Chapter Text
Nino didn’t have a very good track record with alphas. He didn’t hate them per se, but the omega didn’t trust them. Alphas are supposed to support their omegas? Protect them? His alpha father did nothing of that sort when he up and left his mother, his sister and him when he was still young. So much for being a protector, a companion. If alphas had the liberty to just up and leave their family alone when they needed him, then Nino sure as hell wasn’t intent on bonding with any alpha.
He doesn’t need one; he can take care of himself.
That said, when he found out that he was going to be debuting as the single omega in a group with 3 alphas and a beta, he wasn’t looking forward to it. Teenage alphas: hormonal and self-inclined. His only saving grace was that he knew the beta, Aiba (or ‘Aibaka’) very well. He could stick to the beta, at least. He only knew the other two alphas in passing, and the other – Ohno Satoshi – in name.
When they finally got together that day in Hawaii, the omega decided that he could work with these people. The youngest alpha, Jun, was nothing more than an over-eager, innocent pup that was jumpy when people got close to him and honestly, smelled a bit off to the omega. No one else mentioned it, so he chose not to either. (Then again, omegas supposedly had a far more sensitive sense of smell than betas and alphas, so it could have been just him.)
Sakurai Sho was harmless – serious but dorky and under a lot of pressure from his family, but the alpha tried to be respectful and kind to everyone in the group. The alpha’s scent was a gentle one: bergamot, like earl grey, but with a sharp metallic tang to it – to match his temper, Nino supposed.
Aiba was Aiba – he smelled of freshly cut grass and peppermint – like a summery Christmas, something Nino was very familiar with from their Junior days. Very fitting for the cheerful beta whose birthday was on Christmas eve.
And then, there was Ohno Satoshi. Their unwilling alpha who was made their group leader because he lost at janken. Smelled like the ocean, peaceful and steady. The alpha who entirely confused Nino, because this was an alpha that was older than him but easily gave into Nino’s occasional brattiness and let himself be bullied and prodded and pawed by the omega for fun. He showed no annoyance, no anger, no temper no matter what Nino did to him – just calm and steady, like the ocean.
Nino fell in love with Oh-chan in 4 main instances.
There was only one occasion when the alpha did lose his temper at the omega, and it wasn’t because of something Nino did to him.
No, it was when the omega was running a persistent high fever from the lymph infection that made everything hurt but he had to finish the concert tour. Nino was well aware of the attention he was getting from the other group members, and he was growing tired of it because yes it hurt, no it wasn’t going away, and all he wanted to do was fall into his own bed and cry. But he couldn’t, and he couldn’t run away from the concerned looks, and the questioning glances so he started to pretend that everything was okay. After one of the concerts, Ohno snapped and roughly pushed him down to the sofa in the preparation room, then pulling the omega down to rest his burning head on his lap.
“If you feel terrible then just say it, you idiot! What good will it do for you if you hide? All you’re doing is hurting yourself!” Ohno had softened his sharp tone with the soft stroking of Nino’s head, knowing how unwell the omega felt. “You may have to put up an act in front of the fans, but you don’t have to with us. We aren’t stupid. We care.”
The omega kept silent then, tears prickling at his eyes. “…I’m tired.” He choked, burying his head into the alpha’s lap and breathing in the ocean scent. The older man gently rubbed his back soothingly. “Sleep a bit. We’ll wake you up when the bus is here.”
When he woke up next, his head was resting on Jun’s lap instead, and a fever patch stuck on his forehead. They were somehow already on the bus. For a moment, he bemoaned the loss of the calming ocean scent, but then blearily recognized the alpha watching him from the seat in front of him while talking to Sho about filming matters. He hardly registered Jun talking to him as he fell back asleep, the soft but attentive gaze still on him.
The next morning, Aiba offhandedly mentioned that the Oh-chan had been the one to carry him up onto the bus. The same night at their hotel, he found a Dragon Quest Slime plushie on his bed in his shared room with Jun and Sho. It smelt like the ocean.
He fell asleep with his nose tucked into it - the other members made no comment when he was back to his snarky bratty self the next morning, feeling a bit brighter and less shitty.
That was the first instance Nino realized he might have to change his opinions about bonding with an alpha.