Hazel pulled her dad into a hug, followed by her little sister and she picked up her baby brother. She continued to hold him as they walked to baggage claim, her dad's arm around her shoulder.
"How was your flight?" he asked. She forced herself not to look over at Hawkins, instead she flashed her dad a smile and shrugged.
"It was a flight," was her vague response.
Jason made some unidentifiable sound in her arms so she bounced him a little and made a silly face, causing him to grin a toothless grin at her.
A hand took her free one and she glanced down at Jenny, who was smiling brightly at her.
"I've missed you," she said simply. Hazel squeezed Jenny's hand and wrinkled up her nose playfully.
"I've missed you, too, kid. How are you? Any new boys?"
Jenny flushed red and Hazel gasped in an exaggerated manner.
"Jenny Sterling, you better tell me right this instant!"
At twelve, her step-sister had never really been too interested in boys, deciding instead to focus her attention on animals and books, so the blush came as a shock.
"You both know the rules. No dating till you're thirty," her father, Richard, stated with an air of finality.
"Alright, daddy," Hazel said in a placating tone, kissing him on the cheek. She bit back a smile thinking of what her father would do if she told him how her flight had really gone. After she collected her bags, she knew that she had to see him one more time. She moved her gaze over the people around baggage claim and immediately spotted him, looking straight at her. He had his arm thrown casually over the head of a mini-Hawk, who couldn't have been more than Jenny's age.
Hawk's gaze went from Hazel, to the baby in her arms, to the little girl holding her hand, to her dad. He nodded and winked, as if giving his approval and she shook her head with a chuckle. In response, her eyes went to the two people standing next to him. They were obviously his parents, and they kept glancing at him anxiously as if they expected him to explode at any moment. Unconsciously, her glare went icy and her jaw clenched up. She dragged her gaze back to Hawk and he was watching her with an amused look in his eye. She looked meaningfully at his brother then nodded, then she gave the same glance to his parents and her eyebrow quirked as she shrugged, saying the jury was still out on the people who essentially kicked him out of the house at age seven.
His eyes grew soft and his lips kicked up, and she knew that was him giving gratitude for the support, however useless it may be. Hazel's dad pulled the handle up on her suitcase and they started to turn away. Hazel mouthed a goodbye to Hawk and he did the same, watching her all the way out the airport.
When they got home, Hazel wasn't surprised to walk into the smell of cooking. Her stepmom, Amber, was an amazing chef and always made a great meal the first day that Hazel was there.
"Hey sweetie, welcome home!" Amber called when they walked through the door. Hazel went into the kitchen and gaze her stepmom a warm hug, inhaling the aromas of Lobster Alfredo, sweet and sour salad, and freshly baked bread. Hazel's eyes widened at the amount of food that was being made.
"Um, are we serving a small army?" she asked, rolling up her sleeves and washing her hands, preparing to help out with dinner.
"No, Jenny invited her new boyfriend and his family over for dinner."
Hazel's surprised gaze went to Jenny, who was flushed a bright cherry red.
"He's not my boyfriend, he's just a boy, who's a friend, who happens to be coming over for dinner later. His parents and brother are coming, too. I mean, it's not a huge deal. We were going to have to study for this thing anyway, so he was coming over anyway, and you were going to make a big deal out of it anyway, so I went ahead and invited his family over, too. So, so, get off my back okay!"
When she was done with her mini-rant, she was even more flushed and panting.
"Wow, she's got it bad," Hazel said.
"Mhmm," Amber murmured her agreement. Amber looked a lot like her daughter with their gorgeous red hair and completely covered in freckles. Their eyes were a warm brown, but where Amber was short and curvy, Jenny was tall and willowy. Hazel herself was definitely leaning towards the short and curvy side. She was only 5'4, and she had boobs. Whenever she ate a lot, which was often, she liked food, it always went straight to her ass. She did, however, have a flat stomach which she decorated with any number of belly rings. She had about forty different ones. It was a borderline obsession. Today she was wearing one with the superman logo on it.
Hazel and Amber continued teasing and pestering Jenny about her 'boyfriend' enjoying watching her face turn various shades of red and purple depending on the comment. Baby Jason sat in his high chair, watching everything with a big goofy smile on his face.
"Hey, when are they going to get here, anyway? I want to get a shower in before anyone sees me. I feel all ick."
Amber checked the wall clock.
"You should have time. They won't be getting here for another hour."
Hazel grabbed her suitcase from the hallway and brought it into her room, telling herself that she would unpack later, then she jumped into the shower, washed, shaved, lathered, rinsed, dried off, moisturized and went into her room. She decided on wearing a white crop top with jeans, it was summer, anyway. She toweled her hair then left it wet, knowing it would dry wavy, and went into the living room, not expecting the guest to be already there, sitting in her living room, wearing that gorgeous damn shit-eating grin.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Hawkins took a quick shower and changed into a white tee and jeans when his parents told him they would be having dinner with Drew's new friend. He walked into the living room and was greeted by two overly bright smiles and one amused one. He sat down next to Drew and mussed up his hair.
"So, what's up with this girl, huh? You like her?" he asked, tossing my feet up on his lap. He pushed them off with an eye roll and a faint flush creeped up his neck.
"Yeah, I like her, so don't embarrass me."
"Drew, be nice to your brother," Diana was quick to admonish, sending Hawkins a grin like he should be incredibly thankful.
Drew and Hawkins shared a look. While Drew was joking, using a phrase that was fairly common, their mother would have been serious.
"Mom, Hawkins knows I'm not being serious. God, you guys need to loosen up a little. He's not going to go into some rage and kill us all," Drew said with a roll of his eyes.
Hawkins tipped his head back and laughed, but his parents both gasped.
"Drew!" Diana said.
"Mom, seriously, I'm good. I'm bipolar, not psychopathic," Hawkins said.
"Isn't bipolar a psychopathic disease?" Drew asked, his eyebrows crinkling together.
"Nah, kid, you're thinking psychological," Hawkins corrected.
"It's time to go," Diana practically shouted.
"Jenny isn't expecting us until-"
"It never hurts to be early," she said ushering everyone out the door.
Hawkins tried pointedly not to notice the way his father was eyeing him, making him feel like a ticking time bomb.
He thought back to Hazel's expression when she had expressed her disapproval of his parents. It had made him smile.
"Hawk, tell me more about this girl that you met on the plane," Drew said once they were in the car, as if reading Hawkins' thoughts.
"All right, so her name's Hazel, I told you that. She's absolutely gorgeous. We came to a sort of...agreement, and we confided in each other. I told her my secrets, she told me hers. It was great...kind of like therapy, but effective. Then we made out."
A gasp from the front told Hawk that Diana had heard and a wicked grin split his face in two.
"Before or after you told her that you beat people up for a living?" Drew asked with a smirk.
"After. Well, before and after. The timeline's fuzzy, all I know is the girl can kiss."
"What does she look like?"
"Long, blonde hair. Dark blue eyes. Thirty-four freckles. Edible lips."
"Thirty-four. Really?" Drew asked with an amused expression.
"Definitely," Hawk said with a nod.
"Well, now that I have all the information in, I can tell you that I'm ninety-nine percent sure that you will be dining with her tonight."
Hawkins froze and eyed his little brother.
"What?"
"Jenny's older step-sister flew in today from Florida. Short, gorgeous, blonde, freckles, but what Jenny couldn't stop talking about was her eyes. She said that her sister, Hazel, has the coolest eyes you've ever seen. Like a dark blue, but bright somehow. Mixed in with other colors of blue near the pupil, but ringed with black."
A smile slowly stole over Hawkins' face and he nodded.
"Oh, yeah, that's her."
"And this girl knows about your disorder?" Diana asked, sounding aghast.
"Yeah, mom. Don't worry, though. She won't say anything."
"How do you know?"
"I just know, all right? I trust her," Hawk said, sounding irritated.
"If she tells her family..." his father started, speaking for the first time since they had picked up Hawkins.
"Then what, Dad?" Hawkins snapped. "Then they'll know. Then the whole neighborhood might know. Then you'll be labeled with the guy with the screwed up son, and we wouldn't want that, would we?"
Drew stared at Hawkins with camaraderie in his gaze. This was his brother. He stood by him one hundred percent.
"That's not what I said, Hawkins-"
"But it's what you meant, right? Well, don't worry, dad," Hawkins sneered, "I can promise you she won't say anything. She is sweet, and kind, and genuine and just goddamned nice. So if you guys could not embarrass me, that would be great."
Diana's eyes widened at the prospect of them embarrassing him.
The rest of the car ride was made in silence and Hawkins practically tore the door off the car in his hurry to get into the house. At the last minute, he remembered manners and he rang the doorbell. A short redheaded woman answered the door with an easy warm smile.
"Hello! I'm Amber, you must be Drew's brother, Hawkins," she said, extending a hand.
"Yes, ma'am," Hawkins said.
"You know, my daughter Hazel is here and she's just about your age," Amber said with a twinkle in her eye.
"Can I tell you a secret?" Hawkins asked, leaning forward. Amber's face lit up and she leaned forward.
"I've already met Hazel. I sat next to her on the plane today. We actually got pretty close. I had no idea she would be here tonight until about three minutes ago."
Amber clapped her hands together with a squeal.
"Oh! She'll be so excited."
She ushered everyone in, exchanging pleasantries. Drew went straight to a cute little redhead who looked just like Amber sitting on the couch. Hawkins looked for a family picture on a bookshelf, then grinned at a younger Hazel doing a game-show host's grin next to a sign saying 'Welcome to Minnesota' and holding her hands out in a grand gesture. Jenny was on the other side of the sign doing the same thing, but Hawkins didn't really get that far.
Hawkins heard footsteps padding down the hallway and he spun around. His breath caught at the sight of Hazel with wet hair, jeans and a white shirt, looking so simply stunningly beautiful.
He grinned devilishly when her eyes came up and widened comically.
"Hawk?" she squeaked.
He had a second of nervousness where he wasn't sure how she would act in front of her family, but a smile spread across her face, too, and her eyes lit up.
"Hawk!" she said again, walking quickly towards him. She stood up on her tiptoes to throw her arms around his shoulders because, when they're not sitting down, he's a good foot taller than her. He leaned down to wrap his arms around her waist and lift her up into a huge bear hug, causing her to giggle. When he set her down, she pulled back, her eyes bright.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, running her hands down to hold his biceps.
"I couldn't stay away," he said, squeezing the hands that he kept at her waist.
"No, for real," she said, turning around. She saw Drew and gasped.
"Oh my gosh, Jenny, your boyfriend is Hawk's little brother?" she said, looking so excited Hawk had to chuckle. Jenny turned bright red and Drew smiled so brightly the whole room lit up.
Amber walked in from the kitchen and said that dinner was ready. Hazel grabbed Hawk's hand and happily led him into the kitchen, demanding that he sit next to her. After he sat down, she announced that she was going to get beverages. On her way to the kitchen, she bent down to whisper in his ear.
"I know that the whole basis on our tell-all in the plane was that we would never see each other again, but I still don't regret it. I trust you not to spill."
Hawk turned in his chair so that he was facing her.
"Same," he whispered. She kissed him on the cheek and went to grab drinks.
A few minutes later, everyone was seated and eating, and Richard didn't know who to question first Hawk, or Drew.
He decided the most immediate threat, that being the biggest and most obviously dangerous, was Hawk.
"So, where do you live year round?"
"At the Academy in Florida, sir."
"And that's a-"
"Hold on!" Hazel exclaimed. Hawk turned amused eyes on her.
"Where in Florida?"
"About a mile out of Crystal River," he shrugged.
She absolutely lit up, and Hawk couldn't help but smile.
"I live in St. Petersburg!" she yelled, smacking him on the arm.
"Ouch, what was that for?" he chuckled, ignoring the way both of his parents tensed.
"For not telling me that you live less than two hours away from me!" she said, smacking him a few more times for emphasis.
"How was I supposed to know?" he asked, confiscating both her wrists in one hand and leaning in closer.
"You just were, okay?" she said, pouting now that her weapons were confiscated. He kissed her on the nose and gave her back her hands.
Richard cleared his throat and continued on with his line of questioning.
"So, that would be a fighting academy, Hawkins?" he asked.
"Yes, sir. A UFC training academy, but the academics there are excellent, too."
"How did you get that connection? Is it a type of thing you apply for?"
Hawk stiffened and Hazel reached under the table to grab his hand, knowing that he was only enduring this line of questioning for her sake. He relaxed and turned his own hand over to twine their fingers together.
"Daddy, why don't we stop with the third degree and focus on having a nice dinner, okay?"
Hazel's suggestion was sweet as could be, but everyone heard the steel behind it. Hawkins squeezed her hand in appreciation and she, not really caring who saw, leaned over to kiss him on the cheek.
Diana had been watching this whole thing wearily and that was the last straw for her.
"Hazel, how long have you known my son for?" she asked in a polite tone.
Hawkins tensed again, but Hazel just smiled.
"A little under seven hours by my estimation, ma'am," Hazel answered.
"Right, well, I suppose my question would be, how are you two so familiar already? That must have been one plane ride."
Hazel leaned forward with a twinkle in her eye.
"Oh, it was," she said, her voice laced with suggestion.
Hawkins stifled a laugh as a cough and Diana's eyes widened.
"I suppose what I meant was," Diana sputtered out, "are you sure that you want my son? All of him? He's a big boy."
She made her tone joking, and Amber, Richard, and Jenny laughed. Everyone else at the table didn't.
Hazel's eyes turned positively glacier and Diana actually flinched a little at the sharpness in them.
"I can handle it. You see Diana, not everyone sends away big. Some people can see past the size to the person underneath. I know that if I had a son who was big, I would want him. Just like I want your son. No, scratch that. I would want him in a totally different way, but I still wouldn't send him off to a military school."
The laughter at the table stopped and suddenly, everyone knew that 'big' wasn't really referring to size. Diana's face was flushed and she continued to glare at Hazel.
"Some parents can't handle big. Some-"
"Obviously," Hazel scoffed.
"Some parents," Diana continued through clenched teeth, "think that sending their child off is what's best."
"Some parents," Hazel said, not noticing Hawk starting to shake next to her, "should take their child to a doctor before they decide to send him off for eleven years. One man spent a week with your son and he did a better job parenting than you did for seven years!"
"Obviously he didn't do a great job if my son is wasting his time with the likes of you!"
"STOP!'" Hawk roared, standing up so fast he knocked his chair down. He turned his burning eyes on his mother. "Don't ever talk to Hazel like that again. She's right. You two treat me like a disease on the family. Guess what everyone? I'M BIPOLAR! And you know what? Who cares? Hazel sure as hell didn't! The only thing she cared about was my fucking parents that didn't so much as write to me for eleven years. I just-UGHH!"
He stormed off, running both hands through his hair in a frustrated way. By the way he was shaking, Hazel knew that he would need some way to work out that anger before it came out in the form of his fist to someone's face.
Both her and Drew shot up and ran after him. He was pacing in the front hallway, smoke practically coming out of his ears.
"Hawk, you have to calm down, all right?" Drew begged, walking up to his brother carefully. Hawk didn't even acknowledge him, just continued to pace.
"Drew, he needs to work out that energy inside of him before it explodes," Hazel said, not taking her eyes off of Hawk.
"Do you have a punching bag somewhere, per chance?" Drew asked somewhat desperately.
"No, but you should go back to dinner, all right?" she asked, biting her lip.
"What are you- Oh, right, um, yeah, okay."
Red-faced, Drew made his way back to the dining room.
Hazel walked over to Hawk and grabbed his arm. He whirled around on her and she grabbed his hair to yank his head down. She got up on tiptoes to meet him halfway and smashed her lips into his own. He responded immediately, letting out an animalistic growl and grabbing her ass to haul her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he tangled a hand into her hair so that when he backed them up into a wall, her head didn't smash against it. He devoured her mouth deeply and with abandon. Teeth clashed, tongues tangled, and their mouths didn't get a chance to close around their tongues. Now that Hazel was firmly planted between Hawk and the wall, He brought his other hand up to cup her face. He tilted it a little and took the kiss even deeper, grinding himself into her against the wall. She made a sound like a whimper and ran her nails lightly down his neck, reveling in the goosebumps that ensued.
Hawk's kisses started to slow as his shaking died down and then he came to a stop all together. He planted his hands on either side of her face, panting heavily. She placed her hands on his shoulders and unwrapped her legs from around his waist, sliding down his body and to the floor.
"You good?" she whispered, cupping his face in her hands and stroking her thumbs over his cheekbones. He nodded and leaned down to nuzzle her neck.
"I'm sorry," he murmured.
"For what?"
"For, you know-"
"For being yourself? For being pissed at your mom because she was being a judgmental bee-yotch? Don't be."
She felt him smile against her neck and she ran her fingers through his hair.
"We should probably get back," she whispered.
"Probably," he said.
He stepped back and turned, but Hazel pushed his jaw so he was looking at her with the tip of her finger.
"Hey," she said softly and he gave her his eyes. "You and me? We're good Hawk. This is going to be a fun week."
His whole face softened and he nodded.
"Yeah. Then after that, I can visit you at your school, right?" he asked.
She beamed then frowned.
"You're fighting this year, right? This is your first year to get in the game?"
He nodded.
"Yeah, but it's not like the fights are every day. They have to get it down to two people eventually, but there are hundreds upon hundreds of guys who start out local, then don't make it. That takes time. Time I will use to go see my Hazel."
He kissed her loudly on the nose, grabbed her hand, and pulled her back to the dinner table. Ignoring his mother's disgruntled gaze and his father's harsh one.
S U P R I S E!