Winds of Destiny: Rising ~ {Hawks x OC}

Chapter Thirty: Rising Dawn

*WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS HEAVY SEXUAL CONTENT. READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED*

In the early hours of the morning following the press conference, Hawks laid awake in bed with his gaze firmly fixated on Misaki's sleeping face in front of him. He'd finally relented to letting her get some sleep last night after she'd passed out on him following the completion of their fourth consecutive round. He'd let her borrow one of his t-shirts in an effort to curb his desire to run his hands over her naked curves so that she could actually get some sleep. Not that he'd joined her. He'd been serious about not wanting to waste a single second of their limited time together. She would probably tease him for being a stalker later, but he'd spent the rest of the night just watching her sleep, content to let himself lucidly dream about a bright future without the threat of All For One and the League of Villains, or the corrupt influence of the Safety Commission; a future united in peace and harmony, where heroes and civilians alike could smile together without bias or fear—a future in which he'd be happy to raise a family with the woman lying next to him.

He reached out to brush a stray strand of hair that had fallen across her cheek behind her ear, tracing his fingers along the edge of her jawline as he pulled his hand away. She really was extraordinarily beautiful, especially when she appeared so relaxed as she did now. It had been a long time since he'd seen her like this, and he wanted to absorb every single second that he could while he had the chance. It was hard not to feel melancholy or bitter about their situation. After all the time they'd lost together, having to wait to make it all up now was akin to torture. But when he began to feel that regret set in, he would remind himself of the future that they were all working so hard to build—where they could have moments like these every day, instead of stealing them from the few brief, quiet hours between night and morning, when they could shut out the horrors around them and just be together.

Misaki let out a soft sigh as she gradually began to stir, slowly blinking her eyes open to meet his warm gaze.

"Morning," he whispered, his voice still a bit scratchy from his injuries.

"Good morning," she sighed in reply, a small smile spreading across her lips. Lifting a hand to rest against the side of his face, she traced her fingers down over his regrowing stubble and quietly asked, "How long have you been awake?"

"Awhile," he faintly admitted.

She stretched a little bit and yawned softly behind her hand before telling him, "You should've woken me up."

Tilting the edge of his mouth up in a smirk, he affectionately told her, "I like watching you sleep."

A wide smile stretched across her face as she dropped her eyes and playfully remarked, "Stalker." Snuggling up into his chest, she let out a deep sigh and said, "I missed this."

Hawks placed a soft kiss on top of her head, gently smoothing his hand over her hair while mirroring her sentiment. "Yeah, me too."

A sense of melancholy suddenly settled down upon him. He knew they shouldn't be this close. He was putting her in danger just being near her. Misaki wasn't a hero. And if the League thought she meant anything more to him than a convenient information source, she was likely to be in a lot of danger; especially considering what they'd done to the last person who had killed a member of their inner circle—Overhaul. They hadn't killed him; they'd mutilated him and stolen his most important possession. Well, he'd already been mutilated by Dabi once. Misaki was the only thing in his life right now that he was afraid to lose. And he would do whatever was necessary to keep her safe. Even from him

She pulled back a bit, gazing up at him as she asked, "What are you thinking about?"

He looked down and smiled reassuringly as he softly shook his head. "Nothing important."