It was Christmas break at U.A., and somehow — miraculously — Class 1-A had pulled off a full holiday dinner.

The dorm kitchen smelled like roasted vegetables, cinnamon, miso soup, chocolate, something that was definitely burning, and a suspiciously sweet scent that Mina swore was part of Sato’s baking and not an accident. The long dining tables had been dragged together and decorated with tinsel and poorly wrapped fairy lights that Kaminari had insisted he could “totally fix” if they sparked again.

Students were everywhere — hovering over dishes, shouting across the room, fighting about seating arrangements, sneaking bites from plates that weren’t theirs.

For once, despite the constant chaos that was Class 1-A, the atmosphere was warm. Comforting. Peacefully loud.

Everyone finally sat down, plates piled high, drinks clinking, conversation rolling around the table like natural background music.

“Okay, who made the gingerbread that looks like it’s begging for help?” Jirou asked, holding up a gingerbread man who had two different-sized eyes and what looked like a scream iced onto its mouth.

“That was art,” Kaminari argued.

“It’s a crime scene,” Jirou corrected.

Ochako laughed into her hot chocolate, Deku scribbled notes about the dinner layout for some reason, and Kirishima proudly carved into a turkey the size of his entire torso.

Life felt good. Simple. Calm.

A rare lull settled over the room as everyone took a moment to breathe — a collective, satisfied pause. Even Bakugo wasn’t yelling; he was quietly demolishing a plateful of food like it had personally offended him.

And then—

“I wish my mother baked pies instead of my face,” Shoto said casually, reaching for the mashed potatoes.

The words dropped into the silence like a meteor.

The kind that wipes out civilizations.

Every single person at the table froze.

“I—CY—HOT,” Bakugo snarled, leaning across the table with the intensity of a man whose last sliver of peace had been destroyed. “WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY?! YOU JUST RUINED THE TASTE OF THE FOOD WITH YOUR SENTENCE! IM GONNA KILL YOU!”