I was stretching my arms above my head with a loud yawn at my desk at work. It seemed to be a rather long week for me at this point. Kaiju attacks on a first date to an eventful night. It had been two days since we had contacted each other, and I was not going to be the one to reach out. I needed to feel like I was actually wanted and not like I was only a plaything.

I prayed I was more than that with him.

Himari entered the office with eye bags.

"What happened to you?" I asked, putting my arms down after stretching.

Himari sighed and placed her work bag on her desk while twisting around her chair. "I got stiffed last night." Stiffed was a term we used when we would spend the night with a gentleman, and they would leave the next morning without a trace.

"Oh. I'm sorry." That had set the mood for the rest of the day. It was not often she would put herself like that, but when she did, it was a big deal. Himari was the type to fall hard and fast, and it's been more than once that she would get stiffed.

She sighed and slouched in her chair. "Donuts?"

I pulled out the bag from my cabinet drawer that I kept hidden for Mr. Big Bossman. "Donuts," they were for emergencies like this.

She smiled and snatched the bag from my hand to rip open and start munching. "What about you with your vice captain situationship?" She pointed to me with powdered fingers.

"Ah..." I took a donut from her, and we both ate in silence, looking and loading up articles to edit for the day.

"Do you want to see what he's doing online?"

My head whipped around. "No, I couldn't."

I paused.

'Look him up."

I slid my chair over to where we were shoulder to shoulder and watched as she cackled, typing her fingers across the keyboard.

You are down horrendous." She informed me.

"I'm conducting research"

"Mhm." She finished, and the screen loaded.

The first thing I saw was a photo from a Defense Force training exercise. Vice-Captain Hoshina stood with one hand on his hip, the other resting on the handle of his weapon, wearing that infuriatingly easy grin that always looked like he knew something everyone else didn't.

My stomach betrayed me with a small flip.

"Wow," Himari said. "Okay, I get it."

"Don't say it." I winced, knowing what was about to come.

"No wonder you slept with him."

"Himari!"

She laughed harder and scrolled. "Looks like he was at a public training demonstration yesterday," she said. "There are a bunch of photos."

I leaned closer despite myself. And then I saw one picture that made my heart stutter. Hoshina was standing beside Captain Ashiro, but he wasn't looking at the camera. He was looking off to the side, toward someone outside the frame. His expression was softer than I'd ever seen it.

Himari narrowed her eyes. "Why does it look like he's looking for someone?"

I swallowed. "Don't be ridiculous," I said, even though my pulse had suddenly become very difficult to ignore.

Neither of us noticed the footsteps until a shadow stretched across our desks. "What exactly are the two of you researching?"

Himari and I froze.v Slowly, painfully slowly, we turned our heads. Mr. Big Bossman stood behind us with his arms crossed, peering over our shoulders at the computer screen. Vice-Captain Hoshina's smiling face stared right back at him.

Himari clicked the mouse in a panic. Nothing happened. She clicked it again.

Still nothing.

"Uh..." she laughed nervously. "Journalistic integrity?"

Mr. Big Bossman raised a brow.

I shut my eyes for half a second, already preparing my apology. "We're... conducting background research."

"On his smile?" he asked flatly.

"It is a very well-documented smile," Himari muttered.

I elbowed her.

"Ow!"

Mr. Big Bossman sighed through his nose before pinching the bridge of it. "I hadn't even announced the assignment yet."

My stomach dropped. "...Assignment?"

His eyes narrowed. "Interesting choice of words."

I blinked up at him. "I thought you just caught us procrastinating."

"I did catch you procrastinating."

"...Fair."

He stared at us another moment before shaking his head. "I swear, sometimes I wonder how either of you manages to meet deadlines."

"We panic efficiently," Himari answered. I nodded in agreement.

"I've noticed." He reached into the folder tucked beneath his arm and slid a packet onto my desk. The front page bore the Defense Force insignia. "This was supposed to wait until after lunch, but since you're apparently psychic..." he said dryly. "You're both assigned to the Third Division for next week's feature."

Himari gasped.

I stared down at the paperwork. "The Third Division?" I echoed.

"Our readers have enjoyed the interviews you've done with individual officers, but they're always polished." He pulled out the chair from the empty desk beside mine and sat on the corner of it. "People know what the Defense Force does. They don't know who they are." He tapped the folder. "I don't want another office interview."

I looked back up.

"I want you embedded with them."

"...Embedded?"

"You'll spend several days with the division. Observe morning briefings. Watch training. Eat with them if they'll let you. Follow maintenance crews. Medical staff. Logistics. I want the mundane."

"The boring stuff?" Himari asked.

"The human stuff." His voice softened just enough to make me realize how serious he was.

"People see heroes fighting kaiju on television. They don't see the officers helping each other clean equipment after a mission. They don't see rookies getting corrected. They don't see what makes these divisions families."

I looked back down at the folder. That... Actually sounded incredible.

"We've already interviewed Vice-Captain Hoshina," I said carefully.

"Exactly why I assigned you." My eyes lifted again.

"You've established a rapport with him. He's already approved interviews through your paper before, and Captain Ashiro signed off on the request this morning."

Captain Ashiro... So this had already been arranged.

Mr. Big Bossman leaned back with a satisfied nod. "They've agreed to let us photograph and document their day-to-day routines with minimal restrictions. Naturally, anything classified is off limits."

Himari was already flipping through the packet. "Oh my God."

"What?"

"They included a schedule." She turned it toward me.

Morning physical training. Weapons drills. Cafeteria. Squad meetings. Maintenance rotations. Evening strategy sessions.

Three full days. Three days inside the Third Division.

"I'll be honest," Mr. Big Bossman admitted. "This is the most access the Defense Force has granted a newspaper in years."

"No pressure," Himari whispered.

"Exactly. Don't waste it."

He stood, straightening his tie.

"And one more thing." We both looked at him.

"You're there to observe, not interfere."

"Obviously."

He gave Himari a pointed look. "I mean it."

"I only interfered one time."

"The kaiju attack."

"I feel like that's a reasonable exception." She shrugged. She was drunk and desperate for a good story. A little too desperate.

"It absolutely was," he conceded. "I'd simply rather not receive another phone call informing me that one of my reporters has been caught in the middle of a combat zone."

"...Noted."

Satisfied, he turned to leave, then stopped in the doorway.

"Oh, and Y/N."

"Yes?"

"Try not to flirt with the Vice-Captain while you're representing the paper."

Silence.

Himari's head whipped toward me.

My face immediately burned. "I—"

The office door clicked shut before I could defend myself.

Himari slowly turned in her chair. "...So."

"I hate him."

"You didn't deny it."

"I hate both of you."

She grinned so hard I thought her cheeks might split. "Oh, this assignment is going to be fun."

By the time work ended, the assignment packet had been opened and reread enough times that the corners were beginning to curl.

"I still can't believe we're actually doing this," Himari said as we crossed the street. "Three whole days with the Defense Force."

"I know."

"No." She pointed the packet at me dramatically. "You don't know. You're thinking about one Defense Force officer."

"I am thinking about the assignment."

"Mhmm."

"The assignment."

"The vice captain-shaped assignment."

I rolled my eyes, though I couldn't stop the smile tugging at my lips. "You are insufferable."

"And you're in denial."

The familiar wooden sign of Donny's bar came into view, and as soon as we stepped inside, the comfortable buzz of conversation washed over us. Glasses clinked together while quiet laughter drifted from scattered booths. It wasn't one of those loud bars where people came to forget themselves. Donny had somehow created a place that felt more like everyone's living room.

She looked up from drying a glass the moment we walked in. "Well," she said, setting the towel over her shoulder. "Either you two got promoted, or someone got dumped."

Himari slid onto her usual stool. "Why can't it be something in between?"

Donny looked between us. "...One promoted. One dumped?" Her eyes scanned between the both of us.

"Close enough." I shrugged.

He chuckled. "The usual?"

"Orange juice," we answered in unison.

"I don't know why I even ask anymore." Donny reached beneath the counter, grabbing two chilled bottles before pouring them over ice. She set the drinks in front of us with practiced ease.

"There." She leaned against the counter. "Now tell me."

Himari didn't hesitate. "We got assigned to the Third Division!"

Donny blinked. "The Defense Force?"

"Not just an interview," I added, unable to hide my excitement anymore. "Three full days."

Her eyebrows lifted. "Seriously?"

I nodded, sliding the assignment packet across the counter for him to skim. "They're letting us observe everything they can. Morning training, maintenance, meals, strategy meetings..."

Donny whistled. "That's a lot of trust."

"I know."

"It's also a lot of opportunities for good stories." I smiled into my glass.

"That's what Mr. Big Bossman said."

Donny flipped through another page before setting the packet back down. "So..." His eyes found mine. "...does Vice-Captain Pretty Eyes know you're coming?"

I nearly inhaled orange juice. "Cough—what?"

Himari burst into laughter. "I knew it!" she shouted.

Donny looked genuinely confused. "What?"

"You've been calling him that?"

"I've been calling him that since she first told me about him."

"You never told me!"

"You never asked."

Himari leaned across the bar.

"Donny."

"Yeah?"

"Tell her she's hopeless."

He looked at me thoughtfully. "I don't know."

"Donny." Himari continued

"What?"

"I think she's trying very hard not to be."

I frowned. "What does that mean?"

She shrugged. "I've watched enough people sit on those stools to recognize the look."

"There is no look."

"There definitely is."

I groaned. "I came here for support."

"You came to a bartender."

"Exactly!" My arms outstretched.

"Our job description is listening."

"And judging," Himari added.

Donny smiled. "Mostly listening."

I rested my elbows on the counter. "I just... don't know." Neither of them interrupted. "I keep thinking if he wanted to talk to me, he would've by now." The words sounded much smaller once they were spoken aloud.

"It's only been two days," Donny said gently.

"It feels longer."

"I know."

She picked up another glass to polish. "People in jobs like his don't always get the luxury of normal schedules."

"I know."

"Doesn't make waiting any easier."

"...No."

Himari nudged my shoulder. "Can I tell you what I think?"

"You usually do."

"I think both of you are idiots."

Donny laughed.

She counted on her fingers. "You won't text him because you want him to text first."

"Correct."

"He probably won't text you because he doesn't want to seem pushy after... you know."

I felt my face warm. "...After."

"So congratulations." She lifted her glass. "You're both overthinking."

Donny raised her own glass of water. Obviously, she couldn't drink on the job. "I'll drink to that."

I sighed dramatically before clinking my glass against theirs. "To overthinking," I said weakly.

"To overthinking," they echoed.

For a few minutes, we talked about everything except Vice-Captain Hoshina. We debated which division member would be the hardest to interview, whether the cafeteria food was actually edible, and if we'd be expected to wake up before sunrise to match the officers' schedule. Donny listened with an amused smile the entire time. Then, just as I finished the last sip of orange juice, she asked casually,

"So..."

I looked up.

"What're you gonna do if Vice-Captain Pretty Eyes acts as if nothing happened?"

The question landed squarely in my chest. I opened my mouth. Closed it again. Because, embarrassingly... I hadn't thought that far ahead.