(Un)cautiously Optimistic | Hawks x Reader

Chapter 1: Birds Suck

For one, he was cocky. He was young and became a hero so quickly that he thought he was better than everyone. Two, he was one of those "pretty boys" who thought he could swindle people onto being on his side. Third of all, he was a bird.

You hated birds.

Just the sight of him made you ill, your stomach twisting inside as he seemed all content and carefree. So dumb.

And then he turned and looked at you.

"Oh, hey! Haven't seen you 'round before. Ya new?" Hawks greeted cheerily, waving with one gloved hand. He had that smug, insufferable grin on his face as he walked towards you. Your luck must've been so low the Devil stubbed his toe on it and cursed his own name.

"I've worked here for three years." You muttered bluntly, shutting him down immediately. You didn't want to talk to anyone, especially not him.

"Oh." He paused, tapping a finger to his chin, before chuckling warmly. "You seem like a quiet one."

"Would be much quieter if you weren't bothering me."

He laughed again, which just made you more annoyed. He didn't take you seriously, he just thought you were joking.

"You're funny. What's your name?" He asked, tilting his head slightly, his pale golden hair fluffing up slightly, like feathers, which wouldn't be out of character for him considering his bird attributes.

"Ask your mother."

"I would if I could, baby bird."

Your cheeks burned hot, and you snapped your face up immediately, glaring at him with a look more painful and a thousand sunburns. "...what the hell did you just call me?"

"Baby bird. I call all my fans that," he explained casually, stretching his red, feathered wings.

"I am absolutely not your fan," you shot back, throwing a wrench at him, which he caught easily, even while stretching lazily.

"Ah. Shame." He chuckled once more, before tilting his head. "Seriously. What is your name?"

"Giman Tekina." A new voice answered. You both turned, seeing Endeavor. "Focus. You're getting behind schedule. I don't pay you for nothing."

"Oh! Giman Tekina, cool name!" Hawks grinned, doing a silly little wing twitch thing. You just glared harder at him, your expression saying you were completely done with his crap. His grin faltered slightly.

"Why are you here, Hawks?" Endeavor's deep voice questioned the feathered man. He sounded about as annoyed as you were.

"Oh, just hero stuff. We should go chat in private- I think someone has been distracted enough for today." Hawks replied, winking at you before leading Endeavor away. You caught the words "takoyaki" and "fried chicken" as he was leaving. He was oblivious to the fact he was still holding the wrench.

You rolled your eyes.

---

Hawks's POV

That person he met earlier was... interesting. They didn't seem to like him at all or fall to his charms easily, as most people did. It was... oddly refreshing.

People didn't ever like him for him, just for what he did. He didn't really have any true friends, just fans. Sometimes he wondered if he was even a good person or someone who was fun to be around. Everyone was already biased to like him because he was such a top-ranking hero.

He didn't even remember the last genuine interaction he'd had until that chat he had with, who was it, Giman Tekina? They didn't just immediately bend to accommodate for him or go overboard with praise. They just said what they felt.