To Free a Soul

Chapter Six

⚠️smut warning for this chapter⚠️
*Unedited*

I jolt awake when I hear the thud on my balcony. I flail, falling off the bar stool I must have fallen asleep at and hit the floor in my surprise. I absent-mindedly rubbed the feather that now sat around my neck as I had been all afternoon and evening. I knew Hawks could feel his feathers, but having this one with me made me feel like he was going to be okay. Slowly, I stand up and advance to my balcony, crying out and throwing the doors open when I see a crumpled and badly hurt over grown man bird laying there in a heap.

"Y/n!" He called out meekly

I pulled the heap of man bird into my apartment and ran to get the med kit I had bought in case something like this happened, and a wash cloth. Hawks said nothing but blinked at me slowly, almost groggily as I left and then again when I came back. I pushed his jacket off his shoulders and then pulled his shirt over his head, meticulously cleaning up, bandaging, and putting ointments on anything I could find. We did this in silence before I pulled off Hawks boots and his pants, moving down to his legs where I could see blood seeping through the fabric of his pant legs. Once I was finished he was slowly becoming more awake, even stumbling after me into my bathroom. I eased him into the tub and without a word pushed his head back so he laced down and I could wash the dirt out of his blond locks. His eyes never left me as I worked, but he never spoke, either. I don't know if it was stubbornness, the embarrassment of crash landing on my balcony and not his, pain, or what, but he was silent.

"You had me scared shitless," I finally said as I tugged him around to sit in a different position after town drying his hair "I consider you one of my own now and I can't... I can't loose another one."

Hawks seemed to both look guilty and perk up at my statement. Was it because I said I considered him one of my own that seemed to bring him out of my stupor? I didn't know but after a little hesitation and a nod from him to signify it was okay, I ran some warm water over his wings, gently cleaning up any damage I found. I washed out the dirt and blood and straightened a few feathers where needed. Hawks flinched away a couple of times with a hiss but I just tried my best to reassure him that it was okay and I was sorry if I wasn't gentle enough but beyond that he seemed perfectly okay to let me basically preen him. A couple of times I could have sword I saw his cheeks heat up the same colour as his feathers, especially when he would turn around to try to catch my eye or stare at the necklace I now wore, but I brushed it off. I was just helping him. I continued to scold him as I worked, and eventually we ended up back out in the living area as I tried to get him to eat something. Eventually I can goad him into eating some chicken nuggets I bought for him in the event we eventually got over our little spat.

"Thank you," he eventually croaked out after sipping on some water "I know it was you who left the anonymous tip. You used your quirk... didn't you? You risked everything to help me. Why?"

I didn't exactly know why, so I simply shrugged. The man meant a lot to me, though what exactly a lot meant I wasn't quite sure yet. I swallowed the lump in my throat, finally just glad to see him as okay as he can really get right now.

"I told you," I spoke up after a while "You're one of my own. I was worried."

"You can't just... say things like that Y/n," Hawks sighed "Especially after... I could feel you rubbing my feather. Usually they're sensitive in a... different way... but this time it felt comforting. I don't usually let people touch my wings it's, odd, to have someone actually care about me like that."

I absent-mindedly rubbed at the feather that sat between my collar bones once again and watched as Hawks closed his eyes to try to suppress a shudder. That's when it kicked in.