Oh yes. What's this? Another update? And it has only been a month?! I know. It shocked me too. You should check it out.

Note: anoretic is the word I was looking for when I wrote it in some chapter that is not this one. It was more acurate than anorexic for the situation.

And yes, I will admit that this chapter is shorter than most. Then again, I am shorter than most, as well. We are perfect for each other!

Caught off-guard, his senses were suddenly hightened. Naruto focused his gaze on the wall across from him - built into it were his few cupboards and his counter and sink. He steeled himself. He took a deep breath. His thoughts flitted to the glasses in the cupboards, as well as his sudden, inexplicable thirst. After a line like that one, spoken aloud, he had to turn around and face the music like a man. How could anyone even begin to deal with this sort of situation?

Another breath. Focus on the wall, on the cupboards. Look straight ahead.

Turn around.

He started the movement in his shoulders and tried to summon some shinobi courage, but he was stilled by a firm, cool hand on the side of his neck.

"Think, dobe, before you do something stupid."

Instinctively, the blond repeated his friend's words. "Think?"

In that confused moment, there was nothing to fall back on but Sasuke's voice. Scrambled, half-formed words and ideas pulled his attention in all sorts of directions as the Uchiha's slightly calloused thumb stroked the skin beneath his ear. Abruptly, he was struck by the darkness of his apartment. When had the sun begun to set? Or had it gone behind a cloud? Or were the blinds closed? He couldn't quite recall. He knew the windows were locked. Why had be been checking that again?

The sound of rumpling fabric was loud as Sasuke bent his lips to the shorter boy's ear. "Yes," he half-whispered, voice gruff. "Think."

Naruto couldn't think. Sasuke hadn't moved his mouth, and that hot breath made him shiver and squirm. He felt light-headed. The hand on his neck had stopped its movement, having settled, instead, into a possessive about the side of his throat. The Uchiha was right: Naruto needed to think, and he needed to do it as soon as possible so that the situation didn't get out of hand, as all situations were tending to lately. There was another gentle, scalding caress of his ear. Maybe, once he had forced Sasuke out of his home, and on his merry way back to the hospital, Naruto would be able to get some water. He was feeling so very dry, and a little too warm.

How? How does one get rid of a persistent Sasuke? Well, he wasn't too sure what he was going to do, but he did know he had to get away from that seductive voice, from that hot breath, from the tingling sensations he felt so deeply.

With the dexterity of a ninja cornered, the blond flew from that sinfully delicious hold, turning to face the intruder with the bravest gaze he could hold. The place where Sasuke's hand had been was left feel cold and bare.

What to say? Looking at his friend in the dim light, he found him to be more attractive than ever. The white glow of the window emphasized the dichotomy of his features: the beauteous, delicately pale skin of his face, nearly translucent, framed by inky-black hair. He was a vision so otherworldly that, for a brief moment, Naruto actually gaped. It was, however, one very brief moment among a sea of other moments that would make up their encounter. There was no way he could predict the outcome of this particular occurrence.

"What are you doing here, Teme?" came the uncharacteristically calm voice. And it took that many words, that many glances, for Sasuke to know exactly what kind of game they were playing.

So, he decided, he would play.

"You know why I'm here," Sasuke replied. "I know you aren't that stupid." He watched as Naruto's eyes, focused so intently on his own, narrowed in response. The ferocity of the dobe's defense was surprising, as was his confidence.

Oh how Sasuke was starting to wish Naruto would 'show him a taste of his own medicine'. Not because he was attracted to him, and not because the dark-haired chuunin had finally been faced with his long-dormant homosexual urges.

He just knew that it would feel so good. Better than anything else ever could. He just knew.

Happily, Naruto seemed to bend to his will. With a calculating stare, the blond caught his wrist in a commanding grip, those long, tanned fingers snaking around his own cool skin. It was warm, and already he was feeling that rush. He couldn't help but observe, as he was led to the kitchen table, that they were very close to holding hands. Of course, it was good that they weren't. Whatever they were, whatever they would be, they would never be that, Sasuke was certain.

"Sasuke, we need to talk," he declared, settling himself into a chair.

Talking was not what Sasuke had had planned, but he could deal with it. "Fine." He would stand, thank you.

Naruto's eyes were fixed again on his. "Frankly, Teme, I don't know if I can trust you anymore." The slightest of sighs followed the admission.

This, Sasuke observed, seemed to upset his friend. He understood that there needed to be trust between teammates, while on missions and in danger. It was important in a world like theirs, in which people betrayed one another, and enemies could take on the shape of any friend. How did one even know who to trust to begin with? When it was safe to trust? He didn't know how he was supposed to respond, so he didn't say anything.

"I don't know what's going on," Naruto said with a bitter smile. "You know how nobody ever tells me anything."

With that, Sasuke had to chuckle. He relaxed a little, pulling out a chair himself. Maybe he would sit after all. But he would not drop his guard.

"You know as well as I do why no one tells you anything, idiot."

Naruto found himself laughing along with him. "Yeah. Yeah, I have to say I do. The old hag thinks I'm loud-"

"I wonder why that is," Sasuke interrupted, raising an eyebrow.

"-and that I've got too much energy-"

"You do.

"-and that I'll get excited and start yelling about stuff-"

"Which happens every time."

"-and then everyone'll know," the blond finished with a grin.

Sasuke was sporting one himself, but it quickly vanished. Naruto forced his away, as well, heaving an annoyed sigh.

"What do you want from me, Sasuke?!" he finally cried.

An awkward silence followed. Naruto had expected some sort of reply, some explanation. For what seemed like minutes, there was nothing. No movement from either of them, and no speech. Sasuke didn't seem to be considering what he'd said. He simply sat, eyes dark and unreadable, waiting for something. It went on for so long that the orange-clad boy wondered whether or not to restate his one truly assertive question. Would it get him answers? Or would his teammate just scoff? His blood heated at the thought. He would not be dismissed. He would make Sasuke see and respect him. He would force him into submission.

When that long and painful wait ended, it ended loudly, echoing against the bare walls of the apartment. Sasuke stood, deliberately knocking the cheap wooden chair to the floor, and strode over to his friend. He bent over him so that their faces were close and nearly at the same height.

"Naruto," he growled, savouring the dobe's shock at the use of his name. "What do you want, Usuratonkachi?"

A fire ignited in those cerulean eyes, and Naruto grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. In one fluid motion, he pulled Sasuke even closer, and the pale boy had to brace himself against the table in order to remain standing. He didn't resist – this was exactly what he wanted.

Naruto glowered at him. "Say that again, Teme."

Sasuke glared back, a challenge in his words: "What do you want..." he drawled mockingly.

The hand at his collar tightened.

"...Usuratonkatchi."

Naruto clenched his jaw, and smirked back at him. He then yanked Sasuke's ear to his mouth, and the dark-haired chuunin felt the tables turn with that menacing whisper.

"I want you."

After Kakashi had been returned to bed, the hospital had been quiet. The trouble trouble-makers were either comatose or at home, which meant rest and relaxation for the staff. Tsunade had returned to her office over at the hokage tower and was happily playing a game of solitaire. Whenever she found herself losing, as she often did, she found a way to cheat through her problems to avoid having to shuffle and re-deal the cards. She did, of course, do this inconspicuously so that, had someone been watching, that person would not have percieved her dishonest tendancies.

As the sky clouded over outside, the light within her office dimmed. The hokage then searched around for her lamp, hoping to avoid straining her eyes.

She had laid the cards out over a tablecloth of paperwork. Unfortunately, cards would occasionally slide underneath requests and signatures, and fishing around for them caused even greater problems, and a general feeling of unrest among the cards. Feeling particularly unmotivated that late afternoon, she left them there. As she continued her games, the deck shrunk progressively until it was very hard to make any kind of legitimate progress whatsoever. She would eventually give up and begin a nap.

It seemed to take very little time for Iruka to sense the napping occurring within her office. The door was opened by Shizune who appeared to be displeased with Tsunade's state of extreme relaxation, and Iruka followed her in, speaking very loudly. She couldn't really follow what he was talking about. She was that the words he was speaking made sense to him, but once they reached her ears it was all gibberish.

The older woman raised a hand to her head in reaction to the sudden noise. "Iruka," she said in a warning voice. "If you don't calm down and stop ranting this second, my head is going to explode."

The teacher did as he was told, seating himself with a distressed expression. Given the moment of silence, Tsunade took a deep breath, before nodding to her assistant. Yes, she affirmed mentally. I will get on that paperwork.

Satisfied, Shizune retreated.

"Right then." The hokage turned her attention back to the panicked academy sensei. "What's wrong, Iruka? Tell me slowly this time."

The man squirmed a little. "Sasuke's gone."

It was better than he had imagined. There was this fantastic combination of Naruto's perfect skin, soft hair, and eager lips, and the explosion of feeling that was his chakra. Later, the clearest memory Sasuke would have of the aggressive experience would be of a select few sensations: that slick tongue that dominated his mouth, the confusion induced by the chakra high, and the smoothness he encountered as he slipped a hand up the back of Naruto's shirt.

Hands were in each others' hair, or gripping a shoulder, or pushing and pulling in a battle for control. Currently, the blond had him pinned on the tabletop, panting, his back digging uncomfortably into its edge. Naruto loomed over him. For that moment, they were more separate than they had been during the entire encounter. Sasuke could look into his face.

In the shadows, Naruto seemed less innocent than he had before. Less human, too. There was a wildness about him, this animalistic quality that the Uchiha couldn't quite place.

It didn't matter. He didn't have much time to think about it.

The moment did not last long, and soon Naruto's body held him prisoner. With on knee up on the surprisingly sturdy table, the dobe brought them even closer. Giving in for the briefest of seconds, he allowed him a deep, domineering kiss. Then, Sasuke forced his way free. He pushed the smaller boy off of him, and they landed hard on the floor, a mass of legs and arms and voracious mouths.

Once on top, Sasuke resumed their make-out session, leaving bruising kisses and bites wherever he felt brave enough to venture. Naruto fought back with equal vigor, his hand shooting out to connect with Sasuke's shoulder and reverse their positions again.

It was, in the dark-haired boy's opinion, the best sparring match they had ever engaged in.

Naruto was getting warmer and warmer as time passed. With Sasuke's mouth burning his skin, there was no way to escape the heat. He couldn't remember what had possessed him to instigate their passionate embrace. All he knew was now. He vaguely remembered an order to avoid touching the boy at all costs, but it was quickly losing any power it had once had over him. Everything that had happened in the past week or two was dwarfed in comparison with the immensity of this one struggle.

The fever of their bodies was contrasted acutely with the cold linoleum floor, that Naruto knew. They were in the dark. They were together.

It felt like he had been waiting for this his entire life, like every moment of their rivalry had been building to this apogee. This intense sexual attraction would explain that sweet tension that had coloured their encounters since their genin days. Now that they were together like this, he knew that this had been something he had wanted all along. He was unsure why he had spent so much time running from it.

He didn't know what he felt, exactly. He felt empowered. He felt angry and fierce, but also triumphant and exhilarated. He felt Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke, all over. Sasuke's hands against his skin, underneath his shirt. Sasuke's tongue, drawing warm paths across his neck, or over his lips, or his teeth firmly grabbing hold of an earlobe. Then there was also Sasuke's thumb, dipping slightly below his boxers and tracing patterns around his hip. He was everywhere at once.

But then he felt Sasuke flagging, giving up maybe, and relenting. Without missing a beat, Naruto controlled their situation. At once, he had a tight grip on a head of black hair, and his lips on heated pale flesh. It was all about them.

It was all about now, and he couldn't see anything ruining this.

Iruka knew that Sasuke could be in only one place, and while Tsunade agreed, she didn't want to leave anything to chance.

Instead of trying to force the teacher to go with the others to check out the Uchiha complex, the hokage allowed him to lead the way to Naruto's apartment. She could definitely empathize with the strung-out chuunin.

When they arrived at Naruto's place, they came in through the door. Iruka hadn't knocked, had simply swung the thing open, and they met with a darkened room. On the floor, she could make out two figures, one on top of another. Her cohort wasted little time, crossing the room in a quick, determined strides. As she flicked on the light, she caught the severe curve of his lips.

Naruto's wide eyes took in her presence before focusing on his former sensei.

Tsunade ran to Iruka's side, but it was too late. With one smooth tug, he drew them apart. Sasuke's body went limp.

Before the man could do any more damage, she put herself in between he and Naruto.

"I told you not to touch him!" she shouted. "I told you!"

The brat looked up at her, confused. She watched as he took in the situation, his eyes filling with hurt and rage.

"You never tell me anything! What's wrong with him?"

He grabbed his friend's hand, trying to pull them closer, and Sasuke gasped, opening his eyes. Iruka tore them apart again, severing their connection, and the Uchiha seemed to collapse once more.

"I told you not to touch him, Naruto!" She hurried forward, pushing Iruka out of her way. Tsunade placed one hand on Sasuke's chest, and one next to his mouth. The boy's breaths were very weak, almost non-existent. Upon checking his pulse, she found the same thing. It was fluttery and barely there.

"What's wrong with him?! Why won't anyone tell me?!" Tears of fear and anger trailed down Naruto's cheeks.

Sasuke was almost dead. Pulling the boy into her arms, Tsunade made for a quick exit, leaving Iruka with instructions to take care of the brat.

That was how Iruka was left to pick up the pieces.