Mariko sighed as she got ready to go to Sakura's house. Looking at herself in the mirror, she leaned on the sink for a moment and frowned at the slight dark circles that had formed under her eyes. The conversation she was going to have with Sakura wasn't a pleasant one, and she'd spent most of the previous night trying to figure out what to say.
"Ready to go?" Keigo asked, appearing in the doorway.
Straightening herself, the brunette smiled at her boyfriend through the mirror and nodded. "Just about. I just need to grab my purse." She paused, seeing that he too looked ready to go out. "Are you coming with me?" she asked.
"Figured I'd walk ya there," he shrugged.
She giggled slightly and turned around to face him. "You're cute," she said pecking his cheek as she slipped out of the bathroom.
"Nice of ya to finally notice Chickee," he joked, following the female to the door.
Mariko rolled her eyes half-heartedly and muttered a small thanks as Keigo handed her her purse and jacket.
Sakura's house was thankfully not very far away. It was only a twenty-minute journey from her apartment, though it would've been shorter had Hawks let them fly there (he'd refused in order to spend more time with her). They'd also stopped for take-out as Mariko had promised she'd bring lunch.
Ringing the doorbell for her, the blonde took a step back from the door. "You'll call me when you're leaving right? I'll come get ya."
She nodded, "M'kay. See you in a little while." She pecked his lips before pushing him away slightly, gesturing for him to leave.
Quickly leaning down to steal one last kiss from his girlfriend, Keigo flashed a cheeky smile before taking off into the skies.
Only a few moments after he'd left, the door opened and Mariko was tackled by a blur of brown and pink. She stumbled back a few steps, trying not to fall, and drop the bags of food in her hand as her best friend hugged the life out of her.
"You're here! It's been so long you should've sent me at least a text or something you bitch!"
"Sorry, Hawks and I were on a mission."
Sakura pulled back and raised an eyebrow. "For three months?" she asked.
She shrugged, "It was a few missions."
She nodded understandingly and dragged her inside the house. Much like the female, the house was filled with bright colors and anime memorabilia. Having a life-size cardboard cutout of Gray Fullbuster from Fairytail stare at her as she took a seat on the living room couch was a bit uncomfortable at first, but Mariko quickly made peace with his presence. Sitting beside her on the living room couch, Sakura gestured for her to leave the bags of food on the coffee table.
"Spill."
"What do you mean?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.
The brunette rolled her eyes. "You and Hawks have been on missions together for the past two months. No way y'all haven't at least kissed."
Her eyes trailed down to the floor, suddenly remembering that with everything that had been going on with Mineko and the League, she'd completely forgotten to update Sakura on her relationship with Keigo.
Seeing her friend's sudden hesitance, Sakura narrowed her eyes. "You didn't tell me something," she mused, looking her up and down. After a moment, she gasped. "HOLY SHIT YOU GUYS FUCKED!" She shouted.
Mariko flinched slightly both at the volume and her crude choice of language. She didn't deny it though, and her lack of words confirmed exactly what Sakura was thinking.
She slapped her arm, "And you didn't tell me? Does that mean you're together?"
Pursing her lips slightly, the brunette turned her attention to their food and began to unpack the containers. "We got together when I got back from that first mission. The one he didn't go on."
Sakura's eyes sparkled, eager for more details. "Tell me everything. I want all the details."
She raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"What do you mean why? I'm your best friend. It's my birthright," she explained.
Mariko rolled her eyes half-heartedly and began to dig into her food. "Araya called me out on a last-minute mission and I couldn't take my stuff with me. I'd tried to call Hawks and tell him I was leaving, but he didn't answer-"
"Yeah I remember he called me super freaked out about that."
She nodded, "Yeah. I ended up having to leave a voice mail before leaving. I couldn't see or talk to him for a whole week. He didn't know where I was or what I was doing... when we got back, he was in my apartment. He hadn't left, he'd been waiting for me to get back. I guess he heard me walk in because he kind of tackled me and just hugged me," she said.
Sakura leaned in and gestured for her to continue. "What happened next?" she asked.
For a moment, there was a pause, and the brunette watched as a soft smile graced her friend's features before continuing her story.
"He told me he missed me, and then we kissed."
"And that's how you became his girlfriend?" she asked.
Mariko shook her head. "No, I asked him out when he overheard me tell Araya I loved him."
"What the fuck? I-I don't even know what part of to start with."
"I mean, things changed between us after we kissed, but we weren't official or anything. Honestly, I'd thought about waiting until after everything with Mineko had been cleared and things could go back to normal. But then Araya was a dick and I got pissed and we got into a fight. I ignored him for a while, then he came to the apartment to apologize and told me he was just worried I would forget about him. I told him not to because I would always love him. I'd meant it as a family-member type of thing, but Hawks didn't take it that way and left. Then he and I got into a bit of an argument and that's how I ended up asking him out."
Sakura whistled appreciatively, "Wow, I swear your life's like an anime or some shit."
"Please don't compare me to one of your cartoons."
"They're not just cartoons. But anyways... I guess that explains why you're so different now."
"What do you mean?"
She smirked at her, "Haven't you looked in the mirror recently? You're glowing Mari. Unless... OHMYGOD!" she yelled.
"What!?" Mariko asked surprised.
"YOU GUYS HAD SEX!" she shouted.
"Why are you yelling!? And what does that have to do with anything?"
"It has to do with everything! I thought you were being way too nice and open. Who'd've thought all it took to get that attitude out of you was to get you laid."
"You're insufferable," Mariko sighed.
Sakura laughed loudly and took a large bite out of her food. "Is he good?"
"I'm definitely not telling you that."
"What else are we gonna talk about?" she asked.
Mariko sighed, "I actually did want to talk to you about something," she admitted.
"If it's not a detailed explanation of how you and Hawks did the dirty I don't wanna hear it."
"You are way too interested in mine and Hawks's sex lives for it to be normal. And no, that's not what I want to talk about."
"Boo."
A small, sad smile made its way onto her lips as she looked up at her friend. "I want you to take care of him," she said.
Sakura stopped chewing her food. "What?" she asked.
The brunette took a deep breath, "If anything happens to me, I want you to take care of him."
"...Mari...do you know something? Or..."
She shook her head. "No. I don't know anything. It's just...I got hurt on the last mission. It was pretty bad and it freaked him out. I don't think he realizes it, but he's gotten a bit more nervous since then."
"He's just worried about you Mari, and with good reason."
She nodded understandingly. "I know... but he's been getting nightmares Sakura. He doesn't remember them most of the time, and they don't usually last through the night, but he's been getting them. I was the same way too when everything happened with Mineko. It wasn't so bad at first because I had Araya, but when I left... god I was a wreck. I just want him to be okay, y'know just in case."
Sakura placed a hand on hers comfortingly. "You won't have to worry about that Mari, but I promise I'll be there for him, just in case."
"Thank you," she whispered.
She gave her a bittersweet smile, "Of course. What are best friends for?" she asked. "But just so you know," she continued, "He won't be okay if something happens to you. None of us would. So try not to get hurt okay?" she asked.
She nodded. "I will."
Her smile turned into a smirk as she continued, "Now can you give me all the hot MariHawks details?"
Mariko shook her head and laughed slightly, "You're so weird there's no way in hell I'm telling you that."