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One: Naruto
At fourteen, Naruto understood that his six thin, scarred lines weren’t an appealing Omega feature.
He had them on his face since birth, three on each side like a fox, a remnant of the old days where humans had more notorious characteristics of their animalistic instincts. For Naruto, it had been like one in a million possibilities in the genetic lottery, dictating even just right after birth that he would be either Alpha or Omega, so it wasn’t like he could hide them easily from the world.
His mom loved them, though, still kissing him three times on each cheek to welcome him home. And his dad, when Naruto was little, more often than not took a marker to draw six lines on his own face.
But also, as a little child, the six whiskers were a detail that prompted other children to lift their finger and point it out to him, Naruto being the subject of too loud jokes. When that happened, every time, Naruto just crossed his arms over his chest, chin up, made faces and remembered his mom’s kisses and his dad’s silly acts, so those treatments from other children didn’t hurt so much.
However, after he presented as an Omega, it was the adults who murmured things while taking side glances at him.
No one wants a scarred Omega, they said.
Poor thing; he would never find an Alpha. Aren’t his parents worried?, they continued murmuring.
So, at fourteen, they treated him differently from other freshly Omegas—other pretty girls and boys that fit better in the standards of what an Omega should be. Some treated him as if he were doomed to a tragic destiny, the star-crossed and ill-fated lover that no one would want. Just because of his skin marks (and his loud laughs, his strength, and his rebuttals, and for never be too silent).
It was biology, according to most people. The fact that he wasn’t good enough. That he was too flawed.
Alphas were usually more aggressive and stronger, wanting to provide and protect and never fail at anything. Omegas, on the other hand, were docile and too calm, and their purpose was to nurture and carry a child at least once in their life. They were physically weak without an Alpha. A fragile thing that could break if they weren’t in the strong hands of someone else.
But Naruto was strong by himself alone. He might become The Strongest. He liked his sports clubs; he was already a little bit taller than others from his generation. He was taller than Kiba, an Alpha. He was the same height as Shikamaru, a Beta.
So, he would never be fragile—and never too calm or silent. He would always speak his mind—and if it also made him the ugliest, then that was fine by him. He couldn’t care less about never being the prettiest.
He decided right then and there that he needed to harden his heart. Two reasons, or rather rules; first one, no Alpha allowed if most of them only care about appearances and social standards (apparently only thinking with their dick); and he didn’t need one, really. And second, what if someone reached his heart only to shred it into pieces? So, no hurting his heart by any means. No romance.
He would even die a virgin if that was how things needed to happen.
Mark his words.
.
As soon as Naruto turned fifteen, Sasuke Uchiha moved to his neighborhood, an odd time to change cities but at the perfect time for the opening ceremony for the second school semester. (Naruto scrunched his nose at the view of all the Omegas looking with heart-eyes at the new student.) Next week, the teen Alpha was in almost all his classes. One month later, he had been the one who touched Naruto so often, like no one ever had before (although not like that, mind you.)
Those touches were just brief occurrences, barely holding a real sense of closeness—coincidentally, many times. Aggressive, a lot of them.
They were either because the space was too small for both of them, so Sasuke apparently felt the urge to push Naruto on one shoulder to shove him hard away, so Naruto, never too calm, asked him what his big problem was. Next, they were breathing on each other's faces.
Other times it was because they were sparring because Sasuke, from all the clubs their school had, joined the same Combat one as Naruto, and Naruto ended up on top of him, trying to overpower his opponent the way he had seen in some videos posted on YouTube, straddling Sasuke’s stomach, wanting to make him eat dirt.
Other occasions weren’t so aggressive. Sometimes it was just Naruto reaching over Sasuke for a book or to close a window, and his chest grazed the other’s back or arms. Just brief occurrences.
.
Several months later, still fifteen, his mom’s new friend, Mikoto-san (Sasuke’s mom), opened a bakery in town, and as soon as she got permission from his parents to have Naruto as a part-time teenager during the spring break, she put him in a uniform and taught him how to help her with things.
Sasuke was sometimes there too. No, actually, Sasuke started to be there every time, at every single Naruto’s shift. He was there during his few hours in the afternoon and the few hours in the morning on some Saturdays.
Certainly, it wasn’t like it must be considered something bad—just a son helping his mother and her cozy and small shop, just three tables inside with the most perfect but most narrow bar counter. The thing was that, well, the space shared was too small for both of them too, and their arms sometimes brushed, their backs touched, or their shoulders were pressed when one passed beside the other.
This time, however, Sasuke didn’t shove him hard away anymore, and it even continued like that outside Naruto's part-time job. Like in their graduation ceremony, side by side, or the school field trip of the new school year.
But that was good. Naruto had been getting tired of being pushed before.
.
When Naruto turned sixteen, Sasuke started to hand out to him a box full of cookies, right after his shift and once a week at least, probably the ones that were about to expire, and every time it happened, Naruto had been so close to tell Sasuke one joke about it, so funny in his blond mind at best: ask if Sasuke didn’t know that he shouldn’t bring treats like that to an Omega because Naruto might think that Sasuke, an Alpha, was courting him. Heh.
Mentally, the blond boy laughed so hard while trying to give back a fake polite thanks. (Mikoto-san was always near, too much risk behaving graceless. Naruto didn’t want her to tell his mom anything that could earn him a scold.)
But, well, although Naruto wouldn’t particularly care if a joke like that could end up making Sasuke feel uncomfortable, it was true that the slightly taller boy was the son of Mikoto-san and Naruto liked his seasonal part-time jobs.
So, whatever, he just sat at one of the tables inside the local bakery, took a bite from one cookie, and then ate the rest six or eight in front of the other teen until somehow the Uchiha was pleased enough—or bored enough—to turn around on his heels and walk away.
(Naruto was sure that all this was about vigilance, Uchiha making sure that he wouldn’t throw the precious cookies of his mommy to the nearest trash can).
(Naruto would never, even if they were really expired.) (Not that they ever tasted bad, though.)
.
Two months later, he was invited to the birthday party of a decrepit old man who sometimes didn’t even remember that his name was Madara.
It was weird that Naruto was there, obviously, but a few days before Sasuke had handed him another cookie box with an invitation printed, and Naruto was sure it was designed by Mikoto-san's creative mind, so how could he say no?
Throughout the whole event, Sasuke didn’t leave his side. Ever.
(This time Naruto was absolutely-not-a-single-fucking-doubt sure that it was all about vigilance, the young Alpha making sure that Naruto wouldn’t steal anything from the house.)
(What a prick. Naruto was a very good boy, mind you.)
Anyway, as a little vengeance, just before he was about to leave and waited for his dad’s car to arrive, Naruto closed their distance, too aware of the artificial citrus odor of his own blockers reaching Sasuke’s nostrils if the instant frown on the Alpha’s forehead was an indication of anything, and then Naruto whispered five words, one incredible statement that surely would take the Alpha down a peg, making it clear that Naruto absolutely didn’t need an Alpha at his side. (Less trying to steal something.)
“My house is bigger, y’know?”
(But he gave Sasuke a playful jab, reflexively, spontaneously.)
.
At the edge of sixteen, Naruto for the first time tried to conceal his six marked lines, three on each side of his face like a fox, marred forever on his skin.
Sun Kissing N°1 was the name of the cosmetic tone.
He held his head up and started to apply the fluid product, following the instructions of a YouTube tutorial with his clean and bare fingertips, finishing with the soft brush that was included inside the same packaging.
He failed spectacularly. Perhaps the tone he needed to buy was Sun Kissing N°3 because after applying N°1, his face didn’t match his neck at all. He looked too pale, as if the sun wasn’t kissing him properly.
He pouted, but there were other products inside the little box he bought, and after further inspection, he found orange and rouge eyeshadows, and he took his phone to type a few key words, finding tens of tutorials on how to apply the colors.
This time he was successful.
The orange shade suited his natural sun-kissed skin perfectly, and he discovered that he had an innate talent with the eye brushes and eyeliners—he had asked his lovely mom to borrow her semi-professional set of makeup—and so, the next day, he went to classes with his head up, ready to give tons of shit to whatever rude comment he could get, to those side glances he still received time to time since he was fourteen.
However, he couldn’t even focus on anyone and snarled at them before Uchiha Sasuke was in front of him.
The Alpha kept looking at Naruto in silence, and the blond felt for the first time an indescribable anxiety. Would he need to punch Sasuke if the boy said something mean? But, well, that would be sad, no? Lately, Naruto had been thinking that Sasuke was… nice enough. Too nice, actually. His friend. And he had been among the few who had never made the slightest hurtful point about his appearance.
Abruptly, Sasuke lifted both of his arms and held Naruto’s head between his hands.
Instinctively, of course, Naruto tried to pull apart, but Sasuke didn’t let him.
“What?!” The blond Omega shook his head. What on earth was going on?
“Naruto,” said the Alpha then, a deep voice drawing the total attention of Naruto back to him.
“Sasuke,” he said, mimicking the same voice tone.
Naruto’s belly did some funny flips, especially when Sasuke didn’t stop to hold his face and started to rub his thumbs over his cheeks.
And right there, he knew that Sasuke was about to say something important. So important that Naruto wanted to whine and press himself into those hands. It must be important; Naruto could tell just from the bright in Sasuke’s dark irises, the pupils quivering, tracing the orange shapes above Naruto’s eyes, his hands holding a little harder on each cheek.
(Naruto became too conscious of himself. Conscious that Sasuke’s hands were directly touching the skin of his face. Conscious that Sasuke didn’t have the comforting scent of unripe warmth anymore. His scent of chaste youth was fading slowly to give way to maturing.)
Then Sasuke’s eyes, slowly, dropped down a few centimeters where his pale hands were holding the Omega’s head, where his thumbs still made so soft circles over the thin scars, six in total, three on each side like a fox.
(Naruto sucked a breath. Maybe he needed to stick to Sun Kissing N°1. Maybe Sasuke didn’t notice his breath, too busy being suddenly clingy.)
However, Sasuke couldn’t say the important thing he was about to say.
“Geez. Would the lovely-dovey stupids step aside just a little bit, please? Some of us don’t want to remember that other people are happy while their ex-girlfriend gives them Chlamydia.”
It was Kiba.
“Shit, Kiba, you dog.” That was Shikamaru. “What a drag…”
The warmth of the Alpha’s hands left Naruto, and the change in Sasuke’s expression was immediately visible for Naruto. He was utterly offended by the… interruption? But instead of exploding as Mikoto-san told Naruto that his dear baby boy used to do in middle school, Sasuke merely crossed his arm, nodding towards the other two boys while giving Kiba enough space to open his locker.
“Thanks…” said Kiba, a little baffled that Uchiha remained in silence, making no usual remark for being called out.
“Oh, you look really nice, Naruto,” said Shikamaru, actually unimpressed and leaning over his own locker. “Are you going on a date, finally?"
Naruto felt a little shy, scratching his right cheek with one finger at Shikamaru’s words.
“He he, thanks!” he answered, ignoring his friend’s actual question, his belly feeling normal again.
And as usual, Sasuke turned around on his heels and walked away, and Naruto from now on kept painting his eyelids only on special occasions.
.
One week later, Sasuke approached him.
“Take this,” he practically commanded.
Naruto’s eyebrows frowned, looking down at the black hoodie being offered to him. Yeah, it was a little cold there on the school rooftop, but Naruto has his own hoodie on his desk.
It wasn’t a big deal, really.
“No, thanks.”
“Take it,” repeated Sasuke, shoving the hoodie into Naruto’s chest. “It’s how things must be.”
This obviously prompted a reaction from Naruto. “As in, ‘big Alpha wolf helping hopeless little Omega’, or what?”
“As in, this is warm, and you need it. Basic logic, idiot.”
Fine, he would take it.
And for the rest of the year, Naruto didn’t give it back (sue him, he did completely take it, all of it), and Sasuke never asked for it back anyway.
And on sunny days, Naruto still left it hanging on the headboard of his bed, just in case some nights were too cold. Or to sniff on it a tiny little bit when his suppressants didn’t stop him from feeling some uncomfortable cramps.
(A few months later, sometimes he remembered its original smell of dark wood and mint, now lost after several uses.) (Sometimes he remembered Sasuke’s hands on his cheeks too, and the cookies that Sasuke stopped giving him.)
.
As soon as Naruto was seventeen, he didn’t see Sasuke as often as before. They were close friends, that had been something inevitable, but it felt like there were fewer chances to meet because of studies and club activities—Sasuke now in some political shitclub.
Apparently, the young Alpha always had his nose buried in books, taking extra classes and making a lot of to-do lists for everything. All this, especially, when the exam period approached, aiming to become a successful businessman or something.
But he texted Naruto every day, sent him memes, random photos, links to videos—just the ones Naruto might be interested in—and oddly asked him on Thursdays what he'd do on weekends, even if there wasn’t a logical reason to be interested in Naruto's erratic agenda if Sasuke’s nose would still be buried in books.
Sometimes Naruto replied with,
‘going to visit shika’.
And Sasuke immediately sent back a,
‘Okay. He’s a Beta, right?’
At which Naruto, maliciously, waited a few seconds before responding,
‘daaah. obvsly yes. u know that!’
He would never, ever spare some of his precious time alone with an Alpha.
Never.
Sasuke, somehow, was an exception: But will crash at yours for a while, he sent, falling back on the bed while holding the phone above his face and feeling a huge urge to text all Sasuke's messages back.
He didn’t notice the smile pulling up on his lip’s corners when he looked at his phone and saw that the Alpha was writing something for him, leaving aside his books and his to-do lists for Naruto.
Lately, his thumbs had been ready to type as soon as Sasuke was online, snatching it up so fast as soon as his phone pinged.
.
So, many months later, at the edge of seventeen and finally admitting that Sasuke was his best friend, Naruto knew that Sasuke was a little bit difficult but he was an Alpha with honor.
He didn’t do things just because.
He still had his nose buried into books because he needed to be a successful student and be prepared for his next-year university classes so he could buy a house bigger than Naruto’s, whatever that meant, and he stopped giving him cookies a long time ago but instead helped Naruto with his homework and his MMA training and everything else when he could.
So, yeah, a respectable young Alpha, but one day, walking out from the festival school, eyes painted for the special day, there was no way from Naruto’s perspective that said respectable Alpha wasn’t harassing two Omega girls, probably two or three years their junior.
“…going to crush your little, ugly head, am I clear enough?”
“Sasuke,” he breathed as soon as he reached them. One of the girls seemed to be about to cry, but Naruto narrowed his vision to Sasuke, gripping him from his shirt and pulling him somewhere else.
This couldn’t be happening.
Not logical at all, Naruto thought about people reaching his heart only to shred it into pieces.
Why would Sasuke bully others? Was he always like that? A delinquent? Was it funny for him, like the little kids who pointed their fingers at Naruto’s face? Naruto only released him when they got to an empty corner.
“What the hell, Sasuke? What’s all that about? ‘Crush your head’? I thought you were more mature than that.”
Nicer, like a friend I could rely on forever.
Sasuke stopped looking at him, notably feeling ashamed. Then it hit Naruto that his friend didn’t do things just because.
That girl, the one who was about to cry, perhaps…
“Unless, well, you could have your reasons, I guess… Like, maybe, she’s dating someone you like or something?”
This made Sasuke snap, eyes back at Naruto again. “Are you fucking serious? Someone I like, you say?”
For a really brief moment, Naruto could swear that he smelled Sasuke’s scent over his blockers, a little sour making Naruto want to narrow their small gap, tell his friend to calm down, and make everything comfortable as always.
But he was frozen, and Sasuke was the one who closed their little distance, face-to-face and so little space.
“You really want to know who I have liked since forever? Giving him gifts? Sharing significant moments?”
Naruto's breath halted, realizing right then and there that there was only one answer he wanted to hear, one acceptable affirmation. Yet he lifted one arm, placing his right hand over his face, four fingers splayed out on his left cheek, his thumb on the other side, the whole palm covering his nose and mouth.
Why was he doing that? So Sasuke couldn’t kiss him? Or because he felt how hard he was blushing, his cheeks unbearable burning up? And also, what about how perfect Sasuke’s bone structure was? Oval shape and nicely carved nose. Not to mention how clear his skin looked this close, and his eyes... It was so unfair that Naruto could punch him. And his smell? This close there was a nice fragrance of dark wood and mint, barely perceptible, and behind it wasn’t the sour trail anymore, just a perfect spicy scent.
It all came crashing down on Naruto that he was so close to kiss perfection. That he wanted to kiss Sasuke, get closer and bury his nose in the Alpha's neck.
Yet he didn’t move, and he couldn’t stop feeling trapped into the Alpha’s eyes now. Intense and beautiful. Naruto slowly lowered his hand, not so concerned about the proximity of their bodies now. Fingertips twitched to touch Sasuke’s arms, grip his shoulders, pull him closer.
Sasuke, however, stopped looking at his eyes, lowering his gaze at some empty point between both their chests.
“Alright,” Sasuke only said, so softly that Naruto only heard it because it practically hit his face.
And as in many other moments before, Sasuke turned around on his heels and walked away.
.
Two: Sasuke
At seventeen, Sasuke Uchiha already knew who his soulmate was.
All he wanted was to bury his nose in golden hair and then move down and breathe directly from Naruto’s neck. To be so close to him that Sasuke could feel the Omega’s pulse against his cheekbone and the soft skin of his scent gland.
But Sasuke has been an idiot for two years and a half.
At first, wasting time with Naruto had been just fine. Sure, back then, Naruto was a pest—the idiot always touching him, ignorant of what personal space meant—but he wasn't too terrible. He never kissed the ground that Sasuke passed through in school. In fact, he’d done the opposite, keeping his head up and never giving away the slightest control just because Sasuke was an Alpha. (It seemed that he didn't even find Sasuke attractive at all.)
Then, just before their winter break, something fundamental changed (inside Sasuke). Naruto never smelled wrong. Like, Sasuke really liked his smell, such as the brief, citrusy wave he could catch sometimes after training, or even the aroma of his commercial choice of blockers. It took Sasuke to sun-filled relaxed days, like a well deserved summer vacation.
Sasuke started to crave closeness, and he gripped the shoulder traps of his backpack every time.
His big brother, of course, saw through him and merciless pointed out Sasuke’s unusual interest in someone else. ‘It sparks my interest, Otouto, that you changed your shift schedule without even consulting Mother. May I know why?’
Yeah, so what? Fuck off, normal teen stuff. Hadn't Shisui been asking him and asking him again when they'd meet a 'special someone'? Or just a friend, at least. And anyhow, he was just a son helping his mother and her bakery shop, so what?
Then it was Shisui who spoke his mind, 24-year-old adult sticking his nose in none of his business, and for all practical purposes, his cousin just gave him unsolicited advice. Romantic unsolicited advice; it didn’t matter that Sasuke repeatedly told him ‘Go away’.
‘You need to give him gifts, basic mating courting’, Shisui said, in an intellectual voice as the ones of nature TV documentaries, as if Sasuke were the most stupid man on earth who didn’t know the basics. (‘But I don’t want a mate’, Sasuke balked, annoyed.)
So, one box full of cookies was enough, according to his cousin. (His brother ‘politely’ laughed behind their backs.)
It took literally months for Sasuke to gather the courage, but alright, he could have a boyfriend, why not? So one box full of cookies, even though Sasuke didn’t scent the box for… reasons. (How embarrassing, did Alpha really do that?)
But Naruto didn’t do anything that the other Omega teens usually do, and he just ate the cookies. All of them. No face blushing, no sweet words as thanks.
Another box full of cookies and he didn’t greet Sasuke with a hug; he never gave him a small peck on the cheek—even if the two centimeters of height difference between them made it such an easy task.
A third box full of cookies and he never petted Sasuke. He never pushed his fingers through dark hair to knead Sasuke’s skull.
Whatever, he asked Shisui again, this time feeling like the most stupid man on earth who didn’t know about basic courting, but, arguably, the next step was more logical and easier.
‘Show more of your interest in him. Invite him to important places or events, make him feel you could share significant moments with him’. (This time, Itachi didn’t laugh behind their backs, he was beside Shisui, nodding to everything his cousin was saying.)
The next ‘important thing’ was the birthday party of the decrepit patriarch of Sasuke’s family, who sometimes didn’t even remember that his name was Madara.
That went pretty well. Naruto accepted his invitation and during the whole gathering he didn’t leave Sasuke’s side. But the final conclusion, with Naruto’s goodbye words, was that it seemed that he had no other choice but to be strong and richer in order to show Naruto that he could provide as a worthy Alpha. Have a really big house. Bigger than Naruto’s parents.
But that would take some time, Shisui had said it too. ‘And although I’m not sure why he did say that, it's true that Omegas like the security of their potential lover planning a good future...'
He could do that, plan a good future, get better grades than Itachi and go to the same university as him. Still, Sasuke had been at a loss. Practically a whole year passed and the only thing that Sasuke apparently could do was crave closeness.
With other Omegas, people could show strength and value as a mate in easier ways, but Sasuke knew that Naruto could break limbs or even throw a person away like a doll. He could take care of himself, he didn’t need Sasuke to help him hold his hand.
They just kept brushing their arms and backs, pressing shoulders when one passed beside the other or when they walked side by side. Sometimes, good times, Naruto placed his chin on Sasuke’s shoulder, and during other moments, it was Naruto’s cheek against it, sleepy, resting.
It was cute. Naruto was really cute, sometimes to an unbearable extent to Sasuke’s soul, but Shisui didn’t have more advice for him, and it was Itachi, in his ‘protect my little brother’ mode, who told him that perhaps he needed to look somewhere else.
Perhaps, sometimes, little things weren’t enough. Not enough for Sasuke to be certain that Naruto wanted him back. So the cookie boxes, which had become kind of habit, stopped. And no more thinking that Naruto was cute. (The cutest.)
…until that day when Naruto applied colors to his already breathtaking eyes.
Sasuke was aware that his own eyes were wide and shocked, and fuck, Naruto looked good. Unfairly good. The prettiest. Orange shade in his eyes was simply beautiful.
He took Naruto’s face between his hands and absorbed every single curve, angle and freckle. He wanted to kiss his whiskers, six marked lines, three on each side of Naruto’s face like a fox, framing his face in such a lovely way.
Then, crawling his way from the depths of his chest to the tip of his tongue, one simple line (‘You’re so beautiful’) wanted to slip through Sasuke’s lips (as well as ‘I like you’ and ‘Let’s go on a date’).
He didn’t know if Shikamaru and Kiba were a salvation or a nuisance when they interrupted the moment, but, being honest with himself, Sasuke couldn’t care less about unrequited love.
Yes, at seventeen, Uchiha Sasuke already knew who his soulmate was, and he liked his company, his playful jabs, the fragrance of sun-filled days… So one week later, he approached Naruto and gave him his hoodie. Perhaps scenting was a big thing in all the social perception between Alpha and Omegas, but he could be damned if he let Naruto feel uncomfortable in the cold.
No, that wouldn’t do. Naruto was also his friend. His really dear friend.
.
When Sasuke just turned eighteen and it was clear that nothing would stop him from being admitted into the same University that his brother attended, he saw two girls, one almost an exact copy of the other—both of them the perfect stereotype of the ideal societal Omega image—standing outside his school building.
They were from another school, the pattern of their skirts was gray instead of dark blue.
“Oh, my! Can’t believe it’s him! Is he really an Omega? See his face? No way!”
“No way!” repeated the other girl, no thoughts of her own inside her mind. Perhaps she will eventually grow up. Figure things out better.
Somehow, Sasuke halted to hear them. A frown appeared on his face.
“He can put on all the makeup he wants, but he still looks like an animal,” continued the first girl. “No Alpha with honor would date such abomina—“
“Fuck off,” Sasuke practically snarled, realizing by following the direction of their gazes that they were talking about Naruto.
“Oh, Sasuke-kun! How lucky me! I wanted to see you~”
“Fuck off,” he repeated again, and this time the two girls noticed his immense irritation and harsh command.
“B-but… S-Sasuke-kun, why are—”
He actually didn’t have the need to lean into the first girl's personal space to make his following threat clear, but he did it anyway, for unquestionable emphasis. “You say another thing about him, and I swear, as soon as I know it, I’m going to crush your little, ugly head. Am I clear enough?”
“Sasuke.”
He immediately froze, but before he could even turn around and see Naruto, he felt being dragged by a hard hold on his shirt. Naruto only released him when they got to an empty corner.
“What the hell, Sasuke? What was that about? ‘Crush your head’? I thought you were more mature than that.”
That indictment hit right into his ego, but Naruto was never too calm or silent; he would always speak his mind. So he stopped looking at Naruto, notably feeling ashamed, and tried to find the correct words to say.
Nothing came to mind. Nothing but Sasuke’s urge to protect him from really stupid people and ill comments. ‘But he’s strong’, his mind also supplied. ‘He doesn’t need your ‘protect my Omega’ mode. He could defend himself; he doesn’t need you following him around’.
After a silence, Naruto started to talk again. “Unless, well, you could have your reasons, I guess… Like, maybe, she’s dating someone you like or something?”
This made Sasuke snap, eyes back at Naruto again. It was a little nerve-wracking. “Are you fucking serious? Someone I like, you say?” Then he instantly frowned, closing their distance, so now he could be as clear as possible as ever before. “You really want to know who I have liked since forever? Giving him gifts? Sharing significant moments?”
But then he noticed beautiful blue eyes wide open and a hand over a pretty nose and lips.
Right, Sasuke had been the stupid one. Bad at courting, doing things halfway.
“Alright,” he said, so neither of them would get really hurt.
And he won’t say anything else. He walked away.
.
Three: Them
He just walked a few meters before Naruto gripped his forearm.
"What do you want?”
“Just one rule… No, two rules, I have two rules,” Naruto said and it did sound cryptic enough.
“What?” Sasuke replied, and tried to turn around, tried to see Naruto better.
The other didn’t let him, holding him tighter, probably thinking Sasuke wanted to pull away.
“Naruto—”
“Don’t go away,” the blond Omega practically demanded, but Sasuke had never wanted to leave Naruto and will never want to do so. He just needed to calm down, just for now.
The young Alpha knew that Naruto was dense, but even he could understand Sasuke’s little confession back there.
“It’s alright, Naruto,” he repeated, slowly turning around while placing his hand on Naruto’s, taking his grip off his arm but not letting go of Naruto’s hand. “It was nothing.”
Then his stomach twisted with how blue eyes seemed to be so fixed on him.
“Two rules,” Naruto said again, neither letting go of Sasuke’s hand, tightening their hold. “But one of them is more important, I guess. And the other's kinda silly, honestly. Like, I’m not seriously thinking of dying virgin, y’know? And you don’t look like an Alpha who only thinks with his dick, right? Oh, holding your hand is really nice, uh?” He kept talking, even to Sasuke’s stupefied face. “So, no hurting my heart by any means. That’s the important one—the important rule, I mean. The other is, no, it was, ‘no Alpha allowed’, but, well…”
Then, the Alpha’s brain seemed to short-circuit when Naruto lifted both their intertwined hands and softly moved them, cupping the back of Sasuke’s, placing it on a scarred but pretty cheek, blushing face, and pinning Sasuke’s world down with one bright, sincere gaze.
“D-do you like my whiskers?”
“What?” he responded, just a little stupid, but there was a vibrating bundle of anticipation inside his chest.
“My whiskers, idiot,” Naruto said, and there was a minuscule frown on his face.
“What’s wrong with your whiskers?” Sasuke needed to ask because he couldn’t connect the dots between Naruto’s tender touch (and his bright eyes, and that apparently Sasuke was an ‘allowed Alpha’, and the bundle of anticipation growing with each breath) and Naruto’s whiskers. “They’re cute. Beautiful, actually.”
Those were the correct words to say because Naruto immediately smiled, real big, so Sasuke had no choice but to keep confessing.
“You’re so beautiful.”
“Am I?”
“Yeah, I like you,” Sasuke said, but he couldn’t mention anything about a date before Naruto scooted closer to him.
“Like me, or really really like me?” Naruto tried to ask as normal as possible, but he actually sounded so hopeful.
“Yes.”
”Yes?”
“Yes, I like-like you. I really really like you, Naruto.”
It felt like they had all the time in the world, with Naruto beaming now and looking at Sasuke like he was the most special painting in the world. Sasuke, for his part, wanted the whole world to know that Naruto belonged solely to him, that the Omega would finally let him.
“Sooo, shall we go on a date, now that you love me so much you could die?” Naruto asked tenderly, yet with an obvious teasing in his voice.
“So you won’t die a virgin?"
“HA-HA. I just asked for one date, perv.”
Regardless of the offensive term, Naruto pulled him closer, lips instinctively finding each other, and for a first kiss, their mouths were relaxed and gentle, soft and nearly worshipful.
And even if Naruto tasted like his mouthwash-flavored bubblegum, it was a kiss that Sasuke would cherish for the rest of his damn life.
(He also kissed Naruto’s cheeks. Again and again.)