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Tokoyami stood inside the empty agency office. Hawks soared in through the window, wings settling as his feet hit the ground. He was effortlessly confident, efficient and razor-sharp, everything a pro hero should be. Tokoyami admired him greatly, he was a clever strategist and a reliable hero. His bird-like qualities made Tokoyami feel a type of kinship with him, and maybe that’s why it happened.
As Hawks stood before him he noticed a few errant feathers, disturbed by the wind. Tokoyami moved without thinking, closing the distance between them.
“Hey, what-“ Hawks began, but stopped mid-sentence.
Tokoyami had leaned in and was straightening the wayward feathers with his beak.
He couldn’t reach his own feathers to do this, but the way they glided through his beak, the filaments realigning, was so satisfying. He worked one feather at a time, arranging and settling them, soft edges brushing his tongue as he preened his flockmate.
Hawks stood still and silent, as Tokoyami systematically worked from the bend of his wing, down his coverts, until he reached his scapulars.
When he groomed the feathers here, close to his body, Hawks sucked in a quick breath. Tokoyami pulled back a little, gently brushing his fingertips over the silky feathers to smooth them.
“Did that hurt..?” he asked quietly, still mesmerised by the scarlet quills.
“No…” Hawks breathed, slowly stretching his left wing out wide. “Keep going…”
Using his hands, Tokoyami gently eased the wing back so he could access the underside. He started with the secondaries, threading each one through his beak to align the filaments, until he reached the auxiliaries. Here he used the tip of his beak to comb them, slow and meticulous.
Their bodies were close now and Hawks let out a shuddering breath. Then Tokoyami felt something that made him shiver. Hawks’ fingers threading into the feathers at the base of his skull. He understood Hawks’ reaction now, the sensation instantly soothed him, taking away every thought he had except to submit. To let himself be taken care of. He sighed into Hawks’ feathers, wanting nothing more than to melt into these sensations, to take care, and be cared for.
“Should we get more comfortable..?” he murmured, pressing closer to Hawks’ body.
“Yes,” Hawks agreed.
They moved to a couch, settling down.
Hawks removed his jacket and shirt, giving Tokoyami unrestricted access to his wings. The action of undressing had ruffled up some feathers again, and Tokoyami’s instinct to smooth them flared strongly.
He leaned in behind Hawks, beak and fingers working to put everything back in place.
He continued all the way to where Hawks’ wing joined his body, scarlet feathers giving way to golden skin. He nipped at the junction, let his tongue dart out to sample the smooth skin there. A soft moan escaped Hawks, satisfying Tokoyami that he was doing a good job. He lingered at the junction, brushing and nipping, enjoying the feel of the soft, warm skin there.
Slowly, Hawks shifted, turning to face him, curling his wings around so Tokoyami could he reach the primaries easily. He ran his beak along the long quills, aligning each one with careful attention.
He could feel Hawks’ fingers nudging at his collar, trying to figure out how far the feathers went.
“Take it off…” Tokoyami suggested. Hawks reached down and tugged at the hem, Tokoyami letting him pull the shirt off. With it gone, Hawks focused on his neck, the human skin there that he glided his fingertips over until he was pushing them up into Tokoyami’s feathers again. The sensation of having the base of his feathers touched, each one pushed slightly the wrong way as Hawks’ fingers wove a path through them, made his breath catch.
“Does this feel good?” Hawks purred.
“Yes,” Tokoyami gasped, abdominal muscles heaving, pushing the breath out of him, as a tingle began to spread through his whole body.
This was more than preening now, it was courtship. It was a precursor to mating. He… He wanted to push this pretty bird down and fill them with his seed.
He turned his face into Hawks’ neck, nipping at the skin there, trying to grab enough to control him without doing any real damage. He pressed forward at the same time, he needed Hawks under him, subdued, willing to receive…
Suddenly Hawks’ hands were on his shoulders, pushing him back.
“Woah, kid. Hey. Stop.”
It was the word ‘kid’ that jarred him. He froze, except for the ragged breaths racking his body. He was a child, a student here on an internship. This was not appropriate behaviour.
“I’m sorry,” he gasped, wide-eyed, shocked at his loss of control.
“Hey, no,” Hawks said, pulling him close again, holding him tight against his chest, skin to skin. Restraining and comforting him all at once. Hawks curled his wings around them both, like a protector, not a mate, shielding them from the weight of what might have happened. “I get it. It’s a strong instinct, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” he admitted breathily, frightened by the intensity of the desire that had sprung up in him.
“Maybe when you’re all grown up, I’ll offer you a place here. Would you like that?”
Pressed against Hawks, warm and safe, he couldn’t deny it.
“Very much.”
And he vowed to himself right then and there, that he would do everything he could to become a strong hero, so that in two years time when he came back, he’d be someone worthy of standing by Hawks’ side.