Work Text:
“Wow, Mina, you’re rocking that look!” Tooru shouted.
Kyoka Jiro sighed at the scene in front of her. Mina had apparently gone and gotten some ear piercings over the weekend so she was showing off her new jewelry. The rest of the girls were all in awe over it. She was jealous, and she knew it. She’d wanted to wear earrings since she was 4, simply because she thought they were cool. Now imagine her disappointment when her mom said it wouldn’t be possible because of her jacks. She was devastated, and what’s more, she tried using clip-ons, but there’s so many nerves around the base of her jacks that wearing any for an extended period of time was too painful.
“Something wrong?”
Kyoka turned around and smiled at her loving boyfriend, Izuku Midoriya. She shook her head, “No, everything’s fine, just… a bit tired.”
Izuku smiled, “Well, at least Christmas is coming up, so we’ll get a couple weeks off.”
Kyoka nodded, “Yeah, you still down to go to that show on the 24th?”
“You know I wouldn’t miss it,” Izuku answered, “but, I thought you didn’t like Christmas music?”
Kyoka chuckled, “No, I just hate that one prequirk song that got memed to hell. But according to my pops, that song isn’t on the set list so we’re good.”
The bell rang for class to begin, and Izuku headed back towards his desk.
Yeah, right, nothing was wrong. Izuku had seen the wistful look on Kyoka’s face, there was something the girls were talking about that made Kyoka upset, and he wanted to know what. Kyoka had to go work with Gang Orca after class, so it was the perfect time for him to get some answers. He decided to start with Yaomomo.
Conveniently she happened to be sitting with Kaminari in the common room. He walked up and asked, “Hey, Yaomomo, do you think you can help me?”
She sat up on the couch, “What seems to be the issue, Midoriya?”
Izuku fidgeted, “Umm… there was something bothering Kyoka at lunch, and I was wondering if you might know what.”
“I mean, she’s your girlfriend, is there anything Momo could tell you that you wouldn’t already know?” Kaminari asked.
Izuku sighed, “We’ve only been dating for six weeks or so. Yaomomo has been Kyoka’s friend since the start of school, there’s plenty of things she might not have mentioned yet.”
Yaomomo nodded, “He’s right, Denki, but as for what could be upsetting Kyoka… I haven’t the foggiest. Perhaps Mina could answer your questions.”
Izuku nodded and thanked Yaomomo, and headed off to see Mina. All the while he was thinking what could’ve riled Kyoka up that much?
Finding Mina was easy, she always was in her room at this hour. So he knocked on her door, and was greeted by Mina excitedly throwing open the door and shouting, “Took you two long en- oh, Midori, how can I help ya?”
“Well, at lunch, Kyoka was staring pretty wistfully at your conversation, so I was wondering if you had any idea why?” He asked.
Mina shrugged, “We were just admiring my new earrings,” she turned her head to the side to show off a teal stud that matched her costume. Mina then continued, “Other than that, I don’t know what’d get Jiro so riled up.”
Izuku frowned at the lack of a clear answer, “Well, thanks for your help, Mina. Have a good evening.”
Izuku walked off, on his way he passed Kirishima and Katsuki, who both were headed towards Mina’s room. Izuku contemplated what little he knew, the conversation was about earrings. But why would that cause anything? He needed more information, so he decided to call the only other people who could give some answer at this point. He stepped outside, pulled out his phone, and hoped that only one of them would be home.
“ Hello, Izuku, how are you today? ” Mrs. Jiro answered. Izuku thanked the gods for that.
He cleared his throat and said, “Hi, Jiro-san, I was hoping you could help me with something.”
“ Izuku, I’ve told you, call me Mika, and of course, what is it that you need? ” Mika answered.
“Well, um… is there any reason earrings would upset Kyoka?” Izuku asked.
He heard Mika sigh over the phone, “ Yes, actually, Kyoka has always wanted to wear earrings, thought they were one of the coolest things behind music and heroes. ”
The reason clicked into place, and Izuku’s mind went into overdrive. Then he said, “But… because of her quirk… your quirk too, I guess, she can’t get them pierced?”
“ Precisely. I remember Kyoka cried for probably 15 minutes when I told her. Don’t let her know I told you that. And before you ask, no, clip-ons won’t work either. There’s a cluster of nerves in our earlobes, and hers are significantly more sensitive than mine, so she can’t wear them. ” Mika answered.
Izuku let out a frustrated sigh, “Thank you for help, Mika-san. Have a great day.”
“ You too, Izuku. ”
Izuku hung up the phone. He wondered what to do about this predicament. Before he could get too far into his own head, a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind, he turned his head to the side, and said, “Hey, you.”
Kyoka smiled up at him, “Hey yourself. Have a good day?”
Izuku nodded as he spun around to return Kyoka’s hug, “Yeah, you?”
Kyoka shrugged, “I got to play with a beluga this afternoon, so I can’t complain.”
“Aww, I’m so jealous. But I guess that is a perk of working with Gang Orca.” Izuku said.
Kyoka leaned her head against his, “It certainly is. Now, come inside, it’s cold.”
Izuku complied, deciding to table the earring issue for later.
Izuku sat at the kitchen table in the common area, he was frustrated. He kept obsessing over these damn earrings. He wanted to do something about it, but didn’t have the slightest idea how. Then he heard someone walk in, it was Kaminari, “Yo, Midoriya, you think you can help me find my dongle?”
Izuku proceeded to do a spit take with the milk he’d been drinking. He looked over at Kaminari with a mixture of confusion and disgust, “Your what ?”
“My dongle, like for my phone.” Kaminari answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Kaminari, what the hell is that?” Izuku asked, still confused about what he was being asked.
Kaminari shrugged, “It’s that little white thing you see connected to my phone. I need it to connect to my headphones.”
Izuku got up and followed Kaminari into the common room. He checked where he’d seen him sitting yesterday, and found a small white cord with a charger port on one end, and an aux port on the other. He stared at the item for a few seconds as light went on in his brain. This was it, this was the answer to the problem. Kaminari came over and said, “Oh sweet, you found it, thanks a ton Midoriya.”
Kaminari took the little item, and walked away. Izuku stood there for a couple more seconds, before he bolted upstairs with OFA and grabbed his jacket. He had work to do.
He quickly acquired the ‘Dongles’, now he had to figure out where and how to attach the charms he’d picked out: a pair of purple electric guitars, stratocasters, if he recalled. However, as he was returning to the dorms, Kyoka was there to greet him.
“I thought you weren’t training today?”
“I-I wasn’t, I just n-needed to go on a store run.” Izuku stuttered out, attempting to keep his plan a secret. Kyoka seemed convinced and let him on his way. He deposited the spoils in his room and began preparing to find time to work on them later on.
Kyoka was annoyed, the past couple days, Izuku had been shuffling around, hiding something. Now logic would dictate that this was probably something Christmas related, but to hell with logic she says, she wants to know what he’s working on.
She knocked on his door, “Izu, can I come in?”
Kyoka could clearly hear him fumbling around with something, before he said, “Come in.”
She entered the room and took in the setting, the pictures of their few dates together, the guitar she was loaning him so he could learn, plus a few holiday decorations. It was different from the room she’d seen back in July. She smiled, “Whatcha up to, Green?”
Izuku rolled his eyes, “I thought you agreed to stop calling me that.”
Kyoka chucked, “Did I?” Kyoka asked, feigning ignorance, “I don’t remember saying that.”
Izuku hugged her close, “So what brings you to these parts, usually we have our stay-in dates at your room?”
Kyoka shrugged, “Do I need a reason to see my pretty boyfriend?”
“I guess not, but hey, I’m wrapping up some work, so if you go down to the common room, I’ll be there in five minutes.”
Kyoka could tell he was up to something, but decided today was not the day to press her luck and left. So much for to hell with logic.
The moment Kyoka left, Izuku wiped his brow. That had been close, and were it not for the help of Yaomomo texting him, it would’ve been even closer. Izuku knew Kyoka would catch on quickly, but he wished he’d gotten at least another day before she started searching for answers. He looked over his designs, he was very happy with how they’d turned out, and Yaomomo was helping put them together, so things were progressing rather smoothly. Mina had offered him some of the chain from a complementary jewelry making kit she’d gotten with her piercings for him to use to connect the guitars to the aux adapters, but now he had to figure out how to actually do that.
Unfortunately, that’d have to wait until later, if he stayed up here much longer, Kyoka would get even more suspicious. He headed down stairs to see that Kyoka was on one couch, with Yaomomo snuggling Kaminari at the other end of it. The three of them were watching an old Christmas movie involving a train. Izuku walked over and cuddled up with Kyoka as they watched the movie. When they got to the part about hot chocolate, Yaomomo got up. She said, “While I prefer tea, it is that time of the year, shall we have some, as the conductor calls it, refreshment?”
The other three present all nodded in agreement, and Izuku got up to help. Once they got to the kitchen, Yaomomo pulled out her phone and sent him a text
Yaomomo : How are the earrings coming? Answer with your phone, Kyoka can still hear us.
Izuku pulled out his phone and responded.
Izuku : I’m trying to figure out how to connect the chains, but after that they’re done. Any ideas?
Yaomomo shook her head. Izuku sighed, this was gonna be difficult.
Kyoka was really getting annoyed at this point, Izuku had been secretive for the past week, and it was now the 24th, and she was at her wits end with whatever this mystery item could be. She resolved to ask him what was going on after the concert. Izuku showed up wearing her favorite jacket of his, jeans, and had a bag in one hand, likely whatever he’d been so secretive about. He smiled at her, and Kyoka couldn’t find it in her heart to be annoyed at him at the moment. She embraced him, feeling the warmth of his body, “You look amazing, and I'm hoping you’re not wearing one of those dumb t-shirts.”
Izuku chuckled, “Didn’t you confiscate all of them, claiming they were ‘a crime against fashion’?”
“That I did. Now, shall we enjoy our concert?” She responded.
Izuku released her from the hug and took her hand, “Let’s.”
The two of them made their way to the venue, the entire time, Kyoka stared curiously at the bag. What was in it? Knowing Izuku, it was for her, but what was it? She decided she’d bite the bullet, “What’s in the bag?”
Izuku smiled, “Wait until we get there, and you’ll find out.”
Kyoka harrumphed as she leaned against him. The two of them were content to ride in silence. Once they got to the venue, Kyoka got in front of Izuku and put her hands on her hips, “Alright, we’re here, what’s in the bag?”
Izuku smiled and pulled a small box, like the type you’d see bracelets in. He handed it to her and said, “Merry Christmas, Kyoka. It’s a few hours early, but I wanted you to be able to wear them today.”
Kyoka opened the box to see two purple guitar earrings. Did he not realize she couldn’t wear them? Upon closer inspection, however, there was something different about the earrings. Then she noticed the top parts… They were audio ports! Izuku must’ve sensed some confusion and said, “The top parts link into your jacks, so you can wear them and retract your jacks, and it’ll be like you’re wearing earrings.”
Kyoka was speechless, he’d somehow known she wanted this, and then he’d done it. Without a second thought, she threw her arms around him and drew him into a kiss. She could see his face heat up slightly at the affection, but he soon returned it. After a few seconds she disengaged, “Thank you, Izuku, it’s perfect, I couldn’t have asked for a better gift. Now you better promise to show me how so we can make more, okay?”
Izuku nodded, “They’re actually not as hard as you might think. When I first came up with the idea, I thought about asking Mei, but she'd probably make them too extra.”
Kyoka sputtered, then let out a loud laugh, “She would, wouldn’t she?”
Izuku chuckled, “Yeah, but come on, put them on, I promised Yaomomo a picture in exchange for her help.”
“Of course she was in on this,” Kyoka said, and chuckled. She pulled out one of the earrings, and brought it up to one of her jacks. The two connected with a satisfying click, the second one followed soon behind. She retracted her jacks up to her lobes. Once she was ready, she asked, “Should I strike a pose?”
Izuku nodded, as he readied his phone. She heard the satisfying clicks of the camera.
With his records updated, Izuku came over and showed her the pictures, “You look great, they add to your look so much.”
Kyoka looked at the picture, he wasn’t wrong, the guitars were right at home with her coat and pants. She smiled, she’d given up on this entirely, but somehow, he’d managed to make it happen, and given her one of the best christmas presents she’d ever had.