Another Lifetime
His name is of no importance, only his history. He was conceived at a time when she who bore him was trapped underground during a snow storm, something that wasn't uncommon amongst humans during that day and age. When he was born, there was a blizzard that killed many… a warning, they say, from that which he was born of. His hair was snow white and glittered like silver, his eyes icy ebony and bottomless in their depths… he was not human and those that witnessed his birth knew as much. He took on a human appearance, too much like his mother for those that knew her well, and it made most sick though others pitied the infant for his unluckiness… to be born into a species that isn't yours, to be unwanted by all except the woman who carried you… to be hated by even her. He grew alone, as all around him feared him… that was okay by him, he didn't care for them anyway. He didn't reach a good age, nor did he live a good life… but his murder hardly left him in the grave.
Life has become monotonous, the last thing that caught his attention having been over five thousand years ago… that didn't end well. He has seen humans come and go, has seen them born and grow old before dying, and he's seen them reborn many times over. Life has become mundane for him and its something he simply never gets used to, as human is something he's not. He belonged with them… once. Belonged with the throngs of oblivious creatures known as humans, but that was before his murder… before his demon blood touched the earth and ran strong. That's how it is with his kind; they're born into the world of humans to steel them for the pains their powers take on their bodies. The humans eventually let fear consume them and they kill off their curse… Humans are so predictable. He sighs heavily and gazes upon the creatures he once belonged to, their faces so similar and yet so different. His mother's face was like that, at least… what he can remember of it.
"I still don't know why you insist on attending a human school," Kiba complains. "You already know all the stuff they're teaching… Hell, you've lived through the majority!"
"Yeah, Sasuke-kun," Sakura sniggers in humor while leaning heavily on her boyfriend Sai. "If you were to put all your journals together, you could sell it as a text of the entire world history… I bet it would make millions."
"You don't have to stay, you know," Sasuke snaps. "I'll be fine on my own."
"Never mind," Kiba mutters.
"Now, now," Sai smiles. "Haven't you ever heard the expression 'one feeds the pocket, the other feeds the soul'? Obviously, his demon heritage is keeping him in the game, but this school is helping him feel a lost connection to his mother."
"I'm not that complicated," Sasuke mutters. "I just needed to find something interesting."
The three stare at one another in shock, but Sasuke takes the opportunity to sneak away from them and return to his classes. He's an honor student, straight A's, and he excels at all the sports without effort. It's almost disappointing how easy life comes to him, yet he still has high hopes for this college. He doesn't age, so he's always moving around, but this college in particular has a certain promise to it. So lost in his thoughts, Sasuke doesn't see the petite blonde until they're on the ground and he's picking up his own books.
"Watch where you're going, dobe," Sasuke snaps.
"Where I'm going? You ran into me, teme!" the blonde yells back. "I suggest you get your head out of your ass and watch your feet, because if you knock me down one more time I'm gonna stick my foot where the sun don't shine… Got it?"
Sasuke is speechless a moment, shocked that the little blonde has such nerve that they'd speak to him in such a manner… Perhaps they're new and don't know him. He turns and hurries to catch up to the speedy little blonde, taking a minute to run his eyes along her frame.
*She has a nice ass, a strong back, her body is lithe and faintly muscular… she could pack a good wallop, * he muses. "Hey, girl! Hey, stop a minute! Girl, will you just… come on… hey! Girl, I want to talk to you! Just…"
He grabs a hold of the little blonde's shoulder and yanks hard, turning the blonde to see a oceanic storm of fury in those eyes that could shame the skies and oceans. A fist is connected to his jaw in the blink of an eye… he never saw it coming, but he damn well saw the flood gates of those eyes release as they slowly settled back into a cloudless sky.
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto… and I'm not a girl, teme."
"I don't get it, my nose is usually so accurate," Sasuke sighs fifteen minutes later.
Sakura is nursing his split lip with a light of humor in her eyes, Kiba is rolling in tears with his laughter, and Sai is simply listening with a nod every so often.
"I could've sworn he was a girl… at least… that's what the hormones smelled like. Maybe I've been away from home too long, or perhaps I haven't been socializing as much as I thought."
"Or he could be a rare demon breed," Sai offers. "I've heard of one that can change their gender at will."
"I thought they died off," Sakura states.
"More like… went into hiding. The best place for a demon to hide is in the human world, so it wouldn't be too crazy to assume that a few seeds were sown and forgot about."
"Good point. So… what are you going to do about your kitty crush?"
"My… what?" Sasuke asks Sakura.
"Well, you hate when we call it puppy love because you're not a canine… So we came up with 'kitty crush' for you."
"… Its times like these that I realize how pathetic I am considering you're all I can come up with for friends," Sasuke sighs miserably.
"Shut up, you know you love us. So… what are you going to do?"
"Nothing, of course. Things just might finally get interesting."
It's simple at the beginning, Sasuke just bidding his time and learning everything he can about Naruto. He finds that the blonde is a rather simple creature that's led by his desires rather than common sense, but he's rather efficient at getting those desires as well. He notes that the blonde isn't a fan of eating healthy, but there's probably a reason for that. He also has all of his classes in the morning, so he probably has an afternoon job. All this is learned in the span of a week, all the time Sasuke needs to see a developed pattern in a human's schedule. It's not until week two that Sasuke makes a move to get closer to the blonde, hoping he's not rusty in the areas of manipulation… It's been a while since he used them to get someone in his bed.
"Naruto?" he purrs. "I was wondering if perhaps I could bother you for a minute of your time."
"… What for, teme?"
*Ouch, that's not promising, * Sasuke thinks before pressing on. "I wanted to apologize for last week; we didn't really get off to a very good start. I didn't mean to run into you, but my mind was elsewhere."
"Okay, whatever. Is that all?"
"I thought perhaps I could make it up to you… say… this weekend?"
"No."
"Next, then."
"No. I don't go out on the weekends and I'm far too busy during the week, so just forget it, teme."
*… Shit… I've never been turned down before. Looks like I'll have to think of a plan B, * Sasuke frowns.
Naruto looks back and almost gives in at the pathetic look Sasuke is unknowingly casting to the floor, one that obviously states he's never been turned down before. Sasuke isn't a bad guy from what he's heard around school, as the girls are overjoyed to be noticed by him and he takes his time to at least take them on one date each, so he tries to cut him some slack.
"Look, how about you pick me up from work for the week," he offers. "My boss isn't the most upstanding guy and my usual chaperone is on vacation for the week, so I would really appreciate a bit of company… Okay?"
"Great! Where do I pick you up?" Sasuke jumps eagerly for the opportunity.
"I'd actually like it if you stayed for my entire shift… I just started this job not long ago and I'm still a little scared," Naruto blushes. "So… could you pick me up at my apartment?"
"No problem."
"Here's the address," Naruto says writing down his address. "My job isn't far from there, so we can walk. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Naruto, why don't I take you home from school as well?"
"… I don't know…"
"I can handle anything you can throw at me, trust me," Sasuke smirks.
"… All right."
Sasuke stares in shock, watching Naruto down drink after drink as people keep buying them for him and he keeps mixing them. It isn't until near his shift's end that he starts getting a bit tipsy, obviously his boss's intention. The man is already trying to lead Naruto to the backroom, his excitement apparent to Sasuke. The dark haired demon stands and walks over to the bar, slamming a hand down on the counter to garner their attention.
"Get in line, pal, he's mine first."
"That's my boyfriend, asshole," Sasuke growls angrily. "Come on, Naruto, it's time to go home."
"Hmm? Okay, Sasuke," Naruto giggles drunkenly.
It isn't until the two are outside that Sasuke's comment settles on the blonde's mind, startling him and drawing an angry frown on his sleepy face.
"Hey… I'm not your boyfriend," he slurs.
"But he doesn't know that," Sasuke points out. "Now let's get you home."
Naruto can't walk, that's obvious enough to Sasuke, but what he says next completely throws him off.
"If you carry me, I'll be your boyfriend," Naruto yawns.
"… Hang on… What?"
Sasuke uses his cell phone to video tape Naruto just in case he missed it, hoping he heard right.
"If you carry me home… I'll be your boyfriend."
"… No take backs? And you can't break up with me."
"I never go back on my word, teme," Naruto frowns.
"All right, but I'd just like you to know I gave you a chance to get out of such a ridiculous deal," Sasuke sighs pocketing his cell phone. "Come on."
He lifts Naruto into his arms and finds him asleep in seconds, a small smirk touching his lips as he thinks about how interesting things are going to be from now on.
Naruto wakes with a horrible hangover, his head pounding in rage at the amount of alcohol he drank at work. Never has he been as angry with someone as he is now, knowing that his boss forbid him from watering down his own drinks with the knowledge that his chaperone was on vacation.
"Good, you're awake."
"Holy shit, what are you doing here? Don't you know it's not polite to give people heart attacks?" Naruto yells angrily at Sasuke.
Sasuke sighs and holds out his cell phone, playing back Naruto's message for him to see. The blonde's face lights up with a blush, Naruto burying his head in his pillow in embarrassment. Sasuke walks over and sets a few aspirin and a glass of water next to his new boyfriend's bed, walking back to the door before saying anything else.
"Your breakfast is almost finished," he informs quietly. "The aspirin should help with your hangover, which I'll be shocked if you don't have one… I haven't seen anyone drink like that since my father found my mother dead."
"… I'm sorry," Naruto whispers.
"Don't be, I'm not the one suffering a headache."
"No, I mean… your mother…"
"Its history," Sasuke waves off. "I'm over it. It happened a long time ago… practically another lifetime."
"Still… it is sad when one loses their family."
"… I guess. Well, I business to attend to today. If you want to tag along, I suggest you get ready."
"Who says I want to hang around you, teme?"
It isn't an hour later that Naruto is trudging along behind Sasuke with a pout on his lips. Sasuke wasn't kidding when he said he had business to attend to, he seriously meant 'business'. He holds a partnership in an electronics company run by his older brother, so he's fairly well off. The company is very successful, especially coupled with his brother's business sense and Sasuke's genius. Many of Sasuke friends have parents that work there, but the most interesting person Naruto finds is Itachi himself… Sasuke's older brother. He seems condescending, almost egotistical, and Naruto notes that he looks upon the blonde with something akin to disgust. Naruto's never been one to take a hit lying down, so he automatically decides to make Itachi's life a living hell for as long as he's dating Sasuke.
"Baby brother, what is that?" Itachi frowns quietly.
"That is a boy," Naruto snaps. "And his name is Naruto. Unless of course you're talking about the reflection in the window, which if that's the case I'm gonna have to say I haven't figured out what it is either... so we're in the same boat as far as that's concerned."
"… Get him out of here," Itachi growls.
"Calm down, Aniki," Sasuke chuckles. "We're leaving soon. I just wanted to drop off a couple files and inform you that I had a fairly good idea for an invention… I've been working on it through the week, but it's proving to be rather difficult to work out."
"Take your time, otouto," Itachi smirks before patting him on the head affectionately. "It'll come to you, just don't chase it."
"Yeah, yeah, okay. Here are the files."
"… You never bring people here, otouto… Why the sudden change?" Itachi questions.
"Oh! This is my boyfriend, Uzumaki Naruto. We're going on a date later…"
"We are?" Naruto mutters.
"… So I decided to bring him along," Sasuke says forcefully.
"Oh, yeah. Can't wait for that date, it's gonna be the best ever," Naruto grins.
"So… What bar did you pick him up at and how long will I have to suffer his presence?" the older Uchiha sighs.
"Hey! He only picked me up at the bar because I worked there and I didn't trust the jerks I work with!" Naruto yells. "If he didn't give me that pathetic look, I never would've let him do even that!"
"… So you did pick him up at the bar?"
"To be fair, I took him there as well… So really, I picked him up at school."
Outside, they start walking toward another place Sasuke frequents. Naruto lagging behind with his arms folded behind his head as he looks to the sky.
"I don't like your brother," he states. "He's arrogant… even more so than you, teme."
"Yeah, well… our entire clan was that way."
"Was?"
"Long story… Don't want to talk about it," Sasuke sighs.
"… Why does he look at me like I'm disgusting?"
"What?"
"When he looked at me, it was like… he was looking at a dead animal or something."
"So, where do you want to go tonight?" Sasuke changes the subject.
"You didn't…"
"Where do you want to go tonight?" Sasuke practically spells it out.
"… You know, I may not be an expert on relationships and you may only want me around to have your fun… but I think holding the title of boyfriend should allow for a little more information than you've been giving me," Naruto says quietly. "I can't trust someone if I don't know them. And don't think I'm going to let you have your fun if I don't trust you."
"… I live by myself, my favorite color is navy blue, I love the snow but I love the summer sun more, I'm comfortable in the cold and I'm rather resilient to the heat, my brother and I own a popular electronics company that makes millions, and everyone from my mother's side of my family is dead. What is there to know?"
"Where were born? Where do you live now? Why do you stay in school when you already know all the answers?"
"… What?"
"Don't think I haven't noticed, Sasuke. I'm in many of your classes. I see you when you do tests, you always finish in seconds like you've taken the tests so many times you've memorized them, and you do all your homework in class while the teacher lectures us. When he catches you and thinks you're not paying attention, you always answer his surprise questions correctly," Naruto informs slyly. "Not to mention the only time you ever miss school… is on days on the full moon. I wonder why that is."
"You're a little more observant than I gave you credit for," Sasuke frowns. "Perhaps this particular relationship is best left broken off."
"No, wait! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," Naruto pouts. "It's just… no one really knows you very well and… I just wanted to feel closer is all."
"I'm not ready to let people close to me," Sasuke glares. "I know about as much about you as you know of me, so…"
"All right, fine. We'll learn about each other then, okay?"
"Agreed," Sasuke nods before thinking on it. "By the way, I was born around this area… I still live in my mother's house."
"I'll bet it's really pretty," Naruto muses.
"Actually… it's kind of gloomy and… empty," Sasuke mumbles.
"You can stay with me for the week," Naruto offers. "You'll be taking me to work anyway, right? So… if you're lonely at your place, we can keep each other company at mine."
"I'll think about it."
"Hey, Sasuke! It's about time you showed up, man, we've been waiting for like ever," Kiba shouts. "Oh! You brought the little blonde with you. Hey, I'm Inuzuka Kiba… Who are you?"
"Uzumaki Naruto."
"He's my boyfriend," Sasuke smirks in satisfaction.
"… What?" Kiba asks in shock. "Sasuke, do you think that's wise?"
"Yes, I do. What could possibly be unwise about it, Kiba? Please, tell me if there is any possible reason that isn't so outlandish that little Naruto here couldn't possibly come to terms with it."
"Don't call me little," Naruto pouts.
"It's just… well… he's a little… energetic for your taste," Kiba mutters as though he wanted to say something else and simply settled on that.
"I thought it was time for a change."
"Hi, I'm Haruno Sakura and this is my boyfriend, Sai," Sakura grins. "I'm so happy Sasuke finally found someone that can stand him for more than a few hours at a time."
"Sakura!"
"Well, it's true," another voice chimes in.
They turn to see a male with long black hair and white eyes watching them, Sasuke immediately putting a hand on Naruto's arm and squeezing a bit tightly. Naruto can feel the challenge behind it, but a challenge meant for the other male, and he can honestly say he doesn't like it.
"Neji," Sasuke practically hisses. "To what do I owe this displeasure?"
"Your father has a message for you and he asked me to deliver it personally," the long haired male says evenly. "You're wanted back home… he insists that you make an appearance for your step-mother's birthday."
"Tell him I'm not going. I don't care for my step-mother all that much, he knows that… they're not my mother."
"He won't be happy."
"Welcome to the club, he could've made more progress with a different messenger."
"You should be careful, Uchiha," Neji frowns. "Being with these people has made you careless and weak… keep a good eye on that lover of yours, or others may get the impression they can take him away."
Sasuke startles Naruto when a rather animalistic growl emanates from the depths of his throat, one too real to pass up. The blonde tries his best not to move, hoping that he doesn't garner unwanted attention, but he knows the attention has already been drawn when he tensed up. Sasuke quiets himself as quickly as he began, his glare still set on Neji and his hand still tight on Naruto's arm.
"Sasuke, why don't we go to the movies tonight?" Naruto says abruptly.
Everyone stops and looks at him, his smile relaxing those around him effortlessly and loosening the grip Sasuke has on his arm. The others are shocked that one person can have such an effect on their friend, as no one, human or demon, has ever been able to put Sasuke's chaotic soul at ease. Not in the thousands of years he's lived and certainly not now.
"You asked me earlier what I wanted to do tonight, remember? Well, I think we should go to dinner and go see a movie. Then we can stop by your place and get a few of your things so you can stay with me… how's that?"
Sakura and Sai are amazed at how well Naruto can calm a rather heated situation. The boy seems to be a natural magnet to good feelings and brings out the best in people… even Sasuke.
"That sounds fine, dobe."
Dinner was great, the blonde has to admit, and the restaurant was more expensive than he's ever been. The movies were fun as well, though he would've rather seen something other than a scary movie. All in all, being with Sasuke isn't that bad and he might actually enjoy a lasting relationship with him. Yeah, if it weren't for… his secret.
"Dobe, you've been awfully quiet today," Sasuke states. "Do you want to talk about something?"
They're laying in Naruto's bed right now, both comfortable with just lying on their back and staring at the ceiling. Naruto refused to give anything to Sasuke because of the lack of trust, so Sasuke simply stated there was no way he was sleeping on the couch no matter what he did or didn't get. That's basically how they both ended up in the bed, minus the fistfight and Naruto whining for fifteen minutes about how Sasuke cheated.
"It's nothing."
"You're not still going on about how I cheated, are you?" he huffs.
"No, I was just… thinking."
"Well, think about something that doesn't get you so uptight."
"I can't help it."
"Tell me what it is, that way you can get it off your chest."
"Sasuke… I don't think you should be with me," Naruto says quietly.
"I'll be the judge of that."
"I'm not a good person."
"Me neither," Sasuke yawns. "After all, I took advantage of your drunken stupidity to earn myself a boyfriend… I would list that as a bad person trait."
"Stop making fun of me!" Naruto snaps. "I'm trying to be serious! Why can't you just listen to me?"
"I'm a very good judge of character," Sasuke states seriously. "I can tell when someone is lying, I can tell when they have blood on their hands, and I know when what they say is hollow of feeling. I know bad people when I see them, Naruto… You're not a bad person, no matter what you've done in the past."
"What can you tell me about myself?"
"You've killed people before, but you see nothing but innocence in life. You're not good at lying, yet put all the feeling you have into everything you do. You're a good person, Naruto, and I'm lucky to have you," Sasuke smiles before kissing his forehead. "Goodnight, Dobe."
Naruto smiles to himself before going to sleep as well, his hand holding tightly to Sasuke's. It's true, he has killed before… but that was a long time ago… practically another lifetime.
A week has gone by and the two are learning to trust one another more, learning little things about one another. Still, they haven't learned the one thing that could break them apart for good. Each is keeping their past a closely guarded secret, refusing to open up to the other for nothing less than lifelong commitment. They've went on many dates, each one just as good as the last and all of them ending the same… with both asleep on the bed after a fistfight. Naruto has been the victim of some harsh pranks by jealous girls at school, Sasuke chasing off a few guys that seem too persistent to his liking when it comes to his dobe, but nothing seems to break them apart. Naruto's boss at the bar fired him because he has a boyfriend now, so Sasuke managed to pull some strings with his brother to get Naruto a job as his assistant… surprisingly, Naruto's file keeping is much more organized than Sasuke's.
"Finally! I finally figured out how to… no… wait… damn it! This is impossible!" Sasuke grumbles over his diagram.
"What are you working on?" Naruto asks wrapping his arms around Sasuke's shoulders.
"I've been trying to finish this hologram, but I just can't do it. These wires are giving me trouble."
"That's your problem… you don't have the same amount of connections as you have wires," Naruto points out. "See? Down here where the wires are there're five, but up here there are six. If you don't connect them all, it won't work."
"How did I miss that?"
"Let me see it," Naruto says reaching over him to sketch a little. "There you go, all better."
"You can't just draw a line and… hey, you're right, that would work," Sasuke says in amazement. "How'd you know?"
"I'm not as stupid as one would think," Naruto smirks. "Come on, it's time for bed now that you've finished your work."
When Sasuke gets in the room, Naruto is sitting on the bed looking rather shy. The raven takes off his shirt and stops when he feels Naruto's eyes on him, glancing outside quickly to see a full moon out. He quickly pulls his shirt back on and looks at Naruto, but the blonde isn't on the bed anymore… he's blocking the door.
"Uh… Naruto, I have to go," Sasuke says a little panicked. "I forgot that my Aniki wanted those papers as soon as I was finished with them and… ah!"
The blonde pounces and knocks Sasuke onto the bed with a grin, his face leaning close to kiss his nose. Sasuke can tell Naruto wants to play tonight, cursing his heritage as he knows his secret will get out if he takes the opportunity.
"Come on, Sasuke, isn't this what you wanted?" Naruto asks sweetly.
"I don't remember pushing for this," Sasuke says quietly.
"Okay, so maybe this is what I want tonight."
"I don't think this is a good idea tonight, I'm rather tired from staying up late."
"Don't make excuses, it might encourage me to do the same when you don't want to hear them," Naruto frowns. "What are you afraid of anyway? Do you think you'll hurt me? Maybe I'll figure something out about you that you don't want me to know? I can assure you, I won't learn anything that I don't already know."
As he talks, Naruto undresses Sasuke and the raven quickly notes that Naruto's voice has a lulling calmness to it that keeps him in a trancelike state. He shakes himself out of it, grabbing a hold of the blonde and switching places with him. Now he's seme and he doesn't hold back, tearing into the cloth with elongated nails and taking in a startled blonde with unfocused eyes. It goes fast for them both, Sasuke pushing harder than he can ever remember doing and Naruto almost passing out from lack of breath a few times. It felt so good, both of them spending the rest of the night enjoying it. By the time they fall asleep, Sasuke is faintly aware of the metallic taste of blood on his tongue and the whine of a pained blonde near him. Naruto is his now, completely, and there is no one in this lifetime or any other that can take him away from him.
Naruto wakes with a kink in his shoulder and a pain in his back, noting that Sasuke isn't with him in bed and there's an awful lot of blood on the sheets. He's a little worried about that, but he makes his way to the bathroom to clean up instead. Inside the bathroom, he finds Sasuke asleep in the tub. Something is different about him, though, something… weird. His ears look like snow leopard ears, there's a matching tail hanging out of the tub, his canines are sharper, and his nails are longer.
"You're a demon," Naruto gasps quietly.
An ear twitches and Naruto reaches over to poke it, causing another twitch as he brushes the fur. Suddenly, a hand is closed around Naruto's wrist and the blonde glances down in panic at an angry Sasuke.
"I… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you angry," he says.
"Hmm? Oh, I'm not angry," Sasuke says sleepily. "That just tickled, is all. I thought you were my Aniki; he does that all the time to me. Gets a real kick out of it, too."
"You didn't tell me you were a demon."
"Yeah? Well… if you don't like it, it's too late now. You belong to me and I don't feel like giving you up," Sasuke mutters bitterly.
"If you would've told me earlier, I wouldn't have been so shy about me being a demon," Naruto sighs in relief.
"Wait… You're a demon, too?"
"Yeah, I'm Kyuubi's youngest kit," Naruto grins. "I wanted to go off on my own at a young age and my mother's always been one to encourage individuality, so that's how I came here."
"Wow, so… How long have you been alive?"
"About as long as you I would think… maybe a little less."
"This is great! I was afraid you were human and I would've had to watch you die," Sasuke frowns. "I don't want to lose you, but I would've waited until you were reborn to take another… which would still have been you, so I don't think it could be considered cheating."
"I'm so happy, I can't wait to see what our future holds," Naruto grins.
"A whole bunch of children," Sasuke states. "At least, that's what my dad says. He says that snow leopards always have a whole bunch of children."
Naruto stares at him in shock, but it gradually fades away. After all, they have a lot of time to have kids and it won't be hard with his ability to have them in any form. Maybe they can wait to have them… maybe in another lifetime.