Spartan Ninjas (Abandoned WIP)

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

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

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Spartan Ninjas
~ Chapter Three ~
By: Cecilia Tsukineko & Kirei Kitsue

------------Next Morning, Tuesday----------
Sasuke shoved hard at Naruto's shoulder from where he leaned out of his own bed. They had the same first and last classes for the day and so Sasuke had to get Naruto up so they could walk to their class together. "Get up, usuratonkachi..." he grumbled, feeling grumpy for having to wake the other young man up when he'd rather be sleeping himself. "The alarm went off already..."

"Five more minutes, Baa-chan... then I'll get up..." Naruto mumbled, turning over and curling up even tighter. He was still asleep for the most part. "General Robertson's boring as hell anyway... Dun wanna go to first hour..."

Deciding there was no other course of action, Sasuke grabbed the blankets from both beds and took them down with him as he jumped to the floor. "Up, dobe!"

Naruto started at the sudden lack of warmth and leaned over the edge of the bed to glare sleepily at Sasuke. "Did I not ask for five more minutes?" he grumbled.

"Up. Now..." was his only answer as Sasuke dumped the blankets on the couch and headed into the bathroom to get ready.

"Bastard," Naruto grumped, climbing down from his loft and heading over to the closet to throw some clothes on as his breakfast of ramen cooked in the microwave.

Sasuke emerged and before Naruto knew what was going on he was burrowing in all of the blankets on the couch until only his hand hanging down to the floor was visible. A muffled, "Wake me up when you're done eating," emerged from the blankets. Really he would only be dozing, so there would be no way he could be left behind out of spite.

In retaliation Naruto sat on Sasuke while he ate, taking his sweet time to eat both cups of ramen.

Having heard him coming Sasuke had simply rolled to his back and let Naruto sit on his stomach. Not an unpleasant moment. Sort of made his mind wander a little into darker recesses... he really needed to do something about those recesses soon... It'd been too long.

To complete his revenge Naruto pulled the blankets off of Sasuke's face and dropped a wet noodle right on his nose. "Up, jackass. Time for math class." He stood up and threw the things he needed into his backpack, leaving the room to wait in the hall impatiently.

Sasuke cleaned the noodle off and then grabbed up his book bag. Calmly he locked the door and they started down the hall when suddenly Sasuke's hand met the back of Naruto's head. He said nothing and did just that and kept walking.

Growling Naruto grabbed Sasuke in a headlock and gave him a power noogie.

"Isn't it a little early for lovers' spats?" Kiba's amused voice teased from behind them. He was headed for breakfast in the cafeteria.

Hissing Sasuke turned the tables on Naruto and put him in an armlock, lifting him off his feet and marching him down the hallway. "It's never too early..." he muttered to Kiba as the dog-boy drew up next to him, taking over the place now vacated by the hefted Naruto.

Kiba laughed as Naruto protested loudly, squirming and wriggling in a futile attempt to put his feet back on the ground.

"Sasuke you bastard! Put me down!!" Naruto growled, trying to get ahold of Sasuke anywhere he could reach and give him a sharp pinch. In Naruto's book if it worked then it wasn't a dirty tactic. Unless it was used against him.

Careful not to be caught by Naruto's groping hands Sasuke easily maneuvered them down the stairs and out the doors, saying goodbye to Kiba on the way out to the sidewalk. "Are you going to behave?" he asked finally.

"You started it!!" Naruto argued, trying to wrap his leg around Sasuke's and send them to the ground. If that didn't break his grip nothing would.

Completely unsuccessful, Naruto was set to the ground gently by Sasuke who stretched and popped his back and neck. "You make for good exercise..." he commented, feeling a little awkward at his attempt at levity.

Naruto just stared at him for a moment, surprised by the attempt at a joke, before laughing at the absurdity of it. "You are such a bastard," he chuckled affectionately as he started walking in the direction of Wells Hall and their calc class.

"Well, it's better than being an idiot like you, usuratonkachi," Sasuke respond, pleased at the fact that his joke had at least been understood.

"What does that mean anyway? Usuratonkachi?" Naruto knew a bit of Japanese from watching anime but that was a word he'd never heard before.

Sasuke smirked wickedly. "Do you really want to know?"

Naruto looked at him warily. "With you smirking like that, no. And stop smirking. You're scaring me," he teased.

"Fine..." he said and turned onto the rape trail. It was faster than taking the road sidewalk.

Fourteen cursed-at bikers and twenty minutes later they got to Wells Hall, heading for their classroom on the second floor. "Yay, math," Naruto mumbled. "The lesser of two evils."

Sasuke chuckled. "Chem being the first, ne? I can help you in here too if you really need it..." ::Why am I being so generous with my time?...........::

"Sciences in general being the first. At least math makes sense as long as I apply it to battles or something. I can't do that with science." They sat down near the front of the class and Naruto pulled out his textbook, flipping through it. He made a face when he got to the chapter on derivatives. "Yeah, I'm gonna need help... but I can find someone else if you want. You're taking twice as many classes as me. If you spend all your time helping me you'll never get your own work done."

"I'm done with my homework to the end of the month. It wasn't hard... so helping you isn't a problem..." Sasuke stated plainly as he settled in his seat.

"Why am I not surprised. Freak," Naruto teased, reaching over to rough Sasuke's hair. "Mind giving me half that brain?"

"You wouldn't want it right now..." Sasuke muttered and shifted a little. He was getting more and more aware of Naruto... though he'd really only just started to notice this. His hormones were certainly getting the better of him – last night's dream was foggy but somewhat discernable.

Naruto pulled his hand back and rested his chin in his palm, elbow on the desk. "Oh? And why not?" he asked with a smirk, one eyebrow raised in question.

Sasuke just cast him a warning look as the teacher started the lecture. He wasn't about to tell Naruto 'because I'm about two steps away from jumping you... in some manner or another.'

The lecture went by without a hitch. Luckily for Naruto they got the calc professor who was infamous for spoon-feeding her students the material. "When's your next class?" Naruto asked Sasuke as they left the classroom, hands behind his head.

"MC 323, in Case hall... a 1:50..." he answered, meandering along. "Lunch?"

Naruto's stomach answered for him, roaring loudly. "I think that's a yes," he smirked.

Nodding they headed for Holmes Cafeteria.

---------That Afternoon, Bessey Hall, IAH 201--------
Naruto doodled in his notebook as he waited for the professor to show up. "Where is he? He's already fifteen minutes late!" he grumbled, erasing a drawing that hadn't come out the way he wanted. This was the only other class besides Jiraiya's that he'd been looking forward to since it was history-oriented and he was getting impatient.

"He's going to show up a minute before we can all legitimately walk out... that's the way he is. I have him for a forensics teacher," Sasuke answered. He was practically asleep on his desktop, head resting on his folded arms.

True to Sasuke's word Kakashi walked in just after the first wave of students had left, figuring that he wasn't going to show. "Hello everyone," he greeted, leaning back on the desk at the front of the class. He was about to continue with his introduction when one student ran into the room, breathing heavy from running.

"Sorry!" Sakura apologized, ducking her head in embarrassment as she took a seat towards the front and middle, a seat that had been vacated by one of the deserters. Blushing she pulled her stuff out.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and looked back to Kakashi patiently.

Naruto was just about to try and get Sakura's attention – there was an empty seat next to him – but Sasuke grabbed his arm and stopped him before he could. Pouting Naruto took his arm back and returned his attention to Kakashi.

"It's alright," Kakashi assured her. "I just got here too so you didn't miss anything. Anyway, I'm Kakashi Hatake, your teacher. Just call me Kakashi. Call me anything else and I will ignore you," he said, like he did at the beginning of every class.

"Why?" Naruto asked with a smirk, curious.

Ignoring him Kakashi continued, "Don't be surprised if I'm always late. I have another job that has priority over this one and I often lose track of time."

Sasuke simply rolled his eyes and waited, now with impatience, for him to finish.

Finally catching her breath and relieved that she hadn't missed anything, Sakura lifted her head and took a look around. To her utter delight she saw Sasuke! However, beside him sat his roommate... Naruto. Grumbling a little she turned her attention to her notebook. Really! That loud blond was getting very very annoying.

Kakashi went through the syllabus quickly and sent them home with a reading assignment. He wanted to get back to the office and keep working on a problem case.

Naruto was a little disappointed that they hadn't had a discussion, but he didn't let that stop him from cheerfully walking up to Sakura with a huge grin. "Hey," he greeted. "Haven't seen you in a while. How is everything?"

A little miffed that Sasuke hadn't followed Naruto, Sakura cast him a look. "Okay... You?" she answered, not too terribly conversational.

"Good. I got a job with one of my professors," he said proudly, standing up a bit straighter. He'd noticed that Sasuke hadn't followed him but didn't worry about it. Sasuke had told him at least a hundred times already that he hated girls.

"That's nice..." Sakura stated absently as she packed her bag and stood up. "Well, I've got a class to get to. I don't want to be late again. Good bye, Naruto..." she said and took off without waiting for his farewell.

Deflating a little Naruto pouted and slung his bag over his shoulder. "Man... I never have any luck."

Sasuke came up behind him and muttered, "Maybe that person isn't the right person for you..."

"And you are?" Naruto teased playfully, smirking, as they left the room and headed for home.

Sasuke shrugged. "Who knows..." he said almost cryptically as he settled into step beside Naruto.

----------That Thursday, Early Evening----------
Muttering curses under his breath Naruto knocked on the door of Jiraiya's office. He'd just gotten out of chem recitation and it had proven to be another trip to Hell – not only did he have Kabuto for lab but recitation too! ::Life bites...:: he thought miserably. He'd go vent on Sasuke when this meeting was over.

"It's open!" Jiraiya called and turned off his monitor after x'ing out of whatever he'd been watching. "Naruto?"

"Hey old man," Naruto greeted as he walked in... and didn't go more than a couple steps. There was a... calendar with naked women on the wall next to Jiraiya's desk... For a long moment Naruto just stood there, hand on the doorknob, staring at the calendar and the dirty pictures that surrounded it.

Jiraiya looked at him. "What?" he asked confused. He didn't have any idea why Naruto would stop dead in the door way like that.

Shaking his head to get it out of the gutter Naruto shut the door behind him and sat down in the chair in front of Jiraiya's desk. "So what's this test you told me about? The one I have to take before you hire me?"

"Simple. I ask you a bunch of moderately difficult questions about various stages of ancient history... You answer most of them correctly and by most I mean all but like three tops.... and you become my new TA. Sound good?"

Naruto grinned. This was a test he could do. "Yep! Fire away, prof!"

Jiraiya smirked. "We'll see kid," he muttered and then launched into extensive questioning of ancient Greece, Rome, pre-England British Isles and Egypt. Then he asked a question he knew Naruto couldn't answer. "What was China like before Attila and his people?"

Naruto took a moment to think before answering that one. He didn't know much about China's history that far back but he did have the theories he'd put together from what he did know and, in complete honesty, told Jiraiya so. He explained his theories, leaving plenty of room for Jiraiya to step in with more information so he could refine them. That was what Naruto did with all his theories – left plenty of room in them for new information to come along and help him refine them until he got something that he could be safely sure was true, or at least partially true, in his mind.

However, Jiraiya remained silent to the end and when Naruto was quiet he asked, "Done? Okay. Very very good. You're hired... but wait! Here's the rest of it. As you might have guessed, I'm researching China's most ancient history. Your theories aren't that far off from some of the standard, easily obtained thoughts on this subject. That's fine and to be expected. What I'm going to prove is that there was something more to the Orient than what we know to be its history. Are you thinking that might be something you'd be interested in assisting in?"

"Yeah! Do you have an idea of what more there might be or are you just looking for anything in general?" Naruto asked curiously, leaning forward, his eyes bright with excitement. This was going to be so much fun! He was going to help dig up unknown history!

Jiraiya shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "That's what we need to find out. We need to know if there are any other speculations – views that might lead to facts – and once we exhaust that we're going to start digging ourselves, literally and metaphorically. You start Monday of next week... I'll give you an assignment-like list then... sound good?"

"Yep!" Naruto's grin was huge. He couldn't wait to go home and tell Sasuke and Mika!

Grinning Jiraiya shooed him out and shut the door, eager to get back to the clips he'd been watching on his computer. "See you next class, kid... Later."

Naruto ran all the way home and burst into the room, flopping right on top of Sasuke who was sprawled on the couch. "Hi Sasuke! Guess what guess what guess what!!" he bubbled as he hugged Sasuke, more hyper than a hummingbird.

A loud grunt escaped him as Naruto flopped on top of him, but he managed a disgruntled, "What, ox?" as the character he was playing in a Playstation RPG died.

"Love you too!" Naruto chirped, not bothered in the least by Sasuke's insult, and playfully kissed his cheek. "I have the coolest job in the world!! I'm gonna help my history prof make historical discoveries!! Isn't that cool?!"

Blinking, Sasuke just nodded and continued to stare at him. "Good for you..." ::He kissed me... He kissed me.::

Naruto razzed him cheerfully. "Please, don't bother to fake your enthusiasm," he joked and climbed off him, only to pull at Sasuke's arm. "Dinner! Food! Up!"

"Jeez, who gave you sugar?" Kiba teased from the bathroom door. "Just 'cause you have a cool job now doesn't mean you can yell our ears off, moron," he said with a smirk.

"Isn't it though?!" Naruto grinned. "I can't wait to start!!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and stretched as he got up turning off the game. "Fine... let's go..." he said, semi-ignoring Kiba. They headed down to the caf.

---------Friday Night, Labor Day Weekend---------
"See you later, Kiba!" Naruto called as he walked into the room after a trip to the mall, watching the dog-boy head down the hall to the girls' side of the floor and the room of a new-made friend. Shutting and locking the door Naruto walked into the main part of the room and saw Sasuke putting things in a duffle bag. "What are you doing? Going somewhere?" he asked curiously.

"Ha~..." Sasuke muttered and continued stuffing things into his small travel bag. On the floor at his feet sat another dufflebag, one much longer and much bigger.

"Where ya going?" Naruto asked, kneeling down to see what was in the duffle. "Hey, is that a sword in there?!" Without waiting for the okay he reached in and pulled out a sheath. He grabbed the elegant gold-inlaid hilt and unsheathed a beautiful folded-steel, double-edged blade. "Woah..." he murmured in awe.

"I obviously don't have to answer that question," Sasuke muttered and finished shoving the last of his gathered things into the smaller dufflebag. "As for the first question... Hollygrove."

"Why are you going to Hollygrove? And with a sword?" Standing up Naruto moved a safe distance away from Sasuke and made a few careful passes with the blade. It was balanced perfectly and sang softly as it cut through the air.

"If you want to know that badly hurry up and pack for the weekend... three nights. Staying in a hotel with a two person Jacuzzi in the room and a huge pool. So get your ass moving," Sasuke muttered and dropped the filled bag to the floor. "Give me that so I can put it away -"

Always up for an adventure Naruto handed him the sword hilt-first and grabbed his biggest backpack, quickly shoving the things he'd need for a three night trip into it. "So where are we going?" he demanded. "You're not planning to kill anyone are you?" he joked, waving a hand at the blade before pulling a novel out from under his pillow to throw it in his pack on top of the clothes.

Arcing the sword a few times first, Sasuke finally sheathed it and put it back where it had come from. He settled on the couch then with his arms folded and let his eyes follow Naruto's every move. "Are you gonna hurry?" he asked, not answering Naruto's question.

"Done!" Naruto exclaimed as he slung his bag over his shoulder, waiting for Sasuke to lead the way. "Am I gonna need cash? And if yes, how much?"

Slinging the bags over his shoulders Sasuke headed for the door. Once Naruto was out he shut and locked said door and then turned, heading for the stairwell. "You won't need money... don't worry about it," he said softly as he showed Naruto out to his car.

"I won't? You sure?" Naruto was skeptical. You always needed cash on trips. He then remembered Sasuke's description of the hotel they were going to and asked, "Are you sure we can afford the hotel you're taking us to?" He'd never been to anything more extravagant than a high-end motel and knew he probably wouldn't be able to pay even his half of the rent.

"I said you wouldn't need money and don't worry about the hotel. I pre-paid for the next four weekends."

---

They reached X-lot and Sasuke approached the very middle row of cars, heading straight down the isle until he turned left and reached the keys he had in his pocket towards the trunk of the sleek, blue-gun-metal 1970 Chevelle. He tossed his stuff into the trunk and turned to Naruto, extending a hand for his bag.

Naruto was a little busy looking at the car. "You have a Chevelle... How in the world did you get your hands on a 70s Chevelle? Aren't you worried about it getting trashed or stolen by bringing it here?"

"Nope... I'd just buy another one... This one was only $59,999," Sasuke said semi-conversationally as he physically took Naruto's things away from him and put them in the trunk and then he closed it and headed to the front of the car. "Coming?"

"Only 60 grand?! What do you mean 'only 60 grand'?! That's a crapload of money!!" Naruto exclaimed as he climbed into the passenger's side, looking at Sasuke as if he wasn't quite human. Naruto would be lucky if he ever saw more than 30 grand just once in his lifetime.

Sasuke's shoulder lifted and fell as he popped in a CD after starting the car. It purred to life easily, rumbling like a content kitten. The CD kicked on, Japanese flutes humming over the speakers followed quickly by a voice that easily matched Sasuke's own in sexiness. The only difference at the moment was that Sasuke's was real and a little less accented, making it a smooth blend of English and Japanese tones that the strictly Japanese voice lacked. Satisfied, Sasuke looked over his shoulders and then back out before turning and heading out of X-lot onto Service Road, then left onto Hagadorn, driving with the intention of passing by Grand River on the way to I-69.

"Jeez, you loaded or something?" Naruto badgered, not satisfied with a shrug for an answer. He ignored the music for now, concentrating on getting an explanation out of Sasuke. "How in hell did you get your hands on 60 grand to buy this thing in the first place?"

Feeling like being a little bit of a smart ass, Sasuke answered, "I had an extra 60 grand lying around and decided to put it to good use." Then he reached for the CD player's controls, hitting the next track button until he was satisfied with the number he saw. As the opening thread to one of his favorite Gackt songs – and with good reason due to a particular concert he'd had the privilege of attending – sighed out of the speakers, Sasuke leaned back and purred along with one of the best J-Rock performers Sasuke'd ever found.

Growling Naruto punched him in the arm for his smartass comment before settling back in his seat with a huff. Closing his eyes he let the music wash over him... and just about melted. The voice purring through the speakers was positively sinful in its smoothness and sensuality. But when coupled with Sasuke's dark, liquid voice... fine tremors ran through Naruto during the entire song. By the end of it he was half-hard and doing his best to ignore it. It just wasn't fair...

The next song on the list was an upbeat version of the same song. They were on I-69 now and headed East towards exit 145, the Clarkston/Davis exit. Sasuke had mapped the route out from Hollygrove to Michigan State University to get to school and now, having memorized the route, he was returning by it. Sasuke set the car on cruise, glanced over Naruto... And smirked. ::Well, well... This looks to be potentially... rewarding...:: "Fragrance" came on then and Sasuke's smirk turned absolutely wicked as he began to sing along. This was... fun!

Biting his lip to keep from moaning Naruto screwed his eyes shut tighter, his hands clutching the denim on his thighs. He focused on keeping his breathing on a normal pace, not noticing the bead of sweat that ran down his temple to his neck to soak the collar of his t-shirt. The combination of two wonderfully sexy voices – one of the sources being right next to him, and gorgeous at that – was definitely not helping. Finally not able to stand it any more he reached over and shut off the stereo. He really did not want to cum in his roommate's car!

Sasuke glanced over at him, caught Naruto's wrist before he could retract it from by the radio and felt his lips twitch a little before he murmured softly, "You look like you could use a hand... Couldn't handle Gackt?" He didn't wait for Naruto to answer before saying, "I couldn't either the first time I heard him..."

A blatant shiver ran over Naruto's body at the feel of Sasuke's cool, calloused hand on his wrist and he roughly pulled his hand away. Not trusting his voice enough to answer he just shook his head once negatively and turned away from Sasuke as best he could. Doing his best to shut Sasuke's presence out he focused on willing his hard-on away. It didn't help that he wanted to take Sasuke up on his offer, so Naruto started thinking of anything and everything that was a turn-off.

Sasuke's fingers twitched a little at the abrupt loss of contact with Naruto's warm skin and then they dropped to the radio, turning it on again. He hit the next track button turning the song from "Fragrance" to something even worse. "Hoshi no Suna", "Scar of the Star" when translated, which was a slow song, sweetly beautiful and sung in tones that were both painful and seductively mesmerizing at once.

Naruto immediately reached over and turned the radio off again. Any more of this and he'd either have to accept Sasuke's offer or ask him to pull over and then find a hiding place behind a tree for a bit. He'd bit down so hard on the inside of his lip to keep from moaning that he'd cut it, the coppery tang of blood moving along his tongue.

Sure the radio was silenced... but Sasuke certainly wasn't and he continued to sing, eyeing Naruto out of the corner of his eye. A cappella was usually more of a killer on the senses anyway since the music wasn't there to distract from the lustful voice.

"Bastard," Naruto grit out between clenched teeth, spreading his legs a bit to relieve the pressure. It was really hard to think of turn-offs with Sasuke's sensual voice assaulting his ears. Reaching over he turned the radio back on, putting it on the first classic rock station he could find and blasting it to drown out Sasuke. Maybe now he'd be able to solve his little "problem".

Sasuke stopped singing long enough to reach over and turn the radio off then laid his hand over the power button. Naruto wasn't getting to that button again. Period. With an absolutely evil smirk he picked up "Vanilla (Night Version)"... in soft, well-translated English.

Oh man, that really wasn't fair... A quiet whimper escaped Naruto's throat at the combination of Sasuke's sinful voice and the song's erotic lyrics. It had been bad enough when he couldn't understand the song! It was getting dangerously difficult to keep his control. He knew if he didn't he'd most likely end up in Sasuke's lap or something and then they'd get in an accident. "Unless you want to cause a crash, shut up," he growled, his voice thick with pent-up tension.

Sasuke outright chuckled at that and then added, "Fine. Fine." He left it at that for the rest of the trip, remaining mostly silent and leaving the radio and his own vocals off. They reached the hotel at about nine thirty and Sasuke immediately grabbed their belongings out of the trunk. Check-in was easy and they were in the room in a matter of moments. The pool was almost right outside their door, the Jacuzzi looked almost big enough for three people and to top it all off... there was only one bed. Sasuke tossed their bags on the floor by the mini-fridge and then headed for the bed, pulling his shirt off and tossing it over the back of the chair. Satisfied with his temperature Sasuke kicked off his shoes and sprawled back on the mattress, propping himself up on one elbow and letting his other hand rest lightly on his stomach. "We have a couple options," he said and let his eyelids droop slightly. "I can order in, or we can eat out... Jacuzzi or food first...?"

Without a word Naruto just grabbed his pack and went straight to the bathroom, locking the door behind him. Seeing Sasuke sprawled out on the bed like that was the last straw. Pulling his clothes off he got in the shower, making the water as cold as he could without dying of hypothermia. But even that wasn't enough to calm his body down. Gasping roughly he reached down to fist his erect member, the memory of Gackt and Sasuke's voices tormenting him as he pumped the swollen flesh. He came quickly, biting his lip to muffle his cry. Dazedly he watched as his essence was washed down the drain.

Once his mind started functioning properly again he took his time cleaning himself, avoiding Sasuke for as long as possible and forcing himself to think of mundane things. Almost an hour later he emerged from the bathroom in boxers and a tank, setting his bag down on a chair. "Food?" he asked Sasuke.

Wearing a rather smug look Sasuke lounged against the headboard of the bed in nothing but his boxers, looking a little sleepy. "I ordered in, since you were... otherwise engaged and unwilling to give me your opinion."

Flicking him off and muttering, "Damn bastard," Naruto went over to the table, where a tray of food was waiting for him. Sitting so that his back was to Sasuke, Naruto ate calmly while staring out the window. If he'd known just how much of a bastard his roommate could be he would have never agreed to this little adventure. He still didn't even know why they were here yet and was beginning feel a little apprehensive.

"Rest up... when you finish there. We've got to get up early and I want to soak in the hot tub before we get moving tomorrow," Sasuke said to Naruto's back and then turned onto his side since he was under the covers now and settled for sleep.

"Where are we going tomorrow?" Naruto asked. He growled when Sasuke didn't answer him, pretending to be asleep.

Finishing his dinner he crawled into bed and curled up, fingers tangled in the chain around his neck. He fell asleep quickly, having had his chem class of doom that morning. And, just like he always did when sharing a bed with someone, his subconscious registered the source of warmth nearby and he was soon rolling towards it.

The shift in weight beside him stirred Sasuke awake. Well, partially awake anyway. Cracking open an eye Sasuke watched as Naruto rolled towards him very slowly and gradually. At first, the only thing he could think was ::What is he doing?:: And then Naruto rolled up to Sasuke's side and slid an arm around his waist, holding him close. He rested his head on Sasuke's chest, using him as a pillow. Now happily warm and cozy he sighed, settling down to fall into deeper sleep.

Sasuke was still for a moment, a little surprised, and then he brought his arm around Naruto's waist, holding him to his side by snuggling Naruto's body tightly there. Some small ache inside of him eased a little at the intimacy of the moment with the room cast in deep darkness, the warmth of a shared bed and the press of a warm, solid body against him. He chalked it up to having been without any true 'relief' in over a month. He knew he shouldn't... didn't want to push Naruto away, but at the same time – something just wouldn't let him pass up this small chance. His free hand, the one not holding the blond to his body, came up to caress Naruto's cheek and then traced his ear with a very light fingertip.

A quiet sigh ghosted along Sasuke's chest and Naruto pressed closer, tightening his grip around Sasuke's waist before stilling again.

The tightening of Naruto's arm about his waist made him shiver a little bit and so Sasuke risked a little more of the wonderfully delightful contact, letting his hand slide around to cup the back of Naruto's neck for a moment before he slid his fingers up into Naruto's hair at the back of his head, just playing with it idly. The other hand caressed Naruto's hip from where it curled around the blond boy's lower back and waist.

Sighing again Naruto pressed himself even closer, burrowing his face into Sasuke's chest a bit. All he knew was that he was warm and being held and that was all that mattered. The corner of his mouth turned up in a tiny smile.

An echo of Naruto's smile turned up Sasuke's lips before the hand at his neck dropped to idly stroke at Naruto's back until Sasuke was sound asleep himself as well.

TBC...