.oct.30.
.tokoyami’s party
Monoma takes his sweet time entering the room. Listening to all who's inside, he smooths down the collar of one of his more expensive shirts before he practically glides into the room. "Don't mind me~" he declares grandly with a sweeping gesture. "I was just making my way by and wanted to see what all the ruckus was about~"
Momo's in the midst of introducing herself to the others but can't help but flinch at the sound of Monoma's voice. She hides herself a little behind Kazuto as everyone moves towards the game of Twister, praying that Monoma won't notice her and knowing that she's dumb for even hoping that something like that would even happen.
Aoyama notices Momo flinch and hide and decides to walk up to her, putting himself between her and Monoma "Hey Yaoyorozu, I brought some snacks if you want any~"
Momo breathes a sigh of relief when Aoyama comes her way, casually blocking Monoma from her line of sight. She can't believe that she hadn't seen her friend earlier--Aoyama sparkles everywhere he goes. That must really mean that she's been out of it lately. "Aoyama-san! It's nice to see you here. I'd love to have some snacks--you're always so thoughtful!"
Monoma didn't happen to notice what just happened, though the sound of Momo's voice so close to him makes him flinch with realization. Nodding distractedly, he drifts closer to Reiko, though his eyes land first on the game of Twister being set up, and then on the table of drinks that definitely succeeded in catching his attention.
"This is going to be cute," he comments as he makes his way over to them. "Are we all playing...? Because that will be interesting."
From what Momo can gather, it seems like Monoma's ignoring her---or at least pretending that that hadn't happened the other night. This realization makes her exhale a small sigh of relief. This was going to be a good night. It's her friend and fellow classmate's birthday--Momo's being silly for momentarily making it all about herself.
This thought soothes her as she focuses her full attention onto Aoyama's arrangement of snacks, somehow managing a smile as she selects one and pops it into her mouth
He only glances back at the sound of Momo's name, curious to see if she would play too. "Might as well join, then..." he says after taking a few bitter sips, moving to the side so he could take his shoes off and pretend he wasn't especially paying attention to what she was doing.
Momo's torn. She wants to play---all games must be fun! that's basically a rule, right?---but she can't help but let her eyes wander to stare at Monoma as he takes off his shoes.
Then she immediately straightens up, reminding herself that this night is about Tokoyami and so she should do everything in her power to be a fun-loving guest at his party. Besides, Aoyama's playing too. "Sure, I'd love to!" she cheers, hoping that the excitement in her voice sounds genuine.
Tokoyami noticed a tenseness in Momo, but decided against saying anything about it as he mumbled "Dark Shadow," and his quirk emerging. Dark Shadow darted straight for the party hats, picking a green one to sit perched atop his head. "Hello, Shoji-kun. Thank you," he said with a small smile. Turning his attention back to Dark Shadow, he offered the spinner board. "Dark Shadow, spin this for us," he said, Dark Shadow responding with a chipper, "Okay!"
Shouto feels a bit guilty for being late, but it's not like it's a huge deal. He's sure Tokoyami wouldn't be bothered by it. He enters quietly, taking in the room. His eyes immediately stop at Monoma, and then at Momo, and he internally groans and has to remind himself why he's there. Drama be damned. He sets down a gift, walking over to join the rest. He chooses to not talk, observing for as long as he's allowed before someone points out his presence.
God. Damn it.
Monoma ducks his head, concentrating hard on the drink in his hands to ignore the immediate scowl that comes onto his face the second Todoroki enters the room. Why now? Wasn't he supposed to be antisocial or something? Completely unable to concentrate on anything else, he just decides to down the rest, figuring it'll at least help bear his presence without causing too much of a scene.
As soon as Todoroki enters the room, Momo feels her breath catch itself in her throat. She knows Todoroki--or, at least, she knew him--and so it's fairly obvious to her that he's trying his best to not be seen. But it's impossible for her to not see him, not with everything that's happened between them.
(Probably not ever.)
She hears Aoyama lean in to whisper into her ear, and she knows that her friend's just trying to do what's best for her. But right now, the best thing for Momo is anything but interacting with her ex-boyfriend. And, if she knows Todoroki, it's likely that he'll try to remain inconspicuous rather than join in on the game. "It's fine," she manages, smile shaky. "I'm sure it'll be fun!"
Aoyama gives her a worried look. "If you say so... just... let me know if you need anything, ok?" He then gives her a quick side-hug
Kazuto yawned, covering his mouth in case anyone could see him. Sitting straight now, he took off his shoes and decided to join, eyeing what the others (mainly Monoma chugging the darn alcohol) did. There seemed to be an air of strangeness like the last time, just that, in this case, some gazes were shifted as he looked around.
Was it that tense for them? They were classmates.
Realizing Todoroki had arrived, he waved his hand at him. "Hello, Todoroki-kun. I believe I didn't introduce myself. Name's Kazuto Miki, nice to meet you." Kurokku took in everyone’s mannerisms. It seemed a bit tense and awkward. It also felt that way in UA it seems. It also looks like it always stems from Monoma. She knows who not to say anything ever to now.
She saw Todoroki walk in. She was too modest to admit that she has been buzzing to meet him. She turned to him saying, “Hello, Todoroki-kun. We haven’t meet, but I’m Kurokku Sagyō.” At the entrance of Todoroki, the tension of the room noticeably rose. Tokoyami noticed it, and he was sure some of the others did as well. Hoping to reduce it, he motioned for Dark Shadow to begin the game while greeting him. "Hello, Todoroki-kun." Dark Shadow flicked the arrow and it whizzed for a moment before slowing to a stop. "Left hand on yellow!" he chirped, and Tokoyami moved to place his hand on the nearest yellow. Shouto watches them, taking note of what they were all doing. Taking note of what Monoma was doing, in particular. It doesn't escape him that Monoma downs his whole drink the instant he catches wind of Todoroki. The way he looks foul at the fact that he had showed up. Outside of the discontent for Monoma he had he felt something like pride fill his chest briefly.
He turned to face the people introducing themselves. He waved shortly to Kazuto. "Nice to meet you, too,"
Todoroki nods to Kurokku next. "No, we haven't." It was sort of shocking being called by his name by people he only vaguely knew. He nodded to Tokoyami last. "Happy birthday, Tokoyami-kun." Setting his drink down a little harder than necessary, Monoma only makes his way to the game mat, fixing his expression into something a little more cheerful as he does. "Oh, it'll definitely be fun," he reassures Momo loudly, making sure to place a hand gently on the small of her back (in case Todoroki was watching) before he hops in, finding a yellow spot to place his hand as well. When Dark Shadow calls out the first set of instructions, Momo can do nothing but blink in confusion. She's never played this game before, and it's not like it was explained to her. But the more she stares at the game mat and repeats Dark Shadow's words in her head, the more it begins to make sense. And then--
Oh.
Momo can't help but lose her train of thought when she hears Monoma's voice, but her entire mind goes blank when he touches her. And there. The small of her back is infinitely times more sensitive than her hand, and so she visibly shivers at the contact.
(But when he quickly removes his hand, she almost whimpers.)
Still, she's thankful that someone's going before her so that she can validate her own theory about this game's structure. Even if that someone's Monoma. Her shoes already off, she hesitantly follows suit, taking the yellow spot next to him.
It isn't until after her hand's already down that she realizes that this might've not been the best idea, but she already knows that she's not really thinking anything through at this point. "Thank you, Todoroki-kun," Tokoyami replied. "There are party hats, drinks, and we'll have cake a little later. And we're ready, Dark Shadow." Happy to be able to participate in the party, Dark Shadow spun again. "Right foot on red!" Tokoyami sighed before complying—deciding to take a risk and go in the middle—happy to have something to tone down the trio of tension.
The way Monoma touches Momo makes his blood boil. He isn't even interested in her anymore, it was too awkward, and too hard for them to even look at each other; let alone talk or date again. Maybe it was some sort of unrecognized internal habit, or maybe it was just because it was fucking Monoma and Todoroki knew that Monoma would do something as petty as that just to silently fuck with Shouto (he fucking hated that it was working). And he knew Momo. He saw her shiver. He wondered if Monoma even fucking knew what he was doing. It was disappointing that he wouldn't be able to focus on anything other than these two for the whole time, unless...
He turned to get a drink.
Monoma just barely holds back a snicker as he sees Todoroki go for the drinks next. Ha. He could practically see the scoreboard ticking off a point for himself. Yeah, he'd make him pay for ruining a perfectly good party by showing up...
Maybe he was being a little harsh. And maybe that was the alcohol speaking from where it was bubbling and buzzing in his stomach.
Spurred on by a little sadistic spark of mischief, Monoma takes a moment to study the game mat a little before he swings his leg over Momo to try and get the closest red spot on the other side of her, holding himself propped and hovering over her in a fashion that was only a little awkward. Might as well...! He's sure she would have a cute reaction to him doing something this ridiculous, anyway... Why she had to be dumb enough to take a spot next to Monoma, she didn't know. But if she had to guess, it would have to do something with the way his warmth seems to intoxicate her. She's fully aware that Aoyama's next to her, silently doing his best to reassure her with his presence, but something about Monoma is different. Momo doesn't know if it's because of the kiss they shared or because of something... else.
She doesn't have much time to think about it though, because Dark Shadow's quick to call the next order. Before she even has the chance to process his words, she feels Monoma shift beside her... and then he's over her, and Momo almost collapses right then and there. She feels herself tremble at his even closer proximity, struggling to keep her focus on the task at hand.
It takes her a few moments to finally make her move, but at least this time she has the sense to position herself in a way that's slightly less compromising. Shouji gets his foot to a red spot seeing me everyone else acting like buffoons. He was wondering who spilt the tea while making me. He wanted his friends just to get along. This is why dating within a class never ends well. Monoma has to know what he was doing as well. Was he trying to make todoroki jealous, or momo swoon over him?
Being in such close quarters with multiple people was a slightly different experience for Tokoyami, but in the name of fun, he was determined to continue. He was still competitive, afterall. Dark Shadow waited for everyone to move before spinning again. "Right hand on green!" he said, oblivious to anything but his spinner and the task he'd been given. Tokoyami scouted the others and the available spaces and regretted his previous move stretching himself so much. Kurokku stretched over to place her hand down to be the first one down, and see how the others position. She was enthralled in the tea spilled on the game mat. It was rather intriguing. Something happened here and she didn’t like not knowing so she looked up to Monoma saying, “what did you do to Yaoyorozu, and Todoroki to set them off?” Shouto gets himself something hard looking. Something that won't take time. It burns, which he's fine with just for the end result. He's not the most experienced drinker but he had had enough for it to not surprise him at all. He twisted his face and had to swallow a cough at the first drink. At least Momo was trying to move out of the situation a little. Monoma only flashes Kurokku a dirty look, though the question does strike enough sense into him to think that maybe what he was doing wasn't the best idea.
Unfortunately, position-wise it was a little late, but he's able to at least shift his weight a little away from her as he cranes for a green spot to put his hand down on. "Why do you assume all of this is my fault...!?" he snaps, defensive in an instant. Momo blinks at the mention of her name, craning her neck to try and get a better look at Monoma. What did Kurokku mean when she said that Todoroki had been set off as well? Though it pains her to do it, she musters the courage to look over to where Todoroki's standing while simultaneously reaching for a green spot. She's shocked to see him down that drink and she feels her heart immediately sink with worry.
"Monoma..." she slowly begins from underneath him. "You and Todoroki...?" "Because whenever stuff like this happens, you almost always have something to do with it?" Aoyama gives Monoma an unamused look. When Momo talks, he is confused for a moment before he puts 2 and 2 together and sighs and mutters to himself "Are you kidding me..."
Reiko is just completely uncomfortable with the entire situation "Um... sorry but i'm going to stop playing..." She gets up and goes to an area as far away from everyone else as she can. Shouji looked up at Monomomotodo, and sighed. “Can we have one nice party...” He just played the game glaring. His fingertips burning in his attempt to reach all the designated circles, Tokoyami cursed his stature. He was thankful Dark Shadow's mass felt weightless to him, as he was certain it would've been the final straw and he would hate to be out first.
His friends' conversation and the music all thrummed around him, and although his interest was piqued by the drama unfolding, his focus was on hoping for a good spin. Dark Shadow must’ve felt it, because he wasted no time spinning again, borderline cackling as he said, ”Left foot on yellow!”
Tokoyami mentally braced himself to cross his leg underneath him, his left hand already on the corner yellow. “Why, Dark Shadow?” he grumbled, making the wobbly maneuver, made slightly easier with the new absence of Reiko. He would’ve responded to the drama, too, but decided there was not much point right now; they would carry on regardless. Kurokku had to get a foot under Tokoyami to be able to stand. She mumbled an apology to him while doing so. She then looked up at Monoma and said, “it’s probably not. All parties are most likely at fault, but I’ve been to a ua gathering twice. Both times you were at fault for drama. Connect the dots, honey.”
Oh god.
Shouto had hoped the comment about him and Momo wouldn't set anything off. That it wouldn't lead to a bigger conversation. Apparently, he was wrong to hope anything. Ever. He took another, bigger, drink. Tilting his head down, he swallowed and tried to collect himself. He set his drink down and crossed his arms.
"Because it is your fault." If he hadn't toned everything that he said down it would have been sharp, cutting right through the silence that he had, for the most part, kept up until now. Monoma grimaces, focusing all of his attention on the new position in the game, though, at this point, it seemed absolutely ludicrous to continue. At the very least, he was only barely hovering over Momo now, though he was still close enough to see her face change as more and more accusations are thrown around, and--
That does it, honestly. He refused to take all the blame for this. Hauling himself to his feet, he only glares at Todoroki, jaw clenching. "You know what, yes. You're right. Everything between us has been my fault. In fact, why don't you explain to your friends exactly how you beating the shit out of me last week was entirely my fault, hm? Since they all want to know so badly what's going on between us."
It's been a month since they've broken up. A month since Momo's locked herself up in her room and done everything she could to forget about him. A month since she's even had to really see him. She knows that there's no point in actively lying to herself: it hadn't worked. The two of them had known each other for so long--even before they had started dating--and Momo had gotten so attached. The wound he left isn't something that time alone can fix.
But hearing Monoma's accusation makes her blood run cold. She had still been looking at her ex as he had said those words, and as he says them, she feels her heart tighten and break. It's like nothing else matters in the room, just the realization that...
The Todoroki Shouto she's looking at now... Isn't the Todoroki Shouto that she had fallen in love with.
... So where had he gone?
"S-Shouto, I--" she tries to start, struggling to find words where she knows there are none. "Is that... Did you really...?"
Shouji stood up from playing the game and got a shot. “Monoma-kun, please calm down. Todoroki-kun, please stay calm replying to Monoma. Please, tell the truth too.” He says this before taking a shot of the alcohol straight with no reaction to it. Kurokku looked blankly at Monoma. “Couples counseling is an option. If it’s like this get out do the relationship.” She looked over at Todoroki with small emotion. “Did you beat him up? If so, what was the reason?” The instant Monoma snapped, Dark Shadow's kid-in-a-candy-store attitude dissolved to nothing but uncertainty. He wrung the spinner board in his hands, eyes round, and looked from one person to the next, until he stopped at Tokoyami.
Tokoyami—who wasn't as upset about the game or party ending up like this as he was upset his friends were arguing—slid on the plastic onto his hands and knees. He sighed and sat down instead, his competitive streak wiped away, and tried to grasp the situation around him. "Fierceness makes error a fault and truth discourtesy," he quoted softly, more to himself than anyone else. Watching Shouji from the corner of his eye, he adds, "Pour me one, too, if you could." Shouto ignores everyone but Monoma.
He didn't care. What they had to say didn't matter. It paled in comparison to what Monoma just said. To what he was forcing Todoroki to confront, to people that he saw as friends, no less.
Why doesn't he explain it.
Well, he can't. Todoroki can't explain it. He can't tell the truth. If he did it would create something much, much bigger than some high school drama about who's fucking who and why and when. It was so much bigger than beating someone up. Ice consumed him. Not visibly, but if someone were to touch him they'd notice. Monoma would notice. It was like a special message, just for his eyes.
"Do you even remember what happened?" He bit the inside of his lip, an inconspicuous way of keeping himself from getting too heated. "It was your fault. If you hadn't-" He stopped, pulling himself back. He briefly considered turning it around. Asking what Monoma had done before, to deserve it, but that was counterproductive. That was so very counter fucking productive. "Done... what you did. It wouldn't have happened." Monoma bites the inside of his cheek. He can feel a tremble hiding in his core, a hysterical tremor building up in his skin. His heart always races the fastest when Todoroki was angry at him. His fists clench at his sides as he fights away every expression he wants to make, every masochistic smile, every strange little urge to break down into manic tears. He keeps his face steeled into a scowl before he relaxes with a hard, shaky exhale.
"Exactly. It was my fault. Everything, all of this. So, let's drop it, okay?" Tearing his eyes away from Todoroki, he shifts enough so he can help Momo get to her feet, flashing her a sheepish look. "Sorry for getting you involved. I didn't mean to," he says softly before reaching out to brush some of Momo's askew hair out of her eyes.
... Was that just another excuse to touch her? Yes. Did he absolutely take the opportunity to infuriate Todoroki more? Yes.
Turning away from her now, he meets Todoroki's eyes for a brief second before he breezes away from the scene, going straight to where the drinks are. "... Nothing to see here. Go back to your party," he says after a moment, waving away any eyes as he pours himself a new cup. Momo sees the way Todoroki's eyes hone in on Monoma's; the way they focus on the boy still hovering above her and no one else. And at the realization that Todoroki doesn't even see her, it's like a small switch flips inside her mind; feelings can't be turned off on a single whim--god, no--but something inside her shifts, ever so slightly, allowing her to regain focus on the situation at hand.
(And it's kind of weird, being near Shouto and not thinking about him. But Momo thinks--no. Knows that it's a good thing.)
It's then that she hears Monoma speak above her and, because of their proximity, his voice rings gently in her ears: it's soft, quiet, defeated, and Momo's never heard him speak this way before. When he helps her up and brushes the hair out of her eyes, she isn't sure what to think. But she knows that there had been so much more to her initial impression of Monoma than she had originally thought. And she knows that there's still something about his touch that electrifies her, sending a small shudder racing down her spine. "Y-You don't have to--"
But by then, he's already walking away from her. And towards the drinks. And she knows that he probably wants to have a moment alone, but she feels like... Leaving him alone is a bad idea. A very bad idea.
(And besides, she doesn't want to be alone either.)
She chews on her lip for a moment in thought, and decides to wait for the tension to die down before she approaches him. But not before shooting her former partner a look of both disappointment and discomfort. Shoji hates seeing his friends feeling hopeless or attacked like this. He just leans against the wall next to Monoma. He looked over at everyone seeing the range of expression being angry-empty and confused.
He grabbed a bottle of whiskey and poured out three shots. He slid one toward Monoma. He handed one to Tokoyami with a nod, and held his for the moment being. “Monoma, hug me. Todoroki, it’s okay no need to talk, and Yaoyorozu you can have a hug too.” He says this knocking another shot back down. He felt the burn of it going down. It was the one feeling he was certain on right now. Tokoyami accepted the small glass and, copying the others, tossed it back. It wasn't his first shot, but he was far from experienced with alcohol and the action took his breath away for a moment. The burn in his throat mixed with the suffocating urge to cough and the emotions surging around him all mixed into the sensation of tears stinging his eyes. He was quick to blink them back, allowing himself to cough and regain his composure, before getting up and taking a new position next to Dark Shadow on the couch. "I don't know what you all have experienced, but I do hope you'll release your frustrations rather than harboring them." Kurokku straightened up, and sat against the couch but not on it. She looked up at Tokoyami saying, “well said. Don’t let the negativity fester in you. There are people and resources that can help. Tokoyami, I do apologize your birthday ended up this way. Since everyone else is getting a hug do you want one?” She asked her arms open to him. Shouto felt fucking sick. It wasn't the alcohol. It was... this. Whatever this was. Whatever the hell just happened. It was disgusting. He hated it. Hated this. Everything.
He couldn't give up and leave, though.
He picked his drink up again, downed it, quickly got more and got out of the way. He sat on an unoccupied couch, watching. Waiting out this feeling in his gut. It was difficult. He knew he didn't need anything. Not a hug, or support, or someone to talk to him. Anything. But seeing the initial brush past him to serve Monoma... that stung. It hit something in him that he couldn't quite place. Anger, maybe. But not quite. He wasn't burning. He didn't want to hurt Monoma. It was just something in him that was screaming while the rest fell silent. It felt like he locked it in a box a long time ago and now it was trying to break back out, or yell loud enough to get attention anyways. It might have been working. Doing his best to behave himself, Monoma takes the shot before he goes back to the cup he's poured, sipping deeply from that until a disgusted grimace forces himself to stop. He doles out the hugs he's asked for, nodding along with all the self help talk, feeling the alcohol churning inside him as he glances around. It's like his presence in the room is calling to him. He looks at him for a moment before returning to his cup, taking another gulp before shaking his head in surrender and placing it down again.
"No negativity," he agrees. "That's what alcohol is for, right?" He laughs softly then finds his cup again despite having just put it down, wandering across the room towards the radio. "Let's put some better tunes on, shall we? So we can dance our troubles away? Might be nice..."
At Shouji's words, Momo slowly walks towards him to accept her hug, eyes still flickering between Todoroki and Monoma. She knows that there's something more to this situation--there's obviously so much more to this situation--and she doesn't even know the half of it.
(She feels helpless, looking at the shell of the boy she used to love--still loves? she doesn't know, but now's not the time to think about it--and the boy that had--for a split second back there--seemed like he was going to fall apart at the seams. It pains her.)
Momo's brought out of her reverie when Kurroku begins apologizing to Tokoyami for the state of his birthday party. She didn't know it was possible, but somehow, her heart sinks even deeper in her chest.
"No negativity. That's what alcohol is for, right?"
She can't stop the small grimace from tugging at the edge of her lips at those words, but she doesn't have a better alternative. Momo's never been much of a partygoer, so who's she to say any better? Besides, if it means somehow lightening the mood of this party...
With a sigh, she looks up at Shouji one more time. "Um, sorry but... Could you pour me a shot too?"