Chapter Text
Momo stared at herself in her bathroom mirror, begging to whatever god that could hear her to please for the love of everything good to give her strength.
She played with her bangs and groaned when she noticed a small irritated pimple forming on her forehead. It was a friday night after school- movie night with Okarun to be exact.
An argument they had a couple days prior about who had the ‘superior cinematic taste’ led to them planning a ‘competition’ to see who could make the other admit to liking a movie of their choice.
And it's not like they never hang out at her house, more often than not they found themselves at her house anyway. Typically, it was Okarun in addition to all their other friends at the house at the same time.
And now, she stood in her bathroom like a dumbass, only now realizing this meant she’d have to spend the whole night with Okarun. Alone. And to make it worse, the grannies decided today was the day to leave for a weekend trip to another city. So they were truly and utterly alone. Together!
She adjusted her baggy sweater to hang off only one of her shoulders instead of both of them, and looked at herself with a mortified expression. She looked fine, maybe even good to her standards, it was the embarrassment of the whole situation that left her so nervous.
She missed having alone time with Okarun, they rarely got to hang out with just the two of them anymore. She just didn’t trust herself. She didn’t trust that the feelings she's been pushing away wouldn’t bubble back up and flow out of her unwillingly.
She groaned into her hands and begrudgingly walked out of the bathroom and into her bedroom. Her small bedside table and red TV that sat on top of it was moved to be in front of her bed.
Okarun sat with his back against the wall and his legs slightly hanging off the edge of her bed, a comically large popcorn bowl was in his lap as he ate from it by the palmful.
He smiled timidly at her when she walked in. Yeah. She wasn’t making it through the night alive.
“Don’t go and eat all the popcorn, Okarun.” She teased, crawling onto the bed and sitting next to him as he stumbled on his words. Instead of saying anything, he made vague eye contact with her as he ate another palmful, making sure he chewed extra loud so she could hear the popcorn crunch in his mouth.
She made a face at him, “You think you’re hilarious, don't you?” She grinned as she grabbed a palmful herself, he tilted the bowl toward her so she could reach into it easier. “I dunno, do I?” He replied with fake innocence, failing to hide his smirk.
She frowned at him and threw a piece of popcorn from her palm, hitting the glass of his glasses and making her snort as he looked at her with annoyance. She ignored him and shoved the rest of the overly salted popcorn into her mouth.
“I figured you’d go first so we can end on a good note tonight with my movie.” Momo said after chewing fully. Okarun let out a forced laugh and picked up his movie from the pile in front of them anyway. “As if.” He replied, the case reading ‘Godzilla 2000’.
“This looks ancient.” She said unamusingly. He frowned at her like she insulted him and not the movie. “This,” He placed the bowl next to Momo as he got up to put the cd in the player connected to her big red television, “Is a work of art.”
“Uhuh.” Momo replied with her mouth full of popcorn. He grabbed the small remote and turned the TV on before sitting back down. Momo stomach flipped when his elbow brushed hers when he reached for more popcorn.
“Sorry.” He mumbled nervously, perking up when the title screen and music boomed from the TV. “Don’t worry about it.” She replied, her voice barely managing to not pitch up from nerves. This was gonna be a long night.
Momo would be lying if she said the movie was good, but the bad editing and graphics did have some sort of charm to it. She wouldn’t admit that to Okarun, though.
She could barely pay attention to the movie anyway, dammit! At some point, she thinks they both unconsciously scooted closer to each other. Their shoulders were pressed together, and their hands slightly brushed everytime one of them adjusted.
Okarun was blissfully unaware, or at least he appeared so. He was so hyper focused on the movie, briefly explaining certain parts to her every now and again. It was actually really cute of him, and it made the knots in her stomach get impossibly tight.
She wanted to be closer to him, and that thought scared her. She was scared to unpack how much Okarun has truly gotten under her skin. She was scared to address how much she has let herself really care for him, terrified to express her desires to protect him and keep him safe.
“Miss Ayase? Is the movie really that bad?” He frowned at her, his eyebrows furrowing in quite confusion. Shit. Of course he noticed her spacing out.
She looked at him and did her best fake pout she could muster in the moment, “Am I being that obvious?” She teased him, and he squinted his eyes at her in disgust. “You’re so gauche.”
She kicked his foot with her own, causing him to yelp out-loud. “Speak in a language I understand, four-eyes.” She smirked in retaliation. His big brown eyes glared at her, almost as intimidating as a kicked puppy.
His hair was unkempt and the curls laid on his forehead lightly, she could watch the movie through the reflection in his glasses. His long eyelashes blinked at her nervously, and she could see his face lightly dusted pink in the light illuminating from the tv.
She thought he was really beautiful, and it annoyed her to no end. Okarun silently stared back at her, as if he was also taking in the features of her face, and committing this moment to memory. She watched his eyes flicker between her eyes and her mouth, his face flushed-
Wait, he was looking at her mouth?! She could see the panic in his eyes, the way his mouth twitched with anxiety and how his hands balled into fists at the blankets. She felt her own anxiety grow in her chest.
They found themselves starting to lean closer to the other, almost like it was second nature. The constant teasing, all the small touches filled with intent, the staring, the pushing and pulling between them like the moon and the ocean-
They never talked about it, and now the mix of their combined pent up feelings were uncontrollably spilling out.
She always knew what this feeling was, this thing she's been trying to deny since the day they met. But…she didn't need to put a name on it now. All that mattered is that Okarun felt the same, or something damn close.
The movie's flashing colors and roaring music reminded them of where they were. On Momo's bed. About to kiss. Apparently. She swallowed thickly. “Okarun?” she whispered so quiet the movie almost drowned her out.
Their bodies were turned toward each other now, their fingertips brushed against each other featherlight. The long forgotten popcorn bowl shifted at their own shifting of weight.
His eyes moved from their focus on her lips to her eyes. She didn't even notice he was looking there again to begin with, and it made her chest go wild with warmth.
“Y-yeah?” he whispered back, his breath catching when Momo interlocked their fingers and squeezed his hand lightly.
“Is this okay?” She mumbled, too squeamish to think too much about what this was, but she knew he understood her implications.
He had to make a great effort to keep his nervous eyes on her own. “I've never, um, kissed…someone.” he mumbled and looked down at their hands in embarrassment.
Momo flushed, the word ‘kiss’ leaving his mouth suddenly made the whole situation become very real. She pushed back the urge to tease him to save herself from her own embarrassment.
She smiled timidly and moved closer toward him, “You're assuming I have?” She could feel his light exhale on her face as he looked back up at her, his eyebrows furrowed and eyes wide.
“I mean- of course I did! You're, uh-” His voice got quiet as he held her hand tighter to settle his nerves. “You're r-really pretty, Miss Ayase.”
Her whole body flushed at his admission, and she had to hold back a shaky exhale. She smirked nervously, “Wow Okarun, you hold my hand and you can compliment me all of a sudden? We might have to do this more often.”
She laughed softly at the groan of embarrassment that erupted from his chest. “You're uh, not so bad looking yourself…” She admitted shyly.
His eyes lit up nervously. “Really?” He whispered, and she shuddered at the feeling of his breath tickling her face. He smelt like butter and clean laundry, and it pulled her in like a moth to flame.
She just nodded, almost becoming delirious with how close they were. Their hands held each other tighter as they both fluttered their eyes closed tentatively.
She felt his nose brush against hers and he paused for a second, “This is okay, right?” he mumbled carefully. Being impatient, Momo answered him by swiftly closing the small gap between them.
She kissed away his gasp in surprise before it could slip out, and everything went still. She imagined how this would feel often, but she never thought it would feel this warm, this safe.
She could almost cry at how softly Okarun kissed her back, how tenderly his hand grazed her cheek and how delicately his thumb ran across it.
Her free hand pressed against his chest as she gripped his shirt and pulled him closer. The popcorn bowl tumbled over and split cornels and half popped shells across her sheets, but they didn't even bother to notice.
They awkwardly bumped noses, and Okarun's glasses were becoming a growing problem. He grunted in annoyance before begrudgingly pulling away from Momo.
She frowned at him as he let go of her completely to fold his glasses and toss them somewhere behind him. “Sorry-” He grumbled in reference to the spilled popcorn, but was cut off by Momo eagerly grabbing his face and pulling him back into her.
He immediately melted into her touch, and blindly reached for her shoulders as she kissed him with a newfound eagerness. She shuddered at the feeling of his cool hands on her skin.
He tilted his head slightly, and they both laughed in between kisses when their teeth accidentally clanged.
Warmth quickly built in Momo's gut as the kiss became more intense. Months of pent up feelings were being split between them, and it made her giddy knowing he wanted this just as bad as she has been wanting it.
A small sound escaped Okarun as Momo moved her hand to grip onto his hair gently so she could pull him in even further. She felt her face flush at the noise, and she wondered if Okarun could feel the heat of her cheeks as he moved his hands to cup her face.
It was obvious they didn't know what they were doing, but the excitement of knowing they were each other's first kiss was intense. She hummed as he nervously ran a hand through her hair, still being so gentle with her even though she was practically attacking his face.
A small buzz came from Okarun's pocket, and they both happily ignored it. Until it buzzed again, and then again…
Okarun sighed against her mouth as he pulled away. They both held onto each other as they catched their breath. Their foreheads pressed against each other, pulling smiles from both of them.
Momo began placing light kisses across his face, and then down his chin. He sighed heavily and held onto her shoulders tightly as she kissed a particularly sensitive spot on his neck.
She made her way back up to his mouth and kissed the corner of it firmly, and then his phone buzzed again. “Okarun…” she huffed lightly against his skin.
Using the little self control he had left in him, he pulled away with a groan and dug in his pants pocket for his flip phone.
He opened it with a swift flick of his hand, and squinted at his screen as he read whatever was making his phone blow up. She was about to make a teasing remark about how he squinted at his phone like a grandpa, until she noticed his face dropping and his breath picking up as he scrolled.
The movie suddenly became very loud, and the bubble they built around themselves slowly dissolved as the real world faded back in.
He suddenly turned to look for the glasses he discarded prior, and haphazardly pushed them onto his face. He slammed his phone shut and shoved it into his pocket.
He stood up quickly, cursing under his breath as he fumbled to quickly scoop the popcorn mess into the bowl before placing it back on the bed.
“I-I'm so sorry Mrs. Ayase my um-” He froze for a second, and looked at the confused girl sitting on the edge of her bed. Momo studied his face, it was furrowed into something unrecognizable. He looked terrified.
He moved to hold one of her hands lightly in his own shaky ones. “I promise I don't want to leave you right now,” Momo listened intently, her heart sinking. “but my p-parents are visiting. They're waiting for me at home.”
Momo never heard him talk about his parents, and him being this terrified about them visiting made her realize there was probably a deeper reason for why she never heard about them. She nodded and held his hand firmly.
“Don't even worry about it, I understand.” She paused for a second, “Okarun, you seem really upset. Are- do your parents…?” She paused again, and the room tensed with her unspoken implication.
Okarun immediately became wide eyed, “Oh! No, nothing like that! They are good people-” He began fidgeting with their conjoined hands. “They just aren't home much. I haven't seen them in a really long time.”
Momo frowned, “How long is a really long time, Okarun?” Her grip tightened on his hand, and she begged his answer would be maybe something short like a week, but she had a feeling that it would be no where close to that.
He froze in thought, “I'm…not sure.” He frowned. “I just know they haven't been here since the whole…getting cursed thing.” He mumbled, almost like he was embarrassed of his answer.
Momo felt her anger grow in her stomach. How long has he gone home to an empty house? Was he seriously living on his own whenever he wasn't here with her and their friends?
“You should've told me.” She mumbled softly, pressing careful thumbs into his skin. “I- We would've let you stay here.”
He nodded, “I know. I'm sorry, but I really need to leave now, Miss Ayase.” He held her hand tightly, and his body shook.
“Let me atleast walk you to the gate.” She offered gently.
It was cold out, and she could see their exhales in the air. “Thank you for everything.” He whispered, and his breath hitched whenever Momo's hand slipped into his.
She stared at him and frowned. “You don't have to go if you don't want to.” Her voice trembled slightly with concern, and it made Okarun's heart ache.
“Don't worry about me, I'll be okay.” He assured her, and held her hand tightly. Before he could let go, she swiftly pulled him to her and pressed a light kiss to his mouth.
He immediately exhaled shakily into it. When they pulled away Momo was trembling. “Well I am worried about you. So you better march your ass back over here if things go south.”
He smiled softly at her and nodded. “I'll come back anyway, no matter how it goes. I promise.” She felt herself untense her shoulders, and the sudden urge to tell him how much she cares for him, how much she loved him flooded her senses.
“Good.” she settled on saying instead. She'd save that confession for later. He gave her hand one more squeeze before walking away from her house. She watched him walk until he disappeared into the night.