I'm not really updating this as fast as I want, but I have focusing issues. It's not my fault. T^T

Citrusy stuff ahead.

Some Sort of Wonderful

Naruto leaned back in his chair, mind reeling from the implications of what he'd just heard. "You linked with Kiba and Shikamaru? Both? At the same time?"

Sasuke, looking inexplicably uncomfortable, wouldn't quite look at him as he nodded.

Kiba, from his spot sprawled on the edge of the sparring mat, chuckled. "It was incredible. We couldn't hold onto it for very long, but he did it. He did the impossible!"

Grumbling under his breath, Naruto continued scrubbing the burn marks off the wall. "I can't believe I have to wait for another two weeks before I can give it a go with you two."

Shikamaru waved a lazy hand. "It's what you get for being stupid."

Naruto chucked the dirty sponge at him. "I'm not stupid!"

Abruptly rising, Sasuke glided toward him and leaned close, pitching his voice low for Naruto's ears alone. "I want to see your third form."

The excitement Naruto immediately felt at the closeness died at those words. He grimaced. "It's . . . I'm not ready for that. But I will be soon, okay?"

Judging by the flat look Sasuke gave him, it wasn't okay. The raven teen folded his arms as if demanding a better explanation. Naruto scratched the back of his neck.

Shikamaru stood up. "C'mon, Kiba. I'm bored of this shit."

Kiba sighed but followed him, and Naruto felt a wave of gratitude toward them both.

Sasuke, however, gave him a heated glare. "You can't get better with a form if you won't use it. You're the one who keeps saying you plan to bond with me at the end of the year, so I want to spar with you. Using your third form."

Deciding now was as good a time as any to talk about shitty pasts, Naruto yielded. Grabbing Sasuke's arm, he steered him to the undamaged part of the sparring mat and sat him down. Then kneeled in front of him, grasping Sasuke's hands in both of his. "I'll tell you all about it, but you have to promise me you won't . . . see me different."

Raising an eyebrow, Sasuke lifted his chin. "How is one type of idiot different from another?"

Snorting, Naruto shook his head. "Just promise. And mean it."

Sasuke's eyes softened. "I promise." Low and sincere.

Naruto took a deep breath. "Remember me saying the circumstances of my parents' deaths were odd?"

Sasuke nodded.

"Well, it's a little more than that. Did you ever hear of the Kyuubi?"

With a frown, Sasuke nodded again. "One of the oldest known demons. It was sealed somewhere in Konoha."

"Not just somewhere," Naruto said. "It was sealed inside Kushina Uzumaki. My mother."

Eyes intent on Naruto's face, the slightly smaller teen motioned him to continue.

"The Nine-Tail wasn't really meant to be sealed inside my mom," Naruto went on. "She was meant to be a temporary vessel. So she and my dad and some other Shinobi from the village got together to transfer the seal from her to me. I guess demons don't have any control over infants. Only . . ." Emotion suddenly choked him, and he swallowed thickly.

Sasuke's ebony eyes were bright with compassion. "Something went wrong?" he offered quietly.

Naruto snorted. "Yeah. You could say that. The demon started to wake up. But there was an unwelcome guest at this party. I don't know a lot, no one really does. But there was a rogue Shinobi who disrupted the ritual transfer. It's thought that person meant to interrupt the transfer into themselves, but that didn't happen. The Kyuubi tried to fight free, but its chakra sort of went out of control. In the ensuing chaos, everyone was killed. My mom, my dad, the rogue Shinobi, and everyone else there. My mom did manage to complete the seal, though, so the Kyuubi is inside me.

"Thing is, its chakra merged with mine so completely it's like it is mine," Naruto explained. "That's why it feels so weird. And I probably wouldn't even have a third form without it." Here he paused, hoping Sasuke would connect the dots himself.

He did so instantly. "So your third form is . . . a manifestation of the Kyuubi?"

Relief that he wouldn't have to explain swept through Naruto. "Yeah," he said softly.

The younger teen's spine stiffened. With an abruptness that sort of startled Naruto, he rose to his feet, breaking the other's hold. Sasuke paced back and forth for several moments.

"You told me before the people of Konoha blamed you for your parents' deaths," he said, voice peculiarly flat.

Naruto scratched the back of his neck. "Heh, yeah . . ."

Sasuke rounded on him, ebony eyes suddenly blazing with heat. "Why? How is any of this your fault? That'd be like me being blamed for Itachi killing my family. Why did they blame you?"

It took Naruto a second to realize why Sasuke was angry. He's angry for me. On my behalf. In my defense. It was the first time he'd ever experienced the like, and it left him unexpectedly defenseless. Surging off the floor, he matched Sasuke's pacing and yanked him into a tight hug.

"Thank you," he whispered into raven hair.

Sasuke tensed. "For what?" he grunted.

"Keeping your promise," Naruto mumbled, feeling an embarrassing urge to cry. Instead, he grabbed Sasuke's face and kissed him. Hard.

With a cute, disgruntled sound, Sasuke resisted. It took a few seconds of encouragement to soothe him into responding, and Naruto's hold tightened when his Coordinator melted against him. His skinny arms wound around Naruto's back, hands clenching in the material of Naruto's uniform shirt. And without any prompting from Naruto, he opened his mouth to deepen the kiss.

Naruto bit and sucked and nipped at his lips and tongue for a few moments before dragging his mouth across Sasuke's jaw. "Do you care about me, Sasu~ke?" he breathed.

Sasuke made a faint, huffing sound that managed to convey his irritation. "Don't a-ask something stupid when you're kissing me," he snapped, the hitch in his voice barely audible.

"But I like kissing you," Naruto whined, biting down on Sasuke's pulse before swiping his tongue in gentle apology.

Burying his hands in Naruto's golden hair, Sasuke yanked his head back up. "Idiot." Their mouths clashed again.

The heat built up between them with alarming speed, and suddenly they were on the mat. Naruto wasn't sure which one of them initiated that, maybe both at the same time. But he was on his back with Sasuke straddling his hips, elbows on the mat alongside Naruto's head. This position gave Naruto a whole bunch of brilliant leverage, which he utilized with alacrity. He grabbed two handfuls of Sasuke's firm, perfect ass.

Though he didn't stop kissing Naruto, Sasuke let out an incoherent growl and bit Naruto's tongue really fucking hard. Then he sucked on it, so Naruto really didn't mind. He kneaded the pert flesh in his hands, desperately wishing it wasn't covered by black fabric.

"Sto-stop it," Sasuke panted between open-mouthed kisses.

Yet he made no move to get away or push Naruto's hands away, so Naruto ignored him and kept it up, nipping at Sasuke's lips every time the smaller teen pulled back for a gulp of air. His disobedience seemed to incense Sasuke, and he grabbed the hem of Naruto's shirt and yanked it out of his pants. Then he shoved his hands beneath it.

Electricity sparked along every one of Naruto's nerves. It was stupid that such a touch would arouse him, but it did. He felt himself hardening in response, and without thinking he used his hold to rock Sasuke against his groin. Sasuke let out the most delicious groan at this, his hands running light and smooth over Naruto's chest. Skin to skin.

Fuck, Naruto thought hazily, trying to gather the fraying edges of his self-control. They were in a sparring arena, for fuck's sake. Not one of the private rooms, but one of the big student halls. It was closed for use but the doors weren't locked. Anyone could walk in. Absolutely anyone. At any fucking moment.

So why was he grinding up against Sasuke's ass? And the raven wasn't helping the matter any with those faint, sexy little panting moans. And then made it even worse by grabbing one of Naruto's hands and dragging it to the front of his uniform slacks.

FUCK, he's hard too, Naruto thought. In the blink of an eye he had them flipped, his broader bulk now pinning Sasuke to the mat. He ground his arousal right into Sasuke's. The raven immediately threw his head back and fuck, his moan almost made Naruto come.

"Sh-shit," he panted, gnawing on Sasuke's neck. It would leave a mark, he knew it would. But his control was lost.

Fortunately (or really, really unfortunately), Sasuke's control was not. He pushed at Naruto's shoulders. "Stop." Quiet but firm and dead serious.

Naruto stopped at once, peering down into ebony eyes. "Too much?" he whispered.

Sasuke nodded, but he didn't look scared or disgusted. In fact, he looked a little disappointed. "Not here," he said after a few moments of breathing hard. "It's dirty. And you smell like industrial cleaner."

Unable to help it, Naruto half collapsed on top of him in a fit of sudden giggles. Ah, Sasuke. I like you so much. "Okay," he said, glad to feel the hardness in his pants subsiding. "But can we continue this later?"

Now came the shyness. Blushing a little, Sasuke looked away and nodded. Grinning and wondering if this was what love felt like, Naruto leaned down and bit his ear. That almost got him an elbow in the face as he scrambled off the smaller teen. Sasuke gave him a glare as he gingerly stood and straightened his uniform. And yes, he had a pretty big hickey.

"Idiot," he sniffed, gliding past him.

Plenty pleased with this turn of events, Naruto just grinned and let him go. "Yup. He cares about me." His good mood carried him through the rest of his unpleasant chores.

~*o0o 0o0 o0o*~

Kakashi watched Sasuke closely as the young Coordinator executed a series of timed attacks. Sometimes he couldn't believe this kid's raw ability and determination. When he'd told Sasuke to work on linking with two Controllers at once, he'd figured it would be a good way to help Sasuke focus and work on his chakra control. He'd never imagined Sasuke would actually figure out a way to do it.

And here he was, linked up with two Controllers and maintaining it so far for two minutes.

Sakura had replaced Shikamaru, one of the four Iruka had recommended as good matches. She actually suited him better than Shikamaru and Kiba both, her control so perfect she'd managed to help Sasuke maintain the link more smoothly.

"All right," Kakashi said, able to tell Sasuke was getting too tired, "let's wrap it up for the night. That was excellent, you three. Kiba, Sakura, you two can go."

The pair both grinned at Sasuke when he unraveled their link, waving and bidding both a good night before leaving. Sasuke looked up at Kakashi, clearly waiting.

For a moment, Kakashi studied him in silence. In the last week, the kid had filled out a little and looked to have more energy and spirit than in the last four years combined. He'd lost the pale, pinched look about the face and seemed not so haunted. It's as though he was using until just a week or two ago.

"I'm proud of you," he said at length.

As he always did when praised, Sasuke got inexplicably shy. He looked down. "Thanks."

It was kind of cute. Kakashi resisted the urge to ruffle his hair. "Have you given any thought to whom you'll bond at the end of the year?"

Sasuke gave him a somewhat surprised look. "Naruto wants to."

Kakashi snorted. "I'm very well aware what he wants. I want to know what you want."

Judging from his expression, Sasuke hadn't thought about it. This his countenance grew rather guarded. "I . . . are you going to tell me I shouldn't choose him?"

"I'll never tell you what to do," Kakashi said. "At least, not about that. You do realize the Committee will never fully approve if you two decide to bond?"

That brought Sasuke's chin up. "Like I care."

The man almost smiled. Some things never changed. "I'm only bringing that up because it's worth keeping in mind."

"Why would they protest?" Sasuke demanded. "Naruto's third form is the Kyuubi. The Nine-Tail is a powerful weapon. Why shouldn't they want it matched up with the Sharingan?"

Kakashi blinked. "He told you about that?"

"I asked," Sasuke said, eyes going somewhat flinty.

Sighing, Kakashi sat on the edge of the sparring mat and pulled his mask down. He patted the space beside him. Sasuke came toward him warily, but he sat.

"That's not the issue," Kakashi said, draping an arm around Sasuke's shoulders. "Yeah, Naruto's third form is powerful. Too powerful, some would say. Your Sharingan makes you a tremendous asset. There are those who believe Naruto would be a liability. That chakra of his can be unpredictable."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "The Committee doesn't get to decide my future. I may be the only Uchiha left, but I'm not going to be a tool. I'm not going to discount Naruto just because they don't like me considering him. I like how I feel when I'm with him, Kakashi. He exhausts me and pushes me and makes me forget Itachi. I feel . . . normal."

Then he blushed, and Kakashi had a feeling his kid had more than just normal feelings toward Naruto. The situation suddenly reminded him of himself and Iruka, what felt like a million years ago. I was discouraged from bonding with Iruka, he thought. The Committee thought he was too average for me. And I told them to fuck themselves and did what I damn well wanted.

Best decision of his life.

He tried to imagine Naruto bonding with Sasuke. No doubt in his mind, the blonde Controller would take good care of Sasuke.

"You two already had sex?" Kakashi asked, casual as you please.

Sasuke's eyes widened comically as he half glared, half panicked. "What?"

Kakashi waved a hand. "It's fine. Just make sure he uses lube. The first time can be -"

"Shut up," Sasuke snarled, hands clenching into fists, chakra misting around him.

Keeping a straight face required all his self-discipline. "I'm serious. You want to enjoy yourself as much as he will -"

Without another word or hint of warning, Sasuke's eyes went red with the Sharingan and he lunged forward, fist snapping back. Chuckling, Kakashi channeled some chakra into his palm to soften the blow as he caught Sasuke's fist. Then he yanked the kid into a brief but tight hug.

"Do whatever you want," he murmured. "Fuck everyone else."

Quick as embracing him, Kakashi released him and stood up. "Now get some sleep," he ordered, throwing a wave over his shoulder as he left the sparring room.

Not looking back, he pulled his mask back up as he headed to Tsunade's office. Thinking about the past made him miss his lover and partner. Iruka had left two days ago, and he dearly wished he didn't have to be here so he could rejoin his love in the capital city. Of course, that meant he couldn't be here with Sasuke, and of the two males in his life this one needed him more.

Rapping his knuckles on the door before entering, he closed the door behind him. "So?" he inquired.

Tsunade abandoned whatever held her attention and leaned forward, folding her hands. "You were right. Communications are coming from The Academy and going to a location we know to be an Akatsuki stronghold."

Kakashi's attention focused into a razor-fine line. "Who?" he said softly.

She visibly hesitated. "Kabuto Yakushi."

Holding perfectly still, Kakashi digested that information. Shizune's number one medical nin. He's the one who performed Sasuke's physicals. That bastard had his hands on my kid.

"We never would have found out," Tsunade went on, sounding a bit cautious, "if we weren't looking for it. He was very careful."

Feeling a peculiar tunnel vision, Kakashi had to force himself to breathe normally. "I'll kill him." He turned.

Tsunade beat him to the door, slapping an arm across it. "Wait, Kakashi. I know you're angry. So am I. But he doesn't know we know. We can use him."

After several seconds of trying to decide the best way to kill her so he could get to Kabuto, better sense suddenly returned. Kakashi relaxed his muscles. "You're right. As long as he doesn't touch Sasuke again."

"Naturally," Tsunade said at once, nodding. "Shizune will be his primary care provider from now on. Or myself."

Kakashi took a few deep breaths. "So what comes next?"

Tsunade's attractive face hardened. "Now we trap the little weasel and make him squeal."