AN: Kyouka is too much of an influence on Momo's music taste- but that proves useful when it helps her connect with Shouto, aka the fluffiest TodoMomo chapter yet, with an ungodly amount of music refrences and more cuteness.
Hello again!
I'll use this to explain some things:
-Adagio is the slow and leisurely rhythm of a piano (see a partiture)
-the musical pieces the characters refer to throughout this chapter are, in order:
1)One day, my prince will come - Miles Davis
2)Moanin' - Art Blakey
3)Dat Dere- Art Blakey
4)Another One Bites the Dust- Queen
5)Bohemian Rhapsody- Queen
You can listen to them while reading, for the full experience:)
Chapter 5: The Adagio Rhythm of their Hearts
The little corner where the staff members deposit their music is an old room in the back of the shop, where the light bulbs take one whole minute before flickering to life. Despite the coat of dust that keeps the curtain's place- Momo makes a mental note of cleaning this room soon- the place is nothing if not welcoming. It has the wistful air of an old record shop, with the dozens of vinyl discs, tapes and CDs lining up the walls. Many of them have been bought by Momo over the years, especially the classical music ones. The newer pop, upbeat songs are Ochako's contribution, whereas the rock corner is all Mina's doing.
But today, Momo is searching for the jazz collection that was courtesy of her best friend, Kyouka. She doesn't know exactly why, but she feels like listening to the trumpets and piano that the cafe seems to lack. Maybe it's because the days are getting ever shorter and the long nights reek of jazz, or maybe it's because November feels so empty between Halloween and Christmas that Momo associates it with the lonely tunes of Someday, my prince will come.
She runs a finger over the spine of the music collection, scanning for the rusty old cover of the vinyl disc. It's a precious gift she received from Kyouka on her sixteenth birthday, and it was probably what allowed her to finally understand her friend, whose life was so deeply woven together with music that Momo couldn't tell whether she made music or music made her.
She finally finds the disk she was looking for and digs it from under the Bill Evans pile of vinyls. Kyouka always argued that Bill Evans was the king of jazz- and yet Momo always found Art Blakey's Moanin' much closer to a musical masterpiece. As soon as the old man's face on the cover comes to light, Momo feels her lips peel into a smile and she rushes out of the room to put the disk on and allow the cafe to bask into the tunes of the piano, which quietly dictates the whole 10 minutes of Moanin'.
It doesn't take longer than two minutes for the sax to reverberate in the coffee shop, and Momo proudly returns behind the counter. Today is quiet, but the drums make up for it, and so does Shouto when he taps on the counter. His face is painted in curiosity and intrigue as he goes back to ordering his usual Green Tea.
"Music change?" he questions. Momo can't read displeasure in his voice, but she can't make out delight either.
"Yes." He's still eyeing her curiously, so Momo feels like she has to explain her choice, "The weather has gotten really gloomy, so I figured some upbeat music ought to put us in a better mood. The blues were just... "
"Blue?" he nods, but his small smile at his own pun fades away as he focuses on taking in the rhythm of the song, matching his heartbeats with the trumpets and welcoming the pulse of the jazz.
Or at least that's how Momo pictures it, because he starts drumming his fingers against the counter. She says nothing about it though, because not even Shouto seems to notice. She feels content with the knowing smile and watching his focused state.
He takes his drink and follows the route engraved in his memory to his table in a daze. Even as he sits down, he doesn't pull out his books and research as per usual, instead closing his eyes and focusing on the lively saxophone.
Momo brings him a Creamy Adventure on the house- instructions from Satou, who fawned over Shouto all evening long after they closed yesterday. Ochako has also taken a liking to him, and an even more obvious liking to peeking at Momo's interactions with him, but that, Momo pretends she hasn't noticed.
When the plate clinks against the table, Shouto shuts his eyes even tighter, causing the skin around his eyes to wrinkle. Momo says nothing, instead quietly sliding into the seat in front of him and closing her eyes as well, permitting her heartbeat to sync with the beats of the drum.
"It's like a dialogue," Shouto says. It's the piano's turn to come to the front again, with the soft drums in the back, to pour out a symphony of energy.
"You think so?" Momo's eyes are still closed, allowing her brain to focus solely on the music. "The piano is always there, quietly supporting the trumpets. It's the mastermind behind everything- not flashy, but decisive." She imagines the pianist pouring his all into the song and her fingers move before she can control them, hitting all the right keys on an invisible piano. This was the first song she learnt all on her own, without her piano instructor knowing that she was practicing it as soon as he set foot outside her estate.
Momo now hums along with the low piano, in a descendo that bursts with energy as the first notes of the song hit again, all of a sudden, to announce the last part of Moanin'. When the well-known trademark notes echo, she opens her eyes to find Shouto staring at her. She blinks quickly and feels blood rush to her cheeks, suddenly aware that she was singing along.
"You have a beautiful voice," he says over the the ever louder piano performance, and Momo feels her cheeks burn an even darker shade of red. The way he purrs the word beautiful gives her goosebumps.
"Thank you," she murmurs.
Shouto is once again oblivious to her reaction as his eyes fall on the Creamy Adventure and his face lights up. "It's on the menu now?"
"Yes," Momo says and almost chuckles at the strangled excitement in his voice. "Want to take a look?"
He nods and follows her to the counter, which isn't buzzing with people as per usual. The end of term must be saying its word, because students only come to grab a drink and hurry back to their dorms or library in a frenzie.
Shouto's eyes sparkle when they fall upon the displayed desserts and he easily recognizes the mousse. His body language betrays disbelief and excitement, mixed together in an amusing blend.
"I'll tell you what reception it gets," Momo smiles.
He nods, but before he can answer, the wind chimes announce a new customer and they both turn their attention towards the woman who strides to the counter, her boots hitting the floorboards in in perfect sync with the drum- when had the song changed?
"Biggest Cappuccino you have. Caramel on top, please," Kyouka orders, unceremoniously dumping her purse on the counter and fumbling for her money. "Is that jazz?" Her head suddenly shots up and Momo can swear her ears grow bigger to capture all the fluctuations of the bass. "Dat Dere," she immediately says and smirks proudly. "That's my disc!"
"Hello to you too," Momo smiles and fills up her order. Ochako is cleaning a table in the cafe, and Sato has secluded himself in the kitchen again, so Momo fixes Kyouka's drink herself. "Do you want Rice or Almond Milk? We've got both in stock."
"Give me Rice," Kyouka says after a moment of thinking and more digging in her purse. Momo sees partitures and guitar feathers jumbling in the handbag and bites her lower lip to keep herself from scolding her unorganised friend. "Thanks," Kyouka adds without lifting her head.
"No problem," Momo replies as she searches for the Caramel Syrup. She's known Kyouka ever since they were teenagers, and the girl was as lactose intolerant as when they first met, which was the inspiration Momo needed to introduce non-lactose based drinks.
"Here you go," she says and hands Kyouka a cappuccino with a cinnamon musical note on top. She feels her own smile grow along with Kyouka's as the musician breathes in the smell of the caramel and her jack-cord earrings clink against her headphones.
She empties half of the drink in a gulp, and it's only after she demands a second beverage that she notices, "Hey, the shop's pretty empty, right?" Momo eyes her friend suspiciously and follows the glance Kyouka steals at the far off corner of the cafe. "Think I could-"
"Go right ahead."
Kyouka smiles brightly and leaps towards the small stage where the musical instruments are covered by a white sheet. A Cup of Magic is always prepared for concerts, and it's equipped with a keyboard and drums, along a rusty electric guitar and a saxophone. The stage hasn't been used in quite a while- but Kyouka will sometimes practice there, and when the shop is free, Momo would accompany her at the keyboard.
"You're the best, Yaomomo!" her friend calls as she reveals her much beloved instruments and sets her guitar up in the amplifier, her face bearing the same look as Shouto's when he saw the Creamy Adventure.
Speaking of Shouto, he's still at the counter, and he looks mildly amused at the musician. "She's my friend," Momo explains before her brain can decide why that's necessary.
"Is she responsible for the jazz?"
"Yes. She's also the reason why I know much more music trivia than I should." Shouto's lips raise in a crooked smile, making Momo's knees weaken. Unfair, she thinks to herself. "What's your favourite genre of music?" she quickly asks, trying to take the upper hand on the situation.
"If I had to choose, classical music," Shouto shrugs. "It just says so much without any words."
"Just like you," Momo says before she can stop herself.
He meets her terrified gaze calmly and locks her eyes in his. She has no idea what she was thinking, but he does say a lot without talking right now- he says that he isn't angry, and that her comment triggers a reaction in him. But just like classical music, it doesn't give a clear answer- just a hint of something that unexplainably mesmerizes Momo.
"Am I really?" he eventually asks, nothing but curious. His brow furrows when Momo's eyes break away from his, as if he lost a precious clue, and she starts giggling. "What?" he asks again, and Momo is too much of a laughing mess to give him any serious answer.
She wonders if in the grand scheme of things that fate has prepared for her, Shouto happens to be the one to rewrite all the mishaps of daily life.
Momo taps the rhythm of Kyouka's guitar with her pen against the counter and frowns at the equation. She's stuck- and it bugs her. She bites on the inside of her lip in annoyance.
"Dammit," she hears Kyouka curse, seemingly just as annoyed as Momo, although the reason is different. She then yells, "Yaomomo, do you have the key to the backroom?"
"What do you need?"
"A CD of Queen's performance. I keep messing up the beat of Another one Bites the Dust and my teacher is gonna make fun of me, I just know it. He'll be all 'I knew you chose this song just to show off'", she says in a high pitched voice- a full-marks impersonation of Present Mic, if Momo had to judge.
Even so, the barista rolls her eyes at how dramatic her friend can be and throws her the keys only after she hears Kyouka groan. "Get whatever you need, but just don't wreck havoc in there."
"Sheesh, trust me more," Kyouka winks and runs in the back.
Momo pretends not to feel the small smile she's sporting. Kyouka never seemed truly content with anything- and she was her own harshest critic. She returns to her own problem, and takes a note out of Kyouka's book to scold herself- she knows she didn't make a calculus mistake, so where was she wrong?
Someone clears their throat next to her and she jolts, already feeling her ears burn- she shouldn't be studying at work. She's already bowing in apology when she hears Shouto excuse himself, "I didn't mean to interrupt."
"No no, it's okay. I'm at the customer's disposition, after all." She offers him a pleasant smile, still too embarrassed to meet his eyes.
He doesn't speak immediately, and when Momo dares meet his look, she feels his observing gaze pierce through her skin like hot iron, marking every inch of her body, especially her eyes. She doesn't understand whether he's analysing her or criticising her, because his eyes look both harsh and soft at the same time- it should be impossible, but maybe it has to do with the fact that they're different colours. Or maybe it's just another result of her overthinking things.
"I just wanted a refill," he eventually shrugs and holds out his cup.
She obliges, but stops him when he pulls out his wallet. "Refills are free."
His eyes widen, and then his face settles into a small, self indulgent smile. "I've been coming here since the start of the year and I didn't know that?"
"Well, it is written on our site, so I assumed people just knew. But perhaps we should put up a sign?"
He shakes his head and snorts- maybe she should clear her ears- "It's really like you, so I shouldn't be so surprised." Momo wonders when he began labeling things "like her"- it's not that it bothers her, but it implies that he has been observing her behaviour and knows her well enough to predict the pattern of her decisions. Then again, Momo questions why that would come as a surprise to her- classical music isn't just wordless, but also very unpredictable, as it can drop from presto to lento in a matter of seconds.
Momo hands him the hot tea, and their fingers brush for a split second. She shivers from both the electrifying contact and how cold he is. It feels like she just touched a popsicle- does he have bad peripheral circulation? Is that why he drinks Green Tea daily?
It's not really her place to ask, but she's intrigued enough to not obey her set of self-imposed rules. He beats her to it again, though, by asking, "Do you like scones?"
Momo blinks in surprise, and her eyes follow his towards the bag of half-finished scones that sit next to her open notebook. She feels the blood rush to her face again- eating patisserie products when she's stressed is one of her guilty pleasures, one that she'd very much like to give up on. She gulps and nods, feeling like a child that was caught eating chocolate out of the cookie jar before lunch.
"What flavour?" he asks again, and Momo wonders whether he's genuinely oblivious or a very good and malicious actor.
"Blueberries. They're a bit less sweet than the strawberry ones, and I'd rather keep the damage to a minimum," she mumbles the last part, more for herself than to supply some vital information. "Do you want some?"
"No thanks. I prefer Japanese Sweets," he says matter-of-factly, causing Momo's shoulders to slump. Of course, he radiates the aura of a person who has well-balanced meals and leads a healthy lifestyle. She does her best to do the same, but studying for exams always gets the better of her, and her metabolism is so hard-working that she feels hungry most of the time.
"Thanks, Yaomomo," Kyouka's voice pulls her out of her trance as she drops the keys on the counter and flashes the Queen album before her eyes. "Time to rock'n'roll." Kyouka quickly notices the third person standing at the counter and narrows his eyes at Shouto. "A friend?"
Momo opens her mouth to answer, but closes it just as fast, suddenly aware that her relationship with Shouto is blurry. They certainly aren't strangers anymore, and they're even on a first name basis, but that doesn't mean they are friends. Acquaintances sounds wrong too, because an acquaintance doesn't send your heart racing with a smile and they don't compliment you in a state of utter obliviousness. Besides, he is part of the family she built here.
Momo steals a sideway glance at him, trying to find an answer in his mismatched eyes. They're an enigma as he ponders the same question, and they don't falter when he speaks, either. "I'm Momo's customer. Nice to meet you."
That is the most accurate answer, followed by the perfectly polite bow, but the barista can't help but feel that's too official. He's more than just a customer- she has taken a non-professional interest in him and his behaviour. He is her… mystery? Puzzle? All too abstract, Momo dismisses them one by one.
The gears in her head turn quickly, as if they've just been oiled, until it eventually clicks: he's her project. She wants to show him what magic is and make him welcome it, while getting to know him better along the way. Yes, he is her project.
"Aha," Kyouka muses, unconvinced by Momo's spacing out and Shouto's polite demeanor. "Well, Mr. Customer, I hope you like the classics," she grins and flashes the CD case before their eyes again before pressing play.
The steady beats of the song ring in Momo's ears as Kyouka sets the volume higher, bobbing her head along the beats. She falls in a daze of her own, tracing the notes on an invisible cord as the words start kicking in and she mouths them.
"What song is this?" Shouto whispers, respecting Kyouka's bubble of privacy and addressing Momo instead.
"You mean you don't know?" Her eyes must be so wide that he interprets it as disapproval, because he sounds uncertain when he murmurs a negative answer.
"Well then, you're about to find out," Momo says and points towards her friend, who has stopped the CD and connected her guitar to the amplifier again.
Thursday brings in a gust of crisp wind and a mysterious brown paper bag along with Shouto. His hair is ravished by the merciless wind, white and red locks intertwining in a strange patchwork, but he ignores his appearance and proudly holds the bag up in front of Momo.
One of her eyebrows arches upwards as she inspects the package. "I'm sorry, they have probably gotten cold, but I promise they're still delicious," Shouto says as an excuse, confirming that the bag is indeed for her. She meets his eyes, which are patiently waiting for her reaction, and takes the bag from him.
She doesn't even need to look inside, because as soon as she opens it, the smell of crispy dough and forest fruit filling feels her lungs and she stares at what has to be at least 300 grams of scones. "You didn't-"
"But I wanted to," he stops her before she can sputter any refusals. "You did so much for me- this is nothing in comparison." Momo feels both flattered and guilty- guilty that she thought he could be anything but genuine when he asked her about it two days ago; flattered that he cares. "My sister says these are the best in town, so I hope you'll like them."
"Thank you," Momo says and brings the bag to her chest, careful not to crush the scones but too thankful to let it down. The other reason, her subconscious muses, is that if her hands didn't hold something, she'd wrap them around Shouto and part his hair back in his usual style. She doesn't let that thought stir her mind more than necessary and instead says, "I hope you didn't go out of your way."
"No, it's pretty close to where I live. I walk by it every day, but this was the first time I actually stepped in."
Momo's smile widens even more, and she hopes her voice doesn't give away just how delighted she is. Her presence made him experience something new, and that alone is a magic spell. "Will you have the usual?"
Shouto's face relaxes in a coy smile, and Momo wanders if it's contagious. "Yes. And a piece of High-class Vanilla."
It's probably the result of being stalked while changing for the PE classroom, having caught indecent glances where her dress didn't cover her tights and years of experience with perverts, but Momo can feel when someone is watching her. She can also feel whether that person's lust has gotten the better of them, but that isn't the case now. All she feels right this instant is the pressure of someone's eyes watching her every move, lacking any ulterior motive than to just know what she is up to- the way her classmates watch her during the exams to see whether she's already done or not- and ask for her help.
What's weirding her out, though, is that her observer is none other than Shouto. She scolds herself for as much as daring to picture it, but if there was poison in the scones, she would have been able to tell- but there isn't, and they are so good that she has almost finished them. His sister must have really keen taste buds, Momo reasons.
But if the scones are safe, why is he watching her like a hawk? Is he just spacing out?
"He's been staring at you for a while now," Ochako says when she catches Momo's umpteenth sideway glance at him. "He probably has something to tell you."
"Like what?"
"I don't know, maybe he has a crush on you." Momo blushes violently at the suggestion and shuts it down immediately.
"Don't be so categoric! I used to stare at Deku without realising it a lot before we started dating." Something in Ochako's cooing voice bothers Momo more than she'd like to admit- just because she doesn't have any romantic experience doesn't mean she's so clueless.
"You've had your fair share of confessions, right? You should know when a man likes you," Ochako grins.
"He doesn't like me that way. He's probably just zoning out." Even she finds that hard to believe.
"Sure~" Ochako teases as she spins around Creati and grabs the shaker. "And I am the Queen of England."
"Well, your Majesty, I regret to inform you that you are mistaken." Ochako frowns and Momo feels a bit guilty when she notices Ochako's grin whither, but still adds, "He's very direct- he'd tell me if that weighed on his mind."
"You sound very confident," Ochako sighs. "I guess I'll trust you to know what's best for you, Creati."
Momo feels arrow ripping through her chest when Ochako calls her by her work name, but decides to ignore it. Jumping to conclusions about others' feelings was like invading their personal space. And besides, Momo has yet to figure why his words stir something she didn't even know existed in her stomach.
It's already late and the shop is mostly empty when Momo reluctantly approaches Shouto's corner. She feels guilty for avoiding him most of the day, but she needed the alone time to sort some things out for herself.
"The scones were absolutely delicious," she tells him as she wipes the table next to his.
Momo refuses to let his smile charm her again, and pretends that her heart isn't drumming in her chest with a rhythm more intense than that of Another One Bites the Dust.
"I'm glad," he says. "By the way, I listened to it." Momo stops with the plates in her right hand and tilts her head questioningly. "The song your friend was playing yesterday."
"Oh."
"And then I ended up listening to the whole album."
Momo lets the dishes rest on the table next to his and eats back a chuckle. "Kyouka would be so proud. Mina too- she's the donor of the rock collection."
Shouto gives her an accusing look when she begins giggling. "It was very good," he says in his defense.
"Yes I know. The Game is a good album. Even so, my favourite one is A Night at the Opera."
"Bohemian Rhapsody?"
"You're my best friend," Momo counters as she sits in what became her usual spot, and her mind immediately erases the reasons as to why she has been avoiding him today. "But Bohemian Rhapsody is considered their best piece by many."
"I can see why. It's… beautiful."
It's the second time Momo hears him utter the word, and he does so with both fascination and fear, as if the word is too gentle to escape his lips and too grand to meet the world.
She starts humming the song, but doesn't dare sing the lyrics. One of the reasons why she skips this song when YouTube suggests it to her is that it's too strong, and it requires a certain mood from the listener.
Shouto watches her quietly, closing his eyes as he focuses on her voice over the others in the cafe. Momo almost jolts when he starts humming alongside her, his deep voice much more suited for the sad beginning than hers.
They keep the duet up, completing each other in the stereo parts, and Shouto's lips peel into a smile when her notes entwine with his to recreate the Rhapsody. She tries not to let her beam alter the notes, but her voice catches in her throat when they reach the chorus with its higher notes and she coughs. "Sorry, this all I can do."
"And we were getting to the good part," Shouto pouts- no, her eyes are not betraying her.
Momo chuckles. "For a man that just yesterday became acquainted with Queen, you sure became a big fan."
"You are a very strong influence," he shrugs, as if proving that no blame weighs on his shoulders.
Momo quickly shifts the blame further, "Please talk out my musical taste with Kyouka and Mina. If it were after me, I'd probably be listening just to classical music, too." Shouto raises a curious eyebrow. "I was brought up with classical music, you see. I guess I only started listening to anything else when I met Kyouka."
He nods, and seems to store the information away. Momo wonders if he has some sort of folder dedicated to her. "What about you?" she asks, suddenly aware of how empty her Shouto folder is.
"Mom liked classical music, and we listened to it a lot. She even went as far as to pay piano and violin lessons for my older siblings." Momo is tempted to ask if he can play those instruments, too, but the way he phrased it tells her he was the only exception, and she bites back her question, not meaning to pry. There's a faraway look in his eyes, the one she saw on the day they meet, the one that pierces through the exterior appearance to see the truth.
She pulls him back to their discussion with a gentle comment. "So you have several siblings? That must be nice."
Her words do their job, because he looks at her again, and not through her. "It is, but the age gap between us is quite big, and we didn't spend that much time together when I was little. I feel closer to them now than I did back then, I guess." There is a pause as he looks at her, assessing something. "Are you an only child?"
"Yes." He nods as if he predicted the answer. "It can get pretty lonely sometimes," Momo forces a laugh and pushes the memories of the huge, empty house away from her mind.
"I know what you mean," Shouto surprises her with the faraway look yet again, but this time, he pulls Momo with him in his little world, because they share the same lonely eyes. It breaks Momo's heart to see his black eye so dark that it swallows every happy memory, and his blue one cold as ice, not letting any feelings reach him.
And then Momo understands. She finally understands why Shouto comes here every day, and she bites her lip to keep from gasping, because he is the same as her. He comes because the emptiness of his house screams at him, and because the silence in the dark room that awaits him when he unlocks his front door is too loud.
And so they both come where there's light, and where there's magic- only that she comes there because she believes in it. He comes there because he wants to believe.
"But then I think I found a family here, and I have more siblings than I ever could have asked for," Momo says in a soothing voice, throwing Ochako a soft, fond look. A Cup of Magic has always felt more like home than her actual house.
"Do you believe in a home away from home?" His eyes melt into a fonder look, pools of ink that glimmer with the desire to rewrite his story, or to write a better ending.
It doesn't take her by surprise, and she feels it again- his need to belong, to find a family. "I do," she says, because it's true. "I think the most precious family is one where you're kept together not by bonds of blood, but by feelings so strong they can weaken without breaking, only to then reinforce themselves."
"You sound like a friend of mine," Shuto says with a small smile. Momo looks at him puzzled, but he doesn't elaborate on it. Instead, he looks at her with a simper. "Thank you."
She blinks, faltering under the sudden response. "What for?"
"For being honest with me." And then he says something that would have left Momo gaping, if not for her better manners, "And for believing in magic."
AN: Hello again!
It has been a long time, but the length and cuteness of this chapter hopefully makes up for that. This chapter and chap 6 were initially intended as a single chap, but it got too long, so here you have the first part! I took an 180 degree from sweets to music, I know, but I promise it makes sense for a moment I'm building up (yes, get hyped!). Also, this was Kyouka's introduction- Kaminari's is coming soo, too:)
I hope you've enjoyed it, and until next time with more jazz and a cup of tea, my dear readers~