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Upon getting in line for the lift, Eijirou was immediately bouncing on his heels. Hitoshi was worried for a moment he was going to jitter right out of his own skin. He was always chattery, the two boys were used to it, but on the ride to the mountain, he was practically bouncing off the walls.
Katsuki was a very different situation.
He was very bundled up—four layers, not including his heavy coat—to the point both Eijirou and Hitoshi questioned if he would be able to move. He had told them to fuck off and waddled out the door.
For the last three weeks, Eijirou had not-so-casually brought up snowboarding almost insistently. He had this thing—that both Katsuki and Hitoshi knew well of—that when he really wanted to do something, but worried about the rejection of it, he would try to bring it up as casually as he could as many times as he could.
He wasn’t good with the ‘casual’ part. You can’t casually bring up snowboarding while talking about psychology—well, maybe some people can, but Eijirou can’t.
Finals had started last week, and to say Katsuki and Hitoshi had been busy would’ve probably been more than an understatement. Now, finals were always a lot, but Hitoshi and Katsuki’s need to be the best always took it to another level.
Of course, Eijirou wanted them to relax a little. And it was the prime time for snowboarding. But, he didn’t want to add to their stress and he figured they were too busy, so his horrible hints came in.
Neither Hitoshi nor Katsuki are dumb, and again, they knew their boyfriend well. So, after a few weeks, they’d discussed it and caved.
Hitoshi was more keen—while not exactly into it—on the idea than Katsuki, but he’d brought him around.
Anyway, that’s why Katsuki was currently spending his winter break huddled in on himself and shivering while they waited for a lift.
“The gondola actually stays pretty warm, so it won’t be that bad once we’re in it, Kats.” Eijirou assured him; Katsuki just glared at him. Eijirou had everything he needed for snowboarding, of course he did, while the others didn’t even have boards. They’d attempted to go thrifting, but in the end, the two boys had needed to rent most of their stuff. Hitoshi was pretty sure his boots were not the right size, but he hadn’t wanted to say anything.
A grin spread across Eijirou’s face as the lift cart came to a stop, about halfway up the mountain. The worker checked their passes—seriously, why did you need a pass to go snowboarding?—before collecting their snowboards and tucking them into the pocket on the outside of the cart. The three of them clambered inside, as Katsuki grumbled about how it shouldn’t be so cold.
“You know, my momma first took me snowboarding when I was six. I got a concussion,” Eijirou said it with such a bright smile it would’ve been alarming if anyone else had said it. Katsuki and Hitoshi blinked at him.
“How reassuring,” Hitoshi muttered, looking out the window.
The smile drained off Eijirou’s face. “Oh no! Don’t worry, I’m sure that won’t happen to you guys. I’m a pro at this, dude.” He held up a thumbs up for reassurance. Hitoshi didn’t feel reassured.
It didn’t take too long before Hitoshi regretted his choice to look out the window. Look, he didn’t have problems with heights, there was just something unsettling about knowing he was supposed to snowboard down that.
Eijirou, too emotionally intelligent for his own good, immediately picked up on it. “We don’t have to start up so high if it seems like too much. We could start lower down.” He offered a smile, reaching to take Hitoshi’s hand in his own.
“Absolutely not. If we’re doing this, we’re doing it right. I’m going to be the best.” Katsuki interrupted, he focused his gaze on Eijirou, and the determination was all too clear in his eyes.
“I’m sure you will, Katsu.” Hitoshi rolled his eyes, but there was a fondness settled on his face.
Eijirou’s smile didn’t falter. “Just don’t get discouraged if you don’t pick it up immediately.”
Katsuki didn’t bother responding to that; instead he just gave Eijirou a look that dared him to bring it back up.
The three of them shuffled out of the gondola, two of the workers handing their boards back to them. “You guys are gonna have so much fun,” Eijirou told them as they made their way off the platform. Katsuki had his doubts. “I’ll help you guys get set up, don’t worry,” He continued.
“I know how to snowboard,” Hitoshi informed them, and both boys stopped.
“What?! And you never told me?” Eijirou asked, a frown spreading on his features.
“I’m not very good. Hizashi took me once, he had a phase where he was really into it, or something. I didn’t tell you because I wasn’t exactly fond of the idea of doing it again.”
The frown was gone from his face as quick as it appeared. “There’s only one way to get better!” Everything else Hitoshi said was temporarily disregarded.
Katsuki barked out a laugh. “I’m going to be better than both of you,”
The other two shared a glance, but continued to the edge of the slope. It was nearing the end of the season, so the place wasn’t too full, luckily. They stopped near the corner.
“Okay, Toshi, since you know what to do, I’m gonna help Kats.” Eijirou informed Hitoshi, who simply held a thumbs up. Eijirou crouched next to Katsuki, who was already tightening one of his feet into the holders. “Oh, man! You did that fast!”
“I told you; I’m gonna be the best.” Katsuki reiterated, an eye roll following. He stuffed his other foot into the holder, adjusting the fit again. After both his feet were secure, Eijirou held his hands out to Katsuki—who very reluctantly took them—and pulled him to his feet. He only wobbled for a short moment before fixing his balance.
“Alright, so, you’re gonna wanna—“ Eijirou started, but he didn’t get time to finish before Katsuki pulled his goggles on, and started moving his board.
He took with such grace and ease Eijirou almost wanted to be jealous.
“See you at the bottom of the mountain!” He called, and even as he picked up speed, he didn’t look like he was going to fall.
“Huh. Guess I should’ve seen that coming,” Eijirou commented, before turning back to Hitoshi, who was staring in almost bewilderment.
Eijirou walked back over to him. “You buckled in?” Hitoshi looked up at him, before nodding. As before, he held his hands out and helped Hitoshi to his feet. He wobbled more than Katsuki, instinctively grabbing onto the other boy’s forearm.
“Great. Okay. This is as bad as I remember.”
Eijirou smiled at him, shaking his head. “It’s not. I promise; it’s easy! I mean, you saw Katsuki.”
“Katsuki is good at everything he tries. That doesn’t count.”
He just shook his head and laughed, but Hitoshi was completely serious. “C’mon, you got this.” He reassured, keeping ahold of one of Hitoshi’s hands to help him shuffle to the edge of the slope. When they got him completely set up, Hitoshi looked like he was having second thoughts.
“…Eiji, I don’t think I can do this,” He looked down the mountain, and all he saw was a million ways he was about to fall.
“It’s gonna be fine. I doubt you’ll fall.” He gave him another reassuring grin, before plopping down to secure himself into his own snowboard. He wondered how Katsuki was doing; or if he’d fallen yet. Probably not. “Okay!” He pulled himself to his feet, then pulled his goggles down, and his facemask up. “Ready?”
“No,”
“I’ll help you the first bit,” he held his hands out again. “Remember, bend your knees, and it's okay to go fast!” Eijirou told him, and Hitoshi ever so cautiously took his hands.
“This feels more dangerous—“ He started, but Eijirou was pushing them off.
“I’ve got you.” He reassured him, squeezing his hands lightly.
“This isn’t so bad,” Hitoshi agreed after a minute, although they were barely picking up speed yet.
“See? I told you, you were overthinking it,” Hitoshi didn’t need to see face to know that smile, it was present in his voice. “I’m gonna let go now, alright?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“If I hold you the whole way down, we will fall.”
Eijirou loosened his grip, and Hitoshi reluctantly let go of his hands. Eijirou gave a thumbs up, but then Hitoshi did start getting speed, and it didn’t take too long before his legs got shaky and he came to an abrupt stop, on his ass.
“Shit! Toshi—“ He heard Eijirou call, before he came to a stop beside him; almost in the same way Hitoshi did, but a little more gracefully. Hitoshi sat up, mitten held against his head.
“That was as bad as I thought.” Eijirou tugged his goggles off and mask down, and offered an apologetic grin.
“Did you hurt your head?” He pushed himself to his knees, trying to examine Hitoshi’s head.
“Do you even know what you’re looking for?” Hitoshi prompted, followed by Eijirou kissing his head. He rolled his eyes and blamed the pink spreading on his cheeks on the cold.
“We should probably get up before someone else hits us. We can take the lift the rest of the ride back, if you want,” Eijirou ignored his question, looking at Hitoshi with concern. Hitoshi shook his head. No way was he going to let Katsuki beat him at this; and he especially wasn’t going to let Katsuki seeing them come down in the lift.
“I’ve got it this time. Second times the charm,”
“I think it’s usually the third,”
“Don’t put that energy into the world.”
⭑⭑⭑
Eijirou came to a stop at the bottom of the slope, turning his board so it dug into the ground as he slowed. Hitoshi tried to come to a stop next to him, but he went a little further than intended, and then lost his balance when the damn board did stop.
Eijirou unlatched one of his boots, and then limped over to him. “Hey, you stopped! And that was only your third time falling!” He tugged his face mask back down, and he was still smiling brightly.
“Yeah, yeah,” Hitoshi muttered, and Eijirou sat down beside him. The two unlatched their boards together.
“Now, to find Katsuki,” Eijirou said, as he pulled himself to his feet, looking around. The resort set up was pretty big; with a restaurant at the bottom of the slope they’d just been on, along with multiple other slopes, and an area with more restaurants and shops. Eijirou was pretty sure he saw an ice skating rink over there, too, but he couldn’t remember.
“He couldn’t have gone far, I mean—“ He didn’t get to finish his sentence, before he got hit in the back of the head with a snowball. Hitoshi snapped his head around, and he didn’t even have to look for that head of blonde locks. Katsuki was leaning against the board stand, smirking at them.
“Took you guys long enough,” he commented when Hitoshi and Eijirou made their way over to him. “Oi, shitty-hair, I thought you were supposed to be a professional?”
“I was keeping pace with Hitoshi,”
“I’m going to shove snow down your jacket.”
“Whatever,” He disregarded Hitoshi’s comment, “I told you two I would be the best. I’m the best at everything.” He grinned wildly, and neither of the other two could even argue with that. It was hard to find something Katsuki couldn’t do.
“We should get cocoa!” Eijirou announced, bouncing on his heels again, as he pointed over towards the shops.
“Everything here is expensive as fuck, and that’s coming from me.” Katsuki said, pursing his lips.
“It’s a tourist town. This is how they make their money for the entire year.”
“Dude!” Eijirou pouted. “Come on, I’ll pay. You won’t have to worry about it. I know you’re cold, Kats.” He poked Katsuki’s arm. “And I think Toshi needs a little before we drag him back up the mountain.”
“Wait, we’re going again? I thought this was over after we got down?”
“Fine. We can get cocoa. Then you’re racing me.”
“Yeah! You’re on,” Eijirou grinned brightly. “You had a head start this time. You won’t be so lucky next time.”
“Guys, don’t ignore me. Neither of you mentioned this was going to be more than once. Tsuki, you didn’t even want to come here,” Hitoshi furrowed his brows.
“That’s ‘cause it’s cold. But, I’m really good—like I knew I would be.”
“The passes are for all day, Toshi. Plus, we drive two hours to get here. We gotta make the most of it! You’ll be leaving here a professional, trust me.”
Hitoshi blinked at them, and reminded himself he loves his boyfriends.
The three of them entered the small restaurant, heading over to a table in the corner. “Woah, you just order online, and they bring it to your table.” Eijirou announced as they sat down.
He fumbled for his phone, before pulling up his camera and scanning the QR code on the side of the table.
“Woah, they have breakfast too. And appetizers. And ramen. And pizza. And—“
“Eij, just let me see the menu,” Katsuki snatched the phone out of his hand, and the three of them huddled together to look at the menu.
“I thought we were just getting hot cocoa,” Hitoshi commented.
“I want food now,” Eijirou said, because, of course he did. Eijirou could always eat, Hitoshi didn’t know where he kept all that. “Can we get pizza?”
“Isn’t it your money?”
Eijirou frowned. “Yeah, but, I don’t wanna order it if you guys aren’t gonna eat any. I wanna share.”
Katsuki rolled his eyes, but he was glad to stay in the restaurant a little longer as opposed to going back into the cold. “Fine, but we’re getting plain cheese. None of that weird shit you guys like on it.”
“Olives are literally normal on pizza.”
“Eijirou should’ve left you on the mountain,”
“You would miss me.”
“Ooh, guys, you can customize your hot cocoa!”
Katsuki and Hitoshi dropped their argument to look back at the phone.
“You can put sprinkles on it.”
“That probably costs extra.”
“It’s my money,” Eijirou rolled his eyes, putting the sprinkles on. “What do you guys want? Just whipped cream?”
“Put a candy cane in mine,”
Katsuki glared at him, before muttering ‘marshmallows’.
That had been a big thing between the three of them—that Katsuki liked marshmallows in his hot cocoa. But, he didn’t just like them, he needed them or he claimed it didn’t taste right. The first time the other two had heard about it, they hadn’t said anything for fear of Katsuki attempting to bite their heads off, but as a few months went on, they were able to slip in casual teasing over it. It’s not like either of them actually cared, and Katsuki knew that.
“Okay! It says the order processed, now we wait,” Eijirou said, tapping his fingers on the table.
“So, Hito, how many times did you fall? Other than the one I saw, when you guys finally reached the bottom.” Katsuki asked, that grin spreading on his face. Hitoshi didn’t bother with a response to him.
“Actually! He did really well. He only fell twice before that.” Hitoshi turned his glare to Eijirou.
“How many times did you fall, Katsuki?” He quirked a brow, narrowing his eyes.
“I did not fall.” Katsuki answered, his grin falling.
“There’s no proof of that.”
“You know I didn’t fall.”
Sometimes, Eijirou thought his boyfriends had such an… odd love language. Now was one of those times, as he attempted to lean out of the way from in between them.
“Y’all ordered three hot cocoas and a pizza, right?” A lady asked, and all three turned their heads to her. Eijirou nodded.
“Yeah! That’s us,” he smiled brightly at her, as she set three mugs down, before heading off.
Eijirou picked his mug up, grinning.
“You’re going to burn your tongue, dumbass.”
He pouted. “I wasn’t going to drink it yet. Just blow on it.” He did, about three times, and then attempted a drink. “Ow! I burnt my tongue,” He frowned, setting the mug back down.
“I told you.”
“You implied if I didn’t blow on it,”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Don’t burn your taste buds off before we get our food.”
Hitoshi handed them both spoons, and each were content eating the whip cream off the top—and Katsuki fished the marshmallows out of his mug, as well.
It wasn’t long after that the girl from before returned, and set the cheese pizza down on the table. She told them to enjoy, and then went on her way to another table.
“Looks like it would’ve been better with olives,”
“I’m gonna break up with you.”
“Would you two eat?”
The three of them fell into a comfortable silence as they ate. They didn’t eat out often, mostly because they were broke, but also because Katsuki usually insisted anything he cooked would be better than eating out—he was usually right, too, and both Eijirou and Hitoshi didn’t hesitate to tell him as much; even if it fueled his already-too-big ego.
“I’m gonna beat you down that mountain,” Katsuki started, as soon as they finished with the pizza.
“You can try!” Eijirou grinned, not at all phased by the threat.
“I will.” Katsuki retorted. Hitoshi just shook his head, mentally—and physically, honestly, he could already feel the bruises forming—preparing for coming back down the mountain. Multiple times.
However, as he looked between his boyfriends grinning at each other, it wasn’t too hard to convince himself it wasn’t going to be that bad. He smiled to himself.