The Long Way Home
Part 11
Awakening
Chapter 4/5
Sasuke yawned and stretched before sitting up, or at least attempting to. Unfortunately sometime during the night Naruto had sprawled and it resulted in Sasuke having not only and arm but a leg and half of Naruto lying on him.
Sasuke elbowed him roughly making Naruto snort and roll off him, finally allowing Sasuke to sit up and stretch properly.
"You're always so rough," Naruto muttered into his pillow.
"And you aren't?"
"Shuddup."
Naruto sat up, gave a big yawn himself before focussing sleepy eyes on Sasuke and brandishing a big grin. It was one of those slightly mischievous smiles that generally made Sasuke uneasy and with good reason.
Naruto grabbed his shoulders and pushed him backwards again with enough force that Sasuke was sure if his head hadn't hit the pillow, would have cracked his head on the floor below. Then he was being roughly kissed. He dug his fingers into Naruto's forearm in an attempt to push him off but either his heart wasn't in it or Naruto was just that little bit too strong to budge without punching him.
Of course that was always an option.
But then Naruto began to explore and Sasuke sort of lost the will entirely.
It was his neck, that was his weakness. Unfortunately Naruto knew this too and worked his way down his throat and bit down a shade roughly on his collar bone making Sasuke gasp softly and arch his back slightly either in pain or pleasure, he wasn't entirely sure which. And then came the nipples, first one then the other licked and sucked till he could feel teeth graze him.
"You can't last one day now?" Sasuke ground out.
"Oh c'mon teme, you told me we can't travel today anyway."
"Because you are still weak."
"Am not."
Well he certainly didn't seem weak at the moment.
"No matter how you feel at the moment no travelling means resting, not horny groping you fucking moron!"
"Wrestling for half an hour isn't the same as walking for eight."
"It is the way we do," Sasuke muttered. "What the hell is wrong with you this morning anyway? Like I said, it was only last night."
Naruto had completely stopped what he was doing but he was still hovering over him and didn't seem inclined to move anytime soon.
"I was uh, thinking about last night actually," Naruto admitted reluctantly.
He was about to ask what was so different about last night but managed to stop himself in time. Well sure, Sasuke had blown him but he sure didn't think it was such a big deal.
"I'm not blowing you again," Sasuke told him.
"What, ever?"
"I don't know, definitely not this morning."
"Oh," Naruto responded sort of relieved. Which did weird things for Sasuke's ego. Go figure.
"I suppose I could, you know, I guess it's only fair…"
"What did I tell you about finishing sentences?" Sasuke asked him annoyed.
"I just figured you'd want me to return the favour, I guess."
Surprisingly this thought hadn't occurred to him. Perhaps it should have, after all, like Naruto said, it was only fair. And really surprisingly he felt himself begin to get a little hard by the mere thought alone. That was strange. Not that anticipation didn't do it for him but he usually needed some sort of physical encouragement at least. But mostly he was surprised that Naruto had offered such a thing in the first place.
"Why are you so horny this morning?"
"I told you why."
"If you're really that eager, go jerk off in the bathroom or something."
Naruto actually seemed to think about that option for a moment which made Sasuke wonder. After all Naruto was in this state this morning because he was remembering what Sasuke had done last night. Would he think about it while he…
Sasuke mentally shook himself and told himself not to be an idiot. What they did relieved tension, it wasn't because they were that attracted to one another… right?
But that was a difficult thought to swallow right now. What he'd done wasn't efficient, wasn't necessary, he'd simply done it because he'd wanted to and Naruto had been submissive and just lying there and had looked…
Sasuke clenched his teeth.
"Why would you care about being fair anyway?" Sasuke asked. "Are you just curious?"
"Maybe," Naruto allowed.
Sasuke got the impression that Naruto hadn't really thought about it that much and he wondered why he was bothering to. Did he really enjoy giving himself such disturbing thoughts like that?
Apparently so.
"I don't feel like assuaging your curiosity first thing in the morning."
"What?"
"It means, 'get off me you fucking moron.'"
Naruto didn't look happy but let Sasuke go anyway, sitting back, facing him and frowning.
"Why are you even keeping count anyway? You keep saying 'it was only last night' like it should mean something."
"You don't get frustrated every day."
Naruto rolled his eyes, "I'm a guy, of course I do. Besides, doesn't look like you weren't enjoying it just a little," he added with a grin and a significant look to the obvious bulge in the covers over Sasuke's groin.
Sasuke sat up swiftly and glared at him. This was going to be a very long couple of days.
It was very seldom these days when the pair of them had nothing to do. Even on those days when they weren't in immediate peril or working on a problem they still had the road to travel. But not today. The doctor had told Sasuke that Naruto needed rest and Sasuke wasn't in the mood to carry the dobe if he collapsed again so here they were.
Truthfully, he was a little bit bored and mildly at a loss at what to do with himself. Sasuke had never really gotten into the concept of having down time and wasn't sure how one really went about relaxing without being bored out of their mind. But in all reality he supposed Naruto wasn't the only one needing a little rest. Sasuke might have been all about pushing himself but lately he'd begun to feel a little weary himself. After all Naruto wasn't the only one eating badly and constantly moving onwards so perhaps a couple of days off would do them both some good in the end.
It actually made him wonder why he was so focussed on getting home anyway now that he thought about it. After all, where exactly was home for him these days? And just what was he rushing back towards? He had told Naruto that it was something of a relief in a way to be away from all his troubles for a little while, so why was he so fixated on getting back to them? Well he had to be fixated on something he supposed, it was just the way he was. But was his inbuilt need to push himself towards some goal or another the real driving force here or did he really want to return as quickly as he could after all?
"If you're not going to eat that before it goes cold, I will," Naruto offered to the spaced out Sasuke with a gesture towards his uneaten lunch.
Sasuke scowled at him and took a bite.
"Be thankful I even let you come out today," Sasuke told him after swallowing.
Truthfully he'd gotten sick of Naruto invading his personal space back in the room this morning. Apparently Naruto got bored easily too but his grand plan to alleviate that boredom was to mess around. But as Sasuke had pointed out, they'd done that last night therefore their frustrations should be back in check for a few days at least. Well that's what his brain and past experience told him, his traitorous body had other ideas. So really it was either give in, give Naruto another outlet for his energies or kill him. So they'd decided to go out and grab some lunch and stretch their legs instead.
"After lunch I'm gonna go look for some more clothes," Naruto announced. "After the caves I've only got one shirt and since we've both got our own bags now I reckon I can carry a few more clothes with me."
It wasn't a bad idea since Sasuke was also in the same boat so he nodded and looked off to the side. Just outside the overhang of the awning for the place they were eating a few children were kicking a ball around in the street.
With a contented sigh Naruto leaned back in his chair after finishing the rest of his lunch and followed Sasuke's sight toward the children.
"Sort of reminds me a little bit like home," Naruto commented wistfully. "I wonder what people think happened to me."
"You don't even know what happened to you," Sasuke pointed out.
Naruto's faint smile twisted a little. "I wish I could remember."
Naruto wasn't alone there. But while Naruto was curious about his memory blank, Sasuke was far more interested in just trying to reverse whatever had happened. Not that waking up naked in a blasted clearing a very long way from home and not remembering how he'd gotten there wasn't disturbing enough, but the continued lack of chakra was a far more pressing concern to Sasuke. It had almost been two months since they'd left the clearing now with no sign of their chakra returning and Sasuke had begun to nurse the worry that perhaps what had happened had indeed been permanent after all, despite his earlier thoughts to the contrary.
After lunch Sasuke had few choices about what to do to fill in his time. He supposed it was listlessness that compelled him to trail after Naruto as he wandered around through the local shops but at least he ended up getting some new clothes into the bargain as well. Having extra sets of clothes would solve a lot of problems and wouldn't take up too much space in their bags but eventually Naruto started to get this pained look on his face like he had another headache brewing so Sasuke sent him back to the room before going to pick up something for dinner and heading back himself.
As he walked back he could see dark clouds start to roll in overhead and hear thunder in the distance. He made it inside just as the first few fat drops of rain began to fall.
He entered the room to find Naruto stripped off to his shorts and lying on his hastily set up bedding. He wasn't even trying to cover up the pain anymore apparently and although Sasuke had told him he'd been stupid to even try in the first place he wondered if it was a bad sign that Naruto had given up his brave front so easily. Sasuke doubted it was because of anything he'd said so the fact that Naruto was so plainly in pain now was a little bit worrying.
He mixed some of the medicine the doctor had given him into a cup of hot water and made Naruto sit up and drink it. Within half and hour he had drifted off to sleep and was snoring contently on his bed. Meanwhile Sasuke settled by the window with his dinner to watch the thunderstorm roll over the village in the late afternoon. The clouds had made the room grow dark early but Sasuke had always had a fascination with storms. He liked listening to the rain on the roof, listen to the thunder and watch the lightening light up the sky. He didn't know why such a violent thing made him feel so peaceful but it did. Even Naruto's snoring mixed in with the rain and the crash of thunder seemed oddly calming.
Sasuke had been sitting there for hours before Naruto's snoring abruptly stopped and a few minutes more before he heard Naruto get up and head towards him. Naruto sat beside him silently and without a word took the barely touched and forgotten bread out of Sasuke hand and took a bite.
He chewed thoughtfully for a few moments before swallowing carefully.
"I love storms," Naruto commented.
It was oddly annoying that they had that in common for some reason.
"Good for you."
Naruto took another smaller bite and chewed.
"You know it's okay to leave me here, right?"
This took Sasuke off guard and he looked around at Naruto frowning. Naruto had a small smile on his face but Sasuke could tell it was forced.
"We're not really in danger from anyone anymore and I know you hate sitting around and doing nothing. I don't want to hold you back."
"You were the one who talked me into travelling together," Sasuke reminded him pointedly.
"Yeah and two weeks in you almost left me behind when I got locked up in jail. I know you don't like me, I know you don't think of us as friends even, so I don't know why you've helped me as much as you have already. Not that I'm ungrateful, I'm really happy you did, but whatever obligation you feel you're under…"
"I don't feel obligated," Sasuke snapped at him. "Why should I?"
Naruto looked disappointed by the reaction. "I guess there's no reason. So then you should probably just keep going without me."
Talk about out of the blue.
"Where is this coming from?"
"I'm not getting better quick enough," Naruto admitted.
So that was it. Naruto had hoped that whatever ailment he was suffering was going to clear up overnight. But it wasn't really as dire as all that. Yesterday Naruto had been like the walking dead, today he'd gone almost an entire day without feeling any pain. Unless…
"How long before you returned to the room did you get the headache?"
Here Naruto looked a little sheepish. "Uh, before we left actually. It didn't get real bad till later though."
So he had been toughing it out after all. But the pain had gotten too bad to hide after a while.
"It still must be getting better," Sasuke stated dismissively. "You weren't half as bad as yesterday."
"I guess," Naruto replied uncertainly.
"Are you that eager for me to leave you behind?" Sasuke asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No, of course not!"
"Because you're doing a good job of tempting me to."
"Look, you just seem so eager to get back, keep moving and all that."
Sasuke faced forward again in time for a particularly bright flare of lightening to light up the clouds.
"I've begun to realise that might not be so important."
"Really?" Naruto asked surprised. "Why?"
"I don't have to explain why."
"C'mon teme!"
But Sasuke didn't reply. Mostly because he didn't feel like sharing, but also because he wasn't all that sure himself. Sure he'd realised he might just be rushing back to a life that wasn't really worth rushing back to, but that wasn't much of an explanation and he didn't know if that was all there was to his latest misgivings about going home anyway.
"It's been almost two months," Sasuke said instead. "A few days or a week more is not going to make a big difference to how long it takes in the end, you said that yourself back in Adessa."
"Yeah but I didn't think you ever feel the same way. This whole time you've been going on about not wasting too much time and moving on. I mean, are you sticking around just for me?"
"No," Sasuke scoffed at the idea. "It makes sense to take a break every now and then so we don't burn ourselves out and potentially turn a few days off into several weeks of recovery time."
"Oh-kay," Naruto said slowly. "Sure, I suppose you're right. But Sasuke, what if I don't get better? What if there is something really wrong with me?"
"The doctor said to go back if you hadn't gotten better. I suggest you try that before you start digging your own grave. I doubt you're dying dobe."
Naruto nodded, looking relieved. But Sasuke wasn't sure if it was relief over being able to get help from the doctor or relief that Sasuke wasn't going to take him up on the offer to leave him behind.
Naruto sat on the cool metal table and looked around himself, trying to look like he was relaxed and even a little excited about being here. Which he sort of was in a way. Back at home the only medical treatment he usually had was either with Sakura, Tsunade or both. To say they weren't the most gentle people in the world would be a major understatement. Oh they could be nice enough when he was really injured, but getting himself lightly wounded generally resulted in Sakura smacking him over the head for being reckless and causing him almost as much pain as the actual wound.
So he was pretty pleased to finally have the prospect of a doctor look him over without the occasional violence but at the same time he couldn't help but be very worried about what the doctor might say.
When he'd made the offer to Sasuke last night about leaving him behind, it hadn't been a decision he'd come to lightly. Normally he'd try to be optimistic about the situation, shrug it off as just a result of being reckless with his own well being and work towards getting better. And he had been optimistic at first, thinking that all he needed was some rest and proper food. But yesterday's pain had been an eye opener. Now instead of dealing with the occasional migraine, he was seldom without pain. So after that first night, having a very relaxing encounter with Sasuke, eating some real food and getting a full night sleep he was still in pain and that made him very nervous indeed.
Sasuke was leaning against the opposite wall, moodily staring at his folded arms. It was obvious that he didn't like being here, but he had come of his own free will, guiding Naruto to the doctor's office this morning without being asked. But despite Sasuke's mood and despite wanting to appear nothing but strong, he was still sort of relieved to have the company. Of course that feeling might be short lived if the doctor gave him some bad news and Sasuke decided to leave him behind after all.
Soon enough the doctor arrived, a friendly looking greying man with glasses and a round face. Naruto automatically gave him a big smile.
"Hi Doc! Didn't really get to meet you the other day but I really wanted to thank you for the help you gave me, I really appreciate it."
The doctor looked slightly taken aback by the immediate good cheer and shared a look with Sasuke for a moment.
"Well he seems energetic enough," the doctor commented. "I think that perhaps you might have given him too much of the drug. It can have this effect."
Sasuke just shrugged. "No, this is normal."
"Oh," the doctor turned back toward Naruto and gave him a smile of his own. "Well it is nice to see you conscious Naruto. How are you feeling today?"
Naruto realised in that moment that he'd just opened his mouth to lie. He didn't know why, it wouldn't do him any favours and lying wasn't exactly something he did easily or regularly. He guessed he was just used to putting up a brave front. But Sasuke was giving him a challenging glower and Naruto spared a moment to think before he spoke.
"A bit better," he said carefully. "But the pain still won't go away."
"Have you passed out again?"
"No."
"Have you been sleeping?"
"Sure. Sasuke's real good at getting me to sleep. With the herbs!" Naruto was quick to add when he saw Sasuke's eyes widen a little in panic. "Those herbs you gave us knocks me right out."
"Okay. Well you aren't getting worse, just not a lot better," the doctor mused. "I suppose I couldn't convince the pair of you to take another couple of days to rest, could I?"
Naruto shook his head before Sasuke could say anything. "If you think I'll get better I think I'd rather keep up. I, uh, mean move on," Naruto corrected after a moment.
It was true, he didn't want to part ways with Sasuke, and he'd only been willing to offer to do so if whatever this was turned out to be serious. But if that wasn't the case, he knew he didn't want to be left behind.
"I didn't say I thought you'd get better. I haven't even given you a check-up yet. I just said you didn't appear to be getting worse."
"Well, let's get this going Doc, I'm really ready for some good news."
Naruto was in a better mood when he left the office later that day. The doctor had given him a few shots and told him that he seemed to be in good physical condition considering what he'd been through and already he felt a lot better. The pain in his head had lessened to a dull ache and he'd been pleased with the news that he would probably start to feel even better in a few days time since the doctor couldn't find anything physically wrong with him. Needless to say, this was a huge relief.
"So I guess you don't have to leave me behind after all," Naruto told Sasuke as they entered their room.
"Pity, I was beginning to get used to the idea," Sasuke returned.
"Ooo, funny Sasuke. You don't want to leave me behind," he said confidently walking into the bathroom and stripping off in preparation of a bath. After being poked and prodded by the doctor, he just felt like taking a nice long soak in the tub.
Sasuke followed him as far as the doorway where he leant and smirked at him.
"I wouldn't sound so sure. But as long as you can keep up with me, I don't care what you do."
Well that was probably true enough. But Sasuke looked pleased enough with the prospect so Naruto didn't comment on his wording.
Actually Sasuke was eying him still with that moderately pleased expression and Naruto spent a few naked moments trying to work out what it meant. Finally he figured he'd hit on the right answer.
"You're just happy you don't have to look after me anymore."
"There is that," Sasuke allowed.
Naruto rolled his eyes and bent over to turn the taps on. He almost jumped when he felt a warm palm slide over the top of his ass and further up his back.
"I thought you said yesterday that it was too soon," Naruto said in surprise, not daring to move.
The hand stopped and Naruto suddenly wished he hadn't opened his mouth. Maybe Sasuke had momentarily forgotten about keeping track and here he'd just spoiled it.
"You're right."
He felt Sasuke move away from him and he straightened up and turned as quickly as he could, grabbing Sasuke's arm before he could walk away. Sasuke let Naruto hold him back and watched him expectantly for a few moments as though he was waiting for Naruto to argue. And Naruto really wanted to. Hell, even when his head was pounding he still wanted to fool around. Admittedly only part of that was because he was a horny teenager, mostly it was because without fail the feel of Sasuke touching him made him feel better and soothed him in ways he couldn't have imagined.
But Sasuke seemed to have it all built up in his mind that doing it too often meant something weird. As if the situation wasn't weird enough to begin with. Or maybe he just thought it looked weak or something, who knew with Sasuke. But Naruto did know that the only way he was going to get Sasuke out of his mindset was to try and make an argument that Sasuke might make if he were on Naruto's side of things.
"Keeping track is counterproductive," he all but blurted.
Sasuke blinked in surprise at that and Naruto couldn't blame him. He wasn't even entirely sure what he meant himself, it had just sounded like a Sasuke thing to say.
"What?"
"The whole point is to get something out of our systems, right? So why bottle it up just because you want relief sooner than usual?"
"You don't sound like yourself."
"Actually I'm trying to sound like you," Naruto admitted. "Doesn't mean it isn't true."
Sasuke looked interested for a moment but then his eyes narrowed. "If you are trying to convince me to-"
Naruto cut him off. "Look you've really got to get into the spirit of fun for fun's sake. If you wanna do something fun just do it, that's how I see it. I don't know why you have to keep justifying things to yourself."
"One of us has to think," Sasuke told him snidely.
"Besides," Naruto continued ignoring the barb, "I guess I owe you a hair washing at least for the last few days you've been looking after me."
Now Sasuke really did look torn looking at the filling tub and back toward Naruto as though he couldn't decide whether his pride was worth missing out on a possible double dose of pleasure. So Naruto helped him make his decision by bolding reaching out and pulling at the tie on his shirt. Sasuke might not have looked happy about losing the argument but he didn't stop him either.
He continued to stand there and not stop him in fact as Naruto slipped the shirt off his shoulders letting it fall to the floor behind. He trailed his hands down Sasuke's sides till he could grip his hips and began walking backwards towards the tub, tugging Sasuke along as he went.
Sasuke didn't offer up much resistance even now and eventually sighed in resignation.
"Fine, you actually made a valid point for once," Sasuke accepted though in a very unimpressed tone. "But my rule from the night before last still stands."
"Eat all my vegetables?" Naruto asked hopefully with a sinking feeling.
"No overexertion. The last thing I need is for you to crack your already damaged head on the side of the tub or something."
Naruto's legs did come into contact with the edge of said tub in that moment stopping them both.
"Okay, I get a 'no wrestling in bathrooms' rule, I bleed enough when we're rolling around on grass let alone hard tiles. But c'mon teme, I'm fine! You can't ask me to not join in this time!"
"I can," Sasuke said firmly.
Well fuck that. Last night might have been nice in a way to let Sasuke take over, but there was just something about not being able to join in the way he wanted that left him feeling a little frustrated afterwards. It was like he hadn't gotten all he'd wanted from the encounter even though at the same time he'd also gotten a lot more than he'd expected too. And while the thought of what Sasuke had done the night before still blew his mind, so to speak, and was totally worth having to be patient, he didn't want to be left wanting in any way twice in a row.
But Sasuke was being unreasonably stubborn so there was probably no use trying to talk him out of it. Of course Sasuke was more of a physical guy anyway…
So Naruto leant forward and kissed him. Not too aggressively, he didn't want to give the game away yet, but deeply. He then cupped his hand around the back of Sasuke's neck, reaching up and letting his fingers trail through the ends of Sasuke's hair before letting up with his lips to kiss and suck at that magical little spot just below Sasuke's ear. He heard the deep breath flow out of Sasuke and felt his body relax exactly how he'd wanted So this was what you had to do to circumvent the stubborn jerk behaviour! All he'd been doing was working from what he'd learnt so far, the hair touching, that spot on his neck, both of those were Sasuke weak points he'd discovered and apparently going after both at the same time gave Sasuke the consistency of jelly in his arms.
If only he'd known this was the secret to chill the bastard out he might have considered this alternative years ago.
He reached around Sasuke, placing his palm flat against the base of his spine, pushing with his fingers, hoping to move their bodies closer when Sasuke moaned very loudly.
And sure, Sasuke made noises occasionally but usually they were fairly restrained and not all that loud. But this, this sort of shocked them both. Sasuke shook off his hands and took a sharp step back, flushed, breathing deeply and watching Naruto with narrowed accusing eyes.
"What?"
But Sasuke didn't answer him right away and Naruto realised after a moment that Sasuke was just as surprised and confused as he was. Yet his look also told Naruto that Sasuke was suspicious of him too.
"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked eventually.
Fuck, had Sasuke caught on?
"Making out," Naruto answered obviously. "What's up with you? Wasn't it good?"
"Answer the question."
Naruto sighed. "Fine, I know you like the neck and hair things, I thought I'd do both, to make it feel good," he admitted.
"And my back?"
"What?" Naruto asked confused before finally realising what the real problem was. "Seriously?" Naruto asked with a grin, "You like that spot on your back too? Wow, I am good."
It was entirely possible that thanks to Sasuke not being close to anyone else like this before that just about anywhere on his body might be unreasonably sensitive in intimate moments, but it seemed a little too far-fetched that it was all that random either. Apparently paying attention to all three spots had been the thing to elicit that loud unrestrained noise after all.
But Sasuke looked pissed which was hardly surprising. Sasuke had been a little too open for comfort and felt his control slip which was unthinkable for him.
But just when Naruto was getting ready for Sasuke to either hit him or storm out Sasuke reached forward putting his hands on his shoulders and pushing down making a surprised Naruto sit on the edge of the tub while Sasuke got on his knees in front of him, moving his hands to rest on the tops of Naruto's legs.
For a wild moment Naruto thought he might be about to get blown again and figured that as far as possible Sasuke wrath was concerned, this was by far an incredibly good outcome But Sasuke didn't move to take him into his mouth. Instead he starting moving his hands upwards in a firm and strangely exploratory way. It took Naruto a good minute or two to realise what Sasuke was doing.
"I'm already at three - nil," he said smugly.
"Two - one," Sasuke corrected tersely. "The hair doesn't count, it's just relaxing."
Sasuke obviously didn't realised he'd just admitted to why he enjoyed the hair thing and Naruto didn't draw attention to the slip either, pleased that Sasuke found his touch relaxing but at the same time amused by Sasuke's miscount.
"I don't remember what that 'one' is," he teased.
Almost absently, Sasuke let his right thumb trail into the crease on his leg near his groin making Naruto shiver.
"Okay fine," he allowed in a slightly husky voice, "that's one. But uh, you might have noticed I don't feel like waiting for you to search every inch of me just to make us even. Besides I might not have another jelly spot."
He saw Sasuke's eyes flicker toward his obvious impatience and despite being in a brightly lit room and being completely naked while Sasuke's hands rove searchingly over his chest he didn't feel embarrassed in the least.
"Jelly spot? Nevermind. You're too easily aroused, you have to have more."
Naruto grinned, "Hah, maybe you're my jelly spot."
Sasuke's hands stalled on him for a moment as he looked up at Naruto with a frown.
"What?"
"When you made that noise, that's what mostly, well… I just mean that might be the thing that really gets me, ya know?"
He couldn't understand how he could have possibly said the wrong thing but Sasuke's frown deepened and he didn't look pleased by the news. As far as Naruto was concerned, he'd not only given Sasuke a way to make them even but it was sort of a compliment too. But he might as well have told Sasuke to go fuck himself from the look he was getting right now.
"Just take the fucking compliment," Naruto told him before Sasuke could speak.
"I don't want you to compliment me, that's not the point."
Naruto reached over and turned off the taps before putting his hands on Sasuke's shoulders and firmly pushing him back giving him enough room to sink to the floor to his knees as well so he could look Sasuke in the eye.
"If the point is getting off and feeling good then whatever works, right?"
Sasuke didn't look as pissed but when he went to open his mouth again Naruto still beat him to the punch, knowing that Sasuke was about to say something nasty. But instead of speaking, Naruto kissed him instead.
He pushed him back till Sasuke's back came into contact with the tiles. Sasuke resisted at first but Naruto just pushed harder.
"No wrestling in bathrooms, remember?" Naruto murmured against his lips.
"No overexertion," Sasuke countered.
"No being an asshole," Naruto added.
Finally he felt Sasuke's mouth curl up into something approaching a smirk.
"Then stop being a moron."
"Shut up teme," Naruto suggested grinning as well before reinitiating the kiss.
TBC
Notes: Remember folks, when I say jelly, I'm Australian. I think some countries might use the word jello for what I mean if that makes more sense. Gelatinous, semi transparent, wobbly food item just didn't have the same ring somehow. And once I wrote 'jelly spot' and it make me giggle like the child that I am, well, I just had to keep it.
So yeah, you saw right. For the first time in this series I have gone beyond my chapter prediction and there will be a 5th chapter. Chapter 4 was getting waaay too long and I was already overdue posting so I cut it short thinking you'd prefer an update rather than to wait even longer. We'll start chapter 5 with the end to this night and continue onto the following day.
So, apologies. Apart from breaking chapter prediction, I've also broken my one chapter a week streak for Part 11. It's a culmination of computer issues, releasing the Halloween Special for WNL, travelling and having a bad reaction to something that made me sick for a few days. It's been a hectic week, sorry guys.
I will try to release chapter 5 within the next week but having a 5th chapter was unexpected and I'm not currently in a position to make promises with any sort of confidence. I know all you lovely people will understand and I will aim to release the 5th chapter as soon as possible, Part 12 within the month and follow up with Part 13 almost immediately after that.
Sooo, enough about me, more about the boys. Naruto being a little too accommodating is slowly starting to slip away a little. And is it just me, or are things getting a little more warm between the pair? It's almost getting cute *grins* So I know that whole thing about Naruto telling Sasuke he could leave was a little out of the blue, but he didn't really mean it in the end. He wants to appear strong and not hold Sasuke back but appearances are indeed deceiving. Anyway Naruto seems to be finally feeling a little better so we'll see where that leads us.
Till next time,
Dash.
Unsigned Reviews –
Bk – Aw that's okay, so long as you are still enjoying the fic :) I'm just happy you liked it. They are very cute, aren't they?
Guest - Thanks! Sorry the wait was a little longer.
BunnyGuest – Yeah it was time for a little progression methinks. I don't think he's ready to think about anything emotional just yet as he seems happy in the land of denial. For the moment ;)
As for your wonderings… I really can't say too much. Even if you didn't mind spoilers I can't publish them with the chapter in a guest review even though I am burning to say at least something. *sniffs* Sorry.
Sassynu – Thanks, I'm really happy you are enjoying the story :) I like the 50/50 thing too.
A big ol' smile is all I require *grins*
Guest – I don't know how to reply except wow. This is exactly it, EXACTLY! I could not have put it better myself and I've been trying to for a multitude of chapters lol. Naruto is more emotionally involved whether he consciously accepts just how much at the moment or not. Which he doesn't, not yet. But no matter, even in the current mindset he does have more of an emotional attachment to Sasuke for which Sasuke has still not caught up to or rather allowed himself to catch up to yet. And yes, although physically it appears as though Sasuke is more in control, Naruto did initiate those instances in contact a lot. But holding him back is this idea of not knowing what the boundaries are which is completely Sasuke's fault by being constantly contradictive. He says one thing, then contradicts himself with his own actions. It makes those boundaries fuzzy to say the least. But the moment a new limit is set, Naruto does seem to wholeheartedly follow suit. And also as you said, unlike Sasuke, Naruto wants them to be close and will not risk pushing things beyond the limits set by Sasuke not wanting to risk the friendship and closeness that means more to him at this moment.
Uh yeah, I think I just basically repeated everything you said. But it was so amazing wow…
So yeah now the trick is giving Naruto the confidence to push the boundaries himself which with the latest chapter has kinda vaguely started to creep in but nowhere near where we need him to be. But something will happen during Parts 12 and mostly 13 where we will see him gain that confidence we need to move that part of the story along and test his emotional reliance on what he still even now perceives as a very tenuous bond with Sasuke. Without him being so anxious about what Sasuke will tolerate we will see some much needed growth character wise. But totally, until then Sasuke is too unpredictable for him to risk doing something he doesn't like. And to make it worse this is not a fully conscious thing he is doing. He is just reacting to Sasuke's behaviour without proper thought about the whys and it will take something drastic to realise this and perhaps put a stop to it. And you are right in a way that it will take some showing that Sasuke does care but getting Sasuke to show such a thing will be a trial as well.
I revel in the fact that neither of them 100% like the other. Even in the fullness of time if I get them to a point where there are big possible 'l' word feelings in there they will still bicker and call each other names because that is just how they are. Hell they aren't even proper friends at the moment but somehow still manage to work together, not to mention get off together.
This might border on spoiling but I did write a random scene a couple of weeks ago where one did start to develop the tingling feelings of something on a deeper level but still questioned their own sanity on why the fuck it had happened considering how much the other annoyed them and pissed them off most of the time. Of course the use of this scene may or may not happen but I don't think the sentiment will ever change. So I won't discount love, they will get to a point where they will trust each other quite a lot though never implicitly with absolutely everything, but they will never stop bickering, calling each other names or hating certain things about the other person no matter how deep I take it emotionally. Just doesn't seem their style :)
So now that I have ranted for way more time than you would have preferred I will leave you alone. But I must thank you so much, really, really, thank you for your review because you really nailed so much of what I was trying to say a lot better than I have been able to explain it and that makes me grin like crazy.
Longtimefan – Thanks! I try to be nice… sometimes lol. Hope you enjoy the next chapter :)
Sis – Yay and you're totally welcome!
