Chapter Text
Chapter 1
Naruto peeked around the pillar to make sure no guards were walking on this section of the castle. He’d spotted a garden when he and all the other omegas were arriving and had been trying to find it for the better part of the day.
After the most uncomfortable meet and greet he’d ever had with other Omegas in his life, he’d decided that this little game of “which would be the best mate” that he was signed up to attend was simply not something he wanted to be a part of. So with too many heads to keep track of, he snuck out on the chaperones who were ordered to keep them all in their assigned area.
He’d gotten side tracked walking around, the gold trim on the crown moldings, pictures of centuries back of the beautiful family as well as additional one in a life time pieces adorned the walls.
The Uchiha Monoarch was known for their beauty, but also their exceptional way of ruling. Their history states a small start, of a clan that made use of their genius and beauty to slowly expand and take over the Konoha region. Skillful and even vicious fighters came from this line. Usurping the throne from cruel and unjust rulers many centuries ago, and then by persuasion of the people, establishing themselves to rule. They were constantly implored by nearby villages to assist with escaping the tyranny that they were experiencing, coming in and freeing the people from those bent on abusing them, and then establishing themselves as ruler.
Their family consisted mostly of Alphas, though the reason for that was unknown. Some said that it was to prevent inbreding so that they would have to go outside of the clan to gain a bride, other’s said that the forefathers made a deal with some spirits long ago to ensure that the family comprised of mostly alphas to ensure they would be able to prevent themselves from becoming enslaved by another clan ever again, others say that they had an old practice of their midwifes killing any baby born that did was not an alpha. Regardless of what the reason may be, the Queen would always have plenty of Alpha children.
This year, reasons unknown, the eldest son was to select a bride from the villages that fell under their domain. Omegas as young as 16 and older were offered from families vying for a chance of being part of the family, and also to have their child be next in line to rule, sent their omegas in for a week-long stay so that the eldest son may meet and pick from them.
The eldest son, Itachi, did not seem to be in a hurry to marry, and the family was known to never really push their children. But the council had implored them to at least prepare, in case something were to befall Fukagu and Mikoto.
Naruto had originally declined, being the representative for his family after his parents’ abrupt passing, but he was told it would be advantageous to secure a marriage somewhere. Even if it wasn’t with the royal family, maybe they had connections that would help their village.
His parents had governed over their small town for years, and the townspeople considered him their own baby when he was born.
Tsuanade had mentioned that it would at least help the village if he considered it. Jiraya had argued that it was his own decision to make, but having him be married to a strong alpha would help the town. Orochimaru argued that his being an omega was not a curse, and he could still protect the village as his parents did, but it wouldn’t hurt to put himself out there since he was of age.
He’d begrudgingly accepted when the invite was sent and decided it would at least be nice to travel, even if nothing came from this.
Once he’d arrived, he thought that the other omegas would at least be kind, build bonds with other villages via his fellow O, and expand in that way. Overall, it went well, except for Sakura and Ino being here.
He’d met Sakura once when he was younger; she’d shouted that she’d never seen an omega as ugly as him with all the marks on his face, and he probably was never going to get anyone who could stand to look at him. That sealed the fate of there never truly being a bond established between their villages after that. Ino was kinder, but when around Sakura, tended to become someone she wasn’t.
There were a few male omegas around, but he knew that he was part of a rarer class. Either people loved them or they hated them; there was no in between.
He’d gotten along with each male omega, though. Kisame was huge and from a water village. Like Naruto, he was brought up with the ambition of hunting, fighting, and protecting. His designation did not deter him from wanting to be more than just a child-bearer.
Sakura and Ino latched onto mocking the two of them immediately. The other male O’s were at least soft and blemish-free. Hands having never seen labor and skin just clearly shielded from the sun.
After having to deal with that on his first day, Naruto quickly wrote the whole thing off and just concentrated on escaping and exploring. Kisame said he’d give it a fair chance. He was around 30, far past the typical age for an omega to settle down, and saw no reason not to throw his ‘bait’ in with the rest.
Naruto kept looking around as he walked. He’d gone hunting with Jiraya and Orochimaru enough to pick up if he was being trailed, but it never hurt to be cautious. Especially since they were all told to stay with the group.
He gasped as he took in the view of the garden from the opening on his side. Speeding up to find a door that would take him to the other side. He picked the lock, looking from side to side as he slowly eased the door open. The smells and views of all the marriads of colors caused him to smile.
“I’ve got to find their groundskeeper and get some tips from him.” He mumbled, running his fingertips across the flowers and leaves as he walked through the grass. He frowned as he nodded some tomatoes with a vine plant covering the roots. “Maybe I won’t ask.”
“...Why would he do this?” He grumbled, resisting the urge to pull the other plant away from the flooring on the tomatoes. He turned and headed for the bench that was close to the pond. He already wasn’t suppose to be here, let alone rearranging the plants. Noting the colorful Koi fish came to the surface.
He sat, pulling out a large wad of paper that had some of the food that they’d been given earlier wrapped inside.
Omegas were encouraged to maintain a slim and light figure, which meant no heavy meats, starch, or fats. So they’d been getting salads and such for dinner and then again for breakfast. Kisame and he had thankfully snuck in some snacks and were keeping themselves full with those instead. But he figured the salads and fruits would come in handy at some point.
Naruto ripped up the lettuce and broke the other solid pieces of food into smaller pieces, fanning out the food over the water as he threw them. Maybe he’d speak to the groundskeeper about the koi instead.
Sasuke glanced around, his alpha hell bent on following the smell that was lingering in the hallways.
He’d been strategic in avoiding all the omegas that had arrived to see Itachi; he was already dreading when the time came for this to be held again for his own bridal search.
He’d caught some gossip of the omegas when they arrived, each squealing about the fact that they were thankful the clan couldn’t produce omegas, giving them a chance to become part of the family. He’d rolled his eyes at the statement. He knew that there were plenty of rumors going around about them, but he didn’t realize that people actually believed them.
Like all other families, they also made a nice variety of designations. The main family line, his, just had a tendency towards alpha, but the other branches had a bunch of betas and omegas. Really, Itachi had gone along with this because he had encountered an omega during his travel and hadn’t gotten a name, his parents had forbade him from traveling again, but he’d gotten so restless that they had suggested this.
So now a slew of omegas were going to be in his home for at least a week. Sasuke had complained and scowled, but his brother paid him no mind for once. Even suggesting that he might find someone.
He’d rolled his eyes and made it clear that he didn’t intend to do a damn thing, going as far as having the doctors make some oils and wipes to hide his scent so he wouldn’t be noticed too much as he wandered around.
While avoiding their area, he’d been heading to the library when he caught a smell, a new smell. He looked around and couldn’t find it, ready to give up and just go into hiding in his favorite spot. But his alpha wouldn’t stop nagging at him. He snapped his head to look out the second-floor opening to see a figure sitting in his garden. A head of blond hair with an orange Yukata was throwing what he guessed was food to his fish.
“Omega,” His hands clenched the walls under his hands, claws extending into the structure.
Could he make a jump and land from the second floor….maybe. But risking getting hurt and being haunted by this smell even more was not an option. He took off, running to get to the stairway leading to the garden.
Mikoto watched her son run past her, eyes too red and focused to even notice her on his side, as he sprinted towards the end of the hall and then down the stairs. She resisted the urge to follow him and instead walked over to the wall’s opening, leaning against the railing to see Sasuke slowly open the door to the garden and stare at the person sitting on the bench who seemed oblivious to the chaos he had caused.
She smiled, knowing that signature blonde hair anywhere. His sire may no longer be here, but he stood as an identical copy. She knew for sure his mother’s personality was what he had, even with his looks. 'Maybe we would be able to kill two birds with one stone this time around.'
Sasuke watched, his alpha clawing inside him to get closer, to breathe deeper, to take in the smell that was now only a few steps away. He gritted his teeth, forcing himself to stand straight with his head up, and started towards the blond who had his back to him.
As he got closer, he took in lines on his cheek, and a red colored cloth around the arm opening under his orange Yukata. He cleared his throat as he got closer, trying to will his fangs back into his gums, his mouth filling too much with the venom.
The blond turned and gave him a small grin. “Hey, trying to get away from everyone too.” He waved him over, moving to allow him space on the bench.
“Come sit with me.” Sasuke willed himself not to run over, but to continue his slow walk and slowly sit down beside him.
“I don’t think I got to meet you earlier when we came in. But that makes sense because there were so many of us. It’s a little overwhelming, honestly. I don’t think I’ve been around so many scents before; some of them are so strong I don’t even know how they're real. But I did hear that the clan is super into dominant smells, so I guess a dominant omega smell makes sense. I don’t know. Anyway, I never introduced myself, name’s Naruto.” He’d never been more thankful to have someone chatter on in his life, giving him time for all of him to calm down. Sasuke took a couple of deep breaths, his alpha purring in the back of his head now that he’s found what he was looking for.
“Sasuke,” he finally answered, after a minute too long of silence. Naruto’s grin turned into a full smile, and he’d never been so happy to say his name in his entire life.
“So glad to make another friend here.” Sasuke felt the need to snarl. He was absolutely not another ‘friend’.
“How did you find this place?” The garden was technically off-limits to anyone who wasn’t family. Not even the hallways leading to it allowed access to people outside of the clan. But he was glad that he didn’t have to go searching for him in that crowd.
A blush rose on Naruto’s cheeks as he started scratching his head. “Well, the door was technically open.” He said sheepishly, looking away.
Sasuke turned to glance at the door before glancing back at him. He smirked. “The door was open, or you opened it?”
The blush deepened, and so did Naruto’s scent. Sasuke swayed forward slightly, greedy to take in as much as he could get.
“If they didn’t want anyone to get in, they should have had someone guarding it then.” He grumbled, crossing his arms over is chest and looking away.
Sasuke couldn’t help but laugh. It looks like he and his alpha were going to be in for an exciting life.
Naruto gave a shy smile, glancing back over to the fish. Sasuke resisted the urge to line his nose up to his neck gland, didn’t want to appear rude and scare him off.
“Are you enjoying your time?” He wanted to pry. Itachi hadn’t mentioned what the omega he was looking for looked like, and he hadn’t thought to ask. Now he suddenly felt the need to scowl at his lack of forethought.
Naruto shrugged, offering a few of the foods in his hand for Sasuke to also be able to feed the koi fish. Sasuke made sure to move slowly, slightly allowing the gland on their wrist to rub together simply to be able to carry the smell with him. The smell of wood sage and sea salt is intensifying slightly.
“Sorry.” He mumbled, at least wanting to keep the pretense of not overstepping, a slight blush dusted Naruto’s cheeks.
“It’s been ok…..I guess.” He mumbled. “I mean….I know I’m supposed to be trying hard to get noticed by the prince, but….I’m not always people’s cup of tea.” He trailed off.
Sasuke frowned, about to argue because Naruto may be a chatterbox, but he was indeed handsome.
“I mean, some people aren’t really big fans of male omegas anyway. Especially if you don’t fit what they want you to look like. As a male omega, you kinda have to make up for the fact that you’re male by at least being pretty. You know, like you. There are so many pretty male omegas here, I doubt I’d be missed in the crowd anyway.”
Sasuke blinked, the words slowly registering. “You think I’m pretty?”
His family has always made comments about his brother and him favoring his mother, but no one has ever called him pretty. As a child, he’d been told he was going to grow up to be a handsome young man by many older people.
Naruto smiled, turning more towards him. “Absolutely. You’ve got such pretty eyes, and your smile just makes your face light up even more-”
“I’m not pretty, I might be handsome, but not pretty.” Sasuke interrupted, now angry that he had used the wipes and oils to hide his scent.
For Alpha and Omega compatibility, smell was a huge part. It wasn’t the only thing that people based their opinions on, but his family did. They had a tendency to fall in love with the smell and then the person, because on some level their inner designation knew from that alone that that person was made for them. Each Uchiha tended to be led to their mate based on very literally following their scent to get to them.
Without Naruto being able to smell him, it was worsening his chance of impressing him, and being considered pretty was making it even worse.
Sasuke felt the frown on his face deepen, considering whether he should use the pond water to attempt to wash off some of the blockers on him.
A rough hand touched his cheek, and he unconsciously turned toward it, his eyes closing as the sea salt and wood sage were now even closer to him. His alpha is letting out a low purr.
“Actually,” Naruto’s voice was soft, causing Sasuke to slightly open his eyes to look at him. “You’re beautiful.”
Maybe his not being able to smell Sasuke wasn’t going to be a problem. Sasuke resisted the urge to fight about being called beautiful in lieu of handsome again.
“...Were you on a hunt for an omega yourself?” He teased, rubbing his cheeks into Naruto’s hand. He was glad the pull was reciprocated.
The blush on his cheeks darkened, spreading down into his neck. Naruto pulled back his hand, tucking them both into his yukata. Sasuke felt a twitch in his eye at the loss.
“No…You’re just…” Naruto trailed off.
The door to the other side of the garden opened, revealing his personal guard. His grey hair up in its normal spikes, a mask covering half his face as he walked in. Kakashi looked between the two, Sasuke trying to signal for him to leave.
“....I wasn’t aware there was going to be a private event here.” Sasuke could practically see the smirk under his mask.
“We were simply wandering around and stumbled upon this garden, but we’ll be heading in for a snack shortly.” He stood, addressing Kakashi.
Kakashi looked at him, glanced back at Naruto, and looked back at him again. He prayed that Kakashi was not about to make a scene.
“...Yes…well, the queen had some snacks set up and would like you two escorted there.”
Sasuke sighed, clearly, Itachi was not going to be the only person interrogated by his parents tonight. He looked to Naruto to see him looking between the two, clearly waiting for the next step.
“Are you hungry?” He finally asked.
Naruto smiled, his smile feeling like seeing the sun. He would be worth any questions he had to answer tonight.
“I didn’t even know you could talk for that long.” Kakashi joked, escorting him to a private family tea room.
Each evening, as a family custom, they all meet together for tea and enjoy each other's company. It was a practice set by his parents. His father didn’t want to be so consumed with ruling that he didn’t know anything about his children. So they would meet, wind down for the evening, either talking, playing games, or simply all reading their own book.
Kakashi had escorted both Naruto and Sasuke to the semi-private tea room used when meeting with guests and remained with them the entire time, no matter how much Sasuke said he could leave.
Naruto and he simply talked about anything and everything that came to mind. Naruto didn’t seem fixated on designation, stating that while he didn’t come here specifically omega hunting, he wasn’t stuck up on getting himself an alpha. They talked about childhood, their likes, Naruto’s love for gardening, Sasuke’s love for playing instruments, their ideas of a good mate and partner, and what their ideal family would look like.
Kakashi interrupted at some point to highlight that the omegas were to turn in early due to the scheduled plans for tomorrow. Sasuke made sure to tell Naruto to meet in the library to spend another day together and that Kakashi would be escorting him. Then, he dropped him off in the room he was assigned to.
Sasuke picked up his pace, determined to lose Kakashi as they walked.
Kakashi laughed, sparing him for once. “Good night, my lord, I’ll make sure he gets to your date safely.”
Sasuke arrived at the room, greeting the guards standing at attention as they opened the door for him.
His parent were already seated, taking small sips of their tea as they spoke in hushed tones. Itachi is absent for now. His mother turned as he entered, a soft smile on her face. He couldn’t help but smile in return, ducking his head as he approached.
“How was your tea time?” Mikoto asked slyly, grabbing one of the small sandwiches on the table near her and her mate.
His father looked at her in surprise before looking over to Sasuke. “What tea time?”
He sighed, heading towards the large chair near her to sit down. “It was good.” his voice was low as his mother moved around preparing his tea.
“What was go-” Fugaku turned to see Itachi now walking in, his eyes dazed as he plopped into the chair beside him.
Mikoto gave a giggle, handing Saskue his cup before placing her hands over her husband's. “Seems like we’ll only be hosting one bridal hunt this year.”
Sasuke and Itachi locked eyes. “Wait, you found someone?”
“How about we allow Itachi to start, and then Sasuke can share.” Fugaku needed more than vague comments, especially with the way his family was acting today.
Itachi settled down into the chair, his hands fiddling with his own teacup as he smiled. “He was here. That’s why I’m late.”
Itachi massaged his temples as he walked towards the lake. He’d snuck out of the castle walls, letting Deidara know that he needed a break from the onslaught of smells and people, and headed towards the lake that separated the castle’s lands from the forest. A small bridge had been built that very few, even in the royal family, knew about.
He’d been accosted left and right by O’s all day. Each pouring their scents out, suffocating him in the ballroom. Undercutting each other while attempting to prop themselves up. It was a verbal bloodbath. He’d honestly been in brawls with more integrity.
He was naturally slow to judgment, but he was already feeling out of sorts, and it had only been one day. He’d hoped that he would immediately smell the Omega that he’d encountered while he was making that trip across the land to the next kingdom.
While rare, he’d been able to convince his father to let him break bread with a kingdom they were trying to build a treaty with. Unable to provide an agreement through marriage due to the only Alpha already being mated, Itachi pleaded to go covertly and represent them. Discreet so as to avoid others knowing their plans and to also test the few council members who knew. They were aware they had a rat in their midst, but it’d been proving difficult to identify them. It was a risk, but Itachi felt capable.
On his travels, he’d stayed at a small town where he encountered an omega, his scent drawing him there, and they fell in step together. Names never truly exchanged, Itachi not wanting to open any room for a possible attack, and the omega not willing to give his name because it didn’t seem fair to only know one name. They continued to travel together for a while, and both had defended the village from a group of bandits attempting to attack the people.
The omega had commended him on a good fight, wishing him luck on his journey and never once giving his name. Itachi had resolved the next morning to exchange names, not wanting to risk what felt like a once-in-a-lifetime chance, yet the next morning, the omega was gone. The scent stayed with Itachi since, haunting his dreams.
Itachi allowed the smell of the water to greet him, replacing all the other smells that were overpowering his nose earlier. He couldn’t help but take a deeper breath, the smell reminding him more of the omega with notes of jasmine and earth mixed with a salty tone.
Crunch
He quickly turned towards the bridge to see a tall figure walking back from the forest, with white calla lilies and iris in their hands. Itachi’s shoulders dropped as the figure came closer….as the scent he’d been looking for came closer.
A smile of razor-sharp teeth greeted him, both walking towards each other and meeting on the bridge.
“I could smell you on the invitation and hoped I was right.” Words spoken softly, as he extended the flowers forward. “I remember you told that pup that you liked flowers.”
Itachi reached up, cupping Kisame’s face. “You came.”
“... Technically, you did call.”
“I ended up spending the rest of the time with him. He went into the forest, and he had come across a nice little ledge for us to sit on, and we’ve been there ever since. He even caught us some fish and made a little fire, so we hadn't felt the need to return just yet.”
Mikoto smiled as Fugaku placed a hand on Itachi’s shoulders. “This truly was a success.”
“I’m so happy you were able to find him, Itachi. I’m sorry we couldn’t allow you to go back when you asked; it simply wasn’t safe enough.”
Itachi rarely argued, typically always being very rational, but the three of them had discussed at length his wanting to go look for Kisame. Mikoto was broken-hearted for her son but couldn’t risk losing him needlessly.
“Yes, it seemed like it worked out.” A scent of contentment filled the room as he started fiddling with a red and blue resin ring on his left hand.
“Is that a ring?” The three looked at the ring before looking back at Itachi.
“I haven’t agreed to anything.” He argued. “He just said he kept thinking of me after we met and ended up making this ring with me in mind and wanted me to have it.”
Fugaku sighed, happy but stressed at how quickly this was developing. “There are still 5 days left.”
Sasuke snorted as Mikoto giggled.
“I know….But I can’t promise that I’ll be able to entertain any of the others since he’s here.”
“And we would never ask that of you.” Mikoto placed her hand atop her husband's. “We’ll figure something out.”
“What’s your story?” Itachi looked up from his ring to Sasuke.
Sasuke sighed before talking about his day and his plans for tomorrow.
“So does he not know you’re an Alpha?”
Sasuke grumbled, playing around with the teacup handle. “He hasn’t really assumed anything, and I haven’t told him….So no.”
“Sasuke, all worthwhile bonds are built on honesty. It seems like things have started off very well. I don’t think it will go badly when you tell him tomorrow.” Mikoto said, taking away the option for him to even consider dragging this out.
“And you said you weren’t going to find anyone.” Itachi teased.
Sasuke glared in response, slouching in his chair and crossing his arms.
“While not how we envisioned this going, I’m glad to see you’ve both found your mates. How we navigate the next steps is crucial for clan relations. We won’t ask you two to hide your hearts for that, though. So let’s discuss the plan for the next 5 days.”