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Kyouka looked at the tickets on her desk and then took a deep breath. She could do this.
She marched out of her room and down the hallway towards the stairs, refusing to let her nerves get to her.
Then ran back into her room to grab the tickets she had left on the desktop.
Ok, now she could do it.
She marched down the stairs for real this time, practicing what she was going to say.
“Yaoyorozu, do you want to-to go to the music festival with me? No, no, I can’t have that voice crack, c'mon, I have to get this right.” She murmured to herself as she made her way to the common room where she was sure Momo was, as she was usually tutoring someone or at least helping them for one of their classes.
Sure enough, Uraraka was biting her lip in frustration as Yaoyorozu patiently explained the rules for spelling in english.
“-They just don’t make sense! Why are there so many irregular words for each rule? Why can’t they use characters like us?” The bubbly teens voice said despairingly.
“That’s just how it is, Uraraka. Now, do you need any more help?” Yaoyorozu asked calmly.
“I don’t suppose you could do this for me?”
“No, no, sorry. I can’t do that.” Yaoyorozu laughed, and Kyouka stubbornly ignored the images her mind conjured up after hearing it. Thoughts of Kyouka making her laugh, thoughts of kissing her while she laughed, thoughts of-not now. She would not think about those things right now because she was going to ask the helpful, beautiful girl out on a date.
She was.
She stepped out of the hallway and into the room.
“Hey, Yaoyorozu….” Kyouka trailed off, voice going quiet. The girl didn’t even look up from where she was bargaining with Uraraka, so that was kinda a plus. It means Kyouka could try again.
Another time though.
It was the next day and she psyched herself up to do it.
…
She didn’t do it that day.
She woke up early and got out of bed, thinking I’m going to do it today.
…
She did not.
It had been a few days and she really needed to do it. Will she succeed in asking her today?
…
Nope.
Ok. This is ridiculous. She was going to do it and she was going to do it now.
“Yaoyorozu!” Kyouka yelled.
“Yeah?” Yaoyorozu looked up from the manual she was reading, startled.
“Want to go to the music festival with me?” She almost spoke too fast but she got her voice under control.
“Ah sure! I don’t have anything planned that day!” Yaoyorozu said, starting to look excited and strangely flushed as she thought about it. Kyouka very nearly fainted to the floor because of relief.
“Ok, cool. I already have tickets.” Thankfully, she had a good grasp on moderating her tone.
“Oh, you didn’t have to do that, I could have paid for my own!” Yaoyorozu said, voice cracking.
“I already bought them. Thanks again for coming, Yaoyorozu.” Kyouka turned and almost ran back to her room.
She did it.
They arrived at the music festival as it was reaching full swing. There were so many performers it was almost overwhelming and there were booths where you could meet artists and buy music. Kyouka really wanted to dance with Yaoyorozu in the huge plaza where there was a folk band playing, but didn’t know if that was allowed, so she just toured the festival. They got food and refreshments and Kyouka made sure that she ate enough for her quirk, “social standards” or not.
They laughed as they walked around and Yaoyorozu actually was really interested in all of the booths. She bounced from place to place, hands ghosting over everything they could as Kyouka trailed behind slowly.
“And who performed this?” Yaoyorozu showed a book to her, eyes sparkling childishly, ready to explore a new world.
“Well, it’s written by Tōru Takemitsu, and it sounds kind of dissonant, almost haunting. It’s supposed to be played on the piano.” Kyouka explained. Yaoyorozu hummed thoughtfully, staring at the music book.
“You can play the piano, right?” She suddenly asked as if she just thought of something.
“Yeah, not well, but I can play it.” Kyouka answered slowly.
“My house has a grand piano! My grandfather loved to play in it, and you can teach me! If you want to, of course.” The girl amended quickly.
“Oh-I-of course I could teach you. When do you want to learn?” Wait, wait, hold on, slow down Kyouka, you can’t go that fast. It could be seen as demanding and that’s not a good dating technique.
“Well, I already have an outing scheduled and approved by Aizawa-sensei and it’s about a week from now, would that work?” Yaoyorozu questioned, not noticing the other girl's internal struggle.
“Yeah, that would work, I’ll just have to ask to get it approved as well.” Kyouka sounded a bit dazed, but she had just scored another date (or at least another day alone) with her crush, so everything was going good.
“Now, explain this to me?”
They got home tired but happy, too many songs stuck in their head and four piano books heavier. Yaoyorozu had insisted on paying for all of them, even if she was only going to use one in the near future. Kyouka moved to the kitchen to make a quick dinner for the two as Yaoyorozu moved to stow their books in a place they would get ruined by a rogue quirk.
Kyouka suddenly said after they had sat down to eat, “Yaoyorozu, do you-”
“You can call me Momo, that might be better.” Momo said after swallowing. She had impeccable manners.
“Well, uh, Momo, do you, um, will you,” Kyouka stuttered. “Will you be my girlfriend?” Hoping against hope that she wasn’t reading the signs wrong, that she wasn’t going to be rejected. She stuffed her face, partially so she didn’t have to answer, partially to distract herself from the feelings of rejection that hadn’t happened yet.
Momo squeaked out something, ears suddenly flaming as she covered her face after putting down her chopsticks.
“What?”
“Sure.” Momo’s voice cracked, but Kyouka didn’t pay any mind to that. She said yes. She said yes.
Oh my god.
She grabbed Momo’s hands over the table and pulled them gently away from her face. She looked up into the other girl's beautiful eyes, smiling like a dope. “You can call me Kyouka. Hi.”
Momo was her girlfriend. Her girlfriend. And she was perfect. What did she do to deserve this?
Momo laughed a bit, eyes sparkling. “Hi.”
Momo paced anxiously around her room, going over her plan for the seventh time. She was going to take Jirou, her girlfriend , to the art museum, where there was a new show that lots of people had liked. Ok.
What if she doesn’t like it? What if she’s bored and I don’t have anything else planned? What if she just agreed to be my girlfriend because she pitied me?
No, she had confessed to Momo. She was the one to initiate this entire relationship because Momo was too much of a coward to do anything about her massive crush other than look longfully at Jirou’s calm purple eyes and her soft hair and her nice hands and her pretty lips and her-
“Yaoyorozuuuuuuuuuuuu!” Came the shout from the common room. “Can you help me with Cementoss-sensei’s homework? I don’t get it at all!” The voice, probably Denki, maybe Mina, whined.
“Coming!” That was one way to break her lesbian panic.
Jirou was pretty and nice, ok? Momo’s lucky to have even got her attention, much less her affection.
A few days passed, and it was time for the art museum. Time for their date.
Ok, she can do this. Momo just needs to remind Jirou about it, and then they’ll get dressed and then they’ll be going to the art museum and they would be all alone and maybe they’ll hold hands and maybe Momo would kiss Jirou and maybe they would hug and maybe Jirou would rest her head against her shoulder. Maybe. A girl could hope.
“Jirou, are you ready to go to the museum?” Her voice shook a bit with nerves.
“Yeah, let me put on my good shoes!” Came the reply. Jirou’s voice was so nice, it was calming and silky. Momo loves it when she sings.
And then Jirou came out of her hallway.
And Momo’s heart did a full on stop, and her brain couldn’t help get it back in order because it was also frozen because wow. Jirou was beautiful.
I’m dating that girl.
She’s dating me.
Wow.
I’m the luckiest girl in the world.
Jirou opened the door to the dorms, not looking at Momo, cheeks flushed as red as a strawberry. Momo took a moment to register that she even moved, still staring blankly at the place Jirou was standing in a moment before.
“Oh! Ah, sorry, thank you!” She hustled out the open door, turning to make sure Jirou was following. Jirou kept glancing quickly at her and then looking away again, eyes avoiding anything below her shoulders. They made their way across the grounds, hands slightly brushing. Momo didn’t want to seem too demanding or forward, so she left them like that, but oh, Jirou’s hands are smooth and long and her nails are painted black and they’re so pretty and I really want to hold them.
She carefully looked away from the source of her racing thoughts as though that would help in any way, shape, or form.
They got into the car Momo had rented for the day (the driver was background checked multiple times before he was allowed to even come into contact with the girls) and made their way through the sweeping archway of the museum.
Into the gallery they went, with the lights turned on as low as they could go without it being dangerous because the paintings were made by an artist that had a quirk that could make different substances bioluminescent with the trade off that she herself couldn't see color.
Momo was sure the paintings were interesting, beautiful actually, but Jirou’s eyes glinted in the light and her hair glowed and she had a small smile on her face and-
Well, it’s safe to say Momo didn’t focus on much other than the gorgeous girl with her.
Momo grabbed Kyouka by the hand, nervously leading her to the blanket sitting cheerfully in the warm sun.
“And…here. You can open your eyes, Kyouka.” Momo felt jittery as she watched purple eyes open, anxiousness and excitement mixed with love running through her. Kyouka reached up, covering her mouth with one of her hands, her other one gripping the strap of the guitar she had on her back.
“Oh my god, are you serious?” She asked in awe.
“Well, yes, but don’t worry, the blanket is made from renewable resources and the food is from locally sourced producers and-” Momo started to ramble nervously because she didn’t read Kyouka’s tone right.
Thankfully, the girl put her hands on Momo’s shoulders and stared straight into her eyes, every line of her body serious as she said “Momo, I love this. Thank you so much for organizing it.”
Momo flushed, extremely aware of the nice, pretty girl’s hands on her shoulders.
They sat down and started to eat, hands causally resting on each other. They talked about everything and nothing, watching the clouds in the sky.
“Momo, is it ok if I play you a song?” Kyouka asked, ringing her hands while her ear jacks clicked together anxiously.
“Oh course! You have a beautiful voice, why wouldn’t I want you to play?” Momo’s dark eyes sparkled as she gazed into Kyouka’s purple ones.
“Ok, um, ok. Here it is.” She grabbed her guitar and positioned it on her lap, but started clapping.
“ I love everybody because I love you, when you stood up, walked away, barefoot and the grass where you lay left a bed in your shape I looked over it and I ached…” Her voice wrapped around Momo lovingly, promising protection and care and memories made and growing old together. She didn’t know what the standards were for good music, but she thought this one was one of the best songs out there. She loved the song and she loved the singer, with a voice so carefree and smooth, with nice hands strumming the strings to create a heavenly harmony to her pretty voice.
When Kyouka finished, ears red but smile soft, Momo stood up and held out a hand to help her up. She wanted to express her happiness, and while she didn’t have enough musical talent to even be on the same podium as the beautiful girl she did have experience with another thing. Kyouka had put her guitar to the side and gotten up, so Momo pulled her off the blanket into the grass and grabbed her other hand while humming the song.
Kyouka started singing it again quietly, and Momo hummed the harmony, swaying in the grass. Eventually she pulled the singing girl around and led her into an old dance she learned as a child. Kyouka took control of the pace soon after and it dissolved into something less organized but full of joy nonetheless. Momo led Kyouka in a series of steps, delicate and intricate while Kyouka swung her around, twisting and dipping her. Momo added a bit too much ballet and Kyouka sometimes lost control, but it didn’t matter. They were together.
They ran and laughed and sang their hearts out, blanket waiting patiently for when they got tired and laid down next to each other, watching the sunset with their pinkies linked and their hearts light as a feather.
Kyouka fiddled idly with her earphone jacks as she tried to figure out the answer to the math problem. She felt a slight pressure on her head and turned it to find her girlfriend leaning over her, hair down.
“Hey.”
“Hey. What are you doing?” Momo’s voice was calm and mellow, a balm to the panic Kyouka was trying to push down for a while.
“I’m trying to finish up this homework from Cemetoss-sensei but I really don’t know how to do it.” Kyouka almost whined, but had enough dignity to make sure she didn’t.
“Oh, I understand that! Do you want me to teach you how I do it?”
“Yes, please. ”
A few minutes after she explained the process and Kyouka had started quietly working through the worksheet, Momo shot up like she just remembered something.
“Oh, Kyouka, I forgot, but the sun has almost gone down, would you like to watch the sunset with me? Maybe see the stars? I can make a telescope and we could try and spot Mars or Jupiter, if you want.”
Kyouka, ready to stop this math hell (because even though she now understood it because Momo is a goddess in human form doesn't mean she isn’t tired of seeing this homework packet) instantly agreed. They climbed the stairs and went up to the roof, making sure that they flipped the sign on the door so no one would disturb them, something that was implemented after Satou complained that people were distracting him while he tended to his garden.
Momo quickly made a thin blanket, and after she put her shirt back on, they both sat down and watched the last of the sun sink. Taking the bright pinks and yellows with it, leaving the deep dark blue and purples of the night sky, Kyouka felt at peace with the world. When it got too cold for their original blanket, Kyouka quickly ran into her room and got out her big fluffy one so that Momo didn’t have to strain herself and they had fun spotting and naming different stars. Momo memorized where most of the constellations were and Kyouka had fun explaining all of the different stories behind them. Momo’s eyes glittered and when Kyouka gazed into them, they seemed to hold a galaxy.
The girls' voices faded eventually, leaving them in a peaceful silence. They flopped down onto the roof, heads close together, blanket tangled between their legs. As their eyes closed they pulled each other closer, Kyouka’s head pillowed on Momo’s chest. It was a peaceful sleep for the both of them, up with each other, the stars twinkling above them.
The seasons were starting to change to fall, and people’s pumpkins were sprouting. Satou’s little garden in one corner of the roof was flourishing with peas and lettuce and cilantro.
Momo remembered the little tradition her family had whenever they had time, and that was to carve pumpkins. It was a tradition they picked up from western culture, but they liked carving it into more fall-like scenes, not scary ones.
Would Kyouka like doing that? Well, it was unofficially her turn to set up a date, so Momo could just ask the girl. (Unofficially because they never organized an actual schedule for dates or anything. They have just accidentally been following a pattern.)
“Hey, Kyouka, what do you usually do in the fall? Do you do anything special?” She asked her girlfriend who was tuning one of her guitars in the “frustration corner” as Momo had dubbed it. It was the corner Kyouka has sat in for all three of her years here at UA to compose her music, and there have been many a time where the right rhythm and notes simply didn’t show up. So, the frustration corner.
She sighed and put the stubborn instrument to the side. “Nah, other than the music festival my family never made a big deal out of it. Why?”
“Oh, well, you know that western tradition of carving pumpkins? I was thinking we could do that here.” Momo wrung her hands a bit. She never failed to get nervous whenever she pitched a date idea to Kyouka, even if they’ve been dating for over two years now.
“Wouldn’t Satou have our heads if we touched his pumpkins?” Came the girl in question’s incredulous voice.
“Maybe go to an outside farm? Or patch? That could work, plus it’s helping the community!” Momo said, back straightening in her seat.
“Rich girl.” Kyouka said right before a pillow was thrown at her head.
“Oh, shut up!” Their giggling could be heard outside the doorway.
Momo planned the entire outing. Kyouka was joking when she said that she was a rich girl looking to spend money but she was a rich girl wanting to spend money on her girlfriend.
Same difference in the end.
She found a small carnival-type gathering that had been organized by a group of friends with nature quirks, so that they could give back to the community. It looked like fun.
When they walked up to the carnival, the entire entrance was blocked by vines. Each time someone bought or showed a ticket to the person sitting in the little booth on the far right, a big part of the vines slowly arched up, making an entrance. When Momo and Kyouka went to go through the walkway after showing the person their pre-paid tickets, they found that it was actually a tunnel.
They walked slowly through the massive gateway, looking up in awe at the green walls. The vines swirled slowly into ever-changing designs, the sun filtering in just enough to give the tunnel a whimsical lighting. Momo grabbed Kyouka’s hand and threaded their fingers together, feeling Kyouka’s fingerless gloves against her palm. Kyouka had really nice hands, the skin was surprisingly soft where Momo could feel it.
They emerged from the green tunnel, the vines closing up behind them. What lay before the couple was surprisingly expansive, stalls and fields stretching upwards to half a kilometer. The two set off towards the pumpkin patch, but a large sign proclaiming that there was a corn maze to their left stopped them. The sign was made up entirely out of flowers fastened to a board, and there was a little bucket below the sign with ones that you could take with a little spool of different colored ribbon. Kyouka reached in quickly, letting go of Momo’s hand, and grabbed a red chrysanthemum. She tied a sloppy bow onto the right side of the flower quickly and tucked it into her hair, taking her hand right after the exchange was over. Momo raised her left hand and softly touched the delicate petals. A warm smile grew on her face.
They went down to the corn maze and located the entrance. The two ignored the maps that were on the side of the entrance for people that didn’t want to figure out the maze but still wanted to do it and plowed right into the maze. They twisted and turned and Momo accidentally fell through a wall because she was looking at Kyouka, but eventually they got through it. They made their way back onto the main path to finish their objective of going to the pumpkin patch but Momo’s stomach growled as they passed by a swath of food stands.
“What’s your level of hunger? Snack, multiple snacks, meal, or meal and snacks?” Kyouka asked as they stepped into line at the nearest stand.
“Um, well, anythings fine, I’ll just get what you get.”
“No, what do you need? It's ok to be hungry and to eat more than others. You won’t be unhealthy, and your body can handle it. It’s ok.” Kyouka tenderly cupped Momo’s face, gently staring into her dark eyes as if she was trying to infuse the message directly into her brain.
“Well, I didn’t really get to eat much breakfast, so if it's ok then… I would like both a meal and a snack?” Momo’s voice was small as if she was scared of the words she was saying.
“Ok, a meal and snacks. What do you want from the menu?” Kyouka’s thumb stroked Momo’s cheek once before letting go, moving up in the line and peering at the menu, which was a beige cloth with all of the options sewn in. Peering guiltily at it, Momo privately thought that it wasn’t too far-fetched to assume that all of the string was hand dyed from plants too. All of the food was proudly vegetarian, and she admired all of the work the people did to organize all of this.
“I’m going to have a poke bowl, the second one, and maybe some karinto if you want it.” Momo suggested, bumping Kyouka to remind her to move up.
“That sounds good, I was thinking I want to have the gyoza.” Kyouka murmured, jolting and stepping forward again to catch up with the line.
“Oh, yes, gyoza is amazing! My cook makes it all the time and I love it. The next time you come over you can ask for it.” Momo gushed, eyes sparkling. Kyouka laughed.
“Guess it’s going to be good then, if it has the Momo stamp of approval.”
Momo snorted in surprise as the two took the final step and looked up at the window.
“Hey, how can I help you?”
The girls rattled off their orders and Kyouka moved to wait for their food with the other people who ordered before them while Momo snagged a good table.
The two ate their meal, planning out the rest of their visit here.
“I saw a tractor ride a little ways up ahead that looked fun, we can do that before we get pumpkins.” Kyouka suggested, idly moving her food around on her plate.
“That sounds nice. Will it be too loud for you though?” Momo asked as she speared the food she was playing with and ate it.
“Nah, that doesn’t bother me as much anymore.” Kyouka said, gesturing with her ear jacks to emphasize the point.
“Ok, tell me if you need me to make you anything! I’ve memorized how to make headphones.”
Kyouka smiled gratefully and booped Momo’s nose. She squawked.
The train ride was filled with little kids and their families, but Kyouka and Momo grabbed seats up at the front so they weren’t in the brunt of it. The train made a lap around the fields and let them off. It was a small ride, but the couple enjoyed it.
They finally made their way to the pumpkin patch, where they walked up and down the squiggly rows of pumpkins, the plants spilling out of their boxes and onto the walkways.
“Look at this tiny one, Momo.”
Momo looked over from where she was judging some different pumpkins, trying to determine which one was the biggest one she could comfortably carry.
“Aww, it’s adorable!” She cooed. “Are you taking it home?”
“Of course, it’s so small and I will sell my soul for it.” Kyouka deadpanned. Momo giggled and went back to trying to choose the pumpkin she wanted.
“What are you doing over there?” Kyouka asked a few minutes later.
“Trying to find the biggest one.”
“Bet I can carry a bigger one than you.”
“Are you sure? Aizawa-sensei’s last hero exercise says otherwise . ” Momo laughed as she felt a small poke in her side, Kyouka’s ear jack retracting a second afterwards.
They came home with unreasonably large pumpkins and happy spirits.
The next day they elected to carve the pumpkins outside so they wouldn’t get the guts and juice all over the clean tiles. Momo created a few knives and spoons and they got to scooping.
A while later and they were still chugging along, scooping out guts,
“Why is this so challenging?” Kyouka huffed out.
“Probably because you haven’t done it before.” Momo answered as she stood up and stepped out of her pumpkin, a poncho she created covering her body to protect it from the slimy gloop.
“You’re not going any faster yourself, Momo!”
“That’s because my pumpkin is the size of my upper body. Yours is the size of your head. You’re doing great though! Almost done.” Momo encouraged, almost done with her own pumpkin, size be damned.
“I know something that will slow you down.” Kyouka said, smiling evilly. She grabbed a pile of guts next to her and chucked it at Momo. She gasped in mock disappointment, chest dripping orange.
“Kyouka, I thought we were friends!”
“Nope, just girlfriends.” And so began the epic war between the two girls, one that tested their dodging, their acrobatic skills, and their strategy making skills. It was a brutal battle, and the many casualties included Momo’s signature hair and Kyouka’s shirt.
They eventually came inside, pumpkins unfinished but hands and bodies too sticky to continue, to relax and clean up.
The rain fell in buckets onto the pavement, and with it Kyouka’s plans for the evening. It was her official date night turn. (They had made an actual schedule by now) She had planned to go to an outside restaurant that they really liked for date night but that obviously wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.
Creati, the number twenty-six on the hero rankings, sighed and went into their bedroom to change out of her fancy clothes she had put on for the restaurant and back into her relaxing ones as Earphone Jack, ranked number thirty-nine sat on their couch and ordered from their favorite fast food restaurant. She was wearing comfortable enough clothing to be both inside clothes and outside clothes.
“What do you want to eat, Momo? Meal, two meals, a meal and a snack?” The prone figure on the couch yelled.
“My usual is fine, thanks! And I just need a meal. I've eaten a lot today and I’m not hungry for anything else.” She replied, coming out of the bedroom wearing one of her lounging outfits.
“Ok, thanks!”
Momo hummed as she turned down the lights and settled down on the couch. Kyouka had busied herself by flipping through the movies they owned. She soon found one of their all time favorites and clicked it, settling down underneath the blanket that had just sparkled into existence because of the girl lying next to her.
“Hey, Kyouka?” Momo asked as she pulled the blanket to her chin and laid down on a comfortable spot right on Kyouka’s chest. She put her right hand over Kyouka’s and their rings clinked together.
The girl hummed questionably, hands going to run through her hair. She stretched out one of her ear jacks to press the volume button on the remote so that they didn’t have to move from their comfortable spots.
“I love you.” Momo said, looking up softly at Kyouka from where she was laying on. Her hair haloed out from Kyouka’s musing and her eyes glowed in the low light.
“Love you too.” Kyouka smiled back down at the love of her life.