Chapter Text
Prompt 1 - First Christmas
Himiko Toga suggests that the LoV celebrate their first Christmas together. Opinions are VERY mixed about this idea.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Temperatures were dropping, causing many residents of Kamino Ward to take refuge indoors, seeking warmth and close companionship. It was no different for the League of Villains… Well, the warmth aspect, anyways - not many of the villainous associates were particularly interested in spending too much time with each other. The cold weather, however, drove most of them to hole up at the hideout, forcing them into close quarters during their suddenly plentiful free time. Kurogiri was doing his best to warm the bodies and spirits of his companions by serving plenty of finely-crafted drinks, taking the opportunity to practice some new cocktail recipes.
Mr. Compress, Toga and Twice were all sitting at the bar, chatting quietly (though a bit less quietly in Twice’s case, as he occasionally replied in a much louder volume than intended). Shigaraki and Spinner were seated on separate couches that faced each other across a low table - Spinner sitting at attention, Shigaraki lounging in what most people would consider a very awkward position, his legs propped up on the couch and each other, head at a strange angle as it rested on the arm of the couch. The two of them were engaged in a fierce competition of video games on their handheld devices. Dabi was, surprisingly, present. He typically spent any available free time away from the rest of the League, though no one seemed to know where he went off to. Only Kurogiri was ever able to reach him when needed.
To Himiko Toga, the quiet was almost stifling. The conversation was far from intriguing, and everyone seemed so unhappy to be stuck together like this. Sure, they could go back to plotting and scheming, but that was so boooooring when it’s all they did together. There had to be something interesting they could all do together. Like a bonding activity… Something fun! She pouted and took another drink of whatever wonderfully fruity drink Kurogiri had given her this time. It was delicious, she had to give the mysterious fog guy credit where it was due. But it wasn’t exactly what she was craving. What was she craving? Blood? Hmm… No more than usual. Something… Nostalgic? Cozy? Toga couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
As she finished the rest of her drink, Mr. Compress hummed a bit of a tune that she recognized, and the imaginary light bulb in her mind lit up.
“THAT’S IT!” she squealed in delight, a little more loudly than her companions were expecting. All eyes slowly turned to look at her almost in unison, Shigaraki being the only exception. Her face flushed pink, her mouth opening into a youthful, fang-toothed smile. Unbothered by the sudden stares of the other League members, she held her small hand, balled into a fist, to her mouth, and giggled innocently.
“What is it, dear girl?” Mr. Compress asked in that charmingly pleasant tone of his.
“Yeah, what’s going on?!?” Twice shouted, arms flailing in a show of expression, startled at Toga’s sudden outburst. Another giggle from Toga, this one a little quieter and more mischievous, as if devising a scheme for more villainy. “I know what I want to drink, and I know what I want to do! I have an idea you guys are gonna just love!~” She hopped down from her stool and quickly skipped behind the bar, signaling Kurogiri to lean down so she could whisper in his ear, holding up a hand almost completely hidden by her sweater sleeve to prevent the others from hearing or seeing what she was saying. Kurogiri nodded silently and moved to the kitchen to fulfill whatever request of Toga’s he had deemed acceptable without affirmation from Shigaraki first. Toga began to bounce slightly in her excitement, stalling in an attempt to build anticipation.
“Just spit it out, weirdo,” Dabi’s raspy voice grumbled from the far corner of the room, his impatience apparent in his tone.
Toga bounced a few more times in her excitement, bringing her fists close to her chin, her eyes shining with childlike glee. “I have a great idea of what to do instead of sitting around here being bored! I say we all do something together. Something different. Something… Festive,” she said impishly, with an almost unnerving grin plastered across her face. The room was still, waiting for her to get to the point, the only sound coming from Dabi’s shadowy corner as he groaned in disgust, already seeing where this was going.
“No,” he growled. Toga ignored him. Dabi was always such a downer about everything, but Toga never really let that affect her too much.
“Welllll…” she began, “it’s our first winter all together like this… And I figured that most of us probably haven’t gotten to do it with our families much, soooo…” Toga paused to lift one leg, striking a cute pose. “Let’s celebrate Christmas together!”
“Hmm, yes, some recreation and team-building could be quite beneficial,” Mr. Compress considered.
“No,” Dabi repeated, more irritated this time.
“That could be fun, I guess. It’s a great idea!” Twice agreed.
“No fucking way,” came Dabi’s gravelly rejection.
A soft chuckle came from Shigaraki, still positioned awkwardly on the couch. The unexpected sound caused all those present to swiftly look his way. He only glanced briefly up at Spinner before sitting up and setting his game console down on the table, which caused Spinner to glance down at his own console.
“You… You cheated!” The reptilian man exclaimed, his face redding in indignation as he saw just how badly Shigaraki had beaten him in their game.
“You let yourself get distracted,” Shigaraki smirked. He stretched his arms over his head, his fingers interlaced, eyes closing briefly in contemplation. “Hmm… I think Toga’s onto something here. Sitting around here, bored out of our minds, while we wait for the next stage of our plan to come into play… Maybe we should do something more entertaining. And, like Mr. Compress pointed out, relieving some stress and learning to function better as a team isn’t a bad idea.”
“Seriously? You want us to get all… Jolly? Celebrate Christmas together like we’re actually friends?” Dabi scoffed, crossing his arms in revulsion at the notion of doing something so quaint. Shigaraki scratched idly at his neck as his irritation with Dabi’s constant antisocial attitude flared slightly.
“I’m not saying that we go all out or anything… But I wouldn’t mind a break, personally. Just a little one. Try some new things, attempt to relax and recharge. The next stage of our plan is going to be taxing, and we would all benefit from being at our best...” The scratching stopped as Kurogiri emerged from the kitchen with a tray carrying mugs of fragrant hot spiced cider, which he began offering somewhat pointedly to everyone. “Besides, we deserve a little fun once in a while.”
When everyone had a mug in their hands - Dabi’s practically shoved there by Kurogiri - Shigaraki raised his mug to his companions. “It’s an order, then, if that’s what it takes. A holiday for us, where we can have what others keep denying us. Where we can make our own traditions.” The rest of the League (sans Dabi) raised their mugs in agreement as Shigaraki raised his mug to chapped lips and took a cautious drink of the steaming cider.
“A League of Villains Christmas it is, then!” Mr. Compress cheered dramatically, joining in on his mug of cider.
“This’ll be an interesting exercise,” Spinner remarked before sipping introspectively.
“Ooh, that’s delicious. It’s too freaking hot!” Twice exclaimed after taking a large swig from the steaming mug in his hands.
Toga laughed, her best friend’s animated personality never failing to bring a smile to her face. “Oooh, I’m so excited! Thank you, Tomura! This is gonna be so much fun!~” She sipped her cider gleefully, bouncing on her toes just slightly again.
Kurogiri raised his own mug in solidarity. “I will do my best to make it a memorable event, Tomura Shigaraki.”
Dabi withdrew further into the shadows in the corner of the room. Slowly, when he was sure everyone else was distracted, he raised his cider to his patchwork mouth, taking a long, slow sip of the fragrant drink. “Christmas for villains,” he muttered to himself. "How ridiculous..."