Forever & Always

CHAPTER THREE

Izuku grunted as he opened his eyes and tried to remember what happened before he passed out. Sitting up with a groan, Izuku cursed at himself while he tried to steady himself as he felt the blood rush to his head, making him dizzy.

Hands held his shoulders and steadied him, making Izuku look up and meet Shoto's heterochromatic eyes-- unaware of the guilt reflecting the alpha's eyes. "Are you okay, Izuku? Do you need me to get you to the infirmary?" the alpha's husky voice made Midoriya shiver involuntarily.

"Shoto...-kun? What happened? Where are we?" he asked as he looked around and recognized it as the school's storage room.

Shoto looked at him with a worried expression. "Do you really not remember anything?"

Izuku blinked up at him before he tried to recall the events that happened. "Everything's... fuzzy," he admitted. "Did I pass out?"

Shoto bit his lips before he looked away. "Y-you... you had your first heat period," he said and Izuku looked at him, slowly going pale as the memories that happened earlier came back bit by bit.

"Oh my god..." the omega mumbled, his hand going over his mouth. "Did... did we just..."

Shoto nodded as Izuku's voice trailed off as he looked down in shame, only to have him look up in astonishment as he heard Izuku's giggles.

"What's so funny?" Shoto asked.

"Nothing, I..." Izuku bit his lip to stop himself from smiling as the feeling made the omega giddy. "I just... I never thought someone as cool and as handsome as Todoroki-kun would be my mate... I... I'm just so happy,"

Izuku didn't bother hiding his smile that made Shoto's heartbeat-- not from the happiness he felt knowing that his long-time crush loved him back... but from the guilt and the regret he knew he'd be feeling after this was over.

"I'm... not," Shoto mumbled, the words barely reaching Izuku who was too wrapped up in his own happiness.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" the omega asked.

"I'm not your mate,"

Izuku looked at Shoto dumbly before he snorted and laughed. "Nice try, Todoroki-kun,"

"I'm not joking, Midoriya," Shoto said, seriousness present in his voice that made Izuku stop laughing.

"But... that's impossible," Izuku said, "I-I... I was sure you... you responded to my heat,"

"Any alpha would, I just happen to be the first to get to you but I'm sure the other alphas had a whiff of your scent,"

"I caught your scent..." Izuku said, eyes glaring at Shoto as his mind was unable to wrap around the fact that Shoto just rejected him. "No other omega would be able to smell an alpha's scent... not unless it was your mate... I'm your m--"

"I am not," Shoto insisted before he sighed in frustration. "Look... Midoriya... you're great and what we did was beyond the greatest feeling I had but... being mates is a lifetime responsibility that I don't want..."

Izuku's expression was hard to read but Shoto saw the hurt in those green orbs and he badly wished he could take his words back... but he knew he can't.

"If... we aren't mates... then what are we...? The thing we did earlier... what was that called then?"

Shoto gulped the lump in his throat before speaking. "It was just... an alpha's answer to an omega's desperate call..."

"... I see..." Izuku answered as he bit his inner cheek so hard he tasted blood.

"Midoriya, I--"