Hawks POV:

I know. I seem like an asshole.

You think I wanted to blow off, finally kissing the girl I've been thinking about all this time?

No way. But, when I was going to kiss her. I wasn't thinking clearly. I was too wrapped up with her. That perfect scent she always wore, her amazing body in my arms, the way she gently stroked my wings, her warmth which radiated into me. Those soft breaths that puffed out of her mouth. I couldn't help myself from almost kissing her. I mean, when I saw her looking at me like that...I literally couldn't think about anything else. My mind, my judgement was one hundred percent clouded with desire for her. I've been with enough women to decipher their look of wanting to be kissed. And Ari had that look plastered all over her pretty face. I understand she's into me now. And I am head over heels for her.

God, I meant what I said. She is perfect. She really is.

Which is why I can't do this to her. I mean, what the hell am I thinking? There are so many reasons why I can't be with Ari. And while I'm normally the kind of guy to just go after what I want....I can't do that with her. Not when I know how much this will affect her.

The closer Ari gets to me, the closer Dabi gets to her. The more danger she is in of losing her job as a hero. Not to mention, the more danger she's in of losing...her life.

Not only that, but she deserves better than me. I'm a liar. No matter which way you spin it, double agent or not....that's what I am. I absolutely hate having to lie to her about this situation. I hate the fact that she takes what I say as truth, because she trusts me. I hate the fact that my slip up, once again, almost got her killed tonight!

After texting with Dabi, literally all day, I had finally convinced him to meet with me tomorrow, instead of tonight. I purposely told him that, because I knew Ari and I would be up here tonight. I didn't want any risk of her running into Dabi, so I changed the meeting around.

But yet....he showed up, anyways....and it seemed to me that he had a pretty clear plan for coming here. I still don't know what that plan was though.

I couldn't help but reflect on Dabi's phone conversation:

"Hey. They aren't here......I don't know. I'm just telling you the facts."

They. Dabi said the word they when he was on the phone. He already knew I was supposed to meet him up here, so by using they....that means he assumes I brought someone else with me.

My mind kept flashing back to Ari. Dabi's already got it out for her, and he knows she's my intern. Was she the they he was expecting to see tonight? By his voice, he seemed pretty amped up....almost like he was expecting a fight.

You better believe I prepared for that possibility. Which is why, I've been awake all night. I never switched sleep shifts with Ari. I wanted to be prepared, just in case Dabi came back.

But, how would he know she was up here, in the first place? Why did he decide to show up tonight, even though we had agreed to meet tomorrow? Was he spying on me? What was up with that phone call? I don't even know who he was talking to. Apparently, it seems I was out of the loop with the league of villains tonight. With the kind of job I'm doing, being out of the loop is something that will get me killed. I need to do better.

I'll start by finding out who the hell Dabi was talking to on the phone. I don't know how I can get that information out of him, without exposing the fact that Ari and I were here tonight. I'll think of something, I guess.

Ah man, Ari was so excited about trying to find out who Dabi was coming to meet here tonight. I wonder how she would feel if she knew that guy was me. Her angel in the sky.

My heart was pounding out of my chest, during Dabi's phone call. All he had to do was say my name and my cover would have been blown to Ari. Thank god he didn't say my name.

All of these thoughts just further affirm what I'm going to have to do, when Ari wakes up.

I'm sorry, Ari. I do like you. I like you a lot.....more than I originally thought. Which is why it's best you forget about me.

So, I'm going to make you forget about me.

.......

Ari POV:

I woke up to the morning sunlight streaming into my eyes. Man, did I feel well rested-

Wait a minute...

Morning?

I quickly snapped my eyes open, whipping my head around to find Keigo.

He simply looked over at me, before continuing to type away on his laptop.

"Morning, chicky. How's it hanging?" He uttered absentmindedly, whistling a soft, happy tune.

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, noticing Keigo's stray feathers were still on top of me.

"M-Morning...? What the hell happened? I thought we were supposed to switch halfway through the night, so you could sleep." I mumbled, forcing myself to sit up.

Not even bothering to look at me, Keigo kept his eyes glued to his screen.

"Wasn't tired. Figured I'd let you sleep in." He mumbled curtly, blowing me off slightly.

What's his deal? Is this about last night?

I looked at him in confusion for a moment, silence consuming the space between us.

"You've been up all night? Aren't you tired?" I said in concern, studying his face for signs of exhaustion.

"No." He uttered uninterestedly, clearly trying to stifle a yawn.

Who am I? Kiara?

I cleared my throat, trying to grab his attention as he continued messing around on his laptop. But, he never looked up. Not once.

"Oh. Okay. Well....um, thank you for letting me sleep in." I said softly, tucking a strand of messy hair behind my ear.

Keigo simply shrugged, not bothering to even utter a reply.

It was pure silence again as we sat on the roof, the only sound coming from the clacking keys of his laptop.

His behavior has taken a complete 360 from last night. He was so caring, and sweet, and funny. Now, it seemed like he was just annoyed with me.

"Okay....well, what now?" I asked quietly, waiting for him to show any sign of his usual warmth towards me.

"Now. We leave. C'mon." He replied quickly, closing his laptop.

Wordlessly, he began packing up all of our equipment into the duffel bag.

I shook out the blanket I had used, removing all of Keigo's excess feathers from it, before folding it neatly.

I wasn't liking the vibe between Keigo and I right now. He wasn't acting like himself. Clearly, he had something on his mind...and he didn't start acting weird until our almost kiss.

But you know what? Keigo and I have had a few of these weird moments of affection. Whether it's prolonged gazes, or touches...or, in the case of last night, almost kisses. We keep having these moments, and never seem to actually acknowledge them. We act like they never happened, and simply continue on as normal.

But, I don't want to continue on as normal, anymore. I, at least, just want to get my feelings out in the open with him.

"Look..." I started off, watching him continue with his busy work.

He didn't say anything, simply waiting for me to continue.

Don't be a pussy, Ari. Just say it.

I took a deep breath to calm my beating heart, hoping Keigo couldn't hear it beating, with his feathers.

"A-About last night....Keigo, I really like y-"

"What about last night?" He said emotionlessly, making it a point to cut me off, before I finished my sentence.

I was quiet....taken aback, not just by his words, but also his tone. He's never spoken to me like that before. So cold. So unfeeling.

It...hurt.

I forced myself to speak again, thinking that maybe he was just confused about which moment I was talking about.

Even though I knew deep down...he wasn't.

"Uh....well, you and I....we almost...you know-" I started saying, before he cut me off. Again.

"Nope! I dunno what you're talking about. I was just trying to help you get warm, chicky. That's all it was. Are we done talking about it now?" He said, his usual heroic voice going in full effect...that voice he always used around the public. The voice he used when he didn't care about anything.

Wow. He definitely knew what I was talking about.

Anyone in the world would have known him and I were leaning in to kiss each other, last night. We were only milliseconds away from doing so.

Which means....he clearly doesn't feel the same way I do.

He's denying it this much. He probably regrets it almost happening.

Neither of us spoke a word, as we continued packing up our supplies into the duffel bag.

I swear I could hear my heart breaking into tiny, little pieces.

This is exactly what I was afraid of. Falling for someone like Keigo. Falling for a player who doesn't care.

He talked a good game, though. Sure, I was stupid to fall for him. But, the guy was really good at acting like he had feelings for me. My mistake.

I couldn't help the deflated look from creeping onto my face, as I absentmindedly placed the blanket back into the duffel bag.

I fell for Keigo Takami. And the worst part was...he totally knew it. I could tell. He could tell. And he just didn't return my feelings. That's just the way it is.

That's life.

Doesn't mean it won't hurt for a little bit, though.

Plus...I really need this job.

I inhaled deeply, taking in Keigo's words calmly.

He continued to not even spare me a glance, texting someone on his phone, as he waited for me to tell him we were good to leave.

Hold your head high, Ari. Move on. He was never going to go for you, anyways. He's Hawks. He could have anybody he wanted.

I gave a soft nod, as I forced myself to smile, walking over to Keigo.

I placed my hand on his shoulder, causing him to finally meet my gaze.

His eyes were cold and unfeeling....so different from how he normally allows me to see them.

"Yes. We're done talking about it." I said softly, giving him a mature, respectful smile.

Keigo looked at me blankly, as if thinking deeply about something. I watched as his jaw tensed up slightly, and his brows knit together faintly. His eyes softened for just a second, before he quickly nodded and broke my gaze.

"Good then. It's settled." He mumbled weakly.