Chapter Text
“Come on, Kacchan!” Izuku exclaimed, pulling Katsuki along by the hand. “I’ve never been to anything like this before! I don’t want to miss a second!”
“Easy,” Katsuki said, laughing as he followed after. Izuku was all brilliant smiles and giggles, and Katsuki just had to congratulate himself on picking such a perfect gift for Izuku. As soon as he heard from Kōta that Izuku had a poster of a lighting display on his wall, Katsuki knew exactly what he had to do.
The fact that Izuku had actually never been to one was a bonus, and ‘Operation Date Izuku So Hard on Christmas Eve He Falls in Love with You’ was a smashing success. In his head, Katsuki had even given it a new name: ‘Operation Date Izuku So Hard On Christmas Day That He Loves You Forever.’
And so far, looking at Izuku’s shining eyes and excited voice, and feeling the way that Izuku grabbed onto Katsuki and held him, so close and tight?
Yeah, Katsuki totally had this dating thing down.
The fact that it was Izuku, though, made the whole thing a lot fucking easier.
Katsuki wasn’t a sap. He wasn’t someone who waxed romantic or who thought that love was a vital part of the human existence. Sure, he’d once wished to have someone in his life who loved him, despite his shit, but at this point he figured why bother, and if he could find people who put up with him, that was good enough.
But being with Izuku was…easy. Simple, no-nonsense. Izuku not only tolerated Katsuki’s shit, but he called him out on it, time and time again. He wasn’t afraid to say, “Kacchan, you’re kind of being an ass,” which was ‘Zuku code for “Katsuki stop being an absolute dick.”
Which, Katsuki immediately would.
There was something about a pair of bright green eyes and an adorable freckled face and thick thighs that just did him in, he supposed.
After all, look at the shit he was currently bringing Izuku to!
Prior to meeting Izuku, Bakugō Katsuki would have turned up his nose at a light show, sneering that it was just a dumb capitalist scheme to waste electricity and people’s money. And while he still kind of thought that was true, he had to admit…
Seeing Izuku’s emerald eyes reflect the shimmering lights of the installations was a pretty fucking beautiful sight.
Together, they walked through the exhibit, Izuku oohing and aahing at all the different colored lights. At each stop, they admired the way that the lights pulsed and shifted with the melodies that played. It was simple synth music, a lot too 80s for Katsuki to dig it, but when Izuku bounded up and down to the beat, he couldn’t help but feel the rhythm strike him, too, deep in his soul.
When they reached one exhibit in particular where they had to be standing at the perfect angle to be able to see the sculpture’s full vision, Izuku hopped about, trying to see over the crowd. But then, to make matters worse, some old hag tottered right up to the sculpture and watched the display, blocking the view for absolutely everyone else.
However, when Katsuki growled, Izuku laid a hand on his arm and said, “She’s old, Kacchan. I hope that someday when I’m old, you can have patience with me, just like we’re having patience with her.”
The sudden image of Izuku being a cute, little old man, and Katsuki helping him…around the house, with his meals…the two of them, snuggled up together under a blanket…
It made his heart warm and his soul soft, and he shut his damn mouth, because he knew that Izuku was right, after all.
They made their way through the rest of the exhibit, Izuku exclaiming over each and every installation, insisting on taking videos and pictures. Katsuki was an all-too reluctant participant in a number of both, but a cute pout from Izuku and a kiss on the cheek, and let’s face it, Katsuki was done for.
If he was being honest, he’d been done for since the first time he laid eyes on Izuku.
Now? He was just hopelessly, helplessly, falling in love.
All around them, the lights shone, the music played, and the people babbled.
But all Katsuki could see was Izuku:
The way his eyes widened as he tried to take in the world around them.
The way he laughed, so innocent and delighted, at every unknown twist and turn.
The way the lights played off his beautiful face, and the way that Katsuki knew those same lights would never be able to reflect all of the life and love that Izuku held in his heart.
Fuck, he was becoming soft, wasn’t he.
Thank fuck he wouldn’t have it any other way.
They were just making their way to the final exhibit when a chilly breeze blew through the air. Izuku shivered and slid nearer to Katsuki, who slipped an arm around his shoulders, bringing him even closer.
“Should’ve worn a hat, ‘Zuku,” he murmured.
“Why?” Izuku retorted playfully. “Then I wouldn’t get to wear your beanie, now, would I?”
“Shut up,” Katsuki said, tugging his own beanie down over Izuku’s forehead. He had to admire the way that Izuku’s curls stuck out every which way from underneath the knitted cap, and he leaned in to give Izuku a tiny kiss on the nose.
Izuku promptly blushed, much to Katsuki’s delight. “Ka—Kacchan,” he stammered. “You—why did you—what are you—”
Katsuki grinned. “Just admiring my favorite exhibit,” he told Izuku, whose blush got even deeper. “Come on,” he added, tucking Izuku’s gloveless hand into the pocket of his coat, “let’s go get you some hot chocolate at the cafe. I think you could use it.”
Izuku nodded, and together, they turned and headed out of the light show and towards the little cafe at the other end of the venue. Katsuki’s body was already carefully attuned to Izuku’s needs: from the little shiver he’d given that told Katsuki he needed a hat; to the slight limp in his gait that he had today; to the little laugh that Izuku gave when he was much too tired to interact with other people, and needed a break to recharge.
Just as they passed by the sculpture that was either a heart or…something more risqué…Katsuki heard a tiny jingling sound. He paused, Izuku coming to rest beside him.
“What is—” Izuku began, but Katsuki hushed him gently, his ears pricked and listening for anything that was out of the ordinary. But all he could hear was the wind—that wind, the same wind—rustling through the trees, softly shaking their branches, and toying with the peekaboo curls that framed Izuku’s face.
And then, Katsuki heard it again:
A jingling of bells, followed by a running of wind through their hair.
“What the—” Katsuki muttered, but then he felt the soft breeze on his face, and suddenly, he knew exactly what was going on, and he felt a rush of gratitude and…
Love.
He felt so much love.
So there, under the lights, on Christmas night, the first of many they would spend together, Katsuki kissed Izuku. It was a chaste kiss, very unlike those they had shared after dinner the night before, but it was a kiss nonetheless, and when Katsuki felt the breeze swirl around him and catch his hair and Izuku’s, playing with it lightly, he knew.
“Thanks, you rugrats,” Katsuki muttered, breaking the kiss and looking skyward.
“Thank—who?” Izuku asked. “What rugrats? What are you talking about?”
Katsuki gave Izuku one more kiss. “Don’t worry about it,” he assured him. “Come on—I still owe you that hot cocoa.”
As they walked, the air around them felt warmer and lighter than it had before, and Katsuki smiled at the thought of their guardian angels being someplace close by.
Because they were, weren’t they? And, as Izuku nestled in against Katsuki’s shoulder once again, Katsuki realized that they always would be.
It was, after all, thanks to them that both he and Izuku got what they wished for.
Artwork by kalcia