Deku's Descent | BNHA | BakuDeku | ShotoDeku

Chapter 12 - Run

In the corner of the cafe, out of sight of the rest of the shop, Shoto held Izuku tightly as he cried silently. As he pulled the smaller boy closer he could feel his own arms shaking and his heart pounding in his chest. He felt as if he had been reunited with a part of himself that he never thought he was going to get back. Shoto stayed like that, with his arms locked around Izuku until Izuku's sobs turned into small hiccups and his breathing returned to normal.

Loosening his grip on Izuku's shoulders slightly, he stepped back just enough so they could look at each other. Izuku's face was red and blotchy as he stared up at Shoto with lips slightly parted. Shoto smiled gently and placed his hand on Izuku's cheek, who immediately closed his eyes and nuzzled into the hand. "Izuku..." Shoto let out in a breathy whisper, fighting back his own tears now.

Shoto took the opportunity to take in the other boy's appearance. He was pale and had dark circles under his eyes making him look like he hadn't slept properly in days. He also looked thinner, and Shoto could also just make out fresh bruises around his neck. He could feel anger flaring up inside him and wanted to find whoever had hurt him like this and rip them to pieces.

Izuku's eyes opened again and he looked down at his knees, leaning out of Shoto's grip suddenly feeling slightly embarrassed. Shoto let his hands drop to his side as he felt the boy pull away, even though he itched to hold Izuku again and never let him go. He knew he had to let his anger go for now and instead take care of Izuku. Taking a steadying breath Shoto put his calm mask back on his face, and pulled up a chair next to Izuku. As he did he noticed the two phones on the table.

"You... Broke your phone?" Shoto said in a tone of disbelief while staring blankly at the shattered glass. Izuku just nodded in response but didn't look up.

"It broke on Thursday and I haven't had a chance to get a new one until today because I was working..." Izuku mumbled. Shoto's eyes widened at the mention of the day but didn't say anything about it.

"You could have come to my place and told me, or seen me at school... Or borrowed someone else's... Izuku I've been so worried..." he trailed off staring at the top of Izuku's head. Izuku's hands were fiddling away in his lap, uncomfortable with this topic of conversation. After a long moment of silence, In an attempt to change the subject Shoto said in a gentle voice, "Where do you work anyway? You never told me."

Izuku stiffened and looked up at Shoto, his face losing the little colour it had as he blurted out, "A bar, on the other side of town, you wouldn't know it." Without barely a breath Izuku raced on, "I'm sorry Shoto, I didn't know you'd be this worried, I should have found a way to contact you sooner, but after what you heard on the phone I thought you would never want to see a slut like me ever again." Izuku finished in a rush and then, shocked at what he'd said out loud clasped his hands over his mouth, cheeks turning bright red.

Shoto just blinked at the sudden outburst from Izuku, unsure how to react to his shift in mood but smiled lopsidedly and leant forwards to whisper, "I'd never think such things of you Izuku, I know you didn't want it to happen and that you didn't enjoy it at all..." Shoto frowned, getting lost in the thoughts of what he had overheard on the phone last week and shivering slightly with a grimace on his face feeling the anger rise again.

Silence stretched between the two boys for a long while, both lost in the memories of the ordeal of the previous week. Shoto pulled himself back to the present and could see the agony on Izuku's face, before he could think he stood so quickly the chair almost fell over making Izuku jump and snap back to the present. Holding out his hand Shoto said, "Come back to my place, we can talk more openly there." Izuku hesitated for less than half a second before taking Shoto's hand, but that half a second felt like an eternity to Shoto, who was so scared of being rejected by the boy he loved. Because Shoto knew now that he unequivocally loved Izuku with every fibre of his being.