birds of a feather: chapter two [hawks x reader]
"There are several differences between humans and hybridsâthe most obvious one being their animal attributes, which we lack, of course. But there exists another major difference that many people don't even know about. Can anyone tell me what that difference is?"
You raised your hand. You probably knew the answer better than anyone else in the classroom, considering it haunted your every waking moment.
"Hybrids have soulmates, sir. Humans do not."
(In which Keigo has a soulmate, and it's not you. This sucks, because youâve been in love with him your whole life.)
tags: friends to lovers; mutual pining; childhood friends; eventual smut; au - no quirks; au - soulmates; au - hybrids; miscommunication (it gets resolved tho); friends with benefits; eventual happy ending; slow burn
cw:: mentions of s3x work; mentions of abuse
prefer to read on ao3? here!
â'Do not enter' is written on the door way,
Why can't everyone just go away?
Except you, you can stay,
The first time Keigo invited you over, you were ecstatic.Â
The invite in itself was long overdue: the two of you had been friends for a year and neighbors for nearly two, so the fact that youâd never once stepped foot in his house during that period seemed an intentional oversight. You didnât mind always hanging out at yoursâ (rather, you quite liked having Keigo inside your house), but you were insatiably curious about how your hybrid friend lived. You wanted to know what color his bedsheets were, what kind of cereal lined his pantryâeverything there was to know about a person, really.Â
However, your parents always told you that inviting yourself over was very rude, so you never pushed. You eventually stopped asking â Your place or mine? â on the walk home from school and let your house become the default hang-out spot. Thatâs why, whenâon a gray, inconspicuous TuesdayâKeigo asked if youâd like to come over, you were completely caught off guard.
âWhaâ?â you sputtered, suddenly having lost the ability to form sentences, âMe, over? House ?â
Keigo looked pleased at the state youâd been reduced to. âYes, you-over-house,â he mocked, âWe can even us-play-video games.â
âShut up,â you reddened. âIâm just surprised since we usually go to mine. B-but I donât mind going to yours at all! Letâs hurry.âÂ
You shifted your backpack higher up on your shoulders and began speed-walking down the street, leaving Keigo behind you. You didnât want to give him the time to change his mind. The blonde snorted and quickened his pace to match yours.Â
Soon, the two of you made it to your street. You took a brief moment to dash inside your own house and yell that you were going to Keigoâsâeliciting surprised Okay s from your parentsâbefore dashing back across the street to Keigoâs side. Laughing at your eagerness, he unlocked the front door and entered, leaving you to follow.Â
Your first impression of the Takami household was that it was similar to yours: staircase left of the foyer, living room connected to the kitchen. The parallels were to be expected, given that your houses were most likely built by the same construction companyâbut that was where the similarities stopped. Unlike your house, which your mother kept fastidiously white and empty, Keigoâs was full of life. The walls were painted a pretty sage green, and lined with pictures of Keigo, his mother, and an older couple you assumed were his grandparents. The windowsills were also filled with all sorts of plants and herbs, adding a welcome splash of color to the room. It was a stark contrast to the sad, blank interior of your own abodeâKeigoâs house had character .
âI know itâs not as nice as yours,â Keigo apologized as he watched you take in your surroundings. âMy mom insists on keeping all these dumb plants andââ
âKeigo, I love your house!â you exclaimed, cutting him off. âItâs so much prettier compared to mine. I wish Mom would let us paint our walls or keep plants, but apparently Architectural Digest says thatâs not Beige Chic , or whatever.â
Keigo smiled. He knew he shouldnât have doubted your reaction. âOkay, well once youâre done admiring my pretty house, come upstairs so I can beat you at Mario Kart.â
Your eyes flashed excitedly, immediately leaving the picture you were inspecting to follow after Keigo. âSure you will. Hey, remind me again whoâs the reigning champion?â
The blonde gave you an irritated look, but before he could retort, you were pushing past him up the stairs and into his bedroom. This was what youâd been most curious about on your walk back, and you couldnât wait any longer to see it. Ignoring Keigoâs words of protest, you opened the door.
âWow,â you blinked at the sight. âItâs veryâŠangry.â
You didnât know what youâd been expecting, but it hadnât been⊠this . Keigoâs bedroom was practically devoid of anything except for Endeavor , his favorite superhero. The walls were plastered with posters of the flame hero, and a row of his figurines lined Keigoâs desk. Atop the twin-sized bedâfitted with white bedsheets, white covers, and a white pillowâsat a small Endeavor stuffie, smoldering at you menacingly from across the room.Â
You spun around to face your friend. âKeigo, I didnât you were a fanboy!â
In the doorway of his room, Keigo blushed furiously. His wings bristled behind himâa telltale sign that he was agitated.Â
âItâs notâIâm not a fanboy ,â he exclaimed, âI just happen to like the show! And they always have a lot of his merch at the thrift andâyou know what, I donât need to explain myself to you. Just sit down.â
Laughing, you took a seat on the carpet and faced his XBox. âWhatever you say, fanboy .â
Keigo valiantly ignored your comment and began rifling through a box of controllers. You took this time to take in the rest of his room, which, aside from the Endeavor paraphernalia, was completely unassuming. There wasnât much furniture other than a bed and desk, and what little else Keigo did possess was painted in dull shades of grey. The only splash of color was the green sweater heâd been wearing yesterday, now stuffed haphazardly into his drawers. Your eyes lazily followed the outline of the cabinet, until they reached the small box resting atop it. Â
âWhatâs that?â you pointed to the box curiously.
Keigo looked up from where heâd been setting up the XBoxâan ancient thing he and his mom had scored at Goodwillâand spotted what you were pointing at. âOh, thatâs my wing-keeping kit.â
âYeah,â he shifted his wings, letting them catch rays from the window. The red plumes gleamed like rubies. âYou didnât think they were naturally like this, did you? This kind of exquisiteness requires serious upkeep, YNâ
âOh,â you said dumbly. The sight of Keigoâs feathers fluttering was nothing short of mesmerizing, and, for some reason, you liked that he was showing off to you. âCan I see the tools?â
The words left your mouth before you could think about them. You watched as Keigoâs wings immediately came to a still, and you internally groaned. Here we go.Â
Over the course of your year-long friendship with Keigo, youâd come to learn a lot about the blonde. You knew that he liked superhero shows (specifically Endeavor: Legend of the Flame ) and that his favorite subject was History. He could run a 7-minute mileâthe fastest out of all the fourth-grade boysâand he was a fiend for fried chicken. You knew that, despite being relatively popular, he didnât really like the other kids at school, and you were probably the closest thing to a best friend that he had. And most importantly, you knew to never, ever talk about hybrids around him.Â
At first, you figured he was just annoyed by your curiosity. As the only hybrid in your class, Keigo was constantly being probed by your classmates about his wings or eye markings. Heâd never ignore their questions, of course, always answering good-naturedlyâbut the tight-lipped smile he wore during those interactions betrayed his agitation. A your friendship progressed and you interacted more frequently with the blonde, though, you realized it wasnât just questions about himself that irritated Keigoâit was whenever humans talked about hybrids at all . The week your class covered Japanâs history of hybrid discrimination, Keigo had resolutely faced the window and didnât take a single note; and whenever Endeavor fought a hybrid villain on screen, Keigo huffed and asked to skip the episode. Little incidents like those deterred you from asking any questions related to his bird appendages, and even more from inquiring the reason behind his anger.Â
Thus, youâd gone an entire year avoiding discussing anything hybrid-related with him. You figured that, as with him not inviting you in, heâd eventually get over itâyou were sitting in his room right now, werenât you? Plus, he couldnât hate humans altogether if he was friends with you. There must be a logical reason behind his behavior, you reasoned.
Except, now youâd blown any chance of ever getting to the bottom of it, since you decided to open your big fat mouth and ask about his wings. And the first time he invited me over, too , you bemoaned internally. Youâd at least wanted to see the kitchen before you got kicked out!
âUm, sorry,â you backtracked, âI donât know why I asked that. Itâs personal, I knowâsorry.â
âItâs fine,â Keigo replied, equally hesitant. He took a deep breath as if preparing himself for a daunting task. âUm, if you really want to see, I can show you. The tools, I mean.â
Your jaw nearly fell to the ground. âReally? I can see?â
âYeah, itâs no big deal,â he said, sounding as though it were absolutely a big deal. He walked over to his cabinet and swiped the kit off the top. You watched, disbelieving, as he made his way back to you and deposited the kit unceremoniously in your lap.Â
The first thing you registered about the kit was that it was heavyâheavier than it looked. It was constructed of smooth wood paneling and was about the size of a book. There was no indication of what resided in it except for a small feather engraved on the top, and perhaps the faint smell of essential oils emitting from it: rosemary and castor, you picked out, among others. Your fingers fluttered over the ridges of the box, and, with one final glance at Keigo, you lifted the lid off the top.Â
As the smell suggested, the inside of the kit was lined with various oils, each labeled something different. Laying next to the oils, their sharp edges cushioned by the velvet interior, was a collection of tools. There were shears of various sizes, as well as several brushes and clippers. They glinted menacingly in the afternoon light, causing you to hold back a shudder; you couldnât imagine using tools like that on your own body.Â
Keigo watched your expression carefully. âI have to trim and condition my feathers about every two weeks,â he explained, âOr else theyâll get tangled and torn.âÂ
âI didnât realize they required so much attention,â you tore your attention away from the box and faced him. And, for the second time that day, your mouth moved before your brain. âCan you show me? How you do it?â
â...Sure,â he said after a momentary pause, looking faintly amused by your request. âItâs been a while since I last trimmed them, anyway.âÂ
He began picking out various tools and oils from the box. You leaned forward, eager to see which ones he chose. When it came to Keigo, it felt like you could never know enough about him.Â
He lined the three oils heâd grabbedâlabeled âprimariesâ, âsecondariesâ, and âcontourâ, respectivelyâon the floor. âThe different vials are for different parts of my wings,â he said, extending out his left wing as he spoke. âMy primary feathers are these long feathers out here, and the inner ones are called secondaries. And these are my contour feathers, which make me more aerodynamicâthey help me fly better, basically,â he amended, noticing your blank stare. âBut before I do that, I have to trim them.â
As he finished his explanation, he removed a large tablecloth from the bottom of the kit and unfolded it on the floor. He picked up one of the shears heâd taken out earlier and began trimming off the edges of his wings onto the cloth. Red tufts fluttered to the floor, like autumn leaves shaken out of a tree. You stared, enthralled, before his earlier words registered in your mind.Â
âWait, fly? I thought you werenâtâŠallowed to,â you trailed off, realizing you were approaching dangerous territory. Hybrid Limitations were one of the most contentious topics in Japan, and you figured that Keigo, as an avian hybrid, would have his share of thoughts on it.Â
Instead of becoming upset at the turn of the conversation, though, he merely shook his head. âIâm not,â he confirmed. His words were punctuated by the steady snip of shears coming down around another feather. âThis kit was passed down to me from my grandfather, and during his time there werenât restrictions on winged hybrids. So it still contains flight-care stuff.â
âOh,â you said, âDo you wish you could fly?âÂ
Keigo peered at you through the folds of his wing. Randomly, you were struck by the memory of the first time he came to your house; cold and wet, focused on drying off his wings while you chattered annoyingly at him.Â
âMaybe,â he set down the shears and picked up one of the vials of oil. Surprised, you realized he was already done with trimming. âI donât know if Iâll ever get to, though.â
Keigo gave his wings a firm ruffle, shaking off any lingering feather trimmings. Then, he poured a small bit of oil into his palms and began carding them gently through his longest feathersâthe primaries, you recalled. You watched in silence as he worked down his wing, coating each plume in a thin layer of oil. Usually when Keigo was focused on something, he had a look of intense concentration on his face: brows pinched, eyes narrowed. Yet, now, his expression was relaxed and peaceful. You realized that this must be calming for him.
As he got closer to his inner feathers, though, he had to strain his neck to oil them properly, and his tranquil expression dissolved into a more concentrated one. âMy mom usually helps me with the back,â he explained, sounding slightly frustrated, âItâs harder for me to see back there andââ
âI can help you,â you said. Keigoâs hands stilled in his wings, and you wondered a bit too late if your offer had been inappropriate. But youâd already breached all sorts of boundaries today, so what was one more?Â
Keigo cleared his throat. âUm, sure. Come, uhâcome closer.âÂ
âOkay,â you shuffled over to behind him. âUm, what do IâŠâ
âGrab the oil labeled âsecondariesâ.â
âPour a little into your handsâyeah, thatâs good. And let it heat up a bit in your palms.â
âNow, you see the feathers at the bottom of my wings? The shorter ones.â
âWork the oil into them, from the root to the ends.âÂ
âOkay,â you gulped. Your hands, covered in a sharp-smelling oil, shook as you reached toward the feathers. I have to do this right , you thought determinedlyâyou couldnât bear it if you accidentally hurt Keigo.Â
Slowly, you grabbed the outermost feather and began working the oil into it. If your own hands hadnât been shaking so badly, you mightâve noticed the way Keigoâs wings shuddered, too.Â
After you got through the first few feathers without doing any damageâand leaving Keigo content, seeminglyâyou became more confident in your abilities. Your movements were more fluid, and your shoulders untensedâyou could see why your friend found this relaxing.Â
Once you finished the secondaries, you moved on to the last section: his contour feathers. You picked up the appropriately labeled oil and found that it was much fuller than the other two. Recalling what Keigo said about not being able to fly, you sadly realized that those feathers probably didnât get as much use as his other ones, and necessitated less maintenance. With newfound vigor, you uncapped the vial and poured a generous amount into your palms.
âI hope,â you began, âThat you get a lot of use out of this oil one day.â
âI hope not,â Keigo replied quietly, âThatâs the most expensive one.â
(He knew what you meant, though.)
It was rare for Takami Toomie to see her house during the day.Â
Well, it was nearing evening, technically, but sunlight was sunlight. Between her job at the restaurant, the hospital, andâŠthe other one, sheâd practically become a vampireâshe couldnât remember the last time she came home before midnight. But today all the stars had aligned perfectly: her coworker had agreed to trade shifts, the hospital hadnât called her in, andâbest of allâthe fried chicken ordered from their restaurant never got picked up, leaving it up for grabs.Â
Toomie recalled staring at the steaming bucket of chicken for the entire pick-up hour, and then snatching it up the moment the clock struck four. Sheâd flushed when her coworkers saw her shove the food into her bagâbut their judgment would be nothing compared to the joy of seeing Keigo smile. It was something that happened too infrequently for Toomieâs liking. Though, itâs not exactly like I encourage him to be more carefree , she thought guiltily.Â
Shaking off her remorse, she pushed through the front door of her home. Smiling at the sight of rays filtering in through the windowâsomething sheâd been deprived of far too longâshe meandered over to the kitchen and set down the bucket. A glance at the clock told her that Keigo was already back at school, and her smile widened. They could eat together!Â
She grabbed her phone from her bag and began searching for the LNs contact. She assumed Keigo was with them, considering he slept over practically every dayâsomething she tried not to be bothered by. She knew it was lonely for him here and that it was good for him to have friends, but she couldnât help but be wary of the situation. YN seemed like a sweet kid, on the few occasions sheâd met them, yet you could never be sureâŠ
She sighed as finally found the contact. Keigo would be a little upset at being called back early, she figured, but his disappointment would definitely disappear as soon as he saw the chicken. Plus, the two of them hadnât had dinner together in forever. Reaffirmed in her decision, Toomie made to hit Call on the contactâbut just as her finger was about to tap the screen, she noticed the faint sounds of conversation coming from upstairs.Â
Toomie paused. It sounded like two kids...did Keigo have a friend over? Curiously, she made her way to the stairwell and strained to listen, wings shifting nervously behind her. Keigo never told her that he was inviting someone over, and he wasnât the type to sneak around behind her back. Immediately, terrible thoughts filled Toomieâs head. What if someone had followed Keigo home and they were hurting him upstairs? Or what if someone had broken in and were robbing them? Panicked, she dashed up the stairs, wings flapping madly behind her. They ached from disuse, but she didnât even register the pain. Her only thoughts were Keigo , Keigo , Keigo .Â
She threw open his bedroom door, and the sight that greeted her was more horrible than any robbery or bullying. Keigo was sitting on the floor, wings spread out to their maximum length, while you kneeled behind him, gently carding oil through his inner-most feathers. Next to you was Keigoâs wing-keeping kitâa gift from his grandfather, her father âwith various tools and vials spilling out of it. Everything was out in the open for you to see.
At the sound of the door hitting the wall, Keigo turned around. âMom?â his eyes widened. âWhen did you get back?â
âJust now,â she replied, her eyes flitting between the two of you. âYou didnât tell me you were having guests over, Keigo.â
Hearing this, you sheepishly stood and bowed to her. Your hands, still covered in oil, hung awkwardly in the hair.Â
âIâm sorry for coming over uninvited, Takami-san,â you apologized, âI shouldâve had my parents call you.âÂ
At the sight of your nervousness, Toomieâs agitation subsided. âItâs alright, YN-chan,â she said, attempting a kind tone. But her day had been long and sheâd worked the night shift beforehand andâshe just wanted to have dinner with her son. âIâm just surprised, is all. Plus, itâs Keigo who shouldâve said something.â
She turned her attention back to her son. âYou need to tell me when you have hu- people over, Kei.â
She barely managed to cover her slip-up. Keigo raised an unimpressed eyebrow at her.Â
âWell, I didnât know you were even going to see them, since you donât usually get back until later. Why are you back this early anyway?â
Toomie groaned internally. Wasnât he a little young for the rebellious stage? âI got off work early,â she said tightly, âAnd I thought we could have dinner togeââ
âIs that chicken I smell?â Keigo cut her off, finally registering the mouth-watering smell wafting from the kitchen. His wings, freshly clipped and conditioned, raised excitedly. Toomie couldnât help but smile at his enthusiasm.
âOh, well then I should probably go,â you said awkwardly, wiping your oil-covered hands off on your school uniform. Toomie wished she couldâve told you to not do that, as wing-keeping oils were notoriously difficult to get out of clothesâyour skirt would permanently have greasy handprints on them now. But before she could say something, you were nimbly sliding past her in the doorway and into the hall.Â
âPlease enjoy your dinner!â you smiled at the two of them.Â
Keigo jumped up from his spot on the floor and ran after you. âWait, YN,â he said, âDonât go yet.âÂ
He glanced briefly at his mother, asking her an unspoken question. But the woman was looking at you, still wringing your hands awkwardly in the hallway.
Toomie exhaled softly through her nose. After all those free dinners they gave Keigo , she thought miserably, Practically every day of the yearâŠhow could I even come close to repaying them?Â
âYes, YN-chan, we would love for you stay for dinner,â she lied, âDo you like fried chicken?âÂ
Your eyes practically sparkled as you thanked her excitedly, assuring her that, yes, you loved fried chicken. As the three of you made your way down the stairs, Keigo pulling you by the wrist, Toomie couldnât help but mourn her lost dinner. The bucket was a share-size, yet with how much Keigo ate, he could probably put away the entire thingâit had been a stretch for the two of them to share, much less three people. Looks like the two of you would be having an adult-free dinner, tonight . Toomie sighed, resigning herself to a trip to the konbini . Sheâd refrained from snacking on kitchen scraps and sent-back meals as she usually did during her shift, not wanting to spoil her appetite, and this was the result. Honestly, with her evening plans now canceled, she might as well just head back to work; clearly, she could use the extra money.Â
Toomie watched as Keigo tugged you into the kitchen and began pulling plates and silverware out of the drawers. She wondered how she could gracefully bow out of the dinnerâkids didnât really think too hard about that sort of stuff, but she also didnât want you to tell your parents that Toomie didnât bother spending any time with you. She was already going to be the mom who brought back a bucket of fried chicken as dinner, for Godâs sake. Â
Still ruminating over her dilemma, Toomie didnât notice you seemingly lost in your own thoughts. Even as Keigo set the dinner tableâwith three spots, the little idealistâyou remained standing, simply staring at the bucket.Â
âActually, Keigo-kun, Takami-san,â you started, spinning around to face them, âI have a good idea! My parents are having yakisoba tonight, along with some other vegetables. Fried chicken goes great with yakisoba, doesnât it? We should take it over to my house and eat together! My momâs always asking you to come over anyways, Takami-san.â
You finished with a bright grin on your face. Toomie only blinked in response.Â
(Perhaps you deserved a little more credit than she gave you.)Â
âThatâs really nice of you to offer, dear. I think weâll take you up on that.â Toomie managed. From across the kitchen, Keigo gaped at herâshe knew heâd expected her to decline. âYouâre too polite, YN-chan.âÂ
You, too, seemed somewhat shocked that Toomie had actually acceptedânot that she blamed you, consdiering the amount of times sheâd turned down your familyâs invitations in the past. But you recovered quickly, your blinding grin overtaking your face once more.
âItâs my pleasure,â you said brightly. You picked up the bucket of chicken and started out the door, suddenly heading the whole operation. âI hope we can eat before the sun sets!âÂ
Keigo hurriedly shoved the plates back into the drawers and dashed after you, calling for you to wait for him. Toomie smiled at the sight, before sighing again and walking over to the fridge. She began rifling through its contentsâsome leftovers from work, a pack of expired beerâin hopes of dredging up a side dish. Impromptu as this dinner was, she couldnât be so pathetic as to only show up with cold fried chicken.Â
Yet, despite the sad state of her life, and the fact that nothing about her evening had gone to planâToomie couldnât help but feel content. Â
Maybe YN would be good for the two of them.Â
author's note: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I'm sorry it took so long to come out. This chapter explores more of Keigo's life since the first chapter was very reader-focused, but Toomie's also able to give us an outsider's perspective on YN. I think due to having very present and communicative parents she's become emotionally intelligent at a young age (which I see in a lot of the kids at the private school I work at lol); however, a lot of the practical application still depends on socializing with kids her age and besides Keigo she doesn't have a lot of practice with thatâŠbut we'll see more in the coming chapters đ«Łđ«Ł
Thanks for reading and I can't wait to see you guys in the next chapter!