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anxiety-is-mymiddle-name · 7 days ago

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A/N: For the @dekusquadzine ! I wanted to go for something light-hearted and fun and wow, it’s so hard managing 5 people in 2k.

…

Iida had not considered himself friendless in middle school. Like any other preteen boy, he had argued with his classmates about the best hero (his brother, of course), compared homework notes, and even gone to the occasional sleepover. Despite his stiff attitude, he had been decently popular in school, enough that he always had someone to greet in the mornings, to eat lunch with, or to even study with in the evenings.

Yet, it was a fragile friendship, forged only because of shared classes and familiarity. The second they split into different high schools, they’d drifted apart like cars on the highway.

Iida was not going to let that happen a second time in high school. Standing in front of the blackboard, he eyed his four friends as they sat in the front row of seats. The last bell had rung long ago and by now most of the students were back in the dorms. Midoriya sat ramrod straight, Uraraka looked confused, Asui was relaxed, and Todoroki was merely curious.

Normally, Iida would have forced them all to go back to the dorms the second class let up but today was special. Today, he would lay the groundwork to cement their friendship. Clearing his throat, Iida wrote a big, white three on the chalkboard. “We don’t have long.”

“Three?” Uraraka cocked her head, as though changing the angle might reveal a hidden secret. “Is something happening in a week?”

“Is something wrong?” Asui asked, concerned.

Midoriya was already scribbling in his notebook, his brow furrowed. “A code? Maybe it’s a catchphrase or a lock—”

“Nothing’s wrong and it’s not a code.” Iida took a deep breath. It was now or never. He stepped forward and raised a fist. “We only have three months until golden week!”

There was a long silence. Uraraka rubbed her ears. “Did I hear right?”

“I heard the same thing,” Todoroki replied, almost too seriously.

“Thought so.” Uraraka turned to Iida, expression flat. “Who are you, Mina?”

“Oh, it just meant golden week?” Midoriya slumped into his seat dejectedly, his pencil dangling limply off his fingers.

“You like spring?” Todoroki leaned forward, taking the whole matter at face value.

Asui, someone he had long considered the most reasonable of his friends, clasped her hands together tightly. “Are you sure you’re ok?”

This was going nowhere. Iida rapped the chalkboard, interrupting the stream of never-ending questions. Normally he wouldn’t mind, but they didn’t have enough time. Three months would go by in the blink of an eye. “I’m not turning into Mina. I do like spring. I’ll find you a puzzle later, Deku. And yes, I’m ok. This is about more than that, though.”

“So it is a code?” Midoriya squinted as though trying to find a visible sign of a lie on Iida.

Asui cocked her head curiously at him. “Do you think everything’s a code?”

“It isn’t a code,” Iida repeated firmly. Standing a little straighter, he continued his spiel. “Our golden week will be short between work studies and training. We must take full advantage of it, and you can’t take full advantage without a plan.”

And if Iida had a special skill outside of being a hero, it was planning. He hadn’t been a part of multiple student councils for nothing. You always had to start early with planning to consider any unforeseeable issues.

And with LoV and all the other villains facing them, there would definitely be issues.

“Ok, I take it back. You don’t sound like Mina after all.” Uraraka chuckled. She sprawled on her desk, her hands happily tapping on the front edge of the table. “She doesn’t plan.”

“She tries to,” Asui corrected kindly, seeming mildly relieved at the banality of the explanation.

“Can you really call that trying?” Uraraka raised a brow, eyes bright with mirth.

“She’s doing her best,” Midoriya defended weakly. “I think.”

“Well…” Asui trailed off before shrugging. As she leaned back into her seat, she tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Our time really is packed. We’ll have to prepare ahead of time.” She smiled at Iida. “Good thinking.”

Iida smiled back, pleased. “I thought we should get a head start on it.”

“I like it too,” Todoroki quietly agreed. It was funny, when they’d first started the year, his presence had been so big it filled the room. Now it had shrunk into something more normal-sized and Iida wasn’t sure if it was because they got to know him better or because Todoroki had changed since their first meeting.

Then again, none of them were the same kids from the school’s entrance exam. Maybe they had all changed a little, growing and learning to accommodate one another.

“Oh, but…” Todoroki turned to Midoriya eagerly. “We’ll see each other anyways.”

“You’re both working for Endeavor, right?” Asui asked, peering at Todoroki worriedly. “Are you sure that’s okay?”

Todoroki half-smiled, half-grimaced. “I will be.”

Asui frowned. “That’s not really convincing.”

Sprawling on her desk, Uraraka pouted and bemoaned, “Are you showing off? Lucky, you two are working together. While I’m still searching for a place.” She stuck out her tongue. “How mean.”

Despite her teasing tone, it was like a spark had been lit. Immediately, a flustered Midoriya turned every shade of red as he cycled through explanations, cutting himself off repeatedly as he thought of another one. “What? That isn’t—we wouldn’t—I don’t—you—”

As ever, Todoroki’s response was on the exact opposite side of the spectrum. “Sorry, I checked but there isn’t another spot available.” He regarded her seriously. “I can help you find one instead.”

“Me too,” Iida offered, already pulling out his planner. There was no point in golden week if they all couldn’t relax. “We can organize—”

“I’m joking! I’m joking!” Uraraka sat up immediately, her hands in front of her in surrender. She shook her head. “Please don’t take it that seriously. Please.”

“I didn’t mean—” Midoriya blinked, processing the information. He took a deep breath and returned to his usual colour. “Oh. A joke. That’s good.”

Now it was Uraraka’s turn to panic, her cheeks flushing an embarrassed beet red. “Sorry, I didn’t mean—”

Asui reached over and squeezed her shoulders, cutting her off. “That’s fine. Let’s go back to planning, right?”

Uraraka glanced at Asui helplessly before sighing and nodding. “Right.”

Iida studied Uraraka for a moment, checking her for any signs she hadn’t been joking. Her smile seemed genuine, thankfully. “We have a lot to do. We have to figure out our plans,” he ticked off a finger, “our homework,” he ticked off a second finger, “and our schedule during our work study.” He ticked off his last finger. “At least if we finish our homework early, we can control that aspect.”

Todoroki nodded solemnly as he considered Iida’s words. “I don’t think we could do our homework during our work study anyways.”

“Why?” Midoriya cocked his head curiously. “Is Endeavour that strict?”

“Yes. He’s also very annoying.” Todoroki grimaced. His hands clenched the desk’s edges with his nails digging into the wood. “He won’t let up.”

Iida wasn’t sure how to take that response. It was no secret how Todoroki viewed his father, though he had noticed over the past few months a change in that view. For good or for ill, only time would tell. “Is it that bad?”

“It’s annoying,” Todoroki repeated bluntly. His voice was carefully flat aside from a flicker of irritation. Iida wasn’t sure how to read it yet.

“At least you’ll have a lot to do.” Asui cradled her cheek with a hand as she carefully skirted the issue. “I didn’t really get much to do last time.”

“I had a lot, but Momo didn’t get any actual work.” Uraraka frowned, resting her cheek on the cool desk surface. “It’s really hard to figure out where to go sometimes.”

“Yeah.” Midoriya sighed, slumping forward himself. “And then when you can’t go back…”

Uraraka reached over awkwardly and patted his back. “Yeah. You’ve been to three different places so far, right?”

“At least you’re getting a lot of experience?” Iida offered. There was always a positive side to things, after all, as long as one was willing to look. And however hard it may be, he was always willing.

Midoriya brightened. “That’s true.”

“You know what else is a great experience?” Uraraka asked, eyes lighting up as inspiration hit her. “A vacation!” She sat up, bouncing her seat. “Let’s go somewhere far away this summer.”

And just like that, the current of the conversation changed. It was a magic Iida couldn’t ever replicate: with a few words, the mood had lifted and everyone sat forward eagerly in their seats as they brainstormed.

Asui laughed, “What, we’re planning for the summer now?”

“Why not?” Uraraka grinned. “If we’re planning anyway, let’s go all the way.”

Ready as ever, Midoriya pulled out his phone and opened up a map. “What should be our search radius?”

“Maybe far enough we can spend the night?” Asui suggested eagerly, tapping her chin. “We could do it on the weekend.”

“It might be cheaper to do it on a weekday,” Uraraka mused, pulling out her own phone.

“A sleepover?” Todoroki perked at the suggestion.

Iida frowned. As sad as it was, they still had to keep within a reasonable budget and distance for a student. “Well, not quite. Unless we all share the same room. And we’re,” his ears burned red as he gestured at Uraraka and Asui, “not really able to do that.”

Midoriya flushed and shook his head. “No. Nope. Can’t.”

Asui chuckled. “I wouldn’t mind.”

“I…uh…” Uraraka cleared her throat, forcing away her blush. “It-it would be a lot cheaper if we picked one room but…” She bit her lip. “If it gets too expensive, maybe we could do a day trip instead?”

Expensive. Iida adjusted his glasses, embarrassed. Honestly, he should have remembered her family’s situation before he spoke. “We’ll keep that in mind.” He cleared his throat and returned to the chalkboard. “We should have a list of closer and farther places.”

Asui immediately replied, “Maybe we can go somewhere nice and cool like the mountains?”

“I heard the beach is good,” Todoroki suggested at the same time.

Midoriya pulled out a pad of paper. “I think we have both just a train ride away. We can calculate distance and cost and find out which is better.”

“Camping’s also an option,” Asui added, clapping her hands together. “I think I have some gear at home.”

“Guys…” Uraraka smiled gratefully, blinking her eyes rapidly as she fought back tears. “Thanks.”

“There’s a local festival,” Todoroki commented as he looked up from his phone. “It’s just a bus ride away.”

“Ohhhhh!!!” Uraraka jumped out of her seat and slammed her hand on her desk like she was hitting the buzzer in a game show. “That! We have to do that!”

Asui clasped her hands. “We can wear yukata.”

“You can wear those to festivals?” Todoroki asked, surprised. “I want to try that too.”

“You’d look handsome,” Asui ribbed gently, chuckling. “We’d probably get mobbed.”

“It’s not…” Midoriya trailed off before snapping his attention to Todoroki. “Wait, you’ve never gone to a festival?”

Todoroki shook his head, bemused.

Uraraka recoiled as though shot. “Wait, seriously?”

“It’s fine.” Asui squeezed his arm reassuringly. “We’ll show you how to enjoy it.”

“What else haven’t you done?” Midoriya asked, pulling out a paper and pencil, always ready for solutions. “We can make a list.”

“That…” Iida sighed as he glanced at the clock. They didn’t have much longer before they’d have to leave. Though judging by how the scene in front of him devolved, it’d be hard to discuss golden week again.

He could manage. If there was one thing Iida had learned the past few weeks, it was that things didn’t always go to plan. And that was fine. No matter what route they took, no matter how things turned out, they’d have each other at least, and that was more than enough to face any challenges ahead.

They were friends, after all. And this friendship would last for life.

Besides, they still had a few months. And Iida knew better than anyone how to plan.

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