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‘Kacchan is gonna kill us for being so late.’ Denki whined as he fumbled with his tie. ‘Fuck, fuck, fuck.’
‘C’mon, let me.’ Kyouka left her phone on top of the dresser and gestured for Denki to approach her. ‘And we’re not super late. The party doesn’t start for another good fifteen minutes.’
‘What?!’ Denki shrieked as Kyouka rolled her eyes. ‘But you told me…!’
‘Yeah, because I know that the only way to make you be on time is telling you to be ready an hour before the actual time.’ Kyouka finished tying his awful pikachu themed tie.
‘My hero.’ Denki kissed her whole face, not unlike a chicken looking for seeds.
Kyouka protested with a resigned smile on her lips. ‘You got the gift?’
‘Yep! Already in the car!’
‘Someone took his ADHD meds today.’ Kyouka let herself be kissed once more before taking the car keys and her phone from the dresser.
Denki smiled brightly and followed her outside.
It was only a twenty minute drive to the new house Bakugou and Kirishima had bought. Kyouka parked next to Mina’s bright pink Toyota and smiled at the new stickers she had decorated it with.
‘The gift.’ Kyouka reminded Denki as she walked up to the door and rang the doorbell.
Kyouka balanced herself on her tiptoes, more excited than she’d like to admit. It had been some weeks since the whole squad had reunited, the busy schedules of pro heroes always difficult to navigate. And despite her general inability to express her mushy corny feelings, Kyouka had been missing them.
Denki arrived at her side with the gift just as the front opened.
Kyouka’s breath hitched.
The woman that had opened the door was literally breath-taking.
She was tall, taller than Denki, with long shiny black hair pulled up in a ponytail, brown skin practically shimmering and deep grey eyes that looked at them with curiosity.
God, Kyouka had never seen a woman so beautiful in her life. She wanted to die a little bit.
‘You must be Kaminari-kun and Jirou-san, right?’ she said, her cherry lips curving in a serene smile, as she took a step back so they could enter the house. ‘Katsuki tells me wonderful things about you two.’
‘Are we talking about the same Kacchan?’ Denki snickered as he took off his shoes and put on his designated sleepers.
‘Well, in his own way, I think he did.’ Her smile turned amused.
‘He didn’t tell us about you.’ Kyouka blurted out and, immediately, felt her cheeks reddening. ‘I mean, how long have you known each other?’
‘Good save.’ Denki whispered as she guided them through the house.
‘We met around two years ago, when he came to India for a joint mission with my agency.’ She looked over her shoulder at them as she talked. ‘And we’ve been in contact ever since.’
‘Kacchan!’ Denki shouted as they entered the living room. ‘How is it that we’re only now meeting …?’ He paused for a second and looked back at the woman. ‘Sorry, your name?’
‘Oh, Momo Yaoyorozu.’ she replied with amusement. ‘Pleased to meet you.’
‘Cute name.’ Denki beamed at her just to turn back towards Bakugou. ‘How is it that we didn’t know anything about Yaoyorozu until now? Two years and you didn’t say a thing!’
‘Hah?!’ Bakugou snarled as he cradled their baby delicately. ‘What the fuck are you on, Pikachu? Of course I’ve talked about her!’
‘Pass the baby if you’re gonna go full gremlin mode, Bakubabe.’ Mina made grabby hands for the pink bundle of clothes. ‘I wanna hold my goddaughter.’
Bakugou grumbled, reciting a too long list of baby-holding instructions to Mina, who just grew more and more impatient to hold the baby.
‘He’s been calling her by her hero name when talking about her.’ Kirishima continued the conversation as he gestured for them to sit. ‘Creati…?’
‘Wait.’ Kyouka could almost see the bulb sparkling over Denki’s head. ‘You’re Creati as in Bakugou’s fake internet friend, as in India’s number three hero?’
‘I’m definitely his real friend but yeah, I suppose I am.’
‘Wow, dude, you’re a legend here!’
‘Is that so?’
While Denki fawned over Yaoyorozu, telling her excitedly about all the things Bakugou had told them about her, Kyouka took the bag with the gift out of his hand and gave it to Kirishima.
‘You didn’t have to!’ Kirishima hugged her before she could even try to get away from it.
‘Can’t let Himari listen to your awful music taste.’ Kyouka groaned as Kirishima released her. ‘The internet said music is very important for the baby’s brain so I searched for all the good musical toys.’
‘Of course you did.’ Kirishima patted her shoulder.
Kyouka smiled back at him timidly.
She looked over her shoulder to see that Denki and Yaoyorozu were still talking. Well, more like Denki was still talking and she was listening and nodding politely.
Kyouka also wanted to talk with her and, maybe, not be a mess this time around.
‘She came all the way here just to meet your new baby?’ Kyouka asked Kirishima as he handed her a beer.
‘That’s something that she would have done, for sure.’ Kirishima took a sip of his own drink. ‘But nah, she’s moving a couple of streets from here.’
‘She’s moving to Japan?’ Kyouka felt knots forming in her stomach.
‘Yeah, she is.’
‘Damn.’ Kyouka took a large gulp of her beer. ‘Just when she managed to be number three in India, she’s moving here, where she’ll have to start from the bottom of the barrel again? Why would anyone do that?’
‘You should ask her, if you’re that curious.’ Kirishima said with a knowing smile.
‘I’m not that curious.’ Kyouka huffed. ‘I just think it’s weird.’
Kirishima hummed and was about to answer her when he saw Mina making Himari laugh with her weird faces and whipped his phone out immediately, ready to take hundreds of pictures.
They might have only been dads for some days but Kirishima had been clearly born for this.
Kyouka breathed in deeply and took a big gulp of her beer. She could go talk to Yaoyorozu and be a normal human being and not make an idiot of herself, she could do that. She had been able to successfully talk to a lot of attractive people in her life, she could do this.
Also, if she was actually moving here, it wouldn’t hurt to be nice to her. Moving to another country, another culture and language all by herself, must be lonely and Kyouka was sure that she could do with more friends that weren’t Bakugou.
‘Oh, Kyo, Yaoyorozu was telling me that…’ Denki took her free hand when she found herself within reaching distance.
‘Sorry, but one of the Japanese things I don’t think I’ll ever get used to is the surname calling.’ Yaoyorozu interrupted him lightly. ‘Especially with my mouthful of a surname. It has to be inconvenient. If you wouldn’t mind, I'd prefer that you’d use my name.’
‘You want us to call you Momo?’ Kyouka felt very proud of herself for not stammering.
‘Yes, please, it’s so much better.’
‘Ok, no problem, Momo.’ Denki beamed at her.
Momo smiled at them sweetly and Kyouka looked away, bringing the almost empty can of beer to her lips once more.
God, she was incredibly pathetic.
Denki squeezed her hand and Kyouka looked up again, ready to follow the conversation as she wasn’t able to speak like an actual person today.
Denki noticed, he always noticed, but he didn’t say anything. He just guided her through the whole conversation, until she found an excuse to get away from them and get back to the protagonist of the day, Himari.
Kyouka did everything in her power to stay away from Momo until the very moment they were leaving. As Denki was pestering Bakugou for a heartfelt goodbye, Kyouka felt someone touching her shoulder. She turned around only to meet those mercurial eyes she had been avoiding all evening.
‘Sorry, this might be a bit forward but, can I get your contact information?’
Kyouka felt her heart beating in her throat. ‘What?’
‘I know you don’t really like me that much but I was still hoping we could be friends.’ She smiled awkwardly, tucking wild strands of her hair behind her ear. ‘Bakugou has really told me incredible things about you.’
Oh my god, she was so lovely it should be illegal.
And Kyouka had, somehow, made her think she didn’t like her when Kyouka had been fearing her attraction had been too painfully obvious.
‘I-I like you.’ Kyouka knew she was blushing like a teenager. ‘I’m sorry for being so weird today. I don’t do well with strangers, never been one to make friends easily, you know?’
‘Oh!’ Momo’s eyes light up, spring suddenly invading her face. ‘That’s okay, that’s fine. It’s such a relief, to be honest. I really thought you just didn’t like me.’
‘Not possible, believe me.’ Kyouka fiddled with her phone, the contact app open and ready. ‘You seem like one of those people you can’t hate.’
They exchanged numbers.
Kyouka couldn’t stop looking at the contact information as she sat on the copilot seat, one too many beers on her system for her to drive.
‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so instantly smitten with someone.’ Denki smiled with amusement as he waited for the light to turn green. ‘It took me like two years for you to warm up to me, let alone date me. And she comes and makes you a blushing mess in seconds. I’m kinda jealous.’
‘No, you’re not, you were crushing on her as hard as me.’ Kyouka huffed a laugh, finally looking away from her phone. ‘You always talk so fast when you like someone, it’s so telling.’
‘Ok, yeah, I might also have a huge crush on her but like, how could we not, honestly?’ Denki took her hand with his free hand. ‘She’s like the most beautiful and nice person on earth. Apart from you, of course.’
‘She’s in a category on her own, really.’ Kyouka brushed Denki’s knuckles with her thumb. ‘But it’s nice to know you think your wife is nice and beautiful, you know, nice touch.’
‘The most nice and beautiful, excuse you.’ Denki remarked as he parked in front of their house, turning to her. ‘A hundred Momo’s couldn’t hold a candle to you.’
Kyouka rewarded him with a kiss. Denki smiled against it, he always smiled on the rare occasion when Kyouka was the one to initiate any kind of affection.
Kyouka sighed against his lips.
—----------------------------------------------------------
‘Oh, you’re here!’
Kyouka looked up from her phone to see Momo walking towards her in all her lovely glory.
‘You were the one that asked me to hang out, why do you sound so surprised?’
Kyouka felt more steady on her feet this time around. Momo was still too beautiful to ever be completely calm around her but, this time, Kyouka had been prepared for it.
‘We met each other yesterday, it would have been very understandable if you didn’t want to meet again so soon.’ She replied, blinking rapidly, as if she was reading out loud.
‘Well, I wanted to.’ Kyouka balanced on her tiptoes. ‘What do you want to do?’
It had been some time since Kyouka went out with someone who wasn’t a colleague or member of the squad, she wasn’t sure what the protocol was in this case.
Fortunately, Momo had planned in advance.
‘I wanted to buy some things for my flat.’ Momo said, showing Kyouka a list on her phone. ‘I’m having most of my things shipped from home but I can’t live in a barren apartment meanwhile.’
Kyouka nodded as she read the list. ‘You can’t live a couple of weeks without satin sheets?’
Momo smiled sheepishly. ‘Itsuka said the same thing. I assure you they’re very good for your hair and I’ve grown used to them. I can’t seem to sleep right without them.’
‘Itsuka?’
‘Yes, you must know her for sure. Itsuka Kendou.’
Kyouka remembered a ginger ponytail and a mean punch. ‘Oh yeah, of course I know her but how do you know her?’
‘Well, he came with Bakugou to India on that mission a couple of years ago.’
‘And you’ve been in contact ever since?’ Kyouka was amazed with how good Momo seemed with long-distance relationships.
‘You could say that.’ Momo smiled at her with amusement. ‘We’re getting married in a couple of months.’
Kyouka felt the dread pooling in the pits of her stomach. ‘You are? Congratulations!’
‘Thank you, I am very excited about it.’
‘That’s why you’ve moved here?’ Kyouka suddenly felt like she should know more about the state of LGBTQ+ rights in India.
‘That’s one of the reasons, yeah. Here you can get a partnership certificate while at home we can be recognised as cohabitants at most, which is frustrating.’ Momo frowned and Kyouka hated it. ‘But there’s more to it than my relationship.’
‘Why then?’
‘You’re curious about it?’ Momo asked, frown extinct and substituted by a proud smirk.
‘One doesn’t simply abandon being a top three hero to start from scratch somewhere else.’ Kyouka murmured, a bit self-conscious about her own curiosity. ‘I wanted to ask you about it yesterday but I kind of chickened out.’
‘I wouldn’t mind if you had asked.’ Momo shrugged her shoulders. ‘It’s not a great secret. I have been wanting to live in Japan for some time. My dad was born here and he taught me the language and some of the costumes but I’ve always wanted to see for myself, you know? I love my home but I wanted to see my father’s home too.’
‘That sounds really sweet. Your dad must be proud of you.’
‘I try to make him proud.’
Kyouka nodded at her and opened the maps app on her phone to look up fancy and posh stores to buy Momo’s house items.
Talking with her wasn’t as intimidating as it had been the day before. In fact, it was pretty easy once you got over the fact that you were talking with a literal goddess. She was nice and kind and a bit of a snob, but in an endearing way, and Kyouka liked her.
Momo made it so easy for you to like her that it almost came as second nature.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------
‘What do you think of this one?’ Momo asked as she showed Kyouka another dress, this one floor length and with big flower prints.
‘For you? It suits you.’ Kyouka said as she kept rummaging through the racks. ‘Are you also trying to buy a whole new wardrobe?’
It was the third time they went shopping together in two weeks and, each and every time, Momo left home with no less than three bags full of brand new shiny clothes.
Kyouka was starting to worry Momo would run out of credit.
‘You think it is too much?’ Momo asked her as she rubbed her right cheek and put the dress back in the rack.
‘You can buy whatever you want, Momo, not like you need my approval or anything.’ Kyouka picked her earjacks nervously, hoping she hadn’t stepped too much over the line.
Momo sighed but didn’t pick the dress back up. ‘I do tend to retort to retail therapy when I’m anxious. I didn’t notice I was doing it now until you mentioned it, though.’
Kyouka saw how Momo started putting all the clothes she had picked out back into their places, perfectly folded, and followed her around, unsure if she should ask more or let it be.
But how could she let it be when Momo looked so embarrassed?
‘Do you want to talk about it? I’ve been told I’m a great listener.’ Kyouka tried to joke as she poked Momo’s cheek with one of her earjacks.
Momo finally looked back at her, giggling slightly.
Fuck, she was lovely.
Kyouka felt warmth blooming in her cheeks and chest.
‘I would actually love your advice on this, if you’re offering.’
‘I’m super offering.’ Kyouka felt silly in her eagerness but Momo’s evident gratitude soothed her. ‘What’s up?’
Momo breathed in deeply. ‘Were you also really nervous before your wedding?’
Oh, right.
‘Everyone is nervous before getting married.’ Kyouka answered, feeling kind of unsteady on her feet. ‘It’s really silly but also really normal.’
‘That’s what Bakugou told me too.’ Momo had started to pick her nails. ‘But I feel like what I’m feeling it’s not normal.’
‘Well, you’re still new to the country and that’s a pretty big change that would put anyone on edge.’ Kyouka reasoned, trying very hard not to ask whether Momo had any doubts regarding her bride to be. ‘And, on top of that, you just moved in with your fianceé and that’s another big adjustment. I think it’s still normal to be anxious.’
‘I guess.’ Momo’s fidgeting slowed down slightly. ‘I just feel like I’m being overbearing and ungrateful with Itsuka and with you and just getting all in my head, I tend to do that a lot.’
‘Wow, wait there a second, why would you think you’re overbearing or ungrateful with me?’
‘I have been calling you and asking you to accompany me on my many errands for two weeks straight.’ Momo seemed terribly embarrassed as she spoke.
Kyouka felt her cheeks burning with the same kind of shame as Momo. ‘I… I don’t mind that you do. That’s what friends are for, right?’
‘Right, yes, we’re friends.’ Momo repeated, seeming more flustered by the second.
‘So, I don’t mind if you call me, or text me, or want to see me because I want you to.’
‘Okay, good.’ Momo nodded with an apologetic smile and grey eyes shimmering with something Kyouka couldn’t quite place.
‘Good.’ Kyouka gulped, intertwining her fingers behind her back so she wouldn’t do something stupid like taking Momo’s own hand so she would stop her fidgeting for good.
Kyouka could feel her little harmless crush on Momo inflating inside her heart, taking some of the space in there reserved for Bakugou’s excellent mapo tofu. She could do without it for her whole life but she didn’t think she could without Momo’s gorgeous smile.
God, she was being pathetic.
‘You were right, you're a great listener.’ Momo said, effectively ending the moment between them.
Kyouka tried not to lament it. ‘Almost like I was born for this.’
Momo laughed and Kyouka’s heart creaked, as it tried to expand in her chest to make room for Momo’s charming laugh too.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
‘You have a lovely house.’ Momo said primly as she took out her shoes with one hand and balanced a plate full of cookies.
‘Let me get this.’ Kyouka took the plate and popped one cookie in her mouth as she walked towards the kitchen. ‘Damn, these are good. What are they?’
‘Naan khatai.’ Momo replied as she closed the door behind herself and followed Kyouka to the kitchen. ‘I thought they would make a fine movie night snack and, the other day, you said you wanted to try some more Indian food so I thought I could hit two birds with one stone.’
‘So you made these?’ Momo nodded with evident pride. ‘Is there anything you can’t do?’
‘There are plenty of things I can’t do.’ Momo rolled her eyes as she helped Kyouka move all the other regular Japanese snacks to the living room. ‘I can’t write in kanji, for example.’
‘Please, you’re better at it than me, shut up.’
Momo laughed and Kyouka grinned back at her.
They both sat on the sofa, at a respectable distance of a cushion away, and Kyouka started to look out for ‘Spirited Away’, which Momo hadn’t seen and Kyouka needed to remedy that.
‘I still can’t believe you never watched it, it’s a worldwide classic.’ Kyouka munched popcorn as the film started.
‘I didn’t watch many animated movies in general.’ Momo finished chewing before speaking. ‘I was never that attached to them.’
‘Weird.’ That made Momo scrunch her nose cutely and Kyouka resisted the urge to melt. ‘You couldn’t enter my house when I was a kid and not find the TV blasting some anime.’
‘Didn’t your parents restrict your time with the television?’
Kyouka huffed a laugh. ‘Nah, my parents were, well, they are quite chill with those kinds of things. They let me watch too much TV and blast my guitar as late as I wanted on the weekends and they brought me to their concerts before I even knew how to walk. They’re very punk rock.’
‘Sounds like you had a fun childhood.’
‘I had the best childhood.’ Kyouka bit the inside of her cheek. ‘I got really lucky in the parent department, to be honest. Like, they also knew when I needed boundaries and when I needed to be pushed and they were the biggest supporters of me being a hero.’
‘They sound wonderful.’ Momo was looking at her with a fond smile. ‘Like their daughter.’
Kyouka's breath stuttered in her chest. ‘Yeah, they’re the best.’
Momo smiled at her warmly and went back to look at the movie.
Kyouka kept looking at her for an extra couple of seconds, thinking how it would be if her parents met Momo. Knowing them, Kyouka was sure they would love her. They would be really embarrassing at first, acting too familiar with her and freaking her out but she knew that they would fall in love with her nonetheless.
Everyone fell in love with Momo, it was impossible not to.
Kyouka picked out one of the pillows of the sofa and hugged it tightly against her chest, trying to suffocate the wild butterflies inside her stomach.
Just when she had calmed down a bit, the outside door opened unexpectedly and a shock of blond hair appeared, making Kyouka’s stomach plummet to her ankles.
‘What are you doing here?’ she asked, sounding more annoyed than she meant to.
‘Mad cold, babe. Hey, Momo, how are you doing?’ Denki grinned at them, leaving his shoes on the door carelessly and jumping to sit at her side, pushing her towards Momo. ‘And here I thought you would be happy to see me getting out of work early.’
He put his arm over her shoulders and squeezed lightly as he pressed a kiss on top of her head.
Kyouka had never been one for PDA, she didn’t mind it most of the time and if it was Denki she could tolerate it but, right now, all she wanted to do was to push him away from her. His arm all over her was too hot and the feeling of his body pressed against hers was asphyxiating.
It was irrational, just like her annoyed tone when speaking with Denki, but she didn’t want to seek out an explanation for it now, all she wanted was to put some space between them without Denki noticing because the last thing she needed was for his big sad electric eyes to be on her demanding the answers she didn’t have.
So, hoping her movements came off as just some readjustments to be more comfortable, Kyouka slid a couple of centimetres to her left, Kaminari’s arm still around her but their bodies no longer flushed.
Kyouka hadn’t had the time to sigh with relief when her hand bumped Momo's and all the air escaped from her lungs in a heartbeat.
The contact was minimal, just Momo’s prime and properly manicured nails scratching her finger but, to Kyouka, it felt electrifying in a way not even Denki’s quirk could compare.
Her nails were biting, in a way that made Kyouka’s mind run in circles, sharp enough to leave a mark but not so that they would break the skin.
Her skin was soft and Kyouka already knew that, Momo had perfect skin all around, but it still managed to send her poor confused heart into overdrive.
Her hands were cold and, shouldn’t that have made Kyouka want to get away from her? Shouldn’t that have made Kyouka want to seek familiar warmth and comfort? But they didn’t.
All about Momo and her touch invited Kyouka in, closer, closer and closer.
Kyouka gulped as she daringly, stupidly, moved her hand towards hers, their fingers now touching completely.
Kyouka counted in her head the seconds the contact lasted until, inevitably, Momo would move away.
After seventeen seconds, Momo’s hand started to move and Kyouka was already mourning the loss of contact when she felt Momo intertwining their fingers together, one wrapped around the other.
Kyouka felt her heart growing some more, banging against her ribs, so full of Momo and her loveliness that she was sure it wouldn’t fit inside her chest much longer.
Kyouka squeezed Momo’s finger back and she could swear that, despite not looking at her, they both had the same lovesick smile plastered on their faces.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------
‘She’s getting married in a month, Mimi.’
Kyouka looked from Himari’s shiny red eyes sitting in her lap to Bakugou’s deep judgemental crimson ones standing by her side.
‘Isn’t it why we’re here? Engagement party and all?’
‘Then stop fucking looking at her like you’re the one she’s marrying for fuck’s sake.’
Kyouka gulped, taking Himari in her arms and passing her to her dad without looking him in the eyes any more. ‘I see the ‘’not cursing around the baby’’ rule didn’t stick, huh, Blasty?’
‘Stop trying to be a smartass.’ Bakugou’s angry tone didn’t have the same effect when he was bouncing around Himari on his hip. ‘What the fuck are you doing here, Mimi? Like what are you doing?’
‘I’m not doing anything!’ Kyouka replied defensively, not sure herself if she was telling the truth or not. ‘She invited me and I came. You’re not her only friend, you know? She’s my friend too.’
‘I don’t look at my fucking friends like that.’ Bakugou was trying really hard not to shout for all of their sakes. ‘I… Look, Kyouka, I don’t fucking know what is fucking happening here but I don’t fucking want this to explote in your faces and destroy any of you.’
‘Nothing is going to explode because nothing is going on here.’
If Kyouka repeated it out loud enough times, it was bound to end up becoming true, right?
Bakugou rolled his eyes and pointed to the brides to be with his chin. ‘Whatever you want to tell yourself. Just remember you two are not the only ones affected by this.’
Kyouka had never been really close with Kendo but even she could tell she looked extremely happy, looking at her fiancée with stars in her eyes and an unwavering smitten smile.
Then, there was Denki, who Kendo was talking to at the moment, and who seemed to be mocking her for being so obviously lovesick.
Just looking at both of them, joking around and having a good time, made Kyouka want to puke her guts out.
Fuck, Bakugou was right.
What the fuck was she doing?
But then her eyes caught a high ponytail full of shiny black hair that made at least fifteen percent of her heart and Kyouka knew the answer.
What the fuck was she doing?
She was falling in love.
—-------------------------------------------------------------------
Kyouka was an idiot, an imbecile, a dumb-dumb and any other colourful synonym Bakugou could come up with to describe her.
She would totally deserve it.
Because, who in their right mind would accompany the girl they were falling in love with to buy her wedding dress?
Despite it, that was where Kyouka was, sitting outside the changing rooms, tapping her foot in tandem with the hindi song that was blasting in the second shop of the day.
So far, she had seen Momo with every possible type of wedding kimono, she had especially loved the peach coloured one with gold details, and now she would try on some saris. Momo had told her that the ceremony wouldn’t be religious, it took place in a government building after all, but that they still wanted to dress up for the occasion and the celebration that would come after.
Momo had been going back and forth between her own culture and her bride’s and she had decided to try on every possible option so she could make an informed decision.
Kyouka thought that it wouldn’t matter what she wore, Momo would be radiant regardless.
‘Jirou, can you come in and help me?’
Kyouka gulped, standing up immediately like a spring toy but keeping her feet firmly planted on the floor. ‘What do you need help with?’
‘I can’t wrap the sari around myself properly.’
‘Okay, coming.’
Kyouka closed her eyes briefly and breathed in deeply.
She could do this.
Kyouka opened the curtain quickly, entered the changing room and closed it behind herself.
And she felt all the air leave her lungs, just like the first time she saw Momo at that party, those weeks ago.
However, this time, she was standing significantly closer and wearing less clothes than then, which did nothing to calm down her erratic heartbeat.
‘Just take this and help me loop it around my waist tight, but not too much.’ Momo said, looking directly into the mirror to her and trying to move in the small space of the changing room.
‘Right, because that’s not vague at all.’ Kyouka took the cloth Momo was handing her and helped her turn around.
Momo laughed at her dry humour, like she always did (when had Kyouka started to think in ‘’always’’ when it came to Momo?), as she twirled around, flooding Kyouka’s world with red and gold, silk hair and beauty.
God, Kyouka wanted to bottle the whole thing up and put it inside her heart.
Momo didn’t stop twirling in time, the cloth already escaping Kyouka’s fingers and Momo tumbling against Kyouka.
Putting to use her hero-like reflexes, Kyouka’s hands flew instantly to Momo’s waist to keep her in place, way too close to her, but far enough from tumbling to the floor.
Momo’s face was full of residual laughter, prettiness and beauty and just far too close for comfort but Kyouka just didn’t have it in her to be the one to take the step back.
She was too in love and too dumb.
Momo’s hands, which had instinctively grabbed Kyouka’s shoulders, left their position to cradle Kyouka’s face.
Kyouka felt like she was dying and flying at the same time.
‘Sorry, I got a bit carried away.’ Momo murmured as she pushed Kyouka’s fringe from her face with such care and delicacy that Kyouka melted a bit.
Kyouka was just feeling too many things at once.
That’s the effect Momo had on her.
‘I really don't know how to do this.’ Kyouka laughed nervously, too high-pitched and unattractive. ‘They should help here with these, huh?’
‘They normally do.’ Momo said, still caressing Kyouka’s forehead and jaw. ‘But I wanted you to help me.’
She wanted her.
She wanted her.
She wanted her.
‘Of course.’
Kyouka felt almost drunk with the way Momo was touching her, she had never felt like this before and it was bordering on pathetic how close to falling to her knees and begging simple touches had her.
‘Whatever you want, Momo.’
‘Whatever I want?’ She asked back, arching one regal eyebrow with amusement. ‘Would you really? Do whatever I want?’
Was there a single thing Kyouka wouldn’t do for Momo at that moment?
She would turn to villany, she would move overseas to India, she would break her own marriage and leave behind her friends, if Momo just gave her the word right now.
She would turn the world on its axis, steal all the stars from the sky and give her the moon and the sun, if Momo just asked for them.
‘Yes.’
Momo smiled at her, delight and something darker swirling in her eyes, and Kyouka felt the thrill of the chase down her spine. She was the prey on the verge of being eaten but, instead of running away from danger, all she wanted to do was to run towards it.
‘Dangerous.’ Momo said, booping Kyouka’s nose and, finally, sadly, putting distance between them. ‘However, I don't think I can get what I really want.’
Kyouka wanted to fight that, to fight her. There wasn’t a single thing in the world Kyouka would stop at to get whatever Momo wanted. But, seeing the playful smirk fall and be substituted by a resigned tight smile, Kyouka thought, for the first time, that, maybe, just maybe, she wasn’t the only one falling in love.
And, wasn’t that just the peak of a great tragedy.
Kyouka took the next step back and out of the miniature changing room with the feeling that something had irrevocably changed between them.
Momo went on to try on the next sari and she didn’t ask for Kyouka’s help.
That’s when Kyouka realised what had exactly happened there.
While Kyouka had been ready to destroy her own marriage for her in a second, Momo kept on trying wedding dresses for another woman.
—--------------------------------------------------------------
Kyouka would swear up and down that she didn’t intentionally avoid Momo for the next two weeks until the wedding.
It was just that to accompany her changing room revelation, Musutafu decided to be as chaotic as her heart and be flooded with villains attacks and other disasters Kyouka had to attend to.
For a scary moment, Kyouka feared she might not even be able to attend the wedding and be too late.
Kyouka didn’t even want to think about it, about leaving the conversation they had pending until after, until it would be too late for both of them to do anything about their feelings.
It was almost as scary as thinking about having it with Momo moments before the ceremony, but, as Kyouka rasped her knuckles against the door of her room, she thought it was her last chance to express her feelings and she didn’t want to waste it.
‘Come in.’
As it came to be expected, Momo was a vision of red and gold, silk and velvet, and Kyouka didn’t even feel worthy of looking at her right now.
Her long glossy hair was loose around her shoulders, decorated with hundreds of gold accessories, which were beautifully complimented by her makeup, earrings and gigantic nose piercing. Kyouka could see the henna crawling through her arms and feet and hiding under the cloth of her massive attire.
Momo extended her arms, positively beaming.
‘It’s the one you helped me try on, but well adjusted and decorated.’
‘I see.’ Kyouka sighed deeply. ‘It doesn’t even look the same.’
‘My aunties are truly magical.’ Momo said with pride. ‘But, what do you think? How do I look?’
Kyouka took a step forward, gathering all the courage with which she had entered the room in the first place. ‘I think you look perfect.’
Momo’s smile turned pleased, just like it always did when Kyouka complimented her, like she had achieved something, like Kyouka’s praised was something she strived for.
Just thinking about it, Kyouka felt dizzy with determination and recklessness.
‘Kendo is really gonna cry when she sees you appear like that.’ Kyouka took another step forward, just as Momo’s smile was deemed a bit at the mention of her wife-to-be. ‘You really love her, don’t you?’
‘As much as you love Kaminari.’
And that was it, that was the admission that Kyouka had been waiting for, praying for, dreading to hear.
Kyouka didn’t even feel the need to say it out loud anymore because, what was really the point when they both knew it already?
She still pushed herself to do it because she just couldn’t leave her feelings hanging in the air between them. If they couldn’t be acted upon or celebrated, at least, she wanted tangible proof that they had once existed, that it hadn’t only happened in her head.
That she had loved and been loved in return.
‘I love you.’ Kyouka breathed out, the weight on her shoulders already lessening. ‘I loved you from the moment I saw you at that party. I loved you at every hang out, at every step of your compromise, every time we’ve been together and every time we’ve been apart.’
Momo looked at her with heartbreak in her eyes, the red surrounding her that had first seemed so vibrant and full of promises now seemed dim and funerary.
‘You do not have to accept it, you do not have to embrace it, but you must know it. In your heart, you must feel it, because I do.’ Kyouka felt her own heart jolt in her chest as if he was happy to be mentioned. ‘Just like I feel that you love me too.’
Crystal clear tears started to pool in Momo’s mercurial eyes and Kyouka closed the remaining metres separating them to stop them from running down her cheeks and destroying her picture-perfect brightness.
‘C’mon now, you’ll ruin your makeup.’
‘Is that what concerns you now?’ Momo laughed as she blinked quickly and looked up, Kyouka’s hands hovering over her face but no longer touching her.
Looking back on it, Kyouka wished she had touched her more, more intently, more ardently, just a couple of seconds longer, so she could remember it more clearly in the weeks and months to come.
Kyouka would come to wish over time for their last touch to be the kiss they never had instead of the reality of her wiping away Momo’s tears moments before her wedding.
‘You can’t appear out there with smudged mascara on the happiest day of your life.’
‘Happiest day of my life.’ Momo repeated with amusement as she sniffed. ‘If I hadn’t met you, it might be.’
‘How do you think I feel about it?’ Kyouka tried to keep on the light tone. ‘It’s your fault for being like that, too perfect for me.’
'I'm far from perfect.'
'I'd love to hear how you are not.'
'Really?' Momo’s eyes didn’t look as red now and Kyouka took that as a victory.
'It may help me. I'd love to not love you right now.'
Momo scrunched her nose. 'I'm spoiled.'
'Love that about you.'
'I can be blunt and cold.'
'Drives me crazy.'
'You're not taking this seriously.' Momo huffed a laugh.
‘I’m taking this incredibly seriously.’ Kyouka took the first step back.
Momo continued on, as she shook her head with resignation. 'I'm quite exigent.'
'You don't think that. You think it's natural to expect people to get the same results as you, if you can do it, so can they.'
Momo smiled guiltily.
'That's what you were thinking, right?'
'Sometimes I think you're the only person that really sees me for who I am.'
And if that wasn’t a blow directly to Kyouka’s heart that made her take two steps back more.
Kyouka gulped and took the last remaining steps until her back knocked against the closed door.
‘Sometimes I think the same thing.’
Later, after many nights where she would replay their entire conversation over and over again in her head, Kyouka would realise that Momo never actually told her she loved her back and she would question each and every one of her words and actions.
Kyouka found the doorknob and twisted it slightly.
‘I hope you understand why I can’t stay.’
‘I hope you understand that nowhere you go will ever be far enough from me to ever forget you.’
But that last phrase, that parting sentence that Momo gave her as Kyouka closed the door of that damned room to never see her again, gave her reason to hope that maybe, maybe, that had been the only way she had managed to stay, by not voicing it out loud.
It might just be wishful thinking on Kyouka’s part but, if after all these years Kyouka is still in love with her, she would like to think it was possible for Momo to still love her back too, if she had ever done it to begin with.