Final chapter! Finally! It used to be much longer, but I deleted the first scene because it was something I had written a long time ago and rewritten again for this chapter, but at this point I just don't see a point in keeping it in. Sorry if anything doesn't make sense. I did take out a foreshadowing/establishing bit, but it should be fine even without it.

Chapter XLIV
– Burning Barrels –

It was cold. His butt was hurting. And people were staring at him. Naruto honestly hadn't thought his weekend would be this shitty.

When Kakashi had suggested they go ice-skating, Naruto had thought it was a joke. Even considering their promise from a few weeks ago, Naruto never would have thought his teacher would take it so literally and actually drag him to an ice-skating range. So it was no big surprise that Naruto, who had never gone ice-skating before, would be that bumbling idiot that ended up on his ass more often than on his feet. Meanwhile Kakashi had nothing better to do than give bullshit advice and grin to himself.

"Didn't I tell you to lean back more?" he heard Kakashi say as he approached. "And keep looking at your feet to make sure your posture is good."

"I'm not trusting you anymore," Naruto wheezed out, cheek already bruising from when he had smacked it into the railing that he was currently holding on to for dear life. "I have a feeling that when I do the exact opposite of what you're telling me to do, I'll be just fine."

Kakashi simply shrugged. "Suit yourself." As he said this, he sped off again, leaving behind Naruto to fend for himself.

Letting out a sigh, the blond was beginning to wish he hadn't come out for this at all. In that moment, he remembered his most recent session with Kurenai, where the woman had told him that even when he didn't feel like it, he should go out when he was invited. That even if it might not seem like it, it would help him take his mind off things and help normalise things for him again. Sighing another time, he tried to force himself to stand upright again, legs wobbly beneath him.

"Do you need help?"

Upon turning towards the voice, Naruto found a young man in his twenties staring at him with a kind smile. "Um… no, I'm fine, thanks."

The brunet's smile didn't waver. "I've been watching your for a while though and you seem like you're having a lot of trouble on the ice. Are you sure you don't need help?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." Naruto was getting a strange vibe and talking to this man was inexplicably annoying. Was he flirting with him?

Looking somewhat taken aback by the outright rejection, the man's smile thinned out a bit. "I don't have any weird intentions, okay? I'm just trying to help."

"Yeah, thanks. I don't need any help."

Irritation flashed over the man's face. "Come on, you know that's not true."

"Excuse me?"

"You've been falling on your ass for an hour straight now. Just accept my kindness and be thankful that someone's offering to help you!"

All of a sudden, Naruto had no trouble standing up straight on the ice. "Okay, listen here, you assho–"

"Is there a problem?"

Interrupted by Kakashi's voice, Naruto's ire subsided only slightly. "No, not really. This asshat just can't take fucking no for an answer."

"Wh-Wha–" The man's indignant stuttering was interrupted by Kakashi.

"Oh, really?" the white-haired man drawled. "Naruto, you know jamming your skates into his face won't solve anything, right?" He received no answer from the blond except for an annoyed huff. "You're not supposed to maul people's faces like that, you know that. Use your words to solve conflict."

The man looked horrified and, despite still looking like he had something to say, he eventually skated off, mumbling curses under his breath.

"I didn't need your help," Naruto grumbled once the aforementioned asshat was out of sight. "I could've handled that on my own."

"Oh, I wasn't worried about you." Kakashi chuckled, burying his hands in his pockets. "You looked like you were actually about to knock him down and slam your skates into his face. As an officer of the state, I can't just let that happen, can I?"

Releasing a sharp breath, Naruto willed himself to calm down. He could feel heat pulsing in his guts, spreading into his entire body, making his face burn and his fists clench. He hadn't been this angry in a while. "What did he even want?"

Kakashi released a small sigh, staring off at nothing in particular. "I don't think I have to explain that to you, Naruto." When he received no answer, he glanced back at the blond and found an unreadable expression. "You need to be prepared for this kind of thing; it's normal for kids your age. And Sasuke won't always be around." He could see Naruto's expression darken. "Well, not everyone's rude or dangerous. There will be people that are simply interested in you and that will leave when you reject them. Don't assume everyone's a villain, but be prepared for those that are."

Taking in the words, Naruto nodded and let his tense shoulders relax.

To dispel the sudden tension, Kakashi put on a happy expression. "Come on, let's get you on the ice."

Despite Naruto glaring at the man suspiciously, Kakashi did end up properly teaching him this time. And once he was actually staying on his feet and moving at the same time, Naruto was beginning to see the fun in ice-skating. A bright grin began stretching across his face, eyes lighting up with glee as the cold air whizzed past his face. After a while, he was able to keep up with Kakashi once the man slowed down.

"Careful," Kakashi chided when Naruto began wobbling again.

"I got, I got it." He caught his balance soon enough and was gliding side by side with Kakashi. They stayed like that for a only a short time, until Naruto grew restless. "Kakashi-sensei…" His voice was quiet with an undefinable tension; very unlike him.

Kakashi seemed to notice, his demeanour changing as well. "What is it?"

"Isn't it about time you told me what you know about Orochimaru? My trial is in two weeks. His is next week."

The man seemed to sigh, his head lowering slightly. "You really won't let that go, will you?"

"He stalked me for months, maybe even years. I have a right to know."

"Again, technically you don't, but I get what you mean." For a moment, Kakashi's face remained entirely passive. As though he had erupted a wall, his face gave away no emotion or thought, no indication of what was going through his mind. "Orochimaru… is obsessed." Still, he seemed reluctant to speak. "With life. And so he researches anything related to what keeps the body alive and moving. The method doesn't matter to him. He's the type of man to only care about results and data. How he obtains it can be quite… unlawful, to say the least. I can't comment on why exactly he was after you because we honestly don't know. He must have seen something in you. Your genes, to be specific. Maybe something to do with your parents. They were both brilliant people, so perhaps he got obsessed with the result of their genes mixing." He went silent for a moment, letting the words sink in. "There really is no right answer with Orochimaru. He's what you would call an evil genius."

Naruto almost stumbled, having taken his attention off of not falling. He barely caught himself and flushed a little when Kakashi chuckled under his breath.

"Orochimaru has observed other people for his research, but somehow he had an unusual interest in you. We have found evidence of his other victims…"

Tension sizzling in his muscles, a chill crawled over Naruto's spine. "What is it? What about his other victims?" Do I really want to know?

Kakashi seemed to understand the unasked question and hesitated. "Let's just say they weren't as lucky as you. Orochimaru had enough of an interest in you to keep alive instead of…"

"Dissecting me?" Naruto could see the surprise in Kakashi's face out of the corner of his eyes. "He was going to strap me to some cold table and cut me open alive. He was going to take samples from every part of my body and take out organ after organ, examining each one carefully. And he would have made sure I was alive throughout the entire thing. He would have kept me alive for as long as I provided data. And he would have done the same thing to Sasuke if not for–"

Kakashi of course noticed the slip up. "If not for what?"

Stubbornly, Naruto remained silent. When he noticed Kakashi about to speak up again, he suddenly sped up and skated away.

For Kakashi there was nothing else to do but sigh to himself and stare after the blond with passive eyes. "What a ridiculously loyal idiot."

"Be careful not to rustle the bigger piles! They might come crashing down on ya!"

"Yeah, we'll be careful," Naruto shouted back at the junkyard owner, carefully leaning against an old, rusty muscle car missing its wheels and windows. Its entire interior had been torn out, leaving behind a mere shell of a car.

"Are you sure you don't want to sell it?" Sasuke asked, settling beside him. "It's not an old car and you could get good money for it."

"Nah…" Naruto watched as a big black truck was driven into the open area of the junkyard. It roared and grumbled like a disgruntled bear. "I couldn't live with the idea of someone driving that thing around. This might sound silly, but I almost feel like… like part of him is inside that truck. Like somehow after all those years driving that thing around, he somehow imprinted himself on it."

"Hn."

"What?" Naruto asked with an annoyed edge.

"Nothing." The Uchiha chuckled, very obviously suppressing a smirk. "I just like the way you decided to rectify that."

The earth suddenly began to vibrate, a loud mechanical whirring sound seeping through the air. A crane swung around from behind a big pile of cars, seeming to appear out of nowhere. Its claw lowered over the shiny black Chevy that had, up until recently, been someone's well maintained treasure. Only a mere second later, that same claw tore into the car, crunching through the roof as though it was a mere tin can. The metal screeched and popped, as though the car was angrily retaliating. It looked like a T-Rex tearing into a bear. And as though it weighed no more than a small water bottle, the crane lifted the Chevy up into the air and swung it around, before dropping it into some sort of machine.

"Hey, you two!" the graveyard owner yelled. "It's ready now! If you wanna press the button yourself then now's the time!"

"Got it!" Grinning, Naruto ran over to the middle-aged man, Sasuke coming up behind him. The owner was still pushing buttons when the blond arrived, but after a while he stepped aside and ushered Naruto towards some sort control panel.

"Now listen: all you need to do is push this green button here," the man explained. "This thing is a bit older and once you push that button, there's no going back, understand?"

"Understood." Naruto nodded, taking a deep breath. He stepped towards the control panel, then glanced back at Sasuke. The Uchiha simply smirked at him and nodded towards the panel, urging him to push the button. Nodding again to himself, Naruto could feel his heart pumping in his chest as he raised his hand and before he could back out, he simply punched the button. Immediately, he flinched when the monstrous machine came to life with a beastly roar. He could see the Chevy sticking out of it on top, but once the machine got going, he could see the car being gobbled down, disappearing into the machine inch by inch, piece by piece.

Metal grated against metal, glass shattered, the car screeched as it was being crushed down. After a few more seconds, Naruto could see the machine flinging out little shreds of metal at the other end, spitting them out like seeds of a watermelon. A giddy warmth spread in Naruto's chest, his entire body suddenly feeling light. As though another chain trapping his mind had shattered.

"I unloaded the stuff that was inside the truck," the junkyard owner spoke up, once the machine was done with the car. "It's over there next to the barrels. You can light a fire in it if you want. Finding gasoline and matches shouldn't be too hard. Ask Inari if you can't find it."

"Yeah, I will. Thanks a lot, old man!"

"Don't even mention it," the man laughed, slapping Naruto on the shoulder. "Now get out. I still need to work."

Naruto was grinning as he sprinted away, hearing Sasuke follow him at a leisurely pace. He quickly found the pile of junk from the Chevy and proceeded to search around.

"You're gonna set this stuff on fire?"

"Yup." Naruto headed straight for an office looking shed some distance away and swung open the door as though he lived there.

"You've been here before?"

"Yup." The blond began rummaging around shelves and drawers, eventually pulling out matches and lighter fluid. "This should do." He rushed out and past Sasuke, examining the barrels now. "Now help me find the perfect barrel."

"Why?"

"You're my boyfriend. You're required by law to help me find the perfect barrel."

"What does the perfect barrel even look like?"

"Holes."

"Holes?"

"Lots of 'em. For ventilation, ya know?"

"Sure…" Despite his doubtful tone, Sasuke made to examine the barrels as well.

They didn't have to search long for Naruto's perfect barrel. After a few minutes, the blond let out a whoop when he came across a barrel that looked like it had survived an encounter with a sabre-toothed tiger. Four gashes ran vertically across its sides, small holes littering the bottom half. With a huge grin distorting his face, Naruto dragged the barrel towards an abandoned couch and placed it quite a distance away from it. Then he walked towards the pile of junk from the Chevy and began picking up the first few items. Shirts, books, documents, watches, pill bottles; things he had been surrounded by for years. Things that had been trapping him. Things that were still putting chains around him. He carelessly flung them into the barrel, smiling to himself whenever he could hear something shatter or break apart.

"Do you need any help with that?" Sasuke eventually asked, sitting on the dingy couch and poking his finger into one of the countless holes.

"I'd rather do this myself." Naruto was beginning to sweat from running back and forth so energetically. "Just stay with me."

Sasuke didn't respond. He simply stayed where he was, bit by bit pulling the padding out of the holes in the couch.

Once there was a good amount of junk inside the barrel, with a huge pile still left, Naruto began spritzing lighter fluid into the barrel and over the items inside. He was panting slightly at this point. He stopped short for a moment when he held the matches in his hand, before taking a deep breath, then lighting a match. He looked into the barrel one more time, before stepping back and throwing the match inside. It took a few seconds, but soon the fire began licking at the edge of the barrel, before exploding out into a wild flower of flames.

"Look at that," Naruto beamed. "Amazing."

"Naruto…" When the blond turned towards him, Sasuke was looking back at him with stern eyes. "Let me do it too. Please."

The words echoed through Naruto's head over and over a few times, before he actually registered them. First, Sasuke had apologised and now this. Naruto was discovering all new sides to Sasuke. After a while, he simply nodded.

"Come here," Sasuke demanded, his hand on the spot next to him.

Naruto chuckled at the tone and instead of going over to the Uchiha immediately, he went back to the junk pile and pulled out a large box. Then he set it down in front of the couch and sat down beside Sasuke. "He had this collection of VHS tapes that he would never let me watch. It's all just rare tapes he would buy cause they're rare. Sometimes he would watch them and from what I saw, these are pretty shit movies." With that, he threw the first tape into the barrel, perfectly sinking it. He let out a joyful whoop when the fire sprang up for a moment, before settling again. "Now you do it."

The Uchiha pulled out a tape from the box and gave it a once over. The cover was a garish red with a skull taking up most of the space. Its eyes were bleeding, mouth wide open and the jaw looking almost unhinged. It honestly was nothing but a crude drawing. Shrugging to himself, Sasuke casually tossed the tape and watched it sail into the burning barrel. A satisfying clunk sounded when it landed inside. "You realise that we're probably throwing away thousands right now, right?"

All Naruto did was shrug and fling another tape into the flames. "I don't want that kind of money. If I found any cash money somewhere in that house, I would burn that too."

"That's illegal."

"Really?" Naruto interrupted his burning of almost literal money to give Sasuke a look. "You're the last one I wanna hear that from."

Sasuke didn't say anything further. Instead, he used both hands to throw two tapes into the barrel at the same time. After that, it became a competition. Who could throw more tapes in a shorter time? Who could throw as many tapes as possible and still get them into the barrel? Who could do the more skilful trick shots? In a matter of minutes, the VHS tape collection was gone and they went on to other things. After another hour, nothing but a few trinkets and clothes were left. By this point, Naruto had inched closer to Sasuke, close enough that now he could let his head drop onto the Uchiha's shoulder, watching as the sun went down in the distance while his past burned to ashes inside that barrel.

"Sasuke?"

"What?"

Watching the flames dancing and twirling, Naruto felt strangely at ease. As though nothing could affect him negatively. As though he could do and say whatever he wanted and no one could stop him. "I wanna sleep with you."

Almost immediately, Sasuke went tense.

"I know you don't like talking about this kinda stuff, but I really mean it. It's getting to a point where it's honestly unbearable for me to look at you. The most painful thing is that…" He hesitated now, but that hesitation burned away almost as quickly as those ugly button up shirts in the barrel. "The most painful thing for me is that I don't feel like you feel the same way about me. It's still hard for me to really understand you. And it's not like I can just ask you. So I figure I'll just tell you straight up what I want from you."

Sasuke seemed to forcibly relax, letting out a heavy sigh. Immediately, Naruto had an inkling as to what the brunet was going to say. So before Sasuke could shut him down again, he straightened up, grabbed Sasuke by the shoulders and smacked their lips together. It was clumsy and awkward, but also warm and comforting. Almost immediately Naruto was surrounded by the faint smell of Sasuke's fabric softener, a scent that he had gotten used to over the past few weeks. He could smell it even beneath the overpowering smell of the musty old books and dusty clothes they were surrounded by. A sweat heat sizzled between them, Naruto gradually wrapping his arms around the other's shoulders. He could feel Sasuke's hands tracing over his sides and his back, seeming restless and feverish.

"Being careful and respectful doesn't suit you, Sasuke," Naruto gasped out once he pulled away a mere inch, practically panting into Sasuke's mouth. "I appreciate the effort, but you really suck at this kinda thing, so just stop." An amused smile spread on his face when Sasuke nudged closer again, staring at the blond heatedly, before brushing their lips together again. "Baby steps, okay?" Naruto sounded out of breath, voice quiet and hoarse. "It might not always work out, but we at least gotta try, right?"

With an annoyed edge to his motions, Sasuke roughly pulled Naruto closer by the waist, burying his hand in his tousled hair. "You really suck at keeping your mouth shut, you know that?"

"If it bothers you so much, then make me shut up." Naruto couldn't hold back a grin at the frustrated look Sasuke shot at him.

Sasuke obliged and kissed Naruto with newfound fervour, barely leaving him any room to catch his breath. He devoured the blond, drowning out every single gasp and moan, pulling at his hair to make him growl at him, before attacking his neck.

Meanwhile, Naruto could feel his heart beating so hard his chest felt nearly numb. How could he have ever thought that Sasuke felt no passion for him? How could he have ever doubted his feelings for him?

Teeth lightly sinking into the skin of his neck over and over again quickly brought Naruto back from his train of thoughts. Each nip sent bolts of lightning down his spine, even into his tiptoes. He felt out of breath, warm and fuzzy. Comfortable, yet incredibly restless and chaotic. And seeming to notice this, Sasuke's motions eased up, lips returning to Naruto's, hands gently stroking over his back. Their passionate kiss turned into a series of drawn out pecks. They were warm and sweet, infusing Naruto with an indescribable feeling of sizzling peace. When Naruto sighed into the kiss at some point, Sasuke suddenly pulled away.

Foreheads still touching, lips barely apart, Sasuke stared at Naruto for a moment. "I don't know…"

Even with Sasuke trailing off like that, Naruto somehow knew what he was trying to say. "You don't have to. We both know that I won't always be fine." There was no change in Sasuke's eyes, no indication of what was happening inside him. Even so, Naruto felt almost compelled to pull the Uchiha into a hug. "This kind of thing will be more difficult on some days. We'll probably fight a lot and hate each other. But I'm sure we'll get through that." Sasuke began to loosely return the embrace, arms somewhat awkwardly wrapping around Naruto's waist. "All I need is for you to believe in me. I'm not weak and I won't break. You don't have to treat me like I might shatter if you just so much as brush me the wrong way. I'll let you know when I'm not okay, so don't hold back. Don't bury all your feelings in that endless black hole you call your heart." That earned Naruto a nasty pinch in the back, eliciting a mumbled cuss from the blond. "Well anyway, what I'm saying is that we're both healthy young guys and that there's no reason for us not to shag like bunnies all day. We both have some issues, but who cares, ya know."

"What an eloquent way to ask someone to have sex," Sasuke chuckled. "Keep going and I might get wooed."

"You want flowers and some jazz music or what?" Naruto pulled out of the embrace, glaring at his boyfriend with an annoyed look in his eyes. "Seriously, what does it take to get you really riled up? Do I have to strip and cover myself in whipped cream for you, huh?"

That put a smirk on Sasuke's face. A somewhat dangerous one. "Well, I definitely wouldn't mind. Is that a promise?"

Once met with the sudden predatory glint in Sasuke's coal eyes, Naruto gulped. What did I get myself into now?

It was like watching a tennis match; head moving from side to side as eyes followed the rapid movement in front of them. Ino and Sakura were both practically running up and down the backstage floor, haphazardly shouting out orders and throwing people into their costumes for the school play.

Meanwhile Naruto and Sasuke, both already fully dressed, had nothing to do but sit and watch the two girls frantically running around.

"Are you sure you don't want us to help?" Naruto asked after a while, feeling left out with everyone so stressed out and busy.

"Don't!" was all Ino said, snapping at the blond with an annoyed tone. "Don't even think about doing anything! Both of you have already messed this up enough! We're lucky Sasuke is a smart guy, but trusting you with the lead role for the play, Naruto, was a mistake on our part. Just make sure not to break anything or get in anyone's way. Sasuke-kun, keep an eye on him please."

Pouting as he was being chewed out, Naruto grew meek. "There's isn't even any place to sit. Everything's packed with props."

"There's room on the couch," Ino sighed, waving Sakura over.

Naruto eyed the aforementioned couch, eyebrows creasing into a frown when he saw how it was less a couch and more another place to store props. "Yeah, for one person."

"You'll figure something out." As soon as Sakura arrived, Ino was immersed in work yet again. Holding their respective scripts, the two girls recited their lines to each other with lightning speed, words almost too fast to be intelligible.

"Figure something out, she says…" Naruto glanced back at the slightly ratty couch, which clearly offered room for only one person. Unless…

Sasuke seemed to think the same thing as Naruto, resulting in the two suddenly dashing towards the couch, ending up in a mess of fists and kicking legs, before finally, Naruto was the one sitting. A huge, shit-eating grin spread on his face, a teasing look on his face.

"Come on, Sasuke. My lap is always available for you." He seemed to realise the somewhat racy double meaning of his words, blushing slightly. "Sh-Shut up."

"I didn't say anything," Sasuke shot back, arms crossed, not looking like he would be willing to sit on Naruto's lap any time soon.

Already fed up, Naruto began making grabby hands at his boyfriend, knowing how much he hated it. "Pleeeeeeease, come on! Just a sec! I won't do anything funny." He could see the telltale tick in Sasuke's eyebrows, suggesting the Uchiha's annoyance level rising. "Pretty please."

"Stop that."

"I don't have the cooties, I promise! No need to be afraid. And even if I did, you'd have already gotten them from me ages ago." When Sasuke began glaring at him almost menacingly, the threat in his murderous eyes more than clear, Naruto simply grinned wider. He opened his arms up invitingly, urging the other closer. "I just want some affection from my boyfriend. Is that so wrong? Are you neglecting me?" An over exaggerated gasp left his mouth. "Don't you find me attractive anymore?"

"Okay, fine!" Sasuke half shouted, half whispered. "Just shut up!"

"Am I embarrassing you?" Naruto chuckled, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Before Sasuke could get annoyed again, he put on a more genuinely smiley expression and urged the Uchiha closer again.

Reluctantly, Sasuke came closer and sat down on Naruto's lap. He was tense at first, back straight and muscles rigid. But with time he eased up, slowly melting into Naruto, who eventually wrapped his arms around Sasuke's waist.

"Can you believe Ino just took the Romeo part away from me?" Naruto grumbled into Sasuke's back, feeling the brunet lightly playing with his fingers. "I mean yeah, I was having some trouble memorising my lines, but that's no reason to just take the role away from me like that."

"You were a shit Romeo," Sasuke dead-panned.

Naruto released an indignant huff. "Thanks."

"You were also out of commission for a few weeks," Sasuke continued. "Things had to move on without you. If Ino hadn't taken the role for herself, this play wouldn't be happening tonight."

"But they didn't replace you either!"

"That's because I actually bothered to memorise my lines. My role also isn't as pivotal, so there was no need to replace me."

Naruto couldn't argue with that, so instead he began grumpily mumbling to himself. "You and your shitty photographic memory."

"I don't have photographic memory, I just don't have a sieve for a brain."

"Hey!" Naruto pinched Sasuke's stomach, albeit playfully rather than to hurt him. "I was looking forward to killing you in that one scene."

"I guess it wasn't meant to be."

After that, they sat like that for a while. They watched as people continued running around frantically, sitting in corners reciting their lines over and over again, putting last minute touches on self-made props, fixing costumes. Somehow, Ino's extreme passion for this school play had infected everyone else, making it almost seem like a legitimate theatre play. At least when looking at the general stress level.

"Naruto! Sasuke!" Ino suddenly shouted, appearing in front of the two already wearing her modern Romeo costume. "We're starting in a few minutes. Make sure you know all your lines."

"Got it," Naruto replied, picking up a random script buried in between some of the props on the couch. "It's not like I have a lot to memorise," he mumbled more to himself.

"Sampson's an important character." Sasuke got up from Naruto's lap and began stretching, a few joints popping. "Kinda."

Naruto simply sighed, used to Sasuke's constant jabs at this point. He had already given up trying to figure out whether Sasuke was insulting him on purpose or just being incredibly blunt.

"Nine minutes until the curtains open!" someone shouted.

Naruto could already hear people entering the hall in front of the curtains, mumbling, laughing and chatting. And even though he now had a minor role, his heart began pumping. He gulped, imagining himself on stage. He was supposed to say the first lines of the play after all.

"Are you already shitting yourself?"

Indignantly, Naruto glared up at Sasuke. He momentarily got distracted when he actually took a proper look at his boyfriend. Sasuke was playing the bad guy, so he was appropriately costumed: loose black suit jacket over a tightly fitted black shirt and dark slacks. A gold necklace peaked out from where a few buttons were undone on Sasuke's shirt. Naruto somehow couldn't tear his eyes away from that particular spot. Was his mouth watering? When he finally parted with the sight, he found a smug look on the Uchiha's face. "You look like a douchebag gangster."

"Still better than looking like a low rank thug."

Naruto had no comeback to that. Sasuke was right after all. The blond wasn't off any better with his wife beater, oversized red flannel and gold chain necklace. "I wanna strangle whoever picked out this costume." He saw Sasuke smirk at him again and ended up half-heartedly slapping his arm. Although he was bummed out about having the lead role taken from him, he was also relieved that the success of the play wasn't riding on his performance any more.

"You'll do okay."

Caught off guard by the sudden remark, Naruto quizzically glanced at his boyfriend. "Uh… you too."

"But only okay. Let's not be unrealistic."

This time when Naruto punched Sasuke, there was actual strength behind it. And despite being punched in the shoulder with an audible smack sounding, Sasuke simply smirked back at him.

"Good luck." Saying that made Sasuke's smirk widen for some reason.

Naruto huffed out a sigh, not quite getting what was going on. "Sure, same to yo– NO WAIT!" A realisation hit him, making the Uchiha chuckle. "Are you trying to curse me?! You're not supposed to say that before a play, you fucking dingus!" The blond tried to back away, but was stopped by Sasuke grabbing both his upper arms and pulling him close in a weirdly romantic way.

"O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!"

"What?! Sasuke, what is that?"

"It's Macbeth."

Naruto stared up at the Uchiha for a moment, confused and terrified, before he let out a gasp. "Wait, isn't that another forbidden word?!"

Sasuke simply chuckled again.

"Sasuke!"

Overall, the play could be considered a success. There had been many mistakes and mishaps, resulting in Ino almost having a nervous breakdown backstage. Most of the mistakes ended up being hilarious to the audience though, meaning the once serious play occasionally turned into a comedic skit. Even with those mistakes, nothing went horribly wrong and everyone was able to leave feeling mostly satisfied with their performance. Ino and Sakura as Romeo and Juliet had received standing ovations and deafening cheers. People almost hadn't stopped clapping. Naruto had only messed up a few of his lines, so he considered his own performance a success.

Naruto had at some point started recording all of Sasuke's parts up until his death by Ino's hands. In secret, of course. He didn't intend on inflating Sasuke's ego even more. The Uchiha didn't need to know just how incredibly tantalising he looked in that costume while masterfully reciting Shakespearian lines. It had been somewhat irritating to see girls in the audience and even mothers swooning over his boyfriend.

"Why are you frowning?"

"Huh?" Naruto hadn't noticed that his mood was souring, especially after thinking of the way some girls had sneakily been taking photos of Sasuke. "It's… nothing."

Sasuke didn't seem convinced, but didn't pry further. They were both about to head off to the back room to change out of their costumes, when someone suddenly tapped Sasuke on the shoulder.

It was Ino, looking slightly annoyed. "Some of the audience members wanted to talk to you," she explained in a flat tone, obviously not to thrilled about the situation. "You better hurry. One of them looks like she's about to foam at the mouth and pass out."

Naruto visibly deflated and didn't react when Sasuke glanced at him. He sighed when Ino grew impatient, causing Sasuke to eventually leave towards his fans.

"This is gonna keep happening, you know?"

"What?" Mildly annoyed, Naruto sent a small glare at Ino. It wasn't her fault that he was miffed, but he couldn't help snapping at her nonetheless.

"You two aren't all that lovey-dovey around school, so not a lot of people know of your relationship." Ino seemed to have calmed down at this point, yet she didn't stop sending the occasional glare towards the crowd now surrounding Sasuke. "There are rumours, but also enough girls who will deny them until the day they die. So unless you're planning on fighting it out with every single stalker of his, I'd get used to this if I were you."

The words made Naruto sigh yet again, causing his annoyance to be replaced by resignation. "Compared to the shit we've been through, this isn't much. Doesn't stop it from being annoying though."

Smiling thinly, Ino patted the blond on the back, before leaving to continue organising the big clean up backstage.

The crowd around Sasuke didn't seem to diminish even after ten minutes. Rather, it seemed to continuously increase. Even girls who hadn't been interested before suddenly got curious when they saw him up close. It didn't help that Sasuke was standing in plain sight of anyone leaving towards the exits, resulting in anyone with even the smallest interest in him joining the crowd. Naruto caught the Uchiha occasionally glancing at him through the crowd, as though confirming again and again that he was still there. The blond was sitting on a dusty crate filled with props, watching as Sasuke struggled to not snap at people. It was slightly entertaining. If not for the girls constantly touching Sasuke and rubbing up on him, Naruto probably would have laughed at his boyfriend's misery.

When he glanced around, Naruto realised that he was mostly by himself now. The backstage area was still messy, but it had looked worse even before they had started practicing for the play. Seeing the somewhat pleading look Sasuke seemed to be directing at him, Naruto suddenly felt the need to somehow make Sasuke waver, make him regret not blowing off all those girls immediately. Fortunately, he knew exactly what he had to do.

Naruto didn't have to wait long for Sasuke to look back at him yet again. At first the blond simply held his gaze instead of averting his gaze – there was no need to pretend he was unaffected by the situation anymore. Sasuke immediately noticed the change, brows furrowing together slightly in a somewhat suspicious manner. He knew something was up. The next time their eyes met, Naruto very briefly bit his lip. Anyone else wouldn't even have noticed the quick touch of teeth against tender lips, but Sasuke's eyes zoned in on the motion like those of a hawk on its prey. Once Naruto had Sasuke's attention, he continued abusing his bottom lip, eyes always locked with Sasuke's.

Naruto had a habit of biting his lips when in deep thought and, dense as he was, it had taken him a while to notice and then understand why Sasuke always grew so incredibly tense when he did it. It was a dirty trick to get the Uchiha's attention and Naruto was revelling in how he could see a fire being lit in Sasuke. The Uchiha eventually averted his eyes when some blonde tugged at Sasuke's sleeve to get his attention. It made Naruto huff out an annoyed sigh, almost prompting him to just stand up and leave. He knew he was being petty and childish, but never before had it been this clear to him that their relationship wasn't acknowledged by others in the slightest. Usually, people simply accepted when people began dating, but with Naruto and Sasuke, there were people actively shooting down rumours and making sure no one believed that they were in a relationship. Neither of them was comfortable with being affectionate in public and neither wanted to make a big deal out of their relationship, so they simply ignored what other people thought. Naruto had thought it didn't matter whether or not people accepted their relationship. He honestly hadn't thought it would bother him this much, but if everyone just acknowledged their relationship, he wouldn't be in this shitty situation to begin with.

Growing increasingly irritated, Naruto decided to up his game. And so the next time Sasuke met his eyes, Naruto was staring back at him with a certain aggressiveness fuelled by both anger and lust. Still in his thug costume, the blond began fingering his tacky gold chain necklace. Smirking, Naruto watched as Sasuke's fierce eyes then wandered from his abused lips to his neck and collarbone. Taking it another step further, Naruto began lightly letting his fingers glide over his collarbone, before pulling down his cheap wife beater to reveal more and more of his chest.

Something in Sasuke seemed to snap suddenly, the Uchiha suddenly almost violently breaking free from the crowd and nearly shoving people out of his way to get to Naruto. His face was unreadable and for a moment Naruto wasn't sure whether Sasuke was coming to take him or to murder him. That question was answered as soon as the Uchiha stopped in front of him, grabbed his wrist and roughly pulled him up from the crate he had been sitting on. Naruto could hear a few girls shouting after them, but their words were unintelligible to him who could almost feel the hot tension coming off of Sasuke's body in waves. The brunet was bulldozing his way through narrow corridors despite no one being there, his shoulders suddenly looking broader than usual from where Naruto was staring at them from behind. Naruto couldn't see his boyfriend's face, but he could imagine the scorching glint in Sasuke's eyes.

All of a sudden, Sasuke stopped in the middle of a hallway, threw open a door and pulled him into the PC room. The only thing slightly illuminating the room were glimmers of moonlight shining inside. Game controllers were still strewn around from an earlier gaming session, chips and candy wrappers lining the floor, a disassembled computer sitting in one corner with its innards scattered across several tables. It was no secret that the school did not care much about this room, basically handing it over to the computer nerds to do with as they pleased. There was barely any room to sit, not to mention lie down.

Before Naruto could examine the room, he was suddenly pushed into a wall, Sasuke's body pressing into his. They were so close, Sasuke was basically panting into Naruto's mouth, their lips barely a hair's width apart. The blond fully expected for the brunet to ravish and devour him immediately, but found his lips unoccupied even after several moments passed, in which both their heartbeats increased more and more, sweat beginning to bead on their temples.

"I've never…"

The quietly mumbled words sent a bolt of electricity through Naruto's entire body. Sasuke was so close the blond could feel the vibrations of his voice passing through his chest, causing Naruto to involuntarily tense up, breath coming in shorter and shorter gasps of air. When Sasuke suddenly moved in for the kill, Naruto smacked a hand over the Uchiha's lips, almost bursting out into laughter at how Sasuke immediately gawked at him angrily, almost accusingly. "I'm not letting you anywhere near me unless you finish that sentence." He was trying to sound confident and sexy, but his quiet voice came out breathy and laced with lust. "We were gonna work on this communication thing, remember?" A silent exchange followed in which Sasuke tried burning holes into Naruto's face with his laser eyes and in response, Naruto simply raised his eyebrows and bit his lip, removing his hand from the brunet's mouth.

"I… I've never been this… this…" Sasuke let out a frustrated sigh, eyes constantly wandering to the blond's lips. "You're an annoying piece of shit and you drive me completely insane."

Naruto didn't even have time to smirk triumphantly, since Sasuke was suddenly all over him; hands gliding over his sides, fingers burrowing into his hair, lips on his and intent on completely drowning him. It was difficult to keep up with Sasuke when he got like this; completely lost in his own emotions and determined to completely devour Naruto. It was the most honest and vulnerable Sasuke could ever be, so raw and virulent that it swept Naruto right along with him, both getting lost in each other.

They were panting into each other's mouths at this point, neither quite able to properly control their breathing as they pressed open-mouthed kisses against each other's lips. More than once Naruto found himself almost crashing to the floor, knees weak and legs barely keeping him upright. The only thing keeping him from crashing down were Sasuke's lips against his, Sasuke's hands sliding under his wife beater, the scent of Sasuke's breath on his tongue. They kept him upright, anchoring him to Sasuke. Finally regaining his senses somewhat, Naruto finally let his hands wander instead of simply keeping them on the Uchiha's rigid shoulders. With Sasuke already groping his flushed waist and lower back, there wasn't much left for Naruto to do other than wrap his arms around Sasuke's neck to pull him in even closer, fingers taking a hold of silky black hair.

When Sasuke suddenly wandered lower, nipping and mouthing his way down the blond's neck, leaving behind a trail of tingling hot skin, Naruto thought he would finally be able to properly get air into his lungs, but no such luck. Both their hands were suddenly everywhere, changing from grabbing hair to sliding under shirts, arms wrapping around waists before grabbing on to hips or shoulders. The room was suddenly spinning, nothing was standing still. Naruto was completely surrounded by Sasuke's presence, almost failing to keep up. He was growing dizzy and each time their lips crashed together, Naruto felt as though he was losing himself more and more, as though Sasuke was draining the life out of him with each touch of their lips.

It took Sasuke's hands gliding towards his ass for Naruto to wake from his daze. At this point, Naruto had his arms wrapped around Sasuke's torso, hands buried in the black suit jacket that had made the blond's mouth water before. In one swift motion, Naruto turned them both around and slammed Sasuke into the wall this time, momentarily separating from his boyfriend's lips. "You're a domineering ass wipe, you know that, right?" he gasped out between desperate pants, chest heaving and bangs already slightly matted against his damp forehead.

Sasuke was quiet. His hands were still on Naruto's lower back, not letting the blond back away even a single inch, crotches pressed flush against each other. But he was quiet.

"Do you even know how annoying it is to see you with some bimbo rubbing her tits against you? Huh?" Naruto sounded breathless, as though he had just passed the finish line of a marathon. "I mean, I appreciate this whole being civil thing you've been doing lately, but maybe consider going back to your old ways when it comes to fangirls. Just ya know, a devastating insult here, a death threat there."

"That won't keep them away though."

The Uchiha's deep, yet quiet voice laced with that rumbling heat made Naruto shudder, his breath catching in his throat. "But it would make me feel better."

"Or we could just take this outside, into a hallway where everyone can see us, and shut up them up forever."

"Oh, so you're finally telling me about your kinks, I see." When only silence followed, Naruto wondered if he had actually insulted Sasuke in some way. The Uchiha's expression was unreadable again. He let out a small gasp when Sasuke's fingers suddenly dug into his lower back, sending tingly bolts through his entire torso.

"I could also just bite you and watch as you're reduced into a babbling mess incapable of forming proper sentences."

The words caused Naruto to lock up slightly, nervous tension crawling through his muscles. "Y-You–"

"Although I guess that's just your normal state."

Naruto let out a frustrated sigh, his head clearing more and more. "You're amazing at killing the mood, you know. I don't know what you think I'm into, but getting insulted isn't something I enjoy." The smirk Sasuke sent him made Naruto cower a bit, the blond suddenly wary of what his boyfriend was thinking.

"I know," he chuckled, before moving in and nipping at Naruto's jaw. He seemed to enjoy the little sighs and sharp intakes of air that he was eliciting, nipping his way down to Naruto's neck again, until he reached the juncture to his shoulder and nuzzled the flushed skin.

Meanwhile, Naruto's heart was racing, pumping so hard he could almost feel the blood being pushed through his veins. It was ridiculous how the feeling of Sasuke's teeth against his skin, without even really biting down, could drive him this insane. He almost felt embarrassed about how easily Sasuke could toy with him like this. When teeth suddenly sunk into his flesh, a lighting bolt seemed to hit him, pain and pleasure shooting up and down his entire body, burning him up from the inside out. He could almost hear the thunder booming in his ears, blood rushing, his own harsh breathing sounding foreign to his ears.

The next thing he knew, Naruto had pulled out of Sasuke's grasp, grabbed the Uchiha by the collar and flung him around until he hit the back of an old couch. When Sasuke glared back at him questioningly, Naruto simply pushed him back further until his legs lifted off the floor and he fell backwards onto the couch, knocking down whatever was piled on it. The sound of things clattering to the floor and breaking apart fell on deaf ears. Panting, Naruto jumped over the couch and pushed off whatever trinkets and tools were left, then damn near jumped into Sasuke's lap, who had barely readjusted in time to lie flat along the couch.

This time it seemed like Sasuke was the one being overwhelmed, Naruto's lips descending onto his as the blond began undoing his tie and then his black shirt. The Uchiha seemed to hesitate at this point, hands reaching upwards in an attempt to push up his boyfriend's ridiculous wife beater, but instead uselessly hanging in mid-air.

The gesture didn't go unnoticed by Naruto, who proceeded to grab both of Sasuke's arms by the wrist and push them down into the couch. "No touching," he gasped out. "Don't you dare lift even a single finger." Smirking now, the blond slowly reached for the hem of his wife beater, just as tantalisingly slowly pulling it up inch for inch, drinking up the way Sasuke's eyes followed his every move, pitch-black irises looking to be burning into his skin even in this semi-darkness. Naruto only stopped once his chest was exposed completely, Sasuke suddenly placid as he seemed completely taken in by the sight. His fingers were twitching, the older teen very obviously wanting to touch the expanse of skin presented in front of him like a feast. Enjoying the sight of Sasuke struggling like this, Naruto pulled his shirt up even further so he could sink his teeth into the hem, holding it up without using his hands.

It hadn't gone unnoticed by Naruto that he was essentially sitting on Sasuke's dick. It was also quite obvious that the brunet was enjoying what was happening, seeing how his erection was poking the blond's ass. Naruto wasn't off any better though; even his baggy pants couldn't quite hide the boner he was sporting. Eyes always locked with Sasuke's, Naruto continued unbuttoning his black shirt all the way, until he was able to push it out of the way and finally let his hands slide over Sasuke's toned torso. He revelled in the fact that his boyfriend had to clench his teeth to keep himself from making any embarrassing noises, only fuelling Naruto's desire to force him to do exactly that. Leaning down to pepper little kisses all over Sasuke's tense stomach, he began massaging his sides, working out any knots and kinks, continuing in an attempt to finally make his boyfriend relax and let go.

More than anything, Naruto was in awe at how Sasuke listened to his requests. His hands were still in the same position Naruto had put them in, splayed out next to Sasuke's head, periodically clenching and unclenching. It filled the blond with an indescribable feeling that seemed to overflow in his chest, warm and thrilling. When he felt Sasuke's dick quite literally straining against his pants, Naruto jerked his hips down further, making Sasuke flinch and suppress a grunt deep in his throat. Even though Naruto could see something like irritation and a warning flash in the Uchiha's eyes, Sasuke made no move to stop him. Gradually losing himself in those quietly burning eyes, Naruto rolled his hips into Sasuke's more and more, drinking up the way his boyfriend began squirming slightly, jaw straining to keep in any noises. Chuckling to himself, the blond grew more and more aggressive, hands gliding over pale skin, hips grinding over and over into Sasuke's crotch.

The fabric of his baggy jeans caused a tingling friction against his boner as he moved, making it increasingly difficult to hold off so he could torment Sasuke even more. It was simply too entertaining to watch his boyfriend go through something similar, having his clothed erection mercilessly ridden, the thin fabric of his pants only adding to the sensation. A multitude of barely concealed emotions flickered across Sasuke's face like sunlight on an ever-changing lake in the afternoon. Bliss, irritation, surprise, an entire spectrum of emotions could be seen in his usually stoic eyes.

"Naruto…" Sasuke said this in an incredibly breathless voice, the word barely making it past his lips.

Naruto had an inkling as to what Sasuke was trying to say, which prompted him to only grind his hips down harder, forcing a groan out of the Uchiha. When Sasuke shot him a slightly murderous look, the blond slowly leaned back, then slowed down the movement of his hips, rotating them instead and immediately feeling his boyfriend's thighs twitching beneath him. Little jolts seemed to run through his entire body. "You close?" Naruto certainly was.

There was no answer. At least not a verbal one. Sasuke seemed to suddenly relax, eyes meeting Naruto's after endlessly darting around every inch of the blond's body. He seemed weirdly transfixed by whatever he was seeing in those blue eyes, since he suddenly seemed completely entranced, almost in awe. "Let me touch you." His voice was still breathy and quiet, but a lot steadier. "Please."

There it was again. That word. Please. Naruto could count on one hand the times Sasuke had said that word to him, so it still stunned him whenever he heard it. It filled him with a strange sense of power. To be able to reduce someone as proud and stubborn as Sasuke to a pleading mess like this was nothing short of a miracle, something to be amazed at. His voice seemed stuck in his throat, so all Naruto could do was nod listlessly.

Within an instant, Sasuke was sitting upright, mouth latched on to Naruto's neck, hands gliding over his back and hips grinding up into the blond's ass. He was relentless now, teeth digging into Naruto's skin over and over again, abusing the flesh mercilessly, an almost guttural growl crawling from his throat. The ministrations had Naruto groaning and moaning, his erection now trapped in between his own stomach and Sasuke's chest. At some point his jaw dropped open, releasing the shirt between his teeth, but Sasuke was quick to take a hold of it himself and push it back up so he could assault the blond's chest. Naruto could feel him chuckle into his skin when he shuddered at each nip and bite. He glared into Sasuke's hair as he wrapped his arms around the brunet's head, tingling bolts of lighting coursing through his muscles, making them clench and tense up. Sasuke eventually returned to his neck and bit into the juncture to his shoulder, teeth finally breaking skin and drawing blood. Very suddenly, muscles all over Naruto's body contracted at the same time, waves of pleasure washing over him and passing through his guts and rushing through his crotch. It overwhelmed him, resulting in the blond going somewhat numb and drifting off to some place wrapped in fluffy white where he was weightless and at the same time racing through space.

It goes without saying that it took him a bit to get down from his high. Only slowly did he come back to the disorderly computer room, where he was still sitting on top of Sasuke. With a grimace, he realised that he had come in his pants, making him sigh to himself. When he looked down, he found Sasuke in no better state. The Uchiha was in the same predicament after all, face flushed with satisfaction, yet his eyebrows were pulled together into an annoyed frown.

"No clothes next time," Naruto huffed out, voice laced with exhaustion and an undeniable giddiness. "Deal?"

Sasuke's jaw twitched, the older teen very obviously struggling with his answer. His eyes briefly flicked down to where Naruto was still sitting on his dick, the blond having the gall to grin down at him when he noticed. He honestly couldn't get out of this one and he knew it. "Deal."

Naruto let out a triumphant cheer, before leaning in to press his lips against his boyfriend's. "See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" He smiled when Sasuke let out an exasperated sigh, shoulders sagging slightly.

"You're really messed up, you know that, right?"

At first, Naruto wasn't quite sure what Sasuke meant. Was he talking about the fact that Naruto had basically seduced and forced him into this entire situation? Or the fact that according to him, Naruto shouldn't be wanting this kind of thing at all after everything that had happened? But on a closer look, Naruto saw something more complicated than that happening in Sasuke's carefully masked expression. "Are you… doubting yourself?" Sasuke's eyes widening a fraction was all the answer he needed. "Why would you–"

"I tried to kill you." The expression on Sasuke's face turned dark, eyes growing cold and distant.

"See how proper communication gets easier once you actually try?"

Somewhat dumbfounded, Sasuke's head snapped up, frantic and frustrated gaze meeting Naruto's relaxed one. "I'm being serious here! I–!"

"So am I," Naruto cut in before the Uchiha could chew him out further. "Do you think you're the only one who feels insecure with this… thing that we have? Do you think you're the only one who expects to be broken up with any day? Do you think I don't worry about you suddenly coming to hate me for all my flaws? We've seen each other at our worst. It really can't get any worse than this."

Sasuke remained silent for a while, seeming to simply take in the sensation of them both coming down from their high together. "You reek."

"So do you, asshole."

"We should go to a bathroom. It'll only get worse the longer we wait."

"Agreed."

Despite saying that, it took them a few more minutes to actually stop bantering and leave the room. Even as they exited the computer room, they remained close enough for their bodies to always be in contact, whether it be their shoulders bumping or their fingers brushing against each other. By the time they left school, they were already fighting again, spitting insults at each other, bodies hot with anger, moonlight and flickering streets lights illuminating their path.

They really never would be a normal couple, after all. They would never have that Hollywood blockbuster movie relationship with the happy end where everything falls together perfectly. They would never be that couple to have romantic dates or even the typical couple moments. They wouldn't give each other random gifts, wear couple shirts or have awkward meetings with each other's parents.

Because they were both fucked up individuals and together made an incredibly fucked up couple.

And it was completely fine like that.

– End –

And that is the end. I hope you all enjoyed the ride. Thank you for sticking around for so long.

– Monti B. Lewis