Chapter Text
“Good riddance,” Enji spat, watching the villain be taken away by the police. Hawks winced in sympathy for the rough manner they were handled in.
A villain with a seismic quick had attacked the Quirk Registry while they had been making their rounds, frantic in their attempt to exact revenge with a society that deemed them too weak to be a hero and too insignificant to be an infamous villain. The individual definitely solidified their name as a villain, now.
It really was unfortunate. The villain was no more than a kid - probably younger than Toga, Hawks thought to himself. They'd been so distraught at being caught that this may have been their first ever offense.
Hawks could remember his first mission, before he debuted. The worry, the shaking, the fear he was going to get caught and outed. But he had been covered by the commission. As the police took this kid away, it didn't seem like they had anyone.
Doesn't change the fact that the kid demolished part of the Quirk Registry. Luckily for the two pro heroes, Hawks had been able to feel the vibrations and guide the way to the scene. He left the main conflict for Enji while he focused on evacuating the building. As amusing as it was when Enji had to take a back seat in a fight, there wasn't much the fire hero could have done in this situation like that. So it was easier for Endeavor to take down the kid villain while Hawks did rescue work.
“We all have reasons why we do things - Not that I’m condoning it,” Hawks was quick to hold up both hands as his patrol partner fixed him with that disapproving glare. He laughed. “Can’t blame someone for wanting to make the world better for them to be in. Isn’t that the same reason why we do our job?
That same disgust fixed itself in the number one hero’s expression as he considered Hawks, “Do you even hear yourself?”
At the shrug Hawks gave, the heat around the two intensified.
“Heroes are to be honorable and strong, this vermin was nothing more than a spoiled child throwing a fit! If he had a stronger quirk, he could have been a low level hero, but instead - “
Endeavor’s words became lost on him as soon as a frantic beating and consequent footsteps registered to his ears, and the blond looked towards the building again.
The winged hero had spotted an individual scrambling back into the unstable structure.
“Yeah - made bad life choices, I know!” He calls in a light tone before taking off, ignoring the deep shout of his name.
Hawks navigated his way through what was left of the building and located the distraught man inside. The man is calling out a name, for his son, between gasps, only to shriek when Hawks grabbed him by the back of his shirt.
As he struggles in Hawks’s grasps, the hero coughed out debris and pushes for the man to turn around, “It’s not safe for you to be in here, we need to get you out!”
“But- But my son! My boy! He was in here! He was - “
“You are the only one in this building aside from me, now,” Hawks interrupted, moving to hold around the man’s back in support. The man allowed the movement, so the wing hero took the chance and worked them towards the blown open exit.
He kept his voice firm but kind, "It is not safe for you in here, the building integrity cannot be trusted. We will find your son out here - I promise you.”
Carrying the shaken man over to the medical team, Hawks smiled as he watches who he assumes is the man’s son rushing over to them, extinguishing his father’s worries with a sob. Aside from the panic for his son momentarily being out of sight and possibly in a dangerous situation, the man had not sustained major injuries.
However, there are three long cuts on the man’s arms that do not look like they’re from trespassing into a falling building.
No, those were too deep to be scratches from rubble. Jagged black talons peek out of the tips of Hawks’s gloves, pulled too tight around his hand from when he’d held onto the man.
Those cuts were from the hero.
Shit.
The group had believed him when he said it came from the pieces of his hero costume when he was retrieving the man, and that he would work with his support department to make some changes. Once the man is patched up and Hawks had said a sincere apology, he prepares to make his way back.
He was sure to provide a few good selfies and his best wishes to the family and other bystanders along the way.
Endeavor stood near the police cars, impatient as Hawks networks his way back to his side. It was almost funny - like he was waiting to tell Hawks he was grounded. But no, it was just a formality. The two needed to return together after all, as there was more time left on patrol and paperwork to be done regarding the incident.
It was not until they were walking out of the office at sunset that Endeavor chose to speak on the matter.
“You have a respectable quirk, Hawks. You are wasting it by being a show-off,” Endeavor frowns down at him. “You have no discipline, and you waste your time looking pretty for the cameras when you should be focused on the matters at hand.”
Oh, there was no way he could pass that up.
“Aw~, you think I’m pretty? Watch out - that’ll go to my head, you know.”
“What I think is that you’re a shame to all heroes with how vain you are.”
There’s a twinge of hurt in Hawks’s grin, but he dutifully swallows it. That was his persona, after all. While he did the good work and showed his willingness to do good, Hawks was meant to be a pretty playboy. It kept him marketable in society, and he needed to keep it up.
Yet, there was something personal in Enji’s voice, as if he had a problem with just having the number two hero around him. Venom and heat that was typically more subtle in his tone. A special sting came from that when it came from someone Hawks had looked up to, still looks up to.
Was Endeavor this harsh about all heroes?
For a moment, Hawks thinks of Todoroki - Shouto, he means. That would explain the standoffish attitude seen in the young man, but he hoped that Shouto had more of an open mind than Endeavor did. If that kid learned how to smile, he’d make it to the top three on looks alone. The thought had Hawks chuckling to himself, visualizing Shouto smiling for a cologne ad or clothing commercial.
“It’s not a bad idea to pose for some pictures once in a while you work - brighten some days while we save lives! But, you know, we all have our haters,” He stuck his tongue out and fluttered next to the number one.
Enji grunts.
---
Enji sneered at the winged hero naturally peacocking during the press conference. The speeches given to comfort the crowd were brief and sweet, allowing for more unnecessary details to be omitted. If anything, it seems the photographers simply thrived off of seeing the two pro heroes sharing a stage with the police chief.
As soon as it began, it was over.
The number one hero noticed an individual that he recognized from the last time he had visited the HPSC, Hawks’s handler. Whatever her name was did not matter to him, yet the pro hero made his way over to her.
No time to waste, Endeavor spoke first, “I expect his training is remarkably lax, seeing as he still acts as a flashy, reckless kid. How does the commission allow such a liability?”
“Oh?” Blinking up at Endeavor, she offers a smile. “Quite the contrary, Endeavor. We can assure that our Hawks is quite serious about his hero work! If I may -”
His eyes narrow on her.
She wouldn't be a worker for the commission if that much stopped her. She continued, gesturing towards the leaving press. “It may do you well to be seen around together. Your approval rating would definitely come up, which is equally important as solving your cases."
The lines of his face seemed to only get deeper. Was approval and popularity all that they cared about? The commission likely trained the boy into this, Enji concluded. Now he was grown and had taken these words to heart, making him just as morally compromised as Mount Lady and those other young, shiny heroes waiting to be Japan's sweethearts. Enji had thought better of Hawks before now.
"Do let us know if you would consider doing an interview or public relations training with Hawks! We would be happy to set up--”
“I need nothing from the morally lost.”
“...Pardon?”
“I suggest you remind your bird why he’s a hero - what it means to fight for something! That it is your job to worry about impractical things like popularity and smiling. This is not some game,” He seethed, looming over the woman.
She didn't respond. Just a blank face as she appraised his approach.
It didn't matter. He continued, “Perhaps he would solve more cases if he was not trying to sympathize with our enemies and pose for the cameras. You are his handler, handle him.”
She had hardly moved, but something had changed in her stature. It showed when she cleared her throat, “Hawks is known for being personable and empathetic, that we are aware. In most cases, this is a strength of his. However, I can agree that it seems that a reminder is necessary. We all wander at times. Thank you for bringing this concern to my attention, Endeavor, Sir. I assure you that this matter will be addressed.”
“Hm,” His lip curled, and with that, he had no reason to stay at the event any longer. If the winged annoyance wouldn’t listen to him, he would need to hear it from his superiors.