Chapter Text
The repetitive whack of multiple volleyballs being pelted over the multiple nets resounded through an expansive, updated training facility a short train ride away from Tokyo’s most prestigious university, teams from all over the prefecture practicing warm-ups on the first day of the collective training camp. Taking place not long after the university’s opening ceremony, the camp was reserved for teams the Olympic scouts had their eyes on, with most players using the opportunity to get to know their competition before prefecture preliminaries. The slap of various teams’ liberos receiving vicious serves echoed off the large walls and out the door, where a certain omega had been running laps around the multiple gyms by himself. The exhausted sprinter finally came to a stop in front of the gym doors, stopping when he saw the figure of Kuroo Tetsurou taking a water break.
Leaning against the gym door was the messy-haired alpha, his black hair made even messier by the harsh training, sticking to his forehead. He wiped his sweating face with the bottom of his t-shirt, one hand on his hip.
“Ah...hah...Kuroo,” A panting Oikawa Tooru whined, hands on his knees and auburn hair falling against his red face, “They didn’t tell me we were starting the year with a training camp...and why am I always singled out anyway?” Times like this were when the omega missed his best friend. Iwaizumi Hajime probably would have stood up for him against the coach. He couldn’t blame him for not joining the team though; his studies were more important, and he wasn’t scouted like Oikawa. Oikawa knew it hurt Iwaizumi’s alpha pride, so they haven’t talked about it since they entered university. He couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous of his childhood friend, who was probably enjoying himself anywhere but here.
“You really fit the stereotype of a whiny omega when you have to run laps,” Kuroo chuckled, leaning down to Oikawa’s head. “It’s what you get, you know. You shouldn’t have let the coach see you run your mouth at Ushijima, clearly he thought you would be better off running those pretty legs of yours.”
Oikawa groaned, “What did Coach even expect, scouting us both?”
“Not everyone follows whatever ridiculous drama you have in your head, Oikawa,” Nekoma’s former captain sneered, giving Oikawa a cold towel. “Ushijima has been nothing but respectful. You should take a page out of his book.”
The tall omega rolled his eyes, stealing a water bottle from the black-haired alpha, “Oh please, like he even knows how to read.”
“I know how to read, Oikawa.”
Shit.
A cringe shook the omega’s body and made him drop the water bottle, while a hearty laugh wracked through Kuroo. Oikawa looked up and behind him, an embarrassed flush rising over his features. He didn’t know how this alpha had managed to sneak up on him without alerting him, with his scent as potent as it was during training. Oikawa’s sheepish gaze followed up the long expanse of Ushijima’s powerful legs, up a toned torso, and to a stoic expression with eyes that were staring pointedly at the omega. As much as Oikawa hated to admit, college had been treating his former rival well, with his shoulders somehow seeming even broader than high school. He wouldn’t be surprised if the alpha had grown a few centimeters as well. His handsome face caught Oikawa’s eyes, refusing to let go, his alpha nature imposing on the omega, demanding he not look away.
“Oh ho, Ushijima-kun! How nice to see you,” Kuroo’s sing-song voice rang out, clearly enjoying Oikawa’s suffering. “We were just talking about you. All good things, obviously.”
“W-what are you doing, stalking me or something?” asked Oikawa nervously, backing away from Ushijima’s overwhelming presence. As an omega, he had to constantly fight to keep from subconsciously submitting to any alpha he encountered on the court, something he’d trained himself to do for years. The humid air hung between them, the sound of other players training emanating from the gym behind them.
Ushijima broke his locked gaze to look over at Kuroo’s grinning face behind Oikawa. A sinister aura radiated towards the former Nekoma captain. Ushijima gave a slightly questioning, almost accusatory look before returning his eyes back to the omega in front of him. His large hands held up a piece of cloth outstretched towards the setter, offering it up for inspection. Oikawa’s expression turned into confusion, then recognition--this wasn’t a piece of cloth, but his new warm-up jacket he’d bought upon entering university; it merely looked miniscule in Ushijima’s huge grasp.
“You-” began Oikawa.
Ushijima cut him off, his voice curt. “Bokuto-san found this jacket in the locker room. It had your scent all over it, so you must have left it after the last match. He asked me to return it.” Oikawa’s mind searched for a face to the name, then recalled that it was Fukurodani’s former ace that was here with his team as well. Of course Ushijima knew one of nation’s fellow top aces, Oikawa thought bitterly. If he recalled correctly, this “Bokuto-san” went to another powerhouse university, along with Karasuno’s Asahi Azumane. If he’d been paying attention, he could’ve felt Kuroo’s scent turn slightly uneasy.
While processing what had happened, the omega stood stunned, sharp mind unable to think of any sarcastic quip. Shame welled up, red hot from his stomach up to his cheeks. Shame at realizing he had been berating Ushijima for a good deed, shame that his new teammate Kuroo was here to witness it, shame that Ushijima could tell his scent apart from others. Sweat dripped from his hair onto the concrete below.
“T-thanks, Ushiwaka...” Oikawa reached out and took his jacket, talented fingers grazing the warmth of Ushijima’s calloused ones.
Ushijima merely gave a curt nod in acknowledgement and replied, “Don’t call me that.”
And with that, the ace walked past both Kuroo and Oikawa and into the gym.
Oikawa released a relieved sigh, slouching to the ground. He picked up the water bottle he’d dropped and let out a whine.
“Hey asshole, why didn’t you tell me he was coming up behind me?” Oikawa berated the middle blocker, prodding his solid leg with his hand to draw the alpha’s attention. The humiliated setter looked up into Kuroo’s dark eyes and noticed that his eyes were clouded over with an emotion Oikawa had never seen before in the short time he’d know him so far. He finally picked up on the slight, aggressive change in Nekoma’s former captain’s presence.
Kuroo Tetsurou wanted desperately to make fun of Oikawa, but his own alpha senses caused the hairs on the back of his neck to prickle up with electricity, his hormones agitated and inflamed with the sense of a challenge. Did he just pick up on jealousy from Ushijima? Nonsense , he told himself. It was no secret that his affections were directed towards a certain blond omega in Sendai, and it’s not like Ushijima was mated as far as he knew. He had no Bond Mark, so Kuroo could only assume he had no omega.
Confrontations between alphas, betas, and even alphas on the same team weren’t uncommon at athletic events, due to the high amount of hormones running amuck, but usually petty fights were reserved for high school and middle school events. By university, most alphas had calmed down, having had a few years to adjust to alpha senses, and Kuroo knew for a fact that Shiratorizawa’s former ace had presented years ago and was no new fledgling that could use that excuse. Most alphas were able to keep their calm unless in they were in rut, their mate was threatened, or another alpha was encroaching upon their omega, and-
Oh.
Oh ho ho.
This makes things way more interesting.
Kuroo’s eyes narrowed, a smile spreading across his lips. A laugh shook his heavy shoulders as he was pulled back out of thought, his senses calming down, the feeling of a threat no longer present in his system. He inhaled a deep breath, his brain contemplating how this would play out. He made a mental note to meet up with Bokuto later and discuss the state of affairs with him.
Meanwhile, Oikawa was pouting from being ignored, having stood up and giving Kuroo a dirty look, his attractive features twisted in a sarcastic scowl. “Welcome back, space cadet! You find any aliens up there? What’s so funny?”
Kuroo shot over a knowing glance towards the omega, his face wearing his signature grin, “Haha. I was just thinking about how fun college is so far... Let’s go inside, I’m sure the coach wants you to set for Ushijima to show off to the other coaches.”
Oikawa followed him inside, making sure to dodge any stray volleyballs heading his way. Wouldn’t want to ruin his pretty face, or Iwa-chan would probably punch his face and make it even worse.
Kuroo hit the nail on the head, as all eyes in the crowded gymnasium were on him once he entered the court. A practice match against a team from Osaka had his attention, and the coach had put the three first years in the rotation, with their team having won a set and Osaka having claimed one of their own. They were mostly through the last set, with only two points to set match. The omega fought off the blush that was still dusted on his face from remembering their encounter earlier. This was his chance to show everyone what he was made of, that he didn’t need Ushijima and never did. Oikawa pulled a practice jersey over his frame, jealous at how Ushijima’s jersey barely fit over his broad shoulders, also noting that Kuroo had a similar problem putting his on. Oikawa didn’t miss Kuroo’s leering chuckle, indicating he caught onto Oikawa’s insecurity at his omega features. Whatever, his mind rationalized half heartedly, they probably accidentally gave Ushiwaka a smaller jersey.
The setter’s heart raced, pumped up to show all of these national teams just how powerful a setter from the countryside could be. The irony did not escape him, the fact that he’d waited so long to prove himself in front of national players, yet his first opportunity is with Ushijima, the very man who had kept him from reaching the national stage all throughout high school. He was sure Iwaizumi would be utterly furious if he was there to witness this first set with the same player they’d sworn as their enemy.
Upon taking their places on the court, Oikawa took a note of the Osaka team’s players; they were obviously weak on defense, with their tallest players having been rotated to the back row. Kuroo was next to him on his left, Ushijima on his right. The omega inhaled in excitement, finally allowing it to sink in that he was finally here , even if it was a practice match. The team’s manager that was overseeing the match blew her whistle, indicating the start of the set. A crowd of other players had formed around the gym, interested to see the outcome.
Their serve. The serve hit over the net in a powerful show of force, reminding Oikawa just how high end moves from the nation’s top players were.
Whack.
As difficult as that serve had been, Osaka’s lithe omega libero dove with stunning grace to receive the ball, expertly aiming the ball towards the setter. Oikawa noted the setter, recognizing him from magazines, realizing that he wasn’t a first year like him and the two alphas to his sides. Their team prepared for a spike from the right, with even Ushijima’s eyes following the relatively short wing spiker in front of him. In the last second, Oikawa looked back at the team and watched the setter’s foot position, and realized a huge wing spiker from the back was coming to the front. Without thinking, Oikawa shouted, “KUROO-SAN!”
The black-haired alpha caught Oikawa’s words in the nick of time, using powerful legs to run and leap forward with Oikawa on the left side to block. The impact from a national level spike stung, but it signified victory for the omega and the middle blocker. The ball bounced off their hands and down onto the court, giving them a point closer to their goal. Oikawa and Kuroo wore matching smirks.
“Nice, Kuroo-san,” Oikawa complimented.
He didn’t understand why Kuroo avoided meeting his gaze.
Kuroo sighed as the ball was thrown to their side for yet another serve. Match point. He felt bad for Oikawa, but perhaps now wasn’t the best time to insinuate there was anything but friendship between him and the omega, especially since prying eyes were watching their every move. I’m such a good friend , the alpha rolled his eyes.
The next serve was received unfortunately easily by the same libero, and returned. Kuroo had managed to freak out their frazzled wing spiker at the last minute and he hit the ball away from Kuroo’s block but into the immediate arms of their libero. Their libero received the ball in a fluid motion, his body already pointed towards Oikawa..
This was it.
Oikawa’s fingers were already itching for the ball before it had even completely left the libero’s forearms. The ball flew up, almost high enough for the setter to be blinded by the overhead lights. Oikawa glanced at Kuroo, then to Ushijima, and was utterly shocked. Ushijima’s face was hungry, his eyes wide and pupils dilated, strong arms already folding back in preparation for a spike. The look on his face was of a starving beast ready to steal what was rightfully his. He noticed all three of the tallest players on Osaka’s back row had come forward, all focused on Ushijima, and Oikawa entertained the thought for a split second, the thought of maybe setting to Kuroo instead. Ushijima stared straight at the omega’s auburn eyes with intent, a ravenous glint so heated it was a breath away from being a threat.
The setter wondered what Ushijima’s spike would look like orchestrated from him. There was no way he could get through three heavy blockers. Perhaps this would be a good lesson to the alpha.
He tossed towards Ushijima. A beautiful toss, aimed towards the soaring trajectory of Ushijima’s left hand. The wing spiker’s powerful muscles moved like a lion made of steel, his entire body lifting from the ground in preparation, seemingly throttling the entirety of his strength to his left arm as he brutally brought his hand to the ball. The resounding CRACK echoed in Oikawa’s ears as the alpha made contact with his toss, and immediately following, the deafening THUD as the ball was crushed against the floor just behind the back row players.
The Osaka team hadn’t even had time to react.
Ushijima dropped back to the ground, hitting the court with a grunt, piercing gold eyes looking back at the setter. His setter. The spike was perfect, exactly what the omega had been trying to draw out of Iwaizumi for years. Ushijima’s chest was rising rapidly, his entire intimidating frame trembling slightly, striking Oikawa as odd. Oikawa knew that Ushijima’s endurance was subpar to none; he was not exhausted or out of breath.
He was excited.
A thick pulse surged through Oikawa upon seeing Ushijima so proudly display his capabilities, starting deep in his lower half, traveling through his body until he wasn’t sure if the sweat on his face was due to exertion or not. Oh fuck, not here. Not here. The players in the gym erupted in awe once they realized what had happened. The rest of their team swarmed the six players, Ushijima, Kuroo, and Oikawa included. Meanwhile, their coach was already bragging to the other coaches.
“Thank you guys!”
“That was fucking awesome, what was that even?!”
“You guys saved us!”
“Now we don’t have to run dive drills, thank god!”
Oikawa tried not to think of the hungry look on Ushijima’s face after he’d spiked his toss. He tried not to think of the hot flush it inspired in him, prayed that no one smelled the small trickle of slick he had involuntarily released. He shouldn’t be experiencing anything like this, his heat wasn’t for another couple weeks .
“Yeah, be grateful to us!” a wide smile spread across Oikawa’s face to conceal his anxiety.
Kuroo snorted, “You just didn’t want to have another punishment today.”
“Shut up, no one asked-"
It was then that it struck him that he needed to find a bathroom to clean up. Now. Thankfully, the camp was done for the day, with everyone but the losing Osaka team, who was doing dive drills, retiring to their rooms. Sprinting faster than he could have while doing his punishment earlier in the day, the setter rushed towards the showers near his room. Thankfully no one was around to watch him scamper, since the vast majority of the camp participants were in the dining hall. On his way to the omega showers, a deep voice called out to him from the hallway, halting him in his tracks with authority.
“Oikawa.”
The shorter male looked over his shoulder, eyebrows turned up in disdain. “What, are you here to rub it in my face that you got what you wanted all along? Ushiwaka-chan, I don’t have time-”
“I wanted to show you for so long.” interrupted the ace. The look of hunger was replaced by a look of almost temporary satisfaction, like a wolf fed scraps to stave off an attack. “I wanted to show you how far we could go. There is no way anyone in Japan can stop our team now.”
The omega had to fight down his emotions when he remembered that Ushijima never lied. This man truly thought he could bring Oikawa to the international stage with him, and it was torture, dangling that carrot in front of him like Ushijima himself wasn’t the one who’d denied him access to what he’d wanted for years. The alpha grabbed onto his arm, and Oikawa responded with sharp intake of breath, heat searing up from Ushijima’s fingers through the rest of his body. He couldn’t handle Ushijima being so close, not while there is a small leak of slick dripping down his shorts. If Ushijima picked up on the scent, he would be humiliated. He would never have the courage to face Ushijima again, or any of his other teammates for that matter. He already faced a decent amount of discrimination for being an omega, there was no way he was going to let everything he’d worked for fall down so easily. Iwaizumi had worked so hard with him to bring him to where he was, and now he had to represent the both of them. There was simply no room for a meddling alpha like Ushijima, teammate or not.
At least, that was his brain was saying. The wetness between his legs wasn’t listening to him, unfortunately.
“That was fun,” Oikawa started carefully, attempting to pull his arm out of Ushijima’s grasp. “...But I really can’t stand the sight of you. I’m leaving.”
“Oikawa-” Ushijima’s brows furrowed, pulling him closer. The alpha’s intimidating eyes searched him all over, unrelenting, almost as if he didn’t even hear the omega’s protests. Oikawa’s sharp eyes caught the smallest inhale of Ushijima’s nose, followed by the grit of teeth in his strong jawline. The wing spiker moved just a few centimeters, catching Oikawa’s eyes in his gaze. He was so close that the setter could almost feel Ushijima’s hot breath, detecting the aroma of spicy mint and Ushijima’s heavy scent mingling in the air between them.
“You...you’re...?” Ushijima quietly whispered, a deep rumble from his throat, the gears working together to see exactly why Oikawa was in such a hurry. His grip involuntarily tightened around Oikawa’s bicep at the thought of him trying to leave, like a dog clenching a bone in sharp jaws. His eyes widened, eyebrows furrowing deep, reacting to what his alpha senses were picking up on. "...From playing?"
Shit.
Shit shit shit.
He knew. There was no way he didn't know.
This was dangerous.
Ushijima’s rough hand almost scalded Oikawa with heat as he moved himself even closer to the omega’s scent that was slowly getting stronger and stronger with each passing breath. Oikawa flew into a panic, wild eyes darting around the deserted hallway, subconsciously looking around for Iwaizumi. Usually his childhood friend was the one that always protected him from any stray alphas, but now he was nowhere to be seen, leaving him to fend for himself under the pheromones that Ushijima was subconsciously projecting between them.
Under most circumstances, both male and female omegas went into heat four to six times a year, depending on their fertility, activity level, and any heat suppressants or birth control they may be taking. Oikawa’s next heat wasn’t due for another week or two at least, but it wasn’t unheard of for an omega to go into heat around the alpha that had claimed them or even a particularly dominant alpha that was scent marking them. Heat cycles were often unpredictable in terms of length and intensity, but normally a single mating session was enough to quell a heat for up to a few hours, and entire heat cycles could be stifled or put off by taking suppressants.
Thankfully Oikawa had a few suppressants left in his bag from a past away game, and he made a mental note to thank whichever deity he owed such a favor. As much as he’d like to pray that the pills were still viable and not expired, his current concern was a very tall, imposing wing spiker who was already invading his personal space, with heat radiating from the spot on his arm where they connected.
“H-hey, Ushi-Ushiwaka,” Oikawa stammered, long legs starting to feel weak from the proximity of such an intense alpha, his voice raising a pitch bordering on a very omegan whine. “I really need to go. Please.”
However, hearing the setter emit such a pleading, desperate voice prompted the exact opposite intended reaction from Ushijima. The alpha was becoming hard in his track pants, at this point so close to the omega that he could feel the heat of telltale hardness against his thigh. Slick was now leaking freely down his thighs and he wouldn’t have been surprised if it hadn’t been visible past the line of his shorts on his thighs.
“Oikawa.” The taller male gave a hoarse whisper, full of urgency, speaking the setter’s name as if it was something to be hidden, not allowed, restricted. The thick purr of an aroused alpha slipped from Ushijima’s lips. Even if Oikawa wasn’t on the verge of a heat cycle, he wasn’t completely sure his body wouldn’t have responded.
No.
This isn’t right.
Iwaizumi Hajime’s face flashed in front of Oikawa’s eyes, images of the childhood friend that already possessed his heart flooding his memory. Iwaizumi was everything he wanted, the only one who had stuck by him all these years, the only one who truly looked out for him. When Iwaizumi first presented as an alpha back in junior high, Oikawa almost immediately presented as an omega, so even their parents saw it as a sign of their compatibility. Knowing he could be Iwaizumi’s mate was the only reason he was even at peace with his omega nature. There was no way he was risking everything with Iwaizumi just for a horny alpha responding mindlessly to the fluids leaking from him, driven purely by instinct and nothing even close to the feelings Iwaizumi felt for him. They had already fooled around outside of heat and rut cycles, but had only gone so far as oral and heavy petting, with Iwaizumi being the one that wanted to be a responsible alpha and wait until at least past high school, society’s respectful age range for bonding. He had recently asked to let Iwaizumi Claim him, to properly give him his Bond Mark at his next heat, now that they were finally in university. He couldn’t let anything get in the way of his plans.
But this was very much not according to plan. He didn’t plan to become wet like a newly presented omega bitch in their first heat just by being around Ushijima’s pheromones in such close quarters. He didn’t plan to be faltering under Ushijima’s, his rival’s, harsh, domineering gaze as his body began to desire more contact than the grasp of thick fingers around his arm. No, this was humiliating and this isn’t what Oikawa wanted.
“Oi, Ushijima-san, is that you?” The voice of their beta manager shouted out by the end of the corridor, interrupting Oikawa’s struggles. “We made a plate for you, are you eating with us?”
Ushijima’s blown out, hungry pupils darted back behind his back for a split second to confirm the voice, his attention slipping for just a moment. Oikawa instinctively took this opportunity to escape, using short fingernails to slice the alpha’s forearm with shallow cuts. Ushijima hissed, recoiling, looking back up only to see the flash of brown hair darting into the omega showers.
With only the lingering scent on his palm, the alpha’s previous arousal diminished, though not without visible effort. A frustrated, guttural groan was pushed out of his throat. Adjusting his track pants, he made his way back to their confused manager and towards the dining hall where Kuroo and the others were probably waiting. Giving one last glance at the door to the showers, Ushijima cursed under his breath, angry at himself for his lack of control. This was the most frustrated he’d been since last playing against Karasuno.
Meanwhile, with adrenaline and pheromones rushing through his veins, a frantic Oikawa desperately attempted to calm his senses, to recover. He ran to the sinks, turning on a faucet, shaky hand ruffling through his bag, past his jacket, and to the tabs of pills he kept in the bottom. After swallowing a suppressant, he splashed his face with water. The flow of slick had decreased since departing from Ushijima’s strong clutches, but it would hopefully stop completely once in the shower and once the suppressant kicked in. Ushijima aside, he couldn’t afford to go into heat during such an important training camp, at the start of the season no less. He’d worked too hard, even injured himself training, to let his volleyball career end for a stupid heat cycle.
Quickly shedding his clothes soiled with sweat and slick, Oikawa got in one of the showers offered in the bathroom. This bathroom was exclusively for omega, male and female, yet at a camp like this, where most of the males were alphas or betas, it was no shock that he was alone at the moment.
Fucking biology, Oikawa cursed inwardly, letting cold water run down his toned body. If only Iwa-chan was there to help me...No, he would be really fucking pissed to find out Ushijima of all people almost triggered my heat. I can't tell him anything.
This training camp was looking to be a real fucking hassle.