Title: Being 'A'

Author: Lady Ifrit

Ratings/Warnings: R

Genre: Romance

Summary: Naruto figured that the hottest person he knew and had fallen for wasn't all that up for sex. Sasuke's finding out more about himself and is coming out of that metaphorical closet. (There's a lot of comments and suggestions in fic that Sasuke's so uptight that he could be asexual, so I thought, what if he actually was?)

There were hands and lips roving over his body, their touch sensuous and soft. Calloused hands trained in the killing arts that had gentled as they touched and held him, stroking and caressing his skin in a loving and reverent manner. Unbuttoning the dress shirt he had worn out on the date they had returned from, only two hours ago – Naruto had insisted that they take part in the dating ritual ever since they had both reluctantly and clumsily confessed that they liked each other (like that) on a somewhat drunken night off. It was his favourite shirt, a red only slightly darker than that which was on the Uchiha crest and that complimented his complexion perfectly, and that was why the blond was being exceptionally careful in taking it off – Sasuke looked good in it and Naruto wanted to see that sight again.

Lips mouthed the base of his neck and shaggy, sun-bright hair tickled the underside of his jaw as Naruto worked his way downwards from Sasuke's face to his now bare shoulder. His own pale hands worked their way over tanned shoulders to embrace the other's warmth and bury themselves in golden hair.

It was nice, being in Naruto's arms, but Sasuke couldn't help the niggling feeling in the back of his mind, like something was bothering him but he couldn't quite figure out what it was. Trying to ignore it, he concentrated on what Naruto was doing, watching as the blond kissed and licked his way down his chest to his navel, working his trousers open at the same time. He shuddered every time that tongue came out to lap at his skin and, strangely, they were not shivers of delight. He couldn't help but try to squirm away from that slippery appendage.

When his partner lifted himself back up to face level to kiss his mouth, he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something wrong. Or missing. He could feel Naruto's hardness pressing against him but his own body wasn't on that level of arousal yet and seemed, for some reason, apprehensive about getting there. He shook his head to try and rid himself of the feeling and lose himself in Naruto's attentions, telling himself that it was probably nothing at all – he was just being paranoid. It was probably just nerves. Naruto would be his first everything and it was normal to be nervous and jittery.

The soft, almost chaste touch of soft lips on his was nice and he melted into it, moving his own mouth against it. He felt the tongue swipe at his bottom lip, seeking entrance and he pursed his lips a little before complying with the request and opening his mouth, allowing it inside. It felt strange and foreign inside his mouth and he wondered, not for the first time, why so many people did this and talked about it. He'd heard girls talk about kissing techniques, raving about certain ways to do it right and those who could and, from what he'd heard, Naruto was doing all the things that they said was good. He knew Naruto was experienced – he'd had a few partners, both male and female, while Sasuke had been gone from the village – and he had bragged to Sasuke often enough that he was an excellent kisser. The blond was a sexual person, who both knew it and embraced it and would be the one guiding Sasuke in this area. So why did it feel weird?

Even as he told himself again that it was just the nerves that any first-timer would have at the onset of actually losing his virginity, he could feel Naruto's hands working their way into his underwear. He could feel his heart start beating faster and something dark, like storm clouds, growing inside his chest and filling the space under his ribcage, making it harder for him to breathe. Was it dread? But then Naruto's fingers were on his still limp manhood and he couldn't think on identifying that feeling anymore.

He froze, clamping his legs together and jerking away from the blond, his hands coming down to physically push the other away. His breathing was still quiet but coming in harsh, irregular pants and he fought to control himself, not understanding why he was reacting this way.

Rustling next to him and he could feel Naruto's warmth come closer to him as well as hear his concerned and slightly panicked voice questioning,

"Sasuke? Sasuke, what's wrong?"

He couldn't answer, still concentrating on taking deep breaths to steady himself and get out of this out-of-character episode, so he just shook his head.

"Was it something I did? Man, what did I do?! Are you gonna be ok, Sasuke?" The panic was still there.

As he finally got his breathing back under control and his body stopped shaking, he pushed himself up into a sitting position near one end of the bed. He brought his knees up towards his body, resting his arms on them and leaned forward to put his face in his hands, feeling mildly embarrassed and mostly perplexed after that strange sense of alarm slowly seeped out of his body. And Naruto was still freaking out.

"I'm sorry. I – I'm ok now."

"Are you sure?! Should I get you anything? Maybe a glass of water?" The panic was decreasing, but a remnant remained there along with the concern and the same frustrated confusion that Sasuke was feeling.

"No. No, I'm – I'm fine, Naruto. I'm ok, now. I'm sorry." He wasn't quite sure why he was apologising. That reaction had taken him by surprise as much as it had Naruto. He was sure that wasn't what was supposed to happen. Maybe that was why – he couldn't explain where that had come from.

"If you're sure…."

Sasuke lifted his head out of his hands and turned to face the blond ninja. He could now see quite clearly into those sky-blue eyes and see the concern and fear for him that was roiling inside. It seemed as if Naruto was trying to come up with explanations for what had happened to cause Sasuke to react in such a way and each scenario he thought of was worse than the next, freaking him out even more.

"Sasuke….Sasuke, what was that?" He reached out to place a reassuring hand on his paler partner's shoulder, trying to soothe with his warm touch. When he didn't react badly to the contact, Naruto took the opportunity to scoot closer and offer more comfort.

Sasuke could feel the heat rise in his cheeks at being treated so delicately and turned his face away, even as he leaned into the hold. "You – you were scared. I've never seen you like that, except for that time – the Chuunin exams, in the forest and Orochimaru attacked – you froze kinda like that back then." He hesitated then, reluctant to say what he thought and tightened his hold around Sasuke's body.

"Were you – Sasuke, when you were gone…did Orochimaru…did he…touch you?" The question was asked in a fearful sort of whisper, asking about the worst scenario he could think of.

Sasuke whipped his head around to face Naruto, shocked and outraged at what Naruto was implying had happened to him. Now there was anger mixed in with the humiliation, the confusion forgotten as the heat of it swamped him. His arm rose almost of its own volition and before he realised what he was doing, he had hit the blond across his face. Still, the fury didn't allow him to regret it.

"Don't you ever suggest such a thing again! Don't even think it, idiot." He pushed the other away from him roughly, indignant and pride-hurt. "Do you really think that little of me? That I'm some weak loser who would allow something like that to happen?! I'm not some kind of victim, Naruto, and I was the one who killed Orochimaru. Because he had nothing left to teach me and I refused to be ordered around by someone weaker than me!"

Naruto looked a strange mixture of startled, relieved and ashamed at those words, the odd mix of emotions pulling his otherwise handsome face into peculiar contortions. His cheeks flushed red and he ducked his head in a boyish manner. Silence reigned for a few moments, Sasuke's irate huffing the only sound permeating it. Then Naruto looked up from beneath the shaggy golden locks that fell over his head with a guilty flush and shifted awkwardly.

"I – I'm sorry, Sasuke. I didn't mean anything like that. I know you're not weak." He fidgeted a little and looked up, the expression so genuinely apologetic and guilty that Sasuke couldn't help but relent in his anger a little.

"Well you'd better remember that." Fists that had tightened in fury and outrage, loosened and Naruto, understanding that his apology had been accepted, took it as an invitation to come closer once again. Sasuke allowed himself to be held and they sat that way for several moments before Naruto made himself speak once more, his tenacious nature not allowing the matter to drop until he was completely informed.

"So…what was that? I mean, I'm glad you're OK and nothing weird happened to you in the past or anything, but…it's still pretty serious. Because, you were, like, freaking out and…it's weird, seeing you like that. It kinda freaks me out, since you don't do that easily." He was babbling. "And you weren't really all that into it from the start either, you know. I figured, maybe you were just nervous or something since it was your first time and you didn't know what to do. Or overwhelmed, because, you know, I'm just that good." He laughed at his own quip a little, but it came out sounding more nervous than suave. He could tell that Sasuke didn't want to talk about it.

Sasuke shrugged at him, not all that willing to look into his face. He had indeed been hoping that Naruto would let the incident go and not talk about it. He himself wanted to pretend that nothing had happened.

"I don't know. I guess I was just really nervous. I – I don't think I'm ready for this Naruto." It was hard to say. It felt that admitting to something like that made him less somehow. Strange that he was eighteen years old, had killed and fought in more than his share of battles, but had never been touched so intimately and was something too close to afraid to having sex and losing his virginity.

He sneaked a glance at Naruto's face and caught a trace of hurt there, but it was quickly swept over by acceptance. A soft squeeze of the arms around him and quick kiss was dropped on his cheek.

"Then we'll take it slow. It's OK, Sasuke, I can wait. The last thing I want to do is pressure you into something you're not ready for. I'd hate it if that happened. If you feel like I'm rushing you, just tell me to stop. Or, you know, punch me in the face – that seems to work for us most of the time." They both laughed softly at that.

Sasuke turned to return the embrace as a sign of his thanks and they held each other tight but comfortable in each other's warmth for some time until they both slowly became aware of a small problem of Naruto's that hadn't completely gone down.

"Uh, Naruto…is that…?"

"Ehehehe, um, maybe we should just go to bed." One arm lifted to scratch at the back of his head in a sheepish gesture that he'd used since childhood. "Yeah, let's do that. I'm gonna go change in the bathroom."

It was amusing to watch as Naruto headed off, tugging his shirt and open trousers out in an effort to hide his (very) slowly wilting erection. Shaking his head at his dorky boyfriend as he exited the room, Sasuke began tugging off his own mostly removed clothes to change into his sleepwear and got under the covers, waiting for his partner to return before turning off the lights. With a chaste kiss goodnight, they went to sleep holding each other close.

He was warm and comfortable – these were the first things he was aware of. That and there was something soft but firm resting in his arms, nestled against his body, radiating a gentle heat into his own. It smelt nice – something indefinable mixed into warm musk – and slowly he realised exactly how snugly fitted it was against him, from chest to thigh. He rocked into the inviting heat, his hips moving almost unconsciously, and felt what had previously just been contentment turn into pleasure. He rocked again, felt the pleasure spike, then again and again and again.

The sharp pain in his side, in that tender space just where his ribs ended, was sudden and unexpected. Drowsy bliss turned into painful awareness just in time to see the elbow drive its way into his side once more. He yelped and scrambled back and away, clutching his hurt torso and turning his eyes to the other occupant of the bed.

"Ow!! Sasuke, what the hell?!"

"You were humping me, moron! I don't like it and I didn't want you coming all over my ass again."

"Oh. Uh, sorry." Naruto flushed, embarrassed at what he had been caught doing, albeit unconsciously, and also at the mention of a previous incident. "But still, you didn't have to be so violent about it! Could have just rolled me over and let me enjoy my dream!"

"Tch, whatever. Do it again and you're not sleeping in the same bed as me. Why are you so horny all the time anyway?"

"Aw, come on, that's not fair! And I can't help it – it's the Kyuubi's fault. Jiraiya said that I'm absorbing him, so I'm gonna like some of the same stuff that he does - like food, meat especially, sleeping, sunbathing – "

" – and sex?"

"Yeah, especially that. And especially with you."

Sasuke raised one fine dark eyebrow in his direction, looking somewhat sceptical but accepting. "Hn. I'm flattered. Now go and get ready – we have to renew some supplies so we're ready for out next mission."

Naruto pouted, put off at being roused in such a way but as he made his way around the bed to Sasuke's side, closer to the door while his was nearer the window, he glanced hopefully at his lover and perked up a little.

"Can I at least get a good-morning kiss? Since you woke me up in such a mean way and all…?"

"No. I don't want your morning breath." Dour as always his boyfriend was, but Naruto refused to give up hope.

"Well, how about one on my ouchie?" He raised his sleeping tee up to bare his torso, showing off a rather impressive six pack and pointing to an already fading bruise on his side.

"No. Go shower."

In response and an impressive show of maturity (not), Naruto stomped his way out of the room, grumbling about a man's needs and inhuman bastards who didn't seem to have any sort of sex drive and liked to tease unassuming hot blonds.

Sasuke smirked and wondered if maybe he had been a bit harsh in his method of waking up his boyfriend. Well, he'd make Naruto's favourite breakfast this morning and maybe he'd share a bit with his 'unassuming hot blond' in a way of making it up to him. Maybe.

It had been a few weeks since that botched first attempt at making love, but they still hadn't been able to make it work. Somewhere in a corner of his mind that he didn't often look into, the comment on not having a sex drive managed to paste itself on the wall and grow small roots.

A/N: I hope you guys liked this and think it's a little different - this plotbunny has been bothering me for weeks. Please review and constructive criticism is very much appreciated. Reviews make me happy and make me write faster (as well as stoke my ego). )