Work Text:
Jirou had had crushes before. It always ended the same: she’d plan to tell them, chicken out, and eventually the feelings would disappear. It was safer, keeping it inside, it never lasts anyway.
So why was she still getting butterflies whenever Momo spoke to her? It had been months since Jirou had realized she liked her classmate as more than a friend and she hadn’t told her. The blush on her cheeks as her hand brushed Momo’s should be long gone, right? Ugh, Jirou was too gay for this.
She explained this to Denki, who nodded sagely. “You’re in too deep,” he said. Then he smirked. “Hey, if by some miracle you manage to confess to her and she accepts, can I be your best man?”
“Shut up!” Jirou shoved his shoulder.
Denki shrugged. “I’m just asking. Though, maybe you should tell her you aren’t straight. I’m pretty sure at least half of the class thinks we’re dating.”
“Gross,” Jirou muttered, a small, fond smile on her lips.
“Yeah, gross,” Denki agreed. “So, maybe some clarification that you’re not straight is a good first step.”
“Okay, how?” Jirou wasn’t naturally very open. If Denki had been anyone else, she definitely wouldn’t have told him about how Momo made her feel. But despite their bickering and teasing, Denki was her closest friend, had been for the past ten years. And Jirou needed a friend’s advice right now.
“You gotta put yourself out there a little. Trust Yao-momo with the real you, like you do with me. She’ll love it.”
Jirou snorted. “Since when did you get so cheesy?”
“Since you forced me to watch ‘Love, Simon’ with you last year.” Denki replied.
“You loved it!”
“Never said I didn’t.”
~~~
Momo sat in a chair by the window, a mug of tea in her hand. It was fairly early in the morning and it seemed like she was the only one up so far. This was one of her favorite times of day. Everything was just waking up, the world slowly starting to come alive. It was quiet, a delicate procedure that had been repeated billions of times over, but Momo couldn’t help but feel awed by it. There were a few birds singing their morning songs and in the weak sunlight, Momo saw a rabbit searching for its breakfast.
She heard a soft patter of footsteps behind her. She turned to look at the classmate who had joined her.
“It’s just me,” Jirou murmured. Her hair was tousled adorably from sleep and her eyes were half-lidded. She had a mug in her hands too, steam rising from the top. Coffee, Momo knew. Jirou always started her day with a hot cup of coffee. She claimed she couldn’t live without it.
Jirou grinned. “Like my new mug?”
Momo hadn’t noticed what was printed on the mug. She read it and blinked, surprised. “'Yes, Homo'?"
Jirou smiled wider, but Momo could see her hands shaking slightly. “It’s cool, right?”
Momo didn’t know whether she was talking about the mug or the fact that one of her friends just came out to her. Momo easily matched Jirou’s smile. “Of course! I’m honored that you chose to trust me with this part of yourself and know that I support you for it!” Momo’s heart fluttered more insistently against her ribcage. “Besides,” she added, “I would be a hypocrite if I were to hate you for being attracted to girls.”
Jirou’s mouth dropped open, her violet eyes widening. “Wait, you-you’re-”
Momo shifted, her cheeks heating up. “I’ve known that I wasn’t attracted to men for awhile now. It’s nice knowing I’m not the only girl in Class-1A like that.”
Jirou’s face softened. “Yeah, it is.” Then she looked away, like she was contemplating something. Momo wished she could know what was going on in Jirou’s mind.
“Hey, Momo?” Jirou asked, twirling an earplug around her finger. Momo didn’t know if it was her imagination, but she could have sworn that Jirou was blushing.
“Yes, Jirou?”
Jirou cleared her throat, meeting Momo’s eyes with uncertainty. “Uh, you know there’s a new roller coaster that’s gonna be free to ride this Saturday. If you maybe wanted to go to the amusement park with me…” She trailed off.
Momo gasped lightly. She really hadn’t expected any of this to happen today, especially not coming from Jirou, her friend, her classmate, her…well, she didn’t quite know what else to call her. But she knew how Jirou made her feel, how it was unlike anything else that she had known before she met her. It was confusing, it made Momo feel helpless and anxious, at times it even scared her. Yet there was no doubt as to what she should answer.
“Yes, I’d love to go with you.” Perhaps, Momo thought, this is the start of something good.