"Don't you find it peculiar that this particular studio is on an entirely different floor as all the others?" Tokoyami questioned me as we walked along the hallway, Dark Shadow reaching across to ride on my back.
"Hey, at least it isn't the basement. Herogue is a huge corporation, so it wouldn't surprise me if they had several floors dedicated to shoots and interviews."

It was strange, being called for an interview. I was barely in the top fifty rankings, so why not choose some other hero? Perhaps it was because I had been collaborating lately?
"Oh my gosh, Songbird, hi!" Tokoyami and I paused as a slender young woman came bounding down the hall, waving excitedly. She had the brightest pixie cut I had ever seen, coloured lime green with her fringe covering her right eye. "Glad you could make it! Takeda Himari! We spoke on the phone!"

Nodding, I accepted her surprisingly strong handshake, forcing a smile.
"Nice to meet you. I brought along one of the agency's interns, so I hope that's okay. This is Tsukuyomi." I introduced my shadowy companion and the woman beamed brightly.
"That's fine with me! Come on, we're just down this corridor. Kohei and I are super excited to work with you today!"

Kohei..? Don't tell me...

"Wait...Kohei? As in wears literally every item of clothing he's ever owned in his life just to even poke his head out the window Kohei?" I asked, and Tokoyami gave me an odd look.
"Yep! He told me he's met you before when I asked him to do the shoot! How great! A familiar face always makes things more comfortable!"

We followed after her, and Tokoyami leaned closer to me, lowering his voice.
"Forgive me for being intrusive, but how did you become acquainted with a member of the paparazzi?" Clicking my tongue, I shrugged, turning into the room behind Takeda.
"In my defense, I didn't know he was. He knew Hawks, and I met him when we went away, before we split up."

Low and behold, there was the cloaked man, sitting on top of a table and fiddling with a camera. His head lifted once he noticed our arrival and lifted a hand in greeting.
"Songbird, nice to see you again." Standing up, Kohei approached, offering me his gloved hand to shake, then doing the same for Tokoyami.
"What a coincidence..." I murmured, now entirely sceptical of the whole situation.

Why is he here? This can't just be one of those small world scenarios...

"Okay, so, Songbird, take this and go change! We can conduct the interview as we shoot!" Takeda made me jump as she forced a bundle into my arms. A red dress and shoes, plus a few other bits and bobs. I wasn't at all impressed by the colour, but I had already agreed, so off I went to change.

"Hmmm...maybe we should've gone with blue...I think it'd suit her more..." Kohei mused once I walked back into the room, heels clicking loudly upon the floor. Takeda waved him off, grinning ear to ear as she ushered me into position.
"Okay, so so so! Lemme just..." I flinched as she stuck something into my hair, behind my right ear, and again when she kind of roughly forced me to sit on the ground.

Around me sat expensive looking jewellery, and every single piece looked very familiar.
"This is...Hawks' new line, isn't it..?" I murmured, rapidly blinking as a chain was draped over my head.
"It sure is! We were all thinking, hmmm, who should we get to model this for the release? Hawks does it all the time, so why not the co-designer?!" The woman explained with a bouncy giggle, which to me sounded rather unsettling.

Awkwardly, I turned to glance over at Tokoyami, who seemed to be thinking the exact same thing.
"Sorry to be a pain, but would you mind activating your quirk, please? Wings are kind of the selling point." Kohei asked me politely, and it felt rude to refuse. Sighing, I released my daytime wings, thanks to the bright lighting, and waited awkwardly for instruction.

Keigo makes this look so easy...

"Beautiful! Now, let's begin!" Takeda clapped her hands as she sat down in her seat, whipping out a pen and paper. It was odd to see that she wasn't using a laptop like most. "Songbird, tell us a little about your quirk! You can sum it up if you don't want to get too technical-like!" Making sure my hair wasn't covering my face, I looked straight into the camera. Not to make a good shot, but to avoid all eye contact.

"My quirk alters between light and dark. During the day, or in well lit areas, my wings are made up of pure light. They're hot to the touch during that time. At night, or in darkness, they transform into a more...I guess demonic, shadowy kind of look? Kind of like bat wings?" I decided to leave out the vocal element, seeing as I didn't have the best control over it.

"I see! How cool!" Takeda scribbled my words down, bringing the pen bottom up to her lips. "You were once homeless, right? Could you tell us a little bit about that, and how you got to where you are now?" Shit, my leg was already cramping, and I was completely over it. The spotlight wasn't my friend.

"Well, there isn't all that much to tell. I was placed into foster care as a child, and due to certain events I ended up on the street. I guess I was a bit of a trouble maker, so nobody wanted to deal with that. A man by the name of Akitsugu took me in, and we lived day to day..." It hurt to talk about Akitsugu, but I wanted his name to be known. It was the least I could do. "Eventually, hardly even a year ago, I met...Hawks...at the park by the city center. He liked my quirk, saw a bit of potential, then the rest is history."

Takeda was writing, sure, but her eyes were honed in on me, causing chill to creep up my spine.
"Speaking of Hawks...Wha-"
"Hang on. Songbird, love, could you please grab a few of those chains and pop 'em on your arm? Maybe hold it up a little?" Kohei interjected, and I did exactly as he told me, which gave me a little time to psyche myself up for the change in subject.

"Anyway...Speaking of Hawks. People have noticed that you two haven't been working together lately, or even in the same general vicinity. Actually, somebody called into our department and said they saw you getting all smoochy with another man! What's the go there?"

Paparazzi...Fuck, I don't want to talk about Hawks...or drag Natsuo into the public eye...but...

"Uh...y..yeah, Hawks and I have officially separated...I've recently started seeing somebody else, but I would prefer not to name names..." I confessed, feeling heavy under so much pressure.
"Todoroki Natsuo! We already know!" The interviewer chuckled, making me splutter. "Oh, don't worry! I won't put that in there! Hush hush!"

Again, I looked to my intern, and he was just glaring absolute daggers at the woman, though he didn't say a word.
"Anyway..." I coughed, hoping that would be enough to change the subject. It certainly wasn't.
"What was the reason for you and Hawks' splitting up? You two only recently tied the knot, so it's quite the shocker!"

I was pretty sure every one of my blood cells was screaming at this point, but I refused to let my agitation show on my face.
"We just didn't work well together, in the end. Don't get me wrong...I respect Hawks very much, but...we just had different ways of doing things, and it just didn't sync..." Of course, they weren't interested in me. They were interested in the big scoop on the number two hero.

"So...like...trouble in the bedroom?" Oh, I very nearly stormed right on out of there when Takeda dared to suggest such a thing, but before I could react, Kohei jabbed her harshly in the side with his elbow.
"Quit making her so uncomfortable. That's nobody's business, so shut up." He growled, turning back to give me a small nod. "Sorry about that. She's a slut for gossip."

My guts were starting to get queasy, but I managed a tiny, half-passed smile of appreciation. I felt used. They called me in here to model my ex-husband's line, wear his colours, tell them all about what was going on in his life. I had become part of his brand by association and I wanted to either scream or cry.

"My bad. Alright, so, tell us, what was it like, training with number two? Did he keep you in the loop with all his little missions and stuff?" On and on, I answered her questions as vaguely as possible, every now and then having to be rescued by Kohei, and, occaisionally, Tokoyami, who seemed to be having a hard time just spectating. Finally, after what seemed like forever, it was all over.

"That's a wrap! Thank you so much for coming in, Songbird! You're so fun to talk to! I gotta run off to type all this up, but that was a killer interview!" Takeda hopped up, blowing me a few air kisses as she skipped towards the door. "By the way, you look like a dream covered in so much red! Byeeeee!" Her strangely worded compliment had me confused for a hot minute, but eventually I brushed it off, climbing to my feet and dumping the jewellery back on the floor without a care.

"Ugh...Tokoyami, could you please give the agency a call? Let them know that we'll be late getting back." As pissed off as I was, Tokoyami's small, polite bow made me feel just a smidgen better.
"Of course. I shall do so now. Would you like me to purchase you a drink from the vending machine? You look like you need it." Nodding, I smiled, even though it was quite obviously forced.

"Yes, thanks, Toko. You're an angel." I thanked him and watched him leave, then my attention turned to Kohei, who was tinkering around on his laptop, the reflection in his sunglasses flashing every so often. "Hey...uh, thanks for kind of saving my ass. She was getting pretty personal at times..."

The bundled man looked up, motioning his head for me to approach.
"No thanks needed. Sorry about her. She's just as nosey as the others. Fucking vultures." He replied, an obvious distaste for the woman lacing his tone. "Wanna check out how the cover's gonna look? I mocked one up using the article lineup I saw yesterday."

Curious, I walked up beside him, leaning in to view his work. Honestly, it wasn't half bad, but I could see the discomfort in my own eyes. I just looked kind of dead.
"You're pretty talented, I gotta say..." I murmured, glancing around the page as he leaned back in his seat.
"Pffft, hardly. I'm just a stand-in when the real professionals get sick. Look, I messed up the font a few times and had to write it in with the stylus. Illegible bullshit or what?"

Trouble in paradise..? This is gonna be a load of shit...

"No, I can read it clearly..." I sighed, straightening up and running a hand through my hair, tearing the decorative feathers out in the process. "I better head out. Work to do, and all that." Kohei stood up, offering me his hand again, just like he had when I had arrived.
"Pleasure working with you. Oh, and by the way, could you tell Natsuo I said hi? He probably doesn't remember me, but we went to school together, back in the day."

It struck me as more than just slightly suspicious that he also seemed to know Natsuo, but I didn't say anything about it. Leaving then would have been the best idea, but I really wanted to know something.
"Sure...Uh, Kohei, just out of curiosity, have you seen Hawks lately? Like, spoken to him or anything?" The man thought for a moment, scratching at the material of his mask.

"As a matter of fact, I saw him not too long ago, but didn't talk to him. He was flying along with a huge duffel bag, talking on the phone. Why?" Chewing on my bottom lip, I shook my head slowly, forcing my feet to move.
"No reason, just wondering why the hell he's taking so long to get everything signed..." I mumbled, raising my hand to bid him farewell. "Anywho, thanks. I'll see you around..." I seized when I felt his hand come down on my shoulder. Even through his gloves it felt way too warm.
"Remember, I'm just a call away if you need someone to talk to." He offered, just like last time. Feeling nervous, I simply nodded, getting out of the room as fast as possible.

I met Tokoyami in the hall, quickly leaving him again so I could go and change back into my hero costume, all the while trying to piece everything together. Kohei being kind of odd was already known to me, but that interviewer was pretty strange, too. Completely unprofessional, and half the time it just looked like she was doodling instead of writing down what I was saying.

I don't like this...Why does everything have to get weird? Am I a magnet for fucked up mysteries, or?

The rest of the day passed by much too slowly. Tokoyami and I got to deal with a petty villain or two, I dropped him back at Heights Alliance and had a bit of a debate with the Bakugou boy about which spice was best, then back to the office to deal with a mishap. Thanks to Hawks being absent, I was the only one left to deal with the paperwork when idiot sidekicks named Washi go a little too hard and end up breaking a pickpocket's femur.

By the time I arrived home, it was fell past two in the morning, and honestly, I would have been more than okay with dying of a heart attack when I flicked on the light to find Natsuo slumped on the couch in a seated position.

He came back and waited up for me...

The dining table caught my eye, and I quietly groaned at myself when I realised he'd ordered in, the now cold (F/Takeout) still sitting in the bag beside two plates.
"Godammit..." I cursed under my breath, feeling awful for not letting him know I would be late. Now I was on the other end, doing exactly what Hawks had done to me so many times. Did he feel just as bad whenever he'd find me comatose in that exact same spot?

Honestly, I just wanted to be alone, but it was late, and it would have been a super shitty thing for me to do if I asked the guy to go home. Besides, maybe being held would make me feel somewhat better. Maybe.
"Hey...Natsuo..." I whispered as I gently poked at his cheek. "You'll murder your neck if you sleep like this. Come on, come to bed..."

Snorting awake, my new boyfriend rubbed at his eyes, gazing up at me sleepily with a soft smile on his face.
"Hey, sugar...How was your day..?" Ugh, my heart couldn't cope with his sweetness. I didn't deserve someone like him at all. Especially not when I wasn't even sure how I felt about him.

"Long and shitty...I'm really sorry I didn't call to let you know I'd be late...I didn't even know you were coming over..." I apologised, leaning down to peck his cheek.
"It's fine, it's like that sometimes." He reassured me, stretching so that his back cracked nice and loud. "Oh, uh, Hawks was here at some point when I was in the shower this morning. He left a note and his key."

Trapping my tongue between my teeth, I nodded, letting him know I heard him as I straightened up and headed towards the untouched food.
"Oh, right. Okay, hun, you go to bed, and I'll be in shortly. I'll put this in the fridge and take a shower." The half-conscious boy stood up, smacking his lips as he shuffled towards the bedroom, pausing to smile at me again before disappearing.

After shoving the food into the refrigerator, I scrambled to locate the note, reading over it several times as I gripped the key in my hand, the teeth digging into my palm.

Sunshine,

Keep the apartment. Bills are sorted, so don't worry. I would appreciate it if we could try to talk again, but I'll wait and let you contact me.

- Keigo

I don't want to keep the apartment...I don't want you to pay my bills...I...want you to just...

I really had no fucking idea what I wanted. Trying to shove thoughts of the winged pro to the back of my mind, I went and took a long, scorching shower, aggressively rubbing off any eyeshadow or scuff of dirt that blemished my skin. After hopping out and drying my body and hair, I grabbed the nearest shirt, throwing it on before looking at myself in the mirror.

"Fuck my entire asshole..." I cursed, the word 'Hawkward' staring back at me, backwards in my reflection. I wasted no time in tearing it off and finding a different shirt, as well as a pair of loose shorts before I retired to the bedroom, still not completely used to seeing another man in my bed.

Climbing in, I allowed Natsuo to roll over and take me in his arms, still fast asleep. There, I just waited for sleep, staring off at the far wall. Change wasn't a stranger to me, but everything that had changed in my life in the recent months had been too much. I was exhausted, but couldn't sleep. I felt sick, but I couldn't throw up. I wanted to cry, but I just couldn't anymore...

Things will get easier...They have to...right..?

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***Yo It's like 2am and I wanna fucking die (as in sleep but also-)

I got too lazy with the herogue magazine mockup I made and my handwriting ruins the whole fucking thing but whatever.

Can you tell I'm tired? Because I'm reALLY TIRED

Next Time: A Nice Family Dinner***