Dentes

When Naruto woke up, he knew he wasn’t in the right place.

The unsettling atmosphere felt too real to be played off as a dream. The wind didn’t smell quite right. It was too clean, too cool. The linens were new, paper-thin. The same color as his… just not his. They smelled of starch and plastic, not the combination of musk and whatever spice was used to scent Sasuke’s shampoo.

Naruto squeezed his eyes shut, and then reopened them. The ceiling was white, the surrounded walls a light beige, just like his. In the air, he caught a whiff of fresh paint, as if the room had been refurbished only days prior. There was still an oak desk by the window on his right, with the matching bedside table right by the mattress. The lamp on top of it looked the same, but Naruto felt sure that if he were to open the cabinet drawer, he would find it to be terrifyingly barren.

He heard a tapping noise, and he turned his eyes to his lover. His naked back shown smooth and white as alabaster in the dim light of the moon hanging outside their window (why was the moon there it was never there their house was at an angle they could never see it from their window why was the moon there right there), and his shoulders were hunched as he fiddled with something in his hands. Naruto guessed it to be their alarm clock, judging from the wire descending down to the wall.

But something was off here, too.

His back and shoulders were the same. From countless nights of heated-lovemaking, both in the dark and in the light, Naruto could easily map out in intricate detail the entire plane of Sasuke’s body. He knew where each muscle was, where each dip and curve was, where every scar marked his skin, where his bones moved when he shifted, he knew everything. And that seemed to be the same.

Some years ago, Sasuke had had his hair long. It stuck up stiffly in the back, but he was able to bundle it into a small pony tail when he wanted. That was how his hair was now. His bangs and spikes pulled into a tiny tail at the nape of his neck, and it couldn’t have been more than two inches long. But it hadn’t been long enough to do that in years, so why…?

Sasuke set down the alarm clock and finally turned to face him. His bangs hung the same way; a bit fuller to the right, shading one eye partially. The eyebrows were still thin, still finely arched. His jaw and cheekbones were the same, although his chin was slightly narrower than he’d remembered it to be. And his nose was perhaps a centimeter too long to be right. The widow’s peak on his forehead descended down a bit too low to serve his memory correctly. The way he leaned on his arm as they locked eyes was wrong, too. He leaned backward, chest arching, instead of hunching forehead, like his Sasuke did.

His Sasuke.

And all of a sudden, they were two different people.

Then Naruto noticed the obvious.

Sasuke’s eyes were a dark gray, so dark, in fact, that they were nearly black. This man’s eyes were brown. A bright, vivid brown that looked so odd in his face. So bright, in fact, that they seemed almost burgundy. Tiny flecks of a darker brown dotted the irises, condensing into clumps and forming eyes Naruto had only seen achieved through the use of costume contact lenses. The eyeballs were set in between lids that were too narrow to be his Sasuke’s. And below the too-long nose was a mouth belonging to too-full lips. Not unattractive, but unfamiliar. A darker shade than his Sasuke’s lips.

But the mouth was set into an all-too-familiar smirk that he wanted to rip off for a completely different reason than normal.

Now, in this strange and familiar face, it was frightening. He was cold, he realized, and the horrible imitation of his bed offered to solstice, leaving him open for this monster.

The second Sasuke smiled. And in a deep, throaty voice that was just a shade too baritone, he murmured, “Awake at last, usuratonkachi?”

Naruto couldn’t help it. He began to scream.

--

Sasuke was in the bathroom when he heard Naruto thrashing, and felt no guilt in being glad he wasn’t there. From the first day they’d shared a bed to present, Naruto had the tendency to kick and punch in his sleep, and they left ugly purple blemishes across his legs. Best not to disturb that.

Figuring he’d wake the other man when he got out of the bathroom, Sasuke went about his business. He was just rinsing the suds off of his hands when he heard screams. He paused, hands half-way to the spicket, and listened for a fraction of a moment, staring into his own pair of eyes in the mirror. Then he heard another scream and, leaving the water running, he was gone in a split second and running towards the bed.

He landed softly on his knees by his boyfriend, hands leaving sudsy trails on the sheets, but he didn’t care. Because Naruto looked and sounded like he was being murdered, and was kicking and flailing at the enemy only he could see. One misaimed kick landed and dug into Sasuke’s hipbone, causing the larger boy to grunt and he allowed himself to be pushed back some distance before he swiveled and dove down at an angle to pin the man’s hands to the mattress.

“Dobe!” he shouted, eyes angry and dark with poorly concealed concern. “Wake up! Naruto, you’re just dreaming, wake--”

“Sasuke!” he shouted beneath him, and for a split second, Sasuke thought he’d gotten confused and that they were in an entirely different situation. The volume at which he’d screamed his name was very reminiscent of-- Sasuke shook his head, and instead thought of how worrying it was that the two sounded so similar.

Then blue eyes snapped open, live like an electrical current, blazing in the darkness with the power of a high beam and effectively blinding him. Naruto’s eyes were so wide, practically bulging, and the irises quivered as if his eyes didn’t know which way to turn. Whether to the shadowed corners of the room, the odd glow emitting from the open door of the bathroom, or to stay trained on Sasuke’s face, which he was now looking at as if it belonged to a man he’d just seen slaughter an entire town.

One of Naruto’s hands wrenched from Sasuke’s vice-like grip, and the older man made the mistake of not keeping track of it, distracted as he was by the brazen look he was receiving. He was only distracted by it when that hand formed a fist and all of a sudden slammed into the side of his head.

“FUCK!” Sasuke cried as he toppled over the side of the bed, hands gripping the side of his head. He teeth clicked shut upon impact, and although his shoulder took the brunt of the fall, a high-pitched ringing began in his head as his jaw bone ached. He groaned and tried to move, but his legs were now tangled within the sheets and he found himself stuck at an awkward, top-heavy position on the floor. Hs view of the ceiling spun to and fro, popping in and out of reality, until a spot of gold appeared.

“Sasuke?” was the uncharacteristically meager sounded the blob gave, growing more defined by the second. Sasuke could make out a silhouette of spiky hair now, and shadows outlined the contours of a worrier, scarred face. “Sasuke, is that you?”

“Yes,” Sasuke gritted. “And you…” he hissed as he shifted and the side of the hand cradling his head brushed the floor causing a spike of pain to flare up at the pressure, “are the most retarded moron I’ve ever had the misfortune of getting attached to.”

“Sasuke!” Where he’d expected an insult, he got instead an armful of heavy blond, the weight jettisoning his head once more into the ground.

“Ouch!” Sasuke’s legs flailed as he struggled to find purchase, hands weakly shoving at his boyfriends to try to alleviate the pressure. “That hurts, get off!”

“Sasuke!” Naruto murmured, head burrowed into his neck, hot breath steaming over the skin there and causing his arms to break out into goosebumps. Sasuke struggle to lift his head, which had suddenly been filled with hot brick. “Sasuke, Sasuke….”

“Dobe,” Sasuke snorted. Giving up, he turned his head and laid it flat on the ground, hands now running soothing circles over the moron’s shoulder blades and the small of his back in an effort to calm him down. He felt a wetness on his neck, but couldn’t decide if Naruto was crying or just sweating as he rode out the after tremors of a night terror. Either way, Sasuke wound his arms around the quivering form and held him closely, whispering silent, unconnected words into his ear, almost humming. It was awkward, and the blood was rushing to all the wrong places, and Naruto’s straddling him caused an uncomfortable weight to press down into his pelvic area and lower stomach. Like a shaking mountain the blond’s muscled back continued to shake, and sweat started to bead up where their skin connected.

Eventually Naruto’s breath evened out, and just when Sasuke began to fear that he’d fallen asleep, a groggy voice croaked, “How’s your head?”

Sasuke snorted softly. “Feels like someone sucker punched it.” A breathy chuckle, and when that died away, Sasuke noted that he could still hear the rush of water from the bathroom. “Our water bill’s going to shoot through the roof if I don’t turn that off…” An off-handed way, he thought, of communicating to his lover that he could no longer feel the lower half of his body and that he’d truly appreciate it if the blond lifted himself off of him.

Naruto, bless him, took the hint and drew back to his knees, peeling his face away from Sasuke’s neck. They stared at each other for a long moment, Sasuke with a bland face and confused eyes, Naruto with a frown and dark blue eyes staring through red, puffed skin that was dotted with perspiration.

“…I’ll go get some ice,” Naruto murmured belatedly, standing up and getting off Sasuke. He paused, as if unsure whether or not to lend a hand, before padding out of the room. When the raven heard slow footstep retreat down the steps, he sighed and began the complicated process of kicking his legs out of the knotted bed linens. Once freed, he clenched his teeth and slowly sat up, crossing his legs and waited. Once the room stopped spinning, he stood, instantly feeling a strong sense of vertigo. He gingerly pressed cool fingertips to his ear and instantly drew them back with a wince. Resigning himself to what would escalate into an excruciating headache, he made his way back into the bathroom. He ran his hands under the still-running faucet before turning the water off, then running his damp hands over his face. His skin felt feverish, even to himself, but when he looked into the mirror, all he saw was a pale face with dark gray eyes staring back at him.

He was drying his hands on the cloth of his dorm pants when he hood footsteps, this time ascending the stairs. He looked into his eyes one more time, noticing how tired they looked, before flicking off the light and walking back into the bedroom where he was met with a guilty Naruto and an ice pack.

Sasuke silently sat on the bed and allowed Naruto to swing one leg up to the mattress, letting the other prop itself on the floor, half-turned towards him and brushing black bangs away from his ear. Sasuke kept himself quiet as the initial impact of the ice brought back the astounding pain, the gentle application becoming slightly harder as the area began to numb. Sasuke’s hand drew up to take over, and Naruto’s hand slipped form beneath his as he held the pack up on his own. Naruto’s fingers, instead, trailed through the limp spikes at the back of his head, working through the knots until the hair ran smooth and straight. They shared a few more minutes of companionable silence until Sasuke changed hands, the fingers on one beginning to go numb, and once he had, he asked, “What were you dreaming about?”

“Hm?” was the nonchalant response. Sasuke’s eyes snapped to the side and he caught Naruto staring blankly at their digital alarm clock, hands still brushing through his hair like clockwork. 12:12. No, the raven realized, he was simply staring at Sasuke’s pillow, boring holes into it liked it’d done him a great wrong. Or like he was looking for something he knew was there, merely hidden out of sight…

“I said,” the raven spoke crisply, causing Naruto’s attention to swerve back to him, “what were you dreaming that threw you into a fit.” Naruto’s hand paused, then slid out and flopped onto the bed between them. Like a natural reflex Sasuke has covered it with his own, running the rough pad of his thumb over the top of his wrist. The blond looked to be debating his options in his head. What the options were, Sasuke didn’t know. To brush it off, to lie, to even tell the truth.

A sudden smile lit Naruto’s face. “Nothing important, really. Just a nightmare.”

The first option then.

“You could have given me a concussion,” Sasuke said blandly, pointedly shifting the ice pack to better cover the side of his head.

Naruto sorted. “You’re such a woman. You’re fine. C’mon, I know you can take a hit….”

“I don’t care,” Sasuke snapped, then sealed his mouth shut, eyes narrowing. When he spoke again, it was in a much calmer tone. “I just want an answer, Naruto. If you’re not giving me one, it has to be something important. And if it is….”

Naruto rolled his eyes. “It really wasn’t a big deal. Don’t know why I was freaking out about it.”

“If it wasn’t a big deal, then you should have no qualm telling me, hm?”

Naruto bit his lower lip, caught. He stared into Sasuke’s eyes, the color of rich, dark smoke, devoid of any red glare or unnerving speckles that swerved and grouped to form three coma-like shapes around the pupil. With his short hair, his slight Widow’s Peak, his thin lips…

“It was weird…” Naruto whispered. “I… felt like I was here. In this room, you know. But it wasn’t. It was different. It was the same, but like… it was in a different house. The walls were the same, the bed was the same. But it was all brand new, kind of like when we first filled this place.” He gestured around himself at this, propping himself up on the arm struck behind him. Sasuke slid the ice pack off of his head and tossed it behind him. His ear and head throbbed gently, the rush of blood as seemingly as loud as Naruto’s voice, but he felt like a fool holding it up for so long. “And you were there, too. But you were different too.” a wrinkle crinkled the skin between his eyebrows and his lips puckered a bit as he thought. “I can’t really remember… heh, I’m forgetting already… you were the same, but you were different, too. You…. Looked different, I guess. Just little things. And…”

“And?” Sasuke prompted when Naruto trailed off.

Naruto shrugged. “You heard what happened next.”

They were silent. They stared at everything but each other for a few awkward minutes. Naruto lost in the remnants of his dream, Sasuke lost in his suspicions as to what had caused it. Absent-mindedly, Naruto’s hand drew up and began to stroke along the nape of Sasuke’s neck, fingering the feather-soft tufts of hair there. Sasuke’s hand cupped his bare knee before sliding up and into the cloth of his boxers, not in a sexual way, but to stroke the inside of his thigh, and intimate gesture of comfort. Somehow, Naruto’s hand felt more intimate than Sasuke’s gestures, so close to his face, close enough to smell, close enough that he could turn his face and kiss gently along the inside of his wrist. And he did. Once, twice, three times, chase kisses, dry lips along soft skin. Then open mouthed, once, twice, three times, until he was tracing the veins beneath his skin with his tongue, mouthing words against the damp flesh, feeling empowered beyond all belief when Naruto’s breath caught in his throat and then gentle hand was fisting into his hair, pulling him back and up and forwards and oh--

It was a slow, deep affair with which they moved, clothes tangled about a stray ankle or caught beneath a pillow. Sheets warmed and stuck to their skin, the sound of flesh on flesh matching the volume of their mouths as tongues danced in each other’s mouths, hands gripping onto backs and heads of hair that wasn’t their own. Nails scraping, gently, before the butts of palms massaged the small of the back. Legs spread, deeper, beating, pulling, pushing deeper until they finished without a word or cry, noises caught in their throats and let out in one large, dry huff of air and the complete collapse of limbs, relaxing even further, into a sweating mess.

Breathing having evened out, they cocooned each other. The heated caused rivulets of sweat to continue to stream between them, but neither cared enough to break apart. Naruto fingered the dip in Sasuke’s collarbone, feeling the bone there and the way it beat beneath his fingertips. Sasuke shifted his leg into a more comfortable position between Naruto’s thighs, trailing bizarre patterns across the skin he found between jutting shoulder blades, every now and then gently swatting at a furry face that rubbed an insistent, cold nose against his knuckles, praying for attention.

“Go ‘way, Kage,” Naruto murmured, not bothering to look around to confirm that the cat was really there. “When’d you get here?”

“He crept in a few minutes ago,” Sasuke replied, losing the battle with the orange-furred menace and continuing to stroke his lover’s back.

“Hm. You let him in earlier?”

“Yeah.”

A heavy yawn. “Tha’s good…”

The blond’s breath began to fan across his chest more evenly as unconscious beckoned to him with a seductive finger. Curled up together, no sheets but the thin layer of sweat, it was comfortable. He could sleep, sleep like this and not wake up and he’d be just fine. Who said they had to leave the bed?

“Your dream….”

Or maybe he would, if only for the sake of avoiding the question.

“It was a nightmare,” Naruto insisted. “Just some stupid nightmare. Nothing to flip out about.”

“You hit me hard enough to make me feel like the entire East coast boar down on me.”

“Then maybe you should dodge it, next time.”

Sasuke snorted, and let the subject drop. Or so Naruto thought. After another minute, he asked, “It’s not because of… in two weeks, is it?”

Naruto rolled his eyes, although the raven could not see. “Please,” the blond muttered. “Trust me. I can survive just fine on my own for a few days.”

“Eighteen days…”

Naruto shrugged. “Wouldn’t matter if it was eighteen days of eighteen weeks. I can take care of myself, bastard.”

Sasuke frowned gently. “Japan is so far away… You know I won’t be able to get back here if something happens.”

“I know that,” Naruto replied, shifting his head so it fit into a more comfortable position on Sasuke’s bear shoulder. “I told you a million times that it was fine with me. Stop worrying so much.”

Kage butted his head against Sasuke’s hand, which was now pressed flat against Naruto’s back, and giving up, jumped off the bed and padded out. Sasuke watched its progress as it batted at the door, heard the door creak, and watched the feline slink from the room with an aura of one having been greatly offended.

“I’ll be fine,” Naruto whispered. “You’re the one who wanted to go on this trip in the first place, remember?”

“I remember,” Sasuke replied. “I’m just not sure…”

“I told you, I’ll be fi--”

“…if I’ll be okay.”

Naruto froze. The pale chest, so strong and real, close enough to taste on his tongue, breath rippling and expanding his lungs so the skin moved millimeters towards his face before retreating. It was so real, and Naruto realized that he couldn’t imagine not having t so close to him. Couldn’t imagine t being gone for any period of time.

“Go to sleep, idiot,” Naruto whispered. “We’re both tired…. We’ll talk about it in the morning.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes, knowing that they wouldn’t. Naruto was too stubborn, and he too reluctant to start spilling his guts. Instead, he simply tightened his arms around the smaller man, hoping body language could fill in the void where his words had so obviously left gaping wide and open.

Fearing that they wouldn’t.

--

“Naruto, where are my keys?”

“Your car keys?”

“Why in God’s name would I need those? Shino’s picking me up.”

“Well sorry! I don’t know what goes on in your fucking head! I thought Princess Perfect had everything packed and ready AGES ago!”

“Well I would have if someone hadn’t jumped on me when--”

“Hey, hey, hey! That was your fault! You didn’t have a god damned shirt on, what the fuck else was I supposed to think!?”

“I didn’t have a shirt on because I was hot, dobe.”

“Hot? Hot? Sasuke, it’s sixty degrees out, you wimp! That’s not hot, it’s AUTUMN!”

The two ran about bickering like an old married couple, and had been doing so for the past hour or so, Naruto with a slice of toast with orange marmalade in his mouth, Sasuke with one sock on and his shirt completely unbuttoned and his hair ungelled, leaving it askew and odd-looking at the back of his head.

“Where’s my hair gel?”

“Oh, I dunno. Probably with your fucking keys!”

“Your attitude it completely unnecessary right now. Shino’s going to be here in an hour and--”

“Yeah, well, your face is unnecessary.”

“I don’t even know what that means!”

“GRAH!”

Naruto stormed into the kitchen and started throwing open cabinets, shifting boxes around and peering behind them before moving on to the next shelf. Sasuke rolled his eyes before feeling the need to as, eloquently, what the fuck he was doing.

“I’m looking for your damned keys,” Naruto hissed. “Since I OBVIUSLY won’t be waiting for you at the airport to pick you up and you’ll DEFINETLY need them half-way around the world.”

“I doubt they’d be in the cabinets,” Sasuke muttered petulantly, ignoring the sarcastic barb. Naruto snorted and continued his search. It was then that the raven noticed a bulky looking lump obtruding from the back right pocket of his lover’s jeans. “Oi…” And those weren’t Naruto’s jeans, either. These were a deep navy blue with yellow stitching. “Those are my pants.”

“Eh?” Naruto muttered absent-mindedly, in the process of shifting aside packets of ramen. He spilt several of them and gave a startled yelp when Sasuke’s hand slipped into the general vicinity of his rear. “Get your hand out of there!”

“And these are my keys!” Sasuke snapped, holding them up and dangling them from one finger. “Damnit, Naruto, what did I tell you about wearing my clothes!?”

“But they’re comfortable!” Naruto whined, and Sasuke was displeased to find not a single hint of remorse on his boyfriend’s face for the epic goose chase he’d been put through the entire morning.

“Well yours would be comfortable, too, if you’d just use those dryer sheets I bought.”

“Ew, those Snuggles things? I’m not that gay! They smell like girly flowers…”

“The smell wears off and they make your clothes feel soft. Which is why you use them. Look at you, you can barely walk in those.”

“Well sorry that I’m not feminine enough to go out of my way just to make my clothes smell Bounty fresh!”

“Me? Feminine? Dobe, you’re the one wearing your boyfriend’s clothes!”

“Better to be feminine then a frigid dick like you!”

“So you’re admitting you’re feminine, then?”

“Wh--n--no… Why are we fighting in your last hour of being here!?”

“You started it?”

“Way to act your age, bastard! Be the bigger man here, for once!”

“I am! Every day! My medical charts say so.”

And like so often, Naruto’s hands curled into two tights balls of fist. He glared, cobalt eyes like blue flames, hackles rising in preparation for a fight. Sasuke’s eyes narrowed, and then, with a huff, he shoved the keys into his pocket, spun on his heel, and walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. Naruto blinked after him, fingers relaxing from their tenses state and shoulder slumping downwards. He felt almost disappointed at the man for not rising to the bat. But then again…. He looked down at himself, and the way the pants pooled around his feet. They really were too big, he thought bitterly. Then, with one swift movement, he’d unbuttoned them and they fell to the floor in one smooth movement. He stepped out, kicking his legs to free his ankles from the denim, before padding off to find his boyfriend in nothing but his orange boxers.

Sasuke rose an eyebrow, but said nothing, when Naruto was back and sitting cross-legged in front of him on the couch. In the corner of his mind he was conducting a mental checklist. His suitcase was packed and organized, his carry-on duffel propped against the wall next to it. His cell phone and keys were safely tucked away into his pockets, Shino had their plane tickets, his college professor had the rest of the necessary documents that they’d need once they’d reached Tokyo. His passport and wallet were tucked away in the flap of his duffel bag, he’d brought his tooth brush, tooth paste, an extra thing of deodorant if one were to get lost, plenty of socks, extra shoes, and here he felt like he was leaving the most essential thing out of the packaging deal.

Because his moron was pouting, arms crossed over his chest, wearing an overly large hoodie with the name of their university printed across it in bold blue letters, and not much else. His boyfriend, who was either trying to piss him off or turn him on, or perhaps a combination of the two. His lover, who’s eyebrows were furrowed again like they had the tendency of doing when he thought too hard…

Sasuke tilted himself to face Naruto better, sighed, and spread his arms so that his hands were palm-up on his knees. When the blond just stared at him, Sasuke grunted at him and lifted an arm expectantly. When Naruto still refused to move, he rolled his eyes and, resigned to being the “bigger man for once”, reached over and firmly grasped Naruto’s by the upper arms. The blond was pliant enough, and he turned him around so that he could sit comfortably between his spread legs. Naruto sighed one last time before tilting his head back to rest his face against the side of Sasuke’s neck, head propped comfortably again a pale shoulder.

“Do you wanna turn on the TV?” Sasuke asked, argument already behind, left with the dirty dishes in the kitchen. Naruto grunted in the negative, so they simply lay there. The air was cool now, and the light flowing in from the living room window was warm against their skin and clothes. The soft feel of denim against his calves, and the slightly scratchy feel of the sweater on his forearms, was comforting, filled with the scent he was trying so hard to memorize before it was gone for the next few weeks. Sasuke simply relaxed in his reclined position, enjoying the comfortable warm weight on his chest. They should move, he knew, because it would take them at least half an hour to say good-bye. But his bags were packed, he was all ready, the had nothing else to do. Naruto obviously had no intention of going into classes until later in the afternoon, if at all, and they wouldn’t see each other in so long. Talking would ruin the moment. Eating would eat away at their time. Making out on the couch or beneath the freshly laundered sheets was a waste of time, and simply not close enough.

He risked a glance at the clock. 10:19. Where had all of his precious, precious time gone to? It slipped through his fingers like water, and Shino was nothing if not notoriously early…

The raven resigned himself to just listening to the blond’s even breathing, enjoying the scent and feel of stolen warmth. Half an hour. Just half an hour… The thought formed a mantra in his head, and all he could do was associate each breath with how many seconds it took. The older man found himself transfixed with it, listening more carefully, stroking fingers along skin as smooth and fine as gold.

He’d looked forward to this trip for so long, he thought. For half a year, actually. The chance to explore and learn the history of the country his parents had originated from. To see the lights, the shrines, the deep tradition that were practically tangible in some areas…

But now, all he wanted was for the trip to be over and done with. For the very first time, he didn’t want to go. He wanted to lock the door and pretend he wasn’t home when Shino came knocking n ten minutes. He wanted to stay like this on the couch for the rest of the day, doing nothing and enjoying everything. Having that blissful silence no one believed two people as stubborn as themselves could share.

And most of all, he was afraid. Sasuke, for some irrational reason, could practically taste the bitterness of something dark, something changed. Like what he was leaving now would not be the same when he came back, Or, worse yet, not be there at all. Did that make sense, he wondered, to feel this way? Because they hadn’t been separated for any long expanse of time, was this like letting go? Would he get used to it, or would it ruin the whole trip? Was it worth it to throw away thousands of dollars and hours of planning to stay home?

Yes, his mind hissed at him. Yes, it is. Stay home. He’d be happy. He’d put up a fight, but you’d both be so happy. Just lazing around for three weeks, nothing else but each other and a quiet house.

No, the more rational part of Sasuke’s mind argued. He’d never forgive me. He wants me to go, too. If he found out you cancelled for his sake, he’d be… he’d be….

Knock knock

…so sad.

--

“You have everything?”

“For the last time, dobe, yes. It’s all packed. I checked everything.”

“Your phone, your wallet, your keys?’

“Yes.”

“You’ll call when you land?”

“As soon as the wheels hit the ground.”

Naruto’s hands rose, sunk back down, and then rose back up with twice the speed and tweaked the hood of his lover’s jacket so that it was no longer caught up in the strap of his bag.

“You have everything?”

“Almost everything.”

“Wha--” Then Sasuke’s head had swooped down and effectively swallowed his words. Lips that as familiar to him as air was to his lungs met his hungrily, moving, roving, memorizing the shape and feel like they’d forgotten. Naruto’s hand lifted to twist into black locks, and then the other hand followed suit. Sasuke’s had shifted the bag until it slipped off his shoulder and slumped to the ground, using both free arms to ensnare his waist, pulling him as close as possible without hurting. And even then, it did ache, their chests too compressed and arms and hands too tight. There was a furious fervor that escalated and grew before tongues were diving into each other’s mouths, meeting and leaving each other to be replaced by sharp nicks of teeth, before they molded together again. Naruto twisted his head to the side, and up, to reach a better angle, to achieve more friction, to catch Sasuke in a trap that would root him to the ground and prevent him from leaving.

Something bitter was n the air, and it made him uneasy. Like when Sasuke returned, he would be different. Or Naruto would be different. They would be two different people, two pieces that no longer fit together like they used to.

So Naruto pressed closer, could feel his lungs constrict form lack of oxygen, could feel it in the way Sasuke inhaled sharply when he had the chance, but did not care, because this was the last--

Shino honked the horned once, and they broke apart. Not bothering to meet the level gaze of the man behind the steering wheel, they stood panting and waiting for their breathing to catch up with them. Wordlessly, Sasuke drew back and picked up the strap of his bag before swinging it over his shoulder one more time.

Sasuke smirked softly. “I don’t think that’s how good-bye’s are supposed to go?”

Naruto chuckled. “Too much tongue?” Onyx eyes gleamed with concealed amusement. “Wanna try again?”

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow, and threw a quick glance over his shoulder. “One more time?”

Naruto grinned. “Yeah. Just to get it right. Shino can wait another five seconds.”

The small tilt of the lip was gone, and Sasuke was merely staring at him now. Appreciative eyes roamed his face, and only his face, before a hand reached up to cup his cheek. Naruto cocked his head at an angle, a thumb brushed over one long scar, and without either of them closing their eyes they kissed once more. Slowly, just a brush of lips cupping lips, slightly moist and entirely warm. When Sasuke drew back, Naruto fought back the ferocious urge to beg for another. A second one, just one more. One more and he’d have enough to last him for eternity…

“I’ll be back soon,” Sasuke promised gently. The hand reached down and brushed along his neck. Naruto’s hand reached up, squeezed it closer to the palm rested by his pulse point, and then let go.

“I love you,” Naruto stuttered out, slightly rushed, slightly bothered by the abruptness of his words. He receive in turn a smile, not a smirk, but the curving of his mouth and the crinkles at the corners of his eyes that Naruto rarely got to see.

“I love you too,” he whispered.

And Sasuke was gone, jogging down to the car, swinging his bag into the backseat and climbing into the passengers seat. And before the door shut…

With one last, gentle smile, one that could last him, as Naruto thought it would, for eternity.

And the car with Sasuke drove far away.

--

Naruto slid his should bag off of his shoulder and into the side passenger door before slamming it closed and circling around the front of the vehicle to climb in behind the wheel. He slumped his head back against the seat and let his eyes rolls towards the roof, his hands blindly groping along the dashboard until his key slid into the ignition, although he did not turn it. The fifteen-minute walk from Thomas, the main building for sciences, was long and grueling, crawling over the tops of cobblestone hills and down beaten-down tracks of grass. The campus was fairly quiet this time of day on Friday evenings. Most students scheduled classes to have off on Fridays, in order to have themselves a three-day weekend. Naruto made sure to have every Tuesday off, as did Sasuke, so if they ever felt the urge to go out somewhere, that somewhere would be almost completely theirs.

Sasuke…

I should have taken that second kiss, Naruto thought bitterly. He wouldn’t be getting another for weeks. A move pure of stupidity on his part. He ignored the voice in his head telling him that he then should have taken a third, then a fourth, then skipped the foreplay and locked the door so Sasuke wouldn’t leave at all.

It sounded difficult to believe, but ever since they had met, they’d hadn’t gone without seeing each other for more than a few days at a time, and Naruto could count those rare occasions on one hand. And now, facing an entire two and a half weeks alone. The house all to himself, no one hogging the bathroom, left to eat whatever he wanted, sleep whenever he wanted, throw his clothes anywhere and not care about who it would piss off….

Just the thought of it made him want to curl into a ball under the covers and wait for Sasuke’s return.

Naruto jumped as something began to abruptly vibrate against his leg, snapping him out of his depressing reverie. His hand jolted in thin air for a moment before diving into his pocket. He twisted his body more to the left to free up the cramped space to pull out his cell phone, and nestled back into his seat as he stared dumbly at the screen.

Sasuke? he thought. How can he be calling? Shouldn’t he be a couple thousand feet up in the air by now? Nevertheless, he flipped it open and pressed it to his ear eagerly brows slightly furrowed.

“Your plane can’t have landed yet,” Naruto greeted in a teasing tone. He flexed his fingers over the leather material of the steering wheel, noting how warm it felt, and soft.

He heard a rare chuckle over the phone. And then a voice. “How would you know? You have never kept up with the latest advances in airplane engineering, last time I checked.”

Just like that the tension from his shoulders were gone. The seat turned soft instead of feeling like stone, and he was able to appreciate the sunset from the view behind his dashboard. Although he’d heard his voice this morning, knowing that he wouldn’t hear it clearly again for over two weeks made it seem all new now. It almost seemed different, like he’d aged. Naruto didn’t like the cell phones garbled version of his lover’s voice. It sounded too rough, too distorted, but he’d take what he could get.

Naruto rolled his eyes now, drumming his fingers now instead of making little, feathery stroke over the pebbled material. “Yeah, yeah. Where are you then? Layover?”

A snort. Naruto could hear airport traffic bustling in the background, mingling with his boyfriend’s words. It all blended into a dull roar, and a voice was speaking over the intercom, although he wasn’t able to decipher what it was saying. Something about the food court. “No. I wish,” Sasuke said into the phone.

“Wait… are you even in Texas?” Naruto frowned and looked at the digital clock imbedded into the dashboard. 5:48. Sasuke’s plane departed at four, so he should have at least been to Texas by now.

“No, Naruto. I’m still at the airport in Denver.”

“What?” The blond straightened up in his seat now, clenching the phone more tightly and trying to think around the guilty pleasure of Sasuke not haven left yet. “Your flight got delayed?”

“No. Apparently there was a bomb threat on one of the planes and they’ve shut the entire airport down.”

Naruto winced. “Ouch. Bet that’ll be all over the news tonight.”

“Not if the police can help it.” There was a lapse, perhaps a loss of connection, in which there was only a gentle humming, and then, “--will probably try to keep it quiet.”

“I’m sorry, what? The connection died.”

“I said the police are probably going to try to cover it up. There’s nothing that’ll get people’s underwear in a bunch than a bomb threat in an airport.”

“Tch, yeah right. It’ll be all over ABC and CNN tonight, you just wait.”

“Hmm,” Sasuke hummed, and there was a long pause. Naruto turned the key in the ignition so that he could open a window, and then killed the engine. The air was cooling off, and it felt good against his face. He switched the phone to his right ear so that he could prop his left arm along the door and lean his head against it.

“So… what’re you doing now?”

“Waiting for Shino to get out of the bathroom. Then he and I are going to try and find our luggage over in customs.”

“You’re coming home?” Naruto asked, surprised. Sasuke had been looking forward to this trip for so long… Even though Sasuke barely said a word about it, he could see the anticipation that lit up his boyfriend’s eyes whenever the topic was brought up. The few times he’d spoken of it, over steaming cups of morning coffee, on their afternoon commute back commute, in bed while they waited for the adrenaline in other veins to die down, he spoke with a fond look upon his face. But then again, Sasuke was never one for patience, either. Naruto couldn’t see him camping out in the lobby with a plastic-like blanket and a rock hard pillow just to wait for a plane.

“Might as well,” Sasuke replied. “It doesn’t look like things will be calming down any time soon.”

“Will they let you leave?” Naruto asked. “I mean, it’s a bomb threat…”

“They have no reason to keep us,” Sasuke replied evenly. “I’ll just have to reschedule my flight, and then I’ll be back home.”

Feeling oddly disappointed in the fact that Sasuke would be leaving for Japan anyway, just belatedly, Naruto said, “Want to have a late dinner then? Or I can save you a cold platter or something, if you wanted.”

Sasuke voice was soft as he replied, “Nah. You’ll probably be sleeping by the time I get home. You’re such a light-weight,” he added teasingly.

“Oi, that word’s for when it comes to alcohol. And I’m not one in either sense.”

Sasuke scoffed. “Sure.” A long pause. “I should go. I see Shino coming. We’re going to head over to reception and see about getting our luggage back.”

“You’re sure this is okay?” Naruto asked. “Not sticking with the college group?”

“Exactly, Naruto. College. Not high school. We don’t all need to stick together. Shino and I will just meet them at the meeting spot in Tokyo when we land.”

“All right,” the blond breathed. “I’ll leave the door open?”

“Lock it,” he said quickly. Then, “I have a key, dead-last.”

“Bastard,” Naruto retaliated. Another silence. Naruto wondered why he didn’t hear Shino yet, and then remembered that a corpse spoke more than Shino. “I’ll see you tonight, then?”

“You can count on it,” Sasuke promised in a muffled murmur.

“I’ll see you soon, then.” Another pause. A soft smile. He’s coming home. It’s selfish, I know, but I don’t care. He’s coming home. “I love you, Sasuke.”

“Naruto…” his voice murmured into the phone, gently crackling with what must have been the roar of people behind him.

“Hm?” Naruto prodded, but the line had already gone dead.

--

The turbulence of the plane knocked the two back and forth for a few moments before it flew steadily once more. Sasuke’s grip on his can of coke grew less strenuous, and he brought it up to his lips to draw a long sip. Shino was calm beside him, idly flipping another page n his magazine, reading through his prescription lenses that never seemed to turn off from the outdoor setting, always tinted to a dark color. Truthfully, Sasuke suspected he’d ordered them that way. The guy seemed to take pride in whatever made him even more of an oddity.

The plane, although thrown into less-than-ideal conditions, managed to arrive on schedule, perhaps a few minutes after. Customs felt longer to get through than the actual flight, Sasuke mused, as he stepped through what had to be the tenth metal detector. He was once again asked to remove his belt, and after the third time this happened, Sasuke came to a realization. It hit him while he was standing outside the port reaching into his pocket with his bag at his side as he waited for Shino to make arrangements at the help desk for a taxi. It hit him as he remembered Naruto’s whispered request to call as soon as the wheels hit the runway.

No one has asked him to remove his cell phone.

Feeling slightly guilty for having not remembered sooner, Sasuke stood his trunk up and reached a hand into his pocket for his cell phone. His fingertips dug through lint for a few prolonged seconds before he tried his other pocket. Nothing. Shit. Back pockets, nothing. Through his carry-on, in all the little flaps. And even though he hadn’t touched his luggage since he’d packed it yesterday morning, he went through that, too.

He was just re-checking the outside compartments when Shino walked up behind him.

“Sasuke,” he said. Just his name. He watched at the Uchiha ignored him completely, continuing to rifle through the contents of his bag. “I have called the taxi. What is it that you are looking for?”

“My cell,” Sasuke muttered. “I think I might’ve left it somewhere.”

“That is unfortunate,” Shine replied monotonously, and when Sasuke looked up at him with a cool glare, said somewhat hastily, “You may borrow mine.”

The raven sighed. “Thanks,” he murmured, straightening and holding out a hand expectantly. Shino fished out his phone, a simple silver gadget that came free with a certain plan, and handed it over. Sasuke nodded his head in thanks and then wondered off a few feet, scrolling down through the contact list until he came to Naruto’s name. Smiling slightly, he hit the green button and pressed it to his ear.

Seven rings later, and he got the pre-programmed message signaling for him to leave a message. Frowning, Sasuke searched his mind for time frames. What time was it here? What time was it there? Was he in class? He said he’d have it on him at all times, that he’d answer….

“Hey dobe,” Sasuke murmured in the phone. He’d always felt awkward leaving messages. He preferred not to do it; why waste words on something that wouldn’t waste words back at him? But Naruto was, like he was in many areas, an isolated occasion. “You’re not answering your phone, so I’m just leaving a message.” Obviously, dumbass. You’re just as moronic as he is. “You know I hate long messages, so…. Call when you get it, okay? The message.”

He swallowed. “I--” Miss you. Love you. “I, mh….” Want you here. Want to be there. “Just call me back.”

Why won’t you pick up?

Sasuke hit the red button, and then scrolled down to where it highlighted the word “Home” and hit send. After it rang a few times and then switched to the answering machine, he ended the call. Before giving up he tried Naruto’s cell phone again. Seven rings and a pre-recorded voice later, the raven flipped the phone shut, not bothering to leave a second message.

“He isn’t answering,” Shino said, stating more than asking, as Sasuke slowly walked back towards him and their luggage.

“Yeah,” Sasuke murmured, frowning at the face of the phone. The face remained aglow for a few second, and when the light went off, he said, “I’ll try him again when we’re at the hotel room.”

Shino nodded. “The taxi is waiting for us in Sector C. We should go.”

Without another word, Sasuke handed him back the phone before taking a tight grip on the rubber handed of his suitcase, wheeling it after Shino. Like highlighter fluid the sun crept through tall buildings and stained everything beyond recognition, even his own feet. He was too tired, and too bright after he’d closed his eyes for so long. The air around him, although forecasted to be a decent sixty degrees, was a bitter cold against his skin, and the wind swept through his unkempt hair. Their path seemed to be winding, and for the first time in the month’s anticipation for this trip, he wanted nothing more than to bolt back onto the plane and head straight for home.

With a nauseating weight in the pit of his stomach and a hunch to his normally prideful gate, Sasuke strode after his friend n silence, listening to the wheels of his luggage clang over the manhole on the ground like rusty pipes against the iron bars of a jail cell.

--

The Indian Summer had died, and in its place it brought a bitter cold that rattled their small portion of the world to the marrow. The sun-baked leaves were freeze-dried and falling limply from the surrounding trees, cracking and crunching like fragile animal bones under the feet of whoever trod across them. Like skeleton hands they clawed at the dark sky that night, thin, wavering branches creating a confusing network of dark bark and naked twigs across the stars. They waved shadows across the ground, mingling with the cold wind as it blew through the window, interrupting the tranquility of the room. Naruto bunched the sheets closer up and around him.

“Sasuke,” Naruto murmured. His boyfriend had crept quietly into the room a minute ago, careful not to wake him, and the rustling of fabric that hinted at his getting undressed. “Sasuke….” he called again.

The mattress dipped behind him, and a freezing arm encircled his waist. The digital alarm clock clicked from 12:00 to 12:01, the red a harsh beacon in the dark room.

“Geez, Sasuke,” the blond muttered. “Go grab a hot shower. You’re freezing.”

A breathy chuckle, and then equally cold lips were pressing at that special spot right behind his earlobe, making Naruto shiver.

“Hmm,” he hummed. And for a while, they just lay there, enjoying hearing the other breathe so deeply and evenly. Sasuke’s thumb ran soothing circles over his hipbone, and that mouth placed kiss after cool kiss on the side of his face. Once Naruto attempted to turn onto his side, or at least his back, to meet Sasuke’s lips with his own, but a strong arm tightened around his abdomen and a firmer kiss was placed to his temple, almost pushing his face into the pillow. Playing it off as Sasuke’s concern for his exhaustion, Naruto slumped back against the mattress and let himself be pampered.

A few minutes later, when his eyes began to stay shut for longer intervals, Naruto wrapped his hand around Sasuke’s forearm, petting it in a lax manner, content for now. He was confused for a moment, wondering why he felt crisp linen instead of bare skin. Hadn’t Sasuke undressed? And why hadn’t he noticed before?

“’suke,” he mutter groggily. He received a short, questioning ‘Hn?” in response. “Why don’t you take your shirt off?” he asked in a whisper. “Thought that’s what you were doin’ earlier.”

Sasuke didn’t answer. The thumb stopped moving, and then the arm disappeared altogether. Naruto thought his lover was actually listening to him for once, but he didn’t feel the bed shift.

There was the rustling of cloth. Cloth and something else. Something, perhaps bleach, or maybe Windex, was burning the air, and Naruto was too tired, too happy to have him home, to care.

“Naruto,” Sasuke whispered, mouth close to his ear and cold breath fanning across his face. “I need you to do me a favor.”

“Hmm, m’kay,” Naruto muttered, liking the guttural, throaty voice Sasuke was using. It was deeper than the baritone he usually spoke in. It was nice.

“Good,” Sasuke complimented. “Now, love, breathe deeply for me.”

Something rough was placed gently beneath his nose, covering his mouth, and held there by a firm hand. The blond reacted on instinct and jerked back, but not before taking a deep breath in shock. His nose was on fire, and so were his lungs. His brain would be, too, but all of a sudden, it was lost in a thick fog, no longer able to send messages to his body. He went limp immediately, and the hand continued to press the rag across his face, even as he lost consciousness. A firm arm shifted under his torso and lifted, moving him to press back against a frozen chest. Frigid lips he’d thought were pleasant pressed into his ear and whispered something, but it became white noise as the darkness took over.