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Katsuki didn’t hate the holidays.
Ok, he hated the fact that they practically sucker-punched you with their capitalist bullshit and heavy-handed marketing tactics. He also didn’t like that the minute it started getting cold, couples took every second of the ‘holiday season’ to suffocate everyone around them with their PDA. Their lovey-dovey antics meant leaving all of the singles to suffer while they made out underneath plants and bought each other cheesy gifts that say “I love you” or “I’ll cherish you” or some other dumb shit. That annoyed him.
But he liked the holidays more than he’d like to admit. Even though he would begrudgingly put on that stupid (but undeniably comfortable) Christmas sweater each year, he didn’t hate cooking dinner with his dad while his mom covered the house in garland and glitter. He didn’t hate how after dinner, they’d all settle on the couch and listen to Mitsuki tell absurd stories about the latest bitchy model she had to work with or yet another retelling of the time his father got hit on by a random guy in Paris. (The Parisian was quickly scared away the second he saw an angry Mitsuki coming towards them but that’s a story for another time.)
His parents’ jobs kept them busy and constantly traveling, so it wasn’t uncommon for Katsuki to come home to an empty house every night. When they were promoted, the holidays became the only time he’d be able to properly spend time with them.
“Ochako-chan, can you move the lights a little bit higher?”
“Sure!”
“Sato-san, is the cake ready yet?”
“Almost!”
It was the last couple days before U.A. would be closed for winter break and Class 3-A was dispersed around the common area in preparation for their annual holiday party. Everyone had found something to do, whether it was hanging up lights, decorating the tree, or icing cookies.
Katsuki stood in the center of the kitchen, a bag of red royal icing in his hands as he stared pointedly down at the cookie he was working on.
While baking wasn’t the same as cooking, it was nice to have something to focus on, especially something with so much detail involved. Izuku stood beside him with his own bag of royal icing, adding the finer details onto the cookies. Turns out, the nerd actually had decent art skills from drawing so many heroes in his notebook throughout the years. They didn’t spare each other much conversation until Izuku started humming along to the cheesy Christmas music that played from Jirou’s speaker.
In earlier years, Katsuki probably would’ve yelled at him to shut up or turn off the speaker, but after years of being around him (and some therapy), he got used to the nerd’s antics.
So the two of them decorated cookie after cookie, making jolly snowmen and bright green trees dotted with red frosting ornaments or the occasional gingerbread man that Izuku would decorate to look like one of their friends.
Yes, they were all friends— though it still took Katsuki a second to admit it. After three years of close proximity and forced camaraderie, people tend to grow on you. During those three achingly long years, Katsuki managed to quiet his abrasive ego. As years passed, their relationship slowly started resembling a proper rivalry and that second moment in Ground Beta where Katsuki properly apologized solidified their friendship. They’d train at least a couple of times a week, maybe even meet up on patrol, and have their weekly tea sessions with All Might. Some days they’d be caught up in class antics and today’s included a cookie decorating session.
“Kacchan, can you pass me the red? I need it for Kirishima’s hair.” Izuku asked, glancing over at Katsuki who was very focused on his current cookie. He grunted, paying no attention to Izuku as he finished lining the cookie and started to fill the inside of it.
“Kacchan!” Izuku grumbled, “The frostings drying already hurry up!” The blond rolled his eyes and passed it over, tapping his foot impatiently as he waited for Izuku to finish with it.
“Hurry it up, would you? I’ve got more to do!”
“I’m gonna mess up his hair, Kacchan…” He trailed off for a couple more seconds before he finished his last dollop of icing, “And… done! Here you go Kacchan—”
Without thinking, the blond reached for the bag and accidentally squeezed too hard, sending bursts of icing from the bag— and right onto Izuku’s face. The pair’s eyes went wide as strings of red icing splattered over the counter and Izuku’s apron.
They stared at each other with wide eyes until Katsuki snapped out of the stupor, laughing at the shocked expression on Izuku’s face.
“Kacchan, look what you did!!” Izuku complained, his nose scrunching up as he pulled at the front of his shirt to look at the dollops of red icing. He pulled a bit at his hair, breathing a sigh of relief that none of the sugary frosting had gotten into it, before frowning at the still laughing Katsuki.
“Hah— You really look like a Christmas tree now— pfft—”
“Kacchan!!” Izuku reached to nudge Katsuki and tell him to knock it off but missed, leaving a smear of red icing on Katsuki’s black shirt.
“Hey, watch it!”
“You got frosting on me first!”
“It’s not my fault you’re slow—”
A loud gasp from the common area cut Katsuki’s remark short, their gazes darting towards where Yaoyorozu was standing, her eyes wide in horror as she looked at the fallen cake. Icing was spread across the wooden floor and the delicately decorated top was destroyed beyond recognition.
“The cake!” “Mineta!”
The culprit stood nervously to the side, everyone glaring his way at his attempt to sneak off after ‘knocking’ into Yaoyorozu and toppling the cake over.
“Mineta, you cannot perform such perverse actions in a public space!” Iida scolded, as practically the entire class glowered at him. Sero’s tape wound around him, as they dragged the grape-headed boy off, probably in for one of Iida’s very long scoldings. ‘Serves him right,’ Katsuki thought as he glared at the boy.
Uraraka sighed, glancing at the ruined cake, “What do we do now? We don’t have enough time to make another one...”
“Ah!” Momo sprung up, clapping her hands in front of her, “I know what to do! Midoriya, Bakugo— are you two almost finished?”
“Hah?” Katsuki asked, setting the icing bag back down onto the counter, “Why me and Deku?”
“Ah well Uraraka is busy with the lights and Iida is off with Mineta—”
“Yeah, yeah— just tell us!”
Momo’s eyes brightened up as she fished out her phone, tapping the screen in quick succession, “There’s this patisserie where I know they’ll have the cake ready in time! It’s near the city center, and I figured since you two were nearly done…”
“Of course, Yaoyorozu!”
Katsuki scoffed lightly but relented, dusting his hands off on his apron, “Fine Ponytail, just give us the damn address.”
After scrambling for a piece of paper (because Momo forgot she could quite literally materialize it immediately), the pair took a quick detour up to their dorms to change out of their comfortable casual wear for thick winter coats and were on their way. Katsuki slipped on his gloves and put a black mask on his face— he got recognized in public way too often. Izuku stood beside him, fixing the hat on his head before glancing towards everyone, “We’re off, everyone!”
The class chorused back with their own goodbyes as they ducked out of the dorm and into the cold winter air. Izuku wrapped his arms across his chest, shivering as the chilly wind whizzed past them. Luckily the city center wasn’t that far from where U.A. was situated, but Momo’s directions had them near the plaza which was sure to be filled with plenty of people.
Izuku fiddled with the slip of paper in his hands aimlessly, “So…” he started, “Are you doing anything with your parents for winter break Kacchan?”
“Just the usual, cake, dinner, presents, all that stuff,” Katsuki replied, his words slightly muffled by the mask. “The Old Hag probably already sent out our stupid Christmas cards or something.”
Izuku chuckled, “They’re not that bad! Auntie Mitsuki is a fashion designer after all,” he smiled softly at the earlier memories of seeing Katsuki bundled up in one of the Bakugou Family Christmas sweaters that Mitsuki would design every year. One year, Izuku had gone to visit with his mother and Mitsuki had gifted him an All Might Christmas sweater that matched Katsuki’s.
His smile faltered as he recalled that day, months before they manifested their quirks (or rather Izuku’s lack thereof). He missed dressing up in dumb Christmas sweaters with his best friend or sleeping right next to the tree in hopes of catching Santa. (Katsuki had been the non-believer between the two of them and Izuku had been determined to prove that he was real.)
Katsuki’s eyes narrowed at the sudden drooping of Izuku’s shoulders, watching as his lips moved to form a thin line. “Oi, what’s wrong with you?”
Izuku’s gaze snapped up from his boots up to Katsuki’s frowning face, waving his hands in front of him, “N-nothing! Just thinking about, um, what Mom is gonna make for dinner tomorrow when I go see her! I really miss her…” Katsuki raised an eyebrow at his tone and watched as Izuku’s fingers started to twiddle with themselves, deciding not to press further as the streetlights started to light up the darkening sky.
As they neared the city center, the walkways started to grow busier, pushing the two closer together as waves of people started to rush past them. Couples dotted every corner of the city center, some taking the time to pose in front of the large, decorated tree in the center while others simply walked hand-in-hand, enjoying each other's company. Loud Christmas music flooded through the speakers hidden in the streetlamps, mixing in with the loud chatter within the sea of people.
Katsuki wrinkled his nose as he gruffly shoved his hands into his coat pockets, turning away from the joyful couples and towards the overly decorated displays that lined the city streets. Each one showcased their own picture-perfect rendering of holiday cheer, from the mechanical elves that ‘skated’ across the plastic ice or the inflatable Santa Claus that would wave cheerfully at everyone who passed by.
“Is this the one Yaoyorozu ordered from?” Izuku asked, glancing down at the slip of paper in his hand. The pair stood in front of an elegant looking patisserie with a fancily written sign, the scent of chocolate and freshly-baked pastries wafting through the air. He pushed open the door and was flooded with a homely warmth, the smell of sweets growing even stronger as they walked in.
“Welcome in! How can I help you today?” Marble countertops lined the edges of the patisserie, forming a U-shape, with glass cases filled with gorgeously decorated desserts underneath. Each dessert was topped with the likes of chocolate ganache, fresh strawberries, dollops of fresh cream, and even edible gold. Rose gold accents decorated the entire store, from the ornate designs on the walls to the decorations sprinkled throughout the seating area.
“Uh, we’re picking up for Yaoyorozu?” Izuku blinked owlishly in awe at the lavish store as the two of them walked up to where the cheerful associate had greeted them from. Katsuki trailed behind him, his hands still shoved into his coat pocket as he silently let Izuku take the lead.
“Oh, yes— the last minute order!” She smiled kindly at them, tapping the register, “My apologies, it’s taking a bit longer than expected, do you mind waiting a bit? It should only be ten minutes or so, would you like anything to drink while you wait?”
“Sure, thank you so much!” Izuku bowed his head appreciatively, Katsuki doing the same as the lady gestured towards the seating area, telling them that their drinks would be out shortly.
“Sorry we have to wait, Kacchan,” He replied once they were both seated, “I’m sure they’ll be done soon!” Katsuki had his usual expression of course, and Izuku couldn’t help but apologize out of habit.
The blonde scoffed, shifting in the chair to glance away from Izuku, “It’s not your fault, stop apologizing for shit.” He felt his heart skip a beat as Izuku visibly perked up at his words, watching him relax and smile.
“Here you are!” The woman said, walking up to the table with a metal tray balanced in her hands, “Two hot chocolates on the house! Figured you heroes would need something to warm yourselves up with how chilly it is outside.” She gave the pair a wink as she set the tray down onto the table, the matching mugs topped with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.
They both thanked her politely before she left the two to their own conversation. Izuku hummed in relief after his first sip, steam rising from the mug and fanning his cheeks.
Katsuki pulled down his mask and cupped the warm mug, rubbing his hands around it as he watched the green-haired boy smile warmly at him, “Try it! I know sweets aren’t your thing, but it’s really good, Kacchan!”
Katsuki blinked widely as he felt his heart tug at him, taking a sip in hopes of covering up the light pink that rushed to his cheeks.
He grunted before mumbling a quick, “Yeah, it’s not bad.”
“It’s so fancy here! But then again Yaoyorozu did choose it— it fits her really well!” Izuku rambled aimlessly, glancing around at the surroundings. “Do you bake a lot at home, Kacchan?”
Katsuki scoffed, “Of course, I have! Cooking and baking are basically the same thing, baking just has more calories that you don’t need. Only real cooks can do both,” he boasted, glancing at the cases of desserts, “That one extra just does it more than me.”
“Here you are!” The cheerful cashier said, holding a white bag in her hands. “Sorry, it ended up taking a bit longer than expected, happy holidays!”
Katsuki replied with a quick thanks, taking the bag from her hands while also sliding the mask back up onto his face. Izuku bowed his head and thanked the woman profusely,
“Thank you so much—! Kacchan, wait up! ”
Katsuki pushed open the ornate golden door, wincing at the feeling of sharp cold flying towards his face. He wrinkled his nose at the cold, glancing up towards the night sky where white snowflakes had started to drift down from the clouds.
“Ahhh, it’s cold!” Izuku squealed, following Katsuki right behind him. “And it’s snowing! How fun!”
Katsuki’s eyes widened at the sight of Izuku’s soft smile, his warm cheeks turning a light red at the sudden feeling of cold air against his cheeks. The shorter boy turned to him curiously,
“Kacchan? Everything ok?” He froze, glancing over to see Izuku’s eyes wide with confusion. His eyes darted down to Izuku’s flushed face as his mind scrambled to find a response.
“You—” Katsuki started before he heard giggles from nearby, glancing over to the nearby street corner where he could see a pair of girls eyeing them.
“ —Isn’t that Deku?”
“He looks so cute! Should we go say hi?” Katsuki’s eyes narrowed for a split second before he glanced back at Izuku and down to his shivering hands, “Your hands are shivering, dumbass.” Pushing the box into Izuku’s empty hands, he stripped the gloves off of his own and tossed them Izuku’s way, doing the same with the scarf wrapped around his neck. “Auntie never told you to wear gloves and a scarf when it's cold? Dumbass…”
Izuku yelped at the sudden gesture and glanced up at Katsuki warily, his narrowed red eyes glancing back at Izuku, “What? You wanna stay shivering like a wet dog?”
That comment snapped Izuku out of his stupor, “A-ah, thank you Kacchan!” The blond watched him as he wrapped the orange scarf around his neck and slipped on the black gloves, sighing softly at the warmth.
As Izuku finished securing the gloves around his hands, his eyes wandered throughout the plaza, lighting up at the sight of a familiar storefront.
“Kacchan— look it’s you!” Katsuki’s eyes followed Izuku’s gaze towards one particular shop close to the bakery, internally groaning at the familiar hero-themed logo. Katsuki knew the look on his face all too well from the number of sporadic shopping sprees that would happen whenever he begrudgingly went along with the class on one of their escapades.
What he didn’t expect was to see a miniature version of himself in plush form sitting on the display, alongside other stuffed replicas of his friends and fellow classmates. Some of them had little accessories to make them more festive, and the miniature Katsuki had a little Santa hat on with a comical ‘Boom!’ cutout above him.
He fought the urge to roll his eyes as he saw how Izuku was practically bouncing up and down on his heels, eyes shining at the colorful display. He settled on mentally cursing out his PR team for approving something like that and watched as Izuku darted from one side of the display to the other.
“Ahhhh, it’s so cool to see everyone’s official merch!! ” Izuku gushed before tearing his gaze away from the store, “I wonder if they have the new Limited Edition hoodies yet— though I suppose that we would be told before they would come out— but my manager showed me mocks about a month ago, so maybe they were planning to have them out by the holiday season?”
Katsuki rolled his eyes as Izuku pressed himself against the glass, “Kacchan we need to get a picture to show everyone!”
“Huh?”
“C’mon, Kacchan!” Izuku grabbed Katsuki’s arm and pulled him closer until they were in front of the display. Fumbling his phone out of his coat pocket he held it out in front of them, grinning into the camera, “Smile Kacchan!”
Katsuki side-eyed Izuku’s hand for a second and suppressed the sudden close proximity, trying to look slightly less annoyed than usual as Izuku snapped the quick picture.
“Done!” Katsuki frowned at the sudden loss of Izuku’s hand wrapped around his arm, but the green-haired boy’s attention was on his phone, already sending it to the class group chat.
“Alright, now hurry it up— we gotta get back soon.”
Izuku hummed in response, hopefully paying no mind to Katsuki’s flustered tone as he smiled down at their selfie.
Once satisfied with the barrage of messages that the class sent in response, they finally crossed through the center of the plaza, the blond adamant on getting home before his heart couldn’t take anymore.
“Ah, you two! Want a quick picture in front of the tree?” The duo stopped in their tracks to see a photographer waving over to them, “It’ll take just a second!” Katsuki internally groaned at the timing, hoping his cheeks weren’t as warm as they felt.
Izuku’s eyes lit up for a moment before his shoulders slumped, “Sorry, we have to get going.” The refusal was tinged with disappointment, eyes glancing longingly at the three for a moment before Katsuki cut in,
“Hurry it up.” He watched as Izuku’s eyes lit up once more, pulling Katsuki towards the front of the tree.
“Come on Kacchan!” Izuku immediately moved to pose, but not before Katsuki turned them to face each other his hands darting around to fix Izuku’s messy bangs which had fallen out of his hat adjusting
“Dumbass, your hair looks like a mess,” he grumbled under his breath, “Can’t even put on a goddamn scarf right…”
Dusting a couple of snowflakes off of the scarf, Katsuki glanced back up and tugged lightly at Izuku’s green curls peeking out from the hat. Izuku giggled at the sudden gesture and Katsuki felt his eyes widen, his face feeling hot.
There amidst all of the lights and the snow, stood a snow-dusted, pink-cheeked Izuku, his eyes shining at Katsuki with an emotion he couldn’t quite place. His eyes darted down towards Izuku’s lips as he felt that fluttering feeling in his chest return.
Izuku raised an eyebrow out of curiosity but shook it off once Katsuki moved, turning towards the photographer with a bright smile. Katsuki, of course, tried to keep it together but he couldn’t help the smallest smile as he felt Izuku inch closer to him.
The bright flash blinded them for a quick second before the photographer waved them over and handed them the picture.
“Ah, young love,” she said to Katsuki after she had passed the picture over to Izuku, who lit up even more as he stared at the picture. The photographer gave Katsuki a knowing look, nudging him with her elbow, “Don’t let a cutie like him get away, alright?”
“W-what—” Katsuki sputtered out as the woman eyed him knowingly,
“You heard what I said.”
Katsuki looked over at where Izuku stood, smiling at the photo in his hands, his eyes softening for a moment.
“ —Kacchan, c’mon we have to hurry! Everyone’s waiting!” Blinking out of his daze Katsuki rolled his eyes,
“It’s your fault for getting excited over a picture .”
“But it's Kacchan and I! How could I not!”
“Whatever, c’mon let’s go— those chicks on the corner keep staring at us.”
Izuku Midoriya disliked Christmas.
Don’t get him wrong, he loved the cheerful vibes of it all, he loved the pretty decorations and he especially loved the fact that he could spend time celebrating it with his friends. (The sales on hero merch were also really good this time of year.)
But what he didn’t like was eagerly waiting for his father to come home for the holidays, patiently sitting in front of the door in hopes of Hisashi suddenly appearing with open arms. For nearly five years he was constantly told, “He’ll be back soon, he’s just busy!” but whenever Christmas came around that promise seemed to get further and further away until he finally accepted the truth.
It was still nice to enjoy the time with his mom, but whenever Christmas music started to play from the radio, it was just another reminder of his father walking out on them.
“Izuku!” Izuku popped his head out of his bedroom door, seeing his mom standing at the bottom of the stairs at the front door. He raised an eyebrow at the thick coat she was wearing, paired with the thick scarf wrapped around her neck.
“Mom?”
“Izuku, dear, why aren’t you dressed yet? I thought I told you that we were going out this morning?” He racked his head for a recollection of that morning, vaguely remembering his mom telling him about that night’s plans but it had slipped his mind. He gave her a sheepish smile,
“Sorry! I’ll get dressed now!” Quickly dressing in proper clothes, he grabbed his winter coat from the hook, trailing to a stop as his eyes darted towards the small bag on his desk. Warm gloves and the scarf sat inside, ones that made his cheeks and hands equally warm as he remembered the moment they shared in the plaza. ‘Surely he wouldn’t… mind me using them just for one more night?’
“Izuku!”
“Coming, mom!” he yelled and grabbed the gloves, slipping them over his hands. He smiled softly at the warm feeling, “It feels like Kacchan,” he muttered to himself before running down the stairs to meet up with his mother.
Inko glanced at him up and down, her eyes trailing from up and down his 5’9” frame that had grown a lot in the past three years since he went to U.A. She warmly smiled at him, fixing his coat and giving him a knowing smile.
“I’m so happy for you, Izuku.” He raised an eyebrow at her sudden comment but pushed his confusion aside and hugged her, “I love you, mom.”
After walking a short while— and a quick conversation about a new dish Inko wanted to cook for him while he was home— they arrived in front of a large familiar house.
“Huh?”
Inko knocked on the door, the house’s light flickering in the snow as the door swung open, a bright smiled blonde woman standing there to greet them.
“Inko! Izuku! Welcome, you two!” Izuku stood wide-eyed, shock evident on his face as he saw Katsuki walk by behind her, dressed in a black sweater and an adorable Christmas apron (Mitsuki’s doing, no doubt.)
“Thank you for having us, Mitsuki,” Inko bowed politely, nudging the stiffened and blushing Izuku to bow politely as well. “A-ah, yes thank you, Auntie!”
“Aw, of course! Come in you, two.” Stepping out of the frigid cold and into the warm house Izuku glanced around the house, smiling softly at the sight of decorations lining the entire house. Mitsuki always went all out with her decorations, from the garland lining the staircase to the beautifully designed centerpieces that sat on nearly every surface just to give it some kind of festive twist.
“Katsuki! Greet Midoriya-san and Izu-kun properly!” The usually disgruntled blond bowed his head politely.
“Hi Auntie, Deku.” he bowed his head politely, eyes trailing towards Izuku’s hands and neck. His eyebrows raised in amusement, giving Izuku a knowing smirk as the green-haired boy felt his cheeks glow even brighter.
“Masaru-san, Mitsuki-san, thank you so much for having us for Christmas dinner.” Inko bowed her head again at both of them, as Mitsuki laughed waving her hand,
“Of course! It’s been too long since we’ve been able to get together like this! I was surprised when the brat brought it up—”
“Shut up, old hag!” Mitsuki’s glare snapped over to Katsuki,
“Eh?! Don’t call me old hag, brat!”
Izuku couldn’t help but chuckle at their antics, as Mitsuki nudged Katsuki playfully and laughed it off, planting her arms on her hips.
“Dinner’s all prepped and done, right kid?”
Katsuki scoffed, “It wouldn’t if you worked on it—”
“Katsuki!”
“Wine, Inko? We have so much to catch up on!” After the plates were cleared and the table was wiped clean the adults settled into the living room, while Izuku and Katsuki stood shoulder to shoulder, silently finishing the last of the plates.
Izuku kept glancing warily at Katsuki, he seemed… off. Almost… nervous? Red eyes locked with him for a moment and he jumped at Katsuki’s scowl, turning his attention back to the dishes.
“—Oh, I know! We could look through the old photo albums—”
“Alright, nope— we’re heading up!” Katsuki yelled as he abruptly shut the running water and grabbed the back of Izuku’s shirt. The latter yelped at the sudden movement but quickly set down the last plate and grinned sheepishly at their parents as Katsuki dragged him upstairs.
“Be nice to Izu-kun, ok brat?” Mitsuki called back, albums of incredibly embarrassing childhood photos already sitting in her lap.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever!” he yelled back down the stairs as Izuku chucked at their exchange. The slightly muffled sounds of Mitsuki’s boisterous laughter echoed through the hallways as Katsuki nudged Izuku right in front of his bedroom door.
Izuku blinked widely, not even realizing he had started to trail slowly behind Katsuki— a habit that had stuck since their shared childhood. “Hm?”
“Just—” katsuki sighed, motioning towards the door with his head, “Open the damn door already, dumbass.”
“Kacchan— what’s all this?”
A large, cozy All Might blanket was draped to make a fort on — one that Izuku recognized from their old movie nights back when they were kids. Fairy lights strung around the headboard with Katsukis laptop set up on the edge of the bed with the All-Mighty Christmas Special title screen on it,
Katsuki closed the door behind them, trying to hide his slightly flushed cheeks amidst the dark lighting of the room, “You said you didn’t like Christmas, so…”
Izuku turned towards Katsuki, his eyes still wide with wonder, “Kacchan, you… did all of this for me?”
He glanced away, trying to hide the light pink that rose onto his cheeks as he stuffed his hands into his pockets, “Y-yeah, I did.”
What he didn’t mention was the three-hour video call that he had with his friends because every time Katsuki tried putting up the fort it collapsed seconds later. ( “You have to have support, Kacchan!” “Don’t call me that, Dunce Face!” “Ooh, add some fairy lights to make it cuter!” “Midoriya’s gonna love it, bro!”)
Izuku was silently skimming over the room and insecurity started to bubble up in Katsuki’s chest as he quickly turned away from the scene, “Look— if it looks stupid we can take it down or some shit— knew this would look dumb.” He stiffened when Izuku glanced over at him with a soft smile,
“It’s perfect, Kacchan.” That dumb nickname never failed to make Katsuki’s heart flutter as he begrudgingly let Izuku drag him towards the fort.
“Uwah, Kacchan— it’s just like when we were kids— with the Christmas special too!”
“Tch, yeah.” He murmured under his breath as he used his foot to nudge the door closed. Izuku's eyes trailed over to the nightstand, where a neatly wrapped green box sat, tied off with a neat bow.
“Is that for me?” Izuku asked hesitantly before realization hit, “Oh no! I didn’t get you anything this year Kacchan— I’m so sorry! If I had known we were coming—”
“Deku, “ Katsuki sighed, effectively cutting his rambles short, “Just open the box.” Picking up the box from the nightstand, he placed it in Izuku’s hands and sat on the edge of his bed, Izuku following behind him. Nerves flew through Katsuki’s veins as he watched Izuku start to open the box, anxious anticipation filling his soul.
Carefully pulling at the red bow, the ribbon unfurled itself into Izuku’s lap, and off went the green lid, revealing… a pair of gloves and a scarf?
The thick knots of fabric showed they were clearly handmade, with a small handmade tag on the edges of them with a small green heart on it. Picking them out of the box Izuku held them in his hands, glancing over at Katsuki with that made his heart skip a beat.
“Kacchan…” he asked softly, “Did you make these for me?”
“Yeah, so your nerd ass would stop stealing mine .” Katsuki shot back, before sighing, “I… picked it up ‘cause my therapist said it’d be good for me. Said it’d be a good way to control my anger.”
Izuku was silently staring at the neatly knit mittens and scarf in his hand for a bit too long and anxiety got the best of Katsuki as he huffed, turning his burning face away, “If you don’t like them then you can burn them or some shit for all I care—”
“Kacchan, how could I?” Izuku asked incredulously, “You made them for me— Kacchan… made them. For me .” Izuku’s face flushed a bright red at the realization, “All of this for me…” His mind went back to the moment at the tree when they looked into each other’s eyes in the cold dark air and snow fell from the heavens like a dream.
Izuku glanced up to see Katsuki’s head closer than before, eyes glancing down to look at Katsuki’s lips and back up to his eyes,
“Kacchan…” He trailed off, hands squeezing the knots of fabric in his hands, “Would you hate me if I…”
Katsuki leaned forward, slowly pressing his lips against Izuku’s in a kiss— a stark difference from the usual volatile attitude that he gave off. Izuku felt his grip on the gloves loosen as they moved to rest on Katsuki’s chest, pressing his lips back with his own fervor. He felt Katsuki’s arms pull him in closer, relaxing into his hold. His heart fluttered in his chest as he focused in on the moment— the feeling of Katsuki’s soft lips against his own, the sweet scent of caramel that seemed to trail after him constantly.
Katsuki pulled back breathlessly, eyes wide as realization hit. He turned away, resting his hands over his face as he tried to hide his blushing cheeks, to Izuku’s amusement.
“Kacchan…”
“S-shut up!” Izuku could see the tips of Katsuki’s ears turning bright red, giggling at his expression. Izuku smiled softly as he brought his legs up to his chest and hugged the scarf and gloves that had nearly been forgotten in the heat of the moment.
“Kacchan kissed me…” he murmured softly, peeking up through his curls as his heart skipped a beat.
“I’ve wanted to kiss you since I saw you at the tree…” Katsuki muttered, trying even harder to mask his embarrassment as he didn’t meet Izuku’s eyes. “Stupid nerd… looking fucking cute…”
Izuku chuckled, leaning over to rest his head on Katsuki’s shoulder, “I wanted to kiss you too…”
“I love you, Kacchan.” He felt Katsuki stiffen for a moment, as his brain scrambled for a coherent response
“Kacchan…” Izuku breathed incredulously staring up at Katsuki as if they were frozen in time.
“I love you too.” The words left his lips with no hesitation as Katsuki's gaze darted towards Izuku.
“How could I… How could I love anyone other than you, Kacchan?”
“Izuku—”
“Hohoho!” All Might belted as he slid onto the screen, decked out in a bright red Santa costume. “Hello, young boys and girls! It is I, All Might!” A jolt went down their spines as their eyes shot to the computer screen, where All Might was ‘standing’.
As he continued his opening monologue, Izuku and Katsuki stared at each other wide-eyed until the former started laughing, dispelling the tension. Katsuki rolled his eyes, cursing ‘All Might’ for his sudden intrusion but shook it off and smiled. Lifting his arm up, Izuku scooted closer, taking it as an invitation to lay his head against Katsuki’s chest.
Izuku smiled softly as he felt his chest slowly move up and down along with the feeling of the blond’s arm wrapped around him. He hummed in satisfaction as he felt Katsuki drape another blanket over them, snuggling into the warmth. Even with his eyes on the screen he couldn’t help but feel the chuckle rumbling through Katsuki’s chest or get lost in the sound of his heart beating.
Maybe the holidays weren't so bad after all.