The Fox's Brush.

Naruto rose from the depths of sleep slowly; the first thing that he became aware of was that he was somewhere unfamiliar. His life as a ninja frequently required him to spend weeks away from home so this fact in and of itself didn’t really mean anything, but there was something different this time. He didn’t think that he’d ever woken up in such a comfortable bed, he thought to himself as he rubbed his face against the soft material, it was usually either his sagging, lumpy mattress or a sleeping bag on the hard ground.

The second thing he became aware of was just how thirsty he was, grimacing at the way his tongue rasped against the roof of his mouth. He cracked his eyes open in the hopes of finding a glass of water but all he saw was a plain white wall with a black framed window set in the middle. The wooden blinds didn’t really do much to keep out the sunlight and he squinted painfully against the glare. Feeling even more disoriented, he rolled over to check out the other side of the room and had to bite his lip to keep from yelling out in surprise when he realised that he wasn’t alone in the bed.

He could only see the top of the other person’s head peeping out from under the covers, short black hair that was messy from sleep being the only clue he had to their identity. He knew that he had been in Sai’s apartment last night and that he had been drinking. Had he gone on some terrible bender after leaving Sai’s and gone home with some girl he didn’t know? Naruto’s heart was pounding in his chest as he gripped the edge of the blanket and lifted it up slowly. His own nakedness barely even registered as he exposed a shoulder and back that were decidedly masculine and almost as pale as the sheets they were sleeping under. It looked like he hadn’t left Sai’s after all.

Everything that happened last night came back to him with a bang. He remembered the meal that he had shared with Sai, the drinking and the ‘interesting’ conversation that they had had when Naruto was more than a little tipsy. Most importantly, he remembered the mind blowing head that he’d gotten from someone who he was supposed to be nothing more than friends with. He blushed furiously as his cock perked up at the memory.

As his traitorous erection brushed against the sheets it brought up an important question: Why exactly was he naked anyway? He began to panic as he realised that he couldn’t remember what had happened after they came back to the bedroom. Had they had sex and he had been too out of it to remember? Or was that a stupid thing to think? He was no expert on gay sex but wouldn’t he be feeling it if Sai had gone to town on his ass while he was out of it?
Why did the fact that he couldn’t remember bother him more than the fact that they might have done something anyway?

Sai shifted beside him and begun to turn over, Naruto quickly closed his eyes and pretended that he was still asleep. He waited a few minutes, which felt more like hours, before he risked opening his eyes again and prayed to every deity he could think of that Sai would still be sleeping. They were nearly nose to nose now but thankfully Sai’s eyes were still closed, Naruto almost sighed in relief but caught himself; every second that he avoided having to deal with this ‘situation’ was a precious resource.

When they were this close he couldn’t help but take in Sai’s sleeping face and, in truth, it was the first time that he had ever really looked at him. Naruto knew that Sai was the kind of guy who would always be described as pretty instead of handsome, but he’d never really noticed just how pretty he was… especially last night when he’d been all flushed and breathless.

What did all of this mean exactly? He thought with a frown. He didn’t think that he was interested in guys… although if he was honest he had had a few dreams over the years involving Sasuke that you don’t usually have about someone that you supposedly consider a friend. But, Sasuke aside, he never really thought about other guys in a sexual way. He had certainly never thought of Sai in a sexual context until last night, when a potential first blow job and booze had made him disregard any preconceptions he had about his own sexuality. Now he was in bed with his teammate, naked, hard and seriously considering a repeat performance. He closed his eyes in frustration.

And what about Sai? Naruto knew from their conversation and the subsequent activities that Sai was obviously into him. But what did he want from this? Naruto wasn’t going to turn him down if he offered to suck him off again (hell, he might even be persuaded to return the favour under the right circumstances) but was he ready for this to become a relationship if that was what Sai wanted?
Naruto didn’t think that he had an answer to that question. Not yet anyway.

He wondered how badly Sai would take it if he grabbed his things and left now. Sneaking out after what happened last night was probably considered a dick move, but he really needed some time to think about all of this crap. Unfortunately, when he opened his eyes again Sai was looking right back at him. Naruto jerked back a little in surprise, it looked like he was going to have to save the heavy thinking for later.

“Morning” Sai said simply as he closed the half inch between them, their noses were touching now and it left Naruto with no choice but to make eye contact. Naruto laughed nervously before replying “Mornin’” and tried to ignore just how fast his heart was beating.

Some of his uncertainty must have shown because Sai’s eyebrows were drawn together in what looked like concern “How are you feeling?” he asked as Naruto felt a warm hand on his hip and Sai pulled him a little closer. “I’m fine!” he managed to respond in a relatively level and calm voice despite feeling something hot and hard brush against his cock. Fucking hell, that was hot. Yep, he was finding it very difficult to convince himself that he was 100% straight anymore.

What the hell was wrong with him? He had been trying to think of an escape plan just moments ago but now all he could think about was how much he wanted to stay here in bed with Sai and see if he had any more ‘hidden talents’.

As much as he wanted to just give in to temptation, there was something that he had to get out of the way before they did anything else. “Sai, I need to ask you about what happened last night after we came to bed” Naruto asked while watching Sai closely, his heart lurched a little when he saw just how guilty his friend suddenly looked.

“When I came back into the room after brushing my teeth you were laying on top of the sheets, asleep and naked” Sai explained, there was a blush forming high on his cheekbones. “I helped you get into the bed, and then I folded your clothes before undressing and getting into bed myself” Sai brushed against him again and it nearly derailed Naruto’s train of thought entirely.

“Nothing else happened?” Naruto was suspicious, but whatever Sai was hiding he didn’t think that it involved stealing what remained of his virtue. Or maybe he was just too horny to care.

“Nothing else happened” Sai said softly. He still wasn’t completely convinced but that was all the justification that Naruto needed to shove the subject to the back of his mind and kiss Sai. It was better than last night, Naruto noticed, and less messy which probably had something to do with his being sober this time around.

They started slow but it wasn’t long before the kiss became more heated and Naruto figured that he should actually take an active role this time. He wasn’t quite sure that he was ready to take the plunge and have another guy’s cock in his mouth (yet) but jerking Sai off shouldn’t be too different from doing it to himself. Or at least that was what he was hoping.

He broke the kiss and sat up, throwing the sheets to one side and exposing them both to the cool air. Naruto paused for a second to take in the sight before him; Sai was flushed with arousal making the skin of his cheeks, lips, and collarbone stand out in stark contrast against all of the white. His normally perfect hair was in disarray, some of it sticking to the fine sheen of sweat on his forehead. Naruto’s eyes were finally drawn downward to Sai’s cock which was standing proudly to attention against black pubic hair; the head was the same flushed colour as his cheeks. Naruto was caught off guard by how hot it made him just to know that he was the one who had gotten Sai that hard.

Naruto ran one hand down Sai’s stomach, grinning when he felt the abdominal muscles jump under his touch. He used his index finger to circle Sai’s bellybutton in a slow, teasing movement and when he heard Sai moan a desperate plea under his breath Naruto felt his cock pulse in response. He was beginning to wonder if he had a sadistic streak.

He finally wrapped his fingers around Sai’s erection and gave it a squeeze (relishing the deep groan that such a simple action received) followed by a few, slow experimental strokes before he settled into a comfortable rhythm. Naruto marvelled at how responsive Sai was to his touch, the sight of him grunting and moaning as he thrust back into each stroke was almost enough for Naruto to worry that he might come without Sai touching him once.

Naruto picked up the pace a little and Sai threw his head back in pleasure, his fists gripping the sheets so tightly that his knuckles were white. It was obvious that he wasn’t going to last much longer so Naruto was surprised when Sai’s hand covered his and made him stop.

“W-wait a second” Sai gasped before sitting up and leaning over the edge of the bed. As Sai rummaged around under the bed Naruto sat back and ran his fingers slowly up and down his own cock while enjoying the nice view he was being presented with. It was a little surreal; if someone had told him that he’d be in this position a week ago he’d have laughed in their faces and maybe even tried to beat them up for good measure. But here he was, and damn it if Sai didn’t have one hot ass.

Sai finally found whatever it was that he was looking for and moved up the bed to where Naruto was sitting. He climbed into Naruto’s lap so that they were facing each other and their cocks were pressed together. “Wha-“ Naruto started to ask but Sai started kissing him again, he heard the pop of something being opened and then Sai’s hand, cool and slick with lube, wrapped around both of their erections and started stroking them together.

“Oh…!” Naruto moaned in appreciation, his eyes rolling back into his head as Sai began to pick up speed, he couldn’t believe how good it felt to have Sai pressed so tightly against him. He was once again at Sai’s total mercy and felt some kind of primitive urge to assert his dominance. One of his hands fisted in Sai’s hair, pulling his head to the side so that Naruto could bite and suck the junction where Sai’s neck met his shoulder. Sai groaned and bucked against him, his hand moving even faster now. Naruto used his free hand to grab Sai’s ass, fingernails digging into the soft flesh and leaving red tracks as he felt his orgasm hit.

Naruto came first but Sai was seconds behind him, both shooting come onto each other’s chests and stomachs. Naruto felt boneless as he slumped heavily against Sai, shivers still coursing through him. They both stayed together like that for a few minutes, trying to catch their breath but eventually Naruto wrapped his arms around Sai’s mid-section and flopped to the side so that they were lying down again.

As the post-sex high began to fade Naruto found himself worrying again. “Hey, Sai?” Sai’s eyes fluttered open from the half doze that he had begun to slip into and he responded sleepily “Hm?”

“We have to talk about this” Naruto said seriously, and he watched as Sai’s expression changed from sleepy contentment to wide-awake and nervous. “Naruto, I apologise if I overstepped any boundaries and did something inappropriate. Your friendship means more to me than-“ His overly formal language would have sounded ridiculous if he wasn’t so obviously genuine, Naruto thought glumly before cutting him off.

“Sai, you didn’t do anything that I didn’t want you to do, okay? It’s just…” he licked his lips and sighed before starting again “This is all very new for me and I’m feeling a little lost. I’m still not sure how I feel about it… do, you?”

“Do I know how I feel about our having sexual relations?” Sai asked, his tone was completely serious. Naruto winced and nodded “Naruto, you are the only person that I have ever…” he paused as he searched for the word “…desired to be with in a romantic context” It was obvious that it was very difficult for Sai to put his feelings into words, and Naruto felt even worse for pushing him to this point. “I feel afraid. I’m afraid that you won’t want to do this again and I’m even more afraid that you won’t want to be around me anymore”

Naruto pulled him a little closer and rubbed what he hoped were soothing circles into the small of Sai’s back. “I need some time to think about the… uh… romantic part of our relationship. But I will never stop being your friend, okay? That’s a promise.”

Sai looked like he was satisfied with that response, for now anyway. “What do you want to do now?”

“If you’ll let me use your shower that would be great” Naruto said with a smile, Sai nodded and detangled himself from Naruto’s limbs before getting up off the bed. “Your clothes are folded in the corner” he said, and Naruto noticed that his voice had regained its detached tone. He already missed the shy and insecure Sai, who also happened to be a secret sex fiend.

Naruto tried to not feel too exposed when he bent to pick up his clothes, but it was a little difficult when he knew that Sai was staring at him. He turned around and faced his friend, Sai quickly exited the room but not before Naruto had seen that he was blushing again. Clutching his clothes in front of his crotch he followed Sai to the bathroom where the basics of the controls for the shower were explained in a curt manner before he was left alone. Naruto was thrown by Sai’s sudden change back to his usual behaviour (or lack thereof) it was difficult to consolidate this Sai with the one that he had had a glimpse of last night and this morning. It made him wonder if he had just been confusing Sai’s arousal with emotion.

Naruto reached into the cubicle and turned the water on as hot as it would go before stepping under the spray, it stung but it made him feel a little better. He sorted through the bottles on the shelf in the shower, he eventually found shampoo and shower gel but not before going through six different types of conditioner (what the hell?!) and a surprisingly large bottle of something that he could only assume was lube. He worked the shampoo into a lather in his hair, smiling a little at how the smell of it reminded him of Sai, and washed it out while trying to make sure that he didn’t get any into his eyes. Then he scrubbed himself with the shower gel, paying special attention to where he had gotten come on himself earlier.

He closed his eyes and appreciated the feeling of the water beating down on his shoulders. At least he had a little more time to think about things, even if he could just figure out what to do in the short term that would be a good start. He really needed to get a second opinion on this… Sakura was definitely a no-go, admitting that you kind of, sort of, maybe liked your male teammate was not something you were supposed to talk about with the girl that you had been practically in love with since you were a kid. Kakashi was an option but Naruto could not see him dishing out helpful or meaningful relationship advice, considering his obsession with Ero-sennin’s books and the fact that Naruto could not think of a time he’d seen Kakashi spend time with another human being outside of work.

He felt a pang of sadness as he thought about how much he needed Jiraiya, his mother and his father at times like this. Helping with this kind of awkward, growing-pains crap was what family was for. The people closest to family after that were Iruka-sensei and Tsunade-baa-chan. He supposed that they were the best options when it came to asking for advice… even if he was kind of worried about their reactions.

The water was beginning to go cold. It looked like he wasn’t going to be able to hide out in here anymore, no matter how much he wanted to.

When he stepped out of the shower to dry himself he couldn’t help but appreciate that the towels were fluffy and smelled nice and clean, not like his own towels that he avoided washing for as long as possible and always smelled funny as a direct consequence.

He got dressed quickly and decided to help himself to some mouthwash in the hopes of making his mouth feel less like crap. He turned to face the door and took a deep breath, his hand hesitated for only a second before reaching out and turning the doorknob.

**
Sai had just finished washing enough rice to feed both of them (measuring out twice as much for Naruto. He had seen how much food that Naruto could put away in one sitting) and he transferred it to the rice cooker. He set about preparing fish for the grill and eggs for some tamagoyaki. It wouldn’t be the most elaborate breakfast since he hadn’t been expecting to feed anyone other than himself this morning but it would have to do. He de-scaled the fish absentmindedly and a small frown appeared on his face as he listened to the shower running in the other room.

The past few months had been strange and new for Sai, a gradual build up of unfamiliar (and in some cases unpleasant) emotions that had culminated in the events of the previous night. He supposed that it had started innocently enough, when he had found himself appreciating things like the strong curve of Naruto’s jaw or a droplet of sweat that ran slowly down Naruto’s bare back as he trained, but it didn’t stay that way for long.

Masturbation had never been anything more than a simple physical release for Sai, just one more item on the list of bodily functions that he had to take care of to keep everything running smoothly, but it wasn’t like that anymore. Now, the second that he touched himself his mind would call up images of Naruto, and the intensity of the orgasms he experienced left him panting and sweating in desperation. Even simple things like Naruto brushing against him by accident would have his heart thumping loudly in his chest and his thoughts turning to things most inappropriate.

As he exhausted the medical texts and turned to books on social anxiety it didn’t take him long to find a name for the malady that he was suffering from: infatuation. This in turn had led him to the books about romantic and sexual relationships. He had been disappointed to see that all of them only contained advice on relationships between men and women, leaving him uncertain as to how to proceed. In the end he decided to try out what he had read on Sakura, thinking that engaging her romantically might divert his attention from Naruto and onto something… more easily researched.

That plan had been shot down the second that the proposal had left his mouth, but through her good intentions she had set him on to a much more favourable course of action. He had tried, without much success, to make his intentions known to Naruto whenever they were on their dates. As weeks passed and it started to look less and less likely that Naruto was going to return his affections Sai had begun to experience an unpleasant despondent feeling that ate away at his sense of self purpose and left him feeling empty and worthless. He could not remember ever feeling so consistently bad for so long and for the first time since he had joined Team Kakashi he found himself wishing that he couldn’t feel anything.

Then Naruto had kissed him last night and he experienced a wave of emotion stronger than anything he had ever felt before, so much so that Sai couldn’t imagine how he would feel if it was taken away from him.

He snapped out of his reverie when he heard the shower turn off and Naruto moving around in the bathroom. He quickly threw the fish into the grill pan and grabbed the plates and bowls that he needed. Just as he was serving the food he heard the bathroom door open shortly followed by the sound of someone sitting down heavily on the couch. He placed the dishes and chopsticks onto a tray and headed out into the living area.

Naruto looked up when he entered, his eyes going wide when he saw the food. “Wow! That looks amazing, Sai”

“It’s nothing special, just what I make for myself every morning” Sai stated simply as he set the tray down on the coffee table and sat down, he was a little suspicious that Naruto was just praising him to be polite.

Naruto grinned and reached for his chopsticks “It’s one hundred times better than what I usually have”. He started tucking in to the food with a gusto that Sai had only ever seen Choji exceed.

As Sai began to eat his own breakfast (at a much more modest pace than his companion) he stole a few sidelong glances at Naruto and wondered if he should say something. Unfortunately, he had no idea what people were supposed to say in these situations. Should he act as if nothing had changed or should they talk more about what happened? Most of all he just wanted to know where to go from here.

**
It had been so long since Naruto had had anything other than instant ramen for breakfast that he had almost forgotten just how good a proper morning meal could be. In fact, it was so good that it had managed to take his mind off how potentially awkward this meal could have been. He was just finishing his fish when Sai spoke up.

“Um, Naruto?”

Naruto wished that Sai had waited until he had at least finished chewing before trying to talk to him, he hurriedly swallowed the food in his mouth and looked at Sai expectantly. “Yeah?”

“Are we were still having our date on Saturday?” Sai looked calm but Naruto caught the edge of uncertainty in his voice.

That was the big question wasn’t it? Things had changed, and labelling their meals as dates now would have much more meaning behind it than it had had before… at least it would to Naruto anyway. But while he still hadn’t decided if he wanted to date Sai he knew that he did definitely want to continue spending time with him.

“Yeah, of course we can still hangout.” Sai frowned at his choice of words and Naruto tried to smile reassuringly “I’ll let you know where I want to go after we finish training on Saturday, okay?”

Naruto was a little worried that Sai would press the issue but he seemed to be at a loss for words. Naruto gave himself a mental pat on the back for buying himself almost two days worth of time to figure out how he felt about all of this. Now he just needed to get out of here and get some distance.

He picked up his rice bowl and used his chopsticks to shovel the remaining grains into his mouth before standing up and stretching. “Thanks for the food, Sai. I’m going to head off now, I need to go talk to someone about…” he paused and cleared his throat“…something” That did not come out anywhere near as convincing as it had sounded in his head. He made a beeline for the door without waiting for a response, not wanting to give Sai the opportunity to argue.

In the hall he slipped his shoes on quickly before opening the door, he had just stepped across the threshold when Sai called his name. The desperation in Sai’s voice stopped Naruto in his tracks and he turned around, ready to tell Sai that he was in hurry (or something similar) but the look on his friend’s face rendered him speechless.

Naruto felt an almost physical pain in his chest, he couldn’t think of a time when he had seen Sai look so hurt or so lost… and it was all his fault.

Without really thinking about it he had moved back into the apartment, crossed the short space between them and pulled Sai into a fierce hug. Sai’s hands were stiff at his sides for a few seconds before he raised them and wrapped them around Naruto’s waist. Naruto ran his hand up and down Sai’s back, feeling how his heart was beating just as fast as his own. As he drew away their eyes met and Sai leaned in to plant a soft kiss on his lips. It was completely different from the kisses that they had already shared, there was nothing sexual about it and it lasted for only a second but there was just something that felt… right about it.

When he pulled away he saw that Sai was smiling shyly with no trace of the sadness that had been there before. He answered the smile with a relieved (and slightly embarrassed) grin “Okay, I really have to go now. I’ll see you on Saturday.”

“Okay” Sai answered, and while Naruto heard disappointment lurking in there somewhere it was still a million times better than the pain he had seen on Sai’s face earlier.

He left the apartment and waved once to Sai before walking down the stairwell on the outside of the building, he heard the door click shut softly behind him. As he turned the corner he was more confused than ever but he couldn’t quite keep the smile off his face.

*********

So there's the second chapter. Thanks to LividusNight, Cynaga and Cocopower1 for their reviews, I hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter!
I can't promise to have the next chapter up within a week because I work in retail and I think we all know just how busy that gets at this time of year. I'll try and get it written and up here ASAP, though.