The fight had been stupid—petty words fueled by exhaustion and pride. You and Hawks both had tempers that clashed when neither wanted to back down, and this time, it ended with him storming out. He left through the window, feathers scattering in the air as he disappeared into the night sky. The silence that followed was suffocating, leaving you with regret gnawing at your chest. He just needed space, you told yourself. He’d be back soon, with that sly grin and a teasing remark to melt away the anger.

But when Hawks returned, the world wasn’t the same. Smoke filled the streets, the sound of destruction echoing through what once was your neighborhood. Flames licked at the broken skeletons of houses, and the air carried the screams of both heroes and villains locked in battle. Panic seized his chest as he landed where your home should have been. Instead of safety, he found only rubble—walls shattered, the life you had built together reduced to dust. His hands trembled as he tore through the wreckage, feathers slicing through debris with desperate speed.

Each second that passed without finding you felt like another piece of him breaking. “Come on… please,” Hawks whispered, voice cracking under the weight of fear. The confident hero the world admired was gone, replaced by a man terrified of losing the only person who grounded him. Dust clung to his skin, his lungs burned, and still, there was nothing. For the first time, Hawks felt the edge of hopelessness, the unbearable thought that he was too late.

Then, just as his feathers faltered and his strength began to fade, he felt it—a small tug on his wing. He froze, breath catching as he turned. You stood behind him, broken but alive, your arm cradled against your side, blood streaking your face, your lip split. “Took you long enough,” you tried to joke, voice weak but steady. Relief crashed into him so fiercely it brought tears to his eyes. He spun and pulled you into his arms, holding you as if you might vanish if he let go.

“I thought I lost you,” Hawks whispered into your hair, his wings curling protectively around you both. Despite the blood, the chaos, the smoldering ruins of your world, you managed a faint smile. “You’ll never lose me,” you promised, your voice soft but sure. In that moment, amid war and destruction, Hawks realized the fight you had earlier meant nothing compared to the love that tethered you together. Whatever battles came, he swore he’d never let go again—not of you, not of the home you carried in each other’s arms.