Beautiful Disasters- Hawks x OC

Chapter 22

"You're a pig and I hope you crash land on your way home," she said, hanging up abruptly.

Keigo chuckled and shook his head. He returned his attention to the papers in front of him, his mood significantly better than before. "I've got to get this done quickly if I'm gonna be home on time for dinner," he thought happily.

_____

"Honey I'm home!" he sang as he burst in through the front door.

Mariko was already in the kitchen monitoring something on the stove. She had changed into a sweatshirt and a pair of volleyball shorts, her damp hair fell loosely down her back. "Welcome back," she greeted. Something else that had come with the release of the article was their now long-running joke of pretending to be a real couple. Hawks particularly liked bursting into a room and greeting her with various pet names both ridiculous and cute.

The hero took off his jacket, struggling a bit to slide it off his back because of his wings, but he managed. He dropped the jacket on the couch, noticing the pile of letters on the coffee table. "That's a lot of mail," he whistled, making his way over to the kitchen.

"Yep, most of it's yours," she said not looking at him.

Keigo walked directly behind her and reached over her head to grab the plates from her cabinets. "Mine's?" he asked.

"Mhm, people keep stopping me on the street to give them to you," she turned around and plucked one of the plates from his hands. "I swear I'm more of a secretary than a girlfriend," she joked.

The blonde rested his chin on her shoulder, peering over to see what she was cooking. To his delight- it was chicken.

"You're an angel is what you are," he said.

"Hah, you only said that because I'm making chicken."

She felt his chest rumble with laughter, "Maybe, but that doesn't make it any less true," he said taking the now full plate from her hand and setting it on the table.

Mariko sat down across from him with her plate. "I submitted the application for that training program I told you about by the way," she commented.

"Really? Do you think you'll get in?"

She shrugged, "Who knows? My boss is pretty confident about it though."

"Three weeks huh? When's the training?"

"About a month and a half from now. I should get an email about three weeks before the training so I can make all the arrangements."

"Gotcha."

They continued their idle chatter over dinner until their plates were cleared and their glasses were empty.

"Wanna help me go over the fan mail?" he asked as she placed the dishes in the sink.

"You just don't wanna do it alone."

"Can you blame me? I spent the entire day doing paperwork," he complained, collapsing on the couch dramatically.

Mariko rolled her eyes and made her way to sit down next to him. "The one on the top is from a kid named Manabe. Told me to tell you he's a huge fan," she remarked, curling up next to him.

Keigo smiled and opened the envelope, his smile brightening as he read the paper.

"That one's from a woman named Lia. She wishes her boyfriend were more like you," she commented.

Hawks laughed. "Does she?"

"Mhm, something about how you were always on time for everything and he almost stood her up on their anniversary."

"Wonder what she'd say if she found out I'm only on time because you and the sidekicks are always reminding me," he mused.

"She'd probably find something else you do better than him," she yawned, "Move your wing, I'm tired," she mumbled.

Keigo sat forward and lifted his wing. The brunette shifted so she was now leaning against his shoulder. "You good now?" he asked.

She nodded and he let his wing top on top of her, acting like another blanket as he grabbed another letter.

"Little boy around 5. He said you were the best hero ever. Absolutely epic."        

"Did you seriously memorize all of these?" he asked half-jokingly.

Mariko nodded with half-lidded eyes. She'd never tell him, but she put extra effort into remembering the people that talked to her, especially when they had nice messages to deliver. Better than anyone, she understood how difficult and thankless work like his could be. She knew that even though he never said anything, work sometimes gave him a hard time. Those little words could go a long way for lifting his mood when he was having a bad day. "I'm just that amazing," she praised herself tiredly.

Keigo chuckled and continued reading the fan mail until the pile was all gone. He looked down at the brunette and his expression softened. Her eyes were shut, and her lips were slightly parted. A strand of hair fell across her face and she was completely unbothered by it. She'd fallen asleep.

For a moment, he just stared at her, and strangely enough, a deep and intense feeling of appreciation and gratitude blossomed in his chest. She'd worked hard today, too; but she waited for him to have dinner and she listened as he complained about paperwork. She'd even taken the time to remember what every single person who'd stopped her on the street had said because she knew it made him happy. A knot of emotion formed in his chest as he looked at her. "Thank you," he whispered softly, tucking the strand of hair behind her ear.

Mariko didn't register him speaking, but shifted closer to him, burying herself further under the warmth of his wing.