time than necessary with Todoroki. It wasn’t the guy’s fault he seemed nice and considerate, but…hissing. Keigo wasn’t even sure why he felt this strongly – he’d only known Himura a few hours at the most. It had been an intense few hours, though. With a man who ticked every single box Keigo had.

“You won’t!” Todoroki assured him, “Besides wouldn’t it be easier for you to avoid superfans and wannabe paparazzi in a private room?”

Yep. Considerate. Keigo followed him into the room. It was nice inside. Airy. The hospital had already provided some flowers, but he could see a spare vase on the windowsill. Shit, was it too late to cancel his flower order? The guy’s boyfriend was in the room. No, it was normal to send flowers to sick people, right? Maybe he could play it off as that.

Once they were in the room, Todoroki shrugged off his coat, hanging it on the back of the door, and taking off his beanie to shove in the pocket. Keigo blinked at his paper-white hair. The exact same colour as Himura’s.

“So,” he said, “you’re his…brother?” He tried.

“Yep!” Todoroki said, grinning and giving Hawks a thumbs up.

BROTHER!!!! Said a voice in his head that wanted to do a victory lap. Wait, but that meant…fuck. Married. Who the hell was this Himura person that had won him over and why weren’t they here? He was in the damn hospital!

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Hawks said, trying not to sound as strained as he felt, “where is his…”

“His what?” Todoroki asked, blinking at Hawks cluelessly.

“His…” Keigo couldn’t bring himself to say it, “well, I assume he’s ‘Himura’ now because he…married,” he managed to squeeze the word out, “where’s his…spouse,” he nearly hissed the word.

“Oh!” Todoroki said, before laughing.

Salt in the wound, Hawks thought.

“No spouse!” Todoroki said.

No spouse? But he had a different surname?

DIVORCED??? The voice in his head crowed, ready to resume the victory lap.

“Nii-san started going by our mother’s maiden name when he was a teenager,” Todoroki explained.

Oh! okay, not divorced then. The victory lap could continue though.

“Ah!” Hawks said, “I see,” he tried not to sound as relieved as he felt.

Judging by the way Todoroki’s eyes narrowed at him, he hadn’t quite succeeded.

“So,” he said, hoping to move on before he put all the pieces together, “I know your brother’s a raptor specialist and a de-escalator, but what do you do?” He asked, settling himself down on one of the plush chairs near the bed.

“Oh, I’m studying medicine at the moment,” Todoroki said, taking the chair on the other side, “just started my second year.”

“Second?” Keigo asked, confused, “How old are you, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I’m nineteen,” he replied, laughing, “don’t worry – I know I look older. It’s dad’s build.”

“I see,” Keigo said, “and what do you play?” He asked.

“What?” Todoroki asked.

Keigo nodded to his jersey, which without the coat now showed the ‘TODOROKI’ embroidered on the front.

“Oh! Volleyball!” He replied.

“I bet you’ve got a mean serve,” Keigo said, settling back in the chair. He was back in his element again, back at the top of the list chatting amicably with the younger brother of the guy he had rescued earlier. Natsuo was a great kid as well, Keigo was surprised Endeavour didn’t talk about him more.

They chatted for a bit, but just when Hawks thought he’d managed to distract the younger Todoroki from putting together what his outbursts from earlier meant, there was a knock at the door.

A nurse opened the door, a giant bouquet in hand, “just delivering these!” She said, heading over to the spare vase.

Todoroki got up and headed over the flowers as the nurse left, to investigate.

It was a very nice bouquet: white roses, blue chrysanthemums, white peonies, forget-me-nots, baby’s breath and some bellflowers. The bellflowers had been an add-on he’d requested.

Keigo pointedly stared into an empty corner of the room as if that could prevent him from being incriminated. There was literally a note.

Todoroki looked down at the note and back up at him, “How did you get these here so fast?” He asked, “And how did you know autumn bellflowers are his favourite?” he asked sounding confounded.

“Ordered them on my phone – the florist is a few streets away so they can get most of their pre-made bouquets to the hospital within an hour,” he said, “I asked for the bellflowers to be added because I noticed them in his tattoos and made an educated guess.”

There was a pause as Todoroki stared at him. Keigo kept his eyes on the corner of the room even as he felt his face flush lightly.

“Well,” Todoroki said after a moment, sitting back down on the bed, “he hates fish. And large crowds.”

Keigo looked at him in surprise, then away again to digest what he was saying, “so no sushi restaurants, got it,” he said.

Todoroki nodded.

There was another knock at the door before a nurse opened it, stepping out of the way so that Himura could wheel his way in. He was wearing a hospital gown and a scowl.

“Hey Natsu,” he said, before stopping short when he saw Hawks was in the room, “you’re still here.” It wasn’t phrased like a question.

The nurse walked past him to lay his folded clothes on the end of the bed before leaving with a bow.

“Yeah,” Natsuo said, “Hawks has been keeping me company while I waited for you!”

“I’ve been writing up my report of the incident as well,” he said sheepishly. Now that he was with Himura again, he felt self-conscious about waiting around for him. Even if he didn’t regret it.

“He also got you these flowers!” Natsuo said, gesturing to the bouquet.

“I thought it was a nice gesture!” Hawks said, why did he feel like he needed to defend himself? He had gotten the man flowers! That wasn’t a crime. That didn’t stop his face from heating up though.

“That…is a nice gesture, thank you,” Himura said, before turning back to his brother, “the x-ray results won’t be ready for another day or so,” he said.

“The room is booked for three days with the option to extend, the nurse said,” Natsuo told him, “unless you want to go home, but I wouldn’t recommend it,” he said, “They’re not going to want you walking and your apartment isn’t the most accessible.”

“Guess I’m staying here then,” Himura said with a sigh, before looking around the airy room and wrinkling his nose. Oh God, what if he didn’t like it?

“Did you nab dad’s credit card or something?” He asked.

“What?” Natsuo asked.

Keigo laughed, louder than was necessary, “let’s not talk about nabbing people’s credit cards!” He said, “Especially if I work with them!”

He didn’t want Himura to know he’d paid for the room. What if he thought he was trying to buy him? He wanted him to feel interested, not indebted. The flowers were enough. Hopefully.

“If I write you a list, would you be able to go to my place and grab some stuff for me?” Himura asked.

Natsuo nodded, “Sure! I can be even faster if you let me use your bike!”

“Absolutely not,” Himura said, glaring up at him, “you don’t have a licence and I’ve already called Kurogiri to collect it.”

Natsuo pouted.

“How long can you be away from school?” Himura asked, ignoring the pout.

“It’s a family emergency, so they’re pretty accommodating,” Natsuo answered.

“There’s no point in you falling behind just to keep me company for a few days,” Himura said.

His brother shrugged, “it’s a hospital, it’s basically revision just being here.”

“Don’t you have labs?” Himura asked, narrowing his eyes.

Natsuo shifted slightly, “I can move them.”

“Don’t move them,” Himura insisted, “go back to school – I’m not dying or anything you can check in on me by phone.”

“I’m not leaving you here on your own!” Natsuo said.

“I’m not on my own, there’s an army of nurses just outside the door.”

Natsuo opened his mouth to argue, but Keigo interrupted him:

“I can check in on you,” he said. Both brothers turned to look at him. “The hospital’s on my patrol route anyway, I pass by every day. Stopping in wouldn’t be a bother.”

Natsuo looked him up and down, before breaking into a knowing grin, “Yeah okay! That works!”

Himura looked at him in surprise. Maybe their arguments normally lasted longer?

“I’ll head back to school, only if I know Hawks-sama is checking in on you in my stead,” he said to his brother.

“Okay then,” Himura conceded.

“In that case,” Keigo said, standing up and feeling as though he’d run a marathon, “I’ll head out and get this report typed up,” he said, “it was nice to meet you Todoroki-kun,” he bowed to Natsuo, “Himura-san, I’ll see tomorrow,” he said with a smile and another bow.

He exited the room, letting out a deep breath. Okay, he may not have been at his smoothest, but he’d had his favourite flowers delivered, and now had an excuse to see him every day for the next couple of days. That was progress, right?

He stepped away from the door to head back to his agency, ignoring the overheard, “What did you do to him?” that Natsuo asked. For Keigo’s own sanity.

Tomorrow was going to be a good day, he thought with a shake of his tail feathers.