"You're so pretty…"
Those husky words were the first thing Carissa registered. She hummed in slight discomfort, feeling wet and squished while something very gently rubbed against her head. Slightly scrunching her face, her eyes opened to see Hawks's neck before trailing up to his face. He was lying on his side facing her, this loving smile on his face as he gently stroked the side of her head. They were both still in their swimsuits and squished together on a pool chair. Towels covered their bodies like blankets. Though she could feel slightly dry, Carissa was still wet and could smell the chlorine on them both.
Hawks stopped stroking her and hummed. "You've been out for a bit." He mentioned. "Finally starting to settle down, I see."
Carissa just stared back, tired but still scared.
"I want you to take a shower and get dressed." Hawks said. "Okay, sweet bird?"
Carissa raised an eyebrow, lightly grunting as she got up.
"We're going out." Hawks said, still smiling, motioning for her to go. "Go on."
Carissa got up, using one of the towels to dry herself off as she went inside. Making it to the master bedroom's bathroom, she locked the door and dropped the towel. Seeing red in her peripheral vision, she looked up to see red feathers against the ceiling vent. Concluding there were more at every vent now, Carissa had to figure out what she would do next. She took a shower and cleaned herself up, washing her hair before drying everything. Looking for clothes wasn't a problem like she thought it would be. Remembering that Hawks bought nightgowns and undergarments for her, the closet revealed to have several sets of women's clothing. She settled with a long-sleeved, lavender V-neck, blue jeans and black flats.
As she was putting her clothes in the dirty laundry, Hawks suddenly waltzed in without knocking, causing Carissa to jump out of her skin. They locked eyes before Hawks just smiled. "Oops. Forgot to knock." He said, giving a sheepish grin.
Carissa resisted giving him an annoyed look. Uh-huh, whatever. She thought and made a mental note to lock the bedroom door next time.
"Alright, my turn." Hawks said and started bundling up his shirt to take it off, revealing his narrow build and abs.
Carissa frizzled up in shocked embarrassment as the man started to undress himself in front of her. She dashed out of the bedroom, almost tripping on the flats. She heard Hawks laugh to himself and felt this anger boiling in her chest. How did he think it was funny?!
While waiting for him to come out, Carissa tried looking for other places to get out. The windows were not covered but had feathers surrounding them. Doors were still locked, also having feathers attached to them. With no place to look, all Carissa could do was wait. She couldn't escape the hotel room, that much was clear.
Hawks was surprisingly fast to get ready. He put on a black leather jacket over a baggy white shirt, wore black pants and shoes. Once out, he found Carissa sitting on an armchair facing the window, staring out into the ocean. There was a longing in her eyes, an urge to go outside. The winged man decided not to punish her this time. She was probably so shocked over being placed in a new environment that she didn't think straight. He felt like an idiot for not thinking to secure the vent doors, and was surprised Carissa was able to get so far away from the hotel room. Luckily they were out in the ocean, so he only had to worry about her getting her hands on a lifeboat. Of course the quirkless woman wouldn't have gotten very far regardless. Hawks grinned, knowing that even if she had a quirk, he was still confident he could catch her.
Still, might as well let her know her surroundings.
"Alright honey bird, let's go." Hawks said, making himself known.
Carissa turned to him before slowly standing up. She followed him to the door and they exited the room. A long flight of stairs made them head down. They then stood on a narrow walkway right next to the ocean. The sight of seeing them so high above the water made Carissa step back. Hawks noticed, glancing above the railing.
"Not a fan of heights, huh?" Hawks asked, tilting his head.
Carissa shook her head, still looking at the water.
"I'm sure we can change that soon." Hawks said with a grin, catching Carissa's confused attention. "I don't use a car."
It clicked in her head, making the woman back up. She wanted to run but knew that would be fruitless. But the thought of him yanking her off the ground and forcing her to fly with him was terrifying enough. Carissa indeed did not like heights.
Hawks chuckled, stepping forward. "Don't freak out. We don't have to take off right now. One baby-bird step at a time, kay?" He asked. The man reached down and grabbed hold of Carissa's hand, pulling her forward. "C'mon. You'll love this place."
"Mhm." Carissa hummed fearfully, worried he was lying as he pulled her arm. Hawks adjusted their hands, making their fingers intertwine so he had a better grip on her.
Walking around a section of the ship was nice, admittedly. They weren't in the lounge area where Carissa went first, but a mall-like place. It was bright on the inside. There were plenty of places to go shopping in. The center had this massive, cylinder fish tank that could've belonged in a huge aquarium. Carissa was pulled along by Hawks and went to several places. He liked looking at clothes and 'masculine jewelry', such as watches, rings and other stuff. They discovered this unique, majestic forest-looking shop that sold samurai swords, dragon statues, old-fashioned books, fake diamonds, and other things. Hawks pulled Carissa in there once he noticed she was looking at it.
"I can make swords with my feathers." Hawks pointed out when they were between an aisle in the back. He let loose a bundle of feathers and they mended together to produce two swords, showing off the blades and bragging about how powerful they were against villains.
Carissa tried not to look disconcerted while staring at those things, taking in the thickness of the blades and seeing how a couple rips in the vanes make them look like they were used a lot. "They look more like machetes." She said, her finger tracing one sword mid-air.
"Really?" Hawks asked, staring at the blades and checking their shape. "Hm."
Looking in another store, they came across this little perfume section as Hawks was looking for a cologne he wanted to purchase. Carissa recognized a sample bottle they were passing and slowed down. Hawks instantly looked back, seeing the woman stare at the perfume bottles. With her free hand, Carissa reached for one that was three-quarters full of this light-yellow liquid. It held the shape of an upside down pinecone but had a twirling outer shell. A thick gold ring at the top with the bold, golden initials NR were on them. The lid was a very weird shape, not fitting for a bottle like this at first glance. It looked like a blurry piece of plastic, but Hawks soon made out the shape of two birds that looked like they were kissing. Hawks was reluctant to let go of her hand when she tugged on it, but eventually untangled his fingers from hers. He looked at the perfume she showed interest in and read its name.
L'Air du Temps by Nina Ricci.
"My mom wore this perfume." Carissa said absentmindedly, examining the bottle.
Hawks watched as she took the large cap off and sprayed some on one wrist before rubbing them both together, her nose inhaling the smell. She looked like she relished in it, not having enough. Curious, Hawks took one of her wrists away and inhaled her soft flesh. It was nice, a much different aroma than what he was used to.
"It smells good." Hawks complimented, staring at her wrist.
Carissa watched him, still holding the perfume bottle in her other hand. Hawks kind of looked…exposed in that moment. She didn't know what came over her, but there was this sudden sense of balziness. Biting her lip, she took the bottle and quickly sprayed Hawks's neck. Hawks widened his golden eyes in surprise at the woman, who still bit her lip down and backed up. Clearly holding in laughter.
A cocky smirk formed. "Oh~. That's what you wanna do~?" Hawks asked. He took a random perfume bottle and knocked the lid off with his thumb, grabbing Carissa by the arm to prevent her from running while starting to spray her all over. Hawks grinned as the woman screamed and laughed while being blasted with perfume. She begged him to stop, saying it was too much perfume. This went on for a little bit until an employee came over and scolded them.
"I hope you're paying for something." The employee warned.
"Yeah, yeah, we're buying stuff." Hawks said, grabbing one of the unopened perfume bottles of the brand Carissa looked at and shoving it into her hands.
"W-What?" Carissa asked, getting over her laughing fit.
"Let's get it." Hawks said, shrugging his shoulders and turning around. "C'mon. Keep up."
A few feathers pushed Carissa from behind her back, nudging for her to follow. Looking down at the box for a moment, she followed close behind the hero.
Heading for the cash registers, a large clothing section was spotted. Hawks spotted something he liked went over to it, checking out the brand and a few other clothes. Carissa only stared, soon looking around at women clothing that were a few aisles down.
"Wanna go see if there's something you want?" Hawks asked, surprising the woman.
"Oh, uh, I-I-, uh…"
"Go ahead. I'll be over here." Hawks said, slowly turning to show a quick, stern glance. "Don't leave. I'll get ya."
Carissa nodded in understanding, the bird man allowing her to walk to the women's clothing. She started looking at different things, checking for sizes. In the back of her mind she wanted to run, but knew that would not be a good idea. She already tried that this early morning. It would be best not to attempt anything. Carissa hated to admit it, but she was actually calming down. While she felt an urge to return home and get back to work, to find satisfaction knowing that what she did was helpful to others, this 'time off' felt nice.
BUMP*
Another person ran into Carissa's side, nearly knocking the perfume out of her hands as she fell to the ground. The box danced in her fingers before she finally got a good grip on it.
"Aw shit, I'm sorry." A man's voice apologized beside her.
When she heard it wasn't Hawks's voice, Carissa turned to look at the person. It was a man, about the same height as Hawks but had slightly messy brown hair, light brown eyes and tan skin. He was wearing a maroon-colored shirt and jeans.
"N-No, no, it's fine." Carissa assured him.
"Here, let me help you up." The man said, offering his hand.
Carissa took it and he lifted her up, getting her to her feet. "Thank you."
The man tilted his head, and Carissa watched as he studied her features. Hope started to arise in her chest. She had to have been reported as a missing person by now. Her father heard her crying for help over the phone. Did this man recognize her?
"I don't think I've seen you on the ship yet. Did you just get on?"
Her hope deflated. "Yes." Was all Carissa replied with, her tone shifting.
The man gave a warm smile, raising an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"
"Yes…just tired." Carissa lied.
"Oh, sorry." The man said before offering his hand. "I'm Felice Marino."
Carissa was unsure what to do. Telling him her name might get her in trouble with Hawks. Certainly he could hear them talking by now with his feathers. Speaking of which, was he listening to them right now? The woman slowly raised her hand to shake this Marino man's as she turned her head to look through an opening in the clothing. She couldn't see Hawks. Where did he-?
Just as Carissa opened her jaw to respond, a large figure brushed through the clothes and instantly grabbed the hand Carissa was about to shake with.
"Heyo, honey bird! Sorry that took so long. I found the cologne I needed."
Carissa nearly jumped at Hawks's sudden presence, his hand squeezing hers in a comforting manner.
"And I so missed you~." Hawks breathed, his eyes dreamily looking into hers.
Suddenly his lips were on hers, roughly pressing into the soft flesh as he deeply kissed her. Carissa's breathing hitched at the sudden contact, this only being the second time they've kissed. Well, the second time of him kissing her. After a few more seconds, Carissa pushed away in need of air. Hawks only smiled back with his eyes half-closed, soon turning to the man who just stood there watching them. Carissa blushed in embarrassment.
"Who's this?" Hawks asked with uninterest, his eyes still only partially opened but the smile dropping.
The man blinked but only smiled back. "My name is Felice Marino, nice to meet you." He politely replied. "I accidentally bumped into your girlfriend, I apologize."
Hawks stared at the man for a moment before giving a hum and half-hearted smile. "No problem." He said. "Just don't do it again."
Felice and Carissa both gave Hawks looks, but he didn't detect them. He just pulled on Carissa's hand, motioning for them to go. "Alright, time to go, lovebird." He said, pulling her along.
They immediately went to the registers to purchase the items and left to continue exploring. Hawks had a tight grip on Carissa's hand. Having left the store, in her peripheral vision Carissa saw Hawks glance back, his golden eyes slitted and piercing in the direction of where the man could've been. It made her think of Mr. Baxter, the woman now fearing for that man's life. It wasn't Carissa's fault for what happened, but Hawks did give Mr. Marino a warning.
Carissa was dragged to a restaurant. Hawks requested a circular booth so they could sit right next to each other. Even when sitting down, Hawks still wouldn't let go of her hand. He was quiet until the waiter came and they were able to order food and drinks. Once the waiter was gone, Carissa saw Hawks give her a small frown in her side vision. She reluctantly turned to him, trying not to shudder. Was he mad that she spoke with another guy or almost revealed her name? "It wasn't my fault." She muttered.
His frown disappeared, giving a small smile. "I know it wasn't." He replied, loosening his grip on her hand giving it a small graze with his thumb. "I'm just a little…iffy about you talking to others."
Carissa hummed and looked away. Hawks wrapped an arm around her, hugging her side into his while giving a quick peck on her head. "You having fun?" He asked.
Carissa nodded.
"What'd you like the best so far?"
"…I think the fish tank in the mall was pretty. It was surprising to find the perfume, too."
"Hmm." Hawks hummed in response, finding himself satisfied with her answer. The sunlight overhead shined brighter through the high glass of the ceiling, gleaming onto Carissa's hair and face, making her wince. Hawks rubbed her arm comfortingly. "Isn't this nice? Not so cloudy and rainy all the time? Having some time off work?"
After some thought, Carissa replied with a sincere, "Yes." For the most part, she was actually enjoying herself aside from the fact that she was forced into this and it was under dangerous circumstances. "But…where are we?"
Hawks chuckled. "On the ocean, sweet bird."
"No, I mean where are we in the world?" Carissa asked. "It's not so cold outside."
"We should be in Greece soon." Hawks said, confirming what that couple said earlier this morning. "I've never been there before, but I'd like to see it for the first time with you."
"I've never been there either." Carissa muttered thoughtfully.
Hawks's gaze intensified in Carissa's direction. Carissa grew stiff as his large eyes lingered on her, looking straight into her blue orbs as she grew slightly anxious. His grip on her arm tightened a little. His handsome face was so close, Carissa would've blushed if her blood hadn't run cold.
"You're gonna be a good little bird for me when we're there, right?" Hawks muttered in question, his smile gone. His tone was teasing, but clearly held this hint of malicious warning in it.
In that moment, the words 'little bird' reminded her of those couple of nightmares she had experienced not too long ago. Shaking more, she nodded a few times quickly. Hawks's smile returned, hugging her again while rubbing her arm.
"Good bird."
The detective walked through the sliding glass doors of the hotel by the marina. Stepping over to the desk clerk, he pulled out his badge to show identification to the lady at the counter. "Excuse me, my name is Detective Waterson." He said, showing the woman his badge. "I believe pro hero Hawks is staying at this hotel. Do you know if he's in at the moment?"
The desk clerk turned to her computer, whispering words as she scanned her screen. "…Hawks… pro hero…" She looked up. Her face twisted in disappointment. "I'm sorry, sir. He's left this location."
"When?"
"Records show he checked out Monday afternoon." She replied, turning the computer screen to prove her claim.
Monday. Waterson nodded. "Did he by any chance mention any plans? Where he was going?"
"I wasn't the one who checked him out. Would you like for me to contact the clerk who did?" The desk clerk asked.
"Please." Detective Waterson said and the clerk got on the telephone.
The detective took a step back. Hawks checked out of this hotel the same day Carissa went missing. Another red flag to add to the list.
The current clerk got her employee on the phone and the detective asked the same question. The person on the phone didn't hear anything from the winged hero about any plans after leaving the hotel. It was just a usual, checking out experience for the clerk.
The detective thanked both clerks for their time and proceeded to leave the hotel. Since he was no longer here, the next step would be to call his agency. If Hawks was not there either, Waterson's suspicions would certainly reach a boiling point. The problem was he would have no clue where Hawks went and there was no way to trace him.
A very bright mixture of red, orange and yellow patched with dark navy-blue on the other side of the doors made the detective stop. He winced at the sight of a large man moving towards him. The sliding glass doors automatically opened and let him in. He was big and very intimidating in appearance. Waterson had an instinct to draw his gun, the fires on the man's body looking activated like he was about to burn the place down. But seeing him as he got closer, the detective realized who it was and calmed down.
Maybe he wouldn't be caught in a jam after all.
It was Endeavor, Japan's number one hero.