The Camping Trip

Naruto Uzumaki, a fifteen year old with blonde hair that is always spiked, bright blue eyes, and sun kissed skin with three whisker-like marks on each cheek, is known as a strong, hyperactive ninja. As of late though, he hasn't been like his usual happy and hyperactive self. The young blonde has become more and more stressed out as the weeks slowly pass by.

He has tried not to let things get to him but even his patience can wear thin. One girl in particular seemed to think it funny to keep pushing the blonde's buttons repeatedly. The pink haired kunoichi, one of his teammates, Sakura Haruno, has been nagging, pestering, and antagonizing Naruto almost relentlessly. This uncalled for behavior was a result of him spending more time with his and Sakura's other team mate, and Sakura's long time crush, Sasuke Uchiha.

One day during a very difficult and taxing training session, Sakura went too far. The pinkette set up a complicated trap for Naruto using hidden paper bombs and a wire that set them all off. When Naruto tripped the wire, an explosion of earth, plants, and fire surrounded him. Luckily, Sasuke got to his teammate before the blonde got hit with the worst of it.

Naruto had sustained quite a few cuts and bruises and only one deep gash on his left shoulder. His team leader and sensei, the silver haired jonin Kakashi Hatake, bandaged the deep wound before going after an irate Sasuke. The raven-haired teen was beyond furious at what Sakura had done and he planned to beat her to the point of death for her heinous behavior. However, Kakashi stopped the raven then proceeded to tell him to take care of Naruto's remaining injuries.

Of course, Sakura was not the only problem. With October tenth, Naruto's birthday, the anniversary of the nine tailed fox's attack on the village, and the anniversary of the fourth Hokage's death, just around the corner the villagers of Konohagakure have kicked up their old habits of increasing their abuse toward the blonde. With physical, mental, and emotional stress rising past their maxes for Naruto, he realized that if he didn't get away soon he would do something drastic to either himself or someone else.

Finally having enough of Sakura and the villagers, Naruto decided to go see the third Hokage and ask for some time off. He hoped, for both his sake and the sake of everyone around him, that he would get the long reprieve he desperately needed. He decided he would leave the village if the Hokage granted his request, at least for a short time.

Naruto slowly made his way to Hokage tower hoping that Sarutobi would allow him a break, a nice long break. When he arrived outside the third Hokage's office, he heard some voices. He immediately recognized whom the voices belonged to. One was, obviously, the village leader and the other, which made Naruto tense further and cause his dismay to heighten, was Sakura. Groaning miserably to himself, the blonde leaned against the wall beside the door and rubbed his eyes, waiting for the pink haired wretch to leave.

Please let him say yes, please! Naruto thought miserably to himself. He sighed tiredly as another sleepless night took its toll on his already exhausted body and mind. He had not had a decent night's sleep in almost a month because of all the shit that has been going on and all the thoughts that have been hounding him.

Again Naruto sighed tiredly as he waited, getting more and more impatient all the while, for the pinkette to leave. Ten minutes later Sakura finally came out with her fists balled and a scary looking face contorting her features. Naruto watched the kunoichi leave, thankfully with out noticing him, as mild curiosity made him wonder what had the girl so angry.

It's probably something about me…again.The young blonde thought as he entered the third Hokage's office.

The leader of Konoha looked up from a report on his desk and smiled at the young man before him. His smile faltered upon seeing the exhausted and hassled look Naruto had on his face. The third Hokage watched Naruto take a seat before him, patiently waiting to hear what the teenage ninja wanted.

"Hey, old man." Naruto greeted with a weak smile that lasted a mere three seconds before disappearing.

"Naruto." The Hokage greeted back with a small nod of his head, "I trust you have a specific reason for coming to seem me today?" Sarutobi continued after a short pause.

Naruto took a deep breath and exhaled before getting to why he was there, "I wanted to ask for a month off missions. Things have been beyond hectic lately and I don't know how much more of it I can take. I'm at the brink of my sanity here." The blonde finished, the last part leaking out his pent up stress and depression. The blonde stared at the leader and strongest protector of the village, a desperate look on his face and in his beep blue eyes.

Sarutobi sighed and stood up, moving toward the large window behind his desk. For a few minutes he was silent, looking out at the village that he loved and cared about. Then his thoughts started to kick up and he remembered all the things Sakura, and quite a few of the other villagers have been doing to the boy that now sat across from his desk. The third Hokage turned to face Naruto again and took in the overly stressed look the young teen had. Sarutobi made his decision then and a small smile graced his wrinkled mouth.

"Alright Naruto, you may have a month off of missions but on one condition." The Hokage began. Naruto groaned as if he was in pain.

"Now, now, it's not that bad. My one condition is that someone of my choosing goes with you. It's not safe for you to go alone after all, ninja or not." Sarutobi said with a chuckle. Naruto glared at him.

"Why do you get to choose?" The blonde shinobi asked as he pouted and crossed his arms across his chest.

"I'm the Hokage, of course!" The old man laughed at Naruto's look of jealous aggravation.

"Jerk." Naruto mumbled to himself and the Hokage only laughed harder at him, "Will you stop laughing at me and pick someone already?!" The aggrieved blonde shouted. Sarutobi chuckled before clearing his throat and answering.

"I think Mr. Uchiha would be the best, and safest, bet to accompany you during your time off."

At first Naruto was surprised but then sighed in relief, "Why'd you choose Sasuke old man?"

"I may not know all the people who have been harassing you lately Naruto, but I do know that Sasuke is the only one whose been by your side the whole time, helping to keep you in control of yourself." The Hokage answered with a wrinkled smile.

"Thanks old man." Naruto said with a small smile of his own, this time making it last a bit longer than the first. The blonde stood up then and left the leader's office, heading home to pack his bag for his, and now Sasuke's, vacation.

After Naruto left his office, Sarutobi pulled out a small scroll and wrote a quick message to the last Uchiha before sending a carrier hawk away with it. He watched the bird soar through the blue skies toward Sasuke's home and smiled to himself, already knowing what the raven-haired teen's response would be.

*~*~*~*

Sasuke was training on his own in his yard when a carrier hawk landed in front of him. Curious, the raven approached the bird and saw a scroll tied to its leg. He knelt by the hawk and untied the scroll. The hawk waited patiently as the teen ninja read the message inside.

Sasuke,

This message is a personal request from me. I would like you to accompany Naruto during his month off missions. I believe he intends to leave the village during his break. Please send this carrier hawk back to me with your answer.

Thank you for your time,

The Third Hokage

Why is Naruto taking a month off missions? Sasuke mentally asked himself as he reread the message. He didn't want to take any time off from missions because they kept him distracted from thinking about his past. He also didn't want Naruto going anywhere outside the village alone. There were a lot of enemy shinobi out there that would have no problem with killing anyone from Konoha traveling alone.

Deciding protecting his teammate was more important, Sasuke wrote back that he would go along with Naruto. Sasuke watched the hawk fly off for a short time before heading inside for a shower and clean clothes. Once dressed, the raven started to pack his bag and, when finished, went to the Hokage's office.

When Sasuke arrived, he knocked a few times and was immediately called in. The raven entered and saw that Naruto was sitting in one of the chairs in front of the old man's desk. Sasuke took the other chair and looked at his blonde teammate for a few seconds before turning to face Sarutobi.

"Hello Sasuke, how are you?" The third Hokage asked politely.

"I'm fine." Sasuke answered in his usual calm tone.

"I'm glad to hear it. Now then, I suppose you, like Naruto, are ready to leave today?" Sarutobi asked as he looked over at the unusually quiet blonde. Sasuke also looked over at Naruto and was surprised to see, well, nothing.

There were no emotions on the usual overly emotional blonde's face. Even his eyes seemed to have dulled down in color, like all the emotions the teen used to have on full display have vanished into nothing. Sasuke instantly got worried but kept himself composed.

Naruto sat as still as a statue as both the Hokage and his teammate stared at him. He tried to keep his attention focused on the corner of the desk, not wanting to look at Sasuke. For some reason the blonde felt like he was going to burst into tears the second he saw the raven walk into the room. It took all of his self-control to keep from leaping into Sasuke's arms and sobbing out all of his troubles. Instead the blonde shinobi sat, waiting for the Hokage to give his okay to leave that day instead of tomorrow.

Finally, the Hokage moved his gaze from Naruto's face to his desk drawer as he pulled out a small piece of paper. He read what was written on it before handing it to Sasuke.

"That's just in case the guard at the gates gives you two any trouble when you leave." Sarutobi explained, "Now have a good vacation you two and be safe." The Hokage added with a smile, finally dismissing the two teens.

Sasuke and Naruto nodded their heads respectfully before grabbing their bags and leaving the office. As the two made their way to the gates, the raven looked at the blonde again and saw how exhausted he looked. Curiosity started to build inside Sasuke then and he finally gave in to it just as they left the village.

"Hey, Naruto." Sasuke called as he kept his obsidian eyes locked on the boy beside him.

"What is it Sasuke?" Naruto asked quietly, his eyes locked on the path before them.

"Why did you want to go on a month long vacation? I thought you liked doing missions." The raven watched as his teammate took a deep, and surprisingly shaky, breath before answering.

"I do like doing missions but things have been…hectic lately, mostly because of Sakura, and I've had enough…" Naruto answered and continued to tell Sasuke all that has happened to him the past few weeks.

After Naruto's explanation, Sasuke was silent. He could not believe how cruel the villagers had been to the blonde and he was pissed. What really infuriated the raven though was the reason why Sakura had been the worst of them all. Her violent attacks were because of her jealousy, because Sasuke was spending more and more time with Naruto and ignoring her.

While Sasuke inwardly cursed out Sakura and came up with plans on getting her back for what she did, Naruto led the way into the forest. He was looking for a spot he found when returning from a mission a while back. This particular place was deep in the forest and very secluded, the perfect place for an escape from people who hated you.

Both boys were silent, Naruto too exhausted to have a conversation and Sasuke too engrossed in his planning of beating Sakura up, as they continued through the forest. The sun had begun to set by the time the two ninja had arrived at Naruto's secret spot. The blonde set his pack down just as the raven noticed they finally stopped.

Sasuke took in the sight before him with open-mouthed amazement. The area was flat and completely clear of any loose rocks and sticks. Thick green grass covered the area all the way to the river's bank as beautiful wild flowers surrounded them, leaving a perfect circle of just grass. This one, flowerless spot was where Naruto had started to erect their tent. The river, which was perfectly clear and only a few feet from their tent, cut through the middle of the area and on its other side were hundreds of wild flowers that completely hid the grass beneath. Sasuke had never seen a glade as perfect as the one he was looking at now.

Upon hearing metal clanging with metal, Sasuke came out of his moment of awe and noticed that Naruto was putting the tent together. Flushing in embarrassment at himself, the raven put his bag down and started to help his teammate get the tent set up. Once their temporary home was finished, the boys set to work collecting firewood and making a fire pit. Once that was finished, they cleaned themselves up a little and set up their sleeping bags before getting dinner ready.

There wasn't much talking that first night, as neither had much to say. As the days slowly started to pass by though, the two started to have fun together. They went swimming, walking, practiced their jutsu, and sparred every now and again. However, something wasn't right and Sasuke knew what it was; Naruto still wasn't himself.

On the eighth night of their vacation, Sasuke got a good look as to how tense the blonde was. They were sitting rather close together and that closeness enabled the raven to see his teammate's muscles tight, straining from the unreleased stress.

The raven called the blonde's name but received no response. Not knowing what else to do, Sasuke put an arm around Naruto. Much to the raven's surprise, the blonde relaxed noticeably in his embrace before turning his head to face him. As Naruto's crystalline blue eyes met Sasuke's shining obsidian ones, the raven felt his heart skip a beat as a light blush colored his cheeks.

Slowly, Sasuke moved forward, his eyes' never leaving the blonde's, closing the distance between them as his lips gently touched Naruto's. It took mere seconds for Naruto to relax further against the raven as he responded, kissing Sasuke back as both boys closed their eyes. The two separated moments after only to kiss again, this time their tongues coming together in a gentle dance, moving in sync as the teens moved even closer together.

They kissed for five minutes before Sasuke broke it again. The two stared into each other's eyes momentarily before the raven stood up, bringing Naruto with him. They put out the fire quickly before Sasuke took Naruto's hand and headed to their tent. Once inside the raven pulled the blonde to him and kissed him again as he removed his shirt.

Again Sasuke broke their kiss and stared at Naruto's exposed torso and arms as he slid his hands up and down the blonde's well toned upper body. The raven then took to kissing Naruto's neck as he started unbuttoning the younger teen's pants. Just as the older teen pulled down the zipper of the orange jeans, Naruto stopped him.

The blonde brought Sasuke's face back to his and kissed him deeply before starting to remove the raven's clothes. Naruto wanted to feel Sasuke's naked body against his own just as badly as his team mate wanted to feel it. Finally both were completely exposed to each other and the two couldn't stop their hands from wandering the other's body.

The two eventually ended up on their sleeping bags, Sasuke on top of Naruto as they continued their kissing and touching. With out breaking their kiss, the raven reached into his bag and blindly searched for some sort of gel or lotion to use as lubrication. A short time later he found the suntan lotion he packed. He opened the bottle one handed and managed to coat three of his fingers.

Sasuke then sat up and knelt in front of Naruto, breaking their kiss in the process. He coaxed the blonde to spread his legs some and then inserted a lotion covered finger into the younger ninja's tight entrance. Sasuke was amazed by how tight and hot the blonde was and got harder at the thought of soon being surrounded by that hot tightness.

Naruto gasped lightly when he felt the intrusion of Sasuke's finger. At first it felt odd and hurt a little but the more the raven moved his finger in and out the more pleasurable it felt. When Naruto started pushing down on Sasuke's finger the raven inserted another and heard a quiet moan escape from the blonde's mouth.

Sasuke wanted to hear more and added a third finger as he moved them faster in and out of Naruto. The blonde arched his back as he panted, moaned, and writhed at the raven's ministrations. Naruto knew he was close to reaching his climax but he didn't want to have his release alone.

Wanting Sasuke to come with him, Naruto quickly sat up and pushed the raven back so he ended up on his lap. The raven was momentarily surprised but was instantly distracted when he felt the blonde grind down on him. Both moaned out their pleasure at the amazing feeling but Naruto wanted more and Sasuke knew that.

Sasuke removed his fingers from the blonde's hot tightness, making Naruto moan, and grabbed the bottle of suntan lotion. The raven poured the lotion directly on his throbbing erection and much to his surprise, and pleasure, Naruto coated it all along his large shaft. Sasuke moaned out as the blonde moved his hand up and down his hard erection, loving the feeling coursing through his nerves.

When Naruto was sure Sasuke's dick was completely covered he rose slightly and held himself above the raven's member for a few seconds. Getting the hint, Sasuke grasped Naruto's hips and guided him down until he felt his erection penetrate the blonde's tight heat.

Both teens moaned at the unbelievable feeling that coursed through their bodies as Sasuke filled Naruto completely. When the blonde was fully seated on the raven's large shaft he stopped, knowing that if he didn't both of them would have come right then and there. After a few minutes the two managed to get a hold of themselves and Naruto pulled Sasuke into a deep kiss before continuing.

With their eyes locked onto each other, Naruto started to move up and then back down, slowly. Both were panting and moaning as Naruto moved up and down, loving how their bodies quivered and writhed at the movements. Eventually Naruto started to go faster and faster until he was slamming down on Sasuke's hard erection as the raven kept a tight hold on the blonde's hips.

Both knew they wouldn't last much longer but they didn't slow down. Instead Sasuke flipped them over and had Naruto wrap his legs around his waist. The raven then thrusted forward, fast and hard until he felt Naruto's walls clench around him. The feeling was too much for Sasuke and he came hard and long deep inside Naruto as the blonde came, splashing his warm seed across their lower abdomens, both yelling out each other's names.

Sasuke collapsed on top of Naruto after and felt the blonde wrap his arms around him. Shaking from his unbelievable orgasm, the raven managed to lift himself up enough to look at his lover. Sasuke saw Naruto's face was flushed red as sweat dripped down his face, his blonde hair completely soaked and the raven thought he never saw anything more beautiful.

The older teen gently stroked the blonde's cheek before leaning down and kissing him lightly. Sasuke smiled at his blonde then and received a smile that he had been missing for some time. Again the raven kissed his lover as he wrapped his arms around him. Gently Sasuke pulled out of Naruto and lay on his side, hugging his blonde to him and placing a soft kiss on his forehead. When Sasuke finally managed to get his breathing under control, he broke the contented silence.

"Naruto, that was…" Sasuke started but was incapable of finding a good word for describing their lovemaking.

Naruto looked at his raven and smiled, "I know Sasuke." The blonde then kissed his love lightly before snuggling into his warm embrace and falling asleep.

For a few hours Sasuke watched his Naruto sleeping peacefully for the first time in weeks with a warm smile. He stroked his blonde's cheek lightly as he leaned in and kissed his forehead gently before sighing in contentment and falling into his own peaceful slumber.

*~*~*~*

The rest of the boys' vacation flew by after that, both happier than they've ever been. Sasuke was especially happy to have his blonde back to his usual self. On the last day of their month off, the two lovers packed their things up and started home to Konoha.

The lovers walked hand in hand the whole way, sometimes talking, sometimes in contented silence. When the gates came into view though Sasuke felt Naruto tense and looked at him in concern. The blonde bit his lower lip a little and stared at the ground.

Sasuke gently pulled Naruto into his arms and hugged him close. He then pulled back some to look into the bright blue eyes of his lover before placing a chaste kiss on his soft pink lips. The raven then stroked his blonde's cheek softly and received a small smile.

"What's wrong, Naruto?" Sasuke asked with concern in his voice.

The blonde sighed and rested his head against his lover's chest before responding.

"I'm just not all that happy to be going home. This vacation was only temporary and it helped more than I thought it would, but everything's just going to start up all over again…it always does." Naruto explained quietly as he clung onto Sasuke and buried his face in the crook of his raven's neck.

"Things won't be the same as they were, Naruto, I promise." Sasuke replied as he rested his head against his love's head.

"How can you promise that, Sasuke? Are you gonna take on the whole village to keep them away from me?" Naruto asked and chuckled morosely.

Sasuke pulled away from Naruto again and lifted his chin to look into his eyes once more. The raven smiled warmly at his lover and placed a feather light kiss on his forehead.

"If I have to, I will." Sasuke answered and was pleased to see Naruto smile at him and laugh lightly.

Sasuke smiled at his lover before claiming his lips in a passionate kiss. After a few minutes the two pulled apart and continued on. When they got inside the village they headed to the Hokage's office, stopping at their homes before hand to drop off their things.

Seeing as it was only seven in the morning, not many people were out yet but those few who were up and about were the first ones to see Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki walking hand in hand. The boys saw the expressions on these few villagers go from shock to disgusted and angry.

The two ignored them until they were inside Hokage tower, blocking them from view. When they arrived at Sarutobi's office they saw that the door was open and went in. The new lovers were greeted with a warm smile from the village leader as he stood up from his desk and approached them.

"Welcome home you two. How was your vacation?" Sarutobi asked kindly with his usual wrinkled smile still in place.

"Fine." Sasuke answered vaguely as he looked at his blonde beside him, a small smile in place.

"Naruto, was your vacation with Sasuke good?" The third Hokage asked the blonde directly.

"No, it was better." Naruto answered with a smile at his raven. Sasuke couldn't help it as his smile grew bigger, seeing his blonde happy again.

"Splendid!" Sarutobi happily exalted as he chuckled, "Why don't you run along now, I'm sure you'd like to spend your last day off doing something fun." The Hokage smiled warmly, dismissing the two teen ninja.

Sasuke and Naruto left Hokage tower and walked through the village, their hands in their pockets. A sudden thought made the raven pause and the blonde to look at him curiously.

Is he really mine? Sasuke thought as he approached Naruto slowly with the grace of a falling angel.

"Sasuke? Are you alright?" The blonde asked his new love.

The raven pulled the blonde to his chest, wrapping his arms around the younger teen's slim waist, when he was close enough and was only some what relieved he didn't pull away. For a while, all the older teen did was look into the crystalline blue eyes he loved getting lost in, silently worrying about the answer to his unasked question.

"Naruto…" Sasuke hesitated and that alerted the blonde that something was seriously bothering him.

"Tell me what's wrong." Naruto said to his love, both caring and worry heard in his voice.

"I…even though we're back in the village I don't…I can't let you go." Sasuke finally managed to get out as his heart started to race in nervousness, worry, and fear.

"Sasuke-" Naruto started but was interrupted by a panicking Uchiha.

"Naruto, please, just give me a chance! I swear I'll tak-umph!" The raven was cut off from his pleading after his blonde covered his mouth with his hands.

"You should have let me finish, you know." Naruto said with a light giggle, "I never had any intention of letting you go, Sasuke. And, if your reaction is anything to go by, you don't intend to let me go, right?"

The raven nodded his head since Naruto had yet to uncover his mouth. The blonde smiled warmly at his love and finally removed his hands. Sasuke returned his love's smile wit his own before leaning forward and kissing him deeply. Naruto wrapped his arms around Sasuke's neck as gasps were heard, but paid little attention to, all around them.

Some of the villagers witnessing the exchange between the boys were surprised but most angry. The raven's fan club, though, were all a mess with grief at the realization that they lost to a boy and Naruto none the less. Sakura was, by far, the most furious but knew it would be stupid to do anything to the blonde now that Sasuke was his. Trying to hurt him now would be like receiving a death sentence.

After five minutes of a very heated make-out the two lovers broke their kiss, both still ignoring everyone, before Sasuke spoke.

"I love you, Naruto." The raven said, love and happiness apparent in his voice.

"I love you too, Sasuke." The blonde responded with bright smile as he pulled his love in for another glorious kiss.