The Hunt [Christmas 2024]

“It’s gotta be around here somewhere,” Katsuki muttered, throwing aside crumpled summer clothes to get deeper into the box – he could clean them up later, when there wasn’t a ticking time bomb waiting for him in the living room. “I saw the nerd.”

Coat hangers clacked quietly together, and Katsuki paused, listening. Logically, he knew the sound had been no louder than his own mutters, but still he half-expected Izuku to show up in the doorway, arms folded and eyebrows raised, demanding to know what he was doing.

Finally, he unearthed a stripy red-and-green bag, triumphantly holding it aloft in a moment of silent victory. He glanced at the closed door, just to be sure, then slowly pried apart an edge of the bag to peek through, careful not to disturb the little reindeer sticker holding it shut in the middle.

“Asshole,” he hissed, dropping the bag and immediately regretting it when he heard the quiet thud of it hitting the ground. “Then where the hell did you put it?”

He picked up the bag again and shook it lightly, making sure there wasn’t anything hidden at the bottom, but sure enough, all it held was their little collection of spare toothpaste and toothbrushes that normally resided on the shelf above. Damn nerd was getting too cocky for his own good, apparently – and Katsuki’s stupid impatience had let it get the best of him. He needed to do better, if he was going to win the war.

Satisfied that his search remained fruitless, he tucked the bag back under their boxed-up clothes as if he’d never touched it, and slipped his way out of the closet to move on.

“Kacchan?” Izuku called, when he heard Katsuki’s footsteps moving. “Can you bring me a blanket when you come back?”

“Yeah, sure.”

He opened a different cupboard this time, finding Izuku’s favourite fluffy blanket with All Might’s massive face on it, and paused as he slid it off the shelf. Behind it sat a little red box, tucked away where it had been out of sight, and Katsuki hesitated for a moment before he reached for it. It was tiny, smaller than the palm of his hand, and the material felt slightly rough. Katsuki could feel his palms starting to sweat as he pulled it out, glancing toward the stairs quickly to make sure Izuku was still safely occupied. With his fingers trembling, he pulled the box, letting it pop open on the hinged side with a quiet snap.

“You motherfucker,” he whispered to himself, when he found a small collection of old buttons inside. “Did you buy a fucking ring box just to mess with me?”

He tucked the box away, resolving to never let Izuku find out about his moment of panic, and closed the door behind him, thumping down the stairs a little more heavily than was probably necessary.

“Kacchan!” Izuku grinned, shifting his position on the couch slightly. “Thank you!”

Katsuki tossed the blanket right at his face, but much to his dismay, Izuku caught it without a second thought – damn those hero reflexes he’d developed over the years, always foiling Katsuki’s plans to inconvenience him.

“Everything okay up there?” he prompted.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Katsuki huffed, flopping onto the seat beside him and taking note of the way every cushion in the room seemed to have moved just a tiny bit since he’d left, not to mention Izuku’s curls looked even more dishevelled than usual. “Something go wrong down here?”

“Nope!” Izuku assured him, tossing the blanket across both their laps to share. “Sorted?”

“Sorted.”

Izuku hit play on the remote and set it back down again, wrapping his arms around Katsuki’s waist and pulling him in close for snuggles. Izuku turned into such a damn sap in the winter, always wanting cheesy walks in the snow with hot chocolate and marshmallows, or trips to see the colourful illuminations set up all over the city, or – admittedly Katsuki’s favourite – to cuddle up on the couch and watch bad movies together. It was mainly his favourite because he could doze off for a bit in the warmth and comfort of Izuku’s arms while Izuku was too absorbed in the movie to notice, to sneak in a little extra sleep without sacrificing the limited amount of time he had available to spend with his night owl boyfriend.

Izuku stroked Katsuki’s hair lightly as they watched the movie begin, an unconscious gesture that had made Katsuki bristle in the beginning of their relationship, but now felt like a necessary part of his evening routine – it just didn’t feel like work was over until Izuku was petting him or nuzzling him or something equally stupid and sappy. Katsuki quickly caved to the touch, leaning into Izuku’s broad chest, enveloped in his warmth, and letting his eyelids flutter closed.

“M’still watching,” he grumbled, when Izuku’s chest shuddered in a little chuckle. “Just getting comfy, tha’s all.”

“I know, Kacchan,” Izuku humoured him. “No point watching the intro credits when you could be relaxing instead!”

“Exactly. You finally get it.”

“Uh-huh! You just get warm and cosy, and I’ll let you know if anything important happens earlier than expected, so you don’t miss it.”

“Good.”

He would insist until his dying breath that he’d watched that whole movie, but they both knew he’d never even made it to the first scene.

─────

As soon as the front door clicked closed, Izuku ran to the bedroom, yanking out the first of Katsuki’s bedside drawers and upending it on the duvet. He only had an hour, at best, to get through all the little places he couldn’t get to while Katsuki was home, that he couldn’t find an excuse to go in without making it super obvious what he’d been doing. He rifled through the contents atop the bed, then tossed them back into the drawer, hoping it wasn’t too obvious that they’d been disturbed – thankfully Katsuki was pretty haphazard about his drawer management at the best of times. When everything was returned, he repeated the process with the second and third, cursing under his breath when he came up empty.

The mattress was next, tilted up to see if anything had been stuffed underneath, but all he found was an old grey sock he’d accused Katsuki of stealing from him because it was his warmest pair – oops. He’d have to apologise for that later, and maybe figure out a tiny white lie about where it had shown up, so Katsuki wouldn’t question why he’d been lifting the mattress.

Sock procured, he set the mattress back down, quickly making sure all the sheets were still tucked in before he moved on.

The office was next, a room only Katsuki really used, since Izuku preferred to do his paperwork with a laptop on the sofa. Logically, it was the smartest place to hide something from him – because why would Izuku go digging through boring paperwork​? He didn’t even want to read his own paperwork, let alone Katsuki’s. But with Katsuki out of the house, Izuku tiptoed his way in, taking in his surroundings briefly before he dared to touch anything. It was probably the neatest room in the house – partly because the mess would distract Katsuki while he was trying to work, but mostly because Izuku was never in there. While the bedroom drawers were just a collection of thrown-in items Katsuki had used while he was half asleep, the office was a meticulous, well-oiled machine, where everything ran perfectly smoothly and cleanly.

A small section of the bookshelf looked a little off, so he went there first, carefully sliding the books out to peek behind. Sure enough, he found a thin box hidden back there, and he buzzed with excitement as he retrieved it to take a peek. It wasn’t an average box, but one of the fancy kind, where the whole inner section slides out to display the contents prettily. He pushed it gently, careful not to crease any of the cardboard as it moved, his enthusiasm disappearing in an instant when he saw inside. Who the hell kept their spare pens hidden on a bookshelf? At least Izuku made an effort to make his deceptions seem plausible.

He put the box back with a huff, placing the books perfectly in front as if they’d never been touched, then began his round of the room, checking every drawer and cupboard, every shelf, even every pile of paperwork, though he kept those at arm’s length lest they infect him with working-on-the-weekend. Nothing else leapt out at him like the books had, and he was running low on time – Katsuki would be back with the groceries at any minute, he had to make the most of what few opportunities Katsuki afforded him to be alone in the house. The stupid, considerate work schedulers were always putting them on the same shifts, so they could spend time together afterward. Sickening.

In a last ditch attempt, he began rifling through the boxes from all their favourite merch, carefully stacked in the office closet where they could re-use them when they moved house. The clock was ticking, but Izuku was determined to get to the bottom of the pile, to make sure nothing had been slipped in or under the collection. One box he picked up was a little heavier than the others, and he froze, turning it over to look. It was pristine, unopened, and through the little plastic shield, he saw the most beautiful figure he’d ever seen. All Might’s costume was dishevelled, with both sleeves torn away at the elbow, and his hair strands were a little limp, struggling to stay up. Izuku remembered too-well the exact moment from that fight that it had been modelled on, with the blue glow to his eyes and the smoke surrounding his form as he struggled to lift his arm into the air.

The front door opened, and Izuku hugged the box in his arms, slowly walking out to the entryway to watch Katsuki wrestle his boots off.

“It’s icy as fuck out there,” Katsuki complained, without looking back. “I grabbed some stuff for soup, thought we might need some hot lunches the next few days.”

“Kacchan?”

Katsuki finally turned, his eyebrows knitting together when he saw the box clutched in his grip.

“Weren’t you meant to give that back weeks ago?”

“What?” Izuku blinked at him, gaze slowly dropping to the gorgeous figure.

"Isn't that the one Half-n-half was hiding here while Endeavour stayed at his place?"

“Oh shit."

Katsuki snorted, far too entertained by Izuku’s dismay, and Izuku jutted his lower lip at him

"Did you really think I'd buy you an All Might figure for Christmas?” Katsuki asked, a smirk tugging at his lips. “You buy them all as soon as they come out, why would I get you a duplicate?"

“But I don’t have this one! And it’s so pretty!”

“What are you talking about? It’s literally within eye shot right now.”

Izuku blinked at him, then slowly turned his head, eyes landing on the jam-packed shelf of merch they’d spent an entire day setting up together when Izuku had first moved in. Katsuki walked past him as he stared, gently shifting aside a couple of smaller statues, and sure enough, he retrieved an almost identical figure from the back. The only difference was—

“It’s signed?” Izuku asked, feeling oddly numb. “Did I know about this?”

“I’m pretty sure it’s the entire reason you decided to move in,” Katsuki snorted. “He gave it to me when I got number one on the charts, remember?”

“Shit. Yeah, I do remember that now. I was so jealous.”

Katsuki raised an eyebrow at him, and Izuku blushed, looking down at the box in his arms once more.

“I’d better take it to work tomorrow, to give back.”

“Good choice. And stop searching for your present, you’ll ruin the surprise.”

“Shut up,” Izuku huffed, unable to keep it up when he saw the adorable smirk on Katsuki’s face. “Who the hell keeps pens on a bookshelf?”

Katsuki laughed brightly at his back, as he walked away, and Izuku couldn’t resist a smile of his own. God he was a lucky man.

─────

Katsuki was getting desperate. If anyone had asked, and he hadn’t lied about it, he’d have sworn he’d checked every single nook, cranny, and crevice of the damn house. While they’d never actually talked about the game, Katsuki had thought there were unspoken rules to it – the number one rule being that the actual present had to be in the house. He was starting to think Izuku hadn’t gotten that unwritten memo, and was storing it at a friend’s place or something, like the damn cheater he was.

An indignant mew broke Katsuki out of his annoyance, and he sighed, reaching down to pat her ears in apology. He pulled the bag of cat biscuits from the cupboard, smiling faintly when she rubbed against his legs and purred.

“Sorry, baby,” he said softly, setting the bag down to open it. “One breakfast, coming right up.”

He opened the top, freezing when he saw a little green-and-red package tucked inside. While it was true that Izuku was usually the one to give the cat her meals, had he really stooped so low as to bury Katsuki’s gift in cat food?

“Sorry, sorry,” he said again, when he got another whiny mew for his pause. “It’s coming.”

He scooped up a handful of biscuits, sprinkling them onto her plate and smiling as she dug in. No matter how long they’d had her, she still ate like it might be the last meal she ever saw. While she munched away, he carefully opened up the wrapping paper, peeking inside the little package. For a brief moment the tape alone made him feel triumphant, he’d found something that wasn’t designed to be peek-at-able, but when he saw the fluffy toy within, he just rolled his eyes. He set the package aside and rolled the top of the bag over, securing the top with a clip before he tucked it away again, to thwart any attempts at thievery she might make. As he finished up, Izuku’s face appeared in the doorway, beaming as he snatched Katsuki into a hug.

“Good morning, Kacchan!” he said brightly. “Merry Christmas!”

“Yeah, Merry Christmas,” Katsuki returned, squeezing him back fondly. “You hungry?”

“Nope! Where’s my present?!”

Katsuki couldn’t help but laugh; he’d thought he was the impatient one in their relationship, but Izuku frequently found moments to prove him wrong. He reached over to the counter, picking up the wrapped toy, and Izuku laughed when he held it up.

“I didn’t want our little lady to miss out on the fun!”

“I can’t believe I really thought you’d hidden my present in the cat food, for a moment.”

“Well, in fairness, I briefly thought you’d hidden mine in the dish detergent.”

“Oh, so you do know where we kept that stuff.”

“Oh ha ha, very funny.”

Katsuki smirked, and Izuku couldn’t help but laugh, grabbing Katsuki by the hair and planting a big, sloppy smooch on his cheek.

“Blegh,” Katsuki complained, despite a chuckle that sneaked out of him. “Gross.”

“You know you love it.”

“Presents, then?” Katsuki deflected. “We can open them up, then cook up some pancakes or something afterward.”

“Woohoo! Perfect!”

Izuku scurried off to the hall closet, and Katsuki narrowed his eyes – if he pulled out that damn ring box, Katsuki was gonna riot. Instead, though, he reached for the vacuum cleaner, and Katsuki watched in disbelief as he popped it open, pulling a long, red-wrapped parcel out, complete with a perfectly intact bow. Clearly it had been too long since they’d vacuumed.

“Ta-da!” Izuku said, shoving it into his hands. “Open it!”

“Let me go grab yours, first.”

“Nope! Open it!”

“Wait thirty seconds, impatient fucker.”

Izuku followed him when he stepped out, watching eagerly for the big reveal, but when Katsuki reached into the top of the closet in their spare room, he just sighed defeatedly.

“Using my height against me,” he lamented. “That’s just rude.”

“No one was stopping you from getting a ladder,” Katsuki said with a grin. “It would have taken you half a second to drag the bed over to stand on.”

“I know for next time!”

“Next time I’m gonna hide it somewhere really low, your knee creaks will be even shittier by then.”

“Rude!”

Gifts exchanged, they settled in the living room, each holding out a hand for the world’s most tense game of janken to decide who would open theirs first. Izuku threw his hands in the air when he won, and Katsuki sighed, picking up his package in defeat.

“I know you still love your old one,” Izuku began placatingly, as Katsuki unwrapped a beautiful new tent. “But I worry about you sometimes, that it’ll leak all over you and you’ll get sick, or it’ll tear and blow away on a mountain! So I did a ton of research, and this one is exactly the same weight, and it’s only a tiny bit longer which I thought was okay because you can actually keep your feet in and stop poking holes in it with your toes, and it’s fully waterproof so you don’t have to set up that old tarp unless you’re expecting the weather to be bad.”

“I fucking love it,” Katsuki said, painfully sincerely. “You must have done so much research.”

“Well, I wanted you to have the best one,” Izuku said sheepishly. “They didn’t make an orange one though, so-”

“Green is better,” Katsuki cut him off quickly, lifting up the packaged tent and holding it to his chest. “It’ll remind me of-”

“Of me?” Izuku grinned, when Katsuki stopped abruptly. “You’re so cute, Kacchan.”

“Shut up,” Katsuki huffed, face burning. “It’s perfect, Izuku. Thank you. I really appreciate it.”

“I’m glad you like it,” Izuku said with a soft smile, leaning in to kiss Katsuki’s cheek fondly. “Think we can both fit in there if I decide to come with you?”

“You can use my old one,” Katsuki teased. “This one is all mine.”

“Meanie,” Izuku complained, laughing all the same. “I thought maybe when I get back from my work trip, we could do that hike in Yakushima you always talk about. Together.”

“Really?”

“If you’ll have me.”

“Obviously,” Katsuki snorted, conceding one arm from his tent-hug to take Izuku’s hand instead. “I’ll start looking for a time on the roster that we can both take a few days off.”

“I’ll be looking forward to it!”

Izuku finally picked up his own present, weighing it up in his hands and giving it a gentle shake, listening to the sound it made. When he lifted it to his nose, though, Katsuki rolled his eyes, stretching out a leg to shove him lightly with his foot.

“Just open it.”

“But I like guessing!”

Despite his protest, he tore into the paper obediently, and Katsuki couldn’t resist a smile when Izuku’s eyes lit up with joy.

“It’s backwards compatible with all your old games,” Katsuki assured him. “I double-checked before I got it, you just have to log in and it can sync them from your account.”

“Oh my gosh, Kacchan! Thank you!” Izuku leaned in to kiss him again, but this time Katsuki met him halfway. “I was so worried about taking that long flight next month with no entertainment, this is so perfect!”

“And while you’re gone,” Katsuki said, grinning. “I can take my new tent out for a run.”

“Kacchan, no! You have to stay home to feed Lady Fuzzyboots!”

“Don’t be stupid, she loves camping with me when you’re away.”

Izuku’s eyebrows knitted together, and Katsuki just smirked – Izuku would have shut him down immediately if he’d suggested taking the cat camping when they’d first gotten her, but what he hadn’t known clearly hadn’t hurt him.

With a little pap, said cat jumped up between them, staring at Izuku expectantly.

“Sorry, little lady,” Izuku said, reaching out to scratch her fluffy head. “I know, I said your name.”

“She probably wants her present.”

“Oh! Right!”

Izuku retrieved it in a hurry, offering her the little wrapped package, and they both laughed together when she sniffed at it, her little pink tongue darting out to lick the paper.

“That’s what you get for hiding it in her food,” Katsuki said, reaching over to undo the end of the paper. “Inside, baby girl.”

Lady stuck her nose in the end, sniffing again before she took a big bite, dragging the fluffy toy mouse out of the paper and scurrying off down the hall with it.

“I guess she’s happy too,” Izuku said, chuckling. “Time for morning naps with her new toy.”

“That does sound pretty good,” Katsuki admitted. “How does Christmas Pancakes in bed sound?”

“Like the best day of my life?”

“Alright, done.”

He gave Izuku one last kiss before he got up off the couch, setting his new tent carefully at Izuku’s feet.

“I’ll go cook,” he said. “You can warm up the bed for us.”

“Want me to put this away, too?” Izuku offered, reaching for the tent. “I’ll be careful, I promise.”

“Yes please. I trust you.”

“Aww, Kacchan, that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“Shut up,” Katsuki laughed. “I’ll meet you there in... ten minutes?”

“Looking forward to it!”

Katsuki headed into the kitchen, grabbing the pancake mix he’d made up the night before – Izuku always wanted pancakes on special occasions, it really wasn’t hard to predict anymore. Izuku shuffled off down the hallway with their gifts, to join Lady on the mattress she had no doubt taken over entirely, and Katsuki set to work with his frying pan. Soon, he’d be tucked up in a warm bed, with his boyfriend’s arm around him, a big plate of pancakes in each of their laps, and probably some kind of video game already pulled up in Izuku’s hands.

It might have been the best day ever, Katsuki thought, and they hadn’t even had their breakfast yet.