Chapter Text
It was sometime during you final year in middle school that you’d had your first growth spurt. You’d been so excited after noticing the way your clothes seemed to have shrunk overnight, causing your ankles to stick out awkwardly from the bottom of your pants. A few of the other girls in your class had begun experiencing changes in their bodies as well, so it wasn’t something you were particularly worried about. It was a sign of maturity, as well as an excuse to go shopping!
The excitement slowly turned into concern once you started high school and realized you were taller than almost everyone else in the school, including the upper classmen. It was a little embarrassing being a taller than average girl because you tended to stand out in crowds and attract the stares of the people around you. It made you self-conscious at times, but thankfully most of your peers seemed to get over the height difference once they got to know you. Your sweet, chipper personality helped people feel more at ease around you.
It wasn’t until after you graduated high school and got hired into your first job that you really began to have negative feelings sometimes about your height. You made friends easily enough, but sometimes it started to wear you down when children shied away from you or people openly gawked at you in public. Still, you tried to keep your friendly smile in the hopes that people would feel less intimidated. It was on one of your more stressful days that you first met Hawks.
The weather had just started to warm up and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. You’d decided to use your day off as a chance to visit one of the most popular parks in your city which was hosting a Sakura Festival. The place was unsurprisingly packed with people. You were used to the stares at this point, but you’d also been stopped multiple times already by people feeling the need to make a comment about your height. You knew the attention was harmless, but you just wanted to enjoy your time in the park.
“Hey! What’s the weather like up there?” A middle aged man teases after getting behind you in line with his family at a shaved ice stall. You tilt your head and smile politely. If you had a dollar for every time you heard that question…
“Not bad! But a little on the breezy side.” A voice comes from above you and suddenly a familiar guy with bright red wings drifts out of the sky and lands next to the man. “Thanks for asking!” You instantly recognized the number two hero. You knew he patrolled around your city sometimes, but you’d never seen him this close up.
“Oh!” The man who had teased you seemed to get star struck. His family and the rest of the people around you were all getting excited too. “I was actually talking to the lady in front of us. She’s so tall!”
“And has pretty eyes,” Hawks grins while pulling off his visor and giving you a playful wink. Before you can even process his actions, he looks around the line of people to check out the stall. He looks back at you with a contemplative expression. “You know, I flew past a stall just like this a few minutes ago and it had a lot more flavors. Come on! I’ll show you.”
You had no idea what was happening but you nodded and followed him away. By the time you got to the stall he’d mentioned, you had already forgotten about the teasing man from before. Hawks knew what it was like to stand out and attract unwanted attention too, so he had been able to recognize your frustration right away even though you did your best to hide it most of the time. You felt shy around him for a few brief moments, but that quickly went away as he rambled about patrolling the festival and getting to try all the delicious food. His casual attitude allowed you to feel more comfortable and soon you were laughing and chatting away like old friends as you ate your cup of shaved ice.
What you assumed was going to be a brief encounter with the pro hero ended up turning into quite a bit more. Hawks acted cool and confident most of the time, but he also had to deal with the pressures of being a hero. He faced off against the darker parts of society every day by dealing with villains and taking orders from the higher ups in the hero commission. Something about your bubbly attitude and cute smile provided some respite from his hero duties, and he found himself not wanting to give up your company right away. Before he went back to his patrol, you agreed to his offer to go on a date. One date turned into two, and soon the winged hero was asking you to be his girlfriend.
The difference in height never seemed to be an issue for him. If you ever brought it up, he would just smile and say “what height difference?” before flying up to your level and kissing you once on the nose. He was also very good at diffusing uncomfortable moments when you were out together in public too. Whenever anyone mentioned your height, he would always make you blush by saying that your hair, eyes, or smile stood out the most to him. Sometimes you even forgot that you were taller because he or his feathers were always there to get something down for you before you could even reach for it.
And as great as it was to have someone like Hawks as a boyfriend, he felt equally as lucky to be with you. He always looked forward to seeing you after a hard day of hero work because you would welcome him back with your cheerful smile that erased all the stress every time. He loved to make you laugh by swooping down from the sky for surprise hugs and kisses too. The happiness and support that you and Hawks provided for each other made it so neither of you had to worry about gawkers or unwanted attention, because even if you did still stand out, you stood out together.