Solstice and Eclipse: Part IV

Chapter IV: Throwing the Gauntlet

It was rare that Yaoyorozu was able to spend much time with (L/N). Much of her time was devoted to her studies, and what few precious hours weren't spent on homework and review were often spent in the company of Jiro and Ashido and her other classmates, and (L/N)'s disinclination toward people meant that any time she spent with him had to be spent alone. Not that she was complaining. She treasured the moments they shared, no matter how fleeting or mundane. But the hours they stole were few and far between, and often came at the sacrifice of sleep. All this to say, a full day for them to share in each other's company was a welcome treat.

Once the pain and fear had subsided, Yaoyorozu offered to read to him. Leading him gently by the hand to her bedroom, she picked up the book from her nightstand and opened it to the chapter they had left off on at the end of their last visit while (L/N) stood awkwardly next to the door. Sitting on her bed, Momo patted the spot next to her and smiled as (F/N) nervously walked over to her and sat down. She pushed herself further onto the bed and rest her back against the headboard, waiting for him to do the same before starting to read. 

Two hours saw the book finished, but neither of them made to move, so, holding (F/N)'s hand, Momo began to talk. She told him about her hobbies: horseback riding, crochet, calligraphy, and sadō, and she asked more about him. What other instruments he played and how his supplemental quirk training was going.

"Can you feel the stars?" She asked him, repeating the question she had asked at the training camp.

He nodded in response. "I can." He said. He told her how the light from the sun and stars was easier to sense than those from manmade sources. That it felt purer and came with greater clarity. She looked up at him with astonishing wonder as he told her he could feel the constellations, and that when he concentrated, he could even make out the swirling nebulas and spiraling galaxies. How he could feel the very universe itself.

"When I was younger, I always used to dream about seeing the stars up close." She told him. "I wanted to be an astronaut for a long time."

Though reluctant for the moment to end, hunger eventually forced them from their languid idyll. (L/N) stood in the hallway just outside the door, waiting for Yaoyorozu to change out of her school uniform. Five minutes later she stepped out in a cashmere sweater and corduroys and once again took his hand, guiding him to the kitchen.

"Let's see." Yaoyorozu muttered as she opened one of the cupboards. She listed a few options as she moved some of the items around, but other than boxed pasta, there wasn't a great selection. She tried the fridge next, but most of what was stocked were raw ingredients, and Yaoyorozu having grown up in a household catered by personal chefs had very limited kitchen abilities outside making tea.

She withdrew her head from the fridge with a resigned sigh. "I suppose we could order in." She suggested.

She was just about to close the refrigerator door when (L/N) came up behind her. Placing one hand on the top of the door, he reached around her, causing a blush to rise on her cheeks at their proximity.

"What are you doing?" She closed the fridge and followed him to the counter, watching curiously as he set out a spread of different vegetables.

"Sashimi." He stated simply.

"You're... cooking for me?" More heat flooded her already pink cheeks at the prospect. It was one thing for (L/N) to make dinner for the entire class, but for him to prepare food for her and her alone was another matter entirely. But by the way he hummed nonchalantly in response, Yaoyorozu gathered he didn't understand how intimate a gesture it was.

"How can I help?" She asked, eager to assist in any small way she could.

Setting a pot of water to boil for the rice, Momo watched in a mixture of amusement and awe as more ingredients flew from the fridge and cupboards, carried by an invisible force to where (F/N) was washing his hands. A bowl marched passed Yaoyorozu's head and settled on the counter next to (L/N) just in time to catch a cucumber that fell apart into thin slices. Meanwhile, (L/N) carefully selected the yanagiba from the knife block and, quickly running his thumb acrost it to check its sharpness, set to work expertly carving fillets of salmon. Yaoyorozu set to work brewing a pot of green tea in the meantime, timing it so that it was fresh from the pot by the time (L/N) finished with the fish thirty minutes later.