SasuNaru, Yaoi, Unbeta-ed and OOC

Disclaimer: If I owned them, I would make SasuNaru fans crave for more. -smiles-

Author's Notes: Guys, I really appreciate all of your reviews and made an effort to reply to all of them. But if you wish to be spared from nonsense reply, just write it along with your review.

Chapter V: In a moment of anger and pain...

Naruto and his team were on an S-class retrieval mission. The retrieval had been quite difficult leaving his three members slightly injured but they managed to take the figurine made of jade that contained some heavy information. But they had ninjas hot on their heels so to get rid of them all at once, they had set a chakra-triggered explosive tags perfectly hidden around the area. It was a perfectly set-up kill zone. Once their pursuers enters the zone, –"bang!"- and they would be nothing but ashes.

It was perfect but in their quick preparation, one of his members accidentally dropped the figurine somewhere in the kill zone. And 'accidentally' was never and will never be a good thing, especially in their profession. Unable to disable their set-up anymore, Naruto decided to gamble his life as he had more chances of surviving, thanks to Kyuubi.

"Captain!" one of them uttered but the blonde had already entered the zone. After few seconds of searching, he found the figurine and tossed it to his team.

"Captain, what about you?" ANBU as she was, there was a hint of fear in her voice.

"Forget me. Just go." It was an order. And although it was painful, they had no choice but to obey.

The pursuers entered the zone just as Naruto, in full-speed, left. But even with his speed, he still felt the impact of explosion, throwing him off course, hitting his head on the boulder which caused slight blindness. The sound of the explosion caused him temporary deafness. He swallowed back his cries of pain as splinters pierced into him. He knew Kyuubi would have a long night of healing him and he muttered some apology to his already polite tenant.

- Hurry up and get out of here, kit -

Naruto groaned. He didn't feel like moving. He felt wonderful, sprawled on the ground with the sky so blue, clear and high. He closed his eyes, caving in to that delirious feeling in the arms of Morpheus. He was close to that edge when a memory of 4 days ago flashed through him quickly and slowly at the same time.

-FLASHBACK-

Naruto woke up to the smell of coffee that filtered into their room. He looked up groggily and found Sasuke carrying a tray towards their bed.

"Morning, Sasuke" he greeted as he sat up and moved to the side to let his husband sat. He smiled when he saw a sunflower on the tray together with his breakfast.

"Sunflower?" he muttered as he let his lips brushed against Sasuke's left temple.

"Yeah. It reminds me of myself. Just like the sunflower, I follow the sun,"he replied meaningfully.

"Why the breakfast in bed?" Naruto was thoroughly enjoying this new side of Sasuke – sweet and thoughtful.

"Because you are leaving for a one-week mission. The place won't be the same without you."

"But you also have a mission, right?" This time, he held a small piece of bread to Sasuke's mouth and shivered when those sensuous lips brushed against his fingertips.

"It would just take three days," Sasuke replied and with his chopsticks held a bite of fried egg to Naruto.

Without saying anything, Naruto latched his lips onto Sasuke's neck and sucked, leaving a hickey. He kissed the mark and murmured, "I'll be back before that disappears."

"I'll be waiting," was the reply before Sasuke took his lips for a mind-numbing kiss.

-END OF FLASHBACK-

Sasuke's last statement echoed into his mind chasing the sleep away. Deaf, injured and slightly blind, he depended on his demonic instincts to catch up with his team. As agonizing as the journey was, he caught up with them at the Konoha gates where he collapsed in the arms of one of his teammates.

I'm home, Sasuke…

-SasuNaru is love-

Sasuke marched along the hospital hallway. The dark aura he was emanating completely contrasted with the pristine whiteness of the hospital walls and tiles. He walked, his eyes staring ahead, totally deaf to the giggles and whispers of some nurses.

Sasuke hadn't heard the rest of what Hinata had told him but he didn't need it. Just his wife's name, and the trouble he was in was enough for him to head to the hospital with his blood boiling not with lust but with anger. And that anger leaked out when he burst into the room where a now conscious Naruto was tended by Sakura.

"Sasuke!" Naruto greeted, happy to see his husband but all of that happiness was disintegrated and replaced by wariness as he could feel the fury from that lithe frame.

Sasuke should be relieved seeing Naruto was already fine but that even angered him more. It just made him realized how close he was in losing Naruto because of his stupidity. The fear that gripped his heart with that knowledge irked him more.

"What the hell were you thinking?" he demanded in low voice. In anger, Sasuke never shouted. He preferred to speak slowly, his anger making his voice deeper and dangerous. "For Christ's sake Naruto, it was just a figurine. Why risk your life?"

"It was a mission, Sasuke," Naruto meekly reasoned out. He never liked it when the other man was this angry and he twice hated it when he was at the receiving end which was always.

"Fuck the mission," he growled. "More importantly, why do you have to take it personally? You have kage bunshin, remember?"

Yes, he had that but somehow he had forgotten it until it was too late.

"I did remember but I was already inside the kill zone."

The honest reply made the dark-haired ninja more furious. He wanted to strangle the blonde for his stupidity.

"You are more stupid than you are acting to be. You'll never be a hokage which is fine because like everyone, I will not serve a stupid leader." Sasuke knew he said too much when those blue eyes became as turbulent as the ocean with pain. He felt like a heel when tears falling. "Naruto-"

"Go away, Sasuke" Naruto said calmly, very opposite of what he was feeling at that moment. Without another word, he left the room with a soft 'poof'.

Sakura, who few seconds ago was silently worried that Sasuke might burst few veins in his state of anger, looked at him, torn between pitying or scolding him for saying too much. But she partly understood both of her friends' feelings so she remained quiet and watched as her dark-haired friend walked out from the room.

After cooling down, Sasuke started searching for his blonde. Knowing Naruto, he visited Iruka's place.

"Sasuke!" Iruka greeted with a big smile. He knew that when Sasuke was at his door then that would also mean that Naruto was with him. He frowned when he didn't see Naruto or any sign of his presence. "Where's Naruto?"

At this question, the Uchiha knew that his wife wasn't there. At the same time, he was wondering how to answer the question without dying by the hands of this usually sweet-natured teacher in a split of second. To tell him that he had hurt Naruto unreasonably would result to him being skinned alive, rolled in salt and soaked in vinegar. If he'd answer that he had misplaced his wife, which at that moment was true because he could not locate him even in the places he usually frequent to, he would have his bones broken one by one. Obviously, he could not escape his death so he opted to choose for a less painful death.

Iruka looked at Sasuke expectantly while the latter had his mind working at maximum. Since he could not come up with an answer that would entail what he had chosen, he decided to lie even though he knew the teacher would see through it.

"Naruto sends his regards and would like to have you for dinner two days from now," he said and hightailed from there, not even looking back to see the expression on the chuunin's face.

He continued searching for his blonde. He knew he couldn't be in the hanging out with Neji, Lee, Ino, Tenten, Shikamaru and Chouji because they were on mission. He couldn't be with Sakura and Hinata either because they were still on duty at the hospital so that leaves Shino, Kiba or… He shivered thinking that his blonde was spending time with that guy.

Luckily, he spotted Kiba and Shino at the western training ground.

"Have you seen Naruto?" he asked both of them, skipping whatever greetings these guys wanted from him.

Kiba shook his head while Shino answered, "30 minutes ago at the park. He looked sad. You guys had a fight?"

"Nice weather, isn't it?" a voice announced melodiously sparing Sasuke from answering. The Uchiha inwardly growled. He had no time for this guy's teasing and empty smiles.

Sai continued smiling his fake smile out of habit. He wasn't bothered when the Uchiha glared at him in annoyance. He wasn't suicidal but he always liked to provoke Sasuke and he thought that that moment was the best time. "I saw Naruto a minute ago," he stated and his smile widened when the other ninja looked at him with something akin to hope flickering in those black eyes. Now for a hard blow. "He was muttering about applying for divorce." He swallowed the chuckle that threatened to spill from his lips when Sasuke paled before he left the place at full-speed, no doubt towards the administration building.

"That bad?" Kiba asked him and in reply Sai just smiled mysteriously.

The pounding of his heart was deafening as Sasuke raced towards the Hokage tower. He stared ahead with eyes that stung from unshed tears. In his moment of anger of almost losing the blonde in a mission, he had lost him. He had messed up beyond recognition. He was royally fucked. He had to do anything he could to stop Naruto from leaving him. Anything but would it be enough? A new bout of panic burst within him.

"Sasuke," he heard Kakashi said as the latter ran by his side. "Shouldn't you be with Naruto?"

"I am going to him," he replied tersely.

"Well you are going to the wrong direction."

Sasuke skidded to a stop and stared at the silver-haired jounin who stopped also. "He didn't look well to me so I silently followed him."

"And?" the younger ninja almost snapped.

"He's at the training ground of your estate."

Sasuke then zoomed towards the Uchiha estates leaving the jounin who, thanks to the lad's speed, was now sporting a very wind-tousled hair.

Sasuke sighed in relief when he saw Naruto sitting on a boulder. A lone figure looking so desolate that it made him flinched.

"Naruto-"

"I told you to go away!" was the angry reply.

"I'm not leaving. My right place is here with you."

Naruto would have told Sasuke it was very sweet of him but he was so angry and hurt that he just glared at his partner.

"Bastard."

"It's not something new actually." When Naruto started ignoring him, Sasuke panicked. Was this the end? Five months which felt like just a second? Had he completely severed all ties with just those words? For the first time of his life, Sasuke found himself on his knees, pleading for forgiveness. He looked so ridiculously pathetic that Naruto would have laughed; threw himself towards Sasuke and forgave him but he didn't felt like doing those things. Not this time.

Seeing that it was futile, he sat against the rock, staying with his wife although he was an unwanted companion. "I'll stay here with you no matter how long."

Naruto snorted, when a few minutes later, his husband left wordlessly. So much for his words, he thought, rolling his eyes.

If he was completely honest to himself then he would have known that he was guilty for not forgiving the guy when he had thrown his pride by kneeling and God knows how big the Uchiha's pride was but unfortunately he wasn't.

Naruto continued to brood. He was hurt because of Sasuke's words but this was not new because the bastard always managed to hurt him. unintentionally or not. But the verbal attack at the hospital room was unexpected and that hurt more. Naruto looked over his left shoulder when he felt Sasuke's presence once more. This time he had few things with him.

Sasuke had left to get few things, figuring that they'd be staying there all night and god knows until when. He had with him two bowls of Ichiraku's miso ramen, three pieces of onigiri; three canteens each containing hot coffee, tea and cocoa because he didn't know what his love wanted; last but not the least he brought two blankets knowing Naruto would refuse to share one with him. He offered the ramen to his mate, "Go ahead. I'm not expecting anything in return." When the blonde nodded and wordlessly took it, Sasuke went to sit on the ground and silently ate his meal.

The sun had set but they were still not talking which was a first. Their marriage was like any other- they argue and fight. However, as if in silent agreement, they always patched things up before sundown, that was, until now.

- SasuNaru is love -

Naruto woke up in the middle of the night feeling empty; too lonely for his taste and cold that had nothing to do with the cold night breeze. He looked around and found his partner few paces from him, sleeping. He missed him. Silently, he slipped into Sasuke's blanket, draped the other blanket over them then snuggled against his husband's back. He smiled as he felt his warmth.

Sasuke stirred awake and turn around. "Naruto?" he asked, unsure if it was just a dream. "I missed you," he heard the blonde whisper. Staring at those sleepy blue eyes he was about to apologized when he felt soft lips pressed against his. He opened his mouth, meeting Naruto's tongue halfway. When they pulled apart, Naruto was about to apologize but Sasuke silenced him with another kiss.

After awhile, Sasuke asked with a smirk, "So that means you won't continue with the divorce?" Naruto looked surprised and confused that he continued, "Sai said he heard you muttering about divorce."

"I didn't mention anything about it much less think about it, "Naruto, not wanting to cover-up his friend's sick joke this time especially when their marriage was on the life, replied. "I love you, even your faults and that includes your being a bastard, bastard."

The panic and fear that had been constantly growing within him, disappeared as he heard those words. Sasuke wrapped his arms around his wife, pulling him closer. That Sai's joke no longer make him hate him, no, he loathed him now. He swore to break that smiling mask of his with his Sharingan but for now, he would savor the feeling of having a sleeping Naruto in his arms under the star-decorated night sky.

TBC

-laughs sheepishly- I am so sorry for making Naruto as stupid as forgetting his kage no bunshin, after all he always use that jutsu first in any situation. -bows deeply- Sorry. Next chapter would be -looks at the outline- the two going to a mission in which Naruto finds himself in deep trouble when he made a man very interested in him. To complete their mission, he have to give his body to him for one night. And it seemed Sasuke would let him. -kaching!- WHAT! He would!