#but it never goes away so my annoyance is evergreen

[anghraine]

Maybe it's just because I'm sleepy and my brain is tired and irritable, but I do wish fandom in general weren't so absolutely intent on casting all familial or quasi-familial relationships into some near approximation of US nuclear family idealization.

Acting as a caretaker for a child doesn't automatically make someone their "real parent" or "adopted parent" or "any parent at all" if the child doesn't see them that way. These caretaking relationships can be messy, begrudging, or essentially coercive (in both fiction and IRL, and in life, forcing children into situations where "they'll be taken care of" is often coercive and/or predatory).

And sometimes a caretaker adult, whether a natural parent, adoptive parent, some kind of guardian, or more amorphous caretaker, is ... bad, actually. It's understandable for the children they take care of (whether literal children or now-adult people who experienced it previously) to have had negative experiences they have complicated feelings about, to have complicated feelings about their caretakers that may not distill down to "real parents", to be capable of harsh criticism of their former caretakers, even if they love them.

Sometimes it is the simpler scenario where a child is adopted and it looks very much like a conventional "nuclear" relationship (though even then, the child can have more complex and inconvenient feelings than they're often supposed to have). But—okay, I may be biased from coming from a family that was licensed for foster care, which saw a lot of children essentially forced into foster care with varying complicated feelings about it that didn't always equate to "this person who looks after me is my mother"—even after a long time, sometimes.

And there's frequently a nasty pressure on children placed in "care" to either reach out to their birth or adoptive parents, or to wholly turn their backs on them and accept their current caretakers as the only parents who matter. But usually things are messier than that. You can care about a caretaker, you can respect and love them, and still not feel like you're their child. Or maybe you do! It just depends.

This can happen with siblings as well, especially when there's a big age difference—yeah, one of the siblings may be functionally filling the shoes of their parents as well as they can, but it doesn't necessarily make them actual parents in the eyes of their younger siblings (or themselves). It can, but doesn't have to. Or maybe it's something messier, like when the relationship is almost parental, but not quite, and the exact nature of the dynamic is hard to pin down.

There's also the case where the relationship may have been parental at one point, but one of the parties (usually the caretaker) burned bridges so badly that the child (often an adult at this point) cuts ties and doesn't deny that the caretaker filled a parental role back then, but wholly rejects it as any kind of current reality. This can happen with biological family, but also with looser caretaker relationships as well (esp the cultier ones).

I'm thinking of a lot of fandom examples of these kinds of indeterminate caretaker-child (or former child) relationships, where either we know or have good reason to believe the child doesn't regard a former caretaker as exactly the same as a parent, or we just don't know what the nature of the relationship is, and fandom will be absolutely insistent that the only possible way to read it is parent-child.

And also, sometimes there's nothing wrong with the caretaker relationship, but it's still not parent-child. It simply doesn't map onto this parental mold that fandom tries to box all adult-child caretaking relationships into, because family is more complicated than a single, very simplistic model allows.

[jemmahazelnut]

I miss you

Summary: Lucy goes on a mission with the Thunder Legion and Natsu is worried about her joining them. [Nalu, Lucy & Thunder Legion]

Link: AO3

Notes: I just want more Lucy and Thunder Legion brotp. And jealous Natsu of course. Hope I have kept them as IC as possible. Enjoy it!

I miss you

“No,” Laxus said even before he heard what Natsu had to say.

“No what?” the Dragon Slayer asked confused, sitting down next to him.

“I’m not going to fight with you or whatever you want to do,” Laxus said in annoyance, taking a sip of his beer.

Natsu snorted. “That wasn’t what I meant.”

It wasn’t entirely a lie, even though he’d thought about it five minutes ago. Now he had changed his mind, although if Laxus had proposed to fight he wouldn’t have flinched. It would probably have been the only fun thing to fill that boredom. Boredom Natsu felt ever since Lucy left on a mission without him.

That wasn’t the problem, Lucy occasionally took missions with Levy or Freed or other people, Natsu was used to it. The real problem was that Lucy had taken a mission with the Thunder Legion, and it wasn’t the first time! After Freed had asked Lucy to join them two weeks ago, she was pleased and had decided to do another one with them, because apparently Freed, Bickslow and Evergreen were not as destructive as he, Gray and Erza. They had a plan and they respected it, according to Lucy. They also took the full reward, according to Lucy.

It was probably true, but what did it matter? They weren’t Lucy’s team anyway, he was Lucy’s mate, not them.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Laxus grunted, glaring at him.

“I was supposed to be on a mission with Lucy, and your boyfriend took her away from me.” Natsu blushed slightly after saying the sentence, he seemed to be jealous of Freed, but he wasn’t like that at all! He was just annoyed because they had stolen his teammate. Oh God, wasn’t Lucy going to join them? Absolutely not, there was no way. Natsu began to get annoyed, what if Lucy would rather do missions with them? What if she decided it was better off with Laxus’ bodyguards? No, it wasn’t possible. It wasn’t even possible for Lucy to join the Thunder Legion, right?

Laxus raised an eyebrow. “You’re burning the table, stop it.”

Natsu realized it only in that moment and snorted and crossed his arms.

“Why did Lucy go with them?” he asked without bothering to show his annoyance. He still had every right to be annoyed, he was Lucy’s teammate. Him, not Freed. Not Bickslow, and not Evergreen.

“I’ve no idea. Who cares? In three days she will be back”.

“Three days?!” Natsu exclaimed in shock. “I thought she would be back today!”

“They left today, and Freed never takes day missions,” Laxus said and frowned. “What’s the problem anyway? Go on a mission with Happy, or with Gray and Erza”.

“It’s not the same,” Natsu grumbled. “Lucy is my teammate”.

“Wendy is too, and you didn’t make all these fusses when she went on a mission with Freed,” Laxus said, rolling his eyes.

“It’s not the same thing”.

“Because Wendy isn’t blonde and pretty?” Laxus teased him.

“Yea-no!” Natsu yelled, blushing slightly and Laxus’ lips curled into a small smile, as if he had gotten what he wanted. Natsu was already about to beat him but Laxus surprisingly threw a Lacrima at him, and Natsu took it in confusion.

“Call Freed so you can talk to the blonde,” Laxus told him. Natsu was speechless for a moment, but then smiled.

“Thank you!” he exclaimed, completely forgetting that he wanted to fight him. Immediately afterwards he ran out of the guild, losing the faint smile on Laxus’s face.

***

“So, don’t you have any news?” Evergreen asked and Lucy frowned, careful not to move as the girl was braiding her hair.

“News about what?”

“On a certain Fire Dragon Slayer, is he ardent even in bed?” Bickslow asked with a grin as he lit a fire and Lucy felt her cheeks heat up. Oh no, did Bickslow feel so comfortable with her already? She had hoped not to be the victim of his jokes like Freed and Evergreen were. And where had Freed gone? He was the only one who could stop Bickslow.

“Don’t listen to him, tell me if there’s any news instead,” Evergreen said. “Did you put into practice the advice I gave you last time?”

Lucy wanted to bury herself. No that she hadn’t put them into practice, and anyway she doubted they would work with Natsu. Not that it was bad advice - Evergreen was the only girl Lucy trusted to ask for love advice - but she doubted that anything would work with Natsu.

“Did you give her advice?” Bickslow asked curiously.

“Sure,” Evergreen said. “The only reason she’s still single is because she had Erza as a mentor, and that says it all. The way she flirts sucks, and...”

“Well, we’re not talking about Erza,” Bickslow interrupted and turned to Lucy, smiling dangerously. “I think you should listen to my advice. You go into his house, undress and get into his bed.”

Lucy blushed. “Thanks, but I don’t need your advice,” she said firmly, hoping to silence them both. It didn’t work.

“You don’t need the advice of that idiot, but you certainly need mine,” Evergreen said with a know-it-all attitude. “Make him want you, now you and Natsu see each other every day so you have to make him miss you, and maybe make him understand that you want a boyfriend. Talk to him, in general, about dating and romance, if he ever liked any girl, if he went out with someone, if he’d like it.”

“He just likes to fight,” Lucy murmured.

“I doubt it, it seems, but it isn’t,” Evergreen said. She was about to start talking again but at that moment Freed arrived and brutally interrupted them.

“What are you doing? I told you to start cooking Ever, not to play around. You haven’t set up the curtains yet, and it’s already dark.”

“The grumpy captain is here” Bickslow commented and Lucy giggled a bit, while Freed forced the two friends to get up.

“We were talking about important things,” Evergreen complained.

“Was it about the mission?” Freed asked.

“No, it was about Lucy’s love life.”

“It was nothing important,” the blonde hastened to say, wanting to end the subject there. Freed’s expression became curious and Lucy groaned internally, no! Not even him! Evergreen and Bickslow must have noticed this too, because they took advantage of it right away.

“I was giving her some valuable love advice.”

“Maybe you could help her since Laxus and Natsu are similar.”

Evergreen and Bickslow said at the same time. And Freed, to Lucy’s surprise, blushed slightly.

“Similar? If Laxus heard you he would strike you,” Freed commented trying to hide his embarrassment.

“But I’m right,” Bickslow retorted. “I mean, Laxus is also an idiot when it comes to relationships, he too has only been interested in fighting for years, and your relationship reminds me of Natsu and Lucy’s. You have been such unsuspecting friends for so long. And once Laxus got into your bed.”

“Really?” Lucy asked curious. Honestly, she didn’t imagine it. Freed glared at his friend and the way his cheeks blushed made Lucy giggle.

“Keep asking him about me and Laxus, and I won’t save you from Bickslow’s lines anymore,” Freed warned. Despite the threatening tone, Lucy laughed.

“Okay okay, I won’t ask for anything then” she promised raising her hands in peace but the sly smile she shared with Bickslow told her that he would tell her all about Freed and Laxus without her needing to ask. Even if the boy would have made jokes at her expense, it might have been worth it. She was quite curious about the relationship between Laxus and Freed. Not for the reasons Bickslow had said, she didn’t need indirect advice from listening to someone else’s love story. Although, in that case, perhaps they could really be useful. Laxus was somehow similar to Natsu...

“Now let’s work. Lucy, first Natsu called on the Lacrima. Call him back, he said he needed you urgently,” Freed said pulling the Lacrima out of his backpack and handing it to her. Lucy got confused.

“Urgent need?”

Freed smiled almost wickedly. “Or rather, he missed you terribly. He’s pretty jealous, he thought I wanted to drag you away from him.”

Lucy blushed. “W-what?” she stammered but Freed didn’t answer. Lucy quickly walked away from the three boys, trying to ignore Bickslow’s annoying jokes about Dragon Slayer’s jealousy.

***

“Hey, Freed said you needed me,” Lucy said when Natsu answered. She had positioned herself in the woods, far away from where they had decided to camp. The boy’s face was smiling and Lucy settled cross-legged while a spontaneous smile filled her face.

“Ah, yeah, not really, I just wanted to hear you,” Natsu said and that warmed Lucy’s chest. “It’s just that Freed is so boring, he said you were working, so I had to come up with an excuse.”

Lucy giggled knowing full well that Freed might be too loyal to work. “I understand”.

“So, how’s the mission going?” Natsu asked.

“Uh, good. We are looking for…”

“Aren’t they boring?” Natsu interrupted with a grunt. Lucy blinked in surprise at that question. Freed had told her that Natsu was jealous but she had thought he was saying it just to tease her.

“Um, no… actually me Bickslow and Ever were talking, before Freed interrupted us,” she said, hoping not to blush at the memory of what they were talking about and especially what Bickslow had said.

“Freed is boring then. Wait, Evergreen lets you call her Ever? When I did it, she petrified me.”

“I think she petrified you because you burned her fan, Natsu” Lucy commented but smiled a little. Natsu looked really annoyed, for some reason. But she doubted he was jealous, he had no reason. He was probably just annoyed that she didn’t go on a mission with him. It didn’t make sense though, even Erza, Gray and Wendy had taken missions with other people lately and Natsu had never particularly cared.

“Well, anyway, no one calls her Ever. Only her teammates,” Natsu said and then the smile faded from his face. Lucy couldn’t see clearly from the Lacrima but it almost looked like he was disappointed, sad or worried. Was he really afraid of her joining the Thunder Legion?

“I’m not leaving the team if that’s what you’re worried about,” she said at that point reassuringly.

“Of course you won’t,” Natsu snapped and Lucy smiled slightly.

“Besides, I don’t really think they would want me,” she chuckled.

“So why is Freed constantly stealing you? It’s already the second time,” Natsu complained.

“Actually, I proposed myself,” Lucy admitted in a low voice, almost ashamed of it.

“Why?” Natsu asked surprised and bitter.

“Well, I... I just wanted to befriend them a little, you know,” she shrugged.

“You can do it in the guild, or you could have taken me with you,” Natsu complained.

Lucy raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you say they’re boring?”

“Yes, but I make things less boring” Natsu smiled and Lucy laughed.

“Okay, next time you will come too. If they want it too.”

“Next time we will do a mission alone,” Natsu retorted and Lucy smiled and nodded.

“Sure,” she said and then glanced into the trees, hearing footsteps. It was probably her guildmates who were coming to call her for dinner. “Now I have to go, they’re looking for me.”

“Come back soon, right?” Natsu asked and Lucy was silent for a moment.

“The mission lasts three days, Natsu.”

“Well, they have called themselves Fairy Tail’s strongest team for years. If they really are, let them prove it and complete it in one day!” he exclaimed.

“We’ll see” Lucy smiled and remained silent for a few seconds.

“I miss you,” Natsu murmured after a while and Lucy blushed and felt her heart beating madly.

“I miss you too,” she said softly. At that moment she saw a totem flutter a few meters from her and blushed even more. “Now I really have to go, see you when I get back,” she said and closed the Lacrima without letting Natsu speak.

“Oh, you’re so cute, cosplayers,” Bickslow grinned. “I assure you that we will finish the mission in two days, so you can go back to cuddle with your passionate Dragon Slayer.”

Lucy nearly threw the Lacrima at him. “You better shut that mouth, Bickslow.”

“Otherwise what, cosplayer?” the boy laughed. “Don’t worry, I have a lot of jokes for Natsu too, as soon as we get back to the guild.”

Lucy sighed in despair, suddenly she regretted going on a mission with the Thunder Legion.

[chubsonthemoon]

to you, one year in the future

summary: Shopping for ugly sweaters, going on dates, remembering the past. Izuku loves him through it all.

pairing: midoriya izuku/todoroki shouto

words: 3783

also on ao3!

My piece for @natbrowniecupcakes for @tddkexchange! I hope you enjoy! <3

(also part of my Happy Holidays, Class 1-A series)

Izuku stares at the Christmas tree, biting his thumb. A nervous habit.

“Is everything alright?” asks a voice. Arms sneak around his waist, and a chin rests itself on the crown of his head. Izuku lowers his hands to place them on top of Todoroki’s, lacing their fingers together.

He sighs. “Yeah, it’s just…” He looks at the evergreen again. It is nothing overly grand or special, just a Christmas tree, sans ornaments or any other form of decoration. “Don’t you think it’s missing something?”

He turns to face his boyfriend, encircling himself in his arms. “I feel like it should be…I dunno. More Christmas-y? Like in the movies.”

Todoroki hums. “Really? I think it looks fine.” He buries his head further in Izuku’s soft curls, puffing a quiet sigh. “Besides, no one here really believes in the whole Jesus thing. It’s just for fun, I think.”

Izuku nods, taking care not to jostle too much, and he rests his head on Todoroki’s chest. This is nice. “Did you know that Christmas trees weren’t originally Christian? They’re actually Pagan. Decorating them originated in Germany.”

Todoroki’s face is still in his hair, so his words are muffled. “Is that so?”

Izuku traces a scarred finger along one of Todoroki’s wrists. “Yep. Learned it from that hero that debuted a few years back. Evergreen Enigma.”

“Nice.”

They stay like this for awhile, quietly listening to each other’s heartbeats.

Then, the silence is broken with a small explosion. “You two are fucking disgusting.”

“Bakugou, don’t be rude!” A light thump can be heard, followed by a lengthy string of expletives.

Todoroki’s head raises to observe the intruders, and Izuku reluctantly removes his head from Todoroki’s chest to peek around his shoulder. “Oh, hi guys! What’s going on?”

“Hey, Deku!” Uraraka says cheerfully. Bakugo shoots them a look that could curdle milk. “We’re decorating the tree for the party tomorrow.”

“Oh, yeah!” Izuku says, remembering the text he had received yesterday. “Ugly sweater themed, right?”

Todoroki lets out an exhale of air that may or may not be a chuckle or an expression of confusion. Probably both. “A what?”

Uraraka nudges Bakugo forward, two boxes of tinsel and various ornaments floating beside her. “You heard me. Ugly sweaters. There’s gonna be a contest, and Aoyama’s judging it, so make sure you wear your worst.”

Izuku returns to his place underneath Todoroki’s chin. “Alright. We should probably go shopping for that today,” he says to Todoroki, sighing.

Bakugou lets another small explosion burst in annoyance. “Oi, you assholes are blocking our way to the tree. Get a room.”

“For once, I agree,” Todoroki deadpans.

Izuku just laughs. “Let’s go get our coats,” he says, unhooking his arms and ignoring Todoroki’s pout. He untangles himself from their embrace and heads for the elevators.

Todoroki sighs and trails behind, their pinkies still hooked together. “Meet me at the entrance?” Izuku asks, while they wait.

Todoroki presses a soft kiss to his temple, and Izuku feels himself smile. “Yes.”

A few minutes later, he rejoins Todoroki on the elevator, All-Might beanie secured firmly over his ears.

As they leave, they pass the common room again, and Izuku hears Uraraka sigh. “Ah, it’s hard to believe they’ve been together for almost a year already. Time sure goes by fast when you’re in love,” she says, voice dreamy.

Izuku blushes, and walks a little faster. Todoroki laughs quietly as he walks ahead to hold the door open for him, and a whoosh of cold air nearly drowns out the next part of the conversation.

“I think I’m going to throw up,” he hears from Kacchan next, sounding like his usual mix of annoyed and pissed off. “At least Half-N-Half found the guts to confess. When are you finally gonna woman up and ask Frog-Girl already? I get pissed off every time I’m in the same room as you two.”

“Bakugo!”

They exit the dorms, Uraraka’s flustered protests cut off as soon as they step into the whirling snow.

“Well, Kacchan certainly seems happy to be part of the organization process,” Izuku remarks. They walk towards the station, boots pressing prints into the snow behind them.

“He’s probably going to blow up the tree before we get back,” Shouto says wryly. Izuku giggles, white flakes tickling the tip of his nose. He sneezes.

Todoroki frowns at him. “Here,” he says, offering his right hand.

Izuku obliges, wrapping a mittened hand around Todoroki’s, sighing when the heat begins to seep into his palm. He shuffles closer, looping an arm around Todoroki’s waist. Together, they walk the rest of the way like this, and Izuku is eternally grateful for a boyfriend who doubles as a portable personal heater.

They board their train with no issues, finding seats together. At one point, Todoroki stands so an old lady can sit in his spot, ignoring Izuku’s protests to let him give up his own seat. When he sits back down, Izuku fills the space between them with chatter, about everything and nothing all at once; he’s excited about going home once break officially starts, he thinks the ugly sweater party will be lots of fun, despite Kacchan’s murderous tendencies towards all things festive (but maybe Kirishima-kun can get him to be excited!), oh, did you see the latest hero debut, Todoroki-kun? It was amazing, he hasn’t seen a water-manipulation Quirk used in such a way before in his life—

Todoroki simply nods every now and then, humming in assent to indicate he’s listening. The click-clack of the tracks reverberates throughout the car, setting a comfortable pulse to the flow of Izuku’s words and the beating of his heart. He pauses for a moment, eyes shifting to the calm expression on Todoroki’s face.

One year already, huh?

He thinks that he would very much like to kiss him.

The automated voice announces that their stop is next. Todoroki, sensing his gaze, looks up at him questioningly when Izuku’s words slow to a stop in time with the train.

Izuku shakes his head slightly, snapping out of it. “Nothing, sorry!”

He’ll find some mistletoe later.

~

“How about this one?” When Todoroki looks up from over his side of the clothing rack, Izuku raises a truly hideous sweater, a stained green color that clashes hilariously with his hair. It has an enormous Christmas tree splayed across the chest. “Ah, but wait,” he says, seeing Todoroki’s amused expression. “It gets better.”

With a quick flick of a small switch, the sweater lights up, the little bulbs on the tree flashing green and blue. “What do ya think?”

“It’s perfect,” Todoroki says approvingly. Izuku grins, then drapes it over his arm for safekeeping.

Overhead, tinny Christmas music plays in the store that sells second-handed clothing and other oddities. It’s a nice little place, with a number of interesting finds—like that vintage Pussycats t-shirt, or that limited edition Best Jeanist figurine— that could keep Izuku here for hours. However, they are here on a mission.

Izuku, having secured his own ugly sweater, begins the search for Todoroki’s.

“I’ve never been to an ugly sweater party before,” he says conversationally. He doesn’t need to look up to know that Todoroki is listening. “Kacchan’s family always had a Christmas get together when we were little, but—well. I stopped going at some point.” He slides the next set of hangers over, ignoring how they screech against the bar. “But the years we did go, it was so much fun. His dad always made the best hot chocolate, and we would watch All Might’s Christmas specials until midnight, waiting for Santa. One year, his dad actually did dress up as Santa to surprise us, but then he tripped over a plate of cookies when Kacchan freaked out and set his beard on fire.” He’s quiet for a moment, just remembering. “Those were fun days.”

Todoroki’s fingers suddenly still over his end of the clothing rack, as if remembering something.

The Christmas music continues overhead, and his next words are almost too soft for Izuku to catch. “That sounds…amazing.”

“What, you mean hanging with Kacchan on Christmas Eve?” Izuku laughs, but he stops the moment he looks up.

Todoroki wears a smile that is very small, like he tried it on and it didn’t fit quite right. It reminds Izuku of the time he saw him unfreeze Sero, in the Sports Festival arena, steam surrounding him, his back turned to the him.

He wants Todoroki to smile again, but he knows that shouting and punching his way there won’t work. Not this time.

He has an idea.

“Hey,” he whispers conspiratorially. When Todoroki looks up, he has composed himself, but Izuku knows the look hidden in his eyes all too well. He crouches low, wedging himself between the funky smelling second-handed sweaters and mothballs. Todoroki does the same, his expression confused, but he lowers himself to his knees meets Izuku halfway anyway.

They probably look like idiots, hiding here under the clothing rack, no doubt blocking the aisleways, but Izuku doesn’t really care at the moment. He gestures frantically for Todoroki to get closer, as if he has a secret to divulge.  

“Yes?” Todoroki asks, his voice also a low whisper.

Izuku reaches out and places his hands, scarred and broken as they are, on both sides of Todoroki’s face. He burrows his fingers in the red and white locks, caresses the angry red scar on his left, gentle and unafraid. When Todoroki shudders slightly, rests his head on Izuku’s shoulder, Izuku says, “This year will be different, Shouto. I promise.”

He pulls away to see the thing in Todoroki’s eyes become less like a burden, and more like lightness, and behind that, gratitude.

Todoroki nods slowly, his mouth curving up just slightly. “Ok.”

Even though it’s dark and smelly here, and he’s pretty sure he felt something just brush past his cheek that is not supposed to be there, Izuku would rather be nowhere else.

Then, quick as lightning, he darts forward to press a feather-light kiss to Todoroki’s lips. Funnily enough, despite his Half-n-Half Quirk, both sides of his mouth are warm, beautifully so.

When Izuku pulls away, he grins shyly. “Just wanted to give that to you.”

Leaving Todoroki amongst the nether regions of the clothing rack, Izuku reemerges on the other side, feeling a little winded.

A second and a half later, Todoroki does the same, his hair mussed and the barest hint of pink dusting his cheeks.

Izuku flashes him another smile, then busies himself with the next set of hangers. “We are going to find you the ugliest sweater in this entire store,” he announces.

He picks the nearest random sweater he can find, and—it’s not bad, actually. He removes it from the rack to get a better look—it’s one of those knitted V-necks, patterned with blue-grey X’s, cuffed at the sleeves, and a collar puffed up at the back of the neck. It also smells suspiciously of smoke, but nothing a good cycle in the washing machine can’t fix.

In short, Izuku concludes, it is a sweater befitting a 50-year-old man.

Todoroki comes around the clothing rack and regards the article very seriously. “May I see it?” he asks. Izuku hands it over and Todoroki pulls his arms through the sleeves. He inspects himself for a moment, then after some deliberation, buttons the middle button. Task completed, he turns to Izuku. “Well?”

Izuku takes one look at him and groans loudly.

“Is it that bad?” Todoroki asks, bemused.

“No, no, it’s not that at all,” Izuku answers, hands buried in his face. He peeks through his fingers to take another glance, and—yep, he’s screwed. “It’s just…that’s like, something my grandpa would wear.”

Todoroki looks at himself again. “Yes, and?”

“You…you look…”

Todoroki raises an eyebrow expectantly.

“Ugh, you look really, really handsome, alright?” Izuku sighs, exasperated. “It’s unfair.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

A pause. Izuku thinks his face is on fire.

“I like it.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“I’ll take it.”

And with that, they leave the store, (not so) ugly sweaters in hand.

~

It’s Todoroki’s idea to take the detour.

“The plaza?” Izuku asks, once they’re waiting at the station. “Yeah, I’ve been there a couple times, but we never really shopped there often. Stuff’s kinda expensive downtown.”

“It won’t take long,” Todoroki promises, looking a little bashful.

Izuku smiles, hopelessly charmed. “No worries. If you want to go, then I do, too.”

They walk to the other side of the platform, waiting for the line that goes in the opposite direction. Once they board, Todoroki tugs Izuku along to a seat and sets their bags down at their feet. The doors close, and they’re on their way.

Izuku leans his head on Todoroki’s shoulder and watches the darkness of the tunnel give way to the lights of the city, blinking on one by one as night falls. The last traces of dusk are fading away in dying purples and inky blues.

A winter sky painted with sunset and a city of flickering lights. Izuku watches it all pass by, his hand in Todoroki’s, and breathes.

They exit at the stop Todoroki had indicated earlier and set off towards the plaza, feet crunching the snow as they draw nearer the glowing storefronts. They reach the center of the main courtyard—all fairy lights and bells that ring softly in wind—and Izuku stops dead in his tracks.

There, in the center of the whirling snow, among the laughter of children running about with their hats falling over their ears, their parents idly chatting near store windows, is an enormous Christmas tree.

His breath clouds in front of him as he takes it all in. The tree is lit aglow, with floating candles that gleam in the twilight, red and white ribbon winding gracefully up its branches—wait, now the ribbon is blue and silver, and now it’s gold?—and at the very top, so high he has to tilt his head, a crown of golden stars, shining so brightly that Izuku has to squint.

It is ethereal, a fairyland, a winter wonderland in the flesh. It’s beautiful.

Todoroki nods, and Izuku realizes that he had spoken aloud. He takes another step forward, eyes shining.

“How?” Izuku asks, awed. “How are the candles floating? How does the tree not burn down from the fire? How can the ribbon change colors like that? And those stars—oh my All-Might, those don’t even look like they’re from this planet! This is amazing!”

He looks at Todoroki for answers, but all he sees are wide eyes, watching him as if he is the one who is shining.

“Um,” Todoroki says, then shakes his head a little. “

It’s a collaborative effort, I think,” he begins again. He clears his throat and shifts his eyes hastily towards the magnificent tree in front of him. “The owners of the surrounding stores all come together to make it work: one person has a watered down version of Uraraka’s Quirk—levitation of small objects only, but for an indefinite time. Another can create some kind of substance that allows the tree to be fireproof, another can change the color of fabrics. As for the stars—"

He glances at Izuku for a moment. “Well. They say that the more you…care about someone, the more brightly they shine.”

He clears his throat again. “That’s what they say, anyway,” he says.

Izuku wants to ask just how, exactly, Todoroki knows about this place, how he seems to know it so well and yet shy away from the light, and, most importantly, why he sounds so sad when he looks around at a place that should bring joy and happiness.

He wants to ask, and he nearly does, but he senses that Todoroki’s not quite finished yet.

“My…my mom used to take me here. During the holidays,” Todoroki finally says, voice quiet. “When I was little, and…before.”

The noise from the square dies away, and all Izuku can hear, see, feel, is Todoroki. Todoroki, Todoroki, Todoroki. “Mmn.”

“I think I’m going to bring her here on Christmas Eve,” Todoroki whispers. “It’s been a long time.”

Izuku reaches for his hand, curls his fingers around Todoroki’s. “I think she would like that very much, Shouto.”

He hears Todoroki swallow, feels his pulse flutter under his fingertips.

“Me, too.”

For a few minutes, hand in hand, they watch the candlelight flicker and the slivers of color change from red and green, to blue and silver, to pure gold.

Somewhere, perhaps behind the plaza where more shops reside, rings a clock tower, every tone deep and resonating and a promise.

Night officially begins, the wind tosses snow drifts, the children play. Izuku turns slightly, and takes Todoroki’s other hand, their faces only inches apart.

“Merry Christmas, Shouto,” he says, then closes the gap between them.

He tastes snow and a hint of a smile.

The children point in wonder as the stars burst into a million sparks of light.

~ Once, a year or so ago, Izuku had woken up to snow on his window.

It had been sometime at night, when everything is still and quiet. He sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes sleepily. He wasn’t sure what had woken him up, but he quickly stopped trying to remember, because he soon saw, outside his window: it was snowing.

“Wow,” he whispered, breath fogging up the glass.

His first thought was beautiful.

His second was Shouto.

He quickly felt his face warm a little. It wasn’t like his heart sped up whenever one of the most beautiful people in Class 1-A walked into the room before class, or he got all jumpy and nervous whenever he asked Izuku about Present Mic’s English homework during training. Todoroki was Todoroki, the strongest in their class, and no less than an amazing friend, whose eyes were really pretty and who had a nice voice and…

No, none of that.

So, he stared out the window and tried not to see snowy white hair and ice atop fingertips, strong and real but also fragile, like it could shatter at any moment.

He watched the snow for one breath more before he bolted, scrambling off the bed and fumbling with the doorknob, down the hallway and skidding to a stop a few meters away.

He raised one hand, and, with the caution of someone who is aware that it was some unknown hour of the night and that the rest of the dorm was probably sleeping, quietly knocked.

There was a little bit of shuffling around from within, a padding of feet towards the door.

The door opened, and Izuku saw a sleepy Todoroki, mid-yawn. When Todoroki saw Izuku, however, he seemed to stand slightly taller, but maybe Izuku was just imagining it.

“Midoriya?” he asked.

Izuku opened his mouth. He had no logical reason for being there, he knew.

“It’s snowing, Todoroki-kun,” he said instead, slightly breathless.

Todoroki blinked, then turned to the closed curtains over his windows. “Really? That’s…wow.”

“Do you want to watch it with me?”

Todoroki turns back, his face half hidden in darkness, covering his scarred side. Izuku wanted to brush away the shadow, like it was something tangible. He wanted to see Todoroki’s eyes, the firm line of his mouth, which, if he was lucky, he sometimes saw curve up, usually when he thought he wasn’t looking—

“Yeah.”

Izuku felt something inside him turn into pure happiness. “Great.” It was only then that he realized that they were both whispering. “My room or yours?”

Todoroki said, “Yours,” and that was that.

Together, they tiptoed back to Izuku’s room, where the familiar silhouettes of All-Might figurines watched over grinned at them, as if he, too, were excited.

Izuku sat on his bed facing the window, legs crossed, and heard the soft sound of Todoroki shutting the door behind him. A second later, Todoroki joined him, the mattress dipping under his weight. After he got situated, facing the window just like Izuku was, it was silent.

Outside, the snow fell steadily, like it had all the time in the world. Since they were on the third floor, they could see the streetlights illuminating little flurries here and there, carrying schools of snow around and about, up and down, dusting the treetops and rooftops and sidewalks with sugar.

Izuku sighed contentedly.

“This is nice,” Todoroki said softly. Izuku turned to look at him.

He was looking out the window, his right side facing Izuku, a small smile on his lips. He blinked every now and then, turned his head, taking it all in. The curve of his back was more relaxed than Izuku had seen in weeks.

With a smile to himself, Izuku had turned back to the window. “Yeah.”

They sat like that for a few minutes, just watching the world build itself up in white.

“Midoriya.” Izuku sensed a question.

“Yes?”

There was a pause, quiet deliberation. Izuku waited patiently.

“Thank you.”

Whatever he had been expecting, it hadn’t been that. He breathed a little huff of nervous laughter. “Of course. Though, uh…for what?”

Todoroki looked away from the window to find green eyes already watching him curiously. “For waking me up.”

Izuku felt the earth tilt a little, and he remembered.

A shout, a fist, a punch. More shouting, a challenge, a promise.

And finally, finally, fire.

He moved his hand a little over to the left, the bedsheets warm and soft under his hand, (then) newly scarred from a battle neither would ever forget.

When his fingers brushed Todoroki’s hand, he stopped. He couldn’t see the way Todoroki’s eyes widened because he was facing the window, but he did hear the quiet intake of breath, felt the slight shiver that was probably because of the cold.

Probably.

When he had felt Todoroki’s fingers inch forward a little, moving to cover his own, he had smiled, and closed his eyes.

They woke up that morning with their legs tangled, their backs against the window, Izuku’s head on Todoroki’s shoulder. When he looked over, he saw Todoroki already awake, but he was not watching dawn break on the winter’s first snowfall.

(They later saw that it was beautiful, though).

His eyes were light, his smile unbelievably fond, and Izuku felt the tips of his ears heat slightly. He had tucked a curl behind his ear shyly, and squeezed Todoroki’s hand, because sometime through the night, they had found each other, and never let go.

~

One year later, somewhere in the city, Todoroki breaks apart slightly, and smiles as brightly as the stars.

“Merry Christmas, Izuku.”

[jemmahazelnut]

Silly and intimate moments

Summary: Laxus has started doing missions with the Thunder Legion and is quite surprised when he discovers that they are more chaotic and closer than they appear. [Laxus & Raijinshuu]

Link: AO3

Silly and intimate moments

“There’s only one bed,” Laxus grunted as he entered the inn room. He shouldn’t have been surprised, the owner had told them there was only one room left and that they would stay tight. But they weren’t just going to stay tight there, they weren’t going to sleep at all. And Laxus had no intention of sleeping on the floor or sharing a bed with anyone. Certainly not with people he barely knew and had teamed up with just because they weren’t as unbearable as other guildmates.

Evergreen snorted loudly. “And an old sofa,” she observed. Then she walked up to the mattress and sat on it. “Well, the bed is mine.”

Laxus raised an eyebrow. He wanted to fight but he bit his tongue, he couldn’t argue right away with the only decent guys in the guild. Although technically their first meeting had already been a fight.

“Here we go again,” Bickslow said rolling his eyes as Freed walked over to the sofa and sat on it, testing it as if he had to check if it was holding up enough. Laxus crossed his arms in annoyance, trying to find a way to get a seat either in the bed or in the sofa. Well, those three had created a team for him, so technically he could decide, right? They would do what he wanted without complaining.

“You could take the sofa, it’s not very comfortable but better than sleeping on the floor,” Freed said suddenly and Laxus frowned realizing he was talking to him. Laxus didn’t want to complain, but if Evergreen could be alone on the bed...

“And we’ll stay on the bed!” Bickslow said cheerfully.

“What? No!” Evergreen exclaimed. “I will not sleep with you again.”

“The right side is mine,” Freed said.

“Ok, I take the left one,” Bickslow nodded.

“We will not share a bed,” Evergreen repeated stubbornly.

“We always do, I don’t see what the problem is,” Freed retorted as he rested his coat and sword on a side chair.

“The problem is that you snore and Bickslow moves around all the time,” the girl complained. “I won’t be able to sleep with you two in my bed.”

“Youare the one who clings like a koala to me or him while you sleep,” Bickslow smiled in amusement.

Evergreen blushed slightly. “I don’t do it”.

“You do, and let me tell you it’s annoying, it’s already hot enough,” Freed said.

“I don’t, I just get crushed against you because Bickslow moves in his sleep,” Evergreen justified.

“Just say you’re in need of hugs,” Bickslow grinned.

“I don’t need hugs!” Evergreen exclaimed, banging the fan on Bickslow’s helmet.

Laxus looked at them a bit confused, wondering if they really had already slept together. Wasn’t that strange? And Evergreen was complaining just for the fun of it or did it really bother her sleeping with those two? Judging by how she gave up shortly after, Laxus speculated that she didn’t mind that much. Maybe she was just embarrassed to admit something like that to him. Not that he was interested in it, it just confused him a little.

“At least take a shower! And if you start snoring, I’ll throw you out of bed” Evergreen said.

“I don’t snore” Freed growled.

“You do”.

“Who goes to the shower first?” Bickslow asked.

“Me,” Evergreen immediately said jumping to her feet without even thinking about it. Laxus wanted to complain about that too, but the conversation the three wizards had had on the bed still confused him. Eventually he shrugged and decided to settle down on the sofa, the important thing was that he didn’t have to share a bed with one of those three guys.

***

“So, this is your home?” Laxus asked entering the living room, looking around curiously. He knew that the Raijinshuu had recently taken a house together thanks to the money they had saved from the missions, but he had never been there yet. Not that he was curious, not at all! He only went there because Bickslow insisted on showing him the house. There was really no other reason.

“Yes, nice right? The books belong to Freed, but Ever arranged them by saying that sorting them by color is aesthetically more beautiful. They’re still fighting over it,” Bickslow said, showing him a huge shelf full of books. Laxus didn’t know what to say, instead he watched the plants filling the living room. Bickslow must have noticed because he explained that too.

“The plants are Ever’s, Freed enjoys moving them to the least suitable places only to take revenge for what she did with his books. That’s why that is dry, it shouldn’t be in the sun,” the boy said, pointing to a vase with flowers that were actually drying out.

Laxus frowned, really Freed and Evergreen were so childish? He would never have said that.

“Well, it’s... nice,” Laxus muttered just to say something.

“Of course it is, and those knick-knacks are all mine,” Bickslow showed, pointing to some decorative objects. Laxus nodded as he looked around the room, then Bickslow dragged him into the kitchen, showing him the small table and the mess of pots that were still to be washed in the sink.

“It would’ve been my turn to wash, but since Freed hid my painting somewhere, I’m leaving them there to annoy him,” Bickslow explained.

Laxus frowned. “You draw?”

“Of course! I colored all the wooden ornaments and my dolls. And I did that painting” he said, pointing to one on the kitchen table. It was actually very beautiful, it was a landscape of a stormy sea, and the colors were spectacular. Laxus had never known that Bickslow could paint.

“Come on, I’ll show you the rooms,” Bickslow said dragging him out and Laxus followed. Bickslow first showed him his room, which was actually very tidy, contrary to what Laxus had expected, full of tubes of paint and with a painting in progress. Evergreen’s room was filled with plants, and had a huge mirror and some fairy-shaped knick-knacks. Freed’s, on the other hand, had a desk with so many books and papers on it that it looked untidy, even if it really wasn’t.

“He complains that there aren’t enough shelves, but he keeps buying books”. Bickslow muttered as he closed the door. “Oh, here’s the bathroom,” he said, throwing open the door.

Laxus, a little awkward, just leaned out because it seemed that someone was inside. In fact, Evergreen was standing in front of the mirror and was putting on makeup. In addition, he could hear the water from the shower flowing.

“Don’t open the door like that, or you will have my makeup ruined. Hi Laxus,” the girl said.

“I showed him the house,” Bickslow smiled.

“You like it?” Evergreen asked.

“Um, yes, it’s nice,” Laxus muttered.

“Did you also show him my room?”

“I showed him all the rooms”.

The water in the shower stopped.

“I hope you washed the pots before showing him the kitchen!” Freed’s voice exclaimed and Laxus blushed slightly as he saw a silhouette behind the shower curtain. What the hell? Did he shower while Evergreen was there? And did Bickslow come in so casual?

“No, I won’t wash them until you get the painting back,” Bickslow said crossing his arms over his chest. Laxus heard Freed mutter something, probably swear words.

“In any case, get out of here, I’m washing!” Freed yelled when he finished muttering.

“I brush my teeth and go out,” Bickslow said.

“Not now, I’m putting on make-up,” Evergreen complained.

“Just get out of here, I was there first,” Freed growled.

“Lock yourself next time”.

“I swear to God Bickslow, I petrify you if you get close to me while I do my makeup.”

“That lipstick looks great on you, Ever,” Bickslow said.

Evergreen smiled and looked the mirror, gazing at herself satisfied. “Thanks, it’s new, I bought it yesterday. I don’t know whether to put some lip gloss or not”.

Bickslow took the toothbrush without Evergreen noticing it and winked at Laxus, who continued to look at them confused in silence.

“I wouldn’t put it, your lips are already beautiful like this,” Bickslow said starting to brush his teeth.

“You’re right,” Evergreen nodded, looking pleased. At that moment Freed peeked out from behind the curtain.

“Can you get out of here?” he growled. Then his gaze fell on Laxus and he widened his eyes blushing like mad. “What the fuck Bickslow, why are you letting Laxus into the bathroom?”

“What’s the problem?” he asked confused with the toothbrush in his mouth. “It’s Laxus, he’s now part of the group.”

“Get the fuck out!” Freed barked, drawing runes in the air. Laxus hurried out before he was hit by anything. Shortly thereafter he saw Evergreen and Bickslow teleport in midair in the middle of the living room, both of them fell to the ground. Bickslow with the toothbrush still in the mouth and Evergreen with a strip of lipstick on her cheek.

“I will kill you!” Evergreen yelled.

Bickslow instead chuckled as Laxus watched them upset. The only thing he could think about was that he was happy not to be part of that group.

***

Laxus smiled smugly as he walked towards the Raijinshuu house. The three boys had just returned from a mission and judging by the rumors they were called the strongest team in Fairy Tail. They had destroyed an entire dark guild and everyone was surprised. Laxus could only be proud of it, as they were his bodyguard.

He went to the house of the three friends and knocked.

“Whoever it is, throw them out,” Laxus heard Evergreen say thanks to his hearing and he frowned.

“It’s Laxus”.

“Come in!” Bickslow yelled loudly. Laxus raised an eyebrow wondering why they didn’t come to open the door but shrugged: those three were weird. When he walked into the living room, he quickly realized why they hadn’t come to the door.

Evergreen was sitting comfortably on the sofa, and she was brushing and braiding Freed’s hair. Meanwhile Freed was sitting on the carpet and busy putting the nail polish on Bickslow’s nails, so he was unable to move. Laxus smiled slightly, almost not believing that those three were the same people who had taken out a dark guild.

“Hey!” Evergreen exclaimed.

“Did you hear how we carried out the mission?” Freed immediately asked instead.

“Yes,” Laxus said, smiling a little. “You’ve been great”.

All three lit up their faces.

“Of course we were baby, did you have any doubts?”

“Anyway, those wizards were really weak,” Evergreen commented forcing Freed to bow his head.

“It was actually boring,” Freed considered. “Some even called themselves S-class wizards, I wonder based on what.”

Bickslow and Evergreen nodded in agreement and Laxus approached them observing them a bit curious. He sat down on the sofa and asked about the mission, letting them brag about their abilities. The three deserved it and it was fun to listen to them anyway. Laxus didn’t wonder since when he got along well with those three guys, instead he observed the way Freed painstakingly put black polish on Bickslow’s nails.

“Uh, do you want too?” Bickslow asked suddenly, perhaps noticing his gaze.

“Huh? No,” Laxus said quickly.

“I mean if you want me to do something to you. Ever and Freed are already busy but I can do something else for you. Hair, beard, makeup, tattoo,” he shrugged.

Laxus frowned. “Tattoo?”

“Yes, I do tattoos. I made one myself on my calf, I show you”.

“Now don’t show him anything, because I won’t put your nail polish back on if you ruin it,” Freed clarified right away.

“Quiet baby, it’s dry”.

“It is not,” Freed said moving forward to grab his friend’s wrists. At that gesture Evergreen tugged Freed’s hair back.

“Stay still or you’ll ruin everything.”

“Don’t pull, it hurts,” Freed snapped.

“You’re the one who moves”.

“Because Bickslow doesn’t stand still.”

“Anyway, I can get you a tattoo, Laxus”

“Not now, wait for the nail polish to dry.” Freed said. Bickslow snorted and rolled his eyes as Laxus smiled slightly. Having a tattoo would have been cool.

***

Laxus felt the mattress move and opened his eyes sleepily, unable to hold back a yawn. He looked around and it took him a few seconds to realize he wasn’t lying alone on the bed. He frowned in confusion as he watched the three boys. Bickslow was lying next to him and was drawing something on a pad of paper, Freed was sitting cross-legged on the end of the bed and was reading a book, while Evergreen was resting his feet on Laxus’ legs applying the nail polish.

“What are you doing in my room?” he grunted as he pulled the headphones off his ears.

Freed looked up from the book. “Actually, I should ask this question since it’s myroom”.

Laxus frowned but a glance around was enough to understand that this was indeed Freed’s room. Had he fallen asleep on Freed’s bed? How the hell had that happened? And why had no one woken him up and instead they were all on the same mattress? Laxus also wondered how they all could fit, since Freed’s bed wasn’t that big.

“Oh”.

“If you have to move, tell me. I don’t want to ruin the nail polish,” Evergreen said closing the bottle of pink nail polish and Laxus wrinkled his nose at the annoying smell. He didn’t move, however, so as not to annoy her, although he wondered when the girl took that liberty with him.

“What time is it?” he asked sleepily, running a hand through his hair.

“Five, you can sleep more if you want, we have nothing to do,” Freed said, looking down at the book again. Laxus nodded briefly, even though he didn’t think he’d be able to sleep with the three of them in the same bed. Maybe it was a stupid thought to have since he had just done it.

“Can I have a headset?” Bickslow asked and Laxus hesitated. He was about to tell him that he wasn’t giving his headphones to anyone but when he saw what the friend was drawing he stopped. Bickslow was drawing a picture of the four of them, all sitting together on the roof of a house. Laxus had seen Bickslow drawings before but he had never seen him draw anything on them.

“Uh, ok,” he said handing him a headset. Bickslow happily took it and began to move his head as he continued to draw. Laxus shifted his gaze back to the ceiling, thoughtful of how he had ended up in that situation. Then he felt the mattress move again.

“Does it bother you if I put myself like this?” Freed asked stretching his legs and tucking his feet under Laxus’ thighs. Laxus wanted to tell him that yes, it bothered him a lot, but in reality, it wasn’t true. To tell the truth, he didn’t even mind that Evergreen was using his legs to rest her nail polish or whatever it was. Not even sharing headphones with Bickslow was annoying.

“Do what you want,” he muttered. Then he closed his eyes and buried his head back on the pillow.

He didn’t even understand why being so close to those three weirdos was pleasant, but he wasn’t going to think about it too much. Two minutes later he was already in the dream world.