The rest of the day, Y/N's phone was blowing up.
She tried to ignore it, she really did-- but because the gushing about Hawks was mixed in with gear requests, she had to read through it. When she wasn't reading through the endless texts from her classmates, she tried to get her new printer set up. She wasn't happy to be using something Hawks had given her, but dammit, it was going to be really useful. Especially for something as intricate as Bakugou's gauntlets.
Bakugou hadn't said anything when she mentioned Hawks. Weirdly enough, he walked out of the workshop without saying a word-- he just had a strange look on his face that she couldn't read. He was always hard to read, but especially now. It made her chest ache a little to see him leave, worried that she had somehow upset him. If Hawks was going to fuck with her friendships, she would be livid.
Y/N groaned and put her face in her hands. She wanted to get away from this in Japan. Granted, she would be closer the Hawks Agency, but because she already blocked his number she had hoped she was rid of the whole situation. Thinking about it only made her more upset. Images of Keigo flashed in her mind; memories of skin, heat, heavy breathing...
No. He had fired her. He had fired her when she was injured and grieving, not even giving her the courtesy of a phone call.
Speaking of, her phone started ringing. She was scared to look at it, for a moment fearing it would be Hawks himself. When she saw it was Uraraka, she sighed with relief and picked up the phone quickly.
"Uraraka," she said, her voice cracking. Why was her voice cracking? "Can I talk to you tonight? I think I need some help."
"Of course! Is this about earlier today? I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have assumed that he was..." Y/N heard other voices on the line. "Is it okay if the other girls come too? We're worried about you."
Hearing Uraraka's sweet voice helped pull Y/N out of the spiral. "Do you guys wanna come to my room at like 8 PM?"
"Absolutely. We'll bring snacks and pajamas. Stay safe, okay?"
"Alright." She heard Ochaco hang up.
~~~
Bakugou was absolutely sick of hearing about Hawks.
He had apparently shown up early that morning with that gift for Y/N. All Might, with all of his good intentions, led Hawks into her workshop and let him set up the gift, thinking nothing of it. The #2 hero, however, was not one to visit places quietly. He gave autographs, took photos, and chatted with the third year girls-- but had left shortly before him and Y/N had arrived, thank God.
All morning in class, his peers were gushing about how they'd met number 2. Deku especially was having a heart attack over it, which only pissed Bakugou off more. Knowing what Hawks had done to Y/N, his image of the man was ruined. Rather than being an opposition that Katsuki respected, he now loathed the man.
And he didn't like that Hawks brought Y/N a gift.
For some reason, the idea of Hawks talking to Y/N made his jaw hurt. He couldn't help but wonder if the two of them had been more than just coworkers. Did coworkers send each other lavish gifts with golden letters? Hawks was known for being a lady's man; had Y/N been one of those ladies? A man that attractive could surely win over someone like her, even though he didn't deserve her.
The smell of smoke shook him from his thoughts, and he realized that he had burned his desk. He pulled his hand back in shock. He growled under his breath and tried to distract himself by browsing on his phone. Checking the news, the first headline read: #2 HERO HAWKS MAKES A SURPRISE APPREANCE AT UA!
Jesus Christ.
Bakugou powered through the rest of the day, trying to focus on class lectures. Whenever he was close to forgetting about it, someone would start gushing about Hawks. Why did it bother him so much?
~~~
"Thanks guys," Y/N said sheepishly.
Back in her dorm room, the girls had brought pillows and treats to comfort their friend. The room was warm and smelled of sweet perfume. It was the first time Y/N had felt truly comfortable in her new room.
"Tell us everything," Uraraka said, handing Y/N a cup of warm milk and honey. Y/N took a sip and the comfort flooded through her mouth. The heat spread throughout her body, leaving her feeling relaxed.
"You guys promise you won't tell anyone about this?"
The girls nodded fiercely. "Our lips are sealed!"
"Well, I used to work for Hawks' agency," Y/N said apprehensively.
"But the Hawks Agency is stationed in Japan," Momo questioned. "How did that work in America?"
"I was a remote hero. Before I lost my quirk, I had one... similar to his, so he recruited me." Y/N took another tip of the warm drink Uraraka had given her. "We only spoke on phone calls for a while, or over email, but occasionally Hawks would come to America for certain missions." After a moment she looked back up at them. "And we... kind of hooked up."
"WHAT?!" Mina shrieked. "With HAWKS?! Wait a minute... how old were you? Isn't he like, 4 years older than us?"
"I was 18, but... yeah." Y/N said. She seemed to have mixed emotions about it.
"Shush Mina! You know the boys love to eaves drop," Jiro warned, putting a finger over Mina's lips.
"So his gift today... was he saying he wants to hook up again?" Uraraka asked, eyes glistening as she leaning in.
"Well, remember how I lost my quirk? Yeah. Hawks fired me."
"Hawks did WHAT?!" Mina roared, standing up. "THAT MOTHERFU--" Jiro grabbed Mina and pulled her back to the ground, shushing her again.
"I thought you were let go," Momo said sadly.
"Is there much of a difference?" Jiro muttered. "It's still a really shitty thing to do." Tsu nodded in agreement.
"He didn't even tell me himself. He had someone else do it. Fucking coward," Y/N snarled, swirling her drink around a bit. "We haven't spoken since that happened, and then today, he shows up and gives me some expensive gift. I don't know what I'm supposed to feel. I just feel mad and confused."
"It doesn't matter what your relationship was. It's bad form to fire someone when they were injured in a situation you put them in," Momo said softly, shaking her head.
"But... I think one of the bigger reasons I'm upset is that Bakugou started acting weird when I mentioned this," Y/N confessed. "I thought we were becoming good friends, and then suddenly he--"
"Friends? Or something else?" Mina questioned. "Listen girl, nobody has ever gotten Bakugou to act the way he does around you. I think he's got a crush on you."
"No way!" Y/N argued. "There's no fucking way he feels that way about me, I don't--"
"Are you kidding?" Uraraka interrupted. "Do you remember at the pool when he grabbed you and held you bridal style?"
"Yeah, to throw me in!"
"Whatever the reason, Bakugou doesn't touch people. He's got serious issues with physical touch. He only ever comes into contact with people when fighting," Jiro argued. "Let alone people who are half naked. I saw him checking you out when you were on the roof."
"We're friends," Y/N protested. "That's why I'm upset. I'm worried this whole thing is going to ruin our friendship--"
"Hold up...YOU LIKE HIM TOO!" Mina squealed. The other girls gasped and giggled.
"No! Absolutely not! I mean he's hot, sure, but... he's stubborn, a-and frustrating and grumpy... and I'm pretty sure what happened with the pancake batter was totally platonic--"
"Oh my god Y/N. You've got a crush," Uraraka laughed.
Y/N paused for a moment. She did like when he was around. He was stabilizing, funny, made her body feel hot. Seeing him without his shirt off at the pool had nearly made her heart beat out of her chest. That dark stare he gave her every once in a while... like he wanted to do things to her. Bad things.
"Fuck," Y/N breathed out. "I think you're right."