Chapter Text
Shinsou fell into a familiar pattern as the days led up to Christmas. He would wake up, make some breakfast, work out, and then do some reading, or sketching, or cleaning. Aizawa or Yamada or both would come check in around noon and they’d eat lunch together. Shinsou would watch a movie or call one of his friends (usually Monoma) in the afternoon. Aizawa and Yamada would bring Eri over for dinner and they’d leave around eight. Shinsou would read or watch a movie and go to bed.
Every few days, he’d get a text from Kan checking in. Kan told him he would have stayed, too, but he was supposed to see his wife’s family on the other side of the country for all of break. He’d text back saying everything was fine and leave it there. He wanted to say more, but he couldn’t. If he thought too hard about it, Shinsou knew he’d break down.
He spent every day carefully avoiding his phone as much as possible. How badly he wanted to text them. It was slowly eating him up inside. Every day, Shinsou forced the feeling down. He just needed to get through Christmas. If he could get through Christmas, then he was sure things would get better. But, as the holiday creeped closer, Shinsou could feel the tightness in his chest returning. He just needed to push it down a little longer.
Just a little longer and everything would be fine.
Shinsou woke on Christmas morning to the sound of knocking on his door. He glanced at his clock, which read just past nine in the morning. Tired and confused, he stumbled out of bed and to the door. He opened it to find Eri smiling up at him.
“Dad and Papa say to get dressed and come downstairs!” she exclaimed. And then she booked it down the hallway. That was… weird. After he brushed his teeth and washed his face, Shinsou threw on some real clothes and headed to the common room. Turning off his phone and leaving it in his room, Shinsou left for the elevator. The trip downstairs seemed to take longer than normal. Maybe he was just tired. He hadn’t been able to fall asleep until three last night. The tightness in his chest kept him up. He spent hours fighting back tears and trying to push everything back down.
When the elevator doors opened, what he saw made everything come back up again.
Aizawa and Yamada sat on a couch with a pile of presents on the coffee table in front of them. They both wore Santa hats and had a blanket draped over their legs. Eri was sprawled out on another couch, a matching hat on her head. A plate of handmade cookies sat on the table next to the gifts, along with a Santa hat of his own.
And Shinsou couldn’t stop himself from breaking down.
Suddenly, strong arms were wrapped around him, whispering that everything would be okay. That they were all so proud of him. That he could let it out.
And he finally did.
Shinsou hadn't cried since that first day. He cried for his foster mother. He cried for his foster father. He cried for the family that was ripped away from him. He cried for everything that he never had and everything he knew he deserved.
Aizawa held him through it all.
When there were no more tears left, Shinsou felt small arms around his lower body. He looked down to find Eri staring up at him. He wiped his eyes, and let out a small laugh. She laughed with him and held the hat up to him. After placing it on his head, Shinsou bent down and picked her up.
“Merry Christmas, ‘Toshi,” she whispered in his ear.
“Merry Christmas, Eri,” he whispered back. She squeezed her arms around his neck. He set her down next to Yamada, who ruffled his hair affectionately. Aizawa sat cross legged on the floor. Shinsou opted for the opposite couch.
“Present time!” Yamada said enthusiastically. Aizawa took one from the table and handed it to Shinsou. His eyes widened as he looked from the box to his mentor. He carefully took the box and stared at it. He looked back at Aizawa, who nodded at the box, telling him to open it. Shinsou ripped off the paper to find a small rectangular box. Inside was a nice wooden fountain pen with cats carved into it. He held the pen in his hands, staring at it with awe. He could feel the tears forming again.
“Eri helped us pick this one out,” Aizawa said. Eri nodded enthusiastically.
“I don’t know what to say,” Shinsou croaked, still staring at the pen. “Thank you,” he added quickly, afraid he was coming off as rude.
“You’re welcome, kid.” Aizawa smiled at him. “Let’s let Eri open one next…”
By the end of the gift exchange, Shinsou had acquired the pen, a purple sweater with cats on it, a new sketchbook, two different fiction novels, and a fun pair of socks with a geometric design of cool colors. And he was speechless. He tried to express his gratitude through some tight hugs, and he was pretty sure the message got across.
They sat eating cookies and watching quiz shows for the next few hours. Shortly after all the presents were opened, Yamada left, saying he would be right back. That he just had to go grab something from the apartment. Shinsou shot Aizawa a curious look, but the man gave nothing away. Shinsou shrugged and continued watching the show.
About twenty minutes later, Yamada re-entered holding two carrier cases.
He didn’t.
No, he couldn't have.
“We have one more gift for you, Shinsou,” he said, setting them down on the floor. He unlocked the cases and opened the doors. A little head poked out from each case, inspecting their new surroundings.
He DID.
Two cats emerged from the cases. One was black with a little white patch on his chest and yellow eyes. The other a white with green eyes. Barnaby and Moon were loose! They weaved around the legs of the coffee table, Barnaby heading for Aizawa and Moon for Shinsou. She hopped up on the sofa and settled herself in his lap. Looking up at him with those brilliant green eyes, she meowed. He stared back at her and scratched right behind her ears. She purred in his lap.
“Thank you so much,” Shinsou said to the men.
“You’re welcome, listener,” Yamada chuckled. “This is for Shouta as much as it is for you. He loves these little goblins.”
“As we all should,” Aizawa said, scratching the sides of a very happy looking Barnaby’s face. Shinsou laughed.
The tightness in his chest was replaced with a slowly spreading warmth. It branched out from his chest to his arms, his stomach, his legs, his neck, until he could feel it on the tips of his fingers and toes and on the ends of his gravity-defying hair. It inhabited every cell, molecule, and atom.
He looked around. Eri and Yamada were curled under a blanket, watching the quiz show. Aizawa had a staring contest with Barnaby. Moon sat purring in his lap.
For the first time since break began, he felt okay. He felt genuinely okay.
Before he went to bed, Shinsou turned on his phone. Sandwiched between a text from Monoma and a snap from Tetsutetsu was a text from his foster father.
‘Merry Christmas Hitoshi. Hope you had a good day. Mr. Aizawa reached out and told us he and his partner were watching over you. We are glad you are surrounded by people who love you. We love you so much’
The tightness was still there. It would probably be there for a long time. It might be there forever. But right now, Shinsou felt okay. And maybe okay was good. Maybe okay was great.
‘Merry Christmas. I love you both too’