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The first thought through Kei’s mind when he walked into the gym was that someone smelled absolutely delicious.
The second was that the world must be coming to an end, because that smell was coming from Kageyama.
Kei stood dumbly in the doorway for a moment, then turned and started the walk home.
The next morning when he returned, it was to the announcement that Kageyama would be gone for a few days while he dealt with his first heat.
Kei remained apathetic to the chaos around him, wondering blankly when they could start practice. The rest of the team, however, was determined to puzzle out the mystery of Kageyama of all people being an Omega. He asked Yamaguchi why they hadn’t realized it the night before.
“Huh? I guess a couple people did,” Yamaguchi answered. “Suga-san took him home, after all, but we figured it was because of the serve Hinata hit to the back of his head again.” Yamaguchi scratched at his cheek sheepishly. “It was kinda a faint smell, after all. We figured it was leftover from someone else yesterday.”
“It wasn’t faint at all,” Kei told him. Yamaguchi looked at him in confusion and he shook his head. “Nevermind. Probably just a lucky breeze or something.”
“That’s right, you went home before practice yesterday,” Yamaguchi said, as if he hadn’t left six different worried voicemails on Kei’s phone. “Was it because of Kageyama?”
“Oh, that makes sense!” Kei turned to see Sugawara nodding to himself. “Daichi was pretty pissed, you know. He forgot about it in all the chaos, but I’ll make sure he doesn’t lecture you about it.” Sugawara gave him a bright smile and went off to talk to the captain.
“He really freaks me out sometimes,” Kei mumbled. Yamaguchi snorted beside him. From across the gym Sugawara turned and winked at him. Yamaguchi doubled over laughing.
Tobio woke feeling sticky and disgusting. He had a faint memory floating around his head of blond curls and a sneer, but he chalked it up to a heat delusion and buried it under the need to be clean again. He climbed out of his bed, grimacing at the mess of dried slick, cum, and sweat that was his sheets. They would definitely need to be thrown out, if not burned. His skin wasn’t much better. He grumbled to himself, cursing his own existence as he dug a set of clean clothes out of his dresser and made his way into the bathroom.
It was almost a shame after finally coming out of his heat to then duck into scalding water, but Tobio needed to wash himself raw. If he’d known heats were so messy, he never would have-
Okay, so there was nothing he could have done about presenting like that. But still, a very large part of him absolutely loathed what he had just gone through.
And so late, too. He had been sure, up until Suga had stopped practice and taken him home that he had been a Beta. It was an abnormality bordering on a medical miracle for someone to present at fifteen. But sure enough, by the time Suga had dragged him through his front door and up to his room, Tobio had been a whining mess, an Omega on the cusp of heat. He made a face at the memory, scrubbing himself just a little harder. He didn’t even want to know how it had ended up in his hair.
When he was finally clean Tobio turned the water to cool and stood under the spray, enjoying the sensation. His skin seemed more sensitive now, though he couldn’t tell if that was permanent or just the lingering effects of his heat. Regardless, it felt more than nice against his skin.
He stepped out after a moment and toweled himself off before stepping into some comfortable clothes. He guessed that today was Sunday, but decided he should check a calendar to be sure. There was no way he was going to school today either way, but it wouldn’t hurt to get at least some sense of the world around him again. Before he could check, there was a ring at the door. Curious, he padded down the hall.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” he greeted, glaring at Tsukishima who lounged against the wall outside his apartment.
“Oh, very polite, King,” Tsukishima droned. “I guess a mere servant like me shouldn’t expect better.” Tobio fought the urge to apologize.
“What do you want, Tsukishima?” he asked, trying to keep his voice as unantagonizing as possible.
“Brought your homework,” he said, holding up a folder. “And a note from the team.” Tobio accepted the packet dumbly.
“Why didn’t Hinata bring it?” he asked before he could stop himself.
“Because Hinata lives on the other side of a mountain, moron,” Tsukishima said. “Sugawara-san wouldn’t let him take it. And before you ask, Yamaguchi and Yachi were both busy today, so I was the only one left.”
“Oh,” Tobio said intelligently. “Thanks. Do you wanna come in for a drink or… something?” Tsukishima made a face.
“Spare me your awkward hospitality,” he said. “I probably shouldn’t go any farther than this anyway. I can already smell it.” His voice grew quiet at the end, and he dug around in his bag. “Here,” he muttered, holding out an aerosol can. “Spray this in your room before you air it out. It’ll help mask the smell so no one on the street catches it.” He shoved the can into Tobio’s hands and turned on his heel, stalking away. Tobio glanced between his retreating back and the can, confused. He moved back into his apartment and shut the door.
Kei ate in silence, trying to pretend he was unaffected as Yamaguchi chattered on beside him. The faint whiffs he had caught off Kageyama had been clean and sweet, mingling with the even fainter scent of his heat drifting through the apartment. Giving up, he sighed heavily and slumped into Yamaguchi’s side.
“It’s okay, Tsukki,” Yamaguchi said, bringing a hand up to settle in Kei’s hair. “You’re okay.”
“I’ll never be okay again,” Kei deadpanned. Yamaguchi chuckled. “No, I’m serious. You Betas have no idea how ridiculous it is to live like this.”
“So Kageyama smells good. So what?” Yamaguchi’s voice was full of laughter, but he continued petting Kei nonetheless.
“No, you don’t understand,” Kei whined. “He doesn’t just smell good, he smells amazing. It’s different for you. You don’t have your biological and dynamic compatibility thrown in your face every time you’re in the same room as a person. Kageyama’s a purebred, he’s my age, and he’s apparently really fucking fertile.”
“Gross,” Yamaguchi laughed. “I didn’t need that last detail.”
“I didn’t either,” groaned Kei. “But if I have to suffer, so do you.” He sat up enough to shake Yamaguchi’s hand out of his hair, then shuffled down until he could lay with his head in his lap. “And he just had to be the only Omega on the team besides Sugawara-san,” he complained.
“You could always find a mate outside the team,” Yamaguchi said. Kei shook his head.
“I could, but I probably won’t. Unless it’s someone from Nekoma or Fukurodani, and I don’t know any of those Omegas very well.” Kei sighed again. “I don’t exactly get along with a lot of people, Yamaguchi.”
“So find a pack,” Yamaguchi said. “Or live alone. You don’t have to mate Kageyama just because he presented.”
“No one said anything about mating him!” Kei shrieked. Yamaguchi chuckled.
“Of course not,” he said, patting Kei’s shoulder. “That’s why you’ve been whining about him for the last three hours. Because you don’t want to mate him.”
“Shut up, Yamaguchi.”
“Sorry, Tsukki.”
There was a pause.
“No you’re not.” Yamaguchi laughed.
“No, you’re right. I’m not.” Kei glared up at Yamaguchi, thought the effect was somewhat lessened by the way his eyes fluttered closed in pleasure as Yamaguchi scratched at the base of his skull. “You’re hopeless, Tsukki,” he muttered fondly. “Just let it be for a couple of days. All this will sort itself out, you’ll see.”
All of this would apparently not sort itself out. Kei was ready to kill Yamaguchi by the time practice was half over the next day, partly for the bemused smirks he kept sending in Kei’s direction, and partly because he had never been so very wrong before.
Kageyama, it seemed, would have no part in Tsukishima avoiding him like everything was normal. Kei wasn’t sure if it was because the only other two Alphas on the team were already mated or because he really wanted to piss Kei off, but either way it was working. Kageyama followed Kei around like a lost puppy, and the worst part was that he didn’t even seem to notice he was doing it.
“What do you want, King?” he snapped when Kageyama followed him over to his water bottle. Kageyama gave him a blank look in answer, and Kei threw his hands into the air.
“What are you so upset about?” he asked, the picture of disinterest.
“You!” Kei replied. “You’ve been following me all day. What could you possibly want from me?” Kageyama looked confused at that. He shrugged, and the look was gone. Without answering, Kageyama turned and picked up a ball to practice his serve. Irritated and not quite sure why, Kei shouted, “Shut up, Yamaguchi!”
From his place nearby Yamaguchi looked up from his conversation with Ennoshita and grinned at him. “Sorry, Tsukki!” he answered, then went back to what he was doing. Lost, irritated, and not quite sure why he was doing it, Kei fished his phone out of his bag.
ME: [I cannot believe I’m doing this but I need your help.]
He sent the text with a grimace, one which only grew at the swift response he received.
ASSHAT NO. 1: [Why, Tsukki! What brings you to Kuroo-sama’s palace of advice?]
ME: [1, that’s a stupid name. 2, don’t call me that, Kuroo.]
ME: [But I have a dynamic problem and you’re the only other Alpha I can talk to about this shit.]
ASSHAT NO.1: [Okay, what’s up?]
Kei grimaced as he told Kuroo his problem.
“I don’t see why you’re making such a big deal over this,” Hinata said around a mouthful of rice. “Everyone else on the team seems fine.” Tobio lifted his face out of his hands just enough to glare at him.
“If I knew I would fix it,” he growled.
“Why does it even need to be fixed?” Hinata asked. “There’s nothing wrong with you in the first place.” Tobio glared harder.
“Tsukishima,” he said.
“Right, I got that part,” Hinata replied, looking at him strangely. “So what? He’s an Alpha, you’re an Omega, it’s only natural you’d want to be close to him.”
“It’s not that simple,” Tobio groaned. “I want to be close to Daichi-san and Noya-san because they’re Alphas, and because Daichi-san is our pack head. I want to be close to Suga-san because he’s an older Omega. This… thing with Tsukishima is different. He- he smells different from all the other Alphas I’ve met.” Hinata looked at him incredulously.
“If you say so,” he mumbled.
“You don’t smell it?” Hinata shook his head.
“He smells like Tsukishima,” he answered. “He smells like an Alpha, sure, but I think Daichi-san’s scent is stronger.” Tobio grunted and folded his arms on the table, resting his chin on them.
He should have known that Hinata wouldn’t be any help. He was a Beta, and an idiot at that. If Tobio wanted actual advice, he was going to have to ask someone else. He grimaced at the thought. For all the progress he had made over the past few months, Tobio still had a hard time talking to people who weren’t Hinata. Hell, he still had a hard time talking to Hinata. But this- whatever it was with Tsukishima was affecting his ability to play, and that was unacceptable. He had to figure out why he was so drawn to him, so that he could put a stop to it and go back to the way things were before.
Or, at least, as close to the way things were before as he could get. There was no going back on a presentation, but he could at least try to ignore Tsukishima again. Either that or he was going to have to change his name and leave the county. Were there other countries where they spoke Japanese?
“Well, you can always change your name and leave the country,” Kuroo suggested. Kei refused to dignify that with a response, rather mopping up the last of his meal and shoving it into his mouth. “Okay, so no move,” Kuroo continued. “I guess that leaves you with one option: get it over with and mate him.” Kei choked.
“What?” he demanded, heedless of the bits of food and saliva he sprayed all over Kuroo. Served him right.
“You heard me,” Kuroo said, wiping at his face. “You’re not an idiot, Tsukki. You know what it means when someone smells that incredible. You’ve met other Omegas before, and I’ve never seen you this worked up over one.”
“I’m not worked up!” Kei shouted. Kuroo raised an eyebrow.
“You came to Tokyo for advice,” he pointed out. “Advice from me. You’re worked up.”
“I still don’t see how that applies to me,” Kei muttered. “Kageyama and I are not soul bonded.”
“Not yet,” Kuroo said, grinning. “But I’ve never experienced what you’re talking about, not even with Kenma. No one I know personally has gone from hating someone’s guts to dreaming about their scent. And no one I know has had someone who hates their guts follow them around like an Omega housewife.”
“I knew I should have asked Bokuto,” Kei snapped. Kuroo only grinned wider.
“Could you get any deeper in denial?” he teased. Kei threw his napkin at him and stood.
“Thanks for lunch,” he said, turning to go.
“Lemme know how it goes with your true love!” Kuroo called after him. Kei flipped him off and continued on his way.
He pulled out his phone when he was half an hour away from Sendai.
ME: [Meet me at the school in an hour.]
OU-SAMA: [y]
ME: [Because I’m sick of this. Just do it, okay?]
Kei pulled his headphones on and tried not to think for the rest of the ride.
Tobio had no idea why he agreed to meet Tsukishima. Any other time he would have glared and ignored him, but now he found himself leaning against the wall next to the gymnasium door. He straightened when Tsukishima came walking up to him, and neither said a word. For a moment they simply stared at each other. Then Tsukishima moved.
His scent washed over Tobio first, warm and safe. Then it was his hands, one on Tobio’s shoulder and one on his cheek, large and protective. The skin of Tsukishima’s palm was soft, but his fingers were covered in callouses. He stroked his thumb along Tobio’s cheekbone and down to brush against Tobio’s lips. All the while he watched Tobio with molten eyes, his fine eyebrows furrowed in a half-confused, half-offended expression. The sunlight was glinting off of his hair and his glasses as he leaned in, pausing a breath away. Tobio’s eyes fluttered shut and he leaned up to meet Tsukishima’s lips with his own.
Tsukishima’s lips were chapped and a little wet. He held them stiffly, his fingers tightening around Tobio’s shoulder, and Tobio wasn’t sure what he thought they were supposed to gain from this.
And then Tsukishima moved. His lips opened slightly, fitting around Tobio’s bottom one, and closed again. Tobio inhaled sharply through his nose and his hands found their way into Tsukishima’s hair, curling around the soft blond strands. Tsukishima pressed their mouths together more firmly, this time letting just a hint of his tongue brush against Tobio. Then all at once he was pulling away and Tobio was left drifting in a cloud of Tsukishima’s scent and the remaining tingle of his lips. Tsukishima ran the backs of his knuckles up Tobio’s shoulder, stopping just over the scent glands under his jaw. He pressed lightly and Tobio’s knees went weak with pleasure. He tilted his head back and to the side, inviting.
Tsukishima bent down and pressed his lips where his knuckles had been. He nosed along the area, stimulating the glands until Tobio’s scent was thick in the air. Then he leaned his own neck down and rubbed them together. The mingling of their scents made Tobio light-headed and he clung to Tsukishima’s shoulders. When Tsukishima finally pulled himself away Tobio held tighter, whimpering. Tsukishima smiled at him, reaching up to take both of his hands away from his shoulders, lacing their fingers together. Still smiling as though Tobio was the most wonderful thing he had ever seen, he led the way out of the school.
“Really, Tsukki?” Yamaguchi looked up at him with dead, unimpressed eyes.
“What?” Kei demanded.
“I can smell you two,” Yamaguchi answered.
Kei took a cautious sniff, flushing when he realized that the smell of his scent marking with Kageyama from the day before still lingered in a thick cloud by the gym. He was still trying to come up with an excuse when Hinata and Sugawara came out of the clubroom and stopped with unnerved expressions on their faces.
“Look, Tsukishima, it’s bad enough that he smells like you, but this is too much,” Hinata said. Sugawara just snickered.
“Buzz off, shorty,” Kei muttered. Sugawara grinned and threw an arm around Kei’s back.
“Daichi!” he yelled, steering Kei firmly into the gym. “Daichi, come here! Tsukishima and Kageyama are grown up! Daichi, our babies are all grown up!”
“Can I skip this family bonding moment if I promise to play nice with the other kids?” Kei asked. Sugawara grinned wider.
“Not unless the other kids include kids other than Kageyama,” he sing-songed. Kei groaned and resigned himself to his fate.
It wasn’t so bad, he decided as he watched Kageyama prepare for the first serve of their practice match. He was so beautiful, and no amount of significant looks from Yamaguchi and Sugawara, no amount of jokes from Nishinoya and Tanaka, and no amount of teasing from any one else in the world could change that. Especially not when Kageyama glanced up at him just before he jumped and blushed so badly that he fumbled the serve.
After all, he didn’t have to put up with it alone.