Spartan Ninjas (Abandoned WIP)

Disclaimer: We do not own or gain any profit from Naruto.
Reviews are more than welcome. ^__^

Author's Note: for further reference here is a key to help you follow the story:
::this:: is a character's own personal thoughts
"~this~" is talking in Japanese

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Spartan Ninjas
~ Chapter Nine ~
By: Cecilia Tsukineko and Kirei Kitsue

---------Bright and Early Monday Morning, Tokyo International Airport---------
"~You come back soon, got it?~" Gackt said as he hugged Sasuke goodbye. "~I don't see enough of you, chibi.~"

Naruto was sitting in the terminal pouting. He didn't want to go back to school. He wanted to stay here where he and Sasuke could focus completely on each other.

"~I think Naruto will make sure of that... It was good to see you again, tomodachi,~" Sasuke said as he returned the hug tightly. He relinquished his hold on Gackt then and stepped back to let Naruto in for his goodbyes.

Chuckling Gackt walked over to Naruto and offered his hand. "Sayonara, Naruto-kun."

"Sayonara," Naruto said back as he shook his hand. There was a last-call warning over the PA in both Japanese and English, telling all passengers of the flight from Tokyo to San Francisco that they'd better get on now or be left behind. Naruto stubbornly stayed in his seat.

"~I think it's time to get his leash out, Sasuke,~" Gackt joked.

"~Like I said... I don't usually have to leash. He comes to me before it comes to that...~" And then to Naruto he said, "Come on, Naruto... or I'll leave you here..." before he turned with a last wave to Gackt and started to walk towards the gate.

Grumbling Naruto stood up and grabbed their carry-on bags, following Sasuke and throwing one last farewell to Gackt over his shoulder. Once in the plane – they had first class seats again – Naruto snatched a window seat and continued to pout.

Sasuke settled next to him and reached out to cup his chin, gently turning Naruto to face him and asking, "What?" He wanted to know exactly what was bothering his lover.

"I wanna stay here... Here we don't have to worry about classes and we can be with each other all the time... and I really like it here," Naruto stated, leaning back into his seat and pressing a kiss to Sasuke's palm.

Sasuke leaned forward and stole a kiss from sweet, if pouting, lips. "I understand that... and I feel the same, but we can come back just like we came this time. Gackt will love to have us... and I think it's time I started making friends of my old friends again. The ones that matter anyway. How can I make it up to you?"

"Be there to stitch me back together after Baa-chan rips me apart for missing three days of school," Naruto quipped, smirking lopsidedly. "But seriously... Can we come back here for Christmas? Maybe go up to Hokkaido?"

"After classes let out... we can do anything you want. And I do mean anything..." Sasuke answered while leaning back into his seat for take-off. "And as far as your grandmother... well, we're both ahead in our classes so it really doesn't matter."

"A~ny~thing?" Naruto sing-songed, grinning mischievously.

Sasuke looked over and repeated, "Anything."

"Then I hope you like hiking," Naruto said, buckling his and Sasuke's seatbelts in preparation for leaving the airport.

"I'm up for anything as soon as this cast is off," Sasuke stated and snuck a nibble on Naruto's ear as he was buckling Sasuke's safety belt.

Laughing Naruto shoved Sasuke away playfully. "Wait until we get home, hornball." The captain made a few announcements over the PA and not even a minute later they were backing out of the gate.

There wasn't anything to do then but take Naruto's hand, kiss the back of his knuckles and then settle in for the long flight. As soon as they were in the air Sasuke let Naruto undo his safety belt along with Naruto's own and then helped him shove up the armrest between them and tilt the chairs back for some naptime before reaching the States. They'd have one more flight after this one and then a car ride to the dorm before they could seriously cuddle up.

-----------Monday Evening, MSU (Monday Morning in Tokyo)----------
Ino was happily chatting with a good friend of hers from high school over AIM, an exchange student from Japan who had only been in Michigan for a year before going back.

SasuLuvr01: enough about the evils of school. how was your weekend?

vanillababy: oh it was the best weekend ever!

Ino's penpal just happened to be fluent in English and taking a second course in language for Spanish.

vanillababy: I finally made it to a Gackt concert! OH! Ga-kun is so HOT! and you should have seen the guests - yes i said _guests_ - that he decided to bring on stage with him for the last three songs!!!! You're not going to believe me Ino but... Sasuke and some cute little blond boy! I think they are lovers... with the way they were on stage.... I swooned and thought I might faint!

SasuLuvr01: SASUKE?! as in OUR sasuke?! ... yeah right

SasuLuvr01: it's not nice to play jokes like that, Aiko-chan

vanillababy: I'm NOT joking! I can send you the AVI... mom recorded it for me and i transferred about an hour an a half ago.

SasuLuvr01: this I have to see... send!

SasuLuvr01: ............wait a second........

SasuLuvr01: did you say there was a blond boy too?

vanillababy: i'm getting it ready to send... be ready to accept

vanillababy: yeah... he was a looker himself... nothing as gorgeous as Sasu-san, but pretty in his own right... they made the most adorable couple... they were HOT too...

Her jaw clenched, Ino accepted the file transfer and waited impatiently for it to download, not replying to Aiko's last comment. There was no way Sasuke and Naruto could have gone to Japan for the weekend... and gotten dragged onstage during a Gackt concert... But they had been gone since Friday morning... The file finished downloading and she looked at it warily, not quite sure if she really wanted to watch.

SasuLuvr01: you're SURE it was sasuke???

vanillababy: dead certain. you know i could never mistake that name. and how many gorgeous Sasukes are there in this world? only one that i know of.

SasuLuvr01: ..................................what do you mean by they were hot?

vanillababy: well, Sasuke - the boy must have made a pact with your devil - sang vanilla with Ga-kun and while he was out there this blond young man came out on stage and they started freak dancing... which ends in kissing as you'll see when you watch the AVI... they were so HOT!

The pencil Ino had been fiddling with snapped as her hand clenched in fury, sounding like a gunshot in the quiet room.

Sakura, who had been quietly working on her homework, jumped to her feet with a "Yipe!" and whirled on Ino. "What? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Ino bit out through clenched teeth.

SasuLuvr01: watching now....

She opened the AVI file and leaned forward to watch. "It really is Sasuke..." she murmured as he ran out onto the stage near the beginning of U+K. That song went by without any sign of Naruto but Ino wasn't ready to relax yet. She didn't even notice Sakura watching over her shoulder. Vanilla started and she just about swooned at the pure lust and sinfulness of Sasuke's voice, but she snapped back to attention when a certain blond ran onto the stage... and, just like Aiko had said, began to dance with Sasuke... Ino's hackles rose slowly throughout the whole song. When Naruto pulled Sasuke into a kiss at the end of the song she screamed in fury.

Sakura stared at her roommate in shock, both at what she had seen on the computer screen and at the reaction it got from Ino. "Ino -..." she began, but it was too late.

Ino had leapt to her feet and stood there, her breathing heavy from anger. She watched as the lights went off at the end of the song and waited for them to come back on, hoping that Sasuke had pushed Naruto away and that the blond boy had left the stage. ...They were still kissing when the lights came back on and she saw red when Gackt had to separate them. She stormed out of the room, headed for the stairwell and Sasuke's room. Ino wanted answers!! She wanted Naruto away from Sasuke permanently!! She was going to kill him!!!

Sakura watched as Ino left and shook her head. There was no way Sasuke and Naruto were back by now if they had been in Japan. She assumed Ino to be leaving to blow off steam somewhere more secluded. Sighing dejectedly she settled back at her desk and restarted the problem she had been working on when Ino had flipped.

Ten minutes later Ino stormed back into the room, muttering hot curses about a certain dog-boy. Kiba'd yelled at her for making so much noise and then told her off when she demanded to know where Sasuke and Naruto where. "How in hell am I supposed to know?! I'm not their babysitter!!" Fuming she sat back at her desk and typed furiously.

SasuLuvr01: i'm gonna kill him...... i am going to KILL him!!!

SasuLuvr01: the little man-whore!!!!!!!!!!

vanillababy: *raises brow* Ino... don't tell me that... even after you saw that those two are obviously into each other... in a big way... that you're still thinking you have a chance with Sasu-san. Ino you better not be thinking "if i can't have him no one can..." or i'll fly all the way out there and beat you...

SasuLuvr01: i don't care!!! i am not losing to a BOY that sasuke's only known for a MONTH!!!! I AM NOT!!!!!!!!

vanillababy: Ino if it's love you're done. That's it. there isn't a chance so you should just move on... look my mom is yelling at me to come down to eat. I'll be back on later if you're around. don't do anything stupid! ja ^^

Ino didn't say goodbye back. Instead she stood up and began to throw her homework into her backpack. If Sasuke wasn't home yet then she would just sit up and wait for him! ::There is no way in hell I'm losing to Naruto!! No way!!::

"Where are you going now?" Sakura asked from her desk, where she was half turned and observing her roommate's movements.

"Downstairs to study," Ino bit out, leaving the room and heading for the small study lounge on the floor below.

Each floor had two study lounges – a large one across the hall from the door to the elevator lobby and a small one right at the end of the hall from where Ino could watch all the doors.

And so Ino waited. Every time a door opened her head snapped up, but it was never Sasuke and so she just returned to her homework.

It wasn't until just after three in the morning that her vigilance finally paid off. Hearing familiar voices in the elevator lobby she stood up and was about to go open the door for Sasuke when Naruto walked through, loaded down with bags and trying not to laugh.

"Will you stop it!" Naruto scolded Sasuke playfully as the pale teen teased him, trying to stay quiet so as not to wake up anybody. He didn't even notice Ino in the doorway of the small study lounge, much too busy fending Sasuke off while somehow managing to not drop any of the bags.

Sasuke chuckled softly and as Naruto stopped outside the next door, the door to their room, he pressed up to Naruto's back and slid his right hand up the front of Naruto's shirt while licking at his ear, teasing one nipple with light fingertips. He was just doing it all to torment Naruto because the blond had blown another raspberry on his neck to wake him up when the plane had landed. This... was his revenge.

Naruto shivered and lightly shoved Sasuke backwards. "Hornball," he teased with a smirk. "Can't you wait until we're actually in the room? Make yourself useful and open the door."

"Okay," Sasuke murmured and let the hand trail down from Naruto's chest – the shove having been ineffectual – to dip one finger into Naruto's waistband before delving into Naruto's pocket looking for his keys instead of Sasuke's own. And while his fingers "fished", his teeth grazed Naruto's neck right where the joining muscle to the shoulder blended into the muscled but still slender column.

Naruto shuddered in pleasure and was about to scold Sasuke again when an enraged scream snatched his attention. "Oh shit..."

Ino had been frozen with first shock and then rage as she watched the young men interact. It wasn't fair!! Why couldn't Sasuke be like that with her?! Seeing Sasuke bite at Naruto's neck was the last straw that allowed her to move again and she tore down the hall towards them, determined to at least maim Naruto.

Now Sasuke wasted no time in pulling out Naruto's keys, getting the door open and his lover and then baggage in before he shut and locked the door between them. Naruto's keys clanked loudly together from the other side of the door as they banged against his thigh, hanging from his beltloop. Sasuke had his own set and if Naruto was smart he'd stay inside the room for right now. He turned and put his back over the doorknob and his hand on it just as Ino reached their room. "What do you want, Ino?" he asked, his voice chill and his expression cooler.

"Out of the way, Sasuke!!" Ino demanded, snarling with fury.

"No," he said shortly. "I'm not letting you anywhere near my boyfriend. You're rabid... especially so at the moment it seems." His eyes narrowed a little.

Fine. If she couldn't get at her rival then she could at least make a move on her goal. Taking advantage of the fact that he only had one hand to fight her with – and that hand was behind him on the door – she grabbed his face and pulled him into a fierce kiss before he had time to react. She would not lose!!

"Mmf!" was the first thing that happened and then Ino felt a hand on her stomach pushing her away forcefully, while Sasuke's lips tightened into a thin grim line. He wasn't having any part of this and he finally shoved hard enough to send her stumbling back into the wall. "Forget it, Ino. You don't do anything for me..."

The sound of cracking glass resonated softly through the hall. "Wha- Why not?!" she demanded, voice shaking. She moved up against him again, looking like she was on the edge of hysteria. "Why don't you like me, Sasuke?! Why don't you love me the way I love you?!"

Cautiously Sasuke put his hand on her shoulder and pushed her a little farther away from him, and so that she couldn't move any closer tightened his grip a little on her arm. "Because Ino... You have breasts, you lack something a little more significant, and you've definitely, therefore, got two 'x' chromosomes. I like men, Ino... I love Naruto." Sasuke wondered briefly, immediately after the words had left his lips, if Naruto had moved deeper into the room to put their belongings away or if he might have hung close to the door... He didn't know why but Naruto hearing that made him a little uneasy. It was unexplainable, probably stemming from the newness of their relationship paired with his usually antisocial behavior patterns.

The glass shattered and Ino took a step back, tears welling up in her eyes. "No... you're lying... you can't love him... Please tell me you're lying!!" she begged. She didn't want to believe it!! She wouldn't!!

"You can't be this dense... Ino, I'm in love with Naruto Uzumaki. We've done more than make out and I'm hoping we'll end up making love eventually. He makes me happier than I've been since the worst day of ten of my entire lifetimes... I've tolerated your rabid fan-girlism long enough Ino. It's time to grow up. Move on..." he stated and then turned, unlocking and opening the door while she was still stunned and then entered the room, closing and locking the door behind him. His eyes immediately sought Naruto.

Naruto was standing right there in the doorway between the closet and the main room. As soon as Sasuke locked the door he caught him up in a tight embrace. Naruto had heard everything, his ear pressed to the door listening for signs that Sasuke might need his help. "I love you too, Sasuke..." he murmured into Sasuke's neck, simply holding him and relishing the feel of Sasuke's solidness in his arms.

---

Ino stood there in shock, tears running unnoticed down her face. ::No... no.... No!!:: "NO!!!!" Screaming she pounded on their door, pouring all of her anger and frustration and heartbreak into her cry. Her yell held no words, only emotion, and it carried like a banshee's scream all throughout the floor.

---

Sasuke wrapped his arm around Naruto and nuzzled the blond's head. "Good..." he murmured and sighed, trying to ignore Ino's shrieking.

---

Iruka moved swiftly down the hall in his boxers, a plain white shirt and an open robe. Finding Ino curled up in a ball on the floor in front of Sasuke and Naruto's door, he dropped to his knees and touched her quaking back hesitantly. "What's wrong?" ::I think this is Ino... She's here with that pink-haired girl Sakura often........:: "What happened?"

Ino paused in her seeming endless scream to take a deep breath but before she could cry out again she heard Sasuke's voice through the door. She didn't even notice Iruka there.

---

Naruto had been about to kiss Sasuke when Sasuke put a hand between their lips. Leaning his head away he murmured, "You don't want to kiss this right now... I need to brush my teeth and rinse... and do we have any mints or anything?"

"I think I have some gum in my desk somewhere," Naruto said with a smirk, understanding why Sasuke was asking and letting him go. While he was sorely annoyed that Ino had managed to kiss his lover, he knew that Sasuke didn't like her in the least and so decided it could be looked over. But he would tease Sasuke about it later.

Sasuke nodded and headed into the bathroom to clean his mouth. It didn't seriously bother him that she had kissed him, at least not in a sanitary manner, but it did however make him feel itchy all over and made him want to clean his mouth. He had some deep aversion to Ino, one that he didn't have for Sakura, which was a little surprising seeing as that they were almost the same, but for that Sakura knew when to quit.

---

The shards of glass had just been ground into dust. Ino began to sob brokenly, feeling as if her soul had been torn to shreds at Sasuke's words. She wanted to die right there... she had no reason to keep going if Sasuke was so far out of her reach...

Iruka stood and rushed to the door of Naruto and Sasuke's suitemates, Shikamaru and Kiba, and pounded on the door. When both boys came looking a little startled but awake, he said firmly, "Sorry for disturbing you but I need your help. Can one of you run up to the girls' side of the floor above us and get her mentor? I'm pretty sure this is Ino... and she isn't answering me."

Sighing Kiba nodded and trudged up to the next floor, soon returning with the mentor. "There she is. Take her away so we can sleep, please..." With that he went back into his room and shut the door. It was way too late to deal with rabid girls...

Ino didn't protest as she was lifted to her feet and walked out of the hall, towards her floor and her room. She was too numb to protest to anything.

Iruka determined it best to wait until tomorrow. Now he was going to let everyone go back to sleep.

---

When Sasuke came out of the bathroom Naruto was going through his voicemail, looking rather pained. Mika had left a lot of messages demanding to know where they were and why Naruto hadn't called when he got back from Japan ("Are you STILL there!?!?!?"), among other things... "My grandma is scary when she gets all mother-henny," he muttered, putting the phone back in its cradle. "Bed time?"

Sasuke smirked. "Bed time... cuddle time... play time... whatever you want to call it..."

Naruto smirked back at him and tugged his shirt off. "I guess we'll find out in a bit, won't we?" he asked as stripped down to his boxers before helping Sasuke do the same. Moving over to the main room he pulled out the couch and flopped onto it, hugging a pillow.

Almost immediately Sasuke settled in bed with him, crawling over Naruto to settle between the couch back and the blond. He reached out with his right arm and – as Naruto with the pillow – hugged Naruto to him. Nuzzling the back of Naruto's ear he murmured, "So... Did you enjoy this weekend?"

Dropping the pillow so he could hug Sasuke back Naruto chuckled, a wicked smirk on his face. "Oh yes... We have to see if there's a hotel like that anywhere around here."

"Most definitely..." Sasuke breathed into Naruto's ear and then licked the lobe. He reached up then and caught Naruto's chin in his hand, turning the blond's head to kiss him deeply. He licked the blond's mouth a few times before pulling away, letting go to wrap his arm around Naruto's waist again and then he settled, resting his head on top of Naruto's. "Oyasumi, koi..."

"You're tired? You slept through both flights. How can you be tired?" Having slept through both flights as well Naruto knew he wouldn't be able to fall asleep for another few hours. Noticing that Sasuke's shoulder looked a little swollen he got up and grabbed his icepack from the fridge. "Your shoulder's never gonna heal if you keep abusing it so much," he teased, knowing he was part of the reason Sasuke's shoulder was so abused.

"It'll heal... I can't not abuse it with you around..." Sasuke purred and rolled onto his back to accept the ice pack on the front of his shoulder. And as soon as Naruto had laid it down, he caught Naruto by the waistband of his boxers and pulled him to straddle Sasuke's waist. Then he reached up to caress Naruto's cheek. "So, if we aren't tired... isn't there something we should be doing?" He smirked, suggestion written all over his face.

Smirking Naruto kissed Sasuke's palm and let his hands fall onto Sasuke's waist. "Is there?" he asked innocently, eyelids drooping.

The hand on Naruto's cheek slid behind his neck, pulling him down, ignoring the cast lying on his stomach. "Something like this I think..." he murred and brought Naruto down enough to kiss him with slow passion.

Moaning softly Naruto returned the kiss eagerly, his hands caressing Sasuke's stomach before slipping down to tease him through his boxers.

They didn't fall asleep until almost seven in the morning.

-----------Tuesday Afternoon----------
The phone had been ringing for fifteen minutes before Naruto finally woke up from his deep, peaceful sleep. Muttering curses under his breath he slowly got up and answered it. "What?" he mumbled.

"WHERE IN HELL HAVE YOU TWO BEEN?!?!?!?!"

Naruto dropped the phone in surprise, suddenly very awake. "Dammit..." Sighing he picked the phone back up. "Hello to you too, Baa-chan."

"Don't 'hello' me!! Why didn't you return any of my messages or call me when you got back?!?!"

"Because we didn't get back until three this morning." Wincing Naruto held the phone away from his ear as Mika yelled "WHAT?!?!"

"Mika?" Sasuke asked sleepily from the bed.

Naruto nodded glumly and put the phone back to his ear when Mika's tirade stopped. "Listen, Baa-chan, we both have serious jetlag... Can I call you back when I'm actually awake?"

"NO!!" Mika snapped. "Give the phone to Sasuke!!" she ordered, wanting to chew him out. He was the one that had said they would be back in time for Monday classes, not Naruto.

Sighing Naruto handed the phone to Sasuke as he sat on the bed, running a tired hand through his spikes. "She wants to talk to you."

Sasuke reached up and took the phone, putting it to his ear. "No yelling... if you yell, I'm hanging up and unplugging the phone... Now what's the fuss?"

"Why didn't you come back on Sunday like you said you would?!" she growled. "You were supposed to come back in time for classes!!"

"I'm pretty sure I only said we'd probably be back about Sunday... and besides we've got nothing to worry about. We're both three weeks ahead in all of our classes so..." The half shrug was almost audible.

There was a long pause at the other end of the line. "How in hell is Naruto three weeks ahead of all his classes?! He's never ahead! Normally I have to fight with him to catch up!"

"I've been tutoring him in all but history, which he can pass easily all on his own. So, Mika-san, there's absolutely nothing to worry about. I promise. Now, we need to catch up on our sleep still... 'kay?"

Having no way to argue against that Mika completely deflated. "Yeah yeah... geez, you boys are going to be the death of me... I swear I nearly had a heart attack..." Grumbling she hung up.

When Sasuke hung up Naruto took the phone from him and put it back in the cradle. Now that he wasn't being yelled at anymore he was sleepy again and snuggled up to Sasuke's side. "Night," he yawned. He wasn't planning on waking up till dinner time. He had wrestling practice that night.

A content sigh passed Sasuke's lips and he nuzzled Naruto's head. "Good night..." he whispered softly and settled down for some long term cuddling. He was tired still but... he wanted to bask in the glow that was theirs for a little while before sleeping again.

---

Hours later the alarm shrieked and Naruto reached out to smack it quiet. Squinting bleary eyes at the time he sighed, untangled himself from Sasuke, and rolled out of bed. He had a couple hours to get ready, get food, and head over to wrestling practice. He sat down on the floor and began to stretch to wake himself up.

Sasuke simply watched him with lazy eyes and hugged their pillow to his head. Life was good... no, life was great.

Grunting softly as he strained his muscles Naruto quickly woke up. Once he was completely alert he sat on the bed and leaned over Sasuke. "Are you gonna eat with me or are you gonna stay here and be a slug?" he teased with a smirk, not really expecting Sasuke to get up. He really didn't have a reason to.

"Let's order in..." Sasuke suggested softly and reached up to caress Naruto's cheek with a sleepy loving smile.

"Sounds good to me," Naruto said, pressing a kiss to Sasuke's palm. "Pizza okay? Supreme pizza sounds really good to me right now."

"Anything you want. You order, I pay..." Sasuke murmured and then stretched a little beneath the twisted covers. It was like a scene out of some fantasy (many fantasies from many people in fact) seeing Uchiha Sasuke stretch like that in a bed, looking sex-rumpled and seductively drowsy.

"Okay. Can I have you as dessert?" Naruto purred with a wicked grin, leaning down to nibble Sasuke's bottom lip. "And is there anything you don't want on it? 'Cause I like everything except mushrooms."

"Whatever you order I'll eat... and you can have me for dessert at any time that you want..." Sasuke said as his lids got a little heavier at that nibble.

"Yeay," Naruto breathed, kissing him lightly before standing up and ordering their breakfast/dinner. "Half an hour," he said as he lay down on the bed on top of Sasuke, his smirk pure wickedness. "I think I'll have dessert first..."

Right arm coming up to lock around Naruto's waist, Sasuke smirked and opened his mouth to accept Naruto's less than decent-in-public kiss. They were still at it by the time the knock on the door signaling the pizza man arrived.

Moaning in disappointment Naruto broke the kiss and got up. He paid and locked the door, sitting down on the floor with his back to the bed. Now that he had food in his hands and could smell it his stomach roared. "Fooooooooooooood!" Opening the box he handed a piece to Sasuke before digging in. Half of the pizza was gone in less than ten minutes.

Eating a grand total of two pieces, Sasuke found himself beyond sleepy again and settled in for more sleep. "Enjoy your practice. I'll pick you up... so that we won't have any repeats... especially after last night..."

"Alright," Naruto said as he got up and went to the closet to get dressed. "You can come and watch if you want. Sometimes it gets really funny."

"If I can get up... that early..." Sasuke murmured, already half asleep.

Chuckling Naruto paused in pulling clothes on to lean over Sasuke and kiss him sweetly. "Lazy bum," he teased affectionately. Naruto tugged a white t-shirt over his sleeveless undershirt and grabbed his shoes. "I'm gonna go now. I'll see you later," he said softly, not wanting to disturb Sasuke's sleep.

"Mm. Ja.... ~come back... safely~........................" Sasuke murmured, already on his way into dreamland.

---

"Ow..." Naruto groaned softly, rotating his arm and trying to work out a kink in his shoulder. Three hours of wrestling made him sore, but it was a good sore. Walking out of IM Center he said goodbye to his teammates and looked around for Sasuke. ::He said he was gonna pick me up...::

True to his word Sasuke stepped out of the shadows beside the building and said softly, "Here... Naruto."

"Hey," Naruto greeted with a happy smile. "Are you even awake or are you sleep walking?" he teased, walking over to him to give him a light kiss.

Sasuke wrapped his good arm around Naruto's waist and drew him closer for a more fitting kiss, one that involved a little more than a peck on the cheek or lips. The wooshing sound of the IM Center's doors opening went completely unnoticed even though they broke the kiss then to snuggle forehead to forehead. "I'm awake..."

"Well well, looks like the shrimp somehow managed to get himself a whore," a gruff voice said from behind them. "How much did you have to pay her, shrimp? Your life savings?"

Naruto rolled his eyes and turned his head to glare at a member of the heavyweight wrestling team, ignoring the little group of no-brains that accompanied him. "Go do us all a favor and jump in the river, Anapolis," he said calmly, used to dealing with bullies. The large young man had it out for Naruto because even though he was smaller and lighter, he was a better wrestler and Anapolis was used to being the star of the whole team, lightweight and heavyweight combined. Anyone better than him was fair game for intense ridicule.

Sasuke shifted his grip on Naruto's body and turned to face this Anapolis and spoke softly, his deep voice even, "At least he's getting some..." ::If he even says "oh it's a man..." or anything like that... I will brutalize him.::

"Holy shit, that's a GUY?!" Anapolis looked shocked for a moment before laughed cruelly, the goonies behind him taking cues from him and laughing as well. "Got a little desperate, shrimp?"

Slowly, gracefully, Sasuke's arm left Naruto's shoulders and he moved forward until he was just inside of Anapolis' reach. "If you want to start something..." he said, his voice deadly calm and cool as deep winter. He didn't take kindly to being called a woman, but what he really didn't take kindly to was the implications that Naruto was desperate and lacking. "Bring it..." And he struck a ready stance.

Anapolis stared at him in disbelief. This little twig was challenging him?! Slowly a cruel grin spread over his face. "I don't hit lady-men, especially when they're already broken. That's as bad as hitting a girl."

Naruto had been about to tell Sasuke to drop it and forget about it – Anapolis just wasn't worth the attention – but that comment made Naruto's hackles rise. "Bastard," he growled, taking a couple steps forward until he was even with Sasuke. "At least I don't have twenty girlfriends, all of whom are such sluts that they're cheating on me left and right. I wouldn't be surprised if you have every known STD so why don't you just go shrivel up and die already."

That shut the goonies up rather effectively. "What did you say, shrimp?" Anapolis growled dangerously, ready to beat Naruto to a pulp.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and that was Anapolis' only warning. The poor idiot couldn't even detect the drop of Sasuke's shoulder... because there wasn't one. Sasuke's right arm just snaked out with the deadliness of a striking cobra and nailed Anapolis right in the nose. The satisfying feel of breaking bone and cartilage under his knuckles to accompany an equally satisfying crunch was nice. Sasuke's arm was back at his side as if nothing had happened before the other young man hit the ground. "Don't ever threaten my koibitto again... aho. Or I'll break more than just your ugly nose."

"What is going on out here?!" a loud voice demanded. Naruto looked up from his teammate whimpering on the ground to see their coach standing in the doorway, arms crossed and looking very angry.

"Anapolis criticized my choice in companionship, sir," Naruto explained respectfully. To show disrespect to this coach was a Bad Idea and Naruto wanted to stay on the team. "We didn't take very kindly to it."

Before Anapolis could get a word of self-defense in, trying not to cry from the pain in his face, the coach sighed and glared at him, very effectively silencing him. "Go get that set. And I want the two of you in my office tomorrow afternoon at three. I don't care if you have class. You are coming or you're getting kicked off the team. Next time, Uzumaki, try to keep your friends in check."

Naruto nodded and grabbed Sasuke's arm, pulling him in the direction of Holmes. As soon as they were out of earshot Naruto allowed himself to double over with breathless laughter. "That was priceless..." he wheezed.

Supporting his lover's weight a little Sasuke murmured, "If that bastard even thinks about touching you... I'll kill him." And Sasuke wasn't kidding.

"He won't. Coach'll make sure of that," Naruto assured breathlessly, straightening to give Sasuke a loving kiss. "That was absolutely wonderful. From what I hear he's been asking for that for the last two years."

"He'd have gotten it sooner than this if you had told me before," Sasuke answered, returning the kiss tenderly as they reached the side entrance to Holmes. It was dark now, and something told Sasuke it was a very good thing he'd gone to get Naruto. Not just because of Anapolis... but because he felt the stares – he'd become so used to them – of a few of his 'admirers' watching them from nearby. "Let's go up to the room... I want to start looking into getting an apartment for us. What do you think?"

"Apartment? As in for next semester?" Naruto asked brightly, liking the idea of really living with Sasuke – not just being his roommate in the dorm – very much.

"As in for as soon as possible. Naruto... Ino isn't the only one who's out to get you now. And they will gang up on you, as you've noticed. I can't always be there to get between you and them... I don't want you hurt. A mob can do a lot of damage." They had reached their room and gotten inside, shutting and locking the door behind them, when Sasuke reached out and pulled Naruto into a tight embrace. It felt so right that the little bit of awkwardness didn't really matter to him.

Naruto hugged him back just as tightly, wishing that Sasuke wouldn't worry so much about him and at the same time happy that he did. It meant Sasuke truly cared and that was something rare in Naruto's life. "Well, I'm driving you to classes until at least your shoulder heals completely, so the only thing we have to worry about right now is me coming back from wrestling practice," Naruto reassured him, nuzzling at his ear affectionately. He then gently pushed him away. "I'm gonna take a shower and then we can cuddle and talk about apartment hunting, okay? Shower is needed... I'm all sweaty."

Sasuke nodded and let him go, stripping down to practically nothing and stretching out on the couchbed. By the time Naruto came out, he appeared to be sleeping.

Smiling lopsidedly Naruto pulled the sheet over them and spooned up to Sasuke's back, resting his cheek on Sasuke's temple and draping an arm over his waist. He sighed contentedly, enjoying the warmth radiating from Sasuke.

"Mmm... what took you so long..." Sasuke murred sleepily, focusing entirely on Naruto's presence, entirely on every place their bodies touched.

"I took a quick shower. You're just impatient," Naruto teased softly, nuzzling behind Sasuke's ear.

Sasuke purred. "Shut up..." he said softly and turned around carefully until he could tuck his head under Naruto's chin. Soft lips grazed the tender skin of Naruto's throat.

Tightening his embrace Naruto buried his nose in Sasuke's hair, purring quietly at the feel of Sasuke's lips on his throat. "So... apartment hunting? Or are we leaving talking about that until tomorrow?" he asked softly.

"What would you rather do... cuddle and maybe-..." Sasuke's tongue flicked out to caress Naruto's pulse. "Or would you rather get up, get the phone, start looking at ads and things in the paper..." he finished after a moment's pause to rein in his hormones. For the moment.

"Why is it the sleepier you are the hornier you get?" Naruto asked, his voice husky and amused. Lazily he trailed his hands up and down Sasuke's back, kissing his forehead.

"Inhibitions deteriorate the more tired I get," Sasuke answered and nibbled at Naruto's collarbone. "Is there something else... some other option you'd prefer?"

"You're the tired one. It's up to you. I've slept so much in the past two days I feel like I could stay up all tonight and tomorrow before being tired, even after practice." Naruto scooted down on the mattress to kiss Sasuke with quiet passion, not looking for anything more than simple companionship but open to much more.

Happily Sasuke kissed him back, meanwhile letting his hand travel lower to where it rested on Naruto's back from throwing his good arm over Naruto's side now that it was free. Certainly his left shoulder was unhappy about being laid upon, but he'd get over it. He was more interested in whatever Naruto wanted to offer him tonight. He was easily in the mood for some heavy petting.

Without breaking the kiss Naruto pushed Sasuke onto his back and rolled on top of him to relieve the pressure on Sasuke's bad shoulder. Slowly he trailed his hands up and down Sasuke's sides, the touch loving and worshipful. "I love you..." he breathed into the kiss.

"I love you, too," Sasuke whispered back, lips caressing those hovering so close. His one good hand caressed Naruto's lower back in soft, small strokes and earnest black eyes met loving blue through an almost-mix of black and gold lashes. It was at that moment that a soft but serious knock sounded at their door. After a momentary pause, Sasuke seemingly deflated and muttered darkly, "If that's one of the fangirls, a door-to-door, or anything that isn't important... I'm going to kill them. Dead."

"I'll help," Naruto grumbled, kissing Sasuke briefly before standing up and looking through the peephole. "It's Iruka..." Sighing Naruto opened the door. All he wanted to do right now was cuddle with Sasuke but he might as well see what Iruka wanted. It might actually be about something important. "Hey," he greeted flatly.

Iruka looked Naruto over for a second, taking in his collection of lovebites – didn't miss the groan of disappointment from Sasuke as Naruto announced who was at the door while opening it – and hazarded, "Did I... come at a bad time?"

"Depends," Naruto said, leaning on the door frame. "If what you're here for isn't life-threatening or critically important, then yes. What is it?"

"Actually I was here to find out exactly what that whole thing with Ino was about. She hasn't come out of her room since. Is there a better time...?"

"Ino likes Sasuke. Sasuke doesn't like Ino. Ino's stupid and doesn't want to believe that Sasuke's with me. We left for the weekend. When we came back last night she was waiting for us and tried to kill me – again. She's already tried once by gathering a mob. Sasuke shoved me into the room, told her off, and finally managed to make her realize that she doesn't have a chance with him." Naruto shrugged. "If she's not coming out of her room then that's her problem. That it, or did you want to know more?"

Iruka blinked... and then smirked. "That's all I needed to know, though if there are any more questions I'll be sure to ask them of you... Continue with whatever it is that you were doing," he murmured and turned, heading back down the hall to his own room.

"Naruto..." Sasuke's wicked voice called from their bed beckoning him back.

Of course not able to resist a call like that Naruto shut and locked the door, moving over to the couch to lie on top of Sasuke again. "You rang?" he asked playfully, nibbling at Sasuke's earlobe.

"Hell yeah I rang, usuratonkachi..." Sasuke murmured, though his voice was entirely that bedroom voice again so the insult was gentled and affectionate. "I wasn't finished with you yet," he growled and then reached up to caress Naruto's cheek, fingers gliding down the line of his throat to caress his collarbone coaxing him downward by touch alone and into a deep kiss.

"Should I be afraid?" Naruto purred against Sasuke's mouth, his fingers combing through midnight hair. He shifted so that he was straddling Sasuke's hips and lightly rubbed their groins together teasingly.

"Only if you want to be..." Sasuke murmured with a smirk, his lips caressing Naruto's softly. He was already half-hard and more than eager to rub lightly back, liking the teasing as much as he liked everything else. His right hand slid up to run through the back of Naruto's hair lightly. "I love you... more than words can describe or explain..." he said fiercely all of a sudden and tightened his hand on the back of Naruto's neck to kiss him reverently.

His heart skipping and then speeding up at Sasuke's words Naruto returned the kiss eagerly, cupping Sasuke's face and stroking his cheeks with the pads of his thumbs. Moaning softly he somehow managed to get heavier, pressing Sasuke deeper into the mattress. "Be with me forever?" he whispered when they broke the kiss for air, gazing into twin pools of abyss with hopeful and loving eyes. To Naruto, Sasuke was his key to heaven, and he wanted to keep this feeling forever.

"Forever?" Sasuke queried thoughtfully. Forever was a long time, but as he thought that... he realized that no amount of time would be long enough. Naruto was everything he wanted in a lover, a friend and lifetime partner and beyond. "How about for eternity... instead?" he asked as his hand slipped down the back of Naruto's pants to simply trace idle patterns with gentle fingers on the soft skin of his lover's bottom. He suddenly felt the urge in the pit of his stomach to take Naruto completely, to make him his for all eternity, to make love to him so tenderly that he'd never want to leave Sasuke's side for any reason and he would never doubt how much Sasuke loved him. The sensation was surprisingly chill like an electric bolt for being such a warm emotion. However, Sasuke decided almost instantly not to make any moves though he wanted to badly. His shoulder was still laid up and he knew it wouldn't take the abuse, not to mention it would make him clumsy. The last thing he wanted was to make a bad experience of it. So he squeezed Naruto's butt, pulling him tightly with a gentle jerk to his pelvis, hard on to hard on.

Naruto gasped as their arousals rubbed together through two layers of silky fabric. Pleasure spread through him like wildfire, leaving him panting for air. "Eternity," he promised breathlessly, kissing Sasuke tenderly as he pressed back. He wanted so much to be one with Sasuke... wanted so much to be truly one with him in spirit and body and soul... every atom of his being cried for it... but Sasuke was injured and Naruto didn't want to hurt him more. Naruto broke the kiss only when his lungs demanded it. "Eternally yours..." Hooded, passion-darkened blue eyes revealed a completly bared soul, reaching out to Sasuke and begging for him to take it, to claim it as his and keep it safe. Deep in the back of his mind Naruto knew it was dangerous to do such a thing, that his soul might eventually be returned to him in shreds, but it felt so... right to give his soul to Sasuke. And he wanted to give it to him out of his own free will in a show of absolute trust and love.

Sasuke continued to kiss Naruto, with infrequent nips and licks to the boy's lips breaking the seemingly unending string of kisses. His fingers tightened on Naruto's rump and he ground them together a little harder, loving the sounds Naruto made and even more the way he trembled and ground back. The friction was sweet torture and he moaned at the thought of what it would be like to be inside Naruto or to have Naruto inside of him. The hand on Naruto's butt trailed up Naruto's back and eventually found its way to rest above Naruto's heart, having worked its way between them at a moment when Naruto's back arched a slight bit with pleasure. It was as if he sensed Naruto's rawness and sought to balm it with the touch of his love.

Time stopped... and then started again a heartbeat later, leaving Naruto still and breathless and almost in a state of shock. He hovered over Sasuke with wide eyes, amazed by what he had just felt. It was almost as if something in the depths of his mind had awoken, only to fall back asleep before he could see what it was. All it left behind was a feeling of intense love and deep connection with the young man beneath him. Trembling hands cradled Sasuke's face as Naruto gazed at him, feeling as if he was seeing Sasuke for both the first time again and for the n-th time. As if... as if this was not the first lifetime they had shared together. "Did you...?" he asked quietly, wonder thick in his voice.

The sudden pulsing of something – some emotion only it was no emotion he could name – made Sasuke gasp softly in quiet surprise. It was as though an eternity of love and companionship had passed in the space of a heartbeat. The new sensations and feelings left behind... were indescribably sweet and every one of them was focused on Naruto. "Feel that?" he asked his own voice hushed in awe. "Ha~..." He was trembling as well and his hand, in the span of strange timelessness, had clenched in the back of Naruto's hair, though not painfully. "What..."

"I... I don't know..." Seeking to ground them both again Naruto tucked his head in the crook of Sasuke's neck, holding him tightly in an attempt to stop both their trembling. He could feel Sasuke's heart pounding against his own in perfect sync and the bond only intensified, leaving Naruto a little overwhelmed at just how complete he felt... "I don't know... but I don't want it to go away... ever..." he whispered.

Both of Sasuke's arms settled over Naruto's back and he took a deep breath. "Neither do I..." he murmured. The feeling of Naruto's heart pounding in rhythm with his own was both as quieting and comforting as anything he'd ever felt in his entire life... but at the same time it was equal parts arousing and strengthening his feelings of love of the other young man. Strangely it felt like Naruto was apart of him... had been thus for long before this lifetime... lifetime?

"I think... we just found out what having a soulmate is like..." Naruto thought out loud, his voice low and filled with wonder. Before he had wanted to be one with Sasuke in spirit and body and soul... now we was – and... he always had been...? – at least in spirit and soul. Body could wait until Sasuke had completely healed. If he closed his eyes and let his mind go blank, Naruto couldn't tell where he ended and Sasuke began... it was a seamless connection... and Naruto knew somehow with all his being that it never would be broken.

"Yeah... soulmate..." Sasuke murmured, something inside urging him to kiss Naruto with all the passion he felt at the moment. His right hand caught Naruto's chin and lifted his head so he could do just that. It was a little different somehow, more intense, and there was some deeper connection that seemingly hummed with pure bliss as their lips caressed and their tongues intertwined playfully.

Naruto purred into the kiss, running his hands down Sasuke's sides as his body remembered what they had been doing before time had stopped. He ground their hips together with a long, low moan, the feeling somehow intensified by their new – old? – connection. "Sasuke..."

Gasping Sasuke wrapped his arms around Naruto's waist and hugged his waist lifting his hips up eager for more of the delicious friction. "Naruto..." he whispered back, feeling sweat start to break out over his skin.

Slowly Naruto kissed his way down Sasuke's body, starting with his jaw and ending at his navel. He could feel Sasuke's arousal pulsing against his chest through the boxers. Moaning at the deliciousness of Sasuke's skin and sweat, Naruto dipped his tongue into Sasuke's navel while holding Sasuke's hips still with firm hands.

Sasuke's hand tangled in blond locks and his thighs fell apart after pulling from beneath Naruto's body. Oh, that was exactly what Sasuke wanted... well, close enough anyway. It was certainly something that his body desired. "Please..." he whispered, hoping he was reading the situation right and not getting overly excited over nothing.

"Please what?" Naruto breathed teasingly against Sasuke's skin, pulling his boxers down to the base of his hips and licking up the trail of fine hair from the hem of the boxers to his navel. Naruto knew what Sasuke wanted but it was just too irresistible to tease him.

The warm wetness that low on his abdomen, not to mention the light caress of Naruto's tongue on his overly sensitive skin, stimulated the hair and the nerves on the skin equally, made him shiver. "I..." Sasuke expression went from near pleading to sultry. "I want to feel your mouth... all..." the hand in Naruto's hair slid over to his ear and traced the shell as he finished, "around me..."

"Somehow I don't think I can put all of you in my mouth," Naruto quipped with a wicked smirk. It was sooooooo much fun to be a tease. "I mean, your head alone is kinda big... not to mention all that hair..."

A swift cuff to the side of Naruto's head after a second's pause was Sasuke's only answer. ::Tease me will you? That's going a little too far...:: he thought and then started to squirm, ignoring the 'protests' from his hard on... er hormones. "Get off..."

"Only if you help me..." Naruto purred, crawling back up Sasuke's body to bite at his neck while grinding against him.

Freezing, Sasuke felt his miffed feeling melt. Well, if that was how he was going to play it... "You can't be helped, baka... only people with underdeveloped brains can be helped... You don't even have a brain..." But his tone was teasing and playful more than anything as he tipped his head back for Naruto's nibbling pleasure.

In retaliation Naruto bit him harder than he usually did, quickly soothing the hurt with his tongue. "Jackass... I do too have a brain." Pretending to be extremely offended Naruto grabbed a pillow and smothered Sasuke with it. Playfulness and horniness were battling for control and until one won Naruto was going to be just... silly.

Sasuke managed to shove the pillow off his face and at the same time he took advantage of having put Naruto off balance by rolling Naruto onto his back and pinning him there. "Okay, you have enough of a brain to be... useful," Sasuke amended with a wicked smirk and rested his weight above Naruto's head on his good arm while rubbing his arousal against Naruto's own.

Purring Naruto lifted his hips into Sasuke's, gasping at the wonderful friction. "Useful? Does this have anything to do with your evil plan?" he asked breathlessly, smirking right back. He lifted his hands to glide caressingly over Sasuke's chest, teasing pert nipples with light fingers.

"You mean the one about turning you into a sex slave?" Sasuke asked, voice dropping an octave with the stimuli he was receiving. "It might... but first... let's rewind a little bit... I think one of us said something about getting off... and the other took it..." His tongue flicked out over one of Naruto's nipples as his grinding slowly caught a serious but light rhythm. "Sexually..." he purred.

"Mmmmm..." Naruto moaned, arching slightly as he ground back, trying to increase the pace of their rhythm. His hands slid up Sasuke's neck to his hair, holding the raven strands out of his face so Naruto could see him clearly. "Evil bastard..." he gasped, the affection and love in his voice taking all the bite out of the insult. "So what are you gonna do about it?"

"Probably this..." Sasuke whispered and slid down Naruto's body before the blond had a clue, pulling Naruto's clothing off with a quick yank. Black eyes hooded with pleasure as he leaned forward painstakingly slowly to lick the droplet of precum from the tip of Naruto's erection. "How's that sound?" he asked, rubbing his thumb up the large vein of the underside.

His only answer was a loud, long, deep groan as Naruto arched into his hand. While Sasuke had done this to him before it was still wonderfully new and the fire of pleasure spread through him so quickly he was almost afraid of bursting into flames. "Sasuke..." he whimpered in begging.

"I'll take that as a yes..." Sasuke said and rolled his tongue around the head, dipping it into the slit at the tip. At the same time he fisted Naruto's erection, pumping firmly but slowly.

Sasuke's name dropped in a chant from Naruto's lips as he squirmed, moaning and gasping and trying to increase the friction on his sensitive flesh. It wasn't long before he was completely mindless, wanting only for Sasuke to give him release.

Changing his grip Sasuke moved his only usable hand to press Naruto's hips into the bed firmly before slowly starting to take more and more of his erection into his mouth, sucking softly. Closing his eyes he focused entirely on Naruto's voice, and the feel of him in his mouth and the scent of him, musky and aroused.

Naruto came quickly and hard, biting his lip to hold back his scream of completion. Every sensation was multiplied ten times by their newfound connection, leaving him dazed and limp as he hovered on the plateau of ultimate pleasure. The sheets below him were soaked with sweat and his chest heaved as he regained the breath lost in climax. "Sasuke..." he breathed.

"I'm here," Sasuke murmured softly right in Naruto's ear. He'd already swallowed and licked Naruto clean and then had moved up to splay on Naruto like a blanket, nuzzling the other young man's ear.

Immediately Naruto wrapped his arms around him, peppering soft kisses all over Sasuke's face and shoulder. "My Sasuke..." he murmured, feeling wonderfully sated and content.

"For all eternity..." Sasuke stated and nuzzled Naruto at every kiss. Though his body made demands on him, he ignored them as best he could. Right now, simply being with Naruto, holding him until he fell asleep... that was all he could possibly desire at the moment. Emotionally and mentally. Physically was another matter.

Slowly coming back down to earth Naruto rolled Sasuke onto his back, trailing kisses down his neck. A light, teasing hand landed on Sasuke's groin. "Looks like we're not quite finished," he purred, smirking against the skin of his neck.

"No... we're not..." Sasuke agreed. There was no point in denying it and no reason to even try. Sasuke's breathing was ragged from just the hand on his groin. He couldn't wait... for so much more than that.

It wasn't long before Naruto was greedily swallowing Sasuke's cum, relishing in the sound of his climax. After licking him clean with loving strokes Naruto rested his head on Sasuke's stomach, a gentle smile on his face. "I love you, Sasuke," he murmured, idly drawing circles along Sasuke's side.

His legs blanketed by Naruto's body, Sasuke ran the fingers of his right hand through spiky locks. "I love you too," he murmured in return and looked up to the ceiling. "I love you," he repeated with emphasis.

Naruto scooted up until he could kiss the skin above Sasuke's heart and laid his head there, settling for sleep. "Night, Sasuke," he whispered.

The tempo of his heartbeat was slowing down well below that of waking level. "Night... koibitto," Sasuke murmured softly, holding Naruto to him tightly.

TBC...