A/N: This chapter is dedicated to cynlee, because you always have something nice to say, and you always entertain me; and also, to my crazy student, Shisuta Nuchinan. Hope y'all enjoy.
Disclaimer: ...I'm too tired to think of one. They're not mine. They're K. Masashi's.
Naruto yawned as he walked down the stairs, grumbling at the annoying person who was knocking continuously on his front door. The person knocked ten times, then rang the doorbell twice, before returning to knocking and continuing the whole process. Naruto was going to kill the owner of that hand.
My one day off from both the firehouse and Wal-Mart, and I have some idiot knocking at my door at… Naruto frowned. Come to think of it, what time was it? He glanced at his watch and winced. Ten in the morning. Yeah, he had the right to be mad.
Naruto reached his front door and made it a point to be as slow as possible while unlocking the door and pulling back the chain-link. He opened it slowly, showing his sleepiness as he peered out at the person standing on his porch. He was suddenly wide-awake. And angry. Very angry.
"What do you want, bastard?" Naruto demanded as he narrowed his eyes.
"Look," Sasuke sighed, "I realize you're mad at me for reading your journal—" Naruto snorted.
"I don't particularly care about that, right now. Not compared to everything else you've done."
Sasuke was puzzled. "Like?"
"Well, first off, you messed with my engine again!" he snapped angrily. "It costs money to get those things fixed, you know! If I didn't have Kankurou, I would be spending said money fixing my damn car! Thankfully, he's in the Tire and Lube department at Wal-Mart, and can fix my car for me for free." Naruto poked Sasuke in the chest with his finger. "Also, you keep your damn mitts off my gluteus maximus!" He narrowed his eyes. "And in case you don't know Latin, that's my ass."
"I understood." Sasuke glared.
"Good!" Naruto took a step back and turned to close his door before turning back to Sasuke, throwing his hands in the air. "I don't fucking get you, man! I mean, one second, you hate me and are all jerky and shit, and the next, you act like we're best friends! Like, you mess with my engine, but then offer to give me a ride home. You pull pranks on me, but then do something to make up for it. Like—what do you want from me?.!" Naruto was yelling, at this point. He was so damn frustrated with all of this, he just wanted to kill something. That, or get laid. "Do you want to be my friend, or do you want to just piss me off, or even just hate me?.!"
Sasuke was silent for a long while, watching Naruto's chest rise and fall as he panted, a frown on his tanned face while glaring at the Uchiha. Sasuke waited until he'd calmed down before answering.
"Kiba's probably told you I'm not very good with people."
"I don't need Kiba to tell me that, Uchiha." Naruto spat.
"Fair enough." Sasuke growled, wondering if he'd ever be able to talk without being interrupted. "I'm not very good with people. I don't like interacting with others because of what might happen to them. So—I think, I want to be friends with you, but I don't at the same time." Sasuke ran his hand through his hair, feeling annoyed at having to explain this. "I don't want you to hate me, but I don't really know how to act around others. Kiba kind of just puts up with me, and Kakashi's known me since forever, so he's used to how I act. I just—I want to be your friend, I just don't know how."
Naruto's eyes softened slightly and he let out a small chuckle, rubbing the back of his head with his hand. "Is that all, Uchiha? It's because you lack people skills?"
Sasuke blushed and looked away. It was very unnerving having Naruto grin at him like that, all of his teeth showing. It made Sasuke uncomfortable. Especially since it made him focus on the blond's lips—something he really shouldn't be doing, since he really wanted to screw the other firefighter.
"Yeah." he mumbled.
"Well, shit, Sasuke, all you had to do was ask." Sasuke turned back to Naruto, confused. "I'll crack that ice-heart of yours, you prissy bitch of a princess." Sasuke's head snapped back at that, his eyes wide. "Pick me up tonight. We'll go clubbing or something. Pick us up some hot chicks." He paused. "Or dudes, whichever." He shrugged before flashing Sasuke another grin. The raven nearly melted.
"Tonight?"
"Yeah, we work the afternoon shift tomorrow. Plenty of time to sleep in, and sleep off our hangovers." He winked. "Come get me around seven or so. And bring your bike. I enjoyed riding it." Naruto waved slightly before closing his front door, Sasuke staring at it in shock.
That's it? That's all I had to do? Sasuke thought, amazed. That was easier than I thought! And—he liked my motorcycle. Sasuke grinned as he walked down the stairs, headed for his car. I'm taking my motorcycle everywhere, from now on. It means he'll be close to me. And maybe—I can be enough for him. I mean, Kiba said he was bi, right? And Kiba wouldn't lie about that.
Sasuke got into his car and paused in slamming the door as he wondered whether or not Kiba was lying. No, he wouldn't. And if he did lie, he's dead. Sasuke slammed the car door.
Iruka hummed as he mixed the spaghetti sauce he was making for Kakashi. It was past noon, and the two of them would have to leave for work in a few hours. He wanted them both to leave on full stomachs, so he'd decided to make some spaghetti. The noodles were already boiling in a pot, and the sauce was just about ready, now.
Strong arms suddenly wrapped around the Arson Investigator from behind, causing the younger man to jump.
"What are you doing?" Kakashi nuzzled his neck, nudging his chin out of the way.
"Making lunch." Iruka smiled gently as he allowed Kakashi access to his neck.
"Mm. Since when do I eat anything besides you?" Kakashi nuzzled his neck more. Iruka blushed cutely, and decided to ignore the comment. His hands shook as Kakashi sucked particularly hard on one of his sensitive spots on his neck.
"I noticed your newbie was back at the station." Iruka gasped. He didn't want to get hot and bothered now. They both had to get to work soon.
"Mm." Kakashi agreed as he pulled away from Iruka's neck and smiled at the red mark he'd left there. "He's a fast healer, that one." Kakashi moved to suck elsewhere on the brunette's neck, wanting to leave a few presents for him before work.
"He's cute." Kakashi jerked away from Iruka's neck, his eyes wide.
"Cute?.!" he demanded. "What do you mean by 'cute'?" His eyes narrowed.
"Not cuter than you, Scarecrow." Iruka reassured as he twisted slightly to place a gentle kiss on Kakashi's lips. "Never cuter than you."
"Good, or else Mr. 'cute' would be high-tailing it out of Station Seven." Kakashi's eyes narrowed. Iruka just laughed, knowing Kakashi wasn't serious.
"You know, this one's been there for a long time." Iruka frowned. "Well, not really, but much longer than any of the others."
"It's true." Kakashi agreed as he held Iruka tightly around the waist, resting his cheek on the other's shoulder. It forced his neck into an awkward position since he was much taller than Iruka, but he didn't mind. He loved Iruka, and a sore neck wouldn't kill him.
"I think you should give him a nickname, now." Iruka insisted. "After all, Kiba was only with you for a week before he got his name."
"Yeah, I suppose you're right." Kakashi agreed as he frowned. It had never occurred to him to give Naruto a nickname. None of the others had lasted long at Station Seven, so he'd never assumed Naruto would. Guess Sasuke will be happy, he thought with a smirk.
"What are you smirking at?" Iruka demanded playfully, feeling his lover's smirk against his shoulder.
"Sasuke. And the fact that he must be ecstatic that Naruto's still around to molest."
"Has he admitted his feelings, yet?"
"Not aloud, no. But he loves Naruto, and he knows it. Kiba and I can tell, because we know Sasuke, but I don't think he's aware of that fact."
"Mm." Iruka agreed as he began to mix the boiling spaghetti noodles with a fork. "What time is it?"
Kakashi glanced at the clock, smiling slightly. "We've still got plenty of time."
The Captain's hands removed themselves from Iruka's waist, slowly trailing down his sides. He reached the bottom of Iruka's shirt and slipped his hands beneath it. The Arson Investigator shivered at the touch.
"Your hands are cold."
"Then you'll just have to warm them up, won't you?" Kakashi breathed into his ear.
The firefighter's hands roved upwards, lightly caressing the firm abdomen before continuing higher to his pectorals. As one hand brushed against a firm nipple, Iruka let out a small gasp. Kakashi smirked before taking the nipple between thumb and forefinger, tweaking it slightly.
"Fuck." Iruka moaned as he lost his grip on the fork he held, the kitchen utensil falling to the ground. "You're doing it on purpose!"
"Of course I am." Kakashi smirked.
"We're going to be late for work." Iruka gasped out as the Captain's unoccupied hand began its trek back down his abdomen, heading lower.
"I'm sure the world can wait to be saved five minutes longer." Kakashi insisted as he skillfully undid Iruka's pants with one hand. "I think you need me more than everyone else does."
Iruka couldn't help but moan his consent.
Izumo plopped down on one of the chairs around the kitchen table, glancing at the clock. He hated the afternoon shift, because it tended to be the busiest shift of all. It was like there was some unspoken rule among the populace that they should light as many fires as possible between three in the afternoon and eleven at night. The afternoon shift. How annoying.
"Hey, Godd." Kiba fell into another chair, dropping tupperware onto the table, and then opening it. He sniffed it before nodding, putting his fork into the mysterious food he found before him and shovelling a bite into his mouth.
Izumo sighed as he turned to regard what Kiba was eating and his eyes practically fell out of his head. It was Tuna Salad Kotetsu had bought—over a month ago!
"You're eating that?.!" Izumo asked, horrified. "It's been in the fridge since forever!"
"Don't worry, man." Kiba flashed him a grin. "The best before date is just a suggestion."
"No, Kiba, it-it's really not." Izumo sputtered, wondering how ill Kiba was going to be for the remainder of their shift. If he starts puking everywhere, I'm not cleaning it up! The rookie can damn well do it!
"Good morning!" Genma hollered as he practically pranced into the main room.
"Genma, it's three in the afternoon." Kotetsu commented from the kitchen.
"Not to me it isn't." Genma grinned.
"Oh, fuck, did you get laid?" Kiba demanded just as Raidou walked in. The scarred man sported a few hickeys and had a satisfied look on his face. "Oh, Jesus Christ, you did get laid." The dog-lover buried his face in his hands. "Today's going to be killer."
"I got laid." Izumo said with a frown.
"Yeah, but you and Kotetsu aren't crazy like Genma and Kakashi." Kiba's head shot up from its position. "Oh, shit! Kakashi better not have gotten laid, or today is going to be horrendous!"
As if on cue, Kakashi came waltzing in. "Hello, my trusty fellow firefighters!"
"Oh, screw me shitless and call me a turkey." Kiba hollered angrily, throwing his arms in the air.
"Is that an offer?" Genma demanded, practically bolting across the room.
"No!" Kiba yelled, punching the perverted firefighter in the face when he got too close. Genma fell on his ass, nursing his injured nose. Kiba himself shook out his now-sore hand. "Ow."
"Hey, Kiba." He turned to his Captain. "Where's Sasuke?"
"He didn't want me to pick him up today." Kiba shrugged, turning back to the month-old Tuna Salad.
"Really? Why?" Genma asked, still rubbing his sore nose.
"Fuck if I know, man." Kiba shrugged again.
"Iruka talked to me about Naruto this morning." Kakashi commented as he leaned back against the kitchen counter, crossing his arms. "We've had him for a while, and we haven't come up with a name for him yet."
"Hey, you're right." Kotetsu murmured, somewhat shocked. "I think we just never figured he would stick around, so it never really occurred to us that he's here to stay."
"What should we call him?" Izumo inquired.
"Sexy-boy!" Genma hollered.
"No, Genma." Kakashi sighed as Raidou hit his lover across the back of the head.
"Genma's Boy-Toy!"
"No, Genma." Kakashi's eyebrow twitched slightly, and Raidou hit him harder across the back of the head.
"Then you think of something." Genma grumbled, miffed. "Here I am, giving suggestions, but do they listen to me? No." the firefighter muttered to himself, annoyed.
"I think Sasuke should choose his name." Gaara suddenly piped up, causing everyone to jump, as they'd never heard him enter. "He and Naruto seem to be on better terms, and I think it would further their friendship if Sasuke were to choose it."
"Sasuke will choose something gloomy." Genma insisted. "Like 'Death II' or 'Assassin' or something."
"No, not for him." Kiba insisted as he finished off the Tuna Salad. "He'll call him 'Sunshine' or something, just to piss him off."
Kotetsu was staring at Kiba as the brunette wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Did you just eat my month-old Tuna Salad?" Kiba cocked an eyebrow at the abrupt change of subject.
"Yeah."
"Kakashi, if he hurls, can we have the rookie clean it up?" Kotetsu inquired.
"He's not a rookie." All turned to Gaara, stunned at the venom in his voice. "You should stop treating him as one."
The door leading in from the Rig Bay suddenly slammed open, Naruto bouncing into the room with a grin on his face. "Yo!"
"What's got you in such a mood?" Raidou asked with a frown.
"I just totally kicked Sasuke's ass at basketball." Naruto grinned as he made his way to the coffee machine. "He's pretty upset."
"Oh no." Kiba paled. "A pissed off Sasuke for eight hours?"
The door opened for a second time and all of them braced themselves for the waves of hatred—only to be greeted by a smiling Uchiha. He wasn't smirking, and he wasn't grinning. He was actually smiling!
Kiba's eyes all but fell out of his head.
"Dude!" He grabbed the person closest to him, who happened to be Genma. They both stared at Sasuke, their cheeks inches apart. "Is Sasuke smiling?.!"
"Sweet Mary, mother of God." Genma breathed.
"Do you think he's sick?" Kiba demanded urgently.
"He's gotta be! He's smiling!"
"It's kind of creepy." the dog-lover admitted with a wince as the smile was directed at them before he walked up to Naruto to steal his cup of coffee.
"Kind of? This is Sasuke! 'Sasuke' and 'smiling' have never been uttered in the same sentence before." Genma whispered, his voice getting lower with each word, as if afraid Sasuke would overhear them.
"Shape-shifting aliens?" Kiba inquired.
"Only explanation." Genma agreed.
"Fuck, I hope he doesn't anal-probe us." Kiba winced.
"Speak for yourself."
"You're sick, Genma." The RIT team individual sighed.
"I try, Inuzuka. I try." Genma kissed his cheek, causing Kiba to lurch away from him, effectively falling out of his chair and onto his ass.
Gaara backed the huge rig into the Rig Bay, Naruto helping him direct it back in as Kotetsu waited in Truck Ten for his own chance to enter the Bay. The other firefighters had entered the firehouse and were just lazing around, having returned from a false alarm.
Kiba stared at Sasuke, who was sitting on one of the couches in the room, the smile he'd worn that morning still plastered on his pale face. The brunette's eyes narrowed before he finally stood and stalked towards the raven. He stood right beside him, Sasuke directing the smile at him.
"Hey, Kiba. Lovely day, huh?"
Kiba hesitated. "Did you get laid?" he blurted out.
The smile disappeared, Sasuke sighing. "No, unfortunately. Although it would've been nice."
"Then what's with the creepy smile?.!" Kiba demanded, tugging at his hair. "You've got me scared shitless here, man! Sasuke Uchiha does a lot of things, but one thing he does not do is smile! What's up?"
"Nothing. I played basketball with Naruto." The smile reappeared. "After having 'accidentally' fallen on top of him while going down the stairs." His smile turned into a grin. "After he woke up from having slept his hangover off at my place." His grin turned maniacal. "After having gotten completely trashed last night and snuggled with me on my motorcycle while we drove back to my place."
"You didn't—do anything to him while he was…" he trailed off. "You know."
"No." Sasuke smirked. "Not much, anyway."
Kiba paled. Naruto was going to have a fit if he ever found out. Remember the plan! Move to Mexico! Kiba reminded himself.
"Yo!" Naruto appeared at the door. "That crazy green man is coming!"
"What?.!" everyone hollered.
"Don't let him in!" Kakashi screamed urgently, bolting for the door. He pulled Naruto inside before slamming the door shut and locking it.
"Kotetsu and Gaara are still out there!" Naruto insisted.
"I hate to have sacrifices, but it's necessary!" Kakashi insisted.
"We can't just leave them out there to be at his mercy!"
"We can, and we will!" Kakashi's eyes were wide and panicked. He let a small shudder shake his frame as he heard the booming voice of Gai Maito outside. He was asking Gaara where Kakashi was.
"Shit!" The Captain bolted for the bunk-room. "I'm not here! Tell him I died in the last fire!" He flew under one of the beds.
"We can't tell him that!" Raidou insisted. "And how dare you say that?.! What if you jinxed yourself?.!"
There was banging on the door. "Hello my youthful, vigorous friends! It is I, Gai Maito!" a booming voice declared from the other side of the door. "I have come with rejuvenating snacks and many, many affections for all of you! And most especially for wonderful Kakashi Hatake, my most esteemed rival and companion!"
"Is there a back door?" Naruto whispered to the others.
"Of course!" Izumo hissed. "We wouldn't just have one door!"
"Can we escape?" Naruto asked. "Or do you think he'd catch us?"
"He owns a gym." Genma said thoughtfully. "He's probably pretty fit."
"So are we." Kiba insisted.
"But that fit?" Genma motioned the door.
"Fair enough."
"Excuse me, Mr. Maito?" All heads turned to the door as they heard Gaara speak.
There was silence for a while, but they could hear whispering. Seconds later, footsteps were heard running away. A car peeled out of the parking lot immediately afterwards. All the firefighters within the firehouse shared a look.
Gaara knocked on the door. "He's gone, open the door."
Izumo hesitated, but complied. Gaara walked in calmly, followed by Kotetsu. Gai was nowhere in sight. He really had gone.
"What did you do?" Naruto asked, utterly amazed, but also confused.
"I scared him off." Gaara replied easily.
"Is he gone?" a muffled voice demanded from the bunk-room.
"Yes, Mr. Chicken-shit, he's gone." Sasuke replied calmly.
All of the firefighters breathed sighs of relief as they regrouped in the main room. Kakashi looked around at them before calling them all to the table. They complied, sitting or standing around the small table.
"This morning, I was discussing Naruto's lack of nickname with the other firefighters." Kakashi informed Sasuke. "As he's been here a while, and will probably remain here for some time, I've decided we should award him with a nickname."
"Really?" Naruto asked excitedly. "For real? Sweet!"
"Sasuke. We've decided you'll be the one to give him his nickname."
"What?.!" Naruto hollered. "He'll give me something stupid! Like 'Sunshine'!"
"That's what I said." Kiba snickered. Naruto glared at him.
Sasuke ignored them, though. So, I can choose my little blond's name, can I? He turned to look at Naruto, smirking slightly. All right, it'll have to be something cute, but powerful. Strong, yet submissive. What kind of name has all of those qualities and doesn't sound stupid? He won't agree to a name he dislikes, and I want him to like it right away. If he doesn't like it, he'll think I'm doing it on purpose. What name? Sasuke pursed his lips as he frowned.
"Pst." Sasuke turned to his neighbour, feeling a hand putting something into his. He frowned at Kotetsu, the other man just winking. No one was paying attention to them, because Genma, Kiba and Naruto were currently in an argument about what kind of name Sasuke would give him. Genma insisted it would be horny, Kiba said it would be cute, and Naruto just kept telling them to piss off and stop giving Sasuke ideas.
The raven opened the piece of paper Kotetsu had slipped him, reading the note.
'What kind of name are you looking for?'
Sasuke pulled a pen out of his pocket, scrawling down a reply.
'Who says I'm looking for a specific kind of name?' he showed Kotetsu the reply, since the other firefighter had another piece of paper. He replied on it.
'You're not fooling anyone, Uchiha. You want him. Get over it, and tell me. I'll give you a cool Japanese equivalent.'
Sasuke thought about it for a bit. Naruto would never know what it meant, and it would probably be cool, since the Japanese words for certain things were pretty cool.
'Cute, powerful, strong, submissive, and not stupid.' Sasuke glanced at Kotetsu. The driver frowned as he thought for a little bit before scrawling a reply, the argument between the other three having turned into a small fistfight. Sasuke suspected he and Kotetsu would be able to speak aloud, at this point, since no one was paying attention to them at all.
'There's an old legend about a Demon Fox in Japan. It's called the Kyuubi no Kitsune. It was trapped in the most basic way and forced to be a slave to its captor. Foxes are cute, but this one was powerful. He was strong, but had to be submissive towards his master. And Kyuubi is a pretty kick ass name.' Kotetsu smirked at Sasuke, waiting for a reaction.
He got the one he was expecting.
"I've thought of a name."
The fistfight halted abruptly, Genma holding Kiba in a headlock while the brunette had his hand on Genma's chest, obviously delivering a nipple-twister. Naruto had jumped onto Genma's back to make him let Kiba go, and all the other firefighters were watching the show. Izumo had gone so far as to get a bunch of Smarties from his locker.
"You have?" Genma inquired, as if completely oblivious to the man on his back, and the other twisting his nipple. "Do tell!" he sounded so enthusiastic.
Sasuke smirked.
"From now on, the dumbass' name will be Kyuubi."