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“Do you think he really loved me in the first place?” Yuji heard his voice tremble and almost didn’t recognize it as his own. The four walls of the nurse's office felt more like a prison, trapping his scent, forcing him to inhale it.
Inhale.
Accept reality.
“Yes, that’s why things might not be the same anymore,” Nobara mumbled from his bedside.
“But if you really care for someone, that’s not a feeling you can throw away easily.”
“You’d be surprised how cold people can be.”
“Because secrecy breeds emotions.” Gojo entered and then paused, leaning against the door frame as if to keep a safe distance. “You need to answer my question honestly or you’ll end up in the principal's office. Understand?”
The tightness in his chest increased from the scents mingling in the air. He closed his eyes as his thoughts ran wild.
Eight Hours Earlier
Yuji rolled in the covers, itching with the urge to push Megumi deep into the mattress and hug him. His eyes caught sight of the sign dangling overhead: Half-Price Mattresses! Couples swarmed the store, their obnoxious scents and chatter gave him a headache.
“Had enough yet?” Megumi sat beside him. His headphones over his ears and his arms cradling his head. “Any longer and we’ll be late for school.”
“I need to relax. I’ve been studying for this quiz all weekend!”
“The perfect relaxation on a Queen mattress recommended for nesting omegas.” Megumi read the store display. “Sure if this is what makes you…” He grunted at the sudden weight on his body, “YOU HAVE ALL THIS SPACE WHY DO YOU KEEP BUMPING INTO ME?”
Yuji’s breath caught in his throat, realizing the proximity between them. His head rested on Megumi’s spiraled-out arm. Any closer and his head would be resting on Megumi’s chest, hearing the thump of his heart, and sharing body heat.
“Don’t look at me like that.” Megumi’s voice grew deeper, smoother. He shifted his arm away, ruining Yuji’s makeshift pillow.
Yuji pulled a bedsheet over his face.
“The sheets are see-through, idiot.”
“Was just making sure you were still looking at me!” Yuji pressed his face into the sheet, it molded to his playful expression. “Let’s try a different position!”
“What do you mean by that?”
“It’s a bed, right? So we gotta!”
Often, it was hard to tell what Megumi was thinking, his brow would cringle slightly, while his lips would remain in a firm line. Yuji felt his heart trying to break free from his chest when he looked like that.
A low buzz came from Yuji’s pocket. He pulled out his phone to read a message, Junpei: Thanks for the film recommendation! Gonna watch it to see if it’s good for film club today.
“We have film club today! Are you finally going to stop by?” Yuji flashed his phone screen at Megumi.
“If we ever make it to school,” Megumi grumbled but never left Yuji behind. Their daily antics usually included Nobara, but she told them this morning was busy for her. Yuji didn’t want to push it, but he missed her. She was much easier to make laugh and smile, her scent giving off all the correct signs.
Megumi still hadn’t presented yet, so there was no scent to give truth to his facial expressions. It wasn’t like Yuji presented yet either, but at least he was always honest. “Have you ever wondered how you’re gonna smell?” Maybe a little too honest.
“No.” Megumi looked confused at the question, “HAVE YOU?”
“Not my own. But yours.” Yuji confessed.
“Weirdo. You’ll be the nice smelling one.”
Yuji sucked in a breath, fingers twitching. “Really?”
“Why would I lie to you?”
Yuji’s gaze flickered to Megumi’s once more and he held it. “You need it more because you stink worse than me after the gym.”
Megumi lunged at him and Yuji dodged, darting off the mattress. Megumi grabbed his backpack from the floor and chased after him. An employee yelled at them warningly, “NO PLAYING ON THE DISPLAYS!” the harsh voice drowned out by the sound of Yuji and Megumi’s breathless laughter.
.
.
.
“So nothing odd happened this morning?” Gojo stopped writing for a second as if giving Yuji more time to collect his thoughts.
Yuji didn’t need more time, the entire day replayed over and over, each time he blinked. He didn’t know if he loved it or hated it. He didn’t know what faces he was making in response to telling his story.
The school nurse—Shoko—placed a glass of water on the table. “Drink. You lost a lot of fluids.”
Yuji picked up the glass, the cold water barely soothed the heat in his belly. His eyes wandered to the test results at his bedside. “My body said it feels right.”
“And when your body does it’s usually right.” Shoko sighed, the bags under her eyes signaled that she didn’t get paid enough to deal with this. “Usually.”
Gojo eyeballed her skeptically.
“The kid should tell you about how it started.”
Yuji touched the swollen scent glands on his neck.
Seven Hours Earlier
“First, I would like to say none of you are in trouble.” Principal Yaga addressed the group of students in the front office. “Our school has received more funding, next year we’re hiring more teachers to separate alphas and omegas from the same classes. So today, the nurse is administering a rapid test for students who haven’t presented yet.”
“I will take a blood sample and the results will be back in an hour.” Shoko pulled latex gloves over her hands. “Then we will know everyone’s secondary gender and place them in the appropriate classroom.”
A student raised her hand. “Does this have to do with the recent influx of alphas taking advantage of omegas by commanding them to see exam answers?”
“I would be lying if I said the school board didn’t take that into consideration,” Yaga said.
On the news, Yuji recalled stories about Alphas using their commands to control Omegas against their will. Many Omegas claimed their body moved on their own without knowing why.
“I’ll take the first person in my office.” Shoko walked towards her door covered in educational posters about properly washing hands.
Megumi followed behind her. And like an invisible rope pulled him forward, Yuji helplessly trailed behind. “So a stroke of good luck, we’re not in trouble?”
“Yep. Just act like we were near the front office for this.”
“I…” Yuji checked the time on his phone. “I’ll go second, I guess.”
Megumi shrugged, disappearing into the nurse's office.
Yuji buried his head in his phone again; his nose picked up a scent. It crept through the cracks of the door as it eased open—vanilla cupcake—a scent that didn’t much match her personality.
Nobara flipped her short brown hair and waved at him. Her gleefulness dumped ice water on Yuji’s nerves.
“What are you up to?” Yuji asked.
“I just arrived at school. I had a dentist appointment to check out my fangs.” Nobara flashed her new pair of teeth. She had presented before anyone else in their trio—an alpha. Everything about her always radiated alpha energy and now she had the scent to go along with it.
Yuji ran his tongue over his teeth. “I think I can feel mine coming in!”
“Really?”
“They’re like numbs.” It sounded stupid saying it aloud, but he blamed the way Nobara looked at him, with a pretty wicked smile, like they were in on some private joke together.
“Lil fangs.”
“They’re not!”
“Alphas have big fangs.”
What did that mean? Yuji watched the sway of her hips and smelled the smugness in her scent.
Principal Yaga cleared his throat. “Miss Kugaski, please collect a tardy slip and get to class.”
“It’s fine,” Nobara whipped a piece of paper from her pocket. “Doctor’s orders.” She strolled past them.
“Next,” Shoko announced.
Yuji shuffled inside the cramped nurse’s room. The testing kit took up the entire desk like it belonged in a chemistry lab.
“Good luck,” Megumi said, standing up.
Yuji sank into the seat. He eyeballed the needle Shoko pulled out. What if the results didn’t turn out how he desired?
Megumi offered his hand.
Yuji hesitated.
“Come on, don’t make me say it.”
They placed their palms together, gently like touching a glass sculpture. Stick close. Yuji locked his fingers between Megumi’s.
“Roll up a sleeve,” Shoko said.
Megumi rolled up Yuji’s left sleeve. His touch made Yuji’s hair stand on end. They didn’t touch each other often, but when they did…damn…it felt like an adrenaline rush.
Yuji squeezed Megumi’s hand as the needle drew blood from his arm. His thumb traced along the backs of Megumi’s knuckles and behind his closed eyes, he imagined touching something else.
“All done.” Shoko wiped the spot clean and placed a bandaid on it. “Please wait with the others for your results.”
“You did good.” Megumi praised him.
Yuji opened his eyes, barely holding back a smile. Their intertwined fingers felt so right like Megumi’s hand was perfectly sized to capture Yuji’s.
“Megumi, can you do me a favor?”
“Depends.”
“I have to leave to take a quiz. Can you get my results and just tell me later?”
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.
.
Gojo held up his hand, “So you both faked it and were late for school.”
“Well...” At that time, the nurse’s office felt different, maybe it was less intimating with Megumi around. Or maybe it was because he wasn’t in trouble like he was now.
“Answer the question.”
Yuji fiddled with the thin blanket resting on top of his body.
“Still protecting him, huh?” Junpei finally made Yuji aware of his presence in the chair beside him. His bang covered one of his eyes, but the other one burned with anger.
“Please, don’t make him go feral again.” Nobara pressed her hands against Yuji’s chest, forcing him back down. “He just latched onto Megumi wouldn’t let go and ripped his shirt off.”
“Junpei, when did you get there?” Yuji asked.
“After you went feral and before you got knocked out. Todo called me. I had to lure you away from Megumi with a movie you hadn’t seen before.” Junpei said, “And you—“
“Headbutt the shit outta me!” Todo pointed to the bandage wrapped around his head.
“So you guys all tried to help me?” Yuji almost forgot, more importantly out of everything he had such good friends.
Six Hours Earlier
A finger tapped Yuji’s shoulder. An alpha scent filled his nose sending goosebumps down his arms. He spun around to a familiar face with glittering eyes and a raised brow in that sexy way she always did.
“Lil fangs!” Nobara sounded equally surprised.
Each gulp of air spread unease in his stomach. For some reason, he felt like a frightened rabbit. He slumped against the lockers in the hallway.
Nobara’s expression melted into concern. She reached out to touch him.
Yuji slapped her hand away.
“OUCH! ASSHOLE!”
“Sorry!” Yuji sputtered, grabbing his hand as if horrified at what happened. “I didn’t mean to! Are you okay?”
“Are you okay?” Nobara hissed.
No. But he didn’t want Nobara to tease him any more than she already did. “Call me whatever. All your nagging is about to look stupid.” Yuji smirked, noticing Megumi walking up to them. “Wanna fill her in?”
Megumi handed Nobara an envelope.
Nobara opened it, eyes scanning over the papers. “Alpha.”
“HAHA!” Yuji cheered. “YES!”
“Megumi Fushiguro.”
“What?” Yuji snatched the papers, shuffling through them. “Dude this is awesome! I mean you and Nobara being alphas! We…I mean, y’all can be like the alpha pack. We could. Y’all could. I…I…”
Megumi spun the dial to open his locker. The clicking sound drowned out the rest of Yuji’s incomprehensible babbles.
“So where are my results?” Yuji blurted.
Megumi didn’t look at him.
“Ayo! Megumi!” Yuji wiggled his way between Megumi and his locker. A hand pressed near his head and their noses almost touched.
“You’re blocking my way. I need my history book.”
“Results first. Then the book.”
Megumi shifted his backpack on his shoulders. His eyes cut to the side, glancing at Nobara and back at Yuji. “Yours said alpha.”
“Nice! Did you collect my paperwork?”
“The nurse said not to worry about it.”
Nobara placed her hands on her hips. “So you didn’t get his paperwork at all?”
“No.”
Yuji heard Todo’s loudmouth from down the hall. He glanced around Megumi’s shoulder to see Junpei making his way to class. “Gotta say hi to another friend! I’ll catch you in class, Nobara!” He slipped under Megumi’s arms, “Later, fellow alphas!”
“See you at lunch. Meet at our usual spot on the roof.” Megumi said.
Yuji spun around just in time to latch a hand around Junpei’s backpack. “Hi!” He started to walk beside his friend, shifting his eyes to see the movie playing on the phone screen.
“No peeking!” Junpei pulled out an earbud. “I’m watching a potential candidate for our next film club.”
“Splatter film?”
“Nah. This one is just horror.”
Yuji nodded.
“I’m surprised you noticed me. You and Megumi seemed to be enjoying yourselves.” Junpei tapped at his phone screen. “It’s like you two go into your little world.”
“Not really.” Yuji closed his eyes. In a perfect world, everything would just easily click like that. “Did it really seem like he enjoyed me?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, the conversation!” Yuji snapped his eyes open. A nauseous scent filled his nostrils.
“Besto friendo!” Todo was built like a brick wall. Muscular, too tall, with a voice that matched his alpha command. “Wait for me!”
“Todo!” Yuji forced a smile on his face, it didn’t ever come easy like when he was around Megumi. And this smell—oh God it was the worst. He needed to get out of here. “You ever met my friend, Junpei? He is the founder and president of our school film club.” He gestured at the short omega.
“Why do you always tell people that?” Junpei asked.
“Because there are only five of us! Imagine how much fun it would be with more people.”
“I guess.”
“You can request a movie if you wanna come to film club. Even one with Sakura-chan in it, Todo.”
“Oooh! REALLY? That sounds like such a cool club!” Todou grinned, “Say Junpei, what’s your taste in women?”
“My...my WHAT?”
Yuji mentally applauded himself as Todou continued to interrogate Junpei. He’d have to pay Junpei back for this, maybe buying him candy next time they go to the movies together.
“Degenerate.” Nobara huffed, her high heels clicking as she passed them.
Todou jerked his head up at the insult. “Did you just say something, Megumi? Because I don’t remember addressing you.”
Megumi growled.
“Well actually now that I think of it. The voice was more like a girl’s.” Todou’s eyes met with Nobara’s ass.
Megumi punched Todou back to face him. “And I wasn’t addressing you either. It's about your tongue. I was thinking to myself aloud about the degenerate question you asked.”
“I’LL SHOVE YOUR TONGUE UP YOUR ASS!” Todou grabbed Megumi by his shirt.
Megumi raised his fist.
“Gentleman!” Gojo gave a warning, his arms crossed over his chest as his back rested against his classroom door frame.
“Today in film club.” Todo released his hold on Megumi. “Come get your ass whopping and don’t make me track you down.” He stormed away from him.
Megumi growled, both his hands clenched in tight fists.
“Maybe you can end it in three seconds,” Yuji said.
“Isn’t Todo your friend?” Megumi snapped.
“Sorta? I don’t know.” Yuji couldn’t describe his feelings, “I’ve been trying to avoid him. If you beat him up, then I’ll have an excuse!”
“An excuse?” Megumi repeated slowly. He slammed his locker shut as if trying to contain his anger. “This is your fault.” His eyes never broke contact with Yuji’s. “I told you, this would happen.”
“And now I agree?” Yuji tensed and set his jaw. “I mean if I knew…” He cringed at the sound of scrapping metal, his eyes cutting to the side to see Megumi’s claws dragging against the surface of his locker.
Megumi leaned inwards till his mouth met the tip of Yuji’s ear. “That they can take you from me.” His fangs scraped against Yuji’s cartilage, their sharp point reminded him of a needle. “Pisses me off.”
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.
.
“Since you’re all friends you didn’t take Megumi’s comments as a warning? Or a sign of some sort?” Gojo asked.
Yuji looked around at his friends. They knew better than him, outsiders were usually best to fairly judge a situation.
“I knew something was up if he thought he could step to me!” Todo huffed.
“Don’t be too upset at Megumi. I’m the one who didn’t want him to make it awkward between us.” Nobara said.
Yuji didn’t understand. If these feelings existed when they were friends, couldn’t they go back? Discovering more, but then realizing he was better with less. “I wanted to be an alpha because of you, Nobara! Even before I knew Megumi was going to be an alpha, I wanted to stay with you.”
“I wanted to stay hanging out with you both too. Maybe that’s why some of me thought his stupid crush would disappear.” Nobara showed Yuji her phone screen, “Everyday Megumi texted about how hard he fell for you.”
Yuji couldn’t bare to look at the messages, he focused on Gojo and opened his mouth.
Five Hours Earlier
The cropped-up book on Yuji’s desk started to sag as the pages caved in around his arms. His phone was tucked away in the center, as his thumbs typed away at the screen, nearly at the same pace Gojo sensei was talking.
“Despite what most people think, presenting a secondary gender is a process just like puberty.” Gojo took his spot at the front of the class. The projector overhead illuminated his firm expression. “There will be signs ahead of time. Not everyone is lucky enough to present at night and wake up feeling different.”
He rolled his head away from his notebook fort to be closer to Nobara. “We need to talk about what you did earlier. When you walked away, Todo overheard what you said.”
“Good.” Nobara continued to completer her worksheet.
“Not good. He thinks Megumi said it. Then bad shit happened from there!”
Nobara opened her mouth to say something, but her voice trailed off as she gazed at the messy layout of Yuji’s desk. A notebook turned to an outdated page, two pens, and one pencil slowly placed as if to hold the book upwards like a skyscraper, a giant eraser wedged in the middle as if to substitute it for his phone if needed.
“Look at this.” Yuji pointed to a text on his phone.
Megumi: We should talk at lunch.
Another text message notification came in.
Junpei: I don’t wanna hear shit from someone so quick to justify violence. Keep that same energy when you’re the one with a fist pressed to your face.
Gojo stepped between their desks. He lifted the phone from Yuji’s hands. “And what do we have here?”
“Gojo sensei! I was taking notes!”
Gojo scrolled through the messages, “Love notes to Megumi?”
The class erupted in chuckles and whispers: “The more time you spend with someone, the more attached they’re going to be.”
Yuji felt his face heat and his stomach knot.
“Don’t take his phone away! He pulled out his phone for me to help with this math problem.” Nobara pointed at the worksheet.
Gojo pulled his shades down as if to get a better look.
“You said we can use our phone calculator if we don’t have our own,” Nobara said.
“Nobara, it’s okay.” Yuji lowered her hand.
“No. I’m going to fix this.” Nobara insisted.
“I don’t care!” Yuji blurted. The words came out louder than he expected as if he was trying to shout over his rising heartbeat. “As long as…” He blinked rapidly, his sight shifting to Gojo. “Is Megumi in trouble?”
“Not if I can help it.”
“Okay.” Yuji sighed, “A good friend wouldn’t make another upset, right?”
The smirk on Gojo’s face seemed to falter for a few seconds. “Well sometimes a good friend, has to choose what the word good means.”
Earlier Megumi had said Yuji did good. At that moment, he wanted to do nothing but be good for Megumi. He thought it was just the adrenaline rush, but now even more so…Yuji wanted to be good.
No matter what that entailed.
“That’s what I like about you kids, always sticking up for each other.” Gojo said, quietly. He slipped Yuji’s phone into his pocket and strolled further down the aisle, “My classroom, my rules. Now do your work.”
Yuji picked up a pencil and tapped it against the worksheet. “A good alpha protects the people they care about.”
“But so does a good omega,” Nobara said.
“Well I’m not an omega, okay?” Yuji scribbled in his notebook. If Megumi was mad at him, what was he going to do? The lead on his pencil snapped. “I don’t care what happens to me as long as Megumi isn’t in trouble!”
“I’m sorry.” Nobara apologized.
For some reason, her apology stressed him even more.
“Come on, let’s do this together.” Nobara focused on her worksheet. “It will take your mind off you know who.”
Yuji scooted his chair over to Nobara’s desk. No matter how hard he tried to focus on the worksheet, it seemed impossible. He was too used to Megumi being only a text message away.
.
.
.
Megumi was the first person to constantly stay on Yuji’s mind—the more he tried to hide it or ignore it, the more it kept coming up. He cared about Megumi. They were friends. But where did this constant desire come from?
“I really do like Megumi so much!” Yuji kept rereading the messages. “I don’t think I could…can give him up.”
His friends were scared of losing him just as much as he was scared of losing them.
A groan came from his left, his senses taking notice of the warmth embracing his hand. The thin blanket covering the bed shifted.
“Yeah, you really can’t give Megumi up,” Todo said.
Yuji’s left hand was snugly locked in with Megumi’s right. They laid together, similarly to how they did on the mattress.
“We couldn’t break you apart.”
Nobara elbowed Todo.
“We couldn’t bring ourselves to!” Todo grumbled. “Not seeing how peaceful you looked with Megumi after Shoko gave you suppressants.”
“This idiot woke up before me?” Megumi asked, raspily.
Immediately, Yuji let go of Megumi’s hand. His own started to tremble slightly at the loss of contact, but it brought sanity to his brain. How much of the story had Megumi heard?
“Good. He’s awake, now you can skip to the most important part,” Gojo said.
“Hmp?”
“Megumi, did you scent Yuji without his permission?” Gojo asked.
Megumi didn’t look either of them in the eyes. “Yuji didn’t stop me.”
Three Hours Earlier
Yuji took a bite of his sandwich, chewing thoughtfully. The door for the rooftop entrance slammed shut. He braced himself for the scent of vanilla; instead, a rich blueberry scent filled his nose as Junpei stepped into view.
“Do you realize what you’ve done? You’ve brought violence to film club!” Junpei hissed.
“I didn’t mean—“
“No, don't you dare act like you didn’t know that club was my sanctuary from all this madness and now!” Junpei pointed back and forth between Yuji and Megumi napping on his shoulder. “YOU’VE BETRAYED ME!”
“It’s not like that.”
“Then what is it?” Junpei challenged. “Because now you’re not answering my texts.”
“I got my phone taken away for texting Megumi in class.”
“So you can text Megumi in class but not me?”
“My phone got taken away before I could message you.”
Junpei angrily paced back and forth, his hands shoved in his pockets.
“It’s the truth,” Yuji reached out to grab him and Megumi’s head fell. He quickly jerked back; Megumi’s head landed softly in his lap.
“See! You’re doing it again! You’re putting him over everyone else!”
“DO YOU WANT ME TO LET MEGUMI BUST HIS HEAD ON THE CONCRETE?”
Junpei didn’t flinch. “You ditched me with Todo earlier, I bet you left to go do something with Megumi.”
“No, that's only because Todo is a weirdo and I don’t know why he’s trying so hard to be my friend!”
“Because you’re usually a good friend, Yuji! Who wouldn’t want to be your friend?” Junpei’s voice cracked like he was on the verge of tears.
Yuji felt his bottom lip tremble— he wanted to hug Junpei. But sometimes hugs burn wounds instead of soothing them. “Junpei, I’m sorry.”
“I don’t care. Just solve the problem!” Junpei stormed back inside the building.
The door slammed shut in sync with the rock sinking into Yuji’s gut. He felt a more physical heaviness on his stomach.
“Ah, this smells good.” Megumi snuggled into Yuji’s stomach. “Is this the detergent my big sis uses at home?”
The kind way Megumi questioned him seeped deep into his body like some sort of sweet paralysis, stilling to his touch. “Did our shouting wake you up?”
Megumi’s silence signaled he was still peacefully dreaming. His hands shifted, clinging to the fabric, “This doesn’t feel like my blanket.”
“I’m not your blanket! If you flip that over—“
“This is…a shirt?”
“S-stop!” Yuji gasped, “Your hands!”
Megumi yawned, “You didn't mind resting on me at the mattress store.”
“That!” Yuji felt his face burn. “Was an accident!”
“Well, now I accidentally have no desire to cuddle with anyone else on this earth.” Megumi’s soft breath tickled Yuji’s belly button. “You’re even more comfy than the mattress we laid on earlier.”
Yuji felt his heart launch to his throat, “I have to tell you something.” It was now or never before this feeling ate him alive. “I was going to text you, but it might come off weird. I don’t want it to.”
“Okay.” Megumi hazily blinked his eyes open.
“It keeps bothering me, the fight between you and Todo. It’s all my fault.”
Megumi sat up, “When I fight Todo, I’ll probably lose.” His muscles flexed, “He’s bigger and a lot stronger than me.”
“Then don’t!”
“It's not a big deal about what he’s doing to me, but he keeps bothering you and that makes you unhappy, right?” Megumi clenched his fists.
Yuji tugged on Megumi’s jacket. His face felt so hot and he was sure it had nothing to do with the sunny day outside.
“Don’t worry.”
“I’m not. I believe in you, Megumi. I...I just wanted to say, at any time tap out and let me get one good punch in.”
Megumi nodded.
“There’s something about you today. At first, I couldn’t put my finger on why I spent a lot of time thinking of you.” Stop rambling. He needed to zip it right now before he said someone he’d regret. “I think I’m starting to get it.”
A beat.
Another beat.
It shouldn’t be silent enough for Yuji to hear the beating of his heart.
Megumi’s eyes were dark, animalistic, and his breath like a dragon’s. “Go on.”
Yuji sucked his bottom lip between his teeth. Megumi never looked at him so predatory, just his presence was enough to get Yuji’s skin tingling. “Are you alright?”
Megumi closed his eyes and rested his head on Yuji’s shoulder.
“Megumi?”
“You’re being loud.”
“No, I’m not.” Yuji went silent, hanging his head. He took a deep breath and looked up. “If you’re gonna complain you don’t have to stay with me.”
“I want to.”
“Complain?” Yuji slumped his shoulder away.
Megumi pulled him back. A slight tinge of red swept across his face as he began to stutter, “Stay with you.” His tone broke from a growl. “My head hurts.”
The faint smell of maple tickled Yuji’s nose. His eyes grew wide and his mouth moved before he could stop it, “Your scent is maple! I knew it would be!”
“Can’t help it.” Megumi mumbled, “When I discover something, I think about if it would make you smile. Even when you’re not there.”
Yuji grabbed Megumi’s cheeks with both hands. “So you’re happy that your scent is sweet then?”
“Fuck no.” Megumi rubbed his smell into Yuji’s scent glands. “You can have it.”
Yuji laughed at the unexpected sensation warning his insides.
.
.
.
If Yuji knew then, what he knew now, he would have never let Megumi touch him. How was it that he could do everything right, be nice, be kind, give him trust. He glanced at Megumi’s hand inches away from his own.
They had held hands; they were sharing a bed together—the trust was still there. But they both had different feelings about it.
Yuji accepted that, so he couldn’t bring himself to cry anymore, even if he wanted to. His feelings numbed and a smile plastered on his lips.
“Go on,” Gojo prompted.
One Hour Earlier
The room for film club was on the other end of the school building so Yuji decided to cut around outside. The unbearable heat wasn’t something he anticipated, it was like the sun focused all its energy on him.
Yuji fumbled around trying to pull off his hoodie. Hot. So hot.
“Watch it!” A student huffed.
“My bad!” Yuji babbled.
The student kept walking, leaving school with a group of friends.
Not being able to go on adventures with his friends was scary. They had to stay together. Yuji felt himself sweat at the thought, under his armpits and on his forehead.
He caught a whiff of Todo’s scent: mustardy and a bit like cut wood. Then, a fruity scent invaded his lungs, making him choke between breaths. A new scent—unfamiliar. The air was thick with the scent of…strawberries?
Yuji dry-heaved between wheezing inhales. The aching pain in his stomach, getting harder to ignore.
“Yuji! Oh. My. God.” Nobara gasped, covering her mouth.
“I have to find Todo! There’s another…another scent! What if Todo brought back up?” Yuji rasped.
“You need to lay down!” Nobara placed her hands on his shoulders as if trying to stop his trembling. “NOW.”
Yuji felt his entire body go numb. His nerves obeyed an alpha’s command. “I have to stop the fight!” He tried to push himself forward. “DON’T BLOCK ME.” His legs weren’t listening. His knees buckled.
“I’ll get the nurse.”
“I don’t need the nurse, I need—“ Yuji noticed Todo in the distance. He cried out to him, “MEGUMI!”
Heavy footsteps were getting closer to him. His heart doubled in speed in his chest.
Todo! “MEGUMI!”
A shadow loomed over him. Too built and muscular to belong to his knight in shining armor.
Todo! “MEGUMI!”
“Why do you keep calling me that?” Todo asked with a lazy drawl, disappointment evident on his face.
“I don’t want to.” Yuji sniffled, lifting his head to see Nobara looking like a blurry mess. “I can’t…I can’t get Megumi out of my head.” He grabbed a fistful of hair and pulled.
“Listen, Megumi lied to you. He knew how important this was to you and didn’t want you to be upset!” Nobara’s grip on him grew more shaky. He could feel her distress thudding in her chest. “You’re an omega, Yuji.”
“I knew it. I knew it was fake!” Yuji almost gagged on his own words. Everything hurt. His heart really… “I knew it! I KNEW IT!” He crouched on the ground.
“Take deep breaths. It’s scary presenting. I know how strange it feels.”
Water fell onto the cement and sizzled away in the heat. Yuji wheezed, something was constricting his insides. “Alpha?” He gazed pitifully at them.
The world was an unrecognizable blobby mess until a familiar hand touched his back.
“I planned to take care of you later, omega.” Megumi purred deeply, taking in Yuji’s scent.
Yuji flipped around, tackling Megumi. “Tell me why right now, I have slick dripping down my thighs!” He sat on top of Megumi’s crotch.
“Fuck! PLEASE, YUJI!”
“Stop it!” Yuji growled, “When you say my name, your voice hits my ears and it makes me want you even more.”
“Want me?” Megumi’s voice rumbled through Yuji’s bones making him weaker.
“Yeah! I think I—!” Yuji felt his brain rushing faster than his tongue could talk, “I think I like you, Megumi. That’s why my heat started!”
“Only today?” Megumi leaned forward till his lips felt heavy– aggressive, insistent. The roughness of the kiss was followed by a firm grip on Yuji’s hips. “Such a shame truly.”
Yuji moved to kiss the corner of Megumi’s mouth, then his cheek. The feeling of Megumi’s fingers on his waist was hot against his bare skin, a burn that left him satisfied and desperately wanting more.
“I liked you the second I saw your smile.”
Yuji paused, lips still tingling with the sensation of touching another’s. “You don’t mean that.”
“I do.” Megumi leaned in for another kiss.
Yuji used his hands to cover Megumi’s lips. “How can you say that, Megumi? I thought we were friends before this. Before…” He reflected on all the times they hung out together. “Was I always just someone who you liked?”
“Yeah,” Megumi said muffledly, “Liking you wasn’t hard for me. It turned into love quite easily.”
Yuji covered Megumi’s mouth harder trying to silence him.
“I want you to be my omega.” Megumi’s smile seemed to spread Yuji’s fingertips.
Every inch of it broke his heart. “I wish I could have been more like you and separated it.” Yuji couldn’t pinpoint where the feeling of dying joy came from. The desire was high, all he wanted was in front of him, but now it felt suffocating.
“I enjoy spending time with you. There is no motive but happiness behind that.”
Yuji clenched his fist and it slammed into Megumi’s face, busting his lip.
“Yuji, what the heck!” Nobara shouted.
“Haha! You get him, bro!” Todo cheered.
Yuji was about to swing again but a firm hand yanked his arm back.
“Settle down!” Gojo separated Yuji from Megumi. “I thought I was coming here to break up a fight between Megumi and Todo. Not Megumi and you!”
“Let me go!” Yuji struggled to break free. “Megumi is a jerk! I don’t know why I didn’t see it before.”
“If I’m a jerk, why did I come to get my ass kicked for you?” Megumi spat.
“So you can get close to me!”
The shouting grew distant, desire nulled his other emotions. Alpha. His chin still felt indented where Megumi’s fingertips held it. Alpha. His cheek still felt the tickle of Megumi's slightly chapped lips.
.
.
.
“And that’s all I remember,” Yuji concluded to all the eager faces staring at him with interest. “Megumi only lied to me once, after brainwashing me to believe he never would.”
“You can’t scent Yuji as your omega, Megumi. Forced bonding is like… very illegal.” Gojo scolded.
“Either way it was a lose-lose situation.” Megumi frowned, like something about that sentence pissed him off. “I’m sorry for hurting you, Yuji.”
Nobara looked at Yuji with wet eyes.
“Megumi is a jerk, but I’m not upset.” Everyone was allowed to feel what they wanted, and no matter how hard they tried to hide it, their emotions always would bubble to the surface eventually.
“I assume you’re forgiving him?” Gojo waved around his notepad, as if ready to submit his findings to the principal.
“No. I’m doing what’s best for him.”
“You don’t need to.” Megumi chided, “I’ll always do what’s best for me.”
Megumi was selfish, even without Yuji’s concern. And maybe Yuji cared for Megumi so much that the thought of hurting him again was unbearable.
Nobara threw her arms around both of them, pulling them into a tight hug. “As long as it all worked out. I was…” Her words grew soft. “I was worried you would leave us…” She hiccuped.
“What are you talking about? I’m not going anywhere.” Megumi said.
“Block and ignore us…”
“I’m NOT going anywhere.” Megumi repeated the statement with more firmness. “I’ll be myself around Yuji until he accepts my apology and wants to trust me again.”
Yuji felt his fake smile solidify into a real one. Megumi really did love him. Real love didn’t go away. When you really loved someone you couldn’t cut them out of your life so easily—if you could, then that was love with ulterior motives from the start.
“If that is a possibility,” Megumi whispered anxiously.
“Yeah. We don’t have to be an alpha pack. We can be us again. I like us.” Even if Yuji wasn’t with Megumi and Nobara all the time, he had other friends. “Junpei and I will be in class with the other omegas next year. It will be fun!”
Junpei fiddled with his bang, pushing it aside to reveal his eager bright eyes.
“And now that Todo is in the film club, that makes six of us!”
“What was this, some type of member admission test?” Todo chuckled.
Yuji inhaled deeply. His headache felt better now, even though his heart felt heavy. The taste of Megumi still lingered on his lips and he wondered if, with time, they’d kiss again.