Probably one or two more chapters of Sasunaru then bye bye. The true fun starts soon….

CHAPTER 2:

Naruto had always strived for some sort of acknowledgement. He had always wanted people to praise him and look up to him. He got that – when Iruka supported him in front of Mizuki. When his teammates and sensei of Team 7 noted him as a part of their team and cared for him in their own way. When the other Rookie 9 started going against their parents words and started thinking of Naruto as a friend they could begin to trust. When Ero-sennin and Tsunade acknowledged him as being capable to be the next Hokage. That was definitely the greatest praise of all. To have 2 of the legendary Sannin acknowledge you was not something everyone achieved. Even the glares, stares and jeers of the villagers had lessened somewhat. Most of the shinobi community now whole-heartedly accepted him and seeing this, the villagers started treating him like any other ninja.

However, Naruto was not happy. He was wondering why. Life was great – all his friends were great; he had in fact made many other friends. He wasn't happy though. Everyone precious to him knew next to nothing about him. They knew not his hate for Ramen, most people would have bet their souls on his passion for it. While Naruto had found people who genuinely liked him for what he was, he hadn't found anyone who would listen to him. He hadn't found anyone to confess that orange wasn't really his favorite color – it was just the means to draw attention. He hadn't found anyone that he could muster up the will and confess that Kyuubi wasn't what she seemed to be. That she had trained him in secret for all his life. That his fast eating, relentless exuberance and seeming lack of manners were all part of an elaborate charade. For though Naruto's mind was powerful and his body strong, his heart longed for love and acceptance. And he had tried to gain it the only way he could. By being loud. And after having finally gained it with the help of his mask; he was wary of pulling down the mask for good. For almost 16 years, his mask had been his identity. Pulling it down would be like stripping naked. People might once again start to hate him and more than ever, Naruto was afraid of hate. His deepest fear was the fear of being alone. It was what he went home to every night and he sincerely longed for a full home with family.

So Naruto considered himself the happiest person in the world when a certain Uchiha returned home. Sasuke had been someone who understood loneliness and pain. Though this shared realization was rarely voiced – it bonded them. However, Kyuubi had always disliked Sasuke for reasons she would not admit and prevented Naruto from growing closer to him.

However, when Sasuke returned Naruto sensed something different about him. Kyuubi had gifted her vessel with an infinitely accurate sense of smell and Naruto could easily smell another man on his friend. Naruto started to question their bonds of friendship when Sasuke mentioned naught of this man. Naruto was reluctant to bring it up himself and reasoned that Sasuke might have broken off a relationship he didn't want to talk about.

However, alarm bells started to ring when Naruto suddenly found himself the focus of Sasuke's attention. Sasuke seemed to brush against him a lot more, put his arm around his shoulder casually and began to talk to him in a slightly more flirtatious manner. Neither Kakashi nor Sakura noticed these changes. The kunoichi was now a medic nin rivaled by only the likes of Tsunade and Shizune; but she was still a novice in matters of the heart. Her old infatuation for Sasuke persisted though Naruto's infatuation for her had long dried up. And though Kakashi had become stronger than ever thanks to his Mangekyou, he was too caught up in regretting for past mistakes and trying to see if Sasuke was still a traitor. Kakashi had felt great regret when Sasuke left and considered his attack on Naruto a personal betrayal. Thus Sasuke's new behavior towards Naruto was something noticed and acknowledged only by the two of them.

Their first kiss may have been accidental, but their second kiss definitely was not. It took place the third time they met. It was the usual Team 7 meeting place and Sasuke got there first. Naruto followed him. They had talked and exchanged their usual barrage of insults, when Naruto felt Sasuke getting closer and closer to him until only a few inches separated their faces. Sasuke then tilted his face to reach past those few inches and met his lips with Naruto's.

Naruto remembered turning bright red and spluttering incoherently. For once, his real self mirrored his mask. However, that ended then and there as Sakura made her presence known.

From then on, it was smooth sailing history. The kisses flowed smoothly and where followed by hand jobs. Then blowjobs and finally full-out sex. In a period of a month, Sasuke and Naruto had gone all the way. Now they were almost six months into their relationship and not a single soul knew.

Naruto sang as he made his way to the Uchiha estate. The villagers now favored him with kind looks and polite smiles and he replied in kind. It was a Saturday night and there were no missions for two whole days. Sasuke and him had decided to have dinner at the Uchiha mansion and spend the night there. He frowned when he recalled some glaring holes in their relationship. Sasuke hadn't mentioned one word about his ex-boyfriend and Naruto was reluctant to bring it up. He felt that Sasuke might have his reasons; after all he had many things to admit to Sasuke himself. He hadn't yet let Sasuke see behind his mask – and that fact was worrying him. Was there no trust in their relationship? They hadn't sat down and had a good talk about their respective lives. So far, it was just sex and merry bantering that friends were used to. However, whenever Naruto thought of revealing his true nature to Sasuke, he felt reluctant. Maybe because it was because of the fact that Sasuke hadn't trusted him yet either.

And then there was Kyuubi. The fox was quite adamant in her opposition to the relationship. She claimed that Sasuke had neither the power nor the character to be Naruto's mate. But Naruto could be as stubborn as the demon herself. For the first time in his life, he had found someone who accepted all of him; someone who made love to him and someone who whole-heartedly acknowledged him.

To him it was nirvana. Naruto never had had warm arms to wrap around him or a body to sleep with. As far as he could remember, he was alone. The feeling of belonging was utterly new to him and he was basking in the new sensations he had just discovered. There was the guilt of keeping something form Sakura, especially considering her infatuation with Sasuke, but for once in his life Naruto decided to be selfish. At this, Kyuubi grew quiet and warned him not to fall in love. However, Naruto didn't know if he wasn't already in love.

As Naruto entered the austere mansion, long arms pulled him into an embrace as warm and wet lips found his.

"Sasuke" whispered Naruto as they kissed, tongues battling against each other for dominance. Sasuke tasted like green apples – sour and sweet at the same time. After his return from the Sound, Sasuke had gotten only more gorgeous. His body was built well and he was endowed with lean muscles. He was 6 feet tall – a good 6 inches taller than Naruto. His face was still blessed with ethereal good looks and his eyes had only grown darker.

Sasuke's hands moved all over Naruto's body as he strove to rid them both of their clothes. He began nibbling on Naruto's pulse and bit down harshly to leave a hickey. Naruto's moans only incited him on and he took a pink nipple into his mouth.

"Oh God" gasped Naruto as the Uchiha sucked on his nipple till it was stiff and erect. He then moved on to the other nipple – wrapping his tongue around it and pulling vigorously. Naruto felt good, yet he felt as though something was missing. Like I'm with the wrong person, he though absent-mindedly. However, he was jolted out of his thoughts, when Sasuke's erection came in contact with his. Naruto groaned as their crotches rubbed against each other repeatedly.

"Why so passive dobe?" asked Sasuke huskily. "Suck me" he commanded.

Naruto got on his knees and placed his mouth close to Sasuke's groin. He licked the slit and wrapped his hands around Sasuke's throbbing member. Sasuke hissed as Naruto's mouth enveloped him. Naruto began deep throating Sasuke as the raven thrust into his mouth. When Sasuke began to feel that he was close, he immediately took himself out of his lover's mouth. The Uchiha then took out the lube and coated his fingers with the sticky substance. He prepared Naruto with 3 fingers, probing around till he ofund Naruto's sweet spot. He was rewarded by a soft cry of ecstasy. Sasuke smirked and positioned his member in front of Naruto's entrance. With one firm thrust, he dove in. After assuring that Naruto was well adjusted, Sasuke began to thrust in him repeatedly. It didn't take long for Naruto to start screaming out in pleasure as Sasuke hit his prostate over and over again. Sasuke's hand was now pumping his neglected member. With one final cry, he came, spilling his seed all over their stomachs. Sasuke followed him – releasing himself inside Naruto.

They lay spent, as Sasuke pulled himself out. After a few minutes, the two went to shower, in separate bathrooms. When Naruto got out, Sasuke was cooking dinner. They ate in silence; Naruto being in deep thought.

"Any reason you're so quiet dobe?" asked Sasuke

"Nuh-uh" replied Naruto. "This food sucks teme, why can't we have ramen?" he whined

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Only a dobe like you would eat something so unhealthy," he retorted.

"At least I don't have a stick up my ass" shot back Naruto

And so on and so forth, they insulted each other till Naruto got sick of it and marched back home. He had a lot to think about.

Why couldn't he and Sasuke ever hold a normal conversation? They were too competitive, always looking for a chance to upstage each other. Naruto couldn't help feeling vaguely disappointed. Is this what a relationship is all about, he thought to himself? Surely there must be more…

He was going home to an empty bed once again….