Hawks had caught up to her, just as she thought he would.

"You didn't keep me updated, Dovie. Had me worried." Hawks mused softly as he walked next to her in their search for their two friends.

Airi was going to ask him about the envelope but stopped when she saw the kicked puppy look in his eye.

Oh… she hadn't kept him in the loop too much tonight, had she?

"I'm sorry, I kept getting dragged around by Rumi, then all of Shoto and Deku's friends were chatting with me too." Airi apologized, reaching her hand over to hold his own.

He squeezed hers back gently.

"What's that, babe?" Hawks asked, nodding down to the envelope that she forgot had been in her hands.

"Oh, I have no idea. Some guy in a mask just ran up to me with it a minute before you caught up to me. Told me I forgot it, but I've never seen this before." Airi answered him, holding the envelope up between them.

She noticed the change in Hawks' demeanor almost immediately, the way his soft gaze hardened, and he looked far more serious.

"Let me see that, you shouldn't take things from strangers." Hawks took it from her hand without hesitation, surprising her from how bold he was.

"Well he said he recognized me from the bar. I don't know, maybe someone from the group meant to give it to me." Airi reasoned, but Hawks didn't hand the envelope back to her.

Instead, he tucked it into a pocket inside his coat.

Why is he being so weird now?

Hawks didn't say anything else about the envelope, leaving her worried about him and why he was acting so strange.

They caught up with Rumi and Kyo though not a minute later, so she forgot about it in favor of yelling at the two for running off like that in the middle of the night.

The flat was cold when they got back, Kyo groaning as he realized he forgot to turn on the heat before they left. It didn't matter, they were all going to bed anyways. Blankets are better warmth in her opinion.

Airi managed to convince the weirdly quiet pro hero to stay the night with them. He kept trying to tell her he had some paperwork to finish up, but she lured him out of it in favor of promising him a massage.

"Have I told you how much I love this dress on you?" Keigo whispered once they were behind her closed bedroom door, the winged hero pinning her gently against the door as he ran his hands down her sides.

"I think you might have." Airi answered cheekily, giggling when he rubbed his nose against hers.

"If I start hearing you two, we're going to have a problem!" Kyo suddenly shouted from his bedroom across the hall, Airi squealing in surprise as she didn't expect it.

"Let them have their fun. It's about time bird brain show his wild side to her anyways! I saw it within a few weeks!" And just like that her mood was ruined.

Keigo didn't seem too amused either, glaring at the door that separated them from their two teasing friends.

Airi slipped out of his hold, making her way to her closet to grab her comfy clothes for bed.

"Hey, are you alright?" Keigo called after her as she pulled out her clothes.

He was still standing by the door, awkwardly pulling off his jacket to toss it somewhere.

"Yeah, fine, lover bird." Airi didn't want him to know. She didn't want him to know how much it got under her skin each time she was reminded about how intimate he was with Rumi in the past.

"You're a terrible liar." Airi was met with in return, Keigo's hand coming to rest on the small of her back when she went to pass him to go change in the bathroom. "If it's about what Rumi- "

"Yeah, let's not talk about it." Airi cut him off before leaving the room to change.

Once she was in the safety of the bathroom, she sighed. Why does it have to get to her so much? It's not like they're still together. She knows Keigo doesn't feel anything but friendship towards Rumi.

Plus, he never hesitates to remind her how much he loves her.

But… she can't help feeling lesser than to the Rabbit Pro Hero when it comes to Keigo.

They're still trying to figure things out, and not even officially dating on their terms yet. Whereas when he was with Rumi, it just sounds like everything was fast and fiery.

Why can't she just… ignore the bitter jealous sting in her stomach each time Rumi mentions something about her shared past with Keigo?

Once she was out of the dress, she walked back into her bedroom to find Keigo laying on his stomach on the bed.

"Come here." Keigo called to her, lifting one of his wings for her to come crawl under and cuddle with him.

Just as she was about to, her eyes caught on his jacket nearby. The envelope still tucked inside.

What was he hiding?

Airi crawled into her bed with him, his wing coming back down like a blanket as soon as she laid on her back next to him.

"You know I love you, right?" Keigo asked suddenly while they laid like that, catching her off guard with the question.

"Yeah, of course. I love you too, Keigo." Airi answered him without skipping a beat. Reaching up to the wing above her, she started to massage it gently from the inside.

"I didn't love her." Airi paused in her ministrations on his wing, looking to him to see his serious gaze set on her from the side. "I never did. I know you don't want to talk about this, but I'm a smart guy, babe. I see every time she mentions something the way your face sours like you've tasted something bad." Keigo admitted, Airi sighing before he sat up and leaned back on the headboard.

"I'm sorry." Airi apologized, sitting up to sit next to him.

"Hey, you don't need to apologize. I just want you to realize it didn't mean anything to me. What I have with you means everything." Keigo said gently, resting a hand on her thigh as she leaned into him.

"I try to ignore it, honest. I just…" Airi leaned her head on his shoulder as a wing came around her own. "I guess I just feel lesser than. Because she's a pro hero like you, and I'm just some civilian you have to save every now and then." Airi tried to explain, feeling his chest rumble.

She was surprised when the next thing he did was laugh, a little hurt by his laughter when she was being honest with him.

Keigo noticed too, apologizing immediately. "I'm sorry, I just… you're so much better than her in my eyes, Dovie. You aren't less than because of your job, in fact you're greater than because of it. You're always kind, smiling even when you're hurting. You want everyone else to be happy and use up your own energy to make sure the kids who come into your shop leave happy. You're amazing, Airi." Keigo assured her firmly, giving the warmest smile she's ever seen.

Airi immediately hugged into his side, pressing a kiss to his shoulder.

"If you need more to feel better, you also treat me way better than she did. What we were wasn't even a relationship, honestly. It was just… I'm gonna shut up before I make things worse on that. But you make me feel grounded finally. Like a normal guy just trying to live a normal life with the girl anyone would die for. But I got lucky enough to have her love me." Airi hugged tighter into him at the way he thought he was lesser than again.

"Kei, you weren't lucky to have me love you. You deserve it, why do you have such low self confidence about yourself?" Airi asked softly, Keigo turning his head to look at her with a small smile.

"That's a tale for another night, lovebird." Keigo answered her instead with a deflection.

She pulled away from his shoulder, eyes drifting towards his coat with the envelope.

"Keigo- "

Airi was cut off by the man pulling her over onto his lap and kissing her softly, surprised by his sudden affection.

"There's a lot in my past that makes it hard for me to feel like I deserve you, dove." Keigo admitted after their lips parted, surprised by his sudden continuation when he said he'd talk about it another time.

Airi noticed the dark look in his eyes though, like he was reliving something that still haunted him today.

Her heart ached at the sight, threading her fingers through his hair gently and earning the content hum he usually gives.

"I'll just make sure every day then that you know you deserve me." Airi promised him, pressing a kiss to the tip of his nose when he leaned into her hands.

"Do you still feel like you're not as good as her?" Keigo asked softly, hands resting on the small of her back as she massaged his scalp gently.

Airi ignored his deflection, kissing him again.

"I love you." Airi whispered, hearing his wings rustle before he encased them both in them, kissing her back.

Keigo had fallen asleep relatively quick when she gave him his promised massage, she wasn't surprised.

He's been working so hard, she felt bad with how tense his back and wings had been. No wonder he fell asleep so fast to her tending to him.

Her eyes drifted to the envelope again as he slept soundly beside her, one of his wings draped across her stomach.

She shouldn't look, but she couldn't help but worry either. What if what was inside was dangerous, and Keigo wasn't telling her because he wanted to protect her?

She wanted to at least know, so that she could help him if it were dangerous. Not let him deal with it alone.

Slipping away from him was easy, he was out like a light.

Sitting on the floor, she quietly pulled the envelope out of his coat.

This is her chance to back down. She could just ask Keigo in the morning if she could see it. Instead of letting her curiosity get the better of her now in the middle of the night.

Airi opened it.

The first thing she saw was a letter, addressed to her from the very start. Made of cut out letters, like something you'd see a criminal on a TV show send instead of use their handwriting.

She had an awfully bad feeling right then about the contents of the envelope.

Especially because it addressed her as Keigo's next victim, meaning whoever sent it knew his real name.

But, why would she be a victim of Keigo?

"-bird?"

Airi immediately looked away from what little she saw of the envelope, Keigo's voice pulling her out of her thoughts.

Keigo pushed himself up onto his arms, looking around before she quickly dropped the envelope and crawled back into the bed.

"What're you doing?" Keigo asked sleepily, eyes barely open as he sat up on his knees.

"I'm sorry, I'm coming back to bed now." Airi offered, laying on her back and opening her arms for him to lay back down.

Keigo seemed too tired to question, because he laid back down with a tired whine before ensnaring her in his arms, choosing to lay on his side this time.

"Love you…" Keigo purred through a yawn, Airi giggling softly at his tired ways.

Guess she's not looking at the envelope's contents tonight after all…

The morning came with a rude awakening though.

Keigo's phone went off loudly from somewhere in the room, waking both with the level of noise.

That followed with Kyo shouting from his own room to shut it off.

Keigo groaned, crawling over her to snatch his phone from somewhere off the bed and shut it up.

Airi whined and hugged onto his back, burying her face in the space between his wings until he finally shut it off.

"Sorry, babe." Keigo apologized for the rude wake up call by his own phone.

"Come back to bed." Airi begged, wrapping her arms under his torso as she laid her head on one of his wings.

Keigo didn't move, but she heard something rustling. "Ai?"

"Hmm?"

"Did you open this envelope that I took from you last night?"

Airi was fully awake now, feeling the way his wings and back tensed under her told her he wasn't happy.

Airi lifted her head, looking over his shoulder to see him reading the top paper that she hadn't even read more than one sentence of last night.

"Dear, Kubo Airi: The unfortunate latest victim of Takami Keigo. Disappointing, really. Now that I know of that quirk of yours, you could have been an asset to helping pave a bright future for our world."

"You must not know though, that the hero you're pretending with isn't actually a hero. In fact, he's far dirtier than any villain you're ever gonna meet. But I doubt he told you that. Consider this a common courtesy that someone finally sheds the light on that false hero you worship."

"Enclosed you'll find proof even if you don't want to believe me. That the murderer you sleep with really isn't a hero after all. Maybe acknowledge the truth and stop letting him pull the wool over your eyes. Who knows, maybe you can even bring that quirk of yours to work with me. Guess we'll see, Songbird."

Airi's heart was racing at the words on the letter, watching as Keigo ripped the paper up into pieces in front of him with such anger that she could feel it pouring off his body beneath her.

A feather pulled her off his back, setting her on the bed beside him instead. He sat up, grabbed the envelope angrily and stuffed the pieces of the letter back in it before tossing it on his coat.

Then he turned to her with such anger in his eyes that she shuddered in mild terror.

"Did you read that last night, or was that the first time now over my shoulder?" Hawks asked, voice eerily calm but no doubt still angry.

"I only saw the first part of it, where it addressed me. I came back to bed with you." Airi answered him honestly, unable to deny she was a little scared of him with how intense and angry his gaze on her was.

"I took it from you for a reason, Airi." Hawks growled, walking over to where his coat was and shoving the envelope violently back into his pocket.

"Keigo- "

"I have to get to work. I'll talk to you more about this tonight." Hawks rudely cut her off, no remorse and no sympathy as he pulled his coat back on and sat down on the edge of her bed to put his boots back on.

"Keigo wait." Airi sat up, moving to sit next to him and try to stop him from leaving angry like this. "I didn't see anything. All I saw was that letter over your shoulder because you asked me a question." Airi tried to reason with him, but he continued lacing his boots up.

"Even that was too much." Hawks responded firmly, not looking at her.

"Keigo, please just calm down. What's so bad about it? It's just a letter- "

"A letter from a villain? What's so bad about that? Do you even realize how bad that is that he walked right up to you and delivered it personally to you?" Hawks finally snapped, Airi flinching away when he moved fast beside her.

"It's the word of a villain, Kei. I wouldn't believe him over you." Airi reasoned, as she trusted Keigo more than anyone she's ever met.

"You didn't even trust me to just ask me to look at it! Instead you waited until I fell asleep!" Hawks snapped, throwing his hands in the air as he took a few steps away from her.

"I was going to ask you today, Keigo!" Airi argued back against his anger, not wanting him to think she didn't trust him, but she genuinely wanted to know what was so secretive. "I didn't read anymore of it until today!"

Hawks just paced the floor of her room for a minute, tugging aggressively at his hair.

"Keigo." Airi stood up to stop him, not wanting him to be so angry or upset over a stupid letter from a villain.

Hawks didn't listen to her call out to him, so she stepped closer to grab his hands that were pulling at his hair. For a moment she worried that he was going to shove her away when his hands tugged roughly, but she pushed herself into his chest to stop him.

Airi wrapped her arms around him, feeling his heart pound violently between them. She hated that he was this worked up over something a villain sent to her. He's never been this worked up over a villain before.

"Please, relax. You're scaring me." Airi admitted reluctantly, not liking this side of the man she fell in love with.

Keigo relaxed a little against her, and when she looked up, she saw his previously angry eyes were filled with remorse. "I'm sorry, I don't want to scare you." Keigo muttered, stroking over the scruff of his chin with a hand.

"I don't understand, Kei. What's so bad about what's in that envelope?" Airi asked, stepping back towards the bed and leading him to sit with her.

"If I know Dabi, it's stuff from my past. Things I don't want to share with you, Airi." Keigo admitted, Airi frowning since he didn't want to share. She knew about his scars, that he had a tough past. What's so bad about what he's talking about?

"Keigo, you trust me, don't you? Nothing you tell me is going to make me think any less of you, I love you." Airi reminded him, hugging herself gently into his side.

"Of course, I trust you, dove. I just… I'm not ready to talk about it with you. It's a lot to take in, a lot that might change how you see me. I know you think it won't, but it might." Keigo explained, keeping his eyes on the floor instead of her.

Before Airi could ask more, his phone went off again in his pocket.

"Dammit…" Keigo cursed as he pulled his phone out. "I'm sorry, lovebird. I need to get to work. We can finish this later, promise?" Keigo offered, standing and grabbing his visor off her nightstand.

"Alright. I love you."

"Love you too, Dovie."

"Sounds like Hawks was scared of you learning something from his past." Shoto spoke as he tossed Airi a new notebook to use for the day.

Airi had been questioned by him and Deku why she seemed so anxious when she came to training that day. It didn't help that Keigo didn't answer any texts she sent him, asking if he was alright.

"I just don't understand. It's just words from a villain, why would he think I'd believe a villain over him?" Airi wondered aloud, tucking the new notebook into her suit.

"Some people when they're scared lose sight of truth and reality. It's possible that Hawks is scared that if you find out, you might leave him." Deku jumped into their conversation as he walked out of the locker room.

"But I would never do that. What's in the past stays in the past. It doesn't affect us right now, so it shouldn't matter." Airi replied to Deku's words but was even more confused if he was right.

Was Keigo worried she might leave him if she knew his past?

"He possibly still suffers from the trauma of what happened to him." Shoto revealed, which he wasn't wrong. Hawks did hide his scars around his wings, which she believes must be from around the same timeframe of what he's worried about her learning about.

"Wasn't Mirko healing from having her arm crushed around the same time that Hawks was on leave due to his own injuries?" Deku asked Shoto, Airi whipping her head in his direction.

Wait, did they know Hawks and Mirko around that time?

"I do believe so." Shoto agreed with Deku, neither aware that Airi was staring at them.

"Wait, do you both know what happened back then?" Airi asked, interrupting them before they could continue further.

"No." Shoto, always straight to the point.

"Ask Hawks if you have questions. We did know them back then, but that would be an invasion of his privacy if we told you when he doesn't want you to know about it yet. Proper communication makes a relationship stronger." Deku advised her, eyes blazing with passion so bright that Airi felt bad for asking.

"And you would know about relationships how? Aren't you the one who's never had a girlfriend?" Shoto asked Deku calmly, Airi snorting at how he just threw Deku under the bus so willingly.

"Todoroki, why does that matter?" Deku was becoming flustered from Shoto's words, Airi laughing quietly as she walked away from the two.

Deku's words were true though, she needed to trust Hawks. Let him tell her when he was ready, which hopefully would be after he gets off work tonight.

After warming up with some easy hand to hand combat, they hit the streets.

"Last night was fun, by the way. It was nice to see everyone after being gone for so long." Deku spoke as they walked, waving to some fans across the street.

"You've been gone a year." Shoto stated flatly, Airi sniggering at how Deku looked like he'd been kicked.

"Todoroki, did you not miss me at all?"

Airi had to walk ahead of them, she was never going to stop laughing at their banter if she didn't.

"Deku, I think you have some admirers." Airi teased a while later as she noticed a throng of blushing, bright eyed girls that had followed them for a while. Hearing his hero name every few words.

Deku's face lit up red as a tomato, Airi laughing at how bashful of a hero he was.

"Go say hi to them. You'll learn for Uraraka." Shoto gave Deku an unceremonious shove, Airi laughing louder as the pro looked like he was going to burst into flames from embarrassment.

They watched him stiffly walk over to the fans, greeting them with a wide smile regardless. They squealed so loud even Airi's ears rang, and she was further up the street.

"This is the kind of thing your boyfriend deals with too. I don't understand how they can tolerate this; we're supposed to be professional." Shoto lamented as they watched the scene unfold.

"They're giving fan-service. It makes the public happy, then they approve more, and it makes their jobs easier to perform because of how much trust the public gives them." Airi explained, having already had this talk with Hawks.

Shoto was silent for a moment, watching her with a thoughtful look. "I have a question."

"Yes?"

"You said you received an envelope last night after the bar. Was it a villain who delivered it to you?" Shoto asked, turning to continue walking. Airi followed, knowing Deku would catch up.

"Hawks says it was. He believes it's the villain who has it out for him, and it would make sense as the guy was wearing a mask." Airi admitted, as while she didn't know about the villain named Dabi, she did know his appearance was very distinct. Thanks again to Hawks.

"What is the name of the villain, in the event that we run into him while we train?" Shoto asked, the two turning onto a new street.

"Dabi." Airi never expected Shoto to react so abruptly, he stopped dead in his tracks and made her walk straight into him. "Shoto?"

"You said his name is Dabi?" Shoto turned to her with a startled look in his usually calm gaze.

"Yeah?" Airi was confused, and a little scared by how Shoto reacted to the name. "Why? Do you know him?" Airi asked, a little scared of his answer.

Shoto was silent for a good minute, continuing to walk. Finally, he stopped again and turned to her. "Yes, he's my previously dead brother, Touya Todoroki."

WHAT?!

Yes, we're going with the theory that Dabi is Touya, because it honestly seems like this theory is true. Look at all the facts that we've got so far, it's really hard not to come to the conclusion that he's in fact the "deceased" Touya Todoroki. I honestly have a few ideas on how that happened myself, but that's for another day.

We're about to see into Hawks' past though, ooh. Pretty sure this might be the first time we've seen him actually angry with Airi, not sure though as I've written so far ahead that I've just forgotten a few things. Have to go reread the 200+ pages I've written already. I'm writing page 265 at the moment. We're gonna see this talk next chapter though, so heads up!

I'm going to go finish this next chapter though. Happy Fourth of July to those of you who get to go celebrate it today! It's all been canceled over here by me, sadly due to the Covid. So I'm gonna spend it finishing up this book. Thanks again, I'll see yall next chapter!