Just Say No

Plastic smiles

   Dabi kept trying to stretch his neck to see into the hall that Keigo had gone into to take the call. He didn't miss the fact that when the bird-brain came back into the room, his smile was fallen and his feathers were all standing on end. 

  "Um... Hey guys, I think I'm gonna have to skip out on the rest of our bounding day. I got some work to do," Hawks said. He swallowed thickly, but he kept as much composure as he could. Toga pouted, going over to grab his arm.

  "Oh c'mooooon, you own your agency, don't you? Can't you just go later on? You promised that you would do me and Magne's makeup today! You can't go back on that now. I stole some really pretty eyeshadow just for the occasion," She whined, pulling on his arm. Keigo wrapped a wing around the both of them, chuckling weakly. He ruffled her hair softly.

  "I'll be back later today. You just gotta be patient okay, kiddo? I'll do your makeup right when I get back. I just really gotta go. It's an emergency," He sighed, unwrapping his wing-cacoon. Dabi got up from his chair and walked over to Keigo, gently taking his hand and stroking his knuckles softly. 

   "C'mon, Kei, Pretty bird, can't you take care of whatever the hell it is that you're needed for later? Or- or send one of your sidekicks to do it. You have so many; it's selfish of them to take you from me again and again," Dabi mumbled. He gently wrapped his arms around Keigo's waist and pulled him in till they were just inches away from each other. Keigo hummed softly, leaning up to give him a gentle kiss. Dabi didn't kiss back, but Keigo just assumed that it was just because he was being pouty. 

   "I'll be back before you know it, hot stuff. It's just a little meeting. I'm number two; it wouldn't be right for me not to be there. Hey, I'll even bring you back some cold soba if I have some time. I'll see you soon. I love you," He whispered softly. Dabi didn't say it back, just letting his arms drop from around Keigo. Keigo waited for a few seconds, but when he realized that his boyfriend wasn't going to reply, he just turned and left. His stomach churned and his heart clenched at the lack of response from his lover, so Keigo took a brief moment to breathe once he was a ways away from the hideout.

    He leaned against the wall of the nearest building, trying to catch his breath. He ended up sitting down, finding it way too hard to breathe. For a few seconds, he considered slipping away into a more hidden place to take off the binder that he was wearing, but that thought quickly left his mind as soon as he looked at the time. Paling, the blonde quickly took flight and sped to the commission. 

   Keigo practically crashed into the meeting room, panting. 

  "It took you long enough. The president was getting antsy," Huffed a deep booming voice. Keigo glanced up a bit, flashing Endeavor one of his famous 'Hawks' level smiles. 

  "Ah c'mon, don't bite my head off, Endeavor. I was busy, okay? I wasn't expecting this today," He sat up, carefully slowing his breathing gently. He didn't even flinch as the taller man scoffed, clearly annoyed. Next to Enji, Toshinori chuckled gently. He carefully took his boyfriend's arm and dragged him. Enji didn't even fight against the skeletal blonde as he pulled him back. 

  "There's no problem that you're late, Hawks, You're a busy young man after all. It's not like I was never late after all," Yagi laughed. He flashed an even brighter smile at the new number two hero. All might's laugh brought a gentle and sweet smile to Enji's face. Keigo was taken aback by seeing such love in the flame hero's eyes; the look alone made Keigo's heart clench as he thought about Dabi's odd behavior. He stayed quiet as he went to sit on the edge of the table. Enji and Yagi sat nearby, simply chatting happily. The two of them only went quiet when the president came in. Her arms were crossed. She looked Keigo over with an annoyed sigh. 

   "Ah, you're finally here. I can finally call the interviewers in." She said brightly. Keigo felt his eye twitch a bit. 

  "Interviewers? You never said anything about interviewers. I'm really not in the mood for talking to any paps today, so can I maybe just not?" Keigo huffed. His eyes narrowed at her. His determination melted away the second that the president grabbed the back of his neck. The hold wasn't tight, but it was enough to make Keigo shiver. Yagi didn't notice the blonde's shaking, but Enji did. He quietly watched the winged man. 

  "Come now, do it for the fans, Hawks. Why don't you let them in, hmm?" She cooed coolly, "There are so many young transgender fans out there who would look up to you if they knew that you're like them." Hawks winced, looking down and starting to mess with his sleeves. He started shaking even more; his face grew red under not only her gaze but also under the gaze of Endeavor. Enji's eyebrows raised for just a moment, but he kept his face schooled into a cool and collected expression. Yagi's eyes widened, but his smile never dropped. 

 "Oh wow, Hawks! I didn't know that you were trans! That's pretty cool. You're a lot like my master then!" All might said happily. Keigo started to chew the inside of his cheek anxiously. 

 "I didn't exactly want anyone to know. If I did, I would've said it a lot sooner," Keigo muttered softly. He tried his hardest to keep his voice from breaking as he took a shaky breath. "I-I'll talk to the media... just, give me a moment please." Keigo got up and rushed to one of the other rooms, lying on the ground that Rumi had told him, and tried to take deep breaths to calm himself. The sound of heavy footsteps echoed through the halls as Enji came in. he frowned a bit, seeing the way that Keigo was lying. He sighed, sitting beside him. He could practically feel the anxiety that drifted off of Keigo. It was so thick that it felt like a second skin on him. 

  "You don't have to go back in there, Hawks. If you don't want to talk about being trans in front of tons of people, you don't have to. Toshi and I won't tell anyone. It's not our truth to tell. You're an adult. They don't control you anymore," Enji said softly.  Keigo gave a wet and shaky laughed, covering his face and shaking his head.

   "No... no, I have to go back in there. Pres is right, I have fans to take care of. I know for a fact that when I was young, I wanted so badly to see other people like me. Strong people. I... they deserve to know," Keigo sat up. Enji noted how tight Hawks' wings were to his body, protecting himself with the feathers that had gone slightly sharp to protect himself. "I mean, I always looked up to you... but you didn't deal with what I did." 

  Keigo got up shakily, rubbing his arm a bit. He didn't say anything else to Enji as he headed back to the other room. He whimpered, seeing that the media was already in the room. The reporters were busy trying to suck up to All might, practically groveling at his feet and begging, pleading, for some information on his relationship with the newly divorced Endeavor. All might, the godsend that he was, was answering most everything that they asked. The paparazzi were so distracted that they didn't even notice that Keigo had even entered the room till the President spoke up. 

  "Well well well, looks like the early bird has finally arrived." She laughed, going over to him. She grabbed his arm roughly and dragged Hawks over to where they were. Keigo slapped on one of his plastic smiles that he was so used to. Right now, he wasn't Keigo. Right now, Keigo was dead. Right now, he was Hawks. He took a breath. 

"Heyyo! So, what do you all wanna know about me?"