Work Text:
"Babe", called a voice from the living room.
You looked up from your spot in the kitchen and blinked at Hawks. He was tired looking, nearly plucked through, his feathers almost gone. You hadn't seen him in person for weeks, which wasn't unusual, but the fact that he came by unannounced was.
Your relationship was seriously on the down-low.
His job was too dangerous, and if it bled over to you, you wouldn't survive. He had grabbed your face and stared you in the eyes when he told you point blank that his shit was dangerous without referencing the extremity of his work. You however were inherently a ride-or-die bitch, so that didn't scare you off.
You rolled with it.
If he wanted you, and if you wanted him, which of course you did- then some arrangements needed to be made. Burner phones for emergencies, secret bank accounts, no questions asked code words if you needed to bounce. A go-bag was always packed in your car, and a second at a non-disclosed location that he was unaware of. There was also a third bag out of the country if things got too dicey on his end and you needed to disappear under a new alias.
He had tested your resolve once and had to go looking for you when he called a code yellow. He expected you to fight him on it. He had expected tearful lashing out or you chasing after him saying you could do this together. But nope, you had grabbed your half of the cash from the bank and disappeared effectively for two whole weeks.
The perks of owning your own business meant that you could leave work or reissue your online business under a new name anytime you wanted. Which you did, erasing any major traces of your online footprint. You yourself were nowhere to be found- you'd ghosted your local haunts, and blocked your social media. You had driven him mad trying to find you. You only reemerged when he did a news report and mentioned how the honeysuckles were abundant this year and how he loved flying near them.
Honeysuckle was your safeword.
You had found him pacing your apartment when you returned that same week. After a tearful reunion, he had grasped your shoulders.
"Where the fuck did you go?"
"You said code yellow! I didn't ask questions, I left!"
"I was just testing the air!"
Needless to say, you had passed this little test with flying colors. Though now he had added the old school beeper to your arsenal to keep better in touch, and he wouldn't use the other codes unless he really needed to. While it was good to know your resolve, he really didn't want to push you to extremes.
So your relationship was a very carefully choreographed dance on his end. He never came during the day. He never left while the sun was out. He never flew to your place, tucking his feathers under a coat or disposing of them entirely until he was far out of your part of the city. He would wear wigs or makeup to disguise himself if he felt watched. He always let you know when he was coming to visit beforehand.
"What happened?" you asked looking at him seriously, grabbing a knife from the kitchen, looking around warily, "Are you hurt? Do we need to go?"
He held up his hands to you and gently pulled the knife from your fingers, placing it down on the counter.
"Fierce baby" he cooed to you, wrapping his arms around you and humming weakly.
"Keigo?" you asked, wrapping your arms back around him.
He began to wobble, pulling you into a slow dance in time with his soft humming. You swayed with him, dancing for a long moment, then he spoke in a warbling tone, "I'm sorry.. I'm sorry I can't give you what you need", he said miserably into your shoulder.
You buried your hand into his fluffy blonde hair, holding him close, "Shh, it's okay", you whispered to him.
He held you tighter, "I don't want to let you go."
"I'm not going anywhere Keigo", you promised softly, cuddling into him, "It's going to be okay. Did you have a bad day?"
"Worst day", he sobbed into your shoulder, " y/n, I did something so bad-"
"It's okay, I'm here", you promised, letting him cry into you, "no questions."
He shuddered, his little wingers fluttering as he met your gaze. His golden stare met your gentle gaze, and his body relaxed. His lips found yours in a soft needy kiss. No questions.