Top pic credit: Mir

Ari POV:

"Ari!" Keigo sang out happily, causing me to groan internally.

"J-Just hold on a sec, Keigs!" I called back, turning my attention back to my phone.

"Yes, sir! I can get you a meeting with Hawks. I just need your-" I started saying, as I watched five more emails suddenly pop up on my laptop.

My eyes now shot back to my phone, seeing there was another caller waiting on the line.

Fuck.

"Um, I-"

"Ari, I really need you!" Keigo chirped again, his happy go lucky voice starting to get to me a little bit.

I quickly put my phone on mute, making sure the business man on the line couldn't hear me.

"Figure it out yourself, Big Bird!! I'm doing seven things at once here. I'm sure you can handle it, number two hero!" I called back, realizing that's probably not how one should talk to their boss.

"Oh! You're busy, you say? Then, nevermind I'll take care of it." Keigo quickly dismissed, almost sounding content with himself.

I turned my attention back to my phone, seeing a text message ding from it.

From: Mr. Sleeping Bag

It's Mr. A, have you made any progress on our project?
12:34pm

I groaned at the text from Mr. Aizawa, already knowing I haven't had the chance to get any work done on the league of villains.

The Hawks Agency has been absolutely swamped with work for the past week. Phone calls, emails, meeting appointments, extra patrols of the city...you name it. Every time I think I have a second to breathe, Keigo hollers for me again. Then, the times where I really do have a second to breathe, I'm so exhausted from work that I can't even bring myself to do anything other than go to bed.

I quickly finished up the phone call with one of Keigo's potential clients, tiredly rubbing my temples, before replying to some emails.

Only a few minutes went by, when some bird wandered into my room.

"Hey! What are you still doing over there? Take a break. It's lunch." He smiled, causing me to look at the time.

I gasped in surprise when I saw it.

1:05 pm.

"What?? It's been thirty minutes, already?! I-I thought it's only been five." I mumbled, starting to type through these emails faster.

Keigo watched me for a moment, before coming over.

He chuckled softly, gently closing my laptop in the middle of an email.

I snapped my gaze back up to him, before trying to pry my computer back open

"Keigo, I'm not in the mood for your games. I need to finish this-"

"Says who? Your boss? Nah, I just talked to him. He said he doesn't give a shit about anymore emails, or phone calls. He says you need to relax and eat something." He smiled, grabbing my hand and dragging me away from my desk.

I let out an exasperated sigh, before I felt my stresses melting away. Keigo is the boss, after all. If he's not worried about the workload, then I shouldn't be either.

"Fine. But, I get to pick the place for lunch." I mumbled softly, watching his cute face light up with a grin.

"Sure thang, chicken wang. But, a little birdie told me you're in the mood for some yakitori, am I right?" He smirked, nudging me lightly in suggestion.

I rolled my eyes, grabbing my phone off the desk.

"You always want yakitori." I countered lightly, seeing a reminder of Aizawa's text message flash on my phone.

Shit. The league of villains stuff.

My shoulders slumped, as I looked at the message, pulling my hand out of Keigo's.

"Actually, I should probably just stay here and work through lunch-"

"Nooo, no, no. C'mon. Eraserhead's little project can wait. We're going." He groaned out dismissively, setting my phone on the desk and quickly pulling me out of the room.

Guess an hour for lunch shouldn't hurt.

.......

"How about a meal other than chicken today?" I laughed out, dragging Keigo into the sandwich shop.

He threw his head up to the ceiling, starting to pout like a child.

"Ugh, why? Chicken is sooo delicious! Definitely better than a bland sandwich, I'll tell ya that...." He countered lightly, already forgetting about his words as he took a look at the wide array of delicious sandwiches behind the counter.

I smirked when I noticed he shut up.

"You were saying?" I teased, before a familiar, shrill laugh filled my ears.

Apparently, Keigo recognized it too, as we both simultaneously snapped our eyes towards the culprit.

I cringed in dread, quickly turning to Keigo.

"Okay. On second thought, yakitori sounds amazing." I whispered, quickly ushering him out of the restaurant before Kiara noticed us.

He didn't think twice about it, already speed walking to the exit.

"Good idea. I wonder why she's even here in a sandwich shop. I thought all she ate was ice." He mumbled, trying to slide out of the shop unnoticed.

The problem with Keigo, is that his big, vibrant wings make it impossible to stay hidden for very long-

"Wait-Keigo!!? Oh! Keigo, come over here baby!" Kiara exclaimed, waving him over like a maniac.

He froze in place, rolling his eyes as he realized he's been caught.

"Fuuuck..." He muttered out, before turning around.

"Kiara? What? Oh, is that you? Man, didn't even see ya there, dollface." Keigo chuckled, making his way over to Kiara and her table guest...very slowly.

I couldn't help but snicker lightly, as I remembered Kiara didn't give two shits about me.

"Well, looks like you've got this covered, Hawks. I'm gonna go somewhere else while you handle this-" I started saying, before that shrill voice piped up again.

"And Aria!! You too, love! Come chat!" She smiled, waving me over.

I finally looked over at Kiara fully, only now noticing who her table guest was.

"Oh, for crying out loud." I hissed to myself, walking over to Kiara's table.

"Hey, Kiara......Kamui." I mumbled, stiffly smiling at the pair.

"Ari, how's it going?" Kamui nodded, scooting over on his side of the booth to give me room.

"Oh. Thanks, but I'd rather stand-" I started saying, before Kiara spoke again.

"Nonsense! Let's all have a seat!" She pressured, catching Keigo's wrist and yanking him down into the spot next to her.

"Kiara-" Keigo started saying, before Kamui spoke over him.

"Ari, I'd really like to talk with you. If you don't want to sit, then let's speak outside. We can give Kiara and Hawks some privacy, anyways-"

"Hah, privacy. Nope! No need for that! On second thought, I'll sit." I chirped out immediately, sliding into the booth with Kamui Woods.

I tried sitting as far away as possible from him, practically hanging off the edge of the booth, subtly glancing over at Keigo.

He was giving his signature, half lidded smile....a fake smile that wasn't present on his face, when it was just the two of us a moment ago.

There was a short awkward pause, before Keigo was the one to break it.

"Well! This has been enlightening. But, Ari and I have a lot of work to do today, so we better get going." He stated dismissively, before Kiara placed her hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"So, Aria!" Kiara exclaimed, unfortunately grabbing my attention.

"It's just Ari-"

"Kamui was just telling me how you two had a steamy hookup at the ball. Care to spill?" She smirked, wiggling her brows at me suggestively.

I scoffed, turning my attention to Kamui.

"Really? That's not how I remember it." I retorted, raising a sassy brow at him.

He grabbed a drink of his water to stall time, before turning his attention to me.

"Oh? What do you remember about that night, then? You were my date, so I thought you'd be prepared for a little fun. My mistake." He countered quietly, trying not to draw attention from the civilians.

"Hm? So just because she was your date, that means she's supposed to put out for you? Is that your logic?" Keigo stepped in, keeping his tone calm yet firm.

"Psh.....no. All I'm saying, is that it wouldn't have been a big deal if we did hookup. I didn't even go home with anyone else, in hopes that you'd come back." Kamui mumbled resting his arm on the back of the booth.

"Yeah, right. Plus, with the amount of liquor you kept pouring down my throat, I wouldn't have even been able to find the way back to my own place." I retorted, scooting impossibly further away from Kamui.

"Speaking of that, where did you end up crashing after this chicken came and got you?" Kamui asked me, causing Kiara to perk up.

"What? You took Aria home that night? You never told me that. Is that why you never called me back? What were you doing?" Kiara questioned, becoming a little more serious than before.

Kiara is Diane Himura's daughter. If word gets out to her that Keigo and I are dating, we're both done for. Luckily, he knew that just as well as I did.

"Well, I'm not just gonna leave her shitfaced on the street. I took her back to her dorm. Duh."
Keigo chuckled, running a gloved hand through his hair.

"Hmm, weird because that wasn't your job. Plus, if you didn't do that, you and I could have had a sleepover." She smirked, trailing her fingers up his shoulder.

Keigo subtly looked over at me, as Kiara continued touching him, before he quickly stretched his arms over his head to slide her hands off.

"It's kind of my job. Ari is my intern, which makes her my responsibility. That's all it was. A responsibility to my employee." He smiled, catching a quick glance at my lips.

Everyone was quiet in awkward silence, before Kiara decided to break it.

"I see........anyways, why haven't you called me, boyfriend? It's been two and a half weeks since the ball, and not a peep out of you." She reprimanded, popping a chunk of ice into her mouth.

Boyfriend? That bothered me.

Keigo let out a small chuckle, trying to hide his nerves, as he looked from me to Kiara.

He hesitated for a moment, clearly thinking about how he wanted to respond to this.

What's he thinking?

"Hah, Boyfriend? Listen, sweet cheeks. I don't think I've got the time for this anymore." He said freely, clearly trying to stay upbeat about all of this so she didn't freak out.

Wow, he's ending this with her?

Kiara furrowed her brows in confusion, not understanding.

"You don't have the time for what?" She asked lowly, already knowing exactly what he was talking about.

Keigo sighed, looking around the crowded sandwich shop as he tried very hard to not make a scene.

"I don't have the time for....this." He stated quietly, gesturing between the two of them.

Kiara narrowed her eyes at Keigo now, starting to become visibly pissed off.

"And why is that? You were completely fine with this arrangement two weeks ago. What changed in that small period of time?" She stated in mock curiosity, before shooting her gaze at me.

My heart jumped up my throat at her sudden suspicions. She's a stupid girl, so I'm a little surprised that she's piecing all of this together.

Or maybe, she's not as stupid as she lets on.

Before I could say anything, Keigo stepped in.

"I just don't see this working out, Kiara. I'm too busy for you, and like I said, you deserve someone who can give you the time you need-" Keigo tried reassuring, before Kiara cut him off.

"Are you seriously trying to give me a breakup speech right now?!" Kiara yelled inside the restaurant, causing eyes to start turning our way.

I groaned lightly at the new found attention, resting my head against the booth.

"Is that Hawks? Did I just hear he's breaking up with his girlfriend, Kiara?!!! Is he stupid??" Some fan yelled, from a couple tables over.

"Ooo, that's my cue to head out." He mumbled, before turning to Kiara one last time.

"Kiara...I can't give you a breakup speech, when we never even started dating." Keigo said dismissively, giving her head a condescending pat, before sliding out of the booth.

I immediately followed him, glad we were able to finally leave.

"Keigo Takami!! My mother will hear about this!!! Then you'll be in for it. Both of you will!!" Kiara called out from behind us, as we walked out the door.

By "both"...I assume she means...me.

Keigo and I let out a simultaneous sigh of relief once we were back out into the bustling street.

We walked in comfortable silence for a moment, not having the energy to address what just happened.

After some time, my curiosity got the better of me.

"Well, I'll admit....I'm surprised." I chuckled, turning to look at him.

He look relaxed, not even phased by what just happened with Kiara.

"Surprised about what, chicky?" He asked, adjusting his aviators comfortably on his face.

"Well....just two and a half weeks ago, you told me you'd let Kiara run things until she got sick of you. Now, you break it off?-Not that I'm complaining. I'm more curious." I explained, watching the sun glistening on his flawless, milky skin.

Keigo shrugged, absentmindedly waving to an ecstatic group of fans in the corner.

"Yeah, but that was before you were my girl." He stated matter of factly, his voice coming out so pure.

I couldn't help but smile at his short, yet sweet sentence, happy that he continued speaking.

"Kiara and I were never intimate, but even so...that doesn't matter to me. Things are different now that you and I are together. I'm not gonna pretend to date her publicly, while I'm dating you in private. You deserve better than that. And I mean....yeah, you and I will have to keep dating in private for now, but if I had it my way chicky....I'd show you off all over town!" He exclaimed, looking up at the sky in happy hope.

My cheeks immediately heated up at his words, the pride in his voice making my heart literally melt into a puddle.

"Oh, someone's looking a little flustered now." He smirked, suddenly grabbing my hand in his.

My, normally sassy, wits were apparently on vacation, as all I could utter was...

"S-Shut up."

I felt my heart flutter at the feeling of our intertwined hands, loving the way he squeezed mine comfortingly.

Of course, the moment was short lived as Keigo let out a small groan of annoyance....reluctantly releasing my hand after just a few seconds.

"If only there weren't so many people around." He whispered to me longingly, brushing his shoulder up against mine.

"It's okay. I understand." I smiled reassuringly, suddenly hoping that Keigo and I would be able to go public with our relationship one day.

I was pulled from my thoughts, as I felt him gently nudge his wing into my side, steering me towards the yakitori place.

I shook my head in amusement, as we walked the way to our daily spot.

"Okay, fine. Yakitori it is. But tomorrow, I'm definitely picking the place for lunch, you dumb bird." I mumbled lightly, causing him to laugh.

"Deal. Hey, make sure to pick a place where Kiara and Kamui are eating again, too." He teased, cackling now as I slapped his shoulder.