Accidentally in Love (Hawks x Civilian Reader) pt. 2
Trigger Warning: Strong language, long hospital stay, lots of anger, depression, and more angst than last time. I swear there will be fluff later...starting in pt. 4.
“Damn it,” you grumble as you try to support your weight with the parallel bars.
“You are doing great, [y/n], just a little bit more.” Mayu, one of the physical therapists helping you with your recovery does her best to encourage you.
The door slams open and you lose your concentration, collapsing to the floor. “Fuck!”
Mayu cringes at the angered tone, “Ryo!!”
The man who barged into the room bows apologetically, “I’m so sorry, I was running late,” he hurries off to the changing room for the employees.
You feel your frustration boiling over, “this is pointless!”
Mayu turns her attention back to you and her features soften, “Please don’t say that, you’ve only been at this for a week and you are making good progress.” Her positivity only serves to frustrate you more.
“What progress?! I can’t even stand for longer than a couple minutes at a time!”
“I understand your frustration-”
“How could you possibly understand this?!” You gesture wildly at your legs. “You can stand and walk and you still have both of your feet!” Your chest rises and falls rapidly as you glare at the therapist.
She simply sits on the floor with you and gives you a very soft smile. “You are right, I will never understand fully what you are going through. So, tell me, what is causing the most frustration and I can do what I can to help.”
“All of it!” You raise your arms up like you are surrendering. “Trying to stand on these limp noodles, trying to get out of my stupid wheel chair, even getting out of bed…” Your anger quickly morphs to sadness, “it’s just too hard…” Mayu gently pats your shoulder.
“It’s a process,” She shifts to sit next to you. “Healing can be a very long and difficult process, especially when you lose an ability you’ve been able to do so easily until now.” You feel a lump form in your throat, trying really hard not to cry...again. “I’m not going to lie and say this is easy, but I know you can do this.”
You wipe your eyes and sniffle, “I’m sorry for yelling…”
“It’s alright, I understand you are frustrated, but I am here to help.” The employee door opens again. “So is Ryo when he actually shows up on time.” The teasing tone and Ryo’s exaggerated response brings out a soft ghost of a laugh. “Are you ready to give it another try?”
“Yeah, I guess,” she helps to get you off the floor and on your shaky feet. You grab the parallel bars and repeat the exercise you’ve been doing all morning. A light tap on the window near your station alerts both yourself and your physical therapist to a note on the glass. “What does it say?” You feel your arms give out, but you are able to land in your wheelchair this time.
“Let’s see,” The older woman walks up to read it aloud, “when you are free, please come to the roof. HaWkS!?” Her voice cracks at the name, “who, wait, who is he talking about?!”
You hold your hand up, “probably me, he said he was going to pop by once I was awake.” You were starting to think he forgot about you.
“Oh my goodness!” Mayu covers her mouth and looks at you, “are you two friends? Are you dating?!” She gets closer with each question, her eyes shiny diamonds that scream ‘tell me everything!’
“He kind of gave me a concussion,” you watch her expression drop into one of horror. “Not on purpose, it was during that big fight that landed me here.”
“I see, well, we are actually done for today if you want to head on up.” She goes to grab her clipboard and record the progress from today.
“Does the elevator even reach the roof?” You can feel a knot form in your stomach, why are you so nervous?
“Yes, the recreational therapy team has a community garden up there for the patients. I can get you some information if you would like to join them for a session.” You never heard of such a thing, it does strike a cord of curiosity, but that is for another time.
“Sure, just send some to my room when you have the time,” you wheel your way to the exit. “Oh, and uh...thanks for the pep talk.” You rub the back of your neck to hide your embarrassment.
“No problem, if you need anything just let me know.” Mayu smiles and waves as you leave to go up to the roof. Sure enough, the elevator opens right in front of the door. You push the button to get the door open and find rows of box gardens, some raised, some lowered.
“Wow, this is neat,” you take a closer look at some of the plants bearing fruit, when you spot your mystery visitor. Your eyes are instantly drawn to the huge red wings on his back. The same ones you saw before you went into your coma. You clench the wheels of your chair and swallow your nerves. “Um…” He appears distracted by something, as he scans the city streets below, his feet hovering off the ground. “Hello? Are you Hawks?” He looks over his shoulder and his features light up with recognition.
“Hey! Glad to see you up and about!” He lands and folds his wings in a bit before approaching you.
“Yeah, mostly…” You weren’t entirely sure what to say to him.
He doesn’t seem too sure either as he pockets his gloved hands. “Uh, what’s your name?”
“[Y/n].” More silence follows, wow the awkward tension is a little too palpable. “Why exactly are you here?”
He looks taken aback, his wings puffing up a small bit, “I just wanted to see how you were doing.”
“Well, as you can see, I’m doing just great.” You can’t help the sarcasm as you move your wheelchair.
His features fall, his eyes aimed towards what’s left of your feet. “I’m so sorry, I made a bad judgment call and you got hurt because of it. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?”
“Unless you have some means to turn back time, there isn’t much you can do.”
“There has to be something,” he lifts his gaze back up to plead with you. “I’ll do anything, just say the word.”
You can’t tell if he is being genuine or not, before you can open your mouth a glint of something from the nearby building catches your attention. You wheel closer to the fence that lines the top of the building and spot a man with a camera aimed at the two of you. You whip your head around to face him, “is this some kind of joke to you?!”
“What?” His golden-brown hues are full of confusion as you struggle to turn your wheelchair around.
“Look, if you just came to Peacock for the camera’s or throw some kind of a pity party for yourself. I don’t want any part of it!” He looks between you and the nearby building, his feathers get ruffled at the sight of the camera.
“No, wait, this isn’t what it looks like!” He holds a hand out to try and stop you from leaving.
“Thanks for checking in, you can leave now.” You try to wheel your way back inside, but something is caught in one of your wheels.
“I swear I’m not with that guy, he must have noticed me fly up here after I left my note.”
You aren’t paying any attention to him, you are too focused on getting away. “Stupid thing,” you try to muscle through the clog, but you end up tipping the whole thing over and landing on the hard surface of the roof. “Son of a bitch!” You slam a closed fist on the ground as you push yourself up. Tears of frustration and pain leak from your [e/c] pools. You feel a gloved hand on your shoulder but you quickly shove it away. “Don’t touch me!”
“Please just let me help you,” he tries to reach for you again, but you stop him in his tracks.
“I’ve had enough of your help! Your ‘help’ is the reason I’m here!!” Your voice echoes around you, you wouldn’t be surprised if the camera man heard you.
You can see the hurt in the hero's eyes as he backs away, his wings drooping as your words settle somewhere deep within himself.
“Just go away…” you get your wheelchair back up and haul yourself into it again. You can hear the sound of his wings as he takes off, the force of the air blows your hair all over the place. You cover your face as you allow the tears to flow freely. If you were completely honest with yourself, you didn’t truly blame him. It was just easier than accepting your rotten luck. A couple of nurses hurry onto the roof and rush over to you. Apparently someone on the street heard you and told the staff in the lobby. You are immediately wheeled back to your room to rest and have your vitals checked. Your body is exhausted and so was the rest of you. You look out your window at the clouds rolling in, “nurse?”
“Yes?” The kind man responds as he gets your table ready for dinner.
“Would it be possible to send a letter to a hero agency?”
He hums in thought for a moment, “I believe so, why?”
“I...was just curious…” The nurse drops the topic and leaves you to your thoughts. “Doubt it would make a difference anyways.” You roll onto your side as your eyelids drooped, the sound of rain lulling you to sleep. Your dinner is left for you on the little table, along with a can of coffee with another note. ‘I still owe you a coffee, good luck with your recovery. -Hawks.’