Too Far

"Hawks," the president of the Hero commission called to the winged pro hero as he struggled to remain quiet; his wings and arms were stiff, his keen eyes were sharply focused on her. "Three months ago, you were assigned this simple task – to gather intel on an ordinary civilian. Providing merely her name will not suffice."

"If these rumors are true that the League is after this girl then you must act more diligently," one of her assistants chimed in. "Your duty, Hawks, is to find out why. If it's a Quirk, decipher what it is immediately, using any means necessary. You are dismissed."

Three months. For three months, Hawks had been gladly finding himself in Jun's company, and for three months, he had been mindfully delaying the inevitable.

As far as he knew, she was single, living alone, and doing an excellent job of tending to her own tasks. But from the first moment he met Jun, Hawks knew that she was special. As a high profile and highly accepted hero in this society, Hawks was entirely unfamiliar with the concept of rejection. He never had to try to get anybody's attention, nor did he ever seek it. But with Jun, the pro hero had been all too eager to get to know her, to work hard to actually earn her respect and acceptance.

But he was given an order to press for answers, an order that he must begrudgingly accept. For the greater good, he convinced himself.

The once vibrant and warm-colored autumn leaves this late in the season had morphed into a faded-out pigment of what they once were as the months turned colder. By then Jun had acquired a phone, not because she had friends, other than Hawks, surprisingly, but because he insisted on getting one for her. Before him, she had no need for a phone. She had no friends or family to keep in contact with, just how she preferred it, but he had graciously gifted her one and Jun happily accepted it – if only to get him to stop pestering her about it.

"Heh, no need to pay me back, chickadee," he winked playfully. "You can thank me by texting me back now and then."

That damned bird brain needed to learn to take 'no' for an answer. And what was worse, he had already added himself as a contact in her phone, to which he felt compelled to name himself, 'Jun's #1 Hero' and she had zero clue how to get rid of it. Oh well. She'd be lying if she said she didn't have use for it. There were actually a few games on it that helped to keep that debilitating loneliness from knocking at her door. Only downside is the Number 2 Pro Hero now had 24 hour access to bug her to death. He had no inhibitions when it came to texting Jun either, sending her weird and useless things like,

'Heya, just checkin' on ya, dove. How's it going? 😉'

Or sometimes it's…

'Yo! Check out this video of this stupid cat who tried to jump the table but ate shit instead. Totally reminded me of you! :V'

Jun sighed. She had no idea how to process all of the unwarranted attention Hawks had been showering her in, for whatever reason. Though, despite this, her lips couldn't help but curl into a small grin or let out a subtle gasp every time that phone would vibrate on the table.

One stupid video he sent her once was actually so funny, it got Jun to cover her mouth and let loose a slight giggle.

Wow, that actually felt kind of… good.

Hawks on the other hand, had been trying his damndest to send Jun wellness check messages every day. He'd be left on read more often than not, but one day in particular, his personal cell vibrated while patrolling the city skies, and the pro hero almost dropped his phone in disbelief.

'That last video you sent me was actually pretty good. You're lucky I like cats. :3 I think that's how you make a cat face on this thing.'

Those simple words on his screen graced Hawks with the widest, brightest smile.

"Hah! I got her to text back, hell yeah!" He screamed joyously while exerting exaggerated flips and turns in the sky, his wings flapping rigorously with the effort to match his boisterous energy.

At least now he knew Jun was still alive.

All the while, her chin had been resting on her fist, propping her head up while she stared at the incomplete puzzle in deep concentration. That is until the sound of powerful flapping from outside pulled Jun from her thoughts.

"Heyo~" Hawks greeted comfortably while perching on the railing of her boxy outside balcony. "It's been a while. I wanted to check on my favorite fan and see if she'd wanna go get some takeout with her favorite hero!"

"Get in here, you stupid idiot. How can you stand flying in such freezing weather?" Jun spouted while hurriedly unlatching the glass door to allow him entry.

"Aw, are you implying that you have a sense of compassion, for me? I always knew you did deep down in that black heart of yours," he retorted while flashing her an exaggerated close-eyed grin.

Jun let a brief exhale slip through her nose and said more seriously, "Sorry. I'm just a tad bit… frustrated."

At that, Hawks opened his eyes with one eyebrow raised in mild concern. "What's up?"

"You see that," Jun demanded without looking up from her work while pointing to her puzzle. With his arms crossed, Hawks bent his upper half forward to the lower right-hand corner that was missing a lone piece. "I am not moving from this spot until that piece is found."

"Heh, it really gets to you that much?"

"What can I say? I take my hobbies very seriously." A grin almost slipped from Jun's lips. "Tell you what," she peered up at her friend with a hint of competition in her eyes. "Help me find that piece, and I'll go on some kind of adventure with you – but only if we can take it back here." Jun's attention turned back to the puzzle, her eyes squinting in contempt. "So that dreaded empty space can no longer haunt me."

Hawks' response caught Jun completely off guard. He began to laugh. Not just a weak chuckle. Not even a pity laugh. But a pure, genuine, wholehearted laugh. Her body jerked in his direction as she watched with her mouth cracked open, utterly dumbstruck. Someone was actually genuinely enjoying something she said. Jun watched in awe as he came down from his laughing fit, a dopey smile still plastered on his face. "You got a deal, chickadee."

With his smile being a contagious one, a pleasant grin spread to Jun as well before peering back down at her incomplete puzzle to brush off the molted red feathers off the table. "Let's get to it, then."

"…."

Hawks' hand cupped and pressed against his cheek lazily, his eyes heavy with boredom. Forcing himself to slow down was more painful than he'd pictured. The only noise to break the silence in the room was from the rhythmic ticking of the lucky cat on Jun's kitchen table in the background.

"You have all this cool stuff, yet you dedicate your precious time to a boring, uneventful puzzle," Hawks chimed in an attempt to keep himself awake.

"Oh, don't get your feathers all ruffled. Maybe you just need to learn to slow down for a change."

Feeling challenged, Hawks opened his mouth to reply, his pointer finger raised to make his argument – when an unanticipated noise disrupted any and all thoughts.

A violent rumbling reverberated through the tiny area, its source coming from someone who was just as tiny. Jun's stomach began wailing – demanding attention. She couldn't wait any longer. She needed food now, it protested.

A defeated sigh slipped through Jun's pursed lips as her pouting eyes examined her unfinished work.

"Ah, forget it. Let's get this over with. You have anywhere in mind?"

The energy immediately returned to the hero's face and his feathers fluttered to life at her sudden change of heart.

"There's this great Yakitori place on the northern side of the city," he announced ardently and hopped onto the outside railing, his legs bending at the knees while observing the barren streets below. "Their seasoning is seriously to die for. That sound like a plan? You don't mind spicy, right?" With his back still facing Jun, Hawks peered back comfortably in her direction and extended an amicable hand behind him and toward her, which she reciprocated and grasped back without hesitation.

"Let's go!"


In the last few months of being friends with the pro hero, Jun had slowly become a bit more accustomed to his… 'hands-on' approach to life. She hesitantly allowed him to carry her in his arms during his often late night snack trips, this time his arm curled under her bent knees, while another strong hand firmly supported her back as he flew. Being held like this made her want to get even closer to him, but she would never admit that aloud. The flight home was even more comfortable this time around as he held Jun close, the takeout bag rested safety on her stomach as she curled almost in a ball in his arms.

Back at her apartment, Hawks was quieter than usual. He toyed with his food as he ate, signifying that he had something burdening his mind.

'If these rumors are true that the League is after this girl then you must act more diligently.'

'If it's a Quirk, decipher what it is immediately-'

'-using any means necessary.'

"Are you… doing okay?" Jun coaxed him gently, her head tilting to the side in concern over her friend's distracted demeanor.

The warmth in Jun's tone managed to capture Hawks' attention, and he raised his head with an exaggerated close-eyed smile. "Of course! Was just thinkin' is all."

One of her eyebrows raised in curiosity, "Okay. About?"

"About what you'd do if I did this," Hawks' eyes went half-lidded and his cheek rested on his knuckles as he flashed Jun a deceptively innocent grin before two of his feathers floated toward her to wriggle and tickle at her cheek and nose.

"A-ah! Wh-what the hell, bird brain? Get your nasty feathers off me, you big jerk!"

Her reaction prompted Hawks' grin to spread further and unleash four more feathers to assault her face playfully. "Do something about it. You gonna fight me back? Play fair?"

"A-achoo!" Jun sneezed while swiping at his murder weapons with no avail. "Cut it out, I'm warning you!"

A sneaky feather then slipped under her arm to attack her ribs, the most sensitive of ticklish spots. The unbearable sensation forced Jun's entire body to jolt and her arm to swing gracelessly in a random direction, which happened to be where her lucky cat statue had been preoccupying the space. Jun heard herself gasp until her lungs were to the brim with air as she watched her beloved statue tumble off the counter to its presumed doom.

"N-no!" Jun's emotions kicked into overdrive as she reached for it entirely in vain. Hawks watched with intrigue as, for the faintest second, both her hands began to emit a weak, subtle green glow that was so easy to miss by the untrained eye. Hawks' golden eyes widened at the sight. And just as quickly as the glow appeared, it vanished.

His feathers had shifted their focus from Jun to the falling object, creating a thin cushion to soften its fall just inches above the kitchen floor. All the while, his gaze bore into Jun's outstretched hands, which were now normal and inconspicuous.

Was that a… Quirk?

"Ohh, my god," Jun sighed out in relief as she scratched at her cheek to drown out the twinge sensations left by his feathers tickling her face. "That was too close. Nice save there, bird brain. Even if it was your fault to begin with," she teased him in a strange mix of nerves and gratitude.

It was then she noticed that Hawks had been glaring unwaveringly at her hand, even while waving it frantically in front of her face. "Hawksss, you're creeping me out here. What are you staring at?"

"That green light," he stated almost eerily as he blinked and relinked his eyes with hers. "I want to know what it was."

Jun's own eyes widened in pure shock, her brows creasing upwards in an overwhelming blend of panic and horror.

He… he saw my…!

"N-nothing. There's nothing weird or green about my hands," she insisted anxiously as her arms crossed and pressed stubbornly to her torso.

"I didn't say anything about your hands."

Shit.

"S-so what? Let's drop it."

"It was a Quirk," Hawks stated neutrally as he meticulously scrutinized Jun's nervous expression and increasingly defensive body language.

"No, it wasn't," Jun began insisting more assertively as her agitated eyes silently communicated to him to back off.

The air surrounding the two became increasingly tense and suffocating as Hawks examined Jun, unsmiling.

"….."

"What does it do?"

"Enough. Now," she managed through gritted teeth.

The tension in the air continued to thicken as stifling silence enveloped the room. Soon, it became too overwhelming to bear.

"Jun, I need you to tell me what that was right now-"

"I said stop it!"Jun snapped at the pro hero, her meek voice was replaced by a roaring, hostile tone while abruptly shooting up from the chair; the grating creak of its legs scraped against the wooden floor as both hands smacked violently against the table in overwhelming vexation. Hawks sharply stood up instantaneously after her as a response, matching the tense aura adamantly radiating off Jun as he glared at her tense form, his brows knitted in accusation.

The space between the two was dead silent, the only sound registering in her mind was from her heavy breathing while the two of them glared at each other, unmoving.

"…just, enough…" Jun's tone reverted back to its docile volume as the corners of her vision clouded with tears before directing her sight to the floor.

At that, Hawks' piercing eyes softened, and he let out an exhale through his nose before offering her a friendly smile.

"Hey, it's alright, forget I mentioned it-"

"Maybe you should just go," Jun interjected, her sorrowful eyes still fixated at the floor as her fingers balled into a fist.

The fly home for Hawks was an agonizing one. He had pressured Jun too much, and because of his very lurid approach he had come on too strongly and pushed her away in the process. After getting to know her for months, Hawks figured that he could artificially squeeze out the part of Jun that she hated the most about herself. All he did was end up hurting her.

Shit, I know better than that.

Jun was opening up, but it was clearly still a work in progress.

Hawks scoffed at himself. He felt terrible for pressuring her, his good friend. But he at least had something to deliver to the Commission to get them out of his feathers and keep Jun under the radar, for now.


Jun allowed her negative and hostile emotions to brew internally over the remainder of the day. It wasn't until the moon fully illuminated the sky that she came back to her senses and felt equally as terrible for utterly snapping at her only friend and pushing him away. The thought ate at her as she rubbed at her temples with her fingertips. He was just asking some seemingly innocent questions. And he did rescue her cat statue, after all.

Maybe there's a way for me to make it up to him.

Hawks laid in bed awake that night, the prominent lines under his eyes told that he wished to sleep but was unable. His arms spread horizontally over his king-sized bed while on his back, gawking at the ceiling, his widespread wings slacked over its edges. He didn't have the energy for this, and yet he couldn't stop thinking about Jun, and the utter hurt in her voice. Usually he took interactions like this in stride, he pondered. But with her…

Suddenly a harsh light emanated from his vibrating cell phone, and in an instant a dozen feathers slipped around it to carry it over to the pro hero before plopping it onto his stomach. His tired eyes snapped open upon seeing the name.

'Chickadee'

'Hi Hawks – I mean, Bird Brain. I hope I'm not waking you, I'm a bit of a night owl. Anyway, just wanted to check on you.'

Hawks couldn't believe it. Jun was sending him a wellness check message for a change? He had hastily sent dozens of texts that day trying to excuse his belligerent actions, only to be dismayed upon receiving no response back – not even a message telling him to screw off and to lose her number. Hawks sighed as his head fell back on his pillow, a relieved chuckle escaping his lips. How the tables have turned.

'How unusually thoughtful of you, dove~'

'Don't look too much into it. :O'

'Hah~ But to get serious for a sec, sorry that I threw you for a loop today. Didn't think I'd be touching a nerve'

''I appreciate that, Hawks. But I'm over it. Are you fine, though? Are we good? I hate to think that I ruined what we had.'

'You don't gotta worry about me, chickadee~ You should know by now that it'll take more than that to send me packing!'

'Cool… I'll expect you to come bug me again soon. Tomorrow, maybe?'

Hawks' heart practically leaped out of his chest at the invitation, only for that high to come crashing down an instant later upon recalling other obligations to fulfil.

'Love to, but I'm booked for the next few weeks – got a few photo shoots and some other stuff at my agency, along with my nightly patrol. Then I gotta go prepare to dazzle a crowd at some hero billboard chart next month. Sorry dove'

'What are you doing at the chart thing?'

'Just gotta smile, wave, and spout some pre-cut crap about my duty as a hero. You know, astound them with words of wisdom from the No. 2. You wanna come? You could be my guest of honor!'

'Crowd, you said? No thanks, not a fan.'

'Hah, alright, I won't press. And good point, I wouldn't wanna put you on the spot in the limelight. But it's gonna be broadcasted all over the country, so promise you'll watch me live - I'll wave to ya!'

"Yeah, I'll be sure to look out for you. Good night, birdie.'

'Night babybird'

And finally, he could sleep.

'Night babybird'

Jun stared blankly at that singular text for what felt like hours. In her cot-like bed she curled into herself to shield from the chill in the air as well as from the powerful, fuzzy sensations those two words brought to her heart. Eventually Jun drifted to sleep, with her phone huddled against her chest, the dim glow from the screen still displaying those gentle words…

All the while, a dark figure emerged ominously from their hiding spot and onto the outside porch. A lone hand raised to press against their primitive earpiece, its menacing tone speaking to another mysterious source from afar.

"She's still here. No, nothing noteworthy to report yet again."

"…."

"I don't know what he sees in her, either. But if it furthers the cause, then… we have no choice."

"….."

"I see. Of course. Tell the others."

Their arms then crossed around their midsection while one foot tapped daintily yet impatiently on the wooden flooring.

"We're behind schedule. At this rate, we have no choice but to speed things up," the mysterious form affirmed before retreating into the darkness. "It's time that we implement a more… forward approach."

"It's time to get this show on the road."