Locker Letters [MomoJirou]

New Beginnings - 22

Kyouka's thumb shyly rubbed circles into the back of Momo's hand as they sat together for lunch. Her hand holding hers underneath the table, their fingers linked. She watched as Momo conversed with her friends, paying attention idly despite not having much to add to the conversation. Her mind went from thought to thought about what class she had next, whilst attempting to remember what she had for breakfast that morning. Her right hand occasionally went to her ear, fiddling with the earrings she ended up wearing a lot more often.

"How many more years of university do you guys have?" Ochako asked. "A part of me wants to quit right after this year and call one year enough."

"Realistically, that won't work. Even if it is a nice thought," Momo said. Ochako's mood visibly deflated as she slumped her shoulders. "It depends on my advanced classes for next year. I'm doing two to four more years."

"God, I have five years left. I might end up having the most years left out of all of our friends." Midoriya awkwardly chuckled, his hand rubbing the nape of his neck. "How about you Jirou?"

"One more year and I'm out of here," Kyouka said. As both Ochako and Midoriya seemed to only nod in response, she was immediately glad none of her friends were there for the conversation. Had they been present, Denki would end up making a dumb joke about Momo being a university student by the time she graduated.

"Are you guys planning on staying in Japan after university?" Momo asked, squeezing Kyouka's hand momentarily.

"It's the only place for me that feels like home," Kyouka first spoke, something weird considering how late she usually responded during these conversations because of her awkwardness. She didn't miss Ochako's eye roll nor Midoriya's forced smile. A part of her felt bad for subtly flirting and making them feel like a third wheel.

Ochako spoke after an obvious pause, her phone in her hand as she found her words. "I don't think I have the money to go anywhere else, to be honest."

Midoriya slowly nodded in agreement, the conversation slowly getting back on track. "I have to stay in Japan to take care of my mom."

"Then I'm glad we're all staying here," Momo pleasantly smiled. "I'd hate to lose contact with any of you."

Kyouka didn't miss the subtle, brief pressure of Momo squeezing their joined hands. If that pressure could even be considered squeezing didn’t matter. It still made her heart flutter.

-

"I can't believe you two haven't kissed yet," Mina sighed. "At this point, it's just stupid." 

Kyouka rolled her eyes, ignoring Mina's antics as she dramatically wrapped her arm around her shoulder. "It just never came up. I don't know what you expect from us."

"To go faster!" Mina exclaimed, matching Kyouka's pace as they walked to school. "Literally just do something more than a kiss on the cheek and a dumb study session."

"We went out on a date last Friday. It was really fun," Kyouka offered with a lopsided grin and a chuckle. Turning the corner as they slowly approached the school. "I don't know why you're acting like it's the end of the world just because Momo and I haven't kissed yet."

"It's been two fucking months." Mina said, stretching her words out and punctuating them carefully just to prove her point. "You two had plenty of time to actually do something and at this point, it's actually just stupid."

"Technically, it's been five weeks," Kyouka murmured. "And to think for almost three weeks, you and everyone else didn't annoy me about my relationship."

Ignoring Kyouka's comments, Mina spoke, "Have you seriously never thought about kissing her? It's been so long I might as well make a bet with Denki."

"Of course I have," Kyouka rolled her eyes again, the action becoming a habit around her friends. She shook off Mina's arm as they approached the school’s entrance. "We're just going through the motions, spending time together when we can. It's not like we're consciously thinking about it or avoiding it. It's just harder to do stuff together because final exams are coming up and you know how important grades are to the both of us."