Summary:

Naruto had been a good boy all through high school, and what had it gotten him? Rejected by his best friend for a series of one-night-stands. (OOC: darker Naruto, sexual Sasuke) SasuNaru - College AU

Warning 17+ only: Hard Yaoi (Boy x Boy) - shameless birthday smut, and a little foreshadowing of tension. THIS CHAPTER WAS REPORTED, SO CONTENT IS EDITED (as always, you can find the 'full versions' on Ao 3 . c o m *sighs*) You can also find links that work to the complete versions of all my stories at my website: KizuKatana dot WordPress dot com.

Author's note: Ok, so this week was absolute hell and I ended up working like 80 hours (which doesn't sound much, but when you figure it is like working two full-time regular work weeks, and considering hygiene and eating time it means basically I didn't exist outside of work this week). So my brain is dead. Like not functioning. At all. SO Deception won't be updated this weekend, because there are about 5 sub-plots and all the details matter and I have to really focus on it or I'll mess it up. This story is simpler, so I was able to write this chapter on the subway when I wasn't falling asleep.

-xXx-

Sasuke laid his head on the desk in the library. He was mentally exhausted and it was only four weeks into the semester. Classes were harder this year, which he had expected since they were higher level courses than what he had taken last year. It wasn't that he had any trouble picking up the concepts, but the sheer volume of homework and projects was burying him alive. He had hardly been able to spend any time in the Suna office getting up to speed on anything. He had met the two VPs that were currently running the office under Itachi, but hadn't gone much beyond that. He had a hard time getting a read on Karin's capabilities, because the redhead kept fawning over him so much she seemed barely able to string together a coherent sentence. The other VP, Suigetsu, seemed sharp enough but he clearly enjoyed making a fool out of Karin whenever Sasuke was around. Sasuke wondered how the two ever managed to keep the business running given their completely broken interpersonal skills and lack of focus.

His new executive assistant, Jugo, definitely seemed capable. He was calm, quiet, and well-organized. And didn't seem to have any sort of attraction to Sasuke, which was a major bonus. The only problem was that Sasuke's class schedule had his weekdays so full he wasn't able to participate in any of the business meetings or day-to-day operations that he had planned on getting involved with.

Two of his afternoons had large enough gaps in his course schedule that he could have spent the time at the office, but he had study groups that met then for the courses where team projects were a large part of the grade. The groups had been willing to meet on weekends, but he had promised that time to Naruto, so he had pushed for weekdays instead.

Sasuke sighed. He would talk to Naruto. It was only for 8 more months. And they would have winter break in the middle to spend time together. Naruto understood what Sasuke was trying to do and why. He wouldn't begrudge the time, as long as Sasuke explained what was happening.

. . . .

Naruto dropped his books on his desk, then flopped down on his bed.

Gaara raised a hairless eyebrow, waiting for the blond to speak. Usually, he was waiting for his roommate to shut up. Something was definitely wrong.

"Weren't you supposed to be studying with Sasuke at the library today?"

"Yes," Naruto said, sounding slightly sulky.

Gaara simply waited. It wasn't long in coming.

"He says I'm too distracting. He needs to focus on just getting his coursework out of the way so he can graduate early and take over the Suna operations this summer, because he promised Itachi that he would."

"Did you try not jumping him and actually, you know, letting him study?"

Naruto growled. "I don't jump him every time."

Gaara simply blinked his skepticism. He'd walked in on one or two of their 'study sessions' in their dorm room.

"Half the time he jumps me," Naruto said, somewhat defensively. "I mean, we haven't seen each other in almost a year. We've barely been going out a month. We're just..."

"Horny?" Gaara said, his voice flat but his green eyes dancing with laughter.

"Shut up. It's not just about that. I mean... the sex is great-"

"Too much information."

"But I really do just like to watch him study and hear him talk about his classes and things. Even if we didn't have sex, I'd still just like to hang out together," Naruto said, his sulkiness increasing.

"At least you still have the weekends," Gaara offered.

Naruto buried his head down into the pillows. "Sort of. He's going to start spending most of Saturdays now working with two of his project groups so that he could free up two afternoons during the week to spend at his office. Because evidently, being a prodigy and finishing a fucking four year degree in two years isn't enough. He also needs to try to take over running a business."

Gaara looked at him for a minute. "So you're mad at him."

"No, of course not," Naruto said quickly.

Gaara rolled his eyes.

"I mean, it would be stupid to be mad at him. He's doing this to help his brother out. And his brother has been carrying all the weight for like seven years, so of course Sasuke would want to do his part now that he's older and can take on more responsibilities."

"But?"

Naruto scowled. He hated having friends who could read him so well. "But I know Itachi, and there's no way he'd want Sasuke to be killing himself working this hard. And I know that Sasuke knows it, too. So part of me feels like this is just him competing with his older brother, trying to show him that he's just as much of a brilliant fucking workaholic prodigy as Itachi."

"And you get laid less because of that, so it pisses you off."

"Gah! It's not just about sex. Though, as I said, the sex is-"

"TOO MUCH INFORMATION."

"Anyway, I just really miss him. I liked him as a friend for way longer than we've been having sex. Just hanging out and doing nothing is fun when we're together. And even if I understand why he's doing it, it still just sucks," Naruto said, looking depressed despite getting a rise out of his usually stoic roommate.

"Then let's go do something. I don't have classes this afternoon and neither do you. Weren't you saying something about wanting to buy a car now that you have some actual money?"

Naruto perked up a bit at that. "Yeah, I've been asking Sasuke to come with me for weeks, but he's always busy, or we're... busy."

"Well, since you won't be getting busy with Sasuke until Saturday night, and the dealerships are closed then, why don't the two of us go and find you a new ride."

"Ok. But.. I haven't really done much research into what I want."

Gaara looked at Naruto, and smirked. "I think I have a pretty good idea of what you should get."

. . . .

"You bought a what?" Sasuke shouted into his phone.

"A motorcycle. Isn't it awesome? Gaara helped me pick it out. I bought an extra helmet so you can ride with me."

"You are insane. I wouldn't even trust you driving a car, and that has four wheels and a steel cage to prevent me from getting crushed when you crash into something."

"Sasukeeee, you have to let me take you for a ride this weekend. Or I can drive you home after your study session tonight!"

"Dobe, I live two blocks from campus. I don't need a ride. Why did you buy such an impractical vehicle? You can't use it in the rain, and it will be hot in the summer and cold in the winter."

"Bastard! It's not impractical. I'll always be able to find parking now, and I'll never get stuck in traffic again -"

"Because you'll drive like a maniac and get yourself killed..."

"- and it only ever rains like two weeks out of the entire year. This is Suna, not Konoha. It will be awesome! Plus it doesn't use much gas. And it goes crazy fast. Gaara raced me on his-"

"Gaara has a motorcycle, too?"

"Of course! How do you think he knew just what model I should buy?"

"I thought you wanted me to go with you to pick it out."

"I did! I've been asking you for more than three weeks! But you never had the time. So Gaara offered to take me so I'd stop bothering you about it. Plus his brother owns a race track outside of town and we can -"

"No. You are not racing motorcycles."

"Not professionally or anything. It's just a place to go and have fun. My bike isn't a race bike. I didn't want to spend that much money. It's cheaper than a car, and this is a safe place to have a little fun with it and not have to worry about getting a speeding ticket. See? Totally responsible."

Sasuke tried to understand why he was so annoyed about this. It's not like he had a thing against motorcycles, exactly. It's just that Naruto is so reckless anyway. And it bugged him that he had gone with Gaara, even though Sasuke knew that it was only because he hadn't been able to go. Naruto had asked him first. For three weeks.

"Just be careful when you drive it, Dobe. Do you even have a license to drive a motorcycle?"

"Of course! I learned from Gaara. So, will you let me drive you places with it?"

"If you can go a month without crashing it, I'll think about it."

It bothered him, though, that Naruto had yet another activity that he was taking up with Gaara. First there was Jiraya's sparring club. They had invited Sasuke, but he didn't have time. Now it was motorcycles. Sasuke wasn't jealous. He wasn't. He knew that Naruto and Gaara were just friends. And he trusted Naruto. He knew him well enough to know that Naruto would never hook up with someone else just because he was bored. But he just... didn't like it.

But he had to keep his word to Itachi. He said he'd be ready to take over the Suna branch by summer. And he would be. And then hopefully his life would under control again. And he'd be able to spend more time with Naruto.

-xXx-

October 10th.

Naruto hummed as he walked to Sasuke's apartment. He had thought about bringing his bike over, but it was only about six blocks from his dorm. As much as he loved his new bike, it felt a little ridiculous to drive it for such a short distance. Sasuke still hadn't let him drive him anywhere on it, especially since he found out Naruto had just gotten his license the day he bought the bike (having Gaara as a friend helped him speed up the waiting process considerably for getting his motorcyclist license). But Sasuke had shown interest in doing... other things on the bike. Naruto happened to be parking his bike one evening when Sasuke was cutting across the lot on his way home from the library.

It turns out that the small alley between his dorm and the neighboring one served as a pretty convenient parking space for late night visitations. And the way the sounds had echoed off the concrete walls had been fucking amazing. Until someone had opened their window and looked out to see what all the noise was about.

Yeah, Sasuke had been a little annoyed about that. Though it hadn't stopped him from doing the same thing the next night. Sasuke was definitely warming up to the whole motorcycle idea. Naruto's hum shifted into a snicker.

It was Saturday, and Sasuke had spent the entire morning and early afternoon finishing up the two projects that were due before midterms started next week. With eight classes to study for, Naruto wasn't sure when Sasuke had actually slept recently. Naruto had told him that they could celebrate his birthday next weekend instead, after midterms were over. The exact date wasn't important. But Sasuke had been adamant that he wanted to have Naruto come over for dinner and spend the night since it was his birthday.

Naruto had felt both guilty and happy. Guilt because he knew that Sasuke was trying to make up for last year, and the situation hadn't really been Sasuke's fault. Naruto had been just as much to blame for that mess, and he didn't want Sasuke killing himself for it now. But Naruto couldn't deny that he had missed Sasuke all week and had been dreading going another week without getting to spend any time with him.

So they had compromised. Sasuke had said he needed to take a break from studying anyway, and Naruto said he'd come but Sasuke had to actually get some sleep while he was there. It might be creepy, but Naruto loved watching Sasuke sleep, especially when he knew that his friend needed it. Early in their friendship, Sasuke had been having nightmares about his parents' death that typically kept him up all night. The first night Naruto had slept over, Sasuke had woken up in a panic. Naruto had simply crawled into bed next to the raven and stroked his hair. Within seconds, Sasuke was back to sleep.

When Itachi found out about it, Naruto found himself invited for frequent sleepovers, even on school nights. Evidently he had been having Sasuke see a therapist for nearly six months trying to get rid of the nightmares that were waking him up almost every night. But when Naruto was there, the nightmares came less frequently, and with less ferocity, until they were gone for good. Naruto smiled slightly at the memory. Back then, Naruto had decided that that meant Sasuke was his. At that age, he didn't really know what he meant by that, but now he knew exactly what it meant. And the feeling had only grown with time.

Which was why the separation was killing him. Seeing how exhausted Sasuke was, and not being able to ease it made him feel useless.

Naruto used his key and let himself in to Sasuke's apartment. He was about to call out his usual greeting when a sight he could barely process greeted his eyes.

Sasuke was standing in the kitchen, with a white splotch of what appeared to be flour on the front of his black T-shirt. There was a cookbook open in front of him, along with a large mixing bowl filled with something that even from this distance Naruto could tell looked quite lumpy. Sasuke was glaring at the bowl and clutching a mixing spoon as though it were a weapon.

Naruto felt his heart do a little twist as he saw the two round cake pans sitting empty beside the bowl.

"Oi, Teme," Naruto said. Sasuke looked up, still scowling. "Put the spoon down slowly and step away from the bowl. It surrenders."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "I don't know how Itachi did this every year. What the fuck is up with these lumps?"

Naruto walked over to the counter, biting the inside of his cheek to keep his expression neutral. Sasuke trying to bake for him was... so fucking cute. But if Sasuke knew that Naruto was mentally applying 'cute' to him, Naruto would quickly find the spoon that Sasuke was holding shoved in unpleasant places. But he just couldn't help it. Even if Sasuke looked really pissed off at the likely inedible cake batter, somehow it just made it that much hotter.

Sasuke actually wasn't bad at cooking. But apparently baking was not in his repertoire.

"Um... did you turn the oven on?" Naruto asked, trying to keep his voice controlled and snicker free.

Sasuke just glared at him. "Of course I turned the fucking oven on, Dobe. I know that much about baking."

"Well, the way you were glaring at the batter I thought maybe you were going to just incinerate it with your eyes."

"Idiot," Sasuke muttered, looking skeptically back at the gooey, lumpy mess in the bowl. "This doesn't look like how I remember it looking when Itachi did it."

Sasuke ground his teeth slightly. Of course Itachi has to excel even at baking a stupid birthday cake. He had planned on having the cake baked before Naruto had gotten there but his study group had run late, and then he had realized he didn't have enough eggs so he had to go out and buy some. He just hoped he didn't poison Naruto for his birthday. The batter looked more like toxic waste than anything cake-like.

"Maybe the lumps will melt when you bake it," Naruto offered. He knew this would be a point of pride for Sasuke, so he was really trying hard to take it seriously. He knew that Sasuke was trying to recreate the birthdays that they had had together in the past. But god, Naruto just wanted to get the cake in the oven because he didn't know how much longer he'd be able to keep his hands off Sasuke. Dinner would have to wait. But then he absolutely would make sure Sasuke slept.

"Hn," Sasuke said, clearly skeptical. But he poured the batter into the two pans, and placed them carefully in the oven.

Naruto looked at the smaller bowl, which had something white and lumpy in it. "Was this supposed to go in the cake?"

"No. It's the frosting," Sasuke said through slightly gritted teeth.

Naruto eyed the thick, lumpy mixture with some trepidation, then dipped his finger in and brought it to his lips to taste. Surprisingly, it wasn't bad. Gritty... evidently Sasuke had not known the difference between regular sugar and powdered sugar. But considering that the boy hated sweets, this was not surprising. At least the taste was decent.

Naruto caught Sasuke's eyes fixed on the finger he still had in his mouth. "Mmmmmm," the blond said, slowly sliding his finger in and out of his mouth, then swirling his tongue around the digit to get all the frosting off. "Not bad. Though you're not supposed to make the frosting until the cake is baked and cooled," Naruto said. "This will dry out before the cake is ready."

Sasuke's eyes were still on Naruto's finger, so his frown was delayed by several seconds. "Whatever. Like you know anything about baking, either."

Naruto grinned, and dusted a spot of flour off Sasuke's face. "This is an awesome birthday present, Sasuke," Naruto said, his voice husky. "Thank you." It was rare that Sasuke would attempt something he was less than perfect at, especially in front of others. To Naruto, this was an even bigger gift than the cake itself.

"Tch," Sasuke said, the smallest blush appearing on his cheeks. "You haven't even tasted it yet."

There was a smear of cake batter on Sasuke's thumb. Naruto grabbed Sasuke's hand and pulled the thumb into his mouth. "Mmmm," he said again, but this time Sasuke could feel the vibrations of Naruto's voice against his flesh. It was weird how the stimulation of his thumb was pumping blood directly into his groin. "It tastes great."

"Salmonella, Dobe. Don't eat raw eggs," Sasuke wasn't quite able to keep his voice steady, and Naruto's eyes turned instantly predatory.

Naruto held onto Sasuke's hand and pulled the thumb slowly out of his mouth, then slid it back in, sucking as he did. It had been a week since they'd had sex, and Sasuke had been coiled tighter than a spring with the stress of the upcoming exams and all the projects that were due. His eyes fluttered closed and a rumbling noise escaped his pale lips. The motion of Sasuke's thumb in Naruto's mouth was repeated, blue eyes locked with black.

Pull.

Suck.

Slide.

After several repetitions, Naruto slowly pulled Sasuke's thumb out of his mouth then slid his hands up Sasuke's neck into the soft, black hair and pulled his face close. Their lips were just a whisper from touching. "I love the cake," Naruto whispered against the pale lips. He held back a smirk when he felt the tremor go through Sasuke's body. "And you look so fucking sexy right now, I think I'm about to cum and I haven't even kissed you yet."

Sasuke's hands viced around Naruto's waist, pulling him close and revealing the truth in Naruto's words by the rampant erection he found pressed against him. Sasuke smirked and crushed their mouths together. Maybe it didn't matter if the cake was inedible after all. He fisted his hands into Naruto's hair and pulled, forcing the blond's head back, baring the tan throat to his lips and teeth as they slid from the pink lips down along the golden flesh.

God he needed this. Sasuke felt all the stress untwist from his body, washed away by the hot blood pounding through him.

The small amount of time he had been getting to spend with Naruto over the past few weeks had not been anywhere near enough. He had promised Itachi that he would graduate this year, and he would do it. But he lived for the one day a week where he actually got to be with Naruto. He knew that it hurt Naruto that he had told him that they couldn't study with each other anymore, but - as much as it shamed Sasuke to admit it - he couldn't be next to the blond and think about anything other than this. Touching Naruto in every way possible. They had almost gotten caught twice in the library bathrooms. He wasn't sure if sex in a public place were grounds for expulsion, but he didn't really want to find out. He assumed (hoped) that after they'd been together for a while this insane physical desire would abate somewhat. But it hadn't yet.

It would have to, or he'd lose his mind. But in the meantime, Sasuke simply focused on trying to devour his lover.

"Naruto," Sasuke groaned, thrusting his hips against Naruto's, his mouth leaving a trail of bruises down the tan throat and over his collar bone. Frustrated by the collar of the T-shirt his mouth encountered, he yanked it over Naruto's head and threw it aside. He felt Naruto's hands fumbling with the fastenings of Sasuke's pants and realized that Naruto was just as desperate for this as he was. Relief and lust flooded through him in equal measures. He wasn't the only one feeling this way, this compulsion to touch and be touched.

Thank god.

Sasuke let his teeth scrape along Naruto's jaw, and felt his pants and boxers being pulled down to his knees. He vaguely realized Naruto was reaching behind him for something on the counter, but paid it no mind as he continued to bite and suck a path across Naruto's bare chest.

"We can't have all your hard work go to waste, ne, Sasuke?" Naruto asked. His hand had squeezed slightly when he said the word 'hard', and Sasuke would have smirked if he had been in control of his faculties. But he was too busy working the buttons on Naruto's pants.

Naruto dropped to his knees before Sasuke could finish his task. "You've been studying too much. Let me get some of that tension out of you," Naruto's voice was low.

"Fffuucck," Sasuke shivered as Naruto's mouth descended.

"Want you now," Sasuke said almost incoherently, jerking Naruto up against the counter and pulling Naruto's pants and boxers down in one swift motion.

"God, don't wait, Sas," Naruto said, knowing it sounded like he was begging, but he had been dreaming about Sasuke all damn week.

Sasuke leaned over him, burying his face in the back of Naruto's neck and breathing in his scent as their bodies slid together.

When Sasuke had recovered himself somewhat, he opened his eyes to find himself sitting on the floor of the kitchen still sticky with frosting and other things, leaning up against Naruto, with his pants still around his ankles.

"Why is it that it's your birthday, but I feel like I'm the one who got the present?" Sasuke asked, feeling more wrung out than he had ever felt in his life.

"Hmmm," Naruto said, placing an open-mouthed kiss on Sasuke's neck. "I think this is one of those 'win-win' situations they talk about in your business classes."

He pulled Sasuke up and they removed the rest of their clothing, then went to wash up in the shower. Sasuke was looking even more exhausted as the warm water washed over them.

"When was the last time you slept?"

"Last night," Sasuke said, looking irritated.

"How much sleep did you get?" Naruto asked, not letting up.

"A few hours. Don't worry. I'm fine."

Naruto looked at him skeptically. "Let's go lay down for a bit."

"Don't you want to get dinner first?"

"I had a late lunch. I want to just relax. We'll order something out in a bit."

Sasuke was too tired to argue. They lay down under the blankets, not even bothering to put clothes on.

Within two minutes, Sasuke was asleep.

This was Naruto's real present, though Sasuke would never know. He ran his fingers slowly through the soft black hair, watching the relaxed expression on his friend's face that was only ever present when he slept. He looked so much younger like this. The pinched, stressed expression that had been on the pale face when Naruto had first entered the apartment was replaced by one of relaxed satiation. Naruto lay back on the pillow, closing his eyes and trying to decide what to order for dinner.

The smell of smoke suddenly penetrated Naruto's senses, and he tried to think for a minute where it could be coming from.

"Oh, fuck, the cake!" Naruto jumped out of bed, trying to optimize both speed and stealth to not wake up Sasuke but get to the ovens before they set the fire alarm off in the apartment complex.

He didn't make it. The alarm started going off just as we wrenched the oven doors open. Smoke billowed out as he grabbed a dish towel and threw the smoking cake pans into the sink. Sasuke stumbled out of the bedroom, eyes still glazed with sleep. Their eyes met and locked for a second before they both burst out laughing. Naruto didn't know when the last time he had heard Sasuke honestly laugh was, but he knew it had been years.

"We'd better at least pull some pants on and go out and explain to the neighbors that there is no fire," Naruto said, still gasping with laughter.

They had to repeatedly assure Sasuke's panicked neighbor that there was in fact no fire in the building, and it was just a burned cake. Finally, she agreed that she wouldn't be calling the fire department.

Naruto and Sasuke went back into the apartment and opened the windows, putting a fan on to try to clear the smoke out. Sasuke stared at the two blackened circles roughly of cake size and shape smoking in his sink.

He felt Naruto's arms wrap around his waist, and heard Naruto's voice low and hot in his ear. "Best fucking birthday cake in history."

Sasuke leaned his head back against Naruto's shoulder, and smirked. "Hn."

"Now I'm ordering us dinner and you are going back to sleep," Naruto said firmly.

-xXx-

Naruto and Gaara were changing out of their gear from Thursday night's sparring session with Jiraya and his club.

"You guys want to go out for a bit tonight?" A girl with long dark hair coiled into two buns on either side of her head asked, her voice carrying into the changing room.

"TenTen! That is a fantastic idea! We can enjoy the energy of our youths together!" Rock Lee had already changed from the green jumpsuit he used for sparring into the green jumpsuit he used for everything else.

Naruto and Gaara walked out of the changing room and looked around at the small group still assembled. Jiraya only took on students by invitation, and the group consisted of two girls - TenTen and Matsuri - and four boys - Gaara, Lee, Naruto, and Shino. Gaara and Naruto were the youngest of the group, with the others being in their third or fourth years.

"Will you two join us?" Matsuri asked. Naruto recognized her as the girl who had been watching Gaara when they would spar earlier. Gaara appeared to have no interest in her, however, so Naruto hadn't mentioned it. Gaara turned to Naruto.

"Do you want to head back to the dorms?"

Naruto shrugged. He wanted to swing by the library to see if Sasuke was around. But then he remembered that it was Thursday, which meant Sasuke wasn't even on campus. He'd be at the office.

Jiraya came in. "Let's all go out. I have the perfect place in mind."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Pervert! We are not going to some skanky whore house with you."

TenTen appeared to choke on something, while Lee looked slightly confused but still enthusiastic.

Shino, as usual, appeared expressionless though it was hard to tell now that his sunglasses were back on and his jacket covered half his face.

"No, brat. We'll go to a nice club. Nothing improper."

"Yeah, except Gaara and I are still under age," Naruto said dryly. His guardian didn't need to know he had a fake ID. He might not be the world's best guardian, but Naruto was not about to risk it being confiscated.

"So don't drink then," Jiraya shrugged. "Or you can stay here and we'll all go."

"Whatever. Gaara, you want to go for a bit, then head back?"

Gaara looked like he'd rather do just about anything other than go clubbing, but he just shrugged. He was mildly curious to see what his sensei thought would be a 'proper' club, given all the stories he'd heard from Naruto.

Naruto sent a quick text to Sasuke letting him know where he was going in case he got out early and wanted to meet up, then they headed out.

They hadn't been at the club for more than twenty minutes when Jiraya's expression stilled. Naruto followed his gaze to see Nagato, Yahiko, Hidan and Deidara walking into the club.

-xXx-

to be continued...

Naruto got some birthday Sasucake. (groans at own bad joke... whatever. Did I say how tired I am?). Evidently I like to write fluff when I am exhausted. Who knew? BUT there is trouble ahead. Obviously.