Work Text:
Shoto collapsed onto the sofa and sighed.
'1150 fucking yen.' He glared at the many crumpled up notes, laid out across the coffee table, counted multiple times, as if it had personally offended him. 'Eleven months of savings and that’s it. What a joke.'
It had nearly been a year since Shoto's class debuted as heroes; nearly a year since he’d moved in with the love of his life.
He loved being able to wake up next to Izuku every morning. He enjoyed the small pleasures that he never thought he'd have, treasured every moment with his partner. With Izuku, he was truly happy.
The only issue was money.
He knew the Midoriyas weren't the wealthiest of families and he knew that starting out as a pro-hero would be difficult without the support of his old man's bank account, but neither of them had anticipated just how expensive living independently would be, even with the costs split between the two of them. Just renting an apartment in Tokyo had depleted most of their already limited funds. It was a miracle that their healthcare was free, because it was no small fact that they’d be fucked if it wasn't.
In all honesty though, they knew this would happen—Aizawa had lectured them enough times on the subject—and they'd made their peace with that, but the reality of the situation was still as eye-opening as their first time training in the field. Luckily, Izuku knew more about budgets than Shoto, and managed to keep them from ending each month broke and living off bone soup, but it didn’t leave much left for luxuries.
That was why Shoto wanted to treat his partner. Izuku did so much and worked so hard. He deserved nothing but the best… and yet it was almost Christmas and Shoto was still yet to get him a present. It was appalling really; something had to be done.
He twirled some hair around his finger in thought. There had to be a way to get more money.
Shoto stilled for a moment, then brought his hand up to his face, inspecting the mix of red and white coiled around his index. Izuku loved his long hair—he'd often braid it for Shoto after a long day, under the pretence that it helped maintain the dexterity in his fingers, but there was no mistaking the way those crooked digits would linger afterwards, until Shoto was lulled to sleep on his lap.
It'd be a shame to get rid of it. Shoto had originally grown it out because of his mother—it made him feel more connected to her—but Izuku's happiness was more important than his sentiment. Sure, the hair helped hide the scar he still wasn't entirely comfortable with, and gave him protection when his surroundings became too much, but Shoto was used to sacrifice; cutting his hair was trivial in comparison.
Mind made up, he groaned to himself and begrudgingly got to his feet in search of his coat.
Hopefully, Izuku wouldn't be too mad at him when he returned from his mission on Christmas day.
'Oh my goodness, are you sure? Hair from Endeavour's son?'
'Depends on how much you're offering for it.' Shoto replied, tone steady, betraying none of the desperation that lingered in his mind, as the woman inspected him with interest.
He felt awful abusing his family's status, but time was running out.
'Well, based on the length and type, not to mention the colour, I'd be willing to give you 55,000 yen. I'll even tidy it up for you after.'
Shoto's shoulders relaxed and he shook her hand. That was more than enough for a present—he could keep whatever was left for next year.
'Deal.'
Shoto paced around the kitchen-living room and rubbed the fuzzy strands on the back of his head.
He'd forgotten how… cold having short hair was, not that temperature regulation was a problem for him, but still, it felt weird.
He felt exposed.
Nevertheless, the specialist had done a great job, he thought. He still preferred his long hair, but it'd grow back soon enough. For now, the undercut she'd given him was a nice change. It'd utilised the amount of hair she could take without giving him a buzz cut resembling Yoarashi Inasa.
Shoto shivered at the mental image and fervently shook his head.
Nope. Not going there.
He just hoped Izuku would like the change. After all, his partner wore his hair in a similar style. Would he accuse Shoto of copying his look, or get angry that he hadn't talked to him about it first?
Come on, this is Izuku we're talking about. Get your act together, you know he's nothing like that.
'You're right.' He murmured to himself, as he sat down on the tatami mat and stared at the gift his hair had bought, completely covered by one of Izuku's All Might-themed blankets.
Wrapping paper was Shoto’s greatest enemy this time of the year. He wasn't even going to entertain the idea of wrapping it properly.
Puffing his chest out, he lifted the material to check that the present was still there and hadn’t magically disappeared. As much as he didn't want to admit it, it'd taken a while to find something worthy enough for Izuku. Sure, he loved hero merch, which usually made him easy to buy for, but Shoto had to be careful this year. He didn’t want to accidentally get a duplicate of something Izuku already had.
He wanted it to be special.
Luckily, after five hours of research, he'd finally found the perfect present: an All Might-themed display cabinet. Shoto was actually rather proud of himself.
Each glass face of the cuboid was completely transparent, except for the bottom and the back, both of which were split into three coloured sections reminiscent of different battles All Might had fought during his prime. Each matched one of the three limited-edition action figures that the casing was specially designed to display.
It was also bullet proof… for some reason.
It had cost Shoto a fair bit—he'd never quite learnt to tone it down when it came to spoiling his boyfriend—but he’d still managed to come out of the bidding with 8,050 yen left for next year, which was a good head start.
Shoto's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of keys jingling in the front door, and he jumped to attention. Suddenly filled with nervous energy, he got to his feet the moment the door opened and met Izuku for a bone-crushing hug.
‘Oof! Hey, my love.’ His partner chuckled as he returned the embrace. ‘You miss me?’
‘Nah.’ Shoto replied easily, squeezing harder and nuzzling his cheek against the crook of his neck. ‘How was the mission?’
‘Frustrating, but we got the guy in the end with no casualties, so it was no biggie.’ Izuku shrugged. ‘Glad to be home though. How have you been?’
‘Better now you’re back.’ He mumbled softly, dodging the question and pressing a gentle kiss to freckled skin.
Izuku hummed, content; his crooked hand rubbed along Shoto’s back, eliciting a sigh from the latter as he melted against the touch. Encouraged, his partner ventured higher with the clear intention to play with hair that was no longer there.
The moment Izuku realised as much, he paused, then pulled back to look properly. ‘You cut your hair?’
Shoto wasn’t the best at understanding facial expressions and what different tones of voice meant, but he knew his partner better than anyone, and as he looked into verdant eyes for an answer, he found no judgement or anger, only confusion. It was reassuring, albeit his heart still hammered against his chest.
‘Yeah, I did. I sold it.’ Shoto reached up to twirl his hair around his finger, but came up short. Oh…
He hadn’t realised that’d become a habit. Not knowing what to do with himself, he shuffled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck instead.
Smooth.
‘You sold your hair?’ Izuku raised an eyebrow, concern now evident. ‘Why?’
‘We hardly have any money in our savings and I wanted to get you a nice present for Christmas.’ Shoto shrugged, shrinking in on himself when he noticed his partner visibly deflate. ‘I’m sorry, I should’ve talked to you about it first. Are you upset with me?’
Izuku immediately stiffened.
‘What? No, of course not!’ He exclaimed, louder than necessary, and began to wave his hands in front of him. ‘What you do with your body is entirely your choice, Sho!’
‘So, what’s wrong?’ He frowned, begging to understand. ‘Is it… Do you not like it? Do you think it’s ugly?’
For several seconds, Izuku was silent. Then, much to Shoto’s bewilderment, he laughed.
‘Oh, my love. The idea that I would ever find you anything less than beautiful is hilarious.’ He reached up to run his hands through messy red and white hair affectionately. ‘You’re gorgeous. I was just a little thrown off because it kind of makes my present to you a little redundant.’
It was now Shoto’s turn to be confused.
‘What do you mean?’
Smiling softly, Izuku stepped back to remove his bag from his shoulder, then opened the zip. Shoto watched with curious eyes as his partner simultaneously rummaged through his belongings and toed off his shoes so he could walk further into the apartment.
By the time he had procured a little box wrapped in tissue, the two of them were sitting down on the tatami mat. They faced the blanket, which hid Shoto’s own gift, but Izuku seemed too preoccupied to notice and handed him the box.
‘It doesn’t look like a lot and you definitely won’t be able to use it for a while, but I still hope you like it.’ His partner mumbled nervously as Shoto took the present.
‘If it’s from you, I have no doubt I’ll love it.’
He flashed a brief smile, before carefully unwrapping the tissue and string to find a traditional Japanese jewellery box inside. The scarlet cloth was smooth to the touch and the embroidery of the lotus flowers covering the outside was impressive.
Shoto’s lips parted slightly and he looked up at Izuku. ‘It’s beautiful, thank you.’
‘You haven’t even opened it yet, silly.’ His partner snorted, but his eyes were warm; amused crinkles formed with his own smile.
Intrigued, Shoto turned his attention back to the box and slowly opened it—as if it was something incredibly delicate—and peered inside.
His eyes sparkled when he met an assortment of hair accessories, ranging from clips to hair bobbles to hairbands. The most abundant colours were green, red and white, but he still noticed the occasional blue, along with yellow and purple.
Izuku spoke as Shoto continued to admire his present. ‘The material they’re all made out of is similar to your hero costume, meaning everything in the box won’t be affected when you use your quirk. You always complain that your hair gets in your face during work and you spend so much money on new clips and stuff when they melt, so I thought these would be helpful. I even weaved the bobbles myself.’
A wave of emotion washed through Shoto and he shook his head as he struggled for a response. He just felt so… touched. Words didn't seem enough.
‘I’m an idiot.’ Shoto eventually settled on. He then let out a breathy laugh and met verdant eyes. ‘I’m such an idiot, but I promise my hair will grow back quickly. They’re amazing, Izuku. Thank you. I don't know what to say.’
‘Anything for you, my love.’ His partner leant forward and briefly captured Shoto’s lips with his own. 'You don't have to say a word.'
‘What about "your turn"?’ Shoto rubbed their lips together, lazily. He then turned and nodded to the blanket, only to be mildly unsettled by the way All Might’s many faces stared back at him.
‘Present?’ Izuku’s eyes widened and he gasped, as if he’d only just noticed the box-shaped surprise in front of them. Excitement buzzed through him and he shot forwards to impatiently lift the material.
When the glass cabinet was revealed, Shoto held his breath.
Izuku had his back to him, so he couldn’t see his reaction, but his partner seemed frozen to the spot. He didn’t move, didn’t speak. Shoto actually started to get worried and shuffled around to face him.
‘Izuku?’
The aforementioned had tears streaming down his face and his cheeks were puffed out; his wobbly mouth quivered. Shoto opened his own to question him about it, when Izuku suddenly barked out a laugh, which echoed loudly through the room.
Shoto startled at the noise, even more confused as his partner’s chest heaved with each breath. A crooked hand came up to cover his mouth as he tried to calm himself.
‘I’m s- sorry, Sh- Sho!’ He wheezed, before taking a moment to actually gather his composure. Once he’d wiped the tears from his eyes, he fixed Shoto with a heartfelt look. ‘I love it so much, that’s so thoughtful of you. It’s just… I guess I’m also an idiot.’
‘What?’ Shoto furrowed his eyebrows, yet Izuku’s beaming smile didn’t budge. ‘I don’t understand.’
‘I sold my gold and silver-age All Might limited-edition figures to pay for your present.’ Izuku laughed like he still couldn’t quite believe it. ‘I kept the bronze because it was the rarest, but he’s probably gonna be lonely without the other two on display with him.’
Shoto blinked once… then twice… then leant forward with a groan and faceplanted his partner’s shoulder, which vibrated with each of Izuku’s sniggers.
‘We’re so dumb.’ He announced, voice muffled. Despite his exasperated tone though, he couldn’t help but smile against Izuku.
‘The dumbest.’ His partner snorted, wrapping his arms around Shoto and coaxing him into meeting his gaze. 'Hey? I love you.'
His tone then became playful. 'No matter what you do to your hair.’
Shoto huffed at that.
'I love you too.' He replied without hesitation. 'No matter what you spend our money on.'
No amount of training could have prepared him for the tackle he received in response. Shoto’s back hit the floor with a thud and he couldn’t help but giggle as his partner peppered his face and neck with kisses.
Oh, if fifteen year old me could see me now.
‘Happy Christmas, gorgeous.’ Izuku whispered against his ear, while he threaded his fingers through Shoto’s new undercut.
He hummed in response and leant into the touch.
‘It really is, isn’t it?'