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Katsuki is many things, but a good gift giver was not on that list nor had it ever been. It hadn’t mattered much as a child, either his parents picked out the gifts and just slapped his name on it without Katsuki ever even knowing what they’d picked out in the first place or he could throw macaroni and glitter onto a piece of construction paper and call it good and his parents would still gush about how much they loved it and how meaningful it was. Then as Katsuki got older his parents stopped putting his name on gifts and the macaroni received less and less praise until it eventually earned him a scowl and a lecture about wasting food from Mitsuki.
Whatever, Katsuki wasn’t going to get bent out of shape over it. Cash and gift cards worked just fine as gifts, after all who would ever frown at free money?
Eijirou Kirishima, that’s who. Sure, he didn’t actually frown but Katsuki had known him long enough to pick up on all his tells and the subtle pinch of his brow and the miniscule sigh before he put on a bright smile and started gushing told Katsuki everything he needed to know. Once they started dating Katsuki did genuinely try, sort of, ok so maybe he didn’t try all too hard but he made up for it in other ways like making their Christmas dinner and being great in bed so what did it matter? Still he always hated seeing that expression on Eijirou’s face whenever he got it wrong so this year Katsuki vowed that things would be different. He was going to get the best damn gift in the entire universe for Eijirou and it would make him so happy that he would propose to Katsuki right then and there in their ugly matching pjs, sleep mussed hair, and no ring in sight.
Now all Katsuki had to do was think of and get said best damn gift in the entire universe.
Immediately, Katsuki had issues. As soon as he tried to think of something worthwhile to get Eijirou it was like every interest, like, hobby, and opinion Eijirou had suddenly flew right out the window. They’d been dating for four fucking years and living together for three, how did Katsuki not know what to get for the man he loved more than anything else in the world?
“Am I actually just a piece of shit?”
“Do you really want me to answer that for you?”
Katsuki scowled at Camie, his supervisor and friend–not that he would ever admit that. She merely giggled and shook her head in amusement which only caused his scowl to deepen. Didn’t she realize just how serious this was? Days were counting down and he had nothing, nothing! Katsuki could think of something right now and buy it and it would just barely arrive in time for him to wrap it and put it under the tree. The gifts Eijirou got everyone had been there for nearly two weeks and every time Katsuki entered their living room and saw the pile of poorly wrapped presents a larger and larger knot formed inside his stomach.
“You’re thinking about this too much,” she said, slamming the microwave door shut and sitting down next to him before taking a bite of her lunch.
“I’m not thinking about this enough! This is serious!”
“Calm down, Kitty Kat, your stress is going to ruin my appetite.”
“Stop calling me that!”
Camie taps her chin in thought, lips slightly puckered in a pout. “Hmmmm, no,” she giggled and Katsuki rolled his eyes.
Katsuki hunched over his chair and rested his forehead on his forearms as he deflated in defeat. This was going to be their worst Christmas ever and it was going to be entirely his fault because he couldn’t get his head out of his own ass and lock in. Camie rubbed his back and made a sympathetic sound. If it had been anyone else he would’ve batted their hand away and yelled at them for having the audacity to pity him, hell he probably would’ve done that to Camie as well if he had more fucks to give.
“I’m being serious though, girliepop, you are thinking about this way too hard. This is Eijirou! You could give him one of those handmade coupon books and he’d be happy.”
“I did that and he never used it,” Katsuki grumbled.
“Were they good coupons?” Camie deadpanned.
“They were fucking amazing who do you take me for?” Katsuki asked indignantly, sitting up straight.
Camie raised an unimpressed eyebrow and Katsuki crossed his arms over his chest and slumped in his seat, definitely not pouting!
“No,” he finally admitted. “I couldn’t think of any good ones that Eijirou hadn’t already done for the coupon book he made me for my birthday that year!”
“Jesus, you really are terrible at giving gifts,” Camie snorted.
“If you’re not going to be helpful then get the fuck out!”
“Hoe, you’re the one in the breakroom without food, if anyone should be leaving it should be you, but seriously just think about what Eijirou likes more than anything else in the entire world that’ll at least give you some sort of direction.”
“What Eijirou likes more than anything else in the entire world is me,” Katsuki said humorlessly. “So, what? I should wrap myself up and lie underneath the tree?”
“Maybe, have a tastefully placed bow over your dick and a cute little wrapping paper bow headband and wear nothing else. Ooo! You could get a nice jewel plug that matches the ribbon you’re wearing and-”
“Oh my fucking god, you whore, stop!” Katsuki shouted, slapping his hands over his ears. “We are not talking about this anymore!”
“Hey I’m just trying to help.”
“And yet you’re being the most unhelpful thing imaginable right now.”
“Out of the two of us I’m the only one with ideas so…” Camie shrugged her shoulders and took a sip of her water.
“Sex isn’t a gift, we have sex all the time, it’s not special.”
“Not with that attitude it’s not.”
“What do you know about making sex special, Ms. Barren For Months?”
“Hey, I’ll have you know I invited a super hot girl over last night and she ate my pussy out for hours!”
Katsuki gagged, “That’s fucking disgusting, my life was better a minute ago before I knew that.”
“You’re such a prude.”
“Whatever.”
Katsuki stood and headed out of the breakroom and towards his office, taking his usual route that had him passing by Eijirou’s office so he could say hi before he remembered that Eijirou was out today looking at an aircraft that had been having issues.
Damn field service job making him travel all over the fucking place…
He looked around, scoping out the area to see who–if anybody–was around. When Katsuki didn’t see anyone he let himself inside Eijirou’s office and shut the door behind him. Could it really be called snooping inside someone else’s office when that someone else was his boyfriend? Hell Eijirou’s dick had been inside Katsuki asshole, this was nothing in comparison! Katsuki looked around and immediately rolled his eyes, the place was a disaster. Not messy per se but packed to the brim with things, how Eijirou could jam so much stuff into a small space and still be able to function Katsuki had no idea. Eijirou had talked for months about getting a bookcase for all his knick knacks and trinkets but never found anything he liked.
Katsuki walked around Eijirou’s office, trying to spot anything that would make for a great gift idea but coming up frustratingly blank. Camie’s idea of going nude except for the bow over his dick was sounding better and better the more he looked around until he finally spotted it. There right next to one of his monitors was an ancient looking clock with a figure printed along the background, Crimson Riot, Eijirou’s all time favorite superhero who had a short run of comics and such at least fifty years ago. Katsuki’s lips suddenly curved into a wide smile.
Bingo.
XXX
It took Katsuki nearly a week to track down anything Crimson Riot related. He was a lesser known comic book character so that already meant not a lot of merchandise but what still remained was either damaged beyond recognition or so expensive Katsuki would need a bank loan in order to pay for it. He was starting to lose hope, Katsuki was running out of time to be able to get something shipped to the apartment in time for Christmas and he knew there were no stores within a five hour hour radius that would have Crimson Riot merch. If they did, Eijirou would’ve snatched it up within milliseconds.
Katsuki was on eBay, again, trying to search for something–anything–Crimson Riot related. He’d been parked on the couch for the past three hours, his eyes burning from staring at his computer screen for too long and not blinking enough times. He was nearly going to give up for the night when a listing caught his attention. It was for a toy lot, boxes upon boxes of vintage toys that had once belonged to the seller’s father according to the listing. Katsuki’s heart suddenly sped up as he clicked through all the pictures, trying to get a closeup of a particular area. He clicked so fast that he nearly skipped right past it but Katsuki hit the back button and there it was, a Crimson Riot figurine. Not only that, this figurine was in pristine condition and it was signed! He had no idea whose signature that was but it was probably the comic’s creator.
“Holy shit,” Katsuki breathed quietly to himself.
This random stranger had something valuable and had no idea about it, Katsuki had snuck enough glances at the Crimson Riot forums Eijirou was a part of to know that the fans were desperate for anything to do with him. They would probably tear each other to pieces if it meant getting that figurine. Katsuki immediately screenshotted the figurine and clicked on the seller’s username, typing out a quick message asking if he could get the figurine separately and that he would pay for shipping and whatever fees came up. He drummed his fingers in anticipation. What was taking this dumbass so long? Didn’t they realize that they had a very important message sitting in their inbox that needed to be answered immediately?
Fifteen whole minutes passed before Katsuki heard a ding sound from his laptop. He’d started stress cleaning to hopefully distract him but all that got him was water being splashed all over him as he dropped the pot he was cleaning and dashed towards the living room, trying to rip his rubber gloves off but to no success, oh well his keyboard will just be a little soapy it would be fine. Hopefully.
KatsBaku__204: I saw your listing and wanted to know if I can purchase this item separately? I’ll pay all shipping, handling, and miscellaneous fees.
Thieving-Phantom-2628: Unfortunately the item cannot be sold separately. It can only be purchased as part of the lot
KatsBaku__204: I will quite literally pay double the lot price for this one figurine.
Thieving-Phantom-2628: Triple
Katsuki was going to murder this dumbass.
Thieving-Phantom-2628: I have seven people who have this lot in their cart right now who might remove it if they see the toy gone I’m just making sure I’m making a decent profit
KatsBaku__204: Profit my ass, you’re just trying to squeeze as much money out of me as you can.
KatsBaku__204: I’ll still take it however.
Thieving-Phantom-2628: Alright sold I’ll create a new listing for the toy and send it to you
Katsuki rolled his eyes and waited for the new listing. He’d just entered his card and shipping info and clicked buy when Eijirou wrapped his arms around Katsuki’s neck from behind and kissed his temple. Katsuki slammed the laptop shut and jumped in surprise, he didn’t even hear Eijirou enter–a miracle in it of itself as Eijirou walked around as if he were a bear lumbering around a forest.
“Uhhh… are you ok?” Eijirou asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yep, fine!” Katsuki said quickly.
Eijirou was not convinced unsurprisingly and he stared at Katsuki, waiting for the truth but Katsuki held firm. He’d just secured the greatest Christmas gift of all time, no fucking way was he going to let anything slip by and tip off Eijirou. Not only was he an amazing gift giver he also had the uncanny ability to know exactly what he was getting for Christmas. They engaged in a silent stare off for a few minutes before Eijirou relented and Katsuki blew a teasing raspberry at him. Eijirou chuckled and leaned down to capture Katsuki’s lips in a gentle kiss which Katsuki happily reciprocated. He shifted so he could snake an arm around Eijirou’s neck and Eijirou suddenly ducked away from him.
“Why is there soap on my neck!” He asked, cringing at the cold sudsy feeling that was suddenly dripping down his back.
Katsuki quickly ripped the gloves off and tossed them aside. “No idea.”
“Uh huh,” Eijirou deadpanned. “You gonna get ready soon so we can head out to Mina’s Christmas cookie making party?”
Katsuki jumped up and cursed, he’d completely forgotten about Mina’s thingy. Eijirou laughed at Katsuki as he rushed from the living room to their bedroom, quickly changing out of his regular clothes and into the Christmas clothes Eijirou had graciously set out for him. The sweater was ugly and itchy with a collar that pressed uncomfortably close to Katsuki’s neck but none of it mattered all that much after he got a notification from eBay that the shipping label had been created and to check back in a couple of days for updated tracking information. Katsuki smiled to himself and grabbed Eijirou so he could pull him in for a kiss.
This was going to be the best Christmas ever.
XXX
This was going to be the worst Christmas ever.
Christmas was officially less than a week away and his damn package still hadn’t arrived yet. Katsuki had become like a hawk looking for that thing but it was all for naught as nothing had arrived. Nothing in the mail room, at any of the exterior doors, their apartment’s front door, or even the apartment building that was down the street from theirs that had nearly identical building numbers. Katsuki was getting worried but he tried his best not to let it show. Whether or not he was succeeding was an entirely different matter that Katsuki didn’t have the bandwidth to focus on currently.
Katsuki pulled out his phone and checked the tracking information again but it was useless as always. All it said was that there were some delays but it was on route, which meant nothing to him. For all he knew the stupid package was still in the initial post office the seller dropped it off at! Fuck, why did this have to happen to Katsuki on the one year where he tried! Katsuki’s leg bounced anxiously as he opened eBay and messaged the seller asking if he saw anything on his end, but he wasn’t very hopeful at the moment.
“Ok enough of this.”
Katsuki startled as Eijirou plucked his phone out of his hand and turned it off before casually tossing it on the couch and pulling Katsuki away from it despite his protests. Eijirou didn’t listen to a word as he sat him down in front of the coffee table and told him to stay. Katsuki begrudgingly did as he was told and waited for Eijirou to come back with lotion, towels, and a candle. Eijirou set all of his supplies down and dimmed the lights before lighting the candle and and sitting down across from Katsuki, opening the lotion bottle and squirting a small amount onto his hand before holding it out expectantly. Katsuki rolled his eyes amusingly and relinquished his hand. Eijirou began to expertly massage Katsuki’s hand and the longer he worked at the muscles the more tension Katsuki felt release from his shoulders.
“So what’s wrong?” Eijirou asked, his hands never stopping.
“It’s-”
“Don’t you dare say ‘it’s nothing’ when it so clearly is not nothing,”
Katsuki sighed, Eijirou knew him too well. “Just the holidays and shit.”
“You’re not excited for Christmas? I thought you liked Christmas.”
“I do, but they’re just stressful.”
“Yeah, they are,” Eijirou chuckled, moving to Katsuki’s other hand. “I hope you’re not stressed about the holidays because of me.”
Katsuki raised an eyebrow. Where the hell did Eijirou get that from?
“I just worry that sometimes I’m putting too many expectations on you without realizing it.”
“You’re not.”
“You sure?”
Katsuki was sure. Eijirou didn’t put any expectations onto him, he put those expectations on himself because Eijirou deserved more than a gift card or a shitty, mostly plagiarized, coupon book. Eijirou smiled and deflated in relief and worked through the last joints on Katsuki’s pinky finger and brought his hand up for a gentle kiss which made Katsuki blush like an idiot every time.
“Was thinking of making steak rice bowls. How does that sound?”
“Sounds like the best meal ever.”
“You say that every time.”
“Because it’s true every time.”
They both laughed and Katsuki stood up to begin cooking while Eijirou cleaned up the little self care station he’d just created. When he passed the couch, Katsuki quickly scooped up his phone and checked to see if there was an update in the tracking information. Instead of seeing that, however, Katsuki instead saw a message from the eBay seller.
Thieving-Phantom-2628: Bad news
Thieving-Phantom-2628: The post lost the package
XXX
Katsuki was majorly fucked. Christmas was three days away and now he officially had no gift for Eijirou. He wasn’t sure how he made it through the rest of the day without snapping but once the next day rolled around and Katsuki got into his car to head to work he screamed as loudly and as angrily as he could, not stopping until his voice was hoarse and his throat raw. Seriously, why the hell did this have to happen to him? And so close to Christmas too! The entire drive into the office he spent both stewing in anger and panicking about what he should get Eijirou now. There was nothing any store in a hundred mile radius could have that would be good enough for Eijirou.
Fuck, he really was going to have to put a bow on his dick and give it as a present wasn’t he?
There was no way he was getting actual work done and today he didn’t even pretend otherwise. Thankfully everybody knew to stay the hell away, perks of having the manager as a friend, and Katsuki holed himself up in his office desperately searching for good last minute gifts. The entire day had passed with no luck and Katsuki let his head fall onto his desk as he groaned.
“God I hope he doesn’t get me a ring this year,” he muttered to himself.
“Trouble in paradise.”
Katsuki flopped his head to the side and saw Camie leaning against the doorframe. He groaned and shifted so that his forehead was once again resting on his desk.
“Go away.”
“What’s wrong, Kitty Kat?”
“My entire life’s fucked that’s what’s wrong.”
“Must be serious if you’re not going to snip at me.”
He heard some movement and when he reluctantly raised his head he saw Camie sitting in one of the chairs across his desk, looking at him expectantly.
“The gift I ordered got lost in the mail. It was practically one of a kind so there’s no getting another,” Katsuki said numbly.
Camie sucked in a pained breath, her brows furrowed in pity. “That’s shitty luck.”
“Yeah, and now I got nothing to give Eijirou. I tried looking for a new gift today and nothing was good enough.”
“Well… you could always make him something,” Camie suggested.
“That’s a great idea I’ll go get the macaroni and glitter right now,” Katsuki responded sarcastically.
“I’m being serious, you’re good with your hands if you made something I bet it would turn out beautiful.”
Katsuki rolled his eyes, dismissing Camie’s suggestion. There wasn’t anything he could make that would’ve been as great as that figurine would’ve been. Guess this would just have to be another gift card year. Camie tried to cheer Katsuki up and give him some ideas but it all went in one ear and out the other and eventually she left thankfully. Right now was a wallow moment and Katsuki was going to fully wallow. As Katsuki wallowed he thought back to what Camie said, as stupid as it sounded making something probably was his best option at this point. But what could he make for Eijirou? He didn’t need anything did he?
Katsuki suddenly sat bolt upright, his eyes wide with realization. There was, in fact, something Eijirou needed and Katsuki could easily make for him. He ran out of his office and prayed to god that Hanta was still at the forge. He was going to need help melting down some iron ore.
XXX
Christmas morning came bright and clear and Katsuki woke up to an empty bed and old Christmas music playing from the record player in the living room, a tradition they’d started once they’d moved in together and Eijirou found an old record player on the side of the road that he miraculously managed to fix up. Katsuki laid in bed for a moment, staring up at the ceiling as the music filled his ears. Sinatra’s smooth voice eased some of the nerves in Katsuki’s stomach but not all of them.
Katsuki had been working down to the bones to get Eijirou’s Christmas gift completed but somehow he’d done it and now it was tucked away in Katsuki’s trunk so Eijirou wouldn’t see. He couldn’t exactly wrap it and put it under the tree. After a few minutes of collecting his nerves, Katsuki pulled back the covers and got out of bed, stretching and yawning before making his way to the living room. Eijirou was dancing around the kitchen, softly humming along to the record as he made their breakfasts: waffles, coffee, bacon, cinnamon rolls, eggs, and toast. It would probably be their only nutritional meal for the day as the rest of the day usually consisted of gorging themselves on Christmas cookies, chocolate, eggnog, and some peppermints until their stomachs hurt and standing up was too uncomfortable.
“Morning, Red, Merry Christmas,” Katsuki said softly as he came up behind Eijirou and wrapped his arms around his middle.
“Merry Christmas, baby,” Eijirou said almost melodically. “I’m almost done with breakfast, then we can eat and then do presents!”
“Ok,” Katsuki responded, injecting as much confidence and enthusiasm as he could.
Katsuki sat down and Eijirou followed him soon after, kissing Katsuki temple and putting down his plate with a small “ta da” before sitting down himself. Breakfast was good and Katsuki and Eijirou ate one handed so they could hold each other’s hand at the same time. Katsuki glanced at Eijirou periodically while they ate and he felt his chest warm and his heart to beat slightly faster whenever he did so.
“I love you so much, Eijirou,” Katsuki said suddenly.
Eijirou looked up, his mouth completely stuffed with food, and he smiled so widely his eyes disappeared from crinkling in happiness too much. He quickly chewed and swallowed his food before coughing a few times due to it going down the wrong pipe.
“I love you too, Katsuki,” Eijirou said once his throat was finally clear. “I love you to the moon and back.”
Katsuki leaned over the table and pressed his lips to Eijirou’s in a soft kiss. He could feel Eijirou smile into their kiss and it made him want another, and another, and another, and a million more if he were being honest. Katsuki wanted to feel the press of Eijirou’s lips against his for the rest of time.
“You ready for presents?” Katsuki murmured humorously against Eijirou’s lips.
Eijirou jumped up like an excitable child and pulled Katsuki to the living room, leaving their dirty dishes behind. Katsuki laughed and happily let himself be dragged along and plopped right down onto the ground. Eijirou grabbed their matching Santa hats and changed the record to something more upbeat before plopping down beside Katsuki and handing him a small box.
“First this one, then the green one and finally the fancy gold and red one,” Eijirou directed, pointing to each box in turn.
Katsuki nodded and carefully peeled the silver paper off the first box and lifted the lid. Inside was a keycard badge holder decorated with some kickass explosions and gauntlets with a complimentary lanyard. The second gift contained some homemade salsas and hot sauces and Katsuki knew his eyes shone with excitement as he tasted each one, recipe after recipe filling his head for each one. The last gift caused a watery smile to cross Katsuki’s lips and for a loving arm to be wrapped around his shoulder. It was a scrapbook filled with so many memories, both great and small, that had been so lovingly captured and documented. It must’ve taken Eijirou months to put this all together.
“Do you like it?” Eijirou asked quietly.
“I love it,” Katsuki whispered reverently. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Eijirou smiled.
Eijirou looked around but the only boxes under the tree were the ones for their friends and family. Before a pout could form on Eijirou’s lips, Katsuki pulled him up and led him over to the door, wresting a coat and hat onto him before pulling him out to the parking garage.
“Close your eyes,” Katsuki ordered.
“Ok, bossy man,” Eijirou giggled, closing his eyes and holding out his hands.
Katsuki took them and led him over to his truck, making sure Eijirou was far enough away so Katsuki could open the trunk and pull out his gift. It took a little work getting out but Katsuki managed and taking one last breath he settled his nerves and told Eijirou to open his eyes. Eijirou did and immediately gasped as he looked at the wrought iron bookshelf Katsuki had made. The thing was six and a half feet with five mahogany shelves and swirling iron details on the side that curved into hearts and spirals. Eijirou circled it, his fingers lightly ghosting over the metal before he looked at Katsuki.
“Is… is this…”
“Merry Christmas,” Katsuki said softly.
Eijirou burst out into a fit of delighted squeals and wrapped Katsuki in a hug, lifting him and spinning him around in his glee. Katsuki began to laugh too and clung onto Eijirou as he spun him around, not letting go when Eijirou put him down.
“You like it?”
“Like it? Katsuki I love it! Where did you even find it?”
“I made it.”
“YOU MADE THIS!”
Katsuki bit at his lip to contain his smile as he nodded.
“Holy shit! How? I didn’t even know you knew how to do this!”
“Hanta gave me some lessons years back, I told him to give me a refresher and then I made this so you can put it in your office.”
“My trinkets are going to look so good on it!” Eijirou looked at the bookshelf and bounced from foot to foot in excitement. “Let’s go to the office! I wanna put this in there and decorate it!”
“We are not going into the office on Christmas Day, dumbass,” Katsuki laughed. “We can put it in when we come back next Tuesday.”
“But I wanna do it now!” Eijirou pleaded.
“And miss out on our movie marathon while we eat every single kind of cookie we can find?”
Eijirou pursed his lips in thought before chuckling. “Ok, ok maybe you have a point. Though we are definitely bringing this inside in the meantime so I can stare at it all day long.”
“Ok, deal,” Katsuki laughed.
He wrapped his arms around Eijirou’s neck and pulled him in for a tight hug, pressing his lips to Eijirou’s temple.
“I’m glad you like it,” Katsuki murmured.
“I do, I really do, I think this is the best gift I’ve ever gotten.”
Katsuki’s heart soared and he pulled back so that he could press his lips against Eijirou’s. They kissed for a long while before breaking apart and carefully bringing the bookcase inside to their apartment where it stayed forever. Eijirou couldn’t bring himself to bring it into the office where it wouldn’t be fully appreciated the way it would at home. Katsuki grumbled about it but couldn’t find it in himself to be too upset.
After all, now he had the perfect gift idea for Eijirou for next year’s Christmas.