Work Text
“what's a soulmate?” sana ponders the question. momo had asked it out of nowhere and she wondered where it came from but momo always asked bizarre questions. "me and you. duh!" sana laughed as she bumped their shoulders together. "well yes but like what is a soulmate?" the other japanese asked. sana sat down her phone and faced her best friend. “it's like a best friend but more. it's the one person in the world who knows you better than anyone else." momo and sana were in the eighth grade when momo got in her first fight. the girl had been talking bad about sana and momo figured she'd be one horrible best friend if she let this continue. "yah, what the fuck is your issue with sana?" she confronts sana bully, chanri, with anger burning in her eyes. sana was pulling on her arm, begging her to stop. "momo please. i'm okay,” sana whispered and momo shook her head and glared at chanri. "minatozaki can't fight her own battles? has to have her scrawny ugly friend do it for her?" she taunted. not being quick enough, chanri couldn’t dodge the flying fist that was sent her way. she fell to the floor, blood leaking out of her nose, and tears falling from her eyes. sana’s eyes blown wide while momo's the absolute opposite, put into slits as she stares down sana's bully. "this scrawny ugly friend just knocked your ass out. and i'll do it again if you ever say another word about or towards sana,” momo spat before grabbing sana's hand and pulling her away from the scene. "momo,” sana mumbled but the older girl didn't answer, only continuing to pull her. her grip on sana's wrist was loose though, giving the girl the opportunity to pull away. she eventually linked their hands and interlaced their fingers. "momo, stop,” sana said and tugged on her best friend's hand. momo stopped in place and let sana step in front of her, meeting her eyes. "why'd you do that?" the younger japanese asked, linking their free hands together. thirteen year old momo stayed quiet, putting her head down. sana pouted at the silence she received and tugged momo's hand again. "why?" she asked again and momo sniffled. "she was hurting you, sana. i knew she was hurting your feelings with the mean things she was saying. you pretended like you didn't care and to everyone else, it seemed like you didn't. but i'm your best friend. i know everything about you. i know you better than anyone else, satang. you didn't want me to hit her but when i did, i knew you were happy." “that someone who makes you a better person. no, actually they don't make you a better person. you do that by yourself because they inspire you.” momo and sana were in the tenth grade when momo first broke her wrist from playing basketball. "let's go momo, you got it!" a voice shouted through the crowd. momo turned from her spot on the court and spotted sana in the mix of people with a sign that reads "#5 on the court, #1 in my heart" and a shirt that says "momo's #1 fan!" she smiles at her best friend, gives her a thumbs up and blows her a kiss. sana pretends to catch it puts it into her mouth, giving momo a sweet smile afterwards. momo catches the ball and dibbles up the court. "shortstop! shortstop!" she calls out to her players as they get into position. she throws it the left wing before faking out and cutting in towards the basket. she catches the ball from her teammate and drives to the goal. momo is then pushed hard from behind and lands on the floor, using her hands to break her fall. groans sound through the crowd as she hits the floor. she feels a sharp pain shoot through her left wrist and she immediately curls her left arm into her body as she yelps in pain. sana's heart drops as she pushes through the crowd and rushes to her best friend. "momo!" she calls out as she kneels down next to the girl. tears are flowing out of momo's eyes as she cradles her arm. "it hurts! it hurts!" she cries in her native language. the trainer from her school then surrounds her, pushing sana back. "give her space,” she says. momo is still crying as she sits up and lets the doctor inspect her wrist. she flinches at the lightest touch on her wrist, pain flowing through her arm every time. "i think it's broken. let's get you to the hospital,” the trainer spoke. sana immediately rushes over and helps momo stand up, wrapping an arm around her neck. they're walking off the court until one of the players from the other team says something. "serves you right, bitch,” she says and laughs with her teammate. sana is quick to pull away and push the girl. "watch your fucking mouth,” she says before she's being pulled away. "leave it sana. it's useless,” momo whispers in her ear. sana glares at her one last time before helping momo walk out of the gym. weeks later and momo's left wrist is wrapped in a red cast. she had broken it, as suspected, and was needed to be in a cast for eight weeks or more, depending on how fast she heals. she and sana were taking a walk down the street, fingers interlaced as they held hands. "i can't wait to get back on the court,” momo says suddenly and sana looks down at her. "i know, momoring. you say it everyday,” she laughs and knocks their heads together. "i know, i know. i‘m kind of scared. what if it isn't the same?" she asks and sana scoffs in disbelief. "i wouldn't let that happen. basketball is your passion momo. you can't let one injury get you down,” sana encourages and momo gives her a genuine smile, her pearly white teeth on clear display. "you know i love you right?" she asked. sana places her lips on momo's forehead for a few seconds before pulling away. "of course i do." “a soulmate is someone you carry with you forever.” momo and sana were in the first grade when they first met. momo walked into her classroom with her peach designed book bag on her back. her family had just moved to korea due to job issues in japan and she was nervous. she looked around, her ears picking up on the foreign language that she was soon to learn. her teacher, mrs. kwon, greeted her in very basic korean that momo knew. she then directed momo to her seat, next to a brunette haired girl. momo bowed slightly before sitting down and taking her items out of her bag. "hi! i'm sana. who are you?" momo's seat mate asked. the small girl turned around and gave sana her biggest smile. "i'm momo! i was born in japan and my family just moved here. my korean isn't very good but i'm learning,” she explained and sana gasped before putting her hand over her mouth. "you're japanese?" she asked, switching to her native language. momo's eyes widened, not expecting sana to have the same background as her. "yes i am. you're japanese too? we have to be bestest friends now,” momo stated and sana nodded quickly. "bestest friends forever!" she said and held out her pinky. momo locked her pinky with sana's and they gave each other a huge smile. “it's one person who knew you, accepted you and believed in you before anyone else did or when no one else would.” momo and sana were in the eleventh grade when they came out to each other. sana was scared. she hasn’t seen momo like this since ninth grade. momo was never one to be too serious. something about the girl was always playful no matter the situation but now, she wouldn't even crack a smile. "momo what's up? you okay?" sana asked as she sat down on her best friend's bed. momo fiddled with her fingers, a clear sign that she was nervous. "i- sana i have to tell you something. and this something could make or break our friendship, hopefully not the latter,” she said and sana got up and stood in front of momo. "you think i'd end this friendship? did you forget what i said in mrs. kwon's class? bestest friends forever,” she said quietly before lifting her pinky. momo locked their pinkies before closing her eyes. "i'm gay." the silence that followed didn't sit well in momo's stomach. she was afraid to open her eyes, afraid that she'd see a look of disgust plastered on sana's face. "look at me, momo,” sana whispered. the older girl opened her eyes and was met with a neutral faced sana. "you think i'd end this friendship cause you're gay? because you like girls? momo, i'd be one hell of an idiot if i did that." momo raised an eyebrow as her eyes searched sana's face for any trace of a lie but she couldn't find any. "you're okay with me liking girls? it doesn't make you uncomfortable?" she questioned and sana flicked her head, causing momo to rub the spot and groan in pain. "it's you, momo! you liking girls would never make me uncomfortable. i could never be hate you for who you are. we've been best friends for eleven years. this doesn't make me love you any less. besides, i'm gay too,” sana announced. momo furrowed her eyebrow, "sorry, come again. what?" sana giggled and tucked a piece of momo's hair behind her ear. "i'm gay too, momoring. i planned on telling you soon but you beat me to the spot,” she pouted. momo let out an airy laugh before engulfing her best friend in a hug. “and no matters what happens, you'll always love them and nothing could ever change that.” momo and sana were in their sophomore year of college when sana had to go back to japan. "no,” was all momo could say before she broke down in tears. "you can't leave me, sana,” she cried. sana's body also racked with sobs as she hugged momo tightly. "i don't have a choice, momo. i have to go back,” she explained and momo shook her head. "what happened to staying together forever? bestest friends forever?" she asked, soaking sana's shirt with tears. "we'll still be best friends, momoring. nothing will change that,” sana said, squeezing momo tightly in an embrace. they stayed like that, crying in each other's arms. they were going to be separated for the first time in thirteen years. they didn't know how they were going to cope with this. this was new to them. "i'll be back,” she whispered in momo's ear and kissed her cheek, lips getting wet with tears. momo cried harder, getting impossibly closer with sana. "i'll go with you,” she said quietly and sana immediately shook her head. "absolutely not. momo you have a scholarship here. you can't give that up for me,” she said, bewildered. "i'd do anything for you, sana. you know this,” momo said into her shoulder and sana could only continue to shake her head. "no. you're not going with me. i'd feel entirely too guilty if you were to give up your scholarship for something so stupid. besides, i'm coming back. you can't leave everything and come back to nothing." "you are everything. what don't you get? you're everything to me. i'd jump in front of a fucking train if it meant saving you, sana. i'd do anything for you,” momo said, raising her voice slightly as she pulled away. she immediately quieted down, realizing how loud she was getting. "i'm sorry, i didn't mean to yell. i just want you to realize how important you are to me,” the older girl whispered and hung her head. sana's grabbed both sides of her face and lifted it, looking into her eyes. "you're important to me too. so important that i can't let you put down a scholarship for me. i can't bring myself to do that, to let you do that,” sana spoke. momo's eyes searched her face, not ready to face the truth. sana was right. no matter how much she wanted to deny it, how much she tried to deny it, she just couldn't. "i'm just gonna miss you. i don't know what i'm gonna do without you,” momo mumbled and sana only sighed. she moved some of the hair out of momo's face and tucked it behind her ear. "it doesn't matter. we'll still be the bestest friends forever." sana held out her pinky and momo immediately connected them and pulled sana into a hug, their locked fingers between them. "i love you, sana-chan." "i love you too." “that's what a soulmate is.” momo looked at sana with a wide smile. "you know, when you came back to korea i couldn't have been happier," momo said after the long silence that followed behind sana's speech. "three years without you was a fucking pain sana. even though we did facetime, i missed you being with me physically,” she finished and played with the ring on sana's hand. "i know it took a while and i'm really sorry for that. i didn't mean to make you wait that long,” sana apologized and kissed momo's forehead. "although, coming back to you proposing to me shocked me. i didn't expect it,” sana laughed and momo tucked her face in sana's neck. "well i was going to ask you out sophomore year but you left so i had to do it when we were miles apart. our first years as girlfriends were spent apart,” she responded with a pout. "at least our first years as wives will be together. just like our first years of being best friends,” the younger encouraged. momo kissed her neck lightly and lifted her head to kiss her on the lips. "i love you, my soulmate,” she whispered against sana's mouth. sana leaned in just a bit to kiss her again before leaning back, "and i love you even more. soulmates forever and always."