Chapter Text
Sasuke unlocked the front door of the empty bar and let himself in. The sun was setting and the bar would soon open. It was a hotspot; being right at the edge of the university helped bring in a ton of business. The bar was owned by his brother and his husband, Deidara, but the blonde was the one who held the reigns. Itachi liked to joke that he just signed the checks and checked him out. Sasuke found that second part gross.
Deidara was busy behind the bar, shuffling around empty beer boxes after putting them in the fridge. He noticed Sasuke walking towards him and grinned.
“Hey,” Sasuke threw the keys on the bar top and took a seat on a stool, “What are you doing?” He saw Deidara move other new boxes to the side.
Deidara wiped the sweat off his brow, “I have a big beer order for a party.”
The omega raised an eyebrow, “Bars don’t usually provide that?” Not that he really knew what was needed to run a bar. He usually just came to hang out and get free drinks. He would occasionally fill in if they needed extra hands.
Deidara nodded, “Yeah but I made an exception. I owed them a favor.”
“Ah,” Sasuke nodded in understanding, “Need help?” The bartenders were supposed to arrive in an hour but probably wouldn’t accompany him to the party.
“Can you help me take it?”
Despite being a fellow omega, Deidara was more than capable of taking care of himself. Still, ever since his nephew was born seven months ago, Deidara was now more cautious of his safety.
He shrugged, “Sure, I have no other plans.” He had planned on hanging out here for the rest of the night unless it got too crowded.
“That’s because you’re a loner,” Deidara snickered. Despite being heavily tattooed, Sasuke was still extremely popular on campus. Sasuke thought that the tattoos would scare people away but it didn’t seem to sway them at all. Deidara always poked fun at him about it, telling him about all the girls that would sit at the bar, hoping for him to show up.
Sasuke couldn’t deny that he was a loner. He wasn’t a social person. He had a close group of friends and a large family. If he ever felt lonely or needed company, all he needed to do was message them. He’d never particularly cared about being in relationships. He wasn’t a fuckboy like his best friend, but he’d had a few one-night stands. Spending heats with others was entirely out of the question. He didn’t want to spend a vulnerable time with someone he barely knew. The university had a specific building to help omegas in heat, and he preferred to go there.
He walked around the bar and helped Deidara carry some beer boxes to the back of his Land Rover. He was glad he had stopped by when he suddenly saw Deidara was about to load a heavy keg. Deidara had just had a baby a few months ago. It didn’t take a genius to figure out it probably wouldn’t be a good idea for him to load that.
They pulled up outside of the frat house, where Sasuke insisted that they should tell the frat guys to pick up the damn beer. It was the least they could do. He followed Deidara in, helping the blond look for his friend. Eventually, they finished unloading everything and instead of leaving, Deidara decided to catch up for a bit with his friend, leaving Sasuke standing in the corner, not knowing what else to do.
He glanced around the room, scowling at the noise, the hot, stale air, the smell of sweaty alphas, and weed. He hated frat parties with a passion. Actually, he hated frats and alphas in general. It brought out alpha's inner beasts and made them extra rowdy. The need to one-up each other and show off to other omegas.
Yet here he was, annoyed as hell and surrounded by drunk, smelly idiots. It was everything he despised. He promised himself next time, he’ll make Itachi or another bartender help. He just wanted to go back to the bar and have a drink with his brother, go home, shower the smell of beer and smoke away, and sleep. Maybe read a crime novel before bed.
Sasuke spotted one of his relentless pursuers across the room, jade eyes widening when she saw he was there. She handed her drink to her friend and started to push people aside. Deidara stood behind her, which meant he'd have to walk past her if he wanted to tell Deidara he wanted to leave. And this girl was fucking crazy. He had once caught her smelling a sweater he had accidentally left behind one day. He’d already rejected her multiple times, and it only made her more persistent.
He quickly turned and walked down the hall, darting between people, and headed towards the back, looking for some sort of room, closet, or empty bathroom where he could hide.
He opened the first room he found at the back and snuck in, taking a deep breath. He leaned against the door, hoping that Sakura didn’t find him. The room was dimly lit with twinkling lights, light blue paint, an LED orange light with Naruto in beautiful cursive, and the most soothing scent he’d ever smelled in his life. It screamed alpha but it wasn’t disgusting compared to any other he had smelled.
Dark eyes met surprised blues, who was most likely the room's owner. He was in bed, tucked under the thick covers with matching grey pajama pants and shirt, blonde hair pulled in a messy bun at the top of his head, and thick black-rimmed glasses. He lowered his noise-cancelling headphones to his neck, looking at him warily. He didn’t look hostile, only very confused.
Sasuke cleared his throat, “Uh – sorry.”
The doorknob rattled, a shrill voice asking for Sasuke in excitement.
The blonde quickly nodded in understanding, crawling from under the covers, “You can hide in the bathroom if you want. I’ll open the door.” Sasuke took a second to notice how the blonde spoke kindly despite his towering height and muscled chest. His voice was deep but also gentle. It was a very odd combination.
Sasuke turned, ducking into the bathroom while Naruto opened the door. It was too dark to make out the details in the bathroom, but it smelled incredible. The scent wasn’t like the manufactured masculine scents that were sold in stores that would make ‘omegas go crazy’. It smelled like amber and vanilla. He could vaguely see that the shower had more products than just the typical 3-in-1 shampoo and tiny bar of soap.
He heard the alpha’s voice, “Hi?”
Sakura drunkenly asked for Sasuke, and Naruto told her that he didn’t know anyone by that name. She kept asking for him, insisting he was in there and trying to peek past him, but Naruto insisted that he had no idea who that was. She eventually left with an annoyed huff, going to other rooms to look for him, and Naruto shut the door.
“You can come out now.”
Sasuke came out of the bathroom with a sigh of relief, “Thank you. I’m Sasuke.” He pointed to the LED sign, “Naruto, I’m guessing?”
He smiled, “Yeah it was a gift.”
He crawled under the covers and tucked himself back into the bed, leaning against the cream-colored headboard. Sasuke had imagined as a guy living in a frat house, he would have his mattress on the floor, a shitty single dirty bedsheet, and clothes thrown everywhere. It was not like that at all. It was clean and organized. There weren’t any dirty plates or snacks everywhere. He had healthy plants on hanging shelves, a comfortable emerald green rug, and a tank with a turtle. Even his desk was clean and not covered in crumbs.
He picked up the very book Sasuke had been looking forward to reading later that night when he got home, “You like crime novels?” Sasuke asked, surprised.
He knew true crime had risen in popularity, but he mainly heard of people hearing podcasts or watching videos. He tended to stay away from them. Most of the people spoke too dryly about the case, and he found it distasteful when people said they had a favorite case or that a case wasn’t gruesome enough. These were real cases with real victims and families. He found that only a specific niche read true crime novels.
Naruto nodded, “I have a whole bookshelf.” He pointed to the bookshelf on the other side of the wall, brimming with books.
“That’s really cool.” He could see that they owned some of the same books.
Sasuke asked curiously, “Why aren’t you at the party?” He usually wasn’t one to ask questions to strangers, much less try to carry on a conversation but the blonde was… interesting. He wasn’t like other alphas he’d had the displeasure of meeting.
“It’s not really for me. Loud noises give me migraines, so I just put on my headphones and read or sleep,” Naruto scratched the back of his head. Sasuke quickly glanced at the flexed bicep.
“Oh.” Yet Sasuke found it intriguing that someone lived in a frat house that didn’t fit the stereotype. The mix of Naruto’s scent and the bedroom felt like it was hugging his shoulders, almost soothing. It made him briefly imagine what it would be like to feel those strong arms around him.
“Do you want a beer?” Sasuke offered. He felt like he owed the blonde something for helping him with Sakura. He’d just barged into his bedroom and interrupted his night.
Naruto shook his head, “I don’t drink.” He sent Sasuke a soft kind smile, “Thank you though.”
Sasuke felt he’d overstayed his welcome, yet he dreaded going back to the party. It wasn’t necessarily the noise or the people; it’s that he wanted to be more in Naruto’s presence. Yet he knew there wasn’t much he could say that would excuse him staying. Deidara would probably be looking for him any minute.
Naruto noticed Sasuke glancing at the door, “You can leave from my patio if you’d like. You wouldn’t have to go through the party.”
“Oh. Yeah, thanks.” He asked curiously, “Did you get the best room?”
Naruto nodded with a small grin, “Since I don’t really join parties or anything, I guess they decided to make it up to me. They’re really nice. Even if they get a little crazy sometimes.”
“Ah, I see. I’ll get going now.” Sasuke headed towards the back, giving the blonde a small wave. “Goodnight, Naruto.”
He went back to the bar with Deidara, and instead of staying at the bar, he decided to go home. By the time Sasuke got home, and in bed, he regretted not getting Naruto’s number. He felt slightly ridiculous that a brief interaction had him already rethinking his dislike for all alphas. He wondered if maybe Naruto was just the exception.
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