#{i... wasn't as active as i could've been during the ball ealkwjre

[ua-momo-archive]

the halloween ball (nov. 3).

It had... taken a lot for Momo to find the courage to attend the ball. There are just so many factors involved: the memory of planning an exciting night with her now ex-boyfriend, the slightly awkward state of most of her friendships, and the fact that she’ll be attending alone... But it was ultimately her desire to portray herself as a strong individual that convinced her to finish the designs on her dress and prepare herself for the ball.

When she steps into the venue, she’s doing everything she can to maintain the fragile smile painted on her features. While sketching ideas for her dress, she had taken heavy inspiration from the season itself; her gown is a rich, satin red, the skirt cinched at her waist and gently brushing against the floor of the room as she enters it. What Momo loves most about her dress though is the leaves: she had cut each one by hand, carefully sewing them onto the top part of her dress and onto the outermost layer of her tulle skirt. They’re all different colors—shades of red, orange, and yellow—that she thought captured the changing season best. The abundance of them are sewn onto her chest area, with a significantly lesser amount on the skirt itself, in an attempt to recreate a vision of falling autumn leaves. Her hair is done in a simple, loose French braid. She had inserted a few gold pins into her hair to add some additional sparkle, and decided to keep her makeup relatively neutral—the one exception being her bright red lips.

Momo knows that it’s probably not a good idea for her to be here. It’s been a particularly dramatic week for her and she hadn’t made plans to attend with anyone—well, she had, but that was months ago, back when... She shakes the thought away, reminding herself for the millionth time that week that good things can’t happen to her unless she gives them the opportunity to. Besides, she had worked too long and too hard on her dress to just not wear it because of her social discomfort. She isn’t quite sure what to do with herself when she enters the dancehall, but she spots Shinso across the room and recalls her previous offense. Finding the courage, she approaches him. “Good evening, Shinso. You look great!”

Shinso sported Deku sitting on his phone and worked up the courage to go over to him. He didn’t want to be alone here, after all. What would have been the point in that? As he was walking over to him he was stopped by Momo and smiled at her. “Good evening, you look beautiful. It fits you nicely, and the color is beautiful. Did you come with someone?”

The painted smile almost falters on her face—almost—but she finds that she’s become pretty good at pretending. “Thank you, I made it myself,” she admits, giving him a little twirl and forcing a small giggle. She follows his gaze for a moment, seeing Midoriya sitting alone and looking awfully uncomfortable. “I’m... alone tonight. But are you meeting someone? I didn’t mean to bother you—I just wanted to quickly apologize for my behavior on the night of the festival. It was rude of me to be as hesitant and careful as I had been.” She fidgets for a moment, unsure of what else to say. “But please, don’t let me keep me if you have somewhere to be!”

“Must be nice being able to make your own clothes all the time,” Shinso said. Beats having to pay for everything. He was a bit surprised that she apologized to him, but he appreciated it nonetheless. “It’s alright. A lot of people are uneasy about me and my quirk. I’ve gotten used to it over the years. And you aren’t bothering me, I’m alone as well. I was going to see if Izuku wanted company. Care to join me?”

“It’s great practice for my quirk,” she explains, smile becoming a little more genuine at Shinso’s kind demeanor. “And your quirk is absolutely astounding! It really was unbecoming of me to be uneasy around you—I can only imagine how annoying it must be to have people judge you for something like that alone...” Momo lets herself trail off. He seems to have genuinely accepted her apology though, and she’s thankful for that—her social interactions throughout the week really haven’t been going well, so she’s happy that this one is. “And I’d love to join you, thank you! Please, lead the way.”

“I can imagine. Your quirk is very interesting. I would like to learn more about it.” Shinso’s cheeks flushed lightly when she complimented him. “Thank you. Come on.” He led her over to where Deku was sitting. “Hey, Izuku.”

Mirio looked back and forth through the filling ballroom with anxiety. His friends weren't here yet, except for Deku- which he was looking for. And he saw him, after navigating between the people, and raising a red arm (with scales!) For him to see.

"Heey!" He waved happily. "Prince Midoriya!!"

Both Mirio and Shinsou were calling out to him and Deku’s face flushes, body subconsciously sinking in his seat. He wishes, for a moment, that he could just disappear- before everything inevitably went wrong again.

Deku forces a smile out and it’s obvious that it’s that- forced. He waves awkwardly.

“Hahh...hey guys...”

Shinso still felt guilty for what had happened at the Halloween party, but was determined to make it up to Deku. He hoped that the three of them could cheer up the poor kid, even for a bit. “How are you feeling? You look great.”

Mirio could easily see how uncomfortable Deku looked...and he didn't like it. He made sure to approach him as fast as he could, and knelt on the floor with one knee to speak to him. "What happened pal? You-"

He seemed to just now notice Shinsou. He smiled at him. "Hey man."

“A-ah...I’m...you know...” Midoriya’s eyes shift to Monoma and Tetsutetsu entering the scene, and he subconsciously stiffens, sinking even lower in his chair without realizing. “...Laying low. Thanks, you look good too. U-um...you do too, Mirio. There was a lot of effort put into that costume, huh...?”

Shinso followed Deku’s eyes and he tensed slightly. Monoma was with Tetsutetsu, which would hopefully keep him occupied. It didn’t make him feel too great, but he could handle it. “Did anyone want to get food?” He asked, hoping a change of scenery would lighten Deku’s mood.

"Oh yeah. I dressed all up like this - for you!" Mirio offered Deku a bright grin. "I'm glad you went with my prince suggestion- now we match!"

Maybe talking about this would cheer him up a bit?

Deku can’t help but chuckle softly at that. “Usually matching costumes mean like, a prince and his servant...or a prince and a knight...not exactly a prince and a dragon.”

While the dramatic scene unfolds in front of them Deku tries his best not to stare, instead immediately standing up in reply to Shinsou. “Food sounds like a great idea. I’ve been really hungry since that quirk’s effect wore off...I guess not eating human food for days will do that to you.” Gently, he takes Mirio’s hand- for comfort, and reassurance that he’s still with him. He doesn’t plan on letting him wander away from him this time around.

“I can imagine. I walked past the dining room earlier and it smelled so good. Come on, before things get out of hand,” Shinso said, lowering his voice slightly at the end. He didn’t want to get caught up if Monoma and Kairi’s drama again. Tonight was going to be fun, even if it killed him. He offered his hand to Momo, not wanting her to feel left out. “Care to join us?”

Mirio had his hand taken and it filled him with joy. He heard about the plans to get food - sure enough, Deku was no longer in his vampiric state anymore - and grinned. "Oh? You think a prince and a dragon don't match?"

Out of the blue Mirio crouched and grabbed Deku behind his legs, lifting him onto his arms, bridal style. "Now you're my prisoner." Mirio grinned and pressed a kiss to Deku's temple, leaving a faint red mark.

Deku lets out a squawk when he’s picked up, face immediately flushing. His first instinct is to hide, and hide he does- feverishly burying his face in the other’s chest. “Mirio...! P...people are gonna stare!” The warm feeling of lips on his temple is not unwelcome, and Deku can’t help but simply melt into his hold after that. He was...arguably warm. And comfortable.

As always.

Momo was a little bewildered by the drama, but was thankful for Shinso’s presence. She stares at his hand for a moment and instead intertwines her arm with his. “Thank you, Shinsou-san. I would love to!”

Shinso smiled and took Momo to the dining room. He pulled out the chair for her so she could sit down and then sat beside her. “What were you all planing on getting? Everything looks so good.”

Momo feels herself blush a little when Shinso pulls out her chair for her, waiting until she takes a seat before he sits beside her. He’s such a gentleman, and it makes her feel awful for treating him rudely—however briefly—because of his quirk. “I’m not quite sure what I’d like to eat... You’re right, everything looks amazing!” She stops for a moment, taking the time to really look at him, and smiles again. “Thanks for letting me accompany you tonight—really, I’m not sure what I would have done otherwise.”

“It’s no problem. I was just waiting until I saw a familiar face. If you find some friends you want to see them don’t feel bad about going with them, alright? I wouldn’t mind at all.” He looked over the menu they had and picked out his meal. Maybe eating would ease his mind a bit.

“I was... honestly waiting for the same thing,” she admits with a little laugh. “But I really am glad that I ran into you!” Momo’s about to turn her focus onto their menu when she catches a familiar face. “Oh, Tokoyami-san!” She waves at him excitedly, gesturing for him to join their table.

Holding his just-filled plate, Tokoyami was eyeing potential empty spots when Momo caught his attention and motioned him over. He had no reason to say no--besides feeling stupid in his shoes and hat, of course--and thus complied. "Hello, Yaoyorozu-san. It's good to see you," he greeted her. "I apologize for my tardiness this evening."

Shinso smiles at Tokoyami when he sits down. He recognized him, but he didn’t know much about him “Hey, I’m Shinso. You look nice tonight. Have you found anyone else that you know?” Well, for once he was decent at small talk. Imagine that.

"Good to meet your acquaintance, Shinso-kun. I am Tokoyami," he replied taking his seat. "It is difficult to recognize friendly faces  tonight," he admitted, looking around the tables to try and identity the individuals in the room. Some were easy, others more difficult. "Your costumes look good."

"Thank you, your costume looks great as well," Shinso said as he started to eat his own food. It was nice having company now, especially after the issues from the previous event. He wasn't used to being around so many students from 1-A, but they weren't as bad as he originally thought.