Sasuke's 18th birthday passes by and there's no sign of him.
At this point, Naruto doesn't even wait anymore. He tucks the present into his living room cupboard—a book from Sasuke's favorite author—and tries to forget about it.
Sasuke hasn't written a single letter since he left, he hasn't contacted Naruto in any way. The only thing Naruto did get was the damn fleshlight, but it wasn't Sasuke saying, I'm doing fine. It was his revenge for the dildo. At first, it had given Naruto some hope, that Sasuke would stay in contact.
And then he hadn't.
Naruto drowns himself in work and studying. Kakashi has promised to make him a jonin, but only if he studies more for it, considering that he didn't take the chunin exams (and at this point, making him go through that wouldn't be sensible).
In addition to his studies, he works as a guard, patrolling the village walls.
With these, Naruto is busy enough that he doesn't have too much time to think, and it's a relief. He studies at the Konoha Library, so that his home is dedicated to rest and nothing else.
The patrols are terribly boring, but Naruto takes the longest shifts anyway. He's still exhausted when he comes home and collapses on his bed.
That's how his summer goes by and July shifts into August.
At some point, Naruto looks at the calendar and numbly thinks, Oh, it's Sasuke's heat month again.
It's like most of his life is now timed in accordance with Sasuke's heats. When he didn't return to Konoha in April, Naruto spent a month shaking off his disappointment before it started to improve.
And now, even though it's fucking stupid, he finds himself hoping again.
He hopes so desperately that he starts to imagine Sasuke's scent, at which point he really freaks out. This isn't normal, to get this fixated on his friend.
It will fade with time, Kurama says gently. It's completely normal to feel like that.
Naruto makes no reply to that. He's tired after studying at the library the whole morning, so on his way home, he goes to buy takeaway Ichiraku. There he hallucinates Sasuke's scent again.
He chats with Teuchi while waiting for his food and then leaves for home. His house looks bleak and empty, even with the garden Naruto has built in the front yard. He goes inside, takes off his shoes and carries his food to the kitchen table. He moves mechanically, without realizing what he's doing, and his senses are filled with lighting, fire and water lilies.
"I'm going crazy," he groans, blinking tears from his eyes as he throws his chopsticks on the table.
The doorbell rings.
Naruto freezes. His heart starts pounding, there's a weird weakness in his legs. The scent is stronger now, as if—as if—
Naruto almost runs to the genkan and slides the door open so fast it screeches on its rails.
"Hey," Sasuke says quietly.
***
Naruto fantasized about Sasuke's return so many times. He waited and waited and eventually started to accept that Sasuke wasn't returning.
Now he stares at Sasuke in disbelief. His black hair is longer, almost hiding his left eye from view. His cloak is threadbare and there's road dust on his clothes. The only visible eye, the black one, looks back uncertainly. He carries an Ichiraku bag in his fingers.
"You—you're here," Naruto rasps. "In Konoha. You came back."
Sasuke bites his lip, takes a shaky breath and nods. "For… all it's worth…" Sasuke clears his throat. "I'm sorry. Really sorry."
Naruto breaks. He starts sobbing, heavy breaths from the deep recesses of his soul, and Sasuke comes to him instantly, wrapping the only arm around Naruto's waist and burying his face into Naruto's chest.
"I thought—you'd never—come back!" Naruto sobs. "You didn't send me a letter! Nothing! I thought I had messed up!"
"I know—I know," Sasuke says, his voice cracking. "I shouldn't have done that. I should have written. Fuck, I'm so sorry, Naruto. I never wanted to hurt you."
Naruto can't stop his tears, and he soon starts to hiccup as he drinks Sasuke's scent, how close and warm he is.
Sasuke is back. Sasuke is back in Konoha.
Sasuke came back to him.
Eventually, they get back inside. Naruto's eyes are sore and swollen, so he goes to wash his face while Sasuke removes his cloak and his sandals.
"Do you have laundry?" Naruto asks as he peeks out from the bathroom. "We can wash some right away."
"Oh," Sasuke says, blushing, "okay." They go to the laundry room together and Sasuke retrieves one of his storage scrolls, unsealing it on top of the washing machine and letting the clothes drop straight inside the drum.
Naruto measures the detergent and then closes the drum and the lid, and turns the machine on.
They glance at each other.
"I was… just about to eat," Naruto mumbles. "I… went to get Ichiraku on my way home…"
"I got you another bowl," Sasuke says and smiles awkwardly. "I wasn't sure if you'd eaten already, but I figured I'd get you one anyway, since you often eat more than one."
They go to the kitchen and Sasuke washes his hand while Naruto takes the other bowls from the plastic bag. They move around the kitchen in a familiar rhythm, just like they did in the first weeks after the war.
Sasuke sits down in the same chair as always after getting chopsticks for himself. He lets Naruto open the lid of his bowl before he starts eating.
For a while, neither of them speaks.
"I, uh, owe you an explanation," Sasuke says, words tumbling from his mouth. "It wasn't your fault that I left. It was… just me. I just needed to get away. Completely. I didn't—I didn't think. I regretted leaving, but I couldn't bring myself to come back. And I—convinced myself that I can take my heat alone."
"But?" Naruto prompts.
Sasuke turns his eyes away but Naruto sees the tears as they start to fall. "It was—horrible. I used that—what you gave me—and it helped, but I was alone. I didn't realize how much my omega panicked because of that. It was—It was—" Sasuke takes a shuddering breath.
"It was what, Sasuke?" Naruto whispers.
Sasuke wipes his eyes angrily. "It was searching for your alpha," he says tonelessly. "I think it latched on you because you were with me when I presented."
Oh. Oh.
The realization is followed by a sickening disappointment when Naruto realizes that Sasuke isn't about to confess. He doesn't feel as strongly as Naruto does—it's only his omega. But that's better than nothing, isn't it?
"Yeah, there's a possibility that it happens," Naruto admits and rubs his neck. "Especially because we're friends and pretty close to begin with."
"Which is still so funny to me," Sasuke mutters. "All we ever did was fight and bicker. I only learned to know more of the real you after the war. When I wasn't constantly itching to kill you." He fishes a mushroom from his ramen, slips it in his mouth and adds, "The garden is really pretty."
"Thanks," Naruto says awkwardly.
After eating, they wash the dishes together.
When they leave the kitchen, Naruto stops. "So, uh," he says. "I did something for you. It might seem pushy and… well… I hope you won't kill me for it."
"What did you do?" Sasuke asks, exasperated.
Naruto takes him to the back of the house, to the less used corner where Naruto has one extra room—the room he converted for Sasuke. He opens the door and lets Sasuke take a look inside.
"This—this is—" Sasuke turns to look at Naruto, an incredulous look in his eyes. "You made me a heat nest?"
"I probably shouldn't have, but—I hoped so badly you'd come back and I wanted you to make you space where you can be alone," Naruto says. "I was—hoping—that even if you wouldn't spend your heat with anyone, you'd at least have a safe place to be in."
Sasuke trembles as he watches the small space, the bed and everything Naruto has gathered there. "You're such a dumbass," Sasuke chokes.
"You don't hate it?" Naruto asks worriedly.
"I love it," Sasuke says firmly. He watches the nest again. "But I decided I won't spend my heats alone anymore."
Naruto's heart makes a ridiculous flip again. "Oh? The one time was enough for you?"
Sasuke snorts. "Yeah, you could say that."
They look at each other, Sasuke's eyes wandering on Naruto's face. "Naruto," he says, and his voice shakes. "I want you to be my heat partner."
Naruto's mind fills with static. He gapes at Sasuke, dumbfounded, unable to comprehend the words he just heard.
"You want to—want to—with me?" he croaks.
"I wouldn't let anyone else as close," Sasuke says, obviously struggling to get the words out. "Of course if it's—too uncomfortable for you, I'll just—figure out something else."
Naruto needs to sit. He steps inside the heat nest and sinks on the bed, with Sasuke following behind and sitting beside him.
"You want to spend your heats with me," Naruto says.
"Yes."
"How much do you… want me to do?" he asks carefully.
"For August's heat, I… don't feel good enough about knotting yet," Sasuke says, blushing as he says the word—it is weird, to talk about sex like this, so casually, since their relationship is like that. "But… as long as you don't go… too deep… you can do what you want. And I would help with your rut in exchange."
"You do realize that alphas need to knot during their ruts?" Naruto demands softly. "My next rut will be in spring—the same time around your spring heat."
"I can… take the knot by then," Sasuke says, nodding. "It would be an arrangement only, of course."
"Of course," Naruto echoes blankly. He knows this'll be a disaster, that the two of them can't make it work because of all the baggage they both have.
Yet, Naruto doesn't care. He takes this partnership to satisfy his alpha, and he doesn't need to think about anyone else.
"You're quiet," Sasuke whispers. "Usually you're babbling. Maybe I shouldn't have suggested—"
"Yes!" Naruto screeches. "Yes! I will be your heat partner. Your question just—surprised me, that's all—"
Sasuke smiles then, a happy, relieved smile. "Great," he says. "We can work the specifics before my heat blooms. It's going to take at least two weeks. And Naruto?"
"Hmm?"
"I'm staying in Konoha until New Year's," Sasuke says seriously. "I missed the last time with you, and I won't miss it again."
Naruto starts to cry again.
***
Sasuke goes to take a bath while Naruto arranges his clothes on the rack to dry. Then he returns to the kitchen to make coffee and tea, checking his cupboards if he found anything edible. He finds an unopened package of red bean mochi—it isn't yet near its expiry date—and opens it for Sasuke, while he settles on some candy he bought from the store earlier.
He carries them to the living room, to the coffee table.
Sasuke joins him soon, smelling richly of himself and his shampoo. "Spread the sofa?" he asks. "I feel like dropping on it."
They spread the sofa together and prepare fresh sheets for it. Since Naruto doesn't have spare pillows or blankets, he goes to get Sasuke's from the heat nest.
"I'll use the nest only during the heats," Sasuke says, sighing contentedly as he burrows into his familiar corner.
Naruto sits down at the other end, and they have a respectful distance between them. Naruto turns on the TV and sees from the corner of his eye how Sasuke shifts—and then Sasuke is leaning against him and sighs again. "Is this… okay? My omega is… very insistent."
"It's fine," Naruto says softly, really struggling to keep the giddiness away from his voice. Sasuke feels so good, so warm and damn it, he smells divine.
Naruto's alpha nudges him, so he moves his left arm and settles it on Sasuke's shoulder.
"You don't mind?" Naruto asks carefully.
Sasuke replies by sighing for the third time and kneading on his thigh.
It's just Sasuke's omega that needs the closeness, the care. That's what Naruto tries to remind himself as they watch movies all night and at some point Sasuke's head slumps and he somehow ends up sleeping, his head on Naruto's lap.
It doesn't mean anything. They're just partners for heats and ruts. It has to be enough.
Better than nothing, Naruto thinks again as he caresses Sasuke's silky hair with his fingers. He feels tired, spent after the months of stress and anxiety, so it doesn't take too long for him to fall asleep too. Returning to Konoha was the correct decision to make, Sasuke knows that now.
Just seeing Naruto's stunned expression, then his unbridled joy, makes it all worth it.
Then there's the scent Sasuke has been missing like a drug, and now that he lives in the middle of it, he feels like he's constantly high. How can someone feel so secure, so good, just by their scent alone?
Sasuke wakes up suddenly, to silence. The movie has ended some time ago and returned to the menu screen and the lights are still on.
Groggily, Sasuke realizes that his head has been resting on Naruto's thighs, and he can't feel embarrassed about it. He just did what his omega had wanted him to do. He needs the closeness now, since he denied it once.
Naruto's breathing is quiet and even, his eyes closed. So they both had fallen asleep. Somehow Sasuke is not surprised about it.
He turns off the DVD player and the TV, and gets up from the sofa enough to brush his teeth. When he returns to the living room, Naruto is still sleeping.
"Naruto," Sasuke whispers. "Do you want to go sleep in your own bed?"
Naruto made a noise in his sleep and then he opened his eyes. "Wha—? Oh, did I fall asleep here? Sorry about that," he says and yawns.
"I don't care where you sleep, but you do have your bed," Sasuke says, feeling awkward suddenly as he climbs back in and dives under the covers. In all honesty, he doesn't want Naruto to sleep in his own bed.
No, that's not fully correct either.
Sasuke doesn't want to sleep alone. He's pretty sure it's something his omega craves rather than himself, but he's unsure how to voice it. Would it sound pushy? Would it be too much for their arrangement? It would be pretty intimate, to sleep in together every night.
"Sasuke?" Naruto says. "What's wrong?"
Leave it to Naruto to read Sasuke so easily.
"Nothing, it's stupid," Sasuke mutters and hides his face into his pillow.
"Sasuke," Naruto insists.
"It's my omega!" Sasuke says, frustrated. "It panics with the idea of sleeping alone!"
"That's completely normal with new omegas," Naruto says—and there's no laughter in his voice, nothing judgmental. "If your omega did latch on me, as you think, its need for closeness might be stronger now that you're here."
"I hate it," Sasuke says vehemently. "I mean—I don't hate being an omega, I hate the things it makes me feel!" He's never been so needy before, and in the past few months he's just barely managed to hang on, but now that he's with Naruto again, he realizes just how much he needs company. For now anyway.
"You're allowed to feel like it and you shouldn't try to resist it," Naruto says. "If you want to sleep in the same bed with me, I'm fine with it. My bed is big enough."
Stupid hope, clutching Sasuke's heart like this. "It wouldn't be weird?" he asks anyway.
"I think we're past that," Naruto says easily. "Since we're going to spend heats and ruts together in the future."
And it will be a lot more intimate experience.
Maybe it will be a bad idea, for someone like them to do an arrangement like that. But Sasuke can't physically think of anyone else, and after the last catastrophic heat, he really, truly, doesn't want to spend his heat alone.
"… Okay," Sasuke mutters. "But only long enough for my omega to settle."
"Sure," Naruto says. "Do you want to sleep here tonight, or…?"
"No! I—uh—I'd rather not," Sasuke says and groans. This is painfully embarrassing and he doesn't feel like himself at all. Naruto's scent and proximity together are enough to rattle him to his core, and he constantly fights between his old habit of pushing people away and his newfound need for connections.
"It's okay, Sasuke, really," Naruto says and laughs a little. That's not a condescending laugh, no—it's an affectionate one. It's Naruto's special laugh that he uses only when Sasuke is present. "Go ahead, I'll put the sofa together and brush my teeth and then I'll join you."
Sasuke gets up with his pillow and blanket, and walks through the house to Naruto's bedroom. It's a messy place, so very much like its owner—there are clothes strewn about, the bed hasn't been made and there's at least three empty coffee mugs on the nightstand.
Sasuke chooses the right side of the bed and lays down. It's so damn much better than the sofa, which hadn't been super bad either.
And it smells like Naruto. The very essence of Naruto is in that mattress, in the sheets, all over, and Sasuke's omega is ecstatic. It makes Sasuke calm down in a different way, and he finds himself actually smiling when Naruto enters the room.
"Sorry, it's a bit messy," he says, embarrassed.
"I expected nothing less from you," Sasuke mutters.
Naruto slips into bed, and they lie in silence for a while. "You feel alright?" Naruto asks.
Sasuke is fighting with his omega not to get closer, and he almost loses. He has the sudden drive to scent Naruto's shoulder, and he knows it's a bit too intimate idea for their arrangement.
"Your scent is very rich right now," Naruto laughs.
Sasuke can't say the same about Naruto—not because he can't smell it, but because everything smells like him. He can't find the smell that comes from Naruto himself and not from his clothes.
Sasuke is still almost drunk with it.
"Good night, dumbass," he says and turns his back on Naruto but he hears his friend chuckling.
"Good night, asshole," Naruto says.
Sasuke smiles into his pillow.
***
Sasuke's return to Konoha doesn't go unnoticed by the village—especially since Sasuke makes no move to get an apartment of his own. He's still not convinced he'll stay long enough that getting a place of his own is sensible, and even he can tell that Naruto wants him to stay at his place.
There is, still, one thing they both have to put up with now.
The talk about them mating picks up speed again. It gets worse because Naruto's scent is all over Sasuke these days—of course it is, when they're so close by every day.
Everyone seems to think that Naruto and Sasuke are together together, and not just friends sharing a house. They have to correct people so often that it starts to get annoying.
"What if we just let them gossip?" Naruto asks one day.
Sasuke's heat is due in a few days, and he already feels the first signs of it—a slight ache in his lower back, the sensitivity and the increased discharge of slick.
This time, Sasuke isn't worried about his heat. He's bundled right beside Naruto and leans against him as they lounge on the sofa—Naruto watching TV and Sasuke reading the book he got from Naruto as a birthday present.
"You don't care if they all think we're madly in love?" Sasuke says and snorts.
"I think what's more important is what we think," Naruto says simply. "Let them think whatever they want. When we eventually find mates they can all be shocked and we can say I told you so."
Yeah, that. Sasuke has already almost forgotten that this isn't permanent.
He can still enjoy it. It's better than nothing, right? Or that's what he's trying to make himself believe. If Naruto is the only alpha he can trust, how he'll ever be able to find someone he could mate with?
"Yeah, I guess," Sasuke says and focuses on his book.
Naruto's arm is on his shoulder and rubs his upper left arm, but doesn't quite reach the stump. Sasuke still feels the touch there, and then he wonders idly how it would feel like if Naruto would kiss him there—
"Your scent is so wonderful," Naruto admits, laughing. "It's like I'm standing in a storm of lighting and fire. And then there's a faint trace of water lilies."
Sasuke sputters. "Water lilies?!" he repeats, aghast.
"It's not my fault you smell like that!" Naruto says defensively. "I've always been told I smell like fruits and spices."
"And coffee," Sasuke adds. "You smell a lot like coffee."
"I drink a lot of coffee, Sasuke," Naruto says, amused.
"You do, but it's a scent in you, even if you haven't drank for a while," Sasuke says and shrugs. "Maybe the caffeine messed up your scent gland."
"Uh-huh," Naruto says in disbelief. "I'm gonna go to the grocer's tomorrow, I could get your snacks ready. Do you need anything else?"
"As if you'll remember if I tell them," Sasuke jabs playfully.
Naruto huffs and gets up from the sofa only long enough to pick up the notepad and pen from the side table. "Here. Write down everything you want."
Sasuke rolls his eyes and sets his book down before taking the notepad. He considers for a moment before he types down the usual snacks he eats—popcorn, chips, mineral water and a bit of chocolate. Then he remembers that the slick pads and the heat meds are low, so he adds them too. The list item on his list is simply lots of food.
"You're not a very demanding omega, are you?" Naruto says when Sasuke hands over the paper.
"I don't need that much, I don't have much appetite when I'm constantly just horny," Sasuke says. He's trying to get used to speaking openly about these things with Naruto, considering what will happen in a few days when his heat will actually bloom. "I do have one request for my heat."
"Oh?"
"I want to sleep in the heat nest," Sasuke says and blushes. "With you."
He can't bring himself to look at Naruto to see his reaction.
"Of course we can sleep there—whatever makes you comfortable," Naruto replies, his tone light. "I know we agreed on all of this already, but… are you sure you'll be fine with me touching you? If I would, y'know, help you come? I know that kind of intimacy is hard for you."
"I did ask for you to be my heat partner, didn't I?" Sasuke counters, but he is touched by Naruto's thoughtfulness. "So that means I accept anything that comes with it. Except for the knotting for now."
"Okay, just making sure," Naruto says softly. "I would never want to make you uncomfortable."
"You don't," Sasuke says. "You're the only one who doesn't."
"I take that as a compliment."
"As you should," Sasuke says. He picks up his book again and continues reading.
***
Sasuke notices the change in Naruto before his heat even blooms.
In any other circumstances, he would've hated it, but since this was exactly what his omega wants, he doesn't protest.
Naruto is, for all intents and purposes, a signature alpha partner. When Sasuke gets feverish, Naruto makes him rest and gets him an ice pack wrapped in a towel. Naruto massages his feet—which shouldn't feel so comfortable and arousing, but it does. Sasuke realizes just how much he needs it after walking around the lands for eight months.
"Lay on your stomach," Naruto says. "I'll massage your back too."
Sasuke rolls over, still holding the icepack close, but he soon lets out an embarrassingly loud and erotic yowl when Naruto finds the knots in his shoulders and upper back. The left side is the worst because of the stump, and when Naruto's fingers run over it, Sasuke makes another lewd groan.
"It feels good, doesn't it?" Naruto laughs. "I didn't know just how good it felt before Kiba and some of the other guys dragged me to a spa outside of Konoha. I was massaged so thoroughly I fell asleep on the damn table."
"I can imagine," Sasuke says, snorting.
"But ever since then I kept thinking how much you need a massage, so I tucked it in my mind in case I could do it," Naruto continued and his fingers were surprisingly professional with the way they massaged Sasuke's muscles. "I wanted to do it right so I studied and trained on my clone."
It never ceases to amaze Sasuke just how far Naruto is willing to go for someone else.
He goes quiet as Naruto massages him thoroughly, and after, Naruto makes him stretch a bit and drink three glasses of water.
Sasuke feels unbelievably light and wrung out, in addition to the pre-heat clinging to him. He lets Naruto goad him back to bed, but when Naruto covers him with the blanket, he rolls his eyes. "I could've done that myself too," Sasuke mutters, his cheeks heating.
"Just let me have it, okay?" Naruto says and huffs. "My alpha is really demanding with you."
And my omega loves it, Sasuke thinks, but he would rather fight Kaguya again than admit it.
But when Naruto ruffles his hair before leaving the room, it's something both Sasuke and his omega love equally.
Naruto smells the moment when Sasuke's heat blooms.
They're in the kitchen, preparing for dinner. Sasuke has been getting more and more irritable and sensitive, and they know it's only a matter of time before it starts.
Naruto has just finished cutting the vegetables when the scent hits his nose and goes straight to his dick.
Sasuke reacts by slumping against Naruto and rubbing his cheek against his arm.
"It's… not nearly as painful when you're here," Sasuke mutters, his voice strained.
"Just let me know if you need anything," Naruto says. He almost, almost, plants a kiss on Sasuke's hair, but manages to stop himself just in time. He's not sure how Sasuke would take that, and he doesn't want to risk it. They're still awkward with each other, so Naruto aims to make it as easy for Sasuke as possible.
Of course, Naruto is at ease with his alpha, ever since presenting, he's been very free about his sexuality. With alphas and omegas it has always been different, because of their heats and ruts—arrangements like the one between Naruto and Sasuke are really common.
Usually, it doesn't lead up to mating, or even romance, but their history is different, and Naruto is already in love with his friend. Maybe Sasuke won't ever love him like that, but he's so happy and so proud that he is the one Sasuke wanted as his heat partner.
That Naruto is the only one for Sasuke. It makes him kind of smug too.
Cooking becomes a lot harder after that, because Sasuke is clingy. Really clingy. He uses his free hand to stir the noodles on the pan, but he keeps leaning against Naruto, and makes a noise every time Naruto moves away.
"I'm not going anywhere, don't panic," Naruto soothes and steps closer again.
Sasuke makes a face and leans back in. His scent is even heavier now, with want and need lacing it, but Naruto doesn't take the initiative—it's up to Sasuke to decide how he wants his heat to go.
It's quite obvious why Sasuke doesn't want anyone seeing him like this, so vulnerable. Everyone is used to seeing him so differently, and they would definitely find ways to turn Sasuke's secondary gender against him.
Naruto won't allow it to happen. He knows how lethal and formidable Sasuke is—the fact that he needs care and affection during his heats doesn't take it away.
"Now, sit down," Naruto tells Sasuke. "I'll finish the rest." Sasuke's heat makes his alpha preen, determined to take care of the omega before him, and Naruto agrees with it.
It takes effort from Sasuke to move and sit down at the table. He wipes sweat from his brow with his shirt sleeve, and he fidgets as Naruto lowers the pan and the other things at the table before joining. He moves his chair so that he's close to Sasuke, and Sasuke's hand instantly starts to knead his thigh.
"You should eat," Naruto chides.
"I know," Sasuke mumbles, but he scents Naruto's arm anyway and keeps kneading. He makes no move to summon Susano to his stump to eat—instead he seems perfectly content on just kneading. Even though Naruto can hear his stomach rumbling.
"You can knead after dinner," Naruto says, firmly, and lifts Sasuke's hand onto the table and the chopsticks.
Sasuke actually whines, and he doesn't even look embarrassed about it. "No, I need to—" he chokes.
"You need food first," Naruto says. "You know that. Tell your omega to keep it in its pants for a while longer."
"I hate you," Sasuke groans.
"Yeah, sure," Naruto says easily.
Sasuke takes the chopsticks and starts to eat. Then he seems to realize just how hungry he is, and focuses all of his attention on his food.
Naruto sighs and eats too, but he keeps his other arm around Sasuke's waist—it seems to calm him down when he can't knead.
Omega in heat sure is something, Naruto muses. I always get surprised by it.
I can tell Sasuke is still trying to hold it back. That he doesn't want you to see him like this, Kurama says. But… he's giving up because he knows he needs it.
They eat, and once Sasuke's plate is empty, Naruto gets up with it and his own.
Sasuke blinks at him and opens his mouth.
"Go to the heat nest," Naruto says softly. "I'll be right there, okay? I promise. I'll just finish up in the kitchen."
Sasuke fidgets, his scent spiking, and then he turns and leaves, but somehow Naruto… senses how distraught the omega is.
Is that normal? he asks Kurama. Is it normal for Sasuke to be so panicky to be alone during his heat?
I think it might feel worse because he's been alone most of his life, Kurama says. And he is latched on to your alpha, so he simply doesn't feel safe if you're not close enough.
It does make sense. Naruto cleans up as soon as he can, and he goes even faster when he actually smells fear all the way from the heat nest.
Wow, Sasuke's heats are really bad, aren't they? They must feel like this because of the way he grew up.
Naruto snatches a bottle of mineral water and one bag of chips before he hurries to the heat nest.
Sasuke is sprawled in the bed, shivering and breathing rapidly, and he makes a choked sob when he sees Naruto appearing in the doorway.
"Shh, it's okay, I'm here now," Naruto says, placing the mineral water and the chips on the nightstand and climbing on the bed. Sasuke rolls closer immediately, cocooning himself against Naruto's chest. He's instantly kneading, and not soon after, a low, rumbling sound emanates from his throat. He's purring, for the first time, and omegas only purr when they feel safe and comfortable.
For some reason, Naruto finds tears in his eyes, and he wraps his arms around Sasuke so that he can be as close as he wants.
They lay like that, Sasuke's purr being the only sound for a while.
"It wasn't… like this last time," Sasuke whispers. "I was able to—handle it, but it was really hard. But now that I'm with you, my omega, it's… I don't know why it reacts like this."
"You've been alone, Sasuke," Naruto says softly. He presses his face into Sasuke's hair because he just can't help himself, and Sasuke's purr gets stronger. "You were alone the last time, and your omega hated it, yeah? So maybe it's desperate for this now and is somehow afraid that it won't last."
Sasuke's skin is hot and sweaty, and being so close, Naruto feels the wild pounding of his heart.
"It's frightening," Sasuke croaks. Next purr comes more explosively and Sasuke has to cough along with it. "Will it be like this every single time I'm in heat? I can't… function. I can barely even think straight."
"It's a good thing you don't have to," Naruto says lightly. "We discussed beforehand what you want, so I know how to take care of you. You'll be fine, Sas, I'll be here the entire time. I won't leave you."
There's yet another spike in Sasuke's scent, now it's a bit different this time. "… Sas?" Sasuke repeats. "Did you just… give me a nickname?"
"Well, you've been calling me dumbass since we were seven," Naruto chuckles. "I think it's my right."
Sasuke replies by purring even louder, and the way Naruto feels his contentment is weird. He's not sure if it's normal to feel it like that, or if are they just that compatible.
"Naruto," Sasuke says soon. "I… shit—"
"What do you need?" Naruto asks.
"Just… touch," Sasuke begs. "I don't… care how. You can do… whatever you want and if I… yell at you after, you can just say I… asked for it."
Naruto quickly gets the gist, as Sasuke brings himself closer and ruts his body against Naruto's—and his very hard dick.
They have seen each other naked, of course, back when they were kids—and Naruto isn't shy. Usually, the current Sasuke doesn't show skin willingly, but still—it's Sasuke.
"I don't want to overstep," Naruto says carefully.
"I'm telling you, it's fine," Sasuke whines. "Just… please. It never helps enough when I… do it myself."
Well, they did agree to this. They would be doing more than just touching in the future. Naruto ignores his own raging hard-on as he moves his hand to Sasuke's waist and under his shirt.
Sasuke squirms at that, but he seems unable to stop kneading with his only hand. Naruto caresses the skin, then takes his hand closer to the waistband of Sasuke's sweats, and from there, inside.
Naruto has jerked himself off many times before, and he's not unfamiliar with it. He has jerked off multiple omegas as well. So when it's not that different when he wraps his fingers around Sasuke's dick and starts pumping, slowly at first, to let Sasuke get used to it.
"Yes—fuck—like that," Sasuke groans. "Faster—please—"
Naruto quickens his pace, and Sasuke's purring goes completely out of control. At this point he's not even kneading anymore, just thrusting his hips to fuck into Naruto's hand, and he doesn't speak—the only noises he makes are choked, frantic gasps.
"You're doing well, Sas," Naruto says soothingly. All omegas love when alphas praise them, and Sasuke is not an exception.
Soon Sasuke lets out a breathy, loud keen as he comes, his cum staining Naruto's hand and his shirt and his pants.
Naruto doesn't let go immediately—he keeps stroking the softening dick for a short moment before withdrawing it.
There's a box of tissues on the nightstand just for this, so Naruto takes them, wipes his hand and then inches Sasuke's pants and boxers properly down to clean him up.
Sasuke is quiet now, his eyes closed, and his purr isn't as loud.
Naruto brushes some of the black locks from his face, just to check how feverish the omega still is. It's not as bad now, and soon Sasuke's breathing gets more steady.
"Sleep, Sas, you need it," Naruto whispers. He gives himself this moment, and he kisses Sasuke's temple. "I'll be here when you wake up."
***
Sasuke sleeps almost four hours, and during that time Naruto cleans things up, opens the window in the heat nest to allow in some fresh air, and then he makes sure Sasuke is comfortable.
Naruto also takes care of his own needs—spending the heat with an omega without knotting is really making his dick ache, so he uses the fleshlight a couple of times, and once he feels better, he continues with the housework. He decides to take a suppressant, just to make sure his pheromones won't get the best of him. He does have good control over his alpha, but accidents have been known to happen.
Naruto also picks up Sasuke's washed boxers from the rack, along with another pair of pants, and then carefully puts them on while Sasuke sleeps. Sasuke's heat hasn't yet reached its peak, and Naruto wonders how he'll be able to fill the worst of it without actually knotting him. He promised he wouldn't, and he won't even if Sasuke starts to beg for it. He isn't ready for it yet, he said so himself, so that is another thing Naruto is going to respect.
To pass the time, Naruto takes his text books and notes the heat nest and studies while waiting for Sasuke to wake up.
He manages to get through two chapters before Sasuke shifts and groans.
"You okay, Sas?" Naruto asks immediately. "You should drink."
"I feel like I'm about to die," Sasuke moans. "What fuck is wrong with me. Why is my heat this bad?"
"I think your omega is unbalanced right now," Naruto says as Sasuke struggles to sit up and lean against the headboard. He reaches for the mineral water and chips and drops them on Sasuke's lap.
"I really messed up by being alone in April, didn't I?" Sasuke mutters. He opens the bottle and drinks half of it at once.
"You couldn't have known," Naruto says. "There are many omegas who can spend their heats alone, but… I think, considering your background, being alone is the worst thing you can do. It scared your omega badly."
"I'll never do that again," Sasuke says and rubs his eyes. "I'm so angry at myself. I keep saying how I'm proud to be an omega and then I disregard its wishes completely."
"You presented less than a year ago, Sas," Naruto reminds him. "You were older than usual, and you didn't get the same kind of counseling as omegas usually get." He lets out the part that it's usually a family member, most often the mother.
"I'm still not used to you using a nickname," Sasuke says and laughs a little. "That's what I get from calling dumbass, I guess."
"Yep," Naruto says cheerfully. "Besides, Sas is just a short version of your original name. Dumbass is… not a short version of my name."
"Yeah, it was an insult you threw at me first and then I started using it out of spite," Sasuke says and now he smirks.
Naruto gapes. "What? I did?"
"Yeah. When we were in the academy. Iruka made us fight and you got one of those tantrums and threw it at me. Then I just… well. Wanted to make you taste your own medicine." Sasuke's cheeks turn red and he busies himself with opening the bag of chips. He uses his only hand and teeth.
"Huh," Naruto says. "I don't remember that, but I believe you."
Sasuke eats chips a bit, then he hands over the bag and the mineral water back to Naruto. "I think I'm going to sleep some more. I know this is only going to get worse."
"I'll be here," Naruto promises again.
Sasuke smiles tiredly and lays back down. Then he scoots closer and presses his face against Naruto's thigh. When he falls asleep again, he purrs.