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Yes.
Church.
Today was the day of Ben Hawk Parker's baptism.
Gwen had woken up early, walked into the closet, opened a wardrobe stuffed to bursting with clothes, and—while lamenting that she had nothing to wear—spent half an hour digging through the mountain of options to find something appropriate for the occasion.
Hawk's outfit was considerably simpler.
Suit and tie.
After Gwen emerged from the closet, she took Hawk's tie from his hands once he stood up. He lifted his chin, she fastened the knot, and they headed out.
Since the church was right next to Palm Street, they decided to walk rather than drive.
As they made their way there, Gwen greeted passing neighbors with warm smiles.
The neighbors responded just as warmly.
Hawk maintained a polite smile—friendly, but not chatty.
He'd never been much of a talker.
This was evident from the hundred-plus contacts in Gwen's phone compared to Hawk's barely-ten.
But the Phoenix household's popularity in the community remained consistently high.
This was entirely thanks to Gwen.
Especially after word got around that the captain of the Twenty-first Precinct—which covered Palm Street—was Gwen's father. The Phoenix household became even more popular.
After all, connections never hurt.
Just two weeks ago, the husband from the Smith family next door had been hauled into the Twenty-first Precinct for drunk driving. One phone call from Gwen to Detective Mahoney, and the guy walked free.
Gwen hadn't even needed to contact George.
Thinking of Detective Mahoney—who had since been discharged from the hospital—Hawk glanced at Gwen as they walked, her arm hooked through his.
"By the way, how's Detective Mahoney's recovery going?"
"He's been out of the hospital for two weeks now. You're just thinking of this?"
"Forgot."
He'd spent the past several days embedding the Blood Dimension into his Underworld and brainstorming his realm's exclusive race. Where would he find time to keep track of other people?
He hadn't even checked on George afterward. Let alone anyone else.
Thinking of this, Hawk raised an eyebrow.
"Speaking of which—where's George been?"
"Dad?" Gwen looked at Hawk curiously. "What about Dad?"
Hawk shrugged.
"George knows about my powers now. He hasn't said anything?"
"Uh..."
Gwen studied Hawk. Her eyes slowly narrowed, and a lovely curve formed at the corner of her lips.
"What did you want Dad to say? 'Wow, Hawk's so amazing'?"
"Or maybe, 'Oh my God, Hawk's incredible—I had no idea he was this powerful'?"
"..."
Hawk watched Gwen's exaggerated performance—voice lowered but expression theatrical—and his lips curved upward. He matched her volume. "Your acting right now is way more over-the-top than last night when you wore that plumber costume..."
Gwen's smile froze. She shot Hawk a withering look, pulled her arm free, and stalked ahead.
Hawk's smile froze too. He jogged to catch up. "Sorry. My bad."
Gwen's peripheral vision caught Hawk's apologetic, head-bowed expression. A mischievous glint flickered in her eyes.
"Too late. Minus two weeks."
"Absolutely not!"
Hawk shook his head immediately, his expression serious. "The next batch of costumes is already on its way. Two months means two months. Integrity matters, Gwen."
He hadn't forced her to pay such a hefty price.
God was his witness.
George hadn't been in any real danger that night. In fact, not only was there no danger—the man had been about to enjoy himself.
So Hawk couldn't be accused of holding George hostage to extort Gwen.
It was Gwen who hadn't wanted George to enjoy those imminent... services. She'd paid the two-month fee to bring Hawk into the game.
Sure, he'd gotten an unexpected bonus after stepping in.
The Blood Dimension.
But once again—God as his witness—when Hawk had intervened, he'd had no idea he'd end up with an ownerless dimensional space.
And after unexpectedly acquiring the Blood Dimension, he'd been able to create his own exclusive race.
But none of that mattered.
What was an unexpected bonus? Something you never saw coming.
Bottom line.
He'd stepped in because Gwen paid two months' worth of costumes. Not because he'd foreseen the Blood Dimension windfall.
Still—
After firmly rejecting Gwen's unreasonable attempt to claw back payment, Hawk's eyes darted around. He smiled at her.
"Actually, taking off two weeks might be doable."
"Really?"
"See, that female vampire was about to go to town when you paid me two months' worth. Now you want to cut two weeks. If we calculate from when I actually intervened, at one and a half months I would've stepped in after she'd already started. So—find me a female vampire to provide those services first, and I'll agree to the two-week reduction."
Hawk said this casually, then smiled at Gwen.
Gwen's eyes lit up at first. But as she processed his proposal, murderous intent flared. Her little canine teeth peeked out.
"You wouldn't dare!"
"I actually think George was interested."
"What?"
Hawk glanced at Gwen and smiled. "Think about it—it's been almost twenty days. Why haven't we seen George at any of our family dinners? My guess? George probably thinks I cockblocked him. That's why he's avoiding me."
Gwen's expression froze. She stopped walking and stood completely still.
Hawk stopped too, backed up a few steps, and stood beside her.
Their eyes met... For some reason, meeting Gwen's gaze, Hawk suddenly felt like he'd set himself on fire.
Sure enough.
Gwen smiled at him, her tone light and breezy.
"Hawk~"
"Mm?"
"You're saying my dad had those thoughts. What about you? Do you have those thoughts too? If it had been you, would you have accepted?"
"Absolutely not." Hawk shook his head decisively. His bearing was upright, his voice steady, not a trace of guilt as he met Gwen's speaking emerald eyes. "I, Hawk Phoenix, have eyes for one woman only."
Among all the abilities his Sixth Sense had awakened, there was only one he deliberately minimized using.
Sixth Sense—X-Ray Vision.
If his mind wavered even slightly, this ability—which he'd practically buried at the bottom of his toolkit—would become something he kept active 24/7.
No exceptions.
But Hawk didn't.
One woman was enough.
And—
Gwen had been with him since the beginning. She'd witnessed his growth, accompanied his journey, and now shared in his temporary peak. In the future, she would share everything he had.
Besides, he was a warrior.
Everyone knew.
You heard about scholars abandoning their families after rising to power.
When had you ever heard of warriors doing the same?
So!
Hawk's expression turned serious as he looked at Gwen.
"You are my past, my present, and my future. The only one I care about."
"..."
Gwen looked at this disgustingly smooth Hawk, met those eyes that seemed to hold entire galaxies, and opened her mouth.
"...I'm sorry."
"Too late."
"What?"
"You doubted me. Add two weeks."
"In your dreams!"
Gwen watched a sly smile creep onto Hawk's face.
"Two months was the deal. I won't reduce it, and you don't get to add to it."
"Deal."
Hawk raised an eyebrow, his serious expression returning to normal. He smiled. "I agree to the original payment terms."
Gwen heard this, studied his expression, and finally caught on.
"Son of a—"
"Language, Gwen. Language."
Hawk watched Gwen nearly curse and cut her off with a smile and a gentle reminder.
The next second, Seeing her eyebrows arch dangerously, he flickered forward—dodging her furious swing.
"Get back here!"
"Nope."
Hawk shook his head.
He had no masochistic tendencies.
Gwen was pissed now. She spotted Hawk ahead of her and took off in pursuit.
Hawk turned and ran.
No hesitation.
Soon.
Peter and Felicia—standing at the church entrance waiting for their son's godfather—spotted Hawk and Gwen in the distance, laughing and chasing each other playfully.
Peter and Felicia exchanged glances, blinked, and looked at them curiously. "What's going on with you two...?"
By now, Hawk and Gwen had returned to normal—arms linked—and just laughed at Peter's curious expression.
"Warming up. Where's my godson?"
"Aunt May's holding him. The priest is getting ready."
"Let's go."
Hawk turned to Gwen beside him. "I'll head in and prep."
Today was Little Ben's baptism.
But as the godfather, Hawk had his own preparations to make.
Anyone else might have arrived early to get ready.
But Hawk had grown up in a church. He knew every step of the process. He didn't need training—he could handle it all off the top of his head.
By the time Gwen, Peter, and Felicia entered the church, Hawk had already finished reciting the prayers before the statue of Jesus. He drew a cross over his chest, then produced the golden cross he'd prepared and handed it to the priest beside him.
The priest recited his own prayers, then placed the golden cross around the neck of Little Ben, who slumbered peacefully in Aunt May's arms.
This golden cross was something Little Ben would wear for the rest of his life.
Because it was the godfather's gift to his godson.
The sleeping infant seemed to sense something. His eyes fluttered open. Just as he was about to cry, his chubby little hand touched the golden cross. His tiny mouth pursed, he grabbed the cross—
And broke into a gurgling laugh.
If anyone had looked closely at Little Ben's eyes—as blue as Peter's—they would have noticed something.
Deep within those infant eyes.
A shimmer of light.
The light of—
The Northern Cross constellation.
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