Author's note: I actually managed to finish this chapter at a decent hour - well, decent hour according to my standards at least.

Thanks to the following reviewers: solitare1; 666snoopy; Richon

Warnings: Implied mature content

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto owns it.

I hope you'll like it!

Chapter 36

"Right, and I'm the weirdo. Pretty sure this is the pot calling the kettle black," Naruto said amused, causing Karin to grin even wider. "So anyone else joining in on the fun?"

"No, just you four," Father replied and picked up a map, folding it open. "It might be a bit risky, but having the group being too big doesn't seem like a good idea either. Four at most is the safest, I think."

"So where are we going?" Karin questioned curiously, wandering over to join them at the table.

"To a place that's a lot further from here than before," Father sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. He tapped on a place on the map: a city none of them had visited before because travel would take at least a week, if not even longer. "It can't be helped, though. Tsunade-sama reminded me of a hospital up north that might be worth checking out."

"And what do we need to look for in that hospital?" Sasuke lifted an eyebrow. If this was about regular medical supplies, he was fairly certain there were still hospitals closer to their compound that they hadn't looted yet.

"If we're lucky, that hospital will still have some prosthetics left, perhaps even medication that we could use," Father answered. "We're talking about a big ' if' here, of course, but we have to try it."

"We're going to look for a prosthetic arm for Deidara then?" Naruto asked curiously, bending over to study the map carefully.

Father nodded in confirmation. "He's practicing to become used to living with one arm, but it would be easier for him if he can use a decent prosthetic."

"Mind, even if we do find one, that doesn't mean it'll be a perfect fit for him," Sasuke cautioned, pursing his lips.

He barely knew anything about prosthetics – next to nothing as a matter of fact – but he was almost completely certain that a prosthetic had to be adjusted to the size of the one who would wear it.

"I realise that, but Sasori-san has already assured me that he would try doing the adjustments if there's a need for it," Father riposted. "That's a worry for later, though, if you actually manage to find a prosthetic arm. Tsunade-sama remembers this hospital had a department for that in the past, but seeing as that was quite a while ago, we might end up with nothing in the end."

"On the other hand," Karin mused thoughtfully, "how many people would really need a prosthetic nowadays? Most people will focus on medicine and food when it comes to looting buildings, not prosthetics."

"I guess the only way to find out is to go there and see for ourselves," Naruto said nonchalantly. His fingers traced the roads between their compound and the city in question, following the lines slowly. "Looks like it might take us nearly two weeks to go there and get back if the roads are still decent."

"Most likely two weeks, yes. I can't say I'm happy about sending you out that far, but if we can find a prosthetic that would help out Deidara-san …" Father trailed off, heaving another sigh. "There's a reason why I'm sending you four instead of others: you have a lot of experience out there and know how to best handle yourselves. Itachi, Kisame-san and Ino-san are going on a run a bit closer to home, so they can't do this one." He looked apologetically at them.

"It's okay," Karin reassured him. "We'll see how much we can take back with us."

"If you don't have any questions anymore, you can spend today gathering supplies you want to take with you. You'll leave at eight tomorrow. Naruto-san, can you inform Gaara-san about the plan?"

"Yeah, no problem," Naruto agreed and tapped the map. "Mind if I take this with me to show him the road?"

"No, go ahead," Father said, stepping back from the table.

"We'll meet each other at the gates tomorrow then?" Karin suggested, giving them a questioning look.

Sasuke inclined his head. "Sounds good to me."

Naruto merely nodded his assent and snatched the map from the table before he followed Sasuke and Karin outside. She waved at them cheerfully before she returned to her own home in order to prepare for the run tomorrow.

"I'll see you at your apartment in a bit then?" Sasuke inquired while Naruto stretched his arms with a soft grunt. "If we're going to be gone for two weeks, we'll need enough supplies to tie us over."

"Yeah, sounds good to me. I'll see you soon then," Naruto smiled and pecked his mouth before he walked away.

Itachi was still home, preparing a late breakfast when Sasuke arrived home.

"Did father inform you about the hospital?" he asked when Sasuke joined him in the kitchen. He was finishing making a sandwich with homemade jam.

"Yeah, can't say I'm sure that we'll find a suitable prosthetic there, but it's worth a try at least," Sasuke replied, leaning against the kitchen counter. He eyed his brother carefully. "Father's sending me, Naruto, Gaara and Karin on this run."

"I know, he told me about it last night," Itachi confirmed. "He was trying to decide who he could send, seeing as Kisame and I are unable to go. I told him you four were the best choice for this."

"Why's that? I thought you didn't like me leaving for long runs?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

Nearly four years into the zombie apocalypse Itachi still wasn't a fan of Sasuke going on runs which took longer than a couple of days. Everyone needed to pitch in, though, and Sasuke had never been the type to remain idle while watching others do all the work. Was he fond of risking his life each time he left the walls? No, definitely not, but it was part of their lives now. They could whine and complain all they wanted, it wouldn't change reality.

"I don't like it. I can't say I'm a fan of you risking your life," Itachi smiled wryly, putting down the knife. "I'm not going to belittle your skills, though. I know you and Karin-san are one of the best around here; Naruto-kun and Gaara-kun know probably better than any of us how to survive on the road. If there is any group who can make it during such a long run, it'll be you four. That said," his smile turned even wryer, "please do be careful out there. I doubt any of us made it out that far until now."

"When am I ever not careful?"

"Your luck has been a bit iffy lately," Itachi said apologetically.

Sasuke opened his mouth to protest, but then he recalled his run-in with Sakon's group and that godforsaken town with the crazy priestess and he considered that yes, perhaps his luck had been rather on the iffy side lately. At the same time, however, he had survived those dangerous situations every time, so his luck couldn't be that shitty.

"Like you said, Karin is one of the best and Naruto and Gaara know how to survive. We'll be okay," Sasuke sighed, crossing his arms.

His brother lowered his head, smiling faintly. "You're going to prepare for tomorrow?"

"Yeah, once I'm finished, I'm visiting Naruto. We might come here for dinner, maybe even with Gaara; not sure yet," Sasuke replied.

Naruto had joined them for dinner before with Gaara showing up a couple of times as well, but it all depended on their mood. It all appeared to be contingent on the day.

"Sounds good, I'll see you tonight if you decide to come over," Itachi said and squeezed his shoulder gently before picking up his sandwich and walking to the living room.

Sasuke went upstairs, unearthing his largest bag from the bottom of his wardrobe. He covered the bottom with a change of clothes, just in case he needed to replace his tomorrow. On top of the extra outfit he added his gun and extra bullets; a couple of knives joining the weapon. Returning downstairs, he rummaged through the cupboards to retrieve food that could be preserved for a while. If they were lucky they could catch something to eat while on the road, but it wouldn't be smart to count on finding food even with it being spring. Better to be prepared for everything as the saying went.

The food was divided between the largest bag and a smaller one, together with several bottles of water. A pouch containing the most urgent medical aid supplies, consisting out of bandages, disinfectant, a pair of scissors and even needle and thread, was put in the bag as well. A couple of blankets covered the water bottles and the medical supplies from view and he zipped both bags shut. He considered if he should leave his bags here for now, but he wasn't certain whether Naruto and or Gaara would join them for dinner tonight. He could go back home later this evening on his own, but even after several months of living here, it was doubtful whether Naruto and Gaara were actually eating decently. At least if Sasuke was around, he could be certain that they would eat enough.

Sometimes Sasuke swore those two were still in the mindset of being on the road where they were required to ration food, because when he was pretty sure that when he wasn't around, they were unlikely to eat the regular three meals a day if they weren't feeling like it.

"Ah, fuck it," he sighed and snatched the bags from his bed after picking up his katana.

He stuck his head through the doorway of the living room where Itachi sat on the couch, jotting something down in a notebook.

"Do we still have tents left in the storage?" he inquired curiously.

They would take a car to make the journey, of course, but sleeping with four people in such a cramped space would grow uncomfortable really fast even with one or two of them remaining awake at all times.

Itachi looked up; his eyebrows drawing together. "We normally have at least two in the storage," he answered after a short pause. "You can take them both with you if you want."

"You sure?"

"Yes, nobody else will leave for such a long trip, so you'll be able to make better use of them," Itachi stated, glancing at the hint of one of the bags peeking from behind the doorway. "You're leaving now?"

"Yep, going to see if he and Gaara want to come over tonight."

"All right, enjoy your day off," Itachi chuckled, turning his attention back to his notebook.

Sasuke scoffed, feeling a bit rankled at his brother's amused tone, but decided to forego starting an argument about it, choosing instead to leave the house and make his way across the compound to Naruto's apartment building. His footsteps echoed in the staircase when he ascended the stairs, passing by a mother carrying her young son on her hip on their way down. They exchanged a nod in greeting; the small boy mumbling something incomprehensibly. The second he set foot in the hallway of the right floor, the door to Naruto's and Gaara's apartment opened already; the blond man bracing his right shoulder against the doorframe.

"Fully packed?" Naruto questioned, throwing a glance at the bags.

"Yeah, we have to stop by the storage room tomorrow before we leave to pick up the tents there, but that can wait for now," Sasuke answered, entering the apartment once Naruto stepped aside. "You two ready? Where's Gaara?" he asked upon noticing the other man wasn't here.

"Yep, we're ready." Naruto gestured at three bags on the table with the two crossbows resting in front of them. "Gaara's gone to the stockroom to pick up more bullets and more bolts. Two weeks on the road requires a bit more weapon preparation than if we would have left for just a couple of days. You never know how much ammunition we'll end up using. You want some water?"

"Yeah, thanks," Sasuke mumbled absently and dropped his bags against the wall before approaching the table, eyeing the three bags on top of it. Growing a tad suspicious, he pressed down on the bags experimentally. Yeah, just as he thought. "You only packed your weapons?" he called out, unable to stop himself from sounding a tad disapproving.

"Uhuh, plus a change of clothes if we land in hot water," Naruto called back from the kitchen. A short pause followed before he added with a snort, "Didn't exactly mean that one as a pun. I meant, if we end up covered in zombie guts and need to change clothes. Anyways, so yeah, weapons and clothes."

"No food at all?"

He heard the sound of glass being placed onto a counter. "We don't see the need for it. We can always catch something on the road like we did before. We did pack some water, though. Safe water can be a bitch to find."

"Right, because that's going to get you far," Sasuke muttered darkly and looked around the apartment; his stomach squirming uncomfortably.

Not for the first time since he had been invited into Naruto's and Gaara's apartment did he take note of just how bare the place still looked. Save for the bags with weapons and the crossbows in view, there was nothing that really indicated two people lived here. If they would disappear one day there wouldn't be anything left to show that they had ever lived here. The walls stayed empty, the furniture was still the same as when they had moved in and nothing had been added as décor in the months they had been living here. It was as if they were nothing but temporary residents, travellers who would stay for a couple of days before leaving again.

Sasuke couldn't say why the sight of the bare apartment bothered him so much right now. Was it because even now both Naruto and Gaara appeared to not really care about their health, only ensuring they had enough weapons so that they wouldn't die? Had their time on the road diminished their appetite so much that they didn't even consider that they should take some food with them? Sure, it was true that they could catch something on the road, but …

Or was it something else? Something Sasuke couldn't exactly figure out, but which set him on edge for some reason, causing him to scowl at the empty walls as if they had personally offended him.

"Keep glaring at those walls; you might actually succeed in setting fire to them with your eyes alone," Naruto remarked idly and put two glasses filled with water on the table. "What's on your mind, hm?"

"Do you still want to leave the compound?"

The question escaped Sasuke before he could reconsider and he blinked, his scowl deepening. That question sounded way too pathetic for his liking but there was no taking it back now; no way to spin it into something else or pretend he had something different.

Naruto stilled, pressing his lips together. "We're not simply talking about the run of tomorrow, right?" he sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

"No, we aren't," Sasuke replied curtly.

Silence hung between them for a while. Sasuke awaited the answer Naruto was obviously thinking about; the blond man wearing a contemplative look as he stared down at the floor, his arms loosely crossed in front of him.

"I'm not going to lie: we weren't planning on getting settled in when we arrived here," Naruto eventually said; a tiny frown marring his forehead. "Quite frankly, we thought we'd stay here for a month at best before leaving again. After all the shit we'd gone through before we weren't really in the mood to be stabbed in the back again, you know?" He chuckled mirthlessly; his eyes darkening a shade.

"And now?"

Naruto peered at him; his face softening just a fraction. He shrugged. "Now I've got you and Gaara is happy to stay here with me."

"Does this mean you're staying here for good?" Sasuke asked; his heart beating a tad quicker.

"It means that for now I don't have any reason to leave," Naruto said, reaching out to grab his hands. "I can't promise we'll stay here for good because nobody knows what's going to happen in the future. For now, though, we're not planning on leaving any time soon."

Well, Sasuke guessed that was the best he could expect, especially when neither Naruto nor Gaara had ever planned on staying for long to begin with.

"What brought this on?" Naruto questioned and started to play with his fingers, rubbing them gently between his.

"Just started thinking about how you don't have anything personal here," Sasuke admitted before lifting an eyebrow. "And how you two still refuse to take food with you on long runs."

That made Naruto roll his eyes and he squeezed Sasuke's fingers to the point of verging on painful. "Again, we believe weapons are a lot more useful than hauling around food. Food, which I might add, that we can catch ourselves if it's necessary."

"Ever heard of preparing for everything?" Sasuke couldn't help but shoot back snarky.

"Ever heard of trusting the word of people who have a shit ton experience on the road?" Naruto riposted easily, raising both eyebrows.

"Do you even have food here that you can take with you?" Sasuke asked suspiciously, shooting a glance at the kitchen.

"Nothing that keeps fresh for at least a week," Naruto answered serenely. Then he furrowed his eyebrows. "Are we really going to argue about this right now?"

"Fine, but can you at least consider adding something to this apartment to make it more homey and less like a sterile place?" Sasuke complained with a huff.

Something that actually makes it look like you two are planning on staying here for real?

"Or you could just keep some of your stuff here," Naruto suggested unruffled. "Might probably be easier even, seeing as you spend a lot of time here anyways."

Sasuke opened his mouth but paused then, unsure how to reply to that when it sounded a whole lot like Naruto was asking him to –

"Now, given that we have a day off and we're basically finished prepping for tomorrow, can I suck you off?"

The actual question didn't register at first, only the light-hearted tone did, but the second Sasuke's brain caught up to what Naruto had asked, an embarrassing choking noise escaped him, making Naruto laugh in delight.

"What the hell kind of question is that?! What about Gaara?" Sasuke hissed; his eyes shooting to the door as if Gaara would arrive any second now. That could be true; he had no idea how long ago Gaara had left and how long it would take him to collect enough ammunition.

"It's a very serious question actually. Don't worry about Gaara; we've got a bedroom with a door for a reason." Naruto winked; his eyes glistening. "Going to be honest here: it's been a while since we last did something and I kind of really want to get my hands on your dick. Or my mouth. Or hell, we can fuck; I'm up for anything to be honest, if you're in the mood?"

"You're fucking unbelievable," Sasuke muttered and shook his head in disbelief even as a certain part of his body was growing quite interested in this turn of their conversation.

Naruto's look turned coy; white flashed when his teeth dug down in his bottom lip and he stepped closer. His hands left Sasuke's and dipped down to land on his hips; his thumbs digging down right below the waistband.

"Doesn't feel like you're disagreeing with my idea," he murmured; his thumbs sliding closer to Sasuke's groin, gradually putting pressure on either side of it.

It was difficult to disagree with the way Naruto was looking at him; the way those blue eyes were glittering and his body was pressing closely against Sasuke.

"Well," Sasuke mused, running his hands down Naruto's back, feeling him subtly arch his back, "I suppose we should take advantage of the alone time we have, hm? Behind closed doors."

He rather didn't want to give Gaara an eyeful if the man happened to get back soon.

"Great minds think alike," Naruto whispered before their mouths locked together in a deep kiss.

They stumbled their way into the bedroom, locking the door behind them. They fell onto the bed next, hastily undressing each other and letting the clothes fly through the room. Their clothes ended up somewhere on the floor, but Sasuke wasn't particularly interested in them, not when Naruto hooked his leg around his and rolled them both around until Sasuke ended up on his back with Naruto sliding down between his legs.

"Oh fuck!" Sasuke screwed his eyes shut, his hands shooting down to grab silky smooth blond hair when a hot wet mouth closed around his length, a devious tongue probing before those lips sank lower, taking more and more of him inside.

Clearly Naruto wasn't in the mood to tease, because he took to sucking him off with such a gusto and determination that Sasuke was seeing stars long before he actually came. Naruto bobbed his head up and down with a single-minded focus that had Sasuke looking away before he would blow his load too soon, even as his hips started to thrust almost involuntarily into Naruto's mouth, sinking into that wet heaven over and over again. He wanted to keep still, unwilling to potentially hurt Naruto even with the desire racing through his veins. He lost that fight, however, the second Naruto pulled away; a thread of saliva connecting his lips to the tip before the thread snapped when Naruto lifted his head.

"Feel free to use my mouth any way you like, I don't mind," he said almost casually, if not for the rough undertone his voice had taken on as he wrapped his fingers around Sasuke's girth, continuing the pressure. Right before he lowered himself back down, removing his hand, he added, "You can come in my mouth too if you'd like."

Fucking hell, but he was going to be the death of him, Sasuke was sure. He groaned when Naruto sucked him again, his tongue sliding around as he gradually lowered himself again, halting right before Sasuke would hit the back of his throat. No hands held down Sasuke's hips when they started thrusting up, shoving himself deeper into Naruto's mouth, and Sasuke's legs spasmed ; his fingers tightening around blond strands as the fire kept building and building, spreading through his veins, setting every single nerve alight until –

He came with a muffled shout, barely slamming a pillow over his head on time as he spilled into Naruto's mouth; his hips weakly rolling to chase after the high. If Gaara had already returned, he had no idea at all. There was faint ringing his ears and he blinked fuzzily when the pillow was taken away from his head, Naruto's smiling face popping up above him.

"So," Naruto grinned almost Cheshire-like, licking his lips as he drew circles across Sasuke's chest, "think you can get it up for a second round? Gaara isn't here yet."

Yeah, Naruto was definitely going to be the death of him. Fuck if this wasn't a death he would happily welcome, though.

"Oh, you got tents?" Karin asked; her eyes brightening up with excitement when Sasuke stuffed the dark green bags in the boot of the car, shoving them to the left side.

This car possessed a particularly large boot; it was a vehicle Anko had found during one of her runs around seven months ago, pushing it all the way back here from the place she had found it. It had been in need of some new brake pads, which she had pilfered from another car, but that had been the sole thing wrong with it. The large boot would come in handy if they managed to find some good stuff.

"Yeah, the only two that were in storage," Sasuke confirmed, loading the rest of their gathered bags into the boot. He kept the one containing the medical supplies to the side so they could keep it with them.

"How big are they?" Naruto asked interestedly; his crossbow slung across his shoulder.

Gaara halted next to him, stretching his arms.

"Large enough that you can share it with two," Karin smirked, nudging him in his side.

He twitched as if to step away but surprisingly didn't move. Instead he smirked in return. "Aren't you going to feel pretty lonely then, huh?"

She gasped mock-offended and placed her hand on her chest. "Okay, just because you're getting dick on the regular doesn't mean you have to remind the rest of us of our lonely existence," she sniffed. "Besides, I can share one with Gaara-san."

"I'm not the type to share," Gaara commented blankly at the same time Naruto said smugly, "True and I'm enjoying every fucking minute of it."

"Okay, first of, you are rude," she informed Gaara before turning to Naruto and pouting, "And second of all, yeah, yeah, rub it in, why don't you."

""You wish you could get it rubbed in," he responded just as fast, making her laugh in surprise and swatting his shoulder.

"All right, that's the end of this particular conversation," Sasuke announced abruptly and shut the boot extra loudly before their talk could spiral into details he didn't want anyone to know.

Especially not father and Itachi who were approaching them right this very moment.

Gaara snorted amused, smirking when Sasuke glowered at him.

"You ready to leave?" Father inquired; his eyes flitting from Sasuke to Naruto to Gaara to Karin and back.

"Yes, we've got everything," Sasuke replied and snatched the key from Karin's hand.

"Hey! I was going to drive!" she protested, trying to get the key back.

He simply stepped out of her reach, pocketing the key in the meantime. "You lost that privilege just now," he deadpanned.

"Me?" she gasped offended and pointed accusingly at Naruto. "Why am I the only one being punished here? What about him then? Not like he didn't say anything!"

"Ah, but I'm the one who we-"

Before Naruto could finish that horrible sentence, Sasuke slapped a hand over his mouth, cutting him off; ignoring Itachi's amused look.

"Shut up, you idiot."

Gaara raised a hand in the air. "I'd like to point out that I didn't say anything at all, so why can't I drive?"

"Because you did nothing to stop this idiot from running his mouth. I'll be the one driving today, end of story," Sasuke stated and jerked his head at the car. "Now all of you get inside before I decide to leave without you."

"Testy, testy," Karin grumbled, clucking her tongue, but opened the door to the backseat.

When Sasuke removed his hand from Naruto's mouth – who was still looking way too smugly for someone who had been shut up like that – he was surprised to see Deidara approaching them.

The end of his amputated arm was still wrapped with a white bandage, but the colour had since long returned to his face and since a couple of weeks he was no longer confined to the infirmary; having picked up some chores again since then.

"Leaving today, un?" he smiled, stopping next to Itachi. "I'm glad I managed to get here before you left. Just wanted to say that you shouldn't put yourselves in danger for my sake. If that hospital is flooded with dead bastards or it gets dangerous in any other way, un, forget about the prosthetic and just get back here. No sense in giving up your lives for a piece of equipment."

"We'll be careful," Sasuke promised, just as much to reassure Deidara as it was to soothe his family's worries.

Just because both father and Itachi had agreed over whom to send on the run didn't mean they were happy about it. Chances were high that even with Sasuke's reassurance they still wouldn't be at ease until they had returned.

"Okay, take care of yourselves, be careful and have a good run," Father said, breathing in deeply.

Sasuke glanced down when Naruto stroked the inside of his wrist. "Come on, let's go."

While Naruto got into the passenger's side of the car and Gaara joined Karin in the back, Sasuke exchanged a quick embrace with father and Itachi, allowing Deidara to hug him fleetingly as well before he grabbed the car key out of his pocket and slid behind the wheel.

"Okay," Karin said brightly as the gates slowly rolled open in front of them. "Let's get this road trip started!"

AN2: Prepare yourselves for some shit that's about to go down.

Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.

I hope to see you all back in the next chapter! Please stay safe and take care of yourselves!

Cuddles

Melissa

P.S. For more information about my upcoming and posted stories, please visit my profile.