Red Like Roses // BNHA × OC //

{9} Last Day at the Agency

      The next morning followed our eventful night faster than Mika or I hoped. We had spent the night chatting away from our beds, occasionally bringing out our phones to text instead when we feared we might have gotten too loud. When Mika turned over to her screen and laughed softly to herself, that quiet but sincere sound I never got used to, I knew this was the latest someone had kept her awake, and she was loving it.

    Eventually, we both passed out somewhere around two or three in the morning. When my alarm nudged me awake just a few hours later, I strangely felt ready while Mika looked deep in rest. I didn't wait on her to get a jump on the day. I gathered my clothes for the day, made a change in the bathroom before brushing my hair and teeth, and headed downstairs. 

    On the tour of the agency I recalled half of the first floor being for domestic use, completed with a standard kitchen that Venus informed me of. Although, I learned that their definition of "standard" well exceeded mine as I stepped into the sleek, modern, and well renovated room. I felt as if all the fancy cooking machines in there might have been smarter than me, so I didn't bother with them.

    I looked over the fridge and in the tall cabinets, thanking some higher power for my ability to do so. Along the way, my hand reached back past the cans of protein mix and dehydrated fruit until a familiar shaped box was in my reach.

    There we go.

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     Minutes later, I was sitting at the bar counter in the kitchen with a bowl of kids' cereal in front of me and the box close to my hand for refills. I wasn't sure why Huntsman kept this in the back of his cabinets behind all of his healthy snacks. It was possibly stored there in case his employees brought their children to work, but for the time being, it was used to feed his new intern who couldn't cook to save her life.

    I sat alone for a good while, monitoring my phone for any missed messages, checking up on my old class group chat, and seeing how my new classmates were holding up at their internships through their socials. As I grew bored with myself, I waited until I heard the ding of the elevator bringing someone down. Footsteps followed through the hallway until a short visitor ducked her head of dark hair through the doorway.

    "Morning," I greeted her, shoveling more spoonfuls of cereal into my mouth.

    Mika only waved back, clearing her throat before speaking back, the tiredness seeping through a gravelly tone, "Good morning."

    My full mouth curled up into a small smile when seeing her act somewhat decent to me, a change I wouldn't ever grow used to or tired of. I pushed a second bowl I had prepared towards Mika, leaving the empty barstool free for her if she chose it.

    "I made you breakfast."

    Her eyebrows knitted down to the bowl as she took the spoon in her hand. "Cereal?"

    I didn't expect Miss Insanely Wealthy to be a picky eater, but I played nice, "Hey, be glad; it's the only thing I can't burn."

    The chuckle I got out of Mika was either amusement or sarcasm, both options seeming better than the cold shoulder. We each ate our breakfast in silence periodically before I finished up and started conversation. It took a few words exchanged until Mika and I fell back into our rhythm of talking, and we grew comfortable with each other's company again. I had forgotten how...pleasant she could be when she wanted to. She even brought up the topic of liking my gadgets, and at one point aspiring for a career in science back in middle school. We had a lot more in common than I thought, and I learned that more and more as we talked.