Chapter Text
“You’ve got to help me, Miruko,” Hawks pleads, sitting at the table and stretching his hands out beseechingly towards her. “This Chikazoku guy will not leave me alone!”
“Didn’t you already reject him?” Miruko asks, arching an eyebrow.
Hawks nods. “I have. Five times now—but he keeps saying that he’ll wear me down eventually. He showed up in front of my dorm with a bike and wanted me to ride with him—I managed to sprint away. Then he showed up in the cafeteria with my favorite drink—”
“That doesn’t sound too bad,” Miruko comments.
Hawks gives her a flat look. “It is when I don’t know why he knows that’s my favorite drink—I think he’s stalking me. I was in the bathroom in the philosophy building, and ran out of toilet paper, and then someone stuck some toilet paper in from the other stall—and it turned out to be him.”
Miruko’s eyes widen as she whistles, “Dude, that’s too much.”
“I know,” Hawks says, his eyes twitching.
“So what, you want me to beat him up for you?” Miruko asks, cracking her knuckles.
“While normally I would have total confidence in you, I’ve heard he’s also the captain of the judo club,” Hawks says sadly.
“Judo?” Miruko if anything, looks more excited. “That could be fun to take on—”
“Don’t want you to get in trouble with campus police for brawling,” Hawks interjects. “Just pretend to be my fake girlfriend for a bit, let Chikazoku see how happy we are, and hopefully then he’ll back off. I’ll even buy you that stupidly expensive exercise bike you wanted!”
“As much as I would love to get that exercise bike, I can’t,” Miruko shakes her head, propping her hand on her cheek. “I finally asked out Fuyumi.”
“ What? Seriously?” Hawks gapes at her. “It took you three months to even figure out her name! You’ve been calling her ‘the pretty education major’ forever!”
“Hey, in my defense, she has like no social media accounts,” Miruko says. “Why don’t you ask Rin to help?”
“I did, but somehow he thought she wasn’t hot enough to be competition?” Hawks says, scrubbing at his face at the thought of Rin’s teary eyes.
Miruko’s eyes narrow. “He said what? You better have decked him for that.”
“Inoue and Honda beat me to the punch—but that also sprung the ruse, and then he thought I was trying to make him jealous, ” Hawks says despairingly.
“…yeah, that guy’s a creep,” Miruko decides. “Any of your cheer squad teammates game?”
“Most of them are either taken or would take it entirely the wrong way,” Hawks says mournfully. “Or their schedules are already packed enough, so there’s no way they have time for a boyfriend that’s not even real .”
“So I feel like you have two options here: A. Beat him up until he leaves you alone or B. Find someone hot enough to make him back off. I kind of want to go with A.”
“Oh believe me, I’m inclined to let you go with A. too,” Hawks grumbles. “If he shows up at cheerleading practice, I’m never going to get a routine right.”
“Well—there’s a concert tonight. Why don’t we go to take your mind off things?” Miruko suggests. “It’s supposed to be a crowd, so even if he shows up, I think we can lose him.”
“Why’s it going to be a crowd?”
Miruko shrugs, “Heard there’s some mysterious bassist showing up who has a lot of fans or something.”
“Huh. That could be interesting,” Hawks muses. “Let’s go.”
--
“I can’t believe he’s here too,” Miruko complains, ducking behind the corner of a stage.
“Right? I told you he was a stalker,” Hawks says, shifting so he’s fully hidden behind Miruko.
“If he delays my first date with Fuyumi, I’m going to kill him,” Miruko mutters under her breath.
“If violence could solve the problem, I wouldn’t be in this situation,” Hawks reminds her.
Miruko rolls her eyes. “If you would just punch him yourself—”
“Honestly not sure if that’d solve the problem.”
“Couldn’t hurt.”
“Unless he’s a masochist.”
“Um…do I want to know?” Fuyumi asks, poking her head out from in front of the stage.
“Fuyumi!” Miruko beams at her, immediately straightening up and tossing out her long white hair, although Hawks is pretty sure the effect is ruined by him still trying to hide behind her and squawking when her hair flicks him in the face.
“Hi,” Fuyumi says shyly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Are—are you guys hiding from someone?”
“My creepy stalker,” Hawks mutters.
“Oh yeah, Rumi told me a little about that…well, I guess you can listen to the concert fine from back here too?” Fuyumi suggests, crouching down by them.
“I couldn’t make you do that!” Miruko protests. “It’s our first real date after all—can’t just abandon Hawks with a stalker on the loose, but maybe we could find a better place to watch the concert and also hide in?”
“Hm, how about the sound and lights area?” Fuyumi asks, pointing to the booth over there. “Should be relatively private and kind of fun!”
“Will they let us in?” Miruko asks worriedly as Fuyumi takes her hand and starts to lead her there.
“Oh yeah, I know them,” Fuyumi says dismissively as they squeeze in. “And it looks like we’re just in time—”
“Hey guys! We’re the Vanguard Action Squad, and we’re happy to be here!”
Everyone cheers, and then the cheers go distinctly more high-pitched when a dark-haired guy with helix piercings in his ears, a nose stud, and piercing blue eyes walks onto stage with the rest of the group, holding a bass.
Hawks can’t really blame the crowd—that guy is scorching hot.
“That’s the mysterious bassist replacement I told you about,” Miruko says to Hawks and then her grin quirks up. “Ohhhh, I just thought of something.”
“This can’t be good,” Hawks deadpans.
Miruko ignores him. “This guy is perfect; he’s hot enough that he’ll definitely get your stalker to back off.”
Hawks raises his eyebrows and stares at the guy as the concert starts, and he starts to play, strumming the strings as the low beat travels through the crowd.
(As insane as the idea of asking a stranger to fake-date him is—
He can’t say it doesn’t have some appeal.
But that’s only if the guy isn’t an asshole—he doesn’t want to trade one for another after all.)
“That—might work, but who is he though? No one at the concert seems to know who he is,” Hawks says, taking out his phone and checking out the school message board that is blowing up about the concert and specifically the identity of the mysterious bassist.
Fuyumi coughs and says wryly. “You’re in luck; I know him.”
“Really? How?” Miruko asks before Hawks can even open his mouth, “Oh no—he’s not a terrible ex of yours is he—”
“Ew! No!” Fuyumi says, her nose scrunched up. “He’s my brother!”
They both blink at her, looking from the bassist on stage back to her.
“Really? He’s so goth, and you’re so preppy-cute,” Miruko says.
Fuyumi flushes, a pleased smile tugging at her mouth. “Touya’s always been a giant edgelord since we were kids. Halloween is an event, let me tell you.”
“So his name is Todoroki Touya?” Hawks asks, looking him up on Facebook to find—zilch (this guy is really a ghost). “Do you think he’d be willing to fake-date me long enough to get my stalker to back off?”
Fuyumi scrunches up her face, giving him a considering look. “…I mean, maybe? I’ve never actually seen him date anyone—I think he may have had a crush on some guy, but it’s been awhile without any news, so that’s probably over with. He really might go along with you since it’s fake, and he does like just trolling people sometimes. Do you want me to ask him?”
“I feel like it’s probably something I should do in person,” Hawks says, tilting his head as Touya really gets into the rhythm, throwing himself into it. “You think the direct approach would work, or should I make myself look really pitiful first?”
“I think the direct approach would be fine, he might appreciate that,” Fuyumi says before wagging a finger at him. “No messing with his feelings though! Touya looks tough, but he’s got a squishy center deep inside.”
Hawks places a hand on his chest. “No worries! It’s just for pretend, and once this gets Chikazoku off my back, I will definitely leave your brother alone!”
--
“So I’m Takami Keigo, also known as Hawks, and—be my boyfriend.”
Touya just stares at him for a long time, halfway through setting away his bass.
(Oh crap.
Maybe he should have waited until tomorrow?
But he swears that he can feel as though Chikazoku might be lurking about, so he should do this as fast as possible.)
“Not like for real,” Hawks hastens to add. “It’s just that—there’s a guy who won’t take no for an answer from me, and I need you to be my shield.”
“Why?” Touya asks, his voice deep and carrying a bit of an edge. “Is he not hot or something?”
Hawks frowns. “It’s not like that, he’s just—he’s pretty creepy.”
Touya still seems to be hesitating for some reason.
(Maybe—maybe he thinks Hawks has ulterior motives here?
But he really doesn’t—he doesn’t know anything about this guy besides the fact that he’s hot, and that’s not quite enough to pique his interest normally.
Like, what are they going to talk about?
But if it’s just for appearances it’s fine—so he should just make sure Touya is reassured.)
“He’s also waaay too goth and edgelord-y for my tastes,” Hawks adds.
Touya’s face seems to harden.
(…maybe not the way to go.
Shit, how can he make this right?)
“Not—not that there’s anything wrong with being a goth edgelord!” Hawks hastens to add, gesturing at the black leather jacket and black jeans that Touya is wearing. “It’s just—um, look, I’ve already tried with some other friends, but that guy’s just sneered at them and refused to believe that I was with them because according to him, they weren’t hot enough? Which is totally wrong of course—but that’s not going to be a problem with you.”
“…you think I’m hot?” Touya asks, smirking at him.
“Objectively speaking, yeah. I had to fight a horde of fangirls to even get over here, and I’m probably going to be eviscerated alive by them later even if you don’t agree to fake-date me,” Hawks says honestly.
(If looks could kill, Hawks would have already died like five times already from the venomous glares those girls are shooting him.)
Touya doesn’t even look back at those girls, hitching his guitar case higher up. “Then—what would fake-dating you actually entail?” he asks in a casual tone.
Hawks resists the urge to fist pump (but yes, a sign of interest!). “I wouldn’t make you do too much,” he reassures him. “Just—some fake dates maybe, and I can pay for them—maybe hold my hand a bit or even kiss me on the cheek in front of my stalker.”
Touya raises his eyebrows. “That’s it? That doesn’t sound especially convincing.”
“Well then, you can just—flirt with me like you do with other guys or girls,” Hawks replies. “It just has to look like we’re a committed couple already—”
“Like we’re in love?” Touya interrupts, his eyes going slightly half-lidded.
Hawks flushes (wow, Touya is good—he needs to get a grip). “Y—yeah, I guess.”
“Hm,” Touya looks him over and then flashes him a small smile that transforms his entire face. “I’ll try my best. May need to ask you for pointers though.”
“Haven’t you ever been in love before?” Hawks asks curiously before wanting to smack himself when the smile drops off Touya’s face.
(Smooth going Hawks, real good job you’re doing there.
But—he really kind of wants to know.
What is Touya’s usual type?
It doesn’t seem like he’s all that hung up on that crush that Fuyumi mentioned, and just in case you know—he sees someone like that while they’re fake dating so Hawks can give them some space.)
Touya doesn’t answer, instead frowning at him while his fingers drum against the strap of his guitar case.
“Um—well, it doesn’t really matter! How about—I have cheerleading practice tomorrow, so what if you stopped by practice and—and brought me a drink or snacks or something? That looks sweet and isn’t too hard,” Hawks suggests anxiously.
Touya’s brow clears, and his mouth quirks up a bit. “Alright. What snacks or drinks would you prefer?”
(Wow, he didn’t even question or mock Hawks’ role as a male cheerleader.
Why is this guy single?)
“Anything’s good, I’m not that picky—although since you’re going to be in front of coach, try to make it at least look healthy so I don’t get chewed out,” Hawks amends, wincing about the glare Mahou had on the last time he had been caught eating chicken wings.
Touya raises his eyebrows. “They control your diet that much?”
“Well—if I wasn’t a flyer I’d probably get some slack, but since people have to toss me up in the air, I need to try and stay relatively light,” Hawks says, then hurries to reassure him as he sees Touya start to frown. “It’s not that bad really! We’re just a recreational club, not a competitive one, so no one’s that strict. Other places do weigh-ins; I wouldn’t be able to handle that anymore.”
“That’s good, I guess,” Touya says slowly. “I’ll bring some stuff over tomorrow—should I walk you back now? Since you know, your stalker could be around.”
“Sure!” Hawks beams at him.
(Touya is so nice to think of that.
He’s barely started and he’s already a great fake boyfriend.
Honestly, he’s better than some real boyfriends Hawks has had.)
They stroll back to Hawks’ dorm, and despite the glares he gets from a lot of girls around him, it’s a pretty nice walk. Touya asks about what it’s like being a cheerleader, and he actually seems interested as Hawks describes the routines and practices and performances.
“Honestly, it’s a lot of work really—we might not be a competitive team, but Coach still believes in flawless performances at games,” Hawks says. “I can’t wait until volleyball season ends—then most of the major sports will be done, and my GPA won’t be in jeopardy anymore.”
Touya nods in acknowledgement. “That’s pretty rough. What major are you?”
“Business management,” Hawks replies.
Touya wrinkles his nose a bit. “I don’t know if I can fake date you anymore.”
“Hey! I know the stereotype for business majors, but I’m not like that, I swear!” Hawks protests.
(To tell the truth—
He’s been in it a year, and he’s not sure if he wants to continue.
He can network with the best of them, but it all feels—so fake.
He needs it to achieve his goal though, so he can’t fail here.
He already tanked one career after all.)
“If your music major friends don’t like it—”
“I’m an English major,” Touya interrupts, hitching his guitar case up.
“What, really?” Hawks asks, glancing over at him. “But you’re so good at the bass!”
Touya flushes a bit. “Oh—thanks. I mean, music is a hobby, but I don’t really want it to be my main job—and you liked Vanguard Squad’s stuff?”
“Yeah—it was kind of catchy, and I mean, you guys were no Trapnest, but it was still really lively!”
Touya makes a face. “You’re a Trapnest fan? Now I’m really having second thoughts.”
“Oh no—are you a Black Stones fan?” Hawks mock-gasps at him. “I should have known with all the leather and combat boots. Well—needs must.”
Touya doesn’t look especially impressed, shaking his head. “I can’t believe—well whatever, you’ll have to get exposed to quality music if you’re hanging around me.”
Hawks rolls his eyes. “Aren’t goths not supposed to be hipster? And anyway—Black Stones’ lead singer is dating Trapnest’s guitarist, so obviously even she thinks Trapnest isn’t all that bad.”
“Ren is such a sell-out,” Touya mutters under his breath as they reach Hawks’ dorm.
“Well—this is me,” Hawks says with a wave. “Thanks for seeing me off to here!”
Touya is quiet for a bit, staring at the building before turning to him. “If I was flirting with you—what would I say right now?” he asks haltingly.
(Huh.
Has he really never had to flirt with someone before?
Well—it kind of makes sense. Given how hot he is, he’s probably never had to try to win over anyone’s interest in his life.
Hawks is happy to have him practice on him—after all, it’s not real right?)
“Goodnight and sweet dreams, I think?” Hawks suggests.
(After all, it wouldn’t make sense for their relationship to have progressed too far already— Chikazoku would definitely know that they weren’t together before.)
“Goodnight and sweet dreams, Hawks,” Touya says seriously, looking him in the eye.
(It’s—intense.
If Hawks didn’t know that Touya wasn’t just practicing lines and putting on an act, he might actually swoon.
Hell, he’s still tempted to.)
“Well—goodnight then!” he manages to get out, willing himself not to flush. “See you at practice tomorrow?”
Touya’s mouth curves into a smirk, and he nods. “Definitely.”
--
So Touya must be more of a natural at being a fake boyfriend than either of them had realized because not only does he bring snacks for Hawks at practice (one bag of roasted sunflower seeds and another bag of salted cashews—already the perfect combination of tasty and high-energy enough to win full marks), he brings snacks for the entire squad and Coach Mahou.
“…he can stay,” Mahou says, biting into the puffed rice cracker before looking around at the entire squad. “Everyone, please take note, this is how importantly all your significant others should treat your extracurricular activity.”
“Your new boyfriend’s a keeper, Hawks!” Kagami agrees, munching on a granola bar.
“Pretty hot too…” Amai trails off, giving Touya a once over.
Hawks points a finger at them, “Don’t start.”
“I’m not up for grabs,” Touya says mildly, glancing at him.
“And Hawks here isn’t either!” Chikazoku suddenly bursts in, slamming the doors of the gym open and glaring at Touya before looking at Hawks. “Keigo, you can’t seriously mean to tell me that you two are dating—”
“Please don’t call me Keigo,” Hawks interrupts before quickly taking Touya’s arm. “And—yeah, of course we’re dating!”
“Since when? You two just met yesterday!” Chikazoku demands hotly.
(Okay, it’s really creepy that he knows that—and if he knows that, what else does he know?
He really hopes Touya can pull off a good act here.)
“First off, it’s really creepy that you know that, Skeptic,” Touya drawls then turns to Hawks, a smile playing on his lips. “And secondly—you’re sort of right.”
(Wait what?
Is he about to out him?
But why—he had thought they were getting along pretty well—had he been too annoying somehow—)
Chikazoku bares his teeth, “I knew you couldn’t be going out with Dabi—”
“I just haven’t asked him out yet,” Touya continues smoothly, ignoring Chikazoku and grabbing Hawks’ hand. “But I am right now. Hawks—will you go out with me?”
As all the girls and most of the guys in Hawks’ squad coo or sigh, Hawks can only just stare up into Touya’s brilliant eyes, gaping at him, his mind a-whirl.
(…either Touya should actually be an actor, or he’s actually way more experienced than he implied to Hawks, or he’s just a freaking natural because Hawks’ heart is pounding, his cheeks are flushing, and his hands are sweating.
This—might be trickier than he had thought.)
“Uh—yeah. Yeah! Of course I will!” he says quickly, managing to grin up at him before turning around and facing Chikazoku. “So—there you have it.”
Chikazoku shakes his head, a dark look on his face. “Something isn’t right here—I can sense it, and I will get to the bottom of this!”
“You’re Chikazoku Tomoyasu, journalism major?” Mahou interrupts, frowning and holding her phone where it seems like she’s managed to pull up his information. “And you’re stalking a member of my team?”
“I’m not stalking him! I’m simply expressing my love towards him—”
“That he clearly doesn’t want. Next time you show up here, I’m calling the campus police,” Mahou says simply. “And then I’m going to help Hawks file a restraining order, and after that, you’ll find it hard to keep your spot with the campus paper, and I think the Journalism School wouldn’t like to find out about it either.”
Chikazoku draws himself up. “Are you threatening me? I’ll write this up in the campus paper—”
“Before or after you get served a restraining order? I feel with all the drama and scandal your paper already had, your editor-in-chief wouldn’t be too happy about that.” Mahou smiles sweetly at him before pointing a finger at him. “Don’t try me. You can show yourself out, I hope.”
As Chikazoku slinks off, muttering to himself, Touya looks at Mahou and then bends his head down to whisper to Hawks, “…and you needed me to fake-date you when you have her as a coach?”
“She can’t be there all the time! And I don’t like bothering people too much!” Hawks hisses back.
Touya’s eyebrow arches up. “But it’s okay bothering me?”
“You—I was desperate, and your sister said it’d be okay!”
Touya looks contemplative. “…I don’t know if I should curse her out or thank her.”
Hawks frowns, “What is that supposed to mean—”
“Enough sweet nothings. While the snacks were appreciated, and you’re welcome to keep coming to observe practice, Touya-kun, we have a routine to learn, so no more cooing and sighing, let’s get to it,” Mahou commands.
With the usual smattering of grumbles, the squad rises and gets into place.
“I’ve got like another hour here—if you have stuff to do, you can probably go? I don’t think Chikazoku will be back here at least,” Hawks offers.
Touya looks at the door then back at him before sitting down on the bleachers and taking a notebook out of his bag. “Well—a good boyfriend who just started dating you would probably stay? Especially since even though he might not come back here, he’ll definitely be hanging around trying to see if we really are dating, if I know anything about Skeptic.”
Hawks raises his eyebrows, “Where do you know him from? And what was all that Dabi and Skeptic stuff about anyway?”
“Oh—he writes some reviews under that pen name, and his editor-in-chief hates the leader of our band, so he had him write some shit reviews about us. Got kind of ugly—but we got it all sorted out in the end,” Touya shrugs. “And—Dabi’s my stage name for the band.”
“Like ‘cremation’?” Hawks asks, then chuckles, shaking his head. “You’re such an edgelord.”
“And you’re the cheerleader who’s dating an edgelord right now,” Touya replies, a faint smile on his face.
(Well, he can’t say much to that.)
“Hawks!” Mahou calls out, gesturing to him. “We all appreciate you getting a love confession in the middle of practice, but the pyramid isn’t going to build itself!”
“I better go,” Hawks says quickly, turning around then looking over his shoulder. “So—you’re staying?”
“Yeah, go,” Touya says, opening up his notebook and waving him off.
As he runs up to Inoue to get a boost up, Inoue glances over at Touya and then smiles up at him.
“I’m glad you found someone nice,” she says simply, holding his legs so that he can get his footing on her shoulders.
“Yeah, he’s—been pretty great so far,” Hawks says awkwardly, scratching his cheek.
“And you didn’t even have to go through that stupid fake dating plan at all!” Kagami chimes in, joining hands with Amai to make a step for him to go up higher.
“Right—yeah of course,” Hawks stammers, taking the step then striking his pose at the top of the pyramid.
“Could have been a more dramatic confession though,” Amai says critically, shaking their hair out of their eyes. “Seemed very low key. No kissing at all.”
“Not everything needs to be as dramatic as all your relationships, Amai,” Sonozaki says mildly from below her. “Maybe Hawks just wanted to keep things private and low-key.”
(Maybe he should have had a bigger outward reaction to Touya asking him out.
But he hadn’t really trusted himself to be able to show anything without—
Without what?
Any butterflies he’s getting are only normal—who wouldn’t swoon if a guy looked at him like that?)
“Hawks, good form, but smile more!” Mahou calls out.
Hawks quickly shakes his head and focuses on going through the routine with as much pep and energy as he can muster—and if he sneaks a look from time to time at Touya in the stands, quietly writing away—well, he should be besotted if they had really just gotten together, right?
At the end of practice, they’re all a bit worn out (Coach had probably gone and watched Bring It On again), but somehow the squad isn’t too worn out to cheer and giggle as Hawks guzzles water and wanders over to where Touya is sitting and writing in his notebook.
“English essays?” he guesses, sitting down next to him.
“Those I type on a computer like a normal person,” Touya replies, glancing up at him. “Song lyrics.”
“Ooh, are you writing a love song?” Hawks jokes, tilting his head to look at the words written on the page (they seem to be about—darkness maybe?).
“Our band name is ‘League of Villains,’ what kind of love song do you think we would do?” Touya asks before blinking. “…why, do you want one?”
“That’s a lot of effort for a fake relationship,” Hawks says, pointedly not reacting to the little flip his stomach had given at the question.
(He has to be joking.
And Hawks needs to control himself—it’s literally just been one day, and he’s already reacting like this?
Touya’s going to want nothing to do with him if he presumes too much or is creepy—and after this—he really hopes they can still be friends, he seems really cool.)
Touya gives him a searching look before making a note on the page. “…we’ll see,” he finally says, sticking his notebook back in his bag, then standing up and holding out a hand. “Walk you back?”
Hawks glances back at his squad members who are still staring at them with googly-eyes (don’t they have better things to do??) and then takes his hand and smiles at him, “Yeah, thanks!”
(It’s scary how easy this is.
It’s even easier than some real relationships he’s had—but after all, it’s not real, so maybe that’s why it’s easy.
He just has to keep telling himself that.)
--
The next two weeks pass by relatively smoothly, with Touya walking him around hand-in-hand whenever their schedules match up, taking him to see a movie or two, and even making him food (bento boxes that make even Miruko a little jealous). Chikazoku looks fit to spit blood every time he pops out of nowhere to see the two of them sitting close together and talking, but he doesn’t seem to have given up completely, still laying down snide comments every time he shows up.
“Some relationship—you haven’t even met his freakish band yet, have you?” Chikazoku sneers before swanning off again.
“One day I’m going to light that guy on fire,” Touya says, glaring at Chikazoku’s back.
“…he does have a point though. Not about the freak thing, just—I haven’t met your band yet?” Hawks points out.
Touya raises his eyebrows, “You really want to meet them? He’s not totally wrong about the freak thing.”
“They’re a big part of your life—it’s going to look really weird if you don’t introduce them to me soon,” Hawks argues.
(Also, he’s curious.
Touya has a lot of stories about them, and they sound—
Well, they sound like a mess, but in a fun, chaotic kind of way?
Touya rolls his eyes a lot when he tells him about all of them, acting as if the only reason he hangs out with them is because they work as a band, but given how he smiles when he recounts to Hawks their shows and antics during practice, he thinks they’re his friends.
Even if Touya makes a face when he calls them that.
Exactly the face he’s making now.)
“…if you really want to meet them—I guess you can,” Touya says slowly, a hand coming up to cover his mouth. “Although I feel like I should warn you—they’re weird.”
“My entire cheer squad is weird,” Hawks replies.
“Like really weird,” Touya insists. “Shigaraki was like, part of some kind of doomsday cult when he was little, Toga’s two main hobbies are romance and serial killers, the only time I think Spinner comes out of his dorm room is for band practice, shows, and classes, Magne reads too many romance novels, and I haven’t even mentioned our campus advisors that volunteered themselves onto us yet.”
“If Amai isn’t baking or at practice, they’re dating someone, Kagami knows enough gossip to probably be the campus’ information broker, Sonozaki is constantly helping his girlfriend wage her war against the other track and field departments, Coach likes wuxia revenge dramas just a little too much, and I haven’t even gotten started on the rest of the staff,” Hawks replies, crossing his arms. “You’re going to have to do better than that to scare me off.”
Touya lets out a little chuckle, “…and you’re the normal, super-skilled, hot one in all this?”
(Super-skilled?
Hot?
Does he really see him that way?)
“You think I’m normal?” Hawks asks instead with an awkward laugh. “I’m a burned-out Olympic gymnast who’d rather do cheerleading.”
Touya’s eyes widen as he leans forward, “Wait, back up—you were an Olympic gymnast?”
(Oh—
It had been so easy with Touya that he had forgotten that he didn’t know, even though he should have known better.
It’s still hard to talk about it.)
“Yeah—it’s not—I guess I was good?” Hawks shrugs, curling up his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around his legs. “I medaled once at least—silver.”
“…I mean, that’s really good,” Touya says slowly, “Huh—so that’s why your name sounded a bit familiar…but I guess—you’re not doing it anymore?”
(This is the part he hates explaining.
Not many people get it.
He was an Olympian, what does he have to complain about?
And even he thinks that sometimes—like why couldn’t he have just gritted his teeth and gone through the motions—
But he had felt so stifled and caged back then—the pressure had run so high, and sometimes he had felt less like a person and more just a gymnastics machine, and the only time he had felt like he could let go of the breath he was holding was when he did some casual cheer routines that he had picked up randomly.
He really might have just kept on duly doing gymnastics although his heart wasn’t in it anymore just because this had been all he was good for since he was seven, and he didn’t know what other options he had, if Mahou hadn’t been doing some recruiting rounds, caught him helping out, and asked him to join.
It—had been hard to leave and make that switch, but ultimately he doesn’t regret it.
But it’s still hard to explain, and he’s found that’s it’s easier to just make it a joke, but with Touya—
He wants Touya to understand.)
“No—I don’t know, it was too much after a while. It was a lot of pressure, and—I couldn’t do it anymore. I didn’t—I didn’t like it anymore,” he confesses quietly, then holds his breath.
“…it’s not the same, but I kind of know the feeling,” Touya says quietly, leaning back, his arms propped behind him, keeping his eyes carefully on Hawks. “My shitstain of a dad—has very high expectations. Wants me specifically to do excel and take over the family corporation—and you know I tried for a while, but in the end—I realized I was killing myself for someone who’d never be happy for something I hated. So when I got to college, I joined a band like I always wanted and did English as my major. Honestly—good for you for going for what you wanted.”
(That was the first time he had gotten that reaction.
Even Mahou had been a bit taken aback at first when she had realized he was an Olympic gymnast and had asked him if he had been sure about what he was giving up.
And Miruko—she’s his best friend, but she loves crushing people at the Olympics way too much to totally understand why he had to quit.
It’s—refreshing to get a simple nod of acknowledgement and the affirmation that he had been right to just leave.
Refreshing isn’t quite the word for it, he feels nakedly seen. )
“…thanks,” he says after a while, quickly standing up in an effort to hide the way his eyes and nose suddenly sting (get it together Hawks, he’s going to think you’re way too emotional). “That’s—thanks. Um—then, is your dad still mad at you?”
Touya lets out a dark chuckle, also standing up with him. “He’s got bigger problems to worry about right now—our mother is divorcing him,” he says languidly.
“Oh—I’d say ‘I’m sorry,’ but you don’t sound that torn up about it?” Hawks asks hesitantly.
Touya flashes him a smirk, “I hope she takes him for everything he’s got—although sadly, the provision for him continuing to pay for all our educations means we have to keep his last name. Still, at least, it sounds like mother’s lawyers are doing well besides that.”
“Well—let me know if there’s anything I can do to help,” Hawks says firmly, placing a hand on Touya’s arm.
Touya’s eyes flick down to his hand, and then back up to Hawks’ face, his eyes wide with surprise.
(Oh right.
They’re not actually in a relationship, so this is probably too much—
But he would offer this to a friend too, right?
So he can just keep going with this…)
“I mean—even if we’re not actually dating, I should still count as your friend, right?” Hawks suggests, letting go of his arm.
For some reason that makes Touya’s eyes dim a bit, and he turns away. “…yeah,” he says tonelessly. “Thanks. Let’s—I guess you can come to band practice with me. If you run away screaming though, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“With how edgy you are, I think I know what to expect,” Hawks teases, his tone light, hoping to coax a smile out of him.
The corner of Touya’s mouth does twitch a bit. “Oh, you’d be surprised.”
--
The weirdest part of the League of Villains isn’t their two campus advisors, one who is wearing a top hat and a mask and gives a theatrical bow to him when he enters, the other of whom is cheerfully contradictory, or their keyboardist who looks like he’s cosplaying as a ninja complete with a giant sword, or their vocalist who warmly welcomes him with a knowing wink, or even their leader who glares at him then glares at Touya and just throws his hands up in disgust.
It’s their drummer, a small high school girl with blonde pigtails and a freakishly wide grin when she catches sight of him.
“Dabi, you finally brought him!” she coos in delight, clapping her hands together.
“Oh—did he talk about me?” Hawks asks, glancing over at Touya who is looking distinctly uncomfortable.
(How much did he reveal?
Surely he didn’t say they were in a fake relationship—
But in that case, how did he explain why he was dating a business major cheerleader?
They really should have come up with a story beforehand.)
“He’s had his eye on you for a long, long time~” Toga giggles before Touya sits down and unzips his guitar case.
“Shut it Toga. Are we going to start practice or what?” Touya demands, not looking at Hawks, his neck slightly flushed.
(Oh—so he had decided to go with the idea that he had wanted to date Hawks for a while now?
Odd choice, but he guesses at least, he doesn’t need to have to make up too much since.
Very considerate of Touya.)
“Not until Hawks plays the Pocky game,” Toga grins, fishing out a box of Pocky from the pocket in her skirt.
“What? Since when were we still doing that?” Touya asks, trying to snatch the box from Toga’s hands.
“Just because we haven’t had any outsiders come watch us practice for awhile, doesn’t mean we can’t keep up the tradition. We still can, right Shigaraki?” Toga asks, dodging Touya’s hands and twirling to face Shigaraki.
Shigaraki makes a face but just waves his hand, “Do what you want, just don’t get me involved in it.”
“Yay!” Toga cheers, then opens up the Pocky box. “Okay, Dabi you do it with Hawks since you’re the one who brought him in, and I’ll help film it!”
“Wait—what Pocky game is she talking about?” Hawks interjects, glancing between the grinning girl and Touya who looks like he wants to sink into the floor.
“Of course it’s the one where you both bite onto the ends of a Pocky, and then munch your way to the middle!” Toga chirps happily, biting into a stick of Pocky herself.
“But—that’s not a game? How do you even win that?” Hawks jokes, shifting in place and glancing over at Touya.
(It’s—not really like Hawks would object to the game—hell he’s gotten a lot spicier than that at the Olympics or even just the cheer squad initiation.
But if Touya doesn’t want to—
Well, he’s already making the poor guy pretend to date him, it seems like too much to make him potentially kiss him.
Even if Hawks wouldn’t actually mind.)
“That’s not the point, the point is the picture!” Toga says seriously.
Touya looks at him, his mouth tightens, and then he shakes his head, turning his head to look at Toga, “You can’t make him do something he’s not comfortable with—”
“Why wouldn’t he be comfortable? You guys are dating, and we’re all friends here, aren’t we?” Toga points out.
“Speak for yourself,” Shigaraki mutters, still tuning his guitar.
“And we’ll definitely only leak the photo if you leak our songs to Shie Hassakai,” Toga continues, not missing a bit as her smile gains some teeth.
“Fucking Shie Hassakai,” Touya reflexively mutters before frowning. “Look, he doesn’t want to do it, and—”
“I don’t mind,” Hawks interrupts quickly holding up his hands (this feels like it’s spinning a little out of control, and besides potentially blowing their cover, he doesn’t want to cause any issues between Touya and his friends over this so—it doesn’t matter if he really would like to play the game with Touya).
Touya turns around to stare at him. “What?”
“I mean—it’s just a peck, right?” Hawks says before giving him a flirty wink (hopefully Touya gets it). “We do so much more than that usually, don’t we, hot stuff?”
Touya looks a bit taken aback. “You—”
Shigaraki makes a retching sound. “Gross. Are you guys going to do it or not? We haven’t got all day to practice you know.”
“Shut the hell up, Shigaraki,” Touya snarls then turns back to Hawks. “…alright. Sure. Why not? Anything for you, pretty bird.”
(If Hawks’ heart has suddenly sped up and his face now feels warm—
Well, anyone would react to that if Touya lowered his voice at them and looked at them with those half-lidded eyes, right?)
“I was so wrong, make them stop Toga,” Shigaraki groans as Spinner pats him on the back.
“Nope~” Toga cheers, grandly handing Touya a stick of Pocky and then taking out her cellphone. “It’s too late!’
Touya places the stick of Pocky in his mouth and raises his eyebrows a bit as Hawks also slowly walks over and bites the other end of it.
“Annnnnd, start!” Toga cheers as Magne starts to play some annoyingly peppy music from her phone.
Hawks carefully takes methodical bites and swallows as Touya’s face draws closer to his.
(Should he slow down?
He doesn’t want to seem too eager here—
But Touya doesn’t seem uncomfortable at all now?
But he seemed to be a really good actor so that didn’t really mean anything…
He’s really confused.)
Before he can decide what to do, Touya’s face is right in front of him, and there’s just a small nibble of chocolate and biscuit between them. Touya looks him right in the eye as he takes the last bite, and their lips briefly brush against each other (it’s—warm and soft—) before Touya draws back, licking the chocolate off the edge of his mouth and turning to look at Toga.
“There, happy now?” he demands.
Toga pouts, lowering her cellphone. “That was barely anything!”
(Normally Hawks would agree since that could barely even count as a peck, but—
But for some reason, his whole body feels warm right now.)
“As much as I would like to oblige you, I’m pretty sure if I stuck my tongue down Hawks’ throat, Shigaraki will claw his own eyes out,” Touya says drily.
Shigaraki sneers, “Nice to see you finally giving a damn about any of our mental health.”
“Aw, that’s not fair, Shigaraki-kun,” Mr. Compress says, looking up from playing with his phone, his feet propped up on a desk. “Dabi makes sure to attend all our group-sharing sessions!”
“Because you make all of us attend those,” Spinner points out.
“They’re good for you!” Twice holds up a hand and says. “—and you don’t have to share if you don’t want to!”
“And Dabi definitely listens to all of us since his songs sometimes feature our issues,” Magne points out.
Shigaraki rolls his eyes. “Fine, fine, whatever. Are we practicing here or what?”
As the rest of the members get their instruments and equipment ready, Touya turns to Hawks, carefully blocking him from the sight of the other members with his body, and asks quietly, “Hey—was that too much? I thought you didn’t want to blow your cover, but—you haven’t said a word.”
“Oh,” Hawks shakes his head, removing his hand from his mouth, then putting on a quick smile. “Sorry—I was just thinking—well that was kind of a fun tradition, how did it start?”
“Magne wanted to bring in a friend to watch us practice, and Toga got the bright idea to do this,” Touya replies, still watching him intently. “So—you thought that was fun?”
“Yeah—just a bit of fun, right?” Hawks says flippantly, very carefully not thinking about the taste of chocolate in his mouth and how probably Touya’s mouth tastes the same right now.
Touya’s mouth tightens for a second, and then he echoes back smoothly while turning away, “Yeah—just a bit of fun.”
(Why does it always seem like he’s saying the wrong thing?
He’s trying to make this as easy and lighthearted as possible for Touya—but the other man doesn’t seem to appreciate it all that much?)
“Let’s start with Pride, and then maybe some Rose, ” Touya says to Shigaraki, hooking up his bass and pulling the strap over his shoulder.
“That, and Ash Like Snow before Rose ,” Shigaraki replies, readying the mic in front of him. “We’re almost fine on Rose, but we sound shitty with Ash Like Snow. ”
Whatever Shigaraki thinks, as Hawks honestly can’t hear anything too off, no matter how many times they stop to argue about the volume of Toga’s drums, how fast Spinner is playing, how long Shigaraki’s guitar solo really needs to be, and if Touya is purposefully drowning Shigaraki out.
In fact, watching Toga bang away enthusiastically on the drums, Spinner throw himself into the keyboard, Magne’s voice magnetic, passionate, and making him even begin to mouth the words himself, Shigaraki skillfully playing the guitar while intensely adding some vocals every once in awhile, and Touya growing laser-focused, his fingers swiftly plucking out an fierce melody as he stalks around the stage and grips his bass and really drives himself into it, his electric blue eyes slightly narrowed, a slight smirk on his face, and the way his hips move as he really gets into the rhythm—
(Oh shit, he’s got it bad.
Fuck .
Okay, okay, okay—play it cool Keigo. It’s not like you haven’t been attracted to anyone before—if it’s just a physical thing, then that’s easy enough to deal with, isn’t it?
That must be it—Touya is so goddamn hot, so of course he’s drawn to him—who wouldn’t be, even without all the fake dating and that peck on the lips?
He’s getting some wires crossed, and that’s perfectly normal. He just needs to make sure it doesn’t get any deeper than that because at the end of the day, this is just temporary, all sweet acts from Touya are an act, and he’s already doing him such a favor already, he can’t ask for even more—)
“So what did you think?” Touya asks him, his voice breaking into his whirling thoughts.
Hawks blinks and looks around, abruptly realizing that the rest of the band had seemingly already packed up and left.
“Oh—I thought it was really good!” Hawks quickly says, standing up and stretching (he hadn’t even noticed them leaving, still stuck on Touya stalking around the room like a predator on the prowl—how far gone is he already?).
Touya raises his eyebrow as he packs his bass into its case, “If you didn’t like it, you can just say it. I can take it, and after all, I couldn’t expect better from a Trapnest fan—”
“Hey, no making fun of Trapnest,” Hawks says, pointing at him. “No seriously, I liked it. Like, I normally don’t even like Black Stones, but you guys playing that cover of Rose— even I wanted to dance that.”
A slow smile spreads across Touya’s face, “Really? Shigaraki keeps saying we’re fine on that, but I feel like I could be a little better—”
“Are you kidding me? You were the best part,” Hawks says honestly (although leaving out the part that he couldn’t even peel his eyes away from Touya during that song). “I’ve never heard anything like it.”
“Well of course you haven’t if all you listen to is Trapnest,” Touya says sarcastically, although the tone of his voice is gentler than usual.
Hawks laughs and shakes his head. “Just take the compliment, Touya,” he retorts.
Touya shrugs, shouldering the guitar case over his shoulder again. “…thanks, I guess,” he says finally, his fingers tapping lightly against the strap of the case.
“Anytime,” Hawks says easily, standing up (there, now they’re back to casual and easy, and isn’t this nice?). “So—you guys do covers? Any chance I could somehow convince you guys to do a Trapnest song?”
Touya gives him a flat look, “Does it look like I’ve lost my mind yet?”
Hawks sighs, widening his eyes and giving him a pitiful, woeful glance. “That’s too bad…you know, I’ve never seen Trapnest live, so even hearing a cover of it live would be really cool…especially if it was Wish , that’s my favorite…”
Touya rolls his eyes. “I still don’t know why Trapnest is so popular to the point that now even Blast tickets are hard to get…Why do you even like Trapnest so much anyway?”
“I don’t know—I guess I like K/DA more if I want to dance, but for Trapnest—if I’m happy, then it gets me pumped up, and if I’m sad, it feels like a release of emotions, I guess?” Hawks says hesitantly, opening the door for Touya. “I started listening to them a while ago, so I guess it’s also just—their songs have been with me through a lot.”
(He had listened to Trapnest through grueling practice after grueling practice, sick with nerves and stress and adrenaline at the Olympics, celebrating actually managing to medal, and down in the dumps afterwards when his trainers were trying to push him to do even better, and he was trying to figure out what to do with his life.
They’ve been with him through good times and bad, and they carry flashes of memory with them every time he listens.)
Touya nods, a thoughtful expression on his face. “I get that. That’s kind of how I got into Blast too—and I suppose I have to admit that Trapnest is a step up from K/DA, although that’s not saying much.”
“Oh, take that back, K/DA are goddesses,” Hawks says half-way seriously, bumping his shoulder into Touya’s.
“Oh no, are you an Ahri-stan?” Touya says, making a face.
“Ha! You know what an Ahri-stan is, and you’re claiming you don’t like them?” Hawks demands. “And no, I’m more of an Evelynn fan.”
“Fuyumi is a giant Ahri-stan, that’s why I know,” Touya groans. “I can’t believe I’m dating someone who likes Trapnest and K/DA.”
“Well—you’re not really after all,” Hawks points out, a little stung.
(It’s fine—
Why does he care so much about what Touya thinks anyway?
They’re not in a real relationship—and even his friends rib him about his taste sometimes.
Even if it was something that was pretty important to him—well, he could smile and joke to make things smoother.)
Touya blinks and then coughs, “I mean—fake-dating. Still. It’s—it’s fine. Um—Trapnest might be the mortal enemy of Blast, and if I never see another Ahri photoshoot, I’ll get down on my knees and thank the heavens, but—I’m glad Trapnest’s music was there for you, and—at least you like Evelynn more than Ahri.”
Hawks can’t help himself from staring at Touya.
(He’s only known the other man for a few weeks, but in that time, he knows exactly how much of a Black Stones stan Touya is.
For him to say anything remotely complimentary about Trapnest—
Well, he had no idea Touya even had it in him.
He must have come off as really pathetic for him to have managed to force out those words.
It’s still—really nice though.)
“Uh—well—that’s fucking high praise coming from you,” he jokes, trying to cover up the way his face is flushing.
“Yeah, I’m only saying it once,” Touya replies, rolling his eyes slightly, but the corner of his mouth quirks up just a hint.
“Then since you realize how much Trapnest means to me, does that mean you’ll get your band to play some cover songs for your pitiful fake boyfriend?” Hawks wheedles.
Touya snorts. “Don’t push your luck,” he warns.
“I’m not hearing a no there,” Hawks continues, throwing an arm over Touya’s shoulder and grinning at him, fully expecting to be shrugged off.
Instead, Touya just looks him in the eye, his cheeks slightly flushed for some reason. “…you can come to your own conclusions,” he says finally, looking down.
Hawks sighs, releasing him (it’s a bit of a pity—he’s very warm). “Your guys’ stuff is good, but like, what else do you listen to besides Black Stones if you’re even hating on K/DA?”
Touya raises his eyebrows. “What—you want me to give you a proper musical re-education?”
(That sounds really hot—
No Hawks, bad, stop thinking inappropriate thoughts about the guy who’s doing you a huge favor already.
And hadn’t he just said to himself that he wasn’t going to ask for even more from Touya?
The more time he spends with him, the harder this will probably get…)
“That’s probably too much trouble for you—”
“Not at all— someone has to improve your musical taste,” Touya quips, smirking at him. “And it can only help since—it would make sense for you to come to a lot of our shows right? To show that you’re a supportive boyfriend.”
“Ah—of course, yeah,” Hawks hastens to say. “Have to follow your example after all.”
(What’s scary is—he really wants to.
All the cute couple-y supportive things, he pictures himself doing them for Touya, like genuinely and not just for show, and—something squirms happily in his stomach at the idea.
This is bad.)
“Well then—do you want to come by my apartment tomorrow?” Touya asks, his grip on the strap of his guitar case tightening a bit.
“Oh—sure,” Hawks says despite the voice in his head screaming for him to have some self-control and refuse (yeah, he’s way in over his head already but—but if he said no to a favor he himself had suggested, that would also tip off Touya that something was wrong, right?). “What time?”
“Any time in the morning is fine,” Touya replies, smiling at him. “I’ll put some stuff together, and then prepare to be enlightened. ”
Hawks can’t help but laugh, shaking his head. “Suuuure, edgelord. But in that case, if we’re trying to make sure we seem somewhat knowledgeable about each other’s hobbies, you better prepare to watch a ton of cheerleading movies with me.”
“I’ll block out my morning,” Touya says dryly, but he’s still grinning at him.
(He doesn’t seem annoyed or put-out by the idea of having to watch those movies at all?
Oh this is so bad.
None of the guys Hawks had previously dated had relished the idea of watching those movies with him, complaining the entire time.
He’s in over his head here—but maybe not! After all, Touya could always end up having a super gross apartment, or he could end up saying something mocking and insulting during Bring It On , and then all these annoying feelings he’s having will dissipate, and they can go on in their fake-dating without any complications.
And even if he might feel a little disappointed at that idea—better than him actually falling for Touya and then getting his heart broken by the guy in the end.)