Work Text:
Momo tried not to make it a habit, singing in the shower that is. Especially at night when the other girls in the dorm pod were asleep. The walls were really thin and easy to hear through, so she usually would just shower silently and get back to bed. But as the semester passed, she learned that there was always one time during the week, Thursday afternoons to be specific, when absolutely everyone was gone. The girls across the hall would be at soccer practice, the girls next door would be in class, and the girls upstairs that weren’t in class or sports were usually buried in books in the library.
So she took it as a sign from the universe that yes, for twenty minutes she can sing her heart out along to whatever terrible pop song was popular that week while the hot water ran over her skin and washed away her worries and sweat from constant dancing.
It had been a great habit; no one ever bugged her because no one was there and she didn’t have to worry about making anyone uncomfortable or upset with how loud she felt like singing that day.
Naturally, her routine manages to get ruined by her lack of observation.
She’s in the shower, singing her heart away to Finesse by Bruno Mars, when she hears the door to the communal bathroom fly open.
“Are you for real?” A voice comes, and Momo already feels terrible without even looking at the girl’s face. She pokes her head out as the girl continues ranting. “I get that your voice is great and all, but I feel like shit and I’m trying to-oh my god.”
Momo’s brows furrow when she sees the girl. Tzuyu, if she remembers her name right from orientation. The girl’s face is flushed and she’s just.. gaping at Momo. The Japanese girl tilts her head slightly waiting for her to keep yelling at her, but it never comes. Tzuyu just keeps opening and closing her mouth as she tries to find the words to say, before settling with, “Just.. just keep it down, okay?”
“Y-yeah of course, I’m sorry,” Momo stutters, keeping her body covered by the shower curtain. Tzuyu blushes again, shaking her head as she turns towards the door.
“It’s fine, I’m sorry for snapping,” she mutters before leaving the bathroom, and by extension Momo. The Japanese girl’s brows furrow once she’s gone, wondering why Tzuyu had been so angry and then suddenly so nervous, before shrugging and going back to her shower, this time singing at a much softer volume.
-
Perks of her resident assistant, Jihyo, Momo learns where Tzuyu’s room is. Coincidentally, it’s right next to her own, which makes Momo feel worse for disturbing the girl. She could hear her coughing like she’s dying all night through their thin walls, and now that she knows it was her all she wants to do is something to help.
So she runs up to the store, buys some soup and some basic medicine for the girl, before heading back to her room. After cooking the soup and gathering the courage to actually go over there (and reheating the soup because she took too long), she finds herself knocking on the door to Tzuyu’s room.
The other girl opens the door, her room shrouded in darkness, save for the light from her TV, and her body covered by a baggy hoodie with the hood thrown over her head. She blushes the moment her eyes land on Momo, looking anywhere but the Japanese girl as she asks, “Did you need something?”
Momo is shaken from her thoughts of how awfully sick the girl looks by her words, gently thrusting the soup into Tzuyu’s direction. “I-I felt bad for the other day and I could hear you coughing all night, so I-I made you some soup.”
Tzuyu’s gaze softens as she looks at the soup in Momo’s hands, takes it into her own hands with a small smile. “Thank you.. you didn’t have to do this for me.”
Momo gasps as she remembers the other item in her pocket, tugging the box of medicine out and thrusting it into Tzuyu’s direction as well. “I also got this! T-To help with the coughing and.. stuff..” She loses her courage at the direct eye contact from Tzuyu, shrinking under her gaze as she takes the medicine from her.
There’s a brief period of silence, Tzuyu looking between her dark room and Momo before she asks, “Do you maybe wanna.. come inside? I’m just watching Sailor Moon to distract from how shitty I feel but.. I wouldn’t mind the company.”
Now it’s Momo’s turn to blush, because since when is it her luck that a cute girl is inviting her into her room? Her immediate response is to shake her head, but Tzuyu is quicker than her. “Please? You can leave after one episode if you’re bored, I promise.”
Momo doesn’t have the courage to tell Tzuyu that she couldn’t possibly get bored because she loves that show, so she just nods with a small smile on her lips. Tzuyu matches it, standing aside so that Momo can enter the room, and the Japanese girl wonders if she and Tzuyu can become friends.
-
A month later, she’s in the shower singing at the top of her lungs to The Middle by Zedd under the hot water like she always does. Only this time there’s a chuckle from behind her and soft arms sliding around her waist, followed by a gentle, melodious voice filling her chest with happiness. She stops singing briefly to turn in Tzuyu’s arms, leaning up to plant a soft kiss to the taller girl’s lips that barely works because she’s smiling too hard.
She’ll sing as loud as she has to if it means Tzuyu sings with her.