To Free a Soul

Chapter Five

At work the following Monday Hawks was back to his cold, cocky persona. This time it seemed like it was him who was avoiding me. He spent the week trying to act sly, turning the corner and ducking into random rooms when he saw me in the hall, communicating either through others or via emails, avoiding my gaze if he found it, taking alternate patrols so he wouldn't run into me at our apartment building, working over time for the same reason, going so far as to take a completely different route home. If you ask me it was all a bit ridiculous really. Especially as his PR agent or manager or whatever we had an event coming up where we would be forced to be together for upwards of 3 hours.

It didn't help that it was also coming up to my birthday. A few coworkers had found out and seemingly made it their job to try and get me to do something for it, or go out with them for drinks the night of. Koji, a particularly persistent man who was apparently as close as the #2 hero could get to a friend, was one of the few who wouldn't let me live it down that I'd never celebrated. I'd been seeing more and more of him around the office as Hawks was using the poor man as a go between for this petty little fight.

"I'm just saying, it's odd that you've never celebrated, I mean, neither has the boss man but that's beside the point," Koji shrugged with a laugh

"So? What of it? We have comparable childhoods? That doesn't mean he's not being a dick," I shrugged, burying my head in my hands "It's worse because he's my neighbour, I hear him leave and come home every day, I hear everything he knocks something over with those annoying ass wings of his. Quite frankly I don't know if it's the situation I can't stand, or him."

Over the time Hawks has been pestering the two of us, Koji and I had found ourselves united in a weird sort of truce. The whole situation was odd and our time spent together during lunch breaks was the only real break we got, especially because he seemed to be Hawks' right hand man. We would sit in the break room and chat about the ridiculousness of it all over lunch and coffee, although lately he'd been pushing me to loosen up. Said I wasn't matching the agencies image by being so straight laced or some other bulshit like that, although he quickly backed off a bit when he mistook my coffee for his and almost gagged at how... Irish it was.

"One night off from thinking about him, that's all we're asking," Koji insisted, taking my hand and looking me in the eye "Let loose, have fun."

"You know I can't," I groaned

"You have the charity gala the next day and need to make connections yada yada," he mocked

"Not only that wouldn't it be weird to go drinking with my coworkers for my birthday? It just seems sus to me man."

Koji went to say something but his phone lit up with a message from the boss, making his break officially over. We parted ways and I sighed, downing the rest of my coffee before making it all the way back across to my office. This had also been painfully weird because because of the restraints put on us by the commission and how I had to be under constant surveillance our offices were right next to each other's. I ignored the urge to listen in to the conversation between the two as I slid into my office and shut the door quietly trying my hardest to keep my presence as quiet as possible. Deep down, in a much deeper place then I ever wanted it to escape from, I can admit that Hawks' actions hurt, but from not quite as deep down I felt guilty and responsible. It was my fault we had come to this.

The Friday of my birthday rolled around sooner rather then later. Friday November 26th. I had planned to spend the afternoon with a little retail therapy to try and find a dress for the gala the Saturday after and had taken a half day.

And boy was I glad I did.

The troubles started almost as soon as I had gotten to work to find a pretty looking rock on my desk. I was confused as to who had put it there but had simply shrugged it off as odd and moved it to one of my shelves instead. From there I burnt myself with my coffee and was told that Hawks had gone missing that morning just before I got to work. Apparently he himself was on his way to work when he stumbled across a villain attack. At first it didn't seem anything big, a normal corner store robbery take down, but then a few other villains had shown up at the scene and things had gone from bad to worse. I cursed at the information. If I was allowed to get my quirk permit I just knew I could help somehow but it was impossible. I could get into some deep trouble, perhaps even deported, if I so much as lifted a pinky to help. Instead I was stuck in the office already in a battle with the media about what exactly they had the rights to do and say while he was missing and after he was found. He hadn't pulled a dissapearing act like this since his days under cover in the League of Villains apparently and people were finding it suspicious that he had just dipped. Even when I went home I had to take my work with me, leaving no time to find a dress or anything even decently nice for the gala.