Every Year [Valentine's Day 2024]

“Kacchan!”

The plastic chair beside him squeaked, and Katsuki looked over to find Izuku plopping himself down at Katsuki’s table, scattering a handful of mismatched crayons and a couple of half-empty tubes of glitter across the top.

“I found the red ones!” he said triumphantly. “And pink too because it’s pretty but look at this cool red like Kacchan’s eyes!”

He waved the tube of bright red glitter in Katsuki’s face, his chubby hand wrapped tight around it to keep it safe.

“Good work,” Katsuki said firmly. “I got all the best cards!”

Izuku’s big eyes shone when he saw Katsuki’s stack of coloured card, with Katsuki’s special All Might scissors beside it.

“You did so good!”

Katsuki beamed at the praise, sitting up a little taller in his yellow chair, and offered Izuku the pile.

“You can pick first!” he offered graciously. “Which colour do you want?”

“Hmmm... Pink!” Izuku decided, reaching for a big sheet of pink card and folding it in half carefully. “What colour is Kacchan gonna use?”

“Red!”

Izuku grinned. Katsuki had always liked red the best – that was why Izuku had found the red glitter for him!

Izuku’s tongue poked out the corner of his mouth, concentrating hard as he began to draw, and Katsuki started work on his own project, reaching for a sheet of blue and carefully cutting shapes. He glued them all in place with the utmost care, making sure everything was lined up perfectly, then painted careful lines of glue with his finger, shaking plenty of glitter on top to make his card extra shiny. While it dried, he folded three much-smaller cards, painting on glitter hearts and writing careful letters on the inside.

By the time the teacher told them to clean up, Katsuki’s cards were perfect, and he set them aside proudly to help Izuku put away their tools. There was glitter all over the table, so Katsuki swept it all into his hand, pouring it on top of his biggest card to join the rest – glitter made everything better, after all. They packed up their leftover card, Katsuki put away his special scissors, Izuku put the lid back on their glue, and finally they joined the rest of the class in grabbing their bags and shoes, ready for their parents to come pick them up.

It was the worst part of Katsuki’s day, really: when his Mama showed up and got all huggy and touchy, and made him leave Izuku behind for the night. He wanted Izuku to just come live with them, but his Papa said Izuku’s Mama would be sad, and Katsuki liked her, he didn’t want to make her sad.

Maybe they could both come live with him? He’d have to ask his Papa.

They lined up neatly with their bags on their backs and their cards in their hands, marching out through the playground to meet their parents, and Izuku waved excitedly when he saw his Mama waiting for him. She waved back, from where she stood beside Katsuki’s Mama, and Izuku held up the cards in his hand, eager to show her his work as soon as possible.

Finally the teachers said they could go, and Katsuki grabbed Izuku’s free hand, the pair of them running over to meet with their Mamas together. Izuku handed his Mama one of his cards, beaming as she gushed over how pretty it was, and Katsuki just watched with a little pout.

“Oh, did you two make Valentine’s cards today?” Mitsuki asked, grinning. “I bet that was fun.”

Katsuki shoved one into her hand, ignoring the way she blinked at him in surprise, and she smiled softly as she flipped it open. Inside he’d written “To Mama” and signed his name in his neatest handwriting, and Mitsuki hugged him despite the way he squirmed.

“Thank you, kiddo. It’s beautiful, I love it.”

When Izuku’s Mama looked up, Katsuki thrust one into her hand, too, and her eyes filled with tears as she looked down at the glittery hearts on the front. Izuku stared at him with wide eyes, all shining and admiring like usual, and when Katsuki handed him his biggest creation, he hugged the card to his chest, getting glitter all over his school shirt.

“For me?!” he asked. “Thank you, Kacchan!”

On the front, Katsuki had painstakingly recreated the patterns from All Might’s hero costume, all the red bits coated in a carefully glued line of red glitter. In his best bubble-letters he’d written out “I am here!” underneath the design, and when Izuku flipped it open, he found the matching “I am your Valentine!” on the inside. Izuku cried when he saw it, but Katsuki was used to that – Katsuki never cried, except maybe when he hurt himself real bad, but Izuku cried all the time, just like his Mama did. They both said it meant they were happy, so even though it was weird, Katsuki had gotten used to it.

“I made you one too!” Izuku sniffled, handing his second card to Katsuki. “But you made me All Might yours is much better!”

“I’m not gonna make me a Valentine,” Katsuki objected, as he took the bright red card covered in glittery pink hearts. “Your Valentine is the best one I’ll ever get!”

Izuku seemed to cheer up a little, at that, so Katsuki opened up his card, his cheeks burning when he read the carefully-inked “Love from Izuku” written inside.

“Thanks,” he said, holding it tight to make sure he wouldn’t accidentally drop it. “It’s the best.”

He leaned in and pressed a kiss to Izuku’s cheek, pleased when Izuku blushed and giggled, even though their Mamas cooed at them weirdly for it. It wasn’t like it was the first time he’d kissed Izuku, their Mamas were so weird.

“Make me another one next year,” Katsuki ordered. “I’ll be your Valentine every year.”

“I will! I promise!”

─────

“Kacchan!”

He looked up just in time to see Izuku literally bounce over to him, beaming from ear to ear as he slapped a big, red envelope on the desk triumphantly. Katsuki cracked a little smile despite the audience of classmates that was suddenly staring at them, and picked it up with no hesitation. When he flipped it open, he found himself struggling to slide out the thickest, densest card he’d ever seen, and snortedthe moment he figured out why. The front of the card was laden with heart stickers in all different sizes, layered up on top of each other until it was at least three times as thick as the card they stuck to. There was no coating or cover on the top, sothe edges of some of the stickers were already starting to peel, and Katsuki could only grin to himself as he gently pressed them back down. When he flipped it over, the back was made in exactly the same way, and Katsuki began to wonder how Izuku had gotten it into the envelope in the first place – no wonder it had been hard to get out, he must have bought an oversized envelope just to stand a chance.

He expected a reprieve from the stickers when he opened it, but nope, the inside was just the same. Izuku must have spent hours layering that thing up in the brightest, sparkliest heart stickers that money could buy, only to write over it in thick, black permanent marker, spelling out “Happy Valentine’s Day Kacchan” in the wonkiest bubble-letters Katsuki had ever seen.

“I love it,” he said with a laugh. “You’ve outdone yourself.”

Izuku just grinned at him for the praise, holding out his hands pointedly, and making little grabby motionsuntil Katsuki reached into his bag and pulled out an envelope just as big. Izuku accepted it hungrily, practically tearing it open, and when a mound of glitter erupted over the front of Izuku’s uniform, Katsuki couldn’t help but cackle.

“Mean!” Izuku protested, laughing all the same. “I should have seen that coming, you always go nuts with the glitter.”

“It’s the best part of the holiday.”

“The holiday?” Izuku asked. “You mean every holiday.”

“It’s not my fault they make glitter in so many colours.”

Izuku finally pulled out the abomination of glitter glue Katsuki had spent an entire week putting together, almost doubling over with the force of the laughter that came out of him. He’d drawn out all sorts of hearts and balloons and stars with the little tubes of cheap glitter glue he’d bought, but he was decidedly not an artist, and the over-all effect of his lack of talent combined with shitty craft supplies was exactly what he’d wanted when he began the project. The addition of little silver and pink sequins poked into the glue in random places was just the icing on the cake, and Izuku started a whole new fit of giggles when he poked at one and felt it wiggle in the glue – that stuff didn’t set entirely solid, Katsuki had learned, but honestly that was probably better.

On the inside, Katsuki had written his favourite line he’d ever come up with, in the best and prettiest calligraphy he’d ever done. At first glance it looked beautiful, if he did say so himself – Izuku clearly thought so too, from the way he paused when he opened it, his expression changing to one of awe. But when he read the words, it morphed once more, and despite his grin, he reached out to slap Katsuki lightly.

“I tolerate you?” He asked, struggling to hold back his laughter when Katsuki smirked up at him. “That’s so mean, Kacchan!”

“But I do!”

“Shut up!”

Despite his complaints, he didn’t protest when Katsuki grabbed him by the tie and pulled him down, planting a cheesy kiss on Izuku’s freckled cheek. When he heard the gasp from behind him, he remembered their audience, and immediately kicked himself for getting caught up in the moment. When he released Izuku, though, expecting to find shock or confusion in his face, he only found a shining pair of green eyes, and a wobbly smile clearly struggling to contain his glee.

Fuck it.

“Fine,” he caved, smirking. “I tolerate you and love you. Happy now?”

“Happy now!” Izuku parroted, tearing up. “I love you too!”

The bell rang for class, and Izuku tangled his fingers in Katsuki’s hair, kissing the top of his head fondly just like he always did when they had to part. He slid into the next seat back, clutching his card to his chest happily, and Katsuki turned to grin back at him briefly, as Aizawa rolled in.

“Midoriya,” Aizawa said with a sigh. “Why are you covered in glitter?”

“It’s Valentine’s Day, Sensei!” Izuku answered gleefully.

Aizawa just sighed again, abandoning the conversation immediately, and Katsuki ran a gentle hand over his card again before he tucked it safely into his bag.

He knew when their break came he was going to be mobbed by their classmates, bombarded with squeals and squawks and endless insufferable questions, but he couldn’t even bring himself to care.

It was all worth it, for that look on Izuku’s face.