I did promise to update on Friday, you know... ;D. Guys, I really do love you. I'm sorry I haven't gotten back to replying to some of your reviews! I will get on that tomorrow! Oh, and since Alecksander reviewed twice... he gets to name a baby panda he saved 8D! WOOOT. CONGRATS. NAMING FTW!
Warning: Fluff, terrible humor, uhhh... a tiny dip into the angst paint bucket? Yeah, anything else just strap on a helmet for and prepare for war! Not literally... of course...
Disclaimer: Somewhere over a hill I own Naruto. Thing is that hill's pretty fucking huge.
Enjoy :D
Chapter Eleven: It's all Falling Together
"Bye," Sasuke whispered dangerously close to Naruto's lips.
This would be their fourth kiss of the night.
Naruto's face was severely overtaken by a blush as he met Sasuke halfway. His lips tingled when they connected. He could feel every ounce of emotion Sasuke was trying to convey despite the kiss being so light and timid. When they finally pulled back, hearts hammering loudly and minds tuned to how close the other was, Naruto finally said the last word he reluctantly wanted to voice.
"Night."
And then they shared their fifth kiss.
+I Promise: Hearts and Rainbows+
When Naruto finally entered into his house last night he was assaulted by the new emotions crashing through his body. His legs were shaking, threatening to collapse. His heart had probably exploded more times then considered healthy. And he was pretty sure his face was now forever the color red, pink, and tan.
'Wow,' his fingers brushed his tingling lips, and then he bit his bottom lip. 'So that's what kissing feels like…' he had to admit, he always dreamed of kissing Sakura. Dreamed of having Sakura's body pressed and molded against his. Dreamed of breaking the kiss, only to stare down at her adorable blushing face. Now those dreams were eradicated; wiped clean. All he could think about was the feel of Sasuke's heat trapped around his body. The feel of Sasuke's lips gently coaxing his. The feel of just… Sasuke.
It was pretty amazing.
"Oh hey, you're home." Iruka popped his head around the doorway, a smile on his face as he stared at his son. His eyebrows skyrocketed to his hairline, though, when he noticed something… familiar. "Naruto Uzumaki…" Iruka shook his head and crossed the distance between him and Naruto. He knelt down and placed his hand flat on Naruto's chest, feeling the blond's pumping heart. "Someone's in love."
Naruto shook his head wildly. "N-No I'm not!" his heart denied him by thumping even faster.
Iruka simply smiled. "You don't have to lie. Your heart says it all." Then he pouted. "I can't believe I didn't figure this out sooner!"
"Iruka!"
"Do you mind if I tell Kakashi? He actually wanted to place bets on how long it would take for you to find someone."
"Why would you even place bets on something like that!" Naruto protested.
Iruka jumped over the protest and ran on with his ridiculous, happy-spurred rambling. "So when do I get to meet the lucky guy?"
"What makes you think it's a guy?"
"The roses," Iruka answered bluntly. He chuckled as he watched Naruto's eyes widen in shock and slight shame for never informing his father figure. The brunet merely waved his hand at the matter. "Don't bother feeling bad about it. I'm nosey, so I snooped. And really, I don't think I've met any woman who would send roses to their crush. It's more of a male thing."
The only thing Naruto could do was nod… Tonight was a night of weird awakenings and a lot of momentous moments.
Running his hands through Naruto's golden hair, Iruka sighed wistfully. "It's a great feeling, huh? Love, that is."
Naruto chewed on his bottom lip. "I… don't know. It's way too fast." His mind raced back to his first kiss in the parking lot underneath the dark smoky clouds and burning stars. Another blush quickly conquered his face.
"Most of the greatest love stories happen in a blink of an eye. Take Romeo and Juliet for example."
"I hated that story," Naruto deadpanned. "And they committed suicide in the end."
"For love," Iruka stressed but the look on Naruto's face was telling him otherwise. Sighing, Iruka absentmindedly scratched at the scar across his nose. "Alright, bad example. I get it. Anyway, I'm happy for you. Also, you need to bring this boy to dinner one night so I can interro—I mean, meet him."
The smile on Iruka's face sent vivid shivers up and down Naruto's spine.
+I Promise: Just a Little Symbol+
That night when Naruto was unpacking his smelly and dirty clothes from his duffle bag, blue eyes landed on a flowery mess of red...
He smiled, picked up the rose, and sniffed it.
His heart fluttered.
+I Promise: Let's Adjust+
"So you guys are officially a thing now?" Kiba asked. This time he was pigging out on a cupcake. Who said you couldn't have sugary goodness for breakfast?
Naruto nodded, pulling out his supplies for the day before slapping his locker shut. First thing that happened when he walked through the doors of Kingsway High was that Gaara and Kiba ambushed him. They would not leave until they knew, learned, and had engrained every single aspect of what happened yesterday.
Gaara nodded appreciatively, his back planted firmly against an unused locker door. "About time," he said with a scoff. He was secretly happy for his best friend, but he couldn't let Naruto know that much.
"So is this going on Facebook or what?"
A tiny blush scarred Naruto's cheeks. "You know not everything has to go on Facebook."
"You're right. That's why there's Tumblr." Gaara said.
"What the hell is a Tumblr?"
The redhead rolled his eyes. "You poor, uneducated child."
"Tell me, Gaara!" Naruto nearly whined.
"Google it." and that was that.
"Okay, so you don't have to post it on Facebook obnoxiously for likes or Tumble it for reblogs, but you at least have to put it as your Myspace status." Kiba nodded like his logic made sense—it didn't.
"Dude," Naruto laughed despite how much he wanted to punch his friends in their faces. They really knew how to brighten up one's already sunny day. "No one uses Myspace anymore." True fact—just so you know.
Easy banter floated around the three boys as Kiba was protesting that people still used Myspace—him included. Gaara would shoot down every one of Kiba's ridiculous notions with his sarcastic wit and Naruto would look off to the side every once in a while in search of a certain raven...
"Morning," a familiar voice called. Naruto's face nearly split open in a smile as Sasuke walked up to him and pecked him on the cheek.
"Gah, wait a minute! No PDA!" Really, Naruto was just saying that for appearance's sakes... and because he's silly.
Sasuke shook his head and chuckled. He wrapped a strong arm around Naruto's waist and pulled the blond flush against his body. "Missed you." he said loudly enough so that Gaara and Kiba could hear them as well.
"Can't say I feel the same," Naruto teased.
Kiba gagged, "God, these two are disgusting. If I wanted to see sickening romance I'd watch Lifetime."
"Don't be jealous, Inuzuka. You'll find someone who can put up with your dog breath eventually." Sasuke smirked at his little joke, mostly because it got a chortle out of Naruto and even a small smile from Gaara.
"Why'd you have to pick the biggest asshole ever to date?" Kiba pouted.
Naruto shrugged and blue clashed with onyx. A little messaged was passed between the two—something only they could decipher. Naruto turned back to his brunet friend and smiled.
"It happens."
+I Promise: Sugarcoated Angst+
You know that awkward moment in Life when your older teammate decides he wants to rip your shirt off your body for practice today? Wait, what? That doesn't happen regularly... then Naruto must be a special person. But we'll get to that part later.
As usual soccer practice was anything but normal. The minute Naruto stepped out onto the field he was tackled by Deidara and Suigetsu who wanted to very important things from the blond.
"You freaking son of a bitch!" Suigetsu whined, he had pinned Naruto by the wrists while Deidara had a firm hold on Naruto's legs. "Way to keep your friends informed about your love life!"
"I thought we had something, Blondie!" Deidara wiped away his crocodile tears off his shoulder. "You have one minute to explain yourself before we tickle the shit out of you."
"Ew!" Naruto scrunched his face. "That would be so—Ahaha! Hahaha! G-Guys—" he twisted and squirmed against the devilish fingers attacking his armpits and sides. Waterfalls fell from his eyes along with mini-squeaks and yelps that would jump out his throat.
"Explain!" Suigetsu roared.
"Right now!" Deidara added.
"H—aha-ow in-ha-the world-hahaha-am I-I su-HAAHA STOP—pposed to ex-hahaaa-plain when you're—OH GOD STOP—ti-tickling me?"
Good point...
Suigetsu and Deidara exchanged eye conversation before unanimously stopping their tickling takeover. They didn't release the blond, though. They still wanted answers.
Naruto took the welcoming gulps of airs with fever as he controlled his sporadic heartbeat to calmer levels. Once he was sure his guts weren't in any threat of exploding, he sighed and looked up at his two Sempais.
"Sasuke and I are dating. That's it. Can you let go now?"
Deidara scowled and squeezed Naruto's ankles. "That's not what we wanted! Did you guys fuck? Did you blow him or did he blow you? Where are the juicy details, man?"
Suigetsu nodded rigorously. "Yeah, man! We're happy for you and all but if you didn't get all hot and bothered with Uchiha then I'm gonna lose interest fast."
A horribly adorable blush took over Naruto's face. Really, Deidara and Suigetsu had no awareness of the word 'shame' at all. "Oh my God... just... just stop!" he pleaded. "We've only been dating for two weeks! The only thing we've done is kiss... and hug... and sort of hold hands..." Naruto's face was the color of a rose by now.
"Were there tongues involved?" Deidara asked bluntly.
A part of Naruto died then—probably the best part.
"All right Deidara, Suigetsu," Sasuke appeared in his superhero glory and pried the older blond from Naruto's ankles almost instantly. Naruto's heart hammered obnoxiously against his chest seeing the raven in active wear—a pair of shorts and a formfitting under armor shirt. It wasn't the first time his heartbeat reacted so violently seeing the raven, it was the first time he finally acknowledged it. "You've corrupted him enough. Time to run some laps. I would say around… twenty."
Suigetsu whined like a dog. "Are you trying to kill us?"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. "You act like twenty laps is military work. You've run more than that. Be happy I'm only making you do that much. Now get a move on before I decide to add ten more."
Not without throwing a few more curse words over their shoulders, Suigetsu and Deidara jogged towards their twenty laps of Hell for the day. A satisfied smirk planted nicely on his face, Sasuke extended his hand for his boyfriend…
'Boyfriend,' he thought when their hands linked, 'that sounds nice.'
"Thanks," Naruto muttered shyly. This whole romance thing was pretty new to him, so awkwardness was his constant companion for the past couple of weeks. Their hands were still linked—clasped.
Sasuke smiled and brushed a ghost's kiss against Naruto's flaming skin. "What sort of boyfriend would I be if I didn't help you out when you're in trouble?"
"You like saying that…"
"Saying what?"
"B-Boyfriend," Naruto was a nervous mess today.
The raven squeezed Naruto's hand just a little tighter. "Can't say I hate it."
"Well that's good!" and then Naruto smiled, "I don't hate it either."
+I Promise: Wow, This is Awkward+
Awkward moment of the day: Everyone was running around shirtless except for Naruto.
"Naruto. Strip. Now," Itachi commanded. He had a horde of soccer players behind him, nodding along in agreement.
Naruto gulped. 'Why did I play soccer again?' His hands fiddled with the hem of his shirt. "Uhh… I'm in that awkward age when I'm embarrassed about my body so I think I'll just keep my shirt on, thanks."
Glances were thrown around. No one believed him.
Itachi snapped his fingers, "Hidan," he commanded. Hidan was by his side in a matter of seconds.
"Yes, Weasel-san?"
"Take off Naruto's shirt."
Hidan saluted, "On it!"
"Noooooo!" Naruto screamed, breaking off in a mad dash to get away from the psycho-stripper. He was chased around the field at least ten times before finally being rescued by an irritated raven.
With Naruto wrapped securely in his arms, Sasuke shot off glares to each and every soccer player who had the damn nerve to strip his blond. 'My blond,' he thought with another smile. 'That sounds nice too.'
"Are you a Benedict Arnold, Otouto?" Itachi asked calmly.
Sasuke held back the urge to roll his eyes. "If Naruto doesn't want to take off his shirt then he doesn't have to. Respect his wishes and stop the stupidity."
Naruto was trying to fight back the blush that wanted to overtake his face. 'Sasuke's half naked… and we're hugging,' well, more like protecting but that's pretty much the same thing. His heart couldn't take the intimate contact—it threatened to explode in a bundle of glitter and overpowering emotions. He noticed their closeness, Sasuke's signature smell—dark and tinted in cinnamon. He shivered, but it wasn't from the cold.
"Everyone has to do it," Itachi reminded him. "It's tradition."
"You shouldn't push someone out of their comfort box, Aniki. Besides, sometimes tradition needs to be broken or bended a little."
An epic stare-down between brothers commenced shortly after. Wits pitted against wits. Stubborn bulls ready to tear into one another. And then, finally, Itachi relented—reluctantly of course.
"Fine, Naruto can keep on his shirt. But I'm putting you both on one hour of our full conditioning routine, got it?" Sasuke nodded and Naruto followed suit shortly after. "Good, now head up to Field 15 and meet us down here in an hour."
As Naruto and Sasuke jogged up to Field 15, Naruto couldn't help but pass glances towards the toned… shirtless… raven. He gulped. 'I have the urge to touch him…' touch him everywhere. Mark Sasuke's skin. Claim it… Naruto shook his head wildly. They had stopped by the goal box and Sasuke had started to stretch out his calves. 'Not even a month and I'm having dirty thoughts,' he slammed his forehead against the goal post. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid—'
"Naruto?" Sasuke cocked an eyebrow, watching his blond slam his head against the goal post. Naruto turned his head around slowly…
"Ahhh…"
Sasuke broke out in bubbles of chuckles, clutching his naked sides as he walked up and brushed a kiss on the blond's forehead. "Don't tell me you're trying to get rid of some dirty thoughts…"
"N-No!" Naruto huffed, blue eyes refusing to clash with onyx. He could hear Sasuke snort. Their bodies were rather close. On impulse Naruto wrapped his arms around Sasuke's waist and pulled him close. He buried his blushing face into the crook of the raven's neck. "Thanks, though. For what you did back there."
A shiver jumped up and down Sasuke's spine like an elevator gone haywire. He returned the embrace then pulled back, pushing Naruto away at arm's length. His eyes said "Thank you" but there was also a lingering question that needed to be voiced.
Nimble fingers gently brushed and whispered along Naruto's clothed stomach. Sasuke could feel the tiny sets of abs there, the constricting of Naruto's stomach, and the chill that danced up the blond's spine from the contact. "Your uneasiness… what is it about your stomach that you don't want to show?"
The bluntness of the question didn't dull down the emotions Naruto could feel dripping off those words—the worry, the propensity, and comfort. His eyes unconsciously fell to his clothed stomach, what was hidden beneath so a thin layer shot out from the shirt—the image already burned in his head. Naruto slowly shook his hand and grasped Sasuke's fingers. 'I can't tell him,' he thought with dread and guilt stabbing his mind. 'Not yet…'
As if reading Naruto's mind, the raven placed a kiss on those trembling lips. Soft and sweet at first, but it soon turning dangerously passionate as a tongue slipped into Naruto's mouth and started to lay claim on that delicious cavern.
The blond's knees buckled, such powerful sensations being too much to bear. When they finally broke apart, a thin strand of saliva connecting their lips, Sasuke melded their bodies together and rested his forehead against Naruto's.
"It's alright. You don't have to tell me now." He smirked, rubbing lazy circles on Naruto's lower back. "But I will want to know eventually."
Naruto sighed, though a smile fought its way on his face. "I'll tell you one day, Teme, but you're going to have to earn it."
I hope this chapter was up to your expectations! And yes, we are dipping into a little angst but it won't be major! I assure you, I'm still deciding what to do with this new twist in the plot, though... SO YEAH! I'm going to torture you all and update next week (once chapter 12 is done 8D) haha.
One day, a baby panda was walking down the street. It took a wrong turn, and disappeared off the face of the Earth. However, all is not lost. One review can rescue a kidnapped baby panda. Let us take them off the endangered speieces list by reviewing...
(Why yes, I do have fun with this 8D).