My Rugged Heart [Hawks x OC]

Chapter 4

Throughout the meal, Hawks thought that Hirano was starting to relax. Maybe she was beginning to believe him when he said he wasn't going to stop her or turn her in. They talked mostly about the bookstore; Hawks had guided the conversation toward that topic since it wasn't too personal and she might be more inclined to actually keep talking. He didn't want her to shut down. It turned out to be a good move.

Hawks had never had a meal with a civilian vigilante before. It was a new experience, and he was all about those. He liked how she didn't stare at him in awe like some people or regard him with disdain like others.

She was wary but he had to admit she had a good reason for that. However, that wariness might thaw more with time if he proved he was true to his word. He didn't want to turn her in to the HPSC, and he'd like to keep her off their main radar, if at all possible.

Which would be a lot easier if she wasn't doing vigilante work. They might be interested in adding a flying, healing Quirk to their arsenal. She would be so marketable he could imagine the money signs glowing in the eyes of the accounting department once they realized her true potential. All he could do was keep trying to convince her to stop or go get a real license.

When they finished the meal, Hawks went to pay but Hirano frowned at him. "I'm paying for mine."

"I said I was paying," he said calmly, credit card between his fingers, "Remember?" He grinned, taking any bite out of the words. He had meant it when he said he'd pay, especially with this whole going-to-jail misconception of hers.

She opened her mouth to argue then closed it. Eventually, she nodded. "Thank you," she said quietly.

"You're welcome," he said with a big smile.

They left the restaurant, eyes following them. He kept maneuvering his wings, pretending to be twitchy when he was keeping her face from keeping photographed by the phones quietly turned their way.

The people eating here might remember her, but at least there wouldn't be pictures of her on the Internet quite yet. And if one or two slipped through, eh, he was allowed to have friends. Probably. Maybe.

She stopped outside the doors and glanced up at him. "Again, thank you. For...various things."

He shrugged. "If you want to be really grateful, you could give up your side gig."

She rolled her eyes and started walking again. He followed behind, keeping a few feet of distance between them.

The cool evening air swirled around them, catching at her long red hair and tugging at both their wings. Right now, it was a no-fly time period for civilians, but...

Hawks stepped up into the air, letting the wind do most of the work. He zipped in front of her, hands in his pocket as he flew backwards. "Let's go."

Hirano's wings lifted in response, betraying her anticipation even as she frowned at him, her cheeks a light red. "I can't."

He smirked. "You don't really care about the rules. What's different now?"

Those blue eyes caught him in a glare. "Be serious."

He blinked, his wings fluffing out. "I was—"

"No, you're messing with me," she said, brushing past him. She sped up, her boots hitting the concrete even as her wings rose higher, one trying to spread before she pulled both in tight.

Hawks sighed and darted after her. "I don't understand. It's okay to break the rules sometimes but not others?"

"Yes, and buying me dinner doesn't get you a full explanation of my reasoning," Hirano said.

"I like knowing things," Hawks said truthfully. He couldn't help it, that was his job, everything he had trained for. And he was curious by nature. He dropped back down to the ground in front of her, forcing her to either stop or bump into him.

He held up his hands.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to tease you." Had he been trying to goad her into flying? Half of the time he wasn't sure what actions were his own and which ones were those that the Commission would want him to make. He didn't want them to own him.

"Fly with me, it's legal. I swear." As long as she was with him as a civilian, he could extend those flight privileges to her.

Hirano watched him for a long moment. He was half-sure that she was about to reject his offer, but then she lifted her wings and took a step into the air. "I don't fly as fast as you," she said.

"No one does," he said, acting the part of the cocky Number Three Hero. Yes, he was that confident, but...would he phrase things that way if the Commission hadn't taught him to?

She pursed her lips. "Mhmm..."

She took off, her white wings catching the glow from neon lights. He soared behind her and then did a loop, ending up flying up and to her right.

Below them, the city gleamed, office buildings lights and streetlights dotting the scene. She climbed higher into air space designated for pro heroes, taking advantage of flying with him. He didn't mind.

He easily kept up, making sure he stayed in the formation he had set. Or he did until she tilted her wings and zoomed at him, winding up beside him, the tip of her wing bumping his. Her smile was borderline mischievous.

He did a lazy loop-de-loop to test her, and she followed, twirling around him, maybe not as fast but still skilled. It was sort of fun having someone else to fly with. He was the only person who could actually fly at his agency, and it wasn't like he was really friends with his sidekicks. They were great coworkers, but the HPSC discouraged him from being friends since they worked together.

Honestly, he didn't think the HPSC wanted him to have friends at all, which he supposed made sense in their eyes. If he didn't have any connections besides them...yeah, it wasn't great.

Eventually, sooner than he would like if he was honest, she angled toward one of the apartment buildings, landing on a rooftop garden. A pair of college age guys sitting in lawn chairs yelped and almost lost the beers they had been drinking.

"Hawks!" one of them exclaimed, scrambling up to his feet, beer sloshing, "Hey, dude, whoa, what're you doing here?"

"Dropping off a friend," he said, turning toward Hirano, but she was already walking toward the door that led inside.

"Oh, cool, can we get a selfie?" the guy asked.

"Uh, I—" Hawks lifted his eyebrows at Hirano as she paused at the door. That playful smile was gone, replaced by something more guarded. He lifted a hand and she nodded once to him before disappearing inside, leaving him behind to take pictures and play the pro. He nodded at the college guys. "Sure."

He would see her soon enough, he was sure.