Surface Flaws Chapter X
Title: Surface Flaws
Author: xinexpressiblex
Rating: 18A for swearing, violence, and sexual content.
Warnings: Shounen ai, spoilers for anyone not keeping up with the manga, & AUish. Alternate timeline.
Disclaimer: Yeah, I don’t own.
Thank you: goheh_remix & amain
Summary: The invisibility started with one silly wish upon a star. Good thing Sasuke's doormat personality, Sai's attempts at matchmaking, and a mission gone wrong were all quite normal in the life of Naruto Uzumaki... Wait. What? SasuNaru

Chapter I, Chapter II, Chapter III, Chapter IV, Chapter V, Chapter VI, Chapter VII, Chapter VIII, Chapter IX, Chapter X, Chapter XI, Chapter XII, Chapter XIII, Chapter XIV, Chapter XV + Epilogue



Previously:

He had seen Itachi.

“Are you okay, Naruto?” that same terrified voice inquired.

And he couldn’t tell Sasuke because there were too many loose ends…

“I’m sorry,” Naruto whispered and fell into the blissful oblivion of unconsciousness.

Surface Flaws

Chapter X

”Spend all your time waiting for that second chance
For the break that will make it OK
There's always some reason to feel not good enough
And it's hard at the end of the day
I need some distraction or a beautiful release
Memories seep from my veins
Let me be empty and weightless and maybe
I'll find some peace tonight”
- In The Arms Of The Angel (Sarah McLaughlan)

Naruto stood back and watched through half-lidded eyes as Sakura and Sasuke checked into the hotel they would be staying at during their stint in the small town. According to the mission outline, they would be uncovering the cause for the growing number of homicides taking place in the normally quiet settlement.

The small space of the lobby was cramped with an excess of furniture, Naruto thought as his eyes sluggishly roamed over the room. There was an undersized burgundy sofa against the wall adjacent the door – across from the counter where Sakura and Sasuke were taking their sweet time checking in - and a square table the colour of dog crap before that. Naruto yawned behind his hand as he glanced slowly at the potted plant beside him. It was nearly dead. A real pick-me-up in an otherwise dull room…

All right, Naruto couldn’t deny that the screen placed pretty much in the middle of the floor was aesthetically pleasing. The phoenix portrayed in a worn gold paint in front of a striking red sun added a flair of culture to the otherwise stale room. Not that Naruto knew anything about home décor. Anyone that had ever stepped foot inside his apartment could attest to that.

“Ready?” Sasuke asked, drawing Naruto’s attention. Shaking his head and focusing his weary gaze on Sasuke, the blonde nodded and pushed himself away from the wall with a heavy exhale of breath.

“Yeah,” he replied around a yawn, his voice thick and weighted, even to his own ears.

His limbs felt heavy and he stumbled frequently during the walk to their room as they travelled the perimeter of the building. He refused any assistance from Sasuke.

His pride was already wounded enough as it was.

When they reached the room, Naruto dropped his pack onto the nearest bed unceremoniously before following it with a weary flop. Sasuke didn’t say a word and simply watched the display with a calculating gaze.

Somehow sensing that he was the object of the other boy’s attention, Naruto lifted his head to glance at Sasuke, muttering, “What?”

Sasuke’s eyes widened minutely and his lips parted, as if he were about to say something, but he stopped himself short with a noncommittal shrug. “I’m going to go check out the area. Just stay here and rest.”

“Hey!” Naruto exclaimed, sitting up suddenly, though the movement sent his vision into a sudden disorienting twirl. Grabbing his head, the boy ground out, “I can come too, Sasuke-teme.” His voice was clipped and defensive.

If Sasuke was aggravated by Naruto’s tone and word choice, he didn’t let on. Opening the door and moving to leave, he glanced over his shoulder, saying, “Sakura’s going to stop by and see if your condition is doing any better.”

And before Naruto could go off into a mindless rant about how there was no condition, the door was closed - effectively stopping the words on the boy’s tongue.

“Fine, then asshole,” Naruto snapped at the door, as if by some chance Sasuke would be able to hear him griping. Flopping back into the bed’s thick sheets, Naruto let out an exhausted groan.

He had to admit, he was surprised Sasuke hadn’t drilled him yet on his ‘disappearing act’ the other day. It was obvious that the Uchiha had been mulling over it, if his extensive silence – which pretty much equated to muteness – was any indication.

Not that Naruto minded, of course. The longer it took Sasuke to confront him, the longer he would have to come up with an excuse more fitting than, ‘I’ve been learning magic tricks from Ero-sennin’.

The boy chuckled slightly at this, his eyes crinkling in mirth at the idea of Ero-sennin knowing how to become invisible. The lecher would probably exploit the talent and find uses for it even Naruto’s mind couldn’t dream up.

“Pervert,” Naruto mumbled lightly, as he rolled onto his side and buried his head into the thick soft blankets, which were a sharp burgundy with creamy yellow accents. Letting out a long breath that left him boneless with relaxation, the boy began to drift off to sleep.

That was until a soft knock sounded on his door.

Groaning in irritation, Naruto called out, “What?” in his whiniest, most pathetic voice. Nestling his head further into his blankets, the boy refused to look up when the door opened. Judging by the tentative footsteps and the gentle way the door clicked shut, he deduced that his visitor had to be Sakura.

“Ah, Naruto, I didn’t think you would be sleeping.” The girl’s apologetic voice sounded excessively loud in the quiet room.

“S’no problem,” Naruto mumbled into the blankets as he felt the bed dip beneath her weight.

“I just wanted to see how you’re feeling.”

Naruto rolled his eyes – which Sakura couldn’t see – and shrugged his shoulders. “M’fine.”

The boy felt a hand on his shoulder and heaved a sigh of exasperation as Sakura pressed, “No dizziness? Nausea? Headaches?”

“Nothin’ unusual,” he insisted, his voice gaining volume in his irritation. Pulling his head out of the blankets to look at Sakura, the blonde put on a giant grin. “I’m fine, really,” he assured her.

Letting her own lips curl into a relieved smile, Sakura grabbed Naruto’s hand and pulled him into a sitting position beside her, saying, “I’m really sorry about what happened, with us forcing you, Naruto.”

Her smile dropped, and yet her hand still lingered in his.

“Do you use lotion lots?” Naruto asked, trying to evade the topic he knew Sakura was trying to get at. “You must, considering how soft your hands are! They’re like a baby’s bottom… not that I’ve ever felt up a baby or anything!” the boy rushed to amend. “That would be just…ew.”

“Um…thanks,” Sakura laughed, squeezing Naruto’s hand and gifting him with a big smile. Her eyes twinkled brightly with merriment as she adjusted her fingers until they were weaved through his. There was a dark blush on her cheeks as she said, “Your hands feel nice too…”

Eyes widening to comical proportions, Naruto stared at Sakura in shock, stuttering as he rushed to tell her, “Oh, um… Sakura…” he broke away into silence, pulling his hand away from hers as he fought to find the right words. Instead he let out a weary yawn.

A flash of hurt crossed Sakura’s features at the obvious rejection and she decided to move to safer – by her standards – topics. “You and Sasuke haven’t talked yet, have you?”

Naruto snorted. “Way to get to the point,” he joked, grinning widely at the girl to show her that the sarcasm was meant as a joke, not an insult. When her serious gaze didn’t falter, the boy heaved a reluctant breath. “Nah, he hasn’t brought it up. And I’m sure as hell not going to.”

The girl sighed at this, but didn’t object. Instead she moved to her next question. “Do you know what you’re going to tell him?” Sakura wanted to know, “Because I think you should just tell him everything.” More softly, she added, “He deserves to know.”

“Why? So he can have another reason to make fun of me and call me weak?” Naruto demanded with a snort. “’Sides, things are getting… more high risk,” the boy continued, carefully choosing his words.

Inwardly, he enjoyed a moment of amusement at the thought. High risk was one way of putting Itachi’s sudden appearance. Remembering his last experience with the man, Naruto preferred to think of the situation as plain old dangerous as hell. None of this ‘high risk’ business.

Not that he would allow Sakura to be privy to those thoughts…

“Oh?” the girl offered, tilting her head and raising her eyebrows in a genuine show of interest. She gestured at Naruto kindly, urging him to continue.

“Yeah, I saw something the other day, when I – uh – well, you know,” Naruto stumbled over his explanation, not quite sure what to refer to the incident two days ago as, “Well, more like someone,” he amended.

“And?” Sakura prompted, her face darkening slightly as she realized she probably wasn’t going to like this new development, or what it entailed.

“I saw Itachi,” Naruto explained in one breath, refusing to meet Sakura’s eye. He had a feeling the girl wouldn’t be surprised, per se, but nonetheless, he was reluctant to see her reaction when he would be hearing it first hand.

When there was no outburst or sudden lecture about reporting such developments sooner, Naruto couldn’t help but chance a glance at his female teammate, who was frowning thoughtfully.

“Ah,” was all she said when she realized she was expected to say something.

It was Naruto’s turn to be caught up in curiosity. “What’re you thinking?” he asked, leaning forward so that his face was in front of hers. His expression was so innocent and childish that Sakura couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at her lips.

Pushing him away with a giggle she said, “Oh, nothing in particular – more like a lot of things. It’s odd that you would see him… particularly when Sasuke and I had no idea of his presence…” A pause. Then, “Then again I suppose we were rather preoccupied trying to get and keep information from each other.”

Naruto frowned at the final statement and nudged Sakura playfully. “Thanks for not telling him,” he said quietly, assuring her of his sincerity with a soft smile.

“Don’t thank me,” Sakura said, suddenly grinning widely, “Thank this friend I have. He’s always going on about how he never breaks his promises – which by the way, he never does, the perfect little brat – he’s rubbed off on me.”

Laughing, Naruto said, “Aw, don’t call him a brat. I bet he’s the coolest guy ever!”

“Mm, he’s a huge annoyance,” she corrected, trying not to laugh as well at the affronted expression on Naruto’s face.

“I am not annoying!” he exclaimed, grabbing his pillow and whacking her over the head with it.

Unable to contain her laughter anymore, Sakura broke into a fit of giggles and held her hands up defensively, breathing, “All right all right, I give!”

Slowing up his assault, Naruto frowned at Sakura teasingly and said, “I knew you’d see the wrongness of your ways, or whatever that saying is.”

“The error or your ways,” Sakura corrected, shaking her head and still smiling at her teammate’s silliness. “And, I’m not trying to ruin the moment, but I really think you should tell Sasuke.”

Naruto stiffened.

“Naruto,” Sakura murmured softly, noticing the other boy’s displeasure at the suggestion, “Itachi is his brother. You could potentially ruin all the progress you’ve made with him if you kept something like this from him. You of all people should understand his obsession with Itachi,” she tried to reason.

“Yeah, I know,” Naruto muttered dejectedly, staring at his feet and puffing his cheeks out with air, only to let them deflate with a whooshing sound as the air left his mouth. “Oh, I know. I’ll…I’ll tell him, but not right now,” the blond insisted.

“After the mission?” Sakura suggested.

Nodding, Naruto said, “Yeah, I’ll tell him everything after the mission.”

-----

Following this, Sakura told Naruto she was going to go ask the townsfolk about the murders in an attempt to find what the connection between them was – providing there was one. But first, she placed her hands on his temple and put the boy into a deep slumber, assured in the fact that he would be safe, and left.

The heartbroken glance she threw over her shoulder on her way out fell on closed eyes.

-----

When Naruto woke up a few hours later, it was to the sound of hushed voices dancing around him in a swirl of sound. Blinking and trying to focus his hearing so he could discern what was being said, the boy was unaware that he was suddenly the attention of said speakers. He was also unaware of the fact that their voices had stopped.

“You’re awake,” one of the two people said in a gruff tone.

Feeling as if he’d just been on the receiving end of Rasengan, Naruto let out a tired moan and mumbled something incoherent in response. He could distantly hear the sound of footsteps drawing nearer and forced his eyes opened to stay.

They felt so heavy. He felt so heavy. Like he was going to sink through his mattress and fall through the floor.

“Hey, how’re ya feeling?” a gentle voice asked as a warm hand moved to brush his bangs off his face. “You were out for quite awhile.”

Acknowledging the face to be Sakura’s, Naruto forced his lips into a tired smile as he said, “Fee’like a… a… a…’ree fell’on me.” His voice was sluggish and his words slurred together. Brow furrowing, the boy cursed his tongue for not working properly.

“Sasuke…” Sakura said, her tone painted with the bright colour of worry.

“The baka’s chakra level isn’t getting better if that’s what you’re wondering,” Sasuke told her, sounding almost bitter. His voice sounded far off – muffled – like he was speaking through a wall…

“M’not a baka,” Naruto retorted in a weak growl, his head lolling to the side so he could glare at Sasuke. However, the movement proved to be too much for the boy and he suddenly felt as if someone had cracked him over the head with a board. He wouldn’t doubt it if someone had judging from the sudden pain pulsing through his skull. “Nnn,” he groaned curling into a ball and clutching his head, trying to make the pain go away.

“Naruto?” Sakura asked, her voice pounding through the boy’s head. “I’m gonna get you something for your headache, k?” as she said this her voice drifted further away – much to Naruto’s relief. He could hear her digging through a pack a little ways away and felt his eyes slipping shut again.

He was unconscious before she got back.

-----

The second time Naruto awoke, Sakura shoved the medicine down his throat before he had time to really even wake up. Not that he was complaining. Because his godforsaken headache was still present. Though less painful than it had been when he had last been awake.

Grumbling to himself about heads and what a pain in the ass they were, Naruto pushed himself up until he was sitting and let his back rest against the headboard.

“So find anything interesting?” he asked behind a yawn as he observed his two teammates, who were watching him just as intently.

More alert than he had previously been, Naruto noticed the way Sasuke and Sakura’s eyes met then turned to him, as if sizing him up. Unnerved by the soundless exchange he concluded, “I’ll take the silence as a yes…”

Glancing between the two, the boy cleared his throat in an obvious prompt for one of them to explain. It was Sakura who opened her mouth reluctantly after a moment to say, “Well, there have been no murders, disappearances, criminal, or noteworthy activities in this town in the last year,” she told him with a nervous lilt to her voice.

“Well, unless you count that old man…”

“Kaito-san.”

“Yeah, Kaito-san, who apparently drowned in the pond on the outskirts of town when he fell in. But considering the man had never learned to swim, it really isn’t something worth looking into,” Sasuke added in a tone that suggested he’d heard about Kaito-san numerous times.

“Oh, don’t forget that that happened over six months ago,” Sakura reminded Sasuke, her tone almost mocking – something that surprised Naruto.

“So we came here for nothing?” Naruto summarized dryly. “Wonderful.” He let his head fall back against the wall with a loud thunk, then, as the pain hit, let out a string of curses a mile long and gripped his head in a tight grasp.

“Well done,” Sasuke commended sarcastically from his bed, where he was sitting in a position almost identical to Naruto’s.

“Oh shut up,” the boy griped through a clenched jaw as he cradled his aching head in his arms, moaning to himself about the unjustness of the world.

Eventually, the pain dulled away and Sasuke took the opportunity to lead the conversation back to the mission. “If you’re done complaining,” he started, a smirk on his lips as Naruto scowled at him, “we thought you’d like to know what else we came up with while you were sleeping.”

Still preoccupied with pitying himself, Naruto waved one hand absently, as if telling Sasuke to go on and explain away.

Glancing at Sakura, Sasuke began, “Well we think the request for our assistance here was a ruse to draw you away from Konoha. Your chakra has been pointing in this direction since I’ve been watching it,” Sasuke informed Naruto. He drew a breath, preparing to continue - probably with a lengthy explanation just to make Naruto feel inept and stupid - when the other boy cut him off.

“Yeah yeah, so you figure whoever’s been stealing my chakra’s gotta be around here, right?” he asked, looking between Sakura and Sasuke as he made a long story short.

“Pretty much,” Sasuke said in a stiff voice, glaring darkly at Naruto.

Sakura, noting the rising tensions in the room, rolled her eyes at the way the two boys simply couldn’t resist the temptation to irritate each other. “I have an idea as to who we’re looking for,” she said warily, her gaze catching Naruto’s.

“Oh you sure as hell do not,” Naruto retorted, sitting forward and shaking his head vehemently and totally forgetting the pain he’d been moaning on about seconds ago. She was not going to say what he thought.

Naruto was sorely tempted to bring up the conversation about the value of keeping promises, but figured that would be better left kept to himself until Sasuke was gone.

“Oh?” Sasuke prompted with a murderous look at Naruto out of the corner of his eye. Obviously, he didn’t want Naruto jumping in and shutting Sakura up before he could hear just who exactly was behind his best friend’s condition.

“Naruto,” Sakura said in an ominous voice quiet enough for only the blonde beside her to hear, “I know you don’t want him to know, and I won’t give any details, but this is too vital to be overlooked.” Turning back to Sasuke she said, “Recently, Naruto saw someone he thought looked very much like Itachi…”

It felt like the sharpness with which Sasuke’s gaze narrowed was audible. Like a click, Naruto mused as he stared back at the Uchiha defiantly, as if to say, ‘Yeah I saw your bastard of a brother…and?’

He could feel Sakura glancing between them nervously and almost smirked. She’d never asked to always be dragged into their disagreements. Though, Naruto thought sourly, she was the one who’d decided it was ‘vital’ to tell Sasuke about Itachi’s appearance.

“When did you see him?” Sasuke abruptly demanded, his tone snappy and short. The black-haired boy was leaning forward on the surface of his bed, watching Naruto with narrowed eyes.

Still holding his teammate’s gaze, Naruto retorted, “In the forest the other day when you decided it would be all right to force me to show you my seal.” His tone was laced with the bitter feelings he was harbouring. Crossing his arms dejectedly, Naruto stood and made his way for the door. “Since Sakura has no objections about telling my secrets, you can ask her for the rest of the details, I’m going for a walk,” he said with a hint of finality in his tone, “And don’t bother lecturing me on keeping Itachi’s presence from you when I get back,” he added, “because I don’t really care and I definitely won’t be listening.” With that said Naruto pulled open the door and left the room.

He pretended not to notice the sudden vertigo or the way he stumbled the minute the door closed behind him.

-----

Naruto lay awake, staring at the stucco ceiling above him. There was minimal visibility in the room seeing as the only light was filtering in through the windows. The town was still brightly lit at this hour. It seemed that the people here enjoyed their late nights.

“Naruto?” Sasuke’s voice called from the half darkness, quiet in case the boy was asleep and sharp as a knife.

Glancing to the side, Naruto raised an eyebrow. So Sasuke was awake, too…

“Yeah?” he asked, somewhat surprised when the silhouette that was Sasuke sat, hands fumbling with his blankets, trying to release his feet from the tangle of sheets.

“Mind if I come over there?” the dark-haired boy asked in a completely closed tone that sent his blonde teammate on edge almost instantly. Sasuke wasn’t looking at Naruto, his attention instead focused on freeing his right foot, which had yet to find its way out of the covers wound around it.

Watching this intently and only paying attention to the bad mood Sasuke’s tone hinted at, Naruto issued a semi-wary, “Sure,” in response, not catching the way the Uchiha’s eyes were glimmering with resolve or the way his teeth were slightly bared in a defensive growl.

It wasn’t until Sasuke was free and sauntering toward his bed – sliding in under the covers beside him – that Naruto realized what exactly he’d agreed to. Moving over to the far side of his bed, Naruto stared at Sasuke awkwardly.

“Uh,” he heard himself saying as he pulled his blankets higher to his chin. They smelled like other people and Naruto was reminded – with much disgust – that people slept in, screwed in, and probably did… other things… in these beds regularly.

He flinched and mentally gagged as he pushed the thoughts aside rather abruptly.

“You’re chakra’s so low I’m surprised you’re still conscious,” Sasuke started, sounding like he was holding back most of the resentment he was feeling from reaching his tone. It was unnerving how he stared unflinchingly at Naruto as he spoke. Bright black eyes glittering with uncontrolled irritation in the scant light.

“Uh yeah…” Naruto replied uncomfortably. The look on his face when matched with his tone made him appear completely clueless, which he was.

“I’m going to give you some of mine.” Sasuke shoved closer to Naruto, so close the blue-eyed ninja could feel his companion’s breath on his face.

“You’re not gonna try to kiss me again, are you Sasuke?” Naruto asked in something akin to a groan, pretending he hadn’t heard Sasuke’s offer – no, command. There was no way he would let the other boy ‘give’ him chakra.

Sasuke scowled, frustration radiating from him in thick waves. “Like you would mind if I did,” he spat. He was being particularly defensive and pushy tonight.

Which threw Naruto off completely.

“When did I ever give you the idea that I actually liked your kisses?” the blonde demanded, trying to act oblivious to the way Sasuke was being so… assertive. Sasuke wasn’t over in his bed just to talk civilly about passing him chakra. He wanted something… Hell if Naruto could actually figure out what though. He would just have to act oblivious and perhaps Sasuke’s true motives would become apparent.

It never occurred to him that Sasuke’s true motives had already been revealed.

“When did you give me the idea that you liked my kisses?” Sasuke repeated with a gruff, disbelieving laugh, a sound like nails on a chalkboard. “You act like a little girl when I kiss you,” he taunted, his hands ‘unintentionally’ brushing Naruto’s closest arm and stopping upon contact.

Preserving said contact.

Naruto shivered. Damn bastard was doing that on purpose. He just knew it.

… Damn bastard was proving his point.

“Oh yeah right,” Naruto said, ever the clever one. “You wish I acted like a school girl you asshole,” he continued, then flinched at the reference to Sasuke’s ass and blushed as he thought a little too intently about that ass.

Sasuke’s retort was immediate and stinging, said with too much hate and too much viciousness – too much eagerness for the conversation to keep going where it was going. “Actually I wish you would act like a man.” A snarl.

And without any further ado, Sasuke forced his lips onto Naruto’s, rolling on top of the boy and placing both his hands on Naruto’s arms, effectively pinning the blonde. Trying to turn his head to the side, out of the kiss, Naruto realized this was what Sasuke had come over for. Sex.

To say he was disgusted would be an understatement.

The blonde could feel Sasuke’s tongue tracing the line of his lips forcefully and opened his mouth with the intent of chomping off Sasuke’s tongue. He was flopping like a fish, trying to break Sasuke’s grip on him. But it wasn’t doing anything. The Uchiha was continuing along his way as if Naruto were a completely willing participant.

Breaking apart, both boys released heavy breaths. Smirking and gracing Naruto’s face with multiple kisses, Sasuke whispered, “Take off your shirt.”

Naruto didn’t bother pointing out that he couldn’t when both his arms were pinned to his sides. He was more in the mood for a quick and effective response.

“Fuck. You,” he growled, breaking one arm free of Sasuke’s grasp long enough to punch the boy hard in the face. A very effective response.

He should have noticed the split second where Sasuke’s eyes narrowed manipulatively, but he only saw the hurt expression that followed. The expression of someone being rejected in the worst way possible.

The dark-haired boy released his grip on Naruto’s other arm and cocked his head in confusion. “I thought you wanted me to treat you like a man.” It was nearly a taunt.

“What?” Naruto squawked in surprise. “That wasn’t treating me like a man - that was rape!”

Sasuke sighed, sitting up, and looked at Naruto dryly. He was rubbing his cheek with a tender touch. “That was not rape,” he told the other boy.

“Of course you would say that,” Naruto countered, “You weren’t the rapee, you were the raper.” He sat up as well, clucking his tongue in disapproval.

“Would you mind not making that noise?” Sasuke asked irritably. A nice bruise was forming on his cheek where Naruto’s punch had landed. The blonde couldn’t help but smirk, proud with his work.

But then he took another look at his dark-haired friend and the smirk dissolved. Sasuke was frowning at the covers on the bed, occasionally casting Naruto covert glances of what appeared to be hurt. He was almost acting… coy. And, while it unnerved him, Naruto couldn’t quite find it in him to be wary. Sasuke was acting so much more vulnerable than he had been about five seconds ago. And while Naruto should have realized this meant he was being played for a fool, he had an inherent habit of believing in the good in everyone. Besides, what underhanded motives would Sasuke have for seducing him? Really.

“I like your other kisses better,” he said suddenly, trying to get the mood back. He briefly wondered why he was feeling bad when it had been Sasuke who had just pinned him to the bed and ravaged him without any consent whatsoever.

“Whatever,” Sasuke sulked, a light blush on his cheeks.

“Oh quit being a baby,” Naruto groaned, leaning forward to kiss Sasuke lightly. Just as Sasuke started responding - leaned forward as well - Naruto pulled back. “You actually want this?” he asked.

Blush darkening, Sasuke nodded. His sudden submissiveness should have been Naruto’s second clue that something was not right.

“Then promise me you’ll be here tomorrow morning when I wake up. That you won’t chicken out on me again.”

Sasuke’s eyes widened, like an animal caught in the face of a sudden bright light, and he froze. What Naruto had just asked for wasn’t just to wake up together, but the hidden request had been commitment. The blonde could see this registering as Sasuke suddenly bit the inside of his cheek.

And then he nodded – slow and nearly imperceptive – but… he nodded.

Letting out a sigh he had had no idea he was holding, Naruto put his arms around Sasuke’s shoulders and pulled him close – pulled him down with him as he laid back on the bed. Their lips were suddenly caught together as they rediscovered how nice it was to kiss when both participants were willing.

Then Sasuke began running his fingers through Naruto’s hair, untangling the blonde locks, and he stopped the kiss, letting his lips linger on his teammate’s for a moment before murmuring, “Take off your shirt?”

Dazed and caught up in the moment of passion, Naruto found that it really wasn’t in him to reject this time. Though he couldn’t help but say, “You’d better not try to tickle me bastard, ‘cause I’m definitely not ticklish.” As he spoke his hands relinquished their hold on Sasuke and began tugging his shirt up.

The Uchiha joined Naruto eagerly – too fake – tugging the article a bit too hard as the bronzed surface of Naruto’s skin was slowly exposed to him.

“Wouldn’t dream of tickling you…” Sasuke murmured as his lips fumbled impatiently along Naruto’s bared stomach.

He was in the middle of leisurely licking a trail up Naruto’s twitching abdomen when he felt a hard smack on his head. Jerking away from the task at hand, Sasuke frowned at Naruto, who was, in turn, glaring at him darkly.

“That tickles asshole,” he growled. And while Sasuke was completely frustrated with the interruption, he couldn’t help but be thankful for it because it provided him with the opportunity to just look at Naruto, topless and breathless, lying before him and he didn’t think he’d ever see that again. Not after what he was planning…

The scowl on the blonde’s face only managed to turn him on more and Sasuke felt the stirrings of arousal pooling in his stomach – the feeling warm and addictive as it coursed through his veins.

“Sorry,” Sasuke murmured apologetically.

As Sasuke moved up his body, a grin broke out on Naruto’s face and he nodded, lifting his head off the pillows to meet Sasuke’s lips with his own, saying into the kiss, “You’re actually not a bad kisser, bastard.”

Sasuke let out a heavy breath into Naruto’s mouth at this and smirked to himself. Moving back and trailing his tongue gently along Naruto’s cheek, the brunette found his companion’s earlobe rather easily and began to gently suck on the flesh, pulling it between his lips and nipping lightly.

“You bit me!” Naruto exclaimed in a half-groan, half-giggle. “I can’t believe you bit me!” A snort of amusement passed Naruto’s lips and he squirmed against Sasuke’s continued administrations on his ear.

“You like it, yeah?” the Uchiha breathed hotly from his place near Naruto’s ear. The lust in his tone hit Naruto right in the stomach and he felt himself waking up to the possibilities that tone provided.

“Sasuke,” he whimpered, tugging at the other boy’s shirt helplessly. “I’m not gonna be the only one without a shirt.”

Laughing huskily, Sasuke moved back, sitting in a straddle over Naruto’s midsection, his hardness obvious against Naruto’s stomach, even through his loose pyjama pants. He pulled off his shirt slowly, keeping his eyes trained on Naruto as he did so. His skin was so white and perfect. Naruto couldn’t help but trail a hand over his partner’s toned stomach.

“You’re warming up to this quite nicely,” Sasuke growled appreciatively as he moved away from Naruto’s hand – down until his body was at the blonde’s feet, his head hovering over Naruto’s clothed arousal.

Teasingly, he leaned forward and began nipping at the exposed skin of Naruto’s abs just above the boy’s pant line.

“Sasuke, please?” The blonde whimpered, not quite sure what it was he was asking for, but knowing he should ask.

When Sasuke’s hands began pulling his pants down, Naruto couldn’t help the flush that covered his cheeks. Of course Sasuke would have to see it if he was going to touch it. Not that that had crossed Naruto’s mind seconds earlier when he’d been begging.

Pushing this thought aside, because it was far too confusing and conflicting, Naruto allowed himself to just shiver in need as Sasuke’s hot breath ghosted over his erection. Part of him just wanted to scream for Sasuke to hurry the fuck up. The other part… had no idea what hurrying the fuck up was… well… he had an idea… but that was just…

Sasuke’s mouth on his penis?

Ew.

Naruto shuddered at how disgusting that was and then stilled as the thought of doing the same thing to Sasuke crossed his mind. He’d have to return the favour wouldn’t he? The boy flinched and found himself saying, “Can we just skip to the sex?”

…

And he had no idea why the hell he’d blurted that out.

Oh right, he had said it because there was no way he was sticking Sasuke’s wang in his mouth.

“What?” Sasuke asked in a completely offended tone, moving up so that he was at eye level with Naruto.

Smiling awkwardly – extremely awkwardly – Naruto let out a nervous chuckle and said, “Well, y’know, I just feel so…er… awkward being the only one completely naked. Can’t you take your pants off too bastard?” He had never imagined that those words would pass his lips… “I just uh…” Naruto imagined Jiraiya’s dirty novels, of which he’d seen glimpses, “need you right now.”

His casual, nervous, and completely needless tone said otherwise.

“All right…” Sasuke agreed in a strange voice, as he eyed Naruto with a weird expression. Sitting back, the boy began pulling his pants down, watching Naruto’s expression carefully when his length was exposed.

“Whoa, there it is!” Naruto supplied uncomfortably, his smile extremely forced. “Just popped right out of there, huh?” He poked it with a strained giggle and continued, “Well look at you!” Laughing at his joke, the blonde caught Sasuke’s annoyed expression and instantly sobered.

He needed to remember Jiraiya’s novels. He needed to be sexy.

“Wow, you’re huge,” he exclaimed a little overzealously, aiming for the enraptured tone Jiraiya’s novels had described. “Take me now!” he cried suddenly, throwing his head back dramatically as a grin split over his face. Breaking into a fit of sniggers, Naruto chanced a glance at Sasuke…

…And felt every word in his mind suddenly disappear. The look he was receiving was either really pissed off, or so lustful it was hurting the other boy.

Moving off Naruto, Sasuke reached for his pants wordlessly. When he made his way to the edge of the bed, the blonde grabbed his wrist and pulled him back. “Hey,” he dared to say, “What’re you doing?”

“Obviously, I’m the only one that wants this,” Sasuke replied shortly. He seemed more than frustrated. It was like he… knew that acting this way would make things move faster… But Naruto refused to believe this gut instinct.

Naruto snorted and sat up, shifting closer to Sasuke. “Not true,” he whispered and caught Sasuke’s lips with his own. His arm found its way around the smaller man’s shoulders and he pulled Sasuke down on top of him as he fell back into the comfort of the bed.

He felt Sasuke’s hands roving down his sides and shivered in delight. When Sasuke broke the kiss, he pulled back to look at Naruto’s face searchingly. “You’re sure you want this?” he asked, moving between the blonde’s legs.

Not trusting his voice, Naruto nodded and swallowed thickly. His body was pulsing with nervous jitters as Sasuke lifted his legs onto his shoulders. “Relax,” the dark-eyed boy said softly, leaning forward to kiss Naruto on the nose affectionately.

“Yeah,” the blonde agreed, though he didn’t feel himself relaxing in the least. If anything his body was tensing up.

“Hand me the lotion,” Sasuke instructed, motioning to a bottle sitting so conveniently beside the bed on the nightstand. Naruto gave Sasuke a suspicious look and swore he saw a smirk in Sasuke’s eyes. A smirk like a taunt that was daring him to realize what was going on. Naruto’s hand closed around the bottle and he passed it to Sasuke, frowning suspiciously.

The confusion he experienced when Sasuke applied a liberal amount of the lotion to three of his fingers completely banished all of Naruto’s caution. Then those three fingers began moving towards his ass and Naruto swore he had a little question mark of uncertainty floating above his head…

Feeling the familiar ‘yuck’ reflex kicking in, Naruto couldn’t help the disgusted expression from crossing his face as Sasuke pressed one finger against his entrance.

“You are!” he gasped in awed horror. “You’re actually going to stick your fingers in my ass!”

“Oh for the love of…” Sasuke said in exasperation, pulling his hand away and giving Naruto a hard look as he began to move away.

“No, Sasuke!” Naruto cried, tightening his legs over Sasuke’s shoulders. “I want to,” he told the Uchiha, “Just… it’s kind of gross that you’re sticking your fingers in my…” he blushed, “…ass.”

“Well unless you want me to go in without any preamble, I’d suggest you forget that technicality,” Sasuke suggested in a dry tone. The mood was deteriorating fast. Really fast.

Blush darkening, Naruto mumbled an apology and closed his eyes, deciding not to watch what Sasuke was doing. This was going to be good, he told himself. Completely worth all the disgusting preparations. Which were disgusting. Naruto began to shudder but stopped himself when he felt something pressed against his entrance.

“Breathe,” Sasuke said softly, and his finger gently pushed into Naruto. Wincing, the tan boy clenched his jaw, not allowing himself to make any comments. Like how it figured that a finger up the ass hurt. He already knew that from his experience with Kakashi’s 1,000 years of pain.

…Which he was definitely not thinking about while having a sexual encounter with Sasuke.

Another finger entered and Naruto felt them move forward, searching, and… Ohhh that was nice, he thought as a sudden rush of pleasure pierced his body. A small sound of approval escaped his lips and Naruto felt himself gently pressing back against Sasuke’s fingers.

“Think I’m ready,” he grated out in a hoarse tone as he tried to breathe around the sensations throbbing in his body – his anticipation. His eyes opened and Naruto saw Sasuke squeezing a good-sized dollop of lotion into his palm – and then he was rubbing his length, coating it in the fragrant moisturizer.

That made sense, he thought through the haze of jumpy enthusiasm coursing through him.

Then Sasuke pushed into him, slow and tender, his eyes pasted to Naruto’s face, watching for the boy’s reaction before sheathing himself further into the blonde.

“Oh motherfucker!” Naruto groaned, squirming painfully. His hands were pushing his body away from Sasuke, trying to get away from that invasive pain. “Damn it,” he swore.

It was piercing and sharp and-

“Relax,” Sasuke commanded, following Naruto’s movements as the boy tried to move away from him. He leaned forward and kissed the blonde’s forehead. “Just relax.”

“Easy for you to say… don’t have someone’s fucking penis shoved up your ass,” Naruto retorted, his face morphed into a wince. He caught the amusement on Sasuke’s face and found himself frowning. Asshole probably thought he was acting like a girl again.

“Nnn, just go,” Naruto finally ground out, his voice strained with discomfort. And then Sasuke began moving out – slow as hell – and finally moved forward, thrusting into him. And again – this time a bit harder. Naruto felt himself instinctively relaxing as the sharp pain became gradually more bearable.

Then the angle changed and it almost felt like he was experiencing too much.

A mangled cry escaped his lips against his will and Naruto’s hands reached forward – groped blindly – until they were wrapped firmly around Sasuke’s thick arms, holding onto reality as Naruto found himself falling deeper into this swirling pool of perfection.

Hot breaths heaved loudly in the air above Naruto and the boy opened his clenched eyes and found himself eye to eye with Sasuke. And it was mesmerising the way those black oceans of affection seemed to trap and hold him captive - grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him deeper into this unnamed place, leaving him out at sea with no way back. Caught in the waves of Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke.

Sweat raced down Naruto’s brow and he turned his head to the side, thrashing in pleasure, Sasuke’s name a soft repeated whimper on his lips. He felt Sasuke’s arms move in his hold, saw the movements of a seal from the corner of his eye, and heard a gentle sound that had to be his lover’s voice.

But he had to be imagining that because it was getting closer, the waves were growing. Swelling until they were nearly engulfing him – taking him under and drowning him in their allure. Trapping him in their hypnotic illusions. He could just feel it in the way his gut was curling and coiling with an overwhelming sense of gratification and Sasuke’s eyes were falling closed. No seals or words. Just Sasuke being human and succumbing to the feeling of being so close to someone.

And everything was spinning so much faster. The waves were rocking into him like a storm had suddenly overtook them and Naruto couldn’t breath. He could only gasp for air as whatever he was searching for – the shore – came closer and closer until he was tumbling forward without control. Falling into the sand’s warm embrace. The sun was shining down so brightly that he felt like he’d stumbled upon paradise, paradise, paradise.

Without realizing it, Naruto let out a ragged call of Sasuke’s name and felt himself falling back to Earth, hands still holding Sasuke’s arms tightly, dragging the boy with him like a souvenir from heaven as he hit the ground with a resounding crash of contentment.

Seconds later, Sasuke collapsed forward onto Naruto his mouth opened in a silent oh, and laid his head on the blonde’s chest.

There was silence, save for the sounds of their heavy breathing, as both boys basked in the feeling of the other, Naruto feeling more alive than he had in a long time.

And then, after what seemed like forever, Naruto said with a tired smile, “Still can’t believe you stuck your fingers up my ass.”

And that was that.

-----

Meanwhile, just a paper thin wall away, Sakura sat on her bed, alone. Her legs were drawn close to her chest and her head rested on her knees as tears fell in fat droplets to her thin pink nightgown.

She wondered how she could be breaking her promise, the one she’d made to herself all those years ago that stated she would never cry for a boy again.

-----

AN: ^^; I’m sorry!!! It was starting to be semi-happy and light-hearted, then I just have to go and drag Sakura into it. Also, for everyone that wanted a happy, perfect sex scene… I’m sorry, I just always thought Naruto would be so awkward about it. Kind of Allyesque (the Notebook) just keeps talking and thinking about things way too much. *scratches back of head* Hoped you guys liked (OMFG FOR MY SECOND LEMON EVER!!!!)

EXTRA
Random outtake from when I got distracted while writing this:

“Naruto,” Sakura said in an ominous voice quiet enough for only the blonde beside her to hear, “I know you don’t want him to know, and I won’t give any details, but this is too vital to be overlooked.” Turning back to Sasuke she said, “Recently, Naruto saw someone he thought looked very much like Sasuke…”

And the shit hit the fan.

Saucegay -WHAT?!
Narootoe - OMFG *hides*
Saucegay -YOU SAW ITACHI~!!!
Narootoe - …maybe?
Saucegay -BASTARD
Narootoe - AAAAAH
Saucegay -RAWR
Narootoe - O NOEZ
Saucegay -*hump hump*
Narootoe - … o.O
Saucegay -er… *blush*
Narootoe - O.O… *RAPE~!!!1!!*
Saucegay -^^
Narootoe - ^^

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