Chapter 15: Feel My Heartbeat




You inched closer to the ledge - your heart now beating so hard that it could burst.


But you had Hawks here - and the soft squeeze of his hand in yours assured you of his being there.


You weren't exactly scared of flying yourself. It was just as you said... you had little experience in the matter.


And so... you let go of Hawks' palm.


If you were going to get used to this... you at least didn't want to look like a weak little girl who needed her hand held along the way.


Yeah, yeah - you hated to show weakness. But this was necessary.


And without another thought - you kicked off the concrete below you; ascending into the sky.


Your wings caught the wind - molding with the air around you - as you gracefully glided into the vast atmosphere.


And with one strong pump of your wings - you shot even higher.


The ear to ear smile on your face followed a laugh of pure joy as you reached your arms out - fingers extended - and basked in the wind draping over your sensitive body.


You then looked over to see Hawks flying on his back just beside you. His arms crossed behind his head - as he smiled just as big as you were.


How the fuck was he doing that?


You definitely had a lot to learn.


He then darted towards you - now flying normally as he leaned in towards your ear - raising his tone over the white noise of the wind. "Follow me, Sweet Stuff!"


"Please don't go too fast!" You cried back. "You might kill me."


Hawks chuckled as he twirled to fly in front of you.


How. Does. He do that?!


He darted around as if the sky were a jungle gym. Show off.


He then took off his visors and gently placed them upon your eyes. The relief was almost instant from the unforgiving gusts of wind.


"Care to say that under different circumstances?" Hawks winked.


You rolled your eyes - but the pink flush still crept up to your cheeks.


You'll blame it on the wind.


But from the cocky smirk Hawks was giving you; you knew that he knew otherwise.


Damn him.


The Pro Hero then flipped forward to lead the way - making sure to glide at a steady speed for you.


********************


You soon arrived at your place - as you both landed on your balcony.


Your landing - not as graceful as you intended. But Hawks was there to catch and steady you so that you didn't have to tuck and roll this time. He made a mental note to help you practice on your landings.


"Sooooo... you wanted to show me...?" You clucked your tongue as you gestured to your own house as you handed Hawks the visors back.


Hawks pulled out his phone. "Ah, right on time." He smiled. "Seriously... perfect timing. I didn't think this would pan out with how slow you flew."


You shot out your forearm and whacked him in the lower stomach.


Hawks slightly jerked forward as a low grunt escaped him, followed by a chuckle of amusement.


"Abuse." He laughed.


"You'll get more than that if you keep that up."


"Is that a promise?"


You just stared at him this time; your wings ruffling in response.


"Okay, okay!" Hawks finally gave in. "Front door."


You furrowed your eyebrows; wondering what he was talking about. But as soon as the doorbell was heard, you whipped around.


You started to unlock your balcony sliding door - your wings bumping the doorframe; restricting you as you tried to enter your own home.


You were definitely clumsy with your wings - and you needed to get used to them being out.


But before you could tuck your wings inward and towards your back... you felt a pair of hands softly grip them - and helped push them inward.


The gesture surprised you... but even more surprising was the fact that Hawks' hands never left the crest of your wings after they were securely in place.


Instead... Hawks kind of lost himself in the moment. He could feel an abnormal warmth coming from your feathers - even through his gloves.


The little self control that he had... had paused. And he then softly slid his palms down the edge of your wings - caressing them in an admirable way.


You couldn't control the shiver that shocked your body, and your sensatory levels sky rocketed.


You had never had anyone touch your wings that way. Well... you've never had anyone touch them ever! And you had to grip onto the doorframe to keep your knees from buckling.


"K-Keig..." You gasped as your hand instinctively slapped over your own mouth. You were about to call Hawks by his real name.


Holy shit, you almost blew it.


You lost all self control when you were around this man. He brought out things in you that you never knew of before. And now... you needed to be extra careful.


"I-I'm sorry." Hawks confessed as he released your wings; him obviously deep in his own thoughts. "Your feathers had a warmth to them... like mine. I've never met anyone with something similar. And... did you say something?"


"Eh! Nope!" You didn't mean to sound so over the top, but you were still fired up from Hawks' touching your wings in such a way, and how you almost called him, Keigo. "I'm just... going to the front door! Heh."


"Are you okay?"


"Never better." You squeaked.


"If it was me... I'm really sorry."


"No! I mean... no." Your tone back to normal as you walked over to him. "Really, it wasn't you. That um... felt nice." You swallowed hard at admitting on how much you liked it when he touched you. "I've never... I've never had anyone touch my wings before. And... I liked it. Especially since it was you."


You mentally slapped yourself for sounding so mushy.


Hawks cocked his head to the side as his gold eyes softened with your words. His lopsided smile was too cute to comprehend as he relished in your attention. "Likewise."


You felt the feather under your shirt that you wore around your neck quiver in response. You then couldn't help but to reach up and grip it; using your thumb to lightly stroke the velvet quill - something you subconsciously did now.


Hawks' wings seemed to twitch - and his body followed suit.


You cocked a brow up; eyeing the Pro and wondering why he reacted that way all of a sudden.


Your eyes then darted to the small feather in your hand - and when the realization hit you, you dropped it back around your neck. "Oh, my gosh." Your voice practically cracked. "Can... can you feel that?"


Hawks let out a nervous chuckle as he reached around and cupped the back of his head with his palm. "Yeah, I can. They're a little sensitive."


You pierced your lips as you thought back on all the times you would caress that feather for comfort. Oops.


"Ummm... heh, sorry." You sheepishly smiled.


Hawks knew exactly what you were insinuating. "Hey, Kid - it's okay. I like it when you stroke my feather. Keeps me on edge, ya know?"


"You know... that can be taken in so many different ways."


"Oh, yeah? And what way is your favorite?"


The smirk on Hawks' face was unmistakable, and the urge to run and hide your already pink-hued face was abundant.


"Wait..." You thought back to something you knew about the Pro Hero, Hawks. "Don't you have to be... in a certain proximity of your detached feathers in order to sense anything from them?"


The doorbell rang again, and Hawks took that as an opportunity to change the subject.


"The door!" He reminded, as he gripped your shoulders - twirled you around, and ushered you into your house with him close behind.


You squinted your eyes in suspicion at the bird man; trying to give the most intimidating look you could possibly conjure. But the winged Hero was avoiding eye contact.


And as Hawks kept guiding you by your shoulders to your front door, you side glanced at him as you raised your index finger to question him further - but the door swung open causing you to gasp in surprise.


Hawks nodded to the man at the door, giving the person the 'okay' to enter your home with... boxes?


You stepped back and leaned against the wall; flattening your wings against the surface as you squinted your eyes - as if trying to figure out what was going on.


Three other men followed one another; each carrying at least 5 well packaged flat-like white boxes.


And after a good pile of them sat in your living room, the delivery men left without another word.


Hawks stood there with his arms crossed, and a smile across his face as you casually walked over to the heap of packages.


You slowly opened one of them, only to find two stunning dresses packaged neatly within it.


You quickly closed the box back up.


Hawks' smile faded. "Is there something wrong?"


"What is this? Dresses?"


"I knew you had a lot going on so I..." Hawks tugged at the collar of his shirt, and you swore you saw him turn a faint shade of pink as the blush crept to his golden eyes. "I thought I'd save you a trip and the hassle. I don't exactly know what style you prefer, so there are different sizes and styles for you to try."


"I can't accept this, Hawks. Seriously... this is too much."


"Please..." Hawks then took a step towards you; his hand gesturing in your direction. "Let me do this for you."


"I don't understand... why?"


You were really clueless sometimes, but you couldn't wrap your head around the fact that Hawks actually had an interest in you.


Yes, you had a 'date' with him... but you never expected anything beyond that. You would never expect anything of him. You also didn't want to set yourself up for disappointment if he were to never talk to you again.


Maybe that was your insecurities speaking for you, but you truly couldn't help it.


Hawks - the Number 2 Pro Hero - have an interest in you? It was just hard to believe. Even after everything... your stubbornness clouded your judgement.


"I thought I had made that obvious as to why." Hawks stated.


You blinked a few times. Was he trying to admit possible feelings towards you?


You shook your head of your thoughts. "This is still a lot. Why so much?"


"Gives you options!" Hawks smirked. "The Gala is also going to be televised, so I would think you'd appreciate options. And like I said..." Hawks cupped his chin with his thumb and index finger. "I don't exactly know what style you prefer."


"Televised?" You repeated. "You really couldn't just... take me to the beach for a simple evening walk for a date, could you?"


"That can be our second date."


You went to open your mouth for a comeback, as you were expecting a smart ass remark from him - but the mention of a second date threw you off, and you retracted yourself back to leaning against the wall in defeat.


As Hawks was about to say something, the loud ringing of his phone echoed within the open space.


Inhaling deeply, and never breaking eye contact with you, the Pro Hero answered his phone.


"Mmhmm. Okay. You got it. I'll be right there."


Shoving the phone back into his pocket, Hawks then came to stand directly in front of you.


He then reached down and gently took hold of your hand. He raised it to his chest; planting your palm firmly upon his toned bust.


You wanted to flex your hand upon contact with his chest, but reeled in your self control.


"You can't monitor sensory rates through your feathers like I can, so..." Hawks then placed his other hand on top of yours - now firmly keeping your hand in place. "Can you feel my heartbeat?"


You held your breath for a second, only to feel the fast rhythm of his heart drumming through your palm and down to your wrist. Hawks' pulse quickened with every second you stood there, and his chest rising up and down almost exaggeratingly with every breath he took.


"That is what you do to me." He soothed.


You felt your eyes involuntarily gloss over as Hawks began to break through your protective mental walls.


The walls that you kept up for so long... were now fading with every moment you spent with him.


You were stumped for words, and you wanted to cry out for Hawks to stay when he started to pull away from you.


You knew that he also was testing his limits. The gleam in his eyes always seemed to want to do more with you... to be closer to you. But he didn't want to ruin anything by moving too fast.


Hawks wanted to take his time with you. You were different than anyone he had ever met. You were beginning to mean something to him... so for once - the Pro Hero who was just a bit too 'fast' wasn't the answer.


Good things happen over time. Bad things happen in an instant. So... he was going to take his time with you. Because you were most definitely a good thing to him.


"I'll see you soon, Baby Bird." Hawks winked.


"Be safe out there."


"I always am."


And with that, Hawks let himself out through the balcony sliding door.


********************


The next day passed by fairly quickly.


Your car was returned to you by one of Hawks' employees at the agency - which you were thankful for. (Since you completely forgot about it at UA High).


Speaking of Hawks... he had texted you multiple times throughout the day - even into the night.


He had mentioned that he would have loved to come and see you, but he unfortunately got caught up with work.


The Gala was the next day, and you had went through every single dress that Hawks had gotten for you.


All of them were absolutely stunning, and you didn't even want to know how much he had paid for all of them.


As the moon hung in the highest point in the sky - you stood in front of a full length mirror in your bedroom; admiring the dress you deemed your favorite.


It flowed like a waterfall of silk over every curve of your body - accentuating your beauty, and giving you the image of a Greek Goddess in human form. The perfect fit.


Your nerves began to do flips in your stomach as you thought about tomorrow.


"Deep breath, Y/N." You spoke to yourself as you performed breathing exercises. "I should get some sleep."


Convincing yourself that you should get some rest - you changed out of the dress and into your night clothes.


And as you laid in bed, you rolled over to your night stand and picked up the small red feather upon it - the silver chain intertwining through your fingers.


You then gave the quill a purposefully gentle rub as you set it back down beside you.


And just as you did, the buzz of your phone lit up your room as you looked at the text message you received.


Bird Man
10:49 PM
"Goodnight, Sweet Stuff."


********************


Authors Note: So - I've left the dress completely up to you to decide what it looks like. If you haven't noticed by now, I don't really describe clothing anyway - as this is YOUR story - about YOU. I want you to have your own style, looks, etc etc. So IF I do explain an article of clothing - it's because its relevant to the storyline. But other than that - everything is up to you to decide :)

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