Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It’s well into his first year at UA, and still Shoto hasn’t presented. Every classmate having presented at the appropriate age during puberty, typically in middle school, Todoroki Shoto seems to be a late bloomer. With introductions, he is Todoroki Shoto, beta. In gender-separated classes or projects, he assumes the side of betas.

Though it’s not a complete lie, it’s an easy assumption to make. At UA, you are either an alpha, or beta. With omegas typically not being hero-material. Even in the pro ranks. Not for the lack of omega representation or repression, as there are some facts to it.

An omega is extremely vulnerable to pheromones in every day life. Alpha’s biologically produce pheromones influencing other genders. Pheromones leaking to bring calm to a situation. An immature or out of control alpha’s angry pheromones bringing fear and stress to those around them. An omega’s biology being more vulnerable to these pheromones than betas. There are laws in place to protect this vulnerable group, along with oppress them. Although society has come a long way to liberate omega’s legally, societally these oppressions still ring strong. Societally it’s a fact that hero work is no place for omegas. Though not a formal rule, this especially rings true at UA.

Class 1-A, 1-B, support, general studies. None in the years of UA have had an omega student. No omega would be comfortable in such an alpha dominated school to end up in an alpha dominated field of work.

So when one day, back in the Todoroki Estate visiting his family for a week during holiday, Shoto finds himself overcome with a high fever, slick dripping down his legs. His father busy with work, having no time to spend a national holiday back with his family leaving his children at home. The stress of such a revelation lies on Shoto’s two alpha siblings Fuyumi and Natsuo. Their little brother’s pheromones are changing, and he is going through his first heat at such a late age. The newly presented omega was too out of it to recognize the fear he should be in when his father discovers what’s happened.

Had Enji Todoroki been home when this occurred, you can bet the alpha would slap some suppression patches on all of Shoto’s scent glands and filling him to the brim with suppressing heat-cancelling injections. All to continue the charade of a simple beta child. Enji was already disappointed the pattern of alpha children was broken when he had a beta son. Though there are plenty of beta pro heroes, there are far less than alpha heroes.

An omega hero is unheard of.

And his own masterpiece no less?!

When he received the news over the phone from his daughter, a whole 3 days of heat had already passed. Enji raised his voice over the phone, cursing at his daughter’s foolish decision to not alert him as soon as it occurred. Though Fuyumi was surprised her father even answered the phone after third ring instead of ignoring it like he usually does. With a heat this bad Shoto needed to be isolated from the outside world. Only interacting with betas as necessary. And although never rebellious, he knew not to entrust his daughter with chemically altering Shoto’s heat with injections. She would absolutely refuse. The time had passed, and what is done is done, and the Todoroki patriarch has to focus on what needs to be done in the wake of such a situation.

How can he re-create a new perfect masterpiece with his wife to replace such an omega failure when he is banned from even seeing her in the hospital? His mind immediately wandered to such an admittedly selfish and dark subject, the father found himself chastising such thoughts. Having his perfect son turn out to be an omega failure is shameful. Having such thoughts to immediately replace him, only brought more shame to the forefront.

How can he make this work? How will his perfect son being an omega affect his public image? Should he immediately resign his son from UA? Should he patch Shoto up in scent patches and heat suppressants along with a string of lies to carry with him the rest of his life?

Going through scenarios and probabilities and percentage chances, Enji decides he cannot come to a conclusion on his own. He quickly assigns his hero work off to his underlings and has an emergency meeting with his own personal PR team. Ultimately, it is his image he is worried about being damaged with this revelation. The Todoroki name and lineage are at stake.

With a four hour meeting with professional council, Enji finally comes to a conclusion what he must do.

Enji has a meeting with principal Nezu, and teachers at UA about Shoto’s predicament. He is to continue his studies as normal, not treated any differently lest the school should see themselves in an all out lawsuit. Though there were no need for threats in the first place, as the subject wasn’t even debated. Everyone agreeing with the conditions, though worrying and concern were at the forefront of the teacher’s minds.

“What about putting a few protections in place-“ Shoto’s very own homeroom teacher Shota Aizawa is the first to voice his concerns.

“What did I just say?” Enji interrupts. The subject irritating the alpha to the beginning of flames barely sparking around his face. Though he remains professional, retaining his anger from seeping into his scent and affecting their conversation.

Hesitant to get a word in and voice the obvious concerns to the flame hero, the group of teachers look in unison to their principal.

“Well, I can assure you, if there are any gender boundaries crossed among our students, there will be punishment and zero tolerance. We will make that clear to all of our students to ensure fair treatment to our student Shoto.” The white furry principal reassures the seething flame hero before him. His flames recede from Enji’s face as he nods in contentment to the staff.

“Very well. I expect to be informed on any changes to his studies and hero training. Thank you.” Enji says sternly, staring down each teacher gathered at the table before him. Without waiting for a response, he gets up from his chair and exits the room. Leaving the UA staff to talk amongst each other.

“This is a nightmare. How can we expect a bunch of young immature alphas to act normal around an omega in class?”

“How can Aizawa guarantee the safety with so many alphas in his home room class alone? I don’t envy him.”

The meeting is adjourned, and tomorrow marks the recommencing of classes after the week-long break.

Chapter Text

It’s the first day back in class after the week long holiday break and class 1-A have finally settled in their seats. Before the time for class to begin, students spent their time discussing what they did over the break, or whatever they got up to while gone.

“It’s strange Shoto is still not here.” The class president Iida Tenya was the first to comment on his classmate’s unusual absence.

“That is unlike him, class is going to start in 2 minutes… Maybe he will be arriving late?” Midoriya Izuku rubs his chin, puzzled by his friend’s absence. Uraraka sits down in her seat beside him. “Don’t worry, he’s probably just late. I’m sure he’ll be here soon. He hasn’t missed a class yet!” Ever the caring beta, Uraraka attempts injecting some positivity into the conversation.

“Maybe he’s still dealing with signing up to retake the provisional license exam? He did begin the holiday break baring the unfortunate news of failing the exams…” Iida supplements their thoughts.

“I don’t know, Kacchan signed up for those online, he failed too…” Deku slouches in his desk, further unwrapping the mystery, becoming deep in thought. Before he could speculate any further, their homeroom teacher enters the classroom.

“Welcome back students.” The raven haired teacher stretches with a yawn, approaching the front of his desk to address the class. As much as the sleeping bag behind his desk was calling his name, he had the duty to debrief his students on the sudden situation with one of their classmates.

“Before you begin your classes for the day, there is something I must address. We have new expectations in this class.” His tone is serious, the underlying chitchat amongst students dissipating.

Great… Last thing I need is more talk of failing that shitty exam last week. I heard enough of expectations. They already let me know how bad I fucked up.

Bakugo, the alpha on top of the unspoken class hierarchy rants in his mind assuming he was going to get more public scrutiny for such a shitty performance at those exams before break. He looks out the window, disengaging from the conversation he anticipates being about him and his shortcomings. As if he hasn’t heard enough of that already.

“We have an omega joining our class…”

The blond alpha’s ears perk up at that, as well as the rest of the class. All direct attention on the teacher before them now.

“Todoroki Shoto will be rejoining us shortly, newly presented as an Omega. As you all know, in the decades of established UA classes, we have never had an omega student. We haven’t had laws or rules in this establishment discriminating omegas from joining since 40 years ago, and we will not welcome that mindset back in this school or my class. Todoroki is going to continue his education here with his new secondary gender. And my expectations are that you will all continue your education as usual. Any, and I mean any mistreatment, discrimination, or change in behavior is not welcome in my class or this school. Classes will resume as usual. If you have any difficulty navigating this new dynamic, the school counselors are available for any questions or concerns you may have.” Aizawa concludes his speech as the students soak in the information with wide eyes, mouths agape.

Shoto only broke his 3 day long first heat that morning. Post-heat is the end of the most severe estrus symptoms, though, not the end of the cycle completely. In the workplace leave of absence for a heat cycle is a legal obligation by an employer that includes the full cycle. Pre and post heat included. This is due to the severe symptoms that remain even in post heat. That includes a heightened vulnerability to pheromones, alpha voices, and overall body and mental weakness. Post heat gives an omega time to recover during estrus after the fertile body expended so much energy preparing for a mating.

If only his father understood post-heat was not the full end of an Omega’s cycle, or perhaps he just didn’t care. The most he allowed for Shoto was a late awakening that morning, so he can return to his classes alone, not surrounded by the groups of students returning to classes as scheduled. Although small, the omega appreciates the gesture. He is not looking forward to his new class dynamic. With a deep inhale, Shoto enters the UA building.

After Aizawa finishes his speech, his tired eyes roam around the confused and shocked faces of his class. It’s with lightening speed, that he deploys his capturing ropes that rest on his shoulders to the back of the class, wrapping and retrieving the phones of two students, placing them on his desk.

In the back of the class, betas Mineta and Kaminari have their text conversation on the situation interrupted by the teacher, leaving them standing up straight at attention in their desks, embarrassed at being caught.

“You two can have these back at the end of the school day.“ The tired eyed teacher glared at the two misbehaved students when the door is quietly opened, entering Todoroki Shoto.

“Welcome back Todoroki,” He now turns his attention back to the rest of the class. “ Now everybody prepare for your first class after homeroom.” Aizawa yawns deeply, stretching his arms above his head in such a cat-like manner before retreating back to his desk. With that heavy speech finally off his chest, he feels the tiredness flood and relax his body as he sits down.

All eyes on the red and white haired omega at the door to the classroom does nothing to ease the tense heat he feels in his body, further blushing his already rosy cheeks. It’s when he walks to his desk that all the strong scents hit him. The smell of his classmate’s emotions have never been so palpable before today. Shock with notes of excitement is clouding his mind from the pheromones around him. He sits at his desk with a hand rubbing his forehead in a self-soothing manner.

“Hey Todoroki!” Ochako addresses the omega in her seat beside him. “How was your break?”

He remains quiet for a few seconds, deciding he would withhold revealing what hell a first heat turned out to be.

“It was fine.” Shoto exhales, the embarrassment from being the center of attention so suddenly seems to have drained him in all facets.

“So…. H-How are you feeling Shoto?” Comes the voice of Midoriya, turning from his seat in front of the omega. Although a thoughtful sentiment, and worded carefully to not offend Shoto, he feels his heavy stomach weigh down even more with feelings of shame. It takes an unusual amount of focus in his brain-fogged mind to come up with a response. He trusts his friends would never think differently of him, so he contemplates being honest. His heart and mind weigh heavy with the burden of being a new omega, let alone the only omega in the entire school. As he mulls over his response, contemplating sharing his honest feelings, he feels his stomach lurching. Shoto slumps over his desk, grabbing his stomach, wincing in pain.

He feels a hand on his shoulder, a wave of calm pheromones dulling his pain. He looks up to see the alpha class president Iida gently patting his shoulder. “Do you feel alright, Shoto? You’re burning up. Is your quirk alright?” The dark haired alpha voices his concern, but the omega’s brain feels like mush with the wave of calm pheromones the alpha was releasing.

“Um…” Shoto attempts at responding, preferring to sit in the pheromones in a relaxing silence. His throat rumbling with the beginnings of a purr.

“I’m fine, Iida.” Shoto says softly, appreciating the assist with the alpha’s calming pheromones.

It’s then that the bell for the next class rings, bringing them out of their conversation. Shoto looks up as the pheromones dissipate and the hand falls from his shoulder, when he feels jolted to awareness. His back is burning with the feeling of sharp eyes on him. Tentatively, he looks back, eyes meeting the alpha Bakugo who is gathering his things to exit the room. The alpha’s crimson eyes sizing him up and down, eventually landing on the omega’s neck.

Shoto’s eyes furrow, frozen in place under the scrutiny of Bakugo’s eyes. The omega averts his gaze to his lap in a submissive gesture.

It was then the beta Midoriya noticed what the alpha was doing, asserting dominance with his own unyielding gaze. The beta seethed at what he just witnessed, glaring at the alpha. To which said alpha clicked his teeth, slinging his backpack over his shoulder and made his way to exit the classroom.

So he really is an omega. Stupid nerd… I’m the alpha here. The blonde alpha thought with annoyance. As the clear dominant alpha of class 1-A it’s only natural he’d be assertive to those around him. It was an ego boost having anyone submit to him, though this time he was just sizing the omega up to see if it really was true. Shoto averting his gaze was undeniable proof that what Aizawa said was true. Not to mention the new scent pouring out of the omega as Bakugo walked past his seat. Bakugo fought the urge to open his mouth to taste the aroma on the tip of his tongue, biting his lip instead. He felt himself beginning to salivate, teeth biting deeper into his bottom lip resisting the natural urge to taste the air, speeding up his way out the door not caring if he shoulder checked a few extras on the way out.

“What a jerk.” Ochako muttered, as the group of friends gather their things and make their way to their next class.

The burning deep in his core is unrelenting and distracting. The scents surrounding him is overwhelming to the point Shoto refuses to interact with any one of his classmates, curling into himself at his seat. He can sense eyes on him, observing his obvious discomfort only increasing the stress he feels. It’s when the teacher’s eyes land on him, seemingly about to ask if the omega was alright, when he jerked his hand in the air.

“May I be excused for a moment? I-I need to use the restroom.”

Before the omega is excused, he pushes his chair back, speed walking out of the classroom and into the hallway.

With an exhale, Shoto takes in his surroundings, looking up and down each sides of the hallway. He’s alone in the corridor, easing his anxiety only a bit. Maybe some water would help as he really does feel unbearably hot. Not disabling like it was two days ago in the middle of his heat, but still he yearns to feel normal again. Like he did before he presented. Everything happened so fast he still remembers what it felt like to be ‘normal’.

Shakily, Shoto makes his way down the hall in search of a water station, anyway to cool down the growing heat beneath his skin. As he continues down the hallway his steps appear untrained as he feels his body grow hotter and hotter, until he feels strong hands catch his body from faltering after a misstep. When had he lost his balance and started falling? When did he activate his quirk and why were flames beginning to spark on his left side?

He is braced against the wall, a hand on his shoulder keeping his balance in place… the scent of a caramelized musk filling his nose… Bakugo?

“You idiot!! Turn down your heat! You don’t notice you’re about to burn the building down with your quirk?!” The blonde alpha chastises Shoto, not in his typically raised voice, almost in a repressed whisper-shout.

“M-my quirk is on?” Shoto pants, the heat almost blacking out his vision as he tries to focus on the alpha in front of him. Since when was the alpha’s scent this strong?

Then suddenly the calming alpha pheromones he got a taste of earlier are flooding his system, the alpha lifting his chin, centralizing the release of calming pheromones from the scent gland on his wrist, the scent wafting up to Shoto’s nose.

“Focus and get control of yourself already. Turn it down, idiot.” Bakugo’s chastises, his worry for the omega increasing.

Shoto is silent as he basks in the calming pheromones, not saying a word. The release of all his stress, allowing him to focus on Bakugo’s words.

Why couldn’t I control my quirk just now?

The omega attempts to balance his internal temperature that usually comes naturally to him. Activating his cooler right size, relieving the heat he felt slowly increasing the whole morning. He takes deep breaths feeling grounded by the blonde alpha holding his chin. The alpha’s grip tightens slightly, getting Shoto’s attention back on him as he opens his eyes.

Why does he look so worried? He’s angry at me?

“I didn’t know I was doing that…” Shoto speaks softly, embarrassed at the lack of control he had over himself.

“Why are you even here? Why would they allow an omega back to class still in post-heat? Fucking ridiculous!” Bakugo seethes, glaring at the omega, though his anger is not directed towards him, rather their situation.

“Post-heat?” Shoto’s mind is clearing up as his temperature feels as close to normal as it can in that moment.

“Yes, dumbass. You don’t know that?” The alpha softens his gaze, he couldn’t help showing the concern in his voice.

“…” Shoto averts his gaze to the floor. What’s that? Post-heat? There wasn’t a single omega in the Todoroki family, with no need to be educated on the fact or first hand experiences with one. He felt embarrassed and ashamed for not knowing something that is seemingly common knowledge with the way Bakugo is speaking.

“Sorry. I didn’t know that’s what I was experiencing. Is… that why I couldn’t control my quirk?” Shoto looks back up at the alpha in front of him, who withdraws his hand from the omega’s chin. Shoto can balance himself now, no longer being braced against the wall with Bakugo’s other hand.

“Yes. You shouldn’t even be here if you can’t have control over your quirk. How do you expect to even survive the remedial classes if you’re in post-heat and can’t control your quirk from overheating yourself?” Bakugo hardens his gaze once again, voice stern.

At the mention of the supplemental remedial classes after failing the license exam, the two have to attend that afternoon, the omega straightens up, attempting to prove his competence.

“I can do it, Bakugo-“

“No you can’t! How am I expected to pass with an omega in post-heat as my teammate?! Why the fuck would Endeavor send you back like this?!” If looks could kill, Shoto would be struck dead as they speak. The Alpha’s voice raising as he went on.

“I’m sorry!” The omega defends, he feels extremely guilty for the situation he found himself in. Though Bakugo is right, Shoto can’t let his own issues bring his teammates down with him. Their grades for the remedial classes really do lie in his hands. Teamwork on the battle field is a huge factor in their grade. Shoto feels his thoughts begin to spiral, unknowingly leaking his distress into his scent.

“Listen.” Bakugo touches the omega’s chin again, focusing his calming pheromones into his wrist. He knows as an alpha, he is responsible for his own scent and how it affects others. It felt natural to use his pheromones in this situation.

“After classes, when we need to head out to our license exam, we’ll figure out what to do then.” He sees how vulnerable Shoto is to the scents around him, and how out of control the omega is himself with his own scent. A proper omega would have had enough experience by now to know not to leak every emotion into their scent, and just in this conversation alone Bakugo got a whiff of every emotion Shoto felt. The omega was wearing his emotions in his scent like an out of control diffuser.

“Just try not to kill yourself with your fire before then.” The alpha pulls away, giving the omega one last stern look before turning and making his way back to his own class. Leaving a dissipating cloud of calming pheromones in his wake, leaving Shoto to crave more of the scent.

Left by himself in the hallway, Shoto takes in his current state. He feels balanced and far better than he did when he left the classroom. Bakugo did that? All of his prior stress has disappeared, and he feels as close to normal as he did before he went into heat. He turns his head down the hallway Bakugo took before turning the corner to get to class. Shoto finds himself wanting to chase after the calm he just felt, but his brain is clearer, and he knows he should get back to class now.

Post-heat…. I feel fine now. I guess post-heat affects my quirk. And Bakugo knows exactly how to make me feel better. It was with his scent? His scent never affected me like that before, and he always smells angry. It cant be. It’s just post-heat affecting me.

Shoto takes an uneducated attempt rationalizing what just happened. He knows there’s a lot that he doesn’t know about his new presentation. But his predicament is solved now, and his insides are no longer overheating. He should focus his mind on how he will pass his exams later today, and what strategies he will use.

The omega raises his hands to look at his palms, summoning ice, and then fire. Increasing and decreasing the output in each palm. His quirk is fine, and he’ll be fine later. He’s confident now that he won’t be in anyone’s way of passing the remedial classes this week. They’ll be fine. He’ll be fine.

Chapter Text

Shoto and Bakugo meet up for their remedial classes in their usual wing of the UA building, forgoing the last few afternoon classes with their UA classmates to travel via subway to the sports center building for remedial training. The omega looking up as the blonde approaches him, eyeing him up and down. 

“You look better.” The alpha states, eyes finally settling on the omega’s.

“I do Bakugo, thanks to you. I’m sorry I was out of control earlier, but thanks to you I—“ Shoto’s monotone appreciation was cut short by the alpha with a raised voice,

“Don’t mention it!!” The blonde waves a dismissive hand, leading the way to the station to begin their commute to remedial classes. Bakugo nonchalantly looks away from the omega, hoping the heat in his cheeks aren’t too noticeable. 

Thankfully, the UA campus is so conveniently located with stations nearby, Bakugo smells the omega’s discomfort before he turns around and sees it on his face. The omega’s nostrils flaring, he brings his sleeve to his face to filter out the overwhelming scents beginning to flood his system. So many different scents, emotions, and pheromones! Bakugo chuckles lightly, being reminded of when he first presented many years ago. He knows exactly what’s going through Shoto’s system right now. Approaching a crowd of people with so many scents can be nauseating, such an uncomfortable variety of emotions and scents you can almost taste them in the back of your throat. 

But Bakugo’s older now, more experienced. A part of maturing into your dynamic includes self control in all aspects. Controlling what emotions you leak into your scent, and controlling how those scents affect you. Heats and ruts are unfortunately volatile cycles, making senses hypersensitive. Touch and scent are intimately interconnected with these cycles. Bakugo can imagine the sensory overload Shoto must feel being in post-heat right now. The omega isn’t even completely out of his heat-cycle yet, he should be comfortably nesting right now surrounded by familiar scents. What kind of alpha is Endeavor to have his omega son in public like this?

Bakugo keeps his eyes on the omega beside him, gaging his reaction. What exactly are the differences between omegas and alphas in this scenario? The alpha knows post-ruts are nothing too serious. His own makes him more irritable than usual, slightly groggy and certainly more sensitive to the scents around him. Bakugo knows Shoto needs to be in top shape and clear mind to face their remedial classes later, and not fuck up his own chances of passing. Not to mention there’s a  subtle instinct to protect the omega beside him unknowingly itching to the forefront of his mind.

They’ve completely merged into the crowd waiting for the train now, the omega subconsciously choosing to face the familiar smoky caramelized scent of Bakugo in front of him, wishing he could cage himself in the alpha’s space to repel the unpleasant blend of strange scents around him. He should be having the typical post heat experience in a comfortable nest surrounded by scents of his choosing, but he’ll have to deal with the circumstances at hand.

What kind of alpha would Bakugo be to push the omega away? Not to mention the sense of pride he feels rushing through his chest knowing that his scent is a source of comfort. Bakugo finds himself wondering if one of his shirts would be a good fit in Shoto’s nest? Maybe his ego does feel a little more inflated with this new dynamic. 

“Don’t worry. The scents overwhelming you— it goes away. You’ll learn to handle it.” The alpha gives his curt words of advice to the omega subtly inching closer to him. “Mhm.” The omega’s response is muffled by the sleeve covering his nose shielding him from the scents. He looks up at the alpha, getting lost in his thoughts.

Bakugo is so kind to me today… He isn’t judging me just because I’ve changed… The same as my friends this morning. He really can be compassionate, like a true friend. 

Shoto reflects on how close him and the alpha have grown since they failed the license exam. And he smells so good… did Bakugo always smell like this?

The alpha was lazily looking over his shoulder to the train schedules before he returned his gaze back to the omega in front of him, who has sneakily inched incredibly close to him. Shoto is gazing up at him with wide sparkling eyes of adoration. Not very subtly staring, either. How socially inept of him, doesn’t he know staring is rude?

Bakugo’s face turns bright red, glaring down at Shoto for encroaching into his personal bubble. Though he can’t find the strength to push him away with the tantalizing sweet apple scent so potent this close, he’d rather selfishly bask in it instead of correcting the omega’s lack of spatial awareness. What is he thinking about anyway?

He really is fucking cute…

Bakugo finds himself agreeing with the sentiment the majority of class had on the omega, even before he presented. Shoto really is a pretty boy. A beautiful omega with such a mouth watering juicy scent invading his space isn’t really something Bakugo can bring himself to complain about…

The blonde averts his gaze from the puppy-eyed omega, squaring his shoulders and subtly puffing out his chest. His inner alpha preening at the thought of having such a beautiful omega by his side. A high-value alpha like himself would expect to have only the best looking omega around him. He wouldn’t really allow anything less so close to him. Shoto should consider himself lucky actually. 

Bakugo smells so good… did he always smell like this? I can ignore all the scents around me when he’s next to me. 

When the train finally arrives, it’s packed like usual. But for the first time, Shoto really dreads the close quarters with strangers tightly packed together like sardines in a can. 

Bakugo leads the way inside, seeing no seats are available as usual, the pair resort to standing, using the handles overhead to keep balanced as they face each other.

While used to dealing with a myriad of scents all at once, the potent sweet juicy scent of Shoto is a whole new scent to Bakugo, and the alpha can’t help but continue to focus on the scent right in front of him, taking out his phone to appear nonchalant in front of the omega. As if he isn’t subtly taking deep breathes, and slightly parting his lips to taste it on the tip of his tongue. 

Shoto on the other hand, is not having a relaxing experience as he usually does on the ride to remedial classes. His body feels like it’s on fire again, friction from the body’s surrounding him, bumping him, touching him keep him hyper focused and irritated. At each stop the train cart gains more passengers with fewer exiting. Suddenly Shoto feels a person selfishly taking up space behind the omega, much to his annoyance. As packed as it is, did this alpha seriously have to have his whole body against Shoto? The omega fumes in his mind, glaring at Bakugo’s shoes. To cope, Shoto resorts to folding his sleeve over his hand and covering his nose.

The train cart is silent as usual, no rude interruptions with loud phone calls or videos played aloud. He looks up at Bakugo in front of him who even put in a single headphone, holding his phone sideways watching some video. If only Shoto thought to bring his own pair of earbuds, maybe his phone would aid in distracting him from the irritating situation he finds himself in.

The omega’s body slightly jolts to attention, feeling something graze his behind. Everybody is shoulder to shoulder, occasionally bumping elbows, but is there really any reason for this stranger to be close enough for him to feel the alpha against his back?!

That light graze turns into a solid push against the omega’s ass, settling itself plush against the round muscle. Shoto’s face turns beat red in embarrassment. What is that? What is that? What is that?!

The omega glances over to the tinted window of the train cart, seeing the alpha behind him’s reflection in the dark glass. The alpha is so close against Shoto’s body, but he sees a phone held in the man’s hands looking at the screen, seemingly engrossed in whatever video or picture he may be looking at.

This strange alpha is seriously so distracted by his phone that he doesn’t notice he’s so inappropriately close to the omega in front of him?! 

Shoto’s face is heating up, and his eyes begin to water. He feels violated and embarrassed, there’s no where for him to step away without stepping on someone’s shoes. The last thing Shoto wants is to cause a commotion and make a nuisance of himself. He feels sweat dripping down his temple at the violation he feels constantly pressed against him. What is that…??

The omega rationalizes in his mind, it’s the alpha’s knee, something in his pocket, a crossbody bag pushing into his ass. He gives the alpha the benefit of the doubt, but it does little to ease the embarrassment of having that private part of his body being invaded. By an object on the alpha’s person or otherwise. It must be an object.

He sees some movement more than just the swaying of passengers in the reflection of the window, the omega frozen in place as the stranger behind him is moving his lower body against him. Whatever that is pressing and grinding against him is harder than before.

It’s this realization that freaks Shoto out, his deer response not doing anything to remedy his situation. At this point Shoto begins to leak the scent of distress into the air, he smells terrified. Eyes wide, beet red face buried into his sleeve, muffling a quiet whimper. 

Even with one earbud in, Bakugo jerks his head up at the smell. Shoto smells terrified. The blond plucks out his earbud to put in his pocket, when he notices the stranger behind the red and white haired omega. 

There’s a tall alpha, leering over Shoto’s shoulder, taking deep inhales of the omega’s scent. His nose mere inches away from the small omega’s neck. A fucking old pervert invading a young omega’s space. It takes a disgusting, wicked kind of alpha bastard to try and defile an innocent looking omega like Shoto. It boils Bakugo’s blood as he reacted within seconds. Fuck being a nuisance in public.

The blond alpha grabs Shoto close to him, their body’s touching, reaching his other hand to grab the strange alpha’s face. The crackling sounds of his quirk sparking against the alphas face fills the silence of the train cart like freshly lit fireworks bound to explode. His grip remains tight as he continues the spark. 

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Bakugo growls, pushing the alpha’s face back, causing the man to lose his balance and fall back against the crowd behind him. Tripping over a tangle of legs. The strange alpha lets out a yelp, grabbing at his face which is undeniably burned by the simple sparks of the alpha’s quirk.  The crowd surrounding them look at the commotion with annoyance and curiosity. 

It’s obvious the alpha expected Shoto to be a good omega and not cause a disturbance to everyone’s quiet commute. To be submissive and just shut up and take it, not a nuisance. Who the fuck does this guy think he is? Fucking around with Bakugo’s omega classmate like that. It’s clear there’s no way an alpha like Bakugo would let something like that slide. Now he sees first hand why there’s so many caution signs about groping on every fucking subway. No wonder there are omega only designated areas on the train. 

“Get the fuck out of here, douchebag!” The blond growls at the alpha scurrying to his feet, still gripping his face as he pushes his way through the crowd to get far away from the angry alpha and off the train as soon as possible.

“B-Bakugo!” Shoto’s voice is muffled by the blonde’s shirt. The alpha having a death grip on the omega, pressing his body protectively against him. The blond’s scent turning to an acrid, bitter smoke. All eyes are on the blonde alpha, the pair gaining a small circle of space around them, some people even transferring between carts to exit the situation. So much for not disrupting everyone’s afternoon commute, It smells like distress and smoke in there. 

Bakugo keeps his grip tight on Shoto, his arm wrapped protectively over the omega, extremely pissed at what he just witnessed. His sharp, intense glare challenging anyone to try him. 

Shoto relents in Bakugo’s grip, gently grabbing onto the alpha’s shirt. He looks up at the angry alpha with the same glossy puppy eyes of adoration he had earlier.

He’s so considerate!! 

Shoto couldn’t imagine a time he’s felt safer than in the alpha’s protective strong arms. He truly is a model alpha. Ever since his first heat, Shoto feels like a completely different person. Maybe that word ‘post-heat’ Bakugo mentioned earlier has something to do with his current state. He feels disconnected from his quirk, disconnected from his strength. Almost like he’s a kid again just now getting familiar with his quirk. As if there’s a mental fog clouding his quirk and motor skills. The last person Shoto would expect to depend on at his most vulnerable, is Bakugo Katsuki.

It seems there’s a whole different side to Bakugo Katsuki that Shoto’s never seen before. It makes Shoto feel a way he’s never felt before, warming his chest and making his knees weak. The omega burries his face in the alpha’s shoulder, finally free from the rustling of bodies and unwanted touches thanks to Bakugo. It reminds Shoto of an alpha like All Might. So different from his father… is this what it means to be a true alpha? To always protect, and look out for those in their most vulnerable state?

Alphas and omegas, two pieces of the same puzzle. Shoto is finally getting a glimpse at what makes these dynamics so different, yet so completely complementary to each other. Shoto understands there’s a lot for him to learn, and from the looks of today, to always anticipate the worst. 

Not a long trip, it took several stops for the pair to finally arrive at their station and make their way to the sports center for remedial classes. Bakugo, still on edge from the earlier altercation, remains on high alert for any unwanted action that may approach them. 

Finally the pair step foot inside the building. The alpha wonders if any of the students for the remedial classes were given the same debriefing as class 1-A had early on in the day. The last thing he needs is the omega overthinking right before classes. It was Shoto’s horrible teamwork that made him fail in the first place. The omega can fail on his own time, but with teamwork being a huge part of their grade, Bakugo will not be going down with him. Walking down the halls, Bakugo really wonders if that is the case with the way he feels eyes constantly following him from the occasional student as they continue down the halls… Which locker room would the omega even use? Would the alpha have to keep watch for him outside the beta locker rooms? The two usually go there own way at this point, when suddenly a loud booming voice comes from the hallway, approaching them.

“Hey!! It’s UA!”