Soft Hawks X Reader Shorts

You and Me

WARNING: This contains spoilers from the Manga!! If you don't wish to be spoiled, I suggest you skip this chapter altogether.

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To say Hawks had changed recently wasn't enough to cover the trauma he went through. He had locked himself up in the bedroom with the curtains closed and the lights off. He was in mourning. He lost something—a big piece of who he was. Without it, he wasn't sure what to do. And you didn't know how to comfort him.

How do you relieve the pain of losing wings? How do you help soothe the scars burned into his skin—into his back? —his face? How do you help a man who has lost what made him the hero he was? Perhaps made him the man he became?

You would set a tray of food at the door and knock once, three times a day. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. You didn't even bother sleeping the same room as him and slept on the couch. You were so unsure on how to help him.

Until one day, you witnessed Hawks come out to pick up his lunch. He usually skipped lunch and not once had you ever seen him leave his room even to eat. You would leave and come back to see the food was either untouched or half gone.

You didn't know what to say. He was standing there through looking at you with his broken expression and yet you couldn't find any words. Looking at him now, you can see how haggard and exhausted he became—how different he is now. It broke your heart. The man you loved was broken, and yet you still didn't know what to do. All you knew was that you missed seeing him.

Hawks let out a sigh, stepped back to close the door behind him and leave the food on the floor, but you jumped into action without thinking twice. As if your feet moved on their own and you caught the door before he could close it.

"Keigo," you breathed out, like saying his name took all the effort and air from your lungs.

Hawks only shook his head and tried closing the door on you. The need to see him and talk to him overpowered the hesitance of figuring out what to say to him. It overpowered to the extent of forcing the door open and asking him why.

He only looked away as shame weighed heavy on his shoulders. You could see the bandages bulging through his shirt, and it squeezed your heart. But you remained strong.

"I really don't want you to see me like this," he mumbled under his breath. He didn't look at you like he always did when he spoke. It was like he wasn't acknowledging your existence even though you were standing there between him and the door closing on you.

"I want to be by your side," the words slipped from your mouth without warning. Almost like they were the words you didn't know you had been holding within you all this time. How convenient they come out after all the time you spent worrying about what to say.

"I don't think that's a good idea," he replied.

"Why do you think that?" You asked as you started to silently close in on him. Your hand carefully pushed the door aside to let yourself in the room. Hawks either didn't seem to mind or he didn't hear the creak of the door.

"Because I'm a mess," he answered honestly.

"I don't expect you to be alright."

You noticed his head slightly perk up, a habit you noticed of his that was usually accompanied by his wings doing the same.

You closed the door behind you and reached down to hold his hand. The other held his triceps and gave a small squeeze to let him know you were there, even though he could tell from the hand holding his. Your head fell on his back and you let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry I left you alone. You're going through a tough time and at first I thought you needed space, but after a while... I didn't know what I could do for you. But I'm here now," you said and rubbed his arm while the hand holding his intertwined your fingers with his own. "Tell me what's on your mind," you added and placed a cautious kiss on his bandages. You made sure to kiss both spots where his wings had once sprouted from, like crimson flowers blooming.