Chapter Text
The night had started off fine. It wasn’t Hawks’ first night patrol, nor would it be his last. He may not have been an underground hero like most you worked the night shift but he did as the HPSC said. And if they said patrol at night, he patrolled at night. Though it would have been nice if they hadn't also made him patrol all day beforehand. He was starting to run on empty and coffee could only get him so far.
Hawks decided to land on a lone rooftop for a breather. It had been a long day and there wasn’t much happening that night so far. Plus, he had picked a roof with a good vantage point, so he could still keep an eye and ear out in his immediate area. So Hawks settled himself down onto the ledge of the roof. It gave him easy access to just push himself off and go at a moment’s notice.
After a few moments, he realized he probably shouldn’t have sat down as his exhaustion started to get to him. His eyelids began to feel heavy. He almost would have taken a quick nap right then and there if his feathers hadn’t felt the shift in the air of someone joining him on that roof. He stretched a bit, trying his best to seem nonchalant, and glanced toward his new guest. He was a little surprised to see Eraserhead there looking at him, seemingly unimpressed. He hummed and began to get up, “Sorry Eraser. Did I crash on your rooftop party?”
Eraserhead just quirked an eyebrow up at him and after a moment asked, “Weren’t you on duty this morning?”
“Hm? Oh yeah. Double shift. You know how it is.”
“If you were patrolling this morning and by your response, apparently through the evening, that’s a triple shift. You should go home. Get some rest.”
Hawks shifted a little closer to the edge as the underground hero narrowed his eyes at him. He would love to go home. But his handler said to patrol until further instructions. So he was patrolling. He’d be in so much trouble if he came back without permission. It was really easier this way. He cleared his throat and glanced over the edge, “Uh…Yeah. Can’t do that quite yet. But I’ll get out of your hair. Stay Safe Eraser.” And with that he took off before the teacher could argue otherwise.
He didn’t want to stick around under the underground hero’s scrutinizing gaze. Of all the heroes he's worked with, he was always the most afraid of Eraserhead. Not that he ever thought Eraserhead would hurt him but if he stayed too close for too long, he would figure him out. And if that happened, everything he worked for would slip through his fingers. Hell, if that happened, the HPSC would be better off just getting rid of him. He couldn’t let that happen. He wouldn’t let that happen. Even if that meant avoiding other heroes unless absolutely necessary.
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Aizawa could never figure out what to make of the younger hero. He didn’t trust him. That was for sure. But he didn’t trust anyone that worked as close to the Commission as Hawks did. He didn’t have enough interactions with the younger man to really form more of an opinion than that. He had debuted a little over two years ago, opening his own agency at 18. Which was already a little odd. Again with how close he was to the HPSC, Aizawa wouldn’t be surprised if they had had a hand in that. Now the winged hero was currently in the top 10 of the country. He believed he was either 6th or 5th last time he had checked. Admittedly, he doesn’t check often but still. Pretty impressive for a newer hero who as far as he can tell didn’t go to any hero school. But that’s where his knowledge of the other hero stopped. Most of what was public knowledge was very superficial. And from his very few time working with him, the only thing Aizawa could tell was that he was young and naive.
Shouta watched as Hawks flew away in a hurry. It was odd. He was odd. Shouta made a mental note to keep tabs on the younger man as he himself hopped off the roof. Especially if he decided to start patrolling more at night, especially with little to no sleep beforehand. Not that he needed more people to worry about. He already had his husband, 2 kids, and a class of 20 students to look after. A pro hero did not need his supervision. Even if that pro hero did seem to act more like his students than an actual adult.
He shook his head to clear his thoughts and check the time. A few more hours until he could go home and get a few more hours of sleep. Maybe he’d stop at a store and pick up a few things Hizashi had said they needed on the way. And Eri had asked if they could get some more apples. He could never say no to her.
Aizawa contentedly mulled over things he could pick up for his family until the end of his shift. Once he got home, he dropped the bag of things he picked up for his family and made a beeline to his bed for some much needed sleep and snuggles.