Sasuke raged internally. Naruto tried to smile and act nonchalant, but when he had shown up at Tomoe for their lunch date with his eye swollen and bruised, it had taken all of Sasuke's restraint not to break something.
"It's nothing. I promise. I've looked worse," Naruto said lightly. This only enraged Sasuke more.
When Naruto told him an obviously abridged version of the events surrounding his battered face, Sasuke seethed uncontrollably.
"Baka," he growled, "I don't care what you think you've done wrong in your marriage. You don't deserve this. If you did, then your ex-wife is the one with rights to your face. Not one of her white knights." Sasuke gingerly touched Naruto's face to assess the swelling. "Who the fuck is this guy, anyway?"
"He's been in love with her since we were kids," Naruto said. "And I'm not telling you."
Sasuke frowned at Naruto and pursed his lips. "If you show up looking like this again, I have my ways of discovering this person's identity, Naruto. And I won't be kind."
Naruto laughed hollowly. "Hey, slow your roll, Keyser Soze. I gave him this one swing out of consideration. Trust me, dude is about to get his ass handed to him."
Sasuke paused. For one tense, fleeting moment, he could see Naruto's eyes gleaming darkly, and he imagined he felt the radiating fury of a demonic kitsune pulsing off of Naruto's skin. The moment was over almost as it began.
Naruto placed his hand over Sasuke's. "Sasuke, don't worry about me. I'm not a weak person, trust me. The fact that I give people the benefit of the doubt doesn't mean that I can't take care of myself."
"Idiot," Sasuke muttered.
He knew Naruto could handle himself. It still angered him that someone would assume that Naruto's happy-go-lucky, friendly demeanor meant they could hurt or threaten him. Naruto, of all people, did not deserve this sort of treatment. An old appetite, long suppressed, yawned within him.
"Are you mad because my pretty face got messed up?" Naruto asked, fluttering his eyelashes sarcastically.
"Hn," Sasuke grunted. He kissed Naruto softly on the lips. "As long as the working parts do their job, I don't care."
"Bastard," Naruto said laughingly. He leaned in and kissed Sasuke wetly.
Sasuke leaned into the kiss briefly, then pulled away. "Naruto, if this keeps up, we aren't going to finish lunch," he warned.
Naruto grinned. "Is it terrible that I wouldn't mind?"
"I'm touched at the possibility that I might rate higher than food in your hierarchy of priorities," Sasuke said with a smirk. In truth, he was flattered. Naruto made him feel desired in a way that no one ever had, a way Sasuke had never thought mattered.
Naruto had given Sasuke permission to feel things that he'd not felt since childhood: trust, companionship, joy, desire… Sasuke was beginning to learn that Naruto was not someone he had to guess about. He communicated openly and cheerfully. If he wanted something, he asked for it. He told Sasuke his feelings and insecurities, and he allowed Sasuke the space to do the same.
More than that, he seemed to actually care about Sasuke, not his looks or what it might mean to acquire him. Between Naruto and the time he spent with Sarada, new possibilities for his life appeared to be opening up to him. He felt as if a generational curse had been lifted, or that he was being given a chance to live someone else's life.
All too soon, Sasuke's lunch break was over, and Naruto was preparing to leave. He pulled Sasuke close, hands on his hips, and kissed him. "I never get enough of you, ya know," He said with a smile.
Sasuke smiled back. "You know where to find me, idiot," he said softly.
Naruto brushed his hands over Sasuke's hair tenderly. "I do," he said. "And… I wanted to ask you out this weekend on a proper date. One of my best friends is flying into the city from New Orleans. He and his boyfriend wanna meet for dinner on Saturday. Would you like to go? I think you'll really like my friend. Something about you reminds me of him."
Sasuke hesitated. Going out with Naruto was a pleasure. Meeting his friends, though, was a wholly different thing. When he say the hopeful look in Naruto's eyes, he realized he would not say no.
"Do I need to dress up?" he asked.
Naruto grinned. "Is that a yes?"
Sasuke kissed Naruto firmly on the lips. "It's a yes. Pick me up after work. Assuming my work clothes are acceptable."
"Sasuke, you'd be acceptable in a trash bag. Trust me, no one cares what a man as fine as you is wearing," Naruto replied. He grabbed Sasuke's ass and swatted it lightly. "Unless you decided to wear nothing, in which case everybody would care a whole lot." He leaned forward and slipped his tongue into Sasuke's mouth.
Sasuke pulled him close as their tongues battled heatedly for dominance.
"Damn, Sasuke, it's hard to leave you," Naruto said when he pulled away. He kissed him on the forehead, the way he always did when he said goodbye. Sasuke loved those sweet, chaste little kisses just as much as the passionate ones. It struck a chord with his most cherished childhood memories.
Sasuke kissed Naruto's nose. "If you don't leave soon, Naruto, I'm not going to be able to open the shop again for a while."
Naruto pouted. "Would that be so bad?"
Sasuke shrugged. "I might not make my revenue for the week. Then I might not be able to pay bills, and then I might not be able to support Sarada..."
"Bringing the kids into this isn't fair," Naruto mumbled. "But I'm going, so you don't end up whoring on the streets after losing your livelihood."
As he turned to go, Sasuke pulled him back, bringing his back against his chest. "We'll make up for lost time, Naruto," he whispered before biting his ear mischievously.
"We'd better," Naruto said. Sasuke could hear the smile in his voice. "Especially if you're gonna tell me to go and then do stuff like that."
"Turn the sign around on your way out, please," Sasuke called as Naruto walked through the store. Naruto raised his hand in acknowledgment.
He fondly watched Naruto walk away as he went back to work, rolling his eyes when Naruto blew him a kiss goodbye.
His phone buzzed.
Hi, Papa.
Sasuke smiled a little. After Naruto had made a small fuss about texting, he had begun to wonder if this was something that Sarada might expect, as well, so he had tried it on days when he did not see her.
How are you, Sarada?
Doing well. Just saying hello. Have a good day.
You too. See you tomorrow.
Texting Sarada was different from texting Naruto. She never used emoticons or emojis, for one thing, and she never called him "bastard" or "asshole," for another. Beyond that, they simply texted each other once a day to maintain contact, as opposed to texting to express affection. Sasuke had come to understand how insecure Sarada was about his promise to stay in her life. This was a simple, unobtrusive way to reassure her when they were apart. Naruto had changed more of his habits in a few weeks than a lifetime of obligation and guilt had done.
Sasuke began shutting the store down early on Saturday, despite his reluctance about going out to meet Naruto's friends. He was an asocial creature, accustomed to solitude. Naruto had been an unlikely intrusion who had quickly made a space for himself in Sasuke's world—a unique phenomenon. Sasuke was not in the market for further intrusions. Most people were neither as amiable nor as deferential as Naruto, and Sasuke saw no reason to weed through trivialities and annoyances on the off-chance that someone might be.
Still… Naruto had made a place in his life, a place Sasuke had begun to cherish, and he was determined to honor that. Since they had awkwardly confessed that they cared for each other, Sasuke had begun to consider the possibility that he might have to accommodate Naruto's close friends, as well. Friendship was important to Naruto, and Naruto was important to Sasuke.
By the time Naruto arrived, Sasuke was locking the door He took a long look at the blond man when he stepped out onto the sidewalk; he wore black jeans and a fitted white tee shirt with a black jacket over it. Sasuke could see the ripples of Naruto's abs under the shirt and the powerful quadriceps through the jeans. His body was suffused with warmth at his memories of that toned form unclothed.
"Hey, Sasuke! Wow, you look great!" Naruto grinned wolfishly as he looked Sasuke over.
Sasuke's face heated with the knowledge that Naruto was having the same kinds of thoughts he was.
He walked over to Sasuke and hugged him before taking his bag.
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Do you really have to do the gallant gentleman act with me, Naruto?" he asked with mock peevishness. "Flowers, carrying my bag… I'm not a damsel in distress, moron."
"Do you have to be in distress for me to wanna be sweet to you, bastard?" Naruto answered back. "All black. Just like the night we met." He toyed with the collar of Sasuke's shirt. Sasuke desperately wanted to close the space between them, the space they filled with banter and silly gestures, and kiss Naruto the way he'd been wanting to for days. He knew, though, that he and Naruto both had good reasons to limit public displays of affection for the time being. He smiled as he thought of how foreign such a concept had been to him a few weeks ago.
He suffered Naruto carrying his bags for him and got into the passenger seat of Naruto's SUV. When Naruto was seated, he lifted Sasuke's hand to his lips. "I missed you, Sasuke," he said with a longing rasp.
Sasuke looked into Naruto's impossibly blue eyes and smiled. "It's been three days."
"Three long, horrible, boring days without kissing you," Naruto protested.
"Are you always this impatient and greedy?" Sasuke asked, hoping that the answer was yes.
"Only when I'm waiting for something really special," Naruto said. His face was so childlike and open that it made Sasuke cringe. If anything, anything at all, were to dim the light in Naruto's eyes… Sasuke despised the thought.
He placed an innocent, lingering kiss upon Naruto's lips as an antidote to the dark thoughts, and when they drove off with the setting sun hovering over their left shoulders, he was happy to hold his hand in the privacy of their safe little bubble.
The hotel they stopped at was huge and imposing, and Sasuke knew it to be the most expensive in the city. He tensed up. He knew Naruto enjoyed making big gestures, but he couldn't believe that a principal's salary would accommodate such profligate spending.
"Don't worry. My friend is hella rich. He likes to spite his dead father by spending his inheritance taking his boyfriend to fancy places." Naruto seemed to have read his mind. "I would never be able to afford so much as the valet's tip in a place like this."
They shouldered their overnight bags and hiked into the lobby. A stunningly handsome man with green eyes and blond highlights strutted over to greet them. "I finally get to meet you, Naruto! Your eyes are even bluer than they are in pictures. Aren't you the cutest thing!" The man kissed Naruto's pink-tinted cheek, as Sasuke scowled.
The man turned his attention to Sasuke. "Well, hello, Mr. Tall-Dark-n-Handsome!" Before Sasuke could fully respond or even begin to process the attention, the man had kissed his cheek, also. "Your skin is delicious," he pronounced. "Do you even have pores? I need to know your regimen."
Sasuke stared, speechless, as the man continued to ramble in his Southern accent. "Look at me, acting like I've known you forever! Well, it feels like I have, Naruto, I have heard so much about you!" He extended a hand to Naruto and then to Sasuke. "I'm shallow."
Obviously, Sasuke thought.
"Mr. Love-Demon excused himself, but I've been dying to meet Naruto," the self-proclaimed shallow man enthused. "You must have been so confused when I just attacked you like a lab puppy." He laughed, and despite himself, Sasuke's lips quirked upwards.
Just like Naruto.
"Honey!" the man called out across the lobby. "Look who's here!"
A pale, redheaded man made his way towards them. Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he grew closer, and his fist clenched when the redhead hugged Naruto tightly.
"I see you've met Shiloh," the man said to Naruto.
So… he hadn't been telling them he was shallow. He had been introducing himself in his native… patois. It was somewhere between a drawl and a twang; Sasuke had never heard such a wide array of vowels and diphthongs in such a brief space of time before.
"You didn't tell me we were meeting such gorgeous men," Shiloh said petulantly. "I'd have made more of an effort."
The redheaded man smiled at his theatrical companion, then turned to face Sasuke. His large, kohl-rimmed green eyes widened just a fraction. "Uchiha," he said softly.
"Suna," Sasuke murmured.
Naruto, who'd been unusually quiet during this entire exchange, suddenly gasped in surprise. He grinned with joy. "You guys know each other already?" he asked.
"We were schoolmates," Gaara said quietly.
"Wow, I didn't even think about that! Small world!" Naruto seemed to miss the undercurrent of tension between his friend and Sasuke. "Gaara is one of my very best friends in the world. How cool is it that you already knew each other, Sasuke?"
"Konoha is a small world," Gaara said.
"Small and interesting," Sasuke grumbled.
Shiloh clapped his hands together. "I cannot wait to hear all the old school stories. Naruto, Gaara talks about you constantly. It makes me so happy to finally get to know you!"
This seemed to please Naruto, Sasuke noted. He wondered what his history with Gaara had been.
"Gaara has been a wonderful friend to me," Naruto said with great sincerity. "I'm horrible with names, Shiloh, I'm sorry—but Gaara has talked a lot about you, too."
"And you, beautiful?" Shiloh said, looking at Sasuke. "What's your name again?"
"Sasuke. Pleased to meet you."
Shiloh hugged him. "Sass-gay, I am so glad you could make it! You and Naruto look perfect together, don't they, baby?"
"Here are the keys to your room," Gaara said, ignoring Shiloh's comment and extending two cards to Naruto. "You're next door to me and Shiloh. Shall we put your bags away and pursue dinner?"
"Listen to you, 'pursue dinner.' You gonna hunt us down a caribou, babe?" Shiloh asked with a lilting laugh. "I never get tired of the way he phrases things."
The four men made their way to the elevators, Shiloh chattering to Naruto almost nonstop, Sasuke and Gaara appraising each other warily but silently.
Unease filled Sasuke's chest. It was as if a horrible portal had opened, allowing the horrors of his past life to creep into the little world he'd begun to create with Naruto. He forced himself to be attentive, to listen carefully to everything that was being said and planned by the three men around him. He was all too happy to enter the impersonal sanctuary of his and Naruto's room.
"I'm such a dumb ass," Naruto said as the door closed behind them. "Of course, you and Gaara knew each other. I forgot you guys went to the big, important school together. Were you guys friends at all?"
"No," Sasuke said plainly. "I didn't do friendship in school. And I dropped out when I was fourteen."
"Ah, ok. But you knew each other, yeah? Gaara used to be a real badass hellraiser in those days. I met him in martial arts competitions. He hated me at first."
Sasuke imagined he was right. Gaara had not been a friendly type, either.
It was a relief when Naruto pulled him close. Naruto placed a small peck on Sasuke's lips. Sasuke immediately claimed Naruto's mouth with his, biting at his lower lip before tracing its outline with his tongue.
Naruto moaned as their tongues danced passionately. All too quickly, he pushed Sasuke away. "We have to go to dinner," he said breathlessly. "But we are definitely picking up where we left off later."
Sasuke affected a flat expression. "If you say so."
Naruto elbowed him. "If I say so, what? You think I'm not gonna make good on my promise?"
"If you say so about dinner," Sasuke said. "I'll go if you insist, but..." He attempted to kiss Naruto again, but Naruto laughed and shoved him away.
"Quit, please! I'm weak. If we keep kissing, I won't be able to leave this room. C'mon. Let's go and be social." He grabbed Sasuke by the hand and pulled him towards the door.
"Is it ok," Naruto whispered in the elevator, "if I keep holding your hand? Since we're not at home?"
Sasuke squeezed Naruto's hand in assent. He was secretly pleased to be able to touch Naruto openly. Naruto's hand, so warm and comforting entwined with his, took the cold edge off of having to stare down a face from his past.
Gaara and Shiloh stood waiting for them in the foyer. Gaara looked pointedly at Sasuke's and Naruto's linked hands, then looked from Sasuke's face to Naruto's. The appraisal irritated Sasuke and offended him.
Sasuke barely heard Shiloh's babbling or Naruto's responses. He wished he had not agreed to this trip at all; how Naruto could even have befriended someone like Gaara bewildered him. As soon as the thought occurred to him, he realized that Naruto befriending him was equally bewildering, and for the same reasons. He suppressed a shiver.
They dined in the hotel restaurant. Sasuke realized that he'd normally hate being around a person like Shiloh, but he was profoundly grateful to him tonight for keeping the conversation from going stale or from becoming overly focused upon Sasuke.
He could tell Naruto liked talking to the flamboyant man. Given Shiloh's overly flirtatious manner, this did not serve to endear him to Sasuke. He soon realized, though, that this was just Shiloh's way, either an affectation for the public or a harmless part of his personality.
"Oh, my goodness, you are adorable!" he gushed at the waitress when she arrived. "You are like, two minutes old, tops! What are you doing working? You're just a baby!"
When the girl shyly remarked that she was working through the summers to pay for college, Shiloh had continued effusively. "Well, you are just precious. Your eyes are beautiful! You're gonna have to help me out, because I'm from out of town and I have no idea what to order!"
Naruto caught Sasuke's eye and smiled at the interaction. Gaara, Sasuke noticed, beamed indulgently at Shiloh.
"He could make friends with a brick wall," Gaara said, the note of pride clear in his voice.
Like Naruto, Sasuke thought.
Between Shiloh and Naruto, the conversation went smoothly. Sasuke's irritation crept back when Gaara took the reins.
"How did you two meet?" he asked, looking from Naruto to Sasuke.
Naruto laughed. "Well, I kind of got on his nerves and called him names at this awful hipster craft-beer bar," he said.
Sasuke cleared his throat. "You called me 'Lord Bat Gothfather,'" he interjected.
Gaara smiled in his unsettling way. Shiloh guffawed.
"You remembered!" Naruto said fondly.
"I'm surprised you do," Sasuke shot back, squeezing Naruto's hand.
"You were drunk? Oh my god!" Shiloh laughed.
"Yes. He was drunk. He sang, he danced, it was a real show," Sasuke continued.
Naruto's face and ears burned red, but he laughed along.
"Sasuke was so nice to me," he said. "I was a total douche bag, but he brought me back to his place because I was too drunk and weepy to fend for myself. He tucked me in on the couch and made me breakfast the next morning."
It was Sasuke, this time, who blushed. Shiloh clasped his hands together and gasped. "He was your angel! How romantic!"
Sasuke let out a short, bark-like laugh at this proclamation. Gaara sat unsmiling, while Naruto grinned.
"Yeah, he's my broody, bat-like goth-angel," Naruto said playfully. Sasuke was ready for this conversation to be over.
"Ooh, I can see it!" Shiloh enthused. "I can see you in, like, a black, form-fitting sleeveless top, and black leather pants, with a black collar, and black wings. Oooh, and we have to do your eyes." Sasuke looked at him agape.
"Please don't kill me if I say I could totally see you that way, Sasuke!" Naruto said laughingly.
"That's it. We have got to do Halloween together, don't we Gaara? We could come up for Halloween with Sasuke and Naruto? Or we could bring them down to NOLA!" Shiloh beamed with childlike joy at this idea. "What are we gonna do with you, Naruto? Oh, I know, you need to be a wild animal, because you kind of have that look in your eye. I've got it; you need to be a fox. A sexy, kind of menacing fox!"
Naruto laughed and pulled his shirt collar down where Shiloh could see his Kitsune tattoo.
Shiloh squealed. "I can't believe this! I guessed your spirit animal!" Shiloh was now fanning himself excitedly, as if it were all too amazing to believe.
Gaara interrupted Naruto's and Shiloh's conversation about Halloween and demon foxes. "So, what do you do, Sasuke?" He stared at Sasuke as if he would burn holes through him.
"Sasuke is a bookseller. That's actually how we ended up going out. I wasn't brave enough to ask him out or get his number after being such an ass when I was drunk," Naruto supplied.
"Usuratonkachi," Sasuke muttered. "You weren't that bad, and you weren't an ass or a douche bag at all." Naruto looked at him affectionately, and Sasuke wished that he could just pull Naruto back up to their room
"What kind of books do you sell, then?" Gaara's tone of voice implied that he didn't quite believe that this was Sasuke's profession.
"Mostly Japanese and Japanese-American history, plus Japanese fiction, travel, and arts books. I also sell Japanese artifacts and objets d'art," Sasuke said irritably.
"You sell art. How interesting," Gaara said.
"No. I sell objets d'art, not art. I am not an art dealer, nor do I pretend to be."
"I see," said Gaara. He had not removed his eyes from Sasuke's face this entire time.
Sasuke was all too glad when the waitress brought the check.
"Don't you dare tip that girl just 20 percent!" Shiloh scolded Gaara as he signed the check. "She was good at her job, and you know some of these bastards have stiffed her."
Gaara looked at Shiloh blankly. "How much do you recommend?"
"Give her at least 50 percent," Shiloh instructed. "She was very sweet to us."
Gaara shook his head at the exorbitant amount, but his lips briefly curled upwards in a smile. "Fifty percent it is, then," he said. "You're going to send us to the poorhouse, Shiloh."
Shiloh scoffed. "Honey, we ain't in the poorhouse, and we certainly have got enough to leave a little extra when we're taken care of."
"Shiloh owns a restaurant. He was a waiter for over a decade, so he believes firmly in tipping the waitstaff well," Gaara explained. Naruto agreed, and he and Shiloh were soon having an animated conversation about what a turn-off it was when people were rude to servers.
Gaara turned his focus back on Sasuke. "It looks as if these two are still in the mood to socialize. Let's move this along to a bar."
Shiloh and Naruto both agreed eagerly to this plan, and soon, they were walking down the sidewalk in front of the hotel to a bar that Shiloh had read about. Sasuke again took comfort in Naruto walking by his side and holding his hand. He wanted Naruto to enjoy his time with his friends, but he also tired of Gaara scrutinizing him.
The bar Shiloh had chosen was only about three blocks from the hotel. Walking in, Sasuke realized that most of the patrons were gay couples. Vintage music churned out of the speakers, and there was a crowded dance floor. To Sasuke's relief, there was also a section with snugs situated at a comfortable distance from the speakers.
This was where Gaara led them. Shiloh was soon fidgeting, and saying he wanted to dance. "I know you aren't going to dance with me, fuddy-duddy," he told Gaara with a pout. "But I really wanna dance, please, please, please?"
"You always ask and I always say the same thing. Go on. Enjoy yourself," Gaara answered. To Sasuke's dismay, Shiloh grabbed at Naruto's sleeve and tugged him along.
"C'mon, Naruto! I bet you dance! Sasuke? Come with!" Both Shiloh and Naruto looked at him, Naruto grinning mischievously and Shiloh pleadingly.
"Go ahead, Naruto," Sasuke said. "I don't dance, Shiloh." Naruto kissed him briefly on the lips and hugged him.
"Thanks, Sasuke," he whispered.
"Yay! Let's go! This is one of my favorite songs!" Shiloh cried as he pulled Naruto to the dance floor. Sasuke thought sourly that Shiloh probably said that about all songs.
He watched as Shiloh and Naruto laughed and danced; the attention the pair received from the men around him did not escape him. It was an odd feeling. Watching Naruto as he laughed, appreciating his enthusiasm and unabashed silliness, he was also jealous that he wasn't the cause or the recipient of his laughter and smiles. He was pleased to note that Shiloh kept a respectable distance from him, but other men eyed Naruto hungrily, and it infuriated him.
"Uchiha." Gaara's voice interrupted his conflicting thoughts.
"Suna."
"I wasn't expecting you to be the one Naruto was seeing," Gaara said.
"Hn."
"I'm going to get us some drinks. What will you have?"
"Whiskey. Neat," he told the pale redhead.
Gaara nodded and walked off, and Sasuke frowned after him.
Gaara returned more quickly than Sasuke would have liked. He set Sasuke's whiskey in front of him carefully and resumed his place across from him.
"You and Naruto seem like an odd match," he said after a long, glaring silence.
"Same could be said for you and Shiloh," Sasuke returned.
"Shiloh reminds me a lot of Naruto. Except that he can dance and he wouldn't be caught dead wearing orange." Gaara's mouth quirked upwards, but Sasuke was not amused.
Sasuke took a drink, relishing the searing heat of the whiskey in his mouth and throat.
"The last time I knew of you, Uchiha, you most certainly weren't a bookseller," Gaara said pointedly.
"The last time I knew you, you weren't pretending to be a restaurateur, Suna."
Gaara looked at Sasuke with his intense, otherworldly eyes. "Have you retired from your previous pursuits?"
"Have you?" Sasuke shot back.
"I don't care one way or another what you do," Gaara said quietly, "except for how it impacts Naruto."
Sasuke kept his expression blank, despite the anger threatening to boil over. "I realize you never properly knew me, Suna," he said calmly, "but I was always careful not to engage innocent people in my 'pursuits.'"
"Your assessment of innocence could prove to be suspect," Gaara retorted.
"If you have something to say, you should say it outright, Suna." Sasuke's voice remained calm.
"You are well aware of my reputation from our school days," Gaara said. "I have left that life behind, largely due to Naruto's influence. But make no mistake; I could easily revert to prior form if I discovered that you had hurt or compromised Naruto in any way."
Sasuke's hands clenched into fists under the table.
"Threats? Perhaps I should extend the same to you, since I know as much about your past as you do about mine," he replied.
"Perhaps you should," Gaara rejoined.
"I didn't come here to befriend you. I came because Naruto asked me. I refuse to answer to your interrogations. I'll be clear, though, for Naruto's sake; should I ever discover that you have caused Naruto harm, keep in mind what I am capable of."
"I'm not your rival," Gaara said softly.
"Hn. You're right," Sasuke shot back. "How long were you in love with him?"
He could see the shift in Gaara's eyes and took note of how he swallowed.
"Like I said, I am not your rival. I am Naruto's friend, and I owe him far too much to allow someone to drag him headlong into danger."
Sasuke believed Gaara. Regardless of that, he was tired of the conversation and the endless probing. He turned around to watch Naruto dance.
Naruto's face glowed. He was no more gifted a dancer than he had been when he was drunk, but his carefree exuberance was both a balm and a poison to Sasuke's soul. He flailed about with childlike abandon, just happy to be alive.
Sasuke tensed when another man, slightly taller and broader than Naruto, came up behind the blond and wrapped his arm around his waist. Sasuke squeezed out of the snug and walked towards the dance floor. Naruto removed the man's hands from his body and continued to dance with Shiloh.
He smiled brightly when Sasuke caught his eye. Sasuke moved towards him without thinking. It was the same as it always had been for Sasuke; Naruto held an irresistible magnetism. Naruto took him into his arms and kissed him deeply while swaying with the music. Sasuke reciprocated instinctively.
"Having fun?" Sasuke asked when they pulled away.
"So much. Are you gonna dance, Sasuke?"
"I told you before..."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you don't dance, ever," Naruto said with a laugh.
"You want something to drink?" Sasuke asked him.
"Yeah, would you grab me a beer?"
Sasuke nodded.
"Shiloh, anything for you?" Sasuke asked. He felt that the evening would have gone sideways very quickly had the lighthearted man not been there.
"Oh, thank you, sugar! Could you get me a margarita?"
Sasuke nodded again and walked towards the bar. To his surprise, Shiloh caught up with him and grabbed him by the arm. "C'mon, honey, let's get to know each other while our menfolk catch up. Join me at the bar?"
Sasuke nodded.
"Oh, don't look so dark, you'll have him all to yourself soon! But I haven't really gotten to know you, yet, Sasuke."
"Fine."
They sat at the bar together after Sasuke brought Naruto's drink to the snug where he chatted amiably with Gaara.
"I have to tell you, Sasuke," Shiloh said, leaning in close and putting his hand on Sasuke's shoulder, "your aura is absolutely overwhelming. That's really why I wanted to chat with you."
Sasuke coughed, choking on his drink. He hadn't heard anything that ridiculous in years.
"Don't look like that! I'm serious. All Southerners are at least a little bit psychic, you know. It's all our crazy bloodlines." Shiloh looked completely sincere.
"Does everyone in New Orleans have your accent?" Sasuke asked.
"Oh, no. New Orleans has its own accent. I'm from southeast Mississippi. But back to you..." to Sasuke's indignation, Shiloh picked up his left hand and held it in both of his, closing his eyes tightly.
Sasuke looked around the bar. A few men looked over at the two of them, smirking.
"Oooh, yes, you have a very interesting aura! There's a lot of black… but also red… something kinda pulsing… but, there's something very pure and bright. You're a person of purity," Shiloh intoned.
He opened his eyes and looked at Sasuke, but didn't drop his hand. "I see darkness, like a heavy cloud, following you, but I also see light… and when you step into the light, Sasuke, oh, my god! Nobody's gonna be able to look at you without sunglasses!"
Sasuke fought the urge to laugh. Shiloh had been pleasant to Naruto, so he bit back the urge to snark at him.
"Yes, I see a bright light coming to surround you soon, but you have to be able to step out into it," Shiloh continued. "I know you're in love with Naruto, so you'll be happy to know that the two of you are actually soulmates." He dropped Sasuke's hands and his eyes grew large. "Soulmates! I've never seen soulmates before. Well, except with me and Mr. Fuddy-Duddy over there."
Sasuke had been sitting, stunned, ever since Shiloh had so casually announced the he knew Sasuke was in love with Naruto.
"You looked shocked. Don't be. Anybody with one eye and half sense can tell how far gone you are for that blue-eyed boy. And he's just as far gone for you." Shiloh picked up Sasuke's hand again. "Oh, this is interesting… you and Naruto seem to have been together in several past lives. I've never gotten anything about past lives before, is that a Japanese thing? Something with your bloodline?"
He didn't wait for Sasuke to answer. "Anyway. This is it. This is your last lifetime to get it right, so you need to grab a hold of that man and hang on tight. Something about the two of you being together is important… it's kind of a human race thing… Oh my god!" Shiloh dropped Sasuke's hand again and fanned himself. "I see a spiritual bloodline from the two of you. It will last for generations, Sasuke! You are so lucky!"
Sasuke smirked. Bloodlines. Ridiculous.
"I know, I know, you don't believe in the spirits. But the spirits believe in you!" Shiloh said, as if Sasuke had spoken aloud.
"I see that dark cloud—it's not from you, it's something different. But I sense a strong presence, a protection. I think… you have a brother, right?"
Sasuke's blood ran cold.
"He's dead," he said, and he regretted the way his voice hitched.
Shiloh looked sad and embarrassed. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know. He seemed so close… maybe it's because he's part of you."
Sasuke swallowed hard. There was no way that Itachi being part of him could make up for never being able to hear his voice, or see his face, or say, "I'm sorry" to him again.
"I really am sorry, Sasuke. I… well, I'm just really sorry."
"Don't worry about it," Sasuke said, dismissing Shiloh's extended hand.
"You know," Shiloh said quietly, "I have a Maw-Maw. And she… well, I can't explain it, but she's with me. Just like she was in life, protecting me. It's hard to grow up gay in the South, you know?" Shiloh's eyes watered.
"I ended up living with Maw-Maw, and she always accepted me. She told me she didn't care who I loved as long as they were good to me. And when she died, I know it made my mom and dad so mad, but she left me her entire estate so I would never have to be at my parents' mercy again." Shiloh wiped some tears out of his eyes with the back of his hand. "So, I feel like I know a little bit about your brother. Like, he just was looking out for you all your life, and he wouldn't stop just because he died, would he? Of course not. So, he's still with you."
Sasuke scowled. "Did you ever think that maybe you've just made up your Maw-Maw being with you still to make yourself feel better?"
Shiloh looked unfazed. "Sure, I have. And if that's true, well, more power to my mind! I'd be a genius to make up something like that. But I do believe it. Anyway, Sasuke, I realize you're probably like Gaara, and you don't believe all this, but you have a lot to offer the world and it just rolls off you in waves. So I just had to spend some time with you and figure you out a little. You and Naruto… I mean, I know it's new, but when you know, you know. Just like how I knew Gaara was meant to be mine when I saw him watching me dance in a second line. It's beautiful."
"How did you meet Gaara?" Sasuke asked.
"I was dancing in a second line in NOLA, and he was there on vacation. And we just saw each other, you know? I could have died. I had to keep marching, but my heart was going 90 to nothin', and all I could think about was that I just walked past my soulmate, and I'll never see him again. And would you believe, the next day, his pretty red head walked into my restaurant! I haven't let him go since!" Shiloh clapped his hands together happily.
"His aura was a lot like yours," Shiloh said. "I mean, I don't know what all he got up to before we met, but you just don't go and get a big, red tattoo on your face because your life is all sunshine and puppies, know what I mean?"
Sasuke laughed, suddenly feeling inexplicably tired and lightheaded.
"Is it pumpkin time, Cinderella?" Shiloh asked playfully.
"Excuse me?"
Shiloh laughed. "Is it your bedtime, princess?"
Sasuke tilted his head. "Yes, I believe it is."
Naruto buzzed with enthusiasm when they returned to their room. "Shiloh's a blast! He is so… I don't know what the word is. He is so cheerful and excited about everything! He's kind of a flirt, but I think he's harmless. I mean, Gaara wouldn't put up with it if he were serious. Didn't you think he said his name was 'shallow' at first? His accent is a trip!"
Sasuke grunted in response, slipping his shoes off at the door. "He believes he's a psychic and that you and I are the progenitors of a "spiritual bloodline," whatever that means, so I don't think it's just his accent that's a trip."
Naruto laughed. "Spiritual bloodline! Have you ever heard anything like that?"
"Can't say I have," Sasuke mumbled. He sat on the bed and unrolled his socks.
"I had such a good time tonight, Sasuke, thanks for coming with me." Sasuke looked up into Naruto's eyes and smiled.
"I'm glad."
Naruto sat beside him and kissed him, placing his hand on his chest. "You and Gaara seemed so serious. What did you guys talk about?"
"Not much. School days," Sasuke said shortly.
Naruto kissed him again, much more passionately this time. Sasuke kissed him back hungrily, grabbing the back of his head and smashing their lips together hard. He thrust his tongue into Naruto's mouth, tasting and feeling as Naruto drew closer.
Naruto responded heatedly, his fingers ripping at Sasuke's buttons as their lips and tongues collided and melded. Sasuke sucked longingly on Naruto's tongue before biting at his lower lip.
Naruto pushed him backwards on the bed roughly. Sasuke liked this, the way that their intimacy brought out Naruto's dominant side. Naruto grasped his waist, and Sasuke gasped at the feeling of Naruto's fingers on his naked skin. Craving more, he tore at Naruto's shirt. Naruto obliged him, quickly stripping off his jacket and shirt as he stared down at Sasuke.
Sasuke ran his hands over Naruto's broad back and shoulders, restraining himself from scratching at the smooth, firm skin. He lightly scraped the pink nipples with his nails. Naruto gasped. Sasuke gripped Naruto's slender waist and pulled him down, letting out a sough as he felt Naruto's skin against his own.
There were no words to describe Naruto's weight against him. It felt like passion, and promise, and safety. It felt right. He opened his legs, allowing Naruto to slide between them, and pulled his lover's face down to kiss him again.
He never wanted to stop kissing Naruto. The awkwardness of seeing Suna again, the eerie feeling of Shiloh mentioning Itachi, the tension of the entire evening bled out of Sasuke's mind and body as Naruto teased his mouth and ground against him.
Sasuke could have whined when Naruto pulled away from their kiss, only to arch his back when he gently bit into flesh of Sasuke's throat. As Naruto kissed and sucked Sasuke's chest and stomach, Sasuke was overwhelmed with a need to make Naruto feel everything he was feeling.
He shoved the broad-shouldered man onto his back before straddling him and kissing him savagely. He answered Naruto's tug at his hair by sucking his bottom lip into his mouth and biting. Naruto's hips shot upwards, causing his cock to rub against Sasuke's. Both men moaned loudly at the sensation.
Sasuke released Naruto's lips and stared down at him. Naruto did look wild and animalistic this way, with his glassy, dilated eyes, his chest heaving and his lips parted. Sasuke could not have defined what overtook him, whether it was the sight of Naruto's toned body so primed for Sasuke's touch, or whether it was the residual sense of threat he'd felt from Gaara, or something else completely, but he was possessed with a need to completely take Naruto over.
Their kisses had never been so wild or wanton. Both men grabbed and shoved against each other; Sasuke was not gentle as he explored Naruto's body with his lips and tongue and teeth. He bit at his neck and his shoulders. He sucked hungrily at Naruto's nipples and rolled his hips against him. Naruto responded just as fervently, thrusting up to meet Sasuke and gripping his ass.
He worked his way down Naruto's stomach, to the place where the seal tattoo half disappeared into Naruto's trousers. He tongued Naruto's navel, urged on by the guttural moans rumbling out of his throat.
"You never told me," he said, panting, "why you got this." He laid his palm flat over the black seal, making circles over the ink. Naruto moaned and lifted his hips higher, seeking greater contact, but Sasuke pushed him back down and grabbed his wrists.
"Tell me," he said, and although he was the one demanding, and he was the one pinning Naruto to the bed, it was more of a plea than anything.
Naruto sat up, easily freeing himself from Sasuke's restraint, and pulled Sasuke's legs around his waist.
"I'm not just what you see of me, Sasuke," he said, his voice low and husky. "There is darkness here." He took Sasuke's hand and held it over his chest so he could feel his heart pounding beneath his palm.
"This..." he brought Sasuke's hand back to the seal, "this is my vow to control it. And to not let it control me."
He cradled the back of Sasuke's head with one hand and pulled him back towards him, laying claim once again to his lips.
A fever exploded inside of Sasuke as he clasped Naruto closer with his arms and legs. He did not break their crazed kiss as he shoved Naruto back down against the bed. His hand snaked between them to grip Naruto's throbbing cock. He stroked firmly through the fabric of Naruto's pants as Naruto whimpered against his lips.
He continued to caress firmly but slowly as he made his way down Naruto's body. He wasted no time unbuckling Naruto's belt and opening his fly and sliding his pants and briefs down over his tanned, muscular legs.
Naruto's cock twitched at the exposure, demanding attention that Sasuke was all too willing to give. He bit and sucked at Naruto's inner thighs, intentionally leaving his mark, as he wrapped his fist around the swollen, leaking member.
He tongued the engorged head, swirling and sucking at the glistening slit, then sucked it into his mouth.
"Sasuke!" Naruto cried loudly, bucking his hips upwards.
Sasuke took more and more of Naruto's length into his mouth, relaxing his throat and swallowing down as much as he could. He moved his head up and down, sucking as he did so and swirling his tongue against the underside of Naruto's dick.
His own cock throbbed when Naruto thrust into his mouth, hitting the back of Sasuke's throat and making him gag a little. He looked up at Naruto, his eyes watering. The way Naruto stared down at him, as if Sasuke was the most precious thing in the world, as if he had no control over himself anymore, fueled Sasuke's desire even more. He sucked at Naruto harder, allowing him to fuck into his mouth wildly.
"So… good..." Naruto panted. "'ske… so good..."
He felt Naruto's testicles grow tight. He gripped Naruto's hips, continuing to suck as Naruto spilled his warm seed into Sasuke's mouth and throat. He realized this was something he would gladly do again and again. Nothing could have prepared him for how intimate and consuming it was to feel Naruto in his mouth, to taste him and drink his essence, to see him staring down at him so lustfully and affectionately.
He licked Naruto's softening cock clean before moving up to lie against him again. Naruto put one arm over Sasuke and sighed contentedly.
"So… good, Sasuke," Naruto said. Sasuke responded by kissing him softly on the lips.
Naruto opened his eyes. "Kiss me for real," he commanded.
Sasuke kissed him again, allowing Naruto to slide his tongue into his mouth.
He could not control himself as he rutted against Naruto's thigh. His erection throbbed with need. He bit at Naruto's shoulder greedily.
"I need to take care of you, don't I?" Naruto asked sleepily. Sasuke continued moving against Naruto and kissing him.
"Come up here, pretty," Naruto said, and it shouldn't have felt so mind-alteringly good to be controlled this way, with commands and compliments.
Sasuke rose onto his knees and moved until he was straddling Naruto's chest.
"That's it," Naruto coaxed. He grasped Sasuke's achingly turgid cock and brought it to his lips, tasting the pre-come that covered it. He licked from base to tip, coating it in saliva, then began pumping it with his hand.
He sucked at the head as he pumped, moving his mouth and his hand in a coordinated rhythm as Sasuke moaned and thrust his hips forward. His other hand moved over Sasuke's ass and gripped it possessively.
Sasuke was lost in his body as he rocked forward. He stared down at Naruto; his eyes were half-closed as he nursed hungrily at Sasuke's cock. The sight destroyed what was left of Sasuke's restraint and he snapped his hips forward. Naruto looked up at him and opened his mouth, and Sasuke painted his orgasm over his lips and chin. The last thought Sasuke could formulate as his mind went blank was that he had never seen anything so perfectly carnal in his life.