Author's note: After way too long I'm finally here with a new chapter! I don't know why this story gives me so much trouble when I literally have the blueprints in the form of Piece by Piece *sweatdrops* I'm so sorry for the long delay, guys, I really am. If I have any readers left for this story, I'll be honestly shocked *winces*

Thanks to the following reviewers: SehunsBae37; 666snoopy; Iraheta 127

Warnings: Implied mature content; drama

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

I hope you'll like it!

Chapter 17: Growing Part 2

Naruto was just closing the front door behind him when Sasuke arrived the next morning so he remained in his car, waiting for the blond to get inside.

"Hey!" Naruto leant forwards for a kiss as soon as he plopped down in the passenger's seat.

A part of Sasuke was gratified when he noticed that Naruto still smelt like a mixture of the two of them. He kissed him back before starting the car again.

"Ready for our last school year?" Naruto asked lightly, adjusting his bag between his feet.

"I suppose," Sasuke muttered and drove to the end of the street, turning around the corner.

Truthfully he hadn't really thought about the fact that this would be their last year at secondary school. Other people might consider that to be a huge milestone, but he had never bothered with the school years passing by, save for making sure he passed each year. Even if he had been the type to get excited about something as their last school year, his conversation with Kakashi yesterday would have been a damper on the mood anyways. Kakashi hadn't mentioned the documents this morning, but their existence was like a foul taste lingering in the back of Sasuke's throat. He knew he would have to look at them soon; just not yet.

"Something wrong?" Naruto questioned; his eyebrows drawing together. "Did you get into a fight with Kakashi-san last night?"

"No, he just wanted to talk to me about something related to my family's inheritance," Sasuke mumbled, slowing to a stop when he noticed the light turning red.

"Ah. I'm sorry," Naruto said softly.

Sasuke shrugged, because what else could he do?

As soon as Sasuke had parked the car and they walked into the school, Inuzuka was the first one to accost them. He wasn't sporting any visible injuries – either Hyuuga hadn't got to him or he had since then healed from their encounter – but he literally blanched upon seeing them and stopped a few feet away from Sasuke and Naruto.

"You two hooked up?" he exclaimed none too subtly, looking absolutely flabbergasted.

His ridiculously loud comment had several students nearby turning their head, looking puzzled.

"Would you keep your voice down!" Naruto hissed irate and punched Inuzuka's arm, making the idiot whine. Sasuke hoped it hurt a lot. "And we didn't hook up, we've been together since Christmas, you idiot!"

Sasuke snorted. He thought he should be surprised that it had taken Inuzuka this long to notice that he and Naruto were a couple, but really the Beta boy had always been fairly oblivious. It didn't exactly come as a shock that he was this slow on the uptake.

"Wait, since Christmas?" Inuzuka's eyes widened even further. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Naruto shrugged, almost bashfully, and rubbed the back of his neck. "I thought you'd notice it on your own; didn't seem really necessary to shout it from the rooftops."

Inuzuka squinted, which didn't do his face any real favours. "How the hell was I supposed to notice that? You two have been smelling like each other for months – although now the smell is a lot worse." He wrinkled his nose. "What did you do, roll all over each other?"

"One way of describing it," Sasuke murmured underneath his breath, because they had done some rolling between the sheets. He smirked when Naruto elbowed him in his side.

"Just because you're as slow as a snail doesn't mean nobody else noticed them being together," Nara piped up, leisurely making his way over towards them with his hands stuffed in his pockets. "Good to see you again, Naruto. Uchiha."

Privately Sasuke thought Nara was giving the majority of the students too much credit if he really believed they had picked up on Sasuke's relationship with Naruto. Some of those idiots, at least, still attempted to ask out Naruto. He did believe that Nara had picked up on it, but that was purely because despite Nara's infamous laziness, he was also one of the smartest students in the school and very observant – unlike some of Naruto's other friends clearly.

"You knew?" Naruto questioned taken aback.

Nara shrugged. "I had some strong suspicions, yeah. How was your break?"

They all paid no mind to Inuzuka spluttering and whining that he wasn't slow as they made their way to their new classroom.

It had taken the majority in the school months, but they – mainly the girls in their class and other classes – had finally realised that Sasuke was no longer single. He would never understand how it had taken them this long to catch on, considering he and Naruto hadn't exactly been secretive about their relationship. It was almost mindboggling how far their heads had been up their arses; all of them disappointed that Sasuke was together with Naruto. That was simply something else he didn't think he would ever comprehend: how all those girls had kept on hoping he would return their feelings, even though he had been pretty clear multiple times that he wasn't interested in them.

Well, it didn't matter. Even though he despised how much gossiping went on in the school, this time it had at least one benefit: thanks to Inuzuka's big mouth, it didn't take more than an hour before news of Sasuke's relationship with Naruto spread throughout the school. It had one of the guys, who had expressed his interest in Naruto before, actually coming up to Sasuke while he was waiting for Naruto to be done in the bathroom.

The guy whose name he hadn't bothered to remember halted in front of him with a sheepish smile as he scratched the back of his head.

"Hey man, I heard the rumours about you and Uzumaki-kun. Are they true?"

"Yes, they are," Sasuke answered blankly. "What of them?"

"Just wanted to say sorry, I guess, for trying to get you to act as my messenger or something, you know, back when I wanted to ask out Uzumaki-san," the guy laughed nervously. "I hadn't realised he wasn't single anymore."

"I did tell you he wasn't interested in you," Sasuke told him bored before the door to the bathroom swung open and Naruto stepped outside.

"All right, I'm done, let's go outside before our break is over," Naruto said lightly before catching sight of the other student still standing in front of Sasuke, looking oddly offended. "Oh, something wrong?"

"No, nothing," Sasuke replied and steered Naruto before anything else could be said.

"And here I was thinking you were making new friends," Naruto said teasingly as they turned around the corner, aiming for the doors which would lead them outside.

"Funny, you should become a stand-up comedian," Sasuke said dryly.

Naruto clucked his tongue. "You know, there's nothing wrong with making friends."

"I leave that part up to you."

On Friday Naruto didn't come to school because his heat had broken through in the middle of the night. Sasuke wisely decided to stay away for the weekend because he could recall all too well just how close he had come to losing control over himself the last time he had been around Naruto when he had been in heat. It didn't matter that they already had had sex; a heat was something very intimate, something very private and Sasuke didn't want Naruto to be uncomfortable.

So instead of driving over to Naruto's home after classes were finished for the week, he returned home, figuring he could make a head start on his homework so that he could spend most of his time tomorrow at Gaara's dojo.

It was only when he sat down at his desk and retrieved his pencase from his bag that he realised he needed to get a new notebook downstairs as the ones he had been using the previous school year had all been filled up by the time exams had started.

Sighing, he pushed his chair back and went downstairs again, entering the living room where he knew Kakashi kept a stack of notebooks in one of the cabinets. He kept a whole stack of office supplies in the cabinet placed in the left corner of the room. The first drawer contained nothing but unopened packs of pens, pencils, sticky notes in all kinds of shapes and sizes, notepads and refills for the stapler. The second drawer contained the stack of notebooks – and the envelope containing the attorney's documents.

His hand hovered above the envelope uncertainly. He was ready to dismiss the envelope like he had done last week but it seemed to mock him with its presence. He scowled down at it, clenching his hands to fists. This was just ridiculous. He should just ignore the envelope and grab one of the notebooks that was lying next to it. He wasn't interested in its content, couldn't be bothered to discover what he stood to inherit once he turned eighteen but …

Heaving an aggrieved sigh, he snatched the envelope out of the drawer and slammed it down on the table. Pressing his lips tightly together, he opened the envelope and pulled out the stack of papers, spreading them out in front of him. Of course it was all legal jargon, but as he went over each page he understood enough to get an idea of what he would inherit. There was a large sum of money, of course, both of his parents' inheritance and the money gained from the sale of his previous home. The beach cabin father had purchased for mother when both Sasuke and Itachi had still been kids was listed as well, which had him raising an eyebrow in surprise. He hadn't thought of that cabin in years; frankly he had even forgotten about it.

He tapped his finger on the page, considering the cabin. His first reaction was to hand over the ownership to another family member; an aunt perhaps? But then Naruto's face flashed up in his mind and he stopped tapping the paper. The beach cabin had been fun to spend time in when he had been younger – perhaps he and Naruto could spend some time at the cabin in the future? It would make for a nice getaway. Maybe they could go there for a weekend or even for an extended holiday.

The paperwork also contained a long list of all the shares and bonds his parents had acquired before they had been killed. Some bonds were set to end in a couple of months, which meant that even more money would be added to his inheritance. He would let the bonds just run their course; that didn't really require any action on his part. As for the shares … He considered the list for a while, rereading the names of the companies over and over again. He had overheard father discussing his shares in the past, but as a kid Sasuke hadn't really paid much attention to those conversations; it wasn't as if he had been meant to overhear those particular talks anyways.

"Fuck it," he muttered and began collecting the sheets to shove them back in the envelope.

Shisui, one of his cousins, had started working in the firm a few years ago; he should still work there as far as Sasuke was aware. Shares and anything related to that was more up Shisui's alley, so he would let his cousin handle them. Keeping them, selling them – Shisui could decide all that. His cousin and Itachi had been quite close, so Sasuke could trust the older Beta to not screw him over.

Giving the envelope one more stare, he placed it into the drawer again before snatching a new notebook. He would contact Shisui this weekend; he had some studying to do first.

"You're sure you want me to have control over them?" Shisui asked, sounding taken aback.

"I wouldn't have called you if I wasn't sure, now would I?" Sasuke said dryly, leaning back in his desk chair. "You're still working in the firm, no?"

"Yeah, I still work here," Shisui confirmed. In the background there was the noise of a printer coming to life.

"You know more about how shares work than I do," Sasuke said and shrugged. "Only makes sense to put you in control over them."

"All right, if you're sure," Shisui said, still sounding quite surprised. "Anything in particular you want me to do with them? Sell them when they reach a certain value or so? You have any companies in mind you want to buy more shares from?"

"I leave all that up to you," Sasuke replied and accidently hit the bottom of his desk with his knee when he crossed his legs. He was quick enough to catch his pen before it could roll off. "Selling, buying, adding more shares – you have full control over that."

"That's a lot of power you're giving me here, Sasuke-kun," Shisui said amused. "Are you sure you want to risk that?"

Sasuke snorted and adjusted his grip on his phone. "You've always been the most honest one in the family; if you hadn't been, nii-san wouldn't have hung out with you so much. Yeah, I'm sure I want to risk giving you that kind of power."

"While I do want to point out that the rest of the family isn't that bad, I'm thankful for the vote of confidence you're giving me," Shisui said lightly. His voice grew muffled then when he replied to somebody on his side. When he returned to their call, he sounded apologetic. "Sorry, Sasuke-kun, but I have to go. A client just showed up and I need to sit in on that meeting."

"That's okay; I need to leave soon to the dojo anyways," Sasuke replied when he glanced at the clock.

"All right, can you send me the list with the shares so that I can take a look at it? We'll also need to set up the paperwork to arrange everything," Shisui said, already sounding a bit distracted.

"I'll tell Kakashi to send you the list and set up the paperwork; he's the one who's in contact with the attorney anyways."

"That's fine; I'll take a look at it once I get it. Enjoy the rest of your weekend, Sasuke-kun!"

"You too," Sasuke told him before they hung up. He quickly became aware of Kakashi's presence and he rolled his eyes, standing up and shoving his chair underneath his desk. "You're too old to eavesdrop, Kakashi."

"Mah, can you blame me? It's not every day I hear you voluntarily talking with someone of your family," Kakashi said shamelessly, bracing his shoulder against the doorframe.

"It's not like I was that close to them to start with," Sasuke muttered and picked up his gym bag to check whether he had everything inside of it still. "Most of them I only saw once or twice a year or so; don't see why I should call them regularly now then. How much did you hear?"

"Enough to know you did take a look at the paperwork," Kakashi replied, sounding way too sincere when he added, "I'm glad you read it. I know it's not something you want to deal with but - "

"It's good that you realise that, because I told Shisui that you'd be sending him the list with the shares and set up the paperwork to arrange everything," Sasuke informed him blithely and zipped his bag shut, picking it up from his desk. He smirked when Kakashi stared at him and patted his shoulder when he wormed past him. "Have fun doing that."

"It's your cousin, you should be the one emailing him and setting up the paperwork!" Kakashi predictably argued.

"Yeah, but you're the one who's in contact with the attorney so you might as well do this too," Sasuke said breezily. "I'm going to the dojo now, I'll see you tonight."

His smirk deepened when Kakashi's whining followed him all the way to the front door.

His phone buzzed right when Naruto crawled into his lap, looping his arms around his neck. Their mouths parted and Naruto blinked surprised.

"That Kakashi-san?" he asked curiously, not to subtly pushing their homework to the side.

They were supposed to be studying now that Naruto's heat was over and he was back to attending class, but it had been clear from basically the moment Sasuke set foot in his bedroom that the Omega had something else on his mind. Sasuke had wanted to be the responsible one and focus on their homework solely, but Naruto's scent had been particularly hard to resist and that was how Sasuke found himself on Naruto's bed with the blond on his lap and a mouth busily kissing his own – until someone texted him.

Sasuke quickly checked his screen and saw that it was actually Shisui who had texted him.

Received the email from Kakashi-san. I'll take care of the shares; you won't regret it

Imagine that, Kakashi could be quick to arrange something when he put his mind to it apparently.

Not wanting to drag down the mood with a talk about his inheritance, Sasuke fibbed, "Yeah, told him I'll be staying over here. He says it's okay."

He had actually texted Kakashi earlier before they had returned to Naruto's home but by now the older Alpha had become used to Sasuke spending the night here that he barely reacted to that kind of information unless he thought it was time to act like a comedian again.

Naruto snorted and pecked the corner of his mouth. "I think he's used to that by now, isn't he? Is he never bothered by that?"

"No, he knows where I am and that's enough for him," Sasuke said flippantly before he captured Naruto's mouth in a deep kiss, uninterested in talking about his guardian.

He felt Naruto smile against his lips, but the blond also appeared more interested in kissing than in talking about Kakashi, which suited the Alpha just fine. They hadn't had sex again since their first time, but it was obvious that Naruto wouldn't be just satisfied with some kissing tonight. Not with the way he rolled his hips against Sasuke's, gyrating until their groins rubbed against each other. Naruto moaned approvingly when one of Sasuke's hands dipped into his trousers, brushing fingers across one arse cheek. Naruto's hands went between their bodies, fumbling with the zippers of their trousers until he managed to pull them down, freeing the both of them.

With more space to work with now, Sasuke wasted no time in sliding his hand in Naruto's boxers, pushing his fingers between his cheeks. He groaned into Naruto's neck when the tips of his fingers quickly became coated with the Omega's slick and he felt Naruto shiver against him when he slipped one finger inside of him. Muscles contracted around the digit immediately and just like during their first time, Sasuke was fascinated by how hot and wet Naruto felt around him. Fuck, when he remembered how it had felt to thrust into Naruto's all too willing body, feeling him squeeze around him …

He pushed a second finger inside Naruto at the same time warm fingers wrapped around his own length, quickly jacking him off. Teeth nipped at his lower lip when he pushed his fingers deeper inside; his fingertips brushing against a special gland that had Naruto panting against him, blue eyes rolling back. Naruto had the absolute brilliant idea to bring their lengths together and wrap his hands around them both. That, combined with the dazed look in those pretty blue eyes was what set Sasuke off. He groaned, his hips jerking forwards as he spilt over Naruto's hands. Pleasure spreading like hot fire through his body, he accidentally pressed firmly against that particular spot deep inside Naruto. Naruto didn't seem to mind the sudden pressure, however, because he moaned throatily and came too; his legs locking tightly around Sasuke's thighs.

Naruto slumped on top of him, panting in his neck. He kept his hands between their bodies and Sasuke fuzzily thought they should get up and clean themselves before either of Naruto's parents would come home.

"Guess we should go back to the boring version of biology, hm?" Naruto muttered, pouting.

Sasuke laughed and kissed Naruto, swallowing his blooming grin. Yes, perhaps it was time they would work on the boring version of biology again.

School trips had always been more of a necessary evil to Sasuke, even when he had been a little kid. Other students were often too rambunctious, too loud for his liking and whenever he had been forced to attend a school trip he had always kept to himself. He didn't have a better opinion about the school trip in their last year. Frankly, he considered it to be a useless one and a waste of time because it was mainly focused on getting them to bond with each other for the last time before their paths would separate after graduation. Five days they would spend together in a hostel near the mountains, driven there by a bus.

Sasuke saw no reason why after all these years of sharing a class they would have to attend a trip meant to make them 'bond', but sometimes schools just didn't make any sense, he supposed. At least he had Naruto with him now, which made putting up with the loud chatter and idiotic laughter of the others somewhat bearable now.

The bus picked them up in front of the school and Sasuke chose a seat near the front, knowing from experience that the students were less likely to act like idiots in this part of the bus because that was also the part where the teachers sat down. Naruto smiled sleepily at him before he plopped down next to Sasuke, promptly snuggling into his shoulder and falling asleep.

Sasuke hid a smile and tangled their fingers together, resting their hands on his thigh as he turned his head to look out of the window. He got himself comfortable in his seat, ready for some scenery watching for the next couple of hours.

Sasuke snorted quietly when he saw the ball sail high over Naruto's head, flying straight into the forest.

"How bad can your aim be, Kiba?" Naruto's incredulous laughter and his jeering comment had Sasuke smirking while he crossed his arms.

Day two of their trip had some of the boys in their class deciding to play football to pass the time while the teachers were busy setting up a room for their next bonding activity. The hostel they were currently staying at bordered the woods, which in turn surrounded the mountains. With the sun having fought its way through the clouds, it was a rather nice day; the temperature mild enough to spend time outside. They had decided to play football in the clearing closest to the building, declaring it large enough to hold a decent game.

Well, Sasuke figured having a decent game would go easier if Inuzuka was better at aiming. It was actually some kind of skill, being able to suck at aiming a football that badly.

"I slipped on the grass!" Inuzuka huffed defensively, while some of the other guys started to snicker. "I'll go - "

"Guys! Come on, it's time for the next activity!" Umino hollered, waving at them to catch their attention as if his loud voice hadn't done the trick already.

Sasuke decided to go inside already, wanting to pick a seat that wouldn't see him surrounded by the girls. The chairs closest to the teacher in charge were usually the safest ones. He could save a seat for Naruto as well, he figured after seeing Naruto still talking with Inuzuka.

One by one the students started filing into the room; the girls giggling and chatting with each other, while some of the guys were still teasing Inuzuka with his poor aim. Sasuke kept an eye on the door, expecting to see Naruto entering any second now, but when the last group of girls trickled into the room, Naruto was still not here. Sasuke frowned, standing up to get a good look around the room; maybe Naruto was talking with one of his friends? But no, he couldn't spot the familiar blond hair at all. Where on earth was he? He couldn't be still outside, could he? Sasuke was pretty sure Naruto had heard Umino calling them inside.

Sasuke went over to Inuzuka, who was huffing about something Nara had just told him.

"Hey, where's Naruto?" he asked without preamble. "Is he still outside?"

"Huh? He was going to grab the ball, but he should be here already," Inuzuka answered bemused. "He isn't here?"

"Why do you think I even asked you? Of course he isn't here," Sasuke said irritated.

Yamanaka's giggle wasn't exactly out of the ordinary, but what she muttered next was.

"Guess Uzumaki's used to eating dirt, isn't he?"

Right as Sasuke whirled around, angry at the shit she dared to spout, Nara all of a sudden demanded, "Did any of you pull some shit with him again?"

Yamanaka scoffed, crossing her arms underneath her chest. "What is it to you? It's not your problem."

What the hell?

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke snapped suspiciously; his suspicion only growing when he caught the grim looks being exchanged between Inuzuka and Nara. "What the hell is going on here?"

"Just some harmless fun," she said flippantly and Haruno smothered her giggle.

"What the fuck did you do?" Sasuke asked icily; fury and worry battling with each other as he started to realise that perhaps things hadn't been as okay as Naruto had insisted they were.

Had they done something to him? Was one of them the reason why Naruto wasn't here yet?

She sniffed, jerking her chin upwards. "I feel offended that - "

He saw red.

He reacted before he could reconsider. In one big step he was in front of her and right as her eyes widened in surprise, he grabbed her by her neck and shoved her straight into the wall, eliciting shocked yelps from the people near them.

"I don't have time for your stupid games!" he hissed, bearing down on her until she started to splutter, slapping his arm. "Where the fuck is he?"

"F-forest!" she squeaked out; her eyes welling up with tears.

He sneered at her before snatching his hand away; a dark part of him satisfied when she stumbled, nearly buckling through her knees. "You better fucking hope he's okay!"

Umino started to shout, trying to regain order as the others burst out in shocked chattering, but Sasuke wasn't listening anymore and rushed out of the room. He ran out of the hostel, the rapid beating of his heart having nothing to do with the speed he was pushing his body through. He stormed all the way back to the clearing but didn't see Naruto there.

Wildly he looked around him before he suddenly noticed a weird looking gap in a thorny bush. He rushed towards it, spotting the football first before realising he stood actually on top of a hill. The hill had been hidden from sight by the bushes and when Sasuke looked down, his eyes zoomed in on something lying at the bottom of the hill. No, not something – someone. All the breath escaped his lungs with a painful whoosh when he realised who he was looking at.

Someone with painfully familiar blond hair, who laid sprawled on his back, eyes slipping shut –

With blood seeping from underneath his head.

Naruto.

AN2: I will do my utmost best to have the next chapter out sooner than this one, because it's getting beyond embarrassing at this point :/ I hope I still have some readers left ...

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.