Three times Sasuke didn't wear a forehead protector, and one time when he did.

Rating: M (please note change of rating)

Disclaimer: I don't own, you don't sue.

Pairing: NaruSasu. Or SasuNaru. Or both. They're trying to figure that out.

Warning: spoilers for recent issues of the manga.

AN: Did I say the bunnies were rabid? That was an understatement. The bunnies are totally insane. I might actually be going somewhere with this. I guess we'll see. One word of reassurance – although this is my first Naruto fic, I've written fanfics before, and I've never left one unfinished.

AN2: Big thanks to the fantabulous Kantayra for the beta'ing, for getting me into this fandom and for writing lovely serious stories and hilarious crack!fics.

AN3: Big thanks to everyone who cared enough to review.

…

Kneeling behind his barely-open door, Sasuke peered into the hallway, waiting as silently as he knew how. A handful of minutes passed before a door slid open with a whisper and closed again. Slow steps moved down the hall, just like Sasuke had expected. He listened carefully, waiting until Itachi had turned the corner, then quickly stood and slipped out of his room. He tiptoed down the hall – he was supposed to be asleep, after all, and his mom would be upset if she found out he wasn't in bed – and very quietly entered Itachi's bedroom.

He didn't dare turn on the lights as he looked around in the darkened room. The curtains weren't fully drawn, and the moon gave him enough light. He just had to hurry and find it before Itachi returned. No doubt he had gone for a glass of water, as he did every night before bed, leaving behind…

"Yes!"

Too late, Sasuke covered his mouth with his hand and froze, certain that someone would have heard. No one was coming in to scold him, however, and he let out a relieved sigh before stepping to the bed. Itachi's forehead protector was by the pillow, the cloth folded neatly beneath the metal band. Sasuke picked it up with trembling hands, glancing back nervously toward the door. It wasn't as though he were stealing it, he told himself. He just wanted to try it on, just to see what it felt like.

It was heavier than he had expected. The metal was smooth beneath his fingers, cool. He followed the leaf design with a finger, yearning for a forehead protector of his own. In two years, maybe, or even next year if he worked really hard, he would earn his. And then—

"Sasuke? What are you doing?"

He looked up to see Itachi walk in, frowning slightly at the forehead protector in his hands. Too late to hide, now.

"Brother, I… I just wanted…"

A thin smile pulled at Itachi's lips. He stepped forward and held out his hand. A little ashamed, Sasuke looked down at his feet and gave him back the forehead protector.

"What did you want?"

Sasuke's cheeks burned in embarrassment. "I wanted to look at it more closely. I promise I was going to put it back."

"I see. Look at me, Sasuke."

Sasuke looked up, both afraid that Itachi was upset and a little hopeful that maybe, if he wasn't, he'd let Sasuke try the forehead protector on. Instead, Itachi did that annoying thing again – he poked Sasuke's forehead with his fingers.

"Ow!"

Sasuke rubbed at his forehead and glared at Itachi, who just kept smiling.

"You'll get your own soon. Off to bed, now."

Only when he reached the door did Sasuke realize what Itachi had said. He looked back at him with wide eyes.

"Brother? You think…"

"Soon," Itachi repeated. "Work hard."

Sasuke nodded and, smiling, returned to bed.

…

"I want to see Orochimaru."

Kabuto clucked his tongue in disapproval. "You'll have to start showing respect to your new sensei, Sasuke-kun. You are his guest, after all."

As he spoke, he didn't slow his pace or look back to see if Sasuke was still following him. Sasuke's fists closed. He felt insulted that the man thought so little of him that he didn't consider him a threat. He doubted attacking Orochimaru's pet on his first day would help him much, however.

"If I'm his guest," he asked, gritting his teeth, "why can't I see him now?"

Kabuto's voice was almost pleasant. Sasuke wanted to punch him more and more.

"You've had a long trip, that's why. Surely you want to rest before you see Orochimaru-sama. That first meeting will be very important for you."

There was just a hint of laughter in those last words, as though Kabuto were enjoying a private joke. Sasuke didn't like people laughing at him and if Kabuto kept it up—

"There you are." Kabuto opened a door, no different from a dozen other doors they had passed so far in the maze-like corridor, and preceded Sasuke in, flipping the lights on as he did. "This will be your room. No one will enter without your invitation."

Somehow, Sasuke had trouble believing this. After all, Kabuto was there, and Sasuke certainly hadn't asked him in. He looked around dispassionately. The room was small, windowless, but that was to be expected since they were underground. A bed, a desk and a clothes chest were the only pieces of furniture. On the side of the room, an open door revealed a small washroom.

"I'll leave you to get refreshed," Kabuto said, still smiling too much for Sasuke's liking. "Be ready in a couple of hours to meet Orochimaru-sama."

The door latch clicked with a very ominous sound behind Kabuto. Sasuke took a deep breath. This was it. There was no turning back now. He had betrayed his village and—

He stopped that train of thought before memories could come forward. He had known exactly what he was doing when he had left Konoha. His ties to his clan, his need for revenge mattered more than any other bond he had forged or broken.

He didn't know if he could sleep in this place, even as tired as he was, but lying down at least would help. He changed his mind before he reached the bed. Blood, sweat and dirt clung to him and to his torn clothes. He'd clean up first, then. Make himself presentable for his new 'sensei.'

A few minutes later, he was standing by the chest of clothes, peering in with mild disgust. They had to be kidding. There was no way he'd wear those. He'd rather go naked than… He grimaced as Orochimaru's image flashed through his mind. Maybe not naked, then. Scowling, he reached in and pulled the clothes out. He tried not to think too much as he put them on, and tried not to dwell on the fact that he'd look like any other of Orochimaru's cronies. He'd do something about that as soon as he could. At least, he hoped the clothes would be taken as a sign of good will. He doubted he could fool anyone into thinking he was happy to be there, not after—

He forcefully closed his mind to the memories yet again and reached into the chest to pull out the forehead protector that had been left for him. He looked at it for a few seconds, tracing the engraved symbol of Sound with a finger. It felt wrong under his touch, alien. It'd feel even worse if he put it on. Without a second thought, he returned it to the chest and closed the lid.

He may have betrayed his village and his friends, but he wasn't ready to betray who he was yet.

…

Sasuke had known this time would come. Of late, he had also started counting on it. It was, after all, why he had sent away Hawk. He had known he would need to be alone for this one fight – alone, save for their hidden audience.

"I know Itachi's dead, Sasuke." Just yards away from him, Naruto's eyes were blazing. "He's dead, so now you've got no excuse. You're coming home."

"Home?" Sasuke repeated, laughing to himself. "What home is that?"

Naruto's fists clenched and opened again. He took a single step forward, coming out of the shadows. Sunlight reflected off his forehead protector. The gleam caught Sasuke's eyes and he brought a hand to his own forehead, disguising his movement at the last second by pushing his bangs out of his eyes.

"Konoha is your home," Naruto said, all too predictably. "I'm taking you back with me."

Home… If only it were so simple still...

Sasuke pushed a hard smile to his lips. He had to play this one just right. "And what if I don't want to go home? What if I've got other plans?"

Even without the sharingan, Sasuke could tell that Naruto was gathering massive amounts of chakra. They'd both learned new tricks since their last encounter. It didn't matter, though. Sasuke knew already how this one would end. Still, he had to play the game and be convincing. Before Naruto could reply, he formed the first seals.

…

When Naruto woke up for good a few hours later, he was a little surprised to find that Sasuke was still there, now warm and relaxed against him. It was strange, but he didn't think it would be too difficult to get used to it.

He tried not to move. He didn't want to wake Sasuke, not until he had figured out what came next. He winced at the thought. His body had very definite ideas on what should come next – or at least who. Very carefully, he started shifting his lower body away from Sasuke's even though closer would have been a lot nicer. He wasn't too sure how Sasuke would react if he woke up to find—

"Don't get any ideas, dead last."

He gave a start at the quiet words, the amusement in them adding to his surprise.

"Wha…what do you mean?"

Sasuke pushed his ass back against Naruto's erection. Naruto gasped, then bit his bottom lip. This was not helping at all.

"I mean," Sasuke said, turning over to face him, "that I'm not going to let you fuck me."

There couldn't have been more than a couple of inches between their faces. Captivated by the small upturn of Sasuke's lips, so small it could barely be called a smile, Naruto didn't immediately process his words. When he did realize what Sasuke had said, his eyes widened and he stared at him. If he didn't intend to let Naruto… that meant he expected that Naruto would…

His cheeks now feeling as though they were on fire, Naruto gulped. "Listen, I think we should—"

The small roll of Sasuke's eyes was in no way an adequate warning, and Naruto let out a little undignified yelp when hard lips suddenly covered his own. He barely had time to wonder if he had morning breath before Sasuke's tongue swept in, sliding and caressing and pressing against his own until he stopped panicking and started kissing back. He closed his eyes. There would be time for thinking later, and for arguments if it came to that. He cupped the back of Sasuke's head and pulled him a little closer. And if arguments still didn't make Sasuke see reason, they could always fight it out. Naruto would win this fight too and—

His eyes snapped open and, once again, widened as far as they could go. Sasuke had done it again. Just like hours earlier, he had moved too fast for Naruto to even know what was going on until he was in the center of the bed – beneath Sasuke. His heart suddenly jumping in his chest, he broke off the kiss.

"Stop! Wait! Wai… oh…"

Sasuke did stop, and even leaned back so that he could frown at Naruto. Doing so, he pressed their hips – and their erections – closer together.

"What's wrong now?" Sasuke hissed.

What indeed, Naruto wondered, blinking furiously. This, even with the double layer of clothes between them, already felt really good. What would it be like, skin to skin? Or even—

He shook his head to chase away the image his treacherous mind had just conjured.

"Naruto?" Sasuke asked, now sounding a little worried. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said quickly, swallowing hard. "We're just… going a bit fast?"

The frown disappeared, soon replaced by a raised eyebrow. "Don't tell me you're scared."

"Of course not!"

He pushed his hips up as though to prove he wasn't. The movement drew a quiet moan from his own lips, but he didn't regret it, not when Sasuke's eyes narrowed for just a second.

"I still fail to see the problem," Sasuke said, pressing down again.

This time, they both moaned.

"Not… a problem," Naruto panted. "Just keep doing…"

He thrust up again as though to demonstrate. Sasuke lowered his body on top of his, burying his face in the crook of his neck, and started rocking against him. Between them, their cocks were pressed tight together. The sensation was incredible.

"'Stop', 'wait', 'keep going'…" Each word was a caress against Naruto's skin. "Make up your mind already, dead last."

He mouthed Naruto's neck, sucking hard. Naruto trashed beneath him and ran his hands over Sasuke's back, trying to pull him even closer. He closed his eyes and arched his neck, giving Sasuke more room.

"Bastard," he mumbled.

Sasuke's answer was a particularly hard thrust. Naruto gasped, and tried to push back just as hard. Sasuke went rigid against him for a brief moment before doing it again, and again. Naruto distantly felt his toes curling.

"Sasuke… slow down… not going to last…"

"Good." Sasuke grunted. "Me neither."

Indeed, it didn't take much longer for either of them.

Afterwards, when Sasuke lay trembling on top of him, his breath coming in short pants against his neck, all Naruto could think of was what Sasuke had told him, in the small hours of morning.

I'm not going to run off again.

Simple words, but they still echoed through his mind.

When Sasuke finally rolled off him and sat up, Naruto had to fight his own instinct to let him go rather than tighten his arms around him.

"Where are you going?" he asked, keeping the disappointment out of his voice.

Even though Sasuke had his back to him, Naruto heard his eye-roll loud and clear.

"To get cleaned up. You don't plan to spend the day in bed, do you?"

The words stirred something inside Naruto. He hadn't actually thought about it, but now that Sasuke mentioned it, the idea was… interesting. Sasuke threw a glance back at him when he didn't reply and chuckled as though he'd known exactly what Naruto was thinking.

"Your Hokage said she wanted us back in her office today, didn't she?"

Naruto sat up on the bed and frowned. "Yeah, but she said after lunch. We have time."

"Actually, if you plan on having lunch, we'll probably be late. It might save time if we shower together."

With that, Sasuke entered the bathroom, and Naruto was left to stare at the door, wide-eyed and blushing. He shook his head and tried to get his thoughts back under control. Was it really that late?

Grinning like an idiot for no reason, opening his eyes as wide as they would go as though he'd see better that way, blushing like a schoolgirl, losing track of time… He might have Sakura run a medical check on him the next time he saw her; his last fight with Sasuke had to have messed up his head or something.

He was still staring at the door when Sasuke returned, dressed in the same wide pants and open shirt he had left in the bathroom the previous night. Of course, Naruto thought. Tsunade's guards had kept everything Sasuke had brought in town, from the clothes in his backpack to his sword. At least he had given up on the purple rope. That had just been too—

Only when Sasuke stopped talking did Naruto realize he had zoned out. "Huh… What?"

Sasuke sighed. "I can't even claim I fucked your brains out, can I? I said, do you plan on sitting there all day?"

With a glance at the clock, Naruto leapt from the bed and hurried into the bathroom. He returned, minutes later, wearing only a towel.

"Forgot my clothes," he mumbled, acutely aware of Sasuke's eyes following his every movement.

He managed not to flash Sasuke as he dressed, although he was rather certain he caught a flash of red in his eyes when, decently dressed, he looked at him.

"Pervert," he accused.

Sasuke smiled. "You didn't seem to mind earlier."

Naruto hid his embarrassment by turning away again under the pretext of picking up his forehead protector from the dresser.

"I didn't," he muttered, very quietly, then glanced at Sasuke to see if he had heard.

Rather than looking at his face, Sasuke's eyes followed the movements of his hands as Naruto tied up the cloth at the back of his head. His smile and good mood were gone, replaced by an all too familiar blank expression.

"What's the matter?" Naruto asked, taking a few steps toward him.

Sasuke's gaze remained on his forehead. "Just thinking… I haven't worn one of those in a while."

"Oh! Wait!" Naruto hurried back to the dresser and opened the bottom drawer. He searched for only a few seconds before pulling out a bit of cloth and metal he'd always hoped to return to his owner. "Here!" he said, handing it to Sasuke with a large smile. "Recognize it?"

Sasuke looked at his forehead protector in his hands. If anything, his expression became even grimmer.

"Fitting," he said blankly as he tied it around his head. "I'm a missing-nin, after all."

It was only when Naruto looked at it that he saw, and remembered. He'd forgotten about the scratch that ran across the leaf symbol. All he had remembered was that he had this little bit of Sasuke with him; how and when he had acquired had ceased being relevant a long time ago.

Without thinking, he reached behind his head and tugged the knot loose.

"Trade you," he offered.

Sasuke didn't move. "Why?"

"Because you're not a missing-nin, and if anyone even thinks of calling you that they'll have to deal with me."

Long seconds passed in silence before Sasuke removed his forehead protector and took Naruto's instead. He nodded once, and Naruto knew it was a thank you. Feeling strangely self-conscious, he started for the door.

"Let's go," Naruto said. "We're already late, so we might as well stop for ramen."

"Your treat."

"Ah ah! You're admitting you're the girl!"

Sasuke snorted. "All I'm admitting is that I have no money. And I see your eating habits haven't gotten any better."

Three times, on the way to the ramen stand, Naruto caught Sasuke bringing a hand to his forehead. He wasn't too sure why his stomach tightened every time. He had to be hungrier than he had thought.