Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any of its associated characters!
Summary: Sasuke is tired. Sasuke is hungry. Sasuke is...well, hunting, now. Vampire AU, SNS, will be explicit. Two years later...it's done! New chapter will be up every day until the fic is finished!
A/N: Chapter 4 already! I know I've been doing big long chapters, but it still feels quick. I forgot how fast the days go by when I do a chapter a day. Thanks for the kind words, friends :) It means a lot to have all my effort so appreciated after so long spent working on it! I hope you continue to be just as excited for what's to come. Onto the story!
Just a quick warning - this chapter contains descriptions of vomiting.
Bite Me
Chapter 4: The Boyfriend
Barely a week later, Naruto was still texting Sasuke. He should've been texting Ino and Sakura right now, but Sasuke had just sent him a message—he laughed, typing out a quick reply before he bit his lip, looking up—
He was so damn late.
Work had gone way later than he'd thought, and then he'd smelled like wet dog (or, well, dogs and cats and somebody had asked him about a horse today), so he'd run back to his place and promised to get drinks if they let him miss dinner—
Luckily, Ino and Sakura were merciful.
Unluckily, Naruto was still late. He bit his thumb and jogged forward, opening the most recent chain of messages just in case—
Someone grabbed him by the shoulders. Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin, flinching back with a "oh, fuck, sorr—"
"Situational awareness of a bug in a spider web," came a familiar drawl. "Were you trying to run down everyone in your path?"
Naruto laughed and immediately moved forward again.
"Only if you're the spider," he said, but Sasuke only rolled his eyes. "I'm late for drinks. Ever since dad let everything slip, the world's been out for my head. What're you doing out of your cave?"
"I just had a job interview," Sasuke said, frowning down at himself. "Your friends are trying to kill you because you're dating?"
"My friends are trying to kill me 'cause I didn't tell them I was dating," Naruto explained. "Job interview, huh? That explains why you look so…"
Naruto trailed off, looking Sasuke up and down again. He was still in all black—of course, Naruto'd never expect anything less—but decked out with his fitted dress shirt, sleek black tie, suit pants and leather belt—
Sasuke raised an eyebrow.
"I mean, don't get me wrong, the hoodie's essential to your look," Naruto teased, "but this is a nice change."
Nice was an understatement, but Sasuke didn't need to know that. Naruto grinned as Sasuke's eyes rolled.
"I'm aware my wardrobe isn't particularly exciting," Sasuke said. "Are your friends going to harass you until they meet me?"
Naruto laughed.
"Or until we fake break-up, yeah. Why—you offering?"
Sasuke shrugged and looked away.
Naruto's grin widened.
"Wanna be my date tonight, Sasuke?"
Sasuke crossed his arms.
"I owe you several favours," he said, still not meeting Naruto's eye. "Whether you call them in or not is up to you."
"Oh my god, asshole, you can just say yes."
Naruto practically dragged him the rest of the way.
"Three hours," was the greeting they got. "Three hours—"
"I know!" Naruto yelled, ducking down with his hands in the air. "I know, I'm the worst—but look who I brought with me!"
Naruto waved his arms out to the side—at Sasuke.
Sasuke stared blankly at him.
"The boyfriend!" Naruto explained, waving his arms with even more insistence—
"Oh!" said the first girl—the one with pink hair—at just the same time her companion clapped her hands together and yelled, "the boyfriend!"
They both scrambled to their feet, and Sasuke stuck out his hand with a practiced formality he hadn't known he'd remembered—
"You got a name, boyfriend?" said the blonde girl, looking him up and down.
"Sasuke," he said, glancing over at a smiling, encouraging Naruto—
"Sasuke what?"
"...Taka," he said quickly—awkward and uncomfortable and turning a pleading gaze onto Naruto—
"Oh, uh," Naruto said, jumping to his rescue, "d'you guys want more drinks? I can pay."
"I'll get them," Sasuke offered quickly, grateful for the out.
"Ooh," the blonde said, sliding back into her seat as she pointed at Sasuke, "he gets points."
"But Naruto pays!" said the pink-haired girl. "He owes us!"
Naruto laughed, and then turned his sheepish smile onto Sasuke. Sasuke only raised an eyebrow at it.
"I do owe them," he said, passing the money over.
Sasuke's smile widened.
"So you do. Requests?"
"Wine!" called the blonde, the other girl laughing along with her—
Naruto laughed and turned back to him.
"Wine!" he imitated, laughing at Sasuke's eyeroll. "You can get me whatever matches whatever you get. Or—well—you know."
Sasuke snorted, and Naruto tapped two fingers to his shoulder as he slipped away.
He slipped back over to the bar, ignoring the way the people were far too close to him, pressing on every bit of his body. The last time he'd been anywhere this crowded, he'd been trying to pick out...well…
He shook himself, glancing back the way he had come. He couldn't see Naruto there anymore, but somehow, knowing he didn't have to—knowing he at least had the choice—
"Anything I can get you?"
Sasuke blinked at the bartender. That had been fast.
"Two glasses of white wine, and two...beers. In the can."
The bartender glanced behind him.
"What kind of beer?"
"...Whatever you recommend."
The bartender glanced back, but indulged him, and Sasuke breathed out as he left. He just needed anything that wouldn't set off the fact that he wouldn't be drinking...well, anything. Even water had managed to make him sick (which, in Sasuke's opinion, didn't make any goddamn sense, there was plenty of water in blood)—
"Here you go."
"Thanks," Sasuke muttered, struggling with them already. He muddled his way back through the crowd, tucking the cans in his arms so the wine wouldn't spill—
"Boyfriend! The boyfriend is back!" one of the girls called, and Sasuke sighed as he slid into the booth.
"She forgot my name already, didn't she?" Sasuke asked a laughing Naruto—
"I think they're really drunk," Naruto muttered, but it was just loud enough for the pink-haired girl to reach over the table to flick his nose.
"Wh—ow—"
"'Cause you took forever, you big dumb idiot."
"She makes a good point," Sasuke muttered to him, "you are a big dumb idiot."
That got a laugh out of Naruto, alongside a shove of his shoulder into Sasuke's own.
"Asshole," Naruto said, taking a sip of his beer.
Sasuke's smile widened.
The blonde chopped a hand right between them.
Naruto flinched away at the same time Sasuke jerked back—
"Ino!" Naruto laughed. "What—"
"No flirting! Yet. Right, Sakura?"
"Yup," said Sakura—Sasuke, through every bit of his bewilderment, tried to note down the name. And Ino, the other one was Ino—or well, that's what Naruto had called her— "No flirting 'till you make up for ditching dinner."
"We're not—I said I was sorry! You—okay, okay," Naruto said, leaning forwards, "tell me about the thing at work. Was it at the hospital or the shop?"
"Oh my god," Ino started, "you have no idea. We…"
Two hours later, they were still talking.
The good news was that Naruto was chatty enough for the both of them, leaning over to fill in Sasuke whenever it was needed, but happy to take charge of the conversation that mostly went over Sasuke's head. The bad news was that they hadn't managed to get the last few rounds, which had left Sasuke with several drinks left untouched, and it had only taken two for them to start to notice. But Naruto had noticed too, and he'd done a miraculous job at switching their glasses every time the girls hadn't been looking ever since—
Which left Sasuke in the clear, and Naruto very, very drunk.
"Okay—last round?"
"Last round, I got it, lemmie—sorry, Sasuke, I gotta slip past you—"
"Bet that's a view he's seen before," came Ino's voice, just as Naruto's hips levelled themselves at Sasuke's face—
"Jesus Christ, Ino," Naruto said, stumbling his way free, "M'never letting you meet anyone I ever know ever again—Sasuke, help me carry drinks."
Sasuke was on his feet in a heartbeat.
"No! Stop stealing him away!"
Naruto paused, midway through pulling at Sasuke's hand, to give him a helpless look.
Sasuke sighed.
"Only if you get yourself some water," he said, sitting back down.
Naruto gave him a sloppy salute and an apologetic grin, and then he was off.
Sasuke huddled the glass that Naruto had half-emptied for him to his chest.
"Okay, finally, Naru's been holding out," Ino said, leaning forward. "How'd you two meet?"
Okay. He knew this one.
"Through the art classes his father runs."
"You take them? Mmm, makes sense..."
Sasuke nodded, glancing over at the bar as he took a fake-sip of the drink—
"Hm," said the second voice—Sakura, he reminded himself, as the blonde's head fell on her shoulder, "are you a short-term or a long-term kind of guy?"
"I—what?"
"In a relationship," said the blonde, and Sasuke blinked—
"I—"
"You don't know," Sakura answered for him. "Have you ever cheated on someone?"
"What? No."
Or—well—he couldn't remember doing so. He knew—he didn't like the thought of it—in fact, he had a pretty sour view on most—
"How many relationships have you had?"
Well, judging on the information he had somewhere in his head—
"...None," Sasuke answered quietly. "Or, well, one, now."
They blinked at him. Sasuke let out a breath and scanned the crowd again.
"S'your first relationship?"
Sasuke slid the glass onto the table.
"Your condescension is greatly appreciated," he deadpanned, not looking back. Ah—there. Blonde hair—messy in that very familiar way...still facing away from him. Damn it. Go faster, Naruto...
"I'm not being—"
"We are kinda being," Sakura cut her off, and Sasuke glanced back, surprised.
Sakura laughed again, and Ino ducked her head into her shoulder.
"You can't blame us, though," Sakura said, leaning back to put her foot on the seat. "Naruto's all over the place—usually. We know everything in like five seconds. But then you—"
She waved her drink in the air, and Sasuke stared at it.
"Then me—what?"
Her head tilted, as if she was trying to drunkenly scan him up and down.
"He's...quiet. Secretive," she said, shifting herself to let the blonde nuzzle into her neck. "I figured you had to be pretty interesting, to make him like that."
Sasuke covered his mouth with his drink, and turned away again. Interesting, sure. Interested—sure. Not in him, though. In something else. In a part of him. Not in who he…
"I feel like it's more lovey-dovey than all secrets," mumbled the blonde, and Sasuke coughed into what he was supposed to be drinking. "Like he's trying to hide how much he likes him. Right? He's all—how long've they been dating again?"
Uh. That—had they decided when that was supposed to be? Sasuke didn't—
"I'm back!" Naruto announced, sliding the drinks onto the table. "What'd I miss?"
"We're making fun of you!" Ino announced, pulling herself back up.
Sasuke snorted. Naruto gaped at him.
"What!" he yelled, falling over Sasuke again. Sasuke bit down on a laugh and shoved him further along the booth, helping Naruto to actually make it to sitting—
"Th—traitors! You're all traitors!" Naruto said, finally managing to sit up again. Or, well, he was really just using Sasuke's shoulder to prop himself back up—
"You're both gross," Ino said, "congratulations."
"We aren't gross!" Naruto protested—
"She means adorable," Sakura laughed, swaying back into the booth. "Okay! Last drinks? S'late."
"Mmyeah," Naruto nodded, holding his up. Sasuke followed suit, still feeling Naruto's warmth at his side—
They leaned forward and back, but the warmth didn't waver.
It took about another hour for them to finally make it out of the bar. Well, Sasuke made it out. Naruto, on the other hand…
"Am I going to have to carry you?"
Naruto heaved in a breath, blinking himself back into reality.
"No," he said, still staring out into space. "No—I'll be okay. I'm gonna be…"
"It's my fault you're like this," Sasuke said quietly, leaning in. "I don't mind."
Naruto threw him a brilliant, sloppy smile.
"I was pretty good, huh? They had nooo idea."
Sasuke snorted, catching Naruto by the arm again.
"They didn't," he agreed, "although I'm not sure if they noticed much of anything with the way they were…"
Naruto stumbled into him.
"Sorry, I'm good, thanks, sorry—what were you guys, um, making fun of me about?"
Sasuke snorted, keeping an arm at the ready to catch the moron again.
"So many options that you don't know which it could be?"
Naruto shoved Sasuke's arm out of the way, and Sasuke laughed.
"Dick!" Naruto accused, and Sasuke shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets and smiling down at the concrete.
"They said something about how...quiet you are. About me."
"Well, yeah," Naruto said, "m'not that good at keeping secrets and I don't wanna screw you over."
"Are you not?" Sasuke asked, looking him up and down. "You've been rather quick on your feet, so far."
Naruto threw him a lopsided, flattered grin.
"Thanks," he said, laughing a little, "I'm good at like—adapting. Improv. Whatever—but like, if somebody asks me a question about you I gotta take like—like a minute before I answer. Or they're getting everything outta me."
Sasuke snorted, shaking his head a little. He supposed that did summarize Naruto—his mind moved a mile a minute and his mouth was only trying to keep up...
"S'that all? That's not really—um, like, making fun," Naruto pointed out, taking a moment to sway on his feet before he finally completed the step.
"No," Sasuke said, readying himself to catch the poor drunken idiot again.
Clear blue eyes blinked up at him, waiting.
"They also said something about you being," Sasuke cleared his throat, searching for the least embarrassing word, "...lovestruck."
Naruto laughed, ducking his head and grumbling something Sasuke didn't quite catch.
"I'm not lovestruck," he said, stumbling over thin air again, "I just think you're—"
Naruto paused and let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair. His mouth widened into a small, blushing smile and…
Oh.
Sasuke swallowed and turned away, his chest tight and warm. As difficult as it was to believe, there was something exhilarating in being forced to admit that there...was the smallest chance that maybe—Naruto actually enjoyed Sasuke's company. Maybe. Without the obligation or guilt that Sasuke was sure had something to do with it. But then—
"They seemed to think it was something to do with," Sasuke stared somewhere at the street, somewhere in the reflection of the dark puddles, rippling faintly with the echo of the road, "how...interesting. I was."
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Naruto pause. It made Sasuke stop, too, which made much more out of all of this than Sasuke had wanted—he hadn't thought Naruto would catch how much this sliver of thought was bothering Sasuke, but he obviously—
"I mean," Naruto said, eyes blue and clear enough to cut right through the dark, "yeah, sure, but it's not th—sorry. Whoa. It's not a—whoa—"
Naruto swayed, and Sasuke automatically reached out to catch him.
"Sorry," Naruto said again, using Sasuke's arm to push himself back up. "Sorry, I…"
Sasuke sighed.
"Come on, then."
Naruto blinked at him with eyes that were just a little too slow at focusing.
"Come...wha?"
"Get on my back. Let's go."
Naruto blinked again.
"Wh—you sure? I'm okay, I can—"
"Moron," Sasuke sighed, "you've spent the last four hours covering for me. Let me help you."
Naruto's flushed face spread out into a wide smile.
"'Kay," he said. "Thanks, Sasuke."
"Whatever. Just hold your hands around my neck, will you? No, not like—ow, you're choking me, moron—"
Sasuke heaved him up again and Naruto's breath laughed against his ear.
"Sorry," he mumbled again. "You feel colder than usual."
Yes, well. Sasuke imagined it was quite the contrast to the bursting ball of heat that Naruto was.
"I have old blood in me," Sasuke said, adjusting his grip on Naruto's thighs. "Where am I going from here?"
"Just go straight for a bit. What d'you mean, old blood?"
Straight for a bit. Alright.
"I haven't...eaten in a while," he explained, dodging a couple on the street.
"'Could change that if you want," Naruto offered, nuzzling further into his neck. Sasuke felt the chills break out over his skin…
"While you're like this?" Sasuke said, doing all he could to ignore the feeling. "Then we'd be two morons collapsed on the sidewalk."
Naruto shifted against him.
"Really?" he said, oblivious to how much harder him writhing around made this whole process. "You can get—like—like secondhand drunk?"
Naruto giggled, and Sasuke snorted, finding his feet again.
"Yes," he said, "if that's how you'd like to put it. Stop squirming, would you?"
"Oh, yeah, sorry. M'sorry."
Sasuke bit down on his smile again.
"You're very apologetic tonight," he pointed out.
"S'it annoying you? Sorr—aw, fuck—"
Sasuke laughed, stumbling as Naruto's weight pulled him to the right—
"If we both fall," he warned, "I'm not picking you back up."
"'Kay—okay," Naruto said, tightening his arms around him. "M'gonna just be quiet now."
Sasuke glanced back at Naruto, who was far too preoccupied burying his face into his neck again.
"I'll believe that when I hear it," he said.
"Ass," Naruto mumbled.
"Moron."
He adjusted his grip on Naruto's thighs and continued to walk, letting the warmth in his hands be nothing more than a passing thought. His head was already a mess tonight, and—
"M'not just hanging out with you 'cause you're a vampire," Naruto mumbled, and Sasuke breathed in. It was a burst of a moment—something that pulsed through the thoughts in his mind and left nothing but a mist behind. Sasuke opened his mouth, but he didn't—he didn't know—
"Just—s'you know. Should know."
Sasuke swallowed, and continued to walk. His heart pounded in his chest—quick and harsh, and nothing at all like Naruto's breath against his neck. That was slow and warm and deep...Sasuke grasped for something else to focus on—not the words, not the warmth, on the—on the lights ahead of him. On the steps ahead of him. He paused as the light changed at the crosswalk, glancing across the street around him. Naruto stayed quiet, breathing slow, arms loose around Sasuke's neck...
The light changed.
"Do I keep going straight here?" he asked softly.
Naruto's warm breath against his neck was his only answer.
"...Naruto?"
Nothing.
Well, shit. Could he find his way home from here?
Naruto awoke, dizzy and disoriented—on the floor.
"Sorry," said a voice—Sasuke's voice, oh yeah—somewhere above him. "Just a second—"
Naruto blinked as a door opened in front of him, and Sasuke reached down.
"Where're we?" Naruto said, letting Sasuke pull him up. The world spun as soon as he was on his feet; fuck, he was gonna fall right ba—
"My apartment," Sasuke said, closing the door behind him. "You can spend the night."
"Th—thanks," Naruto said, breathing in deep—deeper—something in his stomach felt so—
"Are you alright?"
"I—" Naruto said, stumbling, "I'm gonna be—"
Sasuke wrenched him into the bathroom.
"Fuck," Naruto heaved out, pulling back. "I'm so sorry. I'm—"
"Idiot," Sasuke said, kneeling beside him. "This is my fault."
"S'not. It's—ugh," Naruo felt his stomach rear up and contract, and he dove over the toilet bowl again— "fuck. God. It's—not your fault, I should've just dumped it all—somewhere, but it—t's so mean for everybody who has to clean up—"
Beside him, Sasuke laughed.
Naruto glanced back, from his hunched over pose, to see Sasuke shaking his head, looking at him like…
"You're so stupid," he said. It felt like a compliment.
Naruto's smile widened.
"Yeah. Bit stupid."
He sat back on his heels, just now feeling the cool press of Sasuke's hand on his back. Had he been rubbing it before? Naruto hadn't…
"How are you feeling?"
Naruto breathed in.
"Dunno. Yet," he said honestly, "um...more sober. I think. Probably not as much as I think. I—aw, fuck, I think I got some on my shirt…"
"You did. I'll wash it," Sasuke said immediately. "Water?"
"Yeah, yeah, that'd be amazing. Sorry, 'ske, you don't have to stay, this is so gross—"
"Naruto," Sasuke said, helping him with the buttons of his shirt, "I'm a vampire. I'm well acquainted with bodily fluids."
Naruto laughed softly, and let Sasuke pull the shirt from his shoulders.
"I guess, yeah. Thanks," he said, as Sasuke stood. He still felt...off, like there was some sort of tension building in the bottom of his stomach, but the dizziness was starting to pass, he thought…
"I only have the one cup," Sasuke said, as the tap started running. "Let me wash it first…"
"Only one?" Naruto asked, unabashedly leaning against Sasuke's toilet. He felt way too shit to care right now. "No, like—wine glass to, y'know, swirl the blood around?"
Sasuke snorted and glanced over at him.
"Sorry to disappoint."
And another dumb joke about vampire stereotypes was right on the tip of his tongue, but as soon as Naruto opened his mouth to say it—
"Oh no."
It was all he got out before he dove back over the toilet, heaving for breath in between gags—his throat burned and his eyes were even worse—
"Shit," he gasped out, sitting back. He would've fallen all the way back if not for—
"Alright?" Sasuke asked, holding him up. Naruto leaned back in relief—it took so much out of him to even hold himself up right now—
"Yeah, it's...fuck. Sorry, Sasuke. I—"
"There you go with the apologies again," Sasuke said, reaching up past him to flush the toilet. "Water is beside you."
"Oh," Naruto said, realizing it was right by his knee already, "thanks."
He swirled the water around his mouth and spat it out, just to help with some of the burning. His stomach felt...well, still tense, but that pressure that had been there had seemed to—seemed to calm. He thought. He hoped. Fuck—
"I think it passed," Naruto mumbled, leaning back again. He was exhausted. He was totally fucking wiped. It was like it was hitting him all at once... "I think I'm good."
"I should hope so," Sasuke muttered, closer to him than he'd remembered. "I don't think there's anything left."
Naruto let out a pitiful laugh.
"S'what I get for skipping dinner, I guess."
Sasuke's head swivelled to face him.
"You didn't eat?"
"I was late!"
Sasuke's mouth opened and closed, before he finally sighed and let out a pained, "you idiot. I could have grabbed—I don't have any food here—"
"I don't want any food now, Sasuke, it's fine." Naruto laughed, throwing a hand over his face as he laid back on the bathroom tile. "S'my own dumb fault. Stupid. Can I sleep here?"
His eyes closed before Sasuke could answer. He was still listening—he was, he heard Sasuke's sigh and everything—but his eyes were so heavy and burning and he—whoa—
"Wh—whoa, Sas—!"
"Relax, moron," Sasuke said, heaving him up. Naruto scrambled for where to grab, settling for clutching at Sasuke's shirt as the guy cautiously tucked them through the doorway—
Naruto just, uh, clung to him. He didn't really have the energy or stability to much else, and Sasuke seemed content enough to walk them over to the other end of the room—the room Naruto had barely gotten a chance to see, before now (there wasn't really much to see, though, other than a big ass freezer)—and gently leaned him onto the bed.
Naruto laughed a little.
"You're strong, huh?"
Sasuke's face flushed.
"Still a vampire," he said again, as if it explained everything. "Stay sitting up for a second."
"'Kay," Naruto said, blearily hugging his knees to keep himself up. It was a different kind of dizziness, now—a heavy fog in his head, one that kept trying to pull him down, down…
"Moron," came Sasuke's voice, "you can lay down now."
Naruto obeyed without even opening his eyes. Something was under his head, though...oh, a towel, yeah okay...
"Turn your head."
"Hm, wh?" Naruto wrenched his eyes open.
"Here," Sasuke said, gently pulling Naruto to face him. "In case you're sick again. Knee up."
Naruto's mouth widened into a tired grin.
"Making sure I don't choke? M'not that far gone."
Sasuke let out a breath through his nose.
"I think my landlord would have something to say about me having a dead body in my apartment," he said quietly, pulling Naruto's blankets up above his shoulders. They'd fallen off one of his feet, now—he'd have to…
"You're funny," Naruto said, still watching him. Sasuke was so…
Sasuke raised an eyebrow.
"You do tend to find ways to make a joke out of me," he said, straightening up as Naruto let out a quiet laugh. "Are you going to be able to sleep?"
"Mm, yeah. Thanks, 'ske."
Naruto closed his eyes, and that was about all it took.
A/N: That's it for today!
See you soon,
- Kinomi