Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"You sure you don't have any free time after work? I'm sure I could give you a special night out on the town." Terushima, the most annoying and sleaziest soldier either of the omegas working in the shop have ever met, asked.

His scent reeked of an Alpha trying to impress an omega, but it had an opposite effect on both of them.

Suga pinched the bridge of his nose as he put away the medicine he had just finished grinding. He looked towards Yachi, the sweet blond omega that had arrived at his doorstep just two months ago, and saw the way her hands shook as she held a broom and her legs trembled beneath her. 

Walking in front of the young girl, he met the boisterous Alpha head on, giving him a glare while releasing a threatening scent. 

The air, usually smelling of herbs with different pungency and freshly made medicine, began to smell like an acrid version of vanilla and fresh linen.

"If the only business you have in my store is harassing my apprentice, then you best leave before I take that sword of yours and shove it in a place where it shouldn't belong."Suga said steely. His hands were behind his back, holding onto Yachi in a way to tell her that he was here for her, that he would be her shield. He felt the young girl clench the back of his shirt and nuzzle into his upper back.

Terushima made the smart move of taking a step back, hands in the air as he released a calming scent of lemongrass and sandalwood.

"Alright, alright, I'll get going then." Terushima said, continuing to walk backwards until he was halfway across the room before turning on his heel and quickly walking out of the store.

Suga sighed once the blonde haired alpha left his store, his hands falling to his side. He started to release a calming scent into the air, making it so the acrid tone of his scent previously was no longer there.

"It's alright Hitoka." Suga said gently, turning around to wrap his arms around the young girl. The sun was starting to set, a deep blood orange color making its way into the store. Yachi nuzzled into his chest, her hands gripping the front of his smock tightly. Suga sniffed the air just once and could tell that the girl was still riddled with fear. Bringing himself closer to her, he gently scented her. Soon the store smelt no more of herbs and medicine, instead drenched in the smell of vanilla and fresh linen, honeysuckle and rainwater.

Yachi relaxed into his chest, the store was now devoid of light as the sun had just finished setting. Suga laid his cheek on top of her head, rubbing circles on her back.

"I'll never allow an alpha to harm you ever again. I promise you and the Gods myself."

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Hinata readjusted the sling around his body and hitched the bag over his thin shoulder so it was no longer falling off. The moon gave him just enough light to traverse the street, making sure to step over or kick anything in his path.

The thing, no, the baby , in his sling started to stir, her powdery scent of rose water, a soft smell of strawberry, and the tiniest hint of apple becoming more prominent as she awoke. Soon she began to coo, looking up at the boy carrying her with rounded black eyes. She was still too young for her eye color to come in and it made Shouyou wonder what it would be. Surely it had to be the rich brown that his mother's eyes once were. There was no way the Gods would allow it to be any color similar to the monster who sired them both. 

The only thing that was his, besides the obvious blood ties, were the firey and unruly orange locks the two shared. Any physical attributes after that had all come from their mother. 

Well, minus Shouyou's golden eyes.

"It's alright Natsu, I'll find us a place to rest for the night. Hopefully they have milk I can give you, you're too tiny." Hinata whispered to the pup, his legs taking them both further into the clean and vibrant city. 

A stark contrast to the slums they once lived in.

As he turned a corner, gently shushing Natsu as she started to fuss from her empty tummy, Hinata spotted a window illuminated by candle light. Stopping in his tracks, he stared at the window, a shadow of the person inhabiting the room causing the candles flame to flicker. Casting his eyes downwards he noticed the room was above a shop, the logo of the store stating its name.

The Healing Crow .

A bit of an odd name if you asked Shouyou, but then again, the slums had no signs showing the name of any shops. You just had to know whose home did what business and what days and times you could be there.

Maybe they're an herbalist. Hinata thought, clutching the fabric he was using to hold Natsu. Memories of the not so distant past resurfaced suddenly, causing him to tear up and his scent to become stale. 

Suddenly Natsu was grunting, her face becoming pinched as she began to hit her tiny, chubby fist on Shouyou's chest before a cry bubbled in her chest.

Deciding that this store in front of him was his best bet, he made it to the front of the shop before knocking on the door. He noticed the light of the candle from above beginning to retreat causing Shouyou's scent to lose its staleness. This pleased Natsu as she relaxed just the tiniest bit, but continued to cry. Hopefully these people had milk to spare for his pup.

Soon enough the door to the shop was opening, but Shouyou couldn't make out what the person looked like as the door was only open just a crack, although it allowed the distinct smell of omega to be wafted to his nose.

Just like himself and Natsu.

"May I help you?" A feminine voice asked him.

"Do you have a spare room I can sleep in? Or maybe some milk to give to my pup?" Shouyou asked, hoping the answer to both his questions were yes. If not he could make due with a bit of milk.

Suddenly a warm light appeared and the door was being opened wider, revealing two beautiful omegas of different heights. From the little light Shouyou had to work with he could see one was a girl, the other a man. The man who now held the door of the shop open looked at him once over before his eyes widen in size.

"Come in, come in, it's too cold out for either of you poor things." The man holding the candle said, stepping aside to allow both of the malnourished omegas inside.

"Yachi, go into the kitchen and warm up some milk. Make sure it's not too hot before putting it in a bottle. We should have some sterilized rubber nipples for the bottle in the area just below the utensils." The man stated before shutting and locking the shop's door. The small girl nodded her head before rushing out of a back door and going to do as told.

The man took Shouyou's hand, taking him further into the place before they left the shop and went up some stairs.

Natsu started to become even fussier as her hunger pains started to become more prominent. Shouyou shushed her, mumbling sweet words until he was brought into a small yet cozy room.

The man who had allowed both of the Hinata's into his home gently guided the boy onto the bed before giving him thin blankets to scent.

"So you can make a nest. I'm sure that'll comfort your pup in this unfamiliar place." He told him. Hinata nodded his head before getting to work in gently scenting the blankets in his scent of strawberries and morning dew.

In his frenzy of scenting blankets and making a nest for him and Natsu, the little pup was fed and burped by one of the omegas before being put into his tired hands.

The two slept peacefully that night, knowing that they made it through another day.

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The man's name is Sugawara Koushi, but everyone in town called him Suga. He has straight grey hair, hazel brown eyes with a birthmark underneath his left eye. He smells of vanilla and freshly cleaned linen. He is an only child and last person of the Sugawara family, as well as the sole owner of the Healing Crow. He makes medicine ranging from powders, to teas, to balms and has been a doula in the past, but is trying his best to become a well known midwife in town. He has a personality that is gentle and kind to those around him, but will rip off the head of any unruly Alpha that steps foot in his store without a second of hesitation.

Then there's Yachi Hitoka. A small female omega with beautiful blonde hair that seems to always be kept just above her shoulders in length with soft brown eyes. She smells of Honeysuckle and rainwater, with an underlying powdery scent meaning that she is still a child and hasn't matured yet.

The same scent that lingered underneath Shouyou and was ever prominent in Natsu.

She was fearful of all Alphas, leaving the front of the store to go sweep the backyard or to clean the storage room where extra stock was kept. But if the store had no Alphas she would be gentle and kind to those in the store, making small conversation to keep them company as Suga made their medicine, or softly hummed to herself as she counted the money in the register.

Shouyou loved it in the store, even if it had only been a week since he arrived at the store.

He loved it here and never wanted to leave. Never wanted to leave the new life he stumbled into.

Chapter Text

Suga woke up to the sound of a cooing pup and soft footsteps walking past his room and out of the apartment. He smiled sadly to himself, happy that he could help the young omega mother.

Tossing aside his blankets and putting on his slippers, he left his room to go and join Shouyou and little Natsu. It may have been a little over a week since the two have come into his care, yet the two were starting to gain weight at a decent rate.

It’ll take a while for either of them to get to a healthy weight, but it was nothing a few home cooked meals couldn’t fix. Probably give him some pocket money to use for sweets. Shouyou definitely deserved something sweet for everything he must have lived through.

“Suga-san?” Yachi called from behind him. He hummed before turning around to look at her, hand ghosting over the doorknob to the kitchen.

“Um… The husband of one of our regulars is outside. Says he needs something for nausea. His wife is with child but she hasn’t been able to hold anything down besides tea or water.” Yachi explained, hands behind her back.

Suga nodded, following her into the store to go make some nausea tea for the customer.

Except someone had already beat him to it.

“Just give her a cup of this every morning and she should feel better. If she continues to feel nauseous at any point in the day then give her another half cup. If she wants it sweetened then a tiny bit of honey is alright, but no sugar or it’ll lessen the effects of the tea. Feel free to come back for more if you start to run out.” Shouyou told the man as he handed him a satchel of what Suga assumed was tea. The man gave him his thanks as well as a fond smile to Natsu before dropping some copper coins onto the counter and leaving the store.

“I didn’t know you were an herbalist as well.” Suga said with an impressed look on his face. “What did you give that man? It’ll be good to know so if you’re not here I could make for his wife.”

Shouyou shrugged his shoulders, grabbing the copper coins before putting them away. “Just a special mix of peppermint tea I made a while ago. It lasts a long time, and the satchel I kept it in should keep it fresh for even longer.”

Suga and Yachi looked at each other perplexed.

“Peppermint? Where did you get that? Nobody in the Kingdom sells or grows any.” Suga said.

“I go up into the mountains to get some. I’ve tried cultivating it, but the plant doesn’t seem to last long. My mom used to say I didn’t know how to keep plants alive even if my life depended on it.” Shouyou said, smiling sadly once he finished talking. He looked downcast before giving Natsu a kiss on the top of her ruffled hair.

Suga’s heart clenched as he looked at the young boy. Losing a mother and then becoming one at such a young age with no help. Suga couldn’t imagine the type of pain he must live with everyday.

Walking  over to the two young omegas, he wrapped his arms around Shouyou and Natsu. Yachi soon followed a little more hesitantly, her arms loose around the others, but Suga found it heart warming that she was trying to be more physically open.

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The day went on as usual, Suga making medicine for customers, Yachi manning the register or cleaning the shop, except this time around they had the help of Shouyou and the adorable cooing of Natsu. Suga didn’t mind what Shouyou was giving to his customers, even if they were things he himself wouldn’t give or think of giving. There was just something about Shouyou that made him believe that his decisions were genuine and had no ill intent behind them.

And sure enough, by the next day when he opened up the store, all the customers from the previous day who Shouyou worked with were coming back to give him their thanks. Never before had they gotten medicine that worked so well or even on the day they received it. 

Suga was so happy hearing these people sing their praises to Shouyou and before he knew it the back room was filled with gifts of fabric, baby clothes, food, some had even given them flowers, and from the look on Shouyou’s face, those were the gift he loved the most.

“I didn’t expect you to enjoy flowers, Shouyou.” Suga said as they ate dinner, a simple cream stew with chicken and vegetables.

“Hm?” Shouyou said, his face stuffed with food. Suga laughed while Yachi softly giggled.

“Oh, the flowers? You do know that those flowers are good for all kinds of things, but I like using them for tea. Those chrysanthemum flowers make for some tasty tea if you dry them correctly.” Shouyou explained with a smile. Natsu followed suit by giving the blonde girl and grey haired man a gummy smile.

Suga couldn’t help but laugh. This strange omega was full of information that he never knew of, and it seemed to be vitale information.

“Shouyou, if you don’t mind? Could you teach me everything you know about medicine? You know so many things that I would never dare to think of.” Suga said, leaning forward while crossing his arms across his chest.

Shouyou just smiled brightly before nodding his head.

“I’d love to!”

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Suga nailed a piece of paper onto the front door of his shop stating that they were closed for the day. Today Shouyou would be taking him outside of the Kingdom and into the mountains to go pick some herbs and possibly a peppermint plant too.

“I’m all ready, Suga-san.” Shouyou said, sticking his arms out and making his cape flare out with them. Suga huffed out a small laugh, not sure how the boy had such energy for so early in the morning.

“Alright then. I have everything in my bag, what about yours?” Suga asked as he started walking away from the store.

“Yep!” Shouyou said cheerfully. Suga laughed once more before letting the silence over take them. 

It wasn’t too long before they were walking out of the Kingdom and into the forest. Suga had been there a few times, but the mountain would be new territory for him, so he let Shouyou lead the way.

Which was a bit of a mistake.

The boy had energy for days , running ahead of Suga whenever he saw a plant that he used in his medicine before dashing away when he saw another. 

Suga had to yell out for him to slow down more than he could count, and by the tenth time he had his hand firmly holding onto the boy’s much too skinny wrist to keep him from going any further.

“Let me see the plants you got, that way I can grab some of my own and we won’t have to worry about coming back. Not to mention that I don’t want to be here when autumn comes around. I don’t want to deal with any bears fattening themselves up before they hibernate.” Suga said, mumbling the last part to himself.

Shouyou nodded his head before stopping in his tracks and opening his bag. Suga let go of his wrist, watching the boy take multiple little bags of herbs in one hand before offering them to Suga to look at. The older omega took the bags before kneeling on the ground and opening them one by one. 

He hummed as he looked at the spread out contents, making small notes to himself in his head. Some of the plants Shouyou had grabbed could be bought in the market place very easily, while others were ones no one would ever think of carrying as they had little to no demand for.

“Okay… You go find the peppermint plant, I’ll go and grab some more herbs we won’t be able to buy in town. Maybe I’ll try and get the plant itself. Try and see if we could save ourselves the trouble of coming to the mountain by growing our own.” Suga said, not realizing Shouyou had left when he started to think aloud. By the time he looked up Shouyou was no were to be seen, not even the tiniest bit of orange hair.

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It was great to be back in the mountains, to be able to go around, picking plants the Kingdom of Karasuno didn’t sell, darting between plants with a smile on his face.

The sun was high up in the sky already, and from how his stomach started to growl loudly, he was overdue for a meal right about now. But he needed to find the peppermint plant before going back to find Suga. From the slight tang in the older omega’s scent he could tell that he wasn't too fond of the mountain.

Just a little higher and he’ll find the plant. And as soon as he found one he’ll uproot the plant before running down and going back to his friend.

“There it is!” Shouyou called aloud once he found a tree surrounded by bushes and peppermint plants.

Kneeling down in front of the plants he took his trowel out of his bag, making sure not to cut too many of the roots. All he had left to do was put it inside the pot he brought along with him and then he’ll go find Suga. Hopefully he wasn’t too worried about him.

Carefully putting some dirt in the pot before putting the plant inside, he put it in his bag before standing up and walking away from the plants.

Just as he was walking away from the peppermint plants, his sinuses clearing up from the pungent smell, he smelt something peculiar.

It was the smell of blood.

Chapter Text

Blood. It was a smell Shouyou knew very well, having helped his mother heal soldiers or help deliver babies, but it wasn’t something he smelled when he was up in the mountains.

Which worried him. 

Going on high alert he dropped his bag as softly as he could on the ground before following the smell.

The stench of iron grew stronger and stronger before it was all he could smell when he stood in front of a cave.

Looking down he saw a trail of blood that led to the inside of said cave and by the looks of how dark the blood was it’s been some time since the person was cut. And deeply at that.

Raising his nose in the air to try and see who he'd be working with he could smell the scent of an alpha, one that was in major pain if his grit teeth and profusely sweating forehead was anything to go by.

It didn’t even take him a second before he was inside the cave, staring down at an alpha with black hair and blue eyes. The glare he got from the man struck a chord in Shouyou, and all of a sudden he was reminded of a night less than ten months ago to when he had brought an injured alpha home and nursed back to health before he up and vanished in the middle of the night.

The alpha tried to get up from his seated position but stopped when he winced in pain.

"Where are you hurt? I can help you.” Shouyou said, shoving his memories to the depths of his brain before taking the few steps he needed to before kneeling by the alpha’s side.

From this spot he could pick up his scent better, the scent of roses and mahogany. It made the forgotten, and now suppressed, memories all the more vivid.

“I don’t need your damn help. I’m fine.” The alpha growled out, draping his right arm across his lower torso and clutching his left side.

Shouyou gave him a glare and a pout. Couldn’t the guy see that he was going to bleed out? What was with the pointless self pride?

“I made a promise to help anybody I come across. So lie down and let me help you.” Shouyou said, invading the alpha’s personal space.

The alpha gave a deep and throaty growl, but Shouyou growled himself, not backing down from this stupid fight.

He was going to help the stupid alpha again even if he had to use brute force to do it.

After what felt like hours of them growling at each other, the alpha seemed to lose steam. He looked away from Shouyou who gave a smug smile.

“How do I know you’re not going to poison me?’ The alpha asked, glaring fiercely at Shouyou.

The young omega huffed.

“You have to trust me to find out then.” He said before pushing the alpha onto his back.

”Lift up your shirt. I need to see how deep your cut is to know what I need to do.” Shouyou said, rummaging around the little bag he kept tied around his waist at all times.

The alpha grumbled but did as told and by the time Shouyou had his newly bought bandages and homemade salve out he saw the cut in all its glory.

“I’ll be back, I need to get some water and a cloth to clean around the cut.” Shouyou said, putting the things he had just taken out of his little bag. He should have known the area would need to be cleaned before getting patched up, and from the looks of it it’ll need to be stitched up as well.

“I have a canteen of water somewhere here.” The alpha told him. Shouyou looked him in the eyes for a second before nodding his head.

And sure enough there it was just a little ways into the cave, as well as food, a makeshift bed and other necessities needed for living out in the wild.

Shouyou grabbed the canteen, while also looking at the blanket the alpha must use to keep himself warm. He could rip a piece of it off and use it to clean the cut, but he shook his head instead. He could just cut one of his sleeves off instead.

It'd be rude to cut up his blanket without his permission. Shouyou thought to himself as he walked back to the alpha near the front of the cave.

Shouyou made quick work when he got back to the alpha, mumbling a quick apology to Suga, since he had bought this shirt for him, before tearing the sleeve off of his shirt and going to clean the dried blood from around the cut. He took one of his numbing salves and applied it to the area around the cut before taking a sterilized needle and closing it. After that he applied another salve on the cut so it would heal better and with as little scaring as possible before helping the alpha sit up and wrapping the bandages around his lower torso.

“I’ll mix up some medicine for you to take, it should help in the healing process.” Shouyou said, rising up from his kneeling position.

“I don’t need any more of your help dumbass.” The alpha said, lowering his bloodied shirt over his torso.

Shouyou just ignored him as he left the vicinity. It didn’t take him too long to get back to his bag, he had practically lived in this mountain with his mother back in the day, so he knew his way around.

He got his mortar and pestle out of his big bag before looking through all of the herbs and plants he had just gotten. Mentally going through all the properties of each plant before he ground everything in the correct order and into a powder. He bundled some of the herbs together to empty one of the satchels before dumping the powder into it.

He slung his bag over his shoulder before marching back to the cave. Thankfully the alpha hadn’t left from the time it took him to make the medicine, but from the looks of it it seemed like he wanted to.

“I said I didn’t need your help, dumbass.” The alpha growled out once he saw Shouyou again. The young omega huffed.

“Whatever you baka. Here’s some medicine to help with the healing. Mix the powder with some oil before putting it on the cut. I’d give you my salve but there’s nothing left of it.” Shouyou explained, putting the bag of ground up medicine near the alpha. As a second thought he also put the empty glass bottle near him.

“Goodbye then, make sure not to get hurt again up here. Not too many people come up to the mountains.” Shouyou said as he left the cave. From behind him he heard the alpha huff in annoyance and he couldn’t help the little smile that graced his face.

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It took Shouyou an hour to get back to Suga and by that time he had gotten the smell of blood and alpha out of his clothes, instead smelling like a mix of herbs and flowers. He really couldn't help himself when it came to the herbs here on the mountain.

But from the looks of his mentor/guardian/friend the older omega was sufficiently tired and hungry and wanted nothing more but to go home, eat a meal made by Yachi and take a well earned bath. 

But of course the trek down the mountain took them more than two hours.

It wasn’t Shouyou’s fault that the mountains grew such wonderful things that could be used in medicine. Blame the merchants that didn’t sell them!

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By the next week Shouyou had shown both Suga and Yachi, mainly Suga since Yachi was busy keeping Natsu entertained, how to mix his medicines and what herbs could be used for what.

And it seemed like the customers of their store were really enjoying the new versions of medicine they received.

Shouyou had always enjoyed helping people with his medicine and his skills, but working in The Healing Crow gave him new experiences he would have never had if he had continued to live in the slums.

He never would have gotten such money from his medicines, as people living in the slums paid in favors or by trading goods, but there was no such thing here. 

Your hard work got you paid enough to supply the next batch of herbs one would need to make more medicine and a bit more to be used for food, clothing and housing.

He even got the praises of the elderly who gushed about how their joints and backs didn't hurt once they used his medicine.

It was all good, except for one small problem.

Alpha soldiers.

And from the looks on Suga and Yachi’s faces they didn’t like it when they came around either.

“Wow! You got another one! And so soon after you had gotten that little blonde cutie. What’s up Suga? You stealing any cute omega you see on the street?” An alpha with dirty blonde hair and a dark undercut asked once he was inside the store.

Suga grit his teeth, an annoyed look overcoming him as he stared the alpha down. Shouyou’s eyes flickered between the two, not noticing that the other alpha that had come in with the blonde one was right besides him until said soldier was wrapping his arm around his waist.

Shouyou would later deny the squeak that caught the attention of the two having a stare down and instead to his predicament.

“Get away from him Higashiyama or I swear I will uppercut you.” Suga growled as he walked over to the two and shoved the alpha away from Shouyou. Suga marched himself and the young omega so they would be standing behind the counter, giving them sufficient space between the alphas.

“Wow Suga, you sure you want to do that to two loyal soldiers?” The blonde alpha asked with an amused smirk as his friend patted away the nonexistent dust off himself.

“You two aren’t in uniform, and yes Terushima, I do know what you two are supposed to look like if you were actually on duty. There’s no way the commander of your battalion would allow you to look like that. ” Suga said, hand flailing up and down at the two alphas.  "You're not even wearing your jacket for Gods sake!"

The blonde alpha, Terushima, placed his hand on the nape of his neck, an awkward smile on his face.

“Okay, okay. We’ll just get our things and leave then.” Terushima said before placing a satchel of money on the counter. Suga grabbed the bag before turning around to Shouyou.

“Go get the box of salves from the backroom.” Suga said. Shouyou nodded his head and went to go get it, making sure to be quick since he didn’t want to leave Suga alone with the two alphas.

“Thank you for your patronage.” Suga said in a monotone voice as the two left the store with the box. 

Shouyou watched as Suga lifted five fingers in the air before seeming to do a countdown. Just as the last finger was put down Shouyou could hear glass breaking from outside.

Suga sighed, watching the door before it opened and a sheepish looking Terushima came back in. 

As if knowing this would have happened, Suga produced a vial of one of the salves and handed it to the alpha before he left the store once again.

Shouyou watched as his friend and mentor sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Let’s close the shop up for today. If you want you can go ahead and start making some more nausea medicine. The customer you first helped should be coming in tomorrow for some more.” Suga said as he locked the door to the store and drew the curtains back.

Shouyou watched as Suga left the store before heaving out a sigh.

He must have really has had enough with rude alphas.

Chapter Text

"Hey shorty, do you know of any ways to… court an omega whose out of your league?" Terushima asked Shouyou suddenly one day. The orange haired herbalist looked at the calendar on the left wall, taking note that it had been two weeks since he first met the alpha soldier.

What could have happened in two weeks for him to...become nice? Shouyou asked himself.

Shouyou placed the box of medicine Terushima needed to take back to his battalion on the counter in front of him all while avoiding making eye contact from the older guy. 

Except he didn’t make a move to pick up the box.

"I'm not sure… I've never been courted before." Shouyou said after he thought long and hard about if he wanted to have this conversation.

"Really? I thought, you know, with the baby… I thought you had an alpha." Terushima said, looking between Shouyou and Natsu before they settled on the herbalist.

Shouyou shook his head.

"Not all alphas stay with an omega once they get pregnant." Shouyou stated matter-of-factly. Terushima winced, looking down at his feet before mumbling an apology.

"... But if you want to know, I would suggest that you stop with the harassing comments and unwanted touching. And give them something they like as a courting gift, something they look at and get reminded of you." Shouyou said when his back was turned to Terushima. His nose was assaulted by the smell of a happy alpha, and sure enough when he turned around Terushima had a big smile on his face. A genuine smile, not the one he had when he acted innocent or flirted with an omega.

"Thanks shorty!"

"It's Shouyou!"

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"My King, Prince Kageyama has returned."

Oikawa stopped his writing, peering up from his work to look at the messenger that had her head bowed down to him.

Letting out an annoyed huff he put his quill down before raising gracefully out of his chair.

"Go and tell him that the King requests an audience with him in the western meeting room. It's urgent ." Oikawa said, digging his fingernails into his palms in anger.

The messenger nodded her head before rising. She waited by the door as to let her King leave first before leaving as well.

An ass he walked down the open hallways of the castle he called home, Oikawa couldn’t help but to think of all the things he could have possibly done in his lifetime to have earned having such an unruly little half brother, but found nothing would garner this type of lifelong punishment.

Instead, he blamed his past lives. Surely those had to be the reason why he was stuck with Kageyama Tobio, his only half sibling who thought he could do anything as he pleased and would never have to face the consequences of his stupid actions.

Slamming open the door to the western meeting room he crossed the room to go sit at the head chair, which had the best view of people coming in and out of the room.

It was only a couple of minutes before the door to the room opened and his brother came in, looking like an absolute mess .

“Why are you so dirty? Shouldn’t you be more presentable when having an audience with your king?” Oikawa asked as he took his appearance into account. His hair was disheveled and knotted, all of his clothing was covered in dirt, but there was an odd dark spot on the left side of his shirt.

Kageyama, ever the most benevolent little brother, glared at him.

“I’m sorry brother, but the messenger you sent to me said that it was urgent. I was sure that you would understand if I came looking like this due to your need of having things done in a timely manner.” Kageyama retorted, making Oikawa feel a headache starting to build up.

He’d need to get some medicine from the court herbalist after this.

“Okay then, let's get to the point of this meeting.” Oikawa said after he took a deep breath

“What is it that you’ve been doing for the past two months? What was so important that you would leave the castle, only bothering to leave a single note saying, and I quote, ‘ I have to be on my way now, there’s something important I must do. Do not send any guards after me because by then I will have been long gone. Sincerely Prince Kageyama Tobio. ’” Oikawa said, producing the letter his little brother left those months ago from his chest pocket.

“It’s actually been around six weeks, not two months.” Kageyama had the audacity to correct him.

Oikawa closed his eyes, counting down from ten before opening them again.

“That doesn’t answer my questions.”

Kageyama looked to the side as if trying to remember the reason he left.

“I wanted some freedom.” 

Oikawa couldn’t help getting up angrily from his chair and making his way to be in front of his brother.

“Freedom gets you killed , Tobio. Now tell me the real reason or I’ll have all your sword lessons be done with Mad Dog for the next year .” Oikawa demanded. The way his little brother stiffened brought him immense joy, but he wouldn’t let it show.

“Fine.” Kageyama huffed before looking his brother in the eyes. “I wanted to practice my swordsmanship with people that weren’t nobility or soldiers who knew who I was and would go easy on me. I wanted to see if there was any difference and I realized that there was.”

“And was this difference worth finding out, Tobio?” Oikawa asked, crossing his arms across his chest.

“Yes, and then some.” Kageyama said. Oikawa waited for his brother to explain what he meant, but he said nothing.

“What do you mean by ‘then some’?” Oikawa asked. “Did you find someone you found intriguing?”

“Yes. An omega boy with orange hair and golden eyes. He found me in the mountains when I was about to come home. He helped me with… something.” 

“And what is this something? ” Oikawa asked, feeling his blood boil at the prospect of his brother having… relations with an omega he met up in the mountains. Instead he watched his younger brother lift up his shirt to see his lower torso wrapped in bandages before he took them off, showing what must have been a stitched up cut that was now close to fully healed.

“Go and see Shimizu so she can take those stitches out.” Oikawa said, having had enough of his brother for one day.

Kageyama nodded his head before putting his shirt down and leaving the meeting room. 

✦*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✿ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*✦

It had been four days after Shouyou had helped Terushima with his whole ‘How to court an omega’ and the young herbalist was starting to get very, very tired.

All because Terushima needed his approval on courting gifts.

“Why do you keep bothering me with this?” Shouyou whined on the morning of the fifth day and after seeing what had to have been the twentieth gift. And while he had praised each and every single courting gift, even without knowing a single thing about this omega, he was really starting to get a bit annoyed. 

Each time the alpha interrupted him the more time he lost in making medicine.

“Because! You’re the only omega I know that can help me with this. I don’t have the best reputation with other omegas and I want to make sure that the gift I give her is the most perfect thing in the world!” Terushima explained, throwing himself against a wall and proceeding to sniffle. The lack of his scent changing made Shoyou know he wasn’t truly upset, but he didn’t have the heart to turn him away.

“Terushima, can you at least tell me about her? Maybe I can help you in finding the perfect courting gift for her.” Shouyou offered and the alpha was instantly in his personal space.

“Really?!” Terushima asked, an explosion of happy alpha being brought to his nose.

Shouyou nodded his head.

“Great! I’ll meet you outside the shop once your work day is over. I’ll bring you to her!” Terushima said before leaving the shop.

Once the door was closed Shouyou couldn’t help but giggle.

Terushima must really be in love with this omega.

And by the end of the day, as he walked side by side with Terushima to meet this girl he couldn’t help but become as giddy as the older alpha, feeding off of his happy emotions.

“We’re here!” Terushima said as he stopped in front of a quaint looking house.

Shouyou flashed him a smile, feeling happy to be getting to meet such a wonderful woman, and from the bouncing pup in his arms, so was Natsu.

"Terushima? What are you doing here?" A girl with a brown bob and beautiful brown eyes asked as she stepped out of the house.

"Oh! Misaki, hi! I was just coming by to… let you meet Suga's new apprentice Shouyou and his pup Natsu. And I know you're not working right now, but he wanted to get some new clothes for his pup and I told him that you're one of the best seamstresses in all of Karasuno." Terushima explained, putting the spotlight on Shouyou.

"Oh, well come in then. I'm sure I have some things for you to look at." Misaki said, stepping to the side to allow the three inside of her home.

"I'll wait out here in the kitchen while you guys look at clothes. I don't want to intrude." Terushima said as he took a chair from Misaki's dining table to sit on. The female omega gave him a questioning look before taking Shouyou into her room.

"You must be the reason Terushima is acting differently." Misaki said as soon as she closed her door.

Shouyou couldn't help the blush that turned his cheeks the color of apples, looking down at his feet.

"Not really. It's just that, I told him to stop acting the way he did if he wanted to get a chance with an omega." Shouyou explained, leaving out key details.

Misaki hummed as she rummaged through her top dresser, pulling out simple pieces of pup clothing.

"He must really like this omega to be willing to do that." Misaki said, lifting a white dress with a frilly collar up to Natsu. She shook her head before going to the next piece.

"Yeah, she really is. Although he hasn't told me much about her, only that he wants to become court mates." Shouyou said. Both of the older omegas stilled while Natsu was happily babbling away.

"Oh. I guess he found the one then." Misaki said in a neutral tone, but her scent had the tiniest bit of displeasure in it. Shouyou was about to say something else, but the slight scent change was gone and she was smiling at Natsu happily.

"And I think this little one has also found the one." Misaki pointed out as she pinched Natsu's chubby cheeks, causing her to squeal in delight.

Shouyou looked at his pups hands, noticing that she was holding onto a beige dress with an embroidered sun on the front. He smiled at her choice.

"I think we should get going now, sorry to have barged in." Shouyou said, bowing down in apology.

"Don't worry, it was very nice meeting you. I'll be sure to come and visit you and the others soon." Misaki said as she walked them out of her room.

Terushima jumped up from his chair before going towards Shouyou and Natsu.

"Bye Misaki, I'll see you later." Terushima said, opening the door for the young omegas.

"Bye you three." Misaki said, about to close her door but stopping before looking at Terushima. "Good luck with that omega you like."

Shouyou went rigid, looking behind him to see what the older alpha's reaction was, but he couldn't see at all since he was facing Misaki.

"W-what?" Terushima stuttered out. Misaki rubbed the back of her neck, looking to the side.

"Yeah, Shouyou told me that you changed because of an omega you're interested in. They must be very special." Misaki said, still not looking at Terushima.

All of a sudden Terushima's posture changed and he was standing as straight as possible with his arms to his side.

"She really is special. She is the sweetest and kindest person I know and has put up with me ever since we were pups, treated my wounds whenever I got injured and had no problem putting me in my place whenever I did something stupid with my friends. She has always believed in me even when others didn't." Terushima started to confess, starting to gather a crowd around Misaki's house, but the omega didn't seem to notice.

"She has the cutest brown eyes and the prettiest brown hair. She's dedicated to her work because she lives it so much and when she's working on a piece of clothing she knows will turn out right she'll start humming to herself."

"Teru… I-I"

Terushima bowed down a perfect ninety degrees.

"Misaki Hana, will you please be my court mate?!" Terushima shouted, his ears scarlet.

Shouyou looked at Misaki, who had her hands up to her mouth as her eyes started to water.

"Yes, you idiot!" Misaki agreed, making Terushima straighten up just as the omega threw herself at him to give him a hug.

The crowd that had gathered around them began to clap, and Shouyou took that as his queue to leave.

Love makes you do stupid things , Shouyou thought to himself with a giggle.

✦*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✿ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*✦

Kageyama looked out the window of his bedroom, water dripping down from his hair.

I have to find him , Kageyama thought, feeling a burning itch underneath his skin as he thought of orange hair and big golden eyes.

He let his fingers ghost over the stitching of his cut, happy that it was healed as well as being able to get out of seeing Shimizu.

She was the court doctor and was very kind to him whenever he went to get fixed up from whatever injury he had gotten, but there was something about this one that made him want to hide it from her.

Was it because she would question him about it? About who had healed him? What their name was, what family they came from, who they studied under?

Or was it just because he felt like it would betray that omega who had healed him?

The more he thought about it the more he realized that there was something about that omega that made him different from all of the others he knew. 

And he wanted to know what it was, even if it meant facing his older brother's punishments.

Chapter Text

It was early morning, the sun just beginning to rise, when Kageyama woke up. He did his best to stretch without causing his stitches to get pulled before tossing his blankets to the side and going to get dressed for the day.

He walked out of his closet wearing a simple black shirt and some sturdy outdoor working pants with a brown hooded cape as it was starting to get chiller outside.

Opening his door just a fraction he saw that no palace guards were in the near vicinity, so he made quick work to leave the palace grounds without being caught.

Should have put on some scent blocker, Kageyama thought as he walked into the, thankfully empty, gardens. It may be out in the open, but there was a door to the kitchens just straight across. The extra bonus from getting into the kitchens was the door leading into the servants hallway rooms and, with enough luck, he could pass by all the waking cooks, and launderers to be able to go towards the front of the palace. And with one quick climb out of palace grounds he would be on his well way towards finding that orange haired omega.

If only it could be that easy.

Because right in front of him was Yahaba, his older brother's personal, and closest, attendant.

Maybe if he just backed out slowly without making any noise he wouldn’t get caught.

“And where do you think you’re going?” Yahaba called out. Kageyama sighed before turning around.

“I just wanted to get something to eat.” Kageyama said in an even tone.

Yahaba put down the whisk in one of his hands before crossing them across his chest. With one quick look around the counter Yahaba was working on he could tell that he was going through one of his emotional baking episodes.

“Really? Couldn’t you just get a maid to bring you something instead of going around the palace, dressed in servant clothes looking like an assassin may I add?” Yahaba said, looking the prince down with a judgemental look.

“Couldn’t you have asked a maid to make you cream puffs instead of making them yourself?” Kageyama shot back, disregarding the fact that Yahaba was on the verge of an emotional explosion.

Sure enough as soon as he said it his nose was getting assaulted by the scent of an angry omega.

“Listen here Prince Kageyama, and listen closely. You walk out of these kitchens, forget about leaving the palace after you just came back and destroy those clothes and maybe , just maybe,   I’ll think of keeping this a secret from your brother, the King .” Yahaba said, now face-to-face with the Prince.

Kageyama steeled his gaze at the older omega.

“I’m sure I could leave the grounds faster than you can warn the guards or my brother.” Kageyama challenged.

Yahaba growled, his angry scent getting thicker in the air.

“You have no idea what you leaving the palace is even doing, both to yourself and the kingdom.” Yahaba said, his chest rising and falling in quick succession.

“Why does it matter to you?”

“Because Oikawa is always making excuses to the council about your disappearances!" Yahaba shouted, throwing his hands down and stepping back from Kageyama to pace around the kitchen. 

"They’re starting to think that if he can’t control you, then how is he going to be able to control and govern the entire kingdom? And you know how much it means to your brother to be on the throne. He’s the only omega king in all five kingdoms and he wants to prove himself that he’ll be the best king out of all them, but YOU just have to disappear weeks at a time to Gods know where!”

“Oh, and how could I forget that your arranged marriage to Kunimi from the Seijoh house is now being put into question!?”

Kageyama's eyes widened a bit at the news of this new information.

“I’m sure Oikawa was too busy reprimanding you to tell you this, but the current head of the Seijoh house has started to rescind the offer of the two of you being wed and bonded. And the cherry on the cake is that he suggested to the entire freaking council to put you on the throne! Said it’ll be the best way to get you to stay in the kingdom!” Yahaba said, facing Kageyama as he said the last part. The omega whipped his sweating forehead with the beach of his hand before walking to the sink for some water.

The entire time Yahaba had been ranting Kageyama had been inching his way closer and closer to the servants door. His hand was within reaching distance and he knew no one would be nearby if they had heard all the shouting, but he had to wait for the perfect opportunity to leave.

So when Yahaba looked towards him after downing a glass of water, cheeks flushed as he slowly started to curl into himself and Kageyama knew that now was his best bet.

“You.” Kageyama called out to a cook entering from the hallway, effectively getting her to stop in her tracks once she heard his voice.

 “Go and get Mad Dog, his omega went into heat in the kitchens.”

✦*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✿ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*✦

"Are you sure you can't come with us Yacchan?" Shouyou pouted as the girl finished tying the wrap that would keep Natsu held to his chest.

“I’m sorry Shouyou, but Ennoshita-san really needs help in his shop. Kinoshita went into heat, so I’ll be helping him for the next few days.” Yacchan explained, giving the orange haired male a tiny apologetic smile.

“I know! But it’d be more fun to go shopping if you came with us!” Yachi chuckled at his whining.

“You and Suga-san are only going to be buying some herbs at the market, you’ll be back before you know it!” Yachi bent down a bit to look at Natsu, who gave her a gummy smile.

“Shouyou, she’ll be right across the street working the front of the store. Plus you’ve met Ennoshita before, you know he’ll protect her.” Suga said as he entered the front room of the shop.

Shouyou huffed but nodded his head. Suga ruffled his hair with a wide smile and the smaller omega couldn’t help but smile up at him as well.

They made their way out of the shop and into the marketplace. Shouyou looked around, eyes wide with fascination. There were so many things to look at and so many smells. 

But what surprised him was how few alphas he could smell.

“Suga-san?” Shouyou asked as they stopped in front of a stall. The lady working it was already getting to work in bundling up some herbs with twine.

“Hmm?”

“How come there aren’t any alphas around?” Suga raised an eyebrow at him, dropping money into the woman’s palm.

“You’re now just noticing?” Suga asked with a smile. Shouyou tilted his head, looking all too much like a puppy when he did so. “The part of the kingdom we live in is made up of mainly omegas, though my shop does tend to get alphas because of Teushima’s battalion visiting every two weeks. Word of mouth ended up making more of them show up, but the only ones who visit regularly are actual customers now.”

Shouyou nodded, feeling a sense of joy that he had found such an amazing place to live and raise Natsu in.

At some point Suga had given Shouyou some money to go off and buy whatever he needed or wanted with a promise to meet up at the water fountain in the center of the marketplace.

He was very glad about that promise because every time he felt lost in the area he could take one wrong turn and would end up right in front of it.

“Do you think we should just wait for Suga, Natsu?” Shouyou asked the baby once he had wound up in front of the fountain for the sixth time. Natsu happily cooed as a response and Shouyou couldn’t help the smile that overtook him.

He sat on the rim of the fountain, casually watching people, before someone he knew all too well sat right beside him and started poking at Natsu’s chubby cheek.

“Oh, hello Terushima-san. What are you doing here?” Shouyou asked as he watched the alpha. 

“I was on a date with Misaki. I just dropped her off at her parents store when I saw you and wanted to talk.” Terushima said.

“Okay, what do you want to talk about?”

Terushima looked around the plaza, as if searching for someone. “Natsu’s dad isn’t in the picture, right?”

“Y-yeah?” Shouyou was taken aback, but answered nonetheless.

“You guys had a falling out, right?” Terushima asked and Shouyou was suddenly aware of the protective arm around his shoulder. It suddenly dawned on him that he should tell the alpha the truth about his relationship with Natsu.

“Terushima, me and N-”

“I think I bumped into Natsu’s dad earlier and I’m sure he’s looking for you two.” Terushima said, worry laced in his voice as he finally looked Shouyou in the eyes. The omega couldn’t help looking shocked, but he wasn’t sure who this alpha Terushima could be talking about.

“How do you know it’s me?” Shouyou blurted out, instantly feeling like an idiot. Now how was he going to convince him that Natsu was his sister?

The alpha went back to looking around the marketplace as he answered.

“Because I heard him asking around if anyone knew of a male omega with orange hair and smelt like strawberries. And you’re the only omega, probably in this entire continent, that fits that bill.” 

Shouyou felt stiff as he tried to think of an alpha that could both want to see him and would make Terushima confuse him as Natsu’s father. He was drawing blanks until he heard the older alpha curse beside him.

“Get up and walk in front of me.” Terushima said, looking straight ahead of him. Shouyou gave a single nod, his hands protectively wrapping around Natsu, before doing so. He let the alpha place both of his hands onto his shoulders as he guided all of them away from the fountain and out of the marketplace.

“Hey!” A very familiar voice shouted and Shouyou couldn’t help the way a shiver wracked his body.

It was the alpha he'd helped up in the mountains a while ago. The one that had a constant scowl on his face but smelled like roses and mahogony.

He didn't know why, but seeing him in the marketplace, a place bustling with people, made him scared.

In the matter of seconds Shouyou looked over his shoulder, seeing the alpha storming towards them with a scowl, until his perspective changed as Terushima picked him up horizontally and started running.

Shouyou could hear a growl from behind them before his attention was snapped down to Natsu, who started to whine and tear up at the sudden and abrupt movements.

The omega wasn’t sure what to do in that moment except letting his body go on instinct. He made shushing noises as he rubbed her back and let his scent wrap around her like a comforting blanket.

He wasn’t even sure how long it took them, but before he knew it he was inside of The Healing Crow, Terushima locking the door and drawing the curtains shut as he took jagged breaths.

“Gods, I have never been happier to have Sawamura as my captain.” Terushima choked out as he collapsed onto a chair.

“Did you lose him?” Shouyou asked, bouncing Natsu and rubbing her back to keep her, as well as himself, calm.

Terushima wiped a bit of sweat off his forehead, taking a big breath in before exhaling loudly.

“I… I think so.”

Shouyou gave a single nod, staring at the ground and trying to process everything that just happened, but none of it felt real.

This has to be a dream, Shouyou thought, there’s no way this could be happening.

I don’t want this to be happening.

Except, it was real, he realized, when the doorknob to the store wiggled around for a bit before stopping. Terushima was up on his feet again, pushing Shouyou to the door that would take him outside where he could either hide on the second floor or leave by going through the back gate, when the wiggling started again.

Terushima kept pushing him, but when Shouyou heard a distinctive click, he knew that he could no longer run away.

Because when the door swung open, there he stood, looking angry as ever.

Chapter Text

Hey guys, gals, and non-binary pals, sorry for being gone for so long and sorry for this not being an update. Just want to say thank you to all of those who have read this, gave kudos and wrote me comments. It's nice to know that people are still wanting to read my story even if it's been so long since I uploaded a chapter.

A lot of things have been happening in my life, not anything bad it's just been a lot on me mentally and I don't deal with those things in a... good way? It's not anything to be worried about, it's just that I have this thing were when I experience something new or something I know I don't react well to and it makes me scared or I don't know how to go about it I get very very anxious and my mental health gets bad and my mind just wants to shut down and forget everything. All I can focus on is the thing that makes me anxious and I don't have anyway of making it go away because I'm scared of messing up really badly and it isn't until I actually experience that thing (for example Jury duty, first person in my family to get that and it scared the shit out of me) and it wasn't until I got it done and over with that I felt like I could breathe and I didn't have that lingering feeling that I was going to randomly burst out crying.

But life just keeps going and there's always something to do or get prepared for and my anxiety is just making me want to shut down. Like my two current and biggest worries, multiple wildfires in my state and signing up for college again after a year.

...Yeah, those are like two very different worries.

If you don't know the west coast has been on fire since last week I would say? Right now me and my family are all safe, but I do have all my important things packed up in case we have to evacuate my county. Just read that Trump blamed the fires not on global warming but on the states for not managing our forest correctly (He blamed it on fallen trees and all the fallen leaves, like, what the actual fuck??) and my god am I fucking pissed off about that. But I'm not going to get political, this is not about that.

And I kind of forgot were I was going, but yeah, mental health made me lose the passion to write this story plus that little series that I just randomly wrote. Although it does feel good to be typing and posting something on here again, I have to focus on college which will be starting online next week. I'm just worried about not getting any classes because I had signed up for a class back in April? IDK, it was just spring term and that's when Covid really started making the way we went about life change and how we had to stay at home and in lockdown for many places/countries. But I didn't know how to do that and when I finally tried looking it up I go to my course schedule and I'm not in the class anymore which meant my professor dropped me out of the class and from what I can understand I won't have gotten a refund which means I would have to pay a fee and I'm not sure how much that would be and it scares me because my dad already needed to pay for mt last fall term out of pocket even though I had financial aid but I couldn't figure out how to do the loan stuff and my dad and older brother keep saying "Don't get into debt" and that pisses me off because that's hard not to do and being the first kid in my family to go to college just asdhniofhaeruwuo

I don't want to talk about that anymore and I'm not going to read that paragraph, so if it's lengthy or doesn't make sense, fuck it.

But yeah, that's how my life has been. I don't know when I'll be uploading an actual chapter for this story or for You have a what?!?

By the way you can click on the underline words it should take you to that story if you want to read it. It's a Haikyuu fic about Shouyou being a single dad, it has spoilers for the end of the manga so be warned. The relationships are past Hinata/Oikawa, past Hinata/Kageyama and Hinata&Kenma.

I've really lost my train of thought and re-reading what I've wrote is not going to bring it back no matter how much I want it to.

That's the end of that, sorry if it's a jumble but I hope you all understand. I'm not going to abandon this story, it's just going to take me some time to get back to a state of mind where I can start writing chapters again and uploading them. 

I do have something that I want to get off my chest but it's way more personal that what I've just written above, so if you don't want to read it I hope you have a good rest of your day and I hope to see you again when I upload an actual chapter.

So the thing that I want to talk about is my sexuality and gender identity. I've never really came out before because I was lucky enough to have had a great group of friends in high school where we were some type of person in the LGBT+ community or an ally and I want to try it on here.

Hi, you can call me Bee or you can call me Robin (neither are my real names), I'm 19, latinx, a middle child between two brothers, I love anything to do with the arts, like drawing and music, I would say I'm alternative even though I don't have the clothes that would convey that... and I'm gender fluid and pansexual.

A simple way of understanding both those terms is that being gender fluid means I identify as any gender on the spectrum. I'm biologically a female, which is the one I identify the most as, but there are days when I can feel more like a male, days where I feel like both or days where I feel like neither, which means me pronouns can change. Again, I do prefer she/her most of the time, but I don't mind being called he/him or they/them. And being pansexual means I don't have preference when it comes to being attracted to someone, I like a person for them, not what they identify as. I just want someone to adore and love.

Thank you for coming to my Tedtalk, and I hope to come back within these few remaining months and upload again for y'all <3