36
Lunch table meeting
One of them finally decided to break the tension and it had to be her.
"So, I guess you guys are dating?" Mina had a nervous laugh while rubbing the back of her neck. She thought she threw water on the dumpster fire but it was, in fact, gasoline.
"Excuse me." The first and harshest one was Todoroki as he got up to leave.
"A-Ah, wait Todoroki-" He attempted.
"Um, I have something I need to take care of." Uraraka tried to hide the shake in her voice but it was there. Tsuyu got up to join her, not saying a word.
"As do I, with the school council." Iida's voice cold and without emotion like his usual robot voice but without any of the cheer.
"T-Tenya, should I accompany-" She struggled in vain.
"Fuck this." Kyouka was the last to say anything, hitting that painful note. She stormed off.
"Kyouka..." "J-Jirou?"
Neither Izuku or Momo noticed Yui leave. She was always outside of the picture frame.
The only ones left on the table were Izuku, Momo, Toru and Mina.
"Sorry." Mina had her eyes closed with an apologetic smile. "Someone needed to say it."
Izuku placed his elbow on the table, holding his face and covering it. "Todoroki... I, ugh..! I feel like shit."
Momo was pinching the bridge of her nose with her eyes shut, taking calm breaths. "My thoughts as well but with a more appropriate adjective."
"Ne, ne, so you're gonna tell us everything, right?" Toru urged, shaking Midoriya's shoulder.
"Come on, please Yaomomo, I always thought you were too innocent a prude for such naughty affairs." Mina was hugging her arm.
"Eh, er, that's..." Yaoyorozu couldn't find the words after Mina's tease.
"On one condition." Izuku was still supporting his head with his hand. Toru stopped tugging at his shoulder, looking at his covered face. "You help us get out of this mess."
Mina and Toru looked at each other before smiling and replying in unison. "Obviously!"
Izuku gave out enough details to satisfy them while keeping the intimate and private matters off the table. "And then they saw us at the arcade."
Yaoyorozu was blushing at the story Izuku was telling, hiding her steamy cheeks with her hands, only nodding when they looked at her for confirmation.
Mina stood from her seat, she had her eyes closed in frustration while ruffling her hair and horns. "Maaan, that's too much to unpack! I can't believe we missed something so juicy that was right under our nose."
"It's like a drama unfolding right before our eyes!" Toru had a bag of popcorn.
"Oi, this isn't a free show!" Izuku threw his arm with shark eyes, berating them.
"Yes, please help." Momo whispered, still hiding her face.
Both Toru and Mina stopped joking around feeling a little guilty about embarrassing Yaoyorozu more than they had to. Mina sat back down folding her arms, she thought for a minute before speaking. "Well here's what I think, the ones that were hurt the most were Kyouka and Todoroki. Jirou is your best friend and your ex. And although I can't say you both technically went behind Todoroki's back, you definitely did, Midoriya."
"Y-Yeah, I know."
Toru spoke this time. "And as for Uraraka, I understand why she's upset but at the same time, ever since you guys became distant, I don't know, it's like the chemistry you guys had is gone. Although, I do think you two should talk and finally clear out the air."
"You're right, Toru, I have to talk to Uraraka."
"And Todoroki." Mina pointed out, she dropped her elbow on the table and placed her hand on her jaw, supporting her head up, and she actually had a sad expression. "It's like it's always hard for him to express himself, I think he doesn't know the right words or maybe he's scared of facing emotions. That's why I like it when he smiles, even if it's just barely..." She was lost in thought as she spoke that last sentence but then she caught herself, clearing her throat, and lifting her head back up. "But that's why you should talk to him Midoriya, you have a knack for getting him to open up." Her former frown turned into a sad smile.
Midoriya had noticed Mina's actions as she spoke. "Wait, Mina do you like Todoroki?"
"Th-This isn't about me, this is about you, two! You, two!" Shaking her fist with her eyes squeezed shut, not letting her feelings escape.
"Ehm... So..." Yaoyorozu's flushed face had settled and she had placed her hands on her lap, clutching them shut. Her lips were quivering but she was resolved to speak. "I-If Izuku is going to talk to Todoroki and Uraraka, what do I do?"
Toru and Mina froze, looking at the fragile Momo, not knowing how to react. Izuku shifted his eyes to the two girls, he realized they weren't used to dealing with her. 'If anything they're used to the protective Yaoyorozu who takes care of them.' He stepped in for those two instead. "Ah, Momo, maybe you should talk to Iida." He forced a smile. "He's hurt and none of us even knew about his feelings for you, including me. Out of everyone, right now, I think you know him best."
"Midoriya's right but I still don't understand why he thought there was something between you two."
Momo shook her head. "I don't know either. We've only ever done student representative work together or when we hang out as a group with everyone and even then we barely talked."
Izuku placed his thumb and index finger on his chin. "Um, Momo at the arcade he mentioned walking you home, can that have anything to do with it."
"Wait, he walked you home?" Toru had shock in her voice.
"Well, we have had some meetings run late but that falls under representative work right?"
They all looked at each other before staring back at her. Mina spoke up. "Maybe not to you, Yaomomo but..." She couldn't finish staring at Momo's innocent expression.
Izuku rubbed his eyes at Mina's lack of follow-through. "Momo, sweetie, I need you to think back. Did you ever talk over the phone or something that seemed miniscule to you but might have made Iida act weird?" Izuku began to feel a knot in his stomach having an idea of how Iida might be feeling. 'It was like me and Uraraka except Momo never saw him that way...'
Momo was tapping her index finger on the side of her cheek with her lips pouted out, staring up in thought. "Now that you mention it, there were times when he was rather odd... Oh if only I knew beforehand."
"Momo, I think it's best that we talk to them after school today, okay? I'll talk to Todoroki."
"And I'll talk to Tenya." Momo had her eyes closed reaffirming her decision mentally. She opened them, staring at him with a smile and he gave one back. She turned to Mina and Toru. "Thank you for helping us sort this out."
Both Mina and Toru grew a blush from her complement. "Praise like that won't make us f-feel good or anything, idiots!" They tried to insult but their joy was in plain view.
"I didn't know invisible people could blush." Momo let out with a smile and a sweat drop before a thought snapped to her. "Wait, what about Jirou?"
They were quiet before Izuku spoke. "I think it's best if we give Kyouka some time, she needs to cool down before we can even talk to her. And when we can, we'll do it together, okay?"
Her eyes lit up at his support. "Oh, Izuku..!"
It was the first time the girls heard Momo squeal his name. They both said it at the same time. "She's adorable."
The final bell had rung.
Momo was waiting for all the students to leave the classroom, knowing he would stay behind.
Yaoyorozu closed the door as the last student left. She leaned her back on it, staring at the person filing paperwork or at least trying to pretend he was busy to ignore her until he couldn't.
"Yaoyorozu, don't you have other things that are more important to you."
"Tenya, we need to talk."
Izuku was walking through the hallways determined to find him.
Izuku finally did, after having searched and asked everywhere on school grounds. It was in the same spot where he had told Izuku about his tragic past during the sport's festival. He was sitting with his knees up, leaning on the wall, his face turned slightly to him as he approached. Izuku was only able to see his red hair and a portion of his burn.
"Why did I hope that you would find me here..? "
"Todoroki... "