Chapter Text
“And it starts,
sometime around midnight.
At least that’s when you
lose yourself, for a minute or two.”
-Airborne Toxic Event, Sometime Around Midnight
Miniature bursts of light flared across the backs of your eyelids, dancing through the black as you squeezed your eyes shut. With an exhale, you attuned your sense of hearing, listening intently to the city below you as the bright sparks gradually dispersed.
You took note of each individual noise, cataloging them all one-by-one, as they clashed against one another to create the late-night atmosphere of Fukuoka city:
The high-pitched whine of a police siren in the distance.
The heavy bass of a passing car, echoing through the winding alleys before it faded out in the distance.
The whisper of the wind as it danced through the strands of hair splayed around your head, tickling under your nose…
You sneezed, shattering your concentration.
Your head rolled to one side, a breath of relief escaping you at the satisfying crack of your neck. You’d been lying on your back for god only knew how long, head pillowed on your sweatshirt where it rested along the edge of the towering apartment complex’s roof. If you shifted just a few centimeters back, your skull would be cradled by nothing but empty air.
You twined your fingers together, resting your hands on your stomach as you blinked your eyes open. A sky full of real stars replaced the bright auras from before. While the light pollution all across Kyushu Island blocked a good portion of the sky on any given night—shrouding the distant, twinkling lights in a haze that was unfortunately difficult to see through at times—it was still dark enough in the early hours of the morning for you to sink into the vast, empty expanse of the blackness above you without much difficulty.
You had found yourself up here frequently within the last week. Something about isolating yourself in a space nestled above a majority of the metropolitan area helped untangle the mess of thoughts that seemed to take up more and more room in your mind lately. The lack of typical city chatter as the other residents of Fukuoka slumbered numbed you to a point where it was difficult to feel anything but content.
It was a nice alternative to other means of numbing the surprisingly persistent, highly irritating ache in your chest that you’d fallen on in the past, that was for damn sure.
A quick, dark blur in the sky caught your attention, snapping you out of your comfortable daze. Squinting up into the dark, you pushed yourself onto one elbow, slipping your phone out of your pocket with your other hand to tap the flashlight on. It was too large and too fast to be an airplane, not to mention the fact that it looked uncommonly close to the rooftop as it zoomed past.
You tentatively glanced over the edge of the complex to the street below, a sliver of apprehension creeping up your spine, hoping to see whether or not the shadow had landed on the ground in the time it had taken you to grab your phone. The small, nagging, childish feeling of being the main character in a horror novel cropped up in the back of your mind. So much for a nice rest on the roof. Your untimely demise wasn’t out of the question, honestly, with how shitty your luck had been in the last two weeks.
A man’s cheerful voice rose out of nowhere, violently slicing through the heavy dread boiling in the pit of your stomach. “Heyyo!”
You'd like to think the noise that slipped out of your mouth at that moment left you some modicum of decorum and dignity but really, it sounded more like the piercing screech of a car that needed its brakes desperately checked.
“What the FUCK!” Clutching a hand against your pounding heart, you whipped your head in the direction the voice had come from, frantically grasping for your sweatshirt before it slid off the edge of the complex in your haste to face the newcomer.
The lights scattered around the perimeter of the rooftop outlined a lean figure standing a few meters away. You couldn’t make out much in the dim light, but the massive wings splayed out in the air behind the man as he shook them out were impossible to miss.
“I—what the actual fuck, man.” Your chest heaved as you attempted to settle your nerves. You rushed to your feet when the man moved closer, turning your phone in his direction.
The stranger paused, holding one hand up to shield his eyes from the beam of light shining directly in his face. “Sheesh, that’s bright.” The words were light, good-natured, and you could tell just from the tone of his voice that he was trying to hold back laughter. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You didn’t just scare me, you fucking terrified me.”
Your hand trembled, bouncing the light over the man’s features while you tried to identify him. You caught glimpses in the shaky light—ruffled blonde hair, golden eyes lined with black markings, a flash of crimson feathers over his shoulder...
“Christ,” you said, “you can’t just sneak up on people like that!”
“Well, I didn’t really sneak up on you. I had hoped that you saw me in the sky beforehand, but I suppose it is a little too dark for most people to see properly.”
“Damn right,” you muttered.
Your eyes widened as the realization of who was standing in front of you slowly dawned. “Wait...you—” you peered over his shoulder again at the now-recognizable, trademark wings. “Hawks?”
“Yup,” he replied, popping the ‘p’, baring his teeth in a blinding smile.
A note of disbelief crept under your voice. “Hawks. One of the Top Ten Pro-Heroes of Japan?”
He tucked his wings against his back with a roll of his shoulders. “I believe that’s me, yes.”
“What—” your voice cracked, “—what are you doing here?”
Adrenaline still pumped through your veins, but now the racing of your heart stemmed from the total awe you felt at standing only a few meters away from one of the greatest heroes in Japan. Shit, he was even hotter in person.
“Ah, yeah, about that...” He rubbed the back of his neck.
His eyes flicked down to the ground before meeting your gaze again. “I was just doing a fly-by patrol over this ward—you know, the usual hero stuff—when I saw you lying on the roof.”
“Yeah? And?”
“Well, you weren’t moving when I passed by the first two times, and your eyes were closed. I thought maybe something was wrong, so I decided to just swing on by and check on you.”
“Oh, well…” you trailed off awkwardly, rubbing a thumb harshly against the inside of your wrist.
It’s not like his assumption was wrong by any means, but you didn’t exactly feel like opening up to a complete stranger at the moment. You were sure the hero frequently had to fend off gushing fans and the ilk; you weren’t too keen on adding to the count.
Besides—you were fine. Really. There wasn't much that you hated more than the thought that you were an unnecessary burden on someone else when your problems were easy enough to deal with on your own.
He spoke up after a tense pause, tucking his hands in his pockets and leaning forward on the balls of his feet. “But it looks like everything is all good! Aside from scaring you shitless, of course. Terribly sorry. I didn’t intend to cause you any distress.”
“Oh, please.” You pointed an accusing finger in his direction. “I saw that shit-eating grin on your face when I turned my flashlight on. You may not have meant to scare me, but you certainly didn’t regret making me yell.”
“Hun,” that same, smug grin made another appearance, “you did more than yell. That was a full-on scream.”
You gaped. “No, it wasn’t! The hell are you talking about?”
“Nah, you’re right. I know what a proper scream sounds like.” He wiggled his brows at you suggestively. “It was definitely more of a squeal, like a pig!”
“Liar!” You turned away, plopping down on the lip of the roof with a huff. The incoming breeze helped cool the growing burn in your cheeks. You kicked your legs childishly into the open space in front of you as he chuckled again.
“Fine,” he drawled, footsteps growing louder as he drew closer, “we’ll settle for a yelp. You can leave with your dignity intact that way.”
“You can leave,” you groused, “I’m not suffering any more of this harassment from someone who is supposed to be a hero.”
He stopped beside you, feathers lightly brushing against your back before he lifted his wings out of reach. “I’m honestly surprised the dogs in this ward aren’t going crazy. Your voice was certainly high-pitched enough to rile them up.”
You grunted, crossing your arms over your chest, leveling a glare at the building across the street instead of responding.
“Aw, come on.” Hawks tapped your thigh with his boot to grab your attention. “You can’t go giving me the silent treatment when I took the time out of my precious night to swoop down to your rescue.”
You barked a laugh. “But, as you said, nothing was wrong!” You smirked up at the hero with a tilt of your head. “So I’m not obligated in any way to do anything but give my bully the silent treatment.”
He pressed a hand against his chest. “I’m hurt! How dare you call me—a Pro-Hero—a bully! What did I do to deserve such slander?”
You couldn’t help the snort that came out of your nose at his mock wounded expression. Too late, you pressed a hand over your mouth, praying to whatever fucking diety that truly existed up above that the hero hadn’t heard the undignified noise.
“Oh ho, wait a minute.”
Fuck.
Hawks sat down, the knee furthest from you tucked against his chest, the other stretching over the edge of the roof to rest against yours. “What was that glorious noise?”
You cursed through the fingers pressed against your mouth. “Fuck off, hero!”
“I’m obviously making your night with my shining, heroic presence. Soooooo...no.”
You shoved at his shoulder, irritated.
He shied away from your fist, cackling. “Look at you! You're swooning, admit it! I've left you utterly speechless with my inhuman good looks and concern for your wellbeing."
You stared at him. "I'm simply trying not to punch you in your audacious face. I figured a hit to the shoulder was a good alternative."
"Oh, that violence!" He snorted. "I guess I have to stick around in case you go on a rampage through the city. I can’t have those tiny fists terrifying my civilians now that you've wounded my shoulder. I don't think I can perform my hero duties until this heals.”
“Oh yeah?” you challenged, gesturing to the empty streets below you, “there are hardly any of ‘your civilians’ out at this hour. Who exactly would I be terrifying?”
Hawks rested an elbow on his knee, cupping his chin thoughtfully as he scrutinized you. “As I said, your voice could easily rile up the animals. I can only imagine the creative headlines about that. ”
You groaned in exasperation. You leaned forward, forearms braced on your thighs, and glanced over the edge as a car passed below. It was the third car you had counted within the last hour.
You both sat for a minute before he spoke again. “Can I ask you something?”
“You just did.”
He huffed, using the hand that had been cupping his chin to flick your shoulder in retaliation before he set it back on his knee. “Har-har. You’re an absolute wizard with zingers. You know what I mean.”
You turned to face him with a nod.
“What’s a gorgeous girl like you doing out at this hour? Is everything alright?”
You blushed. You couldn’t help it. Flirting was just as much a part of his brand as those bright, scarlet wings of his. You knew that. Didn’t mean you weren’t affected by the famous hero’s compliment.
So you skirted around the comment entirely, hoping the hero couldn’t spot the pink on your cheeks in the dim light.
“Of course. I’m fine; I’m just a little tired. Besides, it’s only,” you pulled your phone out of your pocket, eyes widening at the time. “Oh, wow. It’s 2:35.”
He raised a brow at the surprise in your voice. “Precisely.”
“Eh.” You shrugged, tucking your phone back in the sweatshirt. “I wanted to see the stars. It’s a clear night tonight.”
“The sky has been clear for the past week and a half.” Hawks deadpanned. He looked at you, unamused and unimpressed by the excuse. “I would know—I’ve flown under it every night for the last, oh, week and a half.”
“What are you, a lie detector?”
He held up his hands. “Only if you’re actually lying about why you’re up here.”
The concrete below you dug into the skin of your palms as you leaned back. You shifted your attention to the stars in question, avoiding the hero’s scrutiny as he analyzed you.
He sighed. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. I was just curious.”
“Obviously, or you wouldn’t have swooped down and scared me half to death earlier.”
You hesitated, pondering whether opening up to the hero—no matter how small of a reason—beside you would benefit you in any way. It couldn’t hurt, could it? You wouldn’t exactly be seeing the hero again, and he was asking you.
“It’s just insomnia, really. Yet another night where I couldn’t find it in myself to go to sleep. Instead of futilely tossing and turning until my alarm goes off, I come up here to clear my head. I like to think it helps on some of the more rough nights. I could spend hours up here, honestly, picking out constellations.”
“How long have you been up here?”
"Tonight?"
He nodded.
You hummed. “Sometime around midnight? I think?”
The hero let out a low whistle.
“Yeah, last time I checked my phone was when I rolled out of bed, and that was only a few minutes after midnight.”
“Damn. Almost three hours. Aren’t you cold?”
“You’re kidding, right?” You shot him a look out of the corner of your eye. “It’s nice out.”
“It’s 13° right now,” he exclaimed, staring at you incredulously.
“And? I’m used to colder temperatures where I’m from. Even now, in the first few days of October. October always meant unpredictable weather.”
You chuckled, recalling a particularly surprising snowstorm when you were in high school. “We actually had a blizzard on Halloween a few years ago. It came out of nowhere; nobody was prepared! The poor candy hunters looked like marshmallows as they waddled through the snowdrifts to each door.”
You had woken up an hour earlier than usual that morning so you could help your mother shovel enough snow off of the driveway for her to drop you off at school on time. The streets that night were flooded with younger children shuffling irritably down the streets as they collected candy in coats and scarves, unable to show off their costumes, bundled up as they were by overprotective parents.
“Yeah? Did you still dress up at all that Halloween? I can’t imagine how successful some of the more scandalous fashion choices would have been in that kind of weather.”
His tone was light, asking only out of curiosity, yet your expression shuttered instantly. The light dimmed in your eyes as you scowled. You had dressed up that Halloween, attending a house party on the arm of someone you’d rather not think about yet again that night.
“Doesn’t really matter, does it,” you sniped at him.
“Woah, okay.” Hawks cocked his head, lips tilted down in a small frown as you hunched away. “Bad topic. Got it.”
You let out a breath through clenched teeth, pinching the bridge of your nose as you muttered an apology to the hero.
“Sorry, Hawks. I didn’t mean to snap at you. You definitely didn’t deserve that. I’m just tired.”
Hawks dismissed the apology with a wave of his hand. “Yeah, you already said that, hun. Don’t worry about it! But if you’re tired now, why don’t you try going to sleep again?”
“Hah.” Your hand slipped back to its spot behind you. “You don’t know much about insomnia, do you?”
He smiled at you, embarrassed, rubbing a hand against his neck again. “Not really, no. I tend to just work myself to exhaustion with long shifts, ya know, to the point where I collapse gracefully into the warm embrace of my nest of pillows when I finally get the chance to sleep.”
You grimaced. “Well, that’s—”
“All in a day of hero work,” the hero cut you off. He bumped his shoulder against yours lightly. You swore you saw a short, dark look in his slitted eyes before he rearranged his expression into a crooked grin. “I signed up for it.”
You shrugged, deciding after a moment to brush off the disconcerting shift in his mood. You’d probably imagined it with how sleep-deprived you were. You weren’t about to begrudge the hero his own privacy, anyway. “I have to be up pretty soon, so there’s really no point in trying to go back to sleep.”
“Mind if I join you for a bit?” Hawks cajoled. “Just until you have to ‘get up’, at least.”
“Need a break from your night patrol?”
He broke away from your gaze, lifting his face to the sky instead.
“Something like that,” he said after a hefty pause.
“Alrighty, then.” You settled into a more comfortable position. “Have you ever stargazed before?”
He leaned back as well, wings splayed out on the ground behind you both as he crossed his ankles. The leather of his gloved fingers brushed over your knuckles before he placed his hand beside yours.
“Sure,” he said, “I’ve done it once or twice during breaks while I’m on patrol. I’ll admit I don’t know much about the stars themselves, though—aside from how to tell direction. I’m absolute shit at recognizing constellations.”
“You wanna learn? I’ve got quite the encyclopedia built up.” You tapped a finger against your temple. “It’s one of my favorite pastimes.”
“Hell yeah,” he crooned, “lay it on me.”
Earlier that night
The vibration coming from his back pocket shook Keigo out of his distracted musings as he flew through the night sky. He checked the caller ID before he answered, groaning inwardly at the sidekick’s name flashing on the screen.
“Give me some good news, buddy. It’s almost two in the morning.”
Keigo could almost see his sidekick wince on the other end of the line. “Sorry Hawks, but the police dispatcher just called.”
Damn. He had been hoping to end his patrol early, given how unusually calm the city had been for the past few nights. Aside from a poorly attempted mugging at the end of a concert earlier in the night, he hadn’t had to deal with any criminals, and the Commission hadn’t had any fucking hoops for him to jump through in the last week or so.
He sighed. “What’s up?”
“Got a call on their non-emergency line about a girl on the roof of an apartment building downtown. Apparently, she’s been spotted up there a few times this past week.” He read off the address.
“Who was the caller?” He shifted the phone to his other ear, turning around with a flick of his wing to head to the ward in question.
“A resident of the apartment. Said she doesn’t actually live there, just housesitting for his neighbor. He was worried she might be, you know—”
“Yeah, I got you. Can’t say I can think of another reason a girl would be hanging out on a roof in the middle of the night, unfortunately. I’ll check it out.”
“Sorry, sir.” The sidekick let out a muffled yawn. “I know your patrol was almost over.”
“S’alright,” he responded lightly, “you can call it a night. Get some rest. Spend some time with your family tomorrow.”
“Thanks, sir. You get some rest yourself after this. You worked more than 10 hours today.”
“Yeah, yeah. Save that reprimanding tone for your kid.”
Keigo stifled a yawn of his own, rubbing a gloved hand roughly down his face as he slipped his phone back in his jacket. He’d just check in on this last girl—make sure she was okay, that she wasn’t planning anything stupid this late in the night—and call it an end to this long-ass patrol. Nice and fast.
That was his brand, after all.