Archive of Our Own ^beta

It was after everyone returned from Shimane. After suffering all those injuries, Seiko had to stay in hospital for several weeks. The day she was admitted to the hospital, Okarun was the one to walk Momo and Vamola home after visiting hours ended. Momo was a wreck, seeing Granny in such a vulnerable state, despite Seiko laughing it off - as much as her broken ribs allowed her - and reassuring the kids that she'll be just fine. Momo didn't say a word on the way home, but it hit the worst when they arrived. The house was awfully quiet without Granny. 

"Do you want to take a bath first, Momo?" Vamola asked, having no better idea what to say. 

Her adoptive sister shook her head with an empty stare. Vamola hugged her.

"Granny is strong, she'll be healthy again soon!" Vamola has been through a war, she knew how truly powerful women like Seiko won't be defeated. Not by mere broken ribs, anyways. But she understood Momo's feelings very well. She also knew how it is to think you can lose your mother figure. 

Momo sniffed, but didn't want to break down in front of Vamola and she seemingly noticed that. "Takakura, will you stay with Momo?" She looked at him, noticing his gaze being just as worried as she herself felt.

"Of course, Vamola-san, go ahead and take a bath. I'll stay as long as you both need me to."

The alien girl nodded, squeezed Momo one more time and disappeared towards the bathroom.

"Ayase-san, do you want to sit in the living room or go upstairs?" He asked hesitantly. 

Without saying a word, Momo just crashed down at the bottom of the staircase, burying her face in her hands. Okarun sat beside her, gently patting her back.

"It will be all right," he said.

Momo lifted her head, silent tears flowing down her cheeks as she looked at him. Okarun's heart sank and he couldn't help but pull her into a hug in hopes of comforting her. Momo clung onto his hoodie on his back and started wailing. They were long past any boundaries or insecurities that would've stopped her from doing so.

When they first saw each other after she became her normal size again, she confessed her love to Okarun, and when they could finally have a private moment just the two of them, she even kissed him. They didn't necessarily put a label on this entire thing - they didn't really have the time and place for it - but something definitely shifted between them. It felt comfortable, it felt secure. Safe enough for Momo to completely break down in his arms and cry her heart out for long, long minutes while Okarun drew idle circles on her back to comfort her. 

"It was my fault," she sobbed. "She stayed behind to let me escape and she-," her voice broke, giving way to tears again.

"She protected you because she loves you. That's how a family is. Seiko-san is hard to break, she'll heal in no time and things will be back to normal," he continued caressing her back. 

"She's just a grandma...," she sniffed. 

"Yeah, a wicked strong one," Okarun chuckled. 

Momo's feelings were all over the place. She was so worried about Granny and she was so grateful for Okarun being by her side. She wanted to feel his closeness, his warmth. He gave her stability, he made her feel safe. Somehow he made her believe that everything will be all right eventually. She needed him so bad to be close. To be enveloped by his warmth. To be safe in his arms. She wanted to cling onto him desperately. As if her body moved by itself, she grabbed his shoulders from behind, lifted her head and crashed her lips with his. 

Her kiss was wet and salty from her tears. Okarun's body tensed. This was the second time they ever kissed and it felt wrong. He felt so guilty accepting it, that he gently pushed her back after a few seconds.

"Ayase-san, maybe you shouldn't... You're so vulnerable right now." He felt like if he lets her do any of this, he'd be exploiting her, even if she was the one initiating. Because... sure, he couldn't be happier that she kissed him again. But now wasn't the time. Not when she's so devastated. 

"I know you wouldn't hurt me... I just... wanted to feel that you're here," she uttered in a shaky voice. 

"I'm not going anywhere, Ayase-san. I'll be by your side however long you need me. I won't let you go, if you don't force me either," he hugged her close again. The feeling of being forcibly separated from her while in the cursed trunk still lingered inside him. In no way was he letting her go. 

"I know... Thank you," she nuzzled into his shoulder. "I'm sorry, I was weird for kissing you. I feel like a mess now."

"You're not weird," he mumbled against her hair. 

They sat there in silence for god knows how long, basking in the other's warmth and presence, listening to the sound of each other's slow breaths and heartbeats. Nothing more was needed.

After a while they heard the bathroom door opening at the other side of the house, then rustling and slowly approaching steps from the corridor. "Momo?" Vamola peeked over the handrails of the stairs. "I'm done, you should take a bath, too." 

Momo let out a sigh she didn't know she was holding. "You're right. Thank you, Vamola," then she looked at Okarun. "You promise you won't go anywhere?" 

"I promise. No further than the living room," he looked at her with a gentle gaze. 

With that, Momo made her way to the bathroom. Somehow the act of taking off her clothes, folding them, sitting on the small stool in front of the mirror, then scrubbing down her body before the bath felt weirdly ceremonial but also calming. Concentrating on these mechanical moves and nothing else made her feel at ease. After being done with the shower, Momo finally sank into the tub. The water was still hot and had the faint scent of lavender. Vamola must have put it in there for her, she chuckled to herself. She was really grateful to be able to rely not only on Okarun, but her, too. Granny will be alright. She must be. Because it can't happen in any other way. 

After a good half an hour of soaking, she decided she was done. Her heart swelled when she saw her roomwear waiting for her in the dressing room - it must have been Vamola, too. She didn't even hear the door opening while she was inside. Momo put the clothes on and rushed outside to thank her for everything, but there was only one person waiting for her in the living room. 

"Okarun? Where's Vamola?"

"She went to sleep, she seemed exhausted."

"Oh, I see. I hope she can rest well. She didn't have it easy either," she sighed. Vamola ran around and fought a lot, too. Just like them, she barely had the time to recover. What snapped her out of her thoughts was when she noticed Okarun taking a long look at her. 

"You look like you're feeling better. Are you?" He asked. 

"I am, but my body feels kinda weak. Can you help me go upstairs...?" She fidgeted with her hair. Momo wasn't lying. Her entire body felt way too heavy to move, but she was also very aware how this request could be taken by him. 

"Yes, of course," he responded without hesitation. He took her right hand in his own, put his other hand on her back and let her lean on him on the way to her room. But when they eventually reached her bed, instead of laying down, she unexpectedly hugged Okarun.

"Thank you for letting me cry and for staying," she buried her face into his neck. Okarun felt a blush creeping up his face, but hugged her back.

"It's nothing. I already said I'm here for you and I meant it." 

After a few heartbeats, Momo let him go, sat down and reached out for his hand to pull him towards herself. And to the surprise of both of them, Okarun let his body move like it wanted to, so they both ended up laying on her bed, facing each other, eyes locked, fingers intertwined. Momo slowly scooted closer to him, but eventually stopped when their noses touched. She looked calmer, her eyes spoke of exhaustion and something else he couldn't really put a finger on. 

"I'm sorry I kept you waiting for so long," she said. 

"I didn't even expect an answer, I just needed you to know."

"You deserved one, though," she answered, then suddenly closed the distance between them, locking her lips with his. Okarun's breath hitched and his body tensed up. He was still unsure if all of this was okay. 

"Ayase-san...?"

"I know... I'm okay now... Please, let me...?"

Okarun nodded, then her lips were on his again. He could still hardly wrap his head around the fact that Momo was indeed kissing him. How close she was to him, how her soft lips found his again. Then again. And again. Her kisses were becoming more and more open mouthed and he eased into it, eventually feeling her tongue touching his own and gently brushing along it. He mirrored her moves, while cupping her face with one hand. He imagined kissing her like this before, but he wouldn't have thought it would feel like this. Warm, soft, gentle and so intimate. Something honest and raw. Something still without a label. Something maybe not needing a label anymore. Was this even allowed? 

Screw it.

Something just snapped in both of them, their pent up feelings finally truly burst. Okarun forcefully threaded his fingers in her hair - still careful not to hurt her - to be able to pull her closer. Momo's hands, that were on his back, grabbed fistfuls of his hoodie, drawing him towards herself in hopes to close whatever little distance was left between them. Their kiss grew longing, a little bit greedy and seemingly endless. Since the entire Shimane ordeal, this was the first time they could really have some privacy. No rush, no interruptions, no threat. Just pure closeness and nothing else. 

"Ayase-san," he mumbled against her lips, his eyes still closed. 

"Yes?" Momo also didn't open hers. 

"Nothing, I just wanted to say your name," then he kissed away anything she could've answered. 

Momo was caught off guard and she loved it. She loved how forward Okarun was, she loved that he clung onto her just as desperately as she did onto him and how he was still so gentle with her. It felt so right, like they were always meant to be. 

"Okarun..."

"Hm?" 

"I wanted to say yours, too," then she sealed his lips with hers again. Nothing more was needed that night.