Author's note: No idea what I was thinking with this. Just a stupid drabble. It takes place after Fulfilment but before Belonging (with Instinct being the first in the series). You don't necessarily have to read the others to follow this one, though.

Warnings: Sasuke's pov; canon divergent; A/B/O dynamics; Omega Naruto; established slash; minor violence; minor gore; vague MPreg; drabble

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

I hope you'll like this drabble!

Cherisment

He had given them a chance and they had refused to take it. Sasuke had no idea what this group of idiots had expected, but he doubted they had foreseen getting the life squeezed out of their worthless bodies by his Susanoo.

As he watched how they started to gasp for air, he tightened his fist gradually; his Susanoo arm following the movement immediately. His chakra crushed, tightened and squeezed around the four men until their lips turned blue, their eyes started to bulge before a series of sharp cracks echoed through the dreary forest. Blood seeped out of their mouths, down their chins and got spit into the air when they coughed and choked. One more tightening of his fist and their bodies exploded, showering the bushes and the forest floor with their blood.

Their remains dropped down on the ground when his Susanoo arm faded away and he snorted, kicking away an arm contemptuously. He had honestly intended on ignoring them, deeming them not enough of a threat to even look at them, but then they had to go and threaten Naruto. Already on edge from yet another failed search, hearing them threatening to harm Naruto had set him off instantly. One minute they had been taunting him, telling him in full detail what they were planning on doing to Naruto, the next they had been screaming in terror when his Susanoo hand had instantly grabbed them.

They hadn't been hardened criminals by any means; if they had been, surely they would have been quicker to react when he had attacked them. That didn't mean he would just let them go off lightly, though. He hadn't even intended on actually doing serious harm – merely giving them a warning to fuck off before things would become worse for them – when one of them, the leader perhaps, had decided to open his stupid mouth and threaten Sasuke that he would make him and Naruto pay.

It would be rather difficult to make them pay, however, when his body was spread apart in chunks on the forest floor.

When the blood shower made way for an actual bout of rain, Sasuke decided to call it quits for the day and the mission in general for at least a little while. He had been searching this forest for nearly a week now and while he had encountered some interesting scrolls buried in dead trees and long forgotten caves, none of the scrolls actually contained information about Kaguya so this mission was yet another bust. Even though this wasn't the first time he had to return emptyhanded, he still felt rather irritated and in a burst of viciousness, he kicked away the head of one of his would-be assailants.

He opened a portal right there and then, feeling absolutely done with his mission for the moment. He had been tracking down clues for almost a week now; it was time to go home again.

The sky was already starting to darken when he stepped out of the portal on the other side, right in front of the home he had built for Naruto. There were no lights on inside and he spent a brief moment wondering whether Naruto wasn't home yet until he focused on his chakra, feeling it pulsating within their cottage.

Raising an eyebrow, Sasuke walked inside and closed the door behind him, kicking off his shoes and unclasping his cloak. He pushed his shoes to the side with his foot and hung his cloak away, placing his bag on the floor before he walked further into the cottage, checking each room. The living room was empty, save for some messily placed pillows on the couch indicating Naruto had sat there for a while. The kitchen was also empty, but there was an empty ramen cup left on the kitchen counter and he tsk'd, throwing it away while rolling his eyes. He really should have known Naruto would have a stash of it somewhere. He had thought he had found every cup in the kitchen and the storage, but obviously he had missed some. He would have to search the cottage from top to bottom apparently if he wanted to find the rest of them.

With downstairs being completely absent of the Omega, Sasuke made his way upstairs next. There wasn't any light burning here either, but the door to their bedroom was left ajar. He pushed it open completely and stepped inside. The curtains were still open; the last faint rays of the evening sun doing their best to still illuminate the room. Sasuke's gaze was instantly drawn towards the nest in the middle of the bedroom, where Naruto laid curled up.

A blanket only covered his legs; Naruto had probably kicked it down in his sleep. He laid on his side, one side of his face mushed into Sasuke's pillow, while his bandaged arm was curled around the gentle swell of his belly. His shirt had rucked up a bit, showing a glimpse of bare skin.

The sight of his mate peacefully asleep extinguished the last remains of irritation within Sasuke and quietly he made his way over to their nest. He got rid of his trousers before he carefully got into the bed, lying down behind Naruto and curling around him, resting his hand on Naruto's belly. Soon he felt a gentle nudge against his thumb and he smiled, lightly brushing Naruto's stomach.

Even though he had been as careful as possible, Naruto still woke up, humming sleepily before he slightly turned his head. One blue eye cracked open and stared at Sasuke.

"Found anything?" Naruto muttered sleepily, burrowing deeper into Sasuke's hold.

"Some scrolls but nothing that actually has to do with her," Sasuke admitted.

"Hm, ran into any trouble?"

"Nothing I couldn't handle," Sasuke answered serenely.

It made Naruto twist onto his back and stare at him with narrowed eyes. He opened his mouth before he paused, seeming to reconsider what he was originally going to say because he sighed and closed his eyes again. "Whatever, you're in one piece; that's all that matters," he mumbled and flopped around until he had his head resting on Sasuke's shoulder and his growing belly pressing into the Alpha's side.

Sasuke turned his head and kissed his forehead. "Saw the ramen cup in the kitchen," he mumbled and smirked when a hand came to cover his mouth.

"Ssssh, you saw nothing," Naruto muttered. "'S all just a dream."

"Just a dream, hm?"

"Yes, so ssssh, go back to sleep," Naruto muttered nonsensically before his breathing evened out, indicating he had fallen asleep again.

Sasuke looked down at the sleeping form of his mate and smiled, brushing one more kiss against Naruto's forehead before he closed his eyes as well, resting his hand on Naruto's belly.

He supposed if this was a dream, he would gladly not wake up again.

The End

AN2: Nothing complicated, I know, but it's what my brain has to offer this week, sorry.

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

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