"Are you sure you don't need to be in the shop? It's a Saturday." Carissa pointed out, deciding against taking another swig of her coffee.

An older, silvery-white-haired man sat across from her, choosing the opposite and sipping his espresso. "My second-in-charge's got it. I asked for the day off, anyway." He said. "Wanted to see my little girl."

A small smile crept onto Carissa's face. "It's been a while." She mentioned.

"How's your job?" Her father, Wade, asked. "You didn't sound so eager over the phone the other day."

"It's been stressful. I've been doing extra work lately." Carissa vaguely explained, referring to the literal work itself and dealing with both her boss and coworker's attitudes. She and her father were currently sitting at a cafe different from the one next to her work building, catching up in person. It was her father's idea to come here and share some coffee and pastries since they hadn't done it in so long.

"I heard about the break-in." Wade said, looking in her the eye. "Why didn't you tell me about it?"

His words only made her realize she never in fact told him about what occurred at her work on Thursday. Carissa put her coffee down and wiped a hand over her face. "I'm sorry-I totally forgot." She admitted. "I've just been so busy lately with work, it slipped my mind."

"Are they overworking you?"

"Kind of."

"Then inform them, sweetie." Wade said. "I can tell you're very worn out. We haven't been able to talk as much."

"I've tried informing them. Let's just say my boss and coworkers don't care too much." Carissa vaguely explained again.

Her father gave a small frown. "Then contact Human Resources and file a complaint. Or quit. I've told you you can always come work for me if you don't want to be there anymore." He said, scanning his daughter's posture. "Honey, you look like you need more than just the weekend off. You know you can tell me if something's going on, right? I'll always be here to help you."

"I know. I appreciate it, Daddy." Carissa thanked him.

Frankly, there really wasn't much happening aside from her boss Mr. Baxter wanting to get into her pants and 'punishing' her for rejecting him and her coworker Nicola showing her distaste towards her. But Carissa didn't want to worry her father over some silly little altercations regarding her work 'buddies'. He was getting older and had enough to deal with when it came to his own job.

"What exactly happened at your job?"

"Some important documents got stolen by Japanese villains. I don't know which ones."

"…But weren't you working late that night?"

"I left just before they showed up."

"Were they caught?"

"I doubt it. Heroes from Japan did an investigation in the building. They said they had to catch them."

"Are they still here? I haven't heard anything about that on the news." Wade pointed out.

"I don't believe so, but there's one hero from Japan who's hanging around to make sure." Carissa said, seeing no harm in bringing the hero up. "It's Hawks who's still here."

Wade's eyes slightly popped in surprise. "Oh, him? That fast fella? Well, it's good to know someone's staying behind incase. If they are still here, that guy can snatch them up easily." He said before sipping from his espresso again.

"He's staying next to the marina in the city."

Wade's eyes were closed, but opened them to gaze at his daughter in surprise before growing curiously. "How do you know that?" He asked.

"He visited me after work yesterday when I decided to walk by the marina." Carissa said. "He said he would be here for a little bit."

"Oh, you actually met him in person?"

"He was at my building, too. We briefly interacted."

"Oh! Lucky you! It's not every day we get to interact with heroes from Japan." Wade said with a smile.

Carissa returned the smile, but not his feelings toward the matter. If she were any other person, she'd find her own behavior to be rather odd. Any girl would feel so blessed for such an attractive, angelic man to take an interest and willingly approach them. But Carissa wasn't like those girls. Back then, she probably would have felt lucky and giggly about Hawks himself coming to her. Twice. But that wouldn't be the case today.

His daughter lightly groaned. Carissa's hand swayed a little as she tried to drink from her cup. Her beautiful eyes were drooping, staring at the table instead of her coffee.

"Sweetheart, I think you should go home and rest."

"I can still talk."

"You look like you need to sleep. Here, I'll drive you home."

Carissa would've asked about his own car if she hadn't known he could just tow it and have staff pick him up. She apologized for coming in for coffee like this, but Wade assured her it was fine. However, he did mention again to contact Human Resources to speak about the workload her boss was weighing on her. While driving home, Carissa offered for him to come in until his employee arrived.

Her home wasn't luxurious or anything. It was actually on a very short and secluded street with only two other homes. The house itself was a one-story and small, fitting for one person. It belonged to her great-great paternal grandparents and was passed down to the descendants. Beautiful vines with flowers grew all around the brick house and trees stood too close to the structure, stray grasses growing from old cracks in the ground. The atmosphere held a very old, yet elegant appearance to it. The neighboring homes were of the same style and the neighbors were older, but kind.

After waiting in the house for his staff to arrive, Wade parted with his daughter, who saw him off and thanked him for the coffee. Her father was right-she was tired. That coffee had zero effect on her. As soon as she entered her bedroom, she heard the bed practically calling out to her. Not even bothering to undress, Carissa only kicked off her shoes and collapsed onto the soft bedding and curled up, drifting off.

Despite the curtains being closed, Hawks could hear her light snoring. He crouched on the roof of the other house diagonal from Carissa's. Hawks scanned the area to make sure no one was around before landing here. He smiled, now knowing where she lived. Beautiful and quiet place, this tiny neighborhood. Carissa had nice taste when it came to living arraignments.

Still smiling, Hawks flapped his wings and took off, knowing no one will see him go. Sleep well, baby bird.