Chapter Text
From the very beginning, every child would be told stories of brave alphas that rescue innocent and defenseless omegas.
Alphas would always be described as the strong and brave. They'd be the ones everyone looked up to, the ones everyone wanted to be. In those stories, alphas would be absolutely perfect in every way.
Omegas would be beautiful and sweet. A pure soul that no one should harm. They were desired by everyone around them, treasured by the king himself. They'd be the ones that others would protect and treasure with every free moment they'd have.
Alpha and omega, the two were a perfect pair. An omega could reproduce, and an alpha could protect them. They were the ones that everyone wanted to be. Everyone wanted an alpha or omega as a mate, so it would be logical.
Yes, alphas and omegas were the obvious choice. But it's not like you could choose.
There were only a few stories about betas. Betas were simply side characters. They didn't have the curves and sweet scent of an omega, and they didn't have the rough stature and sharp scent of an alpha. They didn't react to heats or ruts, and they didn't get any themselves. Betas, in real life and in the stories, were just normal humans.
Once you grow up a bit and look at the people around you, you start noticing who's what. Maybe that cute girl from the other class, the one you have a crush on, is an omega and now totally out of your league, maybe your best friend is an alpha and people start swarming him, maybe you're just a beta and start to fade out of the picture just like a side character is supposed to.
_
Thirteen year old Furihata Kouki has already come to terms with being a beta. He honestly didn't expect anything else, with that appearance of his. Being a beta honestly wasn't anything bad, he didn't have to worry about heats or ruts, he wasn't as noticeable as an alpha or omega and he wasn't asked to do anything extraordinary.
He was one of the few ones whose scent glands developed quicker than what would be seen as normal. While others would lose their "pup scent" when they were around the age of twelve to thirteen, he lost it when he was eight. He had the normal check up, everything was okay except for the fact that his sense of smell was a bit stronger. Since then he's been visiting his father's workplace more often, awkwardly striking up a conversation with anyone who seemed to need a talk.
Today there was an interesting looking boy in the waiting room.
The first thing that Kouki noticed was that bright, red mop of hair on the boy's head. When Kouki scooted closer, he noticed his peculiar scent. A child. Well, not fully. A strong alpha smell which wiped away most of that pup scent, with a small, almost unnoticeable hint of omega. He's never met someone with that mixture, and it somehow both scared him and drew him toward this person. People in general scare him, alphas terrify him to no ends and omegas make him nervous. To have everything in one was a bit too much, but he surely won't back down from a challenge!
“Hello” Kouki greeted quietly, peeking at the magazine the other was reading. Some business stuff that didn't interest him.
The boy looked up, his eyes had the same vibrant colour as his hair, but even so they were looking at him blankly with no interest at all. He looked back down again.
Well, that's not the usual reaction. While Kouki might not be one to push if he was rejected, this redhead was too interesting for him to back off this early.
“S-so, what are you here for?” He knew the answer, obviously. The only time that people would smell like pups was when they were either coming for their first check up or they had children. And this one was way too young for a child of his own.
When Kouki received no answer he coughed awkwardly, glad that everyone was too busy doing their own thing to notice his failure.
“Um.. I'll guess! Hmmm..” he looked around, gave the redhead a once over, and then opened his mouth, making sure to sound unsure. “A-are you here for… For y-your first check up?”
No reaction.
‘Uwaaaaaah, usually this isn't that hard!’ Maybe he was here for something else. He knew the redhead wasn't blind, his eyes were too focused for that. Being mute or deaf was out of question, and he didn't seem to be hurt physically. Maybe it was something internal? Or a psychological problem? Kouki paled at the thought of that, he hasn't had many encounters with people with mental illnesses or developmental disorders. What if he accidentally offended him? What if he was unable to feel emotions? Maybe he-
“You were correct.” The redhead's smooth voice cut through his internal panicking, and Kouki allowed himself to breathe.
That voice was beautiful. It was smooth, it was sharp, it was velvety, not too high, not too deep. Can you fall in love with a voice? The answer is yes.
Kouki stared at the redhead with awe. To think someone so young could sound so wonderful. Absolutely amazing.
“I-I'm glad. U-um, if I may ask, w-why do you smell so much l-like an a-alpha?” Kouki asked and received the look of someone who so obviously doubts his ability to think properly. The answer would usually be obvious. “Because I am an alpha”. But this time Kouki doubted it a bit. He knew his nose worked well, it was apparently better than most, so when something smells off, something smells off. The alpha scent on this redhead seemed fake. Don't get him wrong, it smelled as real as real could be, but it seemed so rubbed off. Like he picked up some special ‘Alpha Scent Soap’ and washed off all other scents.
“I-I'm sorry!! I-it's just cause y-you're an o-omega..” the redhead his eyebrows together and frowned.
“Excuse my rudeness, but are you completely out of your mind?”
“I s-swear I'm not! Y-your- your scent might say otherwise, b-but I'm a h-hundred percent sure t-that you're an omega!” Kouki was panicking, and it was as obvious as a red stain on a white shirt.
The redhead deadpanned, “There's absolutely no way that I'm an omega.”
“I-I'm sorry!”
He glared at Kouki one last time before going back to reading his magazine. Well, he wasn't actually reading, this didn't interest him in the least.
An awkward silence passed them, with the redhead flipping through pages and Kouki swinging his feet around. Usually his first meetings don't end up like this, and the fact that this one did makes him as nervous as ever. Kouki couldn't stand the nervousness and silence at the same time, so he decided to break the ice and try to warm up to this person.
“W-what's your name?”
No answer. Not even a glance in his direction. If you heard anything, that was Kouki's small amount of confidence shattering.
They sat in silence for a few more minutes. Well, it was as silent as it could get with Kouki squirming in his chair as slowly as possible while trying to keep that chair from squeaking and creaking. They should really fix this.
“Akashi Seijuro-san?” a voice called and the redhead looked up with a sigh. He set the magazine down and walked over to the nurse.
Kouki watched the redhead go and tilted his head. ‘Akashi Seijuro.. Huh..’