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Shouto knew agreeing to go to this concert wasn't the best idea.
But how could he say no to Izuku's begging pout? That was what did it for him. The kisses and hugs and whines that his boyfriend mercilessly gave Shouto until he caved. Sure, it helped that Kyouka showed Shouto a couple of the songs they were going to play and he ended up enjoying a lot more than he thought he would. It helped that a lot of class 1-A would also be going. It helped that Denki somehow convinced him it'll give him time to relax after working so hard.
But as they stood in line to go in, relaxed was the last thing Shouto felt.
He had something close to a death grip on Izuku's hand as he scanned everywhere around him, waiting to finally be able to relax like he was promised. People dressed in eccentric and flashy outfits that would seem slightly out of place on the streets. Even within his own friend group, he felt slightly underdressed. Kyouka was wearing a tank top with a band name and a red and black plaid skirt. She and Mina wore matching chunky platformed black boots that looked like they wanted to punch Shouto in the face. Katsuki was wearing the eyeliner he'd usually wear on his hero costume and by the looks of it, Eijirou stole some of it as well. Denki wore a shirt with the band name on it and Izuku was wearing ripped jeans. Ripped jeans! Shouto didn't even know Izuku owned a pair of ripped jeans. Ochako had winged eyeliner and a shirt tucked into jeans, which was different from her usual outfit choice. Suddenly, Shouto's tan jacket, white shirt, and black jeans seemed a little too plain for the event at hand.
Everything seemed a little out of place. It was if the world was shifted five centimeters to the right. Shouto knee everything was ever so slightly off, but couldn't quite place it. There were a lot of people. Shouto knew there would be a lot of people but just seeing the line in front and behind them was like a brick slammed into his chest.
Apparently, it was some sort of small local music festival with more rock bands than anything. Kyouka described the setting as a 'big ass general admission pit' (which made absolutely zero sense to Shouto). It was indoors and the line behind them just about wrapped around the block.
Luckily, the line started moving after what seemed like hours. As they took steps forward every once in a while, Izuku squeezed his hand. Shouto looked down to be met with two huge, beautiful emeralds staring back up at him. Izuku leaned on him with a smile.
"Thank you so much for coming again, Sho," Izuku smiled. "I know it's not your usual scene, but I'm glad you came. I think you'll have fun."
"Of course, Izu," Shouto smiled. He leaned down and pressed a kiss on Izuku's freckled cheeks. Izuku giggled and hugged Shouto in return. Shouto continued to look around vigilantly for any signs of trouble. Though he came here to have fun, he couldn't help but feel like something bad was about to happen.
Too many people in one place. Too many distractions. It was the perfect time for shit to hit the fan in Shouto's eyes. So of course he was on edge. Once he knew for a fact that everyone was safe, he'd calm his nerves. But no way in hell he'd let down his guard that easily.
Once at the front of the line, Kyouka handed the woman the tickets. She scanned each of the tickets and asked for a form of ID. After they all decided to flex and show their hero licenses, she stamped the back of their left hands. A deep print that said 'under 20' sat on the back of Shouto's left hand. He showed it to Izuku as if to ask 'what?'
"So we don't try to get alcohol," he clarified. Shouto nodded his head and looked at the stamp a little more. They moved up in the line where they got their bags searched and a long beeping stick hovered over every part of their bodies. After a couple of questions, the officer told Shouto that quirk usage was strictly prohibited unless you had a hero license and it was absolutely necessary. Shouto nodded his head and verbally agreed to the conditions.
Once everyone was vetted and deemed acceptable to enter, they all congregated to the concessions and got drinks. Shouto grabbed water and watched over everyone as got their nonalcoholic drink of choice. Eijirou was kind enough to let Shouto try some of his root beer, which Shouto immediately decided he was not a fan of. Everyone laughed and Mina handed over her strawberry soda as a palate cleanser of sorts. More in the sense of getting rid of the foul taste the root beer left rather than complete neutrality.
Everyone began moving towards the stage where everyone was standing. Shouto's steps faltered as he realized just how many people were here. Hell, they were in the middle of the line, this wasn't even the last of them. Everyone in the center was close together and having a good time as they all got strangely close to each other.
The UA students formed a circle of sorts and began talking with each other. Shouto tried to pay attention to the conversation at hand, but his eyes wandered as he looked for anything out of place. Because something was definitely wrong. And it was only a matter of time until he'd have to throw down in his eyes.
Shouto did a quick headcount of his friends and made note of all the emergency exits. He scanned for any unlicensed quirk usage or any slick movements that could warrant investigation. Nothing. He didn't see anything that would make him feel so nervous and on edge, yet there he stood: nervous and on edge. He stroked Izuku's hand with his thumb as he held onto it.
Shouto had no idea how long they had all been standing there, but the room was packed. There were no seats and everyone was way too close for comfort. Without warning, the room went pitch black. Without being able to see a thing, Shouto heard hundreds of screams. He felt his breath hitch as his eyes darted around, desperate to be able to see anything. His heart slammed out of his chest as he got ready to light his hand on fire for a light source.
Before he could, a spotlight appeared on the stage, encapsulating one person. He felt a light squeeze on his hand. Shouto looked down to see Izuku smiling.
"Don't worry, it's just the show. It's starting," he yelled over the hollers and yells of everyone around them. Shouto nodded his head and looked to the stage. A couple more lights turned on and the drummer slammed their sticks together a couple of times before the music played loud and proud.
Shouto would have preferred if the music didn't play loud and proud. Because it just made everything louder. Everyone was yelling. And now with the music playing, everyone started moving. They jumped up and down and swung around, all with smiles on their faces. Shouto wasn't smiling though.
He wasn't enjoying the concert. Too loud. Too many people. Too many moving factors. Where were the exits? He could've sworn there was one right over there. This wasn't where he last remembered standing. How long had he been here? Was the room always this crowded?
Shouto kept his feet planted as he took a sip of his water. He looked up at the performers who were jumping all about the stage, mimicking the 'big ass general admission pit' that Shouto was trapped in.
He took another sip of his water. He could feel his heartbeat steadily picking up. He tried to spot the emergency exits, but he couldn't see anything over the constant movement around him. The air around him felt hot and suffocating. He tried breathing more, but he only seemed to choke on his breath. His eyes darted around, looking for the source of what made him feel so on edge. Everyone was yelling, moving. It was dark, loud, suffocating, hot, terrifying.
He went to squeeze Izuku's hand, only to be met with a bitter crinkle noise. He looked down at the empty water bottle in his hand, and over to his other empty one. His eyes darted around the dark atmosphere, desperate to land on a mess of green. "Izu?" He shouted. The only thing he got in return was the music that made his ears feel like they were about to bleed and the shouts of hundreds of citizens.
He looked around to do a headcount. He stopped dead in his tracks when he realized there was nobody to do a headcount of. He spun around, trying to find any of his friends. He stumbled when someone bumped into him and stumbled some more when he ran into someone else.
The music and screams seemed to fade out as a ringing in his ears seemed to get deafeningly louder. He could hear the air enter his lungs at a rapid rate as his heartbeat exceeded what he'd usually count while exercising. New colors seemed to appear as he felt a prickly, buzzing feeling flush over his body. Everything seemed to be happening so slowly yet so fucking fast. Was everyone always this tall? Were there always this many of them? Were they always this fucking close?
He felt someone or something shove into his with force. He gasped and spun around, punching the source. "Hey, asshole!" They shouted. Shouto couldn't make out a single detail about the person. He needed to get out of there. He needed his friends.
"Izu?!" Shouto yelled louder. The crowd seemed to close him on him as he shrunk down. "Izu?!"
Nothing. He tried to move, but he felt frozen in place. He kept his arms close to his being as he sniffled. His eyes darted around as everyone got too fucking close. "Izuku?!" He yelled. His voice was hoarse and cracked as he tried desperately to call out to his boyfriend only to be met with all the noises he grew to despise. His body shook relentlessly as he felt so utterly helpless, small, terrified.
Without warning, he felt something latch onto his left wrist and pull on him. He stumbled as he heard the crack of ice that held his right foot planted to the ground. He gasped and got ready to fight. He raised the temperature of his hand to scalding.
"Ow, fuck that hurts, Todoroki," he heard a familiar voice say. He tried to look at his captor only to be met with a blur of colors, some that definitely didn't exist before fifteen minutes ago. They transferred to dragging his jacket sleeve and dragging him that way.
A villain. They're trying to kidnap him in his vulnerable state. Shouto has been prepared for this entire night for this to happen and he wasn't going down without a fight. He grabbed their wrist in return and began freezing. Before he could get far, he felt a sharp poke on his hand, making him retract it. "Todoroki, listen to me. It's going to be okay, we're getting out of here, alright? Stop trying to attack me."
Shouto couldn't quite make sense of those words. He was running off of adrenaline and fear. His captor kept fending him off with pokes and jabs that honestly didn't even hurt, just startled Shouto enough to pull his hand away. He tried his best to fight, but he felt so weak and disoriented and confused. Shouto simply couldn't fight as hard as he would've liked to.
Soon they slammed through a door and were in an alley. With nobody around to accidentally hurt, he pulled back a flame-filled hand. He shoved his aggressor with all his might.
"Todoroki, look at me," they said. His heartbeat slammed in his ears as his own breathing make it hard to hear what they were saying. "It's me, Jirou. It's just me. Look, I'll stand over here. I won't get close. I'm going to sit down, can you sit down for me?"
The flames in Shouto's hands died as he stared at his friend. She had the smallest smile on her face as she looked completely calm. He took the time to process her words and try desperately to make sense of them. He lowered himself and stumbled a little as he sat down. His hands shook relentlessly as he tried to move his hair out of his vision to see her. The dull pinpricks concentrated in his core as he choked on each breath he tried to take.
"Todoroki, I want you to try breathing in for five seconds, holding your breath for five seconds, breathing out for five, holding for five. Do that over and over again until you get the hang of it. I'll do it with you, okay?" Kyouka said softly. Accompanied by soft hand movements, she began breathing slowly, looking for Shouto to do the same.
His breath was dangerously unsteady as he tried to breathe in. He couldn't hold his breath for five seconds. He coughed manically as he exhaled. But Kyouka kept breathing. "It's okay, keep trying," she encouraged.
Shouto kept trying. It was really the only thing he could do. Maybe after three? Four minutes? He stopped choking, he stopped coughing. He took the breaths just how Kyouka instructed. It didn't stop his body from shaking. It didn't stop his heartbeat echoing through his ears, it didn't stop his tears from falling onto his jeans and soaking into his shirt. But at least he didn't feel like he was about to die, and that had to count for something.
"How are you feeling now?" Kyouka asked.
"Bad," Shouto whispered. Kyouka smiled softly in the darkness that was lit by a dim streetlamp by the end of the alley.
"That's okay. It's okay to feel bad," Kyouka emphasized. "I'm going to move closer to you, is that okay?"
Shouto's body shuddered as more sobs escaped his lips. He nodded his head hesitantly. He was mortified. He hated the fact that Kyouka was seeing him in such a pathetic state. But in all honesty, he couldn't stand the thought of being alone. Kyouka slowly got up and moved at a snail's pace as she approached Shouto. She sat down a meter away from him with care.
Kyouka gestured to Shouto's jacket with care. "That's a dope jacket, where did you get it?" She asked. Shouto took in a shaky breath as he looked back to Kyouka.
"I... I don't know," he whispered. "It was Natsuo's. He gave it to me."
"Natsuo has some good taste," Kyouka chuckled. "I don't ever think I got the full story of how you and Midoriya started dating. Would you mind sharing it?"
Shouto nodded his head and began going into the story that all started with a horrendous All Might t-shirt they saw at the mall. Kyouka laughed at the funny parts and listened intensely to the story. Shouto felt a little bit of guilt rise in his stomach as he watched Kyouka shake her burnt hand subtly from time to time. Before Shouto, knew it, he finished the seven-minute-long story. Kyouka had a wholesome smile on her face.
"Awe, that's so cute. I'm so happy for you two," she said. After a couple of seconds of silence, she took a deep breath. "How are you feeling?"
"Better," Shouto said. His hands were still a little shaky and his heartbeat was most definitely above resting, but he was better.
"That's good," she said. "You don't have to talk about it right now. It'd probably be best that we wait a couple of hours anyway. But whatever you want to do now, we'll do. I think it's best if we head back to the dorms again. I don't think that music festivals are your scene.
"But you were the one who wanted to be here," Shouto said, feeling a little guilty. "You're the one who asked everyone to join you." Kyouka lightly chuckled.
"I saw my dad play. That's all I really wanted to see. Plus, this is way more important than any song they could play. Hell, Frank Iero could walk up on that stage and I'd still be out here. Your well being is more important than any live performance," Kyouka reminded. Shouto took a deep breath and wiped at the dried tears on his face.
"Thank you, Jirou," he muttered. "I deeply appreciate it."
"Shouto?!" A panicked voice yelled from out of the alley. Kyouka gave a small signal that she was about to yell as she turned her head to face the noise.
"Over here, Midoriya!" She called out. Izuku sprinted into the alley, making the fear in Shouto's being spike. Kyouka held her arms out and signaled him to slow down. Izuku stumbled to a stop as he looked at Kyouka. Izuku took a deep breath.
"Sho, can I sit next to you?" Izuku asked softly, glancing at Kyouka. Shouto nodded his head and watched as the freckled hero sat down next to him. He gently wrapped his arms around Shouto. The heterochromatic hero leaned into his boyfriend's touch and felt relieved to be in a quiet environment while feeling Izuku's curls brush against his cheeks.
"I'm sorry Sho, I shouldn't have lost you."
"It's okay," Shouto replied. He couldn't bring himself to talk about it anymore. He wanted to reassure Izuku, but he wasn't a fan of reliving the fear that infected his veins not too long ago. The heavy door muffled most of the screams and music, making Shouto feel more at peace. "I think I'm going to go home. I want to go back to the dorms."
"I can go with you, if you'd like me to," Izuku said softly. Shouto shook his head.
"You came here to have fun. Stay," Shouto insisted. Izuku laughed a little at Shouto's statement, making him tilt his head.
"Sho, I begged you to come because I thought I'd get bored. No offense Jirou, but this music isn't really my style," Izuku said. Kyouka waved a hand dismissively.
"None taken. Sounds like both of you wanna get outta here," Kyouka said. "Go ahead, I'm gonna stick around and tell the others you two left early."
"Thank you," Shouto said. Izuku hugged Kyouka goodbye and Shouto waved to her as she went through the main entrance and showed them her entry band. Shouto and Izuku made sure she got in alright before walking back to Heights Alliance.
The walk back to the dorms was calming. The hum of a couple of cars and the mild bustle about felt natural to Shouto. Once back in the dorms, the two of them said hello to Shouji and Koda who were playing a board game in the common area.
The two of them made their way up to Shouto's room. With a playful smirk, Shouto dragged Izuku in and threw him a pair of sweatpants. The two of them got changed into more comfortable clothing and lay down on Shouto's futon. Shouto wrapped his arms around Izuku while in return he buried his face in Shouto's chest. "I enjoy this more than the concert," Shouto mumbled.
"Me too," Izuku said in return. Izuku reached up and kissed Shouto. "I love you Sho."
Shouto buried his face in Izuku's curls and held onto him. "I love you too Izu," he replied.
Shouto felt so drained from the events of the day. The two of them fell asleep fast in each other's arms.