You Were Worth it

Chapter 7

Shinso ripped his front door open, ready to kill whoever had been pounding on it for ten minutes. He wanted to be surprised to see Bakugo standing there, but he wasn't. Not after the way he treated Midoriya when he saw him last.

Shinso ran a hand through his purple locks with a deep sigh. "Listen, I'm sorry for how I treated your boyfriend, and I will apologize to him when I see him again, but I'm not in the right mood. You can threaten me another day." He stepped back and tried to shut the door before the blond could respond, but Bakugo stopped it with his foot.

"I'm not here to yell at you for how you treated my boyfriend. Hell, I'm not even here to yell at you for how you treated yours." He was pissed when he found out how Shinso had treated Midoriya, but that wasn't on his mind now.

"Why are you here, then?" Shinso asked.

"To talk to you about how you're feeling. We may not be as close to you as we are Dunce, but that doesn't mean we're not here for you," Bakugo explained through the cracked door. "From one sex addict to another, open the damn door."

Shinso closed his eyes and debated for a second. He doesn't have anyone else to talk to. He and Kaminari shared the same friends, so this was the best he was going to get. If he tried to talk to his other 'friends,' they would only tell him to find someone else so they could continue their previous festivities.

With a defeating sigh, he pulled the door open for Bakugo. "I don't need to talk. I'm fine," Shinso said.

Bakugo shook his head as he stepped inside, shutting the door behind him. "If you didn't need to talk, you wouldn't have let me in."

Shinso scoffed. He was fine. He was getting the help he needed. He didn't need anyone else to tell him how much he'd fucked up. He already knew. "How are you feeling?" Bakugo asked.

"Disgusted and ashamed." Shinso led his friend to the living room, where they both settled into the armchairs across the large couch. "I fucked up so bad, and I know that."

"If you know it, what are you doing about it?" Bakugo asked. "Sitting here and feeling sorry for yourself isn't going to change a damn thing."

Shinso knew that. That's the reason he sought help. He was feeling sorry for himself, but that wasn't all he was doing. He was trying to be better for Kaminari and be the boyfriend he deserved. "I got help. Not just for the sex addiction, but for my depression and sleeping problems. My psychiatrist said it could all be related."

Bakugo folded his hands and set them on his legs. He didn't say anything. Now wasn't the time for him to talk. It was the time for him to listen to a friend in need. "I think a part of me always knew something was wrong with Denki. He wouldn't take those cuffs off in front of me for any reason. He wore them in the shower, at the beach, in the bedroom, literally anywhere. A part of my brain knew something was wrong, but I buried it."

Shinso closed his eyes and thought back to when his boyfriend took his cuffs off a few days ago. The guilt and shame that filled his body when he saw the old scars and the fresh cuts made his stomach turn. "I didn't know it was that bad, though."

"Your addiction can make you do stupid stuff and look over the pain and suffering of everyone close to you," Bakugo sighed. He knew from experience. He's hurt too many people to count and continued to look over their pain to feed his addiction.

"How did he end up with you guys? Did he show one of you and then just take off?" Shinso was trying to piece things together. He wanted to know what had happened so he could figure out where to go from there.

"When you two stopped by when Izu was sick last week, Kaminari asked to talk to him about how he was feeling. Izu knew he self-harmed and told Kaminari to call him if he ever felt like a danger to himself."

"How did Midoriya know?" He felt terrible already, but knowing that someone else knew before he could piece it together made him feel worse.

"He figured it out. Remember, he's attending school to be an addiction and mental health therapist. He saw the signs, and everything clicked in his head. He didn't tell anyone, even me. I didn't know until Kaminari was dragging a blade across his skin on your bathroom floor," he explained.

"How did you guys know what he was doing?" Shinso asked.

"He called Izu. He essentially told him he was scared for his life. We were all together on our way to lunch, so we rushed over. When we got here, there was so much blood, and we were fucking terrified." Bakugo cringed at the memory. "It looked a lot worse than it was, but that doesn't change what happened." Shinso gripped his stomach, trying to hold down the food, trying to make its way back up.

"I don't know if I can fix this," he muttered as a stray tear fell down his face. He couldn't remember the last time he cried. He thought back to his childhood, but all he remembered was feeling numb. "How the fuck am I supposed to fix this?"

Bakugo sighed. "You have to talk to him. When he gets home tomorrow, sit down and talk to him. Figure out your plan of action, talk about what you both want and go from there. You're not going to wake up better tomorrow. It will take time, and since you'll be with him, it might take longer." Bakugo wasn't with Midoriya when he was trying to kick his addiction, so it was easier to shut himself away and deal with it.

"Do you know when he will be home tomorrow? I have to see my psychiatrist at ten," Shinso muttered.

"He should be back around five or so. I can text you if the plans change." Shinso hated that he didn't even know where his boyfriend was, who he was with, or what he was doing. He wanted to be there with him but knew he didn't deserve to be. Not when he was the one that pushed him so far away, to begin with.

"I don't know what to say to him," Shinso said. "There's no way I can apologize for everything I've fucking put him through."

"It's not going to be easy, and I won't lie and say it will be. But you have to do it if you want to move forward. It sounds like you want to get better, and I know he loves you. He wants you to get better. You two can figure it out. I know you can."

"When do you become so good with this shit?" Shinso chuckled, wiping away the few tears that remained on his cheeks.

"When I fell in love and became a dad," Bakugo smiled softly. "Listen, it doesn't matter what happens tomorrow. If you need someone to talk to, text me."

"What if it doesn't end well? I would rather you take his side than mine. I don't need to take his friends. I've already taken too much from him."

Bakugo rolled his eyes and pushed himself from the chair. "We're your friends too, not just his. You're getting help and making an effort. We won't leave you behind because you want to better yourself."

Shinso nodded his head. He couldn't remember the last time he had someone he could rely on like this. He had Kaminari, but it wasn't the same. He relied on him in a different way--a selfish way. "Bakugo," he said suddenly. "Thank you."

Bakugo nodded his head. "I have to run and see Yaoyorozu and Iida, so I have to go. If you need to talk at any time, text any one of us."

"Any of you?" Shinso questioned with a cocked brow. "I don't think Kirishima would be happy if I text him."

"Oh, he's pissed, but he knows what addiction does to someone. He's been on the other end of my addiction way too many times. If you need him, he'll be there." Bakugo made his way to the front door and stopped before opening it. "One more thing," he said loudly. Shinso turned his body to face him, giving him his full attention. "If you ever fucking touch or threaten Izuku like that again, I will fucking kill you. This is your only warning."

"Yeah, I deserved that," Shinso mumbled.

Bakugo didn't say anything else before gently shutting the door behind him, leaving Shinso alone with his thoughts once more.