a/n: Thanks to diceysmiles for the sbux ecard!
Dedicated to netamashii
Dream!Naruto & ISOC!Sasuke
After arriving at O'Hare early Wednesday evening, Naruto and his dad picked up their rental car from Alamo and drove to downtown Chicago, where they'd booked a hotel for two nights. Naruto didn't get much sleep this morning, so he declined an invitation from his dad to attend a party being thrown by former business associates. It was good to be back in Illinois - where it felt like home - and where he could be closer to his old friends.
While his dad was getting ready, Naruto crawled into his ridiculously comfortable queen-sized bed. He was exhausted from lack of sleep and the general anxiety he always felt when traveling. Naruto gathered his four pillows around him like he was building an impenetrable fort. For the next week, all he wanted to do was forget about the stress of this past month.
Right when he was about to close his eyes, his dad emerged from the bathroom, grabbed his coat, and told him goodbye. Naruto, who barely managed a wave in return, was out cold almost as soon as his head hit the pillow again.
In the middle of the night, Naruto heard the door open, and a sliver of light snuck in from the hallway. He didn't know what time it was, but he rolled over and pulled a pillow on top of his head. After a minute, he felt an unmistakable dip in the mattress and figured his dad, having been drinking all night, had crawled in with him by mistake. He whipped the pillow off and rolled over to yell at the older man for drinking so much at his age only to freak the fuck out when a strong, pale arm encircled his waist. Frozen and mildly panicking now that some pervert had broken into his room, Naruto let out an unmanly squeak as he shoved the offender away.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" He shouted.
"You don't have to yell, Naruto," said a gruff voice. "Are my feet really that cold?"
"...What?"
The other body snuggled into him and, once again, wrapped an arm about his waist as if it were a completely normal thing to do. The only reason he didn't immediately bash the asshole's skull in with the bedside lamp was because he could've sworn it sounded like...
"...Sasuke?"
"Hmm?"
"What are you doing here?" Naruto asked in bewilderment.
"It's not like I was going to sleep at the office," Sasuke answered, nudging and kissing at his neck. He tugged at the collar of Naruto's shirt and started to kiss along his collarbone.
"Office?" Naruto repeated, eyes closing when the kisses turned into gentle nips. Had he gone mental, or was this one of the most lucid dreams he'd ever experienced in his life?
"How was your day?" Sasuke asked, as if this were all completely normal to him.
"Uh… I didn't… sleep well yesterday, so I kinda… passed out."
The other man chuckled next to his ear, leading him to shiver. "I bet I know why you didn't sleep well."
Sasuke, raising his head off of Naruto's shoulder, looked up at him and was actually smiling. It was the first time he was able to make out some of the man's features now that his eyes had adjusted to the dark. It was Sasuke, but... not. There was something different about him.
"I think I'm dreaming," he said quietly. "You shouldn't be here."
"Are you hinting that I should sleep on the couch?" Sasuke's hand moved to cup his cheek, which he tenderly brushed with a thumb. "Just because we were up all night having sex and, unlike me, you can't make it through the day on only a few hours of sleep?"
Naruto flushed. "Sex? We haven't - "
"Are you feeling alright?" Sasuke interrupted, checking him for a temperature. "You don't have a fever." He smirked. "Should I attempt waking you up a little more then?" As Sasuke reached to untie the knot on his sweats, Naruto grabbed his wrist to stop him.
"Even for a dream," he whispered. "This is…too real."
"What dream?" Sasuke placed lazy kisses along his jaw. "Do you mean fantasy?"
"Seriously, this isn't - It can't be real. I mean, you're not - "
"Naruto." Sasuke let go of the strings. "You're starting to worry me. Is this a roleplay thing, or are you still half asleep? It's too late at night to be pulling pranks."
"I'm not pulling a prank," he replied, angry that Sasuke wouldn't listen to him regardless of whether he was real or not. "This is a dream. It has to be."
Sasuke got onto his elbow, other arm laying across Naruto's stomach. "Did you get out of the tub, slip, and bang your head? Trip over Ollie again? This isn't funny, you know."
"I'm not tryin' to be funny, dammit. And who's Ollie? If you'd just turn on the light, you'd see." He sat up and reached for the lamp, but it wasn't there. "Huh? Wait. Where are we right now?"
"Naruto." Sasuke sat up beside him. "Seriously. What the fuck are you doing?"
"I'm not doing anything," he argued. "I'm tellin' you I don't know what's happening! Last I remember, I was in a hotel room in Chicago. Dad left to go to some party, and I went to bed, then you broke into the room, except... " Naruto glanced around in the dark, able to somewhat distinguish the outlines of furniture in the room. "This isn't the hotel, is it?"
"This is our apartment," Sasuke answered, a note of caution in his tone. "Why do you think you were in Chicago with your dad? Your dad's far away from here. You must've had a bad dream. Maybe lay back down, hm? I'll rub your head for you. Is your breathing okay?"
"My breathing?" He asked.
"Are you having another panic attack? You had one last week."
"I… no." Naruto placed his hand over his chest. "No, I'm not… no. What the hell's happening, though? Last I talked to you, Sasuke, we were in Seattle, at your house. We fought, and I left. Wait. Why did you say we're far away from dad? Where is he?"
"He's in Joliet as far as I know," Sasuke answered. "Is this because we're not going back for Christmas? I thought we both agreed we wanted to save money by staying here."
"Staying… where?" He asked, nervous to hear the answer.
"Berlin." Sasuke took hold of his hand and squeezed it. "We've been here for over two months, Naruto. I'm working with Shikamaru to start the agency's second European branch, and you're in the MBA program at a business school. Do I need to take you to the hospital?"
"We're in Berlin," Naruto repeated in wonderment. "Wow."
None of what Sasuke said made sense to him. Not the name Shikamaru, nor what he meant about a "branch", why they were living in Europe, or how he could be in graduate school when he hadn't graduated from high school yet. If this were truly a dream, why was he so conscious of everything around him? It's not like he took any drugs before passing out at the hotel. Hell, he didn't even take a Tylenol PM. It wouldn't be the first dream he'd ever had about Sasuke, and certainly there had been some relatively explicit ones to speak of, but what was this?
"Can I run a hypothetical by you?" He asked, trying not to freak out.
"If it explains why you sound like you've suddenly gone crazy. Yes, please."
"I'm not crazy," he mumbled. "I'm… Can we at least turn on the light first?"
"Okay."
Sasuke slid off the bed, and when the light turned on, he was standing by a door, and Naruto was in a room he had absolutely no memory of, but more importantly…
"Holy shit, Sasuke!"
Sasuke looked down at himself like there was something wrong. He had on navy sweatpants and no shirt. That in itself wasn't strange. What was strange was that… he was older. Like, older than Itachi. His chest was broad and muscled, his stomach as flat as a professional athlete's, and his hair was longer in parts, and his face so mature… and… he was really good looking. The Sasuke he knew was also attractive, but this older Sasuke -
"Are you a model now?" Naruto asked. "What happened to music?"
Then, wondering if his appearance was also different, Naruto gave himself a once over only to notice that he, too, was older. He lifted his shirt and ran his fingers over his toned abs. Okay, he was fit, but he didn't have abs like this, and - he glanced at his feet - they were…
"Did we go to a carnival recently?" He asked, meaning it to be a joke, but his voice was lacking any trace of humor. "Like in Big, you know when Tom Hanks makes a wish and the next day, he's an adult and has to get a job and… because I think that happened."
"So, what are you suggesting?" Sasuke crossed his arms, looking amused, which irritated Naruto, who might end up having that panic attack, after all. "You're not Naruto?"
"I'm certainly not the Naruto you know." He kept staring at the back of his large man hands. "It's only a dream for me. What it is for you, I have no idea, because you're dream!Sasuke."
"I assure you I am very real," Sasuke replied. "I am not a dream."
Naruto looked to him for answers because he sure as hell didn't know what was happening. "This stuff happens on that one old show all the time, what is it, uh, Twilight Zone!"
"I'm still of the notion you're confusing today's date with April Fool's. That, or you actually are pissed at me for making you come three times before I let you go to bed this morning."
"What?! You can't just say stuff like that!" Naruto's cheeks grew extremely hot as those mental images started rapidly forming in his brain. "We've never had sex! Also, you rejected me for a second time the other day, you bastard!"
"I rejected you?" Sasuke scoffed. "That's hilarious. That's how I know you're crazy."
"How old are you?" Naruto glanced at himself again and added, "We? How old are we?"
Sasuke approached the bed. "Did you drink earlier?"
"No."
"Did you smoke some weed?"
"No, how would I get that on the plane? I'd end up getting tasered," he said.
"Hash?"
"What? No. Are we drug dealers in this universe?" Naruto asked. "If you ask me about cocaine next, I'm gonna seriously be worried about you. Er. Us? I don't know right now!"
"This universe?" Sasuke repeated. "What universe do you think you're supposed to be in, Naruto? I'll write it down and tell the doctors all about it when we go to the emergency room."
"You and I are 17," he explained, knowing what it sounded like, but his life was the real one, not this Sasuke's. "We met 10 months ago after I transferred from Joliet. We both go to the same private school in Seattle. You have an older brother, Itachi, who goes to Stanford. I went on a date with him last night. He likes almonds. Um, you're a musician! You play in a couple bands. You played with one on Saturday night called #Feminist. Uh. You sang? For the first time?"
Sasuke grew more pale (even for him). "I really don't know what you're saying."
"I'm saying I have no idea why I'm here, or why I look like this, or why you do, or why you recall stuff that I don't, but yeah, I see I'm here in a place I don't know when I was somewhere else, like, not that long ago. There's movies about this all the time. Oh, shit, did something happen? Was I Donnie Darko'd while I was asleep in the hotel, and now I'm in a coma, and this is what my life could've been like if you weren't such a stubborn asshole?"
"Or, this is actually your," Sasuke gave a mock gasp of surprise as he crawled onto the bed, "Future. Did you read some Charles Dickens tonight? Am I the Ghost of Christmas Future?"
"This isn't funny. You're the smart one. You figure it out."
"Very well. I'll humor you. In the hope that roleplaying like this is going to lead to some mind-blowing sex in about 20 minutes. Hopefully less."
"At least that hasn't changed about you," he muttered. "You only ever have sex on the brain."
"Fine." Sasuke sighed and scrubbed his hands through his hair. "Let's say you're from a parallel universe. But, any of that stuff you just described, you'd know after two years of us dating."
"All of it?" Naruto asked. "Seriously?"
"That band name… does sound familiar," Sasuke conceded. "Maybe Itachi told you about it. Also, what did you mean you went out with Itachi on a date?"
"Let's do it this way," he suggested. "I'll answer your questions if you answer mine. Uh, you've been a dick for the past month, Itachi came home and took me out to dinner and dessert. You, well my you, or whatever..." Naruto frowned. "Picked him up at the airport Monday. Next day, your brother came to get me at my apartment. That part isn't even all that important!"
"I think it's reasonable your boyfriend asks why a recent fantasy scenario of yours involved going on a date with my brother."
"Boyfriend?" Naruto stared at him, dumbstruck.
"Partner?" Sasuke looked at him questioningly. "Or, are we not doing labels?"
"No, I mean… wait. You said we've been together how long?"
"Two years, just about," Sasuke answered, his eyebrows raised high - something his Sasuke did all the damn time.
"We're… how old… in this… universe?" Naruto, self-consciously, rubbed at his elbow.
"We're 25. You turned 25 in October."
"Yes, I know when my birthday is," Naruto grumbled. "So… if this was our future… you and I get together six years from now?"
"I… don't know what to say to that," Sasuke answered. "Because you and I didn't meet in high school. We met two years ago in Joliet."
"We've been dating for almost as long as we've known each other?" Naruto asked in disbelief and then laughed almost hysterically. "Yeah, right! I've known you for 10 months, and it took that long to tell you how I felt, and then you rejected me because your dad - "
"My dad?" Sasuke's expression turned frosty. "This isn't funny anymore."
"It wasn't meant to be funny," he said. "Your mom, Yahiko, and Itachi took him to the hospital that morning, and it turned out to be an ulcer. You freaked out and told me to fuck off. Basically."
Sasuke glanced away, and Naruto couldn't figure out what part of that had upset him.
"I never told you anything about that," Sasuke said. "Did Itachi tell you?"
"Huh? No. I was there. We were in bed. I got up to go to the bathroom, you were still sleepin'. I heard your mom and Itachi in the kitchen. They didn't want me to wake you, but, stupidly, I did anyway, and you drove off to the hospital after throwing a hissy fit. When you came back, you were a complete asshole to me, I left, and we didn't talk to each other for a few weeks."
"That's… for me… that happened in my past, but no one woke me up. I didn't know what was going on until Itachi came home from the hospital. I remember being pissed as hell at him and Yahiko for not telling me. I kept thinking…" Sasuke, when he looked back, his eyes were wet.
Naruto, on reflex, reached over to wipe them away. "Why are you so sad?"
"I don't… know why you're doing this, but let me just ask… wherever you're from… how are my parents?"
He was confused by the question at first, and then felt anxious as to why he would ask it at all. "They're fine. I mean, your dad still works too much, but when I talked to him on Sunday, he was crackin' jokes and lecturin' me about taking school more seriously. Your mom, she was in the kitchen makin' soup, ah, no, it was cream stew with chicken. We joked, and we ragged on you. She was really good." Naruto grinned at the memory. "Always really nice and funny, and pretty hot for bein' your mom. She's great!" He paused, scratching the back of his head. "The other day, she said she'd be fine if I married you or Itachi, so long as I married into the family."
"She wouldn't say anything like that," Sasuke murmured. "You're crazy."
"She did, though. She loves me." He beamed. "She's like a second mom to me. I think, I'm not sure, but maybe you brought me to see her because, y'know. I was goin' to Chicago, and dad and I were gonna visit my mom's grave and stuff. They're good, Sasuke. Why do you ask?"
Sasuke shook his head. "No reason."
"I… the Naruto you know. My mom. Is she…?"
"She passed away when you were 12."
"Huh. There's a difference, too, I guess. I was barely 16 when she died. It was two months after my birthday, so last week would've been the anniversary."
"I know," Sasuke said. "You were… sad."
"Is that why I had a panic attack?"
"It wasn't a good night for you, no." Sasuke rubbed at his left eye. "You met Yahiko then? You've met Yahiko in this… well, you've met Yahiko here, too."
"I have?" His eyes went wide, and he wondered how similar the circumstances would've been. "I met him for the first time a month ago. I assume in your world, you - ?"
"Yes. You know that."
"Well, I don't know what's all the same here!" Naruto yelled. "I mean, I'm only 17, cut me some damn slack, would ya? This is some crazy shit that's happening 'cause I have no idea why I wouldn't have woken up by now. Dreams aren't supposed to be this coherent, right? I'm still on that coma theory."
"You said I rejected you." Sasuke placed a hand on his knee. "Why would I do that?"
Naruto glanced at it, distracted. "Who knows? According to you, if you had to choose between me and your family, you'd pick your family."
"Why would I say something as harsh as that?" Sasuke's confusion, in a way, made him feel hopeful for some reason.
"It was the morning after I confessed, and that's when your dad went to the emergency room. You were having some sort of early quarter-life crisis and decided that your dad would stroke out if you told him you were gay and wanted to date me." Naruto gave him a poke. "To be fair, it's what you wanted, so it's not like I was gonna fight you on it. You didn't even tell me how you felt that night. You seemed more interested in fuckin' around."
Sasuke stared down at the hand he'd set on Naruto's knee and started pulling at the fabric of his pants.
"Sasuke?" Naruto called to him when he wouldn't say anything or look him in the eye.
"This is strange for me to say since I don't know if I believe any of this, but I can see my younger self saying something like that." He raised his eyes. "Unfortunately."
"Why does that not make me feel any better?" Naruto huffed, and when he turned his head the other way, Sasuke grabbed his chin and forced him to look back again.
"Are you really not my Naruto?" Sasuke scrutinized him closely, face so near, Naruto could count his eyelashes while comparing this Sasuke's features to his Sasuke's.
"It's…" Naruto wanted to say 'complicated'. "I dunno what to say."
When Sasuke leaned in even more, Naruto's hands formed fists in anticipation. But, Sasuke stopped right before their lips could touch, eyeing him again with a perception that was familiar, but not. There was something softer about this Sasuke. Naruto felt relaxed around him. It was like he knew him, because he was Sasuke, but obviously there were differences. Not all of them subtle either. Sasuke's general… er… what should he say… aura? He was so calm. Whereas, the Sasuke he knew always felt as though he could be quick to put up a wall.
"You're different," Naruto said. "You talk different. The way you look at me is different."
"How do I normally talk to you?" Sasuke, taking a piece of his hair, tucked it behind his ear and gazed at him with such tenderness. "How do I look at you? Naruto?"
As Sasuke tilted his head invitingly, Naruto had a strong desire to kiss him. "You're… so mature. Not just the way you look, but… you and I, how we are now, we're… I don't know."
"At least I know you're some kind of Naruto." Sasuke offered an amazing smile. "Since Naruto also fumbles with his words. Although, occasionally the things you say can be very… inspiring."
Naruto chuckled. Sasuke joking around in a situation like this made it easier to relax.
"Like I said. You Sasukes always have sex on the brain."
"Naruto does, too," Sasuke responded, sounding a little defensive. "Maybe more than me."
"Hmm." This information had him especially curious. "If Sasuke was a bit more like you and hadn't broken my heart, I could be moved to think about it pretty damn often."
Sasuke smirked. "Could you? Have you two done anything?"
Naruto, trying to shift away from his heavy stare, let out an embarrassed cough.
"I'll take that as a yes." Sasuke's laughter was a soft, seductive rumble in his ear. "But, you two haven't had sex apparently. As in intercourse."
"Sasuke," he whined, coming into direct eye contact with him again, which was always dangerous. Naruto's whole body flushed under that lecherous gaze.
"You've done other things with me?" Sasuke questioned.
"When you say it like that, it's… he's him and you're… you."
Sasuke tugged at his shirt. "It sounds like we're both him to me."
"But, I'm not your Naruto," he countered, vaguely aware that another, older him may exist and was living a life worth envying. After all, this Naruto and Sasuke were together and happy.
When he stuck out his bottom lip to pout, Sasuke pressed his thumb to it, gently tracing it back and forth across the line of Naruto's mouth. "Even if it's another universe, you're still you and I'm me. I can't cheat on my Naruto with another Naruto. That doesn't make sense. To me, you look like him. You sound like him, but I can tell there's something slightly different about you. If what you've told me is true, you'd be him, but younger and living a different life. One in which we've met once again. I don't know what all you've been through, but you're still Naruto to me." Sasuke continued to gaze at him with affection while stroking his cheek.
"How can you know for sure?" There was this deep yearning building inside of him, and he also found he wanted to be comforted by this Sasuke. "The Sasuke I know wouldn't believe this. He'd be suspicious. He wouldn't trust that - "
"I know, Naruto. I know because I feel drawn to you, just like I always have. I trust you. I'm attracted to you. I want to kiss you and do all the usual things I do to you, to your body..."
Naruto let out an unsteady breath. "We were having a serious conversation, and now you're trying to seduce me? That is so you."
"Yes," Sasuke drawled. "Very serious." He leaned in again, making their lips brush, and allowing the briefest of contact between them. "It's not that I'm seducing you. It's that, with you, I can't help myself. You have all the power in this situation, Naruto. Over me. You always have."
"I do?" He asked disbelievingly, eyelids fluttering closed when Sasuke brushed their lips together a second time. "I wouldn't even know what that feels like."
The kisses were light and affectionate as Sasuke placed them to his jaw, traveled to his neck, and stopped to breathe hotly on a sensitive spot under his ear. That instant when he felt Sasuke's tongue touch and lips suck his skin, Naruto knew what he wanted. If this was really a dream, it didn't matter what went on, right? He couldn't control what he dreamed about. Lately, he'd been fighting these feelings he had for Sasuke because, what else was he supposed to do? Sasuke didn't want them. Naruto couldn't be around him and not feel this way. Those feelings didn't disappear at the moment of rejection. This wasn't a crush, it was his best friend, and he'd wanted them to be together. He wanted to kiss and hold hands, go on dates, and eventually have sex. Being around Sasuke only reminded him of that. Luckily, though, his Sasuke deciding to be a major asshole about everything had made it easier to stay away. What would be so wrong in indulging himself this one time with a Sasuke who didn't hold back and clearly had feelings for his Naruto? It wasn't that he was taking the other Naruto's place. These feelings he was having toward the Sasuke in front of him felt real, too. Because it was Sasuke.
"What are you thinking?" Sasuke asked while sneaking a hand under his shirt.
"Honestly?" Biting his lip, Naruto forced himself to try and let go of that fear and indecision. "Is it wrong for me to want this when my Sasuke doesn't?"
"What makes you think he doesn't?" Sasuke asked, using his free hand to cover Naruto's. "I guarantee a part of him wants what you do, but he's afraid. Trust me. He wants you."
"How, though?" He asked. "How do you know for certain?"
Sasuke slid his hand out from under Naruto's shirt and set it on his thigh. "Because I want you. If I'd known you in high school, I would've wanted you then, too. What he says he can't give you is a relationship. When I met Naruto, I'd never had a real relationship in my life."
"You?" Naruto balked. "Never had a relationship by the time you were 23? What happened?"
"Think about it. As you know me now, do I seem like the dating type?"
"No." He frowned. "The first week we knew each other, you told me you didn't believe in that kind of thing. At school, there are girls who wanna date you. There are definitely guys when you play at the clubs who… " Naruto scowled, thinking of Yagura. "Flirt with you. No one at school knows you're gay except me. Not even Sai knows, but he does like to joke about there bein' something goin' on between us."
"Sai?" The hand on his knee tightened its grip. "What's your relationship to Sai exactly?"
Naruto's eyebrows went up in amusement. "He's my best friend. Why do you wanna know?"
"Simple curiosity," Sasuke answered, but his gaze narrowed.
It was the same look his Sasuke gave if Naruto talked too much about Sai. Was he jealous? Naruto, smiling widely, let out a long, hard laugh. He had to stop, though, when Sasuke took hold of his chin. Those beautiful dark eyes stared back at him, serious and focused. Damn sexy bastard! This older version of him was, like, alpha male sexy. It was so strange to him, too. In bed, his Sasuke had skills, even threw him around on occasion, but this Sasuke was… he couldn't put his finger on it.
Oh. It reminded him of Yahiko. It was a confidence born of experience. And lots of it. Naruto started to feel a little jealous himself.
"I suppose that since you'd never had a relationship before dating me," Naruto attempted to keep his voice as neutral and non-judgmental as possible, "It's unlikely all your experience is the product of the past two years you and I have been together?"
Sasuke smirked. "Are you going to get jealous about my past sexual experiences, too?"
He scowled since that also answered his question in a way he didn't like. "What do you mean?"
Sasuke played with their clasped fingers. "The first night you stayed at my apartment - . Ah, I should preface this by saying this was the first night we met, and you came home with me - "
"I did?" Naruto asked, genuinely surprised with himself. Er. This other him.
"Do you want to hear the whole story?"
He nodded. "Yeah. I really do. I'm super curious."
Sasuke glanced at their joined hands and started to smile. As if this simple memory made him so incredibly happy to talk about. Naruto's heart skipped about a million beats watching him.
"Well," he said. "It had been storming that day. I was at the apartment, doing some work, when the power in my apartment went out. It wasn't the breaker, so I called the landlord who said he'd come and fix it. While he did that, I decided to go to Starbuck's with my laptop. However, when I got there, the place was packed, and there was nowhere to sit. I was going to leave and try somewhere else when you, dressed in your hoodie and jeans that made your ass look great, offered to let me share your table. You looked young. I would've thought you in high school. I'd apparently interrupted a productive day of you watching stupid videos on YouTube."
"You love those stupid videos, too," he replied, able to picture this encounter very easily. "You always watch them over my shoulder."
"Maybe the stupid cat ones." Sasuke cleared his throat, but was still smiling at him in this way that made Naruto want to grab him and push him down on the bed.
"Sorry to interrupt you." Naruto's voice turned gruff, and the both of them noticed a shift. He was starting to feel the typical spark that always came from being alone with Sasuke, touching him, and talking about things that mattered to them. "You were saying?"
"I took you up on your offer." Sasuke's hand moved up his thigh, and he pulled playfully at the hem of Naruto's shirt. "I was intending to ignore you, but you persisted in trying to start a conversation. You did snap at me when I kept shutting you down. It was surprising to me, and… kind of cute. I felt guilty for giving you a hard time, and I did want to thank you for your kindness, so I offered to buy you another coffee. I'm sure you know this, but my parents did raise me to have manners. I wanted to show my appreciation."
"Oh? Such a nice guy, Sasuke," Naruto teased him. "Your mom would be proud."
There was a strange flash in Sasuke's eyes before he ended up bowing his head. "You were so surprised I offered you anything. It was obvious you'd been kind to me without expecting anything in return. You were a blond idiot, but you were a good person."
Naruto was able to nudge Sasuke's knee with his foot. "Then what?"
"We talked. About stupid, meaningless crap. Bantering." Sasuke ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "I thought you were amusing. I was… a little attracted to you."
Naruto smirked. "Yeah, you were. Couldn't resist me in my universe either."
Sasuke's eyes widened. "You'll have to tell me about this because I can't, for the life of me, imagine having the courage to go after another boy while in high school."
"I guess I'm that special exception, huh?" He asked, a bit sadly.
"You would definitely be the exception, Naruto."
"Is that it, or is there more?" Naruto leaned back on his arms, stretching out his long legs. "How did I end up at your place? Did you roofie my Starbuck's?"
Sasuke chuckled, and, as if it were a habit, started gliding his fingers over his stomach. "I hardly needed to. Also, at this point you didn't know I was gay, if that wasn't obvious."
He almost couldn't sit still with Sasuke doing that. "Oh, true. How exactly did it come up?"
"Being a desperate, friendless kind of guy, you asked if I wanted to hang out sometime. I hadn't been living there that long, and I… wasn't sure it would be a good idea, but I gave you my number, and, afterward, you asked if I wanted to leave and go to dinner. I felt like I should be honest with you from the beginning. Normally, I wouldn't have bothered because I wouldn't have expected us to ever talk again. But, I made the choice to tell you I was gay."
"That sounds about right," Naruto said. "You didn't wait very long to tell me either."
Sasuke's eyebrow lifted. "Seriously? I feel like you must've drugged younger me."
"Hardly! I'm not Yagura, I wouldn't do that!"
"Yagura?" Sasuke asked. "Jesus, you even know about him?"
"Of course I do," he said. "But he's the last guy I wanna talk about right now. So, you didn't try to kiss me like my Sasuke did in the locker room after gym class?"
"Dear God," Sasuke groaned. "What the hell is going on with 17-year-old me?"
"Technically, we were 16," Naruto pointed out. "We were havin' a fight. It was the day after we met, and you suddenly went all frigid." He cackled, thinking about what his Sasuke had explained to him later on about it. "Turns out you were actin' that way 'cause you had a sex dream about me."
Sasuke, who was smirking, pressed a palm to his forehead. "Stay on track, Naruto."
"Oh, right." He grinned, having forgotten he was telling a story. "It was fifth period. I'd taken a shower and was on my way to get my clothes out of my locker. You came walking out of an aisle and nearly ran smack into me. Then you started yellin' at me about weird shit, so I yelled back. I walked away from you when you said somethin' that made me wanna punch you. I was at my locker when, out of nowhere, you suddenly came up behind me, flipped me around, shoved me into my own damn locker, yelled some more, and then… you kissed me."
"I… there's no way," Sasuke said. "Impossible. Kiss you? At school?"
"Yeah, dude. You kissed me. Sorry to say, I didn't know what the fuck was goin' on, so I just stood there stunned and pushed you off. Not hard or anything. I thought it was a prank, you know, to get me to shut up. So, whenever there was a time after that you wanted me to shut up, you'd threaten to kiss me." Naruto grinned at what a jerk his Sasuke could be. "You were such a dick in the beginning. But, I really liked you, and as the week progressed… I… it got confusing."
Sasuke removed his hand from Naruto's thigh, but, missing the contact, Naruto crossed his legs and set his right hand on Sasuke's left knee, their gazes meeting at the same time.
"You and I," said Sasuke, his voice an octave lower than before. "When you didn't seem to care that I was gay, went to dinner right after we left Starbuck's. We drank a lot of wine. We talked a lot. You were funny and charming. Not bad to look at."
"You got me drunk and brought me back to your place, I see," he joked, rubbing his finger over Sasuke's knee and tugging at the soft cotton fabric of his sweats.
Sasuke glanced at Naruto's hand, then raised his eyes again. "Something like that. You did come to my place. I introduced you to Ollie."
"Ollie?" Naruto remembered that name from earlier in their conversation.
"My cat. Our cat," Sasuke corrected. "It was mother's cat."
"Was? Why do you make me feel like somethin' bad happened?"
"There's no guarantee the things that've happened to me or Naruto in this life will happen to you or your Sasuke." He set his hand on top of Naruto's and laced their fingers together.
"You're not gonna tell me, are you?"
"No. I don't think I will."
He gave Naruto's hand a squeeze, and Naruto, used to trusting Sasuke's judgment, accepted his decision for the moment.
"So. You came to my house, met my cat, which you took it upon yourself to name 'Ollie' because I'd stopped calling him what mother named him years ago. We played some video games, I gave you a tour, you showered and - stupidly, like in your version of events - came out in only a towel. You stood right in front of me, dripping wet and… naked. It was annoying."
"Did I do it on purpose?" He asked. "That would be hilarious!"
Sasuke shook his head. "I don't think so. Maybe, but I doubt it. You were oblivious. I took a shower, had to do some work. You read a book. I came to find you. You looked so engrossed in it. You didn't even notice me walking up to you, and I felt... not quite jealous, but I snatched the book away. You followed me into the bedroom like the good little straight boy you were."
"Sasuke, Sasuke," Naruto said. "I've always told you you've got game."
The dark-haired man smirked. "I did some more work on my laptop, you got on my bed and kept reading. When I finished, I got on the bed with you. We talked. You decided you wanted to sleep in my bed and not the couch or guest bed. It was the first time I really thought you might… that I could possibly convince you to become interested in me, that way. Even though I knew you were straight, I was attracted to you, but in a weird twist of events, I felt like I liked you, so I was afraid of scaring you away. I waited for you to cross those boundaries, and Naruto," Sasuke smiled as smugly as if he'd won an argument, "It didn't take you long."
"I suppose I get handsy after I've been drinking," Naruto replied, trying to excuse this me's behavior, not that he'd waited all that long either in his universe.
"You could say that again." Sasuke bounced their hands on his knee. "Long story short, you agreed to a date, we went on one, and from then on, we've been together. You moved in with me, we went through various things couples do, then you decided to move with me here."
"We sound like we're pretty serious." Naruto couldn't even imagine what that was like. "It's surreal. I know I like you. A lot, but it's weird to think about the possibility of you and me together in the future. There's definitely a part of me that thinks just 'cause it happened for the two of you doesn't mean it'd happen for us. Look where we are now. I don't see Sasuke changing his mind, and I…" Naruto sighed, feeling resigned and melancholic. "What can I do but move on?"
"If there's anything I know about you, it's that you always do the right thing, so even if he's me - and I love you - if he's treating you in a way that makes you unhappy," Sasuke got onto his knees and gingerly cupped one of Naruto's cheeks . "Do what you have to do."
"Even if that means dating someone else?" Naruto asked.
Sasuke frowned. "As long as it's not Sai."
Naruto ended up laughing. "You're such an ass. No, it's not Sai. What is your deal with him? Sasuke has a thing with him, too. Sai's a best friend. That's all."
Sasuke looked offended. "I'm not your best friend?"
Oh, even when pouting, he was still so damn sexy.
"You are. Or, were. But I've never sucked Sai's dick if that's what you're asking." He didn't think he needed to mention Sai's confession from last summer.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "I know he's gay, and you're telling me he's never hit on you?"
"Oh my God, Sasuke. Get over yourself." Naruto pushed him away, making him wobble enough that the dark-haired man fell back on his hands.
"So, who is she then?" Sasuke pressed.
"It's nothing serious. We met the other night. She sang in the band you performed with. Rin is her name. I guess she's a lot like you, but with brown hair and...boobs."
"Rin… Nohara?" Sasuke asked. "That's a name I haven't heard in a long time."
"You gave me her number, so I guess that means you don't mind if I - "
"What is wrong with this Sasuke?" Sasuke slapped his forehead. "I don't even know what to say about him anymore, but he sounds like a bigger idiot than you."
Naruto watched him as, rather dramatically, the older man fell onto the pillows and covered his eyes with an arm.
"I feel like I should scold you for callin' my Sasuke an idiot," he said, one corner of his mouth turning downward. "But seein' the difference between the two of you, it makes me anxious."
"Anxious?" Sasuke asked, still hiding under his arm. "What about?"
Naruto crawled closer, sitting beside him with his legs crossed. "About what happens to you between where he and I are now…. and where you are now. I know somethin' bad happened. You won't tell me, but what if… if you told me, maybe it doesn't have to happen in our universe?" Naruto tried to grab for his arm, but Sasuke resisted. "Why won't you - "
Glaring, Sasuke pushed him off. "You can't fix everything, Naruto. This isn't something you could possibly have control over. If I tell you, it'll make things worse. I promise."
"But if it's about your family - "
"What if knowing altered what was supposed to happen in your life?" Sasuke asked. "Nothing may happen at all. Who knows? Maybe you meeting me in high school made some difference, or maybe it won't. What I do know is that in this life I have with Naruto... if anything changed, he and I never would've met. What happened in my past, it did change my life. It's also why it is so indescribably painful to hear Sasuke told you no because he'd choose family over you. Naruto, you are my family. If I was told to choose between you and changing that moment - "
"Sasuke," Naruto said when he saw the other man was getting upset. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you angry, but you have to understand I'd do anything for him. I love your family. Your mom's like a second mom to me. If anything happened to them - "
Sasuke grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him down before he could finish. Naruto was barely able to catch himself as he ended up on top of him, lips pressed to Sasuke's lips. The older man placed a hand at the back of his head, a thumb brushing the ticklish skin below Naruto's hairline. Sasuke drew him in closer and settled his other hand at the usual spot on the small of his back. It all felt so familiar, and Naruto very much welcomed the heat of Sasuke's body, his touches, his affection and love, even if it didn't entirely belong to him.
Without hesitation, Naruto returned the kiss, opening his mouth to this Sasuke, and allowing for that first teasing touch of their tongues. Far more than attraction, it was all these feelings he had for this man. Those feelings he'd been forced to bottle up recently, but now there was this chance for all of it to come out without a fear of rejection. This Sasuke loved him. Or, loved his Naruto enough that he didn't discriminate apparently. The thought of this Sasuke being what his Sasuke might become, it was… exhilarating. Excited, Naruto slid on top of him, working a leg between his, enough to lightly rub against his crotch. While they kissed, he found Sasuke's wrists and pinned them to the bed, moaning around the other man's kisses and clever tongue. He could've kept kissing him forever, but when Sasuke let out a low, guttural groan, Naruto pulled away just enough to be able to look at him.
"This is really okay?" He asked, already breathing heavy.
Sasuke wiggled his wrists, indicating he should let go. The instant he did, Sasuke's hands were on his ass.
"This is very okay," Sasuke replied, pushing him down hard and latching his mouth to the side of Naruto's neck. He sucked so ferociously, Naruto let out a gasp from the pain.
"Fuck, Sasuke."
Roughly taking hold of his hips, Sasuke forced him to move and grind against his body. It was strange to feel the amount of experience he must have at this age. Never before had Naruto considered himself inexperienced with Sasuke, but holy shit… it was hard to keep up. Not to mention this new body wasn't what he was accustomed to working with during these times.
"I'm, ah - " He threw his arms around Sasuke's neck when he was forced onto his back. "Not used to you taking control so quickly."
"There's a lot of experience to be gained between 17 and 25. Should I slow down?" Sasuke's question was a whisper in his ear, but it had a big impact on certain parts of his lower anatomy.
"No, it's not that - "
He cried out when Sasuke yanked at his shirt, revealing part of his shoulder, and bit him.
"Oh, shit," Naruto moaned. "What are you, like a sex God or something?"
Sasuke snickered between the kisses and licks he placed to the abused skin. "I'm only imagining what I would've liked to have done had I known you growing up."
"Imagine?" He asked breathlessly. "I can tell you all about the things you've done to me."
"You do have a penchant for dirty talk," Sasuke said. "This is in the way, Naruto. Let's take it off."
Before he could reply, Sasuke sat up - straddling his waist - and hurriedly stripped the shirt over his head. Naruto took advantage of their new positions. He placed his hands on top of Sasuke's thighs, feeling the hard muscles through his sweatpants. From the looks of it, he'd guess Sasuke wasn't wearing any underwear, which… thrilled him. He slid his right hand further up the man's firm thigh muscles, edging closer to the bulge forming in his pants.
Sasuke, though, was faster. He snatched Naruto's wrist and then the other, pinning them to the bed like he'd done to him earlier. It was as if they were competing for dominance. Honestly, it was kind of turning him on. He even liked Sasuke being rougher with him than usual.
Naruto gazed up at him and smiled.
"What are you grinning about?" Sasuke asked, his dark hair swaying in front of his eyes. He was already looking pretty smug.
"You," he answered. "You're fuckin' sexy as hell, you bastard. It's annoying."
"Annoying? How can me being sexy annoy you? I'm all yours."
Naruto sobered at those words. "...Mine?"
"I wouldn't deny you anything." He let one of Naruto's wrists go and, taking a piece of blond hair between his fingers, tucked it behind an ear. "Let go of whatever's holding you back, Naruto."
Sasuke settled himself on top of him, and, with their gazes locked, Naruto wrapped both legs around him, watching for any change in the way he looked at him. It was hard to imagine a Sasuke devoted solely to him, that said things like this Sasuke did. Naruto was a decent judge of character, and there was nothing indicating he was lying. In fact, his sincerity and affection were so obvious, it made Naruto's chest feel like it would burst. But, he was still afraid.
Noticing his hesitation maybe, Sasuke searched his face. He looked concerned, but then he leaned down… and kissed him.
This was a Sasuke who knew when he needed to be calmed and reassured and acted on it. Feeling Sasuke's weight on top of him, the man's fingers winding through his hair and lips on his - Naruto let go of all his hang-ups because he did want this. There was such a large part of him that wanted Sasuke so badly it hurt, wanted this man for himself, wanted to laugh with him and love him and, even if it were possible only in this dream, to make love to him.
While they kissed, there were glimpses in his mind of the last time he and Sasuke were together. It had felt so different than any of the other times because he'd thought they both had mutual feelings for one another. The lower half of Sasuke's body pressed against his, grinding into him while Naruto cradled the back of his head, kissing him with everything he had. A hand lightly traced down his chest, passing over a nipple and caressing his stomach. It strayed to his hip, staying long enough to allow the kiss they were sharing to plunge. He couldn't get enough of this, the aggressive, almost possessive way Sasuke kissed him. When they eventually had to part for air, Sasuke's forehead was pressed to his, and the older man's fingertips had slipped beneath the waistband of his sweatpants, gliding over his skin tauntingly.
"What do you say?" Sasuke asked. "This would be your first time all over again."
Naruto kissed him once more. "Talk to me first. Tell me more about you and him."
"More?" Sasuke let out a heavy sigh as he buried his face in Naruto's neck. "What more would you like to know, Naruto?"
"Do you always say my name like that?" He closed his eyes, body hot all over and thrumming with pleasure.
It would be embarrassing to come in his pants simply from kissing, so he needed a chance to calm down.
Sasuke kissed his neck. "Like what?"
"I don't know. I just love the way you say it. You said you were opening a branch for some agency," Naruto began playing with the man's hair. "What do you do? Marketing? What happened to music? I always thought you'd do something with that despite what your dad wants from you and Itachi. Did you end up going to University of Washington like you wanted?"
The kissing at his neck ceased, and he only felt Sasuke's hot breath on his skin.
"Sasuke?" He called gently when Sasuke didn't answer.
"Sorry. It's strange for me to hear you talk about my father so easily. Or mother." He nudged Naruto with his nose, kissing at his neck again.
Because he felt like it, Naruto wrapped a protective arm around his slim waist, wanting to hold him close for a while.
"It's a music talent agency," Sasuke continued. "I've been doing it for nearly six years, longer if you count what I did in high school."
"You mean like booking the bands, doing the social media, and generally babysitting your fellow musicians?" Smiling, he kissed the top of Sasuke's head. "I'm happy to hear you did something with that. You have no idea." He laughed even though he felt tears of pride welling up.
Sasuke lifted his head, looking at him. Those keen, dark eyes searched him again. Naruto poked between his brows, the pale skin there too furrowed for his liking.
"What about performing and stuff?" Naruto asked, still attempting to smooth out the pesky wrinkles. "I love watchin' you on stage, Sasuke. You always look so happy up there."
"I don't perform anymore," Sasuke replied. "Not like that. I haven't for a long time."
He decided not to ask why, only because he knew he wouldn't get an answer. "So, where did I go to college?"
"When's it my turn to ask a question?" Sasuke held onto his hand, nipping at one of his fingers.
"You can ask anything you want," Naruto replied, voice going gruff again while he watched Sasuke suck on his fingertip.
"What's it like with us? On a regular day, what are we like with each other? Are we close?"
Naruto hummed in thought before answering. "Now it's not so good between us, but before all the drama, I'd say you and I hung out all the time. Pretty much every weekend I'd be at your house in the burbs, or my apartment downtown. Dad's usually gone on business trips during the weekend, so you and I have a lot of time together to, ahem. Be alone."
"Our relationship," said Sasuke, "Is fairly physical then?"
"Yes, pervert. It's - Well, it was fairly physical. Except when I dated over the summer."
"What made you decide to date? Whom did you date… Naruto?"
"Now you're doin' it on purpose." He grinned and moved Sasuke's bangs out of his eyes, able to tuck them behind an ear. "Girls in our class, that's who. Why did I date them? I guess I'd say it felt like if we kept goin' the way we were, that neither of us would have any other experiences during high school. You made it clear you didn't want to come out or date, and I didn't know what my feelings for you were until a month ago. I didn't think it would turn serious, so I guess I thought it would be good for you, too. During that time, when I was dating a really nice girl, I did realize I wanted a relationship. I dunno if it was 'cause I couldn't have one with you, but I wanted what everyone else had. I wanted to have fun and go on dates, hold hands, and hang out with other friends without PDA bein' a big deal. I wanted to be affectionate with someone who didn't worry about whether the door was locked in case someone barged in, and I wanted affection from someone not afraid to show it. I don't know whether that's selfish or not, but what I ended up wanting was something Sasuke didn't want either with me, or at all."
"I understand," Sasuke said softly, planting a kiss to his lips. "A year ago, there was something that happened between us that made me think I wasn't good enough for you. I remember how I felt at that age, too. Afraid of my parents finding out, afraid of them being disappointed in me." He started to look sad again, so Naruto tipped his chin up and traced his bottom lip.
"Dating them was good, I think," he said. "When I first met you, I told Sasuke I didn't believe in high school romances, but after that summer, I knew I at least liked the idea of relationships. I learned something from them. I'm still good friends with Kayla - "
"Kayla?"
"Yeah. Red hair, on the student council with you." He smirked. "Mr. Student Council President."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes at him in annoyance, making him laugh.
"What? I voted for you." Naruto bit his lip to keep from laughing again. "You look constipated now. You do that same thing with me. Er. In my universe, I mean."
"Can I tell you something I don't know whether you'll understand?" Sasuke asked.
"Sure." Naruto nodded, though his tone made him nervous. "Anything you want."
"You look like my Naruto, sound like him, sometimes you say things I know he'd say, but at the same time, I can't always predict what you'll say because I'd expect him to say something a little differently than you do. So, I know you're not him. That doesn't mean my body and, though he'd make fun of me for saying so, my heart don't recognize you as him… but, to think of you as having known me at 16 is so strange. I've shared some things from my past with him. Not that I try to hide it, but some of those things, for reasons I won't explain, are too hard to talk about, even with him. I don't know what I'm feeling, lying here with a Naruto who knows that me. In fact, it's reminding me a lot of things, memories, feelings. I even feel that me, your Sasuke, coming to the surface." Sasuke touched his cheek, wearing such an open and honest expression it nearly broke his heart. "Does any of that make sense?"
Nodding, Naruto leaned into his hand. "Looking at you, it's the same for me. Is this what you become as we get older? If you and I are together at 25, will he and I be together years from now? Or, do you and I have different paths and lives to lead? I want to ask you about these things you're hiding from me, but I get your reasoning. Even if I'm fighting with my Sasuke, I still feel protective of him. To me, he's family. Like a brother. Except.. heh. One I fool around with from time to time. We don't have some crazy romance. Hell, he slept with another guy while we were in the same house - "
"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Sasuke sat up quickly, his hand falling away from Naruto's cheek. That left him straddling Naruto's waist, which was quite distracting, really.
"Um. That you slept with some DJ at a house party while I was high off my ass in the basement?" Naruto answered.
Sasuke looked perplexed. "I wouldn't do that. That's the last thing I would do to Naruto."
"Well, you did." Naruto raised himself on his elbows. "It's not like you and I were together."
"I had sex with one person in high school, and that was Yahiko. I might've fooled around with a guy from one of the bands, or maybe kissed other boys, but I didn't do much until I came out."
Naruto sighed. "I don't want to talk about it. I feel like I've talked and thought about that so much. I'm tired of it, especially 'cause things with us went downhill from there. Or, well. I thought we were okay the night I confessed to you, but look how that turned out."
"I know it doesn't mean much," Sasuke placed both hands on his chest, "But on his behalf, I'm sorry. I don't know why I would do that. I would never purposely be cruel to you."
"You told me you felt neglected. Because I'd dated those girls. Made it seem like 'cause we'd never gone all the way, you wanted to get a reaction out of me." Naruto smiled sadly at him. "It worked. You can be very manipulative when you want to be."
"I'm sorry."
"Funny," he mumbled, feeling suddenly bitter. "You haven't even said that to me yet."
"All I know is the most terrifying thing I can think of to happen now is losing you." Sasuke, leaning over, took Naruto's face in his hands and kissed him passionately.
For a second, it felt like they were both experiencing the same fear and melancholy: Sasuke afraid of losing him, and Naruto afraid of losing Sasuke. He pressed his palms into Sasuke's shoulder blades, wanting to dig his nails in harder just so he wouldn't leave. The fervor of their kissing grew, and he could tell they both wanted the same thing. Sasuke began moving on top of him again, and Naruto didn't know how to describe this feeling of wanting to disappear inside of this person. He didn't want be let up by him either. He wanted this to go on forever, because the connection between them was more meaningful than anything he could imagine. It brought to mind the deepest love he could think of, on par with the love he had for his mom. The desire was so intense, he let out a quiet cry of anguish, lust, and impatience into Sasuke's mouth. Instead of stopping, Sasuke kissed him harder, pushing his tongue deeper, and - lifting his hips - shoved a hand beneath the waistband of Naruto's pants. Sasuke cupped him over his underwear, groping and squeezing. He opened his mouth to moan, and Sasuke sucked on the tip of his tongue. He couldn't keep himself on the bed any longer, and as his hips rocked against Sasuke's hand, Naruto whimpered underneath him, words he wanted to say muffled by their kissing.
Sasuke, appearing as dazed as he was, pulled away just enough to check on him.
"What is it?" He asked.
Naruto couldn't speak, though.
Rubbing his lips together, Sasuke - despite the groan of disappointment Naruto let out - removed his hand from Naruto's sweats. The older man shifted to the side in order to pull Naruto's pants off the rest of the way. Helplessly, he watched, knowing he was hard as a rock, and that if Sasuke so much as breathed on him right now, he'd come and would hate himself for it. His face, which already felt feverish and flushed, must've grown hotter still as Sasuke's eyes focused on the bulge tenting his boxer briefs. Vaguely, he mused, he grew up to be a boxer-briefs kind of guy instead of just boxers. Likely Sasuke's doing since that's all he wore. Which led to him thinking about this Sasuke who didn't seem to be wearing anything at all.
Naruto closed his eyes. God, even thinking about Sasuke wearing no underwear was driving him fucking insane. He only opened them again when he felt Sasuke move around on the bed and the sound of a drawer sliding open. Though it felt heavy, Naruto turned his head to watch while the other man pulled a couple of recognizable items out of a drawer. When he returned to the center of the bed - where he sat beside Naruto - he dropped a tube of lube and a condom next to Naruto's hip. Okay, images of them having sex wasn't helping.
"Shit," he said. "If this is a dream, I feel so bad for housekeeping."
Sasuke snorted. "I'm surprised you can talk. You were starting to look like you couldn't even breathe."
Naruto managed a glare and then raised his hand to give him the finger.
"You weren't this bad the first time I fucked you," Sasuke teased. "But, you did end up begging for it. That was within the first week of us knowing each other, by the way."
He groaned. "Shut up. I am this close to the edge."
Sasuke crawled over him on hands and knees. "How close?"
"Close enough I'm gonna need you not to touch me for about five minutes."
"I think you overestimate my restraint," Sasuke dropped to his elbows, bringing their faces so very close, "Naruto."
"Fuck you, Sasuke. Seriously."
"You wouldn't last long enough if I let you."
"Let me?" He narrowed his eyes. "I bet you're the one who begs for it."
Sasuke wet his lips. "And here I thought I'd show mercy by giving you a break."
"What does someone like you know about mercy, huh?" He asked, his hips rising off the bed, but Sasuke was out of reach.
Sasuke's laughter was mocking and dark, his eyes alight and reflecting the same lust Naruto was struggling with. "I could make you come right now without even touching you. That's how good I am." His lips traced the shell of Naruto's ear, "Uzumaki."
He sucked in a sharp breath, eyes shutting tight again. Sasuke wasn't wrong. If he said anything right now, it would be too much. He was panting so loud it was unmistakable. While over him, Sasuke mercifully remained quiet. It took all of Naruto's willpower to get himself under control so that he wouldn't pull Sasuke down and hump him to completion.
"I take it it's been a while?"
"Long enough," Naruto answered.
"Hn."
Naruto glared. "You got cocky."
"I have reasons to be."
Lowering himself, Sasuke dragged his tongue over Naruto's left nipple and sucked on it. After his head hit the pillow, Naruto's eyes focused on the ceiling as he tried (unsuccessfully) not to think about the wicked things Sasuke could do with his tongue. That talented mouth abandoned his abused nipple and began to trail kisses from his chest to his stomach. He shivered as Sasuke's fingers tracked down his sides to the waistband of his underwear. He was afraid to look, already busy holding his breath when Sasuke found that damp spot on his briefs and sucked on him through the cotton.
Fingers traced over the outline of his cock, and Sasuke, wrapping his sexy lips around the head, gave it another harsh, hungry suck that resulted in a wet, slurping noise. The sound alone turned him on so much it brought tears to his eyes. He let out the most wanting and needy moan he'd ever heard come from his own lips. Just observing Sasuke's pink tongue darting out to lick along the shape of his quivering member was too much, so with an angry growl, he grabbed the other man by the hair, momentarily forgetting their age difference, and stared Sasuke straight in the eye.
"I told you to wait five minutes," he said, his voice raw and threatening.
A crooked smile spread across Sasuke's face. "I can't help myself."
"I think you can," Naruto replied in an authoritative tone.
Sasuke's eyelids lowered in submission, sending interesting signals to Naruto's crotch.
"If you're this close," Sasuke whispered. "Let me get you off."
"And who are you to decide when I get off? I'm certainly not gonna come in my pants the first time we have sex," Naruto replied, still gripping at his hair and holding him in place.
"Just to be clear," Sasuke, eyes still lowered, licked his lips. "We are having sex then?"
"You're the one who brought out the accessories."
"Naruto." Sasuke's gaze was on his lips now.
"What?" He placed a hand on the man's hip.
"Kiss me."
"Why should I?" He pulled Sasuke on top of him so that the man could feel Naruto's hard length pressed to his stomach.
This time, it was Sasuke who let out a whimper. He forgot about taunting him and, instead, pushed down at the back of his head. He kissed him bruisingly, tasting the bitterness of his own cum on the man's lips. Sasuke moaned, the lower half of his body grinding deliciously against Naruto's.
"Naruto." Sasuke kept murmuring his name between a series of long kisses and snuck a hand inside his shorts.
Thrown off by just how needy he sounded, Naruto didn't fight it when fingers wrapped around him tightly and started to pump his cock. The method of his strokes was so similar to the way Sasuke's touch felt. So, when he closed his eyes it was almost as if his Sasuke were here. That alone was enough to push him right to the edge again, his pleasure hinging on Sasuke's touch.
"Don't come yet."
Sasuke gave a quick nip to his chin and slid his way down Naruto's body. He gripped Naruto's briefs and carefully tugged them over his hips, freeing his bouncing erection. The cold air hitting his skin caused him to gasp. He couldn't have moved on his own to assist him, so it was Sasuke who yanked his underwear off. The older man arranged him so that he lay slumped against the headboard, knees bent and spread apart.
Lying on his stomach, Sasuke slipped his arms under Naruto's knees, and after firmly gripping the base of his shaft, took him into his mouth with a purr of satisfaction. In a barely lucid haze, Naruto watched from his vantage point, transfixed by the way the dark-haired man's head bobbed between his legs. He spread his legs wider, fascinated by the image before him, of his cock sliding into Sasuke's very willing and eager mouth. The one time he let Naruto fall out, a long string of pre-come connected the leaking tip of his cock to Sasuke's wet and glistening lips.
Gazing up at him, Sasuke smirked and licked it away with his tongue.
"Jesus," Naruto gasped. "You… porn star."
The laughter the comment earned was husky and amazingly sexy. Sasuke, looking confident and sure, began to stroke him at a lazy pace, apparently aware Naruto was on the verge of an orgasm likely to knock him off his feet (if he'd been standing).
"Have you had fingers in you before," Sasuke used his tongue to swipe at another dribble of cum leaking from the tip, "Naruto?"
"Uh." He glanced at the lube. "Only recently."
"You're close, so I'm going to do it now. Unless you don't want to go that far…?"
He nodded. "Yeah… do whatever you want to do, Sasuke. I'm all yours."
Sasuke reached for the lube "Be careful what you say. That's dangerous."
"Like I'm worried about anything you could do," Naruto replied.
He took in a deep breath in an attempt to calm his body. He watched everything Sasuke did. The other man was so meticulous in all his movements, graceful even. Naruto found himself drawn to those long fingers, thinking about them playing guitar or on the piano and how this Sasuke, for unknown reasons, no longer wanted to play anymore. The act of watching Sasuke lube up his ass definitely helped settle his nerves. He squeezed out a few generous drops near his crack, slathering it around his hole. Naruto ended up tensing, not because he didn't want to do this, but because a tiny voice inside his head was angry at him for doing this with a Sasuke who wasn't his own. He told that voice to "shut the fuck up," though. His Sasuke had been given that chance, so now it was Naruto's turn to have what he wanted: a Sasuke who wanted him as much as he wanted Sasuke.
"I wonder if you'll be tight, or if you're about the same," Sasuke wondered aloud, briefly raising his eyes to meet Naruto's before pushing in the tip of his middle finger. After a second, he rotated his hand, palm-side up, and pushed it in up to the first knuckle.
Naruto let out a small noise of surprise, shifting against the pillows that were keeping him upright. Sasuke wrapped an arm around one of his thighs and dragged him further down the bed so that only Naruto's shoulders were propped up on pillows. It meant he still had a view of everything. Watching Sasuke's finger disappearing into his ass wasn't nearly as hot as watching his dick go into his mouth, but it was… intimate. Intimate in a way that made his mind begin to think about the next step. One he hadn't taken with the other Sasuke yet but knew that, had they started a relationship, would've followed rather quickly.
"Don't tense up," Sasuke said, concentrating on his fingers instead of him, which was good because Naruto was starting to get emotional about this being their first time.
Sasuke added more lube and, when Naruto took in another deep breath, he pushed a second finger in, all the way to the second knuckle, and started moving them in and out.
Finally, Sasuke glanced up at him. "Naruto? Is this okay?"
While biting his lip, Naruto nodded and hoped he looked convincing.
"Don't just nod," said Sasuke. "Tell me it's okay. If it's not, say that, too."
"...It's okay," Naruto replied. "I'm… it's nothing you're doing… I'm getting…"
Sasuke stared at him a little longer before moving up the length of his body. The fingers remained inside of him, unmoving, but Sasuke found his lips and kissed him. While Naruto returned the kiss, the fingers inside him began to move and thrust. Sasuke's weight on top of him already felt like an anchor that would keep him from floating away. Everything about him was so close to the Sasuke he knew, with only the obvious experience being a difference.
"Who knew you'd be the one teaching me this is how it's done?" Naruto murmured after Sasuke had decided to pay attention to his neck, licking and sucking on him.
"This is just the start," Sasuke replied, thrusting his two fingers in deeper.
Naruto could even feel it when they spread apart inside of him. He gasped, "Sasuke."
"Just a little bit more." Sasuke pressed their open mouths together, waiting for him.
Naruto shut his eyes and touched his tongue to Sasuke's, the both of them moaning as their hips rocked in time with the short thrusts of his hand. Just barely, he shifted and, for a second, Sasuke's fingers probed deeper, hitting a spot that made his toes curl. He cried out unexpectedly, but the sound became muffled when Sasuke's mouth was on his again. Every time Sasuke stroked that one spot, Naruto let out a pathetic whimper.
It felt like it would last forever, this level of pleasure that kept him hanging on the brink. But the fingers slipped out from inside of him. His eyes were barely open, yet he was able to see when Sasuke reached for the condom, tore the wrapper open with his teeth, and stripped his pants off. Naruto let out a grunt of annoyance when he saw for sure that Sasuke wore nothing under them.
"What?" Sasuke asked, tossing his pants on the floor and stroking his own length as he settled above him on the bed. "Problem?"
"You're not wearing any underwear," he growled, feeling oddly possessive and jealous.
"What does it matter? You're the one I come home to."
"Still." He narrowed his eyes at him, but, shortly after, his gaze fell to Sasuke's very prominent erection. Was it odd that he really wanted that in his mouth right now?
"There's no time for that," said Sasuke, as if reading his mind. "You won't last."
"I have plenty of stamina, thanks," Naruto replied.
Sasuke snorted. "Not at 17, I'm sure."
Grabbing him by the legs, he dragged Naruto further down the bed, and, reaching for one of the pillows, shoved it underneath him so that his ass was elevated and on display. Sliding forward, Sasuke kneeled between Naruto's legs and wrapped them both around his waist. He reached over Naruto for the condom and lube. Without a single fumble, he rolled on the condom and slicked himself up before discarding the tube.
"Speak now," said Sasuke, "Or forever hold your peace."
"Heh." Naruto wiggled his hips impatiently. "I wanna do this with you. Just don't forget." He suddenly became a little nervous. "I haven't, you know, done this before."
"You have." Sasuke kissed his inner thigh. "We have. You will with him one day, too."
"I wonder…"
"Ready?" Sasuke pressed against him, cock sliding neatly between his cheeks.
He nodded. "Yeah."
Naruto didn't know if he wanted to watch, but as Sasuke began to inch forward - the tip starting to push in - he couldn't take his eyes off of him. He watched the other man's face, focused and nerves like steel. Then he dropped his gaze to catch the moment Sasuke was really inside of him. Not all the way, but enough that Naruto could feel the sting of being stretched.
"God," he said and, only for a second, threw an arm across his eyes.
The emotional part of what was happening hit him again as memories and feelings rolled through him like a wave. He needed something right now, and Sasuke, going deeper, reached for his hand. When he felt the weight of Sasuke's body settle on top of his, he welcomed him with open arms.
Sasuke kissed at his throat while thrusting inside of him, lifting his legs under the knees, and bringing Naruto near to tears.
Naruto squeezed him tighter. "Yes," he moaned. "Oh, Sasuke."
Sasuke let out a vicious growl and searched out his lips, their tongues sliding hotly together as he felt the snap of the other man's hips against him.
"How does it feel?" Sasuke asked, breathing hard. "Good?"
"Yeah." He hugged him to his body, panting. "Let go of my legs…"
Sasuke did, and Naruto wrapped them around him, able to press his heels into the backs of his strong thighs, urging him to enter him deeper.
"Don't be gentle with me, Sasuke, you bastard." He bit him on the shoulder.
"You're the one who asked for it, idiot," Sasuke shot back.
He grabbed a fistful of Naruto's hair and gave his head a yank while slamming into him. Naruto could only grunt at the onslaught of Sasuke's powerful thrusts. The sounds he made were wanton, needy, and primal. This was sex with another man, with Sasuke, and it felt fucking incredible. He would've loved to have tried out other positions, but it was creeping up on him again. Every other thrust, Sasuke brushed that one spot inside of him, getting closer like scratching an itch. He reached between their bodies, finding space to start stroking himself.
"That's it, Naruto," Sasuke said encouragingly. "Tell me if you're close."
"I-I'm close," he grunted, trying to ride him from underneath, pushing back and controlling the pace more as his orgasm loomed just out of his reach.
But, Sasuke slid both arms underneath his, rolling them over so that he was now on top.
"Grab my shoulders," Sasuke told him. "Ride me, and I'll jerk you off. Fuck me, Naruto."
In this new position, he felt more control. He took hold of Sasuke's shoulders, grinding his hips down onto him. Sasuke's fingers wrapped around him, stroking him fast and rough, their hot and sweaty skin slapping loudly together. When he thrust up into him, Naruto cried out and briefly lost his grip on Sasuke's shoulder. By then, it didn't matter because he was already cumming while riding him. It felt like he was being lifted off the bed, which creaked and groaned beneath their frantic movements. Sasuke's hips rose to fuck him hard, and Naruto fell forward, catching himself on the man's chest as more ribbons of his cum shot out and covered Sasuke's stomach. The blood rushed to his head. He collapsed. Sasuke was still moving inside him.
Naruto managed to press a kiss to the side of his neck before Sasuke came, too, with a low growl resembling his name. Naruto's body was shaking. He couldn't move anymore. Sasuke's hands gently stroked up and down his back, soothing him when it felt as though he couldn't string a coherent thought together. Sasuke reached for him, taking hold of his face in both hands. Tiredly, Naruto stared back, but when their lips met for a final kiss, it stirred something deep within him. It was a longing for what he could've had, anguish that he couldn't have it, and a fear of all this coming to an end soon.
Yet, in Sasuke's kiss there was love, affection, and tenderness. It was so much, too much. Naruto started to cry in the midst of it, the tears streaking his cheeks. A quiet sobbing noise erupted from his throat, but Sasuke kissed him a few more times. Naruto hugged him, held him close, and when Sasuke broke away it was to smile, stroke his cheek, and whisper in his ear.
"I'm sorry. I love you. Goodbye, Naruto."
It was with tears in his eyes that Naruto awoke to a dark room. He could hear the sound of an ambulance a few blocks away. The heater kicked on, causing one of the vents to make an ugly metal clanging noise.
Naruto glanced at the alarm. It was only a little before midnight. After all of that, he felt empty inside, hollow. Alone. He could almost feel Sasuke still inside him. His heart was beating fast, and his palms were really sweaty. Naruto squeezed his eyes shut, hoping - even if it was futile - to suddenly slip back into that fantasy of a Sasuke who welcomed him with open arms.
The heater abruptly ticked off, leaving the room eerily silent and extremely warm.
He threw the covers away, grimacing when he felt how sticky everything was. Not just inside his boxers, but his whole body was covered in sweat . With a grimace, Naruto hopped out of bed and went in search of a clean pair. He was just about to walk into the bathroom when he spotted his phone sitting on the table between the two beds. It was off, but Naruto turned it on and waited. When all the notifications filled the top of the screen, he held his breath, stupidly hoping for a sign. Would Sasuke have bothered to send a text asking he'd arrived safely in Chicago? The bastard knew how much he hated flying. Seeing a notification for a text appear on his screen, Naruto's heart leapt.
He opened the message and read it, but it was from Itachi. It had totally slipped his mind to text him once they'd landed. There were other messages, but none from Sasuke. It shouldn't have surprised him. It shouldn't have hurt, but it did.
Naruto powered off his phone and set it down, rubbing at his chest. That feeling of sadness, he let it pass through him, allowing only a handful of seconds of self-pity before he went into the bathroom to clean himself off. Nothing had changed. It had only been a dream. Sasuke, as he knew him, wasn't going to budge. It didn't matter how many versions his subconscious tried to create in order to give him false hope. The truth was Sasuke no longer seemed to give a shit about him or his feelings. He knew this, and maybe a week here would give him the time he needed to finally accept it. But a dream like that certainly hadn't made it hurt any less.
TBC