Disclaimers: Naruto is someone else's, this is purely a fanfic using someone else's characters.

Warnings: This story includes strong language, violence, angst, hopefully some decent jokes, and (of course) beautiful SasuNaru love.

Chapter 21: Acting Without Thinking

"I was going to kiss him, and I was going to regret it. But at that moment, I couldn't bring myself to care."

-Michelle Hodkin

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Naruto woke up and glanced over to find Sasuke, still asleep by his side. He gently brushed back his hair so he could see the face he had fallen so deeply in love with. I still can't believe that he feels the same way about me, he thought. It doesn't make any sense. I'm just.. and he's.. he looked back at the beautiful pale raven laying close to him. Sasuke. He smiled and slowly sat up, careful not to wake him. As he slipped out of bed, he found that all of the pain from the day before was gone. His smile widened.

Hell yeah!! I'm back!

He tiptoed out of the room, and gently closing the door, before finally letting himself celebrate. He leapt and danced into the bathroom, took care of business, and then raced down the hall, intent on getting himself outside now that he's finally able to train again.

He jumped forward, threw the door open,.. and collapsed.

"Ahhhh!!" he gasped as pain stabbed through him. He tried to breathe through it, but it came out in ragged bursts. Naruto struggled to his feet, but his knees gave out and he slammed to the floor again.

"Nnnn- fu-fuck."

He doubled over, groaning in pain. His vision blurred as he slowly started making his way back. He could hear Sasuke's voice from down the hall. "Da-Dammit, nnnn- Naruto" Sasuke gasped- his breathing labored as he fought to bear through his own pain. He crawled towards him. "Nnn- what were you.. thinking?"

As they drew nearer, the pain started to fade. Naruto's vision cleared, and they could both breathe again. Naruto got to his feet, and looked up in time to see Sasuke's pissed off face before he was thrown back against the door.

"What the fuck, Sasuke!" He stepped towards him, but the Uchiha shoved him again, forcing him back against the wall. "What is your problem?!"

Dark eyes narrowed. "My problem? You want to know what my fucking problem is?" Sasuke slammed his fist against the door, rage rushing through him as he towered over Naruto. "YOU are my fucking problem!"

"What the hell is that supposed to-"

Sasuke cut him off. "Do you think I like seeing you in pain? You think I'm just fucking numb to it at this point?" He grabbed Naruto's shirt, and jerked him towards him. "Well I'm not" he snarled.

Naruto stared at him. "Sasuke.. I-" He looked away from the raven's harsh glare. "I'm sorry, ok. I- I wasn't thinking.."

"That was extremely fucking clear."

Naruto looked down, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from lashing out. He didn't like being talked down to, especially by Sasuke, but he knew he fucked up.

Sasuke loosened his grip on his shirt and took half a step back. "God- you drive me crazy.." he muttered. Naruto still couldn't meet his eyes, so he reached out and lifted his chin for him. "Naruto." Blue eyes finally looked back into his. "If you hurt my boyfriend again, I'll kick your ass."

The blonde gave a half-hearted laugh and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah.. I'll try to- wait.. boyfriend?!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Naruto. Boyfriend. Or do you just dry hump all of your friends..?" Sasuke kept his face blank but his eyes gleamed with amusement as Naruto's head struggled not to explode- his face beat red, mouth sputtering.

"I know what you're thinking," Sasuke continued, "and the answer is yes, Naruto- we can do more of that soon."

The blonde took a swing at him and Sasuke, already anticipating that reaction, caught it. Naruto's fist still clenched in his, Sasuke pulled the blonde's arm behind his back, using the momentum to pull Naruto closer.

Naruto put his hand against Sasuke's chest to keep space between them, but he might as well have not for all the good that it'd do. Sasuke grabbed Naruto's face with his other hand and held him still. "Sasuke.. wait- the curse.."

"Oh, now you remember it."

And completely ignoring his warning, Sasuke leaned in and kissed him.

"Yo.." Kakashi coughed loudly. "Umm.. am I interrupting something?"

Naruto's eyes snapped open. In a panic he tried to pull away, but his lips were stuck to Sasuke's, which made the panic worse.

"Mmnnnnn!!!" he screamed into his mouth. He jerked back into the door behind him, pulling Sasuke with him. The Uchiha slammed into him, growling in frustration. Naruto kept trying to push him away, and Sasuke was struggling to force him closer.

It wasn't working well for either of them.

If he just stopped freaking out and thought for two seconds, he would know we already figured this shit out! We have to get closer to get apart.

"Ummm.." Kakashi scratched the side of his face. "So.. uhhh- should I go?"

"Mmmphh!!" Naruto threw his head back, the momentum driving their foreheads to smash into each other. Naruto groaned and Sasuke officially snapped. With a low growl, he grabbed the back of Naruto's thighs and lifted him up against the door, pushing close in between them. Keeping his hips shoved forward, Sasuke grabbed the fool and pulled him in to deepen the kiss. He crushed their lips together, ignoring the blonde's incessant whining, and his sensei's increasing discomfort, until the curse's hold finally loosened.

He dropped Naruto back onto his feet and stepped back, eyes burning with anger and lust as they bore into him. Naruto's shaky legs gave up on him and he simply slid down to sit on the floor, staring at nothing.

"Ok." Kakashi ran a hand through his thick silver hair, not even knowing where to start. "Well."

"It's not- it's not what it looks like.." Naruto ran his fingers through his hair, not quite meeting his sensei's skeptical eye.

"Yes. It is."

Naruto snapped his head up. "Sasuke! That's not-"

"Naruto was playing hard to get." His jaw tightened as he narrowed his eyes on the blonde. "That is all that you saw."

Kakashi considered him for a moment before sliding his gaze back to the anxious blonde sitting against the wall. "Naruto- is this true? There's nothing you want me to report back to the Hokage?"

Naruto looked back at Sasuke. So that's what he's doing. "Uhh.. yeah. I guess."

"Uh huh. Ok, well you two have fun." He started moving back to the window he had used to enter the Uchiha home, when he paused and looked over his shoulder at his two flustered ex-students. "Be careful boys. There's a lot we don't know about this curse. Underestimate it, and you could get hurt. Or worse- you could wind up hurting each other."

Naruto looked away, but Sasuke's eyes locked onto Kakashi's. "I understand."

Kakashi looked pointedly at Naruto, then back at the intense Uchiha, meeting his dark gaze once more. "I hope so."

Then he turned and left, leaving behind his warning and it's resulting silence.