My...

OoooooHaaaayoo. T____________T

It's been a while, ne?

I'm sorry this is way way way way waaaaaaay later then I wanted it to be posted.



There was a huge issue with one of my other fics showing up on some other website under a different author's name and..er.....it was not a very happy-making experience. GARHHSFG.



- -xxxxx



Luckily, one of my readers caught it and told me, so I spent the last week attempting to get him to take it down. FINALLY, he got the message.

UGHHHH, I know thats a lame excuse, but trust me, if this ever happens to you (and I really hope it doesn't) you'll understand how stressful it is. -______-



I am currently running a fever (MAN, i am getting sick all over again.), but that's alright. I'll be working on the next chapter right off the bat, after I post this chapter.



Pleasepleasepleeeaseeeeeeeee Review and rate. ^^

(Review responses at the bottom)



Eh ^^;; And please excuse the unBeta'd-ness of all this. AndersonRae is still Beta-less. Haaa~



OOH! NOTE: Kankuro is make-up-less. (Even though its supposed to be like..a tattoo..PAH. Whatever.) I decided it would be make-up since make-up is removable, and he'll be wearing it at one point, and the hat..thingy..thing. But for now, he's not wearing either. ^^ But Gaara's Love Kanji is an actual tattoo (:



-aaaaand ACTION!!!-



------

Crystal glasses filled up to the brim with golden champagne bubbled and glistened in the warm glow of the chandelier overhead. The various employees of the Uchiha mansion filtered in and out of the rooms, dressed in red and gold, balancing the long-stemmed crystal glasses on trays. The cook assistants, dressed in their usual white garb, offered small entrees, refilled empty glasses and continued to serve elegant dishes prepared by the chefs.



Itachi mixed and mingled with the various known and unknown important faces of the business world. The long haired man gracefully moved among the guest. His pale face lit up pleasantly as he smiled and shook hands.



His long glossy locks were loosely bound at the nape of his neck with a maroon colored hair tie. The shade of the hair tie matched the silken dress shirt Itachi was currently wearing. Regular black, fitted, slacks and a black vest completed his outfit. His sleeves were rolled up, revealing a silver watch that bore the Uchiha insignia and both the vest and the first few buttons of his shirt were left undone, showing off pale collar bones and ultimately radiating the feeling that the man felt very comfortable in his own skin.



In the very Uchiha-like way of thinking, every single thing was planned. The pristine appearance of the large banquet room to the polite servers; The savory food to the fragile, yet beautiful crystal glasses. From the overall feelings of importance that stood behind the actual event, to the calm, cool and relaxed appearance of the Uchiha. It was all planned.



Dealing with people, charming them, didn't exactly take the older Uchiha too much effort. He could easily and effortlessly weave through the crowd, complimenting and charming each and every one of them all the while ingratiating the Uchiha company onto them.



Said Uchiha smiled briefly and nodded as another company associate walked off in the direction of the platter of food that had just entered the room carried by one of the cook's assistants. He brushed a silky black lock of hair aside as Kisame walked up beside him wearing a gray suit combination. Itachi's eyes traced the outlines of his lover approvingly.

"Kisame." He purred.

"Hn."

A smirk played on the pale man's lips.

"Things are going quite well, aren't they?"

Kisame nodded, "Yes. They are."

Two sets of eyes indiscreetly gazed across the room at the pale form of the younger Uchiha.

"His interest has been peaked." Kisame noted.

"Seems like it." Another smirk.



----------



Dark smoldering eyes tried to calculate what was before him. His body ran on autopilot, nodding at various familiar and unfamiliar faces and making polite yet curt conversation. The gears spun in his head, trying to wrap around the thought that he could not escape.

'How the hell is that Dobe doing it?' He ran the question once more in his mind as his eyes traced the blond's movements.



Naruto had arrived at what seemed like the most perfect moment, just before the dishes were set out on the banquet tables, but after the first round of champagne had been served. His body language seemed to be fitted for these sorts of events; his posture was impeccable, his handshake was firm, he was gracious, calm, collected and was, well...completely not what the Uchiha had expected. Seeing any sort of recognition in an Uchiha's eyes in response to surprise is very rare. Yet, that look seemed to light up the black irises over and over as the evening continued.



In a way the Dobe seemed, somewhat, the same. The easy-going smile, he genuine look in his blue eyes, the upbeat attitude. It just seemed...capped. Closed off slightly. Refined and filtered in order to fit in. He wasn't at a loss at what to do or how to act, like Sasuke had first predicted. The questioning thoughts raked over his mind again as the blond laughed and politely handed a glass of champagne to one of the business associate's wives. The wives, it seemed, all loved to be around him. With the way the blond was looking at them as if they were the most important person in the room, he could understand.



'What happened to the Dobe? Is this what being an Escort is?' He thought distractedly as he saw someone approaching him. He almost, out of habit, turned to formally greet the approaching person, but he stopped short as when he realized who it was.

"Sasuke." Shino greeted.

"Hn." He replied.



Shino, along with Neji, often accompanied their parents or business representatives to most events, like Sasuke. The brunette had word a silk silvery-gray shirt, white tie and a black vest and slacks. His signature dark sunglasses were perched on his straight nose; people no longer questioned why he even wore them indoors. Some people assumed the pale boy wore them because of the Aburame company specialty, which may have made sense, if one knew the inner workings of the company, that is.



The company itself was a lot like the Uchiha company on a slightly smaller scale. At the base was a strong central company that dealt with all investments and business deals. Branching out from that were various other side-businesses, each company, Uchiha, Aburame and Hyuuga, each having their own specific areas of expertise. One of Shino's personally invested businesses being in private investigations (Hence the mysterious sunglasses). But Shino dismissed this explanation, time after time. Simply stating that there was no specific reason and he wore the glasses simply because he felt like it. Though, Sasuke felt, a reason did exist but Shino just did not feel like telling anyone; Not that Sasuke felt the need to pry. They only spoke when it was necessary, after all. Moments passed with the two standing together in silence, side by side. They didn't converse much and silence often settled between the two stoic teens. But it was far from an uncomfortable silence. They usually didn't find the need to fill the empty moments with meaningless conversation, is all.



"That's your Escort?" Shino said, still facing forward.

Dark eyes stayed trained on the blond, "Hn." He answered, not bothering to wonder how the other teen knew. "Itachi's pick. Uzumaki Naruto."



When it came to private matters, Shino respected the privacy of his acquaintances, but with matters that resulted with any sort of public attention, Shino immediately sought out an explanation. Once spotting the blond haired, blue eyed boy conversing with his parent's business associates, Shino began to find a reason as to why the blond was there. Eventually he was led to Itachi.



Eyes widened a half of a fraction behind dark lenses, 'Uzu...Uzumaki Naruto..?' The name rang a bell within Shino's mind. Although he had power over other agents within his Investigation company, he also investigated many matters himself, depending on their importance and his own interest in the subject. Due to that, he had the underground information on many people and, although all reports are printed and filed away, Shino could also recall many pieces of information from the depths of his mind. The blond, Uzumaki Naruto, Shino concluded, was someone he had investigated. And due to the fact that he couldn't exactly recall what it was he had looked into, he knew it had been a long time ago. And also...



"Lower-class. Downtown, most likely." He stated and paused as he glanced at the blond from behind dark lenses, he wasn't all too familiar with the tanned and whiskered face and drew up blanks when trying to remember any other details about him, meaning the boy wasn't someone important, "Judging from his manners, he's been an escort for quite a while." He deduced from the, almost, naturally polite way the boy seemed to act while interacting with the various people.

Sasuke nodded once, "Hn. I assumed so, as well." He replied. He was slightly aware of the, so-called, "training" that the Escorts were required to go through, but Sasuke didn't realize that the training would change the boy to this extent.

A creeping feeling chilled the Uchiha's blood. 'What's he planning..' Sasuke wondered darkly as his eyes found the form of his brother.



---------



A pair of green eyes assessed the situation that had appeared. Naruto Uzumaki at an Uchiha cocktail party. Not only that, but the blond was also dressed in fine silk, imported, from what he could tell. The tanned teen was mingling and chatting up the people around him animatedly. He looked happy, upbeat. A smile plastered on his face. That smile, Gaara noted; The smile that could fool the nations.



"EH!? Is that Naruto?!" Temari piped up as she walked up next to her younger brother. She placed a fist on her hip and tilted her head to the side.

"His hair looks different. Very straight. Not to mention what he's wearing. He looks-"

"Hot." Kankuro finished for her as he came and stood next to her. "Fucking great."



"Un!" Temari agreed with a bright smile, but it dimmed slightly, "...ne, Kankuro..."

"Hai?"

Temari threw a punch that hit the brunette square in the jaw, "Stop being such a pervert! Take your eyes off my Naruto!" She said cracking her knuckles. Kankuro reeled from the hit, but recovered, angry, "What the hell, you bitch! He's like a brother to me!! I was just complimenting him, you ugly hag!" He snapped.

"AHO. Who you calling ugly?!" Temari yelled as Gaara sighed heavily, rubbing his eyes, "I'll show you how 'ugly' I can really get, you dickhead!" She continued.



Temari winded up to throw another punch as Kankuro tensed to throw one himself when they both paused.

"Eh?" Temari said, mid-punch, "Where'd Gaara go?"



"I dunno, man." Kankuro said after glancing around, as he scratched his head, "Lil bro's always disappearin'." He said with a shrug. "Maybe he-" Kankuro stopped short when he realized that the space that his sister was occupying a moment earlier was now empty. He then saw a flash of her blond hair racing over to Naruto. His eye twitched. 'What. The. Hell. I never waltz off in the middle of conversations!' He let out an annoyed hiss and made a beeline for the blond himself.



---------



A pale hand ran down an equally pale face as he sighed. Events like this always made him tired, taking a break half an hour before it ended would be fine. Sasuke continued down the hallway and headed toward his room to take a breather. He reached up and slightly loosened his tie with a pale index finger, running the other hand through his black locks.



He headed towards the end of the hall, but paused.



"Sabaku." He turned around to face the redhead.

Gaara stopped walking as well and slipped his hands into his pockets. Gaara Sabaku was widely known, like the Uchiha company, in Japan and across waters as well. Having no parents, he was seen as the head of his own company and along with his brother and sister, he made all the important decisions. Although Sasuke had met Gaara long ago, they still weren't exactly 'friends'. If anything, they respected and tolerated each other, but never exactly sought each other out like this before. Sasuke tensed.



"Hn." Gaara stared at the Uchiha before him.

"...." Sasuke quirked an eyebrow, "Is there something that you want, Sabaku?"

"Uchiha, I see you've come in contact with Naruto Uzumaki." He stated.

Sasuke straightened up, "So?"

"What do you want with him?"

Pale emerald eyes met dark obsidian ones, "Nothing." Sasuke stated coldly. "He's Itachi's plaything."



The pale green eyes continued to stare, "Hn. Uchiha, I'm aware of the Escort Business. Unlike you, I keep track of thing occurring in Kohona even when I'm away."

Sasuke gritted his teeth and glared at the redhead, "Che. I'm not idle enough to try and bore myself with the details of this town. Let me ask you again Sabaku, what do you want?"

"Nothing." He answered evenly, "I'm just warning you, don't even think of hurting Naruto." Sasuke vaguely noted how Gaara was referring to the blond with familiarity.

"If you do," he continued, "I'll be sure you'll regret it." The stoic expression on the green eyed boy's face stayed in tact as he turned and leisurely walked down the hall.

Sasuke glared at his back.

'Why the hell does Sabaku care about that blond?' He turned and headed back to his room, 'Do they have some sort of history with each other?' He entered and shut the door behind him. For the first time, he really thought about Naruto as..well, an escort.

'Could that Uzumaki-boy have been Gaara's Escort?' He shook the thought out of his head and pulled his tie completely off, 'Che. No way Gaara would care about the kid now if he had only been an Escort.' He kicked off his shoes and socks and began unbuttoning his shirt. As cool and collected as an Uchiha is supposed to act, the redhead had pissed him off. In years they never showed each other any sort of recognition other then what was necessary, but out of the blue Sabaku had warned him? About the not hurting the blond?? Of all things and people to warn someone about, that was something Sasuke had not expected. He took the rest of his clothes off and turned on the shower, stepping under it's hot spray.



He closed his eyes as the steam billowed and furled around his body. As an Uchiha, he learned to deal with his emotions accordingly only giving in once in a while. He felt the heat of the water ease the tension in his muscles. Taking a steaming hot shower always helped him. He felt his unexplainable anger seep out of his skin. He sighed and ran a hand over his face.

'Is Gaara involved with that kid..?'

A pale fist slammed into the tiled wall. Sasuke gritted his teeth. He didn't know why and he couldn't understand why...but the thought aggravated him more then he would've liked to admit.



----------



'Eh...My cheeks hurt.' Naruto thought as the last few lingering guests began to leave.



He jumped slightly as a hand clapped on his back, "Alright Naruto, It's about time we get going." Kankuro said, loosening his tie with one hand. Temari nodded with a smile. "Un. But Naruto, It was really great to see you! Why did you tell me you got another gig, eh?" He asked, throwing an arm around the blond's shoulders.

Naruto laughed, "Ah, My bad, Temari. Gomen."

She placed a fist on her hip shaking her head, "Che. How could I stay mad at that face, heh?"

"Hn. Doesn't stop you from stayin' mad at me.." Kankuro mumbled, running a hand through brunette locks. Temari slugged his arm without missing a beat, "Because, brother of mine...You. Are. NOT. cute. That's all."



"What the hell. I'm plenty 'cute'. Just look at me!" Kankuro said, motioning to his dark purple vest. "Purple is my color!"

Kankuro always wore something dark purple, this time he wore a dark purple vest over a white shirt. His black blazer, that matched his black slacks, was slung over his arm and his tie was red. Temari on the other hand was wearing a light, pale purple strapless piece. An A-line style cocktail dress with a custom sweetheart neckline and a silk red bow tied around the waist.



"That may be so, but purple is my color, idiot." Temari put in, motioning with her hands causing her silver bangles to clang together.

Kankuro sniffed and cuffed Temari on the back of her head, mussing her intricately curled hair, "Che. That don' matter, Lil' sis. Cuhs I look better. " He laughed.



"Why you goodfernuthin'-" Temari reeled her arm back.

"Hn. It'd be a shame if we made more of a mess then necessary for the Uchiha staff to clean up." Gaara chimed in as he descended down the stairs and joined his siblings. Blue eyes widened, "GAARA!!" Naruto exclaimed as he threw his arms around the red-head. "Why didn't you come and say hi earlier? Jeez!" Naruto huffed, Gaara hugged the blond back briefly, a slight smirk graced his features, "Gomen, Naruto."



Gaara, unlike his siblings, usually wore green. This time he came in a simple black pleated vest and slacks, a white dress shirt and a mint-green bow tie that brought out his eyes.



"How have you been?" Gaara asked, slipping his hands into his pockets.

"Good, good."

A high pitched melody chirped out, causing three heads to look around, Gaara just stared blankly at his sister. Temari's eyed widened. "Oh. Hahaha. My bad." She said with a wave of her hand as she reached in between her bosom and retrieved her ringing cell phone.

"So classy." Kankuro sniffed with a roll of his eyes but reeled as Temari's elbow whipped back and hit the brunette square in the nose.

"Hello-oo?" She sing-songed sweetly as Kankuro groaned, holding his face.



"Oh. My baaad." She said with a smile, "Un! Okay. We'll be there shortly!"

She turned to the other three boys, "Yosh~! Kanky, Gaar, Mr. Driver-kun is waiting in the driveway!" She said, turning to Naruto.



'Mr...driver-kun..?' Naruto sweatdropped. "Er..heh..he...Temari..chan.. I believe his name is Takashi-san?"

She clasped her hands together enthusiastically, "Hai! Taka-Naka-kuuun!"

Kankuro smacked a hand to his face, exasperated, "What the hell is a 'Taka-Naka'??" he asked no one in particular.

"Hn." Gaara interrupted, "Umino Takashi-san will be waiting." He said, checking his watch briefly before slipping his hand back into his pocket. He turned towards the door. Kankuro ruffled Naruto's straightened locks, "See ya 'round, kiddo."



Temari pulled the blond into a hug next, "Un, so Naruto, we'll see each other again soon, ne? Sound good?" She continued as she was pulled out of the hug by an annoyed Kankuro. As she was dragged out by the collar, she flashed a peace sign, "You and me, Naruto! Let's go have fun!!! The Beach! Let's go see the ocean, 'Kayyy?"



He reached up and waved as she flashed one last smile before she was dragged out by Kankurou who also waved one last time.



"Naruto." Naruto jumped a bit, forgetting that Gaara was still in the room.

"Yeah?" Naruto said turning to Gaara.

"Be careful." He said, his usually seriously eyes turned slightly worried.

He smiled, "Un. I will."

Gaara turned to leave, but paused at the doorway. "I like Temari's idea."

Naruto tilted his head in confusion, but then realized what the red-head meant.

"Oh" He laughed, "Hai. We'll go the beach soon." Naruto waved and sighed happily as Gaara closed the door behind him.



It's always great to run into old friends once in a while.



-------



Sasuke flipped open his cell phone and sat on his bed. After finishing his shower, pulling on boxers and his navy blue pajama bottoms he had made a decision.



He hit send and held the phone to his ear.



He would learn everything he could about the blond. Every detail about his past and the people he has come in contact with. Especially what the blond had done to make someone like Sabaku care.



It rang three times.



"Hn. Sasuke, need something? "



"Shino, I need you to look into something."



"Uzumaki, I presume?"



"Yes."



"I'll be on it. To what extent?"



"Everything. Background information on his closest friends as well."



"Hn. I'll be thorough."



"Want an advance?"



"Che. Sasuke," Shino spoke from the other side of the line, pushing up his shades, "You act as if we're not friends."



Sasuke smirked, "Hn. I owe you one then, Shino."



"Hn. Don't even think about it, Uchiha."



Click.



Sasuke stared at the glowing LCD screen of his phone a moment longer, looking up as he heard a timid knocking on his door.



He snapped his phone shut as a certain tanned blond entered his room.



----------





After the Sabaku trio left Naruto thanked the crew for their hard work and headed up the stairs.



Said crew watched, teary-eyed, as the blond ascended the center stair case, never before thanked so earnestly, they all immediately grew to liking to him.



As Naruto entered the hallway he ran into Karin and Sasori who were on their way out. Karin flashed him a peace sign and smile, congradulating him on his success. Sasori nodded in agreement and ruffled the blond's locks.



"Where you off to now Naruto, ehh? Why not come for a drink with me and Sassy?" Karin suggested, draping an arm around Sasori's shoulders.

'..Er.."Sassy"? Ehh..I think I know where the extra champagne went..eh...' Naruto thought, sweatdropping.



"Oy. Karin-Baka-Sama. The kid's sixteen." Sasori pointed out blankly, pale index finger pointing at the blond. "And don't call me that."



Karin stared at Naruto as if he were a calculus equation. "AHHH! I remember. Too young, eh? How about your favorite Karin-nee-chan buys you some, nyeh?"



Sasori mentally slapped himself. "Geh, I'm not actually drinking," He explained to Naruto after a moment, "I figure I can't leave her to fend for herself." he added, jabbing his thumb in her direction

"I should have left hours ago with those two morons." Sasori murmured regretfully, referring to Deidara and Suigetsu who had bailed hours earlier. He sighed running a hand down his face. "Ah. Naruto," Sasori added, successfully interrupting Karin who began to drabble on and on about aging and good youth, "Deidara and Suigetsu wanted me to tell you that they were proud of you, but both of them have things to attend to in the morning so they're unable to stay."



Naruto nodded with a smile, "I understand. Heh" he chuckled, "Ah- Have you seen Itachi?" He added.



Karin giggled. "Ohhh, he's having fuuuuun!" She drawled.



Sasori nodded in the direction of Itachi's room. "He and Kisame...are busy." He stated, hoping the blond understood what he meant.



He did.



Naruto flushed and chuckled nervously, "E-eh..ha.. Then I won't..bother him then."



"Hn"



"Hai, Haaaai!" Karin giggled, "Sionaraaa!" she waggling her fingers over one shoulder as she wandered down the hall and towards the stairs.



"I better go help her before she falls. Ja ne, Naruto-kun." Sasori nodded and winked before heading toward the tipsy woman.



Naruto waved and watched as Sasori supported Karin as they stumbled down the stairs. He turned and sighed, continuing down the hall. He hurried past Itachi's slightly ajar door and tried not to listen to the noises coming from inside. If he couldn't thank he figured he should at least say goodnight to his client. He smoothed a hand over the lapels of his blazer that was draped over one arm. He thought about unbuttoning his vest as well, but decided against it. He could make himself comfortable later.



Before he knew it, he was standing at the door of the younger Uchiha. He hesitated a moment, but knocked softly before entering.



As his eyes found the pale form of his client, his breath caught in his throat. The stoic teen was sitting on the black satin sheets of his bed, shirtless. The inky black locks still slightly damp and some clung to the pale skin of his neck. Although the raven was bent forward, elbows resting on his knees, Naruto could still see the slight outlines of the lean muscles in his arms, shoulders and abdomen. He had previously acknowledged that the Uchiha was..well, attractive, but the way the brunette's dark eyes were staring straight at him at the moment made him shiver.



"A-ano.." Naruto said, trying to find his voice again, he forced his eyes to look at the floor instead of the smoldering gaze of the other teen "I-I just..wanted to say thank you a-and goodnight."



Sasuke didn't reply, Naruto tensed as the silent stretched. He didn't hear the swish of satin against silk of Sasuke standing up.

"Sorry to bother- umf!" His apology was cut off and the air rushed out of his lungs and he was roughly slammed against the hard surface behind him.



Naruto winced as he was pushed up against the door, his back colliding against the hard wood. Blue eyes widened as he found that the obsidian orbs that had been halfway across the room were now inches away from his face. The Uchiha's pale arm was pressed horizontally across the blond's shoulders, pinning him.



The cold dark eyes glared into blue ones, Naruto's heart almost stopped, "What the hell, teme!" Naruto hissed angrily at being slammed around for no reason. "What's your prob-"



"Shut up, Dobe." Sasuke interrupted in a cold clipped tone.



"Hey! Don't call me 'dobe', teme-" He retorted dropping his blazer on the ground, tanned hands reaching up to shove the pale boy away, but Naruto hissed as the hand that was pinning him down slammed him again, hard, against the door. He dropped his hands back down to his sides in fists.



"Listen, Dobe. I know enough about this 'Escort' business to know that you're supposed to be loyal to your client, correct?"



Naruto opened his mouth to throw a retort the raven's way, but gritted his teeth, "Yeah. That's right." He replied, fists clenching.



"Then, now you're loyal to me." A smirk appeared on the pale teens face. "And only me." He added, leaning in closer to the tanned face.



Naruto's breath hitched as the cold black eyes seemed to begin to smolder again and the smirking lips suddenly seemed so painfully attractive. Pale fingers nimbly undid the buttons on the blond's vest and pushed the boy's shirt up teasingly. Suddenly, he felt the pressure from the arm pinning his shoulders down disappear and suddenly his hands were pinned above his head, held down by one of Sasuke's hands while the other hand left his shirt and snaked into his hair, fisting it in a slightly painful way, tilting his head up. He gasped, feeling a hard body press up against him. Their lips were almost touching.



Blue eyes found black again, "Got it?" Sasuke asked in a breathy whisper that tickled whiskered cheeks.



Naruto's instinct told him to push Sasuke away, yet, every fiber of Naruto's being was screaming at him to close the distance between them. To kiss the Uchiha.



Then, all at once, he was gone.



Naruto blinked, staring at Sasuke's lean back as he walked back over to his bed and picked up a towel and threw it over his pale shoulder. He was speechless, his breath caught in his throat.



Then, "Get out, Dobe." Sasuke said without turning around to face him.



He stood there, staring dumbfounded at Sasuke's pale back. "..Wh-what..?" He mumbled.



Sasuke's form tensed, "I said, Get. Out." the raven gritted out. Tanned hands fumbled to pick up his jacket and bolted out of Sasuke's room.



Half way down the hallway, Naruto paused.



"...What the hell was that" He asked himself distractedly before continuing down the hall, flustered and confused.



----------





As Sasuke heard the door close behind the rushing blond, he sighed, heaving out the breath he had been holding.



He collapsed on black satin sheets and closed his eyes. He ran a hand down his face and sighed again.



He recalled the way he suddenly got up and pinned the blond. 'Che......I lost control...huh.' He thought, blinking his eyes open. He imagined running his hand through the extremely silky strands of blond hair, those cerulean blue eyes staring earnestly into his own, the pink-ish, soft-looking parted lips of the Dobe....



A pale fist slammed down into the bed suppressing a hiss of anger. In the back of his mind, he reminded himself of the strong urge to kiss the blond; He thought of the way that his body wanted to react on its own when pressed up against the blond's. He tried to ignore the memory of the blond's quivering breath and the look in his eyes when Sasuke had first pressed up against him.



'I'm..not gay.' Sasuke said in his mind. He thought of the vile feeling that filled him whenever he saw Kisame and his older brother kissing. He made a face. "Nope. Definitely not.." He mumbled.



Then he recalled the way he felt when first seeing the blond enter his room, the way he trapped the blond as he was stumbling for his words, the way his own body reacted to the blond. He furrowed his eyebrows and closed his eyes again, '.....could......could I be..?' he questioned.



He thought of the noises he heard almost every other day that came from Itachi's room; The moans that grew louder and louder, the panting, the creak of the springs and thumping of the headboard. Sasuke opened his eyes. 'Why the hell am I even thinking about that. That's disgusting.' He thought briefly.



But then Sasuke remembered the feel of the struggling blond's wrists in his hand, the shaking breath, the overall feeling of dominance he had felt over the blond. Before he could stop himself he pictured himself pinning the blond Dobe on his bed, having his own way with him.



Immediately Sasuke's face flushed red and a pale hand shot up to cover his face. He noted flushing occurring elsewhere in his body and he flipped himself over so that he was laying face-first on his bed.



The hand covering his face ran through his black hair and came to rest by his side.



Sasuke sighed, turning his head sideways. The silky black fabric cooled his flushed cheek and he stared at the door.



'Maybe....I am...?' he thought reluctantly, recalling his reaction to the image of having his was with the blond.



Another blush found it's way to his cheeks. 'Considering the fact that I'm trying not to chase after the Dobe right now maybe I-' Sasuke thought, but stopped.



He pressed his face into his sheets and sighed, heavily. 'Why the fuck am I so confused...' he thought angrily.



A pale hand reached back to rub the back of his neck, his brow furrowed again.



'Naruto...Uzumaki.....Che.' Sasuke scoffed and turned back over onto his back, 'Maybe that damn kid has me confused, but I sure as hell won't let him win. Him or Sabaku.' Sasuke thought as he sat up.



"...wait." Sasuke said to (er.) himself. "Then...am I gay...?"



Sasuke stared at the wall for a long moment, silence filling his room.



"ARGH." He fisted his own hair and threw himself backwards onto the bed again.



"What...the hell is this.." Sasuke asked exasperatedly as he closed his eyes, flustered and confused.



-----------

-cut!-



Prism0467: Heheheh. I was...but..eeeh...not so much anymore. I hope to get on another roll with this set of chapters. xD Oh & I had originally planned on this chapter to focus more on Gaara, Sasuke and Naruto without much else, but I threw in a quick almost-kiss between Naruto and Sasuke. Juuust for you (; Hahah. Thank you for reviewing loyally! *cookies!*



maegerakawaii: Hahah. Thank you! I will. And, I'll be revealing more about Naruto's past as the plot continues. I'll tell you that it (sort of) is a very troubled past. There's a reason why Shino vaguely remembers him. Heh! ^^ I hope I don't disappoint. *cookies!*



loveusender:Hahah! Thank you! Many of my readers either love or hate my detail oriented-ness. xD I try to write in a way to create the perfect image that is clear enough through words so that readers like you will be able to picture it. Hehehe! I'm really hoping someone who's good with drawing will send in a sketch or two of what they pictured. xD If they do, I'll post the link here. ^^ Hope you liked this chapter too!





Thank you all again for reviewing! I hope you continue to enjoy my story and I'll try to get the next chapter up as fast as possible!



OH! And remember! I have a new email-update/notification system. If you check your email more then you come on aff and would like me to just email you updates on the current chapters and notifications when they're posted, send me an email at: andierae@live.com

Or you can email me at the same address if you have any questions/comments/suggestions that you don't feel like saying in a review. Just be sure to make the subject: "JOIN" if you'd like to join the updating system or "Question", "Comment" or "Suggestion" if its one of those.





^^



I'm off to get started on the next chapter! I'd love to hear from you, so please review!





Ja ne!



-A.R.