Spartan Ninjas (Abandoned WIP)

Disclaimer: We do not own or gain any profit from Naruto.
Reviews are more than 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
"~this~" is speaking in Japanese

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Spartan Ninjas
~ Chapter Twenty-One ~
By: Cecilia Tsukineko and Kirei Kitsue
Beta'd by: AkaiTsume

"Where do you want to put these?" Naruto asked, holding a few books in the air while everything else from the waist up was buried in a large moving box. They'd just gotten back to the apartment and were unpacking. Bunta, Naruto's pet bullfrog, slept soundly in his tank on the island that separated the living room from the kitchenette. He hadn't enjoyed the car ride from Mika's house to the apartment very much and Naruto bore a new stain on his shirt as proof, attained when he'd lifted Bunta from his travel box.

Sasuke looked up from sorting clothes to hang in the closet and eyed the books. "The bookshelf over in the corner there," he answered and nodded to the set of shelves in the living room corner.

"'Kay." Naruto put the books where Sasuke had told him to and dove into the box again. "Uh, Sasuke...? Was this one of the boxes Jiraiya'd put in his car?"

Answering him absently, Sasuke muttered, "Yeah," and lifted a load of clothes into his arms, heading towards the bedroom on the ground floor. There was already a lock on the door at the top of the stairs, though Naruto had yet to find that out. The whole upstairs was off limits for the next little while. As long as it took, anyway...

Naruto stepped in front of Sasuke and held up a book titled An Idiot's Guide to Amazing Sex. "Think he's trying to tell us something?" he asked with an amused grin. He knew that book hadn't been in the box before.

Sasuke raised a brow and then looked from the book title to Naruto. "Maybe he was trying to be helpful," he muttered, but the smirk he was fighting off told of his absolute amusement.

"Or maybe he's hoping for details as a thank you," Naruto scoffed with a lopsided smirk, adding the book to the shelf and going back to the box.

Chuckling a little to himself, Sasuke proceeded into the bedroom and hung all of the clothes he had in his arms. It wasn't long before he had all of the clothes and other such articles put away in the bedroom, the bed made, and all of the electronics hooked up and ready for use. Even the flat, plasma screen TV that hung above the low dresser was ready for use, the Playstation2 and Gamecube sitting neatly beneath it on the long dresser top with the VCR and DVD player between them. The curtains were next and he hung them neatly before moving on to the next few things. They didn't have much in the way of nick-knacks so that took almost no time. They'd set all the furniture up the moment they'd walked in the door, so there wasn't anything left to do that way. The phone was plugged in and both computers were set up and ready to be used at will.

Looking over to Naruto, he found the bookshelves stuffed with all of their texts for the upcoming semester and the texts they'd kept from last semester as well as their pleasure reads and manga. Sasuke stretched and looked to the large pile of still-sealed shipment boxes by the front door. Naruto was busy setting up picture frames and lamps at the moment and Sasuke felt that it was the perfect opportunity to take the unopened boxes upstairs. He was back down the stairs by the time Naruto had finished arranging the colorful pillows on the soft, white couch and loveseat. It hadn't taken that long to move in with both of them working on separate tasks, but it was mostly due to the fact that they just hadn't had a lot of stuff, coming from a dorm room.

"What was all that stuff you took upstairs?" Naruto asked curiously, sitting down on the couch and bouncing a bit. "Yay, new couch!" He'd known about all the furniture being delivered while they were at Mika's since they had ordered the stuff before leaving, but he didn't remember ordering anything else besides necessities like a vacuum and flatware.

"Just some extra stuff... for the upstairs," Sasuke smirked and settled on the couch next to Naruto, leaning back into the fresh embrace of brand new cushions. "You'll see eventually."

"But I want to know now," Naruto insisted. "What did you get?"

"You'll see... You just have to wait," Sasuke answered, looking lazy and relaxed. It was about one in the morning and although he wasn't tired, he just couldn't work up as much energy as Naruto seemed to have at the moment.

Determined to see what Sasuke had bought, Naruto headed up the stairs... only to find a very solid lock on the door. He went back down to the living room, looked at Sasuke for a moment, and leaned over to begin rummaging through Sasuke's pockets in search of the key.

Smirking, Sasuke just lifted his arms up to rest on Naruto's shoulders and slid further down the couch, giving Naruto all the room he wanted. He wasn't going to find anything anyway.

Getting frustrated when he couldn't find a key, Naruto went so far as to pull Sasuke's pants off and shake them. Nothing. Not even a ball of lint. Pouting, Naruto tossed the pants back at Sasuke and went into the bedroom to change.

Sasuke sat there in his boxers and T-shirt for a few minutes before he went into the bedroom after Naruto. Tossing his pants into the dirty clothes hamper on his way in, Sasuke came up behind a half-dressed Naruto and wrapped his arms around Naruto's waist. "What's wrong?" he asked softly. He hadn't figured Naruto to be upset enough to pout over something so trivial.

"I wanna know... Whenever you say 'you'll see' it's always something good and I want to know now!" Naruto said, pouting and looking like a five-year-old being denied candy.

"I promise I'll let you look as soon as I'm finished. It's a surprise, Naruto. You wouldn't want to ruin it would you?" Sasuke asked and nuzzled Naruto's cheek. At least Naruto believed in him and wasn't suspicious or wary about the situation.

"No..." Naruto sighed and leaned back into Sasuke. "Will you be done with it soon? Do I at least get a hint?" he asked hopefully.

Sasuke pressed a kiss to Naruto's temple and murmured, "It'll be done by New Year's and no, I'm not giving you any clues. I'll tell you this though... It's because I love you." As he said the words he tightened his arms about Naruto's body and rocked them a little.

"So it's a _really_ good surprise," Naruto said with a smile, turning his head to nuzzle noses with him. "I guess I can wait a few days then..." He kissed him sweetly before pulling out of his embrace. "M'gonna go brush my teeth. Then we can try out the new bed," he grinned.

With a smile Sasuke followed Naruto to the little bathroom on the first floor of their townhouse and together they brushed their teeth and washed up for bed. Sasuke finished first and headed back to the room to change into a loose pair of deep blue drawstring pants before settling into bed. The mattress was fresh and new and soft but not too soft and firm but not too firm. He lounged back with his arms folded over the cover's edge on his stomach.

The only warning Sasuke got was "BANSAI!" and then Naruto landed right in the middle of the mattress, somehow managing to not land on top of Sasuke. When the bed didn't even creak in protest Naruto grinned hugely. "I like this bed." He crawled up to the head of the bed, turned around, went under the covers head-first, turned around again once he was completely underneath the sheets, and then he lay down with only his head above the cover. "Hi Sasuke," he chirped happily, snuggling close and nudging at Sasuke's arm with his nose for him to lift it so that Naruto could use his shoulder as a pillow.

Complying with a smirk, Sasuke lifted his arm and wrapped it around Naruto's shoulders once the blond had settled close to him. "It's comfortable isn't it? But what's best... is that it's _ours_," he murmured into Naruto's hair, nuzzling the top of the blond's head.

"Yep... all ours." Purring blissfully, Naruto nuzzled and kissed at Sasuke's neck, hugging him tight. "Yours and mine. Mine and yours. Just like you're mine and I'm yours."

"Exactly..." Sasuke sighed and hugged Naruto tightly. "Waking up to you for the rest of my life... It's like looking down the road at a lifetime spent in heaven." His eyelids were getting heavy. It had been a long day filled with lots of work. It was no wonder he was ready to pass out.

Naruto was still feeling a little hyper from the excitement of actually living with Sasuke and the surprise waiting for him upstairs, but he could tell Sasuke was about ready to fall asleep and wasn't going to keep him awake when he needed his rest. Smiling, he kissed Sasuke's neck one last time before settling. "Night, love," he said softly, resting his head on Sasuke's shoulder.

"Night..." Sasuke murmured and settled by turning slightly on his side, managing to not disrupt Naruto's use of his shoulder as a pillow, and threw his arm around Naruto's waist. He rested his chin on Naruto's head while bringing his leg up and pushing it between his lover's thighs.

-----------The 30th of December----------
"You can't just leave me! Breathe into me and make me real! Bring... me... to life!" Naruto sang at the top of his lungs, the stereo blaring as he washed the dinner dishes. He didn't even hear the front door open as Sasuke returned from a quick run to the grocery store.

Creeping in, Sasuke set the bags of groceries on the island and then backtracked just enough to sneak up behind Naruto and hug him, swaying slightly to the beat as he began to sing along as well.

Naruto started in surprise, then kept singing happily. As soon as the song was over, he turned around in Sasuke's arms to kiss him, not caring at all that there was soapy water all over his hands and running down his arms. "Welcome back," he grinned.

Sasuke reached up and caught his arms just above the elbows, keeping them from actually touching him. "Thank you," he murmured, smirking and still held Naruto's arms away from him as he leaned in to lovingly kiss Naruto on the mouth. "You feel up to a night out?" he purred.

"Night out? What do you have in mind?" Naruto asked curiously, biting Sasuke's lower lip gently before pulling away. "Movie?"

"Actually... no. There's a new club. I figured we might go," Sasuke answered and leaned into Naruto's face again, his lips capturing Naruto's lower lip for a kiss. He still had a hold of Naruto's arms and still kept the soapy appendages away from him.

"Mmmmmm... Club sounds good. As long as they don't play just rap and hip-hop I'm game. Can I have my arms back?" Naruto asked with an amused smirk.

"As soon as you're done with the dishes we'll get ready to go. I'll put the groceries away. As for getting your arms back... you gotta pay me," Sasuke smirked, looking a little smug.

Naruto rolled his eyes in pretend annoyance and leaned in to give Sasuke a deep, heated kiss. "Now can I have my arms back?" he purred wickedly when he broke the kiss for air.

"Yeah... only because you paid in full..." Sasuke murmured and let Naruto go, turning and heading over to the island to start putting the groceries away.

Chuckling, Naruto returned to washing dishes. Once he was done, he dried his arms and went to the bedroom in search of club-worthy clothes. Fifteen minutes later he emerged. "Hey Sasuke, you don't think this is too much, do you?" he asked, holding his arms out as if for inspection. He was wearing a pair of tight black jeans and a loose cerulean silk tucked-in shirt. Around his neck was a silver dragon pendant and he also had a silver mesh belt.

"No," Sasuke murmured and walked right up to him, wrapping one arm around his waist and kissing him briefly. "You look good," he murmured and then passed Naruto by to change himself. When he emerged ten minutes later, he was wearing black cargo type pants that were very nearly form fitted until the knee where they flared and a long-sleeved, tight-mesh black shirt that came down over his hands so that he had his thumbs hooked into the cuffs of the shirt-'sleeves'. He wore just enough jewelry to look flashy without being gaudy. "Ready?" he asked as he grabbed up his car keys off the island.

"Nope." Wrapping arms around Sasuke's waist, Naruto pulled him close for a passionate kiss. How could he not with Sasuke looking so... _delicious_? "Now I'm ready," he said with a smirk when they broke apart, letting go of Sasuke to open the front door.

Once in the car, Sasuke adjusted the radio to play some upbeat Jpop like Gackt and L'arc~en~Ciel all the way to the club. Of course Sasuke couldn't keep his hands to himself the whole drive, so he rested one hand on Naruto's left knee and then dragged it up and down his thigh slowly, caressing his leg because touching Naruto always felt so good no matter where they were or how it was done.

Naruto took up Sasuke's hand and wove their fingers together, smiling at the additional pressure from his ring. He hadn't taken it off for anything since Sasuke had given it to him and never planned on taking it off.

It didn't take them long to get to the club and Naruto excitedly bounced out of the car as soon as Sasuke'd put it in park. Walking in, Naruto immediately knew this was a place he wanted to revisit often. The lights were just high enough that people could see where they were going, but otherwise it was very easy to forget that you weren't the only one there. Only in the eating area where the lights any brighter, but it wasn't by much. The best thing about this place - the music! To Naruto's joy it wasn't all hard-core rap and hip-hop. Rather it was that mix of music you get in a Hard Rock Cafe - classic rock, hard rock, soft rock, pop rock... The DJ started an Evanesance song and Naruto grinned. Yep, he liked this place. "Drinks or dance first?" he asked Sasuke over the music.

Sasuke took in the crush of swaying bodies on the dance floor and the relative "quiet" of the eating area and pulled Naruto close to his chest so he didn't have to yell over the music, rather speaking directly into Naruto's ear at a normal volume. "Let's get ourselves seats and drinks first... then we can dance. Unless you're still afraid of stepping on my feet..." he teased and nipped at Naruto's earlobe.

Naruto chuckled and leaned back into Sasuke. "I think I'll take the chance, but your toes'll probably be sore by the end of the night. Drinks first sounds good."

A soft chuckle resonated against Naruto's ear and then Sasuke was pulling him to the right and along the side 'catwalk'-like pathway along the sunken dance floor until they reached a set of three steps and climbed up to the seating area. There were people eating and drinking and simply socializing up there. The place was a lot bigger than one first thought, stretching deep into the long, old, warehouse-like structure. There was a set of stairs that lead to the second floor but Sasuke was more interested in finding a place to sit rather than in exploring. They found an empty corner booth and Sasuke slid in on the side had a wall behind him and wall to his right. He then looked to Naruto, waiting for him to pick a side and sit.

Naruto slid into the booth next to Sasuke and solved the problem of there not being enough room for two people to sit on the bench by sitting sideways on Sasuke's lap. It didn't take long for a waitress to come and take their orders. "So is the surprise almost ready yet?" Naruto asked as the girl walked away.

"Hm... Yes, there's really a little left to be done," Sasuke answered, settling his arms loosely about Naruto's waist while leaning back, looking into Naruto's face with a soft smirk.

"Do I get to see it tomorrow then?" Naruto asked hopefully. He wanted to know what Sasuke was doing to the upstairs!

"No," Sasuke said immediately though not harshly, his smirk getting a little wicked. "It won't be tomorrow... but very soon. I promise."

Pouting a bit, Naruto leaned back into the wall. "Jackass... making me wait," he grumbled half-heartedly. "And your smirk isn't making me any more patient."

Raising an eyebrow, Sasuke reached for his drink just as the waitress set it down before he actually looked at her. "Thank you," he said, his voice even and relaxed. She smiled at him and handed Naruto his drink, but Sasuke had the impression that she was thinking the same thing Buran had said at the Christmas party. 'All the good ones are taken, gay or both...' It was in her expression as she asked them if there would be anything else yet and then turned away when Sasuke shook his head with a polite, "No, not yet thank you." He looked to Naruto again. "I'm just hoping that the surprise itself will make up for making you wait."

"Knowing you, it most likely will," Naruto said, taking a sip of his coke. Smirking, he tugged at the cuff on Sasuke's left ear. "You look like a goth punk wearing this," he teased.

"That's what I was... almost... when you first met me," Sasuke answered. "I was more of a recluse though, so I wasn't really attempting to be rebellious so much as stand-off-ish. And for some unknown reason I decided to give you a chance right from the start almost."

"Yeah, I remember thinking you were a goth when I first saw you... right before I thought, 'yay! eye candy!'" Naruto chuckled.

"You didn't really think that, did you?" Sasuke asked, raising one delicate eyebrow at him again. Naruto just laughed and kissed Sasuke's forehead. "Baka," he chuckled affectionately and then patted Naruto's thigh. "Dance? I hear the start of a good beat..."

"Sure." Naruto downed the rest of his drink and pulled a few bills out of his pocket, setting them on the table in case they ended up not coming back to the booth. He got off of Sasuke's lap and led the way to the dance floor. He listened to the song for a moment before he started to move with the beat, letting the music carry him. This kind of music was a lot easier to dance to than the stuff they had been playing at the Christmas party.

Sasuke followed like a puppy onto the floor and once there he let his body go a little and moved to the fast beat of the techno-dance song the DJ had chosen. It had a killer beat, but it took a lot out of the body to keep up with the rhythm and by the time it was over and trailing off into soft trills, Sasuke was sweaty and so was Naruto. But as that song ended, the thumping beat of a classic poured out of the speakers.


Where's all my soul sisters? Let me hear ya flow sisters

Hey sister, go sister, soul sister, flow sister. Hey sister, go sister, soul sister, go sister


Sasuke reached for Naruto as soon as the bass kicked up, pulling him close and resting their foreheads together, holding Naruto's hips pressed to his as he swayed a little to the beat. "Hm?" he crooned in Naruto's ear questioningly, inquiring as to whether Naruto would mind a little public bump and grind.


He met Marmalade down in old Moulin Rouge

Strutting her stuff on the street. She said, "Hello, hey Joe, You wanna give it a go?" Oh!

Getcha getcha ya ya da da (hey hey hey) Getcha getcha ya ya here (here oh) Mocha chocolatta ya ya (ooh yeah)


His eyes smoldering, Naruto nodded, but he something else in mind instead of grinding face to face. Smirking wickedly, he turned around in Sasuke's arms and, reaching behind him to grab Sasuke's rear, plastered his back to Sasuke's front. As he tossed a heated look over his shoulder he began to grind his rear into Sasuke's hips in time with the beat.


Getcha getcha ya ya da da (hey hey hey) Getcha getcha ya ya here (here oh) Mocha chocolatta ya ya (ooh yeah)

Creole lady Marmalade (ohh)


Sasuke's low groan rumbled right in Naruto's ear as he willingly ground into Naruto's rear. Oh, now this sort of dirty display hadn't been expected, but Sasuke was more than pleased. His one hand pressed Naruto's hip while his right hand trailed up Naruto's shirt to splay against his stomach, pressing between belly button and sternum so his chest slid against Naruto's back as their lower bodies rolled against each other. Smirking evilly, Sasuke put his lips to Naruto's ear and _sang_ the next line, his French impeccable, "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir? [1] (oh oh) Voulez-vous coucher avec moi? (yeah yeah yeah yeah)," wondering if Naruto had any clue to its meaning. But he knew... and that was why he let his voice practically moan the words, purring right into Naruto's sensitive ear.

Naruto shuddered at the seductive tone in Sasuke's voice. While he didn't know a lick of French outside of common knowledge, he _did_ know what those lines meant thanks to a friend of his from high school. He looped one arm around Sasuke's neck while his other hand tightened on Sasuke's rear, squeezing a firm globe as he pressed himself back even more into his lover's body. They were moving in perfect sync and the feel of Sasuke grinding into his rump made his breathing quicken and his skin flush in arousal.


He sat in her boudoir while she freshened up, boy drank all that magnolia wine

On her black satin sheets is where he started to freak, yeah

Getcha getcha ya ya da da (da da yeah) Getcha getcha ya ya here (ooh yeah yeah) Mocha chocolatta ya ya (yeah, yeah)

Creole Lady Marmalade, uh

Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir? (ce soir) Voulez-vous coucher avec moi? (ooh)


Another strong shudder flowed through Naruto as Sasuke sang that line again in his ear and he moaned low in this throat.

"Do you know?" Sasuke asked softly, not able to be more coherent than that, as the song progressed. He hips followed the rhythm of the song, going a little faster then slowing down to long, slow thrusts and then regaining the main rhythm, Naruto's body following and leading at the same time. The hand on Naruto's stomach stroked downwards. With the scrunch of bodies all around them Sasuke wasn't at all worried about them being caught, but he wasn't going to do more than dip his fingers into the waist of Naruto's pants, his fingers caressing the most sensitive skin of Naruto's abdomen.


Yeah, yeah, ah. They come through with the money and the garter belts

Let 'em know we 'bout that cake, straight out the gate. We independent women, some mistake us for whores

I'm saying, "Why spend mine when I can spend yours?"


His moan lost in the music, Naruto turned his head to capture Sasuke's mouth in a hungry, almost desperate kiss. "Yes," he breathed against soft lips, feeling as if he was melting into Sasuke as their grinding stoked the most wonderful fire in him, burning him from the inside out.


Disagree? Well that's you and I'm sorry, I'm gonna keep playing these cats out like Atari

Wear high-heeled shoes, getting Love from the dudes, four bad-ass chicks from the Moulin Rouge

Hey sisters, soul sisters, betta get that dough sisters


Sasuke moaned ravenously low against Naruto's mouth as he took warm, silky lips in another fiercely hungry kiss, grinding a little harder without losing the slow rhythm. His whole body was inflamed, burning with the absolute need to possess Naruto's body. He wanted to taste him again, wanted to feel Naruto's mouth around him, yearned for the slow grind of arousal against arousal...


We drink wine with diamonds in the glass, by the case, the meaning of expensive taste

We wanna getcha getcha ya ya (come on) Mocha chocolatta (what?) Creole lady Marmalade

One more time, come on now

Marmalade (ooh) Lady Marmalade (ooh yeah) Marmalade (no ohh)


Panting for air Naruto, lapped at the corner of his lover's mouth. "Sasuke..." he breathed, the name a kiss in itself. He wanted nothing more than to go home to their big bed where they could completely ravish each other. All he could think about as Sasuke's groin fused with his rear was being inside his lover or having Sasuke inside him. That mental image made him moan loudly into Sasuke's mouth and he trembled fiercely as he held himself back from cumming right there.


Hey, hey, hey! Touch of her skin feeling silky smooth, oh

Color of cafe au lait, alright. Made the savage beast inside roar until he cried

More, more...

More!

Now he's back home doing nine to five

Nine to five!

Living a gray flannel life

But when he turns over to sleep, memories creep

More, more...

More!

Getcha getcha ya ya da da (da da) Getcha getcha ya ya here (ohh) Mocha chocolatta ya ya (ooh)

Creole lady Marmalade


"Naruto... Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir?" Sasuke murmured the words against Naruto's mouth, his hand sliding lower into the front of Naruto's pants. Their rhythm never faltered, twining the sexual tension tighter and tighter between them by the moment. Their breathing heaved in duet gasps, mingling in each other's mouth.


...(ce soir) Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?

All my sisters, yeah

Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir? (ce soir) Voulez-vous coucher avec moi? (ohh)

Come on, uh

Christina!

Oh Ladayeay - ohh!

Pink!

Lady Marmalade!

Lil' Kim!

Hey, hey, uh uh uh uh uh uh uh!

Mya!

Oh oh ohh!

Rockwilder baby!

Lady!

Moulin Rouge!

Ah-ooh!

Misdemeanor here!

Creole lady Marmalade, ooh yes-ah!


Naruto wasn't wearing any underwear under his tight jeans and his knees just about buckled as Sasuke's fingertips brushed the base of his restrained arousal. The desire surrounding them was so thick it could have been cut with a knife. "Yes... god yes..." he gasped, the hand on Sasuke's rear coming forward to join the hand in Naruto's pants, guiding it farther down. His breath catching in pleasure, Naruto let his head fall back onto Sasuke's shoulder as the song ended.

In the confines of Naruto's too tight pants, Sasuke's fingertips boldly caressed the base of Naruto's erection. "Let's go..." he gasped and bent his head down to nip and kiss Naruto's arched throat. He couldn't even really hear the next song with his blood pounding so loudly in his ears as it rushed to lower regions of his body.

Panting and gasping too much to say anything, Naruto just nodded in response. Slowly, reluctantly, he peeled himself off of Sasuke's front and led the way off the dance floor, throwing heated glances over his shoulder all the while.

It was a very good thing the club was so close to their apartment, because had it been any farther they wouldn't have been able to hold back and would have jumped each other in car. As it was, the instant the front door was shut and locked Naruto pinned Sasuke against it, his hands quickly undoing the fastenings of Sasuke's pants to dive in and stroke him as Naruto devoured his mouth in a ferocious kiss.

Sasuke moaned deeply and while one hand laced in Naruto's hair, holding him firmly into the kiss, his other hand slapped against the door, his nails digging into the wood. Tonight... tonight might be the right night... The hand against the door came up and pressed to the small of Naruto's back when the phone suddenly rang. "Ignore it..." he panted against Naruto's mouth.

"Mmmm..." Naruto hummed in assent, running a hand up Sasuke's shirt.

The phone stopped ringing and the answering machine picked it up. As soon as the beep sounded, Kakashi's voice came out of the speaker. "Sasuke, it's Kakashi. If you're there, pick up the phone right now. If not, come to the station as soon as you can. I just got some news about your brother from Mikoto, who couldn't get ahold of you. I mean it, come to the station NOW." There was a click as Kakashi hung up his phone.

"Oh shit," Naruto muttered, leaning his head on Sasuke's shoulder. And just when things were about to get really good...

There was a moment of silence... and then Sasuke slammed the edge of his fist backwards into the door. "Damn it!" he swore before wrapping Naruto up tightly in his embrace. "I'm... sorry, Naruto," he whispered. He wanted to continue this... to forget about his brother entirely and just... get lost in Naruto's arms and body.... but Kakashi had sounded urgent.

"Don't be. It's not your fault," Naruto whispered back, nuzzling comfortingly at Sasuke's neck. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No..." Sasuke whispered and rubbed Naruto's arms. "No, you stay here. I need to be focused while I'm there, and after this... I won't be able to. I'm sorry." Sasuke groaned softly and wrapped his arms around Naruto again, hugging him tightly. After a moment he cupped Naruto's chin, lifting Naruto's mouth so he could give him a long, loving kiss. "Don't wait up for me. Depending on what he has to tell me... I might be out really late. Okay?"

Naruto nodded in understanding and kissed him once more, tenderly. "Okay. You'd better change before you head over. I don't think Kakashi will appreciate you in a mesh shirt as much as I do," he murmured jokingly as he slowly pulled away, trying to lighten the mood.

Sasuke smiled softly and gently brushed his knuckles against Naruto's cheek, groaning softly. He didn't want to leave feeling like he did right now, didn't want to leave Naruto unsatisfied. He kissed Naruto one last time before he looked into his eyes with a soft smile, murmuring, "I'm so sorry," before he went to the bedroom. After he had changed he went to the front door, where he paused to look over his shoulder at Naruto. "I'll be back for breakfast. Don't wait up for me. At least one of us should get some sleep."

While Sasuke had been changing Naruto had gotten a glass of juice and sat down at the island. He nodded and gave Sasuke an encouraging smile. "Don't let Kakashi run you into the ground. See you later, love." But once Sasuke was out the door Naruto's smile vanished and he sighed deeply. Feeling down, he went to the bedroom and flopped onto the bed after putting "Ben Hur" in the VCR. There was no way he was going to get any sleep...

----------The Police Station------------
Sasuke entered Kakashi's office and was about to ask him what the hell was so urgent when he noticed that Kakashi wasn't the person in the room. "Iruka?" he exclaimed.

Iruka looked up and blinked. "Sasuke. Hello."

"Iruka, what are you doing here?"

"I'm working. Kakashi hired me as his secretary a few weeks ago. I used to have him as a literature teacher and I'll have him again this semester for a few more classes that I need." Iruka shrugged and went back to filing. "He's a bit messy but I've got everything pretty much organized by now. He went out to get something to eat. He should be back any moment."

Sasuke nodded. "Alright, thanks," he murmured and settled in his usual chair across the desk from Kakashi's, waiting.

Kakashi walked in a couple minutes later with half a mini-sub, his mouth full. He grunted a greeting when he saw Sasuke and swallowed. "Hey," he said as he sat down at his desk. "Good thing you made it over. Your brother's still in Morocco and he tried to kill again."

"Still... in Morocco? What do you mean, 'still'?"

"Yeah, still." Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Did you not hear the 'tried'?"

"So... he didn't kill his target and he's still there. They caught him?!" Sasuke was on his feet in an instant, startling Iruka, who looked over his shoulder for a moment before returning to refiling Kakashi's folders.

Kakashi just smirked and took another bite of his sandwich.

"Answer me, you damn old man!!" Sasuke snapped, feeling his heart race with hope. If Itachi was under arrest... he was freed.

"Itachi got knocked out when the husband of the woman he was trying to kill shot him. The bullet grazed his temple and knocked him out. He's in a hospital in Rabat under a tight police guard."

"Thank god..." Sasuke breathed and sat down as his knees actually gave out a little bit on him. Itachi was as good as behind bars. Sasuke stared at Kakashi in awe for a moment and then suddenly straightened. "What do I need to do? Is there anything?"

"Just a sec." Kakashi looked through the piles of papers on his desk but didn't find what he wanted. "Iruka, do you know where I put that paper with the notes from Mikoto's call?"

"You put it in your pocket," Iruka stated over his shoulder from where he was bent down, putting a folder in the Z section of the second file cabinet.

"Oh yeah." Kakashi pulled the sheet out of his back pocket and unfolded it. "As soon as he wakes up he's going to be tried in international court. They're probably going to need your testimony. These are all the details about the attempt and Itachi's condition as of an hour ago." He handed the paper to Sasuke.

Snatching the piece of paper, Sasuke read it thoroughly twice over. Then he looked to Kakashi. "I need to call Mikoto. Where can I go for some privacy?"

"We'll leave. This one needs a break anyway." Kakashi stood up and grabbed the collar of Iruka's shirt, dragging him out. "C'mon you. Let me get you a coffee."

"But... I don't drink coffee!" Iruka almost squeaked as Kakashi dragged him out. Once they were outside of the office, leaving Sasuke to himself and his phone call, Iruka fell into step beside Kakashi and stretched, his back and shoulders popping. "Sasuke's brother's been arrested. He must be incredibly relieved."

Kakashi snorted as he led them to the break room. "Relieved is putting it mildly. You sure you don't want a coffee?"

"No, no coffee thank you," Iruka said and leaned against the pop machine next to the coffee vender. "As soon as I'm done with your file cabinet I'm going to head home... unless there's something else you need me to do?"

"You should have gone home a couple hours ago. You didn't have to sort all my stuff. I'm going to have to learn where everything is again... and I'm going to miss the mess," Kakashi said with a slight smirk.

"I'll explain it to you until you understand before I leave. I'm not going to leave you hanging. You might need some of it or something, and at least this way you won't have to call me at four in the morning." Iruka smiled and waited for Kakashi to finish getting his coffee.

Kakashi grabbed two cups of coffee and handed one to Iruka as he walked by him, his destination being the chief's office. "Go home. It's late. You can come back and finish whenever tomorrow."

Iruka looked down at the cup of coffee in his hand and sighed. The prospect of going home to an empty apartment wasn't very appealing, but... obviously he was starting to get underfoot, so home it was. Regretting the waste, he poured the coffee down the drain and threw the cup out before he went to the coat rack to grab his jacket, shrugging into it and walking out the door at the same time. Idly he wondered what he'd have for dinner, but then decided he wasn't feeling very hungry or up to cooking or ordering anything. Walking the short distance to the CATA bus stop, Iruka leaned on the bus sign post until the bus came, got on it and headed home.

----------------Early The Next Morning----------------
Sasuke quietly entered the apartment. He didn't know if Naruto was asleep or not, but he didn't want to take the chance of waking his lover up. His conversation with Mikoto had taken a lot longer than he had expected and as he glanced at the clock he realized that it was actually seven in the morning. Silently he headed into the bedroom, only to find Naruto drowsy but awake and just about fifteen minutes into "The Ten Commandments".

"You're still up?" he asked, supposing to startle Naruto since the blond hadn't turned to acknowledge him yet.

"Couldn't sleep. Was worried," Naruto mumbled drowsily. He was lying on his stomach in just a pair of sweat pants and hugging a pillow, resting his chin on it. He let go of the pillow and rolled onto his side, holding his arms out to Sasuke.

Smirking, Sasuke turned to the closet and stripped, pulling on his PJ bottoms before moving over to Naruto. He crawled into bed the proper way and settled half-upright against the headboard. "Come here... I have something I have to tell you," he murmured seriously.

Naruto turned the TV and VCR off with the remote before crawling up the bed. Yawning, he rested his head on Sasuke's thigh, hugging his leg. "What is it?" Now that Sasuke was back, sleep was quickly getting ready to take him over.

Sasuke's fingers tangled in Naruto's hair, scratching lightly. "Itachi... tried to kill again, but the husband of the woman he tried to kill shot him. He was taken to the hospital in Rabat and is under heavy police watch. He'll be tried in international court," he said, letting it slowly sink in.

"So basically they're fixing him before they kill him," Naruto said around another yawn. "I say they just let him die of gangrene. It would serve the bastard right. Where's Rabat?"

"It's in Morocco," Sasuke murmured. "Lift your head and let me slide down and then we can sleep."

Naruto did as told and cuddled close as soon as Sasuke was lying down. "Night..." he yawned before falling dead asleep.

Sasuke lay awake for a little while longer, basking in the relief of having Itachi finally brought to justice. However, with Naruto fast asleep in his arms, it wasn't very hard to fall asleep.

---

Early that afternoon Naruto woke up and snuggled closer to Sasuke, enjoying the warmth of his lover in his arms. ::I wonder what Kakashi wanted to talk about,:: he thought sleepily. A moment later he remembered what Sasuke had told him that morning and quickly sat upright. "He what?!"

Sasuke, however, remained dead asleep. He was exhausted and a massive weight that had followed him from that day forward had finally been lifted. Relief made sleep a balm for an exhaustion that he hadn't even known he was bearing.

Naruto got on his hands and knees and was about to shake Sasuke awake for a better explanation of the Itachi situation, when he noticed just how peaceful Sasuke looked. Never had he looked so... _free_. Smiling, Naruto leaned down to brush a soft, tender kiss on Sasuke's lips. ::Sleep on, my angel. The blood has been washed from your wings and the chains broken. Fly again – fly to the stars.:: Carefully he climbed off the bed, doing his best to not disturb Sasuke, and went to the kitchen to make them a big brunch. He was starving and knew Sasuke would be too when he woke up.

Pulled from sleep by the scent of food, Sasuke entered the living room/kitchen combination and settled at the island. He paid the mess no mind, considering he wasn't yet fully awake. It didn't matter what the kitchen looked like now so long as the creator of the mess cleaned it up.

"Good morning, beautiful," Naruto chirped, not caring that it was afternoon, as he set a plate loaded down with food – scrambled eggs and chocolate chip pancakes and hash browns – in front of Sasuke and kissed his cheek. There was flour and butter smeared all over his face and arms but he didn't care. "Juice or milk?"

"Milk..." Sasuke murmured as he sweetened his breakfast with the various breakfast condiments Naruto had laid out and dug in. Naruto might be a messy a cook, but he was still a pretty good one.

Naruto gave him his requested drink and sat down next to him with his own plate, digging with relish. Sticking out his leg, Naruto wound their ankles together. He was in a _very_ good mood. "So he's finally captured?"

"That's what Kakashi told me last night. Most of my time was spent talking to Mikoto and Amatto-san," Sasuke answered after washing down some of his food with a swig of milk.

"Yeay." A huge smile on his face, Naruto leaned his head on Sasuke's shoulder for a moment before straightening again. "What's going to happen now?"

"He'll be tried in international court for mass homicide, get the death penalty, and we'll be rid of him forever," Sasuke said, sounding entirely overjoyed. He kept eating until all of his breakfast was gone, right down to the last drop of milk, which he tossed back as he stood and took his dishes to the sink. "I have to make a few phone calls so I'm going to go upstairs for a bit. Clean up your mess, usuratonkachi." He ruffled Naruto's hair with the same affection his voice held and headed up the stairs.

Naruto razzed him cheerfully, then finished his own meal. He got up and started cleaning the disaster zone that was the kitchen, humming happily to himself all the while. The good news made up – almost – for the interruption last night. He was still a little miffed about that, but there was no reason that they couldn't pick up where they'd left off once Sasuke was done on the phone. No way was Naruto going to let their good moods go to waste.

Upstairs, Sasuke leaned back against the stairway door as he looked into the dark upper level beyond. The staircase behind the door was quiet and he could just faintly hear Naruto clinking around in the kitchen. This was his chance. Dialing quickly, Sasuke held the phone up to his ear as he pushed 'send' and waited.

"Hello," a gruff voice mumbled into the phone after four rings.

"Jiraiya, I need to ask a favor of you. I want Naruto out of the house for the whole day today. I've got something planned but I need to do some shopping and finishing up. I can't do that with him here or he'll know before it's time."

Jiraiya's smirk was evident in his voice. "O~h?" he asked and the sound of his smirking only got more evident. "What kind of surprise?"

"The kind you don't share with old perverted men," Sasuke said flatly, his tone brooking no further conversation.

"Fine. Fine," Jiraiya grumbled. "I'll call him in about ten minutes. What time would you like him home?"

"Sometime around ten should be fine."

"All right. I'll have him home around that time. Good luck, Sasuke," Jiraiya said. At least that part was earnest.

"Thank you. Enjoy having him for the whole rest of the day, because if I have my way you won't see him for the next three or four."

Jiraiya's laugh was rich with amusement. "We'll see. I have a feeling you'll have your way. Talk to you later."

"Yeah. Thanks. Ja na." Sasuke hung up the phone and moved into the bedroom of the upstairs. There was some stuff he had to take care of before he could go shopping. Those things only took him a moment though and in no time he grabbed his shopping list, shoving it in his pocket as he headed down the stairs again. The upstairs door was shut and locked firmly behind him, the key well hidden once more.

As soon as he hit the first floor the phone rang. The kitchen was pretty much clean but Naruto was up to his elbows in dishwater so Sasuke answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Sasuke, is Naruto there? I need his help with some things here at the office and I'd like to start going over the first few chapters of that book you've been helping him translate." Jiraiya's voice held a lot of mirth.

"Yeah. He's cleaning up his mess from making breakfast. I'll put the phone to his ear," Sasuke answered, a slight smirk evident on his lips and in his voice as he turned and headed over to Naruto. He held the phone away and covered the mouthpiece of it as he leaned in to nibble at Naruto's ear. "It's Jiraiya," he whispered and then put the phone to Naruto's ear properly, holding it for him.

"Hey, old man. Whaddya want?" Naruto asked, playfully trying to elbow Sasuke for the nibble on his ear and missing. He splashed a bit in the process but it didn't matter since the counter around the sink was already swimming.

"Your help, so as soon as you get done with the dishes and whatever other chores you absolutely must do, get your butt over here."

"My help? On what? It's New Year's Eve and you want me to work?!" Naruto made a face. He wanted to spend the day celebrating Itachi's demise with Sasuke.

"Yes, I do. You've had all the rest of break off and all I'm asking for is today. Stingy brat."

Naruto sighed loudly and looked over his shoulder at Sasuke apologetically. "The old man's being a slave driver. Sorry, love, but I'm gonna have to go..."

"That's fine, I understand. Last night was my urgent matter. Apparently this is yours," he murmured the other side of Naruto's head that didn't have the phone and kissed his cheek, rubbing Naruto's arm with his free hand. "We'll be due for a break after this."

"See... He's not going to get pissed, now hurry up," Jiraiya said. "See you soon, kid. I've got stuff to finish up here before you get here. Bye."

"Bye." Once the phone was hung up, Naruto growled in frustration. He didn't want to go to work today! He wanted to stay home and continue what he and Sasuke had started the night before. "Stupid old man," he grumbled, banging a pot in the sink.

Sasuke set the phone on the island and turned to Naruto, wrapping his arms around Naruto's waist and snuggly pressing up to his backside. "It's fine, Naruto. We'll have tonight all to ourselves. I promise... Okay?" he murmured and lipped the side of Naruto's neck.

"Okay." Naruto leaned back into Sasuke. "Hey, do I finally get to see that surprise tonight?" he asked hopefully, putting the last pan into the drying rack and washing the suds off his arms.

::It will give him something to look forward to...:: "Yes," Sasuke whispered and nuzzled Naruto's ear. "I was hoping that it would work out for tonight... and it will."

"Yeay." His arms dry, Naruto turned around and wrapped them around Sasuke's neck. "Then I'll make sure to come home early. I can't wait." Purring, he kissed Sasuke lovingly.

Sasuke's arms settled around Naruto's waist tightly and he returned the kiss with slow, burning passion. He couldn't wait for tonight. Tonight would be as perfect as he could make it.

Reluctantly Naruto broke the kiss after a long moment and brushed his lips against Sasuke's chin. "I'd better get going," he murmured, slowly pulling out of Sasuke's embrace.

"Ha~," Sasuke agreed softly and let his hand lightly catch Naruto's elbow, then slide down Naruto's arm as the blond continued to pull away until their fingers hooked together. Sasuke held Naruto's hand for a moment and then let him go. "I'll see you when you get back. I might need the car to go to the station... Do you think you could take the bus? I hate to ask you, but you're going to a place on campus."

"It's alright, I don't mind. Actually Jiraiya's office is close enough that I can walk." Naruto went to the bedroom to change, stuffed his work material into his backpack, and grabbed his coat. "See you later, love," he said as he gave Sasuke a goodbye kiss just before opening the front door.

Sasuke returned the kiss with a murmured, "See you later, and be careful." Once Naruto was gone, he went upstairs again. A thorough check told him things were good and he left for the stores on his list.

---

Scowling a bit, Naruto stormed into Jiraiya's office. "You could have waited a couple days before calling me over. In case you didn't notice, today's a holiday," he grumbled as he flopped into the chair in front of the professor's desk.

Jiraiya leaned back in his big office style chair and stretched his arms above his head before he shook it. "No, I've got time and you've got time. Let's get at least the first five chapters done. You're the translator so let me hear it. What are your thoughts, odd discoveries, confusions, etcetera."

Naruto blew at his bangs before getting down to business. "One thing I reasoned out that surprised me is, even though the book is in Japanese, the location described sounds a lot like southern China about three thousand years ago. The climate, the topography... And the culture was really odd too. It was a culture ruled by the warriors but at the same time it sounds so modern... Almost like a Rome in Asia."

"Really~?" Jiraiya's eyebrows went up. "Do tell... all that you can..." That was news to him. This wasn't at all what all the other translations had told him. The men who had written most of them were presumptuous and pompous assholes, though, so Jiraiya wouldn't have been surprised if most of their translations had been smoke blown up the reader's ass.

"The area was divided into small countries with names like Fire Country and Wind Country and Lightning Country," Naruto explained. "The book focuses on a village – more a city really – in the Fire Country called the Hidden Village of the Leaf. I say it was more of a city because the approximate population given was in the hundreds of thousands.

"This city was lead by the most powerful of its warriors called the Fire Shadow. Actually they called their warriors ninja, and the description given does and yet doesn't fit today's definition of the term." He continued along in the same vein, telling Jiraiya everything he'd learned from the book regarding social structure, customs, interactions with surrounding countries, conflicts...

After a few hours of non-stop talking, Naruto had to leave to get a drink from the fountain.

Jiraiya sat in his computer chair, skimming the section of Naruto's translation that Naruto had just covered. It made a hell of a lot more sense than the other translations, filled in so many gaps and unexplainable terms. He was certain that due to the age of the tomb, it was impossible to assume that the words and terms were all flawlessly correct but...

He glanced at the clock in the corner of his computer screen. He still had time to call his travel agent and make plans... He could round up at least one travel partner to keep notes and records in order, since he knew he'd be too busy to do it for himself. If he did it tonight then he'd definitely have lots of time to plan and plot and scheme out the idea forming in his mind. His summer was going to be spent in China. He studied the clock for a moment. With ten minutes to nine, Naruto had about an hour before Sasuke expected him back... Impatient now, in light of this new discovery of possibilities, Jiraiya picked up the phone and dialed.

"Hello?" Sasuke's voice was calm on the other end of the line.

"You ready for him yet?"

"Yeah. You can send him home now if you want. I'll be completely ready by the time he gets here."

"Good, 'cause I'm sending him out by nine. Have fun. Bye."

"That's perfect. Thanks, Jiraiya. Bye."

"Yeah," Jiraiya muttered and then hung up the phone just as Naruto came in from the drinking fountain down the hall. "You ready to go home now, kid? I just got a phone call and need to be somewhere. Keep up the great work and we'll talk more once school starts, ne?"

"Yeah. I could keep talking for the next few hours but home sounds good right now." Naruto pulled his jacket on and picked up his things. "I'll try to get at least one more chapter translated by the start of the semester. No guarantees though."

"That's fine. Have fun tonight, brat. Happy New Year." Jiraiya waved him out of the office with a grin. He didn't know for certain what Sasuke had planned exactly, but if he was any judge, Naruto was in for a huge – and ...pleasurable – surprise.

TBC...

[1] "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir?" – I don't know any French outside of what I've heard in movies, so my translation of this is based solely on what a friend told me it means. Basically this translates to, "Will you come to bed with me?" but at the same time, it's a command. A request, an inquiry, and a demand all at the same time. At least, that's how I understand it. If any of you know French and can give me a better translation/explanation, please don't hesitate to do so! Thank you. ^__^

Addition to the note above: Thanks to some feedback from my and Kirei's Yahoo!Group, I have learned it is also formal. Basically what prostitutes say to their clients.

Added 7/4/2005: Thank you to Trek for the following explination. ^__^
"Voulez vous coucher avec moi ce soir" is nor really something we say seriously, it's a very ridicul flirt tactic. And it mean "Do you want to sleep with me tonight?", it's more a joke than a real proposition, exept maybe between lovers, but it's stay on a joking tune.