Season of Sharing

Class 1A had been planning this event for the holidays for weeks now. The moment December hit, the class was filled with a burning need to fill the dorms with flashy lights and ornaments. It wasn't exactly Tokoyami's style, but he could admire how much the others were getting into it.

Iida and Yaomomo, to their credit, had been great at planning the event. Different students had been given different responsibilities. Satou had a team to help him with the cooking and baking, Hagakure planned how presents would be passed out, and Aoyama and Ashido were put in charge of decorating.

Tokoyami was on the decorating team, him and Dark Shadow helping to hang things high on the wall or from the ceiling. But he had to be careful about how far away Dark Shadow got from him during the process. Certain students would approach his quirk, trying to convince the dark apparition to hang mistletoe or things that definitely were not supposed to be decorations.

Stop trying to corrupt my quirk, Tokoyami thought, reeling in Dark Shadow yet again and glaring daggers at Kaminari, who stood by innocently with a roll of toilet paper in hand.

Hasn't he hung up that type of decoration before, though? Dark Shadow cawed in his mind. The quirk tilted his head to the side curiously, in that bird-like manner that he'd picked up from Tokoyami.

Tokoyami held back a smile, trying to remain serious in the face of adversary. Yes, but he wasn't supposed to. And he gave Dark Shadow another paper snowflake to hang above them.

When all was said and done, the common area of the dorms looked great. And it stayed that way, maintaining this air of charming festiveness, until the day of reckoning was upon them.

Everyone was in the spirit that day. Yaomomo had made specialized santa hats for everyone, each red and white hat topped with a different ornament depending on the person. Well, Tokoyami's was a bit more of a custom fit, made to fit over his spiky feathers, but it was admittedly rather cute. Dark Shadow was insistent on messing with the little tassel that stuck out on the end. But evidently not everyone was feeling the Christmas spirit. Tokoyami could only watch from a distance as a series of attempts to get Bakugou into his Christmas outfit began to escalate. He and Dark Shadow kept their distance, decisively not wanting to be on the receiving end of his anger.

Things were really starting to be underway, with the tables and the food coming out of the ovens, when the main door opened up.

"Sorry we're late. Have you all already started?" came a tired voice that unmistakably belonged to their teacher.

Aizawa came through the door, but he wasn't alone. Eri followed closely at his side, dressed in a cute little santa dress and hat.

"Trick or… treat?" she asked uncertainly, turning to Aizawa for confirmation. She was still getting the hang of these sorts of events, each one a new experience than any she'd ever had before.

"It's Santa Eri!"

"So cute!"

Tokoyami had to admit, she was really sweet. He smiled knowing that she got to be a part of the class's celebrations. Aizawa would bring her in somedays, or she'd tag along for after-school events. And every time the students were happy to see her. Already, in the few months since she started living with Aizawa, she'd come a long way.

Tokoyami remembered the cultural festival and how much fun she'd had there. It had been the last big event the class had put on, and Eri's first time really opening up to social events like this. Midoriya and Togata had been going around that day looking for caramel apples for her. He remembered that specifically because Togata had approached him asking if he knew where any were, and Tokoyami was able to point him in the right direction. Apparently Eri had a fondness for apples, which was something he could appreciate. Of course he knew where they were – Pony from 1B had set up the stall.

When everyone had calmed down over their initial excitement surrounding Eri, everyone got settled into their seats. It was by no means an organized, proper events, despite the best efforts of the class president. It was an uproarious occasion, where everyone was merry and excited for food.

But more to the point. Tokoyami knew exactly where the apples were placed this time around, too, having watched with a careful eye how the table was set. He knew his priorities just like any other student here. And so when every student finally found their way to a seat, situated somewhere around the haphazard assortment of couches, chairs, and tables scattered around the common area, Tokoyami and Dark Shadow collectively knew what needed to be done first.

Dark Shadow was sent out, twining his way under the tables and around peoples' legs, until he popped up again over on the opposite end where the apple slices and caramel dip plate was. With expert sneakiness, Dark Shadow got his claws on the platter. Alas, he wasn't able to evade detection altogether, his quirk receiving some much appreciated but entirely unnecessary pets to the head.

And then their mission was a success. Tokoyami watched victoriously as Dark Shadow peeped his head next to Eri. And the little smile of delight she had made it worth it. She scratched him on the head and whispered a thank you before grabbing as many slices as could fit in her hands and depositing them on her plate. At Dark Shadow's insistence, she also got a spoonful of caramel sauce, effectively spoiling her dinner. Dark Shadow gave her a cheeky smile, and Eri giggled.

Tokoyami held a finger to his beak, and Dark Shadow pointed at him for Eri to see. Shhh, we don't want Aizawa to see.

As if on cue, he could feel the irritated glare of his teacher boring into him from across the room. Aizawa was busying himself around tables, leaving other students to look over Eri at their insistence. But when he looked over to see the little kid rejoicing over sweet apples instead of eating her vegetables, well…

"Eep!" Dark Shadow squawked, recoiling back into Tokoyami. The quirk brought back the whole apple platter in his rush to get back. Fumikage, he was gonna erase me…! Dark Shadow complained.

No, no, you did good, Tokoyami assured, taking an apple slice for himself and handing it to a confused Todoroki, who was sitting beside him. Besides, that was for Eri. He wouldn't erase you over that.

After that, the whole dinner was in full swing, and everyone was quick to dig in. Sato set the roast chicken in the center of it all, and the classmates that were closer to it looked upon the centerpiece with awe. All of it certainly looked very good.

Hey, hey, we should get some of that! Dark Shadow said excitedly in his head.

…Do I dare test my limits and Aizawa's patience?

Dark Shadow went in with no further prompting, claws flashing, and secured a perfectly cooked leg of the chicken before anyone else could move to touch it.

"The answer is yes!" Dark Shadow declared out loud for everyone to hear, cackling at the chorus of mock outrage that followed his bold decision. Tokoyami joined his quirk, laughing as the drumstick was deposited on his plate.

"Hawks would be proud," Tokoyami chuckled, giving Dark Shadow a pat.

Dinner went about as well as expected and was over just as quickly. After all, as good as the food was, what people really wanted were presents. Everyone contributed one gift to the pile within a certain price range, and there were strings attached to each present at random for the students to choose from.

Tokoyami contributed a sword to the pile. People liked swords, right? They were cool no matter who you were. It looked like Ojiro wanted to object, the expression on his face almost laughable. But what's he going to do, challenge the person holding a sword?

Tokoyami hefted the blade in all its glory. It was bigger than him, and far too elaborate and unwieldy to ever serve a functional purpose. Chains hung down from it and it was clearly meant as a two-handed weapon of destruction. But it was decorative more than anything, being lighter than one might think. Despite appearances, it probably wasn't that dangerous. The edges were dull and it was technically suited to kids of most ages. More than anything, though, it was big and intimidating, and anyone who held it looked like a badass. He fucking loved it.

And that's why it was the perfect gift for the pile.

Everyone gathered around and selected a string. Aizawa added a gift to the pile so that Eri could be part of the gift exchange. She looked so excited, being a part of something like this, and the rest of the class was encouraging her.

As the pile came apart and everyone tore into their presents, Eri walked over, following the direction of the string she'd chosen. Tokoyami had yet to unwrap his own present, an overly large box that was suspiciously light, but he waited a bit so that he could see who got his present.

He saw Eri tug on the string, a clang ringing throughout the room. Her eyes lit up, dazzled by whatever was on the end of it.

Aizawa began walking over. "Eri, what do you have…?"

She turned around, holding the unfathomably large blade in her little gloved hands. "A sword!" she declared, beaming.

"No!" Ojiro protested.

"Yes!" Tokoyami corrected, entirely okay with the turn of events.

Aizawa appraised the situation carefully, looking back at Tokoyami with a tired expression that read this is your fault. "Now, Eri, I don't think something like this is appropriate for someone your age…" he began carefully, crouching next to her and putting a hand on the sword.

Her smile broke in an instant, her eyes going wide in surprise. "I—it's not? B-but I like it."

Aizawa quickly took his hand off the sword, afraid of what might happen if he tried to push the subject further. "And… and that's why we'll have to be careful when we take it home," he said, forcing a smile.

In the end Eri got to keep the sword. Nobody was brave enough to take that away from her. It was her first Christmas present from someone in the class, and it was a special one at that. Of course, Tokoyami couldn't help feeling a little responsible for Aizawa's newest source of anxiety.

By the end of the day, when everyone was picking up plates and discarded wrapping paper, Aizawa had to take Eri home early. She'd tuckered herself out pretty quickly with all the energy and the excitement, and in the end she couldn't keep up with all the teenagers. In one arm Aizawa had the little girl, fast asleep with her head on his shoulder. With the other, he held the hilt of the sword. He said he'd try to find a place for it in her room.

Before he reached the door, followed in his wake by various goodbyes, Aizawa turned to the class. "Eri had a lot of fun tonight," he said simply. "Thank you for making her first Christmas a fun one."

Tokoyami could swear that Aizawa's gaze lasted on him a moment longer. If it did, then it was probably out of judgment more than anything.

Eh? But I thought we did good! Dark Shadow cawed defiantly.

No, we did great, Tokoyami assured his quirk, waving goodbye to Aizawa and the sleeping Eri as they disappeared out the door.