Chapter Five: I Don't Care What They Would Say I'm Asking You To Stay In My Bunker Underneath the Surface
With the help of their friends Momo and Shoto beat boredom righteously, keeping themselves busy through the thunderstorm with games and conversation. By the time the storm finally let up they had cycled through 20 Questions, Uno, Rummy, a few crossword puzzles, half of a sudoku page, and a series of board games. The best part was that they'd become comfortable with each other over the long hours and the fight to keep their sanity. It was getting hard not to see the inconvenient storm as a blessing in disguise.
After supper, once nightfall had overtaken the sun and the storm had passed on, they found their way back onto the subject of her book collection. She didn't think Shoto was actually all that interested before - just trying to fill the silence and be polite - but then he flipped all of her assumptions on their heads by suggesting that they read something together, not school or something educational; just one of her favorites, one she liked enough to want to share.
Momo took to the idea with enthusiasm though choosing a book among the thousands proved difficult. But on the bright side it left many opportunities for fun conversation, kind remarks and hand holding as they scoured through shelves.
They had stacked piles of books everywhere from her father's study to her room and now in her little library all to find a book that Momo would be excited to read. And finally they found it. When she showed it to Shoto she had too much excitement in her eyes for him to refuse her.
Dropping beside each other on the floor, Momo flipped open the thick volume and skimmed to some of her favorite parts, not actually believing that he planned to read an entire book with her today. But Shoto surprised her with how interested he was and she was thrilled when he asked if they could start from the beginning. Nothing in life would have made her happier than to dive into the adventure that was her well worn copy of the Japanese translation of the British classic Ivanhoe with Shoto.
Being a British classic as it was, the book was hefty, wordy, overly detailed, and long, but it had never bothered her before and luckily it didn't seem to bother Shoto either. As Momo read aloud the first few chapters, he hung close to her, watching the page over her shoulder. He barely moved and didn't make a sound, which made Momo suspect that he was bored or zoned out, but as the chapters progressed and he seemed to lean even closer she started to realize that it was merely a sign of his unwavering attention. It was impossible not to smile through her words as she read, elated to know that he was enjoying one of her favorite stories.
And how could he not? There were knights, villains, captures, escapes, Robin Hood, a mysterious Black Knight, battles and jousting competitions. It had love, adventure, mystery and told of a time of old where there were kings and outlaws.
For Momo her favorite part of the story had always been the romance between Ivanhoe and Rowena, separated lovers who overcame near death and treachery to be together, but for Shoto his favorite parts were swiftly becoming about Robin Hood and the Black Knight, the free spirit and the man of mystery.
Momo sensed that there may have been a deeper reason for his interest. Robin Hood seemed like a character he might envy in some sense, someone who was free, tethered by no great criminal King such as Prince John or some overbearing parent like Endeavor. And, to Momo at least, he was very much like the Black Knight, arriving when the protagonists least expected to nobly save the day, so hidden and yet caring for those around him. A true hero, both proud and humble.
Exhaustion began to slip in before they had made it to the halfway mark in the book, but both agreed that they weren't quite ready for the night to end and they formulated a plan to beat the sleepiness.
Against their mutual love for tea, they put on a pot of coffee, requiring as strong a boost of caffeine as they could manage. They weren't quitters, they would finish that book if it took all night.
It was well past midnight when they had finished off their cups of coffee and set back to their literary goal. The forced energy and the lack of sleep they were steadily marching towards told Momo that she would be feeling awful in the morning, but she refused to let today end if she could help it. She didn't want to miss a second with Shoto; not a second of feeling him close by while she read of a bygone era or a second that she could be trying to pull a smile from his sullen lips. She couldn't bear to miss a second of his gentle, but powerful voice, joyfully engaging with her about the things they both loved.
With the energy flowing again they dashed back towards the library, but Shoto caught her arm before they got there.
"The rain stopped a while ago," he looked upwards, "What if we went up to the roof to finish the book?"
Momo couldn't agree fast enough, nostalgia and an added dose of pure affectio burning in her throat.
She felt like she was moving sluggishly from the shock of it all while they gathered pillows, blankets, a towel - in case it was still wet out there - a lantern and the book. She hadn't even considered going back up there a possibility until he'd said something. It was a thoughtful and magnificent idea; her favorite place on earth with her favorite person and one of her favorite books. Either Midoriya and Ochako had taught him well or he was more sharp than she'd given him credit for.
It was fairly dry on the roof, but they still wiped everything off before setting down one of the blankets and a few pillows on top of it to sit. The other blanket wrapped around both of their shoulders, tucking them in a large cocoon so close to one another that Shoto effortlessly slipped his arm around her waist while they got settled and made sure he'd closed any distance there was left.
Pushing past her flustered need to squeal in delight, she angled the lantern to give the pages light and dove back into the story. The surge of caffeine gave them the drive to get back into the book and when they did they stayed entirely engaged to where they didn't even feel the hours slipping by. If the book had been boring or either of their attentions to it had slipped for even a minute, their comfortable proximity and the cozy blanket would have easily put them right to sleep, caffeine on not.
But before either of them knew it, Momo had read out the very last poetic lines, "A petty fortress and a 'humble' hand, He left at which the world grew pale, To point a moral, or adorn a tale." And just as the words passed her lips the first orange glow of morning light cracked the dawn in the very same moment.
It was mesmerizing and drew Momo's eyes in as she snapped the book closed and gaped at the perfection of the dawn and its incredible timing. Something like this was unplannable; completely fate if it was anything. And a complete dismissal of her earlier claim that someone up there didn't like them.
Her breath came out in an awed shudder. "Wow."
Shoto agreed and tugged her even closer somehow.
Neither could comment on the book's ending while the first crack of dawn illuminated a dark sky in an effervescent glow that seemed to be showing off just how romantic it knew it was. There was nothing on her mind except how nothing could make this moment better, how any date they could ever have planned would never have matched the unplanned, imperfect chaos that had led to this.
And then somehow, Shoto managed to top it with a single question.
"Would it be alright if I kissed you?"
He had never sounded that nervous or spoken so softly to her before. And she'd never heard her own voice crack like it did when she tried to answer him.
"Yes."
Her excitement turned instantly to panic as soon as she said it, suddenly not able to look at him, gaze burning on the yellowing horizon as she remembered that she'd never kissed anyone before and had no idea what to do. Should she wait for him to come to her? Should she meet him halfway? What was she supposed to do with her hands? Did she-?
The gentle, yet strong brush of a hand cupping her jaw and tilting her head around incinerated her three thousand questions as she somehow tensed and eased at once, lost to the guiding motion. With no idea what to expect she put full trust in him and let her eyes flutter closed while fairies played rugby in her stomach.
Terrified as she was, she pushed herself to relax as his lips met hers, sealing their very first kiss in the golden gleam of first light.
The kiss was simple, sweet, meaningful; not some overt, sloppy mess like she had seen in so many movies. She couldn't imagine he was all that experienced himself, but it was the smoothest that a novice kiss could be with two people who did not have any idea what they were doing. It was closeness and the mingling of breath, sparking a tender flame of passion that those movie kisses could never have portrayed.
Shoto's thumb brushed the skin of her cheek, holding her to him while their noses nudged softly. It floored her, the tiny intimacy almost more affectionate than the kiss itself.
But when he started to end the kiss, to pull away and separate them, Momo realized she had been frozen the entire time, that the fuzzy feeling in her brain had stopped any returned action and she couldn't allow him to end the kiss without her actually kissing him back. What if he thought she didn't like it and never kissed her again? She couldn't have that.
Fisting the sleeve of his shirt, Momo jerked him firmly back to her lips, sucking in a sharp breath as she caught his bottom lip between hers and found that it fit perfectly. His own hand tightened against her jaw, enfirming the contact, while his previously warm mouth turned icy cold and then shifted back to almost scalding hot.
She had no choice but to pull away after another few seconds of almost burning her mouth on his and found his face to be nearly as red as the left side of his hair when she saw it. His hand dropped from her face and he pulled his lips between his teeth, unable to meet her eyes.
"I'm sorry," he apologized, the back of his hand going to his mouth, "You took me by surprise and I couldn't get my internal temperature regulated. Did I hurt you?"
She felt strangely victorious, to have surprised and flustered him to the point of not being able to control his quirk and she couldn't help the giggle that came out while her fingers played gently with the sleeve of his shirt.
"Of course not," she smiled and tucked a hair behind her ear, "I'm just amazed I could get you of all people to lose control of your quirk like that."
If it was possible his face got redder. "I didn't lose control of my quirk… It was probably just the lack of sleep."
The bashfulness turned to frustration and Momo swiftly lifted off her haunches to plant a kiss to his cheek before sitting back.
"I'm just teasing," she clarified, "I didn't mean I'd bested you somehow."
His embarrassment was different this time, head dropping a little while his mouth twisted to the side.
"Oh."
To affirm that he had not done something to ruin their moment, she snuggled back under his arm and tucked herself close under the blanket, blinking out at the continually brightening horizon.
"Was it, um...was it okay, though?"
It was embarrassing to answer that question, but she definitely wanted to kiss him again sometime so she had to make sure he knew that she had liked it. She nodded against his shoulder and interlaced the fingers of his right hand with hers. "It was more than okay. You really are amazing, Shoto."
He swallowed and nodded, unable to get out a response besides running his thumb along her hand.
The glow of the morning was shifting colors to a proper dawn and the world below started to move. Birds were chirping loudly and cars were driving along the roads. The night had come and gone and they had watched every second of it.
"I really liked the book," Shoto's comment came out of nowhere, "I'm glad Ivanhoe and Rowena got to be together and that the Black Knight got to be king."
"Well he was always the king," Momo corrected before realizing she sounded like a know-it-all, "But yes. I like stories where the good guys win in the end. It's not always like that in real life and I get the feeling we'll see it a lot once we're pro heroes. It's nice to escape that reality sometimes."
"I don't plan to lose," Shoto responded plainly, "I'll be like the Black Knight. He always wins."
Part of Momo wanted to get into a debate about how the Black Knight, King Richard in disguise, had not, in fact won every battle and that it could be argued that he lost his entire kingdom to his vile brother in his absence. But she liked Shoto's passion and his attraction to the character and she was not so analytical that she would ruin it for him for the sake of debate.
"He's like All Might," Shoto added, thoughtful.
"Then who's Prince John in this scenario?" Momo chuckled, taking the comparison less seriously.
"Probably Endeavor," Shoto's enchanted stare turned to a glare on the horizon, "He may be the No. 1 Hero now, but we all know he'll never be able to take All Might's place."
It had not been her intention to start Shoto back on the bitter topic of his father, not with a sunrise like this marking such a perfect morning, but perhaps she should have known better than to ask a question like that. How else did she really think he was going to answer?
She tried to put a positive spin on it though and save the conversation.
"Well then you should be the true Black Knight," she turned her eyes up to smile encouragingly at him, "Be the strongest competitor and the great hero who always wins and some day you'll beat ol' Prince John and show Merry ol' England the king it deserves."
There was something akin to a laugh in the exhale he gave. That hard glare softened to near amusement when he looked down at her.
"Was that a joke?"
She nodded. "You're catching on."
He lowered his forehead to meet the top of her head for a moment and hummed contentedly.
"Thank you," he said.
"For what?"
"I'm not sure," Shoto shrugged, "Putting up with me I guess. I'm sorry I always kill the mood complaining about my father."
"It's fine," she yawned, feeling the long night finally catching up to her, "I'm just glad you're venting more and not just bottling everything up."
He must have noticed the yawn and how limp she was growing against his arm because he followed that statement up with, "Do you want to get some sleep?"
"I could use a nap," she nodded, "The sun is pretty much up. Let's go back inside."
They gathered up everything and opened the hatch, slipping back downstairs right as the morning sunlight hit the point of glaring. All of the items were deposited back in her mini-library where they'd left their phones and for the first time since dinner they turned them on and checked their incoming messages.
Shoto's had been off much longer and the notifications that came through took considerably longer to finish than Momo's; everything from the group chat to the messages she'd asked Midoriya to send yesterday.
But all of those slipped right by them both and Momo's eyes went wide on a notification she hadn't expected to see.
[Mom]: We got clearance for travel this morning. We're getting on the plane in the next hour. Souvenirs incoming. Missed you!
Momo squealed aloud and Shoto startled.
"They're coming home!" she barely held in the well that wanted to explode from her eyes, "My parents finally got clearance to come home!"
There was no exuberant or even happy response from Shoto. His mouth was opening and closing as he looked between her and his own phone lost in whatever shock had taken him.
Momo's heart sank as she tried to hone in on his problem.
"What is it?"
He opened his mouth again and didn't get out a word before the doorbell rang and every stomach in the room did acrobatics.
"That might be my parents!" she gasped, snagging his arm and pulling him along as she ran for the front of the house.
"Momo, I don't think-"
Once again the obvious fact that her parents wouldn't ring the doorbell of their own home did not occur to her and Shoto's broken complaints couldn't stop her from throwing the front door open.
There was such a thing as disappointment and then there was hoping to see your parents on your doorstep and getting Endeavor instead. The problem with the later is that it came with leg quaking fear and Momo could honestly say she almost peed herself to see the cross armed, flame-ridden glare of Todoroki Enji staring her down.
Endeavor looked right past her though, blue eyes on the boy at her back, vicious and ready to explode.
"Shoto-!"
Endeavor's rebuke was cut off by a second, swooping figure dropping beside him, seemingly from the sky. And he very well might have, he had the wings for it.
Hawks put a hand to Endeavor's chest and hit him with a very chill, "Calm down there big guy, you promised you wouldn't yell."
Endeavor's hands turned to fists and he looked ready to murder the No. 2 Hero where he stood.
Momo locked up in the fear and shock of having not one but two of the top heroes in the world standing on her doorstep. She had barely even found the clarity to speak before Shoto pulled her behind him and stood firmly before his father, prepared to take the brunt of what was to come.
"What are you doing here?" Shoto glared at them both.
"What am I-?" Endeavor scoffed, "What are you doing here? I was looking for you all day yesterday and here I find you breaking quarantine and hiding at some girl's house!"
Hawks rolled his eyes and muttered, "Knew that agreement was a long shot."
"And what are you doing here?" Shoto shot the next accusing look to Hawks.
"Well I'm trying to mediate, but I guess I should have known better than to assume I could keep Todorokis from yelling at each other," he crossed his arms, standing between them, "He asked me to help find you and now he owes me a favor. And I'll give you this, kid, you gave me the run around. You cover your trail pretty well for an amateur. In fact, if you're ever looking to get some experience in real espionage work I'm sure I could find a spot for you at my agency."
"I'd never let him intern with you," Endeavor fumed at Hawks.
"As if you could stop me," Shoto's stare got icier, though Momo doubted he really had any plans to take up that offer.
"How did you find out he was here?" Momo peaked around Shoto, brow tight on Hawks.
"I asked Tokoyami," Hawks shrugged.
Her mouth dropped and the two teens shared a look of complete betrayal.
"He didn't snitch," Hawks shook his head, "I'd already intercepted all those group messages with your classmates and, like I assumed they're chatty people. There's some pretty damning evidence in there. I only asked Tokoyami to confirm it, which he only did when I agreed not to let Endeavor kill either of you, so you can thank him for that. Better than ol' hot head finding out on his own, am I right?"
Maybe he had a point, but Hawks being here didn't exactly make this all that much more pleasant of an experience. Especially since now both top heroes knew of their misdemeanor rather than just Shoto's angry father.
"Tokoyami tried to warn me that they were coming," Shoto offered a frown to Momo, "But my phone had been off and I only got the message right before they arrived."
"It doesn't matter how we found you," Endeavor cut back in, his flames kicking up, "You're coming home right now."
Shoto looked just as ready to burst into a fiery inferno right back at his old man, but Hawks did his promised duty and stepped between them with extended arms, a charming grin across his face as he again requested everyone's calm cooperation. He even patted Endeavor's shoulder like they were old pals and Momo became quite certain that he must be the only man alive capable of such a thing; he truly had no fear of that volatile monstrosity of a man.
"Look, Shoto," Hawks addressed him directly, "If this were any other day I'd be on your side. Why be home with this guy when you could hang out at your girlfriend's house instead, am I right?"
Both teens blushed hard.
"But this is a nationwide lockdown and not some idiotic curfew," Hawks shrugged, "And I'd usually say, 'screw it' too, but this is a public health issue and you do need to go home."
Shoto was still tense down to the bone, still ready to fight both Hawks and Endeavor for coming here and trying to tell him what to do and where to be, but Momo didn't want to see this turn into a fight. She didn't want him to leave either, but she also realized that she was being entirely selfish if she demanded that he stay.
"Shoto...you should go."
All eyes went to her. Usually she might have shrunk, but her confidence surged after she said it and she managed a sad smile to her boyfriend.
"I'll never be able to thank you enough for getting me out of this awful slump, but if I kept you here any longer we'd both stop being very heroic. Besides, my parents are finally coming home, so I won't be alone anymore!"
"I suppose that's true," Shoto's mouth tilted down as he nodded.
"You've been by yourself here?" Hawks quirked an eyebrow at the massive house and extensive property.
Momo rubbed her neck, getting that sense that she was about to get sympathy again and hating it.
"I'm fine, really. Like I said, my parents are on their way."
A cold hand slipped into hers as Shoto faced her dead on, eyes searching her face to make sure she was as 'fine' as she said. She wasn't entirely. The idea of Shoto leaving was awful, but this last day had filled her tank and she was more than ready to take on the rest of this quarantine. Especially if she could get a nice long nap.
"You're sure?" Shoto asked.
Momo glanced at the faces just past him and her insides tightened up. There was a lot she wanted to say to him and thank him for, she wanted to hug him and kiss him again, but the watchful eyes made saying or doing any of those things so awkward. She couldn't bear the cringe and just gave an exuberant nod.
"I am," she filled her voice with confidence and a smile.
They hesitated there, unsure how to end this. But Shoto said goodbye the best way he could have, offering a beautiful smile only she saw and squeezing her hand gently.
Endeavor cleared his throat to get things moving just as Shoto pulled away and stepped out of the door. The older Todoroki didn't say a word to Momo and only gave Shoto a glare before jerking his hand down the driveway to signal for Shoto to start walking.
Hawks, though, hung at the door, shoving his hands into his pockets with a smile while the Todorokis turned their back on the Yaoyorozu house and Shoto walked quickly to get ahead of his father so he'd have to complain at the back of his head.
"I can wait with you for your parents if you want," he offered, "UA student or not it's not safe being by yourself, especially in a place like this."
Momo played with her hair, watching Shoto walk away, insides still fluttering and doubly bashful now that the No. 2 hero was offering to stay with her out of concern.
"I'll be fine, you don't need to worry," she smiled reassuringly up at him, "I'll turn on the security system when you leave and probably just take a nap while I wait. Besides," her mouth turned sideways at the two heated figures walking away, "I think they need you more than I do."
Hawks laughed. "You're probably right. But don't hesitate to call if you change your mind or if something happens. I can move pretty fast." His wings fluttered to make his point clear.
She nodded, thanked him again, and then Hawks swooped off of her doorstep to follow them.
Momo watched until they had completely disappeared and the overarching exhaustion took control. She did as she said and set the security system, locked the front door, and then stalked upstairs to collapse onto her bed.
Too tired to even think about what had happened, Momo slept for more hours than she could calculate and when she woke up it was to her mother tapping her shoulder and smiling down at her, asking if she wanted to come down and eat lunch.
She'd never hugged anyone so tightly in her life or cried so hard. She wasn't sad or upset. In fact she was overjoyed and so overcome by the entire experience of the last day and the relief of having her family with her again that she couldn't contain it.
Her mother brought a smile back to her face with stories of the Philippines and the insanity they had to deal with trying to get home and with the souvenirs they had brought back for her, then further lifting her spirits with snacks.
About mid afternoon, still sitting on her bed with her mother and talking of the last week, her phone dinged to life with a text she was quick to open, heart skipping a beat when it came through.
[Shoto]: We made it home. Endeavor is still angry, but I'm alright. When the quarantine ends we should do a real picnic and read another book together. Do you want to do another phone call tonight?
Momo must have been smiling like a complete idiot because her mother cocked her head at her curiously, raising an eyebrow mid-bite of mochi.
"Everything alright?" she asked.
A hasty reply of a single word, absolutely, and Momo dropped the phone away from her, snagging another snack and grinning to herself, unable to control how wonderful it felt to adore someone so much and to be so cared for in return.
She met her mother's gaze with a smile and sighed.
"Better than alright, everything's perfect."
fin
