Didn't expect it

1

THIS IS A SMALL SHORT STORY! IT PROBABLY WONT BE UPDATED!

The day started the same as most of my off-duty visits to UA. Just enough teasing to get under Tokoyami's feathers, a few casual conversations with Aizawa and Present Mic, and a whole lotta pretending that I'm not constantly on edge unless I'm in the sky. But today? Nah, today hit different.

I was lounging on Tokoyami's beanbag chair, tossing a feather between my fingers like it was a coin I couldn't decide how to spend. We'd just finished up a mock spar earlier that morning, and the kid was brooding in the corner with his arms crossed—his default setting, honestly.

"You fight like you're mad at the air itself," I quipped, trying to get a rise out of him.

"I fight with intention," Tokoyami replied, barely sparing me a glance.

"Sure, bird boy. That's why I keep winning."

He rolled his eyes but said nothing else. Typical.

Then it happened.

The moment.

At first, it was just the sound of the door opening. I figured it was a delivery or maybe Aoyama trying to force another glitter cheese platter on everyone. But then I heard her voice.

"Yami, I'm back. I got take awa—"

And my brain short-circuited.

There she was.

Not a girl, not a student. A woman. She looked like she had just walked off the set of some indie sci-fi thriller, except instead of saving galaxies, she was holding two plastic bags full of what smelled like Chinese food. Baggy black sweatpants hugged her in all the right places, like they knew they were lucky to be there. The maroon shirt she wore clung to her like a second skin, just tight enough to leave too much to the imagination.

But it wasn't the outfit. Or the way her hips moved like she was dancing with gravity.

It was the presence.

Like she'd walked in and the air decided it belonged to her now. And the moment she saw me—eyes wide, lips parting with a tiny, almost-silent "oh shit"

my world tilted. Like I wasn't holding the feather anymore; the feather was holding me.

She bowed, head low, humble. "Shit, I'm sorry," she said quickly. "You didn't tell me there was someone here, Yami. I could have gotten him food..."

I sat there, stupidly, mouth halfway open. I think I blinked once. Maybe twice. My wings twitched like they wanted to fly away I'd never been more aware of them.

Tokoyami, ever the mood killer, sighed. "Hawks, this is my adopted sister. Paige."

Paige.

Her name felt like something I should whisper, not speak. Like it came with rules and reverence.

She looked at me again, her eyes flickering with curiosity and hesitation. Her fingers tightened slightly on the takeout bags like she was bracing for a wind she couldn't see.

"Oh," she said. "You're... the Hawks. I didn't expect you to be here."

Neither did I.

Let me back up a bit.

I've met plenty of women. Too many. Hero work has a way of throwing you into crowds, and I've danced with my fair share of admirers. Smiles, winks, numbers on napkins—they all blurred into one. Love? That was a battlefield I avoided. Feelings had weight. They could tether you to the ground, make you hesitate midair.