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Hiking on Christmas morning is certainly not for everyone, Izuku included, but he can’t exactly say no once his mom has set his mind on the two of them doing something. And, of course, Misuki has invited them along and Izuku knows perfectly well that this sort of invitation from Mitsuki is not an actual invitation by any means. No, when she asks you if you want to come with her on a hike on Christmas morning, she isn’t asking you if you want to come. She is telling you that you are going.
And, because Izuku is more or less sane and doesn’t plan on losing his ears to Mitsuki’s tendency to pinch them, he goes along with it. Both because he isn’t going to say no to his mom and because Mitsuki.
This is how he ends up smushed into the backseat of a car, essentially pressed against Katsuki in a way that makes him wonder if he could just get murdered by the sheer force of the anger wafting off of Katsuki. It’s noxious, really, and Izuku isn’t sure how he hasn’t just descended into a panic attack or something of the like because of it. It wouldn’t be his first time, nor would it have been the last had it happened, but he seems to survive the car ride.
Unless, of course, if the afterlife waiting for him involves a lot of trees stripped of leaves and a snowed over dirt path. It wouldn’t be a bad afterlife, all things considered, but he would be disappointed if this was his afterlife because his mom is here and she’s supposed to not die.
“Alright, follow me.” Mitsuki adjusts the backpack on her back with a grin that’s more a baring of teeth than anything else, and she waves for everyone to follow her. And, once Katsuki has shoved past him and is tromping ahead and his mom has gone to follow Mitsuki as well, Izuku starts trudging through the snow behind them all.
It’s a beautiful day, thank the heavens. The sky is blue, the sun is shining, and it’s cold as all hell. There’s snow everywhere and Izuku’s breath puffs from his lips in a series of misbegotten clouds that fade away slowly. It’s really nice and everything is quiet, the only sounds being the crunch of their footsteps and the occasional skittering in the trees of beating of wings from any creatures nearby.
At some point, a black rabbit hops across the path and stops in the middle of it to look at them all. It’s Katsuki that puts his arm out for everyone to stop and he crouches down, staring at the rabbit. Slowly, oh so slowly, the rabbit makes its way forward and, to Izuku’s amazement, it sniffs distantly at Katsuki’s hand when it gets within a two foot distance. And then, surprisingly calmly, it hops away into the bushes. Katsuki watches after it for a moment and Izuku only wishes he could see his face.
That’s kinda gay… the voice in his head sounds suspiciously like Uraraka’s.
So Izuku slaps his own cheeks and keeps walking when everyone else starts up again. It’s only by a miracle that someone doesn’t hear him, what with how hard he ends up slapping his cheeks. If anyone asks about the reddened skin, he’ll blame it on the cold.
Going is fairly slow from there onward. The snow is higher now as they move onto the less popular paths, and Izuku huffs as he keeps walking, beginning to find that, despite how athletic he is, it’s getting a little hard to breathe. The air is cold and it hurts to breathe a little, like tiny spears slicing their way down his throat, and it’s so dry that it hurts even more.
But he’s just a tiny bit too proud to fall over and rest here, so Izuku pushes through. He’d never give Katsuki the satisfaction of being able to gloat in his face about it, especially with how often that happens anyway. It’s certainly not all that easy but Izuku will survive.
Besides, Uraraka would kill him if he died on this hike, so…
Surviving is required now, I suppose.
Thankfully, it’s not too hard of a hike because his mom is participating and Mitsuki may be boisterous and coarse, but she isn’t horrible, especially to Izuku’s mom. They’ve been friends since high school and Mitsuki has always been wonderful to mom. Course, she has an odd way of showing it, but it’s still there. Anyone could see it. Even a blind man could see it.
Izuku sometimes wished that attitude continued through Katsuki and him but not everything goes the way we want.
The four of them reach the end of the hike and they stand out on the little clearing on the cliff, staring out at the view. Izuku catches his breath, eyes widening. It’s beautiful, to say the least, with a forest stretching out beneath them and a river cooling through it and everything is dusted with snow like frosting on cookies and oh Izuku has almost forgotten how much he loved being outdoors. Silently, he resolves today go running on hiking trails more often. Not only would it be beneficial because of the mixed and sometimes rough terrain, but it would also let him get more fresh air and see sights like this.
After a moment or two, he turns to look at his mom, only to find her staring out at the view, red in the face, with wide eyes. Her eyes shine, filling slowly with tears of astonishment, and Izuku leans over to put an arm around her shoulders in a side hug. She leans into his side with a hum and a smile and the two just stare out at the view together. Everything is quiet, everything is peaceful. Katsuki and Mitsuki aren’t even bickering.
It’s all practically silent until Mitsuki nudges Inko gently and says, “Now you get why we come here every year?”
Inko nods, scrubbing at her eyes. “I understand now. It’s so beautiful.”
“Isn’t it?” Mitsuki smiles brightly, and Izuku is a little shocked with how gentle she seems now.
“Oi, old hag.” Katsuki gripes, still silently staring out at the view. “I need to talk to Deku.”
“You want us to move, brat?” Mitsuki raises an eyebrow in challenge.
Inko squeezes her arm. “Oh, calm down. Let them talk.”
Mitsuki grumbles and obeys, turning and walking off with Inko in tow toward some interesting looking trees off to the side of the clearing. Izuku is too subbed to say anything, staring after his mother and Mitsuki, all while not sure whether he should beg them to stay or not. Then he slowly turns his shocked gaze on Katsuki, who still isn’t looking his way, and he starts to fidget.
Things are silent, uncomfortably so, for a long time.
Then Katsuki snaps, “I can hear you fidgeting from here. Stop fucking moving.”
Izuku stuffs his hands in his pockets and forces himself to stay still. Please don't kill me, please don’t kill me, please don’t kill me-
“Oi.” Katsuki pipes up again, “The fuck’re you so nervous for?”
“Really?” Izuku demande, “What am I so nervous for?”
Katsuki raises an eyebrow and scowls at him. “Don’t get fucking smart with me, dickhead.”
“And why not?” Izuku isn’t sure where all this energy is coming from, “All you do is yell at me, even when I’m genuinely complimenting you. All you hear is me mocking you, looking down on you, when I have never once done that. You’re so- so- I don’t even know how to describe it, but you’re so frustrating and I hate how we’re not friends anymore and-”
He doesn’t realize he’s started to cry until something hot traces its way down his cheek. Finally, Izuku comes to his senses and sinks his teeth into his bottom lip, looking down and falling silent. Why did he say all that? Where had it all come from?
He expects Katsuki to yell at him, scream, punch him maybe. What he doesn’t expect is Katsuki just sighing a little and turning to look at him fully. But that’s exactly what he does.
“Listen, shitty Deku. I’m only gonna say this shit once, so you’d better be fucking listening.” Katsuki’s glare is legendary. “We ain’t friends, alright? We ain’t pals, we ain’t buddies, none of that. We’re rivals. There’s a fucking difference. So get over yourself and get on my level so I can properly face you head on, alright? Stop feelin’ sorry for yourself and yell at me, punch me, all that shit.
“Because we may not be friends, but I ain’t gonna have a pitiful excuse for a rival.” Katsuki snaps, “And I ain’t gonna call you my rival if you don’t live up to my fucking expectations.”
Izuku is floored.
Well, not literally of course, but he is entirely stunned. That, based on what he knows about Katsuki, is about as close to a compliment as he might ever get from Katsuki lest he get him drunk. And, to say the least, Izuku doesn’t know how to respond. This hadn’t at all been what he’d expected to get out of this hike (but honestly, he hadn’t expected anything beyond a cramp), but here he is anyway.
Katsuki’s eyes on him are like harpoons, sharp and dangerous and just a little terrifying, but Izuku can’t seem to look away.
So he steels his expression, clenches his fists, and nods. “I’ll do my best to be a worthy rival.”
They’re silent for a long moment.
Then Katsuki huffs a short laugh and looks out at the view once more, smiling like a cat about to pounce. “That’s what I wanted to hear.”
Izuku can’t really help how he grins.
And, when their moms come back and say it’s time to leave, there’s just a little bit more ease between them than there was when they arrived. It isn’t easy by any means, but it’s certainly easier. It may be cheesy, but that’s all Izuku really needs.