Work Text:
You sat in the living room in silence mindlessly scrolling through your phone. You jumped between Twitter and Instagram and Facebook only to find the same news, the same posts everywhere. You've spent the last three days by yourself. Three days of sitting at the kitchen table eating leftovers without the motivation to make a fresh meal. Three days without word from him.
Keigo Takami, also known as Pro Hero: Hawks, your boyfriend, has been gone for three days. No texts, no calls, no word from the Hero Public Safety Commission. Not like this was anything new, at this point all you had expected from him was disappointment. You had no hope that things would change between you two. How could you love someone who was so unavailable - emotionally and physically.
A sheet of darkness covered the sky. It was cloudy. Not even a drop of moonlight peeked through. You watched out the window and began counting the few stars you could see hoping a pair of scarlet red wings would make you lose track.
One, two, three...
You glanced around for a second. Nothing.
Four, five, six...
One more look. Nothing.
Seven, eight...
The rest hid behind clouds. One star in particular shone brighter than the rest. You stared at it. For a moment you could've sworn you saw it flicker.
You got up from the couch - giving up on hoping to see him tonight and went to your bedroom and got ready for bed. You didn't have the motivation to stand up and shower, so you filled the tub up with warm water, undressed, and sat in it for a while. The bath almost felt like a cocoon that hugged every inch of your skin so gently. Something you haven't felt in so long. This was the closest you could get to a loving embrace.
An hour passes, your skin had pruned up, the water became lukewarm. You got out and wrapped yourself in a warm towel and made your way back to the bedroom where you had your pajamas laying out on the bed. The bed... The one place you and Keigo had the most memories. They weren't at some fancy restaurant, or on an extravagant trip. Just in this very bed where you slept alone for three days.
You got dressed and checked your phone one more time. Nothing, of course. You plugged your phone in beside the bed and went back out to the kitchen for a cup of water. It was nearing midnight and all your hope of seeing Keigo tonight had once again faded into oblivion. You took a sip of your water, then creaking came from the living room - from the window. A dark figure climbs through and jumps to the floor of the room. Then, a pair of wings stretched from wall to wall.
Keigo. After three days, this is his grand entrance?
"Phew! I am starving!" The shadows that cast over him seemed to brighten with his smile, but your mind remained dark. You didn't know whether to be happy, sad, mad... "Hey, baby." He walked over and kissed you on the cheek. You couldn't bring yourself to look at him. "What's for dinner?"
You grimaced. "Leftovers. In the fridge."
"Thank god." He pulled out what was left from your dinner last night and made himself a plate and popped it in the microwave. All without saying a word. He set the timer and pressed start. He leaned over the island where you were standing taking small sips of your water. "Ugh, the work they have me doing is getting ridiculous I don't even have time to eat a proper meal anymore." He groaned.
You couldn't take it. Your anger was rising. "Where were you?" You muttered out.
Keigo perked up and looked at the dark scowl on your face. "What?"
"Where were you... for three days." You said a little louder, clearer, slower. You still refused to look at him. Instead, you watched droplets of water fall from the faucet...
Drip...
Drip...
Drip...
He finally spoke. "I was working. What else would I be doing?"
"I haven't heard from you in three days, Keigo." Your voice was monotone.
"I didn't have reception. What is this about?"
"So you couldn't tell me what you were going to do? You couldn't tell me you weren't going to have reception?"
The microwave beeped. Keigolifted himself off the island and took out his food. He sat at the table with his plate in front of him. "Don't start this again. It's late, I just got home."
Your head snapped toward him. "You say that every single time, then we never talk about it. Don't you know how long I've been tolerating this? Hell, I've gone even longer without seeing you, speaking to you! Yet, every time you come home it's always 'What's for dinner?' Not even a 'Hey, babe. How have you been? I'm sorry I was gone for so long.' You couldn't tell me when you were going to be gone for days on end and have me sitting in the living room hoping to see you swoop through that damn window." Everything came out at once. You weren't expecting it, not in the slightest.
Keigo stood from his seat and took small, slow steps toward you. "Well what the hell do you want me to do (Y/N)? I'm a hero. I'm working my ass off to make a living for the both of us. When I'm gone for days on end I'm living off of canned coffee and scraps. So, excuse me if I'm a little excited to come home to a home cooked meal."
"Are you kidding me? Keigo, every day I am sitting at that damn table with two cold plates of food sitting in front of me. I can't even remember the last time we actually ate together. I can't even eat on my own without wondering 'Has he eaten today' and not even be able to eat by myself without you here." What Keigo didn't notice was the slight thinness in your paled face. You hadn't eaten a proper meal in three days.
Keigo sits back down and starts picking at his plate. "Well I don't know what the hell you want from me."
"Some consideration!" Your voice grew louder. "You hardly even talk to me anymore! And when you're gone for so long I'm scared the commission is going to come knocking at that door to deliver the news that you are dead and I couldn't be beside you!" Tears began to flood your eyes and leak without you realizing. The thought of Keigo dying was the one thing that scared you the most.
"If you are so worried then why did you become my partner in the first place?" His voice leveled with yours.
"Because I fucking loved you!" Loved. You never thought that word would come out in a past tense when talking to Keigo.
His lips pressed into a straight line and his eyebrows stitched together. "Loved? What do you mean by that?"
"You are so damn hard to love now." Your voice was breaking. "I cannot go any further pretending to love someone who is so emotionally unavailable who can't even look me in the eye. You're not even listening!" You snapped at him to grab his wandering gaze. You could feel your anger rising, your hands started to shake.
"Don't snap at me. I'm listening!"
"I'm done with this."
"What? No. Stop. Let's talk about this." Keigo got up and took a couple steps toward you.
"Now you want to talk? After a year of us being together you finally want to talk? Is that really what it takes to get you to finally put it some kind of effort?"
Keigo fell silent. He knew you were right, but he didn't want to admit it.
"You know that 'I'm a hero' excuse is complete bullshit. Lock Lock has a perfectly happy wife and child as a hero. If you can't put in that kind of effort then maybe you're not ready for love."
Keigo's wings dropped to the floor at those words. It stung him in his heart. His food was cold at this point. "I love you."
"No you don't. You love the idea of loving someone. Of being loved. You're not ready for that." You walked past him toward the bedroom. "I'm leaving tomorrow."
He straightened himself at that sentence. "So is this it? Where will you go?"
"Doesn't matter. Don't come looking for me. I mean it." You walked into the bedroom and shut the door behind you. Closing it harder than intended. Your back hit the door and your body slid down to the floor. Everything came crashing in at once.
On the other side of the door, you could hear the clatter of a plate being thrown into the sink and aggressive grunts and thuds. "Fuck!" You heard shouted angrily. Tears continued to streak your face. Your breathing became unsteady as you tried to compose yourself. This was it. You hugged your knees to your chest and sobbed quietly to yourself as Keigo continued to make a rucous.
Thumping...
Grunting...
Cursing...
Then silence.
Suffocating silence.
You lifted your head from your knees and wiped your eyes with your sleeve. The only thing lighting the room was the clear view of the moon outside the tall windows. Suddenly the room was dark. Only for a second. It was a shadow. It was Keigo.
You stood from the floor and cracked the door open a bit to peek into the rest of the apartment. At the end of the hall, you could see a chair toppled over. You opened the door the rest of the way and moved down the hallway slowly until you were able to see the kitchen. Chairs were on their side, the glass of water was spilled all over the counter and dripping onto the floor, the plate of food was splattered all over the sink and counter and the plate it was on was broken.
A chill ran up your spine. It was a slight breeze coming from the living room. You turned around and walked toward the open window. You fell to your knees and sobbed once again.
He was gone.
Keigo was gone.
And so was your forever.