*4 Days Later*

I honestly couldn't believe what I was reading. The issue with Hawks' interview had been released, and now I was somewhere between livid and crushed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~   SWOOPING IN FOR THE KILL?   ~
~     Hawks has a new lady on his       ~
~     arm? Here's the hot goss               ~
~     about our favourite pro!               ~
~                                                                ~
~       In an exclusive interview, we    ~
~       discovered about this newly      ~
~       formed relationship. Our            ~
~       beloved Hawks dating a              ~
~      homeless nobody?!                        ~
~       We don't know much about        ~
~       this so called 'Songbird', but       ~
~       we can only speculate that         ~
~       this is yet another gold-digger   ~
~       tale in the making. Perhaps        ~
~       it's a phase? Pitying some poor  ~
~       defenceless girl? Maybe our       ~
~       hero is still a womaniser?           ~
~       Another girl, a new accessory    ~
~       line, and another hot article!      ~
~       Let's dive right in, shall we?       ~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Are...are they serious..?

I couldn't read any further. Crying was my initial reaction, but now all I could do was glare at the words typed by those blonde bimbos.
"Sunshine, lollipops and...rainbows everywhere! Everything that's wonderful is what I feel when we're together..!" Hawks wandered into the room; bopping along to his own voice before he stopped beside me. "Hey...you look constipated, what's wrong?" Without a word, I shoved the folded magazine under his nose and slouched down over the counter; making a low, grumbling sound that resembled a disgruntled moose. I could hear the faint crumpling of glossed paper before the magazine came slamming down beside me on the counter, then a few moments of silence.

What's he thinking..? Is he as upset as I am..?

"Uh, yeah, hey...This is Hawks.....Not too good, buddy...Listen...I just read the article you printed about me and my girlfriend, and let's just say I'm not named after a predatory bird for shits and gigs......Yep, that's exactly what I'm after......Uh-huh....and you'll print that?.....Thanks, man...We appreciate it.......Later..."

He called the fucking publishers..?!

I felt his gloved hand upon my back, and it was soon followed by his velvet lips against my shoulder blades.
"So...the bimbos are getting fired and they're printing a formal apology next issue...I'm sorry that happened..." He sounded sincere, but those black and white words were racing through my mind.

'Gold-digger'

'Phase'

'Womaniser'

'Another girl'

"It's...all lies...right..?" I asked; slightly muffled by the countertop. "I mean...this is...real...right..? Us, I mean..." Doubt was oozing from my voice, but I squeaked all the same when I was lifted from behind and spun around in a tight circle.
"AAAAAAND IIIIIIIIIIIII-EEEEEEE-IIIIIIIIIII...HOLY SHIT....WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOUUUUUUUUUUU, OOOOOOOOIIHHHHHHHH!" If I thought Present Mic was loud, this was a whole new audio torture. Hawks nuzzled into the crook of my neck as he set me down; sloppy kisses dampening my skin, and curled his arms around my waist. "Just gonna give you a little avian lesson, Sunshine...Hawks usually mate for life...and the son of a bitch clinging to you like a limpet right now is one billion percent monogamous." I didn't want to smile, but he made it impossible to resist. Sighing, I snuggled into his warmth and let myself relax.
"I love you...but maybe save the singing for a karaoke bar..." I snickered quietly; tilting my head back to peck his stubbly chin.
"I'll have you know I've been banned from every karaoke joint in the city..." He chuckled in response; giving me one final squeeze before letting me go. "Well, I've got a few...errands to run...so I'm gonna leave the little blackbird in your care today!"

It wouldn't only be my care. Only two days prior we accepted two new recruits to our agency; eager young men who held Hawks in the highest regard. One was rather upfront about his admiration; Washi, who sported an eagle-like mask every waking moment. The other; Shinpi, wore what I could only view as a gimp suit. In reality, it was just a masked body suit, but I enjoyed teasing him about it. They were both loyal and hard working, and it was nice to have some helping hands.

"Why can't we join you?" I asked curiously as I watched him grab a banana from the counter and start peeling it. I couldn't miss it. That slight twitch of his eye; he was about to bullshit.
"I think it'd be better for my little intern to be out on the field instead of running around doing boring interviews and stuff...Plus he seems to look up to you." His obvious lie rolled off his tongue so easily, I almost believed it. Almost.

What are you hiding, you sly little shit..?

"Right...Fine...I'll go pick him up, then..." I muttered as I cocked a brow; glaring at his face past the ridiculously long banana he was about to consume.
"That's my Sunshine! Thanks a tonne!" He beamed as I started past him; moving to take a bite.
"You owe me, Chicken shit." I replied curtly before smacking him in the back of the head. Of course, I had timed it just right so the entirety of the banana would slide right down his secretive throat.
"Thunthine! Ooh algmos may me tho up!" He tried to scold me through gags and splutters, but I just shot him a lazy peace sign before skulking off to my room to get ready.

I'm sure it's nothing...I gotta trust him...

--------------------------------------------------

"...and I totally did a quadruple aerial flip!" Washi boasted to his two male companions as I flew above them down the sidewalk; irking at his preposterous story.
"Shit belongs in the sewers, not spewing out of your mouth." I snapped as I raised myself a bit higher.
"What's got your panties in a twist, Bossette? You've been more snippy than usual..." The masked man asked; shielding his eyes as he looked up at me.
"First of all, don't call me Bossette...It sounds like I belong in some Nerdtendo game...Secondly, I think we all know the answer to that question..." I swooped down and landed a few feet ahead of them; my glowing wings disappearing as I stretched.
"Is Hawks being difficult again?" Tokoyami asked as he fell into step with me. "I hope he isn't being discourteous?"

Such proper words...

"Not exactly...he's just...him. I barely know anything about him...Like, did you know that I don't even know his real name? We even slee...p under the same roof..."

Oof, close one...Keep the boy innocent...

"...It just pisses me off...Sometimes I can picture myself plucking him raw and making a motza selling pillows..!" I clenched my fists and growled loudly; punching at the air.
"As much as I love a good bitch fest...maybe you should calm down a little..." Shinpi jumped in quickly; rubbing the back of his neck. "Boss likes to be mysterious...maybe it's his kink?" I hurriedly covered where I believed Tokoyami's ears to be and gasped loudly.
"Don't expose my Toko to such lewd ideas!" The poor student looked uncomfortable, to say the least, but his quirk popped out with a whole different reaction.
"I think he's more into wing pulling! Just saying!" Dark Shadow snickered, and I was soon running rings around Tokoyami to catch the ghostly little shit.
"I WILL RUN INTO THE STORE TO BUY A VACUUM AND GO GHOSTBUSTER ON YOUR SPECTRAL ASS, D-SHAD!" I screeched whilst the others; save for Tokoyami, laughed at us.
"Guess we know the answer to that, then!" Washi snorted; becoming my new target. Grabbing him in a headlock, I gave him one hell of a noogie before trying to calm myself.
"Look...let's just forget about this and split up for patrol. You two fuckers go east and we'll head west, alright? Meet back at the agency at five o'clock and I might bring you back pizza." I felt accomplished when my two underlings saluted and raced off down the street; leaving me with the raven-headed intern.

"I apologise for Dark Shadow's behaviour..." Tokoyami sighed as we headed off again; adjusting his ebony cape so it covered his chest. Waving him off, I smiled over at him.
"It's fine. I'm sorry for losing my temper...I'm just an insecure bitch when it comes to my airheaded boyfriend." I laughed; hoping to change the subject. "Hey, since there's no villains about, wanna join me as this little coffee shop I found? It's called Dark Arts...and I think it's right up your alley..." His eyes brightened, and a hint of a smile appeared along his beak.
"I would be delighted to, Mademoiselle."

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***This chapter is a filler and I'm SO SORRY FOR THE LACK OF UPDATES. I guess I just needed a bit of a breather...
Fun fact - in my hometown, they opened up this strange little coffee shop called Dark Arts and it's a mix of Gothic Victorian and Retro pop culture and I wanna live there***

***Edit: I attempted to make it look like an article but Wattpad fucked up my hard work at trying to border it so BIG OOF***