Thank you to my reviewers! :D
This chapter is kind of short, but what needed to be written was written. Hope you enjoy! :)
Chapter Twenty-One - Whisper
Gaara's memorial took place at noon on the hilly landscape behind the Senbon. Gaara had been a popular man on the island, and the family he left behind knew that it was the perfect place for him to be remembered.
The small headstone was set at the top of the highest hill, behind which the sun disappeared each night to rest. It was surrounded by a ring of red sand and adorned with flowers from all the villagers.
The headstone was engraved with the words:
Here lies Sabaku no Gaara
Beloved Captain of The Shuriken
May he sail the High Seas forever
Shortly after the ceremony, most of the villagers and sailors who had gathered to show their respect slowly dispersed. Remaining was Gaara's crew and Tsunade, who was working on getting them all back to The Senbon for the warm meal they had denied earlier in the day.
Laughter was shared that night. With Gaara finally and properly laid to rest, the crew was able to joke and laugh and reminisce about the happier times.
Also, since the crew of the Shuriken wasn't the only crew that had had unfortunate run-ins with the Sound, they were feeling elated and proud for what they had accomplished for not only themselves and Gaara, but for the rest of those sailing the seas as well. With the Sound, which was probably the most hostile and dangerous crew on the seas, beaten, all those other sailors that had had encounters with the terrifying crew and been harassed countlessly by it's sadistic Captain Orochimaru could now sail freely and in peace.
With this in mind, even Temari joined in the fun, allowing Shizune to fill her mug several times over with Tsunade's best mead, losing herself in the voices of her closest friends and the fragrances of the Senbon's many candles. It was the first step in moving on.
Kakashi, it seemed, was taking a different approach to moving on. Naruto spotted him not long after dinner, disappearing up the wooden staircase at the back of the pub, the one that led to the overnight rooms, with three barmaids in tow.
Naruto sighed, still plagued with confusing thoughts despite the occasion, and turned to his drink, determined to lose himself. Tuning out the surrounding conversation, he lifted his mug and downed the liquor contained, followed quickly by several others. Liquid courage.
"Hey, Sasuke," he said after some time had passed, draining the liquid out of his nth drink. "I think I'm going to head up to bed. Want to join?"
Sasuke, who had been sitting next to him silently, frowning and apparently in his own world, shrugged. "Yeah, sure," he replied, getting up to follow and leaving his own drink untouched.
Naruto closed the door firmly behind them and Sasuke could hear the click as he locked it as well.
With only the moonlight to guide him in the dark, unfamiliar room, Sasuke made his way slowly to the side of the bed, where he struck a match and lit the oil lamp on the bedside table. He turned to see Naruto still standing in the doorway, brows furrowed, apparently lost in thought.
"Hey, why don't you take a bath or something?" Sasuke suggested, voice laced with concern, watching as Naruto's eyes snapped up at the sudden noise. "Tsunade said she made sure that there was warm water ready for us."
"Yeah, I could use one," Naruto said, sniffing himself and sneering in mock disgust. He grabbed some freshly laundered clothing from the pile the barmaids had left on the dresser and made his way through a small doorway into a smaller, more private room for bathing.
Sasuke lay down on the bed and listened to the rustling of clothing and the sound of water sloshing as it hit the bottom of the ceramic tub. He stared at the ceiling as several minutes of sloshing ticked by as Naruto washed himself, then another little while as the water was drained from the tub.
Then silence.
"Hey, Sasuke," Naruto called.
"Yeah?"
"Could you come here a moment?"
Sasuke repressed a sigh and walked into the other room, where Naruto was frowning at his reflection in the full-length mirror, wearing nothing but a pair of underwear. "Yes?" Sasuke prompted.
Naruto's eyes flicked to Sasuke's, making contact through the mirror's reflection. "Can you help me with my bandages?" He motioned to his back, which, even in the dim lantern light, Sasuke could see looked many times better than it had only the day before.
"Sure," he said, smiling. He walked over to the shelves, which had already been stocked with everything they needed, and grabbed the medical cream and bandages, then gestured for Naruto to sit.
The room was silent as Sasuke carefully applied the cream to Naruto's scabbing wounds and as he wrapped the bandages several times around Naruto's tanned torso. As he finished and cut the end of the wrappings, he asked, "Feeling better?"
Naruto smiled softly. "Much, thanks." He stood then, turning to face Sasuke. He was about to give him a hug when his arms stopped dead in the air and his nose wrinkled. "Uh, I think it's your turn," he said, smirking.
Sasuke nodded sarcastically in reply and he followed Naruto back into the other room to grab his own fresh clothing before returning to the tub.
When Sasuke finished his relaxing, albeit slightly cold bath, he dried off, dressed and walked back into the bedroom to find Naruto already snoozing peacefully on the bed.
Or so he thought. As he sat down on the bed beside Naruto, the blond opened an eye to study him. "Sasuke, why do you always insist on wearing a shirt to bed?"
"Huh? Oh, I don't know. Just a habit, I guess," he replied.
Naruto raised a brow and sat up. "Pants too? Sasuke, it's too hot for all that clothing," he chided, clicking his tongue against his teeth. "Come here," he added, pulling Sasuke closer and fingering the hem at the bottom of his shirt before pulling it up and over Sasuke's head, disposing it to the side of the bed. "There," he said, glad to be rid of the infernal clothing once and for all.
"Um, okay," Sasuke said, brow raised and smirking. "This will do."
"Yes, yes it will," Naruto breathed, taking in the milky-white smoothness of the chest in front of him. Beautiful, he thought. Flawless.
"Naruto?" Sasuke asked, head titled in blatant confusion. "Are you okay? You've been blanking out quite a bit tonight, and I-"
Sasuke couldn't finish what he had been about to say because Naruto had suddenly leaned forward across the few inches between them and pressed his lips against the side of Sasuke's mouth.
"Naruto?" Sasuke asked again, tilting his head away to look Naruto properly in the eye.
"Mm," was the blond's response before he pounced again, pressing his lips to Sasuke's nose, forehead, cheek, ear, neck, wherever he could around Sasuke's fussing. Eventually he moved away from the face, making his way down Sasuke's chest, kissing and nipping at the exposed skin, enjoying the sounds being produces from the other's mouth. He let his hands run over Sasuke's shoulders and down his back, feeling the muscles rippling underneath.
When his hands reached the hem of Sasuke's pants and began to tug, he felt them pulled up and away. He looked up as Sasuke gently pushed him away, holding him at arm's length.
"What are you doing?" the brunet asked, face flushed, eyes confused, breathing laboured.
Naruto's eyes narrowed, almost as if he thought it might be a trick question. "What do you think I'm doing?" he asked, both annoyed and a little worried that he may have gone too far.
Sasuke didn't reply, only looked down at the bed spread beneath them. Naruto watched him think for what felt like long, agonizing hours before Sasuke looked back up and nodded. "Okay," he said, in a soft voice.
Naruto nodded back. "Okay?"
"Okay."
And that was all he needed. He quickly closed the space between them once more, pressing his lips fully against Sasuke's, feeling them mould together easily. He flicked his tongue out, eliciting a gasp from the Uchiha.
His hand found Sasuke's head, where it tangled itself in the thick, ebony locks, forcing a moan to slip from Sasuke's mouth as he tilted his face up to get better access to his throat.
After a few minutes, during which Sasuke couldn't do much more than moan and rub his hands along the muscles of Naruto's arms, the blond pushed him backwards so that he was laying flat on the bed. Naruto let his hands travel down the torso beneath him, pausing to rub at a nipple, pleased when Sasuke shivered under his touch. The hands continued their way down until the reached the edge of the pants, where his fingers slipped just under the waistband to tease the skin underneath.
"Okay?" he asked, meeting Sasuke's eyes with his own. The brunet could only nod.
Naruto smirked and his fingers immediately stopped teasing in favour of grabbing the hem and pulling the pants off altogether. He smiled in satisfaction at the sight that lay before him.
Sasuke's blush spread from his cheeks down over his neck and chest under Naruto's scrutinizing gaze. He couldn't be embarrassed for long, however, as seconds later Naruto ducked his head down between his legs. He gasped as he felt Naruto's tongue run along the underside of him, then let out a whimper when he felt a wet heat envelope him. In what embarrassingly felt like only a few seconds, he was coming with moan.
"Naruto," he whimpered as his awareness returned. His body was shaking.
"Mm, Sasuke?" Naruto replied, his face now hovering directly above Sasuke's own. Sasuke didn't answer. He allowed his breathing to even out before silently reaching towards the hem of Naruto's pants.
Naruto pushed his hands away, lying down and resting his head comfortably upon Sasuke's shoulder. "No," he said simply.
"Are you sure?" Sasuke asked, brows furrowed. He felt Naruto nod and added in a whisper, "You're amazing."
"Well, obviously," Naruto whispered back. Sasuke felt the smirk against his skin and promptly smacked the blond over the head.
When Sasuke woke early the next morning, Naruto was still sound asleep in the bed next to him, a sated grin still plastered across his face. Sasuke smiled, untangled himself from the sheets and Naruto's limbs, pulled on some clothes and made his way downstairs.
He was just sitting down for some breakfast when Kakashi came sauntering down the stairs and, after spotting him in the otherwise empty room, made his way over to join him at the small table.
"Mornin', Sasuke. How was your night? Sleep well?" he asked, grabbing a bagel off of the plate one of the barmaids had made up for Sasuke.
"Mm, it was good. I slept very well, thanks," Sasuke replied, trying to sound nonchalant, though he was almost sure that Kakashi could see right through him. He cleared his throat awkwardly and asked, "How was yours?"
Kakashi sighed and took several bites of his stolen breakfast before answering. "Gotta tell ya, I'm not as young as I used to be. That's for sure. Those women last night… they were quite a handful. Tired me right out. Couldn't last another round if I wanted to."
Sasuke grimaced, pushing his plate away. "I shouldn't have asked."
TBC