Frozen Wings

Chapter 34

Hawks' POV

Storms and I made it to the top of the hill that Dabi and I had been cannonballing off of earlier. Now the sun was setting. The stars were just beginning to appear in the darker part of the sky. Birds sung to their mates, flying out of the trees every now and then. I watched as Storms set up the dinner she said she wanted to share with me. Luckily we didn't need a blanket to lay out since the top of the hill was stone, at least at the edge where we were sitting. I stared excitedly at the rotisserie chicken she had made herself, putting on a special marinade.

"Don't just stand there, you can sit." She gestured. I sat down, Storms sitting across from me. The two of us immediately started eating, starving, since we had forgotten to break during the day and get food then.

Within minutes the entire chicken was gone. Quite honestly I wasn't even sure how that happened.

"Storms, thank you so much... you didn't have to do this." I thanked her.

"I promised you chicken, I got you chicken." She grinned. I smiled, feeling my face heat up a little.

Once we were finished, Storms cleaned everything up, not allowing me to help. She came back over to where I was sitting. I had moved to the edge of the hill.

"Hey Storms?"

"Yeah?" Her ears perked up.

"Why're you being so kind to me?"

"What do you mean?" She cocked her head to the side.

"Well... no one's ever been exactly thoughtful towards me. You know I was raised by spies and lived in a cage. When I graduated I thought I would feel better by saving people as a hero. That didn't work as well as I had hoped. Everyone started liking me for Hawks, not for Takami. So I thought that being a model would change that. I thought maybe that if people didn't want to get to know me for my personality, they'd want to get to know me for my body. For the way I looked. But... it got bad. My photographer became obsessed with me, and she started taking photos without my consent, for herself to keep. I didn't realize until she let her guard down and I noticed her taking photos of me sleeping... I asked her and since she was afraid that I would ruin her business, she gave me all the photos back... I hated seeing some of the ones she took... it destroyed my confidence in the way I looked... when I went to leave, she grabbed me and wouldn't let go... s-she tried to force me to... to... have..." I trailed off.

"That's why I quit and applied to be a teacher at UA. And multiple times since I've known you, I was afraid that you would try the same thing... but you never did. You got to know me for who I was, not for my hero self, not for the way I looked. You're the first person to truly be kind to me without wanting anything back.

Why?" I asked. Storms was silent for a long while.

"Because you're a good person. You're kind, you're caring, you're compassionate, you're thoughtful, you're sweet, you're brave, you're smart, you're just an incredible person, really. You made a mistake and you did everything you could to fix it. You acted badly and you figured it out and apologized to everyone you hurt during your outburst. To me, that's what makes a hero. Not names, not popularity, not the way they look. But who they are and the lengths they go to right the wrongs." Storms softly answered. I felt myself tearing up.

"And that bitch should be killed for what she did!" Storms' fur bristled up.

"N-No... it's alright-"

"It is not! Why didn't you report it?" She asked.

"Because... I knew how it would look... it would seem like I was the one who tried to do it, not her..." I wiped away the tears blurring my vision.

"I understand. I'm so sorry." Storms' ears flattened against the top of her head.

"It's not your fault." I croaked. Storms moved a little closer to me, still keeping a respectful distance.

"Y'know... I was gonna tell you something, but... I don't think it's the right time." She chuckled, looking out over the ocean.

"You can tell me. It's fine." I argued.

She glanced at me, sighing. "It's not fine. You're crying. It can wait. Right now, I think you need time to take in what happened. I can tell you've been ignoring it until now, and it's only now hitting you because you're telling me."

I felt the tears well up again. Without warning, I lunged at Storms, burying myself against her. I hid my face in the crook of her neck, sobbing, gripping onto her shirt like it was the only thing keeping me from dying.

Storms wrapped her arms around me, careful to avoid my wings. "It's okay now, Takami. You're safe here. No one's going to hurt you. Not as long as I'm alive. No one will lay a finger on you, not a single soul." She soothed. I only cried harder.

"I won't tell you not to cry because you need to right now. It's okay to cry." She tightened her grip on me. The two of us sat there for who knows how long, until Storms finally spoke again.

"I've thought about it... and I think now is actually the right time to tell you."

I squeaked out a response.

"Takami... I love you." Her words startled me. I pulled away, staring at her.

"H-Huh?" I stuttered, throat raw.

"I love you. It took me a while to realize it, but I do." She smiled softly, shyly looking away.

"I-I... I love y-you too..." I choked. I had wanted to tell her the same thing for a long while but never had the right opportunity.

"Would you like to be my boyfriend?" She asked. I nodded.

"Then feel free to call me Winter."

Winter. It's so fitting. Her name... it's beautiful.

"Keigo." I replied.

"Your name suits you." Winter smiled. I started crying again, leaning into her.

"Hey, it's alright!" She softly chuckled.

"T-Thank y-you!" I sobbed.

"Don't worry about it." She said, brushing my hair out of my face. I leaned into her neck, my cheek touching hers.

"Just relax for now. I'm not going anywhere." Winter murmured, placing one hand below my wings on my back, the other on the back of my head. I felt so safe with her.

Don't let this ever end... please...