"Alright. It looks like your burns are mostly healed. You'll be able to go home this morning." The nurse smiled at her, cheerfully. "Just to be sure, though. How do you feel today, Naoru-san? You broke a few bones. Your quirk seems to have fixed them up nicely, but if anything hurts…"

"N-no, I'm okay. Thank you." Kaere managed a small smile and looked down. My quirk would've fixed everything eventually. I feel like I wasted their time.

"It's no trouble at all. Let me just get your discharge papers ready and you can go." The woman cast a smile toward the man in the chair next to Kaere's bed before she stepped out into the hallway.

Soft hazel eyes shifted to the side, nervously looking at the hero through her dark hair. When Kaere woke up, Hawks had gone and Endeavor was in the room just a few minutes after she opened her eyes. Now he was sitting there in silence. His brow would furrow every so often as if he wanted to say something, but was unsure of how to go about it.

"Naoru-san, can you confirm these details for me? You have the same address as you did last time, right?" The nurse walked to the side of her bed with a clipboard and pen.

"Oh…no. Um. My address…" She was unsure of what to put as her address. Kaere didn't want to put Hawks' address on there because she technically wasn't living with him at the moment, but putting Endeavor's address felt like she was being presumptuous.

The chair next to the bed creaked as the flame hero leaned over. "I'll fill it out for her."

"Oh! Well, alright." The woman looked confused, but handed over the clipboard and pen. Turning back to Kaere, she put a smile on again. "As soon as we get this filled out, you'll be ready to go."

"…thank you…" She lowered her head and fidgeted with the edge of her blanket. Feeling awkward about not knowing where she actually lived and guilty for making Endeavor fill out the form for her.

After the paperwork was finished, she was able to change into her own clothes in the bathroom and came out to find the hero ready to say what was on his mind. He was standing near the door with a deep frown, hesitating before he finally spoke. "I'm going to work on the house to make it more secure. That villain knew the area you were staying in and he saw Natsuo with you. I need to make sure that he can't get into the house if he's able to figure out which one it is. For now, do you feel comfortable staying with Hawks? I know that you had a disagreement so if you would prefer-"

"N-no, that's fine! I…really appreciate this. All of this." Kaere felt a tightness forming in her throat as thoughts of her deceased father started to surface. Wondering how he would feel if he knew his daughter was being targeted by a villain. Wishing he was still alive so she could hug her father one last time.

I don't deserve their kindness, she thought. She walked alongside Endeavor down the hall; her head down as she nervously chewed at her lower lip. Fuyumi-chan and Natsuo-kun are both…really nice to me. And so is Endeavor-san. I don't deserve it. I haven't done anything to deserve this.

When they got down to the lobby, she blushed pink when she spotted Hawks loitering in the check in area. He was leaning against the counter with a smile as he talked to some of the staff. The women he was talking to both blushed red at the sight of that smile and Kaere couldn't blame them. Though she did feel a pang of jealousy as it gripped her heart.

He glanced toward her for a second before registering who he was looking at and when he did, his wings twitched. The smile he was wearing before was tepid compared to the grin that spread across his face as he looked at her. "Hey! There she is! I was wondering if I should just go up to your room myself," he commented, starting toward Kaere and Endeavor.

The winged hero paused in his steps as he looked her up and down. His grin turned sheepish and he cocked his head to the side. "What're you wearing, Kaere?"

She could feel blood rushing to her face as she looked down. She had forgotten that she was wearing some of Natsuo's old clothes when she left the house that night. "Just…um…I borrowed these from someone."

"You look cute." He leaned down a bit to be at eye level with her and his eyes half-closed. "But you'd look better in one of my shirts."

Her face felt like it was glowing red and she bit her lip. The girl's pulse was skipping and her stomach felt like it was doing flips. "M-maybe."

Kaere felt a little better about Hawks after their exchange the previous night. He wanted to make it up to her for lying and he was so desperate to rebuild her trust in him that he told her his real name. Keigo. His name was Keigo and she had never heard him called that before. This was like a special secret he shared just with her.

When he flew to his building, he held onto her tightly and the girl kept both arms wrapped around his neck. She liked feeling the wind whipping at her hair, but it made her already chilled skin even colder. The hero's body heat was comforting, though. When she buried her face in his chest to block the wind, she felt warmth spreading through her. He…smells really good. And he's so warm. This…feels so nice, she thought as her eyes started to close.

Shift P.O.V

This feels so nice, he thought as his wings tilted a bit. He landed carefully on the ground, but he was eager to take Kaere into his apartment. He set a brisk pace as he entered the building; carrying the girl in his arms and unable to stop smiling.

Hawks slept at the hospital overnight. He stayed in her bed, kept his arm and his wing wrapped around her as they both slept. Reluctant to leave her alone again, but not for the most noble reasons. Sure, he wanted to protect her, but he also did it for himself. Holding her, sleeping beside her, filled him with such a warm and comforting feeling.

"I took a few days off," he announced, pushing open his door. "So we can have plenty of time together."

Kaere was finally set down and she clung to his jacket for a moment as she stared at the coffee table with wide hazel eyes. Her glasses had slipped down a little and she glanced to Hawks questioningly. He chuckled and pushed up her glasses with a fingertip. "I wanted to surprise you," he admitted. "What do you think? Did I do a good job?"

The coffee table was covered in every snack and candy he knew she liked, along with a big variety of soda flavors he thought she might like. Beyond that, the couch was covered in soft pillows and he draped a blanket over the back of it. Before he left to pick her up, Hawks had set up her favorite movie so they could watch it as soon as they got home. He wanted to make sure her day with him was the perfect mix of relaxing and fun.

"This…this looks great." Kaere flushed pink and nervously wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you."

He never got to do things like this. Of course, he had to pull a lot of strings to be able to get a few days off, but it was going to be worth it. He would make the most of his free time and get to just spend it with Kaere. No working, no need to put on a fake smile and portray himself how the Commission wanted him to. He could just be himself and relax.

"Want to borrow some of my clothes? Those look kind of…" Hawks looked at the blood splattered on her tattered clothes, unsure if it was hers or Dabi's.

"Oh. Um…right." Kaere glanced down, subconsciously. "I…need to apologize to Natsuo-kun for ruining his clothes," she mumbled.

Hawks felt a pang of jealousy, but put on a smile. "He probably understands." He went to his room to get a change of clothes for her and sat on the couch when she disappeared into the bathroom. Running his fingers through his hair, he felt his pulse starting to race.

Now that he had her alone, now that he had told her his real name, he knew what had to happen next. He would have to tell her the truth. Confess everything that he had been keeping secret from her. Just thinking about it made his stomach churn because he was afraid.

He always put up such a brave façade when he was in the public eye, but the thought of her hating him filled him with dread. Imagining her being angry or disgusted with what he was doing. With all of the deception and manipulation, he could hardly blame her if she ended up hating him.

Shift P.O.V

Kaere opened the bathroom door slowly, her stomach twisting in knots. The t-shirt he gave her failed to hide the fresh scar on her right forearm and she was self-conscious about that as well as the skin on her back exposed by the wing slits on the shirt. She had her head down, fidgeting with the hem of the shirt as she took a cautious step out. When she heard his feathers ruffle, she shyly glanced up.

A pinkish tint was spreading across his face and he smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry. I just…something about seeing you in my stuff is really cute," he admitted. Hawks adjusted his wings a little and held out a hand to her. "Come here. I just want to sit with you for a while, okay?"

She was nervous, but not because she thought she was in danger. It really hadn't been that long ago since she lived with him, but something had changed. Hawks. Keigo. She couldn't help but see him a little differently now.

He waited for her to get close before he gently pulled her down to sit in his lap. Both wings came forward protectively and he wrapped his arms around her. A warm sigh brushed against the side of her neck.

"I don't want there to be any more secrets between us, Kaere. So I'm going to tell you everything before I chicken out. I never wanted to lie to you, you know. It just…was safer than telling you the truth. I didn't want you to know, in case things got bad, but they've already taken a turn. Telling you the rest won't hurt at this point."

The girl relaxed in his hold as he started to tell her about his past. So many painful details, so many things that made her gut clench and her heart sink. Kaere subconsciously ran her fingertips along his feathers, keeping her head down and feeling unsure of what to say.

A heaviness settled in the pit of her stomach and when he finished, she moved on instinct. Kaere turned in his hold and slipped her arms around his neck. She held him and very gently ran her left hand through his hair, biting her lower lip to keep herself from making a sound. Tears finally ran down her cheeks, dotting his shirt.

"I-I'm sorry…I'm not good with words, but…K-Keigo…I'm so sorry. To…to have to go through all of that…it's just-!"

"Hey, it's okay." He leaned away a little and lifted a hand to take off her glasses for her, putting them aside. A warm, genuine smile curved his lips with just a hint of sadness. "I mean, if none of that happened, there's a chance we never would've met."

She blinked as he wiped at her tears, her hazel eyes meeting his warm golden ones as he tilted his head. Kaere could feel blood rushing to her face and tried to look away to hide her blush, but he gently guided her face forward again. His lips met hers as his arms wrapped around her waist.

The girl leaned into the kiss and felt butterflies in her stomach when he adjusted her so she straddled his hips. One of his hands slid into a wing slit on the back of the shirt and his fingertips caressed her smooth, pale skin. She felt her back arching and was embarrassed when she let a small moan escape, even though it was muffled by his lips.

Hawks smiled into the kiss and ran his tongue along her lower lip, coaxing her mouth open. He felt her fingers dig into his hair and groaned into her mouth, involuntarily bucking his hips against her. His free hand traveled up along her spine, making her subconsciously push her chest against his. It was when his fingertips brushed the back of her neck that he realized his mistake.

She yelped into the kiss as he unknowingly touched the burn on the back of her neck. It threw her back to when she last saw Dabi. Memories of the villain's hand burning against her skin as his lips mashed against hers. The girl jolted away from Hawks as fresh tears flooded her eyes.

"I-I'm sorry! It's not your fault, but…my neck…" Kaere lowered her head, resting her forehead against his collarbone. "Keigo…"

"No, no! I'm sorry. I didn't realize you got burned there." He lifted her chin with a finger and frowned. "Maybe we should just cuddle for right now. How's that sound?" His frown was quickly replaced with a smile.

The girl settled at his side on the couch and put on her glasses, still feeling a little anxious. When his arm wrapped around her and he pulled her closer, she began to feel a bit more relaxed. The memories of Dabi fading as she focused on the warmth against her side, the smile on the hero's face, the way his cheek nuzzled against her dark hair. Everything's…going to be okay, right?