Author's Notes:

Hey, peeps! I had planned for this chapter to be out this upcoming week, most likely Wednesday, but my Super-Beta finished editing faster than I had thought. I love her! Thanks a million, XxDreaming of RealityxX, your existence is making me into a better updater! Now, I leave you to this chapter, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did in writing it!


"This is ridiculous! If you don't hold still, we won't be able to take it off!"

"Even if I hold still, we won't be able to take it off! It's glued!"

"And whose fault do you think that is!?"

Naruto puffed out his cheeks and yanked his right hand to cross his arms; causing Sasuke to get jolted to his left side. The sound of iron shackles resonated between them. Sasuke glared at the blond.

"I'm not sorry, you caused it!"

"Oh, really?" Sasuke hauled his left hand up suddenly making Naruto trip over the table beside them and come stumbling down, pulling Sasuke with him since they were connected by iron. The table respectively broke in two.

"Look what you've done!" Naruto shouted at the pieces of wood beneath them.

"You started it!"

Suddenly the door to the room they were currently in was opened, revealing a clearly dissatisfied Neji. The long haired teen stepped in, closed the door calmly behind him and eyed his club's broken table with distaste.

"You two really don't want to be free, do you?"

"It was Sasuke who did it, wrenching me so suddenly!"

"Hn!"

Neji sighed and kneeled to address his two players. "Listen you two, I don't care who started what, and you'll pay for this table. And soon. But before that, you'll need to know how to get along."

"We were getting along just fine before you handcuffed us!" Sasuke retorted.

"No, you weren't. Your style in playing is disintegrating. Sasuke, you need to learn how to play with other teammates, and that goes for you too, Naruto. You've been forgetting to pass the ball when needed and always go off taking risks on your own. Your individualism is bringing us down, and at this rate, we won't hold much in the semi-finals, let alone the finals!"

Naruto scowled at the words. "That's not a good enough reason to cuff us!"

"It's enough for me. And handcuffing you is the best way I could come up with in the amount of time I have on my hands. We have two weeks 'till the semi-finals, and if I don't see any improvement in your play by the end of this week, the cuffs stay."

Sasuke snorted. "You can't possibly mean that. We have classes to attend; I doubt the teachers would just let you do whatever you want."

"Do you really want to test that one out, Uchiha?"

"It's unattainable to bribe the whole school board, even to you that's impossible."

Neji smirked superiorly at the hard glare. "I don't know impossible."

"We'll find a way to break it!" Naruto stepped into the conversation with burning eyes trying to light the fire in Sasuke again.

"Heh," Their beautiful Senpai released a mocking laugh. "Maybe you should try that after getting your first attempt clean."

The glue that was poured on the cuffs glittered at Neji's words. Naruto sulked. The glue was an obvious mistake. He didn't mean to do it, he had intended to get the saw on the drawer when his hand hadknocked off the bottle of glue beside it and their cuffs sank in heavenly stickiness because he used his right cuffed hand to ruffle inside the drawer.

"We'll still find a way." Sasuke voiced Naruto's now suppressed thoughts.

Neji rolled his eyes at the saw, knife, axe, scissors and the empty bottle of glue sprayed across their team's room and suddenly his mind lost its train of thought as a burning question rang inside his drums. Why on heavenly S&M God's name were there such sharp objects inside a Basketball clubroom in the first place!?

"How about instead of trying to get the cuffs off, aim to get used to them? That would save a lot of time and effort for the both of us."

"How the fuck do you want me to get used to being cuffed to a freaking person!?" Sasuke barked.

"Easy. Act. As. One!"

"We can't act as one, Senpai, since we aren't one."

"Yes, you can. You just have to compromise and take some of the other's power and give him some of your own. If you can understand how to do that, I think you two will be a very big help to our team, and instead of becoming tools of destruction, you'll be tools of victory."

"I don't understand. Sasuke and I get along well in daily life, normally; one would cuff those who don't, not those who do."

"You do get along well. But that's not enough. Your play is incoherent with the rest of the team. But, you two have a similarity to each other in points, that's why I want you to focus on those similarities and try to act as one. In the game."

"Handcuffing us won't really help that."

Neji beamed, "It would. I tried it beforehand. Now, that's all I have to say to you for the day. You're free to go home." And chirped on his way out.

Sasuke sweat dropped at the 'I tried it beforehand' and many unwanted ideas came bursting into his mind. He groaned.

"Oh yeah," Neji popped back to them from the doorway. "I forgot to tell you that this type of iron doesn't get cut off or melted. Not even with fire and a soldering iron. So don't try, 'cause you'll only harm yourselves. And another thing, don't damage it too much, it's the finest in my collection, and Gaara is kinda fond of it, even though he won't admit it."

The next second, Sasuke stood up abruptly and shouted. "Run!"

Naruto blinked. "Huh?"

"Run! To the bathroom!"

And before Naruto could know what was happening, Sasuke was besides the waters scrubbing heavily at both their hands and the cuffs with a frustrated and angry look on his face.


"Naruto, I'm going to sleep."

"Eh? But I want to take a bath!"

"I can't drag my feet anymore, I'm too tired, take yours after I wake up."

"Sasuke, we stink of sweat! We can't sleep with that smell all over our bodies."

"Shut it. Last night when you were sleeping, I was shooting hoops all night long! My muscles hurt and call for a nap."

Naruto frowned at the wards and tried to pull his shirt over his shoulders, but the cuffs stayed in hand. He tried to get it out, but the little chain connecting him to Sasuke was in the way again.

"Forget the bath, how am I supposedto change!?" A frustrated Naruto cried.

"Cut it. That's the only way there is."

"Hey, I can't just cut all of my clothes! And if I cut this one, how will I be able to wear another?"

"Cut three or four undershirts and wear them this whole week, 'till Neji gives us the key." Sasuke reasoned, making his way to the room that was prepared for him by Kakashi.

With the messed up condition he was in now, there was no way he was going home and introducing Naruto to his family. It was still too early for his blond friend to come into acquaintance with them.

"You may not have a problem with cutting your clothes, but I do. And let's say I don't, I'd have to cut the whole right side. My arm would be bear."

"Then don't you have a shirt that you can button, tie or zip from your shoulder? It would be best if it was an elbow's length, too."

"I don't think I have something like that in my closet."

"I do. But it's way at home and there is no way in hell I'll go get it."

Naruto was forced to sit beside Sasuke as he lay on his bed, obviously already snoozing off.

"Can't you call someone to bring your stuff over? A servant or something? You don't have any change in here either. And don't tell me you're going to sleep with the same outfit this whole week without bathing or changing or anything."

Sasuke released a yawn and displayed his back to the now disgusted Naruto; leaving his left hand up as not to cause any of them any inconvenience.

"…"

"Sasuke! Don't sleep!"

"I'm not sleeping, your noisy voice isn't allowing me to, and yes there is, but I don't want to contact her."

"It's either that or we go to your house!"

Sasuke groaned and sat up, sleep pushed to the back of his mind. He pointed to his black bag thrown on the floor. "Get my cell from there."

Naruto stretched his right hand and grabbed the bag, rooming through it; he pulled the iPhone out and snorted at it. Rich people really had the easy life.

Sasuke scrolled through his contacts list and a second later, he put the cell to his ear. Naruto stood to watch to the conversation.

"Karin, go inside my third closet-room. On the first section, beside the suites, there are a group of shirts and trousers. Pick a bunch that won't stand out too much and get me shirts that could easily be worn by shackled hands. Look at the far side, on the right side of the shoe boxes, there's a yellow box. Bring it alongside all those stuff to me, I'll send you the address in a text."

And Naruto looked as Sasuke closed the line with that and started typing on his cell. A second later, he was handed the cell and Sasuke returned to his bed.

"She will be here in fifteen minutes exactly. Open the door and take the clothes then send her back."

"Sasuke….I don't even know how she looks like and like it or not, you'd have to come with me since you're cuffed to me."

Sasuke sighed and ran a hand through his messy black hair. "Yeah…I forgot. Then let's take that bath you wanted to take, since I won't be getting any sleep these fifteen minutes."

"My thoughts exactly!"

Naruto's cheerfulness was ignored as Sasuke pulled a pair of scissors from the nightstand's drawer and threw the blond one. He started cutting the blue shirt he wore to get it off his skin and forced Naruto to cut his.

"We'll have to take the bath together in this case."

"Umm…not really, you can go in and I'll wait outside, I'll stretch my hand and you stretch yours."

"That's stupid not to mention it'd hurt. We'll take one together, won't be our first anyway so stop acting as if it is."

Naruto heaved a sigh and told his heart to stop beating. Sasuke's words were true. It wasn't their first, and it would be quicker for them to do so, but his heart wouldn't stop pulsing and the events that played a few days back - when he took that bath with Sasuke and was almost getting hard - didn't give him a moment to rest.

"O-Okay."

"Good, now strip. We've wasted five mins. Karin is really punctual, so we have ten minutes before she shows up at the doorstep."

Naruto started removing his pants. "Who is this Karin anyhow, your servant?"

"The butler responsible for me."

"You've butlers responsible for you?"

Sasuke smirked and pulled Naruto off his feet since he was taking a long time in disregarding his clothes then drove them to the bathroom. And closed the door. Naruto huffed with red cheeks but chose not to comment on the hold, since he was sure they'd look like a stupid fools to anyone watching them right now. Two guys, running naked with one holding the other bridal style heading to the bathroom. He felt himself cringe at the mental image.

"What's wrong? Open the water."

Sasuke put his hand over Naruto's and turned the water on, suddenly the shower above them started spurting drops of warm water. Naruto felt his hands heat with the steam and the way Sasuke's hand refused to let go of his even after they were inside the quickly-filling-with-water tub.

Sasuke bent and blocked the drain, then relaxed and signaled Naruto to do the same.

"Hey, do you think we can pull this act-as-one thing off? Even if we did everything we can, we can never become one, because we have two different bodies."

"I think what Neji meant is to perform the word metaphorically not literally."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "I know, I'm not an idiot. But still…we can't be one."

Sasuke removed his hair out of his face and switched closer to the other, putting his right un-cuffed hand under Naruto's chin, he pulled that face closer.

"Why say such hurtful words?"

Naruto felt a chill run down his spine at the husky voice three inches away from his face. He used his left hand to hold Sasuke's right one and averted his eyes.

"I…I'm not saying any hurtful words."

Sasuke's answer was a heated kiss that Naruto couldn't move away from. He felt his mind instantly go numb and his tips grow cold even though they were inside warm water. He didn't struggle and eased into the kiss. They have been practicing his techniques for a few days now and Sasuke came up with a rule for Naruto's lips to get used to kissing. To kiss him three times a day. Yet Naruto hated them, because Sasuke always chose to deliver his kisses when the blond least expected it.

Like for once, when he was cleaning the club with Gaara, Sasuke called him out, kissed him and went back. It was hard to explain to Gaara why he was flushed the way he was. And a second, he was on his way to the cafeteria to get a book Sakura had forgotten on the table and Sasuke happened to be there and kissed the life out of him with the cafeteria's staff watching in amusement. Another time was when he was taking a nap after going through the information that Tenten had gotten about their upcoming opponents, and hewas kissed awake by a suddenly visiting Sasuke.

Yes, Naruto had long learned how to stop from struggling and enjoy the sensation.

But sometimes, he was enjoying a bit too much. As blood rushed to his manhood instead of his face, Naruto started feeling his dick harden to life. With a gasp, he pushed against Sasuke, and wanted to run out the bathroom but a strong hand stopped him.

"We're chained."

Naruto felt a sudden urge to murder his beautiful Senpai for placing him in such a situation and quickly hid his erection when Sasuke was eyeing it with a smirk.

"Stop staring!"

"I wasn't staring; I was inspecting the effect of my kiss. Incredible."

Cold hands brought him back to the water, and he was forced to sit with his back against Sasuke. Naruto tried to resist free but the hands holding him were tougher than his attempts and with the way his body was failing him, he finally gave up.

"Don't you have any shame?" Naruto breathed as a last resort.

"Not when I'm with you." Sasuke stretched his hands between Naruto's thighs and slowly he made his way to the still growing erection. "Just relax and let me take care of it, I made it happen in the first place and I'll handle it."

Naruto glared at the proud tone. "Don't flatternmmnn!"

Sasuke smirked at the moan the other elicited; he let his right hand gently massage the member while putting pressure on places he knew would blow a man's mind. With his left hand playing fondly with the tips, he let Naruto ascend so pleasurably up.

"Close your eyes, focus only on feeling, and let me take control." He whispered softly inside Naruto's ear when he sensed the other start again with a futile attempt at resisting.

He didn't want to do it, for the love of him he didn't! But that godly voice and those demonically pleasurable fingers they were making his mind's control over his senses and will disappear and no matter what he wanted to do, he ended up performing the orders of the man holding his cock.

"Mnnn…Sas…mnn…Sasuke….not there…"

Sasuke pressed on the spot where Naruto seemed to have protested on and nipped the sweet earlobe that was dangling there like a lollipop calling him to have a taste.

"Leave the thinking up to me and enjoy, I'm providing a service for you only."

The soft words alongside the pale fingers travelling between his legs had Naruto's mind go blank. Sasuke pressed hard on the two balls and started deep thrusting the cock in his fingers, moans left Naruto's mouth; allowing Sasuke to hear the music he longed for.

Reaching heaven didn't take long after that.

"Sasuke! Am…c…nmm…ahh…comin…"

"Then come."

Sasuke gave a last thrust and pressed Naruto's tip. Sweet milk spurted out into the warm water flailingaround them. Sasuke wrapped his hands around the exhaustedly slipping blond and held him close.

"Good?"

"Uhmmm."

Sasuke forced Naruto's mouth up and gave him a deep kiss in which they had to stop because the doorbell was ringing. Naruto tried to stand up, but his body was still hazy about the thing that had just happened to him and Sasuke was forced to steady him.

"Glad to see my hand-job got you this disoriented."

Blushing, Naruto pushed against the other and stepped out holding a towel over his midsection. He walked towards the door with Sasuke tagging along, but when they reached their destination, Sasuke made sure to hide Naruto's form when he opened the door to their expected visitor. Angered by the obvious block, Naruto jumped his way to view.

A girl about twenty of something with red pointy hair and matching red orbs was holding three bags and a box to them. Naruto looked up and down at the black suit she wore and raised a brow. She looked more of a businesswoman than Sasuke's butler.

"Here, sir. These are the things you needed."

"You didn't miss a thing, right?"

Naruto had to raise a brow at the sharp tone Sasuke used but decided to stay out. The girl nodded and handed Sasuke the bags, he saw her facial expressions change when she saw the handcuff on his hand and so briefly, their eyes met and Naruto dunked. He frowned at his own reaction and mentally beat himself, why the heck was he hiding!?

Sasuke closed the door and had to raise a brow at the blond kneeling on the ground.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Umm….." Naruto stood up and scratched his wet hair sheepishly. "N-Nothing."

"Hold these." Sasuke handed two bags to Naruto while the box and the other bags were held by him. Naruto sweat dropped at the heavy weight.

"Sasuke, these are really heavy!"

"Yes."

"And that girl was carrying them like they were feathers?"

"She's trained for this."

"Carrying heavy stuff?"

"No, Dobe. For fulfilling my orders, she has to maintain a highly capable body."

Naruto scowled. "Sasuke, that doesn't go on the sexual aspect, too, right?"

A smirk formed on Sasuke lips at that, he pushed the door of his room open and put the bag and box on the bed. "Why, jealous?"

"A-As if! I'm merely asking because it's really unfair to have her fulfill your whims and desires even if she doesn't want to just because it's her job."

Naruto placed the heavy bags on the bed while Sasuke started rustling through them, taking outfits after outfits to see what his butler has gotten him.

"Dobe, I said fulfill my orders, not desires. And she isn't my type. Too much red it blinds the eyes." Sasuke got a shirt and threw it at Naruto. "Try this out."

Naruto slid it over his neck, but the buttons at the shoulders weren't getting done right, frustrated he walked to Sasuke pointing to them. "They refuse to button!"

Sasuke sighed and started buttoning the black shirt on Naruto's body, smirking at the final result.

"Sexy."

Naruto rolled his eyes at the raven before him. "No one gets sexy with just a shirt, Sasuke."

"Well you do. And where is my thank you kiss?"

"There is no such thing as a thank you kiss."

"We'll just have to make one then."

Naruto was forced on the bed with Sasuke on top of him; taking the kiss he wanted by force. But before their kiss deepened and another incident like the one in the bathroom arose, Naruto slicked his way out of the Hawk's arms.

"Sasuke, you've to stop this!"

"Stop what?" Innocent onyx orbs blinked at him.

"You kissing me every time you feel like it! You have no regards for place, time or who's watching! People are starting to think we're homos and are dating! This isn't good!"

"Why do you care what people think anyway? You know what you are and I know what I am and we know what our relationship is. To hell with what they think!"

"No, not 'to hell with what they think!', we're not the only ones living on Earth, Sasuke, we live in a society. And words travel fast in this society. I'm afraid Iruka might find out."

Naruto pulled his boxers and pants over his naked body and wanted to march out but the cuffs stopped him from doing his little plan.

"So if he finds out? What's the big deal?"

"That's not good, he'd think that we are dating and would blame himself thinking that I turned out gay because of him and his behavior. He would rant about me not having the best in a normal life."

"No he wouldn't, he'd be happy for you since he's leading the same life."

"Sasuke…I don't want to enter into this discussion since we aren't even dating!"

"Say hypothetically that we are, would you shadow our relationship from your guardian because you think he'd disapprove?"

"Firstly, we aren't dating and I won't think hypothetically. And secondly, I don't think, I know. Iruka wouldn't approve of it and we would start a huge argument about it which I don't want to see happen so please try to control yourself when we're outside or in the presence of other people!"

"That won't work, Naruto. Just where do you think we are going with this relationship?"

"I don't know, to being proper friends maybe."

"Friends? Really? Did you only think of that?"

Naruto knotted his brows. "What else is there?"

"Lovers, Naruto! There is the possibility that we could become lovers, we could date!"

Taken back by the sudden words, Naruto felt his heart throb and the words inside his mouth dry out. Sasuke sighed and pulled a shirt over his naked torso.

"…I haven't really thought about that. Aren't you straight, Sasuke?"

"I have no regards for sex. And what do you mean you've not thought about it? We kiss, sleep holding each other, link hands, whisper sweet words to one another and I've just given you a freaking hand-job! Do you think that normal friends do that stuff?!"

Naruto's face became void of emotion; he sat calmly beside Sasuke and, with a still shaking voice, spoke.

"I haven't thought about it because I didn't think it was a possibility, Sasuke. We're both guys."

"I'm not blind to that reality. Not yet, anyway."

"Okay, putting that aside, do you have feelings for me? Feelings like that?"

"I don't know. My feelings are a mess when it comes to you, I told you that."

"Mine, too."

"That's why I object to you not telling Iruka. If one of these days our feelings turned out to be of love and not only friendship, I won't want you to hide it from a close person such as the one who raised you. In fact, I wouldn't want to hide it from anyone."

Naruto felt his lips stretch into a smile. "That's really nice, Sasuke. But I don't have your courage. If I told Iruka and he hated me for it, I don't know what I'd do. And I can't handle the looks of rejections from people either. It hurts too much."

"But I'll be there, with you. Wouldn't that matter? Or," Sasuke's hands brushed over his eyes momentarily. "You wouldn't want a blind man beside you?"

Naruto's eyes widened and he jumped knocking the raven on his back, with his hands holding both the pale ones over Sasuke's head.

"It's your turn now, so please don't say such hurtful words." Naruto watched Sasuke's lips part at the repeated words and he continued. "These eyes are beautiful, I love every part of them, but I won't leave you just because you lost them. That's too insulting, Uchiha!"

"Yes, yes, sorry. Won't say it again."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Naruto briefly got dazed and his hold on Sasuke's arms loosened causing Sasuke to take the chance and wrap his now free arms around Naruto's waist, pulling him closer.

"Sasuke…" Naruto traced Sasuke's lips with his fingers.

"Hmmm?"

"I would very much like to kiss you right now."

Sasuke took his tongue out and licked the tan fingers playing with his lips. "And what's stopping you?"

Naruto blushed, feeling his heart throb; he descended softly and replaced his fingers with his lips. He tried to apply some of the techniques that Sasuke has used on him to make him feel good, but at the laughs that were slipping between the lips he was so carefully kissing. He pouted frustrate at the raven beneath him.

"You could act like you are in heaven you know!"

"Well, I was in heaven. The heaven that my sweet Naru-chan gave me by asking for a kiss on his own."

Naruto rolled his eyes and sat upright letting the hands on his waist drop to the mattress. "How can you say stuff like that without feeling any embarrassment?"

"What's embarrassment?"

Naruto delivered a soft punch to Sasuke's shoulder and stood, giving Sasuke his jeans and some boxers to cover himself with, because as much as he hated to admit it, Sasuke staying half naked with only a towel and a shirt was the perfect recipe for a sexual disaster.

He turned to give Sasuke the privacy that he didn't want and was jerked back to bed when Sasuke hauled his cuffed hand. Naruto was forced into a sitting position as the raven placed his head on his clothed thighs using them as a pillow.

"Help me sleep."

"How am I to do that?"

"Figure it out."

Sasuke made himself comfortable on the bed with Naruto's scent surrounding him. The blond's fingers quickly found their way into his hair and calmness was showering him like a nice melody.

"How about a story then?"

"Seriously, a story? How old do you think I am?" Sarcasm was the reply the blond got.

Naruto snorted and gave a nasty reply of his own. "Five. And a story it is!" Continuing quickly before Sasuke thinks of interrupting him, Naruto started telling. "This story is about a boy who was living happily with his loving parents. His mother was an energetic and cheerful woman, she had him in High School with her boyfriend and against all society she was able to raise him with her boyfriend. They married and the boyfriend was – after many misfortunes – able to provide himself a job, as the years kept on going on, the boy got older, and when he turned four years old, his mother died in a car accident. Of course, his father tried not to tell him this truth directly since he was still a mere child and always told him that his mother was in heaven."

"Didn't this idiotic kid know that heaven was where a person goes after death? Not to forget hell."

Naruto chuckled. "Sasuke, the boy was four years old. He didn't know what heaven was, thinking it was a place inside the clouds and his mommy would return one day…children believe things very easily."

"Still, a stupid kid. Continue."

"Well, his father missed his wife so much that he busied himself with work and tried to forget that there was an innocent boy waiting for him in his house. Days passed, and the father's job launched, he handed in his first real project, to develop an electronic toy. Oh, did I mention that the father worked with toys? He liked making them for his kid, and found out one day that they can lead to a job. Anyway, one fateful night, the kid woke up late at night; he went to get some water but got scared when he heard a sound coming from the kitchen."

"Was it a thief?"

"No, not a thief, it was his father. Dead drunk. The kid didn't understand why his father was acting funny and swaying with tears on his face. But when he tried to come closer, the bottle of wine slipped from his father's hand and slashed at his hand. When the father saw blood running down his kid's hand. His eyes went crazy for a second and he grabbed the glass marking three lines on each of the kid's cheeks…."

Sasuke's eyes widened and his breath hitched for a minute. He slowly raised his eyes to meet with Naruto's and many emotions ran inside the blue depth he adored so much. Sasuke reached his right hand to caress Naruto's cheek and Naruto smiled fragilely.

"Naruto…"

"The kid was rushed to the hospital and his father was taken away from him. For a whole year, the kid was left alone with a friend of the family. He had endured a lot of hell in that man's house, and each time he was being belittled or treated like a servant, he'd close his eyes and hold tight to the plushie his late mother had brought him as a gift. Finally, his father came back to get him. Regret was visible on the father's face when he saw the marks his hands had left."

Sasuke raised his head and sat down with his attention glued to the teen harboring silent tears in his eyes.

"They went back to their house, with the father healing upright from his inner sadness of losing his wife. The happy days the kid was always hoping will return, returned back to him. And he thought that life couldn't get any better when his father started teaching him how to play Basketball. But, like how any good story comes to end, this one did. It was a stormy night. A lightning bolt struck on a nearby power-pole crashing it on one of the windows; the air blew moving the curtains that caught the fire of the candle the kid had set when the power had failed. By the time the neighbours paid attention to what was going on, the house was on fire."

"Then?" Sasuke urged when Naruto's mouth was struggling hard with words. "What happened?"

"The…the father was coming home late from work. When he saw his house on fire, he rushed inside searching for his son. He found him passed out on his room. Luckily, he was able to fight the smoke and fire, getting burnt here and there, but he rescued his son. When the son came on to his senses, his father had inhaled too much toxic smoke causing his lungs to fail miserably, not to mention the burns that flamed at his body."

Sasuke wiped the stray tear off of Naruto's cheek and wrapped the agonized teen in his arms.

"The last words the man gave to his son before dying were 'forgive me'. Why do you think that, Sasuke? Was he feeling sorry for what he'd done to his kid or was it because he was leaving the kid behind? Which was it?"

"Hush…you don't have to think about that now."

"It was my fault, if I hadn't put that candle by the window, none of it would have happened! It's me! I killed him!"

Sasuke held the blond tightly in his arms refusing to let him go. "No, it wasn't. You did nothing wrong. It was fate. You've nothing to do with it, never blame yourself for something you couldn't help. Your father wouldn't want you to."

"The whole time, I kept looking at the sky and wondering, why? Even thought it was raining, why was my house still on fire? Why didn't the rain pour over my house and put it out? Why did my father have to die?"

Sasuke kept quiet and just gave the blond the silent comfort he needed at a time like this. It came as a shock, he didn't know that Naruto had undergone such trauma, but now that he knew, he felt the unknown feeling inside him starts to shape up little by little and he pulled Naruto closer to him, hoping to share some of the burdens the other obviously carried inside his heart.

Sasuke eased them into the mattress and held on to Naruto feeling the other hug back and his clean shirt start to soak with Naruto's tears, but he didn't mind. If this would relieve Naruto, then he could afford a shirt or two. After a few minutes, Naruto moved back a little, allowing Sasuke a glimpse into his now puffy face.

"I ruined your shirt."

"Don't worry about it. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, I was fine, too. Just, a sudden walk down memory lane…it's not something I expected when I woke up this morning. The emotions kinda burst out."

Sasuke brushed a strand lock back to Naruto's hair. "If it's any comfort, I didn't expect it, too."

"Yeah, I didn't want to tell you at the beginning, but then, there was a point where I felt I'd be comfortable with telling you. And well, now you have all the answers you need about my messed up childhood!"

"It's not only your childhood that's messed up."

Naruto swiftly removed his eyes from Sasuke while his face heated, that look, it was the sexiest he'd seen 'till now coming from Sasuke, and right now, sexy was dangerous.

"Okay, why don't I go let you sleep? You didn't get any shut-eye and it's coming close to evening now."

"Naruto, for the thousandth time, you can't leave me. We're cuffed together. I'm dead tired now and you're exhausted from your crying fit. Just lay close to me and let's sleep. Or do you prefer I go get your mattress and have you sleep on the floor?" Sasuke quirked a brow.

Naruto shook his head with a grin. "Here's good! But, Kakashi said his beds can't hold two people."

"Dobe, that's just an excuse as for us not to sleep in together. We have been sitting here for a while, did you hear something breaking?"

"No."

"Then he lied. You should learn when people are bluffing."

Naruto smiled and brought the blanket over them. "I don't need to, since you'll do it for me."

Sasuke pinched Naruto on the nose and lay close to him. "Smartass."


"So, let me get this straight. You're cuffed together to improve your Basketball playing?"

Naruto nodded while munching on the sandwich that was brought to them by a tired Kakashi.

"Yep."

"Phew, and here I thought Sasuke had dragged you into some kinky sex game or something."

Naruto's face exploded red while Sasuke smirked at the nice reaction.

"Glad to see you're willing, Naruto."

"Willing my ass, Sasuke. You ain't going two feet close to his ass!" Kakashi was the first to protest before Naruto could do it himself.

"Hn. You, old man, have no say whether I take his ass or not. And sorry to bust your bubble here, but we are more than two feet close."

Naruto looked between the clearly-enjoying-himself-raven to the silver haired man smoking his obvious stress away. These days, Kakashi was smoking more than he'd seen him do, and something inside Naruto's head clicked, he turned with questioning eyes to Sasuke.

"Sasuke, why haven't you been smoking these days?"

Sasuke raised a brow at the question. "Weren't you the one not wanting me to smoke? What happened? Changed your mind?"

"No, I'm still strongly opposing it. But, why did you stop? You said it calms you down."

"I found another thing that calms me down."

And Kakashi wasn't fast enough to stop Naruto from asking the obvious trap-question.

"What?"

"Your lips."

Kakashi brought a hand to his face and covered his eyes before he witnessed the kiss that would be very hard to lie to Iruka about if he'd ever questioned him about seeing Naruto kiss someone.

"Sasuke and Naruto, please, do this in your own rooms. I'm guilty as it is and I don't want to sink in this without telling Iruka anymore."

"No, Kakashi, you can never tell him!" Naruto jumped saying the next moment.

"I know! But it's getting harder and harder to do so! You'll need to suck upyour courage and tell him or stop doing stuff like this and go back to being normal friends. Not your messed up lover-normal friends business, but normal people friends!"

Sasuke 'hmphed' and averted his eyes, not liking the words. "We won't stop. We are comfortable where we are now; stop trying to make us stop!"

"Sasuke, your relationship is unstable. You are not friends, not lovers. In my eyes, you're lovers but trying to deny it. Whatever it is, it doesn't matter. You can do whatever you want, but don't have me lie to the love of my life. I can't do it."

Naruto's ears perked at the sentence and he held up his head, leaving the sandwich for later.

"Iruka…Iruka is the love of your life?"

Kakashi smiled. "Yes. Didn't you know?"

"Well no. I thought that you were just normal boyfriend and boyfriend. Didn't expect it to be something so…..so deep."

"Well, it is. That's why I'm begging you, tell him. He'd be happy for you, if Sasuke is the one you want to end up with regardless of whatever may be thrown at you in life, then just tell him. He'd understand, believe me, if there is a person who should understand, it would be him."

Uncertainty was floating in the air; Sasuke wrapped a protective arm around Naruto's shoulder pulling him closer while his eyes burned holes through Kakashi.

"Leave him already! He can't tell Iruka because we aren't lovers."

"Then what are you? You should have a name to call yourselves, Sasuke. What do you introduce each other as?"

Sasuke bit his lips not having a retreat to this.

"Can't we just be what we are now without forcing a label on it?" Naruto rushed to help.

"No you can't, Naruto. The world doesn't go like that. Right now, you still have time to figure things out in my apartment. Iruka's one-week-away has extended to another week. I hope after this week you'd know what you are. Because if you still hold this irrational relationship around Iruka. Believe me; he won't be a bit happy!"

Naruto watched Kakashi walk out into his room, he sighed and stood up taking his sandwich to the fridge since he wasn't in any mood to eat right now. Sasuke was forced to tag along.

"Hey, don't get upset. We'll figure things out."

Naruto allowed those arms to circle him from behind and relaxed back on Sasuke's chest.

"And if we didn't? You'd have to stop touching me around Iruka, and always watch what you say. And we can't touch carelessly around school, too, in fear that someone sees us and tells him. Sasuke, I don't want to live like that."

"Then you want to tell him?"

"Tell him what? That I'm uncertain about what I want to have, that I want to be with you but am not unable to identify what I'm feeling for you?"

"Exactly. He'd understand. If it's the guy Kakashi fell for, he'd understand."

"But what if he didn't? Iruka is all I have left. I can't lose him; I'd die if I lost him. He's my father."

"Because he is your father, you won't lose him. Naruto, there is no need to be so afraid. I'll walk every step of the way with you. And you're not the only one unsure of his feelings."

Naruto turned and looked with apologetic eyes at the handsome stoic face before his. "Oh Sasuke, am sorry. I'm getting too caught up in my own troubles that I missed yours. You probably have more burdens to hold than I. And here I was blabbering about something stupid."

"It's not stupid and you don't need to mind about me. I'm good. Just being near you is good enough for me. And my family, I don't want you to know them and God forbids them knowing you."

"But I want to know your family one day, too."

"We'll try that after ten years."

Naruto raised a brow. "Why ten years?"

"You'd have your own work and I'd have probably skipped from the evil clutches of my family and lived on my own. They won't be able to harm you then, and maybe, just maybe I'll be able introduce you after."

Naruto scowled. "Does that mean it'd take ten years for you to open up your heart for me?"

Taken back by the sudden words, Sasuke stumbled back on his feet. "What makes you think my heart is closed?"

"I can sense it. You've something deep you don't want someone to know. And I'm not forcing you, just….ten years is a lot of waiting."

Sasuke smiled and planted a chaste kiss on Naruto's cheek. Surprised that it was the first tender-not-so-wild-kiss he's gotten from Sasuke, Naruto felt himself shying away.

"Don't worry; I won't let you wait ten years….maybe five." Sasuke teased.

Naruto puffed his cheeks and turned away from the warm arms. "Meanie."

"But you love me."

"I don't!"

"Try saying that facing me."

Naruto turned, faced him, eye to end and said. "Make me a cake!"

"What happened to you not loving me?" Sasuke raised a brow.

"Cake, Sasuke! Cake!" And Naruto ignored him. "I want a cake!"

"Even if I said yes, I doubt Kakashi has the things for preparing a cake right now,"

"I don't care! Just make me a cake!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the kid beside him. "Alright, we'll check. If he doesn't have them, we'll go shop. What time is it?"

"Nine thirty."

"Still early, we'll find a supermarket open. Okay, let's see…."

And Sasuke headed towards the kitchen roaming for stuff to make a cake.


"Okay Naruto, heat the oven now to one seventy five. Yes, keep it close and put this frosting in the freezer for me."

Naruto did as ordered and hung over Sasuke as the latter poured the mixture into the dignified baking pan. They waited for a few minutes, then Sasuke placed the pan inside the oven. Luckily, they were able to find the necessary things to make a delicious chocolate cake without going anywhere.

"We'll just have to wait for about twenty minutes to check it next."

Naruto stretched his hands as far as his chained one let him. "'Kay, what can we do in twenty minutes?"

Sasuke smirked. "I can think of a thing or two."

Naruto slapped the hand creeping up under his shirt away. "No, Sasuke! We've hand enough perverted deeds for one day!"

"Huh? You call a little of kissing and touching with one hand-job, a lot of perverted deeds? Naruto, you really are a virgin! We've not even done one perverted act!"

Naruto glared at the teen beside him. "What's wrong with being a virgin!? I'm only sixteen years old! I'm allowed to save my virginity."

"Firstly, you ain't a girl to save it. Secondly, age doesn't matter; I lost mine when I was thirteen."

Naruto's eyes widened and his stomach suffered with a feeling he didn't know. Yes, he knew that Sasuke had a lot of old sex-friends and had had sex before, but he was still hoping that Sasuke said he was still a virgin. How silly of him, right?

"Who was it? Who took your first time?"

Again, Sasuke was surprised with Naruto's fired questions. He smirked and wrapped the blond close to him. "Are you jealous?"

"So what if I am!? Got a problem with it!?"

Sasuke mouth turned into a wide smile. "Nope. Today really is my lucky day, first you ask for a kiss and now you're admitting to be jealous. God, I can't take it anymore! Come!"

Naruto was dragged to the light blue room and thrown on the bed. Sasuke climbed on top of him blocking his way. Sweat dropping, Naruto tried to move away.

"S-Sasuke, what are you thinking?"

"I'm going to eat you up!"

"Eat me up? What do you mean by that?"

Sasuke smirked and kissed Naruto's neck while his hands hovered over Naruto's pants' zipper. "What do you think I mean?"

When his pants were starting to come off, Naruto freaked. "Hey, why not wait for a while? You can't just decide you want sex when I'm not even prepared yet! And we've not even sorted out our feelings! Wait, Sasuke!"

"Why wait? Doing it now or doing it later, it doesn't matter. I want you right now, and that's something I can't control!"

Naruto felt his freak-out-ness turn into anger; he knotted his brows and against the little merciful voice inside his heart, he pushed Sasuke off with his feet.

Sasuke stumbled backwards hitting his head with the wall. Grabbing his aching head, he looked at Naruto with baffled eyes. "There was no need for force."

"I'm sorry, but you weren't listening to me. You have to know that just because you think sex is nothing but warming of another's body and perhaps even a way to let out frustration, I don't. I have never done it, and I want my first time to be something. And with someone I love. You can't decide on a whim to just 'eat me up' when I'm not even agreeing!"

Sasuke stretched his legs before him and ruffled through his hair, checking to see if there was any blood coming out or not.

"Still, you could have used a better way to deliver your message."

Naruto's eyes softened and guilt soon took over them, he jumped from the bed to Sasuke to check his head, but a pale hand had him stay at an arm's length.

"Sasu-"

"'m fine. You didn't hit that hard, just a small bump."

Naruto looked apologetically to his hands. "I'm sorry again."

Sasuke sighed at the sad blue orbs he cherished so much and said. "And I'm sorry, too. I know how you value sex and I wanted not to smear your ideals with my own. But…when I see you, my desire takes over my head and I long to touch you."

"But we touch, Sasuke."

"Well, that kind of touch. I want to hold you, so bad. To ravish inside you. To make you cry out my name so loud the people on the tenth floor would hear us!"

Naruto felt his face flush and he made his way past the arm Sasuke used to stop his progress with to sit beside his raven. "I'm at a loss for words, Sasuke."

"To be expected I guess."

The blond gave a small smile at the words and voiced a thought that came pouncing at his head. "….Sasuke, you want to have sex with me that much?"

"Yes!"

"But I'm a guy. Can you get it up while looking at my body?"

"That won't be a problem, believe me."

Naruto's brows met with a facial expression telling how embarrassing he felt this topic was. "But before…when you gave me…you know, you didn't get hard. I was beside you, moaning because of you, and that didn't affect you one bit. Can you really get it up with me?"

"Oh silly, silly, silly, Naruto! Do you have any idea how hard I was trying to stop myself from reacting to you! If I let my desires flow that instant, you'd have been penetrated not a second longer!"

Shocked orbs looked with disbelief at him. "P-P-Penetrated?"

"Yes! I'd have torn up your insides with my cock. So stop saying idiotic stuff about me not being able to get hard for you, the problem is me trying not to get hard for you!"

"Ummm…..o–okay, now that that's settled. We should go see the cake; we don't want it to get burnt."

Before Naruto could run for his life, Sasuke stopped him with their joint hands. "There is just one little thing before we go," He pulled the box that he'd ordered Karin to bring over and handed it to the flushed blond. "Here, it's for you."

Naruto blinked at the paper covered box, he took it from Sasuke's hands, removed the covers and opened the box. A black T-shirt with orange straps and decorations here and there was looking back at him. Naruto pulled the new T-shirt out.

"For me? Why?"

"Replacing that lucky one I cut before, I did promise to get you another."

"You didn't have to. And this one looks expensive, Sasuke. That T-shirt was bought on sales. I hate to admit it, but it was junk. And this…this is a far from junk. I can't accept it."

"Naruto," Sasuke pulled the other's hands in his and looked up into his azure eyes. "I searched high and low for it, went with what I thought would look good on you, and put a lot of thought in it. Do you just want to throw away all the efforts I pulled into getting this for you just because it looks expensive?"

"But, taking something like this, with nothing back. I don't feel right."

"You don't have to feel that, I ruined something important to you, and am giving you something instead. Call is a trade, the old with the new."

Naruto scowled at the beautiful object in his arms. "It's still not good, Sasuke. Wait! I know! I'll make you something, too!"

Sasuke puckered his brows with a frowning face. "As far as I know, you can't cook."

"I said 'make you something', not 'cook you something'. Pay attention!"

"Then what will you make?"

Naruto winked and exited the room dragging Sasuke along. "You made this a surprise for me, right? Then that will be your surprise. You'll just have to wait and see."

"You know it doesn't have to be anything expensive. Anything you make, I'll love."

"Glad to know you're not picky."

"You want me to be picky? Cause I can be."

Naruto was hugged from the back; he ignored the touch and continued making his way to the kitchen, dragging an extra weight to the sweetly smelling cake.

"Sasuke, you're heavy."

The raven smirked and acted as if he didn't hear anything. "You have a mole on the nape of your neck. Hidden behind your soft hair. I like it."

Naruto jolted at the lick and blushing pushed Sasuke away making sure there was a safe distance between them, he said, "The cake will burn if you kept delaying me, Sasuke!"

"Let it burn, we'll make another."

Naruto picked up his feet. "We can't. We're out of eggs, flour and butter!"

"We'll get them, it's still early."

"Sasuke, the cake won't burn and we won't go anywhere."

Hurriedly, Naruto put the oven gloves over his hands and pulled the brown cake out. He brought a knife to check it since he saw Iruka do so many times, and it came out clear. Grinning, he showed the knife to Sasuke.

"Let it cool for fifteen minutes, and then we'll address the frosting."

"Okay."

They put the cake on a platter and waited. The door to Kakashi's room opened revealing a tired looking adult. Kakashi walked towards the kitchen following the nice aroma his nose was picking. Seeing the two kids that seemed to shelter at his house, placing what seemed to be a cream on a cake, made him lose the sleepy look for a second.

"Sasuke you made this."

It was more of a statement than a question, so neither one of the teens made a means to answer. Kakashi pulled a chair and sat down looking as Sasuke started cutting the cake, he sliced it into three plates since Naruto hurried to get one for Kakashi and then Sasuke closed the left into the fridge.

"It looks amazing, Sasuke!"

"Yes, I knew you could cook. But bake? We'll have to test how this one tastes."

Sasuke 'hn'ed to answer them and took his fork cutting through the slice and tasting it for the first time. He felt a sense of acceptance wash over him. It wasn't his finest, but edible.

"This one is amazing!"

The happy tears were a praise Sasuke took pride in.

"I must admit, it's not all that bad."

He sent a glare to his cousin. "Well, no one asked your opinion."

"But you've got it anyways. Consider it a praise and next time, try to wow me."

"I didn't make it for your ass, and you can take that wow and shove it up your a-"

"Sasuke! Enough! Kakashi is trying to give you a compliment; you should shut up and accept it!" Naruto interrupted the upcoming fight.

"Hmph!"

Kakashi took the whole slice into his mouth, chewed it and swallowed it with the juice Naruto so thoughtfully placed for them. "Naruto, don't worry about it. I've gotten used to his poisonous mouth."

The blond stood up when the adult was heading out the kitchen yawning. "Where are you going? There is another if you want."

"Nah, leave if for tomorrow. I'm too sleepy right now. I was working on patients reports and now I can't see anything but my bed. Make sure not to stay up too late, you two have school tomorrow."

Sasuke smirked at him. "What happened to Mister I-won't-sleep-'till-your-petty-asses-are-on-their-beds?"

"Met with a kid losing his life on his ward today. Good night."

Naruto sat down and continued eating his cake; he glanced over at the raven seeing the cake intact except of one bite.

"Sasuke, why aren't you eating?"

Beautiful onyx orbs faced him. "I hate sweets."

Naruto blinked at him. "Hate? Why do you hate them?"

"I just do. The overly sugary taste makes me cringe, I can't stomach sweets."

"Hmm…I never knew, Sasuke. This reminds me, there're a lot of essential stuff that I don't know about you. That's not right! We'd have to fix it!"

Sasuke smirked and wiped the chocolate above Naruto's lips then licked it off his fingers, decorating those yummy cheeks with red. "If it has nothing to do with my family, you can ask anything you want."

"Okay, let's see, so what I want to know about you? Umm….well, let's start simple then. What's your favorite color?"

"Dark blue."

"Favorite dish?"

"Omusubi with Okaka and tomatoes. Favorite vegetable is tomatoes; I hate anything sweet, like Natto. And of course, my favorite sport in Basketball. Did we cover your essentials yet?"

"Well, do you have hobbies?"

"Reading, if the atmosphere is decent and taking walks when it rains."

Naruto groaned and slumped beside his empty dish. "I hate rain, I hate reading, I love sweet things, I can't stand Omusubi, and I love Ramen. Sasuke, the only thing we have in common is Basketball!"

At the tears that were almost coming down Naruto's cheeks, Sasuke eased.

"We don't have to share a lot of things to be together. Basketball is just enough. And Naruto, didn't you know that opposites attract?"

Pouting lips were his answer. "But…I want to have stuff together. To have similar interests in things and therefore, we'd never run out of topics to say."

Sasuke had to raise a brow at this. "You're scared of running out of topics to speak about?"

"Yes. I know it's stupid. But I remember once Iruka was having a boyfriend; they stopped seeing each other because they didn't have anything to speak about. They slowly drifted apart, and finally, they broke up."

"Well, for starters, that won't happen to us."

Naruto wrinkled his nose with a scowl present on his cute features. "What makes you think so?"

"Because with you, Naruto, I know I'll never get bored. And you'll never get bored with me, right?"

Pale fingers were starting to play with his chin, and Naruto felt his heart rate quicken. Without his consent, his lips tingled asking for contact. His fingertips stung to touch, but recalling how Sasuke reacted to him when he'd initiated a contact earlier, made him think that maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all.

"If you keep looking at me like that, I'll jump you." Sasuke whispered huskily.

Naruto could taste his heart on his tongue, his mind told him to refuse, to move or give any signal for Sasuke to hold down his horses. But, his heart was calling…and at that moment; the only thing he saw was a lovely smirk replay and his desires peak out of his eyes, with Sasuke's hot body hovering over his.


So? What do you think? I tried my best to make Naruto's past roll into the story but not to darken or dim it too much. Review and tell me what you thought about it! The next chapter will be up as soon as my Beta finishes with it! :D Thanks for reading so far, and welcome to those who are new to this story, I hope you all stay tuned.