Hello again! I'm sorry that this took so long. I just...well, there really isn't an excuse. But I promised that I would finish my stories and I will. I am currently working on the second chapter for Men are From Mars, so you can expect that to come up soon.

Thank you to all my reviewers! I love you all, even though I didn't keep track of you all this time. I will go back to my personalized thanks next chapter, I promise. You all are the bomb!

And, props to my Beta: Rikado. Thanks for taking time out of you busy schedule to look over my work. :)

Off to Neverland!...

Chapter_16: Hints

"Suigetsu are you sure that you weren't followed?" Karin gasped, arching into the delicious lips that teased the hollow just behind her ear. Curse this man who turned her into such a quivering mess. After nearly a year of exclusive sex, the blond man knew entirely too much about how to make her weak and moaning. Though, she knew a fair amount about his little secret places as well. Turnabout, after all, fair play in love and war...although maybe she was mixing her metaphors.

The blonds husky laughter rumbled through her, as his big hands slid down her arched spine. "I'm always careful Karin, besides, who would want to watch us screwing around? All…night…long…" Every word was punctuated with a nipping kiss down her neck.

The redhead purred and ground her hips down on her secret lover's thick arousal. She loved this man's cock, the way that it filled her up so good, almost to bursting every single time that they got the itch. It was incredible. He was incredible. And he tried. That was the most unbelievable part about it all. Suigetsu always made sure that she got hers before he let himself go, even four or five times if he was feeling generous on a particular occasion. He would never admit to being so kind a lover. In fact, every time Karin had mentioned it, Suigetsu would always stiffen and mumble something about only being able to stand her screaming at him when she was getting off. But that was just tripe and they both knew it. The redhead would never tell a soul, though. Who would believe her? It didn't matter anyway. Because every time she and Suigetsu were together…she felt herself falling just a little bit farther in love with the irascible gunman. That too, would remain her secret.

"Tell me what do you want tonight?" Suigetsu growled; gripping her hips so he could grind her more fully into himself, showing his slut just how ready he was for her tight wet heat. "How do you want it?"

"I would like some answers."

Both gang members stiffed in surprise. Without warning, Karin was dumped unceremoniously onto her butt when the blond sprang off of the couch, grabbing for the large handgun he'd left on the coffee table.

"And as far as how I want them, I prefer my answers straight if you don't mind."

Suigetsu's fingers closed around the 30 caliber and swung it up to bear. "Like Hel-" The moment his eyes focused on the source of that voice the exclamation died on his lips. He managed to keep the muzzle of his weapon pointed towards the lone figure framed in Karin's open window, but it was all for show. He had experienced Kyuubi's speed firsthand and he knew that if the man wanted him dead, he would be already. He'd even lay odds that the guy could probably dodge his bullet too.

From her position on the floor, Karin whined and turned to get a look at the interloper. Suigetsu knew the instant that she spotted the masked man; she stopped making noise.

"Sorry babe," He grinned. "I guess that I was followed after all."

Kyuubi chuckled, that same one that Karin had heard all those nights ago, the same one that still gave her night terrors. It was exactly the same as before. It had lost none of its power. She felt blood run cold under skin that had been prickling with heat only seconds before.

"What do you want?"

The superhero lounged back against the windowsill, completely at ease despite the fifty caliber pointed squarely at his chest. "I came because I need to talk to your boss."

"That's it?" Suigetsu was skeptical.

Kyuubi spread his hands wide. "You'd prefer if I'd come to bump you and your lady friend off chump? I have no reason to lie to you."

That was true enough, the bleached blond supposed. The guy had no reason to hold back questions; there would be no point to it. One good thing about this business was that if someone wanted something from you, you didn't have to spend time playing twenty questions with them. The down-side was, if you didn't know how to push your cards right, you never moved to the next round.

"Say that I get you a meeting with my Boss, what happens then?"

"Suigetsu!"

The young gunman ignored the woman on the floor. He knew what this Kyuubi was capable of, but he knew the man he worked for. If there was anyone that could handle this guy, and had already handled him, it was Uchiha Sasuke.

Kyuubi put his head to one side, like he was playing coy. "When you give me what I want, I'll leave you and your…lady love to continue with…playtime." The amusement in the man's voice was plain and Suigetsu bristled at the tone. Well, that and the fact that he had said 'when' not 'if'.

"Even if I'm willing to get my Boss for you, and I haven't said that I am, what do you want with him?"

"I'm not after his head if that's what you're asking."

The statement was matter-of-fact and held no room for deception. Suigetsu believed him. Not like you could score it if you were trying. The bleached blond thought with some triumph. Sasuke wasn't Boss Hebi because he dressed so nice. That man was a tried professional and wicked deadly. There was no way that even this guy, with all his speed and super whatever, could beat Suigetsu's employer.

"Fine," The gunner put his weapon down and cross the room to where his jacket hung on an old-fashioned coat stand. Karin had found the stupid thing online, said it reminded her of the ancient black-and-white movies or something like that. He gingerly fished his phone out of one pocket and pressed the speed dial just in case. If Kyuubi could keep track of numbers punched in a keypad, he didn't want to be the one explaining to Sasuke, just how the guy had gotten a hold of his own personal number.

The phone rang once before Sasuke picked up.

"Speak,"

"Yo, Boss," The bleached blond tried to sound as casual as he could. He didn't make it a habit to call his employer in the middle of the night for the simple reason that he was either asleep or…otherwise occupied during the dark hours. He hoped that Sasuke would be in a good enough mood to overlook the odd timing of the phone call and the…motivation behind it.

"I've got a guy here that wants to have a one-on-one with you."

The answer was not immediate and Suigetsu could feel the seconds of his soon to be short life trickling away.

"Tell him that I will meet with him tomorrow."

"Will do Boss," Suigetsu replied cheerfully, thankful that Sasuke seemed to be in a rarely magnanimous temperament. His elation, however, died a swift death the instant his gaze fixed on the superhero across from him. Kyuubi shook his head and said one word: "Tonight,"

Chikushou…

"Um, Boss…"He was going to die tomorrow. Suigetsu knew it; he could feel the Uchiha's mounting frustration over the phone. And it would not be a pleasant death…oh, no… The Uchiha was preparing something tailor-made for him right now. Maybe he would be staked out on top of a building and left there to dry out, alone with only his bodily fluids to keep him company until he died. The bleach-blond suppressed a shudder. "Actually, this guy really needs to talk to you tonight. It's um, pretty important and stuff-I really think that you should talk to him. I mean this Kyuubi guy is being decent and trying to set up an appointment with you so in the interest of keeping good relations, I thing that we…I mean, you, um...listen to what he has to say."

The pause was longer.

"I will be waiting on top of 'Sound'."

"Yeah, Boss," Suigetsu snapped the phone shut and turned. "He said-" But the window was empty, nothing moved but the sway of cream colored curtains. Kyuubi had heard and he was on his way.

The blond gunman felt a shiver go down his spine as he faced his lover, still sitting on the floor.

He was going to die tomorrow for sure.

.:xXXx:.

It was déjà vu. Here he was, in the middle of the night, on the top of a cold, windswept building, alone, waiting for Konoha's famed protector to pay him a visit for the second time in less than a week. But he was by no means 's unprpared. Suigetsu's advanced notice had given him time to don his concealing 'street rat' attire and Sasuke could feel the outline of his personal sidearm, 'kusanagi', digging into the small of his back. If Kyuubi had come to sever the ties he had with Hebi, then the raven was equipped to deal with the situation.

Like the time before, the shadows were advantageougly placed to hide him further. And the time before, it was the slightest noise from behind that warned him.

"That's far enough."

"Oh dear," The superhero's laugh was mocking. "It seems that I've been caught again."

"You have one minute." Sasuke wasn't in the mood to play games with the superhero. Kyuubi had picked a bad night to try being cute.

"Someone's testy tonight."

"Fifty seconds."

"Hm," The noise Kyuubi made was decidedly displeased. But the man hid it well under a blanket of mock horror. Apparently he had been hoping for a little more verbal repartee on the part of Boss Hebi. As Sasuke had said before: the man picked a bad night for this meeting. At last, it seemed Kyuubi realized this, because when next he spoke, his voice was clipped and business-like.

"As much as it irks me to ask a puny man such as yourself, I've reached a point where I can't go any farther on my own."

The raven said nothing. Kyuubi had uttered no great revelation which warranted a response.

"No one's talking, not a soul. Even the professional informants are unusually close-lipped about what they know or they've disappeared entirely."

Sasuke fought hard not to snort in disgust. This conversation was going nowhere. If the man had come to whine to Sasuke about his problems, he was glad that he had given the one minute time limit. "Thirty seconds."

"I need information." Kyuubi growled. "You, I hear, have made it your business to be well informed. I've been told that you are the man who knows everything."

Besides your true identity. The Uchiha thought despondently. But that admission would never be voiced aloud. It was only a matter of time before Sasuke uncovered the man's alter ego, the one he could manipulate and threaten and use to his fullest potential. He found that he was quite looking forward to that day.

"I need to know everything that you know, every scrap, every rumor and tidbit you have ever found out about Akatsuki."

"I've already given you a hint." Sasuke said, smirking. "Surely with your 'superior intellect' you used it to discover whom you sought?"

"The hint you gave me was helpful." Kyuubi growled, as if admitting that was tantamount to revealing that he was really a stripper for a gay bar. "…maybe if you could give me one more?"

The minute was well over when the Uchiha responded at last. He spoke with infinite slowness, as if he were weighing each word before he allowed it to pass from his mouth and into the air. "Suigetsu would have died if not for your…timely intervention yesterday night. It seems as though I owe you a favor."

Kyuubi arched an eyebrow. "Is that a yes?"

"Give me 24 hours to compile the data. You may have the file then."

The superhero nodded his accent before a roguish gleam lit his eyes. "That sounds fine. I'll see you tomorrow night then…Lord Hebi."

And then Sasuke was alone.

The meeting had gone well enough to suit him. Kyuubi had not threatened to break away from Hebi or intimidate Sasuke with idle words of impending doom. The man wanted something and he asked for it an annoying, but not a disgusting amount of bothersome foreplay.

It was fortunate for the superhero, however, that Sasuke owed him that favor. Breaking in a whole new lieutenant would not have been a pleasant task, if the raven had actually found someone qualified to suit his long-term needs. He had not in all actual honesty, anticipated Kyuubi calling in that favor…at all.

But the deed was done and with less damage done to his pride than he would've estimated. In less than 24 hours, the superhero would have the information he desired and Sasuke would owe him nothing. Just as it was meant to be.

The brunette tilted his head up to look at the sky. Thin filaments of grey had crept a fair ways across the bleak black sheen of night. Dawn would be upon them soon, chasing away the all-encompassing darkness which covered the sins committed below his feet in the filthy streets.

He would have to compile that file before the end of the day. He also needed to discipline Suigetsu for the second time in 24-hours, not a promising omen for his lieutenant's immediate future. If the gunman continued to show this level of incompetence he would have to be reminded of the standard Boss Hebi required of those under his employ. Sasuke made no bones about…re-sharpening tools when it became necessary.

His cell phone buzzed. It would be Karin, Sasuke thought. Suigetsu wouldn't risk calling his boss so soon after even a minor transgression as this. Karin, however, was significantly less conscious of her own ill-favored position and would be glad to call for the man she fancied herself in love with.

His jeans continued to vibrate angrily as he ignored the call.

A surge of apathy overtook the raven and he discovered that he had no desire to deal with Hebi at the moment. He found instead that his thoughts were turning, as they had begun to with increasing frequency, to the blond man he had been pursuing.

Sasuke coolly wondered if Naruto was recovered, enough to talk to him without flinching. Because, for some reason, he desired the blonds' company… for no other reason he could surmise at the moment, than the necessity of a warm-bodied individual by his side who had no subversive designs on him.

Maybe he could convince Naruto that breakfast with an Uchiha could benefit them both.

Sasuke reached for his now silent phone, tapping the screen in order to check the time.

4:38 in the morning.

He would have time to go home; a shower would in no way be out of the question, he'd just come from Sound's sweaty interior after all. He must change his clothing before he went over to Naruto's apartment as well. One did not show up at the door of the man they were seducing smelling of stale excretions and whiskey, not when the one doing the seducing was Uchiha Sasuke.

The gang leader began a slow descent from his perch, running a few quick calculations in his head as his legs carried him semi-consciously downward.

It would take approximately an hour and a half to travel to his apartment, get ready and then go to Naruto's place of residence. 6:08 A.M., give or take, which wasn't a completely outrageous time to request someone's company for breakfast.

Sasuke stepped onto the street and turned his cell phone off before tucking it resolutely into his pocket and heading for his car parked a little ways away.

It was decided.

.:xXXx:.

Naruto paced the floor of his apartment; ignoring the trail of dirt, tar and pigeon dropping he was leaving on the floor of his bedroom.

Tonight had not gone well. Actually, that was something of an overstatement, since something had to happen at all in order for it to be classified as 'good' or 'bad'.

He had just spent the entire night shaking down every criminal contact that he knew or had heard about, every informant, every leak, mole and squealer he had scraped together over the years before he left Konoha. The only thing he'd found out was that Detective Hatake Kakashi hadn't been lying when he said that no one was willing to do any talking. He'd basically wasted his night. In fact, his only consolation was that if he hadn't gotten on Boss Hebi's case, he might still have nothing. How screwed up was that?

Well, he still had nothing in hand, but Naruto believed that the man would deliver tomorrow night like he had promised; after all, crime lords didn't like owing people favors.

All the same, asking the man he trying to depose for information grated against something deep inside of him too. It was a little too close to aiding the enemy. Idiot, a small, but unflappably honest voice in his brain whispered, aren't you doing that already?

The ancient analogue clock behind him chimed, bringing the blond mercifully out of the conundrum of ethics which had begun to churn in his mind.

Naruto glanced over his shoulder at the face of the old time-piece he had picked up at a garage sale.

According to it, he had four hours until he had to be at work, too little to go to sleep, just enough to be annoying. Maybe he could go over to Kiba's pad and crash for a few hours, maybe hang out. He could snag some fast food on the way for them to pig out on too. It would be just like old times. Except with his luck, Hinata would have spent the night last night.

Naruto's face contorted into a wretched grimace. The last time he had shown up unexpectedly at the Inuzuka's apartment, he'd seen far too much of his best friend's bare backside and Hinata's pale skin to feed his nightmare's for life. That had been awkward.

The blonds' frown returned full force as his mind turned away from that horrid mental picture and back to the meeting he had just finished with Boss Hebi. He couldn't explain it, but there was something strangely familiar about the man, something tantalizingly familiar. When he thought about it, he thought he could almost figure out what that thing was, but it just wouldn't come; like when a word gets stuck on the tip of your tongue. Maybe it was the man's smell. But all Naruto had noticed right off the bat was sweat and alcohol soaking into the man's skin, nothing too exciting. So the guy had been clubbing before Suigetsu called him, it wasn't a crime. Everything else the gang Boss did was, but that particular activity Naruto couldn't judge. But there was something...

There was a sharp knock on his door.

Naruto hurried over to the front and peered through the person viewer to get a look at his early morning caller. The blond caught an eyeful of a very distinctive face: Uchiha Sasuke was paying him a visit.

He was about to tentatively open the door when a single heart stopping thought raced to the forefront of his mind.

He was still wearing his costume.

The blond panicked, sprinting towards his bedroom, peeling clothing frantically off of himself even as another knock shook the door.

.:XX:.

The light was on, so why wasn't he answering his door?

Sasuke knocked a third time. Was the blond avoiding him? Naruto had seemed fine with being around him a few nights ago. Granted that the man had been drunk for a good chunk of it, but he had also suggested going out in the first place.

The raven lifted his fist and was about to knock once last time when the door opened and he saw…

Uzumaki Naruto was an attractive man, every sinew and fiber of his compact 5'10" frame was sleek musculature. At least, that was that Sasuke had surmised watching the blond moving around fully clothed. Now, the proof of his suppositions was standing literally in front of him. Uzumaki Naruto stood framed in the doorway, wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his tapered hips and an annoyed expression on his face. Sasuke's hands twitched, and he suddenly had the impulse to throw the blond down onto the ground and mount his hot tan backside.

He chose instead to stuff them into his pockets instead. "That's quite the outfit."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "I was about to take a shower, not that it's any of your business."

They stood in silence, Sasuke not certain how to take this newfound coldness on the part of the typically jovial blond and the blond wondering why exactly he'd thought that answering his door in a towel was any less humiliating than answering it as Kyuubi. Oh, yeah, no one was supposed to know that he was Kyuubi, that's right. But he could take showers until the sun went down, or when the sun went down…never mind.

"In or out Uchiha," Naruto pursed his lips. "It's cold, and heat's expensive, so pick one."

The raven stepped past him and into the still semi-clean bachelor pad. The door shut behind him and he heard Naruto huff bad temperedly.

"I'm still taking a shower, so if you want something, you're going to have to talk to me while I'm doing my thing or wait 'till I'm done. Because I'm not going to drop everything to make sure you're comfortable."

"Hn," Sasuke grunted and strode past the blond into the warm and sparsely furnished apartment. The door clicked shut behind him and the Uchiha heard Naruto mutter a quick 'Don't get too comfortable' before disappearing into a door on the other side of the homey living area which the raven assumed was the bathroom.

The door clicked shut and Sasuke was alone. A moment later he heard the shower come on, the steady driving patter of water hitting the sides and sliding down the drain.

He was tempted, for a second, to join his evasive blond prey into his ill-chosen refuge, but decided that it would do more harm than good; despite fraught assurances from his libido the opposite was true. There would be plenty of time to keep Naruto company in the shower later if everything worked out the way it seemed to be.

More to keep his mind from the golden-haired temptation in the bathroom than any real need to reacquaint himself with his surroundings; Sasuke began a show perusal of the Uzumaki's apartment.

He'd already been here once after all and an Uchiha rarely needed to see something more than once to remember even the minutest detail: another parting gift from his benevolent patriarch of a father.

The layout was familiar, the same furniture and tightly packed four rooms comprised the tiny apartment. He'd come through an open entryway, straight into the room which was both receiving and living room. The boxy space was just large enough to hold an overstuffed sofa and a duct-taped beanbag chair squished into a corner. Against the far wall stood a small CD player on top of an obviously second-hand coffee table. There was no TV anywhere to be seen.

Sasuke's brows furrowed slightly. It was odd that a male of Naruto's age didn't own that basic societal necessity. Even Suigetsu, when he wasn't on a job, drinking or screwing Karin's brains out, could be found wasting what little life he had staring into the glowing depths of a glowing plasma screen. And his lieutenant certainly wasn't an exception to the rule. Most people made the time to watch the hyped-up drama that dominated every available network. It was the singularly unique individual who chose not to be a part of the cable system.

Sasuke took three derisive steps to his right and was in the kitchen. The scent of stale ramen washed over him, mixing weirdly with the sharp tang of lemon disinfectant. A pile of dirty dishes was stacked in the old steel sink. The counter-tops which blazed brilliant red-orange, clashed weirdly with the sea-green linoleum on the floor. The raven's nose wrinkled subconsciously at the mixture of odd scent and grotesque visual. He'd have to keep his visits to Naruto's apartment down to a minimum if he desired to keep his retinas intact. This would necessitate the blond making frequent trips to his own place of residence, a prospect Sasuke was quite looking forward to.

The raven's ascertaining gaze darted once more over the garishly tiny kitchen and turned to the empty room from whence he'd come.

He saw them then. Two sets of footprints dotted their way from a closed door at the far end of the living room to the front door and back again. One set, the darker of the two and thusly, Sasuke surmised, the first; carried nothing out of the ordinary. The stride was casual; the print of the tred was almost perfectly crisp, only the ball of the feet was visibly worn down by age. The wear was slight, but heavy enough to have been the result of heavy use, or little use over the last...six months or so Sasuke quickly estimated. Other than the aformentioned, there was nothing out of the ordinary with the first trial. The second set of tracks, however, occurred in wider intervals along the carpet back across the living room. Naruto had been running when he'd gone this way…but why?

Sasuke scraped a little of the dirt onto his index finger and took an experimental sniff. The scent of feces and tar was faint, but powerful enough to remain distinctive even in such a minute quantity.

He flicked the grime away and straightened to follow the path back the way Naruto had come. Towards his bedroom.

The raven paused for a moment as he passed the bathroom, listening for the hiss of water. Naruto was still in the shower. He had a little time left to investigate.

Sasuke strode easily into the dark interior of Naruto's bedroom and shut the door behind him.

It had the blonds' touch everywhere that Sasuke could see, little bits of himself that no one could replicate. Overtop the roughly hewn wooden floorboards was a thick, albeit dirty rug had been laid. Naruto had attempted to cover the cracks in his plaster walls by tacking several large posters featuring instant ramen over the offensive spots. Besides these items, there was enough room to house only a less than frequently utilized clothing hamper, a small dresser and a bed.

Well, it was a bed in the sense that that was where the blond slept. It defied convention though, for it was nothing more than two large mattresses laid on the bedroom floor. Sasuke thought absently that the only reason he hadn't noticed the lack of bed frame was that he had not been focused on such details during his last foray into this room.

At least Naruto had dressed his bed. A hint of sky-blue sheets were visible intermingled with the tangled swath of thick blankets. The effect of this lackadaisical morning routine, instead of being abrasively messy, was actually rather sexy.

This was a bed that could've been ignored in the morning, or it could've been the bed upon which two unspeakably aroused and consensual adults had shared a night of wild, passionate sex…All. Night. Long.

The thought of Naruto naked and spread with those sheets tangled like snakes around him was almost scrumptious enough to distract Sasuke from his original purpose…almost. The trail of dirt, however, was his focus for the moment and he would not be dissuaded.

The dirt had originated here, in this room. From what the raven could tell; Naruto had been pacing back and forth across his room's cramped capacity.

Connected to these jumbled prints was a single set coming from the window hung on the far wall.

Sasuke moved over to the sill and pushed it open. For the second time that morning, something caught the corner of his eye.

A small bit of the same muddy mixture had been embedded onto the bottom of the window ledge. It was the toe of a boot print. It looked as if Naruto had used the ledge to step down into his bedroom from the outside. But there was no fire escape that Sasuke could see, no protruding edge from which to climb to or from.

The Uchiha leaned out of the window and gazed about, his quick eyes missing nothing. No fire escape. No ladder. No hand-holds of any sort.

Odd…

Making a mental note to discreetly extract that enticing bit of information from the blond at his earliest possible convenience, Sasuke withdrew and pulled the window shut after him.

He was on the alert now; eyes searching for any oddities, any inconstancy. That was the only reason he saw the smeared foot print.

It was of a bare foot this time, the only fact which distinguished it from the tumult of muddy tracks on Naruto's rough wood floor. It was out of the way of the jumbled lines pacing up and down the middle of the blonds' room and pointed towards the hamper Sasuke had noticed in passing when he'd first come in.

He took a step towards it and reached out, uncertain of what he would find.

Smooth plastic brushed the outstretched tips of his fingers.

"What are you doing in my room?"

The bedroom door pelted open and there stood a very perturbed, very wet blond man.

Naruto's words registered, but distantly and in a segment of Sasuke's rational that wasn't currently eyeing the Uzumaki's soaking wet form with an interest which bordered on predatory. If the Uzumaki had looked tempting standing at his front door in nothing but a towel the way he was now, moisture gleaming off his hard muscles, chest heaving, with that same towel threatening to fall from his slim hips…Naruto looked downright edible.

Suddenly, the reasons why he shouldn't mix business and pleasure seemed far less important.

He moved forward; his steps fluid and powerful all at once. He was a great cat, a sleek black panther stalking his prey.

Naruto saw the hunger in those predatory black eyes and felt his pulse treble as Sasuke walked toward him.

The man's face was as expressionless and impassive as it always was. The desire…the voracious appetite was all reflected in those sharp, dangerous pools of obsidian. Looking into the raven's eyes, Naruto felt like he was being X-rayed; as though he were a particularly succulent piece of meat.

Sasuke looked hungry.

His pulse thrummed against his throat, jumping with every silent pad of the raven's feet towards him. But he couldn't run. He couldn't move, couldn't look away from the Uchiha's mesmerizing gaze.

Sasuke was feet from him. The blond could see the lips parted slightly. They were soft, he knew from experience, lush and firm and perfect when he kissed. Would he kiss him again?

The raven was inches away now. Naruto felt his own skin prickle with acute awareness. Sasuke's warm breath smoothed over his jaw as the man's feet drew no nearer, but his body leaned into the paralyzed blond. Their chests touched; the heat and lingering moisture from Naruto's shower soaking readily into the dark fabric of Sasuke's shirt.

"'What am I doing in your room?' Is that what you asked me, Naruto?"

He had nothing but air at his back, but he felt as trapped as if Sasuke were holding him up against a wall. It was an odd, heady sensation that was slowly overwhelming his senses. His blood pulsed and was starting to flow away from his brain the instant Sasuke's heated murmur had slid into his ear.

"Yeah," To his credit, Naruto's voice was almost convincingly steady when he answered the raven's question. There wasn't any reason for tremors in his response. He wasn't afraid, just…really turned on.

A shiver ran its sensitized fingers down his spine when the Uchiha's husky reply eased over the twists and whorls of his ear.

"That's quite the question to ask. I might lie to you, Naruto. I might tell you what you want to hear. How would you know if any of it was the truth?"

A pause coated the air with tension so thick the blond thought he might be able to breathe it in.

"Maybe I was memorizing how your bed looks in the morning. That way I can imagine you on it, in it; your eyes bleary with passion and sleep…sexy."

The blonds' breathing quickened and Sasuke went on.

"Maybe I was simply memorizing your scent. You can smell it as well; the musky essence of you which clings to your pillows and sheets like a lover."

Naruto's jaw worked furiously, caught in the pleasurable haze between denial and whole-hearted agreement. But his raven-haired tormentor had already moved on.

"Maybe I was looking for the perfect wall to shove you up against when the time is right. Maybe you would like the window better. I can see you, grasping the sill while I take you in my hands; stroking you while you scream you pleasure out to the night."

The blond fought to swallow, to bring some moisture to his suddenly dry throat and to ease out from the haze of lust filming over his mind. It did little to accomplish either.

Sasuke's husky baritone washed over the nerves of his ears once again and the Uzumaki knew he was going to do something embarrassing soon if the brunette continued to whisper sex.

"Maybe I knew that you would come looking for me. Maybe I lured you here on purpose."

"I…" Naruto's mouth was working overtime, trying to form the words his brain hadn't cleared enough to choose. And to his own shame, all it had taken was a few dirty words purred into his head in a sexy timber.

The brunette couldn't help the tiny smirk which lifted the corners of his lips. Who would have guessed that Naruto was such an innocent? The pleasure of it was enough to slake his desire for the time-being while reaffirming the need to see the blond writhing, blushing and moaning beneath him.

Sasuke took a measured step backwards, reminiscent to the care he had taken in his own kitchen a few days ago. He nearly chuckled in self-gratification at the sight of Naruto standing, framed by the doorway, shaking with every breath. Sasuke found that he was quickly growing a pension for that particular expression of lust and arousal on the blonds' face. Naruto might last the whole week through, but after the time limit was up, there would be no desire for Sasuke to leave.

The Uchiha stepped over to Naruto's dresser and, making an educated guess, pulled open the top left drawer. He tossed a pair of heart patterned dark blue boxers at the slightly less dazed blond who caught them out of reflex before realizing what they were.

"Get ready."

"Hey!" The Uzumaki bellowed as his flush started trailing down the sculpted column of throat once more and he scrambled into his room. "Stop going through my stuff!"

Sasuke made no comment, but took a step back as the blond came barreling towards him. Naruto had gotten the idea it seemed. It would do no good to bait him further.

Naruto started pulling out drawers for himself and tossing his selected articles of clothing onto the mussed bed. He was just reaching for the towel when he remembered that Sasuke was still in the room. He darted what he hoped was a casual glance over to where the raven stood and immediately began to feel the temperature in the room skyrocket.

The Uchiha wasn't even pretending to look away. Sasuke was pointedly gazing at him with those strangely all seeing eyes. The look he had in his eyes wasn't nearly as intense as it had been a minute ago, but it was in the same category: avaricious. Naruto knew he was blushing like a mad fool. He could feel the heat starting to ease its way down his neck past his collarbone.

"What?" He snapped defensively, trying to stare down the Uchiha without looking him in the eye. "You want to watch me put clothes on now? I thought you were trying to get me out of them."

He almost wished that he could yank those words back and stuff them back into his mouth; because the heat that began to smolder in Sasuke's unnaturally communicative eyes had sweat beading on his freshly washed skin. When had Sasuke's eyes ever held so much…emotion?

"Tell me to leave."

Naruto blinked stupidly a few times before the words sunk in. "Wha…I…uh…" Chikushou, he was a little uncomfortable with the idea of dressing with an audience, but Sasuke didn't have to make it sound like he was a girl.

"Jerk," The malice was gone from his voice and he muttered the insult in such a low tone he was afraid the raven had missed it. "You don't have to leave the room, just…" He swallowed and turned his attention to the pile of clothes on his bed. "Just turn around."

He waited for a moment and glanced at Sasuke, watching as the man inclined his head ever so slightly and, taking deliberate steps, faced the window.

It took Naruto a second to remember that he still had to get dressed and he quickly dropped the towel to the floor where it landed with a wet 'plop'. "So…um…" The blond spoke, partly to fill the acrid silence, partly because his curiosity had begun to niggle mercilessly at him. "What's with the early bird visit? No offense, I wasn't exactly expecting you to come over at six in the morning."

"I came to take you to breakfast."

Naruto grinned as he pulled his jeans up and over the boxer shorts thinking: what is this, the morning after? He cleared his throat uncomfortably; attempting to clear away the image that question triggered in his mind's eye. Not bad, it couldn't be that. Especially after the unplanned and really very honestly hot grope sessions he and Sasuke had shared. But the idea that he was starting to come up with those kinds of thoughts on his own was still a little…uncomfortable.

"Wouldn't a phone call have been easier?"

The Uchiha smirked. "Neither of us would have enjoyed a phone call nearly as much as my visit I think."

The blond ducked into his shirt to hide his blush, forgetting for a moment that Sasuke's back was turned. "Well, it's a little early for a social call. That's all I'm saying. A little advanced warning would have been nice."

Sasuke let out a small breath. "Are you finished?"

"No," Naruto said; completely misunderstanding the raven's question. "I'm not done and I'll yell and whine about you being rude as often as I want to Uchiha! No one said that you could come over to my place at this ungodly hour of the morning! But you just barge into my home whenever you feel like and my privacy doesn't count for anything apparently. No one said that I wanted to have breakfast with you! Did it even occur to you that I might have plans with someone else already; someone other than your possessive self? Maybe I'm going to go and spent time with my father before I go to work. Maybe I just don't feel like humoring you this early in the morning. Maybe…maybe…I don't know what, but maybe that's what too!"

Sasuke could feel his eyebrow crawling up toward his hairline.

Why was Naruto suddenly so frustrated? And why was he expressing the entirely of his ire now? It was odd that he would wait for such a lengthy amount of time before expressing his opinions. Why, if he felt like this, didn't he simply slam the door in Sasuke's face when the raven showed up at his door in this 'ungodly hour of the morning'?

Sasuke knew enough about Naruto to understand that the blond hated to offend people, but if he were annoyed enough, the man would certainly have carried no qualms about telling him all about it. So it carried, that Naruto was upset, but the reasons he was spouting were bull, or at the very least, nowhere near as dire. That begged the question: why was he really upset? Because Sasuke was here? Perhaps, but that was still too vague.

The image of Naruto's face came back to him. Panic and anger had intermingled as the particle board barrier pelted inwards. Anger: comprehendible. Panic…that was not so easily justified. And what had Naruto yelled? 'What are you doing in my room?' It seemed fairly obvious that he wasn't snooping through anything. And the Uchiha had been inside this particular room once before, when Naruto was in less of a condition to ward off undesired searches than he was at present. It was likely that he didn't want Sasuke to see something, something that he hadn't had time to hide properly? Pornography? Sexy undergarments? What was so terrible that he didn't want Sasuke to see?

The raven drew in a deep breath, clearing his lungs of old air and his mind from its inconclusive train. Naruto was hiding something. So, what? Everyone had secrets. What would it gain him to drag those undisclosed items squirming into the light? This was all swirling and fitting together, but somthing was missing, one piece of the puzzle that remained stubbornly elusive. If he bagered the blond, he might unravel the mystery, but...

He could see no benefit for the time being. So he chose instead to pacify the Uzumaki for the time being. He could demand answers later, as a concerned lover, and not a busybody.

"Have you finished dressing yourself, usuratonkachi?" He clarified.

There was a long silence. And then, finally, the Uzumaki answered. He sounded smaller, less certain of himself then before, maybe that was because he had stopped yelling. "Yeah, I…well, you can turn around now."

The raven obliged, directing Naruto with his most assessing gaze under his control. The blond had already put his back to the brunette and was walking towards the door.

"Come on, Sasuke," Naruto called over his shoulder. "If you're taking me to breakfast, we might as well get it done before it's time to eat dinner."

The gang boss thought it best not to press his luck. He hadn't planned on obtaining Naruto's consent this way, but now that he had, it seemed foolish to point out to the man that he had, not moments before, been bellowing that he didn't want to go out to breakfast. Another oddity to file away and analyze at a later date.

He watched as the blond shrugged into a coat and started scrounging around for shoes. What was going on inside that man's head? What had caused that uncharacteristically rapid mood change? What was Naruto hiding and why?

As a well bred connoisseur of knowledge, Sasuke's intellect was shifting restlessly and would until those questions were satisfied. But as a lover, the Uchiha knew the merits of taking ones time.

He would find out everything about Uzumaki Naruto, every dirty, filthy little secret that the blond man had dared to keep locked away from him.

But for now…

Sasuke opened the front door and gestured Naruto through.

For now he was going to take this delicious man out for breakfast and he was going to enjoy it.

A/N: Review! Even though I don't deserve it for abandoning you all for so long. I promise that I won't take nearly as long to update the next time. Christmas break just sucked it out of me. So I had an awful time getting back into the writer metality. Thanks for your patience!

But if I don't get more than three reviews, I might just wait another three months! Reviews are the soul to which my body clings.

Until next time!