I found this sitting in my WIP folder...it's from 2018 and for some reason I never posted it! So here it is, as a treat!
"So you m-mean to tell me that you somehow managed to sneak out of your school, make it all the way here, sneak on campus without b-being caught by Headmaster Kirigiri, Mr. Sakakura, Ms. Yukizome, your brother, or anyone else- just to have a picnic with me?"
"That about sums it up, yeah."
If normal days existed, Toko would be in the dining hall, eating lunch near her Master and blissfully ignoring literally everyone else. However, she'd come to find that nothing in her life was ever normal and that it was a waste of time to expect it to be. Which is how she found herself on a checked blanket on the roof of Hope's Peak Academy with her overly cheerful- and, arguably, only- friend.
She glanced warily at the door leading to the fifth floor, as though she were expecting someone to come up and catch them red-handed, since students technically weren't supposed to be on the roof. "H-how did you even get out of school? Surely someone will notice-"
Komaru put a finger to her smiling lips and winked. "It's a secret! But don't worry about it. I told you that I wanted to have a picnic with you and I meant it!" She continued laying out the two containers of food, just enough for the two of them without going overboard. This was obviously planned ahead.
Toko watched in silence as Komaru set her empty picnic basket aside, one container in front of each of them. Komaru noticed her watching and smiled. "Go ahead and eat! I'm sure you're hungry."
"A-alright." She was still kind of hesitant- she'd had Komaru's cooking before, and it was borderline inedible. Still, under Komaru's expectant gaze, she opened the container in front of her, surveyed the food inside, and picked up a bite using the disposable chopsticks Komaru brought.
"Well? Is it good?" Komaru leaned forward in absolute anticipation.
Toko swallowed the thin slice of pork in her mouth before answering. "There's no way you cooked this." It came out a bit harsher than she intended, making Komaru's jaw drop. She was considering apologizing, but Komaru's laughs cut her off.
"Yeah, yeah, my cooking is awful. I hear it from Makoto and my parents all the time," she joked, taking a bite of the pork and rice herself. "Yeah, I had my mom help me make this. She's a lot better than I am, right?" Then, seeing the surprised look on Toko's face, "I didn't tell her what this was for. In fact, she's probably going to get a call from my school, but I'm going to bribe Makoto into going along with the story that I made this as a surprise for him and one of his friends and had to drop it off. No big deal." Jeez, she was feeling chatty, wasn't she?
"It's- it's really good. Thank you." She couldn't even meet Komaru's eyes as she uttered those words, staring down at her lap instead.
"You're welcome. I just wanted to do something nice, that's all." Something in Komaru's smile unnerved her- not in a bad way, though. And for all of her writing prowess, she just couldn't put her finger on it. It was extraordinarily frustrating.
The next several minutes were spent in silence as they continued eating. Toko offered up nothing conversation-wise, and though there were moments where Komaru would open her mouth to say something, she thought better of it and remained silent.
Finally, once they were finished and the containers had been put away, it was just the two of them on the roof. "I still have five-ish minutes before I need to start heading back," Komaru mentioned casually, leaning back on her hands. "Thanks for humoring me."
"M-my pleasure. It c-could've been a lot worse." Not that Toko would actually admit that she enjoyed it. "Come on, lunch period ends s-soon. I'll see you out."
Komaru nodded with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, but stood and grabbed the picnic basket anyway. They used the same door Toko had been watching earlier, and she still thought them lucky that nobody decided to go to the roof. Nobody was in the halls there or on the lower floors, either, allowing them to pass through without much incident. And even though Toko had to grab Komaru to keep her from missing a step and falling on her face, it was pleasant.
"Hey, Toko! There you are!"
Until they got to the campus gates.
Toko cursed under her breath, turning to see- oh, shit, her entire class was coming, and who else other than Makoto would lead the pack?
"I forgot! We all agreed to have lunch together in the classroom today," she whispered frantically to Komaru as her classmates grew closer. "That's why they're looking for me."
"Toko, where did you- wait, Komaru? What're you-" Makoto seemed thoroughly confused, but Komaru waved at him cheerily, the basket clasped in her hand swinging.
Sayaka spoke next, a cheery smile on her face. "This is your sister, isn't it, Makoto?" Leave it to her to strike up a conversation and keep Toko and Komaru from leaving.
And since Makoto was still too stunned to answer, Komaru did for him. "That's right! Toko and I were just having lunch on the roof-"
A new person shoved their way to the front of the pack. "The roof?! Toko, you lucky bitch, you got there before me!" Junko exclaimed, looking jealous and- for some reason- turned on at the same time.
Komaru blinked in confusion, Toko in a similar state. "I don't get it."
"It's quite simple, really," Hifumi said from the center of the group, his arms crossed and a proud smile on his face for having this information. "Lunch on the roof is a dating tradition, started by the seventy-sixth class and continuing on to now."
"B-but we aren't dating!" Toko sputtered, her cheeks burning an unflattering shade of red. How could she not have heard about this?
Beside her, Komaru laughed, looking down at their still-intertwined hands, left from her slip on the stairs. "We aren't? Could've fooled me."
Oh, god, why her? Junko started laughing, as did Celeste, and Toko could just feel everyone's gaze on her, amused or otherwise. "Mukuro. Do me a f-favor and kill me."
"I'm not an assassin, so no," Mukuro said, barely able to keep the laughter out of her voice. Beside her, Junko was nearly dying on the ground laughing, which only served to further annoy her.
For some reason, Makoto seemed one of the least phased and- wait, was he smiling? "Alright, lovebirds, time's up. Komaru, you have to get back to school before you get in trouble, because I'm not covering for you."
Komaru pouted for a moment before sighing. "Fine, you're right. Except about the covering part. I've got some juicy secrets to tell your class instead if you want-"
"I don't believe that's needed," Kyoko interrupted, though Toko thought she seemed more amused now than ever. "He will cover for you if needed." Makoto stared at her for a moment before sighing as well, defeated.
"Hmm, alright! Nice meeting you all! Bye, Toko!" Komaru pulled her in for an impromptu hug before waving at everyone else, running off in the direction of her school. Toko could only stand there in awe for a moment, wondering how much energy her girlfriend really had. Wait, girlfriend-?
Of course the moment was ruined by Mr. Mightier-Than-Thou. "Toko, must I remind you that public displays of affection are not allowed in the school environment?" Kiyotaka demanded, his voice carrying over the whole courtyard.
Clearly not in the mood, she simply pushed through her classmates, stalking back towards the school. That was the pinnacle of embarrassment, and while she could've thrown his rule back in his face, or in the faces of half of her classmates, she didn't, simply because it would've been more entertaining if Komaru had still been there for it. It was only later that she realized she hadn't fought back against the affection part.