Touch

Sasuke's POV

The demon fox had surfaced. They had heard weird noises from his chambers, and Madara had ordered some guardians to go check up on the him. They entered the room to see an erated mad Naruto trying to fight something invisible, his eyes tightly closed and the mark of whiskers more intense and clear than ever on his heated cheeks.

Sasuke looked apathetically at the short man in front of him. His characteristics were calm and in place but his cheeks gained fast in heat that he could almost feel them burning.
He said they heard him murmur things that made no sense to their ears. And then the murmurs turned into animalistic screams. Ones that made no sense, too.

Perhaps, I'd be able to see the meaning in them if I was there. Sasuke then thought.

But he couldn't have been. And it was out of Madara. The man had told him nothing about it from beforehand. Instead, he had ordered his ninjas to put on a chakra seal on Naruto, thus sealing the fox demon inside the blond for good, and preventing any form of jutsu requiring chakra supplies of ever happening.

Madara thought he had been pretty tolerable with Sasuke's whims, his wishes to keep the blond alive and with him. If he could, Madara would have already extracted the demon out of the former hokage, but allas, somehow Sasuke had convinced him that besides the fact that they didnt know fully how to do it, it wasn't the right time. But with the current event, Madara's doubts about Sasuke's sincerity grew darker and bigger. He didn't want Sasuke to be there when the seal would take place.

Not that Madara thought that Sasuke would be as daring and foolish to protest against such a safety move, but everyone who knew a little bit about the methods Madara used in similar cases-he had controlled tailed beasts before- knew also that they were very painful. It was a pain that was almost able to kill you on spot while the chakra seal was being performed on you, but gladly it didn't last long after the procedure had been completed.

If nothing, it left your nerves kind of numb, as a result of the intense pain you'd have endured previously.
Madara didnt'want Sasuke to witness that. If Sasuke was okay with Naruto getting another Kyubi seal, he knew the raven wouldn't be okay seeing the kitsune in dreadful pain. He'd get in their way, try to prevent them and get angry at Madara, causing a mayhem he wasn't eager to deal with at the moment. He had more important matters at hand, and getting done with the uncontrolled demon's issue was one of his priorities.

Madara wasn't stupid. He more or less knew Sasuke somehow cared for the blond. They used to be teammates. But that wasn't all. Sasuke had done everything to persuade him to allow him to have the blond under his protection and control. That was not a thing Sasuke did everyday, unless he had a personal profit to gain. In this case, Madara allowed himself to believe that the later wasn't the case.

Because Sasuke might be incredibly strong but in the same time the boy was a bit of a simple minded idiot. He never had any big aspirations or plans, like controlling the world, or handling a tailed beast for his own matters. He was simply satisfied just by going after revenge and his ambitions' horizons ended at that. What Madara didn't know though was, to what extent Sasuke was willing to go for his blond.

Only time and…tests could tell but for the meanwhile, the kyubi seal had been performed, Madara was sitting on his room, enjoying his lemon tea and Sasuke was just being told the news from one of Madara's filthy mignons.

At first, Sasuke felt so enraged. So Madara had tricked him. But why? This was alerting. He could accept the seal. But why had Madara felt the need to lie to Sasuke while he'd been doing it? Why tell him later and not then? Was it something he should be worried for?

He hurried to see Madara in his office, and even if the guardians protested that Madara hadn't desired to meet with anyone till next morning, Sasuke had already ran out of the last straws of patience in him.
Pushing the guardians aside, he bursted into the office, glaring at Madara dangerously.

''Calm down,boy. It was something I had to do. And you being present there might cause me problems. ''Madara said expecting such a heated reaction, eyeing Sasuke with something between curiosity and amusement.

''Why did you lie to me?'' Sasuke asked trying to control his temper, a calm facade shining through his face, one that didn't fool Madara though. He had learnt Sasuke far too well for his own good anymore.

''Why wouldn't I? You're very predictable, you know, Sasuke-kun. You often like to act rebellious against my plans. I may have been spoiling you by being lenient to your foolishness so far but I wouldn't put up with this in the Kyubi's case.'' Madara said, looking at Sasuke with a hint of anger. Was he really that dense?

Sasuke lost his temper at that and crossed the small distance separating him from the man which he wanted to tear in countless pieces in the heat of the moment.

''What was the real deal?'' he asked, in a low tone hiss, breathing heavily onto Madara's face as he had gripped his shirt, dragging him closer.

''Sasuke…I know I haven't done such things before with you, but really now? I thought you did know some things about my ways…''Madara said, enjoying Sasuke's anger. He wasn't often to be able to get some reaction out of the raven, so the sight in front of his eyes was a pure bliss for him.

Sasuke's eyes suddenly flashed in realization. But that hint was fast gone, as soon as it came.

Pain. How could he have forgotten that? He had heard about that before, the way Madara had with the infamous demon seals. Heck, if Naruto had been hurt when Konoha was attacked, he must have felt ten times worse pain, now.

Anger redominated fast his onyx orbs, as he retook the grip on Madara's shirt, shaking him slightly, but with big tension nonetheless.

''You're worse than I thought. Don't. You. Ever. Touch. Him. Again. Is it clear this time?'' Sasuke hissed under his breath, as all of the rumours he had heard about Madara resurfaced into his hurting mind.
Images of violent attacks, murders, demon extractings, sealings…all of it, all in a dazzle.

He felt his heart stopping at the thought of Naruto being in such pain. He shouldn't care but he couldn't bring himself to become indifferent. It was Naruto, for god's sake! He was lucky to still be alive. That b*****d Madara had really taken it far, this time. Very far…None had the right to touch his blond, let alone harm him.

Madara chuckled, amused. How funny for Sasuke to be calling him something like that. As if he had any room to talk. But he supressed the ironic bite threatening to escape his parted lips, deciding it was time he turned the discussion to a more productive point.

''Your …''interest'' for the blond…Should it worry me, Sasuke-kun?'' he whispered, a sly smile on his face.

''That is none of your business.'' Sasuke said coldly, a sting of worry troubling his heart and mind.

What if Madara had realized the depth of Sasuke's feelings for the blond and decided to use it against him?

''It's not as long as you keep your part of the contract. Which was keep him under control. You failed. Once. Next time this happens, consider that broken. I don't want him causing me troubles.'' Madara said suddenly getting serious.

Playing with Sasuke's sentiments was one thing and letting Sasuke get away with it thinking it wasn't really risky for both sides was another entirely different one.

''It won't .'' Sasuke said, as he released his grip on Madara's collar,taking in a silent but deep breath after he stepped some distance back.

Madara chuckled amused as Sasuke sent him a death glare before turning around and escaping the room with a frown all over his tired face. The door shut behind with a loud bang.

Boy, was he frustrated. Damn, that Naruto. On his way back to the training grounds, Sasuke could picture what caused the Kyubi to surface was.

What for?

His mind running back to Naruto's simple but full of subtle hints of worry question, he knew now that he should have said something back then to reassure the blond that everything was okay. Even if it wasn't. And even if it wasn't like Sasuke to lie. But he couldn't. And thus he had chosen to leave, ignoring the silent pleas of sympathy and help.

But even if he had lied to Naruto, even if he had told him that they weren't preparing for another atrocious war act on another innocent village, brimming with life and laughter and false innocence, just as Konoha did once, he knew it would have been pointless.
Naruto's wild spirit would never be tamed. He would never rest assured in just a broken promise or some hollow words that he could never know whether they were true or false. Instead, he'd try his best to find out more, to help, to prevent, to save. Even if it was already too late for that which he so fiercely craved back: Konoha.

The Kyubi must have lured him to let it take control in exchange for help. Really, Naruto, has your desperation made you so foolish so that you chose to believe into that demon?
Sasuke was very angry. And sad. Naruto was threatening to ruin everything with his actions, with all his guilt that he couldn't leave behind, with his stupid big heart that couldn't simply stop caring.

He found comfort in the thought that, going by what he knew, Naruto's body wouldn't be in terrible pain anymore. But Madara's words still rang as an annoying preaching into his ears.

You failed. Once. Next time this happens, consider that broken.
As much as he secretly hated seeing Naruto in pain for all that which he couldn't save, he hated even more the thought of ever having Naruto separated from him again.

He was an egotistical b*****d and he knew it. In the same time Naruto suffered for all those lives that had been lost, Sasuke could only bring himself to care for what he wanted.
But he pushed the regrets his conscience woke up in him away, because a second thought was more important right now.
If Madara broke the contract, Sasuke didn't know if he'd be able to protect Naruto anymore.

And now with the chakra-demon seal done, Naruto didn't have any chakra to use in his favor/help/salvage against any attack. He was as weak as a normal non ninja Konoha citizen.
If Naruto wanted to save the dead, Sasuke wanted to save someone still alive. He couldn't afford Naruto taking his sanity away just because he had lost his.

He didn't feel ready to face the blond right now. If he was in the same room with him, he might end up hurting him worse for all he knew. He didn't want to be violent, but his feelings had got the best of him again. Being around Naruto wasn't good for his inner peace.

And yet most of the times, he clang to the dobe's presence as if he was a hard drug in which he was unforgivably addicted to. A pleasant one…but drug nontheless.

He sat at the small make shift inn that was ran by some female kunoichis. He didn't use to go there often anymore, unless there was a major gathering going on or he was too bored for his own sake.
There were a few sparse ninjas sitting down, scattered in the tables around the room, minding their own business.

A few though had appeared startled to see Sasuke Uchiha sitting among them. Now, that was rare.

And even more eyes seemed to widen when Sasuke made an order. Sasuke decided to pay no mind to their unnerving attention to his presence , too drawn into his own concerns.
Drinking a bit should ease down his nerves, afterall.

(Timeskip)

It was late at night when Sasuke decided to finally detach his lips from the glass of wine and make his way back to his chambers, stumbling and murmuring pointless things in all of his drunken galore.
He hadn't got drunk since like forever, if he put his mind onto it. He had taken the habit after Itachi's death, that dark period of his life in which he was struggling to not let darkness consume him, to not lose his sanity and grip with reality completely.

It hadn't done much, so he cut it off effectively after the period of 2 months. And thus he had started trying to cope with his pain, sober mode. It was far too hard for his own likings, so in the end he just pulled his heart away from his chest and pretended he had no feelings…until Naruto came back into his life. And as if some ancient forbidden ritual that had planted secretly its roots deep inside Sasuke's psyche, his drinking habit seemed to resurface.

Sasuke thought he should either tear his heart away from him or get Naruto out of his life forever.
Because feelings were a forbidden luxury to him. An unneeded pain in his life. They were that tiring weight that slowed him down.

But allas, he couldn't do either. Because his heart and Naruto now were one and whole thing.
It was simply impossible.

He unlocked the room and entered inside, slightly shaking in his dizziness.
His eyes wandered around the room, in a blurry vision, before settling down onto the one thing that was of his concern.
And that one person was looking back at him with that face….
The face he had been seeing into his drink the entire night, into every drop of wine he got through his lips. He was all over his mind, his soul, his heart. He had made him pathetically weak.

Weak.

In the impulse caused by his drunk, he closed the distance between him and the bed on which Naruto was sitting on and plugged a knee on the mattress to support himself.

Gripping Naruto's shirt with his tight fists, he dragged him breath close to him, uncaring for the close proximity, the fact that he was still bare chested from the morning, the fact that he was in no place to control the outcome of his reactions. But he didn't care.
Was it from the alcohol or because he couldn't bear this burden alone anymore, he didn't know. But that was not of importance at the moment. Because when Naruto's agitated breath hit his, he lost his mind completely.

''Tell me…! Tell me what should I do…to stop caring for you. You make me so weak…you make vulnerable! And you make me feel ashamed for this! But I can't stop it. Naruto, I…''

He paused, taking in a deep breath after the flood of words coming out of his shaking lips.

Tears were on the verge of his eyes and he still had a last hint of dignity in his state to make an effort to push them back. But he failed. And a tear streamed down his pale cheek, betraying him. And just like the tears, he spilled out his heart to his best friend, finally wording that which he had suffered out of for so long.

''I want you…'' …so much, it hurts.

But even if his mouth couldn't bring itself to express the rest of the sentence, the tears and the love expression in his hurting onyx orbs were more than enough to cover up for the lack of words.

And with that, he leaned in and captured Naruto's lips in his own, sealing his confession with a heated kiss.

Naruto's POV

Naruto thinks the room must be filled with demons, because he can't move, can't speak, can't do anything.

It's like being in a dream, or a nightmare, knowing what he wants his body to do but unable to convince it to obey. He remembers jerking and snapping just a few minutes ago, maybe even wrestling. But now...? There's just this dizzying sensation of falling and a far-off horror as something loud breaks through the haze of static. Then, there's pain.

White - hot, agonizingly cruel oh god kill me now, pain.

The fox continues to roar against some sort of information he has not yet foreseen, albeit while under the duress of the seal, Naruto can only blink absently before being hurtled into yet another spiral as the life is being choked from him.

stop stop STOP!

His voice is hoarse from screaming, yet beneath that, there is also the furious humor of the kyuubi's will.

When it is finished, Naruto's sure he's dead. And to be fair, his heart has stopped beating for some minutes. He is comforted, pleasured in fact, by the warmth he feels at such an in-between. It wipes his body of loss and regret instantly, though it pins something dark permanently into his skin.

''Leave him.''

The sound drags him from such peace. Orange bleeds into blue, and as the figures slink away, Naruto can't help imagining that one of the demons looked startlingly familiar.

Still, seconds seem to drag into hours for Naruto, albeit for the longest time the blond simply lay at an awkward angle; pent up and hurting. He's scared to breathe let alone think, but somehow he manages to call for the one thing he wants. ''Sas-'' the voice is ragged ad chipped, making Naruto believe he'll never speak right again. Inwardly, he's pawing around for some sort of flame, to try and find the weakness within himself and stir it back to life.

When he tries too long, the pain intensifies.

Naruto lolls onto his side, hair spreading against the sheets in a wild mess. A soft sound slides from him, desperately miserable as he takes in another hushed breath.

Where... what about Konoha? This thought is repeated like a mantra, branding all of his worst memories: where there are flames and fear and loud noises and blood. Where dark things linger in the night with fangs and dead things with living eyes. His gaze drifts to the side, pretending that none of it bothers him. Because somewhere, in his best memories, there is Sasuke. Who remains right beside him whenever Naruto needs him, solid against childhood nightmares and the uncertainty of nowhere being home.

''I can't..''

( time skip.. )

Somewhere behind him, the rest of the world keeps moving.

It's quiet through most of the day that follows, though Naruto himself doesn't understand what's going on. With time, he learns that the numbness will ebb away, leaving behind this uselessness that reminds Naruto he's truly lost everything. He begins distracting himself by trying to speak with the Kyuubi again or getting himself to move without much trouble before something more than how long it will take for him to die an horrible death seems to start up.

To be frank, it was all he could do.

He'd tried not to notice Sasuke slipping into the room late in the night, even hours after Naruto had laid out his life for all the wrong reasons and had no one to lean on. Sasuke is the one with a future, so he counts on such facts to keep him from cursing how things hadn't changed.

Is he..., drunk?

Blue eyes concentrate on the staggering image of his dark angel, contemplating the slurred motions of an all-too gone stoicism. Naruto swallows thickly, trying not to read into the meaning of such a outlandish choice. No, Naruto would never linger on something so obvious as that. I

nstead, his primary focus transcends onto the fact Sasuke was still shirtless, and wondering where he'd been for most of the night. Jealousy flared within him at the thought of having Sasuke fraternizing with random ninja while he'd been laying here; slowly dying and reaquaintincing himself with nine kinds of hurt.

That idea died however; the instant Sasuke came fumbling toward him.

It had happened so fast—much faster than Naruto's eyes could seem to comprehend for a moment, before the Uchiha was on one knee at the bed, glaring at him.

''H-how..?''

''Tell me…! Tell me what should I do…'' Sasuke's whispered words fell past him, lost in the scents that threatened to ache in Naruto's heart—blood, alcohol, and the smell that was uniquely him. Naruto was still reeling from the relief of it when Sasuke jerked the blond forward suddenly and stared at him so hard Naruto shook.

Something's wrong.

Hell, Naruto sure thought so—even if he was tingling head to toe, and parts of him were taking far more notice than they should have, considering that Sasuke was his best friend. So why didn't he say something?

''-But I can't stop it. Naruto, I…''

Because he didn't want to, he decided. Maybe he never had. Instead, he stretched his arm outward, ready to steady the pair in case Sasuke tipped. When the raven slowly tilted his head back and looked at him blearily, Naruto couldn't resist getting caught up in the sinful curves of the other's lips. But only for a moment, he swears it! A lifetime of dirty thoughts had surged through his head, making the blond flush against their closeness. Still, he held back.

Even when the drunken intensity of Sasuke's touch seemed to be the only thing keeping him from giving in, or from moving forward. He's searching now, looking for some ground to believe anything that he has to tell him.

What Naruto finds, is a hazy reassurance in those dark eyes, for which he holds no more reason to search. It's like a doorway into a place that Naruto had long ago given up on ever finding. He finds himself falling into that feeling, slumping back beneath Sasuke with a heavy sigh.

"You're sure?" he murmurs. Even with the willingness in Sasuke's gaze, the ex-Hokage asks.

His answer, however, takes him completely by surprise.

''Mmmph,'' Naruto said softly—not a protest, cus he's sure Sasuke wasn't in any kind of mood to hear it. One way or another, they've spent the better part of their lives trying to deny the things they wanted here, and they were both finally tired. He wanted this—the closeness, the wrongness of it all.

Everything he had left in the world was right here in front of him, confessing in a splurge of wonder. It startled Naruto, to see that Sasuke wanting this, wanting anything to do with him really. But to be honest, he was also sick of fighting voices and demons and his own self-loathing to keep it from being taken away.

When Sasuke's cool lips pushed harder against his own, Naruto quickly opened to his kiss, one hand slowly sidling up through the raven's hair and tugging him closer while the other moved clumsily along Sasuke's arm afore resting cautiously against his ribs.

He felt them sliding backward but dammit the other was a good kisser, even when he was drunk. Naruto had suspected—all those years of watching Sasuke being fawned over by different girls and women, sometimes envying them and not Sasuke, wanting all that attention for himself... he'd always imagined it would be every bit as good as this.

''Teme—" Naruto began, though his own lips were stalling, waiting for the next move. He knew he shouldn't be savoring that kiss. Or the possibility of inhaling one more second of their closeness.

Least of all, the ex-ninja shouldn't be loving what Sasuke tastes like.

Especially when the Uchiha is drunk, and probably won't even remember this in the morning.

Naruto broke away from Sasuke with this thought, staring at the other with a certain consideration most would think impossible for someone like him. His hand is pulling lightly on the raven's hair again, refusing to let him get too far. The blond was panting now, breathless from everything Sasuke stole from him. ''..stop.'' So much lies in the fragile air here, that unspoken history of passion and loss, fierceness and regret, blood-tinged kunai and faded scars. It surfaces unpredictably, splintering everything for too-long seconds—minutes—before it's gone.

In the darkness, Sasuke has hinted something he doesn't know Naruto's afraid to rely on: I can't be without you.

Softest of all is, Yes—this time I'm staying.

He knows Sasuke will never say this, but satiates himself with the almost-known. The ex-Hokage is hesitant now, caressing Sasuke's skin as if it will cool this drunken slander that is no doubt escalating into confusion.

''I'm so sorry,'' he whispers. Blue eyes grow stony, though the meaning he's hidden in them doesn't stray. Naruto allows himself to push forward on his own this time, molding his lips against Sasuke's in a soundless acknowledgment for all the tears the other's shedding; for all the weakness he's caused in him.

It hurts watching Sasuke cry. It always has, but now it's worse. Finally, Naruto thinks his best choice is to make himself stop, frowning beneath the other. Naruto is shivering by the time they're done, absolutely tremoring from the situation he's forced upon him.

Granted, the other started it first, but Naruto's never going to point a finger. Because in the darkness, Naruto is different—softer and quieter, driven purely by touch. His fingers trace the truth of Sasuke's body along the plains of his chest, remembering and cherishing all the forsaken moments that they stole in childhood to the lives he and Sasuke had led.

''How much... have you dr-?'' he slows.

The question hangs there, questioning the Uchiha's coherency. Though it's meant more for regard than anything. Because he doesn't want Sasuke to act on something he'll regret later, even if he manages to remember something in the morning.

Honestly. Kissing your ex-teammate will not be something you just come back from without much remorse. No, he doesn't want to lose Sasuke again for that reason. Not when both of them know now, and finally understand how each other feel.

You'll always have me, whether you want me or not.

Yayy, they finally kissed!

R&RRR, plox!