phoenix ✦ k.takami (hawks)

Twenty Nine

A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because it's trust is not in the branch, but in it's own wings.

Track 30; I'll Be Good by Jaymes Young

✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧

The silver promise ring on your left hand was a constant reminder of what you signed up for.

Mentally you shut down for a few hours to process the thought after Keigo asked. Thankfully, he was in no hurry to receive your answer and was willing to listen to what you had to say instead of getting upset.

You put it simply for him: it was too soon. There was also so much going on between the two of your personal lives that there was no room to prepare for a wedding. You were officially a pro-hero, already scaling the ranks since you've been seen with both Eraserhead and Hawks himself while out and about. You'd made some appearances when it came to other heroes who needed an extra hand with something, but that was usually on patrol and nobody recognized you, so that was always fun.

Keigo wasn't upset at all when you told him that you weren't ready yet. He understood that he had jumped the gun a little bit, but he was willing to wait. He asked if he could get you a promise ring instead, and you agreed. You already knew that you'd be spending the rest of your life with him, no questions asked. So, a promise ring was a good start.

That was two weeks ago, and you hadn't seen Keigo since then. You were beyond frustrated with him, as he hadn't even sent you a message to let you know that he was still alive. Not to mention that you had to go and pick up Momo by yourself and introduce her to Yoshio.

Out of pettiness, you'd started sleeping in your own bed again. Every time you'd walk into his room, you would just get even madder at him. There was a nagging feeling in your chest that made you anxious for his return, or his lack of one. If the Liberation figured out that he was in there to spy, they'd kill him without a second thought and nobody would know about it. He'd be the next Best Jeanist: "whereabouts unknown".

When you brought Momo home you started her off in Keigo's room. Once she was comfortable there, you had set up a mesh door so that her and Yoshio could meet and visit with something in between them. Yoshio wanted to get in Keigo's room and play with her so bad that he started howling and scratching at the mesh door, so you booted him down the hallway and closed the actual bedroom door.

Day four was when Momo and Yoshio were able to interact with each other. Momo was very brave and even tried attacking Yoshio to signify her dominance but it obviously didn't work. He was gentle with his corrections as he understood that she was still a baby, and after a few hours of the two of them playing Momo decided that he was a good napping spot. The whole time she slept, the Maine Coon groomed her almost obsessively until she woke up and yelled at him. Since then they've been inseparable, wherever one went the other would follow and vice versa.

Momo bonded with you almost instantly though she was a little timid at first. You spent a lot of time in Keigo's room just minding your own business as she explored, and on day two she was approaching you willingly.

It was officially the tenth day that Momo was home that Keigo made an appearance again. He didn't get home until about 02:30 AM, and he was greeted with an empty living room.

The pro-Hero assumed that you were in bed and quietly took his boots off, hoping not to make any noise and wake you up. His ears picked up the sound of your talons coming immediately yet he wasn't fast enough to dodge them. The individual talons pierced his jacket and pinned him to the wall with a loud slam, effectively knocking the wind out of him. His vision was hazy while he focused on you, trying to regain his breathing when you finally came into focus.

You stood in front of him with your arms crossed over your chest, in his Hawkward shirt and your pajama shorts with a scowl on your face. "Where have you been?" He opened his mouth to speak but you raised your hand. "Don't answer that, I have an idea of where you were, but it still doesn't mean you're off the hook."

Keigo's feathers twitched unconsciously and he felt chills going down his spine. He knew he should've at least snuck away for a few hours to send you a text but he didn't find any openings to do so. Not to mention that he had finally come to the decision that he needed to tell you about what was actually happening.

"Stay here." You pivoted on your heels and walked away, shoulders tense and hands clenched into fists. It wasn't like he could move anyways, so he rested his head back against the wall, a dull headache roaring at the contact. Soon enough you returned with a small book in hand and he visibly paled when he caught the first word of the title.

"Fuck."

Your eyebrows furrowed at his curse and you sighed heavily, resting the spine of the book in the palm of your left hand and holding onto it with your fingers as you opened it up. "Let's see here..."

Not humorously, Keigo imagined you lecturing a class in the way you stood and read off to him the notes he had highlighted.

"Why didn't you tell me? I know you gave it to somebody. Who?"

"I gave it to Endeavour and the U.A. kids he's training." His voice started off strong, but the last part of his sentence faded out as he dropped his gaze to the floor. "I didn't tell you because I was scared."

"Scared?" You almost didn't believe him, he never presented himself as somebody that was scared but you decided not to question it. You didn't know what he was experiencing when he was spying on the Liberation Army so you had no say in the matter. If anything, you wanted clarification and you signaled that with the motion of your hand.

"Because..." he began mumbling and you felt yourself growing frustrated.

"I can't hear you, Keigo. Speak up." You didn't intend to say his name with so much malice, but it slipped out and your heart dropped when he flinched.

"Because Dabi's intentionally going after you."

You didn't say anything, instead taking a moment to yourself to process what the fuck he just said. Your mind was a raging ocean of emotions, yet the tsunami that flooded your senses was nothing. Just pure numbness. Keigo didn't like how scarily calm your voice had become and he felt himself slipping into a cold sweat.

"You can't hide things like this from me, Keigo, especially if my life is in danger." You closed the notebook in your hand and dropped it on the floor in front of his feet.

Suddenly Keigo was on the floor and he stumbled to regain his balance so he didn't fall over. Immediately he went to comfort you, but you smacked his hands away and pushed him roughly.

His eyes met your own and his heart shattered when he saw the tears streaming down your face.

"Fuck you."

✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧
words; 1275

thanks for reading! please remember to vote!