Work Text:
The air in the office was far too thick with a scent that Serizawa had not truly discovered until today. He had spent so much of his life hidden away in his room, where the scents of other people were concept rather than experience, and then in Claw, surrounded by alphas who were too busy fighting each other to bother with the added headaches that bringing an omega into their midst would cause. He was fortunate that despite Reigen being a beta, time had suppressed his drive to mate and with it, the overwhelming smell of a heat.
But today, Reigen introduced him to Teru. He was a nice enough kid from what Serizawa could tell at this first meeting. But that scent. He was going through puberty, and his hormones probably were in overdrive now. Reigen didn't even seem to notice - understandably, since he was not an alpha, and most likely accustomed to being around people in varying stages of their cycles.
For Serizawa, however, the day was some new form of psychological torture. He wasn't used to the scent of an omega, least of all being exposed to one this intense for this long. With each breath he took, he breathed in Teru. Even after he adjusted to the scent itself, the effect was still there: it constantly forced his attention to Teru, made him check what Teru was doing, sent him daydreaming about Teru while sitting right across from him. But he had to stay sane, despite every muscle in his body wanting to seize the boy and never let him go.
And he did stay sane for the duration of the remaining workday. It wasn't until later that evening, when Spirits and Such closed and the time came to head home, that everything went to hell.
Teru wanted to walk with Serizawa after Reigen said goodnight to them and left, citing that his home was in the same direction, so it wouldn't hurt to walk together. Serizawa didn't know what to do. Reigen wasn't around to rescue him, and Teru seemed completely oblivious to the discomfort he elicited with the suggestion. He easily buckled and let it happen. They were outside now - in fresh air, rather than in the stifling, Teru-scented air of the closed office. It would only be for a little while, just until their paths diverged. Serizawa had to deal with this small event today if he had any hope of adjusting to society.
He answered an "okay" and began to walk, Teru trailing close behind.
"Serizawa-san," Teru called behind him shortly after they began walking.
"Yes?" he answered, noticing how anxious he sounded just answering the sound of his name leaving the boy's mouth.
"You're an alpha, right?" Teru asked curiously.
Serizawa stiffened, failing to even notice that his steps had quickened. Teru kept up with him easily. "Yeah, I am," he answered. He hadn't considered that Teru would be able to tell. This was bad, he knew it was bad, he should have asked Reigen to join them or refused to let Teru walk with him or - or something. He didn’t think he wanted to try to power through this alone after all, but he then second-guessed even this thought with the conflicting idea that these were just the internal ravings of his old, fear-driven ways trying to reclaim control of him.
"You're quite the well-behaved man," Teru told him. Serizawa wanted to bask in the compliment, but it was too eerie to hear it coming from a teenager, and he was still too anxious to fully process it. "Usually I have to fight off older alphas with a stick," he commented further.
"Oh, really? Is it difficult to deal with?" Serizawa asked, doing anything he could to distract himself from thinking about Teru's scent following him, no, chasing him home.
"Mm, more annoying than anything," came the answer. "It usually starts with them approaching me to chat me up. They like to offer to buy me stuff and try to get me out on a date with them, but they're so transparent, you know?" He chuckled. "Well, sometimes I do accept the offers for dates, but I manage to never let things get too serious."
Serizawa didn't say anything. His mind prickled and itched with the new information it carried. The thought of this boy who he just met today, with whom he had no deeper rapport than a received compliment and a few polite words at work, going on dates with other men, other alphas attracted to his body, filled him with a venomous emotion. They had no shame at all, propositioning a mere teenager like that. Teru was too young for this kind of thing. Of course he didn't fully understand how bad these men were, or what a proper limit of what "too serious" meant. Did he sleep with any of these older alphas? Serizawa wanted drive them off and protect Teru from their predatory advances.
Or maybe he just wanted Teru for himself.
"Is everything alright, Serizawa-san?" Teru asked.
"Yeah," Serizawa answered, voice shaking. "Why do you ask?"
"You're very quiet," Teru explained.
"Oh. N-no everything's fine."
And then without warning, he was being shoved by a force with no physical source. The city around them darted past his eyes, coming to a standstill at a dark alleyway, Teru there with him. "Please calm down, Serizawa-san," Teru said gently, sweetly even, as if speaking to a nervous child. "Look at me. Are you sure everything is okay?"
Serizawa's mouth fell slack. He could barely see: he could make out Teru's form and the blonde hair atop his head in front of him, and he could see the lights of the street at a distance to his side. Teru was so small in front of him. He's a kid, he explained to himself. Of course he was small, and for the same reason, Serizawa had no business thinking of how beautiful that sweet voice would sound cracking and whimpering under him instead.
"Serizawa-san?" Teru called again.
He couldn't take it anymore. Maybe if he just held Teru, just for a few seconds, it would be enough to ease his overworking instincts; he could apologize afterward and they could forget all about it. Just a few seconds, he told himself as he reached forward for Teru's shoulder.
The opportunity was gone: he was being shoved again, this time downward. His back slammed against the pavement and he saw the night sky about him framed by rooftops. The shock of the impact renewed his sensibility. What the hell was he thinking? His breaths came in pants as his body caught up with the fact that the wind had been knocked out of him. He was seriously going to try to grab the poor kid, he realized, already paling with embarrassment.
"You were doing so well, Serizawa-san," Teru scolded. "I'm fortunate I can defend myself. But what if I were anyone else? What were you about to do just now?"
"I," he started to answer. We don't use our powers on others, was one of the first things Reigen had told him when he started working. And yet he had scared Teru enough to make him use his, first in concern, now in self-preservation. He felt like a monster. From Teru's perspective - small Teru, facing this big unfamiliar alpha acting strangely and then suddenly reaching for him - he must have been one. "I'm sorry," he answered.
"What were you about to do?" Teru repeated sternly. The sharp edge of his voice made Serizawa shiver.
"I wasn't thinking," he explained first. "I thought - I thought maybe if I held you for a little bit, it would be enough."
"Enough?" Teru echoed.
"I'm so sorry," Serizawa continued to apologize. "But your smell. I think, I think it's too much for me," he admitted honestly to this child who didn't deserve to be burdened with a grown man's lack of self-control.
"Sit up," Teru directed. Serizawa did so, and he immediately looked up to find Teru, still standing in the same spot, now looking down at him with his arms folded. "Do you think you're the only person in the world who has to deal with this?"
Serizawa recoiled at the continued scolding. "No, no, of course not," he answered.
"Do you realize people are around each other every day whether they're in heat or not, and they all manage not to jump on each other like you just tried to do to me?"
Serizawa wanted to crawl in a hole and never come out. Of course he knew this; he had no excuse for his actions; Teru had every right to hate him from now on. "You're right, you're completely right," he agreed quickly.
"Will you at least apologize to me properly?"
"Yes, yes, of course," Serizawa answered quickly, scrambling to turn over on his hands and knees in front of Teru. "I humbly apologize," he said. "My behavior was foolish, and I have no excuse for it." He waited for Teru's response with his forehead pressed to the concrete.
Teru squatted in front of him, hitting Serizawa with the full force of his scent. "You're a good man, Serizawa," he praised. "I forgive you." Serizawa lifted his head, but stayed on all fours to remain below Teru's current height. He felt dizzy when he looked up. "I know you're trying right now. But you have to do things properly, okay? I want to help you with that."
"Help me?" Serizawa asked.
"You're undisciplined," Teru explained gently. "I want to help you with your restraint."
"I... I don't know what you mean by that," Serizawa continued.
"Serizawa-san," he purred with an affectionate tone that made the man think he had said something stupid. "I had to sit in an office with an alpha's scent teasing me for hours today, but as you see, I've kept my wits about myself. I think I could teach you something about keeping a handle on yourself in this kind of situation."
It didn't even occur to Serizawa that he must have been affecting Teru the same way Teru had been affecting him. This situation was wrong. He knew he shouldn't be alone with this omega now, knowing that they were both being drawn to one another in a way an adult and a minor should never be drawn to one another. Yet he couldn't bring himself to be the adult he was supposed to be and tell Teru that no, he couldn't do what the boy was asking, and that Teru shouldn't even be offering anything related to what they were feeling right now.
Teru's hand was stroking Serizawa's cheek now. He closed his eyes at the feel, making Teru chuckle. "You're so sincere," he purred. "You know you want to. You just have to ask me nicely to teach you how to treat an omega right."
Serizawa opened his eyes. Teru's imposing proximity, the graceful authority of his words, his mastery of mind over his instincts, the sight of him smiling gregariously at Serizawa in this dark alleyway after his gross lapse in control: Teru overpowered him in every way beside physical size and strength. Serizawa couldn't refuse him. He recognized superiority when he saw it.
"I do," he finally answered. "I need your help, Teru. Please spare the trouble to teach me."
The boy moved his hand from Serizawa's cheek to pet his hair. "You're so cute being humble like this," he doted. "Of course I'll train you." He stood up. "First off, you'll be referring to me as Teru-san. Understood?"
Serizawa swallowed. "Yes, Teru-san."
"Stand up." Serizawa obeyed slowly, and Teru beamed up at him. "Now, let's get going to your apartment. We need to get your first lesson started." Serizawa tried not to think too much about the fearful weight settling into his chest.