It Takes Time

2

Shouta Aizawa was feeling a little bad for the new girl that had started. She had seemed nice and incredibly nervous, but he was tired and not looking forward to dealing with his class later on, so he wasn't exactly as welcoming as he could be. He hoped that she wasn't taking it badly, but she seemed to be settling in just fine. And she was a quick and efficient worker, something Aizawa could respect.

He really hoped that he hadn't given her a bad impression of U.A., though. He knew how much Mariko needed help with all the administrative work. He knew how glad she had been to hear that someone had finally been hired, even if she would only be working twenty hours a week. Aizawa wasn't exactly sure how to make a better impression on the new girl without it being all incredibly awkward.

Despite, she seemed shy and somehow afraid of nearly everything. One time he brought her a file and she jumped from her seat when she heard the door opening. Aizawa wasn't so sure what Y/N was so afraid of. Maybe she was just not used to being in a new place or something. From what he had heard, she hadn't had a job in a while. Aizawa wondered why that was, but he wasn't going to pry.

Either way, it had been a week, and Y/N seemed to be getting a little more comfortable in her new role. She had been working on Saturday morning – Saturday being a half-day for everyone – and Aizawa wondered if he should bring up inviting her along to the bar near U.A. with Hizashi and Nemuri.

The three of them tended to go there for a few drinks most Saturdays, simply to wind down after the week. A lot of times, the three of them went way overboard with their drinks, though, so maybe that wasn't a great idea. Aizawa looked up at his two friends who were happily chatting to each other. Aizawa had been trying to listen to them, but most of the time he just zoned out in the middle of the conversation and then found that he had no idea what they were even talking about at that very moment.

"I've been wondering..." Aizawa started, interrupting whatever the two of them were talking about. They stopped in their tracks and looked back at him, waiting for him to make his point. He rarely ever spoke, so they always made a huge deal of it, if he was saying anything at all. Aizawa was already regretting even having opened his mouth. It was a stupid idea anyway. This had always been a little meeting between the three of them, between the rooftop gang. It should have been the four of them.

"What have you been wondering?" Nemuri finally asked, breaking the awkward silence between them all.

"No, it's a stupid idea..."

"Come on, spit it out, man." Hizashi encouraged him. Aizawa was shaking his head energetically. He wasn't going to bring it up. Especially not now, when the office of the office was opening and Y/N slipped out into the hallway, eyes on the ground, obviously looking like she wanted to be invisible or something.

"Come on, Shou, talk to us." Hizashi said, but Nemuri had already noticed Y/N and smiled widely. She waved at her, and Y/N turned around and awkwardly waved back at her, before continuing on. She seemed to be walking a little slower, in case Nemuri wanted something from her. Nemuri leaned closer to both of them.

"Hey, should we ask Y/N to come along for drinks? I think, it would be nice, since she's new here and all." she said quietly.

"Oh, absolutely!" Hizashi agreed and jogged after Y/N. Nemuri followed him and Aizawa trailed behind them, as usual.

"Hey, Y/N, wait up a second!" Hizashi yelled. Y/N stopped in her tracks and immediately turned around, a slightly terrified expression on her face. She seemed to get smaller with the way Nemuri and Hizashi were ambushing her, the same way Aizawa had seen her get smaller on her first day in the office.

It was obvious that Y/N was painfully shy. Still, the way she was wincing at Hizashi making big gestures with his arms was a little off. But maybe Aizawa was just imagining things. She was probably fine. He wondered whether she'd be coming with them or not. She seemed a little reluctant.