Birds of a Feather Collection
'Professional' Relationship. Part Three
— Part 3/3. After a grand time at the happiest place on earth, happy and not-so-happy things come up. You struggle to deal with so much in your mind but when Hawks is with you, you can't help but wonder 'what if'.
This had been an utter shock to you. Before the day had even started you'd gone out of your way to convince yourself, thoroughly and absolutely, that this outing was only between friends. 'Friends' as in 'a pair of grown adults with more or less particularly dubious intentions towards one another' but friends all the same. But as the day had gone by and you enjoyed the rest of Tokyo Disneyland with Hawks, you admitted that this stopped being a plain outing between friends a long time ago.
It had ever since that small tender kiss at the start of your day together. And as it went by, though he hadn't tried again anything so brazen so far and was still his talkative self, Hawks' usual cheesy one liners that you were so used to deflecting turned subtler and more tasteful. Things like small words or touches here and there that you couldn't make yourself dismiss as easily as before. Maybe this whole trip had just turned your brain completely upside down, but a part of you didn't see much wrong with that now. Frankly, after having that little taste and him being just that bit more tactful, it was kind of endearing you to him much more than anything else had before.
But thinking too much about that didn't let you have any fun. So instead you set it aside, basking in the joy of spending time with him in your favorite place on earth instead. Both of you stumbled out of the Mad Hatter's tea cups unsteady on your feet. Sparing the hero beside you a glance and seeing his face a tad bit on the green side, you feared that this ride might be the one to finally break him. Though Hawks tried to laugh it off as nothing, you knew better by the way he looked and went to buy him some water at the nearest vendor. Passing through the crowd on your way back, you searched for the massive red wings that wee way easier to spot than the man himself but you stop in your tracks, not finding him as alone as you left him.
"Oh my goodness, my friends are gonna freak when they see this!"
The high-pitched shriek of a highschooler came to your ears as you saw said girl standing near Hawks who apparently was well enough to take a picture with them. And it didn't stop at her despite how much you hopelessly prayed it would. No, with their single 'thanks, Hawks' that easily spread through, a crowd quickly formed around him with incoherent babble being sent his way. It got to the point where they were even pushing you back, and despite how much you wanted to shove them out of your way, you knew that wouldn't be the wisest idea.
So you stayed on the sidelines instead, watching from afar as he pleased the people he protected and that admired him in return throughout Japan. Though you knew this might as well be normal for him, you couldn't help but feel a little part of you break at being quite literally shoved to the side. It wasn't like you didn't know this could happen either. Although it wouldn't be hard to miss him if one cared to look hard enough, Hawks and you had decided to not use his hero name for a reason. It would just attract unwanted attention when all you wanted for the day was to have a good day together. And seeing him mobbed so easily in a public place only reminded you about another reason why you adhered so tightly to your personal 'no heroes' rule. There simply was no way to have a 'private life'. They were a public figure and as such were expected to stand at the ready for the limelight that came with such a title as pro hero. And that was a place that you wanted no part in whatsoever.
Opting to let him deal with his crowd, you headed on your own towards the shops nearby. Since he was technically accompanying you for the day, you supposed that waiting for him would be the civil thing to do. Eyeing the rows upon rows of headbands and hats, you peered each one looking for one to your liking. Picking the new gold rose ears you'd seen online, the color reminded you of an ashy blond head that was outside the store. The thought alone soured your mood a little.
"Those'd look cute on you."
Though you would have rather not answer, the bitterness piling up in you—with no good damn reason to be there, mind you—beat you to the punch.
"I don't know. Don't you think it'd look cuter on that girl from back there?"
"What?"
Catching yourself with how petty and stupid what you said just sounded, you shook your head to deviate from your previous words. "Nevermind. I'm going to pay, so you can just wait outside if you want."
"…sure."
Truth was you didn't really want to buy anything. You just wanted some excuse to stay at bay while you composed yourself. What you saw hit much harder than you expected it to. Hawks was a famous, young, and prominent hero. Of course there'd be people out there who idolized him. And the 'young' part obviously meant there'd be women out there with their eye on him. You'd seen it plenty of times before but they never pained you like they did now and you couldn't help but wonder why.
Just forget about it. You're just torturing yourself over petty things. Besides it's not like you two are a thing or anything.
That bitter reminder dealt the worst blow. You really had no right to be even remotely jealous about anything and the mere thought of that hurt.
And that it was starting to ruin your most favorite place—your little haven away from the rest of the world—was just the worst of it all. So you decided to not let it do that. You came here to have fun and that would be what you'd do. You took a deep breath as you exited the shop wearing the ears, vowing to just forget what happened earlier in the day and enjoy what time you had left there. Finding Hawks outside by himself, you notice the crimson feathers of his wings preen as you approached. His boyish smile shone through but it did little against your renewed resolve.
"Told you they'd be cute on you," he said nonchalantly.
"Mm."
Almost immediately, the smile vanished as confusion replaced it and his lips became a taut line. "Everything okay?"
No. "Everything's fine. I'm just tired."
"Want to head home early?"
Shake your head is all you did before you headed onward through the park with Hawks, understandably, perplexed. He seems to shove that aside though and you both continue on…but with one notable difference between you. Anytime he tried to make any kind of move, you diverted it. Anytime he tried to reach for your hand, you took it away to do mindless things like brush back your hair or point out to where you wanted to go. Anytime he tried to cradle you closer to him with his wings, you would take a few steps away or simply keep your distance.
It might be petty but it was the only way to feel safe anymore. Safe from being hurt like you had just a few hours ago. Safe from falling for him anymore than you already had.
Hawks, though clearly aware of what you were doing, didn't mention any of it. A part of you thanked him for that. Pretty soon, the atmosphere between you returned to what it had been before that kiss, just friends out having fun though that awkward air never quite left you. Nighttime soon came and the whole park lighted up beautifully, the glow shinning in your eyes as you headed back to the area near the castle. The fireworks were the best thing about staying late at the park and would be a wonderful way to end your trip. But as you neared the plaza you pouted at seeing it much fuller than you expected it to be.
You couldn't even make your way through to get to a good viewing spot.
Hawks whistled audibly even through the ruckus of thousands of people talking to one another. "Looks packed."
"I knew we should've gotten here earlier," you muttered to yourself, peeved. Knowing that this was going to be a big event should've hinted at you that the fireworks show would be more crowded than usual. Heaving a sigh, you stood on your tiptoes trying to look over the crowd which consisted mostly of people that easily towered over you. "Guess we can just watch from here."
"We could, but I think I've got a better idea."
Before you could ask him what he meant, you felt his hands slip onto your waist to hold on tightly. Clearing away from the crowd, you couldn't do much except hold on when Hawks took off haphazardly into the air. Thankfully you didn't go far. With practiced ease, he lowered the two of you onto one of the rooftops of Main Street perfectly in view of the castle as a whole.
Awed by such perfect spot, you turned to look at him, "Is this even allowed?"
"Called beforehand to make sure it would be, so don't worry." You were so giddy about having such a perfect place that you didn't mind Hawks as he took your hand to lower you down to a sit on the flat top of the roof. "Just said that we should be seated throughout the whole show."
As the announcer came claiming the show would begin in a few minutes, you stared down at the people in awe until a thought came to you. Turning to Hawks quizzically and with a raised eyebrow, you asked, "Why bother?"
He gave a nonchalant shrug, a smile forming on those lips of his. "You looked pretty excited about this, so I wanted to make sure you wouldn't miss anything."
A tinge of guilt hit you at hearing this, especially after having been so cold to him when things had been going so well up until your pettiness struck. Unable to make heads or tails of your own mind, you decided to ask instead, "What I don't get is why bother so much for me?"
"I don't think there's anything to get."
"That's because you get why you do what you do. I don't. No matter how much I think about it, I can't figure out what you're thinking. Ever. Much less why. So, I'm going to ask you again and I want you to answer me with the truth this time—no jokes, no sarcasm. Why are you always doing so much for me. Not just this either. All the little things from before too. When there's so many others out there that you could easily have and are better suited, why come after me?"
"Quite the loaded question," he said with a lopsided smirk. A frown instantly came to your face at him defaulting to his smugness. A stern 'Hawks' sobered him out of it as the smirk vanished and was then replaced by a taut line of his lips instead. "I guess it can be boiled down to one reason."
Curious at his honesty, your head tilted to listen to him better. "What's that?"
"You're everything I'm not. You're everything I wish I could be. Everything I admire in others in one very small packet."
"What do you mean?"
"That you're beautiful and conscientious barely scratch the surface of it. Though they don't matter as much as you being caring, hopeful, and—by the looks of it—quite the believer." His arm swept out at the brightly lit castle and the magical place below us. "And I'm not just talking about your charming childishness either. No matter how much you claim to not like how crude and nonsensical everything about this world and its people is, you never stop believing that it can be better if we try to change it. You believe there's something beyond all the senseless evil in people and what they do. You believe there's good. And you have no idea how much I would like to believe that too."
"That's why?"
Giving a simple nod, Hawks turned back to you with a much more sincere smile than before. "That's why. And frankly, that makes you quite easy and worthwhile to love."
Hearing that word from his lips flushed your cheeks almost instantly. And though you tried hiding it, there wasn't much that could hide the warmth that spread quickly across your face. A low chuckle came from him as he reached for one of your hands that was desperately trying to hide your face and took it in his. This time you didn't take it back and watched as he brought it up to his lips to lay a gentle kiss to the back of it.
"Now it's your turn to tell the truth, love. After what happened to today, can you honestly tell me to my face that you feel nothing for me?"
Though you don't think it possible, you felt your face heat up more at his assumption. Not so much because it was wrong but because of how blunt he was being. Averting your eyes was the only way you could even begin to tell him the truth. "I-I won't lie and say I don't feel nothing but…wouldn't it be hard?"
"Hard?"
"Being with you, I mean." The hold you had on his hand tightened, not wanting to let go anytime soon. "You're the No.2 hero for crying out loud. So many things could happen that just thinking about them makes my head spin. I don't know if I could take all that. I don't know if I am the best person to stand by your side with everybody else already relying on you to protect them."
"I could think of no other woman strong or brave enough to be with. But I won't force you, love. It's as much my choice as it is yours."
You didn't miss the subtle question in his words. "Really? You're asking me out now? Here?"
Though small, you were sure that his smile wanted so badly to turn into a grin. "Well, since neither of our offices is good for that, nor are interviews, I thought that maybe this would be the best place I'd get the chance to." Instantly, it disappeared becoming a much more sincere smile. "So what do you say, y/n? Want to make this our first real date?"
Your eyes wandered off as the lights all across the park began to dim. Though many things contradicted your feelings telling you not to take the risk, one thought rose above it all and spoke louder than the rest.
But what if he makes you happy? Isn't that reason enough to say yes.
Yeah. Yeah, it was.
Dark as it was and with the music starting to play through the loudspeakers in the plaza, you found one way to tell him this. Reaching out to take his cheek and jaw in your hand, you turned his attention away from the castle to capture his lips with yours. Just as you did this, you jumped in your skin, taken by surprise by the firework that exploded in the sky. Thankfully, Hawks was fast enough to hold you by the waist, securing you in place and deepening the kiss you started.
Savoring the taste of him for the brief moment it lasted, you couldn't peel your eyes away from his as the lights of the fireworks illuminated his face. But you couldn't keep the small chuckle that escaped you either at seeing his own face darkened in red. Conscious about it at last, he tried hiding it behind the short collar of his jacket but when he couldn't, it burst another chuckle out of you. Shuffling to sit closer, you leaned your head on his shoulder to watch the fireworks show. Hawks, finally snapping out of his stupor after another moment or two, did the same, leaning his cheek against the top of your head to watch it with you. With your hands held together between you two and his wings cradling you close so that you wouldn't leave his side now that you were willingly there, you watched the fireworks come and go, dying down as the show ended. And though it signaled the end of the day and your trip together, you knew this was just the first of many more dates to come.
Though the park was just closing, you knew that Downtown Disney wouldn't close for another hour. And frankly, you wanted to get something to remember this day by. Besides, what was one more souvenir gonna do to the stash you already had from all the times you visited? As you looked through the plush section trying to decide whether a Stitch or Winnie the Pooh one would be better, you felt something brush against your back as hands came down over your head to put a headband on. Whirling about, you breathed an air of relief at finding Hawks behind you with a cheeky smirk on his face.
Smacking him lightly with the other pair you had already bought before, you tried reaching back to see what he'd gotten but was stopped rather quickly by him.
"Nuh-uh. You gotta look at yourself with them on, angel."
"Oh, come on."
"Trust me, you look amazing." Grabbing you by the shoulders, Hawks easily took you to the nearest mirror and the moment you looked at yourself, you felt and saw your cheeks fluster as your heart flipped. The ears he'd gotten were the bride Minnie ones, veil and all shimmering gorgeously in the light. "See? Charming." Eyeing him through the reflection on the mirror, his smirk widened at noticing the color of your face. "Though I'll say that an actual veil and pretty white gown would make you look simply breathtaking."
Not thinking it possible, you felt your face warm even further as you took the veil to try and hide your face with it, only managing to obscure your mouth as you mumbled, "You're rather blunt about this, aren't you?"
"What can I say?" Hawks leaned in to rest his cheek against yours as you both looked at each other through the mirror once more. "Once I've set my mind on something, I just can't hold myself back."