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For the amount of sheer nonsense Suo puts up with on a daily basis, he deserves tea.
Even the teachers do not begrudge his perpetual tea cup, and his classmates know better than to test him. Truly, it’s tea or smoking, and smoking is terrible for cardio. Anything terrible for cardio means it’s terrible for his ability to fight, which means it would make him useless to Sakura.
Being useless to Sakura would be inexcusable.
So, he takes another sip of tea as his fellow students roughhouse around him, full to bursting with morning teenage boy energy. Nirei sits by his side chattering about something Suo only lends half an ear to, ‘hmm-ing’ in all the right places.
Despite the bawdy atmosphere, it’s peaceful. Suo surveys his little kingdom- the de facto protector until the captain arrives- pleased with the normalcy of it all. He’s settled; content and happy with the order. Everything is expected and in its place.
Until the door slams open with enough force to shake the glass in its frame.
Sakura looks furious.
His rage is an incandescent thing as he scans the room and finally lands on Suo. Suo runs a quick mental check to think of what he’s done to incur Sakura’s ire recently and comes up blank. Even his usual teasing has been lackluster, he can’t think of a single thing.
All the same, Sakura stalks towards him with singleminded intensity, ignoring everyone calling out greetings to him. Suo arcs a brow and gamely sets his teacup down. He loves Sakura’s anger. Rather, he loves to be the sole focus of any of Sakura’s emotions and anger just so happens to be the easiest one to get.
His heart beats faster as Sakura approaches, anticipation singing through him. It’s probably not normal or good how much it excites him, but he’s long since given up trying to be rational about Sakura. It’s simply impossible no matter how much he meditates on it.
Sakura fists his hand in Suo’s shirt, looming over him. The room has gone slightly quiet, though there’s a thick undercurrent of amusement as they watch the scene play out. Someone “ooooh’s” and another person whistles.
No one in this room really fears Sakura’s anger, they all love him too much for that.
“My my, Sakura! That’s an awfully scary face for so early in the morn-“
Suo’s almost expecting to be punched, given the thunderous look on Sakura’s face.
That is- not what happens.
Sakura pulls Suo forward with the grip on his shirt and leans in, roughly dragging his neck against Suo’s.
It’s sloppy. It’s clear Sakura’s only approximately aware of where another person’s scent glands are and is making a messy guess based on where his own are. He mostly succeeds in smearing his own scent against the collar of Suo’s high collared shirt. Though, if the goal is to slather himself in Suo’s scent, he does a fair job.
He rubs against him for a full five seconds- an eternity for throat scenting which usually involves a brief second or two of touching (at least outside of sex)- before pulling back and switching sides. He does the same messy grind on the other side, but seems to have narrowed down the accuracy. It’s a true drag of glands and Suo’s Alpha brain is very, very confused.
For the life of him, Suo could not say what Sakura’s goal here is, but apparently Sakura knows because he pulls back, breathing hard. He’s making a little growling noise that isn’t a purr, more reminiscent of an Alpha sound than an Omega one.
There’s a high flush on his cheeks; and his pupils are blown wide. Suo holds very, very still, barely daring to breathe as Sakura peels his fingers away from Suo’s shirt and steps back.
“I’ll show that bastard,” Sakura growls before turning and storming out of the room without bothering to close the door behind him.
Suo.exe has stopped working.
He doesn’t move for several long minutes, staring at the door, and trying to master the intense surge of hormones he’s experiencing.
That was- indecent, honestly.
His body is very unsure how to handle such an intimate act with no preparation, and in front of a room full of teenagers who are staring at him in shock.
“Hey, so, quick question,” Kiryu finally says, sitting up straight for maybe the only time in his life. “What the fuck was that?”
Suo does not know.
But he likes it.
The day passes normally, though Suo can’t recall a single second of it. Sakura returned before the first lesson started, out of breath but no worse for wear. Suo has ruthlessly reigned in his body’s reactions and viciously compartmentalized the entire situation enough to get through patrol so he can unpack the experience at his leisure when he’s alone.
He and Nirei agreed silently that they would team up to patrol with Sakura in case of any more incidents. It turns out to be a good call.
“So, Sakura, about this morning,” Nirei hedges, fingers drumming against the hard cover of this notebook. He’s a little flushed and not quite able to look at Sakura when he asks, but it doesn’t really matter because Sakura may as well be miles away with how distracted he is.
He’s moving in switchbacks and circles around them, a slow steady patrol to guard his pack mates against a threat that isn’t there. He’s on high alert, moving like a guard dog to see any potential threat and intercept it, and making small adjustments to keep them together like a sheepdog.
Suo is amusing himself by wandering to and fro, pretending to look in shop windows or run his fingers over wildflowers. Sakura’s urge to group him and Nirei is palpable, and the anxious/annoyed little huffs he makes while herding Suo back to the group are deeply charming.
He’s also still scenting, and Suo’s sure he hasn’t noticed.
He’s rubbing his exposed wrists across Nirei’s hair and shoulders, his arms and back. Anxious little proprietary drags of scent across his clothes and skin. Much more appropriate than this morning's fiasco.
For Suo; Sakura’s gripping his sleeves and grinding the scent in as he drags him away from whatever’s caught his fancy. Again, more or less normal behavior. The only difference is he’s also rubbing his head and neck across Suo’s shoulders. Distracted little presses from behind or beside him.
If it were anyone but Sakura it would be inexcusably rude, and Suo would have violently (but as a lesson, of course!) put an end to it, but he finds he doesn’t mind. He raises his arm a little and Sakura tucks under it, dragging against the newly exposed expanse of fabric. Suo settles the arm over Sakura’s shoulders, letting his elbow rest against Sakura’s neck and absorb the scent without him having to work so hard.
Sakura makes a relieved little sound, eyes still focused around them for danger, but his frenetic movement stops.
“Sakura!” Nirei tries again, moving in front of them to physically stop them from walking. Suo half expects Sakura to shrug his arm off, but if anything he curls in. For a second, he’s worried Sakura might somehow actually be cowed, but it’s quite the opposite.
Suo hides his laugh behind a fake cough, covering his mouth with a lightly curled fist. Sakura’s guarding him against Nirei. It’s the purest thing Suo has ever seen in his entire life.
This boy will be the death of him.
“What?” Sakura scowls, but his attention is still focused outward, searching for danger.
“I wanted to ask you if anything happened this morning?” Nirei shoots Suo a pleading glance, but oh Nirei, that would be too easy. This is much more fun!
Besides, Suo’s pretty sure he knows what’s going on now, he doesn’t need to ask ridiculous questions.
“Uh,” Sakura wracks his brain for what Nirei could mean and comes up blank, “we had school?”
Suo snorts and Sakura elbows him viciously in the ribs.
“Yeah, I know. We were there!”
“Then why are you asking?”
Nirei’s eye twitches and only the threat of Sakura’s pointy elbows keeps Suo from laughing.
“You just seemed a little- frazzled! Before classes started, did something happen?”
Sakura blinks at him, brain still half-focused on the area around them. Their lack of movement is clearly making his anxiety worse, so Suo urges them all back into a walk, Sakura still tucked under his arm.
He’s just going to add that to the list of things to unpack later.
“‘Happen’? Like what?”
Nirei groans and looks at Suo, begging for help with his eyes. Sakura also looks at Suo, though he has to twist and lift his head up to do it and that’s just- also going in the ‘unpack later’ pile.
“Yes, Nirei, like what?” he asks with a smile. One day Nirei is going to master the art of voodoo dolls and Suo will pay for all he’s done. But not today. Today he just grins.
“Why did you scent Suo like that this morning?” Nirei is apparently annoyed enough to go for the direct approach. Suo’s oddly proud of him.
“Oh. Why didn’t you just say that?” Sakura asks blithely, still scanning their immediate area for danger. He wiggles out from under Suo’s arm to start pacing again and Suo tries not to feel bereft.
Nirei’s going to rip out his hair.
“I had to,” Sakura says.
“‘Had to’? What do you mean?”
“I had to,” Sakura says with a little shrug. Suo would have expected one of Sakura’s famous blushes to make an appearance, but he’s still focused on scanning the area. The sky is blue, the grass is green, and Sakura had to scent Suo this morning. How is he supposed to explain that?
“Had to scent him?”
“Yep.”
“Why?”
Sakura huffs an annoyed noise through his nose. “I just had to.”
Nirei bites down on the edge of his notebook.
“I think we‘ve done enough patrolling today, let’s get something to eat,” Suo says, partly to keep Nirei from going bald too early, and partly because he feels an uncomfortable, itchy need to feed Sakura today.
Sakura makes an unhappy noise, the likes of which Suo has never heard him make.
“No, it’s not safe, we’re not done.”
“What isn’t safe!?” Nirei begs. He’s only a Beta, he doesn’t know what Suo does.
Sup makes a faux little sad noise. “Oh, that’s too bad, I’m getting so hungry.”
Nirei stares at him, fully aware that he’s never seen Suo eat a single bite of anything in the entire time they’ve known him. Sakura, normally also aware of this fact, makes a high, distressed noise in his throat and immediately starts herding them back towards Pothos.
He also settles himself back under Suo’s arm, completely without assistance or coaxing. He just lifts the arm and settles himself under it. It’s horribly endearing.
“What is happening!?” Nirei nearly cries, gripping a fistful of his own hair. Suo only laughs and pats him on the shoulder.
“I’ll tell you when you’re older.”
The next week continues in much the same fashion.
Suo wishes he could get used to the intense scenting, but it still sends him into a bit of a hormonal fit every time. There have been a lot of cold showers this week, and he’s spent a lot of time with his hand in the evenings. He still wouldn’t trade it for anything.
He absolutely reeks of Sakura.
His own cinnamon tea scent is barely noticeable under the intensely spicy floral aroma layered over it. His classmates have grown used to it, though the teasing is delightful. It would be funnier, probably, if Sakura seemed to notice. As it is, Suo accepts the jealous comments for what they are.
No one outside their class dares to actually say anything to his face about it. At least, until their next leadership meeting.
Suo’s deep in a conversation with Hiiragi and one of his vice captains when he feels Sakura’s looming presence. He doesn’t really think about it, he’s been so patterned over the last week he just undoes the button on his sleeve and holds out his wrist in offering without stopping the conversation.
His actual, conscious brain thought it would just be a quick wrist touch. He was raised in polite society, and that is the socially acceptable thing. The Suo Hayato who lived through the last week should have known better.
Sakura takes Suo’s wrist in both of his hands and smears it thoroughly against his neck- front, back, and sides. Hiiragi and Suo both freeze, making intense, awkward eye contact with each other. Suo smiles, placid. Everything’s fine. Everything is so fine.
Look how fine everything is. Very normal.
It’s an agonizing full minute of scenting before Sakura finally releases Suo. He sort of- narrows his eyes at Hiiragi before walking off.
Kaji, watching from the usual short distance he is from Hiiragi at any given point, says “nope.” And puts his headphones on before leaving the roof entirely. Which, fair.
Suo just smiles, resumes the conversation where it left off, and pretends absolutely nothing just happened.
Hiiragi isn’t even pretending to reengage. He looks skyward before popping more stomach medicine into his hand than Suo has ever seen him take at once. He’s about to excuse himself and take a page from Kaji’s book, but Umemiya and Tsubaki descend before he can manage.
“So,” Umemiya says cheerfully, “that just happened!”
“Indeed it did,” Suo agrees.
“Someone needs to talk to him about that,” Umemiya says, hands in the pockets of his pants.
“Are you alright?” Tsubaki asks, serious in a way Suo rarely sees him. He’s twirling a lock of hair nervously around one finger, but his eyes are intense. Suo’s- weirdly touched by their concern.
“Yes, I’m very alright with it. It’s just me or I would have spoken with him already. I’m happy to wait until after his heat to mention it. I think doing it earlier would only stress him.”
Tsubaki and Umemiya both nod before sharing a long look.
“Suo,” Umemiya begins, rubbing at the back of his head, “you know we love Sakura, but your comfort is important too. You don’t have to bear something like this if it’s bothering you at all. We’re here for you, too.”
That’s- so nice.
Suo blinks. He honestly hadn’t expected that. He smiles, and it’s a real smile for once.
“You’re very kind and I appreciate it. If I didn’t like it I would have put a stop to it, I promise.”
Tsubaki smiles at him, and slaps Hiiragi on the back.
“Someone still has to talk to him about it after his heat!”
Hiiragi pops another pill. He and Kaji are the two Omegas closest to Sakura, and as his seniors they’re the natural choice.
“Well, I’ll leave him in your care then~”
Sakura is needy and miserable in the third week of his preheat.
His desk is pressed up against Suo’s, and he’s resting his head on the cool surface. Suo’s lightly scratching his scalp with one hand and reading his book with the other as their classmates mill about. They’re more sedate than usual, instinctually reacting to their Captain’s state. A group in the back corner makes a little too much ruckus and Suo sends them A Look.
Suo lets the scent gland on his wrist drag across Sakura’s hair and down his neck and Sakura makes a happy little noise. It makes Suo feel like the king of the world. He abandons all pretense and shrugs off his jacket, draping it over Sakura’s shoulders. He expects another happy sound, but Sakura whines instead.
“No,” he says, sitting up fast enough to dislodge the jacket and skid the desk back. He wrestles his own jacket off, and where Suo wears a long sleeve chanshang under his jacket, Sakura only has a short sleeved shirt. He holds the jacket out, two sizes too small at the very least, with his characteristic determination and flushed cheeks. Suo really is helpless for him.
He slides the jacket over his shoulders without putting his arms through the sleeves, it’s the best he can do without ripping it. Sakura seems a little miffed, but he allows it. Instead of sliding Suo’s jacket on, he balls it up and buries his face in it on the desk.
Suo has to stare at the ceiling for a few long moments, just enough time for Sakura to make another unhappy sound. He’s pathetically charmed. He slides his hand back in Sakura’s hair and scratches his scalp until Sakura settles.
The heavy stares of their classmates burn against his shoulders.
“I’m happy to take any commenters outside~” he says without looking up, reopening his book and picking up where he left off. For some reason, no one takes him up on the offer!
Sakura’s sound asleep by the time patrol rolls around. Nirei stands in front of them, watching their sleeping Captain. He’s not quite as soft for Sakura as Suo is, but he’s a close second.
“I’ll take care of patrol today, you stay with him.”
“Call me if you need me, I’ll come immediately,” Suo says, not bothering to whisper. A train barreling straight through the classroom wouldn’t wake Sakura up right now. Nirei leaves to handle the patrols, and Suo spends his next hours in utter peace.
The classroom is quiet, and the sun is beginning to set just outside the window, bathing the room in beautiful pink and orange hues. Sakura is breathing softly, his frantic floral scent calmed in sleep. He smells content, happy, with his face buried in Suo’s jacket. He’ll need to stay home tomorrow when his heat finally hits, and Suo isn’t ashamed to admit he’s going to miss him.
He’ll miss this easy closeness after Sakura’s heat.
He trails his fingers across Sakura’s cheek, brushing his hair away from his forehead. His heart feels full to bursting. It’s odd, for him. He’s never been particularly interested in Omegas. He’s never been interested in anyone, honestly. But other Alphas his age have been waxing poetic about how Omegas look and smell for years, and he’s never understood the fascination.
He does now. He really does.
Sakura’s fierce and beautiful. Suo loves his perfect, pure heart, and his determination. He thinks he might lo-
The door slides open, quiet on its tracks. It’s about time for patrols to return, if a little early, so the noise doesn’t startle him. There’s a very low chance of danger this deep in Bofurin territory. Sakura doesn’t stir.
“Hello,” he greets, casual and comfortable. Momijikawa raises his hand in greeting, but his eyes are focused on Sakura as he steps inside, and slides the door closed behind him.
Ah.
That makes sense.
Suo is, unfortunately, prone to possessiveness. It’s a nasty habit he’s been working on for most of his life. His efforts have been quite successful, he shares well, is generous and giving with his time and possessions.
Everyone has their limits, though. He slides his hand through Sakura’s hair and down to the exposed nape of his neck, covering it with a broad palm.
There’s no real reason for concern. Momijikawa is an Omega, and while Suo can’t be sure of Sakura’s sexuality, his behavior towards his fellow Omegas these past few weeks has been quite telling. His behavior to Suo has been equally enlightening. He clearly has nothing to worry about in terms of Sakura’s affections.
He’s also quite sure he could put Momijikawa in an early grave with minimal effort.
All the same, that same gnawing, territorial aggression rises in his chest. He smiles, placid if not warm.
“What can I do for you?”
“I heard he wasn’t on patrol and came to check on him.” Momijikawa stops in front of them, eyes still focused on Sakura.
“That’s very sweet of you, you’re a lovely friend to him,” Suo smiles wider and it’s all teeth. He’s not proud of this little personality flaw of his, but c’est la vie and all that.
Momijikawa finally looks at Suo and narrows his eyes, appreciating the challenge for what it is. And to him, perhaps there is actually a challenge. He’s clearly done the math- he knows Sakura’s pre-heat is ending and he’ll be out the next two days. He obviously has no idea how anxious and aggressive Sakura’s been for the last few weeks, or he would probably have stayed away.
If Sakura wakes up, they’ll have a fight on their hands, and he’s not sure he trusts himself to handle it well in this hormonal powder keg.
“If there’s nothing else, he’s resting. I’ll let him know you stopped by.”
Momijikawa looks back down at Sakura, and the stray bit of hair that’s fallen back across his forehead while Suo’s hand has been otherwise occupied. He reaches down to brush it back, and Suo sees red. He seizes Momijikawa’s wrist well before he can make contact, and barely restrains a growl behind his teeth.
“Now, now, we wouldn’t want to wake him,” Suo chides, his grip pressing bruises into the skin of Momijikawa’s wrist through his jacket sleeve. His legendary control is unraveling by the second. Trust Sakura to bring out all the parts of Suo he’s tried so hard to keep hidden.
“Maybe that’s not your call,” Momijikawa growls back, tugging his wrist. Suo could be mature about this and let go, but he doesn’t. Instead he digs his fingers in until he feels the bones start to grind. He doesn’t like to be tested, but he’s more than happy to put any competition in its place.
Sakura’s eyes open, pupils barely pinpricks, swallowed by the iris. Ah, the hand Suo grabbed Momijikawa with was the one he was stroking Sakura’s hair with. He hadn’t realized. He releases Momijikawa like he’s been burned and grabs Sakura by the back of his shirt just in time to stop his lunge across the desk. He snaps his teeth like a mad dog, feral so close to his heat and more than ready to fight an intruder. He’s been extra protective and prone to fighting for weeks, and it’s all coming to a sharp boil.
“Please, see yourself out,” Suo says, pulling Sakura in with one hand on the back of his neck and the other on his wrist. He uses the hand on his wrist to forcibly turn Sakura’s back to Momijikawa, and hopes he has enough sense to actually leave. He does, thankfully. Momijikawa knows he’s lost and slinks out, closing the door behind him.
Sakura writhes in Suo’s grasp, not content to simply let him withdraw. He needs to chase and fight, he needs to run a rival out of his territory and away from his Alpha. Suo reels him in despite his struggles, pulling Sakura in to straddle his lap. He grabs Sakura’s cheeks with both hands, forcing him to meet his eyes.
“Shhh, it’s alright. I’m here, you’ve won,” he soothes, rubbing little circles with his thumbs over Sakura’s cheek bones. Sakura snarls at him, still fighting, and Suo shifts his grip to Sakura’s hair, using the leverage to press his face to the scent gland on Suo’s neck.
“Do you smell that?” he asks, making sure the collar of Sakura’s jacket is pressed close. “I’m yours, you can smell it on me.” He tips his head back to bare his throat to his Omega, and Sakura finally settles.
Suo knows what he’s smelling. Sakura’s been relentlessly marking him for weeks. He can’t be sure what incited it, but he can make an educated guess that Momijikawa was involved somehow. An anxious or insecure Omega can sometimes frantically mark a person or a thing leading up to their heat. It’s not healthy, and Sakura will probably need some kind of medical care after his heat, but there’s nothing to be done for it until then.
Suo rumbles out a croon, and Sakura mouths at his scent gland, taking in the smell of them combined. He certainly smells like he’s Sakura’s, and it smoothes his inner Omega.
“All yours,” Suo says, sliding his hand under Sakura’s shirt to rub up and down his back. He keeps his other hand buried in Sakura’s hair, gently scratching at his scalp.
They sit like that for several long moments, Suo crooning softly and petting Sakura’s hair. His frantic breathing finally evens out, and he sags against Suo, resting all his weight on Suo’s lap. He’s thoroughly wrung out, physically and emotionally.
“What’s happening to me?” Sakura asks miserably, lips pressing the words against Suo’s throat. Suo hums, scratching a little harder and running his hand down to stimulate Sakura’s scent gland on his neck.
“You’re going into heat.”
“I don’t do that.”
A horror story in four words. Omega Stress Disorder is no joke. You have to put a mammal through a lot of trauma to stop it from reproducing.
“Is this your first one?”
Sakura nods, keeping his face pressed to Suo’s neck.
Sixteen years old. Suo’s never heard of anyone making it that late. Omegas usually start early- ten or eleven even- with small heats they ride out with family members. From there they have two a year until sexual maturity, usually two or three weeks of pre-heat and then two to five days where they’re actually fertile.
“You’re okay, you’re just fine. This is very normal, and I’m going to be with you the whole time, alright?”
“You won’t leave?” There’s wetness on Suo’s skin and collar that he’s fairly certain is tears.
Suo tugs gently on Sakura’s hair until he leans back. His cheeks are flushed a brilliant red and his eyelashes are suspiciously wet. Suo cradles his cheek with one hand and leans in to kiss him.
“I could never leave you.”