Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its characters and/or ideas. All rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
Chapter 7: To Even the Odds
O-0-O-0-O
"Edgar Allan Poe was the author of the poem A Dream within a Dream, right?" Naruto peered over at his boyfriend questioningly, weaving his body on his disorganized bed into a more comfortable position on his stomach as he speedily wrote in his school's notebook.
Sasuke was sitting upward to the side of him, his right hand occupied with an opened book while his left hand inattentively stroked the younger teen's clothed back in a graceful sweeping-like motion.
It was a typical Friday evening, and most of the students had already left the campus to return to their lavish homes. Sasuke and Naruto had no such desires; and because Sasuke had a game the next day, he and the other were content with just spending their time alone together in Naruto's dorm room.
Without removing his eyes from the novel's words, the dark haired teen said in response, "You've asked me this before, and the answer's still the same: yes, you moron."
"You don't have to be an ass about it," Naruto grumbled, cursing the other a few times before writing something down. Sasuke smirked to himself in triumph.
Neither boy uttered a word for the next forty-five minutes that followed. Except for the occasional humming from Naruto, the room was encased in companionable quiet. Sasuke savored the peaceful setting, knowing that his blond rarely indulged in such an act of tranquility. The ray of sunlight peeping from the window had a reddish tint to it and the color enveloping throughout the area was quite stunning. The glimmer of the crimson light added to the calm mood.
"Done!" Naruto suddenly declared in victory, breaking the valued silence and throwing his pencil to the floor with a huge grin on his face. "So, bastard, do I get a reward?"
The Uchiha kept his eyes trained on the book. "What for?" He asked, seemingly bored. "As a student, you're supposed to do your work."
"Just shut up and kiss me."
Closing his book with a quick 'snap' and eying Naruto slyly, Sasuke pushed the novel aside and lowered himself to capture the other boy's lips with his own. The slow kiss morphed into a twist of heated tongues and swapped saliva. The golden teen moaned a heartbeat later as Sasuke flipped him over and placed his legs on both sides of Naruto's hips to straddle him. The two remained with their mouths connected, noisily smacking their lips against each other as they explored the internal wetness.
Severing the kiss but keeping his lips close to the other's, Sasuke whispered with a gasp, "Can I...may I touch you?"
Naruto bit down on his bottom lip, wriggling to the side in all his discomfiture. Sasuke could see that the other teen was contemplating his query. Please, say you agree, the black headed male silently pleaded in his mind. The blond briefly closed his eyes before gazing back up with resolve, saying the one decree that had Sasuke shivering in anticipation.
"Okay."
That was all the permission Sasuke needed. With delicate fingers, the older boy capably undid the white buttoned shirt Naruto was wearing and slid the article of clothing off of his torso to run his hands all over the expanse of copper abs. Sasuke touched, caressed, and tickled every available inch of skin to his satisfaction. Naruto's pleased sounds were a big turn on for him; the blue eyed boy was like a feline purring in approval.
Sasuke was so enraptured with the younger male's mumbles that he almost didn't feel and notice Naruto cupping his clad erection. He gave a startled groan at the sensation, using one of his own hands to cover Naruto's and help him with his curious fondling.
To reciprocate these intense feelings, Sasuke bent his head down and engulfed one of Naruto's raised nipples into his mouth, periodically sucking and biting the nub. Naruto fluttered his eyes and hissed through his clenched teeth from the dark haired teen's ministrations.
After giving the other nipple the same treatment, Sasuke brought his head back to Naruto's face and kissed him fervently once again. The authority of Sasuke's wet muscle probing into his mouth brought an electrifying buzz to the blue eyed boy's whole being. Naruto had continued his jerking action with Sasuke's penis through his blocked attire. The older teen knew he was bound to release soon, but he wanted to come simultaneously with his blond haired boyfriend.
Halting Naruto's moving hand from his groin, Sasuke guided the tanned appendage to the waistband of his slacks. Naruto released his lips and appeared confused for only a moment before understanding the other's request and unzipped his pants. Sasuke did the same with Naruto's uniformed slacks and together they took out their throbbing cocks from beneath their boxers.
Aligning his body on top of the other boy's, Sasuke slowly began rocking their clasped arousals back and forth, causing the couple to moan in unison. Naruto slipped his arms to circle the pale neck of the Uchiha and wrapped his long legs around the older male's waist as the two resumed. The friction of the rising sweat, slicked skin brought a weak cry from the whiskered teen's mouth. Sasuke growled at the sound and sped up his thrusts. Naruto whimpered and shut his eyes as Sasuke led them both toward the haven of pure ecstasy.
With a few more quickened movements, the pair of lovers were shoved over the edge into oblivion. Sasuke, with his eyes shut, threw his head back and opened his mouth in a silent scream while Naruto's eyes widened and he tightened his hold on the dark haired teen with a grunt. Exhausted, spent, the boys panted into each other's collarbone, dreamily coming down from their pleasured highs. The two afterwards embraced one another, Naruto gradually loosening his legs from Sasuke's waist.
Uzumaki could feel his satiation increasing to form a certain tiredness. He was just about to roll over and fall asleep when he felt a playful swat to his behind. The blond yelped in surprise and glared heatedly at the arrogant Sasuke.
"We need to clean ourselves up," Sasuke explained with an amused leer.
Naruto glanced downward at his exposed stomach and blushed cutely at the Uchiha's implications. The two then lifted themselves from the bed, clothes in disarray, and headed in the direction of the bathroom. As Naruto flipped the switch for the light to turn on, Sasuke stood near the doorframe watching his long time friend in appreciation. Naruto was in the middle of stripping his garments but stopped when he found the other teen observing him.
"What? What is it? Why are you staring at me like that?" The younger boy tilted his head, reminiscent to a curious puppy.
"I was just thinking how lucky I am," was Sasuke's sincere admittance.
Naruto was positive that his face resembled a red hot air balloon. How could this bastard – this wonderfully talented, handsome bastard – have such an icy frontage one minute and then say the most heartwarming, honest things the next? Was Sasuke trying to show his more sentimental side or was it all a fluke?
"Stop saying such things to me, it's embarrassing!"
Sasuke looked as though his interest was piqued. "Embarrassing, you say?"
"Yeah, it's like you're trying to rile me up on purpose."
The obsidian eyed male was absolutely wicked as he said, "Maybe I am."
Naruto sputtered indignantly, realizing belatedly that the black haired teen was predatorily sauntering his way. Sasuke came to stand right in front of him, fixedly gawking into his swirling sapphire irises. The situation and profound gape directed at him made Naruto feel even more mortified. The silence was nearly crippling.
At last, Sasuke inquired. "Shall we?" The Uchiha motioned his head to the shower cubicle. Naruto felt helpless as he nodded in agreement.
O-0-O-0-O
The subsequent afternoon was filled with laughter, chatter, and gossip as swarms of people crammed inside Seasonal Leaf's playing grounds for the first game of the season. Naruto had come across a bench near the back of the arena, wanting to be as far away from the fanatic fans (and fangirls) as possible. He was a little saddened when he couldn't find Karin in his sights, but his gloom subsided once his clique of friends approached him.
Sakura, Ino, and Hinata were the first ones to reach him; the girls had been giggling and whispering amongst themselves as they loomed closer. Naruto mentally shook his head at their unexplainable folly. He didn't even want to know what the three had been previously conversing about. The blond discerned that whatever it was would cause a bruise to form in his brain.
"Nice of you to join me," Naruto greeted them jokingly with a smile.
Ino was initially planning on speaking until Sakura shouted over her in aggravation, "We would have gotten here sooner, but somebody decided they wanted to take their precious time applying their makeup!" The emerald eyed female pointedly glared at the similarly annoyed Ino.
"I wasn't about to leave the house looking like a freaking ghost, forehead!" Yamanaka disputed as they all took a seat. "Unlike you, I take pride in my appearance."
"I know you didn't say what I think you just said, bimbo!"
"And it begins." Naruto pronounced with a sigh, expertly blocking out their usual squabbling. Those two fought even more than he and Sasuke did, and that was saying something considering the males argued with one another often. Hinata had remained meek during the fiery exchange, nervously wringing her fingers together as she sent Naruto a warm smile back.
The rest of his posse arrived in groups of two or more and the rest of the attendees – Neji, Shino, Sai, Tenten, Kiba, Choji, and Lee – selected a seat that was near or next to a certain other person. The only individual missing from their circle was the ever unimpressed Shikamaru. Naruto reasoned that the lethargic teen was probably loafing around his own home while purposely avoiding the upcoming football tournament.
As the overhead lights diffused to illuminate the growing dusk above, Naruto languidly started examining different masses of people inquisitively. He wasn't surprised to see that none of Sasuke's family members had shown up to the event. The more fortunate students conversely either had their parents, guardians, or friends sitting with them. The irony of such support was so comforting to him that he at first was unaware that he had caught the eye of the one man that made his skin crawl.
Headmaster Danzo was on the other side of the bleachers, yet his hawk-looking eyes were still able to locate Naruto throughout the throng of bodies. The menacing older male was now staring intently at the blond teen, and Naruto knew for a fact that the man would have confronted him if it weren't for the many people that would have barred witness to their altercation.
Uzumaki quickly felt his earlier enthusiasm dissipate.
Sasuke, on the other hand, was beyond excited. Of course he would never confess such a thing out loud to anyone. There had always been an exhilarated rush as he thought about dominating and winning all his games. He was overly confident in his skills and recognized that he was one of the best players in the county. And with that, he was going to prove his ability to everyone here tonight. It was an added bonus that his boyfriend would be present to share in his success.
The Uchiha and his team assertively strode forward from inside the lockers in regards to the announcer's introduction, their uniforms proudly contributing to their greatness. The crowds cheered with a loud reverberate as the admired teens entered the field. The squeals and shouts energized each and every player.
On the other part of the field stood their opponents with their infamous coach in tow. The other team's earth yellow and maroon colored uniforms were not only dowdy, but they pointed to the one group of competitors that brought a scowl to Sasuke's face – their rivals in both academics and sports, Desert Heat Preparatory.
Seasonal Leaf and Desert Heat had been clashing schools for the last four decades. Both institutes were top notch and it was said that the upper class would saw an arm off just to have their children attend either one. Currently, Desert Heat was ahead of them by a couple of points according to the standardized test roster for the district. This revelation bothered Sasuke naturally and he was determined to even the odds with his teams' feat.
The separate teams huddled together minutes later as both coaches blew on their whistles and the players were handed down tactics. The Uchiha was a little irked when the announcer broadcasted through the microphone that the oppositional lineup wouldn't be kicking off in the beginning, determined by the traditional coin toss. That wasn't fair by any means. It was their turf, so why was the other team allowed to have the ball foremost?
It doesn't really matter, he finally decided after going back in forth in his head irresolutely, once we kick off, I'll tackle them down and then we will have the ball as our own.
Yes, Sasuke was definitely going to prove himself to all of those watching.
The placekicker on Sasuke's team, a boy named Suigetsu Hozuki, walked over to the 40-yard line where the ball was situated with a cocky smirk on his face. Taking a few steps back, he then ran forward and kicked the ball upward toward the receiving team. One of the bulky members on the opposing team caught the ball; nevertheless, he didn't get a chance to make it too far before three of his challengers, directed by Sasuke, tackled him down.
"Sasuke is an animal," an eager Tenten commented thoughtfully from the stands, her usual tomboy essence making itself known. Naruto was mentally inclined to agree.
The women in particular were screaming and hollering in adoration as Sasuke righted himself from atop his opponent and then ambled back to his team for another play.
With all twenty-two players on the sports grassland a little while after, the teams were down and set. Sasuke snapped the ball on the ground accordingly, and it was passed from the quarterback to one of the receivers who sprinted onward in an effort to obtain a touchdown. He gained four yards before he was brought down ruthlessly by a number '13' on the opposite team.
Sasuke narrowed his orbs critically at this specific person, taking an inward note to keep an eye on the unidentified player. The angle in which '13' was wearing his helmet obscured his countenance so Sasuke wasn't able to clearly see him; either way, the ebony haired teen would be damned to let anyone try to steal the glory from him and his teammates.
Eleven minutes into the second quarter, the score was 12-14 with Desert Heat's team ahead of them by two. The other school's coach was callous with his plays, and he drilled his team to oblige with the same fierceness. Sasuke and his mates were frustrated with this account. They had been doing so well during the first quarter and now it seemed as though their accustomed control was out of their hands. Sasuke knew that part of their misgivings had to do with that insufferable number thirteen. The said teen was powerful in his attacks and sprints; he was even on par with the Uchiha's own talent.
"We're going to have to slow down their teams' wide receiver," Seasonal Leaf's fullback, Zabuza Momochi, proclaimed solidly as they huddled. "He's the one weakening our defense."
"Agreed," consented one of the linemen.
"I'll handle him." Sasuke voiced. He'd been wanting to payback that irritating '13' anyway.
Once all the guys settled on a line of attack, they dispersed from their cluster with a "Ready? Break!" before heading back to the field. Sasuke made sure he had the number thirteen in his peripheral vision. You're not getting away this time, he promised the mysterious player internally.
O-0-O-0-O
Naruto watched Sasuke with sympathetic eyes as the mentioned Uchiha roughly removed his helmet and shoulder pads even before he fully staggered back into the locker rooms. The usually composed dark headed teen was furious. During the last thirty seconds of the previous quarter, he had tried to subdue the number thirteen with a quick tackle. The other team had had the ball knowingly, and Sasuke had been determined to cease the other's advantage.
Whether it had been intentional or not, Sasuke had become too engrossed in his run and had created a penalty when he had grabbed onto the number thirteen's jersey and yanked him to the ground. The referee had thrown a yellow colored flag as a result and Sasuke had received a proper scolding from his coach based on his rash behavior.
It was presently half time; the crowds were making their way towards either the food court or the exit. Naruto and his friends had stayed planted in their seats, lingering tolerantly so that the majority of the onlookers could leave. Making sure that a certain man wasn't around, the blond hastily began searching with his eyes for his headmaster that he had temporarily forgotten about when he had been focusing on Sasuke's fault.
He blew out a sigh of relief as soon as he saw that Danzo wasn't around. Hinata, who had been sitting beside him, gave the golden boy a perceptive look as an uncontrollable blush overwhelmed her pallid cheeks.
"N-Naruto," she began unsteadily. "Are you al-alright? You seem...fidgety."
Surprised by her question but wanting to reassure the girl, Uzumaki plastered on a faux smile and responded, "Sure, I'm fine."
Kiba, unconcerned with the two's conversation, wrapped his arms around both Naruto and Hinata from behind, his patent wolfish grin emerging. "What a game so far, eh? Who knew Sasuke could be such a poor sport?"
Sakura glared at the dog-boy from the other side of Naruto. "Shut it, Kiba! Sasuke was just having an off day, that's all." Ino made a noncommittal noise in consent from the back of her throat.
"Whatever you say," Kiba spoke unbelievingly, lifting one of his hands to his mouth to stifle his chuckle.
"Can we leave now and get something to eat?" Naruto asked in order to change the subject, unconsciously glowering at his wild headed brunette friend. "I'm starving."
Everyone verbally agreed with the blond's suggestion, each one of them removing themselves from their seat in slight bewilderment.
Twelve minutes after the intermission had started and with most of the audience coming back into the stands, Sasuke and his team once again exited from the locker rooms to take their rightful place back on the sports field. And even with Seasonal Leaf's players still being behind in their plays, the teen males still held themselves high in a confident stride.
Within moments, both teams were situated fittingly via the announcer's instructions and waited for the special team on the opponents' side to kick the ball. As soon as the placekicker's foot connected to the sphere shaped object, the spectators viewed the soaring football with bated breath. It looked as though the other team was going to make a field goal, but when the ball harmlessly fell short, the game revived.
At one point in the game, a player from the Uchiha's lineup became injured after he fumbled the ball and was then tackled down near the sidelines. The aforesaid player was replaced with a huge orange haired guard by the name of Juugo. The reserved youth wordlessly sauntered onto the playing grounds and took his position next to Sasuke's center.
The opposite team later had the ball in their grasp; their quarterback dashed forward like a cheetah on the hunt. Sasuke was ready to remedy that fact as he and several others took out their rival's formation and wrestled the QB to the grassy plains before he could achieve five yards. The audience roared in shouts at the strategic display.
Two minutes before the game was to come to an end, Sasuke and the others were grouped together for their last scheme. The score had been balanced from 12-14 to 18-20 after both teams had achieved a reasonable touchdown pass. The dark haired teen knew that their only chance was to complete another touchdown. No one tried to deny that the task would be difficult.
"I'll pass the ball onto Sora and he'll throw it to the receiver," the Uchiha assured dedicatedly. His teammates were so inspired by his poise and declaration that nobody attempted to oppose him.
"Is everyone in agreement?" The coach asked, eying his team expectantly. All the teens nodded their head. "Okay then, flea flicker to Sora on go. Give 'em hell, boys!"
Heading back to the field, all players resumed their positions as they bent their bodies and readied themselves for the final outcome. Sasuke was given the ball and passed it on center before handing the sphere underneath to the now acknowledged quarterback Sora; the black headed QB strived to fling the ball toward the end zone, but the other team anticipated their plan and '13' nearly tackled the teen.
With a swift twist, Sora avoided the collision with his challenger and trekked hurriedly a little further before throwing the ball to a lone receiver. The defensive tackle on the reversed team tried to manhandle him from the side, but all was in vain as the said receiver scored a winning touchdown, the concluding score being 24-20. The crowd went positively wild, and Sasuke and his team jumped on one another in victory.
Naruto, Sakura, and Ino in all their contagious thrill screamed and held onto each other to hop up and down. Following suit, Neji and Sai smirked to themselves, Tenten, Lee, and Kiba whooped loudly, Choji and Hinata smiled, and Shino gave a single applaud.
Sasuke was too far away to visibly see his boyfriend through all the chaos, nonetheless he pictured the blue eyed blond grinning at him lopsidedly. And Naruto certainly was; he was so very proud of the older teen. Maybe I'll even congratulate him by going a bit further in our intimacy. The thought was appealing and it brought a flush to Naruto's cheeks.
Unthinkingly trying to evade any curious glances to his face, Naruto found his eyes traveling to the other team below. His irises somehow landed on number thirteen's dirtied back. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked on angrily at the anonymous person that could've ruined everything. The blond's eyes blinked in astonishment however when the nameless boy removed his helmet and twirled around. A mass of shockingly red hair was exposed and perspiring pale skin glinted against the falling lights.
Releasing his bemused friends from his embrace, Naruto ran through the aisles and rushed downward in the direction of the field. Reaching the railing that separated the bleachers from the flat surface, the tanned teen leaned over the metal and yelled out to the one person he hadn't seen since his early childhood.
"Gaara!"
For the record, I know very little about football. I'm sure there were a lot of technical flaws, but for imagination's sake, can you please just ignore them and enjoy? Thanks in advance!
