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Iida wouldn't call himself a wallflower, but well, he kind of was. Even now in the mist of a holiday party and surrounded by his old classmates and friends as they danced and talked and ate, he found himself tucked into a corner beside a window and the tree. Don't get him wrong, he liked parties when people were acting responsibly as they had fun. He enjoyed the ambiance, the camaraderie, the lively energy, but he didn’t have the same rowdy personality. He needed time to recharge during social situations before he inserted himself back into them. Some of his old classmates took those moments to mean that he wasn’t enjoying himself, but he quite enjoyed watching them have fun just as well. Their happiness was his happiness.
That's where he was, arm pressed to the cold glass of one of the multi-paned windows in Yaoyorozu and Todoroki's home. Snow drifted outside, thick flurries matting the grounds. In the hot stuffy air of the room, the Christmas tree twinkled with multi-colored lights and strings of silver tinsel. The star on top twinkled delightfully, almost in sync with the beat of the cheerful music.
Right over the center of the room, the kissing bough hung just low enough to touch.
Heavy red apples shone along the greenery covered hoops beside small paper effigies of the entire class and then some. From the very bottom, several sprigs of mistletoe had been hung. At the beginning of the party, the sprigs had been heavy with white berries. Now, late into the party and nearing midnight after many kisses had already been exchanged, there were only two singular berries remaining. It seemed as if everyone was reluctant to pluck them, trying to drag out of inevitable.
Watching the kissing bough through a gap between two groups, he caught the exact moment when Midoriya, following after Uraraka and Todoroki, brushed passed Bakugou who was trailing Kirishima and Ashido. They pulled to a stop, Bakugou clutching Midoriya’s forearm, and Iida sighed as he stood in preparation for an argument.
Only, that’s not exactly what happened.
Midoriya raised an eyebrow at the other hero, mouth gently quirked at the corner. In reply, Bakugou silently pointed towards the kissing bough above them. Midoriya’s eyes followed his finger, and immediately darted one way, then the other, then over Bakugou’s shoulder while Bakugou did the same.
They somehow seemed to miss Iida very plainly standing by the tree. It wasn't like he was hidden, and he was well aware of how diligently he was watching them.
Eyes returning to each other and a grin splitting across Midoriya’s face as a smirk pulled at Bakugou’s, they leaned into each other. Bakugou’s hand wrapped around the back of Midoriya’s neck as he pulled him in. When they kissed, it was softer than Iida was aware they knew how to be with each other. A slide of lips against each other before they pressed closer. Quick, chaste, kept short due to the oblivious audience.
Honestly, Iida couldn’t have been the only one seeing this! He wanted to look away as heat curled up from beneath his collar, to check if there was anyone else watching to confirm he wasn't completely insane, but some form of morbid fascination had his eyes focused solely on the pair. Never before had he witnessed such blatant affection between the two, let alone having seen either kiss anyone!
When they pulled apart, their smiles matched one another. Soft, gentle, just an up tilt of the corners of their mouths.
Glancing up, Bakugou pulled one of the remaining berries and grinned down at Midoriya. He took only a moment to stare before turning.
Midoriya reached out, cupping Bakugou’s face in his palms and pulling him back in.
This kiss was far less chaste, and Iida was positive he started to sweat as he watched Midoriya lick desperately into Bakugou’s mouth. They were a tangle of arms and fingers in hair and Bakugou’s hands on Midoriya’s butt . If there hadn’t been much space between them before, they were pressed completely flush this time.
Iida had never felt so scandalized in his life. Which was saying something after sharing the class dorm with Mineta for three years. Steeling himself, he got ready to break up their display, but blessedly, there was a clatter of trays further in the house.
They broke apart, smiles sillier than before and faces red with blush. This time, Midoriya reached above them, never breaking eye contact with Bakugou, to pluck the last berry.
Turning without a word or signal, they wandered back to their own groups. Iida plucked one of the heavy silver bells hanging off a tree branch, and started out towards the middle of the room with a heavy sigh. He could hear conversations stuttering as the pair rejoined their friends.
“Kat!” Ashido shouted from one side, “Wait, is that a berry? Who the heck let you kiss them?”
“None of your damn business!”
“Izuku, a berry? When did that happen?” Uraraka asked politely from Iida's other side as the rest of their group crowded around him to inspect the berry the same way Bakugou’s was. “That’s surprising. I didn’t think you’d like this type of traditions.”
“I don’t know. I like it well enough.”
With the sigh of the put upon, Iida raised the bell over his head and rang it incessantly. “Attention! Attention, everyone!” As if they were still in class, the party quieted with just a few giggles and all eyes turned to him. “The last berries have been plucked from the kissing bough! There can be no kissing until it is midnight!”
“Ah, come on! Iida!” Kaminari whined behind him, “I didn’t get a kiss! Now I have to wait till Christmas Eve is over? Who took the last two berries? You guys suck!”
“Shouldn’t have been so slow, pikachu,” Bakugou sneered.
“Who in their right mind kissed you anyway?”
Tuning out the argument that ensued, Iida pocketed his bell and drifted back into his group of friends. He did his level best not to make it obvious that he’d seen, but after Midoriya had caught his glance more than once he finally asked, “Hey, Iida, is something the matter? You seem nervous.”
“Not nervous, just…” He trailed off, glancing at the rest of their friends to be sure that they weren’t listening before saying, “I saw.” Simple. Perfunctory. Fact. Get it over with quick.
Midoriya cocked his head to the side, berry pinned to his collar. “Saw what?”
Iida coughed into his fist, looking for the best way to say what he knew. He cleared his throat. “I saw who you got the berry from. Under the kissing bough.” He paused, waiting for the information to sink in, and knew it had when Midoriya’s cheeks bloomed redder than they already were. “Though I find it an… unlikely match, as your friend I am happy for you. Are you happy?”
Midoriya’s eyes dropped to the floor, and when they rose again, he was looking across the room at where Bakugou stood. After a moment, he turned back to smile at Iida. “Yeah, I am.”