Nakidori Sensaina x Hawks
Part 3
The Italian restaurant was exactly as Nakidori had said it would be. From the decore to the food and the general feeling of the restaurant, it definitely made Hawks feel as if he had walked into a portal and ended up in Italy himself.
The walls were lined with all sorts of photos that showed off various famous sites and locations scattered across Italy. Places he had yet to go to, but still wanted to go to. Maybe one day when hero work wasn't as time consuming as it was now.
But until then, he'd take Nakidori's word that this place was as authentic to Italian cuisine as she could find. And from the look, smell and atmosphere of the restaurant alone, he had a feeling he should be doing anything but doubting the girl on what she said.
The staff at the restaurant were also too kind, seeing as right as the pair walked in, recognized the pair of heroes. The owner and head chef were in a slight panic, wanting to impress and show the top rescue hero and the number two hero over all a good meal and a great time. And thus had to figure out where to put the pair so their meal would not be constantly interrupted by people who would also recognize them.
Thus the restaurant they were sitting in had put the two recognizable heroes towards the back of the seating area, knowing the heroes might want a more private meal. After all being constantly swarmed by the media and having fans interrupting their meal was something the staff at the Italian restaurant just could not allow happen.
To them, meals should be times of peace between friends and loved one. Or from what the staff could tell between these two heroes: a moment to get to know one another a bit more.
The food had arrived not too long ago. Hawks, as he had said, had ordered the chicken parmesan, while Nakidori had ordered a simple spaghetti meal. The pair had paused in their light conversation to take a few bites of their meal.
"Let me know if there is anything else I can get for the two of you." Their waitress spoke. "And once again, it's an honor to be able to wait for you both."
Hawks smiled, chatting with the waitress slightly on how she was too kind and to not feel or act like he was some king to serve. She nodded eagerly to him, telling him she just wanted him to know of her gratefulness for heroes like him and Nakidori.
Nakidori only watched with interest as she ate some of her pasta and helped herself to another slice of bread. As she did so, she couldn't help but notice how despite the strange situation of a sudden lunch and barely knowing each other, Hawks was in a good mood.
He had always seemed like the type of person who was bright and joyful often, but Nakidori had always assumed it was because he wanted to keep up the image of him wanting to stop crime in order for him to live an easy and carefree life. But now in his presence and seeing how he oozed these emotions naturally, she could tell that his hero persona and his off duty persona were fairly similar. If not the exact same person.
The waitress eventually left, leaving both Nakidori and Hawks to continue eating their meals in some privacy and continue the conversation they had been having before. Hawks chewed on his chicken for a moment, noticing Nakidori's eyes on him.
"What? Do I have some chicken on my face?" He asked, grabbing his napkin in case he did.
Nakidoru shook her head. "No no. I was just thinking about how you're the same in and out of costume. It's nice... to know you're the same in and out."
Hawks shrugged. "I was never a fan of the idea of putting on a touch and heroic facade to make people feel better. So, my motto is if I'm feeling fine, then they should be as well. If' I'm worried... then I want people to know and be prepared for what might happen. Better then lie to them and make them think the world is not in danger when the worst might happen."
Nakidori nodded slowly. "I agree... maybe that's why I choose the rescue occupation. I don't want to let people down or install false hope. I'd rather let them know everything is going to be fine, and they'll make it out of the catastrophe."
Hawks smiled softly. "You're a cool hero."
Nakidori felt her face warm up a few degrees and she waved her hands back and forth and few time. Hawks watching as her tail feathers also stuck up slightly from where they were resting on the side. She certainly had a hard time trying to hide her feelings and emotions with those feathers, didn't she?
"M-me?!" She shook her head now that the words were starting to be produced. "No way! You're a way cooler hero then me! I mean look at your popularity numbers! You're higher than Endeavor! He's only number one because he shows up to so many disasters!"
"Then he does..." Hawks chuckled. "I'd rather only show up if it's threatening my neck of the woods... plus, it's also nice to see what new heroes are on the scene too. So many of them are super cool."
"You like heroes too then?" Nakidori smiled, tilting her head slightly.
"Yeah I love them! That's why I wanted to be a hero... 'cause they were always so cool. Not saying I wanted to be cool or anything... but that I wanted to be someone that someone else could look towards and think 'Man... the world sure is a good place to live in since he's here to make sure we're all safe."
Nakidori nodded along, part of her happy to learn a bit more about her colleague like this. But despite that he was exactly that to her, she was too embarrassed to admit she had grown up thinking he was the coolest...and that after his debut when she was in high school, she wanted nothing more than to try and be a hero like him.
"But enough about me." Hawks spoke, cutting up a bit more of his meal as he spoke. "Tell me more about you, Nakidori."
"Me?" She blinked. "Well... I promise there's nothing too interesting. Unlike you, I haven't really done anything super big or heroic."
Nakidori sighed. "While I love being a rescue hero more than anything in this world, I don't get much recognition since the heroes who are on the front lines tend to get the most credit. But then again... I can't tell you how much it means to me when someone I saved writes me a letter."
She chuckled slightly. "I don't know... I just can't help but feel like I don't deserve the thanks. I mean, I was only doing my job and if anything I'm more grateful to the people who feel as if they need to thank me for my actions that was me simply trying to make sure no one else died on a day that they didn't need to."
Nakidori looked up, seeing as she had been distracted and stirring her noodles a bit as she spoke. When she did, she noticed Hawks looking directly at her, hand on his cheek and looking totally capitated by what she was saying. But being her, and still trying to figure out what she felt towards him, she couldn't help but let out a tiny squeak and fumbled her words.
"S-sorry! I was rambling!" She chided herself. "I usually don't do that... sorry for boring you with weird ideas of why I became a hero..."
Hawks shook his head. "You didn't do that at all... if anything I think you're way cooler than before."
Nakidori whined gently, pressing her face into her hands in a poor attempt to hide her embarrassment at his words. Hawks chuckled slightly, seeing as he not only found her cool, but maybe also a little bit cute as well. The way her emotions were tied into her tail feathers and how her face turned pink and matched her red hair and gold eyes was too much for him to not think she was a bit adorable.
"Anyway... you graduated from UA, right?" Hawks moved the subject along, not wanting her feel like she was in a constant state of foolishness of anything.
"Yeah, I did." Nakidori nodded, showing off her golden eyes to him again.
"That's really interesting." Hawks commented. "Almost every hero I know went to UA. Guess the school helps raise a lot of great heroes!"
Nakidori blinked. "Oh that's right. You didn't go to UA, did you?"
"Nope. I'm outside the norm when it comes to what school the top pro-heroes go to." Hawks chuckled and then paused a moment. "Now that I think about it though... I think I'm outside the norm on a lot of stuff..."
Nakidori chuckled slightly. "You are pretty young for being in the top three. Twenty-six, right?"
"Yup! Worked my ass off to get so high up too... but to the point where I couldn't relax a little bit."
Hawks snapped his fingers and pointed to Nakidori. "But you're an exception as well! Twenty-one and already having the best rescue hero agency to work for is nothing to pass over!"
Nakidori blushed again, this time lightly from his praise. "Thank you... it means a lot coming from you, Hawks."
He chuckled again, looking down at his meal with a hungry expression. "It's not a problem, like I said before... we birds have to stick together! Now... I'm gonna chow down before it gets too cold!"
Nakidori laughed at these words, only to witness him scarfing down the chicken parmesan a few moments later. She followed his lead, eating her own pasta, and sharing the bread between the two of them as they continued to eat.
Conversation came and went between them slowly, as did the staff asking if they were enjoying the meal or if they needed anything else. By the time the plates were empty and stomachs were full, the check, as promised, had been paid for by Hawks.
The pair of heroes looked to both be about ready to go and slowly grabbed their things before heading towards the door together, muttering a last few thoughts between one another. A good tip left for the waitress and compliments towards the chef. The meal was finished and it was time to leave so another patron could take up space in the fine eatery.
"Well..." Nakidori smiled softly. "Thank you for the meal."
Hawks nodded his head. "It wasn't a problem. You were right, the food was really good and you made for great company."
The pair left the table, heading towards the door. Waving goodbye to their waitress and a few more of the staff members as they left the establishment. Hawks opened the door for her, and let the female out and back into the warm and sunny day.
Her dark red hair already feeling warm from the trickles of sunlight striking it, and she softly exhaled and basked in the warm day that was here. Sunny days were always her favorite, as it made her entire body feel calm and relaxed and alive. And to some extent made her feel as if she could heal anything and everything. Strange how a little sunlight could reenergize her so.
"Well, thank you again, Hawks." Nakidori muttered, pulling gently on her sundress to make sure it looked neat. "I'll be seeing you around sometime."
"Yeah..." Hawks muttered, watching as Nakidori turned on her heel and started on her way.
He frowned for a moment, knowing he didn't want to say goodbye yet, but then again he had interrupted her time a lot today. But even so, he couldn't deny that he felt something else inside of him that made him want to reach out to the girl again.
He walked forward slowly, grabbing Nakidori's arm and she paused from the soft touch, turning her head to look at the male who was holding onto her. He looked as if he had something important on his mind and Nakidori turned to face him. Her face looked concerned and he couldn't help but give her a smile to reassure her that all was fine and she should not be worrying so much.
"Sorry. Sorry." Hawks let go of her and held his hands up as if he was trying to show his defense and sincerity towards his last actions. "I just wanted to ask you one last thing before we parted ways."
"Oh? What?" Nakidori muttered, watching as Hawks rubbed the back of his head a little, looking as if he was nervous about something.
"I've never been good at bouncing around this subject... so I'll ask you up front..." Hawks cleared his throat. "But... could I have your number? I'd like to take you out again, on a real date if you're interested."
Nakidori's eyes widened and she reflexively stiffened. Hawks noticed her do so and automatically tried to play it off as something else.
"If you don't want to, then that's fine! I don't mind at all, I just... felt a little connection between us and wanted to see where it could go. But then again, if it's only me then don't feel bad about telling me no. It's really not a problem."
He looked a bit disappointed with the idea that her answer would be the opposite of what he was hoping for, but Hawks was about to have his day get a lot better with Nakidori's next words.
"Give me your phone." She spoke, holding her hand out.
Hawks' eyes widened and he did exactly that. Unlocking the device and handing it off to the girl. He watched with bubbles in his stomach as she entered her number and then handed the device back to him.
He smiled brightly, quickly sending her a message so the pair would have a way to contact one another. And then he held up a hand, waving her off as he started on his own way. Nakidori smiled and waved back at him, back of her still in disbelief that she had just done that.
But then again... the chance to date the hero she had been crushing on since high school seemed like an opportunity she couldn't miss out on. Even if it was just for one date, maybe if she at least gave into this foolish desire and saw how it would actually end she would learn to be happy with the conclusion.
Thus she decided to see where this went, find closure on these feelings, and then finally be able to move on. Now all she had to do... was follow through with it and hoped it all went according to plan and nothing else went off the rails.