Ch. 46 Take the Ring Off Now

As soon as you slammed the car door shut with both of you inside, you started to take off the ring, or at least you tried to take it off, because the fucker wouldn't budge.

It felt like it took hours to get out of the restaurant with everyone congratulating you both and wanting to take pictures with Shoto and practically gushing over the stupid fucking ring that wouldn't come off.

"Damn it!" you growled, trying to pull on it.

"Here, let me help," Shoto said, reaching toward you.

"Back up," you snapped. "I can't even look at you right now." You tried pulling at the ring again, with no luck, your finger only turning purple the more you tried to tug it off. "You got this thing on me, why the hell won't it come off?"

"Maybe because it's meant to be on your finger."

"Oh shut up," you fumed.

"You're the one who let me put it on you."

"Because I'm nice and didn't want to embarrass you and ugh! Now I'm so mad."

"Then maybe if you would calm down it would come off?"

"How can I calm down when fifty people just saw us get fake-engaged, not to mention all of the people who are now going to hear about it on social media? I can't even believe this is happening."

"What if I iced your finger...?"

"Don't touch me."

You stewed in silence the rest of the way home. The last thing you wanted to do was subject his poor, sweet driver to the crazy you were about to unleash on Shoto. He tried to hold your hand at one point in the car, but you only scooted farther away, neither of you speaking to the other until you'd made it into the apartment.

Once inside the door to the apartment you immediately spun around to yell at him, but he wasn't even looking at you. He was staring at his phone.

"I have to go into work," Shoto said distractedly, looking at his phone. "I just got a text. Are you going in to work tonight?"

"You're going to go? Right now? Are you serious? Shoto, I am pissed. We need to talk."

"You didn't want to talk in the car."

"Because I'm mad! This ring is stuck on my hand, and you don't seem at all bothered by the fact that the world is going to think we're getting married when we're not."

"So you're not going to work."

"Oh. My. God."

"So you are going to work?"

"Yes, I'm going to work! I'm sure as hell not sticking around here." You stormed into the kitchen and headed straight for the silverware drawer. Shoto followed you in, keeping his distance.

"What are you doing?" he asked cautiously.

"I'm looking for a knife."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"You're the one who is ridiculous," you said, finding a knife and spinning around to face him. You held it up like you'd seen Toga hold her knives. "You're lucky I'm just going to cut off my finger and not use this knife on...you."

"Now you're just being dramatic." But he backed up all the same. "When are you planning on going into work?"

"I don't know. Why do you even care?" Cursing everything in existence, you reluctantly put the knife back and slammed the kitchen drawer shut. You tried tugging on the ring again. "But as soon as possible."

"Why don't you take a shower, relax for awhile, and then go? I'm sure it's okay if you're late, given everything that just happened, even though I think I made you late last night, too."

"Don't even talk to me about last night."

"You know, that ring might be a good way to keep guys at the bar from hitting on you," he offered.

"Are you fucking kidding me right now?"

"Are you mad because you think it will hurt your tips?"

"Shoto. I need you to get out of my sight. Go to your work, and I'll go to mine. In the morning you're going to call every news outlet you can think about and tell them that this was a big misunderstanding. I don't even care what lie you have to make up."

Shoto stared at you for a minute, considering.

"Yeah. I don't think I'm going to do that."

"Excuse me?"

"If I do that, I'm also going to tell them that I'm calling off the engagement because I realized that you're a known villain."

The silence in the kitchen was deafening. Shoto leaned against the counter, crossing his arms over his chest, a smug look on his face.

"Ex-fucking-scuse me?"

Shoto's voice was like ice. "You heard me."

"I.... I...." you couldn't find the right words. "I don't know what you're talking about."

You tried reaching for his mind, but there was nothing. You tried again. Nothing. Just a blank block. You'd only had this happen once before, years ago. Why now? Why here?

"Don't play coy with me, love," he said, the last word cold. "You think I didn't know? You really think that one of the top heroes in the country wouldn't know that the girl he's fucking is a villain?"

"It was one time, Shoto. We had sex one time. And... fine. If I really am a villain, why are you so interested in being with me, Mr. Top Hero?"

"I like you. I do. It was just a lucky coincidence that I found out how valuable you truly are. But you've been poorly used. Someone like you, with your ability, can be much more valuable than they're giving you credit for right now. The League is a bunch of lowlifes."

"You're the one harboring a criminal then," you countered. "That won't look good. You'll either look stupid for not knowing that a villain is living under your roof or you'll look bad for not telling anyone."

Again you tried listening for his thoughts. Nothing. What the hell?

"You look confused. Is my quirkless fiancé having some problems?"

"No... No, it's just..."

Fuck, what was going on? Why couldn't you use your quirk?

"Did you like the wine tonight?" Shoto asked. "I had to make sure I could surprise you, after all."

"Who cares about the wine?"

"One benefit of being so high in the rankings with the Commission is that I have access to all sorts of fun things. One of them being a drug that cancels quirks. Tasteless, odorless. Dissolved perfectly, although you were drinking the wine so fast that I bet you wouldn't have even noticed. Convenient, right?"

So that was it. A quirk canceling drug.

"You drugged me." It wasn't a question. "You drugged me and then tricked me into being engaged to you. God, this is so messed up."

"Our fearless team leader actually gave me that drug for dealing with villains, although I doubt he had any idea that I would be doing exactly that."

"Your leader... you mean... Keigo, no, Hawks? Hawks gave you this drug?"

You wondered how quickly you could go back and get that knife again.

"Yes. I have a contact in the League, making me very useful to him." Shoto checked his phone again before putting it back in his pocket. "My contact likes to talk, and it wasn't difficult to put the pieces together." His voice was suddenly softer. "Y/n... "

"What."

He came toward you, slowly, deliberately, with his hands out in front of him as if he were approaching a wounded animal that might bite at any second.

"You're going to have a life that most women would dream of having. This really isn't so bad," he said, talking as he walked to you. "I love you. I want to marry you, and once we're married, you'll never need anything at all. No one will ever know that you worked for the League. I've arranged it so that you won't have to work for them for long anyway."

You took a step back to put some distance between the two of you.

"Wait. Really?"

"That's what you want?" he asked. 

"Yes!"

"Good. There's the gratitude I was hoping to hear."

"I'll be grateful when you stop talking." 

"We're getting married, y/n. We're getting married or you'll be in jail. You get to pick. So go to work and be sure to wear your ring. Actually, there's something you need to do first."

"What's that?"

He took out his phone and started a call. "First you're going to end whatever is going on with Bakugo."

"Fuck you, Shoto. Honestly."

"Hello" he said into the phone. "Yes, I know what time it is.... I've got y/n here. There's something she wants to tell you."

And with that, Shoto held out the phone to you.