A/N: Hi, I am still alive! Sorta... Thank you to all the kind reviews, they really mean a lot and motivate me to write. Should I be studying instead? Yes. Did I write another chapter instead? Absolutely. Hope you enjoy!
The following morning Izuku woke once again feeling better rested. He remembered having another nightmare, but this time he wasn't able to recall the contents of his dream. Stretching his limbs, the teenager slowly made his way out of bed and started his day by texting his mother. It had been a while since they had last seen each other and he still needed to tell her about his bad dreams, but he was scared of how she would react. Izuku knew that she would scold him for keeping it to himself, but a tiny part of him didn't want to admit it for fear of looking weak.
It was getting repetitive.
Izuku sighed as he put on his uniform. He was aware that he was intentionally putting off talking to his mother and he was also hoping his brief stint with nightmares would be over soon and he would be spared the conversation. The nightmares had been occurring frequently for over two months, so it was wrong to call it brief and he had promised Uraraka and Kirishima that he would get help. It all came down to facing his mother and making her think the hero profession was too dangerous and pull him out of UA. He was being a huge hypocrite and he knew it. Izuku's phone chimed and he looked down to see a text from Iida.
'Goodmorning, Midoriya! Yaoyorozu and I have to drop by the teacher's lounge and collect printouts, so please go ahead without me. I'll see you in class!' He read and smiled to himself. Iida really took his duties as class representative seriously and Izuku was happy that he never faltered or complained about the workload. Iida was never late and somehow always managed to get to class before the freckled teen, no matter how early he left. Izuku suspected that Iida used his quirk to get there, but the class representative was so adamant about not misusing quirks that it had to be a secret talent he had.
Glancing at his screen, Izuku realized he would be late if he didn't hurry and finish getting ready. His hands had gotten a little steadier when he was tying his school tie, but it still came out crooked. Izuku resolved to one day tie it perfectly and would practice harder every day. It wasn't really that much of an issue, he wasn't violating dress code by any means, but it was something he wanted to improve nonetheless.
As Izuku headed downstairs and grabbed some quick breakfast, he found himself looking for Uraraka. Iida wouldn't be joining them on their way to class and Izuku was secretly happy that he could spend more time together with the brunette. He wanted to ask her advice on how to approach his mom and he also felt it was about time that they spoke about what was happening between them. Izuku had felt it full force last night and he was sure Uraraka also wasn't oblivious to it. Still, it was hard to broach the subject. They had managed to exchange a few kisses without actually addressing the intimacy or the implication of the seemingly innocent act, but Izuku was starting to feel like he was taking advantage of Uraraka and wanted to express his feelings. He wanted to make his intentions clear, even though the thought of telling her how he felt made his stomach knot.
'A hero needs to face every challenge head-on!' He mentally scolded himself, but actually managed to get some of his nerves under control. Polishing off his breakfast Izuku got out of his seat and waved in passing at a sleepy Todoroki who just arrived downstairs and didn't quite look awake yet.
Izuku decided not to tempt fate and have a repeat of the incident that had landed him a trip to Recovery-Girl with the discovery that Todoroki was not to be spoken to until he was completely awake and functioning. Since the dual quirk user's eyes looked glazed over, Izuku continued on his merry way and headed out the door next to Jiro. The slight girl was walking by herself with her ears covered by her headphones and nodded a greeting to Izuku when he passed her by and called out to her. He didn't want to disturb her so he continued his trek towards the main buildings of the campus. It was a good 15 minute walk through the gardens, but Izuku was in no rush.
He spent his time thinking about how he should tell his mom about everything and how to approach Uraraka. With his mother it would be better to ease her into it, but still he had to be careful of how he worded it. Izuku badly wanted to ask All Might for help, which meant having to tell the retired hero as well. With everything that had happened, it didn't seem right to burden All Might with yet another one of his problems.
As for how to talk to Uraraka, he just had to make sure that she knew how he felt, right? Now the problem was that he wasn't entirely sure yet. Obviously he liked her, she was his best friend after all, but what he felt whenever he saw her had to be more than friendship. If Izuku had to take a guess, she also felt something for him. She hadn't said anything, but her body language gave it away. Or maybe he was reading too much into it. There were a lot of factors to consider, so he sighed and tried to think of what to tell his mother instead. That had to be highest on his list of priorities at the moment. He continued walking at a comfortable pace and had walked for another 5 minutes when he spotted Uraraka crouched down next to some bushes, seemingly searching for something.
"Uraraka-san?" Izuku called cautiously, feeling butterflies take flight in his stomach. She looked up and sent him a small smile before getting to her feet.
"Good morning. Where's Iida-kun?" She asked as she dusted off her skirt and tights. She hadn't kneeled on the ground, but the brunette was afraid she had gotten her skirt dirty anyway.
"He had morning duties. Did you drop something? I can help you look. We still have some time before class starts." Izuku offered and was about to take off his bag when she stopped him.
"No, no! I just saw a rabbit and thought that maybe it was Kouda-kun's and that it had gotten out of the dorm, but its fur had the wrong color." Uraraka explained. She looked thoughtful for a second before her face lit up and she beamed at him.
"Do you want to walk to class with me?" She asked and clasped her hands behind her back. Her question didn't startle him, it was the intensity of her smile that did.
"Sure." Izuku laughed a little and fell into step with her.
Izuku was trying to bring up their evolving friendship, but Uraraka had seen something on the news that morning which she shared with him and asked his opinion on, so the conversation took a completely different turn. In the end, Izuku didn't bother bringing it up.
They were too close to school to have that conversation and while he wanted to get it out in the open, he also wanted to be prepared for that particular conversation and wanted to have a lot of time to talk. As he walked beside the bubbly brunette, Izuku realized once again how much he treasured her company and how appealing she was to him. There was no denying it, he was definitely attracted to her. That small realization was enough to make his cheeks burn and Izuku desperately hoped she wouldn't notice. As much as he wanted to tell her his feelings, he also enjoyed the unspoken, yet secretive turn their dynamic had taken and he wanted to treasure it for as long as possible.
Once they reached the classroom Uraraka went to set her bag down and was greeted by the rest of the girls that were present, so Izuku headed for his own desk and took his seat. The seat in front of him was still empty and Izuku idly wondered where Kacchan was as he started pulling out his notebook and pencil case all the while glancing towards the girls who were discussing something heatedly.
"Yo, Midoriya!" Kirishima popped up next to Izuku's table sporting a huge grin. Next to him Kaminari was smirking at the freckled boy, who immediately interpreted it as a sign of danger. With expressions like those, Izuku was certain they were up to something.
"I just noticed-" Kaminari started talking, but was interrupted by the door opening forcefully and Bakugo striding in, followed closely by Iida who called them to their seats. His bag was already at his desk, so Iida had once again managed to beat Izuku to class.
"Class is starting!" The class representative shouted from the door and headed directly to his own seat just before Aizawa-sensei entered and started homeroom. Bakugo plopped down in his seat without a word.
"All right everyone, today we'll…" Aizawa-sensei started in his usual indifferent manner. Izuku forgot all about what the boys had wanted to tell him and focused his attention on class.
The moment fourth period ended and the bell for lunch rang, Izuku was cornered by Kirishima and Kaminari before he could even close his bag. They both had a mischievous glint in their eyes and grabbed onto an arm each, practically lifting Izuku out of his seat.
"Come have lunch with us, Midoriya! Let's go outside!" Kirishima urged, already dragging the protesting boy along with Kaminari snickering beside them. Iida and Todoroki looked over curiously, but made no move to interfere with Izuku's kidnapping and instead grabbed their belongings before heading to the cafeteria. Izuku felt a tiny stab of betrayal that he filed away for later.
"But I still have to buy lunch!" Izuku struggled to walk upright with Kirishima tugging at his arm. The redhead turned and grinned at him, displaying all of his pointy teeth.
"Sero's got it covered. Now walk." Kirishima stopped pulling Izuku along and let him walk on his own, which the freckled teen was more than happy to.
Izuku's eyes flitted around the corridors, scanning for potential exits while they walked. Even if he managed to find an escape route, he was still being flanked by two of his powerful classmates and it wouldn't work in Izuku's favor if he tried to escape and they simply captured him again. At least Sero wasn't here to bind him. Still, it was better to go along with them until he figured out what they wanted of him. Izuku had no clue why the boys had asked him to eat outside instead of with the rest of their class and what they even wanted in the first place.
Izuku followed along as his two friends left the building and headed to some of the picnic tables a little way off. Sero had already claimed a table and waved them over when he spotted them coming out of the doors. Beside him was a small mountain of food waiting to be consumed, consisting mostly of sandwiches and a couple of different drinks to choose from.
"There we go. Have a seat, Midoriya. What would you like?" Kaminari had a hand on Izuku's shoulder and guided him while he sat down. Izuku wordlessly reached for the packed sandwich nearest him, not caring the least what was inside it. Kirishima and Sero sat down on the opposite side of the table while Kaminari sat down next to him.
Izuku's mind was going a mile a minute. He couldn't for the life of him figure out what the guys wanted from him. It had to be something that they couldn't talk about inside where anyone could overhear it, meaning… had they discovered the nature of his and All Might's relationship? That couldn't happen! Izuku and All Might always took their precautions when they met and All Might had made sure to oversee the training of his other classmates so no one could single him out for receiving special treatment from the former number 1. How had they guys discovered the biggest secret he had ever kept?
'Calm down man! It's probably something else. There is no way they've discovered my secret.' Izuku tried to calm his frantic mind. He could feel his heart thumping hard against his ribcage and heard the rush of blood in his ears. Sweat was gathering at his hairline and his collar felt constricting around his throat. Izuku was careful to control his emotions; otherwise he could accidentally activate his quirk, which would be a major disaster in itself. UA was strict about using quirks outside of training and being caught would have dire consequences.
"You okay there Midoriya? You look a little freaked out." Sero pointed out and took a bite of his food, observing Izuku carefully. He could see his freckled classmate was feeling uncomfortable and nudged Kirishima under the table with his knee. The redhead immediately stopped bickering over drinks with Kaminari and pushed a bottle of orange juice over to Midoriya, who gratefully accepted the drink.
"We shouldn't have sprung it on you like that, huh?" The redhead laughed sheepishly and scratched his neck. He watched as Midoriya all but wrenched off the cap and took a large gulp and felt bad that they made their timid friend feel uncomfortable.
"Yeah, we just want to talk." Kaminari agreed and slowly peeled away the wrapping of his food, before sinking his teeth into the bread and letting out a moan. Even UA's standard cafeteria sandwiches tasted amazing.
"About what?" Izuku stammered, relieved that he wasn't in any sort of trouble. He tentatively took a bite of his lunch and out of the corner of his eyes he saw the three guys exchange glances. Not good.
"Oh you know, just catching up and stuff." Sero replied casually in between bites. Definitely not good.
"R-right." Something wasn't right about that reply. They saw each other daily both at school and at the dorm, so what was there to catch up on? For a second Izuku worried that they knew about his nightmares and looked up at Kirishima who shook his head the tiniest bit, but it was enough to make Izuku relax. Only Kirishima knew.
"Soo, you and Uraraka huh?" Kaminari asked teasingly and made Izuku's mouth snap shut. It was like Kaminari's question hadn't quite registered in his mind, but at the same time he dreaded where this conversation was going.
"What do you mean?" The green-haired teenager tried to feign ignorance, but it must have been written all over his face since his classmates all shot him knowing smiles.
"You've gotten a lot closer." Sero observed and watched Izuku's reaction, which was to avoid eye contact and rub the back of his neck.
"We all have." He defended weakly. Izuku looked at each of his three classmates and knew he was in for it now.
"Yeah, but the two of you have gotten awfully close, haven't you?" It was Kirishima's turn to tease him and Izuku was aware the other boy meant no harm. It was obvious even when his eyes were twinkling with mischief. Izuku groaned and hid his face in his hands, peeking out after a few seconds.
"How did you figure it out? I thought I was hiding t so well." Izuku managed to say without bolting. The guys hadn't discovered the secret behind his quirk, they had discovered what he had only just realized about himself.
"Hiding it?" Sero laughed like it was the best joke he had heard all day, maybe it was. Izuku hadn't exactly kept it a secret the way he was always looking for the brunette, but he had hoped that he had been discreet enough that it wouldn't get noticed. No such luck.
"Well? Spill it! How long have you two been going out?" Kaminari slung an arm over Izuku's shoulders good-naturedly. Izuku stiffened at the contact, but quickly brushed it off. He was getting better at handling casual touches and Kaminari was only being friendly, he reminded himself.
"…We are not g-going out." Izuku whispered and stared at the table, a blush creeping up his neck. He had never expected to be in this situation and wasn't sure how he should react, so he just tried to go with the flow and hopefully not look like a fool. Kaminari slowly removed his arm from Izuku's shoulders.
"What do you mean you haven't asked her out yet?!" Sero sounded almost insulted and looked shocked. He had already finished half of his sandwich, but the rest of it lay forgotten in front of him upon hearing this.
"I, uh…I don't know how?" Izuku managed to get out. His hands were resting on the table now and he fought the urge to hide his face again. He could do this, he just needed to survive until lunch ended.
"Midoriya, my man, we know just what you need." Kirishima declared and flashed another grin, while the other two cackled loudly.
Well, the secret is out! What do Sero, Kiri and Kaminari have in store for poor Izuku? You'll find out next week! Happy Easter (=w=)/