Archive of Our Own ^beta

It isn’t uncommon for omegas to participate in sports at the high school level. Some of the more casual teams in the prefecture have an omega join in as a pinch server during practice matches or sub in for an injured player temporarily, but in serious play it’s nearly unheard of. Any sport, when taken to a competitive level will inevitably be dominated by alpha players.

It’s only normal, of course.

“Are you aiming for the back of my head idiot?” Growled Kageyama, whipping backwards towards Hinata. Hinata stood in the receiving position, his shoulders were hiked up and his face was twisted into a deep cringe. The ball dribbled for a moment and rolled off the court.

“No way that’s not my fault Bakageyama you moved into it! AH-” Hinata was cut off as he was grabbed by the front of the shirt, the breath stolen out of his lungs as he was suddenly hoisted up. His hands scrambled to find stability, catching the jersey of the alpha in front of him and clinging to it. Kageyama’s eye twitched as he leaned forwards.

“Dumbass!! Your receives aren’t going to get any better if-”

“Kageyama!” Coach Ukai stepped onto the court. The older alpha’s command immediately caused the room to fall silent. “Put him down now.”

Kageyama looked up, the other players had all stopped in their practice as they were staring. The expressions ranged from shocked, to nervous to furious as Ennoshita held a firm hand on both Tanaka and Nishinoya’s shoulders to keep them from charging towards the duo. Hinata’s feet gently touched the ground as Kageyama’s grip on the front of his shirt lessened. Ukai approached the pair, the older alpha had a withering look on his face. Hinata frantically released his grip on Kageyama.

“No, wait! It’s fine, you don’t have to…” Hinata’s voice trailed off as Ukai gave him a pointed look and placed a firm hand on Kageyama’s back, turning the boy around and leading him across the expanse of the court and out the door.

They stopped, after turning the corner outside towards the club changing rooms, alpha and beta only of course. Across the field stood the only omega changing building, noble and solitary like a shrine and normally left undisturbed during practices… until recently.

“Shit,” Kageyama thought. Shame began to boil out of his throat and paint his face hot crimson, “I forgot.”

The older alpha brought his fingers up to his temple and sighed, “Kageyama, i’ll be honest this is the last conversation that I want to have right now so please don’t make me do this again. You and Hinata, you guys… you need to cut it out. I know you two are close but this kind of behaviour just isn’t appropriate anymore.”

Kageyama looked down to the dirt, focused intently on the stones beneath his feet to fight off the burning surge of embarrassment rising to his cheeks.

“... right, it won’t happen again.” The fingers that had gripped Hinatas collar felt raw in retrospect. Burnt as if he had reached out and gripped the sun. His fingers twitched.

“I just forgot.”
___________________________

They had come back from the break only two weeks earlier, ready to start a new volleyball season as second years. Kageyama had returned to the team nearly six centimeters taller with a wicked serve he had been practicing and Hinata had bounded back into the court with his usual enthusiasm, and with two skin toned bandages plastered to his neck just under his ears, scent blockers.

“What’s that supposed to be for?” Kageyama pointed at the blockers as Hinata began setting up the nets for practice, the two of them had arrived early, the door to the gym hung open and morning air pooled into the room crisp and cool. “You stink today or something?”

Twenty sweating alphas and betas in a room could get pretty overbearing by the end of a game. Even then scent blockers weren’t overly common unless someone was suffering from a hormonal imbalance or if they had entered a rut at a bad time, or…

“I presented,” Hinata muttered, “over the break.”

Or an omega. While on school grounds, it was mandatory that omegas wear scent blockers.

Kageyama blinked. Realization dawning on him slowly as the pieces connected, Hinata had been the only one in their group of first years left unpresented after making their way home from nationals. He was small for his age, short with narrow wrists and ankles, no one in their right mind would have pegged him as someone who would present as an alpha, maybe beta would make sense but now that he thought about it, Kageyama realized he had never thought about it. Hinata was, Hinata. Despite the countless hours they had spent practicing together over the past year Kageyama hadn’t thought twice about what the boy would present as, Hinata was so full of unbridled fire that he never felt incomplete, it seemed almost impossible that Shoyo Hinata could change.

Now Hinata looked burnt out, all his excited energy frozen as he stood stock still across the net, his eyes hard and fixed pointedly at Kageyama. Waiting for him to say something, daring him to.

“Oh.” Kageyama stared back dumbly. Embarrassingly enough he couldn't hold himself back as he took the tiniest, most inconspicuous sniff he could. His inner alpha was desperate, trying to get a better sense of just how deeply his friend had changed but the blockers were doing their job, all he picked up was his own, woody, rainy scent and Hinata. Regular, normal Hinata as though he had never presented at all. “Ok”.

“Ok?” Hinata's voice quivered a little, his expression cooled off from confrontational to almost hopeful. Kageyama met his eyes purposefully.

“Sure, it’s not like anything’s different. Want me to toss to you?”

A smile touched Hinata’s lips. The fire in his eyes, so dull and controlled, sparked into something wild.

“Yeah!”

And deep inside Kageyama heaved a sigh of relief, good he thought. Nothing has to change.

That morning at practice, after the rest of the second and third years had joined and Hinata had announced to the team that he had presented as an omega. The group had stilled completely, even Tsukishima wore a faint look of shock on his face. Omegas were far from common, only making up a measly tenth of the population. A member of the volleyball team as integral as Hinata presenting as one, was unexpected to say the least.

“But I have no intention of losing my place on the team!” Hinata had shouted immediately after, his fists clenched and quivering by his sides, “I still want to play!”

That seemed to break the tense energy that had filled the room. Ennoshita, the current captain after Daichis departure, laughed, “That’s the spirit, no one wants you off the team Hinata, you’re one of us.”

Nishinoya and Tanaka, both of whom had to scramble to regain their composure after the announcement, joined in quickly, “You better! We’re going to need you when we make it back to nationals” Nishinoya said as he flashed him a thumbs up.

“Yeah and who’s going to take over as ace once I graduate if you’re not around huh?” Tanaka said, stepping forward as he grabbed the top of Hinata’s head, shaking it around. Hinata smiled wide up at Tanaka until he stopped abruptly, retracting his hand as if he had placed his palm on a bed of hot coals. “Shit! Sorry Sho, my bad!”

He stepped back quickly and looked sheepish, hand scratching the back of his head. “I guess some things are going to take a bit to get used to huh?”

“Ha yeah I guess so,” Hinata chirped back, his smile didn’t fall but Kageyama watched him carefully, Hinata’s normal jittering movements had stilled and his shoulders had tensed slightly. Ennoshita quickly moved the practice along, announcing that the tryouts for first years would be held that evening and finally, called for the morning drills.

After that Kageyama still tossed and Hinata still spiked. Like a flash of lighting and the crack of thunder they were as unified as they always were on the court. Sure it was weird to have an omega on the starting lineup, thought Kageyama, but Hinata was always weird so it’s not like there’s any change there.

————————————————————-

“You can’t just go around roughhousing with unbonded omegas, even if it’s just Hinata” Coach Ukai had said, “Actually, you know what, especially because it’s Hinata. So don’t let me catch you again.”

His words echoed over and over again in Kageyama’s head as he pushed the volleyball cart into the storage locker of the gym, locking up.

He knows that it’s inappropriate to go around manhandling omegas, it’s not like he’s some kind of pervert or something. It’s just that it’s so easy to forget what Hinata was. When he does something annoying every instinct in Kageyama's body is urged to try and shake the stupid out of him.

Kageyama sighed, he pressed his forehead to the cool wall to the empty gym. His cheeks were flushed with shame and embarrassment. Was it too much to expect that nothing would change? But it hadn’t, had it? Hinata didn’t act any different since he became an omega, they still sat together at lunch bickering casually over who got to eat what. They still met up in the morning at the crossroads where their paths met for school and raced as soon as the other was in sight. They still played volleyball together, and despite how much they fought, they were unbeatable on the court, so long as each other were there.

What had changed was everyone else, Kageyama had never been inclined to physical affection, but he knew Hinata certainly was. Hinata used to rush around the court after a particularly ambitious spike landed, jumping into the arms of anyone who would catch him and drag the rest of the team into group hugs. Now that sort of behavior would be considered scandalous, he was relegated to thumbs up and high fives. Kageyama would watch as Hinata restrained himself from throwing the weight of his body and would instead nod his disappointed thanks at a distance.

It wasn’t Kageyama's fault that he kept forgetting. Hinata certainly hadn’t suddenly turned into the delicate, submissive ideal of an omega overnight and with the scent blockers on as far as he knew Hinata hadn’t changed at all. When he screwed up every alpha instinct in Kageyama’s body told him to grab at the smaller boy and position him properly. When Hinata snapped at his lunch it was only instinct that told him to grab at his jaw and hold it away before he decided if he would share, which he almost always did, and when Hinata walked home, bike in hand and jacket forgotten it shouldn't be weird for Kageyama to press his own jacket into the smaller boys chest and walk away. Hinata suddenly being an omega shouldn’t change anything, since it was never weird to begin with.

Kageyama shook his head, pulling himself out of his thoughts. He reached up to the light switch, and as the last person left in the gym he shut them. Plunging the room into darkness as he stepped outside and locked the door.

Hinata was sitting on his bicycle just outside the gym, idly rocking back and forth. Orange locks of hair dripped down as his head tilted back to look at the stars. Kageyama shut the gym door loudly, breaking the spiker’s attention. Hinata’s eyes immediately turned from the sky and met the other boy’s. “Finally, you took forever, ready to go?”

“You didn’t have to wait up.” Muttered Kageyama, beginning to step down the path.

“Sure,” Hinata chirped, hopping off his bike and rolling it beside him as he kept pace with Kageyama, “but I wanted to.”

The fall so far had been characterized by warm days, bookended with particularly chilly mornings and evenings. Tonight was no different. The air was cold and the two boys found themselves walking closer than usual, subconsciously leaning in for warmth. Had they had been walking together a few weeks ago maybe their shoulders would have brushed, maybe they would have pressed their bodies tight together to ward away the cold but now even in the privacy of the night Kageyama didn't feel comfortable risking it.

“Coach Ukai talked to me too, ya know?,” Hinata said quietly, breaking the silence.

Kageyama hummed in response.

“I mean, it’s a silly thing to be so serious about. What happens if I touch Tsukki or something during a block? They can’t get mad because of that right?”

Kageyama shrugged. They wouldn’t get mad about that, that's normal, he thought, what we’ve been doing isn’t okay anymore.

“And what about after the game? When everyone lines up to shake hands am I just going to have to stand aside and wave? That’s so lame” Hinata kicked the dirt in frustration.

“That won’t happen, of course that stuff will be fine dumbass.” Kageyama snapped, his face burning up. They walked together in silence for a few steps before Kageyama worked up the courage to say,

“Listen I-” He tore his eyes away from Hinata, “I-I’ve been going too far, I didn’t realize. Don’t worry about getting in trouble for it, it won’t happen again okay.” Suddenly, an arm reached up and grabbed his own.

Hinata stopped in his tracks , jerking back the setter before him. His hard eyes caught Kageyama's gaze and held it captive. “I don't care, you know. That you like touched me or whatever. I don’t want us to have to act any differently than we did last year, it’s stupid.”

Kageyma stared down at his spiker. Hinata’s small hand was still gripping tightly to his bicep but the setter didn’t mind, Hinata liked to touch when he was nervous and Kageyama was his partner, it was only natural that they would be driven towards each other in a moment like this.

Kageyama reached out to grip Hinata’s shoulder, drawing him closer to the embrace. Instinctively his head dipped down, ever so slightly to the crook of Hinata's neck only to be comforted by the predictable lack of scent he had always held, like normal.

“Good,” he said, pulling away ever so slightly, “To be honest, I-I didn’t want anything to change. Between us, that is”

Hinata looked up, his eyes were shimmering wet and round as Kageyama stared into them, “Good!” He cried out, almost too loud as Kageyama’s head swiveled around to make sure there were no teachers to scold them for Hinata’s outburst but they were already far off of school property.

“So it’s agreed, when it’s just us we can just act normal again!” Hinata blurted out, way too loud for the hour it was. Kageyama stepped forward quickly, pressing one hand firmly over Hinata’s mouth and another over his chest, pressing him firmly to his own.

“YES, sure fine! Just shut up would you or you’ll wake up the whole-”

Hinata tore the hand away from his mouth in a lazy movement, “Thank god I don’t have to keep this on anymore then, it’s so itchy.”

With that Hinata pulled away from Kageyama’s grip entirely, he placed one hand back on the handle of his bicycle, leaning it lazily onto his hip as his hand reached up to his neck where his scent blocker was securely placed, and with one quick gesture, peeled it off, releasing his new omega scent to the night air.

“I don’t even think I smell that strong, it’s so much worry for nothing.”

Oh, thought Tobio Kageyama, as his brain stopped working entirely.

He breathed in deeply, the moment he saw Hinata’s thin fingers peel back the first layer of the blocker, his inner alpha was gnawing at the bars of his consciousness to know, to have, to scent.

Warm, citrus, vanilla, Hinata.

Always his, Kageyama thought, as he swiftly tugged Hinata back, pressing the smaller boy into his chest. Since the start. He dipped his head back into the crook of Hinata’s neck and breathed in deeply, the sweet omega scent rushed through his senses. Still Hinata, he thought, pressing the omega’s slender back into himself, still his. Nothing has changed.

Hinata’s hand was frozen. Still gripping the scent blocker, only barely peeled off his neck. The other hand was fixed firmly onto Kageyama’s bicep. Slowly but carefully, he peeled himself out of Kageyama’s grip. The setter’s eyes were fixed on the orange haired boy but reluctantly he let the small spiker pull himself free.

Hinata breathed in deeply, Kageyama watched as his chest rose and fell, delicate like a bird. He wanted to reach over and smother it, back to earth with his embrace.

“So it’s decided. Inside of school we have to act how they want us to.” Hinata spoke strong and firm, “but when we’re outside, we treat each other like normal, okay?”

Warm, honeyed orange still flooded though Kageyama’s sense’s. Hinata was trying to tell him something important he thought. The smaller boy looked up expectantly at the Alpha, his alpha, thought Kageyama languidly. He nodded in response and the orange haired boy smiled, he leaned over and pressed his shoulder to Kageyama’s as he walked further down the path.

“Kageyama?” A voice reached out, distantly

Kageyama's eyes reached up from their fixation somewhere beyond the base of Hinata’s neck, languidly meeting the gaze of the omega before him.

“Oh, yeah… of course dumbass…” he muttered out quickly. Hinata smiled back at the young alpha, warming his heart.

Good, thought Kaegeyama as he pressed his body back firmer into the omega. Nothing had changed.