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Birthdays became a familiarity to Shouto over the past decade. Celebrating with her classmates at UA turned into meeting up for drinks, good food and the same familiar company.
Being in the top 10 of the Hero Ranks doesn't make for a load of free time to plan birthday outings with close friends and family, though Shouto has no reason to mope about it. Tonight she's celebrating in her own way; a cup of tea accompanied by a bowl of cold soba in the comfort of her apartment.
It's a sort of solitary tradition which she keeps up every year. While her UA classmates insist on the more 'official' celebration of her birthday, Shouto held onto the more quiet side of it.
She didn't have the chance to experience these things as a child. So now, after years of fighting tooth and nail, not only with villains, but with her harrowing past, she came to the conclusion that she is deserving of one day to call her own.
And she wasn't the only one to believe so.
A loud knock at her front door signaled the arrival of an unplanned visit.
Shouto might have an inkling of who it could be at this late hour on her birthday, but she doesn't make any assumptions which could get her hopes up.
Not yet at least.
The knocking returns just as she unlocks the door and swings it open, coming face to face with narrowed crimson eyes.
"Katsuki. What are you doing here? It's late."
Blonde spikes are tied back in two short ponytails, making them look a little like firework sparkles. Or those pom-poms you see attached to winter hats. Shouto likes the first comparison more.
She's bundled up in a puffy coat, a thick scarf wrapped around her neck. Her cheeks are a ruddy red from the cold, nose matching the same frost bitten shade.
Katsuki's never been a fan of cold weather or winter for that matter. Aside from the fact that it messes up with her quirk, she always gets grumpier during this time of the year.
"I know it's late, shortcake. I just got off work."
And yet she decided to walk all the way to Shouto's place, given the snow clinging to her boots, with takeout in hand.
She clicks her tongue at Shouto's words, pushing past her to walk inside the apartment, but not before she pops a chaste kiss on her cheek. The affectionate gesture is unexpected, but more than welcomed.
It also causes Shouto to linger by the door a little more than normal, replaying the feeling of Katsuki's cold lips on her cheek.
She takes off the outerwear and hangs it on the hook right next to Shouto's coat, her scarf following suit along with her boots. Underneath it all, Katsuki is wearing a cream sweater, which looks equally warm and cozy, a sight that makes Shouto ache a little to pull her into a hug.
She turns to follow Katsuki in the kitchen after closing the door, and locking it (just in case).
"You brought food?"
It's not unusual for Katsuki to bring food with her. Be it takeout from the restaurant they frequent after joint patrols or homecooked food which she pretends she made too much of and is pawing it off to Shouto so 'it doesn't go to waste. Shouto doesn't believe her, but has learned to keep her words to herself in order to get more delicious meals from Katsuki.
"Thought you'd drown in shitty soba this year too. And by the looks of it," Katsuki throws a glance at the half eaten soba Shouto has on her coffee table, "I was right."
The corner of Shouto's mouth curls up into a half smile, before she follows her friend to the kitchen. She still calls Katsuki her friend even though they've been on a few dates. At least that's what Shouto calls them and she has yet to be corrected by Katsuki.
"I didn't know you were coming over."
She watches as Katsuki grabs plates from her cupboard as if she's in her own apartment, arranging two servings for them both.
"You say that every time I do."
Katsuki shoots back as she scrapes clean the takeout boxes, pilling a little more food into one plate which she pushes in Shouto's direction.
"That's because you almost always show up unannounced."
Shouto goes to sit at the kitchen island when Katsuki grabs both plates and nudges her to move to the couch. She follows, the corners of her mouth permanently curled up into a content smile.
Katsuki takes her seat on one end of the couch, legs crossed while she looks up at Shouto with a faint of a smirk.
There's another layer underneath the challenging cockiness in her expression, one Shouto has come to associate with 'fondness' and 'affection'. Seeing there's no other explanation for the way Katsuki acts around her and takes care of her.
"Got a problem with that, half and half?"
Shouto returns her smile, settling close to her on the couch, purposefully taking up as much of Katsuki's personal space in hopes of hearing her complain about it, before taking her own plate.
"No, I enjoy your company."
She hears Katsuki click her tongue once more, paired with a muttered insult under her breath. Shouto knows it's all a farce when Katsuki adjust herself on the couch in a way that brings their sides flush together.
They catch up in between bites of warm food, going over the latest cases and future missions, just like any other hangout between the two of them. Only tonight, after a few dates on the line and kisses sneaked in between patrols and long hours of paperwork, it's not entirely the same.
Tonight, Shouto's eyes linger on the way Katsuki's mouth moves around her words. On the subtle manner in which the warm light catches into the crimson of her eyes. On the way she bumps all too gently into Shouto's shoulder in a not so subtle attempt at minimizing the distance between them.
And Shouto's eyes aren't the only ones doing the staring.
She notices how Katsuki will fully turn to her when she talks, according her undivided attention to Shouto, which always causes her chest to flutter with a distinct warmth that's causes solely by her.
Shouto takes in the way she will go over all the details of her patrol and insert small tidbits and stories of things she thought Shouto might find interesting, despite them being mundane encounters for Katsuki.
Alongside all that, she didn't forget how Katsuki put more food onto her plate earlier, a silent way of encouraging Shouto to eat more. She used to yell at Shouto to eat more than instant noodles, but nowadays Katsuki will just wordlessly pile some of her food on Shouto's plate if they go somewhere to eat, or serve her seconds and pack food for Shouto to take home when she's the one cooking.
Soon the plates are scraped clean and a second tea mug joins Shouto's on the coffee table. Minutes tick by, steadily turning into a full hour, yet Katsuki doesn't look to be in a rush to return home, her gaze never straying from Shouto's face to check the time.
"Fuck, it's always so hot in here."
Katsuki grumbles out. She takes off her sweater, which leaves her in a black tank top and jeans. She's always run hotter and not just because of her quirk. Despite that, she always seems to get cold easier than most.
Shouto tends to use that as an opportunity to hang closer to Katsuki and keep her warm with her quirk, even if that happened to get her a significant number of explosions to the face. They were all worth it, once she saw how Katsuki's shoulders relaxed under the warm wave of her fire quirk and she got back her spunk, that's otherwise deterred by the cold.
Keeping her eyes to herself has never been easy around Katsuki. Shouto's gaze tends to stray away from her fiery eyes, down to her lips, to the column of her neck, lower to her scarred arms and several more captivating features.
She settles back against the couch after folding her sweater and setting it on the edge of the table.
One of Katsuki's arms rests behind Shouto on the backrest, her fingers finding their way to the nape of her neck, twirling red and white locks.
"Your hair's getting longer."
Katsuki points out, before her fingers follow a path up to her scalp, where they brush and caress firmly yet gently. The motion almost causes Shouto's eyes to flutter shut in delight, but she powers through and keeps them open.
The obvious invitation - Katsuki's open stance and direct physical touch - prompts Shouto to shuffle even closer, until she's almost tucked into Katsuki's side.
"Mm, yeah. Should I get it cut again?"
Katsuki continues to play with her hair, subtly pushing at the back of Shouto's head to bring her closer.
"Do whatever you feel like, you look pretty regardless."
Shouto's used to being praised for her looks, even when some complimets would feel backhanded when it came to her scar, but there's always been something more to it when it came from Katsuki.
She knows it's not done with any ulterior motives in mind or because Katsuki might think she needs to make Shouto feel better about herself.
They're sincere and sometimes even crude, but Shouto knows by now where to look, how to read between the lines, when needed, and uncover the hidden meaning of Katsuki's badgering.
In response to the way she's playing with her hair, Shouto places a hand on her hip, tentatively at first, before raising it to her waist. She can feel the warmth of her skin through the fabric of Katsuki's top, which only succeeds in reminding her how close they are right now.
So Shouto follows her advice, not in regards to her hair, but with other desires. She leans in and presses a kiss to Katsuki's cheek, mirroring her gesture from earlier.
It earns her a small smile from Katsuki, who brings her other arm to wrap it around Shouto's middle and pull her even closer, their bodies slowly turning into a tangled mess.
"What was that for, halfie?"
With the hand that's tangled in her hair, Katsuki angles Shouto's head, tilting it to the side as if she's trying to get the best view of her face.
"Payback for earlier."
A blonde eyebrow quirks up in curiosity, before Katsuki lets out a bark of laughter. The sound intensifies the fluttering in Shouto's chest, who brings her left hand to cup the side of Katsuki's face.
Lately, it's been impossible for them to keep their hands to themselves when left together like this, in their own safe bubble.
"You're a pain in my ass, d'you know that?"
Shouto is tugged into a languid kiss and this time she allows her eyes to flutter shut in order to get the best out of their lip lock. The intertwining of their mouths elicits a low hum from Shouto, whose hands begin their journey up and down Katsuki's back.
A playful bite to her lip causes Shouto to let out a small huff, before connecting their lips once again for another kiss. When they pull back, the ruddiness has returned to Katsuki's cheeks, yet this time her face is love bitten.
"Evidence does not support the claim."
Murmurs Shouto, looking very smug about their kiss and the way Katsuki gave no hint at wanting to untangle their bodies anytime soon.
She expects another quip, but in response she earns another kiss. From curious and chaste, their touches turn confident and passionate, which only manage to stoke the sparking flames in the pit of Shouto's stomach.
Kissing Katsuki has turned from restless nights spent in bed daydreaming about how it could feel to stolen kisses at friendly gatherings and long makeout sessions on one of their couches.
When Katsuki said she and Shouto would make an unstoppable team on the field, Shouto wholeheartedly agreed. Yet she didn't think she'd agree that they make a great team off field too, what with how incredible it feels to be tangled up in Katsuki's affection like this.
When Shouto starts to tug on her arm in hopes of reclining back on the couch for a more comfortable position, Katsuki pulls away and looks at the clock on the wall like she'd just remembered something.
"What is it?"
Shouto asks, tilting her head to the side, causing the disheveled strands of hair to fall into her face.
Katsuki tucks them behind her ear with a small chuckle, before pulling away from her arms.
"The day's almost over. Can't forget about it, not today of all days."
She gets up and walks to the kitchen. Shouto hears the crinkling of plastic, followed by Katsuki's arrival in the living room. She's holding a small cake, frosted white with slices of strawberry neatly arranged at the top.
Oh, it's a birthday cake for Shouto.
"You didn't have to."
"I didn't, but I wanted to."
After switching off the lights, Katsuki sits down on and holds the cake out for Shouto. There's a lone candle right in the middle, the flame being the only source of light in the room.
"Make a wish, Shou."
There's no need for her to whisper, but Katsuki does so, as if she's trying to preserve this moment just for the two of them. Shouto looks between the burning candle and the crimson eyes looking directly at her. She's been making birthday wishes for the past ten years, and every year she wishes for the same thing - for her and her loved ones to be happy.
She's found happiness in her friends, in her put-back-together family, and a different kind of happiness in Katsuki.
With her eyes closed, Shouto blows out the candle, plunging the room in complete darkness.
"Happy birthday, Shou."
Katsuki whispers once again, face lit by the faint city lights coming through the window. Shouto's mouth quirks up into an earnest smile. Joy brims over the edge inside of her, which leads to Shouto leaning in to steal another kiss from Katsuki.
"Thank you, Katsuki."
They switch on a lamp this time and eat the cake in each other's comfortable company. Shouto purposefully gets whipped cream on her mouth just to hear Katsuki chastise her about being a messy eater, before she moves in to lick it off her lips, which leads to another round of stolen kisses.
Birthdays became a familiarity for Shouto ever since she enrolled into UA. Over the years she started looking forward to them, if simply for the fact that she gets to have her friends together again like the old times.
Now, with Katsuki's steady hold around her and multiple 'Happy Birthday' messages from her friends, Shouto knows she'll get to experience at least a few more decades of birthdays surrounded by love.