"I just want you to know, I have never been so proud of you in my entire life." Hawks laughed as he and Izuku ran through the hallways of the Hero Commission's office, the shouts of the security and the president not too far behind them.
"Don't be too proud of me just yet!" Izuku shouted, dodging and weaving out of the way of passerby and other security who was trying to grab him, though he noticed how none of them were trying to wrangle Hawks, which caused to reason that they thought he was chasing after him as well.
"Stay a bit behind me! Make it look like you're chasing me too!" Izuku ordered, readjusting his mask to make sure his face wasn't visible, lest someone recognize his face.
Hawks merely nodded as he fell behind a bit, making sure the 'chase' looked believable. Both continued weaving around people until they finally made it outside, both immediately taking it to the roof of buildings.
"Where are we headed?!" Hawks shouted, flying overhead of Izuku while the man jumped from rooftop to rooftop.
Izuku couldn't go home, without a doubt the commission was already tailing him and Hawks, but he also couldn't go to Kirishima and Bakugou, the last thing he wanted to do was rope them into all of this mess.
"Let's head back to the condo for now!" Izuku shouted, Hawks, nodded as they took off in the direction of the condo, neither halting for a moment as Izuku tried to take darker alleyways and higher roofs to avoid being spotted.
Once making it to the roof of the condo complex, both Hawks and Izuku sprinted into the building, running down the hallway to dart into the condo, slamming and locking the door behind them as they panted for breath.
"Holy shit I cannot believe I just did that." Izuku gasped, throwing his mask off and onto the couch as he paced around the living room, Hawks laughing manically as he clapped his hands.
"I know! I'm so proud! I thought I'd have to put you into some witness protection program so they wouldn't get a hold of you! But no! You tore up the contract right in front of her! I'm so proud!" Hawks laughed, while Izuku groaned loudly, falling over the back of his couch, only to land with his head a few inches away from the ground with his legs splayed over the back of the couch.
"I'm a wanted man now! This is so complicated!" Izuku groaned, untying his obi belt as he bunched up the material and threw it at Hawks.
"You know, we probably should call Kirishima and Bakugou right?" Hawks hummed, folding the material and setting it on the counter while Izuku flipped himself the rest of the way over the couch, peering over the back with an incredulous glare.
"Absolutely not. We're not dragging them into this whole mess! I shouldn't have done that!" Izuku huffed, rubbing his eyes exhaustedly as Hawks hopped over the couch to stand next to him, patting his back gently while Izuku groaned and collapsed to his knees, pressing his face into the couch cushions.
"No, you totally should have done that. They were going too far. You're in the right in all of this." Hawks reassured, kneeling next to his brother to gently passage the man's scalp where his ponytail was looser.
"I'm a wanted vigilante under orders of the Hero Commission, who I used to work for! They know just about everything about me! I'm so screwed!" Izuku shouted hysterically, looking over his shoulder at his brother desperately, the man merely patting his head as he kissed his head.
Though when a knock sounded on the door, Izuku and Hawks both looked at each other before heading to the door, the Omega grabbing his baseball bat while Hawks pulled out a feather and sharpened it to the length of his sword.
Quickly, they opened the door, raising their weapons above their head, only to falter at who they saw. "Holy mother of mercy! What in the hell are you two doing?!" Hatsume screamed as she jumped back in shock at her friends' raising weapons at her.
"Get in here!" Izuku shouted as he grabbed the woman by the collar of her shirt, yanking her into the condo while the Alpha shrieked, falling into the man's chest as she looked between the blonde and the greenette confusedly.
"What is going on!?" Hatsume shouted once again, Izuku groaning as he guided the woman to sit on the couch.
"So, basically you know how the Hero gala was a disaster and I... k-killed Izanami?" Izuku muttered shamefully, Hawks patting his shoulder comfortingly.
"Yeah?" Hatsume answered questioningly, still completely confused by what was going on.
"Well... The Hero commission was super pissed about that. So, they wanted to take me out of Keigo's control and authority, and they also wanted to move me to Tokyo so I could become property for the United Nations Hero Society, and I would never see anyone I care about again..." Izuku explained quickly, Hatsume immediately shrieked at the statement, jumping into Izuku's arms as she wrapped her legs around him and gripped his shoulders tightly.
"Tell me that is not what is happening!" Hatsume shouted, rocking back and forth on Izuku while the man stabilized them and shook his head.
"Definitely not. Izuku told them off and quite literally ripped up their contract right in front of the president. Then we both booked it out of there." Hawks chimed in proudly, his wings puffing out pridefully while Izuku sighed heavily and nodded, Hatsume squealing excitedly.
"Go Izuku! I'm so proud of you!" Hatsume cheered, hugging the Omega tightly while Izuku chuckled sheepishly.
"I'm also a wanted man now, Hatsume," Izuku mumbled, the woman grumbling under her breath as she climbed off of Izuku, beginning to pace around the room as she thought.
"Why exactly are you a wanted man? And which persona are they exactly trying to arrest here?" Hatsume wondered, looking over her shoulder to Izuku and Hawks, the blonde quickly pulling out his phone and scrolling through the new information on the arrest warrant for Hikari.
But Izuku was left nowhere in that report.
"Hikari. Not Izuku, it seems they still want you as their weapon, and they're not willing to share your public name." Hawks chimed in, showing Hatsume and Izuku the report while the greenette groaned as covered his face with his hands, leaning against the back of the couch exhaustedly.
"That's perfect!" Hatsume cheered, Izuku and Hawks both looking up at the woman confusedly as she giggled devilishly, clapping her hands as she theorized her plan, pulling out a small notebook and a comically large gear-themed pen as she began to scribble down her ideas in illiterate handwriting that neither Hawks nor Izuku had to see to know how bad it was.
"Mei, care to share with the class?" Izuku mumbled, crossing his arms over his chest while Hawks still tried to look over the inventor's shoulder to see what she was scribbling, only to scoff at the illiterate handwriting that not even he could decipher.
"They're only going after Hikari because he's the one that they and the United Nations want and because if they exposed your identity, then they could get in some big trouble once searches were done and how they basically trapped a 16-year-old into being their own personal soldier, right?" Hatsume grinned, Izuku and Hawks both cringing at the statement, despite the truth behind it.
It was honestly true.
Izuku and Hawks both knew this.
While Hawks had brought Izuku to the Hero Commission with the sole hope of clearing the boy's name in order to allow him to return to a normal life, with some much-needed therapy.
The commission had decided on other plans once they had learned and seen Izuku's quirk.
They saw the potential and had told Hawks to bring him to them under the guise of freedom, which Izuku would be allowed to have to an extent. But he'd become their solider under the same training that Hawks had been put through, only this time.
There would be no room for error, nor any room for Izuku to become an even somewhat normal teenager again.
The Pro Hero had immediately disagreed, arguing with the president for over an hour with Izuku right outside the door, until finally, they had come up with a compromise.
Izuku would still technically be their soldier to do as they instructed without question.
But he would be put under the care of Hawks as his legal guardian, and he would be allowed to go to school, therapy, and college to become what he had wanted to be and to allow him to live at least a semi-normal life.
At first, Hawks had taken Izuku under his wing with the full intention of training the boy, being his guardian for a few years until he was a legal adult, and then becoming his commander solely with no strings of emotion attached.
But it hadn't worked out that way at all.
They both had grown attached quickly.
Throughout the first few months of living together, helping Izuku with his schoolwork, training, and schooling him harder than even what the commission did, he saw so much of himself in the boy.
He saw a broken child, ready to do whatever it took to please the ones he saw as his masters. He saw a little boy just aching for someone to validate him, just to look at him and show him at the very least an ounce of human kindness.
He saw a terrified, abused, and scarred teenager who had built walls too high for even himself to climb, he saw a boy who, despite his cold and near-emotionless exterior, was kind and tenderhearted on the inside.
He also saw the little boy who could smile through it all, who could fall down only to get back up again with a smile and determination that Hawks truly hadn't seen in many other people.
It broke his heart in ways that forced sleep away from long nights where he would stand on his balcony in the cold air; or stand in the dimly lit kitchen and watch where Izuku slept hunched over the schoolwork that he had fallen asleep doing.
At that point, Hawks knew, even then. That he'd do whatever it took to make sure that little boy he only saw the smallest glimpses of in the shadows that had become Izuku, would be allowed to come out, and be safe for the first time in so long.
And by that point, there was no turning back away from the road that Hawks had willingly fallen into.
And for Izuku, it had been all the same.
He never minded Hawks' strictness when it came to his schoolwork, nor did he mind the nearly unreadable exterior he saw most of the time from the Pro Hero.
It was his normal after all.
But as the months went by, he couldn't help but stare whenever he saw the coldness of Hawks' features soften into a gentle admiration as he praised Izuku on a job well done, regardless if it was with his patrolling, the healing he had taken part in to give Hawks his wings back after his fight with Dabi, or even the simple schoolwork he had been assigned.
And he couldn't help but lean into the gentle pats on his shoulder or the soft ruffling of his hair whenever Hawks would walk by, sometimes commenting on his work, or just sitting next to him as he massaged his scalp gently, or rubbed his back until he was practically falling asleep.
Though both had finally stopped hiding it the day Izuku nearly died in Hawks' arms. The day the Pro Hero had to make the split-second decision to either save Izuku's life at the risk of causing his final moments to be in excruciating pain, or lean against the wall of a crumbled building, holding the small boy in his arms as he only asked for Hawks to stay, to not let him die alone, despite the fact he was more than ready to welcome death happily.
The day after had been heart-wrenching for Hawks, though somewhat numbing for Izuku. He had been so close to death so many times, and each time, he just disconnected from himself, he allowed his mind to float away.
A part of himself knew it was his inner soul trying to save his soulmates from the pain of feeling their soulmate die. He had figured out how to control such a feature of himself the first time death had come for him.
And by that point, he just couldn't turn it off.
Though Hawks on the other hand, just couldn't breathe easily knowing that the boy in his care was so willing to accept death, not even putting up so much as a fight to save himself, while he would have moved heaven and earth to save literally anyone else.
At that point, Hawks had made it very clear to Izuku of one thing.
He was going to be his big brother, they were family, and if Hawks had to use such a term against Izuku just to make the boy care about living, even if it was only for Hawks' sake. He would.
That day, was the first day Hawks had ever seen Izuku smile. Truly and unabashedly smile.
He cried when he did, he smiled as his shoulders shook from the force of his tears, and Hawks didn't hesitate to scoop him up into his arms that day and coo to him gently, rubbing his back and petting his hair gently as he reassured his little brother just how much he loved him.
There had been no turning back since that day, and neither planned to.
"Yes. That's right." Hawks answered begrudgingly, unhappily remembering the original purpose of bringing Izuku into the Hero Commission, only sighing heavily when he felt his little brother grab his hand and squeeze gently, the Pro Hero merely looking up at the doctor and smiling gently.
And Hawks dearly missed the days when Izuku used to be smaller than him and it had been so simple to tuck him under his chin and hide him in his wings.
Damn it, now he was going to have to go through their family photo albums and cry over how his little brother has grown....... Again.
"Mei, what does all of that even mean right now?" Izuku questioned, Hatsume merely grinning devilishly as she clapped her hands together.
"It means, you better call your boyfriends and have them call Eraserhead and Nezu," Hatsume ordered while Hawks and Izuku both looked at the woman even more confused than before.
*Kacchan!* Izuku called through the phone.
"Deku why aren't you at the house?! And what the hell is with the Hikari arrest warrants going out to all of the Pro Heroes?!" Bakugou shouted through the phone, he and Kirishima both looking at the arrest warrant for Hikari with, an honestly terrible blurry photo of the man jumping from a rooftop.
Seriously, could the commission not find a better photo? At this point, no one would really be able to know it was they were trying to arrest unless they knew Hikari.
*Long story doesn't exactly have the time to tell. But you need to meet us at UA! Also, call Eraserhead and Nezu and let them know that Hawks, Mei, and I are on our way so that way I don't have to break in there again.* Izuku ordered Bakugou and Kirishima both shouting in surprise at the order.
"Izuku what in the hell is happening!? Hawks and Hatsume are with you?! Also, when you say break in again, I am praying you mean from when we were teenagers." Kirishima cut in, he and Bakugou both looking between each other and the phone incredulously when there was a bit of silence.
*Okay, I can explain some of my previous actions later. But for now, just get to UA, and seriously, call Nezu and Eraserhead. They may somewhat like me, but right now with that warrant out, it may not be the safest bet to go there without the hopes of them knowing that I'm not a threat.* Izuku stated, and both Alphas paused when they heard the distinct sound of running and shouting, and what they absolutely prayed was not gunfire.
"What the hell was that?!" Bakuogu shouted, standing from the desk he and Kirishima were sitting at, the phone still thankfully sat on the table while Kirishima's anxious foot tapping was causing the floor to shake from the power behind it.
*Uh-... You don't want to know. Just get there!* Izuku shouted, and both Alphas flinched when they heard another shot fire, and Izuku hung up the phone.
"Let's go," Kirishima stated immediately, grabbing his phone while Bakugou was already a few steps out of the door.
"I'll call Aizawa." Bakugou huffed as the two began running out of the agency, both taking off the second they got out of the door, hoping they could find Izuku along the way.
Though already at the gates of UA, Hawks, and Izuku both panted as they leaned against the wall of the gates, Hatsume immediately running forward to the entrance and banging on the doors, the woman having ridden on Izuku's back the entire way there.
"Hey, Nezu! Let us in!" Hatsume cheered, Izuku cringing at the woman's order, though Hawks only stared at her dumbfounded.
"Every day goes by, and I am still somehow dumbfounded by Hatsume's apathy towards societal expectations and mannerisms." Hawks chuckled as he stepped forward with the woman, Izuku quickly putting on his mask and stepping up next to them.
Though when silence fell and nothing happened, Hatsume huffed as she went to bang on the doors once again, only to nearly fall face first into the ground when the doors opened suddenly, and Aizawa and Nezu both were at the forefront.
"Hikari! I'm glad to finally meet you, I've heard some things about you recently and over the past years." Nezu grinned, motioning to Aizawa who smirked at the sight of the vigilante.
Izuku merely bowed to the two, knowing better than to use his voice at the moment.
"I told you he wasn't much of a talker." Aizawa scoffed, stepping forward to the taller Omega as he patted the man's shoulder gently, an unexpected welcome that Izuku hadn't been prepared for.
"Nezu, there are some things we would like to discuss." Hawks chimed in, the principal merely smiling at the avian-quirked man as he nodded.
"Of course! Dynamight and Red Riot already alerted us, and by the way, they spoke of you, I'm sure the three of you are very close. Am I mistaken 'man hidden behind the fan'?" Nezu questioned knowingly, Izuku flinching slightly before nodding, only making the principal grin wider.
Though in a sudden explosive flash of light and flashing bolts of red lighting, both Kirishima and Bakugou were standing in front of the group, both immediately zeroing their gazes on Izuku.
"Perfect! We're all here, now let's go inside so we can get my plan in motion!" Hatsume cheered, Nezu nodding as both began to lead the way inside, Aizawa following after them while the other four followed slowly behind.
And they all hoped silently that whatever plan that Hatsume had formulated would actually work.
Because if not, then they'd truly have no other choice but to say goodbye.