Hawks was bright, loud and annoyingly happy.

Meiko was quiet, angry and just plain damn pissed. The Hero Commission giving her missions was a staple of her career since she started and she had not refused a single one. But this...oh this one, she was ready to give up in a flash. And she would have, if she did not feel the immense need to track down Cut (a highly idiotic villain name, to be honest). Working with Hawks was going to be a major major pain.

And the worst part? She could not even tell anyone about it.

So, when Meiko arrived at the agency the morning of the first night of patrol with Hawks, all she could do was tell a white lie.

"Someone will have to cover patrol for me after 8pm tonight," Meiko said. It was the usual morning meeting at the Astra Agency and the perfect time to tell her sidekicks what she would be doing. "I have to work on this stupid case from the Hero Commission. And before you ask, no, I can't say a thing."

"But when it's done, will you tell us about it?" Ryu asked, a hopeful look on his face.

Meiko sighed, tapping her desk. "Maybe."

"Is it a difficult case?" Ichika asked. "Because you look tired and irritated and it's just ten in the morning?"

"It's an annoying one," Meiko answered. "But don't worry about me. Just cover my patrol shift. Either of you can do it. Kagura, help them figure it out."

Kagura, standing at the back, startled at her name being called out. "Y-yes! I'll do that. Ryu-san, Ichika-san, let's go and do this. I think Meiko-san needs some time alone."

"That I do," Meiko nodded in agreement. "I really do."

The only thing she needed time alone was to stew in her thoughts and think about how she would work this case with Hawks. What a grand time she was going to have.

*

Meiko was not having a grand time. At all.

The night was usually her domain. While others may feel happier and more productive during the day, it was at night that Meiko felt like she could truly shine. She literally could shine at night, but she had learnt to keep that part of her quirk turned off. She didn't want to be some fucking shining beacon that villains could spot from a mile away.

But the current situation was just ruining her mood.

She had been on time. Hawks had been late. And on top of that, he had the audacity to grin and smirk at her, telling her he was exactly on time and she was the one who was a little too early. What a lying loser. Now they were both sitting on the rooftop of a random warehouse in the Warehouse Sector.

Hawks was being annoying, being distracting. Meiko was counting down the seconds till she could leave. But time seemed to have slowed down for her, forcing her to experience the annoyingness of this man for longer than she would have liked. She looked at him. Before she could stop herself, the words were already out of her mouth.

"Hey Hawks! Have you ever wondered what the world would be like if you could shut up?"

Hawks didn't even sound surprised. Instead, he just laughed. His laughter was a pleasant sound, but something about it just annoyed her. He plopped himself on the rooftop, right next to where Meiko was sitting, her feet dangling off the edge.

"I don't waste my time thinking of boring stuff," Hawks answered with a grin. "Now, if you're the one thinking about me, it certainly makes things less boring for me."

"Uggh, forget I even said anything," Meiko scoffed. "Anyways, aren't birds supposed to rest at night? You should go home and sleep. Or do whatever birds do."

"No no. I am not leaving you out here all by yourself. You'd be lonely."

"Trust me, I would rather be lonely than spend any more time with you."

"Ouch, Astra. That wounded me."

"Good. I wanted it to hurt you."

"You are a sadist, aren't you?"

"Maybe," Meiko answered with a smirk. And that was the end of that line of conversation. There was silence now. This was not awkward silence. This silence she enjoyed. She could bask in it. Bask in the gloriousness of a quiet night. Take in the -

"Let me ask you something," Hawks suddenly said.

She spoke too soon.

"What?!" Meiko asked, biting her lip when she realised that she was a little too loud. "Sorry. What is it?"

There was a hint of seriousness in his eyes as he lowered his visor, but there was still a grin on his face. "Why do you not like me? Did I do something or..."

Oh.

Now, that was a loaded question.

"I..uh.." Meiko's mind suddenly felt empty of words. So, she said the only thing that she could think of in that instance. "I like you as a hero. You're a good one. But I don't like you as a person. You're not someone that I would get along with. Or be friends with. No offense to you, but you are a little too annoying."

Hawks let out a dramatic sigh, covering his mouth like he was going to cry. It was all pretend though. That much was clear. "That actually hurt. I will have you know that I am a great person to be friends with. And I am not annoying."

"Only a person who's annoying would say that."

"You're rude."

"Thank you for saying that, Hawks."

"That was not a compliment, you know that right?"

"Does it matter? I don't think it does," Meiko shrugged. She stared out into the night, not sensing anything happening. She had the feeling tonight's patrol was going to be in vain. But they had to stay here for some more time.

"Wow, you...you're really changing how I feel about you," Hawks said. "You're nothing like I thought you are."

She rolled her eyes. "I don't care about what you think of me. I care about getting done with this case. So let's end this conversation and concentrate on catching the bad guys."

"Right you are, golden girl," Hawks answered, sounding far too amused. "Let's get to work."

Hawks was amused. For whatever stupid reason, Astra did not like him. But she respected him as a hero. What a weird thing. He was pretty likeable, and according to the press, he was one of the most likeable heroes. That was the image he presented outside so that no one could see what lay beneath. Maybe Meiko could see what he was really like, but no way in hell that was an actual possibility.

The way she acted too...it was really hard to tell what she was thinking. Sometimes, he thought, the smile on his face mirrored his own. It was a smile that hid many secrets, but no one except you could see beyond it. But Astra was undeniably a great hero and her quirk was damn cool. Plus that costume of hers made her look like a powerful knight ready to take down all evil.

Yeah, you could say, Hawks' admiration and fascination with Astra teetered on the edge of being a full-blown crush. But, Hawks knew how to take a step back from that edge. Nothing good could ever come from getting a crush. He couldn't forget the lessons his handlers had taught him.

They were important. They kept things normal (normal for him, at least).

He took out his phone as he sat down on the rooftop of a random building in Fukuoka, taking in the sights of this wonderfully vast city. With immense reluctance, Astra had given him her number, just for the sake of planning things for this case.

Tomorrow, we go to Kataoka Corporation at 10 and speak with their legal team about that embezzler. Be on time, Golden Girl. He wrote to her. Just to annoy her, he added a winky face.

How many times do I have to tell you not to call me Golden Girl? And trust me, I won't be late. She wrote back. A second later, she sent in a string of emojis that made him burst out laughing.

😑😑😑😒😒😤

"Oh, you are funny, Astra."

Hawks was really going to have a lot of fun with her. 

I really like the stories where the guy falls first, so expect that trope in this fic hehe. I'm really enjoying writing the banter between Meiko and Hawks and there's going to be a lot more of this in the next few chapters. 

My sincere apologies for the lack of updates! This past couple of months have been really busy for me in terms of assignments and other stuff, but I promise that I'll be updating this a lot more frequently than I do now. 

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Let me know your thoughts in the comments! <3 <3