Chapter Text
The new student's name was on everyone's lips by noon.
Everybody wanted to know everything about him- who he was, where he was from, what he was like, why he had transferred to Samezuka, whether he was single, and so on. Rin acted like he didn't care but in all honesty he was pretty curious- just because he wanted to know what he was up against, naturally. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, know thy enemy, all that.
If the rumors were to be believed, Haruka's parents worked abroad so he was currently living alone. He had transferred to Samezuka because they obviously had the best swim teams and he was an excellent swimmer.
Rin had no idea where people were getting all this information. Haruka was rather quiet and kept to himself a lot. While that didn't stop people from flocking around him, it seemed very unlikely that Haruka had personally told them all that.
Why was he even thinking about what Haruka would or wouldn't do? That was stupid. He was stupid.
Truth be told, Rin had been thinking about Haruka all morning and it was driving him mad. It was like an annoying tune he couldn't get out of his head, and being in his presence only made it worse. No matter how hard he tried to ignore it or focus on something else, he always ended up right back where he started, staring at the back of Haruka's head.
Needless to say, he wasn't really paying much attention to what the teacher was saying. His thoughts were centered either around Haruka or around how much it annoyed him that he couldn't stop thinking about Haruka.
Rin wanted to believe it was just his hormonal balance being out of whack. His Omega side probably wanted him to have interest in Alphas but he wasn't going to play that game. He wasn't going to do anything stupid and then blame it on his hormones or instincts like certain people would do. He refused to play that game; he was too good for it.
A part of him was kind of curious as to what would happen if he just gave in, just to see what would happen, but he wasn't going to actually do that. It was just an offhand thought.
Sitting in the classroom was making him feel claustrophobic so when it was time for lunch, Rin went outside and found a sunny spot to sit in. Summer was almost here and the air was lovely and warm, with just the slightest of breezes. He closed his eyes and sighed, relaxing his shoulders and trying to empty his mind.
You're just confused, he told himself. You don't know where these feelings came from or what they are but they'll go away eventually. All you have to do is wait. Don't do anything stupid on a whim just because it feels like a good idea right now. It's probably not a good idea.
”Mind if I sit here?”
”Fucking hell, Sousuke, you scared the shit out of me!” Rin exclaimed, his eyes flying open. ”Don't sneak up on me like that, okay? That was not cool."
”I didn't know you were so lost in thought,” Sousuke shrugged as he sat down next to him. ”Sorry. I promise I wasn't trying to scare you. So, what's up?”
”Nothing much, really. Same old. People won't stop talking about the new guy and seem to know everything about him already. I don't know how they do that. It's kinda creepy.”
”So I heard. Did you meet him yet?”
Rin nodded. ”I did, yeah. I went to see Sugimoto-sensei before morning practice because he wanted to talk to me and Mikoshiba was talking to the new guy, so Sugimoto-sensei introduced us.”
”What do you think of him?”
”Dunno. Haven't seen him swim.”
”I meant as a person, Rin,” Sousuke sighed.
”So did I,” Rin retorted, rolling his eyes. ”I don't know. I don't care. We talked for like a minute and he said about three words to me, that's it. He's alright, I guess. At least he didn't make fun of me or try to hit on me, which is more than can be said about most Alphas here. I don't hate him.”
”Okay.”
They sat in silence for a while, Rin absent-mindedly playing with his hair as he looked up at the clouds. He felt like Sousuke was expecting him to say something, like he was expecting him to make some sort of confession, but Rin couldn't really figure out what it was.
”Are you sure nothing out of the ordinary happened, though?” Sousuke asked after a moment, looking at him from the corner of his eye. Rin tilted his head as he tried to figure out what was going on. What was this about?
”Umm, yes, I am. It's been a normal day. Nothing unusual. What's up with the third degree?”
”You smell different, that's all.”
”That's probably because I'm off my suppressants. I've been on them for so long that the doctor won't give me more until I take a break. Something about suppressants causing infertility if I'm on them for too long or whatever.” Rin made a face. ”As if I care.”
”No, it's not that. I know what you smell like when you're off them, this is different. It's... a different kind of different, if that makes sense.”
The fact that Sousuke paid so much attention to what he smelled like sort of bothered Rin, but he decided not to bring it up. He couldn't see that conversation going smoothly- then again, most of their conversations didn't go smoothly, anyway. ”Oh. Right. Well, I don't know what it is, then. Like I said, nothing's-”
”And what do you mean, you don't care?”
The way Sousuke interrupted him made Rin frown. He didn't really like Sousuke's tone, nor did he appreciate being questioned like this.
”What do you mean?” he asked in response, even though ”I don't need to explain myself to you” was what he really wanted to say. ”I mean exactly what I just said: I don't care. I don't want kids, I'm not having kids, so I don't give a fuck about whether I'm infertile or not. A pretty simple concept, really.”
”That's what you say now. What if you change your mind later?”
”People have been telling me that for years. Every time I say I don't want kids someone tells me I'm gonna change my mind. I haven't. I don't believe I will.”
”But what if you do?” Sousuke kept insisting, much to Rin's annoyance.
”What of it? Why do you care?”
”I'm just saying that you need to take care of yourself and your body, Rin. You're capable of having children. That's something a lot of people don't have. Don't throw it away like that."
”You sound just like my mother,” Rin said dryly and rolled his eyes. ”How about I decide what I want to do with my body and you decide what you want to do with yours, yeah? My potential children are my business, not yours or anyone else's.”
Sousuke sighed deeply. ”Don't be like that.”
”Be like what? You're the one who's saying that as an Omega I'm supposed to want to have kids, and that if I don't want them now I'm bound to change my mind. That all I'm good for is making babies so I should make sure I'll be able to do that. That's what you're getting at, isn't it?”
This was a very sensitive subject for Rin, to the point where he didn't really want to discuss it with anyone. Especially someone who felt like they were in a position to tell him what he should do with his life.
”That's not what I'm saying at all. Don't put words into my mouth. You know I'm only trying to look after you, Rin.”
”Don't.”
Rin's voice was dangerously low and his eyes were burning anger, wordlessly telling Sousuke to back off.
He hated it when Sousuke tried to patronize him and act like he was Rin's Alpha, as if that would somehow change his mind. If anything, it had the opposite effect. The more Sousuke tried to make him do something, the less Rin wanted to do it.
”I'm not trying to tell you how to live your life. I'm just saying,” Sousuke continued, ”that sometimes you're not thinking straight when it comes to these things, and-”
”Don't touch me!”
Sousuke's arm had tried to wrap around his shoulders but Rin immediately slapped it away, hard enough to catch Sousuke off-guard. He stared at Rin in shock, as though he could not believe that Rin had just done that.
It took everything in Rin to not slap him across the face.
”Don't you fucking touch me,” he hissed, trembling with barely controlled rage. ”I've told you a thousand times that you need to stop it with the Alpha crap. Stop treating me like I'm some stupid child that needs to be protected from himself, Sousuke! I don't need you to take care of me, I can take care of myself, and I'm not yours to look after.”
”Rin-”
”Shut. Up. I'm this close to actually hurting you. Don't make me do it.”
He stood and stormed away without even looking at Sousuke.
The rest of his day was more or less terrible. If he had been having trouble concentrating on anything earlier, that was nothing compared to this. Eventually even his teacher gave up on trying to get him to pay attention and just let him be, which was a rare occasion.
Rin decided to go for a run after his classes, hoping that it would help him escape all the stress and the invasive thoughts that were bothering him today. Then again, sometimes being all alone with his own thoughts only made things worse, but it was worth a shot.
His conversation with Sousuke still was still hanging heavy on his mind. He didn't understand why Sousuke couldn't just... let it go already. How many times would Rin have to tell him he wasn't interested until he finally got the message?
Sometimes, even though he didn't like to admit it, he wondered if being friends with Sousuke was actually worth it anymore. He did care about Sousuke, if only as a friend, but they fought a lot these days and things were showing no signs of getting better. Maybe their friendship had just ran its course and it was time for them to move on.
Or maybe Sousuke just needed to get over himself and accept that Rin wasn't into him.
Honestly, the thing that bugged him the most about it was the way Sousuke kept hinting that this was Rin's fault, that he was the one doing something wrong here. He refused to feel guilty about something so ridiculous but Sousuke obviously thought he should feel bad. What was he supposed to do? Lie to make Sousuke feel better? No thanks.
Breaking a sweat did actually make him feel better, much to his relief. When he got back, he spotted Haruka standing outside the main building.
I should go talk to him.
He wasn't sure where that thought came from, but before Rin had time to properly analyze it he was already walking towards Haruka. It was too late to turn back now without it seeming off, so he decided to bite the bullet and just go with it.
”Hi there, new kid,” Rin grinned. ”Looks like you survived your first day. Congratulations. How was it? Good, bad, terrible?”
Haruka shrugged. ”Normal.”
Rin tilted his head. ”Just normal? Well, that's still better than terrible, I guess, so good for you. Sounds better than my first day, at least, so that's something.”
Silence. Small talk clearly wasn't Haruka's forte.
”How was your first day, then?”
The question took Rin by surprise. Oh, so you do know how to speak in full sentences.
He chuckled, opening his ponytail and letting his hair fall free around his shoulders. ”Well, there was this third-year Alpha who kept following me around like a lost puppy. Telling me I was pretty, asking me to go out with him, all that shit. I told him I wasn't interested, he didn't listen. I told him to piss off and leave me alone, he didn't listen. He tried to feel me up, I fucked up his wrist. Fractured it in two places.”
”Seriously?” Haruka sounded almost impressed.
Rin grinned and nodded, running a hand through his hair. ”Yeah. Seriously. Adachi from class 3-1. Ask anyone what happened and they'll confirm it- except for the guy himself, of course. He'd never admit that an Omega did that to him,” Rin said with a wry smile. ”He's embarrassed.”
Much to Rin's surprise, Haruka smiled. It was a small smile, only there for a second, but it was a smile all the time. For some reason it made him feel like he had just accomplished something, though he wasn't sure what that something was.
”Anyway, that happened and now I have a reputation as someone you shouldn't mess with. I gotta admit that it's true, and Adachi isn't the first guy whose ass I've kicked, so I suggest you keep your hands to yourself.”
”I was planning to.”
”Good. I'd rather not break your wrist before I've even had the chance to see you swim."
For some reason that answer made him feel almost disappointed. You could've at least said ”I'll try” or something, just to flatter me. Not that I want to be flattered by you. Or anyone. But it would've been polite. Kind of.
”Anyway, it's not the only thing people say about me but I'm sure they'll let you in on all the gossip soon enough. Especially now that they've seen you talking to me,” Rin went on, gesturing to a group of students sneaking glances at them. ”They're probably gonna tell you that you should stay away from me because I'm too aggressive or whatever.”
Haruka shrugged, his face impossible to read. ”I don't care about gossip. I make my own decisions.”
”That's what they all say,” Rin grinned, showing off his pointed teeth while keeping his tone light and playful. ”Anyway, I know it's only your first day and all, but how do you like your new team?”
”It's good.”
”Just good?” he asked, his voice laced with thinly veiled amusement. Haruka shrugged again. ”So, no one's giving you a hard time or anything?”
”Not really.”
”Good. They do that to new guys sometimes. I guess it's an Alpha thing or something.”
Sousuke in particular was in the habit of getting into pissing contests with new members over just about anything to establish some sort of pecking order. It was exactly the kind of Alpha behavior Rin hated. They just made themselves look ridiculous by trying to prove that they were the biggest, baddest Alpha around. As if that mattered.
”So, I heard you live alone? That's pretty cool.”
”I guess.”
”I wish I could do that. I mean, living in the dorm isn't bad either- at least my mom's not constantly fussing over me- but still. It'd be nice to have more privacy. You don't get much of that here.”
They chatted for a good fifteen minutes more, with Rin doing most of the talking and Haruka doing most of the listening. That didn't really bother Rin too much, though- Haruka didn't seem bored or uncomfortable, and Rin actually enjoyed talking to him.
That was a miracle in and of itself because Rin usually didn't like talking to Alphas.
”I have to go,” Haruka said, glancing at his watch and throwing his messenger back over his shoulder. ”I don't know what people say about you, but you don't seem too bad to me.”
”That's because you weren't being an asshole either,” Rin shrugged. ”I behave myself if the other person can return the favor, and you did. You're alright.”
Haruka nodded.
”See you around.”
”See you.”
”What's wrong, Rin-senpai?” Nitori asked, putting down his book and glancing at Rin over his shoulder. ”You've been really quiet. It's not like you.”
”Nothing's wrong,” Rin grumbled, hugging his pillow to his chest. ”I'm fine. I'm just a little tired, that's all. It's been a long day.”
Why the fuck couldn't he stop thinking about Haruka?
None of this made any damn sense. The guy wasn't even his type, he was so quiet that trying to have a conversation with him was challenging, and Rin didn't crush on people easily- and yet something made Rin want to be around Haruka. He had never felt this way about an Alpha before and it was stressing him out.
He didn't want to like Haruka, he was actively trying to not like him, but something about him just made Rin feel... good. He couldn't really explain it- he just felt calm, and at peace, and like he could be himself without being judged. Like Haruka saw him in a different light than everybody else around him.
He didn't understand what was going on and why it was happening, and he hated feeling like he wasn't in control of himself.
You can't trust Alphas, Rin reminded himself. No matter how nice they seem. At the end of the day they're all the same. They only care about one thing, and sooner or later they'll reveal their true colors. You're better off alone.
Aren't you generalizing just a bit? asked another voice in his head. You hate it when Alphas assume that all Omegas are the same, but you're doing the exact same thing here. You're not like other Omegas- what if he isn't like other Alphas? Have you even considered that?
That wasn't the same thing. He had never met an Alpha he liked. All Alphas were awful-
Your father was an Alpha, the same voice pointed out. Was he awful? Did he ever treat your mother wrong? Did you ever witness him being disrespectful to anyone?
”Shut up,” Rin whispered under his breath.
”Did you say something?”
”No. I'm just talking to myself. Thinking out loud. Something like that.”
Nitori seemed to accept the answer and continued doing his homework, much to Rin's relief. He didn't really feel like talking about what was bothering him since he couldn't make sense of it himself. Explaining it to someone else would have been impossible.
And besides, he didn't want anyone else to learn about the inner turmoil he was currently experiencing. Knowing Nitori, the other Omega would just tell him that he was in love with Haruka or that they were soulmates or something equally ridiculous that would not make Rin feel any better about any of this.
Soulmates... It was an old wives' tale, Rin's grandmother had told him about it once. It was said that sometimes two people who were meant to be together were born, and that neither of them would fall in love until their paths crossed. When Rin had asked her how you were supposed to know if you had met your soulmate, she had smiled and said, ”You'll know them when you see them. The first time you touch them, or even see them, you'll just know.”
Rin couldn't help but think about the electric feeling that had gone through him the moment Haruka first touched his hand.
What if-
No. Why was he thinking about this now? There was no way they were soulmates. That was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard. Soulmates didn't even exist, it was just a rumor that got passed down from generation to generation. This was nothing more than just a silly crush and he was blowing it out of proportion because his hormones were fucking him up or something. That was the only rational explanation.
He really needed to get over this, whatever this was, and move on.
”I heard you talked to the transfer student.”
Rin could barely resist the urge to roll his eyes. He should have seen this coming. ”Sounds like news travels fast. Yeah, I did talk to him. I met him this morning, and then I walked into him after my jog and asked him how his first day went.”
”Really?” Nitori asked, not trying to hide the look of surprise on his face. ”You don't usually talk to Alphas unless you have to.”
”There's an exception to every rule, Nitori. I was just trying to be nice. You're the one who keeps telling me that I shouldn't judge people before I get to know them or whatever.”
”So, what was he like?”
”Normal, I guess,” Rin shrugged. ”Nice for an Alpha. Wasn't rude to me, didn't make fun of me being an Omega and didn't try to hit on me. I appreciated it. He's pretty cool.”
Nitori looked at him like he'd just seen a ghost, making Rin sigh in annoyance. ”Don't look at me like that, it's freaking me out. What is it?”
”Nothing. It's just that... I don't think I've ever heard you call an Alpha 'nice.' Not even once. I'm surprised, that's all,” Nitori explained.
”You're exaggerating,” Rin huffed. ”I'm not that bad. I don't hate every Alpha, I just hate most of them. And even if that's true- well, most of them aren't nice. That's just a fact. I'm not in the habit of handing out empty compliments.”
The knowing smile Nitori gave him made Rin want to punch something. He hated it when people looked at him like they knew something he didn't.
”I guess he must be something special if he made such an impression on you, Rin-senpai.”
”He didn't impress me. I just don't think that he sucks, that's all.”
Rin hated hearing how defensive his own voice sounded.
”I don't mean to be rude, senpai, but those two are often the same thing when it comes to you.”
He had to admit that Nitori was right. He didn't think very highly of Alphas, so he was sort of impressed whenever he met an Alpha he didn't hate. That didn't happen too often even though the bar wasn't set very high.
”Whatever,” he murmured, waving his hand dismissively. ”I've only just met him, it's way too early to tell if he's an asshole or not. I'm not gonna make up my mind about him until I've seen him swim.”
”What do you mean by that?” Nitori asked curiously.
”I'm planning to ask him to race me to see what I'm dealing with. If he lets me win, he's just like the rest of them.”
”And if he passes that test?”
”Then he's alright, I guess.”