Momo had been looking forward to Christmas this year.
With the class of 2-A gathered in the dorms, they had all gotten into the festive spirit this year. Gifts for each other were wrapped and placed under the Christmas tree, festive decorations hung from the walls and her classmates were wandering around dressed in the red and green of Father Christmas and his elves.
This year, nothing was going to go wrong. The villains that had been active last year had been apprehended. Izuku was with Shouto, somewhere. The staff were partaking in the festive celebrations, Aizawa-sensei included.
Momo smiled to herself as she watched Mezou-kun and Asui-san work together to replace the star on the tree Kirishima had accidentally knocked off. Nothing could go wrong this Christmas. Nothing at all.
"Momo."
She turned to find Shouto staring at her with a peculiar expression on her face. "Shouto! Merry Christmas. Do you know where Izuku's gone? I think Uraraka-san was trying to find him."
"He is in my room. But we need your help."
Momo schooled her face into a curious look as she started to worry about what could have possibly happened to Izuku in the time between the end of class and now. "Is something wrong?"
"Yes. But I think Izuku will explain it better."
The elevator ride to the fifth floor gave Momo plenty of time to worry. Had he been injured? Had he been trying to test Shouto's Quirk and gotten injured that way? Was Izuku's mom coming to visit? Momo adored Inko Midoriya, but she couldn't understand why it would be a cause for concern for Shouto.
They'd met her at the start of their second year. She'd thanked them profusely for making Izuku so happy, even if she didn't quite understand that Izuku was dating the both of them. But she wasn't scary. So what did they need her help with?
The elevator doors opened. Momo walked as fast as her legs would carry her into Shouto's room, pushing the door open without any preamble or warning.
"Momo!" Izuku spun around after she barged in, clearly trying to hide the board behind him. "Hi! I told Shouto that we could handle it, I don't know why he brought you here..."
"You said that her Quirk was versatile enough to help. So if she helps us with this, then we can do it without too much-"
"-infrastructure damage, Shouto." Izuku finished, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. Momo fixed him with a concerned look. "But that was only if we used Shouto's Quirk!"
"If Momo made us a net, then we don't need to freeze them. You won't need to tackle them with your Quirk, either."
It was the matter of fact way Shouto said it that finally prompted Momo to speak. "This sounds like you're trying to capture someone. If you need my help, then I need to know what I'm helping with."
"Well, we are trying to capture someone, but we don't know if they are real, so I wanted to watch for him this year and then capture him next year…" Izuku nervously chuckled and drifted off into mumbling about Shouto, a conspiracy theory, something involving Bakugou and a net, presents-
Shouto interrupted him. "The others mentioned last year that on the night of Christmas Eve, Father Christmas will come and deliver presents. I thought it was a joke and didn't question it, but Izuku thinks he's real."
The pieces clicked together in Momo's head. Her instinct was to point out, rationally, that Father Christmas didn't exist and that their presents were already under the tree. There was no need to stay up and try to capture Father Christmas, especially given they would probably end up mistaking someone else for him and get a detention.
But Momo knew Father Christmas was real. She'd met him a few times as a child. She also knew that if she left her boys to their own devices tonight, Father Christmas would get caught by them, they'd tell the others and then he'd have to take the presents they'd already bought the others. She loved them too much to let their curiosity ruin their Christmas.
So instead, she sighed and covered her eyes with a hand. "You're planning to try and capture Father Christmas?"
"Yes."
"No."
From between her fingers, she caught the boys looking and pointing at each other. Izuku spoke first. "We're not going to capture him. We just want to see if he's real, Momo."
"If he is sneaking into the dorms, then he could be a danger. If we capture him, we can find out his motivation." Shouto honestly looked so worried about the jolly fat man that it made Momo's heart melt slightly.
Nevertheless, she felt the need to state the obvious. "Shouto, he's coming to the dorms to deliver presents. That is all he does."
"What if that isn't all he does?" Shouto's face lit up in realisation. "What if it's Himiko Toga, disguised as Father Christmas, and she's here for revenge?"
Izuku's eyes lit up in the way where he'd also just come to a realisation. Usually, it made Momo's heart soar. Now, it just made it sink. "Shouto's right. What if it is her?"
"She's in Tartarus!" Momo lowered her hand and shook her head. "I think you're overthinking this. He's done it every year. No one's ever caught him-"
"Then we'll be the first!" Izuku fixed Momo with the pleading puppy look. "Please, Momo? I don't want Shouto to do it on his own."
"If Momo doesn't want to do it, then we could ask the girl from Support for help-"
"I'll help." Momo paled at the thought of Hatsume-san trying to capture Father Christmas. "I will help, but you must not tell Hatsume-san what we are doing, I don't think Ida-kun would take kindly to any more of her inventions in the dorm."
"Alright." Shouto smiled, that warm smile that never failed to make her heart flutter. "Thank you, Momo."
It was when everyone else had gone to bed that the three moved with their plan.
Momo's plan of "pretend we're asleep, then grab Father Christmas" was rejected by Izuku because they might actually fall asleep. Momo herself had rejected Shouto's suggestion of using his Quirks to keep them awake, as that would risk setting something on fire, not to mention potential frostbite or Shouto himself getting exhausted.
Izuku's plan of them all drinking tea to wake them up was also rejected. The only tea they had was meant to help people sleep. She'd refused to make any that would, lying through her teeth that she didn't know the formula to make it.
(She was mildly saddened at how easily they bought that excuse. They trusted her so much, yet here she was, lying to them to try and preserve the wonder and mystery of Christmas for everyone else. She knew they just wanted to keep everyone safe. It just made the guilt in her stomach churn harder.)
Instead, they all took an early nap. Once the others were asleep, Midoriya woke them all up and they made their way down the stairs to be greeted by an empty living room. Not a soul was up on this wondrous night.
Well, aside from them. But she was sure he would understand.
Izuku and Shouto sat down on one of the couches, taking advantage of the rare opportunity to snuggle up together. Momo waited for them to settle, smiled a little at how Izuku's head was resting on Shouto's chest, before walking behind the couch.
"I'm just going to make the net," she explained. A murmur from Shouto's direction told her they'd heard her. She stepped into the kitchen and began pulling the net out from her stomach, shivering at the chilly air that stung against her skin.
Momo's own plan, upon realising her original plan was wholly unnecessary, had been simple. She produced the net they asked for, gathering it all together and placing it by her feet when it was finished. Then from her forearm, a pair of little matryoshka dolls popped out. Intended for entertainment purposes only, rather than the plethora of other dolls she used.
"There is the net." Momo passed it over the couch to them. "These should keep you awake," she said as she passed over the dolls to them. The sound of the dolls being unscrewed and opened quietly echoed around the room as she made her way over to sit with them.
Shouto and Izuku shifted up to let her sit down. She caught Shouto looking at her cautiously, almost awaiting permission to cuddle up to her. As soon as she nodded, he moved up and rested his head on her shoulder, moving his arm so that Izuku could also get comfortable while they waited together. She wrapped an arm around him and smiled down at Izuku, who'd taken the chance to lie across both their laps. She got a blushing smile back.
Satisfied that her boys were comfortable, Momo settled down to wait. The cold chill faded away as she got used to the warmth from having them both there. It was silly, truly. Staying up to catch Father Christmas on the basis that he might be Himiko Toga would be as good as reason as any. But Shouto had forgotten the stringent security she was kept under to ensure nothing of the sort could happen.
Besides, Father Christmas didn't visit Tartarus. Naughty people and all of that. But it was too late to point that out now, and Momo was quite comfortable spending time with Shouto and Izuku like this.
It was about an hour later, or so she thought, that something actually happened. Both Izuku and Shouto had dozed off if their light snores were anything to go by. They didn't see the first flakes of snow land on the carpet by the window.
Momo went still. She had her excuse for when he appeared, but how was he going to react to Shouto and Izuku? They'd learn the secret if they woke up. More snowflakes landed next to the window and despite herself, she shivered.
He was here.
A cloud of snowflakes formed inside the room by the window and transformed into a rather chubby man in a traditional Father Christmas outfit. The man looked over at her, eyes twinkling in recognition.
"Young Yaoyorozu." Father Christmas stepped toward a couple of paces, looking at the guys she was sitting with. "I believe they must be the boys your father tells me about?" he asked, voice low to avoid disturbing them.
"They are." Momo looked away from him for a moment to gaze at Izuku's slumbering face. He looked far more at peace and relaxed than he ever did when he was awake. "They were worried you would not be who you claimed to be." Despite that he did not react to her explanation, she found herself explaining it anyway. "We faced a villain last year who could turn into other-"
"It is quite alright, Young Yaoyorozu." Father Christmas held a hand up to stop her explanation. "You have done well to hold my secret. But I understand. After a frightening experience, many come to doubt the actions of someone such as I. If they can keep the secret from the others, then I will allay their fears happily."
Her boys could keep a secret like this. Izuku had hidden the truth from them for almost a year about his Quirk. Shouto had managed to plan a birthday party for her with Izuku's help with her none the wiser. They could keep a secret like this, surely.
Momo nodded in understanding. First, she jostled Izuku slightly to make him start to stir. Then, she started to poke Shouto's nose, smiling gleefully as he grumbled and woke up too.
Then everything happened at once.
Shouto felt the presence of Father Christmas next to him. Before his eyes were even open he'd shot to his feet, frost gathering in his hand with his other arm reaching below him for the net Momo had given him. But the net, and Izuku, were no longer on the couch.
Izuku, who'd been flung off the couch by Shouto's movement, powered up his Quirk in panic and shot into the net he'd pulled down with him. Before Momo or Shouto could help, he got himself tangled up in the net and ended up knocking Shouto down while rolling around.
It was a miracle neither of them had screamed.
"Izuku!" Momo slid off the couch gracefully and grabbed onto him, whispering in what she hoped was a calming tone of voice. "It's alright. Stop. Calm down. Izuku? It's me, please calm down!"
Izuku stopped moving, gazing up at Momo with wide, panicked eyes. "Momo? What happened to me?"
"You fell off the couch after Shouto woke up." Momo helped her boys to their feet. Shouto took one arm and she took the other and pulled the net off of Izuku, freeing him. "I should have warned you that might happen."
"I am sorry, Izuku." Shouto started inspecting his boyfriend for any injuries. "I thought I heard someone."
"Who? Father Christmas?" Izuku's face warped into an expression described as manic glee, followed by fear. "Is it her? Is it Toga-san?"
"Himiko Toga remains in Tartatus. I was informed she was not to receive any presents this year, which is truly a shame." Father Christmas held out a hand to the trio as they turned to face him. "Young Midoriya. I do understand if you are cautious of me, but allow me to provide proof of my existence."
The palm of his hand glowed, and something grew from his skin and sat upon his hand, wrapped in a small blue box with a ribbon on top.
"A present. From me to you, young Midoriya. I believe it is something you wanted for a long time." As Izuku took the present from his hand, a second one popped out after it. "One for young Todoroki as well."
Shouto took his present cautiously, deftly opening the box to pull out a small music box. The tinkling notes of All Might's theme from his old TV show filled the living room as Izuku opened his. "I thought they stopped making these years ago…"
"They did." Shouto eyed his music box as he prised it open, the notes from his joining with Izuku's music box. "Thank you. Izuku will thank you when he stops crying."
"I am not crying!" Izuku hissed as he wiped at his eyes. "The cold is just hurting my eyes."
"There is no need to thank me. Bringing joy to all is what I do." Father Christmas held a finger to his lips. "But do not tell the others. Let them decide if they believe in me or not." Humming an old Christmas song to himself, the jolly giant turned away from them and walked over to their Christmas tree.
"Wow." Izuku turned around to look at Momo. "So he is real. And he isn't Toga-san."
"She is still in Tartarus. That's good." Momo looked over at Shouto, who was staring at her with such intensity that she took a step back. "Shouto? Are you alright?"
Shouto looked down at his music box, then back up at Momo. "His Quirk was just like yours. He produced this from his body."
"...wait." Izuku started looking between his own music box and Shouto's music box. "He did. It came out of his hand." Now he gave Momo a curious look. "Maybe it works like Momo's does?"
"Or Father Christmas is Momo's grandfather."
Momo started choking on nothing. Which was really convenient given she needed an excuse to get out of this conversation. "What? No. A-Anyway, we have solved the mystery of who Father Christmas is, let us return to our rooms for the night. G-Goodnight!"
There was no dignity in how she ran for the stairs as quietly as she could.
Author's Note: I'm not gonna lie, idk if their characterisations make sense. Lemme know what you thought, but I apologise if this wasn't as strong as the last fic.