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“So explain to me why we’re out here again?” Hawks rolled his eyes at his friend’s question. Sure, Endeavor was a busy hero and he usually worked through his lunch breaks or spent them cooped up in his office, but this, this was the most important thing the two of them would ever do. Hawks shushed the bigger man as he zoomed in with his binoculars. Standing on the street corner was in Hawks oh so humble opinion, the best student in the entire universe who he loved so much for all eternity and will eventually adopt because I mean come on, that was practically his son, “I know I agreed to come with you, but what are we actually doing?”
Hawks sighed and pulled the near giant down to a crouch and handed him the binoculars, “Tell me what you see.”
“A man with a cat head.”
“What? No,” Hawks moved his head to the area of interest, “Now, what do you see?”
“Two of Shouto’s classmates. And why do we have binoculars? We can see them just fine without them,” Hawks smacked his forehead.
“Endeavor, imagine you have children-”
“I have four-”
“ANYWAY, imagine you have kids that you love very very much. But they are very naive and don’t know about the dangers around them. And then you try and spend time with them and they tell you they’re going on a date! And not just any date, a date with him!” He said pointing at Bakugou.
“Baby bird!!”
“Hawks, please just call me Tokoyami,” the student sighed. It was almost time for him to go home and not have to come back to his internship until next Wednesday. Hawks, of course, wasn’t going to go three days without hanging out with his unofficially adopted son. Besides, on most days he had to teach him and do stuff like fight crime which is fun but he wants to do something different with his baby bird.
“So, have any plans for tomorrow? I thought maybe we can fly around a little, go see a movie, go to dinner? I know a great place that-”
“Sorry, I have a date tomorrow.”
“A what?”
“A date.”
“Oh...with who?”
“Bakugou.”
“WHO?”
“Bakugou, won the Sports Festival, explosive quirk.”
“Ah.”
“A date! At his age, can you imagine? And with him,” Hawks hissed glaring at Bakugou. The blond was standing next to Tokoyami, smiling at him like he hadn’t been plotting ways to deflower the shorter teen, “He’s going to defile Tokoyami and as his father, I cannot allow that to happen.”
“Hawks...you are twenty-two and not a father. And he is in high school, he is probably very capable of keeping himself flowered. Now let’s go-”
“They’re on the move!” Before Endeavor could say anything else Hawks began running after the duo who had already begun walking down the street. Tokoyami wasn’t like a lot of his other mentees, he went to the number one hero school in Japan after all. He had a super awesome quirk with a shit ton of potential, and he was a fellow avian. Sure he was “full of darkness” but Hawks knew deep down his little chick was just an innocent baby bird who wasn’t ready to leave the nest yet. And now this, this Kat(suki) was ripping him away, about to gobble him up. He could not allow it.
“Oi, Fumi? Wanna go get a milkshake or a bagel or something? I saw they had poppy seed bagels in the display.” Hawks scoffed, what kind of nickname was Fumi? This kid was acting way too familiar, not only calling him by his first name but also a nickname of his first name. Despicable. And they were going to get milkshakes-
“Endeavor, find rocks! We need rocks,” he scoured the ground in a frenzy, looking for any good sized stones. He was well aware of this trick, get one milkshake and two straws and then they’d drink it together while looking into each other’s eyes like some American movie! Picking up a small pebble that was as smooth as Tokoyami’s beak (yes he had touched it and no Tokoyami was not awake when he did it) , Hawks stood back up and threw it straight for Bakugou’s head and hit the blonde from behind.
“WHAT THE FUCK!” Hawks snickered as he watched the blonde look around for possible assailants. Now Tokoyami would see him be angry and scary and run back to-
“Katsuki, it’s okay. Sometimes crows carry rocks and drop them. Maybe you were just unlucky today. Does it hurt?” The shorter teen reached around and pressed his hand into Bakugou’s hair, causing the blonde to melt in his touch like a touch starved kitten.
“Hawks, they are touching.”
“I see that Endeavor.”
XX
“What the fuck are they doing?” Hawks was expecting some shenanigans. He expected some hand holding, some stolen kisses, but not...this…
“Y-your eyes remind me of raisins,” Bakugou said running his hand across Tokoyami’s beak. He smiled softly with a pink flush across his face as he brought his lips to peck the shorter teen between the eyes.
Both of the adults’ eyes widened at the phrase. It was surely a step up from weird sexual compliments or something cringy about being part bird but in the same way as tripping down the stairs is a step up from being pushed down them.
“I-I love raisins,” Tokoyami giggled, fucking giggled.
“HOW THE HELL DID THAT WORK!”
“I know, his flirting skills are atrocious. I’m going to make a note to work on that,” Hawks jumped and turned around to see Best Jeanist writing on a notepad.
“What are you doing here?” Endeavor asked looking at the other top hero. The fashionable blond rolled his exposed eye and lifted the notepad for both heroes to see.
NOTES FOR BAKUGOU’S DATE
Needs work:
- hands get sweaty, buy gloves or work on nervousness
- Tokoyami ≠ real bird, poppy seed bagel was offensive
- WORK ON LINES, FLIRTS ARE APPALLING
Doing well:
- Making him laugh...somehow
- Light PDA, good in public
“Nice catch on the poppy seed bagel, I didn’t notice- what am I saying! You cannot help Bakugou go on dates with my mentee!” Hawks said shoving the notepad into the taller heroes chest, “Tell ‘em Endeavor.”
“Well Bakugou is his mentee, it is his job to help him.”
“That doesn’t mean he should be spying on kids like some weirdo!”
“Well isn’t this the hawk calling the crow a bird. No, that was stupid, I should’ve just stuck with the pot calling the kettle black.”
“But we’re both blonde,” Hawks said pointing at his hair.
“Sorry to interrupt, but the children are leaving,” Hawks looked and cursed as he saw the pair walking down the street, their hands dangerously close to one another. Hawks watched enough teen rom-coms and television dramas (in retrospect, he should’ve realised he needed to read some Mary Shelley and not watch Degrassi when Tokoyami referred to himself as a hero of the night and took his hero name from the Shinto moon god). He watched that movie on Netflix where the guy did the spinny pocket thing and then he and the girl fell in love in the end. He watched The Breakfast Club! Jocks and emo/goths can end up together!
“Endeavor, back me up! If my feather doesn’t cut off Bakugou’s hand then you need to use your flames to separate them! This shit can’t fly. Oh, I made a pun,” Hawks laughed to himself before his face got deadly. His right wing raised, feathers going hard as steel and sharp as knives.
And then his wings dropped, useless, not working. It was as if someone stopped his quirk…
“Eraserhead, hello,” Hawks grumbled when he heard the one name he did not want to hear come out of his companion’s mouth. Looking to the side he was met with veiny blood red eyes, floating hair, and a binding cloth that looked a little too much like two snakes coming for his throat.
“Were you about to injure my student?”
“No.”
“Oh, so in what way am I supposed to take the phrase, ‘If my feather doesn’t cut off Bakugou’s hand then you need to use your flames to separate them’?” Murderous intent. It seeped into his veins and attacked his mind like late stage meningitis. Holy fuck, Aizawa was going to kill him.
“Okay! Let’s calm down, right Shouta,” Mic said pulling Aizawa away from him, “Let’s just watch the boys get along without interfering or hurting one another,” his smile was as shaky as Hawk’s faith in Endeavor ever understanding “the younger generation” but both heroes relented, “See their about to say something, I bet it’s gonna be adorable!”
“Why you always have that red bandage thing on your neck?” Bakugou asked slowly running his fingers across the fabric.
“I have other ones, b-but this here garment matcheth the colour of thy ruby eyes,” Tokoyami finished sounding much like some kind of Heian period poet. He grabbed Bakugou’s larger hand, much to Hawk’s dismay, and planted a kiss on the back of his hand causing the blonde to blush more than he already was.
“This can’t be real,” Mic said in a way that one would know he meant to keep in his head. His voice was crossed between absolute disbelief for what he had witnessed and mild disgust, “Shouta...what are you teaching these kids?”
“Holy shit...my intern is a mess,” Hawks said slapping his hands over his face. Why was he talking like he was about to whisk away some fair maiden and not sweet talking a terrifying teenager.
The couple held hands and continued to walk...and flirt...on their way to the park, “You know sometimes when I sneeze, I set off mini explosions. They can’t hurt anyone ‘cause they’re super small and it feels like I’m holding pop rocks,” though all the adults were a bit put off by such a revelation, Tokoyami’s eyes tripled in size as he tripped over himself to tell Bakugou how much that made him “the fairest of the fair” or in normal speak, cute.
“When you yell, your voice reminds me of the howls of lost souls in the night, or of the mythical banshee singing her song.”
“Okay, there’s no way Bakugou actually would think that’s-”
“You have such a way with words.”
“What. The. FUCK!”
“Is this how teenagers talk? Through poem?” Endeavor asked whipping his phone out, “Does Shouto not answer because my texts are not in the proper format?” Hawks looked over to the older man with a straight face and nodded. With a smirk, Endeavor began typing out whatever horror his son would have to read later and most likely discuss in therapy.
Hawks crossed his arms as he continued to watch diligently. He didn’t get it, sure Bakugou was an attractive guy and would probably become a strong hero, but he was, in short- an asshole. His entire demeanor was gross! He was loud and brash and didn’t fit his baby bird’s sweet personality. Tokoyami needed security, comfort, someone who would build him a strong nest woven from the finest of stolen fibers and plucked dog fur. Someone who could attack snakes coming for their eggs, who could regurgitate food for their young.
“You’re not a real bird you freak and stop talking to yourself about my students. If you knew anything about Bakugou, you’d know just how much he actually cares for his class and takes his relationship with Tokoyami seriously.”
“Would you let your kid date Bakugou? Hmmm, Eraserhead?” Hawks asked resting his hands on his hips.
“Neither of us have children.”
“What about you Endeavor? What if Shouto tried to date Bakugou? Would you allow it?” Hawks’ eyes were pleading for the other man to take his side but when he saw Endeavor pout and scratch his chin he knew it was over.
“Well when Shouto was little he talked about wanting a bunk bed so he could sleep on the top and Bakugou looks like he’d like to sleep on the top bunk so I do not think they would work out.”
“W-what the hell are you talking about?” Hawks squeaked out, horror clearly written on his face.
“Two tops can’t be together, nor can two bottoms, there isn’t enough space. Isn’t that what the youth mean when they talk about tops and bottoms? It’s like horoscopes or something. On the Twitter, the young girls like to speculate which heroes sleep on which bunk, the top or the bottom. They guessed I would prefer the bottom bunk despite my size and they are correct. I don’t know what being tall had to do with it though. They said you like to sleep on the top bunk and that Erase-”
“OKAY ENOUGH!” They all jumped a little as Best Jeanist yelled at them. His notepad now being crushed in his clenched fist and his hair miraculously still perfectly slicked, “Endeavor please stay off the internet for all of our sakes. I’m actually begging you.”
XX
The day was quite pleasant for fall. The sun was out, the air chilled like a soda from the cooler. The leaves on the trees were changing colour and falling off the branch, and if one followed the path of the falling leaves they would see five adult men attempting to hide behind them.
“Whatever you’re thinking, don’t do it,” Aizawa growled as Hawks’ eyes fixed on a discarded newspaper. Back and forth it swayed in the soft breeze, waiting for the right amount of wind to make it fly.
“I’m not doing anything,” Hawks muttered. The breeze was in pulses, soft for a few moments then a harder breeze that almost picked up the paper’s full weight. If he just supplemented the breeze at the right moment with the right angle then he’d send the paper right into Bakugou’s face and humiliate him. Hawks took a deep breath and readied his wing. Three, two, one. NOW!
“Oh wow,” Tokoyami whispered. Hawks fucked up, he fucked up so bad. Not only was the wind too strong and carried the paper over Bakugou, but since the kid had something against clothing that fit his baggy shirt was easily floated by the breeze and showed off his stupid fucking abs. He was corrupting Tokoyami’s mind with a six-pack.
“Like what you see,” Hawks thought his ears would burst with how much he was trying to hear what Bakugou said. The one time the loud mouth chose to whisper it had to be when Hawks was going to have proof of his impurity.
“Ow, what the- what are you kids doing here?!” Aizawa yelled as he rubbed his head, a rather heavy set of binoculars had landed on him. Looking up into the tree Hawks, along with the other men blanched to see most of Class 1-A up in the trees, “And you! Have you no shame what are you doing up there?!”
“Young love is something to be celebrated, besides there is no difference between being in the tree and behind the tree,” Midnight said with a pout.
“Father, why the hell are you here?”
“Shouto...why are you in a tree?”
“I asked you first old man,” the youngest Todoroki glared from his perch looking very much like one of the cats he liked, “We’re all here for the same reason anyway.”
“Yeah so hush! We’ve been waiting here for two hours I’m ready to hear some sweet Baku pickup lines,” Kaminari said with a devilish smirk.
“Yeah to use them on Shin-” Sero yelped as Kaminari lept for him in the tree to cover his mouth before he could complete his sentence. With all the grace of a newborn wildebeest, Kaminari stumbled on top of the other teen and both of them almost fell out if it weren’t for Kirishima and Mina grabbing them and pull them back up before they could meet their demise.
“I would never, ever, ever, use any sort of line anywhere near Shinsou because I would never ever, ever ask Shinsou to go on a date with me because we are just friends, and only friends, for all eternity and forever. Please don’t kill or expel me,” the blonde whimpered looking into his teacher’s already blonde red eyes.
“Shut up! They’re about to have a moment! Maybe Bakugou will finally ask him to be his boyfriend,” Mina hissed causing everyone to look to the reason they were there in the first place. It was a scene from any shoujo manga that was ever made.
Two lovers, in the park, holding hands while staring into each other’s eyes. It would’ve been picturesque for cherry blossoms to swirl around them but it was only fitting that the two teens had leaves of red, orange, and yellow fluttering around them. Autumn, the season of change, changes like their love.
“They look so happy,” Best Jeanist said taking a quick picture.
“Yeah, I’ve had enough of this,” before anyone could stop him, Hawks ran from the treeline, propelled himself into the air before swooping down and grabbing Tokoyami. Bakugou stood there blinking and looking the now empty space before him.
“Bakugou, it’s better to have loved and lost than to have ever loved at all,” Endeavor said reading the love cliche from his phone.
“Can someone explain to me why the number two hero just kidnapped my boyfriend?”
“YOUR WHAT?!”
XX
“Hawks, what are you doing?”
“Saving you from a life of misery. Hell were you thinking? Going on a date?” Hawks admonished his mentee. Did Tokoyami know what he was doing? What dates meant? He was so innocent, a child, he was-
“A life of misery? What are you talking about I was on a date with my boyfriend.”
“YOUR WHAT!” Hawks yelled accidentally letting go of the teen and watched him fall a few feet before grabbing him again, “Bakugou is your boyfriend? Do you even know what that means?”
“I’m turning sixteen in a week. I know what a boyfriend is.”
“You’re only fifteen and you, you’re dating,” Hawks could feel the tears prick his eyes. It was only days ago he became a fledgling and now his baby bird was growing up.
“So can you return me to my boyfriend please?”
“Oh no. Hell no. An emphatic no.”