Title: Parallels
Authors: Questofdreams and Lazuli
Rated: R
Comments: Huge thanks to our beta, proud snapist.
Disclaimer: Yep, they apply.

Chapter 16

When he next opened his eyes, he was staring up at the ceiling of his apartment, alone. From his angle, he didn't see anyone else in the room and he let out a soft sigh, part of him wondering if it had all been a crazy dream.

He shifted his shoulder and recognized the lumpy feel of the mattress of his twin-sized bed. He snorted softly and closed his eyes, turning onto his side and burying his face in the pillows to absorb the inevitable result of the stinging in his eyes that he couldn't seem to keep at bay. Life seemed to like playing him for the fool and it wouldn't be at all a shock if it had indeed been nothing more than a dream, woven from the longings of his unconsciousness, things he wouldn't admit to when awake.

"So you're finally conscious." A voice nearby startled him out of his self pity and he jerked his gaze around, settling on Sasuke, who came into view. "And I know it's you, idiot."

Naruto's eyes fixed on the dark-haired ninja slouched into one of the kitchen chairs beside his bed. "Sasuke?" he asked tentatively, swatting irritably at the dampness in his eyes.

Sasuke gave Naruto a flat stare. "No, Konohamaru."

Naruto's blue eyes narrowed into a glare, unamused. "What are you doing here? What am I doing here?"

Sasuke frowned. "What, did the jutsu give you amnesia?"

Naruto opened his mouth, faltered and then tried again. "I... I just want to make sure that things are the way they're supposed to be," he muttered huffily, one hand going to his head as a sudden spike of pain drove through it. "Ugh."

"You passed out after I performed the jutsu. We were going to put you in the hospital, but then Hokage-sama thought it'd be a better idea for you to wake up in your apartment."

Naruto stared up his ceiling, brows drawn into a vague frown.

"What do you remember?" Sasuke asked, still irritatingly unreadable.

Naruto pushed himself up to rest his head against the headboard. He looked down at his lap, ignoring the pulsing behind his eyes and recalled everything that had happened the past several days. "Everything," he murmured. "It wasn't a dream then?"

Sasuke's expression finally broke into what might have been interpreted as mild concern.
"What do you think was a dream, Naruto?" he asked, arms crossed over his chest and staring down at Naruto. "You have to recall that I only know how weird you were acting, but I assure you that you were wide awake the past few days and not dreaming."

"Just tell me I wasn't dreaming that the Yondaime is my father," he said, congratulating himself at how steady his voice sounded.

"Well, I can't tell you that for certain but the other you certainly believed it," Sasuke said, surprisingly patient with Naruto's behavior.

Naruto released his breath with a heavy sigh and finally looked at Sasuke. "So it worked then?"

"Well, we hurried things because of what was happening to you so...has it stopped?"

Naruto closed his eyes and strained for the earliest memory he had of his father... which was the one where he'd first awoken in the other world and the blond-haired man had appeared at his bedroom door. And yet, just there at the corner of his mind were further, if vague, images of the Yondaime. They were too hazy to make out, but the residue of the other Naruto's memories lingered in his mind. He gave a small smile at that.

"Yeah, it's stopped," he said carefully, one hand rubbing his temples as he sat up more fully. His smile grew strained as he remembered the promise he'd made to his father. He realized now just how painful it would be to keep constant reminders that his father was dead, and out of his reach. "I guess everything's going to go back to normal now."

Sasuke decided that it was rather aggravating when Naruto, who knew Sasuke could see through his guises, still chose to rely on pretenses that might have convinced anyone who wasn't Naruto's closest friend.

"Nothing will ever be normal again, Naruto."

Naruto's gaze sharpened on Sasuke.

Sasuke hated having to voice things Naruto already knew. It was simply the fact of having to force Naruto to acknowledge them. His lip curled as he said, "You've known your father and we're..." He shrugged, trusting Naruto to interpret the gesture. "Like when I came back from Sound; we can't just pretend it never happened."

Naruto sat up straighter, pushing the blankets off and shaking his head carefully. "Things are going to go back to normal," he repeated slowly, standing up and glaring at his friend. "Except for us, we're going to change. I'll kick your ass if you decide to go out with Sakura or Ino or anyone else." Narrowed blue eyes promised severe retribution if Sasuke changed his feelings now. "But everything else will have to go back to before. My father is dead and there's nothing I can do to change that. No one knows that he's my father, except for some close-mouthed teachers that will be hard put to admit it out loud."

"Stop being such an idiot, Naruto. You'll just have to make them admit it. You know now. There's no reason why they should keep it from you anymore," Sasuke said, choosing not to reply to Naruto's first comment. It was, he thought rather absently, something that went without saying.

Naruto barely heard Sasuke's words as he flexed his vaguely aching arms and left his bedroom. His steps faltered when he noticed a slightly crinkled slip of paper resting beside the sofa. The letter. Solid proof that his father really did exist somewhere where Naruto couldn't reach him.

He sat heavily on his couch, absently noting the broken springs that the other him had pointed out, and picked up the letter again with a faint smile. "Figures I'd yell at myself for the couch," he said absently, not acknowledging what Sasuke had said about getting certain people to admit the truth. He knew the truth, and at least in one world he knew he had a father that loved him and cared for him. What was the use agonizing over it now?

"Idiot." Sasuke came up behind him. "Why don't you get a new couch? And where the hell did you get this one? I tried sleeping on it last night."

"What the hell were you doing trying to sleep on this? You should know by now it's impossible," Naruto said, momentarily distracted.

"You, the other you, claimed the bed and I didn't exactly feel like sharing with him." Sasuke sank, carefully, into the broken cushions beside him. His lip curled again as he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Did you not say good-bye properly?" he asked, unable to grasp what was really bothering Naruto.

Naruto blinked and tried to wake his fuzzy brain up as he stared at Sasuke. "What are you talking about?" he asked crossly. "I said good-bye to my father and to Sasuke. It's hard to make up for a lifetime of not having anyone, but I wanted to come back here." There was a faint blush on his cheeks. "To you, dimwit."

"Then why are you acting like you just got passed over for Hokage?" Sasuke asked, voice marginally softer after Naruto's flush-faced admission.

"What am I supposed to do, Sasuke? My father wouldn't have wanted me to mourn his loss and I can't do that unless I pretend nothing, except us, has changed." Naruto gave the letter a lingering look.

"Your father wouldn't have wanted you to do that either. At least I would think he didn't," Sasuke said. "Things are different now, Naruto, but it's not a bad kind of different."

Naruto sighed and slumped further into his seat. "If I let myself chase my father's shadow here, I won't ever know how to be normal again."

Sasuke shook his head at that. "You're not chasing his shadow, you're not mourning him; you're honoring his memory and learning about who your father was as a person." He eyed Naruto's look and resisted the urge to smack his stubborn friend upside his head. "Why do you want to pretend like nothing ever happened? You were given a rare chance, idiot."

Naruto thrust his bottom lip out, knowing Sasuke was right, but unwilling to give up his argument just yet. It would be hard. The village would scorn him unless someone higher up confirmed that he was in fact the Yondaime's son. Naruto had always fought for others, for their safety, their approval, their acknowledgment. This time, he thought with a bud of realization, he would do it for himself.

He schooled his face so that Sasuke wouldn't know what he was thinking. "Things are different," he said carefully. "But, I guess with time, the difference fades and we create a new kind of normal."

Sasuke allowed himself a half-smile. "Figures you'd phrase it like that," he muttered, and then winced when a broken spring jabbed painfully into his back. "That's it. I'm getting you a new couch."

Naruto couldn't help a brief dig. "What, I don't get to move in with you yet?"

He had the rare pleasure of seeing Sasuke's face turn pink.

Naruto shoved him playfully, a small laugh escaping before he could shut his mouth. "I was joking, Sasuke. I like my apartment."

Sasuke, straightening and trying to look as haughty as possible as the color slowly faded from his face, said stiffly, "What's wrong with my house?"

Naruto frowned, puzzled. "Nothing. It's just...I know you're not ready for that yet."

"Who says I'm not ready?" Sasuke, if possible, became even stiffer.

Naruto stood up and gave him a look that was half confusion, half disgust. "Don't go trying to act all different just because you were different in another reality. I'd like to get closer, Sasuke." His voice trailed off for a moment as he looked away. "But I don't want to push you. The both of us have lived alone for too long to suddenly jump into becoming roommates now."

Sasuke's dark eyes grew flat. "I'm just saying, don't assume what I am and am not ready for. I'll tell you whether or not I want to do something."

Naruto's expression decided disgust would win over curiosity at the moment. "Fine then. Tell me you aren't ready to move in together!"

Sasuke glared at him for telling him what to do before saying rather coolly, "Some time in the near future, I think it would be an interesting challenge to live together."

"An interesting challenge?" Naruto's eyebrows rose and the argument made him momentarily forget his headache, the normalcy of his and Sasuke's bickering lending a solid feel. "What are you going to tell everyone? Or are you just going to jump..." He grimaced and then grinned widely at his own words. "Heh, even I can't see you jumping into this. It'd break your spine to be spontaneous."

If Sasuke got any stiffer, he'd snap in half. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Being spontaneous is not a mark of a good ninja. Being reliable is," Sasuke said.

"I'm not talking about ninja abilities, Sasuke. I'm just talking about you." Naruto felt like smacking that dark head if only to get Sasuke to pounce on him and stop looking like a broomstick had been shoved up his ass.

Sasuke, meanwhile, was left to wonder about himself just as a man and not as a ninja. It was difficult, if not altogether impossible, to separate the two.

Naruto sighed and gave Sasuke a tired smile. "Look, we're human beings, Sasuke. I know that we're supposed to be tools, mindless dolls--but we're not. If we were, I would have died all those years ago on the bridge when Haku had us trapped. You would have never..." He paused and winced. "Well, look at all the relationships and hopes and dreams that go on, even if we're ninjas. My dream is still to become the Hokage, but you have to understand people to do that. I never knew that before."

"Don't preach to me, Naruto. I'm perfectly capable of coming to my own conclusions," Sasuke said, sounding cross although his shoulders had relaxed a little.

"Then what is your conclusion?" Naruto asked, exasperated.

"Are you alright now?" he asked flatly.

Naruto blinked, caught off guard by the question. He looked around his apartment, still feeling the sharp loss of his father, but warmed now by Sasuke's familiar presence and a renewed promise to himself that he would honor his father's memory instead of forgetting it. "Um, yeah. I think."

Sasuke's shoulders relaxed completely. "Good. My conclusion is that spontaneity may be useful in some cases." With that said, he shoved off the horrid couch and planted a firm kiss on Naruto's mouth.

Now Naruto relaxed, automatically leaning into the kiss and one hand going behind Sasuke's head to pull him in closer. "About time, bastard," he murmured against Sasuke's lips.

Pale hands reached around Naruto's body and he felt the smirk against his lips as Sasuke squeezed Naruto's rear firmly.

Naruto made a small noise of surprise, reflexively tightening the muscles in his buttocks. Sasuke deepened the kiss, tongue pushing into Naruto's mouth as he slid his hands to Naruto's hips and pressed into Naruto's body.

Sasuke had spent the better part of the night and the morning after thinking about the intimacy with Naruto he had willingly been a participant of. It was new and it was different, but as they'd already established, sometimes different wasn't bad. And of course, now that he'd had time to think about it, he was taking control, using his instincts and taking advantage of what he could make Naruto do. It was only fair to learn about what he could do with his one-time rival.

Naruto seemed completely agreeable, glazed blue eyes shutting as his hands slid into mussed black hair.

Sasuke felt Naruto push him back towards the couch and thought, I don't think so. Not again. He pulled away, grasped Naruto's hand and tugged the compliant man toward the bedroom.

"Sasuke," Naruto began. He was cut off when Sasuke pushed him onto the bed and crawled over him, mouth finding Naruto's again. Naruto, who couldn't remember what he was going to say, moaned softly as Sasuke settled his weight on top of him. "Don't want springs digging into your ass?" he managed to joke, but the laughter turned into a drawn out moan as nimble hands slid under the shirt he had slept in.

"Shut up, dead last." Sasuke murmured against his throat, tongue running along the sensitive skin.

"Why do you still call me that, Sasuke?" Naruto breathed, arching his neck under Sasuke's mouth. There was nothing but curiosity in the breathy question, which was the only reason why Sasuke answered.

"Because you're not one anymore," he said, voice low as his fingers danced along Naruto's sides, muscles flexing under the light touch.

A crease formed between Naruto's brows and he struggled to maintain his train of thought. "That's a stupid reason."

"Just think of it as my way of reminding you of what you've become since the academy," Sasuke said irritably.

Naruto shook his head as he pulled Sasuke closer, eyes half shut as he let Sasuke take control, his body relaxing and letting it happen this time. There was no guilt, there was only the desire to see what this Sasuke, his Sasuke could do and would do to him.

Sasuke let Naruto tug his shirt over his head before assisting Naruto with the same. Sasuke covered Naruto's mouth again, kissing hungrily and sloppily, tongues probing and lapping at any accessible skin. He supported his weight with one hand and rose just enough for his other hand to find the front of Naruto's pants. He had never been gladder that the standard ninja uniform had elastic waistbands. Not having to deal with buttons or zippers, he pushed Naruto's pants down, Naruto lifting his hips to aid him.

Naruto didn't question that this was happening, even though some part of his brain was trying to wrap around the concept that his hands were tugging down Sasuke's pants, Sasuke's hands were trailing down his thighs, their lips were pressed together, tongues mapping out the other's mouths. Really, all that mattered was that Sasuke was there, solid, real, wanting him, Naruto.

His hands slid from Sasuke's hair, lingering on those pale cheeks. Sasuke broke from Naruto's mouth and turned his face to take two of Naruto's fingers between lips now pleasantly red, wet, and soft. Naruto groaned arching upward as Sasuke's tongue wrapped his fingers in warm wetness.

Naruto had to wonder how Sasuke knew how to make him feel so hot, like all of his skin was burning up. It was Sasuke touching him and wanting him like this. The bastard has to be good at everything, he thought absently as that talented tongue wound around his fingers, giving a preview of what could come next.

"Sasuke," Naruto groaned as his fingers were released with a knowing smirk. Blue eyes, misty with lust and need, watched as Sasuke licked a wet stripe down his chest, dipping briefly into Naruto's belly button before completely bypassing the weeping cock bobbing for attention between Naruto's legs.

Naruto made a small impatient sound as Sasuke's hands stroked up Naruto's inner thighs, thumbs teasing along the skin just below Naruto's balls.

"Sa—suke," Naruto groaned, trying to arch into Sasuke's mouth, beyond the point of embarrassment.

Sasuke's thumbs continued their teasing massage as he pressed his mouth to Naruto's inner thigh and sucked hard at the skin there. He brushed his teeth and tongue over the small bit of skin, lips working at it until he lifted his head with a satisfied smirk at the angry red mark he'd made.

"God damn it," Naruto muttered, sounding savage if somewhat breathless, as he tweaked Sasuke's nipples before latching onto dark hair and shoving the man's face between his legs.

Sasuke had few options. It was either get slapped in the face by Naruto's erection or open his mouth. He opened his mouth.

And Naruto realized that for all that Sasuke hadn't been with anyone, he certainly learned fast. Unless he practiced with the other me, and I don't see that happening. He gave a long, drawn out moan as clever hands trailed along the sensitive skin of his balls, and lips moved along his length, causing him to arch up into the firm grip Sasuke had on his hips.

Naruto's fingers tightened in Sasuke's hair, almost tearing out a strand or two, but Sasuke didn't seem to mind. His tongue flattened against the underside of Naruto's cock and he licked the length. Naruto shuddered beneath him, keeping himself from coming right there and then. Sasuke's hand moved to gently massage Naruto's balls before slipping lower, fingers teasing at the skin there, circling Naruto's entrance but never going further. His other hand still gripped Naruto's hip, thumb rubbing mindless circles in the hollow.

Naruto bit his lip hard as he pressed downward, asking, demanding, that Sasuke touch him, invade him, claim him; and if he didn't Naruto would flip them over and do it himself. Sasuke, on the other hand, was quite enjoying himself and the sounds that Naruto was making for him. With each touch, each stroke of his tongue, he had Naruto writhing beneath him, and he wanted to prolong the torture as much as he could possibly stand it.

He panted against Naruto's skin, his own cock hard and pressed against Naruto's thigh. Fuck it, he thought harshly.

"Naruto, something to..." He nipped at Naruto's thigh, as if that would make the message any clearer. He wasn't just going to shove into Naruto, and even being inexperienced, he knew they needed something to smooth the way.

Naruto began to look around frantically, searching for something to substitute as lube before he fully processed what it was he was looking for, and the purpose it would serve. His already rock-hard length jerked in anticipation, but his mind balked.

"Er, Sasuke?" Naruto panted, trying to regulate his breathing. He gasped when Sasuke's finger pressed against him, rotating and circling gently to ease the tension there. "Sasuke!" he yelped, more forcefully.

Sasuke paused and growled at Naruto, eyes narrowed. "What is it?" he murmured, trying to resist the temptation to snap. His fingers trailed more purposely down Naruto's length. "Don't you want this, Naruto?" Naruto's breathing was short and choppy. He wanted it.

"It's not that I don't." He paused and groaned. "But isn't it a bit...fast?" He gasped as one long finger pushed a little inside.

It was at that moment, when Naruto almost gave in, that there was loud knocking at his front door.

Both men stiffened. Then Sasuke resolutely pushed his finger a little further, Naruto whimpering with need. Naruto didn't mind the fingering; in fact, he wanted it; but he wasn't so certain he was ready to go as far as Sasuke seemingly wanted to. The other Naruto had been so right; once Sasuke got over himself, he really got going.

"Sasuke," Naruto managed to gasp as the knocking continued.

"Ignore it," Sasuke said through clenched teeth before closing his mouth over Naruto's length again.

Naruto moaned and arched into Sasuke's warm mouth, trying not to give in all the way, but his resolve was slowly breaking down. He wanted it so badly, needed this and Sasuke and it just felt so damn good that it was hard to say no.

The knocking was starting to get on his nerves though, a relentless "I'm not going to leave until you open this door" type, and he fuzzily wondered who wanted to talk to him that badly.

Sasuke's finger slipped in all the way.

"Nnnn." Naruto's muscles clenched around that single hard digit. Sasuke rotated his wrist, still working at relaxing the muscles before he pulled his hand back just enough to push a second finger in. His cock was almost painfully hard now, imagining that tight warmth squeezing around him.

"Damnit, you guys, I know you're there! I can sense your chakra!" Sakura's voice rang clearly through

Naruto gasped and arched against Sasuke more fully, eyes squeezed shut and tears gathering at the corners from the dry tightness of it all. "She... has to go... away," he managed to get out. "Sa...Sasuke.." He wasn't even bothered by the way his voice broke, the almost pleading quality that tinged Sasuke's name.

Screw his inhibitions, he thought. Sasuke wanted it and even though he hadn't expected it so soon in their relationship, Sasuke was doing a damn good job of convincing him it was the right step the take. He hissed, in pain and pleasure, as Sasuke thrust a little harder.

"Lick your fingers," Naruto mumbled.

Sasuke arched an eyebrow but complied, his fingers slipping free of Naruto's body.

Naruto cracked open an eye, almost coming at the sight of Sasuke sucking delicately on his own fingers, the same fingers that had just been knuckle-deep inside of him.

"If you two don't open this door in 10 seconds, I'm knocking it down!"

Sasuke flashed a glare in the direction of the front door. "Make her go away," Sasuke ordered, moving his fingers back to Naruto's entrance, one hand stroking his shaft gently. "You don't want her to come in on this, do you?" he murmured, his dark eyes glinting with humor.

Naruto groaned and shook his head, the feeling intensifying and he prayed that he could keep his voice somewhat steady.

"Ah, Sakura-chan, I'm... busy..." He had a hard time not gasping it out.

"Hokage-sama asked that I check in on you to see if you're awake, and seeing as you are, I need to make sure you aren't suffering any side effects from getting hit with that jutsu a second time. Open this door right now, Naruto!"

"Nnnn...I'm..." Sasuke's fingers curled inside him, brushing over a spot that made him arch almost completely off the bed, "...fine," he shouted, voice an octave higher than normal.

Sasuke smirked and did it again.

"You don't sound fine, you thick-headed, stubborn imbecile!" Sakura's voice rang out clearly through the apartment door and Naruto wanted to shout at her for her own stubbornness.

"I'm busy, damn it!" he shouted back, barely getting the words out around the whimpers building up in his throat.

"That's right, Naruto," Sasuke murmured into his ear. "You're very busy, aren't you?"

Naruto turned and bit Sasuke's bottom lip. Now that Sasuke was no longer out of reach, his hand immediately found the hardness still cushioned in Sasuke's pants. He tugged impatiently at the hem.

"Ten!" Sakura's voice interrupted. "Nine!"

"I'll let you in later, I swear," Naruto gritted out, thighs quivering as Sasuke's fingers worked his entrance while his hips thrust his straining cock into Naruto's hand at the same time. Naruto's head fell back on the pillow as his hands rapidly moved over Sasuke's erection, his mouth dry as Sasuke's own hands and fingers worked with unexpected talent within him and over him. "Sa...sa--" His words choked in his throat.

Sasuke panted, mouth reaching out for Naruto's again and ignoring the countdown outside the apartment.

"Fuck," Naruto gasped, growing nervous. "She really will break down the door just to spite us."

"Focus, Naruto," Sasuke hissed, letting his head fall into the crook of Naruto's neck, breathing deep of musk and sweat. He licked absently at the skin there.

"Six!" Sakura continued, sounding angrier with every word.

"Next time, Sasuke," Naruto gasped. He didn't care about how fast they were moving anymore; he wanted Sasuke buried hilt-deep inside of him, wanted something thicker and more filling than Sasuke's fingers, but his panic at having Sakura walk in on her two former teammates practically screwing was just the incentive for him to recover enough of his good sense to be willing to wait for next time.

Sasuke hissed and increased his movements. "If we wait until next time, moron, you're going to do whatever I want," he grunted against Naruto's neck, biting down harshly. "But you're going to finish here or you'll have to explain to Sakura why her two old teammates are sporting erections."

"Fuck yes, I'm finishing," Naruto nearly snarled. The thought of not finishing hadn't even occurred to him. His one hand slipped into Sasuke's pants to better grasp the hard length. His hand pumped furiously, guiding Sasuke toward completion, which neither of them were very far from, as he ground down against those probing fingers.

"Four!"

"Yes," Naruto panted, as he felt that burning rise up in his gut. He felt that almost-familiar white hot feeling building up inside of him, straining at his pores and only because his mind was still functioning on the basic survival method of not having Sakura hear them, did he manage to keep silent as he ground as hard as he could against Sasuke's fingers and came hard.

Sasuke gave an answering grunt against his hand and a hot, sticky liquid splashed against his fingers. He collapsed on his bed, panting softly.

"Two!" Sakura sounded like she was going to skip one and just make her way inside.

"Damn it," Naruto muttered, limbs protesting as he pressed a hasty kiss to Sasuke's sweat-dampened shoulder and shoved himself off the bed, dragging Sasuke with him to the bathroom.

"One!"