Starry-Eyed

Izuku grinned sheepishly as he pushed open the door to the dorms, finding all but a few of their classmates gathered together, dressed up all nice in pretty yukata. Most of the guys were in plain, dark colours, with maybe a few simple patterns thrown in for variety, but the girls were in an array of bright colours and patterns and flowers that delighted Izuku to see. He stopped for a minute, setting down his prize to hug Uraraka and Tsuyu briefly, telling them how pretty they looked, but still everyone looked pointedly at his new treasure.

“Decorating for the holiday?” Iida asked. “That’s very festive of you.”

“It’s for Kacchan!” Izuku explained, beaming. “It’s his favourite holiday so I don’t want him to miss it entirely!”

He’d managed to hunt down a perfect bamboo branch for sale, with a nice little curve and plenty of leaves, perfect for hanging their tanzaku from. He’d carried it all the way home like the most precious thing in the world, careful not to damage a single leaf, ready to set up at Katsuki’s bedside and make him smile.

Katsuki had only been stuck in bed for a couple of days, but Izuku knew it was already grating on him. He’d been given permission to walk, slowly, to the bathroom, to use the toilet on his own, but other than that, he was supposed to remain horizontal. It was slowly killing him, Izuku was pretty sure, but soon enough, Katsuki would be fully healed, hopefully before it destroyed him too much.

“We’re gonna make our wishes together,” Izuku explained, when no one said a word. “It won’t be quite the same, but we’ll have a good time!”

Still silent, Yaoyorozu picked up a long strip of orange paper, kneeling down to write on it in her prettiest handwriting. When she tied it to Izuku’s branch, he caught a glimpse of Bakugou’s name, exchanging a smile with her when she took a step back.

“Me too!” Kirishima insisted, snatching a piece of paper. “Wait for me!”

One by one, Izuku’s classmates wrote out a wish each and tied them to his branch, decorating it with flowing strips of colour all dangling in the leaves. He could feel himself tearing up as the last one went on, and he nodded firmly, picking it up again with a reverence usually saved for the special-edition All Might poster he’d gotten from Sir Nighteye.

“Thanks, guys,” he said, swallowing hard. “It’ll make him really happy.”

“I never knew he liked Tanabata so much,” Kaminari mused. “It doesn’t seem like his style, too happy and colourful.”

“Well it’s about stars, and Kacchan loves stars!”

“He does?”

“Yeah! And anything to do with space, really. If you go somewhere really dark he can show you all the constellations and things, it’s super cool!”

“Maybe next training camp we can find a spot,” Ashido suggested. “He can show off all his nerd-knowledge to everyone!”

“Don’t be silly, he’d never let us see him nerd out like that!” Kirishima laughed.

“I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t be able to resist,” Izuku said, smiling fondly. “You could just say ‘what’s that bright star?’ or ‘where’s the big dipper?’ and he’d go on for hours.”

“Noted!” Ashido grinned. “I hope you guys have a good night, sorry you can’t make it out with us.”

“Thanks! I’m sure it’ll be great, you guys have fun!”

With his decorated branch in hand, he hurried up to Katsuki’s floor, the excitement building within him with every step he took. He burst in Katsuki’s door triumphantly, immediately replaced with guilt when he saw Katsuki jump, and wince, but he tried not to show it on his face lest he be accused of pity.

“Happy Tanabata!” he said cheerfully, wedging the branch in behind Katsuki’s bed, so it would hang over him. “I know it’s not the same, but I didn’t want you to miss out!”

“What’re all these? You asking for a shit-ton of wishes, nerd?”

“Nope! All our classmates wanted to give you theirs.”

Katsuki reached up to touch one, rolling his eyes when he saw the words.

“I wish for Bakugou’s back to get better soon,” he read aloud. “Sappy as fuck.”

“Aww, that’s so cute!”

Katsuki reached to another one, his eyes widening a little when he went to a third, and a fourth.

“What?” Izuku asked, leaning over to read. “Why are you- oh.”

Every single tanzaku on the tree held almost the same words, and if Izuku hadn’t seen them writing them, he would have thought it was planned. One by one, they’d all wished for Katsuki’s health, for him to get back on his feet and join them in class again soon. It wasn’t the same without him, admittedly – although Izuku was a little biased.

“We have such cool friends,” Izuku said, smiling softly.

“They all picked red or orange ones.”

Izuku blinked at him, but as he looked over the pieces of paper again, he chuckled to himself. Sure enough, they’d all picked Katsuki’s favourite colours for him, traditions be damned. Katsuki smiled to himself, and Izuku wasn’t even sure if he’d realised he was doing it, but Izuku leaned down and kissed him for it all the same.

“Come sit with me?” Katsuki requested.

“One second!”

He opened Katsuki’s closet, digging into a box to find what he wanted, and Katsuki snorted when he saw the projector in Izuku’s hands. He hardly ever used the thing, hadn’t since he was a kid, but Izuku plugged it in for him then, letting it fill the ceiling and the walls with little pinpricks of light.

“There, perfect!” Izuku said, moving to sit beside Katsuki’s bed.

“Up here, dumbass,” Katsuki insisted. “Want me to move over?”

“Don’t you dare.”

Izuku slowly and carefully crawled up from the end of the bed, doing his best not to jostle Katsuki in the process, and squeezed in beside him on the mattress. The beds really weren’t designed for two muscular teenage dudes, but they made it work, just like always, and linked their fingers together comfortably in between.

“How are you feeling?” Izuku asked. “You must be bored by now.”

“I ran out of books.”

“I’ll bring you something new tomorrow,” Izuku answered, without hesitation. “Any preference?”

“Something long.”

“I’ll do my best,” Izuku said with a chuckle. “Have you been able to sit up much?”

“Yeah, been sitting up to eat and stuff, it’s fine if I have something to lean on.”

“That’s good!”

Izuku lifted their linked hands, bringing them closer, and kissing Katsuki’s hand lightly. Katsuki blushed despite himself, and Izuku grinned, rolling over to look at his cute face.

“I brought paper, too,” Izuku said. “We can make our wishes, and we can do some origami. Do you want to sit up or stay lying down?”

“I can sit, I’ve been lying down all day.”

“Want a hand?”

Katsuki hesitated, but conceded a nod, and Izuku’s heart soared. It wasn’t often that Katsuki allowed anyone to help him, and Izuku was thrilled to know that Katsuki trusted him enough to let him help, to let himself be a little vulnerable on occasion.

Izuku moved the pillows first, propping plenty of them against the headboard, then gently helped to push Katsuki’s torso up, letting him scoot backwards to lean on the pillows comfortably.

“I feel like an old man,” Katsuki grumbled. “Only elderly shitheads are meant to have sore backs.”

“You were fighting a villain,” Izuku reminded him flatly. “It’s not the same thing.”

Katsuki huffed, but he didn’t argue, and Izuku reached for the stack of coloured paper he’d brought with him. Katsuki grabbed a hard-backed book from the shelf behind them, resting his paper on it to write carefully, then offered it to Izuku to do the same.

“Keep Kacchan safe and healthy!” Izuku wrote, in his best handwriting. Then, as an after-thought, he added: “And always bring him home to me!”

He tied the string to his tanzaku, reaching up to the branch dangling above them, and together they tied their wishes, side by side, watching them flutter lightly in the faint breeze of Katsuki’s air conditioner.

Katsuki picked up a square of origami paper next, and Izuku set to work tearing one into long, thin strips, carefully folding and wrapping each one to make tiny paper stars. Each time he finished one, he tossed it at Katsuki lightly, pleased to get chuckles or faint huffs for each one, rather than actual complaints. Soon the bed was loaded with them, the pair sitting in their own little galaxy, and Izuku smiled to himself as he leaned his cheek on Katsuki’s shoulder gently.

“Rarr,” Katsuki said, plonking a green, paper dinosaur on Izuku’s thigh. “The traditional Tanabata T-Rex.”

“Oh my gosh, Kacchan!” Izuku gasped, holding it in his cupped hands to admire it. “He’s so cute, I love him! Where did you learn this?!”

“Dunno, I was a kid. My old man, probably. He used to make birds sometimes.”

“Like cranes?”

“No, all sorts of different birds.”

“I never knew! You’ll have to show me, some time.”

“There’s usually one on my bed when I visit home,” he said. “He leaves me some snacks or whatever and a bird when he makes my bed for me.”

“Aww, I love your dad!”

“He likes you as well, but you know that.”

“And so do you, right?”

Katsuki snorted at him, shoving him lightly, but conceded a nod all the same.

“Yeah,” he admitted. “Against my better judgment.”

“Rude!” Izuku laughed. “I like you too, Kacchan.”

“Sap.”

Despite the half-hearted complaints, Katsuki didn’t stop Izuku from snuggling into his side when they lay down again, looking up at the stars on the roof as they just talked quietly and enjoyed each other’s company.

Katsuki was almost asleep when the footsteps in the hallway snapped him back to attention, his head lifting just in time to see his bedroom door slam open.

“Food!” Ashido said loudly, her arms wrapped around a big cardboard box. “You’re allowed to sit, right? Here!”

She set the box down on the end of the bed, then started adjusting pillows, getting an appreciative grin from Izuku when she held out her hands to pull him up. Katsuki just glared at her, and Izuku slid a hand under his back without a word, helping push him up without having to accept Ashido’s help. The moment he’d shuffled into place, she put the box in his lap, and Izuku felt himself tearing up again when he looked down at the still-steaming contents.

“Takoyaki, yakitori, yakisoba,” she listed off, as Izuku breathed in the delicious smells. “Okonomiyaki – that might be a little cold, sorry, there was a wait at some of the stalls – and sakubei! All your favourites, as far as I could remember – I skipped the candy-coated bananas, I know your thoughts on them.”

“Thank you.”

Ashido clamped her mouth shut to keep the words at bay, but Izuku saw the way she blinked a few times, holding her breath to fight the tears back. Izuku wouldn’t have been surprised to find out she’d never heard those words from Katsuki before, in all the time they’d been classmates, and Ashido wasn’t going to risk making Katsuki take them back stubbornly.

“Eat up,” she said finally, when she’d regained her composure. “Share with your boyfriend, too, since he stayed with you.”

“Like hell,” Katsuki huffed, offering Izuku the first takoyaki ball all the same. “It’s my food.”

“Thanks, Kacchan,” Izuku laughed, accepting the offer. “My favourite.”

He leaned in again, and together they shared the food their friends had provided for them, listening to Ashido tell them about all the carnival games they’d played, the dancers they’d seen, the people they’d crossed paths with, and the food they’d munched on, before they’d split off to different stalls to bring back Katsuki’s and Izuku’s shares.

“Ah-hah!” Ashido said brightly, when they heard noises outside. “I’m gonna borrow your balcony for a second!”

She didn’t wait for an answer, just squeezed past his desk and bed to open the door, reaching out over the edge to catch something large. Izuku craned his neck to see, but then Ashido was calling them out anyway, and with a little huff, Katsuki turned around to drop his feet off the mattress.

“Let me help,” Izuku insisted, not giving him a chance to protest. “Here, I’ve got you.”

He wrapped an arm around Katsuki’s waist and gently raised him to his feet, pausing to make sure he wasn’t in too much pain, before he let Katsuki walk ahead of him to the door. Sitting on his little balcony was a familiar beanbag, and Ashido ushered him into it, making sure he was comfortable before she squeezed back through to make room for Izuku. Izuku gave her a questioning look, but she just grinned at him, hurrying off down the corridor.

Down below their balconies, a group of their classmates had gathered, and Izuku leaned over the railing to take a look. Kaminari and Sero seemed to be leading the charge, with Kirishima rushing back and forth to help them set something up, and Izuku smiled fondly when he sat down beside Katsuki’s beanbag.

“What’re the idiots up to now?” he asked.

“I’m not sure,” Izuku said. “But I’m guessing they wanted it to be special for you, since you missed the festival.”

“It’s just a festival.”

“But it’s your favourite one,” Izuku said, pouting. “If you keep being good and resting, maybe you’ll be better in a couple of weeks, and we can find some excuse to sneak off to Sendai for the big one.”

“That’d be cool,” Katsuki admitted. “But it’s no big deal, I’ll cope.”

“I know you will,” Izuku assured him. “But that doesn’t mean we don’t want to do nice things for you, you know? It makes us happy, too.”

Katsuki just grumbled wordlessly, any thought of actual complaint quickly cut off by Kaminari’s voice, yelling into the night.

“Fuse lit!” he called, and everything instantly fell into place in Izuku’s mind.

With a loud pop, a rocket shot into the sky, bursting into colourful sparks above their head. One by one, blooms of light were set off from below, and Izuku reached for Katsuki’s hand again as they watched.

“I know it’s not as good!” Sero yelled from below. “But you couldn’t finish the night without fireworks!”

Katsuki cracked a smile, hidden from everyone but Izuku at his side, and Izuku laughed as he squeezed Katsuki’s hand.

“They’re perfect!” he called back. “Thank you, guys!”

“Time for the big finale!”

A little woosh below made Izuku look down, laughing when he saw the quick burst of fire that was lighting a bunch of fuses from a safe distance. He hadn’t known Todoroki had been roped in, but he wasn’t really surprised – in his own quiet way, he always wanted to do things for his friends.

In near-perfect sync, the last rush of fireworks went off, lighting up the sky with all sorts of colours and shapes and sizes, and as amazing as it all was, Izuku found himself looking at Katsuki, instead. The colours danced on his skin, eyes sparkling as they reflected the lights back, and the little smile on his face might have been the sweetest, most beautiful thing Izuku had ever seen in his life.

“I love you,” Izuku said softly.

Katsuki’s eyes darted his way, his face flooding with colour, and after a long, tense moment, his lips moved.

“I love you too,” he whispered.

With the last sparkles falling from above, and their friends cheering from below, Izuku pressed a kiss to Katsuki’s lips.

Maybe Tanabata was his favourite holiday, too.