Author's note: This took me a bit longer to finish, for which I apologise. But hey, I at least kept to my personal deadline! (Somewhat)
Thanks to the following reviewers: sasunaru1214; KitsuneJen; leighd1314; Nellana; Kaoribirdy81; richon; SehunsBae37; 666snoopy; Iraheta 127; Kalos; Kat; Gloria; fukafukashita
Warnings: Some references to Omega heat; some time skips; some guys being sleazebags
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto owns it.
I hope you'll like this chapter!
Chapter 2: Change
Uzumaki still appeared quite peaky when he sank down in the chair next to Sasuke, dropping his bag on the floor with a groan.
Sasuke side-eyed him, taking note of the way Uzumaki braced his head against his chin before he huffed and started retrieving his stuff from his backpack. "You're okay?" he couldn't help but ask.
Frankly the Omega looked like he could use an extra day off to recover. Was a heat this taxing on Omega every time? He had no idea. The only Omega he had ever been close to had been his mother and he'd been too young back then to notice if she was ever troubled by her heats.
"Yeah, I'm all right," Uzumaki muttered and waved his hand half-heartedly. "Just, you know, feeling a bit out of it still, it's fine."
"If you need to go home," Sasuke started, but the other one shook his head.
"No need, we're almost finished anyways, right?"
"Right." All they had left to do was finish the last remaining slides and decide who was going to present what. He had worked on it during the weekend so that even with what had happened last Wednesday, they would remain on track with their assignment.
"Then we might as well finish it today," Uzumaki said determinedly. "I have to catch up on my work from last week anyways, so if we can finish the assignment today, that'd be for the best."
Right, he hadn't been present on Thursday and Friday because of his heat so he would have to catch up on everything he'd missed this week. It had to be annoying, Sasuke reflected, to have to catch up every time purely because of a bodily function.
"You have all your notes from last week?" he questioned.
Uzumaki patted a closed folder underneath his binder. "Yeah, Shikamaru gave me his notes. Kiba did as well, though to be honest, I'm not sure whether I'll be able to read his handwriting," he smiled crookedly.
"You probably won't," Sasuke mumbled, recalling the disastrous chicken scratch like markings that Inuzuka insisted was legible handwriting. He had no clue how their teachers ever managed to read Inuzuka's assignments and tests. Sometimes he wondered if the Beta could even read his own handwriting.
"Well, I've got Shikamaru's notes to fall back on then," Uzumaki snickered and silently clasped his hands together. "All right, let us get started then. I'm sure you've got other things to do than spend your time in a library."
Sasuke shrugged, unbothered. It wasn't as if he had anything pressing planned after this, save for organising his notes.
As they started going through the notes, Uzumaki muttered, fidgeting with a pen, "I meant it, earlier today. Thanks for helping me back then. I don't want to think about what might have happened if you hadn't shown up."
The thought of what those arseholes had been about to do had Sasuke tightening his grip around his own pen; his knuckles turning white. He breathed out slowly, reminding himself there was no point in getting angry again. Those three had been dealt with and they wouldn't show up at school again.
Aware of the glances Uzumaki kept throwing at him, Sasuke murmured, a tad awkwardly, "I'm glad you're all right."
That was apparently the right thing to say, because Uzumaki beamed at him and they started discussing the layout of their slides.
Kakashi walked into the hallway when Sasuke closed the front door behind him. "Okaeri," he greeted, crossing his arms loosely and bracing his left shoulder against the doorjamb of the living room.
"Tadaima," Sasuke said automatically and bent down to remove his shoes, exchanging them for his slippers. He had pulled off his jacket earlier before he drove home, so he only needed to hang it in the closet now.
"When were you going to tell me you beat up three students?" Kakashi inquired out of the blue.
Sasuke stilled for a moment before asking annoyed, "Who told you about that?"
"I have my resources," Kakashi answered loftily.
"It was Gai, wasn't it?" Sasuke concluded quickly and scowled.
Gai was his gymnastics teacher and somehow had got close to Kakashi over the years. Sasuke hadn't figured out yet whether the two men shared a past together or whether Gai had simply latched onto Kakashi when encountering each other outside the school. He didn't really care how the two knew each other, only that their friendship or whatever it was could be quite annoying when Gai insisted on telling Kakashi whatever Sasuke had done at school.
He shouldn't be surprised that Gai would tell Kakashi about the incident. Not only because certainly nobody had expected him to go ballistic and beat up three other guys, but no doubt the news of it had travelled throughout the entire teacher corps. Of course Gai would inform Kakashi about it, why wouldn't he?
"My resources are confidential," Kakashi insisted, but they both knew Sasuke had guessed correctly. The older man repeated his question. "When were you going to tell me about it?"
"Probably never," Sasuke replied and adjusted the strap of his bag on his shoulder. "What does it matter to you?"
"Well, as your guardian I kind of need to know when you beat the absolute crap out of other people," Kakashi said dryly. "You could have ended up in serious trouble for that, Sasuke."
"But I didn't. I'm sure Gai told you that as well," Sasuke retorted dismissively. "Are we done? I still need to finish my notes."
They held eyes for a little while before Kakashi asked, "Is the student doing okay? The one you defended?"
"Yeah, he was back in class today," Sasuke confirmed.
Kakashi nodded contemplatively. "I'm glad to hear that. Just be careful, all right? Taking on three to one was risky, Sasuke, and I know Gaara taught you better."
"I wasn't going to let them do what they wanted," Sasuke said sharply. "I knew what I was doing, okay?"
"Ah, the stubbornness of youth," Kakashi bemoaned, ever his dramatic self. He waved Sasuke off. "Well, you know the drill: if you want to talk - "
"I don't."
"You know where to find me," Kakashi said, serenely ignoring Sasuke's muttered interruption. "Dinner will be done in an hour. You mind going to the store tomorrow? We're running out of a couple of things, but I've got several meetings planned and I don't know when I'll be home."
"Fine, just give me the list later," Sasuke agreed and ascended the stairs, going to his bedroom.
He took out the binders he needed and placed them on his desk before putting his bag against the wall underneath the windowsill. He grabbed his notebook and the pencase he kept at home out of the first desk drawer and sank down in his chair. For a moment he slowly spun his chair from left to right and back, staring unseeingly at the binders in front of him. If he concentrated really hard, he thought he could still pick up the faint citrusy scent belonging to Uzumaki when he had grabbed one of Sasuke's binders to push it to the side.
Before he could think twice, he booted up his laptop and typed in his password, waiting for the screen to turn to one of the generic backgrounds he had installed a few years ago: some luscious green hills against an azure blue sky. It wasn't anything special and certainly not personal. Another couple of seconds later had Google loading up, the bright white background of the site making him blink a couple of times.
Now he hesitated, his fingers hovering above the keyboard. It was stupid and unnecessary, he argued with himself. What did it even matter? It wasn't as if they were friends and there was no reason for him to do this kind of research.
His hands pulled back and he shook his head, opening the first binder to riffled through the pages so he could find the notes of today. With the map open at the right page, he unzipped his pencase and flipped through his notebook, going to the section he'd marked for this class. He grabbed a pen and a yellow highlighter, bent his head over his notebook and –
The pen rolled across the paper, bumping against the edge of the keyboard; the highlighter ended up back in the pencase. Google's multicoloured letters stared back innocuously as he started typing the first keywords he could think of, hoping it wouldn't lead to dodgy sites.
'Experiences with Omega heat'
The first results displayed links to a general information site and to a couple of forums, listing several sub threads. He clicked on the general information first; his eyes gliding across the teal coloured site as he read, parts standing out to him.
'Heats usually last between three to four days, though it can extend to five days as well. The hormones will reach their highest peak then, as heats are meant for procreation.'
'As soon as the first heat starts, Omega can use a type of suppressant to deal with the effects of the heat. This medicine is typically taken during the period of the heat and prevents the heat from fully taking over the mind, leaving Omega capable of going about their day, depending how severe their symptoms are. While it is a type of suppressant, when sharing a heat with a partner it is important to take note that the regular suppressants will not do anything to stop a pregnancy from occurring. Should an Omega wish to spend their heat with their partner but are not ready yet to have a child, they will have to get a prescription for stronger suppressants.'
'Discomfort related to heat can include abdominal cramps, a sensation of feeling too warm akin to a fever, headaches, general fatigue and body aches. As the body produces a lot of slick during this time, people with an Omega nature might prefer to spend a lot of time in the bathtub or exchange their sheets and clothes regularly.'
'If for some reason people with an Omega nature can't immediately spend their heat in their room, they might prefer the use of slick pads to prevent their underwear and clothes from staining. Slick pads have both proponents and opponents. Some Omega like using them as it allows them to go about their regular activities without having to worry about stains. Others, on the other hand, don't like the sensation of them at all, describing it as feeling a diaper.'
The forums had people exchanging information and ways of dealing with a heat, ranging from the type of suppressants people thought were the best option to even the type of food and drinks that might help.
'I know it's a cliché, but god, anything chocolate and I feel like I can get through those miserable days!'
'Hear, hear! Anything sweet and I'm good! Got to admit, though, that junk food really does hit that spot as well. Although it doesn't really help with the figure _'
'Man, fuck my figure during those days! I don't care, I just stuff my face full! Beats the alternative of ripping someone's face off if they breathe too loudly near me'
'You know what else helps really well? It's something I found out after I started dating my girlfriend: Alpha's clothes. It is the absolute best. Even when she can't be with me, her Alpha scent really helps me get through my heat. Hasn't failed me even once!'
'Concurring with MoonFlower here! If my husband happens to have something work related during my heat, I just grab a bunch of his clothes and I curl up with it. Instant fix for sure!'
Sasuke leant back in his chair, pondering what he had read. No wonder Uzumaki had still looked relatively out of it today.
His notes didn't get completed until a few hours after dinner had already finished.
The end of classes the next day saw Sasuke driving straight to the grocery store first; Kakashi's list tucked into his wallet. It wasn't that much that he needed to buy, so it didn't take him long to go through all the necessary aisles, scratching off each item when he dropped it into the shopping cart.
A quick glance at the pay counter at the end of the stationary aisle had him pushing the cart into the next aisle so he could queue at a pay counter with less people waiting. Multiple colourful packages displayed in the shelves on his right took him slightly off guard for a moment and he glanced at them. He halted in front of them when he realised what they were and stood there for a moment, debating with himself.
This was most likely going to be a huge waste of money, because he himself had no need for it. Chances weren't likely he would ever have to hand one over, yet …
He ignored the warm smile of the clerk when she scanned his groceries, including the package he'd thrown in at the end.
Probably a waste of money, but whatever. What was done was done.
It took the other students longer to leave the classroom today; most of them exhilarated to be finally done with their presentation while others were bemoaning the harsh remarks they had received on their own. Still, all of them were excited for the weekend to start and could hardly wait to be out of the classroom.
Sasuke waited for all of them to leave first as usual. The habit had become ingrained in him after that night; people always tended to pack together near the door, pushing each other through it instead of simply waiting and going through it one by one. Being surrounded by several people in such close proximity, even his own classmates, made him feel too uncomfortable and so he was always one of the last ones to leave, save for the teacher and the students in charge of cleaning the classroom.
He watched Tenten and the Hyuuga girl start on cleaning the blackboard; Tenten with her usual hurried movements and Hyuuga with a concentrated look on her face as she stood up on her tiptoes to reach the top of the board. Movement in the corner of his eye had Sasuke looking up, watching Uzumaki approach him with a small smile on his face and his hands clasped behind his back.
"You need something?" Sasuke asked; a bit curious as to why Uzumaki would walk over to him when their project was official over. Their presentation had gone well and had even earnt them an approving look of Morino; a feat not everyone could claim.
Uzumaki pursed his lips slightly. "I was wondering …" he trailed off before continuing, "It's the start of our weekend and to celebrate the end of our project, would you like watching a movie with me or so?"
"A movie," Sasuke repeated and furrowed his eyebrows.
The suggestion took him aback a bit, not having expected the blond to still want to talk to Sasuke. He knew he hadn't always been the easiest to work with these past couple of weeks, hellbent as he was on getting the best mark possible, so frankly he had expected Uzumaki to leave him alone now that he no longer had to associate with him. Uzumaki had never shown to dislike being around Sasuke, though, but that didn't necessarily have to mean anything.
Except he was now still standing in front of Sasuke, suggesting they watch a movie together.
"Yeah, or we could do something else. You just seem the type to prefer watching movies over going to the mall or so," Uzumaki commented and shrugged.
"Where would we watch the movie? At your place?" Sasuke asked and tilted his head to the left.
If Uzumaki wanted to watch a movie, they would have to do it at his house, because Sasuke couldn't even remember whether he and Kakashi actually had a movie collection. Whenever they did end up watching something, it was always a movie or a series airing on television. Sasuke had no DVD collection of his own and if Kakashi had one, he had never shown them.
"Eh." For some reason his question had Uzumaki staring blankly at him, as if he was the one being caught off guard now. Hadn't he been the one to suggest a movie in the first place? Or was Sasuke misunderstanding something here?
"Yeah, at my place, if you don't mind," Uzumaki was quick to answer regardless, adjusting the cuffs of his sleeves.
Sasuke blinked, realising this would be the first time he would enter someone else's home. He couldn't remember the last time he'd visited someone; had it been his grandfather perhaps? Or his youngest aunt? He couldn't recall.
A part of him wanted to refuse. With the assignment over and done with, there was no reason why they should keep hanging out with each other. Uzumaki himself seemed to fit much better with the rest of the class; Sasuke wouldn't be surprised if he managed to become quite popular, because he was just that cheerful and friendly, drawing in other people like moths to a flame.
There was no reason why he should agree – yet he nodded slowly and stood up. "Sure, sounds good to me," he murmured and swung his bag across his shoulder, adjusting it when the corner of one of his books dug into his side. "Let's go then."
Uzumaki followed right behind him after picking up his own bag from the floor on their way out. As was usually the case, there were still students lingering in the corridor. Some were meandering around, talking with their friends, while others still had club meetings to attend. Sasuke became aware of several curious gazes following the two of them as they made their way down the corridor, but he ignored them like he always did. Giving them any sort of attention would make some of them think they had a chance with him after all and he didn't want to encourage them.
It had taken him months before the girls would finally leave him alone; he didn't want to have to go back to dodging stupid love confessions all over again.
The sun was still shining brightly when they stepped outside, letting the doors fall shut behind them. Only a couple of white clouds dotted the bright blue sky and the sunlight was reflected back on several hoods of cars still parked. A lot of the cars were already gone by now; most of the ones still parked belonged to the teachers. His own car was parked close to the exit and he walked over to it, fishing out the key from his pocket.
He became aware of the sudden pause in the footsteps behind him but before he could look around and ask what was wrong, Uzumaki's footsteps picked up again, hurrying after him. Uzumaki caught up with him when they arrived at his car and he couldn't help but spent a moment being thankful for the great air-conditioning his car had, because the black colour of it surely had soaked up the sunlight by now. Once the weather became even hotter, he would have to try and see if he couldn't park underneath one of the trees for some shade.
"Get in," he told Uzumaki, who was looking around them with a slight frown marring his forehead.
Blue eyes looked at him quizzingly. "Don't we need to wait for - "
Without waiting for him to finish his question, Sasuke stepped into his car and threw his bag onto the backseat. When the outline of Uzumaki's body just kept hovering outside instead of getting in, Sasuke frowned and leant across to lower the window.
"You're getting in or what?" he demanded, wondering what the holdup was.
That had Uzumaki finally kicking his arse into gear and he quickly opened the door, practically falling inside the seat. He dropped his own bag between his legs and fumbled a bit with the seatbelt, while his wide-eyed gaze took in the car's interior.
"You can drive?" he blurted out right as Sasuke put on his own seatbelt.
Sasuke couldn't help but stare at him. What kind of question was that when he clearly saw Sasuke sitting behind the wheel? Did he think Sasuke was just making a joke and Kakashi would show up any minute now to take over the wheel?
He realised quickly why Uzumaki was so confused, though. Right, none of their classmates had a driver's license, let alone a car, so it made sense of him to be confused. He already had had his license for nearly a year, while the rest still had to take their theoretical exam.
"I received an exception," he explained and started the engine. Figuring it was best to reassure Uzumaki, he added, "Don't worry, I'm a good driver. Which way do I need to go?"
Uzumaki gazed at him bemused for a couple of seconds longer before he shook his head and started giving directions to his home.
The neighbourhood Uzumaki lived in was a quiet one and Sasuke might have missed the street entirely if not for the blond pointing out where he had to turn the corner. The front gardens were neatly kept here, some of them merely grass with a pebbled driveway while others had flowers bursting in all kinds of colours; bees happily buzzing around, flying from one flower to the next.
Sasuke ended up parking a bit past Uzumaki's house and as they made their way there, an elderly lady attending to her flowers looked up. She stopped watering the plants and waved back when Uzumaki offered her a cheerful wave. Her already wrinkled face gained a few extra when her eyes landed on Sasuke and he nodded at her politely.
"Tadaima," Uzumaki muttered when they stepped inside, immediately kicking off his shoes and replacing them with his slippers. He walked over to the shoe closet next, retrieving a new pair of slippers for Sasuke, who nodded in thanks.
Not really knowing where to keep his bag, he simply left it against the wall and followed Uzumaki deeper into the house, passing the staircase. The blond Omega led him into the living room, which while a bit disorderly still looked nice and comfortable. When he breathed in, he picked up on two other scents, subtly entwined with each other: Uzumaki's parents.
"The films are on the shelves underneath the television," Uzumaki told him and pointed at the cabinet in question. "Take your pick; I'll grab some snacks. What do you like to drink?"
"Soda or water is fine," Sasuke muttered and walked further into the room, listening to the other one disappearing into presumably the kitchen.
He went to the cabinet first, wondering what kind of movies would be in the collection, but the picture frames on the wall attracted his attention instead. There were several hanging up, some of them in large frames, others in smaller ones. They all contained a grinning or laughing Uzumaki with his parents. His mother was quite beautiful with her long red hair and her purple eyes, glittering mischievously even through the frozen picture. It was obvious whose smile Uzumaki had inherited. Her husband had given his blue eyes and his blond hair to their son and there was no mistaken the pride and love his gaze held in every picture, no matter the background. There were pictures of the small family visiting amusements parks with one of the attractions serving as their background; pictures of the beach with Uzumaki's mother in a dark green bikini, holding a younger Uzumaki on her hip. Photos of picnics shared in clearings; Uzumaki's father holding him high up in the air.
One of the biggest picture frames was one of Uzumaki's parents' wedding. Both his parents absolutely glowed in this one and Sasuke thought back of his own parents' wedding picture; how demure and yet glowing mother had looked with father standing proudly next to her. Both Uzumaki's mother and father held blinding smiles on their wedding day with the man standing slightly behind his wife; his arms wrapped around her slim waist.
Right above the wedding picture was another one of Uzumaki's parents, but they were both wearing uniforms in this one, looking more solemn.
Police uniforms.
A jolt went through Sasuke and he took a step closer; his hand reaching out to the picture. Uzumaki's parents were part of the police force? For all that Uzumaki had talked about his family, he hadn't mentioned they were both police.
Approaching footsteps had him lowering his hand quickly, though the image of the couple in police uniform seemed seared into his eyelids now.
"You found a movie you'd like to watch?" Uzumaki asked, putting a bottle of soda and two glasses down onto the coffee table, before some bags of crisps, a couple of candy bars and a sleeve of chocolate biscuits joined the haul.
Uzumaki walked over to him when he realised Sasuke wasn't looking for a movie. "Please tell me mum didn't hang up any embarrassing pictures of me," he complained, but it was half-hearted at best, sounding mostly fond.
Sasuke didn't know what Uzumaki considered as embarrassing. The photo he was looking at now was one of him on his mother's lap. They were celebrating something by the looks of their excited grins and the traces of a cake still visible on their mouths. A dot of whipped cream was even on Uzumaki's nose.
Dismissing that picture, his eyes unwillingly went back to the picture of the couple in their uniform.
"Your parents are with the police?" he asked needlessly. He doubted he would ever forget how a police uniform looked like. Not after that night.
"Yeah, well, my dad is. My mum's thinking of going back to the force, but she hasn't decided yet," Uzumaki replied. He elaborated when Sasuke stared at him, "She was with the police right up until I was born and then she decided to stay home to take care of me. Said she didn't want to miss anything of me growing up. So she's a housewife now, but she's thinking of going back to work in the force eventually."
A pang went through Sasuke's chest when he thought about his own mother, who'd stayed home to take care of him and Itachi. She had always been there to greet him home with a warm smile and a hug, listening to him chatting about his day while sharing chocolate milk. Then Itachi would arrive home and they would share some sweets and tea before the two brothers would each start working on their homework.
If mother had ever regretted staying at home so often, she'd never shown it.
Looking at Uzumaki's mother, he was struck once more by the similarities between her and her son. "Your mother is beautiful," he mumbled. She reminded him of his own mother, who'd been the beauty of their town and far beyond that.
Uzumaki grinned and wrapped his hands together behind his head. "She is, isn't she?" he said proudly, looking quite pleased with Sasuke's assessment.
Sasuke glanced at him; his wide grin matching the one on his mother's face perfectly. "You look like her," he commented. Uzumaki had clearly inherited his father's eyes and hair, but there was no denying that the shape of his face and his smile were entirely his mother's.
For some reason Sasuke's remark had Uzumaki appearing somewhat flustered and he muttered shyly, "Eh, thanks." He cleared his throat then, taking a couple of steps back before jerking his thumb at the movie collection. "So which one do you want to watch?"
They ended up choosing a movie about a couple of samurai, which was set in the 1860s. Sasuke thought he had read a review about it once, a few years ago, and the movie turned out to be not that bad at all. It was at the very least quite accurate in their depiction of the samurai period, which couldn't be said of all movies in that genre.
He couldn't help but flinch slightly when someone else suddenly showed up in the living room, midway through the movie. The unexpected appearance had Uzumaki yelling in surprise as well and nearly falling off the couch when he jumped almost three feet in the air.
Her long red hair and her shining purple eyes made it clear who she was: Uzumaki's mum.
"Hello there," she smiled friendly. Surprise flitted across her face briefly when her gaze landed on Sasuke. "I don't think we've met before."
He stood up and bowed to her. "Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki-san. It's a pleasure to meet you," he introduced himself, giving her a smile. Hopefully she wouldn't get angry at his presence in her house.
He wasn't entirely certain whether Uzumaki had mentioned he would have someone over today and he didn't want her to get the wrong impression.
"Oh my, so polite. You could learn a thing or two from Uchiha-kun, Naruto," she grinned and winked at Uzumaki, who whined dismayed, pouting at her.
Sasuke concealed a snort at the sight of it.
"I'm Uzumaki Kushina," she continued, dipping her head. "Sorry I interrupted your film, but I got curious when I heard the dialogue, because I know Naruto tends to prefer other genres."
"Mum," Uzumaki groaned and rubbed his forehead, scowling half-heartedly at her.
"You don't like this film?" Sasuke questioned surprised.
Uzumaki hadn't refused when he'd suggested they would watch this movie, so he'd assumed he'd been okay with it.
Uzumaki chuckled weakly and he rubbed the back of his neck. Something he seemed to do often when he felt flustered or nervous, though Sasuke didn't understand what about his question could fluster him so. "Ah no, I do like it. I just never watched it before, because I thought it would be boring," he replied.
"Then why do you have it in your collection?" Sasuke asked bemused. What was the point in keeping movies that didn't interest you?
"My dad's a history buff and likes this genre," Uzumaki explained with a shrug.
Ah, that made sense. It certainly accounted for the various historical movies Sasuke had noticed when going through the collection.
Uzumaki's mother clapped her hands together, looking quite excited for some reason. "Well, I'll leave you two to the rest of the film then. Let me know if you need more snacks or drinks," she said brightly and left them behind.
Uzumaki stared at her retreat with suspicion clear on his face before he shook his head and turned back to Sasuke. "You want to watch the rest of the film?" he asked brightly. His smile tightened when cheerful humming started up in one of the other rooms.
"Sure," Sasuke agreed with a shrug of his own and settled back down on the couch.
At least Uzumaki's mother didn't look angry at the sight of him sitting right next to her Omega son. No doubt she had picked up on the fact that he was an Alpha, but fortunately she didn't appear to have any issues with him being here.
The last thing he wanted was to piss her off because of a misunderstanding.
Against his better judgement, that first afternoon at Uzumaki's house had set something in motion.
For several years after the burglary and the murder of his family, Sasuke had kept to himself; his only companion being Kakashi before he met Gaara and only because he had been too young to live on his own. He had been more than content to keep to his very small bubble of three people, because there was no point in getting closer to someone else. Becoming closer with someone else, letting them inside, was too dangerous. That was a way that could only lead to heartache later on and he had had enough of that misery to last him a lifetime.
The last thing he wanted was to let someone else in.
Yet that was what he ended up doing in the end.
After that first afternoon spent together with Uzumaki at his house, Sasuke found himself seeking the Omega out regularly, wanting to be near him for reasons he couldn't – didn't dare – to understand. It made no sense. He'd been more than content to be on his own, yet there was something about Uzumaki that drew him in, had him seeking out the blond during the rare moments Uzumaki didn't find him first.
They tended to spend their time together at Uzumaki's home with Sasuke driving them every time. There was no point for Uzumaki to take the bus if they had plans to spend the afternoon together anyway, so it made sense for Sasuke to drive him home instead.
Kakashi was starting to ask questions, of course. Even as absentminded as he could be at times, he took notice of how often Sasuke was out of the house nowadays, returning late each time.
"You spending time with someone or is the library that comfortable?" Kakashi questioned mildly during one of the evenings Sasuke hadn't made it on time for dinner.
Sasuke contemplated lying, not in the mood for an interrogation – he actually had had a rather fun evening at Uzumaki's place, watching a soap together with him and his mother – but Kakashi waved his hand lazily.
"Look, you never had a curfew to follow and I'm not going to give you one now," he said and paused for a moment, studying Sasuke intently.
Only Sasuke's experience with those looks kept him from squirming.
"Just, if you happen to be home later than usual, send me a text or something," Kakashi said calmly. His dark eyes glittered when he added, "Otherwise I am obligated to burst in tears and go straight to the precinct to declare you missing and do you really want to be picked up by the police?"
"You're an idiot," Sasuke snorted and rolled his eyes. Knowing Kakashi was serious about this, though, he acquiesced, "I'll text you when I'm home later."
"Good." Kakashi gave him a thumbs up and went back into the living room.
Sasuke was halfway up the stairs when Kakashi's voice drifted out, "Oh, and you can always bring them here, you know. I won't bite them, I promise."
"No, you'd just act like an idiot and that's worse," Sasuke muttered underneath his breath and continued his way upstairs.
It would be quite a while still before he would invite Uzumaki to his place. Kakashi's presence was the type one needed to prepare for after all.
Before going to the carpark, Sasuke made a detour to the bathroom; his bladder too uncomfortably full to risk the drive home.
He grimaced when the door of his stall bumped into the wall; the noise reverberating through the bathroom. As he went to wash his hands, a couple of other guys entered; one of them entering the stall, the other one waiting near one of the sinks until his friend was finished.
Sasuke was about to walk out of the bathroom, mentally going over the two assignments he still needed to finish, when the two guys started talking with each other. He didn't pay them any mind until something they said attracted his attention immediately.
"So you're going after the new one after all?" one of the guys asked amused.
"Well, yeah, have you looked at those cheeks?" the other guy guffawed. "Haven't seen such a great butt since Yamanaka grew into her curves."
They must have thought he had already left because the first one questioned, "Isn't he hanging around that Uchiha guy nowadays, though? You might be shit out of luck, dude."
That made the second guy laugh. "Man, you really think Uchiha is screwing him? Please, the guy is frigid as fuck! Nah man, I bet it won't take me long to get him away from Uchiha. Bet he'll be a lot of fun in the sack."
"I heard his dad is with the police, though," the first guy cautioned him.
"Yeah, and what of it?" the second one snickered. "Think he's going to admit to daddy what he gets up to when daddy and mummy aren't looking?"
"When are you going to do it?"
"He's got volleyball practice, doesn't he? I've seen him taking the bus before," the second guy answered, followed by the sound of water pouring straight down the drain. "I'll just wait for him and start chatting him up then."
He had enough.
Sasuke turned around and walked back into view, getting a good look at the two men discussing Uzumaki in such vile detail. He didn't recognise the one leaning against the wall, but the second one had him clenching his jaw and balling his hand. He had never been one for gossip, ignoring that tripe entirely, but Otsutsuki's reputation was known throughout the school. Aware of his good looks, the guy had no problems wrapping one girl or boy after the other around his finger. He sweettalked them straight into his bed, fucked them, and then discarded them as if they were nothing but trash. He boasted about his conquests like they were trophies yet somehow there were still people wanting to be near him.
And now he had set his sight on Uzumaki.
Otsutsuki's friend was the first one to notice Sasuke and he instantly grew awkward, reddening as he straightened up slightly. "Oh hey, Uchiha-san."
Otsutsuki frowned. "Did eavesdropping become a thing of you, Uchiha?" he sneered.
Sasuke's instinctive reaction was to fly at him and punch him straight in his foul smug face for even daring to think he could abuse Uzumaki like that. Who the hell did he think he was, talking about Uzumaki as if he was a doll to be toyed with?
The headmaster might not grant him leeway again, however, if he beat up another student again, so instead he chose to walk over to them, halting a couple of feet to avoid giving into the temptation after all.
"You heard what happened to Sakon, Jirobo and Kidomaru?" he asked conversationally.
Otsutsuki's frown deepened, but his friend paled visibly. "Yeah, we heard, what of it?" Otsutsuki asked warily.
Even though he acted tough, he took a step back when Sasuke leant forwards, smiling sharply.
"They ended up like that after they thought they had the right to put their hands where it didn't belong," he said lowly, watching realisation slowly sink into Otsutsuki's mind.
His friend raised his hands and chuckled nervously. "Look man, he didn't mean any harm. You know how he is, spouting bull - "
"You get near him in any way and you will find yourself joining those three arseholes," Sasuke said calmly.
"You think you can threaten me?" Otsutsuki spat, balling his fists.
"I'm not threatening you," Sasuke stated coldly. "I'm warning you. Threats imply I won't go through with them, so I am warning you: back off."
Something in his face must have finally convinced Otsutsuki that this wasn't worth getting into a fight for, because he huffed and rolled his eyes, turning back to the mirror above the sink.
He sneered. "Whatever, you want to fuck him, he's all yours."
Ignoring him, Sasuke left the bathroom, gritting his teeth. On his way to the carpark he glanced in the direction of the gym where he knew Uzumaki was currently having his volleyball practice.
His mind made up, he unlocked his car and settled inside to wait, keeping his eyes fixed on the school's exit.
Me 04.09 p.m.
I'll be home later
There was no way he was going to let Uzumaki take the bus home now. Too bad he couldn't get that arsehole kicked out for being such a disgusting creep, but at least he could prevent him from getting his hands on Uzumaki.
He hadn't meant to scare Uzumaki, but he couldn't help but smirk amused when Uzumaki cursed loudly. "Holy shit! Warn a guy! You're like a freaking cat!"
To be honest, Uzumaki himself resembled a cat somewhat with his hackles raised when he whirled around to face Sasuke. His shirt was clinging to his chest somewhat, but whether that was from the shower he'd taken after his practice or from sweat, it was hard to tell.
"Maybe you should pay more attention to your surroundings," Sasuke suggested, lifting an eyebrow.
"I pay enough attention, dickhead. You're just freakishly silent," Uzumaki snapped, but his retort lacked heat, showing he wasn't really that upset.
That made it easier for Sasuke to dismiss his complaint. "Whatever you say. So you going home?"
"No, not yet," Uzumaki answered to his surprise. "I'm going to a store first to buy a birthday gift for my mum."
"I can drive you if you want," Sasuke suggested. From the corner of his eye, he saw Otsutsuki and his friend finally sneaking out of the school like weasels.
Otsutsuki glared at him when he caught him and Uzumaki together, but he scuttled past them, clearly not feeling confident enough to challenge Sasuke. The dark haired Alpha stifled his smirk on time.
Uzumaki furrowed his eyebrows. "You sure? It's already quite late; don't they expect you home?"
Aside from Kakashi's response – K, but remember, you can always bring them over! – Sasuke hadn't heard anything else from him and was unlikely to unless he'd texted the older man first.
He shrugged, gesturing for Uzumaki to follow him. "Not really. I don't have a real curfew," he mentioned offhandedly.
"Well, okay, then. Thanks, I appreciate it," Uzumaki smiled gratefully, falling into pace with Sasuke easily.
"So, looking forward to the summer break?" Uzumaki questioned casually as Sasuke drove to the shop, following the blond's instructions.
Sasuke grunted, not really having an opinion about it. Breaks meant Kakashi had more opportunities to badger him, but perhaps now that he and Uzumaki had grown closer, Sasuke wouldn't be stuck at home the entire time.
"Yeah, it's going to be great to not have to stay in class for a while with this heat. You got any plans?" Uzumaki asked, peering at the sunlight drenched footpath.
"None in particular," Sasuke mumbled. Save for avoiding Kakashi as much as possible.
"My parents and I are probably going to the beach for a day or so if dad can get some time off," Uzumaki said, squinting this time as he looked at the cars they passed on their way to the town centre.
"Sounds like fun," Sasuke commented, thinking back to the holidays he'd spent with his family. Father might have been a workaholic, but he had always taken his breaks seriously.
"Hm, until one of us turns as red as a lobster," Uzumaki chuckled amused.
Sasuke managed to find a parking spot with plenty of shade and they got out, joining the other people on the footpath.
"I won't take long," Uzumaki promised as he led Sasuke to the store in question.
"Take your time. I'm not really in a hurry," Sasuke muttered and narrowed his eyes in distaste as the garnish display of bright pink teddy bears placed in a pyramid form that greeted them when they entered the shop.
While Uzumaki made his way deeper into the shop, a determined look on his face, Sasuke idled the time away by the notebooks, studying the colours idly. He picked some of them up before placing them back down. He kept to the side to ensure that actual shoppers had plenty of space to move around and it didn't take long before Uzumaki found him, carrying a big bag.
Blue eyes lit up when they landed on him and Uzumaki called out, "Uchiha-san, I've got something for you!" He dipped his hand into the bag and pulled something out of it.
It was a tomato plushie.
An actual tomato plushie with little arms and squishy little legs and a big smiley face in its front. Uzumaki waved it through the air with a big grin.
"Figured you might like a plushie of your favourite food!"
He hadn't even realised Uzumaki had picked up on which food Sasuke liked to eat. He couldn't help but feel stunned at the gesture and he hesitatingly reached out to it, accepting the plushie in both hands. "Thanks."
Plushies had never been his thing, except for the dinosaur plushie he had had when he'd still been a little kid. It was silly, this tomato plushie, but it had warmth spreading through him nonetheless and when he looked at Uzumaki, the blond's eyes were warm.
"No problem," he smiled.
When they walked out of the shop, the tomato plushie was firmly held in Sasuke's hand.
They were almost at Uzumaki's house when Sasuke decided to clarify something finally.
"You can just call me Sasuke, by the way."
"Hm?" Uzumaki turned away from the window, glancing at him.
"You can call me Sasuke," Sasuke repeated and threw him a quick glance before he had to focus back on the road; his fingers tightening around the wheel. "It's not like we're strangers after all."
Far from it. It was scary, how they had become so close in such a short time when before Sasuke had managed to hold everyone at a distance, but …
He would deal with the outcome of this, whatever it would be.
"Okay, you can call me Naruto."
Naruto's giddy smile told him he'd made the right choice.
AN2: I can finally switch over to writing 'Naruto' instead of 'Uzumaki' the entire time! Makes my life slightly easier LOL Now I'm off to bed, because once again I'm making terrific life choices here.
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 the next chapter! 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.
