deck the halls (with boughs and classmates)
@bnhagensecretsanta fic for @kimberlyillumise! Apologies for the lateness, and Happy Holidays - hope you enjoy, and I wish you the best in the coming year!
inspired by Horikoshiâs Christmas sketch!
âOkay, you guys,â Mina said, leaning in, âFocus. This is serious business.â
If the fuzzy red and green antlers perched atop her curly pink hair belied the severity of her statement at all, the effect was offset by the nearly maniacal look in her glittering black eyes. âIs everybody ready? Todoroki, you understand how to play?â
He nodded seriously back at her.
âShoji, you picked which single pair of hands youâre using?â
Another nod, this one much more sheepish.
âAnd we figured out how to let Kouda sign without breaking the circle, good â oh, and Bakugou? Dearest Bakubuddy? Kiriâs hand may be burn resistant, but if you set off so much as a spark I will drown you in acid.â
Bakugou scoffed. âShut up and get on with it, Racoon Eyes.â Nevertheless, he scrubbed his hand roughly over his shirt to get rid of any sweat before slipping it back over Kirishimaâs.
Mina glanced around the group one more time. Her classmates were all sitting cross-legged in a lopsided circle, squashed and stretched from where theyâd moved a recalcitrant Bakugou three times to keep him from setting off explosions when he clapped his hand against someone elseâs. One more check to ensure that each person had their right hand resting atop their neighborâs left, and it looked like they were finally ready. She took a deep breath and began to chant.
âThis is a game of Con-cen-tra-tion, no repeats or hes-i-ta-tion, category is⊠wintery holiday stuff!â
Bakugou rumbled discontentedly on her right. Uraraka, sitting directly to her left, pumped her fist in the air before slapping it down onto Midoriyaâs hand. âSanta!â
Midoriya beamed. âChristmas trees!â
Things went smoothly â gingerbread for Satou, hot chocolate for Tsuyu â until the chain reached Aoyama, who pouted theatrically as he waved a hand for dramatic effect. âFireworks!â
The mention of an explosive set Bakugou off; he leapt to his knees, pointing threateningly at Aoyama. âThat oneâs mine, Sparkles! Pick a different one!â
Kirishima tugged at his hand. âWait â thatâs not really how it works-â
âIsnât it?â Bakugou growled. âIf he likes fireworks so bad, letâs see if he can do this-â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
âHey.â The spiky-haired boy jumped as half of his sock dissolved in strings of acidic goo.
âWhat â those are my clothes!â
âAnd this is my game, dipshit, sit down and let Aoyama live his life! If you didnât keep sparking all over the place, we wouldnât have moved you to be second last!â
Bakugou receded a little, but his scowl seemed permanently affixed. Mina let go of his ankle, flicking bits of melty sock off her fingers, and patted his arm instead. âCome on, we all know you have more than one idea in that big brain of yours.â
One last tug from Kirishima, and Bakugou slumped back into his spot. Mina rubbed her forehead. âOkay, this really isnât how itâs supposed to go, but letâs just pick it up from Aoyama. Ready, go!â
Aoyama helpfully tapped Ojiroâs hand again. âI said fireworks! The sparkly kind!â
Ojiroâs tail whipped frantically as he thought. âUh, bells!â
Hagakureâs hoodie bounced next to him. âChristmas sweaters!â
âReindeer,â Todoroki said, blinking laconically. His eyes were fixed firmly on the jingly bells dangling from Minaâs antlers.
âBalls,â Mineta chanted. He was immediately fixed with dirty looks from half the class. âUm, the ornament kind!â
Tokoyamiâs beak clacked disapprovingly. âTurkey.â
âChristmas lights!â Kaminari cheered, accidentally shocking his neighbor.
Sero winced. âThat was mine â ow, Iâm all tingly, can I have a second to think?â
Mina considered, steepling her fingers. âIâll allow it.â
âThanks. Uh⊠I⊠ooh, tinsel!â
âMenorahs,â Shoji said quietly, four hands hovering in the air as he used the fifth to tap Koudaâs shoulder.
Kouda hid behind his hands. âMistletoe,â he signed in front of his blushing face, letting Shoji reach behind him with an extra hand to tap Momoâs wrist.
Momo grinned. âThe ghost of Christmas past!â
âNerd,â someone coughed, and a ripple of laughter raced around the circle as Momo tagged Jirou.
âAh, snowmen!â Jirou said, still giggling, and slapped Iidaâs hand.
Their class president sat straight-backed, slicing his right hand efficiently through the air to tag Kirishima as he spoke. âSantaâs sleigh!â
âPeppermint!â Kirishima yelped â apparently Iida had hit a little too hard.
He cautiously poked Bakugouâs palm. Bakugou, whose brow had been furrowed in though for the last half of the game, grinned evilly. âFireplaces.â
He tapped Mina, who raised her fist in victory. âSnowflake! Woo! We did it!â
âUhâŠâ Midoriya said cautiously, âarenât we supposed to keep going until someone canât think of another one?â
Mina preened. âMaybe, but this is no ordinary game of Concentration!â
âThen why did you make us practice fifteen times?â
âBecauseâŠâ Rocking backwards, Mina threw her other hand in the air too. âThese are going to be our holiday costumes!â
Dead silence. Momo got halfway through raising her hand before deciding to just ask instead. âWhat costumes?â
âWait â Sero, you told everyone that Aizawa-sensei is letting us have a holiday party, right?â
Sero rubbed the back of his head. âI was going to put up flyers in the elevators! I thought that would be cooler.â
âWhat, did you run out of tape?â
He stuck out his tongue. âHaha, very funny. I didnât expect you meant to tell everyone within the whole hour after we got the okay!â
She waved him off. âOkay, okay, anyway â weâre having a party! And weâre going to have a costume contest! Isnât it cool!â
Tsuyu frowned. âI still donât get why we played this game, kero.â
âWell, we had to make sure no one went as the same thing or it wouldnât be fair.â Mina grinned. âAnd I wanted to see what holiday things everyone would think of under pressure!â
The contemplative silence following her statement was broken by near-hysterical laughter from Kirishima. âOh my god,â he wheezed, collapsing against Bakugouâs shoulder. âYou have to dress up as a fireplace.â
Bakugou shoved him off. âI donât have to do shit.â
His defiance faltered a little under Minaâs smug expression. âOh, you might want to reconsider that. After all, I havenât said what the prize is yet!â
His eyes narrowed. âPrize?â
âLetâs just say that All Might-senseiâs sponsoring the competition and heâs got mad cash.â
Explosions crackled in Bakugouâs clenched fists. âIn that case⊠itâs a competition, and Iâm gonna win!â
The rest of the class was also dissolving into chaos as Mina reveled in her genius. âA snowman?â Jirou despaired, raking her hands through her hair. âWhy didnât I say Christmas carols, or Ebenezer Scrooge, or something cool? Can I trade you?â
Momo patted her shoulder. âIâll help you, donât worry!â Her eyes widened. âWait⊠do you think I could make a really big marshmallow for Tsuyuâs?â
Uraraka was draped across Midoriyaâs back, ruffling his hair until the shape vaguely resembled a cone. âO-oh, you donât even have to dress up, you already have green hair! You can just put ornaments in it â youâre gonna look so cute!â
Her grip suddenly turned crushing. âNot as cute as me though. I need money for Christmas presents!â
Midoriya, face brick red, folded under Urarakaâs weight to lean across the circle and tap at Iidaâs foot. âAre you actually going to build a sleigh?â
âMidoriya, I have propulsion engines in my legs.â Iidaâs glasses shone as he straightened them. âI will be the sleigh.â
They grinned at each other, Uraraka floating herself off Midoriyaâs back and onto the floor beside him. âYou know, I think thereâs a real opportunity here. Group costume?â
Midoriyaâs eyes shone with determination. âGroup costume.â