floating

meeting

bao woke up at 12:37 p.m. they looked forward to meeting hawks later that night, but hated that they has woken up so early. at least, early in their eyes.

bao didnt have anything to do. they quit their job, thinking they would have been dead since last night. they had no pets to have fun with. no friends to hang out with. it was just them, alone.

so instead, they got up and put on a pair of sweatpants and a large hoodie. bao grabbed the note they had left on their kitchen table, tossing it into the trash can. if they weren't going to be dead, why keep it. it was just a reminder of more failures; they couldn't even kill themselves successfully. all thanks to awful timing. bao really had to jump right before a winged hero flew by.

after that and using the restroom, bao plopped right back into bed, ready for a day of tv shows and snacks to ride them over.

~~~

later that night, at around 9:30, bao got up. they decided they should probably head to the roof, hawks might be stopping by soon.

so, that's what they did. they got up, wrestling their blanket into a ball, grabbing their phone and trudging to the elevator.

they slumped in the corner after pressing the top floor, curling up in their blanket.

after reaching floor 39, the elevator dinged and bao stood up, dreading the stairs they knew they had to climb to reach the roof.

by the time they reached the roof of the complex it was 10:06 p.m. hawks was no where to be seen.

so, instead of standing and waiting, bao walked over to the side of the small raised area in the roof, sitting against the wall and wrapping themselves in their blanket. they went on their phone, just trying to pass the time. it was a good distraction to keep themself from jumping again.

~~~

at 11:14, hawks landed on the roof. he didn't see bao, he just assumed they were asleep. but instead, when he rounded the corner of the small area on the roof, he found a sleeping figure sitting, pressed against the wall.

they must have passed out, he thought.

"hey, mai, im here," he crouched down, resting his hand on bao's shoulder and shaking them gently.

bao's head lifted, opening their eyes slightly to see the same man from last night. they smiled.

"you actually came?" bao questioned. they honestly believed he would forget.

"yeah, sorry i left you hanging for so long."

before he could continue, bao interrupted, "no no, dont be sorry. im just happy you're here." bao smiled, making eye contact with hawks between rubbing their eyes and yawning.

"im flattered," hawks moved his hand off bao's shoulder, smirking.

"oh shut it, you know how i meant it."

hawks just chuckled, sitting down on the concrete and ruffling his wings before tucking them in. this action seemed to have caught bao's attention.

"how much control do you have over those?" they questioned, looking up and letting their hands fall into their lap.

"my wings?" bao nodded, "oh, pretty much complete control, even over each individual feather. because of this, i have a few extra little tricks i can do," hawks smiled.

"like what?" bao questioned, genuinely interested to see what he could do.

"like this," hawks smirked, sending a few small feathers out to mess with bao. first, he let them fly around, just showing off to bao. then, two went into bao's blanket, pulling out their phone. one ruffled bao's hair. when everything was done, one final feather tapped bao on the tip of their nose.

"hey!" bao reached forward for their phone, but the feathers just rested it beside them before returning to hawks.

"what? i was just messing with you," hawks chuckled, joking around.

"whatever, but that was cool!" bao smiled, this time a wide smile. hawks had cheered them up. "if its cool, can i see your wingspan?"

"i mean yeah, why not," hawks chuckled again. it was fun for him to see how curious bao was, and he was glad he was cheering them up.

he stretched out his wings as far as he could, looking at bao as they stared, amazed. "i didn't expect them to be that big!"

"yeah, 23 feet," the man bragged, leaning back slightly.

"can i touch them?"

"getting personal already i see," hawks smirked. "yeah, why not. just not the base they're a little, sensitive, there."

bao stood up, their blanket pooling at their feet as they stepped out and towards hawks. they bent down, reaching out and feeling his soft feathers. hawks watched, smiling softly.

bao stepped back, sitting down into their blanket, still staring at the heros wings. hawks decided to tuck them back in, ruffling them as he did so and getting comfortable.

"thats so cool!"

"ah, you flatter me too much," hawks smirked, though he covered a genuine smile by looking down.

though they'd barely spoken, both people wanted to see the other more already.

a/n, i searched to find hawks' wingspan, different places saying different things, so i just settled on 23 feet, sorry if its wrong