"Thanks for making my lunch, Sato," Doko murmured between bites, slouching over the counter of the common room.
"No problem," Sato replied, in the midst of restocking the fridge and cleaning up the kitchen space. "You weren't at the group breakfast this morning, so…"
"Yeah, I kinda…slept in." Despite not feeling it while there, the gala had exhausted him. Once arriving back at the dorm, he'd trudged up to his room to collapse. There'd been a very tired goodbye between him and Momo on the stairs, surprisingly not awkward. It was like we were an old married couple getting home from work.
"Katayama? Your ears are red," said Sato. "Did I put too much spice in…?"
"NO! This is fine, thank you," Doko told him quickly. "Don't worry about it." Of course, someone pointing it out made him even more embarrassed.
It was noon on Sunday. I can help you on Sunday afternoon, she'd said. After spending an entire evening with Momo, he was about to go study with her. Just the two of them, in her room.
Their almost-kiss had replayed in his head over and over. The stars had aligned so perfectly then…and of course, the song had cut off. Should I have gone for it anyway? UGH!
He closed his fist and nearly shoved his head into his food, stopping himself with a shake. Luckily, Sato was turned away.
Mina, Toru, and Tsuyu emerged from the elevator, chattering about this thing and that. Doko froze. Of course, they noticed him.
"If it isn't the man of the hour himself!" Toru hooted. Mina whistled next to her. "How was the big date, stud?"
"Don't bother him," Tsuyu stated flatly. "Can't you see he's eating?"
Doko sighed dryly. "It went well, thanks for asking. Although I wouldn't call myself the man of the hour anymore. It's been several hours."
"Don't be so literal," Toru complained. "We're proud of you."
"That's right!" Mina added, her golden eyes twinkling. "We've been waiting for months to see a guy in the class finally make a move on Yao-momo, but no one's been brave enough, not even Todoroki. Then, you just swooshed in and swept her off her feet!"
"It'd be more accurate to say she swept me off mine," he muttered. Only Tsuyu heard. "Wait, not even Todoroki?"
"Oh, we were pretty sure he liked her," Tsu supplied matter-of-factly. "It's kinda hard to tell, but you know…I've got a knack for observing people, and Mina's got a knack for…"
"Observing love in people!" Mina interrupted, jumping in front of the frog girl. "And I saw it in her eyes last night when you came out!"
Doko looked down at his food, blushing. "I'm sure you're mistaken."
"She might not even realize it either, to be fair," said Tsuyu.
"But maybe she does now!" Toru gasped. "Katayama-kun, did something happen? She did seem really…floaty at breakfast. Even more so than Ochaco gets around Midori…"
"Nothing happened," Doko interrupted her rapidly.
Mina narrowed her eyes, stapling her fingers under her chin. "Hmm…" She suddenly got very close to his face, analyzing him.
Doko gave her a testy look. "And what about me, huh? Do you see love in my eyes?"
"You're a harder book to read. Not as hard as Todoroki, but…"
"Ah, I see. So your system is flawed, then." He lifted himself off the counter chair, backing away from her, and then going around the other two girls to head back up the stairs.
"Why be in denial?" Toru called after him. "Most of everyone's rooting for you two, and if she likes you, then what's wrong with being hopeful?"
Doko stopped, and only turned around a little. "Because that doesn't usually work out well for me."
He walked up the stairs.
…
Momo looked around the floor of her room for the fiftieth time, just in case that there was the smallest chance that she'd missed anything…
Doko would be here any minute, and she wanted the space to be immaculate for him to be able to focus. I'm gonna get him to ace his stuff if it's the last thing I do.
Unfortunately, she only had one chair in her room, and creating furniture with her Quirk was extremely exhausting. That meant…they would be sitting on the bed.
Momo blushed deeply, setting her phone next to her and tucking her legs under herself, leaning back against the corner of the four-poster. She could no longer dance around her feelings anymore. Everything Doko had done last night…taking her arm, weaving himself through social situations, managing to hold his own against her father, and then even dancing with her…
…It had all been incredibly attractive.
She'd become certain when they'd nearly kissed. Her thoughts in that moment had not been confusion, but anticipation. She'd gotten subconsciously excited for it.
Did my parents like him well enough to where they would let me date him? And then, in the same moment, she thought: Does it matter?
Momo blushed even deeper. It was rare that personal feelings of hers overrode her devotion to her parents. One of those moments had been when she decided she wanted to be a hero and attend UA. And now, with this…
He's not just some dangerous pretty boy like Todoroki, either. Sure, he has that side, but I've also seen his vulnerability…
There was really nothing holding her back…other than, of course, the idea that he might not like her like that. She'd been the one to invite him to the gala, after all…and for most of the evening he didn't really seem to be enjoying himself. There'd been the near-kiss, sure, but who was to say that wasn't him just getting caught up in the moment? Surely, if he'd really wanted to kiss her, if he liked her like that…he would have gone for it, and not backed off when the song cut…
Momo sighed dreamily and fell back onto her bed, sinking into its softness. Her ponytail got messed up when she pressed against it. Dammit. Gonna have to let my hair down now.
She'd wanted to look as immaculate as the room when he arrived, but now that was out the window. She sat up, annoyed with herself, and untied her hair, letting the glossy black waves fall down past her shoulders.
Her vanity was across the room from her bed, and she looked at herself in the mirror. The face that launched a thousand ships, someone at her private middle school had told her. A reference to Helen of Troy, a girl beautiful enough to start a war. So many boys had approached her, and even more had been scared to. All because of her body, right? But what about a boy who ultimately didn't care about that? Sure, Doko had stared at her before, but…she never got the feeling that it was anything beyond a base reaction, anything that he would bother acting on.
A knock on the door broke her from her mirror-staring reverie. That'll be him, Momo thought, her heart fluttering. "Come in," she sang, scooting back on the bed and straightening their study materials.
…
Doko briefly lost the ability to speak when he entered Momo's room. She was sitting on her bed, arranging some papers. Her raven-black hair cascaded past her shoulders. She was wearing a cream-colored sweater and a dark skirt with a thin belt. Her legs, tucked under herself, were covered by black tights.
Does she ever not look perfect? he thought to himself, deadpanning. "It's me," he announced, impulsively running his hand through his short hair as if that helped him look a little better.
Momo smiled easily, her grey eyes twinkling. "Welcome, Katayama. I'm just about ready to start."
He came over to the bed, and sat on it tentatively, still hanging his legs off the opposite side from Momo. He had to twist his body to get close enough to her, but putting all of his body onto the bed felt…strange.
"I borrowed a sample test from Ectoplasm-sensei," Momo said, sliding a piece of paper across the bed. "It generally covers a lot of the concepts we've already learned this year. I thought I'd just see where you are up to this point, and then work on strengthening any weak areas…"
"Clever," said Doko, scanning the paper, and twirling the pencil he'd brought in his hand. "Do you have a hard surface I could write on?"
"Oh, umm…" Momo pulled up the sleeve of her sweater, and used her Quirk, procuring a clipboard. "Here you go."
Instead of sliding it like she'd done the paper, she handed it to him directly, and their fingertips brushed together. Something flashed across Momo's eyes, and she turned her head away, her long hair swinging. "I'll just start the timer on my phone," she mumbled. "Ready?"
Doko coughed. "Yep."
"You have twenty minutes. Start now."
Doko began the test, but his mind was astray. Even though she was trying to put up the professional facade of a tutor, Momo had clearly not forgotten about yesterday's events…should he just acknowledge them aloud? It wouldn't do them any good to not talk about it at all…then nothing will happen!
Doko was not stupid. He knew a lack of communication would mean a relationship could never develop. But is it even worth pursuing? Even if she agreed to go out with me, I'd probably fuck it up somehow down the line, and then things would be incredibly awkward.
The other eighteen would know, too, since we're all together all the time. And they'd probably blame me. They'd never look at me the same way, for hurting her.
I wouldn't be able to work with her on any assignments or training.
I wouldn't be able to work with her AFTER high school, when we're pros on the field. At least until we all mature enough to stop worrying about such things.
Even if everyone gets over it, there will still be a few months at least of awkwardness… and I cannot deal with that. I don't want to. I don't want to mess up.
Meanwhile, he was barely focusing on the test. It had been ten minutes, and he was not yet halfway through. He understood quadratic functions well enough, although he didn't understand why they were teaching them multiple ways to solve them…the quadratic formula worked for ALL the functions, and it was the easiest way to remember, so why did he have to solve some of these by completing the square or factoring or division or otherwise? That was much harder…
"Time's up," said Momo. "Did you…? Oh…"
Doko winced. "Sorry. I still had two left."
"Well, that's okay. Go ahead and do those, and then we'll go over it." There was pity in her voice, and Doko felt a twinge of annoyance. Pity is the death of desire. Where had he heard that before?
He needed to turn this around somehow. After finishing the two remaining problems, he handed the paper to her. Please let me have gotten most of them right, at least.
Momo spent about sixty seconds looking back and forth between his work and hers. "Well…you got most of them right, but…you didn't show your work very well. Did you…just use the quadratic formula on all of these?"
Doko shifted back and forth, averting his eyes. "...Most of them. It can get me the right answer reliably, and it's easy to remember. I don't see why I need to know those other methods."
"Because it counts as part of your grade," Momo told him somewhat forcefully…and then her expression softened. "I realize it's tough to see the point in a lot of this when we have hero work to worry about…"
"No, that's not it. I want to get better, really. Explain the other methods to me." He didn't want to make any excuses, none whatsoever.
"Well…alright." She seemed taken aback.
Doko realized he had maybe said that a little too roughly. He gave her a wry smile. "Sorry. I'm more impressive on the dance floor."
Momo didn't look at him, but she did grin. "And with no practice, I might add," she said.
"Well, that's the magic of your teaching, I guess. Hoping that can extend to this math nonsense."
"Don't call it nonsense," she snapped at him jokingly, her eyes twinkling. There was a dusting of red on her cheeks; he could tell the compliment had worked. Thank God.
"So…anyway," Momo coughed. "In regards to completing the square…"
The math tutoring went smoothly after that, for another half an hour or so. Doko felt like he was really grasping a few of the other methods, at least. She created some more problems for him to solve, forcing him to not use the quadratic formula, and he managed to do it successfully.
"Of course, these are all concepts on old tests," Momo said. "The upcoming unit will be different…"
"That's alright," Doko told her. "I feel like you've prepared my brain now. I'll be able to grasp the new stuff much quicker."
"You're just saying that," she mumbled with a smile. "Moron."
"Should we take a break?" he asked through a yawn. "You got any snacks in here? I'm starving."
"I do not keep food in my room," she said, sounding somewhat haughty about it.
"Can you create some?"
"No!" She bristled up, blushing. "That's against the rules…"
"Who says?"
"I say!" Momo seemed flustered about it. "It's just like how you don't teleport other people unless it's an absolute emergency…"
"Well, yeah. I don't want to displace someone without their consent, or accidentally rip their limbs off if I'm not focused enough."
"And I don't want to destabilize the economy!"
Doko laughed, somewhat enjoying how she was pouting at him. "Alright, alright. I won't get pushy."
Momo relaxed, smiling back at him. They were staring into each other's eyes again, and realized it after a few seconds, quickly averting their gazes.
"Ahem," she coughed.
Doko realized that at some point, he'd brought his legs up onto the bed. His body naturally adjusting into an easier position? In any case…he was fully in her space.
I should say something. Something about…it. The gala. We can't just…not…talk about it. Arrrghh…but what do I say?
It turned out he didn't have to.
"Katayama," Momo piped up. "About last night…"
He raised his eyebrows. His heart felt like it had stopped beating in anticipation and anxiety. He wanted to look at her face, but he couldn't.
"Yeah?" he asked, still staring at his own legs.
"I enjoyed it," she told him, gently.
Doko lifted his head. Her eyes were twinkling again. She was leaning slightly toward him, causing part of her hair to fall over the sides of her face and frame it in a pretty way.
He grinned. "Me too."
Her shoulders slumped, as if she was relaxing. "Okay, good. I was afraid that you didn't. I was the one who invited you, after all."
"Don't be silly. It was great to get out of the dorm for a night. And even if it wasn't my normal idea of a fun time, I mean…it's good to broaden your horizons, right?"
Momo nodded, but her eyes had gone distant. Doko felt strange. Was that the wrong thing to say? Did she want to hear something else?
"And also," he coughed, trying to tack it on, "the fact that you were there helped a lot, too."
Momo beamed, and he inwardly relaxed.
"Erm…" She pressed her arms against the side of her chest and began to shift back and forth nervously.
Doko's eyes widened. His heart skipped a beat. Wait, what's happening now? Is it time? What is she gonna say? Do I need to say something? I'm scared!
Momo closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. "Katayama, I…"
"Yao-momo, I…"
They both stopped, staring at each other. They'd tried to speak at the same time.
Then, they both burst into a fit of giggling, their faces going red.
"Sorry…" Momo muttered in between giggles.
"No, it's okay…"
"If you don't mind, I…"
"No, I'll go first, erm…"
They recomposed themselves, looking one another in the eye again. We're both acknowledging this, Doko thought. We both know, we both know where this is going to go next. His heart was soaring with hope, skipping along and ready to burst with excitement, but…
Oh god, I'm not ready. I'm not. I'm not prepared for anything to go wrong. I can't…I can't…I just can't believe it…there's a possibility that I've misunderstood somehow…
"Yao-momo," he said, taking a deep breath. "There is something I would very, very much like to tell you. But…I don't think I'm prepared to do it now. It's my weakness, not yours. So…can I ask you a favor?"
Her eyes danced up and down his face, searching him. Her expression was inquisitive, her head slightly tilted. "Of course," she murmured.
"When…when I am ready to say it, will you hear me? Will you listen?"
A smile spread across her face, slow but inexorable. "Without a doubt, Katayama. I'll be waiting."
A moment of pleasant, warm silence, and then: "Shall we continue with English now?"
Doko nodded. "...Yeah."
…
Momo watched as he closed the door behind himself, leaving her…and yet, it felt very much like he was still here. His warm presence still pervaded the air.
She couldn't help herself. Giggling, she stood up and spun in a circle on the rug, reaching up on her tip-toes and letting her hair fall over her face. It's all gonna be fine. He likes me, he likes me, I just KNOW it!
All kinds of doubts were trying to nag at her, but she would not allow it. No, no, no. Yes, like all the other boys, Katayama was intimidated…but she did not get that sense that he was intimidated by her necessarily. It was more like…he had something that he needed to figure out. And Momo could respect that. She couldn't deny that Doko's awareness of himself and desire to improve was one of the most attractive qualities about him.
She was flying on cloud nine. Everything would turn out fine. She would ensure that it did.
A buzz from her phone broke her free of her heart's euphoria. Momo twirled over to the bed again, picking up her phone to read the text messages. They were from the Class A girls' group chat.
Mina: alright gals. common room, tonight. all 20 of us are gonna play kings game
Mina: attendance is mandatory. we will not be taking questions.
Ochaco: we?
Mina: me n toru of course
Toru: who else?
Momo set the phone down, her heart racing. A king's game, tonight. It was a Sunday night; they had school in the morning, what was she thinking?
I wonder if this is the result of last night? She'd been half-joking to Doko about the girls having a meeting after watching them leave, but if it HAD happened, then it was likely that Mina and Toru had cooked up a plan to further stir the pot…and this could easily be part of it.
You want to set up Doko and me, Mina? You're too late! We're already a step ahead of you!