It had been weeks since Kakashi had explained to Sasuke and Naruto the dangers of their accidental scent bond.
The two had been avoiding each other like the plague, coming to terms with it in their own ways. While Naruto appeared to be keeping himself busy being an unofficial sensei to Konohamoru,
the omega had thrown himself into more training, trying to cover up his insecurities at his newly uncovered status.
It... was not going well.
The burn of hunger coiled around his stomach as he performed the hand signs for another fireball jutsu. He’d perfected the technique long ago but the feeling of burning air around him was comforting, and if he closed his eyes, he could pretend he was nothing more than ashes in the wind.
Sasuke couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten more than a few tomatoes or reheated rice. It had definitely been before the mission with Zabuza.
He really needed to go shopping. It wasn’t that he was lazy or just simply putting off the task to train, no, he was hiding.
Surely, it would have to be some magnificent, truly terrifying thing that made the last Uchiha hide away in fear.
It was, in Sasuke’s mind, his second worst nightmare, just shy of… the incident.
Girls.
Girls were the cause of his current dilemma.
Now that he had a scent, an omega scent, they could simply sniff him out if they wanted to find him and find him they did.
He hadn’t had a silent moment since he left the hospital. Those crazy girls that frothed at the mouth for even a second of his attention had followed him home, rooting themselves to the ground beneath his apartment, waiting for him to leave again so that they might snatch him.
Their screams and chants and.. signs.. were unholy to say the least, although Kakashi had gotten quite the amusement out of the spectacle.
Seriously, who in their right minds would set up picket lines outside of a person’s home because they liked them?
It was as disturbing as it was annoying, and Sasuke was frustrated that his presentation had thrown his life so off kilter.
First the stupid accidental scent bond with his rival/ friend. Then Sakura, another alpha, kept badgering about taking care of himself. And now he couldn’t leave his home to get groceries.
If he were that Nara kid from the academy, he’d call the entire situation troublesome. However, he was an Uchiha. The last Uchiha. Uchihas didn’t do troublesome.
He had to hold his head high and ignore those that were too annoying to garner his respect.
There weren’t many that he truly respected.
Most of those people were village ghosts now.
He entered his apartment through the back entrance that only Kakashi was made aware of.
Previously, only he had known about it, but after his presentation it had been for the best that someone else knew. After all, he was the last Uchiha and an omega, he was coveted and sought after in a way that not even Naruto, the last Uzumaki, was.
He had a feeling much of his life would now be under heavier surveillance.
Maybe that was for the best. After all, when left to his own devices he did stupid things like scent bond with Naruto.
What had he been thinking??
The raven haired omega groaned, gracefully throwing himself on his bed.
Of course, he wasn’t completely to blame, the alpha had been the one to disobey Kakashi’s orders. Sasuke had been too overwhelmed with the scent of sunshiney rivers and oranges to make any good decisions.
It was no surprise that his rival’s scent had the citrusy tone. He lived in the color orange, why wouldn’t he smell like it too?
Pale cheeks tinged pink as he recalled the blonde giving him his jacket. It was kind, the genuine sort of kindness that you knew you weren’t forced to reciprocate because it hadn’t been borne of any social rules.
The omega blamed that stupid alpha for the way he suddenly hated his bed blankets. They didn’t feel right. They lacked the warmth and wear and tear that his rival’s clothing article had possessed. They weren’t as cozy as that makeshift nest had been. They were lonely.
Sasuke was lonely.
His presentation had increased that constant feeling tenfold and he despised it.
His stomach growled and interrupted his intense staring contest with the ceiling. He needed to go get ingredients for dinner. As dreadful as the idea was, his stomach sang with excitement at the thought of a replenished food stock.
He needed to bathe first. He had a hard enough time in the public with his clean scent, he did not want to see what his sweaty enhanced scent would cause.
The market was as mundane as ever. Old women with their grandchildren littered the street. A few ninja that he didn’t know by name were scattered about, collecting bare essentials like bandages and food with a long shelf life. Mission lengths were unpredictable, and it was an unspoken rule of thumb to only get fresh produce or dairy if you knew you would be in Konoha for a while.
A hand on his arm caused the omega to bristle as he was turned around. “Hi Sasuke! Long time no see.” the Yamanaka girl’s high pitched voice screeched. He couldn’t throw her hand off. He couldn’t make a scene.
She didn’t appear to be expecting an answer from him, instead she turned and waved her teammate (Chocho? Chojiki? CHOJI!) over.
Choji took his time easing their way. His hands were filled to the brink with baskets of produce and other various food items. He had crumbs on his cheeks. “Hey Sasuke!” the other boy paused, looking at the Uchiha’s empty basket, “The better food stalls are down by the seamstress’s hut.”. Ino laughed brashly, “Sasuke just got here Choji.”
He should say something, but all he can manage is a blink and a head tilt. The duo seemed to take his reaction as acknowledgement and began talking about trivial things. The duo- now trio- eased down the market walkway, pausing their steps every now and then to let Sasuke purchase something.
Things finally came to a boiling point when Hinata, one of those annoying Hyuuga kids, wandered over to say hello to Ino. The two girls started chattering about flowers as Choji commandeered the tomato stand, feverishly poking and prodding all of the red fruits and handing the ones he approved of to the annoyed Uchiha.
It was becoming too much. Ino’s loud laugh, Choji’s crumb covered face, Hinata’s shy glances at Sasuke were beginning to cause his metaphorical hackles to rise. He paid the vegetable vendor for the red orbs of deliciousness and turned pointedly to the little group that had surrounded him.
“Why are all of you here?” The ‘bothering me’ part was left implied. The Ino stopped fussing over Hinata’s outfit and Hinata hid behind her blonde friend. Sasuke was glad Hinata wasn’t on his squad, her meekness would annoy him more than Sakura’s constant flirting did.
“Sheesh, you don’t hafta be mean about it.” the other male omega grumbled next to him. Come to think of it, Ino and Hinata were omegas too. Were they trying to find some sort of kinship with him because of his presentation status?
The nerve. Being an omega did not mean that he suddenly wanted to be best friends with a gossip, a human balloon, and a stuttering Hyuuga. Nothing about him had changed.
There were eyes on the group, watching him.
Ino wrenched him away and down a deserted alleyway, Choji and Hinata following at a slower pace. If it weren’t for Sasuke’s elite control of his limbs, he would have shoved her off of him with enough force to make her think twice about ever touching him again. However, at some point, Ino would become the head of her clan, just as he was now the head of his, he didn’t need any future political enemies.
“Listen here you asshole,” the blonde girl whisper shouted at him so as not to draw attention, “we only came up to you because we overheard those other girls at the market making bets on who could scent you first.”
From Ino’s left, a red faced Hinata stammered out “Th-there’s safety in numbers, Sasuke-kun.”
Choji, who’d just got done chewing some of his chips, spoke up next, “You’re a rookie omega, just like us, whether you like it or not! We gotta stick together.”
Ino released his arm and Sasuke stared at them. It would be beneficial to stick with them, he’d blend in and at the very least, have back up for when that horde of crazy girls found him again.
He let himself smile at them, or rather, stopped frowning at the omegas in front of him. “Fine.”
Hinata squeaked and started fidgeting with her hands, “Then- then uhm, would you like to get dinner with us?”
“What about the stuff he bought?”
“He has legs, Choji, he can drop his stuff off and meet us at the barbeque place.”
Ino seemed to be even more bossy than she’d been at the academy. He appreciated that her bossiness, unlike his teammates’, was more sassy observations. After many, many petty arguments that sprang up on his squad, he was pleased that at least he may only butt heads with Ino out of the omegas their age.
Sasuke inclined his head to imply that he agreed with Ino and began to walk away. His knees ached from the rigorous training regiment he’d taken up, but his shoulders felt lighter.
“LOOK, THERE HE IS!” came a high pitched scream, the Uchiha turned sharply, seeing a girl with purple hair and pink cheeks pointing in his direction. Almost in sync with one another, other girls near her dropped whatever purchases they’d had in their hands and started sprinting for him.
The adults were no help, laughing amongst themselves and chalking it up to “kids being kids”.
If a group of omegas were chasing an alpha, the omegas would be reprimanded. Alphas, he was coming to realize, could do whatever they wanted.
Using substitution jutsu, he evaded the first girl’s capture and scaled the closest building, running along the rooftops. On the ground below him, he heard Choji and Ino yelling.
He was relieved to see that the crowd outside of his apartment had been dealt with, probably by the landlord, so he could take the easy way in. On his way up the stairs, a few of the other residents gave him dirty looks, probably for being the cause of the crowd’s disturbance. The Uchiha couldn’t bring himself to feel bad for them. He was the one the crazed horde were there for, after all.
As he began to put away his purchases, he looked at the clock. If the other omegas wanted him to get dinner with them, he had about an hour to kill. He pushed his bangs out of his face and sighed in resignation, he was probably going to regret accepting Hinata’s offer.
~~~
“Hey, Hinata,” Choji turned to Hyuuga, “how’s your training been going?”
“Oh yeah, you mentioned that your dad was putting you on a stricter training cycle.” Ino remembered, gesturing with her chopsticks before reaching for a piece of barbecue.
At the mention of training, Sasuke looked up from his food with interest. Feeling all eyes on her, the short haired girl blushed in embarrassment, but managed to speak without stuttering. “It’s going okay, Father says my reflexes are slow and my taijutsu needs lots of work.” She looked down, and Sasuke noticed the sorrowful look in her eyes. “My little sister, Hannabi, is excelling though and we are very proud of her.”
“That’s great Hinata! I’m sure you’ll get there. My dad says everyone excels at their own pace, don’t worry about it.” Choji attempted to comfort her, though his speaking with his mouth full brought Ino and Sasuke no comfort. Sauce dripped down his chin and Sasuke hid a shudder by reaching for his drink.
“Choji! Use a damn napkin!” Ino scolded, passing her teammate a napkin from the stack she’s been hoarding. Hinata giggled sweetly, glad the attention was off of her.
Sasuke thought he could get used to this. Even if he didn’t add much of anything to the conversations and he disliked barbecue and Choji’s poor table manners, it was a welcome event in his otherwise empty life.
If it weren’t for Naruto bumming meals from Kakashi at Ichiraku’s ramen stall and Sakura dragging the Uchiha along, he didn’t think they would’ve had any bonding or interaction outside of missions. Kakashi was too aloof, and Sakura’s moods changed faster than Sasuke could keep up with. Naruto was the only one that he accepted the presence of, and that was really only because they were both alone and had an understanding underneath their rivalry.
With Ino and Hinata and Choji, things felt easy and lighthearted, supportive even. Ino and Choji had the benefit of being teammates and Hinata was a nice moderator. Sasuke wondered how he would fit into the little group of four.
Ino looked thoughtful for a moment, before she addressed Sasuke, “You’re really good at taijutsu, what if you showed Hinata a few tricks so her dad will ease up?”
It wasn’t a bad idea. He could train with someone whose kekkei genkai rivaled his, no doubt anger the Hyuuga clan head which was a plus, and it would keep the loneliness at bay.
Hinata brought a hand to her face and looked away. If Sasuke was going to teach her, his first step would be to get her to stop shying away from things- even if he had to beat it out of her.
“H-he doesn’t have to waste his time on me, Ino.” and Sasuke knew his answer.
He cleared his throat and crossed his arms, “I’ll do it.”
The shock on the girl’s face made Sasuke well up with irritation. Why would he say no? A chance to practice against a different clan’s jutsu was obviously something no good shinobi would pass up. Besides, it wasn’t like he was mean, just aloof. There was a difference.
The four went back to eating, enjoying each other’s company. The dull roar of the other customers became more distinct to the Uchiha. The table behind them was discussing asking the Aburame clan for guidance on what bugs would help their crops grow this season.
There was a ruckus at the entrance, and Ino craned her neck to see what was going on.
“Oh, hey, the others are here too.”
“Well, if they wanna join us they better get their own food.” Choji asked Sasuke if he was done with his meal, to which he replied by handing Choji the half eaten plate.
“Kiba mentioned he and the others were having a get together.” came the Hyuuga’s soft voice after she finished drinking from her cup.
Sure enough, Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru, and Naruto sat down a few tables over. Naruto spotted the omegas and waved vigorously, “Hey guys!”. His waving arm accidentally knocked into an old woman trying to walk to her table and she fell. Immediately, Shikamaru’s shadow possession jutsu caught her. “That’s what I get for sitting near you.” she spit scathingly at the blonde, and in typical Naruto style, he began arguing with her.
Sasuke sighed in annoyance at having his peace interrupted. “And people say omegas are the dramatic ones.” Ino rolled her eyes, allowing Hinata to pass her a piece of meat.
Choji laughed and Hinata covered her chuckle with the baggy sleeve of her jacket.
Sasuke let himself smile. “Alphas are annoying.” he added.
That sparked Ino’s interest. “I know when Choji and I presented it was a bit awkward for Shikamaru for a while, but he got over it. How are Naruto and Billboard Brow treating you?”
He thought about it as they waited patiently for his response. Kakashi, who masked his scent so that no one knew what he was, didn't really treat him any differently. Sakura had taken to glaring at anyone who she thought was a threat so Sasuke. She’d never walked him home before he presented, now he had to plan how to leave from team practices without her noticing and following after him.
Naruto had been the most unusual change. He picked more fights with him and got upset when Sasuke sparred against anyone that wasn’t him. He used to cheer on anyone who fought the Uchiha, save for missions when it would be inappropriate to do so. Now, he was quiet and watchful. It confused Sasuke.
“They’re different.”
The other three must have picked up on his irritation, because Hinata was the one to speak next. “It wasn’t really a surprise when I presented. I think Father was relieved that I would no longer be the clan heir.”
Ino visibly bristled. All four of the omegas were children of the heads of their respective clans. Ino and Choji had no siblings and came from relatively open minded clans. Sasuke and Hinata, on the other hand, came from traditional clans. The only difference was, Sasuke’s was a one man clan and so he could do as he pleased.
Hinata was alone in her situation.
“Omegas can lead just as well as alphas can!” The blonde girl exclaimed, her loudness caught the attention of a few patrons nearby and she waved to them in apology as Choji snorted beside her.
~~~
“Good grief.” groaned Shikamaru as Kiba burst out laughing. “The omegas are rallying.”
Naruto looked puzzled so Shino explained what Shikamaru had meant. The blonde slurped up his noodles and slammed his chopsticks down. “Whaddaya mean? They wanna fight us?!”
He turned to glare over at their omega friends’ table. “If Sasuke wants to fight, I’ll give him a fight!”
The Nara kid sighed and turned his head to the ceiling. The topic of Sasuke had become such a drag after news of his presentation had spread. Ino had talked his ear off about how excited she was to welcome another person into the ‘Omegas Only Club’ and Naruto and Sakura had been on the prowl for anyone that would dare offend the guy.
There were a lot of people who would offend a guy like that.
Kiba roared with laughter, “Geez Naruto, with how much of the guy’s scent is on you, I’d say you wanna fuck him, not fight him.” The orphan shouted indignantly and punched the dog lover in the face. “I don’t like Sasuke. Believe it!”
Shino adjusted his glasses, ignoring Kiba’s cries for his teammate to defend him.
“Man, what a drag.” Kiba bit Naruto.
It took a few minutes, but eventually the two imbeciles settled down, hunger winning out over their need to squabble. “I believe it is important that you calm down, Naruto. Your teammate being an omega is no reason to behave any differently. Why? Because he was always going to be one.” Shino lectured. Shikamaru thought he’d make a pretty decent teacher at the academy one day. The guy just had a teaching voice.
“Yeah, if I treated Choji or Ino any differently, they’d skin me alive.”
“Same for Hinata, though we all kinda figured she’d end up being one.”
The blonde squatted in his seat, leaning in closely to Shikamaru. Too close for comfort, but the guy never understood boundaries. “But Sasuke hasn’t said anything I’m doing is bothering him.”
The lazy genius rolled his eyes as he leaned back in his chair, distancing himself from Naruto’s ramen covered face. “You really think he would acknowledge his status verbally enough to tell you to lay off? The guy was a sure fire alpha, probably the most alpha out of all of us, and he’s been screwed over by his own biology.” That Sasuke guy was way too prideful.
“I agree with Shikamaru, Sasuke now has to face the fact that he will face challenges in his life that not even his prodigious skills will cover for. What challenges, you may ask? Society has views that do not align with his own.” Naruto thoughtfully turned his attention to the Aburame.
“Pft, the way I see it, it’s a good thing that asshole’s an omega. It levels the playing field for the rest of us.” Kiba barked out another laugh, this time dodging the blonde’s blows. Amidst their flailing, Naruto knocked over Shino’s drink, causing the contents to spill all over the table.
“Sheesh, you guys are troublesome.”
~~~
Sasuke had found himself at the lake again. It was nearly dark out and he was tired from all of the social interaction as well as shopping and training he’d done earlier, but he wanted to sit quietly and enjoy the view of the lake.
The reflective surface of the water showed him what even the lone mirror in his apartment couldn’t. Sometimes he would leave his apartment early to watch the sunrise cast its glow on the calm waters. It felt peaceful, like time stood still and nothing mattered but the light’s reflection on the lake.
No one else came here to stare mindlessly like he did. It was his little treasure, untouched and unbothered by the rush of people.
His neck burned slightly, and he knew he wasn’t alone. Out of his peripheral vision, he noticed the water by the dock reflecting a hideous orange back at him. Naruto’s frustrating face appeared next to him as the alpha sat down.
The pair were silent for a moment, before Naruto unsurprisingly broke it.
“I talked to Shikamaru today.” Yes. Sasuke had been in the same restaurant he had. Of course he’d know that. The idiot.
“He made me realize how much of a jerk I’ve been.” That was surprising. Not even Kakashi had been able to make a lasting impact on the blonde, how had that lazy genin managed it?
The Uchiha finally turned to his teammate. He could tell his gaze was heavy, heavy enough to make the average person tread lightly, but Naruto was no average person. The boy carried on anyway, adjusting his sitting position to face Sasuke entirely.
“You’re just, like it’s hard to figure out how to treat you, ya know? Cuz everyone always says omegas are supposed to be kept safe but you’re the best fighter I’ve ever seen and you’re a ninja and ninjas aren’t ever safe, not really.”
Sasuke sighed and brought his feet out of the water to dry on the dock. “I can still kick your butt.”
The other orphan flashed him a blinding grin and gave him a thumbs up, “And don’t think I’ll go easy on you, just cuz you’re not an alpha like me. I could beat you any day.” Sasuke smiled then, “Yeah, we’ll see” he shoved his hands in his pockets and narrowed his dark eyes teasingly.
The blonde laughed and they fell into comfortable silence, listening to the nature around them.
Sasuke reclined back, letting his back lay against the worn wood of the docks. Naruto plopped down a second later, less gracefully.
“Naruto?”
“Huh?”
“What are we gonna do about the scent bond?”
“Well, I dunno. It’s not like we can just ignore each other til it fades away. We’re a team!”
Sasuke had figured he would say that. “We should get Kakashi to help us look for more options for breaking it.” He blamed his stupid omega body for the way it stung at the idea of severing the scent bond.
Naruto nodded wordlessly beside him and tucked his hands behind his head. “We should also ask Kakashi if he will teach us how to mask our scents.”
“Yeah, Kiba smelled you on me earlier, that’s a good idea.” Great. Now that annoying dog boy probably thought something was going on between the two of them. Kiba was a loudmouth, only slightly less than Naruto, and Sasuke couldn’t stand him.
Sasuke stood, then, and reached out a hand to help the blond up as well. Their hands clasped together and it felt so familiar and yet so foreign.
The sun was setting, and the orange glow of the light painted itself across their bodies. It was like the soft shades of a dying fire with nothing but will keeping it alive.
They were strong and they would get through this.
Together.