A/N: Written for hina88 who has managed to survive 21 years _;; Happy Birthday Hina! IPU XDD Chapter beta'd by Questofdreams Really really sorry for how long it took to update this, but umm, it's complete now so there's resolution, that's something right? *bricked* TT_TT

Naruto stumbled as he backed away. He didn't know what he was doing, not really. Thick layers of dust cushioned his steps, small clouds floated around his feet as he continued to move away.

"What's your name?" he demanded of the stranger who, with this feeling of vertigo, he wanted to know implicitly. Naruto squinted at him in the dim lighting. All the colours had seeped out of their surroundings and shades of grey were all he could pick out of the other man's features. The black mask that covered the upper half of his face shielded any details of his eyes and Naruto itched to remove it and find colour.

He didn't answer Naruto's question, a breath puffed out from between his lips as if in irritation. He walked closer, lithe firm movements of a man with a purpose. Naruto eyed him warily.

"It's not important." He spoke when he was close enough that the words echoed in Naruto's ears despite the low tone.

Naruto hesitated, the air felt thicker than before. This wasn't the sort of thing that he did. Touch, being touched, touching… it was important to him. The unique feeling of warm skin and muscle, life, under his fingertips to be held and pressed and touched. It mattered, it should have meaning.

Brief panic was quelled as the man stepped closer and touched chapped lips to Naruto's. Then he moved back slightly, waiting for Naruto's response.

He was standing so close, there could only have been a few millimetres between their mouths. Naruto could feel the faint brush of breath from the other against his lips as teasing touches of air.

Naruto closed his eyes and pressed forward. It was clumsy. Their masks clashed and his dug into his cheeks, contrasting with the almost sweet soft kisses. Naruto tugged at the other's lips, biting them softly until they parted.

He was backed into the wall opposite. It took fifteen steps to reach it, with little plumes of dust erupting around their feet. The wall crumbled with Naruto's contact. Naruto felt warmer, the cool air of Venice nights were distant and all he could feel was heat, heat curling in his abdomen, in his hands from grasping thin shoulders tight and the warm slickness of a tongue touching his with a roughness and underlying tentative stroke. He tasted like smoke.

Naruto breathed in deep, taking in the scent of the other, that musky smell of sweat and skin mixed with the traces of the dust clouds. His cheeks felt too warm, a drop of sweat beaded at his neck and traced the curve of his spine; he arched from the sticky feel of it.

He felt hands move lower over his torso, long fingers stroking while the palms pressed in harshly. They lifted up his t-shirt to expose his stomach to cooler air. A tremor ran through him as skin met skin, blunt nails being dragged over his belly and lower.

Naruto shuddered as their groins collided and his hands moved from the intense grip on the other's shoulders to his waist, slipping around to his back and pulling up the shirt tucked in there. His hands met slick skin and he pulled them closer together.

It felt good. This heated exchange, the grind of a hard warm body against his. His fingers slipped up to the masked face that had stopped kissing, just the rhythmic grind of their groins together. Naruto could make out the faint hint of colour over the cheeks, the mouth wet and red. He gasped and his fingers jolted up to the edge of the mask his palm slipping under the jaw to cup it. Eyes of which colour he couldn't decipher snapped to his and tugged his head out of Naruto's grip.

Naruto growled in frustration. The other's hips were still jerking into his, his hands still holding Naruto's arms and his head now resting on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto stubbornly refused to let the issue go. His hand slipped in between them and he gripped the other through his pants, his hand moving up and down with strong sure strokes. The other hand came to pull the man's head back by his length of spiky dark hair. The hand travelled to the nape of a pale neck up the angular jaw to brush fingertips at the cheekbones. The dark eyes hiding beneath had narrowed, but his lips were still parted allowing small pants to be released, warm puffs onto Naruto's face.

Naruto's hand moved upwards, and worked at unzipping him, palming him now through his underwear. He gasped and Naruto delighted in seeing the lack of control in this stranger. He so desperately wanted to know more and then maybe he could feel more. His fingers gripped the mask and moved to pull at it; his wrist was caught and twisted away. And his mouth was attacked with angry harsh kisses, biting into him and pushing his head back into the wall.

Another hand moved to join Naruto's between their bodies and soon, Naruto's nerves were singing with pleasure as all his muscles tensed and prepared for release. He mouthed at the neck before him, losing all energy and jerking his hips in quick succession; his partner mirrored his actions and dug his fingers into his shoulders as he came.

They stood awkwardly for a while, their hands moving to more appropriate places but their bodies were still close enough to feel the other's heat. Naruto felt the loss of his body warmth, along with the uncomfortable stickiness cooling in his pants.

His hand itched once more to remove that mask, never mind that his own was firmly in place, hiding those birthmarks that had always drawn attention, points and stares from ill-mannered children.

"Let me see." He felt any flash of personality he'd been witness to all but disappear. The eyes before him were dull again, as grey as the rest of the surroundings with their colours leached out.

"No."

This arrogant, rude stranger frustrated Naruto and he wanted to hold on tightly, irrationally, because he had touched this man, and he wanted to touch him again and again, and know why this one touch suddenly seemed so important.

Naruto watched numbly as the man adjusted his clothing and moved to a safer distance to pick up a jacket that must have been discarded at some point.

He called out 'Wait' when it was too late and the other had already left.

Sasuke watched with increasing irritation as Ino bartered with the oarsman over the price for a gondola ride. They stood on wooden boards near the water's edge, a line of the traditional rowing boats were tied to poles. Sasuke watched them gently float with the movement of the water.

"Twenty euros per passenger?! You're having a laugh!" Ino stood with her hands on her hips; two minutes into the tirade and she'd be wagging her finger at them. Neji, for whatever reason, seemed to be more pissed off with her than usual. The other oarsman were watching with great interest at the scene Ino was creating.

"Madam… you don't understand…"

"Oh I don't understand all right! Just because we're tourists, you want to take us for a ride, and not literally!"

Hinata put a calming hand on Ino.

"No, Hinata! I will not tolerate this!"

Ino seemed to be far more dramatic too. Sasuke's eyes narrowed at Sakura who was trying to look like she didn't know anything.

He went back to observing the dirty waters, colours green and brown bleeding together. Sasuke was trying not to think of the night before and the weirdness it sparked within him. He'd left the abandoned building and headed home, not giving much thought to his friends worrying about him. He had paid for the repercussions of that when they had arrived back at the rented flat not soon after. Ino ranting, Sakura banging things violently, Hinata being close to tears and Neji watching him with that look that he said he knew exactly what Sasuke had been doing. Ino had eventually ceased ranting and Sakura had stopped aiming things at his head.

Venice was loud for ten AM, and the chattering of the Italians mixed with the tourists was a welcome if annoying distraction. He idly watched another interaction some distance away, loud Italian accents carried across to him and he looked on with little interest as a blond tourist attracted attention with his ticket problem. Growing bored, he turned away to watch the curves and dips of the water lapping at the gondolas' edges.

Naruto couldn't believe this shit was happening to him for the second time in twenty four hours. He rooted through his bag for his phrase book. He had to explain that his ticket was for this stop and damn it he'd paid the right amount of money and what difference did it make if he got off here or five minutes later anyway?!

"I. Don't. Have. Any. More. Money." He spoke as slowly and as clearly as he could. The angry Italian conductor wasn't having any of it though. He barked to one of the girls standing nearby who scampered away and returned with yet another angry Italian.

Naruto was not in a good mood. He was worried he'd miss his flight back. He didn't do well with airports, what with the huge potential of him getting lost and ending up on a flight to Australia. He'd overslept too. Naruto had returned to the youth hostel and showered, his mind no longer numb, mostly just angry. He was angry at the stranger who he felt had acted unnecessarily mysterious and overly dramatic, and annoyed with himself for still wanting to know more and then maybe touch just a little bit more.

He'd gone to bed that night with uneasiness heavy in his belly and a dull ache at the back of his eyes. Naruto wished he'd acted faster. He didn't even have the image of the man walking away from him. It'd all become hazy and all he could clearly remember was the gasps, puffs of warm hair, heated skin and their jerky movements. Naruto hadn't slept well, all he'd seen in his mind's eye was that damn mask, and thin lips kissed pink and wet.

There was no Sai to come to his rescue this time and slip him his own ticket. And Naruto was getting more confused as the two Italians began conversing fast, gesturing widely, pointing occasionally at him. Naruto wondered if he could sneak off as they began arguing.

He glanced longingly at the expanse of water, the humid air making the thought of stripping off and water bombing in a good idea. The dirty colour of it didn't dissuade him from imagining how cool the water would be around his sweaty body.

Naruto's gaze slipped over to where others were arguing. He grinned at hearing another British accent. A blonde stood there giving some poor guy a good talking to. Naruto privately agreed with whatever her issue was, seeing as his own problem wasn't making much headway. He observed the rest of the group, another two girls, one with striking pink hair. He jumped with recognition; it was Sakura. Naruto was half way to calling out to her, his hand in the air, when he realised there really wasn't much point. What would he say? 'Hi, remember me? Okay gotta go catch a flight out of here, bye!'? Naruto looked at the rest of their party, a pale man with long dark hair, clearly far too horny for his own good since the blonde's argumentative nature seemed to be turning him on. Another stood a little away from the group, his back turned displaying a tense frame.

A hand clapped his shoulder, and he turned with a sigh back to the issue at hand.

Naruto managed to push past the problem by shoving the few coins he had left at them. He had the next waterbus to the airport to catch. He was going home and he didn't know how he felt about it.

Three Months Later

Sasuke returned to his room after a long day of lectures. His third year schedule was filled heavily and he found all he did these days was study, down coffee like it was water and try not to pass out when the caffeine left his system. He passed several dorm room doors on his way to his room; loud music blared out of one of them. Someone was having a party and that meant Sasuke wouldn't be getting much sleep that night.

Entering his room, he shoved the numerous cups of coffee aside on his desk to make space for his laptop. He was ahead of his lectures and was attempting to complete his dissertation in the first weeks it had been assigned despite the due date being in April, and it only being late October currently.

Sasuke lay down on his bed fully clothed; his body curled in on itself as he waited for sleep to come. He allowed his mind to drift back to that night in Venice. The rest of the trip had been completely unmemorable. But that one evening he could recall in sharp relief. He thought of the yellow silk mask and the intense eyes it framed, the spikes of fair hair and his hand running through them, feeling the coarseness of a boy's hair. He remembered full lips twisted with confusion and what urgency that face sparked in the pit of his gut.

Sasuke did somewhat regret not sticking around longer, to find out more about who he was and why Sasuke felt so drawn to him. It wasn't anything absurd as love, but it was something all right.

The music down the hall continued to thrum through his room, not loud enough for him to have a valid complaint, but certainly grating enough that he could concentrate on little else but the muffled words that he couldn't quite make out.

The knock at his door drew him out of thoughts of strangling whatever idiot was disturbing his peace and directed them at this new person.

"What?" Sasuke spoke bluntly, narrowed eyes taking in the student before him.

"Hey! I'm Naruto, you're Sasuke, right? I live a few doors down."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed further at the voice. "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to, you know, introduce myself. I've been here for a few weeks and…"

"And what?" Sasuke scrutinised him. He wanted Naruto to get to the point; in the same instance he wanted time to figure out what it was about Naruto that bothered Sasuke.

"I'm having a kind of party in my room, you're invited…" Naruto trailed off, his eyes leaving Sasuke's and fixing on something behind Sasuke.

"Not interested."

Sasuke didn't bother to wait for Naruto's reply and clicked his door shut. He wanted sleep.

Naruto paced his room. He hadn't imagined the black mask hanging on the wall behind Sasuke's head. This could be one huge giant coincidence. But he thought about it a little more nevertheless.

This was Naruto's first year at university; he was at lease two years older than most students due to his gap years and had been trying his hardest to settle in. People remembered him here, more for his vibrant personality than the marks lining his cheeks. He had liked that. But university had been overwhelming. Settling into a routine, attending lectures and social expectations sometimes wore him down.

He'd known who Sasuke was. The third year resident in their dorm, who was surly and kept to himself. Sasuke who barely glanced at Naruto, which made Naruto itch with the need to shake him and ask Sasuke why he was the way he was.

But the mask. It was pinned by its ribbons on Sasuke's notice board amidst his timetable and various other notes. There weren't even photos of family or friends.

And now Naruto was convinced that Sasuke was the guy who had touched him, who had wanted him with his mask on, who had kissed him with such eagerness and who tasted like smoke.

He thought back to more of what he knew of Sasuke, and it turned out he knew very little. Naruto could describe the texture of his skin, pinpoint the exact temperature emitted from his palms, but as for the mundane details of who Sasuke was, he fell short. Naruto was convinced that he had made those thin lips curve in a kiss; he just had to be sure.

"What do you want, Naruto?" Sasuke sighed. This was the fifth time Naruto had come knocking at his door in the past week. "I don't have a cup of sugar, I don't have spare pens, I don't have extra printing paper. What do you want?"

Naruto contemplated his answer, and Sasuke watched in morbid fascination as Naruto let loose a tirade of excuses and about what he wanted.

"-When I was a kid, I really wanted to be astronaut, but aliens kinda freak me out now, so I dunno, I also want cake at the moment and may-"

"From me, Naruto, what do you want from me." Sasuke's temper was wearing thin and it only seemed to make Naruto happier. Naruto flashed a grin at him, the expression of someone who didn't look like he was going anywhere else anytime soon.

"What did you want to be when you were little, Sasuke?"

Sasuke closed his eyes briefly. Naruto took the opportunity to walk into his room and flop onto the bed. It was going to be one of those afternoons. Naruto's company had started to creep up on him, and Sasuke didn't mind him as much as he would have led Naruto to believe.

"Smoking is a terrible habit, you know." Naruto sat down next to Sasuke on the grass. They were on the lawn at the front of the campus.

Sasuke's eyes flicked briefly towards Naruto as he put the cigarette out. Sasuke was learning it seemed. Naruto's lectures about health could last for hours. Naruto grinned at Sasuke. His hand touched Sasuke's, lightly, almost accidentally. He was warm, and didn't seem to notice the light touches Naruto had taken to giving Sasuke.

Sasuke had begrudgingly accepted Naruto's friendship. Naruto's powers of persuasion were feared by many. Naruto thought Sasuke was going soft sometimes, but Sasuke usually dissuaded him of those thoughts with a scathing comment about Naruto's intelligence, or lack thereof.

Naruto glanced at his friend. He sat with knees propped up and book resting on them, his hair revealing little strips of pale skin. Naruto would think about mouthing his neckline, and licking the dip in his collarbone far too often.

Naruto nudged Sasuke and he grunted, handing over his packet of cigarettes. Naruto wondered if he would still taste like smoke.

Sasuke had gone to bed that night thinking a little harder than usual about Naruto's skin. It always felt so cool when he touched him; it was surprising for someone so incessantly bright.

He woke at five AM to the sound of his door being hammered. Whoever it was would die a quick death by Sasuke's stapler to their eye. He stumbled across the room, and groped his way to the door, not bothering to switch the light on.

Sasuke barely registered what his eyes were telling him before his mouth was attacked and his hips were gripped painfully by Naruto. He was being kissed by Naruto, Naruto who was wearing a yellow silk Venetian mask. Naruto, whose mouth moved against Sasuke's in a way that hinted at more than just déjà vu.

Naruto pushed them away from Sasuke's door and further into the room, backed him up to his desk, all the while with his hands moving over Sasuke. Like he couldn't get enough, like Sasuke would stop him soon.

Naruto pulled his mouth away. Sasuke could see more clearly in the darkness the colour of Naruto's eyes than he had that night three months prior. He knew who Naruto was and that knowledge intensified what he was feeling.

Naruto reached behind him, he unpinned Sasuke's mask from the notice board and brought it to Sasuke's face. He held the mask up and leaned in to kiss the corner of Sasuke's mouth.

Naruto's knees knocked into his and then one pushed in between Sasuke's legs. Sasuke brought his hands up to Naruto's face and untied the mask, letting it fall away to the floor.

He kissed Naruto again, just once before reaching for Naruto's hand, still holding the mask to Sasuke's face. He pulled away Naruto's hand and the black mask fell to the floor landing next to the yellow silk one.

Naruto looked taken aback, but didn't say anything as Sasuke traced the curve of his eyebrow, fingers trailing along his jaw before going to the back of his neck to drag their mouths together.

His back dug into the desk behind and he pushed at Naruto. They stumbled in a clumsy path towards Sasuke's narrow single bed. Naruto's hand pushed into his loose pyjama pants and Sasuke arched into the touch. Sure fingers wrapped around him, pulling, tugging, making him gasp into the mouth above his.

Sasuke pulled away Naruto's thin t-shirt, pulling it up, much like he had done last time, hands ghosting over the stomach, feeling the skin and muscle there twitch beneath his fingertips. His nail curved around a nipple and Naruto groaned into his neck.

Sasuke came with the feeling of such utter completion that his mind blanked for a few moments. He drew in ragged breaths, Naruto's own mingling with his.

"I know who you are now," Naruto whispered against his mouth, in between kisses, his warm breath intoxicating.

Sasuke's mouth curved in a smile, his mouth pressed hard against Naruto's.

The End.