Of Cat and Bird

Four - Conversation with Hawks

I woke up to pain in my arm and I looked around the room. Hawks was standing by the window again, gazing lovingly at the sky. He truly was a bird at heart.

"You're still here?" I asked.

"Yeah. Can't keep myself away from you. I need to know more about your quirk. Might help me in future fights." He said.

"How does my quirk help you in future fights? It's not like I'm ever going to fight you." I said.

"What if you get brainwashed into following the villains? And then they send you after me because cats snack on birds?"

I might be a cat, but I would never consider Hawks a snack. My eyes widened and my face turned red at the thought I just had. Okay... I'd just forget that I ever thought that.

He started to turn around and I turned my face to hide the redness. I didn't want him to catch on to the awkward thought I had.

"Don't you have like, hero work to do?" I asked.

"I did my patrol. All I have to do now is wait to see if anything happens nearby." He said.

"Why does it have to be nearby. Don't you do hero work anywhere?"

"Yep, but I need to remain in the area."

"Oh. I guess you're expecting something nearby?"

"Anyway, I still need to know more about your quirk."

"Fine. Don't answer my question then."

He stepped away from the window and stood at the foot of my bed. I glanced up without turning my head to him and pushed my hair down to cover my still hot cheeks.

He was scrutinizing me again, and I was worried about what he would think when he found out more about my quirk. Why did it matter so much? I knew the excuse he used was pure lie. Maybe he was a liar after all.

"Um, it's hot in here." I said.

"Yeah, sorry, it happens when I walk into a small room."

I looked up at him incredulously. He walked over to the window and opened it. Did he really just say that? Was he that cocky?

"What?" I asked.

"My wings. They're pretty warm. And they take up a lot of space. So they can easily heat up a room."

Oh. That was what he meant. My face turned red again. I was overthinking this.

"Oh."

He turned back to look at me and smiled with a thumbs up. My cheeks were still hot and I looked away again.

"Do I offend you?" He asked.

"What?"

"You don't like to look at me."

On the contrary, I really did like looking at him. But I'd never tell him that.

"Oh. Um, well..."

I didn't know how to respond. Suddenly my communication skills sucked and I couldn't get my words right.

"I just feel bad that I'm wasting your time here. My quirk isn't that special so you don't need to worry about it too much." I said.

"Actually you're very interesting. And your mom seemed to have moved you right into this room."

I heard footsteps come towards the bed and I glanced up. He looked down at one of my bags and bent to look into it. My eyes widened.

I relaxed a little when I realized what he was lifting out of the bag and then my eyes widened again. It was my sketchbook, and I wasn't sure I wanted to share what was in it with anybody.