Chapter Text
Day 3
Orochimaru abandoned Sasuke in a remote location without food and a week’s worth of water. His former sensei insisted that a shinobi’s true worth shines through in moments of crisis. Sasuke was about fourteen at the time. He’d overestimated himself, a nasty trait he’d only abandoned on the battlefield when admitting defeat to the man he now found himself tangled between the sheets with.
That time in the wilderness taught Sasuke how to survive. He learned how to find clean water, track animals, and make shelter to keep out the pouring rain. Now, Sasuke knows how to ignore his baser instincts, especially for the sake of a mission. He didn’t anticipate having to use these skills to care for Naruto, who is deep in throughs of heat. Sasuke refractory period was much longer than Naruto’s, which he expected and appreciated. In these moments of clarity, Sasuke could force the omega to eat, take pain medications, and drink something. It’s more a test of patience than a test of will. Naruto is more petulant and stubborn than normal plus a heavy dose of neediness.
It didn’t help that Naruto sleeps in three to four hour bursts instead of eight consecutive hours. Even if he weren’t in his rut, this sort of sleep pattern would make any shinobi difficult to deal with. Sasuke couldn’t deny Naruto another touch, another kiss, another dip inside his wet walls, even if he wanted to. But Sasuke had to deny Naruto sometimes. Ignore his sweet whispers against his cheeks. Tell him no when he tried to slide Sasuke’s length into his mouth again. They couldn’t live and breathe on sex alone.
They did, however, compromise.
They could fuck before and after their bath, one of Naruto’s knees on the sink’s countertop, his hands knocking over the toothbrush holder during a desperate attempt to hold on to something while taking each backshot without falling over.
There wasn’t a rule saying Naruto couldn’t be rewarded for taking his medicine with semen, load after load sliding down his throat. Naruto agreed to these terms. He didn’t seem too upset when Sasuke grabbed his hair, using it as leverage to fuck his mouth.
This compromising is how Sasuke finds himself, half-erect, buried inside Naruto’s pussy at the table, eating lunch. To his credit, Naruto did sit down in a chair to start, but after a few minutes, he crawled under the table and coaxed Sasuke back to full hardness with his tongue. Sasuke didn’t attempt to argue. He simply lifted the man, shoved himself inside, and started feeding them both.
“This tastes so good,” Naruto hums while he chews. The happy fool is even kicking his feet.
“I’m glad you like it,” Sasuke says. He pushes a small platter closer to Naruto’s chopsticks. “Can you eat a little more, please?”
He’d made a simple meal: stir-fried vegetables with grilled chicken and rice. It’s something quick and low energy. Sasuke made them a side of black tea and fruit, hoping it would keep Naruto healthy.
Naruto is painfully feverish. All his skin is flushed, especially across his torso. Now Sasuke understands Sakura’s concern; Naruto could easily come out of this sick and there’d be only so much the Nine-Tails chakra could do to help.
“Fine,” Naruto whined, squirming in Sasuke’s lap but complying.
Sasuke chuckles at the behavior. He hadn’t imagined Naruto would be this cute. Hell, he hadn’t imagined the reality of being with Naruto at all. This moment is for the realm of dreams.
Sasuke sips his tea and watches Naruto eat. He doesn’t remember feeling this content in a long time. He counts the dozen or so love bites along his lover’s body: on the neck, shoulders, back, and love handles. Sasuke can feel the ache of similar bruises between his thighs and neck. This man was his. This moment was theirs.
Naruto puts his chopsticks down and stretches his arms above his head. A small yawn escapes him as Naruto leans back onto Sasuke’s chest. Sasuke moves his teacup out of the way, places it on the table, and wraps his arm around Naruto’s stomach.
“You should try to nap,” Sasuke suggests, rubbing Naruto’s lower stomach. He can feel the tip of Naruto’s dick graze his fingers, wet and rock hard.
“Nope. I don’t wanna,” Naruto says.
He almost sighs the words, like the effort of talking is too much. Sasuke inhales sharply when he feels Naruto’s walls clench around his dick. Naruto spreads his legs wider and rubs his warm palms over Sasuke’s thighs, so softly it tickles and excites all at once.
“I think I want you to take me right here,” Naruto whispers.
Sasuke groans at those words. It’s slow, but he can feel the strong sensation in his toes rise. He’s getting used to it: the rise and fall of the rut, a push and pull on his psyche that knocks down his inhibitions like a raging boar in a forest. It’s not exactly a loss of control. It’s a shift in focus. And, with the way Naruto is squeezing and releasing him, breathing so heavily, and talking, the focus is on fucking this sexy asshole into the floorboards.
“C’mon, c’mon, it’s alright, I know you want to. Just one more. I told you: it’s nothing to worry about. No consequences. Just fill me up. It’s practice.”
“Practice for what?” Sasuke says, surprised by how gone he sounded: lost somewhere between heaven and hell.
“Baby making,” Naruto says as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. He starts to roll his hips, grinding down on Sasuke’s growing erection. “You want to knot me, fill me, take me, fuck me, over and over again. Don’t lie to me!”
Damn it, and damn him to hell! What did he even ask Naruto to do anyway? Naruto guides Sasuke's trembling fingers to where their bodies meet. Sasuke could feel Naruto’s wet, dripping lips wrapped around him. He groaned at the sensation. He couldn’t resist slowly pumping into that wonderful heat, feeling each stroke between his fingers.
“That’s it, baby. Take your time, fuck,” Naruto moaned, words drawn out and hoarse.
Sasuke knows he’s overstimulated. He knows Naruto is sore as hell. At some point yesterday, Sasuke found an ice pack and placed it between Naruto’s legs while he was sleeping. But he knew he couldn’t deny Naruto either. Not when he’s been so good. Not when he feels so fucking tight still.
“Hands on your ankles.”
Naruto obeys by getting up briefly to bend over and grab his knees. Sasuke pushes the table away so they don’t break it.
“You want me to take my time?”
“Yes, I d—shit, right there!”
Sasuke dives right back into Naruto’s dripping pussy, sliding each inch in and out: slow, hard, and deep. When he fucked Naruto like this, every part of Naruto quivered and squealed. He sounded so pathetic and cute, every moan and wet smack urging Sasuke on. Both their thighs are bruised, red, and sore, but they don’t care. At least Sasuke knows he doesn’t give a shit. He needs to bury his aching knot inside.
Naruto loses his grip when Sasuke switches his pace from slow and deliberate to fast and deep. Sasuke holds onto Naruto, guiding them both down and pinning Naruto to the floor. The omega tries to crawl away but gives up when Sasuke starts fucking him in earnest, knot snatching in and out of his entrance.
“Stay and take it, damn it. You want it more than I do. So fucking nasty. Listen to that pussy.”
Naruto wails, digging his nails into Sasuke’s arm but spreading his legs wider to take Sasuke easily. The sound of slick gushing out and onto their thighs might as well be a chorus.
“I love it, baby, I love it! Hurry up, cum, please, I want it.”
Shit. Sasuke pushes himself home, locking Naruto inside and dumping his seed deep inside the love of his life. Scarily, Sasuke wished it would take. He wished it wasn’t just practice.
Shit…what the fuck is he thinking?
***
A ray of light woke Naruto up. From the angle and color, it’s sometime before noon but well after dawn. Naruto is slow to move. He lifts his head, scanning the room, and trying to gather his wits. He wasn’t on the bed. Naruto runs his hand under him: someone moves him to the floor onto a futon. The bed was stripped and pillows were stacked in the corner. A window is propped open, the low hum of village life floating inside.
His heat must’ve ended while he’d been sleeping. Naruto sits up and stretches. He can hear his washer and dryer running in his bathroom. He gets up and walks as quickly as his legs allow. He needed to pee so badly.
After he relieves himself, Naruto assesses himself in the mirror. He looks…well… thoroughly fucked out, but his hair is slightly damp and his clothes are clean. Sasuke must’ve cleaned him up because he’s not covered in sweat and other fluids. Naruto runs his fingers over the hickeys and bruises on the exposed skin on his arms and neck, pausing the assess the healing mating mark on his neck.
Oh god.
Naruto rushes out of the bathroom and into the living area. The place is tidy with a heavy scent of coffee hanging in the air. However, Sasuke isn’t here. Naruto, panicking, opens the balcony and scans the streets below. There’s no sign of Sasuke.
Oh my fucking god.
Naruto has one foot on the balcony ledge, about to launch himself across the village to find the man when he hears the front door open. Hands still firmly on the metal ledge, Naruto turns around to meet Sasuke’s confused eyes. He’s holding a large paper take-out bag and a pack is on his back. Right…food. Sasuke went for lunch.
“What the hell are you doing, fool?” Sasuke asks, a tinge of annoyance in his voice. “Sit down. You slept for over 10 hours! You need to eat.”
Sasuke, frowning, places the take-out bag on the table and then points at the empty chair. Naruto blushes and sits without argument. He can smell the ramen. His stomach growls. Sasuke rolls his eyes and sits so they can dig in.
After they are full, Naruto feels significantly calmer and content, but he’d be lying if he wasn’t sore as fuck. His lower back is on fire and he’s sitting with his legs spread eagle to relieve the pressure on his swollen labia. He needs to go to a hot spring.
“You okay?” Sasuke says. Naruto sees the worry and embarrassment on his face.
“I’m okay,” Naruto says with a small smile. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah…actually, I am,” Sasuke replies, but it sounds like he’s trying to convince himself.
Naruto nods. He can’t place the emotion that Sasuke’s tone invokes in him. Maybe he needs to eat some more. Naruto goes to the kitchen to get a snack.
While browsing the cabinets, Naruto runs his fingers against his mating mark and grins. He can feel the eyes that follow him. He doesn’t want to read into this. Not right now.
***
A few months later…
If you step into Naruto’s apartment, you wouldn’t know anything had changed during that first heat cycle. The pile of gifts in the corner is smaller, sure. There are a few new houseplants on the windowsill. A handful of scrolls and photos have been rearranged. There’s even a new, bigger sturdier couch, but the walls are still the same color and the fridge still groans when it tries to cool down. You can count on at least four ramen containers on the table at any given point of the day. So, Naruto hasn’t really changed.
However, a new pair of shoes is in the genkan every other night. A second dresser sits next to Naruto’s, full of blue and black clothes. There are two toothbrushes, two combs, two towels, and two sets of soap in the bathroom. Co-habitation is Naruto’s new reality.
This new arrangement between Sasuke and Naruto is a gradual process. Sasuke didn’t immediately bolt as Naruto feared. Although, he didn’t meld himself into Naruto’s life either. Sasuke chooses some sort of weird middle ground—living in a small studio apartment near the old Uchiha compound and spending time in Naruto’s apartment part-time. It is a bit ridiculous, a point Naruto reiterated at every opportunity he got.
“Is it because you don’t want people to know?” Naruto asks, vexed and fuming.
They stood near the forested area above the Hokage’s monument. It’s a snowy afternoon, a steady stream of flurries falling as the sun sets over Konoha. The two lovers spent many afternoons here because they were guaranteed privacy. Sasuke hated the prying eyes of the villagers. Sasuke seemed to hate everyone lately.
“I don’t care if and what people know,” Sasuke says, repeating this lie that he wants Naruto to swallow like a hot coal.
“Then what is the issue with moving into my place?” Naruto asks, for the hundredth time.
“Because… never mind,” Sasuke sighs.
This time, Naruto sees red. It’s a few days before his heat cycle, and he’s not in the mood for Sasuke’s aloofness. Not this time. Naruto shakes Sasuke, fist clenching the front of his black winter coat.
“If you don’t open your goddamn mouth,” Naruto says through gritted teeth. “Speak, damn it, Sasuke, I swear I’ll—”
“Fine!” Sasuke yells, shoving Naruto off him. He straightens out his coat and takes a few steps back from Naruto.
“I…I think we should get married first,” Sasuke says, eyes on the floor.
Naruto’s anger dissipates so fast he feels lightheaded. What did he just fucking say?!
“I wanted…I want us to marry and buy something else,” Sasuke says, still not meeting Naruto’s intense stare. Sasuke is blushing. This is not happening.
“Why?” Naruto asks.
Sasuke flinches. Naruto curses. Even he can hear how callous that question sounds.
“I mean…why does it matter if we marry or not?” Naruto clarifies. “I don’t…no one cares about that sort of thing anymore. I just want you with me, Sasuke.”
“It matters to me,” Sasuke says, looking up to glare at Naruto. “I wasn’t raised to just mate someone and not marry them! I may be the last Uchiha, but that may not be the case soon. Or in the future. Or whenever.”
Understanding floods Naruto’s brain and relaxes all his muscles. Mating and not marrying isn’t uncommon, even though many older people frown upon it. Marriage mattered more to clan members, who tracked marriages and births meticulously to track keeki genkais. Marriage isn’t just a matter of compatibility or ensuring someone’s title—it is a matter of status and control.
Anyone could change their mind about being mated. It’s difficult, heartbreaking, and sometimes debilitating, but it can be done. Two people spend enough time apart, and the mating bites fade. Marriage, however, couldn’t be undone the same way. Elders have to be consulted. There’s a whole trail. It can be a nasty business, but it did create a certain level of security. A security Sasuke hasn’t felt since he was a child. A knowledge that, no matter what happened, his parents were a unit.
“Were you…going to talk to me about this?” Naruto asks, stepping towards Sasuke. Sasuke didn’t flinch a way which is a good sign. “Or were you just going to spring the question on me later?”
“I was working on it, damn it!” Sasuke says, his blush turning a lovely shade of rose. “I thought, maybe, it was too early and I’d freak you out.”
“Why would talking about our future freak me out?” Naruto asks, laughing lightly. Seeing Sasuke so flustered is satisfying. He pulls Sasuke closer until they are chest-to-chest.
“Because…you don’t remember things you say every month, but I do,” Sasuke says.
Now, Naruto is the one blushing. What the heck has he been saying this whole time?! Sasuke smirks at the distressed expression on Naruto’s face. Sasuke leans over to whisper in his ear.
“You’re desperate for me to breed you,” Sasuke whispers. “Begging, actually.”
Naruto squawks and jerks away from Sasuke, crouching down in a poor attempt to hide his face. Oh no. This is worse than he thought. Sasuke laughs, a deep cackle from his belly, at Naruto’s embarrassed squealing.
“See why I didn’t say anything?!” Sasuke asks, still laughing. “It’s not something you just repeat!!”
“Oh, someone just kill me already,” Naruto groans.
Sasuke taps on his shoulder. Naruto looks up into soft, understanding eyes. There’s so much love there that it soothes the sting of shame. Sasuke squats down beside Naruto, grinning in a way that always makes Naruto’s heart skip.
“When you’re in heat, you’re honest with me,” Sasuke says assuredly. “Were you lying when you said you wanted a family of your own?”
“I want that more than anything,” Naruto says, shaking his head. Tears were stinging the corner of his eyes.
“I want to give that to you, build a solid family together, but it will be hard,” Sasuke says kindly. “And we can’t do it inside that tiny apartment.”
Naruto presses his lips together. Damn it. Sasuke is right.
“Fine,” Naruto says, defeated. “I don’t want a speech, and you better talk to Iruka and Kakashi first or they’ll try to skin you alive.”
Sasuke chuckles and nods.
***
Two years later…
Naruto and Sasuke place their leave of absence letters on Kakashi’s desk next to their framed wedding photo and then bow deeply at the waist. Kakashi sighs, and opens the letter, but doesn’t read it. He doesn’t seem shocked by the married couple’s behavior. The two straighten up to observe Kakashi’s dejected expression.
“First Ino and Sai, now you two?” Kakashi asks rhetorically. “Where am I going to find ninja for S-Class and A-Class missions, huh?”
“We live in an era of peace, sensai,” Naruto says, smiling. “You should be happy! You’re going to be an uncle soon!”
“I don’t want to be an uncle,” Kakashi says, sinking onto the desk dramatically. “I raised you brats already!!”
“But this will be a new brat!” Naruto says, poking Kakashi’s arm repeatedly. “Imagine it, Kaka-sensei. A mini-me! A mini-Sasuke! Oh! Wait. A combo of the two!!!”
Kakashi groans and buries his head in his folded arms. Sasuke chuckles darkly.
“Get out of my office,” Kakashi mumbles, not looking up. “Your leave of absence is approved. Now, go be happy somewhere else.”
Naruto and Sasuke laugh at Kakashi's misery the entire way home. The two live in a traditional two-story house on a hill north of the village in a quiet neighborhood. An elderly widow renovated it after Pein’s attack and sold it to them for a fair price. Walking inside, they step over a few dozen boxes and bags, filled to the brim with things for the nursery.
“Baby,” Sasuke says gravely. Naruto smiles. He loves it when Sasuke calls him that in private. “The kid isn’t going to be here for at least five more months. Are you serious? What is all this?”
“First, I didn’t buy this,” Naruto says, picking up a few containers. “Sakura left these for us. She and Lee are gifting us a few hand-me-downs.”
Sasuke makes a sound of understanding. Together, they carry everything upstairs to the nursery. There are paint samples on the wall—a patch of pink, yellow, blue, and green. They haven’t settled on a color yet. There’s a half-assembled dresser and stacks of purchases Naruto did, in fact, make.
Not that Sasuke is any less guilty. There’s a baby kunai toy, a stuffed elephant, and a pair of tiny ninja slippers sitting on top of a stack of boxes. Naruto’s favorite item is one Sasuke hadn’t bought, though. It’s a wooden rocking chair that Sasuke rescued from the Uchiha compound. He hired Ten-Ten to refinish the wood and add some cushions. It was extremely comfortable.
Naruto settles into the rocking chair and undoes his pants, sighing once the tension is released. He still wasn’t showing much, but Naruto already feels huge. His underwear is tighter, some of his shirts are too short in the front, and he can feel the pressure on his damn bladder.
Sasuke sits on the floor and takes Naruto’s feet in his hands, rubbing them with his thumb. Naruto closes his eyes. It’s nice to have Sasuke so attentive. Ever since they decided to try for a baby and removed Naruto’s implant, something shifted in Sasuke’s personality. Yes, he’d always been possessive and a bit serious, but he’s softer now. Gentler in their lovemaking and warmer in the little things he does for Naruto.
Naruto yawns and closes his eyes. He’s been so sleepy the entire trimester. It was Naruto falling asleep standing up during a mission that made Sasuke push for them to go on leave early. Naruto pushed his luck, anyway. Sasuke wanted him off duty the moment their pregnancy test came back positive.
Not that he’s complaining anymore. Naruto can sleep all he wants now. Just as Naruto is about to drift off, though, a tiny movement in his stomach makes his eyes snap open. He places a hand on his stomach.
“What’s wrong?” Sasuke asks, tinged with worry.
“Shh, shh, wait,” Naruto says.
He takes Sasuke’s hand and places it over his stomach, too. Naruto resists giggling when Sasuke activates his Sharigan. He’s being so silly! Soon, Sasuke’s silliness is rewarded when Naruto feels a fluttering in his stomach. A sure sign of the life they’d created together.
“Hey, little one,” Sasuke whispers, almost reverent. He wraps his arm around Naruto and leans closer. “Your tiny chakra is so pretty. Can you hear me?”
A huge grin spreads across Sasuke’s face. Naruto can’t control the giggle this time.
“What?”
“I think they can hear me! I swear! The little chakra ball spun when I asked if it could hear!”
Naruto rolls his eyes but doesn’t correct his husband. Let him be excited. Let Sasuke believe what he wants to believe. It makes him happy to see Sasuke smile. He’s sure there will be hard times. There will come moments of drought, but right now, Naruto feels like they are standing on fertile ground.