Chapter Rating: M for explicit content

To my Reviewers:
KinOfDragons: Sorry about killing him off. Lol. Erm…maybe he's not really dead? Da dad a dum. Oh. no. sorry. He is.
Chi no hana: Oh…Kleenex
Dentai Otanashii Ookami: Thank you so much. I'm glad that I managed to do what I had aimed for.
Half-demon628: Hope this is soon enough?
PandaInc.: Thank you very much!
Pink Jello: lol. Angst is my middle name unfortunately…
Aya Kurayami: I hope this chapter is a bit less sad? But don't hold your breath. Lol.
Ku, Phantomsnow: Thanks!
Azamiko: I suppose they just didn't think…
Smoking Panda: Here you go!
Jarakuheart: KLEENEX!
unheardcries: here you go.
Kitty-inuyasha: more Kleenex for you too…
Goingcommando: thank you very much for the lovely review. I honestly believe Naruto's a lot deeper than we give him credit for. And losing someone who he considered a father or brother – especially when he feels he could have prevented it – would probably crush him. Once again, thank you.

iv.

The fire crackled and it was the only sound that Sasuke was aware of in the brittle, broken night. His eyes reflected the orange flames and they reminded him of Naruto. Or, at least, who Naruto once was. The orange, danced bright and wild with an exuberance that licked away at the darkness around it. It danced defiantly and it whirled where it was. A whirlpool of flame that reached up and around it, warming those it got near enough to and burning those it touched.

Other nights before the Battle, Sasuke was awake, always awake, an unspoken agreement between him and his team mates that he would take the first shift at watching out for enemies. He was awake now. But so were his team mates.

As Sasuke strained his ear, he could hear Kakashi's breathing, calm and soothing over the erratic crackle of the fire.

In the swallow of the dark, Sasuke felt it. That light sizzle of intense grief that emanated not only from himself; but from his team mates in unabashed waves. He resisted the urge to reach up and grab at his chest – to stop the undiluted ache that bathed within it.

It was then that Kakashi sat up. Sasuke sat up as well, wondering if Kakashi sensed something he had not noticed yet. He fell still for a moment, before he saw the look in Kakashi's eye. Then he just nodded to the older man and watched Kakashi get up and leave, disappearing into the trees that laced their camp.

Sasuke was alone with Naruto again and in the firelight, he could see the blue eyes were damp with tears that would not go away no matter how many times Naruto cried. So they stayed there, just as they always had. Just as they always had when adults shunned him and the other children wouldn't share their toys with him. Just as they always had when he was ostracized from everyone and everything through no fault of his own.

"Naruto?" He whispered.

The name slipped off his lips easily and echoed in his head like a dream he just had and was clinging on to, or a word from a book he had read many years ago. He could hear it over and over again dancing in his mind and he hated the quivering uncertainty that stained the syllables.

"Naruto?" He whispered once more, because really, he wasn't sure he'd called out the first time.

And maybe because he sounded like he was in pain, and maybe because Naruto sensed there would be no third time – that Sasuke had bared enough – Naruto looked over at Sasuke. Naruto blinked and it was enough to let the tears flow.

And suddenly it was freezing next to that fire and even colder besides Naruto. A rough hand came to reach up for him and he relented. In a second, lips were meeting – and Sasuke wondered when kissing had become a shield to hide behind.

It was dry again, the kiss – and pulling away slightly, he found himself licking his lips and then diving in again.

A quivering tongue touched his bottom lip and there was a pause of familiar hesitation and then of remembrance that this was Naruto and this was everything. His lips parted and so did the curtains in his mind.

Please…

Naruto traced his teeth, his tongue and the roof of his mouth. And when he had coated Sasuke's mouth with himself, Sasuke did the same to his. He slid his tongue over Naruto's, the rush and heat hitting him forcefully and he was dizzy, dizzy, dizzy. His eyes slid open slowly to meet the slowly opening eyes of Naruto.

And for the first time, it wasn't the pain they saw in each other's eyes. It wasn't loss, hatred, bitterness, sadness…there was nothing there but a reflection of each other.

In Naruto's eyes, Sasuke saw his own: glassy with want and alive with need.

Keeping his eyes open was difficult. His eyes were being lulled closed by the quivering of Naruto's bottom lip as he sucked on it forcefully and the breath that chilled the saliva on his upper lip. He forced them open though. He wanted to see Naruto. He wanted to see himself.

He was aware now that one of his legs had forced itself between Naruto's thigh and Naruto was now pressing against him almost painfully. His lips left Naruto's and he tried to take inventory of his limbs. One arm was under Naruto, pressing him into himself and the other was somewhere between them, brushing against Naruto's hand and trying to move its way down to the waistband of his pants.

Naruto's half-lidded eyes watched as Sasuke tried to find his bearings. For a moment neither moved. The fire crackled and a slight breeze washed over them in a sleepy tide. Sasuke listened to their breathing. The hand pressed against Naruto's back twitched slightly as he fought the urge to touch the side of Naruto's face. To touch it and remember the expression it wore in that moment of stillness. The tears that had escaped had dried by now. Still, pools of them glistened in the blue depths. There was a quiet and silent surrender in the contours of Naruto's lips. And slowly, they parted.

Yes. Please…

The hand trapped between himself and Naruto moved now, finding Naruto's hand and lacing its fingers with Naruto's. The position was uncomfortable, both his wrist and Naruto's were bent at an odd angle. The lack of comfort was ignored by both.

A beat and Sasuke, uncomfortable with the position their hands were in but not wanting to move them, shifted his hips slightly instead.

And that was all it took.

Naruto hissed, head dropping onto Sasuke's shoulder. With his free hand, Sasuke grabbed hold of Naruto's hair, pulling his head back and exposing his neck. He shifted his hips again. This time, a groan. He watched the sound ripple out of Naruto's throat. He brushed his lips against the source of the sounds; eyelashes fluttering against Naruto's cheek. He raised his eyes up to look at Naruto's parted lips, swollen and bruised from their kiss.

More.

Slowly, forcefully, deliberately, he moved his thigh and hip simultaneously, the friction making his breath hitch and jolts of pleasure threatened his control. Naruto's reaction threatened it farther. A moan escaped from deep within Naruto's throat and Sasuke felt it more than heard it – the heady vibration against his lips which pressed unrelentingly against Naruto's throat.

More…

He stilled himself, ignoring the screaming need that throbbed within him. This was too much in too little a time. He wanted to slow it down. Stretch it out. Lavish the moment against his body which was wet with perspiration. Through his clothes, he ached.

He ached.

It was Naruto who moved first now. And the ache vanished.

Sasuke exhaled sharply and untangling his fingers from Naruto's he gripped Naruto's arm just as Naruto did to him. Their grips were painful but forgotten as their hips found their rhythm and their goal made all too clear by the urgency in their kiss.

More.

Sasuke didn't know what this was. He wanted something. Something else. Something…

More.

He pulled at Naruto over and over again, crashing into him like a tsunami on a bay. He was panting and he felt disgusted with himself. For a moment he felt like a dog in heat. For a moment he felt dirty. But it was just a moment. And then there was--

"More…"

He didn't know who had said it. For a split second he thought it he had said it. For a split second–-

"Nnngh…Sasuke…more"

Naruto's forehead was on his shoulder again. Sasuke licked his lips and placed them close to Naruto's ear. He was whispering. And he wondered if Naruto could hear him. Because he hardly could hear himself.

You're so fucking beautiful.

Naruto was squirming so hard against him now. The pressure between them building, building, building. Sasuke's world was spinning. The starbursts in his mind blinding him. And yet still:

More.

They were frantic now. And his forehead was slick with sweat and his lips wet with saliva. Naruto's forehead was pressed against his neck now, and his entire body throbbed. He was so so close. But still:

More.

Sasuke shifted and the contact between themselves intensified. Naruto groaned so loudly, Sasuke wondered who hadn't heard it. His own strangled cries were forcing themselves out of his throat; escaping in sharp hisses and exhaled gasps.

Naruto's head moved up and their breaths tickled each other's ears. Sasuke heard it all now. It was all he could hear. The gasping. The moaning. He thought he would be driven mad by it. Mad by the building. The unquenchable need. They were thrusting against each other now, and Sasuke wondered why they weren't getting crushed.

More.

Their grips on each other tightened.

Simultaneously, they both inhaled sharply.

Naruto crushed against him; grinding against him. And Naruto shuddered. As Sasuke continued to move against him, Naruto was swallowing his shouts and his screams.

A moment later, and another sharp inhalation from both and Sasuke felt his own body convulse. Suddenly, moving against Naruto became painful. He bit down hard on his lower lip trying to keep from crying aloud. Naruto's head hit his shoulder hard as he rid the last wave of his orgasm. He flinched from the pain and his hips jerked up and pleasure tore through him unrelentingly, the pain all but forgotten.

"Naruto…"

They dropped away from each other.

His eyes were closing now, and just as his eyes slid shut he could see Naruto turning away from him so he lay with his back to him. His eyes opened for a moment and for a moment more, he wanted to touch Naruto's back. Urge him to turn around so he could see him. Instead, he pulled his arm from under Naruto and turned away.

In the morning, the three were silent as they packed away their things. It took them only a few minutes to get ready to leave. They didn't need to extinguish the fire.

It had gone out itself.

to be continued...

AN: My first attempt at yaoi...hope you liked?