Winds of Destiny: Falling ~ {Hawks x OC}

Chapter Twenty-Three: Making Amends

Hawks soared low over downtown Shinjuku, cutting around buildings a couple hundred meters above the busy evening traffic. He was somewhat in stealth mode as he moved swiftly across the darkened sky. His trademark visor and headphones still adorned his face and ears, but he was dressed casually in dark wash jeans and a white t-shirt, his hands shoved into the pockets of his dark-brown leather bomber jacket. The clock on a brightly lit billboard advertising an expensive watch brand displayed that it was almost nine pm as he flew by, the late summer sun having set almost a half an hour prior.

He dipped under an overpass, zipping to the right for a moment before scaling up the left side of a tall apartment building. As he neared the top, he reached out a gloved hand to grab the railing of a balcony, swinging himself over the edge to land with one knee bent on the concrete surface. Standing, he pulled back his headphones to hang around his neck and lifted his visor to the top of his head.

His sharp, golden eyes glanced to the left and he noted that the living space was completely dark. Reaching into his coat pocket, he pulled out his key. He stared down at it for a moment as he considered whether or not it was a good idea to use it, but before he could make a decision either way, a light suddenly came on behind the curtains in the other room. Breathing out a soft sigh of relief, he slipped the key back into his pocket as he cautiously walked over to the sliding door leading into Misaki's bedroom. Leaning back against the concrete median between the two rooms, he lifted his hand and rapped a knuckle against the sliding door.

***

Misaki had just finished drying her hair after her evening bath, flipping the light on as she walked back into her bedroom from the adjoining dressing room when she heard a soft knock from the direction of her balcony. She was startled for a moment, but she calmed quickly, rationalizing to herself that there was only one person who could possibly be knocking on her balcony door. Reaching out for the lightweight, oversized gray sweater laying on the edge of her bed, she slid her arms into the sleeves as she walked over to the door. Even though it was almost summer, being so high up, the wind could get downright chilly after the sun went down. Pushing the curtains to the side, she flipped the lock and slid the heavy glass door to the left.

Noticing a presence to her right, she leaned back against the edge of the sliding door and crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow at her unexpected visitor as she asked, "You lose your key?"

Hawks lifted a hand to the back of his neck and glanced sideways at her with a guarded look in his eyes. "I figured you didn't want me just walking in while we're in the middle of a fight."

She stared at him for a moment before turning and walking back into the bedroom, leaving the door open in an invitation for him to follow her inside. He did so, pulling the door and the curtains shut behind him before removing his shoes and gloves. He kept his distance, standing by the door as she walked across the room to stand next to the bed.

She turned around slowly, crossing her right arm across her ribs to clutch her left elbow as she asked, "Is that why you're here?"

The subtle tension in the space between them had her nerves fluttering around inside her stomach like butterflies. They hadn't spoken since she'd stormed out of her apartment on him almost a week ago. Neither one of them had made any attempts to contact the other, effectively letting the argument stew between them until they had a chance to speak face to face. She had been totally prepared to apologize to him about brushing off his concern for her the next time they spoke, but now that the opportunity had finally presented itself, she suddenly found herself at a loss for words.

***

Shoving his gloves into the pockets of his jacket with his hands, Hawks ducked his head a bit and glanced up at her contritely. "I'm sorry if I made you feel like my concern for you was some kind of obligation. That's not what I meant at all. When I thought about you out there, putting yourself in danger where I couldn't protect you..." He trailed off, looking down and to the left as he raised a hand to rub the back of his neck. "I don't know, I just couldn't deal. I was pretty harsh with you. I'm really sorry for losing my temper with you like that."