Um... hi :) Don't worry, I don't plan on getting into the habit of writing great big Author's Notes, but I did just want to take a moment to thank the people who have reviewed this story. This is my first attempt at writing a fanfiction, and I don't think many people who haven't published anything on the site fully understand how much it means to get even the tiniest bit of feedback (I know I haven't until now, and I feel pretty guilty for how few reviews I myself have given), but it really does mean a lot.
I am primarily writing here because I love Naruto and YAOI, but also because I want to better my writing however much I can, so if there are any mistakes you happen to pick up, or any comments you might have on my writing (or the story itself), or any bad habits I might be getting into, please don't hesitate to let me know :). I know that when I'm writing stories I can sometimes get too close to them to see the big picture errors (or the little picture ones, I guess ;P), so any comments are greatly appreciated. :)
So... yeah. Sorry about this long note, but please keep reading :D Oh yeah, and btw, (sorry - going to be a stalker for a second) to 'theking666' and 'Dragon77' - holy SHIT, you have read a lot of fanfiction! Lol, I'm not sure I'll ever get close! :)
Two
"What makes you think he's out here?" Shikamaru asked, breaking into a jog as he struggled to keep up with Gaara's haste.
The two of them had been busy searching in the house for the blonde idiot, when suddenly Gaara had stopped dead, fallen deathly still, and then abruptly run out of the house, down the street, and towards the abandoned factory strip that had been rotting on the far side of town by the mouth of the river for near on fifty-years. Of course, Shikamaru had followed dutifully, but it was accurate to say that as the sound of life gradually seeped out of the air, and the colour out of the empty streets, the Nara was steadily becoming more and more anxious with every hurried step they took.
"I felt it – his energy. He Changed."
"He Changed!" The Nara shouted, the gravity of the situation sinking in as Gaara paused, and then suddenly turned to his left, deciding to enter the large property through a hole in the decaying wire fence that surrounded it on what looked to the genius remarkably akin to a frivolous whim.
"Yes. Something…" Gaara's expression fell into a slight grimace as he jogged up the small set of stairs to the abandoned warehouse. "Someone… must have been here – he can usually control it if he's alone…" another pained pause, "...without temptation."
"Has he been feeding!" The Nara asked, his tone frustrated as he became simultaneously scared for and exasperated by the idiot's selfishly stubborn behavior.
Gaara turned back to glance at Shikamaru with eyes that spoke volumes. What do you think? They asked, causing the Nara to take a deep, angry breath.
"You should probably wait here." Gaara said, practically running towards the open, broken entrance to the large building, stained in silver. "I can't feel him any more, but-"
"I'm coming." Shikamaru interrupted curtly, stepping in front of the redhead to enter the building first.
To say what he saw upon entering the large, dilapidated warehouse was a surprise would have been a drastically vast understatement. Indeed, Shikamaru vaguely registered Gaara audibly gasp as he stopped next to him to stare at the scene and make sure it was actually real.
Sasuke - his uptight, pain in the ass, interesting-as-hell, rich kid Sasuke - was lying on top of the blonde, his head resting on the teen's collar bone as he heaved in breath after breath so deeply and desperately that he failed even to notice the genius and his redheaded companion enter the large, empty space.
Shikamaru glanced to Gaara, unsure, for the first time in a long time, of what he should do. And the look Gaara gave him in return, completely lost and equally surprised, clearly demonstrated that he didn't know either.
Tentatively deciding to take the lead, Shikamaru took a breath and slowly moved a few steps towards the pair of teens, and then, hesitantly and quietly, called Sasuke's name.
"… Sasuke?"
No reaction.
"Sasuke?" the word was a little louder this time, and slightly more defined. It took a few long moments, but after the second or third time the name had reverberated through the empty, open hall of the punctured warehouse, the raven's eyes shot up, wide and scared, as he registered his audience.
But that was when the Nara got his biggest shock of all. The Uchiha's eyes were red.
Immediately Shikamaru thought back to the few times he'd seen Naruto when he'd gotten out of control.
No… he thought, trying not to let too much of his absolute shock and apprehension show on his face. It's not the same…
And it wasn't. Naruto's eyes, when he Changed, shone – they glistened like orange and red gems full of bright, mercurial power. These… these were different. These were darker, just as pure and endless, but solid and crimson. Where Naruto's eyes became reckless and uncontrollable, these became observant and calculating. Indeed, even now as Sasuke looked up at Shikamaru with an expression that was obviously tired and scared, his eyes continued to luster as endless orbs of power.
But… a power he cannot use…
The brief moment was ended as Sasuke clenched his eyes shut, obviously trying to clear them of whatever unknown power was clouding his vision, but what really snapped Shikamaru back to the present was Gaara.
Alarmed, The Nara turned to his side as the redhead fell to the ground, groaning and clutching his chest like he'd just been stabbed.
"Make him stop!" the redhead shouted as he pressed his forehead into the ground. "Make him take it away!"
Shikamaru swallowed, feeling completely out of his league as he stepped towards the pair of teens before him, trying to ignore the lingering moans emanating from Gaara's chest as he doubtfully moved away.
Apparently Sasuke had heard Gaara's words, as even before Shikamaru managed to move into action, he had extricated himself from his place straddling Naruto's body to scramble away until he was pressed with his back against the crumbling wall of the warehouse – his hands over his eyes as he gasped for breath.
"Shika-Shikamaru?" He stuttered, obviously too tired and stressed to bother censoring the emotion that was gushing out of him in waves. His voice was loud and unclear, seeking the Nara's presence almost desperately as he refused to move the hands that covered his eyes. "What do I do? What do I do? I don't know what to do." The words rushed out of the teen as an ineffective, contorted anchor in an ocean of panic.
The Nara watched – lips parted in awe – as he stepped around Naruto's bleeding figure to get closer to the raven.
You don't know what to do? I don't know what to do!
Despite his confusion at the situation, Shikamaru prioritized and decided on kneeling down next to Sasuke, and lying what he hoped was a comforting hand on his shoulder. This raven was nothing like he'd ever seen the Uchiha be before. It was the complete opposite: raw and emotional and scared.
Though… the Nara thought as he glanced back at Naruto's unconscious form… he kind of deserves to be…
"Shikamaru," Sasuke breathed as he registered the hand, the relief at knowing the genius was close doing little to outweigh the panic that continued to saturate his voice. "What do I do? I don't know how to stop it."
Shikamaru bit his lip for a moment, glancing once again over his shoulder at the blonde –broken, bleeding and unconscious – and Gaara, still curled up on the floor and breathing so deeply the Nara could see the motions from the other side of the large space.
"Just," he faltered slightly, "just calm down."
"W-What?"
"Just calm down." Shikamaru's voice was harsher now – more commanding and decisive. "Just… just take a few deep breaths and calm down. You're safe, and you can't hurt me with those eyes."
Sasuke nodded, whole-heartedly buying into Shikamaru's confidence and deciding not to question the words, or the fact that the demonic teen was still laying a matter of meters away from him, as he worked on controlling his breathing. It took conscious effort, but after a few long, tense minutes, he'd gotten his pulse back to a rhythm that could be counted as being somewhere within the realms of normalcy.
The Nara continued rubbing the raven's shoulder as he gradually calmed down, noticing slightly distractedly that Gaara had moved to Naruto's side, but was still warily and periodically glancing over at them, obviously on edge.
"Shikamaru?"
The raven's voice was quiet, tentative. It was a question that didn't need clarification; the Nara just took the query in stride.
"It's alright, just look at me. Gaara's with Naruto – so just try not and look over there."
"You don't know what it is." The raven stated instantly, his tone unflinching and cold. "You don't know what it does."
"I looked at it before – Gaara was hurt, but not me – I'll be fine. Just let me see if it's gone."
Sasuke gritted his teeth, shaking his head a little as he tried to resist. It didn't just seem to hurt the redhead and the blonde – it hurt him too.
"Sasuke!" Shikamaru shouted, exasperated by the Uchiha's hesitance. "I recognize this is difficult for you, but just look at me! We have to make sure Naruto's okay too!"
Gritting his teeth, Sasuke nodded and, with a definitive courage the Shikamaru had to momentarily admire, opened his eyes wide.
Upon the action, adrenaline flooded the Nara's system. Just because he hadn't collapsed like Gaara didn't mean he'd felt nothing. There was power in those eyes… dangerous power – but now, as Sasuke looked at him with a determined yet nonetheless foreboding expression, all he was greeted with was the usual endless onyx of his proud, emotionless stare.
The soft exhale of breath and relieved, subtle nod was all the affirmation Sasuke needed before all the tensed energy that had been pulling every muscle in his body taught with stress slowly released, leaving him nearly doubled over in relief. But, just as soon as the worry had left him, the pain came rushing back – breaking through the fading barrier of panic to take its place in the limelight.
"Fuck…" the raven mumbled softly, glancing down to his hands, which were now sore and aching like nothing had before in his life as his vision swirled before him. He was going under – spiraling softly and calmly into unconsciousness… but at least I'm safe… Shikamaru was there now, and he seemed to know what was going on… so I have to believe everything will be all right…
Hn…
The sound of Sasuke's limp figure hitting the stone floor was only just loud enough for the redhead to hear from his place next to an equally exhausted Naruto.
Glancing back at the unconscious Uchiha, Gaara bit his lip. "What the fuck happened here?"
"What are we going to do with him?" Gaara asked as he dumped the Uchiha onto Shikamaru's bed with a huff. The raven was bigger than he was, but Naruto was worse; so he was still relatively happy at not having to be the one lugging Naruto's insane muscle to fat ratio of a body all the way from the start of the long driveway around to the back entrance of the Nara's house and ultimately up to his bedroom.
Shikamaru shook his head, taking a deep breath as he literally dropped Naruto onto the floor. He hadn't exactly planned to dump the blonde there, but he'd missed the edge of the bed by a good meter, and he didn't have the energy to care. As was classic of Naruto, the blonde had healed almost completely during the relatively short trip back to his house, and he knew that any bumps or bruises he got from here on in were inconsequential.
What was worrying him was Sasuke.
It took him a moment to realize it, but after catching his breath and stepping back a little to stretch out the cramps Naruto's weight had built in his tired arms, he noticed that both Gaara and himself were staring, with an almost scary amount of intensity, at the raven.
"Who is he?" Gaara asked, not taking his eyes off the peacefully sleeping teen – long, deep breaths causing his chest to softly rise and fall as he twitched a little in his seemingly unbreakable slumber.
Shikamaru pursed his lips a little in thought, some deep part of his personality commenting dryly on how troublesome the previously interesting, but not quite as fascinating, raven was making his life.
"I don't know."
Gaara huffed a note of dry amusement in his frustration. "You don't know?"
Shikamaru shook his head, also frustrated as he broke his intense gaze on the Uchiha to look at the redhead directly. "Of course I know who he is – his name is Sasuke, he goes to my school, his marks are impeccable, he has some serious daddy issues, and he hates his life. What I don't know is anything about… this." The Nara motioned vaguely at the teen in front of them as he pressed the side of his face into a pillow with a soft sigh of contentment. "I don't know why he could stop Naruto while he was Changed, I don't understand how he's still alive, and I don't have even the faintest hint of an idea what those eyes of his were." Shikamaru sighed, turning slowly to move out of the small bedroom. "And I know that's what you were asking."
The redhead paused for a moment, absorbing the Nara's irritated words as he watched the genius begin to exit the room, but he hesitated as the faint sound of a sleepy groan from a slumbering Naruto wafted into his ears.
"Do you think it's alright to leave them together?"
"I don't see why not." Shikamaru yawned, pausing at the doorway. "We know Naruto won't wake up and Change again – and the worst that can happen is that Sasuke will wake up and have those red eyes back, but the possibility of that is pretty slim. I doubt that if he managed to get rid of whatever they were before he passed out that it will be back in a hurry." Shikamaru smiled tiredly, his expression worn and drained. "And besides, I can always come up to check on them if I hear either of them screaming."
Gaara smirked, pushing the Nara softly out of the room. "I think you need to sleep too."
"So troublesome…"
Naruto opened his eyes slowly, feeling his senses dimly awaken from the numbing waters of sleep with all the time and seemingly none of the grace in the world. His head hurt – that was the first thing he noticed, but so did his back. Gently, groaning as he went, he opened his eyes to find himself twisted and squashed with one of his arms and nearly his entire head pressed tightly into the small space between a bedside table and a wall.
"Ugh…" He moaned as he struggled to free himself of the constricting space. Succeeding only after several long moments of groaning and lethargic, uneconomical movements, the blonde lay on his back and took a long deep breath.
He knew he was in Shikamaru's room – he'd been there just enough times to recognize the small subtleties in the walls, and if that wasn't enough, the minimal decoration, even the simple smell of the room, was undeniably Nara-esque.
But something was worrying the blonde. Something big. He couldn't remember anything that happened the previous night, and that, combined with the fact that he was waking up in the Nara's bedroom, and more so, in daytime, created a very, very worrying picture for the teen. Around him, despite Shikamaru's heavy, very well made blackout-curtains being closed, the air buzzed with the distracting, subtly painful vibration of light energy, but in the relative darkness of the room, it was easy enough to ignore. But something else was there – another sensation… a smell.
Closing his eyes, Naruto sniffed the air in a few short bursts, trying to filter out the strong, overwhelming aroma of sun and warmth to focus on the soft, new fragrance he'd never felt before. Slowly, he began to breathe deeply, feeling the seductively calming scent work its way into his lungs like an addictive, persuasive suppressant.
"What is this?" He mumbled as he subconsciously rolled onto his side, feeling a calm wash over him that he hadn't experienced in what seemed like years. Though, it wasn't as simple as that. It was an effortless, more basic sensation – a scent that, as he steadily focused on it with each new, deep breath, served to outweigh the heavy, cumbersome weight of the daytime and the lingering, teenage smell of the room to surround the blonde with just enough strength to block out all other, unwanted sensory perceptions.
Gently, somewhat reluctantly, the blonde opened his eyes to see, rather unexpectedly, a hand.
Jerking back in surprise, Naruto swallowed and gingerly sat up; his still fatigued and tired mind slowly putting together that the hand belonged to a figure lying on Shikamaru's bed, who had inadvertently spilled the limb over the side of the mattress some time during the night.
But that was when Naruto saw Sasuke's face – peaceful and calm in deep sleep.
And that was when he remembered.
Immediately, Naruto's mind was alert and ready, his body tensed and prepared. Without having even the time to think about the action, the blond was on his feet and crouching next to the bed with his readied gaze targeted on the black haired, pale skinned teen without even the slightest hint of distraction. Immediately, the calming scent had been forced from Naruto's lungs, the blonde's innermost defenses expelling the aroma from his system and forcing him into taking quick, shallow breaths to avoid it.
This guy had beaten him.
This guy had hurt him.
... This guy saved me…
The thought was quiet and hesitant, not to mention a little scared, but the sincerity and honesty of the statement was powerful enough to overcome the blonde's reflexive and protective deeper consciousness.
He saved me… He thought quietly as he slowly calmed down and stood up from his tense crouch.
He was still wary, but as the blonde's panicked walls gradually came down, he felt more and more of the memories come wafting back to him, seeping into his mind from a distant, protected sect of his brain. This guy, this teenager, had managed to stop him while he was Changed.
Only Gaara's ever been able to do that before… he thought absently as he gazed at the sleeping face. And not always easily…
Sparing a reluctant thought for Gaara and Shikamaru, Naruto glanced towards the closed doorway to the small bedroom, but the return of that unique scent stopped him.
Now that he was more awake and alert, Naruto was noticeably less susceptible to the calming effects of the fragrance, but that didn't mean that it was any less nice. The blonde closed his eyes and breathed, inhaling the sweet, spicy aroma in silence as he decided to leave the thought of Gaara and Shikamaru for a little bit longer.
This guy was just too interesting.
Turning back to the bed, he stepped over to the side of the mattress and looked at the teen.
He was handsome. That was a fact that Naruto was not going to counter. Though… he thought objectively… he's not as handsome as he is beautiful. He watched silently, noting as the teen slept on, how soft his straight, black hair looked, how his long eyelashes almost touched his cheeks as he slept, how pale his untainted skin was, and yet, how utterly masculine he continued to seem despite his delicate features.
Glancing down to the raven's arms, one of which still hung over the edge of the bed, Naruto frowned a little in thought. He doesn't look that strong… he appraised the subtle muscle that clung to the teen's upper arms and shoulders. Though he doesn't look weak.
But once again, it was the smell that incited Naruto's interest the most. As he moved marginally closer to the teen, he noticed its strength becoming more and more distinct.
"What is that?" the blonde mumbled, sniffing as he leaned closer to the sleeping raven to breathe in the air just by his collarbone.
"Shit…"
The word was a moan of approval – the tone an audible demonstration of the feeling in Naruto's chest as the scent of the teenager before him – under him – seeped into his body. The buzz of the sun, the thoughts of Gaara and Shikamaru, even the shattered memories of the previous night – all of it dissipated into nothingness as the calm warmth of comfortable pleasure seeped off the raven's skin and into the blonde's body.
Naruto wanted more. He needed more. He needed to understand what the scent was.
Tentatively, trying his best to allow the raven to continue sleeping, Naruto climbed onto the bed and leaned over the teen with quiet observance – crouching over his lithe form in a startlingly animalistic stance so that, while the raven was fully encaged by Naruto's tensed limbs, there was no contact between them.
Slowly, objectively, Naruto leaned down and sniffed, first in the centre of the raven's torso, then up to the middle of his sternum, then further up to the collarbone, until he paused at the base of the neck.
The blonde had not consciously put himself there – the delightful scent had forced him to move closer to the raven's pale skin and further up his body with each slow, seeking shift of muscle – but there he was. And he was frozen.
With his nose pressed lightly into the teen's neck and his open mouth allowing his lips to gently brush against the pale skin right over the raven's pulse, the scent of blood vastly, insurmountably, overwhelmingly outweighed the sweet scent of before. But even then, where the intriguing aroma had surrounded him with subtly and persuasion, this new fragrance was just as sweet, and just as addictive, but one hundred times as strong. This scent was delicious.
Suddenly, Naruto felt his mouth watering and his lips leaning down to press more fully on the subtly pulsing layer of skin beneath him as he fought the urge to reach the most pure form of that addictive aroma.
Gritting his teeth and clenching his eyes shut, the blonde felt all the preceding weeks of hunger and pain that had, the previous night, culminated in his Changing, compound into one instant of pure, wanton hunger.
But he wouldn't do it.
I won't do it…I won't do it…I won't do it… he chanted. I won't taste it… he opened his eyes with one slow, purposeful movement. He had to slake the lust for the scent somehow.
But I will feel it…
Taking a deep, calming breath, the blonde licked his lips and gently brought them back down onto the pulsing skin of the teens neck, and groaned again in delight.
It was nothing like tasting the scent would have been, but it was enough for then and there. Slowly, feeling the heat of the velvet aroma buzz in his chest, the blonde let his tongue reach out to run along the skin encased by his lips.
"Mm…" the sound pushed through the blonde's throat as a guttural moan of pleasure – the sensation causing him to shift atop the raven slightly so that he could access the neck more fully. His vast control over his reflexes (while not so complete emotionally) meant that, while the temptation to go further was still very, very much there, he was able to overcome it relatively safely.
So, with a sigh of eagerness, Naruto closed his eyes and brought his mouth back down on the skin again, this time sucking lightly as he breathed.
The scent was stronger now – gathering power and potency as Naruto continued to work. He could feel it encasing him, surrounding him like a cloud of bliss and safety, an overwhelming, powerful force that made his heart race and his walls relax. He wanted to taste it, but more than that, he wanted to be in it, part of it – to press himself against the host of that delightful scent and become one with it.
It was only when the teen below him shifted and groaned lightly that Naruto realized he had been gradually sucking harder and harder on the now quite rapidly pulsing spot at the base of the raven's neck. Pulling back in slight alarm, he noticed with a start that he'd subconsciously pressed their chests together, but it was when he looked up to the teen's face that he got the biggest shock of all.
Fuck… Naruto commented internally as watched the sleeping raven's expression, his now shallow, quick breaths traversing through a mouth that hung open from below lightly blushed cheeks. He's kind of hot…
Resisting the urge to return to his place on he raven's neck, Naruto hummed a note of comfort and contentment as he instead chose to lean down and press his forehead to the teen's chest, breathing in the delightfully delicious scent through the thin, purple shirt that covered his skin.
"You smell so good…" Naruto mumbled, the tone verging on a whine as he pressed his face a little harder into the toned torso.
"… So do you…"
The blonde froze still at the words – unsure whether he'd heard them at all, but somehow, from the slight shift of muscle beneath him to the pure uniqueness of the timbre of the voice, the words could not have feasibly been a figment of his imagination.
But regardless of whether or not they were real – they indicated to Naruto one considerably significant fact… He's waking up…
Staying as still as he possibly could, Naruto stopped even breathing as he felt the body pressed underneath him slowly move and stretch with the unconscious actions of waking. A soft groan of fatigue and an arm coming to rest lethargically on Naruto's back was all the warning the blonde received before:
"What the fuck!"
The blonde shuddered at the weight of the voice, tensing further into the raven's chest as he felt the previously warm arm hit him on the back with surprising strength.
"Okay, okay!" he shouted, pulling back as quickly as he could manage so that he was clear of the angry teen's reach. "Sorry!"
"What the fuck are you doing?" The raven continued, trying to squirm his way out of the blonde's position dominantly atop his thighs. But that was when a really rather important thought finally clicked. "Holy shit!" he shouted, onyx eyes wide with genuine fear. "You're that guy!"
Naruto stayed still for a long moment as he caught up with the comment, but then leapt into action as he tried desperately to calm the raven before he could have a similar reaction to the one he had experienced upon waking.
"Relax, relax!" he shouted, slamming the teen back down onto the bed and pinning him there as best his could as he felt the raven become more and more tense within his strong hold.
But then, memory flickered in the back of Naruto's mind – sudden and stark.
"Look!" He shouted, sitting back up to hold open one of his eyelids, hoping that the raven would give him just enough time to explain. "Look – they're blue!"
He felt the teen tense below him, still, silent and apprehensive as he inspected the blonde's eyes, but gradually the fear leaked out of him and left the raven sighing in relief.
Slightly scared to move, Naruto bit his lip, leaning back further to give the pale skinned teen some space to gather his thoughts.
But that took some time.
"… You okay?"
The question, however tentative and patient it sounded, caused the raven to grit his teeth and stare at the teen with eyes so angry and tired that the blonde victim actually felt a stab of physical pain.
"I don't know why you're on top of me, I don't know where I am, I don't know how I got here, I don't know who you are, I don't know how you know Shikamaru, I don't know what time it is, I don't know how I'm alive, and frankly, I don't know how you're alive either." He took a short breath, a little unused to speaking so much in one go. "So," he looked back at Naruto, noting with victorious warmth that his Uchiha attitude was causing the idiot to almost visibly retreat into himself. "I would very much like for you to get off me so that I can find out where I am, how I got here, who you are, and maybe, just as a bonus, what the fuck was happening to you last night."
There was a long moment of silence, in which Naruto bit his lip rather self-consciously. "… You know, Shikamaru's told me that people in your situation would usually wake up in shock, but I don't think that's what's happening…"
The look that Sasuke gave the blonde at that point eclipsed any coldness from any stare he'd ever received… ever. And that includes Gaara…
But, just as the blonde was about to start imploding from the force of the endless black eyes, the door to the small bedroom opened and a yawning Shikamaru slipped quietly into the space.
There was no way for him to hide the shock he received upon meeting the two, intensely emotional stares – one endless, black, angry and tired, the other blue, confused, helpless, and more than a little scared. The fact that Naruto had effectively pinned the raven to the bed was also mildly intriguing. Under different circumstances, the Nara may have just found the situation a little funny…
But these were not different circumstances… and this was not funny…
"Whoa," he smiled awkwardly as he tried and failed in one ungraceful moment to relieve the obvious tension in the air. "You sure work fast, Naruto."
Waiting patiently for the comment to click, Shikamaru braced himself for the eventual response, but was actually relatively surprised when it came from Sasuke.
"Get the fuck off me!" he shouted, not waiting for the blonde to move before angrily getting to his feet. "What the fuck is going on!" he directed the question at Shikamaru as he straightened his crinkled shirt as best he could, trying simultaneously to ignore the faint body odor emanating from his skin as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Why the fuck did I wake up with the guy who tried to kill me lying on top of me and sucking my neck?"
The raven was almost too angry and tired to notice the way Shikamaru's eyes widened at the last exasperated question, rather pointedly focusing on Naruto, who hastily shook his head. Though, the speedy response did little to alleviate the worried, slightly scared tone to the genius's expression.
Gritting his teeth in frustration, the Nara was once again forced to prioritize.
"Look, Sasuke, there's a lot you have to hear – why don't you just take a breath and come downstairs – I'll explain all of it as best I can."
Despite telling the raven exactly what he wanted to hear, the words did little to assuage Sasuke's mood. A lot to hear? A lot to explain?
The raven shook his head and clenched his eyes shut with so much force that he began to see colour dancing in the usually comforting, private darkness – but even that did little in his desperate attempt to block everything out.
I am literally going insane…
"I have to go," he said, his tone reverting back to reflexive iciness and emptiness as he stepped past Shikamaru and towards the door with a series of graceful, continuous movements that were unnerving in their seemingly unbreakable calm.
Shikamaru shared a concerned glance with Naruto, and was as much relieved as he was worried when the blonde spoke up.
"Look – this is something you have to face, princess. Either do it now, or later, but now would make it easier on all of us."
Sasuke stopped, and Shikamaru felt a shiver run down his spine at the action. 'Princess' was not going to work in their favor.
"Don't you want to know what the fuck happened last night? To me, and to you?" the blonde continued.
Grinding his teeth, Sasuke tensed and rounded on the blonde, anger and fatigue setting his expression ten levels colder than anybody present in the room had previously thought possible, including himself.
"No." he spoke, proving that he had trained his hereditary Uchiha voice so well that it could easily compliment his impenetrably cold Uchiha expression. "No – I don't want to know what the fuck happened last night. I don't want to know!" he took a deep breath, but, if anything, the action only served to make his voice louder and meaner. "I want to go home and get ignored by my parents, I want to go to school and get waited on by my teachers, and I want to leave here and forget that you exist!"
And with that, he stormed out of the bedroom.
"Sasuk-" Shikamaru shouted after the raven as he heard him clump heavily down the stairs, but was interrupted by a voice, echoing back through the house with heavy anger.
"Fuck off!"
Gaara sighed, looking first at Shikamaru then at Naruto in slow, patient succession. The silence was deafening, but why, he didn't really know. It was quite a situation they'd gotten themselves into, but even so, he hadn't expected things to get this quiet.
"I wish he'd just suck it up and face what he saw. He's a part of all this now – whether he likes it or not." The words may have sounded logical, but as they were thrown from Naruto's mouth they were shaped in the childlike, pale-blue timbre of a teenage pout.
Shikamaru's expression didn't change as he shifted his lethargic, laconic gaze from the tabletop to Naruto's frowning eyes. A thought slowly emerged from his mind as he watched the tan teen continue to bite his lips, seemingly lost in thought. "And why exactly did Sasuke say he woke up to you sucking on his neck?"
The words caused an instant reaction in both Naruto and Gaara – the blonde becoming suddenly extremely bashful, and the redhead immediately straightening in alarm.
"What?" Gaara questioned, suddenly much more interested in the conversation. "What?"
"I wasn't going to do anything." Naruto defended swiftly, trying unsuccessfully to dodge the tattooed teen's concerned glare.
"As far as I'm concerned, that counts as something." Shikamaru sighed, taking another sip of his hot, earl grey tea as he watched Gaara silently crush Naruto with the weight of his expression.
"I don't know." The blonde continued, a little put off by the lack of faith both his friends were showing in him. "I swear I wasn't going to do anything – if there was any risk, I wouldn't have gotten so close."
Gaara sighed in slight helplessness as he struggled to understand his often-perplexing idiot. "Then why did you get so close?"
Naruto shrugged a little as he tried to avoid talking about the potent memory. There was no way Gaara, much less Shikamaru, would believe that the smell of a sleeping human could be so… intoxicating…
But it was… he thought absently as his mind recalled the deep sense of calm and warmth he'd felt as he'd pressed against that lithe body. He smelt so good…
"He smelt good." He admitted softly, deciding honesty was the best tack – hell, with Gaara and Shikamaru, he didn't really have another option.
"'He smelt good'." Gaara repeated incredulously as he began to settle after the initial panic of the topic. "You've never had the urge to smell people before. Nobody has. Everybody smells good."
Naruto's eyes misted slightly as he reviewed his memories and remembered the aroma in even more clarity. "No…" he sighed dreamily, locked in the subtle memories of the intoxicating scent. "He was something… else. Something… addictive."
Shikamaru felt his eyebrows pull together at the statement. "That doesn't make sense."
Naruto shook his head lightly, broken from his reverie. "I know – but it's true. I don't know why I climbed on top of him, or began sucking his neck. I just… I knew I wasn't going to taste it, and I…" he blushed lightly, a mildly ashamed of his impulsive actions, "I just needed to get closer to him."
Gaara took a breath and shared a wary glance with Shikamaru.
Rolling his eyes, the genius stood. "Whatever – I cannot deal with this right now." Leaving the room, he gulped down the rest of his tea in one graceful swoop. "Whether it's true or not, chances are you won't see him again anyway." The Nara shouted the words back to Naruto and Gaara from the kitchen as he dropped his empty cup into the steel sink. "We gave him the chance to ask about what happened, and he ran. He'll come back eventually, but I don't know if he'll want to have anything to do with either of you two, even if he finds out everything."
Gaara nodded in slight affirmation of the words, but Naruto stilled in discomfort as he felt a shiver of distaste run distractingly down his spine. The sudden realization that he may never have the opportunity to soak in that seductive scent again – to see that face again – made his chest ache with physical pain.
"Don't you want to find out what those eyes were?" Naruto snapped out of his emotional detachment at the sound of Gaara's voice, the tone impartial and distant.
Shikamaru shrugged as he reentered the room, sitting beside Naruto with a huff. "Yes. Desperately." He admitted the fact without hesitation. "But I don't know if I'll be able to. He was most… uncooperative… when he left this afternoon."
"I did call him a princess."
Gaara smirked, whacking the blonde on the side of the head playfully as he got up.
"See you later, Shikamaru." The redhead nodded to the Nara as Naruto stretched out his tired limbs with dragging, lazy movements. Being awake during the day really hadn't done favors for his tired body – especially after healing had taken so much out of him. "I need to get some sustenance into this one."
Shikamaru nodded, also standing to show them to the door. "Feel free to drop around – my parents aren't going to be back for another three weeks, but…" he sighed, glancing at Naruto. He knew the blonde wouldn't like his request, "try and stay away from the house downtown, I just-"
"Yeah – I know." Naruto interrupted, his voice warm and more than slightly apologetic. "I will… sorry."
"It's alright. I'll talk to Sasuke, and I'll tell you anything important, but please don't seek him out. We need to handle this with his interests in mind – he's in a difficult place."
Gaara took a breath, hauling Naruto after him with a huff of effort. "We all are."
TBC