Izuocha's Love Stories

24 - AFTER A GOOD RAIN

By Madam_Chauncey

SUMMARY: Midoriya begins to partner with Yaoyorozu for long study sessions in order to take his mind off his burgeoning soft spot for a certain rosy-cheeked girl in his class. Uraraka's misunderstanding of the situation leads to old, unpleasant feelings she had been trying to shrug away rearing their heads once more. She then enlists the help of calm and collected Todoroki to learn how to keep her emotions in check, which only leads to more confusion.

Jealousy; a story told in four parts.

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"I think you would be in much better spirits if you would just be honest with Uraraka."

Izuku's head snapped up at the soft, musical voice of his study partner. "H-honest? Honest about what? I'm always honest with Uraraka."

He turned back to his notebook and continued to scribble furiously in it, ignoring the heat that bubbled beneath his skin. He heard the clank of porcelain as Yaoyorozu lifted an ornate white cup to her lips and took a drink of her fragrant green tea. The hot chocolate she'd made for him sat lukewarm in his own cup, having been distracted for a lot of their study session.

"Midoriya-san, you aren't very adept at lying. You have too many tells. You exclusively watched nothing but her the whole time she was down here when it's very unlike you to shirk your studies. I think the sooner you get whatever it is off your chest, the more at ease you'll be for this exam."

Yaoyorazu was his usual go-to study buddy besides Iida, Todoroki and Uraraka. Izuku admired her and enjoyed that he'd grown closer to her as a result of Shouto spending more time with her after their team exercise against Aizawa and their Provisionals.

Her quirk required her to be in constant study and she consistently scored the highest marks in their class. Studying with her had helped him immensely and watching her quirk in action was something to behold. His notebook now boasted a laundry list of ramblings about her creation power now that he had the kind of relationship with her where he could ask questions about it.

But Yaoyorozu was right; he was distracted. Since their provisionals, Uraraka had been oddly distant. He wondered if he'd done something wrong. She had been part of their study group and he'd found it easier to concentrate on going over Aizawa's material while she had been nearby, even though he and Yaoyorozu had been the predominant voices in the study session. Uraraka eventually broke away, sitting down on the couch in the common room before taking her things and announcing that she was going to bed.

"I've seen Todoroki looking at you the exact same way when he thinks you aren't paying attention." Izuku whispered to his reserved friend.

Yaoyorozu's dark, bedrock colored eyes flashed. "T-that's not—we're not... He looks at everyone like that. He's very extrospective. He and I have no issue we need to discuss."

Izuku looked at her, unconvinced. "O-okay, then it's the same with Uraraka and me."

Yaoyorozu looked at him with a withered look, faint color painting her cheeks. It wasn't often Izuku saw her composure crack even a little. The bearer of One For All pursed his lips—if she was waiting for Todoroki to be the first to broach whatever was between he and Yaoyorozu on his end, Izuku was sure she would be waiting a while. He knew that emotion he saw flash across Todoroki's face when he watched Yaoyorozu; at least part of it, anyway. It was intrigue tinged with anxiety, yearning...

Yearning? Was that the right word? All he knew was that when he looked at Uraraka, he felt happiness from deep in his gut. Other times, he just felt heavy laden with feelings he couldn't describe, like he had tonight. Especially when she stopped studying with them to sit alone. Todoroki had wandered downstairs and the two began to talk.