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Chapter Text

Naruto sprinted through the village and leapt off the roof, landing heavily in front of Sakura and Sai. Neither of them as much as batted an eyelash. Sakura was eating her lunch on a bench in the park close to the hospital, and Sai was keeping her company while painting the scenery.

”I went to the prison to see Sasuke today and guess what?” Naruto said, and added without waiting for a reply, “They wouldn’t let me in!”

Sakura looked up from her lunchbox with a frown. “What? Why not?”

“They said that he isn’t allowed to see alphas right now, but I don’t get-”

“Hold on!” Sakura interrupted him, a strange look on her face. “Was that their exact words?”

Naruto scratched his chin. “Pretty much. The prison guard said, ‘ Uchiha isn’t allowed to see any alpha’s at the moment .’ Why?”

“Why?! Naruto, don’t you see what this means?”

Naruto didn’t understand why Sakura was getting so worked up.

“Um… No?”

“He’s like me,” Sai piped up from where he’d been standing, seemingly engrossed in his painting.

“Like you?”

Naruto felt like there was some important aspect of the conversation he was missing.

Sakura sighed like she couldn’t believe Naruto could be so dumb.

“He’s an omega!” she said.

Naruto huffed and crossed his arms. “I know that Sai is an omega, so what?”

Sakura rubbed her forehead. “Give me strength,” she muttered.

Sai turned to them with a placid smile. “I think she’s trying to say that Sasuke is an omega.”

Naruto snorted. “No way. I’d know if he was.”

“And how exactly would you know that?” Sakura said. “He left before you presented and since then you haven’t exactly been able to get close to him.”

“I got close to him during the war!” Naruto snapped. “I fought him , remember?”

She huffed. “Yes, and I bet you got a good whiff of his natural scent while you both were covered in mud and blood!” 

Naruto hesitated. She had a point.

He shook his head. “No way. He can’t be. That’s just…” He frowned. He wasn’t sure why he balked at the idea. It was just… “That’s impossible.”

Sakura shrugged. “It doesn’t really change anything,” she said weakly. It was obvious she took the news badly too. “I mean… It’s not unheard of for a male omega and a beta to be together. It’s just… unusual.”

It took Naruto a moment to realize that Sakura was talking about herself and Sasuke.

Of course. How could he forget that? It’s how it was always meant to be, right?

At least that’s what Naruto had convinced himself of. Sakura and Sasuke were the perfect couple. Boy and girl. Pink and black. Cute and stoic.

It’s how all stories ended.

But if Sasuke was an omega, then that changed things. That changed everything.

Naruto was distantly aware that Sakura was still talking.

“I… I have to go…” he said.

Then he was off before he even knew where he was headed. He ended up on the hokage mountain, sitting on the fourth’s head.

He struggled to take it all in.

Knowing that Sasuke was an omega put everything in a different light.

The way he felt towards Sasuke… Suddenly it didn’t seem so platonic anymore.

How had he not seen it? The way he was always drawn to Sasuke, and the way Sasuke was drawn to him. How deep his longing for him had been, and how elated he had felt when he was close to him.

It was love.

He fucking loved Sasuke.

And he’d been too stupid to see it just because the society he lived in reinforced the idea that only men and women fell in love. Unless they were alpha and omega .

He had to learn that Sasuke was an omega to realize how he felt.

It still seemed unreal.

Sasuke was not what Naruto typically expected an omega to be. Not that he knew that many omegas. There was Hinata, of course. She basically embodied the stereotype of an omega. Sweet, soft-spoken, shy. Female .

But then there was Sai.

It had turned Naruto’s world upside down when he first learned that Sai was an omega. Before that he’d thought that all omegas were female, since Jiraiya only ever chased female omega’s, and Jiraiya was the only source of his questionable and lacking sex ed. 

Sai was nothing like the stereotypical omega. He was neither sweet nor shy or soft-spoken. But he was very pretty.

… Sasuke was pretty too. No, scratch that. He was beautiful . Seeing him always made Naruto’s heart flutter into his throat.

But that’s where any allusion to him being an omega ended. Sasuke was strong and fierce. He took command and demanded respect.

As Naruto thought more and more about it, he realized that what he’d envisioned an omega to be, basically was just a convenient way to keep omega’s subdued.

If it was difficult to believe that Sasuke could be an omega just because he had agency and a strong will, then it wasn’t Sasuke there was something wrong with. It was the whole rest of the world.

How many knew that Sasuke was an omega?

Probably team Taka. Orochimaru, no doubt.

Naruto shuddered.

The thought of Sasuke having to spend his heat near that man was disconcerting.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d been sitting there when the sound of someone landing next to him brought him out of his thoughts.

“There you are!” Sakura said. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

She sat down next to him and for a moment they sat in total silence.

“It’s weird, that thing about Sasuke, right?” Sakura said. “I’d never have imagined he could be an omega…”

Although she echoed Naruto’s exact thoughts from earlier, Naruto felt a bit irritated.

“It doesn’t change who he is.”

She looked surprised.  “No, of course not. It’s just…” she fiddled with a buckle on her boot. Then she shrugged. “I don’t know. I just can’t think of him in the same way anymore.”

Naruto stared at her in annoyance. He wanted to say: Because he isn’t masculine enough for you anymore? 

But he stopped himself. It hadn’t been that long since Naruto hadn’t thought about Sasuke in a romantic way just because he thought Sasuke was an alpha and accordingly too masculine, so he didn’t have the right to say anything.

He and Sakura were both guilty of the same crime. The only difference was that Sakura seemed to be unaware of it.

“I’ve gotta go home,” Naruto said suddenly and stood. “I’ve got a mission tomorrow.”

Sakura looked up at him in surprise. The sun hadn’t set yet so it wasn’t that late.

“Oh… Okay,” she said, but Naruto barely heard it before he was off.

------

Visiting Sasuke felt different after that. Sasuke rarely talked, and normally it was Naruto who would fill in the silence with incessant prattle. Now he couldn’t think of a single thing to say, and when he tried, he sounded stilted and unnaturally cheerful.

He knew that Sasuke noticed.

Although his eyes were covered, Sasuke still managed to convey suspicion by simply cocking his head.

So Naruto started seeing him less often.

He blamed his shinobi duties, and though he did get sent on long missions at times, he felt guilty when he noticed how betrayed Sasuke was by it. At first his rudeness and dismissal angered Naruto and that spurred a fight between them, but after Naruto had cooled down a bit, he realized that Sasuke was pushing him away because he was hurt.

It was what he’d always done. His standard defense mechanism.

Naruto had to remind himself of what he’d already promised Sasuke; that he wouldn’t leave him. That he wouldn’t give up on him. Especially not now, when Sasuke needed him the most.

So he began to visit Sasuke as often as he could, even if he only had time to stay for a few minutes. It dawned on him that it was more important that he showed up than that he stayed to talk. Most days Sasuke wasn’t that interested in talking anyway. He just needed to know that Naruto was there for him. That he wouldn’t let him down.

To think that he’d almost done just that… Naruto felt ashamed of himself.

------

During his visits, Naruto tried to get a whiff of Sasuke’s scent. He’d started questioning Sakura’s suspicions when he’d thought more about it. He’d been visiting Sasuke in jail for a while already, but had never picked up any scent that suggested Sasuke was an omega.

Even now, when he was actively trying to pinpoint his scent, he was unable to do it. Sasuke smelled too strongly of antiseptics and cheap soap.

It was almost as though… Was it possible that Sasuke purposefully showered right before Naruto’s visits? He always visited once a week on the same day so Sasuke had the chance to prepare.

Naruto couldn’t get close enough to smell Sasuke more thoroughly without spurring Sasuke to deck him, so until further notice, the question about Sasuke’s secondary gender remained unanswered.

It didn’t really matter anyway. Whether Sasuke was alpha, beta or omega, it didn’t change Naruto’s feelings for him.

He might have been able to delude himself before he realized how he felt, but that wasn’t possible anymore.

In a way, it was comforting to be certain about that one thing. Regardless of what the future had in store for him, he could at least trust that he’d always love Sasuke.

------

It took a year and a half before the trial against Sasuke finally ended and he received his verdict. There had been a lot of back and forth. A lot of high-ranking people had wanted a say about what should happen to Sasuke, but in the end Konoha had the final say and as a result almost all the charges against him were dropped.

It was the attack on the Kage summit and on Bee that caused the most problems because the Raikage wanted to punish Sasuke on principle. The rest of the Kage also considered the crime a serious one, but since Sasuke pleaded insanity defense, the most serious punishment was ruled out. 

Which meant that his worst crime remained his defection from the village and him joining a known enemy of Konoha out of his own free will. But that too was put into question because of the curse mark. Could it really be considered free will when Sasuke had been exposed to extreme pain and mental duress if he didn’t join Orochimaru?

In the end the severity of his actions were questioned due to Sasuke’s history and because of the extreme situations under which he had committed his alleged crimes.

Adding in Sasuke's young age and the fact that he had been used and manipulated by not only Orochimaru and Obito, but also his brother, and suddenly his actions didn’t look that bad anymore.

Kakashi, Tsunade and Naruto fought hard to lessen Sasue’s punishment, but in the end it was his considerable help during the war that saved him from a lifetime in prison. 

Maybe it also was Sasuke’s clan-name and his kekkei genkai that saved him from being completely disposed of. He was too valuable an asset to Konoha. He would probably never be allowed to go back to active duty, though, even if he had wanted to.

At the moment he wasn’t even allowed to leave the village. A chakra seal prevented him from going near the village’s outer walls without being roped in by the anbu.

It wasn’t much, but it could have been a lot worse.

Naruto was cutting his losses, and he knew Sasuke did too. He hadn’t even expected to be alive at this point.

------

Naruto waited for Sasuke outside the prison when he was released. Sakura would have been there too, but she couldn’t get away from her work at the hospital.

“Hi,” Naruto said almost shyly when Sasuke reached him.

It was a novelty to finally see his eyes again. The rinnegan was a jarring sight. He’d almost forgotten about it, but now it brought back startlingly clear memories from their fight. Sasuke looked completely different from before he was locked away. Back then he had been full of fire. Of anger and pain and hatred.

Now he looked brittle and drained.

“I’ll take you to your house,” Naruto said.

Sasuke had sold all of the Uchiha district except one plot of land that he kept to build a house on. Since he was in prison, Sakura and Naruto had helped make the arrangements that needed to be done to get the house built. 

The district had been turned into a calm suburb with huge villas behind tall fences. Sasuke’s house had been built in the same style as the rest of the neighborhood, but it lay at the end of the street and was a bit more secluded, since it bordered against a forest to the north.

The house itself was new and modern, and was already equipped with all the necessary furniture.

Naruto unlocked the door and watched Sasuke walk around, quietly inspecting.

“Sakura filled the fridge,” Naruto said.

“She didn’t have to.”

“I think she just worries that you won’t eat enough.”

“I’ve lived alone since I was eight. I can cook.”

Naruto bit his lip. He hadn’t told Sakura so, but he had thought the exact same thing.

“Should I leave or… do you want company?” Naruto said.

Sasuke was standing by the living room windows looking out at the garden, his back to Naruto.

“I’d like to be alone,” he said so quietly that it was barely audible.

Naruto hated to leave him so soon, but he respected his wishes.

------

Life moved on and so did they. Naruto didn’t know how to approach Sasuke at first. He wasn’t sure if he should give him alone time or impose himself on him. He ended up falling back to routine. He had visited Sasuke once a week for a year and a half, so he might as well continue doing that.

It seemed to work out well. Sasuke was as usual not very talkative, but even when they didn’t talk, Naruto just enjoyed being in his company. And he hoped and believed that Sasuke felt the same way too. At least he didn’t ask Naruto to leave.

Often they ended up sparring at a nearby training ground. They had always communicated better with their bodies than with words. At first Naruto was worried that sparring with Sasuke while possessing the knowledge of his possible second gender would change things between them, but it didn’t. Sasuke fought like he always had, quickly, fluidly, and aggressively, and Naruto quickly forgot to worry about anything else than keeping the upper hand.

They didn’t use jutsu’s since Sasuke would be locked away the second he tried anything like that, but it was almost more satisfying to fight hand to hand.

Sasuke was a bit out of shape after such a long time in idleness, but that didn’t mean that he’d let Naruto go easy on him.

As time passed, Naruto started visiting Sasuke more and more often. It was difficult to keep away for too long now that he could see him whenever he wanted to. He tried to make his visits short in case Sasuke should feel crowded, but more often than not he got the feeling that Sasuke would have liked him to stay longer. So he did, and before he knew it, he was visiting Sasuke almost every day except when he was on a longer mission.

Some of those days, he happened to be there when Sakura would come by.

One day he and Sasuke were sitting on the back porch, talking about Sasuke’s garden that had started becoming really impressive – it seemed to be one of the few things besides training that Sasuke enjoyed doing now that he had nothing else to do – when there was a knock on the front door.

It surprised Naruto since he’d never heard Sasuke talk about any other visitors. Sasuke’s reaction to the knock was even more mystifying.

He sighed heavily and remained seated.

The knocking intensified.

“Shouldn’t you get that?” Naruto said.

“It’s Sakura,” Sasuke answered.

“Oh…”

Sasuke reluctantly got to his feet and went to open the door.

Sakura’s cheery voice could be heard.

“Hi, I brought you some onigiri.”

“Sakura, you shouldn’t-”

“It’s fine.” She laughed cutely. “I wanted to. Soo…”

“…Come in,” Sasuke said after an awkward pause.

It was strange to hear them interact. It was like being brought back five years in time when Sakura was always putting on her cute face for Sasuke while shouting at Naruto the next second.

The memory was fond and uncomfortable at the same time.

Perhaps they hadn’t changed all that much.

Sakura walked happily into the kitchen, but stopped abruptly when she saw Naruto standing in the doorway to the porch.

“Hi Sakura,” Naruto said. “It’s been a while. How are things at the hospital?”

She smiled after the initial surprise.

“Naruto! I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Naruto frowned. Sasuke didn’t have anyone else but them right now. Why wouldn’t he be there?

“I only brought enough lunch for two,” Sakura continued and stared at Naruto like she was trying to say something with her eyes.

“Um… that’s okay,” Naruto said, “I was leaving anyway…”

“Stay,” Sasuke said. “You can have some of my onigiri.”

“But Sasuke,” Sakura said, “I made them especially for you.”

“I’m not that hungry,” Sasuke said. He practically shoved the lunch box into Naruto’s hands.

Naruto laughed nervously. “I really should go, though-”

He didn’t get to finish the sentence before Sasuke was bodily forcing him to sit down. As he did so, Naruto got a faceful of his scent. The light, citrusy scent of his soap blended so perfectly with his actual scent that normally, Naruto didn’t manage to pick up on it. But with Sasuke so close it was impossible not to feel it. Even the small whiff that he got of it made Naruto’s knees a little weak, and to hide it he sat down without further ado.

Sakura looked at them like she was trying to solve a particularly difficult puzzle.

So it was really true, Naruto thought while absentmindedly munching on a rice ball.

Sasuke was an omega.

Across the table from him, Sakura was trying to keep the conversation going with an unwilling Sasuke.

It suddenly occurred to Naruto that it had always been that way; Sasuke politely bearing Sakura’s insistent attention without making any fuss. When he was twelve, Naruto had hated Sasuke for it, but now he realized that Sasuke had never wanted, asked for, or encouraged the attention he got. Most of the time, he had just been patient and considerate, like he was now.

In an instant, everything Naruto thought he knew had shifted again.

No, they hadn’t changed at all. Naruto was just seeing the three of them with different eyes.

------

The next time Naruto was at Sasuke’s place, he asked him subtly about Sakura and how often she came by. Sasuke seemed a bit annoyed by the questions but answered them anyway. It turned out that Sakura came by about once a week around lunchtime. Naruto tried to be there at those times so that Sasuke wouldn’t be alone with her, since it had seemed to bother him. But he could tell that it annoyed Sakura. One day she insisted that they walk home together and once they were far enough away from Sasuke’s house she turned on him.

“What are you doing?” she said sternly.

Naruto played innocent. “What do you mean?”

She sighed. “Do I have to tell you outright to leave me and Sasuke alone for a bit? You know that I like him. Even you can’t be so obtuse that you don’t understand that I want some alone time with him.”

“I know that you like him,” Naruto said, “but how can you be sure that he returns your feelings?”

She looked taken aback.

“Well…” she blushed and looked down at her hands. “I just know. And either way, if he doesn’t love me right away, it’s okay. Sometimes it takes time for feelings to evolve.”

‘What if those feelings never evolve’, he thought, but it wasn’t his place to say. For all he knew, Sakura could be right. Maybe it really worked like that? Maybe Sasuke would come to love her with time?

The thought made him queasy, but it also made him question himself. Was he reading too much into all this? Did he try to chase Sakura away just because he wanted Sasuke for himself?

Was it all about jealousy?

And what right did he have, anyway? Sakura had known that she loved Sasuke for as long as they had known each other, while Naruto just recently started understanding his feelings. He would be a bad friend if he tried to ruin things for Sakura out of pettiness.

“Okay…” he said. “I’ll leave you two alone the next time.”

She grabbed his arm before he could go. “I actually really enjoy spending time together with just the three of us, like back in the day. Let’s hang out together next time, okay?”

She was smiling.

Naruto realized that they had very different memories of ‘back in the days’. But he nodded. It would be nice, he told himself.

Team 7 back together again. Just like before.

-----

Sasuke had known that Naruto was an alpha for a long time. It had surprised him.

In fact, it had shocked him.

Not just the fact that the little runt had actually grown up to look more like a man than a gremlin, but that said runt even had presented as an alpha. Perhaps he shouldn’t have been surprised. Naruto had always had that special ability to command people’s attention and to make people follow him.

Unfortunately, Sasuke had realized all of this on that fateful day when he was trying to fend off his annoying former teammates at one of Orochimaru’s lairs. Sasuke had made a horrible misjudgment that day. Something had compelled him to get closer to Naruto, but the moment he did, he was assaulted by Naruto’s scent. He had to use every smidgen of willpower in his body to act aloof.

Thankfully, Naruto hadn’t felt his scent. Orochimaru had taught Sasuke the subtle art of masking his scent with oils, soaps and cologne. He had been less than pleased to find that his future vessel was an omega. He once said to Sasuke: ‘ you’ve got to learn to hide who you are, or else the world will never take you seriously’ . It made Sasuke wonder if he spoke from experience.

It was impossible to block out the scent completely, though Orochimaru had certainly tried to find a way to do it, but with the right blend of scents it could be almost completely covered over. Close up, Sasuke’s nondescript scent would never be mistaken for an alpha’s, but he could pass as a beta.

He was relieved that Naruto hadn’t discovered his secret back then. He wasn’t sure what would have happened, but he feared that it would have led Naruto to take him less seriously.

He still feared that he’d be taken less seriously if people knew. Would Naruto look at him differently?

While Sasuke was in jail, he wasn’t afforded the luxury of masking his scent. It had been jarring to not have that sense of security. Everyone he met could easily pick out his scent, could make up their mind about him without even talking to him. With his eyes covered when meeting others, he couldn’t see anyone’s reactions. He couldn’t see if they were surprised or appalled or if they were leering. At any rate, no one dared to touch him or even talk to him, so he faced no harassment.

He had tried to hide it from Naruto. Had scrubbed his skin raw to make sure that every trace of scent was gone from his skin. One of his prison guards had commented on it once in a way that suggested he found the attempt pathetic.

Sasuke had rebuked him in a way that ensured he never spoke that way to him again. At least he still demanded respect, even tied up and locked up as he was. The guards didn’t trust that he couldn’t easily break out if he wanted to, and they were right. But he didn’t because he knew that Naruto would fight him again if he did, and he didn’t want to fight Naruto anymore. He didn’t want to keep living a life on the run either. But if a prison guard or two went missing, what were people gonna do about it? It wasn’t like they could restrict him any further.

At the very least, that’s what he led the guards to believe, and as a result he didn’t have to suffer their unwanted input anymore.

------

Sasuke hadn’t expected to be set free. He hadn’t hoped to get to live in his own house, or to freely walk around the village. And now that he had all of that, he didn’t know what to do with it. What was the point? What was he living for?

The answer to that was simple.

He lived to see Naruto’s face again. He lived to hear his voice, to feel his familiar scent. Naruto was the only thing that kept him sane during his imprisonment, the only thing that gave his life even the slightest bit of meaning.

He hadn’t thought he’d live long enough to ever feel happiness again. But in small measures, as time passed by, he felt that little flutter of happiness when Naruto was near.

He told himself that it was enough.

That just having Naruto close by was all he needed. He wouldn’t ask for more.

But deep down he longed to have Naruto entirely to himself.

To be his and to have him in return.

To be able to touch him, kiss him, have him during his heats.

He longed for that so badly it hurt. But he wouldn’t ask for it because it was more than he deserved.

And besides, there had to be a limit to what Naruto would sacrifice for him. He wouldn’t delude himself into thinking that Naruto had anything but friendly feelings for him.

Going down that road would only lead to misery.

------

“Isn’t this nice?” Sakura said and smiled at the two of them. “It’s almost like when we were younger, before…” She squeezed her arms tighter around her legs. “Back when we were team 7,” she amended.

Sasuke pretended he hadn’t noticed her slip-up.

He wished she wouldn’t do this… whatever it was she was doing.

“I hope we’ve changed a bit since then,” Naruto said with a grin. “At least I’m not mooning over you anymore.”

Sasuke glanced quickly from Naruto to Sakura.

Was that… a reproach? A subtle reproach from Naruto?

Sakura didn’t seem to notice. She giggled. “You’ve matured a lot since then,” she said. “Thankfully.”

You can say that again, Sasuke thought. Naruto had grown up to be more attractive than he had any right to be. He still hadn’t surpassed Sasuke in height, but he had filled out nicely and his face had lost its youthful roundness and become ruggedly handsome.

“What about you?” Naruto said, innocently leaning his chin on his knee as he looked at Sakura. “In what ways have you changed?”

Sasuke stared at Naruto. He was definitely challenging Sakura, but for what reason Sasuke wasn’t entirely sure.

Sakura looked a bit annoyed. “I’ve changed a lot. You should know, you’ve been here all along.”

Another strike.

Sasuke was wondering if he was just getting paranoid or if half of the comments coming from his former teammates were actually meant to be barbs.

“It’s hard to tell,” Naruto said, his eyes narrowing. “Give me an example.”

“Well, I’ve become a much stronger shinobi, for one. Right, Sasuke?”

“Mhm,” Sasuke said. He wasn’t entirely sure why she suddenly wanted his opinion.

She combed her hair over one shoulder, it was barely shoulder length now, and cocked her head coyly. “And I’ve grown from a little girl into a woman.”

She somehow managed to blush just the right shade of pink to match her hair.

Naruto leaned back against the railing at the edge of the porch. “That inevitably happens to every girl, it doesn’t exactly set you apart.”

Sakura glowered at him. “If you’re just gonna be contrary then maybe you should leave.”

In Sasuke’s opinion, they hadn’t changed at all. It was the same incessant fighting, only now there seemed to be animosity hidden underneath it.

“If you’re going to keep fighting, you can both leave,” he said.

That effectively shut them up for at least a while.

------

Despite their quarreling, it was nice to have Naruto and Sakura around. He didn’t have enough in common with Sakura, nor did he understand her well enough to enjoy her company alone. She acted weird when she was with him, always had. She acted differently with Naruto. Then she let the awkward coyness and soft giggles slide in favor for punches and reprimands.

He almost wished she’d act that way with him too. At least he’d know how to handle that. But no, she was always annoyingly soft with him, like she was handling an injured puppy. Her voice was always so gentle, her eyes always demurely lowered, her hand always coyly fiddling with her hair…

He hated it.

He hated the fact that she somehow managed to misread him so completely even after having known him for so long. He hated that she never paid attention to him, never listened to what he said, never respected his wishes.

And he hated that he let her do it.

But she always sent him that sad look that sparked his guilt, the one that said you treated me badly in the past but I know you’re not really like that… right? He always ended up giving in to her.

He should just tell her that he was gay. That she was wasting her time on him. But he couldn’t find the right time to say it.

He was grateful for Naruto’s presence because he tempered Sakura’s sweetness. Even if it meant the two of them ended up doing most of the talking, and even though it meant that Naruto’s attention was almost a hundred percent on Sakura.

Sasuke had come to terms with the fact that Naruto wasn’t meant for him a long time ago, so it didn’t bother him. That much.

When Naruto first asked when Sakura usually came by, Sasuke had felt his stomach sink like a rock. He’d allowed himself to forget how hung up Naruto used to be on Sakura. Had hoped that it had passed and that, even though Naruto would inevitably find someone else, at least it wouldn’t be her.

But now he wondered if the reason why Naruto came by was just so that he could see Sakura. 

He started questioning everything Naruto had ever done for him. Had it actually just been for Sakura this whole time? Had Naruto wanted to save Sasuke to make Sakura happy? Had he visited Sasuke in prison because Sakura had asked him to? Was he visiting Sasuke now because Sakura wanted him to?

All these questions kept torturing him day and night.

He was terrified of losing Naruto. He’d thought he was prepared to let him go, but he wasn’t.

The only blessing in all of this was, oddly, Sakura’s fawning over Sasuke. As long as she only had eyes for him, she wouldn’t look twice at Naruto.

They were pathetic, all three of them. Stuck in a hopeless love-triangle with no solution in sight.

------

It took Sasuke a while to notice, because Naruto was being uncharacteristically subtle about it, but he had taken to scenting Sasuke.

The first time Sasuke noticed it, his heart did a somersault and started racing.

They sat around his living room table and Naruto had been leaning subtly towards him. Sasuke hadn’t given it much thought because the distance between them and the cologne he was wearing made him feel safe in the assumption that Naruto wouldn’t catch his scent.

So when he happened to glance over and caught Naruto looking at him from the corner of his eye, his nostrils flaring subtly, Sasuke was shocked into numbness. Naruto stared for a moment, as caught in the tense moment as Sasuke was, until he suddenly looked away.

Sasuke didn’t know what to think.

Naruto wasn’t supposed to notice his scent. Had he somehow caught it anyway? Did he know Sasuke’s secret?

He stood and went outside to breathe in the cool evening air. There was snow in the air. It was Christmas soon and even the high fence around his house couldn’t completely close out the Christmas spirit. The only neighbor, that directly bordered Sasuke’s, had hung up a liberal amount of fairy lights in the trees. They blinked red and green and Sasuke had been trying to figure out a way of getting rid of them without anyone blaming him for it. So far, he’d managed to dissuade himself before carrying out any acts he might regret.

He went back inside where it was blessedly decoration-free. He had threatened both Naruto and Sakura with bodily injury if they dared bring as much as a Christmas light into his house.

They had sulkily adhered to his rules.

He went into the bathroom and tried to get a whiff of his own scent. Maybe it was just his imagination, but it felt like his scent was stronger than it should be. His heat was coming in a few days, so that might be why.

He washed his throat, where the scent was strongest, and applied a fresh layer of scented oil. He didn’t use the cologne because that would make it too obvious that it was recently applied. The oil on the other hand seeped into his skin and left a subtle but protective layer of scent over his scent glands.

The scent had hints of orange and apple blossom, and was subtle and soothing.

It would cover his scent long enough for him to make Naruto and Sakura leave.

------

Naruto and Sakura had been surprisingly respectful about Sasuke’s suspiciously timed days of sudden illness. The first time he had his heat out of prison, he’d left a note on the door saying he was ill and didn’t want visitors. He hadn’t expected Naruto to respect that so he’d locked all the doors. But no one knocked on his door for his three days of self-isolation.

He was even more surprised that Naruto didn’t mention a single word about it afterwards, especially when the same thing happened around the same date the following months.

It had made him wonder if Naruto had already guessed, and now, after catching Naruto scenting him like that, he was almost certain that Naruto knew.

But if he knew, then apparently it didn’t bother him.

Sasuke almost couldn’t believe that it could be that simple. That Naruto would just accept him for who he was without treating him any differently.

He feared that he would be getting his hopes up for nothing, if he just accepted it without definitive proof, but he didn’t know how to tell Naruto without making it awkward.

At what point did that kind of conversation fall naturally?

But did he even need to have it? He couldn’t care less if Sakura knew he was an omega. She couldn’t tell from his scent anyway, so to her it probably didn’t matter. But Naruto would be able to tell just from a whiff of Sasuke’s natural scent.

Was it perhaps time for him to stop masking his scent?

The mere thought made him irrationally anxious. It wasn’t like anyone else would notice his scent since he barely saw anyone else but Naruto and Sakura, and they were his closest friends and surely knew him well enough not to judge him by his secondary gender.

He realized that he needed to trust them, and he needed to show them that they were worthy of his trust. If they knew already, then they probably thought it was strange that Sasuke was trying to hide it.

He supposed he owed them the truth.

Chapter Text

Naruto tried hard to not sneak a whiff of Sasuke’s scent, but it was difficult when he had him so close all the time. Now that Naruto had picked up on his scent once, it was easier to single it out among all the other scents, no matter how subtle it was.

It was a scent that was different from the rest of Sasuke. It was centered around his throat, and it rarely rubbed off on anything. But sometimes Naruto could feel it as he walked past the jackets hanging in the hallway, or if he managed to get close enough to Sasuke.

Once he’d been searching for something and went into Sasuke’s bedroom, and had quickly realized how much stronger the scent was in the room. He’d managed to refrain from picking up Sasuke’s pillow and burying his face in it, but just barely.

He was grateful that Sasuke masked his scent most of the time. He would have gone insane otherwise.

That didn’t mean he didn’t dream of pressing his face to Sasuke’s neck and inhale a deep whiff of his scent, though. His dreams had gotten more and more vivid lately, and they featured Sasuke to an embarrassing extent.

It didn’t help that Sasuke was close to his heat right now. His scent seeped through his cologne even though he’d put on some extra scent to hide it. Naruto could feel it even sitting several feet away from him.

He couldn’t focus on anything else.

It was like his whole body was directly tuned in on Sasuke. He leaned closer to him, followed each and every one of his movements, followed him with his eyes when he couldn’t follow him physically… He was grateful that he had enough self-restraint to keep from following at his heels like an obedient dog.

“Helllooo?”

Naruto blinked and focused on Sakura, who was waving her hand in front of his face.

“What are you thinking so hard about?”

Naruto blushed. “I… uh…”

Sasuke had gone out on the porch, but he left a subtle whiff of his scent.

Sakura sighed. “Can you at least try to pay attention? First Sasuke leaves without saying anything and now you’re spacing out. I’m starting to wonder if either of you care about me at all.”

She pouted cutely, partly joking, but behind it there was a shadow of real hurt.

“I’m sorry,” Naruto said. He decided to be honest with her and leaned closer, his voice lowering. “Sasuke is going into heat. His scent is getting stronger.”

Sakura’s eyes went wide.

“Oh…” She lowered her voice too and turned to check that Sasuke hadn’t come back in yet. “Should we leave him alone?”

“That would probably be a good idea.”

They didn’t have to come up with an excuse because Sasuke told them to leave shortly after.

On their way home, Sakura seemed pensive.

“So… um…” She gave him a side glance. “How is it, you know… when you feel his scent?”

“Well, usually he masks it pretty well. But I can sense it when… yeah…” He scratched the back of his head. “It’s like smelling something that you just find really good. Like… like Ichiraku’s miso ramen! I mean, not that Sasuke smells like ramen, not at all! I can’t really explain what he smells like because he just… smells like himself, I guess.”

“And you feel that way about every omega?”

“No, not really. It depends. Some omega’s even have scents that repel me.”

Sakura looked surprised. “Really? I thought it was always… you know…” She blushed.

“Ah, no. That would have made life pretty difficult. It’s more like…” he cleared his throat. Why were they having this conversation again? “... Like someone has broadcasted their… availability, and I can decide how much I like them based on their scent.”

“Have you ever met someone that you just went ‘oh wow’ with?”

“Nah…” Excluding Sasuke. But he got a feeling he shouldn’t tell her that. “I’ve met many who’re pleasing, but never anyone especially memorable.”

At least until he’d caught a whiff of Sasuke's scent. 

Sasuke made him feel things he hadn’t been aware were possible before. He’d been with a few omegas, just one-night stands. The women suddenly found him a lot more interesting after he became the village hero.

And he’d matured a lot too, so that probably helped.

But as long as he had Sasuke near, he couldn’t give anyone else his full attention.

That scent from earlier still lingered in his mind. If he thought too much about it, he almost turned back.

He parted ways with Sakura and walked slowly homewards.

Sakura had seemed very interested in knowing more, and it had been educational for Naruto to try and answer her questions. He had never had someone he could talk about alpha/omega stuff with when he was growing up.

He wondered if Sasuke had the same experience. Neither of them had parents who could talk to them about these sorts of things, and at school it was barely breached save for the cautionary tales about heats and how easy it was to become a parent if one wasn’t careful. 

He suddenly thought about talking with Sasuke about sex and desire, and started blushing even out in the chilly weather. Sasuke was his closest friend, and they both knew the difficulties of having a secondary gender, so ideally they should have been able to talk about it. But Naruto wasn’t sure if he could have that talk without combusting from embarrassment. Or having Sasuke throw him out.

Maybe it was better to just keep those thoughts to himself. 

------

Christmas used to make Naruto sad because everyone else was busy celebrating with their families, while he had no one.

But things had been different lately, and Naruto had almost been looking forward to it this year. Last year, Sakura had invited him and Sai to her home, and they had a really good time. But this year Naruto had hoped to celebrate with Sasuke.

Sasuke’s heat rarely lasted more than three or four days, so it would be over by Christmas Eve. The bastard might hate anything Christmas related, understandably enough seeing as it only reminded him of what he’d lost, but that didn’t mean that he had to spend the time alone.

On Christmas Eve, Naruto, Sakura and Sai made their way over to Sasuke’s house in a light drizzle of snow. Sakura was bringing food from her mother. She couldn’t stay, but she apparently wanted to make sure that they wouldn’t starve.

Sasuke looked like he was contemplating just shutting the door in their faces when he saw them standing outside, but after a moment of deliberation he sighed and let them in. He was wearing a big, grey sweater and black lounge pants, which made him look adorably soft, like a disgruntled kitten.

“What is he doing here?” Sasuke said pointedly, looking at Sai.

“He’s got nowhere else to be,” Naruto said.

Sasuke looked like he was considering throwing them out again.

“I’m just gonna leave this here,” Sakura said and put the boxes of food down in the hallway. “I need to get back home. Merry Christmas!”

Then it was just the three of them and an awkward silence.

Sasuke stared at Sai like he was planning how to most efficiently get rid of him.

Naruto grabbed the food and brushed past him.

“Come on, I’m starving!” he called out.

Sai happily followed him, and after a moment Sasuke reluctantly joined them.

“It’s a nice house,” Sai said. “Bigger than mine. I basically just live in a shoebox.”

“There are certain benefits to having a dead clan to inherit,” Sasuke said flatly.

Naruto gave him a stern look, silently telling him to be nice, but Sai didn’t seem to take the comment to heart.

“I suppose there is,” he said.

“Help me set the table,” Naruto said.

Soon they were all seated at Sasuke’s dining room table, with flickering candles and a fire on the electric fireplace.

Naruto was grateful for Sai, or else this dinner would have felt too intimate.

It was already bad enough seeing as Sasuke didn’t seem to be wearing his usual scent masking ointments. His scent wasn’t overpowering. It was still subtle, but now Naruto could feel it easily, as opposed to before when he had to search for it.

It quickly became the only thing filling up Naruto’s mind. He could swear that time went by in slow motion every time Sasuke moved and sent a rush of his scent Naruto’s way.

He could barely taste his food because Sasuke’s scent overpowered every other sense.

He had to excuse himself and go to the bathroom to clear his head.

After splashing cold water in his face and using the excuse to bury his face in Sasuke’s towel for a moment, he noticed a small glass bottle standing on the sink.

He picked it up and sniffed it. Immediately he was filled with well-being. It was the cologne that Sasuke used to mask his scent. Naruto had learned to associate that scent with something good; with Sasuke. His natural scent seemed brutal in comparison. It compelled Naruto’s body in ways that he had never experienced with anyone else.

He almost dreaded going out there again.

Just as easily as he could smell an omega’s desire, they could smell his, and if he kept breathing in Sasuke’s scent for much longer, he wouldn’t be able to not react to it.

The thought of the two omega’s noticing his desire was mortifying. They wouldn’t let him live it down.

He took a deep breath. He just needed to keep calm and, if necessary, try not to breathe through his nose.

When he came out of the bathroom, the table was cleared and Sai was sitting in the living room alone.

“Where’s Sasuke?” Naruto said.

Sai shrugged. “Maybe outside?”

Naruto sighed. Sasuke could at least make an effort to talk to other people than him and Sakura.

“What are we doing now?” Sai said. “I don’t know what people tend to do when they hang out together, but I’ve heard that board games are a common social pastime. The only problem is that I couldn’t find any board games.”

Naruto sat down next to Sai. “Don’t tell Sasuke you snooped through his things. He’s not gonna like it.”

“Is there anything he does like?”

The glass sliding door that led to the porch opened and Sasuke came in, shaking snow from his hair.

Naruto felt a gentle warmth in his chest at the sight of him.

Then Sasuke caught his gaze and he quickly looked away.

------

Sakura had packed some generous portions of dessert. Naruto wished they could have had some alcohol to go with it, because the tense atmosphere was unbearable. Unfortunately, Sakura hadn’t been that generous, and Naruto hadn’t thought about it until now.

“Aren’t we supposed to exchange gifts?” Sai asked. “Isn’t that a Christmas tradition?”

“No gifts,” Sasuke said.

“Sasuke is allergic to fun,” Naruto said under his breath.

“I figured,” Sai said with a straight face.

Sasuke glared at him, probably wondering, like everyone else who met Sai, if he was being funny or serious.

“I’m not particularly fond of Christmas,” Sasuke said pointedly. “Or any other holiday normally spent with family.”

“I get that,” Sai said. “I didn’t used to like it either. But after I got friends it’s been growing on me. It’s nice when you have someone to share it with.”

Naruto looked up and met Sasuke’s gaze.

Then they both looked away quickly, startled.

Sai was watching them.

“Should I leave you two alone so that you can fuck?” he said into the silence.

Naruto choked on his soda. “What the hell Sai?” he sputtered in between trying to hack up his lungs.

“Am I reading the tension wrong? I thought I was getting better at it…”

“There’s no tension,” Naruto squawked.

Except, now there was and there was no denying it. The silence stretched uncomfortably.

Naruto glanced at the clock on the wall. “Oh, look at that. It’s getting late… I should probably head home.”

“Already?” Sai said. “Are you leaving because of what I said? I didn’t mean to-”

“No, it’s fine, Sai,” Naruto said. He was desperately avoiding looking at Sasuke. “It was time to break it up either way.”

He stood and hurried to the genkan. He’d been breathing through his mouth for the past hour, but Sasuke’s scent seemed to affect him either way. He could swear that he could taste it with every breath he took. Sai must have sensed what it did to him, and… fuck… How fucking embarrassing…

Naruto practically towed Sai out of there, saying his goodbyes in a rush. He knew he was being overly cheerful, but he couldn’t even look at Sasuke’s face to see how he was taking it.

Once he was outside and far enough away from Sasuke’s house so that it didn’t feel like Sasuke’s scent and presence had a chokehold on his sanity, he finally started thinking more clearly.

“That was smooth,” Sai said.

“Fuck…” Naruto covered his face with his hands. “He must think that I lost it…”

“I’m not that good at telling how people feel, but I’m pretty sure he looked at me like he wanted to kill me.”

“I know he doesn’t like you much, but isn’t that taking it a bit far?”

“There’s a possibility that he might think you were in a hurry to go home with me.”

Naruto shook his head. “Why would he think that?”

There was a pause, and then Sai said in a forced casual tone, “He could probably sense the sexual tension just as well as I could, and… well… I’m an omega and you’re an alpha…”

It suddenly occurred to Naruto how close they were walking. Close enough that Sai’s hand brushed his.

He shook his head. “But… we’re not…”

“He doesn’t know that. And he seems like the jealous type.”

“Sasuke? Jealous? Of me?”

Sai sighed. “How are you even worse at this than me? He’s jealous of me .”

“Ohhh…” Naruto nodded. “You could be right. He just had his heat, so he probably wants to get laid, and if he thought you and I...”

Sai stopped abruptly and turned towards Naruto. “Why is it so hard for you to believe that he could be interested in you?”

Naruto stopped too. “Sasuke?” He chuckled. “Seriously?” 

Sai kept looking at him with a serious, almost pitying look.

Naruto felt his bravado deflate at that look.

“Do you think I don’t wish for that?” he said softly. “For Sasuke to return my feelings? It would be… it would almost be too much. I’ve longed for him for five years. I can’t stop thinking about him. Ever. Now he’s here and I’m terrified of losing him again. To hope feels like a luxury I can’t afford. I’m just glad he’s here with me, that I can see him every day. I won’t ask for more.”

He didn’t realize that tears were streaming down his face before Sai gently dried them away.

“I used to dream of having a bond like the one you have with Sasuke,” Sai said. “Once I thought maybe you and I could have that… But don’t worry, I know that as long as he’s around, I don’t stand a chance.”

“Sai… I’m sorry…”

“Don’t apologize. It’s not something either of us can control.”

Sai leaned in and, to Naruto’s surprise, placed a soft kiss on his cheek. Then he hugged Naruto.

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” he murmured.

-----

Heats were an evil that Sasuke could have done without. The first time he had one, he’d asked Orochimaru to sterilize him, but surprisingly he had refused. Doubtlessly he didn’t like the thought of the few genes that harbored the sharingan being wiped out forever. As the years passed, Sasuke was grateful that he hadn’t made such a rash choice, although he feared that he’d never get used to the humiliation of his heats as long as he lived.

During the worst of it he could get so desperate that he’d do anything to get some sort of satisfaction. His impulse control all but disappeared, and afterwards he had to live with the memories. He was just glad that he’d always been around people that took care of him, for better or for worse.

Orochimaru had locked him away and refused to let him see anyone because he didn’t want an unwanted pregnancy. And perhaps also because he couldn’t stand the thought of anyone touching his vessel. It certainly wasn’t because he cared for Sasuke’s wellbeing.

Team Taka had seen him at his worst, and had handled it with as much care and discretion as they could. They knew he was an omega from the start so they had known what they were getting into, but even they had been shocked the first time.

They had tried not to, but they had treated him differently afterwards. Suigetsu hadn’t been able to look him in the eyes for a week after witnessing his heat for the first time.

Sasuke was terrified that the same thing would happen with Naruto. He knew that, while in heat, he’d jump Naruto without question. What if Naruto would be disgusted with him? What if he couldn’t look at Sasuke again without remembering how he’d debased himself?

So to avoid that, Sasuke had made sure to keep Naruto at a distance during his heats. He closed all doors and windows and stocked his fridge so that he could survive for three or four days without going outside. It was the second day that was the worst one. He barely remembered anything but a fog of lust and need. Sticky sheets and sweat soaked clothes. Sounds coming from him that he’d never make otherwise. Desperate whines and moans.

Sweat slick skin, cum stains, writhing limbs and gyrating hips, spreading open for something that wasn’t even there…

One name on his lips constantly… Naruto, Naruto, Naruto…

He could almost taste Naruto’s intoxicating scent on his tongue. Once, Naruto had left his hoodie at Sasuke’s place, and during his heat Sasuke had zeroed in on the scent like it was the only thing that existed for him.

It didn’t exactly help that Naruto visited so often that his scent was always faintly lingering in Sasuke’s home.

Sasuke was glad that during the worst part of his heat, he was too debilitated to go anywhere, or else he’d just have embarrassed himself further by seeking out Naruto.

After the worst of his heat had passed, he always took a long, soothing bath and tortured himself with the memories of how he’d behaved.

He wished he could just black out during it. Then at least he wouldn’t be burdened with the constant reminder of how he tore the sheets in desperation and anger at the inadequacy of his dildos. Scratching the itch didn’t help much when what he craved was more than that… He needed the warmth of another person's body, their scent, their warm breath on his neck, their hands on his skin, clutching his hips as they drove into him…

He slid further into the tub, until even his head was submerged in the warm water.

He wanted Naruto. His scent, his hands, his breath on his neck, his voice in his ear as he…

Sasuke broke the surface of the water, gasping.

He was pathetic, wanting someone unattainable so much. Naruto had never given any sign that he thought of Sasuke that way. He’d always made sure to call them friends, or even brothers. Sasuke snorted. It was ridiculous. Naruto didn’t even know what having a brother meant. When Sasuke had asked him what the word friend meant to him, he hadn’t even been able to answer properly.

Naruto was a straight guy through and through. At least he wanted to appear that way.

Even if Sasuke convinced him to try omega pussy – if he took him from behind he wouldn’t know the difference – it wouldn’t mean anything. Naruto would end up finding himself a nice, unproblematic woman in the end and live his life in happy heteronormativity just because that’s what was expected of him.

------

Sasuke had not expected visitors so soon after his heat. There was still enough of it left in his system to make desire crackle like lightning down his spine at the sight of Naruto. If he’d been a stronger man, he would have turned them away instantly, but the desire to have Naruto close won over.

He hadn’t even put on anything to cover his scent, but then again, he’d decided not to hide anymore. Luckily he had aired out, so his house didn’t smell like pure, unadulterated lust.

It took him a moment to realize that the reason they were there was because it was Christmas Eve. He hadn’t exactly been counting the days during his heat.

Sakura left, but that annoying guy, Sai or whatever, stayed.

He was an omega, Sasuke noted with displeasure, and then an irrational anger flared up at the audacity of Naruto to bring another omega into his house. But he trampled down the feeling. It was just unreasonable jealousy made stronger because of the heat.

But no matter how annoyed Sasuke was at first, he had to admit that it was nice to have company on an evening that he normally spent alone.

He supposed it would have been even nicer if Naruto hadn’t been acting so strange. He either avoided eye contact at all cost or stared at Sasuke like a lost puppy. Naruto tried to keep the conversation going, but it was obvious his thoughts were elsewhere, and without him talking they just ended up sitting in awkward silence.

Then he abruptly went to the bathroom and left Sasuke alone with Sai. 

Sasuke couldn’t tell if the smile Sai gave him was genuine or patronizing, but before Sai could open his mouth to try and make mindless small talk, Sasuke stood and started clearing the table. Then he escaped outside.

It was freezing and the snow had started falling heavily, but it was better than the stuffy air inside where Naruto’s mouth watering scent was threatening to restart his heat. That couldn’t actually happen, but his body sure tried. All he could think about was how he’d like to cuddle up to Naruto and press his nose to his throat and kiss the skin over his scent glands. He could practically feel the taste on his tongue. He’d slide onto his lap and…

No. No, he was not going there.

He had more control over himself than that.

Fuck.

He was almost a little grateful for Sai’s presence, because without him there he might have given in to his desires.

As the evening wore on, there was no denying that Naruto was… affected. But Sasuke couldn’t tell why. He supposed it could be because of his lingering heat scent, though he was pretty sure that it was completely gone. Right after his heat, his scent was at its mildest.

Another possibility, and just thinking about it put Sasuke in a bad mood, but Naruto could be reacting to Sai.

Sasuke wasn’t fine-tuned towards an omega’s scent the same way he was to an alpha’s, so he couldn’t tell if Sai was giving off a scent that made Naruto react, but the possibility made him simmer with anger.

The tension was coming to a head when Sai abruptly broke the silence with a comment that made Sasuke freeze in shock.

“Should I leave you two alone so that you can fuck?”

Naruto sputtered and fumbled.

Apparently, even the mere thought of having sex with Sasuke was so appalling to him that he couldn’t even laugh it off.

Sasuke wondered if Sai had said it just to test Naruto. They left in such a hurry afterwards that it left Sasuke reeling.

Now he couldn’t help but think of the two of them together.

He’d imagined Naruto would find himself a nice, uncomplicated female omega. Someone that the village would approve of.

He could have dealt with that.

But to have his own lookalike replace him even in that area… it was more than he could bear.

------

Sasuke didn’t see Naruto again for over a week. He had thought it wouldn’t matter. He’d waited for Naruto for weeks before. But after having seen him nearly every day for so many months, the total absence was unbearable.

Sasuke found himself making excuses to go to places in the village that he was more likely to bump into Naruto. But then he got angry with himself for being so pathetic, and deliberately stayed away from any place he could risk meeting Naruto.

By the time a week had passed, he was about ready to go directly to Naruto’s apartment and demand an explanation from him.

Sakura had come by once, but he hadn’t been in the mood to talk to her. He’d only let her stay for long enough to ask her if Naruto was on a mission. She answered that he wasn’t, which meant Naruto had been staying away at his own initiative.

Sasuke really should go and talk to him, but he didn’t want to seem too dependent on him. To Naruto, a week away from Sasuke probably flew by… maybe he’d forgotten to come by because he was too busy hanging out with his friends. With Sai .

He probably didn’t miss Sasuke at all. And why should he? Sasuke barely talked, he never wanted to hang out with others or ‘have fun’ – something which Naruto often complained about – and he was generally grouchy and bad-tempered.

It was a miracle that Naruto had stayed around for as long as he had.

Maybe I should invite him into my bed , he thought sardonically. That way he might at least stay around for a while.

He shook his head in annoyance. Why was he so desperate to have Naruto around anyway? He was just a dumb, hot, sweet, infuriating former teammate.

He curled in on himself.

Even Sakura’s company was starting to seem like a good idea.

It was better than loneliness.

------

When Naruto finally did turn up, Sasuke’s initial relief was instantly replaced with anger. He stood in the doorway, refusing to make room so Naruto could come inside.

At least Naruto looked suitably apologetic. 

“I’m sorry that I didn’t come by sooner,” he said. “I… needed some time to myself.”

At least he wasn’t outright lying. If he’d said he was on a mission, Sasuke would have closed the door in his face. Reluctantly, Sasuke stepped aside to let him in.

Their time apart must have done something to Sasuke, because suddenly it felt almost too intimate to let him in. Just the two of them, alone…

Naruto smelled nice.

Sasuke realized with a shock that he was reacting to his scent. Heat licked through his body, leaving his skin tingling.

He hurried out into the garden, where Naruto’s scent wouldn’t overpower him.

They both sat on the patio, like they had done so many times before, but something felt different.

There was a long moment of silence until Naruto finally spoke.

“I’m sorry about Sai,” he said. “He says a lot of weird shit…”

“So you don’t want to fuck me?” Sasuke said lightly.

Naruto laughed nervously. “I didn’t mean to make it seem that way… It’s just… You weren’t masking your scent.”

Sasuke stopped himself from self-consciously touching his throat. He had not been prepared for this. He’d meant to keep grilling Naruto about Sai, but now he’d basically admitted that it was Sasuke’s scent that he’d reacted to.

“That doesn’t answer my question,” Sasuke said as evenly as he could with his heart hammering in his throat.

Naruto hesitated. “I just wasn’t prepared for your scent,” he muttered.

“How long have you known?” Sasuke said. “That I’m…”

He hadn’t thought Naruto could manage to look any more uncomfortable.

“Since before you were released from prison,” he admitted.

Sasuke was surprised. “How?” He’d been so careful…

“There was one time they wouldn’t let me see you. They said it was because you couldn’t see an alpha at the moment.”

Oh fuck. He hadn’t even considered that. He’d thought the guards would be a bit more discreet.

“Why did you hide it?” Naruto said.

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“No one would treat you differently for it.”

Sasuke snorted. “I don’t need your opinion on what no one would do, alpha.”

“I’m just saying that things are not how they used to be… omega’s are treated better now.”

“ Better doesn’t mean good . And I think I’m better qualified to say anything about how other people are treating me than you are.”

“Yeah, of course. But...”

“Don’t tell me you didn’t look at me differently the moment you knew.”

Naruto was silent for a moment too long, and Sasuke knew he’d hit bulls-eye.

“I did look at you differently,” Naruto admitted. “But you’re still the same person. It doesn’t change anything about you.”

Sasuke didn’t realize how much he needed to hear that from Naruto until that moment.

“Not everyone is that open-minded,” he said. “I’ve seen people go from treating me respectfully to leering at me the moment they realized.”

It had happened rarely, but there had been some weak moments where his scent came through during a fight, and suddenly his opponent seemed to lose all respect for him. He had quickly taught them otherwise, though, but even then it didn’t feel like he had won. It was as though nothing he ever did could make up for his egregious error of being born an omega.

“I’ll never treat you differently,” Naruto said. “To me you’re still the same. Always will be.”

Sasuke had to blink away some tears. The past week of worrying must have put him in a vulnerable mood.

Naruto rubbed his hands together. “Can we go inside now? It’s freezing out here.”

------

They sat by the fireplace so that Naruto could get the warmth back into his body.

“Didn’t you get cold?” Naruto asked.

“I rarely do.”

“And I thought I ran a high temperature.”

“I keep a very even temperature. I’m rarely bothered by either cold or warm temperatures.”

“Unfair,” Naruto huffed. “You’ve got good looks. You don’t get perfectly even body temperature as well.”

“I wasn’t aware that this was a fair world.”

Naruto pouted. “I’m still cold,” he complained. “Do you have another blanket?”

Sasuke went and got one from his bedroom. Then he made them some cocoa, since Naruto refused to drink more of his ‘awful tea’.

When he returned to the living room, Naruto hurriedly pretended he hadn’t been burying his face in Sasuke’s blanket.

It made Sasuke feel ridiculously pleased.

Naruto basically inhaled the cocoa. “How do you make it this good?”

“I make it the same way my mother did.”

“Whoa, do you remember that?”

“No, idiot. I’m using her recipe.”

“Oh, that makes sense.” He looked morosely into his cup. “I don’t have my mother’s recipes.” He frowned. “Or my father’s for that matter. I don’t have anything from them.”

Sasuke frowned. “Nothing?”

Naruto shook his head. “Well, except for the seal on my stomach.”

“But their belongings must be somewhere.”

“I always assumed that they were destroyed during the attack.”

“Maybe. But it’s a bit strange that no one mentioned who your parents were and what happened to your inheritance.”

Naruto shrugged. “I’ve stopped expecting anything about my past to make sense.”

Sasuke scoffed. Little about Naruto’s upbringing made sense. But there wasn’t much to do about that now. Those responsible were long dead, and any inheritance was long gone.

They were quiet for a while. Sasuke couldn’t ignore the question that had been burning in him since Christmas eve. He turned the cup of cocoa between his fingers.

“You and Sai…” he said slowly. “Are you…?”

Naruto frowned. “Are we what?”

Sasuke sighed irritably. “Are you dating?”

Naruto looked surprised. “Me and Sai? No! Absolutely not. We’re just friends.”

Sasuke took a sip from his cocoa.

“Why are you so interested?” Naruto said with an annoying grin.

“I’m not,” he said casually. “Am I not allowed to be curious about my friends life?”

Sasuke really didn’t like that knowing smile.

“Mhm,” Naruto said. “You’re normally not curious about anything I do, but okay.”

Sasuke huffed. “I’m curious about other things too.”

“Like what?”

“Like… well, normally you tell me everything so I don’t have to ask.”

That seemed to deflate Naruto a little. “Ah… I guess you’re right. But if I was dating someone, I would tell you that too.”

“Would you?”

“Yeah, why shouldn’t I?” Naruto said and looked away.

That little liar…

“So… You wouldn’t keep it from me if you had a crush either? Or if you’ve had sex?”

Naruto turned instantly red. It was a delight to watch.

“W-what about you?” he sputtered. “Would you tell me about that?”

Sasuke shrugged. “Not much to tell. This might shock you, but being on the run and in prison sort of… limits the options.”

“So you… you’ve never…?”

Sasuke arched his eyebrows in silent mockery.

Naruto huffed and turned redder than ever.

“You know what I’m asking!” He snapped.

“I’m not sure I do,” Sasuke said. “Please elaborate.”

“You’re evil,” Naruto grumbled. “Have you… done it?”

Sasuke sipped his cocoa. “Done what?”

Naruto straightened out one leg so that he could nudge Sasuke. “ You know what .”

Sasuke sighed. “I asked you first, remember? I’ll tell you if you tell me.”

Naruto pouted. “Okay, fine. Yeah, I’ve had sex.”

Sasuke wasn’t prepared for the way the words felt like a sword piercing straight through him. He carefully set the cup down so that he wouldn’t spill his drink.

“With who?” he said, knowing he was just twisting the knife in his own wound, but unable to stop himself.

“You first,” Naruto said. “Answer my question first.”

“You never actually asked it.”

“Have you had sex?” Naruto bit out.

Sasuke clenched his hand. He’d set himself up for this. “No.”

Naruto frowned. “Don’t lie. I told you the truth-”

“I’m not lying!”

Sasuke couldn’t stand the feeling of Naruto’s shocked eyes on his flushed face. He stood and walked into the kitchen, but once there he didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t run away from his own house.

Naruto appeared in the doorway on soft feet.

“I just slept with some random women,” he said. “One-night stands. I just wanted to know what it was like.”

“And what was it like?”

“Nice, I guess. Kinda… messy…” he scratched behind one red ear. “Nothing to write home about. I mean, not that I’d write home about that anyway… even if I had a home to write to.”

“I didn’t exactly have time for anything like that,” Sasuke said. He wasn’t even sure why he was talking about it. He supposed he felt like he owed it to Naruto to open up a bit.

“I get it,” Naruto said with a lopsided grin. “Kinda difficult to make time for that when you’re a wanted criminal on the run. I was just worried that… I mean, you kept kinda shady company, so…”

Sasuke knew what he was alluding to. His heats.

“Orochimaru locked me away,” he said. “Probably to keep his precious vessel out of anyone else’s hands. Team Taka took care of me after that.”

Naruto nodded. He looked like he wanted to ask more, so Sasuke quickly put a stop to it.

“It’s late,” he said. “You should go home.”

Naruto wisely didn’t mention that it was just seven in the evening.

After he left, Sasuke took the blankets Naruto had been wearing and stored them in the back of his wardrobe. He tried not to think too hard about the fact that he’d definitely bring them out for his heat.

It was nice to be able to talk so freely with Naruto. Sasuke basked in the lingering scent of him and replayed their conversation in his head.

So Naruto had had some one-night stands, but nothing serious… and he wasn’t dating Sai. What a relief.

Sasuke allowed himself to fantasize about the possibilities that presented. Naruto had deliberately breathed in his scent from that blanket. He had basked in it. He enjoyed Sasuke’s scent, more than Sai’s. More than Sakura’s…

Sasuke felt like a silly boy with his first crush. He had to get some control over himself. But he didn’t want to. He just wanted to enjoy this feeling. Wanted to believe that maybe he had a chance after all.

Chapter Text

Naruto was pretty sure that Sasuke was flirting with him. It had taken him a while to realize it, and then it took him even longer to believe in it, but in the end he had to admit that there was no doubt.

Ever since they had the talk after Christmas, Sasuke had been subtly flirting with him.

It was too subtle for Sakura to notice it. Mostly Sasuke would just bare his throat ever so slightly, or run his fingertips over his throat and jaw. It would seem like an absentminded gesture to anyone else. Nothing special.

But Naruto was starting to notice a pattern.

Sasuke would lean over him to get something that he could easily have asked Naruto to pass him, or he would stand so close to Naruto that their arms nearly brushed, tilting his head so that his scent became even more prominent. Naruto was starting to get more used to being around Sasuke’s natural scent without getting embarrassingly affected, but it didn’t exactly help that Sasuke persisted in getting so close.

He’d choose a moment when Naruto looked at him, and he’d brush a fingertip over the scent gland underneath his jaw. He’d do it while talking to Sakura, or reading something, or eating… seemingly not paying attention to Naruto at all, but it was happening too often for that to be the case.

Sasuke knew what he was doing.

He knew that he was riling up Naruto. He could smell it, Naruto was sure of it. The change in his scent had to be minute because he’d gotten pretty good control on his body lately, but Sasuke noticed anyway. He kept doing exactly the things that made Naruto’s heart beat quicker and had his blood flowing to places he desperately tried to stop it from going to.

Like the lip-thing Sasuke was doing. Naruto couldn’t tear his eyes away when Sasuke started playing with his bottom lip. He would run his thumb over it, slowly, absently, like he was in deep thought. Sometimes he even touched the tip of his tongue to his fingertip, which would force Naruto to look away before he spontaneously combusted.

The times he was forced to look away or leave the room, he could practically sense how pleased Sasuke was about winning their little game. Naruto’s competitive streak flared up and he tried his best to pretend to be unaffected, but he always lost in the end.

If he wanted to win, he would have to play dirtier than Sasuke.

So he started invading Sasuke’s personal space, making sure to pass by him in narrow places, like between the kitchen island and the stove, brushing so close to Sasuke that they were almost touching, but not quite.

Now that he could feel Sasuke’s scent easily, he also noticed when there was a small spike of lust in it. It would become stronger, thicker, and even more alluring.

It was a dangerous game because neither of them was entirely sure where they were headed.

Sasuke would get just as flustered as Naruto when they almost touched, or when Naruto leaned over his shoulder at the pretense of taking a closer look at what he was doing, whether he was cooking or reading. In a moment of weakness Sasuke would bare his throat to Naruto, and then he would push Naruto away, annoyed with him and probably also with himself for losing the game.

Sakura was seemingly oblivious to it all, despite the fact that Sasuke flirted even more aggressively when she was there. Naruto tried to dial it down. He was a little worried that he’d lose her friendship if she realized that he was flirting with her crush.

That was another issue that he didn’t like to think about.

He’d never dared to hope that Sasuke could ever want him back the same way Naruto wanted Sasuke, but lately that option had stopped seeming so farfetched.

It was starting to become obvious that Sasuke wanted him… like, really wanted him. And Naruto wanted him too, so badly. But Sakura was still standing between them like a shadow that kept obscuring his line of sight.

He didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but she would be hurt one way or another. Her hopeful dream of Sasuke returning her feelings with time was nothing more than a delusion, and a dangerous one at that. Naruto wondered how she could be so self-assured about that, yet so coy around Sasuke at the same time.

It seemed like she had already planned her future, and in it Sasuke was hers alone. No one could convince her otherwise, not even Sasuke himself.

Naruto hadn’t been aware of how many times Sasuke had told her that he wasn’t interested until Sasuke told him about it. When Sakura had talked about it, she’d always made it sound like Sasuke was reluctant about rejecting her, but the way Sasuke told it he’d always been very clear about his own feelings.

He didn’t feel anything else but friendship for her, never had and never would.

As a matter of fact, he was gay.

Naruto had been surprised when Sasuke told him, but mostly because he had said it so abruptly.

“Don’t tell me you’re going to act weird about it,” Sasuke said flatly when Naruto was unresponsive for a bit too long.

“No!” Naruto hurried to say. “Of course not. I… um… I don’t know what to say. I’m just glad you told me.”

Sasuke relaxed a bit and Naruto realized it must have taken a lot for him to say it. It made him feel really honored that Sasuke trusted him that much. 

It also made him want to repay that trust and tell him something that he’d barely even admitted to himself.

“I might… be that… too…” he said haltingly.

He stared at the floor as he said it so he couldn’t see Sasuke’s reaction.

“Or, more like… I think I like both…” Naruto added, rubbing the back of his head.

Sasuke was quiet and it made Naruto antsy.

“Aren’t you gonna say anything?” he muttered.

Finally he looked up and caught Sasuke with a stunned look on his face.

“I thought you were straight,” Sasuke said.

Naruto shrugged. “I thought so too, but…”

Sasuke nodded to himself. “I should have known,” he muttered. “The reverse harem no jutsu.”

Naruto blushed thinking about that. It hadn’t occurred to him until later, after a stray comment from someone, that maybe it wasn’t entirely straight behavior to be so invested in creating a jutsu full of naked men. He’d convinced himself that it was all in the name of being the number one unpredictable ninja, but the truth was that he had enjoyed himself a bit too much making it.

“Yeah…” Naruto rubbed the back of his head. “I guess that was a pretty big clue.”

Sasuke shook his head, a shadow of a smile on his lips. “It takes an idiot like you to not even get the hints you were giving yourself.”

Naruto pouted and shoved Sasuke. But he was actually pleased because Sasuke was chuckling, and it was nice to see him happy.

------

It wasn’t often Naruto got sent out on longer missions these days. He was undergoing some training to become hokage not too far into the future, and frustratingly often found himself doing boring paperwork while Kakashi dozed off.

But in the middle of March he was sent out on a longer mission. It was refreshing to get out and do some physical work, but at the same time he couldn’t stop thinking about Sasuke and looking forward to coming home.

Luckily it was a pretty easy mission, just settling some disputes and reining in some nuke nin that had been hired by one of the parties. They were no match for Naruto and his team. 

The mission took just a little over a week, and once he and his team were done, Naruto insisted that they should go back to Konoha immediately. He kept up such a brutal pace on their way back that he received some comments from his teammates. Chouji drily asked if he had left his stove on at home.

Naruto realized he was in a rush to get back home to Sasuke, and suddenly it hit him with full force how much he actually missed him. Being apart from him for over a week was difficult.

“Can’t you see he’s in looove,” Ino teased.

Naruto blushed bright red, which all but confirmed her words.

She laughed in delight. “Oh my, you are! Who is the lucky girl?”

That put a brutal stop to any hint of amusement on Naruto’s part.

“No one,” he muttered brusquely and sped up further.

By nightfall they were still too far away from Konoha so they decided to set up camp. There were no alphas or omegas on the team except Naruto, so when they had eaten and were getting ready to settle for the night, he was the only one who noticed the faint scent of an omega in heat.

He meant to ignore it, but something about it felt odd. They were out in the wilderness, far away from the nearest village, so it was possible that the omega could be in a bad predicament.

He notified the others and they went out in search for the omega.

It didn’t take long before they found her curled up between the roots of a huge tree. She reacted immediately to Naruto’s presence and clung to him when he kneeled next to her and tried to talk to her.

It was a bit overwhelming for Naruto, who had never been close to an omega in heat before. Usually they kept inside during their heats, and with good reason. Even though this omega was a relatively small woman, Naruto had trouble keeping her off of him. She was completely lost in her heat, to a point where she didn’t even seem to register what they said to her. Naruto looked desperately at the others. Ino tried to reason with the omega, but to no avail.

Naruto ended up carrying her back to camp where she thankfully eventually went to sleep.

“That was weird,” Chouji said in a hushed voice when he was certain that she was asleep. She was still clinging to Naruto and was curled up in his lap.

They were all sitting around the campfire. It was the middle of the night and they should have been asleep, but now their return to Konoha would be delayed.

“She can’t help it,” Naruto said. He was the only one there who could remotely understand her predicament. Her scent was nice and it affected him slightly, but he felt no desire to give in to her needs. Even her heat-scent wasn’t half as enticing as Sasuke’s regular scent.

“We should get some sleep,” Shikamaru said and sighed. “Tomorrow we’ll have to find out where she came from and return her to safety.”

The next day the omega’s heat had receded and she was coherent enough to be ashamed of her behavior. She shied away from Naruto all of a sudden and sought support from Ino instead.  

It turned out that she was from a nearby village and had been hiking in the mountains when her heat came on unexpectedly. She hadn’t been able to get home before it hit. They escorted her back to her village and she thanked them profusely for taking care of her and keeping her safe.

Their return to Konoha was delayed by half a day, but they kept up a fast pace and managed to return home by midnight.

Naruto had hoped to see Sasuke immediately, but he would be asleep by now. Besides, Naruto had to wash off the heat-scent that covered him.

He slept restlessly that night and woke up early. He couldn’t wait to see Sasuke again. It had been so long, almost two weeks. He wondered if Sasuke missed him too…

The moment he was certain that Sasuke would be awake, he hurried over to his place.

Sasuke opened the door almost the minute Naruto knocked.

For a second they just stood staring at each other while Naruto took in the sight of Sasuke. It was such a relief to see him again. He could swear that he looked even better than usual, his silky hair framing his beautiful face, and his black sweater showing off just a sliver of collarbone.

“Hi,” he said softly.

He wanted to touch him so badly, but instead he just stood there awkwardly.

It wasn’t always so easy to guess what was going through Sasuke’s mind, but this time Naruto could clearly see that he was happy to see him just from the soft, pleased look on his face.

Sasuke stood aside to let Naruto in, and Naruto almost sagged at the familiar, soothing smell of his home. It always calmed him to be in Sasuke’s space, and now that he was getting used to his scent, it felt like coming home.

That was, until Sasuke grabbed Naruto’s arm in an iron grip, forcing him to face him. All the softness from a moment ago had disappeared. Instead he looked furious.

“Why do you smell like an omega in heat?”

Naruto was rendered speechless. He had showered and changed clothes! How could Sasuke possibly tell?

When Naruto didn’t immediately reply, Sasuke sneered and shoved him towards the door.

“Wait!” Naruto said, finally finding his voice. “I can explain-!”

“I can’t wait to hear it,” Sasuke spat, though he obviously could because he was pushing Naruto out the door.

“Wait, stop,” Naruto grabbed Sasuke’s hand. “I-It was from the mission! I washed it off yesterday and changed my clothes. I didn’t think you’d notice!”

Sasuke looked incredulous.

Then the door was slammed in Naruto’s face and a second too late Naruto realized what he’d just said.

“No, wait…! I didn’t mean…!”

He stood outside the door, desperately searching for words.

“Sasuke! I didn’t…!”

Fuck. Fuck!

“I didn’t sleep with her, she was just… I looked after her. She was all alone!”

There was no response from within. Naruto pressed both hands against the door.

“Sasuke, please let me in. I’ll explain it all. It’s just a huge misunderstanding!”

Only silence answered him.

He slammed his palms against the door.

Fuck!

How could he have fucked it up so completely? He should have been more careful, should have made entirely sure that the heat-scent was washed off. If he hadn’t been so eager to see Sasuke he might have thought twice about it and taken another, more thorough shower. Heat scents were strong and it must still be lingering on Naruto’s skin. Sasuke knew Naruto’s scent well, so he had noticed the difference immediately.

Naruto cursed himself.

He’d been so thoughtless, and now he’d ruined everything.

------

To think he’d waited for that moron.

Sasuke paced from the kitchen to the living room, back and forth. He tried to do something… water some plants, put away some dishes… but his thoughts were elsewhere.

He’d been such a fool for thinking he and Naruto had something special going when apparently it didn’t take much more than a week for Naruto to divert his attention towards a new omega.

That’s how much their sporadic flirting had meant to him.

It had just been about biology. How had Sasuke managed to be too blind to see that?

It hadn’t been about Sasuke at all; it was all about his body, his scent, his secondary gender. If he’d been a beta or an alpha, Naruto would never have looked at him this way in the first place.

He had been stupid to get caught up in it.

But it had given him a sense of power to see how Naruto reacted to his scent. It had made him feel desired and loved when Naruto had looked at him like he was the only one who mattered. Even when Sakura was there, Naruto completely ignored her. He was always sitting angled towards Sasuke. If Sasuke lifted his hand, seemingly innocently, to touch his neck or his lip, Naruto’s eyes were instantly drawn to him.

It had been intoxicating to have Naruto’s attention on him like that. He’d gotten wrapped up in it, had let himself believe that Naruto actually felt something more for him.

He slumped at the living room table and sat there for a long time, just staring into nothing. After a while he looked up at the clock on the wall and was shocked to realize that he’d been idle for over an hour. Numbly he went to the kitchen, but he didn’t feel like eating anything. He just wanted to lie down and sleep and sleep and sleep…

He was feeling unusually hot too, and a little dizzy… Was he coming down with something?

He decided to take a shower and go to bed, even though it was still the middle of the day.

It was while he stood in the shower that it dawned on him… He was going into heat. It was a day early, which was unusual. Normally it came on the nineteenth. It was coming on strong too.

He wrapped himself up in a towel, found one of the blankets that still had Naruto’s scent on it in his closet, closed the blinds so that the room was completely dark, and hid under the covers.

It hurt to feel Naruto’s scent, but at the same time it soothed him. He was overcome with a confusing mix of anger, pain and desire. The first day of his heat was always the mildest one and the emotional exhaustion was making him tired enough to fall into a restless sleep. 

He woke again some time later without knowing exactly why. He was entangled in a mess of damp towels and sheets. He dozed for a moment until he heard what must have woken him up. A knock.

Someone was at his front door. Probably Sakura. She’d leave if he didn’t answer. He dozed off again, but was startled wide-awake by a voice calling out from the genkan.

“Sasuke?”

Oh no… Why had Naruto come back? 

This couldn’t be happening.

“Don’t come in,” Sasuke shouted.

He sat up and collected the sheets around himself in an effort to create some sense of modesty.

“I knocked but you didn’t answer, and the door was open,” Naruto called out. “I’m so sorry about earlier. I just came back to say-“

“This is not a good time,” Sasuke practically growled.

Naruto was just a few meters away from him down the hallway. He was completely unaware of Sasuke’s early onset heat and didn’t understand the severity of the situation. Not until he noticed Sasuke’s heat-scent, and by then it could be too late. Sasuke knew that he wouldn’t be able to keep it together if he got a whiff of Naruto’s scent right now, and he was afraid that Naruto wouldn’t be able to either. 

Naruto was quiet for a moment. Sasuke hoped he’d left, but then he spoke again.

“I’m really sorry, Sasuke,” Naruto said, sounding so regretful that Sasuke was tempted to forgive him on the spot. Or maybe that was just the heat talking… “I don’t know how to make it up to you. Just let me explain, please.”

Sasuke groaned.

Naruto couldn’t have chosen a worse moment to come over and plead his case. Just hearing his voice was making it difficult for Sasuke to think through the desire.

“Naruto,” Sasuke forced himself to speak calmly, though he couldn’t help the slight tremor in his voice. “I promise that I’ll hear you out later but right now you need to leave.”

Suddenly, Naruto went dead silent.

Sasuke could swear he heard him suck in a breath.

“Oh…” was all Naruto said. The thickness in his voice made Sasuke ache.

He’d noticed Sasuke’s scent at last.

“Leave,” Sasuke snarled in desperation. “I’ll never forgive you if you don’t leave now.”

There was a charged silence for a few, long moments.

Sasuke was forcing himself to stay put. He wanted Naruto so desperately that it was taking every ounce of willpower he had not to move.

Then, just as his willpower was about to break and he seriously considered walking out of the room and making sure Naruto stayed after all, he heard the door slam and silence reigned in his house once more.

He let out a shaky breath and tried to ignore how gratitude so easily gave way to disappointment.

------

Naruto wasn’t entirely aware of how he got home. One moment he was at Sasuke’s place and then the next, he was landing on the roof of his apartment with a thud that surely caught the attention of every resident in the building.

He hardly cared about that at the moment.

He had been this close to just walking straight into Sasuke’s room and… and… He shook his head. Fuck. He needed to clear his head. He needed to stop thinking about what he almost did.

I’ll never forgive you.

Right. That’s what had broken the spell. The growl in Sasuke’s voice had given him the ounce of strength he needed to get the hell away from him before he succumbed to that scent.

Sasuke’s heat scent was… indescribable.

Even now the memory of it affected him. Some primal part of him wanted to go straight back to Sasuke, because that’s where he belonged. He was supposed to be with him, to aid him in his moment of need, and---

What the hell was he thinking?

He blinked and realized that he was standing on the edge of the roof, about to run back to Sasuke.

Fuck, he needed to get a grip… He needed something that could break the trance… something to shock him back to himself…

He climbed in through his open bedroom window and started tugging off his clothes as he made his way to the bathroom.

A cold shower would hopefully do the trick. He turned it on at the most freezing temperature and stood under the spray. He gasped. It was a shock to the senses, but it cleared his mind.

He forced himself to stay under the spray until he was shivering.

Only then did he get out and dry himself off.

He went to bed in the hopes that sleep would claim him immediately, like it usually did, but he was disappointed. The moment he closed his eyes, all he could think about was Sasuke.

Naruto had asked Sai once how it felt to be in heat. He’d been curious because it was something that no one really talked about.

Sai had said it was like being so uncontrollably horny that he’d even gladly accept Naruto’s mediocre dick, which had made Naruto so flustered and angry that he hadn’t asked more about it.

(But it had obviously been a lie, because as it turned out, Sai was pretty into him…)

Now he couldn’t help but think about Sasuke lying in his bed, moaning as he touched himself…

Naruto cursed under his breath. He shouldn’t think of Sasuke that way… shouldn’t… but it was so difficult to stop. And in the end, it was infinitely better than the alternative, which was him seeking out Sasuke again.

At least Sasuke never needed to know about this.

------

Naruto waited for four days before he went back to see Sasuke again. His heat would normally be over in three days, but Naruto didn’t want to risk getting a whiff of that scent again. He still dreamed of it. In his dreams he didn’t turn back at Sasuke’s bedroom door, but went inside where Sasuke was waiting eagerly for him. Then everything turned into a hot, confusing muddle of desire and desperation that always ended in Naruto waking up at the brink of orgasm.

This was not the kind of thing he should be thinking about as he made his way to Sasuke’s house. He went for a run around the village until his mind and body was too tired to act up. Then, when he was feeling more clear headed, he went to Sasuke’s house and knocked on the door.

He stood a little away from the door when Sasuke opened it. Seeing him again now was a shock to the senses. His hair was still damp from a bath, and he was wearing a dark blue yukata that made Naruto’s mouth go dry. He swallowed thickly.

“You promised you’d hear me out,” Naruto said when Sasuke just stood there looking impassive.

There was a tense moment where it seemed like Sasuke considered not letting Naruto in, but then he sighed and turned around, leaving the door open.

Naruto followed him into the house, bracing himself for any residues of Sasuke’s heat scent, but to his relief the house smelled fresh, as though it was recently aired out.

Naruto sat down by the low living room table while Sasuke went and fetched a teapot and two cups. He poured the green, seaweed-smelling tea for Naruto.

Naruto wrinkled his nose. “I don’t like that tea-”

“You’ll drink what I serve you,” Sasuke said and slammed the pot down on the table.

Naruto pouted but lifted the cup to his lips and drank obediently. He didn’t even pull a face, though he wanted to.

“Well?” Sasuke said when Naruto put the cup down. “Start explaining.”

“Listen,” Naruto said, which prompted a deadpan look from Sasuke, “I didn’t sleep with anyone. I swear to any deity there might be. We were on our way back to Konoha when we found an omega in heat in the woods. We kept her safe and returned her to her village, but she clung to me, which is why I had her scent on me.”

Sasuke lifted one eyebrow. He was evidently not impressed by the explanation.

“It’s the truth,” Naruto said. “I’m not so unprofessional that I’d sleep with someone on a mission.”

Sasuke sipped his tea. “It’s not unusual that people unwind right after a mission,” he said. “Some drink, while others…”

“I’m not like that,” Naruto cut in. “You know me better than that, Sasuke. You know that… You know how I feel about you…”

There was a moment of tense silence, broken by two words from Sasuke; “Do I?”

Naruto made a frustrated sound. “I don’t know! I thought… I thought we had something going, you know?” He glanced over at Sasuke, but Sasuke was staring down into his cup. “With the… We were flirting, weren’t we?”

Sasuke huffed. “You couldn’t tell?”

Naruto weighted his next words carefully. “I hoped we were…”

He tried to meet Sasuke’s gaze, but he was refusing to look at him.

It occurred to Naruto that he might be just as overwhelmed by it all as Naruto was.

He reached over the table, carefully touching the back of Sasuke’s hand.

“I was flirting,” he said.

Sasuke blinked rapidly. “So it wasn’t just my scent…?”

“What…?”

“I’m an omega… My scent… You’re hardwired to react to it.”

“Not necessarily. Yours affects me much more intensely than anyone else’s. That omega in heat… her scent was nothing compared to yours. And I think that means something. You feel different about my scent too, right?”

There was a moment of silence. Then Sasuke let go of the cup and took Naruto’s hand, stroking the back of it with his thumb.

“I got used to it while I was in prison. You visited so often. At first I had to fight to keep my own reaction in check so that you wouldn’t notice my scent, but with time it got easier. Now your scent is so familiar, it makes me feel safe and calm.”

Naruto smiled. “I feel the same way about your scent. It’s like I unwind every time I come here.”

They sat in silence for a moment. Naruto felt overwhelmed all of a sudden. He pulled Sasuke’s hand closer, enclosed it in both of his.

“So… uh…” Naruto said. “Does this mean… Do you want to…?”

He met Sasuke’s gaze. Sasuke looked almost as overwhelmed and hopeful as Naruto felt.

“If you want…?” Sasuke said.

“I want it if you want it.”

“I want it.”

Sasuke was giving him a soft look that made Naruto feel all gooey inside.

“Uhh, just to be clear…” Naruto said. “We’re talking about being boyfriends, right?”

There was a small smile on Sasuke’s lips. “I hope so.”

Naruto felt his cheeks flush as his lips parted in a happy smile. “I want that. I really want that.”

They were both smiling foolishly at each other.

“I find it kinda cute how jealous you got,” Naruto said.

Sasuke’s cheeks flushed pink. “I reacted without thinking.”

Naruto grinned. “You were so pissed off. And… did you go into early heat because of it?”

Sasuke pulled his hand out of Naruto’s grip.

“That was completely unrelated,” he said with as much of a stoic air as he could manage.

Naruto rested one elbow on the table and put his chin on his palm. “Your heat scent really was something else…”

“I thought you wouldn’t leave,” Sasuke said tersely. “I wouldn’t have had the strength to keep you away if you hadn’t.”

“Is that an omega thing?” Naruto asked. “Or was it because it’s me?”

Sasuke hesitated so long that Naruto thought he didn’t want to answer. He was about to change the topic when Sasuke said, “It was because it’s you.”

Naruto grinned brightly. He wasn’t aware it was possible to be this happy.

He wanted to tell Sasuke he loved him, because he loved him so much, and he knew it was true, had known it for a while already.

But he held back because he didn’t want to scare Sasuke off right away.

“What do we do now?” he said instead.

Sasuke shrugged, but his cheeks were still a bit pink as he said, “We could kiss.”

Naruto nodded eagerly. “Yeah, that… That’s… I would like that…”

He was flushing already, his heart doing double time in his chest.

It was Sasuke who made the first move. He stood, came around to Naruto’s side of the table, and kneeled next to him.

“I guess you’re the expert here,” he said after a moment.

Naruto groaned. “I knew that would come back to bite me.”

Sasuke placed his hand on Naruto’s chest. “But have you ever done it with a man…?”

He was so close, and his scent was so strong. He smelled like nothing Naruto could describe. It was like being introduced to everything he loved the most in this world, only concentrated into one, single scent. It was dizzying.

“No…” he murmured.

He instinctively tilted his head to the side, moving closer as Sasuke did the same. 

He could feel Sasuke’s breath on his lips, and then his warm mouth was on his, soft, curious. Naruto opened his mouth, his tongue brushing Sasuke’s lip. He heard him catch his breath. It gave him a warm, pleasant feeling, knowing that he affected Sasuke this way.

He reached up, putting his hands around Sasuke’s neck… Oh, this was almost too much already. Sasuke’s scent was everywhere now. So warm, soft and inviting. His skin was so hot.

Naruto tugged lightly at Sasuke’s bottom lip with his teeth.

He wanted more, so much more. He wanted all of Sasuke. Had wanted him for so long. It was so good that it was painful.

He heard Sasuke gasp, his voice gruff, the sound unguarded. It made a raging desire claw its way up through Naruto’s lower body.

“I want you,” Naruto groaned.

Sasuke’s scent was so thick around him, so intoxicating.

“Yes,” Sasuke murmured, just as desperately. He was climbing into Naruto’s lap, his thighs on each side of Naruto’s hips.

They kissed until their lips were sore, until they had to break apart to draw in deep breaths, and even then they only managed to stay apart for a few seconds before they inevitably were drawn together again.

Naruto was in a daze. The only thing he could focus on was Sasuke’s mouth, his skin, his scent… He broke the kiss to push his nose under Sasuke’s jawline, nuzzling his scent gland, and Sasuke threw his head back with a soft gasp. Naruto nipped at the skin, rubbed his cheek against it, his alpha side reveling in covering himself with that scent.

Then it was Sasuke’s turn. He put his hand on Naruto’s chin, impatiently pushing his head to the side and placing ferocious bites and kisses along the column of his neck until he reached his scent gland.

Naruto gasped gruffly as Sasuke latched onto his gland, sucking and biting.

He was achingly hard already.

“Sasuke,” he gasped. “Wait…”

Sasuke stopped his wonderful assault on Naruto’s throat.

“Sasuke, I want to… Do you want to…?”

Sasuke kissed him on the mouth. “Yes,” he groaned.

“Yes,” Naruto echoed eagerly, answering the kiss. But then he drew back again. “Wait… I mean… Do you want…?”

He grabbed Sasuke’s hips, itching to slide his hands down to his ass, but holding back, waiting.

“Yes,” Sasuke gasped. He rocked hard into Naruto’s lap, making Naruto whine at the pressure on his cock.

“I want to fuck you,” Naruto bit out.

Sasuke moaned gruffly, his hand fumbling with the belt of his yukata. Naruto pulled the yukata open, pushing it off Sasuke’s shoulders, his eyes roving greedily over his chest, his pink nipples, down to his black boxer briefs. He grabbed the hem and Sasuke lifted up, trying to make it easier to get the boxers off, but Naruto just tugged at it so hard that it tore.

Sasuke swore, but then he was kissing Naruto again so apparently he didn’t mind too much. Naruto fumbled with his own pants, his eyes on Sasuke’s flushed pink cock. It was a decent size. Definitely bigger than Naruto had expected based on the rumors he’d heard about male omega’s.

What surprised him the most was the size and look of his balls. They were smaller and closer to the body than on alphas and betas. Naruto touched them gently, and Sasuke groaned and rolled his hips eagerly, making Naruto’s fingers slide further back until they encountered the slick, plump folds of his pussy.

Naruto froze for a second before he moved his fingers experimentally. Sasuke panted against his ear.

“It feels the same as a woman’s,” Naruto muttered, amazed.

Sasuke bit his earlobe. “Is that a problem?”

Naruto shook his head with a breathy laugh. “No.”

Sasuke pulled Naruto’s cock out of the confines of his pants and boxers, grabbed the base, and tried to lower himself onto it. A moment of frustration passed as they tried to coordinate their movements.

“Lean back,” Sasuke bit out.  

“Let me do it,” Naruto grumbled and pushed Sasuke’s hand away. “I’ve done it before and you haven’t.”

“I forgot I was with Mr. Experienced,” Sasuke grumbled.

It started dawning on Naruto just how much that bothered Sasuke.

He grinned. “Angry that I’m better than you at something?”

“Experience doesn’t equal skill,” Sasuke said.

“Wanna bet on that?”

Before Sasuke could respond, Naruto quickly wrestled him down on the floor. Sasuke stared up at him in surprise, but before he could retaliate, Naruto was on top of him and between his legs. He was more used to this position and knew how to ease into Sasuke as smoothly as possible. There was no need to be careful though, because Sasuke was so wet that he took him easily despite his inexperience. 

Sasuke gasped. That look of surprise and pleasure on his face was all Naruto needed. Sasuke was relaxing underneath him, accepting his dominance, his body easing open for him, inviting him into his tight heat and angling his hips to let Naruto slide deeper.

Naruto thrust in deeper and deeper, unable to hold himself back as he felt Sasuke accept every inch of him. Sasuke moved up into each thrust, accepting it with a roll of his hips.

Naruto felt overwhelmed already. Sasuke’s scent was all around him, thick and inviting.

He moaned when he finally felt Sasuke take all of him. He jerked into him a few times, reveling in the feeling of his balls pressed against his ass, and the base of his cock hugged tightly by that soft heat.

“Fuck,” he groaned.

He started thrusting erratically, his head swimming, his whole sensory system on overload. 

“Wait…” Sasuke gasped, “Wait, Naruto…”

Naruto blinked, drew in a breath, stopped…

Sasuke’s hand was on his cheek and he pressed into it.

He met Sasuke’s eyes, wide, dark, overcome.

“You’re inside me,” he whispered. “It’s real. It’s you…”

Naruto kissed him and rolled his hips ever so slightly… Sasuke arched up against him with a gasp.

“Naruto…”

“Yes…” Naruto rolled his hips again, harder. Again, and again.

Sasuke threw his head back.

“Naruto… ah… Naruto… Nar’to…”

He was arching up, teeth bared, tears prickling out from tightly closed eyes.

He was coming. His pussy squeezed hard around Naruto’s cock and Naruto groaned.

“Fuck me,” Sasuke bit out. “Keep fucking me.”

Naruto did. He moaned desperately as Sasuke’s body clutched him like a vice. He thrust in jerkily, Sasuke’s body twitching and shaking in a drawn out orgasm.

Naruto had never seen someone come this fast and hard before.

It was pulling him over the edge too and he came in a blinding wave of pleasure, stilling over Sasuke with a choked moan.

He heard Sasuke make soft whimpering noises and felt him wriggle his hips listlessly, seeking some sort of added friction. 

“Fuck…” Naruto muttered, “I came inside you… didn’t have a condom…” Much less the frame of mind to find one.

“It’s okay,” Sasuke said. “I can’t get pregnant outside of my heat.”

“Oh…” Naruto rested his head against Sasuke’s chest with a breath of relief.

“I’ve wanted to do this since we started flirting,” Sasuke murmured, trailing fingers through Naruto’s hair.

“Me too,” Naruto said. “I wanted it so bad. It was all I could think about…”

He lifted his head enough to nuzzle the side of Sasuke’s neck. Then he moved nearer to the source of that heavenly scent. It filled his whole being as he scraped his teeth over the gland.

Sasuke threw his head back in acceptance and Naruto felt his pussy pulse around his cock, felt him get wet again.

“Damn,” he muttered.

He tried to thrust in a few times but he was too oversensitive, so he pulled out to grumbled protests from Sasuke.

Then he just sat there for a moment, kneeling between Sasuke’s legs, watching his cum trickle out of his flushed pussy. He desperately wanted to get hard again immediately.

Sasuke’s cock was as hard as ever, despite the evidence of his orgasm smeared on his stomach.

Naruto slid one hand down Sasuke’s leg to the juncture of his thigh, and palmed his cock gently. Sasuke jolted and moaned.

“I wish I could fuck you again right now,” Naruto said.

“Then do it.”

“I can’t.”

Sasuke grabbed his hand and brought it down between his legs. “I’ll take a substitute for now.”

Naruto drew in a sharp breath. “You’re so hot right now, you know that?”

“Literally or figuratively?”

Naruto chuckled and shook his head as he draped himself over Sasuke. “Both.”

------

Naruto woke up in Sasuke’s bed. He sat up, stretched, and froze, staring at himself in the full-length wardrobe mirror that stood across from him.

His body looked like a battleground. There were scratches and bite-marks and hickeys everywhere. They would be gone soon, though, so Naruto would cherish them for as long as he had them. Sasuke was a different story. His sides and hips and thighs were littered with bruises, and his shoulders and neck showed the remains of bite-marks and hickeys. His skin wouldn’t heal as fast as Naruto’s.

Naruto brushed a gentle hand over Sasuke’s hip, down his thigh, hovering over a particularly bad bruise.

They had hurt each other worse before, and for less sensible reasons, but it was still a bit shocking to see the evidence of how out of control he got with Sasuke.

Sasuke blinked and looked at Naruto, his eyes the only indication that he was awake. His breathing had barely changed at all.

“Does it hurt?” Naruto said, his thumb caressing the finger-shaped bruises on Sasuke’s thigh.

Sasuke sat up. He ran his hand down the marred leg. “I don’t even feel it.”

Then he looked at Naruto’s neck. “What about you?”

Naruto rubbed the skin. “Nah. It’ll be gone in an hour anyway.”

Sasuke smiled wistfully. “Shame.”

“You’ll have to hide yours,” Naruto said.

Sasuke cocked his head. “Why?”

“Sakura will ask questions.”

“And?”

“And nothing! She’ll know it was me, I’m the only other person you see, and I don’t want her to find out about us this way. Besides, you look like an animal has attacked you. She’ll think I’m as out of control as alpha’s are rumored to be.”

Sasuke smirked. “Aren’t you?”

Naruto huffed. “I wouldn’t have done it if you protested!”

“I would never protest when it’s you. You can do what you want with me.”

He sidled closer and climbed into Naruto’s lap.

“Are you sure your heat is over?” Naruto muttered as Sasuke started peppering him with kisses.

“Heat passed,” Sasuke said, “horniness didn’t.”

Naruto chuckled and let Sasuke push him back down on the mattress.

Chapter Text

Naruto couldn’t stop marveling over the fact that he’d slept with Sasuke. He wanted to talk about it with someone. Wanted to tell them how he was dating the most beautiful omega, how he made him so happy…

But he couldn’t tell Sakura because that wouldn’t go down well, and he doubted Sai wanted to hear about it… He was actually a bit nervous about telling his friends. He worried about how they’d react; both to the fact that he was dating a guy, and that said guy was Sasuke.

In the meantime, he’d just go over and over the memories from yesterday in his own head, looking forward to seeing Sasuke again in the evening.

He would have liked to spend every waking hour with Sasuke, but he didn’t want to become the annoyingly clingy boyfriend right off the bat.

Huh. They were boyfriends. It was still a lot to take in. What did boyfriends do, anyway? What did being in a relationship mean? Should they be going on dates now? He’d never been on a date before…

Should he get Sasuke flowers?

Nah, it’d probably just annoy him.

Unless…

-----

Sasuke stared down at the small packet Naruto was offering him.

“… What is that?”

He took it gingerly, as if he was afraid it’d blow up in his face.

“Tomato seeds,” Naruto said.

Sasuke was absolutely speechless and it was throwing Naruto off. He wasn’t sure if it was a good or bad silence. He rubbed the back of his neck.

“I just wanted to get you something for your garden. You said you wanted to plant some vegetables, and you like tomatoes, right?”

“…Yeah.”

Sasuke finally looked up. He looked really touched and it occurred to Naruto that he didn’t get gifts often… if ever.

Naruto grinned. “Can I help you plant them?”

Sasuke nodded and led the way to the garden.

------

After planting the seeds, they rested in the shade on the porch. It was a very hot day, but it was pleasant in the shade. Naruto was lying with his head on Sasuke’s stomach while Sasuke was propped up on some pillows and reading a scroll on jutsu’s that he, strictly speaking, didn’t have clearance for. 

Feeling bored and horny, Naruto started playing with the hem of Sasuke’s shirt. He snuck one finger underneath it and caressed Sasuke’s hipbone with the tip of his fingers. Then he ran his hand lower, his fingers ghosting over the skin right above the waistline of his pants.

“What are you doing?” Sasuke said, sounding mildly amused.

Naruto grinned, trying to look innocent. “Nothing!”

Sasuke’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t get any ideas. We’re outside. Someone could see us.”

Naruto snorted. “Who? The whole property is walled off by a huge fence.”

He nuzzled Sasuke’s stomach and played with the button of his pants. Sasuke drew in a sharp breath but he didn’t try to stop Naruto. Naruto opened his pants slowly, kissing each sliver of uncovered skin, inching the hem of the boxers down as he went.

Sasuke made a choked, frustrated sound.

Then there was a sharp knock on the front door and Sasuke jumped.

“It’s probably just Sakura,” Naruto said.

Sasuke swore softly.

“She’ll leave,” Naruto said.

“I didn’t lock the door, and it’s our weekly meeting. She’ll walk right in.”

Sasuke shoved Naruto off his lap and stood, buttoning up his pants.

Naruto sighed and slumped back against the wall, concealing the tent in his pants with his shirt. He wasn’t in the mood to see Sakura right now.

After a moment, Sakura’s voice floated out from the kitchen. He heard Sasuke mention his name and shortly after Sakura poked her head out the door to the porch.

“Hi!” she said. “I haven’t seen you since you came back from your mission. How did it go?”

“Great!” Naruto said, forcing a smile.

Sakura smiled too, seemingly satisfied, and disappeared inside again.

Naruto joined them once he was feeling more presentable, but he still couldn’t muster the energy to talk to Sakura.

He hated the way she acted so familiar with Sasuke, as though she already considered them a couple. She prepared food for him and cleaned up around the house as though she was his girlfriend. Though she didn’t touch him, she stood really close to him and looked up at him in that annoyingly demure way, as though she hoped that he’d be tempted to kiss her.

Naruto hated the fact that she took it for granted that Sasuke would like her back just because she was the girl who was closest to him, and he hated the fact that everyone accepted a potential relationship between Sakura and Sasuke without even caring if they had chemistry, while a potential relationship between Naruto and Sasuke was so farfetched to everyone that no one even thought about it.

He had lost count of the number of times people had talked about their friendship and their strong bond and their brotherly relationship, until he even believed in it himself.

He and Sasuke had so much chemistry that everyone could see it, yet people were so quick to call it brotherly. Was it because they refused to see what was right in front of them?

Even Sakura dismissed Naruto’s potential chances with Sasuke without even considering them as on the same level as her own chances, despite having been rejected by Sasuke multiple times.

Feeling rising resentment and annoyance, Naruto decided to give Sakura a reminder of which one of them stood closest to Sasuke.

He went right over to them and placed himself so close to Sasuke that their shoulders bumped. Sakura stared at him in mild confusion at his sudden proximity.

Naruto turned to Sasuke, addressing only him as he said, “What are you two talking about?”

Sasuke didn’t seem to find anything amiss in the fact that Naruto’s face was just a few inches from his own.

“Lunch,” he said. “I tried to convince Sakura that it’ll be enough for three.”                                                                                                                             

Sakura looked visibly dejected about once again becoming the third wheel. No wonder she constantly tried to get Naruto to leave while she was there.

Naruto suddenly felt so tired of it all.

“It’s fine,” he said. “I’m feeling a bit tired so I think I’m heading home.”

Sasuke touched Naruto’s wrist. “Naruto…”

“No, it’s cool. You two have fun. I’m just not in the mood right now.”

Sakura was practically beaming. “It’s okay. Go home and get some rest. We can catch up another time.”

Sasuke followed Naruto to the genkan.

“Why are you leaving?” he said softly enough that Sakura couldn’t hear.

“Why did you let her in?” Naruto countered.

“I wasn’t aware it bothered you so much.”

“It bothers me when all she does is remind me of how much more of a claim she apparently has on you just because she’s a woman.”

Sasuke didn’t have a reply to that.

“I can tell her to leave,” he said.

Naruto sighed. He shook his head. “No, it’s fine. I guess I’m just feeling a bit off today.”

Sasuke glanced down the hallway before going into the genkan with Naruto, placing them both out of sight from the kitchen.

“You know you don’t have any reason to be jealous of her,” he said. “I’d choose you over her any day.”

“You don’t have to choose,” Naruto said. “It’s just… I just need some time alone.”

“Will you come back later tonight?”

Naruto nodded.  

Sasuke kissed him.

“I should go,” Naruto whispered, “before she sees us.”

Sasuke sighed but he reluctantly let Naruto go.

------

Sakura prattled on about her work and the lives and doings of her friends while she cooked. Sasuke knew that she hoped he’d be tempted to resume contact with other people, but he was reluctant. He had been managing alone or with only a few trusted companions for such a long time that socializing just for the sake of socializing seemed… daunting.

What he liked about Naruto and Sakura was that they didn’t expect him to be anyone else but himself. They knew that he didn’t talk much and they didn’t seem to mind that they had to keep the conversation going on their own.  

But while they were eating, Sakura suddenly became oddly quiet.

It seemed she had something on her mind but didn’t know how to say it, because she looked like she was about to speak several times before she stopped herself.

Finally she said, “Have you noticed something different about Naruto?”

Sasuke froze with his chopsticks halfway to his mouth. “Different? No.”

“I think he’s been acting a bit strange around you lately. Haven’t you noticed?”

Sasuke hesitated. He supposed she was talking about the closeness and the looks he and Naruto had been giving each other. He had been a bit reckless sometimes when he had flirted with Naruto. Perhaps some part of him wanted Sakura to catch on and realize on her own that she had no chance with him.

But something about the way she talked about Naruto gave Sasuke a bad feeling. She didn’t talk like someone who was backing off.

“What do you mean?” he said, opting for feigning ignorance.

“I mean… he gives you these lingering looks, and he’s often standing really close to you. I think he’s… scenting you. Doesn’t it worry you?”

“Why should it?”

Sakura picked at a piece of rice with her chopsticks. “Well… He’s an alpha, and you…”

She let the sentence hang, but it wasn’t difficult to catch her meaning.

Sasuke wasn’t surprised that she knew he was an omega. The things Naruto knew, she usually knew too. But he didn’t like the way she was talking about it right now, as though Naruto was somehow a threat to him.

“So?” he said evenly.

“So?” she repeated, incredulous. “I mean… He’s an alpha. And he’s looking at you like… well… frankly, like he wants to devour you. Isn’t that a bit concerning?”

Sasuke supposed this was as good a time as any to put all the cards on the table.   

“Not to me,” he said.

Sakura looked surprised. That was evidently not the answer she had expected.

It suddenly occurred to Sasuke that she had assumed he was straight and that he would be affronted at the thought of Naruto coming onto him. 

Now she was at a loss. 

What was she hoping for? That Sasuke would become less close to Naruto because of this revelation?

He was once again reminded why she always had annoyed him.

“He reacted to my scent,” he said tersely. “It’s not something he could help.”

“But…” Sakura sounded bewildered. “Sometimes he looks like he wants to jump you.”

“Just because he looks like he wants to jump me doesn’t mean that he will. To be honest, this sounds like it’s more of a problem for you than for me.”

“I’m just looking out for you!”

“I can look out for myself.”

Sakura bit her lip. “I know, but… I’m just… I guess I’m surprised you’re taking it so well. I wasn’t even sure if I was gonna tell you because I didn’t want to ruin anything between you and Naruto.”

“But you took the chance anyway,” Sasuke said briskly.

She had the sense to look embarrassed. “The only reason I told you now is because he acted that way today too, almost like he’s seeing you as his territory.”

“And it didn’t occur to you that I noticed and didn’t mind?”

“I…” her mouth moved but no words came out. “But… You… You didn’t mind?”

He sighed. Why was she so hell-bent on not getting it?

“I’ve rejected your advances three times and still you’re refusing to accept it. Let me put it plainly: I’m gay. I’d much rather have Naruto’s attention on me than yours.”

She sat there gaping at him for several seconds, her eyes wide, slowly turning glassy with tears.

“S-so… You and Naruto…?”

“Stop bringing Naruto into this. This is about you and me. And stop looking at me like that… like I’ve ruined your life. You’ve always given me that look, as though I owe you something. But I don’t. I’ve always been honest with you. I’ve always told you how I feel, but you just won’t listen.”

Sakura was crying now.

He looked away from her.

“If you want to be my friend, that’s fine,” he said. “But as long as you keep expecting something more, this won’t work out.”

There was a clatter as Sakura dropped the chopsticks. She stormed out, sobbing quietly. The house seemed eerily quiet once the door slammed shut behind her.

Sasuke told Naruto what had happened between him and Sakura when Naruto returned later that evening.

“I can’t believe she said that,” Naruto muttered.

Sasuke squeezed his arm lightly.

He didn’t say any comforting words. He was as much at a loss for words as Naruto was. He didn’t know what Sakura was thinking now. If she finally was ready to move on from her crush, or if she would resent him.

Sasuke didn’t care that much either way. He could live without her friendship if it came to it. He was more concerned about Naruto. Sakura was one of Naruto’s closest friends and hearing what she’d said had obviously been a shock to him.

Naruto leaned his head on Sasuke’s shoulder. Sasuke put his arm around him and ran his fingers in soothing circles through Naruto’s hair.  

He wished he could say that it’d all be okay in the end, but unfortunately he couldn’t.

------

Sakura stopped visiting Sasuke. She even stopped talking to Naruto.

Naruto didn’t try to talk to her either. He didn’t want to see her right now. Their friends were puzzled, but since Sakura wasn’t telling them anything, Naruto wouldn’t either.

He supposed she just needed time. He needed time too. He was still processing the things she’d said and the way she’d acted. She had been willing to put down Naruto just to get Sasuke to herself. Or maybe she was genuinely concerned about Sasuke’s safety around Naruto. Either way it meant she didn’t think very highly of him.

Naruto started sleeping over at Sasuke’s place more often. It was comforting to wake up next to him. Sasuke didn’t seem to mind. He rarely complained about Naruto being too noisy, and often seemed to just expect Naruto to stay over. 

In the morning he always got up before Naruto, years of rigid structure still firmly embedded in him, while Naruto as usual slept through his alarms.

But this meant that when he finally did rise, Sasuke had breakfast ready for him.

That was definitely a perk. It wasn’t anything fancy, but it was better than the cereal that Naruto usually ate when he didn’t have enough money to go to Ichiraku’s. Not that money had been a problem lately, which led to a lot more trips to Ichiraku’s than what was good for his health. At least that’s what Sasuke said. He had the gall to imply that Naruto had been gaining weight. Okay, so maybe his pants fit a bit more snugly than usual, but it was just a phase. Probably.

It didn’t stop Sasuke from forcing Naruto to train with him in the morning. Not that it was a chore, really. It was just… so early… Which was also the only reason why Sasuke got the upper hand when they sparred, obviously. Naruto wasn’t even fully awake at that point.

Naruto liked their sparring sessions, at least when Sasuke wasn’t channeling his inner teacher from hell and forcing Naruto through the same horrible routine he was putting himself through.

“I’m glad you aren’t training any genin,” Naruto muttered. “You’d kill them.”

Sasuke had retaliated by thoroughly beating Naruto in their next sparring match.

“You’re out of shape,” he had whispered close to Naruto’s ear. “Peace times have made you soft.”

Naruto much preferred their other type of sparring, the kind that involved less clothes. It rarely happened in the morning, thanks to Sasuke never being in bed with him when he woke up. But in the evening when they came back from training, riled up and excited from the sparring, they’d tumble into each other’s arms, usually barely making it indoors in their eagerness. 

Afterwards they’d shower together or take a bath, and then they’d talk or sit together while working on their own things, until it was time for dinner.

Sasuke refused to order from Ichiraku’s every day, which was fine, Naruto supposed, as long as they ordered from there at least once a week, but preferably twice, or thrice… They ordered from other places instead, and sometimes they made the food themselves. Sasuke was surprisingly decent at it, but Naruto wasn’t half-bad either, despite Sasuke’s complaints about half-cooked rice and burnt vegetables. 

Okay, so maybe Sasuke was better at actually making the food edible. He could even make a half-decent ramen, which made Naruto fall even more in love with him. 

After dinner they usually sat on the porch, either talking, or with Sasuke reading while Naruto had his head in his lap, enjoying himself as Sasuke absently played with his hair.

When they went to bed they sometimes just cuddled, but other times they went to bed early just so that they could make love slowly and sweetly, taking their time.

Naruto loved those moments when they shuddered and clutched each other in the semi-darkness, hearing Sasuke getting steadily more overwhelmed as Naruto slowly but surely took him over the edge.

They cuddled in the aftermath, and Naruto wished that he were knotting Sasuke so that they could be connected for a while longer. But that only happened during heat. He could get a small knot sometimes, but it wasn’t nearly enough to keep them joined together.

Naruto wondered if it was okay to ask Sasuke to share his heat so early on. He wasn’t even sure if it was a good idea in the first place. It could easily go awry, with the both of them losing it completely.

Naruto wasn’t ready to become a father just yet.

But he wanted to share the heats with Sasuke, if only so that he could take care of him.

------

The nineteenth was drawing steadily nearer, and Sasuke was wondering what he should do when his heat came on. The sensible thing would be to ask Naruto to leave. But he didn’t want to do that. Everything in him rebelled against it. It felt wrong to send Naruto away, especially during the time when he needed him the most.

Sasuke had heard that omegas and alphas who had been dating for a while shared heats more easily because they became used to each other's scent. Sasuke knew that he wouldn’t be rational, not by the second day, but if Naruto could keep it together, it could work out.

It was risky but Sasuke wanted it so desperately.

Since they’d been together 24/7 for weeks now, being apart for his heat seemed extra daunting…  

In the end, Sasuke decided to just air his thoughts together with Naruto.

“I’d love to stay,” Naruto said, “but if the pressure is on me to be the reasonable one, then… I’m just worried I’ll fuck it up.”

“I get it,” Sasuke said, trying to hide how badly he wanted Naruto to stay.

“I’ve felt your heat-scent once, and it was… wild. All rational thought went out the window.”

“It might be different now. We’ve been constantly together for weeks, and we’re more used to each other’s scent. I’ve heard that it’s easier for an alpha if you’re with me the whole time when I go into heat. You get exposed to the scent gradually.”

Naruto was hesitant. “You really want me to stay, don’t you?”

Sasuke tried for a nonchalant shrug. “It’s what I want, obviously, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best choice.”

“I wanna be here so I can take care of you… Make sure you eat and stuff. I wish I could just… turn off the instincts.”

“That’d be great,” Sasuke sighed. “I’d gladly do that too. You know… I once asked Orochimaru to sterilize me.”

Naruto stared at him in shock. “Why?!”

“Because I hate my heats. They are extremely inconvenient. And I wasn’t exactly seeing a future with children on the horizon at the time.”

“But he wouldn’t do it?”

“No. I don’t know why since it’d be inconvenient for him too. He didn’t like the fact that I was an omega. But I guess he didn’t like the idea of effectively ending the Uchiha line either.”

“Do you still want to do it?” Naruto asked.

Sasuke had to think about it for a moment. To his surprise, he realized that he could confidently say; “No.”

Naruto smiled. “I’m glad. I’d really like to have kids sometime in the future.”

Sasuke could envision it. At some point, years in the future, the two of them with a little family. It would be everything he’d never dared to hope for.

“Though it might happen a bit sooner than we’d like if we aren’t careful…” Naruto added.

“I’m willing to try,” Sasuke said. “But in the end it’s up to you…”

Naruto nodded. “I want to stay and see how I’ll react to your scent. If I feel like I can’t handle it, I’ll just have to leave.”

Excitement bubbled up in Sasuke at the thought of having Naruto there with him. He pulled Naruto into a kiss.

“I believe you can handle it.”

------

Naruto stayed, but he felt more nervous for each day that passed. As they went to bed on the eighteenth, he was worried that he’d be overcome by Sasuke’s scent during the night and end up doing something he’d regret. But he woke up the next morning feeling fine. Sasuke seemed completely fine too. Naruto sensed a slight change in his scent, but nothing dramatic. 

He was surprised to find that Sasuke was taking it easy that morning. He found him in the garden, tending to their small vegetable patch. They were growing chili, cucumber and peppers now, as well as tomatoes.

Naruto sat down on the edge of the porch and finished a half-eaten apple that Sasuke had left on the small table.

“I thought you’d wake me up to spar,” Naruto said.

Sasuke stood and dusted off earth from his pants.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Naruto munched on his apple. “Why?”

Sasuke came over to him. “I reek.”

Naruto took a whiff of him. “It’s not that bad, just a bit different.”

“Hm…” Sasuke said. “I guess that’s a good sign.”

“What?”

“I’m in heat and you’re barely reacting.”

Naruto frowned up at Sasuke. “You’re in heat already? But aren’t you supposed to be, um...”

Sasuke arched an eyebrow. “A mess?”

“I dunno… More horny?”

“I’m not at that point yet,” Sasuke said, his cheeks going a little pink. He went up the steps to the porch and walked past Naruto.

“I’ll definitely notice when you get to that point!” Naruto said and got to his feet, following Sasuke into the house. “I can’t believe you’re properly in heat already… Last time I caught your heat scent it floored me!”

“I told you it’s different when you’re gradually exposed,” Sasuke said as he washed the dirt off his hands. “I’ve felt it coming on since last night.”

Naruto stood behind him and nuzzled his neck.

“You smell really good, but you always do.” He breathed in deeply. “Mm… Now I noticed a stronger tinge of desire.”

Sasuke elbowed him off and told him to help him make lunch.

As the day wore on, Naruto started feeling the effect of Sasuke’s heat. It came sneaking up on him. He was sitting on the porch, cleaning and mending his weapons, when he started feeling horny just out of the blue.

It was like someone had kindled a fire in the pit of his belly, and soon it was so insistent that he couldn’t ignore it.

Sasuke wasn’t even nearby, but his scent and his pheromones were so thick in the air that there was no escaping it. Naruto went looking for him, wondering how he was doing.

He found him soaking in the tub.

“How are you feeling?” Naruto said, kneeling next to the tub.

Sasuke sighed. “Hot.”

Naruto rested his chin on his folded arms on the edge of the tub and grinned teasingly. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

Sasuke gave him a heavy lidded look that oozed desire.

It made Naruto’s semi go fully erect. Yet neither of them were making advances. Naruto felt nervous. There was a lot of pressure on him to be clear-headed, but already he could think of little else but being buried deep inside of Sasuke.

Sasuke sat up and put his arm around Naruto’s neck. Then he kissed Naruto, and Naruto fell into it with eagerness. He didn’t care that Sasuke was soaking wet. He deepened the kiss, putting his arms around Sasuke, one hand on the base of his skull, taking control.

Sasuke eagerly let him. A soft sound came from his throat. A desperate sound, almost pleading.

Then Sasuke was suddenly standing. He got out of the bath and tugged Naruto towards the door. He practically marched him to the bedroom, pushed him down on the futon, and straddled him.

Naruto looked up at him in amazement. “I didn’t expect you to become this demanding.”

Sasuke searched the drawer next to the bed for a condom. “What did you expect?”

Naruto shrugged and scooted up a bit so that he had a more comfortable position against the wall. “Something like in porn, I guess.”

Sasuke made a derisive sound. “So you thought I’d become a moaning, pleading mess?”

“Um… something like that.”

Once Sasuke found the condom he went straight for Naruto’s fly and pulled out his cock.

“Oh, okay,” Naruto said. “I guess we’re skipping the foreplay. Oh, fuck…”

Sasuke had one-handedly rolled the condom onto Naruto in one, smooth stroke.

A moment later he was lowering himself onto Naruto’s cock, holding it steady with one hand.

Naruto groaned as Sasuke sank down on him, slowly at first, trying to find the perfect angle. Then he let out a tight breath as he took him deeper. He placed his hand on the wall beside Naruto’s head, and rested his head on the other side as he started rocking his hips, slowly but steadily.

Naruto clutched his waist, his fingers digging into muscle at each downwards roll.

“Oh… oh fuck…” he muttered.

Sasuke was panting harshly into his ear. He rocked his hips faster.

“Touch my cock,” he gasped, and Naruto did. He tried to find a rhythm, but it was difficult when Sasuke was so eager and out of sync.

Then he felt him clench around his cock and warm cum spurted over his hand and his shirt.

He came too at the feeling of Sasuke tightening around his cock, or at least, so he thought. But something was stopping his orgasm. Instead he was getting an insistent, heavy feeling at the base of his cock. 

He whimpered and clutched Sasuke’s waist hard.

“W-wait,” he gasped.

Sasuke immediately slid off him, and Naruto grabbed the base of his cock where he felt a thick knot forming. He’d never had one this big since he’d never slept with an omega in heat before. It almost felt unnatural.

“Fuck,” Sasuke said. “That was supposed to be inside me.”

Naruto looked up at him. He was sitting on Naruto’s thighs, still hard.

“I-is it supposed to look like that?” Naruto said. He touched the knot gingerly, but it was so sensitive it was almost painful.

“I don’t know,” Sasuke said. “Probably.”

He scooted backwards and shimmied down between Naruto’s legs, his face level with Naruto’s cock.

“W-what are you doing?” Naruto asked warily. He wasn’t sure he could handle being touched, even with Sasuke’s mouth.

No matter how hot that was.

“We need to get it down,” Sasuke said.

He licked the base of Naruto’s cock carefully. Naruto had one hand buried in Sasuke’s hair to stop him from advancing if it became too much. But Sasuke was very gentle. Naruto drew in a sharp breath through his nose. It was a foreign feeling to be so sensitive, so swollen, but Sasuke’s warm mouth and soft tongue felt heavenly.

Sasuke covered the base of Naruto’s cock with spit before he carefully wrapped his hand around it.

Naruto tensed.

“Is this okay?” Sasuke asked. He rubbed gently.

Naruto shook his head. “Too much,” he bit out.

Sasuke went back to just licking and kissing. His hips were gyrating against the mattress.

“Naruto,” he said. “Can you get me something from the drawer next to the bed?”

“Sure.” Naruto leaned over. He could reach the drawer without jostling Sasuke. “What am I looking for?”

“The g-spot vibrator.”

Naruto opened the drawer just as Sasuke said it, and was immediately brought up short. The drawer was filled with various sex-toys.

“Uh… I don’t know how something like that looks,” he said.

“The purple one.”

“This?”

“No,” Sasuke snapped in annoyance, ”that’s pink.”

Naruto kept searching through the drawer. “Holy fuck, you have so many!”

“That one,” Sasuke said, and Naruto picked up a thick, purple dildo with a button on one end.

Sasuke took it and brought it down between his legs. He moaned and shuddered as he inserted it. Naruto’s cock pulsed painfully at the sight. Sasuke took a few moments to enjoy it before he focused on Naruto’s cock again.

Naruto carded his fingers through Sasuke’s silky hair.

“Sasuke…” he said and gently pushed Sasuke’s head down so that he was resting his cheek on Naruto’s thigh. Then he carefully pushed the head of his cock against his lips. Sasuke’s lips parted around it, his tongue coming out to wrap around the tip.

Just the mere sight of Sasuke’s mouth parting for his cock suddenly had Naruto careening towards his orgasm. His breath hitched and he pushed deeper into Sasuke’s mouth. Sasuke closed his eyes and bobbed his head slightly. He took only the tip but it still felt heavenly.

Naruto closed his hand around the base of his cock while Sasuke’s hand was down between his legs, administering the vibrator. Sasuke frowned and shuddered, his eyes closing for a moment as he came again.

Then he continued the languid attention on Naruto’s cock. Naruto felt tears prick at the corner of his eyes.

“I – I’m close,” he breathed.

Sasuke opened his eyes and looked straight at Naruto as he took his cock even deeper into his mouth, and Naruto came with clenched teeth and a choked down moan. The condom caught his load, something that Sasuke seemed to have forgotten because he looked puzzled for a moment.

Despite the fact that the strongest orgasm he’d ever had was wracking through Naruto’s body, making him feel weak and spent, he managed a breathless laugh.

Sasuke looked almost offended.

“Did you want it that much?” Naruto said smugly. “I promise I’ll come down your throat the next time.”

Sasuke sat up so that he was kneeling between Naruto’s legs, his hand on his thigh.

“I’ll hold you to it,” he whispered in Naruto’s ear.

Then he reached down and gently pulled out the vibrator. His stomach was covered in a mess of cum, as were the sheets.

He lay down beside Naruto on the bed with a sigh and closed his eyes.

Naruto leaned over him. “You should probably go and wash off.”

“Mm…” It was obvious that Sasuke was already falling asleep.

Naruto kissed his temple. “I’ve got you.”

He went to the bathroom to get a washcloth and washed Sasuke down with gentle care. Then he undressed and lay down next to Sasuke, covering them both with a sheet.

Chapter Text

Sasuke slowly trudged through a confusing layer of desire and despair into wakefulness. His dream was forgotten the moment he woke up, but the feeling of it remained. He felt hot and frustrated. It took him a moment to realize that he was rubbing his cock against Naruto’s hip, his leg slung over his thighs.

Naruto was murmuring something in Sasuke’s ear. Soothing sounds that made no sense to Sasuke’s overwhelmed senses.

Sasuke sought out Naruto’s scent glands, pressing his whole face against his neck and breathing in deeply. He licked one scent gland, whimpering at the potent taste. He tried to climb on top of Naruto, but Naruto firmly held him down.

“I think I should be in control this time,” he said.

Sasuke drew back so he could glare at him.

“You fucked it up last time,” Naruto reminded him.

“You asked me to wait!”

“Yeah, because I was overwhelmed! If I’m on top, I’ll be able to control it better.”

Sasuke grudgingly let Naruto push him down onto his back and drape himself over him. He nosed Sasuke’s scent glands, and soon any objections were forgotten.

Sasuke hooked one leg around Naruto’s waist, trying to bring him closer. He could feel his hot, hard cock against his own, leaking precum onto his abdomen, and he wanted him.

“Knot me,” he breathed, clutching Naruto’s shoulders, desperately trying to rub up against him.

Naruto grinned. “If you insist.”

He reached behind himself to fetch a condom and Sasuke waited impatiently while he rolled it on.

Naruto was taking his sweet time lining up and carefully pushing in.

“Hurry up,” Sasuke bit out.

Naruto looked up from what he was doing, cheeks flushed. “Are you sure…?”

Sasuke grabbed the nape of his neck. “Either you hurry up, or I flip us over.”

Naruto didn’t need any more encouragement. He draped himself over Sasuke and pushed in, slowly but deeply, and Sasuke took all of him easily. He pressed the back of his head against the pillow, tears stinging his eyes at the feeling of being so full.

“It’s so good,” Sasuke groaned.

Naruto groaned too, a deep sound that vibrated through Sasuke’s chest.

“Don’t pull out,” Sasuke said, locking his legs around Naruto’s hips.

“I won’t,” Naruto assured him.

He set a careful but firm pace that promised to unravel Sasuke completely. He couldn’t take much of it before he came, his body wound up tight as a coil. Naruto stilled but Sasuke snapped at him to not stop.

“Keep going. Ohh…fuuck…”

His fingers were digging into Naruto’s shoulder blade, but Naruto didn’t complain. He looked flushed and overwhelmed too.

“I-I’m close,” he warned.

“Come inside me,” Sasuke moaned, the feeling of Naruto’s thickening shaft rubbing against his entrance almost pushing him over into another orgasm.

Naruto’s face twisted into a grimace of half pleasure, half pain.

He looked like he was about to pull out so Sasuke clenched his thighs around him, holding him in place.

Naruto gasped and Sasuke felt the base of his cock swell, felt the pressure build. He was entirely inside of him now. His hips had stilled. As the knot got firmer, it lodged Naruto deeper inside of him, pressing the tip of his cock firmly against the sweet spot deep inside of Sasuke.

It was enough to make him come for the second time.

As he shuddered and clenched in the aftermath, he heard Naruto make a desperate, pitiful noise.

“Fuuuckkk,” Naruto moaned. Tears were clinging to his lashes.

“What is it?” Sasuke slurred. Worry was quickly dissipating the pleasure.

“It’s too much,” Naruto gasped. “I – I can’t…”

“You can,” Sasuke said, caressing his cheek. “Just… just take a deep breath.”

He ran his fingers through Naruto’s hair in soothing circles and pressed him carefully to his chest.

“Listen to my breathing, okay?”

Naruto took a few deep breaths and started to relax.

“Feeling better?” Sasuke asked.

Naruto nodded. “Yeah… It just felt… It was almost a bit painful at first.” 

He nuzzled the base of Sasuke’s throat, then he sought out his scent glands and breathed in deeply.

Sasuke bared his throat and made a sound deep in his throat that he wasn’t aware he could make.

Naruto pushed up on his elbows, looking down at Sasuke in amusement.

“What the hell was that?”

Sasuke was starting to blush. “Nothing.”

“You purred!”

“I didn’t!”

Naruto was grinning brightly. “You did!”

He nuzzled Sasuke’s throat again, but this time Sasuke couldn’t make the sound because he was too flustered. He had heard people say that omegas could purr, but he had never experienced it so he had thought it was a myth.

Naruto was slowly starting to feel good again, because his hips jerked ever so slightly as he basked in Sasuke’s scent. It was making Sasuke’s whole body tense in anticipation again. He was so sensitive now that it took nothing to push him towards a new orgasm. He panted and moaned, and it was getting Naruto excited. He rolled his hips now, every downward movement making Sasuke see stars. He came again, and had no reprieve before his body geared up for a new one.

He clutched the back of Naruto’s head, tugging his hair, and Naruto threw his head back with a deep moan. Sasuke could feel his cock pulse as he came. He gasped wetly as he came too.

It was getting a bit overwhelming to have Naruto inside of him.

As Naruto slumped on top of him, his face nuzzled against Sasuke’s neck, the movement pushed uncomfortably on Sasuke’s oversensitive parts. He sucked in a sharp breath.

Naruto looked up at him. “Are you okay?”

“...Not really.”

“What can I do?”

“Nothing except laying perfectly still.”

Naruto nodded.

He nosed at Sasuke’s chin. “I bet this is pretty awkward with a one night stand.”

“Speaking from experience?”

Naruto snorted. “No. You’d think I’d be a bit better at knotting you if I’d done it before.”

Sasuke stroked Naruto’s cheek. “I think you were good.”

Naruto looked surprised at the praise. Then he blushed adorably.

“I cried,” he muttered.

“But you made me come three times in a row.”

“I did?”

“To be fair, I come easily when I’m in heat… and I’ve only ever slept with you, so I don’t have anything to compare with…”

“But aside from that, it was good?”

“Yeah.”

Naruto chuckled. “I’ll take it.”

------

The first day of Sasuke’s heat was pretty great in Naruto’s opinion. It was like a regular day only with Sasuke being a lot hornier, which was nice. Once Naruto got more used to the feeling of knotting Sasuke, he started to enjoy that a lot too.

So when they went to bed late at night after taking a relaxing, hot bath, Naruto was feeling pretty confident.

But that feeling quickly changed on the second day.

As it turned out, he was not prepared for how bad it could get. At some point, Sasuke stopped being coherent, and the worst part was that Naruto was getting dragged into it with him. They couldn’t even look at each other without jumping each other. Soreness and exhaustion be damned, they fucked until they couldn’t move an inch anymore.

And still Sasuke wasn’t satisfied. He’d wake Naruto up every time he tried to take a nap, and if Naruto weren’t paying attention, he’d suddenly be buried balls deep inside of Sasuke without a condom.

It was getting to a point where Naruto had to fight Sasuke off him. If he was rejected, Sasuke would keep pushing, keep sidling up to Naruto, rutting against him, anything that could give him the slightest relief. 

Naruto tried to use his fingers or toys, but that couldn’t keep Sasuke satisfied for long.

It was impossible to communicate with him because he barely talked. Instead he growled and whined. It was like handling someone who was drunk. He had no impulse control, and no care for anything but his most immediate needs.

Finally, as Naruto was getting increasingly frustrated, he realized that there was only one way he could reach Sasuke: by talking the same language as him. Naruto got so tired of him that he growled at him once, and immediately Sasuke backed off.

Naruto was left dumbfounded by it, watching as Sasuke moved away from him and curled up under the bed sheets.

Naruto wondered if he should check if he was okay, his reaction was so strange, but figured that he’d better use the opportunity to order some food. Neither of them had eaten since yesterday because Naruto had spent the better part of the day trying to satisfy Sasuke’s never-ending needs.

Naruto ordered from Ichiraku’s since Sasuke wasn’t in a position to object, and took a quick shower before meeting the delivery guy at the door. Then he placed the food on the dining room table and went to see if he could convince Sasuke to eat.

He was surprised to find that while he’d been gone, which was no longer than twenty minutes, Sasuke had surrounded himself with every item of clothing in the nearest vicinity that had Naruto’s scent on it.

It was extremely adorable.

“I’ve got food for you in the dining room,” Naruto said as he kneeled next to Sasuke.

Sasuke didn’t respond so Naruto gently nudged him.

“You need to eat,” he said softly.

Sasuke grumbled.

“Come ooon,” Naruto persisted, pulling on Sasuke’s arm.

Sasuke just made a growly noise that sounded displeased, but not angry. So Naruto tugged a little harder, and finally he got him to sit up. He picked the dark blue yukata from the floor and draped it over Sasuke’s shoulder before leading him to the dining room.

By the time they sat down by the dining room table, Sasuke was already halfway into Naruto’s lap.

“Stop humping me,” Naruto said and gently pushed Sasuke back. “Eat.”

To Naruto’s relief, the ramen actually distracted Sasuke for a while. He ate every last bit of it. Afterwards Naruto got to enjoy two of his favorite things at the same time, because Sasuke tasted like ramen as he kissed Naruto.

Sasuke didn’t bother to take it to the bedroom. He straddled Naruto right there on the dining room floor. Naruto was grateful that he’d been forward-thinking enough to bring a condom, because now he could just let Sasuke sink down on him without interrupting him.

Sasuke took his pleasure without caring much about Naruto, but it was fine. Naruto loved just watching Sasuke lose himself completely. His eyes were closed and his lips parted as he rocked his hips, first slowly, then faster as he chased his release.

Naruto caressed Sasuke’s thighs and ass, and when he felt his knot forming, he grabbed Sasuke’s hips and pushed him down as he pushed up, drawing an overwhelmed cry out of Sasuke as he came.

Naruto was fully inside of him, from tip to base, and even though Sasuke had just come, he was quickly building up to a new orgasm. He only needed to wriggle in Naruto’s lap to feel the full length of Naruto’s cock inside of him.

Naruto stroked Sasuke’s sides, slick with sweat, muscles twitching under his skin as he came again, his whole body shaking from it.

Naruto moaned too. “I’m close,” he breathed, even though he wasn’t sure if Sasuke registered his words.

Sasuke ground down into his lap again, and Naruto’s whole body clenched as he found his release. He came long and hard, massaged by Sasuke’s clenching pussy.

When Naruto came down he unwound till he felt like nothing more than a boneless puddle on the floor. Sasuke slumped on top of him, his forehead resting on Naruto’s chest. He was still breathing hard.

Naruto absentmindedly drew circles on Sasuke’s skin with his fingers. They lay together like that until Naruto’s knot finally went down. As soon as they could detach from each other, Naruto led a very pliant Sasuke to the bathroom, where he filled the tub with hot water and sank down into it with Sasuke against his chest.

They dozed there until the water started cooling.

Naruto combed his fingers through Sasuke’s hair and nuzzled his temple.

“How are you feeling?”

Sasuke just made a nondescript noise in the back of his throat. It was apparently still too soon for verbal communication.

“I’m used to doing a lot of the talking with you,” Naruto said, “but this is pushing it.”

Sasuke snorted weakly.

So at least he listened to what Naruto was saying.

Naruto kissed the nape of Sasuke’s neck. “Let’s get out of here and into some clothes.”

------

That night it finally seemed like Sasuke’s exhaustion was winning over his libido. They both slept heavily, neither of them waking up before noon.

Naruto was the first one to wake up, and decided to use the chance to make them breakfast… or lunch, to be exact.

But when he was about to get out of bed, Sasuke grabbed him and pulled him back in.

“I thought you were asleep,” Naruto said.

“Where are you going?” Sasuke grumbled.

He talks, Naruto thought, but he refrained from saying it. Sasuke seemed grumpy.

“I’m just gonna make us some food,” Naruto said and tried to get up again, but Sasuke still refused to let go.

“I can’t take care of your needs if mine aren’t met, now can I?” Naruto said.

At last Sasuke let go. “Make it quick.”

Naruto rolled his eyes. “Demanding.”

He opened Sasuke’s closet to find some clothes he could borrow since his own were dirty. As he searched around for something that wasn’t black or grey, he noticed something orange tucked away in the back of the closet. He pulled it out only to find that it was his own hoodie: a frayed orange garment with a steaming bowl of ramen on the front.

“I’ve been looking for this!” Naruto said. “I thought I had lost it.”

Sasuke had opened one eye and was watching from his bundle of sheets and pillows. It was difficult to gauge his expression, but Naruto was pretty sure that the light blush was from embarrassment.

“You sneaky…” Naruto muttered. “Have you been taking more of my clothes?”

“Weren’t you supposed to make food?” Sasuke muttered with an expression that Naruto would categorize as a pout.

“Not before I’ve uncovered the depths of your deception.” He dove back into the closet, and it wasn’t long before he found another lost piece of clothing.

“Aha!” He triumphantly waved a black t-shirt with a frog on the front.

“It’s not my fault you kept forgetting your clothes at my place,” Sasuke muttered.

“I didn’t forget a t-shirt,” Naruto said. “You took this. I brought it as spare clothes for a mission once. You took it from my bag!”

“It fell out!” Sasuke protested.

“Uh huh. Extremely likely.”

Sasuke buried his face in the pillows. “Just get out of here,” he grumbled. “Make me some food.”

Naruto put on his t-shirt and hoodie, and one of Sasuke’s black sweatpants.

Before he left the room, he kneeled next to Sasuke and kissed the nape of his neck.

“You know,” he murmured, “I think it’s kinda cute how you were hoarding my clothes.”

Then he hurried out of the room before Sasuke could hit him.

------

Sasuke got out of bed at his own accord once he felt the lovely smell of food wafting in from the kitchen.

Naruto set the table and served the food, and Sasuke helped himself to a large portion. No wonder, he must be starved after 24 hours of constant fucking and only one meal. Naruto certainly was. He wolfed down his own food.

Sasuke acted more like himself again, but he still smelled like he was in heat. Naruto could smell desire coming off him in waves. He was hiding it well, though. He was entirely focused on his food, barely looking at Naruto.

He was even more quiet than usual, but at least he was talking and not just growling anymore. 

“I’m glad you’re finally communicating with words again,” Naruto said.

“We need to lay some ground rules,” Sasuke said. “Rule number one: we never talk about the heat.”

“Aw… But there’s so much to talk about! Like how I’ve never been this thoroughly humped my whole life.”

Sasuke gave him a glare so dark it had his sharingan spinning. 

“Okay, okay,” Naruto said, lifting his hands. “I’ll give it a rest.”

Sasuke let his sharingan fade but still regarded him with guarded suspicion.

“Except we have to talk about the purring,” Naruto said once Sasuke was focusing on eating again. Before Sasuke could fix him with his murder gaze, Naruto hurriedly added, “It was cute! I wish you’d do it more often.”

“I’ve never done it before, and I’ll never do it again.”

“We’ll see about that,” Naruto said under his breath as he shoved a helping of eggs into his mouth.

Sasuke finished eating before him, and watched Naruto intently when he thought Naruto didn’t notice. Oh, he was definitely still horny.

Naruto nibbled on the tip of a chopstick and gave Sasuke a saucy smile. “I’m starting to get full, but I’m sure I could eat some more if you offer.”

Sasuke frowned for a moment before he got Naruto’s meaning. Then he blushed and glared at the same time, as though he couldn’t decide if he was annoyed or turned on. Probably a combination.

“Shut up,” he muttered as he stood and headed to the bedroom, Naruto following right behind him.

------

Naruto did end up eating Sasuke out. It was heavenly being down between his legs, nose buried in that intoxicating scent, lapping up the evidence of Sasuke’s desire while Sasuke’s hand was firmly buried in Naruto’s hair, tugging harshly as he neared his climax.

Naruto made him come again and again before he finally draped himself over him and pushed his cock into that welcoming heat. Sasuke was so wet by then that Naruto easily slid all the way inside in one thrust.

Sasuke was almost sobbing from overstimulation by the time Naruto was ready to knot him, but he wanted the knot anyway.

He was shaking and twitching, clenching hard around Naruto when his knot settled. It was almost too much. Naruto bit Sasuke’s shoulder while Sasuke babbled about how good it was and how thick Naruto was and how he filled him up so perfectly, and it was all Naruto could do not to come right away.

Now that Sasuke was using words again, he was getting very talkative. He wasn’t entirely coherent, though. He kept stroking Naruto’s neck and cheek, fingers carding through his hair, whispering broken sentences to which Naruto just answered “I know” and “It’s okay” and “you’re so good”. It seemed to be the right thing to say because Sasuke slowly unraveled in his arms, until he pulled Naruto with him over the edge of an earth-shattering climax. They came at exactly the same moment, suspended in wave after wave of pleasure for what seemed like eternity before finally winding down.

Naruto could barely keep his weight off Sasuke in the wake of it.

They breathed harshly in sync. Naruto wondered idly how he could be separated from Sasuke again after this. It seemed impossible.

It took longer than usual for his knot to go down. In the meantime they just lay in each other’s arms, blissed out and immeasurably happy. It felt like a loss to pull out, but eventually they needed to move. They remained close, facing each other, their noses only inches apart.

------

“I’ve got a theory,” Naruto said later that day, after dinner. They were sitting on a futon on the porch, leaning against the wall, the afternoon sun caressing their faces.

“Mm…” Sasuke hummed.

“On day one of the heat you’re pretty normal, just extra horny. Which was nice. I liked day one.”

“What did I say about ground rules?” Sasuke said, though he was too content at the moment to put any heat behind it.

“We can’t just pretend all of this didn’t happen. We need to talk about it. On day two, you basically go feral.”

Sasuke sighed. “Yeah, I know. I remember everything. Do you have any idea how humiliating it is to act that way and not be able to do anything about it?”

Naruto couldn’t really imagine, but he supposed he wouldn’t enjoy being so desperately horny that he’d literally hump any nearby person.

“I guess I understand better why omegas never go outside during your heat.”

“Exactly.”

“Well… On day three, you’re still really horny, but you try to hide it because you’re more in control of yourself. But when we have sex, you’re so soft and eager, and you just say exactly what you feel… So I think the third day of your heat is my favorite.”

Sasuke was quiet for a while before he said, softly, “It’s my favorite too.”

Naruto was surprised and pleased by the admission.

“I just feel really relaxed,” Sasuke continued. “And I forget about everything else. About the outside world and the past. And I… I like the feeling of giving myself completely over to you…”

Naruto smiled and nuzzled Sasuke’s hair. “I like that too.”

-----

Sasuke’s heat passed and then summer was upon them. Time seemed to pass slowly and too fast at the same time. Naruto wanted to treasure each and every moment he had with Sasuke. He supposed the sensible thing would be to date for a while before moving in together, but they had never been sensible. And besides, they had been apart for too long already and both of them craved the closeness, so slowly but surely Naruto moved in with Sasuke. 

It went better than expected. They had their fights, but they made up quickly. They were slowly, with trial and error, getting better at communicating without blowing up in each other’s faces. 

Since they were getting serious about each other, and since Naruto never was at his own apartment anymore, he realized it was about time he told his friends about the relationship. 

Despite Naruto’s worries, everyone was supportive, albeit a bit surprised. 

Naturally they now understood the reason why Naruto and Sakura had stopped talking, and due to some misconception they believed that Sasuke was to blame for it. Both Naruto and Sakura were quick to defend him, but there still reigned some mistrust towards him, especially among the men. 

Shikamaru even took Naruto aside to subtly ask about his relationship with Sasuke. It soon became apparent that he was worried that their relationship was unhealthy since Sasuke had been so determined to kill him on several occasions. 

Naruto realized that the only way his friends could start trusting Sasuke again was if they met him, and after a lot of arguing he eventually managed to convince Sasuke to hang out with his friends for an evening. 

When they left the house, Naruto noticed that Sasuke had covered up his scent like he used to before. He obviously still wasn’t comfortable about others knowing he was an omega, even though it probably would have been positive if they knew. After all, the ingrained stereotypic ideas about omegas made it more likely that people would view him as less threatening.  

They met at a bar that Naruto and his friends frequented. All the guys were there while the girls stayed away in solidarity with Sakura. At first everyone was a bit awkward around Sasuke, but after some rounds of alcohol they started to loosen up and talk more freely. 

Slowly but surely, Sasuke was dragged into the conversation, and since he too was loosening up thanks to the alcohol, he talked more easily than he usually would. Naruto watched it all with a sense of satisfaction. It looked like his friends were accepting Sasuke back into their group, and Sasuke didn’t seem that opposed to being there. 

Actually, he seemed to have a good time. Naruto was glad he convinced him to go. 

------

Some days, Naruto wondered about their future. Or, more precisely, he wondered about Sasuke’s future. It had been a year since he was confined to the village that he once, filled with grief and anger, had wanted to destroy. 

When Naruto convinced him to return home with him, this was not what he’d envisioned, and there was no way he was leaving Sasuke here to rot.

Sasuke had been on his best behavior, and since he had Naruto and Kakashi to vouch for him, they could probably get some of his restrictions lifted in not too long.

The real question was: what did Sasuke actually want to do?

There was no way he would be able to return to active duty as a shinobi again, but Naruto was pretty sure that he wouldn’t want that anyway.

“If you didn’t have any restrictions on you,” Naruto asked Sasuke one day, “and you could do absolutely anything you wanted… what would you do?”

Sasuke looked a little taken aback by the question, but he didn’t ask where it was coming from all of a sudden. 

“I’d like to travel,” he said.

“Travel? Where?”

Sasuke shrugged. “Anywhere. I’d just like to see more of the world.”

Naruto felt a little put out by Sasuke’s answer. If Sasuke left the village to travel, what would happen to them?

“I have talked to Kakashi and he says that we can try to get some of your restrictions lifted so that you’ll be allowed outside the village.” 

Sasuke looked surprised but also hopeful. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Naruto said, forcing a smile. It hurt a bit to see Sasuke this happy about leaving the village and inevitably him. “But… Would you really leave me…?”

The question seemed to put a damper on Sasuke's mood. “I don’t want to leave you… But I don’t want to stay either.”

“I get it,” Naruto said softly. “I guess there’s more for you outside the village than in it.”

Sasuke frowned, and then he lightly smacked the top of Naruto’s head.

Naruto’s eyes widened. “Ouch!”

“Idiot,” Sasuke huffed. “Don’t be such a martyr. I’m not leaving you. You can come with me.”

“But what about the hokage position?”

“It can wait. Kakashi isn’t going anywhere. And traveling for a while will be a useful experience for a coming hokage.”

Naruto thought about it for a moment. “Okay,” he said slowly. “Maybe you’re right.”

Sasuke was smiling now. “I didn’t dare hope that I could be leaving this place anytime soon, much less together with you.”

His good mood affected Naruto, who smiled too. 

The more he thought about it, the better the idea seemed. The change of scenery would do them both a lot of good. It wasn’t always that easy to live together with someone who was basically a bird trapped in a cage. Seeing Sasuke this happy made Naruto certain that this was the right thing to do.

Sasuke could finally start living again.

It was about time.