Naruto woke to the sensation of being smothered. For a second, he thought he'd suffocated in his sleep, or maybe the old radiator had finally given up and flooded the room with carbon monoxide. Then sensation sorted itself into a pattern: there was a muscular arm wrapped around his midsection, a hard chest against his back, and—gods help him—a thigh wedged possessively between his legs.
He blinked at the window, where dawn was only just bleeding into the sky, and immediately regretted the movement as a dull ache fired down his spine and pooled in his hips. The entire lower half of his body felt as if it had been rolled over by a cement truck, only the cement truck had been very enthusiastic and extremely well-endowed.
Sasuke's arm was heavy and inescapable, his hand splayed across Naruto's ribs. Even in sleep, he radiated a dangerous intensity—jaw set, hair a black halo on the pillow, lips parted as if he might at any moment bite something just to prove he could. Naruto had always wondered what it would be like to wake up next to someone—specifically, whether it would be awkward, or embarrassing, or maybe sweet. He'd never imagined it would be all three at once, with a large helping of soreness and the faintest hint of panic.
Memory came in fragments: Sasuke on top of him, in him, the echo of his name broken by Sasuke's teeth and tongue and the thick, stretching burn that had been more than Naruto had expected or even wanted, at first. Then the flood of endorphins had turned everything gold and hot and needful, and he'd come apart so violently he wasn't sure if the whole beta dorm heard him.
Now, with the light creeping up the walls, he became aware of the other evidence: the bruises on his hips, the red marks on his neck, the faint but inescapable scent of Alpha that clung to his skin. Sasuke's scent. He realized, with a rising horror, that if he could smell it, anyone within a three-meter radius would know exactly what had happened.
Naruto tried to extricate himself, but Sasuke's arm tightened in his sleep, pinning him with the efficiency of a boa constrictor. He froze, holding his breath, until Sasuke's hold finally eased and his breathing returned to its slow, even cadence.
Naruto checked the clock on his phone—7:14 a.m. He had less than an hour before they needed to be at Orochimaru's class. He tried again, moving with the caution of a field mouse in a nest of sleeping snakes, and this time managed to slide out from under Sasuke's grip. He padded across the freezing floor, wincing with every step, the soreness in his hips a literal badge of shame. He glanced down at himself—bite marks, hickeys, and a purple fingerprint bruise at the edge of his collarbone. There was even a crescent-shaped impression of Sasuke's nail on his left pec.
He ducked into the bathroom, quietly shutting the door, and turned on the shower. While the water heated up, he caught sight of himself in the mirror. He looked like he'd been mauled. There were claw marks from Sasuke's hands, and a red, toothy crescent where Sasuke had bitten his shoulder—an actual bite, not a love nibble. Naruto splashed water on his face and muttered, "You let him," at the reflection, and tried not to shiver.
The shower was both heaven and hell. Hot water soothed his bruises, but every brush of his own hand over his stomach reminded him of the events of the night before. He wanted to feel angry, or violated, or at the very least righteous, but all he felt was the raw, shameful knowledge that he'd loved every second of it. He wanted to hate Sasuke for what he'd done, for not asking, for not warning—but then he remembered the way Sasuke had whispered his name, over and over, and the way he'd kissed Naruto's forehead when it was all over, and the anger wouldn't stick.
The shower curtain yanked aside, splattering water onto the linoleum.
Sasuke stood in the doorway, naked and unbothered, eyes hooded with sleep and hair sticking up at impossible angles. He looked at Naruto the way a predator regarded a watering hole: with entitlement, and the certainty that whatever happened next was his to dictate.
Naruto made a strangled sound and snatched the washcloth, holding it in front of him as if it offered any real defense.
Sasuke arched an eyebrow. "You're already late." He stepped into the shower, crowding Naruto against the cold tile, and reached for the soap as though this was the most natural thing in the world.
Naruto squirmed, but there was nowhere to go. "We have class in an hour, asshole."
"Forty minutes," Sasuke corrected, reaching for the soap. His hands disappeared beneath a cloud of lather before they reappeared on Naruto's chest, moving in slow circles. "Separate showers aren't practical." Naruto's breath caught in his throat as his body responded instantly to the touch, a rush of heat pooling low in his belly.
"Practical," Naruto huffed and turned away from Sasuke so he couldn't see his growing arousal.
Sasuke's hands never stopped moving. "You missed a spot." His fingers skimmed over Naruto's stomach, then circled his hips. When his thumb found the deep purple bruise, he stopped, eyes going dark. "Sorry," he said, not sounding sorry at all.
Naruto glared at him over his shoulder, "You know, most people say sorry before they knot someone half to death."
Sasuke's lips twitched. "Didn't hear you objecting last night."
Naruto flushed, too humiliated to answer. He twisted away, but Sasuke just moved with him, crowding him back into the corner of the shower stall. The heat and steam made the world fuzzy at the edges, as if nothing beyond these walls existed.
Naruto's lips formed the words "Let me go," but his voice cracked on the last syllable, betraying him. His hands, which should have been pushing Sasuke away, remained frozen against the Alpha's chest.
Sasuke's hand landed on the wall, caging him in. "You're not hurt?"
Naruto fixed his gaze on a spot just past Sasuke's left shoulder, watching water droplets slide down the tile. "Not really," he muttered, shifting his weight to press his thigh against the cold wall. "Just... sore."
"Good," Sasuke said, leaning closer until his breath ghosted across Naruto's damp skin. "I don't want to hurt you."
He sounded so sincere that Naruto's resistance wavered. For a moment, they just stood there, steam curling around them, the spray of water bouncing off Sasuke's shoulder and running in rivulets down his chest.
Then Sasuke leaned in, lips grazing Naruto's ear, and said, "You smell like me."
Naruto's skin prickled with goosebumps despite the steam. He rolled his eyes, trying to ignore the heat spreading through his body. "Yeah, well, that's why I'm in here."
Sasuke pressed closer, the hard line of his body pinning Naruto in place. "No. Even when you wash, it's still there." He inhaled deeply, and a low growl rumbled in his chest. "I can smell myself on you."
Naruto opened his mouth to retort, but the words died in his throat as Sasuke's hand slid lower, fingers digging into the soft flesh of his ass with possessive heat. A gasp escaped him as Sasuke hoisted him up in one fluid motion, pinning him against the slick tile. The hard press of Sasuke's arousal against his entrance sent a jolt of electricity up Naruto's spine, his body betraying him as his thighs parted and locked around Sasuke's narrow waist, pulling him closer instead of pushing him away.
"I said I was sore—" Naruto protested, but the protest fizzled as Sasuke's lips found the hollow of his throat, sucking a new bruise just above his collarbone. Sasuke's cock, already hard, pressed insistently against Naruto's thigh, and Naruto knew Sasuke could feel the slick already leaking out. Traitor. Naruto wanted to yell at his body.
Sasuke pressed the swollen head of his cock against Naruto's slick entrance, teasing with agonizing restraint. He circled the sensitive rim, spreading the wetness, making Naruto whimper with each deliberate stroke. Naruto's body trembled, caught between the lingering soreness and the desperate, primal need to impale himself on Sasuke's throbbing length, to feel that delicious stretch and fullness again as his inner walls clenched around nothing.
Sasuke's teeth grazed Naruto's earlobe, sending electricity down his spine. "Tell me you want it," he growled, his voice rough velvet against Naruto's skin.
Naruto's body betrayed him, arching into Sasuke's touch as slick heat pooled between his thighs. He squeezed his eyes shut, his breath coming in short gasps. "P-please, Sasuke," he whimpered, the words torn from somewhere deep and primal inside him. His cock throbbed painfully against his stomach as Sasuke's fingers dug into the soft flesh of his hips.
Naruto felt the smirk against his neck before he felt the intrusion. This time, Sasuke didn't ease in—he claimed him with one brutal thrust that stole the breath from Naruto's lungs. The delicious burn of being stretched so suddenly, so completely, sent lightning up his spine. His body, still tender from the night before, surrendered instantly. Naruto's vision went white as his cock pulsed between them, hot ropes of cum painting their stomachs while Sasuke's name tore from his throat in a ragged, desperate cry.
Sasuke's voice broke on a ragged groan. "Fuck," he hissed, his fingers digging bruises into Naruto's hips. "You just came from nothing but my cock inside you." He rocked deeper, grinding against that spot that made Naruto see stars. "So fucking tight around me—like your body was made to take me."
Naruto's body trembled, caught between exhaustion and a desperate hunger as Sasuke's cock dragged against his swollen rim. His nails dug crescents into Sasuke's shoulders, searching for purchase as each thrust sent electricity crackling up his spine. When Sasuke hit that spot deep inside him, Naruto's head fell back against the tile, a broken sob escaping his throat. "Fuck—it's too much," he gasped, even as his body clenched greedily around Sasuke's length, silently begging for more.
Sasuke's hips snapped forward with bruising force, his rhythm turning punishing as he felt Naruto's inner walls flutter around him. He dragged his teeth up the sensitive cord of Naruto's neck, tasting salt and submission, before growling against the shell of his ear. "If you could see yourself—flushed and dripping, stretched so perfectly around my cock—fuck, the way you're swallowing me up like you were made for this, made for me."
"Shut up," Naruto groaned. He clung to Sasuke, the world spinning as pleasure threatened to drown him. When he finally came, it was in a hot, helpless rush, his whole body shuddering against Sasuke's.
Sasuke followed, his restraint finally shattering as he snapped his hips hard, driving deep before his whole body went rigid. He held Naruto through the aftershocks, arms trembling, lips pressed to Naruto's temple.
For a long moment, they just breathed together, water cascading over them both.
Sasuke was the first to move. He eased out of Naruto and set him down, supporting him until his legs stopped shaking. Then, to Naruto's surprise, he took the washcloth and began to gently wipe him clean—soap and water, careful hands, no more jokes.
"I said I can do it myself," Naruto grumbled, but didn't actually try to stop him.
Sasuke just grunted. "You'd miss half your back."
Naruto made a noise of protest, but the truth was that the gentle, methodical attention felt good. He watched, suspicious, as Sasuke worked his way down to Naruto's calves and feet, and then handed him a fresh towel.
After toweling off, Naruto cinched the terrycloth around his waist and propped himself against the sink's edge. Sasuke materialized behind him, his own towel barely clinging to narrow hips, palms planted on either side of the countertop. The position left Naruto effectively caged. His pulse quickened—surely Sasuke wasn't angling for more. Every muscle in Naruto's body felt wrung out, used up.
Sasuke broke the silence first. "You okay?"
Naruto snorted, a wave of relief washing over him. The truth was, he couldn't have refused Sasuke—not because of any physical advantage the Alpha had, but because his own traitorous body craved the contact. "Little late for that question, isn't it?"
Sasuke's head dropped to Naruto's shoulder, dark strands of wet hair veiling his eyes. "Sorry," he murmured, his breath warm against Naruto's skin. "I shouldn't have cornered you like that in the shower." A flush crept up Naruto's neck, coloring his cheeks as he stood frozen in place.
Naruto's face flushed hot, then cold, as something tender and terrifying bloomed in his chest—that same dangerous feeling from last night when he had looked into Sasuke's eyes, horrified by the word "love" floating unbidden through his mind. Their eyes met in the mirror. Sasuke called him "his," but was that possession or affection? Alpha instinct or something more? Naruto's throat tightened; finding Kurama was supposed to be the only thing that mattered.
"It's fine," Naruto muttered, voice catching. "I would've hit you if I didn't want it." He ducked under Sasuke's arm, fleeing the bathroom before his face could betray him further. He yanked on his clothes with shaking hands, glancing at the clock—running out of time to find his brother, running out of excuses for himself.
Sasuke dressed with his usual efficiency, the bruises on his neck and shoulders now hidden beneath a black turtleneck. When Naruto finally looked up, he saw Sasuke watching him-calculating, as if trying to solve a puzzle with no solution.
Naruto fumbled for words. "So, uh. I should probably call Tsunade later, get the morning-after—" He stopped, unsure whether to finish the sentence.
Sasuke blinked, then—astonishingly—looked embarrassed. "You think it's necessary?"
Naruto rolled his eyes. "You don't know biology, genius? If you didn't use protection, and you're a top-tier Alpha—" He stopped as he saw Sasuke processing.
Sasuke shook his head. "You're not in heat. It's… unlikely."
Naruto shrugged. "Not impossible. You wanna bet my reproductive future on it?"
Sasuke went very still. "No," he said, after a long moment.
Sasuke nodded, then turned to leave. He paused at the door, one hand on the frame. "We should go. Orochimaru doesn't like late arrivals."
They stepped into the corridor, the sudden brightness of the hall amplifying the sense that everyone on the floor was looking at them. Or, more accurately, looking at Naruto, and then at Sasuke, and then back at Naruto, as if recalibrating some internal model of the universe.
He ducked his head and pushed past the other students, but even so, caught the side-eye and not-so-subtle sniff from a girl in a blue scarf and the conspiratorial elbow-nudge from a pair of Beta boys near the stairwell. He tried to minimize his stride to keep from limping, which only made it worse; his movements felt exaggerated, as if he'd been recently injured in some embarrassing accident.
Sasuke matched his pace, but always half a step behind, as though positioning himself as both bodyguard and shadow. He didn't speak, but the proximity was a statement in itself—a claim staked in full daylight.
It was worse outside. The September sun had burned off the morning chill, and clusters of students lingered on the walkways, using "going to class" as an excuse to catch up on gossip. Naruto felt every gaze on him like a physical touch, especially from the pack of Alpha boys loitering near the science building's north steps. They weren't even subtle about it: their eyes tracked him and Sasuke from fifty meters away, heads swiveling in unison, jaws tightening with silent speculation.
Naruto tried to look away, but curiosity got the better of him. He risked a glance and immediately regretted it—one of the Alphas made a slow, deliberate sniff of the air, nostrils flaring like a dog catching a new scent. Another just grinned and nudged his friend, whispering something that made the whole group snicker.
"Shit," Naruto muttered. "They can smell it."
Sasuke's jaw clenched, a muscle twitching at the corner. "They don't know exactly what happened," he said, voice dropping to a low growl as his eyes fixed ahead with predatory focus. "They just smell me all over you. And they should."
Naruto's head whipped toward Sasuke, eyebrows shooting up to his hairline. He stared at him like he'd just suggested they strip naked and dance in the quad. After a beat, Naruto just shook his head and quickened his pace, shoulders tight, feet practically skimming the pavement.
He risked another glance, and this time, one of the Alpha boys held his gaze a second too long. Sasuke's attention snapped to the offender instantly, and the look he delivered was so cold, so murderously direct, that the entire group turned away in unison, as if responding to a silent command.
Naruto let out a slow breath. "That was scary."
"They'll leave you alone now," Sasuke said, as if discussing a pest problem solved with one well-placed boot.
Naruto just shook his head and made his way to the science building. At the entrance stood Gaara, his red hair catching the sunlight like burnished copper. His face softened at the sight of Naruto, a rare smile forming—only to harden into barely concealed contempt when his pale eyes shifted to Sasuke.
Naruto's steps faltered as he spotted Gaara waiting. Did he have more information about Kurama? He approached cautiously, acutely aware of Sasuke's presence at his back, close enough that their shadows merged on the pavement.
"Hey," Naruto said, forcing casualness into his voice. "Everything okay?"
Gaara's pale eyes flicked from Naruto to Sasuke, then back again. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. "I should be asking you that," he said. "You disappeared pretty quickly yesterday. Wanted to make sure nothing was wrong."
Naruto felt a flutter of appreciation at Gaara's concern, even as Sasuke's possessive hand settled against his lower back. Ignoring the territorial gesture, he offered Gaara a genuine smile. "I'm fine, really. But we should probably talk later—Orochimaru gets weird about tardiness. Meet for lunch?"
Gaara's gaze drifted from Sasuke to Naruto, his smile tightening at the edges. "Lunch works. Text me when you're free." With a slight nod, he turned and disappeared into the stream of students. Beside him, Sasuke remained silent, but the pressure of his palm against Naruto's lower back increased just enough to guide him toward the classroom door.