Haikyuu!! - The Omega's Call

He couldn’t take it anymore. It was driving him crazy. He was going to go crazy. This was how he was going to die. He was going to die from crazy.

He’d been putting up with it for weeks, trapped in the same gym together, the sweat and toil of practice making the scent even stronger. He couldn’t. Take it. Anymore.

Tsukki needed help before he walked into oncoming traffic - whether accidentally or intentionally, he wasn’t sure.

He’d wanted to speak to Asahi alone, but it was training time, so that wasn’t going to happen. After nearly an hour of waiting, he decided the most important thing was just that Tadashi couldn’t hear. So when the Omega in question was helping Nishinoya practice on the other side of the gym, the golden opportunity had arrived to talk to the ace – even if Kageyama and Hinata were there.

Tsukki walked up to them, and something on his face made Asahi’s smile drop in concern.

‘What is it?’ he asked.

‘You… you put up with it all the time?’ Tsukki asked, practically gasping for a breath of air that wasn’t so completely Tadashi.

Asahi hesitated, then glanced past Tsukki’s shoulder at Tadashi.

‘Ah. I see you’ve matured as an Alpha.’

‘All the time? You can smell it all the time?’

Asahi gave a small laugh, rubbing the back of his head.

‘Yeah. It gets really strong at this time of year, too. The warmth of summer makes it worse, and sweating from practice. And deep down my subconscious knows it’s coming up to Omega hunting season, so…’ Asahi shrugged.

‘But…’ Tsukki looked back at Tadashi for a moment then back at Asahi, exasperation on his face. ‘But all the time?’

He didn’t realise that every practice Asahi had was accompanied by the overwhelmingly strong scent of an Omega, so close, so powerful. How did he concentrate? How did he breathe?

‘All the time,’ Asahi confirmed. ‘Why do you think I work so hard to give Yamaguchi confidence with his serves? The minute he gets scared or nervous, or even a little frustrated, his scent glands go into overdrive. It can be... hard to cope with.’

‘I don’t get this smell with other Omegas,’ Tsukki said, his voice barely audible.

‘Well, there aren’t many Echoes around here,’ Asahi said. ‘So I doubt you’ve met any. Yamaguchi is the only Omega I deal with on a regular basis.’

‘If you like him so much,’ Hinata piped up, ‘why don’t you just do the bond thing with him?’

‘Tch!’ Kageyama smacked the back of Hinata’s head.

‘Ow! What? They’re like best friends anyway, right?!’

‘It’s not that simple,’ Tsukki muttered. ‘There are rules.’

‘What rules?’ Hinata asked, ignoring the scowl from Kageyama.

‘After you’ve mated,’ Tsukki said, turning his face away so they couldn’t see the rising heat on his cheeks. ‘You take care of your Omega. You’re romantic with them. They rely on you to… be kind to them. They’re clingy. I couldn’t be dismissive anymore; it would be cruelty beyond comprehension.’

Kageyama tittered under his breath, and Tsukki glowered at him.

‘What? You’re telling me if he wanted you to be romantic,’ Tsukki snapped, nodding to Hinata, ‘that you would find it so easy?’

‘No,’ Kageyama said, his face hard and emotionless. ‘But I’m not an Echo.’

Kageyama placed a firm hand on top of Hinata’s head, keeping his grip even as the smaller boy squirmed.

‘But if I was, and he was my mate,’ Kageyama said, not breaking eye contact from Tsukki, ‘then yes. I would be romantic. For him.’

‘Eh?’ Hinata stopped struggling and looked up at Kageyama, who only glared in return.

‘Don’t get gooey eyes,’ he growled. ‘You’re not my mate.’

‘But if I waaaaaaaas…’ Hinata teased, dodging away from Kageyama’s lunge. ‘You would looove me!’

Hinata’s eyes widened as he realised he’d overstepped the line - they darted off across the court, nearly getting struck by Daichi’s swift serve in the process.

Asahi laughed, watching them scream at each other while getting chased by a furious captain.

‘You’ll get used to it,’ Asahi reassured. ‘You either decide he’s the one for you, in which case, the scent becomes the most addictive drug in the world. Or you decide he’s not, and with that decision comes some peace. You can tolerate the smell better. A little better.’

‘Does it go away if you find another Omega and mate with them?’ Tsukki asked, not sure he could ever fully cope with the whole world smelling like Tadashi. The scent even seemed to stick to his clothes, staying with him far into the evening back at home.

‘I don’t know,’ Asahi admitted. ‘I don’t have a mate, and don’t plan to have one.’ Tsukki saw him glance across the court at someone, but didn’t care to push the conversation.

‘It must be pretty bad for you,’ Asahi said, taking a few steps back and gesturing for Tsukki to throw him a ball to receive.

‘It’s…’ Tsukki’s grip on the ball tightened, and he turned to steal another glance at the Omega, who was lying on the ground from the exertion of his training, panting and sweating. Tsukki inhaled sharply, and turned to look at Asahi, unable to finish his sentence. The soft, patient look Asahi gave him told him that he understood completely.