It was just past 2:30 a.m. when Mariko's alarm went off. The brunette groaned irritatedly and sat up. She looked over at Keigo's side of the bed, only to find it completely devoid of the familiar blonde. She kicked the covers off her legs, cringing slightly as her bare feet touched the cold floors.
"Kei?" she called, walking into the living room.. Her voice was still slightly raspy with sleep and her hair was a mess.
"Here," he answered softly. He was sitting at the kitchen bar, a cup of coffee in his hand.
Mariko glanced at the pot, it was only half full. "Probably not his first cup then," she thought. She walked over to him, inserting herself in the space between his stool and the next. Smoothly she stole the mug from him. "How many of these have you had?" she asked.
"A few," he shrugged.
The brunette looked up at him, "Did you get any sleep last night?
Keigo smirked knowingly. "I usually don't sleep before missions," he told her.
Mariko sighed and shook her head. "You should've... it's gonna be a long next few days."
"How do you know?"
"They always are," she said, bringing the mug to her lips.
"You're not gonna like it," he told her. He knew she preferred coffee that was slightly bitter.
Just as he expected, no sooner than she had taken the first sip, she recoiled harshly.
"I told you so," he said smiling at her amusedly.
"This is pure sugar," she told him.
"I happen to prefer my coffee sweet. Thank you very much."
The brunette rolled her eyes and handed the mug back to him. She pushed herself off the counter to get herself a cup of real coffee but before she could take a step, Keigo had wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her into him.
"You're worried about today?" she asked.
"Should I not be?"
Mariko placed her hands on top of his and leaned her head back on his shoulder. "Not right now. Worry when we actually know what our assignments will be. Either way today's just gonna be a briefing, that in and of itself isn't dangerous."
"A briefing with the League. Or did you forget Dabi tried to torch you when you first met?" he asked.
"I didn't forget. They won't try anything though. Not then. Come on, we've got an hour and a half before we need to be there. let's get ready, yeah?" she asked.
The blonde sighed and nodded, releasing his hold on her.
Mariko placed a gentle kiss on his cheek before moving to their bedroom to take a shower.
Not wanting to use up all the hot water herself, she took as quick of a shower as possible. She stared down at the outfit she would be wearing that day: her old military uniform. Never before did she think she would have to wear the navy skirt and matching button-down shirt again. She sighed heavily as she got out the medals and stars signifying her rank.
"Hey Mari, do you know if I left my-" Keigo stopped in his tracks, completely caught off guard at the sight of seeing his girlfriend in nothing but a pair of lacy black underwear.
"What did you leave?" she asked, slipping her bra on as though nothing strange was happening.
"I...forgot," he trailed, his eyes never leaving her body.
Mariko raised an eyebrow and nodded towards the shower. Shower's all yours."
Keigo said nothing. He continued leaning against the doorway, his irises darkening the longer they lingered on her. He'd only seen her like this one other time, and just the memory was enough to start getting him aroused.
"My eyes are up here Kei," she said realizing what had gotten into him.
"I know, the view's just better down here," he joked.
Mariko threw a pillow at him in response and slipped on her shirt, effortlessly buttoning it up. "Go take a shower, you're wasting time."
"I think I'm gonna waste more time in the shower," he said, wiggling his eyebrows.
The brunette scowled in disgust. "I don't even wanna think about what you mean by that."
He smirked at her. "I'll show you one day," he said suggestively.
She practically choked on her saliva t the comment. "You're so vulgar," she spat.
The blonde winked at her and waltzed into the bathroom. Once he closed the door, he turned the shower on and leaned against the counter. He stared at the door from the mirror and groaned softly seeing the bulge in his pants. He ran a hand through his hair, "She's gonna be the death of me one of these days," he thought as he stripped and braced himself for the icy water that he would be forcing himself to shower under.