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Ugh.
“This is so boring!” Hawks groans as he drapes a hand across his forehead, glaring up at the bright, glowing lights of the room. It’s no fun being pretty if there is no one around to admire him. His wings flop around a bit as he tries to find a comfy way for them to lie on the mattress. The stupid mattress that is no replacement for his lovely, hand-made, padded throne that got destroyed by stupid humans when Rome took over.
“Stupid Romans. Ruining all the good stuff. None of them worshipped me. Nooo, it was all stupid Jupiter and Mars and whoever else. Boo.” He sticks his tongue out at nothing. No one.
Sighing only minorly dramatically, Hawks heaves himself off the mattress. He’s been lying here a while, wallowing in his own misery and loneliness, so maybe it’s time he goes out and meets some new little humans. It’s been, uh, maybe a couple hundred years, so surely that whole… fiasco from last time has calmed down.
Honestly, Hawks chuckles, how could he have predicted that the humans would think him a devil? It’s hardly his fault they attacked him and forced him to kill them. Truly tragic, as he was really hoping they’d be his newest worshippers. Like, seriously. It’s been eons since the last time anyone sacrificed to him, and that time is starting to catch up to him. But come on, is that too much to ask? Just a small offering, really. A first-born son, a virgin daughter, a beloved wife… he’s not too picky.
Yawning and stretching his gorgeous wings, Hawks looks down at himself.
“How hideous.” His clothes are wrinkled. “No god of any standing should be seen like this.” A tiny flick of his wrist has magic spooling from his fingertips – making him stagger as his heart lurches. Ah, that’s all he’s got? – smoothing down the gold and blue folds of his pants, shining the gold bangles weighing down his wrists and neck, as well as the simple gold band resting on his forehead.
Mhh. Gold. How lovely.
“If only I had a few humans to give it to me again. Those Egyptians knew what was what.” He nods approvingly as he looks at himself again. Much better. Worth the minor magical exhaustion. Even his talons gleam at they clack along the marble floor of his current residence.
…In all honestly, Hawks isn’t entirely sure where he is anymore. He had to run alongside his fellow gods when Rome invaded and killed dear Cleopatra, well, forced her to kill herself, and he hasn’t dared return to his temple. Sure, they say Rome fell years ago… but what if it didn’t? That could just be a trick to lure the last of them out. That’s how they got his good friend Horus.
“Ah, that was a tragic day. Poor lad.” And many of the others. The Roman Pantheon never caught up to Hawks himself, and he’s almost certain Ra escaped, but the others… Anubis-
“Stop thinking about that. It’s been years.” Hawks lightly smacks his cheeks and puts on a smile. “Today is going to be a good day: the day of gathering new worshippers!”
With his confidence newly in place, Hawks flings the door of his residence out of his way and steps out into the world.
“Greetings, Mortals, how are you this fine day?”
But none of the insignificant worms bow. Or even give him to courtesy of stopping to gape.
“Move it!” One’s shoulder knocks his own, making Hawks stagger a step to the side.
“How unbelievably rude! Do you not know who I am?”
But STILL none of them offer him a second glance. This is unbelievable. Unacceptable. Unfair, even! He’s the great and powerful Hawks, revered by all daring to cross the vast desert (he was gifted that one from Set when the older god grew bored of the deserts. Worked highly in Hawks’s favour… for the handful of centuries he held the title before their glorious empire crumbled to the stupid, stinky Romans). Humans should be tripping over themselves in their haste to worship him!
His wings ruffle in his irritation.
“Outta the way, man, I’ve got to get to work on time!” A hand smacks his wings – HIS WINGS – aside. As if they are nothing more than trash in this worm’s way.
Hawks whirls around and grabs the man that hit his wings by the throat, lifting him off the ground easily. The man chokes, briefcase clattering to the ground. He wears a shiny black outfit – maybe high up in whatever monarchy is in place now? Whatever the case, clearly whoever is in charge holds no respect for him if even the ants crawling on this street do not.
“What is your name, Human?”
He wheezes, pawing at his hand. Oh, right. Hawks drops him and he collapses to his weak human knees, coughing. Sharp eyes glare at him, then something green and glowing is shooting from his hand. It hits his bare abdomen and actually kind of hurts.
“What was that?” Hawks muses, poking at the little cut the heals almost instantly. His thumb wipes away the few drops of golden blood that managed to slip free. “A human able to cut my skin, no matter how briefly, is new.” In a split second he’s crouching in front of the gasping human. He jerks back at Hawks’s sudden proximity, and Hawks cocks his head to the side. “What are you exactly? A demigod? I haven’t met one of those in a while.”
“What are you talking about?” The human wheezes. Those around are watching. Amusing how that works. They are always in such a rush to get someplace, but still willing to stop and indulge their curious little souls. “I’m a person, man, like you! I just used my quirk; don’t make it weird. Look, I have to get to work. I have a meeting with Madame President, and she’ll kill me if I’m late. If you’re a villain, please pick someone else’s day to ruin.”
Hawks frowns and lets the ant crawl away. A quirk? What is that supposed to be?
“Ah, whatever the case, I still need to find humans…” But wait. The human mentioned a name: Madame President. Who would kill him for his tardiness. Surely that means she is someone of high standing – perhaps even the Emperess of this area? Or perhaps a Queen? Could SHE be the one telling her people to be so rude to him?
Standing, Hawks looks around and frowns. The humans are all leaving now that the man ran away.
“Excuse me!” Hawks snaps. “Why are none of you bowing?! Do you not know how to show respect to a god?”
They all shuffle by, passing around him without pause. This is ridiculous!
“Mommy, why’s that man dressed funny? Is it Halloween?!”
“Shh, dear, he’s just a little confused. And no, it’s the wrong time for Halloween.” What are they talking about? How DARE that child insult his clothing? Does she not see the gold adorning his beautiful body? His wings ruffle anew.
Maybe he doesn’t need humans… Maybe it’s best to wait a few more decades before trying to recruit worshippers.
“Excuse me, Sir, but could you please step over here a moment? I’d like to see your ID.” Hawks cocks his head again. There is a strange looking thing talking to him. He wanders over and pokes a wooden cheek.
“What manner of plant are you? Did Geb make you? Is he still alive then?” His hand is rudely smacked away from the treeman.
“No. I’m a human, like you. My name is Kamui Woods. What’s yours?” How dare this lowly plant demand his name? Does it not recognize him? “Do you have a piece of plastic, like this,” it shows him a tiny square with colors and horribly done – bad enough he cannot make them out – hieroglyphs, “with your name?”
Hawks scoffs and spreads his wings out wide to show off their full glory. “Don’t be inane, Plant Man, I am a GOD. I do not need a piece of fancy papyrus to tell me my own name! I am Hawks, God of the Vast Desert!” Not the sky, unfortunately. That was always the one he wanted, for obvious reasons, but Nut never wanted to give that one up and he wasn’t about to challenge that goddess; she’d have smushed him without trying.
“Okay… How about we step inside a little while? I think you’ve had a little too much to drink.” The plant grabs his arm.
“How dare you touch me!” Hawks snatches his limb back and glowers at the plant. “I don’t care if Geb made you, you’re rude. Leave me.” His tone is as it always was when he ordered his followers around, but the plant man doesn’t obey.
“Sir,” Plant Man goes to grab him again, and Hawks snaps. He will not stand for such drastic disrespect.
So, Hawks grabs the hand the plant stretches out and snaps it in his grasp. He expects the limb to crumple off like on a tree, but instead bone – human bone – cracks beneath his fingers. The plant man – human that looks like a plant?? – screams.
How annoying.
“Be gone. I don’t care for you, Weird Plant Man.” Well whatever era this it, it is a strange one indeed. Perhaps it’s best to sleep a few more-
Sharp pain stabs into his heart, making his vision flicker black. Hawks gasps, dropping to one knee as his entire body shakes, flickering in and out of existence. His teeth grit as his atoms are broken apart and remade half a dozen times before it finally stops. Ah. Yes. That. The reason he truly needs to get someone, anyone, to worship him.
Hawks might have lived multiple lifetimes, but he’s not ready to Fade quite yet. There are too many things he hasn’t done.
“Ow,” he grumbles, shoving back to his feet and wobbling, balance shot. He regains it quickly, glaring at Plant Man who still hasn’t left his sight. “If you do not have a message and do not want to worship me, then leave.” His patience is steadily running out. Which is not good since his failing body just reminded him that no, he really should not put off gathering worshippers, so he still must interact with Humans.
“I despise this day. Tremendously.” Hawks looks around, only to pause when he finds a bunch of Humans standing around, holding little rectangle things up towards he and Plant Man. Odd.
He zips over to the nearest one and leans over their shoulder to see the rectangle. From this side the rectangle is glowing.
“Ooh, very pretty. Not as pretty as I, of course, but nice nonetheless.” The human tries to move away from him and Hawks clacks his tongue. He’s not done looking at the glowing rectangle yet. “Stay put.” He snaps, planting a hand on their shoulder for good measure.
But instead of thanking him for generously allowing them physical contact with his glorious self, they tense up and start to tremble.
“Sir please step away!” Ugh, Plant Man again?? Why won’t he just leave? Hawks has already asked nicely TWICE. Clearly these beings have no respect.
His eyes narrow and his wings flare wide in warning. “Leave me, Plant Man. Do not make me ask again.” But his warning is not heeded.
No, instead, Plant Man’s arms contort into new, smaller, branches that shoot off towards him. How strange.
Hawks shoves the human in his grasp behind him – they grunt as his strength sends them to the solid ground – and leaps over the slow attack. His wings guide his jump and he lands on Plant Man, the long talons on his feet clenching to drive themselves deep into Plant Man’s shoulders. When they cut in, he frowns.
Plant Man bleeds like a human too.
Then he’s on the ground.
“Ow,” Hawks whines, wiggling in the confinements of a branch-y prison. When did that even happen? Was he too distracted by the oddity of seeing a plant bleed red? “Release me, Plant Human! You have no right to be touching a being as magnificent as me!”
But he is ignored. IGNORED! He, Hawks, a GOD is being ignored by a mere human! How OUTRAGEOUS!
Now truly and well irritated, Hawks is done playing around.
His wings sharpen, slicing through the branches trying to restrain him. Hawks stands and glares at Plant Human.
“You have three seconds to drop to your knees and beg for my forgiveness.” Generous, he knows, but the plant-human-thing does not accept his mercy.
Instead, he tries to attack him again.
Well, Hawks has had quite enough of this nonsense.
His feet swiftly carry him in close, and his hand latches around a thin, bark-covered throat. Golden eyes are cold as they glare down at the lowly being in his grasp. “Beg, or I’ll snap your neck.”
The human glares back. “You don’t want to do something you’ll regret! Right now you haven’t done anything that warrant more than a small repercussion; don’t do this and make yourself a villain.” Well, that is not begging. Not even close.
His fingers tighten with only a mere portion of his godly strength, and the flesh and bark beneath crack. Hawks huffs and drops the corpse, shaking his hand to get rid of the tiny flecks of blood staining his now gross and grimy talons. Ugh, why did that have to happen? Now he looks terrible.
When Hawks bothers to pay attention to the mortals again, they’re screaming. How annoying. He sighs, rolling his eyes. Well, these ones are clearly of poor quality anyways. He doesn’t want them as his worshippers. Best to move to a different spot and try again there.
His amazingly wonderful wings carry him into the sky easily, thank you for the permission generously granted years ago, Nut, and Hawks makes quick work of leaving that spot behind. Surely someplace better must exist in a village close by… there are many very tall buildings now. Does everyone own a castle these days? They’re going to have a hard time building a monument for him since it’ll have to be taller than all of these. Hopefully there are a lot of slaves around that are ready to die building something wonderful for him.
But his search continues to prove fruitless.
Hawks stops in four different sections of the shockingly large village, and each time someone dressed very oddly keeps trying to insult him. They demand his name, demand he do this and that… they, Humans, keep trying to make demands of a GOD. As if they have any power over him. They must all have lost their minds. That is the only logical explanation here.
Suffice to say, the numerous failures over the span of two sunsets have him beyond irritated. And his clothes are wrinkled again.
So he’s not in the greatest mood when someone grabs his arm and tugs him off the path he was walking and into a darker one.
“Moron, are you trying to get yourself caught by the heroes? They’re looking everywhere for you now that you’ve murdered five of them.”
And all he can do is stare into the familiar eyes glowing in the depths of this darkened pathway. His foul mood evaporates. There is no way… could it be possible?
“Anubis?” He breathes, shakily bringing a hand up to cup the taller man’s cheek. It’s just as rough as he remembers. “How- Is this real? Are you really alive?”
“Uh, hands off, Bird Guy.” His arm is knocked aside, but that only sends a thrill down his spine that shakes his tail feathers. Oh thank goodness he preened recently. “I dunno who that is, but I’m Dabi.” He gets a sharp look and nods in understanding. Of course, Anubis always was so smart. Taking on a fake name is a very good idea when trying to evade the Roman gods hunting them.
So, unswayed, he steps in close to his lover’s side and grabs onto a strong arm with both his hands. His wings fluff happily as he breaths in the scent of fire and death that he spent so many years missing.
“So, where are we going?”
“I’m going home; I don’t know where you’re going, but it’s not there.”
Hawks chuckles, leaning closer so his chin can rest on Anubis’s shoulder. “Oh, don’t be ridiculous: obviously wherever you’re going I’m coming too! It’s been eons, Love, I don’t want to stay apart any longer than necessary.”
“…Right. Uh, so I’m really not the guy you think I am? You should just leave me alone. I only pulled you out of there cause Endeavor was nearby and I don’t want you ruining my plans for him.” Hawks blinks. None of that makes sense.
But that’s ok! He has spent a great deal of time away from everything else. Obviously Anubis is going to know more about this new, weird, way of the world than he does.
“Don’t be silly.” Hawks pats his lover’s cheek. “You know I’ll help you with your plans. I don’t have anything else to do – well, other than trying to find humans to worship me. I, uh.” He gives an embarrassed chuckle and ducks his chin so their eyes don’t meet anymore. “I’m kind of Fading a little.” But Anubis doesn’t reprimand him for his carelessness, so Hawks relaxes.
“Right. Well, I guess you can come meet everyone. They’re nuts too, so you’ll fit right in.” Ooh, there are more of them here?! How delightful. Hawks starts chirping happily as they go… until they entre a space with more light and he gets a better look at his lover.
“What happened?” Hawks gasps, freezing in his tracks and cupping Anubis’s cheeks. “Love, who did this to you? Where’s your head?” He turns his lover’s face from side to side in case he’s somehow mistaken, but it seems to be true. His lover’s magnificent jackal head is gone, replaced with a boring human face. “Was it the Romans?” He snarls, fingers curling in the sleek black coat Anubis is clad in. “I’ll kill them for this.”
Anubis steps back, prying Hawks’s fingers off. Oh, whoops. He was clinging too much, wasn’t he? He ducks his head in silent apology, but the warranted hit does not arrive. When he dares to peek again, Anubis is looking at him oddly. Strange, when it’s the other who is not acting the same as before.
“Look, Bird Guy, I’m not your long-lost boyfriend or whatever, ok? I don’t know you and you do not know me. Get that through your muddled brain.” A finger jabs at his forehead, and from that alone he can feel the heat that lives beneath Anubis’s skin.
Oh. His wings droop. Even his tail falls to drag along the ground in a very un-godly-like manner.
Well, he sniffles, wrapping his arms around his midsection and curling into himself, guess it makes sense. It has been years. Surely Anubis has found a better lover by now, someone who can actually stand at his side as an equal and isn’t just an annoyingly talkative pretty decoration.
“I understand,” he mumbles to the dirt under his talons. “I’m sorry, My Lord. I won’t bother you again.”
“Ah jeez, now I feel like the bad guy. Fuck you. Come on,” Anubis grabs his hand and he flinches back, but still complies and trails after the other as he’s pulled somewhere deeper into the village.
Before too long Anubis drops his hand, shoots him a tiny look, then opens the door to a medium sized building. Hawks waits patiently for Anubis to enter first, then follows silently, with his tail feathers still collecting dirt as they droop sadly on the ground. He only bothers to glance around when his ears pick up numerous voices coming from ahead.
There are a lot of boxes around. A lot of very large and weird boxes stacked right up to the rooftop. They pass by lots and lots of those before coming to a space that is rather empty of boxes. Instead, there is a small gathering of people standing or sitting on a rather ugly wide chair – wide enough it seats four of them squished together.
Figuring he’s completed the task of escorting Anubis back to his current residence, Hawks makes to leave.
Then a new figure emerges from the shadows and he freezes.
“Sobek? You’re alive?” The humans turn to look at him, but it’s only the friend he was certain was killed years ago that he cares about right now.
“Uh.” His voice is higher than before and much less growly, but that makes sense. He’s had more time to practice speech. “I’m Spinner…? Dabi, who’s this guy?”
Anubis shrugs, moving to side on the wide chair. One of them stands to make room – as one should when in the presence of a great god. At least these humans have manners. “Wacko Bird Guy that murdered those heroes the past couple days. Found him wandering in the street like a moron and he insisted on following me here. So now he’s here.”
None of this makes sense. His sad, miserable heart wishes to leave, but the way Anubis is still shooting him little looks every once and a while has his talons planted firmly on the ground.
Well, until his atoms flicker again and he crashes to his knees. He squeezes his eyes shut to help with the pain and to avoid seeing the disappointed glare in Anubis’s emotive eyes.
Hawks shudders when it finally fizzles out – a whole five seconds this time. It’s getting longer. That’s bad – and shoves to his feet immediately. Hawks refuses to look weak in front of him.
But his body wasn’t ready for that and he topples over, only saved from hitting the ground by a woman rushing over to grab his waist and steady him. His cheeks darken, setting his skin to a darker gold. How embarrassing. He needed Anubis’s underling’s help.
“My thanks,” Hawks murmurs to the woman. He probably doesn’t need to thank her, but it’s best to just in case she happens to be one of Anubis’s favourite. He knows better than to make that mistake again.
“No problem! I’m Toga Himiko, but if you’re Dabi’s friend you can just call me Himiko.” She leans in far closer than is appropriate and sniffs him. SNIFFS HIM. How rude. But Anubis is still watching, so he doesn’t reprimand the human. “Woah! You smell so good! Your blood must be super tasty! And- hang on.” She sniffs again and frowns. “You’re heartbroken. Did someone hurt you? I’ll make them bleed, if you want.” Hmm, well, despite her odd mannerisms, this one is respectful in a strange way.
But she did just speak treason against Anubis, so she’ll be dead any second now anyway.
Hawks steps away from her and closes his eyes, awaiting the brilliant green flames that devour everything in their path.
But the heat doesn’t arrive. In fact, when he cracks an eye open, they are looking at him again, not Anubis. He frowns, biting his lip uncertainly. Did he not…
“Forgive my impudence, Great Anubis, but are you not going to kill her for her disrespect?”
“Huh?” One of the humans looks up from one of the rectangle things. This one is scraggly and gross with oddly colored blue hair. Obviously a slave, then. “He talking about me? I heard ‘great’ and started listening.”
“No, Dumbass.” Anubis elbows the slave – EBLOWS, not decapitates, as if a slave has any right to speak out of turn – “he’s talking bout me. Kept calling me Anubis the whole way over. I dunno what for; told him my name is Dabi. Again, he’s a bit looney.” Hawks’s wings ruffle, but he wisely keeps his mouth shut, allowing the insult since it comes from the more powerful god.
The humans exchange a number of looks with each other, Sobek, and Anubis, before they all turn to him.
“Alright, pal.” The servant is speaking to him. Is it worth his time to listen? Eh, perhaps. He has nothing better to do. “Listen. You can stay here if you listen to our rules and fight with us. And I’m in charge, got it? Not Dabi or Spinner or anyone else you gave a cool name to! ME! You can call me Boss or Shigaraki or even Supreme Emperor if you really need to keep your whole Egypt vibe going-”
“You know what Egypt is? Color me impressed.” Anubis smirks at the slave.
“Shut the hell up, you ugly ass quilt. Of course I know it; Sensei taught me lots of things.” The slave somehow isn’t incinerated on the spot and turns back to Hawks. “Right. As I was saying before a certain asshole interrupted me, Toga can show you around our humble abode.”
The woman skips over to grab his arm. His skin crawls at her touch, but he doesn’t push her off. Just in case. “Tomura-Chan, you don’t need to talk fancy for the new guy, even if he’s wearing sparkly things. We all know you don’t know what ‘abode’ means and are just repeating stuff Kurogiri says.” There’s a shriek of rage from the slave, then the woman is pulling Hawks away from the rest of them.
Unsure what else to do, Hawks lets the woman lead him through their home. They do not go far before she comes to a halt in a wide space made up of boxes stacked low to the ground. Some are sectioned off in little squares or rectangles.
“These, my new bestie, are the good boxes! They’re harder than the squishy ones, so we can sleep on them. You can pick a space wherever you like and I’ll help you find some good sleeping boxes!”
What.
They sleep on BOXES?! They make gods of Sobek and Anubis’s magnitude lie on the same wood as any other being? Where are their glorious golden chambers? Magical doors leading to their mighty temples? This is ridiculous and unacceptable, and if Anubis and Sobek won’t fix it then he will.
For yes, Hawks will stick around a little while, if only to see who Anubis’s new lover is. Once he sees the no doubt impressive being with his own eyes then this aching in his heart from being replaced will abate.
Maybe it’s Sobek? He’s here… But no. Sobek never cared much for companionship in that regard. And Anubis would never sink as low as to carouse with mere humans. So clearly he needs to wait around a bit for them to arrive here.
But first things first: Hawks refuses to sleep on anything less than a lovely feather bed and will extend the same courtesy to his current companions. It is a very good thing that those he killed were able to help regenerate a bit of his magic. Not nearly enough for any of his true spells, but a simple one like this should be doable.
Gathering magic in his palms, the air around them shimmering a faint gold, Hawks forces it to bend to his will. Gold flares out to surround eight boxes, and flares bright. When the light fades out, eight lovely, circular, feather beds rest in their place.
The magical exhaustion hits him immediately, dulling his senses and making his feathers tremble.
He makes it a single step towards a bed before collapsing. How pitiful. It would be nice if the woman would not report his collapse to Anubis, but that is a farfetched fantasy.
How unfortunate.
Now his former lover will know exactly just how weak Hawks has become.
When he awakes, it’s to numerous people trying to talk over each other. A senate meeting, perhaps? Whatever the case, it does not concern him: someone hefted him into bed and he is far too comfortable to move. There is even a soft, warm blanket pulled up to his shoulders. So whatever is happening over there does not concern him.
…Except that he just heard his name mentioned.
Well, not his name exactly, but ‘Bird Guy’ is what Anubis kept insisting on calling him earlier.
So perhaps he will take a few moments to listen in.
“-I’m just saying that we should probably find out if he’s hurt, Dabi. Don’t be so rude! He’s your friend, right?”
“No, Toga, as I’ve told you like a hundred times, he’s not my friend. I just happened to stumble across him first. And I’m saying he’s fine! Look, I know what it looks like when people die” – obviously, he’s God of the dead – “and he’ll be fine! It’s probably just his quirk; like a transformation type that uses his energy or something. Chill out already.”
“Well I don’t like him!”
“Shiggs, you don’t like anyone. Your opinion is void.” There’s a loud shriek that has him flinching, effectively cutting off the conversation as they realize he’s awake.
If they’re watching him, then at least they recognize his beauty.
Hawks stretches lazily, sitting up so the fabric of the blanket pools in his lap and his wings can spread wide without interference. He runs a hand through his hair, easily smoothing it to perfection, and meets Anubis’s gaze to smirk. There are slim odds his new partner is as pretty as Hawks.
“Good morning,” Hawks yawns delicately, blinking sleep from his eyes.
“BIRDIE!” He grunts as the woman slams into him, knocking his back to the bed anew. Has she lost all sense in the time he was sleeping? “I was sooo worried! You slept so long and Dabi kept saying you were fine but that was scary! Don’t do it again, ok? We don’t need super great comfy beds – thank you very much for those, though – but don’t put yourself in a coma again!” Coma? What’s that?
“Oh, apologies. I didn’t feel like I needed to sleep for another few centuries. How many years was it this time?” His magic is not nearly restored enough to signify even a measly decade – nor, if he dares think grimly, would he last that long. There are strong odds he’ll Fade before then.
The woman is still clinging to him. It’s odd, for she is clearly breaching all rules regarding how to treat a higher being, but he kind of enjoys her touch. “Five whole days! I’m so glad you woke up, Birdie!”
“I’m Hawks, woman.” He shoots a sharp look to Anubis and Sobek. “Did neither of you think to simply tell her? Clearly your human was distraught. The two of you must have recognized that I needed time to restore the magic I spent.” He huffs when neither speaks an affirmative. “Perhaps I am not the only god who has declined in the last few years.” His words are icy and cruelly insulting, but neither of the elder, more powerful, gods reprimand him.
“Well look, he’s up. Problem solved, let’s go back to talking about important things. Like killing Endeavor.” The others outright groan at Anubis’s words. Gosh, are they that desperate for a swift and merciless death? “I’m serious! We have the advantage in numbers, we can totally take him! Shiggy’s sensei will take out All Might afterwards and boom, that’s the Number One and Two down. The world will be in upheaval from that alone, we won’t need to worry about taking anyone else out if we get the top two!”
…
All of that made zero sense.
Is Anubis talking of people in power? The Emperor? Or maybe a King? Or both? Or is it that Madame President lady a human mentioned to him?
Well, whatever the case, the people Anubis wants dead will die. That has been a constant for longer than Hawks himself has been alive. There’s hardly any point in offering his assistance – other than the fact it is expected he do – considering the sheer power Anubis wields. Even back when Hawks had a temple and humans devoted to him, Anubis was a thousand times stronger. More power, more worshippers, more years spent honing his strength.
“Do you require my assistance, My Lord?” Hawks won’t be much help as is – he’s Fading and practically useless – but not offering his life would be a dishonour of the highest order.
“Er, if you want to help then sure.” And with those words his fate is sealed.
Hawks is doomed.
Utterly and completely DOOMED.
“Are you mad?” He dares to hiss at Anubis. “You want us to attack Mars?! He’ll destroy us!” Well, Anubis might be ok. But Hawks has no chance and he could have sworn it was the Roman God of War who ripped Sobek in half the first time. This is a suicide mission.
“We’re fine, he won’t kill us in front of others. Plus, Kurogiri is on standby for an evacuation portal if we need it. We won’t die.” Anubis’s words do not work to sway him this time. He’s heard them so many times over the years, and every time he only lived since Anubis decided to save his life at the last moment. Obviously he’s grateful for that and owes the god many life debts, but it was always Anubis’s stupid ideas that got him in those messes in the first place.
But he’d be immediately killed for refusing to follow the orders, so guess he’s dying by Mars’s hands today. And hey, maybe the god is weak? If Rome truly did fall all those years ago then maybe he’s close to Fading too?
No, probably not. Only gods with no one left to remember them Fade. Mars did so much and was so strong, there is no way mortals forgot about him.
Well, at least this way is an honourable death. And much quicker than slowly Fading away over the next eight to ten years.
“Fine.” Hawks snaps, glaring at the man wreathed in flame. Fire always was his biggest weakness. Not that cheap stuff humans made, but true goldy flame. That stuff can sear through his feathers in an instant. This battle might have a different outcome if he was strong enough to conjure his true power, but obviously he’s not going to magically gain worshippers and a temple within the next minute and a half.
They all look to Anubis to make the first move. He does, leaping from the rooftop they are crouched on to land in front of Mars. Hawks follows alongside the others as they shadow their leader. His gut clenches and feathers go sharp in preparation for battle.
But it doesn’t come right away.
Rather, Anubis starts TALKING. Hawks frowns, puzzled. Since when does Anubis bother with monologuing? Did they not agree eons ago that those were but wasted breath?
“-pay for your crimes!” Oh, there. Anubis finally shifted into a fighting stance. His hands raise, and Hawks awaits the blazing green flames that will take the forefront in the battle.
Instead, the flames that pierce the air are a brilliant blue.
The others charge forwards as he stands there, frozen, staring at the magical flames.
Blue, not green. A human face, not a snarling Jackal. Is- Could it be possible that he was telling the truth and honestly is not Anubis? Granted, there are still so many similarities, but-
Mars slams a fist across the other flame wielder’s face, and the blood that spills from his nose is red.
Hawks rocks back, gaping.
“What? But… I thought for sure.” His heart aches, howling at him to accept the truth: this is just some human. His lover is still lost – probably long dead at this point, if he’s willing to be honest with himself. And so that means… His gaze slides to where Sobek is charging into battle with a sword. A tiny feather zips over to scratch his green-scaled cheek. It comes back red.
“Unbelievable.” Of course. OF COURSE his friends did not magically return to life. What a stupid, hopeless delusion. As Anubis often sneered, Hawks truly is an idiot. He can see that clearly now.
There is no point sticking around now. He’s better off-
Hawks doesn’t even have time to scream before his atoms shred apart mid step, sending him to the ground. They shatter and collide anew, making him flicker in and out of existence. For long, long minutes it continues.
Right.
He shudders as it dies out, and glances over to see the humans are still fighting the man who is likely not actually Mars. Well, he needs worshippers. And the woman was nice…
“Fine.” Heaving himself back onto shaking legs, Hawks stomps over to the battle. As he expects, the raging blue and orange flames do not char his skin like they would a mortals; rather, the orange ones tickle and the blue stings only a little before those smattering red burns heal up.
For all his fear going into this, it takes very little effort to grab the human’s vulnerable mortal throat and crush it. The corpse drops, and the orange flames die with him.
“There,” Hawks snaps, turning to face the humans gazing at him in shock. “I’ve graciously decided to fix your problem, and now you will serve me.” He nods to himself, glaring extra long at the fakes gods. “You two tricked me into believing you were gods. This is the way you will repent your sins.”
“No. No, this is my party! I’m the leader! You don’t get to tell me what to do!” Ugh, this again?
“Quiet, Slave. Know your place.” A now familiar angry shriek echoes out, then the blue-haired slave boy is grabbing Hawks’s bangle-clad forearm. Rude. He ought to have this one whipped.
The slaves lets go, red eyes alight with glee, but nothing happens. Sure, his skin itches a bit and the spiderwebbing cracks that formed take a shockingly long time to heal, but whatever the slave expects does not arrive.
“What? But… This doesn’t make sense! It’s not fair!” The slave childishly stamps his foot. “My Decay is supposed to work on everyone!”
Too annoying.
“Silence, or I’ll have your tongue cut out.” He glares at the humans that are now his until they stop chattering and shrieking at one and another. “Now come.” Whirling around majestically, Hawks stalks back the way they came. The humans hesitate for a few moments too long – enough so he almost snaps at them again – but soon fall in line.
They use the same magic door as they did to get here to exit, and soon enough they are in the room with the wide chair and the boxes again.
Well, this will not do for HIS new temple.
“Slave, get rid of this mess.”
…There’s a long moment of pause before the one he mistook for Anubis elbows the blue-haired slave. “Shiggs, I think he’s talking to you. Congrats, you’ve been demoted to ‘slave’.”
“WHAT?!” Arg, too loud. “NO! Get out, I don’t agree to letting you stay near my party any long- ack!” The slave chokes as Hawks bounds over and grabs his tongue between a thumb and finger, pinching tight.
“Silence. You irritate me. And clearly do not take orders well.” He frowns, looking around his group of a measly seven humans. Well… “Woman, you will be this one’s overseer. I want all the boxes one by the time the moon has risen.”
“Yessir!” She gives a polite bow. Very good. Hawks nods approvingly.
“Toga?! What the hell are you doing?”
“Dabi,” oh yeah, that’s what the fake Anubis’s name is, “this guy crushed Endeavor like it was nothing. I don’t want to die and am more than happy to play this game for a bit. It seems fun!”
Dabi scoffs. “Well, I’m not about to roll over and take orders from some maniac! DIE!” Hawks frowns as the human rushes at him, blue flames spilling from his palms. He yawns, batting the fire thrown his way aside.
“Human, do not test my patience. I am already annoyed you managed to trick me into thinking you were my lost love. Stop this at once.” But his warnings are not heeded.
So, when Dabi runs at him again, Hawks grabs the shiny black coat the human is wearing and imbeds magic within it, forcing the fabric to shift and change to his commands.
“What the-” The human yelps as Hawks’s spell completes, and the speed with which the human was running sends him face-first into the black bars of the cage encircling him. “What the HELL?” Dabi grabs the bars made from what was once his coat and sets them ablaze.
Hawks retaliates by flicking his wrist and shrinking the size of the cage, forcing the human down to his knees.
“There,” Hawks muses, “isn’t that better?” He leans down, grabbing the human’s chin and lifting it to face him. Teeth are gritted angrily and utter fury smolders in those brilliant eyes. “Hmm.” He lets his eyes explore. Pretty, pale skin contrasted with deep purple and sparkling silver. The bare arms alone hold muscle he was not expecting. A firm refusal to submit to anyone, no matter how outmatched he is. There’s… something about this one that has his long tail feathers fanning as excitement thurms through him.
Pausing to consider that feeling, Hawks shrugs. “Fine. You’re pretty, so I will forgive you this time.” He waves his hand and the cage melts away, turning back into the human’s coat.
But the human does not move right away. Rather, he’s staring at Hawks in confusion.
Ugh. “What is it? You may ask your question.” Very generous of him, but he’s feeling like it. Heated electricity is still spiking beneath his skin, so he’s in a very good mood.
“I- Just, are you blind or something?” Well that is a rude question. “What the hell are you doing, going around calling someone as fucked up as me ‘pretty’? Is that some sort of joke?” Herm. The words are not mean, more upset and hurt. As if HAWKS is the one who wrong the human.
“Nonsense,” Hawks scoffs. “I am never wrong. And I do not joke. I have been told I am not funny.” HE thought his jokes were hilarious, but no one else agreed. It’s fine though, he’s good at being pretty so he’ll stick to that. “Do not insult me by questioning my ability to tell when something is pretty. I am good at that.” Now, enough time has already been wasted. “SLAVE! I do not see you working. Hurry up. Woman, keep him on track.” The blonde salute him happily, turning to punch the blue-haired slave in the side. Good, she’s getting the hang of it. “The rest of you – not you, Pretty Human. Pretty people don’t have to work – go find good, cushioned chairs and lots of gold. We will need gold if this is to become a proper temple.”
They stare at him for a long moment before the one with the tall hat shrugs.
“Alright then. I’m on stealing gold, I guess. Jin, Spinner, and Kurogiri, can you three handle getting furniture?”
“Sure.”
“Ok! No way, we’re so getting caught…”
“As long as you are alright going alone, Atsuhiro.”
There we go. PROGRESS! The four humans set off to do Hawks’s bidding, the slave is finally starting his task of tapping boxes and making them disappear under the woman’s watchful, cackling, eye, and Hawks is left with Dabi. Excellent.
“Come. We have much to do.” Hawks grabs the human’s hand to pull him to his feet and move in the direction he thinks leads to the beds.
“WOAH. Ok, uh, stop. I don’t really get what’s going on here and I’m not going to fuck you, ok?” Hawks frowns. He’s not familiar with that phrasing. Maybe it’s a human thing?
“Calm, stress is bad for your skin.” The human scoffs. “I am going to teach you all the most important things about being pretty: first, we sleep. Beauty rest is important, and people like to watch us sleep, so we must do it well.”
“What the hell.” The human sighs. “Fuck it, I guess. I could go for a good nap. Though if any weird ass stalker is trying to watch ME sleep, I’ll roast their eyes. That’s just creepy.” Hawks frowns. Is it? Surely not. The other gods always told him they enjoyed watching him sleep.
Oh well. More important things to focus on: every pretty person, god or human, needs to know this stuff, and he is happy to share his vast knowledge on the subject.
“…You’re not joking, are you?”
Hawks cocks his head to the side. “Why would I joke over this?” That just wouldn’t make any sense. “Now come on!”
“Yeah Dabi, come on!” Himiko – quickly rising in ranks as his favourite human, she even sacrificed to him yesterday!! – “Lemme put make up on you!”
“NO!” The two humans tussle as Himiko leaps on Dabi with an eager cackle.
Hawks sighs. Honestly. “That’s enough, you two.” Thankfully his little humans are learning and quickly stop trying to bite each other. How unrefined. “Dabi-”
“That gunk will get in my scars and kill me. No way am I letting that happen. I’m wearing the damn dress, isn’t that enough?!”
“Not a dress.” Hawks leans over to flick his human’s forehead. “Ceremonial garb. With extra gold because…?”
Dabi groans, flopping back so his elegant little neck is exposed. “’Cause all pretty people need gold.’ Yeah, you’ve only said that a BAZILLION times. But still, come on, man- My Lord.” Hawks hums happily. Yes, very good. They are all learning. “Because of my scars I have a very high risk of getting infected from anything, and smearing stuff over them in a horrible idea.”
“Oh. Well, if that’s the only problem, I can heal them for you.” He gets two shocked stares. “What? Do you still not comprehend my power? Himiko sacrificed to me yesterday, thank you, dear, so I’m feeling up for a more complex spell.”
“…WHAT?” Himiko shrieks, hands coming up to grip her hair. “I was just joking?! Like I killed that guy after drinking him and- you weren’t even around. NO ONE was around. How do you even know I killed him and said it was in your name or whatever?”
Maybe they don’t get it yet? Hmm. “I can always hear when people use my name. Whether to sacrifice someone to me, to pray for good fortune when crossing the desert, or in hopes their unborn child will develop stunningly good looks like yours truly. I am a god. That’s just how it works.” He shrugs elegantly. It is not a hard concept.
“Ok, wait.” Dabi holds up both his hands. “We’ve been playing this game for a whole week now. I’ll admit, it was kind of fun getting to lounge around and be lazy while forcing Shiggy to do everything. But like. You know you’re not a real god, right?” Huh? Hawks cocks his head, frowning.
OH! “Oh, how insightful you are, my pretty little human.” He pats Dabi’s head, using that chance to send magic swirling around him, healing away the scars he always complains of. It’s a shame, really. Their color was so pretty… But now Dabi can wear charcoal around his eyes and be happy. So, worth it.
Hawks stands up, exiting dramatically from the bedchambers to the main room. It looks much better now: golden coins piled artistically around the space, majestic and beautiful furniture decorating the space, and even a massive ‘chandelier’ the one called Kurogiri gifted him. He likes that human a lot too. Very nice and polite, and inclined to gift him magnificent things.
“My humans! There is a task I need your assistance with.” The five in this room pause whatever human thing they were doing to look at him. “Dabi has brought it to my attention that I am not current the true god of this space: I must remove the Madame President before I can claim my rightful place! And I suspect she is powerful, so I need you to go out into the night and find me lots of good sacrifices.” He smiles out at them… though his smile fades when he finds they are staring over his shoulder, not at him. His wings ruffle, but they settle when he looks and finds them staring at Dabi. The human is touching his smooth cheek, dazed.
Hawks smirks. Well, of course the other humans would stare. They never did seem to recognize Dabi’s beauty before, so obviously they’re shocked now that they can see it.
“I- is this real?” Even Dabi’s voice seems a little smooth, less growly. Oh that is so much more elegant. Very good job, Self. “I- You.” Dabi stares at him, then his eyes go hard and he smirks. “You were just telling us to kill people for you, right? I can do that.” Hawks opens his mouth to protest, but Dabi beats him to it. “Yeah I KNOW: ‘pretty people don’t need to work.’ Well, too bad. I’m really in the mood to kill people for you.” To Hawks’s endless embarrassment, he blushes and his feathers fluff at the feral grin Dabi shoots his way.
This is… uncouth. Inappropriate.
He should not be feeling like this towards a mere human.
“I must take my leave.” Hawks stammers, avoiding any of the curious human gazes peering at him as he scampers out of the room.
How utterly humiliating.
The next few days pass quickly, and with each one his power grows exponentially. His humans are very, very good at sacrificing other humans to him. He hasn’t felt this powerful in years.
And his atoms haven’t tried to shred him apart recently; even if it’s a handful of humans, that much is enough to momentarily stop him from Fading.
Considering the strength thrumming through his goldy blood, Hawks is ready. Ready to take down the one being in his way. Ready for anything.
“Hawks, My Lord or whatever-” Hawks yelps, diving beneath the blanket of his bed before Dabi can get a good glimpse of him. He’s not done preening yet; hardly fit for Dab- anyone to see him this way.
“Yes?” He mumbles from beneath the sheet.
“Uh. You good?”
“I’m not fit to be seen quite yet. Come back in an hour if you require a face-to-face conversation.” An hour should be enough time… maybe.
Dabi sighs. “You’re being overdramatic. Come out from under there; it’s impossible for you to look bad.” Hawks wiggles around, popping only the top of his head and his eyes free. They glare suspiciously at the human. “See? Your hair looks great. Now come on, we – well, Compress. I didn’t really help, was having way too much fun roasting pedophiles now that my quirk can’t burn me, but that’s not the point. Compress found the Commission lady for you. If you want to kill her, there are a bunch of guards and, uh, worshippers there to protect her. I recommend getting rid of them first.” Ah, he’s so smart too… Hawks flushes a deep, mortifying, gold, and ducks his head back under the dark safety of the blanket.
But nevertheless, Hawks clears his throat to reply. “Thank you. You may take your leave. I will be attacking the being trying to compete with me for territory at dawn.” Dawn was always his favourite time of day. He’s not sure which god is in charge of lifting the sun into the sky now, but it does not compare to the beauty with which Ra used to do it. The vibrancy of those colors that pierced the sky every morning… that is a sight he’ll never forget.
Dabi shuffles out, knocking the lovely, muddled glass door the slave set into the entry of his chambers shut.
Hawks bolts upright and begins pacing, brow furrowed. Well, he’s almost certain he’s strong enough to win this fight: he’s got a proper temple and has received almost a hundred sacrifices in the past few days.
But still, he must look his best for this fight. It might be a long time since he last fought another god but forgetting to take the proper precautions would be stupid.
It takes less than a heartbeat to summon proper golden battle armour, sleek and sturdy and beautiful enough to be worthy of protecting him. Gleaming curved plates cling to his forearms, chest, neck, thighs, and wing bones, while sheer, loose golden fabric drapes around him to better mesh everything together. The armour plates do look rather chunky all on their own, but like this the look is far more natural and flowy. He runs fingers through his hair, fans and resettles his feathers, and conjures a quick pool of water to check his reflection. Good. The sharp black markings around his eyes are still perfect, and his golden headband gleams wonderfully.
He is ready.
Hawks throws the doors to his chamber open dramatically. “Come, my humans! Now is the time to rid ourselves of the Madame President!” A few of them cheer, but strangely enough all he can focus on is how Dabi’s eyes widen ever so slightly at the glorious sight of him in his battle wear.
Fool. He smacks his cheeks for good measure, ignoring the looks that wins him. Now is really not the time for whatever silliness THAT is.
He shakes himself out of it and points to Kurogiri. “Portal!” Hawks demands, grinning when one is almost immediately spun to life. How convenient.
Without further ado, Hawks marches through it. It is time to rid himself of the pest.
Emerging on the other side, the humans nearby begin to scream. Pfft, as they should. One as grand as himself does not show up in battle armour for anything but a true, glorious fight.
Ignoring them, Hawks stalks over to the big, tall building his humans reported was the Madame President’s castle. Well, that should be easy enough to take care of, especially now that he’s reached full strength once more.
As his humans amass at his back, Hawks sets to calling to his magical core, the wind around them stirring as his magic permeates the air. Tiny grains of sand dance across his fingers, warming them, silently pleading to be used as he wishes. Hawks shudders, and the sand listens to his command. The castle of his current target is split vertically as a giant wall of sturdy sand slams into it, crushing stone and whatever else is in its path.
Before his nemesis can retaliate, Hawks waves his hand, calling the sand still floating around him to action. Those grains pick up speed, swirling around he and his humans in a vortex that yanks at the flowy parts of his clothing, then disappear. He can feel it as the sand shoves itself down the useless, human throats of the worshippers of Madame President. His skin begins to glow as their deaths flood towards him, sacrifices in a different form.
It’s easy… Far TOO easy.
No god, especially not one who scared the humans beneath them so much, would allow him to take out all their worshippers like that. Where’s the retaliation?
“Surrender, Villain, for I AM HERE!” Hmm? What’s this? More of her worshippers, perhaps?
Whatever.
With a flick of his hand, he has the newcomers encased in whirling sand that quickly hardens for him into and unbreakable prison- Wait a minute.
Hawks zips over and plucks one of the newcomers out. He cocks his head, and a very Horus-like head follows him. But he CAN learn from things. “You’re not Horus, are you?” The small human shakes his head. “Too bad. But that’s ok! We can be friends anyway! I’m Hawks, these are my humans.” He gestures behind him at the seven waiting patiently in case he needs help for some reason.
“Let go of me! And my friends!” The boy with the bird head struggles in Hawks’s arms, and something smacks his chest hard enough he drops the boy in shock. Well, if he’s going to be difficult…
OOOH! Hawks gasps, clapping his hands together excitedly. “Oh, this is perfect! Which are your friends? I will remove them from the sand, and all of you can become my humans! Isn’t that such a great idea?! I’m getting more than enough sacrifices thanks to my current ones, but they are very bad at remember to pray to me for things too, so you and your friends can do that! Which are they?”
“All of them,” the boy replies immediately. “They’re all my friends.”
“Ok.” Hawks lets them all go and is immediately tackled by someone very large. “Ow,” he grumbles as his back slams into the hard ground. “That was very rude. Do you know who you’re tackling?” But the gross-looking blond man pays him no heed. Fine.
He waves his hand, murmurs that one spell Wenet taught him, and poof. Fluffy blond bunny. He scoops their new pet up into his arms and bounds over to Himiko, presenting it proudly. “A gift; you’re doing so well killing people for me.” Plus the girl was talking the other day about having a puppy. A bunny is basically the same thing.
“Ohmygosh!!! Thank you so much, My Lord, I’ve always wanted a cute wittle pet!” She happily accepts his generous present, and his chest puffs up in pride. See?? Isn’t he just the best god? No one else would gift their human with something as adorable.
Now. He claps his hands together, staring back to the building his sand destroyed. “Where is Madame President, then?” He looks over to his humans. “Did any of you see her run?”
“Uh, I’m pretty sure you got her. Ya know, with the whole sand thing.” Dabi shrugs. “But hey, if you’re giving presents out, can I ask that you don’t kill that one?” Hawks follows the finger Dabi is pointing to a rather attractive young male. He swallows back a tiny, very inappropriate growl.
“Why should I?” Hawks huffs, tilting his nose up.
“Well, he’s my little brother. And I don’t really want him dead. So.” OH. Well why didn’t Dabi just say so? Brother, pfft. What was he getting so worked up about anyways? He TOTALLY DOES NOT CARE if Dabi likes some boring little human. None of his business at all. Expect that he would eat them.
“Fine, I suppose you can keep your brother.” The happy little smile his words win him has his heart doing weird annoying things. Best not to think about it. “Now,” he turns to the big group of humans. “Dabi’s brother, you move over here so I can see what’s happening.” He frowns when no one moves.
Dabi face palms. “Does he seriously- Shouto, move your ass. I don’t want you dead.” The boy points to himself, brow furrowed. Oh, well, that makes sense. Dabi must have gotten all the brains in that family, so this one is a little slow. UGH, how sweet. Dabi is making sure to look after his much less capable sibling… NO, calm down stupid tail feathers. Dabi is human and gods ARE NOT attracted to humans. Plain and simple, get that through your dumb little feather brain.
“But you don’t look like Natsuo.” Fancy double-colored eyes squint. “Are you? I guess maybe if-”
“I’m Touya, dumbass. How did you not already know that? I did not go through a lot of effort to hide it.” AHH and Touya is such a cute little name…
“Oh. Huh. Ok, but only if you promise all my friends won’t be harmed.” The young man slowly wanders over and stumbles a bit as Dabi grabs his arm to move him out of Hawks’s way. Well, it would upset Dabi if his brother was sad, right? And he needs more alive humans anyways. These ones will do. Some of them are rather pretty too, which is a bonus. The more pretty people lounging in one place the better.
“Ehem.” Hawks clears his throat to draw the humans’ attention back to him. “Now then, I will need some of you to build a nice palace here. Who would like to build for me? Any volunteers? You get to order my current slave around.”
“WHAT?!” Said slave shrieks. “Hang on! How am I still ranked as a stupid slave?! My stats are so much better suited for something else!”
“You are ugly, irritate me, and did a well good job removing the boxes from the temple. You will stay the slave until I find someone better suited for the role.” He shrugs. It’s not HIS fault; he obviously needs at least one slave in the hierarchy, and this one works well so far. “Now, who wants to be in charge of building my palace?” The humans exchange looks, then one of the pretty blond ones shrug.
“Fuck it, I want to boss Shigaraki around. I’ll build your damn palace, then you’d better leave us the fuck alone, got it?” Hawks waves the young man off. It is very rude to point at a god, but he will allow it this time.
The boring green-haired one shuffles forwards, hand raised up to his shoulder. “Um, excuse me? Could you please turn All Might back? It’s just, he’s really important to me and-” BORING. Hawks waves his hand and then there is a tiny little green bunny blinking around, confused. Much better.
“Here.” He scoops the bunny up and hands it to the man that volunteered to build his palace. “The first of many presents; I do appreciate your willingness to assist me.”
The blond splutters. “I- You turn Deku back right now! He shouldn’t be stuck as a fucking rabbit!”
Hawks shrugs. “I don’t feel like it. He’s boring and plain.” He holds up a hand to prevent further complaints. “If you and your underlings do a good job building my palace, then I will turn him back to human. I don’t know why you would even want him back when he’s so… basic, but I will not judge your romantic tastes.” That only makes the human gape at him more, but soon enough he’s scowling and gives a rough jerk of his head. There we go. At least one of them can see sense.
“Fine. SHITTY HAIR! You’re helping me. Let’s go.” The blond uses the hand not holding the fluffy green bunny to grab onto a nearby redhead. Together they corral the group of humans into a bunch of tiny groups. Very nice, very efficient. He can see this going very well.
Well, Madame President still hasn’t emerged, so either Hawks managed to kill her in that initial strike, or she ran. Either way, he has officially claimed this land as his. His feathers puff up in pride. Very, very good job, Self.
“Well, Himiko told me this was a good idea, so if it’s not blame her.” Those words barely reach his ears before Dabi slips in much closer than is appropriate and kisses him. KISSES HIM. Without begging for permission, without even asking. Just assuming that a being as wonderful as Hawks himself would surely like to be kissed by him. Hawks wraps his arms around the human’s neck to pull him in closer. How utterly inappropriate. His feathers fluff and his tail fans out as giddy heat spears through him.
They break apart and Dabi is panting, his human lungs already over-exerted. Another reason god and humans just don’t mix.
He tucks his chin when Dabi goes to brush his knuckles along Hawks’s cheek. “Enough. I- It is practically taboo for a god to take a human lover. Please do not tempt me into such foolishness.”
“Oh fuck that,” Dabi scoffs, rolling his pretty eyes. “If anyone says something about it, just kill them. You’re pretty fucking powerful, in case you weren’t aware.” Hawks frowns, shaking his head. No, that’s not right. All the other gods were always stronger than him… though they are kind of dead. “Come on, forget about that whole ‘I am god’ thing for a bit and let me prove to you that your last boyfriend was a complete asshole.” Hawks gapes. What audacity!
“Hawks,” he doesn’t pull away when warm hands gently land on his shoulders, “tell me you don’t want this too and I’ll stop. But I’ve wanted it since the first time you looked at me and dared to call me pretty.” Dabi laughs. “I know, it’s stupid. But no one else ever… not with the scars. You didn’t care, and I liked that. You just wanted to lie on fancy beds and eat grapes together. So,” Dabi shifts, and Hawks nuzzles into the warmth of Dabi’s palm as it cups his cheek. “Let me repay you for ‘teaching me how to be pretty’ or whatever by showing you how us measly humans go on dates, buy presents for our partners, and fall in love.” His face is flushed gold – probably worse than even. He’s never felt flustered and awkward like this before.
“I- you can’t just say stuff like that!” Hawks protests, grabbing Dabi’s coat and smushing his face into it to hide his blush. “I wasn’t ready! I don’t like not being ready for things! And this is not proper at all! I- I should have you demoted for your audacity!”
“So is that a yes or no?”
He screeches, annoyed and a little confused at everything. This is so wrong… so why does he feel so jubilant right now? It makes no sense. It’s contradictory to everything he’s ever known and been taught.
“Yes,” he growls, using his grip on the human’s coat to tug him down enough Hawks can kiss him properly. His wings flare out and circle them as Dabi gasps. No one else gets to watch, not this time. He wants to have this be his own, precious, thing. No stronger god is around to tell him no, after all. That thought leaves him giddy and makes it all the nicer when he slips his tongue into Dabi’s mouth and makes quick work of having the human moaning against his lips.
“Are you sure this is right?”
“Yes, stop complaining.” Hawks’s nose wrinkles as Dabi pokes it. “We’re doing it right, I promise.” The two are seated out on a checked blanket at the top of a small hill. Hawks still doesn’t understand why Dabi insisted they come here instead of staying at the perfectly lovely palace garden one of the humans grew for him.
Well, it is far from the worst place he’s been. The slight rise in altitude allows them a good view of the clear sky, and it is nice to be away from all the humans. They keep asking questions, wanting him to fix this problem and cure this person’s fatal illness, it is all very taxing.
Hawks sighs, lying down. “Come on.” He tugs at Dabi’s arm, and his human lover smiles down at him and bobs his head.
“I swear, you sleep so much you’ve got to be the best at it in the world.”
“Why thank you.” Hawks grins at Dabi’s tiny chuckle. He guides the human down, pulling him into Hawks’s side so his chest can be a pillow for his lover’s head while he plays with Dabi’s soft hair. Sure, he likes getting to cuddle into Dabi’s side and cling for as long as he wants – Dabi never gets annoyed at him for claiming an arm or a side for hours on end – but it’s kind of nice to get to be the one supporting his partner for the cuddling too. He never had a chance to try it before and he likes it a lot.
That’s been the same for a lot of things recently, not just in regard to his human lover.
The humans he took in to build his palace did so and made it nice, but now they keep asking him to do lots of things. And yes, it can be really annoying, but also nice at times. He likes when they thank him for doing this or saving that family, curing that disease or making that antidote. It keeps the humans happy and gives him more people praying to him and thanking him, which is part he really likes.
Considering how close he was to Fading just a few months ago, things are going extraordinarily well.
“Hey, Hawks?”
“Hm?”
“Have you thought about the proposal the United Nations sent?” Which one is that again? What did that human want…? OH! The big letter.
“No, I haven’t bothered yet.” Everyone wants something and this person didn’t even bother to show up in person. Instead they wrote stuff in their horribly drawn hieroglyphs and expected him to comply.
“Oh.” Oh dear. That upset Dabi for some reason. “Alright.”
Ugh, FINE! It’ll probably mean more work for him, but surely whatever it was the letter people wanted will not take too long. “Love, you can reply to them, if you want. I trust you to make the decision for me.”
“Really?” Dabi wiggles until he’s leaning on an arm, looking down at Hawks. “Are you sure? Even though I’m just a meagre human?”
Hawks rolls his eyes, sitting up to cup his lover’s cheeks. “Of course I’m sure. I’m always right in all my decisions, so don’t doubt me. You might be a human, but you’re my human, and that matters.”
“…Ok. But you’ll have to do work. You know that, right?”
“Yeah. I’ll make the letter people pay me in lots of gold. You don’t have enough right now.”
“Hawks, you’ve already given me an entire fortune in gold. I think I’m ok.”
“Nonsense! No such thing as too much gold. More is shiny and better.”
Dabi laughs, lying down and pulling Hawks on top of him. OOH yay! He likes this way too. Dabi is always warm and never minds if Hawks accidentally falls asleep on him.
They lie there a while, Hawks resting easily on his lover’s chest as slim fingers card through the feathers along his wing bone. Well, maybe it’s ok if pretty people have to do a LITTLE work. Just a little though. Just enough that he gets to keep this for as long as he wants and doesn’t have swarms of humans trying to steal his time away from cuddling with his lover.
“So,” Dabi breaks the comfortable, happy, silence. “Remember how you turned Shouto into a fish yesterday for insulting you or something? Think you can turn him back for me? I want to bust Mom out of that place my sperm donor left her in and Shouto can’t be a fish for that.”
“Ok.” He can always turn the annoying little brother into a pretty koi fish another time.