Beautiful Disasters- Hawks x OC

Chapter 16

More than anything, he was excited for her to see him take pictures. It was different when the look was complete, and he knew the outfits and accessories he was working with looked especially good on him. "I'm not trying to impress her or anything," he told himself, "But she should be impressed at having a best friend like me," he thought, smirking slightly as he checked himself out in the mirror. He was wearing an all-black suit with a silver watch which was the focus of the photoshoot that day.

"Hey Kid, how do I look?" he asked, walking up from behind her.

Mariko, who had been playing on her phone as she waited for him to come out, looked up. Her eyes widened for a second as she took in his appearance. He looked good. There was no denying that. He wore a cocky smirk as he looked down at her and she knew he knew exactly what she thought of him. There was, however, an eager glint in his eyes as she waited for her comment.

"You look decent for once," she sassed.

The male chuckled, "Coming from you that means I must look like a million bucks" he quipped.

She laughed lightly along with him, before a small smile settled on her lips, "You do look very handsome," she told him.

His cocky smirk turned into a sheepish smile, not at all expecting such an honest compliment from her. "Thanks, Chickee," he said, the tops of his ears turning pink.

The photographer watched the exchange with great interest. He'd known the hero since he'd started his hero career when he was eighteen and had never once seen him act that way in front of anyone- himself included. Life taught him to recognize when someone grew up alone and closed off, and he'd seen those traits in Hawks as clear as day. Seeing his favorite model be so emotionally open with someone warmed his heart. He clapped loudly making sure to get everyone's attention. "Now that our model is ready, let's get started!" he exclaimed.

Hawks was much more energetic than he'd been in any other photoshoot. He exuded stable and brilliant confidence that was perfect for the watch they were trying to sell. He was putting his all into it, not goofing off even once like he sometimes did. "He should bring that girl every time he has a shoot," Akito thought.

When Keigo changed outfits for the third time, Mariko decided she needed to get up and get a drink. She approached the refreshments bar and poured herself a cup of ice-cold water.

"Hey," someone said.

Mariko flinched and jumped back at the sound of someone's voice and whipped around to face them.

"Whoa sorry didn't mean to scare you!" a young man a little bit younger than her said, stepping back slightly.

"Can I help you?" she asked eyeing him.

The male blushed, "Ah... well not exactly. I just wanted to talk to you for a bit..." he stated.

"I see. If it's something about Hawks you'll have a better shot asking him yourself. He's actually pretty responsive to his fans," she said, misunderstanding the reason for his shyness completely.

The male blushed even more, "I know! I'm an intern here so I've worked with him before. He's a lot of fun. Especially today he's been super enthusiastic about it. It's definitely made Akito-sensei happy," he said nodding over to the photographer who was practically dancing around the hero as he took pictures.

Mariko giggled at the sight and nodded in agreement. "That's a good thing."

Keigo watched the exchange in front of him with growing annoyance. She'd stopped looking at him again and was instead laughing at someone else. For a moment, he got tunnel vision. He forgot he was at a photo shoot and he concentrated solely on the brunette giggling a few yards away from him. He rubbed his face with his hand, covering his mouth for a moment as he looked at the pair in irritation.