Under the Stars!

With their coffee cups in hand, Izuku and Momo sat at the edge of the lawn, bathed in the glow of the stars and moonlight.

Momo took a sip of her coffee as she glanced to her side and quietly observed Izuku, who sat next to her with his eyes closed. A smile spread across her face as she realized how peaceful he appeared at that moment, knowing that Izuku had earned every peaceful minute he could have in his life.

However, at the same time, another feeling began to rise in her heart, growing stronger with each passing moment she observed him. Momo wasn't entirely sure what this feeling was or why Izuku was its source, but one thing she was certain of was that the feeling wasn't unpleasant. Instead, it felt quite warm and welcoming.

At that moment, Momo's attention was caught by the sound of a ticking clock. "The night always seems to move at a snail's pace," she remarked in a quiet, gentle voice. "I can hear every single tick of the clock."

Izuku chuckled under his breath and opened his eyes, glancing over at Momo. "Isn't it amazing?" he asked with a grin. "Can you hear anything like this during the day?" he continued, while Momo shook her head with a smile.

Then Momo heard another sound, this time it sounded like metal clashing on metal. "Izuku, did you hear that?" she asked.

Izuku closed his eyes and concentrated on the sound. "Oh, that must be the sound of an ongoing movie," Izuku suggested. "Maybe some other class is having a movie night at their dorms," he said as he once again started concentrating on that sound. "Sounds like a battle movie."

'I am inevitable...'

"Infinity War?" Momo suggested, but Izuku shook his head.

'And I...am...'

The realization hit them simultaneously, and they exchanged smiles. ""Iron Man,"" they said together, mimicking the dialogue and snapping their fingers in unison. Then they shared a laugh together and high-fived each other.

"See, it would have been impossible for you to hear the sound of the television from another dorm during the day," Izuku remarked with a smirk, glancing at Momo, who nodded in agreement with a smile. "This is just the beginning, you know. Soon, you'll be able to pick up a variety of sounds, like the chirping of crickets, the barking of dogs, and even the sound of vehicles zooming by. These are sounds that often get lost in the chaos of daytime."

"So you stay up all night just to hear these sounds?" Momo asked, shaking her head with an amused smile. "Honestly, I think I would prefer my sleep over this."

"You are only saying this because you haven't experienced the magic of staying up on rainy nights," Izuku remarked, glancing at her with a dreamy, nostalgic smile. "The sound of rain is so calming and peaceful, you know? I love sitting here, like I am now, and feeling the cool droplets fall onto my hands," he continued, lost in his memories of rainy nights.

"Momo, have you ever experienced this before?" Izuku asked, turning his gaze towards her. "Most of the world is sleeping right now, and we are watching that sleeping world," he added, with an enthralled voice.

"Now that you've said it, I can see the appeal of this," Momo said as she took the last sip of her coffee. "And I can also see the appeal of seeing this side of you," she smiled at him. "I'm truly surprised that we've never had a conversation like this despite knowing each other for so long."

"That's because we have this blast of communication around us all the time, making it hard to connect with yourself on a personal level, let alone others. You only get that range at night," he said, leaning back against the door. "That's why I feel peaceful surrounded by these normally forgettable sounds."

After that, Momo and Izuku sat there, enjoying the gentle night breeze as a comfortable silence fell between them.

Now that Momo was alone with her thoughts, the bitter memories of her childhood started resurfacing in her mind. Usually, she would push them away like always, but this time, something inside her urged her to open up to her companion. A voice in her heart told her that it was safe to share her feelings with him... it told her that she could trust him, even if it was only for one night.

"During one of our family summer vacations, we went to England," Momo began, catching Izuku's attention. "There the sun would stay out for most of the day, and even at 10 o'clock at night, the sky was still bright," she laughed and glanced over at him. "My parents used to urge me to go to bed, but I always used to ask, 'Why? The sun is still up, isn't it?'"

Momo's voice took on a bitter tone as she continued. "They had parties to attend, na," a hint of resentment seeped into her words. "They would make me go to sleep and then they would leave for their parties," she let out a sarcastic chuckle at the memory. "And after that, I..." She stopped mid-sentence, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath to collect herself.

"Izuku, how relative is all of this, right? Day, Night... Mom, Dad's love," Momo let out another heavy sigh, while Izuku frowned at her words. "I don't understand, why even birth a child if you don't even want to raise it?" A bitter laugh escaped her lips as tears welled up in her eyes. "Oh, silly me... They needed an heir for their empire, didn't they?... of course, an heir is needed."

Izuku stared at her intently for a couple of minutes, gathering his thoughts before speaking. "Momo, why are you talking like that?" he asked. "Even your parents have their own life, right?" Momo's eyes narrowed at him, ready to argue, but Izuku raised his hand to stop her. "Momo, you left your luxury-filled life because you wanted to achieve your dream... you left because you wanted your own space, to do things how you wanted to do them. So by that logic, won't your parents want something similar for themselves as well... their own space?"

Momo kept her piercing gaze on Izuku for a moment before she sighed, closed her eyes, and leaned back against the door, muttering, "Maybe, that might be the case... maybe..."

"Momo..." Izuku said in a quiet voice. "Trust me, I am not trying to defend or justify what your parents did," he took her hand in his and gave it a little squeeze. "Listen, I'm not going to pretend that I know your parents or what it's like to live your life, but sometimes things aren't exactly as they seem, and I don't want you to do or say something to your family that you will regret."

"It's okay, I get it, and thank you for your concern, by the way," Momo smiled at him.

Honestly, a part of her wanted to just rip into Izuku for trying to rationalize her parents' actions; however, the other part of her knew that what he was saying was not totally wrong. After all, despite all the grievances and disputes, she still loved her mother and father and still wanted them in her life, just not controlling it.

Once again, the air grew thick with silence until Izuku decided to break it.

"Well, in my case, I spent most of my summers camping on the roof of our apartment building, watching the stars," Izuku began, telling his own story. "My mom had brought me a telescope since she felt bad for not being able to afford to take me anywhere. I think that's where my love for nights came from," Izuku looked at her and noticed that she was smiling while paying attention to him. "After observing enough planets and stars, I would just lay there on the roof, watching the night sky with my bare eyes, not thinking about anything at all."

"And you know, sometimes I could even spot a shooting star," Izuku said with childlike excitement in his voice. "Have you ever seen a shooting star before?"

"Yeah, I have... it was wonderful," she replied with a small, gentle smile. "Have you ever wished for something?"

"I have, and I'm pretty sure I don't need to tell you what little me would have asked for," Izuku said, while Momo nodded with a strained smile. "What about you? What did you ask for?"

"I don't remember," Momo said with a faint blush on her cheeks, however, sighed when she saw a deadpan expression on Izuku's face. "Fine, but promise me you won't laugh at me," she narrowed her eyes at him.

Once Izuku promised that he wouldn't laugh, Momo continued, "I... had wished for wings, to fly in the sky," she smiled with a faraway look in her eyes. "I used to think that the star fairy would listen to my wish and then grant a lonely girl like me wings to fly to freedom," she said, chuckling along with Izuku. "I know, I know, I used to watch too many Disney movies as a child. But still, back then, I thought maybe a miracle would happen and change my life, just like it used to happen in those movies," she let out another chuckle. "Now I have accepted that life is not a movie and there are no fairies that magically solve your problems."

"Well, I don't know about fairies, but I think that your life is not any less dramatic than a movie. In fact, I think you can easily make a movie out of your life," Izuku said. "I mean, think about it. You, Momo Yaoyorozu, the incredibly smart and beautiful heir to the Yaoyorozu corporation, left the luxury and safety of your home to become a Hero, one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, and face real villains in the very first week of school."

"After that, your loss of confidence due to poor performance at the Sports Festival, and despite that, you scored an internship with Midnight, one of the most controversial figures in the Hero world," Izuku continued. "Then you started regaining your confidence with each strange thing that happened during our first year at U.A. Then you fought in a war and lived to tell your tale. And now you are sitting here with me."

"So tell me, Momo, can your life get any more movie-like than this?" Izuku asked, grinning at her.

"Hmm... I think I should patent the rights of life," she responded, mirroring his grin as they shared a laugh together.

"You know, Momo, I'm glad that your eyes didn't tear up when I reminded you of all those terrible things that happened to us," Izuku sighed with a smile. "In fact, you smiled... that's the magic of night."

"Yeah, Izuku, I get it, okay," Momo said, shaking her head with an amused smile.

Izuku chuckled at the reaction, but then an idea flashed in his mind as he got up on his feet.

"Come on, Momo, let's go," Izuku said.

"Where?" Momo asked, arching her brow.

"Flying, of course," Izuku nonchalantly replied.

"Now?" Momo asked. "And how am I going to fly?"

"Float and Blackwhip," Izuku replied with a shrug as if those two words explained everything.

"But we can't just leave the school premises like that!" Momo argued.

"We can if we return before anyone realizes that we are gone," Izuku pointed out with a sly smile across his face.

"But it's not safe going out at this hour," Momo weakly protested.

"Momo, I am the strongest person in the nation right now," Izuku said, giving a deadpan expression. "Besides, we both know that you don't even need me to protect you."

"But-"

"Momo, if you want to sit here, then keep doing so, or better yet, you can even go to bed if you want. But I am not staying here anymore," he said and started walking away.

"Wait!" Momo called out to him as Izuku stopped and turned around. "I am coming too."

Izuku grinned and offered her his hand. "Well then, Princess Momo, let me show you the wonders of the sky."

To be continued...