Chapter Text
Most of March tended to be grey and dreary, the cold of winter still lingering in the air. So when a rare warm afternoon appeared on Saturday, little Tomoya didn't hesitate for one moment, jamming his feet into his sneakers and grabbing his soccer ball. Such a nice afternoon, the park was sure to be full of other kids. Besides, he had to take advantage of these chances while he still could. He would be turning ten in a couple months and that meant, in just two weeks, he would be going away to alpha school. It would be his first time away from his parents for more than a couple nights and he was both excited and terrified. What if he hated it? What if he couldn't make friends with any of his classmates? Not that he'd ever had trouble making friends in the past, but this would be different. Everyone there, other than some of the staff, would be alphas, too. It would be such a different place, being just one alpha among many instead of one in a sea of mostly betas.
Looking back, Tomoya never was able to say exactly how it had happened. One minute he had been running towards the park entrance, the next minute the most beautiful omega he had ever seen in his life was collapsed at his feet. The scent of him was like nothing Tomoya had ever experienced before in his life and –.
“Yamashita-kun? Yamashita-kun, are you – oh my god. Ani! Ani, help! Yamashita-kun's going into heat!”
“What? That's not possible....”
Tomoya probably should have been paying more attention to what was happening around him, but at that moment, he only had eyes for the beautiful omega in front of him. Crouching down, he reached for him, only to feel his heart shatter when Yamashita flinched away from him.
The scent of an adult alpha male instantly had Tomoya's hackles up as he shifted to put himself between his omega and this interloper. The alpha had his hands up, but he didn't back away.
“Easy, kid, easy,” he said, trying to be gentle, he supposed. “Soulmates, huh? All right, I'm not trying to take him away from you, but we need to get Yamashita-kun to the pharmacy or every alpha in the neighborhood is going to be coming for him. It's not too far, you can come with, okay?”
Tomoya scowled a moment, but he had to admit what the alpha was saying made sense. He couldn't protect his omega from others, not yet, he needed help. A short nod and he let the older alpha past him, though he still watched him like a hawk.
“By the way, I'm Shinya. What's your name?”
“Tomoya. Hasegawa Tomoya.”
“Nice to meet you, Hasegawa-kun. That's my little brother, Kohta, and this is our cousin's kid, Koudai.”
Koudai. Even his name was beautiful.
~*~*~
Tomoya was annoyed that the local pharmacist was a beta woman who insisted on keeping him away from his soulmate. Worse, Shinya took her side, physically pulling him back when he tried to follow her anyway.
“I know it's hard, Hasegawa-kun, but it's not worth fighting. Kohta-kun is with him and his parents are coming. Might be better if you went home now.”
“What? But I can't just leave!” he protested, his chest aching at the thought. “I haven't even gotten to talk to him at all!”
“Hey, I get it, kid, I do, but his dad's a beta, he's not going to understand, trust me. Besides, Kou-kun isn't going to be up to socializing for a couple days at least.”
“But I don't even know where he lives....”
Shinya frowned and at least he seemed to be seriously considering the problem. And then he was opening the backpack Kohta had left with them. Tomoya felt his eyes almost fall out of his head as Shinya pulled out a handheld Super Mario Brothers Game and Watch.
“You were gonna give me your address anyway, right? When they notice it's missing, I'll say you must have picked it up. That'll give you an excuse to see each other again, yeah? When he's ready and without you having to run the risk of angering his parents by turning up on your own.”
Tomoya nodded, clutching the handheld console to his chest while thanking the alpha profusely. Shinya seemed almost embarrassed by the attention, soon stopping him so he could actually write down his name and address and then go before they could get caught. Not only did he now have a reason for hope, he had concrete proof that they had something in common.
~*~*~
Koudai shuddered and rolled over, but there was nothing left in him to vomit. He had never before hated being an omega, but if he was going to have to go through this every time he dropped a heat, he wasn't sure he wanted it anymore.
“The first time is always the worst,” his mother soothed, dabbing his forehead with a damp cloth when he rolled back over again. “Hopefully you won't have another one for quite awhile. And with a little more warning.”
“... there was an alpha....”
“Mm, Shinya-kun said you met your soulmate,” his mother said, nodding. “We won't tell your father about that just yet, okay? He wouldn't like it.”
“But....”
“Trust me, sweetheart, your father isn't ready to hear you're grown up enough to be having heats,” his mother insisted with a gentle smile. “Also, Shinya-kun is pretty sure your soulmate is the one who picked up your game. He got his name and address, you can find out when you're feeling better.”
Koudai didn't remember having his game out to be dropped in the first place, but he wasn't going to say that to his mother. If it was a little white lie, she didn't need to know. Especially when he couldn't really remember anything about his soulmate, other than he was an alpha who smelled like ... like ... had he really smelled like freshly mown grass or was that his imagination? He closed his eyes, trying to picture his face, but he couldn't do that, either. It had all happened so quickly and then Shinya had been there, carrying him away from the park. Hopefully this meant his alpha soulmate was younger than Shinya, but he couldn't even remember that. He was too young to be mated, though, he hadn't even started junior high yet!
“Deep breaths, sweetheart, you know I won't let anyone hurt you, not even a soulmate,” his mother soothed, rubbing his back. “Just rest, Kou-chan, rest so you can feel better on Monday.”
Koudai didn't want to think about Monday or school or anything. He wished his cousin Kohta was with him. The beta might not have been able to tell him much, but at least he could have described Koudai's soulmate to him. Anything, even a beta's flat impression, would be better than the nothing he currently had.
~*~*~
Every day, Tomoya raced home from every outing. And yet every day, his mother told him the same thing: no one had come looking for him. He couldn't understand it, desperately wanting to see his soulmate again but not having any idea where to even look for him. After the third day in a row of racing home from soccer practice only to be disappointed yet again, he dashed upstairs, flinging himself face down on his bed and crying bitterly in frustration. Nearly five days now, obviously his soulmate was rejecting him out of hand. It wasn't fair, it wasn't fair at all! The most beautiful omega in all the world, his perfect match, and he didn't even want to see him, get to know him, give him a chance! It would be better if he just died!
“Tomoya! Company!”
Crap. Probably a cousin or something. Still, he couldn't be seen after just crying, only babies cried.
“I'll be down in a minute!” he called out before dashing into the bathroom to wash his face. It only sort of helped, but maybe he could say he was sick or something? Or allergies? It was the right time of year for them.
He was at the base of the stairs before his brain caught up with his nose. It was that scent, roses and spices and wood smoke and the softest, puffiest clouds. He practically burst into the living room, not sure if he could really trust what he was seeing.
“Yamashita-kun,” he said, breathless with renewed hope. And just when he had been ready to give up.... His mother glanced between them a moment and then she actually huffed and frowned at him.
“Hasegawa Tomoya, how dare you not tell me you've met your soulmate?!”
“Mom!”
“Yamashita-kun, would you like to stay for dinner?”
“Uh, I ... I really just came for my game,” his omega stammered, blushing cutely. “My mom's expecting me home soon.”
And that quickly he felt his hopes collapsing again. His soulmate really didn't want him. It just wasn't fair.
“We could call her, I could talk to her if you think it would help,” his mom suggested, being extra gentle with both her words and her scent. Tomoya glanced back at Koudai, only just realizing how overwhelming it might be, coming to a house of alphas. His omega looked like he was on the verge of just bolting, game or no game.
“It's okay, Mom,” he lied. “If he has to go, he has to go. I'll be right back, Yamashita-kun.”
This wasn't at all what he had pictured when Shinya had handed him Koudai's Game and Watch. But maybe....
“Super Mario's pretty cool, yeah?” he said, handing the game back to its proper owner. “I've got the Famicon game, maybe you could come over some time and we could play together?”
“I ... I don't know ... maybe....”
“I have a couple other games, too. And you know where I live now, so....”
“Yeah, maybe,” his omega said, but Tomoya could tell it was taking everything Koudai had not to just cut and run, so he stepped back. And then bit his tongue to keep from offering to walk him home. He couldn't afford to risk doing anything that would chase off his omega before he had proven himself worthy.
~*~*~
Koudai leaned against his bedroom door and took a deep breath. Safe. He was safe. At least his soulmate was close to his own age. But an alpha raised by alphas? Could he really risk that? And those emotional swings. And his mother, practically having them mated already! He hadn't been there that long and still his heart was racing.
“Kou-chan, sweetie, what's wrong?”
“N-nothing,” he stammered, forcing himself to take a slow, deep breath. “I'm fine, Mom.”
Great, now he was lying, too. At least Hasegawa didn't know where he lived. And obviously they went to different schools or else they would have run into each other before this. He just wouldn't go to that park anymore. There, problem solved.
Except that wasn't really fair of him, was it? Aside from the impression of being an overeager puppy, he really didn't know anything about his soulmate. Just that he lived in the next neighborhood over and liked video games. It wasn't much, but it was probably enough to say they had a chance at being good friends. But would an alpha, especially one raised by two alpha parents, really be willing to let things go at that? He wasn't pushing now, but they were still just kids. If he kept in touch, would Hasegawa just assume that made him his? If he stayed in contact, would he be giving up any chance of deciding his own future?
It wasn't fair, he wasn't ready to be making these kinds of decisions. He hadn't even turned ten yet!
Maybe ... maybe he was thinking too hard. Okay, yes, Hasegawa was an alpha being raised by alphas, but that didn't mean he would definitely turn into a knotheaded asshole, right? Maybe ... maybe growing up together was how the kami meant to keep Hasegawa decent?
He really should have gotten his phone number. Tomorrow. He was just going to have to stop by there tomorrow. And be firm that it wasn't like he liked him or anything.
~*~*~
“Yan, is that you?”
“Yeah, it's me, Mom,” Tomoya said, tiredly peeling off his jacket. The school year was almost over, but the soccer club was still drilling hard every day. Of course most of the club was expecting to either continue with the club next year or move up to the next schools' teams. Tomoya didn't know what his own fate would be yet, but he doubted he would be making any team next term.
“Hey sweetie,” his mom said as he walked into the kitchen, surprised when she all but pushed a tray with snacks and two drinks into his hands. “Your soulmate showed up a little bit ago, I invited him to stay for dinner and his mother said yes. I thought he might be more comfortable waiting in your room, so he should be there.”
He wasn't sure if she had actually been finished or not, hurrying up to his bedroom as fast as he could without spilling. And there was his soulmate, wrapped in the blanket from his bed and reading a manga. Was that...? But no, his manga hadn't been touched, that was Yamashita's own copy. Something else they had in common, then.
“Yamashita-kun? Sorry to keep you waiting,” he said as he nudged his door almost closed. “Mom thought we'd like a snack. Are you cold? There's a kotatsu in the living room, we could probably use that.”
“It's okay,” Yamashita said with a little shake of his head. “I mean, the Famicon is in here, yeah?”
“Yeah, it is,” Tomoya agreed, a sudden feeling almost like shyness hitting him right in the gut. Was that the only reason Yamashita had come over? Well, maybe there really wasn't much other reason yet.
“So ... Super Mario Brothers or Donkey Kong?”
~*~*~
After having dinner with Tomoya's parents, it had felt rude not to return the invitation. And even though it had been Koudai's own idea, it still felt a bit intimidating to get off the bus and see Tomoya there waiting for him.
“Hey.”
“Hi. Well, um, shall we?”
Koudai didn't know what to talk about, just listening as Tomoya started talking about football. He ... sort of knew what the alpha was talking about, though it wasn't really his thing. But there was something about the way Tomoya's scent shifted when he got really excited that was ... comforting.
The alpha turned surprisingly shy as Koudai introduced him – as a new friend – to the rest of his family. Then again, Tomoya was an only child whereas Koudai had three siblings (two older, one younger) and their father's elderly mother living with him. It made for boisterous meals, something with which he could tell Tomoya didn't have much experience, not like this anyway.
“Sorry if my family was a little overwhelming,” he said as he walked with Tomoya to the bus stop. “And I ... I'm sorry about not telling them you're my soulmate, but Dad would flip.”
“It's okay, your cousin Shinya-san sort of implied the same thing that afternoon, so I was kinda expecting that,” Tomoya said with a small smile. “Can I ... would you ... I mean, tomorrow's the weekend, so maybe, if you don't have any plans....”
Koudai really didn't know what it was Tomoya was trying to ask, but something about the earnestness in his expression and scent....
“Mom wants me to help her with spring cleaning tomorrow, but if I can get some free time, I'll let you know?” he said, offering his soulmate what he hoped was a properly soothing smile.
“All right! Um, depending on when ... if I'm not home, I'll probably be at that park again?”
“All right,” Koudai said with a little nod. “I can't promise anything, but I'll try.”
The arrival of Tomoya's bus cut short any more conversation. Though it didn't stop the young alpha from pecking a quick, impulsive kiss to Koudai's cheek before he hurried to board the bus. At first Koudai was too stunned to do anything but stand there. Why ... why had Tomoya done that? They were barely even friends. Did Tomoya think they were already a couple? Well he was just going to have to set the alpha straight the next time they talked! They could be friends, maybe, but he was way too young to be committing to one person as his romantic love for the rest of his life and so was Tomoya. They were not dating or promised to each other or anything like that. And if Tomoya couldn't accept that, then they weren't even going to be friends until he could!
~*~*~
Tomoya could scent it even before he came downstairs. Koudai was both determined and displeased, while his own mother just smelled disappointed. Again. Tomoya flinched, hanging his head as he dropped to his knees at the genkan.
“I'm sorry, Yamashita-kun, I acted impulsively and it was wrong. It won't happen again.”
When Koudai didn't say anything at first, Tomoya risked a glance up, biting his lip to keep from laughing at the way the omega was gaping at him. Was it really that surprising that he would apologize like this? Though at least they didn't have an audience, his mother probably having gone to the kitchen to get them a snack.
“Well ... well good,” Koudai said at last with a firm nod. “I don't know you anywhere near well enough for things like that.”
“I know, I wasn't thinking,” he said, trying to ignore the stabbing pain in his gut. Someday. He would grow big and strong and show his omega that he could protect him better than anyone. He would. And when he did....