Patience is a Virtue

Sasuke hated waiting. He’d always hated waiting. From his seat by the window, he impatiently waited for Naruto to appear over the crest of the hill and make his way down the winding path to their small house.

It had rained earlier in the evening, and the air still smelled of the fresh green scent of plants accepting the gift of rain from the gods. But from the west, the wind blew in another odor: something dark and ashy. The smell of a battle fought to the death.

Sasuke sighed and uncrossed his legs. His abdomen still ached from the last clash with Oto warriors. The doctor had ordered him to stay home and rest until he was fully healed. But, how could he heal when his heart was lost in the night, on a mission without him?

The injured Ninja laid his head back against the chair and closed his eyes. There would be no rest until Naruto was back home again.

The soft patter of rain started again and Sasuke drifted off into a restless sleep.

XXXXX

“Hey.”

Sasuke started awake, someone was shaking him from his fitful sleep.

“Hey.”

“Naruto?” Sasuke murmured, blinking until the visage of his lover came into focus.

“In the flesh,” Naruto replied, smiling wearily.

“How long… what time did you come in?” Sasuke asked, leaning in for a kiss.

“Not long,” Naruto said, pausing before his lips met Sasuke’s. “I didn’t want to wake you. You looked so young… so peaceful.”

Their lips parted, and Sasuke wrapped his arms around Naruto’s shoulders although Naruto kept his arms clenched to his sides. Sasuke buried his face into Naruto’s neck against his rain-soaked hair and breathed in deeply. Naruto smelled of copper and ash and rain.

Sasuke whispered, “I was worried. You were so long in returning.”

“It was bad tonight,” Naruto said slowly. “Very bad.”

Sasuke gradually released his grasp, realizing that Naruto wasn’t going to embrace him. Sighing, he bowed his head and closing his eyes.

“Many dead?” Sasuke finally asked, lifting his head, gazing at Naruto.

“Too many,” Naruto replied, rubbing his face with the palms of his hands. “I was lucky tonight. There was…” and his voice drifted off.

A moment passed. Then two.


“Hungry?” Sasuke asked softly, wanting to say something, but not really knowing what to say. He should have been there. He didn’t credit himself with any special ability that he could have turned the tide of the encounter, but every extra sword, every extra throwing star, and every extra fist would have been a help.

Naruto nodded and rose. “I’m going to wash up,” he said, moving toward their shared bathroom.

XXXXXX

“More ramen?” Sasuke asked, lifting the bowl of noodles toward Naruto.

“I’m done,” Naruto replied, pushing his bowl away. “I’m tired and I’m going to bed,” he continued brusquely, shoving his chair back. He quickly rose, crossing the room and pulling his tee shirt over his head as he went.

The bedroom door slammed shut behind him.

Sasuke sat in stunned silence. This was not like Naruto. Not like the man who had returned with him from previous missions and fucked him into the mattress. Naruto had barely kissed him, barely touched him. Why didn’t Naruto want to be around him? Sasuke had watched him slurp down his noodles as quickly as he could and then... then he’d run off to bed.

Steepling his hands, Sasuke sat at the deserted table, trying to marshal his thoughts into something less hurt, something more coherent. Old feelings of less than, not enough, and some sort of vague guilt washed over him.

Then the rational part of Sasuke’s mind took over. Perhaps Naruto was just tired, that the battle had been horrible and that he was in post-traumatic shock, or he just needed time to wind down.

Sasuke pushed the noodle bowl across the table in disgust. He was acting like a girl. A hormonal, overly emotional girl, at that. Naruto was just tired, that’s all. That’s what he’d said. There was no reason to think anything other than that.

And he was tired himself. His stomach ached a little. And the little nap, if that’s what you wanted to call it, hadn’t provided him any real rest. He arose, the chair dragging against the wood floor, as he pushed it back with his legs. Sasuke stacked the bowls and set them in the sink. The remaining ramen was dumped in the trash. Bed and sleep called.

Sasuke carefully pushed the bedroom door open, avoiding he creaky board at the edge of the door frame, as he stepped inside. The room was nearly pitch black, but in the dimness, Sasuke could make out the form of his lover lying on the bed. Silently, Sasuke undressed, folding his practice pants and placing them on the dresser as was his routine. Carefully, he pulled back the sheet and comforter and slipped under the covers.

Sometimes the darkness was a comfort, but when Sasuke was this unsettled, it was anything but. It could be a bitch who crept over you and brought your worst fears to fruition. Perhaps in the morning, things between them would be normal. Or not. But, at least then Sasuke would not allow Naruto to run away to hide in bed and avoid talking to him.

Sasuke stared at the ceiling and waited for sleep to come. He hated waiting.

A soft sigh came from the other side of the bed, and Sasuke glanced over at Naruto.

“Dobe?” Sasuke said softly, turning to place a hand on his shoulder.

With a swiftness Sasuke didn’t realize Naruto had, he was pinned to the bed, Naruto’s weight on his upper thighs, his wrists held down next to his head, and Naruto’s lips crushed to his.

‘Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Naruto whispered as he pressed his forehead to Sasuke’s. “I… I…” his voice broke off into a sob.

“It’s all right,” Sasuke murmured soothingly, gazing at Naruto’s closed eyes. “It’s all right. Let it out, dobe… let it out.”

“Oh gods, Sasuke,” Naruto sobbed, burying his face into the juncture of Sasuke’s neck.

“Oww,”

Naruto lifted his head with a jerk and released his grasp on the brunette’s wrists and rolling off the bed in one fluid motion. “Oh shit… shit!” Naruto exclaimed, tears rolling down his face.

Propped up on one arm, Sasuke reached over and pulled Naruto back on the bed. “I’m fine, you idiot. I just moved the wrong way and it hurt.” Naruto laid a hand’s breath away from his lover; their only connection was Sasuke’s firm grip around Naruto’s wrist. “You can lie next to me,” Sasuke said softly, hopefully.

Naruto hesitated, his chest heaving. Sasuke waited, his eyes roving his lover’s face for any clue to what he was feeling.

Tentatively, slowly, as if he was reaching for something precious and irreplaceable, Naruto moved into Sasuke’s arms, sliding his own around his lover’s shoulders and waist.

Sasuke held him, feeling his warm breath on his neck and his tears soak through his tee shirt onto his chest. His quiet sobs slowly trailed off and Sasuke held him until he only heard quiet breathing.

Tenderly, Sasuke traced a slender finger along Naruto’s jaw line until he hooked his chin and pulled his face up. He gazed into Naruto’s unblinking, tear-swollen eyes. A moment passed. Then another. With infinite care, Sasuke closed the short distance between their lips, kissing the remnants of tears away. Soft kisses evolved into longer, deeper, more passionate ones. Naruto was responding, and Sasuke made a sound of approval as Naruto dueled with his tongue for dominance, dominance that he gave up willingly.

Suddenly, Naruto broke the kiss and shifted. “I want to fuck you… God, I need to fuck you,” he said urgently, running his hand up under Sasuke’s tee shirt.

“Ah, dobe,” Sasuke whispered, his hand covering Naruto’s through his shirt. “I want you to, too.”

Naruto groaned, and captured Sasuke’s lips again, his tongue thrusting in and Sasuke sucking it eagerly. Sasuke loved the way Naruto made him feel, the taste of him as he kissed him, the way his hands moved over his body, finding those little places that made him squirm and how he concentrated on making sure that Sasuke was satisfied before he came

They broke apart, Naruto gasping for breath. Smiling, Sasuke pulled his lover’s hand from his chest to his groin, to feel his hardening dick.

“What you do to me,” Sasuke said softly. “Oh, what you do. I don’t know whether to hate you or worship you.”

“Worship me,” Naruto said, his eyes gleaming in the dim light. “Fuck me, Sasuke.”

“You know I can’t have anal yet… the doctor said…” Sasuke started.

“No, fuck me.”

“You’re… you’re serious?” Sasuke stuttered. He moved so that his dick was pressed against his lover's and ground against him lightly. Naruto loved to top

“Oh hell yes,” Naruto groaned. “I… I… need you. I need to feel connected. That tonight, now yesterday wasn’t just a bad dream. That… it meant something.”

“Oh god, dobe,” Sasuke said hollowly. He closed his eyes momentarily, then opened them to find Naruto staring at him intently.

“Please, teme? Please?” Naruto whispered. “Make me feel alive again.”

Sasuke shifted carefully, then slid his hands down to Naruto’s waistband and pushed his sleep pants over his hips and past his thighs. Naruto kicked them the rest of the way off. Naruto, propped himself up on his elbows and silently watched as Sasuke stripped his tee shirt off, undid his sleep pants string and kicked them to the edge of the bed, where Naruto gave them a little shove with his foot so that they landed next to his own discarded sleep pants.

Sasuke pushed Naruto to his back, then took his long, slightly curved dick into his mouth. He loved the taste of Naruto, the heady scent of his sex under his nose, the way the vein on the underside of his cock pulsed against his tongue as he sucked. He hummed, then pressed his tongue to the hot flesh throbbing in his mouth. He smiled when he heard Naruto moan and felt him rest his hand on his head, one finger playing with his own tangled locks.

Taking this as approval, Sasuke began to stroke and suck in a short, deep, fast, shallow rhythm that he knew Naruto loved. He did this because he wanted to, not because it was expected or asked of him, but because he wanted Naruto.

He smiled around a mouthful when he heard Naruto gasp little swear words. “Yeah… fuck… that… oh gods…”

Naruto’s hand was pressing him to take him deeper, but Sasuke allowed it to slip from his mouth, and moved to kneel between Naruto’s quivering legs.

Naruto looked at him questioningly, and then sighed as Sasuke reached down and began to jerk him off.

“Naruto?” Sasuke prodded and Naruto obeyed and began to stroke Sasuke’s dick, his strokes slower and a little less sure than Sasuke. Sasuke nodded, and leaned in for a quick kiss before bending down and taking the tip of Naruto’s hard dick into his mouth, his hand still moving up and down.

He stopped and cupped Naruto’s balls, fondling them, then moving his fingers to press lightly against Naruto’s entrance. He ran his fingertip gently around the puckered flesh, before easing the tip of his finger in.

Naruto sighed, and reached up with one hand for the metal-barred headboard.

“Hand me the lube,” Sasuke said quietly, sitting back on his knees.

Obeying, Naruto handed him the small bottle of oil.

Flipping the top open, Sasuke squirted a bit into his hand and smoothed it over Naruto’s hole. He squirted a bit more into his hand, and slicked it over his dick. All the while, Naruto was watching, his eyes closing in pleasure from time to time when Sasuke touched him, but always watching him from beneath his eyelashes.

Sasuke gently slid a finger in, moving it until he found the small bundle of nerves that he knew must be there. He brushed a fingernail over it and smiled as Naruto opened his mouth and arched in obvious pleasure.

He slid his finger almost out, then inserted two fingers, moving them so that Naruto’s inner muscles would relax and allow him entrance once the time came. He worked his fingers within Naruto, his eyes solemn. He pressed his lips together, concentrating on preparing his lover. He had always watched Naruto’s face when they made love from another angle, but from this view, the blond was more sexy then ever, his eyes half-shut, his mouth slightly parted, and his pink tongue darting out to moisten his lips occasionally.

Naruto was writhing under his ministrations, so with utmost care, Sasuke slide a third finger in and stretched them as wide as he could inside his lover. He wanted this to be pleasurable and easy as possible, but mostly he wanted Naruto to want him to top again.

All the while, Naruto hadn’t stopped stroking Sasuke’s cock. Though quite pleasurable, Naruto was quite distracting when he jerked Sasuke off. His fingers were slightly rough and the added friction had almost made Sasuke consider lying down and just let Naruto do what he wanted to him.

“Are you sure?” Sasuke asked a bit unsteadily, covering Naruto’s hand with his own, stopping his stroking, twisting motion. If he’d allowed Naruto to continue, he would have came, but tonight was for Naruto.

“Yeah,” the blond breathed, moving down and spreading his legs wider. Naruto pushed up so that Sasuke wouldn’t have to lift his legs or hold them and cause any pain to his wound. “Worship me.”

The breath hitched in Sasuke’s chest. To be granted this privilege was almost too much to bear. Naruto was a very good lover, tender in many ways, rough when the time was right, but always considerate of Sasuke needs. Yet, he was selfish too. But, so was Sasuke, when he wanted to be and tonight, he was

Sasuke ran a slender hand down Naruto’s stomach, his fingertips barely grazing his skin before reaching the sensitive area beneath Naruto’s sac. He moved closer, watching Naruto lick his lips and tense up, waiting for Sasuke to enter him.

“Relax my ninja prince. Let me worship your body as the sun worships the earth. Let me bring the warmth back into your soul,” Sasuke said quietly before placing the tip of his cock against Naruto’s entrance and slipping into heaven.

Sasuke grasped Naruto’s hips and pushed forward, driving in until his cock was deep inside Naruto. He felt the tremor go through his lover’s body, and the urge to pull back quickly and slam himself home again was strong, but so was Sasuke. He waited for Naruto to relax around him. He was so tight around Sasuke’s cock that he could barely stand the pressure, but slowly, in the smallest of increments, the painful pressure lessened and he felt Naruto brush his fingers over his hand.

“Hate me, fuck me…” Naruto hissed, suddenly moving forward.

Sasuke found himself in a pounding rhythm, moving quickly, but carefully so that there was no pain from his wound, but hard enough to bring loud gasps and moans from the throat of his lover. He bent forward and stole a kiss from Naruto, before grasping the blond’s dick and beginning another sort of slipping, sliding, hard pull. He would bring Naruto to orgasm before he would allow himself to come.

Naruto arched, his mouth opening and closing in wordless cries of pleasure. Sasuke shifted slightly, his cock ruthlessly stroking Naruto’s most sensitive spot. Naruto grasped the bars of the headboard and tensed. Naruto knew that he was almost there so he… paused. Stopping, he tucked a lock of hair behind his ear and waited. Sasuke hated waiting, but this was different. He had a reason to wait.

“Teme, oh gods, teme,” Naruto cried out, shaking, his chest heaving. “I’m so close… fuck…”

Suddenly, Sasuke thrust one more time, his balls against Naruto’s smooth ass, his cock buried deep within his lover. Sasuke leaned forward and kissed Naruto as he came, feeling as Naruto felt, the waves of pleasure and emotion that swept through him.

It was as if the storm outside had unfurled inside Sasuke, the thunder of his blood in his ears, the crash of his heart against his chest, and the thrill of pleasure that deluged him. He was nothing more than a leaf being carried away by the storm.

And as all storms finally end, Sasuke curled around his lover and allowed the cleansing flow of sleep to claim him.

XXXXXXX

“What was that crap you said last night? You wanted to worship me like the sun does the earth?” Naruto laughed, before taking a bite of cereal.

“I didn’t hear you complaining,” Sasuke groused, reaching for his orange juice.

“No, you didn’t. But that doesn’t mean I want to hear that stuff again.”

“Well, you won’t,” Sasuke replied sourly, his ire rising.

“Good,” Naruto shot back. “Just fuck me like that without all the mushiness and we’ll be just fine.”

“Huh?”

“You heard me. “

Sasuke got it. He smiled to himself.

“Oh crap, I’m late,” Naruto said, and hurriedly rose and headed toward the back door. He stopped at the doorway, half in and half out. “Wait up for me tonight?”

Sasuke nodded. He was, after all, a patient man.

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