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Momo Kisaragi had all the elements that made up a perfect hug pillow. She was just that little bit squishy around the sides, squishy around the front, her skin was impossibly smooth and her hair was soft. To Kido, she was the perfect height as well - she could easily fit under the elder girl's chin without an awkward distance or them bumping heads, and she always smelled a distinct sweet scent (not that she had been paying attention, of course) that implied a certain excitement and energy.
The only problem with this hug pillow arrangement was that a) Kido didn't want to seem like a clingy creep asking for hugs all the time, and b) She rarely had an excuse to earn a hug from the girl, anyway. It wasn't even that Momo wasn't affectionate - on the contrary, she was affectionate to a fault - but Momo wasn't exactly jumping at the chance to hug someone who stiffened noticeably every time she tried.
Kido really didn't mean for it to happen, but she supposed it was her body's natural instinct to reject casual displays of affection. It must've been a change that happened once she had vowed to herself to stop acting like she used to (she was a girl, yes, but she wasn't going to be a lady anymore) and that of course meant no mutual hugs.
Accidents were okay. Say, she accidentally fell on Kisaragi or caught the girl when she was falling. That was okay.
It was a terrible way of thinking, but that's how she convinced herself not to grab the idol at every given moment. As if watching everyone else fawn over Momo wasn't bad enough.
"Hey Leader," Momo popped her head into the kitchen suddenly, quietly interrupting her thoughts. Kido jumped. She had forgotten about having given the other members a spare key. She turned to face the welcome intruder, who was lingering in the doorway. Her side ponytail was still swinging from her sudden movements. "You the only one here tonight?"
"For now." Kido sighed, swivelling back around and letting some butter sizzle in the pan. "Seto and Kano will be back soon, probably, but I don't know where Mary could've wandered off to."
The idol smiled brightly, inching over to the stove top. "Ah, I saw Mary earlier. She was reading in the book store a couple blocks down."
"Oh, there's a store down there?"
"Yeah, it's pretty new!" Momo hummed thoughtfully. "You might be needing a new bookshelf soon too. Mary's found another series she likes."
Kido shook her head good naturedly. "And I thought after all those books Seto made us haul here that was all she needed to read."
"Never!" The idol laughed, stepping closer again and peering at the pan of melting butter. "Well, I don't really read, but I guess if she's happy then I'm happy!"
"Yes, that would be ri-" As she moved to place ingredients in the pan, Kido felt a sudden embrace from behind, as Momo snaked her arms around her waist and pulled her backwards. Instead of losing her balance, Kido just shuffled backwards awkwardly, feet dragging across the ground. "W-what are you doing?"
Momo giggled cheekily, "I wanted to see if you were ticklish, but my arms just thought, 'Hey, surprise hug!' so I went with that instead."
"..."
At her lack of response, the idol's brows furrowed in concern. "Uh, you okay there, Leader? I know you don't like hugs, but you've got to give me this one, come on. I haven't hugged anyone but Hibiya in ages, and I think he hates me now, pfft."
"It's not-" Feeling the hold loosen and the arms slip away, Kido quickly grasped them, clutching Momo's firm hands. The girl in turn blinked curiously, confused. She then nodded, giving Kido the indication to continue. "It's not that I don't like hugs."
"Oh, it's not?" There was a teasing tone to Momo's voice, that Kido was quick to disregard.
"No!" She insisted, "It's not."
The younger quickly seized the opportunity to pull Kido in for a tighter hug, twirling the Dan Leader around so they were in a proper embrace. Chest-to-chest, with the idol snug against the crook of her neck. Kido flushed slightly, but couldn't move to pull her hood over her head in time to hide it.
Momo swayed with her, something akin to a dance. "Could it be that you secretly love hugs, Leader?"
"Well, it could be something like t-that." Kido answered, trying to maintain her composure. "The uh, the butter's burning, so I'll need to get back to cooking-"
"So tell me, then. Do you like my hugs?"
There was a brief pause. "Why do you ask?"
"Everyone except Mary always runs away from my hugs." Momo frowned childishly, nuzzling into Kido's neck. "Including you."
"I'm sure they have their reasons." Kido assured her, fingers hesitantly reaching up to pat the younger girl on the head.
"Then what are yours?"
"Pardon?"
"Your reasons, silly." Momo leaned back a little, keen eyes trained to Kido's own. She could have sworn the idol was using her power in that instance - how else would she not have been able to turn away? Now that wasn't fair at all.
Kido coughed, tensing up. "I don't really have any reasons, but it's not like your hugs are bad or anything. It's just..."
"It's just...?" Momo's lips turned up into a sly smile. "Do you think hugs are uncool? Is hugging too uncool for the coolness that is Kido-danchou?"
"I-it's not that I-your- your hugs are-"
"Mhm?"
Kido felt her face heat up as she sighed in resignation. Murmuring softly, she admitted, "I love your hugs the most."
"Eh?" Momo gasped.
"Eh?" Kido echoed, hiding her face in the other's shoulder.
"Oh, you're just a big adorable teddy bear, aren't you?" Momo grinned, "It's okay! You're still the coolest; but man, you should've told me earlier! Say it again!"
"Be quiet. Who are you calling adorable?" She mumbled in embarrassment, "And I'm not saying that again..."
Momo lifted her up and padded out of the kitchen despite her feeble protests - having surprising strength for an entertainer. "Okay! Then I am kidnapping you for some well-earned cuddles until you say it again!"
"Wait, Kisaragi, I need to-"
"Nope, I will smother you with hugs!" She declared cheerfully, "The butter already died back there, so don't worry about it."
"But dinner-"
"Comes later, thank you very much."
At Momo's earnest look, Kido figured she could leave dinner for a little while longer. Consider it compensation for all the hugs she had to refrain from; a difficult yet practicalexercis of self-control. It would be weeks to come before her thoughts skirted to thoughts of actually kissing the idol, and going any further -
She jerked abruptly when cold fingers snuck under her hoodie and brushed her sides.
"Lost in thought again, huh?" Momo, forever the culprit, only continued as Kido stammered helplessly.
"W-what are you doing?!"
Kido couldn't help the girlish giggle that escaped her throat. The sensation on her sensitive skin was too much.
"Hey, so you really are ticklish! That's so cute!"
Momo laughed as Kido squirmed even more, unable to keep the blush from spreading over her face at the words.
"Don't call me cute...!"