𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐘 𝐂𝐀𝐓 | 𝐬. 𝐚𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐰𝐚

( XVIII )

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MIRKO DUG INTO her salad as she dialed her old friend from her personal phone, the one with the clear case holding her favorite small polaroid memories secure.

Midday on a quiet Wednesday was probably the most convenient time for them both, she figured. She hit the bright green call button with her knuckle so as not to let go of her chopsticks, her eyes moving to the window as she waited for him to pick up. The rabbit hero usually preferred to eat lunch outside and look down at the world and its helpless civilians but she didn't care to get her snow-white fur wet without reason. It wasn't the cold of November that bothered her, it was the rain.

"Some fuckin' weather," she mumbled to herself as she propped her knees against the table, her salad snuggly held by the space between her thighs and abs. Pieces of carrot and cucumber she chewed as her phone rang for a few seconds. 

"Hey, this a good time?" she asked after she heard the scuffling sounds of him answering. A warm chuckle vibrated from his chest before he said, "Long time no hear, Carrots."

"You said it."

"So, what's up? Been a while."

"I'm gonna skip the bullshit," she sighed halfheartedly. "I've got your back Hawks, yeah? You know that."

"Uh-huh."

"Thing is, you two are both my friends, that's what makes this so annoying," she brushed the fur of her ears with her hand. "Just do me and us both a favor—stop tryin' to flirt with Y/n. I promised to kick your ass if she ended up complaining to me again."

Hawks groaned into the mic, "Alright, last time I wasn't flirting, I was just offering some help. Honest."

"She can handle herself, Hawks. Pretty sure she told you the same thing."

"I'm just trying to be there for her. Call me optimistic or stupid if you want," he said with a pearly-white movie smile. Sure, Mirko was close with him, they had been good friends for a while at that point but talking about him being romantic—or failing at it—was like pulling teeth. The urge to mask with his 'pro hero Hawks' charisma whenever he felt vulnerable talking about that kind of shit was potent. The vulnerability of being authentic was not something others were supposed to see, even friends.

At the end of the day, he was just Hawks, a pro hero before anything else. The hard part was that talking about you tended to stray from that narrative naturally because with you he could be Keigo, not Hawks. That was something he never took for granted but failed to prove with his actions.

"I wasn't trying to annoy her or ask for anything, I mean she's great to fuck but I'm not saying–" he stopped himself. "Point is, I just wanted her to know I'm on her side when she needs help. That's what heroes are for, right?" he chuckled anxiously. That stupid act of his wasn't throwing Mirko off in the slightest. Ruby eyes glimmered with rabbit-like mischief.