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Ace was jolted out of his unplanned nap by a hand slamming down on the desk he had been working at. He looked up at his boss, barely having a mind to peel a piece of paper off of his face to actually get a look at him. And boy did he wish he hadn’t because he looked pissed. Well, his boss did know of his narcolepsy. He opened his mouth to offer an apology but his boss swiftly cut him off.
“How is your story going? Didn’t you say you would handle the story on The Phoenix?” Demanded his boss, anger in those deep brown eyes.
“I…” Ace started then trailed off before he picked up his train of thought. “I’m almost done with it” A lie. He hadn’t even started. Primarily because the damn guy was elusive as hell. While other vigilantes were willing to answer questions, The Phoenix was not one of them.
“You have until tomorrow to get it done or you can kiss your job goodbye” snapped his boss before storming off.
“Fuck” Was the grumbled word that made it out of the freckled man's mouth as he ran aggravated hands over his face. It wasn’t like he wasn’t trying. He had been out late all week with only a glimpse of the winged vigilante. Hell. He might as well quit at this point. His boss had handed him an impossible story.
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And that was how Ace found himself out in the dark streets rather than safely at home with his brothers. God. He would prefer that to chasing a ghost. Hell, he might as well have put that literally. The guy was there one second then gone the next. Ace knew a little bit about him but it was just what everyone else knew. He had been doing this a long time, he’s one of the few flying heroes in the city and he’s practically immortal. No one has ever managed to get an interview with him.
His boss hated him. Ace had decided that a long time ago and now it was clear. As if it hadn’t already been glaringly obvious that the guy hated him. Hated him since day one and now he was going to fire him over an impossible story. Damn. This was stupid. He should’ve followed Sabo's advice and gotten another job a long while ago. But he was too damn stubborn to. Didn’t want to give up right away.
With an aggravated sigh and a brief thought of just going home, Ace glanced briefly to the sky. His grey eyes widened in surprise when he spotted the azure wings of a certain vigilante just passing by. “O-Oi!” Shouted Ace, trying to get his attention as he chased after him. Instead, he got nothing. God. He felt like such a fool. Chasing after some bird that didn’t even want to give him the time of day.
A harsh bank over an alley and Ace was following just to try and keep up. Unfortunately, as he had glanced around to orientate himself, the Phoenix had vanished and he had been led into a dead end. An aggravated scream ripped itself from his throat and he threw down the bag that he had brought with him. Fuck. He was such an idiot. The Phoenix saw his chance and fucking took it.
“Why are you following me, yoi?” Asked a voice from behind Ace. The journalist whirled around to get a glimpse at who was behind him. The Phoenix, in all his glory, was standing behind him. Mask half-covering his face modeled to resemble some sort of bird, blond hair tousled by the wind that seemed to primarily spike out like leaves from the top of his head and azure wings folded just behind him. Closer, he could see shades of gold mixed throughout those brilliant feathers. His costume consisted of cropped pants, sandals of all things, his hands were covered in gloves that were almost talon-like, and what looked like a jacket was closed over his chest. Those blue eyes were boring into Aces' soul and he was finding it difficult to form a coherent thought.
The Phoenix was fucking handsome. Double Aces age but damn. His brain finally caught up with him as The Phoenix took a step closer. “I just want to ask a few questions. For the New World Post” He finally answered. The Phoenix was right in front of him and he couldn’t even think of a single question. He had done what no one else had done just by being his usual persistent self.
Too long the silence stretched on. God. He was going to die, wasn’t he? He was going to get murdered by the elusive Phoenix.
“Fine”
“Wait. Really?” Asked Ace, shock present on his face. The Phoenix just agreed to answer some questions. Agreed to Ace asking him questions. And the damn bird had the nerve to look amused by his response.
“Really, yoi” That was all it took for Ace to grab up his bag and yank out his paper and pen to jot down notes. By the end of the night, he had plenty to turn into a story. But before he could thank him for actually talking to him, The Phoenix was gone. The only reminder that he had agreed to talk to Ace was a long, blue feather tipped with that brilliant gold that traced a few feathers. And he took it. As a reminder.
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“Damn! I can’t believe you managed to get an interview!” Shouted Thatch after hearing about how Ace had almost smugly turned in his impossible task. “How the hell did you even do it?” Asked the man, leaning over to peer at Ace.
“Being a persistent bastard I guess” Answered Ace. He had told the story but even Thatch was a little skeptical. Then again, his friend was having trouble with his own story. Specifically that he would get taunted then immediately ditched. It had turned into a sort of game. Except their boss had patience when it came to Thatch so he wasn’t pissed with him. Guess it was because he had been there longer than Ace.
Before he even had a chance to continue the conversation or ask how Thatch was dealing with his own story, a paper being set down on his desk drew his attention. He noted it was open to the article he had written then followed the hand up to the face. The blue eyes were sleepy-looking and the blond hair vaguely resembled the hair he had seen last night on The Phoenix. Much tamer in comparison.
“It was a good read, yoi” Was the comment before the man released the paper and walked off before Ace could even process what had been said or even say thank you.
Then his brain had caught up. Yoi . The Phoenix said yoi a lot last night. Coincidence? Nope. No way. The Phoenix was not here in his office, dressed as a civilian. He was just hearing things, hoping he’d get to see the handsome vigilante again.
“Uh… Ace? You okay there?” Came Thatches worried voice.
“Yeah. I’m okay. Just… thought I recognized him” Answered Ace before he turned back to his work, eyes briefly glancing at the paper that had been set on his desk. Maybe if he prodded enough, he could get the stranger's name. Or maybe he would run into him again. Just like he hoped with The Phoenix