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Pro Hero Shipping was a given.
Who didn’t want to imagine how wonderful things would be if your favorite Pro Hero noticed you and only you among everyone else? If that one time they saved you from a Villain, your eyes met and stars filled your eyes.
Immediate attraction.
Fast passion or a slow burn meeting of eyes that happened with each and every interaction that fate kept throwing your way.
Izuku was more than happy to add his own fantasies to the mix. OC x All Might topped the popularity charts and people were more than happy to self-insert over another’s self-insert. Izuku’s fics sat proudly on the third or forth page of popularity, only beat out by…racier stories.
He had never worked up the nerve to write that sort of thing himself, but he was more than happy to read the ones others did.
Admittedly, he’d started updating his own stories on the Pro Hero Self-Ship Archive less often after meeting All Might in person, but he didn’t want to delete them either. He had a pretty solid group of dedicated fans and it’d be a shame to let them down!
Izuku was careful not to add in too many real world facts, though. He didn’t want to give himself away!
Safe in his school dorm, Izuku scrolled through the archive pages looking for anything new to read. He hadn’t checked in a while and All Might had smiled at him earlier that day—it made Izuku’s heart race. His crush had been strong since he knew what feelings were and it wasn’t going anywhere anything soon.
So he searched for stories to help keep it at bay—for just a bit.
When he reached page three of the newest updates, Izuku’s phone rang and caught him off guard. He jerked and knocked his mouse off the desk, before scrambling for the phone.
A spam call.
Izuku sighed and picked his mouse up and put it back on the desk. It’d clicked on accident when it fell and hit a random tag.
“OC x Endeavor,” Izuku read, scrunching his nose at the top. He supposed he saw the appeal if you had never met the man personally, but still—not something he wanted to ruin his night. “Let’s move on from—huh.”
The text “HotChicken” stood out on the most recently updated story. In the summary, it read “There’s a new chapter, but after this no more updates. Sorry guys!”
Izuku didn’t know why he clicked the name “HotChicken,” but something in his gut told him to do so. It led him to an archive of stories all dedicated to an OC named “Chicken” who was exclusively paired with Endeavor.
“Chicken” was a model, had blond hair, and Hawks really had not been subtle when he developed his self-insert OC character.
Izuku grinned and scrolled to the end of the archive, smiling wider when he counted back the years: Hawks started to write fanfics when he was fourteen or fifteen—the same age Izuku had started.
They were kindred spirits!
Izuku grabbed a pen and a notebook and dashed out into the hallway. Tokoyami was sure to have Hawks’ contact info!
“Okay, kiddo,” Hawks said. He’d invited Izuku out to lunch after receiving his email. “I need you to forget you saw anything related to this supposed HotChicken person.”
Izuku’s shoulders dropped and he pulled his brainstorming notebook off the table and put it in his lap. “Why?”
Hawks leaned over and whispered, “Kid, I work with Endeavor now. I can not be tied to someone writing self-insert fanfiction about him. It’ll wreck both of our reputations and ruin any real chance I have with—the point is it’ll be bad for publicity.”
Izuku pushed down a wave of jealousy.
As much as he liked All Might, Izuku knew he had no real chance to be the man. Hawks could literally live out his dream and he was worried about PR?
“I’m not going to tell anyone your username,” Izuku said. He tapped his fingers on his notebook and shrugged. “I thought it’d be fun to talk about similar interests and share ideas.”
“I’m not writing those sorts of stories any more,” Hawks said. He huffed and leaned back, dipping a chicken nugget in sauce before popping it in his mouth. “The only reason I’m not deleting them entirely is because there is like….nothing for Endeavor fans. I’m not reducing what little there already is.”
Izuku bit his lip. “It’s not like there’s a big demand for it, either.”
Hawks jabbed another chicken nugget into the sauce and glared. “It’s not my fault if the fans don’t have good taste.”
“Oh, I think they do,” Izuku said. He shrugged with a smile. “I mean, All Might has the most stories by a landslide.”
“Popular doesn’t mean good,” Hawks snapped back. He huffed and pulled out his wallet, dropping money on the table. “How about this? You keep that HotChicken thing to yourself and I won’t tell anyone the stuff you write about All Might in your spare time.”
Hawks patted the table and walked off with a huff. He stretched his wings further down the street and flew off with burst of wind.
Izuku put his notebook back on the table and rested his cheek in his hand.
So much for brainstorming story ideas or talking with someone like himself.
Hawks had been so defensive, it was almost like he was ashamed of the things he wrote—just how bad was it? Did he write something super invasive or degrading?
Izuku couldn’t help looking over his shoulder twice before pulling up HotChicken’s account on his phone and scrolling to the first story posted. He started reading, from the oldest to newest.
Love letters.
Izuku stared at his dorm ceiling and crossed his hands over his chest. “Love letters” was the only way he could describe the stories that Hawks wrote under the guise of “Chicken.”
Those stories weren’t crushes coming to life in fantasy.
They weren’t self-indulgent “what-ifs” or excitement for personal use.
They were just personal.
And deep.
HotChicken’s stories were raw and exposing and there was only one conclusion deep in the words: Hawks was in love with Endeavor.
Truly and deeply in love with Endeavor.
“And he works with him every day,” Izuku said, clutching the front of his shirt. Standing next to All Might, Izuku could feel his chest beating faster. He felt the flutter of pining thanks to his crush, but even deep down he knew he wasn’t in-love, in-love with All Might. “How much worse must it be for Hawks?”
To stand next to the one he loved most and that man have no idea how much Hawks liked him.
Izuku sat up and looked at his computer.
He couldn’t let things stay that way.
Endeavor had to know.
“I got a package from Shouto,” Endeavor said, a tiny smile on his face. Hawks pulled a sucker out from his mouth and looked at the larger man behind his desk. “I wonder why he mailed it to work instead of the house.”
“Maybe he just wanted to annoy you?” Hawks offered. He hopped out of his visitor’s chair and tossed the papers he’d been reviewing onto the chair. “What’d he send you?”
Endeavor opened the end of the package and dropped a small USB stick into his hand. It was decorated in All Might’s colors and Endeavor sighed. “Or maybe he’s being petulant.”
“Let’s give him the benefit of the doubt, big guy.” Hawks patted Endeavor on the back and took the USB Stick from his hand. He covered the All Might red, white, and yellow with his hand. Only the silver connection was exposed as he waved it back and forth. “Your kid is kinda spacey, so I bet he just picked up the first USB stick he saw.”
“Perhaps.”
“Let’s see what he sent you!” Hawks popped the USB Stick into Endeavor’s laptop port and whistled as the computer recognized it. “Maybe it’ll be a good thing.”
The name of the drive appeared and Hawks’ wings dropped as Endeavor read it out loud: “The HotChicken Archive. What is—Hawks!”
Hawks ripped the USB Stick out of the drive and forced out a laugh. “Oh, man! What a prankster!”
“Hawks?” Endeavor asked. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”
The HotChicken Archive was what was wrong. He was going to murder a certain U.A. student that didn’t know how to mind his own business. There was no way Shouto had looked up Endeavor stories online. It had to be Deku.
Had to be.
But before he could pay, Hawks had to make Endeavor forget he ever heard those words!
“Oh man, I saved you! You’ll have to thank me later, Boss,” Hawks said. Endeavor kept starting at him, the flames on his face flickering in suspicion. “I recognized the uh, title of the file and it’s a harmless little prank piece of malware. I pulled it before it could install.”
“What does it do?”
“Installs a little chicken that runs around on your desktop,” Hawks said, proud of his quick thinking. It covered the title of the the drive and withdrew suspicion. “You know me! I love my birds, so I keep up with that sort of thing.”
“I suppose I should thank you then.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Hawks shoved the drive in his back pocket and walked back to the chair. He picked up his paperwork and said, “That was a good laugh, but we still have work to do!”
Endeavor always liked it when Hawks kept on task.
“You’re right.” Endeavor turned back to his work and started typing. “Please finish up your half.”
“Will do!”
Hawks sweated through the rest of their work day. The USB Stick burned a hole in his pocket the entire time and that little brat better be thankful Hawks stopped Endeavor before he saw the files.
It meant he’d only scare the kid instead of actually hurting him.
“Is something bothering you, father?” Fuyumi asked, setting the table. Enji and she were alone for the evening, with Natsuo out with his friends and Shouto at the dorm. Fuyumi looked over her shoulder and pointed at her brow. “It’s furrowed.”
“Shouto sent me a prank at work and I’m not sure how to address it,” Enji said. “I should probably leave it alone.”
“That might be for the best,” Fuyumi said. She smiled and brought over the dinner plates. “But even if it’s a prank, it’s still interaction—which is something!”
Enji nodded.
Negative attention was still attention. Nothing was healed over night, but small interactions could turn into something bigger.
“What was the prank?” Fuyumi asked. “It’s hard to picture Shouto pulling something like that. It makes me wonder if his friends at school put him up to it.”
“Possibly,” Enji said. “Hawks stopped it before the prank could run, but apparently Shouto found an app called ‘The HotChicken Archive’ that would make chickens run across my desktop.”
Fuyumi made a choking noise.
“Are you okay?” Enji asked. “You didn’t choke on your food did you?”
She shook her head. “Did you say the disc had ‘The HotChicken Archive’ on it?”
“Yes?” Enji put his cup down. “Do you know about it, too? Is it a popular prank.”
“And Shouto sent it to you.”
“Yes? Hawks pulled the USB drive out of the computer before it could do anything and explained.”
“Oh, I bet he did,” Fuyumi said. She picked up a napkin and wiped her mouth and exhaled. “I’m glad Hawks was there.”
Enji nodded once more and pulled over his dinner. Perhaps the prank was more serious than he thought if both his daughter and Hawks were concerned about it. He could admit that he was not the most up-to-date when it came to computers.
Maybe he should learn how to remove such things if someone other than his son decided to send him pranks or malware to his computer.
After dinner, Enji went to his personal study and pulled up his computer. He wasn’t the best with software and such, but he wasn’t entirely inept. Enji pulled up a search engine and typed in “The HotChicken Archives,” hoping to find details of the prank software in more detail and instructions of how to remove it.
He couldn’t rely on Hawks forever for assistance with that sort of thing.
The first result was not what he expected—but it matched the title.
Enji clicked on the link and found himself staring at an archive of stories? He went back to the search and scrolled down the list—every entry took him back to the archive story page.
He clicked back to the first link and read the page.
Izuku should have thought his plan through.
“What the hell were you thinking!” Hawks screamed, wings displayed and threatening as he cornered Izuku in an alley in town. No pedestrians were around. No on could hear them. It was just Hawks, Izuku, and his small bag of snacks he’d bought on a trip into town. Hawks held the USB Stick in front of Izuku’s face. “He almost saw what was on this!”
“I thought he should know!” Izuku held his hands up and his back smacked into the wall. “You love him so much and it’s not fair to you!”
“That’s my call!” Hawks growled and back up. His wings continued to flap in agitation and he bit his lip. “You could have ruined everything. He’s never going to like me the way I want, so I just…want to keep what we have. He can’t know about this.”
Hawks held up the USB stick and turned in the side of his palm. He tossed it up and a feather flew from his back and speared it through the center, shattering it.
“He can’t know about it,” Hawks said. He flapped his wings twice more and scowled. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go delete my entire archive to be safe and you don’t pull this shit again.”
“I’m sorry,” Izuku said. He crossed his arms and sighed. “I really just wanted to help. I thought if he read your stories, there’s no way your feelings wouldn’t get through to him.”
“That’s not how life works,” Hawks said. He rubbed the side of his face and exhaled. “Leave it alone.”
He flew away and Izuku’s heart dropped.
At least nothing unfixable happened.
Endeavor stood in front of Hawks’ apartment door.
The man stared at him with an odd expression, his hands in his pockets and dressed down in civilian clothes.
“Can I uh, do something for you, big guy?” Hawks asked, approaching his door. He kept himself at the ready in case he had to sprint—Endeavor looked far too serious. “Did something happen?”
“I looked up The Hot Chicken Archive,” Endeavor said. Hawks swallowed and kept his mouth shut. “It’s not a computer prank.”
“Yeah?” Hawks said. He could still deny it. Maybe he could convince Endeavor someone set him up. Pretended to be him! Or—or he could just not say anything. Endeavor’s eyes bore into him, cold and calculating and Hawks was going to lose everything, wasn’t he? “I guess I was wrong.”
“We should talk,” Endeavor said, stepping away from the door. He nodded toward it and waited for Hawks to approach and unlock it. “I must confess, I read the entire archive.”
Hawks stuck his key in the door. “The entire archive?”
“All forty-seven stories you had listed on your archive,” Endeavor said. “Your writing style greatly improved over the years.
Hawks twisted the key in the door and shoved it open. At least two of those stories were over one-hundred words each. The average was around thirty to forty thousand words. Endeavor had only heard about “The HotChicken Archive” yesterday—how much time had he spent reading?
He stumbled into his apartment, aware that Endeavor was still at his back. The man followed him in and removed his coat at the door.
“You want some tea?” Hawks asked, hoping to avoid the subject at hand as long as possible. He didn’t want to talk about his self-insert fanfiction. He didn’t want to talk about his hopes and dreams and desperate self-indulgent fantasies with Endeavor. The man was never supposed to see them. Hawks threw his coat off and went into his kitchen. “I can make some.”
“Hawks.”
Endeavor’s voice was soft and firm. It demanded attention and Hawks had no choice but to turn around and face him.
The taller man walked closer and pulled his hands out of his pockets.
Hawks held his breath.
Endeavor swallowed and cleared his throat. “I have one question.”
“What?” Hawks asked. He had a thousand examples in his mind: How could you write such disgusting things about me? How could you violate me that way? What were you thinking? Hawks would take it. He wrote the stories. He’d accept the consequences. “You’ve already seen the worst of it, so I’ve got nothing to hide.”
“How much of those stories was pure fantasy and how much is something you’d actually like to try?” Endeavor asked. He put a hand on the back of his neck and the smallest smile graced his face. “Because a first date at a coffee shop sounds rather pleasant.”
Hawks snorted and his shoulders dropped.
He grinned back and licked his lip. “You really want to know which was which?”
“Yes,” Endeavor said in return. “And perhaps in exchange, I’ll share some of the things that I have been thinking but never committed to the page the way you have.”
Hawks laughed and collapsed into his kitchen chair.
His heart felt light and all he wanted to do was write—later, after Endeavor left.
Izuku had an email from Hawks.
He clicked it and frowned at the small text of “I forgive you” that was at the top, followed by a series of two links. The first was titled “For you” and the second “For me.”
Izuku clicked the first and he was met with a story document on The HotChicken’s archive that said “Gift Fic for an All Might fan.” He blushed as he covered his mouth and saw the very long story about the OC Midori getting together with his hot teacher All Might.
He went back to the email and clicked the second one and it pulled up another document by HotChicken.
“I changed my mind! I’m totally still writing, guys!” It started in the author’s notes. “I will admit I was embarrassed to be writing self-insert stories, but some encouragement from someone very important to me has not only got me pumped to write more stories but is providing plenty of inspiration ;D”
Izuku looked back at the title and saw the new story was titled “Chicken and Endeavor’s Coffee Date, set up by an All Might fan.”
He snorted and rested scrolled down, happy to read the first line and full of well wishes for the new, happy couple.