My Rugged Heart [Hawks x OC]

Chapter 3

Akane wondered if this was some kind of strange joke or a prank. But it would have to be a super elaborate one. She picked up a napkin and played with one corner of it, starting to tear little lines into it. Across from her, Hawks was admiring the artsy photograph set on the wall over her head.

"That's new," he said, resting an elbow on the table and planting his chin in his palm. "There was a painting of a fox there before."

Akane tore a tiny bit of the napkin off and rolled it into a ball with her fingertips. "Your hobby is memorizing restaurant decorations?"

"One of them." He grinned. "Or maybe I just notice when things change."

Because he memorized things. She set one teeny paper ball on the wooden tabletop. Around them, people were pretending not to look at Hawks while they attempted to stare at him at the same time. Being the Number Three Hero in Japan had that effect, she guessed. It wasn't like she had never noticed him before their chance meeting the other night. He was impossible to miss. For her part, Akane wished they had been given a table in a back room or something, but that wasn't an option here. It would be awkward being alone with him, but the attention from everyone was so much worse. At least they had been tucked into a back corner of the restaurant. She shrunk back, her shoulders hunching, hair falling partially in her face. The restaurant had put them at a table with chairs instead of a booth, which made it easier to accommodate their wings.

"Is spending the entire meal wondering if you're going to jail going to ruin your appetite?" Hawks asked quietly from behind a small menu, the lower part of his face hidden.

"I was the one who suggested it," she said, "So nope. Going to enjoy this last meal to the fullest. I might even get dessert." The menu idea was nice. Grabbing her own, she used it to cover her face entirely.

His menu tapped the top of hers, gently pushing it down. His eyes met hers. "I'm not turning you in to the police."

"Sure." She tried to lift her menu but he put pressure on it, keeping it down so she couldn't hide from him.

"I'm serious," he said.

"I said sure." Pulling her menu down, she slipped it out from under his and pretended to be absorbed in it. Except she already knew what she was ordering. She came by this restaurant every now and then with Yugo and Mr. Chisaka or her other coworkers. Mr. Chisaka owned the bookstore, and there were about seven full and part-time employees.

"I can't keep you from getting arrested, though," he said, his voice still low. "If they catch up to you."

Akane put down the menu. He was looking up at the ceiling, as if maybe he also memorized ceiling patterns as well as artwork. Neither of the said anything until the waitress came over and took their order, which was for the only reason they came here, the hotpot. Once she left, Akane picked up her tortured napkin again. She added a few more napkin balls to the first, creating a little pyramid.

"I know what I'm doing," she said, "And I don't expect you to protect me or save me or anything. Obviously." She really had thought he had shown up to arrest her, after all.

Hawks watched her for a long, steady moment, and she didn't look away even though it was tempting. That half-lidded stare was mildly unsettling when it was fully aimed at you. Finally, he shrugged. "It's your life. I won't stop you. But I wish you'd consider the license option."

"No, thank you."

She couldn't live like that, being the center of attention, doing interviews, popularity polls, commercials, TV shows, brand deals. Everything in her recoiled from it. However, those were the expectations placed on pros. Hawks' face was plastered all over Fukuoka, his merch was inescapable. They sold Hawks bookmarks at the store. Very few pros could get away from the spotlight, and wings weren't great for not catching people's attention. Akane couldn't imagine her own face on a billboard. And there were other reasons why she just...just couldn't. But she knew she had to help others whatever way she could, and it seemed like a waste to not use her abilities when they were most needed.