Chapter Text
The memory always tasted like summer and sunshine. Izuku could still see it if he closed his eyes: two toddlers in a playground, the air thick with the scent of sweet milk and baby powder. Back then, their secondary genders were just dormant seeds, but the pull had been there. They were two halves of a whole, gravitating toward each other before they even knew what an Alpha or an Omega was.
'Where did everything go wrong?' Izuku wondered, his fingers trembling against the strap of his yellow backpack. 'I wish it were all the way it used to be.'
—You'll never be a hero, — Katsuki's voice snapped the memory like a dry twig. —you are and will be forever useless, Deku.
The classroom was mostly empty; the other lackeys had filtered out to the arcade. Katsuki stood there, radiating that familiar, sharp scent of spicy nitroglycerine—a scent that usually made Izuku's inner Alpha hum with a desperate need to please.
Even now, after the insults, Katsuki stepped forward. It was muscle memory. A jagged, prideful movement to tilt his neck just enough—a silent demand to be scented. It was their routine. No matter how mean Katsuki was, Izuku always provided comfort. He always leaned into the blond's explosive energy with his own soft, winter-morning like scent pheromones.
But the next day, the world tilted on its axis.
—Take a swan dive off the roof of the building, — Katsuki barked, his laughter sounding like glass breaking in Izuku's ears. —and wish you'll be born with a quirk in your next life!
The words didn't just hurt... they stung. Something deep inside Izuku's chest, that "pathetic excuse for an Alpha" the teachers whispered about, suddenly went cold. It wasn't a roar of rage; it was a wall of ice.
'He did not just say that.'
The human Izuku felt a wave of soul-crushing sadness, but his Alpha? His Alpha felt betrayed.
When the others finally left, the silence in the classroom was suffocating. Katsuki lingered by the door, his shoulders tense. He didn't look back, but he paused, waiting. He was waiting for Izuku to come over. He was waiting for that submissive, apologetic Alpha scent to wrap around him and tell him it was okay.
Izuku stared at the back of the blond head he had followed for a decade. The air between them soured, the scent of fresh cold air turning into the bitter smell of scorched earth.
For the first time in years, Izuku didn't move. He didn't lean in. He didn't scent him.
He just picked up his burnt notebook and walked out, leaving Katsuki standing in a vacuum of his own making.
'What the fuck? Ugh. Who cares, anyways?' Bakugo thought to himself leaving the classroom after Izuku.
~~~~~~~
Who would've imagined that after your childhood best friend told you to commit suicide, you'd meet your lifelong idol?
Not only meet him and get saved by him, but be his successor?!
But this wasn't going to be the easy way, it'll take plenty of months on training, healthy habits, and hide the fact that he'll be training with the one and only All Might!
But something didn't sit right with the green-haired boy, but he couldn't quite catch it.
After all, what could be better than finally getting the opportunity of studying at U.A., stop getting bullied, and having the chance of becoming the #1 hero?
~~~~~~~
On the other hand, Katsuki wasn't having a great time.
—Who the hell does that damn nerd think he is?! Throwing himself in front of the slimy bastard to apparently 'save me' risking himself knowing he can't do shit?! Not only that, but totally ignoring me and avoid doing that?! Ugh. — Katsuki kicked a desk as he stomped out of the room. He didn't care. He shouldn't care. If the nerd wanted to act like a damn statue, let him.
It was quite surprising to some, but apart from his messy personality, he was a very tidy and organized person, which reflected his neat, basic bedroom.
Katsuki Bakugo was full of surprises. It came as a surprise when it was revealed that his second gender was omega. He didn't seem like it at all, according to the stereotype. Everyone expected him to be an Alpha, a Beta, at least.
He was at an average height, quite muscular due to his training to enter U.A. and become a hero. And he had a strong personality. But even after coming out as an Omega, he didn't allow people to look down at him only because of a 'stupid second gender' as he referred it as. Especially alphas, he was sick of people with an old mindset that "Alphas were the superior gender, followed by Betas, and Omegas all the way to the bottom of the pyramid".
But that didn't mean he was embarrassed of who he was, quite the contrary, he was proud.
He never used suppressants nor scent-blockers, unless they were necessary during his heats.
And the blond-haired boy had an amazing scent. Everyone loved it, Alphas, Omegas, and even Betas. He had a sweet scent of warm caramel and sandalwood. And he used that to his favor constantly.
Katsuki loved the praise.
He subconsciously loved it even more when it came from a certain freckled, green-haired younger boy.
'Why the hell did I say that? He somehow had a sad look on his face after I said that... maybe I should apologi-' —Hell no! I'm not saying shit to that quirkless nerd!— Bakugo scolded himself from his thoughts.
—He could bury himself in a hole for all I care.
Could he actually?
Frankly, Katsuki did feel bad about his comment, but you couldn't know if it was his persona or his Omega, after all, their interests and objectives are completely different.
Bakugo decided to get his mind off things for a while listening to music. While he was putting on earbuds and deciding on a song to play, he chose "Back of the Club" by kwn.
~~~~~~~
That same day, Midoriya started his first training session with All Might.
The older man explained the basic of the quirks, what the training required, dates, objectives, etc.
Starting off easy, running a couple kilometers, but the young boy couldn't avoid feeling uneasy, like there was something in the back of his mind nagging him.
Until he remembered. He didn't scent his Kacchan that day.
Although he felt bad, since his Alpha instincts subconsciously make him protective over his Omega, so he couldn't avoid the knot building up in his stomach.
—Should I go over to his house to check up on him after today's session? No... I shouldn't, I need to start standing up for myself to regain dignity and stop seeming like a weak, useless 'nerd', however he calls me. But I can't stop this feeling eating me inside-out, it's natural after all. But if Kacchan wants us to continue scenting each other (as embarrassing as that sounds saying it out-loud), he should start treating me with respect... shouldn't he? Not because I'm an Alpha, or his Alpha if he even considers me that... He does, right? No, he wouldn't. I'm just another pawn in his life. Overall, he should treat me with respect because I'm a living being with feelings! Ugh, it's useless. — Izuku muttered to himself during his fifth lap around the beach.
—Young Midoriya! — All might suddenly appeared in his muscular form.
—AH! All Might! It's just you! I still can't get over the fact that you're here, I know you, you're training with me, you're giving me your quirk, which is awesome by the way, you're-
—Young Midoriya! — All might interrupted. —I came here to tell you to quiet down your muttering because I could hear you all the way over there and you lose focus doing so, but you started doing it again! — He said as he returned to his regular form.
—O- Oh! I- I'm super, super, super, super sorry, it won't be repeated-
—Young Midoriya!
—R- Right! — Izuku said as he continued running his laps.
~~~~~~~
It had been around 20:30, when a heavy knock thudded against the front door, echoing through the Bakugo residence.
—Katsuki! Get the damn door! — Mitsuki's voice boomed from the kitchen.
—Shut up, you old hag! — Groaning, Katsuki took off his earbuds and stomped down the hallway, ready to blow up whoever was bothering him. He yanked the door open, a snarl already forming on his lips—but it died instantly.
Izuku stood there.
He looked tired, his green curls messy, but his eyes were fixed on Katsuki with a strange, quiet intensity. Before Katsuki could even snap a greeting, Izuku stepped into his space. He didn't say a word. He simply reached out, grabbed Katsuki's arm, and firmly rubbed his wrist scent glands against Katsuki's neck and shoulders.
It was a claim. The recognizable scent flooded Katsuki's senses, instantly smoothing out the jagged edges of his temper. Katsuki didn't move; he just stood there with his chin tilted up, a smirk playing on his lips. 'Yeah, that's right. Good nerd.'
When Izuku finished, he let go and turned around, walking away into the night without a single word. Katsuki watched him go, feeling a swell of pride. He had Izuku right where he wanted him—devoted, even when he was being 'difficult'.
~~~~~~~
One week of silence turned into two, then three.
Katsuki was unraveling.
The pride he'd felt that night at the door was gone, replaced by a frantic, itchy void.
At school, he'd linger at his desk, his neck practically bared, waiting for the weight of Izuku's hands. But Izuku never came.
The classroom felt sterile. Empty. Without that grounding 'winter' scent, the smells of other Alphas in the hall felt like sandpaper against Katsuki's skin. He was snapping at everyone, his explosions louder and more frequent, but nothing filled the hole.
Finally, at the end of the month, he caught the greenette behind the school.
—Deku, — Katsuki rasped, his voice sounding raw even to his own ears. He blocked Izuku's path, his crimson eyes staring at the other's emerald orbs. —I don't know why you're doing this, but listen closely, cause I'm only saying this once.
He stepped closer, his Omega screaming for the contact he'd been denied for three whole weeks. His pride was still there, but it was cracking under the weight of his biology.
—Scent me,— he commanded, his beautiful eyes boring into Izuku's. Then, his voice dropped, losing its edge, crumbling into something small and desperate. —...please.
Izuku didn't look away. He looked pained. His Alpha wanted to reach out—it was screaming, but for the first time, Izuku's mind was holding the leash.
He reached out, his hand hovering just inches from Bakugo's neck. Katsuki leaned into it, his eyes fluttering shut, waiting for the relief.
But the touch never came.
—I can't, Kacchan, — Izuku whispered, his voice trembling with the effort of holding back. —Not like this. Not if it's just because you're 'starving.' You have to see me first.
Izuku pulled his hand back, leaving Bakugo in the cold air.