Rescue // Shoto Todoroki x OC Fanfiction

Chapter Thirty

Shoto was confused. He wasn't sure why she was being so combative all of a sudden. Sure--she was like that a lot, but she was being extra snarky at the moment. He'd been watching her down her drinks all night and thought that it might have something to do with it, but it felt like more than that.  

Understanding people had never been Shoto's strong suit, so trying to piece together how she was feeling (especially after having had a few drinks himself), felt impossible. She glared up at him with her arms crossed over her chest, and he tried to think of a reason as to why she'd be so upset at him. 

He wondered if she was still upset about the kiss. He understood it if she was; he'd crossed a line. 

"Have I done something wrong?" he finally asked her, cocking his eyebrow at her. 

"I told you I didn't want to talk to you right now," she said. She tried to walk away, but he quickly grabbed her wrist and forced her to stop. Katsumi whipped her head back around to glare at him again, before ripping her arm out of his grasp and storming off back to the table in the corner she'd been sitting at most of the night. 

He rolled his eyes at her behavior and tried to focus on other things. He wouldn't be joining the others on the dance floor, so he stayed at the edge of the room and sipped on the drink in his hand, all while keeping somewhat of an eye on Katsumi. She eventually got up after a little bit and headed across the bar and into the bathroom. While she was no longer in the room, Shoto was cornered by Ashido and Uraraka. 

"Heard you went on a date with Katsumi," Ashido said, raising her eyebrows at him a few times. Now, Shoto was confused. He'd never gone on a date with Katsumi. 

"What date?" he questioned, taking another sip of his drink. 

"You know, the little lunch date you had, where you practically ripped her heart out of her chest and stomped it into the ground," Ashido said sharply. 

That hadn't been a date. And what did Ashido even mean by that? Shoto wracked his brain, trying to figure out what they meant--then it dawned on him. 

When Katsumi asked him out to lunch, had she been asking him on a date...?

"That's a little dramatic," Uraraka said to Ashido, elbowing the pink woman in the ribs. "But seriously, I thought you liked her." Uraraka looked to Shoto for answers, but he didn't have any. 

He was just as confused about this as they were. Had he actually hurt Katsumi somehow? 

"I- I do like her, I think," Shoto admitted. "But what is this about a date? I don't recall it being a date. She said nothing about that." 

He went over their lunch meeting in his head, trying to remember the details. He remembered how nervous she looked. Shoto thought he'd made her uncomfortable, so he apologized for kissing her. But what if that's not why she was nervous? Was she nervous because she thought she was on a date with him? That meant she must have liked him back...

"Oh man, you screwed up big time then," Ashido said before sauntering off back to the others. 

Uraraka remained by Shoto as he pinched the bridge of his nose. 

"You should talk to her," she finally said, before rejoining the group as well. And Shoto agreed. He obviously needed to talk to Katsumi. If she had felt the same way he did, then he had seriously rejected her and that's why she was being so cold toward him.

* * * 

Katsumi was drunk. It didn't take much to make her tipsy since she didn't normally drink alcohol. She should have slowed down and stopped accepting the drinks that Mina kept bringing her. 

She gripped the edges of the sink and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Even though she'd slapped on a ton of concealer, the dark set of eye bags she wore were still visible. She sucked in a large breath and hoisted herself back upright, ignoring the way her vision seemed to spin as she walked. 

Uraraka had intended to walk her home tonight, but Katsumi wasn't sure if walking was a good idea. She'd probably have to call for a rideshare. She sighed when she checked her pockets for her phone, realizing it wasn't there. It was probably still sitting on the table, hopefully. 

Making her way back out into the bar, she tried not to sway as she walked. She didn't want anyone to know how drunk she was. On her way back to the table in the corner, she tripped over her own feet and almost fell, but someone caught her. 

"Jesus," she muttered. Then, she looked up to see who it was, and a glare formed on her face. It was Shoto. Again. It seemed like he just wouldn't leave her alone tonight, no matter how hard she tried. 

She didn't even like looking at him right now. It just made her mad and upset about everything. She wasn't the kind of person who just went around kissing random people, let alone people she worked with. It wasn't a good practice regardless and just made things messy. Katsumi didn't like messy. She liked predictability and stability. But ever since she'd started working with Shoto, her life has been anything but. She hated to admit it, but she wanted him so bad, and it killed her to know the one person she'd ever wanted this much didn't want her back. 

"Let go of me," she said, pulling herself out of his arms. She didn't like the way her skin tingled when he touched her. Stumbling back, her face felt warm now, and something wet was on her cheeks. She reached up to touch her face--and were those tears? Was she crying now? He grabbed her when she stumbled again, steadying her on her feet. 

"Are you alright?" he asked her, looking into her eyes with concern. 

"Why do you care?" she bit. He had no right to care about how she felt. He shouldn't care. He didn't say anything, but instead pulled her closer and started to wipe the tears off of her cheeks, and she hated it. 

She hated that he was being so kind and caring toward her. She hated that he still wanted to take care of her. While he touched her face, only one thought ran through her mind. 

'Why doesn't he want me?' She asked herself, over and over again as she cried. She was embarrassed that she couldn't stop. She hated every part of this. He had moved even closer now and was holding her face, forcing Katsumi to look at him. 

"I want you," he spoke, his voice lidden with emotion. 

Had she been saying that out loud?

"What?" she asked quietly. Her eyes searched his, and for once, she could tell what he was feeling. His eyes looked her over with a sadness she'd never seen him with before. There was even maybe a bit of regret or guilt. Why did she always make him feel so guilty? 

"I want you," he repeated. 

It took a second for Katsumi to register what the man in front of her was saying. "Y- you do?" she asked. She still didn't really believe what she was hearing. Based on how he'd been acting and what he'd said the last time they were together, it made no sense. He was giving her total whiplash. 

"I really do," he said. "And I'm sorry I made you think otherwise." He wiped the last of her tears from her cheeks as he held her gaze. "I'd love to talk about this more with you, but I think we should wait. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty drunk," he chuckled.

Yeah, same," Katsumi replied softly. Her heart felt lighter, now that his words had sunken in. He wanted her. He actually wanted her.