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: Hey friends! Sorry for the later update today. It's been a hectic past couple of days, but I digress - onto the story!

Bite Me

Chapter 12: Normal

Naruto spent the next half-a-week in heaven. Well, not like—okay. It wasn't like talking to Sasuke again was the best thing that ever happened to him or anything, but it was still—

Nice. It was just nice.

He didn't want to get any more into it than that. Not anymore. He'd caused enough shit by acknowledging the fact that he maybe, kind of, sort of, might be in danger here. It had seemed like a good idea at the time—alone, with Sasuke ignoring him—to take a step back from it all. Give his heart (and his head) a break. Or something.

All it had actually ended up doing was royally fucking with the both of them.

So, here they were. Right back to it.

"You'd had dinner already," Sasuke pointed out, looking for his folder again.

"But it was ramen! And you ate it without me!" Naruto said, flailing his arms about. His dad gave him a look, but he was smiling all the while—

"I'll take you out for ramen sometime soon," Iruka called back, fiddling with the shelves again. "How about that?"

"Yes!" Naruto yelled, punching his fist in the air.

Sasuke glanced back, eyes amused and one eyebrow raised—

"Do you often bully your father into taking you out for dinner?"

"Oh," Iruka shot him a smile, over his shoulder, "he absolutely does. Every day of my life since the moment I met him."

"Hey!"

But Iruka only laughed, and Sasuke ducked his head to do the same. Naruto hopped off the desk to peer over Sasuke's shoulder—

"You're both jerks," he said, knowing this was too close and yet knowing that this was exactly how close he would be if they were— "What's the chance of me bullying you into showing me your art?"

Sasuke glanced back at him.

"I'll make it worth your while," Naruto said quickly, and Sasuke paused.

Naruto waggled his eyebrows.

Sasuke finally broke the stare with a roll of his eyes and a snort. He slapped the folder onto the desk next to him.

"Knock yourself out."

Naruto nearly squealed. He must've made some kind of noise because Sasuke immediately laughed at him—although, he kinda tended to do that all the time nowadays. Still, he slid just the barest bit closer as Naruto plopped himself into his seat.

Naruto didn't mind at all.

The first few pages were kinda blank—one was completely, from the looks of it—but it was pretty quick that Naruto—

"Ugh," he said, gently placing the page down, "I knew you'd be fucking good."

He heard Sasuke shift behind him.

"I'm not—"

Naruto let his head roll back and glared up at Sasuke.

"Don't you dare," he said, pointing right in Sasuke's face. Sasuke swallowed and stared, eyebrows furrowing before he looked away and hissed out a quick—

"Stop sitting like that."

Oh. Oh—Naruto quickly sat back up and adjusted the collar of his shirt. He guessed he'd already tempted Sasuke enough by implying a reward for this and all, so...ah.

Naruto grinned, midway through flipping the page.

"You really like drawing the, uh," Naruto said, holding in his laugh, "one part, huh?"

From the other side of the room, Iruka coughed.

"I didn't mean a dick!" Naruto said quickly—

"Oh my god," Sasuke whispered, sounding something like a teapot losing its steam—

"That's—ah," Iruka said, waving a hand over at them. "Don't mind me."

"I didn't!"

Sasuke slid onto the chair beside him, putting his face in his hands.

"You're all perverts," Naruto said, flipping the page. "Wh—hey! Sasuke—I told you you'd seen me naked before!"

Iruka made a strangled noise and made a break for the closet. Sasuke looked some mix of horrified and panicked, but as soon as Naruto held up the page, he—

"...I don't," Sasuke said, scanning it over, "remember drawing that."

"Oh," Naruto said, pulling it back, "maybe it's—someone else's…? Or maybe you just forgot, but I'll be super offended if you forgot drawing someone as stunning as me."

Sasuke reached over and shoved the side of his face. Naruto shoved his face right back until he relented, both of them looking back at the page. Whoever it was that had drawn it—they weren't bad. It really did look a lot like him—and it looked like Sasuke's kind of style, although there were definitely less perspectives of his neck—

"Hey!" Naruto said, spotting the little doodle poking out of the stack. "That looks like Dia!"

He laughed, holding it up for Sasuke again, and Sasuke...smiled.

"I guess it does."

"It looks just like her!"

"It's a black cat," Sasuke pointed out, but he stood back up all the same, shifting back to Naruto's side, "they tend to look similar."

Naruto snorted.

"I'm gonna tell her you said that," he told him.

Sasuke's lips twitched.

"I'm sure she'll agree I'm unskilled."

Naruto laughed.

"As if. D'you have more kitty doodles?"

"I'm not sure," Sasuke said quietly, peering past him. "I don't tend to look through this."

"No? How come?"

Sasuke shrugged.

"It's here. It's all similar types of things. I don't know."

"Huh," Naruto said, flipping back to the start, "d'you—ever draw outside of class?"

Sasuke's mouth opened, but no sound came out. His brow furrowed again and he let out a breath, as if frustrated—

"Oh," Naruto said, sitting up straighter, "d'you—uh—know about drawing outside of class?"

Sasuke glanced back at him, lips firm.

"I don't own a computer. But I...I think I..."

"You know what it's like to use a tablet or something?"

Sasuke nodded, still looking frustrated.

"I can't know," he said after a moment. "I could have easily—easily seen it in a movie or something. I—"

"I dunno, Sasuke," Naruto said. "You're pretty damn good. If you feel like it's something you might have done—"

"I don't know," Sasuke said. "I don't…"

He trailed off, eyes unfocused, as if lost somewhere in the blurry, barely existent memories of his past. It was easy to forget, with how easily Sasuke seemed to navigate the world, that he almost...didn't exist. He surely had a birth record or something somewhere, but...Naruto would have no idea where to...

"Okay!" Iruka announced, and Naruto only then kind of realized the room had really filled out around them— "Everyone ready? Shall we get started?"

Naruto stuck by Sasuke's side, after that. He just sort of felt like Sasuke...needed it. Or Naruto, at least, needed to do it—but Sasuke looked just about as grateful as Naruto had ever seen him, so he was probably right. Of course, it left Naruto in this very dark room, with nowhere to sit other than the bed, with a sun that had gone down long ago…

"Naruto…"

Naruto shook himself, mid-yawn.

"No!" he said quickly, sitting up. "No, I'm okay! I'm awake, I'm good—"

"You have work tomorrow."

"I can get to work from here!"

Sasuke crossed his arms, standing over the bed. Naruto shuffled up a bit.

"I've taken the bus from here before. I'll be good."

"Does it run in the mornings?"

"It—" Naruto paused. "Uh…"

"Right. Check that, will you?"

Naruto laughed softly, fishing his phone out.

"'Kay. Do I just connect to the coffee shop's wifi, by the way? That's what I've been doing."

It was slow, but it was free—Naruto tapped the page and sat back as it loaded…

"Yes," Sasuke said. "Give them some business tomorrow morning, will you? I'm useless to them."

Naruto laughed, rolling over. His phone—oh, yep. One that would get him there with ten minutes to spare, too.

"I will. I'm good for the bus tomorrow," he said. "Given up on trying to convince me to go?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"As if I'm ever getting you out of that bed."

Naruto laughed. He had, actually, done a rather brilliant job at twisting himself up in Sasuke's sheets. It was preeetttyy unlikely he was going to leave this cocoon any time soon…

"S'cozy in here," Naruto said, giving Sasuke his most innocent grin.

"That is the last descriptor I think I would have ever used for this place," Sasuke said, and Naruto caterpillar-d his way over to the pillows so that Sasuke could actually sit down.

Sasuke peered down at him.

"And you look ridiculous," he added.

"It's my best look," Naruto told him, smiling. Sasuke's eyes still had that something, even in the dark, even now…like a glow without the glow...

"It's your only look. Give me my blankets back."

Naruto smiled wider.

"You want them?" he asked, raising his chin as if he hadn't totally bound himself in here. "Come get 'em, pretty boy."

He saw it, as the challenge clicked in Sasuke's eyes. Naruto grinned and clutched the blanket to him, a spike of adrenaline jolting through him as Sasuke actually moved forwards—

And past him.

"Wh—whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa—!" Naruto yelped, yanking his arms out of the blanket to flail behind him as Sasuke grabbed his ankles—he managed to catch the bedframe, but all that did was make the blanket keep moving and there was no way he was letting Sasuke win this easily—

Kicking his feet free of Sasuke's grip, he launched himself forwards to catch the rest of the blanket. It was under him now, Sasuke would have to shift his whole—whoa, whoa, whoa, Sas—

"You—" Naruto ground out, pushing back at Sasuke's totally unfazed effort to heave him up. A hand under his leg—he kicked it up to hold Sasuke in place—Sasuke's hand twisted around his shirt, under it, pressing against his chest—Naruto grabbed it and squeezed it in place, on his skin—Sasuke only pushed them both, and Naruto clutched the blanket with one hand and shoved Sasuke with the other—and he was laughing, they both were, as they scrambled with each other—Naruto couldn't help but—

"S'that all you got, vampire?"

Sasuke's eyes glittered.

"You want me to use my full strength?"

"Is this not your—whoa!"

In one swift motion, Naruto felt himself tumble from the bed and be pressed firmly to the floor. Sasuke's eyes were glowing, now, with his hands pinning down Naruto's wrists—his hips pinning down Naruto's own—

"Do you yield?" Sasuke asked, and Naruto felt some sort of thrill run through him.

"I—" Naruto breathed out, panting—

Sasuke pressed down harder.

"Yield," he ordered, and Naruto's mouth went dry.

"I yield," he whispered, and Sasuke's fanged smile widened.

"I guess you, um," Naruto said, swallowing, "have a couple rewards to take, huh?"

"Multiple?" Sasuke asked, pressing closer—Naruto breathed in, his heart beating faster and faster and—

"Y-yeah," he breathed out—he let his head tilt but his eyes stayed glued to Sasuke's lips—

Sasuke leaned over his neck, and Naruto's eyes flickered closed.

He didn't know what it was about it, this time. He felt the bite in every inch of him, from his toes to his fingertips, like electricity sparking up—that intensity, that pressure of Sasuke's warmth all over him, all over him—he could feel Sasuke's teeth so clearly, as if he was biting down once and pulling back, biting and pulling back, the soft warmth of his tongue healing each bite the moment his teeth were gone—Naruto squeezed his eyes shut to keep them from rolling back and his lips together to keep the noise building in the back of his through from bursting forwards and oh—goddamnit all, he was hard again—

But some greater deity—or the greatest, in Naruto's mind—took pity on Naruto just then, because Sasuke pulled back. He was breathing about as heavy as Naruto was, eyes glowing red, still leaning over him, pressing his wrists to the ground, and there was a moment where neither of them moved, only stared, their breath mixed together in front of their lips—

All at once, Sasuke let go. His eyes flickered to black and he stood—hopping up onto the bed and grabbing his phone as if nothing had ever happened.

And it...hadn't. To him, it hadn't.

"Mind if I use your shower?" Naruto asked.

"Go ahead."

The worst. The worst, the worst, the worst, the worst—Sasuke breathed in his panic and thanked the absolute fucking lords above Naruto had chosen just that moment to take a shower. Sasuke was still breathless, still spinning, and he had no doubts Naruto would have noticed the tremble to his hands if he had been there but a moment longer. He could barely hold his phone, for god's sake—

He let it fall from his hands, and put his face there instead.

He'd nearly kissed him. Not a hair's breadth from doing it. He'd pinned Naruto to the ground and pressed their bodies together and felt it, like he had every time he got too close, every time Naruto leaned back, every time Sasuke felt the warmth of his skin and saw the spark in his eyes and the slant of his smile—

Desire.

Sasuke swallowed and pulled back, letting his head hit the wall behind him.

He was a mess. This was a mess. At this rate, he'd be kissing Naruto the moment he next smiled at him, which no doubt would be as soon as he left the shower—it had just—it had just been—

It'd been his voice. The delighted laugh, the teasing breathlessness—and his eyes, the way they'd challenged him, beckoned him—and his touch, unflinching when Sasuke's hand hand slipped under his shirt, unflinching as they'd grabbed at each other—it had been—

Too much. Everything about Naruto was too much.

Naruto sighed, letting the cool water spray right into his face, dripping down the rest of his body. He wouldn't let himself stay too long—he didn't know how bad Sasuke's bills tended to get, but…

He ran another hand through his hair, keeping his eyes closed.

Just a little longer.

He'd kept the water warm enough to not shiver and cool enough to clear his head. Even breathing in the steam helped. Just a few minutes with his own thoughts—a few minutes alone—to remind himself that this was a crush, and it would pass, and above all else, Sasuke still needed a friend. He needed someone who could be there for him, properly—not some asshole who was too fixated on the way he smiled or the way his eyes changed in the light or the way his laugh changed when it was running short on breath…

Naruto opened his eyes and glared right into the showerhead.

Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid.

And the stupidest thought? Of all of these? The one that had told Naruto to pick up Sasuke's fucking shampoo bottle. Just to check if it smelled like him.

Naruto leaned against the wall and let his head hit the tile a little harder than it should have.

He needed to pull it together. He needed to get over this. It was all gonna pass with time anyway, so what was the point of screwing everything up now? He just needed to be normal. Stay normal—until he eventually felt that way, too. Which was—which was something he could do. He could do this. Just for a little longer, right? Until he could move on.

Naruto shut the water off.

He could do this. He could…

Aw, fuck.

He really didn't wanna sleep in those jeans...

The water stopped running.

It was Sasuke's cue to throw the blankets over himself—he'd worked for these, after all—and turn to face the wall, closing his eyes—Naruto was a dumbass at the best of times, but he was a genius at the worst; something about him always knew—

"Hey," said Naruto's voice, faint and hesitant, "um, Sasuke…?"

Sasuke rolled over. (That was all it took, apparently. That was all it took.)

Naruto's still-dripping wet face grinned at him, peeking through the bathroom door. His shoulder was suspiciously...bare.

Okay. Alright. Okay. Just kill him, then.

"You got some clothes I could steal? For, um, now—and also tomorrow? Maybe? I'm sorry, I—"

"You ought to just start leaving things here," said Sasuke's voice, although he never once remembered giving his brain the permission—

"Y-yeah?" Naruto laughed, still holding onto the door. "You're gonna regret offering that."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and kicked his feet off the bed.

"I have no doubt. You can pick out whatever you'd like tomorrow," he said, shifting through his clothes. His hoodie was the most comfortable thing, really, but—

"If you can't find anything," said Naruto, absolutely still fucking naked and absolutely still fucking talking to him, "I can sleep in my briefs. If you don't mi—"

Sasuke whipped the clothes right at his face.

Naruto flinched back, laughing out an "asshole!" but Sasuke had already spun the other way, refusing to look back before he heard the door click firmly shut.

Sleep in his briefs.

For fuck's sake.

Sasuke heaved out a breath.

Maybe he just ought to tell him. Stop all this bullshit dead in its tracks. Naruto surely wouldn't even consider saying such things if he knew Sasuke was neck-deep in whatever the hell this was. Some lust and desire and a good deal of—of stupid things, worse things, like admiration and affection and that warmth that bloomed in his chest every time Naruto smiled at him and that tendency to fall into daydreams every time he looked into his eyes and the—

"What d'you think?" Naruto asked, swinging the door open. "Can I pull off the goth look?"

Sasuke promptly went back to bed.

"Go to hell," he muttered, and Naruto laughed at him.

"I can really take anything from here?" he asked, and Sasuke could only assume, without turning around, that he was talking about the closet.

"You say that as if there are actual options."

Naruto laughed again—harder, this time, and Sasuke heard the distinct clanging of clothes hangers. They were uneven and misshapen, but they did the trick.

"S'a lot of turtlenecks. Thanks, though—are you going to bed now? Won't that mess up your schedule?"

"I," Sasuke sighed, "need a nap."

He was tired. He was so tired. His head was a cauldron of thoughts, spilling and bubbling over and making a goddamn mess of the place. He just needed to…

The mattress sank down, behind him, and he felt the warmth of Naruto's body gently slide in.

Sasuke swallowed.

"You okay?" Naruto asked, eyes burning a hole into the back of Sasuke's head.

Sasuke...turned around. He couldn't help it. He—

"Hey," Naruto said gently, reaching out to brush some hair from Sasuke's face—Sasuke blinked at the motion, and Naruto snatched his hand back to himself with a small— "sorry. Sorry! Um, I just—yeah, you okay? You looked…"

"Just...thinking." It wasn't a lie. Naruto would likely see right through one of those…

"Anything it would help to talk through?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and pressed two fingers to Naruto's forehead to push him away. Naruto grinned at the touch, rubbing at the spot—

"Ow," Naruto told him, and Sasuke—and Sasuke—

And...Sasuke…?

"Sasuke? You okay?"

"Sorry," he said, looking somewhere past them, "I just...I felt…"

It was gone, now—as quickly as it had come, like a flash—

"You felt?"

"Familiar. I felt something...like I…"

Naruto poked him in the forehead. Sasuke jolted back, a burst of annoyance rushing through him…an explosion of annoyance, he was—

"Did it work?"

"It...I think it—ow! You—"

Naruto pulled his hand back. Sasuke bit his anger behind his teeth, feeling as if he—he—

"What about now?"

—he was far more annoyed than he should have been.

"I felt—" Sasuke let out a breath, his mind tumbled and spinning and circling something, circling something, something, something, "I feel...frustrated. More—more annoyed than I should have. Than I should be. Someone—someone must have…"

Naruto rolled over, sitting up just enough to prop himself up on his elbow.

"Somebody bugged you a lot by doing that…?"

Sasuke nodded.

Naruto's smile slowly, slowly grew.

"It's in there," Naruto said, eyes bright and shining, "your whole past. It's in there, somewhere. We can find it."

Sasuke sucked in a breath.

"I'll help you find it," Naruto said again, voice as gentle as it was firm.

"Okay," Sasuke said, feeling the agreement in his heart, "...okay."

Naruto went to work, the next day, dressed all in black.

It was around noon, through Sakura, that Naruto found out just about everyone had received the same photo, congratulating Naruto on the sex.

Sai was such a good friend.

A/N: Lots of stuff going on in this one :) Thank you friends! See you soon!

Until tomorrow,

- Kinomi