Woo-hoo, it didn't take me half as long to update this time around. And it'll be getting even better once Winter Break sets in. Thanks to everyone who was patient with the last chapter and left me a review. I really appreciate it. The rest of you need to get on it and keep me motivated. It's a proven fact that I only update when I have hoards of fans screaming in my ear . Hop to, my darlings.

Warning: That 'M' rating is seriously coming into play in this chapter. I was just dancing around with it before, but now we've reached dark water. Don't read if you're too young or just too whiny.

Disclaimer: I dedicate this chapter, and this entire story, to the lovely, bodacious, enchanting, and yaoi-licious Sora-chan, who gave me many an idea for the this fic's plot while we were hashing it out together. Much love, babe.

I claim no ownership to Naruto, though I like to think that a little bit of the heart of yaoi belongs to all who enjoy it.

Habitual Infatuation .::. Chapter Five

The growl that escaped from low in Sasuke's throat as he plunged into the icy water was more feral than anything he'd ever heard from himself before. Even in the heat of battle, he couldn't say he'd ever made a sound so purely animalistic in nature. Down his head went, beneath the line where air met water and into a world of crystalline blue. He kept his eyes shut tight for a minute, watching the dancing colors and half-formed shapes that appeared behind his eyelids. He couldn't say if the world beneath the water was truly as quiet as it seemed; everything moved too fast for him to tell. The icy droplets clinging to him in this moment were not the same as what would coat his skin in the next. Never the same.

Slowly, he surfaced, contrasting the ferocity with which he had thrown himself initially into the trickle of a stream. It was just deep enough to allow him to dunk his entire body, and just wide enough that he could wade out to his neck before it started growing shallow again. He wouldn't have bothered with this uncomfortable excuse for a body of water if he hadn't been in such desperate need. Another minute…and even he couldn't say what would have happened.

It had been a week since the waterfall incident had first awakened the feelings between Sasuke and his partner. Seven agonizing days had passed where Sasuke spent every moment wondering if this would be the moment. Every gaze that fell between the two shinobi seemed like the gaze of lovers about to bury themselves in each other. Every slight touch was a prelude to heavy caresses that were to come. Every tense silence where it became painfully clear just how alone they were, detached from anyone that could possibly interrupt them, was more than Sasuke could bear.

And yet all of it led to nothing.

Sasuke was still waiting for that one perfect moment in a sea of moments that were…almost perfect. Naruto was still dancing just out of his grasp, too much of a boy to embrace becoming a man when the goal was inches from him. He had an innocence to him that couldn't quite be ignored, even as Sasuke stared at his lithe form with purely lustful intentions. The Kyuubi knew everything that an average adolescent was supposed to know about sex, anatomy, and human relations, but none of that seemed to register in those startling sapphire eyes of his. It was impossible to gaze into them and not think of childhood meanderings under crisp autumn skies. His gaze spoke of old memories and people long lost down scattered trails, but always loved and cherished. His eyes were wells into everything Sasuke had dreamed about as a child.

And that was what stayed the older shinobi's hand. In the moments when the strain between the two boys grew taut and all Sasuke had to do was reach out to finally sweep Naruto into his arms…that was what stopped him. Naruto had something so few people ever experienced, and if they did it wasn't for long. Sasuke wanted to teach Naruto what it was to love. He wanted to forge a bond between their bodies that would help him reach that goal. But he didn't want to do this with someone who wasn't Naruto. Much as the other ninja annoyed him at times, exasperated him, embarrassed him…he was always just Naruto. He was nothing like the village girls who liked to comb their hair exactly one thousand times to make it shine or lift their skirts just slightly as he passed. Naruto never batted his eyelashes at him as if it didn't make him look like a gawking parrot. Naruto never added some stupid honorific to the end of his name, as if Sasuke would be honored by it. Naruto was just Naruto, and the thought of losing that was something Sasuke didn't like at all.

So, he held off on his plan. He ignored the fire burning low in his belly and forced his knees not to quiver when his partner turned the full force of those shimmering eyes on him. When the burning grew too hot for even his self-control to contain, he found an icy river like this one and doused the flames in it. He would keep himself under control, no matter what he had to do.

Unfortunately, this time around, it seemed the river simply wasn't enough. He held his freezing body in it for as long as he could stand, but the edge of lust between his legs just wouldn't seem to fade. Something very bad had happened a moment ago that pushed Sasuke's control to the limit.

They had been making camp, as they did every morning: stoking the embers that remained in their fire, brushing out the bed of sweet ferns that they slept on, scrounging around for whatever food the forest could provide…and Naruto had tripped. Granted, this was not an unusual occurrence; Naruto had a knack for diving headfirst over even the slightest depression in the ground. But this time, a stray log had sent him flying directly into Sasuke. Both boys had hit the ground hard and rolled until Sasuke's larger body held Naruto pinned.

Both shinobi froze, not daring to breathe while their mouths rested so close to each other. Sasuke could feel every individual muscle in Naruto's abdomen, and Naruto could do the same. Their body heat seeped together into a pool between them, bringing flushed color to their cheeks that spoke of their silent desire. Sasuke tried to shift slightly away, but that only made the length of his body rub against the other boy's with a most delicious kind of friction. Breathe, Sasuke whispered mentally, trying to control the sparks igniting in his groin. If he couldn't control himself soon, Naruto would not be able to miss the arousal pressing against him. Sasuke could lie to himself all he like, but his body would never keep up the façade.

Sasuke had stayed perfectly still, breathing deeply while trying to keep Naruto from realizing what he was doing. Naruto looked like a deer in the headlights beneath him, his cheeks flushed such a lovely shade of soft pink Sasuke wanted to feather kisses all over them. Then…Naruto started squirming.

Sasuke gritted his teeth as that pliant body under him wriggled around in such a tantalizing way. It was maddening, and it threatened to tear his self-control from him. Before he even realized the words had left his mouth, he heard himself ask, "Naruto, what are you doing?" The black-haired boy froze, waiting for whatever answer Naruto could offer. The blush in the blond boy's cheeks seemed to double, and his eyes widened with innocence. Eventually, a whispered answer left his mouth, almost too soft for Sasuke to hear. "I was just wondering why it felt this way…to move against you."

Sasuke's shock was almost tangible, and another question popped from his mouth before he could stop it, "What does it feel like?" Naruto seemed to consider his question, somehow managing to look oblivious even while pressed sensually to another person. After an eternity, he answered, "It just feels so…good."

Snap.

Those words were all it took to snap Sasuke from his stupor. He needed to get away from this before he did something he'd regret. Now was not the time, and if Naruto kept talking like that—so low and breathily, caressing the air between them—Sasuke wouldn't be able to stop himself.

He'd bolted. He'd gotten away from Naruto so fast, he doubted the other boy had seen him leave at all. Off he sped into the woods until he came to the stream he now shivered in. He'd thought this would be able to douse the passion in him, as it had before, but it seemed this time it was too much. He would need something more than cold water to free himself from him lust. He would need relief.

Sasuke tugged his quaking body out of the water's frigid embrace, towing himself to the shore and quickly stripping off his clothes. A grimace slipped across his face as the clothing he pulled from his soaked body brushed against the hardness between his legs, the arousal he could no longer control. He laid the material out on a patch of sunny grass and collapsed next to it, panting slightly from the effort of containing himself.

Immediately, his right hand slipped between his legs and teased at the tender flesh of his inner thigh. He wanted to get this over with, but he had to wait until his hands warmed up or this would be needlessly unpleasant. The tips of his fingers skimmed over little curls of pubic hair and along the junction of his torso and thighs, following the natural lines on his body. Gently they sloped up to cup his length, feeling it stiffen immediately in response to the touch. A soft sigh escape from Sasuke's lips as his fingers curled around him, smooth and firm. His ebony eyes fluttered closed, and an image of Naruto rose up from his mind to coax him deeper into the pleasure. It was from the waterfall, of course. Naruto's tan skin was glowing with drops of water, and Sasuke could see every sensuous curve and line of his body. The mental picture made the fires in him flare dangerously up.

"Ahhh," Sasuke breathed quietly, unable to contain himself as his imagination played with his memory of Naruto in the same way his fingers played with the heated flesh between his legs. In his mind, it was Naruto's hand fisted around him, bringing moans from Sasuke's lips with every pump up and down his length. The black-haired boy felt his flesh engorge with blood as his fantasy grew increasingly more heated. Naruto was kissing his neck now, those rosy lips just barely brushing over his skin even as the blond's fingers roughly coaxed more pleasure out of his length. Sasuke's back arched into the touch, forcing more of himself into Naruto's skilled hands. Where had the boy learned to touch like that…?

"Nngh," Sasuke moaned, biting his lip hard to suppress even louder sounds. Naruto was breathing hard in his ear, the blond's soft breath tickling along his jaw as he whispered all manner of naughty things. A black head fell back hard against the ground as Sasuke immersed himself further into his fantasy, his hand working furiously between his legs now. "So…good…" he muttered to himself, though in his mind he was murmuring the words against Naruto's chest as his tongue outlined the boy's supple nipples. The Kyuubi moaned along with him, writhing in his grasp in a way that told Sasuke the other boy was as close to the edge as he was.

"Ah, Naruto…don't stop," Sasuke groaned through gritted teeth, both hating and loving the pressure building within him. He wanted relief so badly, but he hated to think that he could ever stop feeling so good. He knew it was just a dream in his mind, but something about the way Naruto made him feel seemed so deliciously real.

Building and building, the coiled pleasure grew within him. It would overflow. It would crash down on him in waves that would tear him to pieces. Just a little more, just a little harder, faster, just another second….

With an unrestrained moan, Sasuke felt his insides twist and the coil within him finally spring free. He tried to hold back the word that wanted to burst from his throat, but he couldn't. His threw his head back and cried with abandon, "AHH, NARUTO!" Sticky warmth coated his fingers and abdomen in a matter of seconds, but he was nearly lost to the sensation. Hazy warmth sent his head reeling in crescendos of pleasure. His fingers worked down the length of his softening arousal, milking every last drop of pleasure from it. He was satisfied, more satisfied than he had felt in a long time, for now at least. Now that he had had a taste, Sasuke had no doubt that his need would return in time, and it would be twice as ferocious.

The black-haired boy let his muscles relax one by one from the rigid position they had taken during release. Slowly, slowly, his heartbeat returned to its normal, healthy pace, and his breathing grew less ragged. He could still feel the shadow of pleasure hovering over his spent, sweaty form, and he knew it would linger for quite some time. For now, he was content to lay in the warm grass and wait for his clothes to dry.

Or so he would have been if he had not heard one small noise. A crack of a twig, a rustle of leaves, or some other normal forest sound that he would have normally dismissed. This time, however, he opened his eyes and glanced in the direction of the noise, guided by an unseen force. What he saw made his blood run as icy cold in his veins as the river trickling at his feet.

Naruto.

Naruto was standing maybe twenty paces away, holding a branch out of his face as if he had just come striding through the trees and had stopped mid-step. He looked frozen, frightened, and above all else embarrassed. And he was staring directly at Sasuke.

The older boy could not move, no matter how his head screamed at his muscles to obey. Naruto had seen everything, this much Sasuke knew. It was evident in the look on that tan face. He had heard everything as well, and now those gorgeous blue eyes were darting over the white liquid that dotted Sasuke's stomach, congealed into milky streaks.

"Fuck," Sasuke whispered to himself, unable to think of anything more productive to say. Why had he moaned Naruto's name? Why hadn't he considered the possibility that the other ninja would come looking for him after he'd darted so hastily away? Why hadn't he been more cautious?

The lust had stolen his common sense from him.

Naruto's mouth opened slightly, as if the boy was about to say something. Sasuke waited tensely, wondering if he would be screamed at for his perversion. Instead of a lecture, he received only the firm closing of Naruto's mouth before the other boy turned on his heel and bolted from the clearing as quickly as he could without smacking into a tree. Sasuke watched him go, feeling as if a lead weight had been dropped into his stomach.

His chances of teaching Naruto love were all but ruined now.

To be continued….