Enjoy!
The Long Way Home
Part 10
Quirks
Chapter 2/3
For a long moment, the two of them froze in place as though neither one of them was sure they'd just heard what they thought they'd just heard. But then they heard it again, a deep sort of rumbling growl that made the pair of them untangle in an instant. Sasuke rolled into a crouch but moved no further. The sound had been close, but then it was hard to get a fix on when every sound in here seemed to echo a little.
He really disliked being underground.
Being underground deprived you of a lot of your senses. Blind, lost, trapped and even his hearing couldn't even be properly trusted right now...
He felt a hand close over his forearm but that was the only movement he felt from Naruto at his side.
At least one of them seemed to be keeping their head. Naruto didn't want them to get separated in the dark, which was probably a wise move. After everything Naruto had said to him about being able to keep cool in a lot of situations, Sasuke sure wasn't managing it right now thanks to being stuck in here with something growling close by. But Naruto's touch seemed to remind him to focus and in a few moments he felt back in control again.
Well at least he wasn't horny or frustrated anymore. That growl had been as good as having ice dumped down his pants. So with his brain back in total working order again he focussed on what he could use in this situation. Echoing might be an issue but he felt his hearing wasn't totally useless. At least there seemed to be no sounds of impending attack at this moment and Sasuke had to think that perhaps it was because neither of them were really making much noise at the moment. So while they couldn't see whatever it was right now, it seemed as though it couldn't see them either. But that didn't mean they could stay here. They had been making plenty of noises before almost in this exact spot, so if the thing down here with them wanted to do them harm, this is where it would come first.
And while Sasuke prided himself on his stealth, he couldn't be certain of being completely soundless when he couldn't see where he was going. He remembered being near a corridor that had been somewhere off to his left but he couldn't remember if the floor was dry, free of clutter or completely flat either.
Normally he would take better note of his surroundings but he honestly hadn't expected to be attacked down here. And besides, Naruto had trouble being completely silent at the best of times so he couldn't be sure that even if he managed to transverse the room without tipping the thing off, who knew how Naruto would fare?
First thing was first, don't lose Naruto. Sasuke didn't want to fight something he couldn't see but if it came down to it, two fighters would be safer than one. Plus, trying to find him again would be a nightmare in the dark. So he dislodged Naruto's hand on his arm only to grip the hand tightly in his own and made a few careful tugging motions to tell Naruto which way they were going and that they would be going fast. Naruto's own grip tightened in response and Sasuke could only hope that meant that Naruto understood.
He slowly tapped the back of Naruto's hand three times and on the third took off as fast as he could.
Thankfully it appeared as though Naruto had understood because he didn't feel any resistance, but unfortunately their fast getaway was also making a lot more sound than Sasuke had hoped for. And it wasn't just Naruto's fault. The ground beneath his feet was covered here and there in loose stones which skittered away as they ran and almost caused both of them to lose their balance completely at one stage or another.
But they were minor stumbles and then Sasuke felt rough stone against the outstretched hand in front of him and he quickly turned, putting his back to the wall and dragging Naruto along with him.
Sasuke had thought he'd heard some sort of pursuit but it had stopped the moment the pair of them had stopped running and he heard what sounded like loud... sniffing? Well he supposed that made sense in a way. A creature down here wouldn't have much use for their eyesight and would have to rely on its hearing and sense of smell to corner prey. This was not good news. Despite their dunk into the pool earlier no doubt the pair of them still smelt of strongly of sweat and it did seem as though the snuffling was getting closer as the seconds ticked by.
Redoubling his grip on Naruto's hand he began inching along the wall hoping that he would be able to find the corridor he'd been aiming for in the first place. Hopefully he'd only misjudged by a little bit.
A little bit turned out to be optimistic though but once he found the entrance he pulled roughly on Naruto's hand and sped off once again. The thing bellowed behind them and Sasuke could hear its pursuit clearly now down the narrow passage behind them. Thankfully it didn't seem to very fast.
The problem now though was the passages weren't exactly straight. They went around corners and curves and every time Sasuke would smack his hand into a wall scraping it badly and hurting his arm. Really all having his arm stretched out in front of him did was let him know what was in front of him because they were running so fast quite a lot of the time he found himself bouncing off the walls anyway but he just spun and kept going.
This was also helped and surprisingly not hindered by Naruto being on his heels and almost running into him because Naruto was also helping Sasuke to right himself after some of the more nasty impacts and propelling him forward once more. They'd had to, by necessity, let go of one another but they were hardly going to lose each other now being in such a confined space. However, after a particularly nasty corner Naruto found his hand again only to pull Sasuke to a stop and then start dragging him along in a new direction.
They must have come to an intersection that Sasuke hadn't noticed but it still didn't explain how Naruto had noticed it or why this tunnel was a better option than the last one. But rather than waste his breath asking he just kept running. At least this was a straighter path than the last one and so far they had not only managed to keep a hold of each other but lost the sound of pursuit behind them.
Probably because Naruto didn't seem to be running into too many obstacles in this corridor.
Of course his elation seemed premature when all at once Naruto's hand was wrenched from his grip and Naruto yelled out just before Sasuke heard a big wet 'gloop' noise. He stumbled a bit himself and almost slipped on something thick and wet coating the floor.
Was it blood? Had the creature gone around and attacked them from the front, injuring Naruto?
Sasuke strained his ears for a moment but he heard nothing. No signs of pursuit, no sounds of bones being crunched either. But when something wet and slimy wrapped itself around his ankle he almost kicked whatever it was in the face. Luckily Naruto spoke before he could.
"Gah, what is this?"
Then Sasuke heard it, a scraping and snuffling sound in the tunnel behind him.
"Get up," he hissed to Naruto.
With another lot of glooping noises he heard Naruto get up but it had been slow going and he was about to reach for his sword when he felt himself get grabbed around the waist, spun and forced up against a rough rock wall. He felt Naruto press in behind him and hot breath puff against his ear and that was about when he realized that Naruto intended to shield him from the attack.
Well, fuck that. He certainly didn't need Naruto's protection. Sasuke tried to push himself away from the wall but Naruto grunted softly and pressed back in against him and by then it was way too late.
Sasuke could hear the snuffling right behind them and he stopped struggling instantly.
He figured that was about that. But instead of trying to fight their way out Naruto was going to make it easier for the creature by allowing it to kill him first. Any moment now he would hear Naruto cry out and he would fall...
…..or maybe not.
The snuffling had gotten louder at first but now it seemed to have passed them by entirely. What the hell? That thing had managed to sniff them out in an entirely different tunnel but all of a sudden couldn't find them when they had been only a couple of feet away? Not wanting to take too many chances though, the pair of them stayed still for a good long while before Sasuke elbowed Naruto in the ribs in clear wish for him to get off him.
Naruto stepped back with a muttered, 'Ow'.
Sasuke felt no sympathy at all.
"Were you trying to get yourself killed?" Sasuke asked him in a fierce whisper.
"Oh no, that's okay, you don't have to thank me," Naruto shot back annoyed but still keeping his voice low as well. "You hit me on my injured side."
"Like I care."
Sasuke's back felt like he had something stuck to it and he realized he must have gotten some of that goop stuff on him when Naruto had pressed up against him.
"What did you fall in anyway?"
"I dunno," Naruto replied. "I think it's just mud. It doesn't really smell and it feels a little rough."
Sasuke reached out toward the sound of Naruto's voice until his hand came into contact with Naruto's chest. He ran his fingers down his chest feeling the mud before drawing his hand away and rubbing it between his fingers. Well it felt like mud and Naruto was right, he realized after a cautious sniff, it smelt earthy but nothing pungent.
"This might have covered our scent from the thing," Sasuke thought out loud.
"Well that's good news," Naruto replied optimistically. "We just cover ourself in this stuff and that thing might not find us if we keep silent whenever it's around."
Sasuke had thought the same thing actually. "It's worth a shot."
"Great!"
All at once he was enveloped within two strong arms. Apparently, Naruto had the bright idea to cover Sasuke with the mud with the expedient method of rubbing up against him.
"Dobe!" Sasuke objected trying to push him away but not being able to get a decent grip on his mud slicked shoulders.
Naruto got the message and backed up though Sasuke got the distinct impression he was grinning.
"Try not to be such an idiot," Sasuke advised. "That thing is gone now but who knows if it'll double back."
"It's a cave monster Sasuke," Naruto replied his voice moving, "I don't think it's that bright."
"Neither are you," Sasuke shot back.
But Naruto wasn't too far wrong. The creature had lost their scent in this tunnel and if it wasn't intelligent enough to search this area thoroughly the first time it may well give up or just keep moving away from them and try to pick up the scent somewhere else. It might double back but if it hadn't by now, they were probably fairly safe for the time being.
"Jerk," Naruto muttered from in front of him just before Sasuke felt something wet and very cold smack against his side and then begin to spread as Naruto moved his mud slicked hand up his side.
Sasuke tried not to flinch as Naruto applied to mud to his naked skin. It was really cold but he didn't want Naruto to feel like he was getting him back for the 'idiot' comment.
Sasuke felt the muddy hand slide over his shoulder and across his chest and down, coating his skin in a thick film of the slick and slightly grainy substance. The hand went away momentarily and then it was back, sliding across his abdomen and low against his hip. And it probably wouldn't have bothered him more than it just being cold except that the hand was moving awfully slowly and Naruto was breathing just that little bit too hard.
"There's a creature chasing us," Sasuke reminded Naruto pointedly.
"I know," Naruto replied a little distracted.
"The reason I am reminding you of this is because this could be going a lot faster."
"I don't want to miss a spot."
"I can tell. Naruto."
"Hmmm?"
"Stop feeling me up is what I am really trying to say."
Naruto fingers dug into his hip. "You weren't complaining before!" he retorted angrily.
"Nor was I being chased by a monster."
He felt Naruto's hands leave him completely and felt a gust of air against his face.
"I don't know what's wrong with me." Naruto admitted with reluctance in his voice. "I think it's worse,"
"Danger makes you hornier?"
"Uh, maybe."
"That's not very helpful."
"You started it!" Naruto snapped.
"I don't think that's true. At least not entirelv."
"It is this time," Naruto told him stubbornly. "If you hadn't woken me up to mess around back there I wouldn't be so distracted. Besides, it's been days."
Well a week at least, but Sasuke didn't want to make it seem as though he was paying that much attention. Actually he was surprised at how Naruto sounded when he said that. Clearly he was still a lot more frustrated than he had been letting on and apparently Sasuke's little moment in the cave earlier had been the first real sign that anything like that would actually happen again. They had said it might, but nothing had. Not until then.
"Fine, but I think we can both agree with have bigger problems right now."
"I know that!"
Sasuke stared off in the direction of Naruto's voice for a moment a little unimpressed.
"You know this is what I was trying to avoid."
"Well you obviously didn't try hard enough."
"I don't see how this is my fault. You were acting as though you were fine, mostly. If you had gotten frustrated again you should have said something."
"Oh yeah sure, 'cause that conversation would've gone down well. 'Hey Sasuke I'm a little jumpy, wanna fool around?' You would've just given me the same look that I'm pretty sure you're giving me now and not talked to me for the rest of the day. Besides, I didn't wanna be the only one."
Sasuke wiped whatever look he had off his face even though Naruto couldn't possibly see it in the dark and realized that back in the caves he had apparently lost a battle of wills he hadn't been aware had been going on. Naruto hadn't wanted to be the first one to crack and more or less hadn't been. For some reason that really annoyed him. And it really made Sasuke feel as though he should reassert some sort of control here, cave monster be damned.
"It'll probably annoy you to know that what was about to happen back in that cave was the first time I'd even thought about it again," Sasuke lied. "You've been competing against me in a competition I didn't even know I was winning till then."
"Shut up. I get it, you have better restraint and all the rest," Naruto replied in yes, that was definitely an annoyed tone. "But I won't be the next one to crack."
"You already did," Sasuke reminded him. "You admitted to being frustrated again. Admit it again and I might be persuaded to do something about it."
What was he doing? They had a monster chasing them, they had bigger problems here and all he could think about was not appearing like the weak frustrated one again. And for some completely illogical reason he was so committed to prove it, he was willing to do just about anything no matter what else was happening and whatever tried to eat them while they stood in the corridor bickering.
"Yeah sure," Naruto replied unconvinced, obviously thinking that Sasuke was joking. "We have a monster chasing us, remember? I thought you said we had bigger things to worry about."
"I want your brain, such as it is, back in proper control. Besides," Sasuke added with a smirk. "I doubt it would take all that long."
"Bastard!" Naruto swore. "Well you can go fuck yourself. If I was feeling even a little bit frustrated before you've pretty much killed it anyway."
"Uh huh. Fine then, finish with the mud so we can go back and try and find our torch."
"Finish it yourself."
"Don't want to tempt yourself again?" Sasuke teased.
"No. It wouldn't tempt me. I just don't want to touch you at all right now."
Sasuke lost his smile at that. He was used to pushing Naruto and pissing him off but he wasn't so used to actually caring about the consequences before. Oh, not that he really cared about Naruto's emotional well being, but Naruto was stubborn sometimes. And if Sasuke made him hate the mere thought of touching him again now then it was far less likely to ever happen again. And sure, it might solve a lot of problems in the long run but something about the thought didn't sit well with him.
Sasuke reached out in front of him and found Naruto's arm in the darkness. He felt Naruto almost recoil at the unexpected touch but didn't give him a chance to tell him off. Instead he stepped up closer to him and moved in. He reached down and opened the button on Naruto's pants and slid his hand down inside till he found what he was after.
Naruto gasped at first and then went to step away from him, obviously attempting to free himself but Sasuke's grip on his arm tightened till he felt his nails were on the verge of breaking skin as a clear warning not to move.
"Godsdamnit Sasuke, cut it out!"
Actually Sasuke wasn't entirely sure what had gotten into him. This was probably the most forward he'd ever been with this so far and he wasn't sure if it was concern, adrenaline or the masking darkness that made him not care how he was acting but it seemed like an easy solution at the time.
"I mean it Sasuke!"
Naruto grabbed the arm that had found its way into his pants and was probably intending to yank Sasuke's hand out when Sasuke grasped him tightly. Then he felt Naruto's grip go a little loose and he was free to start moving his hand.
"Doesn't seem like you mean it, " Sasuke told him gently moving his head forward till their foreheads touched and he could hear every little sound coming out of Naruto's mouth.
Not that Naruto spoke to him after that. He occasionally gripped his arm tighter as though resolving to make Sasuke stop before apparently rethinking it and letting him do whatever he wanted. And Sasuke wasn't entirely sure what he wanted out of this little venture. Feeling the hot and very hard cock in his hand was a vague sort of turn on but his own frustration from earlier failed to come back and he wasn't craving any sort of touch himself.
He assumed that this was more about winning at the moment than about pleasure and the fact that Naruto kept giving up on his little resistance was only egging him on even more.
He did wonder if maybe he was being a little too forceful about this. Naruto had told him to stop but then if Naruto truly did want him to stop he would punch Sasuke in the face and push him away. But his resistance was token at best so Sasuke didn't let it stop him.
He was right about one thing at least, it didn't take long. Even through the sensations, Naruto admirably did his best to keep all sound to a minimum but Sasuke didn't miss the shuddering of his body nor the sudden quivering of breath before Sasuke felt a warm flow over his fingers and Naruto's whole body sag. He withdrew his hand and went to wipe his fingers against the side of Naruto's pants but only managed to coat his fingers in mud instead. He also loosened his grip on Naruto's arm knowing that Naruto was going to have some dark bruises there later.
For the longest time Naruto didn't make a sound other than deep breathing.
"Feel better?" Sasuke asked lightly.
"No."
Even Sasuke might have been a little put off by the response had he not heard the lie for what it was.
"So you don't want me to ever do that again?"
Naruto was a little slower replying this time. "I didn't say that."
"Are you thinking a little clearer?"
"I think you're an asshole."
Well, that was pretty much back to normal.
"Good. Let's finish with the mud and try and retrace our steps. I want to find that torch."
Naruto obligingly found the mud supply again and instead of showing Sasuke where it was continued to coat his exposed skin with the substance. This time though he made quick work of it and didn't dawdle and then they began the task of finding their way back again.
As they walked Naruto finally seemed to find his voice again. "I'm going to get you back you know, when we get out of here."
"Uh huh, sure."
"You don't think I will?"
"I just wouldn't be so sure I will let you."
"You will, you wont be able to help yourself."
Well at least he sounded confident enough to act like himself again.
They managed to make it back to where they had left the torch without too many hassles but Sasuke stopped himself from lighting it straight away. He needed time to think about what they were going to do next now that his plans had been entirely ruined.
Sleeping was probably out of the question with that thing wandering around down here with them.
But it wasn't like they had enough torch remaining to get them through the night anyway. But the answer to their problems completely eluded him because first and foremost he couldn't stop thinking about a warm shuddering body, moaning and clutching his arm while he...
He shook his head to clear it, very thankful that Naruto could not see him do it.
At the time he might have done it because it felt powerful and helped Naruto to focus on their situation rather than touching him. But the after effect of his little power-trip made him think that he probably shouldn't have given in so easily to his urges. Better to wait until this was over and he didn't need his brain to think with. But no, Naruto cracking under the pressure had been enough to push him into wanting to widen that crack even further and now he couldn't stop thinking about it.
Especially Naruto's last words about getting him back.
Naruto had said it would be after they got out of here but Naruto wasn't exactly the most patient person on the face of the planet. Would his resolve last that long? Would it even occur to him once they got out? Or would he even last that long before just acting on impulse?
Naruto wasn't exactly predictable either so Sasuke found himself being on guard just in case he took it into his head to get him back prematurely. But the minutes dragged on while Sasuke stood there and attempted to think a way out of their predicament while Naruto droned on about something or other while distracting thoughts about just how and when Naruto might get him back kept encroaching on his thoughts.
Sasuke attempted to refocus. It would still be better if they could find somewhere relatively defensible and wait it out till morning. They still needed the outside sunlight to show them holes and possible escape routes and... why the fuck won't Naruto just get me back already?
Sasuke's rambling thoughts ground to a sudden halt right then.
What the fuck is wrong with me?
He felt a sudden touch on his arm that made him embarrassingly start then close his eyes and clench his teeth together. False alarm, Naruto just wanted to get his attention.
"Sasuke?"
"What?" Sasuke snapped.
"I've been saying your name for like a minute, what's up with you?"
"Thinking," Sasuke told him honestly.
"Well I was just saying that if you still want to wait it out till morning I figure we could take turns sleeping. We could hole up in one of the those small spaces we passed by."
Why hadn't he thought of that? Oh yeah, because he was going crazy.
"I suppose that's an option," Sasuke allowed carefully.
"We can probably find it without lighting the torch too," Naruto continued. "C'mon."
He grabbed Sasuke's hand just like during their escape and started leading him off again.
It was sort of annoying that Naruto seemed a lot more orientated down here as well. Sasuke found himself being able to lose himself easily in the darkness but Naruto seemed to have a knack for remembering their progress that was quite impressive. Which is perhaps the only reason Sasuke let himself be led and also why he didn't jerk his hand free of Naruto's hold the moment they were back in the passageway.
Sasuke didn't often feel the need to be reassured but it was reassuring in a way to feel Naruto's warm sure grip in his own leading him onwards. Being the take charge sort of personality he was he figured he would hate this but for the moment he felt better rather than worse at Naruto's confidence so he didn't bother to over analyze it much.
Soon Naruto dragged him off to the side and Sasuke did pull his hand free now to inspect the area around them with his hands. Well, it wasn't the best place to lie low. It was a tiny area really, just off the corridor, which didn't offer much in the way of defense.
But because it was so small it also meant that nothing could get at them easily without alarming them but it also meant that if something did corner them in here there was also no escape. But what else could they do, wander along in the dark hoping something better might magically present itself to them?
"It'll do," Sasuke concluded.
He heard Naruto sit against the back of the small chamber. "Do you mind if I sleep first? I'm really wiped."
This was an odd request for Naruto who would always try to cover up the need for rest if it seemed as though Sasuke didn't need it.
"Fine."
He was too wired to rest anyway. So Sasuke sat with his back to the wall and listened as Naruto stretched out to go to sleep. There wasn't a lot of room though and he bumped the side of Sasuke's leg a few times trying to get comfortable.
"Sorry," Naruto muttered.
Sasuke reached forward, found Naruto's leg in front of him and realized Naruto's problem. There was just enough room to lay down assuming you didn't have someone sitting with their legs in the space yours needed to go. So Sasuke moved his own legs, knees bent and planted his feet between Naruto's stretched legs so Naruto could lay his own leg in the space underneath. Sasuke just hoped he wouldn't have to move too quickly.
TBC
