Work Text:
Katsuki would like to say that he never got nervous. He was a hero and the best at everything ever, there was no point in being nervous if he could easily face anything life decided to throw his way.
However, as he fiddled with the little gift-wrapped box as he sat on the edge of his bed, he could say that he was really fucking scared right now.
It was pretty small, fitting into the palm of his hand, and the red wrapping paper crinkled softly as Katsuki rotated it in his grasp. He’d bought it weeks ago, way earlier than he usually got gifts for this sort of thing, and after wrapping it himself it sat tucked away in his bedside drawer, the mere knowledge that it was there making him feel jittery whenever he was in the room.
Because it was different. Way different from the presents Katsuki usually got Kirishima for their little gift giving tradition, way different from the core meaning of the present that had kick-started all of this.
It had begun in their first year with a bracelet.
At a glance it looked like something expensive, but as soon as it was in Katsuki’s grasp he knew it was some cheap knock-off shit. The supposed precious material was actually cheap metal, the gold paint on it chipping slightly, and the links clinked dully together as Katsuki shifted it in his grasp, examining it. For all intents and purposes, it was a piece of crap.
But the way Kirishima was looking at it, his expression a strange mix of fond yet bittersweet, made Katsuki hold it like it was something precious, even as he looked at his friend with a confused furrow to his brow.
“I know I already gave you your Christmas present,” Kirishima said, a sheepish smile tugging at his lips as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head, an embarrassed pink tint painting his cheeks. “But the new year is coming up, and it got me thinking about everything that happened this year and, well- it made me wanna give you that.”
“A bracelet,” Katsuki said, sure that the confusion was clear in this voice as he glanced down at the cheap jewelry before looking back to Kirishima, who nodded.
“Yeah. I uh, I got it from Kamino.” He was still smiling, but it was twisted as he gained a faraway expression. No doubt thinking about that day. “Before we went to look for you, Yaomomo suggested we get some disguises from a thrift store so we wouldn’t be spotted as easily.”
Ah, so this really was a cheap knock-off. That did explain their weird outfits that night, though.
“That bracelet was part of my disguise,” Kirishima continued, nodding down at it. “I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of it, I guess because I wanted to have a reminder of that night…but now I want you to have it.” Blond brows furrowed further as Kirishima closed Katsuki’s hands around the accessory, his own hands holding his so tenderly, his smile growing wider, warmer, as he met his gaze. “The bracelet reminds me that we won. It reminds me that we got you back, that you’re safe and sound and still here, and I think that’s what I treasure most about this year. It’s a reminder that I still have you in my life, and I wanted you to know how important you are to me, so, here.”
Kirishima pushed Katsuki’s closed hands toward him, and he couldn’t even fight him on it, his eyes wide as he stared at him. Katsuki knew that Kirishima appreciated and cared about him—he made a point to make that abundantly clear between loud verbal praise and subtle check-ins when he could somehow tell that Katsuki wasn’t doing his best. But to say it all like this, and even tie that care to a material object…it was a lot, and it made Katsuki’s face burn, but it also made warmth settle in his chest, warm and cozy like the hugs Kirishima always dragged him into.
The bracelet was a shitty knock-off piece of crap, but Katsuki kept it, and two days later it was dangling from his wrist as he stormed into Kirishima’s dorm and shoved his own gift into the redhead’s hands with a glare, daring him to refuse it.
He didn’t of course, accepting the laminated sheet with a confused smile, before he actually looked and his face morphed into surprise. “The article about my debut…?”
“Yeah.” Katsuki glanced away, his hands shoved into his pockets to hide the slight nervous tremor to them, though he played it off as nonchalance. “I was being an ass about it when it happened, but I went back and found the videos later.” He looked back at Kirishima, a proud smirk pulling at his lips. “You were fucking badass .” He saw Kirishima’s eyes widen as he gaped at him, but Katsuki plowed on. “You’ve always been a badass, one of the best goddam heroes in this class, and this proves it.” He tapped a finger on the article headline, drawing Kirishima’s attention there, but it didn’t stay for long as Katsuki flicked his forehead, earning a whined, “Ow, bro!” from the redhead as he rubbed the spot. Katsuki ignored him as he glared down his nose at him. “Your shitty head likes to make you forget that fact, so now you won’t have a chance to, got it?”
Kirishima was back to gaping at him, long enough for Katsuki’s glare to falter some as he started to shift uncomfortably under his gaze. Had he done something wrong? But then Kirishima’s face softened, a wide smile growing on his lips, and he grabbed Katsuki’s wrist and tugged him into one of his warm and cozy hugs. He could feel him smiling into his shoulder. “Got it.”
It happened again the next year.
And the next year.
And the next.
Every year since that first year with the bracelet and the news article, Katsuki and Kirishima found each other between Christmas and the new year and gave each other something that reminded the other of something they had done during the year. The object could be anything, could symbolize anything, from a memento representing a milestone in their progress to becoming heroes to a little trinket that referenced an inside joke as their friendship developed.
And Katsuki found himself treasuring those little gifts, more than the actual Christmas presents he would receive only days prior. Not to say that he didn’t like those presents, because he did. But this silly little tradition that he and Kirishima shared that started on a whim, it mattered .
It mattered because it was the one day in the year that Katsuki could push past his usual inhibitions and show his favorite person in the world how amazing he was in a way that felt clumsy and foreign at first, but over time had become easier.
It mattered because he could see his own growth through somebody else’s eyes, could see the usual emotions on Kirishima’s face when he was around Katsuki amplified tenfold as he gave him a dinky little object from an event Katsuki may have waved off, and he could see it from a new angle, see the forest instead of the trees and acknowledge the success despite the mistakes.
It mattered because they could celebrate each other, how far they’ve come and how much they still had yet to achieve.
But now Katsuki was about to fuck all of that up, because at some point, between silly gifts and the hectic life of being hero partners, Katsuki had realized that he wanted to keep Kirishima in his life.
It wasn’t a new feeling. It had probably always been there, even before he realized in their final year at UA, festering deep in his chest until it sprang up on him out of the blue one day while he and Kirishima had been hanging out in his dorm. And it had just felt right . The calm he always felt whenever Kirishima was nearby, the ease in which they could interact and banter, the redhead not even blinking at Katsuki’s harsher quips before launching back his own. Katsuki simply figured that his best friend was built differently—and that was partially true, he thought. Kirishima wasn’t called the Sturdy Hero for nothing. On and off the battlefield nothing could sway him, the immovable object to meet Katsuki’s unstoppable force.
But the other truth was that Katsuki had let it become easy with Kirishima, he’d wanted it to be even if he hadn’t immediately known it, but once he realized, the thought of keeping him close never went away. It simmered just below his skin, every touch, every smile, every single huge or insignificant moment with Kirishima adding on to that building pressure like the heat that came to his palms before an explosion, until he’d had enough.
He was done trying to push his feelings down—he didn’t think he could anymore. He had to take matters into his own hands.
But now that it was finally the day to exchange their gifts, a glance at the clock showing that Kirishima was probably maybe half an hour away from getting home from the day’s patrol, all of the determination Katsuki had been holding for the last several weeks was fizzling away, doubt starting to take its place.
He’d been so sure of what he was going to do that he’d never considered the possibility of Kirishima saying no until now.
Because why would anybody genuinely want to stay with him? He might not be as volatile as he’d been back at the start of his time at UA, but he still wasn’t an easy person to be around. And sure, Kirishima had stayed by his side for the last ten years, but there had to be a limit to how much literal sunshine incarnate could tolerate a dark void, right? Katsuki’s seen the glares and tired looks Kirishima has shown behind Monoma’s back when he’s being especially annoying. It was only a matter of time before he would aim those same looks Katsuki’s way before walking away for good, and the thought made his hands shake, a lump forming in his throat as fear curled its cold fingers around his heart.
He was snapped out of his spiraling thoughts by the sound of the apartment door opening in the main room, and at the cheerful shout of “I’m back!” Katsuki shot to his feet, immediately tucking the tiny gift into his hoodie pocket. Fuck , it was already time. And Kirishima was back early!
His stomach immediately twisted with nerves, and a small traitorous part of his brain thought about stashing the box back into his beside table and scrounging up a different gift to give to Kirishima, but Katsuki quickly beat back the thought and the nerves with the spikiest bat he could imagine.
No . He wasn’t going to back down from this.
Plus fucking ultra.
Huffing out one last deep breath for good measure, Katsuki walked out of his bedroom, seeing Kirishima still standing in the genkan as he tried and failed to work his way out of his boots with an armload of groceries. He was still mostly in his hero costume, with only his face mask and shoulder gears removed; his usual white bandana held up his drooping spikes, the gel wearing out from the long day and the snow that had been falling all afternoon, and his winter coat was the only thing covering his otherwise bare torso. He must have headed to the store right after his patrol ended.
Kirishima looked up when he heard Katsuki approaching, and he sent a bright, sharp-toothed smile his way that simultaneously calmed the nerves in Katsuki’s stomach and kicked his heart rate up into high gear. Fuck, he hoped the burning on his cheeks wasn’t noticeable. “Hey man! I got the stuff you asked for!”
Katsuki went over and took the bags so Kirishima could finally get out of his boots, and a quick glance inside showed that everything was right. “Thanks. You could’ve waited until after you showered to go.”
“The store was on the way, so I didn’t mind! Besides, I didn’t wanna keep you waiting any longer.”
Rolling his eyes, Katsuki headed to the kitchen. “I could’ve waited twenty fucking minutes. Woulda saved you from freezing your ass off like an idiot since you decided not to put on a damn shirt.”
A snort, followed by footsteps padding after him. “C’mon Blasty, you know I’m always warm.”
He did know that. He felt that warmth with every moment of contact between them that Katsuki always wanted to melt into.
He didn’t say any of that though, instead waving Kirishima off as he started pulling out the pots and pans they’d need. “Whatever. Just hurry up and go shower, you stink.”
Kirishima laughed, but he still obliged as he headed toward his bedroom. “Alright, alright. Be back in a bit to help!”
True to his word, Kirishima came back in his own hoodie and sweats as Katsuki was finishing prepping the ingredients, and they got to work. This was a newer addition to their little tradition, once they’d moved out of the dorms and into their own place, of making a meal of their favorite foods together. If it had been suggested sooner Katsuki would have shot the idea down immediately. The kitchen was his domain, his spot to rule and rule alone. Back at UA, Kirishima was only ever allowed to watch from a safe distance (or not-so-safe, when he got brave enough to risk an explosion to his hardened face just for a peek over Katsuki’s shoulder at whatever he was making that day) or fetch something that Katsuki may have forgotten.
But the watching and fetching and semi-frequent questions steadily taught Kirishima more and more about cooking, so by the time they’d graduated he wasn’t completely hopeless in the kitchen. Sure, the redhead wasn’t perfect—not everybody could be an expert at everything like Katsuki—but as they sat everything out on their small dining table, not a single ounce of food looked burnt, and the scents of beef stir fry and mapo tofu curled delicately around Katsuki’s nose, smelling heavenly.
It tasted heavenly too, Kirishima’s happy grinning around each large mouthful and the tears beading in the corners of his eyes a confirmation of it, and things eased into how they usually were on their day. Talks of Kirishima’s patrol that day and the tiger-striped crocs he’d been gifted as a late Christmas present by one of their sidekicks (Katsuki threatened to burn them immediately, but Kirishima called him out on it being an empty threat); the cute shiba dog Katsuki had seen on his run that morning that Kirishima had gushed over a picture of for a solid two minutes; and when they ran out of stuff to talk about for the moment they lapsed into a comfortable silence as they ate. It was all nice, comfortable, a warmth that seeped into Katsuki’s bones, easing his worries as if Kirishima had him wrapped up in one of his signature hugs.
It was enough for him to forget about the miniscule weight burning a hole through his pocket until Kirishima pushed away his empty plate first and stepped away from the table, coming back with a wrapped box that he plunked onto the table with a grin. “Ready to get started?”
The sight of the gift almost had Katsuki choking on his last bite of cake as the nerves returned with a vengeance— almost . He managed to get it down the right pipe, where it plopped down to make itself at home with his growing fears in the pit of his stomach. Stupid imaginary bat didn’t do shit .
Outwardly, Kirishima remained none the wise to his inner turmoil as Katsuki schooled his expression into something hopefully neutral, clearing his throat to rid it of any remaining crumbs. “Yeah.” Nudging aside his own plate, he gestured for the box, which Kirishima eagerly handed over with a growing smile.
It was decently-sized, and heavy , dropping to the table with a dull thud. Had Kirishima broken their unofficial rules and bought him something excessive too? Curiosity piqued, Katsuki tore through the wrapping paper (black with skulls on it—a smile tugged at his lips and he tried not to destroy it too much), and opened the box, pulling out the tissue paper inside to reveal…a rock?
Katsuki carefully lifted it out of the box with furrowed brows. It wasn’t just a rock; it was a chunk of concrete, dark gray, smooth on some of the sides and rough on the others, like it had been torn from whatever structure it had been a part of. It was definitely the weirdest gift Kirishima had ever given him, and yet, it looked oddly familiar…and then it clicked.
Katsuki looked up at Kirishima, meeting his expectant grin with an affronted glare. “Did you rip a goddamn chunk out of our fucking agency?!”
“Only a small chunk!” Kirishima immediately said, and like hell it was small, it was almost the size of Katsuki’s head! “And I got it from the roof, so nobody’s even gonna see the hole.”
Oh. Katsuki felt the irritation start to seep out of him. That wasn’t too bad. At least he’d be the only one to see it on the days he flew back to the agency.
The chunk of concrete made the meaning behind the gift easy to figure out too. “I highly doubt I’m gonna forget finally opening our agency,” Katsuki snorted.
“Yeah, I know,” Kirishima said, chuckling a bit. “But it’s still worth celebrating, y’know? Like, we finally opened our agency man, you’ve been working so hard toward it for years!”
Katsuki cocked an eyebrow at him as he set the concrete chunk on the table. “What, and you haven’t? Even if you started later, you’ve been working your ass off just as much as I have to get here, probably even more. This is just as much a celebration for you as it is for me.”
“It was supposed to be for you though, bro,” Kirishima whined, but from the smile that was steadily growing and the glassy sheen that was forming in his eyes, Katsuki could tell the statement still meant a lot to him. Kirishima sniffed, scrubbing the sleeve of his hoodie over his eyes, and when he looked at Katsuki again there was something softer in his expression, something that made Katsuki’s heart do the weird simultaneous slow-down/speed-up thing again, and his face burned. “I’m really glad I got to open up an agency with you, Bakugou. I can’t think of a better person to do it with.”
Okay, Katsuki’s heart was definitely speeding up now. That was a good sign that Katsuki wasn’t actually about to fuck up, right? “Me too,” he replied haltingly, and he knew that he should say more than that but his brain wasn’t letting him at the moment. But he didn’t need to, because Kirishima had a way of knowing the meaning behind all of Katsuki’s words, and the light squeeze he gave his hand resting on the tabletop showed he understood completely.
They fell silent again, and Katsuki realized that he couldn’t stall any longer, so he reluctantly pulled his hand free from Kirishima’s and reached into his pocket, shaky fingers pulling out the little box and holding it out to his friend.
His eyes lit up with interest, warm fingers brushing Katsuki’s as Kirishima gingerly took the gift into his own hands. “You always make the wrapping paper look so pretty, man, I hate ruining it.” He started opening the present anyway, untying the ribbon and tearing off the paper, and Katsuki watched with bated breath as the little red velvet box was revealed, and Kirishima’s eyes widened at the sight of the ring sitting inside of it.
It was black, with a strip of red through the middle to match Kirishima’s colors. Katsuki had researched for hours to find a sturdy enough material to make a ring out of, eventually deciding on tungsten—he doubted it would withstand Unbreakable, everything that’s ever come across Kirishima’s ultimate move crumbling to its might, but he still deserved the best. It had come out better than Katsuki had hoped, and as Kirishima inspected the ring from every angle, he could tell that he liked it too. But there was still a slight furrow between tiny eyebrows that belied the confusion, and eventually he looked up at Katsuki with a crooked grin…and a blush? Yep, that was definitely pink starting to stain his cheeks. “It’s so beautiful, bro…you’re kinda stumping me this year though, I can’t tell what this is from.”
Katsuki swallowed, his throat feeling like sandpaper. “It’s not from anything,” he said, and he could hear the slight tremor in his voice, matching the tremor in his clenched fists. “Not really.” He couldn’t keep looking into Kirishima’s eyes, open and eager to hear what he had to say, so Katsuki dropped his gaze to the ring, cradled so gently in hands that could easily destroy it, and he grounded himself there. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out, the words sticking in his throat. Could he actually do it, bare his innermost thoughts and feelings to the one whose opinion he cared about the most?
The hands around the ring shifted, one still holding the piece of jewelry, the other reaching out to unfurl one of Katsuki’s fists and lace their fingers together. The gentle squeeze of warm fingers pulled Katsuki’s gaze back up, meeting that same crooked grin, now tinged with concern. “You’ve never gotten so worked up about this before. What’s going on?”
Katsuki stared, taking in the steady expression that patiently watched him, that sturdy immovable presence he came to know and- and love , because that’s what this was, right? What made Katsuki’s head and heart an absolute mess, what’s currently driving him to make the biggest risk of his life?
But as he looked at Kirishima, really looked, he could see that love reflected back in his eyes, in his smile, could feel it in the back and forth stroke of his thumb along Katsuki’s…and in that moment, he knew that it would be okay. Even if the exact feelings Kirishima felt weren’t the same, even if it was a different kind of love, Katsuki would still tell him. Kirishima still cared, so he deserved to know.
“I know outside of today I don’t say it much, but you mean a lot to me, Kirishima,” Katsuki started. “I didn’t think I’d ever care about anybody as much as I care about you, but somehow your stubborn ass wormed your way into my life, and now I can’t get rid of you.”
Kirishima huffed out a laugh, but he didn’t interrupt. A small grin broke across Katsuki’s lips. “But I don’t wanna get rid of you. ‘S why I got you that.” He nodded down at the ring. “I know we usually use today to look back, but this year I wanted to change it up a bit and look forward.” He squeezed their linked fingers, the movement making the bracelet on his wrist clink dully, but he kept his eyes on Kirishima’s; from the way they were steadily widening, his mouth gaping and the flush on his cheeks spreading and deepening, Katsuki could guess that Kirishima already had an idea of where this was going, but he soldiered on anyway.
“I want you to stay by my side, Kirishima. Eijirou . As hero partners, regular partners, roommates, however you want it, I’ll take it, I just want you here. You’re the best damn thing that’s ever happened to me, being a sturdy dumbass rock that’s stuck with me even at my worst, and you’ve put up with me for all these years when you really shouldn’t have but you did , and you made me into a better person and better hero. I wanna keep your influence in my life so I can keep getting better and keep being somebody worthy of being your friend.”
By the time Katsuki had finished, tears were streaming down Kirishima’s cheeks, but any worries that the redhead could be sad were quickly wiped away by the sight of the biggest smile Katsuki had ever seen on his face, big enough to make his eyes squint, his teeth and tears gleaming from the strands of Christmas lights still hung about their apartment. “Katsuki, you’ll always be worthy of being my friend, no matter what you do.” His voice sounded choked up but no less sure, and he stuffed the ring back in the box to wipe at the tears still falling, but he never released his hold on Katsuki’s hand, squeezing it even tighter. “It’s like you said. I’m not going anywhere, and I don’t wanna go anywhere. I love being by your side and having you at mine, and you’ve impacted my life in so many ways. I’m sure you remember my drunken rant after the Shie Hassaikai raid.”
Katsuki snorted but nodded. Bandaged up and high off of the best meds in the hospital, Kirishima had rambled on about the fight with Rappa and how he’d thought about Katsuki’s words during it all amidst sobbing. He’d been mortified when Kaminari had shown him the video he’d recorded of the impromptu speech after he’d been discharged, but Katsuku had asked for a copy of it. He still had it saved on his phone to this day, and he’d watch it whenever his head got the better of him.
“But I wanna stay by your side too,” Kirishima continued. “Wherever you go, I’ll be there, even to hell and back.”
“Pretty sure we already went through hell during the war. I’d rather not repeat that,” Katsuki joked, mainly in an attempt to distract from the blush that was definitely high on his cheeks.
Kirishima laughed, nodding along. “I definitely agree with you there.” His smile then turned teasing as he looked at the ring again. “Can’t believe you went out of your way to say all of this with an engagement ring, though.”
Katsuki balked, his blush deepening. “I-It’s not an engagement ring! It’s like a promise ring, or something!”
“Mmmmhm.” The smirk never left his face. “Pretty sure that sounded like an engagement speech, bro.”
Katsuki was starting to regret saying that speech in the first place. “Well if you don’t want the damn thing I can take it back, pretty sure I still have a week left to return it-“
“No!” Kirishima intercepted Katsuki reaching for the ring box by swiping it up himself, clutching it in both hands. “No takesies-backsies, bro! You already gave it to me so it’s mine now!” His eyes then lit up with an idea. “Put it on for me though?”
Katsuki rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t hold back his grin as he waved for Kirishima to hand it over. “Yeah, yeah.” He popped the ring out of the foam base before removing the base from the box, and he pulled out a chain, black and made of tungsten to match the ring. “I got this for you too in case you wanted to wear it around your neck instead.”
“Nope, I want it on my finger,” Kirishima said, holding out his left hand and wiggling his fingers at him. “That way when I punch a villain they can see how much you care about me.”
Katsuki stared, blinked. “Every time I always think you can’t come up with anymore fucking sappy bullshit, and yet.”
Kirishima grinned, all too knowing. “You love me for it.”
I really do. Katsuki finally took his hand, slipping the ring onto his ring finger, and before he let go, he planted a small kiss on top of it. “Maybe a little bit.”
A week later, the new year come and gone, Katsuki was sitting on the couch reading when Eijirou came through the front door. “Hey, Kats!”
“Hey.” Katsuki didn’t look up from his book as he flipped the page. He idly heard Kirishima shuffling in the genkan before moving deeper into the apartment, and then much closer was the soft tinkling of metal before something was dangled in front of his face.
Katsuki blinked, focus shifting to the offending object. It was a ring that looked a lot like Eijirou’s hanging on a chain, only it wasn’t his ring, or the chain Katsuki had bought with it. The chain was silver, catching the sunlight streaming through the open curtains, and the strip of color through the middle of the ring wasn’t red, but orange.
He stared at the ring for a long moment before looking up to Eijirou. He was smiling like he always was, but there was also a hint of shyness to it to match the pink tinging his cheeks, and their gazes only met for a second before he was averting his, his free hand going to the back of his neck. Katsuki was reminded of their first exchange, Eijirou’s hand holding out the cheap bracelet instead.
“I uh, I felt a little awkward being the only one with one, so I got you one too,” Eijirou explained, his eyes flicking back to Katsuki. “Hope you don’t mind.”
Katsuki could feel his cheeks warming. Even after teasing him about the ring being an engagement ring, Eijirou still went out and got him one too. “Fucker, you can’t get me two things, that’s cheating.”
“Yeah, yeah. But it’s not fair that you got me this super awesome ring, and I just gave you concrete! Also, we never made any official rules for this.”
Katsuki waved him off. “We make ‘em up as we go, and I say getting me two things is cheating. And nobody told you to get me concrete.”
“But I had to give it! It’s a physical manifestation of our manly teamwork!”
“Sure, Ei,” Katsuki snickered before flicking the ring still dangling in his face. “Ya gonna put it on me or what?”
“Oh, yeah!” Once Katsuki was standing, Eijirou fastened the necklace around his neck, the chain long enough to let the ring rest over his heart, the weight already feeling right at home on his chest.
Katsuki toyed with the ring, a smile pulling at his lips before he turned to Eijirou. “Thanks, Ei.”
Eijirou beamed, and he raised a hand, his own ring catching the light before he was brushing Katsuki’s hair away from his forehead, and he pressed a small kiss there before resting his own forehead against Katsuki’s. “I can’t wait to see what the next year brings.”
Katsuki grinned, pressing back against Eijirou. “Me too.”