Chapter Text
The Hirai family are notoriously known for being strong dominant alphas. Their scent strong of sandalwood, rain and tobacco. It was a no brainer. Hirai Momo was born to be an alpha.
The same for Minatozakis. They only produced omegas. With the sweet scents of florals. Lilies, lavenders, roses, even jasmines. And yet here we are, Minatozaki Sana bending over her omega, bathing in her delightful peach scent.
Hirai Momo was a late bloomer, no doubt. Her sister showed signs of being an alpha just days after her thirteen birthday. Her family threw a huge party, celebrating another dominant alpha into the world. Momo dreamed of her party, everyone congratulating, a few betas, or submissive alphas staring with pure enviness at her, and she'd soak in her alpha glory for every second of her life. Most importantly, Momo wanted to prove herself to her dream girl. She wanted to be a strong and suitable match for Minatozaki Sana.
“Oww, Momo,” she whined, beating her long eyelashes up at the older girl. Momo sighed, she helped her get up carefully, assessing the wound at the same time. “I told you not to run Sana,” Momo shook her head, only making Sana cry harder, she sunk her face into her shoulder, her little hands gripping the edge of Momo’s jacket. “Can you walk,” Momo asked with a hidden agenda.
“I don't wanna,” she huffed, wiping her tears on her sleeve. Momo smiled at her future mate. 'Such a crybaby'
Momo sighed, her heart was beating out of her chest at this opportunity to show off, “get on my back, I'll get you home safely,” She dropped into a slight crouch, turning to present her small but sturdy frame. As Sana’s thin arms looped around her neck, Momo straightened up, grunting slightly with the effort. She shifted Sana’s weight, her legs and back solid from two years of boxing lessons her parents still weren't sure about. She could feel the solid thump of her own power, the defined muscle in her shoulders bunching as she secured Sana’s legs around her waist. She hoped it had impressed Sana.They began the slow walk home, the rhythm of Momo’s footsteps a steady, grounding beat. She could feel Sana’s warm breath, still hiccuping with the last remnants of tears, against her neck. The setting sun cast long, intertwined shadows of them on the sidewalk.
“When we’re older, ill be your alpha and ill protect you from ever getting hurt,” she announced proudly, Sana hugged her tighter “really?” Sana giggled, remembering this moment for years to come. “Do you promise?”
“Of course, youre the only omega I'd ever want!”
Oh how Momo was wrong.
It took her four years after her 13th birthday to finally develop symptoms of changing. By this time, Sana had long ago started showing signs of being an alpha.
The news felt like gunshots to Momo’s chest, she couldn't believe her girly, sweet , gentle friend of years was an alpha. That was supposed to be her mate. Her omega. Momo wasn't sure how to process the information when Sana told her in tears. “I- I cant believe this, how am I an alpha?” She reached for Momo’s comfort, only to be received with coldness.
“Momo-“
“Y-youre lying,” she stated, even though the scent of pine filling up Momo’s room was inevitable.
“I'm not, ill show you-“ Sana prepared to pull down her pants but Momo immediately shook her head and got up. “N-no don't," her face flushed and she backed away. “Just…just go,”
“Im sorry, I ruined our future,” Momo still can't believe the girl weeping on her floor was an alpha. “I cant be with you, im sorry, im sorry-“ Momo cut her off “I-its, fine, we’ll just be friends then,” she felt bad for her, going in and patting the girls back.
“I dont wanna be friends, i love you,” she forcefully grabbed Momo into a hug, her tears soaking her shirt. Now Momo was finally seeing her alpha side because god damn does this girl have a grip. Her woody scent clouding up Momo’s mind, twisting her insides. “Well… an alpha dating another alpha isnt unknown,” her grip loosened.
“Y-yeah, but you want an omega, someone to have a future with,” she rubbed the back of Sana’s head. “You wouldn't love me the same,”
“I can have a future with you,” she looked up at her with tear filled eyes, sniffling, “really?”
“Yeah, i love you,” Sana’s nodded, she brought her face closer and closer to Momo’s lips. The air tense, and filled with Sana’s scent. “Please,” she whined, Momo chuckled, she closed the gap, feeling the warmth of Sana’s tongue shoved inside hers. Chills ran down her spine. Momo disconnected their lips, displeasing Sana, “more,” she mumbled, closing the gap and, her hand lightly squeezing Momo’s neck. This time, it was less gentle, full of their tongues fighting for dominance, which eventually lead to Momo losing. Sana licked every corner of her mouth. Not once stopping for air. “Mhm,” Sana groaned, adjusting herself onto one of Momo’s thighs.
Then Momo felt it. Something hard poking her leg. “Sana, stop-“ she managed to get out, Momo didn't want things to potentially progress further since she still hadn’t presented. Sana whined, feeling disappointed as separated her lips from Momo’s. “Sorry, I got carried away,”
“Do you… need a moment for that?” She pointed down to Sana’s erected member. It seemed Sana wasn't aware, she quickly got up, hid her crotch and ran into the bathroom.
Leaving Momo alone, pondering with her thoughts. Can she really be with another alpha for life? There was no doubt in her mind that she loved Sana. But what would people think about it? What would her parents think about it?
Its a good thing that day she tells her parents she's dating another alpha never came.
The day had felt like a verdict. It wasn't the sharp, clean pain of disappointment, but a dull, persistent ache, like a sentence handed down before she could speak in her own defense. It sat just beneath her ribs, a heavy, cold stone that made every breath a conscious effort. She pressed a hand to her sternum, as if to soothe it, but the gesture was useless. The source of the ache wasn't physical. It was the memory of waiting.
She could still feel it, the fever building in her blood, the burning in her bones that everyone told her meant something. She could imagine her parents in front of her. Her father, an alpha with hands calloused from years of labor, had gripped her mother's fingers so hard they went white. They were waiting for their daughter to become what they'd always seen in her. Fierce. Commanding. Born to lead. Only to be left with disappointment.
She had been waiting for it too. In the weeks after her 17th birthday, she stood in front of the small, clouded mirror in her room and practiced how'd she be during her party. It was bound to come soon. If she had to present after turning 18 she would literally kill herself. She didnt pratice the soft smiles her mother tried to teach her, but the hard stare of authority. She squared her shoulders, dropped her voice to something she hoped would rumble, and imagined the day she'd walk into school and the other alphas would feel her presence.
She imagined her father clapping her on the back, pride thick in his scent. She imagined standing tall at her boxing matches, her voice carrying across the ring, and knowing, that she was exactly what she was supposed to be. She had prayed for it. Bargained with gods she didn't even believe in. Make me an alpha. Please. I'll do anything. I'll be the best one. I'll make you proud.
But the fever broke in the middle of the night, and the scent that bloomed from her skin wasn't pine or cedar or thunder. It was peach. Soft. Sweet. The kind of scent that made alphas turn their heads not in respect, but in interest. Momo groaned in pain, rolling around in her bed, hoping this was all a dream.
She imagined watching her father's face fall, just for a second, just a flicker before he masked it with a smile, was the moment the stone first formed in her chest. He hugged her. Told her she was perfect. That omegas are good nurturers. Something he'd always say, as if its the only complement he could give to omegas. She had nodded, buried her face in his shoulder, and breathed in the cedar and smoke scent that would never be hers.
Momo stumbled into her bathroom early in the morning. Her whole body feeling like a single touch from anyone would set her skin ablaze. There was something warm settling down in her stomach and she was practically dry heaving. She cried, then she couldn't stop crying, everything felt sensitive and unfamiliar. Her mom barged in seeing the state her daughter was in. “Mom, what's happening to me?” her mom knew it all too well. She had gone through the same thing.
Her bathroom now reeked of peaches, it was obvious, she was presenting as an omega. But still her mom carried Momo, shoved her in the car and drove her to the hospital. Hoping that it was anything else.
“Your daughter's an omega,” the coldness of the doctor's room slapped Momo’s skin as well as the cold hearted truth. “What…” Momo replied.
“Shell need to be on heat suppressants,” the doctor wrote down something in his prescription pad. Her mom continued talking, asking questions momo couldn't catch because. What? She's an omega? How? She doesn't want to be an omega. Fuck shed much rather be a beta.
The idea of submitting to someone else just disgusts her. She's worked so hard to prove she deserved a title like alpha but here she is instead. An omega.
The drive home was quiet, Momo’s mom didn't say much, Momo knew she didn't care. Her dad wouldn't care either, in fact he’d probably celebrate Momo being the first to break the alpha cycle. But this was no happy matter. Momo's whole life turned around. How is she going to continue boxing? Her gym was full of alphas and occasional betas. Omegas weren't allowed in there.
Another thing… Sanas expects her to be an alpha. Now she's an omega, yes, they'd go along fine as mates. But no. Just no. Momo doesn't want to be known as Sana’s omega. She never wants an alpha to touch her. She abuse the fuck out of suppresents if it meant never going into heat.
The little preview she had this morning was enough to put her off for life.
Of course her mom immediately told her dad. And of course he told the whole neighborhood. And yeah, of course everybody's in her house, congratulating her for finally presenting when she's 17.
Her dad got her a cake, that had ‘omega’ messily written on top of it. They were all mocking her, she hated it. She could see her sister's pitful stare, her dad's friends giving her handshakes that felt far too delicate. Like Momo was something that could break at any moment. What else could she do but hate this? Shes strong, shes got all the features an alpha should have at this age. Her sharp jawline, her high cheekbones and her toned body from years of hard work.
She forced herself not to cry, to just suck it up and prove them wrong. That shes not some little omega bitch. But then Momo noticed that Sana was there. Smiling, holding a bouquet of flowers, her black rimmed glasses perked up on her nose. Her eyes reignited with the same hope Momo promised her all those years ago. “I got these for you,” chrysanthemums her favorite. Of course she got me my favorites. Momo accepted it then, something inside of her twisted. None of this felt real, none of it felt right.
She threw the bouquet at Sana. Everyone in the house went quiet. Just the sound of Sana’s glasses hitting the floor. Their eyes connect for a split second, and Momo almost threw up out of guilt seeing the shocked and hurt look on the alpha’s face. Her dad was about to start, about to make Momo apologize but Momo sprinted up the stairs and locked herself in her room instead.
Momo wanted to move away. Move far far away from everyone she grew up with. Going back to school after she presented was hell. Alphas stared at her with that primal look in their eyes, disgusting and scaring Momo. Being near Sana was even worse, she hated seeing the pained look in her eyes when Momo would walk past her or ignore her. It was even worse seeing omegas throw themselves onto Sana. Because hell. Who wouldn't want her? A pretty face like that, soft and gentle spoken unlike most alphas. But still, she had those alpha features. Her arm muscles slowly coming in, god knows from what. All Sana does is paint. It annoyed Momo in a way she couldn't describe. She had worked years to build muscle and gain abs but just because Sana’s an alpha she gets to suddenly be strong now? Still, she preserved watching all of their thirsty attempts, because Sana deserved an omega that actually wanted to be her omega. And that wasnt Momo.
She moved to another city to attend university. And whether it's by sheer luck or Sana’s persistence, they ended up at the same university.
When Momo saw her during orientation day she basically ran away, but Sana still caught her through the corner of her eye. This time though, she gave Momo her own space.
Momo took suppressants and scent blockers like they were mints. She needed to make sure no one in the boxing team knew she was an omega. She registered down as a beta so that she could be allowed to participate. And she was doing good. Really good. She was stronger than a few of the betas there. Which was enough for her as they only made betas compete with betas to keep things fair. She quickly rose up to fame, being popular with a few of the ladies there. But Momo never wanted anything with any of them.
“Seriously, why don't you have fun with them?” Jihyo, the strongest alpha on the team, laughed. She lightly punched Momo’s shoulder, “they’re all throwing themselves at you, youre a beta so you cant smell it but jesus, the sweet sweet smells of omegas when youre out there is crazy,” the other alphas in the locker room laughed along. Actually, Momo does smell it, and it gives her crazy headaches. But still, she laughed along with them, hoping to fit in.
“Come onnn Momo, its not like you have anyone already,” some random teased her. Momo chuckled. “I- i just don't want anything right now,”
“Pushhhhh, boring, by the way, since you lost the bet, pick up a few more bandage wraps for tonight’s session,” Momo groaned, she made the mistake to doubt her fellow member and the amount shed fall in one training period, “alright, but you guys owe me,” they all cheered in unison, thanking Momo with soft slaps on her back.
Ever since Momo got to university, shes barely seen Sana. The thought alone hurt her but still, she did this to herself, she knows. She just can't face her,
Momo stood in the doorway of the infirmary, frozen, her boxing calloused fingers gripping the frame so hard the wood creaked and splintered beneath her nails. She couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. She could only watch.
Sana was bent over someone on the cot, her broad back curved in a posture of such tender concern it made Momo's stomach turn with a sickness she couldn't name. The soft light from the window caught the honey-gold of Sana's skin, the strong line of her jaw, the way her shoulders had filled out in the years since Momo had last let herself really look. Two years since she'd allowed her gaze to linger. Two years of averting her eyes, clenching her fists, pretending the sight of Sana didn't feel like salt in an open wound.
But now she looked. She couldn't help it. Sana's white button down stretched taut across her back, the fabric straining with each small movement. Her sleeves were rolled to her elbows, revealing forearms corded with lean muscle, veins visible beneath the skin in a way that was distinctly, unmistakably alpha. Her hair, once long and soft and smelling of lilies, was a little shorter now, pushed back from her face in a way that exposed the strong cut of her jaw, the slight sharpness of her cheekbones that hadn't been there before. She was applying some ointment on the girls back in a way that seemed wayyy too intimate.
When did that happen? When had Sana's face lost its soft roundness and become something that made omegas tilt their heads? But her pretty little face remained the same. The same face alphas would go to war to if she were to have presented as an omega.
Beneath her, almost hidden by her frame, was an omega. Small. Delicate. Her dark hair fanned across the infirmary pillow like spilled ink. Her scent drifted up in waves of sweet cherries, undercut with something softer, honey, maybe, or vanilla. It was the kind of scent that made alphas want to protect, to possess, to promise forever against bare skin. The kind of scent Momo had imagined her own omega releasing, back when she still let herself imagine such things.
“U-um,” Momo announced her presence, “sorry Sana, can i get some bandages for the boxing team?” The other omega in the room gave Momo a stank stare that just made her feel icky.
Sana’s head snapped to the new presence in the room, her eyes lit up, her mouth agape and her hands brought up as if to show her innocence. “Momo…” she mumbled, the short haired girl chuckled, “hi,” she awkwardly responded.
“Youre talking to me,” Momo nodded, she pressed her lips into a straight line, “about those bandages…” Sana quickly got off the omega and searched through her drawers. Momo took this time to assess the girl Sana was literally on top of a few seconds ago.
Momo's assessment was clinical at first. That's what she told herself. Just looking. The omega on the cot was pretty in a way that made Momo feel like a half finished sketch.
Delicate wrists. Long eyelashes that fluttered as she watched Sana move around the infirmary. Her bottom lip was fuller than the top, slightly chapped, like she'd been worrying it between her teeth. Like she had something to be nervous about. Something to anticipate. The scent of cherries grew stronger when Sana's back was turned. Momo's stomach turned again.
"Here," Sana said, and Momo realized with a start that she'd stopped assessing and started staring. Sana stood before her holding a roll of bandages, close enough that Momo could see the tiny scar bisecting her left eyebrow. Had that always been there? Two years ago, had that been there?
"For the boxing team."
"Thanks." Momo took the bandages. Their fingers didn't touch. She'd made sure of it. The cherry-scented omega made a small sound on the cot. A question without words. Sana glanced back at her, and something passed between them, some silent communication Momo couldn't read and didn't want to. "I should….." Momo jerked her thumb toward the door. "Yeah." Sana's voice was strange. Careful. "Be careful."
"I will." She was halfway out the door when Sana called her name. Momo stopped. Didn't turn around.
"It's good to see you," Sana said. Quiet. Like she wasn't sure she was allowed to say it. Momo's hand tightened on the bandages until the paper crinkled. "You too," she said, and fled before Sana could hear the lie in her voice.
The boxing team practiced in the old gym, the one with the cracked windows and the heaters that only worked if you kicked them. Momo liked it there. The smell of sweat and old leather was honest. It didn't pretend to be anything else. Jihyo was wrapped and ready when Momo arrived, her dark hair pulled back so tight it stretched her eyes. She took the bandages without comment, but her gaze lingered on Momo's face a beat too long. "You okay?"
"Fine."
"Uh huh." Jihyo started wrapping her hands, the motion practiced and smooth. "You were gone awhile."
"The nurse's office was busy." Something flickered across Jihyo's face. Interest or concern, Momo couldn't tell which. "Sana there?" Momo shrugged. Tried to make it look easy. "She's always there. Volunteer and such, I should have anticipated it," Jihyo's hands stilled. Just for a second. Then she resumed wrapping, her expression carefully neutral. Momo briefly mentioned Sana to her before. How they used to be ‘something’, never expanding further.
"She asked about you, you know. A few months back. Wanted to know how you were doing in boxing. If youre getting hurt." The words landed in Momo's chest like stones. One by one. Heavy. "I'm doing fine," she said. "You can tell her that next time she asks."
"Why don't you tell her yourself?" Because I can't look at her without remembering. Because every time I do, I feel seventeen again and stupid and sure that the girl who smelled like lilies and smiled like sunrise was going to be my whole world.
Because she's an alpha now. Really an alpha. And I'm still just….. "I don't have anything to say." Jihyo tied off the wrap with a sharp tug. "If you say so." Later, after practice, Momo sat in the bleachers and watched the empty gym. Her muscles ached. Her knuckles were raw. It was the good kind of pain, the kind that meant she'd worked hard enough to stop thinking. But now she was thinking again.
Sana's voice echoed in her head. It's good to see you. Like she meant it. Like she hadn't been the one to. No. That wasn't fair. Sana hadn't done anything wrong. That was the worst part. Sana had been perfect. Gentle. Patient. She'd waited for Momo to be ready, never pushed, never demanded. She'd brought her favorite snacks and walked her home and looked at her like she was something precious. And then Sana had presented at 14, and everything had changed. Not because of anything Sana did. She'd been the same. Still gentle. Still patient. Still bringing snacks and walking her home. But suddenly she smelled like pine and salt and something darker, something that made Momo's instincts scream alpha even as her heart whispered Sana. And Momo's body had responded. Of course it had. She was eventually going to present as an omega, and Sana was an alpha, and that was how it was supposed to work.
Her pulse would quicken when Sana got close. Her skin would flush. She'd catch herself leaning in, breathing deeper, wanting things she'd never let herself want before. It should have been perfect. But every time Momo felt that pull, she also felt herself disappearing. Becoming someone else. Becoming the omega that Sana's alpha was supposed to claim. And she'd fought so hard to be more than that.
To be a boxer, a fighter, someone who stood on her own two feet. So she'd pulled away. Slowly at first, then all at once. Changed her schedule. Stopped answering texts. Found new places to eat, new routes home, new ways to avoid the girl who still smelled like lilies underneath all that alpha pine.
Two years after she presented. She ignored her for two years. And now Sana was bending over pretty omegas in the nurse's office, her back broad and her jaw sharp and her sleeves rolled up like she didn't know how good she looked.
Momo pressed her palms against her eyes until she saw stars. The next day, she had to go back. The boxing team needed more supplies, someone had used the last of the athletic tape for a prank, and Jihyo was going to kill whoever it was when she found out.
Momo had drawn the short straw. She told herself it would be fine. Sana probably wouldn't even be there. And if she was, she'd be busy with something else. With someone else. The infirmary door was half open.
Momo could hear voices inside. Soft. Intimate. "---doesn't mean anything," Sana was saying. "It does to me." That was the cherry scented omega from yesterday. The outside reeked of her scent. Her voice was higher than Momo expected, sweet and a little petulant. "Dahyun…" Sana cooed.
"Don't. Just... don't." A pause. "I should've known you were using me," Momo's hand froze on the door handle. Sana didn't answer right away. When she did, her voice was rough. "That's not-it's complicated."
"I should’ve listened to the others that warned me. Is it true youre in love with that fucking beta on the boxing team?” Momo gulped.
“You know shes never going to look your way right?”
“I know..” Sana mumbled, Momo could recognise the sadness in her voice like any other day. The information hit Momo like a punch to the chest. Her. They were talking about her. Sana was talking about her to some other omega, some pretty omega who smelled like cherries and looked at her with wanting eyes.
Momo stepped back from the door. Quiet. Careful. The bandages could wait. Jihyo's murderous rage could wait. Everything could wait. She was halfway down the hall when the infirmary door opened behind her. "Momo." She kept walking. Of course Sana knew she was there. "Momo, please." Sana's hand caught her wrist. Gentle. Always so gentle. Momo could have pulled away. Should have pulled away. But her feet had stopped and her heart was hammering and Sana's skin was warm against hers. "I'm sorry," Sana said. "For whatever I did. I don't know what it was, but I'm sorry." Momo stared at the wall ahead of her. At the cracks in the plaster. At anything but the girl holding her wrist. "You didn't do anything."
"Then why..?" Momo would rather have this conversation privately in the comfort of her room, where everything wasn't at stake right now. But she couldnt keep it in anymore.
"Because you didn't do anything." Momo's voice cracked. She hated it. Hated herself. "You were perfect. You are perfect. And I couldn't-I can't-" She stopped. Breathed. Tried to find words for something she'd never said out loud.
"When I presented, everyone kept telling me how lucky I was. How you'd take care of me. How we were meant to be." Momo laughed, and it sounded awful even to her own ears. "And I just kept thinking... what about me? What about the person I was trying to become? Did she just disappear? Was I only ever supposed to be someone's omega?" Sana's grip loosened. Not letting go, but no longer holding. Just... resting there. Like she was afraid to push.
"I never wanted that," Sana said quietly. "I never wanted you to be just anything. I wanted you. All of you. The boxer and the girl who cries at stupid movies and the person who laughs so hard she snorts. I wanted all of it." Momo closed her eyes, cringing at the memory of them as kids. "I know."
“Can you just talk to me again?” Momo sighed, “we could be friends like you said back then,”
“Fine,” she huffed, pulling her arm away from her grip and walking back to the gym. Those four letters made Sana the happiest alpha in the world.