"Mari, are you guys ready to go?" Keigo asked. Since they had Ayuri with them, it was taking Mariko a little bit longer than usual to get ready, and even though they weren't on a tight schedule or anything, the blonde still wanted to spend as much time with his girlfriend as possible. He waited for a moment, listening for a response. Hearing none however he walked towards the bedroom to take it upon himself to see what was holding him up. The sight he met melted his heart completely though for the second time that morning.
Mariko was kneeling on the ground in front of Ayuri, adjusting the girl's adorable outfit. She smiled warmly as the child fought to stay still just a little bit longer before she was allowed to dash to the front door. "She's so good with kids.... She's gonna be such a good mom someday," he thought. Keigo leaned against the door frame, wondering if he would one day be able to see her do this with their kids.
"Ready to go?" she asked her.
Ayuri nodded and before the brunette could say anything else, she dashed out the room.
Mariko stood up slowly, shaking her head though there wasn't a single trace of annoyance in her expression. She looked up at him a slight smile on her face, "She's just a ball of energy isn't she?"
Keigo laughed and threw his arm around the woman, guiding her to the front door. "She's got spark. I like it."
The first destination on the day's adventure was the park. Originally, he'd planned to take the brunette ice skating before the ice melted. Now, the plans had changed to just walking around and enjoying a day outside together. Ayuri probably didn't have the coordination yet to go ice skating and he didn't want her to get scared if people started skating by them quickly or have her get hurt if she fell.
"The park?" Mariko asked as he guided them through the entrance. Ayuri's face lit up with excitement and she tugged harshly on her hand. The brunette's surprise, however, caught him off guard.
He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "You don't like it?" he asked, suddenly feeling unsure of himself.
She looked at him, a soft smile graced her features as she pecked his cheek. "It was a good choice. I haven't been to the park in a long time," she told him.
Keigo sighed in relief and smiled, proud that he knew his girlfriend well enough to pick something she would enjoy.
"Letsss gooooo," Ayuri groaned, using all her weight to pull Mariko who didn't even budge an inch.
"Alright alright. We're going, don't get too ahead of yourself," she warned, following the little girl whose eyes were locked on the playground a little ways away.
"Can I run ahead?" she asked as they got closer. The four-year-old was tired of having to wait for the two slow adults.
Mariko quickly glanced at their surroundings and, seeing nothing that would harm her, nodded, and let go of her hand.
Ayuri squealed in delight and sprinted towards the playground, immediately going to join a group of kids her age.
"She already made friends," Keigo noted as they sat down on a bench. He glanced at the brunette next to him and saw a calm smile on her face as she nodded. "She's always been a social butterfly. She gets it from Kaede, Hayato was never like that," commented.
"Kaede is her mom?" he asked.
Mariko nodded. "Mhm, her dad's at the hospital. That's why Hayato brought her over this morning," she explained.
Keigo looked down at her, eyebrows furrowed, "Is he okay?"
She shrugged. "I'm not sure, I'm honestly not close with her family. I only know her through Hayato, but he's probably not doing all that well if he's in the hospital.
He nodded slowly in understanding, shifting his gaze back to the small blonde running around the playset.
A while later, a woman in her early thirties came down and sat down on the bench next to them. "Which one's yours?" she asked Mariko. She didn't look at her though; like the brunette, her eyes were fixated on a child on the playground.
Mariko nodded towards Ayuri, who was sliding down the slide, "The little girl on the slide," she told her.
The woman nodded and turned her heads towards them. Immediately her eyes went wide, "Oh my! You're Mariko!" she exclaimed, her eyes shifted to Hawks and they went even wider, "And you're with Hawks today! Wow who would've thought I'd run into a couple of celebrities here! I didn't know you guys had a child! She's absolutely adorable though she looks just like the two of you!"
She opened her mouth to deny her statements but Keigo squeezed her shoulder, stepping in instead. He smiled kindly at the woman, "It's nice to meet you too miss. We try to keep things as quiet as we can for her sake. Want our princess to have as normal a life as possible."
Mariko stared at him wide-eyed in disbelief at the blatant lies he was telling.
The stranger believed every word though. "I'm sure, I hear hero's kids have it tough most of the time. How old is she?" she asked.
"She's four," Mariko answered, knowing Keigo didn't know.
"Four? You guys have been together a lot longer than the tabloids say. Good on you guys keeping it secret for so long," she praised.
"Thanks, it's been a bit harder since she started pre-school though," Keigo admitted.
"It always is. She takes after you I imagine. I get the feeling your wife's the quieter one of the two of you."
Mariko opened her mouth only for the blonde to cut in again. "You miss, are absolutely correct."
The woman laughed, "I have an eye for these kinds of things. Ooop-" she interrupted herself as soon as someone started crying.
Keigo turned and noticed it was Ayuri. The girl sat on the floor crying loudly. Mariko was already only a few feet away from her and assessing the situation.
"She's got goo instincts," the woman said, nodding towards the brunette. "She stood up before anything even happened. You don't see that in many young parents."
He smiled proudly, "Mari's always been special."
She smiled and nodded, "I'm sure she is." She stood up, "It was nice being able to talk to the both of you. Hero kids usually have it rough, but you guys seem like truly loving parents," she told him.
He nodded at her, "Thank you."
The woman offered another brief smile before calling out to a child on the playground. A little boy a few years older than Ayuri ran towards her and the pair of them walked off.
Mariko carried Ayuri back. She had already healed her- the girl had tripped and scraped her knee a bit- she was still in shock though and hadn't calmed down.
"Give her to me," he said.
She handed him the child and he sat her down on his lap as she sobbed uncontrollably. Keigo made one of his feathers fly around to distract her as he rubbed her back soothingly and hummed a soft song. Ayuri was quickly captivated by the soft scarlet item and her eyes followed it unwaveringly. She stopped crying and her breathing quickly normalized. Keigo made the feather tickle the little girl's nose, causing her to giggle cutely and swat it away playfully. "I think we've had enough outdoor excitement for today, how about we go grab some lunch?" he suggested.
Mariko slipped her phone out of her purse; it was a bit early for lunch, but she didn't mind. Ayuri would definitely be hungry too since she'd refused her midmorning snack before leaving. "I don't mind eating," she told him.
The blonde looked down at the child in his lap. "How 'bout you princess? You up for some food?" he asked.
"Ice-cream!" she eagerly exclaimed, suddenly very excited at the prospect of having sweets for lunch.
The brunette sweat-dropped, "Isn't it a bit cold for ice cream today?" she asked.
Ayuri shook her head vehemently. "Ice-cream! Ice-cream! Ice-cream!" she began chanting.
"Alright alright. Ice-cream for lunch it is," Keigo said.
"Yay!"