My Magical Arabian Nights.
Chapter One.
It was dark outside; the city had gone to sleep. The hard-working people went to bed early since they had to rise early… in the palace that was not the case. Sasuke had decided not to bring anything, just some money, and was briskly walking down the hallway. There was a feast going on, but that didn't matter, his brother had a taste for living well within his means. There were some drunk people sagged against the wall, talking, laughing and making an ass of themselves. If only the common people could see how their rulers ate, drank and fucked like pigs. Everyone shagged everyone, he felt a shudder climb his spine when he remembered the one and only time he thoughtlessly walked into his brother's quarters during one of the many previous feasts and saw… a lot more than he ever wanted of the crown prince's sexcapades.
So he walked straight ahead, not making eye contact with any of the costumed nobility, and down the narrow servants' stairs to the kitchens. There was a door no one but the cooking staff knew of, where pigs and chickens were brought in and garbage taken out. It was unguarded but locked. This was when the years upon years of deadly boredom came in handy; he knew everything there was to know about the palace, including the things kept behind locked doors. He'd become an expert at getting around them, and within a few seconds the lock gave and the door was opened.
Though he always knew this door was here, and always knew how easily he could escape he'd never really thought about actually doing it before. He took a step outside, his foot hovered over the ground for a moment before he put in down on the sandy street and released the breath he didn't know he was holding. He was doing this, really, actually doing this! He put down his other foot and swiftly closed the door behind him; it fell back in the lock. No going back now. He took a few steps forward, looked up at the low, brown house in front of him and the identical ones besides it and didn't know what to do. He never thought any further than getting out.
"Well, I can't just stand around here for the rest of my life." The street to the right seemed to be getting broader and brighter as it went along, not a good plan, someone might recognize him. By this logic it would be safer to head left, the houses stood closer together, at some parts they were even connected by a canopy. But, better safe than sorry; Sasuke fished a thin red veil from his pocked and bound it around his head, just below his eyes. It matched the rest of his golden embroidered, red silk outfit. And so he took off, into the dark part of town.
Naruto was having the time of his life, he found himself almost humming in content while he pried one priceless gem off the fat golden chain after the other. He threw the gold in his bag, he'd take it to the smithy and have it molten into a bar tomorrow. The gems he placed in their respective little felt bags. Though he didn't live like it; he owned a small shack between a very shady meat-pie shop and an illegal slaughterhouse, he was paid. Jacking rich people was second nature to him, and he wasn't ashamed to admit that he'd gotten pretty good at climbing walls and entering through windows at night either. He couldn't sell the gemstones, he never could. He wasn't some robin hood, and when you suddenly come in possession of money like that people know where you got it from; and they'll want a piece of it. Naruto pulled his mattress to the side, the only luxury item he owned; it was stuffed with wool, and lifted the floorboards. There it was: his treasure. A thick wooden chest with no less than seven locks, and inside all the gold and stones he ever 'collected'. After placing the new additions to his collection inside he closed the chest and made sure to lock every single fat iron lock. He put the floorboards back and threw the mattress in place. It was late, he'd had a long day, and now it was time for sleep.
He was just in the process of pulling down his pants when he froze. There were footsteps outside and Naruto felt tingly, the way he always did when there was money around. And this tingle was strong, there was so much wealth walking past his door he could almost taste it. Not one to squander an opportunity he quickly pulled his pants back up and slipped outside.
The sight that greeted him did not disappoint, looking around uncertainly and obviously very lost stood someone dressed in clothes that screamed wealth, and they were embroidered with gold for fucks sake! "You lost?" Startled, the other figure slowly turned around to face this stranger. Sasuke was scared. This night wasn't going anything like he planned. The first person he dared to ask for directions pulled a knife on him… he almost got mugged! But luckily the guy was fat, and Sasuke quite a lot younger than him, so he managed to run away. But he wasn't looking where he went and ended up completely lost. Then he'd figured himself lucky when an elderly man asked him what was wrong and said he wanted to help him, but then he almost got molested. Granted, he's had his ass grabbed by drunk nobility before, but never in some dark alley away from all his palace guards and protection! Again, running away turned out to be a very effective tactic. After all this his faith in helpful strangers had dwindled quite a bit, and now it was completely dark, he was hungry, tired and had no place to stay.
So when that voice called out from behind him he was more than a little bit wary, and made sure to keep his distance.
Naruto was pleasantly surprised; the person in front of him was quite attractive. Because of the veil he couldn't see much, but those eyes were amazing. The deepest black he'd ever seen, and somehow they looked familiar. "What's a pretty little thing like you doing out here all alone?" He put on his friendliest smile and took a step forward; the other took a step back. "Nothing, I'm fine." The man took another step closer and Sasuke found himself backed up against a wall. He protectively pulled his thin vest shut, shielding his normally exposed chest from view. Naruto was curious; the young man looked quite ruffled. There were obvious sweat stains in his silk armpits, his hair was fluffed around and his eyes, aside from stunning, were red and swollen. "You look like you had a rough night, huh? Don't worry about me, I'm not gonna hurt you." Sasuke pressed himself against the wall when the other spread his arms and took another step closer. Like hell was he going to trust this stranger! "What do you want with me?" Damn it, his voice was shaky. Naruto shook his head and smiled, he loved a bit of a challenge. "I just wondered what you were doing out, alone, at this hour. Shouldn't you be home?" Sasuke loosened his grip a little and stared at the dusty floor. "I'm not going back. Not after just one night." Naruto, seeing an opening, stepped to the side and leaned his shoulder against the wall. "So you need a place to stay, right? Well it just so happens that I live right over there" he gestured in some general direction of his home "And I wouldn't mind putting you up for the night… if you pay me." Sasuke slowly looked up, he did need a place to stay, and he really didn't want to head out further into wherever he was anymore… besides, this man's smile seemed genuine, he hadn't tried anything on him yet, and his presence didn't feel so intimidating, almost as if he already knew him. "Promise you won't do anything to me?" The man nodded, all smiles, and Sasuke pulled his money pouch out of his back pocket. He was about to take out a gold piece when the man snatched it from his hand. "What are you doing? That's mine." Naruto grinned, weighing the gold in his hand, bingo. "Yeah… not anymore. See, it's in my hand now, so that mean's its mine." Sasuke frowned, not understanding. "But it's mine, you took it from me." Naruto threw the pouch up in the air, caught it and slipped it into his own pocket. "Yup, and now it's mine. So, how do you intend to pay me? 'cuz I got some ideas…" He moved a little closer and trapped the young man against the wall, his arms on either side of his raven's head. And Sasuke lost it. He managed to avoid getting mugged and molested, only to get robbed and raped now. He slumped to the ground and started to cry, the real world was a great big pile of shit.
Fuck, this wasn't supposed to happen, Naruto only wanted to tease him a little. He tried to apologize but the other wouldn't listen, he'd pressed his hands over his ears and started wailing. He didn't need this, damn kid was causing a scene, and soon people would wake up and see them. So he did the only reasonable thing he could think of, grabbed the raven by his arm, pulled him up and dragged him inside his house.
Before Sasuke knew what happened the door slammed shut behind him, the man stepped towards him again and he quickly crawled backwards into a corner, hugging his knees to his chest. He was trapped and no one was going to come and save him. So he sat there, his face pressed into the now dusty, expensive fabric and listening to the other taking off his clothes. But nothing happened; the man turned off the oil lamp in the windowsill and flopped down on his soft mattress. Sasuke slowly looked up; he was in a small room, it was completely bare, except for an ugly, lumpy mattress, a plain wooden table in one corner and some stacked crates in the other. It was bare… and cold. The man lay with his back facing him and softly started to snore, so Sasuke got up and tiptoed to the door. It wasn't locked; it didn't even have a lock. So he slowly opened it, managing to keep the creaking to a minimum, and slipped outside. A gust of wind startled him, it was unnaturally cold on his behind, and after a bit of feeling around he discovered that the fabric had torn, probably when he was crawling around. Where was he supposed to go now? Yet another friendly stranger had just taken all of his money, so he couldn't go to an inn… and he looked less than respectable now. A drunken laughter could be heard from the narrow alley leading up to the tiny sandy plaza in front of the man's home. When the first in what appeared to be a fleet of drunk men spotted him the word 'prostitute' was clamored loudly and they immediately headed towards him.
Naruto was a little bit worried, he could hear the calls from outside, and the kid did look like a prostitute. Didn't he knew what colors and what kind of fabrics to wear together? Combined with a veil like that he was practically asking for it at this hour. And then the door got pulled open and the little nobleman practically jumped back inside, slamming the wood shut behind him and blocking out the calls. He went back into his corner, curled up into a ball and tried to stop his scared shivering. What was wrong with the people in this city? Did they have no sense of decency? Of respect?
It took some time, it was still really cold on the floor, but eventually Sasuke managed to fall asleep sitting up against one of the withered wooden walls. And Naruto got up. After making sure the kid was really asleep he put the money in his chest; since this took quite a while the young man had fallen into a deeper sleep by the time Naruto put his bed back in place and got down to business. After all, one doesn't have a fish this big, and pre-fried even swim into their nets on a daily basis! Who knows, maybe the kid had some beef with his family and Naruto could manage to persuade him to take revenge… and let him walk off with all their money. He almost started to drool at the thought of what their safe could contain.
So he carefully wrapped his arms around the sleeping beauty and lifted him up, he was lighter than he looked, then, just as carefully, put him down on the bed. Now came the tricky part, but Naruto didn't prize himself on his magic fingers for nothing! So it didn't take him very long to have the kid as naked as he himself was. He took off the veil last, and was once again met with a strange sense of familiarity. Aside from that, the kid was stunning. He'd never seen such a beautiful boy in his life… Damn, if he'd needed to seduce him to get his way that would be no problem at all!
He slowly lay down next to him on the narrow bed, trapping the kid against the wall, and wrapped them both in his double sized blanket. Aside from the slight awkwardness of having another person in his bed, which he never shared, this was great! The kid was fast asleep, and their shared bodyheat trapped under the thick woolen fabric made his bed much warmer than usual. Especially when the boy, who seemed to be having a nice dream, turned towards him and wrapped his arms around Naruto's waist. This was a bit of an odd experience, because yes, Naruto had had quite some nude physical contact before, and yes, he's also slept together in another's bed before. But never had he cuddled in the nude afterwards… that's just something he didn't do, how else would he distance himself from… well… everyone? Surprisingly enough he got used to the feeling of having someone this close quite quickly, and discovered a nice little perk as well. Because now he got to just lay there, without anything being expected of him, and just run his hand over the silky smooth skin of the other's back. He liked that. And eventually he got used to the feeling of the other breathing, his heart beating against Naruto's chest. And he drifted off to sleep before he knew it.
Sasuke was having a full-blown panic attack. Somehow he'd ended up in bed with that man, and from what he could tell by the little sunlight that came in through the glassless window that next morning neither of them was wearing any clothes. He tried to sit up, but the other had his arms firmly locked around him, keeping him pressed up against the man's chest. He peeked into the room to try and find his clothes… but they were gone. "Morning beautiful! Sleep well?" He couldn't look up, couldn't look him in the eye or face him. "What did you do to me?" Naruto released him and stretched his arms above his head whilst yawning. "Nothing much, just figured you'd sleep better without, you know, freezing to death."
Sasuke quickly sat up, and pulled the blanket to his chest, only then feeling that his veil was missing too. "What did you do with my clothes?" The man sat up too, and the younger of the two scooted a little further away from him. "Too obnoxious, if you don't wanna be noticed, you shouldn't dress like that, I got some normal stuff for you… if you want? But you'll have to pay me." Sasuke stared at him incredulously. "Well if you'd just give me back my mon-" "We already discussed this, I don't have any of your money, I only have my money. But don't worry; I'll let you earn it. And no," He added when the young man opened his mouth to protest, "It won't be anything for which you have to take your clothes off, alright?" He held out his hands, and after a moment's hesitation, Sasuke shook it. "I'm Naruto by the way." "Sasuke." Fuck, he probably should have made something up.
"Sasuke…" Naruto seemed to think for a while before standing up in all his naked glory, making the other blush and quickly avert his eyes. "Hey, I remember you; we met ages ago didn't we? You were a cute little thing back then." Sasuke looked back up at him, that stranger he met on his one other trip outside the city walls was him? What an impossible coincidence…
"Put this on." Naruto threw him an ugly pair of saggy brown pants, like the ones he himself wore. But Sasuke didn't have many other options, so he put it on in disgust; they had a patch on them for crying out loud, in a terrible orange color… After Naruto put his little vest on he handed Sasuke some kind of bodice with a high collar, "This is for women." He said disbelieving. What was this man expecting of him? Naruto handed him a long veil as well. "You can tuck that into the shirt, if you don't want people recognizing you it's better to pretend you're a disfigured woman, okay?" the man took two moldy apples from a crate and wiped the most of the mold off before handing him one. "Do I have to eat this?" Naruto took a big bite out of his own and stepped outside. "Do you have anything else to eat?" Sasuke shook his head. "Well then I guess you have to." And he walked away with a cheer in his step, the other had to run a bit to catch up, still not willing to eat the fruit. "Naruto, where are we going?" The man turned back to him with a massive grin on his face. "We, Sasuke my dear, are going to rob a bank."