Taking It Slow [Christmas 2k19]

"Oh, sweetie, a Christmas card came for you!" Inko called, as Izuku set his bags down in his bedroom. "I left it on your dresser!"

"Really? Okay, thanks!"

He picked it up as he passed, surprised to find a beaten and dirtied envelope, stamped with four different images from four different post offices. From someone overseas? He couldn't think of anyone that would be sending him something from far away, no one even had his address.

He slit open one side and pulled the card out, smiling when he found All Might in a santa hat gracing the front with his image, glitter spilling from it onto his hands and the carpet. He'd have to apologise to his mother for that later.

The inside was full of black ink – not a lot of writing, per se, but a ton of scribbled out words where the author had changed their mind, words he struggled to read through the angry black lines. His breath caught when he saw the familiar handwriting, hands trembling a little where they gripped the card.

D̶e̶a̶r̶  To  n̶e̶r̶d̶   D̶e̶k̶u̶  Izuku
I know I've been kind of a piece of shit  t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶y̶e̶a̶r̶  for a while now, so I guess with us both going to U.A. next year we should probably  m̶a̶k̶e̶ ̶u̶p̶   b̶e̶ ̶f̶r̶i̶e̶n̶d̶s̶   n̶o̶t̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶e̶n̶e̶m̶i̶e̶s̶  talk about this shit or something? I don't know.
M̶a̶y̶b̶e̶ ̶I̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶a̶p̶o̶l̶o̶g̶i̶s̶i̶n̶g̶
Just let me know somehow that you got this. I wouldn't be surprised if you just tore it up and didn't read it. I guess if I don't hear from you I'll know you don't want to be friends or whatever.
̶I̶ ̶s̶c̶r̶e̶w̶e̶d̶ ̶u̶p̶,̶ ̶I̶ ̶h̶o̶p̶e̶ ̶I̶'̶m̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶o̶ ̶l̶a̶t̶e̶.̶
Merry Christmas  n̶e̶r̶d̶  Izuku.
̶I̶ ̶h̶o̶p̶e̶ ̶i̶t̶'̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶g̶o̶o̶d̶ ̶o̶n̶e̶.̶   M̶a̶k̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶m̶o̶s̶t̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶b̶e̶f̶o̶r̶e̶ ̶I̶ ̶b̶e̶a̶t̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶a̶s̶s̶ ̶n̶e̶x̶t̶ ̶y̶e̶a̶r̶.̶
Say hi to your Mom for me.
̶K̶a̶t̶s̶u̶k̶i̶  Kacchan

Izuku didn't realise he was crying until he heard Inko squawk, setting down the mugs of hot chocolate in a hurry to hug him instead.

"Don't cry, sweetie! What's wrong? What happened? Did you hurt yourself?"

"Kacchan tried to make up with me!" he sobbed. "And I didn't know! And he must be so mad that I never answered him! I screwed up!"

"Oh sweetie, no! It's never too late! You've gotten much closer since you've been in high school, haven't you? You've already made up!"

She hugged him tightly, rubbing his back as he sobbed, her own tears trickling down her face to match. It was impossible to watch her son cry and not join in, no matter how strong she wished she could be for him.

"Come sit down, Izuku, it's been a long day! Let's drink our hot chocolate and do our decorating, and we can talk about what happened, okay?"

"Th-Thanks, Mom," he stuttered, swallowing hard as he took a step back. "I'm sorry, this was so out of the blue."

"It's not a problem, sweetie! I just want to help! That's what mothers are for, right?"

With a nod and a wobbly smile, Izuku wiped his eyes, and they scooped up a hot mug each. The top was covered in slightly melted marshmallows, just the way he liked it, and together they moved to the living room to sit down.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked gently. "It's okay if you don't!"

"Um, that card," he mumbled, taking another long slurp of hot chocolate. "It was an old one that I guess got lost in the mail. From uh, two years ago, right before we started high school."

"Oh, wow! What a long time to be missing!"

"I think he was trying to apologise for picking on me," Izuku explained. "I think... I think he was trying to be friends again. And I ignored it, as far as he knows. It's no wonder he was so mad at me in the beginning, he thought I had ignored his attempt to make up with me."

"He'll understand, Izuku. Just talk to him!"

"Yeah, I guess I can try."

As they decorated the apartment, Izuku quickly began to cheer up. They giggled together as they reminisced over old Christmas stories, Izuku sharing his exploits with his classmates, Inko catching him up on all the local families he'd grown up with. He wanted to say he'd forgotten about Katsuki by the time they were done, but it would have been a lie. No matter what they did or said, he couldn't get that thought out of the back of his mind.

When he tried to help make dinner, Inko smiled and shook her head, waving him away.

"Go talk to Katsuki, I can do this."

"Oh, no, it's okay! I should help!"

"That's okay sweetie, I'll be done in about half an hour, you take your time!"

"Thanks, Mom."

He picked up the card from his room, tucking it back inside the envelope, and then he was out the door. He shrugged his jacket on as he walked, his breath clouding before his face in the cold night air, and before he knew it, he was at the door of a familiar house: Tall and modern, with wide windows to let in sunlight, the curtains now drawn to keep the warmth in for the night.

"Izuku! It's so good to see you!" Masaru beamed, hugging him tight. "It's been a long time, look how tall you've gotten! What a fine young man you've become."

"You're too kind," he blushed, accepting and returning the hug as if it hadn't been years since they last met. "Thank you. Um, is Kacchan home?"

"Yes, yes, come on in! He's up in his room, you know the way!"

He stopped by to greet Mitsuki, getting another hug and a lot of lectures about taking care of himself, and then with a last smile and a little bow, he was padding up the stairs.

"I said I'll be down soon!" Katsuki growled, when Izuku knocked lightly on his door. "When did you get so damn impatient?"

"Kacchan?"

The room went silent for a moment, then footsteps stomped toward him, tearing the door open on a deep scowl.

"The hell are you doing here?" he demanded. "I don't remember inviting you."

"I came home to this," he explained, holding up the battered envelope. "I guess it got lost in the mail for a while? So I had to come see you, had to come tell you that I didn't ignore it or tear it up!"

Katsuki snatched it from him, pulling the card out and staring at the glittery All Might picture with hard eyes.

"You never got it?" he asked finally, flipping it open to read. "I thought you'd thrown it away."

"I would never, Kacchan! You know that!"

He quickly closed it up and handed it back again, jaw clenched and lips silent. Izuku just waited knowingly, patiently, letting him take as long as he needed to find the words he was searching so hard for.

"I was an ass," he said finally. "Even in first year, I was still an ass. I won't make excuses for that."

"Is that an apology?" Izuku teased.

"Shut up."

"I've always loved you, Kacchan, I could never be mad at you! We're fine, I promise!"

Izuku didn't think about his choice of words until he saw Katsuki burn bright red, head quickly turning away with his cheeks puffed out in a little pout.

"Sorry, should I have used a different word?" he asked awkwardly. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"It's whatever. Say what you mean, you know I hate it when you hide shit."

"What I mean?"

"Yeah, nerd. Be honest and shit, you know what happens when you lie to me."

"I never lied, Kacchan, you know that! I didn't tell you when I got my quirk, but I wasn't lying about it! I never lied!"

"I know, but..." He trailed off, huffing a little sigh. "I thought you had, and that shit pissed me off."

"I know, I'm sorry."

"Don't. Just... Stop apologising. I was the piece of shit, not you, stop acting like you were the one who... Who sucked."

"Okay," he smiled knowingly. "I should go home for dinner, then. I just wanted to stop by and tell you that I got the card, and I loved it, and to say thank you for sending it. I'll keep it and treasure it forever."

"Idiot, it's just a card."

"It's not," Izuku argued. "It's more than just the paper it's written on."

"Dumb nerd. Whatever, go home then. Say hi to your Mom for me."

"I will!"

He couldn't quite decide how to say goodbye, whether to hug him or bow or shake hands or... or high five? Their relationship was so messy, so hard to define, and he could never quite figure out where the boundaries were.

He was saved from the torment by Katsuki holding out a fist, waiting pointedly, and Izuku smiled as he punched it lightly with his own.

"Boom!" he grinned, hand flicking open in imitation of an explosion. "See you later, Kacchan."

"See you later, nerd."

A small part of him felt like crying again as he walked out, waving goodbye to Katsuki's parents on his way through, but this time it wasn't from regret or dismay, just from the sheer relief of having things out in the open, of knowing that Katsuki didn't hate him.

Inko could see it in his face when he got home, giving him a big smile and a hug as she dished up hot food straight out of the oven.

"It went well, then?"

"It did," he agreed, smiling a little wider. "Thanks, Mom. It's been a really good evening."

He kept smiling the entire night, as they ate their hearty dinner and watched old movies on the television together, curled up with blankets on the sofa. Around ten, Inko decided to turn in, giving him a last quick hug goodnight, but Izuku lasted until midnight with his phone in hand and the tv humming with voices he barely listened to.

As the date clicked over, he decided it was time to put away the hero forums and crawl into bed, yawning as he folded his blanket and set it aside. He was dressed in his pyjamas, warm and cozy, when his phone lit up with a new text out of the blue.

Come downstairs.

He didn't bother to question it, kicking on his shoes and grabbing his coat before he hurried down through the stairwell to the apartment entrance. There he found Katsuki waiting for him, bundled up in his warmest winter clothes despite only being a slightly chilly night.

"Merry Christmas," he grumbled, handing over a much cleaner envelope than the one they'd shared earlier. "Figured I'd drop by before the old hag decides we need to spend our entire day wandering back and forth between different Christmas markets."

"It's midnight Kacchan, you're usually asleep by nine."

"Couldn't sleep, shut up."

Izuku smiled faintly and accepted the envelope, prying it open to get to a stock-standard card of snow and birds waiting inside.

"Didn't have time to go find a decent one," he explained gruffly. "Deal with it."

"It's perfect," Izuku grinned. "Thank you."

When he flipped it open there were far fewer words inside, no striking out of words this time, just plain, simple handwriting that he'd known since he was a child.

Deku,
Merry Christmas
I guess I love you too
-Kacchan

Izuku burst into tears as he read it, but still he didn't miss the little roll of Katsuki's eyes, already regretting the words he'd decided to write.

"Do you really?!" he asked, scrubbing at his face with his sleeve, but the tears just kept pouring. "Kacchan!"

Katsuki reached out in answer, cupping a freckled cheek in his gloved hand, and then dry, chapped lips were touching his. Through sticky tears and cold touches, a mess that should have been awful and ridiculous, Katsuki's lips were touching his and it was all he'd ever wanted in his life.

"That kind of love?" Izuku choked out, when they parted again with flushed faces. "I didn't know."

"I'm not exactly the touchy-feely type," Katsuki grumbled. "I'll probably never say it again, and I'll still insult you and berate you and shit, but... I do. I do l-love you."

"Marry me."

"What the fuck, nerd?"

"I'm sorry, I just don't want to let you go! Marry me!"

"You're such an idiot," Katsuki laughed, a bright, genuine laugh. "Fine."

"Really?!"

"In five years," he added with a smirk. "Put up with me for five years, then I'll marry you."

"I've put up with you for seventeen already," Izuku grinned. "What's five more?"

Katsuki wiped away the last of the years with his glove, stepping in closer, and with the most irresistible little smirk in the world he leaned in to bring the two of them back together.

"We've got at least another fifty before we kick the bucket," Katsuki whispered. "Five is nothing."

"The first five years of the rest of our lives," Izuku grinned, wrapping his arm around Katsuki's neck to keep him close. "I love you, Kacchan."

"Damn right you do."