Summary: As he lays there dying, begging Naruto not to give up on his dream, he gets the chance to inhale that warmth, for one second, two, before he's losing consciousness.
(He doesn't remember it when he wakes up, his team surrounding him, but Naruto's scent of home, warmth, protection, carried the faintest traces of smoke. A spark that would light his entire scent into a raging inferno.)
Pairings: Sasuke/Naruto Pre-Slash; A/B/O Canon!Verse
idk man
Scent
Sasuke fell apart a long time ago.
He fell apart when he watched his beloved older brother slaughter his entire clan. He fell apart when none of the adults around him cared enough to make sure he was okay. He fell apart when no one looked deep enough to see him suffering.
He presents as an omega two weeks before his entire world changed. His mother isn't surprised, smiles at him with a proud grin as she tells him that he's kind and loyal and strong. Like she is.
His father already has an alpha heir, so Sasuke doesn't get more than a glance in acknowledgement from him.
(Itachi smelled like calm waters.
The older he got, the more his scent shifted into poison. The water no longer smelling of a fresh mountain stream, but rather more like a gaseous pool of acidic steam that rests atop a volcano.)
Sasuke had so desperately wanted to be an alpha, like Itachi, that he had thrown a tantrum that would've been told for years afterwards. Instead, Sasuke is still adjusting to his nature as he scrubs at the blood-stained floor of his home.
Omegas aren't weaker than alphas; that thought has long since passed with omegas like Uchiha Madara and the Fourth Hokage gracing the pages of their history lessons. They are biologically different however; more wired to family units, less territory oriented and more aligned to protection of those they are loyal to.
It's what messes Sasuke up so much: he's an omega that held everything for a short moment before it was taken from him. He has no family to care for, no connections to thrive on. He's a young omega with nothing to keep him tethered.
He falls apart quickly and without hesitation.
Kakashi smells like pain. It's one of the first things Sasuke notices about his new sensei. He's an omega also, but there's a constant scent of lingering alpha around him that makes Sasuke question his assumptions.
Kakashi smells like wet fur and burning guilt.
Kakashi doesn't act like any sensei Sasuke has ever seen; doesn't train them like other senseis, and it breaks Sasuke Just a little more.
He is once more denied the connections he's trying so very hard to pretend he doesn't need. Team 7 is not a family.
Sakura smells like the earth. Her scent herbal and calm like the beta she is.
Naruto, however, still hasn't presented by the time they leave on their first C-rank mission. He's an anomaly. People present at different ages, nothing is quite concrete behind it, but to be over the age of ten and still not show any signs whatsoever is almost unheard of.
By then time they get back from Wave, Naruto has presented as an alpha and Sasuke feels shattered.
He tells Naruto his body moved on its own, that he really had no intention of sacrificing himself for his blond teammate. The fact remains that as he's collapsing, as he's realizing for the last time that he's dying, he smells the shift from nothing to perfection that the air around him holds.
He's in Naruto's arms, confessing his failure, his inability to stay alive long enough to kill Itachi, when the shift happens around him.
The scent is almost indescribable. It's warm, far warmer than Sasuke has smelled in years. It reminds him of home in a way he never thought he'd find again.
As he lays there dying, begging Naruto not to give up on his dream, he gets the chance to inhale that warmth, for one second, two, before he's losing consciousness.
(He doesn't remember it when he wakes up, his team surrounding him, but Naruto's scent of home, warmth, protection, carried the faintest traces of smoke. A spark that would light his entire scent into a raging inferno.)
Sasuke doesn't do much with his new discovery. Naruto is excited of course, his brash attitude and excited voice letting everyone within miles know how excited he is to finally present.
Sakura lets his attitude infect her a bit, playing along and answering Naruto's question on what he smells like to her.
"Kind of like a garden? There's definitely aspects of some type of plant. Also maybe like a rainy day?"
Rain in the spring. The sun peaking out from behind light gray clouds. The fresh dew clinging to his mother's tomato plants. The feelings of peace, tranquility.
"Really?! That's not very exciting," Naruto pouts.
Sasuke says nothing.
("Sasuke smells like fire," Sakura argues, glaring at Naruto. "Like a campfire after a successful mission."
Naruto's eyes narrow, his brow scrunched up in concentration. "Really? I don't know, he's smells like a storm to me."
"What?" Sakura asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Like a bad storm, with winds and sideways rain."
Sakura rolls her eyes at him, shaking her head and walking faster so she's beside the subject of their conversation instead of hanging back towards the rear with Naruto.
Naruto stares at Sasuke's back, letting the wind pick up his scent.
Like lightning striking a tree and setting it ablaze.)
kakashi smells weird to sasuke because he carries obito's scent with him everywhere because of the sharingan eye. sasuke can only smell kyyubi's scent when naruto uses the nine tails' chakra. sakura smells like herbs AND flowers, but sasuke isn't that concerned with that detail. (ino finds it interesting tho). madara and minato are both omegas because i say so. itachi's scent is shifting because his disease is getting worse, affecting his scent.