A/N: Good God! Chapter 15?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?! Woohoo!! I've made it this far! I've got no intentions of stopping now!! Yeah, I didn't think that I'd be able to post this chapter so fast! I'm happy I did. For some reason I thought that I'd have a difficult time with this one, but I guess after all the meds I was on it made it surprisingly easy! . Through thick and thin RIn will post her chapters! -strike dramatic pose-! ...No one saw that right?

Oh and I'd like to address one of the stupidest reviews I've ever gotten, it was lovingly signed "Anon.": 1: In the summary it says that it is SasuNaru, 2: In chapter one there are only the slightest MENTIONS of SasuNaru, 3: It's fanfiction, I've seen stories with the pairing AkamaruxOrochimaru on here before...I have the right to publish what I wish...Thank you that is all.

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Naruto, I do own a wall scroll of Sasuke though.

The Story So Far: After a trip to the bank, the supermarket and a lovely chat with an oblivious Kiba, Sasuke Naruto and Kiba were the victims of an attempted attack. Luckily they made it out without injury but the growing tension between the Sound Loyalist party and the other village diplomats is beginning to make Sasuke a little paranoid...

Warnings: Mentions of YAOI (You heard me right...SasukexNaruto...nothing too descript thought) Swearing (this time I find it justified though and you know how I get)

Chapter 15

"Sasuke!" Naruto called to his companion, despite their proximities. "We got another letter from Sakura!"

The male wondered why in the world of all the people on the face of the Earth he had to fall for the loudest, most obnoxious, most…orange-y person alive. The things that plagued your mind when your hearing is being totally destroyed by your boyfriend-best friend-thing.

Sasuke's ear drums begged for mercy, "You might want to yell louder Naruto I don't think the people in THE LIGHTNING COUNTRY HEARD YOU!"

Naruto pouted at him but his anger lasted for a second before he was tearing through the paper to get to the words inside. Sasuke rested his chin on Naruto's shoulder and read along with him. It had been nearly a week since the attempted attack on their lives and Sasuke had visibly let up on his original safety implications. He took his mind off of that aspect of their lives and read the letter.

Hey boys,

Sasuke chuckled at how 'personal' Sakura could get.

How's everything on the home front? I hope that you guys are watching yourselves more carefully now that you don't have the three of us there. Oh what am I getting all worried about? You guys probably only leave the house if you need food. Get more social!

Anyway, onto the news here. Yesterday we received two more Jounin from Suna, one was from the mission to get you back Sasuke. They've been really good with keeping the Sound nin in line, but you guys might want to be careful. The missions room here is run differently and if I heard the guy right (God these accents are killing me!) he sent a rather young looking Sound nin on a mission near the Fire country.

Sasuke read it but didn't quiet get it until he reread it. Then it sunk in. The assassination attempt had to have been that ninja! Now Naruto realized what was going on and he wanted to slaughter every last one of those bastards. Since he was positive Sasuke knew, he was going to make them stay in the house even more now!

But they said it was only a B rank mission. Apparently he had to pick up a client for Sound. Eh, I don't trust them as far as I can throw them so just watch your step or they'll make sure you don't have to.

I should wrap this up since the Chunin from all the other countries are planning to train together with the Jounin so that we're more up to par with the classless Sound nins. Iruka and Kakashi say hi!

Love,

Sakura

Naruto folded the letter and put it on a conveniently placed end table. He had hoped that Sasuke hadn't read that last bit about Sound nins near the Fire border. Naruto rather liked that he and Sasuke spent at least some time away from the house. He turned his face slightly to get a better look at Sasuke. For the most part Sasuke looked calm, or lost in thought.

"So…" Naruto began uncertain as how to react.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow but gave no voice to his side of the conversation. No doubt he was still forming his side of the conversation.

"Yeah…" the blond breathed out again. "What's going to happen now?"

Sasuke twisted a piece of Naruto's hair on his index finger, seemingly out in space at the moment, "What do you mean?"

Naruto chased away his hand but it came back and fiddled with the ends of his tresses with no regard for his personal preference, "I mean last time there was even a thought of a threat we stayed in here for nearly a week."

Naruto made it clear with his body language that he didn't want to be in this place. It wasn't the apartment that made him want to crawl out of his skin. It most certainly wasn't his company, oh no. It was who he was that made him crave the outside.

"No, we won't do that again," Sasuke answered Naruto's unspoken question. He knew it wasn't fair in the least to do that to Naruto but he was paranoid about the attack (and with good reason).

A real smile fell onto Naruto's face when Sasuke said this, Sasuke finally understood and that made him happier than Sasuke could ever imagine. He threw his arms messily around Sasuke's neck and kissed him fiercely despite his sloppy initiation. Sasuke used one strong arm around Naruto's waist to steady the two of them. Naruto pressed himself harder against Sasuke, needing more than what was presented to him. Sasuke bit down on Naruto's lip to pull a sound from Naruto.

A breathy noise came from Naruto as he moved his hands to the expanse of Sasuke's clothed chest, gripping the shirt when passion manifested. Sasuke kissed him slow and sensually, using his tongue to quietly drive Naruto mad. Careful strokes of the muscle against Naruto's, plus a hand that was moving literally inch by inch into new territory. Weak in the knees, Naruto buckled under the moment. Sasuke's hand stopped on a warm patch on skin just above Naruto's pants and he pulled away from the kiss, dizzy with promise and just that look in Naruto's usually so innocent eyes.

Sasuke swallowed hard against his nerves, who would've know something like this would have made Sasuke's nerves of steel quiver? Naruto nipped at Sasuke's chin while Sasuke worked up the correct words.

"Is," God Naruto began to bite his neck, hard. "Ah, this okay?" he asked through the lust and through the teeth scraping at the sensitive skin on his neck.

Naruto paused for a second to murmur "What do you think?" against Sasuke's skin. The boy began to bite and suck at Sasuke's neck mercilessly to work his own nerves off but then stopped (much to Sasuke's displeasure) and looked at him. He was sure Sasuke was going to say something about his ceased actions but before he could Naruto was pulling him by the hem of his night shirt into their bed room. Sasuke was confused at first but just allowed himself to be led into their room. Naruto nudged their door open and pulled Sasuke down to his level and kissed at his smooth lips slowly despite the fact that he wanted Sasuke so bad it hurt.

He knew that if their first step toward being sexually intimate was rough and only induced by lust then there would be no hope for a long future together. The first touch couldn't be because they were horny, it had to mean something or the only thing they had was the need to touch because they're hot and bothered. Oddly he was working like this off of advice from Jiraiya. His teacher had told him things like this when he was plastered and slightly depressed from the alcohol. Naruto never knew what he was talking about but listened anyway and Thank God he did otherwise this first time could send Sasuke and Naruto into a downward spiral that they had minimal hope of ever pulling out of.

To say that they were nervous was an understatement. Though they had no intentions of going "all the way" this first step was a big one to take. Sasuke could feel Naruto shake through his brave kiss. Then Naruto started to walk backward to lead Sasuke closer to their bed…

Naruto found out that Sasuke's hands worshiped his body instead of abhorred it like the villagers. He found out that even though they'd endured hard physical training and even though the two of them spent years away from home with two of the toughest Sannin, that Sasuke still touched Naruto as if he was going to bend and break at any given moment. He also found out that Sasuke's hands shook unless Naruto kissed his knuckles and looked into his eyes to assure him of what he wasn't sure of. The way Sasuke touched him made him go crazy with want. He was so gentle and loving, he was careful, he gave each exposed section of skin its own attention, as if he were kissing and touching a God rather than a teenaged boy.

The things Sasuke found out from this time spent with Naruto were small and insignificant to most people but Sasuke found out that to him they meant the world. He found that there were no battle scars under Naruto's waistband or tee shirt, that all those marks were zapped by Kyuubi and healed expertly by the demon as well. Sasuke found out that even though he'd expected to like Naruto's body, purely for physical reasons, that he thought that the golden tanned skin and scarless surface was something to fall in love with because the person inside that skin had not only a beautiful body but also a beautiful heart. He thought it was fitting that Naruto be blessed with good looks and many friends, he deserved it for how amazingly kind he was. Sasuke also found that Naruto knew him better than he ever could have thought possible, that the way Naruto touched him said that it was more than enough that he came back to him, that he was forgiven for what he did and he was all Naruto wanted. The way he kissed each knuckle and stared into his eyes to say more than he could ever say with words made Sasuke want to get lost in this forever.

The words uttered in this space of time were few and far between. There wasn't much to say when all you needed was to touch and be touched. For some inexplicable reason they way they understood each other couldn't be confined to letters and syllables. They had something that transcended the need for words and that was just fine, they didn't need it.

Sasuke rested his forehead against Naruto's bare chest and took a deep breath to even out his breathing. He felt Naruto's heart against his skull as it thudded loudly against laboring lungs. Naruto slowly pulled his now soiled hand from Sasuke's half-on half-off pajama pants. Shakily Sasuke moved his lips to kiss the erratic, but steadily decreasing, heartbeat inside Naruto's chest over and over again. Naruto pulled at Sasuke's shoulders and laid him on his side to keep his arms from buckling under what felt like increasing weight.

Naruto smiled as he kissed Sasuke into sleep. Kissing was a very convincing argument, he decided as his mind was lost to dreams of what might be. Soon after Naruto drifted into that sweet state of no thinking with his fingers laced through Sasuke's.

Sasuke found it hard to believe that there had been no whiff of a threat for the passed two days. He'd been on the edge for so long because he thought that the Loyalist party wouldn't stop at one assassin. Maybe they were gauging his reactions and skill level in order to figure out how high level the assassin had to be in order to finally kill him. But, since the first attack, there'd been no hint of foul play.

This absence of suspicion meant, much to Naruto's delight, that they would go out into the cold and blinding winter sunlight more often. They had gone out before Sasuke felt secure in his home town but had kept it down in order to not short circuit his anxiety. The two spent more time in the parks that Konoha boasted here and there, spent time with Kiba and Shikamaru (one of the few remaining of the Konoha 12 in the village) and less time in the grocery store for only the necessities. It felt nice not to have to glance over your shoulder ever twenty minutes. Just because they weren't spending all daylight hours behind tightly drawn curtains didn't mean that they didn't have more 'moments' like the one they shared a few days ago.

Naruto laid on Sasuke's stomach, tracing the distinct lines of his abdominals. Every now and again Sasuke would chuckle from the way Naruto's calloused fingertips tickled his skin. Naruto smiled against the smooth ripples of Sasuke's stomach and gave each peak a soft kiss. It felt like there was something new between them, not something new in a physical sense. There was something new that you couldn't grab with your hands or see if you got up close.

But it was there and it was almost like they knew that they'd never have to be alone, as long as the other still existed they were always together. For them that would always be more than enough.

There was a second of carelessness, of casual kisses and then a second of pain. Then there were many more seconds of an activated Sharingan as Sasuke attempted to make a quick get away with Naruto in tow. How could he have been so careless? Yeah there hadn't been an attack on either of them for about a week but just because the enemy is sleeping doesn't mean you should as well. Sasuke cursed as he pulled harder at Naruto with the arm that hadn't been sliced with a newly sharpened knife.

Pain exploded on his bicep as they neared the apartment complex that they called home. This was the second attack and the person had been more capable than the first but not skilled enough to land more than one injury on Sasuke and Sasuke would be damned if they laid a finger on Naruto. There had to have been some kind of poison on that blade, no wound this shallow felt like flames were licking at it and like the knife was still being pushed deeper into the muscle. Naruto made quick work of the locks on the door while Sasuke gripped his arm with his uninjured hand. Naruto rushed Sasuke to the bathroom and nearly ripped his shirt into strips of fabric in his haste to get to the injury.

The panicked blond began to reach for the first aid kit but fumbled and it slipped through his fingers. He swore loudly and grabbed at the assortment of band aids, pills and disinfectants. Sasuke shouted something but Naruto couldn't hear him in his state of disarray. Naruto uncapped the disinfectant and poured it over a cotton ball and quickly wiped the slice to clear out the regular infection. Sasuke bit his lip to keep from crying out. Normally a simple disinfectant wouldn't make him want to scream but in combination with the poison (which was feeling more like multiple snake bites right about now) was enough to make a much older man want to kick and scream for relief.

Naruto got out a smaller kunai and made a small cut inside of the already painful on. Sasuke didn't bother asking what the hell his issue was; he knew that all those years ago when he got poisoned (and stupidly stabbed himself) he kept the knowledge of how to bleed out poisons with him. Though it was trivial Sasuke mused on in his mind about how Naruto kept the most random knowledge in his mind. For now Sasuke was thankful for that part of Naruto, it really ended up saving his ass.

There were a few more shallow cuts to make sure that all the poison had bled out. Then Naruto cleaned the wound again and wrapped Sasuke's arm gently, kissing the gauze just barely to give it his blessing. He reached over into the scattered first aid kit and picked up a small bottle of protein pills. Naruto swallowed one and then pushed one into a reluctant Sasuke's mouth. He knew that if they didn't get some form of energy they were going to pass out from the rush of adrenaline they'd been running on up until a few minutes ago.

"Looks like I really saved your ass huh Sasuke?" Naruto asked in a voice that shook from his nerves being so raw.

Sasuke let out a 'tch' sound, "Looks like we both got lucky this time." Naruto cocked his head slightly, Sasuke got so cryptic sometimes.

"What exactly do you mean 'we'?" he wondered as he rested his hands on Sasuke's thighs and pressed forward.

Sasuke moved his face closer to Naruto's, "I mean we," he cupped both of his hands perfectly around Naruto's scarred face. "You couldn't live without me, and you know it."

Naruto pushed forward, his lips colliding hard with Sasuke's, his teeth clanging loudly against Sasuke's. If Sasuke listen carefully he would have heard Naruto harshly whispering that he couldn't live without him, idiot. But he didn't have the energy to and settled for just feeling out what Naruto meant with this unrefined and passionate kiss.

End of The Things We Find

Preview of Next Chapter: "Get me Hatake, Kakashi," Tsunade ordered through her tightly clenched teeth. "And Nara, Shikamaru." Her subordinate bowed respectfully and almost didn't say anything to her if it weren't for the status on Hatake, "With all due respect Hokage-sama, Hatake-sempi is in Sound right now acting as a-" "DID I ASK YOU WHERE HE WAS?!" Now all the esteemed Hokage could see was red. Time was running out, she needed Kakashi here and she needed him here now. "JUST GET HIM!"

A/N: Let me clear a few things up: Naruto and Sasuke didn't go all the way, just under the waistband -wink wink-, I didn't got into the nitty-gritty details because...well I'm not too sure...I guess I just thought it wouldn't fit into the story if we got nosebleed worthy this chapter since it was a bit more lovey-dovey. Anyway, the next chapter...Oooo baby! X3 YES!! I swear that you guys will like it! I think the next chapter will end this part of the fic, and if it's not the next chapter it'll be the one after that.