maneuvering through

A Fateful Day and Night

He angled his face to peer at her. Gently pushing her raised hand out of the way. For a moment, they only stared at each other. Wondering whether they were the flesh version of themselves and not some hallucinations brought about by yearning.

Shouto rode back in the same cab after his failed attempt to visit Momo. Wherever she was, she was surely having fun and hoped that she was gone with the girls and not with someone else, disputing why he had to include the latter.

Momo had been out for about an hour already, the voice from her school told him, an hour he spent arguing with himself.

'Yaoyorozu is having fun. With her friends.'

Like most heroes, he had his time mostly taken from him. The meager fun he had was spent mostly with Jirou and Kaminari, since their agencies were the closest, and at times with Iida and Midoriya when both weren't as busy. But mostly, third-wheeling (as Sero coined) with the sound and electric couple. So often that he feared Kaminari's dumbassary rubbed on him.

Deciding at that moment he should probably stay away from Kaminari for his sanity and dignity's sake.

He sighed, head dropping at the head of his seat.

"You alright, son?" The driver asked.

He nodded, though he was unsure if he was.

"Looks like you weren't."

He groaned a long, emaciated one.

The old man chuckled.

"Looks like this girl isn't just a friend."

"Y-you think?" He asked incredulously, the statement now floating freely inside his head.

"I think so." The driver surely said, eyes trained on the road. "Where do you want to go now? Do you have her address? Or is she staying in the dorms?"

Now. That's another problem he failed to acknowledge.

"I-I don't know." He murmured wearily.

A tick in the box.

"Wha--?!" The elderly man briefly glanced at him, a look like he was seeing someone stupid for the first time.

"Are you sure this isn't just one-sided affection, son? Does she even know you're coming?"

Another tick.

"No. She doesn't know I'm coming."

"Oh." The old man let out a sympathetic hum as he resumed talking. "You should have called her or something."

"Hm. Don't have her new number."

Another tick in the box.

The old man was visibly surprised. While he busied himself mentally adding, 'getting her number' to his already long list of things he failed to do. And there's the question of if he ever sees her. But the day hadn't ended yet.

"And about the one-sided thing?"

His driver quietened as he waited for the words to follow.

"How does one know?" His brows knitted together, creating a crease in between his brows, quite surprised to detect interest in his voice.

He expected the old man to laugh, but his face was earnest. "Sometimes you just feel it." He told him. "People were just in denial if they think otherwise, or maybe just plainly deep in love to acknowledge"