A Dragon's Christmas
recommended music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yw4N_GoIA-k
I. 2206 Minami Ward, Apartment 18
Inigo paced back and forth inside the empty apartment, one hand clutching his phone while the other ran agitatedly through his hair. His dragon construct, Gigan, watched him with concern from its perch atop the desk.
"I just don't get it, why now?" Inigo burst out. "Grandfather hasn't even replied to my letters or sent a New Year's card in two years, and now suddenly he wants to meet Hoge?"
He groaned, flopping backwards onto his bed. "This has disaster written all over it. What if Hoge gets scared off? You know how intense Jii-chan can be. Almost as intense as how Hoge gets." Rolling over, he stared up at Gigan. "What do I do, buddy?"
The little dragon blinked its large eyes sympathetically and mewed.
Inigo sighed. "You're right, stressing won't help. Gonna have to ask her straight and hope she takes it well."
He sat up, scrubbing both hands down his face. "Worst case, I'll beg on my hands and knees if I have to. Maybe bring some flowers... but just in case. We should have a plan B."
II. Christopher's Room
"C'mooon, it's just for a little bit!" Inigo waved the short black wig enticingly. "I'll owe you guys huge if you do this for me!"
Christopher crossed his arms, face set in its usual glower. "Hell no. Absolutely not."
Inigo turned hopefully to Junichi. "What about you, bro? I know you got my back!"
Junichi scowled. "No more crossdressing.. and I'm starting to see a pattern here. Why not just turn Gigan into Hoge?"
Inigo shook his head. "Gross, bro. I'm not gonna turn my quirk into my girlfriend."
Christopher blinked. "You mean you haven't tried?"
"Eh, no. Have you?"
"Ye- Hey! I'm not the one with the issue here. This plan is too weird, man. Even for you," Christopher said.
"What? No way!" Inigo scoffed. "It's just a tiny little white lie so I don't risk scaring Hoge away. She has a thing about family. She locks up whenever I talk about meeting hers."
He turned to Junichi again. "C'mon, you're already halfway there looks-wise. Just gotta throw this on and act a little more, y'know..." He crouched slightly, mimicking Hoge's usual posture. "Serious. Top of the class. Kinda neurotic. Incredibly beautiful. Perfect lips," he said in a lofty tone. Dropping the act, he turned to Christopher with the wig. "Do me a holiday favor. How bout' it, bro?"
Christopher's eye twitched. "Do you have any idea how badly this could backfire? What if your grandfather sees through it right away and decides to test your 'girlfriend?"
Inigo waved a hand breezily. "It'll be fine, Jii-chan probably won't even care that much. Okay look, even if he does get suspicious and ask tricky questions, you're both smart guys. I know you could come up with answers."
At Junichi's murderous look, Inigo cleared his throat. "Anyway, even if the old man does get mad, the worst he'd do is lecture us for a few hours. Probably in haiku form to prove some contrived point about dishonor or whatever."
Christopher and Junichi shared a look with each other and then they both sighed at the same time.
Inigo grinned as Gigan dragged out a luggage bag from the corner. "Alright! Check it out. I brought a bunch of Hoge-sized clothes. Let's see who has the best fit. I'll show how it's done."
Christopher's dad led Faith up to Chris' Room. He knocked on the door, smiling as he held a plate of food. "It was nice of you to come by. Oh Christopher, you got another visitor!" He opened the door to find the room empty. "Huh? I could swear, they were just here."
Clinging to the ceiling, the three half-dressed boys sighed inside Gigan's web form.
III. Circus Popsy
After a grueling session dodging paint balloons and performing high wire acts, Inigo gathered his courage. He tugged at his green and blue clown wig, finally managing to pull it free of his mussed hair. "Whew, being a clown is hard work!"
Beside him, Hoge carefully wiped off her face paint with a towel, leaving faint smudges of color on her skin. Over a partition wall in the cramped dressing room, he could only hear the other girls changing out of costumes as well. Yui cursed as she fought to unzip her clown playsuit. Sally had abandoned modesty, stripped down to a camisole as she rummaged for her regular clothes.
Taking a breath, he approached Hoge as she neatly hung up her clown costume. "Uh, so that was pretty wild huh? Those guys Popsy brought doesn't mess around with training."
Hoge sighed, wiping a smear of greasepaint from her glasses. "If one can call utter chaos training. I sincerely hope we progress to more structured lessons soon. Although our speeds have increased drastically."
"Y-yeah..." Inigo faltered. "So, uh, Hoge I kinda wanted to talk to you about something. You got a minute?"
Hoge blinked, pausing to remove her rainbow wig. "Yes?" Concern clouded her eyes. "Is everything alright, Inigo?"
"Huh? Oh yeah, everything's fine! Actually...I kinda got some weird family stuff come up. You know how I don't talk to most of my clan back home much anymore?"
Hoge nodded. "Has something happened?"
"Sort of. I heard from my Jii-chan - I mean, my grandfather. He wants to meet you."
"Meet me? Whatever for?"
"I have no clue! Believe me, I was shocked too. I haven't even seen the old man in years. We exchange obligatory messages on New Years and that's about it. But now all of a sudden he sends me this text insisting that he meet my, quote, 'special young lady.'"
Inigo shook his head helplessly. "I don't know if he's finally trying to get more involved in my life again or if it's some weird power move because of my brother's coronation. But there's no way he'd request something like this unless he had a reason."
Hoge was quiet. He took Hoge's hands entreatingly. "I know it seems really random and I have no idea what Jii-chan is playing at. If it's too weird for you I totally understand! But..." Inigo hesitated, then blurted "I could really use the support if you'd be willing to come with me. Please Hoge, it would mean a lot if you said yes!"
Hoge blinked up at him. "Inigo, calm yourself," she said gently, giving his hands a squeeze. "Of course I'll attend this meeting."
Inigo stared. "R-really? Just like that?"
Hoge blinked twice and adjusted her glasses. "Did you expect me to refuse?"
"Kinda!" Inigo admitted. "I mean, I had this whole speech planned about how I'd make it up to you and do anything you asked and - Wait." He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "You're not just saying yes because you felt pressured are you? If you're uncomfortable I've set up a Plan B."
Hoge shook her head, patting his arm reassuringly. "I've read of this. Meeting important figures is part of strengthening relationships. While such encounters can cause anxiety, avoiding them is no way to foster trust and connection." She smirked slightly. "Besides, I refuse to be intimidated by some old man. With you by my side providing context, I feel equipped to handle this introduction."
Inigo grinned, tension draining from his frame. "You really are the best, you know that?" He pulled her into a fierce hug. "Thank you!"
Hoge leaned into his embrace.
"Oh yeah!" Inigo held up a finger, "Fair warning - don't let Jii-chan's gruff exterior fool ya. Under all those scars and tattoos, he's still just a big softie at heart."
Hoge arched a brow. "Somehow I doubt that description would please him. Wasn't he Black Bahamut? One of the most notorious villains of all time."
"Are you kidding? He's like a teddy bear!" Inigo finished replaces his clown shoes with regular shoes. "I have to go tell the guys they don't need to buy those bras. See ya in a bit!"
As Hoge watched Inigo leave the room, her mind slipped into animal panic. She vanished as Wasuremono consumed her.
IV. Osaka Market
Still no word from Jii-chan. Inigo checked his phone for what felt like the hundredth time, anxiety gnawing at him. Gigan, transformed into Inigo's yellow scarf over his suit and tie, mewed at him supportively. He ran up to Hoge bundled and standing next to a cafe, light snow slowly falling around her.
Even with her quirk blurring her edges from nerves, she looked unfairly cute with fluffy earmuffs nestled in her dark hair, nose pink from the chill. She wore a purple scarf and a rich purple turtleneck sweater peeking out from a tailored gray wool coat. Slim charcoal trousers framed her legs, clad in soft tabi socks within her winter boots.
"Sorry, I'm a bit late! I was checking around for Jii-chan."
Inigo tucked his phone away to take her mittened hands instead. "I'm sure he's just running late or got held up with business. We'll give him a bit more time."
Hoge exhaled, a wisp of vapor escaping her scarf cocoon. "I understand. I'm a bit anxious. I just want to make a good first impression on your grandfather. Everything I've heard from your family so far has been intimidating."
Inigo smiled gently, rubbing her wool-clad fingers. "You're gonna do great, babe. Jii-chan is gonna love you, I know it. Why don't we take a lil break." They wandered over to the cozy cafe nearby, nestled amongst fragrant pine garlands for a snack break. Inigo ordered them steaming cups of matcha tea alongside individual tiramisu.
Waiting at the crowded counter for their order, Hoge found herself staring at white-haired elderly gentleman behind the counter. He shot her a stern expression.
"Young lady, I'm afraid we can only make one of the tiramisu orders," he declared brusquely in a thick kansai accent. "You'll have to choose who gets it."
Flustered, Hoge glanced back at Inigo chatting with Gigan by the window. "Please give it to my companion then," she told the man politely.
His severe demeanor softened. "How selfless. Even after he left you standing there in the cold. You must care for him a great deal."
Surprised by the stranger's curiosity, Hoge eyed the stranger closely. "I'm fond of him, Daiichi-sama." Hoge's glasses flashed.
The old man smiled. "That was quick. It's good to finally meet you, Hoge Nyoro. My grandson often writes of you," the old man spoke.
Hoge blinked, surprised. "R-really?"
"He claims you're the 'smartest and best person' he knows." The grandfather's stare was penetrating. "I remain unconvinced."
The dismissive words shook her, but Hoge bit her tongue. She reminded herself to make a good impression.
"With respect, I've earned top marks in all my classes," she began politely. "And in terms of excellence, I can—"
The old man cut her off with a derisive snort. "Book smarts mean nothing. I speak of true inner strength, girl. The fortitude to lead others. To triumph over adversity. The Daiichi needs strong leaders." His tone was challenging. "What hardships have you faced?"
Hoge bristled, hands clenching into fists. How dare this stranger presume to judge her life? To declare her unworthy? She wanted to snap back, to list her accomplishments again. But the part of her that cared for Inigo knew confrontation would only drive his grandfather away. So she swallowed her pride. "You're right, sir. I haven't faced the same level of hardship as Inigo." She stared down at her lap. "I fear I'm...not worthy of him. Not yet."
Silence met her admission. Steeling herself, Hoge raised her eyes. The grandfather looked thoughtful now. "Go on," he said, not ungently.
"Inigo inspires me to keep improving. I strive each day to better myself, so that I might someday stand beside him as an equal." She blushed, but forced out the words. "But I don't wish to burden him when I still have so far to go."
The grandfather studied her solemnly. "I see. And if Inigo still wishes to pursue this courtship further?"
Hoge bit her lip. "I could never refuse him. But it would be selfish of me to accept when I have so little to offer." She met the old man's gaze resolutely. "All I want is Inigo's happiness. I fear tying him to someone as flawed as myself would only hinder that, but I won't discourage him."
Silence fell. Hoge awaited the scathing rejection she knew she deserved.
But strangely, the grandfather merely sighed. "You underestimate your worth, child. Inigo's chosen well."
Hoge gaped, astonished. "Why?"
The old man studied her a long moment, eyes glinting. "That boy had been lost ever since his mother left. I can see it in his eyes. It looks like he found his way again through you. It's like he's come back to life."
"Hey! What's the hold-up?" Inigo called out from their table. Startled, Hoge turned to face the old man. But the space behind her was empty, he had vanished. Uneasy goosebumps prickled her nape. Dismissing the strange encounter from her mind, Hoge rejoined Inigo by the fire with their order.
Inigo's phone buzzed and he winced. "Welp, looks like Jii-chan won't be able to make it. He sends his apologies but has to reschedule. He had to leave Osaka."
Hoge sipped her tea. "Oh. I see."
"I'm kinda bummed you didn't get to meet him. He would've liked you!" Inigo shrugged. "But hey, no big deal! We still got the whole day to enjoy Osaka's Christmas market together. Whaddya say? Wanna help me pick out some crazy gifts for our classmates? Noah's birthday is coming up!"
That prompted a small smile from Hoge. "Very well. Though I insist on selecting some practical gifts as well."
"Pshh, where's the fun in that?" Inigo teased breezily. "C'mon, Osaka's Christmas market is great!"
Laughing, they set off into the bustling holiday market.
Inigo kept up a lively commentary about potential gift ideas for their friends to keep Hoge's mind off his grandfather. He pointed out a shop selling gaudy holiday clothes.
"Ooh babe, look! We gotta get Noah and Sally a set of these ugly matching sweaters!" He held up a truly horrendous red and green knit monstrosity with a glowing Santa in a bikini, while posing with Majestic. "I bet we could convince them to wear this on Christmas too. Noah would do it just to make Sally smile."
He picked up another red sweater with a gingerbread man holding a joint on the front, captioned, Let’s Get Baked. "And this one's for Jugo."
Hoge bit back a laugh at the ghastly sweater. "That does seem rather in character," she conceded, lips quirking. "Perhaps a less garish style though."
She rifled through the options, selecting a slightly more subdued fair isle knit with snow angels. "How about these for Noah and Sally?"
Inigo grinned approvingly. "Much classier. Great find, babe!"
Together they picked out joke mugs and silly hats for the others, debating merits of various gag gifts to brighten their friends' holidays. Despite Inigo's earlier nonchalance, Hoge sensed his lingering disappointment over his grandfather's absence. She interlaced her fingers with his, giving a supportive squeeze.
Inigo rifled through the racks of gaudy holiday knits, a grin spreading across his face. "Coru-chan, come check these out! I found some sweaters that scream Hoge Nyoro."
Hoge looked up from examining a display of scented candles, one elegant eyebrow arched skeptically. "Somehow I doubt that." But she wandered over to inspect his findings, lips pursing at the assault of colors and textures.
Inigo held up the first selection with a flourish - a red knit depicting Santa Claus furiously scribbling equations on a chalkboard while elf assistants looked on. "Look! Santa doing calculus! That's totally your jam during finals week."
Hoge bit back an amused smile. "Yes well, while academically inclined, I believe I'll forgo that particular style."
"Okay fair enough, bad call," Inigo chuckled, tossing it aside. "But how about this!" He presented a green sweater with a cute gingerbread woman wearing glasses and holding armfuls of wrapped gifts. "It's Gingerbread Hoge! She's even got your little hair loopy!"
Hoge flushed, adjusting her spectacles self-consciously. "That is rather... on the nose," she admitted. "Though still quite garish for my tastes."
Inigo tapped his chin thoughtfully for a moment before snapping his fingers. "Ooh I know, you'll love this one!" He held up a navy knit with a cute owl wearing a Santa hat on the front surrounded by books with wreaths on them. "Check it out - bookworm owl! It's adorable and classy. Perfect for any nerdy night owl." He winked roguishly.
Hoge couldn't help laughing softly at that. She inspected the proffered sweater critically. "I must admit, that one does seem to capture something," she conceded. Looking up at Inigo's goofy hopeful grin, her expression softened.
"Tell you what - as it meets adequate aesthetic standards, I shall permit you to purchase this owl sweater on one condition..." Stepping closer, Hoge gently straightened his rumpled scarf. "You must agree to wear the matching one whenever I request it."
Inigo's grin widened. He'd do far sillier things than wear ugly sweaters to keep making his Hoge smile like that. "You drive a hard bargain, Rep-chan. But DEAL!" Laughing together, they moved to the counter.
"Let us buy these abominations and get out of here," Hoge smiled.
Inigo laughed. “We'll definitely have fun showing these to Popsy.” He winked as he paid for all their sweaters, despite Hoge taking out her wallet.
“You know you don’t have to do that, Ini."
“I know,” Inigo said with a smile. “But just consider it an early Christmas gift.”
Hoge mock-glared as she raised a brow, “You’d give me an ugly sweater like that for Christmas?”
Inigo laughed. “Nah, the gift is that I’m saving you from spending your own money on an ugly sweater that I know perfectly well you’d never even think about purchasing. And now every time you see it in your closet, you'll think of me!”
“Baka,” Hoge said affectionately, slinging an arm around her boyfriend as they left the store. “I'm glad we came here, despite your grandfather's disappearance. I missed idle days like this with you. The internship has been very loud and hectic.”
“I miss them too,” Inigo said with a soft smile. “I’m glad we’ve almost got our internships out of the way. Hanging out with Popsy is great, but I miss our classroom in Shiketsu,” He chuckled then, adding, “It's gonna be great to have everyone again. We can all swap stories about our patrols and show off what we learned!"
Hoge smiled, "I'm certain team Popsy will have the flashiest moves. Especially with all the glitter we've been forced to bring every patrol.”
"Right? And we still don't know who dumped glitter all over Sally that one time," Inigo laughed, then his eyes lit up and he tugged Hoge into the entry of a mochi shop.
“Are you hungry again?" Hoge inquired with a smile.
“No, I just got the sudden urge to kiss you under some mistletoe,” Inigo said with a grin of his own, pointing upward to the white berries and green leaves of the decorative branch tied up with red ribbons in the center of the recessed doorway. Then he leaned down to capture his girlfriend’s lips with his own.
Hoge gave a soft purr, melting against her boyfriend as she lost herself in the kiss. When they pulled apart again, she smiled. “I do enjoy your ideas,” she said softly.
“The best idea I ever had, was being with you,” he whispered, just as softly. “Come on, I got somewhere I wanna show you. Jii-chan suggested we use the family cabin. Let's head there after grabbing some KFC.”
"Sweet, we got the whole mountain lodge to ourselves! Oh man, this is way better than awkward small talk with grumpy gramps."
He scooped Hoge up bridal style, laughing. "C'mon my snow bunny, I'll grab some firewood and we can snuggle under Grandpa's expensive kotatsu. It's got built-in massage rollers!"
Giggling, Hoge let him bundle her onto plush cushions near a heater. Gigan flew to the kitchen to put their food away. Soon Inigo had a cheery blaze crackling, warding off clinging chill. He bustled about preparing fragrant genmaicha tea alongside fluffy homemade mochi from the well-stocked kitchen. Hoge nibbled sticky rice cakes watching fondly as he dramatically reenacted his plan B with Junichi and Christopher in case she said no to the meeting.
Inigo, always energetic, decided they’d been sitting still long enough after a couple of hours. “Let’s go sledding,” he proposed. “This place has the best spots!”
“Sounds like fun. I've never done that before."
Bellies full of holiday treats they tugged on boots and mittens to venture outside again into muffling snowfall. Inigo took her by the hand, guiding them up a small slope overlooking the property.
Gigan took the form of a toboggan for them. Hoge, being shorter, took the front position while Inigo used his long legs to good effect in kicking them off down the hill. A spray of glittering white flew up behind them as they sped to the bottom of the hill, whooping with glee.
“Oh, that was fun!” Hoge said as they came to a halt halfway across the level ground of the back yard.
“I know! I can’t believe I haven’t done this in years,” Inigo said, his eyes shining and his cheeks red from the wind.
"Could we do it again?" Hoge suggested, cleaning her foggy glasses.
“Definitely, I don't mind doing this all day with you,” Inigo smirked, punctuating that statement with a kiss. “And it's a good excuse to get my arms wrapped around you.”
"I don't believe you need an excuse, Ini,” She murmured, cheeks red, pulling close and stealing a kiss. Inigo laughed, delighted by the playfulness the usually serious Hoge exhibited.
“Yeah? In that case.” He pounced on her.
They both fell deeper into the snow, lost in each other. Gigan transformed back into its dragon form and found a branch to plop on. The dragon watched the two form patterns on the snow, hoping Inigo doesn't get too caught up to notice how cold it is.
They rode down three more times after before deciding to stop, as they still wanted to build a snowman before it got too dark. They competed to see who could roll the bigger snowman-snowball in five minutes, and Hoge won, her short stature actually giving her an advantage as she didn’t need to bend down nearly as far, and Inigo's sensitivity to the cold weakened him. Since Hoge's quirked caused her to retain heat, she had no issues as the day got colder.
Inigo lifted his snowball on top of Hoge's as the head of the snowman, then they ran inside, just removing their boots in the entry, looking for accessories. “Got any carrots?” Inigo asked with a grin. “That's what people use for noses, right?”
“I believe there might be some in the pantry,” Hoge said. She shook as much snow as possible from her coat before she checked the closet, where she pulled a couple of large buttons from a ragged old coat. Then Inigo found an old sailor hat, and a scarf with dragon-head symbols on the ends.
Heading back to the living room, Inigo asked, “Any ideas for the mouth?”
Hoge shrugged a little. “Rocks, perhaps? Or bits of dark tree bark?”
“Oh! I know! I still got a box of Popsy-O's from when I last visited. I had to hide it from Kaz,” Inigo said, rummaging through one of the top drawers in the kitchen.
They pulled their boots back on and hurriedly placed the button eyes and carrot nose on the snowman’s face, then Gigan flew around and tied the scarf around its neck while Hoge adjusted the hat on its head. Then Inigo, with a handful of hardened Popsy-O's, arranged a wide smile on the snowman’s face.
“Our first snow-boy!” Inigo pointed out.
"He's perfect." Hoge said, leaning against Inigo.
“I agree,” Inigo said as he raised one arm over their heads with a grin, causing Hoge to look up and see the sprig of mistletoe in the blonde boy’s hand just before he leaned in for a slow, sweet kiss.
Hoge purred into that kiss. When they pulled apart again, breath steaming in the red glow of sunset, he grinned and asked, “I have this one but did you see any more mistletoe in there?”
“No, why?” Hoge asked with a laugh.
“Because maybe I want to hang some around the house, too,” Inigo chuckled warmly. "I kinda knew we would be staying here so I planned a little something," He dashed ahead.
Hoge laughed again and took her time following him into the house. Inigo’s boots had been tossed haphazardly onto the boot tray and his coat had landed on top of them, so Hoge hung the coat up neatly and righted his boots before removing her own outerwear. She heard the microwave beeping and made her way into the kitchen, only to catch a glimpse of Inigo carrying something into the living room.
“Wait there for a minute,” Inigo called back over his shoulder.
“Okay,” Hoge said with a smile. She could hear Inigo moving around the living room, then heard the scrape of a match and the crackle of a wood fire getting started.
“All set, come in now,” Inigo called.
Hoge walked in and smiled, her eyes growing bright as she took in the lit-up Christmas tree, the dancing fire in the hearth, the mugs of hot chocolate with candy canes in them alongside a plate of brownies. An educational Christmas documentary was queued up and waiting for someone to press ‘PLAY’ on the remote, and fuzzy fleece blankets with snowflake patterns rested on the sofa. “Oh… wow…”
“We've had to share an apartment with five other people all month. It's about time we get a night for ourselves. Merry Christmas."
“Oh, Ini,” Hoge said, moving to the sofa and taking a seat. “This is perfect.”
“Almost,” Inigo said with a soft smile. He sat next to her and wrapped one of the blankets around them both. Then pointed up with a grin. “Now it’s perfect,” he murmured.
Hoge glanced up to see Gigan holding the mistletoe over their heads. She leaned in for a tender, loving kiss. “Yes,” she agreed as they pulled back once more. “Perfect.”
Random ED: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLUqO8cboMw
