Name: Prince of the Pond
Author: Ibilintu/Aryna/DaftDays
Pairing: NaruSasu
Rating: M
Warnings: MxM sex
Disclaimer: Characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi, I'm just borrowing and making no profit at all.

A/N: A Christmas fic that is super late _ Thanks to a writers block. I suppose it's alright, and I hope you enjoy it!

For Clarisa

Once upon a time there was a beautiful place called Fire Kingdom. It was ruled by a wise yet strict king and his beautiful wife, and they lived in a castle in the middle of the Kingdom with their servants. They had two sons, both equally handsome on the outside and intelligent on the inside, adored by all the people living within the borders of the Kingdom. But in their father's eyes, there was a difference between the two princes. Whilst the crown prince was greatly spoiled and loved by his father, the younger prince, was left without his father's love and attention. The first son was perfect in every way, whereas the second son was claimed to be useless by the king.

The gentle queen tried her best to make her sons feel like they were treated equally, but without success. Thus grew the younger prince to be quiet and enjoy solitude and silence. He was never seen enjoying the glorious ball dances that his parents held in the castle, and regardless of the attention of all the fairest noble ladies he remained unattached to everyone and kept to himself.

The prince wasn't unhappy though. He didn't seek the attention that was given to him, neither did he desire any of the ladies around him. He was content on his own, books were enough of a company for him and his rarely occurring nightly encounters never involved a presence of a lady. And as long as he was quiet and obeyed orders, the prince was left alone for his , studying under his own tutor being the only request his father had for him.

Sasuke sighed, staring out of his window with a heavy sigh escaping his lips. It was such a beautiful sunset and here he was, sitting inside because he didn't know where his parents were. He knew Itachi had left for a hunting trip for a few days, but his parents, the king and the queen of the Fire Kingdom had to be there somewhere.

He wanted to go out. The sun was still shining and it was such a nice summer evening, but he had been told to stay inside. Sasuke wasn't exactly sure why, but he had learned long ago not to question his father's decisions or orders. There had been time when he had felt like standing up against his father was worth the beating it always brought upon him, but those days were in the past. Now he was rebellious only under the surface, waiting for a time when he could do whatever he wanted to. Which wouldn't come before Itachi was crowned to be the king.

Letting out another deep sigh, Sasuke pushed himself away from the window. He was so ready to run to the wall or something, just to do something. It was so boring in here when he couldn't really go out for whatever reason it was, and he didn't really feel like reading. He rolled his eyes at the mirror on the wall and then gave the window one bitter glare more.

And oh, wasn't he glad he did. His eyes caught movement from the outside, and the raven rushed back to the window, staring at the road leading out of the castle grounds. There was a fancy carriage and some guards following it, and having ridden the said carriage way too many times before Sasuke immediately recognized it as his parents' official carriage.

His parents were leaving. For one reason or another they were leaving the castle at such an hour, and that meant they wouldn't be here to supervise him. Guards, sure, and other staff, but they usually didn't really care much about the rebellious young prince as long as he didn't cause any harm to anyone.

As soon as the carriage had disappeared from the gates Sasuke was up. He hurried to the door and then down the hallway and the stone stairs until he reached the bottom floor. He didn't risk it by sneaking out from the front or the kitchen door but one that was on the side and lead to a storage room. It was used very rarely by anyone else but Sasuke, and he got to sneak to the backyard in peace. Not that anyone often bothered him anyway.

A little bit away from the castle there was beautiful little pond in the middle of a peaceful grove. The pond had always been there, and it had been Sasuke's favorite place in the castle grounds as long as he could remember. When he had been really young, his nanny had brought him there so many times to play, and when he'd gotten a bit older, the age when people didn't think he was going to fall to the water and drown, he'd come there by himself. It was the best place for being alone, he'd spent countless hours there reading and he'd rarely been bothered. However, as he'd grown up a bit he had slowly stopped going there, mostly because the oldeer he got, the busier he was. Now he went to the pond hardly once a month, and that was only during the summer.

The light wasn't quite that bright anymore, but Sasuke still remembered the path to the pond. Maybe there were new branches trying to hit his face and longer grass on his feet, but he knew where to go and it made it easy to find the pond. Despite the hour, there was still plenty of light on the small clearing around the pond, and Sasuke stood there for a moment, watching the clear glistening water. He couldn't help but to smile a little as he looked up to a large oak tree near the water. That oak had one particularly long and thick branch that fell over the water, and on that branch Sasuke had spent hours sitting on when he'd been a kid. Now he wasn't sure if the branch would carry his weight anymore.

Shaking his head, the raven turned his gaze back to the water. He wasn't sure what had drawn him to the pond, but it sure felt good to be alone. It was so quiet here as well, he could hear his own breathing when he listened to it closely enough. The water rippled softly as a fish caught a bug from the surface and Sasuke smirked as he heard a frog croak somewhere close. He turned to look down to see if he could locate the animal, but instead he saw something else. A ball.

But it wasn't just any ball. Many years ago, when Sasuke had been only a young boy, he had been sitting on his tree branch reading a book. Earlier the day, he had received a beautiful glass ball from his mother as she had returned from her visit to the neighboring Whirlpool country. The ball was just the right size to fit into Sasuke's hand, and in the middle of it there had been water that swirled like a wide whirlpool. His mother had told him it was magic.

Sasuke had taken the beautiful ball with him to the pond and placed it in his pocket so he would remember to take it with him, but when he had been about to leave the ball had slid out of his pocket and fallen straight into the pond. He remembered watching in horror as the ball broke the surface and kept sinking to the very bottom.

It had been way too deep for him to go and fetch it, and so Sasuke had returned to the castle without his glass ball. He had received scolding for losing it and he remembered how disappointed his mother had looked when she had been told that the ball was lost, but after a couple of years Sasuke hadn't really thought about it anymore.

Yet there it was, sitting on the shore and the water still swirling inside. Frowning, Sasuke stepped closer and stared at the ball, wondering how it had ended up on the shore on its own. He was sure no-one had walked to the pond and brought it to the shore because they would've taken the ball with them for sure, but there it was and all Sasuke could do was to bend down and pick it up.

It felt cool and damp to his fingers, and Sasuke stroked the glass with his thumb, feeling all the more amazed by it. As he looked down, he could see nothing but a frog peeking from the shore water near the spot where he had taken the ball, and with a despising sneer Sasuke crouched down and reached to poke the frog.

"Well hello, slimeball. Did you pick my ball up for me?"

He couldn't have been more shocked as the frog opened its mouth and bit him.

Sasuke let out a startled yelp and scrambled backwards, finally ending up sitting on the ground and staring at the animal with loathing in his eyes.

"What the hell...", he grumbled, glancing at his finger. Thank god that thing didn't have teeth, it might've chopped the tip of his fingers off completely. Now it hadn't really even hurt, it was just the shock that had made his heart beat like this.

"I'm not a slimeball." The sound was groggy and low, and definitely inhuman.

Sasuke had never heard anything quite like it, and his eyes darted around the clearing for a moment, looking for the source of the voice until his eyes settled back to the frog. The prince blinked, twice, and then blinked again.
"Excuse me?"

The very ugly green, totally slime-looking creature hopped forward, and Sasuke had a sudden urge to scramble backwards.

"Yeah. I'm not slimy. And stop poking me, fancypants, you should be grateful. I brought the ball up for you!"

Now this was getting ridiculous. Sasuke was being insulted by a talking frog? That couldn't be real. Not that he had never heard of talking animals, in their kingdom where magic was happening yet not very encouraged there were such things, but he'd never seen one with his own eyes. And now the first one he met was being rude to him.

"How do you dare to insult me, creature?" the raven hissed, finally pushing himself off the ground to save his crumbled pride.

"Because you insulted me first! I can speak to you like I want to, I'm the-" And then it looked like the frog's mouth was suddenly glued shut and it started mumbling something like crazy, its oddly bright blue eyes bulging like they were going to fall out of the its head.

Sasuke just stared at the frog, and then took a couple of slow, almost hesitant steps.

"What are you?" he asked, still holding the ball in his hand. For some reason, it felt like it was growing colder in his hand.

The frog frowned, or at least Sasuke thought it did.

"I just told you. I'm prmnmnnngghh." Again, the animal's mouth stuck and it continued mumbling for a good while, the angry tone making it sound as though it was trying to get out some inappropriate words.

"Uh, sure", Sasuke murmured after a while, watching the frog in confusion.

"Yeah. Name's Naruto." The frog had finally gotten its mouth open again and it hopped forward until it was on the ground right in front of Sasuke.
"You're a prince, right?"

Sasuke nodded, not knowing what else to say.

Suddenly the frog looked very pleased with himself.

"Good. Now kiss me."

Instead of a kiss, the slimy animal got strong enough a kick to send it flying back to the pond. And with that, Sasuke was gone from the clearing and rushing back to the castle, clutching the glass ball in his hand.

/But the prince found it impossible to forget about the frog. Night after night he kept taking out the glass ball from under his pillow and staring at the faint glow of the swirling water, and with the water went his head, or so the prince felt. It was almost like the ball was calling him back to the pond and the lousy frog. And one night, the young prince couldn't take it any longer. He got up and tiptoed out of the castle and back to the pond to find the frog. The frog was there, and he was there the next night as well, and the next too. After the first night, the prince found himself at the pond almost every night, enjoying the brisk night air and the surprisingly pleasant company of the frog.

During all his life, the prince had never met anyone quite as bold, quite as real as the frog. The animal was loud and foulmouthed, but it was also very smart and it knew when to keep silent and let the prince talk. All in all, the frog was the most enjoyable company Sasuke could've imagined, save for the fact that he was tiny and green.

An entire month passed, and almost every night Sasuke went to the pond to see the frog. He didn't found it weird at all how comfortable he felt with the animal, in fact the frog was the closest thing to a real friend the prince had ever had. But one night, when a full moon was casting shadows over the little pond, happened something that changed everything.

"Oh, come on, Sasuke, kiss me! Just one little kiss, it's not going to kill you!" The frog was bouncing up and down on the prince's knee, its face twisted into something that the prince thought might be a pout.

"But I don't want to kiss you", Sasuke argued, seriously considering swiping the consistent frog off him. The creature had been demanding him to kiss it since they day they had met, and it had never given up. It had also refused to tell the prince why the kiss was so important, and being just as stubborn Sasuke had refused to give it the desired kiss.

"I'm not even poisonous!" Naruto snapped, hopping from Sasuke's knee to his thigh. The big blue eyes were staring demandingly at the prince, but the almost human impression was broken by the loud croak the animal let out.
"Oops."

Sasuke shook his head disapprovingly and rolled his eyes, poking the frog on the back.
"I know you're not, but that's no reason to kiss you. I just don't see any reason to kiss something as slimy as you."

"I'm not slimy!" the frog interjected angrily and then huffed, flattening itself on Sasuke's thigh.
"Just one little kiss, and then I'll never bother you about it, okay?"

"No."

"Sasuke! Please!"

"I said no!"

"Fine! Just because you're too much of a coward to kiss one frog I'm gonna find someone else who's not!"

But strong hands caught Naruto in the middle of a leap that had meant to take him back to the ground, and suddenly the frog found itself quite close to the prince's face, the dark eyes flaming as they stared at him.

"A coward?" Sasuke hissed, blood boiling in his veins.
"Take that back!"

Naruto blinked his bulking eyes and then, as the realization set in, his lips stretched into a mockery of a sly grin.
"Coward."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, and despite knowing that he was being led on, he squeezed the frog a little harder than necessary, making Naruto croak in displeasure.
"Take it back."

The frog did something that resembled coughing and then croaked again.
"Never, oh prince fancypants."

The raven had had enough. After squeezing the frog in warning one more time he made his decision. The dark eyes were shut tight as the man brought the frog closer to his face and pressed his lips on the frog's, the slimy feeling making him momentarily want to throw up.

And suddenly he was pinned to the ground, something very heavy lying on the top of him. His hands weren't holding the frog anymore, they were wrapped around something that felt very solid and definitely not slimy, and the lips against his were soft and warm, not like the frog's at all. There was something light and fluffy in front of his eyes and it took him a moment of shocked staring to identify it as hair, and after the person on the top of him had let out a very croak-like groan, Sasuke found himself staring into the eyes of brightest blue he had ever seen.

For a couple of seconds he just stared, feeling almost hypnotized by those eyes, but then the situation sank in and he let out a tiny shocked yelp and practically threw the man off of him, crawling away. He probably had pushed a little harder than necessary because the stranger went rolling to the pond, unable to stop himself, and the smile on his face changed into a look of disgust.

"You bastard!" the blond-haired man growled from the pond, glaring at Sasuke with those eyes that almost looked like they were changing color into a lot darker shade of blue.

Sasuke could do nothing but to stare still. The stranger had managed to splash himself rather wet in the great two inches of water that the pond had so close to the shore, and now he was just sitting there and glaring at Sasuke with water dripping from his hair. The said hair was quite interestingly colored, it was almost pure golden blond but when Sasuke looked closer and the light hit it right, there was a clearl green shade to it.

That being said, that man was probably one of the most handsome men he had ever seen in his entire life. And he was naked.

"Are you just gonna stare?"

The snarled words shook Sasuke out of the daze and he glared right back at the man in the pond.

"Where did you come from?"

"You kissed me, you idiot! You changed me back!" The blonde looked almost offended, but slowly he started to climb out of the water, and Sasuke found it very hard to keep his eyes away from the very bare, very toned and very wet body that slowly crawled closer to him.

A deep frown crossed Sasuke's face and he forced himself to tear his eyes away from the stranger's rippling muscles. He was confused, more so than he'd ever been in his life, and suddenly he felt a tiny bit dizzy.

"Changed you back?" he repeated dumbly, blinking and scrambling up as the naked man just kept getting closer.

"What are you talking about? And where's Naruto?"

The blonde let out an exasperated sigh and then rolled his eyes, giving Sasuke a look that clearly told that he hadn't believed the prince would be this stupid.

"Seriously, Sasuke... If I just hadn't spent every night of the last month with you I'd think you're somehow slow in the head", he grumbled and shook his head, drops of water scattering all around him as they fell from the golden strands of hair.

The blue eyes opened again and it suddenly struck Sasuke as he was captured by the most brilliant shade of blue he had ever seen. It was like the sky except brighter and more captivating, and most of all it reminded Sasuke of the eyes of Naruto the frog. Changed him back, the man in front of him had said, and he connected the dots in a flash, fighting down a blush as it tried to invade his cheeks.

"You are Naruto", the prince murmured, feeling strangely fascinated.

The man, Naruto, rolled his eyes and then nodded, standing up in front of Sasuke.
"Took you long enough." He ran his fingers through his hair and flashed a dazzling smile at Sasuke.

That smile made the prince immediately forget the annoying fact that Naruto was actually taller than he himself, although only by an inch or so.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he demanded stubbornly, feeling still rather stupid. If Naruto had just told him that he was a human to begin with, they wouldn't have had to go through all the little quarrels about the kiss.

Naruto snorted and nothing but hopped forward, his face turning red afterwards. The froggy habits apparently stuck.
"I couldn't. The curse that changed me doesn't allow me to speak about it."

A frown crossed Sasuke's face.
"Doesn't? Do you mean it hasn't lifted yet?"

The smile fell from Naruto's face and he glanced at the pond before taking another hop towards Sasuke.

"No. I won't stay in this form until I find the piece of my soul that the witch stole when she cursed me." The look in the brilliant blue eyes turned sad and Sasuke had a sudden urge to comfort the man.

The raven didn't move though, he just took in Naruto's new face and then arched a brow.

"Piece of your soul? How are you supposed to find it?" he asked doubtfully, trying to resist the urge to touch the man in front of him, just to see if his skin was as soft as it looked like.

"I don't know. I might never, and that's how she wanted it." Naruto gave it a tiny smile and then rubbed his neck, an embarrassed grin crossing his face.

"Uh, and... I apologize for my current state of undress. I didn't really mean to appear in front of you like this."

Sasuke blinked at the surprising change of subject, and it didn't go past him why Naruto had chosen to go that way. The man obviously wasn't willing to talk about the curse or the witch that had brought it upon him, and for now the raven was willing to let it go.

"Apology accepted."

They fell into a silence for a moment, the dark eyes observing the blue ones. Sasuke actually found the silence easier than talking, because he still found it odd how the frog he'd been talking to over a month now had suddenly become a very handsome young man, and hearing him talk with a voice that was so different to the one he'd had as a frog freaked him out a little.

Yet finally it was Sasuke still who ended the silence.

"What now?" he asked shortly after glancing at the sky. It was already getting lighter and he'd have to get back to the castle soon so no-one would notice his absence.

Naruto shrugged nonchalantly.

"I'll stay here, of course, and you'll keep visiting me just like before."

And that was exactly what the prince did. Every night after that he went to the pond, and even if the frog didn't get to keep its human form but an hour after the kiss, the prince soon began to realize that the light-haired young man was appealing in more than one way. He often caught himself smiling when he was at the pond, and soon, every time he gave the frog the kiss to change him to back to his true form, the prince found himself longing for more. He stayed holding the man after the transform for first a second, then for two, and to his delight the man seemed eager to respond to this kind of behavior.

Days turned into weeks, and soon another month had passed since the prince had first given the frog the longed kiss. Their kisses turned longer and more intimate, and the prince had to admit he enjoyed laying on the ground on the frog man's arms a lot more than he enjoyed his own soft bed in the castle. He didn't find it anything unusual though, not before one kiss that had very unexpected consequences.

"Do that again", Sasuke demanded with breathy voice, his lips brushing against Naruto's. He was lying on his back on the grass that was wet with night dew, Naruto's heavy body holding him still as the man lay on the top of him, his hands buried in Sasuke's hair.

The blonde grinned softly down at him, but there was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes as he slowly rolled his hips against Sasuke's, nudging the raven's legs apart even more to get some space. He pressed his lips on Sasuke's again, sucking a moan out of the prince, and then tightened his hold of the raven hair. Sasuke's hands were running up and down his bare back and truth to be told, Naruto was just waiting for him to start dragging his nails down his skin. That's was pretty much all he could be thinking about though, the pleasure radiating from his groin effectively clouding his mind.

Sasuke pushed his hips up against Naruto's, his back arching as he felt the blonde's bare arousal pressing against his thigh. His own one was already straining against the clothing and he felt heat flushing his cheeks as he caught the look in Naruto's eyes, the desire swirling unclouded in those beautiful blue depths. He couldn't remember ever feeling like this before, he sure had had his share of night-time encounters with the maids and the servants of the castle and he was nothing like ignorant of how things worked even between two men, but not even once had he felt this aroused, this alive because of another person's touch. There had been excitement, fear of getting caught, pleasure, but never anything like the fire that seemed to burst under his skin every time Naruto touched him. It was crazy, and it was driving him out of his mind, and that feeling alone was scary. Naruto was just a frog from the pond, not someone he could bring to the castle to show to his parents, and he was getting so into these little moments by the pond that he wasn't sure how to handle them yet at the same time he couldn't bring himself to end it here.

And besides, the pleasure was too much for him to stop now.

Naruto's hips were grinding against him, dragging small moans from Sasuke's lips, and it was hard to think about anything. Sasuke tried though, he tugged Naruto's hair a little, and as the friction on his crotch area immediately eased he let out a disappointed whimper. He had to do this though, and with lots of effort he removed one hand from Naruto's back to slide it between their bodies.

"The pants", he murmured hastily, starting to yank them off with one hand. He was somewhat distracted by Naruto's mouth on his neck and he had to hiss a quick "No marks!" as he felt teeth gracing against his skin. Sneaking out of the castle during the night time was one thing, but having obnoxious bruises on his neck could not be explained. Sasuke pressed his hand on Naruto's chest and pushed firmly, barely making the blonde pull off long enough for the prince to get out of his pants. It left him with the underpants though, but he wasn't going to let go of them just yet.

Naruto let out a low groan, running his hand over Sasuke's clothed arousal. The raven's hips bucked up into the touch and Naruto chuckled breathlessly, leaning down to kiss the prince. Feeling Sasuke respond as eagerly as he did was making Naruto's heart pound like crazy, almost as though it was going to jump out of his chest and that was what made him the most nervous. Nothing of it was showing though, but there was also a growing feeling of guilt that ruined it for him a little. He pushed it back though, letting himself get lost in the kiss, and hoped that it would be enough for Sasuke as well.

And apparently the goddess of luck was on his side tonight because Sasuke groaned into the kiss, the dark eyes fluttering shut and the slim hips rising off the ground to meet Naruto's again. The long slender fingers wound into Naruto's hair, yanking roughly, and the frog man let out a surprised yelp as Sasuke suddenly rolled them over, the wet grass meeting Naruto's back. The blonde shivered, but it was more excitement than anything else, and then his competitiveness kicked in. He wasn't going to let a pansy like this prince get the best of him. A low growl escaped his lips and he rolled them over again, grabbing Sasuke's hands and pinning them above the raven's head. He ran his hand down the prince's chest, pinching a hardened nipple and enjoying the way Sasuke arched into the touch. Naruto rolled the nub under this thumb, enjoying the way the other man was clearly losing it.

That damned hand was clouding Sasuke's mind to the point where he couldn't exactly remember what he was doing or what he had been about to do next. He was sure he hadn't meant to end up on his back again but there he was, his body reacting to Naruto's advances a bit too strongly.
"Hurry up, dobe", the prince snarled, grabbing Naruto's hair again and accidentally yanking some of it out in his haste.
"Touch me." He wasn't resorting to begging, of course not, but giving orders ran in his blood.

Naruto just chuckled, but apparently he didn't mind the orders all that much because without another word the tanned hand slid into Sasuke's underpants and the fingers wrapped around the prince's weeping member and started stroking it with slow movements. Another snarl left the raven's lips and then he was thrusting into Naruto's hand, just trying to get off. The touch felt good, so damn good, but he wasn't seeking the pleasure just yet.

"In a hurry?" Naruto drawled, running his thumb over the head of Sasuke's cock and sweeping off the bead of pre-cum. He let go of the swollen organ for long enough to yank Sasuke's underpants a bit lower, the erection jumping out merrily and making the blond chuckle a bit. The vicious glare from Sasuke didn't really make him any less amused by the situation, but he complied anyway and returned his attention to the hard cock in front of him, just begging for him to touch it. The frog man knew where this was going and he definitely wasn't hesitating with it, no matter how complicated it might get afterwards.

Sasuke didn't have the time to bite down to his lip and a series of very inappropriate words escaped his lips as the cold air suddenly enveloped his cock, the relief of not . After that he clamped his mouth shut tight, refusing to let out even the slightest of moans no matter how sinfully good the touch felt on his skin. His thighs were shaking as he thrust up into Naruto's hand, still glaring at the blonde and feeling very pissed at the said man when the only reaction he got was laughter.

"Hurry up, idiot!" Sasuke snapped and then immediately closed his eyes as Naruto's fingers graced over his balls, fondling them a little before moving a bit lower, rubbing the skin between the raven's anus and his sack. A deep groan escaped Sasuke's lips and he almost swore again, wishing that Naruto would just stop the torture and get on to the real thing. Being teased like this was not what he was used to, he was usually the one in control and this was just as annoying as it was pleasurable. Losing control was not something Sasuke was ready for quite yet.

Naruto grinned at him again, lust swirling in the darkened blue eyes, and without another word he wrapped his fingers around Sasuke's arousal and started pumping it in a fast rhythm. His eyes never left Sasuke's face, even when the prince let out another low groan and his neck arched, the midnight eyes fluttering shut from pleasure. The blonde suddenly found it hard to keep from doing more than just stroking his lover like this, the raven was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen and it was so unexpected, to meet him in a place such as this. He had never thought that the stupid curse could bring something good his way, but if it meant that he could have the proud prince writhing under him like this again, he would stay a few more years as a frog for sure.

Another shaky moan tore from Sasuke's throat and Naruto felt the man tensing underneath him. The blonde had barely enough time to cup his hand over the head of Sasuke's cock before strings of cum erupted from it, the raven rocking his hips into Naruto's waiting hand. When Sasuke finally sagged against the ground, the blonde slathered the semen over his own arousal, spitting into his hand and adding it on himself to make sure he would be slick enough.

Feeling a set of eyes on him, Naruto glanced up to meet Sasuke's firm, curious case. The raven was watching him intently, and as a cocky grin slowly slid to Naruto's face he nudged Sasuke's legs a little and slid between them. The head of his erection slid along the prince's crack and he reached to grab the man's cock again, giving it a few firm strokes. It was fascinating, to watch the intense look on Sasuke's face to change to one of pleasure, and it made the blonde crave more. Letting go of the swollen organ the man hooked his elbows behind Sasuke's knees and pushed hard enough to to lift the raven's hips off the ground.

Preparing? There was no need for that. With the grin still on his face, Naruto thrust in, slowly enough to make sure it would be pleasant for the prince as well. To him, it was heaven. Being a frog hadn't really given him any way to have some sexual relief and being around Sasuke sure hadn't helped, and now he finally had a chance to do this, to be in that beautiful tight body that had been tempting him for a long time now. Going slowly was just so hard.

Sasuke groaned, pushing his hips up to meet Naruto's, trying to get the man deeper. He hadn't done this in a while and his body was craving for more, to feel Naruto's hands on him again.
"Why are you so damn slow?" he snarled, reaching up to grab Naruto's hair to pull him down for a hungry kiss. He knew that would get Naruto to work faster, the man never failed to rise to a challenge.

And the blonde definitely didn't disappoint.

That night, there was magic in the air. The sky was clear and the stars shone on the them, and it was as though even the moon peeked from behind the rippled clouds to take a look at their happiness. The prince left late that night, the sun was already peeking at the horizon as he arrived at the castle and tiptoed to his room, avoiding the servants that were already running through the corridors. He didn't sleep a bit though, and after that the prince went through his days waiting for the night when he could sneak out and head to see his secret lover.

The prince had never been so happy in his entire life. For the first time he could ignore the way his father was treating him, he was able to let his brother's insult pass his ears, and most importantly, the long boring days in the castle didn't mean anything to him. The prince had a reason to keep going, a reason to live.

But sometimes even in fairytales the roses you're dancing on have thorns.

What the prince didn't know was that there was a snake in his little paradise. In the heart of the crown prince of the Fire Kingdom lived something dark and malicious, and he had long ago started acting on those urges. From his father he had received a present, a rare blue fish that the king had brought from a faraway land, and he had been told that the fish would grow bigger than any other fish in the Fire Kingdom. Therefore a little aquarium in a castle wouldn't have been enough for it, and the crown prince had remembered a beautiful pond in the castle grounds, a pond that no-one visited anymore. He had taken the fish there, and within time the fish had started to grow.

When the frog had arrived at the pond, the fish was already big enough to swallow it as a whole, but because the fish was lazy and liked being alone, it mostly remained sleeping at the bottom of the pond, hiding in water grass where the frog never came. It didn't like the frog, but it was too lazy to do anything about it. The crown prince hadn't visited the fish in a long while and it was content remaining in its slumber, until the day the younger prince came to the pond for the first time and spoke to the frog.

The fish noticed that something was going on with the frog and the prince, and it kept watching the two of them, hoping to see its master soon. He was sure the crown prince would be interested in knowing what was going on at the pond, and the fish was eager to see the consequences.

Finally, after a time that had felt so long to the fish, the crown prince finally came to the pond. It was daytime and the frog was sleeping as the fish told its master about the nightly encounters and the inappropriate bodily activities it had been forced to witness. The crown prince thanked his pet for the information and left the pond, telling the fish to keep an eye on the two. As he walked away from the pond, however, the crown prince was already weaving a malicious plan for his foolish younger brother and the daring frog.

That morning the valet found Sasuke awake and grumpy in his room, staring out of his window at the little forest on the castle grounds. The raven refused to answer any of the man's question, and finally the servant came into conclusion that the prince had had some very unpleasant dreams that he wasn't comfortable talking about and let it be.

That was wise of him, because no matter how pissed off Sasuke looked like, it was worse in the inside. Disappointment and anger were welling up in him, fighting with the reasonable excuses he was trying to come up with to explain why Naruto hadn't been at the pond that night. There hadn't been a night without them seeing each other and taking what they could only find in each other's bodies after the first time, and it wasn't hard for the prince to admit that he was furious. Not so much because Naruto had disappeared for a night, but because the man hadn't warned him in advance. It was so inconsiderate of him, and he couldn't even blame it on bad manners because no matter how coarse and daring the blonde sometimes was, he could be a real gentleman when he wanted to.

Naturally, Sasuke was disappointed. And when he was disappointed, everyone else was to suffer from it.

That irritable attitude didn't go anywhere as the hours passed, and by the time he was called to a dinner with his brother the prince was so close to shocking everyone and flat out refusing to go, but in the end he gave in to his room servants demands and left for the dinner room. It wasn't often that they ate together after all, the princes were usually allowed to eat whenever and whatever they wanted to, while the king and the queen dined in privacy, and Sasuke wondered what was so important that he had been called to eat with his brother as well.

As he took his seat at the table, his brother was already there. At first it really seemed to be a nice and pretty normal dinner, but as soon as Itachi realized Sasuke was watching him, he gave his little brother a small smile that made Sasuke shiver. A look like that from Itachi never meant anything good.

They ate in silence, a new type of meat that Sasuke couldn't remember ever eating before and he only thought it was something his parents had found while visiting a neighboring countries or something. It was good if maybe a bit sticky but he ate, giving long glances at Itachi. There was something in his brother that night that told him something was wrong and that kept him on the edge, until the crown prince finally seemed to give up.. He turned to his little brother with a smile that could've been described as pleasant by anyone that didn't know him plastered on his face as he arched his eyebrows.

"Did you enjoy the meal?" Itachi asked pleasantly before sipping his wine.

A frown crossed Sasuke's face, his senses immediately alerting him of something being definitely wrong. Itachi wasn't the type to act polite, not to him, and he certainly never bothered asking Sasuke's opinion about anything. The younger raven took a moment to ponder his reply, silently thanking a servant for the distraction the man provided by appearing and asking if they wanted anything. Itachi declared the offer immediately, but the little moment was enough to give Sasuke the time to make his decision.

Slowly, he nodded while eying his brother warily.
"I have never tasted meat like that. Is it something from abroad?"

The way Itachi's eyes flashed was unnerving to say the least, and the man leaned over the table towards Sasuke's, watching the younger man intently.
"No, not quite... It's more like local", he explained vaguely, running his gaze over Sasuke's empty plate.

"Local?" That didn't sound good at all, and Sasuke could feel a hint of nausea approaching.

Itachi nodded calmly and then smiled again, waiting for the servants to come and fill his cup.
"Yes. Frog thighs, from our very own pond, the one in that little forest. I'm sure you remember the place."

At that, Sasuke's stomach flipped and he stood up rapidly enough to make his chair fall over, nausea welling up inside him. The pleased, almost delighted look on Itachi's face was making him feel even worse, he knew that the man was aware of what he'd done. It just confirmed what he'd always known, that his brother was a sick bastard who played with other people. And after giving the older man a furious glare Sasuke stormed out of the room and the whole castle. He desperately needed fresh air. It was all that went through his head as he ran out as far as he could, not wanting to throw up on the floor.

He had barely made it out of the building when he doubled over and emptied his stomach, unexplainable pain welling up inside him. The prince couldn't believe it, he just couldn't, it was too sick to be true. He took a few shaky steps away from the stone wall of the castle, and when his legs felt strong enough to carry him he sprinted forward, running to the small forest without caring if anyone saw him. Itachi knew already, though he couldn't understand how, and there was no-one else that cared.

Sasuke had to stop twice on his way to the pond as waves of nausea hit him again and again until there was nothing for him to throw up anymore. His body felt weak and sick as he finally dropped to the ground by the pond on his knees, the disgusting taste in his mouth making it feel so much more real. He just felt so sick, so damn sick.

"Naruto?" he tried, but even as the word left his lips he knew he wouldn't be getting an answer. Yet he tried again, waiting for a long while to hear the frog speaking to him, but there was nothing. Only birds were singing in the trees and a lonely grasshopper cried softly in the grass. It felt as though time itself had stopped to listen, waiting for the one voice the prince was so desperate to hear.

But it never came.

Minutes slipped by, turning into hours, and by every ticking second a numb feeling kept spreading through Sasuke as he stood by the pond, staring into the calm water. The clearing was still so beautiful, everything around the pond looked so perfect like god itself had put everything in its place to create a secret place for people like the prince and his lover. That thought stung now, and Sasuke found himself gripping the front of his shirt hard, almost tearing the fabric. Nausea churned in his stomach and he took a deep breath, fighting the urge to vomit; there was nothing in him to throw up anymore, and he didn't want to end up gagging on the grass.

No-one came for him. Sasuke stood still in the silent forest for a long time, the sun going down and disappearing behind the trees until there were only shadows left. Stars were slowly appearing on the dark sky and moon glowed softly on the sky when the raven finally turned his back to the pond. It was too hard to see the place like this, it was exactly like it had been two nights ago when he had last seen Naruto there. Swallowing around the lump in his throat, Sasuke forced his legs to move, to take him away from the pond, and desperately wished that all this could be just bad dream. He knew it wasn't, but it didn't stop him from hoping. It was something he had learned from Naruto during the time they had been together; never stop hoping.

And so Sasuke didn't, determination keeping the little flame of light alive inside him as he headed back to the castle, something inside him trying to get him to turn around and run back to the pond. It was night already, he shouldn't be going this way, it was wrong... It was so wrong, he should've been running to Naruto, and no matter how many times Sasuke told himself Naruto wouldn't be there, it was hard to break the habit. His steps got slower and more reluctant until he eventually stopped, the castle finally in the view.

It looked so cold and so lonely, the silhouette of the building drawn against the dark sky, and suddenly Sasuke didn't feel like going in at all. He wasn't tired and he didn't want to go to bed since he knew he would only dream about Naruto and he wasn't sure if he could take it. He was sure Itachi would be in his face tomorrow, trying to act a concerned brother and ask him what was wrong and why he had left from the meal like that, and he wanted nothing more than to stay away from his bastard of a brother. It was too cruel and Sasuke couldn't for the life of him understand why Itachi had done that. It was just too perfect to be an accident, there was no way his brother had just felt like eating frog after all these years of never even mentioning the possibility of eating those tiny animals, and even through the gratefully accepted numbness sparked a small flame of hatred, stealing all the air from the flickering flame of hope and drowning it. He would never forgive Itachi for this.

TBC