Chapter Text
It was amazing how one night could change your entire world, and yet nothing much changed at all. A single virtual date had made him feel like he was floating. The alpha of his dreams was trying to properly court him. Not just seeking out his body, or trying to force him into a bond… but to get to know him. To find out who he was behind the camera and seek something deeper than the surface level he shared with everyone else…At least, that was what he said anyway.
There was always a nagging doubt in the back of his mind that if the camera was rolling and instead of the perfectly polished Sakura, he was greeted by scarred and hideous Kariya that he would log off and never come back. Without the makeup, the wigs, and the crafted physical persona that masked most of those features he would not care anymore. Though he was trying to ignore that thought because the reality was he was enjoying himself. Getting a chance to open up to someone about parts of himself, and share was a rarity and he was slowly finding that he was falling for the handsome “knight”.
True to his word, they had spent so much time chatting with one another. Casual private messages sent back and forth throughout the day along with pictures. Little outfits of the day, selfies, food pic…casual things that felt so completely mundane and normal and yet were all he lived for. Kariya woke to a message from Lancelot, and responded as soon as he woke in the afternoon. He was growing more and more needy for the other. His heart racing each time his phone would beep, and getting disappointed if it was just a social media notification or something other than him. He even tried writing a little bit so he could have something more interesting to talk to him about, though he was too embarrassed to really share much of it since it was just some basic ideas thus far and he was
This was getting deeper than just friendship, it was starting to be something more. A crush? Infatuation? It was hard to say, but all he knew was he felt butterflies in his stomach, and the fluttering of his heart when he imagined that handsome alpha next store…and his scent was haunting him now. Something that was stuck in his mind and impossible to forget, and he was almost certain that if he didn’t get something scented with it for his next heat he was going to lose his mind. Trying to self soothe with toys, knowing that he was so close by was going to ache… and having nothing of the alpha that was driving him wild was only going to make it worse. Though that was selfish and stupid, and something he could worry about at a later time.
Right now, what he needed more than anything was someone to just vent all these feelings to and a chance to maybe get out of his apartment. The combination of being alone all day and just dwelling on his growing attachment, and camming…hoping to see his name in the list of watchers was making him antsy. As much as he hated crowds, Ritsuka had been messaging him asking to go out and it was probably a good idea to accept the offer and get away for at least a little while. It could not hurt, right? It would mean trying and overcoming that anxiety and maybe have a chance to sound off a little bit about Lancelot. Seeing his friend also sounded nice.
Being more outgoing, of course, Ritsuka made all the arrangements. Happily setting a day and telling him to dress comfortably so they could spend a night out together…choosing a Wednesday since they were usually not the most packed to help ease some of Kariya’s concerns. It was a good start, and he plugged in the address that was supposed to meet up into his phone and headed out to meet him there.
When he could not control the filter, like through lenses of a camera…Kariya liked to hide his body. His self image was poor, and the idea of seeing people looking at him at all was hard. Any chance anyone would have to really look at him, seeing how lithe he was and the fading scars on his face… It made him uneasy. So when given the option to dress “comfortably” Kariya opted for something that covered nearly everything. The omega picked out a simple oversized sweater with white and purple stripes and a pair of gray leggings that matched. A faint bit of makeup but more so just hide the dark circles under his eyes and some of the flaws in his skin from his malnourishment and lack of proper omega care growing up. He was not wearing any of the wigs he wore on camera or anything that made him stand out. This was supposed to just be time with his friend, after all.
He felt awkward as he walked toward a more trendy area of the city. Typically he stuck to the areas near his house. The grocery, convenience stories and some restaurants that he liked to go… this was out of his usual comfort zone. At least he was meeting someone here, which was the only reason he was not heading back home. Finally he noticed his friend. Ritsuka was effortlessly cute, really. With short black hair and brilliant blue eyes that almost sparkled. Unlike Kariya who was somewhat tall, he was petite, wearing a short black cropped sweater and a simple pair of jeans that hugged low on his hips, showing off his hips slightly. His smile was sweet and sincere, and there was a genuine feeling around him that just made people want to protect him. The type of omega that alphas just wanted, and it should make Kariya jealous… but it never really did. Instead he was just grateful that someone like him wanted to be his friend.
The baby blues peaked up from his phone and immediately they lit up. Ritsuka rushed over toward him and offered him a big hug. “Kariya!! It’s so good to finally see you again,” he said as Kariya shuffled uncomfortably.
“I...It’s been so long I wasn’t sure if you would recognize me…without all the Sakura make up.”
Ritsuka’s laugh was melodic and disarming. “Well, I almost didn’t. But your eyes give you away,” he teased and winked. Not many had the type of heterochromia that he had, but it was obviously a joke.
“Where are we going?” The two toned eyes looked around and the smaller of the two pointed toward a bar nearby. It was one of the few paces that looked somewhat busy in spite of the day. Camelot. The name was somewhat familiar, and he could not piece together why, right away, as they walked toward it and they slipped inside. Unlike a lot of college bars, this one had a bit of ambience and was not just a dive. The place had some soft back lighting, and looked a little more like an upscale pub. A waiter walked past dressed in a uniform that made the omega freeze in place. White dress shirts with bow ties and faux tuxedo vests that cinched at the waist. Just like the ones that Lancelot had sent to him so many times.
Ritsuka gripped his arm, as he started to drag him into the bar. “Come on! No need to be shy, I’ll buy our first drinks. It's not that busy here, really,” he said, smiling at the other. There were a handful of other patrons but there was plenty of seating for them at the bar itself. Though his eyes were on the ground now and he did not want to look, wracking his brain trying to remember if Lancelot was in class today, or if he was working.
“Wow, the bartender is really handsome,” Ritasuka said and his cheeks flushed a little. The boy gently nudged Kariya to try and get him to look. Sheepishly he glanced over for a moment, eyes vaguely registering a blond man and feeling a wave of relief hit him that was almost dizzying. A big part of the reason he had come out was to talk about his feelings for Lancelot, it would be hard to do if he had to be confronted with looking at him all night. What if he had recognized him? That would just be too awkward. Granted he had not the other two times they ran into one another, but that was not for very long. Sitting in front of him at his work, there was a lot more of a chance for them to actually interact.
“I guess,” he mumbled and bit his nip anxiously, letting his eyes go back down to the floor.
“You guess,” Ritsuka repeated and sounded incredulous. “He’s fucking gorgeous,” he almost purred and the man in question glanced their way. It was obvious that he had noticed them but made no effort to come over and get their drinks, instead looking up toward the clock and then stepping back behind the bar for a moment.
A few moments later a soft bell chimed to signify another arrival. A man walked in and quickly jumped over the bar itself and Kariya could not help but to peek over and felt his stomach drop. The man took a moment, pulling back his long lavender hair into pony hair and smoothing his vest down. His entire appearance looked more prim by the moment. Once he was content he would smirk a bit, lean over the bar and look directly toward the raven haired omega. He felt like he was melting and he had to look away again. “Well well, what a lovely start to my shift. Two beautiful omegas alone at my bar,” the french accent purred and Kariya choked on the air in his lungs. “What would you like to drink? I can make anything that is not frozen.”
“Well, hello,” Ritsuka said, sounding much more confident than Kariya could ever hope to outside of his character. “I was just checking out the muscled, blond and dreamy man over there but you are nice to look at yourself.”
Lancelot audibly laughed at that, and then leaned back a little bit, placing a hand on his chest. “Merci,” he made a dramatic little noise at that, his scent coming out light and refreshing and making Kariya almost melt in place and he was still just staying completely still. “I will make sure my companion knows you have such kind words as well,” he said and winked to Ritsuka who giggled happily. “Flattery gets you everywhere, so how about I get you two lovely omegas something to drink. First round I will do for a phone number if you like, to give to my blond, muscle bound friend perhaps,” he said and cocked a brow
“Absolutely,” Ritsuka said, blue eyes almost sparkling and Lancelot smirked. He looked at Kariya for a moment, focusing on him. Probably just enough to make sure that he was ignoring the shy friend so he was stiffed on the tip. The two toned eyes met his for a fraction of a second and then looked back down, fidgeting anxiously with the ends of his sweater and wanting him to go away.
“Two drinks coming right up,” he promised and would step back toward the blond bartender. The two of them were quietly talking and looking over their way but honestly he could not bring himself to look back their way. Once he was gone and the familiar scent was not as strong, Kariya felt like he could breathe again and exhaled a deep sigh.
His friend looked over at him curiously. “Are you ok,” a soft hand touched his shoulder lightly. The touch was grounding and he slowly nodded his head, thankful that Lancelot had not seemed to really pay all that much attention to him when he was here.
His cheeks were a little pink as he looked over toward his friend. “I am fine.” The admission was soft as he pulled out his phone quietly and fidgeted with his lock screen, contemplating if he wanted to admit right away why he was so anxious. “That bartender was just… a client.”
“A client,” he repeated and narrowed his eyes incredulously. For a moment he scrutinized and then seemed to have an aha moment. “OH MY did he win your Auction!? DAMN he is hot, so lucky,” he grinned and looked back, checking out Lancelot a little bit. It seemed that he was gone talking with the gorgeous blond who was now a little flustered and had stepped up to a well and was making some drinks.
“Yea, that is him,” he admitted and was bright red, touching his cheeks and certain he had never been this red in public from the way he complimented Lancelot. His scent spread just a little, with a touch of pride. He had been told he had a fowl scent by his father. Told that he was cloying and disgustingly sweet. That he should do his best to mask it so that they did not have to be subjected to his omega pheromones. Thankfully, he was starting to accept that Zouken had been toxic to him and being Sakura helped him to accept his omega traits a little. Ritsuka was his friend and did not feel as anxious with him, and he did not seem to be grossed out by it either. “He’s seen Sakura a few more times since. It’s complicated,” he started and froze once more when he watched Lancelot return to their side leaning over the bar flirtatiously and beaming his smile.
“We never ordered,” Ritsuka just realized and looked as Lancelot set down a simple frosted rocks glass down in front of him with a confident smirk. The bottom of it was dark purple hue and had a rich gradient with some soft almost shimmering pearlescent swirls inside.
“Oh, this is a game I like to play on slower nights like tonight,” the alpha explained and laughed a little bit. “Normally, what I do is I talk to you both and I ask a few questions, turn on the charm, flirt and then I guess what your tastes are based on what your answers are. If you don’t like it I will replace it, but I have a perfect record for this thing,” He cocked a lavender brow as Ritsuka looked unamused and seemed skeptical of the idea. “Our talk before was more than enough for me to get a read on you both though,” he said and Kariya looked up, heart racing in his ear as he wondered what that meant for him. The bartender smiled more softly at him as he placed a soft pastel pink colored drink in front of him that had some soft bubbles.
Kariya looked down at it curiously, touching the stem and bringing it closer to himself. It gave him something to focus on other than Lancelot. Who was now looking back at Ritsuka. “I noticed a few things about you right away. First is that you seem to have a type,” he said and looked back toward Gawain who caught his gaze back. The bar had cleared out even more since their arrival, so he could only focus on the few customers he had so long without hovering. “You were outspoken, confident, and yet I bet a part of that is only because I am the wing man and not the dreamy blond myself, am I wrong,” he asked and Ritsuka blushed and shook his head. Lancelot gave a bit of a laugh but it was clearly friendly. “I also noticed your scent reminded me somewhat of Summer. So I made you a variation of a bramble. Muddled Blackberries, Chambord, Gawain’s favorite gin, lemon juice, lime juice, simple syrup and a little bit of Viniq just for the shimmery look.” Lancelot was smooth, clearly slipping his co-workers name into the description and flattering Ritsuka nicely.
“I don’t normally drink Gin,” he mused and looked at it, he would swirl the straw a little making sure it was mixed before taking a sip though. It was really good and he sighed softly and smiled. “Still a perfect record,” he mumbled but was far from unhappy.
“Trust me, I know,” he said and looked over toward Kariya now who felt like he wanted to just sink away below the bar. The lavender eyes on him were too much for him to handle. He was going to see something looking at him. Maybe he was going to see he was hideous? Maybe he would recognize that he was Sakura, or maybe he was going to have nothing nice to say about him like he did Ritsuka and that was going to make his heart sink. Kariya was trembling just a little bit as he idly played with the stem of the martini glass, feeling each thumping beat of his heart in his ear before Lancelot spoke again.
“You, little wallflower,” the french accented voice seemed a bit more quiet, and a lot of the sounds from the other patrons were fading away as he fixated on it. The same way he had when he listened to it on the headphones in his bed. “You seem to be incredibly anxious. Like you are going to crawl out of your own skin. Every time I bump into you, you seem like a delicate petal that is going to blow away with the lightest breeze…and just as pretty. White hair is a unique trait and what little bit I caught of your smile was lovely. I am sure your eyes would be too, if I could see them,” he paused, seeming to want to say something else but instead just looked at the drink. “I made you something that is sweet and refreshing. I call it a cherry blossom. It's Grand Marnier, cherry vodka, cherry juice and Champagne.”
Kariya looked at it, and took a sip. His cheeks were pink, not wanting to look at him and risk him recognizing his eyes from his stream. “I like it, thank you.” The scent coming from him was warmer and appreciative and the bartender seemed to take a moment, taking a deep breath before nodding.
“You are very welcome,” he promised and looked back toward Ritsuka now. “My name is Lancelot, call me if you want anything else to drink. Remember, the phone number only covers the first round here.” As he said it Ritsuka chuckled and took out a pen, writing his number eagerly and handing it to the bartender who chuckled. “If you princesses want any more drinks, feel free to call me, or you can shout for Gawain. I am sure he would love to talk to you. Though I am going to give you privacy to enjoy your outing.” With that assurance he stepped back giving one last glance toward Kariya. “Probably see you next door sometime, wallflower,” he waved and walked off to stand at the opposite end of the bar.
With him gone again Kariya felt like he was going to Collapse and looked to Ritsuka and made a little noise that was almost like a whimper. All the confusing feelings he had were hitting him harder than they had before. Like a tidal wave. Not only had he had some nice things to say about him, he had complimented him. Not through a screen, but him. Kariya. Knew that this was his neighbor at the very least. Maybe that was just so that he could get tips, since he was not sure who was paying… but it could not be a coincidence that he named the drink Cherry Blossom, right? Did he KNOW? Was he waiting to see what he did?
There was a lump forming in his throat and he managed to choke out his thoughts. “...I am so fucked,” Kariya managed and took a sip of the drink. It really was the perfect drink for him. Really, since bars were not something he frequented there was no chance he would not have known what to order himself. Lancelot had picked the perfect drink for him.
Ritsuka let out that soft laugh again. “Why?”
How did you explain this? He started trying to explain before their drinks were delivered. It felt like it was getting more and more complicated and his eyes were starting to water a little, feeling like he may cry. Which was ridiculous and he had to take a deep breath and take another dip of the drink before looking toward his friend. He felt a bit more collected and knew he was controlling his scent better so that none of the other patrons would notice distressed omegas hormones coming from him and freak out. “I….I may have been seeing Lancelot for a few weeks as Sakura,” he was almost mouthing the words, his tone so soft that Ritsuka had to lean in closer to hear and the bright blue eyes widened. The gasp that escaped him was audible though and he looked excited. “And I think I like…”
“Kariya,” Ritsuka said and looked over toward the handsome lavender haired man. “You have been going out on dates?”
“No… it’s all been all long distance. I mean, it’s been online. Movie nights, pictures, chatting,” he explained and the other omega was still beaming bright smiles, clearly excited for him. It’s not like he had ever shown interest in an alpha before. As a matter of fact he had more or less avoided alphas. His family had made him scared of being around them, worried he would be married off, and forced into some loveless bond. Being anxious, introverted meek and with weak omega instincts did not make him exactly a catch either.
“So is this the first time that you have seen him in person? Me dragging you out had you run into your boyfriend? That is super exciting! Introduce yourself,” Kariya suggested and gently nudged him wanting to encourage his friend.
“N-not e-exactly,” he felt more anxious as he finished the cocktail that Lancelot had made for him and bit his lip. “He lives…next door.”
“WHAT,” Ritsuka said out loud and caught the attention of both bartenders, it seemed like Lancelot was going to walk over but he gestured for him to go away and instead finished his own drink, standing up and walking toward a table a little further away from the bartop itself so they could have more privacy and talk. The raven haired boy was almost buzzing with excitement as he pulled the slender omega into a more secluded area and looked at him curiously. “So wait, he has only been dating Sakura online? Does he know who you are?”
Sheepishly Kariya shook his head. Now they were more isolated he felt his lip quivering, and the sting coming back to his eyes. “I’m scared,” he admitted and placed a hand on his chest, feeling his heart racing there. It almost felt like he was going to get sick. “It started out with him as a client and some private shows. He paid really well, didn’t charge back or anything… and he was hot. I ran into him after and figured out who he was but he didn’t recognize me out of character. I didn’t want to lose the client, so I kept it secret. Then it sort of evolved, and now…I like him. I like him a lot, and I am scared. He will think I am hideous, or won't like me… or will feel like I lied. I just don’t know what to do.``
Ritsuka would gently grab his hand, letting his other gently smooth down some of the soft white hair. “That is complicated,” he agreed and hummed a bit. “There is always a chance a client just wants what they think they can’t have. That illusion of something untouchable,” he had seen it happen to others. He personally did not do it, but it was not a lesson that he needed to learn first hand. “Once they can touch the illusion breaks, and who knows the outcome. Though you really never know until you try, right? Do you want to try a real relationship with him?”
The damn of his eyes gave way and the mismatched eyes were leaking crystalline streaks down the milky cheeks. “This is already real to me” he admitted and was shaking as he anxiously fidgeted in his seat, pulling his legs to his chest and pulling out his phone to look at the last messages that Lancelot had sent. Simple messages about having a good day, missing his voice, wanting to talk more… As much as he wanted to be closer to him, to bask in his scent and feel his warmth around him, it was not worth risking what he already had. If Lancelot did not want him when he found out the truth he would lose everything. Maybe it was deceptive, but was it wrong to hold onto something that he loved so much? “I think I am in love with him. ”
“Kariya…” Ritsuka sighed softly and pulled him into a hug, The boy holding him and letting him start to cry into his shoulder. He was always a good friend. Since he was not a defective omega like him, he likely wanted to protect him. Kariya was sure he was itching with the desire to jump in and try and help. Instead he stayed put and was being supportive and just was a shoulder for him to cry on for several minutes. A soft comforting wave of Ritsuka’s omega scent radiating from him. It was a touch sweet, but refreshing. Like lemons and fresh laundry and helped soothe the heightened emotion.
The makeup that had helped conceal his scars was a little smeared, making them more obvious. His eyes were puffy, and nose a little red as he looked up at his friend. “I am sorry, I should not have done that. I ruined our day.”
“Our day just started,” Ritsuka dismissed and smiled at him. “You didn’t ruin anything with a few tears. I am glad you were comfortable opening up to me, Kariya. Really,” The smile was comforting and he believed him. Though he felt foolish just saying that he loved Lancelot after a few movie nights and some back and forth text messages. Especially when the guy did not know his real name. “I don’t have answers for you. Just…do what you feel is best, and be careful ok?”
Kariya sniffed and nodded, giving him a watery smile. “Thank you,”
“Want to get one more drink and then move on to some food and shop? I have some fun toys I can recommend for streaming?”
With a nod he would exhale slowly and then look down at his phone. Lancelot had sent him a text while they were talking. A selfie from the bar.
It's a slow night. Wish I could see your face
He put the phone to his chest, cherishing it for a moment. It was entirely selfish, but he was just going to feel things out a little while longer. He hated the idea of hiding the truth from him, but losing this was too much to consider. Lancelot made him happy… and he deserved that for once. Maybe there would come a time when it would come up organically or he would stop hearing his father’s voice in the back of his mind. Until then, this was unorthodox, but it was working.
Sorry, I am out with a friend. How about we do a date the next time you are free?
Can’t wait.