I'm still here! Don't worry I haven't disappeared. I actually went on a cruise this weekend. Quite an experience for someone as introverted as myself really but guess that's what I get for dating an extrovert. Anyhow, of course, all I could think about was the multiple ways I could engage my favorite Sasunaru couple in smut as I explored the ship lol. So maybe there'll be a new one-shot coming soon? Anyhow I had no internet all weekend long and then caught the flu on my way back, so here I am buried in Kleenex trying to get this finished for you, my darlings. Therefore, I hope you enjoy reading this new chapter!

Rating: M (now, now you got some on the last chapter)

Disclaimer: Characters do not belong to me, they belong to Masashi Kishimoto.


No Strings Attached

Chapter 3: Wanting More

The man looked back at him unaffected by his presence. He looked him up and down before replying.

"Name is Gaara, I'm Naruto's roommate" The fuck, thought Sasuke, it was a one-bedroom apartment. The man lifted a keychain shaking it in the air "I have keys, see" Sasuke stared dumbly at the keys, was this Naruto's ex-boyfriend? The man that had Naruto looking for pleasure and love in one-night stands and meaningless relationships. Was he the reason Naruto refused to start an actual relationship with someone…with him? Naruto wanted to leave space in his life for this man to be able to come back and slip right back in?

Sasuke turned around and went back inside the room slamming the door behind him. His hands in fists, he had to remind himself to breathe. He changed in a hurry and grabbed his wallet and keys, walking right past Gaara in the kitchen and making his way out of the apartment. Slamming the door behind him.

It had become a habit that every time Sasuke stayed over, he would bring Naruto lunch by the office. He did stop by to get Naruto's regular order and headed over to Naruto's office, but he had an ulterior motive this time around. He was fuming, he wanted to walk in the office, bend Naruto over his desk and take him right there. Just the night before he had been writhing and moaning under him. His, he was his. He wanted him to be his.

He walked in, as per typical locking the door behind him. He tried his best to keep his emotions off his face as Naruto looked up and smiled at him. His heart clenched a little.

He walked over taking a seat across the desk placing Naruto's iced coffee on the desk along with the sandwich.

"You're a lifesaver" Naruto smiled to himself noticing Sasuke had followed through on bringing him an iced coffee this time around. "How's your day going, are you feeling better?" He asked as he brought the straw up to his lips to take a sip of coffee. No, Sasuke was not feeling better, all the edge Naruto had washed off of him the night prior was back with a vengeance.

"You know the usual, woke up to find your roommate at your apartment this morning," Sasuke said, faking a casual tone.

Naruto choked on the coffee, spitting some of it out as his cheeks flushed bright red.

"I wasn't aware you had a roommate, to your one-bedroom apartment" Naruto placed the coffee down. He didn't know Gaara was coming by—what was he supposed to say?

"I—Gaara usually messages before he stops by, he gave up his lease since he doesn't make it back as often, he's a friend"

"Is he your ex-boyfriend?" Naruto stared dumbly at Sasuke, when had he talked to Sasuke about Gaara?

"What?"

"Is he your ex-boyfriend?" Sasuke asked again, jealousy dripping from his voice.

"That's none of your business," Naruto said getting defensive. That statement pretty much confirmed it to Sasuke.

"So, he just gets to come back and fuck you whenever he feels like it? that's your arrangement with him"

"Sasuke!" Naruto raised his voice, his eyes showing the comment had hurt him. Sasuke couldn't help it; he was so angry.

"Naruto, you're a therapist for god's sake, how are you supposed to heal if he just gets to break your heart over and over" Naruto's eyes grew icy.

"I appreciate your concern Sasuke, but I'll remind you that you aren't I are just fucking, and I don't owe you any explanations" Naruto regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. Sasuke's mouth snapped shut. Naruto and he had been sharing their lives for almost four months. There had been so much more than just fucking. Naruto was a fucking moron.

"I understand" Sasuke muttered, standing up and heading towards the door "Sasuke, can you just wait a second" Naruto called after him.

He didn't, he slammed a door for a third time that day. Naruto's phone pinged with a notification, and he looked down.

Hey, I'm in town, might have scared your friend off this morning, my bad.

Naruto slammed the phone on his desk "Fuck!" He fell on his chair defeated as he felt tears well in his eyes. What the fuck.

Naruto barely had time to pull himself together before his next appointment, he was on back-to-back appointments for the remainder of the day and he was barely keeping it together by the time the day was coming to an end.

He wanted to apologize to Sasuke but at the same time kept telling himself that he hadn't done anything wrong. He'd made their type of relationship perfectly clear to Sasuke since the beginning. But for Sasuke to feel upset that had to mean Sasuke felt something for him…right? He shook his head chasing the thought of Sasuke caring for him away. Angry for having allowed himself to become close to Sasuke, for crossing that boundary he'd settled for himself multiple times before. His and Sasuke's relationship had evolved beyond sex and that's where he had fucked up.

Sasuke, can we just talk? He texted before making his way back home. Sasuke might already be on shift, or maybe he just didn't want to reply. He groaned. That right there was the reason he didn't want to get in a relationship.

He walked into his apartment and looked around; he didn't spot Gaara in the living room so he headed over to the room. Yup there he was, and Naruto swooned a bit as he caught sight of the freshly showered redhead, towel hanging low on his hips.

"Welcome home love" Gaara smiled at Naruto as he walked up to him, lifting his chin up so he could kiss him softly. So, he just gets to come back and fuck you whenever he feels like it? Naruto almost visibly flinched as he remembered Sasuke's words. "You, ok?" He heard Gaara ask.

"Yeah—Just a long day" Naruto answered as he stepped away from Gaara.

"I can't really remember a time I've stopped by, and you haven't technically jumped to welcome me, maybe that wasn't your friend I scared away this morning?" Asked Gaara.

It was true, Naruto always dropped everything when Gaara was in town, they'd be lucky to get out of the room occasionally. That's because he wanted to enjoy all the time, he could get with him before he was gone for months. Gaara would message him occasionally when he was away. As friends, because when they broke up that's what they agreed on, that they'd remain friends. Naruto had agreed really because he wasn't ready to give up on Gaara, and he wasn't ready to have him out of his life. Naruto remembered how hard it was at first, to be with Gaara every time he came back, thinking maybe the redhead might reconsider getting together with him, but that wasn't the case. Naruto's way of desensitizing himself was to keep every one of his romantic relationships at bay. That way he could always remind himself that he shouldn't really expect anything from the other.

"Maybe he's more than a friend," Naruto said, partly to gauge Gaara's reaction, and partly admitting to himself that Sasuke might have become much more than a friend over the past months.

Gaara pulled Naruto into a hug "Should I be concerned I've finally been dethroned?" Naruto grew angry, Gaara had never lied to him, Gaara had never falsely led him on. Everything he had done he did because Naruto allowed him to.

But Gaara had to have known that Naruto was holding to any sliver of hope he would give him "Why would you say that..." Naruto whispered brokenly "You know how I feel, has anything changed?"

"Naruto, photography is my passion, I go where I have to go. Back then we were fighting so much because I wasn't around, or couldn't call you. Because I said I wanted to experience what it was like to be with others, but even then, you were always number one love. You made me choose"

"And you chose photography, your drive and ambition always mattered more" Naruto muttered angrily as he pushed Gaara away.

"And that's why we broke up—Naruto do you want me to go?" Asked Gaara as he saw tears slide down Naruto's face. He didn't want Gaara to go and he hadn't wanted Sasuke to leave earlier that day. He was so confused.

"I'll sleep in the living room; I'll give you some space," Gaara said as he grabbed his clothes and left the room closing the door behind him.

What the fuck had Naruto gotten himself in the middle of? What had he dragged Sasuke into? He looked at his phone, still no answer from Sasuke. What did he want? Did he still want to chase after Gaara? Or did he want Sasuke? Was ready to finally let go of Gaara?


Sakura walked up to the raven trying to muster the courage to ask him what was going on, he'd been in a foul mood all day long. She wanted to ask what was upsetting him so. But at the same time didn't know if Sasuke would talk to her. They had a pretty good working relationship since they both were on almost the same rotation.

She walked into the break room and sat across from him, He'd been looking at Naruto's text, he wanted to reply, but he was afraid he was still so angry he'd end up saying something he'd regret if he met with Naruto now.

He remembered asking himself: What could go wrong? When this all started. And now he was sitting here thinking about Gaara submerging himself into Naruto's body.

A lot could go wrong. He thought bitterly.

He put his phone away as Sakura sat across from him.

"So—you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but what's got you in such a bad mood?"

Sasuke ran his fingers through his hair, and he looked up at Sakura "It's complicated" he muttered.

Sakura smiled at him "So it's about love" she said trying not to giggle. Talking about romance with Sasuke Uchiha was not something she thought she would ever do. Also, if she giggled in front of him he'd completely shut down.

Love? Sasuke thought, he did love everything about Naruto… "He seems to be completely smitten with someone else" Sakura felt for Sasuke, she'd been in that situation herself more than once.

"Is he dating this other person?" Sakura asked

"I don't think so, at least they are not in a committed relationship from what I can tell"

"But you two are seeing each other"

"More like we've been doing each other" Sasuke said bitterly. Sasuke didn't regret any of the things he had done with Naruto. The issue came from the fact that he now was in a position where they wanted more.

"Does he like you?" Sakura asked as Sasuke's eyes leveled with hers. Naruto did always smile when they were together…This really had been their first disagreement.

"He doesn't dislike me, that's for sure, but this other guy, he means something else to him"

"That doesn't mean he doesn't like you, he can like more than one person," She said as she sat back on the chair, "I think we can all like more than one person, it's when we make a choice to commit to someone that things change"

Commitment, the one thing Naruto seemed terrified of "Sasuke if you like him, then tell him, show him, give him a reason to believe you should be his number one choice"

Sakura heard her name she was being called over to the ER, she stood "You know a bunch of us are going out tomorrow night after our shift, you should come with, clear your head a bit"

And with that, she left the room.


Naruto stepped out of his room to be welcomed by the smell of pancakes and Gaara sitting by the island.

"I made breakfast," Gaara said as he pulled a chair for Naruto to join him. It was a peace offering. Naruto sat grabbing the French press and serving himself a cup of coffee.

"I'm sorry," Gaara said as Naruto lifted the fork to his lips "I know it's presumptions of me to think you'll continue to be there. My intention wasn't to hurt you"

"Gaara…" Naruto stared at his coffee.

"I should have stopped a long time ago, but I was weak, I've always been weak when it comes to you"

"It wasn't all your fault, I'm the one that always said yes, that always wanted you"

"Friends, don't sleep on the same bed, they don't know every inch of each other's bodies, I don't want to hurt you anymore, I don't think we should be sexually involved from this point forward"

Naruto knew it was the healthier thing to do, he knew it but hadn't wanted to see it. Once again it was Gaara that had to be the voice of reason. When it came to their relationship Naruto always listened to his heart and not his brain. Whether things went somewhere with Sasuke or not, if he wanted any chance of finding someone in the future, he needed to fully let go of Gaara.

"I'll stay at Shi's tonight, but we should all go out, it's been a while since we've hanged out together" Naruto nodded. He didn't trust himself to speak with all the emotions running through him at the moment. At least it was Friday, if Sasuke didn't get back to him today then he'd reach out to him again.


Sasuke waited outside the changing rooms for Sakura, his mood hadn't really improved, but he had managed to text Naruto that they could meet tomorrow. Still giving himself some time to hopefully find out how to express what he felt to Naruto.

He was second-guessing whether he should join Sakura and her friends tonight, but he couldn't possibly go home and sit on his thoughts he'd just end up driving over to Naruto's.

Sakura walked out in pumps and a black strapless dress that suck to every single curve of her body, simple, but definitely effective if she was trying to impress. She smiled up at him as she twirled "What do you think?"

Someone else whistled and Sasuke turned to see Kiba, one of the new interns walking up to them "Absolutely stunning" He winked at her, a pink blush adorned her cheeks.

"I was asking Sasuke" She muttered.

More interns, nurses, residents, and even fellows joined them as they made their way to the parking lot. Typically, most of them worked on night shifts. They were trying to make the best out of the fact that they had been assigned an afternoon shift.

"Rendezvous?" Called Sakura out referring to their destination as everyone jumped in their cars, and shouts of agreement met their ears "You ok if we go together?" She asked Sasuke, who nodded and opened the door to the passenger seat so Sakura could slide in.

The club was big, two floors, they all made their way to the second floor and were able to snatch a long booth. Soon enough everyone was taking shots and ordering drinks. Some dancing in the space between the booth and the rail. You could look down were a mass of bodies was dancing on the main floor.

An hour in they'd gone through at least 4 rounds of shots, Sasuke continued to lean against the rail amused by his co-workers. Bodies moving against bodies, the club was packed. Sakura came by and pulled him over for a dance and he allowed himself to be dragged over to where she was. The drinks kept coming and everything was a blur of bodies, he ended up walking back over by the rail if only to feel like he could get some space to breathe, he stopped in his tracks as he spotted the blonde on the floor below. He knew it had to be Naruto because he could also see Gaara's redhead as well as Kakashi's silver hair.

Naruto was dressed in black jeans and a sleeveless white turtleneck, the clothes hugging his body, his ass hung out as he leaned into the bar to order drinks. Naruto tried handing the man his card and but the bartender just shook his head as he winked at Naruto while handing him the drinks. Sasuke gripped the rail as jealousy consumed him. Naruto turned around with three bottles handing the drinks over to Kakashi and Gaara, the blonde Kakashi had called Deidara walked up to them, jumping Kakashi from behind. Kakashi most definitely had a thing for blondes.

Sasuke didn't know what to do, should he go down there? Say hi? Just stand there and see how the night played out? He didn't know what he'd do if Naruto started making out with either of the men down there.

"Sasuke!" He turned; Sakura was standing next to him "Goodness I've been screaming at you for the last minute" She muttered as she came to stand next to Sasuke "What are you staring at?" She looked down trying to follow Sasuke's gaze. She spotted Naruto and Kakashi and blushed, recognizing the pair right away. How could she not put two and two together, Naruto must be the person Sasuke had been seeing!

The blonde had instantly elicited attention from Sasuke when he had stopped by the ER and Sakura wasn't dumb, Sasuke had taken an abnormally long time doing a checkup that should have taken all of ten minutes. She at least had a vivid imagination and had thought multiple times about what might have been going on in that room.

"Well, have you talked to him?" She asked, Sasuke shook his head in answer. She was about to say something, but Kiba came by and dragged her back into the mass of dancing bodies.

Sasuke looked back down and this time around Naruto was dancing, his body swaying from side to side to the beat of the music, hands up to the sky as Deidara seemed to be edging him on to go low on the dance floor, Gaara's eyes not leaving Naruto's body.

"Hey!" Sasuke turned to look at a girl with waist-length midnight blue hair, a tight dark purple romper that was dangerously short hugging her body "Dance?" She asked simply, and Sasuke nodded because he couldn't keep looking at Naruto. "It's Hinata by the way"

At first, the dance was innocent enough, well as innocent as it could be in a place where you have to be inches away from the person in front of you. But soon Hinata's moves turned sensual, getting closer to Sasuke her leg slipping between his thighs. Their co-workers caught on the way Hinata was technically grinding on Sasuke, catcalling them, and whooping.


Deidara's head whipped up as he heard a commotion on the second floor, eyes centering on a crowd catcalling at a couple that was technically dry humping each other into the rail.

He grinned "Well they're having fun" He screamed at his crew, all heads turned up to the second floor. At first Naruto grinned at the display, but as he centered more on the bodies the smile completely left his face, he'd recognize Sasuke' s body anywhere. He'd bend under it plenty of times himself. He continued to stare up dumbly as the curvy woman turned, her upper body falling to the floor as she ground her ass on Sasuke. Their friends continued to catcall as Naruto felt his heart speed up.

Sasuke's not yours

He owes you nothing

This is what you asked for

Naruto closed his eyes, repeating the same sentences over and over. He opened his eyes just in time to spot the woman leaning up and stealing Sasuke's lips.

"Oh, shit" Naruto turned to see Kakashi staring up at Sasuke "Well that'd be a nice threesome," he said as he looked over at Naruto. But Naruto didn't want a threesome. He wasn't hot thinking about it, quite the opposite, he was only feeling nauseous with jealousy. And he needed anything, anyone to take the edge of the burn-off.

Just as he had settled for anyone back when Gaara had left him. Anyone that would help keep the pain at bay. He could put a show of his own perfectly fine.

There was a couple of girls that had already climbed the bar, dancing on the poles running from the bar to the roof of the club. Naruto turned, coming face to face with Gaara

"Naruto what—"Naruto walked right past him as he climbed on the bar, right in front of the bartender that had been flirting with him all night. He stood in front of the pole at first his hips swaying side to side, his body twirling around the pole as he easily turned to face the pole and lifted himself up. Sliding down agonizingly slow all the way until his knees hit the bar.


"YO! You guys have competition" Kiba yelled at Hinata and Sasuke who had gently pried Hinata off him. She was absolutely stunning, but she wasn't really doing it for him.

He turned around and his mouth visibly opened. Naruto was sliding one of the poles down on the bar, his knees hitting the bar as he crawled over to the bartender. Whose eyes were sliding over Naruto's body, practically drooling over the view. Naruto's hand reached out pulling on the man's neck, pushing him closer to him as he kissed him hungrily.

Sasuke was seeing red, he turned and made his way down the stairs, no more, what the fuck were they doing here. He was done playing games. He made his way through the crowd and into the bar in time to see Gaara pull Naruto off the bar and off the bartenders' lips. Naruto turned and pushed him.

"Gaara what the hell?"

"Naruto what the fuck?" Gaara screamed back at him as Sasuke finally reached them, he walked by grabbing Naruto by the arm and dragging him behind him. Naruto turned around ready to pry whoever was touching him off but froze as he Saw Sasuke's icy look.

"Sasuke!" Naruto still tried to get free of Sasuke's hold as he dragged him to what seemed to be the back door to the club.

"Sasuke let go!" Naruto screamed at Sasuke again as the loud music eased behind them and Sasuke dragged him out the door and into the alley.

Sasuke pushed Naruto against the brick wall, pushing his body flush against Naruto's, his leg between his thighs as his lips descended on Naruto's. His hands holding Naruto in place by the waist.

Naruto melted into Sasuke for a second before he managed to get his arms between their bodies so he could push Sasuke away. Sasuke stumbled back, he cursed as he ran his hands through his black tresses.

"What's your problem?" Asked Naruto.

"My problem? What is your problem? What the fuck was that back there?" Sasuke asked Naruto.

"You were having plenty of fun yourself, that's what our relationship is, isn't it? Fun" Naruto snapped back at Sasuke; his brain was telling his mouth to shut the fuck up because he didn't mean a word he was saying. But the words slipped out, nonetheless.

Sasuke walked over to Naruto again, Naruto backed himself into the wall as Sasuke hovered over him, both his hands on the wall caging Naruto in.

Naruto looked up at Sasuke as his face came down to hover next to Naruto's face his lips grazing his ear "Naruto…" Naruto shivered as his breathing fastened.

"Is the fact that she was grinding on me…kissing me…driving you mad?" Naruto bit his lower lip as Sasuke licked what was exposed of his neck.

"Because I'm burning right now. You're driving me mad. I don't want anybody else's hands on you, not their hands, not their lips, not their eyes, nothing. Mine. I want you to be mine" Sasuke finished as his lips came back down on Naruto's fiercely.


Oh my~ Sasuke has grown tired of playing this friend with benefits game, goodness I swooned writing that last bit. Howe could Naruto say no? Can't wait for you guys to read what comes next (spoiler alert, smut will ensue) Once again, you must forgive the cliffhanger and the late update because at the very least this was once again a nice lengthy chapter.

Please review and favorite~

I shall now return to trying to get some work done while I blow my brains out through my nose (sorry for the graphic depiction)

Until next time my lovelies,

Chio~