Beautiful Disasters- Hawks x OC

Chapter 90

               When Keigo woke up, he noticed that the road was incredibly bumpy and that it was dark out. "Where are we?" he rasped.

             "We're almost there, about 15 minutes away I think."

              "How long have you been driving?" he asked.

             Mariko glanced down at the small digital clock on the dashboard that read 3:32 a.m. "About eleven hours give or take. We made good time, I didn't think we'd get there until sunrise," she commented, stifling a yawn.

            The blonde rubbed his eyes and brought her hand to his lips- a silent apology for falling asleep. All-nighters were tough on everyone, especially if you're driving. He'd intended to stay awake and keep her company until they got there and actually switch with her halfway through the ride, not fall asleep for most of it. "Sorry I fell asleep on ya Chickee," he said gruffly, running a hand through his hair.

           She shook her head, "You looked tired today anyways. You needed to sleep a bit."

           "So do you. You just got out of the hospital. Don't push yourself Mari."

            "I'm fine. I think eight days was plenty."

          Keigo hummed in disagreement, but he knew Mariko could be stubborn when it came to things like this and didn't want to start a petty argument that would annoy them both.

         Soon enough, Mariko slowed down, stopping the car right in front of a large, iron-wrought gate. Before he could ask any questions, the brunette parked the car and hopped out. She walked towards one of the columns, fiddling with a keypad. Moments later, the gates were sliding open, granting them entrance to the estate.

           Getting back into the driver's seat, she drove the car forward, following a long and unlit gravel road until they approached a large roundabout. Even in the dark, the house was impressive. With three floors and marble columns everywhere you looked, it almost looked like a palace. It was abandoned though. The white walls were dingy from never being washed or repainted. Dying ivy crawled over the cracked windows. The fountain in the middle of the roundabout was dry.

           Mariko pulled the car up right in front of the main entrance and let out a relieved sigh when she was finally able to turn the car off. She wasn't usually this tired after a long drive but chalked her exhaustion up to having been comatose less than a day ago.

           Keigo glanced at her, frowning as he took note of the dark circles underneath her eyes. "Let's just sleep in the car tonight. We'll check the house out in the morning," he suggested.

           She nodded in agreement, not having the energy to search the mansion for traps, alarms, or cameras. Just as she started to recline her seat so she could get some rest, Keigo placed a hand on her arm. "What is it?" she asked.

           The male blinked owlishly at her. He hadn't meant to grab her; it'd been completely subconscious. "Uh, nothin' Chickee! Don't worry about it. Get some rest," he said, quickly leaning over the center console and placing a kiss on her forehead.

            Mariko, however, knew it wasn't nothing. He'd looked almost panicked for a second before going back to normal. "Something's bothering you," she stated.

           When he smiled apologetically, she became even more confused. "Guess I'm just scared you won't wake up," he said. His voice was barely above a whisper, as though he thought he was saying something offensive.

            The brunette sighed quietly, and took his hand in hers, intertwining their fingers delicately. "I know I really scared you this time, and I'm sorry I did. I really am okay though. I promise I'll be right here when you wake up."

            The blonde reached out to her childishly, making small grabby motions with his hands, "That's so far away though," he whined.

            She laughed slightly and nodded in agreement. When she unlocked her seatbelt, however, she didn't move towards him as expected. On the contrary, she unlocked all the doors and slid out of the car.

             Keigo pouted at his rejected embrace, but wasn't all that offended, he was more curious about what Mariko was going to do.

            The brunette opened the back door and grabbed a pillow and blanket from the travel kit each car was equipped with and tossed them over the back. She turned back around to face him. "Not exactly a bed, but I figured it might be better. It's only for tonight anyways," she shrugged.

           The male smiled in relief. "S'long as I got you in my arms I'm as happy as a clam," he said slipping into the back compartment to join her.

           Mariko rolled her eyes at the cheesy comment, but her rosy cheeks told him it'd still flustered her.

          He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly to his chest, wasting no time in tangling his leg between hers. Wrapping his wings around them for added warmth, he smiled down at her once more. It was genuine this time, having her near allowed him to calm down a bit.

          "I'll stay up until you fall asleep," she assured.

          Keigo nodded, though he still struggled to fall asleep. His subconscious knew that the moment he did, Mariko's eyes would close again. He cursed himself for being so selfish, she was tired and he was just being completely ridiculous about the whole thing. "She's fine," he told himself repeatedly. His arms tightened around her, almost crushing her as he tried to keep her grounded with him. His eyes shut tightly as he tried to force himself to go to sleep.

            Noting her boyfriend's increasing stress, she reached out to him. "It's okay," she whispered, running a hand through his soft blonde hair. The action relaxing him almost against his will. "Get some rest," she said gently, tracing each of his features delicately with her fingertips.

            His mind became cloudy, and the edges of his vision darkened until he couldn't see anything at all. He was barely aware of her placing a soft kiss on his forehead before sleep overtook him.