Protecting You (Katsuki Bakugo x Reader)

Chapter 53- Fighting Failure

Endeavor felt like he made a mistake. And by a mistake, he meant introducing a chatty bird-brained handsome hero to a teenage girl jacked on the coffee she guzzled and had enough personality to take over a city.

"Hawks, do you eat chicken?"

"Oh yeah, especially chicken nuggets."

"What about duck?"

"I don't think I've ever had duck."

"Pheasant?

"It's pheasant to meet you (y/n) hahaha!"

Each question you barraged at Hawks and his humored responses annoyed Endeavor more than the previous one. His face was cast in shadow as his arms were crossed while listening to the two of you giggle like cooped up hens.

"Hey (y/n) do you wanna see me do a backflip-"

"OKAY ENOUGH!" Endeavor yelled to get both you and Hawks to pay attention.

"Ahhh forgot you were there, buddy. My bad." Hawks scratched the back of his head while giving the two of you an awkward smile. You were beaming in amusement as Endeavor sighed in annoyance and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"ANYWAY! I wanted the two of you to work together because... (y/n), you have connections with a lot of the underbelly of the hero world right? You know those that work for both heroes and villains or are vigilantes...and I wanted you to be able to integrate Hawks within that community. There's a lot of valuable information that we heroes could learn if we had someone capable like him on the inside. I need you to be that bridge." 

You just stood there in shock in front of the two heroes, unsure where to even begin. After all, you were starting to finally let go of your mercenary status and now you're being asked to reforge your connections? And not only that but insert a famous hero into that scenario? How were you supposed to earn the trust of some borderline villains if they saw on TV that you defended ALL MIGHT?! 

"I...I'm not sure I'm able to do that. I mean...it takes years of proving and earning trust with these people before they even tell you their name, let alone any inside details. I might not even be trusted anymore." You were nervous but Hawks seemed ready for that reaction. He gave you a pleasant smile but there was something vicious in those honey eyes that proved to you he was just as capable and ready to kill as the bird of prey he was named after.

"Don't worry about me. I have a nasty habit of getting my way. With your help, we could try and pry open the villain world that supplies and thrives when the big names are in the spotlight. This could be a huge opportunity to stop these supervillains before they appear, or reduce the power and supplies of the ones that already exist. I know it's a dangerous job but you're the only person we can trust who has seen both sides." Hawks was certainly making his case. You had an idea that Hawks was going to insert you into something dangerous...and you weren't sure if you wanted to run the other way. You looked up to the elder hero in front of you with uncertainty in your eyes.

"You don't get it. These people are like the mafia. Some are extremely organized and some are independent contractors with dangerous tendencies. If they know you're a hero, which they know both of us are for sure, they will either hide away or fight on sight. How do you expect us to know who the underworld big baddies are if they won't reveal themselves to us?" Despite your worries, Hawks gave you a charming smile.

"Well...we don't know. We don't know how this will turn out...but honestly, who else is capable of cleaning out this mess aside from us? You've worked with these people before and I have a talent at investigating. We can be the ultimate team! I know this is scary...but no good hero work comes without risk. Preventing people from spawning like those League of Villains guys could end up saving lives."