Chapter Text
After brunch with +ULTRA and SPARKLE, the film crew gave them instructions before they got into the van – they’ll be going to the apartment they’d be staying in for the next two weeks and a half. The cameras were already installed, and a skeleton crew would be stationed at a nearby unit to edit as needed.
There were missions too, one director explained. For their first night, Shouto would cook dinner, while Momo would be going to the groceries to buy whatever supplies they needed.
Shouto and Momo arrived, and took a look around as they settled in. The living room was adjacent to a small dining area, with the kitchenette on the side. On one side was the door leading to the bathroom, while the other separate room was a snug bedroom with a small closet and a queen-sized bed.
Momo was looking through the kitchen cupboards, familiarizing herself with what they had when Shouto stepped out of the bedroom.
“This place is…tiny.” He said out loud.
Momo paused and looked at him, “Haven’t you ever stayed in the idol dorm rooms?”
“I didn’t need to. I always had my apartment. Are all apartments built to be this small?”
“The average person lives in places like this.” She said. Shouto sounded snobby, but she knew too well that it really was out of ignorance, “Well, this will be a good experience for you.”
“Were you shocked by that?” The interviewer would ask Momo in a later interview at the studio.
“Yes, but then…I was that person before.” Momo gave an apologetic smile, “I always had something to say about the trainee dorms before SPARKLE’s debut. I knew where Shouto was coming from. He’s a solo artist too, so he never had to go through the dorm set-up the way we did.”
“There has been some internet buzz about how you and Shouto may have met when you were younger. Is that true?”
“Ah, yes. And I mentioned it in passing to him, but it wasn’t anything special. We came from the same neighborhood, and our Mothers were part of the same women’s club. We had to sing together when we were in preschool.”
“Would you say you both wanted to be idols even from way back when?”
Momo took a deep breath, “I can’t speak for Shouto, but I guess singing came naturally to me…so it was never a question.”
“Ah. Well, back to Shouto, how was that first dinner he prepared for you?”
Doing the groceries was easy for Momo, though she purposely took her time for the cameras, knowing that Shouto didn’t know how to cook.
Would she have to pretend to appreciate his food? Momo wondered. If it were just them, she would have found ways to help him make it better. This would be on national TV, but Momo wasn’t sure what would be more supportive – to pretend to enjoy a meal he prepared, or to help him improve it.
With everything they had to skirt around from day one, she felt like she had just put out a new album with SPARKLE.
She opened the door and peeked inside, “Shouto?” She asked.
“Yaomomo, welcome back.” He greeted.
Momo inched her way through the door and put the groceries in the kitchen area before heading towards Shouto.
To her relief, he had prepared instant noodles.
“Ah, comfort food!” She exclaimed, as she sat down and picked up the chopsticks set next to her bowl.
“It was like magic.”
Momo was gathering up the noodles as he spoke, and looked at him inquiringly, “Magic?”
“It really cooks with just hot water. I was so amazed.”
“Was this the first time you cooked noodles?”
“Yes.”
“It’s…very smart of Shouto to stick to something basic.” Momo said. “And I was so happy! But I bet you were waiting for that.” She paused, then gave a yell as she covered her face with her hands, “What you had me do after was so embarrassing.”
They had instructions to keep their mobile phones on them the whole time. Momo’s phone beeped, and she picked it up to read the message. She opened the message and read it once, squinted, then read it again.
Shouto was surprised to hear a drop, and looked up to see that Momo’s phone was on the floor. Momo stared at it, aghast.
“What happened?” He asked, “Is something wrong?”
“Yes.” Momo said.
“What is it? Do we have to go somewhere?” Shouto was about to get up from his seat, but Momo turned to look at him.
“No. We have to stay here.” Her voice was clipped.
Shouto grew worried – just what was it that would get Momo that stiff with him. He sat back down though, looking at her curiously before returning to his bowl of noodles. Well, he’ll find out eventually, he thought.
“Shouto.”
He looked up as she called him, and there was a commanding gaze in her eyes. Shouto blinked as he looked back at her, understanding that he had to keep watch.
Momo bent down to slurp up her noodles. She kept eye contact with Shouto, which he found strange, even for her. But as she got to the ends of her noodles, she straightened up, and was very deliberate about wiping the soup from her lips with her pointing finger.
“The noodles are that good, huh?” Shouto asked.
She balked at him, and that only made him slurp some himself.
“They’re okay, I guess. The broth isn’t very rich, is it?”
Momo was covering her face while shaking her head at the idea, “I can’t believe you made me do that.”
“But Shouto barely noticed!”
Momo dropped her hands.
“He wouldn’t notice things like that.”
“Were you disappointed?”
“No. I’m relieved.”
Another day down, Momo thought as they turned in for bed. But another night together. She gave a glance at the camera set up in the upper corner of the room, then turned to the side where Shouto would be sleeping.
Shouto was showering for the evening. After the day they had, he would take a while, Momo knew. It was a day for their fans, with their friends and band members up to having Shouto cook for the first time in his life.
If this hadn’t been a show, what would it be like? Momo wondered. She wasn’t much of a cook herself, but she had a few quick recipes to fall back on. There were a few dramas she caught where the couple would try to cook together, but tease each other in between as they tasted the food while they cooked.
Momo wished she had that instead, but there was no use dwelling on it.
She gave a sigh as she pulled the blanket over her, thinking. Her mind wandered to last night, when Shouto managed to steal that one kiss from her under the covers. Momo gave a huff at the thought – he was playing this too well.
Suddenly, an idea.
Momo sat up to get her cellphone, and checked the clock. That was more than enough time, she could do this. She opened it up, and started tapping out a message. It was a long one, and she only finished up when Shouto returned to their room, dressed for bed.
“Another song?” He asked her.
It took a while for Momo to reply, “Yes.”
“Nice.” Shouto complimented as he slipped under the sheets. He expected Momo to continue the conversation, and felt just mildly disappointed when she put her phone away and turned off the nightlight on her side.
“Goodnight Shouto.” She said.
“Good night.”
She slept on her side facing Shouto, and Shouto watched over her for a while before turning over to turn out the light on his side. As he did, he looked over to his phone and realized that he had messages waiting for him. He turned out the light and picked up his phone to give them a quick scroll.
The messages were from Momo. He tapped on one to open it.
“Shouto. You’re going to have to read these messages in private, because what they will make you do isn’t for the cameras. When you’re ready, head to the bathroom then read on.”
Shouto turned away from his phone to look at Momo, who was sleeping soundly. In spite of the instructions, he skimmed through the message.
But of course she was right, and he was sorry he didn’t listen. He scrambled out of bed and hurried to the bathroom, where he took his time.
When he returned, he felt as relieved as he was agitated. He slipped back into bed and pulled the covers over him. For the first time since they started, he regretted agreeing to this project. In another time, Momo wouldn’t have to send steamy messages, and they wouldn’t have to be overly-cautious around each other.
He rubbed his arms – they ached to hold her.
Shouto fell asleep before he knew it, and he dreamed. He dreamed of the first time he held Momo’s hand – they were around four years old, and there was a talent show organized by their preschool. Even then, Momo was the best singer in their class, and she got a solo number. She was a lot less shy then, he realized as watched his memories play out before him.
A few more memories came up – his Mom talking to his teacher then, asking if she could give him a little more presence for their talent show, “You know his Father’s so busy, I don’t want him to show up just to see Shouto standing in the back row.”
His teacher had him share the stage with Momo. It was a brief moment, when Momo sings about having a boyfriend who was crazy about her, he would just have to skip around her. But the first time they rehearsed it, their classmates started teasing them and Shouto was too mortified to do his part.
The second time they rehearsed it, Momo somehow understood. Shouto was able to step out to his part of the stage and stand there awkwardly, as he willed himself to do what the teacher says.
But to his surprise, Momo suddenly skipped up to him and caught his hand, smiling.
But before they could say anything else, she turned to the stage and continued singing, swaying to the music.
It was morning when Shouto woke up. He felt like his heart could burst from his chest. He turned, hoping to see Momo, ready to say something about not wanting to act like he wasn’t her boyfriend anymore—
But she wasn’t on her side of the bed. Shouto was confused, until he caught a whiff of garlic and the sounds of oil sizzling outside. Momo was awake and making breakfast.
Not exactly what he had according to plan, but he might as well push through with it. He got out of bed and headed out the bedroom, “Yaomomo—”
“NO, SHOUTO, STAY INSIDE.”
Shouto was already in the doorway, and he stilled.
“Huh? Why?”
Momo rushed out to him, still in her pajamas, though parts of her shirt were stained or damp from preparing breakfast.
“I’m not done yet!” She said, “Stay inside! I’ll get you when breakfast is ready!”
She shoved Shouto back into the room and closed the door.
Shouto stared at the door, bewildered for a second, before bursting out into laughter as he leaned his forehead against the door.