Top pic credit: Wanco

I began muttering profanities, as Hawks opened the door to the building roof.

"Here we are! Remember, it's only thirty stories. That's nothing." He tried reassuring, not making me feel better in the slightest.

It's only thirty stories, he keeps saying. Surely, he still realizes that a fall from thirty stories will kill me!!

Hesitantly, I began walking around the roof...making it a point to stay very far away from the edges.

Hawks crossed his arms, simply watching me in amused silence.

I swallowed thickly, looking over at the setting sun that was now just a little bit closer.

"S-So you do this a lot, right?" I muttered out nervously, starting to regret my decision.

"What? Jump off of buildings? Nah. I've never done that before. Only a crazy person would do such a thing." Hawks shrugged, sauntering over to me now.

I simply scoffed in annoyance, too focused on my nerves to think of a witty comeback.

Hawks sensed how nervous I was, chuckling lightly at my behavior.

"Hey, relax. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you, alright?" He stated quietly, that gentle demeanor coming back into his voice again.

It was....really nice. Familiar, even.

I nodded softly in approval, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath to calm myself.

"Okay. So, how does this whole thing work? Do I get on your back, or what?" I asked, placing a hand on my hip.

"Well, when I've done this in the past...the best way for it to work, would be if I were to hold you in front of me. If you get on my back, you'll prohibit my wings from being able to flap fully." He explained, rubbing the back of his neck slightly.

He almost looked nervous. Why? Was he nervous he was gonna drop me!?

"Alright. Well, go ahead then." I muttered casually, standing there awkwardly so he could decide how he wanted to position me.

Hawks stared at me blankly for a moment, before he quickly snapped back to reality.

"Right! So...let's see..." He mumbled, quickly walking up inches away from my face.

Fuck, there it goes again. My cheeks are heating up.

I watched Hawks reach his gloved hands out towards my body, placing them on my shoulders, as he gently turned me around. My back was facing him now, making my heart beat in anticipation, as I felt his golden eyes on me.

"I'm gonna put my arms around you now. Is that okay?" He said quietly, his warm breath fanning the back of my neck.

Goosebumps immediately arose on my skin, realizing how close he was to me.

"Yeah. That's okay." I breathed out, watching his arms wrap around my waist. I held in a gasp, as I felt him pull me against his body...the warmth of it, making me heat up even more.

I couldn't help but inhale his scent, since I was so close to him. He smelled like peppermint and clean clothes. A random combination for sure, but really nice, nonetheless.

"I need to inch us a little closer to the ledge of the building." He mumbled next to my ear, slowly nudging me forward inch by inch.

My entire body quickly tensed, in his hold, upon seeing the balls of my feet practically hanging off the edge of the building now.

Hawks felt my actions, quickly pulling me tighter against his chest.

"Ari-"

"Fuck, fuck, fuck. I-I'm gonna die. Oh man, I am so gonna die." I cringed, reverting further into his body.

I was pressed against him so tightly now, I could feel his steady heartbeat against my shoulder blades.

"Do you want to stop?" He asked gently, not yet moving us away from the ledge.

Trust, Ari. Trust is part of being a hero. Don't you want to become a good hero?

I grit my teeth together, attempting to swallow my nerves.

"No. Keep going." I stated, surprised my voice came out so confidently.

Hawks inched forward to the ledge a little more, causing me to involuntarily grip onto his arms that were locked around my waist.

When I tell you I have a fear of heights. I mean...a DEBILITATING fear of heights.

"Do you trust me?" He asked smoothly, the hairs of his stubbled chin tickling the back of my neck.

What is this, Aladdin?

Don't pussy out, Ari.

"Yes." I blurted out, not even thinking about whether or not I actually trust him.

"Alright then, little chick. Hold on tight." Hawks chuckled, giving me no more time to think as he launched our intertwined bodies off the ledge.

For a split instant, I was sure I flat out died from literal fear, upon seeing my body plummeting face first towards the ground.

However, I didn't even have time to scream as I felt an extremely powerful gust of wind quickly consume Hawks and I....watching our falling bodies come to an immediate stop.

I realized we were hovering in the air now, starting to peacefully glide across the orangey pink sky.

I opened my mouth to speak, not being able to form any words, as Hawks gripped my waist tighter.

"How ya doing down there, scaredy cat? Did you die of a heart attack, already?" Hawks laughed, not daring to ascend to a higher height in the sky just yet.

I opened my mouth to speak again, trying to say something, anything. But, once again...I was at a loss for words, as I simply stared at the sky in awe.

"Hey, I left you speechless!? Well, I'll be damned. I didn't think such a thing was possible." Hawks joked, trying to lighten the mood a little.

I guess it worked, as I finally found the words come out of my mouth.

"We're.....flying?" I asked dazedly, still trying to wrap my head around this situation.

"Yuuup. Either that, or we're already dead. I'd like to believe it's the first one, though." He said, starting to slowly sway back and forth in the air.

I couldn't help but laugh at his words, feeling my body starting to relax slightly.

"Wow..." I breathed out in shock, loosening my iron grip on his arms a little more.

I watched Hawks and I slowly fly past the city buildings. We weren't very high. For him, anyways.

"See, it's not too bad right? Look down there, that's the Hawks agency. Ooo! And there's my favorite restaurant. Remember, when I took you there a few days ago? You were raving about their chicken, almost as much as I was. Hey, speaking of that. I was thinking tomorrow we go to a ramen place. Yeah. I've been on a noodle kick lately." Hawks babbled on, starting to have another one sided conversation with himself.

For some odd reason, Hawks' rambling seemed to relax me more and more. It was something about the soothing tone of his voice. He could obviously tell I was still a little scared, so he was trying to show me that everything is going to be okay. It was the way he held me, tightly and secretly against his chest. I didn't believe he would drop me. I wasn't worried about that anymore.

I felt a smile slowly spreading across my face, as I now began taking in all of the sights around me.

Wow.

I was really flying-I mean, I wasn't flying. Hawks was. But, still.

"This is....incredible." I whispered in awe, absentmindedly resting my hands on his arms that were still locked on my waist.

I felt him hum lightly in reply, adjusting my body in his hold slightly.

"I think so, too. It's a lot better than being down there." He uttered softly, gesturing to the city below.

I squinted at the setting sun, trying to shield my eyes from its fading, yet strong rays.

"You're not really a people person, huh?" I chuckled in amusement, reflecting on how Hawks always tried to stay out of the spotlight, despite how popular he was.

"Eh. Not really. Or maybe I am, with the right people." He replied casually, before I felt a cold piece of plastic suddenly cover my eyes.

Hawks had put his aviator glasses on me.

"Wait! Don't you need these!?" I exclaimed, already about to remove the glasses from my face.

"Nah. You need 'em more than I do. We're higher off the ground. We're closer to the sun now, which means its rays are much stronger to the eyes. I'm used to it. All good." He stated, quickly adjusting the glasses comfortably over my eyes.

"Thanks." I muttered, closing my eyes to feel the soft breeze of the wind hit my face.

Hawks and I flew around in silence for awhile. It wasn't uncomfortable silence at all. In fact, it was very peaceful, and therapeutic. While Hawks is normally one to talk everyone's ear off until they want to die, I could tell that being in the sky was his place of serenity. It was the place he could come and just forget the world, and all of his troubles. It was a place he could let his guard down. I respected that, and even divulged in it with him.

"How're you doing?" He whispered to me after some time, finally breaking our peaceful silence.

I didn't even realize we had ascended further into the sky at some point.

"Amazing. I see why you like this so much." I mumbled in pure bliss, feeling my eyes becoming half lidded in content.

I stifled a sharp inhale when I felt Hawks' lips graze my neck, before he began talking.

It was probably an accident.

"Hmm, did you just admit I'm right about something? Again." He uttered playfully, his tone of voice causing my body to warm into him automatically.

What the fuck am I doing?

"Sorry, bird boy. But, that's something you'll never get me to admit." I whispered, absentmindedly tracing my fingers on his wrist. I felt goosebumps arise on his skin at my touch, causing me to quickly cease my actions. I didn't mean to do that....let alone, want him to feel it.

"Hey, you're stubborn. You know that?" Hawks uttered out, resting his chin comfortably on my shoulder.

"So, I've been told. It's actually one of my best qualities." I joked, hearing the vibration of his laugh against my chest.

"Nah. I could name a few better qualities than that-" Hawks started saying, before a loud ringing broke us out of our conversation.

The ringing was coming from Hawks' jacket pocket, making me assume it was his phone.

"Ah. Could you get that? Phone's in the chest pocket of my jacket." He asked me, not being able to grab it since he was obviously holding me.

I quickly shuffled around in his arms, roaming my hand around on his chest as I tried to find his jacket pocket.

"Well, hot damn. I haven't been fondled like this in ages-" He teased, causing me to smack him lightly.

I finally found his pocket, reaching my hand inside and pulling out the phone.

"It's.....Kiara. Do you want to answer it?" I asked him, slightly curious as to who Kiara was.

I heard Hawks mutter a profanity under his breath at the name.

"Ugh. Now?" He grumbled to himself, before speaking to me.

"Nah. Just let it ring..." he trailed off, before remembering something.

"Ah, fuck. Actually, what time is it?" He asked.

"8:07pm." I quickly said, feeling his shoulders subtly slump at my words.

He wrapped one arm around my body to hold me up, reaching his free hand towards me.

"Here, I'll take it." He mumbled, grabbing the phone from my hands to answer it.

"Hiya, Kiara! How's it going?" Hawks exclaimed into the phone, the immediate change in his voice causing me to be taken aback.

He turned that familiar charming, arrogant tone...or his "hero voice" as I like to call it....back on as soon as he answered the phone.

He's been so calm and peaceful, during our flight, I almost forgot who he was.

"Oh boy, you sound really mad. Well, hey listen. I'm gonna be a little late tonight. I'm taking my intern out flying right now. I say we forget about tonight and just reschedule-" Hawks started saying, before the loud yells of an angry girl, on the other side of the line, immediately cut him off.

Who was this girl?

I furrowed my brows in slight confusion, as she continued her rambling through the phone...watching Hawks remain silent through all of it.

"Well if you really don't want to reschedule, you're gonna have to wait. I'll meet you at the restaurant in 30 then. Bye." Hawks mumbled, sounding completely uninterested as he hung up the phone.

"Alright, chicky. Looks like it's time to head back." Hawks sighed tiredly, carefully turning around in the air as we began making our way back to the Hawks Agency.

"You got a hot date?" I asked in amusement, not being able to help myself from prying into his personal life a little.

"Heh. Not exactly what I'd call it." He chuckled, as we slowly began descending towards the ground.

I didn't realize how close we were to the Hawks Agency, as I immediately saw it come into sight.

Too bad. Looks like I won't get to ask him more about Kiara.