Author's Note: Hey guys gonna be honest my mental health is in the trash rn so I really struggled to write this. I couldn't even finish the chapter fully so expect a part 2 when I feel better. I can't promise when I'll be able to update but I didn't feel right leaving everyone hanging. I guess this fanfic is one way to keep me from kms. Wow, that got dark real quick. Sorry, didn't mean to rant or be a downer. Anyway, thank you for all of the views it's reached over 3,000 last I checked which is awesome! Special thanks to everyone who faved and followed which is amazing! I replied to reviews at the end.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything of the My Hero Academia universe, manga, characters, tv show, movies, etc. This is just for fun.

Chapter 8 Part 1:

~ read A.N. if you want reason for my hiatus. or don't. ~

Hawks sauntered over to the hospital room's only window and raised the flimsy blinds all the way up. He easily broke the locked latch and opened the window. A breeze passed through his ruffled hair and caressed Aylee's exposed skin beneath her stark white gown. Shivers ran down her spine and goosebumps travelled up her forearms from the cold. The blond man turned around to face Aylee with a mischievous glint alight in his golden eyes.

Aylee immediately backed away slightly from him and eyed the window warily.

"Absolutely not. I'm going to change and then leave. On foot." With that final tone she spun around and made her way to the room's small and cramped bathroom. The door closed shut with a soft click and Aylee released an anxious breath that shook her lungs from the effort it took in her damaged state.

The woman quickly changed out of her hospital gown in the bathroom, being mindful of her still sore partially healed limbs. She put back on her blood-stained clothes with a grimace and sighed at her rough appearance. But she had no other options with her to wear, it would have to do for now, at least until she got back to the dorms.

Aylee sent a text to Aizawa and let him know that she was leaving before she exited the bathroom. She was greeted by a now empty room with her bodyguard nowhere to be seen. A large gust of wind chilled her face and chapped her dry lips even more.

Before her teeth started to chatter, Aylee speed walked over to the open window to close it. She painfully reached up a hand to grab the top of the window and felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist from behind. A muscled chest pressed firmly against her back and she felt warm breaths slightly stirring her brown hair.

The woman was frozen from the close and intimate contact and couldn't even move an inch in her shocked mindset. Hawks' head tilted down towards her ear and his lips turned up at the corners as he whispered, "hold on tight to me, baby bird."

That was the only warning she was given before the winged hero propelled both of them out of the window and into the cold night air.

They were falling together with the wind sharply whipping at their hair and ruffling their clothes. Aylee let out a quiet whimper in fear and scrunched her green eyes shut, too afraid to see how high up they really were. She couldn't hear anything besides the whistling wind and occasional honking from the cars stuck in city traffic below.

Hawks noticed her obvious but somewhat expected fear of heights and decided to fix that. He shifted her body and placed his arms underneath to support her knees and back before pulling her close into his chest. The hero fully stretched out his red wings and flew them higher into the sky. The loud sounds began to fade out of reach until it was just the two of them in the clouds. Not a sound or living thing for miles around.

Hawks looked back down at her fear filled face and gently said, "You can open your eyes now." Aylee frantically shook her head in denial and pressed her eyelids together even tighter now.

"I got you. You can trust me." He pleaded to the frightened woman held tightly in his arms. He studied her lips which she gnawed on nervously before she slowly began to open her eyes.

She looked up and was met with Hawks' gently smiling face. Hesitantly, Aylee looked around at her new surroundings. Her green eyes traced along the ink-black sky and her hand reached out to touch the clouds. Amazement and glee were just a few words Hawks would describe what her expression was in that moment. He remembered having that feeling, what felt like a lifetime ago. His heart stuttered a few beats when she brought her eyes back to meet his. They never took their eyes off of each other for a moment as they flew by the luminescent full moon. Its light reflected off of the pair, making them akin to gods dancing across the night sky.

The artist in Aylee made her attempt to take a mental picture of the moon in its shining silver glory. She stretched out an arm to vainly try to touch the moon's rays but laughed when her arm passed through a wet cloud instead. The condensation left on her arm was cold and refreshing to feel in the crisp air. Hawks watched her reactions fondly and felt warm despite the freezing air surrounding them. It was like they were in their own bubble, unbothered by the perils or distractions of the real world.

Noting that the woman seemed a little too comfortable in his arms a devious idea formed in his brain. A teasing grin stretched across Hawks' face and he suddenly stopped flying. They plummeted through the air and he heard Aylee's banshee-like shrieks. She buried her face into his neck too afraid to look down again. His red wings opened again, reaching their full wingspan and safely stabilized the pair in the sky. Aylee felt Hawks chest shaking with laughter and a scowl grew on her pursed lips.

Aylee moved her head away from Hawks' neck and hit his chest hard with her fists.

"That wasn't funny, Hawks."

Hawks looked down at her after his laughs died down to quiet muffled chuckles. He gave her a gentle smile before saying, "Keigo."

"What?"

"My name's Keigo. You revealed your real identity to me so it's only fair that I do the same." He explained to her confused expression. Based on how he was acting, Aylee assumed that this was a big deal to reveal his true name to her. She felt truly honored with his show of trust in her.

"Alright, Keigo."

"Ok, we're going to pick up some speed now that you're used to it."

"WAIT! What?!"

Hawks ignored her panicked exclamation and zoomed through the night, passing multiple buildings. The chaotic lights and sounds made Aylee feel even more dizzy. Finally, he landed in front of UA with her trembling in his arms. Her face was paler than normal and her breathing was quick, borderline hyperventilation.

"I don't think I'll be able to get on an airplane ever again." She managed to gasp out after she somewhat caught her breath.

Hawks let out a loud laugh at her words and leisurely jogged inside with her still tightly in his grasp. She directed him through the school's halls towards the common room. Both mouths hung open in surprise at the scene they were met with upon arrival.

Shoto's classmates appeared to be trying to comfort him with various toys and bribes. But their efforts were all in vain because the boy had created multiple circles of fire and ice around himself. Blocking them from getting too close to him. Right now, the students were attempting to reason with Shoto. But, Aylee knew from experience that children having a tantrum never listened to facts and only responded to action.

"No, I want my mom!"

Aylee needed to diffuse this situation and fast. "Shoto!"

Everyone turned towards the sound of her voice and stared at her while she was still in Hawks' arms. Her cheeks flushed tomato red at the sudden attention and she tapped her hand on his arm to let her down. He carefully set her feet on the floor and made sure he kept a steady hand on her shoulder. Shoto spotted Aylee at the entrance of the room and quickly dodged through the crowd of students to get to her.

"Mom!"

Her charge finally reached her and grabbed onto one of her legs tightly, as if to reassure himself that she was really there with him.

She was shocked to be addressed by that title again but pushed it aside for a later discussion. Aylee knelt on to the ground next to him and examined him to try and determine his well being.

"Are you ok, peppermint?"

Tears gathered in his mismatched eyes and she immediately pulled him into a comforting hug. She could feel her shoulder get wet from his dripping tears. His pain almost caused her to cry as well. How could she leave him and cause him to get to this unstable emotional state? The guilt began to eat at her as she stifled a sob and held in her tears.

"You weren't here and I got scared," he mumbled out in between his sobs.

"I can't always be around you sweetie but next time you feel scared just take big deep breaths like this." Aylee breathed in deeply through her nose, into her lungs, and then let it out slowly from her mouth. Shoto attentively watched her movements and then copied her breathing shakily. The 5-year-old began to relax into her arms after they did that exercise together for a couple of minutes. She pulled away from him after he fully calmed down and looked directly into his reddened eyes to convey the severity of what words she was about to say.

"And if you still feel scared you can always call me. I will answer every time. Now, go over and apologize to Sensei for making this mess."

Aylee glanced around the damaged room and a stressed sigh escaped from her lips. Shoto dutifully nodded his head at her words and slowly marched over to a waiting Aizawa. She tried to get up from her kneeling position but couldn't quite gather enough strength to do it. A black-gloved hand appeared in front of her face and helped her stand up.

Aylee turned towards her blond bodyguard and gratefully said, "Thank you, Hawks."

"Don't sweat it baby bird." He said with a smile and thumbs up in her direction.

Everyone looked shocked at how quickly Shoto calmed down without his quirk being temporarily erased. They watched on amazed as their classmate genuinely apologized to Aizawa. And he actually meant it!

Review Replies:

HeavenlyMonster - Awww thank you for the compliment! It's my first year watching anime due to boredom in quarantine and is a new pastime of mine. Obviously, I love MHA and the characters themselves are very complex and interesting. All I did was add a lil something extra.

SecretPeach - I am a Hawks simp so I had to have him in here! Aylee does need a break, but she'll get a break when I get a break myself. jk maybe she should go on vacation. oooo the potential is there! glad Im always leaving you guessing that's my goal. Thanks for the encouragement!

EatsBooks - thank you! ;)

M - I love little shoto! I want to draw him at some point with AYlee and maybe make it the cover art. But that's a ways away I think rn. Hope you liked this chapter!

Pika Hime - Aylee definitely will spoil him a bit more. I can provide a description for Aylees quirk in the next chap if you're curious. Hope the flying scene is to your tastes XD! Thanks for the compliment!

Applejax XD - I know I was tearing up when writing in that he called her mom. Hope this chapter satisfies you for now!

Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone! I do get some serotonin reading through them.

~ Mad About Love