Sasuke loomed above him, black eyes penetrating Lee as surely as his body was penetrating his. He could feel Sasuke deep inside of him, like another part of himself coming home, and Lee could feel his heart fluttering madly in his throat, and he could hear his own gasping cries and grunts.
Sasuke was speaking to him in his Western language, every smooth lilt and croon dragging over Lee's sensitive skin like nails. His language had always been arousing, like audible nectar that flowed through Lee. Except, this time, Lee could understand him.
"So tight," Sasuke was saying, droplets of sweat dotting his handsome features, his broad shoulders and beautiful face blocking out the rest of the world. "You feel so good around me."
Lee looked down between them. His belly was a slight slope between him and Sasuke's hard torso.
There was a life in there, he knew. It was the life he and Sasuke had created. Love for his mate and child swamped his entire being and, when he looked back up into Sasuke's face, his emotions were reflected in the man's black eyes.
"I love you," Sasuke whispered, and the kiss he bestowed upon Lee was full of nothing but love and need.
"You must be having a very good dream," husked a voice into his ear.
Lee's eyes snapped open. Sasuke was not looming above him, but was lying beside him, an arm lazily over Lee's midsection. He smirked as Lee flushed crimson red, very much aware of the erection he was sporting. Sasuke rocked his hips against Lee's thigh.
Sasuke was having the same problem as Lee, he realized bemusedly. And he seemed to expect Lee to do something about it, if the wicked gleam in his eyes was anything to go by.
"When did you get under the blankets with me?" he asked dully, his mind and body not quite connecting after such a shocking awakening. Beneath the covers, his hand sought out his belly.
It was flat and hard. There was no swell, no growing life, and Lee felt no relief when he realized this.
All he felt was empty.
It must be because of his imou-saeng's recent news, he mused. She had been glowing as she had told him of the baby she and Naruto were expecting. She was twelve weeks along now, and her baby bump was large enough that she could cup it in one hand.
"You dragged me under the covers," Sasuke answered haughtily.
"I did not!"
"But you did. I don't think you know just how active you are in your sleep."
"You're lying."
"Mi akouple," Sasuke crooned, reminding Lee vividly of how he had felt about Sasuke speaking the Western language in his dream, "you're the reason for why I'm like this. Or don't you remember rubbing up against me?" He nipped Lee's shoulder. "You made me hungry. You and those sounds you were making. Was I touching you in your dream?"
Lee growled. "No. Another man was."
Lee had seen Sasuke move quickly before. He had seen him be a flash of movement before, as quick as lightning.
But he had never seen him be this quick before, and his strength really was great as he held Lee's wrists above his head, straddling his waist and glaring down at him with such possessive fury that Lee burned from the mere contact of his eyes.
"Another man better not have. You're mine. You're not allowed to dream about other men, you're only allowed to fantasize about me, you're only allowed to want me."
"Gaia, Sasuke, are you listening to yourself?" Lee yelped. "You sound like a child!"
Sasuke cocked his head to the side. "Do I?"
"Yes!" he hissed. "Like a baby that isn't getting what he wants."
"Oh? Then, if I'm a baby, I better start acting the part, right?" Sasuke's head dipped and, for a second, Lee thought he was going to kiss him.
But then his mouth landed on Lee's chest, and he cried out in surprise and pleasure as Sasuke's skilled tongue toyed with one of his nipples before dragging it into Sasuke's mouth. He suckled it, as if he really was a babe at his mother's teat.
Lee felt the fight leaving him. Did he really want to fight? Did he? A part of him did. A part of him that could see blood and fire and ships and metal doors and cages. But even a larger part of him wanted him to let go.
Maybe his willingness was because of four months of Sasuke constantly pressuring him.
Maybe he really wanted Sasuke.
Maybe he just wanted his dream to come true.
The last maybe made him at least try to want to struggle. What were the chances that Sasuke would ever love him? Lee had been told from the very beginning that he would be the man's plaything, that he would be cast aside once Sasuke was done with him, that Sasuke would break him.
He didn't want that.
Sasuke released his nipple and went to the next, making little sucking noises as he pulled and tugged, as if he honestly expected Lee to start producing breast milk.
Even though Lee could, as a male carrier, do that, he would have to be pregnant first. And he refused, would not bear the thought of it, to have Sasuke's child.
He had no assurance that Sasuke would care for their child as much as he would.
Sasuke pulled away with a mock pout. "Maman, I'm thirsty. Why won't you give me your essence?" He smirked. "I know!"
Sasuke kissed a trail down his chest, down his belly, nudging blankets aside so that he could nibble on Lee's prominent hipbone.
Lee didn't know what Sasuke was after till his mouth was poised over Lee's half-hard erection. His heart stopped. "Don't," he whispered, just as Sasuke went to lower his head. "I was dreaming about you," he admitted shamefully.
"Why don't I make your dream come true, then?" Sasuke crooned.
"You can't." Lee forced back tears. "You couldn't if you tried."
"Have more faith in me." Sasuke only then looked up. All amusement and heat was swept away as he took in Lee's heartbroken expression.
"In my dream, you loved me."
~""~
Naruto had gifted his imou-saeng with a pectoral circle the day they had learned of her pregnancy. It was silver, secured with a chain made of diamond dust. It would never break, it would never come undone, it would always remain perfect.
Like their love, really. Every time Naruto looked at her, it was as if he had found the sun after years in darkness. His eyes lit up and his smile would stretch from ear to ear. He always had to be touching her, holding her hand, brushing her hair behind her ear, putting his hand on her lower back, rubbing her baby bump.
Now that she had told him that he didn't need to ask for permission to touch her anymore, he was taking full advantage of it. He would lean over and kiss her randomly, her forehead, her cheek, the tip of her nose, her lips. He would nibble on her jaw, her ear, or just rest his head on her shoulder. He would wrap his arm around her waist, pull her tight to his side, and hold on as if the wind would snag her and take her away if he dared let go.
He treasured her. She was like the last of a precious stone, the last drop of pure water in the world, and she was his.
As if it was not already apparent just how much he adored her, he had bonded with her. In his right ear was a bar earring, a word of the Eastern Language inscribed in it – Our.
In his imou-saeng's left ear was the matching bar earring, except, written in the Western Language, was stamped – love.
It made a complete set.
Lee walked a few steps behind them at the market. Lately, Sasuke had been pushing him on the bonded couple a lot. He went out of his way to spend as little time with Lee as possible, even sleeping on the opposite edge of the nest. The night before, when Lee had been daring enough to scoot closer to him, missing his warmth and the weight of his arm around him, something he had never thought he would miss, Sasuke had merely gotten out of the nest and left.
Lee had been exhausted for days now. He had gotten so used to Sasuke being right beside him as he slept that he had been caught in fretful, uneasy rest ever since Sasuke had moved away.
He would even admit to being slightly depressed. Sasuke wouldn't fight with him anymore. There were no more glaring contests, no more random kisses, no punishing nips and no dirty, whispered words. There were no more baths together, so they couldn't have water wars and Lee couldn't race him anymore. If Lee wasn't with Naruto, then Lee was stuck, alone, in Sasuke's private quarters, staring at a curtain of ever-flowing water to pass the time.
"Onii-saeng?"
Lee jerked out of his debilitating thoughts, just realizing that his imou-saeng had stopped moving and the couple was looking back at him with unmasked concern.
"Are you alright?" his imou-saeng asked.
Lee couldn't bring himself to lie to her, but he didn't want to talk about it either. So he just shook his head and tried to redirect the conversation. "Naruto, why do you have to fight for a mate?"
It had been a question on his mind for awhile now. At first, he had just assumed that the Westerners only fought for slaves. Then he had overheard a conversation where a man had growled that he had lost his intended in the Ring and that he should have kept their relationship a secret.
His imou-saeng looked at Naruto curiously, apparently wondering the same thing.
Naruto rubbed the back of his head, looking dumfounded that he would ask such a question. "Well, you have to be strong enough for a mate, y'know? If you can't prove that you can fight for your mate and win, why have a mate?"
"Because of love," Lee answered with a slight bitter edge. "Love shouldn't just be for the strong."
Naruto seemed confused by his attitude. "How di-do people choose mates in your country?" he asked.
His imou-saeng answered softly, "If you liked someone, you would court them. If it evolved into love, you would bond."
"Oh, like we did?"
She smiled and nodded. "Like we did." And the sun hit between them at just the right angle to make both of their earrings glitter, as if the universe smiled down upon their coupling.
He leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. "Temwe amen," he whispered.
"Temwe amen," she crooned back, blushing.
Lee had been around them enough to know what that meant – temwe amen, Western for I love you.
Lee looked away, suddenly in pain and not entirely sure why.
"Hey, look, tablet cocoye!" Naruto pulled his bonded towards a vendor stand and Lee followed behind them.
He wasn't hungry, but he accepted one of the coconut treats when Naruto handed it to him, not wanting to seem rude. The treat settled hard and lumpy in his stomach, though he knew it must taste delicious if Naruto and his imou-saeng's expressions were anything to go by.
He wondered if Sasuke liked tablet cocoye.
And then he knew. It hit him incredibly hard, nearly unsettling the devoured tablet cocoye.
He was in love with Sasuke!
Across the market, a familiar blonde woman looked up and saw Lee. She smirked coyly. "Well, well, it looks like Sasuke's plaything is still breathing." She spoke in her native language.
A man looked up from his work, a decapitated doll that he had been commissioned to repair. "What are you talking about, Temari?"
She cocked her head in Lee's direction. "Sasuke won that little foreigner awhile ago. He looks a little worse for wear, but…"
The man grunted in acknowledgement. "I see what you mean. Sasuke's past toys take months before they can walk straight again. Didn't the last one have a permanent limp?"
The blonde crossed her long legs, squeezing her thighs together against her womanhood's pulsing. "Sasuke, that dog."
She wouldn't mind having the man kill for her, even if he was younger than her. It had been awhile since the last time she had been fucked real good. Her late mate had left her, though, and for another man at that, and it was hard for her to find a mate strong and virile enough to fulfill her needs. She always requested to go into the Ring with her contenders. If they couldn't defeat her, they most certainly weren't allowed to fuck her.
But she knew Sasuke could beat her. He could hold her down and take her right there in the Ring. Even in his beast form. The very thought of it made her push her thighs closer together. Maybe she should approach Sasuke and ask him to be her mate.
His new plaything must have been boring, to be left in such a decent state.
The man took in her stance and grimaced. "Temari, get out of here if you're going to get dirty thoughts! I have customers that come here, you know."
"You can always close shop for a day."
She managed to look away from the little foreigner, thought it was slightly harder to stop thinking humorously of how the man must have failed miserably in bed. Looking to the side, all thoughts of Sasuke and lust and fucking and little foreigners dissipated.
She sat up straight and nudged the man she was with.
He swore as his fine tools scraped the doll's wooden torso, creating a scar. "What the fuck was that f-"
A broad, yet short man was making his way towards them. His features were hidden by a hooded cowl, though, like most of the men in the West, he forewent any sort of shirt. Burgundy slacks hugged his legs.
He stopped in front the man's shop and lifted his head. Pale blue-green eyes pierced them both. "How is business today, big brother?" he asked softly in a deep, husky voice. Tufts of thick, scarlet hair escaped the hood.
The man slowly stood up, as if faced with a monster that he did not want to alert to his fear. "Good. Business is good. What are you doing here, Gaara? Not that you're unwelcomed, but…"
"You've never been one for crowds, little brother," the woman saved gallantly. "The market is crowded today."
He cocked his head towards her. "I felt like taking a walk."
He followed the line of sight she had had as they both ducked their heads in fear of him. He focused on the little foreigner.
For the first time in a long time, she felt pity for another human being. Gaara only ever stared at things that interested him, or when he was deep in thought.
She studied the little foreigner in a whole new light. He wore orange pyjama pants and a green rebozo top. His bare arms were thin and his bottom was round and firm, shown every time he took a step and the pants pressed against his backside. He had a lithe form, she realized, with a slim waist. He had a roundish face with huge dark eyes set into it, a small button nose, and a pouty mouth. Glossy black bangs curled outwards against his features, and a long rope of a braid swept down his back to toss lightly at the beginning of his ass.
He was taller than Gaara, but lacked masculine mass. Then again, he was a male carrier. They always tended to look a little more feminine.
Gaara glanced at her. "I want him," he told her, almost demanded of her as if she was supposed to purchase the little foreigner for him. "Does he have a mate?"
She nodded slowly. "He belongs to Sasuke of the Uchiha Clan, descendent of the –" she wisely shut up as he cut a glare at her that was so sharp, it could have sliced clean through a diamond. "Of course, you already know who Sasuke is." She gathered herself as he turned thoughtfully to the little foreigner. "I don't think you want him – not that I'm telling you what you do or don't want – but we all know how Sasuke leaves his mates. This one looks almost untouched. Could you imagine how boring he must be, if even Sasuke couldn't find a good use for him in bed?"
"Untouched…" Gaara sounded quite taken with the idea.
She gulped and looked pleadingly towards the man, her younger brother. He cleared his throat. "What happened to your last mate, Gaara?"
"She died." He lifted a hand and held it in the air, a gesture for them to be silent. "I want him," he said again. "Big sister, tell Sasuke that I will fight him for his mate."
"Are you sure he's worth fighting Sasuke over?" she nearly pleaded. "I'm sure you could find something a little more… Yes. I'll go tell Sasuke that you will fight him for his mate."
It was a sad tragedy, when a big sister was properly and thoroughly cowed just by one glare from her youngest sibling.
Then again, her youngest sibling was a monster.
~""~
Translations:
"Mi akouple," – "My mate," – Language of the West
Maman – mom/mommy – Language of the West
"Temwe amen," – "I love you," – Language of the West
Pectoral Circle – a necklace where the pendent rests low on the chest; the circle is a symbol for the earth, infinity, unity, wholeness, everything, cycles, and other things.
Bonding Ritual – Eastern Customs – a private ceremony of just the party involved, usually two people or three upon rare occasion. The party is to speak their vows to each other in private, as vows are sacred and can not be overheard, and then exchange or create something to manifest and/or symbolize their bond(s). To break a bond, the manifestation of the bond must be destroyed.
