SO CLOSE TO 400! I can feel it. MMMM. Feeling it. MMMMM. Kay guys, good news and bad news. Good news: 11 DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS BABY! If I started earlier I would be working on a oneshot Christmas collection but you know... o.o BAD NEWS: This story will most likely be completed in one or two more chapters. It all depends on how chapter 19 pans out. But, as always, thank you for your support! For my beautiful reviewers and my beautiful adding-alerters and my beautiful favoriters-ers! If I wasn't so tired from writing I would go on forever but... yeah o.o
Warning: THIS CHAPTER TOOK A MIND OF ITS OWN I TELL YAH! ITS OWN! But I'm happy with how it came out c: Swearing, possible slight OOC? Eh. Such things happen. There's a whole section that's like alskfalfjsafl this just means Narutos' reliving a past event/memory 8D. NBD.
Disclaimer: Every time I do this my soul dies a little... T^T IT'S NOT WORTH THE SCARRING!
YOU BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE! Enjoy chapter 18 (:
Chapter Eighteen: Blazing Glory
+Twelfth Promise+
Naruto was always an early riser. Maybe it was because his dreams no longer captivated his wishes. Or maybe it was just the excitement of knowing when he woke up someone would be sleeping right beside him. He'd be in Sasuke's arms right where he belonged. Naruto smiled. He had always wanted to watch Sasuke sleep. The raven looked serene in his sleep but his grip around Naruto's waist was still very tight.
'He's so cute,' Naruto giggled and brushed a few strays of black hair from his raven's face. The urge to touch Sasuke everywhere attacked him in bursts of heat and adrenaline. Nothing too shameless, of course, just minor touches and caresses that could lead to something more…
"Don't forget about our date. I'll pick you up sometime."
Kyuubi's words attacked Naruto's mind over and over again and he shivered, squirming in Sasuke's grip. 'Why can't he just leave me alone? I should be nothing to Kyuubi now. After what happened,' he shivered again. Blue eyes locked on his raven that was still sleeping peacefully and unknowingly to the inner turmoil swirling within Naruto. A sick feeling pooled inside the pit of his stomach. Naruto slowly untangled himself from Sasuke's grip and walked into the bathroom. Light flooded the room in a warm, pleasant glow.
Naruto gripped on the edges of the sink counter, staring at his reflection in the mirror above the sink head on. His blue eyes had lost a little spark in them—dulled by worry and coated with fear of the unknown… No. It wasn't the unknown anymore. He knew Kyuubi wanted him and would come back for him eventually. Now, it was the links and chains of wonder that would trap his mind and thoughts of when and why.
"I'm scared," Naruto whispered to his reflection. He was pouring out all his fears and anxieties, to see them out in the open and watch them evaporate in puffs of smoke rising in the cold air. "I'm so, so scared." His voice trembled from the truth. "I don't want Kyuubi to come back for me, but I don't know if I have the power to stop him."
The mirror contorted his worst dreams and fears to life. In the mirror he could see Kyuubi cupping his chin in those big, cold hands that would grab him and feel him years and years ago. Last year's memories and scars came alive and burned at every fiber of Naruto's skin. The worst pain, though, was his stomach. It twisted and turned and squeezed—the pain sending bursts of memories about the night when he first got that tattoo.
"Yer gonna look so pretty," Kyuubi cooed. It was dark. It was raining outside. And Naruto's mother was out for a night on the town.
Naruto gulped, his childishly innocent eyes blinking back tears as Kyuubi took another step closer. His first intention was to run far away. But he couldn't. Fear glued him to the spot and Kyuubi's eyes were the ropes making sure Naruto didn't get too far.
"Stop it, Kyuu-chan!" Haphazard waterfalls fell from Naruto's eyes as Kyuubi caught his wrists and slammed him off against the wall. His whole, naked back frosted over with chills from the cold wall
"I always loved it when yah screamed," Kyuubi chuckled breathlessly. His breath was dangerously close to Naruto's left ear and his tongue crept out to play. It licked the outer shell of Naruto's ear, prodding it, and dragged all the way down to Naruto's pulsating neck. "This ain't gonna hurt if yah don't squirm."
But Naruto was already squirming and kicking and screaming. He begged and pleaded for Kyuu-chan to stop whatever joke he was trying to play on him. It wasn't funny anymore. It was damn terrifying.
"Kyuu-chan—" Naruto's protest was cut off by the sound of whirring and Kyuubi's darkly coated chuckles.
"Don't speak. Yah can scream, but don't yah dare speak." He grabbed Naruto by both wrists with one hand and held a tattoo machine in the other. "I was thinkin' of giving yah a nice, pretty swirl like the sun yah love so much."
Naruto was too busy screaming his throat raw to even pay attention to what Kyuubi was saying. He was praying desperately that someone would come down and save him. If it wasn't his mother, than Iruka at least but he livedd a good two hours away. He knew, increasingly well, that no one would be able to hear his screams…
And then the icy needle made its first contact with perfectly unblemished skin…
The blond shook the memory away, realizing that he had cloudy tears coating his eyes. His arms trembled and Naruto doubted he had the ability to form a perfect sentence without his voice cracking right now. Sighing, Naruto turned on the faucet and splashed some warm water over his face.
"It was just a memory, Naruto. It was only a memory. Only a…" his eyes landed on his stomach and all his confidence just dropped. Disappeared. Evaporated. His heart constricted painfully in his chest and his feet refused to move. But Naruto was tired of being scared. Tired of being chained down by what happened. He had moved on, right? Hadn't that whole year of separation from that fiery mass of destruction buried things once and for all? Kyuubi should not have this much of a hold on him anymore.
The bathroom door opened, but Naruto didn't notice anyone entering until he felt a pair of arms slink around his waist and pull him close to a body he knew so well. For a minute—a very brief split second—Naruto thought it was Kyuubi holding him.
"You woke up without me," Sasuke pouted though he knew Naruto couldn't see it. Naruto hadn't replied yet so Sasuke playfully poked his blond in the side—one of Naruto's various sensitive spots—and still got nothing. 'Okay… something's up.' "Naruto what's wrong?"
Naruto refused to look at himself in the mirror. All he would see is a scared little boy afraid to move on. Instead he mustered up the biggest smile he could and whirled around in Sasuke's arms, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend's neck in the process. "Absolutely nothing whatsoever! I just had a terrible dream about the world never knowing the deliciousness called Nutella!"
Onyx eyes looked highly skeptical as they bored into blinking and seemingly innocent blue eyes. He doubted—oh how he doubted—but Naruto was a person who would adamantly defend that they were all right on outside when they were crumbling brick by brick on the inside. So he simply smirked and pecked Naruto on the cheek.
"What a living Hell that would be."
"Wouldn't it? I don't know how I'd survive without God's gift to the world!"
"Oh, I'm sure you'd find something else that's up to par with Nutella."
Naruto scoffed and childishly pushed Sasuke on the shoulder. "That's crazy talk you're spewing! What in the world could be better than Nutella?"
Sasuke answered by pressing his lips against Naruto's. "Me," he answered with that smirk that could send Naruto's knees to jelly.
"Okay. Yeah. You win." Naruto was such a sucker for a few kisses. They shared more kisses under the bathroom light, and Naruto could feel the creepy tendrils of a terrible past slipping away inch by inch from the brightness and warmth Sasuke created within him. His stomach still twisted and turned a little, but his shakiness had finally disappeared.
"If we stand here and kiss all day we'll miss breakfast," Sasuke said.
Naruto's eyes lit up. "Oh yeah! Iruka's making pancakes today!" he tugged Sasuke by the hand and pulled him out the bathroom for the kitchen. "He makes the most delicious batch of chocolate chip pancakes ever!"
Sasuke chuckled softly. He really enjoyed watching Naruto's childish side come out to play—he was absolutely adorable. "I've noticed you have a strange addiction to anything chocolaty."
"You would be right," Naruto and Sasuke entered the kitchen by then. Iruka was busy at work making his famous chocolate chip pancakes and nodded a decent hello before getting back to work. Naruto started to set the table for breakfast then sat down when the naked table was finally clothed. "But I don't like chocolate milk or chocolate ice cream to be honest."
The raven cocked an amused eyebrow, "How can you like chocolate but not like chocolate ice cream or chocolate milk?"
Naruto shrugged and poured himself a glass of milk. "Dunno. They just taste… artificial to me. Nothing compares to the real thing. Milk?" he held out the carton.
For the second time today, Sasuke found himself staring into Naruto's bright blue eyes. He was searching for something—graying lines that would reveal the weaker side of his blond. He couldn't fathom why he needed to find such evidence that Naruto wasn't as okay as he proclaimed to be, and then the scene in the bathroom flashed through his mind again and it made Sasuke want to find that reason even more.
For a brief second, he thought he finally found what he was looking for. And then it was gone and the carton of milk was once again shoved in his face.
"Helllooo! Earth to Sasuke! You there?" Naruto frowned and poked Sasuke in the face with the tip of the milk carton. "If you didn't want milk just tell me! Spacing out is not polite!"
Sasuke scowled and lightly smacked the milk carton away from his face. "I'll take coffee. And I need to ask you—"
"Naruto! I need to know when you plan on going back to school," Iruka walked in—interrupting Sasuke—and set two steaming plates of towering pancakes in front of both boys before sitting down at the table with a steaming plate for himself.
"Awww," Naruto stabbed a pancake with his fork, "couldn't I stay home forever? The couch can be my desk and the TV can be my teacher! And, and, my education would be free!"
"Your education is already free." Iruka raised an eyebrow.
"Well it'll be even freer."
"You're going to school Monday, then." Naruto whined but by then Iruka was too immersed in his morning read (he liked to read a novel every morning rather than the newspaper because he thought it better stimulated his mind) and lost in the world of magical creatures and heroic individuals.
Blue eyes turned towards a certain raven in hopes that maybe, just maybe, he could help. Sasuke took a small sip of his coffee, sighed, and gave Naruto "the look". "Might as well go to school. Kiba's been bitching about not having his favorite blond around and Gaara is acting more unapproachable now that you're gone."
Something inside Naruto's heart burst a little knowing that his friends missed him that much. "Awww, all right! I'll go! But only because I know how annoying it is to listen to Kiba whine like a dog."
Sasuke grimaced, fully aware of Kiba's annoying attributes. "How in the world does he get his voice up that high?"
Naruto shook his head in wonder and scarfed down another pancake. "Dude, I don't even know. Gaara thinks he was fixed or something… I honestly think he's a girl trapped in a boy's body."
+I Promise+
First day back at school and Naruto refused to unlink his hand from Sasuke's no matter what. They were inseparable all the way to Naruto's locker where he was met with the soccer team, Gaara, and even Sakura and Ino (though he doubted they knew why he wasn't here for a full week).
"Oh my God…" Naruto stopped when he saw humongous smiles erupt on everyone's faces. "They're gonna kill us! Every man for himself!" he would have broken out into a run too if Sasuke hadn't rooted him to the spot and allowed Deidara and Suigetsu to tackle him onto the floor.
"You freaking son of a bitch!" Suigetsu wailed. "Who said you could leave school for a week and not tell anyone about it, huh?"
"To make matters we had to hear it from someone else!" Deidara added in.
"Missed you too, guys," Naruto somehow managed to choke out under the crushing weight of both Deidara and Suigetsu. His hand was still connected with Sasuke's—how in the world that happened he didn't know—and he looked up into the face of a very bemused raven. "Mind getting these guys off me?"
"And risk losing a body part?" Sasuke seemed to mull over this for a while before shrugging. "I'd rather not."
"Teme!"
"Hey! Leave some hugging room for us," Sakura placed her hands on her lips and tried her best to look cross—she was failing miserably.
"Bitch calm your tits," Suigetsu snapped back. "This was supposed to be a private meeting between brethren! How dare you come in and taint our meeting?"
Ino rolled her eyes, walked over to Suigetsu and pulled him off Naruto's legs. Then he did the same for Deidara and helped the fallen blond up. "Men these days," she muttered, "absolutely no respect for women at all!" with a softer, brighter smile Ino said, "Glad to see you're back, Naruto! I missed your obnoxious personality in class."
'Didn't even know she noticed me…' Granted anyone would notice the obnoxious kid but Naruto was oblivious to such key facts and simply nodded along. "Thanks, Ino." His eyes connected with brilliant green eyes—the ones he used to fawn over from afar. Now, when he stared into them, his heart no longer threatened to rip out of his chest. There was no rush of adrenaline, no fantasies of intimate touches and kisses. He felt pretty mellow.
And he loved it.
"Hey, Sakura," Naruto smiled.
Sakura looked a little uneasy for a few seconds, but seeing Naruto smile seemed to calm her down. She smiled back, "Hey, Naruto. Welcome back, we really missed you."
"Thanks, Sakura." And he meant it. After that, Kiba and Gaara took their turns humiliating Naruto to his grave and the rest of the soccer team took their chances glomping the rainbow out of Naruto. By and by, it was a wonderful reunion.
"Seriously guys," Sasuke was leering at his brother who was taking extra time to hug his boyfriend (they had to limit it to one minute per person) than necessary, "you act like Naruto was sent off to war or something. And Aniki… if your hands get any lower you'll find yourself without a pair of hands."
Itachi chuckled and lifted his hands up in an "I surrender" sort of pose. "I assure you, my hands had no intention of fondling your boyfriend's ass." The look Sasuke was giving him clearly showed he didn't believe Itachi one bit. Itachi brushed his little brother off and turned his attention back to Naruto. "I do hope you know you'll have to work extra hard during practice. No slacking off. We have a big tournament coming up in the next few days and we need all our players at the peak and beyond their physical capabilities."
'Awww crap,' Naruto could speak Itachi Leader Mode fluently. What Itachi really meant was that he'll be having Naruto run, practice dribbling and shooting, work on conditioning, among other things, until Naruto's legs fell off. Just thinking about practice later today made his legs throb.
Hidan placed a hand on Itachi's shoulder and wagged his finger warningly, "Hey now, Naruto has special reasons for skipping out! Don't be a Nazi, Weasel-san. Besides, if we overwork him too much he won't have any energy left for our big surprise!"
"Big surprise?" was it weird that Naruto's stomach happened to twist into knots at the mention of those words?
It didn't help that everyone's faces—minus Sakura and Ino's—had curled up like the Cheshire Cat.
"Oh, you'll just have to wait till after soccer practice," Kiba sang.
"You're gonna love it!" Suigetsu beamed.
Naruto didn't have a chance to question them further on their cryptic responses because the bell finally rang and they all had to split up in different directions. 'I guess I'll have to wait until later. Though knowing those guys it'll probably be something really sexual or… embarrassing.' Really, sexual and embarrassing were one in the same when dealing with these people.
The couple lingered back a while, watching a few straggling students either dawdle or dash for their first period class.
"You know something about this surprise?" Naruto asked, rubbing his fingers along the ridges and bumps of Sasuke's knuckles.
"Hn," Sasuke hummed.
"Any chance you'll tell me?"
"Not a chance," Sasuke smirked and kissed Naruto soundly on the lips. "Now get to class. I won't be responsible if Jiraiya-sensei gives you detention for being late."
"Oh shit! Damn you Sasuke and your really sweet kisses that you give me! Damn you!" Naruto landed a sloppy kiss on Sasuke's cheek before dashing off to English.
Sasuke leisurely walked to his first period, a dopey smile on his face. It was good to see Naruto so alive and full of energy again. Surely it was a sign of better things to come… right?
+I Promise: Surprise+
"What's with the boxing gloves?" Naruto eyed the bright orange boxing gloves dropped on his duffle bag with suspicion before cautiously picking them up by the string.
Deidara was wearing the mightiest smirk around while he explained to Naruto what the big deal was. "You see, we heard about your little situation and we thought some self-defense would work wonders! That's why we'll be teaching you boxing."
"Well, it'll actually be Juugo teaching you boxing and Pein will help you with some other self-defense techniques," Itachi added.
Naruto stared down at the bright orange boxing gloves, fingering the little lines embedded into the leather with awe. They would seriously go out of their way just for him? The blond smiled, "I honestly don't know what I did to deserve such great friends."
"Easy," Kiba grinned wildly and slug an arm around Naruto's shoulders, "your everybody's little ball of sunshine." He said, ruffling Naruto's spiky blonde locks.
"Also, you're everyone's imaginary fuck toy." Deidara wiggled in there. It was important to share that, you know?
"Hm, congrats Deidara you just earned first rights to be my human punching bag," Naruto winked. And Deidara slightly paled with the realization that he may have unleashed a monster unto the world… all for a good cause.
+I Promise: One Week Later+
Naruto slipped out of his soccer cleats and put on his sneakers. Ripping off his smelly shin guards, he chucked them into his duffle bag and grabbed his worn in boxing gloves. Even after a week they still looked brand new with the exception of a few scratches or marks here and there. The first time he fit on his gloves they felt awkward and huge on him, now they had become an extension of his body and the progress they were making with his training was great!
"I don't think I've ever seen Pein or Juugo talk as much as they do during training than outside the gym," Naruto thought absentmindedly as he threw his boxing gloves over his shoulder, tugged up his duffle bag, and descended up the stairs, out the door, and into the open.
Brisk air brushed and tickled his hair as Naruto stopped to zipper up his hoodie. He was halfway too the gym (it was on the other side of the school) when he heard the familiar sound of a motorcycle engine grinding to a stop…
"Ay there."
Two words. Two, simple, words had the ability to glue Naruto to the spot. Just like that.
Naruto locked eyes with his crimson past. Today, Kyuubi was dressed as a normal human being and not choked up on all leather. A simple blue Henley, black skinny jeans, and leather boots were his attire. He even had his long mane tied up in a ponytail that rested on his shoulders. To be honest, Naruto didn't know what was scarier: Kyuubi in normal people clothing, or Kyuubi in all leather. Both aspects made Kyuubi even more unpredictable.
"Happy to see me? Yah sure do stiffen up a lot, Kit."
"Will you stop following me already?" Naruto narrowed his blue eyes at the man who lazily picked up a piece of red hair from his shoulder and let it drop to the ground. "I swear, you're social life must be in trouble of collapsing if your only hobby is following a teenager around."
"Yer so cute when you get lippy," Kyuubi cooed slyly. Naruto harrumphed and seeing how funny he looked made Kyuubi chuckle and slide up further on his seat. "Yah should already know why I'm here. Yer not that stupid, are ya?"
"I'm not going anywhere with you." Naruto was surprised at how stable and strong his voice sounded. He had no idea where all this confidence was coming from, but he couldn't say he was complaining about it one bit.
The redhead stared at him long and hard, clucked his tongue, and pulled out a spare motorcycle helmet. He threw the helmet at Naruto and it fell on the ground by the blond's feet. "I already planned the date! Don't waste it by being a little bitch."
"What in the world makes you think I'll go on a ride with you?"
Kyuubi shrugged and kicked his motorcycle to life. "Dunno. Maybe because I have something to tell yah about yer mother and if yah don't come with me… well, let's just say regrets are a pain to deal with."
'Something about my mother?' Now Naruto knew every trick in the book on how pedophiles try to pick up children. Offer them candy. Intimidation tactics and simply using force worked. And sometimes they'd act like a family friend. Every warning signal in his mind was warning him that this was a bad move. But this was his mother. And yeah, she abandoned him but she was still his mother!
The woman carried him for nine months—that was a sign of undying love no matter how you looked at it.
Fighting against his better judgment, Naruto bent down and picked up the motorcycle helmet. He shoved his boxing gloves in his duffle bag, threw on the helmet, and climbed onto the back of Kyuubi's motorcycle.
"No funny business," Naruto warned. "I have the cops on speed dial."
Kyuubi chortled and slowly started to drive around the parking lot back towards the exit. "Ya shouldn't make threats if you can't carry them out. They're like promises. If ya can't do them, don't make them."
Naruto glared ice daggers at the redhead's back as they approached the exit. When Kyuubi started getting philosophical it meant business and Naruto really started to wonder if this whole ordeal was over his mother and not Kyuubi's sick attraction with him.
"Hm, wise words. I also remember hearing something along the lines that if someone is not interested in you, you should move on."
Kyuubi threw a glance over his shoulder and for a split second Naruto thought he was going to get smacked. Instead Kyuubi laughed and said, "Ya get funnier by the day, Kit! Now hold on tight. I'm stupid and can't read the speed limits."
More like… he's rebellious and refuses to read the speed limits.
Faster than lightning they were tearing up the road. Naruto was sure he was screaming his lungs out by the frigid air and the roar of Kyuubi's engines. They were sailing down the somewhat empty highway, cities bleeding into trees that finally mixed in with the deep blues and greens and golden yellows of the ocean. How they got to the ocean so fast, and what the hell they were doing there eluded Naruto to no end.
"Here's our stop," Kyuubi cut the engine and climbed off his bike. He didn't look back to see if Naruto was following. Why verify what you already knew?
Naruto got off and the first thing that hit him was the salty sea air. Mind you, it was still freaking cold and Naruto regretted not bringing a thicker coat with him, but somehow seeing the ocean made him feel a whole lot calmer. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see Kyuubi smirk. 'Cocky bastard.'
"So you brought me all the way out here to talk to me about my mother?" they had descended onto the beach, sand squishing between Naruto's toes as he sat down to admire the waves lapping at the shore. Kyuubi was standing beside him with a lollipop in his mouth rather than his customary cigarette. This also struck Naruto was abnormal.
Kyuubi licked his cherry red lollipop a few times before popping it back into his mouth. "No. I actually brought ya out here because I didn't want your annoying bitch to jump out of nowhere." Red eyes sparkled in true delight seeing the fear clutch around Naruto like a suit of armor. "Don't pee yerself, there. I ain't gonna do anything. Just wanted to talk."
"Before or after you rape me?"
"If ya wanna get fucked so badly…" Kyuubi purred.
"No!" Naruto jumped back a good foot and a half. His arms were clutched around his stomach. Shivers rocked through his entire body.
Now, if this were anybody else showing such signs of weakness Kyuubi would have gladly crushed their skull with the heel of his boot. But this was Naruto. And Naruto was special. Oh how he was so, so very special.
"Come on now. I was just joking. See?" he pointed to his crotch, "Totally tamed. Not even popped."
Naruto blinked three times before shaking his head wildly at how painfully blunt Kyuubi could be. "Okay… I really didn't need that. But if you aren't here to force yourself on me then what do you want. It couldn't be that important that you had to drag me all the way to the fucking ocean for this!"
"Ya ask a lot of questions, Kit."
"Don't call me that and answer me straight!"
Kyuubi leered and crossed the distance between himself and Naruto. He bent down to the blond's level and poked him on the forehead. "I don't think I told ya enough so let me say this one more time: Yer. Mine. What gives ya the right to move on to that skinny black-haired chick?"
"Sasuke's a male, just so you know!" Naruto seethed. His stomach twisted and his heart clenched. Kyuubi was way too close for comfort. "And secondly, you don't own me! If anything you just scare the shit out of me but I do not recall once ever agreeing to that!"
"Bitch's name is Sasuke, eh?" Kyuubi said, completely ignoring Naruto's rant if only to throw more spark to the flame. "I don't see why yer complaining. I marked ya. I said Id be back and look… ta da! I'm back."
Naruto growled and threw sand at Kyuubi's face. He was sick and tired of always having to run away from this guy's shadow. He was sick and tired of the fear of the unknown. He hated these invisible chains held down by the mark horribly inked to his body. He was just so… damn… tired.
Kyuubi spit out the sand in disgusting, staring at his now ruined lollipop with disappointment and chucking it out into the sea. He turned to look at Naruto with dead, red eyes. "Ya got a lot of fight."
"I'm tired, Kyuubi. I'm tired of you thinking you own me when you don't! Why do you want me so bad, huh? Huh? Can't you just be happy for me! We were never like this…" by now Naruto's frustration had escaped in tears streaming down his face and his words were getting all jumbled up. "We used to be happy, you know? I fucking looked up to you as a second father despite all your gang shit because you were a great guy! And then… then you had to touch me and everything just down spiraled from there!"
Heavy breathing floated through the air. Naruto's words spilled out and toppled to the ground and left large imprints on the sand. The whole time their eyes were locked. Red and blue clashed together calmly but also violently at the same time. Naruto didn't know if he got through to Kyuubi or not. He was faced with steely red eyes that could flicker from happy to derange to down right furious in a second. One thing he knew was that he didn't regret one word that flew from his mouth. He meant every single syllable.
Finally, the hourglass flipped and Kyuubi spoke. "Does he love you?"
Proper English; it threw Naruto more off balance than the actual question did. "Who?" he asked generally confused.
"Bit—Sasuke."
"Oh…" Naruto thought the answer would take forever to find him. But the right answer was floating through his mind swirling and swirling brightly because he knew… He just knew. The words were never said. But he knew. With a huge smile, Naruto stared back at the ocean waves, watching the sun make love with the sea. "Yeah… he does."
Kyuubi snorted but said nothing more. The sound of waves lapping the shore and distant seagulls engulfed the silence between the two. Bored with the turn of events, Kyuubi stretched out his tired joints and yawned. "I'm not too big on feelings and shit but about the tattoo…"
Naruto raised an eyebrow, "What about it?"
"Did it hurt?"
"Are you an idiot?"
"Answer the fucking question."
"Yes, it hurt. Why are you asking this now?"
"Yer mom and I fought a lot then. I guess I was stressed. Wasn't really thinking properly… Had a fetish for needless then…"
It was like Kyuubi was grasping for straws that were entirely out of his reach. Naruto watched with hidden amusement as the older man scratched at his flawless chin in hopes that maybe, just maybe the words would come out then.
"You're really something else… but I'll forgive you." Naruto said with a cheeky smirk.
Kyuubi was flabbergasted and scoffed several times. "What the hell makes ya think I was trying to say sorry?"
"Ah, you forget we've lived under the same roof for five years."
"Well I wasn't apologizing."
"That's fine. I'll still take it as an apology. Forget and move on, you know?"
The redhead raised an eyebrow of his own, "Funny. Just a couple of weeks ago ya were scared stiff by me. Now we're holding a conversation?"
"A couple of weeks ago I was still caught up. Now… I don't know. I don't want to go through life fearing you."
"Damn," Kyuubi ran a hand through his messy locks. "I get so turned on seeing you scared…"
Naruto shot Kyuubi a look. Kyuubi shot him a waggle of the eyebrows. They both cracked awkward grins. It was weird… the tension between them had disappeared so suddenly it still amazed Naruto how he hadn't flipped out, peed his pants, done something remotely close to his actions a few weeks ago. He was calm and confident. Maybe those boxing lessons were paying off after all?
The blond got up from the sand, brushed off his butt, and stretched. "It's fucking cold out here and I'm getting tired. Can we head back now?"
"I dunno. I thought we could lay naked out under the stars," Kyuubi never knew when to quit. Even when Naruto gave him another look Kyuubi simply shrugged and trudged back to the motorcycle. "Can't blame a guy for trying."
"You really need a hobby," Naruto stated as he sat on the bike and wrapped his arms loosely Kyuubi's waist.
"Haven't we been through this already? Yer my hobby, Kit."
The roar of the motorcycle, and the furious whipping of the chilly wind around them drowned his words out.
+I Promise+
When they arrived back to the school the sky had already started to mix into night colors of blacks and purples and hazy grays and blues. Naruto shivered pulling off his helmet, feeling a very nasty cold claw at him as he hopped off the bike and stepped onto solid ground.
"Can you please pay better attention to the speed limits and warning signs this time?" Naruto pleaded. "You nearly got us killed!"
"Kyuubi stops for no sign, Kit." Kyuubi smirked and kicked his engine back into life. "Besides, yer alive right? No harm done."
"I'm pretty sure you killed my soul."
"Eh. Ya don't need one of those anyways." He looked off into the distance and a slow, sick smirk came onto his face. "Oh look… it's yer bitch."
Naruto whipped around to see Sasuke standing there underneath a street lamp. He was shivering from head to toe even though he was wrapped up to survive Siberia. Sasuke's onyx eyes dug sharp daggers into Naruto's heart and he instantly felt the guilt welling up in his stomach for not contacting Sasuke sooner.
"Don't call him that. He's already pissed enough." Naruto said.
"Oh no. I pissed off the bitch. Whatever will I do with myself?" Kyuubi drawled, leaning on his handlebars. Then a wicked idea came to his mind and he pulled Naruto by the collar and kissed him—long and hard. When they pulled back Sasuke was already there ready to tear out his lungs and throat and… really, any internal organ at the moment.
"That's it. I'm fucking killing you. Don't you dare touch, Naruto!" Sasuke leaned in for the punch but Naruto held him back. His eyes widened in shock, then narrowed in fury, and dulled down in confusion. "Naruto… what are you doing?"
"Saving you from making this a bigger deal than it already is." He could tell Sasuke wanted to say something else but he beat him to the punch. "Kyuubi and I talked. And… things are okay."
"You forgave him?"
Naruto nodded.
"Why?"
"Life isn't about holding on to grudges, Teme. I don't want to grow old, bitter, and living in fear for the rest of my life. Kyuubi has no hold over me anymore. I just gotta forgive and move on."
Sasuke didn't know whether to be incredibly proud right now or insanely annoyed. He chose to be proud. He lowered his arm so he could wrap it around Naruto's waist (yes, he did like to place his status as alpha dog) and locked gazes with Kyuubi.
"He's mine." He shot out. Naruto's face turned cherry red and Kyuubi lazily smirked.
"I'll let ya borrow him for now. Kit's no fun unless he's freaking out." He chuckled and got ready to drive off again he something hit him. "Oh yeah! Kit. I really did want to tell ya bout yer mother though."
"Really?" Naruto asked. "What about her?"
"We're back together," he answered simply.
"W-What?" Naruto sputtered, his blue eyes popping out of his head. "Then what the fuck was all this torment and shit for anyways?"
Kyuubi shrugged. "Dunno. Was bored and wanted more taste of my blond before strapping myself into the committed seat. Don't worry, I'll send ya the wedding invites." He threw up a hand wave and soared down the road yelling, "Peace!"
Kyuubi… was truly something else.
"I can't believe him! All this fucking time he got back with Mom and he—" his rant was cut off by the feeling of Sasuke's lips on his own. He moaned, giving Sasuke the perfect opportunity to slip his tongue in. Their tongues touched, sending electricity up their spines. Naruto wrapped his arms around Sasuke's neck and brought their bodies closer and their little duel for dominance continued under the stars. When they pulled back for air, Sasuke hugged Naruto so tightly the blond was afraid he'd break.
"I hate seeing you with him," Sasuke admitted. The cold air chilled them both but their body heat made everything seem so much better. "I hate seeing him around you. I hate knowing he'll always be a part of your life somehow. You're mine…"
Naruto smiled softly, secretly enjoying Sasuke in such a vulnerable state. It made his earlier words exchanged with Kyuubi appears so much realer.
"Does he love you?"
"Yeah… he does."
"Trust me, I don't think Kyuubi will be coming back for me anymore. I'm all yours, Sasuke. Only yours and yours alone."
"Naruto…" their eyes locked, and Naruto could see the inner conflict flash briefly in Sasuke's onyx orbs. And then… the conflict disappeared and Sasuke smiled. "I love you."
I love you.
I love you.
I love you.
Naruto nearly jumped Sasuke he was so happy. Their bodies lost their balance and the two tumbled to the hard, cold ground. But neither boy cared. They were too busy embracing their heated lip-lock to notice. Naruto must have kissed Sasuke a hundred times over because when they parted Sasuke's lips were all swollen and his face was flushed.
"Say it again." Naruto whispered.
"I love you."
"One more time," Naruto asked.
"I love you."
"… One more time now."
"Dobe," Sasuke chuckled and raked his hands through Naruto's hair. "I love you. I love you. I love you." He whispered into the blond's ear before kissing him soundly again. In his pocket laid a flowery mess of red. It was sitting there in the cold, possibly experiencing the worst crushing of its life, but Sasuke left it there for a while. He could give it to Naruto later. Right now all that mattered was how deliciously sweet it felt to kiss his blond on the cold ground covered by night.
Opinions? Yes? No? :D Next chapter I PROMISE we'll have some smut. I'm sorry you had to wait so long for that. Somehow I always manage to put smut near the END of a fic rather than the middle v.v Maybe it refers back to my personality? (NO WORRIES I'M A VIRGIN) but like... I feel like you don't have to rush it, you know? When it happens it happens :D!
Anywho! See you guys next time! Bring tissue boxes and another pair of pants (;
BABY PANDAS WOOT WOOT!