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“Award-winning actors Shinsou Hitoshi and Aoyama Yuuga to star at the upcoming film, ‘Thrift Shop’. Thrift Shop is a coming-of-age story about an 18-year-old boy named Gin that gets sent to detention every week for manipulating students for test and homework answers. Here he meets Magnus, the one and only gay student to come out. The two get included in a little feud and bets to get each other dates before their school year ends. Shinsou is rumored to play the charismatic character Gin while Aoyama was supposedly assigned Magnus’ role. Though there was still no confirmation from the studio or the director, Aizawa Shouta, other than the two were to star.”
The radio rumbles with static as it changes to play a new, mainstream song. Soft melodies came out of the car’s built-in radio. Momo recognizes the song by its first beat. It was “Blue Hour” a single released by SunMillion featuring Deku. Momo gently bops her head to the sound, behind her she can hear Ochako hum softly. The song was a worldwide hit, it was no wonder. Deku debuted three months after Momo’s debut in Andromeda. He had taken the world by storm, having collabs with one artist after another. It surprised her that he had taken this long in his career to collab with Suneater and Lemillion since they came from the same studio. It wasn’t only her though, it seems like his fandom had memed his late collaboration with the duo and started comparing it to his collaboration with Ice Dynamite who he collabed with eight months after his debut.
Soft light casts on Momo’s serene face. Anyone who would look at her right now 一 in the dark lightning of their agency’s car, hair still wet from her early shower, her figure drowned in layers of clothing and her fingers gracefully scrolling through Twitter 一 anyone would agree to her being the “visual”. Momo likes to think that every member are visuals, Ochako’s heavily suited for cute concepts but she looks killer in a suit. Tsuyu’s “frog-like face” makes her look endearing, soft, and welcoming. Her approach, though timid, her gaze is ever intimidating with those eyes of hers. Tooru was an invisible force, she was one that gets overshadowed by her members a lot but when the spotlight is on her, she takes your breath away, like heavenly light was casting upon her forcing you to not move your gaze away from her. Mina is just an all-rounder. She’s perfect for every concept, every outfit, every hair color (though she likes to keep her signature pink hair). Mina had everything, from figure and charisma to a bubbly and enthusiastic personality. Her black eyes with hints of yellow (a rare combination, Momo thinks) could look into your soul.
And then there’s Momo. Back then, Momo would have downplayed herself due to her lack of self-confidence. Through the support of her fans and family and a lot of sessions with herself, she learned to have more. Not too much that she becomes cocky or obsessed with herself but enough to appreciate herself. Besides, she knows that if she ever makes a self-deprecating joke or statement again, Kyouka would angrily shower her with affection.
Momo thinks that there’s another person that should be considered a “visual” despite not being part of her group. Visions of cropped purple hair that tickles her chin, long side bangs that curtains her small, round face, and big, tired eyes filled Momo’s eyes. She unknowingly smiles at the thought. Kyouka was the most majestic being she’d ever seen. Especially on stage. It was inevitable that she’d then fall in love with her. How could she not? Despite her small stature, Kyouka’s personality and talent were as big and in-depth as the tallest towers. She has a lot of insecurities and imperfections, yet she’s also prideful of her work and her performances. She’s brash and could annoy the shit out of you with her teasing but then you’d find it endearing. She could sing different genres and could play a lot of instruments. Even blessed with a siren-like voice and perfect pitch. Truly, in Momo’s eyes, Kyouka was a music goddess.
Once, she had asked Kyouka why she fell for her and Kyouka had to explain to her every single thing that she loved about her. It was truly endearing that Momo felt like she was the only girl in the world. That was one of the moments that she had truly felt prideful, she wanted the world to know that Kyouka loves her . Out of all people, her . But, she can’t.
Technically, Momo didn’t break any rules when she dated Kyouka. Their dating ban ended a few months ago, at Andromenda’s fourth anniversary. It was just that she had dated Kyouka a day after the ban was released. Kyouka had aired until her ban was over before asking her out properly and Momo immediately said yes. Momo had been waiting for that for six months (back when Kyouka first talked to her properly outside of work) and for those six months, it felt like they were already dating anyway. There was no reason to hold back anymore. Her agency didn’t find out about her relationship status until one of the staff caught her and Kyouka making out backstage and therefore, reported it to both of their agencies. Momo had been so angry at that staff for snitching, at least they had the audacity to say it privately. She would have been in so much trouble if that spread out of her control. Momo had been scared when she was alone in Uwubami’s office. Uwubami had been mad at her when they talked but not because of her relationship with Kyouka rather because they had to do such an intimate thing in public. Momo was relieved when Uwubami didn’t fire her (could you blame her? The entertainment industry was known to be homophobic despite the amount of BLs and GLs they produced). In fact, Uwubami had predicted their relationship, something about their “sexual tension” when they first interacted sparked something in her boss. Still, the PDA was enough for Uwubami to ban her from interacting with Kyouka for a week.
When she came home to their dorms that night, her members had prepared a congratulation party. Obviously, since the couple collectively agreed to keep their relationship secret to not jeopardize their careers, the party only consisted of only Andromeda’s members. `Kyouka’s agency didn’t have any problems with their relationship, they didn’t have any relationship ban in the first place. Under one condition, as long as the relationship is done in secret until their band 一 Bassline 一 was prominent enough. Besides, Present Mic Entertainment was publicly accepting of homosexuality.
All night, Mina had asked Momo about the details of her relationship. She had squealed and fangirled about how cute of a couple they were. Tsuyu had the great idea to ask if any of Bassline’s songs, specifically the ones Kyouka wrote (which is a lot) was about her. When Momo answered that 6 out of twelve songs in Bassline’s third album 一Orpheus and Eurydice一 were about her, the group cheered. Ever since then, the others would exchange knowing looks when Bassline performed one of the songs from the album (though Momo never confirmed which songs were about her specifically). There were also a lot more songs that Kyouka had written that were about her but Momo liked the way her members would guess which songs they were when Bassline comes up on the radio or in one of their playlists. Last month, Bassline released an EP and Ochako had brainstormed with Tooru which ones were about Momo.
Momo had been so relieved when her members were accepting. She knew they would love her no matter what and that all of them were supportive of homosexuality (seen from them loving international same-sex couples from their fans, picking Pride flags from the audience during concerts, recommending queer films and franchises, or when Mina came out as bisexual three months after). Still, knowing and experiencing it for yourself was different. Momo was so overwhelmed that night to the point that she cried. They had hugged it out after and made a promise to always accept each other (and they repeated the party and the hug when Mina came out).
Momo knew they weren’t the only ones, that in the industry, they were not the only same-sex couple. There was no heterosexual explanation for SunMillion. Momo knew from the way Tamaki and Mirio looked and acted around each other that there’s something going on between those two. Momo was convinced that the two had been dropping signs since forever. Their fans seemed pretty sure that the two were dating too. And if they’re not, then Momo might as well not have a gaydar anyways (seriously, Tamaki’s stage name is Suneater and he calls Mirio his sun? That’s kinda gay). Following SunMillion, Momo did know another couple. Nejire, the model from Ryukyu Entertainment, and Yuyu, a fashion designer from the Bakugou company. The two weren’t out but Momo bonded with Nejire once during a photoshoot. Nejire accidentally called Yuyu her girlfriend and almost bolted out the door. Momo reassured her and admitted to dating Kyouka. Momo doesn’t have the best gaydar, she’s often labeled as too oblivious that her gaydar won’t work until it’s obvious to her face. That’s why she didn’t suspect that Nejire was a lesbian but knew that Tamaki and Mirio were dating when Mirio looked like he wanted to kiss the living fuck out of Tamaki when they were performing “Troublemaker”. But, Momo had been heavily influenced by Mina. Mina’s words exposed her to the duo, “Ice Dynamite” or Bakugou and Todoroki’s thick sexual tension.
◈
Momo brushes her hair. Their driver announced that they were 5 minutes away from the venue and Momo, alongside Ochako, began preparing. In theory, they really don’t need to do that since they’ll be styled by their stylist anyway, but both knew that paparazzi would be scattered all over. Being the biggest girl group in Asia meant that they were constantly being watched. Which, unfortunately, meant that hiding things were harder. Momo’s hair had dried in the car ride though it was still cold from being wet.
“YaoMomo, can you help me wear my necklace?”
Momo faces Ochako who was holding a silver necklace with an emerald green jewel and little pink crystals around it. Momo smiles, having a clue where it’s from, “Sure”, she replies. Momo scoots over to Ochako’s seat, careful not to lose her balance in the moving and compact car. Seeing an empty spot beside Ochako, Momo proceeds to take it. Ochako gently places the necklace on Momo’s hands, her warm hands meeting Momo’s cold ones. Ochako turns around as Momo moves her hands around Ochako’s body, placing it in front of her neck. Momo gently puts on the necklace, acting as if it was a precious treasure (it probably was for Ochako).
“Is this from Izuku, Chako?”, Momo asks her. Her hands meeting at the back of Ochako’s neck.
“Yep, he gave it as my birthday gift”, Ochako replied, popping the “p”.
“Izuku’s really great at picking gifts, isn’t he? I’ve always admired that about him”
“He is, but don’t sell yourself out! You give the perfect gifts!”
Momo’s hand fumbles due to being flustered and fails to connect the hook. Her brow creases as she pouts her lips in determination. When the necklace is successfully on, Momo lets out a breath. Ochako turns back around and Momo notices that the girl had been texting someone all along. Now, Momo wasn’t one to eavesdrop or gossip but she had grown comfortable with her members that she could tease them with to they’re texting. And now was a perfect opportunity. She peeks a little on Ochako’s phone, which is no problem because of her height, and notices a green heart. Momo smirks, her suspicions were correct.
“Were you texting Izuku this whole time, Chako? No wonder you haven’t stopped smiling!”, Momo whistles. Ochako’s already pink cheeks grow redder and she angrily pouts to Momo in a playful manner. “Don’t act like you’re not the same when you’re texting Kyouka! In fact, you’re worse!”. Momo laughs, a light blush on her cheeks. Ochako waits a second before joining Momo in a fit of giggles.
“Damn, we’re down bad huh, YaoMomo?”
Momo relaxes on the seat, “Yeah…”
Momo had been relieved when she found out that she wasn’t the only sapphic when she met Nejire. When Ochako admitted to them privately about dating Izuku, Momo felt the same relief. She found comfort that she wasn’t the only one in a relationship in Andromeda. She and Ochako often bonded over the struggles of dating in secret and having to express love in the most mundane way to avoid suspicions. When they’re performing, Momo notices these things with Izuku and Ochako. Both were MCs for UA’s weekly music show and Momo speculated that most of their bonding time came from that. She also notices the loving looks shared every time they meet. And every time, Momo was filled with joy and butterflies thinking that that’s how she and Kyouka look like sharing their moments. Kyouka and Momo often shared loving looks with each other, unlike Ochako and Izuku, they don’t have many activities together to excuse seeing each other. Thus, during every show they have on their conflicting schedule, every Idol meeting, or every award shows the two need to express their love constantly. It ranges from shared looks to hanging out in the more private areas of the studios. When they’re in public and hidden in the sea of idols 一 Bassline, Andromeda, and Deku purposely stand near each other so the couples could be in each other’s presence. For Momo and Kyouka, that meant little touches, whether from their knees, shoulders, arms, fingers, or flat-out handholding if they feel bold enough. When they’re performing the couple find ways to show their love, for Kyouka that meant glancing at Momo a second longer when a line she’s singing was for her; for Momo, that meant winking at one part of the stage where Kyouka is positioned, creating an illusion where the audience thinks it’s for them when it’s for her girlfriend.
Sometimes, they would reference each other during variety shows. The most popular one was when Momo sang a part of Midnight’s song, Telepatia. She had sung that when Kyouka left for their international tour and Momo had terribly missed her. Sadly, it got popular for another reason. Her fans correlated the meaning of the verse she sang which is about making love with someone telepathically (scandalous, Momo knows that) to her and Todoroki. According to their fans, it was correlated with Todoroki and Bakugou leaving for their America tour. Momo had been so frustrated then that her members had to physically strain her to not publicly announce her relationship. Kyouka then called and calmed her down but still Momo thought the whole thing was ridiculous. She would be fine if she was shipped with someone that she at least had interacted with because then she would know that they’re just friends and would laugh at its silliness. But no, they had to ship her with Todoroki. In Momo’s four years in media, she had never, not even once interacted with Todoroki unless you would count bowing in respect. Their fans had no reason to ship them other than they look good together and she hated it. The next time she saw Todoroki and Bakugou, the two also looked irritated and Momo had apologized for causing the rumor. They accepted and Momo was able to move on from the whole fiasco.
Of course, it wasn’t uncommon for idols to be shipped with people. Even Kyouka was shipped with her bandmate and guitarist, Denki Kaminari. All four of them found it funny since they knew that Kyouka and Denki were just friends (except Denki actually caught feelings when they were trainees. He got over it and they joke about it today. In Denki’s case, that means going “Wow, I fell in love with that? ” when Kyouka does something embarrassing). Yes, four of them. Like what Bassline’s fans and the media expected, there were members of Bassline that were dating. Those two, however, were not Kyouka and Denki but rather Denki and Sero 一 their lead singer. The two had been dating way before Kyouka and Momo and actually helped (badly) Kyouka in “wooing” Momo. When Kyouka told Momo about this, Momo was ecstatic and requested a double date. They still go on those but it’s harder because of their conflicting and busy schedules.
◈
Momo paces behind her members as they walk through UA’s corridors. The members resided to walking slowly, not wanting to tire out their already exhausted bodies. As they walk, Momo’s ear deafens with cheers. She vaguely remembers being a rookie and feeling overwhelmed the first time they attended an award show. Momo exhales, it felt like such a long time since then. She braces herself with a turn, already familiar with UA’s floors, she’s been performing here for four years now, it’d be a shame if she hasn’t. Momo tries not to hit any staff passing by. She knows how hectic their job is, especially since Ice Dynamite is performing, surely their stage would be high production, as always. Momo tries to conserve all of her energy left, there are still two grand awards left and they’re announcing the last two after the last performance of the night. Andromeda had been practicing and rehearsing their stage since early morning and they did a dress rehearsal earlier, but actually performing their stage has always been more exhausting. The cheers and adrenaline just make it more exhausting. It surprises Momo how their 30-minute award show performance was more exhausting than 2-3 hours of performing time in a concert.
The girls are nearing the entrance for the idol’s platform and Momo can already tell from the abundance of the volume of the fan’s cheers. The staff motions them over to enter the platform. Momo takes a deep breath before walking outside. Almost immediately the volume overwhelms her but she’s gotten used to it. The speakers blast Ice Dynamite's voices as they perform their hit single “Black Swan”. It was a classical genre of music and took over the charts for the duo’s unique choice for a single, and their choreography and chemistry whilst performing it. Momo walks the stairs towards the platform. Walking in this area means that not only would she hear the cheers and the singing but also the million clicks of cameras as they photograph the performance. Momo doesn’t mind the noise as long as it isn’t towards them for a second.
They reach the platform and Idols, in instinct, stood up and bowed to them. To show respect, the girls also bowed as they walk towards their seats. In award shows like these, seats aren’t permanent. They take a rotation system to accommodate each group’s different members as some groups have more members than others. Momo bows and smiles warmly at each idol she passes by. She recognizes some of them. Tokoyami, Shoji, Satou, and Kouda, a hip-hop group. Yo Shindo, a soloist who specializes in RnB. Inasa, a solo rapper. Then she notices it, an auburn hair just behind their seat. Kendo, Bassline’s pianist. That means Bassline was seating behind them, Momo couldn’t help the smile grow on her face as the rest of the band stands up to bow to them. She takes notice of their order, Kendo, Kirishima 一 their drummer, Shiozaki 一 their second guitarist, and there she is, Kyouka 一 Bassline’s main vocalist and bassist. Behind her stood Sero and Denki, goofy smiles on their faces. Kyouka’s eyes remain on her and Momo feels herself blush. When they bowed, Kyouka sends her a smile, and Momo sends a flying kiss by kissing the air discreetly. Kyouka smirks and Momo feels herself flush red.
The girls of Andromeda sit down and watches the performance. With a knowing look, the other girls decided to let Momo sit right in front of Kyouka. This wasn’t good for Momo. She feels Kyouka’s eyes burn to her back, tracing her neck, before looking at the stage again. Sometimes Kyouka would reach for her water, which was conveniently placed behind Momo’s spot. Every time Kyouka bends down for her bottle, her breath tickles Momo’s bare neck. Momo tries her best not to turn red. The girls send her teasing glances every time and Momo just narrows her eyes.
Once Ice Dynamite finished their performance, it was Ochako’s turn to get flustered. Deku was the last performer for a reason. The entire stadium rocked with cheers, both fans and idols alike singing along to Deku’s performance. One time, they all stood up to vibe. And of course, Kyouka took advantage of that. Bassline members were known to be chaotic thus it wasn’t suspicious for Kyouka to be directly behind Momo, her body slightly pushing to Momo’s every time she gets pushed by Denki. And Momo leans backward ever so slightly to lean on Kyouka.
When Deku finishes his performance, the show takes a 10-minute break for him and other idols to come back before announcing the final grand winners. To Momo, it was obvious that Deku would win one of the remaining grand prices. In UA’s end of the year award show, there are a total of four grand prizes 一 Worldwide Icon of the Year, Song of the Year, Album of the Year, and Artist of the Year. The first two grand prices 一 Worldwide Icon of the Year and Song of the Year 一 had already been announced after Bassline and Andromeda’s performance (the last four performers are always those in demand by the audience for watch time). Worldwide Icon was won by Ice Dynamite and Song of the Year was won by Andromeda with their single, “Psycho”. This win marks Ice Dynamite’s 15th grand prize and Andromeda’s 12th.
RG, a veteran idol takes the stage as she announces the winner for Album of the Year.
“And Album of the Year goes to…”, RG takes a moment to let the cheer die down, “Bassline!”.
The crowd erupts to cheers as Sero, Denki, and Kirishima hop on their feet. Momo looks back to Bassline’s seat and finds Kyouka. Kyouka was already standing and getting ready to walk towards the stage, a smile on her face. The idols stand up as they clap and bow. Bassline’s members make a beeline for the stage, by that she means Kirishima, Sero, and Denki while the girls walk at a much calmer, but still speed walking, pace.
Denki takes the mic and shouts into it, “Heyo!”, extending the “o”. The crowd cheers back a “Heyo”. Denki laughs, “Let me stop before we do the Freddie Mercury cheer. First of all, I would like to thank my legs for supporting me and my arms for always being there for me”, Denki chuckles as Kyouka buried her face in her hands.
“Okay, for real, I’d like to thank the fans for enjoying this album so much. ‘Twas my riffs that got you wasn’t it? Thank you so much, And please look forward to our next album!”, Denki bows and passes the mic to Kendo.
“Melodies! Thank you so much for your support! We wouldn’t be achieving this award if it wasn’t for you. This album bears so much of each member and its main purpose was to let out fans let out their emotions through music. As you all can tell, the songs were all multidimensional in ways that the meaning depends on what you interpret it as. We’re glad that you found your sound while listening to this album. Thank you so much!”
Kendo passes the mic to Kirishima who basically shouts into it, “You guys are so manly! You’re a woman? No problem! You’re manly. Oh, you’re enby? Still manly! Honestly, you guys are so cool for this award. I would also like to thank all the people behind this album. The staff, the designers, those who helped us produce the songs, our main songwriter”, he points to Sero and Kyouka, “EJ and Cello!”, the crowd cheers. “I’d like to thank the staff and the guards and every single person on Earth, even the haters, for making your decisions for this moment. I just realized how insensitive that sounds, I’m sorry!”. The idols and the crowd share a collective laugh. Kirishima bows and passes the mic to Shiozaki.
“I’d like to keep this short and thank the universe for guiding us and making this happen. I’d like to thank the Melodies for being our universe and guiding us to this moment right here. I hope you continue to guide us and support us”. Shiozaki extends her arms and bows dramatically before Sero takes the mic, the trophy in his hand.
“We’ve basically thanked everything by now, but really we’re very grateful for this award. ‘Luminescence: the interval’ was an album that, as Fist said, had a lot of meaning that is subjective to each person. We’re very glad that you found your meaning to these songs as well. Thank you so, so much!”. Sero basically throws the mic to Kyouka who caught it by instinct (from her seat, Momo is melting with the gesture).
“What can I even say? All that’s been said has been said, I’d like to thank everyone again for loving this album. I hope y’all look forward to our next album too, that is, by the way, coming very soon”, Kyouka looks around the audience as she speaks, her eyes lasting a second longer on Momo, seemingly ignoring the crowd’s cheer when she revealed their next album was coming soon.
Bassline bowed and walked back to the platform, carrying their 10th grand prize. As they walk towards the platform, the awardee for the Artist of the Year gets announced. But Momo didn’t pay attention, she knows who would win it anyway.
“Deku!”
Deku walks to get his 18th grand prize but Momo’s focus was on the look Kyouka was giving her.
“ Meet me in the After Party ”
Momo smiles to herself. Kyouka was right behind her but she couldn’t wait for the event to end just so she could attend the After Party and sneak off with Kyouka.
◈ END ◈