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The first thing Takumi noticed about Ren when they met on Produce 101 was that he was very pretty. He had pretty eyes and a pretty smile.
He had idolized Ren a lot on the show, though that wasn't unusual because all of the trainees did. The more he got to know him, the more he came to like him.
Takumi didn’t want to believe in love at first sight — it was cliché and cringey — but he couldn’t deny the fact that he knew Ren was special from the moment he met him. It wasn't hard for Takumi to deduce that he had a crush on Ren.
He didn't think it was important, it was just a silly crush that he would get over when they inevitably parted ways. But then they debuted in the same group, which changed things.
There was a big problem with his feelings for Ren. Takumi was an omega. Ren was also an omega. Takumi knew that two omegas couldn’t be in a relationship, and that Ren could never feel the same way about him, so he tried his best to suppress his feelings.
He tried to view him as just a friend, just an older brother. But no matter what he did, his feelings only got stronger over the years.
Ren was kind. He praised Takumi for his dancing and helped him when he was struggling with certain moves. He was smart and funny, and he had the kind of laugh Takumi could listen to forever without ever getting tired of it.
He was bold — bold in his dancing and in the way he expressed himself. He stood out in everything he did without even trying. He was the best dancer Takumi had ever met.
And he was so, so pretty. Takumi swears he gets prettier every day.
By the time JO1 had entered their second year, he had long given up on trying to get over his crush. Now, in their sixth year, his feelings for Ren just felt like second nature to him.
If anyone found out how he felt, they’d probably think it was wrong and unnatural, what kind of omega was attracted to another omega? But it didn’t feel that way to Takumi. To him, his feelings felt normal.
So Takumi had contented to continue pining after Ren secretly, dreaming about a love that will never happen.
⋆✮⋆
Takumi was trying to focus on practice, but something else kept grabbing his attention. Keigo had been all over Ren for the past few minutes, slinging his arm around the other and jokingly trying to kiss his cheek.
Takumi knows that Keigo flirts with everyone, that he's just messing around, but he can't help but be bothered by it. He was even more bothered by the fact that Ren wasn't bothered by it, laughing and hitting Keigo's arm playfully.
“You look jealous, do you like him?” Takumi jumps, startled by Ruki’s sudden presence next to him. He hadn’t seen him walk over.
He turns to look at Ruki, blood draining out of his face. There's no way he knows, right? “Huh?” Takumi’s heart is racing in his chest. “Who?”
“Keigo,” Ruki gestures towards the alpha as if it was obvious who he'd been talking about.
Takumi relaxes, letting out a breath of relief without meaning to. “Oh. No, of course not.”
“Right, I was just joking,” Ruki narrows his eyes at him with suspicion. “You're acting weird.”
Takumi feels his cheeks get hot. “No I'm not.” Then for good measure he adds, “you're weird.” Before walking away from Ruki with the excuse of getting water.
Later that day Takumi is home in bed watching videos on his phone when a commercial catches his attention.
“Are you a beta, tired of omegas always choosing an alpha and never giving you the time of day?
Well, we've got the solution for you!
Introducing our new alpha pheromone perfume!
With a wide selection of scents, you are sure to find the perfect one for you, and the one your ideal omega is sure to love!"
Takumi sits up straighter in his bed, the words from the commercial continuing to echo in his head even as the video begins to play.
Even though Takumi is an omega, he's never found himself very swayed by any alpha’s scent. It's not that he doesn't like alpha scents, Mame’s cinnamon scent in particular is pretty nice, but he's just not attracted to them like other omegas are.
He prefers Ren's scent over any alpha he's ever smelled. Ren smells like fresh homemade chocolate.
Takumi knows though, that he isn't like other omegas. He knows that other omegas, like Ren, prefer alpha scents over the scent of another omega.
Before he can stop himself, he's already going to the website from the commercial.
Takumi considers to himself what kind of scents Ren likes as he browses through the site. Ren must like Sho’s scent seeing as he tends to stand the closest to Sho when he's with all the members.
Matching Sho’s scent might be the best option anyways because it'll decrease suspicion.
If he shows up wearing a random scent, it'll be obvious he's wearing perfume, but if he smells like Sho the others might just assume the scent had rubbed off on him accidentally. It's not unusual for some of the other members' scents to cling to him sometimes because they all spend so much time together.
Miraculously, the site does happen to have a coffee scented perfume so Takumi adds it to his cart and waits with anticipation for it to arrive.
The package arrives a couple days later and Takumi takes it out of the box to inspect it. He sprays some in the air, and smells almost exactly like Sho's scent.
Later that day, Takumi gets ready to go record some content for their YouTube channel.
He puts on one of the scent patches that he wears when he's in preheat to cover up his natural strawberry scent, then he sprays some of the pheromone perfume on his neck and wrists.
When Takumi arrives, Ruki is the first one to greet him, and also the first one to notice something was different. “Why do you smell like Sho-kun?”
Takumi feels embarrassed, he had hoped that no one would point it out. He shrugs, trying to act casual. He pretends to smell his jacket. “I do?”
Ruki squints at him, suspicious of his behavior, but doesn't say anything.
Ren arrives shortly after that, and Takumi waits anxiously to see his reaction. When he's finally close enough to smell Takumi, casually greeting him, he stiffens, wrinkling his nose slightly.
He leans in to sniff Takumi. Takumi catches a whiff of displeasure and jealousy in Ren’s pheromones before it's gone. He looks at Ren’s face but it seems normal. Ren walks away, distancing himself from Takumi.
That was not exactly the reaction Takumi was hoping for, and it leaves him a bit dumbfounded. Ren had acted like someone had infringed in his territory.
Could it be that he has feelings for Sho and he didn't like smelling his scent on someone else? The thought makes Takumi feel hollow.
He should have known this was a terrible idea.
The recording goes smoothly, and to everyone else it seemed like there was nothing wrong. But Takumi had always been hyper aware of Ren's behavior, so it was obvious to him that he was avoiding him.
Takumi proceeds to feel more and more deflated by the end of the shoot, and he's just happy to finally go home when it's over.
But before he could leave, Junki caught him alone after everyone had left, grabbing his arm as he was about to leave too. “Are you ok?” he asked. “You seem like you're upset today.”
Takumi kind of hates how obvious his feelings are sometimes. He opened his mouth to tell Junki he was fine, but instead he ended up saying, “do you think it's weird for someone to have a crush on someone with the same secondary gender?”
Junki’s face pales and Takumi regrets his words instantly. “Nevermind.” He turns to leave again but Junki stops him.
“Wait.” Takumi turns to look at him, and he looks nervous. “What do you mean by that?” he asks, voice a little shaky.
Takumi takes a moment to assess his reaction. He doesn't look disgusted or appalled at Takumi’s suggestion, but rather guilty, like a child who was caught by their parents doing what they weren't supposed to.
It's a look Takumi recognizes all too well. His heart beats faster in his chest. Did Junki struggle with the same thing as him? Did he finally find someone else like him?
“Do you want to come over?” Takumi asks.
⋆✮⋆
“So why did you ask that question earlier?” Junki asks hesitantly, looking at Takumi expectantly.
Takumi takes a deep breath. If he's not reading things wrong, and Junki really is like him, then he'd understand. “I need to tell you something, but you can't tell anyone else, ok?”
Junki looks less nervous and more curious now. “I won't tell anyone. What is it?”
Takumi pulls at the hem of his shirt anxiously. “I… like Ren-kun.” It's the first time he's said it out loud, and it's both terrifying and freeing at the same time.
Junki tilts his head at Takumi in confusion. “You like Ren-kun?” His face morphs from confusion to realization. ”You mean you… like like him?”
Takumi’s face flushes and he nods, too embarrassed to respond verbally.
“Oh,” Junki says quietly. “So that's why you asked me that earlier.”
“Yeah.”
It's silent for a few moments. “Then, can I tell you something too?”
Takumi nods. “Sure.”
“I like Keigo,” Junki admits, his cheeks slightly red. “Earlier, I thought you had asked me that because you had figured it out.”
“Eh? Keigo-kun, really?” Takumi asks. Though after thinking about it, it actually makes sense.
Junki nods solemnly.
They sit in silence for a few minutes, sharing the sorrow of the situation they were both in. “Junki-kun?” Junki looks up at Takumi who is biting his lip thoughtfully. “Do you think Ren-kun likes Sho-kun?”
Junki tilts his head slightly at Takumi. “Why do you ask that?”
Takumi feels blood rush to his face. Somehow the situation feels more embarrassing having to explain the situation to someone else than it did in his head.
“Mm well, I may have bought a pheromone perfume that I saw online because I thought that Ren-kun would like an alpha scent better than my natural scent, and I may have tried to match Sho-kun’s scent because I thought Ren-kun liked it and that it would be less suspicious,” Takumi rambles, so quickly that Junki could barely take it all in.
Junki leans in to smell Takumi. “Actually, now that you point it out, you do smell like Sho-kun, I hadn't noticed that earlier,” Junki says. “Wait, what does this have to do with Ren-kun liking Sho-kun?”
Takumi frowns, a bitter feeling rising in his chest. “Because when he smelled me he seemed territorial and then he refused to stand by me for the rest of the day.”
“Are you sure?” Junki asks. “Maybe you misunderstood.”
Takumi shakes his head, sulking. “I don't think so.”
Junki thinks for a moment. “Well if he really does like Sho-kun then you just have to make him like you instead.”
Takumi sighs. “He's never going to like me, I'm an omega.”
“I used to think the same thing, but look at the two of us,” Junki gestures between himself and Takumi. “If it's possible for us to like the same secondary gender then maybe it's possible for him to.”
Takumi feels a feeling of hope that he'd long pushed down, starting to rise up. Maybe Junki wasn't the best person to confide in, he was just making him delusional.
“Well how would I get him to like me?” Takumi asks, hating the fact that he's actually considering the idea.
“Court him.”
Takumi considers it for a long time. “Fine, but only if you try courting Keigo-kun, I don't want to humiliate myself alone.”
“Deal.”
⋆✮⋆
After his talk with Junki, Takumi had come up with a plan.
His plan worked great at first.
On the first day, Takumi had brought a drink to practice for Ren, saying he wanted to show him appreciation for working so hard lately. Ren had taken it with a smile and called Takumi cute, which definitely didn't make him blush.
Ren had even given him a hug, on the second day after Takumi had given him some nail polish, using the excuse that he had just happened to see it and thought Ren would like it, which was a lie, obviously. And the hug didn't make him blush either, of course.
But on the third day, when Takumi had brought him some sour gummies, Ren had started to get suspicious that Takumi had done something wrong and was trying to make it up to him. “Takumi, if you did something bad you can just tell me, I won't be upset with you.”
“No I didn't do anything,” Takumi stuttered. “I just wanted to give them to you.” He somehow felt both relieved that Ren hadn't figured out his true intention, and frustrated at the same time.
Ren gave him an apprehensive look but accepted the gummies anyway. “If you say so.”
After that Takumi had to rethink his game plan. Gifts hadn't worked, Ren had misunderstood his intent. He should try asking Ren on a date, he could disguise it as just hanging out.
After practice, Takumi approached Ren nervously. “Ren-kun.”
Ren, who was finishing up some final stretches, turned to him. “Takumi, what's up?”
Takumi grabbed the hem of his shirt, moving the fabric through his fingers. “Are you busy on Saturday?” They didn't have anything scheduled on Saturday, so it was the perfect opportunity.
Ren grabbed his water bottle. “No. Why?” He took a sip of his water, causing Takumi to be momentarily distracted.
Takumi blinks his gaze away from Ren’s lips. “Do you want to hang out with me?”
Ren looked surprised at Takumi's proposition. During their time in JO1 together, they had only hung out one on one a number of times. Mostly because being alone with Ren made Takumi too nervous.
Still, despite his initial shock, he accepted politely. “Sure.”
Takumi tried and failed to hold back his smile. “Ok,” he says, his heart fluttering in his chest. “I'll text you.”
“Ok.”
Takumi leaves the studio feeling elated. He texts Junki to tell him the news.
⋆✮⋆
Saturday came way too fast, and before Takumi knew it, the day of his date with Ren had arrived.
Takumi spent an embarrassingly long amount of time picking out his outfit, and even longer fixing his hair.
After getting ready he drives to pick up Ren.
Ren gets in the car, and Takumi thinks to himself that he looks especially good today.
They go shopping and while they are browsing through the store Takumi’s attention is caught by Ren’s hand which is hanging by his side. He feels a sudden urge to reach out and hold his hand.
Takumi is snapped out of his trance by Ren’s voice calling his name. He looks up to see Ren looking at him, holding up a shirt to his chest with his other hand, the one Takumi hadn't been staring at. “What do you think of this shirt? Would it look good on me?”
Takumi nods. “Mm, it suits you really well.” The truth is, Ren would look good in anything he wore, but Takumi doesn't say that out loud.
Ren smiles at him, sending butterflies straight to Takumi’s stomach. He nods, satisfied. “I'll get this one then.”
They're at the checkout and Ren is about to pull out his wallet when Takumi stops him. “I'll buy it for you,” he offers, blushing slightly.
Ren smiles appreciatively but shakes his head. “You don't need to do that.”
Before Ren could protest further, Takumi takes out his wallet, handing his card to the cashier.
Ren looks a little taken aback by Takumi’s assertiveness, but doesn't say anything, just thanks him.
Ren tries to pay for their dinner, “Since you bought me the shirt,” but Takumi insists on paying instead.
Dinner was nice, and by the time they are back in Takumi’s car, he feels disappointed, not wanting the date to end already.
He picks at his fingernails. “Do you want to come over to my place?” His eyes widen at his own boldness. “You don't have to, if you'd rather go home.”
Ren tilts his head at the boy next to him. He had never seen Takumi like this before, it was kind of strange. “It's fine, we can go to your place for a bit.”
When they arrived, Takumi regretted his invitation a little bit, worried that Ren might judge his apartment or think it was messy.
Thankfully, he didn't seem to think so, looking around the place casually, but not judgementally.
It wasn't the first time he'd ever come to Takumi's apartment, but it was the first time it had ever been just the two of them, and Takumi’s stomach twisted with nerves.
“Do you want to play Mario Kart?” Takumi asked. He knew that Ren enjoyed playing games.
“Sure.”
They played for a while, and Takumi did fairly decently, usually ending up around fifth place. Ren won every round, which wasn't surprising.
It was getting late, so Takumi turned off the game. He didn't know what possessed him to say what he did next— possibly some of the confidence he’d received from Junki’s words. “Do you want to sleep over?”
⋆✮⋆
When Takumi had blurted out that question earlier, he hadn't really expected Ren to say yes.
Yet somehow, here he was, laying in the same bed as the person he'd been secretly in love with for years. It shouldn't have been anything weird— the members have shared beds with each other lots of times— but Takumi's heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest.
“Ren-kun?” Takumi stared at the back of Ren’s head, butterflies thundering in his ribcage. “Are you awake?”
It was silent for a moment, and Takumi figured Ren had already fallen asleep when he rolled over to face Takumi. Ren stared at him, waiting for him to say something.
Thousands of thoughts raced across his mind as he considered if he should confess his feelings. He knew Ren didn't like him back. He knew it would make things awkward. And he was scared of what Ren might think of him.
Ren had never judged Takumi or gotten mad at him before, but what if this time was different? What if he thought Takumi was abnormal like everyone else did? What if he didn't want to be in a group with him anymore?
“Takumi?” Takumi’s gaze flitted to Ren’s eyes. God, Takumi loved his eyes so much. “Are you ok?”
Without thinking, Takumi leans forward and places a short kiss on Ren's lips. When his brain catches up to what his body was doing, he recoils backwards.
“I'm sorry,” he rushed out. “Please forget I did that.” He buries his face in his pillow to hide from Ren’s reaction.
“Takumi.” Ren pokes his head gently.
Takumi tries to mentally prepare himself for rejection before looking up. But instead of rejecting him, Ren kisses him.
When he pulls away, Takumi stares at him in shock, and Ren laughs at his expression. “Why did you kiss me?”
Ren grins at him. “Why did you kiss me?” he asks, reversing the question to Takumi.
Takumi looks away, cheeks turning red. “I…” he squeezes his eyes shut and takes a deep breath. “I like you.”
“I like you too.”
Takumi opens his eyes. “Really?”
“Really.”
“But I'm an omega,” Takumi says.
“I don't really care about that,” Ren confesses. “You're you, that's enough for me.”
Takumi smiles widely. “Same. I don't care about that either.”
“Good, then that's all that matters,” Ren says.
Takumi fiddles with the blanket. “Does this mean you don't like Sho-kun?”
“Not in the same way that I like you,” Ren replies. “What made you think that?”
Takumi rubs his neck in embarrassment. He begrudgingly tells the story to Ren who looks all too amused.
“I thought you were jealous,” Takumi finishes.
“I was jealous. I was jealous that someone else's scent was on you instead of mine,” Ren admits.
“Oh.”
“Also you don't have to change your scent to get me to like you, I already like you and your scent.”
Takumi hides his face behind the blanket. “Stop saying things that make me flustered.”
Ren just laughs, playfully flicking him on the forehead.
Takumi removes the blanket. “You know, I always thought that you saw me as a younger brother.”
“You're too cute to just be a younger brother to me,” Ren replies.
“Ren-kunnn,” Takumi complains, hiding his face behind the blanket again.
They lay there for a while before Takumi speaks up again.
“Ren-kun?”
“Hmm?”
“Can I hug you?”
Ren nods and Takumi scoots closer to him. He wraps his arms around Ren’s waist and burrows his face in his neck.
Takumi lets out a happy purr without meaning to. He looks at Ren with embarrassment but Ren just smiles and ruffles his hair affectionately.
“Ren-kun?
“Hmm?”
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
⋆✮⋆
Ever since Takumi and Ren started dating they've been coming to the studio together.
They got out of the car and began walking to the building together while holding hands.
When they were about to walk in, Takumi went to pull his hand away, but Ren didn't let go.
“Ren-kun…”
Ren didn't acknowledge him, just squeezed his hand once and continued walking, entering the studio.
They were the last ones there, and all of the members watched them walk in. Takumi gauged their reactions nervously.
Sho, Keigo, Syoya, Sukai, and Mame all seemed surprised, but thankfully none of them seemed upset. Junki looked thrilled, while Ruki looked completely unfazed as if he had already suspected it.
Junki ran up to them. “Are you two dating?” he asks excitedly. Takumi nods, cheeks pink. He pulls both of them into a way too tight hug. “Yay, I'm so happy for you.”
Practice went on like normal, and thankfully none of the members seemed to have a problem with Takumi and Ren’s relationship.
After practice, Junki came up to Takumi. “Can I talk to you?” he asked.
“Sure.” Takumi turned to Ren. “You can go to the car, I’ll be right there.”
“I'm going to confess to Keigo,” Junki said, once they were alone.
“Really? When?”
“Today,” Junki says firmly.
Takumi puts a hand on Junki’s shoulder. “You got this. Text me how it goes.”
“I will.”
Later that day Takumi and Ren were watching a movie while cuddling on Takumi's couch when Takumi got a text from Junki.
Keigo is my boyfriend now!
Takumi smiled and texted back, then he snuggled closer to Ren to finish the movie.