Chapter Text
Objectively, Hawks knew he was acting ridiculous. Tokoyami’s arm was bleeding, and he needed to be handed over to the paramedics.
That didn’t stop him from clutching the work study student his chest, enveloping him in his wings and baring teeth at the frazzled medical staff.
Trying to take my precious student? His brain screeched, Don’t touch him!
Tokoyami was bearing the situation with his usual grace and solemnity, though Dark Shadow did reach up to pat Hawks comfortingly on the arm.
Well, the briefing did say that the quirk enhancer getting passed around between gang members on the black market was experimental. But Hawks had been planning on arresting some of its users, not becoming the subject of the experiment. Criminals of the animal quirk variety had been getting into exceptionally destructive fights lately, and intel suggested the drug was used to boost animal characteristics.
Dark shadow had grabbed ahold of a perpetrator with a little too much force. And the vial in that man’s pocket had exploded and rained on to Hawks who was flying below.
And now here they were. In a standoff with the paramedics.
Hawks’ brain had been partitioned. On one side of the ring stood his rational mind, equipped with critical thinking; on the other side, throwing punches like a top boxer, was an intense case of bird brain. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t kick the avian instincts that the drug had activated.
Hawks didn’t realize he was releasing an agitated hum until Tokoyami spoke from where Hawks was resting his chin on top of the student’s head.
“Hawks-sensei, I apologize. This is due to my oversight with Dark Shadow.”
Dark Shadow looked up tearfully. Hawks puffed his wings up even larger as an intrepid EMT tried to sneak closer.
“It’s not your fault. And uh, sorry about this. I can’t seem to let go at the moment. I think the quirk drug has me feeling a little…overprotective?” he said.
Eventually someone had the wherewithal to call Miruko over, and since Hawks trusted her, he was able to override his instincts long enough to cautiously hand over the younger bird into her care.
~
A week passed without incident, so Hawks assumed that the quirk enhancer had worn off. That is, until the day that the top heroes were gathered around a conference table in Endeavor’s agency exchanging information.
A new, young and pretty secretary had brought Endeavor a coffee, and now Endeavor was holding him aloft by the waist because Hawks had tried to claw at the traumatized employee like a mad man.
“HAWKS, what the hell are you doing?” Endeavor yelled, pinning Hawks to his shoulder. The girl squeaked and Hawks extended his wings to their full height in a display of threat.
My mate. Mine. Who does she think she’s pursuing? He’s mine.
Hawks’ brain was screeching in anger.
Miruko caught on quickly and convinced Endeavor to drag Hawks into his office. Endeavor deposited Hawks on the floor and sat on his couch.
“What was that?” Endeavor seethed. Miruko raised her hands up placatingly.
“He got drenched in a quirk enhancer last week. I think he must still be experiencing some side effects.”
Hawks was still agitated. His heart was racing, and his wings wouldn’t relax from their tensed posture. He knew logically that he was acting insane, but it didn’t stop his body from screaming out in distress. Miruko and Endeavor were exchanging words, but he couldn’t focus on what was being said.
Before his brain could catch up and stop him, he had shucked off his jacket and crawled into Endeavor’s lap. He laid down across the man’s legs, tucked his wings behind him, and curled into a ball. That felt a little better. His breathing started slowing.
Endeavor tensed in surprise as the younger man climbed on top of him. His hands hovered above Hawks, as if he was unsure where to place them, before settling on Hawks’ shoulder. Hawks relaxed further and made a small trilling sound in his throat. Endeavor was warm and safe and Hawks’ brain wished that he would reach out a hand and smooth his wings until he felt calm again.
A startled Enji looked up at Miruko.
“I’ll call a doctor,” she said.
~
The doctor cleared her throat. Thankfully, the little old lady who looked like she baked cookies for her grandchildren on the weekends was not setting off the threat sirens in Hawks’ brain.
He was still curled up in Enji’s lap. The man was looking at him with concern.
“The drug was experimental, yes? I think rather than strengthening his physical characteristics, the exposure caused his more…ahem, avian behavioral instincts to go haywire.
Birds are known for being very territorial. They will aggressively guard their homes, mates, offspring and even objects that they become fond of. Some of them are even known to fight their own reflections!
I suspect that the guarding instinct is getting activated by people that he is very attached to.”
Oh.
Hawks blushed. His feelings for Endeavor had him guarding the man like a jealous cockatiel. Hawks biology had been screeching ‘my mate’ possessively in regards to a man who in real life was definitely not his mate, just the recipient of an embarrassing crush that had grown into something way beyond his control.
Want to freak out the man you’re secretly head over heels in love with? Try our quirk enhancer! Hawks thought to himself sarcastically, Great job on your quality control, underground drug manufacturers.
The doctor continued, “It’s best he be taken off duty until the issue is resolved so he doesn’t get carried away and hurt someone. Also, dear…” she looked at Enji, “he should probably stay with you for the meantime. The level of stress he seems to be experiencing could be very detrimental to his health. Especially for his wings.”
~
In a startling turn of events, Endeavor had cleared his schedule and insisted on moving Hawks into his home immediately. His bird brain had been overjoyed, but Hawks’ rational mind was in turmoil. How was he supposed to keep these embarrassing feelings a secret if he was living with Enji and totally out of his mind on quirk enhancer?
They had dropped by Hawks apartment to grab some clothes. Thankfully, he had regained control at some point and stopped clinging to Endeavor like a lifeline. The older man was standing in his living room, looking uncomfortable.
“Go grab your stuff, I’ll wait here.”
Hawks sighed and went to pack, returning a few minutes later.
“Ok, I’m ready.”
“Ugh, Hawks? Where is your-”
He held out a hand to Endeavor, palm up. The other man looked extremely confused, but accepted the small shiny marble Hawks had produced.
Hawks’ brain caught up to the instincts yet again and he flushed in embarrassment.
Ahhhh. He was supposed to pack and instead he was presenting Enji with shiny objects like some kind of weird bird courting ritual.
Why?! When he found the person who made this drug, they were getting skewered with feathers!
Enji spoke slowly, “This is not clothing…”
He reached for the other object in Hawks’ arms. Hawks flung his wings around himself and clutched the Endeavor plushie to his chest.
“Don’t take,” he chirped.
He looked down at the plushie and then nearly had a mental breakdown. This was even worse than the fucking marble!
Enji snorted in amusement then covered his mouth with a hand. The tips of his ears were red.
“Fine. I’ll pack your clothes,” he said.
~
They were sitting on Enji’s couch. The older man was reading to Hawks’ left. He was wearing that black turtleneck and his glasses. He looked distractingly handsome.
Hawks was trying to focus on the TV which was playing some ridiculous cooking competition show, but he couldn’t stop sneaking glances to his left. The bird brain wouldn’t shut up. It was desperate for physical affection. Hawks was pretty touch starved on a normal day, but now he couldn’t stop thinking about it.
He wanted to turn to Enji and say
Touch me. Pet me. Preen me.
Not even in a sexual way (although he certainly would readily accept that kind of affection.) He just wanted to sit in Enji’s lap and receive attention. His cheeks were turning red just thinking about how embarrassing this desperation was.
“What is it?” Enji asked, not looking up from his book.
“Hmm?”
“You can’t sit still. You’ve been twitchy for twenty minutes. Even your wings keep moving.”
“Nothing,” Hawks lied. “I keep thinking that guy is gonna set his assistant’s apron on fire with the cooking torch.”
He waited for a beat. Maybe just a little wouldn’t hurt? He fell sideways on the couch and put his head on Enji’s knee. His cheek was pillowed against the muscular thigh. He tensed, waiting for a rejection, but instead a hand gently touched his head and then withdrew.
“So Miruko is fine because you trust her? She was more of a physical threat than the new secretary.”
“She’s the wrong species.”
It had slipped out before he could stop it. He reached up to cover his mouth with a hand.
“Uh, I don’t know what that meant. Sorry haha bird brain,” Hawks quickly lied.
He knew exactly what it meant. Somewhere in his hindbrain, he thought Enji was also a bird because his flames allowed him to fly. And Miruko was a bunny. Therefore, the two could not mate and she was not a threat. But Enji thought he was guarding him over concerns for his safety so he was definitely not going to explain that one.
Hawks sighed. Hopefully the chemical’s effect duration was as good as its functionality. If it didn’t wear off soon, he was going to do something humiliating like try to gift Enji the shiniest spoon from the kitchen.