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Izuku was busy hanging up some of the snowflake string lights on top of a ladder over doorways as Class 1-A prepared to celebrate Christmas. It was a special holiday where people gathered together and had fun with family or friends, and gifts were shared.
Class 1-A had meticulously planned everything out for the day, leaving most of the decorating to the boys while the girls and Sato blazed through the recipes for their afternoon celebration.
Izuku stared into the kitchen as a drop of sweat trickled down the back of his head. If the way they spun around, cooked furiously, and spoke over each other wasn't an indication of how chaotic it was in there, he didn't know what was.
Kirishima glanced over at Iida and pointed at them. "Seeing as how you're the class rep, shouldn't you do something?"
Iida stayed silent for a few seconds, contemplating his options carefully. He pushed his glasses up with one finger and shook his head. "I think that's best left to Momo, our vice class rep."
"Is it because you're scared to confront the mess?"
Iida stiffened up as he shook his hand robotically, barking out an excuse frantically. "Whatever could you mean? She can handle that side of things while I supervise the decorations that need to be hung around the common area! There is no way I would abandon you guys when they already have a capable leader in their corner!"
Izuku chuckled at their bickering. Looks like the festive spirit was making everyone loosen up from the challenging encounters with the League of Villains and the impending predicaments that would come up as a result of tangling around with them so much, but that was a problem for another day. Not on Christmas.
Over in the distance, across the common area, Bakugo was yelling at Kaminari for sticking all the red Christmas decorations on one side of the Fraser fir tree. The poor tree seemed to wither underneath the venomous attitude of Bakugo's negative energy.
Kaminari stuck his tongue out at him and crossed his arms over his chest to pout against Bakugo's insults, but once he saw a multitude of mini explosions crackle in the palm of Bakugo's hand, he quickly apologized for his actions.
Mineta stared at the both of them with wide eyes, scared of what would happen if Bakugo found out he had accidentally extinguished one of the light bulb strings, forcing a line of it to shut down and make the tree dark on the bottom. Sero grimaced when he witnessed Mineta perform said action, but kept his mouth shut.
Izuku watched as Bakugo let out an angry sigh and put a hand on his head. But when Bakugo turned around and found the bottom half of the lights off, Izuku faced away from his classmates. He didn't want to regard the unfortunate event about to befall them. Besides, Bakugo wasn't going to murder them, so he didn't have to worry about anything. At least, he hoped so.
Iida walked over to Izuku and tapped him on the leg. "Class 1-B, the Big Three, Aizawa sensei, and Eri will be here soon, so we should finish up. I'm going to assign you to be the person opening the door for them since it would be rude to make the guests enter the dorm without a person greeting them."
Izuku nodded his head, finishing the current decoration he was taping against the door frame. "That's fine. I'll open the door for them and make them feel welcome, so don't worry about a thing."
"Thanks, Izuku."
Izuku flashed him a thumbs-up and hopped down from the ladder to move it away from its original position. He made his way over to the front door and took a peek out from the window. He could see Class 1-B and the Big Three walking over together, but Eri was missing from the party. Aizawa was most likely going to bring her over soon.
When they arrived at the front door, Izuku opened the door for them and greeted them with the brightest smile he could muster. If there was anything he learned from All Might, he had to smile a lot to be a great hero. "Merry Christmas! Welcome to the celebratory party!"
"Wow, nice costume, Izuku! And Merry Christmas!" Tetsutetsu exclaimed, returning the greeting.
Izuku was about to point out how similar their festive apparel was, but changed his mind at the last second. There was no point in ruining the joyful atmosphere.
The rest of them returned the welcoming proclamation and filed in through the door. They immediately separated and formed small groups as they helped wherever they could.
He didn't think they would, but he underestimated them. They were all heroes in training, so it wasn't out of place for Class 1-B to lend a helping hand.
Izuku turned round to look at the Big Three and waved his hand at them. "Merry Christmas! I'm surprised you guys came over to celebrate Christmas with us. Wouldn't your classmates be furious at the notion of you celebrating with your underclassmen?"
"Aw, are you worried about us?" Nejire asked as she floated over to him and pinched him on the cheeks with no prior warning. "You don't have to worry about a thing because we decided to visit you guys for the afternoon party and head back over when we third-years hold it in the evening, so that doubles the number of parties we get to celebrate in one day. Isn't that awesome? Right? Right?"
Izuku struggled against Nejire's grip. Luckily, Tamaki saved him just in time as he put a hand over Nejire's shoulder and brought her down from the height she was floating at.
"Don't torture him... He doesn't look comfortable with you doing that." Tamaki murmured as they entered the Class 1-A dorm.
"Haha! I agree with Tamaki, Nejire!" Mirio stepped into the common area of the dorm and whipped his head from one side to the other in quick succession. "We should probably help around so Eri can be comfortable when she arrives."
"Oh, right! I forgot they also invited her to this party! I'll be right there, so you guys can go ahead!" Nejire dug around in the pocket of her festive-themed costume and pulled out a plushie. She placed it in Izuku's hand and closed her hand around his hands with a smile. "The girls from my class, including me, got together to make this special present for Eri, but we felt like she would like to accept it from you since you saved her life. Give it to her when you get the chance, okay?"
Nejire flew off into the common area and joined the kitchen team right away, leaving Izuku by himself near the door. He opened up his hand and stared at the plushie his upperclassmen had created with strenuous effort.
For a second, he was confused. He didn't know if it was a prank or not, but it seemed to resemble a voodoo doll. But knowing the third-years applied to U.A. high school with a low acceptance rate told him they wouldn't do such a thing.
It was a plushie in the likeness of him with his hero costume adorning the body of it. It was like he was staring at the mirror, watching his reflection look back at him. Except the reflection was made of soft material, low definition, and smaller than his original size. He wasn't expecting this, but he was sure Eri would love it.
Izuku shoved it in his pocket and glanced outside the door one more time, but found no one outside. Instead, he was greeted with snowflakes floating down to the ground. The icy wind caused the minuscule ice formations to rain down in a slanted direction while the setting slowly accepted its demise of transforming into a landscape blanketed in soft snowflakes.
Izuku looked up at the sky and marveled at the snow for a quiet second before he stepped outside by himself, into the frigid environment. The nostalgic memories of when he was a kid flooded into his mind as he craned his neck upwards. All he could observe was the expanse of gray clouds and the snow succumbing to the power of gravity as they circled him. It was a beautiful sight to comprehend.
Izuku let out a sigh and was about to step inside when he heard his name being called out in the distance. He perked up, recognizing the voice instantaneously. He looked down the path leading to their dorm and saw Aizawa and Eri running toward him to take shelter from the snow.
Izuku opened the door, so they could enter the warm building right away just as they arrived. "Merry Christmas, Eri! It's getting pretty cold, so make sure to stay warm, okay?"
"I will! Thank you, Mr. Deku!" Eri chirped as she stepped inside the dorm, only to be welcomed by everyone in a shower of attention and love.
Aizawa was about to say reprimand Izuku for his lack of attention to his sensei, but Izuku turned around and gave him the biggest smile. It was amazing how a simple smile could make all the difference. Especially after all that occurred throughout the year so far.
"Merry Christmas, Aizawa sensei! How are you doing? It's pretty cold today, isn't it?"
Aizawa chuckled as he took the Christmas hat off his head and patted the ice off it. "It is. I assume everything is flowing smoothly here."
Just as Aizawa said that a minor explosion tore through the air. It was Bakugo, raging at Kaminari's misconduct. Kaminari closed his eyes as Bakugo stepped down from the mini ladder he was on to hang the decorations to voice his internal insults at him.
Izuku laughed nervously as Aizawa stared at Bakugo with a deadpan expression. "At least it's the usual festive atmosphere we experience every day."
"I'm not sure if that's a good thing to hear or not, but since it's Christmas, I'll let it go. We gathered here today to have fun, not obey the status or titles that's been inducted upon us. But it still looks like I have to admonish Bakugo for his reckless behavior." Aizawa commented as he unwrapped the binging cloth around his neck.
Izuku looked down at the ground with unease. It was nice they were celebrating this special holiday, but it seemed like Bakugo's attitude didn't take a holiday.
Still, it was nice they could gather and spend time with each other before things spiraled out of hand or devolved into a monstrous situation when the League of Villains attempted something. They only had so much time to enjoy their current peaceful time, but it was better to make the most of it while it was quiet.
The feast the girls and Sato cooked up was enough to feed a small village, but at this point, the number of people gathered in their dorm could count as a small village, so it wasn't a problem. A quick thanks were muttered before they dove into the mountains of food like turkey, sushi, fried chicken, cake, and whatever else they could eat.
After that, they exchanged presents with each other. It was performed flawlessly as they stacked all the presents under the tree and assigned everyone a number. Next, they would choose a present based on the number they received, starting from one. The person would choose a present for themselves, allowing the next person to either steal their present or grab a new one. Nobody was safe, except for the ones who suffered from a lackluster gift.
Izuku looked down at the present he got and stared at it in a stupor. It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad. It was a massage gun, which was weird, but considering how much he worked out, it resolved itself in the end. But some presents the others got caused him to feel a twinge of envy.
Mineta struck gold when he unwrapped his present and it turned out to be an electric-powered race track for toy cars to race on. And since he was one of the last people to choose a present, nobody could steal it from him. And he used that to his advantage when he gloated in front of his jealous classmates.
Fortunately, Mineta was punished for his malicious behavior as Sero strung him up to the ceiling and stuck him there, wrapped up like a cocoon, while they set up his present to play around with it.
Izuku stared at the Mineta disco ball for a few seconds before he turned around to search for Eri. The present Nejire gave him was still in his pocket. He took a deep breath in before he approached Eri, sitting on the couch with Nejire, who was tying her hair in a ponytail style.
It was awkward that Nejire was there, but it couldn't be helped. Now felt like a good time to gift Eri her present after she got one from the present exchange and steal event that took place.
Izuku slowly walked over and quietly sat next to them. Nejire glanced over at him with obvious anticipation written on her face. Izuku nodded his head and patted his pocket down.
"Mr. Deku!" Eri exclaimed as she gave him the brightest smile he had ever seen from her form on her face. It felt like his second Christmas gift, but now it was his turn to bless her with her second Christmas gift. But he initiated the conversation with a sense of normalcy.
"How was the Christmas party so far, Eri?"
"It was great, Mr. Deku! I loved the present I got!" Eri pulled it out of her pocket and held it up with a cheerful expression on her face. It was just a pair of fuzzy socks, but with All Might's face knitted in the middle of the red-dyed wool. "Don't they look amazing?"
Izuku and Nejire looked at each other and shared a look of amusement. There were so many better Christmas presents than a pair of socks, but as long as it satisfied her, they were fine with it. Unfortunately, she had to wait a few more years before she could wear them because they were crafted for older individuals.
"They look wonderful. But I have one more present for you that no one else will get because it's made especially for you." Izuku pulled out the plushie from his pocket and placed it in Eri's outstretched hands.
Eri stared at it with great interest as she flipped it over and stared at the face of the plushie. Her curiosity turned into joy as her eyes twinkled with bliss. "Is this really for me?"
"It is."
Eri stared at it in awe for a few seconds until Nejire gently nudged her into saying something along the lines of gratitude. "Thank you, Mr. Deku." She whispered as she hugged the plushie.
Izuku chuckled and patted her on the head. "You can thank-"
"Anyway, that's a nice present!" Nejire exclaimed, interrupting Izuku's sentence. She put a finger in front of her lips, signaling she didn't want to be credited.
Izuku frowned a little. It felt odd to take credit for something he didn't do, but he was sure Nejire had her reasons. He wasn't sure if it would make much of a difference if Eri knew, but he could probably spill the beans later when Nejire left for her second Christmas party. Or not, but just considering it gave him peace of mind.
Hours after their celebration started, the snow had accumulated on the ground and risen above ankle height for most of them. Kaminari poked his head outside and scooped some of the ice crystals into his hand, shaping it into a ball.
He walked back in and gently tossed it toward Bakugo from an angle he couldn't see him. "Watch out, Bakugo!"
Bakugo turned around, but because of Kaminari's intentionally late warning, the snowball landed on his face the moment he turned around. The snowball dashed itself to pieces from the impact while the remaining fragments of ice slid down Bakugo's face, revealing his fury as his face transformed into a deep shade of red with indignation.
"You have zero seconds to run before I blow you up right where you stand."
Kaminari stuck his tongue out to rub salt on the wound and sprinted toward the exit for the dorm as quickly as he could. But he wasn't quick enough to escape the wrath of Bakugo as he caught up to Kaminari, just as he opened the door, blasting him from behind and sending him into the air.
Kaminari crashed into the ground with his face buried in the snow. Bakugo was about to close the door, but some students from Class 1-A and Class 1-B joined them outside to play in the snow. And that got everyone else moving in unison to join them in a massive snowball fight.
Izuku stepped outside with his winter coat and gloves to join them. When he did, he was hit with a wave of cold, but internal joy flooded his system. It was great to feel like a little kid again. Today was a beautiful day to celebrate Christmas.