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"HOW HAVE you been?" Momo's old friend asked, his voice accompanied by rain pattering on the windows of the café. It had been years since she saw Todoroki, and he certainly aged, that was for sure.
His dual toned hair was a bit longer and neater than before, parted to the right with some of his bangs slightly covering the scar over his right eye. Enchanting heterochromatic irises gazed at her from the other side of the table with meek interest. His lips curved into an easy smile, which was quite a new sight for her considering he never used to smile. His figure was more built, and he'd definitely gotten taller. He had hung the navy blue suit he was wearing on the back of his chair, leaving him in a white shirt and a black tie. It was weird to see him look so professional.
However, the most noticeable change was probably the biggest one.
Todoroki was more... relaxed, if that was the right way to say it. Back in high school, he always had a discontented scowl on his face. Every time she saw him in the classroom, he would be studying hard, separated from the rest of the students, with only his own company. Momo noticed this and tried to conversate with him, and whenever this would happen, his face seemed to lighten up as if he was rescued.
But now, there he was, smiling at her with ease and taking a sip of the coffee wrapped around his calloused hand which adorned an expensive looking watch. It felt like he was a stranger to her again. She wanted to get to know him again. Millions of questions were going through her mind, but for now she simply said, "I've been... okay. I'm working as a preschool teacher now. What about you? I heard lots of things about your successful company."
"I'll choose to not talk about my career for now." His smile faded, and he placed his coffee on the wooden table as she sipped her tea. "Honestly, I missed you."
Momo's heart skipped a beat at that sentence for some odd reason, but she hid it expertly behind her teacup. Nonetheless, she kept her composure in check and the corners of her mouth turned up in a genuine smile. "I missed you too, Todoroki." And it was true.
She missed sitting next to him at the back of the class. She missed trying to make him laugh. She missed having study sessions with him that lasted longer than expected. She missed his deep yet comforting voice. She missed his awkward attempts at socializing. She missed his clueless behavior. She missed everything about him. And it felt so good to see him again after so long.
Their beverages on the table were starting to lose their steam as they gazed at each other in a comforting silence. Other people in the café could be heard chattering around them along with the sound of rain, but all they could see and hear was each other. The smile returned to Todoroki's face, and this time, it was warmer than before.
"My sister told me that apparently an old friend of mine from high school is working at the same preschool as her. I'm assuming that's you?"
Momo merely gave him a nod to confirm his suspicion. When she first met Fuyumi, she looked oddly similar to Todoroki. She only got to know that she was in fact his sister when she stated that her last name was Todoroki. After working with her for a while, Momo got to know that the woman was very kind and thoughtful, and highly sociable unlike her younger brother. In a way, she reminded Momo of her own mother who passed away.
The dual haired man who was sat in front of her stayed silent, taking another sip of his coffee that tasted bitter on his tongue. After a long second of thinking he inquired, "If that's the case then... why didn't you reach out me?"
"You're a busy man now, Todoroki. You own a successful company and everything... I didn't want to bother you while you were working." Her eyes were locked onto her hands under the table, and her mouth was slightly trembling as if she wanted to say more but couldn't get the words out. As much as he wanted to ask about it, he decided not to press any more on the matter. Besides, he had just one more question that was in the back of his mind ever since they crossed paths again.
"You always aspired to be a lawyer, didn't you? What happened to that?" His question was carefully thought out and almost hesitant in case he was touching on a sensitive topic. He probably was considering the draining moment of silence that pulled over them with her lips pressed together firmly. He could swear he noticed her eyes welling up, and his stomach churned horribly.
But before he could try to say something, she spoke in a monotone voice, "After the passing of my parents, I couldn't really earn the money to afford going to law school. I struggled a lot on finding a job to make myself a living before I settled on working as a preschool teacher instead."
Momo swallowed back tears and decided not to think about her struggles anymore for the time being. Despite feeling a bit more at ease now that she finally got it out of her chest, she wasn't sure how he'd react. She probably said too much. She should have kept her mouth shut instead of making herself seem pathetic to him. She knew Todoroki wasn't the best at communicating back in high school, what if he was still like that? Great, now she troubled him with the burden of having to form the words to say. The consequences of her actions.
In the midst of her overthinking, he suddenly let out a simple hum of understanding in response, setting his face in a nonchalant expression. He looked like he was deep in thought. Momo opened her mouth to divert the subject, but he cut her off before she got the chance to,
"Well, I do need a new secretary. It's been a while since I fired my last one...", Todoroki purposefully mused more to himself than her, and Momo brought her eyes to meet his. Her posture stiffened with her lashes fluttering in confusion. He wasn't actually going to suggest that, right...?
He took one last sip of his coffee, and soon enough, a single corner of his mouth was turned up in a smirk, and he leaned back on his chair in a relaxed manner. It didn't take a genius to figure out what he was going to say next.
"Work as my secretary, Yaoyorozu."
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