Watching

::EDIT:: Sorry to everyone who may have thought this was an update, but I had to go ahead and respond to a certain reviewer. I should have a new chapter out within the week, however. That is, if this reviewer didn't piss me off enough to kill what was left of my inspiration.

To Dawn: You know what? I don't particularly care what you think of my author's note. I'll will keep it as long as I want it because, you know what? The NORMAL people that don't want to read it tend to just skip over it. It's pretty easy to do, in fact. I'll even give you directions. Start where the three little asterisks are. See? Wasn't that easy? Maybe not for YOU, but hey, I'm not a miracle worker.

So, the next time you decide to drop me a review, how about you actually critique my STORY, and not the notes before and after it? That would be a BIG help, thanks a bunch.

By the way, sorry to any of my other reviewers that I might have scared with this. I love you guys to death, but after the review last chapter telling me that I did too many review responses, and now this one, I was getting sick and tired of having my author's notes and reviews critiqued instead of my actual STORY. But so far it's only been two reviewers who have done that, and I really, really appreciate the rest of you, who take the time to read and leave your opinions on my story. Thanks for the support! ^^

(Finally, once again, to Dawn, I really, REALLY hope that this little rant made my author's note even LONGER, just to bother you. Because really, at this point, bothering you would just make my fucking day.)

::/EDIT::

I managed to find my Microsoft Office discs and redownload Word, so yay for me! It was also my birthday on the 13th, and I am now officially 19. I feel all special… and old. A year away from 20… I’m almost not a teenager anymore! How depressing.

Anyway, sorry for the lag between updates, but I’m sort of losing inspiration for this fic. I did write a lot last night, but it was on a completely different story that I doubt I’ll ever post. Just needed to get a feeling out. I’m going to TRY not to end up discontinuing this but lack of motivation and lack of anything resembling plans for the future of this fic is sort of killing my inspiration. Usually I’d have notes and such, but for this one I only have a vague idea of where I want to go. It’s kind of unnerving. And with classes and everything, I’m too tired to sit down and sketch out a future plot.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, and am making no profit from this story.

***

Get in his car? Where there are no witnesses? Was he crazy? See, I'm not as stupid as I look. Wait... okay, nevermind, the point is that I'm not stupid. "Get in" when used in reference to stalker boy's car meant either a)Get into this dark vehicle with tinted windows so that I can molest you without getting caught, or b)Get into this dark vehicle with tinted windows so that I can murder you without getting caught.

Neither is good.

***

“Well? Get in.”

“Alright.”

Naruto wanted to kick himself as he slid into the car, unconsciously eyeing the smooth, leather interior. He really should have said no, but his answer had popped out before he’d had a chance to think about it.

Well, it was too late now. The door slammed shut, courtesy of Sasuke, and Naruto watched the other boy walk around the front of the car to the driver’s side. Naruto buckled his seatbelt as Sasuke got in, wary of the other teen’s driving skills (which he had witnessed previously on the way to Sasuke’s house). Sasuke, for his part, didn’t spare Naruto a look as he started the car, and the blonde began to very slowly relax. Sasuke was just giving him a ride home. There would be no murder and/or rape involved. Right.

They pulled out of the parking lot and Naruto stared out the side window, hands nervously tugging at the fabric of his jeans. It was so quiet that he was getting uncomfortable. He itched to turn on the radio, but had a feeling that Sasuke wouldn’t appreciate it. After a few minutes of staring sightlessly out the window, Naruto finally recognized the passing scenery, and his eyes widened in surprise as he remembered something. He'd never actually told Sasuke the way to his apartment. When Sasuke had driven him home from his house that time, he'd just automatically known the way. How could he have known?

Naruto was about to voice his question when he heard a soft ringing. An agitated expression crossing his pale features, Sasuke reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a cell phone, flipping it open with one hand and holding it to his ear.

“What?”

Silence for a moment, then:

“I’m all of five minutes later than usual, relax. I’m giving a friend a ride home.” More silence. “Yes. Well, luckily I don’t care what you think. Fine.”

Sasuke flipped the phone closed, and Naruto cleared his throat, really asking only so that he could break the silence between the two of them. “Who was it?”

“My brother.” The words held a certain tone to them that gave Naruto the feeling that Sasuke’s brother was a sore subject.

“He’s pretty creepy.” Naruto winced and silently cursed himself. Why did he always say whatever came into his head, without even stopping to think about it? He really didn’t feel like pissing Sasuke off at the moment (which was weird, when he thought about it), but he’d probably managed to do it anyway.

To his surprise, Sasuke’s response was to glance away from the road, regarding him with dark eyes that were truly amused. There was amusement in his voice, as well, as he said, “Yeah, he is.”

More silence, and Naruto shifted uncomfortably in his seat, the leather squeaking under him. “The first time you drove me home... how did you know the way to my apartment?”

Sasuke’s gaze was on the road again, and he shrugged noncommittally. Naruto rolled his eyes, certain that that was the best answer he was going to get out of the other boy.

The rest of the ride was spent in silence, but fairly comfortable silence. When Sasuke finally pulled up to Naruto’s apartment complex, the blonde chirped a sincere “Thanks!” before reaching for the door handle. Unfortunately, just as his fingers closed around it, he heard the audible ‘click’ of the doors being locked. He tensed up again, steeling himself as he looked over at Sasuke, finding exactly what he had expected. The other boy’s fingers were sliding off of the locking mechanism on the driver’s side door, and he was watching Naruto silently.

“Uh…” Naruto began, dearly hoping that this was all some sort of mistake. “For me to get out, the doors have to be unlocked.”

“I’m aware.” Sasuke’s expression didn’t change.

“So… why don’t you unlock them?”

He was looking at Naruto again, and the blonde cursed both himself and Sasuke in his mind. Why couldn’t he think when the other boy was looking at him like that? What was wrong with him?

Naruto could have sworn that he actually felt it when those dark eyes turned away from him. Sasuke leveled the steering wheel with a glare, which only perplexed Naruto. The wheel had apparently done something to seriously piss off the other teen. Naruto pitied it.

“How did you do it?”

Naruto blinked at him and scratched nervously at the whisker marks on his cheek. “How did I do what?”

Sasuke looked at him again, but his gaze didn’t have the same effect this time, and Naruto had the distinct impression that that was only because Sasuke simply didn’t want it to at the moment. “How did you survive alone?”

Stupid question. Naruto had already told him that, but since he was locked in a car with the boy, he might as well answer. “My grandparents took care of me until I was old enough to—“

Sasuke interrupted him mid-sentence. “Not that. How did you… keep from…” The dark haired boy shook his head, gaze flicking away from Naruto again in what the blonde could have sworn was embarrassment. “At least I have my brother. You had no one. But still… you’re like me.”

Was that it? This feeling between them? Was it because they shared something so painful? Did Sasuke really understand him that well?

Dark eyes traced the soft red marks Naruto’s earlier scratching had left on his tanned cheeks, and Sasuke leaned across the seat to kiss them. This boy… he knew…

Every resistance Naruto had had shattered. All his reasons for not allowing Sasuke to touch him anymore suddenly made absolutely no sense. It was wrong… he knew it was… but why? Sasuke was like him, Sasuke understood, and only Sasuke could make him feel so…

“Sasuke…”

The other boy seemed surprised to hear his name, and pulled back just enough so that his eyes could meet Naruto’s. Tanned fingers itched to bury themselves in jet black hair, to feel the other boy in ways that he hadn’t yet allowed himself to. It seemed that neither of them initiated the kiss, they were just drawn to each other until their lips met, each needing to be closer and attempting it in the only way they knew how.

Naruto’s mind was completely clear this time, and, entirely aware of what he was doing, he allowed his fingers to slide into Sasuke’s hair, burying themselves in the silky black strands and carefully but desperately holding on for dear life. Sasuke was kissing him… Sasuke was kissing him… and maybe it didn’t have to be wrong if no one knew… they could just stay like this…

The kiss wasn’t as urgent as their first had been. It was a slow exploration, a time to get to know each other for the many more times that would follow. This hadn’t been said, but it was implied in the way Naruto clung to Sasuke, in the way Sasuke cupped Naruto’s cheeks.

Naruto needed to be closer, but there was something holding him back. He couldn’t move, and it would be possible to find out what was restraining him, but that would require pulling away from Sasuke, which was not an option at the moment. He whined his discontent softly against Sasuke’s lips, and vaguely felt one pale hand leave his cheek and trail down his chest to more dangerous territory before settling beside his hip. There was a soft a click, and then the sharp sound of a seatbelt retracting itself, and suddenly he could move again. He leaned across the seat to meet Sasuke halfway, pausing only a moment for breath before diving back into the kiss.

Sasuke took the opportunity given to him by the seatbelt and slid his hand up Naruto’s hip and under the other boy’s shirt. A taut abdomen constricted under his touch before relaxing at the soothing motions of his fingers. He brushed his hand higher and felt goosebumps raise on the tanned skin, and if his mouth hadn’t been otherwise occupied, he might have cracked a smile.

Soft sounds of pleasure were passing through Naruto’s lips as they kissed, and Sasuke found it strangely endearing. The boy almost seemed to be purring in a sort of excited contentment, if that was even possible. Unable to resist any longer, Sasuke pulled back from the kiss and, ignoring Naruto’s protest, lowered both hands to his hips again.

“Come here,” he said gruffly, and that was the only warning Naruto got before he was tugged out of his seat and towards Sasuke. It was awkward, to say the least, but after realizing what Sasuke wanted, Naruto managed to clamber out of his seat and into Sasuke’s lap, straddling it and immediately kissing him again once settled. Having no complaints with this arrangement, Sasuke returned the kiss, sliding his hands under Naruto’s shirt again and up his back.

Naruto arched into Sasuke, which brought forth an entirely new sensation as their hips came into contact, and both boys paused to release surprised groans. The kiss was broken, and Naruto lowered his forehead to Sasuke’s shoulder, panting and experimentally thrusting his hips forward again. With a soft growl, Sasuke returned his hands to Naruto’s hips and held them against his own, grinding upward.

His actions seemed to snap Naruto out of his daze, and he moaned before lifting his head and shaking it emphatically, pushing Sasuke’s hands away from his hips and pulling away enough to give himself some breathing room. He leaned back against the steering wheel and nearly jumped off of Sasuke’s lap when his shoulder blade accidentally pressed into the horn. Sasuke, of course, couldn’t suppress a soft snicker.

They looked at each other slowly, both panting and flushed. Sasuke quickly decided that a panting, flushed, and tousled Naruto was most definitely edible, and resolved to test that theory as soon as possible.

“…I should go inside.”

Silence reigned for a few moments after Naruto’s statement before both boys released breathless chuckles. After what had just happened, the normality of it seemed to strike them both as funny, and Naruto shifted uncomfortably in Sasuke’s lap, suddenly reminded of his awkward position.

“Alright,” Sasuke eventually agreed, reaching over to unlock the door. Naruto wouldn’t deny him anymore, Sasuke knew that now. But it was obvious that the other boy needed time to think, and Sasuke would give that to him.

Sasuke opened the door and Naruto abruptly noticed that they had fogged up the windows. He couldn’t help grinning at Sasuke as he slid out of the boy’s lap, legs feeling strangely weak, and leaned down to write his name with his finger in the condensation on the window. Sasuke took the opportunity to get a quick feel of Naruto’s ass, and the blonde decided it was definitely time to go inside. He stepped back out of the way of the door and turned to face Sasuke, cheeks still stained pink, avoiding the other boy’s eyes.

“…I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yes, you will,” Sasuke replied. “We’ll talk to Sakura about our next meeting for the project.”

Naruto nodded dazedly and watched as Sasuke closed the door and backed out of his parking spot as if nothing had happened.

***

I could go further, I suppose, but I’m ending it there because, frankly, I only finished it because I had a bout of insomnia which, strangely enough, made me feel like I should use the time in which I couldn’t sleep to do something productive. Now I’m starting to feel tired, though, so I’ll do review responses, post this sucker, then turn in.

Oh, by the way, I feel the need to explain why I’m not going to be answering every review this time. I got a few reviews last time saying that I do too many review responses or something like that, so I’ve decided to only answer the ones that really ask a question or that strike me as needing a response. I actually liked doing review responses—I always liked it when authors of fics I was reading responded to me—but I shall give the people what they want and cut down on the responses.

Anon: I’m glad you like Naruto, I really enjoy writing him this way. As for Sasuke… well, it’s much easier to write him as the mysterious, silent type, and in all honestly, this fic is just for fun, so I’m not really putting all my effort into it. I’ve got too much going on with classes to write anything seriously right now, but I’m glad people seem to like this.

I won’t tell whether the excerpts at the beginning are Naruto’s report for the project or not… though several people have guessed that and you all seem… quite intuitive. Yes, that’s all I’ll say about that.

Wow, I’m glad you think it’s good enough to post in a SasuNaru comm.! As it is, I probably won’t, but that’s only because I was frightened away from posting my things in communities on LJ when I got some rather scathing criticism in an FMA comm.. I can take criticism just fine, but when it gets cruel, I tend to get my feelings hurt. So now I mostly prefer to just read.

Kativa-chan: Are you a freshman in high school or college? College is so nerve wracking… I turned in my first paper the other day and was ecstatic to get a B+. I used to post on Fanfiction.Net, but my stepmom ended up finding my work on there (which was mostly shounen-ai), and I had to remove it all. Everything I wrote there is not archived by some friends on GJ, and I’d be happy to provide the link if anyone wants it, though I am completely embarrassed by everything I wrote back then. It was all Yu Yu Hakusho stuff, by the way, and I posted under the name oOKeairaOo.

Horizont: Thanks! XD You will get no complaints from be about pushing the number of reviews. I’m glad you like the fic!

Shadows_Call: You reviewed my fic! I feel so special now… I lurv you. Aw… it’s easier to keep Sasuke in character in fics because I don’t have to go into his brain. He’s quite complicated… and I still get him out of character sometimes.

drowning_slowly: The Kakashi/Iruka thing will most likely remain as a stand alone thing, unless an opportunity arises to elaborate on it. It’s not going to be a main pairing in the fic, or even much of a pairing at all. The comment itself was just meant to be humorous and give a little bit of a hint at a pairing that I like, but it doesn’t even necessarily mean that Kakashi and Iruka are “together,” per se. *grins* It’s all up to interpretation.

ku: Still don’t see the harm in responding to all the reviews, as no one forces you to read them, and you’re free to just skip them completely, but I took your advice and cut down on them anyway.

Seto’s Darkness: *laughs* I loved your review, it made me giggle. As for the Uchihacest, I’m glad you wouldn’t mind, and yes, if I do include it, I plan to keep it strictly one-sided, and there will be absolutely no rape involved. I doubt it would be anything more than Itachi’s obvious jealousy, and perhaps a bit of him “out to get” Naruto for stealing Sasuke’s affections. But we’ll see.

MultifacedTune: Yes, Shadows_Call and I know each other very well. We’re close friends (o.o; or at least, I like to think we are… *peeks at her curiously* ). We roomed together at Otakon, and she, Bekah, and I spent most of the con together. It was a blast. We met when she IMed me years ago because she liked my writing, and now I hardly ever write at all and worship her writing. As for the ANBU tattoo, I’ll go ahead and get this out in the open, because I’m very proud of it XD. YES, MY ANBU TAT IS REAL. Unfortunately, I was so nervous when I was having it done that it’s upside down. I didn’t even notice that he was holding the little picture the wrong way when he asked me if it was alright like that. So I am now the upside-down ANBU, and usually claim that I had it done that way on purpose. If you want to see a pic, I’d be happy to provide a link, as I am, once again, very proud of it. Tattoos are addictive, by the way, and I plan to use my birthday money to go get Sasuke’s curse seal.

tatemshope: Seeing that I had a review from you made me squee. I love your fic “Hard Knock Life” (x.x; I can’t remember if the title is “It’s a Hard Knock Life” or just “Hard Knock Life” but I love the fic itself, I promise. Just talking about it makes me drool for an update), and I review it under oOKeairaOo. I’m glad you like my fic, and yes, it’s hard to write long chapters. Mine tend to be short, these especially because the last few I split up.

gallatica: Naruto will be far less hesitant later on in the story, I promise. Right now the poor thing’s just having issues over his sexuality.

Mizuko-kun: No problem, I’m glad you asked. I chose this particular plot because I wanted to write SasuNaru, but it was my first time attempting it and I didn’t want to do a plot that would be too complicated. Also, I have a lot going on with classes and such (I just started my freshman year in college), so I don’t have the time or energy at this point to do a serious fic. The SasuNaru highschool fic is pretty much cliché in the fandom, so I figured that it would be easy to write, and fun as well. I wanted to put my own spin on it.

Aquastorm: I’m glad you like the story! As for your first question, no, I don’t mind answering, since this is really a rather funny story. My first kiss was when I went down to a town about two hours from where I lived for a Halloween party. I spent the night at a friend of ours’ house, and when I was leaving late the next night, this guy who had been hitting on me ever since I got there (though I was too innocent at the time to realize it), got into my friend’s truck with me to tell me goodbye. He ended up kissing me, and I just sat there in shock for a bit (didn’t even get a chance to do much of anything, though yes, my first real kiss involved tongue, o.o; doesn’t it have to to be classified as a first kiss?), and then I shoved him back, at which point he JUMPED out of the truck and ran off, yelling for everyone to hear, “I GOT HER!” Of course, I was mortified.

Your birthday’s on the 11th? Well, happy late birthday! How old are you now?

***