Spartan Ninjas (Abandoned WIP)

Disclaimer: We do not own or gain any profit from Naruto.
Reviews are welcome.

Author's Note: for further reference here is a key to help you follow the story:
::this:: is a character's own personal thoughts

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Spartan Ninjas
~ Chapter Thirteen ~
By: Cecilia Tsukineko and Kirei Kitsue
Beta'd by Sammei

---------------The Next Morning------------------
Arashi observed the breakfast table for a moment and then nodded. Mika was keeping things hot on the oven and it was now the chef's job to go retrieve his feasters. He was up the stairs without making a sound and then very quietly he pushed open the not-completely shut bedroom door that he'd used to call his own. Inside the dimly lit room was a massive pile of pillows and blankets... and boy. Naruto hadn't gotten very tall - thanks to his mother's family as much as Arashi's Japanese heritage - but he was maturing, and that much was visible in his sleeping face. He seemed to be curled around something but not paying it any mind, he moved over and settled his weight on the edge of the bed. The mattress sank but did not creak. Slowly he brushed the mussed and tousled bangs from Naruto's forehead and leaned forward. His son was one of the most beautiful sights he'd ever –

The literal explosion of blankets on the other side of the bed nearly caused Arashi to do something he'd have probably regretted. Instead he merely _caught_ the fist that had been aimed at the side of his nose.

"Who the hell are you?" Sasuke growled, his voice low in his throat. He didn't want to wake Naruto up if he didn't have to but damned if he'd let some strange, older man kiss or touch his boyfriend.

::An Uchiha.....:: Arashi smirked slightly and released Sasuke's hand. "Hello, Sasuke. Ohayo... Could you please wake Naruto up and bring him downstairs for breakfast? His grandmother and I will wait for you two." And with that Arashi stood and left the room, a little disappointed, but at the same time glad that Naruto had found someone who was right for him.

Lifting a brow Sasuke turned to Naruto and caressed his cheek. "Koi..." he murmured and kissed Naruto's temple. "Time to get up for breakfast. We've been fetched."

"Five more minutes, Sasuke," Naruto mumbled, curling up into a tighter ball. He hadn't even noticed Arashi or the exchange between Arashi and Sasuke.

Sasuke rolled him gently to his back and promptly straddled his stomach. "No, now Naruto... there are people in the kitchen waiting for us."

"But m'sleepy... an' I can't ge'up if you're on me..." Naruto muttered, cracking his eyes open.

Nodding once Sasuke grabbed both of Naruto's wrists in one hand and pulled him to his feet from the mattress. "I think you might want to see this..." Sasuke wasn't sure what had given him that inclination but he figured his instincts hadn't steered him wrong so far.

"Breakfast better be good... was comfy..." Naruto grumbled, shuffling down the stairs to the kitchen and yawning. He was planning on going straight back to bed as soon as he was done eating. Not even looking at the people in the room he plopped down in a chair at the table and stared at his empty plate.

Mika covered her mouth with a hand to smother her laughter. Naruto-zombie watching was always fun.

Sasuke took his seat, eyeing the stranger warily. He said nothing but rather observed. Mika was obviously overjoyed at the appearance of this new person.

Arashi sighed and walked up behind Naruto. The boy was obviously as out of it as he had been at that age. Calmly he reached forward and flicked the blond in the back of the head. "Staring at it won't make breakfast appear...." he said pointedly.

Slowly Naruto reached out towards the plates of food covering the table and began to fill his plate, eating what he'd chosen with equal slowness. When he was done he stared at his plate again.

Laughing Mika stood him up on his feet and steered him towards the stairs. "Go back to bed," she ordered gently.

"'Kay..." He shuffled up a couple steps, stopped, turned around and walked back to the kitchen. He grabbed Sasuke's arm and dragged him back to bed with him. Naruto always slept better if he had Sasuke to cuddle.

Giving up on trying to understand the situation he followed Naruto obediently up the stairs. Whatever was going on could apparently wait.

Chuckling softly Arashi let them go, choosing instead to say, "So now that my bedroom's taken over, I get the basement... No argument. I've had plans for that place forever, mom! And you know it!" He would have more luck when Naruto decided it was time to be awake.

"Yes, yes, you can have the basement," Mika laughed, kissing his crown as she passed him to pick up the boys' dirty plates. "We can set it up for you after the holiday weekend is over."

Arashi just grinned and kept munching away at more and more of the food. There would be no breakfast leftovers.

---

"Naruto, stop," and Sasuke followed his own advice by latching onto Naruto's wrist and putting on the brakes. "How many children did your grandmother have? Do you have any aunts and uncles?" He knew he had to be absolutely clear with Naruto so he added the 'aunts and uncles' bit in so that Naruto couldn't mistake Sasuke's questions in any way.

"Mom had couple brothers," Naruto mumbled, still trying to walk towards his bed. "Sleepy..."

"But your dad... he didn't have any siblings?"

Slowly Naruto shook his head. "Cn'I go t'bed now?"

Sasuke sighed. "No..." he muttered and turned Naruto around by the shoulders, using his casted hand sparingly but enough to effectively get the job done. Then he marched Naruto back into the kitchen just as Arashi was standing up to take his plate to the sink. Arashi put the plate back on the table when he caught a glimpse of Sasuke and Naruto out of the corner of his eye and turned to face them, smirking faintly. Sasuke put Naruto's back to his chest so that he wouldn't be overbalanced and took a firm hold of the blond youth's chin lifting his face up to look directly into Arashi's. And then, because his arms were full with one around Naruto's waist and one hand under Naruto's chin, Sasuke sharply bit the tip of Naruto's ear, saying firmly but gently, "Wake up."

Arashi just looked at them curiously and waited, a small smile now tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"No... M'tired..." Stubbornly Naruto kept his eyes closed and leaned back into Sasuke, the bite not affecting him at all.

Somehow managing to swallow her laughter, Mika firmly ordered, "Naruto, get up. You slept in again. School starts in ten minutes."

That did the trick and his eyes snapped open, suddenly awake. "Damn old woman, why didn't you wake me up sooner?! You know how-" The words died in his throat as he noticed the fourth person in the room. His jaw went slack and his eyes widened impossibly. He recognized the man instantly. "D-Dad..." he choked out in disbelief.

"I'd say that you should get your ass moving and get to school... except that it's Thanksgiving and you're in college now..." Arashi teased lightly, his smile brilliant.

Sasuke's arms were suddenly empty and Arashi had a young blond sobbing into his chest as Naruto rocketed forward, hugging his father tightly. His father was back... After sixteen years of thinking he was an orphan he had his father back...

Arashi caught Naruto about the shoulders and pressed his cheek to the crown of Naruto's head, bending over him slightly and hugging him tightly. Arashi murmured, "God you've gotten so big..." as a few tears slipped from his own tightly shut eyes.

Sasuke watched in silence as father and son embraced for the first time in too many years. It sent a pang straight into his own heart and soul, a feeling that he forced aside, but couldn't completely so it lingered like a dull and throbbing ache. It was impossible to ever see his own father again. The last he'd seen of his parents, their faces were disappearing behind the zippers of body bags.

Mika sniffled and wiped happy tears from her face. Quietly she walked past Arashi and Naruto, heading upstairs to look for something. On her way out of the kitchen she dropped a gentle hand on Sasuke's shoulder and nodded her head in the direction of the stairs. 'Let's give them a moment alone,' she mouthed. She'd had Arashi to herself all morning and now it was Naruto's turn.

Nodding silently Sasuke headed upstairs and right to Naruto's bedroom where he closed the door, made the bed neatly and then flopped backwards on it. His right arm came up slowly to rest the back of his wrist against his forehead as he stared at the ceiling, his lips a grim line. Now he let the ache surface and feeling it more acutely than he had in a long while, he rolled to his side and curled up a little his right hand coming to rest in a half-fist over his heart. He _wouldn't_ cry anymore. He was happy for Naruto and Arashi, but at the same time he envied them. And it hurt to see that moment in his head again, when Naruto and Arashi embraced and held each other so lovingly as only a father and son can. Frustrated, he shut his eyes and tried to meditate his heart back to a numb state.

---

It was a long while before Naruto's sobs quieted, through he didn't loosen his grip at all. "You're really back..." he whispered thickly, not daring to let go in fear that Arashi would suddenly disappear again if he did.

"Yeah... I'm really back," he reassured Naruto and kissed the blond's crown before he changed his grip and lifted Naruto - a nineteen year old young man - off the ground and squished him in an earnest bear hug with an ease that bespoke loudly of such times when Naruto had been three.

That set Naruto off again and he hugged Arashi even tighter as he continued to soak his father's shirt with happy tears. "I missed you so much... Dad..."

"There wasn't a day that went by that I didn't think of you, Naruto..." he murmured his voice hoarse through the quiet tears running down his cheeks as he buried his nose in Naruto's shoulder. "It was seeing you and your grandmother again that kept me going..." ::That and I've never, ever been one to give up easily.::

"Why... why didn't you tell us sooner that you're alive?" Naruto asked thickly, sniffling loudly. "Where were you?"

Arashi sat after kicking his kitchen chair away from the table to make that comfortably possible and settled Naruto in his lap, not yet willing to let the boy go. "I couldn't. I was too busy dodging bullets and bayonets. The war might have been over for this side of the world but war over there is commonplace. And I'm obviously not native to their land and wearing the remains of a Marines uniform didn't help. Not to mention that I went for almost two and a half whole years without seeing another human being. I got lost in the middle of a desert without a clue as to where I was because I got separated from my battalion in the dark. When I finally reached decent civilization and was able to walk into town without being gunned down, I was all the way through the Asian Middle East and into Asia itself. I had to contact the military so I went looking for a liaison of some kind and from there they sent me right to the United States. I had to report to my superiors and then they sent me right home. I didn't really have the chance to contact you and Mika... and I figured it wouldn't hurt to make it a surprise," he finished with a soft grin. ::I was in Asia anyway... and I had to see for myself... There was more delay than that Naruto, but I can't tell you everything.::

Naruto nodded in understanding and grinned back. "It was definitely a surprise, and a great one. Oh!" Naruto got up and ran up to his room. He paused to kiss Sasuke's cheek before digging through his backpack and running back down the stairs. Sitting in Arashi's lap again he untangled a couple sets of dogtags, handing one to his father. The set that had belonged to his mother Naruto clutched tightly. "Here. This is yours."

Sasuke had by that time stretched out and dozed off. Sleep was always the best balm for heartache. He didn't even stir at the peck to his cheek.

Arashi smirked. "May I see them both?" he asked and opened his hand.

Naruto handed him his mother's tags, curious as to what he was going to do.

Arashi looked over both sets of tags and sighed. Sara had been a wonderful woman, and she had deserved an actual burial. "Your mother wasn't Missing in Action, Naruto. She was a Prisoner of War. If she had been Missing in Action you wouldn't have gotten these back. I ditched mine with my pack because they were too noisy." He was silent for a moment as he rubbed the pad of his thumb over the indented lettering on the tiny metal tag with his wife's statistics on it. Each set of dogtags came with two tags. one to hang off the long ball-chain while the second hung from a smaller ball-chain - like a keychain instead of a necklace - from the larger one. The smaller dogtags were used to identify bodies that were so mangled they were indiscernible and that was done by removing the keychain like tag and chain and pincing it in the dead body's mouth between the front two top and two bottom teeth before burial. The longer ball-chain and tag was sent home to the family. Quietly Arashi removed the small tags and chains from each set and switched them handing the long chain of Sara's to his son with his small tag and putting the long chain of his own with his wife's small tag about his own neck and then leaned forward and kissed Naruto's forehead. "There. Does that work?"

"Yeah... but..." Naruto was confused. "They told us Mom died in a car bomb... I've read the letter... Baa-chan has it in the drawer of her nightstand..." He put the chain Arashi had handed him around his neck as he looked at his father questioningly.

Sighing softly, Arashi explained, "If your mother had died and they were able to retrieve the tags, her body would have been sent home for a closed casket, military burial. You would only have gotten the long tag. In my case, you wouldn't have gotten my tags at all except that I ditched them like I said. She was a prisoner of war and the tags were sent back to the American troops as proof that she was in the hands of the enemy. She was killed there and probably buried in a mass grave..." He kept his voice as soft as possible trying to be sympathetic. He'd come to terms with the facts long ago. Naruto had been disillusioned... No, actually outright lied to and now had to learn the real and horrible truth of his mother's death. Arashi had been purposely vague not mentioning any torture or anything else worse than what he had said as it was, not wanting to really upset Naruto. He figured what he'd just told him was upsetting enough as it was.

Naruto sat there in quiet shock, becoming very pale as he was filled with horror. All this time he had believed that his mother had died an instant, painless death... To find out that she had died at the hands of the enemy, meaning they had done only God knows what to her before killing her, was a deep blow. Naruto wasn't as naive as he seemed. He knew female POWs were often raped and tortured before being killed. Horror gave way to a low, smoldering anger and his face became stony. If there was one thing Naruto hated it was being lied to, especially about things of this nature. It didn't even cross his mind that Arashi might be lying, because he had no reason to lie to him about his mother's death except to make it seem less of a horror story, and he'd done the exact opposite. "Thank you... for telling me..." he whispered, eyes fixed on his mother's tag in his hand.

Arashi reached out and hugged Naruto to him tightly. "The truth hurts sometimes but it is always better than lies," he murmured and squeezed Naruto a little tighter. "The military has its reasons for keeping secrets but there are some that even I don't understand the need for." He released Naruto then and patted his cheek. ::Hmm... nothing... A good sign probably...:: he thought momentarily as his mind wandered a little. It was only an instant thought before he said, "Why don't you tell me what I've missed all these years? Hm? I need to do a little catching up."

Just then Mika walked in with an armful of thick photo albums, her eyes suspiciously red but dry. She'd been listening to their conversation just outside the door of the kitchen and felt the same anger Naruto did at being lied to but knew there was nothing she could do about it. "Did I hear something about catching up?" she said with a mischievous smirk.

Naruto leaned back, trying to stay as far away from the albums as possible as if they were a plague. "No. No photo albums. No," he said firmly. One of Mika's hobbies was taking pictures of Naruto in the most embarrassing situations possible and then showing them to friends. He hated it.

However, Arashi's eyes lit right up and he made a dive for the album on the bottom of the stack removing it without upsetting the pile in a quick jerk and then opened it up to the first page. And laughed. "Very funny mom... bear-skin rug... haha... I'm still mad at you for doing that to me and then you turn around and do it to my son... You're cruel."

Mika laughed with him, laughing even louder as Naruto groaned and buried his face in his hands. "Living room couch? Then we can spread these out on the coffee table," she grinned. It was sooooooooo much fun to embarrass Naruto.

"Kitchen table's bigger," Arashi countered and stood up, depositing Naruto on his feet before taking his plate to the sink.

Naruto tried to escape upstairs but Mika caught him by his collar even as he ducked her hand. "Oh no you don't. You're not getting out of it this time!"

Grumbling Naruto sat down at the table and glared at the pile of albums as Mika set in on the table. Then he noticed a certain album and, with a huge grin, grabbed it and opened it. He quickly found the picture he wanted. "Hey Dad, look at this one!"

"Which one- Give me that album!!" Mika dove for the book but Naruto evaded her this time and proudly showed his father a picture of the time he and Guen had chased Mika into a muddy river bank. She looked like a mud pie.

"Nice!" Arashi exclaimed, laughing outright. "No fair, Mom. I wanna see them all, the good and the bad and of both of you."

---

A few hours later Mika and Naruto were arguing over a photo and what had actually happened when it was taken when Mika noticed that Arashi wasn't laughing at their silliness. Looking over she saw that Arashi had fallen dead asleep on an open album, a victim of jetlag, and laughed. "Looks like we lost one."

"I think you're right," Naruto chuckled. They both got up and each of them hooked one of Arashi's arms over their shoulders. Carefully they carried him to the couch and laid him down. "M'gonna go check on Sasuke," Naruto said as Mika draped the blanket over her son. She nodded and he took the stairs two at a time.

"Sasuke, you up?" he asked quietly as he entered his room.

Sasuke's eyes opened immediately at the sound of Naruto's voice. He'd woken some hours ago and turned off the light in the room and shut the blinds. His meditation broken now, he sighed and said simply, "Yeah."

Naruto sat down next to him and cuddled up against his side. "You okay?" He realized just how long he'd left Sasuke alone and felt a little guilty. He hadn't meant to forget about him but... with his father suddenly coming back from the "dead" it had been very hard to think of anything else.

"Yeah," he answered half-truthfully and wrapped an arm around Naruto's shoulders. He'd been sitting up and leaning into a small pile of Naruto's pillows against the headboard.

"You're lying," Naruto said simply, resting his head on Sasuke's shoulder and holding him close. "M'sorry..."

"I'm fine," he insisted and tightened his arm around Naruto's shoulders. "Why are you sorry?"

"For leaving you alone so long..." Naruto said softly, honestly apologetic. "Sorry..."

"Don't be. I understand," he murmured and kissed Naruto on the head. He'd already decided to leave that night. It was more a matter of how he was going to tell Naruto.

"Doesn't matter. I shouldn't have left you alone for so long," Naruto insisted quietly, nuzzling lightly at Sasuke's neck.

Sasuke sighed and let it go. There was no point in arguing a point that he had already stated twice when Naruto was obviously not going to listen to him. "I slept most of the time anyway..." he mumbled and buried his nose into Naruto's spiky blond hair.

Deciding to let it drop as well Naruto ghosted gentle kisses along Sasuke's neck as he hugged him closer. He was in a wonderfully good mood and wanted to talk for hours about how great it was to have his father back but he knew Sasuke would far from appreciate it if he did. Sasuke didn't have even the slightest chance to see his parents again and Naruto was not going to rub it in Sasuke's face that he had his father back.

Tilting his head back against the tall headboard, Sasuke turned his eyes to the darkened ceiling. It was late in the day already and the weather was turning for the worse, kind of in line with Sasuke's mood actually. ::Cliché,:: he thought from that his mind slipped into a spacious zone where he could sense that a part of him was contemplating but the rest of him was of nothingness. Naruto's faint kisses barely registered, but still they were warm.

"Space case..." Naruto murmured teasingly, trailing his lips up to Sasuke's ear and nibbling gently on the lobe.

The voice more than the words brought him more to himself. "Hm?" he inquired as he brought his eyes down to look at Naruto, turning his head. The nibble to his ear had had its usual effect on him, but he showed little sign of it at the moment.

Chuckling Naruto brushed warm lips against Sasuke's. "You turned into a space case for a second. I'd completely lost you," he said with a little smirk.

"Hm," was the soft reply and then Sasuke reached up and caught Naruto's shoulders pulling him around into a tight embrace. "I think I'm going to go back to the dorm tonight..." he said softly nuzzling the short, short lovelock in front of Naruto's ear.

"Wha? But why?" Naruto asked in slight protest as he shifted so that he straddled Sasuke's lap, wanting him to stay. A couple seconds later it clicked and he lowered his head. "Oh... okay..."

"What's the frown all about?" he asked softly. He didn't have to see Naruto's face to hear the frown in the blond's voice. His chin rubbed lightly against Naruto's shoulder for a second and then he kissed it ignoring the feel of the cloth in favor of the warmth beneath it.

"Nothing... If you want to leave it's okay." Naruto wrapped his arms around Sasuke's shoulders and held him tightly. "I wouldn't want to be here right now either if I was in your shoes." He understood completely that Sasuke didn't want to stay there because he would be constantly reminded of what he could never have, and Naruto wasn't going to ask him to stay if it would cause Sasuke heartache.

"I won't be leaving until after dinner... I'll be at the same hotel that we stayed at for your birthday and my cell will be on if you need me or want me," he explained, his voice low. He was thankful that he didn't have to try and make any awkward explanations. His own arms tightened and Sasuke turned his face into Naruto's neck kissing him there.

"Okay." Tilting his head down Naruto nuzzled Sasuke's ear affectionately, running a hand down his back in a loving caress.

His own right hand slid down to Naruto's lower back in an echo of Naruto's but instead of stilling it slid up the back of his shirt coming to rest between Naruto's shoulderblades on bare skin. Idly his thumb stroked there.

Smiling softly Naruto slid his hands up Sasuke's neck to cradle his face. Slowly he kissed his way across Sasuke's cheekbone and down his nose to his mouth, embracing Sasuke's lips with his own.

The hand that had been beneath Naruto's shirt came up to loosely wrap his fingers around Naruto's left wrist and pulling it a little away from his face he tipped his cheek into Naruto's palm. At the same time his tongue brushed Naruto's lips having changed the angle of the kiss without breaking it.

Naruto purred quietly and parted his lips, kissing Sasuke with slow, gentle passion. He slid his arms around Sasuke's shoulders in a warm embrace, one of his hands tangling loosely in the back of Sasuke's hair. "Love you," he breathed, hooded eyes bright with tenderness and love.

Sasuke's lips ghosted over each eyelid and then he rested their foreheads together. "Love you," he murmured back his eyes reflecting Naruto's in shadow.

Arashi froze outside the door, his sensitive ears picking up whispered words of adoration. Smirking he turned and headed back downstairs. "They're having a tender moment. I'll let them be for now..." he informed Mika as he sat next to her on the couch and started the movie.

---

Naruto set the last of his stuff on the floor of his room with a sigh. About an hour ago they had finished a marvelous Thanksgiving feast full of laughter and teasing. He blushed lightly as he remembered just how much Arashi had teased him and Sasuke, play-begging for details about their relationship much to their embarrassment and Mika's amusement.

Now he was helping Sasuke unpack the trunk of the Chevelle so that Sasuke could go back to East Lansing. "I know you want to leave but... I don't like the idea of you driving with only one arm," Naruto said as he turned at the waist to look at Sasuke, who was sitting on the bed.

"I'll be fine," Sasuke reassured him and stood up to take Naruto into his arms and kissed his forehead nudging the blond bangs out of the way with his nose. "I'll call you as soon as I reach the hotel... How about you and I go cellphone shopping next weekend? You need one."

"That's a really good idea." Naruto hugged him back and nuzzled noses with him. Letting go of each other reluctantly they walked out to the car and Naruto pulled him close for one more kiss. "Be careful."

"I will. Have fun. Do you want me to pick you up on Sunday or will Mika and Arashi drop you off?" Sasuke left his arms wrapped loosely about Naruto's waist as he waited for the blond's answer.

"I'll have one of them drop me off." Naruto gave him a squeeze before letting go. "See you on Sunday. I mean it, be careful."

"I will..." he said emphatically and caught Naruto's chin kissing him deeply before getting into the car and starting it up. He set the CD player up right then so that he wouldn't have to mess with it and then set up his cell phone's headset so that if it rang he wouldn't have to hold it to use it. With a final wave to Naruto he pulled out of the driveway and was soon gone.

Naruto stood in the driveway until he couldn't see Sasuke's car anymore before going back in the house. Picking up a wagging Guen on the way he went into the living room and sat down on the couch with a sigh. Sasuke hadn't been gone even ten minutes and Naruto was already feeling down. It was one thing to not see him during classes, but it was completely different when he wasn't going to see him for two days. He felt as if he was missing a limb or something.

Settling on the couch next to his son Arashi pulled Naruto to his side and hugged him and the dog. "What's the matter Naruto? It's only going to be the weekend..."

"I know... it just that this is our first time apart since we got together and it feels weird," Naruto said, turning Guen into a puddle by scratching her chest.

"You could have asked him to stay," Mika pointed out as she sat in her armchair.

Naruto shook his head firmly. "No. It wouldn't have been fair for him when all staying would do is make him miserable."

"Miserable?" Arashi inquired.

"Sasuke's parents were killed by his elder brother and his brother is currently picking off the rest of the family," Mika explained.

Looking a little confused Arashi thought about that a moment, and then realization dawned and he nodded saying simply, "Oh." What else could he say?

Deciding he wanted a change in topic Naruto asked of his father, "What was Mom like?" He'd heard plenty of stories from his grandmother but he wanted to hear Arashi's version.

Arashi had chuckled at the sudden change of topic but conceded to tell Naruto everything he could possibly think of about the situation he and Sara had been in and through all the way to how proud they had been holding an infantile and screaming Naruto in their arms at the hospital that day. In the end, Arashi kissed Naruto's forehead and patted his shoulder. "Nap time for your old man, kid... I'm still jetlagged I think..."

"Okay." Naruto leaned over to hug him. "Love you, Dad. Good night." He got up and gave Mika a kiss on the cheek, telling her good night as well before heading up to bed. He chuckled softly when he was halfway up the stairs, hearing Mika say, "You think _you're_ old? At least you're still under fifty."

----------Hotel in East Lansing, Late that Night------------
Slowly Sasuke slid into the hotel bed and settled on his back with the covers pulled up under his arms and his arms lying alongside his body on top of them. It was so quiet. Incredibly quiet. And... lacking. The covers were cold too. Silently he stared at the ceiling and let his mind wander. Of course, it went straight to Naruto and stayed there. Naruto's smile, his laughter, his vivid blue eyes and the way his entire demeanor changed in an instant from loud and obnoxious to sultry and arousing in milliseconds all played through Sasuke's mind. ::I called him already..........:: he told himself resisting the urge to pick up his cell and call the Uzumaki household at two in the morning.

---

Back in Birmingham, Naruto was just as unable to fall asleep. He was tired from the day's emotional roller coaster but sleep just refused to come. His bed seemed huge without Sasuke's warm body next to him... He missed Sasuke's embrace, his smirk, his low voice that never failed to melt him, the way Sasuke would go from insulting him to kissing him in a heartbeat... And hugging the pillow Sasuke had used last night and inhaling his lingering scent was just making Naruto miss him all the more. ::He called already... He's probably asleep by now...:: Naruto thought, wanting nothing more than to pick up the phone and call Sasuke's cell.

Finally after another hour of tossing and turning Naruto gave in. He tiptoed down the stairs to the kitchen and, doing his best not to wake up Arashi, dialed Sasuke's number.

The phone was answered on the second ring with a soft, relieved sounding, "Hello, Naruto." Sasuke was actually relieved that Naruto had called. He still hadn't slept a wink and yet he didn't want to call Naruto and wake up the whole household. Sasuke had been going a little stir-crazy resisting the urge to call.

"Hey, Sasuke... you couldn't sleep either?" Naruto asked as quietly as he could and still be heard at the other end, relieved that he hadn't woken him up.

"No," he stated in simple honesty. "It's... too quiet... and the bed's... too big and cold," he explained with difficulty. He wasn't good at this sometimes and then it was more of a concept than something too easily put into words as well.

Naruto smiled softly. "I know exactly what you mean... I've gotten used to my Sasuke plushie and now that I don't have it..."

Sasuke chuckled lightly at that. "It's only for two nights... I keep trying to tell myself that anyway..."

"Two nights is a lot... I miss you."

"I miss you, too, itooshii..."

Naruto sighed. "We'd better go to bed if we don't want to be zombies by the end of the weekend..."

"Ha~..." Sasuke agreed reluctantly. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, koi."

"Yep, first thing in the morning. I love you, Sasuke."

"I love you, too," Sasuke murmured in return and then said softly, "Oyasumi."

"Oyasumi." Quietly Naruto hung up the phone and tiptoed out of the kitchen and up the stairs back to his room. A quick look into the living room told him that he hadn't woken Arashi up... hopefully.

Settling back under the covers and hugging the pillow that smelled of Sasuke, Naruto relaxed, waiting for sleep to come. This time it did.

---

Arashi, with his back to the open space of the living room and effectively the phone, smirked and closed his eyes again for sleep. ::They've got it bad...::

---

Sasuke rolled onto his side and closed his eyes willing sleep to himself, but it was a long time in coming. He'd have to exhaust himself a little extra tomorrow so that he could sleep. Kakashi would be getting a phone call as soon as he hung up with Naruto... and that was his last coherent thought.

TBC...