A Thousand Words

Summary: When neither Sasuke nor Naruto can find the words to say what’s really important, they find a picture might say enough to get them started.

Disclaimer: I don’t own either Sasuke or Naruto :( Sad day, friends, sad day :(

Warnings: yaoi (M/M), language, angstyness, mild references to drug use and sexual assault, occasional Crack!Itachi

Oh yeah, and reviews make mouths happy! Review responses at the end ^_^

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The next morning, sunlight spread across a pale face, highlighting lashes that fluttered, face screwing up in irritation before turning away from the window and opening to reveal sleepy black eyes. It was early. Too early. But there was no denying it – he was now officially awake.

Sasuke sighed and turned onto his back, bringing an arm up to shield his eyes from the offending sun. He’d been having a very nice dream, about something, what was it – Naruto in a tub of orange mousse, covered in dark chocolate, eating it off himself? Sasuke blinked. Normally he agreed with his subconscious, but now, his awake mind was supplying all sorts of unnecessary objections, like how messy it would be to actually be in that situation. Making a face, he sat up and looked around the room.

His eyes alighted on his gifts from the previous night. The painting still amazed him. He watched as a beam of sunlight inched over its surface, and was struck by a sudden inspiration to test out how it looked next to the picture he had taken the weekend before. He wasn’t sure, but it seemed like the two would complement each other well, though the painting was a darker blue than the photograph.

He then looked at the camera box, glancing out the window and thinking to himself. He’d lay odds that Naruto was still sleeping; he might even sleep for the next couple hours, unless someone woke him up. That would give him some time to get better acquainted with his new possession. He rolled out of bed and walked cat-light to the door, slipping through and going to the bathroom trying not to wake anyone up.

The rest of the house was silent. Sasuke suspected that Itachi was already up – his brother had always been an early riser – and had no clue what Kakashi was up to. On second thought, Kakashi was probably lying in bed reading porn. The raven snorted. It was amazing he was still allowed to teach children at all, considering his reading habits.

He let himself back into his bedroom, and took the camera box back over to his bed. Sitting down cross-legged, he opened the box up and took the camera and its manual out. He flipped back and forth through the manual. He’d never been into digital photography before – being able to develop your own film appealed to the purist in him – but he was curious to branch out. Especially with this camera. It wasn’t one of those dinky little things that Itachi played with that wouldn’t let you change the lenses, and gave you pictures with barely enough resolution to work on a computer screen. No, this one was a beauty. And, it had the ability to shoot videos, as well.

For a minute, the idea of videos led to other not quite so innocent thoughts. He tugged his mind away from those thoughts. Even being able to use the camera for other types of pictures, though, that would be nice. He watched the sunlight play over his skin, and thought about capturing the image of blond hair, tan skin, the curve of a neck. Before his subconscious started in with suggestions about sneaking into the blond’s room while he was still asleep – ack, too late! – Sasuke put the manual down and thought a minute about why he was suddenly so relaxed with the idea. It wasn’t just because Naruto had come out to (with?) him, was it?

He thought about the previous night, and glanced back over to the painting. It felt like things had changed between them – but in a good way. He remembered the short touches they’d shared, and the slight blush that had adorned the boy’s cheeks when he’d offered him the last bite of desert. For the first time, he wondered, what if – maybe, possibly – what if Naruto might return his feelings? Or at least, was attracted to him? He wasn’t a bad looking guy, he supposed – though he stubbornly refused the stray thought to get up try and check out his own ass – girls certainly made no secret of their opinion on that.

It was almost as if being able to look at a picture of how his best friend saw him, as calm and not just angsty, changed some perspective inside. At least for the morning. He still found himself full of what ifs, but they were deeper. Somehow more serious. Like, what if these fantasies could be real, and not just something ungraspable? Ok, maybe not the fantasy about orange mousse and dark chocolate – though chocolate sauce – yeah, back on subject. But really being able to love the dobe, and show it, and be loved back in return. He wondered how it would change things.

He picked up the camera and walked outside, lifting it up for a few test shots of the distant mountains. Hearing the faint rustle of paper from down below, he aimed the camera and took a few shots of Itachi reading the morning paper. The older man looked up and back at him, then crooked his finger, gesturing for his brother to join him downstairs. As Sasuke walked down the hall toward the stairs, he noticed the blond’s door was open and gave into temptation, snapping a couple of shots of the dobe sleeping, mouth slightly open, light blue sheets pulled up to his neck. Smirking, Sasuke continued on downstairs and went outside on the deck.

“You’re in an uncommonly good mood this morning,” Itachi said, folding up the paper and laying it on the table.

The younger raven just shrugged and leaned against the railing, zooming in on a few wildflowers at the base of a tree across the way.

“Do you have any idea what you want to do today?”

Sasuke turned back to his brother and sat down, resting the camera carefully on the table before him. He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully and said, “Well, I think Naruto and Kakashi may just be lazy this morning. I thought maybe I could go for a walk.”

Itachi nodded. “I’d go with you, but I have some business to take care of here. Will probably take most of the day,” he said apologetically.

“It’s ok,” Sasuke said. He knew Itachi had taken most of the day off yesterday for the trip, and it was a busy time of year for him.

“Maybe we can go out and have breakfast or something tomorrow, just the two of us?”

“Sure.” The younger raven looked at his brother thoughtfully. At some point, he should probably let his brother know about his – um – leanings. Preferably somewhere away from too many sharp objects, but in public should be safe. He gulped internally. And if things went wrong, at least he’d have one more day with the blond before he left this earth. You never could tell how Itachi would react sometimes.

“Is everything ok?”

“Hm? Yeah, fine.”

“Hn.” The older raven stared at his brother, not quite sure how to read him. “Well,” he said finally, deciding to let things pass – teens could be moody, he supposed it was part of the job description – “do you know what you’re going to want to do this afternoon? I’m assuming that shopping is out.”

Sasuke made a face at his brother’s smirk. “Yeah,” he said, “I was thinking about going mountain biking. There’s a trail up on the north end of town that looks interesting.”

Itachi nodded. “Sounds like fun.”

Sasuke stood up and grabbed his camera. “I’ll be back for lunch.”

His old brother just opened up the paper, waving at him absently as he walked off the porch into the woods.

. . .

“Ne, Sasuke, where’ve you been?”

The blond was sitting in front of the TV messing around with an old video game. Sasuke came and sat beside him, setting his camera down on the coffee table in front of them. “Walking, dobe. Aren’t you the one who tells me I’m to pale and need more time in the sun?”

Naruto chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. “Well yeah, but you could’ve left a note here or something.”

“Itachi knew. You’re to level 58 already?”

A fox-like grin was his only reply.

“I’m surprised you could even make it to level two.”

“Hey!”

“Naruto,” came a voice from the other room, “did you tell Sasuke his lunch is in the kitchen?”

Blue eyes opened wide. “Oops. Hey bastard, there’s food for you in the kitchen.”

The raven snorted. “Thanks Kakashi,” he yelled out. He thumped Naruto in the shoulder before getting up to go get his food.

He was checking his hamburger out to make sure there were no onions when he heard, “Hey Sas, these pictures are pretty awesome, even if you did take them.”

Sasuke smirked, and yelled back, “Don’t break the camera, moron.”

“Che, bastard, as if!”

Sasuke chuckled and wraped his hamburger back up. He was pouring himself a glass of milk when a thought popped into his mind. Too late.

“Um, Sasuke, why are there pictures on your camera of me sleeping?”

Oh shit oh shit oh shit.

. . .

“I don’t know if I buy the whole blackmail thing, Sasuke.”

They were in a bike shop on the north end of town. Sasuke was checking out a black jersey with red flames running up the sides. He was pondering to himself whether it was permissible to buy himself his own re-birthday gift. And trying to ignore the pestering of a certain blond.

“And I don’t know why you wouldn’t let me delete the photos,” said blond grumbled.

Sasuke snorted. “How am I supposed to blackmail you if I don’t have the pictures?”

“Hmph.”

That idea, the raven was certain, had been inspired. Possibly inspired by his brother, but maybe it was just that genius ran in the family. He was just glad he’d been in the kitchen when Naruto had said that, because he wasn’t sure the blush he’d been wearing would’ve helped sell his story.

For a moment, Sasuke enjoyed a few minutes of blessed silence. Then, the silence was broken.

“Hey, I know!” The blond was right behind Sasuke, and louder than he needed to be. But Sasuke did not jump. Or flinch. That was just a blink. “Sasuke’s in loooooove with me,” Naruto said in a sing-song voice.

Ok, that was a flinch. Sasuke counted to five, breathing slowly, willing his cheeks not to get red. Why had he fallen for the idiot again? After turning to glare at said idiot and meeting smirking crystal-clear blue eyes, he remembered. Hmm. Maybe it was time for a change of tactics.

The blue eyes opened wide with shock when the raven leaned closer to him with a predatory gleam in his eye and said, “Maybe you just want me to be in love with you, Naru-chan?”

Three blinks. Yep, Sasuke decided, his little blond could dish out but could not take it. He licked his lips, completing the hungry look.

“Kakashi!” The dobe jumped behind the grey-haired man, pointing at Sasuke and yelling, “Scary-Sasuke-bastard!”

Sasuke snorted, and turned to grab the jersey. “I’ll be out there in a minute,” he said, going over to the counter with his purchase.

He ducked into the restroom to change before going back outside. Checking himself out in the mirror, he was pleased with the look. It was a bit flashier than normal and a little tight, but he was in the mood for some changes. It hadn’t taken much at all to fake the hunger in his eyes when he’d looked at the blond earlier. Even if said blond was an idiot.

He stepped outside, wondering if he imagined the slightly widened eyes of his best friend before sticking his old shirt in the backseat of the car.

“See something you like, dobe?” he whispered as he passed the blond on the way to his bike.

Naruto sputtered, “Teme!” and stuck out his tongue at the raven’s retreating back. Sasuke caught sight of the childish gesture and thought about asking the blond what he planned on doing with the tongue, but decided against it. He looked over to see Kakashi watching their exchange with interest and just held his face in a most Uchiha-like smirk. “Alright,” he said, “Just follow me. The trailhead is up here in a few blocks, before it branches off into the woods.”

The two behind him were silent while they rode through the residential blocks leading up to the trailhead. Sasuke wondered if Kakashi would try to read and bike while they were actually up on the trail.

Things got back to normal once they were on the trail proper, though. Naruto challenged Sasuke to a race to the top of a hill, and of course the raven couldn’t back down. They were pretty well matched, and Sasuke loved the feeling of pushing his muscled harder, feeling the cool mountain air against his skin as they rushed through the trees. The trail here was relatively clear and not too steep. He could feel his lungs burning just a bit from altitude, but it just added to the experience. He and the blond were neck and neck most of the way, but Sasuke pushed just that much harder at the very end, and won. In his mind at least.

“No way, Sasuke, I passed you by half a bike wheel!”

“Hn.”

“Kakashi? Who won!”

The grey-haired man peered at them from over the corner of his orange book. “Maa,” he said, “Wasn’t watching. Distracted by a bird.”

Yeah, right.

“Aww, man. Oh well, first one up the next hill wins I guess, bastard.”

“Hn.”

The downhill was pretty easy, but Sasuke noticed that the uphill section was getting rougher. His tired got caught on a bit of skree when he wasn’t watching carefully enough, and he was slightly behind Naruto when he got to the top. Naruto wasn’t gloating, however.

“How’d you get up here so fast, old man?”

The blond was pointing at Kakashi, who was leaning back on his bike reading his book. Sasuke blinked. When had Kakashi passed them? And how in the world was he reading his book while mountain biking?

“Hm?” Kakashi said, peeking over at them. “Oh. You have to remember Naruto, the secret to mountain biking isn’t just about speed, it’s about stamina.”

What the hell? Sasuke furrowed his brow. That didn’t make any sense. And why was Naruto blushing?

“Hmph. Whatever. Race you to the bottom of the slope, Sasuke.”

Peering over at the downhill slope, Sasuke frowned. “Um, dobe, I’m not sure we really want to be rushing it here…”

His words fell on deaf ears as the blond shot down the slope. The raven followed behind at a more careful pace, trying to watch the ground more closely. The downhill slope was more curvy and steeper than the two uphill stretches had been. He watched in concern as Naruto picked up speed, and was opening his mouth to yell a warning as Naruto came up on a skree-covered turn too quickly when the inevitable happened.

Ow, that had to hurt.

Suddenly, Sasuke didn’t really care about safety, all he cared about was reaching the blond and making sure he was ok.

Reaching the site of the accident, he jumped off his bike and knelt down by the blond, pulling him closer and checking his limbs for wounds. Naruto groaned and shook his head. Lucky for him he was wearing his helmet and protective gear, Sasuke thought, though there was still some road rash on one of the blond’s arms.

“Owie,” said the blond, staring up in to the eyes of the raven.

“You should be more careful, dobe,” Sasuke said, but softer than normal, his voice edged with concern. “I don’t want to spend my re-birthday weekend in an emergency room.”

Naruto made a face, slowly sitting up and stretching out his hurt arm. “I’m fine,” he said, pouting a bit. He looked over at Kakashi who was picking up the fallen bike. “Is it ok?”

Kakashi checked it over, and nodded. “None the worse for wear. You going to be ok riding back?”

Naruto nodded.

“It isn’t too much farther anyways,” Sasuke said, adding under his breath to the blond, “but no more rushing things, baka.”

The blond made another face, wincing as he got back on his bike. Sasuke looked over at him concerned, but he really didn’t seem to be that much the worse for wear.

“I’m not that fragile, Sasuke,” Naruto said, sounding annoyed.

“Hn.”

They finished out the rest of the ride at a more sedate pace. Sasuke enjoyed it better this way anyway, he had the chance to really appreciate the scenery. The last quarter-mile took them around the edge of a large pond. The late afternoon sunlight was glistening over the surface of the water. They stopped to rest for a minute, watching the wind scare up tiny waves along the pond.

“Hey look, Sasuke, minnows.”

The raven walked his bike over to the blond and looked down into the water. They watched together as the tiny fish darted about in the shallow water.

“Kakashi took me on a trip once, to this lake in Wyoming?” Naruto murmured after a few minutes.

“Yeah, I remember.”

“One morning, I just went down to the water and sat down in it, getting real still and relaxing.”

“You, still?”

“Hush. Anyways, after a while all these minnows came up to me, and started nibbling at my bare feet. It didn’t hurt or anything, just kinda tickled. It was the coolest experience.”

“Hn.”

They watched for a few more minutes until Kakashi called them back to the trail, reminding them they had to get the bikes back by six.

Itachi was making dinner when they got back to the cabin. Kakashi helped Naruto clean and dress his arm while Sasuke took the first shower. After he was done, he went downstairs to help Itachi finish up.

“I think Kakashi and I may go down and catch a movie later tonight, there’s a Korean flick that hasn’t hit any of the theaters around us. You want to come?”

Sasuke pondered. After the weird movie last night, he’d had his fill of martial arts films for the weekend. “I think I’m a bit tired out after today.”

“Will you and Naruto be ok by yourself while we’re gone?”

Sasuke rolled his eyes at his brother. “We’re eighteen, not twelve.”

“Hn. I suppose I should trust you to play with matches if you decide to use the fireplace? It might get chilly enough for a fire tonight, if you want.”

Sasuke didn’t even bother to answer that obviously rhetorical question. Itachi had been teaching him about fire safety since he was five.

He didn’t complain about the stir-fry they had for dinner, though. Itachi had gotten pretty good at cooking up healthy meals over the past few years. The older raven had an intense dislike for takeout and fast food.

Afterwards, Sasuke and Naruto waved goodbye to the two older men before settling down in the room with the fireplace. They were both pretty quiet after the long day. Sasuke set up a small fire, and they both decided to sit on the floor in front of the couch, stretching out their legs and watching the flames dance.

After a while, Naruto spoke up. “Ne, Sasuke?”

“Hm?”

“What made you decide you were gay?”

The raven blinked. So many ways to answer that question. The curve of a tan neck against an orange sweatshirt. The small surge of jealousy at a pink-haired friend. The desire to spend all of his time with a certain blond-haired friend. Looking at said friend in a pair of low-hanging swim trunks, and wanting to place his mouth just so against the curve where skin met cloth.

“What do you mean?” he responded.

“Well like, were you attracted to someone? Someone you knew, or a celebrity?”

When the raven was silent a few moments, the blond said. “I know. You fell in love with Johnny Depp, right?”

Sasuke tapped him on the shoulder with his fist. “Dobe.”

The blond collapsed into giggles, then said, “Well? You don’t have to tell me who, or anything.”

“Hn,” the raven said, pondering. “Yeah, I was attracted to someone.”

“Someone we know?”

“Yeah.”

“Who?”

The raven gave him a dirty look, and the blond waved his hands in front of his face apologetically. “Just kidding, just kidding.” He sat up cross-legged, facing the raven, and turned to look at the fire.

They were silent a while longer, then Naruto said, “What made you like him?”

The raven pondered. Blue eyes. A voice that could go a mile a minute about nothing at all for hours, then say one thing that made the whole day crystal clear. A laugh that could jolt him out of the worst bad mood he got into, even if he wanted to stay and sulk. A determination that steamrolled over all of his objections. A courage that made him want to stand up and be just confident in himself as the blond was in him. “I dunno, lots of things, I guess.”

“Do you still like him?”

He turned and looked at the blond, gazing into his eyes. “Yes.”

Naruto was solemn for a moment, then said with a straight face, “It’s Lee, isn’t it.”

Sasuke felt his left eye begin to twitch. He stared at his best friend incredulously for a minute as the blond’s face cracked into a huge grin and collapsed into laughter. “Idiot!” he said, aiming a punch at the blond’s chest.

Naruto caught the fist in his hand, still doubled over with laughter. Then he looked up at the raven crouched over him, and just smiled, eyes widening at the way the raven was watching him. He swallowed. “Teme?”

Sasuke opened his fist and interlocked his fingers with Naruto’s, watching his friends face carefully for any signs of rejection. “Dobe,” he said, pushing back against Naruto’s hand and setting his other hand beside the blond, bringing his face closer and closer to the other boy.

Their eyes locked together, watching the way firelight played across the others face. Breath mingled together, ghosting over skin. Finally, the raven turned his head just a bit and brushed his lips against the blond’s, feeling slightly chapped skin over softness. When the blond didn’t object, he pressed down a bit, feeling a hand snake around his neck and press him closer to the kiss. He felt slightly awkward at first, but then really really hungry. He let go of the blond’s hand and pressed the other boy down to the floor beneath him, letting his fingers slide between locks of golden hair. He nipped at Naruto’s lower lip, earning a muffled moan, and then flicked his tongue out to taste.

Heaven, he decided. This had to be what heaven tasted like. It was incredible.

. . .

Kakashi and Itachi slipped into the front door softly, not wanting to wake the boys if they’d fallen asleep. Kakashi was reaching for the light switch when he saw Itachi pause, looking down at the space in front of the fireplace. The raven cocked his head to the side. Kakashi looked over his shoulder when he heard the other man draw a quick breath. He quickly put his hand over the raven’s mouth before he could make a sound, dragging him back out the front door.

He closed the front door and turned to face a very angry looking Itachi.

“What in the hell was that?” Itachi hissed at him.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. “What did it look like?” he whispered.

“It looked like my brother and your nephew were going at it on the floor!”

“Well, yeah.”

“And why are we whispering?”

“Well, how would you feel if your older brother walked in and interrupted your first make-out session?”

“I don’t have an older brother!”

Kakashi just raised his other eyebrow, and found himself engaged in a staring contest with the older raven. Unfortunately for Itachi, Kakashi didn’t fold as easily as his younger brother.

Finally, Itachi huffed. “You knew about this?”

“Well, I suspected it would happen sooner or later.”

Itachi looked to the side. “You knew Sasuke was gay?”

“You didn’t?”

Itachi glared at him, and then sighed, sitting down on the front porch steps. Kakashi sat down next to him, watching as the other man crossed his arms and looked out into the distance. “I had hoped – hoped he wasn’t,” the raven said after a long pause.

“Why?” Kakashi said. “It’s not like it bothers you.”

Itachi gave him a dirty look. “Well no, except when certain people don’t know how to take no for an answer. I’m never going out drinking with your friends again.”

Kakashi chuckled.

“But it’s just – hard.”

Kakashi was silent for a minute. “Sasuke’s stronger than you think.”

“Maybe,” Itachi replied, eyes lost in some old memory. “I still – I guess I just wish I could protect him.”

Kakashi patted his friend on the back. “He’ll always have you, he knows that. And we’ll be here for him too. And things are getting better out there, or so I hear.”

Itachi didn’t respond. Kakashi started to ease his hand down his friends back, earning him a glare from the raven. He chuckled and waved his hands in surrender. “Just kidding!”

Itachi just shook his head and looked back at the door. “How long do you think we should give them?”

“Hmm. Teenagers. First make out session. Teenagers.” The grey-haired man sighed morosely, suddenly realizing the barrier that stood between him and his pillow. He looked up inquiringly at the second story deck. “You think we left one of the door unlocked up there?”

Itachi snorted, and then leaned back against the railing at the side of the stairs, sighing. “Kids.”

His friend nodded, leaning against the railing on the other side as well.

After a few minutes, the raven looked up at his companion. “You know, right, that if Naruto hurts Sasuke, I’m going to have to kill him.”

Kakashi grinned back at him. “Same deal if Sasuke hurts Naruto, of course.”

The raven smirked. “Just so we understand each other.”

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Review Responses

Prism0467 - I'm pretty sure these hotties are going to do alot... if they are able to keep each other from passing out due to nosebleeds!

xkuramaxhieix - thanks! I appreciate the constructive criticism.

Lady Laran - ^_^ well, I kinda needed Sasuke's birthday to be earlier in the year to work out with the rest of his backstory, but cannon-wise it's in July - so.... voila!

Ony-chan - thank you! I tend to *see* my stories, so if I'm able to communicate that, it's all the better. Trust me, there's more to come :)