tw// knives, blood, stabbing, physical abuse, panic attack, depression, just thinking your not worthy of someone when you ARE worthy of them and it's more like they're not worthy of you
starting when shoto got into the taxi
Shoto can barely contain his excitement. He doesn't know why the idea of having dinner with the people who mean the most to him makes him feel this giddy, but it does.
He watches the street wiz past him, but he notices they pass the restaurant. He chuckles awkwardly, leaning forward. "Um, sir? You missed your turn."
The man shakes his head. "No, I haven't."
Shoto opens his phone, starting to send a text to Katsuki, when it's snatched from his hands. "What-"
"Ooh, texting your fiancé?" A blond girl giggles. "Wow, he's hot. You're not in love with him, are you?"
"Of course I am," Shoto huffs, crossing his arms. "He's my fiancé!" Though it's a line he's rehearsed before, it scares him how much truth he feels in the statement.
"I don't think he's all that interested in you," she hums, scrolling through his phone. "Seems one-sided to me. Oh! Does he like girls? I want a new boyfriend. The last one I had was a bit too much for me."
"Are you sure he was the one that was too much?" Shoto mumbles under his breath. He wants to steal his phone back, but he's getting strange vibes from the two people on the passenger seat.
Also this car. There's a gun wrapper under the seat, and what Shoto assumes to be illegal drugs. "Is this a legal taxi?"
The man doesn't answer, instead taking a right. As Shoto glances out the window, the building become all too familiar. This is the way to Katsuki's apartment. He should know; he's had taxi drivers take him here all the time.
"Where are you taking me?" Shoto demands. "If it's money you want, you don't have to hold me hostage. I'll give it to you myself."
"We don't want your money," the man drawls, scratching at his neck. Crusty, as Shoto has come to name him, slams on brakes in front of the apartment. "Our goals... you wouldn't understand. You've always had everything you've ever wanted."
Shoto scoffs. "You don't know how far from the truth you are."
Crusty and Blondie just sit in the front, and Shoto grows impatient. If they wanted to kill him, he'd probably be dead. Are they going to torture him? What were they doing at Katsuki's aparemtn, anyway?
Crusty suddenly moves from the driver's seat, walking around the car to seat next to Shoto in the back. A knife is held in his left hand.
"Here's how this is going to go," Crusty starts. He holds the knife against Shoto's stomach. "You're going to follow everything we tell you to do. You're not going to complain or attempt to seek help. You're going to cooperate."
"And why would I do that?" Shoto huffs, wincing at the knife digs deeper against his skin. Any harder and it might break through his suit and touch his bare skin.
"We know you could care less about what happens to you. You people are so selfless like that." Crusty holds a phone, where Katsuki is leaning against a wall in Periwinkle Iris. "But, you'd hate for something to happen to him, right? Maybe them?" The phone pans to the rest of his friends. Part of him is glad Tenya and Tsuyu said they couldn't make it; it keeps them out of danger.
Shoto grits his teeth. "Say I didn't want anything to happen to them. What're you going to make me do?"
"A little photo shoot is all." Crusty laughs with a wheeze, and Shoto can smell the cigarettes on his breath. "You'll play the leading male. All you have to do is hold the door to the apartment open, wrapping your arm around her waist, and kiss her neck."
"No way," Shoto immediately denies. He groans at he feels the tip of the knife touch his skin.
"That video I showed you in live feed," Crusty hisses. "I have a friend waiting for the order to attack, if need be. And he has more knives than just one~"
Shoto weighs his options quickly. He could deny to do the "photo shoot" but what if Crusty's not bluffing? Could he risk any of his friends- Katsuki- getting hurt, killed even? "What're you going to do with the picture?"
"That's not something you need to worry about." Crusty shakes his head. "Do we have a deal?"
"Just the one picture? The one position?" Shoto asks for clarification.
"Just the one picture and I'll drive you to Periwinkle Iris to meet your friends." Shoto nods, sighing in relief when the knife is removed.
"Let's get this over with," he grumbles, stepping out of the car. He grabs the keys from his pocket, unlocking the door and getting into position.
"Your lips are warm," Blondie giggles, a sinister smile on her face. "Hey, you can kiss me, too, you know. I give you consent!"
"No," Shoto mumbles against her skin. Crusty comes up behind them and shoved him into the apartment. Shoto looses his balance, hitting the floor. He hears his phone ring, but Blondie cuts the call short. "Wh-Who was it?"
"No one important," she says, powering his phone off. "Perfect. No more interruptions."
She swings her legs back, landing a hit against his stomach. Shoto curls in on himself, coughing up a few droplets of blood. Blondie raises her foot, stamping his shoulder multiple times. Shoto cries out, his voice getting caught in his throat.
It was just supposed to be the one picture. They're supposed to drive him to Periwinkle Iris. He's supposed to have dinner with his friends, with his fiancé. His fiancé Katsuki Bakugo. The man... that he loves.
Crusty hums as he leans against the counter, admiring the knife catching the light. "Small Todoroki boy. The world's a dangerous place."
"Oh, look," Blondie giggles. "He's bleeding!"
Shoto feels his cheek, noticing it is bleeding. "Y-You said you'd-"
"I never keep my word," Crusty says, his voice starting to aggravate Shoto's ears. He glides the blade gently against his throat, then pulls his up roughly. Shoto stumbles against Crusty as he all but throws him against the bed, knife still against his neck. "But know this. I will be back if you tell the authorities about this. And my friend still knows who each and every one of your friends. They know where they work, where they hang out. They're not safe. You're not safe."
Shoto tries to calm his breathing. He can't appear afraid in front of these people. "I don't fear you."
Crusty lands a solid punch against Shoto's jaw, causing the dualcolored male to lay against the soft sheets.
Blondie comes up, sighing dreamily. "You're so beautiful, you know. I've never seen any pictures of your arms or your torso. I wonder what it looks like."
Retrained in Crusty's grasp, Shoto watches in horror as Blondie undoes his shirt and tie. She runs her fingers along his chest and abs, but he tenses, his muscles contracting at the feeling.
It's not like when Katsuki touches him.
"Remember why we're here," Crusty huffs, slinging Shoto further against the bed. He hits his head against the headboard, holding it his hands. Stars begin to dance in his vision, and he collapses against the pillows.
"Night, night."
--- TIME SKIP
When Shoto comes to, Crusty and Blondie are still in the bedroom. It feels like a nightmare come to life. He checks himself over, confirming that his clothes are still on his body and he's not in pain.
"Am I being held hostage?" Shoto murmurs.
Crusty shrugs. "Nah, we just decided we liked the place. Helped ourselves to some food. Went through your phone."
Shoto eyes widened, snatching the rose gold phone from the blankets. He noticed the password had been taken off, and everything was deleted- except Katsuki's phone number. "No," he whispers softly.
"Guess we'll be going now. It was nice to meet you, Shoto!" She then adds in a chilly voice, "See you again next time."
Shoto opens the phone app, calling Katsuki. He doesn't answer, so he calls again. He calls him over and over and over, getting more desperate each other. "P-Please answer me."
Shoto feels his chest tighten and it becomes harder to type because of how bad he's shaking, so he sticks with calling. It lets it ring out until it sends him to voicemail. "Katsuki?"
He tries to type in another number, maybe one of his friends, but the screen is clouded by his tears. His chests tightens even more, restricting his ability to breathe. He holds a pillow to his chest, trying to take slow and even breaths. He feels his throat burn, aching with unshed tears, unheard sobs.
How did his day go from good to horrific? One minute he's planning a dinner with his fiancé and the next, he's stuck in his fiancé's room and he's not answering his fucking phone!
It's because you're not worth it, a voice hisses in his ear. Katsuki is already moving on. You're unreliable. He already said he'll never love you and here you are simping for him. Pathetic.
Pathetic. That's exactly what he is. Unworthy and pathetic. Maybe he should save Katsuki the embarrassment and just end their engagement.
Shoto stays in his head so long he doesn't even notice the time. Seven. It's seven. He dials Katsuki's number one last time, and it finally goes through.
Hesitantly, he asks, "Katsuki?"
Katsuki's reply is cold. "What do you want?"
"Where are you? Can we talk, please?"
Shoto waits a couple beats before he answers. "Look, I honestly think we should take some time to ourselves. Okay?"
"Oh." The disappointment is hard to mask. "In a few days?"
"I don't think so. I'll let you know, Todoroki."
Todoroki? "Okay."
With that, the call ends. Shoto lets his phone fall off the bed. He looks around for something, anything fragile he can chuck at a wall and watch in satisfaction as it breaks- just as his heart has.
PICK YOURSELF UP, YOU IDIOT! is what is mind is screaming at him, the part that still holds some self dignity. It's a work day. It's seven o'clock. He doesn't need to be on good terms with Katsuki to go to work.
Maybe he'll be able to move on...
honestly, i thought i would have married these two already... but i keep putting obstacles in the way of myself
also, i have taken to the idea of prewriting stories and planning every chapter from beginning to end so we'll see how well that goes
group therapy will be held on thursdays /j
- tia