OMG, another update, really?! Yes, yes. I know you all love me...!!
...
Never mind then. ANYWAY! Why don't we all thank the lovely, the magnificent, and amazing...
HEAVEN COBRA! 'Cuz without here this whole thing would be slightly better than...I don't know...hay, maybe? But now it makes me giggle and get all fuzzy inside. I hope it makes you that way too :) Thank you to all of you wonderful people who reviewed!
CHAPTER THREE
Sasuke blinked groggily, a shattering sound waking him from a much-needed rest. Thoughts ran into each other, jumbled and unmanageable in the seconds it took him to wake up before he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stretched his full pink lips in a wide-mouthed yawn. Sadly, this ritual of sunshine and joy that made Sasuke's day a good one - and that hadn't happened in a long time, let me tell you - was interrupted by the thudding of footsteps and a screech fit to wake the dead.
"KAKASHIIIII!!"
Sasuke looked towards his expensively lacquered mahogany door and listened as sounds came through it including more crashing, shattering and sickening crunches that could be heard from all the way up the stairs. The leopard, instead of faithfully leaping down the long set of steps on his lithe runner's legs to go save his master from Iruka's wrath-of-heavenly-destruction, he pleasantly bathed in the glow of daydreams - which were exponentially more realistic due to the screams sounding from the lower level - that included a dismembered Kakashi and a ravenous Sasuke...even quite possibly an innocent young kitten that he could teach his sexy-evil-master-dismembering-ways to.
But, not one to think for too long and spend much of his valuable energy on things that were hardly worth his attention in the first place, he yawned and rubbed his dark left eye again while re-initiating his 'happy-happy-joy-joy' wake-up sequence. When his left eye was satisfactorily cleared of any rubbish that may have collected during his sleep, he tried to move his right hand and give his other eye the same treatment...if not that it was going numb from a heavy pressure weighing the pale appendage down onto the bed. He tried to tug it free, pulling harder and harder until his arm came out and his body was pushed back with the force of the tug, causing him to land on the floor with a small 'oof'. It was not the numbness slowly retreating from his arm, nor the fact that he had just landed on his ass and pulled his tail in the process that made him more than slightly angry - it was that there was someone - or thing - fluffy, making heavy snoring sounds on his bed. Who knows what unspeakable things had worked their way into the it's-his-thing's drool!
Why the hell is a giant ball of fur in my bed...!?
In his anger, he climbed up onto the bed only to have the ball of fur roll on top of him. Sasuke's mind took that most opportune moment to freeze his body as the events of the day before came flooding back, the memories conveniently incurring fatigue that caused his eyelids to feel leaden and slowly slip shut no matter how hard he tried to keep them open. Sometimes, meeting new people and waking up with them in your bed wasn't the best thing, and as the thought circuited through his mind he cringed in irritation. Somehow that had come out wrong.
Sasuke felt a blush slowly creep up his neck, staining his pale skin a rosy pink as it brushed over his cheeks. He tried to detach himself from the furry blond, - lest he see the blush - but found that while his flood of memories was overtaking him the ball of fur had wrapped two skinny arms around his waist and had pulled the brunet towards him in a bear hug, all the while nuzzling Sasuke's hip.
At this action, Sasuke flushed even further. The boy seemed to enjoy making him squirm, even in his sleep...Though, once he thought about it, nobody up to this point had been able to make him fidget and writhe the way he did. The little voice in the back of his mind that he had learned to ignore told him that he had never had anyone except his master in his bed, causing him to cringe once more - did his mind ever stop tormenting him?
By this time the leopard's face had returned to its normal color, but he felt himself beginning to get uncomfortable as the small ball of fur started to mold to his shape, seeming as though it was trying to take in his very being by pressing as deeply into his side as possible. The writhing, moving figure pulled him down so that he was lying right next to the boy; he tried pushing the fox away, only to have Naruto wrap a skinny leg and fluffed orange tail around him to add to his discomfort. By the time that Sasuke had given up struggling and had rested his tired limbs for a little while, blood had all but left all other parts of his body in a mad dash to his face.
His efforts to keep the blood at bay were wasted energy; as soon as he had gotten his breath back he tried to wriggle his way out of Naruto's grasp by twisting and writhing in his grip, but it was no use. The amount of effort he put into escaping was not at all worth the amount of ground he gained - which was, essentially, none at all. So busy was he in his struggle for freedom that he did not notice the sliver of rose-veined white and cerulean that appeared and steadily widened, the eyes narrowing and glinting with mischievous delight that was accompanied by a mad grin and a nose in Sasuke's neck. A pleasant, musky aroma filled his nostrils and calmed the raging impish tendencies in his mind...to an extent. The squeezing arms and legs, the twitching tail and the cold nose in his neck, though all wonderful instruments of torture, quickly tipped Sasuke off that his teasing blond companion was awake. This, of course, presented much room for minatory words and laughing threats.
"G-Get off!"
"Mmmooo!" Naruto's protest at his struggles came out muffled.
Sasuke went limp. This moron just doesn't give up! his mind screamed. And why the hell can he understand me?! His mind seemed to be doing a lot of screaming lately...
A sudden thought slipped into his mind, which was doing a bout of aerial acrobatics while being hysterical and somehow still maintaining Sasuke's regular bodily functions. The power of the human mind is amazing. Sasuke, after realizing that his most recent bout of wriggling was getting him nowhere, lay motionless for seconds and contemplated his next move. What to do, what to do...?
He was still contemplating the thought when a chilling urge to do something wrong, ill-advised and utterly obscene entered the arena of very likely possibility. Who was he to pass up an opportunity for some excitement?
Before his finer thinking skills could play to his advantage, though, his body moved completely of its own accord...he swears. He tried to think himself out of it, he really did. He just wasn't fast enough. Right. Sasuke glanced haphazardly at the tufts of blond hair tickling his chin and pressed his sharp, well-developed nose into it and inhaled the scent sleepily.
Whatever this fox smelled of, it was more like musk and the unmistakable scent of freshly prepared rice, the clean and filling aroma invading his nostrils with a cool yet fiery intensity. The damn smell! Even though he could identify the main ingredients of whatever was creating that delicious odor, he could not seem to analyze it deeply enough to understand what was lurking just beneath the surface. He glanced at the now-calm being lying on his lap. The horror of not knowing this one, small thing about the fox made him nearly insane with curiosity - and as we all know...curiosity killed the cat. Or, rather, leopard.
Sasuke's eyes slipped shut. He breathed in the mystery-rice-scent sleepily, concentrating on the musk that lined his nostrils. The brunet had smelled other people, pets and everything in between before, so why was it invoking such strong reactions now? The answer avoided him like Pikachu avoiding clear and concise explanations. Or a non-high-pitched form of communication. Damn squeaky toy.
But, back to the fresh-smelling musk. Why did this particular smell make him want to blend his own strongly-scented aroma with it? At the mere thought, he blushed lightly. More cringing followed the light spray of pink. This fox is going to drive me insane...And I've only just met him!
Sasuke groaned when he realized the boy had fallen asleep again. He pushed against a tan arm and smiled in triumph when it slipped from his waist, slowly sitting up and removing the boy's heavy limp body from on top of him. Frowning, he wiped at the back of his neck to be greeted with a medium-sized blob of drool. Frowning more heavily now, he wiped the warm liquid running into the folds of the black shirt from his neck with the collar. Sasuke took large, frustrated steps towards the doorway and exited, strolling down to the kitchen for some well-deserved breakfast after all that exertion while quite a bit more cringing ensued. If it is one thing he now knows not to do while walking, it's to cringe. He almost fell down the whole flight of steps! Not to mention missing dinner - especially because of his new 'companion' - had pissed him off greatly.
Kakashi eyed his pet cautiously, watching and analyzing the predatory glint in his eyes. The feline was definitely more ticked off than usual, sporting an unhappy scowl and eyes narrowed to the point of slits. Sure, the new addition to the family wasn't very...calming, but it was nothing to get seriously pissed off about, or necessarily absolutely hate. Sasuke was the one who'd wanted the damn thing in the first place, and like hell was Kakashi just going to let him say 'let's take it back' and get on with his miserably bratty behavior!
"So...Sasuke." the tall man drawled, excellently masking his doubts and concerns over Sasuke's behavior.
The cat gave him a glare form the corner of his dark eye.
Kakashi shrank back a bit at the intensity of the glance, but continued regardless of the potential physical - and emotional, let's not forget intellectual - consequences. "Looking forward to spring break? You still have this whole week to yourself, ya know. School doesn't start until next Monday. You could," 'And should' came the unspoken words "use this time to better acquaint yourself with your new friend, ne?" he smiled at his pet. Sasuke merely ignored him.
The silver haired man watched as the leopard's tail twitched irritably and Sasuke scooped another spoonful of rice into his mouth. He never did understand why the feline refused to use chop sticks, something about it being too messy and primitive. Kakashi, unlike his pet, rather liked the wooden instruments...they were elegant, messy - sometimes it's a good thing - and very 'versatile'.
Kakashi stared at the chopsticks in his own hand with an amused expression on his face, and glanced over to his chocolate haired lover. Iruka took another spoonful of his white breakfast and immediately seemed to know what Kakashi was thinking, quirking a dark brown eyebrow and rising from the table with his bowl empty of rice. Then, smirking, walked over to the sink and ran the water onto his bowl, running a hand around the inside to get rid of any rice he may have missed during the initial rinsing. Iruka glanced at Kakashi out of the corner of his eye and his dusky pink lips twitched up into a smirk.
Kakashi raised a silvery brow. Could it be...?
Iruka purposefully swayed his hips as he exited the kitchen, looking over his shoulder when he reached the arch of the doorway and winking at the gray-haired man still at the table. 'Oh shit, yes.'
Kakashi's jaw just about fell off. Without a moment of hesitation - or even bothering to wash out his bowl - he ran after Iruka, a line of drool marking his path.
Ah, the joys of makeup sex. Wonderful, ain't it?
--
Sasuke raised an eyebrow, much like Kakashi had done only minutes before. He never would understand the foreign mating rituals of human kind, the complexity of the concept of makeup sex and their strange habits of courting entirely lost on him. If Kakashi wanted to court his mate so bad, then why didn't he? Why wait and ask for permission? If Iruka was already his, then why should he even have to wait until his mate was ready? The seme (he didn't know what it meant, he had just heard Iruka use it to complain sometimes) should have full control of when, where and in what position the mating occurred.
Sasuke shook his head. Humans were some of the strangest things he had ever encountered. He had never had a mate and was more than a little fuzzy on the subject of mating, but he was pretty sure that the courtship and mating process was that the female goes into heat, you court them, mate with them and then do whatever you want with them. Simple process, right? Somehow, though, humans didn't seem to make it so simplistic. Why was it so different with them?
Sasuke sighed and decided to leave the 'complex mysteries of the human race and their courtship/mating rituals' for someone else to figure out. They better make a damn good book on it...his curiosity needed to be sated, but some other day. He groggily stood and washed out both his and Kakashi's bowl, since the man had forgotten to wash it on his own. Damn stupid, perverted, man...
When he shut off the water he heard a very dull 'thud' come from upstairs. He looked behind him curiously. Was the fox awake? He set the last dish down next to the other one, glass clinking against glass, and then stalked up the stairs to his room.
He reached out for the handle, completely ignoring the groaning emitting from behind the door next to his and peeked in cautiously. When he saw nothing but the normal order he usually kept his room in, he crept in slowly and watched for any possible signs of attacks that might get him from behind. Dark, bottomless eyes roamed his bedroom for any hint, any sign of that new pet and his possible kidnapper. Sasuke's ears twitched when he heard a sniff from one of the far corners of the area, behind his bed.
He strolled over to the source of the sniffling and stopped. Naruto was sitting in the corner, curled up with his arms and tail wrapped around his knees in a twisted, mutated form of the fetal position. The boy's ears lay flattened and quivering against his golden hair, his eyes wider than saucers and staring straight ahead at blank space. Sasuke kneeled down in front of him, but Naruto's eyes didn't flicker; he waved his right hand before the boy's cerulean eyes and again got no reaction. Frowning, he gently tried to wake - because he had to be sleeping, right? - the blond with a slight shake of the shoulder. When that didn't make the usually-energetic blond move, he tried to speak in hopes that his name or Sasuke's voice might have an affect on his condition.
"...Naruto...?"
"The..." Sasuke raised a slim brow, surprised that it would be that easy.
"'The' what, Naruto?" The fox pointed ahead of him.
"T-the w-wall..is-is..."
"What about the wall?" Sasuke leaned in closer, closer until he could smell Naruto's breath coming out in short puffs.
"I-it's..moaning..." He spoke, quivering further into himself as another groan hit his sensitive ears.
Sasuke blinked curiously. That was why he was so scared? They both sat, silent for a second and neither of them uttered a word or sound lest the-
"KAKASHI!!" Grunts could be heard through the thin walls, groaning accompanying the slapping of skin-on-skin contact.
Sasuke winced and Naruto bounded onto Sasuke, sending them both to the ground in a heap. The leopard coughed as the wind was knocked out of him and thin arms were wrapped around his neck. He sat up with more than a little difficulty onto his bony elbows and looked curiously at the boy, taking in his eyes that were wide with shock, the slight quivering of his body, the dilated pupils...If Sasuke hadn't known better, he could - and would - have pegged Naruto for someone who had just been surprise kissed...or glomped.
He shuddered. He would definitely like to k-when his eyes widened. Where in the nine hells did that come from? He hurriedly tried to push Naruto off of him, but the blond unknowingly wouldn't let him budge. Images of Sasuke glomping Naruto, his pale body flying through the air and slamming into the blond's was just too hilariously out of character for him, finally making the brunet choke out a muffled chuckle.
That seemed to get the fox's attention. His large colorful ears sprang up from their previous positions quivering on top of his skull and his eyes became harsh, the frightened blue gaze morphing into a full out glare. Naruto pushed himself off of the larger boy's chest and sat on the floor a ways away, crossing his arms and his bushy tail lashing angrily behind him.
"What?" Sasuke asked smartly.
"You...Laughed at...meh 'gain."
"No, I didn't."
Naruto narrowed his eyes at the protest. "'astard."
Sasuke stared at the fox. Had he just called him a..."'Bastard'? Where the hell did you learn that?!"
" 'Kashi." the fox said bluntly, the endearingly shortened name catching on Sasuke's radar. That only made the brunet stare harder. The supposed 'idiot' was only here a few hours and already knew the meaning of 'bastard'?! He really, really was going to have a hard time accepting this - Sasuke was here two months before he started to learn English and the boy in front of him was here less than two days and was already learning insults from his guardian.
"You already knew how to talk, didn't you!" he yelled accusingly. Naruto winced at the volume of his voice, and Sasuke saw it. "So that's it, isn't it? You knew how to talk, you just didn't want to!" The brunet smirked, treasuring the momentary feeling of victory and righteous anger.
Naruto stuck out his tongue in response.
"You little fucking..." he thought for a moment. "Dobe!"
The fox snarled at him and bared his teeth, the insult ticking him off. Sasuke's smirk just got wider.
"You're a fast learner, though, I'll give you that. You might just have to exercise your vocal chords a bit, since you don't really use them, right?" the fox nodded. "Good. I'm glad you're able to learn so fast. Less trouble for me."
Naruto raised his ears at the small hidden compliment and grinned ear to ear, eyes gleaming in barely disguised pleasure at hearing praise from Sasuke, who he had gathered to be an altogether cold person.
This reaction from Naruto, however, made the brunet's heart and head just a little lighter for yet unknown reasons and Sasuke decided to do it again to see if it was just a one-time thing or if he really did like making Naruto happy.
"Keep learning and you might just get as good as me someday." The blond snorted, his countenance contemptuous before soaking in the praise happily. His eyes glowed with happiness and contentment, his smile growing wider with every passing second before he moved to tackle Sasuke to the ground once more. The brunet barely got a chance to throw his arms up in defense before he was bowled over by the eager fox who was now rubbing affectionately against his neck and making the leopard blush deeply and chuckle. That smell invaded his nostrils again, the musk of clean rice and pure sunshine invading his nostrils. Taking a deep whiff of it, he felt Naruto smile into his neck as his blush deepened.
"M ike ma may oo mell..." Sasuke heard the muffle words spoken into his neck, pulling the boy up by the collar of his shirt to get a good look at his face and try to decipher what he had just said.
"What was that?"
"I like the 'ay oo shmell!" the blond boy chirped, a little slower than would be deemed normal, like he was talking to an idiot.
The fox put his head back into the crook of Sasuke's pale neck and began rubbing it with his nose again, taking in the deep scent of the leopard. Sasuke snorted. The boy's blond hair was beginning to tickle, but he liked the way his warm body sat like a radiator on top of his and hummed with vibrance, the aroma of the boy filling his nostrils once again after he had pulled him away. At this rate their smells started to blend and for a split second Sasuke could smell himself on the dobe, a faint scent of vanilla coating Naruto's hair. If anyone smelled it, they would think the worst...!
"Will you quit that!? Why are you doing it in the first place?" Naruto looked up into Sasuke's dark eyes. He opened his mouth to answer, but closed it just as soon as he began to speak. What would he say? Sasuke looked kind of angry.
"I...D-don't know..." Naruto answered finally. He narrowed his eyes, thinking deeply. "I j-just...want to...for s'um reason." he cocked his head to the side in a manner quite similar to a small kitten.
"Well, don't think too hard on it. You wouldn't want to hurt your pretty little head, would you?" Sasuke answered, Naruto shaking his head and not picking out the insult among the compliment, instead he just lay there and glowed with the weight of the three compliments he had so far been given. "Now, get off. I don't want to smell like idiot the whole day."
Naruto pouted and puffed out his cheeks. "Why's 'tat?"
"Well," Sasuke started out slowly, the boy taking it seriously instead of the joke it was supposed to be. "I just don't want to."
"Do I shmell 'ad?"
"No, you smell good actually." Sasuke was surprised at how easily he said that, the fourth compliment coming out as easily as his name and making him feel warm and light inside, as if he was floating on a cloud bathed in the warm sunlight radiating from the sky.
"Ten why don' you wan' to shmell like 'ee?" Naruto's garbled words were barely clear enough to make out, but the confused expression and curious tone was easy to identify.
"Because I'm not your mate."
"'ate? Whassa mate?"
Sasuke blushed at the question. "Uh...Why don't you go ask Kakashi? He knows more than I do about it. He already has a ma--"
The brunet was about to finish his informative lecture on why the blond should go ask Kakashi instead of bothering Sasuke with his silly questions, when a rather heavy - when did he get so hefty? - weight was lifted off of his chest and cool air descended upon the spot where the warmth suddenly became absent. He looked behind him abruptly to see Naruto running hurriedly out the door, his tail bouncing up and down to keep his balance and fluffed in excitement.
"HEY! Where are you going?!"
"'Kashi!" Came the response from across the hall, Naruto already having reached the bedroom and knocking heavily on the door. The brunet's attuned ears caught a small string of curses and the sound of a door creaking open a few seconds later. They were carrying on a conversation in the middle of a hallway, and Sasuke was able to pick out Naruto's higher voice from Kakashi's deeper alto - the back-and-forth sounded like a sitcom without the canned laughter and with lower volume and much less sarcasm.
"Yes, what is it?" Kakashi kept his tone civil.
"I wan' ashk a kestion!" Naruto.
"You mean 'question', right?" Kakashi.
"Yeah! A kestion!" Naruto. He heard a grunt, probably from Kakashi.
"What is it Naruto?" Mild hesitation and mumbling, probably from Naruto. Kakashi doesn't mumble.
"What's a...'m...ate'?" There was silence and Sasuke could almost see the eyebrow that Kakashi probably quirked in response to the curiously phrased question.
"Why the sudden interest, Naruto?" Ah, the wonder of skepticism and interrogation of the innocents. The concept was just...exhilarating.
"Well, me and Shashke were 'alking, and he shaid he didn' wan' shmell like ee 'cause I washn' his... mate. He shaid to go ashk you wha' one wa', and that you 'ready had one. Who's your 'ate 'Kashi?" Kakashi said nothing for a moment, probably trying to decipher what Naruto had just said. These pets weren't easy to understand when their tongues were all twisted up from embarrassment and not knowing how to speak, especially if they were so busy glaring at you that they did nothing else for a few days...
An image of Sasuke flashed through his mind, the brunet as a kitten was so endearingly cute that he chuckled lowly, remembering the way his ears would twitch in irritation and those glinting black-red eyes of his drew in the whole room to his presence. He was still thinking back to tiny Sasuke, how small he had been when a slight humming drilled into his ears, the sound soft and soothing in his thoughts.
"Well, Naruto, a mate is someone that you really like."
"Like? I like Shashke a 'lil. Why don' he like me?" Sasuke blushed slightly at the comment, the rosy pink dusting his pale cheeks for the umpteenth time that day.
"This is a different type of like, Naruto. It's much, much stronger - like you never want to let the person go - and usually between a male and female."
"Oh..."
"Don't be down though. I'm sure Sasuke likes you too. And, as for who my mate is, I think you can already figure that one out for yourself. You're pretty smart, aren't you?" Naruto glowed at the compliment, countenance lighting up in happiness. "I-i's smart!" he exclaimed exuberantly. Kakashi, glad that he had momentarily made the blond happy, turned to leave before he felt a slight tug on the pair of sweatpants he had hurriedly pulled on when he heard that knock on his door.
"I-ish yo-or 'ate Eryuka?"
He heard his silver-haired keeper chuckle and the soft sound of ruffling hair, Kakashi probably petting the fox for his fine observation. "Yeah."
"But...I thought you shaid it hash to be a girl and a boy..."
"Not all the time. I said most of the time, Naruto."
He heard Naruto's voice become brighter. "Oh, 'kay!" there was a pause. "And...I think your houshe is haunted...like ghosts, you 'no? Your 'alls 'ere... moaning, 'Kashi."
There was another, longer pause before Kakashi thought of a suitable explanation. "Well, I think you're right, Naruto. I think we should teach these...'ghosts' a lesson. Right away." Sasuke presumed Naruto was nodding exuberantly at the gray-haired man's 'good' idea.
"'urry 'Kashi! It's really loud too, I think they're 'ad at you. One of them yelled 'Kakashi!' !" Sasuke had to laugh at that. Naruto really was too innocent for his own good, despite being almost physically mature.
"Don't worry, Naruto. I'll make sure to keep 'em quiet." his owner replied. There was a last bit of the conversation that he didn't catch, but he did hear the sound of a door shutting and footsteps padding into his bedroom and the slight creak of the door. Naruto popped his head into the room and was smiling happily while plopping down in front of Sasuke, his tail swishing side to side happily and his ears flicking excitedly. Once again, with every effervescent swish of th fox's tail, the clean-smelling aroma of just-cooked rice and musky sunshine filled the air.
"'Kashi told me... I don' really get it, but okay." he smiled. "And...w--hy am... I here? What... 'appened to my 'ol home?"
Sasuke shrugged and sighed slightly. "We bought you. This is your home now."
Naruto nodded as if he understood perfectly and they sat in silence for a few more moments, but the blond's mind was working furiously. He didn't know what was going on, really, all he knew that was he'd met and taken a shine to Sasuke, and suddenly he was in a new place with new noises, sounds smells and sights that made him more than a little nauseous. Even with the nausea, however, he was also really happy at the same time. This nausea was kind of a happy-sick feeling. No one had ever paid this much attention to him before - at once, or cumulatively throughout his whole life - and it felt good.
The only thing he was actually worried about was that Sasuke was confusing to him. Not in the 'who is he?' way, but more in the way that he couldn't understand why he was so well-mannered, intelligent and good-looking. The thing that confused him about all of these was that no Hybrid this...this sophisticated had ever paid him more than a single glance, always turning up their noses at his odor, his personality...even his appearance. They would always act like they were a few steps above him in the evolutionary ladder, like he couldn't handle talking, or even looking at them. Sasuke wasn't like this, though he had every right to be as snobbish and arrogant as they did - even more, probably. He was so much more than they were, yet he looked towards Naruto as a companion, an equal. It was so new and yet so welcome at the same time...
Sasuke was also really smart, more intelligent than any Hybrid he had ever known or ever heard of! He could listen, understand and communicate with his owners like he was one of them and nobody thought he was a freak for it. Everyone back at his old home had thought he was strange; that he was so weird for having the capacity to speak to and understand their keepers and made fun of him for being intelligent - it helped if he just kept his mouth shut. Nothing ever happened to him that way.
Completely oblivious to Naruto's contemplative state, Sasuke was being troubled by his own thoughts. His hands were itching, burning to touch something and he couldn't hold on to himself, his lungs screaming with the effort it took not to bury his sensitive nose into Naruto's fiery fur and inhale that powerfully pleasurable scent.
Finally giving in to his body's needs, he inhaled deeply and eyed the fox with a dark, flint-sharp eye as he crawled towards the other Hybrid, his ears twitching with curiosity. Just close enough, now, he reached out and brushed Naruto's ears hesitantly, faintly but gained confidence as Naruto leaned slightly into the touch. Sasuke got immeasurably closer until he was holding the blond in his arms, combing through his golden locks with slow, measured movements and inhaling his scent deeply. Licking his suddenly-dry lips, he began to rub Naruto's perky ear cautiously with his fingers.
Naruto started, the touch sending his mind into full alarm before he settled into the brunet's lap and purred loudly. The head he was stroking ever-so-gently rubbed and moved against his hand and their breaths settled into a measured, yet somehow erratic pace as Sasuke inhaled deeply one more time. He smelled so good.
Naruto's tail waved faster, faster into the air as it made snapping sounds like a flag in a fast breeze. There was an aroma, and the only way that it could be described was that it was hot, just filling Sasuke's nostrils with an erotically warm, sweaty smell. The brunet's eyes slipped slowly shut and he inhaled deeply, faster, he couldn't help it. The aroma was just so passionately, intensely intoxicating that he couldn't break away from their position.
The blond's back arched deeply as he let out a small mewl, allowing Sasuke to slip his hand to the small of the boy's back and lower. The fox's back arched into the touch, back from its previous position and began whimpering slightly with each sweat-coated stroke Sasuke's hand applied to the soft tan skin covering his muscles.
"Sha...suke.." Naruto panted, his breath puffing in short bursts as he buried his forehead into Sasuke's dark shirt. "Y-you shmell s-so...good..."
Sasuke nodded sleepily, his eyes slipping shut as if weighted with lead. "You too." He inhaled once more, deeply until his lungs were full of the intense aroma before roughly pushing the blond onto the ground and pinning his arms to the coarse white carpet and observing that Naruto's cerulean orbs were half-lidded and hazy, the tail still waving wildly and his ears flattened harshly against his skull. The fox struggled nearly wildly in attempts to turn Sasuke over onto his back so that he could do...do what, exactly? He wasn't sure, but if it would release this caged heat inside of him it had to be something he wanted. Sasuke, though, was still quite a bit larger than him so Naruto only succeeded in rocking them into each other and, as their body heat mixed, they felt each other covered with their own, special scent that further intoxicated the brunet. Nervously, heatedly, he lowered himself onto Naruto again and the blond's cloth-clad legs wrapped around his torso almost automatically.
"What did Naruto want...?" Iruka asked, his dark brown eyes following Kakashi's figure as he moved, once more, towards the bed.
"He wanted to know what a mate was, and to talk to me about the ghosts in my house."
"Ghosts...?" Iruka quirked an eyebrow. They had never been bothered by ghosts before as far as he knew.
"Yes," Kakashi answered calmly, a small smile spreading on his face. "Seems they were really very angry with me and decided to voice their concerns by moaning my name." Iruka blushed next to him immediately, finally understanding. He muttered a lame "Oh." and laid back down on the mattress. The phone rang downstairs and Kakashi got up to answer it.
He picked up the phone, holding it close."Yes?"
"Kakashi." a feminine voice spoke on the other line, authority radiating even over the phone.
"What a nice surprise, lady Tsunade. What brings us this precious gift of a call from you?" Kakashi joked, his sarcasm not lost on the woman that was on the other side of the phone.
"Can it Kakashi. I called about Naruto. We just got a more defined analysis of his tests."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, seems the mother had some Fennec in her as well. I don't really know how that can be possible, though. Most purebreds only have one or two breeds in them. And if it's true that your fox is an Uzumaki breed the Fennec could have canceled out that nasty side effect." she paused for a moment and continued in a softer voice. "I'm guessing that someone with a top notch understanding of Hybrids and how to breed them did this...and I have one guess who."
Kakashi was hesitant before trying to ask her, if the silence on the line was any indication. "Orochimaru...?" the other line went completely silent, and Kakashi was sure she had hung up and was about to do so himself until she spoke in a controlled tone that did not belie any hidden emotions.
"Yes." he heard a sigh before she continued. "There is a brighter side though. Unless you don't consider it bright, that is."
"What?" he asked, slightly curious as to what she was hinting at.
"The fox is in heat. It's his first so you should separate Sasuke from him. Naruto's too small for-" Kakashi hung up the phone and rushed back upstairs, not bothering to listen to the rest of her informative speech.
He rushed up the stairs, almost leaping to two steps at a time to make it there faster, when he finally got to Sasuke's floor and rushed into the landing. Bursting into Sasuke's room, he could only heave a sigh at his natural instincts and take in the sight before him in a slightly panicked, slightly defeated way. Kakashi not only saw, but smelled faintly the two animals - one without a shirt and the other panting on top of him, eyes too hazy with lust to probably even understand what he was doing.
Kakashi took a small, cautious step closer and reached his hand out to Sasuke who only hissed in a feral manner at him in return. The brunet, who was on top, glared at him and bucked his hips into Naruto, stuffing the smaller boy under him as he did so. It was surprising how much of the blond was obscured beneath the leopard, only an orange tail and a few blond strands sticking out of the defensively dominant grip. He took another step closer and Sasuke hissed again, louder, far more like the beast he represented and flattened his ears against his skull and his lips curled back onto his sharp canines, causing Kakashi to lift his hands up in self-defense and jump a tiny bit when Sasuke continued to growl as he drew nearer to the pair.
"Sasuke, let me have Naruto." Kakashi's voice was calm, meant to soothe the angry brunet.
"No." the leopard bit out fiercely.
Kakashi sighed tiredly, rubbing his nose as he felt a headache coming on. This was turning out as such a hassle, he might even have to use the tranquilizer gun that hadn't been touched since Sasuke's first day of school-- when a house cat named Sakura had kept harassing the brunet to mate with her and Kakashi had had to resort to using the tranquilizer gun and put Sasuke to sleep before the leopard lost control and dismembered the poor girl. But, in the end, he had only had to use it once and Sakura had known her boundaries after that - not to say any other Hybrid wouldn't have found her attractive, her pink hair and jade green eyes captivated the eye and drew attention to her milky pale skin that glowed with health. Sasuke just didn't like her too much.
Looking over his fingers now, Kakashi saw the figure under Sasuke shift and start to struggle, seemingly impatient with the current arrangements. A moment later the blond head poked out of the brunet's grip and shone a ray of hope directly into Kakashi's dark world. Maybe he could...Nah, it wasn't possible, unless...the man decided to try it, patting his thighs in an attempt to call the small blond to him. Luckily, this hope prevailed and the smaller boy gave a heavy push and managed to slip out of Sasuke's strong grip in a slick move, grinning happily all the while.
The brunet, on the other hand, having been left growled deeply and ferally even though Naruto remained next to him and their shoulders nearly touching. Even with the slight space in between them, Sasuke seemed to calm down noticeably - his ears perked up slightly, his tail wasn't nearly as stiff and his eyes were softer, a slight rosy pink flushing his features. It took him a few moments, but Sasuke came back to himself, blinking, after the blond had moved away even slightly.
The brunet looked around, craning his neck to take in all of his surroundings and sat up, brushing imaginary dirt from his legs. He cleared his throat and looked at Naruto, the flush on his features deepening with the glance. Luckily, Naruto didn't notice and had no idea what had just almost happened and Sasuke was more than slightly thankful for it. He wouldn't begin to be able to live down the embarrassment and self-shame of succumbing to his primal urges, reduced to no more than one of those filthy brainless Hybrids that couldn't speak. Uchiha-fucking-Sasuke (how appropriate, his mind added, causing another bout of cringing) did not have the sudden urge to pound an animal into the nearest floor, bed, wall, shower, sink and any other surface that could possibly stand up to the force of their activities...or wanting to be the receiver of what he had just described, and his mind had just visualized.
His face turned an even brighter shade of red, not to be mistaken for a blush. He just had a fever...he wasn't sure he was feeling well yesterday, after all. Why else would he have wanted a companion?
"Take care of the fox..." he muttered to Kakashi. "And keep it away from me." he added as an after thought. Sasuke sent a last, venomous glare at the animal and in turn received an equally vicious but more than slightly less frightening glance.
"S-stupid cat." Naruto barely stuttered, such was his conviction in these words.
"Damn fox." he retorted and stormed out the door, glaring at Kakashi on his way out - which, indeed, was very hard to take seriously as his face was as red as a tomato and his legs were shaking, knees and arms weak as jelly with every stride he took. Naruto, instead of following the brunet out the door and storming off in a huff, crawled up to Kakashi and gave him a miffed but curious look.
Kakashi chuckled at the expression, eye twinkling in amusement as he immediately knew the thoughts running through the blond's mind."Don't take all the things Sasuke says to heart, Naruto. He usually isn't very open with anyone. Insults are his only means of communication." he gave Naruto a half-smile - well, at least the blond thought it was a smile. It could have been a smirk or a frown, who knows? It's really kind of hard to tell when he has that dark mask on all the time - and then turned on his heel, walking out the door.
Naruto padded over to the bed, nestling into the covers and curling into a ball. He noted that it smelled like the bastard and shifted uncomfortably, the smell nearly overriding his senses. Now, surrounded with the comforting - yet exciting - scent, Naruto took this spare time to sift through his thoughts on his new home so far.
He didn't like Sasuke, that much was sure. His first impression had been wrong - the leopard was an arrogant, conceited bastard that was just very unpleasant to be around. From his smell, though, females probably fawned over him like flies to honey and the brunet was probably the type that everyone would love because he looked half-decent.
More than half decent. his mind argued with him, trying to throw in his face that a second ago he would have bled and died for the so-called 'arrogant jerk'. Now, though, that he was out of the room Naruto had time to actually think this through and came to the conclusion that Sasuke was just like all of those other royally idiotic pure bloods and noblemen, reeking of superiority and intelligence. These qualities came with the label of 'pure' and Naruto had never quite seen it so specially formatted as with Sasuke. The leopard was...he didn't know how to describe it. A pleasing, yet foul blend of regality and condescending superiority that made him shiver with delight.
This feeling brought him to his next point of dislike and one of his problems with the leopard. He disliked Sasuke, yes, but there was another, large part of him that admired and envied him. The brunet was beautiful, his stance and flowing grace absolutely radiating 'sexy' and 'beautiful' all at the same time - Naruto envied him, from the tips of his beautifully dark ears to the end of his rippling, graceful tail. The blond then noticed the tip of his fluffy orange tail twitching, the white hairs interlaced with the fiery orange reflecting the light beautifully, luxuriantly. He quickly stopped the slight movements with his hand.
Why were thoughts of that arrogant bastard making him so anxious? And that scent, oh that scent that made him so excited and out of breath, that got his heart thumping like a racehorse in his chest and a tight heat coiling and simmering in the pit of his stomach that made him break out in a delicious sweat. Damn, it didn't make sense to him that he wanted so much more of it.
He sniffed the air lightly, breaking out of his sea of thoughts when he noticed the smell that he had wanted so much more of was almost gone completely. He purred in delight as he breathed in the last of it, but felt terribly empty when it was all gone. The aroma was still Sasuke's scent, but it was somehow...more desirable than the brunet's own odor, just kind of more...arousing? Naruto couldn't find a word strong or emphatic enough to describe the feeling of airy lightness it gave him. Naruto blinked. Did he really know the leopard's scent that well already? He had only been here for less than a day and he was already picking out which scents were and weren't the brunet's...that wasn't supposed to happen, was it?
Naruto's tail was twitching again, and he clamped a hand down on it to stop the small movements before burying his nose in the blankets. This was going to be a long day.
Lifting himself from the bed, he decided - due to the grumbling in his tummy - that now would be a good time to go get some delicious food. But, there was one problem. Where was the food? In the pet store it was usually a little bit of bread and cheese, and on rare occasions a little meat with a little tin bowl of water. If there was no one to bring him his food now, where would he get it? Or, did he ask someone to get it for him? Did he ask his owner? Sasuke? His owner's mate that Sasuke had mentioned? What was his name...Iruka? Yeah, that was the name that he was looking for. Who out of those people did he go to for food?
The questions paraded through his mind one after another as he thought carefully about what to do. Jogging quickly down the stairs, his empty stomach growled and he looked around the overly large house, wondering why two people and a pet needed so much space to live in, when a place half this size would have been just as comfortable, if not more so. At least having a smaller place would get rid of the lonely, cold feeling that the large house surrounded him with. Humans were so hard to understand sometimes.
A small hand skimmed across the railing, the contrasting colors mesmerizing him on his descent and he glanced at the high ceiling, eyes trailing the dome shape of it and the spotless white paint. So enraptured was he, however, that he didn't notice the body coming up the stairs towards him, chocolate hair bobbing in a high ponytail until it was too late. They bumped together with a thud and Naruto fell on his butt with a small 'oof', much as Sasuke had in the morning.
"Oh! Hey there... Um..." Naruto noted the pause - it seemed that the brunet was casting around desperately for his name and his expression told of when he finally seized it. "Yes!" He whooped, unaware of a curious glance from the blond. "Naruto's your name, right!?" the blond nodded at the strange man. "Uh...Are you..." The fox's stomach growled, causing Iruka to chuckle. "...Hungry?" the blonde nodded energetically and the brunet smiled. "Well then, whaddaya want?"
The fox thought for a moment. Again, Iruka chuckled lightly.
"Then how about some ramen?" The fox tilted his blond head in a slightly curious gesture, not knowing what Iruka meant by 'ramen'. "I'm sure you'll like it."
"'Kay, Eryuka."
"Still learning, huh?" the fox pouted, put out that the man could so easily tell that he wasn't used to speaking the language. "Don't worry I'm sure you'll do just fine. Do your best!" he reached down and patted the blonde on the head, ruffling his fur and scratching behind his ears gently. "Let's get you some ramen!"
Naruto grinned widely and nodded exuberantly.
SasuNaru lovers: O.O... XD!!
NaruSasu lovers: ...T.T
Ahahahahaha...don't worry! There will be plenty of both..! After Naru grows a little. I actually find it kind of funny that the smaller one will be smexing the hell outta the bigger kitty in a lil bit...
So...SasuNaru peoples enjoy! NaruSasu peoples...ah, patience is a virtue...? -gets mauled by fans-
PS: I think I have a name for things like this too...Ya know, those little moments where they aren't quite lemons but not limes either? It will be called... A kiwi.
Remember to send me and HC your love! X3 X.x