Just for heads up, I'll be gone and without a computer for a week- 'tis the season for weddings after all (a cousin and two friends)- so the next chapter may be a bit delayed.
Thank you for such wonderful feedback! I hope this chapter won't disappoint.
Chapter Eight: Slow Dancing
"Oh, Kiba, Sasuke's going to kill you!" Karin seemed highly amused by this. Kiba flinched.
The trip to get to the club had been tense. Several times, Kiba had tried to convince Naruto to go back to the house, but Naruto always refused. Naruto had no illusions that if Kiba hadn't been so hungry, he would have forced Naruto back himself. As it was, Kiba flinched anytime Naruto came close to him, and Naruto knew that it wasn't from anything else than restraint. Naruto used this to his advantage, though, and he was on his way to Sasuke.
When they got to the club, Kiba had grasped Naruto's elbow and, holding Naruto away at arm's length, marched him over to the bar where Karin was sitting. A look of surprise had crossed her face before it melted into one of pure glee. She had laughed for quite a bit before telling Kiba of his upcoming demise. Kiba didn't seem nearly as amused.
"You're still alive aren't you? And you did the same thing." Kiba looked decidedly nervous, and continued to scan the room, looking for an angry Sasuke. Karin's grin widened.
"Yea, but I'm human." Kiba gulped. "He'll have no problem taking your head off and setting it on fire."
Kiba gazed longingly at the bar. "I wish I could still drink." Naruto decided it was time to intervene.
"It's not Kiba's fault. I made him bring me." Karin scoffed.
"Yea, and a fully mature vampire can be made to do something by a human. Sasuke's going to kill him!" Kiba groaned.
"Excuse me, I'm going to go find someone who's completely wasted." Kiba wondered off into the depths of the club. Naruto watched him go before turning to Karin.
"Would that actually work?" Karin shrugged.
"I don't know. If the blood alcohol concentration's high enough…?" They considered that, before Karin had Naruto by the elbow. "Well, more than likely Sasuke already knows you're here. Let's go find him." Naruto grinned and looked around for Sasuke.
He didn't have to look far.
Sasuke was sitting not too far away with a rather nasty glare on his face. Naruto was having a strange sense of déjà vu, but this time, the look amused him rather than scared him. When Sasuke saw that he had Naruto's attention, he stood and closed the short distance between them. He broke his gaze from Naruto to shoot Karin a questioning look. Karin was quick to alleviate the blame from herself.
"I didn't bring him, Sasuke! It's not my fault this time."
"I am aware, Karin. I saw Kiba bring him in." Naruto thought of poor Kiba, flinching like a beaten dog.
"Don't blame him, Sasuke. I invited myself. Kiba tried to stop me, but I ended up following him anyway." Sasuke sneered.
"He could not stop you, or force you to return?" Naruto huffed in frustration and crossed his arms over his chest before leveling a glare at Sasuke.
"I can be very persuasive." The dark glare lingered on Sasuke's face for a moment longer before it lightened. He reached forward and ran a finger down the side of Naruto's face.
"Can you?" Naruto caught Sasuke's finger and placed a kiss on the tip.
"Yes."
Sasuke hummed, then twisted his hand so he could interlock Naruto's fingers with his. "You should not be here."
Naruto was getting so sick of that phrase. "Well, I'm here. I could head off on my own and try to get home, but we all know that me walking these streets at night usually doesn't end up so well." Sasuke's grip tightened at the reminder.
"So, I'll just…go, now. If you don't need me." Karin mumbled out. She took Sasuke flicking his hand as an acceptance of her retreat. She mouthed to Naruto to find her later, to which he nodded. When she had left, Sasuke pulled Naruto closer to him.
"Are you going to behave?" Naruto grinned.
"Well, I do try to stay out of trouble, despite what you think." Sasuke hummed, but then his eyes caught something over Naruto's shoulder and narrowed. Naruto turned and followed his line of sight to see Kiba coming back into the building from the alley. Kiba froze. Naruto sighed and turned back to face Sasuke. "Leave him alone, Sasuke. I brow beat him into bringing me."
Sasuke sighed. "Well, then go tell him that I will not kill him. Tonight." Naruto snorted as he started to turn away.
"I'm sure that will be comforting."
If Naruto didn't know better, he would think that Sasuke was avoiding him. Karin had reassured him, though, that that wasn't the case. The vampires had to focus while they searched out and pursued their prey, and as Karin had hinted, Naruto might be a slight bit of a distraction. Furthermore, she was pretty sure that Sasuke wouldn't want Naruto to see him feed, which Naruto expected, and so was careful to distance himself. Naruto had already missed it once- he caught sight of Sasuke reentering the building out of the corner of his eye. Frustrated, he had become dedicated to careful observation of Sasuke's movements.
Which weren't much. Mostly he just sat and brooded in the corner.
Naruto had taken up post at the bar with Karin. They had laughed each other silly by pointing out all of the silly drunk people and adding their own commentary to the slurred conversations around them.
They were in the middle of a great sequence of lame pick up lines (Do you clean your pants with Windex? Because I can see myself in them) when Naruto finally saw Sasuke move again. He watched Sasuke progress across the room and come to a stop next to a girl standing with a group of girls. He couldn't tell what caused Sasuke to single out this one girl from her companions, but Sasuke made his selection clear with a hand resting on the back of her neck and a few whispered words in her ear. She looked startled for a few moments before giggling. Sasuke offered her his arm, so much like he had done with Naruto on their date, and turned to escort her out. The girl looked back only once to wave to her giggling friends, then she was leaning her head on Sasuke's shoulder and hanging off his arm.
The anger hit Naruto harder than he thought it would. He thought he had prepared himself for this, but he had neglected to consider the reactions of the "food source." What right did this girl have to hang off Sasuke like she owned him? Naruto squeezed his eyes shut and forced himself to relax- it would only get worse from here and he had to remain calm if he was to see this through. Once he deemed himself in control, he muttered an "Excuse me," and got up to follow, but Karin's hand on his elbow stopped him.
"Naruto, you don't want to do that." She flicked her eyes to where Sasuke was patiently waiting for the girl to grab one last drink.
Naruto kept his voice even keeled when he replied. "Thank you for your concern, Karin, but I know what I want to do." What he wanted to do was rip that girls hand from Sasuke's hair where she was twirling a strand around her finger, but he didn't think Sasuke would appreciate the loss of his prey.
Karin sighed and considered Naruto. "Fine, but if you go out that way, he'll see you. I know a better way. Come on." Naruto hesitated, but then decided to follow.
She led him around the bar, waving to the bartender, and into a back staircase. At the top of the stairs, she turned right and stopped in front of the door. She tested the door knob, and shot Naruto a self-satisfied grin when the door opened. She motioned Naruto in and closed the door behind them. Looking around, Naruto saw that it was a room, even smaller than his old apartment. It looked unoccupied, though. Naruto walked across the room to the only window only to have a perfect view over looking the alley. Sasuke and his prey weren't there yet. Naruto turned a suspicious eye to Karin.
"Do I want to know how you know about this room?" Karin came up to lean against the wall next to the window.
"I used to work at this bar. This was my room, and how I found out about Sasuke and everyone. When Suigetsu approached me, I already knew what he was. When I moved in with them, I told them about this room, and Sasuke has continued to pay the bartender to keep it empty." She scowled. "Of course, he is also supposed to keep it locked. I'll have to talk with him later."
Naruto was about to ask her if the bartender knew what Sasuke was, but his attention was drawn to the movement in the alley. The girl, still giggling tripped on her way out and caught herself on the far wall. Sasuke closed the door behind him, and then simply stood there, watching the girl.
With space between them, Naruto felt himself relax. He had to admit, she was attractive- long black hair, pale skin, and curves every where. Perhaps that is why Sasuke selected her, which didn't sit well with Naruto. She was his exact opposite. If this was the type of creature Sasuke was attracted to, then why did Sasuke pursue him- blonde, tan, and most definitely male?
Words were being said, but the distance and the pane of glass prevented him from hearing what was said. The girl stumbled across the short distance to wrap her arms around Sasuke's neck, and the anger came back in full force. Naruto shifted to lean against the side of the window and crossed his arms across his chest, mostly to keep himself from hitting the window. And then Sasuke was moving, and Naruto had to bite his lip, hard, to keep from screaming.
One of Sasuke's arms came up behind her and crossed across her lower back to pull her even closer to him. His other hand came up to cradle the back of her head. Carefully, carefully, he tilted her head back. The girl had her eyes closed and a small blissful smile on her face. Naruto wanted to rip it off of her. Sasuke leaned forward, tracing his lips along her jaw line to her throat. From the angle of Sasuke's head, Naruto couldn't see the actual bite, but he saw the girl's reaction- a wince, and Sasuke pulled her closer, and then she melted into him. Naruto had to turn away.
He had prepared himself for the wrong thing. He had been expecting something like the night when Sasuke killed his would-be mugger- screams and struggles. He supposed that was what happened when Sasuke wasn't careful. But when Sasuke was being careful, it looked damn erotic. If he hadn't known that Sasuke was a vampire and she was his prey, he would have thought they were two lovers in an alley. The anger grew into jealousy. It wasn't a foreign feeling; growing up, Naruto had been jealous of all the other children who had families and homes. But the intensity of the feeling was new. It made him want to scream and hit something, preferably the girl.
But what he also wasn't prepared for was the overwhelming sadness. Sasuke pulled this girl close to him, and yet he always held Naruto at arm's length. Naruto had wanted to learn more about Sasuke, but if anything, the only thing he learned was just how far apart he and Sasuke actually were. Naruto could almost feel the wall forged between them. It left a physical ache in his chest.
"Naruto?" Naruto started. He had almost forgotten that Karin was still there. "He's done." Naruto looked back out the window. The girl was sagging in Sasuke's arms, but still alive. Naruto was vaguely surprised that he was disappointed. With an unconscious thought, Naruto's eyes trailed to her neck. There was a large red mark on her neck. It looked like a hickey. As if reading his thoughts, Karin answered his unasked question. "They can bite without leaving a mark, but if the prey is going to remember the bite in the morning, it's best to leave a hickey. And, after all, a hickey is just a bruise- a leaking of blood into the surrounding tissue."
Naruto hummed in an attempt to sound interested, but he was watching Sasuke half drag her out of the alley. He knew what would happen next. Sasuke would call a taxi, the taxi driver would think that the girl just had too much to drink and take her home, and Sasuke would come back into the bar. It was the perfect ploy. Naruto had seen enough.
Naruto stumbled out the door and down the stairs, Karin at his heels. Once more, she grabbed at his elbow, the momentum spinning Naruto around to face her.
"Cool off before you talk to Sasuke. Drink a beer. You can't change it. Sasuke has to eat." Naruto sneered.
"I would have rather he killed her." Even as he said it, he felt remorse, even before Karin slapped him.
"You have no idea how hard Sasuke, Hell, everyone in Sasuke's coven work to keep their prey alive. Do you think that…" Naruto raised his hand to stop her tirade.
"I know, Karin. I know." He knew that by keeping his prey alive, Sasuke was keeping what little of his own humanity was left alive as well. He knew how important it was to Sasuke. And he also knew that if Sasuke had ever held him like he held that girl, he wouldn't be as upset. "I'll cool down before I talk to Sasuke." Karin nodded in satisfaction before she pushed her way around Naruto and down the stairs. Naruto turned and watched her decent before sitting down on the stairs himself.
He knew what he wanted. But he couldn't have it tonight. Or tomorrow. He would have to wait until the following night, when Sasuke would be most susceptible to Naruto's arguments.
But that didn't mean he was going to let Sasuke off the hook tonight.
Naruto was half way through his second beer before he got up and walked over to where Sasuke sat in the corner. He waited until he was sitting, with his fingers laced over the mouth of his bottle and his chin resting on his fingers, before looking at Sasuke. Sasuke raised his eyebrow at him. Naruto grinned back; he finally felt calm for the first time since he came here.
"Are you done playing for tonight?" Sasuke's eyes narrowed at the question, and he searched Naruto's face.
"Yes." He replied slowly, as if testing Naruto's reaction. Naruto's grin softened.
"Good. Then you can come dance with me." Naruto almost laughed at Sasuke's expression.
"I do not think so."
"Why not? Oh, I get it. You can't dance." It was almost too easy.
"I can." The tone was insulted.
"Then you just don't want to dance with me." Sasuke's face twisted, but Naruto cut off any reply. "I'll just ask Kiba to dance with me. I'm sure he'd be more willing."
Sasuke snarled. "If he does, I will kill him." Naruto huffed to hide his grin of satisfaction. Turn about was fair play, and he was happy that Sasuke was the one who was jealous now.
"Well, I'm not going to sit here and sulk all night because you refuse to dance with me. I'll just go and find a more eager partner." Naruto downed the rest of his beer, and then he was up and moving to the dance floor. He felt Sasuke's unamused glare on his back all the way.
Despite his teasing, Naruto was dancing by himself. The music was a release that Naruto relished, and he allowed the beat to move his body, arms in the air and head thrown back. He grinned in satisfaction when he noticed several pairs of eyes on him. He just hoped that the person he wanted was watching.
His hopes were confirmed when he felt an arm snake around his waist and a low growl reverberate through his back. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sasuke glare off a young man who had gotten too close for Sasuke's comfort. Naruto glanced quickly around the bar to see his friends wide eyed with dropped jaws. Naruto felt a laugh of glee bubble in his chest at the expressions. Instead, he rested his head back on Sasuke's shoulder and arched his back. There was a warning nip at his ear.
"I thought you were going to behave." Naruto turned and wrapped his arms around Sasuke's neck. He ignored the frustration he felt when Sasuke stiffened.
"I am. I'm glad you decided to join me." Sasuke hummed and tilted his head to the side.
"You can be very persuasive."
Naruto couldn't help but to laugh. Overjoyed, he leaned forward and kissed Sasuke.
He couldn't ignore his disappointment when Sasuke didn't kiss back.
The next day, Naruto acted much like any other day. Occasionally, he would worry that Sasuke was suspicious, but the evening passed much like any other. Lee had found him and apologized profusely for failing at his task. Despite Naruto's attempts to tell him that it was okay and that they would find some other way, Lee was dead set on punishing himself. Once, on his way to his room, Naruto had happened by a window at the same time a green streak had passed by. Naruto had back tracked, but Lee was already way gone.
He had gone to bed early to insure that he would wake up before the sun set. He was waiting in the hallway when Sasuke had emerged from his room. For a moment, he had thought that Sasuke would turn around and retreat back into his room, but eventually, Sasuke approached him.
"Good evening, Naruto."
"Hi Sasuke." Naruto considered Sasuke for a moment before deciding to delay asking his question. He knew the longer he held off, the more likely Sasuke would give in. "How are you?"
Sasuke eyed Naruto warily before motioning him to walk with him. "I am well. And you?"
Naruto knew he had to draw this out. "I'm really, really good. I slept well last night, or day. I took a while to get used to such a huge bed. I think I killed poor Lee, though. I think he was doing laps around the house as punishment for you not letting him take a fledgling."
"He was. He is fine, however. And he wanted more than one fledgling." Sasuke opened his mouth to dismiss himself from Naruto, so Naruto interrupted before he could.
"That's really good. I'm glad. Are you going out tonight?" Naruto knew the answer, but wanted Sasuke to answer anyway.
"Yes." Sasuke paused, as if trying to figure out what it was Naruto wanted from him. "Were you wanting to come with us?"
Naruto pretended to think about his answer, but when Sasuke started shooting glances down the hallway, he thought it best to get to the point of this conversation. "No, not tonight. I do have a favor to ask though."
Sasuke's curiosity was most definitely peaked. "Anything," he answered quickly. Naruto grinned.
"You should be careful when you say that, Sasuke." The furrow was back between Sasuke's eyebrows, but Naruto wouldn't let himself reach out to smooth it. Not yet. Not until he knew he could. He took a couple of steps past Sasuke before he turned and stopped in front of him, effectively blocking the open end of the hallway. He locked his eyes on Sasuke and tried to put his most serious face on. "Bite me."
Sasuke reacted as if he had been physically hit. He took several steps back, away from Naruto. "No."
"Why not?" Naruto knew that Sasuke would refuse, but he couldn't help feeling disappointed. "And don't give me that crap about you not wanting to hurt me. That girl from the other night didn't look hurt at all." He also couldn't help his voice being tinted with bitterness. Sasuke looked mildly panicked.
"You saw that?"
Naruto sneered. "Yea, I saw that. I saw how you held her. You can't even hold me like that." Naruto could tell that Sasuke's mind was desperately trying to keep up with Naruto's thought process while trying to figure out how things went so wrong.
He glared down the hallway over Naruto's shoulder. "Karin," he mumbled. Naruto huffed and stomped his foot. Sasuke was completely missing the point.
"What does Karin have to do with any of this?" That got Sasuke's attention back on him. "Answer why not, Sasuke." Sasuke didn't answer. Naruto tried to calm himself enough to reason with him. "We can't be together if you can't even be yourself around me. You are so careful around me that you aren't allowing me to truly know you. If this is what it takes for you to relax around me, then this is something that I want to do." There was still no response from Sasuke, and Naruto knew he was terribly close to loosing his patience. He pulled out his wild card. "You said that I could have anything I wanted."
Sasuke finally responded. "Do not ask this of me, Naruto. I cannot! Please do not tempt me tonight; I have not fed yet."
Naruto wanted to slap his head. For a genius, Sasuke was a little slow. "I know, Sasuke. Why do you think I'm asking you now?"
If he wasn't so frustrated, Naruto would have been amused to see Sasuke process that. "You manipulative little…"
If Naruto listened carefully, he could hear the remnants of his control, restraint, and patience snap. "What do you want from me?"
Sasuke seemed startled, either from the question or from him screaming, Naruto wasn't sure. "Are we truly back to this? I thought we had moved passed your temper tantrums."
"I thought we had too, but you never answered me the first time around. Why am I here, Sasuke?" Sasuke opened his mouth to respond, but his jaw clicked close as he changed his mind. Naruto wished he had something to throw. "Am I just here so you have something pretty to look at? Like a doll that you keep on the shelf and take down to play with every once in a while?"
"You are being ridiculous."
"Am I, Sasuke?" Naruto squeezed his eyes closed and forced himself to calm down. He was rapidly loosing hope. "You said I was yours. Are you mine?"
Sasuke looked taken aback by the question. Minutes passed, and still he did not answer. Naruto felt like he was being sent back to the orphanage all over again. He forced a smile on his face anyway. "Well then, I'm glad we sorted that out. I won't bother you anymore." He forced himself to walk by Sasuke and back to his room.
He had just passed him, though, when there was a hand on his wrist, a hand holding his cheek, and lips kissing his wet eyes. "If my heart still beat, it would beat for you. If I still had a soul, it would belong to you. If I was still alive, my life would be commanded by you. Everything and anything for you and you only." Sasuke used the hand on his cheek to force Naruto to look at him. "But I do not have any of that. My heart last beat centuries ago, and I yielded my soul even before that. I am dead, and am merely continuing my existence. I have nothing to offer you."
Naruto reached up to hold Sasuke's face between his hands. "All I want is you."
Sasuke searched Naruto's face before he replied. "Then I am yours."
With a sigh of relief, Naruto threw his arms around Sasuke and kissed him hard. Sasuke kissed him back, chaste and gentle. Naruto rained kisses on Sasuke's face before pressing his check against Sasuke's jaw and his heart against Sasuke's still chest. Sasuke's arms wrapped tightly around his waist and his face buried itself in his hair. Slowly, though, one of those hands ran up his spine to cradle the back of his head. Naruto recognized the hold; he also recognized the tenseness in Sasuke's body. He kissed Sasuke's jaw.
"It's okay, Sasuke." Sasuke gave a dry chuckle.
"I should be the one telling you that." Naruto laughed and kissed Sasuke's jaw again.
Slowly, he tilted Naruto's head back. He placed a light kiss on Naurto's mouth, his Adam's apple, his jugular. He licked at a small spot on his throat before scraping his fangs gently across a vein. "You are sure?"
"Yes," Naruto whispered.
On Naruto's next exhale, Sasuke sunk his fangs into his vein. Naruto was prepared for the pain, and so he was able to control his wince. The pain eased after that, until all Naruto could feel was a gentle pull at his throat.
Once, when Naruto was at the orphanage, he became ill. The doctor had ordered a blood test. He had fainted half way through, but the one thing that had stood out in his mind before that was the pull he had felt in the crook of his elbow from the syringe. He could feel the suction pulling the blood from his body into the tube.
Now, he was reminded of that feeling. With every beat of his heart, he could feel the blood being pulled from his body into Sasuke's. Too soon, he started feeling the tell-tale lightheadedness of a black out. The strength started to drain from his body and he felt himself sag in Sasuke's arms. Sluggishly, he ran his fingers through Sasuke's hair and desperately held onto consciousness. He was unprepared for the sting of Sasuke withdrawing his fangs, but he was too far gone to wince. There were a couple of licks to the wound and then he was being picked up and held in strong arms.
The last of his awareness focused on a brushing of lips on his temple and the whispered words, "Sleep, my beloved."