Beautiful Disasters- Hawks x OC

Chapter 32

For the first time in ages... Mariko had slept well. She hadn't experienced a single nightmare the entire night. That was why she was confused when she woke up feeling like total shit. Her stomach turned uncomfortably, and her throat felt dry. She sat up, stifling a yawn, and opened her eyes slightly so she wouldn't get blinded by the light. As she became more awake, she also became aware of a pounding headache. Her body was sore, and she wanted nothing more than to crawl back under the covers and sleep for an eternity.

Speaking of the covers, she realized that the one on top of her wasn't hers. It didn't look or smell like the one she owned. Her eyes snapped open and she quickly looked around, trying to ignore the pain behind her eyes as she did so. She was most definitely not in her apartment, but the space around her wasn't wholly unfamiliar. Her eyes widened when she realized whose apartment she was actually in.

As soon as she'd made the connection, the memories of the previous night came rushing back to her. She remembered everything from trying to get into the wrong apart to crying like a baby in his hallway because she missed him. She buried her head in her hands, wanting to scream and throw up all at once. "God I made myself look like an absolute idiot," she thought.

Her momentary panic caused the world to spin. She closed her eyes, exhaling slowly. She needed to calm down and think clearly. She needed to leave as soon as possible, hopefully, she could be quiet enough to slip out of the apartment unnoticed. She shifted slightly to throw the covers off of her and was met with a pair of curious amber eyes. She squeaked in surprise, nearly jumping out of her skin, and fell off the couch.

"That sounded like it hurt," the blonde said, peeking over at her from the couch.

Mariko's face burned in embarrassment. "Why can't the ground just swallow me whole and put me out of my misery? I've suffered enough." She groaned in pain, rolling on her side to take the pressure off her back. "How long were you awake?" he asked quietly.

"A while," he answered simply. He'd woken up around fifteen minutes before her and was able to witness her waking up- which he found absolutely adorable- as well as her mini-internal meltdown before she decided to make a break for it.

"Shit."

"How're you feeling?" he asked. He wanted to talk to her about the things she'd said the night before but didn't want to press her if she wasn't feeling well.

"Shitty," she answered. A chill washed over her.

Keigo sighed and nodded to himself. He could wait.

"I'm sorry I barged in on you at two in the morning," she said quietly.

The blonde smiled a bit and shook his head. "It's fine. I'm glad you came," he told her honestly.

She didn't respond.

Not wanting to be trapped in awkward silence, the hero pushed himself off the couch and offered his hand to the brunette. "Come on, let's get you to your apartment so you can sleep off that hangover," he said gently.

Mariko rolled on her back, taking a moment to stare at him. His expression was soft but when she met his eyes she could tell he was searching for something in them. Undoubtedly he wanted answers; after what she said that night it was only to be expected. She appreciated that he wasn't trying to pry the information out of her like before though. She didn't have the stamina to get into another "deep talk" with the blonde at the moment.

"Okay," she said, taking his hand and allowing herself to be pulled to her feet. Now that she wasn't drunk, getting into her apartment was much easier. And, contrary to what she'd thought the previous night, her furniture had not been completely replaced. Every couch, pillow, and chair were all exactly as she had left them when she went to the bar.

"I'll be checking on you every once in a while so have your phone nearby. Is it okay if I come by after work?" he asked.

Mariko nodded, her heart clenching when he asked for permission. She hated that she had done that to him.

He smiled though, happy that she'd agreed to see him later that day and left her to nurse her hangover in peace.

As soon as he was gone, Mariko walked into her room and face planted on the bed. She felt like crap, but because she'd actually gotten a good night's sleep... she wasn't tired and therefore couldn't take Keigo's suggestion of sleeping off her hangover. She was stuck suffering through nausea, chills, and headaches that were hitting her full force now that she was alone and fully aware of them. "Must be karma for being so hard on him," she thought miserably.

Being physically incapacitated, gave her time to think. Although it hadn't been the way she was expecting, her perspective on the matter concerning the blonde did change. It made her realize that Keigo had to know about Division 1 if he was going to understand her as a person, and because he actually wanted to know her, he'd decided to break her walls down himself. Now, she was nervous because she was now completely exposed to him and she didn't know how he was going to react once he started looking through all the rubble. She'd tried to distance herself- a plan that had clearly backfired as she had made it embarrassingly clear that she wanted to be close again. Her idiocy had eliminated pride as a factor for her and now, all that was left was honest, emotionally charged conversation. Mariko sighed, talking wasn't her forte.

Before she could dwell on the subject any longer, another wave of nausea washed over her. This one, much worse than the last. She ran to the bathroom, just barely making it to the toilet where she heaved out nothing but bile. It didn't make her feel any better. It was as if once she had started throwing up, she couldn't stop and by the time her body had finally exhausted itself trying to expel the toxins from it, she felt like she was about to pass out. Mariko cursed herself mentally for having drunk so much, she'd never had a hangover this bad before. Knowing she wasn't going to be able to make it to her afternoon shift, she called Sakura to tell her that she was sick and let their boss know not to expect her.

It didn't get any better throughout the day; actually, it got worse. Mariko found herself unable to keep anything down- even the water she drank came right back up. Having symptoms worsen when she hadn't been drinking anymore wasn't typical of a hangover. Her body shook with effort as she tried to stand up from her fifth visit to the toilet, only for her to trip on her own feet half-way out the door. She was unconscious before her body hit the ground.