Chapter Text
The first day of classes for the semester started like any other. Bakugou’s design professor clears his throat to signal the beginning of class. Instead of beginning his lecture though, he has a special announcement: A new student will be joining their class.
An alpha.
An “exceptional” alpha, they call them. The teacher explains that he has a clean record, has scored well on temperamental and instinctual tests, as well as scored 2nd on the placement exam.
“Of course he will have an escort and always be muzzled. If anyone has any concerns or questions please see me after—“
“I though alphas weren’t allowed!” A beta in the back tossed out.
The teacher cleared his throat again.
“Of course they are allowed. We don’t discriminate like that.” His words were true, but that didn’t mean they didn’t set up dozens of hoops and hurdles for the aggressive alphas to jump through.
“I bet he’ll get expelled in the first month,” Bakugou scoffed loudly from the front row. He had been the one to place first in the placement exam. What he didn’t know was that the hulking newcomer had already passed through the doorway and heard his comment.
The room tensed. Like most alphas, the guy was a fucking mountain. His spiky red mane was tied back and cascaded down his back. His muzzle was black stainless steel with red accents. And then his eyes...
His eyes were predatory. He locked onto the loud blond who had already thrown shade his way. Although the new student actually just felt nervous, the culture dictated omegas and betas be wary of him as a potential threat.
But Bakugou didn’t look away, didn’t tilt his head, in fact he /snarled/. This was his turf and he was in charge. Kirishima cocked an eyebrow and walked over.
He stuck out a hand toward the blond who looked completely disgusted.
“I’ll take you up on that bet,” he smiled, mouth full of glass shards, yet still warm.
Even with kindness behind his eyes, the nearby students recoiled. His smile dropped. He forgot how strange this would be for everyone. So he made himself small and sat in the only empty seat by Bakugou.
The blond pulled out a crisp twenty dollar bill and slammed it on the desk area between them. Kiri looked determined and pulled out his own wallet. He counted through his smaller bills until he had 20. It only left two to spare, but neither of them mentioned it.
“You keep it until you drop out. I don’t wanna walk around campus with anything smelling like alpha,” Bakugou sneered. Kiri rubbed his scent patches to make sure it was sealed.
Then he set himself up to take notes. It was gonna take more than a class bully to keep him from being the first alpha in his family to get a college degree.
Bakugou was well educated. He knew what kinds of differences alphas had physically and behaviorally. But sitting next to one in real life was different. Almost... no, Bakugou was never scared.
But he was so aware of when those thick, strong hands met his face for a gentle scratch around his muzzle or scent patches. It was like entire range of piano keys lay across his spine, played high to low.
Bakugou huffed. He shouldn’t have to put up with this. The guy wasn’t even doing anything, yet something in Bakugou was /itching/. The faster he was gone the better.
Once class ended Bakugou stood up, shoved his materials in his pack, and spun hard enough that the jacket over his shoulder hit the alpha in the face with blatant omega pheromones. “Oops,” Bakugou smirked.
But Kirishima was calm. Sure, the pheromones affected him. Sure, the blond was sculpted by the gods. Sure, the confident omega made his secondary self sing. But /he/ didn’t need to know that.
Kirishima, well trained in self control, let the smell waft over him. He even enjoyed it a bit. But he was used to such things. He had his alpha tamed tighter than most. All he said in response with a smile was,
“Sorry!”
Bakugou was baffled. An alpha just apologized for a baby thirst trap that he had just shoved in the red-head’s face. Bakugou boiled before stomping out of the classroom.
On the second day they got their first real assignment. It involved cutting shapes out of colored paper and arranging them in a way that emulated weight. The moment Kirishima flicked off the top of his exacto knife, an audible gasp was heard.
“Sensei,” Bakugou started. “He’s allowed to have a knife?!”
“You all are,” he raised an eyebrow back at him.
“But—“
“If you have an issue, see me after class.”
Bakugou sat plopped back down in his seat with a huff. Kirishima was tempted to smile or gloat, but he was actually intrigued by the challenge of the assignment. To take simple forms and limited color to portray something so abstract...
“Wonder how many people will get murdered this semester,” Bakugou grumbled. Kirishima pressed a little too hard and the tip of his knife broke off. He took a deep breath like he had been taught to as a child.
He twisted the blade loose and plucked it between meaty fingers. Bakugou swallowed hard as the hulking man leaned toward him. He reached across the blond to place the little piece of metal into the blade disposal container.
He paused in the omega’s space. He wasn’t one to start trouble. If he was he would have never made it here. But, he did want to set the record straight. He spoke low with a slight rasp.
“I have more self control than anyone in here.”
Bakugou scoffed. “Like that’d ever be possible!” He sneered, but the alpha wasn’t looking. He was so infuriating.
They finished the exercise, hung each work and started to critique. Bakugou’s was clean and perfectly glued, but it didn’t really achieve the goal. Whereas Kirishima’s was a little rough around the corner but was the classroom favorite for the challenge.
Bakugou didn’t even try to hide his anger. He glared at the red-head until it was time to return to their seats. Bakugou muttered “lucky,” under his breath and the asshole just smiled.
“Is there a problem Bakugou-kun?” The teacher asked.
“No,” he gritted out.
“Good. Out next assignment will be done in pairs, so pick a partner.”
Bakugou was immediately sweating. He wasn’t here to make friends and it showed. Everyone grouped up quickly except the loud-mouthed blond and lowly alpha.
“There’s no way...”
“Working with a partner is part of your grade,” their sensei reminded.
“Shit.” Bakugou racked his brain for some other possibility before glancing at the alpha. He honestly looked sheepish and nervous.
“S-sorry,” he ended up saying. An alpha apologizing? For a second time? Since when?? Bakugou had no words. So he grunted and scratched his head. It was silently established. They were partners.
“Make a ‘portrait’ of your partner with the same colorful paper shapes. You may have to ask a few questions about their personality for this if you don’t know them.”
Fuck. Now they had to talk personal details??
“S-so do you do, uh, any sports?”
“How the fuck is that going to help you with a portrait??”
“I dunno, he smiled softly.
“Fuck. I’ve done Aikido since middle school,” Bakugou mumbled, considering how he would make up this failed grade.
“That’s so cool!” Kirishima lit up excitedly. It reminded Bakugou of a pit bull his childhood friend had. “I always wanted to try that...” Kirishima deflated some. Alphas weren’t allowed to participate in anything that might encourage their aggressive natures.
“Just give me three personality traits.”
“Oh okay, hmmm. I like to consider myself... manly! At least I try my best to be.”
“How the fuck is that a personality trait??”
“Ya know, like honorable, respectful, always helps a bro out, kind, diligent—“ /so many things that are traditionally not alpha.../
“All right that’s enough. I’m loud, smart, and driven.”
“Perfect,” Kirishima smiled wider, still sure to hide his teeth.
Bakugou turned back to his blank foam board, his mini canvas. How could he show a “manly” guy via shapes and colors... Kirishima had an idea right away but moved slowly to make each cut perfect, because Bakugou was perfe— I mean, a perfectionist.
The omega focused on the personality traits, imagined /them/ instead of the alpha traits that came with his unintentional bias. He saw it clearer. Someone reliable, resilient, stable.
His cut the red paper into a tall triangle that hung off the top of his board. This guy didn’t fit into a regular-sized alpha box and neither should his portrait. He layered lighter colors inside, warm and inviting within.
It didn’t really match how Bakugou saw him, but it was the best he could do with the details he had about the alpha.
The final touch was a white circle in the hearth. He described the outside layer as strong, the middle as reliable, and circle as kind.
...Maybe he should scrap it and start over. “Times up! Put ‘em on the wall.”
Bakugou groaned and did what he was told. His explanation for his piece was halfhearted and tinged with embarrassment. But the class loved it.
He hadn’t even thought to look at Kirishima’s until it was his turn. The design looked like a fucking flower with a heart in the middle.
Bakugou was about to protest but Kiri started his explanation.
“He’s real spiky on the outside and kinda explosive. But I put it in the corner going off of the page so we can only see part of the design, because I think we only really get one limited view of him. I’m betting there’s something a bit softer and warmer inside which is why the corners get softer and rounder the farther in you get. It’s also symmetrical because he’s a perfectionist and likes things orderly and in place.”
Everyone loved it. He got the top grade and it make Bakugou snap. Alphas weren’t supposed to be the ones on top anymore! Even with society rearranged and a leg up in society, Bakugou wasn’t winning.
Then Bakugou felt it. The first wave of heat spread through his body like a warm wave. He shivered and flushed for just a moment before it was over. But it was enough. The whole class smelled the oncoming heat and all eyes were on him.
His heats worked like clockwork. They never even onset until after 3pm and it was barely 1pm. Still he couldn’t help but focus on the alpha’s reaction.
His pupils weren’t blown. He wasn’t brimming with lust. Instead, he just looked... concerned. It only rushed Bakugou’s heat further. /Fucking react!/ his omega screamed.
The fuck was wrong with this alpha?! Was he secretly a beta? No, there was no way. Then how was he so ‘behaved’?? The teacher had a couple security guards come and drag the omega out of the room.
He snarled on his way out, showing off those little canines. Kiri blushed at how cute they were. He knew what was happening, but he was knew how to control himself, push his alpha down. He wasn’t sure why locking eyes with him had made Bakugou so much more angry though...
He must have been afraid Kiri would take advantage. The alpha resolved to make sure Bakugou knew he would never do any sort of unmanly thing like that. No matter how the omega nature tempted him, he wouldn’t fail!
So when Bakugou returned three days later, Kirishima was all quiet smiles and proper distance. Bakugou knew he was up to something already.
“What’s your problem?”
“I just want to make sure you know that I would never lay a finger on you!”
“Oh? Too good for me alpha?”
“Too g-good?? I don’t understand—“
“Take your seats everyone!”
Class started, but that didn’t keep the blond from planning his classmate’s demise.
He was oddly quiet though. Bakugou didn’t speak again until the end of class when he handed Kiri a hand-written note of a time and address.
“Class party tonight. You should be able to handle this right?”
“I can’t leave my dorm without an escort,” Kirishima explained quickly, afraid the omega was going to dismiss his reasoning.
“I’ll escort you,” he said smuggly.
“There’s paperwork and—“
“It’s already done.”
“And it got approved??” Bakugou was showing him no proof of the paperwork.
“Obviously. You in or not??”
Kirishima’s heart was running out of control. He hadn’t been outside of his dorm without security guards since he moved in over a year ago. He wasn’t even sure students were allowed to do this kind of thing.
But thinking was hard when deep ruby eyes were demanding an answer. He could handle one night. It’d be the perfect way to show Bakugou how safe he could be around the alpha.
Safe, and protected, and cared for— no, wait, just safe. Three feet away. “Okay,” Kirishima visibly swallowed.
“Heh. See you at 9.”
/Perfect. 8 hours to overthink./
Kirishima went back to the only all-alpha dorm on campus and straight to their little gym. It was shocking they had such a privilege, but he assumed it was to let them get out their energy and aggression safely.
He pushed himself harder than he had since his first day on campus, sweating out every excess chemicals that might sway his judgement. He would be a good alpha.
When the sun set, Kiri’s anxiety sky-rocketed. It felt like sneaking out. It felt like breaking rules. And with Bakugou as his guide, who knew what trouble they would be getting into. He should just cancel… Yeah, he had already redone his hair 7 times and changed shirts 4.
But it would probably be worth it to just—
Kirishima heard the buzz of the front door unlocking, went to step outside and his jaw hit the ground.
Bakugou was adorned with thin necklaces over a sheer cropped shirt, thin enough to expose two pierced nipples if you looked hard enough. His Adonis belt peeked above tight ripped jeans that hugged his form too well. Kirishima’s knees almost buckled from just the first glance.
His face must show it. Lightly lined eyes narrowed in amusement.
“Let’s go play, alpha,” he taunted.
Kirishima nodded. He couldn’t remember what other options there were.
Kirishima squeezed the empty plastic shell in his pocket to remind himself that he had indeed taken his suppressants and that he would be fine. He trailed after the omega worried that security would jump out and expel him at any moment.
It didn’t happen. They made it to a sizable house at the edge of campus that was already pulsing loudly. Kirishima tried to keeps his eyes off of the dimples in the omegas back as he walked in confidently.
The crowd of mostly familiar faces were shocked when the duo arrived, saying they never expected either to show up. And then a few continued to tell Bakugou how hot he looked. He flipped them off before heading to the drink table.
Kirishima felt entirely out of place. Everyone had loosened up by their drugs of choice and dropped their boundaries. If anything happened there would only be one person to blame.
Bakugou poured three shots and downed two. He handed the other to Kirishima. “I can’t—“ he pointed to the muzzle securely fastened on his face.
“What, ya gonna go feral if you take it off for two seconds?”
“No...”
“Then what’s the problem?” Kirishima could list a dozen potential issues but he guessed Bakugou had an answer for them as well. He looked around before releasing the muzzle from his face. He took the shot and Bakugou stole his muzzle.
“Hey!” Kirishima frowned.
“Tell me, do alphas really need these things to behave? Are you that barbaric?” “Of course not!”
“Then you don’t need it,” Bakugou’s eyes were full of mischief.
Kiri leaned closer completely calm.
“Just don’t lose it.” Bakugou’s grin was feral. He was dying to see some fiber of the alpha’s control break and he was brewing the perfect storm.
Bakugou placed the muzzle safely on the counter which seemed good enough for Kiri. He downed the shot without hesitation. The song over the loud speakers changed and the omega lit up.
“Come on,” Bakugou grabbed the alpha’s wrist and pulled.
The alpha found himself drug into a crowd of bodies bouncing and swaying to the new song. Scents, sweat, and even slick filled the room. Bakugou looked for a reaction but Kirishima just smiled.
Bakugou started to flow with the music. His body rolled with each beat making his piercings graze the fabric of his shirt each time. If it make Kiri’s cheek pool with saliva, he didn’t show it.
Kirishima wasn’t smooth by most people’s standards, but he had fun dancing and that positive energy easily spread. When the attention shifted to the goofy alpha displaying jerky movements, Bakugou growled. No one could hear it above he music but they sensed the change.
Kiri just raised an eyebrow at the guy. He leaned close still smiling.
“Why did you even want me to come?” His breath on Bakugou’s ear affected him more than he’d like to admit.
“Just testing a theory!” He bit back. He turned around and danced like no one was watching. Bakugou was half embarrassed, half charmed.
The crowd got rowdy and accidentally pushed Bakugou backwards into an unsuspecting alpha. It was the worst temptation so far. He had to shove him away before his lower half reacted.
“Seriously??” The omega snarled. It was like he couldn’t get any lower. He stomped off and downed a few more shots before Kirishima could catch up.
“I’m sor—“
“Save it!”
The omega was swaying now and not because of the music.
“Bakugou pleas—“
“Just leave it! I get it!” He slurred. “I’ll never be fckn... good nuff... ‘r whatever..” “That’s not it, just... can we go talk somewhere?”
“No,” Bakugou drunkenly pouted.
“Please?” Kiri stepped closer ghosting his hand near Bakugou’s face but still not touching it. Bakugou fixed that. He threw his cheek into the big warm palm and nearly purred.
“Okay?” Kiri asked.
“Okay...” Bakugou relented. Kiri gently took his hand and lead him upstairs to an empty bedroom. Bakugou dropped onto the bed face down dramatically.
“You okay?” Kiri sat down and gently rubbed his back.
“No.”
“What’s wrong?”
“You won’t even look at me,” he said muffled by the comforter. “I... why would you want that? I just want to be respectful...”
Bakugou sighed. He pulled himself up until he could look the alpha in the eyes sadly.
“Why is that so easy for you?” He pursed his lips and dropped his head.
“Bakugou...” Kiri guided his chin back up. “I’ve been training my whole life to not stare too long or stand too close in case someone takes it the wrong way. Nothing like that can be easy for me.”
“Just thought... might be different for... fuckin, me, or whatever....”
“You don’t even want this. Trust me—“
Bakugou silenced him with his lips. Time stood still as they shared their first kiss between forbidden genders. It was warm and soft and felt heavenly. Dangerous.
They broke apart gently. Bakugou’s lips were slightly parted and glistening slightly. Kiri bit his own lip and fixated on the omega’s mouth. He wanted more. But he didn’t even have time to fight himself over his next move. Bakugou leaned in again longingly.
“I—“ They both froze when a siren sounded outside.