Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

The Fall of the Dogs of War	By : dolphina23 Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 927 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 12
- 13
- 14
Author�s Note:
Reviews are honey and nectar to my sugar-starved mind. Please deposit a few and
revive my creative wanderings. Leave them at the door, and you may find a gift
under your pillow this night, to wend its way into your dreams and transport
your essence to a land unexplored. I
free your captive minds to delve into the halls of despair, desire and rebirth!
Also, if a few of you kind sirs and gentle ladies would find it none too harsh
upon your beleaguered countenances, please visit my other foundling of a
missive titled, �Beyond the River�s Edge�. It doth wither in complacency and
midiocrity, it seems. (Translation: No one seems to like my other story and
that makes a very sad, very poor writer who may wallow in a hole if she doesn�t
get what she wants, which also means . . . . you guessed it . . . the
possibility of no more stories for you!) Well, maybe yes, since I can�t help
but write them, and what�s the point in that if you�re not going to share the
spoils? Please, move forward through the queque and thank you for flying!

Added note:
People never really commented on the hot-as-hell training-turned to mud
wrestling-turned to kissing scene in the last chapter. Well, Cupricanka,
merciful diva and imitiable Godess that she is, did, but none of the rest of
you seemed to like it or so I think. Does that mean you might not enjoy the
little nugget in this chapter, I wonder? Hmmmm . . . maybe I�ll hold out even
longer than planned for the full out sex . . . ;D

Review, review,
review!

Chapter�� 12

Crash into Me, Bask in Me

�� Sasuke lifted the bushel of herbs to
the cart and hefted them onto the other bunches, all tied carefully with color
coded twine. Naruto sometimes had trouble deferentiating between them as
evidenced by the frown he someimes wore when staring between piles of the
different plants. Sasuke had come up with coding them using the different
colored thread so that Naruto could continue to work with him whenever he went
into the gardens behind the Apothecary shop to collect them. Since their
training session last week, neither had mentioned the kiss. Well, to be fair,
Naruto still wasn�t speaking. He was, however, communicating more, using his
fingers to form characters on sasuke�s clothes or writing on a small pad he
carried with him. Sasuke had looked in the small bookshop that also served as a
library one evening and found the perfect thing to help draw Naruto further
into the world again.
�� Back among the stacks of old
literature and instruction manuals, Sasuke had been hoping to find something
related to smithwork and metals. He intended to fashion more weapons as their
kunai had begun to dull after repeated training sessions and the travel-sized
whetstones were no longer able to hone them properly. The local blacksmith and
weapons artisan would be willing to build him anything, he was sure. The
townspeople had no fear of either of them. Sasuke felt they should. Naruto and
he had shown up out of nowhere, and while they had all known Sasuke from his
time with the Snake Sannin, they had claimed to sense something different in
him and so had let him into their workplaces and homes easily. He couldn�t
fathom that kind of ridiculous naivete. Normally, he would have sought other
lodging, leaving them to the slaughter that had to be inevitable. Somehow, he
hadn�t been able to keep going past the rocky outcropping that Naruto was so
fond of and it was here that he had met Koji-san for the first time. Talking
with him, exchanging knowledge and ideals and opinions, Sasuke had found a
kindred spirit, even though they shared opposing views on many things. Koij had
not minded the debate and Sasuke had been . . . content, for a while. Leaving
had felt almost wrong until Sasuke remembered himself and his goals. Why he was
having so much trouble keeping them close to his heart now was still a mystery
that Sasuke was afraid he already knew the answer to. Shaking himself out of
his reverie, he remembered his earlier thoughts on the bookshop and what he had
ended up purchasing intsead of weaponry-making guides.
�� Wiping his brow and leaning against
the boulder artfully placed near the center of the walkway that wound inside
and around the garden, he reached down to his belt for the canteen and took a
long drink. Spying Naruto in a corner rustling among the goldenseal they used
to treat minor pains and headaches, Sasuke called him over. Naruto approached
warily, a hint of suspicon and hurt flashing in his eyes a moment before it was
gone again. Either he was getting very good at hiding himself finally, or there
was still a lot of work Sasuke would have to do in order to draw him out more. A perfect time for the book, then.
�� I have something for you.�
�� Naruto raised his eyebrows in a
comic look of surprise that Sasuke almost found endearing, but only almost. He
chose to roll his eyes and grab for Naruto�s hand, pushing the book into it.
The look didn�t fade until Naruto caught on and narrowed his eyes
mistrustfully.
�� Well, it�s not going to bite you.
Haven�t you ever seen a real book before? And, I don�t just mean ninja scrolls
or primers from the grade school lessons we took before the academy,� he said
dryly.
�� He missed the look in Naruto�s eyes,
shadowed by the foliage above and around them in the peaceful space. Another
flash of hurt passed so quickly it was perhaps only a shadow cast by an errant
cloud drawn over and away from the sun overhead. Not seeing
any reaction from his friend nor feeling anything was amiss, Sasuke
turned to hunt for the light lunch Naruto had packed for them this morning.
Strange, he seemed to take better care of what he ate now than he ever had when
Sasuke had traveled with him on previous missions. A light pressure at his
elbow and Sasuke felt his heart race a little faster. The pressure increased as
Naruto tugged insistently on the sleeve of his simple, brown yukata. Naruto
wore one just like it, along with loose fitting white pants. They were light
enough for freer movement while they practised ninjutsu and taijutsu but thick
enough to ward off the chill mountain air that sometimes left frost on the
windows of their room overnight. Sasuke turned to look over his shoulder and
found Naruto staring intently at him. The burning gaze so intense without
meaning to be, and now, so familiar and feeling somehow only his. Naruto tilted
his head and continued to stare until Sasuke felt he�d had enough.
�� What?� It came out a bit sharper
than he intended but Naruto hadn�t seemed to notice.
�� He opened his mouth and for one
delirous moment, Sasuke thought he would speak. Closing it again, Naruto looked
down at Sasuke�s hand and traced the veins there before forming the kanji for a
question that Sasuke found perplexing.
�� Is
it a storybook?�
�� �What?� Sasuke asked, his voice sounding
strange in his own ears, �No, it�s, well . . .�
�� Naruto wasn�t listening. He�d begun
to trace more characters slowly. Sasuke, who should have felt uncomfortable
with the contact if for no other reason than it should have tickled to be
caressed in such a sensitive place as the small hairs at his wrist, coughed
lightly.
�� I�ve
never had a storybook. Thank you.�
�� Naruto,� now Sasuke felt even more unsure of his gift, what it could mean, and how Naruto
would see it when he learned the truth.
�� It�s not a story book, Naruto. It�s
a learning book. The pages are full of hand signs, though not ones to use while
fighting.�
�� Naruto blinked dazedly at him. Then,
he grasped the edges of the book cover and pulled the book apart somewhere near
the middle. Sasuke watched his eyes graze the pages and he imagined Naruto
reading the lines, picturing the movements, the language. Sign Language was not
something that had been used near Konoha in ages, as far as the book had
stated. The author�s name had faded from both the cover and the title page.
But, remarkably, the rest of the pages appeared to be in prestine condition.
Sasuke had had a problem wresting it from the small shop, at any price, when
the seller had realized the condition of the cover and the name inside. The man
had claimed it could not be properly attributed which meant that the author
could not be given due payment as his name may not even be in the lists he kept
on them all. Even if it was, the name was so faded neither of them could make
out a single letter. Sasuke had had to pay more than triple what it was worth
to get it. He had just wanted Naruto to have a way to talk to more than just
Sasuke, even if it meant only Sasuke could speak for him. He didn�t mind,
really, if it helped Naruto to feel more comfortable with how things were now. Naruto
waved his head from side to side in a gesture Sasuke didn�t fully understand.
Did he not want it? But, Naruto slowly rose to his feet, forgetting about all
the work they still had to do and made his way into the shop.
�� Hey, where
are you going? We still need to shop for dinner tonight, you know,� Sasuke
called to him, irritated.
�� Naruto
turned to smile at him and waved the book in the air enthusiastically. Sasuke
huffed out a loud, exasperated breath and worked the cart over the pathway and
around the front of the shop. He�d take his lunch in their room, since that was
where Naruto seemed to be headed.
�� Naruto
breathed in deeply, inhaling the fresh scent of clean sheets. Here, in this
place, it didn�t feel so numb. He was drawn to these people, to Sasuke the way
he was now. He relaxed his guard a little and let the world in a bit at a time,
everyday. Sounds, scents came to him vaguely and blew away again; the sight of
the waves cresting and crashing to the shore calmed the flurry of pain and
voiceless fear. He enjoyed reading on the hill overlooking it. He went with
Sasuke to work, helped out whenever he could not fight the pull of voices and
the quaint draw of the village off enough. It was a simple life, something that
was both new and hard yet not something he had learned to fear. Tracing the
cover of the book in his hands, Naruto sat at the bench he�d made and placed at
the end of his bed. The village carpenter, after seeing the rudimentary
craftsmanship, had fashioned a desk that was both serviceable and aesthetic to
go with it. They matched quite nicely, although Sasuke thought it made the
small room even more cluttered. Naruto could see that he was only angry because
he hadn�t thought about doing it. They used the desk often for reading, or in
Sasuke�s case, writing. Naruto hadn�t missed the shifting expressions and the
closed off body language whenever Sasuke did that. He knew who was receiving
the messages and who they were about. Strangely, he wasn�t as upset about
Sasuke exchanging information about him to the Council or the Hokage without
telling him. Perhaps because he knew also that Kakashi was the one to retain
them first and was probably omitting half of what Sasuke told him, if only so
he didn�t have to speak so long.
�� Reading
through the introduction first, Naruto realized that the language Sasuke talked
about could help them communicate without Naruto having to speak before he was
ready to. He liked that idea. He wasn�t planning on remaining mute forever, at
least not while he was consciously taking in his surroundings, which happened
more often than before. Fear nagged in the back of his mind and the images
replayed in his head every time he thought about speaking up though. That was
the problem. The pain had begun to fester and burn through his stomach at night
and was nearly insufferable when he felt too many people trying to gain his
attention, or something else, from him. Using this as an outlet that wouldn�t
risk Naruto screaming rage and melancholy till his voice ripped his throat out
was a solution he was willing to try, at least for now. Leafing through the
pages, Naruto studied the hand symbols for letters and simple words. This was
not phonetically the language used in Konoha, throughout Fire Country or in the
lands to the east and west but rather stemming from an affluent country to the
south that Naruto could not remember the name of. They didn�t support a ninja
village and so he had not bothered to learn as much about them. Well, Sasuke
would be able to understand it. He was a genius after all. Naruto trailed his
fingers over the smooth paper and steadied the book to try a few signs, his
lips sounding out the letters and words without being aware of it.
�� Sasuke had
set out the lunch in the small expanse of wood Naruto had not taken up and
began to eat quietly. Naruto could feel his eyes. Looking up, he smiled a
little shyly. He�d never been all that good with Japanese let alone English.
Naruto pointed to the book, then at himself and finally at Sasuke. Sasuke
raised his eyebrows elegantly and smirked haughtily at him.
�� Finally! Realized you�re going to need a little help, huh?�
�� Naruto
snorted and tried to pull the book back to his lap when Sasuke�s hand shot out,
swift as ever, and grabbed hold of his wrist, not the book. Sasuke hadn�t gone
for the book. Somehow, Naruto felt pleased by that. Naruto watched warily as
his friend flipped through the pages, frowning slightly, before his features
evened out. Together they worked through the simple finger signs for the
letters and then the remaining simple, word signs to communicate small
sentences. Sasuke looked up at Naruto when they�d memorized perhaps one hundred
words and the entire alphabet. Naruto stared back, puzzled but unwilling to try
the finger-work necessary to ask. He was clumsy with it, as he�d been with many
of the ninja techniques at first. The realization that, in the past, he would
have merely kept going until he got it, no matter what, got lost in the swirl
of smoke from the candle on the desk and the look in Sasuke�s eyes. They�d
changed since Naruto and he had spent these past weeks in Gure-pu
Sawa. Something softer had taken over the blank cast
and the sad lilt Naruto had noted in them since they were young.
�� That�s it,
Naruto,� Sasuke said simply and went back to his lunch.
�� Naruto
tilted his head and, unbeknownst to him, his eyes widened and his mouth gaped
slightly. To Sasuke, he looked like a fish that hadn�t truly realized it was
out of water long enough to begin struggling for breath. Sasuke leaned forward
and shut the book with a snap.
�� Enough for
now, we still have weeding to do and dinner to shop for. We�ll go see the shop
owner tomorrow about ordering the next set or whatever.�
�� Naruto
frowned. Then, a thought hit him. His mind had begun to run down. He grew tired
of interaction easily and sometimes the nightmares that plagued him at night,
the ones that left him drained and unwilling to breathe let alone move, visited
during the day. At those times, he would freeze up and refuse to move on his
own or acknowledge anyone or anything around him, though it was less often than
when they�d first arrived. Before that happened, Naruto wanted to prove to
Sasuke that he could listen better than people thought, he just had trouble
understanding things that felt too complex to him. He had a feeling that it wasn�t
entirely his own fault. He�d not been raised by adequate guardians or even the
commonly used group caregivers that Konoha provided for the orphans of ninja.
Stealing his resolve, Naruto pushed back the chair and raised his hands,
forming simple signs to ask Sasuke why they were visiting the shop and did it
mean he would have to already try this with someone he didn�t know. Sasuke
studied him silently for a moment before standing up to clear away their lunch.
�� We�ll go
to the shop because I�m sure there are other books like that, only more
detailed and advanced. You can�t very well sign letters all the time when it�s
easier to use the motion for a word instead. I�ll get you another book, if you think you can learn them all,
that is,� Sasuke challenged him.
�� Naruto
smirked at him and made the signs for �watch me�, then stuck his tongue out at
him. Sasuke twisted his face up in revulsion.
�� That�s
disgusting! Come on! We�ll get fish tonight. And no, I�m not asking the fishmonger, or any other produce seller, if
they figured out how to make ramen for you. So, don�t ask!�
�� Naruto
pouted and crossed his hands over his chest, then smiled snidely. Flying
through a few more signs clumsily and a finger gesture no one needed to have
read the book to understand added in for good measure, Naruto slid off the
bench and squeezed his bulkier frame through the door before Sasuke could hold
him back. Really, Naruto has far too much
luck for his own good, Sasuke thought as he sighed angrily and followed at
a more sedate pace, stomping his feet a little along the way. He didn�t care if
it did seem childish. There were no
ninja here to reprimand them for acting their own age. Fifteen was not so very
different from thirteen and they never did
manage to break Naruto out of his penchant for pranks. Naruto had left them
behind all on his own.
�� Later that
night, Sasuke woke in bed unsettled. A lone candle burned in the corner and the
bench had been moved up against the bank of shelves with Naruto sitting
cross-legged on top of it, a book in hand. Sasuke squinted in the low light
trying to see what Naruto was reading. His lips were moving and occasionally
his hands would flutter in front of him though they were hidden by the pages he
was so engrossed in. The frustrated look on his face was enough for Sasuke to
finally understand. Naruto was working hard on learning the language from the
book. Laying back down he watched quietly as Naruto made clones to perform the
same signs and memorize what they each meant over and over until he was
satisfied. It made Sasuke feel as though things were closer to how they once
were even if it was eerie to see Naruto so silent and know that he might not
come back all the way were he to start speaking again suddenly. But, he was
still here, he had stayed with Sasuke this whole time and they had made a place
for themselves. That thought left Sasuke feeling warm and he turned to his
side, able to fall asleep without any trouble for the first time in so very
long. Naruto continued his ministrations not having registered any change, and
if Sasuke had seen it, he would have thought that was very much like Naruto as
well.

�� The bell
above the door clanged loudly as Sasuke pushed it open. Naruto followed him in
slowly, peering at everything in the shop curiously. Akito-san,
the shop�s owner and only salesperson came through a backroom to greet them. A
portly man with a round, pleasant face and frameless spectacles, he smiled
warmly at Sasuke.
�� Hello
there! Back for another round? I�m sorry, the shipment
with the books on armory and metals isn�t in yet, but I�m happy to help with
something else.�
�� Sasuke
smiled thinly at him, truthfully still uneasy about the movement. Naruto nudged
his shoulder carelessly as he wandered further into the shop pulling his head
in all directions as if they were at a park with exotic animals on display or a
circus that used clowns and women running along the pavement inside plastic
balls for entertainment. Sasuke shook his head at him exasperatedly.
�� I�m
actually here about the book I bought the other day. This is Naruto, by the
way,� he added when Naruto turned to glare at him, making the signs to tell
Sasuke he was being rude.
�� Hello,
Naruto! Make yourself at home! Take a look around, any questions, just ask!� Akito obviously hadn�t caught on that Naruto wasn�t going
to answer and Sasuke sighed, preparing to explain.
�� Naruto
leaped up to the counter and made a few signs, smiling widely. Sasuke moved in
front, signing as well in order to get more practice.
�� What?! I can�t talk to two people at once!�
�� Naruto
pouted, �Ask him about the box with the white and black squares and the pedals,
then, and I�ll shut up!�
�� You
couldn�t possibly be silent, even when you don�t talk!�
�� Naruto
looked surprised at this but Sasuke had turned to inquire about whatever Naruto
had been talking about. Maybe Akito-san could figure
it out. After a moment of puzzled frowning, Akito�s
face cleared into a delighted smile though his eyes looked wistful.
�� Oh, that!
It�s called a piano!� he called loudly.
�� Sasuke
grimaced and rolled his eyes. Now he remembered why he had spent so little time
here over the last few weeks despite his love of books. The man was cheerful
but in the loud obtrusive way that he found irritating. He was going to ignore
the fact that Naruto had apparently never seen a piano, even in pictures.
Something about the way he had asked if the manual had been a storybook and how
he�d never gotten one before struck back at Sasuke and he shied away from it.
�� Would you
like to see it? The piano?� Akito
asked Naruto who smile and nodded.
�� They went
to the back of the shop where the instrument sat lonely and covered in a dust
cloth. Naruto looked at the grained wood of the frame when it was uncovered and
ran his hand over the top, then down to the fallboard, a piece of wood that
hinged and swung forward to cover the keys. The look on his was one of wonder
and Sasuke stayed silent, not wanting to chase it away.
�� Here,� Akito said gently, raising the wood and exposing the ivory
and black keys.
�� Naruto,�
Sasuke asked, realizing something, �how did you know a piano was under here?
You asked me to ask Akito-san about it, but you
described what it looked like because you had never seen one before and didn�t
know what to call it. So, how did you know it was even here?�
�� Naruto
smiled sheepishly and made clumsy letter signs. He was still slow but it was
getting easier to understand him. For Sasuke, it had been easy to learn the
rudimentary lesson from the book quickly as it had been for many things he endeavored
to learn.
�� I had a
clone peek through everything in the store because I�m hungry and you might
take too long.�
�� Sasuke
glared at him hard enough to peel paint.
�� You�re a
bottomless pit who still isn�t getting ramen but will suffer until I�m done,�
he told him with his hands. Naruto laughed a little, dryly. Sasuke gasped at
the sound. He hadn�t heard it once since . . . how long had it been?
�� Akito looked blankly at them both.
�� Is that
what that book had in it? Those movements?� he tried to simulate a few of them
with his hands and Naruto smiled, reached over and corrected him silently.
�� Akito laughed heartily.
�� I never
was very good with school, except with stories. I could tell so many and not a
single one the same even when the words were! That,
and the piano.�
�� Naruto
looked up at the bigger man questioningly while Sasuke still fought to regain
his composure.
�� Ah, I used
to play for my children, then my grandson and his class along with some of the
neighborhood kids back at the house,� he looked sad suddenly as he remembered
it. �But, they don�t come around anymore, so I don�t play.�
�� Shaking his
head clear of whatever he was seeing his smile brightened again and he gestured
for Naruto to take a seat.
�� Have a go!
Who knows, you might like it!�
�� Uh, Akito-san,� Sasuke warned, �I don�t think that�s such a
good idea.�
�� Nonsense!�
he called out as Naruto drew his fingers along all the keys, pressing on them
all one after another. Apparently the discordant notes delighted him, at least
until he had stopped. He looked back at Sasuke and gestured again. Sasuke
translated.
�� He wants
to know what�s wrong with it.�
�� Akito blinked a few times then smiled a little,
embarrassed.
�� Ah, well,
you see since I haven�t played in a while. It�s gone a bit out of tune.�
�� While he
continued to make excuses, Naruto had lifted the top of the piano and was
peering inside interestedly while banging at each key. Reaching in he started
fiddling with things inside the piano and Sasuke balked.
�� Naruto, stop! You�ll ruin it! It�s important to Akito-san!�
�� Akito rushed to quickly assure Sasuke, raising his hands in
front of him. �Hey, it�s pretty hard to break this thing, you know. I don�t
really mind.�
�� Naruto
glared at Sasuke, hurt, and started hitting the keys again while he signed that
he knew perfectly well that it was important to Akito.
�� Well, I�ll
be,� Akito intoned softly from behind him as Sasuke
gaped in surprise.
�� Naruto . .
. you, you fixed it.�
�� Naruto
continued hammering away at the keys happily until Akito
showed up at his elbow so quickly that Sasuke hadn�t even realized he�d gone
away and come back. It meant nothing good for his skills as a ninja which made
him none too happy. Akito smiled down at Naruto and
spread a thin book out in front of him, open to the beginning.
�� Naruto,�
he said calmly, �these are notes.�
�� He pointed
to the first page and ran through what each one was and what they all meant.
Naruto nodded his head and stopped clamoring away aimlessly to finger out each
note and even whole chords. Akito looked more
delighted than ever and declared him a savant, no, better yet, a music genius.
He had perfect pitch, something that Sasuke was told happened very rarely even
to world renowned musicians. Naruto listened to a string of notes and not only
knew where they all were on the keyboard but could play them back perfectly. He
learned the terms for some of the speeds, the names of notes and about meter,
keeping time and a metronome, which Akito rushed to
set up for him on the piano�s top. It was a triangular looking device with a
needle running up the center that when calibrated and flicked, kept perfect
time. Akito told him about the parts of the piano and
the types of music he could play on it, the types of instruments he could
accompany and about orchestras he�d seen in, Mokuzai Nenshou no Toshi or The Burning
Wood City, the Fire Country�s capital. Sasuke saw Naruto�s eyes beginning to
lose focus and he called out to Akito-san loudly.
�� I think
Naruto�s a little overwhelmed right now. Perhaps, if you�ll let him just play
one more thing and then we can come back tomorrow?�
�� Of
course,� Akito said, though the excited spark in his
eyes had lost a little luster. That is, until Naruto squeezed his hand and
pointed to a song on the page he wanted to try.
�� Right,� Akito boomed, �a perfect choice!�
�� This one�s
called Suteki Da Ne, composed by Nobuo Uematsu. It�s a calming, very pretty piece.
Take your time, read the music and do about half, and only half,� Akito waved a finger at him sternly. What was more, Naruto listened and did as he was told. The music flowed a bit disjointed and stunted but for his first time
ever at playing, it was largely well crafted and beautiful. At least, Sasuke
thought so and judging by the tears forming in Akito�s
eyes, Naruto really did have a lot of talent and natural skill. This surprising
revelation was enough to make Sasuke really
pay attention to what Naruto was doing, maybe for the first time ever. Sasuke
had that same feeling as before run through him, when he�d spyed
on Naruto studying. He wondered if it was truly Naruto, though, and not the
music. Whatever it was, the music itself, and Naruto playing it, were magic and
warmth all on their own. Sasuke hated the moments of
silence when Naruto stopped playing and lifted himself off the bench. Akito then took a seat and spoke to Naruto about his
fingering before beginning the same piece over again while Naruto looked on.
�� Sasuke
watched Naruto listen to Akito-san finger the keys
artfully. The song was more refined when he played it but Sasuke felt hollow
all the same. It was different from Naruto�s playing. Naruto; trying to
understand him, what he was now, what Sasuke couldn�t help but see in him, was
terrifying . . . and intriguing . . . and complicated. All he knew now was not
everything, Sasuke needed more. But, what he wanted was something entirely
different, watching the look of innocence mixed with something beautiful and
altogether dark somehow. It was captivating as so much about Naruto had always
been for him. What was this feeling? Could Sasuke really call it by name? Was
it what he thought? It was so foreign from any other feeling and yet so
familiar, as if he should know it, had felt something like it before. Then,
Naruto leaned into the aged wood of the piano top and craned his head to the
side, smiling. The look of innocence and, dare he think it, joy, were thrumming
right along with the tempo of the music flowing into him. Sasuke clenched his
fists and held his breath. On trembling knees, he canted forward and came to a
stop just behind his friend.
�� Leaning
into his side and, lips just a breath away from his ear, he whispered, �Come
with me, Naruto.�
�� When Naruto
didn�t move, not even to lean his head over to indicate he�d heard, Sasuke
grasped his wrist in hand and tugged him around just enough to see his face.
Naruto had turned it away from Sasuke and leaned into the back of the piano.
The song had started again, that much Sasuke could hear, but everything else
was drowning in the feeling he could not name. It felt like he was trying to
hold water, or trying to hold back the sea. But, the water, so cold and
ominous, came crashing in as Sasuke leaned in further and placed his lips to
Naruto�s temple. The waves shushed and sighed through him and Sasuke was still
frightened but that strange, magnetic pull that came up whenever he was this
close to him overtook everything.
�� Come with
me,� he urged softly, calling.
�� Naruto
pushed away from the frame and slid along Sasuke�s body, because he�d refused
to move, and started toward the door. Sasuke still held his wrist and used it
to force Naruto back around to face him. Walking and stumbling forward, Sasuke
goaded Naruto out of the small shop ahead of him, not bothering to say anything
to Akito-san. Instead, he connected with Naruto, in
any way he could as they went. A touch of hands, a slide of his hip against
another, once, a minute press of their bodies with Sasuke�s hand trailing
behind Naruto to draw him closer than ever. They�d managed to get back to Hoku�s shop undeterred. Now, in their room, he calmly slid his
fingers up the front of Naruto�s yukata and around
his neck and pulled him in for a kiss so fierce he could feel it everywhere.
Tongues touching, lips sliding together and apart rapidly, then slower; Sasuke
could not breathe. He recognized the same ragged sounds coming from Naruto.
Shifting and gliding across the room while the music Naruto had played for him
was still in his head, Sasuke walked them to the bed and pushed Naruto down in
front of him. Not to be outdone, it seemed, Naruto grasped hold of the collar
of Sasuke�s yukata and pulled him down with him.
Sasuke landed on his elbows, his head resting in the crook of Naruto�s neck.
That was fine with him. Kissing a smoldering line along Naruto�s jaw and down
the side, the skin so heated he thought his lips would burn Sasuke loosened the
ties to Naruto�s shirt and pulled it open roughly. Everything was hushed and
hot and too slow. Continuing the journey downward, Sasuke kissed along Naruto�s
bare collarbone, feeling fingers riding through his hair and down the back of
his neck softly. Humming under his breath, Sasuke reveled in this mysterious
new feeling. Naruto moved his hands down to Sasuke�s chest and around to his
back, slipping them under his shirt from behind.�
�� Sasuke
kissed Naruto�s chest and slid his tongue experimentally onto the skin beneath
him. Naruto inhaled deeply and made a strangled sound in the back of his
throat. Sasuke smiled into the flesh and did it again, longer, wetter,
steadying himself up on his hands. Trailing his tongue and his lips down to
Naruto�s navel and kissing his way back up, he reversed the flow in the
opposite direction. Sasuke stopped and moved his mouth back up to Naruto�s in
another passionate exchange. It was something he was definitely fine with.
Another small sound escaped Naruto when Sasuke rasped a thumb under his chin,
then bent to caress it with his mouth. Naruto had slid his hands back to
Sasuke�s chest and was rubbing along the cloth there. Sasuke did not enjoy the
feeling. It was not enough. Stopping to push up, though, gave him a chance to
absorb what they were doing. Sasuke waited, looking down at Naruto�s face,
breathing so unsteady and sweat covering his brow. Naruto had something hidden
in his eyes, or maybe it was something Sasuke just didn�t understand yet. He
had no experience with anything like this, after all. Sifting through Naruto�s
hair again, Sasuke placed a gentle kiss at the side of his mouth.
�� This isn�t
supposed to happen.�
�� Naruto
turned his head away again, but not before Sasuke caught the look, one that
said so many things, none of them what Sasuke wanted.
�� I�m
supposed to watch out for you,� Sasuke tried again to reason with Naruto, and
himself.
�� Naruto
huffed and turned back to stare angrily at him.
�� Naruto,�
Sasuke couldn�t understand it all yet, but maybe he didn�t have to. He doubted
Naruto could possibly have more insight than him anyway.
�� I�m not
supposed to be doing this but,� he took a breath and kissed him gently and
slowly on the mouth, �I can�t help it. So, we�ll start again from here, okay?�
�� The irony
of Sasuke using almost the same words as he had when turning Naruto away was
not lost on him. It appeared Naruto had thought of that as well from the
quirked eyebrow and the sly, half-smile he gave him. Naruto wrapped his arms
around Sasuke and pulled them closer together. Naruto�s own bed lay cold and
unheeded, the sheets tangled all together at the foot. Naruto stared at them
sleepily before smiling softly and closing his eyes. Sasuke shifted until they
were both more comfortable and they drifted off to sleep like that, encased in
each other.
- 12
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The Fall of the Dogs of War