A/N: I just finished a ridiculously long chapter! Dag! But, the good news is that I can give you - my adoring readers - a timely update! YAY! Thanks for all your patients and I would like to remind you that feedback quite encouraging. I want to know what you guys think of this fic, it really helps me to fine tune the details and create a better story. After all, this is about literary quality... not hot steamy sex... right?

Warnings: Probably not SFW but nothing to gush about.

Disclaimer: God I wish I owned Naruto...

Beta'd by: Yaoiforever21


Naruto stabbed at his stir fry, impaling a piece of chicken with his fork. Sasuke wasn't sure what he was pouting about, but he seemed pissy ever since they had finished unpacking. Despite this obvious tantrum, Sai continued to eat his dinner unperturbed.

"I think one of your boys went through my stuff," Naruto finally said, directing a glare at the man across the table from him.

Sai did not bother to make eye contact; he selected a baby corn and commented before placing it in his mouth, "Of course they did." He chewed, swallowed and looked up, "We had to ensure no contraband entered the house. If there is something missing I will make sure it is replaced so long as it is appropriate."

Naruto sneered, "Well then I wish to file a grievance."

Sai finished chewing his pod of snow peas, "What's missing?"

Naruto pursed his lips momentarily, his blue eyes flitting over to Sasuke briefly. He lifted his chin, "A box of condoms."

Sai stalled mid chew, then resumed until he swallowed. He spoke with little inflection, "No."

"What do you mean 'no'?" Naruto replied, his mouth full of bok choy.

"I will not be replacing your prophylactics," Sai responded dryly, picking up a carrot. He looked up and pointed the vegetable at the blond, "You have no need for them."

Naruto gaped indignantly, "Excuse me?"

"For the time being, you are not allowed to bring anybody to this house and you are not allowed to go out with the exception of your classes. You will not be fraternizing with anybody... so you have no use for condoms." Sai explained before taking a sip of water.

Naruto seethed, unsure what pissed him off more – the man's attitude or the implication that he may not get laid. His eyes moved once more to Sasuke and his frown deepened at seeing the pale man's smirk. He mumbled curses under his breath and jabbed once more at his dinner.


"I don't know why you think my getting cock blocked is funny," Naruto said as he dried the dish Sasuke handed him. Sai had retired to his room for the night, leaving them to clean up. "It affects you too."

Sasuke shrugged, "It's a momentary set back. I'm sure Sai didn't intend to leave a loophole, but he most certainly did." Naruto peered over curiously as he was handed a glass. Sasuke continued, "He said we weren't allowed to bring people over or go out – he didn't say we weren't allowed to have sex."

Naruto paused, dish towel running along the inside surface of the glass. Sai had assumed Naruto wanted his condoms for use with some coed... not with the man one seat over. Naruto chewed his lip, not quite sure how he felt about that. He could only have sex with Sasuke; nobody else. What if he didn't enjoy fucking a man? What if it wasn't everything he had built it up to be? He'd be stuck, day in and day out with Sasuke. What if things got weird?

He shook his head, don't be such a fucking woman.

Sasuke handed him the last dish and turned, leaning against the counter. Naruto replaced the plate neatly and shut the cupboard. He turned and stopped. He was ensnared by the dark gaze upon him. His heartbeat immediately began to pick up and he could feel his skin heating under the intensity. Jesus. Sasuke wanted him and was making no effort to hide it. His desire radiated from him and washed Naruto in its demand.

Naruto was suddenly so nervous. This didn't feel like it was about a debt or a deal, this felt... different. He didn't know what it was, but he could sense it deep within him, he could feel it twisting in his gut; something real, something raw, something terrifying.

Sasuke moved toward him, slid with effortless grace, until their bodies were flush together. They were nearly eye to eye and Naruto's nostrils flared as his gaze dipped down to Sasuke's pale pink lips. He was suddenly quite sure this was no longer about their arrangement. Sasuke didn't just want to be repaid, he wanted to be close. He didn't just want to fuck, he wanted to...

Naruto clenched his eyes shut and pushed himself away. The thickness of the air was unbearable. This wasn't what he had been expecting. He didn't know if it was bad... just that it was more than he could fathom at the moment.

Sasuke turned with questioning eyes. Isn't this what we've been dancing around for so long? For at least six months now, Sasuke was sure that Naruto wanted to fuck him. He was certain that the last couple of years had been leading precisely to where they were now... more or less. Sasuke had refrained for fear that maybe he was misreading the signals. But the other day on his bed... Naruto was kissing him so hungrily. He had asked about payment, but his tone had clearly been a demand. Sasuke's lips thinned as he contemplated the blond. Perhaps that was the problem – he needed the excuse, required the deal in order to accept the action. Sasuke didn't suppose Naruto did much rationalizing, but that thought process made sense. For his own part, Sasuke didn't know when it had stopped being about the deal, he hadn't even considered the idea that this was anything more until quite recently.

"I'm gonna head to bed," Sasuke said dismissively as he walked past the blond, "school is going to be a bitch tomorrow."

"Yeah," Naruto agreed. Their weekend had been trying and school was the last thing he wanted to think about at the moment.

They moved up the stairs silently, padded down the hall and stopped at their respective rooms. Sasuke threw a glance over his shoulder and said goodnight, Naruto hesitated and grinned nervously before responding in kind. Alone in their rooms, they both flopped down on their beds – Naruto face down as to muffle his aggravated groan and Sasuke face up to examine the ceiling as he marinated in his own thoughts.


Monday morning, Sasuke wiped his hand down his face as he stared into the mirror, the start to a new routine of classes and house arrest. He dragged himself down the stairs and into the kitchen where he found Naruto already sitting at the breakfast bar with a plate of eggs and some sort of home fries. His eyebrow twitched in approval as a similar plate was placed on the counter next to him. The pale man sat down and mumbled his thanks. Sai took his plate and leaned against the far wall, watching his charges eat.

Breakfast was eaten in a tense silence. Sai cleared the empty plates and dumped them in the sink to be attended to later. He waited, rather impatiently, at the bottom of the stairs as Sasuke and Naruto grabbed their things.

When they entered the garage, Sasuke was not pleased – nor surprised – to find his car was not there. No doubt it too was in storage, he didn't even bother to ask about it.

"Get in," Sai motioned to the black sedan that occupied the majority of the space.

Sasuke eyed the Crown Victoria; it was so cliché he had to snort. He caught a flash of blue in his periphery and moved his gaze from the car to a sleek crotch rocket – no doubt the origin of the thunderous rumbling that preceded Sai's entrance the night before. Naruto noticed Sasuke had stalled and followed his line of sight until he too was admiring the bike.

"Oooh..." Naruto called giddily and left the sedan to creep towards the bike, "Nice Hayabusa."

Sai turned to the blond and stiffened, "Yes it is," he spoke sternly through a clenched jaw as Naruto reached out towards the bike, "and if you touch it I will snap off your arm and shove it up your ass."

Naruto paused, retracted his hand and turned to Sai who stood with an alarmingly cool smile tugging at his lips. Creepy. Naruto made his way to the back driver's side of the sedan. Sasuke slid into the back passenger side and tossed a glance over to the blond.

"What do you know about motorcycles?" Sasuke questioned as Naruto shut his door.

The blond turned to him with a shrug, "I know things... about stuff."

Sasuke rolled his eyes.


The drive back from campus, like the drive to the school, was done in silence. Sasuke stared impassively out the window, wading in his thoughts – not really full introspection, more a dabbling. He perked up when he noticed they were no longer on the route back to the town house.

"Where are we going?" He inquired, leaning forward in his seat.

Sai flicked his eyes back briefly before refocusing on the street, "Clinic."

Clinic? Sasuke's brows furrowed in confusion. A few minutes later, answers were coming to light. They were visiting with an ANBU physician for a general checkup and blood work. All standard procedure they had been told. The visit was brief and thankfully unobtrusive.

Having finally arrived back at the townhouse, Sai escorted his charges inside but did not follow them up the stairs. Naruto and Sasuke both paused in their ascent and turned back to their handler. He stared blankly for a moment.

"I will be gone for a while," he paused as he turned to exit and leveled a warning glare on each of them.

The door was shut, locked and an audible beep told them the alarm had been set. They turned in unison and continued up the stairs.


Sasuke hadn't had much opportunity to acquaint himself with this new computer and thus took his time today. He had examined the hardware with much scrutiny and now was exploring the depths of the software. He was practically giddy with excitement.

His fingers flew over the keys as he inspected the registries, a placated smile adorning his lips. His attention was abruptly pulled away from his activities when he heard curses in the next room.

"Son of a bitch!" Naruto shouted vehemently.

Sasuke leapt from his chair, rushed through his door and flew through Naruto's. He found the blond sitting at his own computer, broad shoulders hunched as he seethed.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked with concern as he moved across the room.

Naruto didn't bother to turn around, "Mother fuckers..." He was clicking despondently, blindly. "They deleted everything."

Sasuke arrived at Naruto's back and peered over the flaxen head to the monitor, "Deleted what?"

"All my torrent software, my music and movies..." Naruto sighed, "My porn."

Sasuke straightened, attempting to hide his amusement at Naruto's loss. It was at that moment that he took in his surroundings. Naruto was sitting at his desk in nothing but his boxers. Sasuke did a quick search before his eyes settled on a tiny bottle of lube nestled behind the computer tower and box of tissues next to the monitor. He could no longer suppress his chuckle.

Naruto turned and shot the raven-haired man a glare, "Fuck you."

Sasuke brought his hand to his mouth to hide his smirk as he quelled his laughter. His obsidian eyes blinked rapidly a few times until he had regained his composure. Sasuke leaned down, putting one hand on Naruto's chair and resting the other on the desk, trapping the blond.

"If you are looking to get off..." He leveled a dangerously sinful gaze on Naruto.

Naruto gulped; his azure eyes wide and clearly conflicted. This was definitely no deal... this was an offer. He had no doubt that if it was a woman propositioning him he wouldn't be so hesitant. But this was Sasuke... and this wasn't about their deal.

His heart was racing as Sasuke began to close in, dark eyes becoming lost behind drooping lids. He could feel the heat rolling off of Sasuke in waves, threatening to drown him. His breath caught in his chest in sharp and unproductive inhalations.

"Naruto!" A voice called up from the stairs.

It was Sai's voice; Sai's beautiful, irritated voice. Naruto jumped up and nearly bowled Sasuke over as he scrambled to his clothes. He rushed down without a backward glance as he threw on the garments.

"What?" Naruto shouted as he flew down the stairs.

Sai nodded toward the door, "Taking you to field practice. Time to see what you can do."

Naruto's eyes widened excitedly, "Do I get a gun?"

Sai huffed as the blond trotted past him and down the second flight of stairs. He turned to see Sasuke standing at the top of the stairs, "Kakashi will be by later with a task for you."

Another few seconds and they were gone. Sasuke continued to stand at the top of the stairs, a little dumbfounded. Naruto couldn't have been happier to get away from him. He frowned and retreated to his room.


It was less than an hour before Kakashi came rapping on Sasuke's door frame. The pale man jumped in his seat, clearly startled. Kakashi didn't wait for an invitation to enter. He sauntered in and admired the room. It seemed to suit Sasuke well; his people had done a decent job.

"We have put together a little test to assess your skills," Kakashi said as he placed his hands in his pockets. Sasuke did not respond, he simply leaned back in his chair and watched the silver-haired man. "There are instructions on this thumb drive," Kakashi extracted a small black device from his pocket and held it out; "I had a member of my own tech team encrypt this... good luck."

Sasuke plucked the drive from Kakashi's fingers, tucking it into his palm. He stared blankly at the man for a few seconds before finally losing his nerve and turning back to his computer. Kakashi stood in silence for another moment before he turned to exit.

He paused in the doorway, a nagging insistence to reassure tugged at his conscience. He sighed, "I know this isn't easy." Kakashi looked over his shoulder at the pale man, "If you do well and don't resist... it doesn't have to be a bad deal."

Kakashi sighed again as dead eyes stared back. He wished Sasuke could understand what a good deal he had gotten. The fact that he even received interrogation had been a blessing in disguise. Higher authorities had simply ordered the Uchiha killed, Kakashi had to convince them to find out more information before snuffing out the kid. In the end, it was the potential of an Uchiha on their side that allowed Sasuke to live... as long as he remained cooperative.

The silver-haired man left as silently as he came. Sasuke flipped the thumb drive over and over in his hand as if in a trance. Too many thoughts, too many concerns, flooded his mind – each one demanding attention. He needed a moment to escape this bombardment and stabilize himself; to regain perspective after so much in his life had been turned upside down.

He slid the thumb drive into the port at the front of his computer, hacking always helped to clear his mind.


Naruto trotted down the hall, excited to tell Sasuke about his first day of training - he was going to be learning close range combat and hand guns to start. Sai followed as far as his room before shutting himself inside. Naruto briefly questioned whether their handler would remain a recluse forever. Coming to Sasuke's door, Naruto paused.

"Yeah... talk to you later," Sasuke stood with his back to the door and pulled the phone from his ear.

Naruto knocked lightly and Sasuke spun around, he immediately relaxed.

"Hey," Sasuke slid his phone back into his pocket, "so how did it go?"

"Good," Naruto put aside his excitement in favor of curiosity, "who were you talking to?"

Sasuke shrugged one shoulder, "Just informing my uncle of my new address."

Naruto raised a questioning brow, "You that close with extended family?"

The pale man sniffed, "He's my only family."

"Oh..."

Normally Sasuke would leave it at that... hell he probably wouldn't have even mentioned that much. But he felt a sort of kindred understanding after learning about Naruto's history. The blond deserved to know... something about him.

"My parents died when I was eight..." Sasuke was still guarded as he spoke, "so did my brother."

Naruto's lips twitched nervously as he searched for a response, "Well it must have been nice to have close family to take you in."

Midnight eyes glazed slightly, pushing back any emotion that might be displayed with the painful memories. His gaze focused on the floor as he spoke, "Madara and I were never close. He took me in out of obligation, but kept a distance."

"Oh," Naruto mumbled, he cocked his head slightly, "so why the update? If you aren't close, why tell him that you moved."

Sasuke's eyes regained some depth and he returned his gaze to meet the blond's properly, "He is the trustee of my inheritance until I turn 25. He supplies me with an allowance every semester and checks in quarterly to make sure I am doing alright."

Naruto hummed and looked down briefly, his eyes examined the texture of the carpet for a moment before coming up again. "Can I ask you something?" Naruto's expression was an odd combination of curiosity and guilt.

Sasuke studied this face before responding. "If I can ask you something in return."

Azure eyes brightened some, and then returned to a somber hue, "What happened to your folks?"

There was a protracted pause as Sasuke licked his lips and looked away. His eyes closed in a near meditative way before opening again with an unreadable darkness. "My parents died in a car accident," his words were precise, "my brother was grief stricken and killed himself about six months later."

Naruto did not respond; he only nodded. Sasuke appreciated the silence, there wasn't much that left the blond speechless and it meant something that he had enough respect to stay quiet.

Sasuke cleared his throat, anxious to leave this subject matter behind. "So... my question."

Naruto blinked, "Shoot."

"Why have you been rejecting my advances?" Sasuke tilted his head.

"What?" Naruto asked, caught off guard by the change in topic.

"Since we have been in this house you seem... unsure." Sasuke shifted his weight to one hip and crossed his arms loosely in front of his chest. "You've always been open... even eager. But now..." Sasuke took a step forward and Naruto took an instinctive step back, "You see? What is going on?"

Naruto's brow was knotted tightly with concern and confusion. He gaped, mouth moving to form words but failing to emit a sound. Finally he managed a weak, "I don't..." then a more confident, "I don't know what you are talking about."

A dark brow arched, Sasuke's lips quirked into a sardonic smirk, "Yeah you do."

Sasuke took another step and then another. Soon Naruto had retreated from Sasuke's room and across the hall. Another step back and they had officially moved into Naruto's room. The blond finally halted his retreat. He stood his ground firmly, "Look, if this is about the IOU–"

"It isn't."

I knew it. Naruto continued with a defiant tone, "Then I don't know what you want from me."

Sasuke looked perplexed for a moment. He blinked that back, "I want you."

The words hit Naruto like a sledgehammer. He didn't know what to say, words seemed to fail him completely. Raw emotions surged through him unchecked, each one offering little in the way of insight and each seeming to confuse him more. Excitement... anxiety... anger. He decided to focus on that, it seemed the least complicated. He allowed the anger to swell in his chest and settle in his thoughts – justifying his fear. Sasuke tricked me. He manipulated me.

"Well I don't know what to tell you," Naruto spat.

Sasuke could feel the hostility rising in the blond. He could see the tumultuous emotions that seeped from cobalt eyes and tried to be reassuring. "Just tell me how you feel," Sasuke reached out, pale fingers extending to Naruto's cheek.

The blond recoiled. His voice broke free from him without restraint, "I'm not a fucking fag!"

Sasuke immediately pulled his hand back. Shocked onyx eyes perceived the blond keenly. Naruto could say what he would; Sasuke could see the fear and doubt plainly written on his face.

"I didn't realize you were such a staunch advocate of the 'it's-not-gay-as-long-as-balls-don't-touch' theory," Sasuke scoffed. He rolled his eyes and released an exaggerated sighed, "What the fuck ever." He turned on the blond, paused at the doorway and threw a teasing glance over his shoulder, "Come get me when you stop lying to yourself."

Sasuke left the room with an exaggerated sway to his hips, a rather effeminate display he would have to admit, but one that served its purpose. Naruto's wild azure eyes couldn't help but follow the denim clad ass as Sasuke returned to his own room; he flinched when the door was slammed. With what anger he still possessed, Naruto stormed to his own door and slammed it in response.