Author's note: This time I didn't make you wait too long for the final part! I feel ridiculously proud of myself right now, but that might be the sleep deprivation talking.

Thanks to the following reviewers: ankwhat; sasunaru1214; 666snoopy; leighd1314; Nellana; Richon; Lya; SehunsBae37

Warnings: More aggression and some minor violence courtesy of Sasuke; dual pov

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto owns it.

I hope you'll like this last part!

Part 2

Shit!

Kakashi raised his hands and steadied himself, bracing for Sasuke's attack. Sasuke had no weapons, but his enraged state would make him enough of a challenge even for Kakashi now. He couldn't exactly throw Sasuke off; he would need to find a way to subdue him without either of them getting too hurt. Otherwise that was going to be fun explaining that to the Hokage.

Right before Sasuke could try to throw him down on the ground, however, someone else slammed straight into Sasuke's side, knocking him off course. Sasuke snarled, grabbing the offender, but then Naruto – because of course it was Naruto, damn it! – slammed him heavily down against the ground, restraining him by his shoulders.

"What the hell is wrong with you, you bastard!" Naruto snapped and clamped his legs down around Sasuke's, pinning him. "Why would you attack Kaka-sensei, you dick?!"

"Naruto, get away from him right now," Kakashi said tersely and went to grab Naruto, consequences be damned, but to his utter astonishment Sasuke actually calmed down.

Stumped, Kakashi watched how Sasuke slowly relaxed, his aggressiveness bleeding out of him. He laid there calmly underneath Naruto now, his gaze focused on Naruto's face. Kakashi expected this to be a trick at first, Sasuke waiting until Naruto let his guard down to reverse their positions or worse, actually attack him, but Sasuke made no move at all to throw Naruto off him.

"Kakashi-sensei, what just happened?" Sakura asked in a trembling voice. She had her hands curled up in fists in front of her, but her back was hunched and she had paled significantly.

"I'm not entirely sure," he said slowly and took a couple of measured steps backwards, more towards Sakura.

Sasuke's eyes – still displaying the Sharingan – snapped to him immediately, but while he tracked Kakashi's movements, he still remained lying there. It was as if the previous display of aggression hadn't occurred at all and the sudden switch in behaviour threw Kakashi off a bit.

"Why did the bastard try to attack you?" Naruto asked, frowning. He sat up a bit straighter now, still pinning Sasuke down to the ground with his legs, but he cautiously removed his hands, no longer restraining the budding Alpha by his shoulders.

Sasuke's gaze shifted back to him and he tilted his head slightly to the left.

"Stop staring at me, you're creeping me out, dude," Naruto muttered, but seemed unwilling to let Sasuke go for now; his eyes travelling back and forth between Sasuke and Kakashi.

No doubt he thought that the moment he got up Sasuke would try to launch another attack in Kakashi's direction, which honestly was still possible. Kakashi wasn't really sure how he felt about one of his students using himself as a shield, though. Holder of the Kyuubi or not, it wasn't up to Kakashi's students to act as some kind of shield.

"Considering he's Presenting now, his emotional state isn't exactly … stable," Kakashi said delicately. It had Naruto cocking his head to the right and Sakura frowning, but it was true. People Presenting were rarely actually lucid; it was why they should Present in a space familiar and safe to them. "I assume I did something that pissed him off."

"Like what?" Naruto said bewildered. "He didn't like that you prevented his tent from catching on fire completely?"

"No, it wasn't that," Kakashi murmured and furrowed his eyebrows.

Something about the way Sasuke laid there nagged at him, insisting he should remember why the kid's position seemed so odd compared to not even a minute before. Alpha didn't just calm down like that when they had been thrown into a rage; especially not after having been knocked to the side and away from the person they had tried to attack. Sasuke's ire should have shifted to Naruto instead, trying to beat the shit out of him. That he didn't was … peculiar. A really good thing, of course, because it was never good if two students tried to kill each other, but odd nonetheless especially given the two's shared history.

Or was this because Naruto was an Omega? It was said that Omega had an innate ability to soothe other people, although Naruto didn't seem that very proficient at it yet considering he had managed to piss off some villagers just last week. Naruto hadn't tried to calm down Sasuke on purpose either, so he couldn't be letting out his scent at the moment. All he had wanted to do was prevent his teammate from attacking their sensei.

Still, the end result was this: Sasuke calm and subdued and no longer looking ready to throttle Kakashi or set him on fire. The question then remained: what had set him off in the first place? Kakashi had already been backing away from the tent before Sasuke had tried to set it on fire. He had shot fire in Kakashi's direction before that, yes, but Kakashi considered that one to have been more of a warning, telling Kakashi indirectly that the Alpha had been too close. After that first attack Kakashi had backed away, though, and Sasuke should have been calmer. Instead he had actually grown worse, but why?

What had Kakashi been doing that set off Sasuke in the first place? Initially he had been too close. He had started backing away when realising that while explaining to Sakura and Naruto what was happening. After the attack with the kunai and the shuriken, he had grabbed Sakura and Naruto in order to pull them …

Wait, was that it? Had he triggered Sasuke by touching his teammates? With Naruto as an Omega and Sakura as a Beta, it was possible that Sasuke felt protective over them as an Alpha. If that was the case, as an older Alpha Kakashi had unconsciously set off his protective instincts by talking to the two and trying to pull them away.

Deciding to test his hypothesis, Kakashi told Sakura, "Can you slowly walk towards Sasuke? It's possible he tried to attack me because he feels protective over the both of you."

While that made Sakura instantly brighten up, even starting to blush, Naruto pulled a funny face and crossed his arms.

"I don't need to be protected by the bastard, though," he complained, scowling.

"Naruto, stop being such a dick," Sakura hissed and started walking towards them.

Two things happened at once: Sasuke tensed up and sent a stream of fire in Sakura's direction before he grabbed Naruto by the waist and flipped them over, reversing their position. Kakashi was just in time to pull Sakura out of the flames' range and they were back to Sasuke threatening them, snarling with his Sharingan aglow. Fantastic. So Kakashi's hypothesis wasn't completely right, great.

Naruto was the one on his back this time and his shock lasted for approximately five seconds before he lashed out with his hand, hitting Sasuke in his shoulder. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" he yelped. "You nearly hurt Sakura-chan, you dick!"

Sasuke clearly did not care about that one bit, because he kept snarling lowly; his eyes wild as he took in Kakashi and Sakura while remaining crouched over Naruto.

Naruto – who clearly could do with a bit more self-preservation – was completely unimpressed by Sasuke's aggressive display this time and simply smacked him again, trying to wriggle from underneath him.

"Presenting or not, you're being a huge bastard right now," he complained and went to roll from underneath Sasuke. "And who said you could be on top, huh?"

Sasuke didn't even give him a chance to squirm his way from underneath him, because he simply grabbed Naruto by his arms and held him still; his Sharingan still firmly trained on Kakashi and Sakura.

"Naruto, I think it's best if you don't move right now," Kakashi advised, because by now it had become more than clear that the only one Sasuke was currently feeling protective over was Naruto himself, odd as it may be.

"But I don't want to keep lying here; the ground is cold," Naruto whined and huffed when Sasuke grasped his arms more firmly. "You leave a bruise and I will kick your arse!"

"I don't understand," Sakura said in a small voice. "Why did Sasuke-kun try to attack me?"

Kakashi really didn't want to be the one to tell her, but when had the universe ever considered his wants? "Because it appears that Sasuke is feeling mostly protective over Naruto now."

"I don't need this bastard's protection!"

"But why Naruto?" Sakura whined this time and Kakashi wanted nothing more than to just drop down in a crouch and hide his head between his arms, but that wouldn't be becoming as their sensei.

Still, though, why the hell did he have to be the one dealing with this?

I should have refused the offer of teaching them, he thought sombrely. The Hokage had been so certain Kakashi was the only one capable of handling this particular team and in a fit of clear stupidity Kakashi had agreed. He kind of was regretting that now. He was pretty certain 'dealing with a Presenting student while managing one annoyed one and one distraught, jealous one' wasn't actually in the job description.

"I have no idea why, you should ask Sasuke when he's lucid again," he told Sakura bluntly. Hopefully by then he was already far away and wouldn't have to deal with that particular fallout.

"Sasuke can't stay in the open here," he decided next, ignoring Sakura pouting. "He has to go back to his tent; we don't want to attract any attention."

"Well, tell him to go back to his tent then," Naruto said annoyed, glowering up at Sasuke.

Kakashi cleared his throat, knowing all too well that his next answer wouldn't be received well. "As it currently stands, the only one who might have any sway with him is you, Naruto."

At Naruto's utterly blank stare, he elaborated with a sigh, "Meaning that you're the only one keeping him calm right now, so it's best if you remain with him until he's finished Presenting."

"WHAT!?"

Ah yes, there it was. Outrage from both sides.

"What do you mean, Naruto has to stay with Sasuke-kun?" Sakura demanded, quite upset.

"I'M NOT STAYING WITH THIS BASTARD, ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Naruto screeched meanwhile, kicking with his feet. "WE'RE RIVALS, WHY THE HELL WOULD I STAY WITH HIM?!"

"Yes, but aren't you friends too?" Kakashi pointed out.

That silenced Naruto quickly and while he laid there, contemplating the duality of their friendly rivalry – competitive friendship? – Kakashi turned to Sakura, who seemed to not know whether to start crying or becoming angry.

"We're going to stay at a distance from them until Sasuke is done Presenting," he informed her. "Sasuke has already become too agitated; we don't need to keep setting him off again and again."

"But why does it have to be Naruto?" she asked petulantly as if Kakashi hadn't explained it just a minute earlier.

Did these three ever actually listen to him?

"Because Naruto is the only one keeping him calm right now and I don't want to explain to the doctor or your parents why your teammate burnt your entire face off," he told her. It was blunter than he normally would be, but really how much clearer could he be?

"Naruto, lead Sasuke back to the tent. We'll drop off some food and water at the entrance once he's fully calmed down," Kakashi ordered Naruto next.

"Eugh fine. But the bastard owes me for this!" Naruto huffed and grabbed Sasuke by his wrist. "Come on, back to the tent you go. Try not to set it on fire again; I don't fancy burning up all because you're throwing a hissy fit."

Naruto was definitely not using any of his soothing Omega presence, but Sasuke actually did follow him back to the tent, so he got the job done. Crisis averted for now.

I don't get paid enough for this, Kakashi decided morosely. This team, honestly …

"I don't understand you," Naruto grumbled as he crawled into the tent, firmly ignoring the lingering stench of burnt fabric. "You can cuddle with Sakura-chan and instead you decide to be weird."

Somehow even less talkative than usual – when he wasn't trying to bite Kaka-sensei's face off at least – Sasuke didn't say anything and merely followed him inside.

The tent wasn't that cramped, fortunately, and still had Sasuke's sleeping bag and blankets spread across the ground. The blankets felt ridiculous soft and luxurious, of course, because why wouldn't they? Naruto found himself touching and poking the blankets curiously, feeling ridiculous for being jealous of their softness. His own blanket had become rather scratchy after the many times he had thrown it into the washing machine.

He was startled by Sasuke shuffling past him and he watched guarded how the dark haired boy plopped down on top of his sleeping bag. He had stopped snarling finally and was calmly spreading out the blankets next to him. If Naruto hadn't witnessed him going completely nuts outside just now, he would almost think that nothing was wrong with Sasuke.

Well, save for the way he kept staring at Naruto. That was weird. And somewhat creepy. Why had Kakashi sent him in here with Sasuke? Did sensei want him to get killed?

"What are you looking at?" he asked suspiciously, pulling his knees up and wrapping his arms around them. The tent blocked out most of the cold, so at least he wouldn't freeze to death during the time it took for Sasuke to fully Present.

The Sharingan was finally disappearing, leaving just regular black eyes behind and Naruto unconsciously relaxed a bit. Kakashi could claim all he wanted that Naruto was the one calming Sasuke down, those Sharingan eyes had stated the opposite!

Sasuke blinked and then … patted the blankets.

What.

"What," Naruto said aloud.

Sasuke patted the blanket again, a bit more insistingly this time.

"What? No! I'm not going to lie down next to you!" Naruto spluttered when he realised what exactly Sasuke wanted.

Sasuke started to frown and made a move as if he was about to grab Naruto.

Remembering just how ridiculously fast the bastard had been outside, Naruto hastily raised his hands in the air. "All right, all right, I'm coming! Geez, you're so needy!"

With a huff, he crawled over to Sasuke, eyeing him suspiciously. When Sasuke relaxed and laid down, looking at him expectantly – what do you mean, he isn't lucid now?! – Naruto pouted and sighed explosively before lying down as well, staring up at the tent's ceiling. At least the blankets were soft, he had to give the bastard that.

"What are you doing?" he asked, slightly alarmed when Sasuke rose up again and started tugging at another blanket.

There was no answer, naturally, because that would just be too easy. Sasuke continued pulling at the second blanket until he tugged it free. Once it was no longer restricted underneath them, he draped it over – the both of them? The hell? Well, it was admittedly warmer than just lying there in his jacket, but …

"Hey, hey, hey, personal space, bastard!" Naruto squeaked when he felt a hand landing on his side. "Aren't you the one always claiming I need to leave you alone?"

Sasuke apparently thought otherwise now, because before Naruto knew it, he had suddenly been rolled onto his side and Sasuke was –

Spooning him?!

"Are you out of your mind?!" Naruto demanded, but before he could shoot up and leave the tent – Kakashi's orders be damned – Sasuke's arm clamped down around him, trapping his arm against his chest.

Naruto had no real choice but to lie there while Sasuke curled around him, making use of the fact that he was taller, the absolute foul bastard!

While Naruto ranted mentally about the injustice of it all, Sasuke sighed quietly, almost … contently? The curious sound attracted Naruto's attention and he listened curiously how Sasuke's breathing evened out. He still kept his arm around Naruto, but his hold was no longer restrictive. When Naruto glanced down, Sasuke's hand was open, loosely resting against Naruto's wrist.

"You're really weird, did you know that?" he complained quietly, but unconsciously he started to relax as well when Sasuke's body heat started seeping through their clothes.

The tent was definitely starting to reek a lot like Sasuke; he had never smelt badly – a pity that, because really did he have to be perfect in everything? – but his scent was even more, dare Naruto say it, pleasant this time. It filled the space around and between them, settling in Naruto's nose and making him hum before he realised it.

He felt himself flush and he quickly shut up, but Sasuke hummed quietly back in response, bringing himself so close that Naruto could feel his warm breath hitting the back of his neck. This was definitely not how Naruto had envisioned their mission to end, but it wasn't so bad he guessed? This, whatever it was, was at least preferable to getting the shit beaten out of him and now that Sasuke had finally stopped being a violent douchebag, he was actually almost pleasant to be around.

As the minutes ticked by and Sasuke made the occasional content humming noise, Naruto was even starting to feel amused at this entire situation. Who would have thought that he of all people would be able to calm down the Ice Prince? Oh man, would Sasuke remember anything once he finished Presenting? Would he remember that he had actually set his own tent on fire because he was throwing a hissy fit?

That thought made Naruto snicker and Sasuke stirred behind him, uttering an inquiring hum.

"I wonder how much of this you'll remember. Don't think I'm going to let you forget this any time soon, you know," Naruto said gleefully. "You owe me for this, I hope you know that."

Sasuke just sighed and pressed his forehead against Naruto's back, because apparently he didn't think they were close enough yet!

Naruto was ready to protest the proximity, but honestly this was actually kind of nice if he disregarded the fact that Sasuke was still Presenting. The tent was cosy, he was warm thanks to the blanket and Sasuke lying closely behind him, and Kakashi would take care of the food and the drinks. This wasn't so bad. At the very least it beat his own Presentation. He definitely hadn't been cosy or warm back then.

"You tell anybody we're cuddling now and I'll kick your arse," Naruto warned him, but he was starting to become drowsy; the comfortable heat and the equally warm presence behind him getting to him.

Somehow that was something Sasuke actually did understand, because he released an amused chuff.

"Yeah, laugh all you want, you big baby," Naruto muttered and yawned, closing his eyes. "Might as well get some more sleep at least." Waking up really wasn't his thing, even during missions. Perhaps these next couple of days weren't going to be that awful after all.

The cozy blankets underneath and on top of him; Sasuke's warm arm resting around him; the Alpha's warm, soothing presence behind him – it all made falling asleep rather easy and Naruto gave in to the pull of sleep, comfortably curled up for once.

Something warm briefly touched the back of his neck.

Naruto's eyes shot wide open, wholly indignant.

"WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT PERSONAL SPACE, YOU BASTARD?!"

Scratch that! These next couple of days were going to be annoying as hell!

The End

AN2: I considered doing a time jump and write a scene from the future, but honestly, I kind of like this ending more LOL Will I return to this particular universe in the future? Honestly, given my track record with fics in general, there is a chance that will happen because my brain obviously hates me. Would there be any interest in that?

Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.

I hope to see you all back in my future stories! Please stay safe and take care of yourselves!

Cuddles

Melissa

P.S. For more information about my upcoming and posted stories, please visit my profile.