Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ My, How Convenient ❯ ...And Ends. ( Chapter 3 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

By: spare

Disclaimer: Naruto is copyright to Masashi Kishimoto-sensei.

Author's Notes: Lemon alert, done in Naruto's POV. Sasuke's POV… maybe later. Or in a sequel. `Coz the next chapter will just wrap things up. Feedback will be greatly appreciated.

My, How Convenient

by spare

Chapter 3: … And Ends.

If the bathroom had a door, Naruto would have slammed it.

But there was no door (that pervert Nasu might have had it removed in case one of the girls tried to lock themselves away), so the blond jounin had to settle with glaring angrily back at the narrow archway he'd just passed through, hoping that whatever ill aura there was contained in his gaze would reach a certain dark-haired, dark-eyed shinobi with a chronic attitude problem and strangle him. That certain dark-haired, dark-eyed shinobi lay in the adjoining room, most probably going to sleep right now, while Naruto himself had a raging hard-on to take care of.

It just wasn't fair.

Stupid Sasuke.

He stalked over to the sink - black enamel, matching the color of the bathroom tiles, a wide mirror nailed above it, with several bottles of perfumes and body oils neatly arranged beside a fancy-looking snuff box over the polished countertop - feeling - well, he didn't know what exactly it was he felt. Angry, mostly. And hard. And frustrated and confused and how the hell was he going to look the bastard in the eye after tonight?

He leaned forward until his forehead protector clicked solidly against the surface of the bathroom mirror, and took a deep breath, watching portions of the glass in front of his face fog up as he did so.

His erection raged on, demanding his attention.

He needed

Sasuke

to take a shower. Yes. A nice cold shower in a nice cold bathroom with no Uchiha Sasuke in sight.

Nodding resolutely to himself, Naruto turned away from where he was leaning over the sink, and looked around. There was a shower stall at the far end of the room, right across where the bathtub was. A set of towels hung on a rack nearby. He grabbed one of those, and made his way to the shower, kicking off the rest of his clothes as he went.

Part of him idly wondered whether Sasuke would wake up and come bitching to him about taking showers in the middle of such a delicate assignment. If the bastard did - well, tough. Naruto could care less. Naruto would tell him to shove it

in me, fill me, fuck me hard

and bug the hell off. After Nasu, his weird-ass dream (which he couldn't quite remember what it was about but decided that it must be too unpleasant to recall), and waking up on top of Uchiha Kiss-My-Ass Sasuke, a shower was the least he could allow himself.

It wouldn't even be much of a shower, really; just a quick soak under harsh, freezing water to take his mind off of things.

Things like what he was - or was not - doing to his best friend and erstwhile rival not too long ago. Like the fact that

Sasuke really was a sexy bastard

his erection didn't look to be flagging down any time soon.

Like the fact that he was starting to hear the weirdest little voices in his head.

Naruto had stepped inside the tiled cubicle and was about to reach for the shower handle before he noticed something… odd about it. The shower stall, that is. Apparently, it had no screen. The shower curtain, if there had been any in the first place, had been removed.

Naruto almost face-faulted into the floor from his discovery.

Almost.

Instead, the blond jounin muttered something best left out of print about freakin' dirty old men and their dirty little minds, and reached for the shower handle, turning the water on full blast, all the while thinking how this was just perfect, peachy, totally in line with his luck for this evening. Well, fuck it. He was going to have his shower no matter what.

So what if Sasuke could just walk in and see his naked bum?

I'll be willing to show him a whole lot more.

(Shut up, shut up, weird little voice.)

The sudden, numbing rush of cold water felt like a blessing, a thousand icy needles piercing his skin, blanking out such troublesome thoughts for a few fleeting seconds. Naruto closed his eyes and tilted his head back, letting the icy spray drench his face. Some of it fell to his lips. The water had a slight metallic taste to it that was not entirely unpleasant. It also had a faint woodsy smell, hints of pine and grass and honeysuckle - barely noticeable, really, unless you stopped and, well, sniffed.

The smell reminded him of the way the training grounds back in Konoha smelled like during summer, the way a passing breeze carries the scent of the woods to your nose after a hard day of sparring and practice - with Neji or Lee or even the erosennin, if he could goad him into it, but usually it was just him and Sasuke, exchanging blows, frequently trying to outwit and outclass the other, getting close, closer…

The smell reminded him of Sasuke, actually. (Great. Now water brings the bastard to mind. Was nothing sacred?) Sasuke and their fights. The way neither of them wanted to completely yield to the other, to concede total victory, while the other demanded nothing less.

It was kind of funny, in a way. They'd spend entire days going at it so fiercely and seriously that a passing observer would think that they were out to really kill each other this time, but of course they weren't. Each desired to be stronger in his own way, and each knew how the other placed the same premium on it as well. So they always gave everything they got in their fights. To come up with anything less than that was to show disrespect, and wasn't respect, among other things, and despite the constant taunts and insults (which were now thrown more out of force of habit and affection than out of any desire to inflict pain), the foundation upon which their friendship was built and has grown?

Their fights usually ended in a draw; a mutual concession, really, because both knew that neither would stop their spar given otherwise. They'd continue sparring in the rain until every muscle in their bodies ached, until sweat was practically dripping out of their clothes, until one or the both of them dropped unconscious from sheer exhaustion; sparring to grow stronger and to keep in shape, yes, but also sparring for the sake of it, sparring because it let them touch and feel and be in the presence of the other without it being awkward or obvious or weird.

Like humping Sasuke in mid-sleep inside a conveniently locked room and getting your worst boner in years as a result.

Naruto blinked his eyes open and looked down. No doubt about it, his penis was still as hard and ready as ever. If anything, it looked bigger. The water wasn't doing the trick, obviously; it actually made his condition worse. He would have to relieve it the usual way. And quickly, too, in case Sasuke did wake up and suddenly decided to use the bathroom, Naruto or no Naruto in the shower.

If the Uchiha did, he was in for a big surprise. A very red, swollen, and throbbing surprise that was, arguably, the dark-haired bastard's fault in the first place.

Naruto didn't think either of them needed any more surprises tonight.

It wouldn't take much, anyway, the blond jounin thought, bringing his hands to his erection. Just a few quick pulls and it's over. Problem solved.

With that in mind, Naruto took a deep breath, leaned back against the nearest wall, bracing his feet apart for balance, and began to stroke himself in earnest.

x x x

Sasuke wasn't gay.

The sound of the shower running certainly did not bring images of a naked, wet Naruto to mind. Nor did it make him curse and wonder what the hell the dobe thought he was doing, taking a shower in the middle of the night - during a mission, no less - while Sasuke himself lay in bed not thirty paces away, frustrated and hard and—

Sasuke wasn't gay.

He was only having trouble sleeping.

He was having trouble sleeping because the fucking bathroom didn't have a fucking door, so he could quite easily hear most of what went on in there just fine without having to direct chakra to his ears. Even if he didn't want to.

So he knew that Naruto had discarded the rest of his clothes; he'd heard every clink and rustle as each article hit the floor. He knew the blond jounin had stepped inside the shower stall, bare feet thumping lightly over the marble tiles. He knew Naruto had turned on the shower from the sound of water running; water hitting the floor, water drenching the dobe's hair, trickling down bare, sinuous back, soaking tanned, rosy skin.

Sasuke wasn't gay.

He shifted restlessly over the bed, letting his forearms hover above him, shielding his eyes, even though the room was dimly lit.

He badly needed to take a piss, that was all. His cock ached and throbbed and was quite assuredly doing a good job of driving him insane. The rest of his body appeared to sympathize, feeling all tingly and hot and uncomfortable - from the abuse he was dealing to his kidneys, of course, and certainly not from the still-fresh memory of another warm body moving over his own. Who knew bloated gall bladders had that effect on people? He should inform the medical team about this discovery as soon as they got back from this mission.

Sasuke wasn't gay.

Anyway, he needed to urinate now. And anyway, who said Naruto was entitled to hog the bathroom? The idiot's been in there (naked and wet, no doubt - not that he cared) for practically forever, and Sasuke had to pee soon. And it wasn't like he would be doing anything wrong if he decided to use the bathroom while Naruto was also in it.

And Sasuke wasn't gay.

He wouldn't take too long, either. And if he did, who gave a damn? They would be stuck in here for another five hours, and the blond idiot certainly had no right to complain about him using the bathroom. Dead last was taking a shower. He was only going to pee.

And, lastly, Sasuke wasn't gay.

With these thoughts in mind, Sasuke abruptly sat up and off the bed and headed to the bathroom.

Naruto was in there, alright.

Upon entering, the dark-haired shinobi spotted something blue draped across what looked like a shampoo bottle by the sink. Naruto's hitaiate. And there was the idiot's black t-shirt, draped across the lowered lid of the toilet bowl near the bath tub at the end of the room. The blob of bright orange laying in a heap on the floor, right below something dominantly green, must be Naruto's pants. The `something green' would therefore be Naruto's underwear.

Sasuke felt a slight smirk play about his lips. Green boxers with orange swirls. Too easy. Not that Sasuke had ever made it a habit guessing what was under the dobe's standard blue-and-orange getup.

Of course.

Because, ladies and gentlemen, Sasuke wasn't gay.

But, anyway… There was the toilet bowl, and wasn't he here to pee? Yes, he was. So what if it was right across the shower stall the dobe occupied at the moment? It wasn't like he was going to peek, or do anything perverted. He moved forward. It would be the dobe's fault, anyway, if Sasuke saw anything he wasn't meant to see.

And provided he did see anything, he would definitely not be affected in the least, because Sasuke wasn't gay.

Then Sasuke saw Naruto, and the dark-haired jounin froze in his tracks.

The jounin's mouth went dry, eyes going wide in a mixture of shock and fascination, blood starting to thunder painfully in his ears as his mind processed the view before him.

Naruto was… touching himself. He was as naked and wet as Sasuke had imagined,

I'm not gay

turned at an angle so that the blond shinobi couldn't see him, but Sasuke could see what the fair-haired idiot was doing just fine, among other, equally distracting

I'm not gay

things. Like the way Naruto's backside - rounded, and tan as the rest of him was—appeared to clench and unclench ever-so-slightly with every stroke of his left hand,

I'm not gay

while the other gripped the shower handle tightly, clinging to it like a life support.

I'm

Like the way the water plastered the dobe's hair to his head,

Not

so that tendrils of muted gold seemed to adorn his ears, his forehead, the nape of his slender neck.

Gay.

Like the way the view made Sasuke's mouth water, and his cock rise up to full mast.

I'm not gay.

Now Naruto was bending over, cheek resting against the ebony wall, hand still pumping his engorged penis rhythmically.

No, definitely not—

It was about the same size as Sasuke's own, long and slightly curved, jutting proudly from a nest of blond curls.

Not gay—

A thick bead of precum had gathered at the tip.

Never

Sasuke watched as Naruto collected the moisture with eager fingers, spreading it over the rest of his cock, and moaned.

I'm not gay I'm not gay I'm not oh fuck it I am

The sound went straight to Sasuke's groin. He shuddered, feeling something immaterial but quite tangible yield from somewhere inside him, his own hands suddenly reaching to undo the front clasps of his pants, pulling his boxers down and freeing his erection.

The organ felt hot to his touch, harder than he'd ever remembered, harder than he's ever been. Sasuke gasped. It suddenly occurred to him how seemingly surreal it all was, to have the Uchiha heir standing in a bathroom with his pants down, mouth hanging open and cock erect, while the cause of his hopeless, urgent arousal stood barely four feet away, panting and desperate and presenting that luscious rump to Sasuke's gaze, blissfully unaware of the tantalizing view he was providing.

In the soft light of the bathroom, Naruto looked nothing short of ethereal, and yet there was something undeniably earthly in the deep flush suffusing his features, the barely audible grunts and lusty moans emanating from the back of his throat. The jounin looked for all the world like a god, a god with a brazen body and yellow-gold hair waiting to get fucked to within an inch of his life.

Sasuke would be more than happy to oblige.

The Uchiha half-walked, half-lunged to where Naruto was, pausing just long enough to grab the nearest bottle that came within reach off of the sink, glancing furtively at the contents. Body oil. It would have to do. He almost tripped - his pants got in the way, tangled hopelessly around his ankles, so he stepped out of them, kicking the offending garment halfway across the room. He was still clothed from the waist up, but fuck if he could be bothered with taking off the rest of his clothes right now, when he was about to—

Sasuke took another step forward, and leaning into the warm body now directly in front of him, and hugged Naruto from behind.

x x x

A choked sound from somewhere behind him was all the warning he got before a pair of strong arms encircled his waist, and someone's cloth-covered chest nestled intimately against his bare back. Naruto tensed, feeling something hot and hard pressing against the cleft of his ass. A hand slid lower, replacing his own, warm and dry fingers fondling his cock in firm, exquisite strokes. He cried out, arching into the touch, unable to resist responding otherwise. He was already close, so fucking close - too close for anything else to matter but that heat, that delicious friction—

“A-ah!”

This, as a fingertip flicked playfully against the head of his penis, wandering lower to trace the veined underside of the shaft. Naruto trembled, feeling his balls constrict almost painfully for the first few seconds before he finally came, water mixing with semen as both trickled down his thighs, his stomach, the slick shower wall. He felt his legs give way beneath him, and would have collapsed on the floor, if not for the arms around his waist to support him.

“That was nice, dobe.” Someone's voice, thick and hoarse, almost purring. Hot breath caressed the moist nape of his neck, lips ghosting over the sensitized skin. “But next time, you're gonna have to scream my name.”

“Uhn…” Naruto grunted feebly in return, unable to process a coherent reply at the moment. He released the shower handle from the death grip with which he'd held it, letting the arms and his own shaky legs support the bulk of his weight, feeling warm and relaxed and…

…

Naruto blinked.

He froze, mouth opening and closing for a few seconds before he finally found his voice. “Sa…” Naruto swallowed, and tried again. “Sasuke?”

An exhale, and the dark-haired jounin's stock reply. “Hn.”

Typical. What was not typical, however, was the way Sasuke ran the palm of his hand lightly over the toned flesh of his stomach, right over the spot where the Kyuubi's seal now resurfaced, tracing the inky spiral with deft, teasing fingers.

It clicked, at last. “Sa-sa-sa-Sasuke-Temee!!!” Naruto let out, breaking free from the taller shinobi's embrace and whirling around to face him. “What—what are you—what did you—oh, shit—“

The blond would have said more, had Sasuke not chosen that exact moment to pin him against the wall, trapping Naruto's body with his own.

“Dobe,” the dark-haired jounin whispered, deep obsidian eyes gazing down at him with a heated expression Naruto never knew the bastard was capable of, “I've just given you a hand job. The least you could do is thank me for it.” Smirking, said Uchiha reached for the shower handle somewhere in Naruto's right, turning it methodically.

The cold spray of water instantly ceased, but Naruto wasn't sure how that could help them with anything, since both of them were thoroughly soaked already, with Sasuke even more so. Beads of water trickled down the wet, tangled mess of his hair, overshirt practically plastered to his torso while his pants…

Naruto blinked, again.

Sasuke didn't have any pants on.

The blond shinobi could accurately attest to that fact, since the head of a very bare, very erect cock was poking insistently at his lower abdomen. Just a few inches more and it would be brushing against his own organ, already semi-hard mere minutes after his release. Just… Naruto licked his lips.

Sasuke's reaction was nothing short of instantaneous. The taller jounin grunted, neck craning forward, mouth abruptly capturing his own. Caught by surprise, Naruto parted his lips at the first behest of the Uchiha's tongue, unable to suppress a moan as the shinobi deepened the kiss. Blue eyes slid shut as Sasuke continued to plunder his mouth mercilessly, seeking and tasting with a fervor that left the blond bereft of any rational thought, except for the fleeting fancy that Sasuke tasted - faintly - like chocolate milk.
Naruto swirled his tongue against the jounin's own, verifying this discovery, barely aware that he was actually kissing the bastard back just as eagerly, that his hands had risen to clutch at the soaked edges of Sasuke's shirt collar in an effort to pull the Uchiha him closer, and that Sasuke had responded in kind by rolling his hips forward so that it was cock against cock, hot and hard and leaking. These things became minor details laying in the periphery of being lost in Sasuke's taste, his scent, the heady smell of sweat and sex permeating the air almost enough to drive him over the edge yet again.

“Your—pants,” Naruto gasped out, when they finally broke apart, a full minute and an eternity later. He knew he wasn't making any sense, but he couldn't help babbling. “You aren't wearing an—“ he paused, inhaling deeply as Sasuke went on to nibble at his neck, licking the droplets of water that still clung to his skin, “Any. B-but—ah! Your, your shirt—Sasuke!” the blond yelped, as the dark-haired jounin lapped his chest, and chose that exact instant to gently bite down on the nub of one flat nipple situated there, licking it briefly afterwards.

“Pants—got in the way,” the Uchiha muttered impatiently, moving on to the other side of his chest, apparently not faring much in terms of coherence and composure either. “I saw you,” he nuzzled the blond's throat. “Couldn't wait.”

Naruto's eyes went wide. “You saw—“

“Yes.”

“Pe… perverted bastard.”

“I'm not the one who showered in the nude without a screen.” The heel of a palm skated lightly along his hipbone, drawing his attention back to his cock, now fully erect and aching.

The blond's snort was cut off by his startled gasp. “There is no screen.”

“And you showered anyway,” Sasuke rasped thickly. “How convenient.” There was a pause as the dark-haired shinobi unscrewed the cap of a plastic bottle of something, pouring the contents over his fingers. Coconut oil, Naruto ascertained, the scent filling his nostrils.

“I thought you were—ah!” he gasped, as warm slick hands suddenly grasped the length of his cock once again, stroking him roughly., “Asleep. I thought you were asleep,” he finished through gritted teeth.

“Well, I wasn't,” Sasuke returned, licking the outer shell of the blond man's ear.

“Wh-whatever,” Naruto managed shakily. “Anyway, don't you come blaming me for this—nngh!” he groaned, feeling the Uchiha give his shaft a hard squeeze.

“You're the one who dry-humped me in his sleep, remember?” Sasuke replied evenly.

“That-that was—ah!” A strangled sound issued from the back of the blond ninja's throat as Sasuke resumed sucking at his neck, the act a welcome counterpoint to the movements the Uchiha's hands were making. Naruto threw his head back, hips bucking eagerly into where Sasuke went on jerking him off with a will, feeling himself about to go over the edge so soon after the first. And he did, a few moments later, coming all over Sasuke's waiting hand, mind and body utterly blank for a few blessed seconds with pure, unadulterated bliss.

The next thing he was aware of, Sasuke was kissing him, and he'd somehow ended up with both arms cradling Sasuke's neck, the taller jounin's shoulders supporting them. And then Sasuke was lifting Naruto's legs, arms guiding the limbs to wrap around the Uchiha's narrow waist. Naruto complied, feeling wet fingers gently pry his ass cheeks apart just as he locked his ankles securely behind the dark-haired shinobi's back, and a slick fingertip begin to probe at the outer rim of his anus.

“What the—what the hell do you think you're doing, Sasuke-bastard?” the blond yelped, alarmed.

“Preparing you,” the said jounin replied flippantly, and pushed the entire finger in. “Isn't it obvious?”

Naruto inhaled deeply. “You're going to—“

“Hn.”

The Kyuubi vessel felt himself flushing anew. “What makes you think I'd—“

“This,” Sasuke replied, curling his finger inside the blond jounin.

“Ba-bastard,” Naruto hissed, feeling tingles race down his spine at the sensation. Good point. Nevertheless, he continued to protest. “I should be the one on top,” he breathed stubbornly.

“Not tonight, you aren't.” Another finger joined the first, shoving rhythmically. “Besides,” Sasuke added, sounding typically smug inspite of the way the jounin's speech came out panting and desperate as his own was, “I still haven't gotten off, while you came twice already.” The shinobi twisted the wet digits further in, as deep as they could go, making scissoring motions that caused Naruto to squirm and moan impatiently against him.

“Ungh, Sasuke--!”

“That's right,” the Uchiha sighed absently, giving Naruto's already kiss-swollen lips a quick lick before pulling his fingers out of the blond, canting their hips to the perfect angle. Something much harder and thicker took their place, pressing urgently forward, not stopping until Sasuke was buried to the hilt inside Naruto.

“You—alright?” the dark-haired jounin inquired, sounding strained. “Naruto?”

“Now you ask,” the blond jounin commented dryly, nails digging into the soggy cloth of the Uchiha's back. Naruto wasn't sure, himself. Even with Sasuke's preparation, his anal muscles felt stretched and probed well past their limit, the sensation uncomfortable but not particularly painful.

“Well, are you?” Sasuke repeated.

“I didn't know you cared,” he bit out breathlessly in reply.

“If I didn't, why did I make you cum twice in a row before I did?” the dark-haired jounin gasped out.

“Just move already,” Naruto ordered, locking his legs more securely around Sasuke's torso, so that his muscles clamped tighter around the taller man's cock.

“Fuck—! N-Naruto!”

The blond glared into his former team mate's eyes. “Don't say it—do it!”

Sasuke needed no further encouragement. With a growl, the taller jounin abruptly pulled out of Naruto, then pushed roughly back in, hitting a spot inside the blond man that made Naruto's eyes cross and a needy mewl rise from the back of his throat. Sasuke repeated the motion, withdrawing his cock from the smaller man's tunnel and then thrusting in more deeply, panting harshly from where he nuzzled against the crook of Naruto's neck.

Naruto moaned louder, beginning to rock his hips in time with Sasuke's thrusts, angling it so that each fluid stroke ended up brushing against that hidden bundle of nerves inside him. He cried out, feeling his toes curl, his own cock twitch, seeing stars and ramen bowls dance before his eyes with every careful, measured movement, his balls constantly tickled by the growth of hair just above Sasuke's penis.

“Na… Naruto,” the dark-haired jounin whispered brokenly beneath the blond's jaw, speeding up his thrusts, fucking the shinobi fast and hard, the sound of Naruto's ass cheeks slapping wetly against the shower wall a barely acknowledged counterpoint to their moans and heavy breathing.

“Sasuke—!” Arms scrabbled madly for purchase from where they draped across the taller man's shoulders, Naruto's nails tearing through the soaked fabric of Sasuke's shirt, breaching skin.

The action appeared to fuel the dark-haired jounin's ardour even more. Sasuke growled, redoubling his efforts, withdrawing his hips so that his cock pulled almost all the way out of the blond and then shoving right back in with a force that sent Naruto shouting, begging for more, trembling yet again with the beginnings of release.

Sasuke continued pounding into him with brutal, short thrusts, losing whatever rhythm they had started with, seemingly content only to drive himself as deep inside the blond jounin as he could. Naruto arched his back, rocking his hips in a vain effort to match his partner's erratic strokes, breath hitching with every forceful thrust of Sasuke's cock brushing up against his prostate, feeling the familiar upswell of heat and pleasure bordering on pain surge through every cell in his being as he came for the third time that evening. Sasuke came with him, the dark-haired jounin's organ twitching inside Naruto's ass before coating its walls with Sasuke's seed. The Uchiha continued to slam forcefully into the blond, with Naruto grinding himself desperately over the taller man despite the white mess dribbling over the lower front of Sasuke's shirt and his own bare stomach, neither stopping until both had nothing left to spend.

Panting, they collapsed into each other's arms, both of them tired and flushed and out of breath. It took a few more moments before Sasuke decided to release his blond ex-team mate, gently disentangling Naruto's legs from where they still wrapped around his waist, at the same time pulling his limp member out of the smaller man, grunting as Naruto gave a small shudder at the movement.

Naruto was the first to speak. “That was…” he trailed off, feeling suddenly shy and awkward despite the intimacy they'd shared.

“Hn,” Sasuke supplied, staring intently at the wall, studiously averting his eyes from the blond. A blush tainted the usually stoic ninja's cheeks.

Naruto blinked, puzzled by this display, and opened his mouth to ask what was wrong before the reality of it all hit him upside the head.

Oh.

He was suddenly thankful that the wall was there to support his weight. Otherwise, he really would have crumpled down into a miserable little heap on the wet bathroom floor, numb with shock.

I've just had sex with another guy. Not just any guy, too, but Sasuke—Sasuke-bastard, of all people.

And I enjoyed it.

This last additional statement stuck, watching as the dark-haired jounin turned around and walked out of the shower stall, picking up the clothes scattered on the floor beyond it. Besides an eyeful of Sasuke's finely toned rear, Naruto could see small red scratches on the taller shinobi's back; the ones the blond's nails had inflicted when he was… that is, when they were…

Naruto chose not to continue with that train of thought. Instead, he forced himself to stand up, testing his legs. They still shook, a little, and his own rump felt understandably stretched and sore. He paused a while, wincing as liquid seeped out of the crack of his ass and slowly dribbled down his left inner thigh.

“Can you walk?” Sasuke stood just outside, his back to the blond, casting Naruto a sideways glance as he spoke.

“Yeah.” Naruto swallowed. “I could.” No way was he letting Sasuke carry him bodily back to bed. That was one thing he'd never live down. Naruto struggled to his feet, taking deep calming breaths, and stepped out of the shower, sparing a second to snatch the maroon bath towel he'd all but forgotten hanging by the opposite wall. He dried himself off quickly, wrapping the cloth about his waist to cover his lower body.

He glanced up. Sasuke had done pretty much the same, but had opted instead to don his black boxers, with his bath towel slung haphazardly over his broad shoulders. Both men silently made their way back to the bedroom, walking side by side but neither looking at or appearing to acknowledge the presence of the other; at least, until they finally reached the bed.

Sasuke was the first to speak, this time.

Sort of.

“So…” the dark-haired jounin began, clearing his throat.

“Yeah?” Naruto inquired. He knew he ought to be saying something, although the blond wasn't sure what it was, exactly. `This is all you fault, you sick, peeping bastard'? But it wasn't, not really. Not if you count Naruto's own actions earlier this evening. `That was fun, but I'll still hate you in the morning'? Lame. Very lame. `Let's forget this ever happened'?

Naruto frowned slightly. Like he could.

“You always were a pain in the ass,” the blond finally declared, instead. “Figures you would make me take it literally soon enough.”

The Uchiha had the audacity to chuckle briefly at this. “You weren't complaining earlier, dobe,” Sasuke reminded him, sounding just the tiniest bit smug.

“Bastard,” Naruto retorted weakly. “A-anyways,” he went on, taking a quick glance at where Sasuke now sat himself on the bed, hands resting on the covers on either side of him, “Next time, I should be the one on top.” Smooth, Uzumaki. Way to go. “Got that?” the blond jounin finished, feeling his fists clench and unclench nervously as he said this.

If there was gonna be a next time.

That one traitorous thought was, Naruto discovered, what was picking at his brain since he'd come back to his senses with a half-dressed Uchiha Sasuke in front of him and cum dripping down his legs. It didn't take Shikamaru's IQ to figure out how this happened; they were you young, they were horny, they were locked in a room together for an entire night. Stuff was bound to happen, and it did. The real question was, what now? Was what had just occurred between them meant to signify something more, a consummation of long-denied feelings that went far beyond friendship? Or was this a one-time, accidental thing, brought on by too many unfulfilled wet dreams and raging teenage hormones?

“Hn,” Sasuke replied easily. “In your dreams.” A vague response, neither confirming nor denying either of the two suppositions playing themselves out inside Naruto's head. Typical bastard. “Put something on, and let's go back to sleep.” He watched the taller jounin wave absently at the pile of clothes the Uchiha must have tossed earlier on Naruto's side of the bed. “We've got—“ a pause, as Sasuke checked the timer by the bed, “—about four more hours to go.”

“Right. OK.” Well, Naruto thought, sifting over his clothes and putting on his shirt and green boxers, maybe it was better not knowing. Less complicated. And Sasuke seemed pretty cool with acting as if what had just transpired was an incidental, but perfectly natural thing. Unexpected, impulsive, but nothing out of the ordinary. Naruto was still Naruto, outspoken and ramen-loving, and Sasuke was still Sasuke, taciturn and mildly insulting. Nothing's changed.

So why did Naruto feel as if something did?

Weird.

Sighing to himself, the blond jounin snuck a glance at his ex-team mate's half of the bed. Sasuke lay on his side, back turned to him. By the sound of his steady breathing, the dark-haired shinobi had apparently fallen asleep.

Naruto couldn't blame him. He felt tired himself, exhaustion from their previous activities catching up with the blond man, making it hard to keep his eyes open. Eventually he let them drift shut, falling back on his side of the bed, yawning wide. A few more minutes passed before he was carried off into the dreamless cloud of deep sleep.

x x x

To be continued…