Love Deeper

A/N: Woah! It’s been awhile, yeah! More than a year! Geez, no wonder you all thought I was dead. I thought that I was dead too! :) Anyway I’ll give the short version, last summer I moved from the ATL to Phoenix and then I had to go to school and have been busy ever since. I hope that you’ll forgive me for the very lateness and I’ll have to try harder. As always, I hope that you enjoy! This chapter is also unbetaed so I correct any mistakes later.

Warnings: OOC, OC, Smirking! Itachi, Plotting! Itachi, Vice President! Kisame, Smart! Deidara, Secretary! Kurenai, Jealous! Sasuke, uke! Naruto, Protective! Sasuke, Nice Older Brother! Itachi, Smart! Naruto, childish! Naruto, Seme! Sasuke, Loyal! Naruto, implied Itachi/Dei, slight Ita/Naru, slight Ita/Kisame, fluff, and just all around SasuNaru goodness!


Also unbetaed! Read at your own risk!

Ages: Sasuke: 26, Naruto: 22, Sakura: 23, Sai: 25, and Itachi: 31, Kurenai: 30, Deidara: 27, Kisame: 24. More ages later.

Disclaimer: “Now that you’re a college student Cherry-dobe, what exactly do own anyway?” Sasuke asked smugly, a smirk firmly in place. “Well Sasuke-baka, I have a laptop, a place to live, and Uzumaki Naruto. That’s more than you have at the moment.” The Uchiha growled warningly, his inner seme coming out full force, but Cherry rolled her eyes. “Geez, baka take it easy. I don’t own Naruto, you’re so uptight.”

Love Deeper


June 28, 2008


By: Cherry Jade

—

Hurry it up! Wring it out!
Though my legs are all tangled, they will surely take me far...
Even if I steal it and manage to grasp it
If it isn't you, then what's the point?

—Haruka Kanata by Asian Kung-Fu Generation

————


A day before Sasuke and Naruto arrived in Hong Kong…


A dark haired man faced his window staring into the falling horizon with a small smirk on his handsome face. If you were to gaze upon him for the first time, the expression would probably portray smugness and bit of happiness. In fact, the older Uchiha was happy. Well as happy as an Uchiha can get. It was a written rule for an Uchiha never to display much emotion. But moving on, why was he happy? After not seeing his little brother for six years, he was coming for a visit of course and that meant fun… for him of course. He missed teasing Sasuke and all the scowls and glares he received from kawaii little brother.


Often this job was tiresome and tedious, but since taking over his late father he vowed to himself that he would do his absolute best and set a standard for other business men to try to accomplish. Being the Uchiha that his brother was, Sasuke was quickly catching up to him.


Deciding to start a Hong Kong branch and rule that empire was something that Itachi was proud of. His father, Fugaku, hadn’t at the time wanted him to leave Japan before he died, but Itachi didn’t want to be under his father’s control anymore. Plus, he wanted to give his little brother the opportunity to not only catch up, but surpass him as well. Since his father and mother apparently didn’t recognize talent, the burden fell on him to.


Crimson eyes fell to the people bustling far below and he watched as they moved around like ants in front of his enormous building. His smirk became a fraction wider on his pale pinkish lips. He heard about the take over in Uchiha Industries in Japan, but he was worried. Not much mind you. He worried that Sasuke was becoming a complete workaholic and a brooding bitter man. He knew that Sasuke resented his parents and him as well. When their father had died some seven years ago, their mother had completely nourished Itachi with attention because he so resembled Fugaku in both personality and looks. Mokoto mostly abandoned Sasuke. So his little brother severed ties both him and their mother.

Itachi sighed deeply and ran a lightly tanned hand through dark bangs. That was too much brooding in one standing, he had vowed never to brood so much in one sitting again.

Walking back to his very expensive desk to get some work done, he sat down in his very expensive leather chair that he had bought as a welcoming gift to Hong Kong for himself. He picked up the contract and glanced over the document once more making sure it summarized the agreement between the two companies. Itachi, of course would retain one hundred percent power and the other company would export his products. He signed it and let out a breath. Another deal had just been made. He brushed silky black hair away from his eyes. Placing the signed contract in different pile, he picked up a manila envelope. Taking out the contents, he recognized it as the information he requested the day before.


The information was on his little brother’s newest addition to his company, Uzumaki Naruto. Glancing over the information, Itachi saw this young man led an interesting life. Feeling that something was still inside, he shook the envelope and a picture fell out. Blonde hair, vivid azure eyes, which were rare in Japan, and a beautiful smile. Looks like his brother struck gold. Though Uzumaki was handsome, he had a blonde of his own. Going back to the information, he read a sentence before he was interrupted.


“Uchiha-sama?”


Itachi pressed the button to answer, “Yes, Kurenai-san?” Though his tone was bland, he was polite.


“You have a visitor, sir. Should I send him in, or tell him to come back at a later date?” She asked in clear voice.


The dark haired man had an excellent idea who it was and told Kurenai to send the person in. Closing the folder, he stood. The door opened and a blonde haired man walked through the door. His hair was pulled into a high pony tail and some hair fell into his handsome face and hid one eye from view, giving him the combination of both mysterious and beautiful. Closing the door behind him, Deidara walked closer to the desk.


Itachi moved around the desk and walked closer to the blonde, smirking. “I didn’t expect to see you so soon, Deidara. I thought that you would be here by at least tomorrow.”

Deidara narrowed his visible eye, “You practically order me to be here as soon as possible Itachi, un. I know that you would have been very displeased had I arrived tomorrow, un.”


The older man let out a small chuckle, “You know me to well.”


“That I do, Itachi.” Deidara Asumi did indeed know Itachi well. He had met him when Itachi had community service in his last year of college. Deidara had been a high school senior. It was an art school and Deidara had been the best at what he did. What he hadn’t known at the time was the Itachi had seen his work and had been impressed. And when an Uchiha was impressed with you, doors opened. It was because of Itachi that he was where he was.

Shaking his head at the memories, Deidara took a seat on the Uchiha’s couch and leaned back. He was still tired from the flight, even though he had slept through it.


Feeling the Uchiha take a seat next to him, he turned his head slightly. Itachi raised his eyebrow, “Well?” He prompted.


“I suppose you want that information that I could have told you over the phone, Itachi, un,” he said dryly.

The perpetual smirk that hardly left that face was back. “And miss the chance to see you Deidara? I think not.” Itachi had called him yesterday morning when he was in a meeting with Sasori and some designers from France and Italy. Itachi told him in certain that he was to fly to Hong Kong immediately after finding out some information about the newest addition to Sasuke’s Japanese based company and Deidara’s. He had wanted to know the connection between the two.


Deidara rolled his eyes and cleared his throat. “Haruno Sakura is a new addition to my store in Japan. She is the ex-girlfriend of your brother’s current interest. She cheated on him with their next door neighbor and Uzumaki caught them in his bed.”


Itachi rubbed his chin, this was very interesting. Sounded like a soap opera show. This was why he didn’t mess with women. Too much drama. “Go on.”


“Apparently now she thinks pregnant and is trying to pin the baby on him. But he left with your little brother before she could do anything drastic.”


“I see.” The Uchiha had to wonder how the little blonde was able to get such information. It seemed being an artist wasn’t his only talent. A plan was starting to form in his head and it must have shown because a twinkle appeared in the elder Uchiha’s eyes.


The blonde stared at Itachi wondering what he was going to do with this information but after knowing him so long, that could only mean one thing.


“What are plotting, Itachi?”


A sly smirk was his only answer.


Kami-sama help Sasuke and Naruto.


----

Chapter V:


Arriving, Loyalties, and Priorities

-----

After boarding the plane, nothing really much happened. They went to opposite sides of the plane and when the pilot finally said that they could unbuckle their seatbelts, Sasuke went right to memorizing information on his laptop while Naruto had curled up on the opposite couch on the private jet and went to sleep.


The Uchiha glanced up from his work and watched his blonde sleep peacefully. He felt a strange feeling in his chest. It was a warm feeling that spread through his body. Was the blonde really that comfortable with his presence that he could sleep so soundly? It was either that or Naruto was just really tired. Being the pessimistic person that he was, he went for the latter.


He looked back at his screen to finish reading the document, but now he was distracted. His shapely brow furrowed. He was slightly nervous. Being an Uchiha, he didn’t know if he could even label the feeling nervousness. It was just that he was going to meet his older brother Itachi again after not seeing him for years. Actually, he hadn’t seen his brother since Itachi left Japan to move to Hong Kong. And that had been more than six years ago. They hadn’t really stayed in touch; they both had terribly busy schedules. Sometimes not talking for more than nine months at a time.


But it wasn’t like he wasn’t used to it. When they were children, Itachi was always favored by his parents. Since Itachi was the first born Sasuke could understand why his parents thought Itachi was more special than he was. Itachi was the heir to the entire Uchiha fortune. But for them to completely ignore him and to make sure that Itachi got ahead in life was completely unfair. It caused him to not only shut his parents out, but his brother especially. He wanted nothing to do with them. His mother tried contacting him, as well as his father before he died, but he never returned their calls.

Sasuke wondered why even had to report to his brother about this merger. He had taken over other companies that were of equal standing to Sannin Corporations and he never had to report to Itachi about how his Japan branch of Uchiha Industries was doing. The Uchiha couldn’t help but think that this was some sort of setup.


But for what?


It was too late to consider not going; he was already on the plane. Whatever game Itachi was playing, he was ready.


Dark eyes looked at the clock in shock, thirty minutes had passed. He had gotten nothing done. Shaking his head and rolling his head he popped his neck, which cracked a bit loudly. Cracking his knuckles, he focused on the computer and began to read.


About fifteen minutes had passed and Sasuke was in the same position, but raised his head when he heard a small moan coming from the other side of the plane. Apparently Naruto was waking up from his peaceful slumber. Sky colored eyes opened and he looked a bit lost. The action almost made Sasuke smile.


“Welcome to the land of conscious Sleeping Beauty,” he called out sarcastically.


The deep voice startled the blonde and he sat up quickly. He looked around and his eyes finally landed on the smirking Uchiha and he glared with a slight pout. “You didn’t have to scare me.”


“Hn, you looked lost. I was just helping you remember where you were.”


Naruto pouted cutely and looked away. He opened his mouth to say something but his stomach growled, demanding attention. A tan hand went behind his head and he started to grin sheepishly. “Heh heh…”


“Dobe,” Sasuke deadpanned. Blue eyes widened. Dobe??? How dare he call him that? He voiced his thought to bluish black haired man and received a smirk in return. “It’s a fitting name for you.”

“My name is Naruto.”

“Well,” the smirk grew, “dobe fits you too.”


“You’re such a teme!”


Instead of replying the Uchiha continued his superior smirk making Naruto narrow his eyes. That bastard could be really irritating when he wanted to be. While in the mist of thinking of how much a teme Sasuke was, a flight attendant came out from behind the curtain.


“Would like anything to drink or eat, Uchiha-san?”


“Water will be fine,” Sasuke replied curtly.


“And you Uzumaki-san?”


Becoming slightly shy, Naruto asked, “Is there anyway I can have some ramen?”


The flight attendant was about say that they didn’t have any instant ramen noodles when she saw the cutest pout in history. “Please,” the blonde added.


Sasuke, who looked up from his laptop again, froze at the sight of cute expression. If Naruto had looked at him with that face he would have given him the world if he asked him to. Shaking his head a bit, he looked at the woman who was still staring at Naruto. Clearing his throat, he caught her attention and raised his eyebrow. The silent command ‘get to work’ was communicated and she returned quickly to the back to bring the food.

Naruto cheered to himself, “Yes! Ramen! My puppy dog eyes never fail!”


Raising an eyebrow, Sasuke said, “You mean that ridiculous expression on your face?”


“Tch. You may think it’s ridiculous but you don’t have a cute bone in your body.”


Closing his laptop and putting it beside him, the dark eyed young man stared straight at the blonde, “Dobe, that look would never ever work on me.” Outwardly, Sasuke smirked. But Inner Sasuke slapped his head at his stupidity. Why the hell did he go and say that for? If Naruto so much as glanced at him with that expression he would have bent to what ever will the blonde imposed on him.

“Really?” Naruto asked raising a blonde brow.


“Hn.”

Not one to resist a challenge, the blonde got up from his seat, and walked over to the Uchiha. Standing in front of him, he pouted his lips just right and widened his eyes just a bit. Just when he did that, the plane shook a bit knocking Naruto into Sasuke’s lap, causing Naruto to straddle him. The pilot came over the intercom. “We will be experiencing turbulence for a few minutes. Please stay seated. Thank you.” The plane shook a few more times and finally the ride became smooth again.


The shorter man looked up from Sasuke’s chest, his cheeks redden when he realized the position he was in. Naruto wanted to jump and run back to his seat but his limbs suddenly felt weak. Plus Sasuke was warm and he smelled really good. It kinda… felt nice.


“Are you okay?” Sasuke said, interrupting Naruto’s thoughts. Dark eyes looked mildly concerned at the blonde. The bluish black haired man appeared calm but Inner Sasuke was a having a field day. He had Naruto in his arms and it felt damn good! Amazing!


“Yeah, thanks for catching me.” The blush on Naruto’s face made him look just that delicious.


“Welcome usuratonkachi.”


The blonde chose not to react to the name calling but began to move off Sasuke, who not wanting to let go, tightened his grip slightly around the small waist. The blonde angel looked questionably at Sasuke, who grinned slyly. “I thought you were going to try your puppy dog eyes on me.”


Azure eyes glared directly into obsidian ones, the blonde snorted. Naruto pushed against Sasuke again and this time got free. Crossing his arms, the blonde grinned. “If you have something to tempt me with we’ll see which will win out. My puppy eyes or your iron will.”


Looking forward to the challenge, Sasuke grinned too, “Can’t wait.”

‹‹ §«:SasuNaru:»§››

It was after one in the morning when their plane landed and a limo awaited them outside to take them to their hotel. Sasuke snorted elegantly, he knew it was Itachi’s doing. He could practically hear his older brother’s voice in his head; an Uchiha will always arrive in style.

They made it to the Uchiha owned hotel in one piece. Walking in, the Uchiha went up to the desk to get rooms for the both of them, leaving Naruto by himself in the large lobby. The blonde looked around amazed, not noticing a man watching him with lusty eyes. He had never stayed in such a rich hotel before. It was clearly a five stars. Hell, it could even be a six star hotel if there was such a thing.


A brown haired man, with a tall figure and broad shoulders came up behind Naruto, inspecting the shorter blonde. Xu had never had seen such a male beauty before in Hong Kong before, especially in this hotel. He could immediately tell he wasn’t Chinese. Tapping the smaller male gently, he smiled.


“Hello,” he said in perfect Japanese. The blue eyed young man blinked cutely before smiling himself.


“Hi,” the blonde said brightly a beautiful smile on his face.


Xu smiled again, feeling his groin tighten at the sight of those soft pink lips. He could imagine said lips around his cock. “My name is Shing Xu and I was wondering if you were lost.”


Shaking his head, Naruto replied, “No, actually I’m here with—”


“He’s here with me, so you can leave,” Sasuke cut in smoothly and icily. He had just finished getting the keys for the room and turned to see some strange guy to close to his blonde angel. The sight had sent him straight over here. Naruto jumped at the deep voice again for the second time that day, before spinning to face the Uchiha. Even though he didn’t know Sasuke for long he could tell that the Uchiha was very irritated with something or maybe someone. Could it be Shing? But he didn’t do anything.


Xu frowned deeply, was this guy this sweet blonde’s boyfriend or what? Before the brown haired man could open his mouth to say anything the dark haired man was pulling the blonde away and toward the elevator.


“Come on dobe, let’s go.” Though his tone was a bit smug, inside he was seething. This other man had the gall to hit on Naruto. Didn’t he know that this man beside him was his?


Naruto looked up Sasuke and tried to shake off the strong grip. “Uwah, stop calling me names, teme.”


Sasuke stopped, turned, and smirked down at his blonde, “Not on your life.” This cause the shorter man to struggle even more but the Uchiha was stronger. Finally he gave up and looked up at the Uchiha. “You’re embarrassing me,” he pouted.


Then he did something that he may or may not regret later.


…He stuck his tongue at Sasuke.


The smirk on the bluish black haired man’s face grew. If you had asked the company owner what had come over him in that second, he wouldn’t have been able to answer. He stepped closer to Naruto and leaned down and practically purred in Naruto’s ear, “If don’t put that tongue in your mouth right now, I’ll take care of it for you.”


A crimson blush rose on the soft cheeks, but the petite blonde fought it down. Naruto didn’t know what came over him either, but he did know that he didn’t want to stop. He smiled sweetly at Sasuke, “Well, why don’t you?” Naruto’s blue eyes glowed with satisfaction at his boss’ look.


The dark haired man eyes narrowed at the challenge. Still running on instincts, he leaned down again and brushed his lips over that delicious neck. Putting a hand in the silky blonde strands, he pulled Naruto’s head closer to his own. Their lips were a hairs breath from brushing against the other when Xu interrupted with a cough.


Sasuke pulled away slowly and shifted cold black eyes to the brown haired man. “Was there something you needed?” The Uchiha watched Naruto opened his eyes dazedly and stared up at him with lusty sky blue eyes. Inner Sasuke smirked triumphantly. It felt wonderful to have such an effect on the small man.


“Yes,” Xu turned to Naruto, who was still staring at the Uchiha in some sort of wonderment. “I was wondering if tomorrow you would like to come to lunch with me and I could show you around Hong Kong.”


The blonde looked away from Sasuke still wrapped in up in his embrace and turned toward the other man. Biting his lip, he looked apologetic. “I can’t. I have something really important to do and—”


“He won’t be able to do anything with you at all the time he’s here. He’ll be with me the entire time,” Sasuke interrupted rudely. Naruto’s mouth dropped open and he started to sputter, but nothing was coming out.


Xu looked taken aback but then gritted his teeth in anger. This man was so fucking irritating. “Fine,” he spat. Just because he was conceding now didn’t mean he would give up in the long run. He would make sure that he saw the blonde again soon and sleep with him before he left.

The Uchiha smirked haughtily and grabbed the blonde’s small hand. “Let’s go dobe. They probably put our stuff in our room already.”

Naruto was finally able to gain control over his jumbled thoughts and asked shakily, “Our room?”


Sasuke just dragged him to the elevator.

§§§


It went completely unnoticed that the group which had just occupied the lobby, the hotel clerk picked up the phone and placed a phone call to the main Uchiha Office. The clerk call was taken and he reported what he saw to the person on the other line.


Just an hour passed by and Shing Xu was thrown out from the hotel.


He was banned as well.


§§§

It was Sunday night. Yesterday when they came in their room they had dumped their stuff on the ground and fallen asleep. They had showered, separately of course, eaten, and then the afternoon and latter part of the evening had been spent going over statistics and the stocks that had been taken from Orochimaru. They went over the merger and what other else was included in the long report.


Sasuke called for a break sometime in the late evening and told Naruto to get dressed. The Uchiha had taken him to an expensive restaurant where they had bonded. The raven haired man learned that Naruto loved ramen (Sasuke told him it was unhealthy and the blonde had fiercely defended it. This had led to the Uchiha calling him a dobe). Naruto also learned that his boss could speak many languages like English, Japanese, Italian, a bit Chinese, and Spanish, just to name a few.


The next morning the blonde had woken up to breakfast in bed, to which Naruto had blushed. Then when lunch came around Sasuke had taken him to a ramen shop. Naruto had hugged him tightly and thanked him over and over again. After that they returned and reviewed the information and created a spreadsheet for the statistics for where the company would be in about five years. They completed it and Naruto claimed a break for himself.


So that’s where Naruto stood under the shower head, eyes closed, letting the water wash the shampoo from his yellow blonde hair. All the young man could think about was how he had almost kissed his boss. He knew that he was attracted to Sasuke. There was no denying it anymore it or trying to pretend it didn’t exist. The Uchiha was dark, handsome, strong, smart, and a lot of other things.


Way different than Sakura, so much different. She was cute, funny, and independent; sort a needy but all around a good person. The blonde’s eyes opened and darkened when his mind flashed the image of Sai thrusting into his ex-girlfriend. He shook his head and grabbed the soap and wash cloth. He didn’t need those kinds of thoughts again.


But even with the break up just two weeks ago and being attracted to his boss he couldn’t feel guilty at all. He liked that Sasuke was such a dominating person. When they were in the lobby and that Xu guy was trying to capture his attention Sasuke had been so possessive. It felt…different to be dominated like that. The blonde shivered as he remembered the look in the raven haired man’s eyes.


And then when he had been so close to Sasuke it was intoxicating, he didn’t think he could get enough. Besides, Naruto got the feeling that the Uchiha didn’t get to close to people very often. He had that loner look about him and it touched something inside of him. He wanted to drive that look from eyes at least for a little awhile. Turning off the water, Naruto decided. He would try to the best of his ability to be Sasuke’s friend and see where that got him.


Because it couldn’t hurt to have such a handsome friend could it?



———

It was Sunday night.


And they were currently preparing for tomorrow presentation.


Well, Sasuke was preparing at the moment. Naruto had decided to take a break and take a shower in the bathroom.


Which they were sharing.


Together.


See Itachi, the bastard that he is, told the hotel personal to tell his darling little brother that only the honeymoon suite was left(Sasuke saw through the plan immediately, but didn’t have the heart to change it).


Sasuke had planned to tell Naruto down stairs, but that worthless man had most definitely interrupted everything. He was still bit pissed off that other man had the balls to hit on Naruto after he had shown up.


Fucker.


Then that stupid fuck stopped him from claiming those sweet lips once again. So fucking close. The Uchiha let out a sigh. There was no need to get upset and raise his blood pressure. At least he had the small blonde to himself. He mentally grinned at the thought.



Once they had reached the room and it finally sunk in that they were sharing a room, Naruto had sighed and muttered under his breath how he was going down in history as the person who shared a bed with their boss more than times than was needed, to which Sasuke had snickered quietly. (Inner Sasuke had cheered when Naruto said it was okay.)


The room was spacious and well furnished. There was a king sized bed that was high up off the floor (Sasuke had to help Naruto up on the bed earlier). The room also included a love seat and a flat screen TV on the wall. It also had a chest and a dresser. On the side of the room there was a walk in closet. It really was a nice room; Uchihas did demand the best quality out of everything.


But what troubled Sasuke was that he was sharing a room at all with his secretary. He knew that there were all kinds of room in this hotel. Hell, he had been able to get his hands on the blueprint once. So just what game did Itachi think he was playing because…


A tanned hand waved in his face and he looked up from his computer screen into blue eyes. “What dobe?”


Naruto scowled and fold his arms. “Useless teme, I’ve been calling your name for at least five minutes.”


Sasuke took the time to run his eyes over Naruto’s appearance. A big black tee-shirt and boxer shorts that he could barely see, but he could see those same creamy tan thighs that had been spread for him when he had slept with the younger man. The Uchiha felt desire pool in his abdomen and he almost let loose a groan. His dark eyes moved back to Naruto’s face and he smirked. His blonde was so confused.


“Why are staring like that teme? Are crazy or something?”


Sasuke merely raised an eyebrow, “Is that any way for you to talk to your boss?” He saw the small grin directed at him.


“I don’t know, you tell me.” Naruto took a seat beside him and turned to face him, “You see Sasuke, my old boss Orochimaru didn’t really talk with us. He talked at us, if you know what I mean.” The Uchiha nodded. He didn’t really talk to his employees much either, they knew what to expect when they worked for him. He shrugged and Naruto shook his head.


It was quiet in the room for a couple of minutes and both men enjoyed it. The low hum of the computer filled the room as well as the almost muted volume. Suddenly Naruto turned to him and stared at him as if trying to form a question, but hesitant to ask it.

“I want to ask you two questions,” he blurted out, finally finding his nerve.

Sasuke put down the laptop on the small coffee table and faced Naruto. “Yes dobe?”


The secretary looked down at the hem of tee shirt and mumbled shyly looking absolutely adorable, “Downstairs, were you going to kiss me?” Naruto blushed prettily at the thought of kissing his boss again.


The bluish black haired man was surprised. He didn’t think Naruto would bring up the subject. He thought the blonde would ignore the almost kiss and the thought hurt him immensely.


“Naruto,” he said a bit fiercely. The small man’s head snapped up and he flinched at the harshness of his boss’ voice.


Sasuke saw this and tired to take the bit out of his voice. “Naruto,” he said softly. “If that man hadn’t interrupted us, I would have kissed you.”


Naruto turned to stare at the TV and thought of his next reply carefully. He faced Sasuke, looking him straight in the eyes. “I wanted to kiss you too.”


After a brief silence, Naruto asked his second question.


“Are you ready for tomorrow?”


“Of course,” the Uchiha replied with all the confidence in the world.


Biting his lip, which Sasuke found that Naruto did when he was nervous, he heard Naruto ask in a quiet voice. “I just wanted a heads up on your brother. You know him best and I didn’t want to ruin anything by not being knowledgeable.”


Furrowing his dark brow, “I don’t really know what to tell you Naruto. He’s a cold bastard.” Sasuke really didn’t know how to answer that kind of question. He hadn’t spoken to his brother in so long. He didn’t know if his sadistic brother had change for the worst. There was just no better with Itachi though and Sasuke could bet anything in world on that assumption.

Naruto saw the trouble look on his boss’ face and tired to make light of the situation. “Like you?”


Black eyes glared at the blonde, “Funny.”


The blonde shrugged with a smile. “I try to be.”


Once again there was silence in the room. Sasuke looked at Naruto and knew he could trust him with anything. They had slept together and no one knew about it. They were developing a bond; the raven haired man could feel it. He could, no would trust his blonde angel.


“Dobe,” he saw Naruto glare at him. “I haven’t really kept in touch with my brother all that much.” Sasuke saw questioning blue pools and he knew he had the blonde’s attention. “After my father died, my mother completely ignored me; it was like I wasn’t there. She only concerned herself with two things, the company and Itachi. After I graduated high school, I moved away and …haven’t spoken to them since. I can’t.” Naruto could see the pain in black eyes and the small man’s heart clenched tightly. He’s been carrying this for years, the blonde thought sadly. Without even thinking about it, he crawled into the older man’s lap and gathered Sasuke in his arms.


The Uchiha let out a shuttering breath and rested his head in the crook of his angel’s neck; he wrapped his arms around the petite man’s waist, completing the hug. It felt so good to finally tell someone that instead of brooding about this alone in his huge house all alone without anyone to tell. He felt Naruto’s warm fingers shift through his hair and hearing that sweet voice whisper that it was alright in his ear.


They stayed like that for awhile both enjoying the embrace. Sasuke was drunk on the scent of Naruto. He smelled like peaches and something else… maybe mango? It was intoxicating; he was becoming a bit drunk of the scent. He pulled away and looked into those brilliant pools of blue. “Thank you,” he whispered softly not wanting to break the spell. Naruto nodded and started to climb out of his lap, but strong arms stopped him by pulling back to a muscled chest.


Naruto tilted his head questioning, “Sasuke?”


The older man just tightened his grip, “Not yet, Naruto,” was all the Uchiha said. The blonde not finding anything wrong with another hug just wrapped his arms around Sasuke’s neck and sighed contently. This was nice.


So much time had passed (Sasuke really had no idea how much), he was surprised when the man in his arms spoke, “Ne, Sasuke?”


“Hn.” Naruto rolled his eyes at the reply. What a teme.

“If your brother is a cold bastard like you say, then we’re just going to have to impress his ass so he can’t criticize us, kay? And don’t let the past get to you. Besides, I’ll be right there next to you.” Pulling away just to look at his boss, he gave Sasuke a bright smile that made the bluish black haired man’s heart melt a little more, “Let’s go over the presentation again.”


§§§

Monday morning…


Itachi watched with bored eyes as the computer staff setup the LCD screen in the conference room. His little brother would be arriving in about thirty minutes.


It was really twenty-five minutes, but the older raven haired man decided he would be generous and give Sasuke and his blonde beauty an extra couple of minutes so he could get himself together. Without a shadow of a doubt he knew that his little brother was wondering why he had to even report him.


Well let him wonder.


Today he was going to have his fun. If he played his cards right, he would learn exactly what kind of person Naruto was and maybe have an angry Sasuke on his hands.


Itachi smirked, his crimson eyes filling with mirth.


Ah, it was going to be a wonderful day.


§§§

Sasuke stepped out of the limo with Naruto right behind him. They were about fifteen minutes early and were making their way into the building, but before Sasuke could walk any further toward the entrance, he felt a warm hand on his arm. The raven haired man stopped and turned to face his blonde angel, who was looking at him with a mix of concern and seriousness. “Remember what I said, okay.”


The Uchiha nodded and out of impulse, brought his hand to Naruto’s cheek, stroking it softly with his thumb. The bluish black haired man didn’t know when he had become so touchy feely with Naruto but he wasn’t complaining. Any chance to touch Naruto was a blessing.


Naruto smiled at him and fixed the bag on his shoulder. “Come on.”


They walked into the building and took the elevator to the last floor. When the ride came to an end, the doors opened. They stepped out and found a tall dark haired man with chocolate brown skin waiting for them. The youngest Uchiha didn’t know who he was, but it appeared Naruto did.


“Kisame!” The small blonde called happily, he ran from beside Sasuke. He put the bag down and hugged the taller man tightly. People who were watching from the sidelines quietly gaped at the brown man’s chuckle as if they had never seen it before (in truth, they have because Kisame was just as scary Itachi. When he grinned that meant bad things happened to you.)


Kisame hugged back just as tightly, then pulled away and ruffled the soft blonde hair.


“Well Naru-chan, it’s been awhile hasn’t?”


The shorter man nodded enthusiastically and smiled brightly. “I haven’t seen you since you left Japan when I transferred colleges and when I briefly saw you at my graduation. You didn’t even get me a present,” he pouted.


The dark skinned man laughed loudly and hazel eyes twinkled, “Still a punk, huh? You haven’t changed a bit. I didn’t know that you were the new hot shot secretary everyone was talking about. I thought they were talking about another Uzumaki. I thought to myself, surely it couldn’t that short blonde kid. He’s too loud.”


Naruto’s eyes narrowed, but he was still pouting cutely. “That’s mean. You’re supposed to be nice to me. Remember when I was sick and your dad came home from work to see you—”


Kisame covered Naruto’s mouth with his hand and glared. “I thought you forgot about that.” Kisame had skipped school when Naruto had been sick one day. The blonde had been miserable, so in order to cheer him up Kisame put on a clown suit and dance around like a nut, trying to make the short blonde boy laugh. Problem was that his dad came home early and saw his son. Kisame’s father had taken pictures and made fun of Kisame for a month calling him ‘Krazy Klown Kisame.’


The younger man shook his head and gave a muffled laugh. Hazel brown eyes glared into ocean blues as Naruto continued to laugh merrily.


Sasuke watched the interaction with hard eyes. So this was Hoshigaki-san he spoke on the phone with. He didn’t have the slightest idea that they knew each other. He wouldn’t have expected it. Sasuke cleared his throat and both men turned to face him.


“You are Hoshigaki-san, right?” The brown skinned man nodded. If anything Sasuke became colder. “Then I presume you were to take us to Itachi.”


Kisame raised an eyebrow. Ah, so this Uchiha was possessive over the blonde bombshell? It was so obvious. The way his hands clenched and unclenched. He saw the younger Uchiha finally put his hands in pockets to hide his problem from everyone but he guessed it was more for Naruto not see.


How sweet.


Like Itachi, he had a very sadistic side.


He wrapped an arm around Naruto’s small shoulders and pulled him his closer to his chest. Hoshigaki watched Sasuke frown deeply. “You see Uchiha-san, I was supposed to take you to Itachi, but that was before I saw my very cute Naru-chan again.” Kisame pinched Naruto’s smooth cheek, which turned red. The blonde looked up at Kisame and frowned playfully and rubbed his cheek. “That hurt. Stupid jerk,” he grumbled.


The brown man laughed and picked up Naruto’s bag, “Come on, this way.”


Sasuke took a deep breath at the scene and let it out slowly. This was going to be a long day.


——›‹‹


Itachi looked up from the newspaper when he heard the door close. It was one of his favorite persons, Hoshigaki Kisame. He was just like him but a milder version. The older Uchiha loved to mess with people’s head, while Kisame loved to test people’s limits and their tempers. It was probably why they were the best combination when working with other associates.



A dark eyebrow rose, “So?”


The vice president smirked. “Your little brother is an angry one. He didn’t bother hiding the fact that he wanted to knock my block off.”


Itachi chuckled. “He was always like that.” The older man sighed wistfully, “Those were some good times.”


Kisame smiled at Itachi’s attitude, “You plan hitting on Naruto too?”

The Uchiha shook head, “I have something that make Sasuke so furious that he’ll probably try to kill me.”


“And how do plan on doing that?”


Uchiha Itachi leaned back in his leather chair. His crimson eyes gleamed and smirked evilly, “I plan on taking away the very thing he views as his.”


“Which is?”


“Naruto Uzumaki.”


——›‹‹


Naruto sat on the couch in the waiting room outside the office with his bag beside him. His boss was standing on the opposite wall looking every where but at him. He could tell. The secretary had been trying to catch the Uchiha’s eyes ever since Kisame went to talk Itachi. Sasuke was acting like a jackass and he intended to find out why.


“Sasuke!” Naruto snapped.


Said man came out of his daze and looked in Naruto’s direction. “What?” The blonde stomped over and stopped about two feet away from Sasuke.


“Don’t answer me with a ‘what’. What’s wrong with you? Since I talked to Kisame, you’ve been cold as ice.”


Sasuke glared at the small man, “So? I’m always cold.”


“Bullshit. I’ve seen when you can be human so cut the crap. Is it Itachi? You don’t want to meet with him? Is that it? Are you nervous? Because if you are then—”


“No!” the Uchiha spat harshly. As if he would let something as nerves get to him.


“Then what’s wrong with you? You’ve been acting weird ever since I talked to Kisame. Speaking of my friend, you had no business talking to Kisame like that. He didn’t do anything to you.”


At Kisame’s name, black eyes narrowed and he stalked closer to the blonde. Naruto backed away from the taller man, not liking the look in those dark eyes. Sasuke was more than half a foot taller than he was and definitely more muscular. The small man’s back hit the wall and the Uchiha hovered over him placing both hands on the wall beside his head blocking any means of escape.


Sasuke leaned closer and whispered dangerously, “You want to know what’s wrong with me Naruto? I didn’t like the way Hoshigaki was draped all over you like some…boyfriend who hadn’t seen you in so long. You’re my secretary and friend and I don’t want him to take you away from me.”


Ocean blue eyes widened, that one phrase just ringing through his mind. I don’t want him to take you away from me. He didn’t know what exactly Sasuke meant but he felt the need to reassure him. Naruto’s eyes softened and one hand came up; his fingertips brushed against Sasuke’s smooth cheek and down his strong jaw almost lovingly. “Look teme, Kisame is and always be just a friend, a big brother to me. It’s not like he can persuade me to work for your brother or something. I like working for you. You’re a teme, but you’re a good boss. And you’re good friend too, when you’re not being a teme of course.” Naruto dropped his hand from his boss’ face and stared earnestly into onyx eyes of his friend hoping that he believed him.


Before the younger Uchiha could reply, Kurenai announced over the speakers that Itachi was ready to see them. Sasuke sighed, fucking Itachi, always ruining shit, but he didn’t pull away immediately. “We’ll talk about this later, alright,” he demanded.


Naruto raised an eyebrow, “Sure teme.”


§§››


They both walked into the conference room slowly. Naruto was the first one in the room since Sasuke was taking his time. He was in no real rush to see his older brother. But eventually he was in the same room.


Itachi was surprised to see how much his kawaii little brother had grown so much. He probably was an inch taller than he was. Crimson eyes strayed from Sasuke to the small blonde that was setting up his laptop to the LCD projector. Uzumaki Naruto was even better looking in person. Soft spiky blonde hair and bright blue eyes that rivaled the sky outside, Itachi could see the supple body underneath the black suit. Glancing up and away from Naruto, he saw his brother giving him the look of death. Sasuke must have caught his line of sight.


Hmm, he looked very angry.


Pity, really. He was about to get even angrier.


The older Uchiha stood from his seat at head of the table and walked right passed his darling brother over to Naruto who just plugged a flash drive into the laptop and was now opening the file. The crimson eyed man stepped up behind the blonde. Naruto turned around feeling someone behind him. Crimson eyes and azure eyes clashed both challenging the other, neither one backing down.


Itachi held out his hand, “I’m Uchiha Itachi,” he said in a friendly tone. It was terribly different from his bland voice that used ninety-eight percent of the time.


Naruto took the larger hand in his own small one and shook once firmly, “Uzumaki Naruto. How are you this morning, sir?”


“Well better now that I’ve talk to you. And please call me Itachi. No need to be so formal.” Acting like the perfect gentleman, he brought the tan hand to his soft lips, placing a kiss. Naruto blushed and nodded a bit surprised at what the older man said and did. Wasn’t this guy supposed to be the devil or something? Shrugging mentally, he turned back to make sure that the file was opened properly.

Itachi went back to the conference table and took the head seat. His brother looked like he was going to explode. Inside he was cackling madly. Oh dear, he hadn’t this much fun in a while. The older Uchiha couldn’t fathom why he didn’t think of this sooner. This was what he was missing in life. Torturing his employees got boring after awhile. Itachi couldn’t wait for the grand finale.


The young Uchiha watched the interaction and couldn’t help but wish his brother would pass out or something. Just what the fuck was he up to? He asked himself for the hundredth time. Acting like he was some kind gentleman. Sasuke slipped behind Naruto and whispered in his ear, “Are you ready to start, dobe?”


Black eyes saw the blonde tense and relax quickly, “Definitely teme. Question is are you?” The double meaning wasn’t lost on Sasuke and he stared into those blue eyes. A silent form communication passed between the two men and they nodded.


Twin smirks were directed toward Itachi, who raised an eyebrow at the sight.


Let the games begin.


§§§§

The meeting ended, leaving Itachi feeling very impressed with his little brother and his secretary. Especially the secretary, he had seen his fair share of useless people in the pass but this one was at the top of his game. Uzumaki could even be vice president one day, probably before the end of the year if he kept this up.


He cleared his throat, which interrupted them from packing well Naruto was packing and Sasuke was slightly hovering over him. The executive owner turned in his seat to face them both, “Great work the both of you. Naruto I would like to have a word with you.” The older Uchiha saw his brother look at him suspiciously.


“Alone, if you don’t mind Sasuke.” The younger Uchiha’s eyebrow furrowed angrily. “I won’t touch your secretary if that’s what’s bothering you, little brother,” the crimson eyed man said haughtily. Itachi smirked. His little brother was so predictable. His level of possessiveness truly was that of an Uchiha.


The blonde secretary looked between the two Uchihas. Sasuke’s eyes were glinting coldly and Itachi had a smug look on his face. The bluish black haired man turned and left the conference room quietly.


It was silent in the room before the executive owner spoke, “I can offer you five times what ever Sasuke is paying you.” He stood from his chair and walked towards the bewildered blonde. “The way that I see it, you have a lot of potential. Unlimited potential waiting to be harnessed. Orochimaru was a fool for not recognizing it. I’m not even sure that my darling brother sees it yet.”


The older man paused here, appearing to be thinking. “You don’t have to work here in Hong Kong, but anywhere you choose. I've read your file, Naruto. You have many talents. Like for instance, you speak English fluently. You could work in the The US, the UK, or maybe South Africa. You could be Vice President and have a substantial amount of power. Sounds promising, doesn’t it?” Itachi watched closely for the blonde's reaction.

Naruto’s blonde eyebrows furrowed and he frowned at Itachi. Why would Sasuke’s older brother double cross him behind his back? “Why are you doing this?”


The crimson eyed man sighed and walked toward the window, “I have been able to recognize talent. I’ll give you an example your friend Kisame. He has the ability to make people achieve the desired results. I like that in a person.” Itachi turned to look at Naruto. “You have the ability to listen to opinions and work with everyone. You demand respect in a silent way, Naruto. You will do well in anything that you pursue in life.”


They both stared at the other trying to see what the each other were thinking. Naruto’s sky blue eyes darkened a bit. “I like working for Sasuke-san. He’s a good boss and I like him,” the small said softly, but forcibly. He turned and faced the door and walked toward it. “But Itachi, here's something that you didn't read in my file. I could never go behind my friend’s back.” Itachi smirked as the door closed. Uzumaki Naruto passed his little test, seems like Sasuke had found someone very loyal. He only hoped that his little brother wouldn’t let this one escape his grasp.


Naruto stepped out into the lobby and saw Sasuke giving a murderous glare at the floor. “Sasuke,” he said, giving his dark haired friend a smile. Said man’s head snapped up. The blonde shivered from the intense stare that the Uchiha gave him, it was like he was looking into his soul.


He came closer and walked passed his secretary to place his hand on the door knob. “Wait here Naruto. I have to say something to my brother.” The small blonde nodded and sat down in a chair by the conference room, letting out a deep breath.


Sasuke walked in and closed the door, almost slamming it. “What did you say to Naruto?” The older man was sitting in the chair, drinking a bottle of water. He just raised an eyebrow.


“I don’t see how it concerns you. But,” Itachi said cutting off Sasuke even before he had the chance to say a word, “I did offer that smart secretary of yours a position to work for me.”


What?


Why would offer Naruto a job? The younger Uchiha couldn’t help but feel a tad bit nervous. The emotion must have been visible on his face because his brother chuckled, “He didn’t tell you?” The older brother looked up at the ceiling creating the image of someone thinking, “No, Naruto couldn’t have told you. You rushed in here to fast for him to. What a shame.”


“Fuck you,” Sasuke spat angrily.


Itachi made a face, “No thank you. You’re not my type. Too broody.”


The young man’s clenched in fists. Oh, how he wanted to punch his brother’s lights out. Sasuke took a step forward, but then stopped cold in his tracks.


What was he thinking?


Naruto signed a contract with him. He couldn’t leave even if he wanted to. Naruto would work for him for seven years. He was eligible for promotions and lots of vacation time, but he couldn’t leave or consult with other companies. He needed to start thinking things through.


For the first time today, Sasuke Uchiha smiled and it was directed at Itachi.


“I hope that you have a good rest of the week Itachi.” With that said he left.


Said man shook his head. Little brothers were so much fun to play with.


Especially when they remember their secretary contracts.

――‹›――

Sasuke and Naruto got into the limo and the stretched car started to move. Naruto leaned his blonde head on the seat. He loosened his tie and undid the top buttons.


“I’m glad that’s over. Really glad.” Naruto wet his lips and sighed.

“Hn.” Dark eyes roved over the small man looking sexy as hell. If he had been a lesser man he would jumped his employee. He didn’t think that would go over well with the Naruto at all.

“Sasuke?”

“Hn?” The Uchiha’s eyes never left Naruto’s form.

“I’m sure you know that your brother tried to hire me, right?”


Sasuke didn’t answer but kept his eyes locked on Naruto’s beautiful face. The small blonde turned his head towards his boss, “I turned him down you know. Aren’t I a good boy?”


The brunet smirked. Hearing from his secretary’s sweet lips that he wasn’t leaving made him feel like he was on top of the world, “Yes, dobe, you’re a good boy.”


Naruto snorted and closed his eyes. Insulting teme. Suddenly he felt lips on the corner of his mouth and his eyes shot open. “Wha―?” He saw Sasuke leaning up from his position.


“It was your reward, Naruto.” Staring into those black eyes which were shining with lust and something else he couldn’t name entirely. But whatever it was made him throw caution to the win. Grabbing Sasuke’s tie, he pulled his boss back down.


“I think,” he said brushing his lips against Sasuke’s pale pink ones, “that I need a lot more than one, don't you think?” Hearing that, the Uchiha crashed his lips on those tempting full ones. To Sasuke it was like coming home again except a million times better.


Naruto’s only thought…well this was better than a bonus.


♥♥

Owari

♥♥


Mind and heart, soul and spirit undivided,
here’s where true strength and beauty lies
We'll see this before us with our own eyes
We'll see, with our own eyes... LOVE!


-Living Inside The Shell by Steve Conte


A/N: Now how’s that? I hope that’s enough repentance for the extremely long wait. Total words:… a lot. If you really want to know, review and I’ll tell ya. The next chapter should be up before I go back to school, which is in late august. Like the last week so there most likely be a chapter. –smiles-


-Dramatic drum roll- On the Next Love Deeper: A time skip. Sakura takes a trip to the doctor. Who is the baby’s daddy? Naruto or Sai? Sasuke and Naruto’s relationship picks up some speed. And a competitor for Uchiha Industries makes an appearance. Exciting stuff so tune in!


And just a little note: Thank you guys so much for all the reviews. I’ve read every single one and it just makes me happy. –grins- We’re kind of close to 300, so what’d ya say? Let’s make the dream happen?


Love,


Cherry Jade