Chapter 3

Shouto unzipped the front of his jacket as he followed Momo and the hostess to one table in the restaurant. She led them to a cozy booth, and Momo immediately slid in on the first side. Shouto hesitated for a moment, not precisely ready to sit facing her, but unable to slide in beside, as the only thing Momo would see of him would be the scar.

He forced himself to take the bench opposite Momo, but had to gird himself to lift his eyes from the surface of the table. Momo offered him a tiny grin as she settled her yellow scarf on the bench beside her and unzipped her winter coat.

"Good afternoon," a young woman greeted as she came to a stop at the edge of their booth. "Can I start you with a drink?" their waitress asked as she moved to place a menu before each of them.

He glanced towards the young woman as he reached to accept the menu and saw her eyes go wide as she looked at him. "Wow," she gasped, "Cool scar, how'd that happen?"

Shouto's head jerked backwards on his neck, caught completely off guard by the woman's blunt question. "Excuse me?!" It was Momo who spoke. She leaned her left arm onto the table and looked squarely at the waitress.

"Could you possibly be more rude?" she demanded, staring the waitress down until the young woman had developed a healthy blush.

Shouto snapped out of his stupor and glanced down at the menu. "I'll take the lunch special," he ordered, in a low voice.

He saw through the corner of his eye that it took a beat before their waitress snapped out of her embarrassment to pull out her order sheet and pen. "Y-yes sir," she stammered, marking it down.

Momo looked up from her own menu, offering Shouto a warm smile. "That sounds nice. I think I'll have that too." She reached across the table and slipped the menu out of Shouto's hands before turning a glare on their waitress as she passed the menus back.

"Right away," the girl said, before scurrying away from the booth.

"I just can't believe some people," Momo sighed, before looking back across the table at Shouto.

He shrugged. 'It was bound to happen at some point,' he thought sourly. 'But how do I keep Momo from asking about it now?' Shouto cleared his throat, his mind casting about quickly for a suitable topic.

"What sort of music do you like?" he finally asked.

"Oh," Momo's smile only grew, her eyes tilting with the expression. "I have a very broad taste in music. I don't focus so much on a single band or singer, but on anything that lifts me up, that I connect with."

Her free hand dipped into the pocket of her coat and withdrew her cellphone. "See," she quipped, unlocking the device and bringing up her music app.

Shouto's eyes widened to see the last song she'd paused while listening to was What You See of Me, and he swallowed hard, hoping Momo hadn't noticed.

"I've got just about everything here," Momo held the phone before him, her thumb scrolling through the extensive list of music and artists. "It's actually probably easier for me to list what I won't listen to," she said with a laugh.

"We share a lot in common," Shouto said softly. He sucked in a breath when Momo finished scrolling back to the top of her playlist and he saw the name she'd given it.

"Battle Back?" he read aloud with confusion. Looking again at what songs he could see on the list, Shouto considered the ones he recognized.

"Oh," Momo chuckled softly, "yeah, this is the playlist I like best, one I created to help me overcome final exams in my first year of university. What is it?"

Shouto realized he was staring at Momo, his mouth hanging open, and he gave his head a shake. "All these songs…" he began, looking back down at the list.

"In one way or another, are about overcoming something, fighting on or not giving up," Momo declared with a nod of her head.

"That's what you think What You See of Me is saying?" Shouto asked, unable to keep the disbelief from his voice.

Momo cocked her head to one side as she stared at him. "You don't think it is?"

Shouto had to bite his tongue to keep from saying 'I know it isn't!' He sat a little straighter in the booth, smoothing his palms against the surface of the table, as he drew a slow breath. 'How can she hear that song and think I'm talking about overcoming something?!'

"Here you are," the waitress said, jerking Shouto out of himself. He glanced at the young woman without turning his head this time. She wouldn't meet his eyes as she placed their meals between them and quickly scurried away.

Shouto returned his attention to Momo, who was just reaching for her chopsticks. "That song…" he halted, surprised he actually had to clear his throat to get the words past the lump resting there. "It isn't about overcoming…"

'It's about the frustration I feel at having to hide a part of myself. The fear that everyone is right, I can't be accepted like this…' Shouto gave his head a shake, realizing his hands had taken an iron grip on the edge of the table.

Momo stopped the first bite of her meal more than halfway to her mouth. Her lips spread in a smile as she lowered the food back to her plate. "That's certainly your opinion," she said, lifting her left shoulder in a half shrug. "But considering the lyrics, I don't see how it couldn't be about getting back up again."

"But, nothing about the entire song is positive," Shouto contended, leaning a little closer to the table, trying to keep his voice low.

"That's where you're wrong!" Momo declared with a bright light in her eyes. She placed her phone on the table between them, and once again brought up her music app. The index finger of her left hand upping the volume on her phone as her thumb pressed play.

Shouto immediately recognized the music leading to the chorus of the song and his jaw clenched a second before hearing his voice.

'Or can I face the scars

Weighing me down (down, down)

Weighing me down

So far down'

Momo paused the song, looking up at Shouto with an expression he could only call triumphant. "Or can I face the scars…" she said, her smile only growing, "there's hope in that line."

"Hope?" he scoffed.

"There's more to this song, then the intense way it's sung. Or to the powerful feel of the music," Momo asserted, her brows pulling downward on her face, while her smile slipped a little. She pressed play on her phone again.

'Saw this all along (look at me)

False adorations (betrays my heart now)

Is this what I wanted, do you think I wanted

To be. (This is not me!)

It's not all I can be!'

"You can't possibly deny that there's determination in these words," Momo said over the sound of Shouto's recorded singing. Her face lit up again, and she pointed down at the phone, the music leading into the bridge. "If that isn't enough, listen, really listen to this."

Don't fall away (Don't fall a-way)

Don't drown away

I will get back up again

I can love myself again'

"There!" she said, with triumph, flashing a smile up at Shouto. "How can you possibly deny that there isn't hope in those lines?"

Shouto scowled as he shook his head. 'Of course she'd pick the bridge, the one part I didn't want to include in the bloody song.'

"Hey, is that Antipode?" a male voice called from somewhere behind Shouto. "Turn it up!"

"No way, that band is a bunch of losers!" another voice barked angrily.

Shouto tried to tune out everything but the beautiful woman across from him, so animated and determined. 'How can I make her see?'

"You're the loser!"

"Move over" a familiar voice growled, as Bakugou slid into the booth beside Shouto, his right fist raised and middle finger extended.

"Excuse me…." Momo began with alarm a second before Shouto saw with dread as her eyes widened in shock. "Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed, "You're!"

"Yeah, yeah, keep your voice down," Bakugou huffed, leaning his arms on the table. "I'd like to get some coffee before I gotta run outta here."

Momo reached for her phone, silencing the song as she stared with what Shouto could only describe as awe at Bakugou. He felt something hot boil in his gut. 'There goes a perfect day…'

"Um…why are you sitting at my, our, table?" Momo stuttered, her cheeks growing redder by the second.

Bakugou glanced at Shouto while keeping most of his focus on Momo across the table. "Been tracking this idiot down. Figured he had to be here somewhere." Bakugou elbowed Shouto in the ribs, making a grab for his chopsticks, before digging into his meal.

"Uhh…help yourself?" Momo breathed, her expression stunned before her grey eyes locked onto Shouto and she mouthed, 'Do you know who he is?'

Shouto sighed, his shoulders sagging. What he really wanted to do was bury his face on the table until this day ended.

Bakugou waved towards their waitress, before looking back at Momo. "So how do you know half n half?" he asked, taking another big bite of Shouto's meal. "We always thought he had a girl back home."

"Half n…" Momo trailed off, her eyes looking from Bakugou to Shouto and she stopped, frozen. "That's what you call…Oh," her eyes widened, mouth falling open. "Oh! Sho. Shouto Todoroki?!" she gasped in a whisper.

"Shit," Bakugou gaped around his mouthful of food.

"Yeah," Shouto growled, glaring at Antipode's drummer, "You are. A total shit. I didn't invite you here," he snarled, keeping his voice down.

His vision narrowed in on Bakugou, unable to bring himself to look at Momo now. She'd recognized Katsuki right away, and that look on her face when she'd seen him. Shouto tried to swallow back his disappointment and jealousy.

It had never bothered him before now, Bakugou being almost the voice of Antipode off stage. Shouto might have been the voice of their music, but he didn't want the spotlight solely on him. He drew a slow breath, trying to steady his racing heart.

"I wanted a day off. To myself."

Bakugou didn't shrink back from Shouto's bitter anger. Nothing could make the blond back down. "Gotta bring you back," Katsuki said around another bite. "We have rehearsal. It's the job." The last was entirely unapologetic.

"I made it clear," Shouto said each word carefully, his angry focus still on Bakugou. "I'd be there for the show, not before!"

His friend twisted on the bench seat to stare at Shouto with an unimpressed raised brow. "You're going to have to cover it up before the show," Bakugou said, gesturing with the chopsticks towards the scar. "Hope that's just temp dye in your hair…"

Shouto released a tight breath. "Yeah. I know," he hissed, pushing Bakugou out of the booth and to his feet. "Would you go now? Please?"

"Yeah, yeah," Bakugou huffed, as Shouto continued to shove him towards the door. "Just, don't make any promises you're not gonna keep," he said pointedly glancing back over Shouto's right shoulder at the booth they'd left.

Bakugou put on the brakes just as they reached the door. "It doesn't work out," he warned in a low voice.

"I just met her," Shouto said, confused. "What do you think I'm gonna promise her?"

"Heh," Bakugou chuckled dryly, meeting Shouto's eyes with a knowing look. "The pretty ones. The normal ones," he said, attention once more passing over Shouto's shoulder. "Make you want to promise the world. And it feels like you can give it to 'em."

His dark reddish eyes locked back on Shouto. "Then the reality of the job sets in. And they get tired of waiting around - for broken promises." Bakugou nodded once, his point clearly made, and stepped away.

"See you at the concert."

"And not before," Shouto growled.

…

Momo sat in stunned silence, her hands gripping the edge of the table until her knuckles were white. Sho was shoving Antipode's drummer towards the doors of the restaurant with a fierce look on his face.

'No,' she corrected herself with a tiny shake of her head. 'Not Sho, this is Shouto Todoroki!'

Shock and downright giddiness had flooded Momo at recognizing Bakugou when he sat down at their table. Overshadowing everything now was the stunning realization of whom she'd just been about to share a meal with.

Momo's stomach did a series of flips, each progressively worse as she considered everything in light of this. 'I barged in on his time off.' Dread threatened to sweep her away with it.

She sucked her lower lip between her teeth. What Momo knew about Antipode was, Shouto was exceedingly private about his life outside of the band. In fact, while he was the voice behind their music, it was Katsuki Bakugou who really spoke about the group.

'Stupid!' she scoffed at herself. 'You actually imagined you could have a connection with him?' Momo was grateful at that moment to be alone at the table. The heat in her face reached the very tops of her ears.

'Why not?' a tiny voice piped up from deep inside Momo. 'I did feel a connection with him. Does finding out who he really is suddenly change everything?'

Momo shook her head, wanting to clear it of the stupor clinging to her. 'Bakugou said Shouto had a girl back home!' Momo realized, her stomach dropping as embarrassment swept over her.

"Damn Katsuki," Shouto's smooth voice grumbled, snapping Momo out of her daze. "He barely left me anything worth eating…" he said, sliding back onto the bench across from her.

She cast a quick glance across the table at the man settling himself there. This handsome man, whom she had only wanted to see, smile. This was Shouto Todoroki, one of her favourite singers, 'And I tried to tell him what his own song was really about?!'

A fresh wave of heat rushed over Momo, her mouth suddenly going dry. 'I called it key smashing,' she thought, her gut twisting with renewed horror.

"I'm sorry," Shouto said in a low voice. Momo could see through her peripheral vision he was leaning closer to the table, but she couldn't bring herself to look at him.

Drawing a breath, Momo caught the unmistakable scent of Shouto's cologne. Something she'd mistaken for the garden they'd been walking in earlier, with its woodsy masculine scent. Biting her lip, Momo risked a brief glance at Shouto's face.

His expression was intent as he leaned across the table towards her. And Momo felt her breath catch, her heart beat a little faster. "No no, I should apologize," she said, somehow getting her tongue moving again.

"I'm the one who butted into your day off. Told you what your song meant," she continued, laughing a little nervously. "I mean….it's your song. What do I know, right?" Momo knew she was nearly babbling, but couldn't seem to make the words stop now that they'd begun flowing.

"I probably took you away from spending time with…." Momo swallowed hard. "People that matter. I should just…go," she finished in a rush, moving towards the edge of the seat.

"Please don't," Shouto was quick to say, his right hand reaching across the table to take her left wrist. "I…" he cleared his throat softly. "I'm still hungry, and it'd look weird if you were to just leave me here alone."

Momo stopped, relaxing back on the bench across from Antipode's lead singer. He offered her a hesitant smile, his hand on her wrist, feeling so warm and secure. "I-uhh…" Momo stuttered, trying and failing to not lose herself in Shouto's eyes.

Swallowing hard, Momo smiled shyly at Shouto, her eyes glancing briefly around the busy restaurant. "I suppose you're right," she agreed, sliding her hand out from under Shouto's as he motioned for the waitress as she passed their table.

"Could I get an order of cold soba?"

Their waitress paused only long enough to nod and say, "Right away," before Momo was once again 'alone' with Shouto.

Her eyes met his, but this time it was Shouto who looked away first. "I'm sorry I didn't exactly tell you the truth," he mumbled, while his lips turned up at the corners in an unsure smile. "Although I did try to not lie to you."

Momo barely considered their earlier conversations for the truth of that statement. She pulled her lower lip between her teeth for a second, really looking at the man across from her. Shouto had done all he could—while trying to not appear obvious about it—to keep her on his right side.

She tried not to stare at his scar too intently, but it was difficult not to. He looked so remarkably different with it. 'I wonder how long he's had it, or why he concealed it…is that why he bent the truth?'

Reaching for her glass of water, Momo took a sip and placed the drink aside again. "Why worry at all?" she asked.

"I…didn't want to scare you away…" Shouto admitted.

"What if I'd had no idea who you were?" she asked back curiously.

Shouto's mouth fell open, but he snapped it shut almost instantly. "But you did…know…" he contended after a moment, pointing to her phone, which still rested on the table between them.

"Yes," Momo agreed, but immediately raised her index finger. "But you didn't know that when we made introductions."

A little colour entered Shouto's cheeks, and he opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

Momo giggled into her hand as their waitress reappeared with Shouto's meal. She placed it next to his elbow before grabbing up the dish Bakugou had nearly polished off. Once they were alone again, Momo picked up her chopsticks.

"I get it," she finally assured him, moving some of the food around on her plate. "You didn't want to take the risk…I'm a little surprised you didn't let it slip when I called it key mashing." She said with an apologetic smile.

Shouto took up his own utensils, drawing his meal in front of him. "I almost did," he said with a gruff chuckle.

Momo laughed herself, still unable to comprehend the left turn her day had taken. 'What would have happened if Bakugou hadn't shown up?' she wondered, taking that first bite of her meal.

"Were you just going to let me fight you on the meaning of your own song?" she asked, smiling sheepishly at him.

Shouto stopped eating, noodles still held with his chopsticks, partly out of his mouth. His eyes widened in momentary surprise, before he blushed slightly and quickly finished his bite of soba.

"It was interesting to hear your perspective on it," he said, the right side of his mouth pulling back in a crooked grin. "Wrong though it was. It was nice to hear that it meant something to you."

Momo spluttered over her water after taking a sip and laughed softly, trying to clear her throat. "I've always loved that song," she said at last. Looking down at her partially eaten meal, Momo twirled her chopstick among the noodles.

"What You See of Me…" Momo hesitated. 'Would he even care to hear what his song meant to me?' She glanced up from her meal to study the man sitting across from her. 'He did say he liked hearing that it meant something to me,' Momo reminded herself.

"I wrote that song out of frustration," Shouto spoke softly. His eyes met Momo's a second before he chuckled dryly. "No one expected it to be such a hit."

"People connected with it," Momo said with a smile.

He nodded his head, but his mouth twisted into a wry expression. "But they didn't know what it was about."

Momo pushed aside her plate and reached for her phone. "Does anyone?" she asked hesitantly.