Feather Bound

Chapter 30

"So the expectations for the Gala are pretty straightforward," Mamoru said, shifting in his chair as Hawks blinked at him from across the desk, trying his hardest not to show his annoyance. When Haruki had mentioned sending him the dress code later, he hadn't realized it meant showing up at the office. And of course, he'd timed it just right so Haruki wouldn't even be there to run interference.

She had gone out to help Y/N and never came back. She had later texted him to let him know she wasn't feeling well and had just gone home, which made him feel bad. If she wasn't feeling good, he would have taken Y/N himself after work; there was no reason for her to be pushing herself like that, which he made sure to remind her of in his reply.

"Hawks, are you even listening?" The other man groaned, and he quickly refocused on him. Shit, he had zoned out, so used to escaping Mamoru's endless lectures that he hadn't actually been paying attention this time. He let out a small sigh before giving a sheepish shake of his head.

"Sorry, I got distracted," he said, reaching onto the desk to grab a paperclip to fidget with as Mamoru sighed in annoyance.

"If you're so bored, maybe we can switch topics," he started with a small smirk. "How was your first night together?"

He clenched his jaw as they stared at each other, a strange mix of annoyance and anxiety twisting his stomach. He should've expected something like this to happen, especially with Haruki's phone conversation with him this morning. At least now he knew why he'd shown up in person instead of just emailing him. He was here to dig for anything he could report back to the President.

"It was great," he said through his teeth before sucking in a small breath. "Now, the expectations for the event—"

"Hey now," Mamoru interrupted, crossing his arms, his smirk never fading. "We can talk about that shit in a minute. It's time for some guy talk because I want details. Was it good? You know where to finish to make a baby though, right?"

"Jesus!" Hawks exclaimed, his face burning as his wings flared behind him. This conversation was not only completely embarrassing, but totally uncalled for. "I'm not talking about my sex life with you, and I'm certainly not dignifying that question with a fucking answer!"

"Come on, it's a fair question. Some people really don't know—"

"Mamoru," he hissed out, trying to take steady breaths through his nose. "I've been through that training course, I've seen the videos, I'm twenty-two years old for fuck's sake. That is my personal life, end goal or not. You will not get a single detail from me about it. You'll just have to wait for your answers when you test her every month."

"I'm not stupid, Hawks. Refusal to have sex isn't an option here," he replied with a huff, crossing his arms as his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I'm not refusing to do it!" he declared, his temper starting to flare. Why couldn't they just talk about this stupid gala so he could finish this paperwork and go home to see her? Strangely enough, she had been all he'd thought about all day, and the idea of sitting in this office for another minute instead of being by her side was enough for him to say and do whatever it took to get out of here, even if it meant lying.

"In fact, if you really must know, we already started. Last night," the lie flowed from him easily, years of spy and press training making it possible. "Look, I know how to do this, and I know how it all works. So just let me work on it and don't ask me stupid questions. I don't get a lot of privacy as it is, and this is something I'd very much like to keep between the two of us. It's degrading enough you'll be testing her every month in some lab instead of just letting her report the results to you herself. I won't even know I'm going to be a father until after you. So please, just tell me the gala expectations."