ICARUS - Hawks x Reader

SEVENTY TWO: Reunion

"Mama...why is it all the way up here..?"

Suzume peered over the top of Natsuo's head as we continued walking, and I prayed that my slightly swollen ankles would remain sturdy.
"Because...it's a special place..." I murmured in reply, crimson feather safe, sandwiched between my hand and my chest.

"Okay...but why can't you fly us up? It's so far!" There was a simple answer to that question. I didn't fly. I hadn't since that fateful day, and I didn't intend to again. At least, not yet.
"Remember, Mama has your little brother in her tummy, and I'm much too big for her to carry, don't you think?"

Suzume hummed, her hands squishing against Natsuo's cheeks.
"Yeah, you're pretty fat, daddy. Candy apple thief." Thus began a cheeky back and forth between them, and I smiled softly, memories of the other night drifting back.

My daughter had taken the news better than I had expected. Of course, there were tears, on both accounts, and plenty of questions, one of which made me feel horrible. She had asked if that meant she couldn't call Natsuo her dad anymore.

By that point, he had joined us in the bedroom, and what he had said had caused my heart to ache. He told her that if she didn't want to anymore, then she didn't have to. There was no hesitation on Suzume's part. She knew him as her dad, and that wasn't going to change, though she wanted to know more about the mysterious hero who hadn't been in her life.

Finally, after over an hour of uphill climbing, we reached the top, the warmth of the sun drenching our skin once more. This was the only place I could think of to place my late husband's memorial, as it couldn't float among the clouds. The clifftop where he had taken me for dinner, so many years ago.

"Is that...him..?" Suzume climbed down from Natsuo's back and took a few steps forward so she could clutch the hem of my dress, pointing towards the mossy structure of rock by the edge.
"Kind of...It's called a memorial. It's something to remember him by..."

The Commission had conducted a horrendously disrespectful show, or funeral, in their words, for Hawks about two weeks after the battle. I hadn't been invited, though I wouldn't have gone even if I had been. They had spoken about how proud he would have been to lay his life down for society, and their hopes to train future heroes to be just as brave and true.

Nothing about them was brave or true.

"Can I...go say hello..?" Instead of answering with words, I nudged her forward, watching her approach the memorial timidly, which was so very unlike her. Natsuo took her place by my side, slipping his hand into mine. "H..hi. I'm, uh...I'm Takami Suzume...You're my real dad..."

This hurts...Oh god, it hurts...

Hesitantly, she knelt down, tucking her dress beneath her knees so the wind wouldn't catch it.
"Mama showed me videos of you from when you were alive. You looked funny. In a cool way. We have the same hair."

Watching her interact with motionless stone brought all of the pain back, but I was stronger now. At least in some ways. Tears were forming, but I held them back with sheer willpower. I had been all day. Natsuo pulled me closer into his side, leaning down so he could whisper into my ear.
"Go on. I know you want to talk to him, too. I'll wait here."

You've always been too understanding...

Swallowing, I released his hand and moved up behind Suzume, kneeling down myself and quietly listening to her talk.
"I hate roombas, just like you. How do they know where to clean? It's creepy. Mama calls hers Patricia...Did she do that when you were here?"

"He'd always tease me about it." I wasn't sure how my voice became so calm, but I was glad. Suzume glanced over to me, her smile soft, and different from the usual big, goofy grin she had inherited.
"Good. It's weird." She affirmed, turning her attention back to the stone. "Mama's here too, see? Poppa Enji had to work, but he wanted me to say hi. I think he misses you too, but he's a poop head and won't say so."