𝒞𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓈𝓉𝓂𝒶𝓈 𝒜𝓁𝑜𝓃𝑒 | 𝒜 𝒯𝑜𝒹𝑜𝐵𝒶𝓀𝓊 𝒮𝓉𝑜𝓇𝓎 |

| Chapter 23 |

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Christmas Eve morning Katsuki woke up to a warm embrace. He felt the warmth of not only the many blankets covering him but also of his sweet boyfriend. He yawned and looked up at Todoroki. He looked so peaceful sleeping. There was no tension on his face. No tiredness or sadness. He looked...stoic, beautiful even. The sheer curtains in the common room letting a bit of the morning sun into the room. He moved a bit and felt his boyfriend's grip on him tighten.

Pressing a small kiss on the dual-haired male's lips, he feels the grip on him loosen, and he takes his opportunity to get out of the grasp. He quietly let his feet touch the floor and continued to the kitchen. The coldness of the floor seeping through his fluffy socks and freezing his toes. He was still half asleep, but he knew where to get his coffee. "Oh hey, Bakugo," Kaminari said with a yawn. Bakugo, not noticing the electric blonde yet, says hi back in a kind manner and then takes a sip of his coffee.

"Holy crap, you said hi back. And it was nice." Kaminari gasped. "What the-goddamn Kaminari," Bakugo said, feeling his heart jump out of his chest. "Did I scare you? Sorry didn't mean to." he apologized and took a sip of his warm hot cocoa in his hands. "What're you doing up so fucking early?" Bakugo questioned. "I could ask the same thing." Kaminari shot back. Taking another sip of his coffee, he sets down the mug and looks at the electric blonde before sighing and saying, "Couldn't fall back asleep."

"Is that all? If you don't wanna talk about it, you don't have to. I'm not gonna force it outta ya, bro." Kaminari said, walking over to the pantry and getting a pop tart out. "....it was just about my mom. That's all. Also, put the damn pop tart back. I'm making cinnamon roll s this morning." Bakugo responded. "Alrighty. I'm not gonna push you. I gotta go back up before they think I'm missing. See ya later, Bakugo." Kaminari told the male before heading off to his two boyfriends'.

Bakugo sighed and felt two arms wrap around his waist. His breath hitching, and his eyes going wide in panic before the familiar scent of pine and rain-filled his nostrils. Feeling a small kiss on his neck, he smiles and turns around in the dual haired male's arms. "Good morning to you too," he said, leaning in to kiss the taller boy. They kissed for a couple of seconds before pulling apart and hugging each other. "Merry Christmas eve, Katsuki," Shoto whispered. "...merry Christmas eve, Sho," Katsuki whispered back.

"What do you wanna do today?" Shoto asked, pouring himself a cup of coffee. "I don't know. We could go see my mom today if you want. I need to go get more flowers anyway." Katsuki replied. "It's eight right now. We could make breakfast for the rest and go do our own things." Shoto said. The energy in the room felt quite different to Shoto. To him, Bakugo's vibe, as they call it, felt quieter. Shy...shutting down. "Hey, are you okay?" Shoto asked the shorter boy. There wasn't much to say other than the three words Katsuki's been saying to himself for eight years now.

"I miss her..." he whispered, feeling his eyes sting. "I know you do..." Shoto said softly. His arms wrapped around the younger and held him close. "It's so....lonely without her...here," he whispered. Shoto could feel tears seep into his shirt, and he felt the hurt Katsuki was going through.

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A few of the students came down and stopped when they saw Shoto and Katsuki holding each other in the kitchen. "Mina, why are we waiting?" Ochaco asked her girlfriend. "Look at them. It looks like they're having a moment, and there's no need to ruin it," she told her. "Oh...okay. Can we go sit on the couch?" she asked. "Sure, go ahead and sit down with Kam-Kam alright, love?" Mina said softly. She moved Ochaco's bangs behind her ear and kissed her forehead.

Mina didn't know much about Katsuki's personal life. All she knew was that his mom wasn't in his life and his dad pretty much alienated the ash blonde. She doesn't know the exact reason, though. So it was hard to understand the situation. Granted, her dad left her and her mom when she was only about five, so she understands that point of it. Walking into the kitchen, she slowly and quietly goes to the two and gently puts a hand on Katsuki's shoulder.

Katsuki looked to his side and wiped his tears away. Mina really only had female role models in her life. Most of those females were her mom's best friends, her aunt, older cousins, her mom, of course, along with her older sisters. So whenever she felt like one of the people she cared about was hurting or hiding something, she always found a way to help. She sort of became one of the many parental figures in the class.

She had this maternal side to her despite her never actually having a child of her own. "Hey...why don't you and Todoroki go and snuggle? We have cinnamon rolls in the fridge that I can make. They're prepackaged, but the group won't know. I promise. You deserve a break, Bakugo. Go enjoy your time with him." Mina said lightly. "Wha-but what about-" Bakugo began but was stopped by his friend. "Nope. You deserve it. Now go and be with her." she whispered. Bakugo didn't know what she meant by 'her,' but he nodded and intertwined his fingers with Todoroki's.

"Take good care of him, Todoroki," she said. The dual haired male nodded and gently smiled at the pink-haired girl.

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About an hour later, the two decided that they wanted to go and take a walk. Shoto didn't know where to, but he had a feeling Bakugo did. So he let him lead the way to wherever it was they were going. They began walking, and as they walked, they could hear the speakers in the park playing some Christmas music. Snow crunched beneath their feet as they walked, and the cold wind bit at their nose and ears.

They stopped at their first stop.

A flower shop.

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Hey, everyone, sorry for not posting once more! I was sick, and my body was telling me to rest. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. We're almost to the end of the book! Thank you for sticking by me as I wrote these chapters. I know they're not much, but I hope you all enjoy them. Merry Christmas Eve, everyone! Happy holidays and I love you all. I hope you're having a wonderful morning, afternoon, night wherever you are when you're reading this.

Stay safe and be careful out there!