Work Text:
Tokuhiro University
Kenma reads the sign over and over before finally relenting and walking onto the campus. College wasn't his first "career path" decision after finishing high school, but when his streaming didn't take off as quickly as he'd hoped, he had figured that getting a degree while building his streaming audience and platform wouldn't hurt.
So here he is, at the one school in the country with the most prestigious digital media and video game design program — the only thing he'd go to college for anyway.
Regardless, the campus is nice. It's well put together and Kenma begins thinking that he doesn't mind being here so much, even if he'd rather be gaming. He itches to pull his phone out and stare at it while walking to avoid contact with others, but he refrains as to not get lost as he walks towards the administrative building. His first time on this campus and the late afternoon sun shines a gentle orange glow across the sidewalk as he hears voices shouting and laughing in the distance.
He looks up to see an open grassy area, likely the courtyard he had read about earlier that week. It's full of students relaxing, playing, and lounging around. He shudders as he notices how many people are there and silently decides that there's no reason he ever needs to go there. The administrative building comes into view and he sighs, thankful that he can finally get checked in and find his dorm so he can settle for the night and move his things in tomorrow.
As he draws closer, so does the lawn where all the students are gathered in their individual fashions and Kenma quickly understands what the rumors about this school mean by chaotic. A faint alpha stink greets his nose as he walks, very obviously radiating from the group of boys tossing around a ball. Other scents occasionally mix with it, and it all feels so suddenly overwhelming that Kenma sneezes three times, scrunches his nose like a disgusted kitten, and then plugs it for the rest of his walk until he's safely behind glass doors.
He sighs in relief when he makes it inside, safe from the horrific combination of scents. His feelings must show on his face because the boy behind the front desk chuckles before waving Kenma over.
"It's just because they're outside," he says. "All students are required to wear scent patches at all times while indoors, aside from their personal rooms. But outside? It's free-reign."
"Oh. Good to know, thanks." Kenma rubs his nose.
His entire life, throughout high school and even sometimes in middle school, scent patches were a requirement at all gatherings and activities, even outside ones. As everyone began presenting, it became a regular practice for people to have them on hand just in case; whether for themselves or anyone else who might need them. He reaches up to subconsciously rub at the scent patch on his neck, feeling the comfort the material inherently brings him at this point in life. Kenma knows he applied and accepted to attend the largest second gender integrated school in the country, but he didn't think much about it until now.
Shaking his head, Kenma looks up at the attendant who's typing away on his computer. He looks only a few years older than Kenma, probably a senior student. He has light colored hair, gentle eyes and a large build, broad shoulders that make the seams of his shirt nearly pop — he looks like an alpha at first glance, but accompanied with a kind smile that eases Kenma's nerves, he doesn't mind if he is.
"You look nervous," he says gently. "Don't be. Here's a starting packet, and inside is a ticket to get your first student ID, which is free. Any replacements won't be free, though. What's your last name so I can look you up and get your dorm info printed out?"
"Kozume."
"Mmm, Kenma?"
"Yup," he confirms, swaying on the balls of his feet as the attendant prints out more papers.
Kenma busies himself with his phone while the attendant finishes all that he needs to before pushing more papers towards the waiting omega with all the patience in the world. After directing him towards the area where he'll be able to get his ID, Kenma walks off, his nerves from before long gone as he navigates his way through the building. He eventually finds himself padding back outside, immediately turning towards the opposite side of the building from the courtyard, desperately wanting to evade contact with anyone at all.
He pulls out the slip of paper that specifically tells him what dorm building and room he's staying in, keeping his eyes low as he paces down the sidewalk. He can smell the faint alpha stink and hear the ruckus of those boys he saw earlier, but he keeps walking. Dusk leaves a gentle warmth against Kenma's skin and, thankfully, there's a breeze in the air that alleviates the pheromones wafting through the outside air of the campus.
It's more beautiful than Kenma had seen online. Even without allowing his eyes to wander too much, the greenery along the sides of the walkways is vibrant in the setting sun, accompanied with flora of all colors. Kenma slows his steps, admiring his surroundings a bit more the further away from the courtyard he gets.
"Hey! Watch out! Shit." Kenma hears from off to the right.
He reacts instantly, spinning around just in time to see a volleyball flying towards him at light-speed, and like a seasoned veteran of escape, he expertly doges the ball by leaning to the side. The ball whizzes past his ear and lands in a bush behind him, and only then does he notice the student running towards him, also at light-speed, who doesn't come to a stop in time. Kenma squeezes his eyes shut, frozen in place and awaiting his god awful fate during his first few hours on campus, but it's not as terrible as he expects.
Strong hands grip at his upper-arms and spin them both around, twisting them mid-fall so Kenma lands on a solid chest instead of the ground. Groaning at the impact, Kenma lifts his head to realize that his softer landing is an entire person and he frantically scrambles off onto the sidewalk. The other student sits up slowly, rubbing the back of his head with a grimace.
"Damn, that was a rough landing," he mumbles. His voice is deep, smooth and Kenma can feel it in his chest.
He takes his first good look at the person who broke his fall: he has a strong build, likely in some type of sport, and has wild black hair sticking up in every direction. Without any scent patches on his neck, an earthy, almost smoky scent floats through the air between them, coiling around Kenma, seemingly holding him hostage. The scent reminds the omega of the green tea he used to get from the convenience store across from his childhood home. Unlike any other alpha pheromones Kenma has ever smelled and he… doesn't hate it.
"Ah," Kenma clears his throat and stands up, searching for his papers on the ground. "Sorry. Are you okay?"
The alpha on the ground doesn't answer Kenma as he avoids eye contact and picks up his things. When he looks up, Kenma met with a pair of honey-colored eyes peering at the omega, as if trying to see right through him. Shifting nervously on his feet, Kenma finishes collecting his papers and clears his throat once more. This seems to grab the other's attention and he averts his eyes, standing up to retrieve the ball from the bush.
"I'm so sorry," the alpha starts, turning around towards Kenma. "My buddy made a bad toss. You look new, need any help getting around?"
His tone is light and inviting as he crosses his arms with a lopsided smile, volleyball tucked under one arm. Realistically, Kenma wouldn't mind trusting someone so seemingly kind, but he's nothing if not weary. So he only shakes his head and continues walking as he had been before after confirming the other person wasn't hurt in the fall. He quickly, and unfortunately, hears heavy steps catching up to him within seconds.
"Wait up! Wait, don't run off."
Kenma halts and turns slightly towards him. "What?"
The alpha smiles wide at Kenma's snarky response, not seeming to mind that it was a little rude. "You forgot this, I think you might need it. Also, my name is Tetsurou."
Tetsurou hands him the slip of paper that has his dorm information on it and internally kicks himself for forgetting it. Kenma accepts it, tucking it in with his other papers before mumbling a quick, "Thanks."
"Do I at least get the pleasure of knowing your name?"
Kenma begins walking again and then notices Tetsurou trailing beside him. Gunpowder green tea fills the air around Kenma the longer he doesn't answer, his own scent patches subconsciously itching to be torn off so the alpha could have a taste of his own medicine.
"Didn't you already see it on the paper you gave me?" He throws back, all bark and no bite.
"Is it so terrible to want to be polite and ask?"
The back and forth bickering irks Kenma more than he'd like to admit, but he keeps his thoughts at bay, only showing a frustrated pout in response. "Kenma."
"Well, Kenma, hopefully I run into you again," Tetsurou teases. "Come by the courtyard sometime and join in on some fun."
"No thanks," Kenma mumbles, turning to walk aside.
Once the alpha finally stops following Kenma on his walk, he finds a nearby bench to sit on and slumps forward. The day had started off on a rancid note after passing by the courtyard without knowing that pheromones would be fuming the area, and then getting nearly run over by an aggravatingly attractive and annoyingly persistent alpha. It all feels rather criminal for only being on campus for a few hours.
By the time the omega relaxes enough to venture back on track towards his dorm, his mood is lighter without the taunting green tea following him around. He slides his given key into the dorm and is met with a space much cleaner and put together than he had expected. It's not that Kenma always assumed the worst from other people, but… living with a stranger has been a great fear of his since he had received his acceptance letter.
"You must be my roommate," a soothing voice sounds.
Kenma looks up to see another omega; sleek skin and effortlessly pretty. His dark hair has a wave to the ends of it that gives him a gentle charm and paired with his voice, Kenma feels himself exhale in relief.
"Kenma."
"Akaashi, Keiji."
Looking around, Kenma notices that Keiji already seems rather settled. "How long have you been here?"
"A few hours. I don't require much and like to keep clean."
"Perfect. So my room is…?"
Keiji waves his hand and walks Kenma towards the farther room that's more separated from the rest of the living space. He internally shouts for joy that his roommate seems to know exactly what he'd prefer without knowing him. Kenma spends the next few hours settling in after meeting his parents outside the building with a few boxes of his belongings that he couldn't haul across campus on his own.
The sun lowers in the sky and by the time he finishes setting up his room, showering, and heading into the living room to order himself delivery, Kenma can't help but smile at the perfect space he's been given. Keiji ventures out from his own room dressed in far nicer clothes than Kenma's old sweatpants and oversized t-shirt. His hair is covered by a worn out cap with "BOKUTO" on the front, like a sports team players name, along with a sleek pair of jeans and baggy crop top.
"Going out?" Kenma asks, genuinely curious.
"Yeah. I was going to ask if you want to come? The students throw a party down by the lake outside of campus at the beginning of every year."
Kenma cringes at the thought of the scenario: crowd of rowdy college students, scents flowing freely everywhere, alcohol, all in the dark…
"No thanks. I'm a homebody. Plus too many alpha's… not my scene."
Keiji nods with a kind smile, leaving the blonde feeling at ease for rejecting his offer.
"Well if you ever want to come out, you can stay with me and my boyfriend will stick with us. He's great at getting rid of knotheads."
Kenma snorts at that. "Thanks. Maybe next time."
Not long later, an alpha with silver hair and a loud voice steps two feet into the dorm to quickly introduce himself to Kenma before Keiji is shoving him out the door with a gentle whispering of 'don't scare him, he's shy!'. Kenma smiles to himself once they leave, finally feeling able to collapse after a long day. He goes through the motions of his evening; eating, tidying up, playing games for a bit, before heading to bed. Keiji doesn't arrive back before the omega's head hits his pillow, the reminiscent scent of green tea itching the back of his mind. Annoyingly.
As he drifts off to sleep, Kenma is almost sure he hears that familiar voice from earlier today… Tetsurou. Keiji arrives home and his boyfriend is probably with him. Maybe there's three voices, but Kenma is none the wiser as his body crashes and he passes out, blissfully unaware of anything and anyone outside of his room and his dreams.
Kenma paces down the hallway of the large school feeling ten times smaller than he already is. He's never been great with change and considering university is a very large change compared to the small area he grew up in, it's safe to say the omega is timid for his first day.
The hallways are littered with people he might not even see again. His eyes quickly flit from left to right as he scopes out the scene around him:
Knothead alphas leaning against walls, shouting in the halls at others, whether to flirt or just to be obnoxious. Omegas seem to be friends with other omegas, and as he passes by a few groups of them, he notices that there are a decent amount of betas that attend the school as well. They don't have scent patches on their necks, so that's an easy tell.
The sweatshirt around his neck feels tighter the closer he gets to his first class; Kenma has never been excited on a first day of school, this experience is no different.
The lecture hall he enters has several rows of seats, climbing higher with each one. He pauses for a moment before deciding to sit closer to the back and one seat into the row, which will hopefully mean at least one seat next to him will stay empty. The professor eventually begins class, introducing herself before mentioning that her TA seems to be late today, so she'll introduce him when he arrives. Kenma zones out a bit, crossing his fingers and toes that the professor doesn't try to incorporate a class-wide introduction activity — he's probably shrivel up at that.
"Oh! Everyone, please meet my TA for this semester, Tetsurou. He'll be the one taking care of extra credit and helping with grading, so please ask any questions you might have."
The omega's eyes widen and his head shoots up in alarm. True to what he had heard, a messy-haired Tetsurou stands at the front of the class, waving his hand with that blindingly charming smile. Kenma feels his gut churn at his terrible first-day-luck, but finds himself thanking the gods when Tetsurou moves to sit at a seat near the front.
It's then that Tetsurou quickly glances around at the entire room and his eyes meet Kenma's rather immediately. His smile grows in size as he stands up straighter and walks right up the steps, until he happily takes the empty seat directly next to Kenma.
Fuck.
"How lucky of me~" Tetsurou whispers, tapping his fingers next to Kenma's notebook.
"Shush."
"Feisty. Bad first day?"
"I'm trying to listen, shut up."
Kenma is not trying to listen. At this point, anything the teacher is saying is far beyond what he finds himself able to comprehend in this moment. His nose is taunting him with imaginary remnants of Tetsurou's scent that still hasn't left his mind since he first ran into the alpha, he can hear every shuffle of Tetsurou next to him, despite choosing to stare away. Kenma can hear Tetsurou pull out paper, and then hears a pencil scratching against it.
Despite the fact that Tetsurou shouldn't need to be taking notes during the first day of class, in a class he's the TA for, Kenma does his best to ignore the alpha next to him. He manages to listen to the last half of the class, but all for not because nothing important is relayed anyway. The moment the teacher dismisses the class, Kenma shoots up out of his seat immediately.
Tetsurou chuckles next to him, effectively raising the omega's blood pressure by a hair. The pair stand up at the same time and Kenma is quickly reminded of how much taller Tetsurou is than him, which doesn't help his racing thought. Keeping himself as collected as possible, Kenma picks up his notebook, sliding it into his bag, when his pen falls onto the floor. He picks it up with a sigh and then turns to see Tetsurou smiling.
"See you later, Kenma," he says.
Surprisingly, Tetsurou waves kindly and then walks off.
No teasing, no touching, no winking.
Kenma sighs, the stress leaving his body as he slowly paces towards his last class of the day. Because of the small amount of time between these two classes, Kenma doesn't have very much time to rest, so by the time he makes it to his last class, he's tired and worn out. Plopping into a seat in the back of the room, he pulls his notebook out of his bag when a piece of folded paper slips out of his bag simultaneously.
"What the…" he mumbles to himself.
Picking up the paper, Kenma feels his entire face heat up. The paper is small, ripped out of a notebook, it seems. On it is a quick, yet beautifully detailed pencil sketch of himself.
It's uncanny how much it looks like him, from the faded bleach that falls around his face, to his scrunched nose and bored expression, it looks as if time froze and morphed into a sketch. Kenma had no idea Tetsurou was such a talented artist — not that he knows very much about Tetsurou in the first place — but he feels his gut churn with curiosity. The imaginative gunpowder green tea scent tickles the back of his mind as he stares at the drawing for longer than he should.
That night, Kenma's mind is a mess; a whirlwind of uncertainty and unknown, two things that he hates with everything in him. Kenma loves to know, to solve, to figure out everything he can. The moment something seems perplexing, he needs to resolve it.
The problem with Tetsurou is that there's nothing to fix or solve.
"What's going on?" Keiji asks as he and Kenma make their respective dinners in the kitchen.
"Nothing. Long day. How was your first day?"
"Good. It went as expected."
Kenma hums in acknowledgement, thankful he and is roommate understand that they don't need to talk all the time to enjoy each other's company. After a while of silently spending time eating and watching something on TV together, Kenma stands to retire to bed.
"Hey, Kenma?" Keiji asks.
"Yeah?"
"There's going to be a ton of students going to the bars downtown next Friday night. Wanna come?"
"Bars? Like… Clubs?" Kenma questions apprehensively. "It's not really my scene…"
"I think you'll have fun letting loose just once. And it's best to enjoy it while we don't have much homework. Once the work kicks in, I likely won't be leaving the dorm much, honestly."
Kenma nods at that, knowing that once the workload ramps up, he'll hermit all the same. "I'll think about it," he concludes, turning around once more to go enter his room when he pauses. "Hey, Keiji, who else is gonna go?"
"Hmm, a lot of first years, but a group of second years too. My boyfriend will be going, so his friends will probably tag along too and they're a good group, even if they're a bit too rowdy sometimes."
He hums, entering his bedroom with a sigh. Why was he secretly hoping Keiji would say Tetsurou's name? Realistically, there's no other reason for Kenma to go out. Sure, it'd be nice to have enough alcohol to not care how many people are around him anymore, maybe dance around to the music and live a little. He's only experienced something similar once before in high school, when one of his classmates threw a house party when his parents had gone out of town. Someone had brought alcohol somehow and the entire night was a blast, Kenma doesn't remember much.
At that time, everyone was accustomed to wearing scent patches, so a party with alcohol didn't make a huge difference to them all, and even then, most friends were the same second gender at those ages, so the party was mostly omegas and betas anyway. Kenma feels an inkling of fear over the idea of getting drunk in a crowded place full of alphas, but his sleepy mind overruns the anxious thought with wild black hair, a charming smile, and that pencil sketch, quickly drifting off to sleep.
"You're a tough one to crack, you know," Tetsurou chuckles as Kenma sits in the seat next to him.
Well, Tetsurou got to class before him and sat directly next to where Kenma usually sits every day. It's been a couple weeks of classes and this one doesn't get any easier, no matter how many times Kenma has to sit next to Tetsurou the entire time.
"What does that even mean?"
"I mean, you're intriguing and I can't figure you out."
"What is there to figure out about me? I'm just a person, you know. Not a robot or a puzzle."
Tetsurou laughs at that, bursting out his awfully loud and obnoxious laugh that no one could enjoy hearing, even if they tried. The omega rolls his eyes and proceed to set up for class as the professor walks in and begins the lesson. It hadn't happened since the first day of class that week, but just as before, Kenma hears the pencil sketch marks beside him, and this time, he peaks. Tetsurou is covering the small piece of paper with the hand that isn't drawing, and the moment Kenma glances over to see, Tetsurou sticks his tongue out at Kenma like a second grader.
Not too long after Kenma goes back to paying attention and note-taking, Tetsurou slides a piece of paper in front of him. Kenma glances at the paper and then at Tetsurou, who's smiling politely in wait. He picks up the paper and quietly unfolds it, his brow scrunching skeptically at what he sees.
A figure that looks an awful lot like Kenma, and one that looks similar to Tetsurou, sitting at a bar next to each other. The words above the quick sketch read, "Are you going downtown tonight?"
Kenma takes the liberty of writing his answer back below the sketch in the empty space, "haven't decided. you?"
Tetsurou writes back, "I'm going with my best friend and his boyfriend. Maybe others."
Kenma pulls a new piece of paper from his notebook to write back, "my roommate is going and wants to drag me out"
Tetsurou chuckles, sliding the paper over to respond. "You should go! It'll be fun. Plus, no homework yet."
Now it's Kenma's turn to laugh lightly before writing, "that's what my roommate said. i'll think about it"
And think about it he does. In fact, the omega thinks about it all day and can no longer focus knowing that Tetsurou is going. Maybe it's likely that Tetsurou is always at the things Keiji goes to… Does Kenma need to start going out with Keiji more often? No, that's just asking for exhaustion and trouble. Regardless of all his anxious thoughts, Kenma finds himself sitting in the bathroom that evening while Keiji swipes a light amount of eyeliner onto his lids for him.
"There. You look cute." Keiji smiles, capping the eyeliner.
Kenma stands and stares at himself, an unrecognizable version of himself, but he feels good. His hair is pulled into a half ponytail, stray pieces falling down the sides and framing his face. There's liner around his eyes and and glitter on his lids, and a soft shine to his lips. He feels… pretty. Keiji had also dressed him in a black outfit, crop top and cargo pants, accompanied by silver accessories and black boots.
"Thanks," Kenma mutters as he looks closer at the makeup.
His gut stirs as Keiji gets a message from his boyfriend that says he's five minutes away. Will Tetsurou actually show up? It's not like Kenma has his number or anything, and also, it's not like they're even friends. Kenma and Tetsurou are just classmates, that's all. He's just a tall, cool, charming, handsome… classmate.
Right on time, a knocking wracks on the door to the pair's dorm five minutes later, bringing Kenma out of his daze. He takes a deep breath, soaking in his new look one more time before stepping out of the bathroom. Around the corner he hears Keiji greeting his boyfriend, and then a familiar green tea, thick with sweetness immediately fills Kenma's senses. What the fuck? The omega panics for a moment, his hand grasping quickly at his own scent glands, only to feel that he doesn't have any patches on either.
It's normal for the two omega's to not wear their patches in the dorm; they agreed to be normal about it and also aren't bothered by each other's scents at all.
But Kenma completely forgot that going out tonight meant it's gonna be a free for all. Growing up in a sheltered place where scent patches were required is really throwing him for a loop.
"Kenma, are you ready?" Keiji raises from the other room.
He hears someone choke and start coughing, followed by some whispering. Tetsurou.
"Be out in a second!"
Deep breath in, Kenma stares at himself in the mirror one more time. He's hot, he feels good, of course he's nervous now that he knows Tetsurou is sitting in his dorm right now, but what has he got to lose? Keiji will be there the whole time. Kenma brushes away his worries and straightens his shirt, reveling in finally smelling that green tea scent he's been dreaming about for an embarrassingly long amount of time.
When he exits the bathroom and rounds the corner, he's greeted by the sight of Keiji sitting on Koutarou's lap on their couch; Kenma has only ever met Koutarou briefly, but his scent was bearable and nice, overall a good compliment to Keiji. They look incredible together, too, sitting on the couch with smiles on their faces, in each other's arms, without a worry in the world. He then glances over to the other side of the couch and sees Tetsurou, in all his nonchalant glory.
He's leaning against the arm of the couch, a drink in his hand and that effortless smile on his face that makes Kenma feel like he's losing his mind.
Kenma clears his throat to get everyone's attention. Keiji smiles and stands, offering him a drink, to which Kenma takes and chugs immediately. If he's going out, he may as well drink his nerves away as quickly as possible, right? He hears Tetsurou chuckle and chooses to ignore it, pacing off into the kitchen to get himself some water and a snack before they leave for the night.
"I had no idea I'd be seeing you before I made it to the bar tonight."
The sound of Tetsurou's voice sends a shiver down Kenma's spine. "Keep up the cool guy act and I won't go anywhere tonight."
"Oooo, feisty. I surrender, I'll be more relaxed," Tetsurou responds, laughing lightly.
Kenma glances over at him, meeting his honey colored with a moment of curiosity as the drink he had just chugged begins calling the shots for him already. Tetsurou's green tea scent quickly fills the omega's senses, and against his better judgment, his own apple cinnamon scent begins swirling around the kitchen. Their proximity doesn't grow any closer, the both of them staring at each other from nearly across the kitchen, frozen in time.
The way Tetsurou's scent makes Kenma slightly dizzy, as if he's floating on a cloud, takes him right out of reality. He forgets that he's standing his dorm kitchen and instead gets lost in the swirl of the alpha's honey-colored eyes, imagining a hypothetical world where gunpowder green tea and strong, broad shoulders are a part of his every day life.
"Keep it down in here, you two!" Koutarou shouts with a laugh, bringing them both out of the trance they're in.
Kenma blinks hard, spinning around to stare at the empty water glass in his hand, his face blooming pink with embarrassment. What the hell was that? No one mentions the situation after that, though. They all gather their things and head out a few minutes later, walking the few blocks off campus towards downtown. Kenma makes sure to stand next to Keiji and chat with him as they walk, while Tetsurou stands on the opposite end of the group, laughing with Koutarou.
The atmosphere quickly morphs into exactly what one would expect downtown streets to look like so close to a university campus: crowds and groups of students of all ages, lots of chatting and laughter, music playing loudly enough from inside bars that it can be heard from passersby on the street. Kenma feels so small surrounded by so many people who look so confident being here.
He realizes in this moment how significant of an impact growing up in a small town has shaped his idea of the world. He's never imagined himself in this position, but when Keiji stops his steps with a hand on his and smiles kindly, reaching forward to wipe the outer corner of his eye where his eyeliner sits, he feels his chest fill with excitement.
"You okay?" Keiji asks.
Kenma smiles gently. "Yeah. Let's get some drinks."
"Yeah, Kenma!" Koutarou hoots, fist pumping as he leads the way into a building.
Keiji holds onto Kenma's hand in one and Koutarou's in the other, making a train of three. It's then that Kenma realizes he doesn't see Tetsurou next to Koutarou anymore and glances around, only to find him standing fairly close behind him. As if the alpha can feel Kenma's eyes, he glances down at him and gives him a shining smile, effectively making Kenma's heart flutter.
They wander through the club, finding a two empty seats at the bar, which both alpha's silently agree to give to Keiji and Kenma. Kenma doesn't think much of the situation, sitting happily on the bar stool next to his roommate as they order something to drink. It's not until a while of drinking, chatting, and listening to the music, that Kenma notices someone switch seats with the person who was originally next to him — it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the man who switched seats and is now next to Kenma is an alpha. He's large in stature and build, and his scent is so strong it's almost rancid and Kenma scrunches his nose, turning to face Keiji a little more than before.
"Can a guy like me offer to buy a beauty like you a drink?" The man asks.
Kenma glances over to see that the stranger is definitely speaking to him and his chest tightens with anxiety. The hand he has on his drink tightens as he realizes that Keiji is currently very occupied with his boyfriend… unavailable at the moment. Just as he's about to stand up and walk away — the only thing he can think of doing immediately — a large hand settles on the small of his back and green tea fills his senses.
He looks up to see Tetsurou standing nearly right against him, and the omega would be blind and fucking dumb to say that his sudden protective energy isn't extremely sexy. His eyes stare straight at the alpha stranger as his scent grows a bit sour, annoyance lacing throughout it liberally.
"Find someone else to buy a drink for," Tetsurou warns.
Kenma, three drinks deep and drowning in Tetsurou's scent, feels his body react to the growling tone the alpha speaks in. A shiver runs down his spine and he readjusts in his seat slightly when he feels himself begin to slick up. The omega quickly internally panics, never having had that reaction to another person before. Of course, he's gone through heats and is familiar with his own body, but he feels the most out of control of himself he's ever felt being so turned on by Tetsurou fending off this random stranger.
"Jeez, cool it, dude," the stranger says.
Tetsurou's hand pushes ever so slightly tighter against Kenma's back as the stranger gets up to walk away. Without a second of time wasted, Tetsurou sits in the now empty bar stool beside Kenma and faces him with a softened, more worried expression on his face.
"Are you alright? Did he say anything else to you before I realized? Did anything else happen?"
Kenma's chest flutters and a smile creeps onto his face as Tetsurou frantically asks him questions directly after being the hottest man the omega's ever seen.
"I'm fine, Tetsurou."
"You're sure?"
"Yes," Kenma nods, tipping his drink into his mouth, only to get a single drop. "Aw, man."
It's Tetsurou's turn to smile now as Kenma pouts drunkenly into his empty cup. The omega turns towards Tetsurou and holds his cup out, jutting his pouted lip out even further. He knows he's being ridiculous, but drinking is more fun than Kenma thought it would be and feels funny enough to be sillier than he normally ever would be.
"I'm not giving you more alcohol, Kenma," Tetsurou chuckles, plucking the glass from his hand and placing it on the bar counter.
Kenma's jaw falls open wide, watching as a bartender takes the empty glass away to be cleaned and then attending to other customers after Tetsurou denies any more service.
"Not fair…" Kenma pouts again. "Someone else will get me a drink," he declares, attempting to stand up.
The dizziness quickly rushes to his head and his feet feel unsteady as he looses his balance and Tetsurou's hands catch him before an embarrassing, and likely painful, accident occurs. Kenma feels the heat from the alpha's hands travel throughout his body and immediately sobers up enough to straighten himself properly, shaking off Tetsurou's hands and standing his ground.
"Kenma," Tetsurou says as the omega begins pacing away from the counter.
"Kenmaaaaaa," he drags, following closely behind Kenma.
Kenma paces through the crowds of people, a plethora of scents, sounds, and sticky skin surrounding him. It's then that he sees the entrance to the building that they walked through earlier and he changes is direction towards it, feeling a hand on his back as he pushes through the people. The cool night air swipes against his skin as the cacophony of voices disappears behind him, welcoming the gentler chatter of the outside.
The omega takes in a deep breath in, the open air filling his lungs does a great job of sobering him up further, but never quite enough to get his mind back to its usual impassively expressive state. He can feel Tetsurou's body lean on the wall next to him, Kenma's shoulder brushing up against Tetsurou's arm.
"No more drinks for you," Tetsurou chuckles, nudging the omega.
"You're not my dad."
"Yeah, but Keiji is, and he's a bit occupied."
"Fair."
The rest of the night passes in a blur for Kenma, but it doesn't last for much longer. At some point the pair wanders back inside and spends more time with their respective friends, both of them completely omitting the scene with the stranger in their conversations. Eventually the group goes home as Koutarou ends up hoisting Kenma onto his back halfway through their walk when he gets too tired to continue. They all ignore the heat radiating from Tetsurou's face as it happens, blissfully having fun in the night without a care in the world.
When Kenma wakes up the next morning with a raging headache, sore feet, and muddled memories of how close he was to Tetsurou all night, he retreats under his covers and parks there all weekend. He occasionally wanders out for some water or food, crossing his fingers and hoping that Tetsurou isn't inside his dorm — as if he would just show up randomly.
"You okay?" Keiji asks on Sunday afternoon as they both silently make food in the kitchen.
"Fine. Tired."
"Mmm. Any reason why you keep glancing at the front door?"
Kenma looks away from the door, hiding his embarrassment as he continues to slice the fruit in front of him. "Does Koutarou come over more often than I've been present?"
"Uhh, maybe? I guess sometimes when you're napping, but usually you know about it… And he doesn't typically bring anyone with him when he does come over."
Humming in response, Kenma gather's his apple slices and then wanders off to his room, his mind swirling with thoughts of strong hands and green tea, a torturous combination for an omega with a hangover who only just realized that he might have feelings for the most annoying person he knows.
Come Monday afternoon, Kenma feels a pang of disappointment in his chest when Tetsurou is absent from class. It's pretty unlike him to not show up, and that inherent fact worries Kenma a little. Though the worry isn't strong enough to make him do anything about it.
They don't know each other intimately, after all. They're just classmates and their friends happen to be dating, that's it.
Tetsurou and Kenma have only spent about an hour each day, in class, for two weeks so far. That plus the Friday night out at the bar, they have no previous history of relationship or friendship. So why does Kenma feel so drawn to him? It's as if there's a part of his body within him, begging to get closer to Tetsurou. Honestly, it feels heavy and annoying. Kenma wonders if other people ever feel this way, but all he knows is that it feels good to be around him and it's obvious his body and mind agree.
Kenma repeats these facts in his mind like a broken record, more and more each day, especially as Tetsurou continues to not show up to class. When Thursday finally rolls around, he's had enough. After a long day of classes, Kenma marches home and slams the door shut.
"Keiji," he says, staring at his roommate who is currently sat at the dining table, surrounded in papers.
"Yes?"
"Do you have Tetsurou's number?"
Keiji drops the pencil in his hand and chokes on the coffee he just took a sip of. Kenma waits patiently for his roommate's coughing fit to end, only to receive an incredulous look from him. Realizing his brazenness, Keiji quickly composes himself and clears his throat before responding properly.
"Why are you asking me instead of him?"
"I haven't seen him. He's not showing up to class."
"Oh. How annoying. He's probably out in the courtyard with a volleyball."
"Thanks."
Without another word, and against his better judgment, Kenma rips off his scent patches and throws them away before grabbing the sketch Tetsurou sneaked in his bag all those weeks ago and walking out the door. He doesn't live too far from the courtyard, thankfully, but is quickly regretting his rash decision of confrontation when he notices how crowded the courtyard is. Students lay on the grass on blankets relaxing and studying, some are sitting in groups laughing or singing; it's lively and exactly what one would picture a college campus courtyard being like on a Thursday afternoon.
The overwhelming blend of the student's scents make him sneeze and rub his nose. While glancing around to try and spot that familiar wild hair, Kenma feels his nerves spike as he sees a volleyball fly past him — not as closely as the first time it happened to him, but still. He steps to the side, watching a student, tall and broad with dark short hair, jog to catch the ball.
"You alright?" He asks, pacing towards Kenma, ball in hand.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Need help finding something? You look kinda lost."
"Oh, no I'm fine," Kenma lies.
"Well," the student smirks, "Anything you need, just come find me, sweetheart."
"Issei! Fuck off, will you?" Tetsurou barks, jogging over towards the two.
Kenma looks up at Tetsurou with large, innocent eyes, not understanding why he looks so pissed off. Regardless, the alpha moves in to stand directly next to Kenma without even glancing at him, keeping his hard stare on the student in front of them. Issei chuckles and puts his hands up in feigned defeat.
"No harm done, man. Didn't know he was yours."
Just as Kenma is about to protest, because he doesn't belong to anyone at all, Tetsurou takes his hand and starts yanking him away. He pulls a little too hard and grasps his hand a little too tightly, pacing away from the courtyard with a speed that the omega can't keep up with.
"Tetsurou, slow down!" He raises, but Tetsurou doesn't listen. "Tetsu, stop."
The alpha's scent is radiating off of him at a rapid rate, nearly choking Kenma with how strong it is as he's pulled behind a building where no one else is loitering around. As soon as Kenma's back hits the brick wall, he shoves at Tetsurou, finally putting space between them.
"What the hell?" Kenma starts.
"What the hell me? What the hell you, Kenma! Did you think you could just walk around without scent patches and it wouldn't make every alpha in the vicinity start drooling?"
Kenma's jaw drops. Of course he didn't realize something like that would happen, but why is Tetsurou so upset about what other people think? It's not his problem to deal with. If Kenma's really being honest, he didn't wear his scent patches as he usually does because he wanted Tetsurou to smell him — he didn't even bother to think about any other alpha.
"You're upset about your friend hitting on me. Were you even going to ask why I was out there in the first place? You know I don't like crowded places."
Tetsurou pinches the bridge of his nose, breathing deeply. "Why, then, Kenma? Why the fuck were you out in the courtyard?"
"To fucking find you," he bites, digging for the sketch Tetsurou had made of Kenma weeks ago, shoving it at the alpha's chest with a huff.
The slightly rancid note to the alpha's scent immediately dissipates, replacing with a deep earthiness and that grounds Kenma within seconds. He takes in a breath himself and looks up at Tetsurou who is staring between the paper and Kenma with a complex expression on his face. Kenma's unsure of what is so confusing to the alpha, but he doesn't think as much as he should around Tetsurou and instead opts for taking one of his larger hands into his own.
"You haven't been showing up to class," Kenma finally says.
Tetsurou opens and closes his mouth a few times, calmer now, he steps closer. "I'm not sure if you want my honest answer to that."
"I do. Otherwise I wouldn't have come all the way out here to find you. Plus, Keiji wouldn't give me your number."
They both laugh at that, effectively relaxing and allowing all the tension of the situation float away. Tetsurou's hand grabs Kenma's own and rubs gently along the places where his fingers had previously grasped too tightly, bringing the small hand to his lips to kiss it all over. Kenma shoves the warm feeling in his gut down and focuses on those honey-colored eyes.
"I want you, Kenma. I want you so badly, but I don't want to scare you off and I'm afraid that after Friday night I over welcomed my stay around you and- well I didn't know what to do."
Kenma scrunches his nose and huffs out a laugh. "You're stupid. Will you just kiss me already?"
Tetsurou's eyes grow wide for a second before he laughs all the same and ducks his head down to press their lips together. It's soft, gentle, and Kenma can feel that earthy tea scent wrap around him like a protective blanket. He's heard about scenting before, and was taught about it back in middle school, but he had never experienced it in real life. Funnily enough, like it's completely instinctual, Kenma feels Tetsurou's scent lying within him and he doesn't hesitate to emit more of his own warm, cinnamon apple scent onto the alpha.
The alpha groans, pulling away from their kiss to nuzzle into the crook of Kenma's neck. "You smell so fucking good."
Kenma swallows the whine that almost escapes his throat at Tetsurou's affection. Instead, he nuzzles the alpha back, silently showing his acceptance of the affection in his own way. They stay like that for a while longer until Tetsurou stands up straight and takes a step away from Kenma, leaving the omega feeling empty.
"You okay?"
"Great, yeah, no I'm doing just fine. Just give me a second," Tetsurou blurts out, turning around and taking a deep breath.
"Tetsurou." Kenma laughs seeing his hands move to cover his crotch. "That's all it took?"
"Fuck off," he responds, chuckling along before turning back around and stepping close enough to close Kenma in against the wall. "Kenma, I don't think you understand how you make me feel. From the moment I met you, I needed to know you, to have you."
Kenma's breath grows shallow as his eyes flit between Tetsurou's eyes, lips, neck, their proximity so close than he can feel the alpha's breath on his own face. "What if i told you that you already have me."
"I- Fuck, Kenma. I don't want to hurt you."
"I don't want you to hold back."
Tetsurou curses under his breath and dives forward to capture Kenma's lips in a kiss. It's a searing, hot, connection — much different than the first time. The omega allows his body to speak for itself, and falls pliant in Tetsurou's arms as he grasps onto his shirt with all his might. Tetsurou's hands are strong, much stronger than Kenma seems to remember them being as they hold his waist and pull their bodies flush against each other.
The heat radiating off of them both make Kenma's core pulse, want coursing through his veins like it's all he's meant to feel in that moment, even forever. Tetsurou's scent drowns him in desire as they kiss, clashing teeth and swiping tongues, fighting for space anywhere except their own mouths. It's the first time Kenma's ever been kissed like this and he's not sure he ever wants anyone else to kiss him this way ever again.
Tetsurou's moves one of his hands up to cradle Kenma's jaw as they kiss, the other remaining around his waist and keeping them securely together. He slows the kiss down, languid and sensual, bringing a new sensation to Kenma's body. The omega presses himself up against Tetsurou ever-closer, absentmindedly grinding himself against the thigh Tetsurou had sneakily slipped between his legs. A moan leaves Kenma's lips as they kiss, causing Tetsurou to hum as he purposefully wiggles his leg up against Kenma's core in response.
When they pull apart, foreheads leaning on each other, ragged breathing and racing heart, Tetsurou speaks first. His voice is soft, but thick and full of want that makes Kenma's body shiver.
"Go out with me. Be mine. I wanna have you all to myself."
Kenma nods immediately. "Please."
Despite what Kenma had assumed his life would be like at this university, far from his small home town, it wasn't this.
It's been a few weeks since their confessions behind a campus building, and now Kenma finds himself lying on his bed with his feet propped onto Tetsurou's lap. The omega is playing a game on his phone while Tetsurou reads a book and occasionally rubs his feet as they sit in comfortable silence.
"Hey, Tetsu?" Kenma breaks the silence.
"Hmm?"
"When are you gonna claim me?"
Tetsurou chokes on air and tosses his book to the side with wide eyes, obviously taken aback by the question. Kenma's tone is monotonous and calm as usual, not changing expressions much at his boyfriend's reactions, because he already expected the dramatics.
"You can't just ask that, Kenma. Give a guy some warning…"
"I feel like the question is the warning."
"Kenma," Tetsurou sighs exasperatedly. "We've been dating for like a month. Claiming you so early is probably not smart…"
"Do you plan on leaving me?"
"No?! Absolutely not."
Kenma smiles softly and then tugs at the alpha's shirt, pulling him so he crawls up the bed and holds himself above the omega. Their breaths mingle and mix together as they kiss, making Kenma melt instantly. Tetsurou lips move from his mouth to his jaw, pepper kisses that grow deeper and more intense as he travels down to Kenma's neck. Without a second thought, the omega turns his head to the side and bares his neck to Tetsurou.
"Fuck," the alpha mumbles.
"Please, Tetsurou. I want everyone to know I'm yours," Kenma begs with bated breath as Tetsurou's lips hover over the tender, supple skin.
"How could I ever deny you?" Tetsurou mumbles.
Smiling into the skin of Kenma's neck, Tetsurou sweeps them both away into what could very well be a night's long escapade that Kenma can only hope Keiji chooses to stay out of the dorm for. Just him, his alpha, and the dark of the night as they discover each other all over again and again.
Kenma had been worried about starting university in a place where he could mingle with alphas in ways that could lead to dangerous situations. But funnily enough, he's never once felt a string of threat from anyone while Tetsurou was around. Tetsurou understood Kenma quicker and on a deeper level than anyone had ever cared to figure out, effectively making the omega possibly the most fulfilled he's ever felt.
So, yeah, attending the country's largest second gender inclusive and integrated university was definitely a terrifying choice to make. While Kenma originally made the choice for the schooling and the degree, his hopes were far exceeded the first day he stepped foot on campus and ran into Tetsurou Kuroo.
Or the day that Tetsurou Kuroo ran into him, that is.