Rejection

He stood there shocked and devastated beyond belief. Rejection hurt like hell.

A/N: So this was sitting in my Drive since the past three (maybe more?) years and I knew I had to finish it this time around for my other projects to get some space to breathe and finally get done with. Hope you guys like it. I went way overboard on the cheesy with this one. Lord knows how difficult that was! *sighs dramatically*

Warnings: Yaoi.

Disclaimer: Naruto and all its characters come belong to Kishimoto Masashi.

He must have really done something horrible in his past life to deserve this fate.

He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. He forced himself to take a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Whatever the fuck are you trying to say?" he asked quietly.

Beside him Neji rubbed his gloved hands together to ward off the cold and then shoved them into his overcoat pockets. "Sasuke, I love you," he said.

Sasuke opened his eyes and pinned Neji with an inscrutable stare. "Do you realize you're sounding insane?"

Neji pulled out a hand from his pocket and rubbed it through his hair. "I know Sasuke! But dammit I can't help it!" He turned towards Sasuke and grabbed him by the lapels of his black overcoat. "Please Sasuke give this relationship a chance?"

Sasuke snorted and pulled away Neji's hands from his coat. "Get over this shit, Neji," he said in a condescending tone. He dug into his pockets for a pack of smokes and his lighter. "We just had sex a couple of times, no need to get sentimental over it."

"Easy for you to say," Neji said his voice sounding curt with all the hurt and anger he felt. "You think I was okay with it when I realized my own feelings? Fuck we've been best friends for ages but you know it and I know it that there was always this heavy attraction between us and that was the reason why we ended up having sex. And now that I've come to realize so many sides of you and see you for what you are, I can't let go!"

Sasuke blew out smoke from his cigarette and regarded Neji with another stare. "Well then find a way to let go Neji because I'm sorry but I sure as hell don't love you."

He walked away without as much as a backward glance in Neji's direction.

It had begun to snow now and the white soft flakes clung to his hair and eyelashes as we walked.

What the hell was wrong with Neji? What the hell happened to his Hyuuga pride? In love with me, honestly! He's my best friend for fuck's sake! What shall I do now?

Sasuke cursed under his breath grabbing his head and fighting the urge to scream. He needed to get away, maybe take a break. He knew what he wanted to do was an act of cowardice but honestly, he wasn't sure if he could look his best friend in the eye and have a rational conversation.

Besides, he thought unlocking his car and sliding in, this break would also give Neji time to clear his own head. So technically, being away would not just help him clear his head but also give Neji more time to get his head straight.

Once he got home he went online to check for places where he could go and clear his head. He disregarded mountains since he wasn't very fond of heights and surfed for a few minutes looking at various tourist destinations. He wanted to be away from all thought because his head would be stuck in the confrontation with Neji and so he decided to go against his principles and book himself a room in Tsukuyomi – one of the most expensive hotels in Otogakure. And because Otogakure was the hub of all frivolous activities, this would serve as a good distraction. And because Neji and he weren't exclusive, it wasn't like he was cheating on Neji.

He placed the reservation then and there, glad to get a room in the peak tourist season. Pulling out his smartphone which was a state-of-the-art Rasengan, he dialed a number. "Kakashi, I'm going to be out for a couple of weeks. Contact me only in case of a severe emergency." He hung up and moved to his closet to pick out clothes he would need for the vacation.

Suddenly, he couldn't wait to get away.

Sasuke sat at the bar of the hotel and gulped his drink. He winced at the strong flavor. As it was, he wasn't a fan of drinking and here he was buying himself an overpriced drink like a sore loser and making faces while swallowing the dammed thing down.

This sucked, he thought for the millionth time in as many as ten minutes since he sat himself on that stool in the bar. He glanced at the bartender who was a rather the extremely delicate looking waitress and ordered another drink. This time a Cosmopolitan which would help improve the taste in his mouth.

He had come here on a fucking vacation to avoid the situation that had risen with Neji and so far all he had successfully done was order himself a couple of crappy drinks and think about nothing but the predicament he had stuck himself in.

Oh this sucked really badly.

"The look on your face says you've come here because you're running away from something," a voice to his right brought him back from the gloomy thoughts of how he was going to restore his friendship with the person he'd known since he was three.

He glanced up and saw a man whose face was covered in shadows. He sighed internally. Now really! His life was bad enough with his best friend wanting to become his boyfriend and now someone was going to use a cheap pick up line for him?

This sucked a million times worse.

"Buzz off," he muttered with grit teeth before looking at his drink with murderous eyes and gulping it down in one go. He winced again at the bitterness of the vodka. Which fool had invented alcohol again? Then he turned his stool slightly away and ordered a refill.

The man laughed and it was a nice throaty sound but Sasuke was not in the mood to appreciate humor. "So you are running away from something." The man said nothing after that as if waiting for Sasuke to refute the observation. When Sasuke did no such thing he sighed. "I'm not picking you up," the man laughed as the realization hit and Sasuke heard him take a gulp of his refilled drink. The man then sighed and Sasuke heard the slight tinkling sound of the ice moving around in the drink the man was drinking.

"Yeah right," Sasuke muttered and immediately frowned. Why did he just answer the man if he was so annoyed?

The man laughed again. "Actually I couldn't hold back my surprise over the fact that there was someone else besides me who did something like run away to avoid sticky situations."

That got Sasuke's attention. He shifted his butt a bit so that he was seated a tad straighter and was facing more of the bar now. He turned to the man and stared hard at the face shrouded in part darkness as if willing him to mock him for shifting in his seat. When the man did not react for a long moment Sasuke cleared his throat. "How'd you...um...how'd you know?" He looked up at the man this time with the pretext of taking a sip of his drink but in reality he was more inclined to look at the man's face. The shadows frustrated him because he couldn't see the face of the man properly but he couldn't really do anything about it. If only this person would turn towards him!

The man swirled his drink as if contemplating Sasuke's question and Sasuke noted the amber color of the drink. Whisky or bourbon he didn't know which one. "Because the signs were the same," the man said shrugging his shoulders as he shifted in his seat and Sasuke finally managed to see the face of the person he was talking to.

Sapphire blue eyes glinted at him beneath a fine sheen of golden eyelashes in a slightly round face with the skin tone that was dusky. The man had a small pert nose and lips which were neither too thin nor too fat. The entire face was framed by golden hair which was styled perfectly in spikes that heightened the man's appeal and Sasuke realized how handsome the man was.

"Oh," was all he could manage stupidly as he stared at the man in a trance like state. If the man noticed him staring he didn't say anything. He then cleared his throat stalling for a bit of momentum. "What signs?"

"The lone figure seated at the bar buying himself overprized drinks one after the other hoping one of them could help him find absolution from his thoughts. But there it is," he made a gesture like he was making a halo around Sasuke's head, "the gloomy aura," he pointed to furrowed black eyebrows on Sasuke's face, "the permanent scowl," he shrugged, "and I knew." He gazed at his drink while his thumb ran along the glass smearing the drop of water that had condensed on the surface. "So if I may ask what you are running from Mister…?" he asked as his blue eyes settled on Sasuke again.

Sasuke frowned at how spot on the blond man was. He licked his lips to settle thus unease he felt at having someone read him like a book. "It's Sasuke and I'd rather not go into the details but I'm actually running from a friendship that could go wrong." He picked up the refill of his Cosmopolitan and took a small sip regarding the smirk the blond man wore on his face at his reply. It irked him because he knew the other man could guess the problem but surprisingly unlike most times when he despised people laughing at his expense, this smirk did not get under his skin. If anything, maybe because this man had said he was on the same boat, he wanted to smirk along.

"So," he licked his lips and crossed his arms at the table and regarded the other man who was swallowing the last of his drink. "What're you running from, Mister…?" he smirked as he copied the tone of the blond man causing the man to smile at him. The man turned away from him to the bartender and ordered a refill before turning back to Sasuke to answer the question. But before he could say anything Sasuke said, "Okay wait. Let me guess. You're here running from a relationship gone wrong."

The man winced at that and cradled his glass in his hands. "Correction: A relationship that could be wrong."

"How's that different from my situation?" Sasuke asked frowning slightly causing the man to break into a goofy grin.

"How's that similar?" the man counter-questioned.

"I'm running from a friendship that could go wrong while you're running from a relationship that could be wrong. Which means that if I were to date my friend, it could be a wrong relationship and since you're running away from a relationship that could be wrong," he shrugged before continuing, "it puts both of us on the same boat," he said as he took a long swig of his drink.

The blond man laughed and Sasuke's insides jolted at the sound. This man's laugh was extremely appealing. "I don't know what the hell you just said, but damn that is some deep thinking," he patted Sasuke on the shoulder in mock praise and Sasuke found himself laughing in embarrassment.

"She must be a lucky one," he caught himself by surprise as he unwittingly muttered his thoughts and cringed.

Naruto snorted. "I'm flattered you think so," he said as he regarded Sasuke with a scrutinizing look that brought out a blush on the pale cheeks. "But he, however, made it a point to tell me that I'm the lucky one." The smile Naruto wore on his face was sardonic and Sasuke's heart lurched in his chest. The pang was both of remorse for this guy and also for the hidden excitement at the thought that this attractive blond man had a he in his life.

He nodded thinking it best to end the topic about the boyfriend right there. It made him immensely uncomfortable for some reason to talk about Naruto's partner. His hands went into the pocket of his trousers digging out his pack of smokes. When he pulled out the pack of Marlboros, he offered Naruto the pack and Naruto shook his head in a no. He shrugged and pulled a cigarette but before he lit it, he recalled his manners. "You mind?" he asked holding out the cigarette and the lighter his eyebrows going up in concern. He smiled as Naruto shook his hand in dismissal and lit the smoke.

Inhaling the smoke deeply made him feel a little better.

He exhaled softly and raised an eyebrow at Naruto who was regarding him with a look akin to fascination in his eyes. When the man just laughed in embarrassment and shook his head, Sasuke let the matter drop. "It's Naruto by the way," he said and smiled when Sasuke looked at him in pure confusion. The man picked up the silver Zippo Sasuke had placed on the counter and played with it. "My name," he said softly his eyes seemingly hypnotic as they stared back into Sasuke's, "is Naruto," he said.

Sasuke blinked completely at sea for the way his heart was hammering in his chest while his hands suddenly felt moist and clammy. Naruto was smiling at him as those tanned fingers rubbed against the smooth steel surface of the lighter. His gaze stayed transfixed to that smile but then suddenly someone spoke next to him and he found his bearings again. He smiled back at Naruto more to hide his embarrassed behavior. "So what do you do, Naruto?" he asked conversationally.

Naruto sipped his drink before shrugging. "I'm a programmer," he said and Sasuke nodded nonchalantly. He looked at Naruto as he played with the slice of lime on his glass and thought wildly of another question. For some reason he felt determined to keep this conversation going but before he could ask what company Naruto worked for, the blond man's phone rang.

As if on auto-pilot, the man's hand moved to the pocket of the blue jeans he wore to retrieve his phone. When he took it out and saw whose call it was, he looked at Sasuke distractedly and said, "Its work. I'd better take this. Excuse me," he made a gesture with his finger and picked up the phone. "Is there a problem?" he asked and Sasuke almost gasped at the authoritative tone Naruto now used.

Sasuke turned away from Naruto to give the man whatever little privacy he could and continued to puff away at his cigarette. Beside him Naruto raised his voice and because of the proximity of his seat next to the blond man, Sasuke could hear every word of the conversation so he threw away his manners and turned to regard Naruto whose frown deepened with every word he was listening to.

"Detected a bug in the game at this stage?" Naruto listened for a couple of seconds to what the person was saying and then, "yeah well Konohamaru that's why the company hired you!" he shot out in a voice rather nasty for Sasuke's taste. The blond haired man hissed in the speaker again before grabbing his drink and swallowing the whole thing in one huge gulp.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows impressed. "Well then go bitch about it to Tsunade, she's the CEO of Hokage." He kept quiet for another moment. "I don't care about the minor issues. Rasengan has its next installment coming out in less than six months and I'd be damned if anything happened to delay it." He pinched the bridge of his nose while Sasuke's heartbeat rose in his chest. "Clearly you don't get the point," he muttered sarcastically, "so here it is: Rasengan is my baby and every new installment that comes out of that game is my flesh and blood. So don't you call me up to complain about mini bugs, okay? You're the QC for Hokage and you're gonna make sure it's perfect." He hung up the phone and turned to Sasuke who was staring at him with stars shining in his eyes.

"You're Uzumaki Naruto, the creator of the game series Rasengan?" Sasuke asked rather rudely.

Naruto sketched a brow, bemused. "Um…yes." He scratched his left ear. "Is that a problem?" he asked brow still high in the air.

Sasuke couldn't stifle his gasp. "You created Rasengan?" he asked again and blushed at Naruto's still bemused expression. Slowly Naruto nodded and his brows furrowed in concern when Sasuke seemed to be hyperventilating at that information. Naruto had to be the coolest man he knew! He tried to form words in his head to express his excitement about the game and the fact that the man who'd designed his favorite game sat right next to him, talking to him. "Holy shit!" he finally exclaimed finally when words failed him. "I love that game," he said, dignity all forgotten. He was a complete gaming nerd and Rasengan was his favorite RPG. The plot was tight, the game didn't drag, the moves were kickass, their graphics were top-notch, the game loaded ultra-fast and the UI was insanely easy to understand.

Sure many of his friends bitched about how much Sasuke loved that game and refused to play others like Raikiri which apparently had gained more popularity but Sasuke was only about Rasengan when it came to relaxing. The game was about this ninja and his various missions and Sasuke was still very smug about the record he'd made when he'd finished the last installment of the game in five hours stat!

He turned to see Naruto scratching the back of his head and grinning stupidly a blush beginning to bloom on his cheeks. "Um…thank you. It's really great to know someone who likes the game."

Sasuke scoffed. "Of course people like that game. In fact, a couple of my friends love that game!" He grinned, his own cheeks flushing with the excitement and exhilaration of sitting next to a man who had created such a masterpiece. He thought about the million questions and trivia he could ask and ask about his favorite character and what lead to the inspiration behind the game and he could even dab into the –

Naruto snapped his fingers in front of Sasuke's face and he resurfaced from the bazillion possibilities swimming in front of him. His eyes met Naruto's which were filled with amusement. "Sorry," he muttered softly and balked as he internally reflected on his actions. Clearly fanboying over your favorite game in front of a guy you wanted to impress was clearly not an option.

He frowned as he retraced the thread of his thought. Wait, what? Impress? Oh no, no, no, no! He wasn't having thoughts of impressing Naruto. It was just a temporary lapse in judgment and he'd had a drink too many. But he was reluctant to go. He was sitting next to Uzumaki Naruto, the man whose work he worshipped so much. Heck if anything, he could probably get some snippets on the next version of the game!

He looked at Naruto unmindful about how he looked like a deranged fan in front of one of his heroes. "The look on your face says you want to know what happens in the next installment, am I right?" he asked and Sasuke caught himself a second before he could nod. He blushed, which caused Naruto to laugh. "It's okay," he said as he patted Sasuke again on the back. "You like the game; I get it. But here's the rope: I'm extremely tired and buzzed at the moment and I want to do nothing more than to soak myself in these hot springs that this friend of mine tipped me about. So why don't you and I go there and I can probably let you in on some secrets?" he asked.

Sasuke contemplated this as he stalled for time, lighting up a fresh cigarette. He could do that, couldn't he? After all, he had become friends with the man and it wouldn't hurt to just soak up some warm water himself, would it? Besides the idea of knowing what happened next was a big temptation. So he just agreed as he stood up.

"Allow me to pay," he said still in fanboy mode as he put his hand in the back pocket of his black jeans to pull out his wallet and then frowned when his hand came up empty. Puzzled, he searched again and slowly the frown escalated to a full-blown panic mode. His wallet was missing! He glanced at Naruto who was just gazing at him calmly his head resting in his palm watching the entire scene, his face giving nothing away.

"My wallet is missing!" Sasuke gasped as he searched all his pockets and came up empty handed. He looked at the table, under his stool and thought of every possible place he could think of and recalled how he'd decided to change jeans at the last moment. This meant that his wallet was lying idly in the back pocket of the pair of jeans he'd worn previously.

With his cheeks furiously heated, he turned to look at Naruto who was still staring at him with an expression that gave nothing away. "I'm sorry I think I left it in my room," he said placing a hand on his face to hide his embarrassment. He looked up at Naruto's deep chuckle and glared at his friend.

"Relax 'Suke, I've got it covered," Naruto said as he dug into his back pocket to retrieve his wallet. Plucking out a credit card, he handed it to the bartender and requested the payment be made for his and Sasuke's tabs collectively. He then turned to Sasuke who was regarding him with an expression Naruto couldn't really comprehend but he decided to ignore it anyway.

"Let's go, hit the hot springs," he said grabbing Sasuke by the shoulder and veering him around to exit the bar.

An hour and a half later Naruto leaned back against the stones giving out a hearty sigh. Beside him Sasuke continued sulking in the water mad at Naruto. He'd firmly insisted to pay for the trip to the hot springs but Naruto had all but dismissed his request with a blasé wave of his credit card at the reception.

"Aw, now quit sulking!" Naruto's rich baritone loaded with humor just made him want to bury his face deeper in the water. But when Naruto reached out and pulled him up, he made up his mind about beating Naruto in the "flash thy credit card game". After all he had his pride to upkeep!

"Fine, but you're going to let me pay for dinner," he spoke warningly and Naruto put his hands up in surrender.

"Sure, but I'm going to pick the place" he said shrugging and Sasuke barked out a chuckle that had Naruto looking at him with such a soft and tender expression that for a second Sasuke stopped breathing as he stared into those intoxicating sapphire eyes. A pang of lust hit him and he realized just how mesmerizing Naruto was.

"Like what you see?" the blond man asked with a tinge of laughter in his voice and Sasuke cringed at being caught in the act but then decided to just cut loose and have fun.

He winked cheekily at Naruto and said, "Maybe, a bit."

Naruto rolled his head back and laughed openly causing Sasuke to feel warm all over his insides while his blood moved south. He was so glad that they had a guest house to themselves with a private pool. "Only a bit?" he asked playing along.

Sasuke pretended to think over the question as he mock eyed Naruto for a critical inspection. Instead, he took his time to openly ogle Naruto (or of what he could see above the surface of the water) and reveled in the muscled physique of the man. He wasn't into ripped men and being on the lankier side, he disliked bony men.

"Let's see. How about quite a bit?" this time Naruto leaned in suddenly causing Sasuke's breath to hitch.

"Oh! Then how about I do something to make you like me completely?" he breathed against Sasuke's mouth and then a second later, he kissed Sasuke. The kiss was everything Sasuke thought it would be. Naruto's tongue darted out to gain entry and finding Sasuke's lips parted snaked its way inside and invaded Sasuke's mouth like it was its right.

Sasuke couldn't think. His brain had gone numb as little jolts of sensation ran down his spine for every place Naruto's tongue explored and claimed. His arms came up to grab Naruto's shoulders and maneuver himself till he was seated on Naruto's lap. His erection bobbed up and pressed itself against Naruto's stomach and he rubbed helplessly for friction.

Naruto opened his legs and bent them at the knee while Sasuke's thighs touched his so that their erections could rub together. Sasuke closed his eyes at the bliss as he lifted his legs and humped himself on Naruto. Naruto, it seemed, was really at the edge as he brought one of his hands down from where it was desperately yanking on Sasuke's hair, to grab their erections and bring them both to climax. He leaned forward and sank his teeth in Sasuke's neck with a hoarse 'can't wait'.

Sasuke put his hand down to pleasure himself and a second later he hit his peak as he groaned out Naruto's name.

They both sat boneless and panting trying to catch their breaths. Sasuke was waiting to recover so that he could have another go. Naruto had a flavor that just begged to be tasted again and Sasuke wanted nothing more than to indulge. He let out a long sigh recalling Naruto's taste when Naruto laughed against his ear. "That good, eh?" he asked.

Sasuke rolled his eyes in bliss and brought his hands up to smooth his hair. "And to think this was just the beginning!" he said his eyes looking directly into Naruto's whose smile widened at the last retort.

"Oh definitely," Naruto said returning Sasuke's gaze with a heated one. Sasuke wanted to drown in those eyes as heat washed over him in waves making his cheeks burn. He watched Naruto lean forward towards him as his eyes dropped to Naruto's lips looking succulent making Sasuke impatient as he leaned forward and smashed their mouths together.

Sasuke jolted and lost control as he pushed Naruto into the stones and glued his body to Naruto's. . His whole body felt like electricity was running through it. He leaned in further and this time thrust his tongue out to coil with Naruto's and then move to explore Naruto's taste some more. His hands ran heatedly over Naruto's skin wanting nothing more than to explore each bit of the tanned back that he could. He felt like he was on a high that had no low.

Sasuke moaned when Naruto planted his hands on Sasuke's ass and squeezed it. He bit the area where neck met shoulder and reveled in ecstasy when Naruto trembled and his hands tightened on Sasuke's ass and then he let go. "I can't do it here. We need to go to the room now." He stood up and held his hand out to Sasuke who was looking at him stupidly. "Should I carry you or what?"

But Sasuke wasn't listening to him because the moment Naruto stood up, Sasuke saw Naruto's erection jutting out proudly while Naruto oblivious to the entire scenario was tousling his blond hair impatiently. He looked down at Sasuke who hadn't made a move and with an urgent expression said, "Hurry Sasuke, I can't wait."

That jarred Sasuke out his lustful admiration of Naruto's manhood as he hastily made to get up, only to slip and get caught at the last moment by Naruto who screamed, "Watch out!"

His panic gave way to the horrific realization that he was in a pose quite similar to the amorous couples that are shown in all those wretched romantic movies that little girls swooned over and he huffed internally annoyed with how his brain was going to turn him off faster than he could say the word 'fairytale'.

"Guess you do need to be carried, eh?" Naruto asked as he peered down at Sasuke and grinned with a cheeky expression.

Sasuke couldn't help the gasp that left his mouth. Though reluctant at its discovery, his brain was conjuring up images of princesses and waltz. His mouth opened to word the thoughts that were running in his head, but at the last moment the absurdity of the thought made him keep quiet.

"Are you serious?" Naruto asked wearing a comical expression on his face as he mistook Sasuke's silence for assent.

Sasuke chuckled as he covered Naruto's face with his hand and straightened up. "Idiot," he said shaking his head as he drew out his hand from Naruto's face and said, "Let's get going Naruto, real quick!" and as he passed the blond man who was just standing there grinning at Sasuke's cheek, Sasuke grabbed the tan ass his fingers were burning to mark, grabbed a handful each and established their intent.

He grinned when he heard Naruto chuckling behind him as the blond man followed him to the guest room. He couldn't believe he was having so much fun. His step faltered when Naruto leaned his chin against his shoulder. Sasuke leaned into the touch when Naruto began to nuzzle him softly as his arms encircled Sasuke's shoulders.

"Damn Sasuke you smell and taste so good that I can't seem to keep my hands off of you!" Naruto spoke in a voice muffled by Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke just smirked as he began walking towards the guest room with urgent steps.

No sooner had Naruto moved near the room when Sasuke's pale hand caught him and pinned him against the wall as his lips hungrily devoured Naruto's. He moaned when Naruto's lips parted and Sasuke's tongue got another flavor of the taste he was now beginning to crave. He pushed his hips in full contact with Naruto's when he felt hands tugging in his hair wildly taking control of the kiss. He circled his hips wantonly when they came in contact with Naruto's erection making Sasuke moan.

Naruto refused to let Sasuke dominate the kiss as he tangled his tongue with Sasuke's and pushed him till Sasuke's legs were pressing into the frame of the bed. "I want you in the center on your hands and knees because that's how I want to take you so hard that you're going to have to give up on the idea of walking straight for at least three days!" He fought the urge to palm himself and instead turned towards Naruto. He couldn't help the smile that dawned on his face upon seeing Sasuke smirking at him.

"Save your energy for showing me what you can do rather than making big promises, Naruto. You look like you're all bark," he raised his eyebrow challengingly as he swooped down and pressed a kiss against Naruto's smiling lips. And then he climbed on the bed making sure to add that extra sway to his ass for Naruto as he made it to the center of the bed and waited for Naruto. He closed his eyes in anticipation and screamed hoarsely as he felt Naruto grab his ass and bite down hard on the cheek.

"Hah," he gasped his back arching with the pleasure. He bucked again when Naruto's tanned fingers ran lightly across his crack, massaging sensually causing Sasuke to let out an expletive at the sensation. "More," he groaned bucking his hips at Naruto, "Naruto, give me more!"

Naruto didn't need to be told twice. With his thumbs, he pried Sasuke apart and Sasuke let out an explosive sigh when he felt Naruto's teasing finger against his crack get replaced with his tongue. Sasuke had to grip the sheets in a vice-like grip to avoid coming right then. And suddenly it was gone.

"I need to go find lube and condoms, Sasuke. I'll be back in a second," Naruto huffed as he reluctantly moved away from Sasuke and seconds later Sasuke heard some clattering noise as Naruto came back ripping the packet of condom open and hastily rolling it on. The sight alone caused Sasuke to tug at the base of his cock to prevent himself from coming so soon when he knew there was so much more to come.

Watching Naruto with an aroused expression tugging on his cock with slicked fingers was a potent image in itself. "Naruto take me quickly!" he whispered hoarsely and then he grunted with the pain of trying to get his impending orgasm to control. He watched as Naruto quickly took his position behind him and gasped when a slick finger entered him swiftly. He moaned when waves of pleasure hit him and he moved back and forth against the finger. "More," he moaned.

Naruto got the message loud and clear as he thrust two of his fingers inside Sasuke causing all of the man's breath to leave him in a whoosh. He made scissoring motions stretching Sasuke before adding a third. "Now, take now Naruto!" Sasuke huffed as he moved against Naruto's fingers, helpless by the sensual onslaught.

He moaned at the emptiness as Naruto pulled his fingers out and the moment where he felt Naruto against his entrance, he roared in pure lust. He moved his hips helplessly as Naruto kept a hard and demanding pace. He felt Naruto's hand snaking around his hips to curl around his erection as Naruto tried to bring him to climax as his own pace quickened further. "'Suke I'm going to…I can't," Naruto panted as his thrusts deepened while his hand jerked Sasuke off and with one deep stroke he screamed out his release causing Sasuke's cock to erupt as he shouted out Naruto's name.

Once they resurfaced, Naruto pulled out of Sasuke, removing the condom, tying it and throwing it in the trash. Giving out a bark of laughter he said, "Pretty intense, don't you think?

Sasuke had no reply to that except a tired chuckle. The chuckle caused Naruto to chuckle himself. "Yep, just as I thought. Intense to the point of rendering you incoherent. I like that. I like that a lot," he said.

Sasuke laughed at the anecdote Naruto was sharing. They sat relaxing by the beach in the sunset. Naruto was entertaining him with hilarious anecdotes of mishaps at his work place and Sasuke was laughing harder than he'd ever laughed. They just kept getting better.

"And so, that's how Kisame was born," Naruto said as he scratched the back of his right ear.

Sasuke panted helplessly as his sides hurt from all the laughing. "You got that idea while you were staring at the corals in your fish tank at home while listening to some yoga music!" he finally managed to wheeze out at he clutched his sides fighting the bout of guffaws threatening to erupt. "As your fan it astounds me. Just how high were you?" he asked.

"I'll have you know my dear fan, I've never doped in my life." He laughed at Sasuke's shocked expression. "But that day, I was neck-deep in trouble. I had to create a character that could help Akatsuki in some way and my boss was ready to fire my ass for the delay when somehow I managed to borrow a day and so I went home, got out the calming soothing vibes of yoga music while my heart thudded madly in my chest as my stared off into space trying to think of some design for this new member. And when my eyes focused I saw Kisame," he said and Sasuke's laugh calmed to a smile of pure admiration.

Three days had passed since he's made acquaintance with Naruto and he was having the time of his life. After that night, they'd become inseparable. It was pretty natural for Sasuke to check out of his hotel and move to Naruto's room where they'd pretty much spent that day and night having the most mind-blowing sex. The next day Naruto wanted to hit the casino but Sasuke wanted to explore places and so they drove around checking out places and things till Naruto suggested bar-hopping. They'd checked back in at four in the morning completely sloshed and had woken up some two hours ago.

Sasuke wanted to spend some time in the sand and when Naruto made a joke about Sasuke's exceptional choice of the time of the day (it was evening already), Sasuke had just laughed as he placed his hand on Naruto's ass with a loud smack. "Get your ass moving blond boy!" he said squeezing Naruto's ass before giving it a quick push. So now here they were talking about anything and everything and laughing as they sipped their beers. Sasuke played with his flip-flops as he twirled them around with his big toe still wearing a big smile on his face as he watched the wave crash and retreat in the sea.

"Can I ask you something?" Sasuke's voice rose softly as he turned to regard the blond man who was looking at him with an easy and open expression.

Naruto laughed as he nodded. "Go ahead but if you're going to ask for game spoilers then each one is going to cost you a secret you've never shared with anyone.

Sasuke laughed as he shook his head. Then he cleared his throat and licked his lips before asking, "You have a boyfriend back home, right?" he asked his eyes still locked on the sapphire ones looking back at him.

Finally Naruto broke the eye contact as he looked down and then turned his head to gaze at the sea. "Yeah, I do." He said finally. He turned towards Sasuke and said, "But you knew that already."

Sasuke exhaled slowly smiling softly as he nodded and looked down. He had known this, picked it up right from the time at the bar when Naruto had mentioned about the relationship that could be wrong. But it didn't matter to him one bit. "How can a relationship be wrong?" he asked. "I mean, if it was wrong, you wouldn't get into it in the first place, right?" he reasoned and watched Naruto give him a small smile.

"Sai thought it would work out. In fact he had me convinced it would. I loved him and I knew…I know he still does. But when you're an artist on demand then I don't think any amount of love would be able to provide you with the time to spend with the person you want to." Naruto shrugged. "He was touring around the country and I was busy with the preparations and launching of the next installment of the game." He took a sip of his beer his eyes gazing unseeingly at that time in the past and Sasuke's heart lurched sadly in his chest. "We kept missing each other, fights ensued and then you know the rest."

"You want to break up with him but he won't listen," Sasuke guessed correctly as his eyes returned to gaze at the sea. He watched Naruto nod his head slowly. "Do you still love him?" he asked at his eyes landed on Naruto again.

Naruto sighed heavily as he twirled the stick around with his fingers. Then he looked out at the sea and took a huge gulp of his beer. "No, no I don't."

"Are you telling me the truth or trying to convince yourself that what you're telling me is the truth?" Sasuke asked not missing the play of emotions on the man's face.

Naruto turned to regard him for a long moment with an expression Sasuke didn't want to understand. Finally, Naruto said, "It's the truth. I don't love Sai anymore. We had a lot of issues. I think what drew us together was lust and when that evaporated, things just…ended. And then one day I decided to surprise him by turning up at one of his exhibitions only to see him with another man," Naruto closed his eyes as if he didn't want to see it again. Finally when he opened them and looked at Sasuke, his gaze was clear. "I knew it would happen. Hell it didn't even hurt as much as I'd thought it would." He managed a smile for Sasuke but Sasuke knew it did not reach those sapphire eyes of the man.

"So did you confront him about it?" Sasuke asked as he stopped scuffing his slipper into the sand.

"Curious, aren't you?" Naruto asked with an edge in his voice that made Sasuke feel like he'd just pushed Naruto's buttons wrong. He opened his mouth to apologize but then Naruto decided to speak. "Well yes I did try to talk with him." Finally Naruto threw away the plastic stick and sighed as he rubbed his hand across his face. "I tried communicating with him by every means possible that no matter what, this wasn't going to work out. But he just didn't seem to listen." He shrugged. "So here I am, hiding from him."

Sasuke laughed humorlessly at that. "Well I hope he doesn't succeed in finding you," Sasuke murmured softly as Naruto grunted.

"What about you?" he asked Sasuke as he made himself more comfortable on the log they'd managed to find at the beach.

Sasuke looked down and scraped his nail across the wood of the bark. "One of my closest friends confessed to me. True, we'd done it a couple of times but falling in love? I couldn't even think of the idea. So I ran away to this place and met you," he whispered as his mouth moved closer to Naruto's and he kissed him softly.

Naruto returned the kiss as he stared into black eyes. "The feeling is mutual Sasuke. You're so hot you make my blood pound," Naruto said as he angled Sasuke closer and finally pulled him into his lap kissing him heatedly.

The sound of a dog barking caused them to break the kiss as they realized their surroundings. Naruto saw a couple of girls pointing at them with scandalized expressions and smirked. He turned to look into heated eyes.

"The only pound I can think of has you and a bed in it Naruto." Sasuke said and smirked when Naruto gulped. "Let's get back to our hotel so that I can do exactly that," Sasuke said as he stood up hastily. He picked up the beer can and lowered his hand till his hand hid his erection from people's eyes.

Naruto stood up unashamedly as he cupped his dick and adjusted it through the front of his shorts unmindful of the people who'd turned to gape at him openly. Naruto laughed and covered Sasuke's face with his hand when the other stared at him wide-eyed shocked undoubtedly by the man's sheer audacity.

"If you're going to react the same way each time you see my erection, then I'm afraid you might have to wear that expression permanently." Naruto said running a hand through the back of his hair as Sasuke rolled his eyes behind him.

"Don't get too cocky idiot. Who was gaping at your cock? I was just struck by how much you love to flaunt your…assets in public." Sasuke muttered walking up to Naruto and bumping their shoulders.

"Now if that isn't a compliment then what is?" Naruto asked with a wink as he wound his arm around Sasuke's neck, pulling the pale man close and planting a kiss on his cheek with a loud wet smack causing Sasuke to struggle as he attempted to wipe his cheek on Naruto's shirt but Naruto just tightened his grip around Sasuke's neck capturing him in a headlock, laughing when Sasuke struggled beside him laughing along as he ran his fingers along Naruto's side tickling him. Naruto squealed as he squirmed helplessly and tried to move out of Sasuke's arms around his waist without letting go of Sasuke's neck.

"Stop," he wheezed when his knees threatened to give way and his breath left him.

"Not till you remove your hand from around me and say uncle," Sasuke said moving his hands up on Naruto's sides laughing as Naruto panted and laughed uncontrollably.

"Okay fine you win, uncle! But it doesn't change the fact that you were mesmerized by my assets," Naruto panted trying to be brash while loosening his arm from around Sasuke's neck and bending his body to rest his hands on his knees when Sasuke let him go as well.

"Whatever." Sasuke said dismissively waving his hand at Naruto. He saw Naruto trying to catch his breath but he had other plans as he climbed on Naruto's back and put his arms around him laughing when Naruto's breath left him with a whoosh. "You're going to carry me back to the hotel," he announced as Naruto grunted under his weight.

Sasuke was completely convinced that he was going to be thrown on the sand any second but he gasped and smiled widely as Naruto's tan arms came around him and placed themselves under his ass. "You're so bossy," Naruto muttered and then made sure to squeeze his butt a couple of times before he set off to the hotel with a happy Sasuke on his back.

Sasuke couldn't help the smile that was blooming across his face as he bent his head and placed it right next to Naruto's. When amused blue eyes regarded him warily, he buried his face in the tan neck unable to face the feeling of how right it felt to be here with Naruto.

"But you love it," he said in Naruto's ear.

Naruto laughed quietly at that. "Damn right!" as he hauled Sasuke higher on his back and proceeded to walk to the hotel.

Sasuke tried to catch his breath as he watched Naruto pant equally hard.

He was in love. He had to be. There was no other explanation for the way he was feeling at the moment. He'd just partaken in the most earth-shattering sex imaginable and there could have been nothing that could have convinced him otherwise. In addition to that, he'd spent six of the most amazing days of his life with the man and there was nothing that could have stated otherwise for the fire running through his belly. He knew it wasn't lust. Well, lust made up for a portion of the feeling but all he wanted to do was spend every waking minute in Naruto's company, relaxing in the blond man's smile and reveling in the happiness that man brought him.

Love was like fire as it burned an inferno inside him with its intensity. Surprisingly, he hadn't panicked when the reality hit. He'd just accepted it as calmly as he could and actually smiled as he gazed at the moonlight streaming through the window of their room. Sasuke sighed. There is absolutely nothing that can ruin the moment right now, he thought as he watched Naruto clean himself up with a small smile.

Just then Naruto's phone rang on the nightstand and he glanced up distractedly from wiping his neatly trimmed bush to glance at it. He gave himself one last swipe with the towel and then dropped it on the floor to look at the caller's name. He cursed when he saw the name but pressed the green button to accept the call.

"Sai," he said and instantly Sasuke was on his guard. He watched Naruto sit up leaning against the headboard a frown between his brows as he listened to what Sai had to say. A moment later his spine straightened as he exclaimed, "Right now? But I'm busy at the moment."

Instantly Sasuke sat up straighter. He watched with narrowed eyes as Naruto's blue eyes narrowed as well. "Well you want to know I think? I think this relationship was a mistake from the start because the way I'm looking at it Sai, I see nothing. I'm over you," he said with finality in his voice that had Sasuke's heart beating rather hard in his chest.

Sasuke winced as Naruto's scowl deepened. "What the hell does that even mean?" Naruto asked bemusedly as he scratched his right ear. "Listen if we could have, we would have. But now everything is over. I can't do it anymore."

He listened for a second again. "No Sai, can you for once stop thinking about yourself? This is not about you and that sleazy reporter you made out with or your paycheck which is fatter than mine or whatever the fuck your reasons may be. You're so full of shit you make me sick Sai! It's over and you know what, you egotistical piece of shit, I'm with someone else now!" with that he disconnected the call and turned off his phone angrily berating himself for stooping so low.

He breathed loudly as he turned his head to Sasuke's. "I'm sorry about that," he said and Sasuke nodded accepting the apology. It wasn't Naruto's fault that the man's ex-boyfriend couldn't take no for an answer. He himself was stuck in a similar situation and he sympathized wholeheartedly with whatever his Naruto had said. That and the last part about him being with someone else, Sasuke thought happily as hope rose within him.

He sighed dreamily as happiness bubbled inside him light and fluffy like whipped cream. He wanted nothing more than to take Naruto in his arms and make him forget about that man Sai and all his bullshit. In fact, he had a better plan. He was going to kiss Naruto in ways that would completely evaporate the thought of Sai from the blond man's mind till nothing but Sasuke's kisses remained and then he was going to hold his hand and tell him how he was going to be there for him forever if that's what the blond man wanted because that was what Sasuke wanted more than anything else in the world. And then he'd take Naruto again and this time he'd make sure the man saw star –

"When do you return to Konoha?" Naruto's voice flitted through his over active imagination and he turned to look at Naruto with a confused expression, the words barely registering in his brain.

"What?" Sasuke asked distractedly.

Naruto blinked at him surprised. He repeated the question again. "When do you go back?" he asked.

Sasuke looked at him. "I have a flight reservation for the day after tomorrow," he said scratching the side of his neck wondering why Naruto had questioned him about something like this so out of the blue. He cleared his throat and asked, "What about you?" It struck him as rather odd that neither of them had bothered with the other's schedule despite the six days they'd spent together.

Naruto scratched at the bed sheet with his thumbnail where much to Sasuke's amusement was some dried ejaculate. When he caught the dark-haired man looking at him, he sniggered. "I leave tomorrow," he said flippantly.

Instantly Sasuke sat up straighter on the bed. "What time tomorrow?" he asked trying to count the number of hours he had left with this man he was now falling madly in love with.

"Eight o'clock in the evening," Naruto said and upon seeing the morose expression on Sasuke's face inquired if anything was wrong.

Sasuke just shook his head too wrapped up in his thoughts about his feelings and Naruto's departure the very next day. "Are you sure everything's alright?" Naruto's voice laced with worry had him breaking through his panic induced stupor as he shook his head in the negative.

"Ah, well then," Naruto said as he scooted lower on the bed and looked at Sasuke. "All that delicious sex has me exhausted to the point of my bones hurting, so I'm going to hit the sack now," he said moving to turn to his side as Sasuke stood up quietly to walk out to the balcony, but not before he picked up his pack of smokes and lighter from the table.

"Goodnight Sasuke," Naruto said yawning tiredly. A moment later, he turned around when silence met him with no sign of Sasuke. He shrugged. Whatever, I guess, was the last thought he had before he drifted off to sleep.

Sasuke was panicking. Sasuke was panicking so hard he was having trouble breathing.

By the time he'd come back from the balcony after smoking almost all the cigarettes from the pack, Naruto had been fast asleep and it did not feel fair on Sasuke's part to wake the man up just because Sasuke wanted to talk the night away. So he'd just walked around on tiptoes as he'd gone to turn off all the lights and kissed Naruto's lips lightly in the process before walking back to his side to close his eyes and sleep. But the sleep just wouldn't come. And so he'd finally given into the temptation of burrowing himself into Naruto's back who'd whimpered softly at the contact.

This morning was all a haze of waking and walking around like a caged animal as he watched Naruto pack his stuff and place it in the car he'd rented. He'd wanted to check out some local shops to buy souvenirs so there they were at the local marketplace checking out some dumb hats because one of his friends, Sakura was a big fan of hats. Sasuke fingered a hat uninterestedly as he thought about Naruto's departure. He didn't want Naruto to go like this. Not without knowing how he felt and given how much Naruto cared about him and laughed along with him, he was sure that the other man also liked him.

"Hah!" Naruto exclaimed as he pulled out a pink hat from a stand and examined it. It suited Sakura perfectly. He walked to the cashier and paid for his purchase walking out of the store with a big paper bag containing the hat as Sasuke followed in tow.

Once outside, Sasuke couldn't take it anymore. "Naruto we need to talk," he said halting Naruto in his step with a hand on the man's arm. Naruto turned to peer at him with puzzlement halting in the action of putting on his sunglasses.

"Is everything alright, Sasuke?" he asked.

Sasuke looked up straight into those blue eyes. "I love you," he said but Naruto's expression didn't change. It felt like it was frozen in confusion.

And then a second later, Naruto rubbed his neck with an agitated hand barking out a short laugh. "I think I misheard you. You didn't say -"

"Yes Naruto I said I love you," Sasuke spoke without any hesitation and gasped with hurt at the way Naruto's face blanched at that.

"What the hell are you saying Sasuke? I believe you knew where we were going with this and I'm sorry if I made you think otherwise but Sasuke I -" he trailed off uncertain upon how to go on. "I mean it was just this one week and -" he trailed off again, his hand coming back to rest at his nape. "I think you're confusing all the good sex with love and I'm sure you don't mean it.

Sasuke couldn't believe this was happening. He felt like his insides were squeezing themselves till there was nothing left except for a giant void which was now attempting to suck Sasuke in. He felt like everything inside him was crumbling and he was falling apart. He couldn't take it. He couldn't take this pain of thinking and dreaming of so many things only to have all his hopes and dreams crash like glass. He felt nauseous and without another word he turned and left Naruto standing there all by himself.

He willed the tears away as he hailed a cab back to the hotel. Everything hurt, everything felt broken and empty and lost and as he reached his room, he swiped his card as quickly as he could unable to think anymore. Once inside, he sat on the bed and put his head between his knees trying to calm himself. But all his efforts failed when the first fat teardrop landed on his jeans and a moment later the room was filled with the sound of Sasuke's sorrow as he howled it out to the empty room which now held nothing but haunting memories of the man he'd grown to love.

It was true; rejection hurt like a bitch.

Three Months Later

Sasuke looked up from his work documents as Karin poked her head in and told him Neji was there to see him. Sasuke nodded at her to let him in as he closed the file he'd been working on and waited for Neji. His thoughts went back to the time he'd returned from Otogakure to confront Neji.

He was prepared to make all the apologies in the world if that's what it took to gain his best friend back. So he'd manned up for everything Neji would do or so and knocked at his best friend's door. To say that he was surprised when rather than seeing the tall figure and mane of chocolate brown stood a shorter fellow with short-spiky chocolate colored hair and bored chocolate eyes, was an understatement.

"Um…is this Neji's house?" he asked thinking he'd gotten the house wrong. The bored looking guy scratched irritatingly at his hair and nodded muttering something that sounded like 'troublesome'. "Is he in?" Sasuke asked still looking dubiously at the man.

The man turned around and screamed, "Neji, someone's calling for you."

A minute later Sasuke stiffened as he heard Neji's voice asking the guy who was there. And then his heart started beating insanely fast as his locked with the lilac pupils of those of his best friend. "Sasuke," Neji's voice had an edge to it that instantly made Sasuke feel guilty.

"I…er…can we talk Neji?" Sasuke asked as his eyes flitted to the man standing beside Neji and eyeing him with dull albeit alert eyes.

Neji pushed back his mane of brown hair loosely tied in a ponytail at the back. "Sure," he said stiffly as he looked at the man who raised his brows, then shrugged and retreated inside the house.

"I came to apologize to you Neji," Sasuke said equally stiffly as he rubbed his forehead wishing for a smoke but he'd been trying to quit because Naruto didn't smoke and so he didn't have any on him.

"Uh-huh?" Neji asked still hurt at the harsh rejection he'd received. Sasuke sighed as he dipped his hands into his pockets pulled them out and stuffed them back into his trouser pockets.

"Yes and you also know why Neji! I'm sorry, I treated you like crap! I'm sorry I dismissed your feelings like they don't matter! I'm sorry, I'm such an asshole." Sasuke ran his hands frantically through his hair as he looked at the man he'd grown to know for almost twenty-seven years of his life for forgiveness.

"Good that you know." And just like that Neji smiled at him and he knew he was forgiven.

But when Neji leaned forward and grabbed Sasuke's hands with an uncharacteristic grin on his face, Sasuke couldn't help but frown. "Thank you," he said. He squeezed Sasuke's hands. "Thank you for rejecting me. You've done me the biggest favor ever. It was all because of you that I went to that bar and met the real love of my life." He paused then pointed his thumb towards the inside of the house, "He's Shikamaru and I'm keeping him. But thank you Sasuke, thank you so much." Neji gushed giddily clasping his hands while his eyes gleamed maniacally.

He was dreaming, he had to be; Sasuke looked at the shining eyes of his best friend like he couldn't understand the man but when the sharp sting of the slap registered, he was sure about one thing.

Neji in love was the grossest thing, ever.

Naturally, Neji went back to being the best friend again, this time with a big distraction, but Sasuke was gladder than anything else.

He still loved Naruto. He still longed to talk to him with every fiber of his being every single day since he'd come back from Otogakure. In fact, he'd spent countless nights staring at his phone where Naruto's contact details were open as he wished for the courage to call the man or for a miracle to have the man call him. But no calls or text messages came till Sasuke was beginning to live with the dull ache of having known Naruto. Finally, when he couldn't take it anymore, he deleted Naruto's number to avoid the temptation of calling the man and when that also didn't help him from going over the edge, he switched numbers.

He lit up a cigarette in thought just as Neji came inside. "Sasuke you better quit that habit," Neji coughed as his swatted the smoke away from him.

"What brings you here?" Sasuke asked conversationally as Neji took a seat in front of him.

Neji raised his eyebrows as if suddenly remembering why he was here. "Oh yeah, I brought someone," he said as he ran the index finger of his right hand on Sasuke's glass table.

"And who would that be?" Sasuke asked clasping his hands in front of him on the table frowning heavily. He didn't like the feeling he got in his gut.

"Remember that friend of mine who lives in Suna, Gaara?" he asked as he picked up a pen from the pen-stand on Sasuke's desk and played with it.

"Yeah," he said staring at Neji as if scrutinizing him. "Yeah, what about him?" he probed.

Neji shook his head as he placed the pen back in the stand. "Well Gaara's best friend who wanted to meet you. He was saying something about Rasengan but at the time I was too busy sexting Shikamaru," he giggled uncharacteristically causing Sasuke to raise his eyebrow in annoyance, "so I didn't catch everything. But because he was talking about Rasengan and since it's your favorite game," Neji shrugged, "I figured I'd bring him to you. He's waiting outside since I thought it'd be better that I ran this by you before you met him." Neji finished.

Sasuke frowned. Why would someone want to get in touch with him because of Rasengan? Rasengan – wait, Rasengan was the game that Naruto had created. Did this mean…could this mean…the man who wanted to get in touch with him…could it be -?

Neji's phone rang at that moment and as he looked down Sasuke could swear the man leered at his phone. But then he silenced the call, a small smile playing across his face as he gazed at his phone's screen.

"What's the name of Gaara's best friend?" Sasuke asked impatiently as he glanced at Neji who was making – kissing faces on his phone's screen. Sasuke shuddered with revulsion so strong he almost threw up in his mouth. "Nevermind," he said taking a deep breath and deciding to go outside and check for himself.

He stopped when Neji stood in his path and looked at him, his face still wearing that giddy expression which caused the bile to rise back up. Neji's phone rang again but he rejected the call. "What the hell are you doing?" he asked his impatience getting the better of him. He wanted more than anything to go outside and find out whether the man here to see him was the man he wanted to see so desperately.

"Playing with him till this guy stops being lazy and bites the bait," Neji said with a wicked gleam in his eye causing Sasuke's own eyes to narrow at his best friend's antics.

Neji turned around and flipped his hair back. "I've got to go now. Have a lunch date, you see," he winked at Sasuke who frowned. Then he stopped and turned around, "Ah I forgot," he turned towards the door and shouted, "Come in!"

And just like that every thought that had been running through his head a moment ago vanished at the sight of the blond hair and those sapphire blue eyes of the man who was now walking into the office.

Sasuke looked at Naruto with an intensity of a dying man as he took in his fill of those eyes which looked slightly wary, that mouth which was formed in a grim line, that not-so-straight nose, those whisker-like marks the man bore on both his cheeks, down to the broad torso clad in a three-piece suit knowing he had every curve, every line of the chest that lay underneath memorized like the back of his hand, down to the long legs covered with perfectly fitted dark trousers only to come up again and repeat the gesture.

Somewhere he thought he heard his best friend's voice but then the door was closed and Neji was nowhere to be seen. His eyes returned to feast on the man standing before him and then the man he could have cut an arm and a leg to have spoke his name in a mixture of longing and uncertainty.

Sasuke's mind was short-circuiting because thoughts and words were getting jumbled into each other and the only thing he could muster was, "Please tell me this is not a dream!"

Instantly, blond eyebrows furrowed and Naruto said, "Huh?"

Sasuke shook his head and cleared it. Then he looked into those blue eyes again. He still didn't know why Naruto was here. "Why are you here?" he asked and he knew his eyes were full of every feeling that was coursing through his veins.

Naruto looked into the black eyes shimmering with want and so much of hope that he mentally chided himself for being such a big fool to have prolonged this for so long.

"Am I too late?" Naruto implored and this time Sasuke looked at him with pure confusion. "I didn't think I could go another day without you," Naruto whispered walking closer. And when he was close enough, he crashed his lips with Sasuke's.

Sasuke, who till that moment, was trying to slowly process that everything which was happening right at that moment was real snapped when he felt Naruto's lips on his and that familiar sensation in the pit of his stomach making him go under.

His arms wound around him tightly as he returned Naruto's fervor with equal passion. He moaned into the kiss welcoming the flavor he'd gotten so addicted to as he sucked hungrily on the mouth open in invitation beneath his. The kiss was everything he wanted to say. That kiss was etched with thought and feeling every sound and word as Sasuke clawed desperately at Naruto's suit. "I love you, you idiot. You drive me out of my fucking mind."

But there were things more important than wallowing in the sensations racing through his spine as he felt Naruto's hands running wildly through his hair. So he drew away and gazed at Naruto.

"Why did you take so long?" Sasuke asked leaning back and eyeing Naruto with a curious as Naruto's tan hands reached forward to grab his tie and twirl it in his fingers.

Naruto sighed at the question as he let Sasuke's navy blue silk tie slip from his fingers. He adjusted it back on Sasuke's chest almost absently. "Because this time I wanted this to be right," he said and Sasuke saw the truth in those blue eyes. He then took a step back and pocketed his hands. "I mean you know I was in a relationship that was wrong. And we'd only known each other for a week!" he then smiled slowly at Sasuke. "Besides, if someone had been a little patient that day to hear out what I wanted to say, I'd have maybe told him that we could start as lovers and then take it from there." Naruto shook his head smiling widely as Sasuke's scowl darkened at that.

"Well if you hadn't been giving me crap about how I was mistaking lust for love like your ex-boyfriend, then maybe I would have kept my cool and listened. But there you were flat-out rebuking my feelings like I was some three-year-old who didn't know shit!"

Naruto raised his hands clearly trying to pacify Sasuke. "Yes I know and I'm sorry. But I panicked when you confessed to me. I mean we were having so much fun and because we were both running from sticky situations, you were in it for the same deal. So when you confessed, I was not prepared. Which caused me to fuck this up like I did and then," Naruto sighed rubbing a hand across his face, "And then I lost my one chance at happiness," he whispered weaving the magic around Sasuke watching intently as those black eyes lost their anger and heated up in desire.

"What caused you to come to me now?" Sasuke asked realizing that Naruto hadn't confessed his feelings yet.

Naruto looked at him with a scowl of disbelief. "Are you seriously asking me that now?" he asked. His hands wandered back into Sasuke's tie and he tugged him closer. "Isn't it obvious?" he stared into Sasuke's eyes.

Sasuke thought his heart would burst at the happiness he was feeling. As if to humor Naruto, he shook his head in the negative. "How am I supposed to know what you think?" he asked pretending to still be mad at Naruto.

"You," was Naruto's simple reply as he gazed back into Sasuke's eyes. "You're what I think about! You're what I've been thinking about ever since you left me there in the market with your confession. You're the one preventing me from sleeping at night as I lie in bed feverish with the need of wanting to hold you. You're the only one my body remembers. You're the only one my heart aches for. I love you Sasuke, I love you so fucking much that I don't think I have it in me to drag myself to live another day without you."

"Why now?" Sasuke asked his heart hammering in his chest like it would shatter into a million pieces with happiness.

"Because a certain douche who claimed he loved me never called me back and when I finally summed up the guts to call, the number did not exist." He glanced at Sasuke with a furious scowl. "Do you have even the slightest of ideas how dejected I felt when the man who'd confessed to me could no longer be reached?" Naruto asked his voice rising. "Did you give up on me?" he asked his eyes beseeching Sasuke's.

"I tried," Sasuke's words cut him to the core but he knew there was more because now Sasuke was smiling at him. "Fuck Naruto, I tried so hard. But in the end, the more I tried not to think of you, the more I thought of you." He looked at Naruto and then smiled at him. "That has to be love, right?" he asked wanting to be sure about this, wanting Naruto to be sure about this.

Slowly Naruto nodded more sure about this than anything in his life. "If the three hellish months away from you with you constantly on my mind weren't enough Sasuke, standing here looking at you sure as hell has convinced me that coming here was the right decision."

There could have been nothing that could have stopped Sasuke from leaning forward and kissing the life out of his man right there and then.

Sasuke leaned forward and kissed Naruto as they resurfaced from their third orgasms of the night. It was four hours later in Sasuke's apartment. They'd rid each other of their clothes as soon as they'd entered the house and the rest had been nothing but snatches of conversation, broken moans, harsh breaths and now here they lay panting from the exertion of their activities when suddenly Sasuke remembered. "Oh yeah, what did you tell my friend Neji when you came here?" he asked as he lazily ran his fingers along Naruto's torso.

Naruto groaned from where he was gnawing gently at Sasuke's jaw. "Has anyone told you, you can be a real mood killer?" he asked and Sasuke laughed when he saw the yearning in those blue depths. "Well here's to answer your question." He leaned sideways facing Sasuke and bent his elbow placing it on the bed and resting his head on his palm. "I didn't think of anything before coming here. Coming here was a gamble since I was not sure of what you felt and thought about me. I knew you loved me then but I had been an asshole and there was every chance that you wouldn't forgive me. So I was standing there at the reception thinking about what I was going to do and say and then I saw Neji." He looked at Sasuke who was mirroring his pose and watching him with rapt attention.

He smiled at Sasuke. "I knew Neji from a couple of times I'd seen him with Gaara and I knew he was my golden ticket to meeting you. But it seems he didn't know anything about us when he met me and I could think of his ignorance as nothing but an added bonus as I fed him shit about wanting to meet you in person since you are such a huge fan of Rasengan." He grinned at Sasuke who raised his eyebrow at him knowing there was something more. "He was too busy with his phone ogling his phone and texting someone, but nevertheless, he beckoned me over to your office and the rest is history," Naruto said and then a moment later said, "Which reminds me, is Neji the guy you were hiding from when we met?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Has anyone told you Naruto that you really know how to kill my boner?" he asked with a straight face but burst out laughing when Naruto raised his eyebrow at him comically. "But yes, it was Neji."

Naruto scoffed. "He sure as hell didn't seem like he was suffering from a broken heart with all the smirks and the giggles that he was letting out each time his fingers ran across his keypad," Naruto said shuddering. "I always thought he had more…depth," he dropped his shoulders. "But whatever," he turned to glance at Sasuke who was laughing beside him.

"I'm going to tell Neji you said that. His being in love is tampering his image with people," he said.

"You do that," Naruto said as he dropped the hand his head was resting over and pulled Sasuke closer with the other. "And I'll do you," he said his lips coming down to steal Sasuke's laughter from his lips.

They still had a lot of things to clear out, to plan and discuss but as Naruto's tongue plundered his mouth and his hands wreaked havoc all over his body, Sasuke could care less about anything else than the man he was madly in love with.

The End