A Strong Response
Sasuke rubbed his temples and quietly groaned at his desk. He checked the time and noted that he had been working for five hours now. The raven stretched and leaned back in his chair. He knew he should take a break but there were still a lot of things that needed to be done. He didn't have the time to be resting. He smiled a little when he thought about how his boyfriend would react if he heard that. Now that he thought about it, it was weird that he hadn't gotten any texts or phone calls from said boyfriend checking in on him since he knew full well he worked himself until he collapsed.
The raven pulled out his phone and sighed when he saw fifty missed text messages and fifteen missed calls. He forgot he had his phone on silent. He did it because he had a meeting and didn't want Naruto interrupting it with his insistent messaging. He meant to turn it back on after. He had better call him back, the guy was probably having a mental break down. The cell had barely rung once before he heard Naruto on the other end.
After Naruto finished preaching on about how worried he was Sasuke explained what happened. There was a short pause before Naruto sighed and calmed down. As long as nothing had happened then it was fine. The blond told Sasuke he was about to drive down there he was so worried. The raven closed his eyes and sighed in exasperation.
"What exactly did you think happened to me?" Sasuke asked. "Just because I didn't answer you."
"Hey! You always answer so it made me worried!" Naruto defended. "Anyway, have you eaten yet? You haven't, have you?"
"I'm fine, Naruto." Sasuke sighed.
"So no. I'll bring you your favourite from that little restaurant down the road."
"How many times do I have to tell you, you aren't allowed up here. Only staff can be here."
"Uh-huh, so you keep telling me, but I still manage to get into your office, don't I? If it bothers you so much then you should take care of yourself. Then I wouldn't stop by all the time."
Sasuke wanted to protest more but he knew Naruto wouldn't listen. Besides, if he were honest with himself, he liked it when the other came by to see him. A part of him didn't care to change his habits because it meant seeing the idiot. Of course, there was no way he was going to tell him that. Sasuke gave in and his blond gave a little cheer before he hung up on him.
The stack of paper work wasn't getting any smaller so the raven got to work. He had to get as much of it done as he could since he wouldn't be doing any more for a while once Naruto arrived. It didn't help that it was hard to get his mindset back after he had seen the blond too. That guy knew how to make him relax and the last thing he wanted to do after he showed up was more work.
That was the situation Sasuke was stuck with though. It took about twenty minutes for Naruto to pop in with a to-go bag in his hands. He grinned happily at his raven and skipped over to him. He dropped the bag on Sasuke's desk, right in the middle of it, and stopped him from continuing with his work. The raven looked up at him with an amused smile and couldn't help but wonder how the blond always managed to get in here. He really wasn't allowed to be here and the raven never did anything to make it so he could.
Naruto pulled over a chair while Sasuke put all his paperwork away. He didn't need the worry of it getting destroyed by anything the blond brought with him. At the very least, his cheery boyfriend had the decency to let him. Then he set the food out in front of them and plopped down in his seat across from the raven and devoured his portion of the food. Sasuke sighed in exasperation at his impatience and took his time eating his own.
"So, how are you feeling?" Naruto asked.
"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked.
"Like, do you have a headache or anything? You usually get those right?"
"...Stop worrying so much. I'm fine. Really."
"Uh-huh, so you do right? And I'll worry about you all I like. Someone has to take care of you."
A bottle of Advil was tossed at the raven as he said this. Sasuke caught it and sighed a little in relief. He ran out of it the other day and had forgotten to buy more. Naruto snickered knowingly at him and got to his feet. He walked behind Sasuke, with the latter not paying any attention to him since he already knew what he was about to do, and placed his fingers at his temples.
After he popped a couple pills in his mouth he leaned back and sighed contently. His blond's fingers soothed the pounding in his head. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of the pain seeping away. They stayed like that until the headache left Sasuke. Naruto hummed thoughtfully and made an offhanded comment about his headache not being as bad as they normally were. The raven glanced up at him and then shrugged.
Unfazed by that response, the blond leaned in and kissed his boyfriend on the cheek. His raven looked over at him again in surprise and was met with Naruto's grinning face. Cerulean orbs crinkled mischievously at his lover and claimed soft lips in a kiss. The tanned man closed his eyes without hesitation and gently caressed a cheek with one hand. Sasuke pressed his hand against his blond's chest as if to push him away, he shouldn't be doing this at work after all, but ended up trailing his hand up to the other's neck and drew him closer.
The raven closed his eyes and gave into the kiss without a fuss. Naruto got excited at how Sasuke encouraged him for once. It was so rare of him. Unheard of really. He was at work and that meant professional. He didn't like bringing his personal life into it. The raven would be mortified if someone caught them like this, though Naruto had to admit he didn't mind how he got all mopey afterwards and stayed by his side. It lead to lots of cuddling for the taller man and that made him very happy.
Their kiss ended naturally and the whiskered man pressed their foreheads together. Sasuke got flustered and abruptly looked away. Cerulean orbs stared into the averted eyes fondly. He knew his raven was embarrassed about the public affection even if no one was there to see it.
"Should I leave?" Naruto asked softly.
"...No." Sasuke mumbled.
The business man dropped his head on his blond's shoulder and hid his face there. Naruto blinked in surprise and looked down at his embarrassed lover. He couldn't help the shit eating grin at his raven's quiet admittance that he wanted him to stay. He kissed Sasuke's head and combed his fingers through his hair. Then he pulled his partner to his feet and embraced him close.
Sasuke mumbled something that sounded like a complaint but snuggled into his lover's chest. The whiskered man smiled at him, but then they heard the door opening. A woman started to say something, warning the raven she was entering, and the two froze. The raven panicked and shoved his blond away so as not to be caught in such an intimate situation and said blond fell on his ass. Sasuke barely dropped back into his seat before the woman fully entered the room.
Everyone looked at each other before focusing on the one seated on the floor. There was a long silence before Naruto spoke up.
"...Oh look, my shoe's unlaced. Damn." Naruto said pathetically.
It was an obvious lie, mostly because the kind man was a terrible actor. However, it didn't change the fact that Sasuke felt bad so he feigned disinterest and called his boyfriend an idiot while stretching a hand out to him. The blond smiled knowingly at the raven as he took the offered hand. He allowed the business man to pull him to his feet and then quickly came up with an excuse to give Sasuke and his secretary some space to talk privately.
Naruto wandered over to a corner of the room and leaned down to "tie" his shoe, keeping with the act as obvious as it was. He placed his hands behind his head and stared out the ceiling to floor window that looked out over the city after standing up. It was a beautiful view, especially at night. Not that he got to see that very often since he usually visited his boyfriend during the day. It didn't bother him really, he wasn't the type to properly appreciate that kind of thing anyway.
On the other side of the room, Sasuke was having a hard time listening to his secretary. His gaze kept flickering over to his blond. He was worried that his partner was upset with him. He'd definitely made an ass of himself back there. The woman picked up on it quickly enough. It wasn't that hard really, the raven wasn't exactly being discreet about it. She glanced over at the patiently waiting Naruto and then back at her boss.
After telling Sasuke that it could wait, she abruptly turned on her heel and walked out of the room, promising not to return until the other had left. The raven didn't protest and was striding over to Naruto before she was even out the door. As she was leaving the room she glanced over at her boss just in time to see the taller man smile reassuringly at him and pull him into a warm hug. She smiled to herself before closing the door. She'd never seen her work-a-holic of a boss like that and it was nice to see he had someone looking out for him.
Sasuke sighed softly and buried his face in his lover's neck, his arms snaking around the other's waist to pull himself closer. Naruto smiled affectionately at his boyfriend and rubbed soothing circles on his back. The quiet man pulled back and kissed him softly on the lips, squeezing him tightly, in way of apology. His blond brought a hand up into his hair and caressed his cheek lovingly. He kissed back sweetly, trying to wordlessly tell his raven that everything was okay. That he understood.
When they pulled apart Sasuke didn't open his eyes, though he was relaxed in the other's arms so Naruto wasn't too concerned about it. The cerulean orbs stared at his lover's face for a moment before playfully nudging his nose with his own. He grinned down at the raven and pressed their foreheads together. Onyx orbs finally made themselves known but they were tired and downcast and that made the affectionate man worried.
"Let's go home." Sasuke whispered in a weak, almost defeated manner.
Vigilant blue eyes softened with understanding. The raven just wanted to be with him and not think about work. He was upset with himself for treating Naruto like that regardless of whether he had intended any of it or not. It got to him and he just wanted the blond to himself without any other worries. Naruto kissed his lover's forehead and quickly murmured his agreement while tucking his head under his chin. Sasuke allowed himself to enjoy the moment before pulling away, his boyfriend reluctantly letting him go.
The business man trudged out of his office with his partner in toe. He told his secretary that he was turning in early today and that she was free to do the same. She didn't say anything and just nodded her understanding. Naruto waved cheerfully at her as they left and she didn't miss how he kept "accidentally" brushing against her boss. She smiled amusedly at the scene before turning back to her work. Tempting as it was to leave she would take care of things here for her boss' sake. He would surely work until he collapsed tomorrow if she let the work pile up.
The duo entered the elevator together and the blond hummed at his luck; it was empty. He slid in behind Sasuke and wormed his arms around his waist. The raven wordlessly leaned back into him and closed his eyes. It wasn't long before the elevator came to a stop with a "ding" as more people were coming on. Naruto pulled away with an annoyed sigh as the doors were opening. Sasuke didn't make a sound as he opened his eyes again. He missed the feeling of those strong arms already but he did nothing to show it.
The elevator soon became packed and the pale man was more than happy to use Naruto to avoid as much contact with anyone else as possible. The taller man clearly didn't mind as he discreetly caressed Sasuke's arm. With many people pressing in and out of the elevator on the way down, the two eventually made it out into the parking garage. The business man sighed in relief when he was finally free of the cluster of people. His boyfriend smiled down at him and wordlessly followed him to his car.
"Hey, I'll drive." Naruto offered.
Sasuke looked at him blankly and then nodded. The taller man was trying to let him relax and he found that rather appealing right now so he passed him the keys. Naruto smiled at the man as he watched him settle into the passenger seat and then moved into the driver's seat. The blond started up the car and slowly navigated out of the parking garage.
The ride home was filled with quiet music and furtive glances sent Sasuke's way. The businessman was resting with his eyes closed, but looked anything but relaxed. Worried blue orbs eyed him as much as he could while driving. A tan hand reached out and grabbed a pale one comfortingly. The raven was more than happy to interlace their fingers as soon as the hand was offered to him. A soft sound escaped the man, enjoying the feeling on Naruto's calloused hand pressed against his own creamy one.
The blond pulled into their nice little abode. Most would think that since Sasuke was rich they would live in a luxurious house, but that wasn't the case. A large home appealed to neither of them. They both appreciated the homey feeling of small little places. There was a kitchen, living room, washroom, and two bedrooms; one of which is being used as a guest room. That's their little place and they liked it. That's all the home they wanted. A small place where finding and snuggling up with their mate was easy was all they wanted.
So Naruto pulled into the driveway of a condo house and gently said, "We're home," as he parked the car. The shorter man opened onyx eyes and blinked at the place once, twice, thrice, before turning to rest those smoldering orbs on his blond. His boyfriend smiled sweetly and chastely kissed the corner of his eye. Sasuke instinctively closed it when lips came in contact with skin so near it and his face would have been adorable if he didn't look so sad.
"You know what we should do?" Naruto asked quietly as he combed his fingers absent mindedly through his lover's hair.
"Hn." Sasuke was so verbal sometimes...
"Have a nice, long soak in the tub." Naruto grinned at him.
"...I'm not in the mood, Naruto." Sasuke whispered, looking away.
It was an expression Naruto identified easily. An expression that said he would do it anyway if it was what Naruto wanted. The blond hated that face almost as much as Sasuke's tears. He kissed all over that face to try and make that look disappear. He murmured sweet nothings in his ear and removed their seat belts so he could pull Sasuke against him. What made that face worse for the taller man was that he knew where it came from. He knew it was there because the pale man felt like he'd wronged him and therefore his feelings didn't matter.
All that face did was make Naruto want to cry. It was so messed up. His raven nuzzled into his neck though and that managed to calm the blond down. Him being cuddly was always a good thing. It soothed both of them to be like this. The tanned man held him close and kissed the top of his head, doing anything and everything to soothe him.
"Hey, I'll have you know I'm fully capable of having a bath with you without jumping your bones." Naruto said somewhat indignantly.
"I distinctly recall you telling me the exact opposite once." Sasuke murmured into his neck.
"Hrrm... Correction, I can contain myself under certain circumstances." Naruto pouted at having his comment retorted. "These fall under such conditions."
"And what would those conditions be?" Sasuke didn't sound convinced.
"Hm...? Uh... The 'Sasuke is more important than my libido' conditions." Naruto mumbled something completely made up on the spot, but still entirely true nonetheless.
"I don't think you meet those conditions all the time, Naruto." Sasuke smirked.
"Wha...? I do so! I fairly convince you that you wanna do it too, so it's not against the conditions." Naruto protested with a whine.
"...Right." Sasuke snorted.
Naruto drawled out Sasuke's name in a whine. He pouted childishly as he rested his chin on top of his lover's head. Yes, him being upset did not seem so believable when he was cuddling his "mean boyfriend". The raven did mumble, however, that he would take a bath with the idiot. Naruto made a giddy, happy sound and pulled away from Sasuke with a grin. The latter was not amused nor smiling but scowling and frustrated, for his cuddly panda ripped itself away from him.
The taller man paid his lover's mood no mind and hopped out of the car, calling for his boyfriend to hurry up and join him. Oh, the shorter one was not pleased at all and he didn't quite feel like listening to him, but he got out anyway to join him and his blond would rue the day he ever met him if he ran away from him. Luckily for Naruto, he waited excitedly for the other man to reach him and took his hand to quickly drag him inside. It wasn't cuddling, but Sasuke was willing to overlook that for the moment.
His lover made a beeline for the bathroom and immediately started preparing the bath. Naruto turned to him and asked whether or not he wanted to wait for the tub to be full before getting in. Given his blond's low resistance to his hormones, he wasn't about to tempt him by hopping into the bath naked where he might as well have been lounging on the couch like that for all the difference it would make. He almost made that smart remark to Naruto, before realizing it would be a mistake and that it would get the other jacked up in a heartbeat as he mentally pictured such a scene.
A defeated sigh, unlike the one from earlier, left Sasuke and he informed the other that they would wait. The blond smiled knowingly but his excitement seemed to have toned down somewhat as he wasn't bouncing off the walls anymore. That was nice, the business man didn't think he'd have been able to deal with that until the bath was full. Naruto settled in against the tub and stretched. His boyfriend frowned at him.
"You're waiting here?" Sasuke clearly wanted to go elsewhere.
Naruto looked up at him and nodded, intent on staying exactly where he was.
"If I cuddle with you somewhere, I lose track of time and the tub fluids and then ya get super mad at me so," Naruto grinned cheekily at him, "I'm staying right here until we hop in."
"I'm regretting agreeing to this more and more every passing second." Sasuke sighed and moved to curl up in the partner's lap.
"But ya did!" Naruto sing-sung.
A vain throbbed and he was tempted to hit his blond on the top of the head, but he let the comment go and settled in against him instead. The taller one hummed a happy tune and caressed the other's arm lovingly. That successfully restored his raven's quickly deteriorating mood and the man snuggled even more into the man he loved. This was all very relaxing for Sasuke and if all went well, as Naruto claimed it would, then that bath would be quite nice too.
The blond nuzzled his hair, kissing the top of his head occasionally, and asked what they should do after this. Onyx orbs closed with a sigh and he shrugged, pressing his face into his partner's neck. Tan fingers touched his lover soothingly as he whistled thoughtfully. Lazing about the house all day was a given, even he didn't need to ask about that, but then what should they do? Naruto pondered on that and considered curling up on the sofa and watching a movie later. Given what his boyfriend found interesting though, he was likely to fall asleep. That could be a problem, what with how Sasuke's spirits were low right now.
Scratching his check, the blond couldn't come up with anything better. Sometimes they watched game shows together and that was fun for them, being how competitive they were, even if Sasuke always won but that definitely wasn't where the current mood was. Movies usually meant one would love it and the other would hate it, so the latter would always end up doing something to entire himself during the movie or, in Naruto's case, take a nap. Other times where they just relaxed in each other's company usually lead to Sasuke reading a book while his boyfriend played one of his games.
None of that seemed very enticing to the blond right now. He bore holes into the ceiling as nothing useful was coming to him. It wasn't hard for the raven to pick up on his mood either since he was growing tense, so he sighed into his lover's neck and pulled away to look at him. Curious cerulean orbs alighted on him and he tilted his head questioningly. Sasuke brought one his hands behind Naruto's ear and gently rubbed circular motions and dragged his nails along his skin. His boyfriend immediately sighed and his eyes half-lidded, the tension washing out of him. The man closed his eyes for a moment and then looked up at his raven.
"I'm the one who should be doing that." Naruto said lightly with a smile and drew him closer with his arm.
"Hn." Sasuke buried his nose into his neck again but continued with the earlier gesture, knowing how the man couldn't resist it.
Naruto stopped thinking about what to do and slumped back against the tub, holding his lover to him possessively and sighing into his hair. The two ended up finding themselves ridiculously comfy on the washroom floor and not wanting to move by the time the bath was done. The blond groaned as he was forced to get up to stop the downpour of water. His lover wasn't too happy about it either, but only his tight expression showed it.
Blue eyes locked onto his partner as he got up and he strode over to him with purposeful steps. His lover frowned at him when the other grabbed at his shirt, clearly wanting to undress him himself. Naruto grinned at him excitedly and began to unbutton the shirt slowly, enjoying the process. His boyfriend frowned at him and grabbed his hands to stop him, so the blond looked up at him.
"I already told you I'm not in the mood." Sasuke glared.
"Yes, yes, I know. What about it?" Naruto said. "I just like undressing you."
Sasuke gave him an unconvinced look.
"...Sasuke, I get off more from watching you undress than I do from doing it myself." Naruto was dead serious.
There was a pause and then the business man dropped his hands as he looked away embarrassedly. Naruto got giddy all over again and happily went about stripping his lover of his shirt, and everything else, while allowing his fingers to graze against the pale skin. He pushed the shirt down Sasuke's arms and stepped in closer to him. His fingers caressed his sides for a moment as he kissed the other's temple. Then he leaned down and kissed his neck as his hands unclasped the raven's belt and pulled it free. He dropped it on the floor when he pulled away to look at Sasuke.
Content onyx depths caught stormy blue and the taller man grinned with delight. Tan fingers unbuttoned and unzipped the black slacks while he leaned in to capture the shorter man's lips. His raven didn't pull back, giving silent permission for him to do so, and brought his hands up to the blond's neck as he kissed back. The kisses were gentle and tender, the pants slowly finding themselves on the floor and tan hands settling onto pale hips, but then his lover was lightly pushing him away and stopping it. Naruto blinked at him in confusion.
"There, you got what you wanted, right?" Sasuke said wryly as he got into the tub.
The blond blinked at him and then laughed, saying that he did. A smirk was directed his way and the tanned man teasingly asked if he wanted to watch him strip with a wink. The smirk quickly fell and the raven refused to look at him anymore. Naruto was laughing the entire time he undressed and then nudged his partner so he could slip in behind him. His boyfriend only sunk lower into the water until only his eyes were showing. Cerulean eyes filled with mirth and he giggled as he moved to sit in front of him, Sasuke immediately sitting up to make room behind him. He didn't want to look at his blond right now.
That just made Naruto giggle more, the response being exactly what he expected, and hopped in behind him. He gently pulled the other man against him and squeezed him lovingly as he pressed his face into the pale neck. Sasuke sighed uneasily, not being able to calm down, and then his lover was kissing up his neck and behind an ear. The tanned man only placed affectionate kisses and held him tightly, trying to get his boyfriend to relax and it eventually worked, once his raven felt assured he wouldn't start anything.
Naruto hummed happily when he felt the muscles loosen and the lean body pressed into him. He continued to lazily kiss him and moved one hand to caress his arm. It had the helpless man melting into the body folded around him. Everything felt good, the soft feeling of lips and the backs of his nails trailing along his skin, and he closed his eyes with a sigh. Agreeing to this was turning out spectacularly. The water was warm and soothing in its own way, which added to that of Naruto's, and to top it all off his lover was comfy. It was suddenly very regretful to the drowsy man that his blond tended to have such trouble keeping it in his pants.
When he felt like he wouldn't be able to keep his eyes open for another second, he forced himself to pull away from his lover. Naruto gave him a confused look and ran his hands along Sasuke's back. His raven gave a frustrated groan because his boyfriend was making it so difficult to get up. He didn't want to move at all. It made the blond pause, wondering what was wrong. He shifted onto his knees and leaned into his partner, worming his arms around him and dropping his chin on his shoulder as he gazed up at him. He noticed how the pale man's face become more strained than before.
"What's wrong?" Naruto asked.
"I don't want to move." Sasuke muttered.
"Um, you're gonna have to explain that one to me." Naruto said in confusion.
"I'm trying to get out," Sasuke glared at him but it didn't hold any malice, "and you're making that impossible."
Naruto stared at him uncomprehendingly for a minute but then his face broke out in the brightest smile Sasuke had seen all day. The business man looked away in embarrassment when he understood how happy he was by that statement and instead of letting him go, the blond pulled him closer and laughed happily into his neck. The giddy man got his boyfriend to turn around, cupped his face and kissed him hard on the lips. Sasuke was actually blushing when they pulled away but Naruto just looked like he'd heard the best news ever.
Calling the love of his life an idiot, the raven couldn't get out of the tub fast enough. He quickly grabbed a towel and beelined it to their room. His energetic blond quickly unplugged the drain and did the same. Sasuke already had a pair of sweats on when he arrived and, with a towel around his waist, he bounced over to his partner and enveloped him in another hug. His boyfriend made a weak sound before squirming away from him and ordering him to get dressed. Naruto happily obliged.
He pulled on his orange pajama bottoms with ramen bowls scattered all over them and ignored the top since he always slept shirtless except during winter. His partner, on the other hand, had tugged on a black t-shirt. Naruto noted from the size, and the leaf-like swirl, that it was one of his. A pleased rumble came from deep in his chest and his raven, who heard it, looked like he wanted to be anywhere but where he was. The heated man strode over to him again, paused in front of him to calm himself down, and then snatched his boyfriend's hands.
That surprised the other man and he looked up at his blond to see a gentle smile on his face. It really didn't help him at all, but it didn't make his heart pound as loudly as earlier nor did it threaten to make him aroused like the growl had. If Naruto hadn't calmed down, he was pretty sure they would have found themselves going at it like dogs for hours. Not that, that was a bad thing but he'd wanted to avoid that today.
Then the raven was suddenly snapped out of his musings by Naruto wrapping the pale arms around his waist before moving his around the other's shoulders. Sasuke was a little surprised, his lover didn't usually guide his actions like that, but stepped in and pressed against him like the other wanted. The blond hummed lowly in contentment and nuzzled his hair. Understanding that the taller man just wanted to hold him, the dark eyed man couldn't help but smile. He pulled away a little, bringing his hands up to the other's neck, and watched cerulean eyes open halfway.
Sasuke caressed his lover's hair and saw those eyes close again. He pulled him down for a kiss, surprising the other man, and his blond tightened his hold on him as he kissed back. The raven made a pleased sound and continued to caress his partner's hair when he pulled away. Naruto dipped his head down to his neck and pulled him closer. He lazily kissed behind his ear and murmured that he loved him. His lover pulled away and took his hands when he heard that, making the blond look up at him.
"Geez. I can't believe you got like this just because of what I said in the bath earlier." Sasuke teased. "I love you too, you blockhead."
His blond only smiled at him in response and allowed himself to be pulled into bed with him. He laid on his back with his boyfriend curled over top of him and idly ran a hand along his back, occasionally pressing his fingers in and rubbing at the muscle. Sasuke sighed or groaned softly whenever he did this, snuggling even more into his lover.
"You want a massage?" Naruto offered.
"No, this is nice." Sasuke mumbled into his neck, not wanting to stop cuddling with his blond.
Naruto, who understood that was the reason, smiled. He kissed the top of his boyfriend's head and murmured his agreement into the raven tresses. A pale hand idly traced along his lover's chest before ascending into his hair and lightly kissing the exposed collarbone. The two remained happily engrossed in the other as the day wore on.