Beta-ed by Loveroffanfiction and Labrabell

Naruto's eyes fluttered open. It was still dark out, and a weight on the other side of the bed revealed that Sasuke had stayed put. Thank god for that. Naruto didn't know what he would do if Sasuke up and left to wander around the lair. Kabuto would surely find him. And then what?

Either Kabuto would allow Sasuke to be a servant, or use him for experimentation.

And when Sasuke lost the henge?

Orochimaru would possess him.

His stomach dropped, and he wrapped his arms around himself. He couldn't let that happen, couldn't watch it happen.

He couldn't lose Sasuke.

Not forever.

He had to get Sasuke out of here.

It was the only way to keep him safe.

But still, as Naruto gazed into Sasuke's sleeping face, a sense of contentment eased into his body. His shoulders sagged, more relaxed than they had been in ages, and Naruto trailed his fingertips over Sasuke's cheek. His face was warm—so unlike his hands— and Naruto smiled as he craned his head deeper into his pillow. He didn't want Sasuke to leave, not now that they'd finally been reunited.

Naruto never wanted to leave Sasuke in the first place.

He heaved a deep breath, his chest aching at just the thought of Sasuke leaving. What was he supposed to do? Convincing Sasuke to leave was the same as Sarutobi forcing Naruto to be a ninja, but it was far too dangerous for Sasuke to stay.

It's not like he can't take care of himself.

His eyes stung with unshed tears. He never thought Sasuke's presence could cause so many problems. Up until now, there had been nothing but an unsettled peace within him. Naruto knew this place was awful, but he was happy to stay so long as Orochimaru allowed him to wander the forests alone and work on his own thing.

Naruto sighed. He kept his stuffed animal close to his chest, bringing it up to his face when he started feeling particularly awful. Sasuke's warm breath ghosted over Naruto's cheek, sending a spike of chills up his spine. Why was Sasuke's presence so comforting in the first place? It wasn't like he needed Sasuke. Naruto had plenty of acquaintances here. Sasuke may have been more than an acquaintance, but Naruto had spent the last several years without him, and had learned how to deal without having someone he loved nearby.

He gave a soft moan. This was way too complicated. His head throbbed behind his eyes, and Naruto pressed two fingers to his temple as he clenched his eyes shut. Sasuke really shouldn't be here. Not when Naruto hadn't a clue what to do about him.

"Goddammit." He said.

Why couldn't Sasuke have just stayed away? It would be so much easier that way. Now Naruto had to deal with leaving Sasuke again, and this time, he might not be able to do it.

After all, Sasuke was his first and only friend.

He never wanted to say goodbye.

"You're such an asshole, you know that?"

Naruto clasped his hand around Sasuke's and scooted closer until they were barely touching. A strange warmth spread through his chest, and Naruto closed his eyes.

He could sleep with Sasuke beside him.

Sasuke would always, always keep him safe.

"I hate you." He said.

He didn't notice when brown eyes opened.

"So, we're healing people today?" Sasuke said. His brows were furrowed, hands fumbling with the paper Naruto gave him. It was a list of jobs that needed to be done. Delia handed it out to every servant, and by the end of the day, all the work was done.

Kabuto never did a thing. Just stood by and made changes about a job he never did.

"I was thinking we can do some cleaning, actually." Naruto said, taking the paper from Sasuke's hands and pointing at a section. "See? The surgical rooms are covered in blood. One of the exper— patients— destroyed a room. It needs cleaning. And don't even get me started on the counters."

Sasuke cocked his head, grabbing the paper from Naruto's hands. They needed a second copy. That way they could work on individual tasks without relying on each other for knowing what to do.

"It also says that the experiments need healing. Look…" Sasuke pointed to the bottom half of what was written. "All these numbers are people, right?"

Yes.

"When you put it like that…"

He couldn't finish the sentence. Those people were categorized by numbers, and it was Naruto's primary job to ensure they got everything they needed to both stay alive and comfortable. He sniffled, looking to the ground and grimacing. Sasuke shouldn't have to deal with a place like this.

Naruto didn't want him to see what he'd contributed too.

He didn't want Sasuke to know.

Because—because this was his one decision, and he did horrible things here.

Naruto swallowed. "I want to clean today." He said, "besides, the others have the patients covered. We can give the cleaning people a break, yeah? They've been asking for one."

Sasuke sighed. "Fine, we'll clean. But I will find out what else you do around here."

By the end of the day, Naruto's shoulders were aching. Sasuke's hair had gotten frazzled, and blood got stuck between their fingertips. The bed was a sweet, sweet relief from work, and Naruto moaned into his pillow.

He didn't usually clean so much.

Whatever. It kept Sasuke from seeing the work Naruto did here.

Not that there was anything wrong with healing people. But Naruto could have done more to prevent them from getting hurt in the first place.

"There was a lot of blood today." Sasuke said, "is that normal?"

Naruto blinked, giving Sasuke a wane smile. The blood was from the surgical unit—a place where Orochimaru forced surgeries on unsuspecting victims— there was always a bloody mess left behind, and someone had to clean it.

Today was Naruto's day.

Naruto shrugged. "Sometimes."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes as Naruto grabbed his stuffed animal again. He was still in henge. With that goddamn brown hair and those awful brown eyes. His face was chubbier than it was meant to be, and his eyes were wider than normal.

Naruto squeezed his stuffed animal.

He hated that face.

He wanted the Sasuke that wasn't in henge.

"How 'bout we walk around the forest. No one will bother us there." Naruto said.

And you can drop that stupid henge.

"Alright."

The grass bled between Naruto's toes. He'd left his sandals at a nearby tree, and Sasuke leaned against a trunk with his eyes closed. The wind blew Sasuke's hair into his face. Naruto relished in the soft breeze, the warm air melting the chill he'd felt all this time. There was something wonderful about the outdoors in early spring. The blossoms bloomed into pink and white and purple. Green washed away any of the black and brown of winter, and then there was Sasuke, who removed the henge after Naruto explained that no one came this way.

His cheekbones were sharper than they used to be, black hair trailing down to his neck. Sasuke's skin—as pale as Naruto remembered— hadn't lost the glow that reminded him of moonlight. There were no Uchiha symbols on his clothes, most likely to keep his identity hidden. Orochimaru would have a party if someone with that symbol walked into his lair.

"You're staring." Sasuke said.

Naruto shrugged. So what if he was? Sasuke stared at Naruto so much when they were younger. It was high time Naruto did the same.

Especially since Sasuke had such a pretty face. How could Naruto not stare?

And why hadn't he noticed before?

"You really should leave, Sasuke. It's not safe here."

Black eyes opened, and Naruto's breath hitched when their gazes locked. Back in the janitor's closet, he hadn't gotten a good look at Sasuke's face—let alone his eyes.

And they were as soul crushing as he remembered.

God, he missed Sasuke.

"I don't need you to protect me."

"But—"

"I'm a ninja, Naruto. I've been trained for situations like this. Can't you just believe that I know what I'm doing?"

Naruto bit his lip, kneeling down beside Sasuke as he gazed up to the sky. It wasn't that Sasuke was weak. It was just—

He didn't want him to get hurt.

And Naruto couldn't protect him in a fight, so the only way he could was by getting rid of him.

"Okay." Naruto said.

But forcing him to leave— that was the worst thing Naruto could do.

After all, Sasuke deserved the right to make his own decisions.

"Okay." He repeated, "I'll stop telling you to leave. Just promise me you won't get caught?"

Sasuke raised his hand to Naruto's face and traced along the scars on Naruto's cheek. His belly stirred in anticipation—of what, he didn't know— but the feeling of someone caressing those scars, of Sasuke's cold fingertips trailing along his cheek, sent a shudder down his spine. Naruto leaned into the touch, eyes closed as Sasuke's finger moved back and forth in an enticing rhythm. A purr escaped his throat, and Sasuke released his cheek.

"Did you just purr?" Sasuke said.

Naruto opened his eyes, forcing Sasuke's hand back onto his cheek, hoping to God that Sasuke would keeping touching those scars.

Don't stop.

"Hmm-mm"

It wouldn't be the first time Naruto purred. Years ago, when he first started out as a servant, an old woman had patted his cheek as a way to thank him for serving her food.

That day, Naruto learned he could purr.

He also learned that he wanted someone to touch those scars again.

He'd ended up going back to the old woman just so she would pat his cheeks again.

But she died a week later.

Sasuke warily stroked Naruto cheek again, brows furrowed in confusion and curiosity. Naruto smiled. He didn't know why Sasuke was doing this. But what did that matter? It felt nice, and he wanted more. There were few people in this world who would even hold Naruto's hand, and Sasuke was the one person Naruto wanted to hold.

So this moment, where Sasuke caressed his cheek, stroking against the scars that were more sensitive than they should be, brought Naruto absolute bliss.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, his pupils dilated, and Naruto arched his back as Sasuke pressed his other hand to Naruto's cheek.

Naruto's eyes glazed over, Sasuke's hand trailed up to his hair, fingers mingling in a tangle of blond locks. A tingle resided in his cheeks, and he found that he was disappointed by having Sasuke leave his scars unattended to.

His hair wasn't nearly as sensitive.

"What are you—"

He didn't have time to finish as Sasuke fisted the back of Naruto's head and pressed their lips together.

Well, it took 26 long chapters. But they finally made it to this stage.

I'd love to hear what you guys thought about it.