Chapter Text
"Daichi, stop overthinking. It's going to be okay. I promise, Dai."
Sugawara's voice was soft, steady in a way it always seemed to be whenever Daichi needed it most.
"It won't be okay."
The words came out harsher than he intended.
Across from him, Suga didn't flinch.
The park near Karasuno had barely changed since their first year. The swings squeaked whenever someone used them, the paint on the benches was chipped, and the same cherry trees still lined the path leading to the river.
It wasn't anything special.
Somehow, that was why they kept coming back.
Even after graduation, they still found themselves drawn there.
Old habits died hard.
"My parents won't listen," Daichi continued, staring at the floor. "They've already decided. They want me to take over the pack one day. They want me to mate with some female omega I've never even met."
Suga moved to sit just a little closer, their shoulders barely touching.
"You don't have to do what they want."
Daichi laughed, the sound hollow before it dissolved into a sigh.
"What else am I supposed to do?" he asked, shaking his head. "I have to take over the pack. They want me to take over the pack, and to do that I need to mate with a female omega because apparently tradition says a male omega isn't good enough. Something about children and bloodlines and carrying on the family name, and I don't even know her, Suga. I've never met her. They just keep talking like it's already happened, like my future's already decided and none of what I want matters."
The words spilled out faster and faster.
"And if I don't take over the pack, then what? They cut me off? I lose my home? My family? Everything I've ever known because I don't want to spend the rest of my life pretending to be happy?"
"Shhhh..."
The omega released a calming scent that wrapped around Daichi like a blanket. Immediately, some of the tension left his shoulders.
Daichi closed his eyes.
The scent was familiar. Safe. Reassuring.
"I know it's scary," Suga admitted softly. "But you don't have to figure everything out right now."
Daichi let out a breath.
"That's kinda the problem."
Suga hummed thoughtfully.
"What do you want?"
Daichi felt his breath catch.
Because the answer was simple. Embarrassingly simple, really. The kind of answer that sounded childish when spoken aloud, especially when compared to everything his parents expected from him. Yet no matter how many times he tried to push it away, it was always there.
He wanted a home filled with the people he chose, the people he cared about, and the people who cared about him in return. He wanted a future that belonged to him instead of one carefully planned out by generations before him. He wanted the freedom to make his own choices without having to justify them to anyone.
And most of all—
His eyes drifted to Suga.
He wanted him.
The realization wasn't new. It had been there for years, hidden behind shared smiles and late-night study sessions, behind every glance that lingered a second too long and every excuse to stay together just a little longer. Daichi had simply gotten very good at ignoring it.
But saying it out loud?
That was different.
"Daichi?"
The concern in Suga's voice snapped him back to reality.
Daichi immediately looked away.
"Nothing."
"You're a terrible liar."
"Thanks."
"You're welcome."
The joke pulled a laugh out of him. A real one this time, small but genuine.
Suga's face immediately lit up in triumph.
"There he is."
The sight made something ache in Daichi's chest.
How was Suga always able to do that? No matter how bad things got, no matter how overwhelmed he felt, somehow Suga always knew exactly what to say. Or more importantly, what not to say.
They sat together in comfortable silence for a while, listening to the distant sounds of traffic and children playing in the park.
Until Suga suddenly spoke again.
"What if you didn't?"
Daichi frowned.
"Didn't what?"
"Take over the pack."
The alpha froze.
"That's not really an option."
"Why not?"
"Because it's my responsibility."
Suga rolled his eyes.
"That's not an answer."
"Yes it is."
"No, it's your excuse."
Daichi opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Opened it again.
Nothing came out.
Because Suga was right.
And that was annoying. Very annoying.
"You could start your own pack."
The words hung in the air.
Daichi blinked.
Then laughed.
Actually laughed.
"With what money?"
"I'm serious."
"Suga."
"Dai."
Daichi stared at him for a moment before throwing his hands up in frustration.
"We're only just nineteen."
Suga shrugged.
"So?"
"We can't start a pack."
"Why not?"
Daichi gestured vaguely around them.
"Because we're sitting in a park. We don't have jobs, we don't have a house, and we have absolutely no idea what we're doing."
To his immense annoyance, Suga didn't look discouraged in the slightest.
In fact, he looked amused.
"Neither do most adults."
Daichi groaned and dropped his head into his hands.
"That is not the reassuring argument you think it is."
"It worked, didn't it?"
"No.” A pause. "...Maybe a little."
And for the first time all afternoon, the idea didn't sound all that bad.
Difficult? Absolutely.
Terrifying? Definitely.
But was Daichi against it? No…
But was it impossible?
It should have sounded impossible. But somehow it didn't.
No traditions. No obligations. No being told what to do.
Just a choice, and his alone to make.
Daichi looked over at Suga, who was still watching him with that annoyingly patient smile.
"You've thought about this before, haven't you?"
Suga's smile widened.
"Maybe."
"Suga."
"Dai."
"How long?"
The omega laughed.
"Long enough to know you'd eventually come around."