Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective author. The original characters and plot are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement is intended.
The Lemon in this chapter has been removed. Links to this story with lemons are on my page.
"Saaaaaasuke" Naruto chimed in a sing song voice before he continued annoying the hell out of his lover. He was standing at the front door – two large rucksacks at his side - waiting for the raven to trudge downstairs.
The blond had woken extra early this morning and – though he knew it wasn't smart – had taken it upon himself to wake his boyfriend from his slumber...after he had packed their bags and gotten himself ready that is. Now, I might have mentioned before that Sasuke didn't like mornings…but he liked them even less when he woke due to a certain blue eyed blond who was singing at the top of his lungs the most ridiculous and annoying two words the raven thought he would ever hear…
"Huuurry up, hurry up, hurry up-up-up. Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up-up-up. Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up-up-up. Hurry uuuup, hurry up-up-up."
To make matters worse – Sasuke's mood included – the boy hadn't stopped yelling the same thing for over half an hour. During which time Sasuke had taken a shower, dressed, eaten breakfast and restrained himself from killing Naruto whilst he followed the raven everywhere he went. What pissed the Uchiha off even more was that it was that he hadn't even gotten a morning kiss, or hug, or an actual conversation…unless you considered 'hurry up' a conversation.
Yet – to Sasuke's pleasure – a few minutes ago Naruto had ceased following his lover around and had taken to standing at the doorway whilst he continued singing. However as soon as the blond had exited the room Sasuke's frown had changed and he allowed a smile to creep onto his face. Though he would never admit it – not even to himself – he actually liked it when the dobe acted like a fool; sure it annoyed him but he still adored the way no one else could do the things Naruto did to him…the way no one else could break through his ice barrier like Naruto could. Mumbling curses under his breath and slipping his scowl back in place, Sasuke headed downstairs towards his waiting blond.
"Huuurry up, hurry up, hurry up-up-up. Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up-up-up. Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up-up-up. Hurry uuu-mmph" Naruto had been so caught up in trying to agitate the Uchiha upstairs that he hadn't even realized the boy was right in front of him, that is until he found himself unable to speak; probably due to the lips that were currently latched onto his own. Deciding not to worsen his lover's mood, Naruto gladly received the wet muscle that was attempting to enter his mouth only to have it tease and play with his own tongue.
A strong arm wrapped around his waist – pulling them impossibly closer - and he immediately found his own arms lacing their way behind Sasuke's neck. Letting his eyes close completely, Naruto pressed himself further onto his boyfriend and moaned into the kiss; causing it to deepen even more. The two boys hungrily licked at each others mouths and when they ran out of air Sasuke is the first to pull away and instantly his lips descended to Naruto's jaw line…nibbling and sucking – causing more moans to erupt from the shorter boy - as he moved downwards. Naruto swung his head back to allow the raven better access to his tan neck; his breath catching as he felt teeth lock onto the tender skin. Sasuke sucked on his boyfriends slender neck, biting down hard he almost stopped when he heard a whimper. 'This is revenge for torturing me all morning' the raven chuckled to himself before returning to a swollen pair of supple lips. What he didn't expect was for the luscious lips to move backwards – away from him -along with his angel's body.
"S-sasuke! We're gonna be late if we don't go now." Naruto said while picking the bags up and flinging one in his lovers' direction. Sasuke growled; he didn't want to go yet. Naruto couldn't expect to leave now, especially with a rather noticeable 'problem' forming between his legs.
"Naruto," he purred seductively "how about you and me be fashionably late and nip upstairs for say…ten minutes?"
"No, Sasuke. God, sometimes I reckon you've got a one track mind! I told Kiba I'd be there at one and we are going to be there at one. Now get your tidy little ass moving!"
"Nice of you to finally join us" Sasuke mumbled as Kakashi appeared with a pop, receding smoke vanishing into the atmosphere as he spoke his – much expected – excuse…
"Oh, I'm sorry Sasuke. I was just on my way down here, when all of a sudden I got lost on the road of life." The silver haired Jounin's only visible eye closed as – presumably, considering his face is hidden – he smiled. Obviously he had failed to notice the eyes that were trying to glare holes straight through his head…'damn him. He was half an hour late! Me and Naruto didn't even have to be here on time…stuff ten minutes we could have had at least half an hour to deal with my problem. But no, we had to come here right on time just so that we could wait around for him!' needless to say; Sasuke was not very happy. He unconsciously tightened his hold on his blond as he continued to glare.
The two had arrived perfectly on time to a waiting Kiba with his arms wrapped protectively around his – flushed and looking rather tired – Hyuuga heiress; they were on the right side of the gate and both turned to look in their direction as soon as Naruto opened his mouth and proclaimed how he wasn't a minute late. Sasuke just groaned and slumped against the wall…nobody else was here except the Inuzuka and his girl so why on earth could Naruto not have been just ten minutes late! It might have helped the Uchiha's mood; instead he stood with a deathly aura surrounding him and was grumbling about stupid blondes and their stupid teasing.
It hadn't taken long for the others to arrive…Lee was next and Sakura who looked rather good this morning. She had a peaceful happy atmosphere about her, which was quite strange for her; though she had been a lot less violent since the start of her pregnancy. The two had approached and Lee had almost immediately engaged in conversation with anyone willing to listen…Hinata seemed to be the only one kind enough to do so, considering Sasuke was not in a talking mood – or listening for that matter – and Kiba and Naruto were already discussing something along the lines of their favorite animals.
The three couples waited patiently for a few more minutes before Neji arrived. And then another few moments passed before the shrill voice of one very well known Kunoichi could be heard. The exited and enthusiastic blond that was Ino appeared in the distance with – a worn out looking – Iruka in tow. That had been it for another half hour before Kakashi eventually did appear, classically with his regular excuse.
The group didn't waste any more time before they took off into the woods…intent on finding a good place to set up camp.
Three hours later and they were still traveling through the – seemingly never ending – woods; Naruto and Kiba were in the lead…supposedly Kiba knew of 'a great spot where they'd absolutely love it' but Sasuke wasn't so sure he liked the whole idea very much any more. Sure he'd get to spend more time with Naruto and not have to bark orders as Anbu captain, but in his foul mood he really thought it wasn't worth the hassle. Of course, the fact that he wasn't likely to get much time alone with Naruto for the whole week had something to do with his dreadful mood also.
Sakura and Ino were lagging behind, mostly because Sakura was unable to go exceedingly fast in her current condition. Not to mention the fact that ever since they had met at the gates they have been inseparably talking each others ears off - much like Kiba and Naruto actually – while everyone else were somewhere in the middle of the group…Sasuke being directly behind Naruto; if only just for the gorgeous view.
Moments passed before Kiba steered everyone off to the left into a deeper, darker part of the woods…Nobody else seemed to notice but Sasuke realized that their surroundings were changing slightly; the trees appeared to be getting thicker and the woodland seemed to grow wilder. Yet he paid it no mind as they sped through the treetops. Vaguely he noted that his thoughts were traveling elsewhere as he began to ponder about his relationship with his blond lover once again…
Sakura let out a loud giggle at the insinuation her blonde haired girlfriend had just appeared to make.
"Oh Ino! Don't be so crude," She said in a raspy voice, lowered so that the others ahead of them could not hear "you know I'm over seven months pregnant now and – to tell you the truth - we can't really do much in that sense any more…in fact we can only really cope with doggy now,"
"You mean; you can only cope with it!" Ino yelled before erupting into more giggles. Sakura joined her, ignoring the pink tinge on her cheeks as she blushed furiously at their topic of conversation but nevertheless she continued to laugh about her love life..."Precisely…hehe…I'm really…not very flexible at the moment…hahaha" the pink haired kunoichi nearly yelled out between fits of laughter…oh her and Ino had such banter, she though to herself before she remembered where she was and what she had just shouted out for all of her friends to hear. She seriously thought she was going to faint at the silence of the group; even Kiba and Naruto had ceased their chatting.
Most just shook their heads before turning back to their own discussions…except Kiba, Naruto, Kakashi and Lee who all burst into laughter – bar Lee who stayed perfectly silent with a face resembling a tomato – before turning back to their own discussions.
"Kakashi-sensei! Don't laugh at Sakura…You're providing a bad habit, we are here to keep things in order remember?" Iruka's strict voice scolded his colleague quietly; he didn't really want to embarrass his friend too much.
"Oh loosen up Iruka-chan…we might be here to work, but I have absolutely no intention of doing so. Treat this like a holiday…those 'kids' are old enough to look after themselves now and even Tsunade knows that."
"If that's true then why did she send us here in the first place?"
"It's simple; she thought we needed a break." Kakashi's eyes showed a hidden humor to them and Iruka immediately knew there was something he was not being told.
"I don't believe you. There was another reason wasn't there, Kakashi?"
"Well, probably because she thought we deserved some alone time too."
"What? Why would she even think that? Explain Kakashi."
"Come on Dolphin-chan-"
"Shhh! I've told you not to call me that in public, do you want the whole world to know?"
"Um, actually ye-"
"Kakashi!"
"Look. Iruka. You can keep me a secret if you really feel it necessary…"
"Thank you Kakashi, I'm glad you fina-"
"But I have absolutely no intention of keeping you one!"
"What? Kakashi why are you being so difficult here? I've told you before, I don't want people to know about our relationship and I plan on keeping things that way-"
The group came to a sudden stop – one that sent Sasuke straight into the back of Naruto and caused both of them to topple over – as they reached a rather large, secluded opening in the middle of what seemed like walls of thick dark trees. The place smelled strongly of wood and forestry…almost tropical too. The place looked amazing; a perfect place for camping, it was so secluded and it seemed like the perfect place.
Naruto smiled up at Sasuke as he gazed at the scene…the blond couldn't help smiling at his lover; the serene look on his pale, creamy face made him look gorgeous in Naruto's eyes – probably in everyone else's too – but the moment didn't last long as he placed a small peck on his boyfriend's cheek before asking him nicely to get off…
"You're squishing me teme…hurry up and get the hell off!" Well…Naruto hadn't meant it to come out so harsh at all and he pondered for a moment why he had said that, but only for a moment as Sasuke removed himself from the azure eyed boy and they both climbed to their feet. The Uchiha didn't look offended by the comment, but inwardly he was extremely concerned as to why he had been snapped at…he hadn't done anything to upset his blond as far as he could remember. He frowned; his mood dropping even lower as he marched off to set up his and Naruto's tent. Naruto's worries however, vanished completely as he took in the setting affront him.
"Oooooh! You really weren't joking Kiba! This place rocks!" He exclaimed excitedly while casting glances around himself at the rest of their friends who were now – mostly - setting up camp. Kiba grinned in reply; his ego having shot up alarmingly at the comment.
"Yeh well you know I'm good with these things…I'm actually the bomb for camping!"
"Suuuure you are Kiba!" the blond retorted sarcastically before heading in the direction Sasuke had gone. He found his boyfriend situated in a corner – it seemed to be a curved edge to the large area, yet instead of only large trees cutting it off from the rest of the forest…large boulders and rocks were surrounding a small circular patch as well – and was not surprised to see that the tent was almost completely up. Naruto smiled sadly…he couldn't out his finger on it, but something was upsetting him and before he could ponder it further he found himself feeling angry and hurt. What on earth was wrong with him? Shaking his head to rid himself of such emotions he realized that Sasuke was now finished the tent and stood gazing longingly at him before moving towards the blond and pulling him into an embrace. Naruto took a deep breath; fully relishing the scent of Sasuke, he wrapped his arms tightly around the taller man.
They could have stood there for hours and not realized, both were far too occupied with each other…just holding one another was enough to make the whole world vanish for eternity – it seemed. A small sniffling sound though, made the Uchiha spring from his unattainable height. He passed it off as something from further away in the woods or just his imagination…that is until it happened again, followed by a feeling of wetness on Sasuke's chest.
Naruto began to wonder why Sasuke's shirt seemed to be dampening. He kept feeling himself sniff and shudder, something ran through his mind that told him he was crying but he passed it off as illusionary; Naruto never cried, especially when he didn't have a reason to. Sighing gently to himself he buried his face further into the soft material of Sasuke's shirt – plain and a deep red colour, like blood, with the Uchiha symbol on the back – but he was pushed away abruptly. Naruto's head snapped up hastily and Sasuke's onyx eyes – deep with worry and laced with unsaid words – met his own cerulean pools - swimming with tears and red from those already shed.
Sasuke brought his hand up and gently caressed Naruto's smooth cheek, wiping away the tears that were trailing down his face. The blond boy didn't even understand why he was crying, he felt so sad and his urge to cry was tearing away at his self control. He barely managed to believe this was happening; it was like he couldn't control his feelings, almost as if they were not his at all. The emotions ran deeper than he could make sense of, although he wasn't hurt in a heart-broken and pained kind of way…he only felt the need to cry, the sadness seemed to be leaving him with every tear that hit the soft ground below.
"Naruto, what's the matter?" Sasuke asked; he didn't know what he had done wrong. He must have done something terrible though…to make Naruto cry like this. First Naruto had shouted at him when they first arrived, and now he was crying. Sasuke found himself wondering if the problem had started this morning – perhaps the reason Naruto had insisted on annoying Sasuke was so that he did not have to face him or talk to him…maybe it stretched beyond the morning, it could even have started last night. Then again, it hadn't been the first time something along the lines of last night had happened. Something seemed to click inside Sasuke's head and he finally knew why Naruto was crying…he was upset that Sasuke continued to come home upset; the Uchiha had already known that his dobe got sad when he came home like that. How had he managed to hurt his angel…why was he so stupid!
"I-it's fine. Really I don't e-even know why I'm crying…b-but the tears just won't stop coming." As soon as the sentence was completed a small piece of Naruto seemed to snap and his whole composure broke, he began shaking feverishly and the sobs no longer caught in his throat; he let them come and Sasuke could do nothing but watch in horror as his lover wept uncontrollably.
Sasuke no longer cared about the reasons behind this; all he cared abut was making his boyfriend feel better. Puling Naruto back into his arms he began running his hands up and down the blonde's back, whispering hushed nothings into the boys ear as his breathing evened out and he slowly started to catch himself. It took about ten minutes – of seeming alright for a moment and then throwing himself into Sasuke's arms and crying again – before the azure eyed angel finally stopped completely. The two had taken a seat and were now leaning against one of the smooth boulders to the side of their tent…well, more truthfully Sasuke was leaning against the rock with Naruto leaning against him; his body sat comfortably in between the Uchiha's legs, as his back rested on the raven's firm chest.
"God, I'm so sorry Sasuke, I just…I don't know what came over me really…I just couldn't stop it. I'm sorry Sasuke."
Sasuke shook his head in response.
"Don't apologize; as long as you're ok now then it's fine right? Just remember, if you want to talk to someone I'm here for you and if for some reason you can't come to me then Iruka will definitely listen and help you. You know he's like a father to you."
Naruto nodded back but didn't say anything. He had absolutely no intention of ever bringing this strange event up again; that's for sure. As far as the blond was concerned it did not even happen. He had however found it weird that nobody else had overheard his loud bawling. He figured they must have left already, to check out the area.
"Hey, Sasuke! I think everyone else left to check the place out…we should probably go catch up with them hehe."
"Sure dobe,"
The two made their way further down the path; it had been worn down by people walking here in the past, there was a soft sandy earth – a grey colour - that adorned the thin walkway. They turned left at the sound of running water and girls screeching. Sasuke was the first to begin moving towards the noises, Naruto only a few steps behind him…The Uchiha cleared a better way through the wilderness for his lover to go. Although there were no branches in the way – the trees had thick branches but not until much higher than the boy's heads – there were bushes and shrubs that frequently crowded the way.
Sasuke could see movement ahead and hastened his pace. Naruto was following his boyfriend quietly, intrigued by what could lay ahead of them when his attention was torn away from the raven by a butterfly as it flew slowly passed his face…It had extremely light blue wings with swirling lilac patterns on them, each wing's edge seemed a darker, deeper blue than the inner colour. Naruto found himself mesmerized and before he could comprehend what he was doing his boy seemed to move on its own; a ten hand reached out cautiously towards the creature almost afraid to startle the fragile insect. Before he knew it the winged beauty had perched itself on the tip of his index finger, its legs tickling the skin; the butterfly felt lighter than a feather.
"Come on dobe, they're just ahead of us now."
Naruto barely had time to register that he had been pulled away from the butterfly – which had instantly flown away from him with the sudden movement – and was now being led towards what looked like a lake behind the next tree. As the two boys stumbled out into an area free of trees both took the time to study the new surroundings…Directly in front of them, only a few steps ahead was a small lake – carved down into the earth like it had been created by human means, there was a clear distinction between the ground that they stood on and the waters bed - that narrowed considerably further down to their left and split into two small rivers that seemed to disappear into the forest. Following the lake to their right was a glorious waterfall; the water trickling heavily down protruding rocks. It was not a completely vertical waterfall but it was a very steep slop that the liquid was running down, it wasn't straight either as the larger rocks successfully dislodged the waters initial fall and made it fall to one side and then another. At the sides of the waterfall was a large cliff covered in ivy and other plants and extravagantly coloured flowers. It was amazing.
Naruto wondered if he had ever seen something so wonderful in his entire life…of all the places he had been. Sasuke was just as surprised at the sheer perfection and naturally exquisite excellence of the place.
Sakura sat at the edge of the dip; her legs swinging in the water. Ino was beside her – to the left - but did not have her legs in the liquid and instead had them bent close to her chest. To Sakura's right was Hinata who was also enjoying the feeling of calmly running water to her feet. The three were in a conversation yet again and the rest of their friends – including Iruka and Kakashi - were gathered round a tree nearer the waterfall. Naruto headed towards them as soon as he had caught his breath – since it had been taken away initially by the scene – leaving Sasuke where he was. Sasuke watched his lover walk away from him before turning his gaze back to the waterfall…where it hit the water there was a smooth lather gathering, like a bubble bath.
"It's nice here isn't it Sasuke?" a smooth voice came from his side. The Uchiha didn't need to look to see who the person was; he would recognize the voice of his former – lecherous – sensei any day.
"It is." Was his simple reply; he was in no mood to talk.
"What took you and Naruto so long to get here?" the tone in Kakashi's voice told of his perverted thoughts.
"Nothing, we just took longer to set up camp that is all."
"Of course, of course. Say, its been a while since you and I have spoken," he said casually, though both knew this wasn't true…being that they are both Anbu they see each other on a regular basis, though such meetings are strictly business. But Sasuke caught on to the meaning behind his words and indeed it had been a long time since the two had had a 'normal' conversation.
"Hn,"
"What made you agree to come here?"
"Naruto asked me. I don't like to say no to him too much."
Kakashi snickered at the reply; he knew this was not the real reason. He knew very well the troubles the Uchiha was having with his whole 'revive the clan' goal. The teacher thought it was none of his business to intervene, but Iruka had asked him to make sure they talked about it during this time away - Kakashi was weak when it came to Iruka…he could never say no - so he had agreed to mention it slyly and he was hoping the raven might open up to him and ask for advice. Though he truly doubted that would ever happen.
"Well, I came because it's a holiday and more time to spend with my dolphin-chan." Perhaps if Sasuke knew what was happening between him and Iruka it would be easier for him to talk about himself and Naruto?
"I know. Why else would you drag yourself out here if not to perv on your secret boyfriend?"
Kakashi's visible eye widened a fraction; how had Sasuke figured it out? Just as he was about to ask, Sasuke seemed to read his mind…
"It's completely obvious you do realize? I'm not even sure why you bother keeping it a secret."
"Neither am I," he sighed "Iruka insists that we don't tell anybody so I haven't but…"
"You want people to know he's yours."
"Yes, Sasuke I do. No matter what I say though he keeps refusing. I don't know what to do to make him see that I hate this. Not the relationship I mean,"
"The secrets?"
"Yes."
"Just tell him that you're insecure with him not wanting people to know about your relationship and explain that it's making you feel uncomfortable." Sasuke finished before heading over to the group of chatting guys. He wrapped his arms around his dobe's waist and rested his head on the smaller boy's shoulder. Naruto smiled slightly before retorting sarcastically to something smug Kiba had said and Sasuke smirked; hiding his own smile…nobody could see him smile but Naruto, nobody could make him smile but Naruto.
Kakashi crossed his arms over his chest and sighed deeply. Wasn't he over here to give Sasuke advice, not receive it? How was he supposed to help Sasuke with his problems if he couldn't even sort out his own? Together with the fact that Sasuke seemed to know much more about relationships than Kakashi, and things were not looking up for the silver haired ninja.
The group enjoyed the scenery for a few more minutes – about forty five long minutes actually – before heading back to camp; it had become darker and was now about half past ten at night. They didn't bother to set a camp fire when they reached the site…deeming it too bothersome considering they were only going straight to bed; their sleepiness from the journey winning over the desire to stay up later. Mostly everybody shared a tent with their partner, bar Ino who had a small tent to herself…of course, not all the teenagers knew about Kakashi and Iruka's relationship – the only ones being Sasuke and Hinata; she had overheard their conversation on the way there - so most thought nothing of them sharing a tent. Each pair retreated to their beds after whispering small 'goodnight's to the rest of the party.
Once again, lemon links on my profile =). I hope you guys are enjoying the story Xx..xX