Feather Bound

Chapter 7

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Mamoru's voice snapped through the phone, causing Hawks to groan. He hadn't even had a chance to say hello yet, and he was already being yelled at. "This is absolutely unacceptable. You were supposed to have this date planned already!"

"Good morning to you too, sunshine," Hawks retorted, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he blinked against the sunlight pouring into his room from his window. "Let me get this straight. You forced me into my apartment, and now I don't even get to enjoy the bed in it?"

"Don't get smart with me, Bird Brain," Mamoru spat, and Hawks groaned in response. It was too early for him to be dealing with this, especially since he'd done a late patrol last night and had only been asleep for a few hours. The night shift sucked, but it was always made worse when you were woken up before you were rested. "Why have I not received an itinerary for your date?"

"Look, my job is to be a hero," he started, pushing himself up to sit. "I don't have time to be planning dates when I've got an agency to run, paperwork to do, not to mention you've woken me up after doing a night shift. I hardly have time to eat and sleep, let alone worry about some stupid date."

The line suddenly clicked, three short beeps sounding in his ear, and he frowned. Had he just been hung up on? With a sigh, he put his phone back onto the nightstand, grabbed his eye mask, and laid back down. He was just on the edge of sleep when his phone started ringing again.

"Jesus fuck," he snapped, ripping the mask off and snatching his phone, not even bothering to look at the caller ID before answering and bringing it to his ear. "Mamoru, I am trying to get some damn sleep. I will plan this stupid–"

"Ah, good morning, Hawks," the voice said, cutting him off, and he froze. That wasn't Mamoru. He slowly pulled the phone from his ear, grimacing as he finally looked at the caller ID. Cursing under his breath, he quickly put the phone back up to his ear.

"Vice President," he said softly, hoping he could smooth this over quickly. "I'm so sorry; I thought you were Mamoru."

"Ah, yes. Well, that's funny because Mamoru just called and told me that you have some concerns about balancing work and the Securement program?"

That fucking snitch.

"Oh, um, no, sir, that's not quite what I—"

"Because if that's the issue, I'm sure I can find extra Commission staff to take over some of your duties."

"No, sir, that isn't necessary," he said quickly, scrambling to regain control of the conversation. "I can absolutely handle it. I'll make sure I get it taken care of immediately." He clenched his jaw as the Vice President let out a small chuckle before sucking in a breath.

"The President wants me to tell you that your sidekicks will be covering your patrols again. Don't you think about setting foot into your agency. You will learn to obey orders, Hawks."

"Yes, sir," he managed to spit out between gritted teeth, grateful when the phone call suddenly ended. He groaned, flopping back down on the bed angrily. If they wanted him to plan a date so damn bad, he might as well make it something easy. Rolling over, he ran through a list of things they could do together in his head before letting out a soft "ah."

A movie.

It was a decent idea, something most couples did when they were dating. It wouldn't raise any suspicions and should be approved by the Commission easily. A movie would be perfect because they would be spending the entire time they were together watching something. They wouldn't be able to talk or really be forced to interact beyond getting into their seats. This was the best way to get everyone off his back without having to put in too much actual effort.