Ribbons [White Day 2022]

[Part One] 

Valentine’s Day had always been Izuku’s favourite holiday.

Not for all the cheesy decorations and sappy romantic gestures, but for one simple fact: Katsuki had always gotten him a Valentine’s gift.

Well, until they’d hit middle school, anyway, but he didn’t like to think about those in-between years. Things were better now, Katsuki had proven that just a month prior, when she’d shown up with that special set of homemade chocolates all decorated in All Might colours, made especially for him. It was the best gift Izuku had ever received, and he knew he had to go big if he wanted to come close to measuring up.

Their date on Valentine’s Day had been perfect – full of laughter, a ton of teasing over their meals, nothing awkward and stilted and overly planned, just two best friends spending a night together like old times.

Perfect.

Except, well, it had been the only one. Izuku had thought about it a thousand times since, thought about showing up at her door with dinner, or calling her to meet up and hang out for a while, or a hundred other different things that he’d have loved to do with her, he’d just... never quite found the courage. But that made White Day the perfect opportunity! He’djust had to find the best present ever, and show Katsuki exactly how he felt about her!

And maybe, maybe, he’d gone a little overboard.

That was certainly the thought that came to mind as he attempted to squeeze his way through the classroom door. Apparently it was designed to comfortably fit people like Shouji and Kouda through, but not a damn basket.

“What the fuck is that?” Katsuki demanded, the moment she laid eyes on Izuku’s stray curls peeking over the top of the basket. “Deku, what the hell are you doing.”

“Happy White Day!” he beamed, peeking around the edge just in time to catch Katsuki’s face flooding bright red. “My Valentine’s chocolates were so perfect, I had to make sure I got you something just as good in return!”

Katsuki’s desk already held a little stack of gifts, unsurprising considering how many chocolates she’d made for her classmates only a month prior, but the basket Izuku gleefully set in front of her put them all to shame. He’d managed to hunt down a pretty white wicker one – and definitely didn’t have thoughts about reusing it later for picnics – to match the theme of the day, and he’d spent the whole weekend finding and making the contents for it.

“Are you serious?” Katsuki demanded, staring down at the basket lined with delicate white tissue paper and covered with clear cellophane. “It was just chocolate.”

“It wasn’t just anything,” Izuku huffed. “Do you want to open it now or later?”

Katsuki knew what the easier answer would have been, but with Mina already pawing at it, and half the class looking on far too curiously, she knew it wasn’t a real option. Izuku grinned when she untied the white ribbon that held it all together, the pearly satin remaining in her hand thoughtfully as the cellophane fell away.

Izuku expected her to set it aside, or maybe shove it in a pocket if she was feeling sentimental, but to his surprise reached back instead, tying it into her ponytail with slightly shaky hands.

He supposed that made sense, Katsuki didn’t do much with her hair, after all. She probably didn’t have a lot of practice at it!

“Cute!” Izuku praised, apparently physically incapable of self-preservation. “Hold on, let me.”

With every eye in the room watching him in varying states of shock, horror and awe, Izuku leaned over, tying the ends of the ribbon into a big bow while Katsuki was still fumbling for words.

“Perfect!” he beamed. “It suits you!”

“Shut the hell up, nerd.”

Despite her protests, she made no move to swat him away or take it out, and Izuku couldn’t help but smile even wider. Maybe his task for the day was going to be easier than he’d expected.

Katsuki’s cute blushes gave way in favour of a little growl when Mina began poking through the basket contents, unable to resist the temptation, and Mina just giggled at them both as she held her hands up in surrender.

“Come on then, Blasty, show us what your cute boyfriend got you!”

“Haah?!”

“Are those macarons?” Kyouka interrupted, leaning over to peek. “They look good.”

“Midoriya forked out for the good stuff?!” Kaminari demanded, leaping up to investigate. “Girrrrrl he’s got it bad for you!”

It was Izuku’s turn to blush this time, face burning red-hot, and despite her own pink tinge still remaining, Katsuki cracked a tiny smirk.

“I ain’t sharin’,” Katsuki said firmly, kicking her feet up and making half the class quickly avert their gaze. “This shit is mine, losers. Get yourself a nerd if you want good presents.”

“I could get myself a Midoriya,” Mina mused.

“Hands off, loser.”

Izuku chuckled awkwardly, and Katsuki finally caved to her curiosity, leaning in to take a look at the collection of gifts. Izuku was glad he’d spent a lot of time arranging them all just right, making sure it all looked pretty and balanced and enticing, seeing as that first glance could so easily have elicited a “pass” and a brushing off. Instead, though, Katsuki froze for a moment, blinking at it a few times as she took it all in.

“Huh,” she said finally. “Look at you go, nerd.”

The dozen white macarons seemed like they’d yield the most trading power, if the looks of their classmates were anything to go by, but Katsuki quickly honed in on a collection of white chocolate-dipped strawberries – fruit had always been her favourite, Izuku had known exactly what he was doing when he’d picked them out. There was a bundle of lollipops, too, all in white wrappers, and a couple of bars of white chocolate, mostly because it was pretty rather than because Katsuki particularly liked chocolate, and the prettiest, fanciest, most expensive white cakes and puddings Izuku could get his hands on. All of it nestled neatly in the white tissue paper, surrounded by white confetti and tiny origami hearts.

Izuku had gone all out and it definitely was not because of his anxiety spikes forcing him to do more and more and more in the hopes of getting it perfect even though he knew it could never actually be-

“Thanks.”

The word jolted him out of his spiralling thoughts, and for a moment he just stared, blinking at Katsuki a few times as he tried to figure out what they’d just been talking about a minute ago.

“It all looks great,” Katsuki clarified, quieter than Izuku had ever heard her. “So thanks.”

“You’re welcome!” Izuku beamed, all his fears vanishing in an instant. “I’m so glad you like it!”

The bell rang for class to begin, and Katsuki carefully wrapped the basket back up to set it on the floor, barely clearing the aisles with how oversized it really was. She tucked her other gifts in her backpack for later, out of sight where they wouldn’t cause any distractions, and Aizawa didn’t say a word about it when he arrived, despite clearly laying eyes on the bright white intrusion.

The ribbon, on the other hand, remained safely wrapped around the elastic of Katsuki’s ponytail, the bow big and bold, in shiny, pearly white.

─────

Izuku fell onto his bed with a sigh, head hitting the pillow with a soft fwump. He hadn’t gotten a chance to talk with Katsuki much in class, had certainly never found a moment to pull her aside privately and ask if she’d consider letting him take her out for dinner, like she’d taken him out a month prior.

Texting her probably would have been a good move, but it just felt so impersonal, not to mention Katsuki would probably think it was a dumb prank being played by one of their classmates. That was the kind of person she was, after all. Despite always boasting about being the best, always standing tall and sneering like nothing could phase her, Izuku knew she was a lot less arrogant than she appeared.

Maybe he could go to her bedroom, could sneak into the elevator unseen and sneak onto her floor. Half the girls in the class wouldn’t care anyway, if they caught him – the bigger problem was someone like Iida, who was a stickler for the rules even for his friends, seeing him head that direction; or Mineta, kicking up a fuss about “how come Midoriya can go up there but not me”.

Before he could decide on a plan of action, before he could even change out of his uniform to consider going anywhere outside his room again, a knock echoed through his room, and he sat up in a hurry to stare at the door, already swinging open without waiting for an answer.

“Oh!” he squeaked, when the flushed face peered around the door at him. “Kacchan, I was just thinking about you!”

“Hah?” Katsuki scowled, eyebrows knitting together. “Get me out of your head, perv.”

“Not like that, Kacchan! Stop jumping to conclusions!”

“Yeah because it’s such a leap, when you’re lying on your bed and apparently thinking of me.”

“I’m fully clothed!” Izuku insisted, face burning. “And the door is unlocked, as you well know!”

“Creep.”

“Whatever.” Izuku huffed. “What brings you here, anyway?”

“Oh.” Katsuki blushed brighter, eyes darting away. “Yeah, uh.”

For the first time, Izuku looked at her properly, falling silent. She’d already changed out of her uniform, unlike Izuku, but instead of the usual tank tops and hole-filled sweatpants, or baggy t-shirts and soft leggings, she’d put on a pair of jeans. Katsuki never wore jeans.

“Do you have plans?” Izuku blurted out.

“Hah? Why would I be here if I had plans?” she huffed, folding her arms over her chest, covering up the buttons that lined the front of her shirt.

“I didn’t mean to offend you,” Izuku mumbled. “You’re just... dressed to go out.”

“Stop looking at my clothes, perv.”

“How does that make me a perv?!”

“I just figured,” she continued, ignoring his complaints. “That I bought you dinner on Valentine’s Day, so it’s only fair that you take your turn tonight to pay me back.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” Izuku grinned. “That’s why I was thinking about you, nothing pervy or creepy!”

“Oh. Um, good. ‘Cos you owe me.”

“I just need to get changed! Where do you want to go?”

“Dunno. Somewhere close, I’m hungry.”

“Okay! Why don’t we walk toward the department store, and see if anything catches our eye in that area? There’s loads of good restaurants and stuff around there.”

“Sure.”

“Turn around so I can get changed, don’t be a perv.”

Katsuki snorted, but turned around all the same, and Izuku took the opportunity to stare a little while she couldn’t catch him doing it. The clothes were nice – simple, but she’d clearly but in an effort compared to her usual outfits. What really shocked him, though, was the hair.

He’d known it had gotten longer, since they’d started high school, but he hadn’t realised how much longer. He’d noticed when she’d started wearing it to school in a ponytail, when it was no longer short enough to stay out of her eyes on its own, but that was about all he’d noticed. Now, though, it hung loose to almost touch her shoulders, with a familiar white ribbon tied into it like a headband.

He took a step closer, the floor creaking slightly under his weight, and she turned to glare at him the moment his hand lifted.

“Quit it,” she demanded, swatting his hand away. “Do you know how long it takes to make a stupid slippery ribbon stay in hair? Don’t fuck it up when I finally got it right.”

“You look beautiful,” Izuku told her sincerely, kissing the top of her head lightly instead of disturbing it with his hand. “Did you go through all this effort just for little old me?”

“Hell no,” she scoffed. “I needed all those stupid extras to know that I got an awesome White Day gift and they didn’t. Be jealous, bitches.”

Izuku laughed brightly, and Katsuki finally cracked a smile, turning away again in a hurry to hide it.

“Get changed!” she demanded. “I want my dinner!”

“Of course, your highness. Your wish is my command.”

Katsuki couldn’t help but think how weird it was, that in all her life, compliments and praise had never really meant anything, unless they came from Izuku. She didn’t care what the extras thought, didn’t particularly care about her parents’ approval, even All Might’s praises had rung hollow after the first few times – they never seemed entirely sincere, and she wasn’t sure she wanted All Might to approve of her actions, after some of the... choices he’d made.

But from Izuku? Those words fed her better than any meal he could buy for her. She needed to hear them, had never been more irritable than the days he was away for work studies, or in the hospital, and she couldn’t hear that stupid voice bleating amazing! every time she took a damn step. It was all so stupid, so unnecessary, and yet she lived for it.

The way he’d said beautiful so effortlessly, so sincerely, like it was nothing at all – she’d never heard that, before. She wasn’t the typical pretty girl, after all – wasn’t like the classmates who played around with make-up and had closets of cute dresses and skirts to wear in the evenings or on weekends. Comfort was far more valuable than any of that girly shit, after all. So no one had ever really told her that she was pretty, let alone beautiful, but Izuku just said it like... a fact. An indisputable fact that everybody knew, that no one would hesitate to say, even though he was the only one.

“You really think so?” she found herself asking, as he rummaged through his closet. “Not that I care, or whatever.”

“Think what?” Izuku asked, humming thoughtfully. “That I can make your wishes come true? I can certainly try but that kind of depends what your wishes are, Kacchan!”

“That I’m...”

She trailed off, gnawing on her lower lip, but Izuku – the perceptive bastard – caught on immediately.

“That you’re beautiful?” he asked, making her stomach twist into knots. “Of course I do, Kacchan. Look at you. Everything about you is amazing, it always has been!”

“I know I’m amazing,” she huffed.

“Okay,” Izuku said fondly, and Katsuki knew there would be a hint of a smirk on his face if she turned to look. “Yes, I think you’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever laid eyes on, Kacchan. I’ve always thought so, ever since I was a tiny little toddler pulling on your hair.”

“You used to do that a lot,” Katsuki grumbled. “No wonder it was short for so long, you were always pulling it out.”

“Oh yeah, nothing to do with the scissors that took to it regularly,” Izuku chuckled. “I’ve always liked your hair, it’s so bright and pretty! Mine is so dark and boring, not to mention untameable.”

“Untameable,” Katsuki snorted. “Look who you’re talking to. I have a solid six minutes left before mine turns into a hedgehog afro.”

“An adorable hedgehog afro,” Izuku grinned, kissing the top of her head again fondly. “I’m dressed. Want to get dinner?”

“Yeah.”

She led the way out the door without looking back, and Izuku quickly checked he had everything he needed in his pockets, hurrying to keep up. His mind was full of romantic candlelit dinners at fancy restaurants where you had to book months in advance, but that was going to have to be next year’s treat – there was no way they’d be able to get into one at such short notice. He’d have to start planning earlier, next time, to make sure he had a perfect reservation for his perfect date with his perfect girlfriend.

She’d probably punch him for using that word out loud, but he had a whole year to work on that, too.

For now, he’d settle for whatever he could get.

He took a step forward when they left the dorms, side by side with Katsuki on the footpath, and after a second of steeling his nerves, he reached for her. Nervous, scarred fingers wove themselves into hers, savouring the warm, soft skin they found waiting, and after a moment, she gripped him back.

“Only because you got me a good present, nerd,” she grumbled, blushing bright pink and making Izuku want desperately to kiss her all over her face.

“Okay,” he humoured her. “But I’m gonna do it again tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that, and-”

“Enough, I get the point,” she cut him off quickly. “Fine, whatever.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“So we can do this again, then?”

Izuku smiled as he asked, so bright that Katsuki thought she’d be blinded if she looked directly at him, and despite her embarrassment she squeezed his hand a little tighter.

“If you want,” she answered finally, making Izuku’s eyes shoot open wide. “I guess.”

“Thank you!” he grinned, ducking when she swiped at him for it. “I’ll make them the best dates ever, I promise, and then maybe you’ll finally let me call you my girlfriend.”

Katsuki didn’t answer for a second, and Izuku hesitated. Should he take the words back? Move on quickly to cover them up? Apologise?

“You can,” she said, shocking him so much that his feet stopped moving, rooting him to the path.

“I can?”

“Yeah.”

Izuku smiled again, a little softer this time, and took a step closer. Katsuki had to tilt her head back a little to meet his eyes, a new phenomenon caused by Izuku’s recent growth spurt, and he suspected she kind of liked it, the same way he did.

Girlfriend.

He liked the sound of that.

And while he couldn’t say for sure, knew she’d never admit to it out loud, he was pretty sure Katsuki liked the sound of it, too.