It Takes Time

16

The week that Y/N had gotten off work was gone much faster than she had expected. She still wasn't sure whether it was a good idea to go back to work, especially since she hadn't really left Shouta's apartment ever since she had gotten here. But she also wanted to go back to some degree of normality.

Going back to work seemed like a good first step for that. She knew that no one could get into U.A., so she was safe there. And the people there were nice to her. She had nothing to be afraid of while she was in U.A. What she was more worried about was the way to U.A. Of course, she would go with Aizawa, and he would take the car there. But from the apartment to the car, they had to walk, and Y/N knew that Haruto had been lurking around the apartment complex during the last week. What if he was waiting for them? What if he was going to be there to bother her again? Y/N didn't know how she'd react.

She was determined to just ignore him, but she knew that she probably wouldn't be able to do that. She was still terrified of him, but she was also curious to see what he was up to without her. She had quickly realised that he'd be pretty much completely helpless without her around. She was the one doing all the chores and paying all the bills. She wondered how he was getting on without her and if he was really going to change his ways. Maybe he would change... maybe everything wasn't lost just yet.

That was what Y/N was worried about. What if he somehow managed to wear her down? Reel her in again? What if she changed her mind and went back to him and it was going to be the same old thing all over again? Y/N wasn't sure whether he'd risk her leaving again. He'd find some way to keep her in the house, to make it impossible for her to be leaving. That thought alone made it easier for her to stick to her decision not to go back. But what made it more difficult was that she didn't just want to give up the years they had spent together. If he really changed, maybe they could make this work.

As she was getting ready for work, Y/N almost had a nervous breakdown over the whole situation. She didn't tell Shouta about any of that, of course. She didn't want him to be so worried about her. She could see that he was worrying way too much and that it was exhausting him. Y/N genuinely felt bad about that. She knew she shouldn't feel bad, and Shouta kept telling her that it was all fine, but she knew it wasn't fine. She knew that this situation was more than a handful to deal with and Shouta had gotten dragged into this, just because he was such a kind person, even though he didn't seem it.

But she had to go back to work, she had to make this step back into the outside world. Maybe then she could also figure out how to get her own place to live and how to finally become independent from her husband. And then she wouldn't be bothering Shouta anymore. She was genuinely surprised that he had been putting up with her and her problems for such a long time already. He hadn't really seemed like a people person when she first met him, and he still didn't seem like someone that enjoyed the company of others. She was wondering why he had put up with her for so long.

She didn't want to presume anything, of course, but she wondered whether he liked her. As more than just a colleague or a friend. She wasn't sure how she'd feel about that if it was true. She was still married, but she didn't know for how much longer. And she did like Shouta. He was kind, and he took such good care of her, and he always seemed to know exactly what she needed at any given moment.

But would it really be a good idea to get back into a new relationship right away? Y/N wasn't sure about that. She wasn't sure if she had feelings for Shouta or whether she just liked him so much because of how kind he was being to her. And did that even matter in the end? But what if it would be the same situation as with Haruto? What if he was just being this nice now and he would change his tune later on?

Either way, it was pointless to think about it now. She was only guessing anyway. Maybe he wasn't interested in her at all in that way – maybe she only thought so, because she really did like him. She wasn't sure whether she liked him in a romantic way, even. She had been incredibly careful not to think of him in that way, because she didn't want to get side-tracked or make things more complicated than they already were. But she had caught herself thinking about him more and more lately.