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Keigo Takami, also known as the number two hero Hawks, was a smart man. He fought battles some couldn’t even imagine, achieved things his child self never thought possible. And yet, a thing as simple as asking someone out seemed impossible to him right now. It would be easier if it would be just that, someone, some random person. But it wasn’t. In fact, this someone he struggled to ask out was no other than Fuyumi Todoroki, the only daughter of the number one hero Endeavor. Of all the people in Japan, with all the fans who would kill to be with him, he had to fall for her.
Obviously, he didn’t plan it. He heard that things like this weren’t planable, but he didn’t really believe it until the feelings hit him like a plane mid-flight. When he thought about it, he couldn’t exactly pinpoint the moment it happened, instead it kind of crept up on him. When they met for the first time at that hero gala, he definitely had been interested. How could he not be, seeing that beautiful woman right next to his childhood idol. The way the red specks in her snow white hair stood out in the crowd of mostly navy and black, in combination with the simple but stunning light purple dress that hugged her curves just right…He had to physically stop himself from drooling from just thinking about it.
It got even better when she actually talked to him. As the hero and model that he was, he was used to talking to female fans who struggled to form coherent sentences and shoved their phones in his face before he could even say ‘Hi’. But Fuyumi wasn’t like those girls. Sure, she knew who he was, especially since he worked more and more with her father, but she didn’t make a fuss about it. She talked to him like she probably would to every other colleague of her father. She was polite and genuine and, what he appreciated the most, honest. As someone who was used to being lied to, he could see honesty and he knew he saw it in her icy gray eyes. Through that, he could also see that she seemed kind of uncomfortable at first. Understandable if you thought about who her father was. She was used to pro heroes and thus, probably grew tired of them. The fact that she still accompanied her father to events like this amazed him, she clearly cared for him.
That first meeting and first conversation was just the start of what turned out to be the biggest and most ridiculous crush Keigo ever had. Since the gala, he sought out every possible opportunity to see her, to talk to her. Endeavor had to be annoyed to high heavens by the young man bothering him but he couldn’t care less when he saw Fuyumi smile. A smile as warm as the sun, in contrast to her snowy eyes and hair. The little conversation they had wasn’t even that much or meaningful, but that much was enough to get him hooked. He just couldn’t get enough and he knew he had to take the next step, but there was the problem: He didn’t know how.
“I know I’ve been to their house enough times but it’s always because I pretend to want something from Endeavor. Eventually he’ll notice I’m just using him as an excuse to get those few minutes with her '', he complained, almost whining to Miruko as they sat on his couch, both a bottle of booze in hand. The bunny hero threw her head back in laughter, of course she wouldn’t be that big of a help. “Honestly, I never saw someone as pathetic as you. You hooked up with a lot of people. Everyday there are new ones who tweet how they wanna jump your bones. And why? Because you charm them. With your words. Why not her too?” Keigo chuckled bitterly and took a big swig from his bottle. “I would if I knew what to say. For some reason, simply asking if she wants to go out doesn’t sound good enough for her. She will think it’s a cheap trick or something to get closer to her father, which is nonsense since it’s literally the other way around. Or worse, she’ll think she’s just another woman! Believe me, she is anything but that, she is THE woman for me.”
Okay, that were some pretty big words, but he would stick to it, he meant what he said. Rumi seemed surprised by the statement as well, she blinked slowly, processing the words from her friend. “So it’s more serious than I thought”, she mumbled, thinking.
After a few moments, she put on a wicked smirk and took a victory sip from the booze, enjoying the burn.
“Alright Lover boy, here’s what you’ll do. You know where she lives, you know where she works. Why not leave her some flowers and little notes about how much you like her here and there, without her knowing that they are from you. You talk often enough, so when you do you’ll ask about her day or whatever you lovebirds do and she’ll mention the flowers. If she hasn’t figured out they’re from you already, you can be all cool and be like ‘Yeah, I did this to surprise you. Wanna go out with me?’ And then you’ll go out and make cute babies with big ass wings and white hair, it’s gonna be amazing.”
Keigo, who listened eagerly to the whole speech, couldn’t contain a chuckle. He had to admit, that sounded great. He doubted he could do it as smoothly as she described it, but he would try. He risked gaining Endeavor as his biggest enemy if this went wrong, but it was definitely worth it. She was worth it.
Although it was only 9 am, Fuyumi couldn't wait for the day to be over. Most of her students seemingly woke up and chose violence today as they didn't listen or wouldn't stop talking. Usually, she didn't have any problems staying calm when they were like this but today… It was rough. What made it even worse was the fact that her father was out of town and wouldn't be back for a few days. That wouldn't be that bad on its own, but it meant that Hawks wouldn't pay her his regular visit. She wouldn't admit it if someone asked but deep down she was always looking forward to seeing him, to talk to him about anything, to laugh at his stupid jokes. Ever since the gala she hoped she would get to see him again and even though she found it strange that he showed up at their house so much, she didn't complain in the slightest. If she knew he would show up, she even dressed up a little and applied a bit of makeup.
Fuyumi could hit herself for being like this. Her biggest crush since middle school had to be him. She felt like she was still in middle school. She couldn't even bring herself to go any further, mostly because she wasn't confident that he would be interested in going out with her. He had millions of fans, lots of women who were far more interesting than her, so why settle with her?
Again, she could scold herself for thinking like this. She had worked long and hard to overcome these negative thoughts, but this situation was enough to make all the hard work seem worthless. She couldn't help it as she learned from experience that when someone had been interested in her, it wasn't for her but to get closer to her father. Of course, being the daughter of the number 1 hero seemed to be the only perk of dating Fuyumi Todoroki.
Eventually, school was over and Fuyumi went to the teacher's lounge to get her things. At first, she didn't notice the gift for her on her desk. Only when she was almost out the door, she noticed a splash of red in the corner of her eye. She stopped in her tracks and turned around.
Two roses, a white and a red one and a note with her name on it. Confusion spread inside her, her head was filled with questions. How long has that been here? It certainly wasn't there in the beginning of the day so it had been placed while she was in her classroom. Which led to her next question: Who possibly could have left that here? And why? It wasn't her birthday, Valentine's day or any kind of holiday. Well, she would only find out if she read the note.
'My dear Fuyumi, these roses made me think of you. They can't compete with your beauty tho'
A certain warmth spread in her cheeks and her chest, mixing with the confusion. She couldn't help but smile. Words like this had never been dedicated to her, causing her to wonder even more who wrote them. A certain someone with big red wings came to mind, as the written words sounded like something he would say, she could even picture him saying them with a grin.
Okay, now she got ahead of herself. But she would definitely tell him about this when they saw each other.
Unfortunately, it took him about a week to come by the Todoroki mansion again, even a few days after Enji had returned. During the time he was gone, Fuyumi had received even more flowers, which she kept in a vase on a table in the living room. Of course there also were more notes, all safe in a little box on her desk. Admittedly, she had read each note more than once.
The following ones were all similar to the first one. They all said things like 'Every sunset rinds me of you' or 'Your smile could melt the coldest snow'.
It still felt like one of those soap operas that she liked so much. To be honest, part of the reason she read them so many times was that she had to convince herself they were real. She still couldn’t believe someone thought of her like this.
The doorbell rang and Fuyumi’s heart almost jumped out of her chest as she saw Hawks standing before her, a Fox coffee in hand and a nonchalant grin on his face. So basically like every time they saw each other. “H-Hawks-san! I didn’t expect you to come here today, you haven’t been here for a while”, she stammered, feeling her cheeks getting warmer and her heart beating faster.
His eyes had a certain glint in them as he got inside and out of his boots. “Sorry for that, but I’ve been…busy.” Indeed he had been busy coming up with ideas for the notes and buying flowers. And of course placing them for her to find while not getting caught. Fuyumi nodded, following him into the living room. “So what have you been up to while I was gone? How’s dear Enji?”, he asked, taking another sip of his coffee.
Fuyumi put a strand of her hair behind her ear, needing to do something with her hands to distract herself. Of course she still thought about the notes, still hearing the lines in his voice, wearing the expression he wore right now. If he did this, he would have said something by now…right? He would have left something in there that would tell her clearly that it was him.
Would he?
“Dad is doing okay, he has also been busy. He is in his office if you need him. And me, well I’ve been doing pretty well too. Actually, I’ve been receiving several gifts from someone.” She pointed to the flowers on the table, blushing at the thought that they were for her. His eyes followed her hand and his grin morphed into a soft smile. “Those are pretty. They can’t compete with your beauty though.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, his whole body stiffened and his wings fluttered. Of course, Fuyumi understood immediately, as her beautiful gray eyes widened and her cheeks turned as red as the streaks in her hair.
A truly uncomfortable silence followed, where the both of them just stared at each other until Fuyumi finally said something: “Are…Are the notes and the roses really from you?”
Well, that certainly didn’t go as expected, but there was no turning back now. But what gave him a little bit of hope was that she looked like she hoped that he was the one who wrote the notes. So he took a deep breath and nodded. “They are. To be honest, I’ve been trying to ask you out for a while now, so I did this first to show you I really mean it, but I kinda didn’t have the guts to give them to you or to say that they’re from me.” He chuckled dryly. “I actually planned to do this all anonymously and then be all casual when I revealed that I wrote them…Guess I messed this up. But I mean it, I really want to go out with you. So…Would you?”
She couldn’t help but laugh. She wouldn’t have thought that a person like Hawks, who was known to be a huge flirt, would have trouble to ask a simple question like this. She wouldn’t have thought that he felt like this, which made it even better.
“I would love to go out with you.”