Author's note: Distracting myself with writing isn't going as well as I had hoped it would. My apologies if this isn't that great.

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

Warnings: Nothing in particular

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

I hope you'll like it!

Chapter 31

The sound of a shower starting up in the apartment on the right woke up Sasuke abruptly and he spent a couple of seconds just blinking, battling his heavy eyelids against the stubborn vestiges of sleep still clinging on to him. The unexpected sight of a table leg confused him for a moment until someone behind him sighed deeply and an arm tightened around his waist.

"Too early," Naruto grumbled.

"How would you know? You don't have a clock," Sasuke pointed out amused and carefully twisted onto his back.

Gaara's back was towards them; the red haired man curled towards the couch. Naruto was still on his side, adjusting his grip on Sasuke by swinging his leg high over Sasuke's thighs while his hand came to rest right above Sasuke's hip.

"There's somebody taking a shower; no way it's late in the morning," Naruto muttered petulantly. "They always take a shower so goddamn early; you'd think there was no apocalypse and they're still going to their boring office job."

"Well, clearly you're not a morning person," Sasuke teased and rested his own hand on top of Naruto's, tracing circles on the back of it.

"I had a fucking long afternoon and an even longer night, excuse me for wanting to catch more sleep than just a measly fucking couple of hours," Naruto groused.

"Noted," Sasuke said dryly, humming surprised when Naruto suddenly raised his head and caught his mouth in a short but hard kiss. "What's that for? Thought you wanted to sleep more?"

"Well, I'm awake now," Naruto said lightly.

Right when he bent down to kiss Sasuke again, Gaara's grouchy voice piped up, "I swear to god, if you dare to screw around now, I will shove my boots so far up your arses you'll be shitting out the laces for weeks."

"Really sets the mood, thanks, Gaara," Naruto whined, slumping back down on the floor.

Gaara sat up, staring at them through half-lidded eyes. "You're welcome. Pretty sure the doctor will kill you if you manage to open up that cut of yours by fucking," he said and covered his yawn just in time.

"That's only a risk if I'm too active. I can just be a pillow prince and let Sasuke do all the work," Naruto shot back, grinning.

Really, for someone who claimed to be in need of more sleep, Naruto was remarkably alert – and a bit too chatty when it came to private stuff.

"Gross," Gaara said calmly before pushing himself off the floor, letting the blanket pool to the side. "I'm going to make breakfast – which in no way means you have to start fucking once my back is turned."

"You really are no fun," Naruto pouted, turning his head when Sasuke sat up as well. "Where are you going?"

"Home, so that I can wear something that doesn't stink like blood," Sasuke explained, rolling his shoulders before standing up and stepping out of the makeshift bed.

His clothes might actually be somewhat of a lost case after the blood had had the chance to get cacked into it, but well, that unfortunately wouldn't be the first set of clothes he had to throw away because they had become too stained.

Naruto lifted his upper body, bracing his elbows against the floor to keep him upright slightly. "Will you come back afterwards?" he asked curiously.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "I could if you want me to."

While Itachi would probably have recounted last afternoon's and night's events to father already, Sasuke assumed their father wanted to talk with him as well, just to get the full picture. His brain was still a bit too sleep addled to remember what kind of assignment was awaiting him today, but he figured finding out about that could wait until he had changed his clothes and had had some decent breakfast. With a bit of luck – and after the shitstorm that was yesterday he thought he was due some good luck – whatever task awaited him wouldn't be anything too strenuous or mentally taxing.

Naruto grinned; his blue eyes glistening in the early morning light peeking through the closed curtains. "I definitely want you to."

"Then I'll come back once I no longer look like I've taken a bath in blood," Sasuke said and bent down to kiss Naruto. "Don't forget you and Gaara need to see Tsunade this afternoon."

"Eugh, don't worry, I sadly hadn't forgotten it," Naruto sighed put out.

Truly, only Naruto could be annoyed at the fact that someone wanted to take care of him.

"I'll be back soon," Sasuke promised and walked into the bathroom to pull on the bloodied, grimy clothes.

The parts cacked in blood had hardened by now, of course, leaving those patches rough and stiff against his skin. He plucked at it, giving up when some blood specks flacked off, fluttering to the floor like dust. After grabbing his katana, he went back to the living room where Naruto had flopped onto his back once again, staring up at the ceiling. His nose started twitching when the scent of eggs drifted into the room and Sasuke shook his head amused when Naruto perked up.

"Are you making some for me too?" he called out hopefully.

"Thought you still wanted sleep?" Gaara snorted from within the kitchen.

"Right, like anyone can sleep with the smell of eggs," Naruto retorted and rolled his eyes.

"I will leave you to your argument," Sasuke murmured and left the apartment, closing the door behind him.

A dark brown haired woman left her apartment at the end of the hall right as Sasuke reached the staircase. She gave him a distracted nod as she fiddled with the buttons of her coat, covering her yawn against the collar of it. She had several knives hanging onto the belt around her waist so either she was leaving for her guard shift or she would be going outside the compound for cleanup or checking the traps.

He returned the greeting before making his way downstairs, using the railing to keep his balance. Frankly he could have used some more sleep as well, but now that he was awake, he might as well return home. Perhaps he could catch some shuteye once he was back with Naruto; he didn't think the blond man would have anything against that, considering how sleepy he himself had been still.

It was mildly drizzling when he stepped outside and he spent a couple of seconds just standing right outside the door, drinking in the fresh scent and feeling the teeny tiny cold drops hit his skin. Once footsteps approached him from behind, he began walking again; occasionally looking up to stare at the light grey sky. It still had to be quite early; the compound was still silent, not many people on the move yet.

There was light burning in Tsunade's practice, but he couldn't tell whether that was because she was already awake or because she simply had forgotten to put it out. Or perhaps she had left it on as a way to soothe Moegi. For all that the doctor could act quite gruff to the point of being rude, she did have a soft spot for children.

Father came to stand in the doorway of the kitchen when Sasuke walked into their home. He cradled a cup of coffee and lifted his eyebrow at the sorry state of Sasuke's clothes. "Came to change?" he asked hushed. "Your brother's still asleep."

"Hm, want to see if I can still save these clothes," Sasuke murmured and slipped off his shoes. "We still have that pack of salt?"

"Yes, should be in the cabinet underneath the sink," Father informed him.

Sasuke nodded and ascended the stairs, making a beeline for the bathroom where he plugged up the sink, letting it fill with cold water. He grabbed a plastic cup none of them ever used save for occasions like this one and scooped some water out of the sink with it. He opened the small bag of plain table salt next and spooned some of it out, mixing it with the water in the cup until it formed a thick paste.

Putting the cup aside for a moment, he placed the bag of salt in the cabinet again before pulling off his shirt and trousers, leaving him in just his underwear and socks. Meticulously he rubbed the paste on every blood stain he could see and placed the clothes onto the floor. The paste would need to sit for around fifteen minutes at the very least before he could scrape it off and rinse the clothes in the cold water, so he went to his room next. He riffled through his wardrobe, unearthing a fresh light blue shirt and a pair of jeans that were torn around the edges but still wearable.

Deciding it would be too risky to lay down on the bed – no doubt he would fall asleep immediately – he went back downstairs, joining father in the kitchen. The older man handed him a cup of coffee of his own, which he accepted gratefully, inhaling the familiar, comforting scent.

"You used the paste?" Father asked, shoving the bag of bread and a jar of jam towards Sasuke when he sat down at the table.

"Yeah, need to give it a bit before I can remove the paste," Sasuke said and started making a sandwich. "Did Itachi tell you everything that happened?"

"Yes," Father sighed and leant back in his own chair, rubbing his forehead. "How's Gaara-san faring?"

"Surprisingly well," Sasuke replied, recalling just how light Gaara had appeared after he had stabbed the living hell out of his father. Considering the less than subtle hints he had given about his less than perfect childhood his general mood after Rasa's death wasn't that strange, he guessed.

He had shocked nearly all of them with how vicious he had been, yes, but none of them could blame him for his reaction. Perhaps Gaara could have restrained himself a bit more if Rasa hadn't killed off Moegi's sister before bringing her to them, but frankly Sasuke didn't think Rasa's death would be such a loss to society.

"At least his father won't be able to come after him," Father murmured. "Itachi mentioned Gaara-san was told about Danzo's likely involvement?"

"Hm, wasn't really a way to keep it quiet after he discovered that Naruto had got injured," Sasuke sighed, taking a sip of his coffee, nearly burning his tongue in the process. "Once we were back in the car, he insisted on hearing what had happened."

"You think they will try to go after Danzo themselves?" Father asked neutrally.

Sasuke rapped his nails against the mug, debating how he should answer. He doubted father would believe him if he claimed neither Naruto nor Gaara would try to go after Danzo. Even if he hadn't been personally nearby during the times Gaara and Naruto had shown just how vicious they could be, he had heard enough to know that neither of them would take this type of betrayal lightly. Knowing that they had been sent to die, there was no way they would ever consider forgiving Danzo – not that Sasuke had a mind to forgive him. What Danzo had tried to do went beyond simple betrayal.

"They wanted to go after him basically immediately," he eventually admitted.

Father grimaced, but looked like he had expected this answer.

"But nii-san managed to convince them to hold off for now until we know whether other people are involved in this or not," Sasuke added.

"Good thing we have Itachi's levelheadedness," Father said, rubbing his thumb over the ear of his mug. "Not that I would have really blamed them for wanting to go after Danzo. We will deal with him, but we do indeed need to know if other people were involved and to which extent. It's one thing if they just followed his orders, thinking he spoke for the Board, but if they knew what his actual intention was …" He trailed off; his eyes turning dark.

"You have a plan in mind?" Sasuke questioned and started eating his sandwich; the gnawing empty feeling in his stomach reminding him that he hadn't eaten in quite some time.

"Nothing concrete yet when it concerns how to deal with Danzo, but I'm going to speak to the other Board members, find out just how much they know," Father replied. "I doubt they were aware of his plans, but they might have picked up something that in hindsight looks suspicious."

"Sounds like a good idea," Sasuke muttered. He didn't want to believe the other members were involved; Danzo's own involvement was already bad enough, let alone if the rest of the Board had been in on it as well.

"You got any specific plans for today?" Father inquired, tilting his head to the left. "You don't need to worry about the schedule; I took you all off so that you can rest up today. You were back quite late after all."

"Naruto wants me to go back to their apartment, so I guess I'll be spending a couple of hours there at least," Sasuke replied.

"Until you have to escort him to Tsunade-sama?" Father asked; a hint of amusement colouring his voice.

"Might be for the best if I do," Sasuke snorted. "Don't want to give her any reason to go through with her threats."

"It does liven up the place," Father said lightly.

"That's one way of calling it," Sasuke mumbled and shoved the remainder of his sandwich in his mouth. He chased it away with several gulps of coffee before he stood up. "Going to check on my clothes and then I'll go back to Naruto."

"Sure."

The paste had done its work quite well, Sasuke discovered when he scraped the paste onto a tissue, noting how most of the stains had come out of his clothes. He dumped the shirt and trousers into the sink next, the cold water stinging his hands when he rubbed firmly over the remainder of the stains. After a couple of minutes of doing so, he lifted out the shirt first, nodding to himself when he couldn't immediately spot a blood stain anymore.

The shirt was wrung out, followed by his trousers and he hung them up in his room, using some coat hangers to hang them in front of the wardrobe. With the cold air it would take quite a while before they would dry, but at least they were still wearable.

After saying goodbye to father, Sasuke left the house again, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his coat to ward them against the chilly air. The drizzle had stopped during the time he had been at home, but the air had grown noticeably colder; his breath coming out in faint puffs of white clouds.

As he made his way back to the apartment, the compound started coming alive around him. More and more people walked outside, ready to take on their new shifts. Some of them nodded at him in greeting, some smiled and others were too preoccupied by their thoughts to pay him any mind. He returned the greetings to the ones who exchanged them with him; Karin flashed him a quick smile before she continued her argument with Suigetsu.

He hurried his pace when the apartment building came into view; the cold air making him hurry to get back inside. Jogging back up the stairs warmed him up at least a little bit and he rapped his knuckles on the door when he reached the apartment.

Naruto opened the door almost immediately, smiling pleased when he saw Sasuke. "Were the clothes salvageable?" he chuckled, tugging Sasuke inside.

"Surprisingly yes," Sasuke answered. A quick look around showed that the makeshift bed had been removed; the couch and table back into their previous places. "I managed to get the stains out with cold water and salt. Wasn't sure how much it would remove, but it worked."

"Hadn't thought of using that combination," Naruto mused. He had changed into a simple green sweater and sweatpants which hung rather loosely around his legs.

"Where's Gaara?" Sasuke asked when Naruto not so subtly herded him towards the bedroom.

"Hm, he decided that some fresh air was in order," Naruto smiled and pushed Sasuke onto the bed.

Sasuke lifted an eyebrow. "Fresh air? That's not some kind of code word for attempted murder, right?" he couldn't help but ask suspiciously.

The deadpan look he got in return had him shrugging. "What, couldn't that be true?"

"We wouldn't use a code word," Naruto huffed and sat down next to him, keeping his injured leg stretched. "Anyways, no, Gaara really left the apartment to get some fresh air. No attempted murder yet."

Sasuke decided to ignore the addition of 'yet' for now and focused on Gaara's surprising absence. "He really left you on your own?"

With how much the two friends had clung to each other last night, Sasuke hadn't expected Gaara to leave the apartment so soon already.

"Well …" Naruto pushed against his chest again until Sasuke stopped resisting and laid down.

Somewhat bemused, he watched how Naruto crawled half on top of him, crossing his arms underneath his chin and on Sasuke's chest before resting his head on them. He stared frankly into Sasuke's eyes; their hips barely touched because Naruto kept his legs off to the side.

"What are you thinking about?" Sasuke inquired, trailing his fingers across Naruto's shoulders before he played with some tufts of soft, blond hair.

"I was thinking," Naruto began casually and dug his chin deeper into his arm, adding just the slightest hint of more weight onto Sasuke's chest, "with Gaara being gone for a while - "

"Yes?" Sasuke lightly tugged at a strand, smiling faintly when that made Naruto's back arch slightly in response.

His smile froze when Naruto answered, eyes glimmering brightly, "I want you to fuck me."

AN2: Imagine the conversation Naruto and Gaara had in order to convince Gaara to leave the apartment for a bit.

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.