the assistant | hawks x reader

part 26

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The Lantern Festival, one of the most observed celebrations that can be attended to in Japan. It had always been my dream to go, but tickets were slightly out of my preferred budget. Also, the event only occurred a few times a year, so it was hard to free slots on my busy calendar.

Keigo faced me directly, a serious look glued onto his face as he used hand signals to aid in his explanation. "Alright, first question!" he said, his collarbones hanging out from his loose T-Shirt collar. "Why do we celebrate the festival?"

There was a slight bump in the road, causing our private ride to bounce up momentarily. "It's for the lost souls, right?" I responded, the sudden budge smudging off a patch of paint on the hood of my cheap sneakers. "They need help venturing into the spirit world."

Keigo was glad to hear my answer, which was presumably correct. "Spot on! But we also do it to commemorate our lost loves ones, like ancestors that passed centuries ago."

"Now, the world is filled with heroes, so a lot of that stuff doesn't happen anymore!" his voice faded out, the cold night surrounding our lavish car. Tonight the sky was clear, only the glistening moon was visible.

I could barely see through the tinted windows, especially because it was evening. So, I focused my attention onto Keigo, who couldn't wait to experience the limited event. "Wanna play a past-timer?" I asked.

"Sounds like fun!" Keigo happily agreed, our synchronized giggles probably disturbing the hired driver.

"The first is rock.."

"Ready? Rock paper scissors, pop!"

We threw our hands down, both of our palms extended outwards- symbolizing paper. "It's a tie, isn't it?" we chanted at the same time, tossing out our next series of gestures.

"In your face, (Y/N)!" Keigo laughed in my face, a drop of his spit flying onto my cheek. I instantly wiped it off, repulsed groans crawling their way out of my hydrated throat. He had clenched his fist, while I extended my index and middle finger.

"Oh, yeah! Yeah, that's right!" he danced in his seat, making me scoot away. I jittered my hand, shaking off the bad luck.

"That's not fair! The game is out of three, duuuh." I laughed, Keigo's proud expression fading away into one of disappointment. He smirked and pressed his knee against mine, another countdown beginning.

"Ready? Rock paper scissors, pop!"

This time it was an instant victory for me. Going with my previous choice, I predicted that Keigo would gesture paper incase I went rock. We didn't pause the game to bash each other, instead our focus lingered on.

"Pop!-"

"Pop!-"

"Pop!-"

"You're so annoying!" I huffed, crossing my arms and slamming my back into the car-seat. While Keigo sulked in sweet victory, I crawled closer to his side- my head tilting onto his broad shoulder.

His infectious laugh rang my ears, the soft touch of his honey-blonde hair tickling against my forehead and deepening the dusk shade. Extending out his hand, he flicked away at the peeling surface of his nails. "Just admit that I'm better at past-timers."

"We'll see about that." I chuckled with him, hitting my right hand against his. "Thumb wrestling is my specialty!"

I held out my hand, positioning it in a thumbs-up stance. Keigo linked his fingers with mine- in a tight monkey grip that I never expected. "I can taste victory from here." Keigo deepened his voice, even sticking out his tongue and making unnecessary slurping noises.

"That's called plaque, man." I teased, catching Keigo off-guard with a smart remark. And so the intense games begun, our thumbs flailing like fish out of water, trying to get a tight hold on one another.

Pinning down his thumb, I began to count ever so slowly.

"One.." Keigo shrieked like a girl.

"Twoooo!" now kicking his legs, trying to regain control.

"Three-" he switched the positions around, now I was under the impact of his strength.

He was taking the games too seriously, spitting out and letting his mouth hang ajar while I struggled beneath him. "Oh, hell yeah!" but before the dramatic tournament begun, the winner had already been chosen.

I used my one-trick, my thumb whirling around and claiming triumph over Keigo's towering ego. Now, it was my turn to laugh blatantly at his face. He shrugged his shoulders and directed his nose away from me, which only made me scoot closer.

The car came to a break, the privacy border automatically sliding up as our driver peeked his head into the backseat. "Hawks? We've arrived." he alerted, causing me to instantly unlock the door and slide out through a small crevice.

Keigo jumped out after me, thanking the driver and sending him back home to his family. "Great! Thank you." the pro hero had perfect manners, I'll give him that.

Dressed in casual clothing, the cold breeze had no trouble slicing through the fabric of our clothes. Instead of our usual linking arms, now we had gotten close enough to the point where we held hands.

Entwining my fingers with Keigo's, I glanced up at him with a smile, noticeable blush clouds blanketing over his cheeks. "You look so cute when you're flustered like that." I teased, my free hand swinging back and forth.

"Damnit.." he complained, shielding his face with his forearm. I began to trudge forward, my opposite feet passing each other in harmony. Our positions had switched, now- Keigo was the one trying to keep up.

Together we skipped, our beach shorts flying up with help from the chilling currents. The plot of land that the festival would take place on was surrounded by arctic water, so cold it could easily freeze one's sensitive toes.

Keigo caught up to me, twirling me in a spin as we pranced down the clanking bridge. Leading to food stands and festive dancers, I couldn't erase away the sticking smile upon my face. The corners of my mouth refused to settle, and I'm sure Keigo felt the exact same way.

"Let's go buy our lanterns!" I suggested, running forward and allowing Keigo to follow. Bypassing the whistles of wind and chattering crowds, I was able to hear his laughter. And when I turned around, he was there.

He never left my side.

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AN; THEM PLAYING PAST-TIMERS IS SO CUTEE

i think this is like the 5-6th part i've posted today
i cant stop omf it's 4 AM and i'm scared i'll lose all the good ideas i have if i go to bed

credit to: arumistan1 on Twitter
words: 1115