Top pic: KadeArt

Ari POV:

"Okay, what about the armed robbery happening on sixth street?" I asked Hawks, scanning the live view of the city on his computer.

"Sixth street? Nah. The police station is only two blocks over. They'll be all over that one, faster than a speeding ticket. Next." He called out, twirling around in his swivel chair as he finished up the last of his chicken nugget meal.

I began typing on the computer that was in the corner of Hawks' office room, trying to find more crime happening in the city.

"Let's see...ah-hah! This guy is flashing people at that restaurant you and I went to the other day." I exclaimed, eager to get out of this drabby office.

Hawks simply shrugged, continuing to stuff his face and spin around in his chair. I saw he had now moved onto my food, starting to take small pieces of it, like I wouldn't notice.

"Flasher? C'mon. That's not life threatening news. Besides, the guy who owns that restaurant is a pro hero, himself. The food industry biz is just his side job. What else ya got for me?" He mumbled, lazily kicking his feet up on the desk now.

I shot him a light glare, as I continued searching around the city for something interesting.

"Oh!! This one's important! A villain, who can control weather, is causing a stir in the middle of the city-"

"Edgeshot's already defeated him." Hawks stated casually, continuing to munch on his lunch.

I raised my brows in slight shock, as I looked at him now.

What? Does this guy have eyes in the back of his head, too?

"H-How did you know that?" I breathed out, slightly in awe.

Hawks slowly stopped chewing as he saw my new state of surprise, not being able to hold back his laughter.

He used the French fry in his hand, to point to the giant television at the front of the room....displaying the breaking news of Edgeshot all over the tv.

I groaned in slight embarrassment now, quickly slamming my laptop shut as Hawks continued laughing his ass off.

"Damn, little chick. You must really think highly of me, if you think I can see the future, too!" He smirked, watching me pace his office back and forth.

"Okay, well sorry if I'd actually like to do something, or go somewhere. I mean, seriously Hawks. You're so lazy. It blows my mind that someone like you was even able to land the number two hero spot. You don't do anything." I mumbled out, rolling my eyes in annoyance for him.

Hawks may be the number two hero. But, in my book...he's nothing more than the number one jackass. I haven't seen the guy do any sort of crime fighting, in the past week and a half that I've been here. The only time I saw him in action, was during our very first encounter. And even then, he didn't do much.

He threw his head back against his chair, only finding more amusement in my irritation.

"Hey, hey, hey. You should be counting your blessings here, sweetheart. Be grateful that you're so bored. It means no one's in danger, or dying." He started off, making me fume more when I realized he made a good point.

I leaned back against the wall, waiting for him to continue.

"Look, what's happening right now? This is part of me livin' my dream! A world where heroes are bored. A world where they have time to kill, because nothing dangerous is happening in the world. That doesn't sound so bad, does it? I want the world to be such a safe place, that I'm not even needed. I want more free time, than I know what to do with. What's wrong with that?" He asked me, stretching his arms over his head.

I felt my annoyance subside, as I took in his words. I never thought about it from that perspective. If I'm not needed, it means people are safe.

"Wow. That's....strangely profound of you. I'll admit, I'm surprised." I muttered, shooting him a tiny smile.

Hawks met my eyes for a moment, as he finally stood up from his chair.

"That's the thing about me, chicky. I'm full of surprises." He stated, grabbing his aviator glasses.

"C'mon. Let's go." He called out to me, already walking towards the door.

I felt my mood brighten up, as I realized we were finally leaving this depressing, dark office.

"Where are we going?" I asked eagerly, immediately popping up right next to him.

Hawks looked over at you, not being able to hold back a half smile at your bubbly personality. He couldn't help but think it was...kinda cute.

"We're going to go fight crime, like a bunch of badass motherfuckers. That's what we're going to do." He retorted playfully, quickly locking the door to the Hawks Agency behind him.

"I thought there wasn't any crime going on right now." I said curiously, quickly following him down the sidewalk.

"Eh. I'm sure we'll find something. The thing about crime is...it never rests for long." He remarked, lightly tapping the top of my head with one of his wings.

I couldn't help but smile softly at the action, wondering why the hell I felt my cheeks heating up like an idiot.

My jacket must be too heavy. Surely, that's what's making me feel hot.

.......

"Man, it's been thirty minutes of us walking around, and still no sign of anything, huh?" I muttered to Hawks enjoying the fresh fall breeze that was hitting my face.

"Yup. Don't worry though, little chickadee. I'm sure we'll find something sooner rather than later." He said, starting to whistle softly.

I remembered Hawks' word of advice, earlier this morning:

"Be grateful that you're so bored. It means no one's in danger, or dying."

"I'm....not worried. I'm actually okay if we don't find any crime today. It means the city is safe, right?" I reasoned, trying to take on his perspective.

Hawks' face was blank for a moment, before it quickly lit up with understanding.

"Hey, hey Ari. Are my brains filled with feathers, or did you just take my advice on somethin'?" He retorted, a proud smirk present on his face.

I couldn't help but laugh lightly at his words, crossing my arms in stubbornness.

"Well, it's no secret that your brains are filled with feathers." I remarked, turning my head up at him slightly.

"Huh, ya think? And here I thought you and I were having a moment." Hawks sighed out casually, before continuing his happy whistling.

Before I even had time to mull over his words-

"No way!! Is that Hawks!?" Someone exclaimed from down the street.

"What?? No way! Where?" Hawks called back, jokingly looking around the crowded street.

A small group of civilians ran over to us now, forming a circle around Hawks.

"HAWKS MARRY ME!"

"HE'S SO CUTE!"

"HE'S SO AMAZING!"

I watched in slight awe as Hawks' demeanor remained unchanging, keeping that lazy, half lidded look on his face.

"Hawks! It's rare to see you all out and about on the streets! You should get out more often to see your fans!" A woman exclaimed excitedly, quickly grabbing a selfie with the winged hero.

"What can I say? I'm a busy bird, babe. Here, there, everywhere-hey, how about I give you another selfie?" He said, quickly changing the subject as he threw up a peace sign for another fan's picture.

What? Hawks doesn't see his fans very often? That's surprising. I assumed he was the kind of guy who always wanted all of the attention on him-

"Yo, have you guys met my new intern? This is her, right here! Her name's Hourglass. Show her some love, she's gonna be a big name, soon!" Hawks stated, pointing his gloved finger in my direction.

I watched as a reaction of fan girl death glares, and horny men quickly surrounded me in a literal instant.

"So, what? Are you dating him or something?" Someone spat at me.

"Huh?! No-"

"Can I have an autograph from you!!?" Another person screamed at me, shoving a pen and paper in my face.

"Hourglass!! That's a sexy name, for a sexy girl!" An old man exclaimed, making me internally cringe in disgust.

In the next instant, I felt a hand wrap around my arm and pull me out of the crazed crowd.

I gasped when I felt my back hit someone's chest, before I saw a majestic red wing, quickly cover my body protectively.

Hawks was holding me against his chest. Man, he wasn't a big guy, but I could still feel his muscles-

"Alrighty then...let's not break my new intern today, guys! I kind of need her." He grinned, giving out a lighthearted laugh as he dragged me away.

"Bye, Hourglass." The perverted old man from a few minute ago exclaimed, giving my figure one more swoop with his eyes.

I felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment, as I quickly walked away with Hawks.

"Ugh, what a stupid fucking name." I grumbled, crossing my arms over my body.

I was talking more to myself, but of course...Hawks heard me.

"What? You don't like your hero name?" He asked, looking at me in curiosity.

I've been feeling a little more comfortable with Hawks, lately. I was starting to feel okay with telling him a little bit about myself.

"Well....not exactly. In my defense, I didn't even pick the name. My...uh, mentor did." I explained, not really knowing what else to call Diane Himura.

"Mentor!? I thought I was supposed to be your mentor!" Hawks exclaimed, feigning hurt feelings.

I lightly shoved his shoulder, watching him overexaggerate and stumble to the side slightly.

"Oh please. Any mentor I have, isn't one who lives off of lunchables and dinosaur chicken nuggets." I scoffed, looking at him in amusement.

"Name one person who can do better." Hawks challenged, ruffling his wings slightly.

"Okay. Diane Himura." I stated, already knowing he'd have no idea who that was.

He raised a slight brow now, looking more shocked than confused.

I expected him to simply ask who the hell Diane Himura was. But, instead...

"How do you know that name?" Hawks asked quietly, his chill, carefree demeanor instantly turning dark for a moment.

Huh?

"What? You know her?! I was just gonna say that she's the one who gave me the name, Hourglass. She's basically the one who made me into a hero-well, I mean, a hero in training." I quickly explained, not liking this subtly serious side of him.

Hawks was quiet, as he took in my words...pulling his collar up past his mouth.

The more time I spend with him, the more I think that action seemed to be a defense mechanism for him.

"Really? How did you get into that situation?" He asked curiously, turning his face up at the sky.

"Well, after the Great Attack of Fukuoka, she trained me. Demanded I become a hero, because I had great potential. She changed my family's life. We were....well, we didn't have a lot to our name, before all of this. Now...we do. Thanks to her." I smiled, involuntarily reciting the words that Diane has ingrained into me since I've been a child.

Keigo turned his attention to me, almost looking at me in some sort of....pity?

"Yep. That's what she'll tell you to say. It's kind of like she brainwashes you, isn't it? Wow. Apparently, that's a habit of hers. Taking kids and making 'em into heroes." He shrugged, letting out a small scoff.

It took me a second to register his words, before it clicked in my brain.

"Wait.....are you saying, Diane trained you, too?" I asked in shock, trying to wrap my head around that idea.

"Sure am. I also grew up in Fukuoka. I think that's the spot she likes to search for soon to be heroes. She found me, when I was a boy. Demanded I become a hero. And well, here I am." Hawks said curtly, shooting me a lazy smile.

No way. Hawks grew up in Fukuoka, too? That's unexpected. Judging from the way he carries himself, I always pegged him as the type to come from money.

I narrowed my eyes at his behavior, clearly understanding he didn't want to talk about it.

While, I haven't known Hawks very long, I was starting to understand the way he communicated.

For example, this guy will have a literal one sided conversation with me for hours on end...but when it came to talking about Diane Himura, he barely said more than a few words.

I cleared my throat, deciding to take the pressure off him a little.

"Y-Yeah. A similar thing happened with me-" I started saying, before a giant crash grabbed both of our attention.

Hawks and I whipped our head up to one of the city buildings, a few blocks away, seeing a few villains breaking into it from the top floors.

"Oh my god!! T-This is something we should help with right!?" I exclaimed, feeling my heartbeat pick up at the sight of the breaking building.

I looked over, seeing Hawks still as calm as can be. He quickly grabbed the headphones that were hanging around his neck, putting them up on his ears.

"Alright, chicky. Get ready to not be bored anymore." Hawks smirked, shooting me a wink as we quickly made our way over to the chaos.