Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews, it's given me quite a bit of direction on where I'm going with each chapter. You'd be surprised how the little things you make me think
And thanks for taking such an interest in the story, it makes me feel special and stuff!
Muddy Waters
Chapter 3
by Taka Momos
Naruto leaned his head back into Sasuke's chest, enjoying the comfortable silence as Sasuke focused on the news. For the first time in years he felt truly happy.
He didn't know why the Uchiha, a clearly rich and power person, had taken such an interest in him. Countless suit-wearing businessmen had walked by without even noticing him, yet alone helping him.
He had to admit though- despite his sometimes stuck-up attitude he was a really good guy. He felt safe around him, even comfortable with the advances that he was making.
He was torn from his thoughts when a cell phone rang. Sasuke reached over his shoulder and grabbed it off of the table behind them, skillfully flipping it open with one hand.
"Hello? Oh, hey... yeah, I'm fine. Just needed some time off..."
Naruto felt a hand being run through his hair. Sasuke's voice was noticeably deeper and rougher, his expression cutthroat and serious.
"No, don't make the deal. They think they can push us around; they need to be taught that everyone is expendable..."
The hand moved down to gently rub Naruto's shoulder.
"Hn. Bye."
The phone snapped as it shut, making the blond flinch.
"We need to wash your hair."
The finality of his voice made the blond wheel around, staring into expressionless eyes.
"Huh?"
"When I cleaned you up the other night I didn't wash your hair or face, you wanna go do that right now? I'll have dinner made for us and wait for you to get out."
"Oh, ok..."
"The bathroom's the door on the left of the bedroom. The shampoo is the gray bottle, make sure you remember not to get any any your eyes."
Naruto made a soft reply of recognition as he got up and stiffly made his way to the bathroom. Sasuke called the kitchen staff to have them prepare the meal before sitting down and reviewing financial reports.
Sasuke looked up from the various papers when he heard the bathroom door crack.
"Sasuke?"
"Yeah?"
"C-can you come help me?"
The question caught Sasuke off guard.
"With what?"
Well, umm... it's kind of, you know, been a while since I've done anything like this..."
Sasuke smirked instantly, much like a predator when they find their prey exposed and unsuspecting.
"Sure, I'll be there in a minute."
He was practically licking his lips. He'd known it might be a little difficult getting the blond to warm up to him, but here he was- being invited to join him in the shower.
He tried to wipe the expression off of his face when he entered the bathroom. He removed his own clothes before slowly pulling the shower door open, already feeling the anticipation as he stepped inside, a warm feeling in his chest. He slowly closed the door, enjoying the perfection of the moment.
"So, what do you want me to do?"
"C-can you just... wash my hair? I'll probably get it in my eyes and stuff..."
The Uchiha could practically hear the blush on the blond's face. He was so cute...
The smirk was back on his face in an instant.
He reached over the blond, grabbing the bottle of shampoo. He poured some in his hand, rubbed his hands together, and slowly went at the blond's head. He could feel Naruto begin to melt as he massaged his scalp, making sure to be thorough. He gently kneaded circles in the blond's temples, hearing the strangling of a moan being held back.
He moved Naruto forward to rinse the lather out of his hair, making sure that it was wash completely out. After he was sure that it was clean, he took the opportunity to pull the blond into an embrace, circling his arms gently around the other's waist.
Naruto stiffened at the sudden contact, but slowly began to relax into Sasuke's chest. Sasuke ran a hand up and down the other teen's side, savoring each new area he was claiming as his own. He leaned his head to the side, licking the shell of Naruto's ear, finally earning a small moan.
"Naruto?"
"Y-yeah?"
"I really like you."
"I like you too..." His voice was timid, but still sincere.
Sasuke moved down to take an earlobe into his mouth, suckling it and giving it the occasional nip. The moans increased, and Naruto began to melt even further, leaning more and more into Sasuke for support.
The raven took the chance to trace a finger up Naruto's chest and tease one of his nipples, pinching and teasing the nub. The blond head fell back, allowing Sasuke to see that Naruto's eyes were clamped shut, mouth slightly open.
He had him.
Slowly, painfully so, he traced his hand back down the other's torso, making sure to stop at each sensitive spot along the way. Once he reached Naruto's stomach, he felt the blond take in a slow, forced breath.
He kept going, inching closer and closer to his target. Naruto gasped when Sasuke's hand hit his waistline, stiffening when Sasuke began caressing his thigh.
"N..."
Sasuke, now nipping and sucking on Naruto's neck, smirked into the abused flesh. He stopped teasing and began again for his target.
Closer and closer, almost there...
"NO!"
Sasuke barely had time to grip onto Naruto as the blond went down flailing. He felt himself slip as he tried to hold on to the now thrashing Naruto.
He felt his head hit the floor with a sickening thud.
It took everything Sasuke had to restrain Naruto, arms and legs being thrown in every direction, screams filling the shower.
"Naruto! NARUTO!"
Sasuke struggled to keep a grip on Naruto, the water still pouring on them not helping the situation. Finally, once he had pinned the other teen down, hefelt Naruto begin to stop struggling.
Screams of terror turned into violent sobs. Sasuke did his best to sit up and hold the crying blond who was now burying his head in Sasuke's chest as the sobs wracked his body. Sasuke rubbed Naruto's back to try and help him calm down.
Once Naruto had calmed down, Sasuke helped him stand up. He flipped the now cold shower off as he opened the door, still supporting Naruto's weight. He grabbed a towel before helping them both down the floor. Sasuke used the towel to begin drying the blond hair, still cradling Naruto as the whimpers began being replaced with forced breaths.
Finally, sure that the hair was as dry as he could get it, Sasuke helped Naruto stand up, guiding him back into the bedroom. He led him to the dresser and pulled out two pairs of boxers, one for Naruto and one for himself. Remaining silent, he handed Naruto the boxers and released him to put them on, using his freed arms to put on his own.
Naruto struggled with getting them on, fighting to keep his balance, teetering back forth each time he leaned down. He only succeeded when Sasuke helped to stabilize him. Sasuke reached back in and grabbed one of his larger, more comfortable shirts.
"Lift your arms up."
He'd learned from the boxers that Naruto was still not strong enough to support himself much. He pulled the shirt over the other's head, letting Naruto guide his own arms through the sleeves. Now clothed, he led the them both to the bed, being careful not to lean back too fast.
Naruto's whimpering had mostly died down, only the occasional harsh breath escaping him. Sasuke nuzzled his forehead in the blond hair, surprised at how bright it was now that it was clean and beginning to dry.
He glanced at Naruto's face, noticing the adorable way he was biting down on his lip. It was then that he noticed the scars that he had dismissed as part of the caked-on dirt that covered Naruto's face. He ran his fingers along them... three on each cheek in the shape of whiskers.
"Sasuke?"
"Hmm?"
"I'm s-sorry."
The apology broke with another round of sobs, each one sending a pain through Sasuke's chest.
"Sorry for what?"
"F-for making you h-hit your h-head..."
Naruto's whimpers turned into hiccups, each one sending more tremors through his weakened body. Sasuke held him, tracing circles in the shaking back.
"Shh... you didn't mean to. I'm sorry I upset you so much."
Another sob shook the now battered frame of the boy, each one leaving a trembling blond in its wake.
It had taken an hour to completely calm Naruto down. He was slipping in and out of sleep, clinging as tight as he could to Sasuke. Sasuke spent the entire time whispering to him, telling him it would be ok.
Once he was sure Naruto wouldn't break into another fit of sobs, he began to ease himself off of the bed, only to be stopped by a loud whimper of disapproval and a hand reaching for anything it could grab.
"I'm just going to turn off the lights and get something to drink, I'll be right back."
"Promise?"
The question stunned him. He looked down into the puffy eyes, now filled with shadows and darker blues instead of the brilliant blue he'd seen before.
"Yeah, I promise. Do you want anything while I'm up?"
Naruto shook his head, sinking back down into the bed. Sasuke got up gently, trying not to shake the bed too much. He flipped off the bathroom light that had been left on before heading out into the rest of the apartment.
As he made his way around the apartment, he remembered that he'd ordered food. He opened the door to find covered plates sitting on a cart. Sasuke began pulling it into the apartment and rolling it into the kitchen. He needed to at least put the food in the refrigerator so he could heat it up tomorrow. No sense in wasting it...
He noted how cold it was as he wrapped it up, putting each plate quickly in the refrigerator, not even bothering to check what the cooks had made.
He went over a small checklist in his head of things to do before he went to sleep. Turn off the lights and TV, lock the doors, check his cell phone one last time...
He decided upon the last thing to include in his list.
He walked over to the laptop, opening it slowly and closing his eyes so that he wouldn't be blinded when the bright light tore through the darkness. He navigated the many different screens to his email, where he quickly typed his message.
Itachi,
Didn't get as much rest as I'd hoped, so I'm taking tomorrow off. I'm sure you can survive without me another day.
-Sasuke
The laptop clicked as it was closed. Sasuke made his way back to his bedroom to find Naruto still half-awake, looking at him with drowsy eyes still puffy from crying. The moonlight barely lit Naruto's face, just enough to distinctly outline the whisker-like scars Sasuke had just noticed an hour before. Sasuke crawled up behind the blond, pulled the dark blue sheets over their bodies, and wrapped a protective arm around Naruto's waist.
Naruto pressed back against the raven, wrapping his own arms around the one Sasuke had slipped under his head. Not long after, Sasuke heard a soft snore escape Naruto. He leaned down and whispered in his ear.
"It'll be ok. You'll always be safe from now on."
Naruto let out a half-conscious murmur of recognition, sending waves of warmth through Sasuke.
He squeezed Naruto tighter, burying his face in the blond head before finally drifting off to sleep, holding in his arms the first thing that had ever made him truly happy.
Author's Note: Ok, same deal as the other 2 chapters. You review, I put up another chapter as fast as I can get it out