𝐦𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭, todomomo

25 | 'happily ever after'

She blinked once- twice- three times with her mind not being able to fully process the situation, but when she noticed the all too familiar calloused hand wrapped around the handle of the umbrella, the realization dawned on her and her heart stopped. No. No, no, no. It wasn't him. It couldn't be him. Yes, it couldn't possibly be him. After all, why would he waste his time and venture out into the rain just to-

"Momo."

At the sound of his voice coming from behind her, she turned to face him, and the world came crashing down on her. His eyes were locked on her with a piercing gaze and his chest rose and fell with heavy breaths. He had been looking everywhere for her. He even called Kyoka to ask where she was. As exhausting as it was- it was worth it in the end because he finally managed to find her. He finally managed to find Momo.

"I...- I'm so, so, sorry!" Apologizing was the first idea that came to her mind, and the words spilled from her mouth before she could properly think them through.

"Momo-"

"My body was acting out of its own free will and I will take full responsibility for my actions and if you don't want to be friends anymore I understa-" Yes, she was doing somewhat okay. She was saying all she needed to say. Now she was going to have to face the embarrassment of him telling her that he didn't like her back. They wouldn't be friends anymore and she would get what she deserved for kissing him like that without consent.

"Momo.", he cut her off short and she was now silenced, giving him the chance to speak. There was an unreadable tone he had used in his voice as he stared at her with a seemingly nonchalant expression, his heterochromatic eyes glowing even while being enveloped in the shadow from the umbrella above them and his dual colored hair slightly dampened by the rain.

A shiver went up her spine, whether it was from the cold wind or the fact that she couldn't tell what he was thinking.

He asked breathlessly, in a voice so gentle it was barely above a whisper, "Do you love me?"

Momo didn't have to think about that one. "Yes- yes, I..." She looked away from him in an attempt to stop the tears from brimming her eyes, but they poured down her face and streamed down her collarbone despite her efforts to stop them, the droplets of rain that fell in torrents seeming to mock her tears.

From the corner of her eye, she could see his shoulders drop with a supposedly relieved sigh and a smirk materializing on his lips. Was this it? Was he going to end their friendship and ridicule her for having such pathetic feelings?

As if on cue, a dim ray of sunlight peeked out from the ash clouds and fell on them. With the umbrella in one hand, he wrapped his free arm around her waist to pull her closer. Her eyebrows raised in alarm, her lashes fluttering as she looked at him with her onyx eyes widened, her peachy lips parted from surprise. How she got the right to be so adorable, Shoto didn't know. He tucked the strand which hung on the left side of her face behind her ear to get a better view of the girl he loved so dearly and smiled at her.

She had finally stopped trembling, and instead she stayed frozen in place, adjusting to the newfound warmth he had encased her in making her feel safe. Her tears had stopped flowing, but a singular remainder trailed down her face, mixing with the rainwater that had poured on her before receiving the protection of his umbrella.

They stayed like that for a moment, none of them daring to move, the sound of the rain being the only thing to break the silence. Their chests were pressed against each other under the umbrella which made them able to hear each other's speeding heartbeat. And their lips were so close. So close, that if Shoto could just lean in a bit-- "I love you too, you big idiot."

In seconds that felt like years, he kissed her.

It felt like time had stopped altogether. Warmth blossomed in Momo's chest, sparks igniting as he leaned in close, their lips brushing against each other. The way she smelled like vanilla and peaches made his head feel light with butterflies dancing in his stomach. And he was falling fast, craving her scent and the feel of her so close to him, he closed his half open eyes and melted into her touch.

Shoto couldn't imagine his world without Momo Yaoyorozu. He would have rather live with his asshole of a father again than lose the way her eyes would light up while talking about books, her endearing laugh whenever he did something stupid, the way her cheeks became adorably flushed whenever he flirted with her, the way her raven hair fell over her shoulders when she took it out of its usual ponytail, the way her lips moved when she talked- everything about her was just so addicting to him.

Her hands unconsciously found themselves cupping his face to deepen the kiss in a way that made him fall in love with her all over again. God, she loved him so much it wasn't even funny. She loved him from the start, she knew it, but she had only truly realized it just now, by the way he dropped his umbrella to the ground and wrapped another arm around her waist, letting her know that he would do anything for her without having to use proper words.

The rain falling on them didn't seem to matter anymore. Nothing seemed to matter anymore. Her manipulative parents who never raised her with love, her fear of not being perfect enough for everyone, her stress from the result of her overwork, her lack of confidence- nothing. It felt like they were the only people in the world and only they mattered right now. The pain she had to endure her whole life, it all seemed worth it now and was washing away. Because of him.

But of course, their incompetent lungs had to find air, and so they slowly separated from each other, taking heavy breaths with their eyes not being able to open just yet. "I love you...", the words she had been longing to say for all this time had finally came spilling from her mouth in a whisper as soft as the clouds in the sky, and she felt like she could say it a thousand times more without ever getting tired of it. He just smiled like an idiot, sliding his hands up from her waist to wipe her tears with his thumb. Those tears of sadness didn't look good on her.

"I love you more." His eyes weren't on anything but her and the way blood rushed to her cheeks with a rosy shade of pink. If only this happened sooner. If only he wasn't a coward and confessed his love to her sooner. But it was okay now, because the day came at last, and he was going to do everything he could to make up for his missed chances.

"More, huh? Is that a challenge?", she joked with a glint of pure joy in her dark colored eyes, the usual lighthearted atmosphere around them back yet again. The rain was clearing up and golden rays of the sun brightened the area even more.

"Just shut up and kiss me already." And so, with that, he closed the distance between their lips to meet her sweet warmth once again.

As much as Momo had gone through absolute hell time and time again in her life, she figured her struggles were worth enduring in the end, and it was all because she found her special someone. And that someone would be Shoto. It was the little things with him that made her happy. Little things like study sessions where neither of them could actually focus on studying, late night talks that were either meaningful and deep or didn't matter at all, teasing each other and devolving into laughter, not knowing the meaning of social distance when they were together, holding each other's hand whenever one of them wanted to take the other somewhere, looking at each other like they were each other's worlds- as long as she got to spend time with him in her life like this, it was all worth it.

So we could call this their little happily ever after, right?

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ (𝙫𝙤𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣!)