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Truthfully, Momo didn't exactly know why she told her friends she had a boyfriend. Or maybe she did know.

Details.

“You guys don't know him,” Momo waved it off after her classmates from her art class started pounding her with questions about her mysterious boo. “We’re keeping it low-key for a while before... before we feel more comfortable.”

She supposed it started when her friends began asking her if she was ever interested in getting into a relationship. When she replied affirmatively, they started teasing her and it got to a point where she couldn't take it anymore. This was college. She thought they’d at least have some grace.

So what was the natural response? Blurt out to the entire class that she had a boyfriend. To make matters worse? He had apparently been steadily dating her for the past month and a half.

Now all she could really do was go along with the story for however long she had to. It wasn’t necessarily going to be hard, per se, but Momo didn’t really want to test that theory. With exams coming up, she already had enough to worry about.

“So,” Jirou said as the two girls were packing up their things, ready to go out for ice cream together. It was their monthly tradition. On the first Wednesday of every month, the two would go out for sweet cones and gossip till nightfall. Momo always looked forward to the tradition the girls had set up for themselves over the years of knowing each other, but this time it was safe to say she was a little nervous. “You have a boyfriend now, huh?”

Momo groaned. “Apparently,” she muttered, making Jirou’s eyebrows shoot up in interest.

“Apparently? What does that mean?” she asked, smacking her lips together. There was a devilish glint in her eyes, which Momo did not appreciate one bit at all.

“It means I messed up and told everyone I have a boyfriend when I most definitely do not,” Momo explained, rolling her eyes. Jirou snickered behind her hand, making Momo shoot her best friend an annoyed look. “Honestly. I only wanted a break from all the teasing, but this is ridiculous.”

“You’re ridiculous,” Jirou said. “A fake boyfriend?”

“Not even,” Momo groaned. “Now what am I supposed to do? People are bound to get curious- oh shit. What if my parents hear about this? They’ll want to meet someone who doesn’t even exist!”

“Well, you could always, you know, ask someone out,” Jirou said pointedly, lifting her strawberry cone and flicking a bit of the cream in the taller girl’s face. “That, or ask someone to pose as your boyfriend for a few weeks.”

“Yeah right. I can’t ask someone out if everyone thinks I’m already dating someone,” Momo said slowly.

“Then what about the second option? You know how many guys have fallen head over heels for you, and I can’t really say you’re immune to their charm either.”

“Literally, Jirou, shut up.”

Jirou cackled, and Momo couldn’t help but offer her a fond smile. Through all the relentless teasing, Momo was glad to have a best friend she could lean on. Jirou was a little out of control sometimes, but it was enough to know that she had at least someone to turn to for advice. Or, in this case, the complete opposite of advice.

“What’s your schedule like tomorrow?” Jirou suddenly piped up. “If you have a free, we can go boyfriend hunting.”

Momo pursed his lips. “I- fine.” Jirou grinned triumphantly. “Whatever. I only have one class tomorrow, first thing in the morning. I should be done at around ten, but I do need to give in a form to the math building.”

“Perfect.” Jirou licked her lips. “Tomorrow will be dedicated to your pathetic excuse of a love life, then.”

They slurped to that.

-

Momo clutched the papers in her hand, entering the math building with a strong stride and her purse swung over her shoulders. She twisted her lips, eagerly walking towards the sign that pointed her in the direction of one of the offices. The form she was supposed to hand in were some overdue fees from the beginning of the semester. She had already paid through the online services, but apparently there was form students had to fill out saying that they had paid in the first place.

Momo sighed, pushing open the office door and stopping, the bright lights instantly blinding her.

Sitting in front of her was Todoroki Shouto, resident math major and probably also the resident genius of the campus. He was behind the desk, currently punching in some numbers into a graphing calculator whilst simultaneously typing up what looked like lecture notes on his laptop. His gaze was intensely focused on the screen, and he didn’t even look up when Momo walked inside.

Of course, she knew Todoroki. She’d even go as far as to say they were acquaintances. They were in the same year, but were on vastly differing sides of the social spectrum. While Momo was a social butterfly and was possibly the most well-known girl, Todoroki was quiet and aloof. Despite this, though, his family background made him the talk of the town more often than not.

But no, that wasn’t exactly the reason they had ties with one another. Their families had worked together a few years ago on a massive project that soon became the Yaoyorozu’s introduction into the business industry, and there had been more than a few awkward dinners taking place between the two young adults.

Now, though, they were at school. Todoroki, a math major, and Momo, an art major. Todoroki, devoting his time behind the counter as he worked through some challenge problems assigned by one of his honors professors, and Momo, simply there to deliver a form.

“Uh,” she stuttered, unsure what to say. Todoroki glanced up at the sound of her dainty voice, and Momo had the sudden realization that the two of them were completely alone in the office. “Sorry to interrupt you, Todoroki-san, but I need to hand in a form?” She lifted up the papers in her hand as if they were proof of her words.

Todoroki’s expression remained unreadable. “The inboxes are over there,” he said, cocking his head in the direction of a large self that housed different slots that were clearly for different purposes.

Momo nodded, not wasting any time in walking over to them, beginning to look over the many different labels and trying to figure out where her papers were supposed to go.

Then, someone’s cell phone rang. Momo fleetingly glanced behind her to see Todoroki’s eyes narrow upon reading the caller I.D. on his phone, before he shot his eyes towards her once and picked up the call, lifting the device to his ear.

Momo quickly averted her gaze, going back to her endeavor of filing her form away. When Todoroki began speaking however, she knew she couldn’t simply ignore him.

“Fuyumi-nee,” Todoroki greeted his sister. Momo recognized the name. Of course she did. “How are you?” A pause. “Yes, I already told you I was coming. No, there isn’t any need for you to make arrangements for a… date.” Momo’s breath hitched. She had almost forgotten that underneath the rough exterior of the cold stone that was Todoroki Shouto, the boy did have a life. He probably had already had a couple girlfriends in his life, given his very pleasing visuals. “What- no. I told you, I’m not interested in one of your set-ups right now. No I- Fuyumi-nee I can’t- No. What? No. No. Absolutely not.” Momo’s hand paused over the filing cabinets, her forms now completely disregarded. “I don’t want that- no!” Todoroki sighed deeply, and Momo’s head was spinning. “Okay, what if I told you that I, uh, have a girlfriend?”

Momo’s eyes widened because, oh man, Todoroki had a girlfriend? The thought played around in her mind for a bit as the conversation between the boy and his sister was clearly not over yet. She shook her head. It was such an obvious lie she had to stop herself from laughing. She knew the relationship he had between his sister and himself. The boy couldn’t hide that big of a secret from her for the life of him. His father? Sure, but not his older sister.

She turned around to see Todoroki cringing.

“I didn’t tell you because… uh… I wasn’t sure if it was going to work out. No. I’m still not sure. Sorry, Nee-san. Okay. I’ll, um, I’ll call you, alright? Okay. Bye.”

Todoroki clicked his phone shut, instantly groaning and hiding his face in his hands. Momo’s lips parted curiously. She quickly stuffed the papers she was still holding in a random slot on the shelf before she very slowly approached the boy.

“So, you have a girlfriend?” she said, making Todoroki’s gaze snap up to meet hers. Momo offered him an apologetic smile. “Sorry. I couldn’t help but listen in.”

“What are you even doing here,” Todoroki said, but it wasn’t said in a tone that suggested he was actually interested. Momo sighed. The boy tended to get like this when he was frustrated or annoyed. This situation was probably a mix of both.

“Forms, remember?” Momo said, leaning her frame against the counter of the desk. Todoroki’s expression evened out into his regular stoic look.

“Right. Well now that you’ve handed in your forms,” he started, shooting the shelves behind her a pointed stare, “you can leave. I still have three problems to complete and my calculator is running low on battery as it is.”

“Okay okay, why don’t you put away the resident bitch face for a second and listen to me,” Momo said, tapping her long freshly painted nails against the wood of the escritoire. “I just need to ask you a question.”

Todoroki pressed his lips into a thin line and nodded. “Make it quick.”

“Fine. Explain that phone call to me.”

“That’s not even a question. That is an unreasonable demand.”

“So you acknowledge that it is indeed a demand,” Momo nodded. “Wonderful. Now, please comply before I tattle to your professor that you were talking to people on the phone instead of working on the problems he assigned for you.”

Todoroki looked at her like he couldn’t believe his eyes. “You wouldn’t do that!” he accused, his eyes narrowing even further. “I know you. You’re too nice for something like that. Plus, it’s not even true. You’ve been in here for long enough to know that.”

“Do you want to test that?” Momo responded snarkily, raising her eyebrows. To be honest, she was just getting desperate here. She knew trying to talk to Todoroki was a bit of a lost cause, considering, well, everything. Todoroki wasn’t exactly known for his charisma, but Momo was willing to try if it meant she would get what she wanted. And what she wanted in this case was something she was sure she wouldn’t get under normal circumstances.

Yes, she was going to ask Todoroki if he would pose as her fake boyfriend, because she highly doubted he was telling the truth over the phone just minutes earlier.

“Not particularly,” Todoroki said smoothly, the words rolling off his tongue. “What do you want, Yaoyorozu.”

“Your patience,” she said, before pulling over a chair and seating herself directly across from him, much to his dismay. “Now, tell me about the phone call before we get into those minor details.”

“Yeah I highly doubt they’re going to be minor after this,” Todoroki sighed, running his hand through his multi-colored locks. Momo had to stop herself from licking her lips because holy shit he looked so good when he was doing that. He met her eyes evenly before speaking again. “My sister invited me over for a family gathering during the holiday season this year. She’s getting married soon.”

Momo’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh! Congratulations to her,” she said earnestly, and Todoroki nodded absentmindedly.

“Right, well. She’s been after me for months, telling me I need to get into a relationship myself,” he explained. “So, I told her I have a girlfriend. Simple as that.”

Momo rolled her eyes. “You so don’t have a girlfriend.”

“Excuse me?” Todoroki blanched. “How rude of you to think that I'm not capable of getting a girl for myself."

“Oh? So you do have one?”

He didn’t answer, which prompted a playful smile to appear on Momo’s lips. She beamed at him.

“I don’t understand why you look so happy about this,” Todoroki grumbled. “I am suffering here. Literally suffering. I have no idea what I’m going to do. I honestly should have just agreed to her set-up blind date thing again.”

“Again?” Momo asked, her curiosity piqued. This was by far the longest conversation she had ever had with the boy, and she would be damned before letting his opportunity go to waste. Sure, he had been acting a little off this entire time, but it was understandable. She just didn’t know much about him, and the fact that their families were close didn’t help at all. Honestly, it was a little shameful how little the two of them spoke to each other.

“This isn’t the first time it’s happened,” Todoroki said. “I’ll just… I’ll see what I can do. I guess I’ll have to ask someone to pose as my girlfriend and-”

“I’ll do it!” Momo said, cutting into his words with a bright smile. Her eyes sparkled with glee as she watched Todoroki’s jaw drop. He looked at her once through.

“What?” he said.

“Sure,” Momo shrugged. "I'll do it. I don't mind."

“What?” Todoroki repeated, before his expression twisted into a hard glare. “Wait, don’t you have a boyfriend?” It was an accusation, and Momo could hear it in his voice that he was clearly not pleased at all with her offering. It was admirable, though, how quickly he recalled the stupid lie she told just the day before.

Her smile didn’t drop as she responded with ease. “Ah. You heard about that. Wonderful.”

Todoroki raised an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean.” It wasn’t a question.

“Well, Todoroki-san, I’m very pleased to inform you that I am in a similar situation to you,” Momo said, resting her chin in her hands as she leaned closer to him, the grin never leaving her face. “My friends got annoying so to get them off my back, I told them I have a boyfriend.”

“So you don’t have a boyfriend,” Todoroki said, as if he was trying to make sense of the situation. “You just pretended to have one when in reality you don’t.”

“Okay,” Momo muttered with an exasperated sigh, but Todoroki’s short gaze in response told her he knew she was teasing him. “You literally did the same thing, except with your sister. I think that’s, like, a thousand times worse.”

He didn’t answer, instead opting to stare at her with hard, blazing eyes.

“Listen,” Momo started again, knowing he wasn’t going to be easily persuaded, “this will work out in both of our favors, okay? I get a fake boyfriend to please my friends, you get a fake girlfriend to please your family- sister- whatever, and everyone’s happy!”

“Except me, the unlucky person who has to actually be your fake boyfriend,” Todoroki responded immediately, making Momo scoff.

“That’s my line,” she said, crossing her arms. He looked away, and in one last, sad attempt, Momo grabbed her head and shook herself violently, making his eyes widen in surprise. “Please,  Todoroki,” she pleaded, “Jirou’s going to take me boyfriend hunting today, and I’m pretty sure that means I have to throw myself at strangers asking for them to be my fake lover, which of course means people will find out that it was all a lie.”

Todoroki raised his eyebrow. “Your problem.”

“No no, it’s also your problem, remember?” Momo commented, letting go of her temples to pick at her fingernails. “If I recall, you told your sister that you have a girlfriend, which means you also need to go girlfriend hunting soon.” She cast him an even look. “How’re you going to do that, huh?”

“Girls love me,” Todoroki responded confidently.

Momo couldn’t even deny it. “Yes, but they’ll find it odd if you’re suddenly asking people out. Plus, unless you pretend it’s sincere, it’s going to be pretty hard to make them agree.”

“I’ve literally only known you- properly- for the past ten minutes and you’re already trying to convince me to date you.”

“Fake date me.”

Todoroki looked at her again. Up and down. Side to side. Momo let him, of course, watching intently as he gazed at her with a peculiar look she couldn’t quite place.

“Fine then,” he agreed, though his voice didn’t fail to portray his doubt and reluctance. “I’ll pretend to be your boyfriend and you’ll pretend to be my girlfriend till the holiday break. Then you’ll come to my sister’s house for vacation, we do our thing there, and come back as a broken up couple.”

Momo smirked. “Sounds good to me.”

-

Dating Todoroki, even if it was fake, was not an easy feat.

“You’re dating Todoroki-san?” Uraraka said once Momo dropped the news in class. Momo looked up from her work with a shy smile playing at her lips. She’d never admit it out loud, but her acting skills were not something to scoff at.

“We didn’t want to tell anyone because, well, our families are kind of close and everything,” Momo said, beating around the bush. Of course, she knew this was complete and utter BS, and they hadn’t even gotten their story completely solid yet either.

Uraraka nodded, eyes wide. “I’m so happy for you, Yaoyorozu-san!” she said with a smile gracing her lips. “He’s good for you! I'm sure of it! You two have that spark, y'know? It's like the kind of tension two people who are made for each other have!”

“He’s… nice,” Momo said slowly, offering a smile of her own to make it more believable.

Someone flicked her head, and Momo turned around to see Kaminari walking up to her. “Just nice?” he said, eyes glinting with a mysterious sparkle that she couldn’t quite place. “Momo-chan, that’s no way to address your lover!”

“My lover?” Momo gaped at him. “W-we’re hardly there yet!”

“You’ve been dating for like, a month,” Kaminari said, sitting down near her and taking his laptop out, typing in the password to unlock it before scrolling through his social media. “You’re probably super close and everything by now!”

Momo frowned. “Well, he’s a very nice guy and I’m glad I’m dating him,” she said.

Uraraka beamed. “Oh, this is so cute!” she squealed, turning to Kaminari. “Kaminari-kun, if you ever see Yaoyorozu-san and Todoroki-san out together, make sure to take lots of pictures and send them to me!”

“And me,” Jirou piped up from somewhere besides them, snickering at Momo’s tired expression. “Gotta get that sugary young love goodness.”

Momo glared at her best friend, who laughed in return.

“Honestly,” Jirou said after the class, slipping besides Momo to meet her long strides. “I still can’t believe you cancelled boyfriend hunting day because you got a fake boyfriend on yourown!”

“Yeah, I’m just that incredible,” Momo rolled her eyes.

Out of the corner of her eye, Momo noticed two boys exiting the math building. One very tall and one drastically short compared to the other. She faintly recognized the plethora of freckles and bright green hair, but then turned her attention to the other boy.

Todoroki met her gaze, his eyes widening as Midoriya, Todoroki’s best friend, nudged his side and glanced towards Momo expectantly. From besides her, Jirou was trying her very best not to burst into a laughing fit, which Momo did not appreciate at all.

She watched as Todoroki shook his head, lightly pushing at Midoriya’s shoulder before taking long strides in Momo’s direction. A few bystanders looked their way, their eyes widening when they saw the two of them approaching each other, and it wasn’t long before Momo noticed many of her other friends watching from afar.

She gulped, and Todoroki seemed to notice her worried look evident on her face. He sighed, stopping in front of her and offering her the faintest of smiles. The kind of smile that would make any girl swoon, Momo included. (Not like she would do something like that right now, but maybe her heart was beating a little too fast for her liking underneath her clothing).

Todoroki held out his hand, his eyes turning dark as he gazed at her. Momo gulped, taking the taller boy’s hand and letting out a short yelp as he pulled her into his chest, allowing her head to rest gently upon his shoulder.

Damn. He was way too good at this.

“How was class?” he murmured, just loud enough for a few people around them to hear what he was saying. Momo’s ears turned bright pink as she had no choice but to bristle at the unfamiliar touch, welcoming it warmly anyway.

“It was nice,” she said, breaking away from him with a smile on her face. She kept her gaze static on his, not even blinking as he loosely tied their fingers together and allowed their hands to fall by their sides, still interlocked. They began walking. To where? Well, Momo wasn’t too sure. “Did your professor say anything to you about those problems you were doing yesterday?”

“I made a silly mistake on one of them,” Todoroki said, and Momo was sure that, just for a second, he looked sincere enough to appear actually interested in their conversation. “Got a point deducted.”

Ha. Mister I-got-a-ninety-nine-instead-of-a-one-hundred! “Oh,” was what she said instead of whatever was going on in her mind. “I see.”

Momo glanced behind her to see Jirou staring at them, her eyebrows raised and lips slightly parted in surprise. She sighed, realizing that yes, they were getting a little too into this, but honestly who could blame them? Momo was sure that if Jirou was in a similar situation, she’d be acting the same way.

Or, maybe not.

Suddenly, Todoroki tugged at Momo’s hand, and she gasped in shock as she was pulled to the side of one of the buildings. The two of them were safely out of view now, and Momo sighed in relief, quickly backing away from Todoroki’s hold on her.

“Holy- Todoroki-san, you’re so good at this,” she said, expressing her disbelief.

“I try,” Todoroki shrugged. “And, ah, use kun instead from now on.”

Momo blinked. “What?”

“The honorific,” Todoroki elaborated. “Looks pretty suspicious if you’re referring to me so formally after dating for more than a month. So, use kun, instead of san.”

“Todoroki-kun,” Momo said, testing the name on her tongue. She bit her lip nervously, watching as his eyes widened upon the usage of the new honorific. “So, you wanna call me Momo-chan?” She smirked.

“Absolutely not,” Todoroki replied immediately. “But, I wouldn’t mind calling you just Momo.”

“Just Momo’s fine too,” Momo nodded, ignoring the heat in her chest and the warmness of her cheeks. Honestly, was she really getting so flustered by this innocent conversation? She couldn’t believe herself. She was way better than this.

“By the way,” Todoroki started, kicking at a couple rocks near their feet. “My sister called again. She wants to meet you pretty badly.”

Momo pressed her lips together. “I see. We still have two weeks before the break,” she said.

Todoroki nodded. “Right, but when we go to my place, don’t be surprised if she, like, jumps on you or something.”

“She’s met me before,” Momo pointed out.

“Not as my girlfriend,” Todoroki shot back instantly.

When he called her his girlfriend, Momo backtracked for a few seconds. It was kind of funny, really, how alert she would get when she was reminded that yes indeed she was the girlfriend of Todoroki Shouto. Sure, it was fake behind the scenes, but to everyone else that wasn’t them (and Jirou), it was real.

The thought was a little frightening.

“Not as your girlfriend,” Momo repeated. “How… open is your family about that? Or, how disbelieving?”

“My father won’t believe it till he sees it,” Todoroki muttered, dropping his eyes to his feet. “But if you feel uncomfortable at any point you know you can tell me. I won’t judge you or anything. This is a completely fake relationship.”

“Aw, and here I was under the impression that we were friends,” Momo teased, not at all expecting to see Todoroki stare at her with wide eyes.

“Friends?” he said back to her like the word was foreign on his tongue. “We’re friends?”

Momo frowned. “Sure, why not? I mean, we’re in a relationship and everything.”

“A fake relationship.”

“So? It’s still a relationship.”

“You bring up a fair point.”

Momo paused, lifting her right hand and holding it out to the boy standing across from her, a small smile etched into her skin. “Friends, then?”

He looked at her like she was the first ray of sunlight to ever grace his life, and it was honestly a little flattering. “Friends,” he agreed, taking her hand with a confident nod. They shook on it, and Momo couldn’t help but melt a little.

-

Todoroki was from the Shizuoka Prefecture, a beautiful area which reminded Momo of a rural style city. It had a little hustle bustle here and there, but there was also a lot of flush green around, now covered by little patches of snow.

As she and Todoroki exited the train, Momo wrapped her coat around herself a little tighter, shooting a glance around her and blowing cold air out in front of her. Todoroki shot her a curious look as the two of them began walking towards the arrivals area.

The train station was a mess, to put it simply. Children running around and adults sashaying through the different platforms, eager to get to their respective homes for the holidays. Momo smiled softly when she saw a woman and her child run up to who was presumably her sister, giving the other woman a large hug and a dazzling smile as the kid was set on the floor so the two of them could talk.

Interactions like that were pretty common to Momo’s eye, and she couldn’t help but squeal every time she saw family and friends reuniting on the platform.

“Fuyumi-nee’s waiting for us in the main waiting area,” Todoroki said, snapping her out of her thoughts. He cringed. “She’ll… she might go a little overboard on the affection. She’s like that, so don’t be too surprised if she does something a little, uh, out there.”

Momo giggled into her gloved hands. “I’ll keep that in mind,” she replied, cooing at a small child walking by their feet. Todoroki rolled his eyes at her actions, tugging at his suitcase and beckoning for her to follow him

When the two of them finally reached the main gates, Todoroki stopped, and Momo watched him as he eyed his surroundings. The two of them glanced about, looking for any site of the boy’s older sister, but saw nothing till a few moments later, when Momo spotted a head of silvery hair with red highlights entering through one of the doors.

When she saw Fuyumi turn her head to stare straight in their direction, Momo quickly grabbed at Todoroki’s hand, pulling him closer to her.

“I see her,” she whispered into his ear, mentally making a note of Todoroki’s slightly embarrassed features. “Ready to put on a show?”

“What are you-”

Momo didn’t wait for him to respond, instead grabbing the boy’s neck with one hand, slapping the palm of her other over the boy’s mouth, and pressing her lips against the back of her hand, sliding her eyes to a close and leaning into the fake-kiss.

Todoroki briefly scrambled back in surprise, but caught on within a few seconds, expertly reaching his hands out to gently loop around her waist. She felt him smile against her hand, and she almost laughed at how completely absurd their situation was. She thanked herself for remembering to wash her hands after the train ride.

When they separated, Momo glanced to her right to see Fuyumi standing close to them, jaw dropped in awe and eyes wide in surprise. She had the audacity to blush, at least, as Momo cleared her throat and nudged her fake boyfriend. Todoroki spun around immediately, locking eyes with his older sister and nervously plucking at the hairs on the back of his neck.

“A-ah, Fuyumi-nee,” he greeted, before bowing. Momo did the same as Fuyumi chuckled from her place.

“It’s nice to see you too, Shouto,” she said, shooting him a sauve wink. Todoroki groaned as Momo giggled, tightening her grasp on his hand as she leaned into his side. She was quite good at this, if she was being truthful with herself. Todoroki would have to give her some extra credit for all the effort she was going through to make their little ordeal as believable as possible.

Fuyumi offered the girl a smile and a quick hug, before the brother and sister went in for their own embrace, theirs much tighter and closely knit together. Momo smiled fondly at the scene, knowing the two of them hadn’t seen each other in a while.

“Come on,” she said, quickly taking one of Momo’s suitcases and slinging it into the rolling position. “I want to hear everything about how you two got together.”

Momo laughed nervously and Todoroki groaned. Fuyumi shot them both another winning smile as the fake couple gave each other uneasy looks. Momo could only hope Todoroki remembered his side of the story.

This was going to be a long car ride.

-

Thankfully, Fuyumi held off on most of the details, and Todoroki and Momo were free to do as they pleased for the rest of the evening after they got to her place. Todoroki informed her that the rest of his family would be arriving the following morning, which admittedly made Momo feel a little uneasy.

Todoroki’s family was very influential in the realm of business, and although her background itself was impressive, it was nothing compared to the Todorokis. They invented the definition of ‘successful’, and it was all thanks to Todoroki Enji, or the name he preferred to be called in the company, the boss, Endeavor.

Momo had, of course, heard about what had happened to Enji’s wife, Todoroki Miyuki, all those years ago. Apparently she had gone into treatment for a few problems she was having and currently resided in the hospital. That was what the company told the press, at least. Momo later found out from Todoroki himself that his mother had actually hurt him physically when he was a young child and had gone to the hospital as his father thought she was insane.

Momo didn’t miss the way Todoroki’s eyes gleamed with anger as he spoke about the incident, and made a mental note to never bring it up again.

“This is your room,” Fuyumi said with her soft little voice, leading the two of them up a few flights of stairs and stopping in front of a large door. “Everything’s already been set up for you. You’re welcome to do whatever you’d like before the others start arriving tomorrow morning.”

Todoroki thanked his sister, going in for another hug as Momo hung back, looking at the siblings bond together. She offered a polite bow to Fuyumi before she left, and the woman didn’t hesitate to hug Momo as well as she left.

“Sorry about her,” Todoroki said once Fuyumi was out of ear-range. “She can be a little over-the-top about a few things.”

Momo scoffed. “You kidding?” she teased, playfully twirling a strand of her hair between her fingers. “Your sister’s absolutely wonderful. It’s so nice to see her again after all this time. She’s a great person.”

“When was the last time you spoke with her?” Todoroki asked as the two of them opened the door to their bedroom. That was right. Momo was going to share a bedroom with Todoroki for the entire week. She shook the thought out of her head.

“Probably two years ago?” Momo offered. “That was the last time we were both at one of the dinners together. After that it’s always been that either she couldn’t go, or I couldn’t go.”

Todoroki nodded, setting his suitcase aside and glancing around the room. “Oh. There’s, uh, only one bed.”

Momo’s eyes widened in surprise as she stared at the large king-size bed in the middle of the room, gaze drifting from it to the small loveseat in the corner. She gulped, and she could feel Todoroki’s eyes on her.

“It’s fine,” she managed to say, giving him a small smile, “I’m more than happy to take the couch.”

“What?” Todoroki blinked. “No way. I’m the one who’s going to be sleeping on the couch. You take the bed. Seriously. It’s all yours.”

“Todoroki-kun,” Momo said, emphasizing the honorific, “I’m sleeping on the couch, and that’s final. This is your sister’s house! I’m the guest, and you should be the most comfortable.”

“Isn’t that opposite logic?” Todoroki said pointedly, making her groan. “Since you’re the guest, I should be making you feel the most comfortable.”

“You don’t live here. Aren’t you also technically a guest?”

“Yes, but my sister lives here. It makes me more closer to the foundation of this building.”

At that, Momo snorted. “You’re ridiculous,” she chastised, rolling her eyes. “How about this? We take turns on the bed. You sleep on it one night, and I’ll sleep on it the next.”
Todoroki seemed to contemplate the proposed compromise, and Momo held her breath as he thought over the offering. When he reluctantly nodded a few seconds later, she let out a sigh of relief.

“Fine,” he agreed, “but only if you take it the first night.”

“Deal,” Momo nodded, reaching her hand out. They shook on it, and Momo smiled, content with however things were for now. The two of them began getting ready for bed, taking turns in the bathroom and switching off with the sink, till they were safely tucked in, Momo on the bed and Todoroki on the couch.

Momo listened to Todoroki’s even breathing, allowing it to lull her to sleep.

-

“How’s it going over there?” Jirou’s voice came in through Momo’s cell phone the next morning as she was combing her hair and setting it in place. She had to look absolutely breathtaking today, as Todoroki’s father was arriving along with his older brothers.

“It’s going fine,” Momo responded, rubbing dry shampoo at the tips of her charcoal locks. “Todoroki’s been nothing but a good host.”

“Did he sleep on the couch last night?” Jirou said, and Momo could practically hear the cackle in her voice.

She winced at the memory of their small argument from the previous night. “We worked it out. We’re taking turns on the bed.”

“Kinky,” Jirou muttered, but Momo heard her loud and clear. She muttered a few choice words under her breath, but didn’t say anything in response just yet. “Anyway, I was just checking up. Has his family arrived yet?”

“They’re going to be here in like, half an hour,” Momo responded, walking out of the bathroom and to the bed where Todoroki was currently sitting, surfing through his social media on his phone. He looked up to shoot her a curious glance, and Momo shrugged, sitting down on the opposite side of the mattress.

“You don’t wanna make a bad first impression, do you, Miss Fake-Girlfriend,” Jirou snickered. Momo sighed.

“I’ll be fine,” she said, her voice low. Her words wavered slightly, but they sounded confident enough for her liking.

“Good luck, Momo,” Jirou said.

“Thanks, Kyouka,” Momo said, before lifting the phone away from her ear and ending the call. She groaned deeply, throwing her head back and rubbing her temples, barely even noticing Todoroki staring at her.

“Uh… everything good?” he asked, startling her. She looked up, eyes wide and lips slightly parted.

“Fine,” she mumbled, making his eyebrows furrow.

“Are you nervous?” he asked, setting his phone down and giving her his full, undivided attention. She raised her eyebrow at that. “I mean, if you are, you really have nothing to worry about. My father can be a pain, but he’s okay as long as you don’t get on his nerves and stay quiet when you’re not supposed to talk.”

“Yup, totally screwed,” Momo muttered, and Todoroki cringed. “Not only am I one of his rival company’s daughters, I’m also dating his youngest, most prized son. Totally not nervous or anything, nope.”

“Okay, one,” Todoroki began, his eyebrows low on his face, “our fathers are friends. Even if they work in the same field, they have a mutual respect for each other. If anything, my father will be glad I chose someone from a healthy background.” He paused as Momo looked away, biting her lip. “Second, he’s not really… overprotective in that sense. I mean, sure, it’ll take some getting used to, but he doesn’t really care what I do with my life as long as I someday take over the company.”

Momo furrowed her eyebrows. “Well that’s stupid,” she said bluntly. “He’s your father. I’m sure he feels something when he sees you with a girlfriend. Fake or not.”

Todoroki shrugged. “I’ve gotten used to it,” he conceded. “You’ll get used to it too. Soon. If you stick around.”

Momo smirked. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

When Todoroki shyly smiled at her, Momo couldn’t exactly explain the butterflies that rose in the depths of her stomach. She passed it off as a rough night’s sleep, and quickly shuddered to get the last of her straggling nerves out of her system.

“We should probably get going,” Momo said, before getting up and smoothing out her skirt. She turned to Todoroki, lips pressed tightly together. “How do I look? Is it presentable enough? Do you think your father will like it?”

She had decided to wear a floral white skirt and a light blue top with her hair loosely falling by her side, and as Todoroki looked her over, she suddenly felt vulnerable. There was something about the way he surveyed her appearance that made her want to curl up in a ball and hide away, not daring to ever look up again.

But Todoroki nodded, and for a minute, Momo was convinced that everything was alright.

“You look good,” he nodded. “If anything, he’ll try to pick out something that doesn’t look good just to make you feel bad about yourself.” He stopped, realizing what he had just said. “If he does do that, ignore it. He’s like that. He says a lot of stuff when he’s annoyed to make people feel bad. Don’t take anything he says to heart. You look great.”

“Noted,” Momo muttered, ignoring the way her cheeks flushed at the praise. It was a little uncharacteristic of the boy to be complimenting her like that, but she passed it off as him wanting to reassure her about his father. She didn’t blame him. She had only met Enji a handful of times, but when she did, she could tell Todoroki was on edge.

She was interested to see where this was going, and how he would react to being introduced to his son’s (fake) girlfriend.

When the two of them retreated downstairs, Todoroki stopped to cup her hand in his, pulling her to his side just moments before they became visible to everyone else in the room. Momo held her breath as they walked down the staircase, hand in hand.

They had decided to go down to meet with Todoroki’s family after they had arrived, since apparently it would ‘piss Todoroki’s father off’ if they did. Todoroki had explained to her that Enji got annoyed easily, and if they were late to greet him, he’d probably assume that they were… caught up in something.

When Momo looked up to see Enji, the older man was already staring at her, gaze hard and almost threatening. Momo gulped as Todoroki’s hold on her hand tightened.

“Father,” Todoroki said in greeting, bowing low. Momo did the same, their hands still intertwined. Todoroki glanced at her, pulling her flush against his bicep. “You remember Yaoyorozu Momo-san, correct?”

“It’s lovely to meet you again, Endeavor-sama,” Momo said respectfully, lowering her back again. She heard Enji grunt as she stood back up.

“Shouto, what is she doing here? And why are you so late to greet me?” Enji spat, eyes not leaving his youngest son.

Todoroki pursed his lips. “I was with Momo. She’s my girlfriend, and I invited her to spend time with us during this holiday season.”

Momo expected Enji to act surprised, or acknowledge the fact that Todoroki had just admitted to dating her in some way, but Enji didn't even bat another eye in her direction.

“I see,” he said. “Would never have put it past you to go for someone like that.”

Momo felt Todoroki’s grip tighten around her, but she didn't say anything as she knew it wasn't her place to speak.

“Father, you know Momo’s family. We’re all friends here,” Todoroki said, teeth gritting. From the corner of her eye, Momo could see Fuyumi looking upon the scene with worry while leaning onto a taller man’s shoulder- probably her fiancé. There were two other boys in the room, one with a head of bright red hair and the other with beautiful snowy-white locks. They were probably Todoroki’s older brothers.

“Friends?” Enji repeated. “That's a funny way of putting it. You know they are nothing compared to us. They don't even come close to even dreaming about what we have.”

“The Yaoyorozus are good people,” Todoroki responded without missing a beat. Momo breathed heavily, but Todoroki’s words from earlier still rung in her head. Don't take anything he says to heart. Don't take anything he says to heart.

Enji scoffed, finally sparing Momo another glance. She faintly remembered how the man used to rave about her to her parents, but now she could see it was all just a mask to hide his true emotions.

“You two enjoy yourselves,” Enji said, before sliding past them and walking into the large sitting room.

Immediately, the others in the room rushed up to the two of them.

“Oh my God, Shouto-chan,” the white haired man said, a worried look etched onto his features. “Why'd you do that? You know how he is!”

Todoroki gritted his teeth in annoyance. “I couldn't just stand there, Hakurou.”

The man, Hakurou, bit his bottom lip cautiously. “I’m still concerned.” He turned to the redhead with wide, pleading eyes. “Akashi, you tell him!”

The man, who Momo presumed was Akashi, just nodded grimly at Todoroki, who in return grabbed his head and groaned.

“Listen to your brother, Shouto,” Akashi scolded, and Todoroki scowled. “Talking back to Father like that will not get you anywhere. I thought you knew this by now.”

“I do know,” Todoroki said, “but he can’t just insult Momo like tha-”

“Oh yes!” Hakurou said, startling Todoroki into cutting his sentence off. The white haired man looked over to Momo, whose mouth was slightly open in surprise. “Yaoyorozu-san. I don’t think we’ve actually met before.” He bounced over to Momo and stuck out his hand, showing off a gummy-like smile. “It’s nice to meet you!”

It was true. Though Momo had frequently been to dinners with the Todorokis, she had never once come face to face with the older Todoroki sons. Fuyumi was nearly almost present, but the boys had never attended one of the dinners.

“It’s nice to meet you as well,” Momo nodded, taking the offered hand and shaking it. Todoroki shot his brothers a look that Momo couldn’t quite decipher, but she ignored it to greet the brothers.

Akashi, the eldest, but still younger by a year to Fuyumi, was next to introduce himself.

“Nee-san has spoken a lot about you,” he said as he approached her, giving her a polite smile and shaking her hand. “It’s good to finally make your acquaintance, Yaoyorozu-san, even as my brother’s girlfriend.”

Hakurou looked between her and Todoroki. “I still can’t believe my little Sho-chan got such a pretty girlfriend!” he cooed, reaching over to pinch Todoroki’s cheeks, much to his annoyance. “How’d you do it, huh?”

“Easy there,” Akashi said, resting a hand on Hakurou’s shoulder. “Don’t scare the poor boy.”

Momo stepped back, allowing the three brothers to communicate within themselves, and she took the opportunity to fully inspect the older men of the Todoroki family. Akashi and Hakurou were truly beautiful men, and Momo had to admit she was a little intimidated by their bold presence. With Hakurou’s bright eyes and cherry smile, and Akashi’s lovely crimson locks and mature, steady gaze, Momo had to gulp back a shudder.

Why were the Todorokis such beautiful humans?

Todoroki glanced back at her for a second, gesturing for her to come closer to them. Momo pursed her lips as she approached the group again, taking Todoroki’s hand and allowing herself to let her head fall on his shoulder.

Hakurou cooed, and Akashi smiled softly. Fuyumi giggled at the blatantly obvious display of affection, and Momo knew that she was doing something right to get a reaction like that out of them. The whole fake-dating thing was hard, but she was willing to go through with it till the very end.

“I should go start on lunch,” Fuyumi spoke up suddenly, her eyebrows lowering into a worried look. “I’m sure Father’s very hungry after a night of traveling.”

Todoroki snorted. “If he wants food, he can go out and get it himself. There's a convenience store a few blocks away, right?”

Fuyumi grinned. “Oh, Shouto, when will you ever learn.”

Todoroki smirked. “Probably never, to be honest.”

-

By the end of the day, Momo had learned a lot about Todoroki Shouto’s family. One, Enji didn't really stick around with the children if he didn't have to. Aside from at lunch and dinner, Momo had barely seen him.

Two, Akashi and Hakurou were twins. They were also polar opposites with Hakurou, the younger, being bubbly and full of life, and Akashi, the older, being soft-spoken and much more mature. Todoroki seemed to be the arrogant, cocky, aloof member of the siblings, while Fuyumi was the frantic eldest.

Three, the four siblings had a dynamic that Momo couldn't quite place, but loved dearly. They were always either making fun of each other, playfully teasing each other, playing games together, talking softly with each other, and just generally were always with each other. Momo knew it wasn't exactly her place to step in when they were talking, but she was grateful every time one of the siblings invited her into the conversation. It was almost always Hakurou, who had taken an especially large liking to her.

The four of them, plus Momo and Fuyumi’s fiancé, were cuddled up in the family room now, Hakurou and Todoroki flipping through a case of different films, trying to pick one to watch together.

“We should watch this, Sho-chan!” Hakurou said eagerly, showing off the cover for a movie. Todoroki shook his head, lifting up another one.

“No no, let’s watch this one,” he said, displaying it to the rest of him.

Hakurou pouted, and Momo giggled, making everyone in the room turn to look at her.

“Which one do you like, Yao-chan?” Hakurou asked, smiling cheekily at her. Momo’s gaze softened. The middle Todoroki brother had taken to calling her ‘Yao-chan’, which she wasn’t exactly sure of, but she didn’t mind letting him have his fun.

“I like them both,” she said, making both of them roll their eyes. “Why don’t you two play, I don’t know, rock paper scissors to decide?”

Much to her amusement, the two brothers did exactly that. Todoroki ended up winning, which made Momo raise her eyebrows in mild hilarity. Of course. Why was she even surprised?

Todoroki walked up to her spot on the floor, sitting down next to her and letting his back rest on the couch behind him. Fuyumi and her husband-to-be were sitting on it, already cuddled up and ready to watch the film. Akashi and Hakurou were sitting on the other two couches on opposite sides of the room, and Todoroki and Momo were resting comfortably on the floor, a pool of blankets at their feet.

Momo glanced around her, surprised to see both Hakurou and Akashi looking at them expectantly. She gulped, realizing what they were waiting for and looking up at Todoroki, whose eyes were firmly trained on the screen.

She leaned up to put her mouth by his ear. “They’re waiting for us to do something,” she whispered, feeling Todoroki stiffen from besides her.

He nodded, still not looking towards her and instead reaching his arm out to sling behind her waist, pulling her closer to him. Momo gently leaned into his side, ignoring how hot her face was feeling as she put her heart and soul into the display.

To everyone else, she was Todoroki’s girlfriend, so she couldn’t act this flustered from mildly cuddling like this.

“Say, Sho-chan, Yao-chan,” Hakurou spoke up suddenly, a devilish hint of a smirk playing at the corners of his lips. “I haven’t seen you two kiss before.”

Momo squeaked in surprise, and Akashi chuckled from his place. She faintly heard Fuyumi scolding her younger brother, and Todoroki was expertly ignoring everyone.

“Hakurou, you know how Shouto is,” Akashi said. Todoroki’s head snapped in his direction.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, bewildered. Momo bit her lip nervously, looking between the exchange.

Akashi met his gaze head on. “I mean that you would never kiss someone in this kind of situation.”

What kind of situation? Momo wanted to ask, but she kept her mouth shut.

Todoroki grumbled under his breath, before whispering something that she knew was meant for her. She didn’t hear it, much to her dismay, so it came as a big surprise when Todoroki bent down and crashed his lips on hers.

This wasn’t a stage kiss like the first time, and Momo yelped in surprise as he pushed closer to her, his hands still firmly around her waist.

Kissing Todoroki was, well, nice. He tasted of warm peaches and dark chocolate, and smelled of pine trees and crackling fire. She hesitated at first, but when he didn’t let go, she found herself dropping into his rhythm, barely even noticing the loud whoops from around them.

This is fake, Momo. This is all fake, she kept telling herself, but for some reason, in that one moment, she couldn’t bring herself to care. She allowed herself to enjoy the kiss that probably only lasted for a total of five seconds, pulling away when he did the same, slightly panting.

Todoroki was looking at her with flushed cheeks and dark eyes when she finally looked up to meet him in perfect eye contact. He shot her an apologetic smile, and Momo had to hold back a groan at how freakishly adorable he looked.

As Todoroki started yelling at his laughing brothers and smiling sister, she allowed herself, for once, to hope.

Momo was definitely, without a doubt, falling for her fake boyfriend.

-

“Sorry about that,” Todoroki said later that night as he and Momo were getting ready for bed.

Momo winced, the memory of her kiss with Todoroki filtering back to her.

Todoroki’s older siblings had sent them upstairs after noticing Momo’s eyes drooping. Akashi had softly scolded Todoroki for not noticing, and the two has retreated up to their room so they could sleep. It was nearing midnight already.

(“She's sleepy. Don't have too much fun up there,” Hakurou winked as the two of them got up.

Momo blushed profusely. Todoroki muttered a few curses under his breath.)

“It's fine,” Momo said, taking out her pajamas from her suitcase. “I don't mind. Uh, it helps with the whole dating thing.”

Todoroki twisted his lips. “I suppose,” he nodded. “But it was still wrong of me to jump on you like that. I apologize for making you feel uncomfortable.”

Momo, for a fleeting moment, wanted to tell Todoroki that no, she wasn't uncomfortable. No, she actually enjoyed their little moment a lot more than she'd like to admit, and no, she wouldn't object to him needing to do that another time.

Not that she'd ever say that out loud.

“You didn't make me feel uncomfortable. I know you were just doing it to show your siblings that we're dating.”

Todoroki’s eyes narrowed and he looked away from her, playing with his fingers. “Yeah. Yeah that's exactly why I did it.”

Momo nodded, stepping into the bathroom and quickly changing and brushing her teeth, sewing pieces of floss in and out, spitting into the sink and brushing her hair. When she was finished, she walked outside again, only to see Todoroki already snuggled into the covers of the bed on the far right end.

Momo frowned. “Todoroki-kun, why are you lying all the way over there?” she asked, making him turn to look at her with one eye open. “Sleep in the middle. It’s more comfortable.”

Todoroki shrugged. “It's fine. I’m fine on this end.”

She bit her lip. “If you say so.”

With that, Momo waltzed over to the couch, resting her head gently on the fluffy pillow that was already kept there for her, probably by Todoroki. Her heart swelled at the thought, shooting him one last glance, only to find him already asleep.

-

Momo woke up the next morning to see that Todoroki had already gotten up and went out of their room. She glanced at the clock, noticing that it was almost noon, and groaned. How much had she slept the night before?

Sighing, she quickly got ready and made her way downstairs, only to find Fuyumi and Akashi in the kitchen, washing dishes and chattering among each other with soft smiles and low voices.

She cleared her throat to make her presence known.

“Ah, Yaoyorozu-san,” Akashi said, giving her his regular beautiful smile. “You're awake. How did you sleep?”

“I slept wonderfully, thank you,” Momo nodded, taking a seat at the dining table. She ignored the tension in the back of her neck from sleeping on the couch, and briefly wondered if this was how Todoroki had felt for the entirety of the previous day.

“Toast?” Fuyumi said, setting a plate down in front of Momo. She smiled gratefully, reaching out to take a bite of the buttery breakfast.

“Todoroki’s outside with Father and Hakurou,” Akashi said as Momo’s eyes began flitting around. “They'll be here in a bit. Don't worry about it.”

Momo nodded, ignoring her bright red cheeks. “I see,” she said.

“How are your parents doing?” Fuyumi asked, taking a seat across from Momo with a cup of coffee in her hands. “How did they feel about you coming here for the break?”

“Actually, they were pretty okay with it,” Momo responded, swallowing, “but they made me promise to bring Todoroki-kun with me on our next break from college.”

Fuyumi nodded. “Is the business going well?” she asked.

“I believe so,” Momo smiled. “I'm not really as involved in the business as I should be, since I’m not planning on working there after college, but my mother does want me to accept the offer.”

“Are you thinking about it?” Fuyumi asked.

“Maybe,” Momo said, “but I’m an art major. If anything, I’d rather be in charge of a committee or something.”

“It's admirable, though, how you're planning on straying away from it anyway,” Fuyumi said.

“Oh, thank you,” Momo said, smiling bashfully.

It was then when she felt a strong hand on her shoulder. Momo looked up to see Todoroki looking down at her, and she let out a relieved sigh. He bent down, leaning in to press his warm, chapped lips against her cheek.

She gasped, but didn't move to stop him. Todoroki fanned his breath over her face, and she had to stop herself from screaming.

“Hi, baby,” he muttered, nipping against her skin.

Holy shit, did he actually just say that?”

Momo hummed, willing herself not to say anything as she knew she might spill something stupid if she did. Todoroki was way too good at this, and it was making her feel things she didn't know how to explain.

She faintly heard Enji snorting from behind them, and Hakurou squealed in surprise as Fuyumi and Akashi both exchanged knowing grins. Momo blushed, averting her gaze as Todoroki took the seat next to her, taking out his phone.

A few seconds later, her own phone chimed with a text.

[12:31]  Todoroki-kun:  Sorry about that. My father was looking and I wanted to piss him off. Sorry again.

She rubbed her lips together before forming a response.

[12:32]  Momo:  it’s alright. i told you, you can do whatever you need to do to make this as believable as possible

She glanced towards Todoroki, who nodded at her with a constricted facial expression. She didn't know why, but he suddenly looked… sad? She was probably just imagining it.

“I couldn't help but overhear,” Enji suddenly bellowed from the doorway. From what it looked like, he was going to exit the kitchen, but for some reason he held back. “I heard you talking about how you weren't going to work with your father’s company, Creati.”

Creati. Momo’s stage name in the business. She cringed at the formality and the use of business-talk.

“I’m still considering it, Endeavor-sama,” she nodded. “My parents believe that I should be able to do what I want to do, though, but I think I might go back to the business later anyway.”

Enji’s narrowed on her small frame. “So you're using your father’s legacy as a comeback for a failed profession? How pitiful.”

Enji promptly walked out after that, not even giving Momo a chance to respond. She gaped after his retreating figure, and Todoroki gritted his teeth, his eyebrows furrowing in anger.

“Shouto, let it go,” Akashi muttered, walking up to the couple and giving them both empathetic looks. “You know what he's like. There's no need to get all worked up about it.”

“Every single interaction he's had with her, it's been insult after insult,” Todoroki said, loud enough to make Momo wince. “I’m sick of it. Can't he just be happy for me?”

“Shouto,” Fuyumi said, “he still doesn't like the idea of me marrying someone that's of equal social status. You'd think the fact that my fiancé is a respected businessman would make Father be okay about it, but he isn't.”

Momo’s gaze on the older woman softened. “I'm sorry, Fuyumi-san.”

But Momo noticed something. Sure, it was normal for Todoroki to get a little on edge around his father, but he was constantly defending her in a way that suggested it was about… something more.

She'd have to ask him about it later.

-

It wasn't till a few nights later till Momo was actually able to bring up the subject. She had been working on an essay for one of her classes when Todoroki entered the bedroom, face red and a scowl present on his face.

“You okay?” she asked, her fingers flirting with the pencil she was holding. “You look a little out of it.”

“Tell that to my fucking excuse of a father,” Todoroki snapped back, before leaning against the door and sighing deeply. He rubbed his temples in an attempt to calm down. “Sorry. I’m just a little… whatever, sorry.”

“Stop apologizing,” Momo said, getting up from the bed and walking up to him. “Really. Now, tell me what happened.”

Todoroki sighed, but didn't argue. “He was just lecturing me on how you weren't good for me, or whatever. Honestly, what right does that horrid son of a… He can't tell me what to do. That's all.”

Momo furrowed her eyebrows curiously. “Todoroki-kun,” she started, making him look at her, “I’ve been meaning to ask you, but why are you always so defensive about me to your father?”

Todoroki’s eyes widened in surprise at the question, his lips parting when Momo’s gaze on him narrowed.

“What are you talking about?” Todoroki asked, his tone low and disbelieving.

Momo shrugged. “Dunno. I guess I thought you were, uh, taking his whole fake dating thing too far.”

“Too far?” Todoroki repeated. He blinked. “If you'd like, I can stop, but I always get really angry about small things when my father is involved.”

“Oh,” Momo nodded, the awkward tension in the air not missing her, “I see. I just- nevermind.”

“Momo,” Todoroki said, taking a step closer to her, “is something wrong?”

“No, no nothing's wrong, Todoroki-kun,” Momo replied quickly. Yes, yes there is something wrong. What's wrong is that I think I like you and I don't know what to do with myself.

Todoroki looked over her once. “Shouto.”

Her eyes widened. “W-what?” He couldn’t mean…

“Shouto,” he said, looking away from her for a split second, “call me Shouto.”

Momo gulped, and Todoroki- no, Shouto, just nodded, filling in the empty words between them. She didn’t say anything for a few moments, but when she did, her voice was heavenly and low, betraying her nervousness.

“Shouto,” she repeated, testing the name on her tongue.

Well, sure. Just great.

Shouto was saying something, but Momo didn’t have the heart to listen. Instead, she focused her gaze onto the way his mouth moved as he spoke. She knew it was wrong. She knew that what she was feeling and what she was doing was absolutely ridiculous, but for some reason, she couldn’t look away.

“Why did you kiss me that day?” she suddenly asked, immediately regretting it. Shouto’s eyes widened in shock, and Momo winced at how bold she was being.

At first, she had thought it was because he wanted to prove to his brothers that they were dating, but then he had looked so shy and nervous, she was left considering. She didn’t ever plan on asking him, but the sight of him in front of her, talking to her, was somehow too much for her to bare.

It was embarrassing.

“Why did I… kiss you?” Shouto repeated meekly, making her nod and lean forwards on the tips of her toes. “I thought it was obvious. I wanted to make a point to my-”

“Really?” Momo pressed. “You don’t seem like the kind of person who would do something like that to prove a point to a sibling.”

Shouto stopped, his jaw going slack.

“And then you approached me that morning and called me baby, and then, what, licked my cheek?” Momo continued. “I just… I don’t know. I wanted to know why you were going through so much trouble for this.”

“I want to make this as believable as possible, Momo,” Shouto said, his voice low and slightly wavering. “If you felt uncomfortable when I called you that, you should have told me. I won’t do it again. You have my word.”

Momo flinched, because that was not what she was trying to say.

“No,” she said, shaking her head, “I didn’t say that because I felt bad about it. I just wanted to know why you were going through so much trouble.”

“I can stop trying as hard,” Shouto responded, and she stopped, because this was obviously not going anywhere.

“Did you enjoy it?” Momo asked, and at this point she was so far under that there wasn’t any point in stepping back from the blatant embarrassment. The damage was already done. She’d have to deal with it now.

“What? The kiss?” Shouto asked, and he also seemed to be putting the awkwardness aside. “What do you think? Your lips are very soft.” He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at her as if it further proved his point, and she had to fight back a smile.

“Probably not as soft as yours,” she countered.

“Impossible.”

“Shouto,” Momo said, her voice coming out strained and weaker than intended, “kiss me.”

He blinked once. Twice. “No one’s looking, though,” he said, his words equally as soft and delicate.

She shook her head. “Do it.”

He gulped, but took a step closer to her. “Okay,” he whispered, before lifting his hands and cupping them around her chin, raising her to meet his gaze before connecting their lips together sweetly.

This was different from the first time. That time, the kiss was incredibly forced and too deep for a first kiss. This one, however, was exactly how the first one should have been. It was soft, and light, and made Momo feel especially charmed. The two of them were smiling, and though they were both nervous, they made up for it with their body language.

Her hands daringly creeped up his back to gently rest on his shoulders, tilting her head to intensify their liplock. It was still pretty G-rated, as they kept it to lips only, but for some reason, Momo ached for more when they finally split apart after a few minutes.

His mismatched eyes met her milky onyx ones, and Momo leaked out a small smile, which he returned, albeit a little reluctantly.

When they heard Fuyumi calling for them from downstairs, they quickly parted, faces flushed and eyes wandering. Shouto cleared his throat, and Momo shivered in pure contentment.

For once, she allowed her desires to surface.

-

After their private kiss, things became a lot easier for the two of them. Instead of being an awkward mess during their public displays of affection (though she couldn’t deny how her cheeks burned), Momo was able to play it off as something completely normal between the two of them.

Shouto was getting even better too, if that was even possible. He was already surprisingly good at acting in front of his family, but now that there was a hidden tenderness between them, it felt much more ordinary.

This of course meant that Fuyumi, Hakurou, and Akashi were increasingly more giddy around them, while Enji looked appalled everytime they so much as looked at each other.

Shouto had told Momo that she was free to ignore him, and that was exactly what she did. Enji was rarely ever around anyway, so it wasn’t too hard for her to completely disregard him. When he was there, all he did nowadays was grunt in her direction before going back to minding his own business.

Everything seemed to be going well.

Until the last day of vacation.

It started with an innocent question from Hakurou.

“So,” he said as he handed Fuyumi a ball of yarn for her knitting. She was making oversized, ugly sweaters for everyone and was currently on her second to last one. Shouto and Akashi were sprawled on the floor in front of the TV, remote controllers in hand as they battled in some game, and Momo was sitting on the couch Shouto was slightly leaning on, scrolling through her social media. “Have you two thought far ahead yet?”

Momo’s eyebrow quirked up. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“I mean, are you ever planning on things not working out?” Hakurou continued. Shouto’s hands faltered on his controller, and Akashi turned to gape at his twin. Fuyumi sputtered something inaudible as Hakurou just shrugged. “Sorry, but it’s a question worth asking both of you at once. You know?”

Momo gulped, shooting a glance at Shouto who was currently refusing to look at her. She gulped, about to speak, before he cut into whatever she was planning on saying.

“I don’t know. We’ll see when the time comes,” he said, pressing his mouth together to hide his frown. Momo saw right through it, and her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. What did he mean by he didn’t know?

“You don’t know?” Hakurou pressed, and suddenly all eyes were back on Shouto, who paused for a few seconds.

“All I’m saying is that we shouldn’t jump to conclusions and start thinking about life partners so quickly,” he said lowly, still not meeting Momo’s piercing gaze. “I think, even if we do break up, I’ll…”

Momo zoned out before more of his awful-sounding words could reach her ears. She gaped at him. Though they were in a fake relationship, the two had kissed without anyone seeing them many more times after their first, and by the way Shouto had been acting around her for the past week had her deeply considering that there was something more between the two.

Did everything they had been through really mean absolutely nothing to him? Did he feel nothing when they interacted so intimately?

Was it really still just all an act, even after everything they had been through?

And suddenly, Momo wasn’t alright anymore. Her vision kept rapidly blurring, and her heart was racing faster than any top athlete. Her lips parted and her cheeks flushed in embarrassment for even considering something more intertwined between the reality that was her fake relationship with Todoroki Shouto, because that was all it was. A fake relationship. A relationship that stemmed from the simple fact that Momo had screwed up and told people that she had a boyfriend, and that Shouto had told his sister he had someone to get her off his back.

She let out a choking sigh, finally stepping back into reality as she began breathing heavily. She caught Fuyumi’s glance, as the elder woman was already looking at her. Shouto was still talking, probably further ruining her chances with him, not that she had any in the first place.

“I-I,” she stammered, catching everyone’s attention. Hakurou was looking at her with his wide, wonderful eyes and Akashi was staring between her and Shouto with a horrified expression. Fuyumi just looked angry. “I have to go,” she muttered, scrambling out of her seat and retreating to the staircase.

She could faintly hear Akashi’s yell of “Todoroki Shouto you royal fuck-up!” before she slammed the door to her room shut.

When she got inside, she immediately went to where her bags were kept, piling all her clothes and things into her suitcase whilst frantically wiping at her eyes, her pupils now brimming with tears. No, she couldn’t stay here any longer. Not when her feelings were now so obviously up on display and the person they were directed to not even bothering to care.

She knew she was overreacting. Of course she did. She couldn’t blame Shouto either, since he hadn’t done anything wrong.

They had had an agreement. They were to simply fake date each other for the two weeks of holiday break, stage a break up upon returning home, and then go about their lives as normal. Momo was not supposed to fall head over heels in love with the boy, pine after him, and even consider him returning them.

Yaoyorozu Momo and Todoroki Shouto were on different spectrums. Momo couldn’t think about ever managing to break through and be on his.

When someone knocked daintily on the door, Momo instantly knew it wasn’t Shouto. The thought was strangely painful, knowing that even through her dramatic exit and the way his older siblings had probably scolded him, he still hadn’t come up to meet her.

“Who is it?” she called, her voice scratchy from crying.

“Todoroki Akashi,” the deep voice replied. Momo twisted her lips in surprise. If anything, she would have expected Fuyumi, or even Hakurou. Akashi, though? The two hadn’t spoken to each other as much as she had talked to the other siblings, but Momo did greatly respect him. Akashi was very level-headed and was mature about most situations. She knew she could trust him, so she opened the door.

“Akashi-kun,” she greeted, stepping aside to let him in. Akashi was her senior by two years, so she didn’t hesitate to bow low.

Akashi pursed his lips. “No need to be so formal,” he said with a slight shake of his head. “I… I heard about the whole fake dating thing.”

At this, Momo’s eyes widened. She gasped, taking a few steps back in shock. “What? Who told you?”

He appeared to survey her closely. “No one. I had a suspicion, and you just confirmed it.”

Momo groaned, taking a seat on the couch as Akashi sat across from her on the bed. “Was… was it really that obvious?”

“Well, both Hakurou and I felt a little off about the whole thing in the beginning,” the elder confided. “Hakurou thought it was because you two just recently got together, but I said that you two had apparently already been together for a month, so that couldn’t be it.”

“What changed?” Momo asked, genuinely curious.

“I don’t know, you tell me,” he said, sighing. “I’m betting you two shared some kind of moment or something, because suddenly you were all over each other, and it actually felt normal this time.”

Momo bit her lip. “We kissed. Privately. Without anyone watching,” Momo said, and it sounded like she was trying to convince herself of something.

“Hmm,” Akashi hummed. “And?”

“And, I thought it meant something to him,” Momo said, “but, as you can see, it clearly did not. I don’t even know why I was hoping for something.”

“Do you like my brother?” Akashi asked, leaning his head closer to meet her at eye-level. “Maybe even love him?”

It was a little overwhelming, but Momo nodded without a moment’s hesitation. “Of course I do. I thought that was obvious.”

“Just making sure,” Akashi shrugged. He rolled his head back, exhaling before speaking again. “I’m almost positive he feels the same way.”

Momo snorted, quickly catching herself for her rudeness. “I highly doubt that as the case, Akashi-kun.”

“No, you don’t understand,” Akashi said, shaking his head. He smiled wistfully. “Shouto has brought a girl him only once in his life. It was back in high school. And that time, they were actually dating. I’m sure you two were purposely exaggerating, but the way Shouto looked at her doesn’t even compare to the way he looks at you, Momo, fake or not.”

He had used her first name, but instead of setting her off like it should have done, it made her feel warm.

“Y-you’re stretching the truth,” Momo said, her voice high in disbelief. “He hasn’t even… he hasn’t even come upstairs to say anything to me.”

“I told him not to,” Akashi responded curtly. “I told him that I wanted to speak to you first. That boy put up a huge fight for you, Momo. I can tell when feelings are sincere and when they aren’t. He wants to apologize to you.” He eyed her bags. “Unless, you have other plans.”

Momo blushed. “Sorry. I was moving without thinking.”

“Completely understandable,” Akashi nodded. “Now, if you’re feeling up to it, I can send him up.”

Momo bit her lip, her mind still trying to wrap around everything the boy had just told her. “If you don’t mind, could you send him in, like, five minutes?”

“Of course,” Akashi said, getting up and proceeding to exit the room.

It was exactly four minutes and fifty-eight seconds later when another louder and harder knock sounded on her door. Momo scrambled to her feet when the door creaked open, Shouto standing there with his hair covering his eyes and head tilted to face his feet. Momo froze, memories of their last interaction flooding back to her.

“Momo,” Shouto started, his voice strong and confident. Momo looked at him with wide eyes as he took a bold step forwards. “There’s something I want to say.”

She blinked, dumbfounded at his sudden chutzpah. “Say it,” she responded after a few seconds, surprising even herself at her equal intensity.

His eyes narrowed on her frame, and she held back a shudder.

“I like you.”

She sputtered, breaking into a coughing fit upon hearing those words.

I like you too.

I like you too.

I like you too.

“I really, really like you,” he said to further accentuate his point.

I really, really like you too.

I really, really like you too.

I really, really like you too.

She gulped. “I don’t believe you.”

His lips were on hers in an instant, messy, out of control, and completely and utterly hypnotizing. His touch was mesmerizing, and Momo desperately wanted to memorize the feeling of his mouth pressing against her own in a way that was much too intimate for his words to be false.

When he pushed her back to gently rest against the doorframe, Momo’s heart almost exploded, the cool wood of the surface calming her body as Shouto leaned closer to her, deepening their connection.

“Momo,” he breathed when he pulled back, breath fanning over her skin, “be my girlfriend. For real.”

Momo didn’t answer, instead taking a fistful of his shirt and crashing their lips together again. He muffled back a noise of surprise as she smiled into the touch.

“I’m sorry,” he started again when they fell apart. “I didn’t mean what I said back there. I was just… scared, because I knew I liked you but I held back because I thought you were still in it only for the fake part.”

“Well I thought you did like me, but when you said all of that I thought I read the situation wrong,” Momo admitted shyly, still holding her grasp around his neck.

He chuckled. “Oh really? You think so highly of yourself,” he teased, flicking her nose with his tongue. She giggled from underneath him.

“And you think so lowly- wait, no. That’s not true. You don’t think lowly of yourself at all,” she responded, her expression turning cheeky.

“Excuse you,” Shouto muttered, but his expression betrayed his annoyed tone.

Their playful banter continued, but through it all, Momo kept a smile on her face, voice light and feelings fluttery.

For now Todoroki Shouto was not her fake boyfriend. He was her real boyfriend, and she couldn’t be happier.

("Hey, uh," Shouto started, making Momo look up at him expectantly. 

"Hm?"

"Let's share the bed tonight," he said, fiddling with his fingers. "That is, if you want. If you don't that's perfectly fi-"

Momo giggled, making him stop abruptly. She flashed him a killer smile, followed by a cute little bob of her head.

"Sure, Shouto," she laughed again. "Let's share.")