Author's Note: Alright you guys! I went through this story and tweaked some of the wording, but the story content has not changed much AT ALL. The plot remains as it was. I just felt that a few adjectives were overused and some scenes were not carrying well enough. Just letting you all know in case you read back through and things sound off. I love you guys! Let me know if there's anything I can add before the story is over to cater to your yaoi feels! Let me know how I'm doing or what you feel is missing in this fic so far!
Side note:: K.X.R is having a hard time getting anything good written. It seems like I cannot some up with anything good unless I'm in the middle of falling in love with something / someone, or I'm falling apart. I guess I'm learning to hold myself together too well, no? My point is, please bear with me as I try to find inspiration to pack this story with badass action, emotion and smut that will fit the high standards you hopefully began The Will Of Fire with. I love you all.
Ja Ne!~
Climbing the wooden ladder to his loft bedroom where the Hidden Leaf ninjas are staying, Souji tries to be quiet so as not to wake up his ma. It wouldn't do to get a scolding and be embarrassed in front of these cool new boys. Real friends! He hopes Sasuke or Naruto will take the time to teach him neat stuff before they leave to continue their journey; maybe he could grow up to be a ninja too!
Getting halfway up the ladder, he audibly catches the boys cursing at each other before the taller one tells Naruto that he is his family too and to not forget about him.
This interests Souji. He thought they were boyfriends because they held hands, but Sasuke says they are family.
'That's kinda weird.'
In his haste, the boy caused the ladder to groan and creak as he scrambled up the last five steps.
Sasuke POV
He is warm and willing under me, and I am so ready. I want this sweet blonde so much I can taste it.
'I'm in love with you; I'm dying to tell you. I'm dying to show you.'
"Naruto..." I breathe out, gently.
My heart is thundering inside of me.
I am half afraid that this is a perfect dream and if I am not careful, I will lose the gentle passion rising between us. That he will dissappear from this moment with me in a plume of smoke.
'Naruto, please.'
Boldly, I lean over him; caressing his lightly tanned abdomen and up higher; steadying myself with one arm on the pillows.
'Touch me, Naruto', I plead silently, 'I need you so badly.'
Naruto's hot gaze drills into me, spiking my temperature and his easy grin is infectious. I am thrilled in this moment. I lean in closer, watching his mouth intently as those pale lips slightly part...
"I-"
I miss out on the rest of that statement as the ladder to our private sanctuary rattles and scares the piss out of us- (two chunin who are capable of kicking ass and who shouldn't be scared of anything, really!).
We break apart, guilty as hell that we are on the verge of christening a poor childs bedroom. The two of us are quite telling. With flushed faces, Naruto is trying to regain his breath and my wits have been scattered to the winds.
A moment later, a disheveled mop of red hair appears over the ledge of the room and peers in at us.
"What are you guys doing?" Souji asks slowly, he sounds hesitant like he thinks we are going to get mad at him, but instead I chuckle and exhale.
"Not too much; just addressing issues that need attention," I respond, draping a fur blanket over both mine and Naruto's... ahem, standing issues... and dragging the back of my fingers over his pulsing member while Souji's eyes drift arond the room.
'Hah! It is definitely not just me!'
Naruto POV
Souji walked over to the ceiling opening to peek at the starlit sky, meanwhile Sasuke pulled up a fur to cover our straining erections.
He grazes my length leisurely before his hands retreat.
I jolt up in surprise and try to calm down, glaring at my best friend for being unnecessarily friendly. How can he do that while we have company?!
'Smug bastard!'
Sasuke smirked upon this confirmation but it just sent me spiralling into agony, with a sharp intake of breath I stifle a moan and squirm, punching him squarely in the bicep.
Clearing my head a little, I divert my attention to Shouji, "Why are you up so late, buddy? I thought you and your momma hopped into bed awhile ago."
"I fell asleep at first, but dad snores! I don't know how mom sleeps in the same room as him."
Sasuke grinned and reached up to ruffle my hair and snickered. "It's not so bad. When you really love someone, the little things like snoring or obnoxious catch phrases or anything else grow on you. Believe it," Sasuke looked at me then, and with a sheepish grin he grasped my hand and squeezed.
"Your mom seems to love Hiroshi very much-," I didn't hear what came next. The air in my throat vaporized instantly and the sound of blood began rushing though my ears.
'Wait, WHAT?'
'That couldn't have been what he meant. Did he say that he loves me?.. No. No way. He surely doesn't mean it the way I do... does he?'
I stare at Sasuke's profile as the boys talk for awhile longer. For the rest of the conversation nothing stood out to me, except for Souji asking us to train him to be a ninja. I'm pretty sure Sasuke agreed to discuss it with his mother, but that we couldn't promise anything.
My head is swimming with vivid images and emotions and I can't contain them all at once. I feel drowsy and lightheaded and I'm ready to lay down, part of me is so stunned that I want to curl into Sasuke and deal with this huge revelation tomorrow.
'Sasuke might actiually love me! This is what I've wanted for years and suddenly it's sitting in my lap...'
I bow my head and clutch Sasukes' hand tighter between mine, running a calloused thumb over the scars on his knuckles.
With blurry vision and a racing mind, I consider that he has loved me for awhile now. For some time it was as friends and rivals; displayed every time he went out of his way to take care of me like he never has for anyone else, not even Sakura.
I remember the time he came by with a huge blanket and made me hot soup when it was storming outside. Hail had damaged my window and soaked my covers. I moved my bed to the other end of the room, and depressed, I huddled in the wet mess for what felt like hours until Sasuke mysteriously showed up and led me to the couch. He stayed with me overnight to make sure I didn't catch hypothermia. We sat in silence until the storm passed and I fell asleep; he even cleaned up the broken glass and had my window replaced not long after.
A long ago memory of me as a young kid getting roughed up simply for existing replayed through my mind as well.
A quiet boy with beautiful dark tresses came to my rescue. To keep from embarrassing me entirely, he started spouting off excuses that no one was allowed to rough up his teammate but him as he chased the bullies away.
Quiet though he generally was, Sasuke made an effort to make me laugh after the rescue by telling me an embarrassing story of what he once caught one of the ignorant, hateful children doing.
It made me feel so much better not to be alone.
I think of how he confided secrets to me down at the lake when we would find ourselves drawn there at night, where we would watch the stars together. How he has never been this way with anyone else. Not Sakura, Kakashi or any other living soul. Except maybe Itachi...
'Sasuke loves me.'
'Damnit!'
He looks over at me again, concerned. I rarely ever cry but I can feel it coming now, and not a moment too soon Souji starts yawning. Immediately taking the opening, Sasuke sends him to bed with an assurrance that we will not vanish without letting him know. My heightened hearing catches that Souji has jumped down the last few steps and landed with a thud and I let out a small sob.
Warm, wet droplets fall onto our clasped hands.
I lean into Sasuke as shudders wrack my body. Strong muscular arms pull me in tight and hot air passing through perfect lips caress my ear, "Naruto, whats wrong?"
Sliding my arms around his neck, I bury my face into his bare chest and let go.
All the feelings of not being good enough, the fear of rejection, the sheer amount of affection that I have felt for Sasuke for the last nearly five years. It feels like a faucet has been turned on and I can't stop purging the bottled up emotions from my system. A ridiculously heavy weight has lifted off my shoulders and my breathing comes easier as I chuckle through the tears.
"Sasuke, I probably knew it long before tonight, but it sounds so good coming directly from you."
I look up at him with shining eyes and tears clinging to my lashes but right now I don't give a damn if I look like a mess, I'm crazy about this shinobi and he feels the same way I do.
I have never felt so elated.
"I'm sorry I haven't said so before now. I wanted to make sure I could tell you exactly how I felt before I opened my mouth. I didn't want you to feel as though I left you hanging." Sasuke nuzzled against me a moment before continuing.
"I want you to know I'm more sure about this than I have been about anything else in my life. Naruto, I'm in love with you. You make me so happy and I honestly need you. I swear I cannot get enough of you. I want to be so much more than just your teammate and your friend. You make me feel incredibly at ease when I'm stressed out and I want to pack up and leave Konoha; and then you do these crazy things to my insides whenever you smile, whenever you touch me."
"The little noises you make sometimes that sound so out of place, my god, they fucking turn me on like you wouldn't believe." He fisted a hand into my hair and pulled, smirking.
Sasuke pulled back and caught my chin between his thumb and forefinger, connecting our gaze.
"It's like you can always read my mind. You save me from insanity sometimes. You know how to catch me when my thoughts get too dark and you point me towards the light. I don't want to go back to the nights sleeping alone; wondering what you're doing. I can't even sleep without you now... Naru, I want you. All of you. In return you can have me forever. I promise I'll stay faithfully by your side and support you as you become Hokage and we figure out life together. We will resurrect your clan together."
"You're the only person that can make me feel nervous, you know it? I'm anbu, I'm not supposed to get nervous. You drive me crazy!"
He began running his fingers through my hair, massaging my scalp.
"Naruto. I need you so much. I am so sorry for all the hurt I put you through this summer. I promise to never shut you out again. I don't want to ever be without you, and I swear on my parent's graves, I will never abandon you. "
He brushes my long bangs out of my face before he lets out a shaky breath, "I've never felt this way about anyone. I swear to Kami, sometimes these feelings for you start eating me inside out and it's terrifying, I've never felt so strongly about anything, let alone anyone before, but swear I've never been as glad to be alive as when we're together. You make me so happy. I want you to be mine, Naruto. Please, say yes. I've felt so strongly about you for so long... I'm just sorry it took me forever to put a name to it until now. It's true, Naruto. I love you so, so much. I don't want you to look at anyone else, to touch them or want them. I want all of your attention. To be the reason behind all of your happiness. You are my light, Naruto. I love you."
He finishes his speech with hope and regret in his eyes. Regret for what? The time we spent beating around the bush?
'Well, then. Me too.'
I lean forward until our foreheads are touching and sigh quietly, contentedly.
"This is way more than I ever expected from my emotionally constipated best friend. For you to confess to me like this is a dream come true," I chuckle ruefully. "I have been crazy about you since we were twelve and went on our first "D" ranked mission together outside Konoha. Do you remember that tiny fox you rescued from a hunters trap? Oh, Kami... Seeing your sweet and gentle side melted my heart that day."
I try not to blush in the dark, knowing just how good Sasuke's eyesight is and my darkened skin helps hide the slight embarrasment I feel. He needs to know how I feel though, so I will not stop now.
"With you it's always been easier. Easier to deal with the hard blows life delivers. Easier to deal with the lonliness. Easier to be myself; because you have never seen me as just a jinchuuriki. With you, I was able to be a regular guy as your teammate and rival. I will always cherish our memories together and how you were there for me."
"I love how patient and stubborn you are." I drag the pad of my thumb across his chest over his heart, "and as obsessed with you as I always was, for some reason you never ran from me like you did the others. You gave me the chance to know you. You have driven me crazy, and you have driven me to try harder to achieve my goals. You've done more for me than you know. From broken bones when I couldn't move and you carried me, to broken hearts with Jiraiya's passing and just being alone in the world- we have shared it all. Being an outsider growing up because we were seen as just titles: 'the surviving prodigy Uchiha and the prank pulling tailed beast rentainer'..."
I press the palm of one hand over his heart, "I love you, Sasuke. You have showed me a side to yourself you've never offered to anyone else and while I've always been shunned by others, you still stayed. You made it so easy to be with you. All your possessiveness and quirks included. You've accepted both me and Kurama... Everything you do shows me how much you care. You believe in my dedication to become hokage and are prepared to support me in that lifelong goal; if that doesn't shout commitment, I don't know what does. Hell, Sasuke, you love me even though I cannot give you natural children to restore the Uchiha clan; and that will burn in me as long as I live."
"Naru-" My onyx eyed lover chokes out, and I pull my hand back meeting those cloudy orbs that seem to see straight into my soul... oh my, I could get lost in you, Sasuke...
"Don't stop."
He presses the flat of my palm against his chest again and I allow my fingers to explore. They dance up his insanely soft neck and tangle in his hair. I slide my other hand back down and caress his shoulder, rubbing tiny circles as I go. 'I could touch you forever...'
His soft hair tickles my skin as he kisses the crook of my neck and shoulder where he then rests his forehead.
I continue, "I adore how playful you can be in the mornings, how you understand me and my logic even when I'm at my most scatterbrained. It meant so much to me that you would share your nights at the lake with me when that used to be something you only did with your nii-san... For so long, I felt like I was betraying you by having deeper feelings and desires towards you, while you were just being a good friend," I shudder.
"Dreaming about a future with you used to hurt. I thought you were asexual, honestly. I was too scared of rejection and losing our relationship as friends to speak up and even try. But not anymore. I've always loved you, and I will endeavor not keep secrets from you again. I should've known we would work through it and be fine, just like we always are. As it stands, I am never going to let you go once I've sunk my teeth in, so I hope you're ready for that, Sasuke."
Sasuke POV
Leaning into his caresses feels perfectly natural to me. I angle my head from the crook of his neck to capture one wrist and place another kiss there, before pulling him down to the mattress with me.
"I think we deserve to be happy, Naruto." I say softly.
My blonde boyfriend crawls over me to lay on my chest and we remain that way for the rest of the night. Long legs tangled together; beating hearts in sync. I can feel his smooth chest against mine as he nuzzles my collarbone and relaxes against me.
I wrap my arms around him and we lay like that, reminiscing about the past and what we felt for each other at those specific moments.
The next morning, Naruto was the last to wake up, meandering downstairs to find breakfast cooked and an extra plate set out for him. He laid his hand comfortingly on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze before sitting down and quietly listening to Yuna discuss our plans for the day.
I made sure I would have enough time to get her advice on how to make tonight perfect for Naruto. It's not every day that my boyfriend turns eighteen!
"I have to go into the office for a few hours, but if you want, you boys can come into town with me and help the vendors set up and prepare for the matsuri tonight! It will be fun for you all to get out of the house." She giggles, "Well, Sasuke and Naruto don't seem like the overly indoors type anyways, but it should be a nice change to visit a festival and forget about your mission duties for awhile."
Her easy laughter and smiles are so genuine.. I hope Naruto can find that within himself once more. I can usually get him to open up around me, but with other people he is still cautious and reserved.
'I hope this joyous woman can help you regain some of your lost personality. I want you to always be happy, Naruto.'
"Oh! Oh! Oh! Mam, do you think the old lady is doing spicy dango again? I looove that stuff. Last year, I ate so much I ended up asleep before the fireworks! But I won't miss them this year," Souji's exited chatter went on for awhile until his dad came in with a bag full of water canteens and fruits for us to take to the festival tonight.
"Be safe and have fun today. I'm helping a family chop firewood this afteernoon, but I'll likely meet up with you before the festival starts." With a kiss for his wife and son, Hiroshi ushered us out the door and we began our separate journeys.
To Be Continued...