The rooftop of the agency was quiet, save for the distant hum of the city below. You leaned against the railing, eyes trained on the skyline, trying to drown out the weight of today’s mission. It had been rough—too many civilians caught in the crossfire, too many close calls. Your fingers clenched around the fabric of your gloves as you exhaled sharply.

A familiar rustle of feathers signaled Keigo’s arrival.

“Y’know, if you stare any harder at that horizon, you might set it on fire,” he teased, his usual playful lilt in full effect.

You didn’t respond, still caught up in the mess of your thoughts. Keigo, undeterred, strolled up beside you, resting his elbows on the railing. “Alright, tough crowd tonight,” he hummed, tilting his head to study your expression. “Guess I’ll have to break out the big guns.”

You barely had time to register the smirk on his lips before he leaned in ever so slightly, voice dropping just enough to be maddening.

“You know, if you wanted to be the only hotheaded Enji kid I paid attention to, you could’ve just said so,” he murmured, golden eyes gleaming with mischief.

You blinked once. Twice. And then, without looking at him, you deadpanned, “Takami, I swear to god, not now.”

“Aww, c’mon,” he pouted dramatically. “You love my jokes.”

You finally turned to glare at him. “No. I tolerate your jokes.”

Keigo placed a hand over his heart as if wounded. “Tolerate? Babe, that’s practically love in bird language.”

Keigo caught the tiny upward twitch on your mouth immediately, grin widening. “Ah-ha! There it is. Knew I’d get a reaction.” He nudged you lightly with his wing. “You wanna talk about it, or should I keep pulling terrible pickup lines out of my back pocket?”

You sighed, finally letting some of the tension ease from your shoulders. Keigo was an idiot—your idiot, in some ways. And as much as you hated to admit it, his ridiculous flirting did make the weight of the day a little easier to bear.