Work Text:
“Hey, Yaomomo?”
Momo’s heart hammered in her ribcage, the first thump in time with the smack of her notebook forcefully shutting. Her hands splayed over the white cover as she quickly moved her attention up to Mina, approaching with her chair in tow. Fingers unconsciously twitched in an attempt to right themselves, intertwining for a more poised, less frantic, look. One that was more Yaoyorozu.
“Do you think you could explain this problem? I’m totally lost,” Mina said with a sheepish grin, lightly tapping the heel of her hand to her temple in quick successions. Momo allowed a smile to surface as she rolled her shoulders back and sat up straighter.
“Of course! Here, let me clear up some space for us.” The fluttering in her chest subsided as she slid the notebook into her desk with a few others; aligning the new pile slightly before falling into the rhythm of formulas and calculations. Knowing she was of use to her classmates- to her friends, smothered down the swirling inadequacy that had made a permanent home in her daily thoughts.
Because now, with each scratch of her pencil across crisp sheets of paper, it was easy to forget the pressure of hero responsibilities and failures that occurred from her own self-doubt. Easy for her mind to slip away as she glanced around the room. Able to fully focus on the soft eyes catching hers, sharp cut of bangs now walking towards her, black-painted fingertips twirling jacks. So easy to only think about the blush heating her cheeks when she simply nodded in response to Kyouka asking if she could borrow yesterday's notes to study with.
Momo reached her hands into her desk to gather various notebooks and color-coded folders, unsure of what requested subject had left Kyouka’s lips. Slightly chapped lips that Momo couldn’t tear her eyes away from as they formed a reminder to Mina that she was still invited to band practice. The low tone that slipped through them managed to penetrate through the roar of blood rushing in Momo’s ears.
“How about it?”
Momo blinked a few times. “Pardon?”
“Practice. Tonight. We’re sounding pretty good, actually. You should come if you get back early!” Kyouka said.
Momo registered that Mina was shaking her by the shoulder, that her hands were on the verge of bending and creasing the notes she had painstakingly rewritten the night before. She pondered on how it was possible for Kyouka to make the invitation as if it were a measly, simple task. As if Momo hadn’t, on multiple occasions, brainstormed the most polite ways to request an audience with Kyouka and the others as they rehearsed. Whispered desires that fell to the pacing feet wearing a path into the intricate rug.
A question, “Could I-” Turn. Step. “Would it be alright if-” Step. Turn. “If you wouldn’t mind I would love to hear you-” Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. RepeatRepeatRepeat. Until she collapsed onto her bed with a huff and a promise of maybe tomorrow, maybe next week.
But it wasn’t next week. It wasn’t tomorrow when Momo had to dig within her heart, scooch over the hesitation, and dust off her courage. It was now. With two sets of dark eyes fixed on one another.
“She’s totally coming! Oh, this is going to be so much fun. I can’t wait to see Blasty’s face when I walk in, ha!”
Well, maybe not.
“Perfect,” Kyouka said. Again, easy. As if breathing. Something Momo was finding increasingly difficult as Kyouka began to lean forward. Callused fingers grazed the sides of delicate ones as she reached out and grasped the small stack in Momo’s, now slack, hold. Tension eased with the brief warmth seeping into her skin, and it gave Kyouka the opportunity to pull back as quickly as she had moved in. “Thanks again! Come if you can, yeah?”
Momo instinctively moved her hands to her lap. Fists formed as if to keep something from escaping.
Sparks.
The corner of her mouth ticked upwards. She ached to keep the sensation close. Had Kyouka felt it as well? Would she-
A groan from Mina signaled her back to reality. Right. Equations. Daydreaming could be saved for later. Yaoyurozu was needed, and well, she couldn’t bear the thought of letting someone down.
It was later that evening, after hours of grueling internship work, when Momo was finally able to resign to the comfort of her room. Two previous years at UA and countless complaints from her friends about limited moving space had convinced her to downsize her possessions, however, the number of items that reminded her of home remained plentiful.
On spring nights, when she closed the sheer canopy surrounding her bed and slid between silk sheets, she could imagine that she was back home. That when the sun rose, she would awake to morning tea with her mother. A walk through the garden if the weather permitted. Piano lessons she had excelled beyond the need for.
On winter mornings, when Momo had time to spare before classes, she could curl up with a book as the snow fell. Trick her mind into believing she was at the family cabin. That the snow would continue to pile, stack, and stick until the chill frosted the window. That her family would gather then, and reminisce on the day in front of the warmth of the fireplace.
On nights like tonight, when she began to situate her study material, she could look at the small family portrait atop her desk and remind herself why she was working so hard. The vase of flowers resting next to their smiling faces that her father replenished every few weeks reminded her of who she was fighting for. Variegated petals that matched the stinging cuts on her cheeks painted a picture of validation that she was on the right path.
As Momo reached into her bag and thumbed through its contents, the sensation of something missing wouldn’t leave her mind. She mentally flipped through all of her class materials. Pink English notebook with the tiny daisy sticker, blue folder, yellow notebook. All accounted for with their matching counterparts as she plucked them from her bag and arranged them in the organizer on her desk. Orange and green folders were borrowed by Kyouka along with the orange and green and white notebooks.
She paused.
The orange. The green. The white-
White notebook
Oh- “Shoot!”
Knees knocked against the underside of the desk and the chair toppled to the floor. The thud was cushioned by the rug beneath, but it echoed in Momo’s ears all the same. A playback of her mistake. Stupid. Mindless. Doltish.
Shaking hands struggled to place the chair upright. A glance over her shoulder towards the door caused conflicting thoughts to race through her mind. She began to push the chair in. She should go. She should run. Make her way downstairs and beg for forgiveness for the endless tiny flowers surrounding the one name that somehow managed to entrap Momo’s every waking thought. Humiliation began to set in. No, she couldn’t. The chair was pulled back out in an instant. What she should do was sit here and admonish herself over the umbrella shading two neatly, carefully written names.
Momo.
Kyouka.
Kyouka. Kyouka was going to see it all. See right through the cracks of pristine Yaoyurozu and find the delusional, infatuated Momo hiding underneath.
She was in the elevator before she realized her feet had begun moving.
Her mind raced to come up with something. Anything. An excuse to get the incriminating pages away from Kyouka. Could she create a new set and swap them out while Kyouka was distracted? Did she have the time? Perhaps practice had kept Kyouka from the catalyst of their friendship ending. It could be running later than usual, and Momo could intercept. But… but what if she was too late? What if Kyouka had already rehearsed the articulation of her disgust, of her discomfort? Ready to sit poor, naive Momo down and let her know that what she had read on those pages, what she had seen, was enough for them to part ways. Enough for their future plans to now be null and void.
Her hand was on the practice room door handle.
Turning.
The first step into the room felt wrong. There was no heavy bass, no sirenic voice to draw her further in. It was simply quiet.
Quiet, save for the small laughs coming from the back of the room. Momo peered around the door to find Denki clutching a guitar to his chest as he looked up at Katsuki. Katsuki appeared as though he was about to say something mean, cruel… loving if Momo was reading the look in his eyes correctly. Before she could make her way back through the entrance and give them their space, Katsuki caught sight of her.
“Ears already left.”
She froze. Legs threatening to give out from underneath her, and her tight grip on the handle the only thing keeping her grounded. Her throat was closing up. They all knew. Kyouka had seen and she had told them and now they all knew. She hadn’t been quick enough. Dimwitted. Foolish. Idiot.
“Yaomomo? You okay?” Her eyes flitted up to Denki. He’d taken one step away from Katsuki, one step towards her. He looked concerned and she couldn’t handle the thought of being the one who needed that look. It was her job to be the one giving that reassurance.
She shook her head. “Yes, of course! Thank you so much, Kaminari. Bakugou. I apologize for the intrusion.”
She didn’t wait for a response before turning around, eyes burning.
The solace of her bedroom did not seem as comforting as it once was.
For some, a routine could be categorized as a nuisance. For Momo, it was a lifeline. A driving force to get out of bed. A way to function and keep moving. The mechanical motion of brushing her hair, the ever familiar path her feet carried her to class, the blur of faces she made sure to greet along her way. It all served as a means to keep her mind away from every thought that had kept her lying in bed awake.
As she sat at her desk, she did her best to fight off the urge to wring her hands. Concealing the ever-present nerves from her classmates as they all began to file in one after another. In the same order they always had. Iida with Ochako and Izuku. Denki hanging off Katsuki’s arm as he spoke with Kirishima. Tsuyu and Hagakure. Tokoyami and-
Kyouka.
Kyouka.
Kyouka holding a white notebook.
Footsteps Momo could tell apart in a crowded room became the only sound she could fixate on. Each step in time with her pounding heart. Momo searched Kyouka’s face as she walked closer. Braced herself for the hurt, betrayal, and anger, but only found a gentle smile.
“Thank you so much again, Yaomomo. You’re seriously a lifesaver,” Kyouka said as she placed the last thing Momo wanted to see onto her desk. Then, she continued on. Leisurely made her way back to her own seat.
Momo blinked. Once. Twice.
Had she been mistaken? No, she was so sure. She hastily flipped to the page she had marked over countless times. It was all there, though. Every flower, every heart, every condemning line of lead. It all threatened to laugh in Momo’s face.
And it would have. If not for the new additions scattered throughout in dark, purple ink.
A spattering of small stars danced across the sheet alongside the hearts, now adorning arrows shot through them. Musical notes trickled down along the edge of the page, symphonic raindrops falling atop the umbrella nestled in the corner. Her eyes scanned the pages over and over again until handwriting far different from her own caught her eye.
It was only a singular word.
“Tomorrow?”
Momo’s head snapped upward, bewildered, as she slammed the notebook closed. A perfect mirroring of yesterday’s actions. She began to frantically look around the room to see if anyone else had seen what she just had. If a classmate had happened to pass by and now knew of the request, the small secret Momo had been bestowed. She dragged her eyes towards the front of the room, towards the desk she found herself staring at daily as she daydreamed. All hopes of catching Kyouka’s attention were lost as the scene before her played out.
Kyouka was caught between yet another morning bickering between Katsuki and Denki. Momo could make out the way Kyouka’s shoulders slumped with what could only be assumed as an exasperated sigh.
But, to Momo’s surprise, Kyouka began to shift in her seat. As if she could sense Momo’s lingering gaze, she fully turned and curled her fingers around the top of her chair. Her focus was now fully on Momo. As if Denki wasn’t practically on top of her desk as Katsuki sneered at her side. As though they were alone in a tiny corner of their own universe.
A hint of a smile formed on Kyouka’s face as she nodded her head back towards Denki and gave a roll of her eyes.
Then, she titled her head to the side.
Nothing more.
And for Momo, there wasn’t a need for anything else. Nothing more need be said or done for her to understand exactly what the other girl was asking. What she wanted to hear.
Momo finally, after so long, let her shoulders relax. Her head mimicked Kyouka’s earlier motion as she smiled earnestly and breathed out a confirmation, a promise she never thought she would get the chance to vocalize in this lifetime.
“Tomorrow.”