Christmas Nail Polish

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"H-have you ever used nail polish before Kat- Katchuk- Katsoo-"

"Kacchan is fine."

"But," Eri looks down. "Deku already calls you that."

"That's because Deku's a dumba- err, a dummy.." Bakugou cringed mentally, realizing his mistake too late that Deku was Eri's biggest inspiration, and by the deep breath she took, she was going to go on a rant that he did not want to hear, defending her number one hero in her eyes. The same as Deku would have done if you told him All Might sucked. So he changed the subject.

"Uh, did you bring the sparkly polish?"

It must have worked as Bakugou watched her eyes glow so bright, it matched the star atop the Christmas tree. She pulled out her cat-themed pouch and spilled its contents on the couch between them.

Bakugou didn't want to be up any longer than he needed to be so, he went straight to work, them both having already discussed the colors she wanted.

It all started when Eri noticed Bakugou, clearly annoyed, shove a bag to a pink-haired classmate to find out it contained nail polishes of different colors. The girls noticed her curiosity and tested some on her and for the first time, Eri wore nail polish.

She liked the feeling of looking down at her nails and seeing them painted with color. Eri figured Bakugou was the "nail polish supplier" and asked if he could give her some and maybe paint some on her nails.

"Hah? What dya' you take me for," but he saw how surprised she looked looking at a bunch of girls paint their nails. "Don't tell me you like that shi- uh, stuff too."

"I've never tried it before so I-I'm not sure," she trailed off. Bakugou thought his next words carefully. If he agreed to paint her nails, he was afraid of this becoming a "thing" between them and she'd bother him to do it again. But the look on her face was... depressing. He heavily sighed.

"You want some?"

This leads them to where they are now, sitting in the dimly lit common room, the toy train circling the tree letting out small 'choos', filling the silence until one of them speaks.

"I like cats. They're soft." He hoped she wouldn't try to make small talk as he painted her ring finger with the green, sparkly polish. He then moved on to paint the rest of her nails with a bright red. He would've preferred if it were quiet as he now had to put half of his focus onto talking to her and painting her nails.

"Well, cats sure as hell don't like me." Eri let out a small giggle. Bakugou's not the type to pity someone just because of their background or where they came from, but with that in mind, he liked that he was able to make her laugh. The only time he's seen Eri smile, or Eri at all, was at the school concert they'd put on.

"Kat," Eri hesitantly tested out the nickname, looking up at Bakugou hoping it was ok. A shortened version of his name and reminded her of cats. He never looked back at her or stopped his movements, only wiping the excess nail polish around her cuticle off with a napkin and raising his eyebrows, signaling her to keep talking.

"Are you going to do your nails?" That got him to stop. Eri's soft smile fell from her face. She'd finally ticked him off. She wondered how long it would take until she struck a nerve and immediately regretted asking. She knew she should've asked Deku...

Bakugou flexed his fingers. "What color do you think goes well with my complexion?"

Perking back up, Eri searched through the assortment of kiddy nail polish colors and couldn't find a perfect pair to paint his nails with. Bakugou noticed this and suggested they wear the same color to which she agreed.

The rest of the night was spent talking over the little events that go on in each other's lives, Bakugou bragging and exaggerating certain events he did better than Deku in. He could tell Eri was getting more comfortable with him when she would gently order him around saying 'Napkin' or 'Don't move' so she could easily paint his nails without ruining hers.

Unlike Eri's nails, Bakugou's weren't perfect, some painted anywhere else but his nail. He chose to keep quiet.

Neither of them stay up this late, their bedtimes ranging around the same time. So it's not a surprise when they struggle to keep their eyes open, the fireplace bringing warmth and a source of light, the atmosphere enveloping them like a warm blanket.

"Kat," she mumbles half-asleep.

"What?"

"Thank you for painting my nails for Christmas." She slurred before shutting her eyes, going into a deep slumber.

"Mhm," he said back, too tired to respond with words, his nails half finished. Before he drifted himself to sleep, he put away the nail polishes and put the napkins stained with dry polish in one pile to throw away later.

'I'll just rest my eyes for a bit, then go upstairs.'

He never went upstairs, submitting to the relaxing environment, falling into a deep sleep on that Christmas Eve night.

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