HawksxReader - 3am
A/N: so i wrote a thing to make myself feel better and tire out my brain enough to convince it to sleep. Enjoy!
Words: 1330
Content: Fluff? A dash of angst and a whoooole lotta comfort
No warnings! Just gooey nothing. <3
“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”
“Shouldn’t you be minding your own business?” you scoff and continue typing away as the winged hero flits around you.
It’s the middle of the night. Three a.m. to be exact. And you’re sitting on your couch with your laptop, typing away furiously as the world inside your head cascades into living, breathing stories. The only light is the backlight off the screen, the sound of your fingers tapping away at the keys filling the silent apartment.
Well, they would be the only sound if it weren’t for this meddling pest.
“Me-ow~ Put your claws away, dove! I’m here on good terms.” he laughs and you stop typing to take a deep breath before turning your gaze to his.
Golden sunrises. Molten honey, gooey and brilliant in the morning light. A dawning era of shimmering sunlight. His eyes could inspire the dead to continue living, if he isn’t careful.
“I’m working, Hawks. My job might not be a job by your standards but it is by mine and I take it seriously.” you growl.
He just winks, fluttering over your couch to snag your laptop from your lap. He closes it gently- and annoyingly out of your reach- before he places it on top of your kitchen cupboards. Which, granted, isn’t that high up but you’d have to get a chair or ladder to climb up and grab it. And there’s no way that's happening before Hawks moves it or you back down.
Infuriating. That’s what this is.
“Do you purposefully ignore me when I talk or is there some kind of short circuit in your feathered, mushy brain that prevents your intelligence from going over a number too high for you to count?” you snap and he laughs, grinning as he lands on his feet across from you.
“It’s break time. You can work later.”
“You’re one to talk.”
“You’re not wrong but we’re not talking about me here, dovey.”
“Hawks.” you warn, your tone growing more agitated by the second.
“Come on, little bird!” he pleads, slowly lowering himself on his knees before you, gloved hands clasping in front of him like a begging child. “I wanna celebrate with you.”
“Celebrate what?” you bristle, body tensing.
“Your birthday, dearest.” he whispers, hands clasping yours before you can tear them away. “I know you hate it but I wanna make you love it. I wanna make you smile, baby bird. I wanna see your gleaming grin like the dawning sun across the sky!”
You swallow the bile rising in your throat, trying to take a few deep breathes before your chest grows too tight and you can’t focus on breathing anymore. You suppose you should have known better than to think he’d leave you alone on this day of all days but hey, a person can dream, yeah?
“Kiego,” you start, voice trembling and quiet. “I don’t think I can.”
“At least let me try?” he pleads, blinking innocently up at you before his hands find purchase on your hips. “Pretty please?”
He steadies himself on the floor, pressing his scruffy chin to your stomach. His blond hair is messy and tousled like it always is. It’s hard to keep any kind of neat style in place when he’s always fluttering around.
The unease in your veins isn’t easy to ignore and he watches your hesitation with a small pout.
“I wanna make happy memories with you.” he murmurs softly, pressing his lips to your bellybutton beneath your shirt as he nuzzles his face into your abdomen. “I want you to have good things to think of when you think of your birthday.”
You run your palm down your face, groaning inwardly at what you’re about to agree to.
“Nothing extreme.” you sigh and he perks up, eyes lighting up with a million bolts of energy at your words.
“Of course not!” he grins wildly. “I’ve got just the thing- low profile, not a lot of social interaction and it’s away from people!! It’s perfect, baby bird! I promise!”
You smile softly, unable to fight off his spreading cheer as you tug him to his feet. He wraps his arms around you completely, his warmth surrounding your body instantly. How long had you sat in the cold? Had it always been this chilly in the apartment? Or did you zone out to the point of forgetting to regulate your own body temperature?
It happens from time to time. You get so stressed your brain can only focus on one thing and it forgets everything else. Like breathing, from time to time. Hawks had been pretty shocked to find that out when you once gasped for air like your lungs depended on it and disrupted the silent evening the two of you had been having. He hadn’t forgotten it, either. It’s why he’s so attentive now- pulling you away from the guilt that locks you into work to quell the monster in your mind that tells you if you’re not doing anything that you’re a failure. That you’re useless. Nothing. Not even worth the space you take up.
Before the thoughts can creep back in, Hawks’ lips are peppering your face in kisses.
“I know that look.” he coos softly. “I’m right here, okay? You don’t have to listen to that liar in your head. And I’ll even let you get back to work after snack time! How long has it been since you’ve eaten?”
Eaten..? Had you eaten, at all?
“I… had a glass of water when I woke up to take my medications-”
“Alright, food asap, then.” he shrugs and waltzes over to the fridge. “I’m glad you remembered to take your medication, though.”
“The alarms you suggested I have turned on to remind me have been working.” you murmur quietly and sit on the floor, your back resting on the bottom cupboards door.
“Good, good. I use those when I need to remember to eat.”
“Have you eaten today?”
“Yeah, I met up with Endeavor earlier and convinced him to eat at this curry place with me. We should go sometime!” he smiles softly. “Are you in the mood for anything? I’m not a talented cook but I’ve been told I make a mean bowl of cereal.”
“Cereal’s fine.” you smile softly. “Thank you, Kiego.”
“The amount of money I would pay for you to keep saying my name like that will never, ever have a finite number.” he laughs, sighing contentedly. “Thank you for letting me take care of you, baby bird.”
“Thank you for caring?” you shrug with a nervous chuckle. “I’ve never been one to be cared for, honestly.”
“Well that changed the moment I swooped in and swept you off your feet.”
“Kiego you fell out of a two story building and landed on me. That’s not what that phrase means-”
“That is NOT how I remember it. I saved you from tripping.” he sways dramatically in a mocking remake of the action.
“Tripping over your ego, maybe.” you sneer but accept the bowl of cereal he’d so wonderfully prepared.
“I’ll get you some real food tomorrow.” he remarks softly, pulling out his phone to set a reminder for it. “And maybe actually get you out in the sun, you vampire.”
“The UV might be too much.” you dramatically groan. “I might perish.”
“I’ll be there to save you, dovey.” he coos and sits next to you on the floor as you start spooning cereal into your mouth. “I’ll always be here.”
“Thank you, Kiego.” you smile shyly, leaning your head on his shoulder. “But if you ever put my laptop out of my reach again, I’ll turn you into a roast chicken, got it?”
“Aye, aye, captain!” Hawks laughs and dispearses some of his smaller feathers to retrieve your laptop from the top of the cupboards. They float slowly down to you and place it in front of your feet before they brush against your cheek lovingly.