Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“This is Raven-One, entering island airspace, could you confirm please? Over.” 

“... Ah, Creati! Yeah, we got you on our scopes. Glad to see you in town, over and out.”

She’d done it an abundance of times by now, but she couldn’t help but always feel the same slight tension in her stomach knowing that all of those turrets and guns would look at her as she got closer to the jewel of the pacific ocean. Nevertheless, it was always replaced by the same feeling of reassurance and calm that she always got when she arrived back here. 

I-Island.

The years after the fabled ‘Paranormal Liberation War’ had fortunately been rather calm and peaceful for Momo Yaoyorozu. Resuming her studies at UA, she continued to oversee and assist all of her friends with a newfound confidence and maturity that she was both respected and admired for by her peers.

After graduation (and a rather luxurious graduation party hosted at the Yaoyorozu estate for all students of Classes A and B), Momo’s objective was to get herself onto the hero ladder! Something that came very swiftly in the form of a written offer from the Fat-Gum Hero Agency to join on as a sidekick, an event that almost made Mother faint given just how quickly her little girl was growing up. 

Though before that, she had another matter of business to attend to. To truly be an effective hero, she needed something more to her skills, to be sharper across the board in terms of attack, defence, response times, the works. She needed a support designer. Someone who could not only provide her with support items that she could use, but ones that she could also create to improve the quality of her work and the lives of those she aimed to save. Of course Mother and Father quickly scoured through their contacts in an attempt to find the best of the best for their daughter to which there were no shortage of applicants. (of course a rather lucrative salary tends to help sweeten the deal)

In her mind though, the creator already had two candidates lined up. One of which happened to be Mei Hatsume; they’d struck up a friendship since the events of the war and had kept in contact in their ventures since graduation, though given that she was currently the founder of Lightly Labs (of which Momo had acquired five percent of the company’s shares) and would often work thirty six hour days for the sheer fun of it… she was brilliant, but she wasn’t what she wanted. 

Which naturally sent her train of thought chugging around to the other individual that had come to mind who was just as brilliant, if not more so. She’d struck up a rather warm friendship with her in the limited time they’d spent together, through multiple visits of hers to UA, three I-Expo’s and a couple of I-Island board meetings that she’d attended… Melissa Shield. 

Despite their amicable friendship, Momo intended to take it seriously and as such the pair orchestrated a formal interview. One that Melissa passed with flying colours, showing off all the qualities that Momo was after; commitment, competence and compassion. Melissa had them in bucket loads. 

Within the first few days of their partnership, Melissa had retrofitted and upgraded Momo’s entire standard costume; changes to the fabric to make it more efficient in using lipids should it rip, digitising the Yaoyorictionary into the form of a wrist computer, swapping out the heels for enhanced and far comfier boots- it was a very welcome and very appreciated change for Creati. 

Mother and Father wholeheartedly approved and the pair of them almost passed out following Fat-Gum’s personal letter to the pair detailing just how amazed he was with her efforts and how she was a credit to them both, their little girl was growing up so fast! The two years she worked under Fat-Gum were full of wonderful memories, lessons and moments that only further elevated her credentials as a capable heroine- however she didn’t want to settle for being a sidekick, she wanted to go beyond! 

Thus the Creati Hero Agency was born! The large matte white building itself was as every bit regal and luxurious as the heiress herself, yet the inner workings and staff were as devoted and efficient as the hero she had become. She naturally extended invitations to those in her old hero course- though she was secretly pleased they all rejected her; not out of maliciousness or anything of the like, but out of the fact she wanted each of them to soar just as high as she knew they were all capable of. Not as sidekicks, but as heroes. 

As the years went by with Mother and Father’s pride for her reaching astronomical proportions and her agency becoming renowned across Japan for its hard work, there were many changes and differences that came at her… Yet she had the one constant in her partnership with Melissa. Through her highs and her lows, she was always there; whether it be with an invention, a suggestion… or just being there. 

After all those years of working together, naturally they were one another’s confidante and closest friend. As such, that happened to be why she was on her way to the innovation island at top speed. 

She’d received news on her hero ranking, wonderful, amazing news! 

On the list of people she wanted to share this milestone with, there were a great number of people she wanted to tell. Mother and Father, Kyouka, Tenya, Mei… though the one person that she wanted to tell first was who she was currently making a beeline for. She’d even rocketed off of Father’s yacht with little more than a ‘Pardon my intolerance but I have an urgent matter!’ before she’d deployed one of her most treasured inventions- The Raven- and took off straight for the island. 

Melissa said she was inspired to build The Raven by an old illustrated character from one of her favourite genres of motion pictures and reading materials (The memory had escaped her but she was sure Melissa had mentioned something about some kind of Goblin) and thought that Momo should have her own transportation device similar to it. Initially she was a little hesitant of it and wasn’t sure it matched her motif, yet once she got the hang of it and took it into the field, it became synonymous with her.

Looking down over the edge of I-Island as she finally passes over the land below her, the wind buffeting against her ponytail and the world passing her by through the vision of her visor, she felt free. She always did all the way up here, it helped her think, it helped her feel; something that despite all the chaos of a hero’s life, always brought a smile to her face. She leans back on it as the mechanised glider pitched and drifted in the air, deliberately stomping her boot down on the right hand side to let off a small trail of red smoke. 

It never did any harm for the people below to know that they had someone above watching over them.

Her destination on I-Island specifically for this time of day was the Central Tower. She knew that her trusted support designer was in a meeting of some kind, but it was due to end in approximately thirteen minutes. As soon as that clock ticked over and Melissa’s schedule was cleared… oh she could practically burst with excitement! She’d not been this excited since Egyptian Honeydrop Tea went on sale! 

As the buildings that reached up to touch the heavens started to draw nearer into view, she put her hand on her trusted headset, once again dialing into the communications with I-Island. 

“Central Tower? This is Creati, requesting permission to land on the upper deck, please? Over,” she asks in her usual official tone. Even soaring above the skies at goodness knows how many feet in the air, it was important for her to keep a level of decorum and composure to those on the other end! 

Her headphones crackle momentarily before a feminine voice comes through.

“Of course ya can, Creati! Percy’s currently sunbathing on it, we’ll ask him to move. Over!” 

She chuckles as she starts to drift in the air once more, deliberately surfing in and out of the buildings to whom its occupants waved at her as she flew past- she of course did her best to wave back, but it’s a bit hard trying to do so many things at once. 

“I hope he’s wearing his suncream today otherwise I’ll start researching Aloe Vera,” she giggles as the Central Tower finally comes into view ahead of her. “Be there momentarily, Stephanie. Over.” 

“You got it, Momo!” the cheery feminine voice calls as the line cuts off. 

Momo leans forward as The Raven picks up more speed, the wind brushing against her body as she raises her arms to the sides; soaking in one last jetburst of freedom before she begins to pull back on the power of the thrusters, as the glider begins to vibrate and slow down in the air. A multitude of flaps and air brakes unfold to slow her down as she rather effortlessly begins to hover in the air towards the upper deck landing zone, designed for the fliers of I-Island’s hero roster to better access the tower- of which she was a frequent visitor.

Sure enough it had been cleared, no sunbathing I-Island technician in sight! The Raven’s whirring goes all but silent as it hovers over the zone and she regally steps off, bopping her boot against the nose of the glider as it begins to glow brightly and folds away into a much more presentable and manageable briefcase. 

She pushes a button on the side of her visor, which in turn causes that to retract away out of sight also, a slight adjustment to her hair and patting down of her hero outfit and she is back to her best! She takes the suitcase in her hand and heads inside the tower with a whoosh of the screen doors, immediately walking in the direction of the front desk on that level- Stephanie behind it giving her a joyful wave. 

“So so, how’d it go? Is it a good day?” Stephanie asks, her long ginger hair being shifted to the side as she awaits an answer. 

Momo nods, tapping her nose in discretion. 

“A very good day,” she states, making sure to keep up her composure. 

Stephanie immediately buzzes the small gate and it opens up, allowing the creator access further into the building; the desk worker practically pointing down the hall as her purple eyes fill with excitement. 

“She should be done by now, go and tell her!” she insists. 

Momo nods as she maturely walks along the hallway, her boots giving off a satisfying clunk with every step she takes. She keeps walking until she looks back and is absolutely certain that she’s out of sight of any potential staff before immediately breaking into a light skip towards her support designer's extensive workshop. She just couldn’t contain herself! 

The suitcase and her spiky ponytail bounce up and down with every lengthy skip until she finally arrives at the great metallic double doors, her free hand running instinctively across the font on the door.

‘Melissa Shield - Premier Inventor & Support Designer’

Melissa initially didn’t wish for the word ‘premier’ to be present on the door as she was worried it made her appear egotistical, fortunately one of Momo’s rousing pep-talks allowed her to see the light and big herself up with the adjective. Nevertheless! It wasn’t a time for semantics, Momo turns the great metallic handle and the door squeaks open, as she sneaks inside, clunking it shut again. 

For a moment, the futuristic and well organised laboratory is silent, but in the next moment, she smiles as she hears the voice of the one she came to see. 

“Well it’s certainly a unique problem, but like my dad always used to say; It’s only ever a problem if nobody tries to solve it!” the cheery and upbeat voice of the innovator speaks out. 

Momo smiles at the sound and begins to navigate her way in and out of the various desks, machines and items, all of which always capture her eye on every visit. The spectacle of it all always really satisfied something deep down in her, knowing that in some way, shape or form, all of these things were helping to make the world a better place and improve so many lives… She was privileged to work so closely with someone like that. 

“Are you sure you can get it done in time? I know you’re a busy woman-” the voice on the other end of the call asks. 

Momo turns the corner to finally see her there in all her silent coolness, or as Melissa referred to it ‘badassery’. Melissa with her hair tied up in a ponytail, not too dissimilar from her own, in a pair of red sneakers and jeans with her usual embroidered lab coat draped over her shoulders, poorly hiding the All Might brand t-shirt and lanyard that lurked underneath. Melissa in turn was about to give her response to her client until she saw Creati; her eyes impossibly widening as she gives her a very energetic wave and bobs up and down so much that it almost shakes her glasses loose. 

Momo was honoured, she only ever saw her this excited during the yearly merchandise drops that Melissa rambled on about and even scheduled days off for. 

“Miss Shield? Are you alright?” her client asks. 

Melissa covers her mouth with one hand and uses the other to hold up one finger to Momo, as she continues to bob up and down, her hands now on her hips as she looks back at the camera. 

“Of course Mr Santos! Being cooped up in a lab most of the day means I gotta get my exercise in when I can, healthy body, healthy mind et cetera et cetera!” she chimes as she then does a sort of faux stretch. “But don’t you worry, I promise you I can give that looksie and I can have a brief for you by… next Wednesday?” 

Melissa keeps shooting glances between Momo and the projection of the video call she’s on, eager to hear the news that’s been on her mind.

“That sounds excellent… Thank you Miss Shield, you’re a credit to the industry,” Mr Santos says. 

Melissa nods energetically as she bobs up and down.

“And thank you for trusting me with this part of your project! I’m afraid I’ve got to go now, work never sleeps! Take care Fernando, I'll alert you of any updates!” Melissa replies, Momo grinning at just how much she looked like she was about to explode. 

“Goodbye Melissa; talk to you soo-” Mr Santos concludes just as Melissa practically lunges for the end call button in front of her. 

She immediately spins on her heel, adjusting her glasses as she starts to walk towards Momo, her lab coat swaying in the still air of the lab. 

“What’s the big number?! C’mon Superhero! Big number? Tell me the good news! What’s the verdict?!” Melissa asks with an increasingly louder and more excited tone. 

Momo lets her suitcase clunk to the floor as she holds her hands out to the side.

“Nineteenth!” Momo cheers.

Melissa practically squeals in delight as she sprints over to Momo and pulls her in for a massive hug. Momo always appreciated the fact that Melissa seemed to appreciate her achievements just as much, if not more so than her- something that was quite apparent as she felt just how hard she was being hugged. 

“Oh Momo, I’m so proud of you! That's amazing! You’re amazing!” Melissa chimes, rocking her from side to side ever so softly in the firm embrace. 

“ We’re amazing,” Momo reiterates, holding onto Melissa with one hand and using the other to pat her back. “You’re just as much responsible as I am for the placement in the rankings and I can’t thank you enough. I simply had to come here and tell you in person.” 

Melissa pulls back slightly as a light pink tinge has entered her cheeks, her hands still holding onto the exposed shoulders of the creator in front of her. 

“Ah pshhh… it’s nothing really, just a good amount of hard work and trust and-”

“I would like to do something though, as a way of saying thank you…” 

“- well if you’re offering..?” 

Momo smiles as she gently places her own hands on the innovator’s coated shoulders, giving her a reassuring pat. She knew all about being in a position of leadership, it started in her Vice-Rep days at UA and carried her through all the way into running her own agency. It was good for those you worked with to know that they were appreciated! For them to feel at ease and safe around you and thus Melissa especially deserved that kind of treatment. 

It was the least she could do! 

“I’d like to take you to dinner, both as a celebration and a thank you to-”

“Where and when?” Melissa immediately replies, her grip on her shoulders ever so slightly tightening, the pink tinge on her cheeks staying put. 

Momo was a little taken aback at Melissa’s eagerness, though it was immediately replaced by her own happiness at her acceptance to the invitation. She pats her shoulders once more before letting her hands drop to the side. 

“Well… I’ve had some rather lovely meals with Father at The Golden Ball? We could go there?” she offers with a smile.

Melissa’s eyes widen as she lets go of Momo’s shoulders, she adjusts her elegant looking glasses and lifts them up to perch them on the top of her blonde fringe. Momo’s internal worry started to resurface at the subtle action, immediately worrying that she’d suggested the wrong place. She knew that Melissa had an affliction for more attainable foods and drinks- oh dear… she didn’t know why she was getting so worked up about this-

“Isn’t that pretty expensive? Not that you don’t pay me well, but also it’s pretty late to get a reservation there, isn’t it? Not that I’m saying no, god-” 

“I’ll be paying for it!” Momo insists, holding her hands up slightly flustered. “I-I’ll pay for all of it- and leave the reservation to me… Does… that work for you?” 

Melissa thinks for a moment before grinning. 

“Maybe I’ll have to order the most expensive option on the menu in that case?” she teases. 

Momo chuckles, once again stepping back and picking up her briefcase once more. 

“By all means; you’re worth every penny you know,” Momo smiles softly, lingering for a moment before shaking her head. “Right, you must be busy. Keep your phone on and I’ll let you know the details later?”

Melissa nods, folding her arms, nodding. 

“Y-yeah… I’ll keep my phone on.”

“Wonderful!” Momo smiles as she turns and begins to head out of the lab, but not before looking over her shoulder once more to the innovator and nods. “See you later then, partner.” 

Melissa watches her all the way as she goes, her gaze following her until she’s out of sight behind the thermo-clamp rack. That blush on her cheeks never once faltered. 

“... see you later, partner.” 

—-------------------------------

Melissa Shield had a weird life. A good life for sure, but a weird life. 

Attending I-Academy and graduating with honours? Good!

Her dad getting caught up in some kind of villainous plot and later arrested? Weird. 

Getting her dream job and making the world a better place as a result of it? Good! 

The feelings she had for her primary client? Weird. Very very weird, and complicated for that matter. 

She was the closest person in her life in many ways- well excluding Uncle Might of course. Most of her communications went to that of the Creati Agency, given that she had signed a very generous deal that gave her a lot of money for R&D and a lot of work for those working there, she was basically part of the team in Japan. Most of those communications heading directly to Momo Yaoyorozu herself. 

Though it was around the first couple of months after she joined where the messages in question started to drift from purely business to more of a social tone. They’d hit it off from the word go and Melissa was thrilled to have yet another friend to anchor her down in the craziness and chaos. The distance kinda sucked in her opinion because Momo was one of those people to her that was just pleasant to be around… the more time that they spent together in person, albeit in those rather short instances, the more that Melissa wished for more of it. 

It’s not like that she could really speak about this, she wasn’t even sure what exactly this was. Well- she had a hunch but it was so crazy and inappropriate that she locked it away in the good ol’ emotional vault, only to ever be dwelled on when she stared up at the ceiling in her apartment at two in the morning with the other moments of her life that were too complicated to be thought about in the light of day. 

On the whole though, working for Momo Yaoyorozu made her happy. It made her feel a lot of things, some of those feelings she had to keep a close eye on, but the primary feeling she felt was happiness. 

Something that was only magnified at her invitation out to dinner! 

Dinner. Dinner with Momo Yaoyorozu. She- the heiress of the Yaoyorozu family and the darling of Japan; had asked her- the nerdy and overexcitable inventor (if she did say so herself) and the daughter of… a now denounced scientist, out to dinner. 

The moment they met up outside The Golden Ball and she saw her in that long onyx dress that matched her eyes, she felt her heartbeat go up a couple of notches. The way she smiled at seeing her, the way she pulled her in for a pleasant hug and the way that her eyes seemed to sparkle every time she happened to gaze into them? Melissa’s brain ticked over to realise that she hadn’t asked the important question.

… Was this a date? 

She’d been on some dates, some were nice, some were… less than nice. But going into them she knew what she’d signed up for- she knew how to conduct herself, just like on her commissions for inventing. But with this particular rendezvous, she didn’t have a clue. She didn’t know how far to lean into it, she wasn’t sure whether to be Work Melissa, Friend Melissa, Social Melissa or the ever terrifying wildcard- Date Melissa. 

As the evening progressed, she discovered that with the sight of the heiress across the table from her, wanting to talk about everything and anything with that same damned smile on her face… she was shifting between all four of them. 

Throwing out buzzwords at Momo going into the finer details of the hero rankings, giving her a compliment at her dress, making the heiress let out that refined yet rather dirty laugh of hers with a couple of well calibrated jokes and even going as far to pat her hand (only when she’d gotten some of that aged and upper class wine into her for the sake of her own confidence which went down worryingly smooth).

Throughout the evening though, she couldn’t help but notice her own gaze lingering on Momo a little too long. It didn’t help when Momo paid her compliments that resulted in her weaving her hand through her long blonde hair as she glanced at literally anywhere else in the restaurant whilst internally praying for the blush to not reappear on her face. Though with the coming and going of a couple of bottles of wine and their food; she leaned back in her chair more, wondering if she’d get an answer to her question. 

“Melissa… I must say I’ve had a wonderful time this evening,” Momo smiles at her, delicately swirling the dregs of her red wine at the bottom of the glass. 

Interesting start? … But then she’d heard that from a few people on dates who then proceeded to ghost her. 

“Oh- I have too, Superhero. For sure. You deserve it for all the effort you’ve put in,” she replies with a smile. Her blue nails absently tapped against the base of her own wine glass. 

“I’m glad you have too… Honestly, I’m not sure where I’d be without you sometimes,” Momo chuckles, her onyx gaze flicking between the wine in the glass and Melissa’s eyes. 

Melissa’s heart starts to pick up a couple of notches. She was probably being modest, right? She had to be being modest. 

“Aw shucks,” the innovator chuckles, waving her hand dismissively. “You’d be doing just fine, Momo.” 

Momo’s eyes glance down for a moment as she scoffs quietly.

“But nowhere near as fine as I’m doing now,” she says even more quietly.

Melissa’s eyes widen a little more and her free hand that rested on her lap slowly clenches into a fist. An answer. She needed an answer damn it! She’d happily tap into Date Melissa’s unrivaled power at a moment’s notice if she knew the design brief to this date/not date with Momo! 

Momo holds her glass up to her.

“Cheers to you, Melissa,” she smiles. “To a wonderful inventor, a wonderful person… and a wonderful friend.” 

The last word practically reverberates around Melissa’s skull in the second after it exits Momo’s mouth. Being called someone’s friend was always a powerful event and this was no exception. The power of friendship was enough to make Melissa’s heartbeat finally drop down those couple of notches, make her fist unclench and let her take that breath she’d been holding for what felt like ages. 

… She had her answer. 

It was… an answer, for sure. Whether it was the one she wanted she’d have to figure out in her own time; but worst case scenario… She had one hell of a friend in Momo Yaoyorozu. 

Melissa picks up her glass and lightly knocks it against Momo’s with a wonderful hum between the glasses, giving her the warmest smile she could afford. 

“Thank you Momo… for everything.”

The pair finish their wine and Momo flags down one of the staff for the bill, one that she makes great effort to not let Melissa see; she stated that she wouldn’t put a price on this evening as her reasoning for doing so. Melissa couldn’t help but let off another smile at that. With that being said though, the pair exit the restaurant and stand outside for a moment; the cool night air brushing against the pair of them in their dresses. 

“You say you’ve got an early start tomorrow?” Momo asks her. 

“Sure do… A couple of last minute Expo prep meetings and then just the usual stuff, you know?” Melissa shrugs, lightly tapping her handbag before looking back up to her gaze. “I’m guessing you’re-”

“Yes I’ll be attending. It’s only next week so I thought that I’d volunteer my services on the island until then?” smiles the creator. 

Melissa immediately beamed, an excuse for her to hang around with her best friend? Perfect! She immediately laces her hands together and clicks her fingers. 

“Sounds amazing! I can show you around some of the new buildings that popped up… anyway, I’d better get going?” the innovator insists, taking a step back, wanting to end the evening on a high note. 

“Of course… Notify me when you get home, yes?” Momo calls. 

“You bet! See you Momo!” Melissa smiles back as she gives her a wave and begins to walk away up the well lit and pretty street of one of I-Island’s finer avenues. 

It was a nice evening. An evening that she’d probably spend a good few hours, days… weeks replaying in her head? Nevertheless, her heels keep clicking against the ground as she walks up the street, a smile developing on her face. 

It wasn’t a date. 

But it was a time she’ll hold close for a while to come. 

Momo however remains firmly planted outside of the entrance to the restaurant, watching her as she takes step after step up the street. She always trusted her friends to get home responsibly after a meet up of some kind.

She had loved the way the evening had gone. It was a simply marvelous time with a simply marvelous person. The way that she made her laugh to no end, the way that she could talk about literally anything and everything with her and not have to worry about overwhelming her… The way that she laid her warm hand on top of hers with a slight pat after she attempted to tell a joke of her own that she had miscalculated… or the way that the blue dress she wore really brought out the blue in her eyes. 

Momo shakes her head, sighing slightly, she almost let her thoughts run away with her for a moment! How unlike her! 

Though she does start to wonder if she’s staring a little too long at Melissa who at this point was now a bit far away and crossing the road as she headed back home. Nonsense… she was making sure she was alright, like any good friend should do for those in their lives. Though she would look away in a moment.

3… 2… 1…

Look away!

…

Though it would be best to see if she's okay until she’s out of sight, I-Island crime rates are one of the lowest in the world, but you can never be too careful! She keeps her onyx eyes trained on Melissa who now crosses the road and is about to disappear behind a building, but not before she sees the innovator look back to her and give her an overexcited wave.

One that she is more than happy to maturely reciprocate, albeit in a much more composed manner. She keeps waving as Melissa slowly disappears out of sight behind the building… she keeps waving as she can’t see Melissa anymore and she slowly closes her hand.

She feels her heartbeat start to pick up ever so slightly. That was odd. 

She feels her palm get a little sweaty. That was strange. 

She feels a tinge creep across her cheeks as she smiles just at the thought of the time she’d had with a rather lovely person.

Momo Yaoyorozu was truthfully a little confused with the way her body and emotions were starting to bubble up in her. She’d never felt like this before… not really anyway… it felt different… it felt warm… it felt… 

…

Oh.

Oh heavens.

Oh shitting hell. 

Chapter Text

“Yaomomo… Take it from the top one more time, okay? Breathe…”

Momo takes in a smooth stream of air in through her nose as she holds the phone up to her ear.

“And out…” 

She sighs it out, pacing slightly around her rather luxurious hotel room that overlooks the I-Island central business district and all the people below who were just getting on with their lives. She was in some rather unregal clothing by her own very high standards; a baggy yellow jumper that she took everywhere and some grey training bottoms that were just as nice and just as baggy as she padded around the room. 

“Take me through it one more time, yeah?” 

She’d tossed and turned all night following her inner debacle, she’d felt such a multitude of things that she didn’t even know where to begin, that she didn’t even know what to feel, what was right or wrong! Thus the time had come to call upon those who might be able to help her with such a personal problem; she was fortunate to have a lot of people close to her in her life, though she was most fortunate of all to have Kyouka Jirou in her life too.

“Oh Kyouka, it’s… I invited her out for dinner, to say thank you, yes?”

“Yeah.”

“All evening long it was a pleasant time, a wonderful time! We spoke about everything and anything.”

“To the point where you felt completely at ease?”

“Exactly. Then when the evening came to an end I… she-” 

“You didn’t want it to end and you couldn’t take your eyes off of her?”

Momo stops in place as she cradles her phone up to her ear, her long and currently untamed jet black hair swaying.

“... Yes.” 

There’s a small chuckle on the end of the phone as well as the ever present metallic knocking of what Momo had come to learn of her dear friend knocking her earphone jack against some kind of surface. 

“Well I mean… I can make a pretty good guess at it? But I’d rather hear it from you first, heiress,” Kyouka chuckles as the tapping continues, albeit quieter. 

Momo grumbles under her breath, she knew that Kyouka always loved to forcefully assist her out of her shell when the occasion deemed it necessary; though as she continued to pad around the hotel room once more, she frustratedly scratched at her scalp.

“I… I don’t know!” the heiress replies flusteredly. “I just don’t know- should I be feeling these things? Should I want to feel these things? I-” 

“Yaomomo hey hey…” Kyouka calmly replies, the softness of it doing enough to cause Momo to take another breath as her dearest friend chimes in again. “Just talk to me, yeah? Ask me whatever.” 

Momo stops in place and perches herself on the end of the very comfortable queen sized bed, one hand on the phone and the other holding her own head as her hair slowly falls in front of her vision. 

“... What am I feeling?” she asks in a rather vulnerable tone, one that she only lets a handful of people see and a lesser number than that actually interact with. “Why do I feel so… fragile, about it?”

The tapping on the other end of the line persists before Earphone Jack makes her response.

“... You and Shield have been around each other a long time, Yaomomo. In that time you learned to let your guard down around her, to just be yourself… and she accepted you for that without judgement,” Kyouka calmly says, her voice just as soft as it always was when she spoke to her. “You look at her and everything just kinda slows down… like she’s the only person in the world you wanna look at.” 

Momo sighs, rubbing her forehead with a small grumble, gods why did this all have to be complicated?! 

“But what does that mean?” Momo whines. 

“Oh my god you dumb, sheltered rich kid,” Kyouka replies down the end of the phone with a tone that shows her patience had long since expired. “It means you like her!” 

Momo lets out an involuntary squeak at Kyouka’s verdict, her head falling deeper into her own hand as the feeling of butterflies and nerves start to course throughout her body, not even the pleasant site of the island around here was enough to calm her now as she firmly shoved her feet against the carpet. 

“Kyouka! … I-I’m not dumb.”

There’s a small noise on the other end of the phone, one that sounded in Momo’s mind like the manifestation of bewilderment. 

“That’s the part you’re denying?!” Kyouka calls out. 

“Yes!” Momo replies loudly, her own confidence shattering the more she dwells on the verdict. “No? … I-I don’t know, alright? I’m… I’m not supposed to get caught up in feelings like this! I’m a hero, I have to remain professional and steadfast and… a-and unattached.” 

“But why, Momo?” her musical confidante asks with a more serious tone… she never liked it when she addressed it with her proper name, it made everything all too serious. 

Momo’s mind starts to tick over as she clenches her feet against the partially forgiving carpet; her thoughts filling with that of her own instability, her own doubts… and then the photographic memory image of Melissa grinning at her across the table. It makes her heart beat a little harder and it makes her stomach turn slightly as she shakes her head to dispel it.

“I can’t afford to be vulnerable, Kyouka. Not in this line of work. These emotions, make me feel confused and sick and unbalanced and-”

“Human.” 

Kyouka’s words stop her in her tracks as the heiress starts to drill an invisible hole into the floor with her gaze, her breathing slightly heavy as she tries to hold herself together. 

“We’re heroes sure, Yaomomo. It’s all we wanted but… You’re allowed to be human too. Hell, when things started to get serious between me and the yellow menace I felt a lotta that stuff. But after a while it just kinda-”

There’s a loud slam in the background on the other end of the line.

“Hey hey! There’s a neat new restaurant opening round the corner today, we should go and-”

“I’m on the phone, moron!” Kyouka hisses back, it’s enough for Momo to let out a small chuckle at the sound of two of her friends bickering just like old times. 

“Don’t be so mean! … But hi whoever you’re on the phone with! Hope you’re okay!” Denki calls out in his usual carefree and rather absentminded tone, not that Momo minded. She always found that nonchalance a breath of fresh air in the more serious times of their studies. 

“It’s private, Denki! Go on! Get!” Kyouka grumbles, before sighing out a moment later. “... that sounds cool though.”

Denki’s distant laughter rings over the speaker in the creator’s ear.

“Awesome! Can’t wait! Love ya babe!” Denki calls out. 

“... love you too, ya goof,” Kyouka replies back. 

The sound of a door slamming once again fills Momo’s ear as she sighs to herself, leaning back on the bed and staring up at the colourless ceiling and the fan which now sat up there idle. 

“Still there, Yaomomo?” the musician asked softly. 

Momo sighs again, curling into a little ball as she uses her free hand to hug her knees into her chest. Her thumb slowly tracing up and down the fabric as she thinks to herself again a moment. 

“Yes… Is Denki still there or-” 

“No. No, he’s gone. I wouldn’t have said anything if he was still here, you know that.” 

Momo feels a small smile creep across her face as her body flops to the side, once again resting her head on the bed’s soft embrace. 

“... Thank you, I appreciate that a lot,” she sighs again. 

Her creative mind casting back to the night before once more, the feeling of unadulterated acceptance and peace in those moments with her and the more she thinks about it, the more that other moments with Melissa start to creep into her mind. Moments at I-Expo’s, moments of great success and wonder… moments that she was sure Melissa probably would have forgotten but under this new light, she thought it was impossible to do so. 

“I have so many things I have to be prepared for, I can’t let this distract my thoughts, can I? I… I have a lot of things I need to do- we’re high in the rankings now, I have to set a precedent, don’t I?” she stammers, desperately trying to clutch at proverbial straws. “I… I-” 

“Momo?”

“... Yes, Kyouka?”

“What do you want to happen?”

It was such a simple question on paper, it was a question that Momo felt she’d taken for granted up until now. One that was so straightforward in her mind, that she often overlooked it a lot more than she probably should have. She shuts her eyes in frustration and lets out another unbecoming groan at the cascade of thoughts.

When did such an easy question become so shitting hard to answer?

—------------------------

Melissa liked beanbags. 

Beanbags were comfy.

Beanbags didn’t judge. 

She sat in her sky blue one as she sat in her dormant room, only the whirring of her PC setup keeping her company as her phone started to buzz in her pocket. 

Beanbags wouldn’t send you into a thought spiral. 

Beanbags only ever supported you.

She pulls her phone out of her pocket and seeing the caller ID on the screen, she immediately sighs and pulls her glasses off her face. 

Beanbags didn’t plot behind your back, get people hurt, get arrested and completely fall out of your life. 

Beanbags simply cannot do that. 

Melissa grumbles to herself in a series of muffled swears and frustration as she begrudgingly slides her blue nail across the green button and holds the phone up to her ear. 

“... Hey Papa,” she sighs. 

“Melissa! Hey there baby girl, how’re you? How’re things?” the overly enthusiastic voice of her father, David Shield, chimed down the phone. 

Melissa taps her blue nails against the back of her phone before clicking her tongue… She hated when he started conversations like this. Like nothing at all had happened, like things were all still fine and dandy. 

“... Oh you know. This and that. Designing, inventing… making the world a better place,” her voice replied in a tone that her inner child always cursed her for.

It was Papa after all! Papa! The man who introduced her to her way of life, the man who raised her on his own when Mama had to go away… The man who went behind her and Uncle Might’s backs… The man who she thought she would always know and would always be close to, yet one day found herself not even knowing who he really was. 

Her inner child always seemed to calm down after she was forced to remind herself just how fucking bizarre her life had gotten in the years since that I-Expo mess. With her father and Abraham being arrested for the mess involving those damned mercenaries, the I-Island scientific community was in shambles; there was about a week-long interrogation process, herself included! 

By the end of it she was worried that she’d have no life on the island, that everything would be flipped upside down… fortunately she was allowed access to her family’s wealth and with that, bought her own place, the one she’d been living in since it happened all those years ago. She liked her apartment, it took a while but she was able to sprinkle her personality and touches all over it; still that didn’t alleviate the weird feeling, one she couldn’t describe but… she couldn’t go back to the house, all of the memories and any safety that she’d built up over the years just felt… tainted. 

“How’s that project coming along? The one with uh… The one beginning with B-” David ponders down the other end of the phone.

“Bagliera Incorporated?” Melissa offers. 

“Yes! How’s that?”

Melissa audibly sighs, tugging on her hair slightly. 

“Well given that it was two months ago, it’s done,” she mutters. Rubbing her hand across her forehead, she wanted to just hang up the call and go back to being peacefully flopped on her beanbag of no judgement. Though there was always that small part of her that wanted her to try, that wanted to move things back to the way they were. “... It went well though?”

“Great! … That’s great,” her father offers. A momentary silence descending on the call as she hears him clear his throat. “I saw about Creati? Hitting nineteenth in the rankings is incredible, she’s got you and your genius to thank for that.” 

“Yeah… Yeah, she came over and thanked me personally, even took me to dinner. It was nice,” Melissa responds. “I guess it was just nice to be appreciated? I dunno… There’s just always something about her that makes me wanna hang out with her or make sure she’s doing okay or-” 

“Ahh…”

Melissa’s eyes widen as she forgets that she’s saying all of this out loud and who exactly she’s saying all of this out loud to. 

“D-don’t say that! Just- … don’t worry, don’t make it a big deal or anything, yeah?” she grumbles. 

David chuckles down the end of the phone, the sound of clunking objects around him subtly showing her that he was as tense about this conversation as she probably was. 

“Alright, alright… Are you seeing her again soon or-”

“She’s going to the I-Expo… but she’s kicking around here for the week too so maybe I’ll bump into her before then, I dunno…” Melissa mutters, there was so much that she wanted to come out with to her dad. Just like old times where she could talk to him… Though right now, there’s only one thing she lets fall out of her mouth. “... I just want it to go well.”

David hums as he picks up on his daughter's words, the sound of his knuckle knocking against a desk intermittently. 

“Well… it’s a big responsibility.” 

“Kinda..? I mean I just want to to be happy and I want her to be happy and-” 

“Prepping for the I-Expo isn’t an easy task, especially when you’re on the committee. When I did it it was pretty exhausting and kinda nerve wracking but at the end of the day it’s supposed to be a party and-” 

“Papa… I never told you I was on the committee.” 

The call goes eerily quiet, neither of the Shield’s willing to make the first move. Melissa didn’t want to turn this into yet another row… But she could feel that anger boiling up inside her once again, the one that had become so closely intertwined with conversations involving her father; an anger that she just wasn’t strong enough to control. 

“Have you been spying on me, again? Well?” Melissa interrogates.

“... I just wanted to know what you were getting up to-”

“Oh right, brilliant. So you are spying on me? I’m not your little girl anymore, you know? I’m in my mid twenties! I can live my own life without you having to always cast your shadow over me!” Melissa insists, her voice slowly getting louder. 

“I have a right to know what my own daughter is up to, don’t I? It’s not like I hear from you!” David protests down the phone. 

“Why would I tell you? Seriously? Why would I tell you anything going on with me or my life?” 

“Because I’m your father, Melissa!” 

“That really mattered when you threw us all under the bus, didn’t it?!” she yells, having now got onto her feet and left the sanctuary of the beanbag as she paces around the room. “My father, the great David Shield, forcing Uncle Might, a bunch of first year hero students and his own daughter, ME, to clear up his mess!” 

The phone call goes quiet, maybe even more so than before. It was deafening as Melissa’s hand trembled as she held the phone, squeezing it so hard that she thought that it was going to shoot out of her grasp. 

“... Melissa… I only did what I did because I-”

“Wanted the best for me?! Seriously? You’re still clinging onto that after all these years?” she growls. She could feel the anger getting more and more violent within her, getting to a point where she knew that something that she was definitely going to regret saying shot out of her mouth. “I- You- … Nope. No, I'm not doing this. Bye.” 

“Melissa-” 

Beep.

Melissa pants as she stares down at the now dormant phone, gritting her teeth, she yells out as the phone flies out of her hand with a harsh throw of her arm. The phone shimmering blue for a moment as it flies through the air and slams against All Might wallpaper and then clunks down on the floor. The blue glimmer fading as well as the phone sits there on the other side of the room, completely unscathed; anti-shatter technology on her devices was one of her better ideas. 

Melissa sniffs as she wipes her face, the ever familiar feeling of anger exiting stage left as the follow up act of the feeling of sadness enters stage right. She looks around the room, searching for her glasses, but can’t see them, she instead simply turns around and sees the blue blob where she started this whole sorry situation and flops back onto it face first. Burying her head into it as she starts to feel a few tears leak out of her eyes. 

She wished that she could talk to someone about all this, about what really went on with her behind closed doors… but who on earth would want to stick around for all of that? She couldn’t make someone else carry all of her baggage, it wasn’t fair on them. No matter how much she wanted someone else to help her carry all of this… no matter how much she needed someone to ask her if she needed help carrying all this. 

Instead, she simply relied on her beanbag. 

Beanbags didn’t mind when you cried on them.

Beanbags wouldn’t leave if you shared your problems with them. 

Beanbags would just hold you until you felt strong enough to stand on your own again. 

Melissa panted as she slowly hugged herself, leaning into the comforting embrace of her inanimate companion, sniffing as a few more tears leaked out of her eyes. One thought crossing her mind as her heavy breathing started to subside. 

‘Why can’t people be more like beanbags?’