Description: When a situation leads Sasuke to bring home Naruto, a fox hybrid who has a thing for his scent, what will ensue?

Pairing/s: SasuNaru/NaruSasu, KakaIta

Warnings: Explicit adult content; hybrid!Naruto; yaoi (malexmale); light bondage/spanking. If this will offend you, do not read.

Disclaimer: The Naruto world belongs to Kishimoto. I do not make a profit from this FanFic.

x-x-x-x-x

Scent Of My Heart – Part 3

"Hello?" said Sasuke, managing to answer on the second ring. His eyes were still focused on the spreadsheet in front of him, new ideas spinning through his mind. The thoughts came to an abrupt halt as he recognised the soft, sweet voice on the line as his mother's.

"Sasuke? Why haven't I been able to get through to you on your cell phone? I've been trying to call you since yesterday."

"Uh…I dropped my cell phone the other day," Sasuke lied, glancing at the shattered phone in his open desk drawer. "I have a new phone arriving some time later today, so you'll be able to reach me via cell phone again soon."

"Ah, I see. Well, I was talking to Itachi on the phone a few days ago and he told me that you invited someone to move in with you. I must admit, I was a little hurt to find out that you asked him to move in without at least introducing him to us first," she said, a little reproachfulness entering her voice.

"Mom, I did not invite someone to move in with me…at least not in the way you mean. It was actually due to some bad circumstances that were going on at work and… Anyway, you'll meet him on Saturday at dinner, right? Itachi said that you've invited us over for dinner." Sasuke tried to keep the tinge of annoyance from his voice. Now, because of Itachi, his parents thought he was hiding something.

"Oh, so he did tell you. I wondered if he would remember… Speaking of dinner, I was calling to tell you to come up for the weekend instead. Driving three hours here and three hours home just for dinner is ridiculous, and we'll barely get a chance to meet…" She hesitated, and Sasuke realised he hadn't even given her Naruto's name yet.

"Ah, Naruto. His name is Naruto. Mom…I'm not sure we can stay the weekend. It's pretty busy here and that's a pretty long drive on a Friday night," he hedged, while thinking to himself that it could also be an incredibly awkward weekend if everyone didn't get along.

"Sasuke, it'll be fine. You and Itachi have the beach cottages, so it's not like you'll be stuck with us all weekend. Plus, I know that you're working yourself too hard. Consider this a break. Just this one time, for your dear old mom. Please?" she wheedled, knowing exactly how to push her sons' buttons.

"Mom, please," Sasuke said, rolling his eyes. "You're not old. Look, I can't guarantee anything, but I'll talk to Naruto about it and if he says yes, then we'll stay for the weekend."

"Good! Now, you have to excuse me because I want to get started on all the cooking for your visit!" Mikoto sounded happy, so Sasuke put aside his misgiving about Itachi's spilling of the beans.

"Okay…well, I guess you'll see me tomorrow night then." His mother made a quick reply and he was listening to the dial tone before he could add anything else. Sighing he hung up, resting his head on the desk for a moment before calling Shizune and asking her to send an email about the coming weekend to Naruto.

x-x-x-x-x

Naruto sat at a small desk in the call centre, transcribing customer service calls for 'future training purposes', as the people on the line were told. It had been an interesting week and hard week.

Exactly a week ago, on the second of Sasuke's days off, they had done exactly as Sasuke had planned. Opening a bank account in Naruto's name turned out to be more difficult than anticipated, as he lacked the identification that humans inevitably picked up in routine parts of life. Eventually, Sasuke had worn down the poor banking employee (through sheer force of will, it seemed to Naruto) and an account had been opened for Naruto, though it was linked to Sasuke's, at least for the time being. The car ride had been pretty quiet after the trip to the bank.

"You know, you didn't have to get me the bank account," Naruto ventured, correctly guessing the source of Sasuke's irritation. "Hybrids are used to not having one. Usually any money we spend comes from our owner's pocket."

"I know, I know," Sasuke snapped. "But I don't want to be your owner; I want you to have some freedom. That means you need your own money, and your own account. If you one day decide to go to Tsunade's because you no longer want to stay with me, you shouldn't be tethered by an account."

Naruto looked faintly amused at what he considered to be Sasuke's naiveté . "You think of us as equivalent. This is the way things are; hybrids aren't considered human, and you just have to learn to accept it."

"Hn," Sasuke grunted, barely acknowledging the statement. By the time they made it home, Sasuke's annoyance had diminished and he'd marched into his room purposefully, going straight over to the walk-in-robe, opening the doors and staring contemplatively at the contents. Naruto sidled up behind him, discreetly (or so he believed) sniffing Sasuke's neck, Sasuke shivered briefly as the warm air shifted his hair slightly at the nape of his neck. Moving forward a little, ignoring Naruto's looming presence behind him, he plucked out a pale blue dress shirt, black vest and suit, pursing his lips. With a nod to himself, he turned and pressed the suit into Naruto's arms.

"Wear this," he said, before marching out of the room. He returned a minute or so later with a pair of dress shoes that had been kept in immaculate condition, eyeing Naruto with satisfaction. Naruto had managed to finish getting dressed after adding a hole to the trousers for his furry tail. He was currently standing in front of the floor length mirror that Sasuke had in the corner looking very perplexed as he tried, unsuccessfully, to knot the plaid charcoal grey tie properly.

Sitting the shoes on the small table near the door, Sasuke leaned against the door frame with his arms crossed and a small smirk adorning his lips. He remained silent for a moment, observing Naruto's struggles.

"You know, I can smell you over there… Come and help me with this, instead of just standing there and watching me, you jerk," Naruto said, frustration colouring his tone as he glared at the tie in the mirror before giving up and letting it hang loosely around his neck.

Sasuke, still smirking, uncrossed his arms and went to stand in front of Naruto, fingers deftly creating the knot and tightening it to fit the collar snugly. "I thought you knew how to knot a tie…you were wearing one when you came into the kitchen after I gave you the new clothes the other day, right?" Stepping back to briefly admire his handy work, the corner of his mouth twitched upwards in a satisfied smile which disappeared so fast that it left Naruto wondering whether he'd imagined it.

Snorting, Naruto spied the shoes on the bed and quickly went to add them to his ensemble. "Nah, I didn't tie that. I was trying to impress you so I just borrowed one from your wardrobe. You have a whole coat hanger dedicated to holding pre-tied ties," he said, his tone making it clear that he thought that that level of organisation was nuts. Once the shoes were laced, he came to stand in front of the mirror once more, admiring his reflection. Despite the ears and tail, he looked well-dressed and professional.

Sasuke gave him once last look over before heading out the door and towards the lift. "Okay, now that you are suitably dressed, let's go to ACE so you can get started at your new job."

A short car ride later, they arrived at an impressively modern three story building, the silver lettering above the entrance identifying it as Always Classy Entertainment Management, Inc. Naruto tried not to look too wide-eyed as they entered a softly lit and expensive looking lobby. Behind a desk, there was an attractive pink-haired lady, whose job it was to take calls and direct them to which ever department was necessary.

"One moment, sir, I'll just transfer you to the Event Planning department. Please stay on the line," she said professionally, before hitting a few buttons to follow through with the transfer. Hanging the phone up, a somewhat shy smile crossed her face as she noticed Sasuke coming towards her. She greatly admired him, and happened to think he looked cute when he donned the reading glasses that he so rarely wore in public. It was a compliment to her professionalism when her eyebrows only bounced upwards minutely, the smile never wavering, when she caught sight of the fox hybrid following her employer. "Good afternoon, sir," she said, dipping her head slightly.

"Hello, Miss Haruno," said Sasuke, glancing at his watch. "Do you know if Gai is working the customer service phones today?" He winced slightly when he thought about the competent, if slightly over enthusiastic, head of the customer service department. Unlike Sasuke, Gai and his assistant Lee loved to interact with the customers and were highly skilled at getting even the angriest of customers to back down. Though he didn't dislike them, he found that extended periods of time in their cheerful company left him needing ibuprofen and a sound-proofed room.

"I'll just check for you," she replied, clicking away at the keyboard before putting through a call to the department. After a few exchanged words, she thanked the person on the line and hung up. "He's currently on the floor with the call centre staff, though he's scheduled to go into a meeting in twenty-five minutes." After a brief nod in her direction, and Sasuke was headed for the lifts, Naruto following in his wake.

Following Sasuke through the various departments and offices, for the first time, he had the opportunity to observe Sasuke in a professional setting. It was apparent that Sasuke was well regarded by his colleagues. Their high opinion of Sasuke didn't mask their curiosity about Naruto though, and Naruto was aware that every now and again a head would turn to stare for a moment before quickly turning away so as not to be caught. Being a hybrid, he was more than used to attracting some sort of attention, so it didn't bother him, though their level of curiosity did leave him wondering if people in the 'real world' were less exposed to hybrids than he'd believed.

After climbing another set of stairs, bringing them to the third level, they finally arrived at a door with a simple plaque reading Vice President Sasuke Uchiha. When they entered the small reception area where Sasuke's assistant usually worked, the first thing that struck Naruto was the distinct scent of a hybrid which lingered in the office. He inhaled deeply and after a moment of contemplation, he smiled in satisfaction when he identified the scent as panther.

"What do you smell?" Sasuke asked, curiosity getting the better of him. Having already been intrigued about the hybrid's apparent need to scent the air all the time, he'd noticed Naruto's reaction to the room right away.

"Your assistant is a hybrid," Naruto replied, his nose still twitching. He saw Sasuke's eyebrows go up and grinned. "Must be another one like Tsunade. Very human."

Sasuke forced himself to lower his eyebrows. Once again, someone he'd known for quite a long time had turned out to be related to this secret world of hybridity; leaving him to wonder who else in his life could be hiding this kind of secret. Forcing himself to ignore the surprise at this newest revelation, he waved his hand dismissively, and said, "Never mind that, we have other important things to be going on with." He pushed open a door to the right of the reception area and indicated that Naruto should enter his office.

Naruto shrugged and stepped through the door into the room, noting with interest its unusual circular shape. Clasping his hands behind his back, he strolled over to the photos of Sasuke and his family, before turning to find Sasuke watching him. "So…what do you want me to do?"

Sasuke crossed to a small storage and supplies closet, pulling out a barely used laptop and placing it at a small desk that Naruto hadn't even noticed when he entered. After pushing an office chair over to the desk, and rolling his own very comfortable reclinable computer chair over to the desk as well, he beckoned with an impatient hand, indicating that Naruto should sit down.

Naruto watched curiously as Sasuke switched it on and logged into the system, pulling a pair of head phones from his pocket. Sasuke leaned forward, squinting at the screen for a moment before sighing and pulling a pair of reading glasses from his pocket. He slid them into place, his dark bangs slipping forward to lay against his cheek. Naruto swallowed, thinking that Sasuke looked very mature and handsome in his glasses, and with the contrast between his pale skin and that dark hair…

"…ruto? Naruto, are you even paying attention?" Sasuke's voice broke his train of thought.

"Huh? Uh, yeah, sorry," he said with a grin and a shrug, settling himself back in the seat and focusing his full attention on Sasuke's words.

"So, anyway, as I was explaining to you, ACE has a few different departments set up to handle different tasks. The group you saw at the Hyuga estate are one of our specialised teams whose job it is to handle high profile clients. They perform a wide range of duties; they can be hired to clean up after the wealthy – usually nothing illegal, but mostly things that would cause scandals in the media, they can be hired to act as bodyguards and surveillance during events that clients are attending and they can be hired to investigate things like blackmail threats.

On the other side of the fence from our protective services, normal teams of ACE employees can be hired simply as event planners, or used to organise supplies and suppliers for an event, as an after-event cleaning service, as a chauffeuring service, as a sober driver service and, of course, as ordinary caterers and waiters." Sasuke looked at Naruto to make sure he was paying attention this time. "Of course, there are also a range of duties performed here at the head office, too."

"More? Such as?" Naruto was surprised by the extent of the duties of organisation. He'd never heard of them before, not even while Akatsuki Entertainment had had him.

"Well, there are our customer service telephone operators. They deal with assigning the appropriate teams to whatever jobs are called in. There's the problem management service – all customers who have a problem are put through to that sector," Sasuke suddenly smirked. "It's kind of an in joke, but if you look at their initials, they are the PMS sector, dealing with irate clients." Naruto chuckled appreciatively, before Sasuke started up again. "Then there are the managers of each section who deal with budgeting, suppliers, transport organisation and that kind of thing. We also have our receptionists and assistants, even some people employed to do building maintenance."

"I had no idea you were working for such a big organisation," said Naruto, impressed. "For such a big company, I can't believe I've never heard of it before."

"Ah, well. When Itachi took over from my parents eleven years ago, ACE was actually a small business, mostly operating on a local scale doing catering and events organising. But, Itachi has always been driven, and once he decided to expand the business, it just took off. I started working here nine years ago, and sometimes even I can't believe how far the business has come." Sasuke glanced up at the clock and realised that they had already been sitting here for almost half an hour. "Anyway, I think that's enough of a history lesson for one day. You said you were okay when it came to transcribing duties, right?"

"Yeah… I haven't had a lot of experience in a work place setting, but I think I can pick it up pretty fast if you want me to." Naruto's voice was filled with determination; being presented with the opportunity to do something other than fight other hybrids was a relief.

"Well, I don't think this will be your position for long, since I have some other ideas to talk to Itachi about, but it's a good place to start and you'll get to know more about the company. For the time being, all you have to do is monitor the calls that Sakura puts through on your line and transcribe them. Tomorrow, I'll set up a cubicle for you in Guy's department. Here," said Sasuke as he reached across to settle the headset somewhat awkwardly over Naruto's ears. When his fingers lightly brushed over one ear, Sasuke felt a little swell of satisfaction when Naruto unconsciously leaned his head into the touch, his tail swaying slightly behind him.

x-x-x-x-x

It had been almost a week since the day that Sasuke had first brought him in, and Naruto had learned quite a lot about the business in that short amount of time. The most interesting part had been meeting and getting to know people who weren't in the hybrid industry. Starting in Gai's department had been a learning experience for everyone. He'd soon found that his interactions with Akatsuki and wealthy clientele were vastly different to the ones he had with ordinary, everyday, working people. Inevitably, there had been one or two employees who'd had negative reactions to the presence of a hybrid in their work space, but for the most part, the rest of the employees extended a cautious welcome which turned into shy overtures of friendship after a few days.

Working steadily at transcribing the calls that Sakura patched through to him, Naruto began to yawn surreptitiously as the calls dwindled and they hit the slow patch of the day. Everyone else seemed to have paperwork to go on with, and not wanting to disturb them, he remained in his chair, bored. There was a high pitched ping! through the headphones as the computer alerted him to two new emails, which Naruto practically pounced on.

The first was from Tsunade, and his heart sank, heavy with disappointment when he found yet another message telling him that the recent lead she had been following hadn't turned up Gaara. He and Tsunade talked frequently, and Sasuke had hesitantly encouraged him to get involved with Tsunade. It turned out to have been a really good idea, allowing Naruto to have contact with other hybrids while he tried to settle into a new life with Sasuke.

The second email was unexpected, enough so that it moved his depression over the failed search for his friend to curiosity. It was from Sasuke; which was unusual because Sasuke rarely contacted him by email, preferring to wait until they were back at the apartment and just talk about how things were going.

Reading the email twice, Naruto felt surprised when his heart began to beat a little faster in anticipation of being introduced to Sasuke's parents. He'd never met any parents before, let alone the been introduced to his new, dare he say it, boyfriend's parents. His heart gave a sharp throb when he thought of the possibility of their rejection, before he gave himself a mental slap. What was he thinking? He was a hybrid. He was used to rejection by the 'normal' people in society. He typed a few quick lines agreeing to go to the Uchiha residence for the weekend, then went back to aimlessly staring at his screen while he waited for a call to come through.

There was a brief trill before someone in customer service answered the call, and Naruto was straight back into transcribing, noticing that apparently the slow period had ended as other people in the department started answering ringing phones.

x-x-x-x-x

Friday afternoon came quickly, and by three, Naruto was finished for the day. He made a quick trip to Sasuke's office, where Shizune had let him know that Sasuke still had three meetings lined up and was unlikely to finish before five. After thinking about it for a moment, he scribbled a quick note for Shizune to give to Sasuke and headed down to the bus stop that was conveniently located at the front of the building.

The old bus rolled to a stop and the doors hissed open to allow a small flock of people off, at least four of them belonging to ACE. Naruto looked around and noticed that he seemed to be the only person getting on, so he stepped up, swiping his ticket methodically and taking a seat near the front of the bus just as Sasuke had shown him last week. His fascination with the way humans interacted hadn't diminished, and he peered out the windows utterly enthralled, barely noticing as the bus stopped to let passengers on and off.

His attention to the outside world, however, was broken when he felt a sharp yank on his tail. He spun in his seat, ready to growl at whomever was displaying their dislike for the hybrid species in such a childish way. He was surprised to find that the culprit actually was a child, and one who appeared to be as fascinated with the hybrid as he was with the humans. A little girl, who could be no more than three years of age, stood on the seat behind him with his tail, which had slipped through the gap in the seat, clasped in her chubby fingers.

She gave another experimental tug and giggled in delight when Naruto flicked the white tip gently across her chin. He grinned over at her, wiggling his ears back and forth, his smiling swelling when he got another giggle.

"Perty kitty!" she smiled, letting go of his tail with one hand in order to pet it. She was too adorable to correct, so Naruto just smiled back, letting her stroke his tail. A few seconds later, the little girl was snatched up by a harried looking woman who could only be her mother.

"Aine! Don't just wonder off like that! And what are you touching? You don't know where that thing might have been!" Her words attracted the attention of the other passengers, turning to see what was causing the exclamation of disgust. Sending a glare in Naruto's direction, she bustled back to the seat where she'd left her shopping, leaving him feeling like he'd been slapped in the face, his cheeks blushing red. It was a great relief when the bus rumbled up to his stop ten minutes later, and he felt like he couldn't get out of there fast enough.

As he stepped off, he noticed that a little old woman who had been seated a few seats behind him was also exiting the bus, grasping the handrail tightly as she headed towards the door. With a sigh and the expectation of rejection, he stepped back over to the door and offered his hand to help her down the steep step. He was thoroughly surprised when a wrinkled hand gripped his own tightly as its owner stepped heavily down from the bus.

"Thank you, young man," she said, letting go of his hand as the doors hissed closed once again, both of them watching the bus pull away from the curb.

"Er, you're welcome…" Naruto replied, watching as she gathered her bags to her.

"You shouldn't worry about that lady," said the old woman as she start to walk down the street in the same direction as Naruto.

He raised an eyebrow curiously, but said nothing, holding out a hand in an offer to carry her bags. She passed him three of the heavier shopping bags, keeping the smaller ones for herself.

"There are a lot of people like her; she fears what she doesn't understand, and she doesn't understand how a hybrid can be human. Not that it makes her actions any less rude and hurtful, but if it makes you feel any better, most of the people on the bus were more disgusted that she let her little girl wander off unsupervised where she could have been snatched away by a real predator." The woman was staring straight ahead as she spoke, and Naruto couldn't keep a small smile from forming as he began to understand that she was trying her best to show her support to him, despite the fact that he was a stranger and a hybrid, no less.

She came to an abrupt halt outside a tiny, terraced house, a mere block away from the ACE employee apartment building. Holding out her hand she gave a small smile as she accepted back the bags he had been carrying for her. They stared at each other silently for a moment.

"Thanks," said Naruto finally, unable to think of any other way to express his gratitude. She ducked her head and gave a smile before turning and heading up the stairs to her building. Naruto watched until she was safely inside the door, then kept walking onwards to Sasuke's apartment.

In the lobby he placed a quick phone call to Tsunade, who let him know that the call out that they'd had had led to a family of racoon hybrids hiding in a secluded cabin in the mountains that was only used for a holiday house. Much to his surprise, and Tsunade's, they had found that two hybrids that had children together produced normal looking hybrid children; no more or less human than their parents. It was the first time either of them had ever heard of two hybrids starting a family together, and despite his sadness at not locating his tanuki friend, he was glad that they had at least been able to help a family that had been in a difficult situation. After the call, he quickly entered the elevator and hit the close door button before any of the ACE employees could get on and ogle him.

When the elevator stopped at the right floor, he stepped off, was hit by the familiar wall of smell that always greeted him. While it was not as overwhelming as before he'd slept with Sasuke, it was still intensely sensual and unique, leaving him feeling like he couldn't get enough.

After changing into a pair of black sweats and a grey tank top, Naruto stood in front of his own wardrobe considering his options for this weekend. Grabbing whichever items he felt would be appropriate for a weekend with Sasuke's parents, he folded the clothes neatly, sitting them in piles on the bed. Scratching his ear, he tried to remember where Sasuke had said the spare suitcase was. To his own pleasure, he was fairly certain that it was in Sasuke's wardrobe.

Entering Sasuke's bedroom when he wasn't home always felt a little like he was breaking the rules, and he always took a silent pleasure I doing so. Crossing directly to the wardrobe, he opened the doors, closed his eyes and inhaled deeply as his sense of smell was flooded with Sasuke's odour. He hesitantly took one step forward, and then another, and before he knew it, he was pressed up against the rack of clothes, his nose buried in the fabric.

Naruto's tale swished enthusiastically as he rubbed his face along the clothes of his lover, drinking in the scent. A quick glance at the bedside clock told him that it would still be an hour or two before Sasuke returned. Turning to look at the clothes again, he chewed on his lower lip for a moment, before finally deciding to give in to the urge he'd had since the day he'd arrived here. After one final guilty glance towards the door, Naruto grabbed as many of the clothes in front of him as he could, and threw them on the bed, making two more trips back to the wardrobe until almost the entire contents of Sasuke's wardrobe was heaped on the massive bed.

Naruto eyed the giant pile of clothes for a few seconds, before springing across the room and landing atop the pile. Pressing himself down into the pile, he breathed in deeply. Wrapped in the sensual scent of his lover, Naruto was in ecstasy, his senses heightened. After taking one final moment to sit up and strip off his tank top, he dropped back into the pile of clothes and writhed against them, enjoying the feel of the cool, expensive fabrics sliding over his bare skin, Sasuke's scent coating him.

Whilst for the most part Naruto was simply enjoying being surrounded by the scent that permeated his brain and heart, a small part inside Naruto that he was rarely even aware of was practically purring in satisfaction. That small, possessive part of him was glad that they had finally taken steps to mark Sasuke as his. For a whole quarter of an hour, he basked in the pile of clothes, drinking in their scent.

When he finally walked away from the bed, his gait was unsteady and his eyes were slightly unfocused, and he leaned against the door frame breathing deeply and trying to recollect himself. Once he started to come down from the high of coating himself in Sasuke's scent, he gathered up the clothes strewn across the bed, and now floor, carefully rehanging them in the wardrobe and shrugging his tank top back on. The few that he thought were too noticeably rumpled to rehang, he laid out on the bed to send out for cleaning, hoping that Sasuke wouldn't notice that he was missing some clothes.

After he'd finished packing his bag and cleaning up Sasuke's clothes, Naruto paused for a moment before heading to the couch in the living room that was set in a spot that caught the afternoon sun through the large tinted window.

x-x-x-x-x

Sasuke let out a relieved sigh as the client from his final meeting left the building, letting his head fall forward to rest on his fists. That last meeting had seemed never ending, the client a particularly rich and fussy man who had nothing better to do that nitpick about the decisions the ACE staff were making. A complaint from the team manager and a phone call from Itachi, and the result left Sasuke in the position of acting team leader for the duration of the charity event that was being organised in addition to his normal workload and duties.

Standing and stretching, Sasuke winced as his joints popped and the muscles in his back ached in protest from too much time spent sitting down. When his watch beeped to tell him that it was already five o'clock, he buzzed through to Shizune, telling her to head home while he locked up.

Twenty minutes later, he stood in the empty lift on his way up to his apartment, tugging his tie from around his neck and shrugging off his suit jacket, waiting for the pinging sound that indicated he'd reached the twenty-first floor. Stepping off of the lift, he closed his eyes and took a moment to let himself relax now that he was away from the confines of his office, before hanging his jacket in the coatroom by the lift.

Thinking about what he would need to pack for the trip to see his parents, he headed for his bedroom and stopped dead in the living room when the image of Naruto lounging in the fading sunlight registered in his mind. The blonde hair glimmered in the orange glow, ears and tails twitching. Predatory eyes slid over Sasuke's still crisp shirt, taking in the loosened tie and collar, and the pale flash of exposed neck, and Sasuke couldn't prevent the wave of desire that flooded him as he felt Naruto's gaze.

Naruto's nose twitched and he abruptly moved from sitting to standing, the movement so fluid and fast that Sasuke's mind almost didn't process it. As the hybrid stalked towards him, Sasuke couldn't help but give an anticipatory shiver.

"Saaasuke," Naruto said, his low and rumbling voice drawing out the name, his body stopping when there was but an inch of space between them. Inhaling, the tip of his nose brushed Sasuke's cheek and his pupils were fully dilated in the fading light. "You smell so good…and I can hear your heart racing. Do you want me? Hmmm?" His voice lowered to a whisper. "'Cause I want you, Sasuke."

Naruto circled Sasuke, pressing himself against the ebony haired man's back, sliding his hands over Sasuke's hips, the sharp claw-like nails digging into the soft flesh there. Sasuke swallowed, his Adam's apple shifting, and Naruto leaned forward, tracing the tip if his tongue against the pink shell of Sasuke's ear. Sasuke suppressed another shiver, his eyes fluttering closed as he felt the warm, damp heat of the blonde hybrid's breath ghosting over the exposed skin of his neck.

Naruto's lips brushed feather light across his neck in a barely perceptible kiss, before his touch became more demanding, lips parting. His pointed canines rasped over the sensitive skin causing Sasuke to let loose a whimper which turned into a low moan when Naruto bit down lightly. Sucking on the sensitive flesh grasped between his teeth, though he managed not to break the skin this time, Naruto could still almost taste the coppery taint of blood just beneath the surface, and a growl rumbled through him possessively.

Sasuke allowed his head to drop back onto Naruto's shoulder with a sigh, a smile briefly passing over his lips when the hybrid tilted his head to rub a thick, furred ear against his cheek. He felt a tug at his fly before the zip lowered smoothly and a firm hand popped the button free of its hole. Fingertips traced light circular patterns across the skin above the waistband of his navy blue boxer briefs before the material slid down to expose his arousal.

Sasuke could feel evidence of Naruto's own aroused state pressed to the still clothed, toned curve of his ass. Naruto's hand slid down to grip Sasuke's erection, using the pre-come that had already dribbled from the tip as lubricant and began to stroke his length firmly, delighting in the feel of Sasuke pressing back into him, in hearing the rhythmic pants of his partner. His free hand found Sasuke's hardened nipple beneath the thin fabric of the designer shirt and he pinched it, rolling it between his fingertips, just hard enough to make Sasuke jerk against him and whimper with pleasure.

Naruto worked Sasuke with a slow and steady rhythm, until sweat beaded on the pale brow of the dark haired man and his hips began to shift in time with the movements of Naruto's hand. When Sasuke began to feel the familiar bubble of ecstasy swell, he stopped Naruto's movements and turned to face the blonde, levering him forward to kiss his lips hungrily.

"Can't have you missing out, can we?" he said with a smirk, slipping his thumbs into the waistband of the black sweats and pulling them down in one smooth motion as he went to his knees before the hybrid, noting the excited twitching of the bushy tail that he glimpsed between toned, muscular legs. Taking Naruto's swollen member in hand, Sasuke's eyes travelled upwards until they met with Naruto's, and after a delicate stroke of the tongue along the shaft, he slid the organ into his mouth, using a skilled tongue and lips to draw a long moan from the blonde.

As he bobbed his head along Naruto's length, he felt the fingers that ran through his hair clench and unclench with waves of pleasure, and could see Naruto's lips part as his breathing quickened. Withdrawing from Naruto, he let his hand take over where his mouth left off, his saliva an excellent lubricant, while he used his other hand to stimulate his own arousal. His mind played over his encounters with Naruto in bed over the past week, thinking of the blonde's enjoyment of biting his neck, he wondered if Naruto would enjoy the same treatment elsewhere, since biting the hybrid fox on the neck appeared to pacify rather than stimulate him.

Deciding to put it to the test, Sasuke traced wet circles from Naruto's hip to his groin with his tongue, before placing a few light kisses high on the fox's inner thigh. Rolling his eyes up to watch Naruto's expression, he clamped his teeth down as hard as he dared without breaking the skin, and shivered when Naruto gave a drawn out whimper and shudder, his hips jerking eagerly. If the noises Naruto made weren't enough of an indication, the expression on his face certainly was. His eyes were closed and his lower lip trembled as if the pleasure was almost too much for him.

"Sasuke…" Naruto whispered breathily.

Sasuke felt a jerk of pleasure in his own lower region and stood quickly, balling his hands in Naruto's tank top, forcing him to lean inwards to lock lips. Lowering a hand back to the erection prodding his stomach, Sasuke brought his own length up against Naruto's wrapping his fingers around both and stroking them together, his hips jerking minutely as he felt the pangs of pleasure igniting once again.

Naruto's hand settled over Sasuke's, tightening their grips and a moan left his lips, his head falling forward until his forehead rested against Sasuke's, their sweat mingling.

Sasuke felt himself getting close to the edge, and knew that Naruto wasn't quite there. He trembled, and hoping to bring Naruto to the final stages of pleasure, he dropped his head to one side and sank his teeth into the bronzed flesh of Naruto's exposed shoulder. Naruto cried out, his hips jerked and his fingers tightened causing Sasuke to gasp, and then moan as the hot seed of their pleasure splashed across their shirts and intertwined hands.

Leaning against each other, panting, they said nothing for a moment. Eventually, Sasuke managed to catch his breath, looking down.

"Well…after the spontaneous onset of this encounter, my suit may need burning," he said dryly, the upturned corner of his mouth indicating that he wasn't mad. "Not that I care, of course, though I think I'd rather not explain to my dry cleaner how I got these stains."

Naruto chuckled, his cheeks turning pink when he realised that in his rush, neither man had managed to get undressed – Sasuke's pants were around his thighs and Naruto's sweats were pooled at his ankles. "I, uh, I didn't intend to jump you…"

Curious, Sasuke slid his pants the rest of the way off of his legs and stepped out of them, Naruto following suit before they headed towards Sasuke's en suite. "Always nice to know I'm irresistible. So, why were you so turned on when I got home? Was it the heat again?"

Shaking his head, even more embarrassed now, Naruto looked at the wall. "Not exactly. I was... I guess you could say, somewhat…drunk. Er, on your scent. From when I was in your room with all of your— When I moved your— When I went to get the suitcase for this weekend," he finished lamely, still not making eye contact with the curious Uchiha.

Sasuke made a mental note to review the security footage from his bedroom on Monday. Judging by Naruto's response to the question and his…eager greeting upon arriving home, he was willing to wager it would be worth it to see what the whole story was.

x-x-x-x-x

There was only twenty minutes left until they would arrive at Sasuke's parents place, and though they'd been in the car for almost three hours, Naruto still watched the landscape avidly out of the window, having never been more than thirty minutes out from the city in his whole life. His tail flicked rapidly, especially when he caught glimpses of the ocean between the trees.

Sasuke, on the other hand, shifted between feeling amused at Naruto's attempts at subtle excitement, and feeling tense about the upcoming introductions and a weekend with his brother. He had to force himself to relax the muscles in his shoulders, the tension making them creep higher.

Soon, they pulled into the long driveway that led to the secluded beachfront property owned by his parents, and nearby, two holiday houses owned by himself and Itachi. When he pulled up, he saw Itachi's car parked near the garage and automatically scowled. He put the car into park, flicked the engine off, and took a deep breath, using the moment of quiet to wipe the scowl from his face and replace it with a neutral expression.

Naruto watched his face silently, and followed his lead when he hopped out of the car and headed for the front door, pulling a key from his pocket and unlocking the door without hesitation. When Sasuke entered kitchen, Naruto lagged behind in the hallway, feeling awkward in a stranger's home.

"Mom?" Sasuke called tentatively.

"Lounge room, dear," Mikoto called softly from the other room, though he could hear her footsteps approaching from the hallway at the other end of the kitchen. When she reached the kitchen, she flung her arms around Sasuke's shoulders, though he was half a head taller than her. Leaning back, she looked up into his face. "You're looking well. Nice to see you're not overworking yourself for a change." She peered around him, trying to see the guest he'd bought with him. "Sasuke? Are you going to introduce me…?"

With a sigh and a roll of the eyes, Sasuke flicked a glance over his shoulder and finally noticed that the fox hadn't followed him into the room. He walked back into the foyer and grasped Naruto by the hand, giving a rare smile of encouragement before tugging the reluctant hybrid into the kitchen.

Naruto entered the kitchen as though he were trying to hide in Sasuke's shadow. His ears drooped downwards and his tail was limp, wrapped loosely around his left ankle. His normally confident and blunt demeanour was muffled in the face of meeting someone he wanted to make a good impression on, and his free hand strayed upwards to tug his shirt straighter.

Mikoto's eyes were round and her pretty mouth was a circle of surprise. "Oh! He…he's a hybrid! Sasuke, you didn't tell me he was a… Ah, I'm sorry, please don't think me impolite, I just wasn't expecting…" she babbled, offering her hand to Naruto to shake.

Sasuke's cheeks flushed a bright red. "I thought Itachi had told you already?"

"Uh, no, he only said that you had taken on a new lover and were living together, but he never mentioned that it was… he was… I mean, your father and I are fine with it, of course, as long as you're happy, it just comes as a surprise…" She trailed off, and looked at Naruto's ears with fascination, her fingers twitching with the desire to reach out and touch them. "May I…?"

Naruto started when he realised she was eyeing his ears, and the tension in his body melted when he realised that she wasn't upset or disgusted by him in the least, in fact, she seemed interested. Sasuke, of course, looked mortified at her desire to fondle the hybrids ears, despite having had the urge to do the same thing a week earlier. Naruto grinned, exposing his elongated teeth, and leaned forward for her.

Reaching up, Mikoto touched the leathery, furred skin hesitantly for a moment before smiling and scratching the object of her fascination. Naruto unintentionally lent into the touch, his eyes closing and a small rumble of pleasure leaving his lips, his toes bouncing in time with the rhythmic movement of her fingers. Mikoto giggled and pulled back her hand, charmed, leaving the ice officially broken.

"So, you aren't bothered that he's…?" Sasuke started, surprised at his mother's casual interaction with Naruto.

"A hybrid? Of course not, Sasuke. Remind me to introduce you to our handyman tomorrow – he maintains the three properties and gardens, especially yours and Itachi's holiday houses – in return for the caretaker's cabin at the back of our property, and he's a hybrid too," Mikoto said matter-of-factly.

Sasuke's eyebrows shot up and his eyes widened. "You and Dad own a hybrid? Since when? And why haven't I heard about him?"

Mikoto rolled her eyes. "First of all, we don't 'own' anyone; he's a hybrid we hired to take care of the properties. He's been here for at least two years, and I don't know why you haven't heard of him; he was recommended to us by Itachi." She spotted the contemplative look on Sasuke's face and said quickly, "You're brother will be down soon, you can ask him then."

"Hn."

Footsteps started down the hallway and everyone looked at the door expectantly.

Naruto was surprised when a man who looked extremely like Sasuke arrived, the long hair tied in a ponytail at the nape of his neck his most noticeable difference from his younger sibling. The blonde had already deduced that this was Itachi, and this was confirmed when a frowning Sasuke muttered, "Speak of the devil and he shall appear."

Upon entering the room, a small smile adorned the elder Uchiha brother's face, and he quickly strode around the table pulling a still muttering Sasuke into a brief hug. "Hello, little brother," he said, his voice a little deeper than Sasuke's. "And…" he said, turning to face Naruto, who still stood beside Mikoto, "You must be Naruto." He held out a hand, the easy-going smile staying in place. "I've been looking forward to meeting you, though I must admit, I thought you would be bigger considering the fuss that arose at the Hyuga party."

Naruto shook his hand, his eyes darting over to look at Sasuke for any clues on how to treat Itachi. He was surprised by his first impression of the man, having expected someone much different after having listened to Sasuke complain about him all week. Placing his hand in Itachi's, he was about to say hello, but the slight breeze through the barely opened window blew Itachi's scent in his direction and stopped him in his tracks.

The three Uchihas flinched with surprise when Naruto unfroze and slipped into non-human mode, flashing forward faster than their minds could register to take a deep sniff at Itachi's neck before taking a step back to stand by Sasuke's side, Itachi's hand lingering in his grasp. "Nice to meet you…" he eventually responded when he noticed the confused silence around him, relinquishing his grip on the slim, elegant fingers.

Itachi gave him a knowing look, and turned back to the kitchen door he'd entered through. "I can't make it to dinner tonight as I've got a few errands to run as well as some international business calls to take, but you guys are welcome to visit me any time this weekend. And Sasuke, I haven't forgotten about that meeting you said you wanted to have. Tomorrow evening is good, if you're okay with that?"

"Sure," replied Sasuke, wondering what had passed between the blonde and his brother upon their meeting. Itachi grinned and was gone, disappearing back out the door without further discussion, leaving Naruto and Sasuke to have dinner with the latter's parents.

x-x-x-x-x

It was 1am by the time Sasuke slid between the clean sheets of the double bed and flicked the lamp off, sighing comfortably when Naruto's tail shifted to lie across his ankle. Dinner had gone relatively well, though his father had been uncomfortably silent sometimes; he was not as opened minded as Mikoto. As he didn't wish for unpleasantness with his sons, he instead maintained his silence choosing to keep his disapproval to himself. His mom and Naruto had gotten along as if they had known each other a lifetime, much to his relief, so while his dad had remained distant, Mikoto and Naruto made use of the time, trying to get better acquainted.

Nothing particularly eventful had happened at the dinner; instead, Sasuke's mind kept replaying the moment between Itachi and Naruto, which even now was making him shift restlessly beneath the sheets. For some reason, the memory of that moment, and the idea that they shared some secret, tightened his chest and made him feel irritated.

Naruto, who had been listening to what was fast becoming a comfortingly familiar sound – Sasuke's pre-bed routine of showering and completing a twenty minute series of Pilates stretches, followed quickly by falling into a solid sleep – could hear the shifts of Sasuke's body and breathing, and knew the other wasn't asleep yet. "Sasuke?" he said quietly to the darkness. For a moment there was silence, and Naruto wondered if Sasuke would pretend to be asleep.

"Hn?" grunted Sasuke, not sure whether or not he really felt like talking.

"What's the matter? You've been restless ever since we came back to your beach house…" Naruto's voice was tentative. "Did…did I embarrass you with your parents?" he said, finally voicing his greatest fear of the night, rushing on with, "I swear, I can do better next time. I won't embarrass you again."

"No! No, it's not that, Naruto. Not at all. My mom is just about ready to adopt you," he said, guilty for making the blonde man worry; sometimes it was easy to forget that the hybrid was seven years his junior and had far less life experience than the average person. "It's just…what was that moment between you and Itachi in the kitchen? Do you know each other from somewhere?" Sasuke worked hard to keep his tone neutral as plainly ridiculous thoughts of them going out together ran through his mind.

"Ah, that?" Naruto said, surprise in his tone. "That's what you're worried about? Geez, Sasuke. I was actually worried about screwing up with your parents and you were brooding over something that's no big deal." He smiled it the darkness before answering Sasuke's question. "Sasuke…Itachi reeks."

"Huh?" Sasuke responded stupidly, not anticipating the direction the conversation was taking.

"He's been doing the nasty with Kakashi," Naruto continued, his nose wrinkling. "I was pretty surprised to find a scent I recognised here, and judging by its strength…I'm guessing he's staying with Itachi while they visit your parents. And I think he knew that I knew and then he knew that I knew that he knew that I knew. And then it was awkward." He waved a hand dismissively. "Irrelevant. I'd say he's been sleeping with-"

"Enough," said Sasuke, pinching his brow. "I don't want to know about Itachi's weird sex life. At all."

Naruto snaked a tentative arm over Sasuke's waist possessively. "Can I come to your meeting tomorrow?"

"Huh? Yeah, of course. You were invited anyway, since it effects you as w-well…" Sasuke yawned widely, his eyes watering a little. Now that he knew that Itachi hadn't been hitting on his boyfriend in the past he felt the overwhelming urge to sleep, that past few days having been extremely busy.

Naruto recognised the slight change in breathing pattern and grinned, remaining silent, sure that Sasuke would be soundly asleep within moment. Sure enough, two minutes later a light snore drifted from the dreaming man and Naruto shifted into a more comfortable position before following Sasuke into the land of nod.

x-x-x-x-x

The next day turned out to be better than Sasuke could ever have anticipated; in his head, he secretly thanked his mother for asking them to stay for the weekend. He hadn't realised just how much fun it would be to see Naruto trying all the things he'd never tried before. The childlike look of glee when they walked down to the beach was so pure that Sasuke found himself holding his breath as the blonde splashed through the waves, calling for Sasuke's attention every time he found something he wanted to show off.

The first time that Naruto had been dunked by the surf had been both hilarious and highly erotic. Sitting on a towel on the beach, umbrella up to prevent the sun from burning his fair skin, Sasuke watched through the dark lenses of his sun glasses as Naruto splashed about in the surf, moving out a bit deeper to where the waves were bigger.

Looking to the shore and catching Sasuke's eyes on him, Naruto called and waved, oblivious to the massive wave approaching him from behind. As the wave slammed into the blonde's back and he was dunked beneath the clear aqua water, Sasuke stood, panicked. Eyes scanning the water for any sign of the blond. Fifteen seconds of sheer terror passed before Sasuke caught sight of a shadow beneath the water in the shallows.

There was a sudden splash and an explosive gasp of air was drawn in.

Naruto stood, bronzed skin dripping with water that gleamed like oil in the sunlight, his head thrown back and his chest heaving as his sucked the oxygen into his lungs, his hair hanging in stringy blonde waves. As Sasuke's eyes travelled downwards, his mind had a moment to argue with itself about whether or not he should laugh or drool when he realised that the massive wave had ripped away Naruto's swimming trunks, leaving him stark naked in the in the bright light, showing off the all over tan, which must have come from time spent roaming around naked outdoors, Sasuke mused.

The decision of whether to laugh or drool was made for him when Naruto, unaware of Sasuke's eyes tracking his movement, gave a thorough shake to dry himself off. His hair and tail flicked droplets of water every which way, and powerful muscles shifted beneath the tanned skin, making Sasuke need to swallow.

Completely non self-conscious about his nudity, Naruto sprinted down the beach, coming to a halt in front of Sasuke.

"Did you see that! I was totally wiped out! I got owned by that wave, Sasuke! WHAM! Hit me right in the back! I even lost my trunks! Did you notice? It's so awesome out there; I mean I learned to swim, of course – there is always a pool available for the water-type hybrids – but the ocean…man! They would love it! Do you know how to surf, Sasuke? I think it would be awesome to learn how, you know?" Naruto chattered away excitedly.

There was a tightening in Sasuke's chest which made him want to look away when he realised that this was the first time he'd probably ever seen Naruto so relaxed and…young. Always before he'd had an air of worldliness and lost innocence, the dry humoured attitude of someone who knows that there's an ugly side to life, and strives to keep living in spite of it. Biting the inside of his cheek and pushing the dark glasses higher on his nose to prevent Naruto from seeing his eyes, Sasuke forced himself to smirk and reply normally.

"Of course I know how to surf, though this time of day is not best for my skin type. I'll show you next time we come down here… By the way, did you happen to bring a second pair of shorts with you?"

"No," Naruto grinned. "I bet you did though. Mind if I borrow them 'til we get back and I can find another pair? I'll sew up the hole I make for my tail later on."

Sasuke said nothing, rummaging through the open bag he'd left beneath the umbrella until he found a pair of beige shorts which hit about mid-thigh. Naruto towelled himself dry, made a small tear in the shorts for his tail and pulled them on, grimacing.

"Why'd you have to be so skinny, Sasuke?" he complained as the material clung to his skin. Had the shorts been any smaller, they wouldn't have fit. Naruto leaned over to gather his stuff, saying, "Want to head back and have lunch?"

Sasuke bit his lip and cursed. Was it sexy to see those shorts moulding to the fox's ass? Or was it just plain torture? Sighing and figuring he should just get used to the near constant state of arousal Naruto inspired, he turned and picked up his own beach gear, trying to tune back into what the fox was telling him about jellyfish – jellyfish? – hybrids.

x-x-x-x-x

As sunset finally approached, the end of his day alone with Naruto came to a close. Picking up his briefcase, he brought out the assorted documents he'd been collecting over the week. He changed into a pair of faded blue denim jeans (and Naruto had exclaimed, "You actually own something old?") and red polo, sliding on the currently fashionable black framed glasses he normally used for reading, anticipating he'd need them for his meeting with Itachi.

Naruto entered the room in a new pair of orange board shorts – which, Sasuke noted, he had not bought for Naruto – and dark grey t-shirt. Naruto looked Sasuke over, admiring the way the raven haired man looked in the glasses.

Sasuke sighed, wishing he'd postponed the visit to Itachi for another day, but it wasn't worth arguing about with the stubborn man who loved to push his buttons. Easier just to go with it. Glancing out the window, he decided that it was close enough to evening to head over, though he knew it would irritate the crap out of Itachi that they arrived early.

On the ten minute walk between their houses, Naruto spent the entire way scenting the air and pointing out the camouflaged animals to Sasuke. They soon arrived at a large two story cabin, causing Naruto to go quiet as he still wasn't sure what to make of the older Uchiha sibling.

Sasuke rapped on the door sharply with his knuckles, glancing at his watch, eyes flicking to the garage to be sure Itachi's car was there. "For god's sake," he muttered in annoyance, knocking on the door more impatiently. After five minutes of waiting, Sasuke gave up on polite behaviour and gave the handle a twist, satisfied when the door opened with no resistance.

Beckoning to an uneasy Naruto, he said quietly, "Let's just go sit in the living room and wait for him. He'll come downstairs eventually." Naruto went to say something, and Sasuke silenced him with a gesture, heading towards the living room.

Flopping down onto a plush mauve lounge chair, Sasuke admired the changes Itachi had made to the space. The wall between the living room and the formal dining room had been knocked down, instead making room for a pool table at the back. The small sliding door leading to the kitchen and informal dining room had been expanded and replace with the two-way swinging doors often found in restaurants, complete with windows to make sure you didn't crash into people on the other side.

Naruto shifted uncomfortably, again trying to say something, but the sound of something metal falling to the floor came from the kitchen area, and Sasuke stood in a rush. Naruto followed as Sasuke snuck over to the swinging door to peer through the window. His body stiffened, and Naruto gave an almost imperceptible sigh, able to guess what Sasuke was seeing.

Sasuke felt Naruto approach him to gaze into the kitchen over his shoulder but was too preoccupied with the scene before him to tell Naruto not to look, unable to look away himself.

Itachi was bent over the dining table naked, a black leather belt binding his wrists together tightly and a firm hand on the back of his neck pushing him forward and down, preventing him from regaining his balance as his toes just barely touched the ground. It was obvious that they had been there a while, Itachi's clothes strewn around the room and an opened tube of lubricant on the table. The hard edge of wooden table bit into his hips, and he wriggled slightly, trying to ease the pressure and find a more comfortable position.

The owner of the hand had greyish white hair, broad shoulders and a pure white tail that matched the pointed ears atop his head. It took a moment for Sasuke to realise that it was the same arctic wolf, Kakashi, that was at the Half-Party at Tsunade's with Naruto. Kakashi donned a black tank top and a pair of forest green cargo pants.

The fly of his pants was undone and his clear, deep voice carried easily through the doors to where Sasuke and Naruto stood.

The hand on the nape of Itachi's neck slid upwards to caress the silky black hair, no longer bound by a hair tie. Suddenly, he wound the hair around his hand and jerked Itachi's head back enough to make him cry out. "Itachi," the wolf rumbled, grinding his hips against the pale Uchiha's ass possessively. "Tell me. I won't move if you don't say it…not one brush, not one stroke…not even a one breath." To demonstrate, he leaned down and let the heat of his breath trickle across Itachi's cheek, causing a visible tremble to run through the clearly aroused man.

"Kakashi!" Itachi panted, the name almost a plea, his hips pressing back as if to try and tempt the wolf into going back on his word.

"Uh, uh, uh. Naughty, pet," Kakashi grinned delivering a stinging slap to Itachi's right ass cheek, the exposed flesh flushing a heated red. Kakashi let his fingertips trail over the smooth, warm flesh. Drawing a breathy moan from Itachi, who was still unable to move with Kakashi's fingers tangled in his hair. "Saaay it, sweet pet, and you know you'll feel satisfied."

"Fuck me," Itachi whispered, licking his lips in anticipation, loving every sweet, agonising, drawn out moment.

"Louder," Kakashi demanded, positioning the head of his erect member at Itachi's opening and teasingly pressing forward without enough pressure to accomplish anything.

Itachi groaned, the sound filled with a desperate frustration and desire. His voice started as a whisper and grew to a hoarse shout. "Please…please, fuck me, please, 'Kashi, please…pound me, fuck me, use me, damn it!"

With a satisfied smile, Kakashi shoved his hips forward, his mismatched eyes fluttering as he was embraced by the tight heat of Itachi, who was writhing beneath him. Rhythmically rolling his hips, he drew moan after moan out of Itachi, whose eyelashes were wet with tears of pleasure. With his free hand, he slid a hand around Itachi's body to grip the hard, weeping organ tightly and began to stroke in time with his thrusts.

Itachi's moans became more disjointed as Kakashi drove him to the edge of the pleasurable abyss. Removing his hand from Itachi's hair, Kakashi leaned forward and whispered something into the pleasure filled man's ear. Itachi's head flicked around and his eyes lit upon Sasuke in the window. Instead of the horror Sasuke would have expected his brother to show, Itachi let out a long moan and threw his head back, apparently tightening around Kakashi. The idea of an audience watching him hit his exhibitionistic streak in exactly the right way, and he lost himself in the ecstasy of the moment, shuddering beneath the wolf as he was hit by wave after wave of an intense pleasure.

He slumped forward against the table, utterly spent, and Sasuke watched on as Kakashi gently withdrew before removing the belt from Itachi's wrists and effortlessly lifted the pale man, who was still completely lost to the intense mental euphoria of his climax. Turning to the kitchen door, he gave a small smile to Naruto and Sasuke before murmuring, "He'll be down in around an hour. Needless to say, we weren't expecting you until later."

As he carried Itachi upstairs, Sasuke stood with an open mouth. He was both shocked and intensely turned on. When Naruto tried to slip a hand around his shoulders, he jerked away, regretting it the instant the hurt registered in Naruto's eyes.

"Did you see… I mean, he hit my brother! Did you just see what I saw? What did I just see? And why the hell am I turned on after watching my own brother?" said Sasuke, clearly a little overwhelmed by the situation.

Naruto made soothing shushing noises, his own hurt had dissolved the moment he'd realised that Sasuke wasn't freaking out about being touched by a hybrid, he was freaking out about being turned on by watching his brother with another man.

"Sasuke… Oi, Sasuke!" Naruto's voice became loud and demanding, and Sasuke stopped muttering and focused on the fox. "Stop being a twit. I tried to warn you before we came in and you wouldn't listen, so now you just have to deal. First of all, I'm pretty sure it's normal to feel turned on after watching something as fucking hot as that, brother or not. Second of all, you saw consensual sex between two adults who clearly enjoyed it. A lot of hybrid relationships are like that, depending on the type of animal and how dominant or submissive they need to be to reproduce – in the wild, a lioness won't allow the male to touch her unless he proves himself strong enough; hell, you've experienced it with me – you know I like to bite and be bitten. So. No freaking out."

Sasuke gave himself a mental shake and took a breath. He knew that everything Naruto had just said was true and he began to calm himself. Finally, when he felt he regained all his senses, he looked at Naruto with pink stained cheeks, saying, "That was…incredible." This time he didn't flinch when Naruto's arm draped around his shoulders, pulling him close to share a kiss, his breath coming shakily. "I, uh, I think we should go back to my place for an hour because…I don't think I can sit in front of my big brother like this…even if he doesn't care."

Naruto grinned. "Hey, who am I to say no to a good idea."

x-x-x-x-x

Sitting in Itachi's living room, Sasuke was annoyed by the smirk on Itachi's face.

"Ah, my little brother, the voyeur," he grinned, continuing as though Sasuke hadn't told him to shut up at least fifty times in the past ten minutes. "Do you wish it was you bent over the—"

"Shut up," Sasuke said with a glare. "Not a word more, Itachi, or I swear—"

"Ooo…you'll spank me?" Itachi interrupted mischievously. "'Cause, you now know that I won't object."

"Shut. The. Fuck. Up!" said Sasuke furiously, as even the tips of his ears went red while he forced himself not to look at Kakashi, who was beside Itachi, or Naruto, who beside him. "God, you're never embarrassed by anything! Anyone else would be avoiding their brother after this and yet you sit here without a problem, knowing I just watched you get screwed by a guy you only met a week ago!"

"Uh, pot calling kettle black, don't you think?" Itachi scoffed. "And anyway, I've known Kakashi for a lot longer than a week. Seven years, in fact. You remember the shark hybrid with the incredible pe—" he broke off at Sasuke's glare before continuing, "The, er, shark hybrid I tried to tell you about? Well, he introduced me to Kakashi way back then, while Kakashi was with his old owner. That owner didn't mind Kakashi dating, since for the most part 'Kashi was acting in the capacity of a live in butler and bodyguard." He looked sad for a moment, before his face resumed its matter-of-fact expression. "I lost track of him after he was traded for another hybrid before being bought by the Akatsuki."

Sasuke remained silent, never imagining that his brother, who always seemed to be in the middle of a casual fling and who loved to tease him to the point of distraction could have been hiding something like this from everyone for so long.

Neither brother was particularly good at getting over emotional, so Sasuke brought the topic back to something they were both comfortable with: business.

"Actually, what I wanted to talk to you about today is regarding the hybrids and their current situation," he said as he pulled out a manila folder and handed it to Itachi, who had instantly looked interested. "I know it's ridiculous to even contemplate trying to start a hybrid revolution…but change starts small, and I realised the other day when I tried to open a bank account for Naruto how complicated it is to be a hybrid, especially if you want to become independent."

"Mm," agreed Itachi as he perused the documents in the folder. "So what were you thinking and what does it have to do with ACE?" Both Kakashi and Naruto listened in on the exchange with interest.

"Well. I was thinking…we start a hybrid sector at ACE. We can employ some hybrids at the call centre and in other administrative positions as well as starting up an exclusive hybrid team, which would basically be like our normal teams but clients would be paying for the exotic experience of a high-class, fully hybrid staffed catering event – and believe me, people are willing to pay.

Now, I'm not simply suggesting this as a way to make money, but if the company bought the hybrids – rather than a single person – the company would be able to open bank accounts accessible only by the hybrids themselves under their own name. We would be able to educate them with practical skills, such as getting a licence and so on, and we would be able to pay them so that they can make their own way in life without being owned." Sasuke's voice was filled with determination, and Naruto and Kakashi let a tentative beacon of hope switch on.

"Okay, so where would get these hypothetical hybrids and what would you do if they didn't want to work for ACE?" Itachi asked, pleased by the idea but not willing to back it until he was sure it would work.

"Well, for one thing, I think Tsunade would like in on this plan. I mean, she's got a house sponsored by someone who wants more for the hybrids than what they've got." Sasuke realised that Itachi's ears were turning pink, and all of a sudden another piece of the puzzle fell into place. "You're the one that financially supports Tsunade, aren't you?"

"You finally figured that one out, huh?" he said with a smile that was just this side of a smirk.

"Well, I guess it makes sense, in light of what you told me before… Anyway, in the case of hybrids who don't want to stay, we convince them to take a twelve month contract with us. A couple of months ago, a hybrid that had been bought as a companion for an older gentleman won a court case after he passed away and willed her all his worldly possessions as well as her freedom. The courts couldn't force the bank to open accounts in her name, but she was granted full access and control over his accounts as well as the right to live out the rest of her life without an owner." Sasuke shrugged. "I think we would have grounds to work out a similar set up."

Itachi looked immensely pleased. "This is…a sound plan. I think it will work, I really do." Standing, he offered his brother his hand. "Let's make it happen."

Sasuke shook, feeling pleased. It wasn't often that he came up with an idea for the company that Itachi hadn't already come up with and put into action. Damn, this was good.

x-x-x-x-x

Three months had passed since that night, and their plan had gone into action. It hadn't been without its problems, but they were now finally getting somewhere. Naruto was heading one of the new hybrid teams and many of Tsunade's hybrids had joined ACE eager for the ability to become independent.

Hearing a knock, Sasuke looked up security feed that was monitoring the party happening in the ballroom. Shino entered, alerting him to a breach of security in the gardens that might need the input of his superior. Nodding and taking Shino's concise notes about the subject, Sasuke went back to monitoring the camera.

A sudden movement on screen two drew his attention, as did the following crash of glass shattering. When he found the problem on the monitor, he was surprised to see Naruto standing at the edge of ballroom, shattered glasses and silver serving tray on the floor, his phone to his ear. Flipping open his own cell phone, he rang through on the number three speed dial to Hinata, who although shy, had turned out to be a very popular addition to the ACE Hybrid sector.

"Hinata, can you get over to section four and take over for Naruto? I'll have someone clean up the spill before you get there," he said, as he used the monitors to find the nearest ACE staff member who was on cleaning duty.

"Y-yes, Mr Uchiha, sir," said Hinata softly, and he could hear her gently breaking away from the group of party-goers she was with.

"Thanks." He hung up and hit his number four speed dial, promptly instructing the staff where the problem was. Within thirty seconds, the mess from the floor was gone, Hinata was chatting amiable with the guests while serving the next round of drinks and Naruto had been whisked up to the control room.

When Naruto walked in, still looking surprised, Sasuke could see that his fingers were shaking. Placing his hands on the fox's shoulders, concern in his voice, he said, "What's wrong, Naruto? Are you alright?"

Naruto dug the cell phone back out of his pocket. "Tsunade just called…she thinks that they might have located Gaara in a group of hybrids hiding in a warehouse in a city a few hours from here. She…she said she'll call back in a few minutes, when she knows for sure. They don't know the state of the hybrids yet…"

Anxiety flickered across his face and his ears lowered. A few times now, Naruto and Tsunade had been called out on report of hybrids hiding in a warehouse, only to find that they had accidentally been locked into their hiding places, for weeks at a time. Trapped without food or water, the poor hybrids had died while trying to find freedom and it left Naruto and Tsunade as a cleanup crew instead of the rescue team they tried to be.

When the cell phone rang, it seemed to cut through the hush of the control room, muffled music drifting through the closed door, and Naruto froze, his eyes on Sasuke. Sasuke gave his shoulders a squeeze.

"Answer it!" he urged.

The button beeped as he accepted the call. "H-Hello?"

Sasuke held his breath, straining to hear the other side of the conversation as Naruto made slight noises of agreement. When Naruto snapped the phone shut he stared silently at Sasuke until Sasuke couldn't wait any longer.

"Well?"

A tear tracked down Naruto's cheek, and Sasuke cringed knowing that this would be another shattering blow to Naruto's hopes.

"They found him," he whispered, disbelief colouring his voice. Sasuke did a double take at that and his heart jumped. "They actually found him! The whole group are apparently malnourished and in poor health, but…he's there! Alive!" Naruto's tail whipped back and forth as its owner cried out joyfully, "He's there, Sasuke! For real! Shit, I need to call Kiba and the others!" He flung his arms around Sasuke's shoulders, his body emitting a fine tremble as the adrenaline surged through him.

Sasuke dialled through to the basement level staff room, asking for three replacements to be sent up while Naruto called Kiba, Ino and Hinata to the control room so that he could share the good news.

Naruto turned to Sasuke, who was still standing by the monitor. "Sasuke… I-I don't know how I could ever fully thank you. Though it will never be enough, I just want to say…thank you, Sasuke. Since I met you, my life has changed more than I ever thought possible. If you had asked me a year ago where I would be now…the answer would probably have been dead, either at the hands of another hybrid or because I'd attacked Kabuto. From the first moment I smelled you, you've been changing my life." He leaned forward, breathing in the scent that had wormed its way so unexpectedly into his hear, and rubbed his cheek against Sasuke's.

The door opened behind them and Naruto gave him a quick swipe of the tongue across the cheek and a smile, before he went to talk to his friends.

No, Naruto, he thought, it's my life that's changed since meeting you. I didn't realise until you came into my life that I was just going through the motions; now, I'm living. Sasuke felt his cheeks go red as he watched the hybrids talk, wishing they'd had a few more moments of privacy so he could have expressed his thoughts to Naruto. A small smile crept over his lips though, because, he reminded himself, he had tonight, and tomorrow, and the next night, and every night after that to show the blonde fox how important he was. And that was just what he would do.

-end-

x-x-x-x-x

A/N:

Hi guys ^_^

So this is the final part to Scent Of My Heart, and I must thank you for hanging around for so long (almost 5 months!) to read it. I found this really hard to write, and it took an incredible amount of time to finish, so though I'm not making you any guarantees, if I choose to write any more fics in the SOMH world, they will be shorter than these 13 word chapters and will be posted as oneshots (though for your convenience, I will post them titled as "Scent Of My Heart: Subtitle Here" (eg Scent Of My Heart: Hells Bells On Wheels).

I'd like to that you for all the comments and faves, it's been really great and it's always nice to know people actually like what you write. I really hope you enjoyed the final part of SOMH! I hope the KakaIta scene wasn't too horrible T_T

As always, happy reading, guys.

~dusk. xo