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Katsuki wakes up on the morning of Christmas, he rolls over to look at his husband's side of the bed. “It’s Christmas, Deku.” He says softly.
“I know, Kacchan.” Izuku responds just as softly.
Katsuki sighs before turning and getting out of bed carefully, moving slowly so as to not injure anything. Getting old was not fun in Katsuki’s opinion. He hates having to be careful, he hates how his hearing gets worse and worse every year, he hates not being able to move around like he used to, he really hates getting old. Katsuki refuses to say he’s already old even though he’s well into his 70’s.
Katsuki roams through the hallways to the kitchen, greeting the cat when she comes up to him. “Merry Christmas, Butterscotch.” He coos as he pets her head. “I still can’t believe your Pa named you that.” He chuckles softly to himself.
“Hey! Butterscotch is a beautiful name, thank you very much. It fits her perfectly.” Izuku chastises.
“I know, I know. He always says it’s ‘cause of this little spot on your back, but you’re really a white fluffy cat. Who names their white cat Butterscotch?” Katsuki continues petting her all over as she purrs happily.
“The spot looks exactly like butterscotch and you can’t tell me any different.”
Katsuki continues his journey to the kitchen, Butterscotch and Izuku following behind. Katsuki is in dire need of coffee but before he even makes it to the kitchen his dog comes running up to him.
“You have to-” Izuku starts to say.
“I know I know. I have to let you out before I can get my coffee.” Katsuki grumbles but there’s a smile on his face.
Katsuki and Izuku each picked out their own pet every time. This time Izuku picked Butterscotch, and Katsuki picked Killer, their tiny miniature doberman. Katsuki has been wrapped around that little paw since day one and Izuku has to admit he sometimes got jealous.
After Katsuki lets Killer out and gets him back inside he can finally get his well earned coffee and he can’t wait. Morning coffee is his favorite type of coffee. (He also loves midday coffee and late night coffee, so really he just loves coffee.)
“You gonna make me some coffee, too?” Izuku wonders as he watches Katsuki grab two mugs.
“I’ll never understand how someone can drink coffee with so much milk and sugar.” Katsuki grumbles as he makes the coffee just how Izuku likes.
“And I’ll never understand how you can drink your coffee black, love.” Izuku responds.
“Come on Butterscotch. Come on Killer.” Katsuki calls and whistles to them, making his way to the back porch.
Katsuki loves the back porch with their two rocking chairs that look out to the fenced backyard. They were able to make this place their own little heaven. He loves the memories this place holds. He remembers so many; the happy and the sad, the most beautiful and the most tragic, he remembers them all.
When he finally makes it to his rocking chair, Butterscotch jumps up to lay on Izuku’s chair. “Oi! Down,” he says sternly, “you know that’s Pa’s chair.”
Butterscotch doesn’t move, even when Katsuki waves his hands at her. He ends up having to pick her up and move her to her bed right next to the chair.
“She was fine, hun.” Izuku soothes but takes his seat anyway.
“I remember when we built this porch.” Katsuki reminisces. “Well I built it you just watched.”
“It was a nice view. Who could blame me for just watching?” Izuku laughs.
Katsuki remembers those days perfectly. They had just bought the house a week prior and Katsuki was determined to make the best porch, even if he had to do everything himself, which he did.
Katsuki could have had help from Kirishima but he refused. He was determined to do it himself. He wouldn’t have complained if Izuku had helped a little, however. He can’t deny he did like the attention it got him from his nerd. Izuku would sit in a lawn chair just drinking lemonade and watching him work. Sometimes he would cheer when Katsuki finished with a difficult spot. It took Katsuki a little over a week to build that porch, each day going relatively the same.
Katsuki remembers his favorite day; the last day, and not just because it was finally finished, but because right when Katsuki finished Izuku ran and kissed him in reward. Katsuki radiating excitement and Izuku overflowing with pride.
Soon, Katsuki had his arms around Izuku’s waist swaying them back and forth. They began dancing to a beat only they could hear.
Katsuki even remembers the two little rascals they had then; another fluffy white cat, this one named Princess, and Katsuki had his dog, this one named Ripper. They’ve always had animals, through all the years they’ve been together. It was as natural as breathing air for them. A critical part to their beings.
While they were celebrating the finished porch both their cat and dog came and danced between their legs. They were rubbing both their legs lovingly. It made them laugh. Izuku stilled and looked down at the two chuckling happily. Katsuki’s heart couldn’t take it, he grabbed Izuku’s face and planted another fierce kiss. He could have sworn that day was heaven. He’s happy to say that he has happier memories as well.
“I really do love this porch.” Katsuki says fondly. He’s not sure why, but he’s feeling very sentimental today; and boy when he was younger he never thought he’d be saying this. But, he’s older now, he’s lost friends to old age and to casualties. He really has lived a great life. It was fulfilled and he couldn’t have asked for more. Well there’s one thing he can think of, but he knows it’s just a selfish request.
“You know it’s almost noon, hun.” Izuku says softly. “You haven’t eaten anything today.”
Katsuki remains rocking back and forth in his chair, still looking out to the yard. Killer is running through the small amount of snow on the ground and chasing the gentle snowfall.
“You always did love the snow.” Katsuki mused. “Remember our first snowfall here?”
It was their first winter in this house, thankfully Katsuki had finished all the construction that summer. One day Izuku woke up first and saw snow falling outside their window. He couldn’t contain himself and immediately jumped on Katsuki yelling for him to wake up.
“Kacchan!” Izuku shook Katsuki. “Kacchan! It’s snowing! You need to wake up!”
“Oi!” Katsuki grumbled, not liking the way he was being woken up. “The fuck time is it ‘Zuku?”
“Who cares! It’s snowing!” Izuku responded, jumping out of bed. Katsuki opened his eyes to slits to see Izuku jumping around the room; he assumed Izuku was looking for appropriate clothes to wear.
“Why do you love the snow so much?” Katsuki asked, sitting up slightly in the bed. “It’s cold and mushy and wet.”
Izuku stopped in his tracks to stare at Katsuki with wide eyes. “It’s beautiful! You can make snowmen and have snowball fights! Oh! And you can’t ski or snowboard without snow! Snow is just amazing, you’re just cranky ‘cuz you don’t like the cold!” Izuku finished and stuck out his tongue.
“You look like a child when you do that.” Katsuki shook his head. This didn’t faze Izuku; he just shrugged, smiled, then went back to his frantic search for clothes.
Katsuki really didn’t want to get out of the warmth of their bed. He laid back down, propped up on one arm so he could continue regarding Izuku. Katsuki loved the sight, it made him laugh every time Izuku would pick up an article of clothing, hold it in his hands for a second then throw it back and pick something else up. He mostly liked that Izuku was doing this frantic dance in only his underwear.
Finally, Izuku was all dressed and he turned to look at Katsuki with crossed arms. “Just get dressed at least! You don’t need to come out with me, you can just sit on the porch!” Izuku whined and pouted.
Katsuki chuckled at the childish actions, he knew Izuku always got like this when he saw snow. “Fine.” He conceded with an eye roll and getting out of bed. “I swear if you make me get off the porch, though.” He shook his head pointing at Izuku. “There’s gonna be hell to pay.” He finished saying with a devilish smile.
Izuku responded, wearing his own wicked grin. “Oh? I’m soo scared Kacchan!” He winked and started towards the door. “I’ll meet you out there, babe.”
Izuku was out the door before Katsuki could even respond. He just shook his head, knowing full well he was probably going to end up covered in snow.
When Katsuki got out to the porch he saw Izuku running around with their dog, and their cat was watching them from the porch.
“Yeah, I don’t like the snow either.” Katsuki patted the cat’s head. “Let’s just watch those dorks make fools of themselves. Sound like a plan?” The cat just purred in response.
After a few minutes Izuku finally noticed Katsuki and their cat.
“Kacchan!” Izuku yelled to Katsuki with a big smile on his adorable face, red from the cold. “Kacchan! Come out here! Look at all the snow!”
“I can see it perfectly fine from here, nerd.” Katsuki grumbled even though there was a slight smile on his face. “And I fuckin’ told you I ain’t going out there.”
Izuku wasn’t deterred in the slightest by his husband's sore attitude. Katsuki’s stomach dropped when he saw Izuku’s face contort into a mischievous sneer. Before Katsuki could react, a large snowball found its mark on his forehead.
“You’re gonna pay for that you damn nerd.” Katsuki ran off the porch, tackling Izuku into the ground and burying him in the snow. They were both laughing, each taking turns pummelling the other with snow. Soon their dog was running and jumping between them, wanting to join the fun. Their cat, however, continued to stay seated safely on the porch looking down at them.
“You did that basically every time there was snow.” Katsuki says, shaking his head, coming back to the present. “Always promised I wouldn’t have to go in the snow, then you’d just do whatever you wanted.”
“You had fun every time and you know it.” Izuku responded with a soft chuckle. “But, I am sorry, maybe I shouldn’t have done that every time.”
Katsuki’s only reaction is a slight sniffle and Izuku can see some tears well up in his eyes.
“Do you remember your favorite Christmas?” Katsuki asks through a sniffle.
“Every Christmas with you was my favorite, Kacchan.” Izuku says earnestly.
“I swear your favorite gift had to be that year I got you that All Might superhero collection pack that had all the movies and the anime AND it had your favorite action figure!” Katsuki says now chuckling. “I’d never seen your eyes sparkle so much. You were adorable.”
Izuku blushes at that last statement and gets all flustered. “W-well, I mean it was ultra rare! I-I I couldn’t be-believe you were able to get it! It was a really great gift.”
“That was an amazing Christmas.” Katsuki muses. “The next year wasn’t, though.”
“Hun, don’t think about that.” Izuku tries to soothe.
“I’ll never forget your face when you turned around.” Katsuki’s voice becomes shaky. “You didn’t want to tell me what happened.”
Katsuki thinks back to that day. They were having a Christmas party with all their friends over and everyone was having a great time. But then Izuku got a phone call that he picked up away from all their guests. Katsuki watched Izuku’s back closely and didn’t miss when his husband stilled like the dead. He also didn’t miss when Izuku started to shake.
Katsuki had quickly excused himself and came up behind Izuku, caressing his arms to try and calm him. “You’re okay, Izuku. I’m here. Breathe for me.” He whispered in Izuku’s ear that wasn’t holding the phone.
“Yes, yes I understand.” Izuku responded into the phone. “Umm.” His voice broke. “Yes, we will be there as soon as we can.”
Izuku hung up the phone and turned in Katsuki’s arms to look up at him. Katsuki could only see pain in his husband's eyes, Katsuki was terrified to find out what had happened to make him look like that.
“Izuku? Where are we going?” Katsuki tried his best to stay calm and not scare Izuku even more. “What happened, hun? We can deal with anything you just have to talk to me.”
Izuku kept opening his mouth but nothing came out. It was driving Katsuki crazy but he didn’t let it show, he knew he needed to let his husband take his time.
“There’s been an accident.” Izuku finally croaked out, tears fully streaming down his face. “O-our parents were in an accident. W-we need to go to the hospital.”
Katsuki grabbed Izuku into a tight hug, knowing Izuku needed him to be strong. “Okay, this is what we’re gonna do. You’re going to get the dog from outside and then you’re going to go start the car and get in the passenger seat, okay?” Katsuki waited for Izuku to nod. “And I’m going to go deal with the extras in our living room.” Katsuki could see Izuku was about to say something. “Oi, no. No apologizing for having to cut the party short. I don’t want to hear any of that and neither will they. Your only focus is to do what I asked you to, okay?” Izuku nodded again. “Okay. Now go, I’ll meet you in the car. I love you.” Katsuki finished with a kiss on Izuku’s forehead.
“I love you too, Kacchan.” Izuku said quietly before heading to their backyard.
Katsuki watched as he left, taking a deep breath himself before heading back to face their guests. When he started explaining what was going on everyone was shocked and tried to ask questions but Katsuki wouldn’t let them. He told them they would keep them updated but that they needed to get out of their house so they could head to the hospital. He might not have said it in the nicest way possible but everyone was used to how he was and nobody complained. They were all just as worried, so they cleared out as quickly as they could.
Katsuki rushed them to the hospital as quickly and as safely as he could. He continually soothed Izuku who was having panic attack after panic attack. Katsuki had never seen his husband so distraught.
Unfortunately when they did make it to the hospital it was too late. Both sets of parents had already passed on. The damage they acquired from the accident was too severe. Izuku broke down in the waiting room, falling to the ground in wimpers. Katsuki stifled down his own tears to hug Izuku tight. That was a very tough Christmas.
“You hated hospitals after that.” Katsuki says breaking the memory.
“I always hated hospitals, Kacchan.”
“Do you think that’s why it took you so long to get checked out?” Katsuki asks through some poorly hidden sniffles.
“Hun, please. You don’t need to go down this path.” Izuku tries to deflect.
“You didn’t even tell me you were sick.” Katsuki now has tears drifting down his face. “You hid it for so long, Izuku. Did you just not trust me? Did you think I wouldn’t be able to handle it? Why didn’t you tell me until it was too late?”
“Kacchan, of course I trust you! Baby, I just didn’t want to worry you!” Izuku has tears of his own spilling from his eyes. “I really didn’t think it was serious!”
Katsuki wipes his eyes, sniffling one last time before he stands from his seat. He grabs both coffee mugs; Izuku’s untouched and his own completely empty. Katsuki shuffles to the kitchen, dropping them in the sink to clean later. He hangs his head for a second trying to calm his tears.
“Why did you wait to tell me? Why did you tell me the way you did?” Katsuki sniffles and turns, leaning on the counter. “You sat me down last Christmas,” he pauses catching his breath, “on that porch. The porch that we both love, and you told me you might not make it to this Christmas. Why? Why did you have to do it like that?” Katsuki’s voice cracks, tears now fully streaming down his face untouched. He’s overpowered with emotion he can’t contain.
Katsuki shoves off the counter and starts walking towards the living room.
“I didn’t know how to tell you, Kacchan.” Izuku says defeatedly, trailing behind. “I never wanted to hurt you. I was just trying to not worry you.”
Katsuki continues his sobs, wiping his tears every so often. He walks into the living room, their TV to his right, the coffee table between that and their couch, and then his goal; the table and altar behind the couch. The table holds a tablet of the four deceased family members. Katsuki only has eyes for one name at this moment.
“I miss you, Izuku.” Katsuki’s voice quivers as his fingers glide over the name. “You were supposed to make it to this Christmas.”
“I did! I’m right here, Kacchan!” Izuku pleads, standing right behind Katsuki.
“We were supposed to have so many more Christmases.”
“We will!” Izuku says earnestly, voice breaking. “I know you can’t see me, but you have to feel me here. Don’t you?”
Izuku reaches out his hand to touch Katsuki’s back but changes his mind and drops it to his side.
Butterscotch comes up to the both of them, stopping right next to Izuku. She sits and looks straight up at her Pa, as if she could actually see him. This startles Izuku.
“You can see me can’t you, Butterscotch?” She meows in response.
Katsuki startles and turns to her. “Hey, little girl. I know you must miss him as much as I do.”
Katsuki bends down picking up the fluffy cat, she never takes her eyes off of Izuku. Katsuki walks around to sit on the couch with their cat now purring in his arms.
“Let’s watch his favorite movie, how ‘bout that?” He ruffles through their immense DVD collection- Izuku always claimed they were better than streaming- to find the one he wants. “After I’ll make his favorite, Katsudon. I’m sure that’d make him happy. Don’t you think?”
“Of course that makes me happy. Your Katsudon is almost as good as my mom’s.” Izuku says lovingly, sitting down next to them.
Butterscotch meows up towards Katsuki and rubs against him, as if she’s telling him Izuku likes the idea.
“Merry Christmas, Izuku.” Katsuki says switching on the TV. “I hope you’re at peace. I love you.”
“I’m more than at peace, Kacchan.” Izuku smiles and cuddles up to his husband, laying his head on Katsuki’s shoulder, even if he can’t feel him. Izuku is happy. “I love you more than you know. Not even death can separate us, Kacchan.”
Katsuki doesn’t know why but a warm feeling washes over him and he feels content, happy. He still has a heavy heart, but he feels closer to Izuku than he has in awhile. He’s sure the feeling is just because he’s watching the nerd’s favorite movie, right? So, he doesn’t question it, he just relishes in the feeling.
“Merry Christmas, Kacchan.” Izuku says one last time.