Disclaimer: I don't own a thing.

Notes: I lied: it did take me more than a month; however, I think the length of this more than makes up for it. A great deal of thanks goes to Calamus for bet'ing this. This fic wouldn't be what it is without her. And I also thank Out Of Sheol for going through the smut scene, and helping to make it better (because it's common knowledge that smut isn't something I actually excel at).

All criticism accepted.

...

Sasuke was fuming. No, scratch that, he was positively seething with anger – any more of this exasperating crap and he felt he'd explode. Or strangle something slowly and laboriously with his bare hands, preferably the vulgar, loud-mouthed idiot he'd been lumbered with for the past twenty-four hours. And Sasuke, had he been more inclined to profess his feelings out loud, would have cried out in rage that these last twenty-four hours had been the worst of his life.

Anyone in his position would have felt the same way – even a saint with the patience of a mule standing in a field all day – because sometimes too much just is too much.

Wrapped up in the yellow, foul-smelling and moth-eaten blankets that were the very picture of grime, Sasuke gnashed his teeth furiously and counted the minutes and seconds ticking by, praying that Naruto would finally arrive; his eyes were obstinately fixed on the disgusting filth-covered door, hoping that it'd open wide with a creak and reveal that familiar face with the foxy grin and the laughing eyes.

He'd been gone far too long; Sasuke was beginning to grow anxious. After all, the man had disappeared with his money, which wasn't very profitable. Sasuke wasn't too keen on getting in trouble with the inn-keeper, who looked more like a bandit than like a respectable businessman. Sasuke had only seen him twice, once when he'd inquired if there were any spare rooms and then after he'd paid: he hadn't liked the toothy smile, nor the small, edgy eyes which had followed his and Naruto's movements with the slow and contented idleness of a hunting cat. He felt that if he'd lowered his guard the innkeeper would have pounced on him immediately and devoured him in cold blood.

In spite of the blazing heat outdoors, it was cool, murky and dark inside the room. Sasuke supposed he should have been grateful for that: he could only imagine what the blazing brightness would have revealed the room's appearance to be. As it was, what he could see was enough to make his stomach churn – and it churned and twisted like a ship wafting under the force of a howling storm. Therefore, he avoided observing the room, but kept his eyes fixed on his toes, fingers and knees; and even then, the appearance of the room wasn't something he could easily banish into the deepest abyss of his mind.

The walls were dark, as if they'd been smudged in coal or painted in that colour. But it was more likely that a fire had once broken out in the inn and had left its marks on the building – the blackened walls were part of the memento. And yet, gloomy atmosphere notwithstanding, no silence lingered in this place. Instead, it was loud and lively – more reminiscent of a market place rather than an inn.

The smashing of pots and shrill blaring of a baby could be heard out in the hall; there was a creak and thud whenever a door opened or someone walked about. Rats, as the night before, could be heard skittering as well; they were probably dashing from hole to hole in search of nourishment. To each their own, Sasuke thought – the little critters had a right to live as well; he just wished they'd stop making such a horrendous noise.

It was grating on his nerves and, as it was, his patience had already been tested enough. Actually, it was worn thin, and if Sasuke hadn't been able to keep his emotions under control, he'd have started screaming, right there on the spot like a disgruntled toddler.

He sighed; he didn't bother contemplating his current state of undress or how something seemed to run up and down his naked arms. It was a tingling sensation, akin to an ant crawling up and down one's skin. Perhaps, the mattress was infested with various little creatures: midgets in the insect world who lived off the human sweat and dirt that festered like bacteria in the human environment. If dirt was a common thing among humans, then this room was the very specimen as well as epitome of human filth.

"I'll murder that idiot once he returns," Sasuke proclaimed loudly, knowing that no one could hear him. It wasn't as if he was being eavesdropped upon; he wasn't surrounded by ninja here. Or, better said, there was no Itachi lurking in the corners, observing his every move with the scrutiny of an owl. Indeed, as much as Sasuke loved his elder brother, his protectiveness wasn't one of his better assets. Then again, Sasuke loved that little quirk of his brother either way because it was proof that he cared.

All of a sudden, Sasuke slammed his fist against the wall and breathed heavily. If Naruto didn't come back, he'd be screwed and might never return home. He wouldn't be able to live with the shame of not only having a plan of his fail, but also trusting a stranger with his belongings.

…

Eventually, Naruto did return, only not in the manner Sasuke had expected him to.

"What shall we do with the drunken sailor', what shall with the drunken sailor' early in the morning..." an undeniably loud boomed throughout the halls, as deafening as bolts of thunder crashing upon the roof. Indeed – unfortunately – Naruto was approaching; not silently, but in such a boisterous fashion that it made Sasuke's skin crawl. Feeling that he'd break something under the strain of being exposed to such mind-numbing idiocy, he dug his fingers into the material of the bed sheets, screwed his eyes shut and counted to a hundred. He hoped that Naruto wasn't drunk and just singing for the sake of it.

I won't lose my temper. I won't kick him in the shins. I'll remain as calm as possible.

If Naruto was going to enter the room, reeking of rum, vodka or something else of that sort, Sasuke was resolved not only to beat him black and blue, but to also make him regret ever having been born.

Needless to say, Sasuke had zero tolerance for alcohol.

But Naruto couldn't have cared less for that: the world, according to him, was a marvellous place today, full of mirth and enjoyment. Outside, before he'd entered the stinky and rotten inn, the sky had been a bright blue, the birds had been twittering jovially and everyone – even the old geezers with their bent canes – had looked uppity cheerful. Yes, it was wonderful to be alive, glorious to feel his heart beating energetically inside of his ribcage and marvellous to enjoy his youth.

You have to enjoy your youth: be thankful for every second of your life. Embrace the spring of your life with all the passion and zeal that's pulsing through your body.

Those were the words that a travelling monk called Gai had once imbibed him with. Although he'd been a strange and touchy-feely fellow, Naruto had never forgotten that philosophy.

He didn't give a damn what his peevish, bitchy and argumentative companion thought about him; it didn't matter a whit to him. Sooner or later, he'd do what was part of Sasuke's mission, reap his rewards and leave.

Indeed, Naruto was so euphoric, so ecstatic and overjoyed that he wouldn't have minded if a giant had squashed him to a pile of goo like a little bug. He would have shouted "love, peace and brotherhood" from the rooftops, if it had been possible. Sadly, he'd been too drunk to climb any walls or to jump from roof to roof. Besides, yelling like that would have attracted a tad bit too much attention; he had to keep a low profile now.

Still, Naruto was a very, very happy man. He'd just tasted the sweet wines of Heaven and was now being offered tremendous insight into humanity. In other words, Naruto was flamingly drunk – not only that, he was drunker than the police allowed, as one would laughingly say in German. Or, at the very least, he was pretending to be drunk.

As soon as Sasuke heard the jingling of the sword brushing up against the sheath and the loud, impossible-to-ignore opening of the door, he was ready for action. Although he was merely "dressed" in sheets and barefoot, he made a formidable opponent. At least, the glare promising certain death he was sporting would have made any rationally-minded person back away,

Not Naruto, no; he'd never been the sort of man to rely on his brains. He wasn't dumb, per se, but just more in favour of doing what his guts instinct told him to do, rather than painstakingly overanalysing a situation. This, in itself, wasn't a bad thing – not when you lived on the streets and had to be quick and sharp as a flint in order to survive. Sometimes, the ability to hide well and run for one's live is more essential than being able to explain why things move slower when in motion. Or why the Earth is round instead of flat.

"Hey? Wassup?" Naruto slurred, baring his teeth like a hungry fox. For once, and this surprised Sasuke, they weren't yellow, but a nearly dazzling white. And, upon further introspection, Naruto wasn't dressed in his usual attire either. Leaving apart the threadbare bundle dangling from his shoulder, he was donning respectable clothing; clothing that made him look less like a runaway culprit and more like a decent human being.

Of course, Sasuke's astonishment didn't escape Naruto's notice. Tugging at his new shirt with inexpressible pride, he smiled broadly and – his smile never leaving his face – asked, "Like what you see? They're new. I got them with your money."

Sasuke counted the cracks on the wall facing him; he couldn't lose his temper yet. Not before he knew what else Naruto had done with his money. He'd have enough time to kick his arse afterwards, but for now he just needed to know what the hell Naruto had wasted his coins on besides alcoholic beverages and a new outfit.

"Where were you?" he asked, pulling the sheets closer to his body; he was beginning to grow cold and shivered, all the while knowing that Naruto was watching him. Sasuke wasn't sure whether he liked that, even though it made him feel somewhat excited.

"Out," Naruto said, confused. He thought that it had been more than obvious enough; however, it could be that Sasuke wasn't graced with as much as intelligence as he'd expected.

Sasuke shook his head; it was a waste of his time asking Naruto what he'd done. Besides, it wasn't really that important. Moreover, Naruto didn't strike him as drunk anymore: he was only tipsy. Not that it made him any smarter.

"Anyhow, did you get something for me to wear?" Sasuke inquired in a curt tone.

"'Course I did," Naruto responded a little angrily, placing the bundle he'd been carrying on the floor and pulling out what looked suspiciously like garments from his bag, which he'd put on the dusty, grimy ground as well.

Sasuke's breath hitched. He'd expected rags, but those were fine clothes – beautifully embroidered and of exquisite quality. Upon seeing the other's confused expression, Naruto smiled proudly and nodded. Yes, indeed, he had exquisite taste; the best you'd ever find.

"I knew they'd fit you – those are the perfect clothes for such an arrogant bastard like you."

"Where the hell did you get this?" Sasuke asked carefully, running his fingers over the material; it felt soft and light in his hands – this could only be silk. Once more, he found his eyes fixed on Naruto's clothes again and he noted that his weren't of such quality or even halfway as glamorous. They couldn't possibly have been bought; you didn't find stuff like this in the common stores and few merchants were capable of sewing that well. A horrible feeling grappled Sasuke.

"Why, I stole them, of course."

"What?!" Sasuke demanded, dumbfounded. He'd suspected something like this; however, to hear Naruto being so unconcerned about having committed a crime was a bit stupefying. Although he had been aware of Naruto being a rascal and a vagabond, he'd just expected him to show more dignity, or at least, not to be so proud of what he'd done!

Naruto laughed: Sasuke's reaction was priceless. He'd heard of eyes nearly popping out of their sockets, but, for the first time in his life, he really understood what the saying meant.

"Don't be that shocked."

"Shocked? You're nuts! Don't tell me that you –"

"I left the guy butt-naked on the streets. Well, mostly. He's still in his underwear," Naruto answered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "But it's hot outside today, so it's okay."

"Still." Sasuke contemplated thoughtfully, knowing that he wouldn't have liked being left naked on some street.

"Oh come, don't feel sorry for the guy. He was loaded as hell, smelling of jasmine and I don't know what else. He's probably got tons of stuff like this piling in his wardrobe. And you know, it might do him good to taste what it's like to get the shorter end of the stick for once."

After that, Naruto fell into brief silence; he didn't expect Sasuke to understand. As much as the other man was an awesome fighter, he struck him as fairly inexperienced and not all that extremely well-versed in what the world was really about. Then again, Naruto hadn't been exposed to much company other than riffraff, hired murderers, thieves and pirates: he'd never been taught that – perhaps – stealing wasn't something everyone did for a living. Or, better said, that not everyone's morals were as lax as his.

"Turn around," Sasuke said all of a sudden, breaking a silence that hadn't been uncomfortable.

"Why?"

"I'm going to change," Sasuke said noncommittally, although he felt his hands trembling. Something about Naruto's attitude made him nervous – all that subtext lingering in his tone and the suggestiveness in his gaze were enough to make anyone nervous.

Naruto shook his head in disbelief. He'd met tons of people before, beaten up even more, and he'd never come across someone like Sasuke – the man was such a prude, so inexpressibly worried about his dignity. He wasn't a wolf, after all; it wasn't as if he'd devour Sasuke, just because he flashed some naked skin. "I'm a guy," he said, letting his amusement be felt.

"Yes, but you're a bit too lecherous for my tastes."

"If I'd wanted to jump you, I'd done that while you were sleeping."

Sasuke felt himself growing pale and then cold, as if he'd been kicked in the stomach. He nearly reeled. "You–" Sasuke was about to sputter incredulously, but he stopped himself. He just couldn't express his mortification.

"That was a joke, obviously."

Sasuke couldn't be too sure of that – he didn't like Naruto's sense of humour – but he resumed dressing. When he was done, he said: "You can turn around again. I'll tell the guy we'll be leaving."

"No, we should leave in the evening. It'll be easier to escape afterwards."

"Naruto–" Sasuke started in a warning tone, but a hand on his mouth stopped him.

"Look, I know you don't like when someone orders you around, but I think it's better if we attack in the night," Naruto reasoned. "And disguising as customers is the best idea to find this guy you wanna kill. He's – what is he?"

"A former ninja, who's become a threat to our village,"

"Oh, so you mean to say that you–"

"I shouldn't really be telling you this."

"You don't have to. So, basically for whatever reason, you need this guy silenced. And you'll need me as distraction obviously. The money I stole from guy and the clothes that we're wearing now will serve as a perfect disguise. We'll get into the brothel seamlessly..."

"And then I'll just kill Orochimaru... How the hell are we going to escape? The guards might be easy enough to knock down, but the police will be alerted."

"Oh, I have something in mind for that as well," Naruto said grinning mischievously and licked his lips self-assuredly. However, upon noticing that Sasuke was glaring at him, he frowned slightly and, not without some hint of irritation, demanded, "What?"

"I'm just surprised that you've thought all this through."

"What can I say? I'm awesome."

"Right."

Sasuke shook his head: Naruto had an ego as large as Mount Fuji. Which might have been endearing if he'd been a little boy of twelve, but didn't befit a grown up man at all.

"But let there be no misunderstandings about this: I expect the payment to be good." Naruto pulled his sword out of his sheath.

The sharpness of metal scraping against metal drew Sasuke's attention immediately. "What – why are you pulling your sword out?"

"You should cut your hair," Naruto explained. "You're far from being feminine, but someone might recognise you as Sachiko. We don't really want that, so it's better to take precautions."

"Fine, cut it off. Just be careful."

"Oh, I won't chop your head off."

There was a creak of the bed while Naruto sat down beside Sasuke, who'd placed himself so that his back was facing Naruto. He let his hands travel over Sasuke's hair, which in turn caused Sasuke to shudder: he felt something like jolts of excitement forming on his skin; his heart was beating at an incessantly quick rate and his throat felt dry. Naruto's presence was making him nervous, but he felt thrilled at the same time.

"What's the matter now?" he inquired a little annoyed, not liking that new-found sensation at all. If this continued, Sasuke was certain to lose his sanity – he had no idea why this was affecting him so much.

"Your hair – it's soft – softer than I–" Naruto found himself murmuring, now a little regretful that he'd have to cut that hair.

"I'm not a girl. So, shut up and don't talk about such embarrassing things," Sasuke snapped and folded his arms in front of his chest. He really didn't understand why Naruto had to keep running his hands through his hair.

"Fine, fine. 'Twas meant as a compliment." Then he set forth to cut Sasuke's hair. It wasn't difficult – he'd straightened and shortened his own hair more than often enough with his blade. He was glad that Sasuke wasn't moving around, which enabled him to cut the hair in one strike.

Sasuke didn't even flinch, but then again he was a ninja. Ninja didn't show their fear openly – ever.

"Good. You look less like a girl now," Naruto joked when Sasuke checked his hair in the broken mirror that the awful room was furnished with.

"Just hold your tongue, idiot. I never looked like a girl in the first place." Sasuke swore that if Naruto ever compared to a girl again, he'd really kill him without any scruples.

...
Naruto was pacing back and forth in the room restlessly, bored out of his mind. He knew they'd agreed on setting out in the evening. Hell, it had been his suggestion! Still, he hadn't known that it would be so tremendously boring to wait for that long. Besides, he was hungry.

"Say Sasuke, why don't we go out for lunch or something?"

He expected a protest or a violent reaction, but was surprised when Sasuke shrugged his shoulders and nodded in acquiescence.

Although it was three o'clock in the afternoon, the sun was still blazing fiercely onto the titled, flat and otherwise shaped roofs of the town; even the pebbles and little fragments of stone littering the streets were not safe from the persistent rays. Everything burned, roasted like a pig under the heat. Sasuke regretted having decided to come along; his entire body would soon be soaked in sweat, and that wasn't something he enjoyed.

"Hey, it's going to rain," Naruto's voice resounded in his ears, interrupting his rather random chain of thoughts. Sasuke stared doubtfully at him and then at sun-baked soil, not knowing whether to trust Naruto's experience over his own common sense.

In spite of the blazing heat, Naruto had been able to perceive a few clouds forming hither and thither; it wasn't quite evident yet, but the sky was greying, or better said darkening. Naruto, having spent much time in the wilderness, knew that weather was going to change very soon, but he didn't bother pointing it out to his companion; instead, he pulled Sasuke by the sleeve of his shirt and dragged him into some shanty little corner, which soon revealed itself to be a little restaurant of sorts.

To Sasuke's relief, it wasn't crowded, but empty save for the two of them. It might have been just childishness on his part, but Sasuke hated to eat where there were lots of people surrounding him.

"I'll pay for this."

"With my money?" Sasuke asked, feeling amused. He was too hungry to protest, though.

"With what's left of yours and that guy's, yeah."

Sasuke shook his head, and then looked away. When he heard the soft pattering sounds of raindrops clashing against the roof, he knew that Naruto had been right – it was raining indeed. But that didn't spoil their meal. In fact, the food was surprisingly good. Better than he'd expected.

...

The rain had started to clear by the time they'd finished their meal; it was pleasantly warm. Sasuke felt less chilled and slowly breathed in and out, not having tasted this kind of freedom for a long time. While he'd worked undercover at the brothel, every move of his had been closely watched and it had been more than just a test of patience not to simply give up. He'd only managed to keep his gender a secret by being cautious, quiet and obedient.

I'll never accept a mission from Itachi again. He's evil.

"Sasuke, you've got any siblings?" Naruto asked, all of a sudden. He was feeling bored and, having eaten a fine dish, was in the mood for a little chitchat, even if it wasn't all too interesting.

"Yes, an elder brother and a younger sister."

"What? Really – that's... Would she be interested in a guy like me?" Naruto asked hopefully, knowing that any relative of Sasuke's had to be knock-out gorgeous.

Sasuke felt like snapping Naruto's neck: the man's tasteless jokes were grating on his nerves once again. Besides, no one touched his family – Sasuke would rather die in a fire than let anyone hurt his precious people.

"She's twelve," he said grimly.

Naruto's face fell. He might have been a lot of things, but he definitely wasn't a paedophile. Besides, Sasuke's grimness and the unspoken threat lurking behind these words were more than enough warning. "So, you're an overprotective elder brother? Cute."

Sasuke felt it was about time to change the topic. And no, he wasn't an overprotective brother – not like his brother, at least. Now, Itachi is the very epitome of over-protectiveness, Sasuke thought with a sigh – he hated that, even this far away from his village, he was being pestered with memories from home. This had to be some form of homesickness.

"What about you, Naruto?"

"What about me? I already told you: I don't have a home. Didn't know my parents either. I just go from place to place."

"Wow, so you're free as a bird," Sasuke noted, absently tapping his fingers against the wooden surface of the table. When he'd been younger, Sasuke had been obsessed about going on journeys; he'd dreamt of going from one place to another and being independent. Sasuke knew that it had been silly of him; but still some childish part of him was in awe of Naruto, even though he would never admit it out loud.

"Yes, it's really amazing. Especially if you've fucked up something. Then, you can just pack your things and leave – you don't have to deal with the consequences."

Sasuke started at Naruto, bemused by the bitter tone in Naruto's words. He felt like asking Naruto if he didn't grow tired of wandering around so much, if he had ever considered stopping. But it wasn't his place to ask, so he didn't.

...

Evening came gradually and, with the slow but sure darkening of the sky, Sasuke felt himself growing more and more nervous. Yes, as composed and calm as he might have seemed on the outside, Sasuke was anxious as hell. He was pretty close to biting his fingernails – a habit he hadn't indulged in since he'd been ten or so.

Naruto, on the contrary, didn't feel a shadow of fear haunting his mind. Rather, he was jubilant and walking through the streets with a kind of festivity and happiness that wasn't commonly encountered. Everything seemed to match his euphoric mood – the lanterns hanging from the various doors, the bright stars adorning the night sky and the laughter of drunken men coming from all the pubs.

Sasuke couldn't find much pleasure in it all, however, and Naruto was beginning to irritate him. All that vigorous energy made him feel nauseous. "Naruto, don't jump around that much. It's annoying."

Naruto, upon hearing that, growled and stopped hopping around for a second. Sasuke was such a damned spoilsport. "Stop being such a bastard. Not everyone's tongue-tied and stiff as you are."

"I'm not–"

"Oh yes, you are. Loosen up, man." And with that, the jumping around resumed again.

Sasuke sighed; it was going to be a long walk to the brothel. He just hoped that he wouldn't be tempted to kill Naruto before reaching their destination.

…..

In the glow of the evening and the illumination coming from the torches lighting the edifice, the brothel hadn't lost a sliver of its glory: it was still quaint, mannerly and deceivingly majestic-looking.

Its beauty was lost on Sasuke, however. He didn't really care; he was too busy going through the plan a thousand times a minute in his head. Even if the building had been merely a small hut or cabin with only a small fireplace and carpet to grace its interiors, he wouldn't have cared; he was far too much of a crazed perfectionist to care about his surroundings.

As for Naruto, who had seen the building before, the building's charms held no meaning now; he was far more interested in the approaching fight and in seeing his plans realised successfully rather than observing resplendent architecture. Besides, they didn't have the whole night: time was running out.

The guard leaning against the door wasn't the same as the one before. Naruto breathed a sigh of relief even though he knew that the other man probably wouldn't have recognised him. As memorable and as striking as his appearance might have been at first, Naruto knew that people quickly banished him from their memory. He was like a pesky buzzing fly – his existence was merely acknowledged for a few seconds before being wiped out. What surprised Naruto, though, was that this guard didn't eye either of them suspiciously, but instead let them pass through the door without another word; he wasn't accustomed to that. Usually, Naruto couldn't even enter a pub without having hundreds of eyes raised towards him – he was just the type that attracted attention.

Because I'm hot.

So in many ways, this was odd – unsettling even. A flash of understanding flitted through Naruto's eyes – it had to be Sasuke. Even the way he carried himself bore a certain air of nobility and his clothes only reinforced that effect.

"We'd like to talk to the co-owner," Sasuke said curtly to the lady, who nodded in understanding.

The woman didn't lead them into the large hall this time, but directed them up a staircase, which was large and covered in a fine red carpet. Even here did the smell of jasmine and Indian incense pervade the air, invading the nose and making one feel dizzily light-hearted. However, neither Naruto nor Sasuke cared about that.

"Wait here," Sasuke ordered Naruto, not liking what he saw in his face. "If you dare leave for one instant, you'll be a dead man."

...

"Hmm, you remind me of someone," Orochimaru said, licking his lips in what was supposed to be a seductive manner. His tongue – long and nearly purple – flicked over his thin lips in slow, agonizing movements; the luscious red and purple decoration of the room was in sync with the hungry look in the man's eyes, which promised nothing good or savoury.

Unsurprisingly, Sasuke felt appalled by it and unconsciously backed away. He'd heard tales about this man, of his various debaucheries and how he liked to bed barely legal boys. He'd also heard other things, each more horrifying than the last. Orochimaru wasn't only a sadistic pervert, but also a murderer who took pride in torturing people deliberately, slowly and cruelly. He'd killed hundreds of people, not single-handedly, but that didn't change a thing; it was undeniable that Orochimaru had used human lives too often as pawns in his grotesque little mind-games.

I'll have to do this quickly. I hope Naruto's not gone from the door or, worse yet, hitting it off with one of the prostitutes.

"I'm pretty sure, you're mistaken, sir," Sasuke finally replied, glad that he could speak without sound tremulous.

"Hmm, perhaps. So, what can I do for you?"

Orochimaru's eyes were travelling up and down his body, coming to a halt whenever they spotted his crotch; it was disgusting, and Sasuke fought hard not to run away screaming. He'd have to be careful – very careful – or things would end up being rather messy.

Just when Orochimaru was about to reach out for him, Sasuke pulled out the knife he'd kept hidden in his pocket and attacked. It was just his luck that the older man was slow and sluggish in his movements; Sasuke was able to quickly place himself behind him and – grabbing him by the jaw – slice his throat open. As small as the knife was, it cut flawlessly – so flawlessly, in fact, that it made Sasuke feel sick.

He backed away from the groaning and blood-sputtering Orochimaru who held onto his badly wounded and profusely bleeding throat. There was a look of unspoken terror and surprise in his face; his eyes, which usually appeared to be slits, were wide open. Sasuke forced himself to look away while he heard the other gasping and grunting in pain. There was no exhilaration or pride in doing this, he realised with a pang; instead, he felt nauseous. Yet there was no time to reflect on what he'd done.

When the sounds ceased, he carefully opened the door to where Naruto was waiting. With a nod, Sasuke communicated that he was done; Naruto merely nodded in return. Words weren't needed.

...

"Hey, what are two in such a hurry for?" the guard brusquely demanded and fixed his eyes on Sasuke's frame with suspicion. Had it been daylight – bright, shimmering daylight and merciless heat – he might have noticed that Sasuke's clothes was a little too ruby red, and that his face was slightly paler than was natural. Thankfully, it was dark and the torchlight only enshrouded everything in a weak glow. And anyway, the guard, who went by the name of Hajime, had never been the brightest star in the sky. Perhaps – this has to be said – he would have never noticed anything amiss at all.

"We have to get home," Sasuke said carefully and casually, as if he'd been reciting a poem or making a weather forecast. He felt Naruto's arm – muscular and strong – brush against his own; in the nervousness that he tried so hard to suppress, Sasuke had unconsciously nudged closer to Naruto.

Sighing, the guard relaxed his stance and nodded, probably thinking of overbearing wives, howling babies or scolding mothers; he'd met tons of men who, though they could have cursed and beaten any other man to death in plain daylight, were paranoid of getting in trouble with the women in their lives. So, being the understanding person he was, Hajime let the young men pass and returned to day-dreaming about gold and whatever else young guards can dream about.

When the guard was out of earshot, Naruto pulled Sasuke close by putting his hand over the man's shoulder and whispered into his ear. "Calm down, Sasuke."

In spite of himself, Sasuke shivered again, but not because he was cold: Naruto's voice sent jolts of excitement rolling down his skin. I'm going crazy. This isn't – stupid Naruto.

"Soon, there'll be a ruckus... but it's not goin' to be problem. If we act like nothing's happened, we'll be able to sneak out of here," Naruto said, this time not deeming it necessary to whisper any more – the guard had apparently dozed off.

But that was easier said than done. Indeed, just when they were about to step into the comforting darkness of the night, a loud scream echoed throughout the place – breaking and tearing through the silence like a loud bomb falling on the ground with a ear-splitting crack.

The voice belonged lady who supervised the brothel. Before she'd even finished yelling "Murder! Murder!", the guard had snapped out of his brief nap, drawn his sword and ran off into the darkness, intent on finding and cutting down the murderer. He wasn't the only one approaching. Other sounds – those of running feet and loud voices hollering "Over there!" – indicated that Naruto's earlier assumption about escaping had been totally wrong.

Well, I can be mistaken once in a while. And this'll be fun!

"Come on," Naruto said excitedly, his senses alert and immediately focused on fighting. "Get behind me, and help me kick these losers' asses!"

Sasuke did exactly that, glad that Naruto was such a quick and enthusiastic fighter. He pulled out his own blade and waited for the first attackers to come charging in.

And charge in they did. At least ten men fell to attacking Naruto and Sasuke – aiming foolishly at anything one could possibly aim at.

Sasuke grinned: he'd never seen sillier or weaker fighters before. Using his swiftness and precision, he effectively braced himself from the attacks and managed to wound the men in such a way that they couldn't attack him anymore. He knew Naruto felt the same, if the sounds of the clashing swords and howls from the men going "Beast! Demon!" were anything to go by.

In fact, Sasuke was right – more than right.

Naruto was effortlessly evading the poorly aimed hits at his stomach, arms or head; while he jumped, turned left and right and sliced through flesh, he felt that this was like dancing on ice. Furthermore, it was thrilling and tantalising to watch the fear on his opponent's faces – it was clear they'd never met his sort before. "Pathetic," Naruto roared out, after he'd cut down another of the guards. "Ain't there better fighters out there?"

This was a challenge, of course. And, as the devil would have it, the challenge was answered. No sooner had Naruto uttered these words than some fifty policemen stormed in, each pulling out their swords.

Feeling that this wasn't any good, Sasuke turned to Naruto. "How are we supposed to take care of this?"

Naruto just grinned merrily – in a deluded, nearly euphoric way. He reminded Sasuke of a kid who'd just been told that he could stay up longer. The policemen were coming closer, and Sasuke was bracing himself for an attack when Naruto stopped him.

"Watch this," he said, pulling out something that looked suspiciously like fireworks – and, still grinning, lit them.

"What is that?" Sasuke asked, not fully grasping what Naruto meant to achieve by this. Yet again, he didn't receive an answer.

Instead, Naruto held out a finger in front of his lips and only muttered, with a hint of amusement in his voice, "Bang."

And then it really happened: a loud bang resounded with such a full force that the very ground shook. Then, shrieks, yells and howls of terror erupted, and a chaotic chain of events throttled out in full motion – everyone ran to and fro like headless chicken.

Sasuke couldn't move; the loud bang had nearly deafened him and the intense lights had dazed him. He shuddered when a calloused rough hand grasped hold of his own, tugging him forcefully. It was Naruto's.

"Come on, Sasuke. Run!" Naruto pulled Sasuke further into the dark and dingy alley.

…

They had been running non-stop for a couple of minutes, so it wasn't surprising that they were sweating profusely and breathing heavily. Finally, after what seemed like hours of catching his breath, Naruto found his voice again and hoarsely said: "They've run in the other direction. The fireworks have confused them." The racket could still be heard in the distance, but it was dying down. "But we'll have to stay somewhere for the night."

"Naruto, we should return to that inn," Sasuke suggested, glad the fighting hadn't rendered him incapable of thinking quickly.

"Yeah, that would be a good idea. I left some of my belongings there, too." Naruto agreed, and with that they walked in the direction of the inn, carefully and quietly, lest someone discover their trail.

As much as Sasuke didn't want to return to that blasted inn, he knew they didn't have any other options. Running away to the next town would have been dangerous. Besides, as fortune had it, the inn wasn't all that far away from the brothel and was so damned shady and wretched in appearance that it wouldn't be searched. Indeed, when the building came into sight, Sasuke knew that they were safe for the time being.

...

Sasuke would never be able to forget the way in which they reached that inn; it was something so absurdly surrealistic and out of all logical proportion that there were no words – couldn't be, because it was just that darned strange. Of course, there were the physical strains – the sweating, the harsh panting breathing and the heart beating furiously against his ribcage. But that wasn't all; those were only the side effects of the excitement that was pulsing in his veins.

Somehow, they had reached the inn and Naruto, always the more energetic of the two, pounded furiously with his calloused hands on the wooden entrance. For a second there were only the echoes of the bang – loud and jingling resounding sounds. Then there was the squishing of sandals brushing against the floor, and the door opened with an alarming screech.

"Yes?" a rough voice asked, paused and then – this time more rasped and intimate – said: "Oh, it's you two again." The owner of the inn stared at them with wicked delight dancing in his eyes; he definitely had at least a hunch of what was going on. Sasuke took in his appearance for the first time: he was a small man, with a balding head and clever, watchful eyes.

"Looks like you're in trouble, boys," he remarked, his grin now growing into an impish smile. "But what makes you think I'll help you? I don't do nothing for free."

Naruto's nerves cracked; he'd never been known to possess patience. And this was taking things too far. He would have no trouble using his sword on the guy if he didn't comply with them. "So, are you gonna let us stay or not?" he asked, his voice dangerously low.

The inn-keeper been playful and taunting before; now, his features hardened and the look in his eyes was rendered serious – he knew that this wasn't a joke anymore. "I dunno. What's in for me?"

Naruto searched his pockets for the few gold coins he'd not spent and, once found, he brought them before the inn-keeper's face. He hoped that this was enough. If not, there'd be hell to pay – he wouldn't mind breaking the inn-keeper's bones to achieve his ends. Besides, he was drained. A night's rest was just what he needed.

"Well, that's good enough. But see that you leave early in the morning. I don't know if I'll be able to keep the police away longer than that." He moved out of the doorway and allowed Naruto to enter with Sasuke following him.

…

To Sasuke's immeasurable and immense disappointment, the room was still as shabby and repellently filthy as he'd first perceived it to be. However, the way the weak light of the torch illuminated the room providing a tent of brightness rendered things a little more bearable to his eyes, if not to his nose. To say that the place smelled like a dog's kennel was a compliment – the inn-keeper obviously never opened the windows and rarely, if ever, bothered to wipe the floor with a mop.

But Sasuke's thoughts weren't directed merely towards the room. In fact, only a small portion of his mind was busy analyzing the room's charms or lack-thereof, the other part of his cognitive powers was busy trying to figure out what Naruto was up to. And this, contrary to what he'd believed at first, wasn't easy.

For the first time since he had known him, Naruto wasn't being his usual loud-mouthed self; instead he was oddly quiet and – what surprised Sasuke the most – kept himself at a distance. There were no lame jokes, suggestive gestures or arrogant swaggering – Naruto was simply being quiet. He was pacing around the room, seemingly restless and troubled by something – something that Sasuke couldn't understand, and it was nerve-wracking.

He had to find a way to break the silence or he'd really crack. "So... about the arrangement?" Sasuke asked carefully, hoping that his voice wouldn't betray the anxiety surging inside of him. Not because his dignity didn't allow it, but because Naruto seemed tense enough as it was.

Naruto halted in his movements and gave Sasuke a confused and surprised look, as if he'd never before heard a word about something of the sort. In fact, he even struck Sasuke as perturbed. He'd just finished taking off his shirt, leaving him only in his pants – but Sasuke evaded inspecting his body; there were more important things to focus on now.

"What arrangement?" Naruto finally asked, fixing Sasuke with that half-confused and disturbed look. He had thought that Sasuke had forgotten about this.

Sasuke sighed: Naruto was obviously hell-bent on making this difficult by pretending to be dim, though he couldn't really be that dim. "Come on, you said you'd help me – but not without a price."

Naruto breathed heavily, scratched his head and grinned – a little awkwardly and stiffly – before replying. "Ah, that. Don't worry – you've already paid," he said, shrugging his shoulders and searching his bundle for something. Or, at least, he seemed to.

"What do you mean by that?" Sasuke demanded, confused. He thought they'd agreed on this!

"Well, I've eaten, I've got new clothes to wear and I won't have spend the night under a bridge... that's good enough, I reckon," Naruto quickly responded, hoping that it would get Sasuke off his case.

"And after? What are you going to after this? What are we going to do?" This couldn't be the end, Sasuke thought anxiously; if that was all there was to whatever this was, he felt sorely disappointed.

"I'll be on my way and you'll go back to your family – that's what you want, isn't it?"

"Right," Sasuke murmured, and kicking his shoes off loudly and, for once, got into the bed without cringing. "That's what I want."

"Sasuke, what did you expect?"

"Nothing. I expected nothing."

Who am I kidding? I wanted to fight with him again, if only to experience that intense feeling of exhilaration again.

"You'd thought I'd fight you to death?" Naruto inquired, watching how Sasuke pulled his shirt over his head and pulled one of the covers over his trembling body. It was unsettling that Sasuke wasn't replying yet. "Hey Sasuke, did you think so – that I'd kill you?"

"Ha, as if I'd ever allow that to happen. You wouldn't stand a chance," Sasuke said, fixing Naruto with a cold, unmerciful glare.

"You think you could seriously beat me?"

"Yes, I do. Or you'd beat me... we're equals."

After that, there was silence because both Naruto and Sasuke knew that it was the truth.

"There is something I'd want to do, but not because it'd be payment."

Sasuke sat up in bed, puzzled. The weak glow of the light played on Naruto's expressive features and there was something frighteningly vulnerable in his them – as if he expected to get hurt every other minute.

"And that would be?"

Naruto shook his head and, smiling grimly, looked down on the floor. Then, after he'd thoroughly observed how stained and rotten the wooden floor was, he looked back at Sasuke – looked at his fine, chiselled face, his broad shoulders and strong muscles. Even if Sasuke looked somewhat frail tucked into his bed, Naruto was very aware of the fact that it was only a facade. After all, Sasuke was capable of breaking a man's neck.

"Forget it."

"No, I want to kn–"

"Trust me, you don't," Naruto cut in, and then turned around, leaving Sasuke to deal with that confession. Feeling that the room, with all its dirt and shabbiness, was stifling – suffocating, even – Naruto knew he had to get out and cool off his head. "Sasuke, I'll go out for a walk. I'll be back in an hour or so."

"Fine, I'll go to sleep, then," Sasuke spat out, sounding surprisingly angrier and less nonchalant than Naruto had ever thought him capable of.

…

That fucking does it. I'm never helping anyone again. Only leads to awkward situations.

Naruto rolled from side to side on the creaking, stone-hard bed, feeling more restless than he had in ages. Better said, he felt like he was being eaten from the inside out by that feverish mantra-like craze that was nabbing at him and urging him to partake in outrageous actions. Like jumping Sasuke on the spot. Which, perhaps, wasn't all that outrageous, but still fairly stupid, considering that Sasuke would have hardly accepted the gesture with unbridled enthusiasm – quite the opposite, in fact.

Heh, if he'd knew that I'm thinking along these lines, he'd strangle me to death. Stupid Sasuke. Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke. That damned asshole was driving him over the fence. Everything about him drove Naruto to utter agony, set off an entire roller coaster of tingling sensations running up and down his spine – and he couldn't think straight anymore.

The very thin jet of light that managed to trespass the thin and grease-stained glasses of the narrow windows made some parts of the room look oddly beautiful; it might have been the transient quality of the flickering stream of light which fell here and there, making the usually slimy, half-broken table and dingy closet appear almost silvery – and thus conveying a secretive atmosphere, which was more reminiscent of an enchanted forest than of a dirty room.

But the soft streams of moonlight weren't the only illuminative powers at work. In a shanty little corner, hanging awkwardly between aforementioned table and closet was a weakly burning torch, emitting weak strands of sickly light. Under the glow of that torch, the coal-black walls looked blacker, the table dirtier and the filth-stained floor even filthier. The only one who was spared from it was Sasuke; he was only gorgeous, in spite of the somewhat greenish light giving him something of a yellowish complexion.

Not that Naruto cared, really. He'd have been attracted to Sasuke even if he'd worn a paper sack over his head. Besides, it wasn't only the way he looked that made Naruto forget himself. His breath, the way he smelt of grass and moss, so very reminiscent of green landscapes endowed with lush, rolling rivers and picturesque mountains made Naruto frustrated. Closing his eyes, he imagined what it would be like to lick Sasuke's soft salty cheek, dig his fingers into that thick and full hair and place soft kisses on his temple, his nose and those thin, albeit soft-looking lips. I'm screwed.

Normally, Naruto wasn't one to be that excited by the likes of another guy, let alone a guy who was as catty and annoyingly prudish as Sasuke. Hell no, under usual circumstances, Naruto would have robbed someone like that of his money, possibly broken a rib or two and then made a run for it – somewhere up in the mountains – and then spent the rest of his days not wasting a single thought on that guy. He definitely wouldn't have bothered helping him out, either. After all, Naruto's favourite motto happened to be: "take care only of your own precious behind, and let others roll in their self-induced dirt on their own. What's none of your business should remain strictly none of your business".

But Sasuke, for all his deficiencies, wasn't actually a bad person to hang around and even made Naruto want to stay a bit longer by his side, though he couldn't pinpoint why. And he was growing tired of breaking his head against that stupid question – he'd just have to do something about it.

Even if Sasuke killed him.

"Oh hell, I'll just risk it," he whispered into the darkness, even though no one could hear now. Sweat prickled down his forehead and he felt his clenched hands tremble, shuddering like branches on a frosty autumn's night. But he had to; he wouldn't waste his life regretting not having done this.

Therefore, Naruto – with his eyes closed – placed a timid and chaste kiss on Sasuke's lips, marvelling at the fact that the other man's lips weren't as soft as he'd expected, but swollen and slightly dry. He hoped against hope that Sasuke wouldn't wake up, but no such luck.

As if triggered by some impulse, Sasuke's eyes snapped open, and he looked up at Naruto, feeling both bewildered and disappointed – he'd expected more of him. But, as long as he didn't know what Naruto's motives were, he wasn't going to let his mask of indifference slip. "What are you doing?" he spat out threateningly, his eyes glinting in the dark. His whole posture was defensive – sitting up, arms crossed, ready to jump and attack at any given moment.

"Nothing."

"No, you kissed me," Sasuke said, a little too calmly and dangerously – like he was only waiting for the right moment to explode, to strike and make Naruto pay. Or like it just didn't bother him that much.

Naruto didn't know if he was supposed to run away or wait for Sasuke to react in a less ambiguous manner. He cursed himself internally for not being able to control his hormones or whatever else that was making him behave like this; he'd always been impulsive, quick to jump into the fray and do what he liked to do. But I have to keep my cool now. "So what if I did?"

"Then don't be surprised if I punch you right now." Sasuke edged closer to Naruto now, slowly and nearly idly like a cat approaching its prey; his eyes were downcast and, other than short-lasting annoyance flickering across his pale features, there was nothing: Sasuke's face was as expressionless as a mask.

Naruto closed his eyes and braced himself for the attack, waiting for the stinging pain of a calloused and strong hand colliding against his face. But that never happened. Instead, cool, wet and slightly soft lips brushed against his, gently pressing. It was only a peck, fleeting and innocent, but Naruto's heart still hammered wildly in his ribcage. Because this wasn't just some guy – not some random bloody fool like the ones you met day in, day out on some narrow and vermin-infested street. No, it was Sasuke. The same man who'd pushed him away in horror and disgust when he'd first attempted to kiss him. Of course, back then, the circumstances had been different. His eyes opened and he panted, trying to catch his breath in order to give his confused emotions a chance to vent.

"Sasuke...?" Naruto asked, his eyebrows knitted and body shuddering.

"I'm not doing this out of payment, so don't assume anything."

And that was all; that was all it took for Naruto to understand that Sasuke was being earnest, that continuing to do this would be totally fine. At least, he gathered that taking this further wouldn't be the death of him – not the bad kind of death, anyway.

Perhaps there should have been more, like an explanation or, at least, some sort of cat-and-mouse game – because you don't usually do this kind of thing without some chasing or wooing. Then again, to be honest, Naruto and Sasuke weren't characters out of some Victorian romance, where everything is built up logically and leads up to a satisfying conclusion. Hell no. Instead, they were two lonely men who'd barely escaped with their lives and earned their living by beating people up. Therefore, it shouldn't be required of them to have any grand expectations about this kind of thing – at least, no delusions of romantic grandeur.

There were no fireworks; Sasuke's lips felt rough and his mouth was more angrily colliding, smashing against his own than anything else. But it was real because there was no denying that it was Sasuke doing this, that he seemed to want this as much as Naruto did.

So, feeling ascertained that this wasn't just a hallucination, Naruto was quick to climb on top of Sasuke and press him down onto the bed, liking how fit and hard Sasuke's body was against his own. Another thing he liked was how quick Sasuke was on the uptake. Unlike the kiss a few minutes before, their mouths met harshly and demandingly now, each time crushing each other, as if both of them were intent on breaking the other to bits and pieces.

Sasuke's strong and calloused hands slowly curled themselves possessively around Naruto's neck, pulling him so close that he could feel their bodies – or, better said, groins – rub against the other in a frenzy, creating a rather pleasurable sensation of friction. Pleasurable it certainly was, for it made Sasuke feel dizzy and – as cliché as it sounded – there were butterflies forming in his stomach. And he felt undeniably aroused as well; the twitching of his cock was certainly indication enough. As far as he could tell, Naruto had to be going through a similar wave of sensations – something hard was pressing against his stomach.

Naruto, who not only was enjoying this thoroughly, but ecstatic with joy, let one of his hands wander to Sasuke's bony hip, tracing the skin with his sweaty palms and drawing odd little shapes with his fingers. However, he didn't stop there because there would have hardly been any fun in that.

Sasuke's perception of fun wasn't necessarily the same as Naruto's, however. "What are you doing?" he immediately gasped out, not sure if he was supposed to like the feel of wet lips pecking against his sensitive skin. When Naruto applied his tongue, the other man stiffened and his eyes widened; that had felt surprisingly nice, though it was still odd.

"Kissing your neck, obviously," Naruto muttered, in between his licking and slight biting.

Sasuke gasped out a little more, attempting to sound scandalised, though failing miserably at it. Yet, maybe because it was his custom, Sasuke still felt the need to point out the sheer vulgarity of it. He hadn't even bathed, was probably soaked head to foot in sweat and wasn't sure if his skin was all that delicious. "It's kind of disgusting. Stop it."

Naruto paused and let his hands, which had been holding onto Sasuke's hips before, wander to the other's man face, allowing himself to run his fingers to run over chapped and warm lips. Naruto shook his head. "Well, you do kind of smell like blood and sweat... so don't think it's a bloody fantastic experience for me, either."

"Then why the hell are you doing it?" Sasuke spat out, offended that Naruto had the nerve to refer to him as filthy.

Naruto shook his head, grinned in a Cheshire Cat sort of manner and, without thinking long, simply answered: "Because it's fun."

Sasuke was about to protest, saying that there wasn't any logic in this, but – all of a sudden, seemingly out of nowhere – the things Naruto was doing to him started to feel really good, actually more along the lines of mind-blowing and thrilling.

Naruto's long fingernails, uneven and sharp, scratched against his skin, marring it with angry red marks which contrasted with the paleness of Sasuke's skin. He didn't pause at the neck, but instead continued marking Sasuke with kisses and love bites, making sure that there'd be visible evidence on Sasuke's body the next day. He wanted to make sure that Sasuke would never forget.

Sasuke was just about to let himself really go when Naruto ceased to lick his neck and turned his attention elsewhere – and, of all things, it had to be his nipples. "Wait! That's – what the hell!" Sasuke gasped out, though the feeling wasn't really that bad – if only it had been less embarrassing.

"Just hold your tongue and enjoy it. It won't kill you." Naruto licked and teased the nipple counter-clockwise, starting with the lower region before working upwards. All this he did in a painstakingly slow pace while Sasuke's toes started to curl and his hands clenched and unclenched, revealing reddened palms.

Naruto liked hearing Sasuke's gasps, which weren't exactly quiet – no matter how much Sasuke tried to restrain himself. He'd have loved to tease Sasuke more; however, Naruto was losing his patience. Besides, there were better things they could be doing; if Sasuke wanted to, that was. Though he'd have preferred if Sasuke had worn more – then Naruto might have put his sword to good use. Not the metaphoric kind of sword, but his actual one – the one he used for fighting.

"It kinda spoils the fun that you're shirt's already off; I'd like to have torn it to shreds."

"You're a pig," Sasuke replied, though he had a pretty good idea what Naruto had been talking about. Well, there wasn't anything to be done about that: they'd just have to reserve that for the next time.

Naruto paused when he reached Sasuke's pants, halting his hand over the not-so-deniable arousal there. Although Sasuke might have given him permission to touch, he wasn't sure how far to take this. But a hastily whispered "go on" killed some of the doubt he was currently feeling. Naruto decided to take the initiative. With a quick pulling of the rope that was holding his pants together and an even hastier discarding of the material, Sasuke was left naked. Yet Naruto was still unsure: he needed to hear Sasuke's approval. Not just some vague murmuring. "Sasuke?"

Sasuke felt irritation flare inside of him – either Naruto was intentionally teasing him or he really was that stupid. "What?"

"You sure you want to continue doing this? I know that I'm irresistible and all, but I'm–"

Sasuke silenced Naruto by clapping his hand against the other man's mouth; he rolled his eyes and shook his head. Sasuke had heard tales about blockheads, but this was taking things too far. He thought that he'd made things pretty clear when he'd kissed Naruto. "I already said that I want this. If I didn't, you'd be dead by now."

Naruto shrugged his shoulders and then muttered a quick "fine, as you say." He wasn't going to say no when being asked that nicely; Sasuke had had his chance and not even wild horses could drag Naruto away from this anymore. It had been ages since he'd got laid properly – scratch that, he'd never slept with someone like Sasuke before. Therefore, Naruto was resolved to make every minute of this worthwhile, which included ensuring that Sasuke would enjoy this as well. And he wouldn't unless Naruto prepared him properly.

"I need to go fetch lube. I don't think you're ready to do this without." That being said, Naruto got out of bed a little reluctantly and searched the room for the bundle he always carried around with him; it might not have been the appropriate kind of lubrication, but Naruto knew that it would have to do. Anything else would have been suicide.

Sasuke, having no other choice, waited and listened intently to the sound of Naruto's footsteps against the wooden creaking floor of the inn. Amongst the ruffling and shuffling, he heard Naruto swear a few times when – he rightfully assumed – the fool stepped on some nail or other pointy inanimate object. Finally, after what seemed like painfully drawn out hours, Naruto announced: "Got it. Lucky."

"Finally. I thought we'd never get going," Sasuke murmured, a little annoyed that he'd been forced to wait for that long. He'd begun to feel silly and very, very stupid. The bed created a jarring sound when Naruto's weight fell upon it again and Sasuke's heart skipped a bit. In spite of what he'd said and how he'd kissed Naruto, Sasuke was nervous and more than a little anxious.

Naruto, who sensed that Sasuke was being way too silent, crouched in front of him. He hoped that this procedure wouldn't last too long or be very painful for Sasuke. "So," he said, taking a deep breath, "I'll prepare you now and what's important is that you've got to relax."

Sasuke just nodded and was once more glad that the room wasn't well illuminated. He'd have died of humiliation if Naruto had noticed his blush. He couldn't help it; the situation was just that awkward and bordering on unpleasant. Still, closing his eyes and taking a single deep breath, he spread his legs. Sasuke heard the snap of a cap being opened and swallowed hard; his courage was beginning to fail him.

"Relax. Really, really relax, or it's goin' to be unpleasant," Naruto reassured him, even though knew that Sasuke would most likely do the very contrary. But he had to at least try to make Sasuke feel comfortable, didn't he? Then, Naruto inserted one finger – cautiously and slowly.

Sasuke's body stiffened, his head was thrown back and his breathing was very harsh – nearly like an incessant drumbeat. "Stop that! It's fucking uncomfortable!" he spat out angrily, hating how that finger stretched and moved inside of him: it wasn't merely the pain, but he felt so naked and exposed. But Sasuke forced himself to remain calm and not kick Naruto in the groin.

"It's necessary... just try to relax," Naruto tried to reassure Sasuke, though he knew it was in vain. Well, at least Sasuke wasn't howling out in pain, but they'd still have to go through this. Carefully, Naruto inserted another finger, praying that Sasuke wouldn't kill him; that wouldn't have been very productive. "Relax Sasuke. Relax."

Relax? Sasuke had no idea what Naruto meant by that; he couldn't relax when he was being degraded in such an abominable manner. If the one finger had been uncomfortable, then this was nearly unbearable – he dug his hands into the blankets and cursed.

"I'll do this slowly," Naruto whispered and, closing his eyes, brought himself in the required position and groaned out loud when he entered Sasuke; he felt the tightness engulf him, surrounding him and it took him all his goodwill not to start pounding into Sasuke immediately.

Sasuke, meanwhile, his squeezed his eyes shut and his hands gripped the headboard of the bed nearly desperately; he was silent, apart from his heavy pants. Even when Naruto was buried deep inside, Sasuke remained quiet, merely biting his lips and squirming. His body shuddered, as if he'd been burned from the inside out and was trying to fight against the heat.

Naruto opened his eyes, and in a tone that was surprisingly gentle asked: "You fine?"

Sasuke only offered a brief nod as a response, too stupefied to talk. It had hurt much less than he'd expected it to. At least, it didn't hurt as much as a wound: he could live with the stinging and slight discomfort. His hands let go off the headboard and cautiously wrapped themselves around Naruto's neck instead, even though they were both sweaty and slippery – for once, Sasuke didn't mind. Though he did mind that Naruto wasn't doing anything at the moment – the stinging and discomfort might have faded away, but Naruto's body weight didn't.

"Naruto, move."

"You sure?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'm sure. It's just a little weird... but I'm fine. But if you don't start doing something, I'll probably fall asleep, mind you."

Sasuke falling asleep while in the midst of having sex wasn't a good thing. And Naruto's ego was affronted – he was fabulous in the sack and he'd prove to Sasuke how fantastic he was. "Bastard."

"Moron. Are you finally – damn!" Sasuke moaned out, when he felt Naruto thrust into him from a new angle: Naruto's cock was deeper inside of him now and slipping in and out in rhythmic, frenzied movements.

Experimentally, Sasuke lifted his hips and tried to meet Naruto's movements, which – once he'd done it – triggered off another new wave of feelings. A groan escaped his lips: this actually felt good, even exciting and stimulating. He felt pressure building up inside of him – similar to the feeling he'd felt while fighting Naruto. Only that this was infinitely more pleasurable and made the blood boil in his veins – and it didn't hurt. "Damn it, Naruto. Move faster. It's not enough yet."

"You're pretty bitchy, bastard–"

"Just shut up and do what I say," Sasuke warned furiously, annoyed that Naruto was being a coxcomb about this. He'd make sure to torture Naruto next time about this, too. Or, even better, he'd pay all of it back when they fought with each once more; he'd teach Naruto some lessons in humbleness.

"Fine, Sasuke. I'll make this better for you." And he did. Naruto pulled Sasuke upwards: their sweaty chests met each other and strong hands were holding onto Naruto's shoulders. While Sasuke shifted, Naruto let his right hand wander to Sasuke's face and he brushed some of the hair off to the side. "Better?" he growled out, having lost the ability to form longer sentences – he could only focus on how he was deeper inside of Sasuke now and the heat engulfed him. Sasuke was warm – not only tight and hot, but warm; his flushed skin was warm, his hot breath even more so and Naruto liked it – he'd never really known that a person could be that warm. But though Sasuke was warm he wasn't soft at all.

"Mmm," Sasuke moaned out, adjusting to the position quickly and starting to meet Naruto's frantic thrusts with his own, "Feels good."

Soon, their bodies found a pace – not an elegant one, but one that suited both of them fine: harsh slapping sounds resounded in the room and the bed creaked – more like thudded loudly – against the wall. Sometimes the bedpost screeched against the floor, but neither Sasuke nor Naruto noticed.

"You feel good," Naruto half-said, half groaned, feeling that he wasn't going to last much longer. And Sasuke was making it worse, much worse – he was constantly rocking against Naruto's cock, thus creating a friction that was deliciously fast and harsh. His fine black hair fell against his forehead, obscuring part of his face and whipped back Naruto couldn't complain: Sasuke certainly learned fast. He grabbed Sasuke's cock and started to pump, not wanting to be the only one who'd be getting off on this. Sasuke hissed at that, obviously not having expected that contact. This only incensed Naruto and he stroked harder, only pausing occasionally to rub the head, which he knew would make Sasuke moan in surprise – which he did. Louder than he had before.

"Fuck," Sasuke grunted out, "Not so quick, Naruto." He was starting to feel honestly – wonderfully – awesome and now Naruto was ruining the effect by thrusting way too frantically and restlessly. Not that it was bad, but Sasuke didn't want it to be over just yet.

"I can't – I'm nearly there," Naruto said in husky voice, trembling and shuddering; his calloused and sweat-soaked hands were running up and down Sasuke's muscled back while he moved in and out, in and out. Naruto just couldn't restrain himself – what with Sasuke moving so quickly and being so very damned good at what he was doing. Naruto might have had more experience in this than Sasuke had; however, he'd never been with someone who was that aggressive and domineering. Even the way Sasuke held on to him – fingernails scraping ugly red marks into his skin – was anything but tender; his low grunts and growls were far from gracious and he smelled musky, as if he'd just come out of a tough fight.

Realising that it was futile to protest, Sasuke fastened his pace, trying to match it with Naruto's relentless pounding. He buried his hands in Naruto's hair, rendering it messier – not that Naruto cared. Naruto didn't care at all; he was so wrapped up in being with Sasuke that he wouldn't have minded if the roof had come crashing down on them. Sasuke was close as well – he could feel it; that feeling was no longer merely building up slowly inside of him, but consuming him. In fact, he felt like he was on fire; he'd never felt more alive and excited before, not even when fighting.

"Sasuke, you–" Naruto groaned out loudly and, pulling Sasuke closer, kissed him passionately; the room was melting around him and he needed to assure himself that this wasn't just some obscure dream. He needed to taste Sasuke – needed to know that he wasn't the only one feeling that utterly lost and yet so thoroughly complete

Sasuke's eyes widened when he felt Naruto's lips against his – demanding, nearly desperate – but he complied; he moaned into the kiss when the consuming feeling grew even more thrilling and exploded, so that everything became blurry – he could only focus on Naruto moving – being inside of him. And Sasuke loved that feeling, loved it so much that he didn't even care that he was moaning loudly.

He knew that Naruto was done; he'd felt it – and as disgusting as it was – Sasuke didn't mind. He could worry about that later because, right now, Sasuke just felt too good. Even the stickiness between their bodies dimmed in comparison to that what he'd just experienced.

Well, it seemed that Naruto had been right about one thing – he was awesome indeed. But Sasuke wouldn't ever admit to it out loud.

…
"Watcha doin'?" drawled a lusty and idle-sounding voice.

It made Sasuke halt in his movements. He scraped his fingernails against the wooden platform of the rickety table and groaned. He didn't see why it was necessary to speak right now, considering how the only words that he could find rolling off his tongue were irritated sighs. "Need to wash; I'm not going to sleep in this state," Sasuke answered, referring not only to his sweaty skin and dry, oily hair, but the after-effects of what they'd done.

"Want me to join?" Naruto suggested, his tone husky and implying not so innocent things.

Sasuke froze, but his dignity and pride kept him from reeling – he'd have rather died than embarrass himself in such a manner. Not to mention that he wasn't some stupid female to overreact like this. Still, Naruto was making him feel like he'd lose hold of himself. "No, thank you. I'll be fine," he replied through gritted teeth, keeping his eyes away from Naruto's still-naked form on the bed.

"Fine," Naruto started, yawning loudly before speaking again, "But if you want something, just call"

Sasuke very much doubted he'd do that – his body was too sore and he felt a slight stabbing sort of pain while he walked the few steps to the door. Though it wasn't anything tragic, Sasuke paused at the door and let out an inaudible string of curses.

Why, that stupid fucker. I told him to do it harder, not to render me immobile.

Pain notwithstanding, he really needed to get himself clean. Naruto, the bastard, was already done, considering that he hadn't had to clean up that much – a towel had done the trick.

"Do you have trouble walking? I must have fucked you real hard," Naruto's voice resounded, causing pangs of horror to roll down Sasuke's spine, "Man, I'm real good."

Sasuke looked back at Naruto, who'd spread the blanket over his entire body and, with his head resting on arms, grinned in his usual roundabout way. This should have been the moment to lash out and hit Naruto on the head; however, it never happened. "Idiot," Sasuke remarked, smiling in that nearly shy way of his. As much as of a moron as Naruto was, Sasuke had to admit that he liked him that way. Naruto wouldn't have been Naruto without all the silliness and stupid boasting.

...

When Naruto cocked his eye open, the first thing that greeted him with was Sasuke's voice – that serious, deep and angry voice that he'd grown so accustomed to – and cotton clothes smelling of dust being tossed right in his face. Of course, this wasn't the best way to be woken up early in the morning and Naruto's response was understandably ferocious. "Hey!"

Sasuke, as was usual, ignored Naruto and proceeded to throw at towel at him instead. "Get washed first. Then put on those rags you call clothes on. We don't have any time to lose."

Of course, still being hazy with sleep, Sasuke's words were pretty much like a gun-shot to Naruto – he was totally lost. Therefore, he only managed to dumbly sputter out: "What?"

Sasuke groaned out in frustration and gnashed his teeth. "Get ready. Now."

"Hey, since when did you become my boss? Considering that you were underneath me last night, I should be the one giving orders," Naruto taunted, grinning impishly when he recalled the events of that night; it had been totally worth it.

Sasuke noticed the leery glint in Naruto's eyes; he could also see how Naruto was bracing himself internally for something that was utterly inappropriate at the moment. "Don't even think about it. And if you stay here, you'll be dead meat."

Naruto started to laugh at that. He – dead meat? Why, if anyone even dared to raise a sword against him, Naruto would make sure to break their bones or, even worse, cut them down the way a butcher would cut down a piece of meat. "Look, I don't care if I –"

"But I do. So get dressed." Sasuke interrupted curtly and slammed the door shut behind him, taking the bags and other belongings which he'd already packed along with him.

Naruto didn't get up immediately – he sat there for a few minutes, confusedly scratching his head. "Dammit, and I had thought he'd loosen up after what we did," Naruto said amusedly to himself and shrugged his shoulders. Oh well, some people just never changed, no matter how hard you tried – or how much you fucked their brains out.

...

Sasuke was jumping at a monstrously fast pace, swishing and flashing past rooftop after rooftop, not even realising how much he was panting. The world around him was silent and dark, save for a few lights here – lights that burnt weakly and greenly, reminding one of fireflies dancing in the dark. And yet, the first few hints of the morning were approaching: the dark was beginning to grow dimmer and the first rays of sunlight were beginning to penetrate through the all-enveloping sheet of night. Sasuke's recently chopped off hair whipped to and fro in accord with the howling wind and it seemed that the morning dusk was becoming one with him.

"Fuck, can't you slow don't a little!" Naruto yelled, and his jaw clenched. He could feel his stomach twisting and churning – as if he'd been travelling on board of a ship for months and months. And yes, he could feel the bile rising up to his throat, which tasted bitter – Naruto spit it out hastily. Wasting any thought on that wasn't worth it. Sasuke is a controlling asshole, he thought furiously and clenched his fist again. He'd make sure to kick his arse later on.

"No, not until we're out of this blasted town!" Sasuke called back in response, not even bothering to look back at Naruto. He simply continued to jump from rooftop to rooftop in that hellish, unstoppable way of his. Had they been running away from a swiftly spreading fire, this would have been appropriate, but Naruto was losing his patience.

"How long is it goin' to take?" he growled out, feeling that his lungs would burst soon.

"Not long. It won't take long," Sasuke replied calmly, still not bothering to look back at Naruto. "We'll be there in a couple of minutes."

And it seemed that no sooner Sasuke had said that them they were really out of the town; there was no other roof to jump onto, but just a row of trees stretching onto what seemed to be infinity. Meaning that there was nothing, but aforesaid long row of high-growing trees, muddy murky-squelching ground and the sounds of the nature surrounding them – a few birds screeched, probably alerted by the swooshing Naruto and Sasuke made, mosquitoes buzzed noisily and a twig cracked in the more hidden parts of the forest. Even if it was still dark, the world was alive – bustling with energy and vivacity.

Sasuke breathed in the musky, earthy smell in with something of relief – it had been too long. Much, much too long. He could finally taste freedom again; it laid there on his tongue like melting ice, and he closed his eyes to fully indulge in the sensation. After so much time spent in stuffy hotel rooms and decadent brothels, this was something to be enjoyed. Still, Sasuke didn't only feel exhilaration – something much darker and desperate was tugging inside of him as well. But if he focused on these emotions right now, they'd never make it. Sasuke had to remain calm.

"There are two road posts there. We're heading towards that direction," he said in that noncommittal tone of his again, biting back any tremulous notes or hints of agony. He didn't want Naruto to notice how much this was bothering him. "Soon, we'll be able to part ways."

Naruto nodded in understanding, though he felt nausea sweeping over him; an inexplicable chill was washing over his body, making his hands and feet shudder like mad. If he'd been a more astute man, he'd have realised it was fear that which was grappling, nagging at his insides. How Sasuke could be that unconcerned was beyond him. But if Naruto been more observant, he would have noticed that it was only a façade: Sasuke held himself in a manner way too stiff and his speech was too collected – terse, even. However, Naruto was too focused on himself and his own conflicting emotions. He was so preoccupied that he didn't even realise that Sasuke had stopped – all of a sudden. Only when a warm hand grabbed at his shirt did he notice; the grip on his shirt wasn't strong or forceful, but it was enough to make him stop.

"We're here," Sasuke stated and, letting go off Naruto's shirt, jumped down from the tree in a graceful and elegant way; the ground didn't even thud when he landed on it.

Then again, he has always been swift and graceful, Naruto thought, shaking his head. Silence fell on them, settling over their heads like a persistently looming cloud. Naruto didn't like it; it reminded him too much of a stuffy, smell old prison, where memories rotted, wasted away to nothing and people were left in solitude for too long. He needed to talk. "So, we've... Wow, we've managed to escape," Naruto said cautiously, somewhat hesitantly, as if he was hoping that this wasn't the case.

"Hmm, not entirely. We shouldn't linger too much, or they'll be sure to follow."

Naruto let out a scoffing grin at that, shaking his head again – it seemed that this was growing into a habit. "That's not a big deal. I've spent a good portion of my life being hunted down or searched for," Naruto said, smiling in that overly cheerful way of his.

If it had been anyone other than Sasuke, that carelessly put on smile – that faked euphoria – would have been misleading. Sasuke, however, could see the bitterness lurking behind that mask. "I haven't."

Naruto nodded and grinned in his foxy, cunning way. "Then, I must say you've been missing out."

"Maybe. Maybe not," Sasuke responded honestly, knowing that he wouldn't have traded his life for anything in the world. As much as Naruto's adventurous lifestyle tempted him, whispered at him to follow this path, he knew that it wasn't anything for him. Even if it was only because of the fear holding him back – fear and something else. Something that Naruto didn't have, and it wasn't something Sasuke could give him. Or better said, it wasn't what Naruto really wanted, was it?

For a long moment, Naruto and Sasuke remained quiet – words were meaningless now. Perhaps, it was better that way, maybe even necessary that they didn't communicate verbally. Somewhere in the distance, a bird croaked and the croaking sound intermingled with the background music of the leg-rubbing orchestra of grasshoppers, creating a unique collection of noise that was both alarming and soothing at the same time.

It was growing lighter; the formerly dim aspect of the day was beginning to lessen and the sun, no longer obscured by clouds, fell more intensely upon everything, making everything appear brighter and friendlier. The world had lost its sickly and gloom-like feel; the forest was green and lush now, full of resplendent liveliness that was not lost on either Naruto or Sasuke. Everything was moving forward – going at full-tempo like a train rushing into a tunnel. They'd have to move on as well, whether they wanted to or not.

And, as was usual, it was Naruto who got to break the silence, to take the first step into – what seemed to him – the right direction. "So what is going to be then, eh?" he demanded, his voice no longer cautious, but firm and even. Only his eyes betrayed him – they were sad.

"I'm going back – home, that is."

Naruto nodded, understanding what Sasuke was referring to and, knowing at the same time, that his definition of that word was something entirely different.

"Home" was a word that Naruto couldn't associate with much – he'd spent so much time going from one place to the other that it bore no meaning to him. Indeed, Naruto felt that his home was everywhere – in the deep shrubberies of this forest, the desolate loneliness high up in the mountains or in the crowded, bustling streets of a town. It didn't matter. Before meeting Sasuke, he would have even believed that it didn't matter what kind of people he spent his time with or not.

Naruto edged closer to Sasuke, still grinning, though his eyes were serious, somewhat wistful even. Sasuke felt shivers running, jostling down his spine; his breathing increased and he shivered when warm large hands came into contact with his cheek.

"I'll miss you. Though you're a prissy bastard."

"Naruto – I"

Naruto silenced Sasuke with a kiss; his hands were gripping Sasuke's shoulders very tightly and his lips were demanding, nearly brutal. Sasuke found himself closing his eyes, his heart beating wildly against his ribcage and returned Naruto's gesture with the same desperate, heated passion. His hands buried themselves in Naruto's hair, and he continued to attack Naruto's lips with feverish kisses until both of them were out of breath. And even then, as soon as they'd regained their breath, Sasuke attacked Naruto's mouth with fierce kisses again, feeling he was running against time.

This time, it was Naruto who stopped them, clasping one of Sasuke's hands gently, and allowing his fingers to run up and down the other's arms. He could feel the goosebumps forming on Sasuke's arm. "We should stop, or we'll really never make it anywhere, Sasuke."

Sasuke felt boneless, but it was nothing compared to the dryness in his throat. He'd never been that scared before – not even when he'd been about to kill Orochimaru. He was about to say something again, but Naruto managed to outwit him once more.

"Shh, this isn't a goodbye."

"You really think so?" Sasuke asked nearly hopefully, as if the entire weight of the world rested on Naruto's shoulders. Perhaps, in his naivety Sasuke genuinely believed that.

"Yes, I think so."

"You total moron," Sasuke muttered and shook his head; it was starting to grow hot – blazing hot – even, but he could only feel the chill. He would have screamed, but that wouldn't have a changed a thing.

"You're the moron. Don't always assume the worst," Naruto affirmed and smirked. "You know, people's paths always cross – in some way or the other." Having said that, Naruto pulled out a worn, nearly crumbled straw hat out of his bundle and, with little grace or formality, placed it on his head. He grinned once more, his face full of mirth and – what touched Sasuke – genuine hope. "So, until we meet each other again, Sasuke. Promise."

And with that, Naruto turned his back to Sasuke, who still remained standing there, and started to walk away, taking the left path leading to God knew where. He didn't once look back. Hence, Sasuke could only observe as Naruto's back – that disgusting moth-eaten orange shirt – grew smaller and less distinctive against the backdrop of the orange-yellowish sun.

As tempting as it was to run after Naruto and catch up with him, Sasuke's legs remained immobile, as if they were rooted on the spot – even his lips were tight-pressed, so tight that Sasuke could taste the bitter-sweet taste of blood on his underlip. Sasuke swallowed audibly and, taking a deep breath, turned around and took the road leading to the other direction. He only turned back once – and saw that Naruto wasn't visible anymore. He'd faded away, been washed away by the distance. Sasuke could only see the long winding road, the tall-grown trees on either side of it and the long blades of grass, which wafted to and fro under the gentle guidance of the wind. Sasuke swallowed audibly, and balled his hands to a fist, feeling if he'd clench them harder, his palm would start bleeding.

"I'll break your bones in afterlife if you don't keep your promise, Naruto."

But there was no need for such dark threats because, even while Sasuke uttered these very words, he felt that it was certain. He was certain that he'd meet Naruto again. Because if he knew one thing about Naruto, then it was the following: he was the sort of man to keep a promise.

...