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: Hahah ah man, you all are the best. So much hype in the last chapter! I hope these next few chapters will live up to it - thank you all so much!

Bite Me

Chapter 32: Vampire?

Naruto stuck to Sasuke the whole way back. He bumped forearms and elbows and swung his bags purposefully too close to him, trying to get his hooded head to look anywhere but down—

It hadn't. Hood up, head down, Sasuke had followed along for everyone else's quick, nervous shuffle back. It was weird and quiet and there'd been some—some silent, panicked agreement to get somewhere out of the dark, before they talked. Somewhere safe—or safer, Naruto hoped—

He looked over at Sasuke again, but Sasuke's head stayed down.

And Naruto cursed the stupid champagne in his hands and the food in Sasuke's, because he would've given just about anything to squeeze his hand right now. He had to settled with awkward, constant glances—none of which ones that Sasuke would meet—

His dad held the door for them, and Naruto gave him a small, close-lipped smile as thank you.

"There you all are! I was starting to think—" Kiba paused, staring at them. "Uh. You look...how long was I in the bathroom?"

Naruto breathed in.

"Maybe we should all sit down?" Iruka offered, closing the door behind him. Sasuke slid the food onto the table and moved away—as if tucking himself where he thought he ought to be.

In the corner of the room, away from the rest of them.

Fuck that.

Naruto hopped past a desk and stood in front of him.

"Naru—"

"Is everything alright?" Tsunade asked, and—fuck. Naruto totally forgot how many people he'd invited, not even everyone had been out there, but now they were all gonna—

"Naruto's dating a vampire," Sakura announced, plopping herself down into the seat of honour they'd set up for her. Ino slid onto the armrest to sling an arm around her and look at him, and Naruto gave her a helpless look as his dad came closer—

Kiba burst out laughing.

"Yeah, I've heard that one already. Where'd you all go?"

Sakura rested her cheek on her hand and turned to stare firmly at Naruto.

He...yeah. Um.

"Yeah," he breathed out, running a hand through his hair. "I guess I've got some—uh. Explaining to do."

"You don't," Sasuke said, quiet and whispered and something—something Naruto didn't know, but he didn't get the chance to turn around—

"Okay, seriously, guys. What—"

"He's a vampire," Sakura said again, and Naruto—

"He's not dangerous! Don't say it like—listen, okay, you've all known Sasuke this whole time and this should—except for you, Tsunade, and uh—Lee, and Tenten, and—Neji, Chouji, Shikamaru, sorry, uh—good to see you guys, this is my boyfriend, Sasuke—"

"The vampire."

"Will you stop with that!" Naruto said, spinning back to her. "I—"

"Can we—I'm sorry, can we pause that, for a moment?" Iruka asked, sounding—something like overwhelmed, which was fair, Naruto thought he was right there too— "Are you alright? Naruto?"

"Me? Yeah. I'm—I'm okay."

His dad visibly deflated.

Oh.

"Fuck, dad, sorry," he laughed, giving him a quick hug. "I didn't mean to—I'm fine, yeah, Sasuke got there in time."

He ducked his head as Iruka gave him a small, tearful shake by the shoulders. Sasuke looked up just in time to be pulled into his dad's arms—which he hadn't even begun to expect, if his wide eyes were anything to go by—

"I knew you were good," Iruka whispered, and Naruto's breath stuck in his throat. "Thank you for saving my son."

His dad pulled back, and Naruto—Naruto had to look somewhere else. He was gonna break if he didn't—he always broke when his dad did—Naruto cleared his throat and stared at the floorboards—

"You guys—okay, haha, Kiba's an idiot," Kiba said, giving a shaky laugh, "let's fuck with him because he stank up the bathroom, is that what this is?"

"Don't be gross!" Ino snapped—

"I turned the fan on!"

"That's not what this is," Sasuke said, letting his hood finally fall down. He met Iruka's eyes, and then Naruto's, and then Kiba's—

Sasuke blinked, and his eyes were red again.

"Th—h—n—contacts!" Kiba stuttered out, pointing at him.

Naruto huffed out a laugh and ran a hand through his hair—it sounded crazy. It was crazy. But—

"On command, Kiba?" he asked. "Look at his teeth. Show them your teeth."

He swatted at Sasuke's arm, and Sasuke snatched it out of the air.

"Moron," he said, but he listened. He didn't let go, either. Naruto quietly shifted to tuck their hands behind them, and Sasuke's grip immediately tightened. Painful, desperate, tight—Naruto gripped his hand right back.

"What the fuck…"

Naruto breathed out again.

"Okay. He's a vampire. He's not dangerous—he does need blood and stuff, but don't worry about that. I dunno who that guy was today—" he said, sharing a glance with Sasuke, "but he could do a whole bunch of stuff Sasuke couldn't."

"That guy?" Tsunade asked, something more serious in her face than he was used to—

"Another vampire," Naruto said.

"There are more?!" Kiba yelled—

"That's the only one we know of!" Naruto said. "Right—uh—now. I guess—I guess there could be—"

"What did he do?" Iruka asked quietly, and Naruto—

"He—uh. Tried to hypnotize me?"

Sasuke's head jerked up.

"Control me, or something—I was in a fog, but I, uh—"

"You broke free?" Tsunade asked, and Naruto...gave her a small nod. She didn't—really look all that surprised, not like everybody else in the room—

Behind him, Sasuke's hand squeezed tighter.

"Sasuke can't do that?"

"No," Sasuke said quickly. "What else did he do?"

"That was it," Naruto told him. "He just wanted me to follow him. I don't know why. Probably to bite me."

"That's a thing?!" Kiba yelled—

"That is a thing," Sasuke answered quietly.

"...Oh," said Iruka, breathing in with the word. "Then, the day Naruto collapsed…?"

"Yeah, sorry dad, yeah, we didn't really know what we were doing back then—it was my fault."

"It wasn't," Sasuke said immediately, and Naruto gave him a look—

"So," Sakura said, sitting up straighter, "Sasuke...drinks blood. And is just—is just okay with it?"

"No," Sasuke said. "No. I need it to live. I would rather not."

"No, no, no, that's not what I—do you eat normal food too?"

Sasuke blinked.

"No," he said. "It makes me sick."

Iruka made a startled noise.

"...My apologies," Sasuke added, quietly, "for wasting your food."

"That's not—I made you sick?!"

"Well, I—ah—"

"No, stop, hang on," Sakura said again, "that makes no goddamn sense! Physiologically! That's been disproven like a million—you just survive on blood?"

"I—yes."

"That—what?! Tsunade, that doesn't—"

Tsunade leaned back against the wall.

"This is an excellent learning opportunity," she pointed out.

"Uh," Sasuke said.

"You're right," Sakura said, propping herself up on her knees. "Are we safe? Are we good? Am I crazy to want to go back to the party now or should we be—?"

"Yes!" Kiba exclaimed. "There's—am I the only sane person here?!"

Hinata put her hand on his arm.

"We trust Naruto's judgement," she said, quiet but insistent. "...And besides, he saved that duckling."

"That's true," Shino muttered, "he did save the duckling."

"But—but—but—Dia! She's evil, right? She's secretly like a—like a witch—"

"She's a cat, Kiba," Naruto told him, and Sasuke let out a breath through his nose.

"...Damn it."

"I'm not going to attack anyone," Sasuke told him. "If you'd be more comfortable with me leaving—"

"No!" Naruto said, but he—wasn't the only one?

"No," Iruka said again. "The entire point was to bring all of us here. And we're all here. Right?"

"Right," Kakashi said. "Naruto, you said something about alcohol?"

Naruto let out a relieved laugh.

"S'on the desks."

Sasuke was—was in a blur. He'd barely had time to breathe. He'd gone from furious to terrified to overwhelmingly, heart-wrenchingly relieved, and the moment he wasn't distracted he was absolutely going to break down into tears, but—

"Ooh! Sasuke! How incredible!" The man yelled. "And I thought the mighty Sakura was strong!"

"The mighty Sakura is strong, Lee," Ino said. "Are you guys still doing push-ups?"

"I have conceded my defeat!" Lee said, hopping to his feet. "I will be back to challenge you once again, Sasuke the vampire!"

"I—alright," he said awkwardly, and the brunette beside him laughed.

"Didn't even break a sweat," she said, "impressive. I'm Tenten—that's Neji, if you didn't get that before. We're Sakura's workout buddies."

"Team Guy!" Lee yelled. "Chant with me, my teammates! Tea—"

"I'll remove him," Neji said, squaring a hand on Lee's back. "Goodbye."

Tenten laughed and threw him a wave as she followed them. Sasuke stared at their backs and let the noise around him flood his senses—he'd let his eyes fade long ago, tired of straining them against the lights. Sakura had poked and prodded and informed him his reflexes were off the charts, and as soon as she'd been distracted by the stars in her eyes, Sasuke had been passed among the crowd to everyone that wanted to meet...a vampire.

And then?

And now?

Now, Sasuke was just...here. Just another person, at a party. Just another—friend, even. This should have changed everything—this should have ruined everything, and yet—

It just felt...inconsequential.

It felt like nothing. It felt as if Sasuke had announced his eyes were actually blue. A moment of shock, a few questions, and they had moved on. But Sasuke had been ready to leave—ready to be thrown out. He'd been preparing and planning and squaring his shoulders and—

And he hadn't, actually, been ready for any of it. He'd thought he was, he thought he would be, if he ever got to where he'd been a moment ago—from day one, he had always known if anyone told him to leave—he would. Especially for anyone's safety, especially for Naruto'ssafety—of course he would. Without even a thought, he'd known he would—

Until he'd looked at Naruto, and known he couldn't.

Sasuke swallowed, taking a step back as someone passed in front of him.

And this was...bigger. Not different, but...clear. Obvious. This was—something he couldn't really ignore. Couldn't pretend he didn't understand. All he had were his feelings anyway, and in his heart of hearts, Sasuke knew what the truth was.

Until Naruto himself told him to go, Sasuke would always stay.

He loved him too much.

"Naruto! Naruto Uzumaki!" Sakura was yelling, and Sasuke snapped back into reality. "Look at me. Look at me, my best, most stupid friend. My best, most stupid man."

Naruto huffed out a breath and dropped to his knees, letting Sakura clasp his hands in hers.

"Yes, ma'am?" he said, and Sasuke bit down on a snort.

"You derailed my engagement party."

"I did, yes ma'am."

"You dated a vampire."

"Am currently dating, yes ma'am."

"You looked me in the eye and told me you had a new allergy to garlic."

"I—uh. Well, I—I'll—I'll just go get you a refill, shall I?"

Sakura laughed and let go.

"And chocolate covered strawberries!" she called after him. Naruto saluted her and squeezed Sasuke's hip on the way by, pressing close with a quick—

"You okay?"

Sasuke nodded, but Naruto only scanned him over again. Sasuke wanted to grab him by the shoulders and kiss some sense into that idiotic head of his—of all the people to be worried about, Sasuke was the last and Naruto should have been the first—

"I'm fine, Naruto," he said, and Naruto's smile slowly widened. He pressed a small kiss to Sasuke's cheek and slipped off, taking the rest of Sasuke's heart with him.

He was a melted puddle on the floor. He didn't have any strength left to reason with these feelings right now…

"Sasuke! C'mere."

Sakura waved him over—and then again, and Sasuke awkwardly leaned down so he could hear her over the hum of the crowd. He was interrupting a conversation between her and Tsunade, who Naruto had quickly introduced—

The doctor, Sakura's supervisor, and the woman who had known Naruto's birth parents.

It was the latter that had Sasuke's nerves in his throat again.

"Thanks for saving my stupid best friend. How'd you know he was in trouble?"

"I had a...feeling," he said, awkward and nervous, "but that place isn't—it isn't the safest place in the world. Naruto—"

Shouldn't have been there. Shouldn't have gone that way. That was neither here nor there right now, Sasuke's head was far too busy being dragged every other place in the world, but sometime, at some point, Sasuke would have to—

"The alley?" she asked. "Or your work?"

"My work," he said.

"Shit," Sakura said. "That's—"

"Unsafe as in…?" asked Tsunade. "Should the authorities be involved?"

"No," Sasuke said—quickly. Too quickly, Sasuke knew, but— "no, there—is a...collective bad feeling about what's going on there. The hours and activities and some...staff are suspicious, but that's all we have to go on."

"Suspicious," she repeated, "in a way that could involve the...other man you met tonight?"

"...Yes," Sasuke said, spinning it all over in his head again. He was starting to doubt he'd ever even heard his own name. He'd been playing it over and over in his mind, and—and now was not the time or place, again, but he—the way he'd looked when he'd seen Sasuke, it had been as if—

As if he'd recognized him.

"Someone you'd known?"

"No," Sasuke said, "no. I'd never…"

Strange. Exhausting. You'd think he would have gotten used to the confusion and blurred memories and indescribable feelings with no grounds to stand on. Sasuke didn't know whether to stay here or go running back—back to the darkness and danger that might have answers for him. He wouldn't go without talking to Naruto, of course, but...

"Should I—uh—should we avoid the place? Shouldn't you not be working there?" Sakura asked, sitting up straighter—

"I don't know," Sasuke said, his mind still spiralling somewhere else. "The staff has seemed to lose interest in me. Or find an interest somewhere else, which may have been..."

"That—other vampire," Sakura answered for him, and Sasuke inclined his head. "Okay, we definitely shouldn't...shit…"

She shifted uncomfortably, and Sasuke felt the need to...help. Or something—

"Garlic does...bother me," he offered—awkward and uncomfortable. "I can only assume it would bother him as well."

Her face immediately brightened. Naruto slipped her glass back onto the desk with "sorry, be a sec," and threw Sasuke a smile before disappearing again—

"Ino!" Sakura called, lounging back, "Ino, babe, you wanna order garlic bread?"

"Right now?"

"No, no, I've tortured Naruto's man enough already. On the way home?"

Ino kissed her on the forehead.

"You have such a big brain in that big forehead of yours."

Sakura laughed and shoved at her face.

"Whereabouts is the...alley?" Tsunade asked, and Sasuke moved a little bit away to give Sakura and Ino some privacy.

"About ten minutes," he said quietly. "Turn left on east and right on fifth. It's the back entrance to—Manda. The bakery."

Tsunade slid her drink onto one of the grouped up desks with a small, quiet sigh.

"You've worked there long?"

"Only a few months."

"And this...staff, who was interested…?"

"In something about me, yes. I don't believe he ever managed to learn anything."

She let out a soft laugh.

"Good kid. Did he ever introduce himself? If I should happen to see the name..."

Sasuke glanced up.

"I knew him as Shiore," he said. "But I believe he goes by Orochimaru."

Tsunade breathed out a sigh.

"Right, then," she said, tapping her fingers on the table. "Thank you, Sasuke. I'll—be in touch."

"Oh?"

"Mm," she hummed. "With Naruto, anyway. We'll make sure he's suffering no effects from giving blood, as he has been."

Sasuke breathed in—

"But between you and me," she said, sliding back around the tables, "he's fine. There's very little that can harm an Uzumaki."

Sasuke's mouth closed, but Tsunade was already moving away.

"Have a good night, Sasuke. You too, Sakura, Ino—congratulations."

"You're going? I—wait, let me say bye—"

Sakura chased her to the door, yanking Ino along the way, and Sasuke tuned out the rest of the conversation. He'd been alone long enough, and if Naruto had glued himself to Sasuke's side after Sasuke had been in trouble, then it was only fair that Sasuke immediately find him again. Now if only he could immediately find him again...

"Yeah," Naruto said, running a hand through his hair. "I figure I'm gonna get a bazillion questions tomorrow, once it all actually...hits everybody. I can't believe—you guys handled this really well."

His dad let out a small laugh, shuffling through the cups they usually had back here for water or paint or whatever. He knew that everybody tended to forget which cup was theirs and then grab a new one at any party, Naruto totally should have gotten more…

"I was kinda afraid you'd kick him out or something," he admitted softly.

Iruka put the stack of cups back.

"I know," he said, leaning against the shelves.

Naruto blinked.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

His dad just smiled, watching him with warm, brown eyes.

"I didn't...hang on, I'm not—I'm not doing it again. Am I doing it again?" Naruto said, stepping back and searching his head—he hadn't—

Well, he—he had been ready for somebody to leave. For Sasuke to leave—for his friends and family to force Sasuke to leave, and Naruto didn't know what he'd do if he had to choose but he'd expected to be asked to make that choi—

"Fuck, I'm doing it again! Shit, I'm sorry, dad, I didn't mean to—"

"Naruto," Iruka said, laughing softly. "You don't have to apologize. I know you. I know when you need a reminder."

Naruto's breath caught in his throat.

"And you don't have to choose between us. No one has to leave. We can work anything out, as long as we're together," he said, reaching out to ruffle Naruto's hair, "right?"

"Yeah, um," Naruto said, and it sounded thick. "Yeah. Yeah. Sorry—thanks. Um."

Iruka smiled.

"You're welcome. And watch your language."

That opened Naruto's throat up just enough to let him laugh, and he swatted at his dad's hand as it went to ruffle his hair again.

"You're just as bad as me," he said, letting out a watery laugh. "I've seen you stub your toe."

"Stubbing a toe is one of life's worst pains," Iruka said in mock-seriousness, and Naruto laughed again—

The door clicked open.

"Sasuke!" Iruka said, and Naruto turned around—

"Oh," Sasuke said, already backing up, "I don't mean to—I won't interrupt. Excus—"

"No, no, no, no," Iruka said, pushing past Naruto, "you come in here, too. Don't think I didn't notice the both of you being ready to run."

Naruto ducked his sheepish, sheepish head. Sasuke didn't look much better off, frozen as he was—

"Didn't I tell you, Sasuke?" Iruka said, holding him by the shoulders. "You're always welcome. I'll never turn anyone away if I can help it."

God.

He had the best dad in the world.

And Sasuke looked just about like he'd been slapped, and not for the first time tonight. That same wide-eyed, stiff, overwhelmed shock...yeah.

Naruto had definitely been there.

"Thank you," he finally stuttered out, and Naruto smiled.

"He already yelled at me," Naruto offered, "if that makes you feel better."

"Yelled," Iruka huffed, moving back to the cups. "I say two sentences and it's already a lecture to you."

Naruto ducked his head and laughed again, rubbing the back of his neck—he looked up to catch Sasuke's eyes.

Sasuke breathed out, and stared right back.

"So," Iruka spoke again, pulling the package of cups back out. "Am I allowed to ask when the two of you started all of this?"

"Uh, you mean the—dating bit? Or the, uh—"

"Either or. I think my timelines have gotten confused."

Naruto huffed out a laugh.

"I mean. So has mine, like, a bunch of times—"

Sasuke eyed him, and Naruto's grin widened.

"Uh. We—I found out Sasuke was a vampire the—the night before. When we told you we were dating."

"But you—weren't dating?"

"Not yet, no."

"Oh," his dad said, furrowing his brow. "Then...when you—had to work things out…?"

"Uh," Naruto laughed and ducked his head, "that was—okay—no, we weren't dating, but we were both being dumb, so—"

"I was being dumb," Sasuke muttered, and Naruto whacked at him again.

"Oh," Iruka said again, laughing softly. "Well, I was wildly incorrect. You are dating now, aren't you?"

"Yes! Yes—" Naruto laughed, "yeah, we're dating now."

"And there you were," Iruka huffed, "mocking me at every opportunity. I ought to have been the one—"

"Hey! At least I—are you and Kakashi dating now, then?!"

Iruka looked away, and turned a bright, vivid red.

"Wh—wait, are you actually? You are! Dad, what the hell, why didn't you tell—!"

"That's enough out of you," Iruka said, bopping the stacked cups on his arm, "I know you. I know you'll go after him with all that you have."

"I've already been doing that, dad. If he hasn't run away yet, you're good for life."

Iruka laughed.

"Was that your plan? Your ultimate test for suitability?"

"Hey," Naruto said, "if he's gonna date you, he's gonna have to deal with me. I'm not losing you to some new guy."

Iruka paused in place.

Naruto froze.

"Uh—but that's not—I didn't mean—"

Iruka bopped him on the head with the stack of cups.

"Hey!"

"Pushing us together and expecting us to leave you behind," his dad said, and Naruto cringed. "You do realize that a man asking me to give up time with my son would be grounds for an instant break up, don't you?"

"I—yeah. No, of course I know that. Um…"

Iruka let out a breath and ruffled his hair again.

"Good. We can talk more later, if you'd like. How are you doing, Sasuke?"

"Sasuke knows everything, don't worry," Naruto said. "Wait, you were the one who told Sasuke—"

"And I'm very grateful for it," Sasuke said, and Naruto huffed out a laugh. "I'm...confused."

"Yeah," Naruto said. "You're still half back there. What's the plan—are we going back? Tonight, or—?"

Sasuke stared at him.

"Going back?" came Iruka's voice, but Naruto—

"We found another one. He—I don't mind going back if it means you'll get answers."

"I'm not going to use you as bait—"

"I wouldn't be—"

"Do I get any say in this?!"

"N—hang on, dad, it's—it's complicated."

"Yes, but—"

"Naruto," Sasuke said, stopping them both, "you can tell him."

Naruto breathed in.

"Tell—is there more?"

"Um," Naruto said, running a hand through his hair as he turned around, "yeah. Sasuke—"

Sasuke stepped closer to him.

"Sasuke has no memory."

A/N: That's it for now! Lots of action coming up as we build up to the end. I hope you're all excited!

See you tomorrow,

- Kinomi