A/N: Okay guys, here's another story. It's a one-shot. While working on an outline this plot bunny came to me. I was listening to Jazmine Sullivan's awesome song and randomly got inspired. I'm sorry it's been a couple of months for the next chapter of TMP, so this is an apology fic, cause it's gonna take a little more time for me to get the next chapter out. Bear with me please. But in the meantime, I hope you enjoy this one! ^_^

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. He is the brainchild of the awesome, Masashi Kishimoto. R.I.P. Kishimoto-san's father.

Warning: This fic is a yaoi, which means boy on boy action in this piece. Sex will occur. If this is not something you're interested in or you're under 18 you should not be reading this. You have been duly informed. Otherwise, LEMONS! LEMONS EVERYONE! ^_^

Lions and Tigers and Bears

"I'm not scared of lions and tigers and bears, but I'm scared of loving you…why do we love love, when love seems to hate us?" – Jasmine Sullivan

It had been like this for a long time. Love had been denied him all his life, from the love of his parents being ripped away from him at birth, to the feelings of his first crush for the pink-haired beauty being rebuffed time and time again. The hate from the villagers was directed at him for being the embodiment of a monster they feared, something that haunted their dreams late at night. The one person that treated him like a normal person knew the same loneliness he felt, alone, sitting in his empty apartment eating ramen and listening to the echo of a hollowly ticking clock on his kitchen wall. He had managed to create a bond, a magical connection to another soul. But that was also snatched away. The person he had finally come to see as a brother had disappeared into the wild blue yonder with revenge on his mind. And he had tried to keep him there, tried everything his little pre-pubescent mind could think of to keep his best friend with him in the village.

Countless nights, Naruto laid awake, even now after growing up and saving the village a good couple of times, thinking of what else he could have said or done to change the Uchiha's mind. But every time he thought about it, he came up with a blank. At that time, there was nothing else he had to offer, nothing he knew about anyway.

He cried and cried rivers of tears when no one was watching because his chest ached, his heart hurt. A part of his life was lost to him. He was lost. There were no more smart comments, no more playful banter between them. He had no one to really push him far beyond what he thought his limits were. He was just traveling through his life as if in a fog.

Running through eerie hallways with candles flickering every few steps, Naruto and Sakura searched high and low for their dear friend. Shouts echoing and bouncing off the walls, their breath came in short bursts of air and their leg muscles burned with the strain they put on them as they sprinted. Strange smells emitted from rooms whose doors were opened in their search.

Sasuke was nowhere to be found.

Coming into the light at the end of the tunnel, their newest member getting there first, Naruto looked into the face of the one he most wanted to see for the past two years.

His heart burst in his chest to see him. Sasuke…it was Sasuke! The happiness and relief he felt was akin to a dog whose master had been gone all day and was wagging its tail in excitement with the sounds of keys opening the front door. But the giddiness he felt was short lived when he blinked and Sasuke was landing in front of him.

Something was off. His eyes weren't the same, his aura wasn't the same. It was as if Naruto was staring into the eyes of a dangerous predator. Sweat broke out on his brow and his heart quickened for a different reason. He held his tongue, for he knew should he speak, his voice would sound shaky. Though this was his friend, Naruto was not one to show fear in front of a potential enemy. Friend or not, this was not the Sasuke he knew.

The half hug the dark haired male gave him was not reassuring. It drew him closer than socially appropriate. The things he said made Naruto's heart sink into his gut.

This definitely wasn't Sasuke.

When Sasuke made that smart ass comment about his dreams to be Hokage and why he wasn't furthering his future instead of chasing the past in futility, Naruto felt indignation rise up. He straightened his back and raised his head a little higher.

"I can't become Hokage when I can't even save one friend. Isn't that right Sasuke?"

Naruto mentally stomped down the tears threatening to gather in his eyes when he heard the sliding of the sword against the scabbard. Never once did he flinch as he waited silently for the end that never came.

He sat on a branch in a tall tree overlooking a village. The target he was sent to spy on had not arrived yet. After years of going on lone missions, Naruto had learned a bit of responsibility. Now at the healthy, robust age of eighteen, he had begun to make better decisions. He no longer charged into battle head first and kunai raised. He stuck to the shadows more, wore less brash colored clothing, spoke more softly, observed for longer periods of time before acting. Naruto had morphed into a perfect ninja. Genjutsu was still his weakest skill, but it was a work in progress. At least he could release a mildly strong one by himself. Naruto wondered when these missions started.

Shortly after defeating Pein, Naruto had returned to the village a hero. Finally he was getting the recognition he deserved. But he quickly distinguished between short-term recognition and long-term love and respect. The villagers recognized his strength, but they were more afraid of him now than they were when he was an Academy reject.

"If he is capable of that, what more is he capable of as a jinchuuriki," the villagers whispered. He heard them every time he passed. They didn't love him, they didn't even really like him and they wouldn't stick up for him in his time of need. Should the fight become too much for them or if it would benefit the village to sacrifice him, he would be handed over to Akatsuki without a backwards glance.

Naruto acted dumb, but he wasn't entirely stupid. Those old farts in the council didn't give two shits about him. They've been itching to either use him in battle or dispose of him. He knew, deep down in their hearts, especially the old woman wished he were the one to go rogue instead of Sasuke just so they would have reason to put a hit out for his life. They were influenced by Danzo and made, stupid, Danzo-like decisions. They made him sick. Now, more than ever, he had to watch his back. His associates from his Academy days had now turned into his friends. They supported him. But the few against the majority would not save him. Naruto could not fool himself into thinking he wasn't still alone. They could do nothing for him.

It took a while for the village to get back on its feet. He had gotten a newer apartment, one closer to Hokage Tower. However, despite his close proximity, the Hokage could not see everything that went on in Naruto's life. She didn't have the time to. At first, once the village was rebuilt and secure, Anbu were put in place to "monitor" the blonde. They thought he didn't notice, but he did. It hurt, the lack of trust they had in him. Regardless, he never spoke a word. He didn't blame the Hokage for this. He knew it wasn't her fault. He kept to himself, never alerting them to his knowledge of their presence.

Months after the incident, Anbu were stationed elsewhere and Naruto could breathe easier. A weight had lifted off his shoulders. What he didn't realize was the loss of a nuisance left an opening for an even larger threat.

One sweltering night, Naruto had left his window open. He took a shower after eating a bowl of instant ramen and lay down to welcome the nightmares that haunted him every night.

Somewhere around one in the morning, a creak sounded in his bedroom. Shifting, he cracked an eye, still half asleep. A feeling of dread washed over him as he detected a foreign presence in the room. Sitting up abruptly, he spied the looming figure in the corner of the room. The glow of the moon streamed into his room, placing everything in shades of grey.

"Long time no see, Naruto."

Naruto's heart leaped into his throat. It was him. The blonde knew that deep timbre anywhere. It was his voice, only deeper, older.

"Sasuke."

Naruto's voice was scratchy and thick, still laced with sleep.

"Indeed, dobe. You always did wake up with a bird's nest for a hairstyle."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "I know you're not talking with a regular hairstyle that looks like a duck's ass! What are you doing here Sasuke?"

Taking long strides, the Uchiha stood in front of Naruto on the side of his bed. Naruto knew he wasn't in a position to run, but he still tried to put distance between them by plastering himself to the headboard of the bed. Quick as lightning, Sasuke grabbed the neckline of his nightshirt and dragged him up to eye level. Blue eyes widened at the unanticipated action.

"What is it about you?"

Looking at him in confusion, Naruto tried to disentangle the other's fingers from his clothes.

"Excuse me?"

Suddenly lips smacked against his with bruising force. Squawking in surprise and indignation, Naruto gave Sasuke the opening he needed to insert his tongue into Naruto's moist cavern. These sensations were new to Naruto and his brain froze for a second, only to jump start his struggling anew and with fervor. Naruto jerked his head to the side, dislodging himself from the kiss and drew back to punch some sense into Sasuke. Mid-swing his wrist was caught and twisted to the side. Yelping in pain, Naruto tried to kick at his attacker, but Sasuke smoothly slid himself between his legs, drawing the blonde's waist closer to him. Leaning down to his ear, Sasuke whispered menacingly.

"I'd behave if I were you, Naru-chan."

Seeing red, Naruto snarled at him.

"Fuck you, you insane bastard! I don't know what the hell you learned from that creepy snake guy, but don't try to teach that crap to me!"

A maniacal grin graced his friend's face and a dark chuckle left Sasuke's lips, reverberating in Naruto's chest.

"Oh no, Naruto. I will show you so much more than that!"

Flipping Naruto over, he rid the blonde of his sleeping pants and boxers in one swift move. Naruto scrambled towards the other side of the bed trying to make it to the door. He let out an unmanly shriek when his ankle was grabbed and he was roughly pulled back to his assailant. His legs were spread wide, his genitals on display for greedy Sharingan eyes to gaze hungrily at. A deep blush graced the blonde's face. The expression Sasuke was making made him uncomfortable. But he wouldn't back down in any situation. That was Uzumaki Naruto's ninja way!

"Oi, stop manhandling me you creepy pervert bastard!"

"Oh, and what are you going to do about it Naru-chan?"

Naruto tried to sit up and fight, balls and all until he was back handed, his face grabbed and he was forced into submission by gazing into Sasuke's Sharingan.

He saw nothing but the horrific images from Sasuke's past. In the back of his mind, his body registered pain, and then pleasurable feelings. He knew what was going on. His friend was raping him, but he couldn't release the genjutsu no matter how hard he tried. It was too strong for him. So he stopped fighting and took it like a man, watching those images replay over and over until he felt his consciousness leave him.

The next morning, he woke groggily to a bright sun illuminating his naked, semen covered form. As he lay there, he felt Kurama healing the damage inflicted upon him the previous night.

Naruto spent weeks after that trying to rationalize Sasuke's errant behavior, even going so far as to defend the Uchiha against Kurama's accusations. Many a time he tried to deny it ever happened, but now not only did he have his own nightmares, he shared Sasuke's as well. He thought, maybe this was Sasuke's way of calling out for help. Maybe his friend was drowning and Naruto was the only person who saw. But the rapes did not stop that night. Sasuke used a genjutsu on him every time he fought back. Each time showed a part of the raven's past, the part when his family was still alive. Each memory cut the jinchuuriki deeply because all the happiness circled back to the massacre.

Sasuke would leave and for months Naruto wouldn't see him, until he would arbitrarily pop up and the situation would worsen. This happened with the Hokage having no knowledge of it and Naruto suffering in silence.

Eventually, the blonde stopped seeing Sasuke as a brother, but more as a lover. As time continued to pass, his love for the raven grew. However, Naruto was afraid of this love. He was terrified of this "affection". It was evil, immoral, and unethical and he felt it was likely to destroy him.

Pushing himself, Naruto decided it best to further himself in the ninja ranks, he focused, studying hard. He even managed to gain the help of Sakura and Hinata to take the Chuunin exam again. Later he passed to Jounin and to everyone's surprise became an Anbu. Boy did the Hokage have to fight for that. The council really didn't want that to happen, even going so far as to get the Daimyo involved.

The reject became the model student, the perfect ninja.

Naruto was the first to sign up for missions. He began thinking more, if only to have more on his mind than Sasuke. He pined for the raven when he left. Sasuke would come, have sex and leave, and each time he left, a part of Naruto left with him.

The blonde had become cold, hard, calculating. It was only so much that could be put on a person before they changed as a result. His bubbly personality had frozen into a block of ice. His blue eyes were an empty void. He no longer had the energy to keep up the happy façade he used to carry around with him.

When Tsunade looked at him now, her chestnut colored eyes were rimmed with an expression of pity. He hated it, but he never uttered a word about it. There was nothing he could do to change how she felt. Naruto could realize how pitiful his life had become.

As the random sexual visits continued, and Naruto fell deeper in love, he felt he needed to somehow put a stop to it before it was too late. He worked himself to the bone and ended up getting the new status of Captain of an Anbu squad. But it wasn't enough to get away from the nightmares, the emotions…or Sasuke.

Was there no escape?

Coming to the Hokage one day, he asked for a mission, one that took him away from the village for a while.

After it worked that time, he came to ask for those missions more frequently, asking for longer periods of time and farther distances away.

He was running.

Tsunade granted his wish whenever there was a lull in combative activity that pertained to his squad. She always asked Naruto if he'd like to bring someone along with him but he refused as he was adamant in his need to be alone.

He needed to make himself scarce so that Sasuke could not find him. He did not want to face the rogue ninja, he was afraid.

Just as he had gotten stronger, Sasuke had also. Even if he had the strength to defeat his friend though, he knew his heart was not strong enough to harm him.

This was another of those long-term missions away from the village. Naruto was now spying on a Mist informant in Iwagakure. He had been gone for the better part of nine months on an information gathering mission. He thrust himself into his task and kept on the move, masking his presence not so much for the mission as it was to keep a certain raven off his trail.

After watching the man's interactions, he figured he had gathered enough information for the day when the man entered an inn to get some rest. Finding a place to rest in the woods nearby, he made himself comfortable at the base of a large tree.

When he woke up a few hours later, the sun had gone down and the moon was blocked by the canopy of the trees. Everything around him was cast in shadow, but not so much that he couldn't see. A gasp escaped his lips and his eyes widened comically, coming face to face with the one person he didn't want to see. If his expression was anything to go by, Sasuke was livid. Gulping loudly, with shaky breath and heart in his throat, Naruto tried to diffuse the rapidly deteriorating situation.

"Sasuke…"

Leaning in closer, if that was possible, Naruto could feel the raven's breath fan across his face.

"So, Naru-chan, you thought you could run away did you?"

It was a rhetorical question and Naruto knew when it was best to keep his mouth shut.

"Do you have any understanding how hard it was for me to track you down? I've been chasing you for a good four months now."

'Ha! Bastard, now you know how I felt when you left.'

But Naruto had sense enough not to say this out loud as well.

Calculating in his head, he quickly scanned his surroundings while keeping his senses trained on the rogue ninja in front of him. All escape routes were blocked. In the dim light of the moon, Sasuke smirked.

"You cannot escape me this time my dobe. You are mine. You will never escape me. Never again."

Naruto found familiar lips firmly pressed to his and he gave in. There was no other recourse for him. He had fallen hard and he no longer had the strength, no longer retained the will to fight against the flow of Sasuke's tide.

Sasuke hesitated only a second in confusion at Naruto's compliance and then pushed his tongue past soft, pliant lips, deepening the kiss.

Naruto had missed this. But just as he had missed it, he knew he was slowly poisoning himself with every kiss, every caress, every moan he let slip through his defenses. A hand roughly palmed his crotch through his black cargo pants. Sweat broke out on his brow and the hot summer air was suffocating him. He fought the urge to raise his hips in search of more friction.

Those sinful lips left his to travel across his jawline and landed on his neck, suckling the junction between his neck and shoulder. His breath became ragged, his erection straining in the seat of his pants and his fingers ripping the patches of grass next to him. He bit his lip almost to the point it bled, determined to hold his whimpers and moans. A sharp intake of breath was drawn when his member was swiftly removed from the confines of the zipper and his boxers. Long, deft fingers held it in a vice grip and began kneading the flesh.

"Aahhhh! Nnnngh…Sa-Sasuke, too ha-hard!"

The raven fixed him with a hard stare.

"Don't ever hide those sounds from me. They belong to me just as much as you do."

The pace his hand set was slow and agonizing. His other hand worked to remove Naruto's standard-issue vest as the blonde's toes curled in his sandals. Kissing him again, Sasuke leaned heavily on Naruto, pushing the latter's scalp into the bark of the tree. Wincing slightly, Naruto pushed back, his moans being swallowed up by the other.

Raising up the black shirt underneath, Sasuke moved his lips to travel a path of kisses down the tanned chest, tongue encircling the navel.

"Mmh…Sasuke…please!"

Chuckling, the rogue flicked his eyes up to see the shadowed image of his dobe at the end of his sanity. It made Sasuke want to do all sorts of dirty things to him. Namely…

Naruto shrieked, turning it into a long, drawn-out moan as his hard-on was fully engulfed in blazing heat. He felt the pulse of the blood in the veins of his penis to the head. Sasuke took it in until his nose hit the patch of blonde curls at Naruto's pelvis and without warning gave a hard, long suck.

"WAAAHHHH! SASUKE!"

Everything else after that became unintelligible loud moans and sobs as the Uchiha began to bob his head frantically, hollowing out his cheeks and swallowing around the head repeatedly. His hands kneaded the ample thighs by his head keeping Naruto's hips in place.

All of Naruto's muscles froze as he came down Sasuke's throat. While the dobe was attempting to recover from the intense euphoria, Sasuke removed both their pants and prepared his fingers with a phial of sweet-smelling oil from one of his pockets.

Before Naruto's mind could take itself out of the pleasure-induced haze it was in, he felt Sasuke's slick fingers enter his hole. The feeling was still weird since it had been nine months ago when he'd last had sex. But it wasn't as bad as his first time. This time, he knew pleasure would soon follow.

All too soon, Sasuke had stretched him and found that magical place that made him a moaning mess all over again. He arched his back and gripped the bark, slivers of wood getting under his nails. The pleasure had trails of tears making tracks over his whiskered cheeks. Sasuke thought the sight was beautiful.

Slicking up his member so as not to hurt his dobe, Sasuke placed the dazed blonde over his lap and quickly impaled him.

Naruto screamed so loudly, he sent some snoozing birds in the tree to fly elsewhere to find rest. Waiting patiently for him to get used to the feeling of his thickness again, Sasuke gritted his teeth at the tightness, grunting in the effort not to flip the blonde over and ram him into the ground until he couldn't walk. When the uke began to wiggle his hips, Sasuke slowly raised and then lowered him, leisurely pacing himself despite it absolutely killing him.

For some reason, the Teme wanted to take things slow, to show a more affectionate and caring side. Naruto definitely was not complaining about this, on the contrary, it was a far cry better than the raven treated him in bed in the past. He just found it odd. What was his angle in doing this? Naruto had already fallen hard for him. How much deeper could he fall?

Those same fears crept into Naruto's heart and mind once again, the fear of losing himself to Sasuke's darkness. The most frightening revelation of it all was that Naruto wasn't exactly sure he'd care if he fell into the darkness surrounding his lover. But Sasuke had chained their fates, interlocking them to each other. He was right.

There was no escape.

But that didn't mean Naruto had to like it.

Their copulation picked up in pace, Naruto bouncing faster and faster, his prostate being hit with perfect precision. Their moans and grunts were reaching a crescendo, the sounds of sex bouncing off the face of the trees and echoing throughout that small section of the woods. And then with one final thrust it reached the grand finale, spurts of semen flying through the air and splattering their chests while the blonde's hole was filled to overflowing. Breathing was heavy and Sasuke relaxed his hands from the bruising grip he had on Naruto's hips.

Putting back on his pants, Sasuke lay back on the grass under the tree, bringing the totally spent dobe to rest lying on his chest.

The birds came back, chirping in the late morning sun that cast sparse rays through the wooded canopy onto the ground.

Naruto cracked an eye open, fully expecting to be lying alone, half naked in the woods. When his mind cleared some of the haze of sleep, he was surprised to feel the rise and fall of a breathing chest under his fingers. Warm arms loosely held him in an embrace, the hands of which came to the tops of the round globes of his rear.

The pervert.

A small smile graced his lips, his blue eyes softening. This was the first time he wasn't left alone the morning after. But he had a mission to complete. Attempting to get up, he heard a groan and the arms tightened around him.

"Mnh, dobe…stop moving," the sleep-laced voice told him. Seconds later, the breathing of the rogue under him evened out again.

'He must be real tired, huh?'

Waiting another twenty minutes just watching the serene face of his lover, Naruto shifted again. This time the raven cracked an eye, staring at him in annoyance.

Laying his head on his folded arms and staring at Sasuke's chin, Naruto greeted him.

"Mornin' Teme. You do realize I have to get up right?"

He talked quietly, sweetly, no longer the brash dobe he used to be and trying to ease the scowl forming on the raven's handsome face.

Sasuke sighed, tightening his arms further.

"And why pray tell is that dobe?"

"Well Teme, if you hadn't noticed, I was in the middle of a mission when you arrived."

Sasuke gave him a hard glare, one that said he was not pleased with the direction this line of conversation was taking.

"Damn the mission, damn the Hokage and damn the village! You. Are. Mine. And I'm not letting you go any longer. What had happened before this will not happen again. Are we clear?"

Naruto's crystal blue eyes widened at the authority, finality and possessive quality of that statement. He was in such shock that he couldn't even form a rebuttal. In a softer tone, Sasuke continued.

"You will not be going back to the village. If I have to tie you up and carry you off, you are staying with me. I don't have time to search for you anymore, and I refuse to."

'Oh, this cheeky bastard. For as long and hard as we all looked for him, he has the nerve to tell me that?!'

"There is something about you and I can't pinpoint what it is. I can break every bond I have, every one. But I can't break the one I have with you. Even as you tried to break the one you have with me, I still couldn't allow it to happen. I don't understand it. However, I intend to take as much time as I need to figure it out…even if it takes me a lifetime."

Naruto stared at the determination in Sasuke's eyes. That was as close to a flat out confession as Naruto figured he'd get from the stoic man.

But that nagging fear crept back into his heart once more. Just because Sasuke wanted to stick around, and just because he was more gentle or showing his affectionate side didn't mean his mind was alright. He couldn't have just turned over a new leaf this quickly. Something was still mentally wrong with him.

Sasuke pulled him up so that his lips were level to Naruto's ear.

"You can never escape me, my dobe."

Naruto looked off with unfocused eyes into the distance.

'But I can try.'

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this. I am working on the next chapter of TMP now. It might take me a minute depending on how fast the idea for the chapter forms, but please, if you liked this one-shot, leave a review, follow, fave…you know, all that jazz. ^_^ Thanks!