Celebrity Crush [Bakawks]

Katsuki thought he might hyperventilate when he saw the glorious figure standing before them. While he wasn’t super tall, not far off Katsuki’s own height, his wings expanded his already-bold silhouette dramatically, and he held himself with a quiet self-assuredness that Katsuki envied. Everything about him made him seem larger than life, like he was on top of the world, and everyone else was just a puppet in his little show.

“There’s my little intern!” he grinned, when Tokoyami stepped out from the shadows to greet him. “How are you? How’ve you been doing? Hi, Dark Shadow!”

Dark Shadow waved at him happily, and Tokoyami answered in a low voice, the pair of them catching up while they waited for the rest of the class to arrive.

God, Katsuki wasn’t sure he’d ever envied the goth birdbrain before, but here he was, sulking over the ease he had about talking to Hawks.

“Hawks is here as a guest teacher today,” All Might explained, when the group had gathered. “I think he wants to scout the upcoming talent, eh Hawks?”

“Actually,” Hawks answered, with a surprisingly bright smile. “I was curious what it is that the League of Villains have deemed so fascinating about your class!”

A collective gulp passed through the class, seeing right through the friendly demeanour into the Number-Two-Hero that was waiting beyond, and Izuku in particular shied away behind his classmates to avoid the pointed gaze.

As much as he wanted to say otherwise, it all made Katsuki’s heart skip a beat. Hawks was so powerful, not just for his incredible quirk and laser focus, but for the way he just seemed to take over any room he walked into, commanding respect and admiration from anyone who looked upon him.

“Shouto! Good to see you!” Hawks grinned, when he caught a glimpse of the scarred face in his audience. “Your Dad says hi!”

“Tell him I need more money for soba.”

“Will do!”

The moment they started class, Hawks’s personality flipped entirely. The sunny personality was gone in an instant, driving the class harder and faster through every exercise, barking out instructions like the worst drill sergeant in the world. Katsuki knew his classmates were hating every minute of it, All Might had gotten softer on them over the years and the class had in turn gotten used to slacking off on the days he took their classes. None of them had come in expecting to work particularly hard, but now they were dripping sweat and trying their best not to puke up the lunches they wouldn’t have eaten so much of had they known what was coming.

Katsuki, on the other hand, was in his element. He couldn’t wipe the sharp grin off his face the entire time, as he threw himself through obstacles, destroyed some dummies and rescued others, fought off the classmates who posed as villains, and made his triumphant return to the starting line with all hostages unscathed. Hawks gave him a single nod of approval, unlike the long lists of corrections he’d given to a lot of the others, and Katsuki was oddly proud of himself for it.

“If you have suggestions, I’d like to hear them,” he admitted quietly, when he found himself standing next to Hawks. “I know there’s a lot of shit I need to work on.”

“Such as?”

“Huh? You want me to tell you? You saw them.”

A little smile tugged at Hawks’s lips, and he nodded silently.

“Okay, well… I caused too much property damage with the bigger blast, my flight line was all over the place when I was flying over the rooftop, I risked burning the hostages when I blasted the ropes off them, I got careless in the fight with the ‘villain’ and got hit a couple of times, I stopped paying attention to the hostages while I was fighting so another villain could have come in while I was distracted-” he stopped when he caught Hawks chuckling, eyebrows knitted together as he watched. “What’s so funny?”

“You did a good job, kid,” Hawks smiled faintly, ruffling Katsuki’s hair like he was an energetic puppy. “We can all improve, and it’s good that you recognise the things you could have done better. But you did well at the exercise I gave you, even if it wouldn’t be perfect in a real life situation.”

Katsuki squirmed, pulling away with his face burning, and Hawks just laughed at him again when he huffed.

Despite the fact that he couldn’t bring himself to really talk, he hovered near Hawks’s side for the rest of the class, listening to the feedback and directions he yelled at other people in the hopes that he might glean some knowledge from it, and when the class began to wrap up, Hawks gave him a little pat on the shoulder before he moved away. It made Katsuki blush all over again, watching him go with wide eyes, admiring the soft scarlet feathers that shifted in the breeze when he turned his back.

“That was awesome,” he said quietly, when the class were dismissed to the changing rooms. “I wish he was sticking around longer.

“Awww, that’s so cute, man!” Kaminari slung an arm around him playfully, winking. “Your first crush!”

“Huh? But Kacchan has always had a crush on Hawks,” Izuku frowned slightly, tilting his head to one side like a confused puppy. “Didn’t you know?”

“Shut up, you damn nerd,” Katsuki huffed, burning red. “Don’t say that shit.”

He stormed away, ignoring the laughter behind him, and grabbed his uniform and a towel from the lockers sharply. Stomping over to the showers, he claimed a stall and hung his things up, jamming his head under the stream and letting hot water soak over his tired muscles.

Outside the stall door he could hear his classmates coming in, taking their own showers or just giving themselves a blast of deodorant that Katsuki suspected would last a whole two minutes before it wasn’t enough. He waited until the room seemed to have cleared out a little before he dried off and got dressed, stretching his neck lightly as he threw his stuff in his bag, and with a long sigh he dragged himself out into the world again.

As much as the aftermath was embarrassing, he really had enjoyed the class. It was good to work hard – or, harder than usual – and even better to get some vaguely complimentary comments from one of his heroes. He’d probably never get the chance again, so he’d just have to relish the memory of it for the rest of his life.

“Bakugou?”

He jolted when he heard the voice, whirling around to see Hawks smiling as he walked toward him, and for a moment Katsuki could swear he had ceased to function.

“Hey, glad I caught you,” he grinned, reaching into his bag. “Tokoyami said you’re a fan. Sorry, I didn’t realise, or I’d have offered you an autograph earlier. Unless you’re too cool for that, of course.”

“I’m not,” Katsuki blurted out, wide eyed and blushing. “I mean, uh, y-yeah, that would be cool, thank you.”

Hawks pulled a little folder from his bag, flipping through glossy photos from a bunch of his various photoshoots over the years until he found the one he wanted, and Katsuki could only watch in silence as he signed it with a shiny silver marker and blew on it for a second to make sure it dried. Katsuki’s hands were trembling as he accepted, staring at the flirty photo of Hawks blowing a kiss at the camera, and when he looked up to choke out his thanks, Hawks leaned in and pressed a kiss to his flaming cheek.

“Thanks for your support,” he grinned. “I’ll see out there in the real world, okay?”

“Y-Yeah,” Katsuki squeaked, his voice far too high for his own liking. “Th-Thank you!”

With a last little wave, Hawks swooped off into the sun, and Katsuki’s legs wobbled beneath him, threatening to drop him into the dirt without an ounce of warning. He tucked his autographed photo into his bag, safely pressed between two thick textbooks to keep it from wrinkling, and then at the slowest pace he’d ever set, he began his walk back to the dorms.

Tokoyami was sitting in the common room when he got back, the only one to look up when Katsuki entered, and with his bag hugged to his chest, Katsuki stopped in front of him.

“Um, hey,” he whispered, eyes darting away to make sure no one was listening in. “Thanks.”

“My pleasure,” Tokoyami assured him, Dark Shadow popping up from behind the couch with a big grin and a thumbs up. “I hope it was a good day.”

“The best damn day of my life.”