It was for the best. She really had to admit it.
Momo watched as Rito plopped down on the couch in front of the television. Often, she wondered how she stood in his mind. Of course, she knew that Rito found it difficult to truly dislike someone, but that didn't mean he liked her in any special way.
"Rito, you're home!"
Momo inwardly winced at Lala's over-enthusiastic outburst. Lala practically jumped on Rito's lap, and after a moment of startled confusion, Rito shoved her to the side in panic. Lala gave a little pouty face and crossed her arms disappointedly. With a slightly ashamed expression on his face, Rito turned and petted her head, greeting her quietly. Lala immediately brightened and leaned on his shoulder contentedly. Rito's cheeks flushed, but he let her, continuing to run his fingers through her hair.
Momo narrowed her eyes in frustration. She knew that if it were her or anyone else, except perhaps Haruna and Mikan, he would get too uncomfortable and flee. And that was the heart of her predicament.
"Come on, Rito! They'll be closing soon!" Momo shouted up the stairs.
"Coming!"
Momo sighed. Time to run some errands.
Rito stumbled down the stairs, adjusting one of his ginger spikes of hair. It was still wet.
With a final jump down the last few steps, he stopped in front of her and grinned sheepishly, "Ready."
Momo smiled unconsciously and inhaled. 'His hair smells good…'
"Ok, come on, let's go, Rito-san!"
"Right, right!"
As they walked, Rito went over their checklist. "Ok, so… pick up milk, get the mail, hand Kotegawa the attendance reports, aaannnddd… oh, and give dad the art supplies."
"Mh-mm, that's everything. And don't forget to water the plants when we get back. They've been asking a lot today, given the heat."
Rito blinked. He said honestly, "How do I keep forgetting that you can do that? Seriously, it's pretty amazing, Momo."
With a modest, contented smile, she responded, "Well, it really doesn't feel like a big deal when you live with it for so long."
"Heehhhh. Still, I wish I could have something special like that. Even just a little."
Momo wished she could tell him how mutual the feeling was. But that wouldn't help. As easy as it was for him to capture the hearts of others, she had realized long ago that his heart was not so easily seized. She looked down at her feet as they walked. Then she shifted her gaze to the space in between them and almost felt pressured to move closer to him.
'Maybe… maybe later, if we end the day on good terms…'
Rito said, "Say, where do you think we should go first?"
Momo, startled out of her pensive state, replied after a moment, "Maybe we should go to your dad's place first. That way we can get rid of these art supplies and be able to carry the other stuff. The store closes in a bit over an hour.
"Ah, all right, that makes sense. Ok, let's turn here then."
The two walked in silence. Rito must have felt it a comfortable silence. Momo didn't exactly feel the same way. This was valuable time alone with Rito. And now, of all times, her mind chose to provide nothing of decent conversational quality to talk about.
Before she could say anything, Rito beat her to it.
"Hey, Momo, what's your planet like? Do you miss it?"
"Eh?"
Rito chuckled sheepishly, "Well, I've never really known what it's like where you and your sisters come from."
Momo thought for a moment. "Well, it's very technologically advanced. Lala is actually responsible for some of that. There are a few plants but most of them are in arboretums. We really only have one protected place that contains natural foliage. That's a reason why I love Earth so much. It just seems so open and lush compared to Deviluke."
Rito tilted his head at her curiously, "Really? Do you like Earth more?"
Momo met his gaze. Of course she did. Though maybe not for the reason she just gave.
"Yes."
Rito gave a few raps on his father's studio door. It whooshed open without warning, and Rito jumped back a bit.
"Ah, Rito-dono."
"Zastin? Are you here all the time?" Rito inquired.
Zastin's eyes barely misted over, and in an exaggerated and blatantly goofy voice, he replied, "Rito-dono. This is my place! Saibai-sensei has finally brought to me my purpose on Earth, other than to protect the princesses. I'm finally finding fulfillment!"
Rito struggled not to laugh. Momo giggled behind him.
At that sound, Zastin sniffed passionately and said, "Ahh, Momo-sama, apologies. I never intended you to witness such a moment of weakness."
Momo smiled, "Oh, Zastin, don't worry about it. Here are your supplies!" She held up one of the bag.
Out of nowhere, Saibai popped up behind Zastin and exclaimed broadly, "MY SON! And future daughter-in-law's sister!"
Rito turned cherry red and stuttered, "D-d-dad! Hold on a second!"
Momo laughed, but inwardly, she despised the title given to her.
Saibai laughed loudly as well, "What? Is that not what's going to happen?"
Momo looked at Rito, afraid.
Rito mumbled nervously, "Dad, now's not the best time." Momo let out a breath, unsure if she was content with his answer.
Saibai smirked at his son, but let the matter drop. "Thanks for the supplies! I'll put them to good use!"
Relaxing, Rito nodded and began to make his way out. Momo followed after waving goodbye to his father.
"Daughter-in-law's sister..." she muttered agitatedly. Why couldn't she be simply... "daughter-in-law"?
"What was that?" The boy next to her asked.
Caught off guard, she chirped, "Nothing!"
"Say, Momo, do you think my parents are weird?"
She looked at him, wondering what brought it up, "Weird? Hmm, I don't think so."
"You don't think they'd be too hard to get along with?" he pressed.
Momo tensed a little, but said, "Not at all!"
"Well, that's good."
They continued on their way to Kotegawa's house.
"Say, Rito-san, I've noticed recently that you've been calling Kotegawa-san by her given name. Did something happen?" she smirked at him.
Rito turned red, and blurted, "Not really! We've just gotten a little closer, that's all!"
"Hmm, are you sure it's nothing more?" she winked at him.
"Yes, nothing more!" he defended.
"I wonder..."
She felt a little bit of confusion at it. On one hand, Rito was getting closer to a harem candidate. On the other hand... Rito was getting closer to another girl.
They arrived at her door, and Rito went up to ring the bell.
A feminine voice from the inside called out, "Coming!"
After a moment, the door swung open. "Hi, Rito," Kotegawa chimed.
Kotegawa looked around him and saw Momo, "Oh, and hi, Momo-san!"
Rito said, "Hi, Yui. Here, I have the reports!"
"Thanks a lot! I'm sorry I forgot them!"
Rito waved his hand in dismissal, "No, no, it's fine, we're out running errands anyways."
"Oh? Well, okay, then, I won't keep you any longer!"
They all waved and parted.
'Finally,' Momo thought, though it couldn't have taken more than a couple of minutes. Yui was passionate about what she did, and Rito had caught on to the passion as well. If it wasn't already, it would soon be something Rito and Yui shared. A connection with each other.
She bit her lip in frustration, then calmed herself and asked, "So, Rito! Maybe the mail, next?"
He smiled and nodded. "We probably should hurry, the post office closes pretty soon."
She looked at him, an idea springing into her mind. "Want to fly?"
His eyes widened slightly at the possibility. "Um, how?"
Her eyes glinted mischievously, "I can carry you."
He reddened, and she almost laughed at his hesitance. She couldn't expect him to be at the peak of his confidence while being carried by her. It really didn't make sense to her, but she knew him.
She continued, "I mean, if you want to risk not making it, I guess we could go on foot."
He groaned. "Aww, ok, ok, alright. Let's do it," he sighed in resignation.
She grinned with glee and spread her wings before moving behind him. Wrapping her arms firmly around his torso, she felt him tighten up in anticipation.
"Ready?" she asked brightly.
Uncertainly, he responded, "Sure, I guess so!"
With a strong push of her legs, she took off with him under her. He was heavier than she remembered. Then again, he looked heavier than she remembered.
It couldn't have taken more than a few minutes to reach their destination. However, she didn't often get to wrap her arms around his torso like this. Her mind was floating, and it felt all too soon when she had to descend. Desperately, she tried to savor the moment, even letting her eyes flutter shut for just a moment.
"Uh, Momo?" Rito said, sounding panicked.
Her eyes snapped open, and she realized they were much lower to the ground than she thought they were.
"Wah!" she exclaimed and tried to snap her wings down to halt, but it was too late. With a soft thud, they skid into the ground, and for a brief second all she saw was a tangled mess of limbs and grass. Opening her instinctively closed eyes, she gathered herself, and then quickly realized what must have happened.
She looked for him, and her suspicions were confirmed. As if like clockwork, they had together assumed quite the suggestive position. She had somehow found herself straddling his face, facing his lower regions. She propped herself up without think, which was decidedly a bad idea, only serving to push herself even more firmly onto his face. He was panting. Whether from the position or from the scare of the crash, she didn't know. All she knew was that she could feel his breath. She bit her lip, but all at once, a million other thoughts flashed through her head. Without a word, she quickly scrambled off of him, and knelt next to him, her neck rigid.
Flushed, she watched him. His eyes snapped open, and he looked at her with surprise.
"Momo? Are you okay?"
Assuming he meant because of the fall, she stammered, "Ah, y-yes. Luckily, we landed in grass, so…"
Rito shook his head, and as he got up to a seated position, he said, "Momo, you're Devilukean, I know you can handle a little fall. I mean… are you okay?"
She sucked in her breath, but decided to not assume anything at all. "Um, what do you mean?"
Now, Rito blushed a slight bit, "Well, I mean, normally, I would expect a more enthusiastic response from you when we, ah, y'know, get into weird situations like that…"
Momo let her breath out, knowing full well what he meant. Now, she was forced to organize her thoughts.
She was silent for a moment. "But you don't feel the same. I-I, just, please don't dislike me for it. I can't help it…" she trailed off.
Rito studied her, and it was starting to emotionally wreck her. She wasn't prepared for this. She knew her disposition was more… passionate than others her age. She could only imagine that he, the epitome of non-legalistic morality, would frown on her for it. Now, she could only guess as to why he was pondering so intensely about it.
"Momo… do you really, actually like the idea of the harem plan?"
She stared at him, not able to say anything. Nervously, she wrung her hands together. She had, until recently, had no qualms with pursuing a situation where Rito would be shared amongst all of those infatuated with him. Lately, though, whenever he would spend extended time with other women, even she had to admit, her heart ached. When he came down the stairs that morning, her heart had sped up its rhythm in anticipation of having him for a while. She felt no such thing when others got him, or when she had to share him.
Finally, she shakily said, "Rito… it's not my favorite plan ever." She struggled not to choke on her words, so she grit her teeth.
"Then why-?"
"Because it's all I have!" she screeched, standing suddenly to glare down at him. He shuffled back, a look of surprise and apprehension on his face, but it was far too late to stop her. She could vaguely feel the tips of her ears burning.
"This wretched plan is all I have to hold onto! Rito, I used to think you rejected my advances because you still considered me a kid. But that's not it, is it?"
He stared at her.
"IS IT?" she shouted painfully, her hair a frazzled mess
He shook his head quickly, but wordlessly. As if that had released something, her shoulders slumped, and she fell back to his level.
Through tears, she mumbled, "This is my only chance, Rito. I can't… I can't-"
"What?" he said softly, his own voice shaking now.
"I can't… be with you. I can't know that you won't leave me, can't know that you will consider me special someday," she choked.
He reached out to touch her shoulder, but she half-heartedly recoiled. She didn't have the energy to resist him, but that didn't stop her from trying. He dropped his arm.
"Momo, I don't consider you a kid. You have been a woman in my eyes for a long time now. That has never been it. I just…" he cut himself off and threw his head back, breathing deeply.
She watched him. Her chest felt so tense, like it might explode at the slightest provocation. He brought his head back to face her.
"Momo, you will always be special to me. Always. You and I have been through more together than I've been through with almost anyone else, other than maybe Mikan or Lala. You've always been by my side. If there was ever someone I'd always want to keep nearby… harem plan or no…" he said through an audible lump in his throat.
She finally let loose, releasing the pressure in her chest through a few heaving sobs. Through her fuzzy eyes, she could see that Rito was struggling to hold it together as well.
"…don't give up on me, Momo," he said, a few tears falling from his hazel eyes, "Please don't. I don't know what will happen in the future, but you can't leave."
Momo, wiping her eyes, smiled grimly at him, "Rito, you're being selfish. If the harem plan doesn't work… how can you expect me to watch you… choose someone else? How can you force me to do that?"
Rito's eyes widened. If the mood wasn't already so thick with emotion, she might've laughed. She wondered if the thought had ever crossed his mind before. The question was mostly for his benefit. She couldn't leave him, and she knew it, even if it pained her. Perhaps in the future, she could see herself moving on. But not now.
"Don't worry, Rito. I won't leave you. At least not now," she breathed.
"Not now?" he said worriedly.
"For now, I can manage myself just fine, especially with the harem plan to through myself into. When all is said and done… we'll always be close, even if not near."
Then she faltered and locked eyes with him, "Right?"
He exhaled and wiped his face before making eye contact again. "Always."
They smiled at each other tenderly, but she still couldn't help but sense a hanging tension in the air. Without thinking, she threw herself at him, abandoning everything in hopes that somehow, this would diffuse the tension. As if he had seen it coming a mile away, he opened his arms to receive her, and they fell back onto the grass in a long overdue embrace. They both took shaky breaths and sighed.
After a moment, she rolled off of him onto her back, staring at the gray sky. Rito did the same.
Rito said after a minute, "Say… you don't think…"
Momo tilted her head, "No… maybe?"
Within the next thirty seconds, they found themselves laying the grass in the midst of a downpour. They burst out laughing.
She giggled, "Rito! The post office!"
His eyes widened, and he checked his watch. "Are you kidding me?"
Once again, she laughed, this time at his shocked face. He looked at her and began laughing as well.
"Well, then. Looks like you'll be getting the mail tomorrow, huh?" she snickered.
"I guess I am," he sighed. Then he looked over to her. "Want to fly me there tomorrow?"
She looked at him.
"I'd love you."
His jaw dropped.
She turned away, turning the darkest shade of red. "TO! I'd love TO!"
"I know what you meant, Momo."
She looked at him again, reading his face. She could see it. He absolutely did know what she meant.
Hi!
On the above story: I'd actually conceptualized this story about a year ago, but never really saw fit to finish and release it until recently, when the TLRD universe had advanced a bit. Read slowly. It's better that way.
On my absence: Unfortunately, my studies have kept me rather busy, so I rarely find myself remembering to carve out time to write a bit. Hard to say when my next post will be, but I'll try to keep this fanfiction community in my mind!
I love hearing from you guys, reviews always light up my day a bit!
All the best!