In the cold of space you find the heat of suns

Warning: The views, standards, mores and morals of the different groups in this story, including those of ‘spacers’, are not those of our world. They are the product of a fictional future history. Many of the behaviours they consider acceptable we do not; some of them are wrong by my definition in that they are damaging to one or more of the individuals involved and/or suggest that one individual has more intrinsic value than another. In this story, ‘spacers’ consider youths of fourteen capable of giving informed consent and they consider a job description that includes providing sexual favours to others, including much older people, to be normal and acceptable.

5. Trial period

Sasuke woke to the bluest eyes he had ever seen. They were watching him from the end of his bunk.

“Good, you’re awake,” their owner said. “I’m Naruto. Shikamaru said that I should wake you up, once ages ago and once about ten minutes ago, but Iruka-san agreed with me that waking someone early from sleepdrug makes them grumpy.”

“I am Sasuke,” Sasuke managed. The boy’s hair was yellow, like sunshine.

“I know,” Naruto told him. “Are you grumpy?”

The boy’s skin was golden, a lighter shade than Iruka’s but still warm. His whiskers danced when he talked. “No, Sasuke answered. “Get off my bunk so I can get up.”

The boy was waiting for him when he climbed down the rungs on the wall. He followed him to the head, thankfully waiting outside, and then watched Sasuke wash and dress. Sasuke thought about telling him to go away but he remembered what the Captain had said about him helping to train the new cat.

Iruka was in the galley. “A good day to you, Sasuke. I see you have met Naruto.”

“Good day, Iruka-sensei,” Sasuke replied. “I apologise for sleeping so late.”

“That was my fault,” Iruka admitted. “Next time I will know to give you less. Would you like some breakfast?”

“That is kind of you, Iruka-sensei. Thank you. That would be lovely.”

Iruka smiled at Naruto. “We are usually very strict about meal times. Between meal times you may only get snacks.” Iruka showed him where the fruit and the biscuits were kept. “The crew eats together and the Captain eats in her cabin. Sasuke will take the Captain her food for the next division. Occasionally she asks him to eat with her, or asks one of us to eat with her. If you stay on, Naruto, taking food to the Captain and perhaps eating with her will be one of your duties. Do you think you will be able to cope with that?”

Sasuke watched as the boy’s face went crimson. It was fascinating. So the boy was on trial.

“I hope so, Iruka-san.” Naruto’s whiskers twitched and he flushed an even deeper red. “I think I made a bad impression on the Captain,” he confessed.

“I saw,” Iruka told him. “I was watching on the monitor, just as the Captain was watching when Ibiki and I were talking to you.”

Sasuke wondered what had happened.

“I haven’t met many women,” Naruto admitted. “Not since I started spacing.”

Naruto had perved at the Captain. Sasuke was surprised he was still here.

“Naruto told us that he has been spacing for over five standards,” Iruka continued. “While this means he is not a novice, he will still need to familiarise himself with this ship and with our ways. He will need to be aware of our mores, so that he can keep to him. Sasuke, Naruto will accompany you for the next five days, unless you are with the Captain or with someone for personal time. I want you to arrange for him to have a bunk close to you and you are to show him the closet so he can pick out clothes and anything else he needs. His performance will reflect on you, Sasuke. Naruto, I expect you to try your best.”

“Yes, Iruka-sensei” Sasuke acknowledged and heard Naruto echoing his words with a “Yes, Iruka-san.”

Sasuke was half way through his breakfast before Iruka’s words sunk in. Unless the non-human genes kept him abnormally young, Naruto was no older than him. He looked younger. That meant he had been a child when he started spacing. The boy had been catting five standards. Five standards. The thought of it, the images of a child version of Naruto being abused, would not go away. Sasuke watched Naruto wheedling another breakfast out of Iruka. It was obvious that Iruka already liked him.

Watching Naruto select clothes from the closet was interesting. He went straight for anything orange and was disappointed if it did not fit. Other colours that attracted him were green and bright red. Most of the clothes were too big. Sasuke selected the ones that could be easily altered and told him that they would come back and work on them. Naruto looked at him.

“You sew?” he asked, as if there was something wrong with sewing.

Sasuke scowled at him. “Yes.” He had an idea. “It is one of the skills Iruka-sensei expects a cat to have.”

Naruto’s eyes widened and then he frowned. “Is it difficult?”

Sasuke gave a little shrug he had not used since Hiruzen-sama had given up on the idea of sending him to school. “I find it easy,” he said. Which was not a lie. Sasuke did find it easy now, after standards’ practice.

By late afternoon the list of skills that Iruka-sensei expected a cat was long and Naruto was much more subdued. They were back in the closet and he was trying to master the sewing machine with little success. Ever so often Sasuke would set his hand-sewing aside and sort out the machine. Naruto had tried hand sewing and, rightly, decided that machine sewing must be easier. The machine jammed again and Naruto was off the stool, pacing, worrying his bottom lip and occasionally rubbing the back of his head.

“I can’t do this,” he complained.

Sasuke lay his sewing aside carefully and went to the abused machine. “I can see that,” he acknowledged. “We will try again another day.” He tried another approach. “I will tell Iruka-sensei that you tried.”

It did not work; Naruto was grateful rather than annoyed. “You will? Thanks, Sasuke.”

If duties allowed, the evening meal was formal. It was clear that this was foreign territory to Naruto but he watched Sasuke and tried. Iruka chose to overlook his mistakes and the others either followed Iruka’s lead or did not care. Sasuke suspected it was the latter. At least Naruto picked up on the gentle reinforcement of the crew’s hierarchy and did not speak until his turn, when Iruka asked him about his day. The boy rubbed the back of his head.

“We did things I can’t do, like sewing, and things I thought I could do, like cleaning.” He looked expectantly at Sasuke.

“Naruto tried hard,” Sasuke heard himself saying, which evoked a grateful look from Naruto and a sharp one from Kakashi.

They then moved into what Iruka called conversation. Again, Sasuke was surprised how quickly Naruto realised that he needed to observe rather than contribute. Thinking about it, Naruto had mentioned at least six crews during the day. Adapting was probably one of his strengths. If his last crew was anything to go by, adapting quickly was probably the reason he was still alive.

Naruto was more relaxed once the informal part of the evening began. Sasuke was playing Go with Shikamaru while Naruto sat on a couch with Genma and flirted. Not that he needed to flirt because Genma could hardly keep his hands off him.

“I hope you’ve told him about the e-machine.” Shikamura mentioned casually.

Sasuke had not. The head was the only place they had not visited together. He played Go appallingly badly until Naruto headed in that direction, then hurried to intercept him.

“Naruto, do you know how to use all the… …equipment in there?” he asked.

Naruto gave him a look that Sasuke was not sure he liked. “It’s fine. I recognise the model. Believe me, Sasuke, this is one thing I know how to do.”

Sasuke returned to Shikamaru, who had abandoned the ruined game and set the board up anew.

There was no missing the sounds of passion coming from Genma’s curtained-off bunk, nor the boatswain’s utter satisfaction the next morning. Naruto had been in his bunk when Sasuke woke up and was acting as if everything was normal, which Sasuke suspected it was if you were Naruto. It was only later, when they were scrubbing the head, that Sasuke realised that Naruto intended to retaliate for the day before and that he now had the ammunition to do so.

“Genma mentioned one cat’s skill you lack.” Naruto purred.

Sasuke tried to control his body language but knew he was failing. He knew he should say something to defuse the situation, but nothing came to mind. He heard himself merely acknowledging Naruto’s comment. “Hn.”

Naruto moved closer. This was the smaller of the two heads. Two people scrubbing filled most of the space. Sasuke felt the other boy push against him. It was surprisingly suggestive. Naruto made a little growl and, somehow, his hair came in contact with Sasuke’s bare arm. It was soft, like fur. Sasuke realised that he was hard, acutely and painfully hard. He pushed Naruto away.

“Stop that,” he ordered.

Naruto smiled slowly, teasingly, sensually. “Stop what?”

“You know,” Sasuke insisted, not wanting to make the situation more real by describing it in words.

“Maybe I don’t,” Naruto said, moving even closer.

If Naruto came any closer he was going to realise how hard Sasuke was. Sasuke did not want that. He did not want to go there. He did not understand why his body, usually so cold, so slow to react, was so suddenly responsive. He had to do something to stop Naruto coming closer.

He punched him.

Naruto snarled.

The fight was short because Kakashi was close by. He reached in and dragged Sasuke away, managing to shut the door in time to stop Naruto’s next attack. Sasuke heard Naruto’s body hitting the door and more snarling. Sasuke was bleeding. Naruto bit. He also scratched. Iruka was standing a little way, off, stunned. Kakashi thrust Sasuke in his direction.

“You deal with this one,” he said. All three of them flinched as Naruto’s body hit the door again. There was a sound close to a howl. Kakashi was leaning against the door and his body shook as Naruto hit for a third time. “I’ll keep the door shut until he calms down.”

Iruka treated the bites and the scratches. Then he asked, “Who started it, Sasuke?”

Sasuke was about to say Naruto, but that would not be fair. “I did. I punched him.”

Iruka frowned slightly, “That isn’t like you. What did he do?”

Sasuke knew that Iruka would not stop asking. He made a number of aborted attempts before he found the right words and forced himself say them. “He made me feel. I don’t want to feel.”