𝗙 𝗔 𝗟 𝗟 𝗜 𝗡 𝗚 （ｔｏｇｅｔｈｅｒ）

09. 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙗𝙮𝙚

"Keigo?"

"Y/N?" he asked, arms falling limp to his sides, the bouquet of flowers hitting the floor with a muffled tap.

He looked different than usual, or maybe it was just because I'd never seen him in casual clothing. A black v-neck hung low on his chest, messily tucked into his jeans in certain places, but he still wore the same boots as he did with his hero costume. It made me wonder if he had some emotional attachment to them, or if he'd just been too lazy to find something else to wear. Knowing him, it'd probably been the latter.

It felt so good to see him, but it made the image of him I had in my mind seem dull. He was just so full of life in front of me, it made anything else seem lackluster in comparison. My chest picked up pace, the thump ringing in my ears. All the words I wanted to say got stuck in my throat, so I settled for hobbling towards him.

Hawks just stared at me, and I could only imagine that the image of me pathetically trying to walk was pitiful. I stumbled a bit, and that seemed to get his brain to do something other than stare. He lunged forward, catching me under my arms, hoisting me back unto my feet without saying a word. I'd never realized how strong of a build he had until then, having come face to face with his chest, my head only being separated from it by a thin piece of fabric.

I clutched onto his arms, them being the only support for me as my crutch fell to the ground. I took a moment to regain my balance, but could feel him staring at me, and I couldn't resist anymore. I fell into his chest, arms tightly wrapping around his waist with no regard for the stinging in my leg. It took him a second, but he finally hugged me back, toned arms folding around me. I could feel the tension in his body leave, and I was finally able to feel the warmth that came with hugging him again.

"Kid..." was all he could muster.

"She's the sister you were talking about that day, isn't she?" I asked, though it was muffled from being so intently pressed into his shirt. Looking back, the girl did have his hair, so it was more of a rhetorical question.

He muttered a low 'mhm,' his head landing on top of mine lazily, thumb rubbing against my back. I pulled away, the temptation of his warmth had been too much to bare before, but now I was finally able to think clearly.

"Jeanist gave me your phone number, work and personal, I called them both loads of times but you never picked up..." I tried to look him in the eyes but he wasn't having it, instead averting to stare at the floor, before finally picking my crutch up and handing it back to me. I reluctantly took it. "Why?"

"I've just... been busy." He hesitated, still not being able to meet my eyes.

"Don't lie." I hadn't known him long, but I'd like to think we respected each other more than to make petty excuses. "You've been avoiding me." It wasn't even a question, I knew for certain he was. Sure, my mom might've tried to scared him off, but with as stubborn and hard headed as Hawks was, there must be something going on besides that.

He walked past me, going to sit in the chair by his sisters bedside. "That's not it."

I followed him, hopping over to stand by his side. "Trying to distance yourself from me, then?"

He flinched. Bingo.

It hurt, knowing that this meant he never wanted to get close to me in the first place. He took me in as a charity case, but as soon as I got a little too difficult to upkeep, it was time for him to leave, and just forget it ever happened.

"Look," the blond began. "I'm a hero, and heroes just can't have liabilities lying around."

Liability?