(Cover pic is Sakura)
It was the middle of the afternoon and Mariko and her friend Sakura were leaving work together. It'd been a while since their schedules matched up and they had made plans to grab lunch at Sakura's favorite restaurant afterward.
As they walked, the short-haired female chattered animatedly about a new anime she had started watching. She spoke so fast it was a bit hard to keep up with everything she was saying, but Mariko at least understood that the show had to do with a girl with red hair who ran away from home and met the prince of a neighboring country. She stopped paying attention however, when she noticed a strange shadow pass over them.
Mariko immediately turned her gaze to the sky and spotted a familiar pair of vermillion wings. "Hawks," she thought.
Sakura- being the observant person she was- quickly noticed her friend was no longer listening to her rant. Following her gaze, she realized the brunette was staring at the Pro-Hero Hawks as he flew overhead. She gasped in surprise; she would've never guessed Mariko was into him. His character was so laid back after all.
"I didn't know you were a Hawks fan!" She exclaimed loudly.
Mariko blinked, quickly returning her attention to the brunette. "I'm not," she told her.
Sakura eyed her suspiciously, "Watcha starin' at him for then?" she pressed.
"I wasn't" she lied flicking her forehead, "You're just hallucinating."
Sakura pouted in annoyance. She knew Mariko was lying, but there was no way the stubborn female would ever admit it. "You're such a bad liar. How the heck did Covert Operations choose you?" she asked bitterly.
Mariko flinched at the mention of their previous career and glared at her sharply. "I don't know but whoever it was needs to be fired since they picked someone as loud-mouthed as you to be there too!" she snapped back. "And don't go bringing that up. You know we aren't supposed to talk about it in public," she reminded her exasperatedly.
Sakura rolled her eyes, "Yeah yeah okay. It's not like anyone's paying attention though," she commented.
"Paying attention to what?" a new voice asked.
Sakura immediately brightened up seeing Hawks standing in front of them.
The male had noticed his neighbor standing at the corner for some time and thought a hello was in order.
"Just great," Mariko muttered inaudibly. This was quite possibly the worst mix she could've gotten herself into. Hawks was about as friendly and familiar as they came. Once Sakura realized they knew each other there was no telling what she would do. "If he tells her we're neighbors I'll never hear the end of it," she thought.
"Hope you don't mind my stopping by. I just spotted ya while flying around and thought I'd say hi," he explained.
"Hey, it's been a while. How've you been?" she greeted. She wanted to end the conversation as soon as possible. "Just exchange pleasantries and leave," she told herself.
"I've been A.O.K thanks for asking. Who's this you got with you?" he asked.
Mariko gestured to the female beside her, "This is Sakura, a friend of mine who works at the hospital with me. Sakura, this is Hawks," she introduced.
The blonde winked at her playfully, "Nice to meet ya," he greeted.
For a moment, the brunette was too star-struck to say anything. Realizing this, Mariko nudged her slightly, hope to shake her out of it.
Luckily, it worked, and she immediately bounced back, "Oh! It's nice to meet you too! I'm a big fan!" she exclaimed.
Hawks laughed good-naturedly, "That's good to hear! Thanks for the support," he responded. He quickly turned his attention back to Mariko though. "How's your schedule this month?" he asked. It was the first week of February, so he knew that they were supposed to receive their work schedules for the month soon.
Sakura was surprised Hawks knew that information. She quickly realized Mariko and the hero were somehow acquainted.
The brunette didn't explain anything though and continued the conversation as though nothing was wrong. "I'm on the day shift, seven to four this time around," she told him.
"Nice. I'm glad you're not on that rotating schedule anymore. That sounded like it was awful" he commented.
Mariko shrugged in response, "I'm used to it I guess."
"I'm sorry," Sakura interjected, "Do you two know each other?" she asked.
Hawks blinked for a moment, the question taking him aback. He would've thought Mariko would've at least mentioned they were friends.
"She didn't tell you?" he asked tilting his head thoughtfully.
The female shook her head.
He slung an arm around Mariko, causing her to bristle slightly. "We're neighbors," he answered leaning on the girl a bit.
The brunette sighed; Hawks had said exactly what she was hoping he wouldn't say. "Well, there's no going back now."
Sakura glanced between them, taking a moment to process the information. More than being surprised at the fact that they were neighbors, she was surprised at how at ease Mariko seemed to be around Hawks. On a good day, Mariko would've already shrugged off his arm and put distance between them. She was squirming a bit, trying to adjust the male's weight so it didn't feel like she was unbalanced, but she wasn't making any effort to move away. She also noticed how the blond was constantly looking down at her, checking to see if she was too uncomfortable. She realized they were a lot closer than just neighbors. "I ship it," she thought.
"Great, now she's broken," Mariko huffed.
That was enough to snap the younger female out of her trance. "No! Mariko didn't mention anything!" she exclaimed giving the brunette a pointed look. She was a bit upset she hadn't said anything, but not wholly surprised as her friend had always been a very private person. "How long have you guys been neighbors?" she asked.
Hawks stilled; he couldn't remember when they became neighbors. She'd just sort of appeared one day. One, maybe two years ago? He wondered.
"Four years," Mariko answered for him. She clearly remembered the day she moved into the apartment complex and was nearly knocked over by an eighteen-year-old Hawks flying by.
"Are you sure it was four years ago? I don't think I remembered seeing you around until about a year ago," he said his voice a bit softer than before.
The brunette shrugged. "I bought the apartment four years ago. If you don't remember me it's probably because you weren't paying attention."
The blonde frowned at the remark. He knew she wasn't trying to be mean, but the comment bothered him. Had she really bought the apartment that long ago and he just hadn't noticed? The thought of having lived in front of Mariko for so long without even acknowledging her existence didn't sit well with him at all. "She probably thought I was a jerk," he thought. He rubbed the back of his neck, "Sorry, I'll pay more attention from now on," he told her sweetly.
Mariko looked up at him for a moment, before looking away and nodded.
For a second, they both forgot Sakura was there. The short-haired female didn't really mind though. Seeing her friend act gentle with someone who wasn't a patient was a rarity, to say the least, and she was enjoying every second of her alternate side.
"You guys are cute. You seem like really good friends," she said smiling.
Mariko glared at her, catching the little comment at the beginning. "We've only recently become acquainted," she answered quickly. She'd known Sakura long enough to know how she acted when she was "shipping" people, and she wanted no part of that.
Sakura saw Hawks glance down at her friend once more and immediately recognized the look in his eyes. He was trying to read Mariko's facial expression and see if there was any indication that she didn't really consider him just an acquaintance. She, however, knew the hero wouldn't be able to figure out what was going through her friend's head. Sakura had known the brunette for two-almost three- years and she only recently started picking up on her subtle cues. Just as she'd predicted, the blonde turned his attention back to the conversation, the slightest bit of disappointment shining through his eyes.
He nodded, confirming her statement, "Yep, the first time we talked was... what was it two months ago?" he calculated.
Mariko nodded, "Yeah just about," she said.
"I hope she hasn't been too much of a bother," Sakura said. Feeling a bit of sympathy for the hero, she figured she would avenge him and tease the girl on his behalf.
Hawks smiled, deciding to join in on the fun, "Bother doesn't even begin to describe it. She's one of the worst neighbors I've ever had," he said.
The short-haired female side, shaking her head in mock disappointment. "I am so sorry about that. I apologize we're still trying to teach her manners you see."
The brunette rolled her eyes, "You guys are so annoying," she sighed. She ran a hand through her hair, which was a bit difficult to do with the male's arm still draped across her shoulders. "I'm done with this. Hawks has a lot of work to do and I, for one, am starving," she stated adjusting her bag's shoulder strap. She cut Sakura a warning look not to push her buttons any further.
"You guys going out to lunch?" The hero asked curiously. "Where ya going?"
"A family restaurant down the street-"she started.
"-And we'd be delighted if you'd join us!" Sakura interrupted.
Mariko whipped towards her friend, who was beaming at the hero. Her expression was so amusing Hawks was tempted to say yes. Unfortunately, he still had another two hours until his sidekick's shift started and couldn't accompany the girls for lunch.
"That's real tempting but I've still got work to do. Maybe next time," he said, an apologetic smile on his face.
Mariko almost looked relieved, a complete contrast to Sakura's evident disappointment. She had been hoping to observe her best friend and potential boyfriend a while longer.
"Awww. Oh well. Next time then. Thanks for the hard work!" she exclaimed.
"My pleasure. I'll be seeing you girls around then," he answered, removing his arm from the brunette's shoulders.
"Stay safe out there. See ya," she mumbled quietly and lead Sakura down the street to the restaurant.
Hawks smiled and shook his head. First, she denies him, but then she leaves saying something sweet.