floating

days

bao dried their hair, ruffling it up aggressively with their towel to get the water out. it was still damp by the time they were done, but it was fine.

they quickly dressed, pulling on the underwear and shorts, then finally the shirt, not bothering with a bra. with the clothes and towel tossed in the corner of the bathroom, their time there was done.

"keigo?" bao yelled out, stepping outside of the steamy bathroom, feeling a rush of cold air from the ac.

"yeah?" he grumbled, sitting up from his spot on the ground. it was clear he was tired, exhausted even.

noticing this, bao crouched down beside the man, "hey, hey, are you okay? look, i showered! are you happy?" they placed their hand on his shoulder, noticing he had placed his previously removed jacket and gloves beside him.

"yeah, im glad you did that. now, ive gotta get to bed, im so fuckin' tired," he mumbled, sleep tracing his voice. hawks' eyes barely opened, only blinking occasionally.

"do you want to go home?"

"but thats so far to fly right now," he whined, flopping over into bao's hold.

"i can drive you, if youd like," bao smiled, trying to offer help but hawks just weakly chuckled.

"yeah, the wings don't really fit in a car," he had a smile on his face after laughing, eyes still closed.

"im gonna assume you don't wanna walk right now?" it was now bao's turn to chuckle.

"yeah i dont wanna do that. thats so far to walk."

"okay, okay, you can sleep in my bed if you'd like, i really don't care. just no cuddles, no no no its still my bed i want my space."

"yeah!" hawks seemed excited, like a child about to get candy. he sat up, though his eyes remained shut.

bao stood up, walking into their room and taking their laptop off the bed. they laid out a few blankets, rather than keeping them all knotted up.

hawks stood up, walking over to bao and flopping into their bed, grumbling about how tired he was, though it sounded like pure gibberish to bao. he grabbed a blanket, tossing them over his lower half as he rolled onto his side, covering his upper half with his left wing.

by the time bao returned from locking the front door and turning off the bedroom light, hawks was fast asleep.

it was weird to bao. they had met this man a few days ago when he saved bao's life, to bao's displeasure. they had known each other for a few days, and here he was. asleep in their bed.

how does something like this even happen?

~~~

it had been days since bao and hawks had seen each other, either one too busy or exhausted to make time to go on the roof.

that morning after hawks woke up in bao's home, he was confused until bao explained it. he had apparently not remebered falling asleep in bao's cramped hallway, also not remembering when bao ushered him into their bed. bao also had to explicitly explain, no, they did not have sex. or cuddle. it was just two, level headed adults, in the same queen sized bed.

before hawks left that morning he made sure to give bao his phone number, that way he could let them know when he got of work and when to head to the roof.

though it was also used to cancel plans. hawks had messaged bao that he would be busy the next 5 days, and then bao had to cancel the next 4. they hadnt seen each other in 9 days, and it was certainly wearing on bao's mental health.

bao had a lot of time to think recently; and uncomfortable amount of time. they realized: without a job, they would lose their home and all of their belongings. they didn't have any money for rent that was due by the end of the month, in 3 1/2 weeks. all they had was money for food, and even that was limited.

they realized that with hawks' help, maybe they could finally get back on track. they already had something to look forward to, which they didnt have before. they showered during these nine days. they had even cleaned up their room a bit, getting the dishes in the kitchen done.

but, while knowing that this haitus in meetings was just that, a pause, it still feel permanent. it felt as though hawks had abandoned them, leaving them on their own as they were beforehand.

they tried to remind themselves that hawks was a hero, he couldn't control his schedule he couldn't choose when missions came up. it was hard to get these thoughts over the pounding doubts, the constant wonders if maybe this was all for nothing, hawks had his temporary fun and was finally tired of bao and this friendship was all because of bao's neediness rather than each others want for a friend.

that was, until bao heard a ding come from her phone.

hawks: hey! i can meet with you again tomorrow night, if youd like. idk when im off, but ill let you know tomorrow!

the thoughts stopped. all of them, even the reassuring ones.

hawks had asked bao to hang out again.