How to Break a Mask

Author: Kinomi Akai

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I would have enough money to go bribe my neighbours to stop screaming and blasting music because as much as I like writing about my otp I also need to SLEEP ONCE IN A WHILE UGH

Summary: An incident at the festival on Oct. 10th reveals that there is a lot that everyone doesn't know about Naruto. Smart!Naruto, Sasunaru/Narusasu, Rated M to be safe

Pairings: Sasunaru/Narusasu, mentions of KakaIru.

Warnings: Shonen-ai, yaoi, boy x boy, whatever to want to call it. AND IT'S LIME TIME BABY.

Author's Note: This is the second last chapter! The epilogue will go right after this. I hope you all enjoy!

"Blah" – talking

'blah' – thinking

'blah' – Kyuubi talking

Last time:

Sasuke put in hand on Naruto's shoulder in acquiescence, and Naruto turned to give him a soft smile. They worked to move Naruto in properly in comfortable silence until the sun went down.

Chapter 13: The Couch

Sasuke was the first to break the silence. "We should eat dinner."

Naruto nodded, but his eyes never left the pale boy's face. "Yeah."

Sasuke's cheeks were burning, but the moment hadn't been broken yet. He took a risk.

"Come on, dobe," he muttered into Naruto's ear, reveling in the tanned boy's responsive shudder. He let a hand rest on Naruto's broad shoulder before trailing it down his arm as he slipped by the muscular boy.

For a moment, their fingertips touched.

For a moment, Sasuke thought his blood had turned to fire.

But he left the room without another word, trusting Naruto to follow him. Had he waited a second longer, he might have felt the twitch in Naruto's hand as the tanned boy fought against the urge to grab Sasuke's hand like a lovesick fanboy.

'You should have made a move,' Kyuubi chided.

Naruto inwardly sighed, not in the mood to argue. 'Listen, kyu-chan. I know you want me to be happy, and you're just trying to build up my confidence to get what I want, but I really, really don't want to mess this up. If I spend the rest of my life with Sasuke as my best friend, I will be more than happy. I'm not going to push this. Besides, Sasuke's not even-'

'If you say he's not gay, I'm going to start screaming and I will not stop.'

Rolling his eyes, Naruto decided to ignore the fox for now. He followed the route that Sasuke had taken to get to the kitchen, letting his thoughts focus on a much more important topic: food.

"Do you want me to help?" Naruto asked, wondering what else he could do while the raven was busy.

Said Uchiha smirked. "Can I trust you not to burn down my house?"

"Teme!" Naruto growled. "I'm not completely incompetent, you know."

"Prove it, then, dobe."

The teasing, challenging atmosphere was comforting. Naruto easily met the smirking boy's eyes.

"Fine. What are we making?"

Despite the fact that the banter continued the entire time they worked, everything managed to go perfectly. Sasuke and Naruto were used to working as a team, after all. Neither boy seemed to realize what an oddly domestic scene they were taking part in.

"We never ended up seeing Kakashi," Sasuke noted.

"Yeah," Naruto laughed sheepishly. "I guess I had a lot more stuff than I thought I did."

"Hn," the corners of Sasuke's mouth curved upwards as he continued to stir.

"Hey, Sasuke?" Naruto's voice was quiet and hesitant, but his face was turned away.

"Yes?"

There was a pause, but Sasuke didn't let it affect him. He continued to slowly stir, keeping patiently silent.

"Thank you."

The words startled him, and he couldn't quite stop the glance he gave the tanned boy. Bright blue eyes had turned to him, and Naruto's smile had changed. Instead of the wide, ear-to-ear grin he usually wore, this one was small, almost shy, showing no teeth. But, for some reason, Sasuke felt his chest become warmer at this expression than any other he had ever seen. Unconsciously, he returned the smile.

"Hn, dobe."

The rest of the meal was made in warm, affectionate silence. Sasuke, especially, was shocked at how far from awkward it was between them. He had furiously regretted the brief touch he had given Naruto as soon as it was finished, but it seemed that the blonde boy hadn't really minded. That, or he was just too nice for his own good, which was equally possible.

But the area in which they cooked wasn't exactly big. Their bodies brushing against each other in some fashion was pretty much inevitable. Naruto had acted as if it was completely normal and, although he would never admit to doing so, Sasuke had followed his lead.

There was a completely cliche moment where they had both grabbed the same plate when they started to set the table. Sasuke had blushed and immediately let go of the hand he had accidentally grabbed, but Naruto had only grinned to himself as he set the table. Somehow, the blonde's actions were encouraging the raven to be more bold. Perhaps it was the rival in him wanting to outdo Naruto, but he didn't want to be the only one getting flustered around here. So, when Naruto had come back to get some cutlery, Sasuke made sure that his one free hand brushed a tanned him. He refused to look back to see if Naruto was blushing, but the slight intake of breath he had heard was enough for a wide smirk to force itself across his face.

Naruto, who had been very happy with the small, accidental touches he had been getting, was very confused.

He had been completely ready to accept a purely platonic relationship. He could live off off the unintentional affection that the Uchiha had given him.

But the hand that pressed against his hip as the pale boy passed him by had been anything but accidental. He hadn't been able to to suppress a gasp, but he was incredibly relieved that the piercing obsidian eyes hadn't turned back around to see the blood rush to his cheeks.

He had just fought the blush back down when Sasuke entered the kitchen area again, and their eyes caught. There was a moment of unabashed staring, before both boys remembered themselves, and looked away. Naruto, embarrassed and uneasy, did his best to avoid the Uchiha's gaze and, more importantly, his body.

"Dobe."

His voice caught him off guard, and he spun around to look at Sasuke.

The black-haired boy in question tilted his head slightly to indicate the direction of the dining table.

"It's time to eat. Come on," he said. Naruto stared into his eyes, but Sasuke seemed to not really be focused on him.

The Uchiha was deliberating with himself, but, surprisingly, it didn't take much convincing from his libido to reach out and take Naruto's wrist to pull him to the dining room. Granted, it wasn't as intimate as holding hands, but that certainly didn't stop the angry blush that danced across his cheeks. Naruto wasn't much better off, though his tanned skin was better at hiding the redness. His aquamarine eyes stayed focused on the floor as he let himself be pulled forwards, his lips softly curving upwards.

A knock on the door interrupted their dinner before it could begin properly. Both boys stared at the source of the noise for a moment, as if surprised that there were other people outside of the two of them. Sasuke opened the door, with Naruto peaking over his shoulder, to see their overly cheerful sensei standing there.

"Yo! Long time no see."

"Sensei." Sasuke nodded his greeting, while Naruto grinned.

"I figured I'd find the two of you together. Sakura is up for some training tomorrow morning. What do you think?"

Sasuke discreetly turned his body as to watch Naruto's reaction to the question.

"Sounds good to me!" The blonde seemed to realize the answer really depended on him, but was glad that they hadn't been obvious about it.

"We'll be there." Sasuke told him.

"'Kay," his visible eye arched up, and he gave a jaunty wave before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"Well, that solves that issue," Naruto pointed out.

Sasuke smirked. "Come on, dobe."

They ate in relatively comfortable silence. Naruto, while relishing the home-cooked meal that Sasuke was able to make with actual fresh produce, spent most of his thoughts on the black-haired ninja himself. Namely, he was attempting to figure out if they had crossed the best friends line quite yet. Sasuke wasn't exactly a cuddly type, but they had probably touched more in the past few days than in their entire past friendship. He didn't want to ruin anything, he was terrified at the mere thought of losing Sasuke, but he also didn't want to stand idly by and miss the chance of a lifetime.

'I really need to stop getting ahead of myself,' Naruto though. 'I don't even know if he likes guys in that way...let alone if he'd like me.'

'LET ME SAVE YOU THE TROUBLE,' an infuriated voice rang throughout his skull and Naruto winced. 'HE LIKES GUYS IN THAT WAY.'

Sasuke caught the wince, and looked at him. "What's wrong?"

'SEE, LOOK AT THAT. HAS HE EVER ASKED A FANGIRL WHAT WAS WRONG? HAS HE?' Kyuubi boomed.

Naruto brought his hands up to massage his temples.

'Kyuubi-"

'DAMN STRAIGHT HE HASN'T. AND DO YOU-'

'KYUUBI SHUT THE HELL UP! You are giving me a massive headache.'

'Good. Now you know how I feel having to listen to your thoughts all the damn time.'

"Naruto?"

The blonde blinked up at Sasuke and gave a sheepish smile. "Sorry, just a sudden headache."

Sasuke frowned worriedly. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he sighed, closing his eyes to try to lessen the throbbing.

Sasuke evidently didn't believe him, because he stood, and helped Naruto to his feet.

"Here," Sasuke brought Naruto to the couch, and sat down on the edge. "Lay down here."

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows. "There's not enough space."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Just do it, moron."

"Bastard," Naruto sullenly obeyed, and was surprised when Sasuke pulled Naruto's head closer to him.

"Close your eyes," he spoke softly, bringing his hands up on either side of the blonde's head.

'You're welcome.'

Naruto let out a relieved sigh as Sasuke pressed down and the tension momentarily vanished. Unconsciously leaning further into the raven's touch, he let his eyes flutter closed and his body relax. Sasuke smirked, and continued kneading his fingers into the blonde hair. He traced each curvature of Naruto's skull, breathing in the intoxicating scent of the jinchuuriki as they unintentionally moved closer together.

As if enchanted, Sasuke moved his hands to press behind Naruto's ears, before slowly trailing down to massage his neck. As the pale hands found the tight knots in the tanned ninja's shoulders, Naruto let out a loud moan that sent Sasuke's blood rushing downwards. His hands paused in surprise and Naruto's eyes snapped open.

Blushing and stuttering an apology, he tried to sit up, but Sasuke tightened his grip and pulled the blonde closer to himself.

"Dobe. I'm not done." He muttered, his warm breath ghosting against Naruto's ear. Naruto ruthlessly repressed the urge to shudder, and his body remained tense.

"Idiot," Sasuke slipped a thumb past the collar of Naruto's shirt to knead around his shoulder blade. "Relax."

Against his will, Naruto found himself melting into the Uchiha's touches yet again. Sasuke tried to maneuver around the fabric of Naruto's t-shirt, but his fingers slipped, and he finally decided to speak up.

"If you want a real back massage," Sasuke spoke quietly into Naruto's ear, enjoying their proximity. "You're going to have to take your shirt off."

"Ah," Naruto responded, his mind too foggy to decide one way or the other. His best friend seemed to see this, because he trailed his hands around Naruto's torso, grasping the shirt at the bottom in askance. The blonde only response was to raise his arms to allow Sasuke to pull the shirt over his head. The intimacy of the action wasn't lost on them. Both boys were panting slightly, glancing at each other with hooded eyes.

Sasuke swallowed as he let his hands trace down Naruto's back. Naruto responded to the touch by flipping their positions on the couch, so Naruto was lying face down with Sasuke straddling him. The raven-haired boy tried to focus himself enough to continue the massage without completely molesting Naruto, but it was a close call. There was more than just tension-relief in those touches. Sasuke's hands lingered for longer then necessary, they touched Naruto's skin when it wasn't needed, and the Uchiha certainly didn't need to be leaning close enough for Naruto to feel his breath on his back.

But the blonde certainly wasn't complaining. He was in absolute heaven.

Sasuke seemed to have ended the massage, but was reluctant to say anything, lest he be unable to feel that godlike torso again. Naruto solved the dilemma for him by turning his body around to face upwards. There was a moment where the air seemed to absolutely pulse with heat. Naruto had his arms above his head, and was intensely staring up at Sasuke. The Uchiha in question was hunched over Naruto, and seemed to be falling closer by the second. Their eyes met, before Naruto saw Sasuke's start to lower before becoming fixated. Naruto let his tongue dart out, and bit the newly wetted lip. Judging by the flash of lust that ignited in Sasuke's darkened eyes, it was definitely his mouth that held the Uchiha's attention.

Naruto let a playful grin dance across his face, and wrapped a hand around Sasuke's pale neck. The raven offered no resistance when Naruto pulled him down to meet his lips.

Deep within the recesses of Naruto's mindscape, Kyuubi high-fived herself.

The kiss started out chaste, but the atmosphere that surrounded them was so far from such that it poisoned their lips into moving. It was like a dam had cracked and then been completely annihilated by the rushing water. Their mouths were open, tongues fighting in a furious dance of who could taste the other more thoroughly. Naruto was grasping at the hem of Sasuke's shirt, pulling and tugging at the fabric. Sasuke had his hands buried deep in blonde locks, pausing only to let Naruto yank his shirt over his head and toss it across the room.

If the kiss had been good, then this was absolutely celestial. The skin on skin contact as their naked torsos brushed each other drove them wild. Naruto wrapped his hands around Sasuke's neck, crashing their lips together as Sasuke gripped Naruto's waist and thrust their hips together. Naruto groaned into the kiss, any embarrassment long forgotten as Sasuke tilted his head to suck on Naruto's neck in between pants.

The blonde threw his head back to expose his neck further to that sinfully exquisite tongue, his nails raking up and down Sasuke's pale back. Their hips moved in time to the pace that Sasuke set as he ground Naruto into the couch, their erections rubbing and grinding together in a mind-blowing, writhing haze.

Their breathing sped up, and so did the pace, as Sasuke stopped his ministrations on Naruto's chest. He seemed to be having the same overwhelming build up of ecstasy as Naruto, who was gulping in breaths in between moans. Sasuke's breath came in harsh gasps as they rocked, his fingers painfully digging into Naruto's skin as the pleasure reached unbearable levels.

They came together in one vicious thrust, Naruto's back arching into Sasuke who had his head buried in Naruto's chest. As they gasped for air to clear their lungs and their heads, their eyes met in question. There certainly wasn't any going back now.

But Naruto broke the silence in a way neither expected. Perhaps it was the fact that he should be serious, but Sasuke's hair was sticking every which way and he just looked so ridiculous...like a bird with ruffled feathers.

Naruto's lips twitched upwards. He bit his lip, but that seemed to make it worse, and before he knew it, he started snickering.

Sasuke looked at him with amused eyes. "What's so funny?"

Naruto calmed his laughter and eyed the Uchiha. "You've got bedhead," he snickered.

Sasuke glared, reaching up to try to fix his hair. "It's not bedhead, it's sex hair. There's a difference."

The reminder of what they did made Naruto blush furiously, and he looked down. Sasuke crawled towards him, taking his chin to let their gazes catch yet again. With gentleness that Naruto didn't know Sasuke had, he brought their lips together in a slow, loving promise. Naruto was smiling as Sasuke pulled back to rest their foreheads together. A pale hand brushed the scars on Naruto's face, causing the aquamarine eyes to close and Naruto to lean into the touch. But the closed eyes seemed to cause Naruto's body to remember its fatigue, and he slumped forward slightly.

Sasuke caught him. "Naruto?"

"'Tired," was the mumbled response he received.

"Put your hands around my neck," he ordered, and the tired blonde dutifully obeyed. Sasuke smirked. Naruto was pretty cute as this cuddly, obedient version of himself.

Naruto wasn't exactly easy to lift, but Sasuke was strong, so he managed fairly easily. He didn't manage to make the trip to the bedroom completely smoothly, however, so Naruto had woken up a bit by the time they got there.

Placing the blonde on the bed, he pulled the covers over him before wondering what to do with himself. Naruto had anticipated this, and lifted his level of consciousness up to speak.

"You can sleep here, teme," he said softly, smiling at the warmth that his request brought to those dark eyes.

Sasuke wasted no time in curling an arm around Naruto's tanned waist, and pulling him close. Naruto smiled to himself.

It was just as Naruto was falling asleep that Sasuke suddenly spoke.

"So, dobe," Naruto could hear the smirk so clearly in his voice that he could almost see it, "how's the headache?"

Author's Note:

EYYYYYYYYY I did it! I updated! Long time no see, eh friends? Finally uploaded this one after editing the entire story to better fit my writing style, and I was seriously tempted to let this be the last chapter...but I feel like you deserve an epilogue. After all - you've waited what...TEN years for me to finish this? Yeah...my bad

I'll write a bit more in the next one. I'm off to work on it now! See you there ;)

- Kinomi