Beautiful Disasters- Hawks x OC

Chapter 17

A sob cut him off, and in the blink of an eye, all of his sleepiness had disappeared.

"Mar, what's wrong?" he asked, already running to the front door.

"Kei-" she choked.

The man messily searched for the key to her apartment among his many keys. He cursed quietly when it seemed that each one he tried wouldn't unlock the door. When he eventually did find the right one, he burst through the door and stumbled into his best friend's room where the brunette was sobbing and gasping for breath.

He immediately recognized it as a panic attack, he'd had a few himself throughout the years when the stress of hero work got to him. It was a thousand times more painful to see Mariko experiencing it though. Every sob was heart-wrenching and every gasp made him feel like he'd been stabbed. He sat next to the brunette, unsure of whether he should touch her. No sooner than he did though she'd thrown her arms around him harshly, sobbing miserably into his chest. He winced, having sat on part of his wing and making the position incredibly uncomfortable; but he wasted no time gathering the rest of her into his arms, holding her tightly, and whispering calming words to her.

It helped significantly. His arms were wrapped around her securely and hearing his even breathing and heartbeat helped steady her own. She tried to focus on just that, ignoring the silent screams of her own mind. Eventually, she calmed down, only an occasional sniffle or hiccup escaping her lips. Neither one of them said anything, she concentrated on the slow, steady beat of his heart.

"What happened Mari?" he asked after a while. His voice was hushed, not wanting to excite her.

"Nightmare," she mumbled tiredly. Panic attacks always made her feel like she'd just run a marathon.

"Does that happen often?"

"Yes," she sighed.

"How often?"

"The nightmares or the panic attacks?"

"Both."

"Panic attacks not so often, every once in a while," she answered vaguely.

"And the nightmares?"

"Almost every time I close my eyes."

Keigo froze for a moment. He knew Mariko wasn't really one to exaggerate things, if anything she downplayed them. So, for her to say that she had nightmares almost every time she closed her eyes, it was serious. His mind wandered back to all the times he'd shown up at her apartment in the middle of the night and she was already awake. "Every time she said she just couldn't sleep... was a nightmare" he realized. His arms tightened around her subconsciously, as if he was trying to protect her from the dreams themselves.

"I'm so tired, but I don't want to sleep," she said quietly.

"Would it help if I stayed with you?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," she answered honestly.

"Do you want me to stay?"

She thought for a moment before nodding slowly. She tiredly climbed out of his lap and plopped down on the far side of the bed unceremoniously. Keigo would've found it funny if he hadn't just seen her crying her eyes out and clinging to him desperately like a small child.

The blonde stood up to get off his now sore and slightly numb wing.

"What are you wearing?" she suddenly asked. She peeked over at him and was slightly taken aback by his attire.

He looked down at himself. The fact that he wasn't properly dressed had completely slipped his mind when Mariko had called him. His only concern had been making sure she was alright. Even though he wasn't one to really care about appearances, this was embarrassing. There he was, standing in Mariko's bedroom, wearing nothing but a pair of Endeavor underwear complete with flames and cutouts of the hero's face, and a pair of black socks with chicken wings on them.

"Fuck me," he muttered, absolutely mortified.

For the first time in what felt like an eternity, the brunette cracked a smile.

"Hey, I'm not judging... I'm sure someone out there'll think it's hot," she shrugged.

He glared at her for a moment before the self-consciousness took over again. "they were gag gifts... Do you have anything I can wear?" he asked rubbing the back of his neck. He felt unusually exposed now.

Mariko opened her mouth to deliver another playful jab but opted against it when she noticed the blonde's wings twitch. It was something that only happened when he was either feeling really happy or uncomfortable. She nodded, slowly crawling out from under the covers and stumbling over to her dresser. She grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt he'd left at her apartment when he'd slept over and tossed them at as she made her way back to the bed.

He quickly jumped into the pajamas, feeling much better now that he wasn't just in a pair of Endeavor boxers and chicken-wing socks. He noticed that they smelled a lot like Mariko, oddly enough. "Did you wear this?" he asked, slipping under the covers and beginning the lengthy process of getting comfortable with a pair of wings. He gently pulled the brunette over to him, draping a wing over her.

"Probably if it's in my closet," she yawned. She was barely able to keep her eyes open now.

He looked at her strangely.

"Anything you leave in here becomes fair game," she justified shamelessly.

Keigo laughed lowly and looked down at her. Her breathing had slowed down and her eyes were closed. Too tired from being woken up in the middle of the night, he didn't even think when he pressed a singular, sleepy kiss on the crown of her head before slipping into a comfortable sleep.