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The winter solstice. The biggest event of the year, where all allying clans gather in one place to worship the god of snow and life, the one who grants them good fortune for the rest of the year. It’s an event that spans over a week, with thousands of people joining the solstice.
Katsuki is only excited about one person, though.
Midoriya Izuku. Deku. Dummy. Nerd.
His Deku.
He and Deku met when they were just annoying little babes, introduced by their parents, who had been good friends for years before either of them were born. It was no coincidence he and Deku clicked so well; it was just like how their parents clicked all those years ago.
He loves Deku - even though he’ll only admit that to the dummy himself, nobody else - and he is tired of not seeing him. The winter solstice is the only way they could see each other, as river and land separated the two. Deku lives an ocean away from Katsuki, which he hates, and made sure to state to both Deku and Deku’s parents each time they are reunited. It always brought a laugh out of them and the same explanation over and over.
/We cannot move our roots to be closer to you guys, unfortunately, Katsuki-kun. We would if we could, but our clan’s entire history is back in Grenyale,”/
It was the same damn speech over and over, and Katsuki is sure he could repeat it back to them, word-for-word, as they gave him the speech again when they’d see them at the solstice.
-
Katsuki puffs his cheeks up, throwing the book that he was attempting to read onto his bed. He is bored out of his goddamn mind, as his parents are too busy with preparations for the solstice. Apparently, a lot of constriction is going on today, and Katsuki is banned from going near the solstice grounds to keep him from getting crushed by a falling tent pole or whatever his father had said to try to scare him into staying home.
Katsuki isn’t dumb, though. He is the only child of one of the greatest clan chiefs out there; he knew what was a blatant lie when it is spoken to him. He could taste it in the air.
Still, he doesn’t leave the house, groaning as he turns in his bed and shoves his face into the large pillow previously bracketing his back. He pushes his face deeper, trying to tune out the sound of gentle snowfall pattering against his windows. He wishes to do something, instead of laying in his bed, wasting away with boredom. He’s sure all his extras - friends - were told the same fib by their parents to keep them inside, which would render the possibility of running into any of them if Katsuki ventured outside null.
“Ugh, this sucks,” Katsuki groans into his pillow, pushing his hands under the pillow, folding it up against his ears, pressing them against his ears to block out every sound he can hear, nothing past his breathing echoing in his ears.
In doing so, Katsuki cannot hear the gentle patter of feet walking up the stairs leading to his door, nor can he hear the well-oiled doorknob of his door turning and opening the door.
“What sucks?” Deku’s voice - is he hallucinating? - calls out gently, making Katsuki jump, one foot planting on the bed to rocket himself off of it like he had been taught to dodge any possible attack.
Katsuki yelps as his hand grabs at his blankets to try and keep himself from flying off the bed, but it only serves to bring his bedding down with him, grunting as his back hits the floor and he is buried under his bedding. He yelps further when the hardcover book that was on his bed knocks against one of his ankles, a stinging pain flaring up from both his ankle and his back.
The quick scrabble of feet echoes, making Katsuki grunt as he pulls the bedding covering his face off, watching Deku’s little worried face - cheeks puffed up and eyes wide with worry - poke over the edge of his bed. “Kacchan! Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Deku squeaks, hand reaching down for Katsuki. It’s still covered in his winter gloves, which make Deku’s little hands look even cuter.
“Y-Yeah,” Katsuki breathes, taking Deku’s hand for less help up and more as an anchor to allow Katsuki to pull himself from the bedding avalanche lying over his body. Katsuki sits up, shoving the rest of the bedding off his body with the help of his feet, grunting as he does so. “Wa- DEKU?!” Katsuki shrieks, startling his little best friend, who jolts back, disappearing from the edge of his bed.
Katsuki panics, sitting up further, managing a peek over his bed, finding Deku’s little fake pressed against his bed, mitten-clad hands pressing against his ears, eyes blown wide, and cheeks slightly red. Deku’s entire body is as flat as it can be against his bed, with the exception of his legs pushing his behind up from where they are tucked under him.
Cute, Katsuki thinks, swallowing hard.
“S-So loud, Kacchan,” Deku whines, bottom lip pushing out to pull into a pout. “A-Ah, sorry, sorry,” Katsuki winces, remembering his sensitive Deku is after traveling. Poor thing needs to be sleeping the entire ship ride, or else he’s as sick as a dog.
“But… what are you doing here? The solstice isn’t even set to start for another week,” Katsuki asks, standing up and cracking his poor back before crawling into bed, pulling the curled-up nerd up into a sitting position. Deku snuggles into his chest, bullying his way between his splayed-out legs. Deku’s face is pressed against his chest, and Katsuki hums softly, hugging his little nerd. “I convinced Mama and Papa to sail out earlier because I missed you… Plus the big puppy eyes every hour worked,” Deku giggles softly, and Katsuki crackles a laugh as well. He’s always told how Deku could weaponize his big, wide eyes to his advantage.
“Plus… I missed you lots… I couldn’t wait another week; I already waited a year… I missed Kacchan,” Deku huffs out, looking up at him through dewy lashes with snowflakes still clinging desperately to those fluffy lashes. Deku’s little wool hat pushes a fringe of curls down, making Deku even cuter as his chubby cheeks press against Katsuki’s chest. “Yeah, yeah, I missed you too, Deku…” Katsuki breathes, resting his head against Deku’s head, grinning softly when Deku snuggled closer to him, cold nose warmed on his neck.
“Missed you so, so much,”
-
“Brat?” Mitsuki calls out, used to her son welcoming them at the door. She hangs her cloak up, shaking out the snow caked on the white fur collar, watching it fall to the floor of the genkan. “He might be napping; you know how he is when it comes to snow,” Masaru hums, kissing her cheek as he walks past her into the kitchen to get dinner started.
Katsuki is a notorious napper when it comes to the cold winter months. They’ve joked that he’s just like a dragon hibernating in the colder months.
“I’m going to go check on him,” Mitsuki calls out, walking toward and up the stairs slowly, body sore from helping haul the wood posts up with everyone else. Just because she’s a chief does not make her above her people when it comes to hard labor.
Mitsuki knocks on Katsuki’s cracked open door, getting no response. As she thought, her spitfire was probably conked out due to the harsh snowstorm that hit during the end of setting up the bones of the solstice.
“Katsuki?” She whispers, pushing the door open, raising an eyebrow at Katsuki curled around little Izuku. She hadn’t even known the Midoriya’s were here, but she did happen to see a ship looking like theirs earlier in the day.
Mitsuki smiles softly when Katsuki grumbles, tucking his face further into little Izuku’s shaggy curls, snoring softly. She walks over to the two, finding Katsuki’s bedding on the floor. It’s in a big tangled mess, but nothing Mitsuki can fix.
She’s as quiet as she can be as she works, tucking the kids in with each layer she untangles from the mess, humming softly as she works. Her hands are quick, and her job is done as quickly as she started, placing her hands on her hips when she pulls the last blanket over the two of them. Katsuki stirs just enough for his eyes to crack open slightly, looking at Mitsuki before they slide close once more, making Mitsuki smile.
She walks downstairs to find the Midoriya’s in her living room, wrapped in multiple warm layers and covered by snow. She welcomes Inko into her arms with a big grin and a hearty laugh as Hisashi starts telling the story of why they are here a week early.
Oh, that Izuku…
-
“Come on, come on! Before we get seen,” Katsuki urges Deku faster, hands clasped together tightly as they weave through the bustling crowd. It’s the first night of the winter solstice, which happens to be when the solstice is the most packed. Over the week, it’ll thin out, but it’s a jumble of loud voices talking and bustling feet that he and Deku slip around.
They finally break out on the other side of the large event area, panting and taking in gulps of frigid air to fill their lungs with. Deku is lagging behind him slightly, little feet sinking into the knee-high snow before he slumps against Katsuki’s back, forehead resting on Katsuki’s shoulders.
“T-That was-” Deku gasps, warm breath billowing out of his popped-open mouth as their hands squeeze tightly around each other. “A rush?! Hell yeah, it was!” Katsuki cackles loudly, grinning as he turns around to pull Deku into his chest, allowing the nerd a more solid place to lean against and regain his breath.
“Why are we even out of the event grounds anyway?” Deku asks, peering up at Katsuki, chubby face speckled a pretty pink thanks to the cold. “I wanna show you something,” Katsuki grins, reaching up to place his mitten-clad hands onto those chubby cheeks. “It’s special! I’ve never shown anyone else this spot before! C’mon,” Katsuki grins, making Deku smile back at him. It’s like a beacon in the snowstorm that blows through.
As usual, Deku lags behind him slightly, but Katsuki doesn’t push him to go faster. They have all night to get to where Katsuki wants to show him, and there’s no rush. He’s just happy to be spending time with Deku.
-
“Wow…” Deku whispers as they lay under the star-covered sky. The snow has started to let up, no longer blowing harshly with the frigid winds. It’s just a small flurry now, ever-falling but not harsh. “It’s… beautiful, Kacchan,” His and Deku’s hands are tangled together as they lay under the stars. The stars are always so brilliant during the winter months, when the skies darken to an unfathomable level, and the stars flaunt their beauty for all eyes to see.
“Yeah, it is,” Katsuki isn’t looking at the stars, though. He’s looking at Deku, who stares up into the midnight black sky, eyes sparkling just like the stars do. Deku turns his head to him, smiling at Katsuki, cheeks squishing slightly where his dimples are. “Kacchan?” Deku calls out, cheeks flushing a brighter pink than what they once were, when he realizes Katsuki is staring at him instead of the stars.
Katsuki says nothing, poking his tongue out at the nerd before allowing his head to roll over, finally staring at the sky. “They’re brilliant, aren’t they? All fighting to seem the brightest… to be chosen and looked at the most,” Katsuki hums, watching the stars flicking and glowing miles and miles from them.
“That makes them seem a little… uhm,” Deku’s brows furrow as he tries to find a word to explain the stars sparkling above them. “Self-centered? Gaudy?” Katsuki supplies to Deku, who shakes his head.
“No, no… I think that makes them seem a bit misunderstood… I think they are sparkling for us not because they are trying to compete… but because they like knowing we find joy looking up at the sky and instead of nothing greeting us, there are dazzling stars lighting our way back home…” Deku hums, a smile twisting at the edges of his lips.
Katsuki doesn’t know how Deku can see the good in everything, on how his outlook on life is so soft and pure.
“Hmm…” Katsuki squeezes Deku’s hand as he looks up at the stars, finding himself staring up at them in a different light.
-
“That star,” Deku speaks out of the blue as they continue to lay in the snow and watch the stars. “That one right there, that’s you,” Deku speaks, pointing up at the sky. Katsuki follows Deku’s hand to where it’s pointing in the star to find himself staring at a large orange-yellow star flicking and outshining all the other stars around it. “That’s my Kacchan star,” Deku grins, turning to him. “If I ever get lost… Kacchan’s star will guide me home, won’t it?”
Katsuki can feel his cheeks flush, eyes widening. “D-Duh! You sappy nerd!” Katsuki barks out, clearly flustered as his cheeks tint rose. His eyes pull away from where Deku is giggling, looking into the star, eyes trying to find a star that looks like his Deku.
He finds it moments later, eyes still skirting to the ‘Kacchan star’ occasionally, a warm feeling burning in his chest before his eyes lock on a blue-green star. It’s smaller than most stars - just like his Deku - and even so, it glows brilliantly.
“That one, that’s my Deku star,” Katsuki says proudly, guiding Deku to where he can find the star. “They’re right next to each other… just like we always will be. And if we ever lose each other, we’ll find our way back right here thanks to the stars,” Katsuki watches Deku flush and look to him, smile slightly damp at the edges, but it’s still as beautiful as ever.
“Yeah… no matter what, we’ll always find our way back to each other, right, Kacchan?” Deku asks, staring at him with something Katsuki cannot place in those big eyes.
“Of course, Deku… I promise,” Katsuki huffs, pulling Deku closer to him, breaking the small barrier of snow that’s built up around their bodies as they lay under the stars. Deku giggles and cuddles into his side, humming softly.
They’ll head back soon, so their parents don’t worry, but they lay under their stars for now.
-
The winter solstice comes around, and Katsuki waits at the ports, waiting for the Midoriya’s royal ship to dock. He falls asleep on the bench and wakes in his home, his mother and father sitting on his bed.
Deku doesn’t come that year. Nor does he come the next or the year after that.
Their stars shift, pulling away from each other, finding different homes in the sky.
-
Katsuki’s sixteen now, bigger, stronger, and colder than he was when he was eight. The last time he saw Deku.
He’s gone on his own adventures, trying to find Deku or any trace of the boy. At nine, they had come to realize an attack was conducted on the Midoriya clan, as come summer, their clan went to investigate.
What they found was a desolate war zone with no known survivors from either side. It’s like they vanished into thin air, gone with the same smoke that he’s sure had billowed into the sky that day, rotting wood having been burnt and charred.
Mother nature had started to take back the grounds as her own, flowers and lush greenery growing over a mourning land.
The prettiest flowers, striking with their orange and red petals, grew on the land where the Midoriya’s house once laid on.
Katsuki makes it his life goal to find Deku, whether that be putting his one true love to rest or bringing the stupid bastard into his arms and never let him go.
-
The eighth winter solstice without Deku is upon them. The somberness of mourning the Midoriya clan has started to grow scarce in the past solstices, and Katsuki doubts more than a minute of silence for the clan will be shared throughout the grounds without interruption.
It’s the exact same reason why he isn’t there, but under the same spot, he and Deku shared one of their last interactions. It’s always been a bitter spot for Katsuki, as he had refused to enter the vicinity for two years, but his heart yearned for it more than his resentment for Deku leaving him kept him away from it.
Katsuki sighs as he stares up into the sky, staring at their stars. They’ve migrated away from each other over the years, pulling further and further apart with each passing day. Katsuki hates it, hates how he cannot launch himself up into the stars and push them together, to have the last remnants of their bond close together and not break further apart.
He hates how much his eyes burn with tears as he looks up into that starry sky, gritting his teeth as he keeps his tears from falling. He refuses to let them fall, to let them score down his face. He’s cried enough these past years, and he’s over that.
He’ll never be over Deku, but he’s over crying.
The soft crunching of snow doesn’t alarm him, eyes closing to try and ignore whoever had come to try and comfort him this year. Whether it be Shitty hair, his own parents, or someone else, he has no care for them. He only wishes to be alone, to be swallowed up by the blizzard and left to his own devices.
“Leave me be,” Katsuki grumbles when the crunching of snow quiets, making him huff. He’s sure the person is just a foot or two away from him. Katsuki waits for the footsteps to recede, with Katsuki’s refusal to fully acknowledge whoever is standing near him.
They don’t, still standing in the snow near Katsuki. It makes him peel his eyes open, hands gripping at snow, ready to hail the ball of snow in his clenched hand at the person.
“Do you want me to leave?” The voice is gentle, sweet, and familiar. His heart stops in his chest as the wind - which was once howling in his ears, pushing his hair to and from - shifts, no longer obscuring the person standing in front of him. “Is that really what you wish, Kacchan?” Deku’s standing in front of him, shoulders coated in a small pile of snow, bundled tightly in warm furs, eyes glowing in the dark.
“Deku,” Katsuki whispers, hand dropping the snowball crushed between his shaking fingers, eyes growing wide. His mouth falls open as Deku steps forward, prompting Katsuki to move.
His legs scramble against the snow piling atop them, pushing himself up and launching himself at the boy.
His boy. His Deku.
“UWAGHK-” Deku squeals in surprise as he’s crushed into the soft, cushioning snow under them. Deku is so small, still as small as ever, but he’s also so… different.
“Deku, Deku,” Katsuki cries, stuffing his face into Deku’s warm neck, holding the boy tight under him. “Kacchan…” Deku cries, hugging him back.
Katsuki pulls back slightly, pulling the nerd up so they sit, with Deku cuddled against his chest.
Just like all those years ago.
“What happened?! Where the fuck did you go?” Katsuki tries to keep the crack out of his voice, staring down at Deku, who is still hiding against his chest. “I… we were attacked and forced to flee… we spent years traveling before we finally found home… I left two years ago to find my way back to you,” Deku whispers, pulling his head up to look at Katsuki gently, cupping his face in his snow-covered mittens.
“And I did… The stars helped me back here, to my home… to you. To my Kacchan,” Deku giggles gently, tears flowing down his face. Fuck, fuck.
“You fucking sappy nerd,” Katsuki breathes out, pulling Deku’s face up so he can kiss the beautiful bastard. Deku hiccups a surprised sound against his lips but melts into the kiss not a second later.
Katsuki pulls away, catching his breath, staring into those teary jade eyes. “I love you, I love you so fucking much,” Katsuki whispers, kissing Deku again.
Deku laughs happily, kissing him back before pulling away, foreheads pressed against each other. “I love you too, my Kacchan,”
“My fucking nerd,” Katsuki chuckles, pushing Deku back down, getting a happy laugh as he covers his nerd with his entire body, peppering kisses all over those freckled cheeks.
Twin stars finally reunited.
Up in the sky, two lonely stars shift back into each other's orbit, together once more.