#tnwm

“If I never see another glitter sticker in my life, it will still be too soon.” you say sighing and walking out of the elementary school building. 

“I used to love art class when I was a kid,” your partner Mori says smiling and walking to the driver side of the squad car.

You both get in and head back to headquarters. You were questioning a school teacher who had witnessed a drug trade in a string of crimes around the city. The pros had asked the Hero Public Safety Commission for help in investigating and gathering enough evidence to take them down. So far all of the intel had been a bust and the rest of the officers were starting to slack off. You hated it. You’d always been one to take every mission you worked on seriously and finish it completely until it was closed. The other officers had constantly made fun of you and called you uptight because of it. You never cared but stayed focused on your goal. 

“You know, we're going to have to walk into the chief's office to tell him this was a flop as well. Are you prepared for the lecture?” Mori says glancing over to you warily. 

“Yeah yeah I am. I don’t even know why he wastes his breath. He knows I’m too stubborn. I’m not going to back off until this case is closed.” you say shrugging and finishing up your coffee. 

You were one of the best detectives because you had the most solved cases and the chief knew it. But you went through the same song and dance every time you had to report back to tell him your intel was useless. He would tell you to focus on another bigger assignment and you would refuse and tell him you weren't moving on until the case you were currently working on was wrapped. You didn’t really understand it yourself, but you couldn’t bring yourself to leave a case open. What if someone had needed to be saved? 

Mori pulls up to headquarters and you both enter. You hear the bustle of work life: rustling papers, printers going, and phones ringing.

“Hey I'm going to grab another coffee before we head in to see the chief. Can you update the board really fast?” you say to him as you turn the corner to the break room. He nods and heads to your shared office. You take the lid off of your reusable cup and grab the coffee pot. A bit of air rustles your hair and something grazes your cheek. 

“You know, they say coffee stunts your growth.” says a cool sly deep voice in your ear. “Huh, maybe that’s why I didn’t get as tall as Endeavor.”

You whip around frantically and spill the remaining coffee all over the floor. 

“Goddammit, Hawks!” you say through your teeth. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you about personal space?!” 

“Haha well hello to you too Chickadee.” Hawks says chuckling and looking down at you.

“DO NOT call me that. I’m not one of your fan girls. It’s Detective L/N.” you say putting down the coffee pot and going to the sink to grab a towel. You grab the towel, wet it and bend down to wipe up the coffee. Hawks smirks at you, grabs a roll of paper towels and bends down to help. “Don’t!” you say grabbing the paper towels from him and giving him a furious look. 

“Oh right, I forgot you were a big hippie about this type of stuff.” He says chuckling again and giving you a sly look. 

“Caring about the environment does not make me a hippie, it makes me a decent person.” you say cleaning up the remaining coffee. You sigh as you stand back up and rinse the towel out. 

“You know, you really need to relax a bit Chickadee. Loosen up and enjoy life a bit, maybe take the stick from up you ass.” He says running his fingers through his windswept hair and wiggling his eyebrows. You spin around to face him angrily. 

“What are you even doing here? Shouldn’t you be out doing pro hero work or patrolling or be literally anywhere else but here?” you say huffing. 

“I’m here to see my favorite detective of course… and I was asked to come by the chief.” he says matter-of-factly. “Ya know, I know this really great cafe with the best coffee. Why don’t you let me take you out sometime? I do owe you for making you spill yours.” He says moving closer to you and trapping you with his arms on either side of the sink.

You scowl up at him unaware of how close you two are. He looks at you, eyes lazy and smirking confidently. You’ve seen it too many times before. He was always using it to get out of the small fines the other detectives tried to give him for flying in prohibited zones. And every time he was able to charm his way out of it, except when it came to you. You could admit to yourself his charming smile, cool deep voice, and spicy scent was attractive but not enough to distract you from doing your job. Hawks had been a thorn in your side since you started at the Hero Public Safety Commission. He was good at what he did but he also had everyone wrapped around his finger and he never seemed to take his work seriously. Well not as seriously as you did.

You look into his eyes and drop your scowl, an idea forming in your head. You take a page out of his book and give him a cute flirty smile. You watch his expression change from confident to confused. Perfect. You stand on your tiptoes, inches from his face now and lean in toward his ear to whisper in the sultriest voice you can muster. 

“Ya know, that fact you said about the coffee?” you whisper making sure to let your breath tickle the sensitive part of his neck. You see the goosebumps rise and he shivers and rustles his wings restlessly. You run your nose lightly against his neck and inhale his cologne and it makes you slightly dizzy. But a good dizzy. You shake your head slightly and you can swear you hear his breath catch when you breathe out slowly. Hawks leans into you and your bodies are almost completely touching now. 

“Mmm hmm?” he says closing his eyes and focusing on your voice and breath on his neck. 

“It’s a myth. Coffee doesn’t stunt your growth.” you whisper and drop back down to your 5’2 stature. You grab your coffee cup, slap the arm blocking you in and slide past him as he opens his eyes and looks at you confused. You walk to the doorway and before turning the corner peek over your shoulder at him with an amused teasing grin. 

“That means coffee had nothing to do with your height short stuff, so you may want to find another excuse when you flirt with your next victim.” you say as you round the corner sensually and head to the chief’s office. 

Hawks stares after you stunned and amused by your playful banter. He smirks and says quietly to himself,

This is going to be fun.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You shove the key to your apartment in the key hole, push open the door, and slam it shut blocking out the world. You lean against the door and slowly slide down to the floor pulling your knees up close to your chest.

Your head is swimming for lack of better words and it pounds incessantly as it tries to catch up with all the new information you’ve just acquired. What does all of this mean? Especially for this new relationship, if you can even call it that, you have with Hawks. You can’t stay away from him, that’s insanely obvious. You’d found yourself back in his life even after having your memories wiped, so clearly some force in the universe is telling you not to shut him out. 

The universe can fuck right off. You think to yourself. He lied to you. Why does everyone keep lying to you and then excusing it by saying they were trying to save you? 

Did they know you at all?  Didn’t they know that honesty was what you’d always valued the most? Not to mention the shit you just found out about your father and your past.

Who was he? Where was he now? Could he be after you? How did he escape? Why did he escape? And how can you catch him and possibly get revenge for what he did? 

There’s a foreign noise in your apartment, weird staccato breathing like a pregnant woman ringing in your ears and dancing around the room like a disciplined ballet dancer. It takes you a moment to realize the hysterical crying is coming from you. Your head is in between your knees now and there’s a huge wet stain on your shorts from the tears slipping off the tip of your nose. 

You focus on calming your breathing down and emptying your mind and as you do you curl up in a ball in front of the door and fall asleep. 

Your dreams are filled with Hawks. They flip quickly from young teenage Hawks to Hawks now, to that terrifying beat up Hawks you saw before you woke up this morning and in some instances your father’s face. 

A knock on your door rouses you from your short slumber and you have to physically stop yourself from rushing to open the door to see if it’s him. You’re ashamed at how disappointed you are with the familiar voice on the other side of the door. 

“Y/n, it’s me. Let me in.” 

You stand and open the door a crack sleepy gaze on the man in front of you. 

Mori. He’s holding your favorite take out and those shitty canned coffee drinks you adore. You open the door wider to let him step inside. 

“Before you ask, no he didn’t ask me to come and yes I already know everything that happened today. Don’t ask how. Just take the food and be happy,” he says placing the food on your kitchen cabinet. 

“I wasn’t going to ask,” you reply, hiding your chagrin at having to bite your tongue.  You both sit on the couch and partake in the food, quietly savoring the flavor. You swallow dryly before gathering the courage to ask Mori why he’s here, but he starts talking at the same time you open your mouth. You snap it shut as he starts his sentence over. 

“I’m not gonna tell you how you should feel. I also probably shouldn’t tell you this, but Hawks practically begged me to step down at being your partner for this case.  Said this case was a big one, really important and needed your expertise and it would be easier if he worked directly with you.” 

You roll your eyes. This is not what you wanted to hear. You can feel the past annoyance bubbling up in you back when you found out Mori stepped down. He continues before you’re able to reply. 

“I think there was something else though. He seemed desperate for me to say yes. Like he knew something more,” he continued. 

You frown. “He did know something more. He knew everything. And kept it from me.” 

“No it felt different. More desperate. I don’t think he would’ve been this desperate to work with you on this one case just to spill the beans about your memories,” Mori says, placing a finger to his chin. 

“Sounds like you’re taking his side,” you interject, raising an eyebrow. 

“I’m not taking any sides. Just telling you my observations that’s all. Look I wouldn’t have agreed if I thought he was going to hurt you in any way. I know he still did, I’m just saying, I think there’s more to this than you think. He didn’t seem desperate to get a date with you, he seemed desperate to solve the case.” Mori finishes.

He grabs the empty carton from your hand and trashes it before returning to the couch and flicking on a funny sitcom. He quietly watches the show as you let his words sink in. You’re grateful for Mori’s company and his friendship. He seems to always know your feelings before you do, I mean he was the one who teased you about Hawks consistently. 

Mori stays for a few hours and leaves as the sun starts to set. You give him a big hug and he rustles your hair like a child. 

“Call me if you need anything,” he says, shutting the door behind him. 

It’s too quiet now. Being alone with your thoughts is not exactly what you need so you head over to your desk and flip open the folder with the investigation notes. 

It’s full of photographs and typed up reports that you’re sure you’re going to have to read through to get caught up on what you’ve missed. The raid is supposed to be tomorrow and the plan to infiltrate should be in this folder. 

You sigh and pick up the first page. It’s handwritten, chicken scratch, and it looks like it was written quickly. You read over it your eyes growing wide as you comprehend what you’re reading. 

Y/n, 

If you’re reading this it means things didn’t go well with telling you about what happened 4 years ago. Look I’m real sorry little dove. For everything. At the time, I just wanted you to get better and be safe. That’s all I ever wanted. I kept my distance, did what the HPSC told me to despite it making me go crazy to be away from you. But if it meant you got to live and be healthy then I won’t lie, I would’ve made the same decision over and over again kid. 

Don’t be mad at your mom, alright? She was just trying to save your life. She loves you, ya know? I’d kill to have a fierce mama bird like that haha. 

Anyway, I’m sorry for putting you through all of this. I swear it ain’t for nothing. I had to make sure… no I had to keep you safe. When I found out you were on this case, I needed to protect you and finish what I started. 

And I intend to do that, Chickadee. I’ll always keep you safe, that’s a promise I’ll never break. 

I’ll stop this once and for all. 

-Keigo

You reread the letter twice before setting it down to shuffle through the remaining typed pages and photos. Hawk’s scratchy writing is littered over all the pages, small notes and questions to himself as he reviewed all the evidence for this case. 

As you dig deeper into the file you realize how close he’s come to cracking this case, the hours he’s put into figuring everything out in the last few days. A tiny red feather sticks out from the last sheet of paper and you pick it up by the stem, examining it carefully. You know he’s able to control each feather but can he feel what those feathers feel as well? You can’t stop the memories of his feathers on your skin as the two of you danced together, how safe you felt when he’d wrapped them around you as you fainted. 

You shake the thought from your mind trying to keep your focus as you continue to read through the files in the folder. You pause for a second realizing there's some information missing. It seems Hawks was able to narrow down the ringleader to two suspects but the trail goes cold. 

There’s no more information, no names listed and the location and date of the raid isn’t included in all this information. 

You’re confused as you shuffle through the pages again searching for the most important page of the report. The standard operational procedure is missing. Why would Hawks forget to include that crucial sheet? It should detail exactly how the raid will unfold down, to the last details and what everyone involved is responsible for at the scene. 

It hits you as the words from his letter float gently around your head. 

When I found out you were on this case, I needed to protect you and finish what I started. 

He wouldn’t leave out the SOP, you know that. He’s way too efficient, cares too much about saving others to fuck that up. Not to mention Mori’s description of his reaction to this case. Finish what he started? You're suddenly pushed to the ground with the weight of your realization as your eyes grow wide in terror. 

You’re moving swiftly around your apartment now, switching your clothes for a comfortable shirt and sweatpants. You grab your keys from the kitchen counter and snatch up the note from him. You hurry for the door and turn the handle before turning back to look at the feather laying on the desk. You quickly dash across the room, grabbing it and stuffing it your shirt as you mutter

“Damn bird brain” and slam and lock the door behind you. 

_______________________________________________

“... take the stick from my ass...Tch, what an idiot,” you mutter to yourself as you walk into your office and place your cup on the desk. You roll your eyes as you log into your computer and pull out your notebook to write down notes from your interview with the school teacher. She was able to give you details on the man she saw, but didn’t see the drugs that were being smuggled. You look up the man’s name in the database and it comes up empty. You figured it would’ve. These guys were lowlives but they weren’t newbies. They used good covers, and they were doing a relatively good job at staying out of the public’s eye. The chief wanted to keep the string of drug smugglers out of the media for now so they wouldn't disappear, but they were getting better at hiding their wares. 

You write the description of the man and his alias in your notebook with the others. They were bound to mess up at some point and when they did, you would be ready. A knock on your door makes you tear your eyes from the page. 

“L/N, the chief would like to see you in his office,” says Yuki, the sweet secretary. 

“Thanks, I’ll be right there,” you say, walking around your desk to the big bulletin board that held a map and pictures of the suspects. Mori had added a sketch of the man the teacher described to where he was said to be seen doing the drug swap. So far, there was nothing. You stared at the board for what might have been the seventeenth time that day, hoping an epiphany would come to you. After about five minutes, you sigh and head to the chief’s office before he loses his temper. 

“Ahhh (y/n), we were just discussing you," the chief says as you open the door to his office. You immediately frown as you catch a glimpse of the big crimson wings in front of you. 

Hawks looks over his shoulder with his signature smirk. “All good things, I promise," he says. 

You ignore him and take a seat in one of the chairs across from the chief’s desk. Hawks grabs the chair next to you, scoots it close enough that the arm is touching yours and plops down. You shift slightly away from him. 

“You wanted to see me, sir?” you say, focusing all of your attention on the chief. 

“Yes, I just finished talking to Mori. He gave me the complete update. Still no leads, correct?” he says.

 You let out an impatient breath. “No, but these things take time. We have to wait until they make a mistake, which they will. They always do. Once they inevitably fuck up, we will have all the information to take them down. I’m sure of it,” you say, getting slightly worked up. 

“And how do you know this woman was telling the truth? How do you know she wasn’t working with them? Covering for them and leading you off the trail?" the chief says, sensing your swelling emotion. 

“Oh please, sir, you know as well as I do my quirk never fails with that. That woman trusted me more than she trusted her family therapist. Which is saying something because that’s the only person she’s ever trusted in her life. I know...she told me, the new person in her life she trusted the most,” you say, rolling your eyes and flipping your hair. 

“Hey chief, why don’t you quit playin’ with her and tell her the real reason you called her in, huh? I’d like to get out of here, I’m starving,” Hawks says, yawning and looking unimpressed.

You look at Hawks, searching his expression for clarification and he winks at you. “Y/n, I have no doubt that you’ll be able to crack this. But the other day Hawks infiltrated a small drug ring in the country and they seem to be linked to what’s happening in the city here. One of the suspects had the date that we are assuming a big drug trade is supposed to be happening to transport the drugs to the city for distribution. With this intel, we might be able to stop this and see who’s the mastermind behind all of this,” the chief explains. 

“Why do I feel like there’s a catch coming?” you say, squinting darkly at the chief. 

“Well, since Hawks was the one handling this when we originally thought this was a separate case, it only makes sense that if the cases are connected you two should comb-” the chief stops at your sudden outburst of laughter. “Is there…something funny?” 

“Oh Chief…it’s hilarious…” you say through your laughter. “Because it sounds like you’re saying you want Hawks and I to work together. But you can’t be! Because you know that would be crazy!” you continue, wiping a tear from your eye.  

“I told you she’d get a kick out of it. I’ll let you two finish up here. Chief, if you need me, I’ll be at the restaurant down the street. They’ve got the best yakitori,” Hawks says, standing and stretching his wings. He turns to you and places a gloved finger under your chin to make you look up at him. 

“I look forward to working with you too, chickadee." He gives you a cocky smile as he takes in your angry face and moves quickly out of the office, shutting the door behind him.