Shades Of Grey

Chapter 5

Sasuke slammed Naruto into the lockers, his hand holding Naruto’s shirt at his throat.

"You idiot," he growled.

"Let go of me, Uchiha," Naruto warned.

"I saw you, dobe. I warned you."

"You don’t know what you saw, teme. Hinata-chan only thinks there is something going on. I’m not as stupid as you think."

"I saw you stuttering. She’s no idiot. She’s no doubt already noticed something."

"Look, I trust her. I denied everything she thought she saw. I have her convinced that I had nothing to do with you helping Kiba. And if she does suspect anything, she won’t tell."

Sasuke pushed him against the metal harder before letting go.

"One word. I hear one word about anything, and you will regret it."

Sasuke pushed his way through the crowd, to lunch. Naruto winced and separated himself from the locker. He rubbed his lower back as he started to the cafeteria. No more than a few feet away stood Sakura, Ino, and Hinata.

"What did you do this time?" Ino demanded.

"We saw you arguing with Sasuke-kun," Sakura snapped.

"Heh, like I did anything. Maybe he’s just jealous," Naruto shrugged.

"You did something. Sasuke’s too sweet to hurt someone for no reason," Sakura crossed her arms.

Naruto laughed coldly. Hinata saw a glint of pain in his blue eyes, both physical and emotional.

"S-Sasuke probably just g-got mad at him for h-his f-friend Kiba," Hinata suggested.

"We’ll let you go this time for Hinata-chan’s sake. If you bother him again, you’ll answer to us," Ino warned before walking off with the other girls.

Hinata managed to wink at Naruto before she was swept off. Naruto headed to his usual table and threw his head onto the table as soon as he sat down.

"No ramen today?" Sai asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Not really hungry. Just tired," Naruto answered.

His phone vibrated in his pocket. He jumped, forgetting he had left it there. He usually kept it in his backpack. He pulled the phone out and saw the message alert. Lee noticed him pull the phone from his pocket.

"Trouble at the store?" he teased.

"Probably just wants me to work tonight. I think Yume’s going to get fired, she’s always calling in."

He flipped the phone open. Lee, satisfied with the answer, turned back to his conversation with Sai.

‘If you want help, and another shot, meet me at your bookstore at four.’

Naruto closed the phone and pocketed it once more. Sasuke watched the blonde’s head hit the table. Sakura and Ino were going on about how they would make the boy suffer if he ever bothered Sasuke again. He tuned out the chatter, as always. He watched the blonde close his eyes. He almost looked… defeated. Sasuke felt a small twinge of guilt. Hinata was sneaking glances at Sasuke. She usually sat across from Sakura. She clung to the girls a little too much in the Uchiha’s opinion. The girl gave Sasuke a look that almost seemed to say she was sorry. Sorry for what, he was not sure. Sasuke abruptly stood and stalked out of the cafeteria. Sakura and Ino watched him leave, confused. The bell rang ten minutes later. Naruto picked himself up and waved his friends off. He drug himself to his locker and found Sasuke leaning against it. As Naruto started on his combination, Sasuke shoved something in his hand.

"Eat it. Don’t skip lunch again, dobe."

With that he was gone. Naruto looked down and saw a candy bar nestled in his hand. He smiled and tore off the paper, cramming the chocolate in his mouth as he grabbed the last two books he would need for the day. With Sasuke sitting behind him in his last classes, he had nothing to focus on but the teachers. When school finally ended, Naruto was running through the doors to get home. Once off campus, he slowed to a walk and headed for Iruka’s shop. He walked through the doors and started searching through the boxes scattered around.

"Stop in to help me out, or you looking for the book you ordered?"

"Is it here yet?"

Iruka laughed. He poked his head around a shelf and waved a book in the air. Naruto punched the air and jogged over to get it.

"On me. Just read this one."

"I will Iruka-san!"

The cover was blank and the spine simply said "ninjutsu." Naruto slipped the book in his bag and bid Iruka farewell. He stopped at a bench outside the shop and sat down, pulling his bag into his lap and fishing for the book. Finding it, he dropped his bag and started flipping through the book. He decided on a chapter and started reading. He had almost finished it, when a shadow blocked his sunlight. Looking up, he saw Sasuke Uchiha standing over him. He shut the book and grinned. He collected his stuff and stood.

"We can’t go to my house," Sasuke said.

"Okay. But… you’ll have to wait outside for a sec, I wasn’t expecting anyone over."

Naruto led the way to small, one bedroom apartment. When they arrived, Naruto unlocked the door and jumped inside quickly. He was shoving empty ramen cups in a trash bag when Sasuke got sick of waiting and let himself in. He took in the small living room and joined kitchen with a half frown. He saw a very short hallway to his left that led to two doors parallel to each other. Naruto blushed his embarrassment. The place was tidy, despite the empty cups. The living room was furnished simply with a couch, television and coffee table. Sasuke dropped his bag next to Naruto’s.

"What do you need help with?" he asked.

"Um, well everything honestly. I’m one failed test away from a failing average in physics. That’s the worst one."

Sasuke sat on the couch. Naruto tied the trash bag he held and sat it outside his front door, shutting and locking it after. He dragged his book bag around the back of the couch. Sitting beside Sasuke, he pulled a book from the bag, along with a stack of notes in his messy handwriting. Sasuke separated them a little, and then started explaining the chapter to Naruto. Naruto found Sasuke to be an amazingly good teacher. Within two hours, Naruto was repeating things back and understanding the words he spoke.

"That should cover it. Now that you understand this stuff, so long as you pay attention, the rest should be fairly easy to understand. You should keep all of your notes, though."

Naruto threw himself on Sasuke in a hug. He rubbed his cheek to the other’s, earning a blush.

"Arigatou~ Sasuke-kun."

"A-alright, get off now," Sasuke started pushing on him.

"No, I like holding you," Naruto purred into his ears.

He licked Sasuke’s earlobe, extracting a gasp from the boy. He nibbled on the earlobe before licking the rest of his ear and pulling back, licking his lips. Sasuke glanced over the couch to the door.

"Its locked. Besides, no one knows you’re here," Naruto answered the unspoken question.

Sasuke swallowed hard and nodded. Facing Naruto, he closed the distance between them on the couch. Naruto cupped Sasuke’s face with his hands and pulled the boy closer. Their lips met softly. Sasuke took charge of the kiss, pushing into Naruto. The blonde fell into the pillows of his couch as Sasuke’s hands made it onto his chest. The kiss deepened as their tongues met, each fighting to gain dominance. Naruto’s hands found themselves quickly tangled in black hair. Sasuke’s own hands were under Naruto’s shirt, rubbing the muscles. Sasuke broke away from Naruto’s mouth, trailing his lips down Naruto’s neck. His hands forced the black shirt over the blonde’s head, breaking the contact with his lips for only a moment. Naruto’s eyes were closed, and he was breathing a little heavier than usual. Sasuke captured the tender skin on Naruto’s neck with his mouth and began sucking. Naruto moaned softly and Sasuke decided he would leave Naruto something to remember the study session by. Sasuke separated himself from the bruising skin. Naruto gasped as the air cooled his skin. He opened his eyes slowly to see Sasuke starting to pull off his own shirt. The piercing bell that echoed through the apartment widened both boys’ eyes, and caused Sasuke to lower his shirt quickly.

"Coming!" Naruto shouted.

His own shirts fell onto his body smoothly. Before Sasuke could figure out what to do, Naruto was shoving him and his bag behind one of the doors down the small hallway. The door was shut in his face. Sasuke heard muffled voices as he backed into the room, his heart racing. His mind thanked Naruto for having the sense to put on his shirt and cover the bruise. Sasuke took a few deep breaths and looked around. A small bed was pushed against the wall across from the door, and sat below a small window. The bed sheets were bunched up on the bed, and clothes were scattered across the room, dirty and clean. A small dresser had been placed next to the door on Sasuke’s right. A night stand held an alarm clock and an empty glass near the bed. Sasuke slowly lowered himself onto the bed to wait.

Naruto opened his door, heart racing. Sai was grinning at him when the door was open.

"Hey," Naruto smiled.

"Hey yourself. I was hoping you weren’t working. Lee said you had a text today."

"Yeah, Iruka-san was just letting me know my book on ninjutsu arrived. What’s up?"

"Thought you might need some help on the physics work."

Naruto’s heart sped up again. He stepped aside.

"Great! I think I nailed it this time but look over it for me," he beamed.

Sai walked to the couch and picked up the work on the coffee table. He studied Naruto’s paper with a surprised look. He sat it down several moments later.

"Wow. You got them all Naru-chan."

"Really? Yes!" Naruto punched the air.

Sai sighed and chuckled. He stood up and handed the paper back to Naruto.

"Let’s grab some ramen Naru-chan. Celebrate you finally getting the lessons."

"Not now, Sai. I’m really into this book. I’ll be the head of Kakashi-sensei’s class in no time!"

Sai raised an eyebrow. Naruto gave Sai his signature grin and showed him the book. Seeing its relatively small size, Sai believed him. He waved to Naruto and left the boy’s apartment. Naruto shut and locked the door, leaning on it and sighing in relief. He pushed himself off the door and ran to his room. He threw to door open. When Sasuke saw the worry covering Naruto’s face, he couldn’t help but laugh softly.

"Thought I’d be gone?" he asked.

"Well… yeah, I guess I did," Naruto scratched his head.

He crossed his room and sat beside Sasuke. He put his hand on top of the Uchiha’s.

"I sent him off. Sai thinks I was actually paying attention to Asuma-san’s lessons and figured it out."

Sasuke nodded. He looked at Naruto’s alarm clock. He turned his hand around to squeeze Naruto’s. He stood up and grabbed his bag.

"Its late Naruto. I should go home."

Naruto nodded and stood to walk him out. He had not realized it was late until Sasuke had spoken up. Naruto was unlocking the door when a thought passed through his mind. He faced Sasuke with unexpected seriousness.

"Where did you go Saturday after lunch?"

"Huh? Why?"

"Please answer me, Sasuke-kun."

"I went to see Kakashi-sensei. He helps me train every weekend. I stayed at his place all weekend."

"Some guy came to the shop looking for you right before Iruka-san sent me home. Said he was your brother. I don’t like him Sasuke-kun. If he was your brother, and if he’s still in town, I want you to stay with me."

Sasuke’s eyes widened. His bag fell from his shoulder and hit the ground. Naruto saw fear in his eyes. He took Sasuke’s hands in his own.

"You’re staying."

Sasuke looked to Naruto. He stepped forward and laid his head on Naruto’s shoulder.

"Let me stay until he leaves."