Get Better.
Summary: Exams are coming up, and Y/N asks help from her long-time bestfriend Iida. But it seems like Iida is taking this tutor help too seriously, too much that Y/N can’t take it. Can Iida run back to how things used to be? (Featuring Monoma)
Warning/s: Angst, fighting, unintentional condescension, unintentional bullying, jealousy
Word Count:
The bell rings and everyone sighs. Y/N cleans up her desk, her notebooks filled with everything she could fit, but even after all her listening and attentiveness, nothing has processed in her head. All her pencils are now dull and the pages of her notebook are crumpled with her failed attempts at erasing mistakes. The book rustles and crumples as she angrily stuffed them into her bag.
“Don’t torture the innocent trees for your stupidity, Y/N.” Monoma says as a joke. Easily replied with a middle finger, which made him shut up. “Good luck anyway, just call when you need it.” He winks. He’s smart, yes, he could be friendly too, but he just chooses to be an asshole. Dealing with him as a classmate is just as bad as dealing with a toddler. He slaps Y/N at the back on her neck, as he usually does as their way of annoying each other.
As soon as she steps out of your classroom, she spots the one and only top scorer, Tenya Iida. He’s smart, and Y/N is another story. Which makes them a good duo…before. Nowadays, it seems like they’re just neighbors. But time to make use of their relationship they used to have.
She walks up to him as he parts from his green-haired friend. “Iida!” She chants, giving him a small wave. They used to call each other by first names but Y/N felt like they weren’t close enough to talk that way anymore.
He looks a bit shocked and looks around, “L/N! How are you?” He smiles at her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
“That’s exactly what I wanted to talk to you about. Haha…” Her eyes avoids his from both embarrassment and the beat in her heart. That’s right, even after growing apart ever since the last year of elementary school, her heart beats for her childhood playmate.
He looks at her with worry, “What’s wrong?”
“No! It’s not a big problem! It’s just…you know…the usual.” She clears her throat, sweat building up on her forehead and palms.
At first he’s confused, not remembering what “the usual” is. It isn’t until Y/N shows him her recent homework and mock tests that it clicks. “I couldn’t say I didn’t expect it from you, L/N.”
“Ouch.” Her heart cracks a little. “Is this what you think of me?”
He sighs, “How did it go this far? Why didn’t you tell me?” He folds up her paper and takes her by the shoulders. “I will tutor you! I will help you! Like I used to! It’s the weekend tomorrow, you can come by and we’ll study.”
Their walk home felt like old times, talking about their own loud, blonde, and aggressive classmate, or talking about how much they haven’t spoken in a while.
“Gosh L/N, how tall have you grown?” He laughs noticing the difference between them.
She gives him a look, “Are we supposed to talk about me, mister buff guy? What have they been feeding you?” she nudges him.
They laugh together, “No, I meant about how much you’ve changed. You used to be so lonely but now you’re so lively.”
“I didn’t change everything about me.” Y/N sighs. “But hey, I’m happy you have friends now. I remember when you and I-”
“Ah! Shush! Shush!” He covers her mouth as a way to keep her from talking about the most embarrassing things he used to do. “Anyway, this is me. Stay safe, and I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? Your grades need my help for sure!” He waves to her as she disappears from his sight.
She gets home and sighs immediately, how did it end up this way? “It’s not a date, just a study date.” she tells her pillow. But how did it end up this way? How did her fairly average grades turn into a pot of steaming shit? No one knows, it was like a switch was flipped to make her mind just stop receiving studies. Was it her hero training? Was it because she was focusing more on her training? No, she was just an average hero.
It didn’t help that her parents constantly compared her to Iida. But no matter the amount of comparison between them, she still remembered how good of a listener he was. How good he was at pushing the swing when they played or how stupid he was when playing hide and seek. How cool piggyback rides were when he told her about his newly discovered quirk. Maybe it was the reason she couldn’t help but feel happy for him after every success he had, the reason she gives him a slight bow when they pass by at the hallway. Maybe their childhood relationship was the reason her chest beats like the bass during a concert when he smiles at her or messages her for her rare achievements.
“Just suck it up and get better!” She tells herself.
Tomorrow -
The doorbell rings, Iida’s mom opens the door and gleefully smiles at her. “Oh my god, Y/N?! How long has it been since I last saw you?! Come give me a hug!” She pulled her into a tight squeeze, much to the dismay of Iida, who was tending to his brother. As soon as Tensei heard her name, he wheeled himself to the front door and called out to her, much to the dismay of his younger brother once again.
“Are you really her? No, this can’t be little Y/N! You’ve grown!” he comments.
“You’re acting like you haven’t seen her in years.” Iida sighs.
The two Iida’s turn to him with a glare, “It’s cause we haven’t!” they said to him.
“Tell me you’re staying for dinner! I can’t wait for your father to-”
“That’s enough! L/N, come, let’s work on your studies.” He pulls her by the arm to his room. He takes off his glasses and rubs his eyes, “I apologize for them, but let’s get started, shall we? There’s a lot to work on, afterall.” A smile appears on his lips, which Y/N replied the same with.
It’s been 3 hours, and the two seem like they’re just not getting along. Y/n’s head is on the table while Iida’s was on his hands. “L/N. It’s an easy question. What is the chemical composition of gold?” Iida says for the 100th time.
“Iida. I don’t know.” her voice muffled from the table.
“L/N, we can’t do this if you’re not even trying. Are you trying to fail this class?” He chuckles, almost condescendingly, placing his fists on the table. The papers are scattered, the mock tests Iida had prepared have X marks all over them.
“I’m trying, Iida. Sorry I don’t have a big brain.” Y/N tries to joke but deep inside, she just wants to get out of there. After all the half-hearted “jokes” Iida has been throwing at her throughout the 3 hours, she’s had enough.
“Maybe this is why you’re in 1-B instead of 1-A.”
“What?”
“If you tried harder, you would’ve been in the same class as me. This is why you didn’t get in Soumei, with me.” He sighs.
Y/N lifts her head up, “Thanks, Iida. For throwing that in. Really helpful.”
“Good. May that serve as an inspiration to you.” His hands turns a page on his book. “Now, let’s-”
“I think I’m done. I’ll try again tomorrow. Thanks.” Y/N scoops up her stuff and crumples them into her bag quickly, hiding her shame and the tears welling up in her eyes.
“Are you seriously giving up? Didn’t we used to say to never give up? You really have changed.” Iida tries to stop her, holding her bag.
“Yeah, and you haven’t! You’re still so egotistical and think so highly of yourself! When I say I’m done, I’m done! So I thank you for your help, but I don’t want it anymore!” She tugs on the sleeve he has his grip on.
“L/N! L/N!” His voice fades away as she shuts his door and heads downstairs.
“Y/N? Are you- Hey, what’s wrong?” Tensei tried to console her as the tears were already dripping down her angry and embarrassed face. “Y/N!” he pleads to her again, and so was their mother, but she was already out the door.
What people don’t know about Iida is that he was truthful, too much that it hurt. The way he would point out Y/N’s flaws when they would practice their quirks together when they were kids, or how much higher of a grade he got compared to hers. She would come back home with her self-esteem lower than before she left to go see her playmate. Maybe it was the reason she didn’t mind as much when Iida started coming to the playground less. Maybe the constant mention of his name when it came to her grades was the reason she didn’t feel the need to call out to him when they met eyes during the entrance exam.
Nevertheless, she’s done with trying to rekindle their…whatever it may be. She went home and stuffed all her notes down the trash, screaming at how frustrated she was at herself. Iida, in the meantime, was just mad at her for getting mad while he was just trying to help. Even after plenty of scolding and yells from his family that what he was saying was wrong, he finds no fault in only stating the harsh truth.
Monday comes again and they only have 1 week before their exams, Y/N has given up. Her notes were empty and her motivation is just as low as her ankles.
“Gosh, Y/N. You gave up in life or something?” Monoma chatters to her.
“Yeah.” she mutters, closing her empty notebook.
Monoma smiles but it drops noticing she was serious, he loudly scoots his seat next to her and opens it. “Sheesh, what is this? Your dignity? Listen, Y/N, the exams are coming up and now is not the time for your mind to go anywhere else. Here, take my notes, you’ll need it.” Monoma raises his arm to slap her at the back of his head but instead of a harsh playful hit, her hair is played with for a second. But as Y/N looks up, he’s already at the other side of the classroom, talking with the rest. When he spots her looking at him, he points to his notebook and ushers her to read, mouthing “Read, idiot!” to her. Y/N scoffs but does as told and studies. His notes were weirdly short but much more understandable, often having additional unnecessary stuff added it, which made it more rememberable.
When the bell rang, Y/N is met with a smack, “Give me back my notes, you must’ve remembered some stuff by now.” he rolls his eyes.
“Come on, let me keep it for longer!” Y/N pleads, gripping the notebook tightly.
“Hey! I need to study too!” He pretends to yell and get upset, they wrestle for it for a while.
Iida, in the meantime, walks out his classroom door, seeing the two fighting. He smiles, remembering how they used to playfight too. He’s happy to see her making…friends. They’re friends, right? Huh, why’s she making friends with a mean guy like Monoma?
Monoma sighs and gives up, “Fine, fine. How about we both study? Hm?” He smiles, pulling her bag and carries it for him.
“Are you serious?” she plays, stomping on his foot.
“Why would she get taught by you when she has me?” a deep voice called from behind. They turn around to see Iida. “You can come-”
“It’s fine, Iida. Come on, Mo, let’s see how good you really are in teaching.” Y/N loops her arm around his and he scoffs and boasts how good he is in everything. Like what they…used to do. Huh, why didn’t she do that when they were walking home the other day?
It continued continuously, day after day she would reject Iida’s offers and goes with someone else, most of the time Monoma, who would sling his arm around her shoulders.
“L/N, my mom-”
“Hold on, Iida. Monoma is trying to explain something.”
Or some other days, Y/N doesn’t even acknowledge his messages.
Iida Tenya: If you need help, I’m here.
Iida Tenya: My notes are also available here for you.
Iida Tenya: Just so you know.
L/N Y/N: Ok.
It seems like she’s found a new bestfriend, slash rival. Like Iida used to be. Iida comes home wrecked, his muscles are sore, his head is Y/N, her legs are tired and, his head is Y/N. It seems like her new relationship with Monoma is tipping him off his usual self. And it seems like he found a day to fix it. As he was heading home, he overheard a little conversation as he passed by.
“Gee, Monoma. I think I’m good on my own. Thanks, either way, man!” She patted Monoma on the back.
“Don’t fail the exams or else you’ll have to compensate me for the time I gave you. As your teacher, I will be very disappointed, Y/N.” He fake cries as he messes her hair up to make her look trashed.
“Eh?! Seriously?!” Her feet take a step back, Monoma laughs and shakes his head, telling her it was just a joke. “Well, I’ll be at the library. Bye!”
Iida watches as Y/N walks the other way, heading to the library. Monoma walks his way, and Iida takes him by the arm. “What is your relationship with L/N?” Iida blurts out.
Monoma smiles an evil grin, as he usually does, “Oh? What does the representative of 1-A have to say me? And why should you care about my own classmate. Y/N is my classmate, not yours. Shouldn’t I ask you why you’re even asking about her?”
“She’s a very important person to me. And I must know what your relationship with her is. For her safety.” His grip tightens, but loosens as he notices a few of their classmates looking at them.
Monoma laughs, pulling his grip away from him. “Important person, ha! My, my. You’re delusional, aren’t you? She may be important to you, but are you important to her? Clearly not because she’s treating you like a clingy speck of lint.” The blonde swings his bag to his bag and give him a look. “It’s none of your business. And if you must know, you should just forget about her.”
Iida watches as the blonde walks away, silently enraged. And now, Iida is laying on his bed, the night has set and he’s wondering what to do to get his friend back. He takes his phone and checks her page, where she would post daily about where she was. He has blocked her profile momentarily to avoid seeing pictures of them together in a cafe or library or any picture with both of them within 2 meters of each other. He unblocked her and looked at her page, she was at the library. Still at the library. He gets up, gets his coat and walks out the door, heading for the library.
Y/N slams her head onto her notebook, “Almost done. Almost done” she thought to herself, she flipped the next page over and started answering whatever questions were there.
“L/N.” she heard from above her, she looked up and saw a familiar blue haired man.
She sighed, rubbing her eyes, “Iida, it’s 9pm. I think you’re late for your curfew.” she continued her writing.
“What are you still doing here?” he panted.
“Guy with a running quirk is tired from running, gosh.” She thought, “I’m trying to finish something. I’ll be okay.”
Suddenly, her notebook was shut with a loud TWACK as it hit the table. “Go home, L/N. It’s late.” he instructed, putting her stuff inside her bag before swinging it behind him.
She stood up and pulled him out the library, away from anyone who could be there. “Why are you doing this, huh? Is this your way of showing me that I need you? Hm? Well, guess what, Tenya Iida. I don’t!” She retorted, pulling her bag from him.
“I’m only looking out for you, L/N.” He tells her.
“No, you’re not. You’re looking for someone to make yourself feel better. When you found out I was slipping on my grades, you wanted to be closer to me than ever before. But when we had almost equal grades when we were younger, you barely reached out. You forgot about me. You just want to be around someone who’s lower than you.” Y/N walks away from him but he holds her arm tight.
“You’re misunderstanding things, I care about you. And I want to help-”
“Help, Iida? By saying that I’m stupid and how I wasn’t smart enough to get into your school? How I’m lazy and ill-witted? Great help. Such great help, Iida. I get it, I’m pathetic, but I asked for help and you used it to dig it into my skin.”
“But I can help you! In a way Monoma never can!” Iida yells back.
Y/N takes a step back and laughs a little, “Is this what it’s all about? Are you mad that someone else is much more helpful than you? Are you mad that you’re no longer my only friend?”
“No, that’s not it! That’s not it at all!”
“Then, what?! What is it?!”
“I can’t stand seeing you with him!” He takes her by the shoulders, pulling her close. Y/N is confused, her eyes widening and her brows raising. But not for long, her brows furrowed and she pushed him away.
“I can’t do this right now, Iida. Let’s talk after the exams. I can’t have you as a distraction when I’m so close to actually succeeding.”
It’s now Friday of the next week since their fight, they haven’t spoken nor laid eyes on one another. She’s now at her home, alone since her parents have decided to have a date night, making you gag from their love. She laid on the couch, watching whatever may be on the television as she eats a biscuit. Too tired and lazy to cook dinner for herself. The couch vibrates which she feels, she reaches her phone with her leg, kicking it and catching it quickly.
She barely got a moment to say hello when she heard the familiar voice, “I’m at your gate, can we please talk?” Iida mutters by the phone. Y/N jumps from the couch and peeks at the window, where the boy is standing there, under the god damn rain. She shuts the phone off and opens the gate for him.
She pulls him into the umbrella she brought, “Let’s talk here, my house is a bit of a mess. This will be quick, right?” Y/N tells him.
He takes a deep breath, “I- I don’t- L/N, I-” He stutters, he plays a little with his fingers. “L/N, I’m sorry…for everything I’ve done since we were kids. I’ve been so selfish and shallow and I don’t think about what I say. I really thought I was helping but I didn’t stop to consider your feelings. I’ve been a terrible friend and I don’t deserve to even show my face in front of you.”
Y/N only looks down at the ground, thinking about what he was saying.
“I was so desperate for you to stay with me here at UA that I wanted to do everything for you to pass the exams. But my help just hurt you more, I realized that you being with me might just hurt you even more. I’m sorry, L/N.” She looks up at him and he looks at her.
“Iida, I don’t want to stop being friends with you. I never did. And I’m glad you understand my feelings. But you don’t get to decide how I’ll feel about you. Yes, I’m upset. So upset that I want to break all your glasses. But I won’t lie by saying I didn’t think about you for all these years, even after we grew apart. You don’t get to decide that you being with me will be so bad you won’t even try.” Y/N tells him sternly.
Iida’s breathing grows unsteady, “Does this mean-”
“This doesn’t mean I forgive you for what you’ve done. I’m just saying that…I want to be with you again.” She gives him a look, he immediately pulls her into a hug and tears fell onto her shoulder, her umbrella being knocked off her hand.
“Iida!”
“I’ll be better, I will. I’m so sorry, L/N. I’m so so sorry.” Y/N pats his back and hug him tighter. The rain showers them wet, she immediately turns the knob to the door and lets him in.
Immediately, she pulls him to the couch and leaves to go to the bathroom. When she comes back, his hands are on his face. She drapes a towel over his head and a blanket on his shoulders. “I can stay ‘til the rain passes. I’ll set up the ro-” He pulls her hand to stop her from leaving.
“I’m sorry.” he mutters under his breath.
“Yes, you’ve said that…many many times. I get it. And I said-”
“I like you, Y/N. I couldn’t bear seeing you with him cause I want you with me.” he mutters, his head still down. Y/N stands there in shock, her heart beating fast.
“I want you to stay in UA with me. Please stay. Stay.” Y/N senses how weird he’s speaking and tips his head up and presses her hand on his forehead.
“For god sake’s, Tenya! How long were you standing in the rain for?!” Y/N yells at him.
“For how long it’ll take.” he replies. Y/N rolls her eyes.
“I brought you some of my dad’s clothes, get dressed. Stay for the night so you’ll get better.”
He got dressed and you lay him down the sofa, spreading out a blanket for him and placed a towel on his head.
“Drink you medicine. Come on, Iida.”
“Call me, Tenya. Like we used to, Y/N. I want to be better for you. And when you’re ready, I want to start a relationship with you.” He blabbers, his face straight and serious but red and flushed.
“Okay, Tenya. But first, get better for me, okay? I like you, too.”