Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto and all that jazz. You know the drill. Now DROP AND GIMME 20! :O lolol

Warning: I'm being a tease. :3

Chapter 9

Marunae

Naruto headed to bed shortly after Sasuke, only taking the time to shower beforehand. He could hear Sasuke moving about his room, still awake in spite of the late hour. He could understand how it would be hard to sleep, knowing what tomorrow could bring. Of course, he was used to that feeling; having been trained for it.

Unfortunately, there was nothing more he could do to reassure the teen. He just needed to make sure he came back, safe and sound like he promised. With that thought in mind, he forced himself to relax and let sleep pull him under.

Vivid dreams of old memories raced through his mind; battles, dinners, arguments, training... And suddenly Sasuke, the avenger, was there, the wounds that had killed him still leaking that precious red fluid. The raven was staring at him with that lifeless right eye, blood dripping from where his left used to be.

Naruto startled awake.

Rubbing a hand over his face, he calmed his breathing. And it was because he already awake that Naruto knew he was there; knew the moment he was outside the door. He could sense the shift in the teen's chakra, knew he was irritated and nervous. Knowing Sasuke, he was probably irritated because he was nervous.

Glancing over at the clock on his bedside table, he saw it was two in the morning. Seriously didn't people sleep any more? Good thing he'd intended to take the day off from training Sasuke. It would be nice to sleep in a bit. Or at least, that would've been the plan.

Sasuke still hadn't moved from in front of his door.

Naruto didn't want to pressure him, though. Dealing with Sasuke was a lot like dealing with a wild animal at times. If Naruto approached first, Sasuke would spook and run for the hills. Or lash out. Whatever problem the teen seemed to want to talk to him about, he'd decide on his own to come in or leave eventually.

In the mean time, much as Naruto tried to stay awake, he really was a little tired. And Sasuke's chakra wasn't really helping his situation any. Now that he'd adjusted for its presence, the feel of it wrapped itself around him like a siren's call and was lulling him back to sleep.

Sasuke's chakra would always be described as dark; there would never been any argument about that. However, the avenger's chakra, on the rare occasion someone sensitive enough have been around to do so, had been described as 'oily' or even 'sleazy'. It was the kind of dark that would drag you down and drown you within its depths.

The teen, though . . . Tis smart ass, but somehow thoughtful Sasuke was different. His aura was still dark, no doubt about that. If Naruto had to compare the two, he'd have said the avenger's aura might be considered a tar pit where the teen's was more akin to an already warmed bed on a cool night.

Rather than dragging you down, it felt inviting. Instead of drowning you, it blanketed you. The aspects of it were basically the same, but the difference in their childhoods shone through.

The chakra of the teen standing outside his door fidgeting was comforting rather than scary. And having it flooding his half asleep brain while he was curled up and comfy on his bed was having a seriously relaxing effect. Before he realized he'd given in, Naruto had drifted off once more.

The dipping of the bed slowly pulled him from his dreams, but there was no sense of danger. Rolling onto his back and forcing his eyes open, Naruto found Sasuke at his side, leaning over him. The blonde's mind flashed back to that moment in the yard, when Sasuke had been in nearly the same position. Right before Itachi interrupted.

Oh. Now it made sense why Itachi had been sneaking around. Big Brother Prissy Pants was being a cock-blocking asshole.

The pressure of something sliding across the top of the blanket pulled him from his thoughts and he noted, rather pleasantly, that Sasuke was now straddling him, a slight blush staining his pale cheeks. It also worried him.

Over the past few days, Naruto had noticed Sasuke had become aware of their shared chemistry. A look here, a few touches there; it was nothing overt (although, it was apparently enough to annoy Itachi). The blonde had let it pass without discussion, wanting to let the teen become comfortable with what he was feeling. But this . . . was pretty far from expected. "Sasuke, wha-"

Left hand using Naruto's shoulder to brace himself, Sasuke clapped his right over Naruto's mouth, his grip firm, but gentle. "Shh," he quietly hushed. He waited, making sure Naruto was going to obey before releasing the blonde.

The blonde consented reluctantly, not sure what had prompted this, but unwilling to break whatever spell had been cast upon the young Uchiha.

Obviously satisfied with their non-verbal agreement, Sasuke moved the hand over Naruto's mouth. Shifting it to cup Naruto's cheek, he brushed a thumb over the whisker-like scars there, curiosity brightening his eyes. They were rough and Sasuke, not for the first time, wondered how Naruto had come by such strange scars.

From there, he allowed his hand to slide into Naruto's hair, carding through it a few times and noting the unexpected softness, before finally letting it come to rest just behind Naruto's head. Almost like he understood that Naruto could see him despite the lack of light, he stared into Naruto's eyes.

The avenger and the jinchuuriki had always been able to communicate silently; it was no different now between the hermit and the teen. I want...

Naruto's eyes widened, the situation unforeseen, but hardly unwelcome. He slowly reached a hand up, brushing his knuckles across Sasuke's cheek. A slight frown marred his face as he looked up at the young Uchiha, knowing he would understand both the suspicion and the invitation.

Sasuke smirked, leaning down and capturing Naruto's lips. It was slow, Sasuke taking the time to learn all that he could from it. From the blonde's chapped lips, to the warmth of his mouth, the Uchiha soon decided that this was a taste he would never tire of.

Naruto, for the most part, was simply entranced. The feel of Sasuke's lips moving against his was something he'd long dreamed of. The pressure of the teen's weight straddling him was reassuring, though, reminding him this was very real and not simply some illusion his mind had conjured up.

Once that realization had time to sink in, it was no longer enough for Naruto to remain passive.

He pushed himself up and back against the headboard, forcing Sasuke to make room for the movement. Before the teen could do little more than glare at the interruption, Naruto had already slid right arm around Sasuke's waist, jerking him forward, crushing their bodies together and slipping his left hand behind the raven's neck. The position made Sasuke very aware of Naruto's hardening length as the blonde ravaged his mouth almost violently, making him whimper.

Sasuke's hands, trapped between them, trembled despite his best efforts, but the reaction only seemed to spur Naruto on, a feral growl sparking in his throat. The feelings that swept through Sasuke's body, as Naruto scraped, licked, and bit what little skin the teen's shirt exposed, fragmented his thoughts, almost making him want to give in. Almost.

Much too soon for Naruto's liking, Sasuke managed to pull away, watching the frustrated blonde in front of him, both of them breathing heavily. Naruto licked his lips, drawing Sasuke's attention, and glared sharply, his blue eyes bright with repressed desire. "You're seriously testing my self-control right now, Sasuke. So I suggest explaining yourself quickly."

Sasuke knew it was a bit cruel, slowly moving back towards the edge of the bed, careful not to touch Naruto any further. While the teen had certainly enjoyed it, having passed his own private little test (Sasuke definitely wanted this, there was no question now), the raven hadn't really expected Naruto to take it quite so far. The blonde did his fair amount of teasing, but he always seemed so easygoing so Sasuke hadn't been prepared for such a savage reaction.

It was a bit frightening.

And so terribly erotic. It made Sasuke grateful for the baggy shorts he favored.

Naruto made no move to stop Sasuke as the teen slid off the bed. However, the anger and tension would've been very obvious in the way he held himself motionless, except for his eyes following Sasuke, had there been enough light to see by.

Sasuke made sure there was enough distance between himself and the bed that Naruto couldn't just simply reach out to drag him back. "Call it an incentive," he finally said, pinning Naruto with a serious look.

"Incentive," the blonde repeated dryly.

"To come home safely," Sasuke added with a smirk, before heading for the door.

Naruto blinked, shock draining away his anger. Home, Sasuke had said, purposely putting a certain emphasis on the word. The teen considered this to be his home; their home.

Regardless of the warm gooey feelings now turning his insides into a happy, mushy mess, he was still kind of annoyed with the teen. "You goddamn tease," he muttered, chucking a pillow at Sasuke as he slipped out the door, laughing.

Naruto leaned his head back against the headboard and sighed. On the bright side, there was the promise of sex upon his return, Itachi be damned. He was very much looking forward to that.

On the down side, his body had kind of been into having said sex now. Instead, he got left with a hard on and no release.

Cold shower, here I come.

-x-x-x-

"You know," he started, readjusting the hat for the fourth time since putting it on, "I could just as easily use a transformation jutsu." It nearing spring's end, almost summer now, and it was none too pleasant having the jean jacket and hat adding another layer of heat to Naruto.

"Yes, you could. And while you're at it, you could light up the Bat Signal, too. I don't think enough people know where we are, yet." Itachi dipped a couple of fingers into the jar and leaned forward, reaching for Naruto.

The blonde's eye twitched. "Hearing pop culture references come out of your mouth is creepy," he decided, trying ignore the feel of the make up being smeared across his cheeks.

Itachi leaned back, inspecting his work. "I'm surprised you would recognize that."

Naruto crossed his arms, giving the older Uchiha a sour expression. "I'm a hermit, not dead. I know who Batman is."

Itachi, deciding it was good enough, closed the jar and returned it to his bag. "To answer your question: using your chakra to hold the jutsu would be the equivalent of lighting a flare. A deceit that uses truth is far more believable than that."

"Remind me again which one of us was supposed to be the wise, all-knowing immortal." Naruto pouted, making Itachi's mouth almost twitch into a smirk. "Where's Sasuke, anyways? Haven't seen him all day." The blonde leaned back in the kitchen chair, trying to peer into the hallway.

"Busy avoiding you, it would seem. What did you do?"

Naruto froze like a rabbit, already feeling the 'deadly older brother' aura trying to choke him. He gave Itachi an uneasy smile. "Why does it have to be my fault that he's acting strange," he asked, fiddling with the hat again.

Itachi glared. Slightly.

Naruto could feel himself starting to sweat under Itachi's gaze (if anyone asked, was totally because of the heat). "It wasn't an offense worthy of sharp, pointy things. Promise!" Sliding out of his chair, he started backing towards the back door, his hands held up in a sign of surrender.

Itachi watched him exit, almost relaxing.

Then Naruto poked his head back in. "Besides, he totally started it."

A nail file embedded itself into the door frame next to his head. Naruto stared at it, wide eyes fearful. "Ohhh . . . mygodyouactuallyownone!" A growl from the older Uchiha let Naruto know that it was probably time to become scarce. "Run away no jutsu," he announced, speeding off like his life depended on it. It probably did.

-x-x-x-

Sasuke watched Naruto from the window in his room, waiting until he was well out of sight to let the curtain fall back with a sigh.

He'd shut the door behind him, blocking the launched pillow. Taking a deep breath, he retreated to his room, his walking stilted and robotic.

He really hadn't been expecting that . . .

Thinking back on it, even now, made him shudder with want. He hadn't been sure how comfortable he'd be with the physical aspect of a relationship with Naruto. So that's what last night had been about.

Sasuke leaned back against the door, his legs unable to support him anymore. He'd been so nervous anyways, but after Naruto responded the way he had, Sasuke's legs felt like jelly. He was surprised they'd held him up this long.

He wanted it; knew Naruto wanted it. He'd been determined to hold out, though. Incentive. If this would help make sure Naruto came home safely, then it was worth the trouble, despite his nervousness.

And of course, he'd told Naruto that as well. This place, their little makeshift family; this was home. He'd already lost his family once, he wasn't sure he could handle losing it again.

He felt relieved when he heard the shower start up, worried for a moment that Naruto might follow him. The Uchiha pushed himself up, wobbling over to bed and falling onto it. He crawled under the covers, trying to relax and hoping sleep took him soon.

When sleep had finally taken him, his dreams had been brimming with images of Naruto. Everything from their quiet breakfasts to lusty continuances of the bedroom scene, but when the images of blood and battles began, Sasuke became increasingly unsettled. He didn't know where these nightmares were coming from, but he'd have taken the disembodied voices over this any day. Especially the one where he glimpsed he himself putting a fist through Naruto's chest.

Sasuke had woken shortly after that. Unable to return to sleep and honestly not really wanting to, he'd gone about his usual morning routine. Knowing Naruto would wake soon, he went ahead and made breakfast, setting some aside for the blonde, before returning to his room.

He spent the day holed up in his room, ignoring the sounds of Naruto moving about the house as best he could. He did everything he could to distract himself: caught up on his studies, called Sakura, even finished the written portion of his report for class. Sasuke did anything that came to mind that would allow him to remain within the confines of his room, sans bathroom breaks. Even those were taken only after he'd made sure Naruto would not ambush him on the way there.

The raven didn't honestly think he would, but Naruto was certainly capable.

It was something he'd begun to notice after he started training about both Itachi and Naruto, actually. There was a fluidity to their movements and a quietness to their steps that reminded Sasuke of a predator stalking its prey. Itachi had always been naturally quiet, but now he was eerily silent, even when moving.

Naruto made noise on purpose, though. Once he'd started to recognize it, he'd actually found it rather odd. There had been a couple times, when Naruto was lost in thought, that he'd slipped and allowed his steps to be just as silent, if not more so, as Itachi's. It was kind of scary, actually. Even the sense that he was there would disappear, almost like Sasuke was just looking at a picture, not a person.

It was unnerving, but Sasuke supposed that, given Naruto's condition, it was a highly useful skill. And while he didn't think he'd be able to obtain Naruto's level in such a short while, he did his best to imitate the other two men. It was quickly becoming second nature to watch where he stepped and to do so as lightly as possible.

He only hoped that what he'd learned would be enough when the time came.

Sasuke sighed and shook his head. "You're supposed to knock before entering someone's room," he admonished, turning to face the intruder.

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "And give you time to hide? I think not."

Sasuke frowned at the jab, taking a seat on his bed. "Uchihas don't hide." Unless it's from Sakura, he mentally amended, but Itachi didn't need to know that.

"Indeed." Itachi sat beside his brother, making himself comfortable. "So why are you?"

"I'm not hiding," Sasuke hissed, glaring daggers at his older brother. "I just . . . needed a little more time," he finished sullenly, facing away to hide his growing blush behind his bangs.

Itachi watched the young Uchiha, watched him fidget, and sighed. "Sasuke. I realize it's not my place to say anything, not anymore, however I don't think getting involved with Naru-"

"You're right, it's not," Sasuke growled, cutting him off.

That garnered the teen a hard look; Itachi didn't like being interrupted. "It's not a good idea, especially with how much you don't know about him."

Itachi took in the room, a room that even his past life, he has not seen in years. So much had happened here, in this house, things that had permanently changed the course of things to come for Sasuke. Most were decisions he'd made and, in spite of his genius, it had turned out for the worst. Perhaps, this would be the light in that darkness. "But if you think this will make you happy, so be it."

"Itachi," Sasuke hadn't been expecting that, especially given Itachi's previous behavior. "Thank you," he said finally, honestly grateful to have his brother's blessing.

The teen smiled brightly, small but very real. It remained far longer than normal, making Itachi cock his head to the side. "You're not going to hug me, are you?"

Sasuke's smile melted into his usual smirk, something far more reassuring to the elder Uchiha. "I was considering it, but no."

Itachi stood, straightening his clothing. "Good. It might scar me for life, seeing you be 'touchy-feely', as Naruto puts it."

"Ass."

"I try."

-x-x-x-

Naruto had made a point to duck off the beaten path when he'd neared the exit of his little forest, instead leaving through a bushy area further down. He hadn't felt anything suspicious, but it didn't hurt to be cautious.

Normally, he'd have said 'Screw it!' and walked his normal route, stalkers be damned.

But . . . but . . . Sasuke was promising him goodies . . . so he had to be a good boy.

Naruto sighed. Maybe he should get a tattoo across his forehead that said 'whipped'. And he hadn't even gotten laid yet. How sad.

He jogged to the nearest bus stop, catching a ride into town. Normally, he'd have been fine making the time consuming walk into town. Though, he was tempted to stop on the way back and get his usual popsicle.

He stepped off, along with several others, and made his way to the market. So far, so good. No homicidal maniacs to speak of. Though, for a moment, he thought he saw spiky, brown hair and a pair of goggles. Hopefully, Konohamaru didn't notice him. He had enough on his plate without having to deal with Kono's hero worship.

To be safe, he went ahead and ducked into one of the shops to pick up his usual packets of instant ramen. He'd learned how to make the good stuff from scratch, but some days, he really just didn't feel like cooking.

He wasn't familiar with this particular shop, but all grocers had nice helpful signs these days. It only took a moment of poking around to find the aisle he was looking for.

Stepping onto it, he saw another familiar (though less so these days) face. Gaara stood there in all his ginger glory. Considering those he'd met so far, he knew that others had to have been reincarnated as well. But this was his first time seeing his old friend, Gaara.

Looking at him, he seemed much the same. Gone was the tattoo on his forehead, but the dark circles under his eyes remained. Maybe Gaara was always destined to be an insomniac; perhaps that was part of the reason he'd been considered so 'well suited' to Shukaku.

Naruto approached, fully intending to simply grab his packages and go. Much as he missed his old friend, he had no intention of interfering in his life as he had Sasuke's. He'd been far too selfish as it was.

It seemed that Gaara would take no notice of him, but as he neared, the redhead grabbed a package off the shelf and held it out to Naruto. Not only that, but it was his favorite flavor of instant: pork. Naruto almost couldn't breathe for a moment.

He gingerly took the offered package from the pale teen. "Thank you . . ." Naruto flipped the package, making sure there was nothing wrong with it and dropped it into his basket. "My favorite flavor."

"I hate it," Gaara intoned without any feeling, ignoring the affronted look Naruto wore. The redhead finally looked up at him and frowned. "But I always end up buying it."

Now Naruto was just confused. And nervous. But Gaara always always had made him nervous. That hadn't changed, apparently. "The taste is addictive."

Gaara turned his attention back to the packages, almost as if he was considering this.

Naruto snagged several more packages and dumped them into his basket, before backing away. "Er . . . well . . . thanks again, gotta go. Take care!" He gave a short wave before disappearing around the corner, nearly running to the cashier.

Gaara pulled another package of pork ramen down and sighed, closing his eyes. "Take care . . . Naruto."

Fuuu... be gentle, that's the closest I've come to lemony goodness. And it scares me. Like, as I'm typing this, Pissy is doing her beta thing, and I'm seriously considering hiding under my desk out of embarassment.

And no, I have no idea what my obsession is with the nail file. I only know that it makes me giggle.

And another thing! Has anyone actually listened to any of the music, maybe found themselves a new favorite song? :D Was curious. xD

Killua17: Wish granted! Have pie. Pie is important. Almost as much as cake.

uchiha hinata21: :) Sankyu!

misrae: Your turkey is fine. Fat and happy. IN MA BELLY! I like Itachi's nickname too. XD

dlione: Nail file... ENGAGE!

Katsumi-phoenix: I totally understood your review, no apologies needed. And whilst I was intending for there to be more Gaara anyways, I took your review into account. So there you go, Gaara cameo!

vampireharry the 2: Glad to have you with us. Hope to see you again. :)

Pissy: I'm totally curious what your original post said. You should like... make a habit of seeing if it actually posted. Or you know. Make copies. Or cookies. Yes, you should make me cookies. Mmm, cookies.

I wish to nom cookies. Please review and/or harass Pissy into making me cookies. Yummy.

Marunae by E.S. Posthumus