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After a lengthy process of organizing and planning and rehearsals, the big day was finally here. The wedding dress was beautiful—long and like gossamer silk, flowing around her quite elegantly. The groom’s suit was just as fine looking—very formal and neat, with a dark purple tie to match the wedding colors. Everything was set up, and the guests were slowly starting to trickle in even though they had a short bit of time before the event. The cake looked immaculate and delicious. Every decoration was neatly in place. Yaoyorozu Momo sighed as she went over it all in her head. It was a perfect wedding.
But it was not hers.
No, she was a bridesmaid for this wedding. Her good friend, Jirou Kyouka, was to be married to another friend, Kaminari Denki, at noon today. The wedding was Western-style, as Kyouka had wanted an excuse to try and slip some Western music into the reception. Momo laughed to herself quietly. She figured that something had to have come from Denki as well; he likely had wanted to see her in this fine Western wedding gown. And truly, Momo couldn’t blame him. She looked beautiful.
The wedding colors were purple and white. As such, her bridesmaid dress matched the scheme. It was a dark purple dress that felt just as light and airy as the wedding dress did. It was accented by white ribbons in her hair and white carnations pinned as corsages. She stepped into the dress and pulled the straps up to her shoulders, setting it in place. Pulling her hair around her shoulder, she reached behind herself to grab the zipper. It was in a difficult to reach spot, so she struggled to even find it. Her hand brushed against someone else’s. She snapped her head up to see Todoroki Shouto in the mirror, standing just behind her. His eyes were focused downwards.
“Here, let me get that for you,” he said.
She felt her cheeks starting to burn as she nodded her head.
“Th-thank you,” she stammered.
He grasped the zipper and slowly pulled it up, perhaps being careful just in case he caught her skin. She was certain he wouldn’t pinch her, though. As rough as the powerful child of Endeavor was, he could be inexplicably gentle at times. She smiled and waited. She could feel his hand pulling the zipper up to the middle of her back. Now that it was done, she expected his hand to stop, but she felt his fingers trace gently up her spine towards the base of her neck. They traveled to the side and came to rest on her shoulder beneath her hair. He leaned forward and planted a kiss on the back of her neck.
“You look beautiful,” he said.
Her cheeks filled even more with heat. If the other men and women of the court entered the room, they would see how forward he was being. But he was careful; she knew that. He was only flirting with her because he knew for a fact that they were alone. She reached up and ran her fingers through her hair.
“Should I leave it down?” she asked.
He ran his hand down her shoulder, humming for a moment, and then nodded.
“I think it looks stunning down,” he said.
She couldn’t help but giggle at his words.
“You would think it was stunning either way, wouldn’t you, Shouto?” she said.
A small smile tugged at his lips. By now, she knew him well enough to know that he’d compliment her no matter what she chose. She didn’t mind. All she wanted was to hear him tell her that she was beautiful, which he never failed to do. His saying it was always so genuine that she never thought he simply stated the words—he always meant every single one. She closed her eyes, hummed, and leaned back against him for a moment.
“Careful,” he said. “Wouldn’t want to wrinkle your dress before the wedding.”
She smiled and turned around to face him. He was already in his suit, a black blazer and pants over a dark purple dress shirt. A white tie hung loosely around his neck, waiting to be properly tied in place. She slipped her hands up his chest and grasped the two ends of the tie to start tying it. The texture was silky and smooth, and it was slightly cool to the touch. Her hands went through the slow motions of tying a Windsor knot, and her steps were careful so as not to wrinkle the tie as she fastened it. As she pulled the end through at last, she slipped the knot up to Shouto’s collarbone and her hand stopped there as she held onto the tie. She pulled him closer and slipped her lips into his.
Deep down, she wished it was their wedding.
She wanted to be the one in the wedding dress, waiting with butterflies in her stomach for the ceremony to start. She wanted to leave the wedding with a wedding band around her finger—a fine addition to her daily outfit. She wanted to say ‘I do’ and profess her love for Shouto at the altar, legally binding them together forever.
But such a day was so far away, she felt. They’d only been steadily dating for a year now. She couldn’t expect things to suddenly escalate to the point where he was taking her hand and saying ‘I do.’ It was a silly thought, perhaps one brought about by the excitement and joy of their friends’ wedding today. Still, she’d always known that he was the one. Even before he’d confessed his feelings, she’d stared at him from a distance, hoping that she’d be the woman he chose. She was so certain that he was the man for her. There were no doubts. She would wait as long as she had to to hear those two words.
“Thank you,” he said. “It probably looks better when you tie it.”
She laughed and shook her head.
“You do a lovely job when you do it yourself, too,” she said.
He smiled at her. His smile was always so kind and soft. She wanted that smile to be hers forever. She couldn’t tell him what was weighing on her heart right now. It would only put pressure on him. Today was supposed to be a joyous occasion. She didn’t want to be a burden to him by voicing her clandestine thoughts. She rested her forehead against his. She should be more careful; a smidge of foundation might come off onto his forehead. She giggled at the thought. It was better to think about this.
She fiddled with his tie in her hands for a moment before she let out an exaggerated sigh and tucked it neatly into his blazer. The stark white of the tie only matched one other element of his outfit, the carnation boutonniere on the left side of his chest. She had to admit, he looked rather dashing in this deep purple color. It made him look rather royal, between his red locks and his violet shirt. The combination was quite princely.
“You look very fine today yourself,” she said. “Have I said that already?”
He shook his head.
“I appreciate it,” he said. “But I feel rather plain standing beside someone as stunning as you.”
Momo shook her head. Could he not see how stunning he was? It was one thing to be humble, but some days she thought that he couldn’t see what she saw in him. He was a very handsome man, one with a shapely jaw, well-defined muscles, nicely kept hair, and kind, beautiful eyes. She thought that he likely felt shame when he saw the scar on his eye, but she saw nothing but the face of the man she loved with all of her heart.
“You shouldn’t,” she said. “You look as handsome as ever.”
All he could do was smile in response.
“Ah, I have something for you,” he said.
She raised her eyebrows curiously. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a long, thin jewelry box. He set it in one hand and opened it with the other. He reached in and pulled out a necklace with a silver chain. At the base of the chain hung a finely cut amethyst. Its color matched perfectly with the dress she was wearing. He stuck the box back in his pocket and held up the necklace.
“May I?” he asked.
Blushing, she nodded and turned around, facing her back to him again. She pulled her hair away from her neck for him as he slipped the necklace around her neck. She patiently waited as he fastened it, and when he was done, he took her hair from her and pulled it behind her, straightening it out for her rather expertly. She glanced up at the mirror again, watching him as he made sure her hair looked good. She smiled when his eyes met hers. Her fingers gently grasped the jewel hanging on her chest.
“It’s lovely, Shouto,” she said.
His smile seemed to get just a tiny bit broader.
“I thought it matched your eyes perfectly,” he said. “I wanted something that would match the dress, but of all of the options I saw, I knew this one would complement your eyes the most. Seeing you now, I know I was right.”
He placed his hands on her shoulders and leaned forward to kiss her on the cheek.
“Though it seems that you’re the most beautiful woman here, Momo,” he said. “You’ll be distracting from the bride.”
She couldn’t help but blush even more at his comment. At this point, he was doing it on purpose.
“Th-that’ll be no good, Shouto!” she said, stifling a nervous laugh. “Jirou deserves the attention on her special day!”
He chuckled lightly and ran his hands over her bare arms. The sensation of his skin was surprisingly smooth. As she’d grown accustomed to, one hand was definitely warmer than the other. She closed her eyes as she enjoyed the feeling of his skin against hers, something pleasant and peaceful before they had to go out among the crowd and carry on with the ceremony.
“I suppose I’ll just be a lucky man the day it’s you wearing that dress,” he mumbled.
Her eyes snapped open. Had she heard him correctly? She turned to him. His face betrayed nothing. She couldn’t tell what was going through his head at that moment.
“Me?” she whispered.
The corner of his mouth turned up into a slight laugh.
“Perhaps that’s presumptuous of me,” he said. “But I can’t help myself. Throughout all of this, I’ve done nothing but think about how you’ll look one day at our wedding. Strange, isn’t it? I shouldn’t be this distracted.”
Her heart fluttered in her chest. Now, she truly was feeling butterflies. Was he saying what she thought he was? Was he thinking the same way she’d been all this time? She pressed her hand to her chest, begging her heart to calm down. It didn’t listen. She was too excited by his words.
“I’ve thought a bit about our wedding, too,” she admitted.
Finally, it was off of her chest. Shouto seemed surprised for a moment, but then his smile returned.
“I suppose we’re both a little distracted, now aren’t we?” he said, chuckling.
She nodded, biting her lip.
“I don’t mean to take the focus away from Jirou and Kaminari,” she said. “But it’s been very present on my mind for some time. I think ever since we started planning everything, my mind’s wandered off to wanting to plan ours. How strange is that?”
He reached over and took her hand in his. He squeezed it gently, and then lifted it to his lips to kiss it.
“It’s rather informal,” he said. “But could I ask you to marry me now?”
Her heart began to race even faster.
“I was planning to wait until after the wedding was over,” he said. “But maybe my heart would be put at ease during the event if I knew you were going to say yes.”
She didn’t know what to say. He clearly hadn’t meant to tell her this, but it was out in the open now. She couldn’t contain her excitement. She did her best to keep the tears from ruining her makeup. She thrust her arms around his neck and gave him another kiss, this one much deeper and much more passionate than the first. He wrapped his arms around her waist and back, pulling her close to him and ignoring his caution earlier to spare the dress some wrinkles.
Momo cupped his cheek in her hand and smiled at him, her eyes glinting with tears of joy that she couldn’t let spill down her cheeks.
“Of course, I’ll say yes,” she said.
His expression relaxed.
“Then I’ll look forward to the day I finally get to see you in that dress,” he said, tucking some of her hair behind her ear.
She nodded.
“And I’ll look forward to the day I can finally say ‘I do’ and become your wife,” she said.
The two shared one last embrace. Their excitement would have to be quelled for now. They couldn’t distract from the wedding they were at, after all. But theirs would come soon after.
She knew that for a fact now.