Title: (Make things so) Complicated

Disclaimer: This is written for fun and not profit; all recognizable characters don't belong to me.

Pairings: Sasuke/Naruto

Rating: R/M

Word Count: ~7,800

Warnings: Ignores a lot of canon; a few Original Characters. I write very 'light', so if you're looking for a canon-compliant Sasuke, this isn't the fic for you!

Author's Note: This was written for the sn_exchange over at LJ; the recipient, sirona_gs, asked for: Naruto as Jounin; Sasuke redeemed/Jounin (+ genin team optional)... either established (healthy) relationship or a get-together piece. Really, it's the interaction I'm after. Kids welcome. Kinks: banter, smart!Naruto, bondage, leather, rough play (but nothing major), blood play, both being equal but one submitting willingly.

Thanks so much to txilar at LJ for reading this over.

(Make things so) Complicated

"Naru-senseeiiii," Mika giggled as she dog-paddled around Naruto, who was standing in the middle of the river, trying to pass on to his genin team all that he had ever learned. The day was blazing-hot, even his hair felt limp; he longed to release the chakra he had built up under his feet and just collapse into the cool water.

"Naru-sensei," Mika sang out again and Naruto narrowed his eyes at her, hunkering down to be close when she paddled around him again. She blinked when she found herself face to face with him; Naruto had heard that he had an intense gaze, but no matter how he stared in the mirror, he always looked a little stupid to himself.

"Mika." He tried to channel Iruka in his voice. "What are you doing?"

Mika's eyes were very wide and very innocent. "...trying to walk on top of the water, sensei?"

"Yeah? Then why aren't you on top of the water?"

"She's kind of lazy," Koichi drawled, his mouth twisting with Naruto turned his head to give him a narrow-eyed glare. "Sensei, it's true."

"I'm not lazy!" Mika bellowed, splashing up water in agitation. "I'll show you lazy! I'll show you right in your stupid fa--"

Mika swallowed water as she went under the surface of the water. Naruto stuck his hand in and grabbed the hood of her sleeveless jacket, yanking out the sullen, sodden little girl and cradling her in his arms.

"I wasn't drowning." Mika folded her arms across her chest and pouted. "I was doing okay, I could have made it." She turned a murderous gaze at Koichi, who was standing with his hands on his hips nearby, perfectly balanced on top of the water and smirking. Naruto looked quickly around to locate his other student, an absent-minded boy; he would never live it down if he lost Shikamaru's cousin again.

"Hey, Shunsuke," he called out when he finally spotted the brat, who was actually kneeling on the surface, his head underwater as he peered at... whatever he was peering at. "Shunsuke! Get over here."

Shunsuke casually lifted up his head, water streaming down his clothes, and ambled over to his sensei, gazing up at the clouds. Naruto had hoped he wasn't some kind of weird genius or something, but figured that once he was dealing with a Nara, 'weird' and 'genius' kind of came with the territory.

"Look," Naruto began patiently as soon as Shunsuke came close."Just listen. We're a team, right? And being on a team means we don't call each other 'lazy'--"

"Even if it's true?" Koichi frowned at Naruto. "Sensei, that's lying."

"You'll have to do a lot worse than that sometimes when you're on a mission," Naruto retorted. Koichi didn't look too impressed and Naruto stifled a sigh. "The point is, you're all a unit. I thought you guys understood that when you passed my test."

Koichi frowned. Shunsuke gazed at how a tiny puff of breeze played listlessly with Naruto's hair and in his arms, Mika pouted.

"We'll try harder, Naruto-sensei," Shunsuke finally said in his dreamy little voice, the gaze in his eyes distant. Naruto wondered if the kid was high or something but as usual, Koichi fell into line.

"Okay. She's not too lazy anyway, I guess." He squinted at Mika, who made threatening moves at him with her hands, stopping only when she thought Naruto was looking at her. Naruto stood up and set her on her feet.

"Got it?" he asked, still holding her up over the water.

"Yeah!" Mika exclaimed, one thumb up confidently and promptly sank when Naruto let her go.

"Wonderful work," someone drawled behind them and Naruto looked up in the sky, hoping to find the answers there like a Nara would. Answers to questions such as: Why did the universe see it fit to have Sasuke be witness to all his failures? "At least you haven't lost this one. Small mercies, right?"

Naruto turned with a glare already prepared in his eyes. Help redeem the Uchiha name and return Sasuke to Konoha... and this was the thanks one got; mockery and smirking and constant taunt. He flushed when he regarded at Sasuke's face; there seemed to be something sharp in the twist of Sasuke's thin lips, which never failed to hook right into a spot just below Naruto's belly-button. He always had that rippling feeling in his stomach whenever Sasuke looked at him, and it had gotten far worse since they both became jounin.

Naruto figured it was a good old dose of annoyance. Especially now, when Sasuke appeared as fresh as a spring day, dark hair artfully tossed, his genin team arranged around him like perfect little soldiers; they were all standing on the water quite easily. Naruto scowled, making no effort to remove the dried grass that had been in his hair from the mission this morning.

"Hi, Sasuke-sensei!" Mika spluttered from where she had her arms clutched around one of Naruto's ankles.

"Don't talk to our sensei," one of his students snapped; Naruto thought his name was Daiki, or Daichi. "He's too cool for you."

This student found himself with a mouthful of mud, apparently dug up from the shore or the riverbed and flung into his face. Koichi was snickering and Shunsuke appeared serene when Naruto turned to look at them, wondering who was the guilty party with the killer aim, as Daiki-or-Daichi coughed and complained loudly.

"Nice to see you're bringing up your students in the great Uchiha way," Naruto said and Sasuke's eyes flashed at him.

"Daijiro," he muttered and the boy hung his head, obviously quite knowledgeable in Sasuke's library of dry vocal tones. "Remember what I said about your manners. Mika-chan," he continued, his smile warming; he gave her a shockingly gallant incline of his head and Naruto rolled his eyes. "Hello."

"He's so cool!" Mika trilled as Sasuke walked off with his team. She tried to appear contrite as Naruto looked down at her. Then, she tried beaming up at him a few moments later, her dark hair lying in wet strands against her forehead; that was a more effective tactic. "You're cool too, Naruto-sensei."

Naruto snorted in amusement and reached down to haul her out again. She clambered up and clung like a macaque monkey, grinning mischievously at him.

"You shouldn't hold her like a baby like that all the time, sensei!" Koichi scolded. "How's she gonna be a good ninja if you do?"

"Don't be jealous!" Mika bellowed back, her legs wrapped tightly around Naruto's waist. "Just 'cause you're too big to carry!"

Shunsuke said with great introspection, "Naruto-sensei can carry all of us, if he can," and Naruto let out a laugh at the sudden gleam in all their eyes. He waited patiently as the two boys stalked towards him, and as they both leaped, he let the chakra on the underside of his feet disperse, and they all splashed down into the cool water.

*

"Naruto-sensei?" Shunsuke asked as they walked through the quiet twilight; he was carrying Mika on his back. As one of the tallest children in his class, he walked easily with his slumbering team-mate, who had finally managed to master walking over water about a half-hour ago.

"Yeah?"

"How comes you don't have a lot of girlfriends like Sasuke-sensei?"

Naruto blinked into the encroaching darkness, barely seeing the arch of the main gate to their village. A... lot of girlfriends?

"I wouldn't know anything about Sasuke-sensei's girlfriends," Naruto informed him, grasping Koichi's shoulder when the boy stumbled next to him, exhausted. "Umm... but I know about me. I have a lot of girlfriends! Err... in other villages. Lots other villages."

"Aren't you best friends with Sasuke-sensei?" Shunsuke asked and then went on without waiting for an answer, as was his wont. "Sasuke talks a lot with all the pretty kunoichi. Think it has to do with his bloodline limit?"

"Sharingan, rawr." Mika's sleepy little voice was muffled against Shunsuke's collar, even as something twisted in Naruto's stomach. "Copynin Kakashi has a sharingan too, rawr."

Naruto shook his head; sometimes Mika was too cute for her own good... and sometimes Shunsuke was too shrewd for a person who was not even a teenager as yet. What was Iruka-sensei thinking, unleashing them on unsuspecting jounin like this? Did Sasuke have these little people questioning at every step like this?

At the thought of Sasuke, it seemed the smirking bastard simply materialised in view, walking with Ino and Sakura ahead of Naruto and his genin. Naruto could see the side of his face, and the small smile that was directed at Sakura, who covered her mouth and laughed. Sakura, a battle-hardened medi-nin, didn't really giggle these days, least of all so coyly in Naruto's direction. Sakura would laugh loudly at him, hook her hand into the crook of his arm and they'd go strolling along together and what the fuck was Sasuke doing? He had barely shared three words at a time with Sakura when they were kids, and now that he was back in Konoha, after all the trouble Naruto went through to drag his heavy ass back home, he was just going to flirt all over the place? What was going through that stupid head of--

"It would be really sad if something as awesome like the Sharingan just stopped with Sasuke-sensei, right? And Kakashi-san can't pass it on, because he's not from the Uchiha clan." Shunsuke looked up at Naruto's face with a guileless expression. "Right, Naruto-sensei?"

"Oh yeah, a total tragedy," Naruto muttered, and shot dark looks at the back of Sasuke's head. Sasuke turned and looked back at him, raising his eyebrows. Sakura spotted him as well, and waggled her fingers cheerfully. Naruto's fingers itched to throw sharp objects in Sasuke's general direction, even as he returned the wave weakly. He was not going to let Sasuke get all the girls. It was... that wasn't fucking fair, right?

"So how's he going to pass it on?" Mika piped up; she didn't sound so sleepy any more. Naruto rather thought that pre-genin education was sorely lacking in certain aspects; never mind he didn't really pay attention in the classes that had sexual education… as a matter of fact, he was pretty sure he didn't attend those. "Does it have to do with all those girlfriends he has?"

Naruto hoped he wasn't grinding his teeth too hard.

*

"Hey," Naruto greeted Sakura as he sat down for their weekly ramen-meetings, shifting the large scroll off his shoulders and placing it beside him. He was going on a mission soon, but he had made sure to meet his friend for their quick lunch. He drummed his fingers on the surface of the counter and gave her a grin. "So..."

Sakura gave him a sweet, albeit tired smile, handing him a pair of chopsticks and affectionately watching him wolf through his first bowl of noodles, which gave him strength to say again, "So."

"Wow, two 'so's in a row, my lucky day." Sakura poked him in the side companionably; not for the first time, Naruto wished for the times where they were just kids and she would cuff him in the head for even thinking badly towards Sasuke. Everything was simpler back then, laid out in neat, readable lines. Sometimes it was a pain being an adult and still dealing with the awkwardness he carried around in his own head, an awkwardness that apparently multiplied itself by infinity whenever he had to consider Sasuke nowadays.

"Um. Are you gonna help continue the Uchiha bloodline?"

Sakura choked in a very unladylike manner and coughed harshly. She put a fist underneath her own sternum, right over the material of her green jounin vest and gave herself a hearty thump, grasping a napkin and covering her mouth with it.

"Naruto," she rasped when got herself under control. "...what?!"

"Well, are you?" Naruto mumbled, stirring his second bowl around. "Since he's been back, you two have been really close and stuff, always eating together--"

"Like how we do now?" Sakura asked and then nodded at Ayame's offer of tea.

"Not the same," Naruto sighed. "And you know it. You know what, forget it--"

"No, no." Sakura's green eyes fixed on him as she sipped gratefully on the tiny cup of green tea that was passed over the counter. "We're not forgetting it." She shook her head at him in fond exasperation. "The ideas you get sometimes, Naruto... but..."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at her cheeks, which had gone softly pink.

"Well, we were talking about it the other day--"

"I knew it!" Naruto accused and threw his hands up in the air, gaining a curious glance from Ayame. "That fucking bastard!" he hissed in barely controlled tones.

"Naruto!" Sakura chided and shrugged apologetically at Ayame's scandalized expression. "It's not what you think, really. He was just asking about blood-lines and increased genetic probabilities--"

"Yeah, because he'd just probably stick his sperm into some egg and let it grow in a flower-pot," Naruto said uncharitably and suffered a punch in the arm; he rubbed at the spot and winced, while Sakura tried to decide if she wanted to laugh or hit him again.

"I'm glad that you know some aspects of reproduction," she said, and let out an incredulous chuckle. "A flower-pot, Naruto?"

"He's frigid like that, you know," Naruto warned while Sakura tried to return to her ramen. "We know him best, you and me. So it's up to us to protect the ladies of Konoha from his cold, cold heart."

Sakura burst into laughter, almost choking again. "Naruto," she managed with tears streaming down her face. "It's like you get crazier every year. I'm pretty sure the ladies of Konoha can take care of themselves."

"We'll make a mission of it," Naruto said seriously, ignoring Sakura as she dabbed at her face with another napkin. He steepled his fingers in front of his face and tapped them in a gesture of intense plotting. "I'll set my kids on him. It'll be good for them, anyway. I think."

"Right. Because setting them on Sasuke will be a fantastic lesson, I suppose? Or punishment? But for whom, I wonder."

"Huh?" Naruto flashed her a brightly absent smile. "Oh, I'm late, the kids are probably near the bridge by now. But when I get back? Sasuke'd better watch out!"

"Oh, goodness," Sakura muttered as he grasped his scroll and stampeded out.

"Should we be worried, Sakura-san?" Ayamae questioned in concern as she removed the pile of bowls from where Naruto had been seated.

"We have another week," Sakura said sagely. "And then... we brace ourselves."

*

"Report," a voice crackled over the headset that Mika had fastened over her long braids. Mika struggled to keep the earpiece plugged in properly, but it just wouldn't remain still.

"Stupid thing!" she hissed at it.

"You're stupid," Koichi said, his voice snide and tinny through the earpiece, and Mika began to work herself up into one of her normal rages.

"Don't get angry," her sensei warned in a tired voice; Mika inhaled and exhaled like he'd taught her to. "Because if you get angry, you get loud, and I think Sasuke-sensei is near to your position, Mika. You need to learn to be a little more quiet. Know what? That's your lesson for the day. Be as quiet as you can, okay?"

"Okay!" Mika set her jaw. She had been very good at this in school, so this would be easy.

"He and Hinata-san just went around the corner, Sensei," Shunsuke said crisply; he was obviously enjoying himself. "In about ten seconds, they're going to be walking right past Mika-chan."

"Sensei?" Mika held the earpiece closely, listening to a weird sound coming through. "Are you all right?"

She heard him mutter, "Hinata!" and that grinding noise started up again. She froze for a moment as soft speech floated near; then, because Sensei said it was a lesson, she shifted as quietly she could and peeped through the leaves of the bush in which she was hiding.

Hinata-san was so pretty, with her dark hair and pale eyes. Mika always wished she had eyes as lovely as a Hyuuga's, but Naruto-sensei had said that he liked dark eyes anyway. Mika had preened when he told her that and Koichi had guffawed behind his hand. He had stopped snickering when she kicked him in the shins, though. Mika might be short, but she had strong, stout feet.

And Sasuke-sensei; she could see the pale line of his cheek in the moonlight, the line of his shoulders and the flash of his teeth in the moonlight. She sighed with delighted content and then went still as Sasuke-sensei turned around, staring right at her hiding place. His eyes were bright red and she felt her heart try to clamber up in her throat.

"Mika-chan," he called out calmly. "What are you doing out here so late?"

"Training, Sasuke-sensei!" she piped up and then made a face. The earpiece had fallen into her lap and she could faintly hear Naruto-sensei's groan.

"Training, hm?"

Mika looked up with a gasp; Sasuke-sensei was standing right over her, his pale hands holding apart the branches. He had a very small smile on his face and Mika couldn't help but grin in return. She'd heard people talk about Sasuke-sensei, how he could be cruel and unkind, but he had never been that way with her. Sensei had said it was because Mika was a little imp, and Sasuke liked devious people.

Besides, when people said mean things about Sasuke-sensei, her own sensei would be in a bad mood all day. Naruto-sensei was happiest when he was the one throwing insults.

"You are," Sasuke now said as he reached in a hand and helped the little girl out of the brambles, "doing well at concealment, Mika. You need a little more practice, though."

"Thank you, Sasuke-sensei," she said shyly and dug her toe in the packed earth of the pathway as Hinata-san approached.

"Hello," Hinata told her, kneeling close. At this distance, her eyes were the loveliest thing that Mika had ever seen, luminous like pearls. She was stuck dumb with wonder, not even noticing when Sasuke plucked the head-piece from her fingers and spoke into the microphone.

"Oh, that's a nice flower in your hair," Hinata said gently, even as Sasuke-sensei said, "Kind of low, even for you, idiot."

She could hear Sensei yelling at Sasuke, but she was too busy smiling and chattering at Hinata.

Later, Naruto-sensei would agree that she had done very well indeed, but she needed to get over her delight with Hyuuga eyes.

*

"You. Ino. Hinata. Hanabi?! Who's crazy enough to approach Hanabi?" Naruto ranted from the middle of his living room. He was doing random push-ups on the floor, because Lee had decided that since Neji was hiding from him, Naruto was the next best challenger.

"He's been talking to Kiba, too." Sakura frowned at the notes she had made in the hospital. She had her own place now, but she liked researching in Naruto's, for some strange reason; possibly, because every square inch of her apartment was filled with books and random supplies. "Neji and all the other guys, isn't that right, Lee?"

"Yes!" Lee answered in his typical bright fashion as he did push-ups in the hand-stand position.

"Talking about what? Oh, I see." Naruto's displeased expression soured even more. "The bastard's threatening you all away from the women, right?"

"No, he could never do that," Lee said calmly, arms pumping up and down in measured strokes. "We spoke about the Chuunin exams. And taijutsu."

"Maybe he's trying to establish his links. Become friends again with everyone," Sakura suggested. "He's the last of his clan, he needs to heal the rift between his name and the village, you ever thought of that? This is probably Sasuke being... diplomatic, I guess. Talking to all the family-representatives that are his age."

"Or maybe this is a plot to get everyone pregnant," Naruto wondered darkly. "Repopulate the Uchiha clan in one fell swoop!"

Lee let his bare feet fall to the floor and stood up straight, both arms akimbo. His round eyes blinked at Naruto with shock. "I do not believe I will be able to carry any of Sasuke's children."

"Oh for-- Lee, he's just being melodramatic." Sakura shook her head and pushed some papers out of her way, squinting at her own handwriting.

"See, there's a hole in your little theory, right? Because Sasuke hasn't spoken to me." Naruto flopped down on the floor behind her, curling up against her back. He could see a pale strip of skin revealed right between the bottom of her pink shirt and the drawstring top of her dark pants; he poked her in the side. She jumped and smiled a little, whacking at his hand with one of her own, but her eyes didn't stop tracking her notes.

"My cute students tell me that you both speak to each other at the training-fields, isn't that so?" Lee frowned at him. "And isn't he your best friend?"

"I guess. Maybe," Naruto mumbled sullenly. "I mean, I followed him all over the place and fought for and against him, so if you want to stick the best friend thing on me, sure, fine. Whatever. I'm an adult, I can deal with it."

"If I didn't know better," Sakura said, voice absent, "I'd think you were jealous."

"No way!" Naruto rolled onto his back and folded his arms. Lee's face eclipsed his field of vision, blocking out the view of the ceiling; even his eyebrows were curious. "No," Naruto said firmly, before Lee could throw in his opinion. "I'm just kind of pissed that he just waltzed back and it's... it's like everything is normal again. Worse than normal."

"I thought that was what you wanted?" Lee asked delicately. When Naruto humphed, his thick eyebrows quirked with great eloquence, and his face slid out of sight.

*

"No, fu--hell no," Naruto fumed as he strode into Training Field Six, which had the most level grassy area; he spotted Sasuke's genin team racing around the edge, apparently huffing through some warm-up exercises. Sasuke himself was standing underneath a tree, hands folded across his chest. "Sasuke, you damned bastard, you know I signed this field first."

Sasuke lifted one shoulder in an infuriatingly indolent shrug. "So? It's big enough for both teams. Unless you're afraid I'll see something you don't want me to?" His gaze locked in challenge with Naruto's, who found it hard to look away.

With an effort, he finally rolled his eyes. "Fine. We'll go over here. Keep yours on that opposite side."

"No problem."

It should have worked that way, but because Naruto was obviously stupid and gravitated towards Sasuke like a magnet to true north, their teams were training together not an hour later and he was standing under the tree with Sasuke. They both called out instructions now and again, or walked over to correct a stance. It began to feel so natural, relaxed, even mature, Naruto dropped his guard enough to jokingly ask, "So, which lucky lady is going to re-start the Uchiha line?"

"Hinata, more likely," Sasuke answered with prompt calm. "Mixing the Sharingan and Byakugan bloodline limits should be interesting."

Naruto felt like someone punched him in the gut. He actually pressed his lips together and clenched his fists so he wouldn't reach out and tear the smirk from Sasuke's face.

"I was right," he finally managed to say through stiff lips. "And Sakura was there thinking you were just being nice to everyone."

Sasuke tilted his head from one side to the other, as if considering whether he would tell Naruto anything or not. "Being civil is important," he deigned to answer. "The Hyuuga elders would never consider me if my social standing wasn't brought back up to standard."

"Hinata is not... you're not right for her," Naruto told him, finally turning to face him. Sasuke's eyes were narrowed almost to slits. "You're both totally wrong for each other. As a matter of fact, none of them are—"

"Don't start with the territorial crap," Sasuke cut him sharply. "But I guess that's just typical. You only notice her because someone else does, and then get childishly jealous when--"

"That's not the fucking point!" Naruto yelled at him, and closed his eyes briefly as echoes of his voice rolled across the training field. Upon reopening his eyes, he exhaled hard when he discovered that Sasuke was giving him an unreadable gaze.

"What's the point, then?" Sasuke asked in a very dangerous tone. "Enlighten me, Naruto."

Because Naruto didn't know himself, he said, "Fuck you," and walked off, calling his students as he strode through the ankle-high grass. They were unusually silent as they ran in his wake to another training-field, and didn't protest when Naruto dismissed them after another fruitless hour, sending them home. From the worried looks they threw him, he knew he had to make it up to them in some way tomorrow, but his head was buzzing with anger and a healthy dose of annoyed confusion. He had a bottle of sake that Iruka had given him; he was going to go home, and drown his bewilderment in alcohol.

However, because the universe liked to toy with him, he found Sasuke waiting by his door, mostly hidden by shadows and his dark casual clothes; only his pale face was apparent, and the expression that painted it was thunderous: brows drawn together, eyes flinty with anger. Naruto realized that this expression was usually directed at him, and felt that damn hook tug under his bellybutton again.

"Fuck off," he said again, opening his door and defiantly swinging it shut before stomping off to his living-room; he whirled to see Sasuke's pale hand stopping it before it slammed into the frame; he shoved it open, stalking through the narrow passageway like a hawk intent on prey. Behind him, the door closed properly with a meek click.

"You'll need to increase your vocabulary if we're going to have an adult conversation, idiot," Sasuke hissed as he advanced on Naruto, who stood his ground, glaring.

"Doesn't matter if I do, anyway," Naruto countered, "'cause you'll just stoop to insulting me at any level."

Sasuke was right in his face, sneering. "Burns you up, doesn't it? I left, came back and I'm trying to get my life sorted out and you just can't deal with--"

Naruto punched him right in his stupid mouth, yelling, "You're too fucked up to have a normal life, you fucking bastard!" and Sasuke grabbed him around his neck, snarling. As Sasuke flung him across the room, Naruto idly wondered if there was anyone else could reduce Sasuke to this raging mess. He decided that Kakashi was probably the only other person alive, but Kakashi was too busy being aloof to even try. Only Naruto would do this, and the thought was strangely pleasurable. He curled up and landed lightly against the surface of the wall next to his bedroom door and pushed off again, flipping head over heels.

Sasuke was underneath him in an instant, snatching him out of his roll and slamming him down to the ground. Naruto went up on one hand and kicked him solidly in the side, then spun into an uppercut that Sasuke barely flinched away from; it grazed his jaw, but it didn't stop him from grabbing Naruto's upraised hand and twirled him around, painfully locking his arm up behind his back. Sasuke hauled him to his tiptoes and slipped one knee between his legs to keep him off-balance, pressing his body right against Naruto's back. Naruto shuddered and felt panic rise up in him when he felt himself begin to get hard.

Fuck.

"You know nothing about me," Sasuke said, right in his ear, and that didn't help matters at all. "That's always been your problem, Naruto, you think you know me and you really don't."

"Keep telling yourself that," Naruto panted and snapped his free elbow up and backwards, connecting with Sasuke's cheekbone. Sasuke cursed, his grip loosening and Naruto tried to spin away. A hand pressed against his chest, a foot hooked around the back of one of his and Sasuke tried to shove him to the ground again, but Naruto held onto his arm and took him down as well. They collapsed into a writhing, spitting bundle of flailing limbs; Naruto was desperately trying to arch away, but Sasuke seized his wrists and pinned them down at the sides of his head.

"What the fuck," Sasuke gritted out and Naruto exhaled quickly through his nose, looking up at Sasuke's bruised face in astonishment. He could feel Sasuke's erection through their clothing, thick and warm against his thigh. Sasuke's eyes were unreadable. "Don't even--"

"Shut up." Naruto freed one hand and slung it around Sasuke's neck; their lips locked together in an almost painful challenge and Naruto tasted blood as he licked his way into Sasuke's mouth. Sasuke bit his lower lip and growled in the back of his throat, his hands going to grasp Naruto's hips and squeeze tightly. His touch made Naruto's skin feel as if he was being stung.

Fully freed, his skin burning underneath his clothes, Naruto shoved at Sasuke's chest, tumbling over and straddling him. He rocked against Sasuke, who was trying to roll them over again. Sasuke shuddered violently as their cocks rubbed together, and he was kissing Naruto properly now, hands buried in Naruto's hair as if he had given the slightest indication of wanting to escape; their breathing was laboured and shockingly loud as they rutted on the floor.

Naruto broke the kiss and buried his face in the curve of Sasuke's neck, muffling his cries as he came. He felt Sasuke's grip tighten in his hair and the only indication of his release was the tensing of his body, then a few imperceptible jerks.

"Get off me," Sasuke said flatly after they'd lain there for a few long moments.

"Gladly." Naruto crawled off and stood with an effort, leaning against the wall. Sasuke got up as well, moving as slowly as he did. Their gazes were locked as Sasuke made a show of adjusting his collar, fingers fluttering over the red mark on his neck where Naruto had sucked on his skin in the throes of... whatever they'd done. "Get out," Naruto told him, making a face as he probed his bruises and tried to ignore the stickiness in his underwear. Sasuke's lips twisted, as if he was going to say something, but then he simply turned on his heel and left.

Naruto slid down to the floor as the door slammed, resting his arms on his knees and thumping the back of his head against the wall, hard.

*

Mika clattered along with her team, staring up at Naruto-sensei's face worriedly. Usually, he would be laughing loudly or pointing out random things as they made their way to another mission to some farm, but his lips were set in a tight line and his blue eyes were stormy.

"Naruto-sensei?" she began with a rare show of timidity and hunched her shoulders when he looked down at her, frowning. "Did we do something bad?"

"What?" He stopped so suddenly that Shunsuke and Koichi kept on walking for a few steps before they realized what was going on and turned back. Naruto crossed his arms and tilted his head. "Did you do something bad?"

"Today?" Mika asked seriously, and was relieved to see a wry smile cross his lips. "No, sensei."

"You just look upset," Shunsuke pointed out, squinting at the leaves.

"Yeah, like my baby brother when he has gas," Koichi contributed and Naruto-sensei did laugh then, but it had a very strained edge to it, not the way it normally sounded at all. He shook his head and continued walking. Mika ran around to his other side and slipped her hand into his.

"Did Sasuke-sensei make you mad?" she whispered up at him. "If he did, then I'll--"

"You can't fight Sasuke-sensei," Koichi said with deep scorn. "He's fast like lightning! He's got lots and lots of jutsu, he could kick your ass."

"Koichi, come on," Naruto-sensei warned, holding Mika's hand tightly so she wouldn't dart around and jump in Koichi's face.

"So what?!" Mika screeched. "There's always a weak-spot, no matter how fast they think they are!"

"So loud," Shunsuke grumbled.

"She's right, though," Naruto-sensei said in a very far-away voice. "There's always a weak-spot."

Mika looked up at him again, wondering if she should find Sasuke-sensei and pinch him viciously for making Naruto-sensei all weird, so that Naruto would grin at her, wide and happy and everything would be okay again.

*

Naruto waited at a table inside Ichiraku, barely stifling the urge to fidget with the collar of his flak-jacket. He took a sip of water and then glanced up just as Hinata ducked inside. She smiled at him and approached immediately, bowing as he scrambled to his feet.

"Hello," she greeted with her usual politeness, pale eyes fixed on his as they sat down. "How are you?"

"Um, great. Thanks. You?" He tried to grin at her but it felt like a grimace on his face.

"I'm well, thank you very much," she answered, yet a tiny furrow formed between her brows. They ordered quickly and set to eating as soon as the food arrived, talking between bites about their genin-teams.

"What is it you wanted to talk to me about?" Hinata finally asked, setting her chopsticks down. "I... I think it's something I might not like to hear."

"Huh?"

Hinata didn't look at him as she fiddled with a long strand of her dark hair. "If it was something good, you'd just tell me in the street, like normal.... right?"

"Umm, yeah. No... I dunno," Naruto said helplessly and then set his jaw and got right to it: "Sasuke's courting you, right?"

Hinata blinked at him and it occurred to him just then that what he had asked was probably extremely rude. Nevertheless, she answered softly, "Well, he has approached my father, yes."

"And you'd accept?"

A hopeful expression entered her face and Naruto's heart sank. He was going to hurt her very badly, but he couldn't help it. It was all fucked up and he suddenly hated himself for not doing anything right.

"I think if there was another option, I would consider that as well." She smiled at him, but it faded when Naruto shook his head. She bit her lip, and he looked down at his hands, tightly clasped on the surface of the table.

"Hinata," he sighed, not knowing how to continue, and flinched when one of her small hands rested on top of his.

"Sometimes," she said in a low voice, "when you and Sasuke are together, I see..." she shrugged expressively as his head jerked up and he stared at her. "I see, that's all. I've known you both for a long time. I wonder how everyone else misses it, but I think Sakura might see it, too."

"Hinata, I--"

"It would be hard to compete with that kind of intensity," she continued and smiled sadly.

He laced their fingers together on impulse, wondering why he couldn't be content to have something as simple and wholesome as this; then Sasuke strolled in, pausing as he spotted their clasped hands. Hinata inhaled sharply, but his face remained impassive and his gaze blazed into Naruto's for a long moment before he went back out without ordering anything.

"What... what are you going to do?" Hinata asked as she gently removed her hand and rose.

"Your guess," Naruto answered as he paid for their meal, "is as good as mine."

*

"What did you say to her," Sasuke said as soon as Naruto opened his door to his apartment, rays of afternoon sunshine painting his pale skin with a golden hue. "That you'd be a better choice?"

"I would be, actually," Naruto retorted, "but I didn't have to tell her that." He scowled as he felt the jagged rip in his chakra-wards, wondering how long Sasuke had taken to break in, how long he had been sitting in the living-room waiting for Naruto to show up. Sasuke rose up from the chair he'd commandeered, his mouth a furious slit in his face.

"I never thought," he finally said tightly, the words barely escaping, "that you would go so far to fuck with my life."

"Kind of makes you wonder how much you really know me, huh?" Naruto folded his arms across his chest and smirked at him.

"I know you're a lot more vindictive than you appear." Sasuke walked up to him and grabbed him suddenly, shoving him back against the wall, fingers digging into Naruto's shoulders. "Hiashi Hyuuga told me an hour ago that Hinata has declined my offer."

"Must have been a serious blow to your ego," Naruto mocked. Sasuke shook him the way a cat would shake a particularly troublesome kitten.

"Idiot," he snapped, "what are you going to do, walk around behind me and undermine every single move I make?"

"That's one option," Naruto agreed, "or maybe this." He lunged forward and kissed Sasuke, smiling in triumph as Sasuke instantly responded, tongues battling. He felt Sasuke's hands seize his collar, dragging him forward and he went willingly; they stumbled and spun, mouths slanting together as they stepped over the threshold of his bedroom and tumbled into his messy bed.

"Is this what you want?" Sasuke asked him harshly as they crawled up towards the bed-head, yanking at each other's clothes. "Can you really handle me?"

"Bastard, I can handle anything you throw at me and more," Naruto snapped. He stared up as Sasuke paused before going back to rest on his heels between Naruto's splayed legs. He tilted his head back and sighed heavily at the ceiling.

"Naruto," he started, but Naruto wasn't having any of it. He surged up again, taking Sasuke's face in his hands and kissing him with everything he had, slow and honest. Sasuke's mouth was slack, apparently with shock, before he began to respond. His hands slipped Naruto's shirt and vest off his shoulders, fingers sliding against skin and dragging goose-bumps in their wake as he pressed Naruto to surface of the bed again.

Sounding uncertain and thus completely at odds with his normal manner of speaking, Sasuke asked, "Have you done this before?"

"Yeah." Naruto arched up, helping Sasuke to remove his pants and boxers, then doing the same for him. He felt between Sasuke's legs, curling his hand around his thickened cock, pumping gently.

"With who?" Despite the fact that his breath was hot against Naruto's jaw, his tone had dropped a few degrees in temperature.

Naruto said, "Gaara," and laughed a little as Sasuke reared back.

"Of the Desert?"

"No, the one from the jungle."

"The Kazekage," Sasuke said in disbelief, but he was thrusting slightly in Naruto's grip, one hand braced at the side of Naruto's head. "You fucked the Kazekage."

"And he fucked me. He just wanted to know what it was like and he wanted me to help, I guess," Naruto added, marvelling at the hardening expression on Sasuke's face. "It was good. Once he knew what to do, what it felt like, it got real good." He paused, trying to remember. "We had a hard time dealing with the sand, though."

"I see." Sasuke's eyes were slitted, and when he touched Naruto again, it felt covetous. He dragged his hand down Naruto's stomach, over his rigid penis and wiry pubic hair, cupping his balls before venturing even farther. Naruto shifted and tilted his pelvis, making a tiny, inviting sound. "It seems inevitable," Sasuke said with a dry tilt of his mouth, "that I'd do this with you."

"Consider it a privilege." Naruto breathed out slowly as Sasuke's finger petted around his hole. "You're going to want some lube, though."

"Find it, then." Sasuke didn't move though; he draped himself over Naruto, sucking at his earlobe as Naruto struggled to reach the drawer of the bedside table, rummaging through torn receipts, old cards and broken ink-brushes to find a half-finished pot of thick salve, opening it and dipping his fingers in. He reached down, smearing a good amount over Sasuke's questing fingers.

"Smells like herbs," Sasuke noted as he experimentally pushed one slick finger in, watching Naruto's face; Naruto grinned in challenge, reaching down to grasp his neglected dick, but Sasuke grabbed that hand and held it down in the crumpled sheets.

"Sakura made it for me," Naruto said, making no other move towards his own body with his other hand, just using it to trail along Sasuke's side, his breath hitching as another finger twisted inside him. "I don't think she had this use in mind, though."

"Let's not tell her."

"She'll know, anyway," Naruto pointed out and then instructed, "Just... kinda do... this thing with your fingers. Curl like thaaa-hah-yessss," he hissed, bucking up. Sasuke snorted in amusement and Naruto cursed as he tried it again. "Fuck, yes." He fumbled for the salve again, taking out some more to stroke Sasuke's rigid erection.

Sasuke withdrew his fingers impatiently and Naruto groaned in anticipation, drawing up his knees as he felt the blunt head of Sasuke's cock nudging at him, pressing and widening in a breathless, painful, slow thrust. Naruto grabbed his arm and dug his fingernails into flesh, panting heavily as Sasuke stopped halfway.

"Are you--"

"Keep going," Naruto gritted out. "Go on, bastard, all the way," he moaned; Sasuke pressed home and stopped again. Naruto punched him in the arm, annoyed. "The hell are you waiting for?"

"Let me enjoy the moment, idiot," Sasuke said but he pulled back slowly and thrust in again. The pain faded, leaving Naruto with a pleasantly full feeling as Sasuke moved on top of him. He moved one leg and wrapped it around Sasuke's waist, opening himself up a little more and picked up the quickening rhythm, going up on his elbows. Sasuke's hair tickled his cheek as their lips met messily.

Sasuke shifted, changing his angle and swallowed Naruto's shouts as he found that sensitive bundle again. Sweat slid between their bodies and Naruto clutched at his cock, pumping it as Sasuke pounded into him. He bent like a bow as he came, shuddering while spurts of come hit his stomach and chest. Sasuke had gone completely still while Naruto's orgasm had been tearing him to pieces; Naruto panted and wiped his hair out of his face, noticing two things: 1) Sasuke was still hard inside him and 2) his eyes were flared red, tomoe spinning lazily.

Naruto licked his lips and Sasuke's cock twitched. Before Naruto could mock him about being a closet pervert, recording sex, Sasuke started again, and Naruto's hyper-sensitive body shivered with the renewed assault.

Sasuke's crimson gaze was setting him on fire; when he came, Naruto watched, entranced, as he closed his eyes and bit his lip, jolts moving through his strong, lean body. He was heavy when he finally sank down bonelessly on top of Naruto... who made no move to push him away. He pressed one hand to Sasuke's cheek, stroking the skin there; the dark-haired head rested on his chest, as if he was listening to the fluttering beat of Naruto's heart.

*

When Naruto woke up a few hours later, his apartment was dark and Sasuke wasn't in bed beside him. He sighed, pushing away the twinge in his ass the same way he dealt with pain during battle, and sat up. His stomach rumbled and he noticed that he wasn't as sticky as he should have been. The bathroom door opened and Sasuke stepped out, incongruently dressed in one of Naruto's orange, sleeveless shirts and a pair black shorts.

Naruto blinked. Sasuke raised a dark eyebrow and got back into bed.

Naruto wanted to go take a shower, but he felt that Sasuke would disappear if he did.

"This isn't going to work for long," Sasuke said suddenly, gazing out the window at the marching, familiar rows of buildings and streetlights. "Unless you can get Kyuubi to do something about the whole having-my-children thing."

Naruto briefly consulted the tailed-demon; the fox was sulking, because it felt that Naruto found too much enjoyment in taking it like a vixen in heat... but the idea of kits actually appealed to it, very much. That was surprising. "Maybe," Naruto hedged. "But... you said this isn't going to work for long. As if you think it could work, even for awhile."

"I can't do 'awhile'," Sasuke answered flatly. "I have a duty--"

"I get that," Naruto cut in, "I really do. But... it's just that you've done a lot of duty for your family-name already. Maybe... maybe you can just take something for yourself."

Weak-spot, Naruto thought as Sasuke turned his head; his gaze was indecipherable.

"I mean, if it's something you actually want," Naruto murmured. Sasuke didn't answer; he just stared at Naruto as if he was seeing him properly for the very first time. Naruto sighed, feeling defeat curdle in his veins.

"I'm gonna go shower." Naruto slid off the bed, padding nakedly towards the bathroom. "Leave, any time you're ready," he added bitterly.

"I'll be here when you're done," Sasuke said just as he opened the door. "Idiot. You've gone through so much trouble to wreck my plans and you'll keep on doing it, I suppose. You can't get rid of me that easily."

Naruto didn't turn around; he didn't want Sasuke to see the wide grin on his face. "I guess not," was all he said and went inside, closing the door.

*

"Naru-sensei!" Mika called as she raced through the trees with her team. She landed on a branch and launched herself again, leaping past Koichi and catching up to her sensei, who grinned at her. "Did I tell you that I pinched Sasuke-sensei for you?"

"You didn't!" Koichi gasped in dismay and horror.

"I did! And I told him that if he made you mad any more, there's lots more pinches where that came from." She didn't tell Sensei that Sasuke-sensei had gazed down at her for a long time, apparently abashed by her righteous anger.

"Thank you, Mika," Sensei laughed. "That's, uh, nice of you."

"Yeah!" Mika felt smug, because Sasuke-sensei had hunkered down and whispered that he would try his best to be nice to Sensei from now on. No promises, mind. But he would try, at least.

"Crazy," Shunsuke muttered, but Mika ignored him... because, thanks to her, everything was just fine again. Simply fine.

fin