In the traditional spirit of New Year's Eve, UA's chefs whipped up soba for every class and served it into the evening, allowing Katsuki and his classmates to indulge in a ten o'clock snack. As usual, Kuri sat with him to dine together and immediately launched into a retrospective reflection on the past year. Though Katsuki appreciated remembering their best moments, he did not want to recall everything his dumb ass thought and did before they began dating.
One of the first things Kuri brought up in her grand list of events from the past twelve months was her small gift to him on Valentine's Day. He remembered her thoughtful gift of rice crackers to compensate for his distaste for sweets and told Kuri that this year, he'd give her something in return on White Day.
Katsuki neglected to bring it up, but memories of another incident that occurred around that time lurked in the back of his mind: Eijirou's slip-up. Katsuki still hadn't told Kuri that he had known about her crush since then. There was no reason to keep it a secret, but since they were dating, there was also no point in telling her he knew.
It might be better to just come clean, though…
Before Katsuki could decide to spill about something so irrelevant, Kuri pivoted to reminiscing about doing their first-year final practical exam. She poked fun at Katsuki for mistakenly thinking she would return to California before their second year started, but he tried to distract her by asking if she remembered when they competed together during the second round of the sports festival.
Somehow, his trick worked, and Kuri took the bait, but after she finished remarking on the fun of the three-legged race, she teased him for acting jealous when she won first place. Katsuki cringed and returned to eating, and Kuri slurped up more soba while barely suppressing giggles. Katsuki recalled his irritation at losing to Kuri, which now seemed immature because he won in life when she agreed to date him.
"Anyway, we both placed pretty high," Kuri said. "And, in the end, we went to the same place for our work study."
And, boy, was Katsuki lucky they'd both gone to Endeavor's—though "lucky" was probably not the proper word. If Katsuki recalled correctly, he only chose Endeavor Agency after Kuri told him she planned to go there.
"I'm glad we went there together," Katsuki said. He hesitated to continue the memory train past their arrival at Endeavor's place, knowing what came next was a touchy topic. Kuri had hardly spoken about the vigilantes or her tattoo since the whole debacle concluded, so Katsuki assumed bringing it up would make her uncomfortable.
The two munched on more noodles as they settled into a lull in their conversation. Katsuki glanced around at the other tables where their classmates chatted and ate. Now that he and Kuri were quiet, Katsuki caught pieces of other conversations nearby.
At the table beside them, Shoto suddenly rose from his seat, saying he could retrieve his large kotatsu from storage for everyone to share. He asked if anyone would help him transport it to the common area. A few people agreed and left with him to go find and set it up. Katsuki bet that Kuri would want to check that out later.
"Katsuki, do you ever think about how crazy that investigation was?" Kuri abruptly asked, drawing his attention back to her.
Katsuki blinked at her in astonishment. So, she was ready to talk about it after all…? He searched her face for any sign of disguised disquietude before he nodded.
"I never expected it to get personal for you," Katsuki muttered. If Kuri was willing to seriously look back on those days, he would walk through it with her.
"Tell me about it. Those two made life so annoying…" Kuri groaned, resting her chin on her propped-up hand. For a few moments, she somberly stared into her bowl, undoubtedly ruminating on the darkest parts of their investigation. Merely knowing she was thinking about those times brought unpleasant thoughts to Katsuki's mind, namely how he'd failed to keep Nana from harming Kuri. Before he could get lost in his troubling memories, Kuri looked back at him with bright eyes. "But, somehow, I scored my first kiss."
Alright, serious time over, I guess.
"And made me realize my feelings for you," Katsuki added, to his acute embarrassment. Kuri giggled at Katsuki shying from his own statement, then she grinned slyly as an idea came to mind.
"Remember the letter you gave me on my birthday?" she asked.
Katsuki rolled his eyes to stop himself from flusteredly glancing away.
"How could I forget…"
Since they began dating, Kuri made a joke of occasionally referencing a line from Katsuki's note where he said he was "irrevocably attached" to her. He didn't totally remember anything else he wrote to her, and he suspected Kuri didn't either, but she'd latched onto that one-liner and turned it into teasing fodder.
"That was quite a day to remember," she said.
"I don't think I'll forget your letter to me either," he said, referring to her tooth-achingly sweet Christmas card message. "You sure had a lot of words for your 'beloved boyfriend.'"
"Indeed," Kuri said in an over-the-top fashion. "Would you like to hear more sweet nothings, my dear?"
"Why, of course, darling," Katsuki unthinkingly replied, adopting the same fanciful inflection. Kuri and Katsuki held eye contact for a few tense moments, her brown eyes wide and unblinking before she cracked up in shocked laughter. Katsuki dropped his head into his hands and could feel his face grilling his palms with their heat. "God, that was so cringey to say."
"No, no, that was great!" Kuri insisted through giggles. "You kinda reminded me of Anri. Oh, man, I miss doing the play…"
"I don't think he'd say something so romantic," Katsuki muttered before he ate another mouthful of soba.
"He would if you consider your confession part of the play," Kuri said, wiggling her eyebrows. Katsuki swallowed and laid his chopsticks down again before sighing.
"I'm never going to live that down, am I?"
"Well, should I just forget that you asked me out?"
"Would that mean that I have to do it again?"
"I don't think a redo could be as fun as stealing the show from Tsu and Fumikage to tell me you love me and then kissing me in front of everyone."
"Hey, the kiss was mutual."
"And the only one we've shared since then."
"Right—wait, what?" Katsuki furrowed his brow and frantically looked at Kuri's strangely nonchalant expression.
"I realized when you kissed me on the head the other day that we've only kissed twice," Kuri said, holding up two fingers. "And one of those times was before we were even dating."
Katsuki's shoulders fell as he stared slack-jawed at his girlfriend, utter distress falling upon him like a storm. It hadn't been at the forefront of his mind, but since the beginning of their relationship, Katsuki had worried that he was disappointing Kuri with his awkwardness when it came to anything past basic eye contact. He barely managed to hold hands or hug without all the moisture in his body leaking out of his palms and coating his poor girlfriend in explosive sweat, so what would happen if they kissed?! Okay, he was exaggerating about the sweat, but Katsuki was still somewhat convinced that he'd die if he tried to kiss her. Even though he'd done it before. Twice.
"I…" Katsuki wasn't sure what he wanted to say. An apology for his profound awkwardness? A promise that he'd make it up to her? He had nothing meaningful to say, so Katsuki pressed his mouth back into a firm line and lowered his eyes. Kuri clocked his distress and quickly put her hand down, taking the judging number away from Katsuki's view.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to pressure you," she said, waving her hands as if desperately trying to backtrack. "It's fine if we take things slow. It doesn't bother me."
But it bothered Katsuki. He managed to kiss Kuri during the play—albeit from a rush of adrenaline, so why couldn't he get the guts to do it again? Kuri was his girlfriend whom he loved more than anything and definitely wanted to kiss, but damn was he unused to romance.
"It bothers me, though…" Katsuki admitted, the low volume of his voice betraying his reluctance to acknowledge such a thought. Katsuki idly stirred the contents of his bowl with his chopsticks, watching the remaining noodles he no longer had an appetite for twirl around in the broth as Kuri spoke up.
"Oh! If that's the case, I guess we should find the nearest opportunity," Kuri laughed. She tapped her index finger against her chin as she gazed at the ceiling, lost in thought. "Maybe we can kiss at midnight when the new year starts. If you're up for it."
Kuri gazed at him with imploring eyes as Katsuki considered her suggestion. It felt a bit soon, but an hour and a half to prepare was still something, wasn't it? Plus, a certain gleam in Kuri's smile told Katsuki she was eager for him to agree.
Before he could respond, however, Sero announced that Shoto's kotatsu was ready for use, and several of their classmates rushed over. This caught Kuri's attention, and she looked to the center of the commotion, distracted by the prospect of a nice, warm place to sit. She looked back at him, the shine in her eyes displaying her abject interest despite her seemingly neutral grin.
"Wanna go join them?" she asked. Katsuki smirked, finding it comical that his prediction was correct, and agreed.
They cleared their table and hurried to where the couches had been pushed aside to make room for the gigantic kotatsu. The table itself was small, but the futon was a vast sea of thick, dark blue fabric spreading across a generous nine square meters. Everyone interested in experiencing the family-size kotatsu gathered around and crammed themselves in one by one, and—miraculously—they all fit. Katsuki and Kuri sat next to each other, with Eijirou and Mina on either side of them.
For several minutes, Kuri chatted with Mina and Ochako about new year's resolutions while Katsuki listened to Eijirou and Denki drone on about random shit. More time passed, and eventually, the conversations wound down and Katsuki's classmates diverted their attention to the special new year's eve program on the TV.
Katsuki leaned his back against one of the couches that had been pushed outward to make room for the kotatsu, eyes half-closed from fatigue as he watched the television screen. The warmth of the kotatsu and the late night were getting to him.
Suddenly, he felt a weight press against his left shoulder and his eyes peeled open to investigate, even though he already knew what was there. He glanced to his side, where Kuri had scooted closer to rest her head on his shoulder. Luckily, Katsuki couldn't find it in himself to overreact, so he rested his head atop hers and drifted off into some sort of sleep, comforted by the murmuring of the television and the soft scent of laundry detergent emanating from the hoodie Kuri wore.
After an indiscernible amount of time, Kuri shifted beside him, stirring Katsuki from his sleep. He peeked his eyes open a sliver just in time to see Kuri's head land in his lap. He couldn't clearly see her eyes because her hood was pulled over her head, but her slow breathing indicated that she was likely asleep.
Katsuki fully expected himself to freak out at this, as his face flushed red from Kuri accidentally putting them into the most tropey situation ever. He closed his eyes again in disbelief, but as he stared at the back of his eyelids, it occurred to him that he wasn't all that embarrassed…? Sure, his girlfriend was using his lap as a pillow, but why was that a big deal?
They'd only been dating for about a month so far, but Katsuki noticed recently that his comfort zone had expanded since they got together. Maybe Kuri just had an effect on Katsuki that allowed him to accept these new things without his head exploding from the sudden rush of heat to it anytime something mildly flustered him. Not that he'd stopped blushing when Kuri teased him. Still, with that thought, Katsuki wondered if it was even such a daunting task to kiss Kuri, considering their levels of comfort already. He smiled, realizing it may not be so difficult after all.
Katsuki could never be glad enough that over the past months, Kuri so thoroughly inserted herself into his life. Katsuki considered that thought again, reflecting on every notable moment he had discussed with her just an hour or so before, and realized he was wrong.
She didn't force her way to him; he followed her. Hah. Katsuki from a year ago wouldn't have expected that revelation. But it's not like he could have predicted any of this. Katsuki just hoped that the upcoming year would be even better than the last and that he'd get to keep spending it with Kuri. He could ask for nothing more.
Someone lightly shook Kuri, easing her awake as they gently called her name. The tendrils of sleep slowly pulled away from her, and she started to register the sounds of people excitedly talking. As her senses adjusted to tune back into the world, Kuri noted that she was lying on her side with her legs still under the kotatsu. Her cheek was pressed up against the futon, resting on somebody's legs. Again, the voice spoke her name, and this time Kuri was cognizant enough to realize it was Katsuki.
"Kuri, wake up," he pleaded, patting her shoulder. "It's almost midnight."
Kuri finally stirred, her fist moving to rub her eyes.
"Huh? Already?" she asked groggily, rolling onto her back. She blinked open her eyes, squinting against the bright ceiling lights as she peered up at Katsuki's face.
"Yes, we have about a minute left," he said, smiling in relief. Kuri scanned the room as much as she could without changing her position, finding most of her classmates had left the kotatsu to anticipatorily roam the room.
"Woah, I nearly slept through the fun part," Kuri laughed. "Thanks for waking me up."
Kuri held a hand to her mouth as she yawned. Seems like the nap had only increased her exhaustion, but boy, was she glad she'd gotten the guts to lay her head on Katsuki's shoulder. That one move had helped her accidentally score a lap pillow. Sweet!
"Did you sleep well?"
"Yup, your lap was very comfortable," Kuri said with a smile. She sighed softly and shifted her lower body to straighten her twisted torso. "I felt a bit awkward earlier when I put my head on your shoulder, but after falling asleep on you, it doesn't seem like such a big deal."
They both chuckled at that, and Katsuki gently patted her head. Kuri raised her eyebrows, surprised and pleased at the sudden display of affection.
"I felt awkward too, but I kinda got over it," Katsuki said, shrugging one shoulder.
Kuri smiled. In the past year, she and Katsuki had gone from awkward pseudo-friends to… awkward partners. With context, it was crazy progress for them, but they needed to continue strengthening their bond. Kuri hoped that in the coming year, they'd both learn to be bold.
"Seems like even after all this time, we're still a bit shy," she giggled.
"We can't be shy forever," Katsuki smirked, gazing down at her with interest. A wide grin spread across Kuri's face.
"Then, should we kiss?" she immediately suggested, trying to make the most of Katsuki's sudden forwardness in the little time they had left.
"I was just about to ask."
Kuri pushed herself into a sitting position and swiveled to face Katsuki just as her classmates began counting down from ten. She lightly clasped her hands around her boyfriend's face with her hands and looked into his eyes.
"Thanks for letting me nap on you this year," Kuri beamed.
"Is that really how you're ending it?" Katsuki chuckled, raising an eyebrow. Kuri replied with only a grin and joined in with the chorus of her classmates as they chanted away the last three seconds of the year.
"Three, two, one!"
Their lips met as everyone around them cheered, celebrating another revolution of the Earth. After a second, Kuri pulled away and wrapped her arms around Katsuki's shoulders.
"Happy new year, Katsuki," she squealed. Katsuki lightly chuckled and returned her embrace, placing his hands on her back.
"Happy new year, Bunny."
Kuri rested her chin on his shoulder and smiled. She was glad she brought up the idea of kissing at midnight. Now that was kiss number three! But, really, who's counting? There was no need to keep track of such a thing as long as there were plenty more to come in the new year!
When Kuri and Katsuki ended their hug, and their friends came along to wish them a happy new year, Kuri enthusiastically exclaimed her only wish for the future—the goal that remained unchanged for her entire life.
"Everyone, let's have another fun year together!"
