In the cold of space you find the heat of suns

Apologies if the characters have grown differently in their new environment.

Spacer crews travel the Far Borders and the Fringe of occupied space, trading. Spacing is an ancient and honourable profession carved out by millenniums. Most spacers start out as fourteen-year-old boys seeking a future. Few survive a decade spacing.

If you do not know why Naruto will not go into one of the showers, read chapter 25 ‘Here’.

29. The shower

Sasuke pulled Naruto into the shower and locked the door. Naruto started to protest again but Sasuke placed three fingers across his lips.

“Hush, dobe. We are going to make new memories, good memories.”

Naruto remained, but Sasuke could see that he was not happy about it. He was tense. Ripples of agitation travelled across his skin. His whiskers jumped every few seconds.

“Naruto, sweetheart, you can’t avoid using this shower.”

“I can try. There are two.”

“Do you want to explain to Iruka-sensei why you won’t use this shower? Because he would notice. You know he would.”

Naruto’s whiskers drooped. “Shi-chan says it is best not to tell anyone other than you.” He looked away. “I wish I had never told you.”

Sasuke was not going to let him get away with that. “You think I wouldn’t have noticed that something was wrong? Do you think I wouldn’t have asked Shikamaru? Do you want Shikamaru to have to talk about it?”

“Teme,” Naruto muttered. He shook himself. “Shi-chan has forgiven me.”

“And that means you think he would like to have a conversation about it?”

“Teme,” repeated Naruto.

Sasuke turned to walk towards the faucet and heard Naruto moving behind him. “Dobe, if you leave I am going to go straight to Shikamaru and tell him that you are so hung up over what happened that you can’t use this shower.”

The movement stopped. “Teme,” Naruto growled.

Sasuke turned on the water and set it to a very fine spray. He took Iruka’s prized sponge from the rack and slathered it with the only one of the three cleansers that was aroma-free enough for Naruto.

“That’s Iruka-sensei’s sponge.” Naruto was shocked.

“If he knew why I wanted it he would lend it to me,” Sasuke told him and closed the gap between them before Naruto could recover from hearing such an outrageous assertion.

He knelt and began washing the top of Naruto’s left foot. Then he lifted the foot and wiped the sponge across the sole and between the toes. Naruto, being Naruto, did not need to steady himself on Sasuke but there was a tiny suck of breath: Naruto had very sensitive feet. Sasuke replaced the foot on the floor and carefully washed Naruto’s ankle, shin, calf and knee, paying particular attention to the back of the knee, which produced another hitch in his breathing. Sasuke then repeated the process on Naruto’s right foot and leg. By the time he reached the back of the right knee, Naruto was relaxed enough to be sporting an erection.

Naruto had not wanted to go into the shower. Not even Sasuke was going to get him into the shower. He was therefore resentful that he was in the shower and that Sasuke had found a way of stopping him leaving. It was difficult to remain resentful as Sasuke bathed his feet and legs, but he tried. Then Sasuke looked up at him through damp tendrils of hair and planted a small kiss on the head of his prick. Naruto could not stop himself twitching forward and nudging his lips. Sasuke smiled slightly and gave one tiny lick. Naruto whimpered. Sasuke ran the tip his tongue from the base of Naruto’s erection to the top. Naruto groaned. He forgot about being resentful. He remembered, very vividly, how wonderful it felt to be sucked by Sasuke.

Sasuke slid his hands up the backs of Naruto’s legs until his forefingers rested against the curve of his buttocks. He so loved the feel of Naruto’s skin: the hardness of muscle beneath, the coating of down on the surface. He tickled the inside of the very top of his thighs and then slid his lips down the slender, curved erection. Naruto’s back arched and he gasped: he was so beautiful.

Sasuke held Naruto’s prick in his mouth, sucking gently. Choreographing sex with Naruto was always a challenge. If he pushed too hard Naruto’s foxy nature would take over too soon. When that happened Naruto was only interested in one thing, in having his prick buried in Sasuke’s arse. As wonderfully enjoyable as that was, they would end up locked together by Naruto’s knot. This was not something Sasuke wanted happening in the shower. He needed to keep Naruto this side of the line.

Naruto almost always allowed Sasuke lead during fucking. If Naruto led there were only two outcomes, either he sucked Sasuke and then fucked him or he just fucked him. He missed out on wonderful sensations like having his prick in Sasuke’s mouth. He thrust slightly, desperate for some friction to accompany the delicious changes in suction. Sasuke’s hands signalled that he should be still but he moved his tongue. Naruto moaned, knowing it would not last long but enjoying every moment. He whimpered as Sasuke pulled away.

Sasuke was up and reaching for a kiss. Naruto brushed Sasuke’s lips with his own, the first step in their favourite sequence of kisses. Some days one of them would break the pattern, teasing with an out of place lick or nip, but not this time: the brush, the peck, lips, tongues, Sasuke plundering Naruto’s mouth, Naruto invading Sasuke’s. Naruto could feel the comforting pressure of Sasuke’s erection against the inside of his thigh. He initiated a seventh kiss, sucking Sasuke’s tongue into his mouth. Sasuke was immediately rock hard. Naruto finished the kiss and smiled.

The seventh kiss was their signal that Naruto wanted Sasuke to fuck him. Sasuke stared into soft, blue, vulnerable eyes. He scooped up Iruka-sensei’s sponge and led Naruto to stand under the spray. Slowly Sasuke washed his arms and his chest while Naruto moved in a sensual, lithe dance under the sponge. Then he turned, offering Sasuke his back. Sasuke worked down from the breadth of his shoulders to his slender waist. As the sponge reached his buttocks, Naruto braced himself against the wall and spread his legs slightly. Sasuke made a single sweep with the sponge and then discarded it in favour of fingers.

Naruto shivered as clever fingers played between his legs, finding each of the secret places that only Sasuke knew. A finger explored his hole and then dived inside, seeking and finding his button. Naruto was tensed and then relaxed by successive bursts of pleasure.

“Can you cope in this position, sweetheart?” Sasuke asked, his voice husky.

Naruto gradually processed the question and nodded. They almost never spoke when they were fucking, only at moments like this when one of them was worried about the other. If they had been in their bunk Naruto would have been on his back, his long legs hooked over Sasuke’s upper arms, but here the floor was too hard. The finger withdrew and Sasuke’s hands on his hips guided him to the correct height. Naruto shifted his stance until he could maintain it comfortably. Then the talented finger was back, at first alone and then joined by another. He jumped and gasped each time the longest finger found its target.

Then Naruto saw Sasuke reach past him for the lube. He tried not to tense. Sasuke’s erection was thick; its head flared. It wasn’t the pain, which was always fleeting and soon soothed, but Sasuke’s hatred of causing it. Sasuke would start thinking too much and then Naruto would feel guilty about ruining the moment. Sometimes they would carry on, even though the joyous edge to their pleasure had been lost. Other times Sasuke would stop and there would be awkward moments before they settled on some other way for him to climax. Occasionally it almost worked, which was why Naruto had initiated the seventh kiss.

A sudden lack of contact told him that Sasuke slicking his prick, even before the sound of it. There was the unexpected feel of lube on his back to accompany the anticipated coolness across his hole. A hand replaced the lube in the rack and then Sasuke’s strong, masseur’s hands were running up and down his back, the pads of his thumbs on either side of Naruto’s spine. It felt good. Then Sasuke’s hands settled on his hips, the thumbs rubbing the small of his back and Naruto felt the head at his hole. He stayed relaxed, pushed out as Sasuke pushed in and, for once, it worked perfectly. He heard Sasuke’s small grunt of surprised delight as the head popped through Naruto’s ring and into the velvety warmth beyond.

The sight of his prick part buried in Naruto’s arse was amazing. They usually fucked in their bunk with the drapes drawn where space was limited and light levels low. Here Sasuke could see every detail of Naruto’s magnificent back and neck. He studied the muscles and tendons under the skin of his arms; the glorious golden sheen of his skin. He glimpsed the sides of his face, his whiskers and the flush on his cheeks. He wished he could look into his eyes, but this position had its compensations. He ran one hand up Naruto’s side, into the fur of his hair and then back down to his hip. He gave an exploratory, small thrust and moved forward easily.

Naruto sighed as Sasuke slid fully in. This was good, really good. Sasuke’s grip tightened on his hips and he began establishing a rhythm. Naruto guided him with a commentary of moans or whimpers. Once the angle and depth of his thrusts were perfect, Naruto no longer needed to think. He arched his back, threw back his head and lost himself in the fabulous sensations.

Sasuke had known that this was a possible solution for them, a way of pleasuring Naruto without triggering his once-a-day climax, but, whatever he tried, Naruto had always seemed to tolerate rather than enjoy. When Naruto’s back arched and his head came back, Sasuke knew they had found it. He vowed to maintain precisely that movement for as long as was humanly possible.

At first Naruto wanted it to continue forever. Then small tendrils of reality managed to creep into his saturated mind. Much more and he would no longer be able to hold his position; unless Sasuke climaxed they were going to end up in a heap on the floor. He twisted his back, looked over his shoulder into Sasuke’s eyes and called his name.

Having Naruto look into his eyes was enough; Sasuke did not need to hear his name. Three more thrusts and he climaxed.

Naruto wished he was in a better position to see. He filled in the gaps from memory. Sasuke’s body would tense, his face tighten in a grimace, and then there would be this incredible moment of utter abandonment. Naruto believed it was the only time Sasuke stopped thinking. For those few seconds he lived in the glory of the present. Naruto would never tire of giving him that gift.

Sasuke collapsed onto Naruto’s back and threatened to slither to the floor. Naruto turned and caught him. He leaned back against the wall with Sasuke against his chest. The spray had settled on Sasuke’s eyelashes. He always looked so vulnerable when he had come. Naruto needed to protect him but he also wanted to possess him. He growled.

Sasuke was dumped into reality by the sound. Either they moved to their bunk now or spent the rest of the night in the shower. He pulled away.

“Naruto,” he warned.

Naruto whimpered. He knew Sasuke was right. Being locked together in the shower would be uncomfortable. He imagined what the others would think and say, the amount of teasing Sasuke would have to endure.

It was both a short time and eternity before they were in their bunk. Naruto buried his nose in Sasuke’ slightly damp hair. He smelt delicious, a mixture of just come and freshly washed. Naruto threw back his head and howled.