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Girls like Momo did not deviate from the social norm. There’s a set of rules laid out for her, detailing the life of success she’ll have. It’s expected of her to be a high-achieving pro hero. To one day have a family of her own, with a man of course. Except that last part fills her with nothing but dread, especially as graduation nears.
For years now she’s felt herself gravitate towards one girl in particular, always hoping to conceal those intimidate feelings under the guise of friendship. When their hands brushed one another she felt a spark of warmth engulf her, urging her to seek it out. But she pulled back, because that’s what she’s supposed to do. She shouldn’t want, or even think, of something more with another woman.
Right now Momo was staring at those purple strands of hair, imagining what they’d feel like between her fingers, as Aizawa droned on in the background. For some reason impending adulthood had left her even more of a mess, her mind constantly throwing out these thoughts of want. It bordered on painful sometimes, like a deep pang aching within her chest.
As if she could sense eyes on her, Jirou turned her head to the side. Once she realized it was just Momo she tossed her an easygoing smile, filled with a softness that could almost burn away all the pain and longing. Momo’s eyes quickly averted to her desk, hands fiddling with one another as she hid a small smile of her own.
Class soon came to an end, the distracting noises of her classmates would leave her. And then she’d be stuck in her head again. Soon this would all be over, she’d leave U.A. and start her own path. Would they all keep in contact? She hoped more than anything that her and Jirou would remain friends. But that nagging voice in the back of her mind wondered if maybe space would quell these destructive thoughts.
The sound of Jirou’s voice broke through Momo’s existential spiral. “Hey Yaomomo, wanna hang out later?” She leaned against the desk, backpack slung over her shoulder in that relaxed manner that she exhibited so effortlessly.
Getting up and gathering her things, Momo pursed her lips in thought. She was far too weak for the other girl, no matter how much she knew she should pull away to prevent further disaster.
“I would love that,” Momo aired, eyes softening as she looked into Jirou’s. Even her presence eased Momo’s anxiety.
With the hangout set in stone, they both went out into the hallway heading to their separate classes. A comfortable silence fell between them until they parted, uttering a quiet goodbye to each other. Something yanked at Momo’s chest, like a puppet whose strings were being pulled this way and that. They urged her to go back to Jirou, classes be damned.
She always tried her best to give her full attention to her teachers, especially when Jirou wasn’t there to even distract her. But it didn’t always work. Somedays she’d look at someone like Todoroki and wonder why she couldn’t have been attracted to him. Tall, intelligent, powerful, but most importantly a man. It just didn’t click though, and she almost hated herself for that at times.
Thoughts of her time with Jirou later helped her calm her mind. The girl is like a drug to Momo. Addictive, intoxicating, meditative. And that idea that they might not have much longer until adulthood pulls them apart scares Momo more than she’d feel comfortable voicing aloud.
After finishing class for the day she had training with the rest of 3-A. She found herself cherishing these moments even more. Getting to watch her classmates show off all the progress they’d made, it made her emotional to know how much success they would all have.
Today was just a simple sparring session, a break of sorts from the rigorous studying they’d been doing for finals. Now the girls gathered around in the locker room, attempting to cool off before heading to the dorms. They chattered in the background as Momo toweled at her damp skin after a quick shower.
Ashido boasted the loudest, always eager to fill the empty space. It was an endearing quality. “Guess who has a date,” she chirped, hands waving excitedly.
Hagakure gave a squeak while Uraraka hurriedly asked with who. Even Momo turned to give a bit of her attention to the pink-skinned girl, slightly intrigued.
“One of the guys from the support course, he’s like super cute!”
Elated hums fluttered across the room. It wasn’t often they even had time to go on dates, but Ashido always seemed to make time.
“Ya know, it kinda seems like more people are getting in relationships now,” Uraraka mused, finger tapping her chin in thought.
Hagakure slapped a hand against her locker in barely contained excitement. “That reminds me,” she piped up, practically jumping with joy. “Guess who I saw full blown cuddling when they thought the common room was empty!”
Another round of who’s erupted in the room, every girl fully locked onto the gossip. Even Asui gave a croak, her interest now peaked. Momo’s eyes found Jirou’s, sharing a look of amusement. It was one of those quiet conversations that Momo enjoyed the most, an intimate understanding that filled her with content.
“Bakugou and Kirishima!” Hagakure nearly shouted, laughter breaking through.
“No way,” Uraraka said in disbelief. “Never would’ve thought Bakugou would get in a relationship, makes sense it’d be with Kirishima though.“
Ashido kicked her feet, eyes glued to the floor. Clearly she knew something, but Momo thought better than to call her out. It wasn’t her business, she was just being nosy.
“I think Kirishima brings out the best in him,” Ashido perked up.
“Oh for sure,” Uraraka and Hagakure said almost in unison.
The redhead had always had a way of softening Bakugou, as much as possible for such an explosive guy. But he had cooled down in recent years. The war really changed a lot of them, tightened their bonds. It connected them in a way that would always persist.
“I got asked out,” Jirou spoke abruptly, face hidden in her locker.
Momo felt like her feet were going to give out beneath her, heart plummeting to the bottom of her stomach. “By who?” She couldn’t seem to stop herself from blurting out the question before feeling embarrassed and turning to hide in her locker as well.
The other girls questioning voices hardly registered to her ears, only listening for Jirou’s. She pulled on her shirt, attempting to hide in that momentary darkness.
“I think I know who,” Ashido teased.
Momo tossed a glance over shoulder, studying Jirou’s face. She leaned against the locker, arms crossed while sneaking her own glance up at Momo. The catch of each other’s eyes made them both startle a bit.
“Yeah, probably. It was Kaminari,” she offered with a shrug of her shoulders.
There was something that scraped even deeper at the fact that it was a guy who asked her out. Momo sometimes wondered which way she veered, though the other girl seemed open-minded. But did that mean she only liked guys? Did she say yes? Was it wrong that Momo felt betrayed by that?
“And what did you say?” Uraraka asked earnestly.
Jirou’s eyes met Momo’s again, even though she tried to ignore them. The eye contact felt too overwhelming right now. But Momo held her ground, fully turning back around while trying to present an air of casualness.
Time seemed to stretch on infinitely, held in that precise moment of endless nerves. Those onyx eyes felt like they were digging into Momo’s and normally she’d welcome it with open arms. But right now she was teetering on the edge and she so desperately wished for Jirou to pull her back.
“I said no, don’t really think of him that way.”
It was like a splash of warm water after being deprived of hydration, lost in the desert searching for something. It wasn’t exactly what she wanted, because of course she needed more from the other girl. But for now that unease dwindled.
“He was actually pretty cool about it, said it was no big deal,” Jirou added on.
All the other girls agreed that was good, glad to know nobody was heartbroken. As much as they enjoyed gossiping, it was usually goodhearted. Momo had lost all interest as soon as that assurance was given, though. She could feel Jirou’s eyes boring into her, analyzing her body language. It was times like this she wasn’t sure what Jirou was looking for exactly. Did she want Momo to be upset? Momo tried not to get too hopeful about the possibility of what that would even mean.
Without even realizing it Momo was rushing out the door, clothes still crooked. In the back of her mind she was aware of all the eyes on her, confused by her abrupt manner but she couldn’t focus on that. It felt like the world just got a million times smaller and then rapidly expanded all at once, she needed the fresh air immediately.
The walk back to the dorm was full of heavy breaths and heavy footsteps. Body feeling like it was weighed down by an anchor. Momo hated how much such a thing affected her. Jirou is allowed to go on dates with other people, they’re just friends nothing more.
Something twisted in her at the thought. It’s not that she had anything against gay people, she was perfectly comfortable with it. Even with close friends. But herself? Her parents would be hysterical, everything she’d ever worked for would be thrown away.
It felt like the weight of the world was crushing down on her shoulders as she slugged her way up the stairs. Collapsing on her bed as soon as she made it to her room. Momo felt ridiculous. She has everything she could possibly dream of. The perfect life. And yet this growing affection for Jirou weighed on her heavily, it took all of her being not to let it consume her.
Not before long, there was a knock at Momo’s door. Soft and light, easy to miss. Opening the door revealed the girl of her dreams, there before her looking so effortlessly perfect.
“Hey,” Jirou murmured, face full of worry concealed under a friendly smile.
Moving back to let the girl inside, Momo offered a quiet hello back. Closing the door behind her and bracing herself against it. Closed spaces with Jirou had become increasingly harder to handle in their last school year. The air was heavier and each word uttered was like a knife slicing through the tension. But it filled Momo with anticipation, like the possibilities were endless. Together, in this private space, anything could happen. Good or bad.
“I want to apologize for my abruptness earlier.” Momo wrung her hands together, trying her best to appear composed. There was more she wanted to supply. Maybe an excuse, but nothing came to mind quick enough.
Jirou offered a slight smile, the corner of her mouth turning up. “No worries, boy talk can be annoying.” She gave a wave of her hand, moving to sit down on the bed. “And with finals coming up we’ve all got a lot on our minds, stressful times.”
Momo brushed a strand of hair behind her ear before taking a sit beside Jirou, their thighs just slightly touching. Maybe she should move away, leave more space but the other girl didn’t seem to mind. In fact, it almost seemed like she scooted just a bit to be closer. Or maybe Momo was being delusional.
Was she really going to keep this up forever? This endless cycle of wondering what this really was between the two of them. They’re about to be pro heroes, shouldn’t Momo take some initiative. It felt like now or never. Her hands gripped at the bed sheets as she steeled herself with a deep breath.
“I’m honestly quite surprised you turned down Kaminari, the two of you seemed to have a connection.”
As soon as the words left her mouth she wanted to dig a hole and throw herself into it. She had no idea where she was expecting this to go, but her mind was eating away at her and she needed to somehow satiate it.
Jirou looked at her questioningly, eyebrows raised. “Like I said, I just see him as a friend.”
Momo looked back at her, eyes locked onto hers. Like she was trying to dive into them. This seemed like a fruitless endeavor, or maybe even a damaging one.
“And I-,” Jirou sucked in a breath, almost afraid of the words she was trying to push out. With her eyes shut she continued, “I don’t think I really have much interest in guys.”
The room went completely still and Momo swore the sound of her heartbeat was taking up audible residence in the silence. When Jirou peeked a glance at Momo she could see the timidness in her eyes. She was equally as terrified as Momo was of a bad reaction.
She wasn’t sure if this was meant as an opportunity, but her friend was opening up to her about something so personal. There was no way she could let the other girl continue to stew in that terrifying admission without giving one herself.
“Me too,” Momo voiced quietly.
The look Jirou gave her was everything she needed to know it was okay. Those dark eyes softened and her features lost all their tightness, shoulders relaxing as well. Jirou’s hand inched the tiniest bit towards Momo’s on the bed, pinkies slightly grazing.
It’s like a world of possibilities opened up in front of them as Jirou let this new information soak in.
“There is one friend I view as something more, though.” Jirou’s attempt at acting coy was not lost on Momo, but her mind did briefly try to convince her that that sentence meant something else entirely.
Feeling brave Momo interloped her pinky with Jirou’s. She was on the edge of the world right now and she never felt more free. There was a deep seated fear in her chest but alongside it sat assurance. That scare earlier, the thought that Jirou could be taken by another, filled Momo with some confidence. And this was her chance, what kind of aspiring hero would she be if she didn’t take that risk.
With a tentative smile Momo asked, “Do I happen to know her?”
Jirou’s cracked a grin, her hand slowly intertwining with Momo’s as she gave a nod. The tenderness of her touch made Momo feel alight with tranquility, grounding in the simplest way. The other girl leaned in towards Momo, foreheads falling against each other. Their eyes held one another, soft and gentle. It made Momo’s entire body go pliant, she could feel herself ascending to cloud nine.
Suddenly Momo couldn’t seem to remember why she had been holding back or why she was ever afraid of confessing.
“Can I?” Momo didn’t specify what she was asking for exactly but Jirou already seemed to know as she closed the gap.
Their lips met delicately at first, almost like they were leaving room for the other to pull away if they regretted it. But as the seconds tipped by and the softness of each other melded together, the kiss deepened.
Momo never quite understood how a kiss could steal one’s breath away, but now she most definitely did. It was like all of her life force was leaving her and going into Jirou, and she gladly welcomed that experience. The way their lips moved against one another was divine, mouths moving in tandem. Like a dance they’d rehearsed over and over again.
She felt a hand touch the back of her neck gently, pulling her in even deeper. Her own hand, the one not holding Jirou’s, found its way to her waist. The way the skin felt under her grip made her feel powerful. The most precious being was held within her hands and she wanted to cherish every second of that.
Finally after what felt like a lifetime, they pulled away and gasped in each other’s air. Never straying too far in fear of losing the other, even for a second.
“I really like you, Kyoka,” Momo whispered.
The use of her given name sent the purple-haired girl’s eyes fluttering shut with a blush lightly tinting her cheeks. Her hand moved from Jirou’s waist to her face, gently cupping her cheek as her thumb brushed against her soft skin.
When Jirou finally looked at Momo again it’s like everything just clicked into place, like slotting in the final piece of a puzzle. Jirou’s lips quirked up with content as all of the stress of the world disappeared from her face, a calmness enveloping her completely. Momo would never be able to get enough of that, she hoped she could gift the other girl that comfort for the rest of her life.
Jirou gave one last peck, planting her words against the taller girl’s lips. “I feel the same way and more, Momo.”