Work Text:
After graduating and becoming pro heroes, the former group of students from class A didn’t have as much free time as they would want to, and when the rare occasion came, they would be too tired to do much more than staying at home watching sitcoms. This problem also affected their relationships and how often they could see each other. Some of them were living together or working in the same agency so those bonds grew stronger, but it was almost impossible for them to organize their schedules to see the rest of their friends since they were also pretty busy. So it was decided that every year they would spend Christmas Eve together as a group and no one was allowed to miss it. It was the only day in the year they all could see each other and catch up after so long, everyone always excited for this day to arrive.
Everyone except Bakugo Katsuki.
He would pick staying at home with his boyfriend and their cats over that dinner without hesitation. He only agrees to go every year just because Eijiro misses his friends a little too much: he needs to see them, and who the fuck is Katsuki to say no to Eijiro’s happiness?
So when Katsuki arrives to their fully decorated home on the afternoon of December 24th after his patrol, he doesn’t even need to look at the redhead jumping from excitement around the house to know it’s time to get ready.
When he enters their room after a long, decontracting shower, he finds a brand new suit waiting for him on their king sized bed along with a sanrio sticky note. ‘For my handsome Grinch, happy crismus, merry crysler ✌🏼(>‿◠)’ is written on it.
“Dumbass,” the blond whispers fondly for himself as he tries the stunning fit his man chose for him. When you first looked at it, it could seem just a common black suit. But it’s not.
It doesn’t take more than five seconds of looking at the mirror for Katsuki to notice it’s custom made. ‘This guy… I can’t believe him’ he thinks as memories from a certain trip to a tropical island in their first year hit him, making a familiar warm feeling bloom inside his ribcage.
His reflection looks back at him with a satisfied grin on its face. The bloody red shirt hugs his wide chest perfectly, tight enough to show off his huge pecs but not so much as to make him feel uncomfortable and unable to move, and its color rivalling the beautiful red he was lucky to wake up next to every morning. The jet black jacket on the other hand makes his slim waist the main event, and he’s gotta admit the way these new pants make his muscular thighs stand out really adds something to his look.
He is trying to fix his hair a little when he feels a pair of strong yet gentle arms circling around his middle and a soft kiss being pressed on his cheek. “So… you like it.” It’s more of an affirmation rather than a question, and he isn’t wrong.
“Yeah, I do.” He takes his time to finish with his hair before turning to the side to lock eyes with the other man, throwing him a subtle smile. “Thanks, Eiji.” One of his hands finds a soft, freckled cheek to rest on before speaking again. “But why though? I thought you liked my blue suit.”
The redhead shrugs it off with a too-bright smile before slowly leaning forward. But when their lips are about to touch, a familiar tune coming from the radio in one of the nightstands breaks the spell and creates two completely different moods in a radius of one meter.
“I~ don’t want a lot for Christmas~” Eijiro starts with a knowing look.
“I swear to God I will go find that woman and make her pay for my suffering.” Katsuki’s face loses all its warmth and morphs into an ugly scowl.
“There is just one thing I need~”
“Mariah Carey, I hope you have a horrible Christmas this year.”
“I don’t care about the presents~ underneath the Christmas tree~” Eijiro tries to pull his irascible boyfriend closer as he sings to him, but it’s just useless.
“No, fuck off, stop it, I can’t stand this song anymore and you know it.” He swats the redhead’s approaching hands disdainfully.
“I just want you for my own~ more than you could ever know~” The man can’t stop his laugh to mix with his singing, the view of the blond’s hands smoking because of how much the song annoys him is a very amusing thing for him, it has always been.
“Eijiro I’m fucking serious, leave me the fuck alone,” Katsuki states with a menacing look, jaw clenched and heading to the door.
“Make my wish come true~ all I want for Christmas is-“ Before he can finish the last verse, Katsuki slams the door shut behind him.
“You have 5 minutes to be ready or I’ll leave without you!” Katsuki yells from the corridor before making his way to the kitchen to make sure both cats have their food and water bowls filled.
Eijiro sighs lovingly, a fond smile stretches across his face as he gets ready. He is so madly in love with that testy, crabby blond with an irrational hatred towards their special Christmas song that he can’t help it.
…
This year’s Christmas dinner is held in one of the Yaoyorozu family’s five stars hotels. Katsuki feels a little less stressed now he’s absolutely sure their night won’t be interrupted by curious guests or sneaky paparazzi.
He crosses the double doors that lead to the gigantic ballroom hand in hand with the love of his life, eagerness is radiating from his body tonight more than any other previous Christmas party. ‘He is so cute when excited,’ Katsuki thinks, the same thought living in his mind rent free for the last ten years.
They’re quickly approached by a lot of familiar smiley faces; almost everyone else has already arrived. He doesn’t need to look at his side to know Eijiro is holding back the tears. What a big baby.
“Guys, you’re finally here!” Denki rushes to hug both of them, his grip around their necks surprisingly strong. “I missed you so much you have no idea.”
“Ow Denki, man, you know I missed you too, a lot dude!” Eijiro engulfs him in a tight hug, already feeling emotional.
Katsuki, on the other hand, just tries to shove their friend with an annoyed look. “We saw each other two weeks ago! You two can’t get so upset when we see each other so often, and you two even Facetime daily!” he points out, scowling and crossing his arms over his chest.
Because yes, even if it was difficult to make a little space in their busy schedules, the self-proclaimed Bakusquad always makes it work to go for some drinks together at least once per month. Otherwise, the most sensitive guys in the group (aka Eijiro and Denki) would have lost the battle against loneliness and longing long ago.
“You say that just because you get to see Kiri every day, otherwise you would be in an even worse situation than mine.” Denki claims sticking out his tongue in Katsuki’s direction, but makes sure to quickly hide behind his boyfriend, just in case.
“Babe, don’t press his buttons just yet, at least wait until we are done eating, please,” Hanta’s calm voice pleads before taking his turn to greet everyone’s favorite couple with the rest of the group.
Even if he would never admit it out loud, Katsuki’s heart swelled at the sight of all the people he’s known for a decade actually happy to see him once again; asking him how he’s been doing recently; congratulating him for being the number one hero for a second year in a row, mentioning how they saw videos of him on duty looking so badass. These people really care about him, they were the first ones to actually do it for real, and he would be lying if he said he isn’t happy to see them all together like when they were sixteen. He’d also be lying if he didn’t say he’s relieved to see they are all okay, all alive.
Animated music fills every corner of the elegant hall while different waiters bring an endless procession of food in shining carts to where they’re sitting. There’re four round tables for dinner, five chairs around each of them, but they all exchange seats with someone from another table to get the chance to join a new conversation. Everyone except Katsuki, who was pretty comfortable sitting on his corner, catching up with his best friend while his boyfriend was animatedly chatting with Sato and Shoji at the other side of the room.
“So, when are you gonna ask her?” Katsuki asks nonchalantly before sipping on his champagne, his eyes never leaving Eijiro’s figure. It has always relaxed him to just stare at the other man. It doesn’t matter what he’s doing; it brings peace to his mind.
“A-ask her what?” Kyoka says, trying to seem oblivious but failing miserably.
“To marry you, duh.” He places his now empty glass on the table and turns to look at her, an unimpressed expression painted all over his face. “You told me you wanted to do it with a song, right? So? Is it ready?” Even if he was being straightforward his tone was calm, almost soft. Kyoka was the only person in the world besides Eijiro who was allowed to see that side of him.
“Uhm… Well… No, it’s not ready,” she sighs defeatedly, propping her chin on her palm. “I want it to be perfect, you know? So, until I’m not 100% satisfied I can’t say it’s ready. Momo deserves the absolute best.”
He understands, he truly does. It took him weeks of preparation to ask Eijiro to be his boyfriend, even if he knew the redhead doesn’t care even a little bit about all that. He would have felt the happiest even if he had asked him out in a dumpster surrounded by rats. But it’s just the way he is, and the way Kyoka is, so he gets it: they need it to be perfect for their own sanity. He doesn’t even want to think about his plan of asking Eijiro to marry him. It’s way too stressful for him to handle.
“Look, I know it’s useless to say this because you were the one who told me this years ago when I needed help with Eijiro but - just speak with your heart, not with your mind. Let your love for her do the job instead of you.” His eyes now focus on his glass as he speaks, thinking through his next words while he spins the delicate piece of tableware between his fingers, inspecting the rays of light it catches. “You know you can call me whenever you need help with it. I’m sure you want to do this on your own since it’s something so personal and meaningful, but just to remind you,” he declares without looking up, a familiar warmth hovering over his ears.
Kyoka’s eyes grow wide in realization, looking like she forgot about her own advice (understandable, since it has been years since she gave it and only Katsuki has the weird trait of remembering everything, including the smallest details). A grateful smile creeps onto her face as she clasps her hands tightly due to her sudden excitement. “Thank you so much, Bakugo! You’re right, that’s what I’m going to do.”
Before Katsuki can brush her off, he’s cut off by a familiar tune coming from the huge speakers.
Fuck. He can’t even react. He’s frozen in place. All he’s able to do is to look with wide, piercing eyes in the direction of that mellow voice he knows so well, singing the Christmas classic.
Eijiro is standing from his seat across the room with an arm extended in his direction, wholeheartedly singing the song that earned the highest spot on his blacklist.
“I~ don’t want a lot for Christmas~”
‘He can’t be serious. I’m going to kill him,’ Katsuki thinks as every trace of tenderness leaves his face, making way for a menacing scowl.
“There~ is just one thing I need~”
At this point, every single one of their friends is looking at the little show silently, fondness in their eyes as it brings back memories of their first Christmas together where exactly the same thing happened. Back then Eijiro made it way more subtle, trying to keep it between himself and Katsuki as he was way shyer about his feelings towards his now boyfriend of ten years and didn’t want to risk the blond getting mad at him, which thankfully didn’t happen. He sang to him almost in a whisper, both of them sitting in front of the fireplace at the common room, Katsuki’s eyes warming at the adorable sight of his boyfriend trying to keep eye contact while singing. It ended with Mina holding a mistletoe above their heads for them to kiss under and the whole class cheering for them once their lips met in a sweet kiss.
But now the story is different. After that first try, Eijiro gained enough confidence to sing that exact same song to Katsuki everytime it got played near them, without care if they were doing something important or if they were in public. At first Katsuki found it amusing and very cute, but around their third Christmas together he would just get pissed over it. After ten years? He can’t even listen to the song by himself. He even blocked Mariah Carey in every single social media he owns, including the ones he doesn’t even use. He is that pissed off by it.
For the whole month of December he doesn’t allow Eijiro to tag along when he goes to the market. They always play the song at least once while he fights some granny over the last chicken tray at the meat aisle and he doesn’t see himself able to handle both: the weirdly strong and stubborn old woman, and his mountain of a boyfriend hurting the ears of all the innocent customers at the same time.
For their dates they only go to places where there isn’t music playing, but sometimes it’s inevitable and they catch a verse or two while walking back to their car, and Eijiro never misses a chance. Katsuki can’t even find peace after turning off his hearing aids in a futile attempt of ignoring the redhead, who always resorts to sign the whole song in front of him while bouncing around, following the rhythm of the music.
“I don’t care about the presents~”
Eijiro’s poor attempt of a melodious voice seriously needs to be stopped. Katsuki has just reached his patience limit. No, he surpassed it: he did that long time ago actually, but the man he likes to call the love of his life always finds a way to cut the correct wire before the timer reaches zero. He won’t let him escape this time, though.
“Underneath the Christmas tree~”
There’s simply no way for the other man to be able to stop his rage now. He’s absolutely done with being embarrassed like this every year. This is going to end tonight, once and for all.
“I just want you for my own~”
Before he can even register it, his body is moving on its own, dangerously approaching Eijiro in order to stop him. But as he gets closer and passes by all their friends in the way, he notices something strange.
“More than you could ever know~”
They all look so… moved? Why are they so touched? They have seen this shitshow enough times to be used to it by now, maybe even be tired of it as well. Some of them even give him encouraging pats on the back and gentle squeezes on his shoulder. He doesn’t understand.
“Make my wish come true~”
He finally reaches the corner where the shitty singer of a boyfriend is standing and it’s just then, when the music gradually comes to a halt and Eijiro bends down on one knee, that he realizes why it is so different this time.
“All I want for Christmas… is… you~” Eijiro sings the last verse by himself with the most sincere voice he’s ever heard leaving his lips.
And, just like that, the world stops spinning. Everything around them vanishes in the air, nothing two feet away from them exists anymore. All Katsuki can see is the person he loves the most in the universe kneeling in front of him, holding a small velvet box, a beautiful silver ring shining from the inside just for him to admire.
He knows he has to answer: Eijiro is waiting for him, and even if the redhead is looking at him with the most patient expression he has ever thrown at him he still wants to hurry up and say something. But it seems the shock of the unexpected proposal tied the most onerous knot inside his throat, making it impossible for his desperate reply to come to the surface. Not even Houdini himself would be able to untie that intricate mess and escape from this one.
At this point he can already feel an ocean of tears overflowing his waterline, making the picture of the wonderful man in front of him a blurry watercolor as he tries to get the choked words out of his system, mouth gaping and bottom lip slightly trembling.
It’s a fact his is joy is unmeasurable, but that’s not the only thing he’s feeling right now. Katsuki’s body feels like it hit a massive brick wall at full speed, but instead of his life ending with him looking like a tortilla the wall engulfed him, making him part of it, its weight around him annoyingly heavy and leaving no room to move but not enough to crush him. That’s how overwhelmed he feels, and he’s very much pissed at himself for it because this is the most important moment in his life and he can’t even be part of it since his body decided to believe today’s gravity is stronger.
Luckily, his fight or flight response has got him covered and takes action as every time his mind is way too lost in the abyss of bewilderment and can’t find its way out. He feels himself nodding eagerly, his head shaking up and down so violently it could have been mistaken as some medical emergency if he hadn’t thrown himself to those tree trunk like arms, letting out the breath he didn’t know he was holding back through his nose, pleased with the scent of chocolate and strawberry that invades his nose on his next inhale. It smells like home.
Maybe he doesn’t hate their annual Christmas dinner that much. Maybe he doesn’t find it annoying to see all these people genuinely happy for them, congratulating them both with big teary eyes and dangerously wide smiles that threaten to split their faces in half, with tender pats in the back and fully loaded hugs, with compliments about how they are the perfect couple and hopeful wishes for their future together.
And maybe he doesn’t actually despise that specific holiday song. Maybe he never did, but he is sure as hell that from now on he will let his fiancé sing it for him as many times he wants. Damn, he may even sing with him sometimes. Maybe what he thought was his darkest yet silliest torment is now his favorite thing about their relationship. Maybe it’s his favorite thing period.
Maybe Eijiro is all he wants for Christmas too as the man slides the beautiful piece of jewelry on his ring finger before holding his still trembling hand in his, squeezing it softly while sealing the promise of a shared life with a fervent kiss.
Maybe the redhead is all he wants in this life and in the next ones too, until his soul perishes and fades from the face of Earth after reincarnating and finding his heart racing at the sight of him in every reality over and over again.
Maybe, just maybe, he is glad to call that annoyingly cheesy song theirs.