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Y/n was a calm and simple omega, most people would say she was shy, although she herself would disagree. She wasn't afraid to talk or interact with people, she just didn't always speak. Small talk, fake smiles, empty concerns... she refused to participate in any of that.
When she asked a question, she wanted to know the answer; when she smiled, she was happy; when she cried, she was sad.
And that's why she focuses her attention on her homework while the fans' screams get louder. If there was one smile that annoyed her the most in the whole school, it was Oikawa's. There was no smile more fake than that of the captain of the Seijoh volleyball team.
She wouldn't even be here if Yumi(oc) didn't want to see the vice captain so badly. Unlike her, Yumi was really shy, and as cliché as it was, Y/n ended up finding her crush on Iwaizumi adorable. In fact, the omega was certain that they would make an ideal couple if Yumi could find the courage to confess her feelings or if Iwaizumi could see Yumi behind the group of omegas and betas screaming for the team captain.
Y/n momentarily looks up from her notebook only to encounter Oikawa's smile, which immediately irritates her. The group's screams increase with the alpha's smile, and she can't help but wonder. How can anyone go crazy over that smile? At least crazy like them, because if she were honest, Y/n also went crazy over Oikawa's smile, but crazy with irritation. Was she the only one who could see how fake it was?
The coach tries to restore order by threatening to close the training sessions to the public again, and Y/n can only hope that he doesn't do it because she would hate to have to feel the bitter taste on Yumi's vanilla scent every day again. It wasn't that she hated Oikawa, she just couldn't stand that fake smile and the way everyone seemed to fall for it.
Of course, Oikawa was intelligent, and Y/n recognized that. Beyond his grades, which she only knew because his fan group constantly commented on them, his strategy and attitude on the field were so impressive that he had managed to become captain even though he was a freshman. Not to mention his tall, athletic figure that exuded alpha.
She understood the “spell” he cast on the girls at school, including the older students. It made sense, after all, he was the Mr. Perfect, the perfect alpha. But for Y/n, there was nothing but frustration towards the alpha’s mask.
If she was honest, there was one more thing that seemed to prevent her from falling under the alpha's spell: his scent. He always smelled like summer fame, sweet oranges, golden warmth, and amber candy, like something too smooth to be real, too sweet to be the scent of an alpha, but somehow strong enough to drive all those omegas crazy.
While the first year seemed to pass quickly, the two volleyball tournaments were moments that unexpectedly marked Y/n. In the first, it was the first time the omega saw Oikawa in an official game and for the first time, in his focus, in his movements, in the way he looked at his opponents... Y/n felt something genuine and true coming from the alpha.
From then on, her curiosity grew. Yumi no longer had to drag her to watch volleyball practice, and her homework became less and less interesting compared to the brown-haired alpha.
That game was an eye-opener for Y/n. It was then that she understood the seriousness and sincerity in the alpha's movements whenever he played. It was the first time she saw Oikawa being sincere.
The sincerity and effort he put into the game were absurd, so absurd that Y/n didn't know how she hadn't noticed his sincerity before.
And when she suddenly realized this, her heart raced when he made a particularly good pass, when he received perfectly, when he shot or served to score a point, and when he flashed a smug and provocative smile at his opponents. Of course he was smug, he had every right to be.
That smile was the second thing that captivated Y/n about the alpha. Normally, people wouldn't like arrogant or smug smiles, but what she liked was how sincere the smile was. Of course, he was quick to mask that smug side with the fake smile she hated so much. But that second when the mask fell and he let his pride show was enough to keep her always watching, hoping to see more.
Y/n shakes her head, it was impossible that all those omegas and betas were seeing the same thing she was, and the proof of that was that their screams only increased when Oikawa scored a point or when he flashed a fake smile at the group.
They were blinded by Mr. Perfect, while Y/n found herself captivated by every bit that made him a real person. Even with this captivation, she wouldn't say she was in love, at least not until her school lost in the second tournament.
Due to a test, Y/n had missed the game in which Seijoh lost to Shiratorizawa in the first tournament, apparently they had a first-year spiker who was an absolute monster. But the day they lost in the second tournament was the day Y/n officially fell in love with Seijoh's most popular alpha.
___
Y/n sighs, her mind still busy processing Oikawa's expression when that point was scored for Shiratorizawa and sealed their defeat. Sadness? Frustration? Hate? A mixture of all of them? The omega didn't know, she hadn't had enough time to figure it out before he masked it, but it was enough to make her heart shrink.
She is standing at the bathroom door waiting for Yumi when suddenly a scent hits her. It was a sweet but bitter citrus scent, too bitter to be orange and at the same time too sweet to be lemon, something like yuzu if she had to describe it. It was an intense but light scent accompanied by a delicious hint of slightly burnt sugar.
Before she knew it, the omega found herself instinctively walking toward the scent until she turned a corner and saw him. Oikawa Toru. There he was, the proud and imposing alpha captain of the Seijoh volleyball team, bent over with his forehead resting on a locker. Her mind felt confused as she tried to associate the alpha's normal scent with what she was sensing now. The orange had turned bitter for Yuzu, and the amber had become stronger and deeper, like burnt sugar. It was a deep, strong scent that characterized an alpha like him much better than his usual scent. She realizes that this was his real scent was the angry and frustrated expression he currently wore as he stared at the locker. All his anger and discontent at defeat seemed so real, it was real. The frustration of someone who had given his all and still failed to achieve his goals. For the first time, his expression and scent were completely real.
And his real scent made S/n's inner omega want to purr. It was at that moment that she could have sworn her knees would give way to the alpha scent when he punched the cabinet hard, startling her and making her let out an anguished squeak of surprise. Then he looked at her, one moment panicked and the next with a fake, perfect smile. A mask. One moment yuzu and burnt sugar, the next sickly sweet orange and amber. He was quick to spread his scent, hiding the one his irritation had let slip, and the change in scent brought S/n back to her senses and anger took over her.
“Hi, another fan?” The alpha asks with a fake smile as he takes a step forward toward the omega. His voice is soft, covered with the same sugar he uses to mask his scent.
It makes her want to growl with the realization that she loves precisely everything he tries so desperately to hide, and of course—when she asked, she wanted to know; when she smiled, she was happy; when she cried, she was sad—so when she got angry at Oikawa's attitude, she—
“Fuck off!”
The alpha watches in absolute shock as the omega runs and turns the corner, disappearing from view.
___
Oikawa wasn't used to being rejected; normally he was the one who carefully rejected omegas, so when that omega with a slight scent of chamomile told him to fuck off before running away, he couldn't even process it. Was there really an omega in that school who didn't fall to their knees for that smile?
The memory was taking over him more than he would like to admit, and he tries to shake it off with a particularly strong serve that makes the omegas and betas scream with excitement. With a smile already prepared on his face, Oikawa turns to wave to his fans when he suddenly notices one of the two omegas sitting furthest away from the group. It was her. A shocked expression must have escaped his smile because the moment the omega's gaze fell on him, she flashed a smile and gave him the middle finger. That was enough to make Oikawa choke and attract Iwaizumi's attention.
“What the hell are you doing, Shittykawa-” Iwaizumi begins, but stops when he follows the other alpha's gaze and locks eyes with the other omega in the stands.
___
“I already told you it's not funny, Yumi!” S/n exclaims, a little exasperated.
“Sorry!” She says between laughs. “It's just that I never imagined you would like Mr. Perfect.”
"Don't take me for one of them, I don't like Mr. Perfect. I like Oikawa, I like his dedication, his obsession, his frustration, his arrogance—"
“In other words, everything that would be considered negative.”
“It's not negative. It's just what makes him so... real.”
“Maybe you should confess.”
“For what?”
“Well-”
“He doesn't want a relationship, Yumi, he makes that very clear by rejecting all the girls who confess their feelings to him.”
“Maybe he wants someone who sees the real him? Like you!” Yumi says with a shrug and a nudge to Y/n's side.
“Volleyball is his life, and I'm not going to get in the way of that.”
“Maybe because you understand that, you'd be ideal!”
“What about you?”
“Me?”
“I don't know.”
“Maybe you should confess to Iwaizumi, right?”
“I—”
“Don't think I didn't see the way he was looking at you the other day,” Yumi says provocatively and watches as Yumi simply falls silent and looks away with a blush on her face. Referring to her crush was always a good way to get her to drop a topic.
“On Valentine's Day.”
“Huh?” Y/n asks when Yumi speaks unexpectedly.
“I'm going to confess on Valentine's Day with chocolate, if I do, you have to give chocolate to Oikawa too,” Yumi explains.
Y/n smiles challengingly.
“Deal.”
___
“Y/n-chan,” the hairs on Y/n’s neck bristle at the alpha’s falsely sweet voice. “Don’t you have anything for me?”
“Why would I have anything for you?” Y/n frowns, not even considering how the alpha knows her name.
“Well, Iwa gave me some chocolates that your friend gave him for me and said that you two were also part of my fan club, and considering that my whole club gives me chocolates, I-”
“What?! She didn't give you any chocolates! They were for Iwaizumi!”
“What??” He asks, visibly incredulous.
“She wanted to confess to him. Go give them back right now!”
The alpha swallows, realizing he's screwed up, and runs to find Iwaizumi. He couldn't believe his friend had received a confession and had been dense enough to think it was for him.
___
Oikawa sighs. So did that really mean that Y/n wasn't there for him, but only because her friend liked Iwa? He sighs again when his eyes fall on the pile of gifts he received. He liked the attention from the omegas and betas, but none of the gifts were particularly thoughtful, and anyway, it's not like they really knew him. He decides to open one to eat some of the chocolates, and one catches his eye. It was a small package with different shades of blue and something about it that made the alpha want to open it.
The chocolate was simple but beautiful, small pieces of dark chocolate that had a captivating smell. A note accompanied the chocolates, and he was quick to open it.
“Defeat can be bitter, but it only makes the next victory sweeter.”
Taking a piece into his mouth, he is immediately flooded with the sweet taste of strawberries that contrast perfectly with the bitterness of the dark chocolate. Taking another piece, but this time biting it in half, he observes the strawberry jam filling inside the small piece of chocolate.
Usually, he was offered milk chocolate and even white chocolate, but this was the first time someone had offered him dark chocolate. Perhaps because most people wanted to show that their love was as sweet as the chocolate?
Eating another piece, Oikawa smiled as he thought about how the phrase fit with the sweets. A bitter chocolate that made the sweetness of the strawberry jam even sweeter.
He wanted to know who had given him something like this, who had written something like this, so simple yet so profound and meaningful. Unfortunately for him, unlike most gifts, this one had no name and no scent.
___
Between the new relationship between Iwaizumi and Yumi and Oikawa's constant pestering, Y/n ended up becoming much closer to the volleyball team than she ever thought she would.
“You only want what you can't have, don't you, Shittykawa?” The team would teasehim.
It was true that Oikawa constantly directed his attention to Y/n, but unfortunately or fortunately, it was always that sugary attention that she hated. So it was easy for the omega to tease and act disinterested, even if she fell to her knees for the real Oikawa, this wasn't him, this was just Mr. Perfect with the mask he constantly wore.
That's how the second year passed quickly and Y/n saw the scene repeat itself. Same tournament, different year, same result. Seijoh had lost. Oikawa had lost.
Y/n's heart tightened in her chest when she thought of his expression last year. As much as it was the expression that made her fall in love, it didn't mean she would ignore the pain behind it. That's how she found herself in this situation. Running out to find Oikawa, she bumped into him, but the real him.
He was alone, his expression was angry, and his scent of Yuzu and burnt sugar filled the air. Neither of them changed when they saw Y/n; if anything, they intensified.
“What do you want?” He says in a harsh tone that surprises her and makes her shrink a little.
“I-” She tries to start confidently, but he is quick to interrupt her.
“Let me guess, you came to tell me to fuck off again? Does our defeat bother you that much? Do you think that-”
He stops when he is surprised to see tears running down the omega's face.
"Upset that you lost? I can't even be upset with you right now, because as stupid as you're being, you deserve it. You deserve to feel that anger and frustration, you deserve to scream and cry and even punch the cabinet if you want to, because you worked your ass off more than anyone else and still lost. You're a real person and people have these feelings." Y/n says in a whispered scream as tears flow freely from her eyes.
The alpha watches her closely, but if he wants to respond, he makes no move to do so, letting Y/n continue.
“I didn't tell you to fuck off because you lost, I told you to fuck off because you put on that fake smile and pretended everything was fine when it wasn't. I could never blame you for having feelings, for being real.” Y/n explains and hesitates for a moment before saying it.
“Defeat may be bitter, but it only makes the next victory sweeter.”
It was at that moment that it clicked inside Oikawa; she was the one who gave him those chocolates. Before the omega can leave, he quickly grabs her hand and pulls her back. One moment she hits back at his chest, and the next he has her pinned against the wall in a deep kiss.
It's a hungry, hurried kiss, and Y/n can feel all the despair, anger, and frustration, all the emotions he keeps to himself in that kiss. The initial surprise doesn't last a second when the omega returns the kiss fervently, tangling her fingers in the alpha's hair and pulling him even closer. The feeling is overwhelming, being so close to that wonderful scent makes her knees buckle and if it weren't for Oikawa's strong grip on her waist she would have certainly fallen.
When the need for air forces the alpha to interrupt the kiss, he doesn't back away, remaining with his forehead against the omega's.
“Are you out of strength, omega?” He whispers in her ear and smiles smugly.
As arrogant as he was, she smiled because she knew he was being sincere. He knew exactly the effect he had had on her and was proud of it. Too proud. It was when she was about to retaliate that something changed, his smile changed. His provocative and arrogant smile gave way to something else, something completely lacking in its previous characteristics. Yet it was still free of any false traces. It was just... a happy smile. A truly happy smile.
The omega blushes deeply at the sight and he laughs at her expression, making her blush even worse when the beautiful melody fills her ears. She always knew she would fall for the real Oikawa, but she never expected it to be so deeply.