Damn Roses
Author's note: Thank you to those that reviewed, favorited, followed, hit alert, or clicked. I was really nervous about posting this one. For those interested, feel free to check out my other active story, Mother Knows Best. (Pairings are Hinata x Sasuke and Mikoto x Kakashi.)
Warning: This chapter contains heavy kissing and some touching. It is not a full lemon. I think it might be considered a lime. This story is rated M for a reason, though this probably still falls under the PG-13/Teen camp. Also many Snow White references. As usual, there is a healthy dose of swearing.
Chapter Two
Naruto wondered if Sasuke would have a go at him, in a public place. They had torn into each other pretty hardcore, while at the Academy. But this was his brother's reception. He wouldn't try to slug him for calling him a snuggler, right? (Besides, it was the truth.)
Sasuke follows him and sneaks up behind Naruto. His lips pressed against Naruto's ear as he leaned in close to whisper, "You are so lucky we are at my brother's reception. Otherwise I would kick your ass. I do NOT cuddle," he says as if the very idea he might be a cuddler was some sort of insult to his masculinity.
"It's not a bad thing. Jeez, I think that it's nice that you are secretly a romantic," Naruto says, knowing that he might end up six feet under later today.
"…," Sasuke doesn't even know how to respond to that.
"Come on bastard. Dance with me before the girls try steal your virtue," Naurto smiles.
"Oh for fucksake Naruto. Steal my virtue? I'm not a virgin," Sasuke flails when Naruto drags him to the dance floor.
"Really? Who melted the Ice Prince's frozen heart," Naruto twirls him around, as he asks.
"… That is really none of your business, loser," Sasuke rolls his eyes at him.
"Oh come on. I'll tell you mine, if you tell me yours," he continues dancing and Sasuke follows his lead.
"You aren't going to shut up, till I tell you…Are you," Sasuke says.
"No way in Hell. This I GOT to know," Naruto grins like the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland.
Sasuke grumbles, "Neji."
"Wait, did you say Neji? Hinata's cousin," Naruto asks in shock.
"Say that a little louder loser, I'm sure there are some people in China that didn't hear you," Sasuke twitches.
"How'd that happen? Are you gay or was that just like experimenting in college or whatever," Naruto asks.
"It was in college. But no, it wasn't experimenting. I already knew I was gay. We were lab partners. We got along well and decided to go with some friends down to New Orleans, for spring break," Sasuke starts.
"Who topped? Are you still… with him," Naruto asks.
"Still none of your business. But I did. No. He got a job offer on the other side of the country. There was no bad blood. Just couldn't do the long distance thing," Sasuke says.
"Yeah, I could see that," Naruto says thoughtfully, as if seriously contemplating who would be the Seme in that relationship.
"…I don't even want to know. Well you said you'd tell me, if I told you. Your turn," Sasuke says.
"Kiba. We were roommates for awhile. I topped for the record, bastard. We were too much alike to make it work though," Naruto said.
"… Kiba is gay," Sasuke blinks.
"Bisexual. But yeah. I think he leans more towards women most of the time though," he says.
"Oh. Didn't see that one coming. I only remember him chasing after girls," Sasuke responds.
"Yeah, well it is Kiba. Still never would have guessed you were you know," Naruto said.
"I didn't really want to advertise it. I saw what Itachi went through. The girls at his school saw it as a challenge. They figured that he just had to meet the right girl. I figured it'd be the same for me," Sasuke says.
"Alright, I can see your point there. Those girls were," Naruto starts to say, but Sasuke cuts him off.
"Psychotic demons from Hell sent to punish me for God knows what sins I committed in a past life," he finishes.
"Whoa. Bastard has anyone ever told you that you are overdramatic," Naruto asks.
"Not really. You saw them. They were harpies," Sasuke says.
"So is that why you were such an asshole in school? You were just worried about being outed," Naruto questions.
"I was not an ass. You were just constantly getting in my face, about EVERYTHING. I was going to respond," Sasuke scoffs.
"Well to be honest, it was fun to piss you off. You are so damn stoic. Not nearly as bad as Itachi can be, but still. It's fun to get a reaction, any reaction out of you. Particularly when you do that twitching thing and your eyes get all big," Naruto says.
"…Sadistic blonde," Sasuke mutters.
"But if you had told me about the harpies. I would have helped you out," Naruto says sincerely.
"I am NOT some damn princess who needs a Prince Charming to come and rescue her," Sasuke rolls his eyes.
"I don't know. You kinda have a male Snow White thing going on. Well you know minus the singing," Naruto says.
"What kind of crack are you on to compare me to Snow White," Sasuke twitches.
"Well you have the pitch black hair, the fair skin, those dark eyes," Naruto says.
"… So you are comparing me to Snow White because of coloration," Sasuke shakes his head.
"Yup," Naruto says with a childlike innocence.
"… You are such a loser," Sasuke takes the lead of the dance.
"Maybe. You know you love me," Naruto strikes a heroic pose.
Sasuke tenses for just a second when Naruto said that. But what would have been a very awkward moment, becomes even more so. Deidara spins over and cuts in.
"Wow, Sasuke you really grew up, yeah," Deidara says.
"Listen spider freak, if you don't let go of me right now, it won't be just your art that is an explosion," Sasuke growls out.
Naruto blinks, "Spider freak," he asks.
Sasuke grumbles, "You don't want to know. Just leave it at that. This is one of my brother's insane friends. Actually, I don't know if he has any friend who isn't insane."
"Itachi! Your baby brother is being mean," Deidara says.
Itachi shakes his head, "Will you two play nicely," he asks.
"He started it," they both cry.
Gaara whispers something to Itachi. He gives his new husband a look and shakes his head. He seemed amused, leading Gaara off.
"Come on Princess. Let's get you out of here before you deck someone at your brother's reception. Itachi already dragged Gaara off, so it's not like they'll care," Naruto said.
"If you ever call me Princess again, you are going to lose your ability to have children Naruto," Sasuke glares but follows the hot blonde, nonetheless.
"You prefer wildcat or bastard, then," Naruto asks happily.
"Would you prefer a punch to the face or a kick in the nuts," Sasuke rolls his eyes.
"I missed you, you damn bastard," Naruto wraps his arm around Sasuke's lower waist.
"Because I threaten to severely injure you on a regular basis? I take that sadistic comment back. You are a masochist," Sasuke says.
"Awe come on wildcat. I know you like to hiss and show the claws, but deep down you are just a cuddly kitten," Naruto says.
"Oh that's it," Sasuke lunges and pins Naruto to the floor.
Naruto should have expected that. But he didn't and falls to the ground. Though he had to admit, he didn't mind. Sasuke was gorgeous under any circumstance. But he was fucking beautiful when he was pissed. It was like watching a fire. Yeah, you knew that it would burn you, but it was still stunning in its fury.
"You wanna take that back loser," Sasuke growls while he grabs Naruto by the collar.
"Nah. Secretly, you are just a cuddly kitten, princess," Naruto smiles up at him.
"That's it," Sasuke pulls his arm back and was going for a punch.
Naruto caught it, "But there is something I want to do. I can do it better this time." the blonde says.
"Do what," Sasuke asks.
"This," Naruto leans up slightly and kisses the male Snow White.
Sasuke was so surprised by the sudden kiss attack, that his grip loosened. Naruto well he decided to take advantage of this situation. He wasn't saying no or trying ground him to a pulp for it. So yeah, he was going to run with this.
Naruto rolls them around, so he was on top of Sasuke. He deepens the kiss. Now that the kiss lasted longer than five seconds, Naruto realized something. Sasuke tasted like cinnamon.
Sasuke wasn't sure what the Hell was going on. One minute he had been prepared to beat up Naruto, for his smartass comments. The next Naruto was kissing him. It was a real kiss this time. Idly, he notices that Naruto's kisses had a citrus taste to them. No wonder he wore orange so much; he tasted like them.
Naruto never did anything halfway. Sasuke had always known that. Apparently, kissing was no exception. The blonde was practically plundering his mouth. Sasuke arches underneath him and moans into the kiss, his own tongue answering the implicit challenge.
In the few relationships, he'd had, Sasuke had always been the aggressor in the relationship. He made the first move. Generally, he didn't like anyone that panted after him. Which was why it surprised him when his heart skipped a couple beats in a painfully good way.
Naruto had heard the old expressions about fireworks. He had never taken them literally before. But now he understood the sentiment. Sasuke would probably deck him if he told him, but his lips were surprisingly soft. Yeah, definitely going with the Snow White theme.
Naruto smirks into the kiss when he feels Sasuke arch against him. Yeah, Sasuke definitely hadn't been lying about being gay. Naruto could feel his arousal.
The blonde wondered how long he could keep kissing Sasuke, before his more competitive streak, resurfaced. Sasuke had said he topped Neji. Naruto was a Seme. It was implied that Sasuke was (given his Type A personality and need to always be in control, it was difficult to imagine him as bottoming for anyone.)
Sasuke decides to see if he could flip them. He arches against him and tries to tilt Naruto. The two continue their makeout session, each trying to pin down the other. They were spinning in a circle, a whirlwind of limbs and passion.
Of course, all good things must come to an end. They had forgotten they were in the middle of a hallway, outside a wedding reception. Someone was going to walk by naturally.
"So that's why you wouldn't go out with me. You're gay," Sasuke hears a familiar feminine voice.
Naruto blinks, hearing someone speak and looks around. Shit! It was Sakura. Sakura had been one of Sasuke's biggest admirers in middle school and high school. Seriously, only Ino and Karin could compete with that level of crazy.
"Um hey, Sakura," Naruto says awkwardly.
"Yeah, that's why," Sasuke said, figuring oh to Hell with it.
It wasn't completely inaccurate. He was gay. But even if he was straight, he wouldn't have been interested. Sasuke HATED the color pink and her constant gushing, was annoying. Though he wasn't going to say that. At least she wasn't freaking out, yet.
"Well.. No hard feelings. I mean I'm all for you know equality and stuff. But I'm not sure how the hotel management will feel about you two making out in the hallway," she says.
"Glad to hear it," Sasuke wiggles out from underneath Naruto.
Sasuke didn't know what was wrong with him. He'd never been big on PDA. He came an old school family in that respect. It was a rare day that his father would even hold his mother's hand in public. (Though they screwed like rabbits at home. Sasuke had been traumatized for life a few times when he came home early from school.)
If the hotel management made an issue out of it. Sasuke would tell them to fuck off. Itachi and Gaara had spent a small fortune on their wedding. The free publicity the hotel was getting, was probably enough to put them in the red for months. It wasn't everyday that two of America's most eligible bachelors got married… to each other.
"You guys might want to get going before the reception ends," Sakura adds.
"Yeah, thanks for the tip Sakura," Naruto says and grabs Sasuke, leading him back to their room.
"Naruto let's get one thing straight," Sasuke winces at his unintentional pun and continues, "just because we kissed does not make me your rag doll. I am FULLY capable of walking," he finishes.
"You fully capable of taking care of this too," Naruto asks, grabbing Sasuke's clothed erection.
Sasuke bites back a groan and growls out, "Yes, actually. It's called jacking off. Maybe if you tried it, you wouldn't dry hump me in the hall."
"Wow, didn't think his Royal Highness, actually did that. Why don't you show me," Naruto says.
"Did you seriously just ask me to get myself off with you watching," Sasuke blinks.
"Yeah. You know foreplay. But if you'd rather have me give you a hand, I can do that too," this time Sasuke couldn't hold back the moan when Naruto stroked him.
It was just then that Naruto's cell rang, "God dammit!"
"This had better be good," Naruto says into the phone.
He blinks, "No way, seriously?"
Sasuke was trying to calm his breathing. He quirks an eyebrow as if to say, Who is it and what do they want? Though he waits politely for Naruto to finish his phone call.
"Someone trashed my place. The police are there now. They are trying to see if anything was taken," Naruto says."
"You were robbed," Sasuke asks in disbelief.
"Seems that way. Good thing I brought my wallet with me. They want me to head down and see if I notice anything missing and answer some questions," Naruto trails off awkwardly.
"Naruto, you were robbed. I'd say that's that takes priority and I'm not just saying that because I'm a lawyer. Stay safe," he says.
"Yeah. But I'm getting your number before I go," he smiles determinedly.
"You're pretty cocky," Sasuke says.
"I think I have GOOD reason to be," Naruto responded.
"Whatever loser. Don't let a little kissing go to your head," Sasuke falls back into the comforting banter, as he writes down his number for the blonde.
"It was more than a little kissing. But great, I'll give you a call as soon as I get done with the cops," Naruto says merrily, like he didn't give a damn he had possibly gotten robbed.
"If you get tied up, don't worry about it. You can always call tomorrow or whenever," Sasuke says.
"The only one getting tied up will be you," Naruto smirks.
"…," How the Hell was Sasuke supposed to respond to that?!
Naruto gives the speechless Uchiha a quick kiss, before darting out the door. Whoever trashed his place, was a dead man (or woman) walking. Not only had they broken and entered, they had cockblocked him. That was so not cool!
With Naruto and the Police
"Can you think of anyone who might have a grudge against you," Kakashi asks.
Kakashi was a cop. Naruto had known him since forever. He was good friends with Naruto's Godfather, Jirayia. It was a relief it was Kakashi and not a cop with an attitude problem.
"Well before yesterday, I would have said no. But there was this creep, that sexually harassed my friend. He won't leave my friend alone. So I had to step in. I think he got the message," Naruto looks at his feet.
"Naruto, what did you do to this creep, exactly," Kakashi questions.
"I punched him…in the face. I probably broke his nose. But I was protecting my friend. For all I know, this guy might have tried to you know…force himself on my friend," Naruto said defensively.
"You think you might have prevented a rape," Kakashi asks.
"Well don't get me wrong, my friend is a black belt in karate. But the creep snuck up on him. But I didn't want my friend to get in trouble, so I stepped in," Naruto answers.
Kakashi raises an eyebrow, "I'm going to need the name of this creep and preferably the name of your friend."
"Orochimaru is the creep. I'm not sure if I should give out my friends name. I mean that could get them involved in a legal investigation and their a lawyer. I don't want to hurt their career, ya know," Naruto said.
"Naruto, your friend as far as you've told me did nothing wrong. They didn't even throw the punch. There's nothing that could hurt them. Why do you keep saying your friend? You seem to be going of your way to be vague. Is your friend a man," Kakashi asked.
It wouldn't be surprising, if he was and Naruto was trying not to bring that up. Men were far less likely to come forward after something like that. Though knowing Naruto, he might be exaggerating. Orochimaru might have made a pass at Naruto's friend, his friend balked, and Naruto backed him up.
Naruto sighs, "Yeah. He is. I just don't want him drug into this shit. It's crazy. I don't even know for sure if it was even Orochimaru."
"Is there anyone else that might have a grudge against you," Kakashi continues.
"Not that I can think of off the top of my head. But still I just met Orochimaru today. That'd be some fast revenge," he answers.
"Well if you broke his nose, he'd have a motive. You notice anything missing," Kakashi asks.
"It's weird. The only thing, is my graduation picture," Naruto replies.
"That'd be an odd thing to take. Is it possible, you misplaced it," Kakashi counters.
"Nah. I always have it displayed in the living room," Naruto considered it precious.
He and Sasuke had been side by side. They all had received their diplomas in alphabetical order. So Uchiha and Uzamaki. Naruto hadn't even cared about getting his diploma at the moment. All he could think about was how great Sasuke's ass looked in that graduation gown.
Well Sasuke's ass looked great in pretty much anything. If it hadn't been for whoever invaded his home, he might have seen what his ass looked like OUT of clothes. Dammit!
"Then this wouldn't seem to be motivated by profit. Do you think your friend would agree to speak with me," Kakashi asks.
"I don't know. I mean he's a lawyer, so he understands it's important. He also knows you can't force him. Sasuke can be very stubborn," Naruto says.
"Sasuke. You said your friend was a lawyer. Are you talking about Sasuke Uchiha," Kakashi raises an eyebrow.
"… Yeah why," Naruto asks.
"He's made quite the name for himself down at the station. Kid is quite the vicious little Prosecutor. Hasn't lost a case yet, from what I hear," Kakashi replies.
"Sounds like Sasuke. He's always been a perfectionist. I actually pity the poor son of a bitch, who has to face off against him in the courtroom," Naruto says.
"Noted. Well that seems to be everything. I'll arrange to have a squad car watch the place. You might want to go somewhere else for the night. Who knows if they'll come back," Kakashi states.
"Yeah, I think I'll do that," Naruto nods.
He knew that he'd be pushing his luck to stay here. Just because whoever snuck into his house, only took a graduation photo, didn't mean they weren't violent. Not that Naruto was a pushover. He was fond of martial arts. But that didn't mean that he could dodge a bullet.
Naruto pulled out his cell phone and called Shikamaru, "Hey you mind if I stay at your place. I was robbed. Cops don't think it's a good idea for me to stay at my place tonight. Hate to admit it, but I kinda agree."
"You were robbed?! You alright," Shikamaru asks.
"Yeah I'm fine. I was at Itachi's wedding when it happened. So I'm not hurt or anything. Guess I got pretty lucky," Naruto answers.
"Guess so. Yeah you can crash here, while you figure out what is going on," Shikamaru says.
"Thanks man. I definitely owe you one," Naruto says, hangs up, and drives to Shikamaru's place.
With Sasuke
Sasuke couldn't believe that he had just made out with his childhood crush and said crush had gotten robbed on the same night. He looks out the window and checks to see if there was a Full Moon going on. There wasn't.
He was torn between being worried for Naruto and frustration. Well Naruto was going to give a report to the cops. So if the thief was stupid enough to stick around, Naruto should be safe.
He hoped. The idiot did have an amazing knack for surviving shit, that would have gotten almost anyone else killed. He'd be fine, he tried to reassure himself. It was no use though. He was too edgy to relax.
Sasuke had to talk to someone. But who? Normally, he'd talk to Itachi in these types of situations. But his brother was currently flying off with Gaara to their honeymoon. He wouldn't be reachable for weeks. (Both Itachi and Gaara had impressive stamina. Just take his word for it.)
Suigetsu was useless for serious advice. Karin was a useful coworker, but she wanted to jump him. That ruled her out. Shit, there had to be someone.
He eventually decides to call his "uncle" Obito. He wasn't actually Sasuke's uncle but his second cousin, thee times removed or was it third cousin, two times removed?
Nevermind, it didn't matter. He was gay. He'd understand and he was family. He was obligated to keep Sasuke's secrets!
"Hello," Sasuke hears the voice of his uncle.
"Hey, Uncle Obito. Sorry to call you this late. But I really need someone to talk to. You free," Sasuke asks.
"You're in luck. My lover just got pulled into work on an emergency at work. So my evening has been unexpectedly freed up. What's on your mind," he asks.
"Well I'm at Itachi's wedding reception. Orochimaru happened to be at the hotel. The freakshow got grabby. I was going to knock him on his ass. But Naruto broke his nose for me. Anyway after that, he made some smartass comments. So I had I was going to beat him up, you know like I always do. Then he kissed me and things got carried away. Hell, Sakura walked in on us making out in the hallway," Sasuke begins.
"First of all, who are Naruto and Sakura," Obito wonders.
"Naruto was a guy, I went to school with. Sakura same situation," Sasuke answers.
"Well Orochimaru has always had an unhealthy obsession with our family. Glad this Naruto put him in his place. Sounds like you lucked out and got laid at your brother's wedding. Good for you," Obito says, not seeing the problem.
"I didn't get laid. We were kissing and there was some other touching. Nevermind, that's not what's important. It was starting to get more intense, when his phone rang. Naruto got robbed," Sasuke says.
"… Yes, I suppose getting robbed would be quite the mood killer," Obito says dryly.
"I think Orochimaru might have had something to do with it. I mean Naruto broke his nose. At least I think it was broken, he was bleeding badly," Sasuke muses.
"Are you calling because you are concerned about the robbery, Orochimaru, or want romantic advice," Obito asks.
"Honestly, all of the above," Sasuke admitted.
Oh this was serious. As long as Obito had known Sasuke, he almost never asked for help. If he did ask for help, he'd usually ask his older brother. Hmm well he might as well make the most of this situation.
"I can place a few calls. I'll see what I can find out about the robbery and Orochimaru. However, I'm going to need more information about Naruto, if I'm going to offer you any good advice," Obito replies.
"Thanks and yeah, that makes sense. What kind of information," Sasuke replies cautiously.
"Well for starters, is he gay, bisexual, or just experimenting," his cousin answers.
"Gay," Sasuke answers that one quickly.
"Always good. Pitcher or receiver," he asks.
"…. Probably pitcher. Maybe a switcher," Sasuke answers this one, feeling his face flame up.
"And yourself," the other Uchiha asks.
"I also top," Sasuke answers.
"Well this is going to be explosive. Only one person can top at a time. Though I suppose you could always mix it up to even it out," he says thoughtfully.
"I didn't even know he liked guys before. I'll consider positions later," Sasuke answers.
"Well what was your relationship with him like, when you thought he was straight," he asks.
"We were rivals. He challenged me to everything. The loser, pushed me to be my best," Sasuke answers.
"…Sasuke it is quite "messed up," as the kids say these days that you use loser, as a term of endearment," he ventures.
"Well he calls me bastard, amongst other things," was Sasuke's defensive reply.
"What other things, does he call you," Obito asks.
"… I don't want to talk about it," Sasuke volleys back.
"Pet names are important. It lets you know where the other's head is at. Come on. You can tell me. I've heard them all, trust me," the older man says.
"Wildcat for one," Sasuke replies.
"Well that's not bad. Shows he views you as feisty. What else," he questions.
"The idiot may have called me Princess and compared me to Snow White," Obito could imagine Sasuke rolling his eyes over the phone.
"That's a new one. He probably views you as attractive, maybe high maintenance, and someone he wants to protect. That and it does implicitly imply he might view you as the uke," he says.
" I am NOT an uke," Sasuke hisses.
"Well it is in your name. You can hardly blame the man, if he assumed you lived up to it," he answers teasingly, enjoying getting under Sasuke's skin.
"That was childish," Sasuke scoffs.
"Childish, but funny," was his reply.
"So not funny," Sasuke says.
"Yes, yes it was. Did you get his number or did he get yours," Obito asks.
"He's got mine," Sasuke answers.
"Well ball is in his court then. He kissed you first, so I imagine he'll call," Obito says reassuringly.
"He wouldn't have asked for the number, if he didn't want it," Sasuke volleys.
"Exactly. You have nothing to worry about. Just be your adorable self," his relative says.
"I am NOT worried," Sasuke replies.
"You wouldn't have called me, if you weren't," Obito says.
"…," Sasuke couldn't come up with a good reply to that one.
"They say admitting is the first step. Well he's known you since high school, so he knows what you are like. He's still chasing. I'd say play it a bit coy. Don't outright reject him, but don't swoon. Play a little hard to get," Obito says sagely.
"Uchihas do not swoon," Sasuke says.
"Exactly. So this should be easy for you. Good luck, nephew. I am happy you found someone," Obito says and hangs up.
Sasuke hangs up. Sure the conversation had been embarrassing. But he had actually gotten some solid advice. He'd play hard to get.