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: Aww my gosh, so much love for the last chapter! Thank you all so much! I'm so happy you liked it. This one's a bit shorter, but it does include the scene that convinced me to write this story...I'll just let you get to it :)

Bite Me

Chapter 31: Champagne

Monday came way too soon. After a happy, comfortable, cathartic Sunday, watching Sasuke go to work was just about the last thing Naruto wanted to do. And Naruto had been just as bad as him the next morning—at least they managed to move from the bed by the time Wednesday came along, but cuddling with Sasuke with a blanket over them both definitely didn't motivate him to get out into the cold and be productive...

As if hearing his thoughts, Sasuke sighed, sagging further against Naruto's shoulder.

"I want to skip work," he muttered, leaning more and more. "I don't want to go."

Naruto laughed.

"That'd set a dangerous precedent, 'ske. We can't keep getting away with this," he said, shifting to cuddle better. "I've got so much laundry to do."

"Ugh," Sasuke said, sitting up. "Don't remind me. I'm out of clothes."

"I'll do yours too, don't be dumb," Naruto said, yawning as he sat up. "Where are they all? In the room?"

"I have a pile in your bathroom, too. I can do it."

"You've got like an hour 'till work!" Naruto said, forcing himself up. "Rest. At least I can lay down and not move after this."

"Rub it in, why don't you," Sasuke called after him, and Naruto spun around to give him his most innocent smile. They'd even been too comfy to go back to Sasuke's—which Dia had handled just fine, after all. Naruto figured he was right about Sasuke's scent being all over the place here, too. She did tend to cuddle with his clothes when he was gone, though.

Then again, so did Naruto.

He bundled the clothes in his arms and hid his laugh in them, stumbling his way over to the washer before all the socks spilled out of his arms. He dropped three—and Sasuke's underwear—but managed to slide them along the floor with his foot the rest of the way—

"Your phone's ringing!" came Sasuke's voice, and Naruto—

"Uh! Oh—uh, hang—" he kicked the door shut, "who is it?"

"Sakura," Sasuke said, holding it out as Naruto slid down the hall in his fuzziest socks—

"You've reached the coolest guy alive," he greeted, grabbing Sasuke's arm before he fell. "What c—"

"Naruto Uzumaki!" she yelled, and Naruto froze. "You slick son of a bitch!"

"Uh. Hi?"

"Naruto!"

And that was—was Ino's voice? He—

"Did you forget, you fucker? Did you forget what day it was after talking to both of us this whole—"

"Oh my god," Naruto spun around, "oh my god, it's the sixth, isn't it? I totally—did you—"

"Yes!"

"I asked first!" Ino yelled. "I beat her to—"

"She asked while I had the ring out! It was in my hand and she—"

"I panicked, Naruto, you bitch, you couldn't have warned me or somethi—"

Naruto put the phone on speaker and flopped back onto the couch. Sasuke's confusion immediately softened into laughter.

"Well done," he muttered, as Naruto wiggled right back into him. "Congratulations, you two."

"Is that Sasuke? Was he in on it too? Oh I swear—"

"Yup!" Naruto announced, and Sasuke huffed out a laugh.

"You've gotta be kidding me. Did everybody know?"

"Just us!" Naruto laughed. "Just us. Did you call anybody else yet?"

"No! We just figured out that you—who talked to you first? I thought you—"

"Sakura," Naruto said. "I went ring shopping with her first. And then Ino snagged me later—did you guys end up doing the dinner or—?"

"We did brunch," Ino said, "and then some beautiful sneak got down on a knee in the butterfly conservatory when I was going to wait until dinner—"

"Which is where we're going now," Sakura added. "We're running. Ino insists, 'cause—"

"I planned so much! I'm gonna kick your ass in romance, get back here—"

Sakura laughed, and Naruto leaned over to Sasuke.

"They were imitating their first date," he told him, "the conservatory and the restaurant."

"Did you help plan that too?" Sasuke asked, tapping his knuckles on the back of Naruto's hand.

"Nah," Naruto said, "they planned the day before the proposal bits, I think."

"Naruto!"

"Yeah?! What's up?"

"We're gonna go—don't tell anyone until we do! We'll make a post—"

"I'll stay up all night waiting for it," Naruto laughed, grabbing his phone back. "Congrats guys! Told you it was gonna be great!"

"It's fucking perfect, and you're the best," Sakura's breathless voice said. "I hate you, but you're the best. Listen, we're going to do like a—like a dinner thing, um, with everyone once everybody knows, to sort of—"

"I'll set it up," Naruto said immediately, "and bring the champagne."

"This is why you're the best man!" came Ino's distant voice—

"Hey, no, he's my best man! I called him fir—"

"Then who the fuck do I get? Shikamaru?"

Naruto laughed back into Sasuke's arms.

"You want me to wait, yeah? Until after—"

"After we've told everybody! Tomorrow. Maybe. Or later. Uh—"

"Sounds good. Just let me know. Love you guys!"

"We love you too!" Ino hollered back, and the call cut off to the sound of Sakura's laughter.

Naruto let the phone drop onto his lap with a happy sigh.

"Motherfucker," he said, hand on his forehead, "Sakura's getting married."

Sasuke's small laugh rumbled underneath him.

"I can't believe you forgot."

"Neither can I!"

It took three days to figure it all out. Naruto wrangled everybody together and desperately scoured schedules to make it work as soon as he could actually manage it—Tsunade, actually, ended up being the hold up. But Sakura loved her! She needed to be there!

Luckily, they had Iruka's art studio to fall back on, which he'd immediately volunteered. And Naruto had extended the invitation to Kakashi, too, which had changed Iruka's teary-eyed laughter to rapid, blustered denial—but Naruto had needed the switch. He always tended to go once his dad broke, and Sakura's text about how Iruka 'had to be there, just because he's your dad doesn't mean I can't pretend he's mine too!' had pretty much had him sobbing from the start.

Of course, that meant food and stuff needed to be brought, so Naruto was stuck balancing a precarious time that was late enough to reasonably leave work, early enough before Sasuke had to go, not too early to leave Dia all alone—but still early enough for Naruto to pick up everything he needed. He was the last one there—and late, as usual. But on his way! And he'd gotten everything—champagne and sparkling juice and chocolate covered strawberries and a bunch of other fun shit he'd splurged on. A couple bags on each arm and he was making his way, though. It was like—ten minutes from here? Barely. He had to cut through here to be even close to making it on time, although he knew Sasuke would be mad he was taking this pa—

Crap. His phone was ringing.

"Ah, shit," he muttered, wrangling the bags around his arms until he could—he could—crap— "Yeah, uh—hello?"

"How far are you?" asked Sakura's voice. "Are you sure you don't need help?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm sure! I've got this, Sakura. I told you—"

"It's not me, I'm fine. Your boyfriend's the one hovering around, asking for updates every twenty seconds—can you please text him back? He's stressing me out."

"My hands are full!" Naruto laughed. "I'll—ugh—"

He paused, trying to figure out...no, if he put that back down, then the one under his arm was definitely gonna go, and he didn't trust himself to get the champagne on the ground without it ending up in pieces—

"I can't. Just—I'm holding the phone with my ear and if I fuck with anything I'm gonna start breaking things. But tell him—I'm right by his work. Like in the back alley."

"He's in the back alley by your work!" came Sakura's much more distant voice. "He can't text you 'cause his hands are full. How far is that?"

"Uhhh," Naruto said, jerking the bags that were slipping a little further up, "ten minutes?"

"Ten—oh, Sasuke says ten, too. We're gonna have to be right at the door so you don't end up on the floor with everything, aren't we?"

"You have so little faith in me," Naruto grumbled. "I've made it this far! Figured everything out—"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah—"

"—everybody is there, got all this stuff, even got my speech ready—"

"You know I love you, you stupid brilliant idiot, I—oh, do you actually? For tonight? I don't need to screen that, do I?"

"'Course not!" Naruto laughed, jerking everything up again. "A speech, by me? What would I do, embarrass you?"

There was a pause.

Naruto firmly pressed his lips together so he wouldn't laugh.

"Yes. Yes, you would. Let's hear it."

Naruto's laughter burst free.

"No! I would never! I'm absolutely gonna. I'm mostly winging it," he said, panicking a bit as he saw somebody in front of him—he was taking up like this entire goddamn alleyway—

"Oh, no."

"Okay, okay," he said, whispering a quick apology as his bags bumped the person's leg, "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

"Okay. I'd like to make a toast! Tap, tap, tap—this is me tapping my glass—"

"Oh my god."

"Y—" Naruto laughed. "Your attention please! I'd like to dedicate this toast to me, the sole reason these two idiots finally got together—"

"Naruto!"

"And then a big banner unfurls behind me with my name, just Naruto Uzumaki in big, obnoxious neon orange—"

"Oh my god, is that here?! Where is that—"

"I'm kidding, Sakura, I'm not gonna—oh." Naruto paused, just stopping himself from bumping into the—the guy again? "Uh—sorry, I—"

He stopped.

"Naruto?"

The man's eyes glowed a deep, vivid red.

Sakura stared at her phone. Naruto had hung up without a word—and her—her second call went through, which meant his phone hadn't died…maybe his hands were too full to answer again?

She pressed her lips together as Naruto's voicemail message played.

"What's wrong?" Ino asked, one of the thirty people flittering back and forth. The congratulations had already started, in between things being set up—if Naruto did half a job as good as this for her wedding, Sakura wouldn't even have to lift a finger.

"I lost Naruto," she said, and several heads looked up. "I don't know—he won't pick up."

"I'll try him," Iruka said, his phone immediately in his hand. Speed dial, Sakura knew, from the way he barely typed before the phone was up to his ear—

"Was he still in the alley?" came Sasuke's voice, and Sakura...blinked.

Sasuke looked—stiff. Pale—nervous? He'd been on edge for some time, Sakura just figured he was shy, but this looked like—

"I think so," she answered, and Sasuke took a step back. "I—hey, Sasuke, wait—what—"

But he was already gone. The door hadn't even swung shut behind him—Sakura ran to the doorway, but he was already halfway down the road—

Iruka burst past her. Kakashi was after, and Sakura swore—grabbed Ino's hand, and ran after them all.

Naruto was in a haze. In some sort of...fog. He couldn't see straight—or think straight, or even feel straight. He should be...where had he been? Naruto didn't…

…

He couldn't remember.

He'd been doing something. Hadn't he? Something...important? It couldn't've been that important if he'd forgotten about it…

He waved some fog from his face, shaking his head.

No. What? No, he—he had to be somewhere other than here. Where even was he? How did he get here? He couldn't even see the ground under his feet. Naruto looked around himself, looking for something in this mist...was he in a cloud? In a sunset? These strange...wisps of red…Naruto felt like they should remind him of something…

He reached out, but the mist disappeared.

Naruto's brow furrowed.

No. No, that wasn't right. The red was...different than the one he remembered. He remembered a gentler one. A kinder one. This red was harsh—panicked. It felt almost desperate, from the way it kept trying to twist around him—Naruto slapped it away again and searched for something—anything—

Oh.

Oh—the sun.

Weird, Naruto thought, as he tried to follow it. It looked—weird. Different. He didn't remember it being so...easy to look at. And with so many streaks, stretching across the sky—Naruto didn't know how he hadn't noticed them sooner. They weren't in the fog at all—they pierced right through it, glowing a bright, warm yellow—it almost felt like they were reaching for him. Like the sun was a part of himself...like he could walk on those nine streaks of light, if only he...tried…

He stretched out a hand—

And snapped back into darkness. Into cold, into snow, into his bags on the floor and the vampire in front of him—

"Follow me," he said, and Naruto knew it wasn't the first time he'd been commanded. His hands were empty, but he hadn't gone far—Naruto tore himself away from those glowing red eyes and ran—

Straight into his grip again. Naruto yelped as he was thrown back, pressed to a wall with a too-strong strength—a black feather fell to the ground and Naruto slapped the vampire's hand away before he could touch him again, he—

"You will not fight me," commanded the voice, and it snapped in Naruto's head. An urge that pulsed like smoke, like fire, but Naruto burned hotter—Naruto had a sun in his head and it said no—

"I think I fucking will," he said, and the heat simmered in his head. "You want my blood or something? Fuck off."

He still had the knife on his keychain. He still had his garlic around his neck, which wouldn't protect the rest of him, damn it, but it could buy him time—then again, this guy could move so fast it was as if he appeared out of nothing, and a knife had knocked Sasuke to the ground, but it hadn't done much else—

The glowing red eyes shifted. His lips thinned and he stepped towards Naruto, and Naruto felt the urge in himself thicken, pulse, reach out like roots growing into dirt—

The searing light whipped the fog apart, and Naruto snapped his eyes open.

"Will you stop that," he said, and it sounded like a growl. Between the panic and the fear, Naruto felt a fury—something red and hot and lashing through him like a windstorm, he breathed in and the vampire stepped back—

And was slammed to the ground.

Naruto.

It was all Sasuke could think. All he could feel. He cursed himself for not listening to his instincts sooner and so he gave himself to them now—fighting with fury he thought he would never use. He'd followed the scent of blood here, followed the scent of fear, recognized Naruto's silhouette with barely even a glance—

The body vanished under his fingers, but Sasuke felt the winds shift behind him, above him—where Naruto was, he had to get to Naruto, Naruto, Naruto—

He slammed the vampire back and turned to see Naruto—just quick, just once—

Their eyes met—wide.

Scared.

And he didn't have time to dodge—he saw the blow coming in Naruto's eyes, saw it in pieces as he stumbled back, something searing in his chest—Naruto was thrown back and the figure grabbed Sasuke before he'd even turned—Sasuke growled and snapped and scratched and—

Froze.

"Sasuke?"

It was a breath. It was a whisper—and anguished something, and it snapped Sasuke out his fury just long enough to stop, to pause, to watch the vampire stumble back with wide, red, familiar eyes—

They looked somewhere else, and then he was gone. Erupted into the feathers he had before—Sasuke watched the ravens scatter high above them, fleeing far enough that Sasuke struggled to sense whatever that—that presence had been—

"Fuck," Naruto said, the first to speak, "Sasuke—"

Sasuke snapped back into reality.

"Naruto," he said, and his voice cracked. "Naruto, he didn't—did he—"

"No, he didn't get me. He didn't hurt me, I—"

But Sasuke scrambled with Naruto's jacket anyway, scrambled with his scarf and shirt and touched his face and his shoulders and breathed out his desperate, terrified relief. Naruto was okay. Naruto was okay. Naruto was okay. Naruto was okay.

"Um. Sasuke?"

Sasuke didn't reply. He pressed closer, breathing in Naruto's warmth. Naruto's life. He was alive, and he was okay. He was alive, and he was—

"Sasu—"

"Give me a minute," he mumbled, dizzy in his relief—

"No, Sasuke, uh—"

Sasuke pulled back, and looked over at…

Everyone.

Oh.

Oh, no.

He could see them perfectly.

A/N: :)

See you tomorrow!

- Kinomi