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The dorms are currently separated in two factions, and no, that’s not the girls and boys’ dorms. Winter break is almost upon them, and while that does mean that the holidays are just around the corner and they can soon enjoy some time to rest and be with their family and friends, their exams are also about to start making their lives that much harder until that time finally arrives. So, Heights Alliance is currently divided between those who are diligently studying as much as they can while they still have time and the few that are goofing off until the last possible second.
Naturally, Izuku has been working overtime on his training to catch up to Kacchan after he once again passed him after their last assessments, which means that with the internship at Endeavor’s agency he is currently juggling it with, his studying time has been cut shorter than he would have liked. The little time he does have that isn’t dedicated to basic human functions like eating and sleeping, Izuku is then spending pouring over class notes, tuning out the rest of the world because he can’t afford any distractions if he doesn’t want to fall behind. Aizawa really wasn’t kidding when he said that ‘hell’ was too nice a term to describe their third year.
His vision is blurring on an early Sunday morning when he should probably be asleep considering he had stayed up studying in his room the night before and had only gotten about three hours of fitful sleep. But this was his only day off that week and he really needs to catch up after missing two full days of school to go on a mission with Endeavor. Whether the flame hero was testing his aptitudes to assess if he is indeed fit to date his son, Izuku doesn’t know for sure, but he isn’t about to prove any of his misguided points. It’s not like he actually cares what Shouto’s father thinks of him, but he doesn’t want to fall short of his own expectations. If anything, he’d be disappointed in himself if he doesn’t give Endeavor every reason to start seeing him as the true hero he is working to be.
Blinking tears away as a yawn escapes him, Izuku rubs at his tired eyes and continues working. He reaches for his tea mug to take a sip and is surprised to find it completely full, sure that he had been drinking from it for hours and it should be nearly gone, not to mention cold by now. Shouto must have stopped by. A small smile stretches across his lips as he sets the mug down and picks his pencil back up.
Out of the corner of his eyes, he spots Ashido’s pink curls, startling slightly when she places a hand on his shoulder.
“Don’t you wanna take a break Midoriya-kun? You’ve been here for hours, you must be tired.”
“Ah, I have to catch up with everything so I can’t do that. I’m okay though, thank you for worrying.”
“You sure? We’re playing a game, Denki, Hanta and I. Maybe you’d like to join us?” She snickers and Izuku feels just a little suspicious, but the seconds this conversation is taking away from his studies scream louder than the cautious part of him telling him to press further.
“Sorry, rain check. Perhaps once exams are over.” He mumbles, already averting his eyes back to the notebooks scattered across the table.
“Well, alright then. I’ll recruit others.”
Izuku hums, already lost in thought trying to understand their latest literature assignment to get it done before moving on to English. As he immerses himself in nothing but carefully written notes, his only respite is the ones Shouto was so kind to lend him, a sweet message on every other page to help him get through to the next one.
‘You’re doing great.’
‘Plus Ultra, Izuku.’
‘Just a little more.’
‘You’re almost there.’
‘If you made it this far be sure to take a break <3’
As much as he wants to listen to that last note, Izuku just keeps ploughing through the work. His stomach’s grumbling goes completely ignored as he simply shifts in his seat, pencil gliding on paper in smooth lines that grow progressively messier the longer he does it.
Soon, his focus starts to suffer, his eyelids feeling heavier and the only thing keeping him from letting his face fall onto the desk being the movements he catches out of the corner of his eye pulling him back to reality. He can hear some of his classmates’ whispers, at times so distant he barely even registers them, at others so close he almost jumps in his seat, biting his bottom lip as he simply blinks the characters on the page back into something comprehensible.
What feels like another hour, maybe even more, adds weight onto Izuku’s neck, becoming woefully sore the longer he tries to hold his head up. A heavy sigh tumbles from his lips and he moves to rub the ache away with his free hand as he continues to write. Snickers sound all around him and he pauses.
Lifting his head for the first time in much too long, Izuku looks up and around the room. He spots some of his troublemaking classmates scattered around the common room, casually distributed between the few couches and chairs and staring at some suspiciously educational documentary. Izuku narrows his eyes, gnawing at his bottom lip for a few heartbeats before returning his attention back to the task at hand.
Try as he might, after that, Izuku can’t keep from letting his gaze drift from the page any time he hears a strange noise. He sees Ashido casually strolling from the kitchen to the TV, Sero hovering with Kaminari somewhere near a depression on one of the armchairs that can’t really be anyone other than Hagakure. Off by the entrance to the common room, Ochako is inspecting her nails like they’re the most interesting thing in the room and he is pretty sure he saw Mineta sneaking past him at least three times in the past five minutes.
Slowly but surely, his suspicion morphs to mild annoyance, his nearly sleepless nights shortening his fuse to lengths much closer to Kacchan’s. Irritation bubbles in the pit of his stomach, bile rising up to his throat that not even the tea still by his stacks of work sheets seems to drown out. Izuku grits his teeth when a shadow crosses his peripheral vision, everything weighing on him so much that it’s suddenly becoming a little hard to breathe.
With a huff, he turns around, scowling deeper than he remembers doing for as long as he has been in U.A.
“What.” He spits, startling when he meets Shouto’s gaze, mismatched eyebrows shooting up to his hairline for a second. “Sh-Shouto I’m—”
Izuku cuts off when his boyfriend lifts up his phone and a snapshot sounds as he opens his mouth to ask what the hell he’s doing.
Before he can say anything at all, he feels something tug at his curls and then a small clink draws his eyes to the floor. What looks like a bright red Christmas ball rolls across the room until it hits a chair leg and bounces back.
For an embarrassingly long moment, Izuku gapes, looking back at Shouto and the rest of his classmates, finding matching smirks on every one of their faces except his boyfriend’s. Shouto looks instead awestruck, eyes darting from his phone screen to Izuku’s face then back again, a light pink slowly climbing up to his cheeks and settling there.
A lump forms in Izuku’s throat at the sight and the fact that he’s at a complete loss as to why his expression even looks that soft only seems to make him even more flustered. His instinct to cover his own blush with his arms persists even after three years of suffering from the fact that his closest friends love to get him to that point of bashfulness, and he feels something scratch at the back of his neck with the movement, reaching for it and grabbing something… what is that?
Izuku pulls it down and shivers when the somewhat rough texture tickles all the way down his scalp as he brings it up in front of his face.
“Tinsel?”
His hands dart to his hair and an array of Christmas decorations start falling to the floor one after another. Izuku’s eye twitches slightly and he feels about ready to spew some really uncharacteristically crude words to whoever had the idea to use his hair as a Christmas tree. But then his eyes meet Shouto’s adoring expression, clicking at his phone and smiling softly at whatever he sees staring back at him from the screen. All of the annoyance simmers down, quelled by the urge to smile back at his boyfriend when his summer storm eyes shine with overwhelming love as soon as they meet his once more.
“You looked really cute…”
Deflating, Izuku shoots his other friends one last grim look. They all grin back in response, Ochako giggling to herself that “it’s like being threatened by a cupcake.”
With an exaggerated roll of his eyes, Izuku starts to turn back to the table only for Shouto to hold him by the elbow, pursing his lips at him.
“Enough of that for you. You’re done for today. Go eat.”
“But—”
“No buts.”
“Fine…”
Izuku slumps, finally standing up for the first time in he doesn’t even know how long and stretching his back with a groan. As he lets his legs wake back up and the pins and needles subside, Shouto bends down to pick a snowflake-shaped ornament off the floor and moves closer. Gentle as a cool ocean’s breeze, his breath blows across Izuku’s cheeks when he leans to brush their foreheads together, tucking the snowflake between his wild locks.
“This one’s my favourite.”
It’s impossible for Izuku to fight the fond little chuckle that builds within his chest as he tips his chin up and places a small peck on his boyfriend’s lips.
“Guess I can keep that one then.” Izuku mumbles, his smile stopping halfway when he gets hit by a sudden realisation. “Wait. Were you in on this?”
“In on what…?” Shouto asks in return, feigned ignorance not even the least bit convincing as he takes a deliberate step back.
“It was your idea wasn’t it.”
His tone makes it sound more like a statement than a question and Shouto gets some more distance between them, eyes darting towards the exit. Izuku notices his shoes are on. That sneaky—
Before he can even complete the thought, Shouto is already running to the door, stopping only to snatch a familiar green coat from the hangar by the door and throw it back at Izuku’s face. He sputters, sliding on his socks and right into the wall while his boyfriend slips right between his fingers. Izuku doesn’t waste a single breath to pull on his red boots and winter coat, bolting outside as fast as his legs will let him, the corners of his mouth curving upward as excitement bubbles in his chest, ready to overflow.
“Get back here y—oof!”
Izuku hits something solid, the only reason he doesn’t fall back on his rear being the bear hug he is suddenly pulled into, yelping when his feet suddenly lose all purchase and he is lifted off the ground.
“Surprise hug!” Kirishima’s voice rumbles and Izuku’s eyes widen when his friend holds him even tighter, threatening to cut off his air supply entirely.
“Kiri—shima-kun…” Izuku chokes “can’t breathe…”
Air has never tasted as sweet as when Kirishima finally loosens his grip, letting him fall back down to the floor unceremoniously before smirking at him. Izuku knows in his gut something’s going to happen—or has kind of been happening, really—before he has the time to actually react, suddenly being pulled by his arm and spun into someone else’s.
He looks up into Shouto’s eyes, shining with mirth as he stares into Izuku’s and a small, lopsided grin settles on his lips. Shouto looks up and Izuku’s gaze inadvertently follows, landing on Ochako’s wiggling eyebrows as she floats above them upside down, waving mistletoe above their heads.
“Would you just look at that.” Shouto whispers, voice low and honey-sweet.
In spite of himself, Izuku snorts. “This seems a bit elaborate. We just kissed a few minutes ago.”
Shouto shrugs, gingerly holding Izuku’s face to bring it closer to his. “Just seemed like you could use some fun, is all.”
“You’re such a dork.”
“I think I learned it from the best.”
Smiling so wide it almost hurts, Izuku shakes his head slightly. “Just shut up and kiss me.”
“With pleasure.”
Their lips meet in a soft and slow kiss, warming Izuku in the cold outside air as Shouto pulls him as close as possible. For that moment, his studies lay forgotten in a corner of his mind, getting lost in the feeling of Shouto’s mouth moving with his and his fingers tangling in his messy curls. He needed this, Izuku realises, his body fully relaxing against his boyfriend’s and his smile widening when his friends start wolf-whistling all around them.
“Get a room, you two!” Kaminari shouts from somewhere to their right, the crackle of ice sounding before his voice breaks in a shriek.
They break apart then, Izuku giggling at his fallen classmate while Shouto simply lets out an amused huff. He leans against Shouto’s left side, nuzzling his arm and sighing happily.
“Thanks.” He breathes, grateful for the little distraction he hadn’t realised he needed so badly.
“Don’t want you to bury yourself in work to the point of despair. Now come on, let’s get you some proper food.”
“Yes, mom.” Izuku teases, holding Shouto tighter as he follows him back inside.