Chapter Text
It was a normal shift, just like any other one. Take the order, bring the food, smile, use your customer service voice, get tips. Working as an 18 year old (mildly attractive) girl in one of the most busy diners in Tokyo definitely had its perks. For the most part, customers were nothing but friendly, and thanks to your charm, getting paid handsomely in tips came to you easily. You got to meet all sorts of interesting people here, and even managed to make a few friends with some of the regulars. The most common conversation you had with nearly every one you served, was about the snake “tattoo” on your arm. So many people have asked about it, you had the whole explanation down to a routine. You’d smile wide, lift up your left arm to model the small black snake coiled around it, it’s head touching your wrist bone and the tail only a hair away from your elbow.
“Ah, this old thing? I’ve had it since I was four!” You’d always say. People would either laugh, or shoot you a look of confusion mixed with doubt. You’d happily explain that the little snake on your arm, was your quirk. It technically wasn’t a tattoo, but there weren’t many other ways to explain it. Then you’d take a step back, stretch out your fingers, and let the magic happen. Your little snake would slowly rise out from under your skin, slithering it’s way around each of your digits. He’d give you a flick of the tongue, you’d kiss his little head, and the people would be amazed.
It wasn’t much of a flashy or powerful quirk, but you loved that snake. Summoning it out of your body was as easy as lifting your arm up, and having it coil back around you, watching the living breathing reptile seemingly disappear into a flat design on your body, was second nature. He was your very own best friend that was quite literally, with you always. At a young age, you decided to name him Chuuya. It felt wrong to have an extension of yourself that didn’t even have a title. Chuuya was a part of you, and you were a part of him. When summoned, you knew where he was planning to slither, and how he was feeling. Over time you not only knew what he was thinking, you could control him. You realized he was essentially like another arm, just with poisonous fangs and a forked tongue. If ever you were in danger, you could order him to bite anyone you wanted. His venom wasn’t lethal, by any means, but it was enough to take people to their knees.
Some people growing up saw it as a useless quirk, or even villainous. You quickly learned about the silly stigma about snakes being inherently ‘bad’. It never phased you though. Quirks, heroes, villains, they never interested you. Your eyes were set elsewhere.
Music was the only thing that made sense to you. As soon as you learned out to speak, you were singing. You had notebooks filled to the brim with what had to have been a thousand different songs, all written by you alone. In high school you began learning the piano, and with time and practice it became as easy as walking. Your dream was to make it in the music industry, as far fetched as it might be. Nothing else felt right. You had no interest in a desk job, in taking up heroism, being a mother, you just wanted to make music. You’d played a few gigs here and there, at small coffee shops and other underground venues, but you were far from that big break you’d been searching for. For now, you were stuck in a small apartment to yourself and this waitressing job. It paid the bills, and living alone gave you plenty of time to write and rehearse new material. It was only a matter of time. It had to happen for you eventually.
Stepping back from your last break of the day, onto the floor filled with tables and patrons, you smoothed your black apron out with your hands as you noticed someone new had been seated in your section. It was hard not to notice them, really. Their back was turned, displaying a set of rather large, crimson colored wings. Your eyebrow quirked, as you quickly approached the stranger with your best “friendly waitress” expression.
“Hi there! I’m (y/n), and I’ll be your server. Is there anything I can get started for you?” You spoke with a smile as you examined the face of the winged man. His wild brows furrowed over the menu, unkempt blonde hair going off in every direction. A blue pair or visor sunglasses rested on top of his crazy hair, and even those couldn’t seem to keep it all in place. Clad in a plain white shirt along with a simple black bomber jacket, (that conveniently had very strategically placed holes in the back, to allow those gorgeous wings to spread), along with some black jeans, the man seemed to have decent taste. You eyeballed the fancy looking watch on his wrist, and noticed a pair of square earrings adorning his lobes. You realized you’d probably been examining him for too long, but then also realized he hadn’t even said a word back to you. You cleared your throat.
“Ah, sir?” You squeaked, moving in a way that would place you more into his line of vision. He continued glaring at the menu, but lifted a lazy hand up at you.
“Sorry, sorry, I’ve just never been here bef-“ As he lifted his head up, you were met with a pair of stunning, golden eyes. His face looked oddly familiar...
He blinked at you, still not finishing his sentence. You let out an awkward chuckle, raising your hands in defense.
“Oh, this is your first time here? Please, take your time. If you’d like I can give you some recommendations?”
The man flashed you a wide grin and set the menu down, resting his hand underneath his chin, lifting his brows up at you.
“Actually, I think I know what I want.”
You felt your face grow hot as he smiled at you. Reaching for the pen and small notebook in your apron pocket, you nodded your head probably much too fast.
“Alright, perfect. What can I get you?” Pen in hand, ready to take his order and get away before he noticed you were fucking blushing at him like some dumb school girl.
“How’s about a date?”
You nearly dropped your pen.
Shooting your eyes back to his, being greeted with an even cheekier smile, you furrowed your brows together.
“You- uh, what?” You stuttered, turning your head to the side.
He chuckled, and gave a shrug of his shoulders.
“A date! With you, of course. That’s what I want, if you’re up for it?”
You let out an awkward huff of hair as you blinked wildly, as if something were in your eye. Before you could get a word out, he spoke your name in a questioning tone.
“That was it, right?” He extends a hand to you as you nod to him in silence.
“Call me Hawks.”
Hawks! That’s where you’d seen his face before. He’d been on the news here and there recently, an up and coming hero. If you remembered correctly, he was still young, perhaps even your age. Why on earth was this guy trying to ask you on a date?
“Hawks, oh, yeah okay. I think Ive heard about you before.” You manage, politely taking his hand and shaking it. You felt like he held on a bit longer than necessary, but tried not to over think it. Hawks let out a small laugh.
“Yeah,that makes sense. Can’t be in the big leagues without all the interviews and press conferences I guess!” His smile never wavered.
“Right.” You bit your lip and nodded, still not quite sure how to respond to him. His energy seemed to ease your previous nervousness though. At least he was charming.
“So, what do ya say? I don’t normally ask out girls I’ve just met, I promise, but you were cute enough to take my mind off of getting some food, so I think I have to.”
You smiled at him.
“Is that what you tell all the cute waitresses you meet?” You teased.
“Only the ones named (y/n).” He replied with a wink.
God, this guy!
Shaking your head, you crossed your arms at him.
“You’re clever, Ill give you that. But company policy says I can’t give out my number to any patrons, pretty birds or otherwise.”
You got another laugh out of him from that one.
“Pretty? Well, I’m honored.” He gave a teasing bow of the head, making you roll your eyes.
“But who said anything about giving out your number? Here, gimme that.” Stretching out his hand, Hawks dramatically clenched and unclenched his hand as a signal to give him your pen.
“First you ask me on a date without even introducing yourself and now you want to steal my pen? I expected more from such a popular new hero.” You teased, handing over your pen anyway.
He swatted his hand at you as he grabbed a napkin from the table.
“Look, I’ll make up for it! Gimme a chance and I might just sweep you off your feet.” He concluded, folding the napkin around your pen as he offered it back to you. Snatching it up quickly, you gazed down at the napkin. A phone number, signed “pretty bird” with a sloppy heart next to it. You chuckled.
“You only say that because you can fly. You could sweep anyone of their feet.”
He lifted a finger at you with squinted eyes and a dumb smirk.
“Alright, you got me there. But you’ll still call me, right?”
You rolled your eyes and unfolded your arms.
“Right. But about that food, Did you still wanna order? I’d love to stand here all day but I’ve got other customers waiting, and I’d like to keep my job.”
“Ah yes!” Hawks quickly gripped back onto the menu, dramatically slamming it down on the table, scowling over it with an expression that looked like he was reading a very important legal document. You couldn’t help but giggle at his antics.
“How’s the chicken here?”
After a long exchange of flirting and teasing, you’d helped Hawks decide on ordering some chicken curry, along with a small order of takoyaki. As you attended to your other customers, your eyes kept wandering back over to the head of messy hair and those beautiful wings. You couldn’t believe you let him sweet talk you so easily, but he seemed like a genuine person. One date surely couldn’t hurt. Since graduating high school, all you were focused on was work and your music. Maybe being a little self indulgent and going on a date with this new hero could turn into some inspiration for a new song.
Nearing the end of your shift, you counted out your tips for the day. Not bad, but not great either. Some days were just better than others. You wondered if Hawks was still pecking at his food, it’d been a while since you checked on him. Walking over to his table, you frowned a bit when you saw it was empty. You approached the empty booth, hoping that he wasn’t just flirting with you so he could distract you enough to dine and dash. You were greeted with an egregious stack of cash, and a napkin on top of it that read:
“Sorry dove, had to skedaddle.
Whatever’s left over, keep it for yourself.
-Pretty bird”
You gawked at the note, (mostly the cheesy pet name) and picked up the money. Good god, he left you with more than 50% of a tip! You shook your head as you made a mental note to scold him for trying to impress you with an unnecessarily huge tip. Regardless, you couldn’t help but be grateful.
With Hawks gone, your shift had officially come to an end. Practically skipping to the back room, you ripped off the dingy black apron from your waist and quickly shook out your hair from its tight up do. You went through the tedious routine of clocking out, counting out your tips, and checking out your schedule for the upcoming week. You had tomorrow off, thank heavens. After working two doubles this last weekend, you deserved a break.
The train ride home was a bit of a long one, giving you more than enough time to fidget with the note that Hawks left you, nearly memorizing the numbers in your head with how much you’d been staring at it. Maybe it was too soon to call him, but you figured a text would be appropriate. That way he could at least have your number too.
With a long sigh, and a quiet “fuck it” to yourself, you programmed his number into your phone and typed out a message.
> hey falco. it’s (y/n)
< Falco?! Like, from Star Fox??
> yes, like from star fox
< How adorably nerdy. I’m glad you texted me! Thought maybe you were only flirting with me to be nice. Guess I really did sweep you off your feet, eh? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
> i wouldn’t say all that just yet. you tipped me way too much, btw. hope you’re not trying to buy my affection
>...but, thank you anyways.
< Not a chance, dove! I thought it was only fair that I give back as much as you gave me. Best waitress I’ve ever had, 10/10, would hit on again.
< I forgot to mention I like your tattoo! A snake, very edgy. Am I getting involved with a tough girl? ᕦ(ò_óˇ)ᕤ
> hardly, lol. it’s not even really a tattoo, it’s my quirk.
< Ooh, do tell!
> it’s kinda hard to explain over text. it’d be easier if i show you.
< Someone’s eager for that date I see? Haha, fine by me! What’s your schedule like, dove? Can ya squeeze me in this week?
> squeeze you in?
< Look that sounded more sexual than I meant it to.
> uh huh. well i’m off tomorrow, actually. i’m a little busy in the morning but we could get together in the evening or something. idk if that’s too short notice, i’m sure you’ve got lots of important things to do, mr. hero
< Oh, for you, I’ve got all the time in the world! How does dinner sound?
> i dunno, going to a restaurant on my day off from my restaurant job doesn’t sound like too much fun. how bout this, i’ll make some food for us, you pick me up, fly me to some hidden romantic place with a nice view, we eat n get to know each other and see where it goes from there.
< Wow! Creative, I like it. I’m just sad I didn’t think of it myself! You really want to fly with me though?
> what, you don’t fly on the first date?
< Lmao I just don’t wanna scare you off. Flying can be kinda overwhelming for you un-winged folk.
> didn’t you see the snake on my arm? i’m fearless
< Right. Tough girl. Then that settles it! We’ll soar through the sky and have a picnic under the sunset. Quite romantic, you just might fall in love with me.
> i’m the one who thought of it. if anything youll be the one who’s in love.
< Who’s to say I’m not already? uwu
> did you just fucking ‘uwu’ me?
< People do crazy things when they’re in love!
> shut up lol. i’ll send you my address, pick me up at 7. don’t be late or i’ll eat all the food myself.
< Wouldn’t miss it for the world! I’ll see you tomorrow dove.
> see ya falco
With that, you sent him your address and let out a long sigh of relief. Okay, he was funny. Even over text his charm was as clear as day. You could practically see his smile with every message he sent. You smiled to yourself. You couldn’t even remember the last time you felt giddy while talking to someone, and of all people, it’s Hawks. This super hot hero who everyone has their eyes on. It was beyond you why he was so adamant about taking you out. You were just a waitress with a dream, no flashy quirk, nothing much to stand out from the crowd. Just a girl. He was a little shit, but a gorgeous one at that. You felt an unfamiliar fluttering in your stomach as you pushed your phone into your bag, nearing the end of the train ride.
It’s going to be hard to sleep tonight.
Tomorrow night came quicker than you expected. Most of your morning was spent cleaning up the small apartment you called home, taking a long and necessary hot shower, and finally, brushing up on the song you’d been working on for the last few weeks. You sang quietly to yourself as you skimmed through the messy written lyrics.
/“Feels like I’m broken in the worst way,
There’s a problem in the way I handle every thing
It never mattered in the first place
But I’m stuck here in the middle of an awful dream”/
It was one of your more angsty songs, as you tried to stick with more up beat music, but you still enjoyed it and wanted to figure out the best way to preform. After hours of scribbling, erasing, singing and shouting, you managed to make at least a decent amount of progress. Not every day you can write a masterpiece. Practice makes perfect, and you made sure to practice every single day.
As you finished up writing, you decided it was time to make some food for this romantic escapade you’d be going on tonight. You thoughtlessly hummed and smiled to yourself as you put together two small bento boxes, packed with roasted pork and rice, along with steamed vegetables and two balls of takoyaki. You remember Hawks being excited when you mentioned your diner sold those delicious little octopus balls, so you hoped he would appreciate that addition. You grabbed a small blanket, a bottle of sake, and carefully stuffed them into a black backpack. Satisfied with your dinner, you realized it was almost 6 already. You ran to the bathroom and quickly tried to fix your untamed hair as much as possible. You decided to just leave it down, realizing that after a flying session with Hawks it’d probably be a lost cause anyway. Reapplying a bit of eyeliner, coating your lips in some sheer gloss, you made your way to the full bodied mirror in the bathroom.
Tight black pants along with a form fitting, all white tank top that read “ALL M“ across the chest. You worried it was too casual, but it’s not like wearing a dress would be the most practical option anyways. The last thing you want is to flash your panties to the whole city while you’re clutching onto the winged hero.
Before you could obsess over minor details any more, there was a few knocks at your door. Regaining your cool, you excitedly glided to greet your date.
“Hey-Oh!” As soon as you swung the door open, before you could even give a proper hello, a giant bouquet of roses assaulted your face.
Hawks peeked around them with a coy smile. He was dressed similarly from before, visor still resting atop of his wild hair, wearing tan colored pants with some bulky boots, along with a black t shirt. His arms were exposed now, showing off the same watch from the other day along with some silver bracelets and rings adorning his fingers. The beautiful red wings framing his body in a way that could really only be described as angelic.
“Too cheesy?” he asked, glancing at the bouquet.
You blushed as you shook your head.
“I’d say this is an acceptable amount of cheesy. Thank you, they’re beautiful.” You replied, delicately plucking them from his hand. He let out a sigh of relief as you thanked him.
“Here, come in for a second. Let me get these in some water.”
“Right.” Hawks nodded as he stepped into your apartment, curiously taking a look around. You scurried to your kitchen as you struggled to find the single vase you had stored somewhere around here.
“Ooh, a piano? You play?” Hawks inquired from the other room.
“That’s almost all that I do.” You admitted with a laugh. You let out a quiet “ah ha!” to yourself when you finally found the pesky vase in the highest cupboard of your kitchen. Quickly filling it up to what was hopefully an appropriate amount of water, you gently placed the roses into the container and made your way back to Hawks.
Placing the roses in the middle of the coffee table, you saw him tapping the microphone you had left on your couch from earlier this morning. He noticed your gaze and lifted a questioning brow at you.
“You sing too?”
You only nodded, suddenly being a little shy about your far fetched dreams about becoming a musician.
“Wow, pretty and talented. You’ll have to sing for me sometime, yeah?” Hawks asked with a wink. You giggled and shrugged.
“Maybe if you play your cards right. So, shall we?” You say, motioning to the front door. He gives you that god damn smile again as he nods.
“But of course! I found a lovely spot for us to enjoy the four course meal you’ve prepared for us.”
You scoff.
“I’ve got bento boxes and sake.”
Hawks bows his head dramatically, flicking his arms up like he was a conductor of an orchestra.
“Truly, a fine dining experience!” His head whips up as he lifts a finger to you.
“But! About flying, I gotta tell you some stuff before we just go soaring off into the moonlight.”
“Hawks, the sun hasn’t even set.”
Taking a step towards you, he pressed his digit to your lips.
“Hush now, dove. I’m the one with the wings, remember? And as a hero and also your date, hero date, if you will,”
You rolled your eyes with a smile.
“It’s my responsibility to make sure you’re prepared and safe before we take off. So, I’m gonna have to carry you like uh,”
He turns his head to the side and looks you up and down.
“Like, sideways, you know? One arms gonna be behind my neck and the other one around the front, but please don’t choke me.”
“I’ll try my best.” You mutter
“And both your legs will be swung over one of my arms, and I’ll hold your back with the other. That bag of yours won’t be a problem either, I’ll just use one of my feathers to hold on to it!”
“I think what you’re describing is called “bridal style”, Hawks. Just say that.”
Hawks gives you a pseudo shocked look and a gasp, clutching his chest.
“My, I didn’t know we were moving so fast! I haven’t even prepared a ring!”
You scoff at the charmingly stupid man in front of you as you make your way to put your shoes on.
“Let’s go, then. I wanna see the sunset.”
Hawks happily obliged as he scooped up your little backpack and swung it into the bend of his arm. As the two of you leave and make your way out of the apartment building, you look up at the sky and back to Hawks. He’s smiling at you, because of course he is.
“Now or never, Falco. Sweep me off my feet.” You say casually, making your way over to him with arms open wide.
“With pleasure!” In an instant, he does just that, scooping you into his arms and close to his chest. Your heart stopped beating for a moment as you felt how strong his arms were beneath you. You let out a shaky breath as you snuggled into him more comfortably. Snaking your arms around his neck, you looked up at him.
“If you drop me I’ll kill you.” You warned.
He laughs. “If I drop you, I’ll kill you.” You choose to ignore his comment as you cling to his neck tighter.
“Oh, do me a favor, put my visor down will ya?”
You nervously nod as you let one of your arms move around to the top of his head, gently tugging the eyewear from his head, down to his eyes. He winks at you and you quickly move back to your clinging position. You hear the sound of his wings from behind you, stretching out to their full capacity. Holding onto him for dear life, you prepare for impact.
“Here we go!” Hawks declares with a laugh.
And with that, you’re off.
You let out a small yelp as the two of you shot up to the sky, clamping your eyes shut as tight as you could. Your body instinctively tensed in Hawks embrace. This was fucking crazy.
“Hey, didn’t you say you were fearless?” He shouted through the loud gusts of wind.
“I lied!” You shout back. You think you hear him chuckle before he leans close to your face, speaking a little softer this time.
“I’ve got you, dove! Don’t be scared. Check out the view, yeah?”
Your heart swelled at his words of comfort, causing your eyes to flutter open just a bit. You looked up at the man you were clutched on to. A smirk across his face, hair caught up in the breeze, crimson wings keeping the two of you in flight.
It was a nice view.
After what seemed like a lifetime, Hawks finally lowered the two of you down to a grassy hill outside of the major cities. Tall trees spouted everywhere, and a small creek babbled off in the distance. It was private, and quaint. It was perfect.
Once on the ground, Hawks delicately placed you back on your feet and you immediately sat firmly on the ground. Letting out a loud huff of air, you glanced up at a perfectly unphased Hawks.
“That was insane.”
He laughed, bringing his single feather around to place your bag on the grass next to you.
“But like a fun, exhilarating insane, right?”
“Something like that.” You said with a shake of your head.
“Now let’s eat.”
He helped you set up the blanket, along with the food and drinks. He teased about you trying to get him drunk on the first date, and you teased back about keeping it all to yourself. He ate all the food you made for him while simultaneously complimenting your work in between almost every bite. As the sun began to set and the food was all ingested, now the “getting to know each other” part of the date was coming to fruition. It started of simple, easy.
What’s your favorite color?
Favorite movie?
Hot or cold soba?
As the night set in, the two of you talked without missing a beat. You finally got around to showing him your quirk, and he was absolutely enamored by Chuuya, saying he was almost as cute as you. You told
him about your music, about your dream to make albums and tour the world, about how much feeling you put into all your songs. He was amazed. He praised your dedication and told you he’d go to all of your concerts when you got “big and famous”. Hawks told you about his dreams, about wanting an easy going life with all the time in the world to do anything he wanted. He spoke about how he cared about saving people, how he felt like he was born to be a hero. You listened, he listened, it was all so effortless. It was like the two of you had known each other for a whole life time.
The rest of it all, was just as effortless.
The second date, third, forth, then the 30th.
The falling in love.
The kisses, the late nights, the love making.
The events you attended, now officially known as “Pro Hero Hawks Musician Girlfriend”.
The concerts you landed, which he boasted about on his social media, causing them all to sell out.
The 2 year anniversary.
The tattoos, yours a long red feather on your right forearm, his a small black snake on his calf.
Moving in together.
Sharing a home.
All of it happened so easily, so fast.
It wasn’t always perfect though.
The more media attention he got, the more you got, and vice versa. While you were busy writing an album under your very first record deal, he was saving people, moving up the in the hero ranks faster than ever.
He had paper work, meetings, patrols.
You had photo shoots, recording sessions, interviews.
It all came crumbling down after you turned 21. You were almost finished with your first album, and your new manager was arranging a year long tour in the US. You loved Hawks so much, so much more than you ever thought was possible. He was your best friend, your rock, your everything. But you felt like you were holding him back. You were needy, missed him on his long missions and patrols nights, always worrying about his safety in his dangerous line of work. He was truly a great hero, but you knew that having you being tethered to his life all the time...he wasn’t focused on himself. On his own goals. On his well being. You felt guilty, fucking sick to your stomach for even being around him sometimes. To you, he was Icarus, and you were the sun.
So, you ended it. You lied and told him you both needed to focus on other things. You didn’t mention anything about guilt, or keeping him tied down, clouding his potential. The US tour was another believable lie, too. You said you were going to finish your album in the states, make a home there, go on tour, and keep pursuing your music.
Hawks was devastated. Hell, so were you. But you needed to be selfless. You knew he could do better without you. You knew he deserved better. You had to let him go.
You finished your album. The people loved it. It was emotional, raw and real, with a perfect mixture of slow songs and upbeat ones. You toured the states, your audience and fans only growing more and more with every stop. You were on top of the world, this was all you’ve ever dreamed of!
But you still couldn’t forget that pretty little bird you left back in Japan.
You did your best to make a new life in the states, you really did. But it just wasn’t home to you. After all the touring and PR stuff from your album release, you just wanted to take it easy. Maybe start on some new songs, with a little bit of a different feel.
After nights of tears, panic attacks, angry fits, looking through flight tickets and new apartments in Kyoto, you decided your heart resides in Japan.