Before I Forget

My Cup of Tea

"Hey," Sky said. She stood on the front steps of Hawk's house, looking small and miserable. She was wearing a pair of jeans and an oversized Marvel T-shirt, her hair fell around her pale face in unruly curls from under a baseball cap.

Hawk's chest went tight at the side of her. He ran a hand through his hair which was still wet after the shower and leaned on the doorway.

"Hi," he managed, the word barely more than a strangled breath. He had to clear his throat to be able to continue. "What— what are you doing here?"

That sounded wrong, as if he didn't want her here. Hell, he wanted nothing more than to have her here, and back in his arms, to see a smile on her face again, her eyes looking up at him as if he was something amazing. He wanted things back as they had been, but—

But Hell, he had his pride too. She had fucking stood him up to be with Demetri, and that betrayal still stung. Just the thought of it brought a bad taste to his lips.

Sky looked down at her toes, her shoulders sagged.

"I'm sorry," she spoke, her voice trembling. "I'm sorry that I forgot our plans. I– I didn't mean to. It's just that—"

She looked back up, and her eyes were suddenly filled with tears. They fell to her cheeks and at that sight Hawk's anger and resentment vanished. Without a second thought, he walked down the couple of steps to her and pulled her into his arms. She melted against his body, pressed her face against his shoulder, and Hawk's heart swelled, it filled his ribcage so that he could barely breathe.

"Hey, it's okay—" he sighed into her hair. "It's okay, don't cry—"

"A– are you still mad at me?" Her tears soaked his T-shirt, their salty smell filled his senses.

"No, I'm not mad," he murmured, cradling her against his chest.

"I– I'm so– sorry," she wept. "I'm— I'm the worst girlfriend ever—"

"Hey, hey–" he cupped her face and wiped her tears with his thumbs, bringing her face up so that he could better see her. "Don't say that. I would never think that. I love you and you're perfect."

"But I—-" she sniffled and hiccuped. "I– I forgot."

"It's okay. We'll make new plans. I'm not mad. I love you."

She let out a trembling sigh, her body softened against him.

"I love you too."

Hawk kept her close, an arm wrapped around her to keep her near. She smelled like strawberries and vanilla, her tears adding a hint of salt, like the ocean to her familiar scent. As always, his body reacted to her closeness - an overwhelming need to keep her safe, to keep her happy overdriving all of his former anger. He remembered his talk with Kreese earlier today - how Sensei had told him it was only natural to be protective of one's girlfriend, that it was what a man does. So maybe it didn't only mean that he needed to protect Sky from Tory and anyone else who might want to hurt her - maybe it meant protecting her from sadness and heartache too, from Hawk's own anger - no matter how justified it had felt earlier. Holding her tight, he ran his fingers through Sky's hair, feeling the guilt heavily on his chest. He had never meant to make her cry, to make her miserable again.

"Wanna come inside?" he asked, wiping away some more of her tears.

Sky glanced around. They were still standing on the front steps of Hawk's house and a couple of old ladies walking their Yorkshire terrier were giving them rather judgemental glances as Sky kept sobbing in Hawk's arms. Hawk glared daggers at the grannies, pulling Sky even closer to his chest.