Hullo everyone I am back—somewhat—from my writing slump. Too much damn homework… " Whoops, sorry about that. Moving on I appreciate all the reviews and I hope I'll continue making the story good enough for you!
Disclaimer: Naruto is not copyrighted to me; the only characters I own are the OC's that will come in soon.
Chapter Four: It's Only A Game
The rest of the mission passed smoothly, with Naruto and Sasuke occasionally sneaking off to have a good make-out session away from their teammates and charge. Sakura remained oblivious through the entire mission—still in her delusional faze that Sasuke loved her—and Kakashi did nothing to aggravate them save for giving them a few knowing looks now and then. Yuri answered Sasuke's occasional questions (though Sasuke never did figure out why he was hiding in the bushes) and helped him handle his relationship with Naruto with care.
He didn't want to make a mistake, now did he?
"Sasuke-kun, you're spacing out!" Sakura ran to help him as the raven haired boy slipped on a rock and slid, slicing his knee open.
"Shit!"
"Stop being so clumsy, teme!" Naruto chided as he hopped down next to Sakura. Anger boiled within him as he saw Sakura dressing his wound, wishing that he himself could do it. But no—Sakura was training under Tsunade oba-san and would eventually have to learn this stuff, so he shouldn't deny her any extra practice. Besides, Sakura cared about Sasuke too…
"Hm. You're one to talk, still stepping in dog shit when we arrived, dobe."
A vein popped in Naruto's forehead and he had to fight the urge to grab the smirking boy and shake him. Kakashi said nothing; just came over to Naruto and ruffled his hair. The blond—always hating when his sensei did that—was now moaning over his ruined locks and went to the stream to get them wet. 'Well hell, why not just take a dip?' Stripping to his boxers said uber-happy ninja gave a wild shout and jumped, letting the current take him along until he was back near Sasuke and Sakura.
Climbing out he shook himself dry, earning a large whack on the head for spraying Sakura with water.
"I…Itai, Sakura-chan…"
He turned to Sasuke, giving the boy an incredibly sexy smirk and causing the boy to go crimson. 'Hah.' Kakashi had stalked off to gather his clothes and now returned, tossing them to Naruto and telling him no one wanted to see him like that. He ended the sentence with a deep, evil smirk.
The village came into view soon and with all their speed the ninja group was home very quickly. They finished reporting to Tsunade and then went their separate ways, Sasuke deciding to walk Naruto home. The streets were bustling with people buying food, kids playing ball on the sidewalks. They pass the Konoha Academy and wave at Shikamaru who had been bullied into teaching a class in place of Iruka-sensei.
He was, after all, a Chuunin.
Suddenly Sasuke tensed, and then stopped walking. Naruto turned to face him and saw the soft smirk on his face. "What's up with you?"
"Hello Uzumaki-san."
"YAH! G-gaara?"
It was indeed the insomniac Gaara, standing behind them in his Kazekage outfit. He bore a smirk similar to that of Sasuke's, probably because he caught Naruto off guard. He looked strange to Naruto to see him without it; it gave him a light, airy look. Excited and finished with being scared Naruto glomped the boy, giving a wide grin and bombarding him with questions.
"Naruto, get off of me," Gaara muttered as Naruto began rubbing his forehead against the soft cloth of his shirt.
"Nyah!"
"What are you doing here, Gaara?" Sasuke crossed his arms against his chest, his smirk giving way to a soft frown.
"Temari wanted to visit," he muttered, shoving Naruto off of him. "And insisted that I be dragged along…"
"Temari ne-chan?" Naruto's blue eyes sparkled. "I haven't seen her in forever. Is Kankuro here?"
Gaara shook his head. "Opted to stay home."
Sasuke nodded in reply. Naruto continued grinning up at Gaara, so much so that Sasuke began to become a bit…annoyed.
"Well," Gaara was being to feel the pressure of Sasuke's full out glare. "I have to get going. See you later."
"No, no—" Naruto pleaded, tugging on the boy's shirt. "I haven't seen you in such a long time. Let's…let's play a game! Sasuke, make him stay!"
Something tugged at Sasuke's heart, and only the thought that this would make Naruto very happy spurred him to get Gaara to stay. Besides, he had to test out his theory.
"Gaara?" he said simply.
Between the whimpering fox and the cold-faced Uchiha, said red-head knew he wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon. He simply sighed and nodded, not really up for the challenge of fighting them both off.
"Yay! Let's play hide-and-seek, pretty please?"
"What are we, four?" Sasuke muttered, running a hand loosely through his hair. "No, let's have a taijustsu match. Winner gets a kiss from Naruto."
Gaara's green eyes caught his and he held their gaze, wondering…waiting…
"Fine."
"Hey no fair! Why do I have to be the prize?"
The two gave no reply; they merely continued staring at each other. Finally Naruto let the subject drop and the three shot off to begin the match
-0-0-
"Aw, shit…"
It was over. He had lost. He watched in jealousy as Gaara leaned over to Naruto and kissed him softly on the mouth. Naruto's eyes snapped shut and he made the noise of one who was enjoying himself. Sasuke clenched his fists so tight he drew blood. Only when they finally pulled away did Sasuke let out the long breath he was holding.
Gaara nodded to him and disappeared, leaving a startled Naruto behind.
"Naruto…" Sasuke extended his hand.
When Naruto took it he yanked the blond to him, kissing him roughly as if to reassure he were still there. Naruto was shocked; too shocked to move. Too shocked to do anything but stand and let Sasuke kiss him. He did not know where the sudden burst of affection came from and quite frankly he didn't give a damn. (1) All he knew was that if felt so good…
It was then Naruto began contemplating the difference between the way Sasuke and Gaara kissed. His mind—thoroughly numb but still functioning—screamed at him to stop. The fox was treading on thin ice, pondering this question. But he kept going. Sasuke's kisses were rough, even when he was kissing softly. Gaara's kiss was…gentle. Naruto moaned into the kiss as Sasuke drew him closer. He wondered if Gaara could kiss like Sasuke, and vice-versa.
'No.' Naruto chided himself. 'You love Sasuke, dobe. Don't ruin it.' And with that thought he patted Sasuke's head as he pulled away and placed his head on Naruto's shoulder.
"It's okay, Sasuke—it was only a game."
Sasuke shivered; yes it was only a game. And he had been the one to suggest the prize. There was no reason at all to be so paranoid. None at all.
"I love you, Sasuke…"
"Aa." Sasuke calmed himself before slinging his arm around Naruto and continuing their walk. They were farther from Naruto's house because of the game, but Sasuke didn't care. In fact, he was rather glad that Naruto had forced him into the game. It only meant, for Sasuke, more time with the boy. Naruto began chattering away, but Sasuke couldn't hear the words. He could only see the movement of the boy's mouth.
Naruto had an adorable mouth. He laughed, leaning in and kissing Naruto on the tip of the nose; such an un-Sasuke like gesture. The kitsune was startled into shutting up, returning the kiss and then slinging his arm around Sasuke.
They continued the rest of the walk home in silence.
Phew. That chapter was a bit short but I promise the next one will be much longer, as we move into some angst. Wai, I finished quite a few chapters this weekend. Three. Yay! One shy of my record but I'll take what I can get.
I just couldn't help it. I had to bring Gaara in. –glomps Gaara- He's just so adorable! Don't expect him to be around much for the next chapter though. Maybe enough for Naruto to see Temari but then they're going back home. W00t! Alright guys that's all I have for you this chapter so let the reviews roll in and I will have the next chapter up for you as soon as humanly possible, okay? Thanks so much guys—ja ne!
(1) A quote from the infamous Rhett Butler of Gone With the Wind. I love that book!