Author's note: Had to basically write the whole chapter today still, but it's finished!
Thanks to the following reviewer: 666snoopy
Warnings: Implied mature content; minor time skip
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto owns it.
I hope you'll like it!
Chapter 20
"I can't believe you actually found lube in this dump," was the first thing Sasuke could think of to say when he recovered from his surprise.
Naruto pouted. "Hey, this place isn't so bad!" he defended the poor excuse of a shed. "It's got a bed and everything! What more do you want?"
"For the walls and the roof to not look like they are about to collapse on top of me," Sasuke retorted dryly. "How long have those bottles even been here? Does that expire?"
"Got not clue how long they have been here, but it looks like the buyer got the ones with the longest shelf life, because the date on these is still a year from now," Naruto replied and waggled the bottle back and forth. "Guess it's just pure luck that I found these on time."
"How do you even know that lube can expire?" Sasuke questioned amused, quirking an eyebrow.
Naruto grinned, tilting his head to the left. "Gaara and I got stuck in a library once while we were waiting for a herd to pass by. There were too many of them for us to try to fight our way through, so we just bunked down there and spent some time reading." He shrugged and his grin gained a mischievous hint. "The sexual health section there was surprisingly detailed, let's keep it at that."
"Of course that was the section that caught your attention," Sasuke scoffed and grabbed Naruto's hips, using his grip to pull him closer. "But you know, if you wanted some time alone you should have just said so. There was no need to make this shed all cosy for this."
"I thought it would be awkward if we did it at your place with your dad and brother around," Naruto smiled crookedly and his free hand reached up, curling around the back of Sasuke's neck. "Gaara is at the apartment and even if he would leave for a while, the walls are rather thin."
"That sure you're going to be a screamer?" Sasuke joked, raising an eyebrow.
Naruto biting down on his lower lip distracted him enough that a light shock of surprise ran through him when Naruto pressed himself so close against Sasuke that no space was left between them. "If you play your cards well, you might find out."
"I might find out, hm?" Sasuke smirked and when Naruto rose up slightly, Sasuke made use of his momentary distraction to spin him around, quickly pushing him onto the bed.
The bedframe creaked slightly in protest but fortunately – and quite frankly, surprisingly – it held the blond's weight. Naruto crawled backwards, getting himself more comfortably situated on the bed before kicking off his shoes, letting them drop onto the floor with a dull 'thump'.
"Aren't you lucky that I tested out if the bed's strong enough to hold our weight," he groused but beckoned for Sasuke to join him on the bed. "If it hadn't been, I could have crashed onto my butt on the ground, you dick."
"How exactly did you test that?" Sasuke braced his right knee against the edge of the mattrass after taking off his own shoes, and watched Naruto drop the bottle between them on the bed. "Did you make Gaara test out the bed too?"
Somehow he couldn't imagine that Gaara would have been happy to play guinea pig in this dump.
Naruto chuckled and sat up to wriggle out of his jacket. He let it slide out of his hand onto the floor, kicking up a small cloud of dust.
"Nah, Gaara doesn't even know about this place," he replied amused. " I just fell onto the bed a couple of times to test out the frame, see if it was still sturdy enough to hold our weight. That test came with a lot more dust than I expected, but it did prove that we won't fall through immediately. I mean, I don't think we should go super wild on it, but it should hold."
"Thought about everything, huh?" Sasuke leant sideways to the wall and placed his katana against it before pulling off his own jacket.
It felt weird, taking off his clothes in a place that wasn't home but even when he pricked his ears and concentrated really well, he couldn't pick up the tell-tale sound of zombies grunting or their familiar death rattle so for now at least they were safe.
"Little secret of mine: I can be quite thorough if I'm motivated," Naruto replied with a crooked smile and hooked his finger around Sasuke's collar, using it to drag him down.
As soon as Sasuke was close enough, Naruto raised his legs, bending them at the knee, and caged Sasuke between them; his finger tracing Sasuke's collarbone.
"Got to remember that sex motivates you," Sasuke muttered and braced his hands on either side of Naruto's head so he wouldn't land on top of him and hurt him.
"Sex with you motivates me," Naruto corrected, his eyes glittering. He clucked his tongue next and tugged insistingly at Sasuke's jeans. "Come on now, less talking, more fucking."
"Real subtle there," Sasuke teased, but would lie if he claimed to be opposed to the idea at all.
He caught Naruto's mouth in a deep kiss, feeling his pleased moan vibrating against his mouth. Somehow, even though their lips barely parted, they managed to flick open the buttons of their jeans and lower the zippers; a fact Sasuke's dick appreciated a lot now that it was no longer compressed against the back of the zipper. A different kind of pressure was steadily building within him and he kissed Naruto harder, needing an outlet.
When their lips parted, Naruto mumbled, "I'm always subtle," because naturally he needed to have the last word even in this situation.
"Who's talking now?" Sasuke shot back.
Both of them simultaneously moaned when their cloth covered groins rubbed against each other when they rocked their hips. Sasuke pulled away slightly for a bit to push his jeans down more to prevent jeans burn on his member. Could you even get jeans burn? Whatever, he wasn't going to test it out. The corners of his mouth twitched when he watched how Naruto wiggled around to lower his own jeans further down, exposing smooth, strong thighs – and an orange boxer short.
"Orange, seriously?" Sasuke couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry at the sight of the garish colour. Where had he even managed to find that?
Naruto pouted in response and dragged him back down. "Screw you, orange is an amazing colour, okay? And you can't exactly be picky during an apocalypse!" he insisted.
"Why do I think you were actually picky when it came to this underwear?" Sasuke mused aloud but kissed him again before he could think of a retort. Sasuke could think of more important things to do, anyways, aside from arguing about the colour of one's underwear.
"Orange is orange," Naruto mumbled nonsensically.
He kissed Sasuke almost desperately when he started deliberately gyrating their hips together; sparks flitting over his spine with every bump and rub and thrust.
"Come on, come on, get rid of them already," Naruto babbled and pulled at Sasuke's underwear, tugging the elastic away from his skin. "Not in the mood to walk around with spunk in my underwear; that's a bitch to clean."
"Quite a bit of experience, hm?" Sasuke easily acquiesced, though, making use of his position on top to tug both their underwear down, exposing them both.
"Yeeeeeessss," Naruto hissed in delight; his eyes rolling back when their hips brushed against each other without a barrier this time.
Whether his answer was to Sasuke's question or a reaction to what was currently happening wasn't exactly clear but Sasuke couldn't care less about that at the moment.
Not when he was gifted the privilege of seeing Naruto's face so open and trusting for what was possibly the first time since they had met. Not when he lowered his face in Naruto's neck and ran his nose against the smooth skin there before he starting sucking a kiss underneath the hollow of his ear; all the way fumbling blindly with the cap of the lube bottle. Not when Naruto's breathy moan sent sparks of fire racing through Sasuke's veins before the lovely sound got cut off by teeth digging into his lower lip while he rubbed the viscous gel between his fingers to warm it up.
It didn't smell odd or off, so the lube must still be usable but the state of it was rapidly pushed away and completely forgotten when Naruto rolled his hips upwards; his thighs falling open in a gesture that couldn't be misunderstood at all.
His heartbeat loud in his ears, Sasuke was quick to slather some lube on both their lengths so that the friction wouldn't turn painful. That done, he turned his attention to what he couldn't see in the dim room, but which he had no issues finding once he dipped his hand between them; his slicked up fingers going straight past their hips, sliding between Naruto's cheeks. Naruto's breathing hitching drowned out the sound of his heartbeat and Sasuke looked at him sharply. There was no apprehension or discomfort in those blue eyes, though; only lust that expanded pupils and made blue eyes shimmer temptingly.
Lust that made Sasuke swallow before he allowed himself to be tugged down again, meeting Naruto's mouth in a bruising kiss while he teasingly swirled the tip of his index finger across the tight furrow of Naruto's entrance. It twitched underneath his touch; a twitch that turned into shivers when they started moving more urgently against each other, the slickness of the lube ensuring that thrusting against each other went a lot smoother.
Sasuke had to keep reminding himself to keep his elbow braced against the bed, lest he crushed Naruto underneath his weight but it was hard to remember such a thing when all he could think about was Naruto's lips against his, their tongues slipping past swollen lips to play with each other; their hips thrusting and gliding and bumping against each other, igniting the fire within their lower bellies even further; Sasuke's fingers between Naruto's arse cheeks, a twitching and clenching opening slowly but surely opening up the more his fingertip pushed against it until the first knuckle sank in, hot muscles parting easily around the digit.
At the same moment his finger slipped deeper inside, spreading the lube further, Sasuke feeling a bit light-headed at the sensation as if the pressure was around his head and not just around his finger – god, he couldn't help but imagine how fucking tight Naruto would feel when he would fuck him instead – calloused fingers closed around both their members and moved quickly up and down. Their thrusts lost coordination then as they chased desperately after their rapidly growing pleasure.
He felt as if he was being burnt alive from the inside. All his senses were alight with fire and he was hyperaware of the throaty moans and deep groans escaping their mouths when they weren't quick enough to muffle them with a kiss; of Naruto's left hand digging into his shoulder, his nails leaving crescent shaped marks behind even through the cloth when he clamped down; of Naruto's hot mouth dragging across his neck down to his collarbone where he bit him lightly before soothing that small hurt with his tongue. Of their breaths turning into heavy panting; kisses switching between deep and filthy and messing and fleeting, their lips sometimes merely brushing against each other. Aware of their bodies moving smoothly together as if they were made for each other, like two pieces of a puzzle which had finally found each other.
When Sasuke came, it was with bright flashes painting the back of his eyelids; with his ears ringing loudly and his hips messily thrusting down, chasing that amazing high at the same time as Naruto spilt between them as well, missing their rucked up sweaters by just a hair length. He couldn't bring himself to care about the mess, however, when Naruto sighed so sweetly; his face hidden in Sasuke's neck as his body shook through the aftermath of his pleasure. His filthy hand stained the sheets underneath them when he grabbed a hold of them, like he needed that to ground himself.
Sasuke definitely felt like he needed to ground himself; the floaty sensation clouding his mind almost scary if it wasn't so pleasant. He had never felt this out of control before, this vulnerable in front of somebody else, and the thought that this should scare him or at least worry him shot briefly through his mind.
Then Naruto locked their eyes together and he smiled almost shyly, bordering on sweet, and Sasuke lowered his head to kiss him again. He couldn't find it in himself to mourn the loss of control at all.
Not when it was Naruto who had made it happen.
"Can you give me my jacket?" Naruto questioned and raised his lips to pull on his jeans again once they had finished resting up.
The sight made for a distracting picture and Sasuke couldn't help but stare for a bit before he forced himself to look away and search for the jacket. He rolled over and looked over the edge of the bed, searching the floor. He found the jacket half underneath his own and pulled it free while the sound of a zipper sliding shut was audible next to him. Once he had tugged Naruto's jacket free, he got hold of one of the sleeves and lifted it like that. Something fell out of one of the pockets, though, falling onto the floor with a dull 'thud'.
"Sorry," he mumbled and shoved the jacket to Naruto before leaning over the edge again, looking for what had just dropped onto the ground.
He lifted both eyebrows when he spotted a wallet. The green material of it was frayed alongside the edges; the colour in some places fading away, turning to a spotted white. It had fallen open; when he snatched it from the floor, something thin and light fluttered out of it.
"You kept your wallet?" Sasuke asked surprised, moving the wallet to his other hand so that he could grab the thin card.
"Yeah, got some important things in it," Naruto muttered. "Plus, it's still a habit, I guess."
Sasuke couldn't even recall the last time he had bothered to pick up his wallet. He couldn't even remember where he had last put it; it might be in a bag somewhere in his room. In a world where money no longer had any meaning, however, he saw no point in carrying it around any longer.
He turned the thin card around and realised it wasn't actually a card, but a picture. Suddenly he realised why Naruto was still carrying his wallet. The first picture showed a younger looking Naruto, wearing a bright orange T-shirt and white shorts, grinning widely despite his obviously bruised knees. He had an arm slung around an equally younger looking Gaara, who while not smiling at all still oozed a sense of peace. He was also dressed in a T-shirt, but in a maroon colour and his shorts were black. He had been just as pale as a kid as he was now; it made his deep green eyes stand out even in the small picture. Behind them an older blonde girl had her arms slung around both boys; her hair in four pigtails as she grinned just as widely as Naruto. She was a bit more tanned and wore a simple black tank top from the looks of it.
Sasuke was startled when the wallet was suddenly plucked right out of his hand. He rolled onto his back; embarrassment making him feel uncomfortably hot when he saw Naruto gazing at the picture. He cleared his throat and held it out to him.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to snoop," he apologised.
Naruto stared at picture for a few more seconds; his face completely unreadable. He shook his head then, accepting the picture. He didn't put it away just yet, though, gazing down at it.
"Dad took this one during one of the rare times Temari-nee-san had joined me and Gaara for our camping trip," he declared out of the blue. He smiled wryly, tapping the picture. "Of course I was the only one who managed to stumble down a hill that was covered with rocks. Didn't hear the end of that one for a while. I took this picture with us before we left our hometown."
"You went camping often?" Sasuke inquired and sat up, raising his right knee and bracing his arm against it.
"Every summer at least once," Naruto confirmed and tucked the picture back in his wallet with the utmost care. "Temari-nee-san only joined a couple of times, but we always took Gaara with us. Their dad had never exactly been the type to take his kids out to camp." A flash of darkness crossed his eyes briefly. Then he blinked and his eyes cleared up.
"Sounds like it was a lot of fun," Sasuke said cautiously.
Naruto smiled absently. "Yeah, it was. The amount of junk food we stuffed our mouths full with … Unbelievable, honestly." He riffled through his wallet a bit. "Look, these are my mum and dad."
The picture he showed next was slightly more frayed and a bit more faded, as if it had been regularly remove from the wallet. It showed off a smiling man with blond hair and blue eyes – even if Naruto hadn't introduced them, there was no doubt that this was his father. His own eyes and hair colour were an obvious copy of his father's. His mother had beautiful long, red hair which was draped in loose curls around her. Her purple eyes sparkled mischievously even through the picture and she held one arm raised with her fist in the air. She was grinning widely and her husband had his arms wrapped around her waist. He was dressed in light coloured jeans and a simple white shirt while she was wearing a light purple dress which hugged her curves and flared open around her knees. They looked immensely happy; forever frozen in this happy moment.
"You look a lot like your mum," Sasuke commented, recognising her facial features and her grin in Naruto.
Naruto looked taken aback for a moment before he smiled; his gaze flicking down to the picture. "That's funny; mum always told me I look like dad."
"The hair and the eyes, yeah, but you clearly got her face and her smile," Sasuke observed.
He had yet to see Naruto smiling or grinning often, but the rare times he had been private to it so far, his smiles definitely matched the one his mother had in the picture. Almost like a mirror image.
When Naruto remained suspiciously quiet, Sasuke looked away from the picture and felt slightly alarmed when he spotted the wet sheen covering Naruto's eyes.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry," Naruto replied roughly and cleared his throat, rubbing over his eyes. "Sorry, it's just … been a while since someone compared me to my parents."
Sasuke drew him into an embrace, feeling Naruto shake as he released a shuddering exhale. "I tell you every day if you want me to," he murmured into his temple.
His response was arms tightening around his waist in return; some teardrops soaked up in the collar of his shirt.
"Maybe I could suggest adding some sort of soundproofing material to the walls in the apartments," Sasuke mused aloud, keeping an eye on their surroundings while Naruto pulled the door as tightly shut as he could. "And give Gaara the chance to wind down somewhere else, you know, after all the hard work he's been doing."
Naruto snorted and turned around, grinning at him. "Like that wouldn't come across as really suspicious."
"I'm just thinking of how the inhabitants would appreciate having actual soundproof walls for once," Sasuke retorted innocently. "Plus don't you think Gaara would like a chance to relax?"
"Uhuh, it's definitely not because you want a private place in the compound to fuck me," Naruto stated bluntly and quirked an eyebrow. "Don't even think you can fool Gaara with that suggestion by the way."
"You wound me with how lowly you think of me, truly," Sasuke deadpanned, smiling when Naruto chuckled. "Not having to worry about zombies getting the drop on us would be nice, though."
"What, you're not a fan of a little bit of thrill in your life?" Naruto teased, sliding his crossbow over his shoulder.
"Not that kind of thrill; I like being alive," Sasuke responded dryly and they started walking back in the direction of the compound. "A risk of dying doesn't really do it for me."
"Do you even know what living is then?" Naruto asked gravely.
He squawked when Sasuke bumped their shoulders together, pushing him off balance and nearly careening into some bushes.
"You just claimed you don't like thrills and there you go, nearly killing me through zombie infested bushes, I see how it is now," Naruto huffed and puffed up his cheeks.
"If they were infested with zombies, you wouldn't be whining now," Sasuke shot back.
"Aren't people supposed to be more mellow after coming their brains out?" Naruto complained. "You don't sound that damned mellow to me."
Sasuke smirked and snatched Naruto's hand when it swung past him, feeling lighter than he had in months even with potential zombies nearby. "I'm completely rested and in full control of all my faculties again."
"Clearly I didn't make you come hard enough then," Naruto muttered and squinted at him.
Sasuke's smirk widened. "Consider it a challenge for next time then."
"Oh, you goddamn bet I will!"
Sasuke really had to give it to Karin: her patience had improved with leaps and bounds since she had set foot in the compound. It was almost a month after she had witnessed Sasuke and Naruto sharing a kiss at Sasuke's house that she decided it was apparently finally time to breach the subject.
As she bent down to repair one of the traps, she asked faux casually, "So how was your date with Naruto-kun last week?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Sasuke mumbled and checked one of the strings they used to catch rabbits.
It looked worn out and frayed; maybe birds had been pecking at it. That wouldn't be the first time and he set about replacing the string with a new one while examining the next trap.
"Uhuh, yeah, let me warning you, that coy bullshit doesn't work on me," she said bluntly and crossed her arms on top of her knees. She sat on her haunches and the position had to be uncomfortable, but she simply kept staring at him. "Do both yourself and me a favour and cut the crap, would you? Kiba said you two didn't show up until several hours later."
"For fuck's sake, he couldn't keep his mouth shut?" he groaned and glared down at the string he was tying. A bunch of fucking gossipers, all of them. Didn't they have anything better to do than to gossip during a goddamn apocalypse? They weren't in school anymore!
"He was being a good guard and noting how long it took for you both to return," she replied airily. "So fess up, how was the date?"
He was not going to tell her what they had done. "It was as good as any date in a zombie infested forest can be," he answered dryly instead.
"Man, you're no fun," she pouted and rose up, stretching her legs. "Not even going to give me the smallest detail, huh?"
"You got that right," he confirmed. "I'm not interested in becoming even more of a subject for the local gossip."
"It's not gossip," she huffed, but didn't really offer an alternative either which proved that was it: just gossip. "The date must have gone really well, though, considering Naruto-kun now smiles in greeting every time."
The comment was so random that it made him stare at her. "He smiled in greeting," he echoed dubiously.
She nodded fervently. "Yeah! He never used to do that before until he started dating you. Mind, he still won't really talk with the rest of us, but hey, we've got the occasional smile now at least!" She came over to his side and playfully nudged his shoulder. "Makes me realise what you saw in him; guy's got a killer smile. Even Gaara-san is a bit less of an Ice Prince nowadays, so apparently his best friend being happy makes him happy. Go figure."
"You're an idiot," he sighed, shaking his head. After testing the strength of the loop, he stood up, walking to the next trap they had to check.
Now that they were finally inching slowly into spring, they all held hope that the traps would soon be bursting with food again. He and Karin had been sent out to check the traps on the eastern side of the compound; other groups would take care of the remaining traps later this week on the other sides.
"Serious now," Karin murmured a little while later, picking up the subject again. "I'm glad the two of you found each other. I don't think I've ever seen you this happy before. It's a good look."
The last was said more in jest, but there was still a hint of solemnity clinging to it, which made Sasuke stare down at the trap half hidden underneath dead, rotten leaves. When he thought about it, he supposed, yeah, it had been quite a while since he last could remember feeling this happy. Even with zombies still roaming around and the consequences tied to that, there was a lightness inside of him that he hadn't felt in years. A lightness that fluttered and zigzagged like a maniac every time he laid eyes on Naruto. He would think it embarrassing if he actually cared to be bothered about it. Naruto made him happy, so what? After all the shit they had went through so far, he thought he deserved at least a bit of happiness.
"Man, you really are smitten."
Karin's laugh shattered his thoughts and he blinked, scowling half-heartedly at her. "I'm not smitten," he denied.
"Yeah, you are," she smiled, tapping his nose. "You probably don't even realise it, but you were smiling just now – and I very much doubt it's because you found a functioning trap."
"So what if I'm happy?" he muttered, swatting her hand away. "Didn't know that was a crime."
"It's not," she said and her face softened. "It's just nice to know that we can still find some happiness in this world."
He thought about Naruto, back at the compound, most likely helping Itachi with his defence classes alongside Gaara. He thought about their plans to spend the afternoon together, once their chores were finished. The butterflies still raced like mad in his stomach, even after nearly two months of being together. He didn't want those butterflies to ever stop.
Yeah, some happiness, no matter how small, could still be found even now.
"Hey, Sasuke, your little lover left you a note!" Anko called out as soon as Sasuke and Karin walked through the gates.
"I'm going to check on Iruka, see if he needs some help still," Karin murmured and turned in the direction of their personal fields.
"A note?" Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows and went over to Anko, who was going through all her work supplies it seemed, judging by how much was stalled out on the table. "Why did he leave me a note?"
They had agreed to meet up near the gates once they were both finished. Had Naruto finished earlier and had he not wanted to wait outside after all? That would be a first, considering he normally always waited until Sasuke was back inside the compound.
"He needed to leave on a run apparently and gave this to me so I could play messenger between the two of you," she said and rolled her eyes. "Do keep me out of your private life, thank you. If this is some sort of sex thing, I don't want to know. At all."
"He wasn't scheduled for a run," he muttered, ignoring her last comment, but accepted the note. He tried to remember if the weekly run had changed to today, but he couldn't recall either Itachi or father mentioning something like that. The groups for the runs had all been decided on three weeks ago for the upcoming two months as well and Naruto hadn't been scheduled for this week, he was certain.
As a matter of fact the next run Naruto and Gaara would normally join in on was the same run Sasuke was going to participate in. He had a sneaky suspicion that father had arranged that on purpose, but he wasn't going to complain about that. He, Naruto and Gaara had proven to work well together on runs.
Sasuke,
Sorry, but I got asked to check out a town in the northeast to see if there's anything valuable still there. The trip is supposed to take four hours, but the weather looks shit, so I don't know whether I'll be home tonight. Gaara was still busy with those defence classes, so can you give him a head's up from me as well?
Someone of the compound is with me, a guy named Tobi, I think? Anyways, so don't worry, I'm not alone. Tell that to Gaara as well before he starts being a worrywart too!
I'll be back as soon as I can, don't miss me too much! :P
P.S. Just to make you less of a worrywart, here's the place's name
The second he read the town's name, Sasuke's blood turned to ice.
AN2: Some major shit is about to go down :D
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.