Honesty
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. I really feel like that this story/pairing is starting to get a bit more attention than before. I adore some of the more obvious pairings, but I hope that more unconventional pairings start to show up more. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 11
The next morning, Sasuke was rather comfortable. He burrows into the warmth next to him and sighs in contentment. His mind was slowly waking up, but his body was feeling far too comfortable to seriously contemplate getting up.
"Sasuke." Jugo calls out softly, trying to rouse his companion.
"Mmm?" Came the sleepy reply and the other member of Taka shakes his head in amusement.
"Sasuke, if you don't want to be late for your first day of teaching, so you probably should get up." Jugo says.
The last Uchiha frowns. His brows furrow. Damn it. Why did classes have to start so fucking early? Seriously, it would make more sense to wait until the afternoon to start teaching. The students couldn't possibly enjoy getting up at the crack of dawn anymore than he did.
"Kakashi was always late, so I don't think the Leaf cares too much if its teachers are punctual." Sasuke murmurs.
Jugo shakes his head. He smiles and decides to wake Sasuke up in a more sneaky way. He glides his hand over the curve of Sasuke's hip and over his crotch.
That causes Sasuke's eyes to fly open immediately. Jugo tries to hide his smirk. A potential hand job was one very effective way of waking up a sleepy Uchiha.
"That would DEFINTELY make me late for class." Sasuke practically purrs at Jugo as he kisses him.
The gentle giant returns the kiss with a smile. It was nice to know that Sasuke enjoyed their intimacy. He enjoyed it enough to be late for work. That was saying something because the last Uchiha was a very punctual individual by nature.
"Just late? I think that we would end up forsaking our duties completely for the rest of the day." Jugo muses.
"That's also possible. Still I guess I should get going. It's important to teach them the proper way to handle a kunai." Sasuke says with a shrug.
"That's true and you are VERY good at handling kunais. So they will be learning from the best." Jugo teases him.
Sasuke wasn't an idiot. He didn't miss the very obvious innuendo in there. He just didn't really know how to respond to it. Jugo normally was a very genteel "lover." He had never actually heard the other man make a dirty joke before.
Of course he was using the word lover rather loosely. They hadn't actually had sex. Though Jugo was making it increasingly clear that he very much would be interested in becoming official lovers.
"Damn right, I am. I'll see you later." Sasuke says as he grabs his uniform and heads towards the bathroom.
He would change quickly and be on his way. Seriously, why did the Academy have to start at eight in the fucking morning? That meant he had to get up at least by 7:30. He decides he should see if he couldn't convince Tsunade to push back the starting time.
It really would be better for everyone involved. Sasuke was not a morning person. Putting him around innocent children this early in the morning was just a recipe for disaster.
"Good morning, Sasuke." Iruka says a few minutes later when the raven haired ninja comes walking into his classroom.
"Morning." He says simply.
He really didn't know how to react to Iruka. Iruka had been his teacher at a time when he was still relatively innocent. He might have wanted revenge against Itachi, but his hands were still clean. His world view had been entirely black and white. Now it was just infinite shades of gray.
"I have to admit that I never would have thought you would be interested in becoming a teacher. You were always a gifted student, but for the most part you were not particularly social." He muses.
Hmm that was interesting. Iruka was actually going to try this. He was going to try to treat Sasuke like he was just another ninja. The other man didn't appear to be afraid of him. Of course it was possible that he just had a good poker face.
"I was surprised that Tsunade suggested it. Still it's better than conducting low level missions until I prove myself." Sasuke says with a shrug.
"Ah I see. So it isn't so much that you have an interest in teaching as the fact that you are bored. I suppose that makes more sense. Do you have preference for which age group you want to work with?" He asks.
"Not really. I haven't really interacted that much with children." The last Uchiha admits.
Iruka nods in understanding. Hmm well the older children would realize who he was. That could be a good or a bad thing. Perhaps it was best to stick him with the younger students for now?
"How about we try to place you with the youngest class and see how it goes?" He asks.
"Fine by me. Like I said, I don't really have much experience with kids. If I'm not good at teaching, this was Tsunade's idea. Not mine." Sasuke insists.
The older ninja chuckles. Well Sasuke appeared to be in reasonably good spirits at the moment. He could only hope it would last. Innocent children should not be subjected to the fearsome temper of the last Uchiha.
"Duly noted. Besides, you want to restore your Clan. Think of this as practice." He offers.
"I guess that's one way to look at it. When are they supposed to be arriving?" Sasuke asks.
"Oh right about now, actually." Iruka says as a stampede of young children rush into the classroom exactly one minute before the bell rang.
Sasuke blinks. They were definitely punctual little things. He had to give them that much. At least he wouldn't have to teach them how to tell time.
"Class, this is Sasuke Uchiha. He is going to be assisting me with your lessons for the time being. I want you to treat him EXACTLY as you would treat me." Iruka says with a smile.
Instantly a paper plane is thrown at Sasuke. Sasuke catches it and raises an eyebrow before it could land. There was a Naruto in every generation, it seemed.
"I wouldn't say, exactly like you." Sasuke says as he sets fire to the paper plane and it turns to ash in his hand.
All the students look at him in awe. Sasuke blinks. Oh right. They were really young. Fire jutsus were impressive to them.
"Well as you can see, one of his natural chakra natures is fire. Today, we will be discussing the basic chakra nature types." Iruka says, trying to get his class to stop staring at Sasuke.
Yeah. That wasn't going to work. Perhaps the last Uchiha should have seen that one coming. God knows he had been in awe of his father, the first time he saw him use a fireball jutsu. Fire was apparently universally fascinating to children, no matter the era.
The rest of the day passes without incident. Occasionally, Iruka would ask Sasuke to demonstrate another chakra nature type. The youngest Uchiha didn't mind doing this. It was amusing to see the wide eyed expressions of the kids. They were really easy to impress.
The bell rings and the children scamper off. Sasuke had to give them this much. Damn they were fast.
"There. That wasn't so bad, now was it?" Iruka asks Sasuke.
"Iruka, don't patronize me. You sound like a medic that just gave a child a shot. It was fine. I guess it's better than doing whatever menial tasks Tsunade would have dreamt up for me otherwise." He says with a shrug.
Iruka nods. He takes out some papers. He hands Sasuke a stack of them. The last Uchiha raises an eyebrow as if to ask what the teacher wanted him to do.
"Those are just multiple choice tests. I would give you an answer key, but I'd be shocked if you didn't already know the answers." The gentle ninja says.
"Alright. Got it." Sasuke says with a sigh as he starts going through the papers.
Well he supposed it was something to do at least. Granted, grading papers was not exactly exciting or glamorous. Still it could have been worse. After about an hour and they had finally graded all the papers.
"Thanks. You saved me at least an hour of grading. It can get a bit tedious after awhile, but the job itself is very rewarding. I hope you do give it a real chance." He says.
"I'll think about it." He mutters as he heads home.
Meanwhile Naruto was in the Uchiha District with Jugo. The blonde couldn't help but be curious. Sasuke was fucking dating someone. That was just unbelievable. He snickers as he remembers how Sasuke told him.
"Naruto, don't be an idiot about this. I'm just telling you because I don't want to deal with you being annoying, if you find out from someone else." Sasuke said one day.
Well that certainly got Naruto's attention. The blonde couldn't help but wonder what would elicit that reaction from his friend. He nodded his head encouragingly.
"Alright. I'm listening. What's the big deal?" The blue eyed ninja asked.
"You remember how I told you that I preferred men?" The last Uchiha ventured cautiously.
"Yeah. I remember. Fuck. No way! Look Sasuke, I love you like a brother and all, but I'm not IN love with you. I love you, but just as a friend. I'm totally cool with you liking men and all, but I like women. I'm sorry." Naruto stammered in a rush.
Sasuke twitched. He smacked Naruto upside the head for that one. In hindsight, the hyper ninja mused he probably should have seen that one coming.
"You are an idiot. I'm not in love with you. I don't go for dumb blondes." He muttered in irritation.
"Hey! I'm not dumb! Pft. I guess it's just as well. You couldn't handle my sexiness, even if I was gay. So what's the big secret?" His friend demanded.
The raven haired ninja sighed. He shook his head. Clearly, Sasuke's patience was wearing thin and fast.
"Yes, you are a dumb blonde. No, I'm not in love with you. I am…with someone though." He continued.
Sasuke wasn't really sure how to describe his relationship with the gentle giant. Dating seemed too tame. They weren't married or lovers though. He supposed a generic, "I'm with someone," would have to do the trick.
"Really? Who is the guy that pulled that stick out of your ass? Well maybe I should say who is shoving HIS stick up your ass." Naruto asked happily and Sasuke smacked him.
"You are such an idiot. I don't know why you are assuming that I would bottom. Anyway, it's Jugo."" The raven haired man informed Naruto.
The blonde blinked. He was trying to figure out how that physically worked. Just from a mechanical perspective, it was kinda hard to process.
"Oh. Didn't see that one coming. I probably should have though. Well he seems nice, when he's not in the middle of a homicidal rage anyway. But since you calm him down somehow, I guess that's not a problem!" The blonde said brightly.
Sasuke just shook his head. Honestly, it was as if Naruto had absolutely no filter. He didn't even know what to say to that.
"Yeah. He is. So don't make a big deal out of it. We are still trying to figure everything out." He muttered.
"You mean you haven't decided who is throwing the kunai and who is catching it yet?" The boisterous ninja asked with a grin.
Sasuke smacked his forehead. Sometimes he wondered why he had to be surrounded by so many idiots. He knew that Naruto was just teasing, still it was important to teach him a lesson.
"Oh that's it! CHIDORI!" Sasuke yelled and charged at his friend, who swiftly dodged.
It had devolved into quite the epic training session. The two friends spent hours tearing into each other. To anyone else, it would have been lethal combat. To them, it was just playing. That was just how Sasuke and Naruto communicated, through their fists.
"So how are things going with you and the bastard?" Naruto asks curiously.
If anyone else had called Sasuke a bastard, Jugo would probably have gone into a rage. This was Naruto though. Apparently, the last Uchiha and bubbly blonde expressed their friendship through insults. The large orange haired man honestly didn't get it for the life of him, but at least he knew that Naruto was only joking around.
"Good. I think that we are making real progress." Jugo says happily.
"That's good. Well I'm glad he found someone. It's not healthy to be alone all the time." Naruto says.
Karin and Suigetsu had stopped by to visit. The two of them were ease dropping on the conversation. Both of them were eager to find out who had won their bet. If Jugo was talking to Naruto about his relationship with Sasuke, that meant they might find out!
"Naruto, if you don't stop trying to psychoanalyze me, I'm going to kick your ass." Sasuke says as he walks into the kitchen.
"I wasn't trying to psychoanalyze you! I was just trying to make sure that my best friend is happy. That's all!" Naruto protests.
Sasuke merely shakes his head. He knew that Naruto meant well. He was just being nosey. It was harmless, but he couldn't let the other man off the hook too easily. If you gave Naruto an inch, he would take a mile.
"I am very happy." Sasuke says and smiles when Jugo wraps his arms around him.
The boisterous ninja almost did a double take. It was just so weird. Yeah, he knew that they were together in theory, but seeing it was something else. He couldn't believe that Sasuke was actually allowing someone to touch him and seemed happy about it.
"Well that's good. I guess I should probably get going. Granny Tsunade, is going to want to see me. She's training me to become Hokage someday!" He chimes merrily.
"God help us all, when your stupid ass is in charge of this village." Sasuke says in a way that he knew would provoke the blonde.
"WHAT'D YOU SAY?! YOU ARE SUCH A BASTARD! WHY DO YOU HAVE TO GO AND SAY STUFF LIKE THAT?!" Naruto demands and twitches.
Sasuke smirks. It really was too easy to rile up Naruto sometimes. That didn't make it any less enjoyable though.
Jugo shakes his head. He knew exactly what Sasuke was doing. He was trying to get a rise out of Naruto and succeeding. Still in the interest of ensuring that the house stayed in one piece, he decides that it would be best if he stepped in.
"He's just teasing you. I'm sure that Sasuke knows that you will be an excellent Hokage someday." He offers.
"Thanks, Jugo! You sure you want to be with this bastard? You are way too nice for his Royal Prissyness." The blue eyed ninja asks.
It was Sasuke's turn to twitch. He didn't know what pissed him off more, the nickname or the implication. The hyper ninja was just begging for a beating. Sasuke was suddenly in the mood to give it to him.
Karin sighs. She could see where this was going from a mile away. It looked like it was up to her to prevent a major disaster.
"Naruto, you said that Lady Tsunade is waiting for you. You should get going. It's probably not a good idea to keep that woman waiting. She has a temper." His relative reminds him.
"Yeah. You're right. Got it. Sasuke being a bastard just distracted me. You would think that I'd be used to it by now, but he keeps coming up with new ways to be a jerk." Naruto says cheerfully as he bounds off.
Suigetsu blinks as he watches the blonde leave. That was one strange ninja. Actually, most Leaf Villagers were strange to him. That was certainly saying something because he was far from normal himself.
"This is one weird village." He says.
"You got that right." Sasuke agrees with a nod at his friend's very accurate assessment.
"So how did it go at the Academy?" Karin asks.
Sasuke pauses as he considers how to respond to that question. It went pretty well. Honestly, it had gone better than he expected. Long-term though, he didn't see himself as being an Academy instructor.
"It went alright. The kids are ridiculously easy to impress. Throw a fireball and they suddenly look at you like you are a God." Sasuke notes in amusement.
"Oh boy. That won't end well. The last thing we need is for someone to stroke your ego some more." The sword lover observes.
Sasuke gives Suigetsu a dirty look for that comment. Sometimes he wondered if everyone in this village wanted a beating other than Jugo and Itachi. It really was starting to look that way.
"Arf! Glad you are home! Arf!" Itachi says as he comes bounding into the kitchen, skidding to a halt by Sasuke's legs.
"You just want your biscuits." Sasuke says and tosses the puppy one of them.
"Like biscuits and Master Sasuke." He says and gobbles up his treat quickly.
Sasuke briefly wondered if that dog even tasted the food. He practically inhaled it. He shrugs and decides it didn't matter.
"Well I talked to Tsunade today. She's going to let me become a medic. Thankfully, I'm not going to be a chew toy, unless someone's life is on the line." She states.
"Well that's good news." Sasuke replies and she nods.
"Eh I signed up for combat duty. I'll get bored, if I sit around and do nothing all day for too long." Suigetsu says with a shrug.
Sasuke smirks. That sounded like Suigetsu. Yes, it was probably better for everyone involved, if the other man had something to keep him busy.
Team Taka eats dinner together. Mostly because Karin and Suigesu couldn't cook to save their lives. Somehow the team of former S Class Criminal Ninjas managed not to get into another fight during dinner. This may have had something to do with Itachi looking rather adorable as he begged for table scraps though.
"Well it's kinda late. I still got to set up my place some more. Cya." Suigetsu says as he walks off.
"He's so ungrateful. The least he could do is thank you for making us such a great dinner." She grumbles.
Sasuke shrugs. It was Suigetsu. She didn't seriously expect the Murder Prodigy to say please and thank you, did she? Oh wait, she did. That was hilarious.
"It's fine, Karin. Good night." Jugo says kindly and the red head makes her own departure.
"I'm glad that it went well." Jugo says.
"Mhm. I guess it'll work for now. I didn't hate it, but I just wasn't really designed for a desk job." Sasuke admits.
Jugo nods. He definitely wasn't designed for a desk job, not with a body like that. Well at least things were settling down for Sasuke. He was pretty sure that if Tsunade asked him to chase stray cats again, the last Uchiha would probably Chidori her. So teaching would have to work for now.
"What was that look for?" Sasuke asks.
"Oh I was just thinking, you are right. You definitely aren't suited for a desk job. Not with a body like that. Though you would look rather nice bent over one." He replies casually and Sasuke blinks.
He didn't know how to react to that. Jugo had rarely spoken to him in such a direct fashion before. Yes, they had bathed together and they had been somewhat intimate with each other. But Jugo had always been rather gentlemanly about the whole thing. So it was something of a shock to hear him be so…well blunt.
"I think you might have spent a bit too much time around Kakashi." Sasuke muses as he leans up and kisses his gentle giant.
Jugo smiles and eagerly returns the kiss. He couldn't resist grabbing Sasuke's ass. It was becoming apparent that Sasuke just wasn't the type to initiate things, so he would have to do it.
The other member of Taka didn't mind this. He wasn't sure why Sasuke was being "shy." Maybe it was because this was his first relationship. Maybe he just was having a hard time trusting someone enough to actually be fully intimate with them. Hell, it could even just be that Sasuke preferred being chased. Who knew what the real reason was?
"I try not to make a habit of it. I don't really like it when people meddle like that. No, that was just purely my thought without any outside influence." He murmurs and caresses Sasuke's cheek.
"Good to know." Sasuke replies with a cocky smirk.
"I'm just saying that I think we could make good use of your desk." Jugo growls at him lustfully as he sets about his new task of marking up the other man's neck.
Sasuke closes his eyes and sighs softly in contentment. God that felt good. Idly, he wondered what it was about necking that felt so incredible. Actually, that desk idea was starting to sound really tempting right now.
"Mmm maybe we can sneak in after hours. Iruka gave me a key." Sasuke says as he runs his fingers through Jugo's orange locks.
"Sounds good to me. So do those little moans you are making." He states as he bites down lightly.
"F-uck." Sasuke groans in pleasure and arches into his almost lover.
Jugo smiles. He lets Sasuke get off of the wall and heads up the stairs with him towards the bed. Ninja speed could be very useful sometimes, like now for instance.
Otherwise how else would he get Sasuke on his back, so quickly? Jugo smiles down at cage and kisses him hotly. Sasuke returned the kiss with equal passion and wraps his legs around Jugo's waist. Both groan when their clothed erections brush against each other.
"I think you might be onto something about the desk. Though I think you should be the one bent over it." Sasuke says with a smirk.
"We'll see you. Though shields are generally placed on top." He tells him and Sasuke raises an eyebrow at that implied challenge.
Jugo referred to himself as Sasuke's shield. Clearly, the gentle giant was trying to imply that he wanted to be the dominant lover. How insistent he would be on that, Sasuke wasn't sure. But he suspected that he would find out soon.