Chapter Text
The air in the art gallery was stiflingly hot, and Sasuke was sweating in his immaculate suit. Usually, he wouldn’t have bothered, but it was the opening day of his own art exhibit, so he had to look presentable.
“Calm down, you look fine,” Itachi said with a laugh. He was also dressed for the occasion, the black of his suit and the red of his tie complimenting his looks. His long, black hair was tied to a loose bun, in a carefully planned way that made it look casual.
“You know how much I hate these damn outfits,” Sasuke muttered and resisted the urge to loosen his own violet tie. His suit was charcoal gray, with a pale lilac shirt underneath it. He knew he looked good, with his pale complexion, his black hair (shorter and messier than Itachi’s) and lithe frame, but he hated to be perceived like this. Exhibits and interviews were the worst things about his job, but they were relatively rare (as Sasuke didn’t like giving interviews), so he suffered through them.
The opening day of the exhibit had been carefully scheduled so that it wouldn’t coincide with his heat, which was due in about two weeks.
“I can’t believe you manage to be so normal,” Sasuke said quietly. “Even with the suppressants and the blockers, I can smell it.”
“Years of experience and patience,” Itachi said easily. There was barely any sign on his face that his heat was on, just the tiniest hint of red on his cheeks. But Itachi’s heats weren’t that powerful these days anyway, since he had mated a long time ago and already had two kids with Shisui. “Besides, I wouldn’t have missed this.” He looked around the gallery, the walls adorned with Sasuke’s paintings he’d worked on for the past two years.
“I just want this to be over,” Sasuke said uncomfortably. The gallery was about to open, and he could already see people milling about the entrance. His exhibits were really popular, especially when they were held in Konoha, his home city. The gallery there was owned by Sasuke himself (gifted to him by Itachi some years ago), so some of the paintings on display there were ones that were never shown anywhere else.
Shisui would come to the exhibit later with the kids—the opening day was always the busiest, and Sasuke hadn’t wanted Tengo and Ren among so many adults. The twins were only five, but both already had excellent senses; their secondary genders were still years from manifesting, but they did still catch scents, and to children that small, it could get overwhelming.
Sasuke’s mother would be there today, but that was about all from the Uchiha family who cared enough to come. His father had never accepted his choice of career, despite the fact that as a mateless omega, working as a free artist was about the best job imaginable. Even during a heat, Sasuke was able to work from home; his small house was outfitted with a proper studio for it.
Then again, Fugaku hadn’t never really forgiven Sasuke about the fact that he’d had the nerve to be an omega, just like Itachi was. It had been a blow to Fugaku’s influence; as the head of the Uchiha family and an alpha himself, having both children be omega was nothing short of an embarrassment. Itachi should’ve inherited the title from Fugaku, but it was impossible for him as an omega; Shisui had, by all accounts, been the savior. He was already part of the family, so he’d been declared as Fugaku’s heir after he had bonded with Itachi.
“Uchiha-san, are you ready?” one of the employees in the gallery asked.
Sasuke sighed. “Yeah, open the doors.” Better to get this over with.
Visitors started pouring in, their scents immediately filling the room. Itachi looked vaguely nauseated—despite the suppressants, his sense of smell was highly magnified during the heat—but he took a deep breath. “I’m going get us something to drink,” he said, anxious to get away from the worst crowd.
Sasuke nodded to him. After Itachi had disappeared into the back rooms, he tried to stay calm and not feel too anxious about the occasion. It would only be for tonight, then the exhibit would run for two or three months before it would move to another city; Sasuke had agreed to be present in Kyoto and Tokyo for the opening days, and he wasn’t excited about it. But the exhibits were his main source of income, because people bought his paintings and asked for commissions, and Sasuke was able to ask money as much as he wanted—his art was that sought after.
Sasuke had just finished giving a short interview to Konoha’s main newspaper reporter when the scent hit him. It appeared suddenly and slammed into his senses, making him instantly break into a sweat. It was a familiar one, a mix of musk and smoke, something Sasuke had tried to forget for the past few years. He scanned the crowd, hoping against hope that it was just a familiar scent and not the same. His omega instincts were already going crazy and had released pheromones into the room, but to his extreme relief, the space was so crowded with people and scents that his went unnoticed.
All but for one, that is. Sasuke’s mood made a nosedive as he recognized Naruto at the door with a red-haired woman—his mother. Naruto had been chatting with her, but as if sensing Sasuke’s eyes, he turned.
They stared at each other for what seemed like forever, Sasuke instantly going back into memories of when they’d been in ninth grade and so stupidly in love as two teenagers could be. Back then, they had just been boys, and Sasuke had had a wild hope they’d both be beta and have normal lives.
But no, Naruto’s alpha scent was so strong, still enticing, still tugging at Sasuke’s omega senses so strongly that he was already getting wet, and he fucking hated it. They hadn’t even spoken since Naruto had presented, just before they’d started high school and they’d broken up.
No, don’t come here, you dumbass, Sasuke thought angrily as Naruto peeled himself off Kushina, and then, sure enough, he walked through the crowd directly towards him.
It was terrible, because Naruto was actually hot. He had the well-toned body of an alpha, sun-kissed skin, wild blond hair, and his eyes were still the striking blue they had always been, insistent on Sasuke’s face as Naruto had promised, time and again, that nothing would ever change.
Then everything had.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Sasuke snapped the second Naruto was close enough to hear.
“Hello to you too,” Naruto said with a sigh. “I was hoping for a better reception. Like, Good to see you, Naruto, it’s been too long! or something.”
“I have nothing to say to you,” Sasuke said, but his omega wasn’t agreeing—it was desperate to get Naruto closer, to scent him, to rub against him like a cat, and Sasuke was painfully aware that Naruto could smell the burst of pheromones that was released with it.
But it had nothing to do with real desire. Sasuke’s body reacted like that because he still remembered how good it had felt when he’d been with Naruto. And he was certain his omega had emerged because Naruto had gone into his first rut during their date. It had only taken days after that when Sasuke had woken up in the morning, only to realize he was in heat. It was very possible that Naruto’s awakening had coaxed Sasuke’s, and that had been the reason he had ended their relationship.
So yeah, Naruto was pretty much to blame that Sasuke had been miserable since then.
Naruto rubbed his neck, his eyes dancing on Sasuke’s face. He was almost a head taller than him, muscular, built exactly like how Sasuke liked his men, and it was so annoying.
If Naruto would cause Sasuke’s heat to come early, he would fling the idiot out of the planet.
“You… you look good,” Naruto said quietly. “And your art is amazing.”
Naruto had been there when Sasuke had barely even started. He’d drawn most of his life, but he’d started to paint in middle school, and he’d had paint all over his clothes, even in his hair, when they’d gone out together.
“Thanks, I guess,” Sasuke said, sighing. “You still didn’t answer my question. Why are you here?”
“Ma wanted someone to accompany her,” Naruto said, pointing at Kushina’s direction. “She kept pestering me to come and see you, and, well…”
As much as Sasuke was annoyed, he understood. Naruto was alpha, yes, but so was his mother, and they often butted heads. However, Naruto had too much of his father in him to properly deny anything from Kushina.
“Okay, now you have seen me, so you can go—” Sasuke started, but it was just his luck that Itachi returned at that same moment with two glasses of champagne.
“The servers are almost ready,” Itachi said to Sasuke and handed a glass to him.
“Itachi! It’s been a while, how’s it going?” Naruto chirped.
Itachi turned and his brows shot up. “Naruto? Wow, you’ve… grown up.”
“Yeah, it’s the alpha,” Naruto said awkwardly. “I came here with my Ma, so I have to get back to her. Say hi to Shisui for me!” And then, with a final look at Sasuke, Naruto turned and left.
“Sasuke,” Itachi said.
“Don’t,” Sasuke hissed. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
The evening would be long indeed, because now Sasuke had to hide his raging pheromones and hope to god he wouldn’t leak too much into his boxers. And he couldn’t lie to himself—he missed Naruto terribly, and as alpha and omega… it would be amazing. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t do that again.
Why is it always you? he thought, following Naruto with his eyes.
***
“He still hates me,” Naruto informed his mother. “I told you, I shouldn’t have come. I ruined his whole evening—his scent is so powerful that others are bound to notice it.”
“Still, he did react to you,” Kushina pointed out and took a sip of her champagne. Naruto snatched a glass for himself from a nearby server.
“It’s the opening day, he’s going to feel like shit for the whole evening,” Naruto said, already regretting he’d even come.
It was faint, but he did catch Sasuke’s scent even with the distance, and it was full of the omega’s longing and desire. But it wasn’t what Sasuke wanted. It was just his body reacting to their shared history. The scent had a tang to it, just a bit bitter that chafed against Naruto’s senses, but he didn’t exactly hate it.
Naruto was better at keeping his alpha at bay, but he couldn’t deny how much he loved Sasuke’s scent out of everything he’d ever smelled in his life—that certain sweetness in it, the freshness. It was as if Sasuke balanced Naruto in a way he couldn’t explain.
It wouldn’t have needed to end when it had, Naruto knew—but Sasuke had been livid when he’d found out he was an omega, and he was still blaming Naruto about it. It made all of it so much worse, and Naruto still felt guilty about it, even though he couldn’t have influenced it in any way. His first rut had been terrible and strong, and he’d used all of his willpower to get away from Sasuke, even though his body had screamed to claim him then and there. Just a few days later Sasuke had sent a vicious text with the words, I’m a fucking omega and it’s your fault, stay away from me.
And being an omega had been the last thing Sasuke had wanted.
Naruto had to glance in Sasuke’s direction again. He was chatting with the visitors, champagne glass in his hand, and he was just so beautiful. Pale skin, those onyx eyes Naruto had loved to stare at (and still did), that perpetual frown, hair so black it was tinted almost blue in sunlight. Naruto still remembered how silky and soft it had been between his fingers.
There had been an insistent hope in Naruto’s heart that once they saw each other again, Sasuke would’ve at least smiled at him. Or asked how he was doing.
Naruto was an idiot for hoping that, though.
Sasuke still hated him, and there was nothing he could do to make it better.
“I’m sorry, Ma, but I think I’m gonna leave,” Naruto said apologetically. “If I stay, I’ll only make it harder for him.”
Kushina sighed. “Okay, baby. Sorry that I dragged you here.”
“It’s okay—you couldn’t have known Sasuke would react like that,” Naruto said. He finished his champagne and set the glass on the table. “I’ll stop by on the weekend for dinner, okay?”
“Sure thing,” Kushina said and she gave a kiss to Naruto’s cheek. “Don’t work too much.”
“I try not to,” Naruto said easily, but they both knew he was lying. He would drown himself with work, just to distract himself from constantly thinking about Sasuke.
Naruto left for the entrance, and he glanced at Sasuke again. Their eyes met, and Naruto mouthed, “I’m sorry,” before he left.