healing takes time (none of it is linear)

Chapter 1

Izuku's head swirled, his body shook, and he couldn't focus. Fear swelled up in him, and he couldn't make himself move. If he could, he'd make a run for the door.

The three alphas in the room were whispering to each other. One seemed angry, something to do with his father, who had brought Izuku here... but Izuku couldn't focus. His eyes welled with tears, and he needed to escape. He couldn't do this. He couldn't do this again.

Suddenly, there was a hand in front of his face, and he quickly flinched away, bringing his arms up to cover his head, whimpering out: "P-please d-don't-" There was silence, and Izuku's conscience was snapped back into reality. He started panicking, and the silence that filled the room was deafening.

When the hand didn't touch him, Izuku lowered his arms, glancing up timidly. Two worried expressions and one refusing to look at him.

"Sorry I scared you," the redhead whispered. His hand still hung in the air, seemingly dejected and hurt.

Izuku looked at the ground, his body still trembling with fear. He didn't know what to do.

Carefully and slowly, a hand brushed his hair out of his face and petted his head, trying to relax him. "We're not going to hurt you, ok? Promise." A hand was extended to him, pinky out, and all Izuku could do was stare at it.
No. It was a game. They didn't mean it. The moment Izuku's guard was down, they'd become like the rest. They weren't going to be kind to him. So he had to get out of there.

He could feel his breathing picking up but couldn't care. "N-no," was all he could get himself to mumble out, pushing himself as far back as the couch would allow him to go.

The redhead looked back at the others, not knowing what to do. Finally, he backed away, giving Izuku some space.

One of the others approached; he had red and white hair and smelt like peppermint. "I'm sorry you are in this situation, but I can promise nothing bad will happen now that you are here. I know it's hard since you just met us, but you can trust us."

No... no, no, no, no, no, no, no! He can't! He can't! They're going to be just like everyone else! They will use and throw him away, and the cycle will start again! He can't trust them! He can't trust anyone! "S-stop lying," he whispered. "Stop lying- just get it over with and stop lying."

They shared another look, unsure of what he meant by that.

"Oi, get up," the third one told him. His voice was gruff and scary, and he looked pissed. Izuku didn't want to listen to him, but he was more scared about what may happen if he didn't.

On shaky legs, Izuku stood, keeping his eyes on the ground and trying not to panic. Instead, he let himself go numb. That was always the best. It didn't hurt as much when he hid away in the back of his mind.

Faintly over his thoughts, he could hear someone talking; the three were bickering over something before one took his hand. He let them lead him away, a part of him shocked by the gentleness of the contact.

They entered a room, and the door stayed open. A bed sat against the far wall, but there seemed to be nothing else. A spare bedroom? One for guests when they had visitors, though now Izuku assumed it was where he would be staying and probably be abused to their heart's content.

The alpha let go of his hand, and Izuku heard talking, but he wasn't processing any of the words. Instead, he stared blankly at the ground, waiting for something to happen: an order, hands on his body, something.

He flinched when the window was opened. He could jump, but glancing over showed him that the window would be too hard to get through, and they were on the second or maybe the third floor. If he didn't injure himself trying to get through the window, he would when he hit the ground, and then what? He wouldn't make it far if he got hurt, especially in the city.