Author's Note - Standard disclaimer apply.
Okay, so hey all, it is finally break between classes and I am hoping to have more time to write. Sorry for the major wait on all my stories. Grad schools is completely nuts! I've written about 75 pages worth of stuff over the past two semesters… really crazy! Thanks to all of you for the reviews and all of your support to keep this going.
This story is going to be a bit choppy. I am still trying to get a feel for the relationship these two are in. The idea is that they both want more than friendship but can't figure out how to make it happen. I will be starting further back in the cannon adding in the Omegaverse twist and then working my way forward. You will also see bits of this story in my other Fate Mate work so I would suggest you go read that story as well.
Kenma sighed. Dammit! He was lost yet again. He looked around to see if he could make heads or tails of anything around him that might tell him which way he needed to go, but none of the buildings looked familiar. He didn't smell any familiar scents either. He was completely lost. Again. How the heck did this always seem to happen to him? He had been following the team towards the gym for their next practice match. He was sure he had been right behind his teammates but when he looked up from his game his teammates were nowhere to be found.
Kenma had been forced to put his game system away as he walked for another block or two before stumbling upon a small park hidden between some houses in what appeared to be a small residential area. There wasn't much to the park, a slide with a dome on it and a small green jungle gym that couldn't be taller than he was. It seemed as good a place as any so Kenma sat down on a stone bench just outside the entrance to park and pulled out his phone to play a mindless game. He was always getting lost, but it never lasted for long. Kuro would be along soon to rescue him and lead him back to the gym. All Kenma had to do was wait. It had been this way since middle school.
Kuro had presented as an alpha their first year in middle school. It was no surprise to anyone. Kuro was tall and athletic, a natural born leader. Kenma had actually been really happy for Kuro when he had presented as an alpha, after all it made sense that Kuro would be at the top. But most importantly, Kuro didn't treat Kenma any different than he had before. They had been friends since grade school and it was a comfort to know that Kuro wasn't going to let anything change that. But that also came with its own frustrations. It wasn't long after Kuro presented as an alpha that Kenma finally realized that he liked Kuro.
It wasn't the kind of like that you held for a friend either. Once Kenma discovered his feelings for his best friend he went into his first heat. The first heat had been unbearable, there was such a strong need for an alpha and Kenma hadn't thought it would be so strong. But during that first heat, and every heat after that, there had only been one alpha on his mind, Kuro. When Kenma came back to school after his first heat he wasn't sure how to act around Kuro and knew that things would be different between them now that he was an omega. However, Kuro didn't treat him any different. At first it had been a comfort that they were still able to be friends but when Kenma found himself ready more than friendship he found himself stuck.
Kenma wanted to tell Kuro how he felt, but he wasn't sure he could. Kuro never showed any interest in moving their friendship into something more so Kenma was terrified. If he confessed and Kuro wasn't interested, it would ruin their friendship. They'd been together since grade school and he didn't want to lose what they had.
Kenma sighed, frustrated with the way his thoughts were going and a bit bored with the game on his phone. He was about to throw his phone back into his back but froze solid in fear when he heard a voice call over to him. "Hey, what are you doing?" Kenma turned his head to look towards the voice hoping and praying that it was talking to someone else. But there was no one else around and the stranger was looking right at Kenma.
"Um…" Kenma stammered for a moment not sure what to say as he watched the guy begin walking towards him. Kenma braced himself unsure of what to expect. The boy was small with short messy hair that was bright orange. He was wearing a pair of black shorts, a plain white t-shirt and running shoes, probably out for a run. Kenma gulped. That didn't bode well, most athletes were alphas. Kenma cursed in his head, where the hell was Kuro? He didn't want to deal with a strange alpha on his own. If the guy turned out to be a real dick, Kenma was defenseless as an omega. "I'm lost." Kenma finally managed to stutter out as he tried not to shake as the guy drew near him.
"You're from out of town?" The orange haired boy asked as he came to a stop not of foot away from Kenma. Kenma looked back down at his phone turning slightly away from the stranger. His shoulders hunched up a bit as he answered.
"Yeah." Kenma said softly only to jump in fright as the boy jumped down right next to him.
"Hey, is that game interesting?" The boy asked looking at Kenma's phone. Kenma stared at him for a few seconds not having anticipated the question after having the boy invade his personal space. What's more, Kenma didn't feel any alpha presence coming from the boy. Kenma sniffed at the air as surreptitiously as possible and frowned. There wasn't any scent to distinguish the boy as either an alpha, a beta, or an omega, the boy was natureless. Perhaps the kid was a grade schooler or a middle schooler that hadn't presented yet.
"Not really, I'm just passing the time." Kenma finally answered the question relaxing quite a bit. If the boy was natureless then he'd have no clue that Kenma was an omega, that and he wouldn't have to worry about dealing with orders from an alpha.
"Oh," The boy said kind of looking a bit let down. He was silent for a moment before he stood up suddenly. "Hey…" Kenma flinched in surprise at the sudden movement, freezing again automatically. "Are you a volleyball player?" He asked. Kenma looked at the boy a bit in surprise, how in the world had he come to that conclusion? It wasn't like Kenma was wearing anything that would give it away to an outsider. Yeah he had his school jersey on but it didn't say volleyball on it. And even though he had been playing volleyball with Kuro since they were little Kenma didn't carry himself like a typical player would. Besides, Kenma was an omega, which meant he was short and scrawny, the opposite of what a volleyball player should look like.
When Kenma didn't answer the boy pointed down at Kenma's bag which was slightly open. "Those are volleyball shoes." He said with a smile, pointing at the red and white gym shoes poking out of the bag. Kenma looked down and sure enough his shoes were poking out. It surprised Kenma that the boy was so observant but before he could really answer the boys question he was already talking again. "I'm in the volleyball club too. I'm Hinata Shoyo." The boy said it with a smile on his face, his excitement really showing.
Kenma almost smiled despite himself. Hinata was bright and passionate with an openness Kenma hadn't dealt with in a long time. "Kozume," he answered with his last name thinking it would be enough. It usually was.
"Kozume, is that your name?" Hinata asked a bit confused that he hadn't received a full name.
"Kozume… Kenma." Kenma answered in full, looking down and away from Hinata shyly when Hinata called him by his first name.
"Kenma, are you in high school?" Hinata asked. Kenma really hated being called by his last name. He hated having to go through all the formalities, but this boy seemed to have skipped over them completely and went straight to calling him by his first name as if they were friends already. Kenma didn't know if it was instinct or if Hinata was really that observant, but he was grateful for it.
"Yeah." Kenma answered relaxed.
"So am I. What year are you in? I'm a first year." Hinata said happily. Kenma was surprised and took a second closer look at Hinata. It was hard to believe Hinata was a first year in high school. He was small for a high schooler, even for an omega. And what's more, he was still natureless. Everyone Kenma knew had presented early in middle school. There were a few who didn't present until their third year in middle school, but they had presented nonetheless. Kenma looked the boy over and sure enough in the corner of his shirt was the Karasuno high school logo. So he was on the team they were playing against in a few days. Interesting. Kenma looked back at Hinata's face.
"I'm a second year." Kenma said already expecting the change in attitude that would come with announcing he was a year ahead.
"Crap! You're older than me which means you're a sempai. I'm really sorry for being rude." Hinata said as he went ramrod straight, shaking a bit.
"Don't worry about it. I'm not really into that whole status thing in sports." Kenma said smoothly, turning his phone off and looking at Hinata. They boy relaxed.
"Oh is that so?" Hinata said as he rubbed the back of his head a bit embarrassed. It was kind of nice that he wouldn't have to worry about being polite so he jumped right into talking about volleyball. "Do you like volleyball?" He asked excited.
Kenma stared at Hinata for a moment. It hadn't taken long for Hinata to jump right back into the conversation. Kenma smirked. Hinata was interesting. He was a first year in high school but didn't really act like one. Perhaps it was because Hinata was still natureless, but there was an openness and genuine interest coming from Hinata that reminded Kenma of Kuro back in grade school. Without thinking about it Kenma answered honestly. "No, I don't really like it. It's just something I do. I don't dislike it, but I don't like getting tired. But my friends play and they probably can't do without me." It was probably the most he'd ever said in one go to anyone outside of Kuro and definitely more than he'd ever said to anyone outside of his own volleyball team. It was something he probably shouldn't have said to someone outside the team anyways. Kenma was an omega and omegas don't play sports, so saying that his friends couldn't do without him to a total stranger would be taken as an insult to the alphas and betas on the team. But Kenma knew Hinata wouldn't take it that way. The boy was natureless, and different than anyone he'd met before. Somehow he knew Hinata wouldn't take offense, probably wouldn't even cross his mind.
"Hmmm." Hinata thought as he leaned his back against the chain link fence next to Kenma. Truth be told he was a little sad that Kenma didn't seem to like or enjoy volleyball all that much even though he played. Everyone should enjoy it. "I think it'd be more fun if you get to like it." Hinata said.
Kenma shrugged. Hinata was probably right but Kenma wasn't interested in coming to like volleyball. He played for one reason and one reason alone, the tall black haired alpha that was his best friend. Kuro loved volleyball, and that was all the motivation Kenma needed to play the sport. But what Hinata said also hit a small nerve. Kenma knew that Kuro would be ecstatic if Kenma actually came to love volleyball as much as he did. Problem was he just didn't know how to make that happen. Kenma couldn't really say he 'liked' much of anything, well aside from Kuro and he was still trying to deal with that.
When Kenma failed to make a comment Hinata continued the conversation naturally. "What position do you play?" he asked, genuinely interested.
"Setter" was the one word answer the Kenma supplied, waiting for the surprised reaction he always got when he said he was the control tower for the team as an omega.
"Really?" Hinata responded in surprise. "You're way different than our setter." Hinata remarked as he thought about how uptight Kageyama was to how shy Kenma seemed to be. "Our setter is way intense, like GAHHHH!" Hinata continues putting his hands up to mimic some kind of tall monster.
Kenma stared at Hinata waiting for a comment about him being inadequate as an omega for the setter position but after the comparison between the setter on Hinata's team, that specific comment never came. Kenma smiled on the inside. He really liked this natureless kid. They continued to talk about positions and teammates, other players, and just volleyball in general. Hinata was bright vibrant and truly in love with volleyball, no worries about the adult world of Alpha, Beta, and Omega that surrounded sports. It reminded Kenma of Kuro when he was younger, though he was a lot more open and a lot less… crafty or devious than Kuro was. Kenma was so into the conversation that he didn't notice the alpha presence come near them.
"Kenma!" Kuro shouted angrily, knowing the look on his face was nothing short of menacing. He couldn't help it though. He'd arrived at the gym with the rest of the team and no Kenma in sight. Immediately he set off in search of the omega, pissed at himself for not keeping a closer eye on the boy. He'd tracked Kenma by his scent and his mood would have shifted more positively as soon as Kenma came into sight, but Kenma wasn't alone and that set Kuro's teeth on edge. He wasn't close enough to catch the scent of this stranger and he was instantly on alert. When Kenma jumped and looked over from whatever conversation they'd been having he saw a bit of surprise in his expression but no fear or anxiety, the usual expression Kenma had when dealing with strangers. Immediately that alpha within him settled and his anger dissipated, content that Kenma seemed to be enjoying himself. He looked at the two with pure curiosity and a bit of annoyance, Kenma was conversing with a stranger, quite contently, what the hell? Kenma didn't converse with strangers… ever!
"Oh Kuro," Kenma smiled a bit and stood up as he saw Kuro. He grabbed his stuff and walked over to join the alpha for what was hopefully a small walk back to the team. As Kenma drew near he could see Kuro sniffing the air to get an idea of Hinata's scent but frowned. Kenma knew he wasn't picking up any type of scent but his own. He'd have to tell Kuro the boy was natureless later.
Kuro frowned but turned and automatically started walking towards the gym they were headed to and Kenma started with him but then paused and turned back towards the Hinata. "Oh, see you later Shoyo." Kenma waived at the boy and then headed on his way. The walk back to the team was quiet and Kenma could tell that Kuro wasn't happy with him. He could almost see the grumpiness rolling off the alpha in waves and thought it best to remain silent while the alpha fumed. Kuro was always getting mad at him for getting lost so this was nothing new to him, in fact the same thing had happened during their last away practice games. Perhaps he really should pay more attention to his surroundings and where he was going. But Kenma knew that playing a couple of sets would bring Kuro's mood around so he contented himself with walking side by side with the alpha looking forward to their match with Karasuno.
Kuro had watched the farewell from the corner of his eye with mixed emotions. Some part of him was surprised but seemingly pleased that this stranger hadn't been a problem for Kenma and that the omega seemed to do well conversing with someone on his own. But the other half of him was super pissed. He didn't want some stranger making friends with Kenma when he wasn't around. Kuro had enough to contend with already, he didn't need some punk kid sniffing around his childhood best friend and getting close the omega while he was trying to figure out the best way to move their friendship into something more. He was searching for a way to let Kenma know he was interested but not pressure the omega into accepting if he truly wasn't interested. Most of their team had already noticed, he wasn't being subtle about it at all, but because he and Kenma had been so close for so long, Kenma didn't seem to pick up the hint. And now this, he made friends with a complete stranger and proceeded to walk back towards the gym without a word about it. The only consolation was that they'd probably never see that orange haired guy again.