#love mesopotamia but JEEZ

[traggalicious]

If the next thing i post isnt a confirmation of finsihed hw or a number or some sorta fuckin note from the prime minister telling me i never have to do homework again assume i have failed and shun me. I will die if ignored for long enough, unlike my schoolwork which haunts my every waking moment and will continue to do so until the day one of us dies!

This has been a message from the Government of Canada.

[vkq103487428]

Week 9: Communities, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Game

#MDA20009

Gaming can be anything you want

Ever since the dawn of man, we have always been interested in finding different ways to entertain ourselves. First, it was cave painting and making weird noises around the campfire, then it became writing and reading, then making up physical games to pass the time.

Then, somewhere down the line, some absolute genius of a man (or woman, we don't know for sure) invented The Royal Game of Ur in Mesopotamia, and that action changed the course of human history forever.

This boardgame, which would not look out of place among a lineup of the latest boardgame collection at your local bookstore, was so universally loved that it eventually acquired superstitious significance among the population:

"Instead of seeing randomness, people saw the invisible hand of the spiritual realm. Landing on the Waters of Chaos in senet was no random event but a message from a god, a ghost, or even your own soul" (Donovan 2017, p. 16).

Jeez, and they say games were good for nothing...

Fast forward to today, and games are everywhere. From boardgames collecting dust on the shelves of bookstores (seriously though, Vietnamese children should REALLY start playing boardgames again instead of burning away their dopamine receptors by watching YouTube Shorts and TikToks 24/7), to video games covering basically every single need imaginable.

You want a competitive experience with challenging gameplay? Pick up League of Legends!

You want to just sit back and have some fun with a couple of friends? Boot up Among Us!

You want to experience a heartfelt and gripping story about love, loss and regrets, that would forever change how you look at your life and the seemingly mundane experiences you go through? First off, are you okay 🥺? Secondly, play To The Moon!

All in all, gaming has come such a long way that in its current form, it literally has something for everybody.

Gaming just really brings people together

Games have always been a core part of my life. Even before I was introduced to digital devices, I was fascinated with traditional Vietnamese games like Ô Ăn Quan and Cờ Cá Ngựa.

This love for playing games has led me to many different friend groups over the years, and while we all come from different walks of life, when we got together, only one thing mattered: having fun.

And that, in my opinion, is where gaming's the most powerful. Even though some games can be played alone, the experience has always been about connecting with other people through a medium that is enjoyed by all parties involved.

Like every other hobby, gaming really brings people from all different backgrounds together. But perhaps due to the fact that most of the interactions between members of gaming communities happen online, which eliminates the need for face to face interactions, the medium has become a safe space for introverted gamers to fully emerge themselves in their hobby, without fear of being judged (Kowert, Domahidi & Quandt 2014).

Furthermore, gaming as a hobby is still a controversial pastime, with many parents complaining that they are good for nothing. Research has shown that 4 in 10 adults still believe that people who play video games are more likely to be violent (Duggan 2015). Parents also associate their children playing games with more conduct and peer problems, as well as less prosocial behaviour (Lobel et al. 2014).

This negative attitude towards gaming has given the communities built around it this sort of aura of mutual empathy for each other, a trait similar to counterculture and outcast groups of the past decades (Steltenpohl 2020).

References

Donovan, T 2017, It’s All a Game : the History of Board Games from Monopoly to Settlers of Catan, Thomas Dunne Books, New York, p. 16.

Duggan, M 2015, ‘Gaming and Gamers’, Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech, viewed 13 March 2024, <https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2015/12/15/gaming-and-gamers/>.

Steltenpohl, CN 2020, ‘Exploring online and gaming communities through community psychology’, Thesis Commons (OSF Preprints), Center for Open Science.

Kowert, R, Domahidi, E & Quandt, T 2014, ‘The Relationship Between Online Video Game Involvement and Gaming-Related Friendships Among Emotionally Sensitive Individuals’, Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, vol. 17, no. 7, pp. 447–453, viewed 13 March 2024, <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4080869/pdf/cyber.2013.0656.pdf>.

Lobel, A, Granic, I, Stone, LL & Engels, RCME 2014, ‘Associations between children’s video game playing and psychosocial health: information from both parent and child reports’, Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking, vol. 17, no. 10, United States, pp. 639–43, viewed 13 March 2024, <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25272237>.

[salemwritesbaybeee]

mutual understanding

hiii everyone, i hope u r doing well! first, i wanna say thank you so much to everyone who liked my last fic! i did not expect anywhere near this much engagement so yay :))))) i'm glad you guys enjoyed it :D secondly i finally got to a point where i'm happy with this fic! yay! so here it is i hope you enjoy <3

yaoyorozu momo x gn!reader (they go into the same bathroom so just assume their school has gn bathrooms)

word count: 5.4k jeez louise

summary: you and momo are paired together for a project that you don't understand as well as she does. later, you guys party together. (sorry y'all i hate this summary i just don't know how else to summarize it)

warnings: cursing, teenage alcohol/drug comsumption, vomiting, kissing, implied sexual activity kinda?

Yaoyorozu Momo has always strived to be the best she can be. It goes without saying that this is her attitude towards her academics, demonstrated by her consistent top marks and articulate nature. It felt good to have those achievements and she was incredibly knowledgeable about a variety of things. This was in part because of her quirk, but she genuinely enjoyed reading encyclopedias and she didn’t care if it was nerdy because she loved to learn. She carried that passion with her to school every day and that is why she is staring at you with furrowed brows, trying to figure out how to help you do this project, and trying to figure out why you look so…upset? Tired? Perhaps they didn’t get enough sleep last night, she thought. 

She sat at the desk in front of you. You had gotten your tests back at the beginning of class and were going over the answers. After, Momo turned around to face you, clearly trying to bit back a smile.

“What did you get on the test, Y/n?” She asked politely.

You looked at her and paused. “A passing grade.”

“Glad to hear it.” She said, giving you a sweet smile. 

Cute, you thought. She bit her lip a bit and you realized she wanted you to ask her what she got on her test. You decided to indulge her (why not?) and asked her what her score was.

“I got 50/50 correct!” She beamed. “Thanks for asking.” She said a little softer. Cute.

Your teacher finished the review and then began to introduce a group project where you were working in pairs. Your teacher showed you the group pairings and you were paired with Momo. You both turned to look at each other and she gave you a big smile. You gave her a half-assed smile back. She immediately dove into an explanation of her view for your project, which you zoned out on about midway through. Instead, you looked at how her eyes lit up as she used her hands to explain whatever she was talking about. You observed her dark, thick lashes, her beautiful gray eyes that looked like smoky quartz, and her light pink lips. She was so pretty. You wondered if that was something she even cared about - academics seemed to dominate her life, at least, from your perspective. 

“So, what do you think?” She asked, finally done with her explanation.

You blinked. “Yeah, sounds good to me.” You were sure whatever plan Momo had would be a good idea, she would know, wouldn’t she? She gave you some things to research and you began doing just that. And that’s when the comments began. 

The first was about how you had organized your research (“I think it makes more sense if you split it up into these categories..”), the second was about how shocked she was that you didn’t know about “basic Japanese history” (you’d never heard of it), and the third was about you being on your phone because “we should take advantage of the class time given to us to work on this project” (you were checking the time, you had it out for like 2 seconds). 

And now you sat here, with Momo looking at you with confusion and slight pity which made your frown deepen slightly. You could tell the gears in her head were turning, trying to come up with her next criticism. 

You cringed ever so slightly when she opened her mouth and then she said, “You misspelled Mesopotamia.” You fought the urge to roll your eyes but then Momo said, “Are you okay?” 

You looked at her face to see if she was joking, but she wore a look of genuine concern. “I’m fine. Just because I don’t know the answer to everything and misspelled a word doesn’t mean anything’s wrong with me.” You said in a cool tone. 

Momo turned red instantly. “I-no I didn’t mean it like that! I just-um, I noticed, um, you kind of have, um, bags…” she paused, gauging your reaction before continuing, “...under your eyes. I just was wondering if you, um, if you got enough sleep.”

You gave her a wry smile. “I definitely did not get enough sleep last night.”

“Why not?”

You shrugged. “I was at a party.”

A party? Momo had never been to a party before, despite being well into her second year of high school. Despite Momo’s studious lifestyle, she desperately wanted to go to a party. The sensationalized high school parties from media had hooked her since she was young and she longed to have that experience at least once in her life. And here Momo saw the perfect opportunity to get into a high school party.

“Whose party?” She pressed.

You smirked at her persistence. “Kei’s party.”

“When’s the next party?” She asked in a tone that conveyed nonchalance, yet her face gave away her excitement.

“Why, you wanna come?” You teased, making her blush.

“Maybe.” She muttered out, looking away. “Depends on whether or not I can make it.” She said, tilting her head to the side and shrugging, still trying to play it cool.

You paused, trying to discern what her motives were, and then told her, “He’s having another one tonight actually. Do you know Kei?”

“Kei Yukiji, right? We have biology together.” She stated with a smile. She was certain she was going to this party tonight and was already planning how she would ask Kei to come, her outfit, her ride, etc.

“Yeah.” You smirked at her then the bell rang. “Well, I hope to see you there.” You said, gathering your things and heading out. 

You will, Momo thought to herself as she pulled out her phone to text Kei.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kei never responded to Momo. She huffed as she threw her phone on her bed and went to work on the project. She decided to thoroughly review the work you had done so far, leaving numerous comments and suggestions. She smiled when she was done, feeling productive. 

The next day at school she sauntered into your class she was excited to further discuss edits for your project. She walked with a bounce in her step and she sat down rather abruptly, causing you to look up from your seat. 

“Hello, y/n!” She greeted you cheerfully.

“Hi, Momo.” You said, offering her a small smile.

“I made some edits and left some comments on the work you did yesterday, have you had a chance to look at them yet?” She asked, eager to discuss the intricacies of ancient history.

“No. I can look at them now.” You told her, opening your laptop.

She nodded and got out her own materials, beginning to do her own work.

You made your way through her edits and suggestions. Some you accepted, some were a bit hypocritical so you ignored them. She was very thorough with her suggestions but you didn’t mind too much. They were just that, suggestions. 

You both continued to do your work in peace. When you finished your write-up, Momo said she could review it. You nodded in response and began working on something else. 

“I think it would be better for you to talk about the government first, or at least before talking about their systems of trade because I think that would be a better way to introduce the class system and the various jobs people had.” Momo began. She continued to tell you how she thought you should reorganize your writing, without pausing to ask for your input. 

You knew she was the smartest kid in your class, she was probably the smartest kid in your year. She knew all the answers, turned in the best, neatest, work, and went above and beyond to ensure her academic success. You knew her teachers all adored her and that any work she turned in was perfect in their eyes. You knew that however she was telling you to organize your work was probably better than what you had originally done and you knew that she was trying to be helpful. 

But you weren’t the smartest kid in your class. You didn’t know all the answers, you didn’t go above and beyond in your work. It wasn’t that you didn’t want to be an outstanding student, of course, you did. It just wasn’t that easy for you to turn in outstanding work and understand everything your teachers were trying to tell you. And seeing how easily Momo could succeed made you feel insecure. It felt condescending, really, her telling you to reorganize everything you had done like it wasn’t good enough. Like she thought she was better than you. (You knew deep down, of course, that she didn’t think that, but that’s still how you felt).

“Momo.” You interrupted her. 

“Hm?” She looked up from her computer screen.

“I clearly don’t have the grasp on this concept that you do, but I don’t need you telling me how to do my work. You can make your little suggestions, but you don’t need to redo everything I did.” You said to her, the bite in your words more intense than you intended it to be. 

Momo’s mouth opens slightly, her eyes wide and her face red as a tomato. Your eyes widen too, both of you a bit taken aback by what you just said.

“I-I’m sorry-that’s-that’s not what I meant to do at all-” she stuttered out, very embarrassed. She turns away from your desk for a second, then turns her body back towards you, although her face is looking down at her hands in her lap. “I’ll just, um, make suggestions from my computer.” She says, looking up at you for a second, then quickly looking back down again. “Sorry.”

And then she turns back to her desk, back to you, and begins to make edits. But as she begins to type a comment, she can’t even focus on what she’s writing. Then her vision blurs and she realizes she’s about to start crying. She is not about to cry in class because you told her to make fewer edits on your work, absolutely not, she can’t let that happen. Her hand shoots up.

“May I use the restroom?” She asks, doing everything in her power to make sure her voice doesn’t crack. She seems to succeed as your teacher simply nods at her and she bolts to the bathroom. 

The second she leaves the classroom she can already feel the tears beginning to fall. Dammit, dammit, dammit, she thinks to herself as she speed-walks to the bathroom. Once in the safety of the stall that’s furthest from the door, she leans against the door and cries quietly. She feels so stupid, why is she even crying? She feels awful, she never meant to make you feel like she knew more about the project than you and she definitely didn’t want you to feel like you had to redo your work at all - she thought your work was good, actually, just that certain sentences and paragraphs went together better than how you had originally written it. She feels awful because she thought she was better than that, that she had more self-awareness and that she wouldn’t let herself be condescending towards her peers - it had happened before in elementary school, and she felt horrible when she realized that while she had been trying to help her classmates, she had actually just been making them feel stupid and belittled. She vowed then to never make anyone feel that way again, but dammit she did it again! Why couldn’t she just keep her big mouth shut and let you do your own thing?

She moves to the toilet and sits down, leaning forward to put her face in her hands as she continues to cry quietly, consumed by her thoughts. She doesn’t hear the door open, nor does she hear you walk in. 

But you can hear her quietly sobbing, and you curse under your breath because you heard her voice break when she asked to go to the bathroom. Fuck, you thought, I made her cry. 

“Momo?” You ask softly.

Momo’s head shoots up at your voice. Why were you here?

You don’t wait for an answer. “I’m so sorry about what I said, that was rude and mean and I know that you were just trying to be helpful and you didn’t deserve that. I just-” you pause and let out a short, breathy laugh. “You seem so knowledgeable about this stuff and you’re obviously very intelligent and a good writer and I’m not. And it just…it’s hard to not feel like you’re way above me and looking down on me, I guess, even though I know that that’s not how you feel-”

The door to Momo’s stall suddenly opened, stopping your speech, and she stood there, eyes red, glossy, and slightly puffy. Her cheeks and nose were bright red and she sniffled slightly as she offered you a small smile. You instantly felt a pang in your heart at the upset you had caused her.

“Thank you for saying that.” She said to you, wiping her cheek with the back of her hand and sniffling again. You felt strongly compelled to hug Momo, so you wrapped your arms tightly around her shoulders. Momo stiffened slightly at first, not expecting you to hug her, but then hugged you back. She smelled like jasmine and orange blossoms, a pleasant surprise that caught you off guard, making you blush slightly, but thankfully she couldn’t tell. 

“I’m so sorry I made you cry, Momo.” You told her. 

“It’s okay.” She said, lightly patting your back. You smiled at that and released her. She took a deep breath.

“I’m glad that you said that because I really don’t want to be condescending or to make you feel belittled, that’s the last thing I want to do and I-it makes me feel horrible to think that I made you feel that.” She paused and took another shuddery deep breath.

You offered her a kind smile. “I know you mean well.” You told her, then paused. “I think it was a bit overwhelming to hear all of your critiques at once.”

Momo nodded aggressively. “Okay, thank you. I’ll try to be more mindful of that.”

“I’ll be kinder and calmer if I do have any more issues with your critiques.” You told her, nodding once.

You both smiled at each other for a bit, both relieved to not have upset the other and to be reassured that you were on good terms. 

“Did Kei respond to you about the party?” You asked.

Momo frowned and pulled out her phone. Then her face brightened. “Oh! He did!” Momo opened her phone to read Kei’s text.

kei yukiji: hey yaoyorozu! i’m having a party this friday at 7 and you’re totally welcome to come! you can bring a friend too if you’d like :)

sent 12:34pm

Momo couldn’t help but grin like an idiot. Finally, she was going to a party. She was ecstatic. 

She looked adorable, you thought. “I take it you’re coming on Friday then?” You asked, smiling at how excited she was.

“Yes!” She nodded. She clenched her fists and let out a little squeal. Oh my god, she’s so cute, you thought to yourself, blushing lightly and laughing with her. Momo let out a little laugh before taking a deep breath to calm down. 

“Should we head back to class?” You asked. Momo paused and looked in the mirror. She frowned, the evidence of her crying was still present on her face. 

You knew what she was thinking. “Splash some water on your face,” you offered.

She turned on the sink and let the water pool in her hands. She splashed her face a couple of times and you grabbed some paper towels for her. 

“Thanks,” she said with a smile as she took the paper towels from you.

“You’re very welcome.” You said, matching her smile.

Momo dabbed at her face and stared at herself in the mirror for a bit, watching the redness slowly fade. When she felt ready she turned to you and nodded.

“Thanks for waiting for me.” She said with a grin.

“No problem.” You said, “it’s not like I want to go back to class anyway.” She laughed at that.

You started walking back to class when Momo paused. “Y/n?” 

You turned back to look at her. “Yeah?”

“You do have a good understanding of what we’re working on and I think you are a good writer. Everything you wrote for the project was good, aside from maybe some grammar things, but you are smart.” She told you with a very serious look. 

You blushed, a bit taken aback. “I-” you let out a short, breathy laugh, “Thank you, Momo. That’s very kind of you to say.” You offered her a small smile.

“It’s the truth.” She said, smiling back at you.

You didn’t know what to say to that, so you just smiled at her, a smile that said thank you. “Shall we?” You asked, nodding towards your classroom. She nodded and you went back to class.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yaoyorozu stood in front of her full-length mirror beaming. She had chosen a deep turquoise lacy top and matched it with a nice pair of brown corduroy pants and a brown flannel. She decided to wear her hair down (which Mina had told her to do) and put on some jewelry. She was very anxious on the way to Mina’s, constantly fiddling with her fingers and hair. When she arrived, Mina dragged her inside, sat her down, and did her makeup.

When they were done, they headed to Kei’s.

“Are you excited?!” Mina asked in the car, giggling and grabbing Momo’s hand.

Momo nodded, “but I’m feeling a little nervous.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, I guess ‘cause it’ll be a lot of people and stuff and it might just be overwhelming .” She responded, looking out the window at the houses they were passing. 

“Well I think it’s mostly people from school so you should know them and if it’s too overwhelming you can wait in the bathroom and call me!” Mina said matter-of-factly.

Momo laughed. “Thanks, Mina. I’m mostly excited.”

“Good!”

You were at Kei’s, standing in with your usual group of party people. You had done shots and were now having hard seltzer, joking and talking with your friends all throughout, but you kept glancing at the door to see if Momo had arrived. You hoped you weren’t being too obvious, you couldn’t help but be excited to see Yaoyorozu. What will she wear? Would she do something different with her hair? You could imagine how beautiful she’d look with her long dark hair framing her face. You imagined all the different outfits she might wear while you chatted with your friends.

“Hey y/n?” Kei asked, tapping you on the shoulder. “Wanna help us set up for Rage Cage?”

“Of course.” You responded, turning to follow Kei to his dining table. 

As you walked inside, the door opened and Momo and her pink friend (whose name you didn’t know) walked in. She beamed at you and Kei, exchanging hugs and greetings. Momo looked gorgeous (obviously) and she had worn her hair down which framed her face beautifully and you felt lucky to be able to see her look like that. Her outfit was fairly modest but it accentuated her body nicely. You bit your lip, slightly taken aback by her beauty. 

“It’s good to see you.” You told Momo with a smile.

“You too!” She paused to smile at you. “This is my friend Mina! Mina, this is y/n, we did our history project together!”

“Nice to meet you, Mina.” You said.

“Likewise.” She responded.

“We’re about to set up a game of Rage Cage, do you guys wanna play?” You asked them.

“Absolutely!” Mina squealed. “Yaomomo, you’ll love Rage Cage, it’s super fun.”

Momo gave you an almost expectant look, which was incredibly cute and you realized she was hoping you would explain the words to her so you did. You filled and placed the cups, announced to everyone that the game was starting, then took your places around the table. Yaomomo stands to your left and you can smell her perfume despite the sweaty teens, alcohol, and weed. 

The game starts and everyone becomes engrossed in bouncing the balls into the cups. When it was Momo’s turn she felt a rush of anxiety and excitement trying to get the ball into the cup. On her third try, it went in and she fist-pumped, cheering as she passed the cup. 

“Nice!” You said, high-fiving her. 

“Thanks!” She giggled.

The game went on and Momo and you had to take a few drinks. Towards the end of the game, there were only a few cups left in the center. When it was Momo’s turn, only the bitch cup remained in the center. 

“You can do it, Yaomomo!” You cheered from her right.

“Go, Yaomomo, go!” Mina cheered from her left. 

She shot once, twice, three times, and missed each time. You both yelped each time the ball began to roll away and you scrambled to get the ball to her when she dropped it. 

The other cup was slowly making its way toward Momo, and if it passed her she would have to drink the bitch cup. She took a short deep breath and focused on her bounce. You watched with anticipation as the ball hit the edge of the cup and then bounced in. 

Momo and you turned to face each other, cheering, and Momo suddenly leaped into your arms, squeezing you in a bear hug. You paused at first, slightly shocked, then quickly hugged her back. She was warm and smelled like jasmine and you silently thanked the dim and crowded party atmosphere for hiding your flushed cheeks. 

Momo released you and you turned your attention back to the game. Momo was filled with adrenaline from playing a drinking game (an essential component of high school parties that she had dreamed of) and slightly buzzed from the drinks she had. She was exhilarated after the stressful game. 

“Hey, wanna do shots?” Mina asked, grabbing her hand. 

“Yes!” Momo responded with a big grin.  

After three shots Mina handed Momo a drink and pulled her over to where people were dancing. She felt warm and loose and she and Mina kept giggling while they were dancing. Momo felt elated and she lost herself in the moment. At some point during their dancing, Mina grabbed Momo’s shoulder and whisper-yelled in her ear. 

“Look at that guy behind me! He’s so hot!” 

Momo scanned until her eyes fell on a boy with red and white hair.

“Yeah, he’s cute. Are you gonna go talk to him?” She asked.

“Yeah, let’s dance our way over there!” Mina exclaimed.

So they gradually pushed their way over to the boy until Mina was looking him directly in the eye. She gave Momo’s hand a squeeze and then yelled “I like your hair!” To the boy. 

Momo continued dancing as she watched them flirt out of the corner of her eye. She rolled her eyes, suddenly feeling self-conscious because her one friend had left her to talk to some boy.. 

Meanwhile, you had been drinking and talking with your friends, who eventually decided they also wanted to dance. As you made your way to the dance floor, your eyes found Mina’s pink hair easily in the crowd, but you didn’t see Momo next to her. Frowning slightly, you scanned the crowd for her, eyes landing on her slightly to the side of where Mina was. She looked a little bit somber, and you wondered why. You watched as she danced, slowly pushing her way through the crowd, probably attempting to escape the gaggle of kids dancing. As she reached the edge of the crowd she caught your eye and smiled, and you smiled back. You both began to approach one another but right before Momo reached you she rolled her ankle slightly and fell right into you.

Her drink spilled all over you and you attempted to catch her. You were able to grab under one of her arms so she didn’t hit the ground too hard. 

“Oh my god, y/n, I’m so sorry, I totally ruined your shirt!” Momo exclaimed, completely embarrassed.

“It’s totally fine, Yaomomo, don’t even worry about it.” You reassured her, helping her stand back up. “Are you okay?”

She nodded aggressively, looked you directly in the eye, and asked, “Would you accompany me to the bathroom?”

“Of course.” You told her. She smiled and grabbed your hand, guiding you both to the bathroom. Her hand was soft and warm and her fingers are long and wrapped tightly around your hand. She has purple nail polish on. You thought about how nice it would feel if she cupped your face with her pretty hands. You wanted her to drag her thumb across your bottom lip. You wondered what her fingers would taste like. 

You reach the bathroom and shake yourself from your thoughts. Based on the party atmosphere, they’d probably taste like sweat and alcohol. Ew… You probably wouldn’t mind the taste if it was her fingers.

Momo pulls you into the bathroom and you turn to shut the door behind you. Momo seats herself on the edge of the bathtub while you walk up to the sink and inspect the stain on your shirt in the mirror. You frown, the stain was basically centered on the front of your shirt. You would have to take it off to wash it. You turn back to tell Momo, who quickly looks at the ground when you face her. Weird.

“Um, I’m gonna take my shirt off to wash it.” You told her.

“Ok, do you want any help?” She asked.

You smiled. “No, that’s okay. I’ll let you know if I do.”

She smiled and nodded, resting her head in her hands. She watched as you turned back to the mirror, and held her breath as she watched you pull your shirt over your head. She could feel her cheeks getting red and hoped she could blame the alcohol. She was definitely drunk. Her head was spinning, and she couldn’t help but slightly rock from side to side; if she didn’t she was sure she would fall asleep. Or vomit. Or both. Plus, it felt fun to sway, she could feel the alcohol moving in her body when she did. Her gaze was locked on you as you scrubbed your shirt in the sink. Were you always this beautiful? She knew you were pretty, sure, but she never put much thought into it. But watching you now, she felt dumbstruck by how simply beautiful you were. Just standing there, washing your shirt, you looked so effortlessly beautiful, so…

“...perfect,” Momo mumbled. Fuck, did she say that out loud?

“Huh?” You said, turning around to look at her.

Momo’s face was bright red, she could feel it. “No-nothing.” She said, trying to give you a convincing smile. She averted her eyes to the ground. She could feel her heart beating faster as self-conscious thoughts swarmed her mind. Why was she staring at you? Why did she let herself get caught? She stared at her hands clasped tightly in her lap. She could feel her stomach churning uncomfortably. 

You noticed she was staring. Was she uncomfortable with you being shirtless? As you turned back to ask her, Momo slipped off the tub and was kneeling in front of the toilet. Oh god. You hurried over behind her, throwing the toilet seat up and sweeping her hair into your hands right as Momo began to vomit. 

“It’s okay, you’re okay…” you cooed, attempting to soothe Momo. You ran your hand over her hair until she stopped heaving.

“Ugh…” Momo groaned as she slumped back and leaned against the bath. You let go of her hair and went to grab a towel for her to wipe her face. 

“How do you feel?” You asked as you handed her the towel and sat down next to her. 

“Crappy.” She responded, lightly snorting. She took the towel from you and slowly dabbed her face. Her cheeks were very red, she was certain of it. Her mother would highly disapprove of her behavior. How could she let herself drink so much? If there was one thing Momo had mastered, it was self-control, due to years of discipline from her family, but tonight Momo felt like almost everything was out of control. She glanced over at you, still shirtless, and she felt her cheeks heat up even more. Dammit! She put her head between her knees to hide the redness. Why was this happening? It’s not like she’d never seen a naked person before. 

You were watching, concerned that Momo’s stomach was still upset and she would need to throw up again. 

“Are you gonna throw up again?” You asked, putting a hand on her back to soothe her. She jumped at your touch, which surprised both of you, and you retracted your hand. You locked eyes with a very clearly embarrassed Momo, and that’s when you realized what was going on. 

Momo barely heard the small ‘oh’ that escaped your lips over the pounding of her heart. She shook her head and you smiled at her.

“Good.” You said. 

“Thank you.” She said, averting her eyes to the floor.

“Of course, I don’t want you to be sick.” You responded matter-of-factly.

“Sorry for spilling alcohol on you.” She continued, still not looking at you. 

“You already said sorry.” You paused, waiting for her to look at you. She didn’t. “You don’t need to apologize again.”

She smiled, finally meeting your eyes again. God, you looked beautiful. She couldn’t stop herself from imagining what it would be like to kiss you right now. Your lips looked plump, soft, perfect. She wanted to feel them on her lips, her face, her neck. 

“Yaomomo?” You asked. She was staring at you again. You smirked as she blushed and looked away. “I know it’s hard to not get caught up in my amazingly good looks.” You joked. 

Momo blushed harder. “W-what? I wasn’t -”

You laughed at her reaction. “You’re so cute.” You told her with a smile. 

“I didn’t mean to stare, I’m sorry-”

“Oh my god, stop apologizing, obviously I don’t mind!” You interrupted her. Does she not realize how beautiful she is? You had no qualms with her looking at you.

“...you don't?” She asked, meeting your eyes.

“Well, not from a beautiful girl like you.” You said with a smirk, reaching out your hand to lightly touch her cheek. Momo’s eyes shifted to the side, registering your touch, before looking back at you. 

Momo didn’t know what to say. Was this really happening? She looked down at your lips and leaned into your hand. Then she looked back at you. Maybe it was the alcohol or the fact that you seemed so comfortable telling her you were attracted to her, but she felt the need to be kissed. And yet, you still weren’t kissing her. You were just sitting there, staring at each other, waiting. 

Frustrated, she asked, “Are you gonna kiss me?”

You laughed. “If that’s okay with you?” You asked with a smirk. 

“Yes.”

And then you kissed her. She tasted like alcohol and bile but you didn’t care. Her lips were soft and plump and they fit perfectly with yours as you kissed her again and again and again. Her hands landed on your shoulders and yours fell to her waist as you pulled her towards you. She pulled away momentarily to straddle your lap before sitting down and resuming your make-out session. Your hands roamed her body and hers hesitantly began to do the same. The high of having her like you back felt glorious.

Suddenly there were a series of loud knocks on the door.

“Are you done in there? I need to pee!” A loud feminine voice called from the other side. 

You and Momo paused and looked at each other. She couldn't help but start giggling. She felt so giddy. You joined her. You were both very very happy. After her laughter subsided, Yaomomo stood up and helped you back up. She watched as you put your shirt back on and you grabbed her hand and pulled her out the door. The girl waiting to pee gave you guys a look that neither of you registered.

“Let’s go find a closet or something.” You told her. She giggled and nodded and you wandered off in search of a place to continue your activities. 

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<3 i hope you all enjoyed! xoxo