Taxonomy (Platonic Hawks and Tokoyami)

Phylum

Tokoyami had never seen Hawks smile wider than the release day of the bi-annual hero report. The bird-headed intern himself had found the papers to be rather dull, nothing more than a compiled series of statistics on crime prevention and arrests from each agency, but Hawks was obviously ecstatic to receive the information. Throughout the entire shift, Hawks held himself with such an air of genuine excitement and pride that everyone in the agency couldn't help but to let it affect them as well. After all, it wasn't so often that Hawks was so genuinely and undanpeningly cheerful. So cheerful, in fact, that Hawks went as far as to order some very expensive dessert takeout for the entire agency.

As the mentor and mentee cleaned up the remains of the takeout celebration, Hawks had wanted to do it himself, but Tokoyami insisted, they received an unexpected visitor. It was All Might, in his gangly and near-emaciated, retired hero, glory. Tokoyami wouldn't lie and say he was particularly pleased to see the former number one hero at the agency's doorsteps. Not that he didn't appreciate All Might, but his appearance had interrupted a rather amusing retelling of a prank Hawks had once managed to pull on Best Jeanist, and Hawks so rarely shared tales of his earlier years. The winged hero welcomed All Might in happily, however, so a new line of conversation arose.

"Hawks! Oh, and young Tokoyami too! I am here!" the former hero announced his presence with the same level of gusto as he did when he was still in action, albeit with a bit more coughing than on previous occasions.

"That you are, All Might, what can I do for you, old-timer?" Hawks eagerly set down the half-full trash bag that had been in his hands and moved to face the other hero and nudged Tokoyami slightly to encourage him to do the same.

"A congratulations is in order for you, Hawks. I've just finished reading the hero report, and I must say, I'm impressed. You've not quite reached my level of success, but you've certainly surpassed your heroics of previous years! I can't let a feat like that unrewarded!" Hawks and Tokoyami shared a look at All Might's fake overconfidence. Sometimes Fumikage wondered if the man had really come to terms with his retirement, it often seemed like he was trying to relive his heyday.

"Well, I certainly won't say no to more food on an occasion like this one, even if we've had our desserts before dinner." Hawks grinned as if he had told the best joke in history and even went so far as to elbow Tokoyami in an attempt to get him to laugh. He didn't.

"How about I help clean up so young Tokoyami here can get home, the sooner we're done, the sooner we can begin!"

Hawks' smile faltered for a fraction of a second before it returned, and he placed a hand on Tokoyami's shoulder, "Why, I wouldn't dream of celebrating this victory without my favourite fledgling here; my successes are his successes, after all."

All Might paused at that but took the insistence in stride, "Well then, in that case, let's be on our way! Hawks, I'm sure your janitors will be capable of cleaning this up in your stead. Come, you two, we have a dinner to eat!"

It took a little while to find the restaurant All Might had in mind, a small little dive diner on the far edge of the city. Tokoyami was wary at first, but it soon became clear that the grungy outside appearance of the place was simply a front and that it was actually a hidden gem frequented by those in the hero business. In the couple tables near them, Fumikage spotted two notable hero tech gurus and a scattering of smaller heroes and sidekicks. Not a single person so much as raised an eyebrow at the sight of Hawks and All Might entering the establishment, so at least they could eat without fear of paparazzi mobbing.

Tokoyami couldn't help but feel a bit uncomfortable by Hawks' side in the booth the three of them had been seated in. It wasn't anyone's fault in particular; it just felt strange to sit down and have dinner with his teacher. Fumikage found All Might to be not nearly as personable as Hawks was; there was simply too much of a gap to be bridged there. Hawks, it seemed, felt the same way, as he had, over the course of the walk to the diner, switched to his publicity smile instead of his real one.