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The neckline of the stuffy formal wear scratched at the sensitive skin of your upper chest, you tried to adjust it to make it just a little bit less restricting but it didn’t help the overbearing feeling at all. For the price tag it came in, you had seriously expected more than this utter discomfort.
Or perhaps the stuffiness was not really from what you were wearing after all.
Taking a glance at the person besides you, you would have thought that Keigo was having the time of his life chatting his ears off with the other esteemed guest if you didn’t know any better. Under the bright smile was the strong underline of absolute formality, each joke and laugh laced with a hint of mockery and annoyance that wouldn’t be picked up unless you know just who Takami Keigo was beneath persona that he had carefully built up.
Hawks and Takami Keigo were two rather different person, and currently it was Hawks talking to theses other people of high power wearing equally expensive gowns and suits with nothing but flattery rolling off their tongues.
Animals would try to assert dominance by competing the frocks they were born with, it seemed like humans were no different.
The high pitched laughter from these people whenever your boyfriend said anything remotely light hearted grated your ears. Feeling a soft squeeze on your shoulder, you looked up to meet the ever so attentive gaze of your own lover. He was well-aware of your annoyance, if anything he felt just the same.
Keigo had no intention to celebrate his birthday.
That was what he had told you when you first started dating. To him, his birthday was, quite frankly, not worth celebrating. He did not see what’s so celebratory about being born, it was not like he asked for it. “For real,” he said with a smile that you could not quite possibly read at that time, “who asked to be born?”
It took a while to slowly peel off his playful exterior to reveal the side of him that he had locked up from the rest of the world. You had come to learn that he was ridiculously quiet when he was alone, a habit he formed from living in a household where not being quiet would strike the wrong chord and get you into trouble on a bad day. He could be childishly possessive, something that was left from never having anything that could be called “his” without having the fear of it being taken away. He doubted if you truly want to be with him for a long while even after you started going out, a side effect of learning that all things that he was given comes with a price back when he was only a child. He was smart and calculated, so much more so than the public gave him credit for. You had also learned that he did not like big celebrations because it reminded him of the times that was less glorious, the razzle dazzle always left him feeling that void a bit more than usual when everything fell back into silence.
These were some of the many things that you learned about Keigo and despite his hidden fear that you wouldn’t like what you see after going in deeper and deeper to which he would never show, you had also come to love every bit of him.
But right now, the world needed Hawks, not Takami Keigo.
He had asked you to be there with him at this gathering that was meant for his birthday but for real, was it actually for him or was it for all of the other people that could benefit from the dazzling image that was crafted for the hero? You knew the answer well enough to agree to it even though there was nothing you hated more than this formality. Nothing was ever truly for him, but at least you could be there to make it just a bit more bearable.
Feeling your skin crawl at yet another fake echo of laughter around the room, your hands reached to your collar to glide a finger across the small feather that was pinned to it. Keigo loved it when you somehow wear his feather on you in any way possible, saying something about you looking wonderful “in his colour”. At first, you passed it off as yet another of his ways of showing the world that you belonged with him but it soon came to you that there might be another layer of meaning to it to which you found out during one of his rare moments of vulnerability.
It was after another event like this one. Under the pressure and persuasion of his colleagues, Keigo had taken way too much shots than he could handle. Struggling to carry him back to your shared apartment, you somewhat managed to prevent his wings from knocking anything off in the living room with his unsteady steps and laid him down on the couch.
He talked a lot more when he gets drunk, that was something you knew all along but most of the things that he rambled on about barely makes sense most of the time. You did not know what to make of it when he suddenly paused his blabbering and grabbed your wrist, stopping your hand that was trying to put a wet towel on his forehead. His fingers ghosted on your arm before moving to the side of your ear, tracing the thin feather that you had managed to secure in your hair.
He sat up despite your attempt at trying to tell him to keep laying down and got closer to your face, his eyes fixed on the red feather. You could still smell the alcohol in his hot breath as he studied your face with intensity, making your breath stop.
“I like it when you put on my feathers. Love it, actually.” The words slurred off his tongue as he slowly pulled away, “Like you are keeping a part of me.”
As he drunkenly drifted off to sleep, you were astonished to see how much of a child he looked like when he was fast asleep on the couch, with one hand draping by your side.
You never brought that night up to him but you did start to find more ways to incorporate his trademark into your outfits, much to his delight.
His feathers were a part of him, and knowing that you were keeping a part of him with you no matter which facade of his was on gave him a wonderful reassurance of all the things that he didn’t even know he want assurance on.
You felt a sudden warmth at your own fingertip, your gaze traveled from your own hand to see the ever so gentle touch of your lover. While he previously had one arm wrapped lazily around your shoulder, the same arm had now retreated to his side and held on firmly to your hand.
“Excuse me, this bird needs to catch some fresh air.” He said with a grin that didn’t reach his eyes before pulling you out to the terrace with him.
Leaning onto the cold metal, you sighed when the chilly air hit your face. As if to shield you from the wind, Keigo naturally extended his wings to your side as he stood next to you.
“My birdie getting tired of the cage, I see?” He teased as he tugged at the strains of hair that was messed up by the breeze, the touch hinted at the genuine concern under his teasing words.
“I have no idea how you are so used to all those people ogling at you like you are some sort of artifact to be passed around.” You said, trying to hide the sneer at your voice.
Keigo’s smile dropped ever so slightly. He knew that you deeply dislike the way he was being treated, even more frustrated that it was not something that would change in the foreseeable future.
With his hand patting the back of your head in comfort, you huffed. “If they care so much about your birthday, the least they could do is give you a break.”
He chuckled and you weren’t sure what to make of it. “So this is what all this frowning is about.” He said, “It’s ok! I told you...”
“You don’t care about birthdays. I know, I know.” You sighed. “But it’s still frustrating that it is being used to their benefit like everything else they make you do.”
You were the cutest when you get all pouty for him. He laughed as you swatted away his hand that went to pinch your cheek. Trapping you in between his arms, all you could see was his grinning face and the fiery red that surrounded you. “What else would I be doing if I’m not here, then?”
“Nothing, duh?” You rolled your eyes matter-of-factly, “Isn’t it the best thing you could do? Do nothing and just rest, maybe we can even order chicken for dinner or something.”
He had always say that he wanted nothing for his birthday but nothing had never sounded so tempting as it did right now. You by his side, laying around doing nothing.
It sounded like everything he had ever wanted, and at that moment he made his mind.
“How ‘bout we leave this place and go home?” It was not a question, he knew you would say yes.
Your eyes widened but you failed to conceal your delight. “But what about all those people who were expecting you to go back?”
“Nah, fuck them.” He already had one arm snugged to your waist and his wings spreaded, ready to take off, “It’s my birthday, I can do whatever I want.”
You yelped as he suddenly lifted you up and you held onto dear life as you were suddenly foots away from the ground. “Besides, they need me more than I need them.”
That was your Keigo talking and no matter how much he said that he didn’t want anything to do with his birthday, you would give everything to make the day just a little bit more joyous than he thought it was.
After all, he was your everything.
“Happy birthday, birdie.” You
whispered into his neck and he smiled at the prospect of just how doing nothing
at all could be everything there was to life.